NationStates Jolt Archive

2,000 years had passed since the ”Light/Dark War” (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=108349&highlight=) and things had been eternally peaceful on Eurydice. The palace Rigard still stood, its towers jutting reminders of Keer’s power. Within the palace resided Eurydian royalty, namely Icarus Traiden, his son Alexander, and numerous other lords and dukes. It was the focal point of the entire Republic. Before that it had served as Keer’s home. While it now reigned over much less, Rigard was still a symbol of power throughout the cosmos. It was no wonder then that the darkness would strike here first.

“Would you mind tossing me that towel?” Alex said as he climbed out of the pool. Samson, the First Knight of Rigard and Icarus and Alex’s bodyguard, grabbed the white towel and walked it to the young man. “Thanks,” Alex said.

“No need sire, it is my duty to get towels for you whenever you need.” There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Don’t be silly,” Alex said laughing, “Your job cant be that boring.”

“No it is certainly... entertaining. I have watched you grow since childhood, that in itself makes the job worth it.”

The two walked to a small courtyard adjacent to the swimming pool and sat on a stone bench. “Well you’ve been like an uncle to me Samson. When my father leaves you’re my only friend.”

Samson scoffed, “Nonsense. You have plenty of friends besides me.”

“As you know I’m not allowed to leave the palace unguarded... who wants to hang with a guy who has eyes watching him constantly? It’d freak me out.” The 18 year old Alex had been watched over by his father through most of his life.

“You have Max,” Samson said quickly, “He is in almost the same boat as you. Reamus would never let Max stray to far from home.”

“Oh boy, another friend just as royally screwed as me.” Samson chuckled in response, Alex realized the pun quickly and laughed himself.

“I think you need to take what you have and appreciate it. You may not have many friends, but you do have a good father, and a good home. Don’t let the things that are wrong get you down. One day you’ll be Emperor and then you’ll be able to have as many friends as you need.” Samson nodded in self agreement. “Now, it’s time to head back in, dinner will be served shortly.”

They stood and started walking toward the archway leading into the 4th floor dining room. “Samson, when I lead my people will you still be there to watch out for me? Would you be the First Knight once I rule the Republic?”

Samson looked to the young man and grinned, “I wouldn’t dare miss it. Few men get to protect two Emperor’s in their lifetime.”

Alex smiled in satisfaction.

____________________________________________________________________________

“How much longer must we wait Cador, I’ve been onboard this thing for far to long.” Nightmare paced the room, sword in hand. He had been repeating those words for the last two weeks. The three Dark Lords were aboard an old transport headed for Eurydice. They had commandeered it somewhere along their journey. It was an old and dilapidated craft that barely seemed to function. Accompanying them were roughly 50 soldiers: 20 humans, 20 possessed, and roughly 10 Forgotten (Orcs for simplicities sake).

They had been traveling across the shipping lanes for 2 weeks without any trouble. Now would come the hardest part, bypassing the extensive Eurydian border network. Although Asgard was nowhere near completion, the border patrols and the Heimdall Orbital Reactionary Defense System (HORDS) would prove a difficult obsticle.
Cador looked to Nightmare, “Patience my friend, we have waited 2,000 years for this very day, we can spare a few minutes.”

“But we were asleep all those years, we had no sense of how much time passed.” Nightmare’s voice was rough, as though he had a terrible cough.

Cador’s reply came with the usual sinister/cool tone, “Be silent Nightmare. You are going to drive me mad.”

“But... I just wish....”

“Silence!” Snapped Cador, “Lest you wish to incur my wrath. If you do, by all means keep talking.”

Nightmare’s eyes burned with more intensity than usual, but he submitted to the Death Knight’s order. Meleagent laughed, “What a pleasant group we’ve become cooped up in this infernal transport.” His words dripped with a pompous attitude. It suited his personality well.

“I don’t want to hear anything more about how awful this ship is,” Cador said.

“I said nothing about being unpleasant or unhappy on this cruise. I was just merely stating a fact.”

Nightmare rapped the edge of his sword against a stray piece of metal. It was a habit he had developed during the trip. He looked to Meleagent, his fiery eyes shone through his helm. “Nice work stating the obvious, I had no idea we were on pins and needles. Remind me to ask you the next time I need something answered.”

Both Cador and Nightmare chuckled while Meleagent turned red with anger. Just as he was about to launch into a full blown argument a soldier came forward. “Sir, we are approaching Rigard.”

Meleagent lost interest in the skirmish, “Good, good. Prepare your weapons, we shall be seeing combat shortly.” Meleagent nodded to Nightmare and Cador, “If you’ll excuse me gentleman, I’m going to prepare.”

(OOC: Definitions:

Posessed- They are basically soldiers posessed by the spirit of a fallen orc or what have you. The only difference between possessed and forgotten is that a possessed soldier doesn’t actually die. While the body will become unusable, the spirit will return to the “Well of Turoth” at the Hellspire. There it will wait until given another body. There are roughly 200 million spirits waiting for a body, with 1 million currently residing within a corporeal form. Make no mistake, these guys are not super soldiers, they must eat, sleep and whatever else a body may need to stay alive.

Forgotten- Orcs basically. I’m talking Warcraft Orcs too, big and burly. The story goes that the Forgotten were once humans driven underground for certain reasons. Over the eons they adapted to their new environment, thus becoming the brutish people they are now.

OOC2: You can tag for now... if anyone wants to. Pretty soon people will be able to join in on either side, good or bad.)

The Septum Monitor Domonisi cruised through space on its usual, pre determined flight path. It patrolled sector 20 on the Eurydian border; you could not find a more boring place. Aboard said monitor was a certain Captain Reynard, an older man who felt his career in the military had stagnated. A captain of a Semptum Monitor at the age of 48 was not a good thing, or that’s the way he saw it at least. His crew was well trained and loyal, that was all that mattered really.

“Sir, I’m picking up some sort of ship... a transport, roughly 50,000 km of our bow.” The ensign tapped a few buttons and an image of the cargo ship appeared.

“What’s it doing out here in this desolate part of space? It’s not near any shipping lanes,” Reynard tapped his fingers idly on the armrest, “Do you think they’re hostile?”

“I don’t believe so,” the ensign responded, “It appears the ship is in an utter state disrepair. They probably lost sensors and couldn’t detect the shipping buoys.”

“That would explain them being so off course. Are there any lifesigns?”

“53 sir.”

“Fine, approach the ship and get ready to dock. Prepare our medical team, they could require our assistance.”

____________________________________________________________________________

“It looks as though we’ve been spotted,” Meleagent said cooly.

“Again, way to point out the obvious.” Nightmare chuckled to himself this time.

“Shut your mouth. At least I actually care to notice these things, you just sit there complaining.”

“Bah, I’d rather complain than look like an idiot.”

“You don’t need to speak to look like one.”Meleagent snapped back.

By this time Cador had had quite enough of their ceaseless arguing, “Didn’t I tell the both of you to shut up! I think I did, so do as you’re told.” Cador’s attitude shifted, “It appears our attempt to bypass the patrols by leaving the lanes was... fruitless. Still though, we will reach Eurydice.”

“How are you so sure?” Meleagent said.

“Well it’s quite simple. That ship is all alone out here. I’m sure it didn’t call for support, us being a damaged transport and all. They’ll most likely try and see if we need assistance. Once they open their doors to us we’ll slay them all.”

Nightmare grinned from behind his darkened helm, “Now that sounds like a plan.” He lifted Kreigoth easily and struck down a few invisible enemies, “I’ve been dying for some action.”

“We know,” Cador and Meleagent said in unison.

“They’re approaching,” Nightmare said with a glance to the broken viewscreen, “And I think they’re trying to talk to us.” He pointed to a dim yellow, pulsating, light.

“Hmmm... allow them to speak. We don’t want to seem to suspicious.” Cador said.

Nightmare poked the blinking light, “It doesn’t seem to be working.”

Meleagent rolled his eyes, “Try the switch below the light.”

“Oh, all right.” Nightmare flipped the switch, and Reynard’s voice could be heard, “That was easier than I thought.”

“Unidentified ship,” Reynard said in a very formal tone, “Come to a full and complete stop immediately. We are preparing to dock with your vessel. Do not be alarmed. You have strayed from the shipping lanes. I repeat, we are preparing to dock with your vessel.”

“Good,” Cador said, “Shut that garbage off. Meleagent, muster our forces and have them wait at the airlock. Tell them we shall be engaging the enemy soon. Nightmare, bring us to a ‘full and complete’ stop.”

Reynard was before Cador, knees firmly on the ground. The man was weeping, for he had seen and witnessed hell itself. Blood oozed from his head, each droplet coming to rest on his once well pressed uniform. It had all happened so quickly for the captain, one minute they were rushing in to assist the wounded, the next moment the medical staff was torn to pieces, literally.

The Domonisi had docked without incident -in fact it had been one of the smoother operations Reynard had witnessed- and the crew of the battered transport seemed to welcome them. The docking hatch was open, inviting the medical staff aboard. Reynard remained aboard his ship, lieutenant Pliskin would lead the operation. He would be the first to die. Cador’s forces quickly overran the docking tunnel and managed to kill the operators before they had a chance to retract the tube. The lightly armed crew didn’t stand a chance against the attackers. Screams and shrieks amid weapons fire was all that could be heard for 3 minutes. Then, suddenly, things became eerily silent. The entirety of the crew, save those on the bridge, were dead.

Nightmare and Meleagent quickly stormed the bridge and slaughtered everyone except for the captain. When he attempted to put up a fight Meleagent rapped him across the forehead with the hilt of his sword. And thus we have come full circle, for we find Reynard on his knees, his tears mixed with his own blood.

Meleagent found the whole situation quite amusing, it had been over 2000 years since he had seen a man weep. He was leaning up against a computer console, his right hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. Nightmare had gone off to search for any stray crew members, his lust for battle was nigh on insatiable.

“Would you stop crying. You are making a fool out of yourself.” Cador seemed to look through Reynard.

“What... what have you done? My crew... my friends...”

“I said stop crying! If you cease now I may let you live.” That seemed to stifle the captains tears for the moment. “Now tell me, how can we get through the defenses undetected?”

Reynard thought for a moment, “Well, you can’t. There is no way through.”

“There has to be some way that we can pass undetected.”

“There isn’t. You will surely be seen and captured if you enter Eurydian space.”

“Maybe so. I hope you are wrong my friend. Thank you for your cooperation captain, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you shortly at The Well of Turoth.”

Reynard didn’t understand, he didn’t have time to really. Cador’s axe made a lazy downward swipe, cleaving the captains head in two.

Meleagent was a bit startled, “Well... that certainly made quick work of him.”

“Indeed,” Cador said with a nod, “He wasn’t much use to me. I didn’t want him to cry again either.”

Meleagent chuckled, “Right. So what’s the plan my lord?”

Cador took a seat in the captains chair, “Well, I say we just move at full speed and whatever happens, happens. I’m sure we’ll manage to make it to the surface of Rigard.” Meleagent nodded. Nightmare stepped onto the bridge, Kreigoth stained with blood. Both Meleagent and Cador looked to him with mild contempt. Nightmare returned the stare with an expression of, “What did I do?”

“Glad to see you could make Nightmare,” Cador said, “How are our forces doing?”

“They seem to be learning how to use the technology fairly quickly, the interface is relatively easy to use.”

“Good, go to the engine room, they’ll most likely have the most trouble down there.” Nightmare bowed out of the room.

“And what would you have me do my lord?” Meleagent asked.

“Head to the weapons area, I’m sure they’re having a bit of trouble with things. Tell a few of your men to join me on the bridge.”

Meleagent nodded. Soon they were underway and just minutes from their final destination.

The 4th floor dining hall within the Palace Rigard was an obnoxiously large room. Composed of mostly expensive and rare woods, it had a very rustic look to it. There was even a fireplace and candles adorning the hall. The table itself was a roughly 20 ft by 5 ft rectangle. During official gatherings the table could seat 14 people comfortably. Lords and Barons from countless centuries have eaten at that table, but tonight there were only 3 occupying seats. Emperor Traiden sat on one side, Alex on the other with Samson somewhere in the middle. They dined on a simple meal of Roasted Ent.

“The cook did a fine job tonight, I’ll need to remember to give my compliments.” Samson neatly cut a small slice of meat, dabbed it gingerly into a bit of sauce, and placed it in his mouth. He savored the flavor with his eyes closed.

“Very true,” Icarus said, “Best meal I’ve had in a long time. I’m always off on business, eating all this foreign cuisine, it’s about time I came back home to enjoy some Eurydian style cooking.”

“And it’s good to have you back m’lord,” Samson said.

“Yes father, I’m glad you’re finally here to stay.”

“Well I may need to leave again sometime soon. The Conconi Shipyards have just completed the Terminus you know. I need to take a personal tour.” Alex looked dejectedly to his plate. “But... you could always come along. I’m sure you’d love seeing the pride of the Eurydian Republic.”

Alex’s eyes beamed briefly, “All right. I'd love to.”

“I guess that means I’ll be coming along too. I could use a vacation.” Samson chuckled softly to himself.

Icarus smiled, “Then it’s settled, the three of us will be leaving for the Terminus in 3 days.”

"So tell me Emperor... how have things been with the Fars..."

Quite suddenly, a deafening crash sounded; it wasn’t far away. The palace shook slightly. All three looked quickly to each other, wondering what had happened. Just as Samson rose to investigate a large Septum Monitor slammed into the swimming pool Alex had occupied just a half an hour ago. The ship buried itself nearly halfway into the ground, its tail pointing into the air at a near 45 degree angle. Smoldering wreckage and churned up earth was all that was left of the swimming pool and courtyard.
____________________________________________________________________________

To understand what had happened to the fullest extent possible, we must digress a tad bit and look into the goings on before the Domonisi’s chance crash landing in the 4th floor courtyard.

The monitor had cruised swiftly through Eurydian space most of the way to “Rigard” without a hint of trouble. Since they were part of the border patrol it was expected that they be there. While Cador didn’t truly have a plan as to how and where to land, just managing through the EBN was an accomplishment in itself. In truth Cador was as calm as the outer space around him, he remained in the captains chair, his head -or skull rather- was propped lazily against his hand. Meleagent was in weapons control, and Nightmare in Engineering.

The acting helmsman, a brutish fellow by the name of Scrag, suddenly became worried. While he didn’t really understand how everything worked, he did know something was wrong. “Sir, I don’t really know for sure... but it appears that something is moving towards us.”

Cador lifted his head, “Well, what is it? Are they trying to attack us?”

“No,” the ensign said shaking his head, “But I think they are trying to talk with us. Shall I allow them to speak?”

Cador nodded and Scrag pressed a button. A woman’s voice could be heard, the transmission was audio only, “ERS Domonisi, what’s the matter? Captain Reyburn, why have you strayed from your post? You must return to the border and continue your patrol.”

Cador stood and approached Scrag. He addressed the lady, “Ummm... nothing is the matter. We were... are... experiencing malfunctions in our ships systems. We were returning to base for repairs.”

“That’s highly unusual,” The woman answered, “Why aren’t you heading back to the Space Fortress for repairs?”

“One moment please,” Cador said quickly. He muted the link. “Get me Meleagent and Nightmare.” Scrag nodded and within moments he was in direct contact with both. “Nightmare, I want full power to the engines as soon as I give the word. Meleagent, bring the weapons online as soon as I give Nightmare the orders.” The two responded with, “Yes my lord,.” and quickly set to work. Cador reestablished the connection, “I’m afraid we’ve had some sensor difficulty as well. We hadn’t a clue we were headed for Rigard.”

“Rigard? Eurydice you mean?"

"Yes of course, Eurydice."

The woman's attitude was drenched in suspicion, "Captain Reyburn I want you to stop your ship immedietly. If anything is the matter we can come aboard and assist you.”

“That won’t be necessary. I must go I’m afraid, goodbye.” Cador severed the link permanently. He returned to the captains chair. “Nightmare do you read me?”

“Yes sir.”

“Give me everything the engines have. We need to outrun them. We’re so close.” In truth they were a mere 20 seconds from the Eurydian atmosphere -at full speed of course.

Meleagent heard the order and weapons instantly came online. The other Monitor moved in to attack. They also sent out a call to the HORDS system, which responded immediately. The Heimdall platforms in the area suddenly burst to life and methodically charged their Linear Cannons. The Domonisi screamed through space at full speed, the other craft right on its tail. The ships shielding managed to absorb most of the incoming fire. The rear firing cannon on the Domonisi did nothing but pester the other ship. They were a mere 12 seconds from entering the atmosphere and safely escaping the Eurydian Border Network. 11, 10, 9, they seemed to have made it. The other Monitor pulled back, the captain knew they’d never be able to pursue in the atmosphere. 6, 5, 4, there was no stopping them now.

Suddenly, an azure beam of light tore through the left wing of the Domonisi.

The ship started spinning end over end, bits of hull and smoke seeping out of the ship like an open wound. The entire crew was thrown about. Slowly, the ships A.I. righted the Domonisi, just as it broke through the Eurydian atmosphere. Energy shielding prevented the gaping wound from taking any more damage as a result of entering the atmosphere.

Cador staggered to his feet, “We made it.”

Nightmare’s frantic voice could be heard over the comms. link,” Sir, we have a problem! There’s a hole in the side of our ship! We’ll never make to the surface!”

“Calm down,” Cador said, “I have it under control. It seems we aren’t taking any more damage. I also feel as though Uther’s will is protecting and guiding us.” Scrag looked to Cador with bewilderment. The Death Knight reassured him, “I feel that the Palace is near. The capital of Keer’s empire is right at our fingertips. Leave the controls be Scrag, let Uther guide us.”

Scrag did as he was told, and for the remainder of the journey the Domonisi would fly itself. It continued to blast its way through the atmosphere. Red lights and proximity alerts soon filled the bridge, they were approaching land at a breakneck speed. The ship shook and rattled as though it were fighting in a vain attempt to make it back into space. They fell, and fell, and fell.

“Sir, we’re going to hit soon, I suggest you brace yourself!” Scrag hugged his instrument panel. Cador sat firmly in his seat, eyes fixed resolutely on the viewscreen. Within moments it was apparent that they were headed strait for a city. The trained eye could have even made out a spire of sorts. In a vain attempt to halt the ship, the A.I. fired all available engines. The ship did slow, but there was no stopping its advance.

They hit.

It wasn’t the ground they struck though, it was one of the many spires that made up the Palace Rigard. The Domonisi ricochet off of the tower, now hurtling toward a swimming pool and courtyard. The impact should have killed everyone on the ship, and even those within the palace. Perhaps it was the will of Uther, perhaps it was some unnamed scientific phenomena. Whatever the reason, the Domonisi had landed without blowing itself to a million pieces.

(OOC: Bah, I’m not pleased with that post much... hope I didn’t bore the reader.)

From an intense dark abyss, much like one in the beginning, a figure stirred.

"Malevolent powers are arousing," a childlike girl's voice rang out innocently.

The figure stirred somemore, but did not awake.

(OOC: The posts just keep getting longer. :? )

Samson’s eyes shot open. “What the hell just happened?” he thought. He was on the floor, he knew that much. He craned his neck to the right, then the left, noticing both Icarus and Alex lying limp on the ground. With a groan Samson rose to his feet. He brushed off the dirt and other debris before making a check of the area. The wall facing the courtyard had been completely demolished. The Monitor was situated so close to the dining hall had the left wing not been blown off it surely would have impaled the room. Samson did wonder whether or not to approach the ship. This kind of thing couldn’t have happened by chance. Of all places in the world, why would a ship with a perfect track record concerning accidents land on the Palace? It was just to coincidental.

Something reaffirmed his suspicions. The crew stirred, and slowly they made their way out of the ship via the large hole conveniently placed there by the Heimdall Linear Cannon. They weren’t the Eurydian crew that usually piloted the Domonisi, and Samson knew so. Whoever they were, he was positive they weren’t here to join them for dinner.

He quickly rushed to Icarus’s side, “My lord, wake up. Wake up!” He spoke in a harsh whisper. Icarus slowly came around, he had been struck by a large piece of debris. He had a large cut over his forehead. “Sir, A ship has crashed, you must leave here at once, it isn’t safe! ”

Icarus looked groggily to Samson,“What of the crew? We must help them.”

“They are here to kill you Emperor, I’m sure of it. You and Alex must escape at once.”

“Are you sure Samson?” Icarus wasn’t the kind of emperor to run from a possibly accidental crash.

“Quite,” he looked to the hellish crew that was growing by the moment, “You haven’t much time.” Icarus nodded and started to stand. Samson went to Alex and shook him vigorously, “Wake up boy! You must leave now!”

“Wha...” was all that escaped Alex’s lips at first. After another jolt he came too. He sat up and blinked a few times. While he wasn’t injured, surely the blast had ‘thrown him for a loop.’ “Why must I go Samson?”

He laid out the situation for Alex much the same way he did for Icarus.

“And what of you Samson. Aren’t you coming with?”

“No my boy,” he said, shaking his head, “I must stay here and fend off these vermin for as long as I can. You and your father should meet up with the Royal Guard and make your escape.”

“No!” Alex said quickly, “You’ll die, I’m sure of it!”

Icarus came to his sons side, “It’s the only way my son. Samson’s duty is to protect us. In truth, even if it weren’t his duty Samson would stem this tide as best he could. Let him honor his oath to The Republic.”

Silence.

“I understand.” Alex stood. “Samson, don’t die on me. I’ll fire you if you don’t make it out of this alive.”

Samson chuckled, “You can’t fire me, I was taken in by your father.” He looked once more to the Domonisi, “Quickly now, make your escape. May Keer be with you.”
____________________________________________________________________________

Meleagant jumped elegantly from the Domonisi to the ground. It was soft and cushiony against his feet. The sun was excruciatingly bright for this time of day, but Meleagent welcomed its warmth. He took a few steps and met up with Nightmare and Cador. “Glad to see you two managed survive that wretched crash. Do you have any idea as to where we are?”

Cador laughed, “We are right where we want to be, the Palace Rigard itself!”

Meleagent was astonished, “You’re kidding! Of all the places to crash... Uther likes us more than I thought.”

“Indeed,” Cador responded, “No more time for talk, we haven’t much time until their entire army descends upon us.” As he spoke he made his way into the dining hall. Nightmare and Meleagent followed. Inside the now gutted room stood Samson, his left hand firmly gripped the hilt of his sword. His eyes, his eyes of pure silver shone with more intensity and determination at that moment than an any other in his life. Samson would not let them pass.

Meleagent looked shrewdly to the First Knight of the Republic, “Looks like the welcoming party has already arrived. Funny, I would have expected something larger and more lethal than... this.”

“Let me handle him my lord,” Nightmare said slyly. He picked up the enormous Kreigoth easily with one hand.

“No, first we must interrogate this poor fellow. Tell me good sir, who might you be?”

Samson answered resolutely, “Samson Usea of the Eurydian Republic. First Knight and Lord Protector to Emperor Traiden.” Silence. “Who might you be?”

“A valid question.” Cador said. “I am Cador the Death Knight, Commander of the Dread Legion and Lord of the Hellspire and all it holds dominion over. To my right is Nightmare the Corrupt,” At the mention of his name he bowed slightly, “And to my left is Meleagent.”

“What? No frivolous title to go with my name? I’m slightly hurt.” Meleagent grinned.

Samson began to put it all together, “Cador... Nightmare... Meleagent... the Hellspire. You are all strait out of Eurydian legend. You are the three pieces of Uther’s sword... the “Slayer of the Light.” But... that was over 2000 years ago, you cant possibly be those described in the tales.”

“Well, my good friend Cador certainly isn’t your average man... and Nightmare is no pretty thing either. Believe it or not, but I am Meleagent... in the flesh.” He patted his hardened plate mail.

Samson looked on in horror, “No... Why have you returned now, in this time? What do you hope to accomplish?”

“Well,” Cador said flatly, “We intend to destroy the entirety of the universe, so to speak. Unfortunately we aren’t in the proper condition to do that now. Our forces have scattered themselves across the cosmos, in preparation for the day we return. We can’t hope to take even Rigard with the forces we have mustered now. We must get in touch with the entire Dread Legion, and to do that we’ll need to use the Palace Rigard.” Samson looked quizzically to Cador, “The Palace was built to harness the powers of Keer. Well, Uther was a near carbon copy of Keer, so therefore he could use Rigard as well. The three of us are Uther reincarnated, therefore we can harness the power of Rigard. We can call up our forces throughout the entire universe in an instant with the help of the Palace.”

“I must stop you then,” Samson said solemnly, “Lest you bring about the destruction of Eurydice.”

“I’m afraid you won’t stop anything. Tell me, had the throne room been moved at all since the Palace’s construction?” Samson shook his head. “Good, good. This will be easier than I thought. I have no further you for you.” Cador motioned to 3 brutish orcs. They grinned, slowly approaching Samson.

“This is madness.” Samson said quietly, “I doubt we could stem the tide if all of the Dread Legion is called up. I will put a stop to this.” The three abominations were nearly upon Samson, but he remained calm, his muscles and grip did tighten on his sword. The orcs probably wondered why the so called “Lord Protector” wasn’t going to even put up a fight. The three stood, gigantic swords raised above their heads, not even 2 feet from Samson. He thought it the most opportune time, and so Samson struck. His arm acted like a coiled spring, sending the sword out in a blinding flash. One orc was cut down instantly, the other two were startled. They lashed out at Samson with downward slashes, but they struck nothing but the bare floor. With an easy swing the head was lopped off the second orc. Samson made it look like childsplay. The third quickly wrestled his blade from the ground. He never even managed to swing, for Samson darted forward, neatly shoving the brutish weapon aside. He then simply skewered his opponent, and he collapsed to the floor, a look of astonishment etched upon his face forever.

“That didn’t go so well.” Meleagent said with a huff.

Cador was angry. “Meleagent, finish this nuisance off! Nightmare and I will find the throne room, meet us when you’re done here.” Not even waiting for an answer, he stormed toward the nearest door, and pulled it clean off its hinges. Slowly the small force filed out of the Hall whilst Meleagent eyed his foe.

“You certainly made quite the mockery of the Death Knight back there. Not many men can kill three Forgotten as easily as you did. I give you my compliments on your fighting style.”

Samson bowed his head slightly, “Thank you. I’m quite sure your skills are comparable to mine.”

Meleagent smiled slightly, and ceased in his ‘sizing up’ of Samson, “You give me to much credit. I am nothing more than a servant of the Death Knight. He is the true power.” It was Meleagent’s usual attitude to be open with an opponent of equal skill, and he thought Samson was definitely a worthy adversary. “I’m sorry we cant chat for longer, We are on a bit of a time schedule,” Meleagent raised Avenger once more, “Now, show me what you can do!”

Meleagent charged Samson, throwing caution to the wind. The first strike was a brutally hard one, and as the two swords met it sent resounding vibrations through Samson’s body. Meleagent didn’t seem to notice, for he was immediately upon Samson, giving him absolutely no quarter at all. Samson struggled to keep up with Meleagent’s attacks. The dark lord worked like a methodical machine. He seemed to be systematically disarming Samson with off balance strikes and counterstrikes. The battle didn’t yield for a full 5 minutes, with neither participant receiving a scratch.

Suddenly Samson stumbled over a piece of rubble, and he went flying headlong to the floor. He lost control of his sword; it made a resounding cling as it hit the floor a mere two feet away. He would have grabbed it, but Avenger rested at his neck. “That was an excellent battle,” Meleagent said, huffing slightly, “But it seems luck has fallen to my side.”

They both heard a dull snap.

It wasn’t anything that they readily noticed. But the subsequent snaps and breaks got their attention. Suddenly, the floor gave way. It had probably been weakened due to the crash, and it couldn’t handle the weight of both men. Samson fell immediately, his sword followed soon after. Meleagent fell at a slightly slower tempo, and he managed to turn and grab the edge of the floor that still remained. He pulled himself up slowly, cursing as he did.

“What in the fuck was that? A floor isn’t supposed to just fall out from under you! I can’t believe that just happened... craziest thing ever. I almost died!” He regained his composure eventually, then peered over the newly formed ledge. It was black... black as night. He couldn’t make out Samson, or anything else for that matter. “Well... I suppose he’s dead enough. He seems to have fallen through to the bottom floor at least. Not much I can do anymore.” He shrugged, gave Samson a wave, then made his way out of the dining room.

OOC: Seeing as this could become an international incident pretty quickly, and I'm always looking for input -which I rarely get any- I figure I'd see what people thought of this. For those who have been keeping up... which I'm sure there are few... it would be easier for you to coment. For those who haven't been keeping up, if you're game for a long read then pull up a chair and read through what I have so far. I figured I'd get any problems or whatever out of the way before other nations joined in. So tell me whatever you think about it, good or bad. Thanks for your time.

-The Bloc's Player

The low hum of ships systems was something Captain Reina always heard. For some this constant noise was an annoyance, but to her it was soothing. She would sit for countless hours in her quarters, listening to nothing but that background noise while she thought; it definitely helped to clear her mind. At the moment however their wasn’t much time for thought clearing. Her ship, the Gavelan Star had lost the Domonisi as it entered the atmosphere, and what had happened after that shook the captain to her soul. Satellite images had captured the entire crash, and it seemed as though the entirety of the Eurydian Border Network, as well as the Royal Navy was at a standstill, watching that single event unfold. They would quickly learn the truth behind this ‘accident.’ The Palace Rigard was under attack.

Reina had attempted to get a transmission through to the Space Fortress for well over 5 minutes before actually doing so. Transmissions concerning the crash overwhelmed, and subsequently inundated the vast Eurydian communications network, WorldNet. Finally she managed to contact someone at the Space Fortress. “Hello? This is lieutenant Joseph speaking, how may I help you?”

“Joseph,” She said quickly, “This is Captain Reina of the Gavelan Star, put me through to General Antonidus immediately.” She offered an explanation without the lieutenant even needing to ask.

“I’ll put you through right away captain!”

Silence.

There was an audible click and a very gruff, overbearing voice could be heard, “Joseph told me of your special knowledge of the situation. You have my attention Lady Reina. Tell me everything you know.”

“Well sir,” She tried to find the most concise way to say it, “sir it appears that the Domonisi was commandeered by a group of hostiles. The man I spoke to did not sound like a Eurydian captain. When we attempted to stop the ship we were fired upon. I can only assume that they mean to harm the Emperor if they showed such reckless abandon toward us.”

On the other side of the line, Antonidus nodded slowly, “Understood captain, the entirety of the Royal Navy as well as the Terminus are being recalled as we speak to combat this potential threat. I fear though that if word of this attack leaks out it will send Eurydice into a complete and utter state of turmoil. We must keep this incident hushed for as long as possible.”

“I understand sir.”

“Good, I’d like you to help in coordinating our forces. I’m sure your expertise with the attackers, albeit limited, is valuable. I’m going to contact all friendly nations and ask for assistance in this matter. Since we don’t yet know the extent of the threat posed by these people, I’m going to assume the worst.”

“Yes sir. You can count on me.” Reina said smartly.

“Good. Antonidus out.”

(OOC: Instead of writing out some funky diplomatic cry for help... I’ll just leave this as enough of a suggestion that others may join. The dark forces won't be calling for help until Cador finds the throne room, so if anyone wants to join their side, they'll have to wait a bit longer.)

____________________________________________________________________________

Now what way was it again? Left down the long corridor, right, then down the stairs? Or left down the short corridor, right down a long corridor, then down the stairs? No matter how many times Icarus turned it over in his head, he couldn’t remember the quickest way to the bottom floor of the Palace Rigard. This was mostly due to the fact that he was gripped with a sort of fear that usually accompanied a caged animal. All around in the palace he could hear screams of horror, shouts of terror, and plenty more disconcerting sounds. He was to distracted to remember anything right now.

On an even lower note, Icarus and Alex had yet to run into a single Royal Guardsman. They were alone in a darkened hallway with no protection. Samson would not be pleased.

Icarus and Alex rested after running in circles for quite a while. “I”m afraid I have no clue where we are. This place is like a maze to me with all this... going on.”

Alex was slightly winded, so he simply nodded in agreement. Suddenly his head shot up, “Do you hear that?” The dull patter of footsteps could be heard, “They’ve found us! The Royal Guard is here!”

“Quiet son!” Icarus whispered harshly, “We don’t know who they are yet. They could very well be the cause of all this commotion.” He looked around, then found a darkened corner of the hallway, “Come on, we’ll hide here until we know who they are.” It was a wise choice.

In actuality, the ‘patter’ of footsteps was a dead on run. A single Guardsman was being chased by two attackers. Whether it could be called cowardly to run from two beasts twice the size of you or not it cant be determined. What can be determined is the exact spot in which the two brutish orcs caught up with the poor soldier. The man was felled by a single swipe of the sword -which he never saw coming- and within an instant his head had separated from the rest of his body. The body itself fell lazily downward in the same direction the man was running, while the head shot off in the opposite direction. The exact spot where the man was killed coincided with Icarus’s makeshift cover..

After the man’s death, the orcs continued to thunder through the hall, a sort of bloodlust had overtaken them. One could say that the guard actually did save Icarus and Alex by distracting the orcs as they passed. It was a sacrafice that would be etched into Alex’s memory forever.

Icarus jumped up as soon as the orcs were out of sight, “Quickly now, we must run!”

Perhaps the carnage had jogged the emperor’s memory, for he instantly found the twisting path to the first floor. People were running out of the main archway like bats out of hell. A few noticed the emperor in their mad dash for freedom, and they ushered him along toward the exit. The sun was shining through the archway, creating a jutting ray of light that bathed the entirety of the Rigard Lobby. They had made it out!

Quite suddenly, things completely changed. Gigantic, metallic doors started sealing off all points of entry. Windows, doors, everything was subject to this lockdown. The emperor and his son were just moments from escaping when the archway was blocked by a two foot thick metal door. The security system that had been put in place to keep intruders out now acted as a cage with which to imprison those still within the Palace Rigard. Icarus and Alex were officially... trapped.

“Sir, the entire palace has been closed off.”

Meleagent -as well as roughly 5 other soldiers- sat within the Security Control Room. From there they could watch almost every corner of the palace, as well as initiate lockdown procedures, as they had just done moments before. It was a small room surrounded on all sides by screens. “Good, good. The fools had no clue! We shut the doors on them and now they’re really fucked!” His elation was unusual and apparent. “Well, I need to join Cador and Nightmare in their search for the throne room.” He looked to a familiar face, “Scrag, you’re in charge of security.” His eyes lit up, then he nodded smartly, “First, I’d like you to round up all of the people still within the palace. Bring them all to the throne room, once we find it that is. Second, set up patrols along all major hallways and heavily used areas. I’m sure their government is well aware of our activity, so keep a close watch. No surprises Scrag.”

“No surprises my lord.” Scrag was a competent soldier who had more experience than anyone else, save the three Dark Lords.

Meleagent walked through a darkened hallway toward Cador and Nightmare’s last known coordinates. There was something about this place that made a man feel small. Even Meleagent felt like a bug against the backdrop of the Palace Rigard. The hallway stretched forever, and before long he even wondered if this palace was on the same astral plane as the rest of the universe, “Nothing could be this long... how much further is it?” Before long his question had been answered.

“Glad to see you join us Meleagent. I hope the security issues are taken care of...” Cador didn’t even turn to address him.

“Very taken care of. Scrag is overseeing operations in that department.”

“Scrag,” Cador said quietly, “Just who I would have chosen. Good work Meleagent.” Meleagent smiled weakly. A compliment from the Death Knight was an uncommon occurrence. “Lets move faster, I feel as though the throne room is close.” The lights along the corridor intensified, and soon all of the 15 warriors of darkness were bathed in an artificial glow. Cador was on such an intense search that he almost passed the large doors leading into the throne room. Meleagent had to stop him and redirect him toward the burly, oaken doors.

“This is it!” Cador shouted, and with a slight grunt he pushed the doors apart. The lights automatically came on as the group stepped into the large hall. In the center was a throne chair carved out of solid rock. It was surrounded by nothing, save a marble floor and red carpet that stretched from the hall doors to the chair itself. There were marble pillars lining the edge of the hall, with long rows of chairs placed betweent them. This hall could seat roughly 101.

Cador approached the seat. He was ecstatic. He could hardly believe that they had captured the palace so easily. “I know you are watching Uther, and so I give you my word as your servant that the universe will know your name once more! Your name shall be feared like nothing before!” He turned on his heels, and slowly descended into the throne chair. He immediately felt the powers of Keer and Uther coursing through his veins. Meleagent and Nightmare knelt before the Death Knight, and the other soldiers quickly followed suit. At that moment, Cador ruled over all of Eurydice.
____________________________________________________________________________

An emergency meeting had been called. Admiral Antonidus, Sky Admiral Beowulf, as well as John Guilder, Arthur Guilder, and Reamus Kastor. Everyone, save Antonidus, had holographic avatars representing them. As you know Antonidus ran the Eurydian Border Network. Admiral Beowulf commanded the Royal Navy from the new Command Dreadnought, Terminus. John was the Foreign Affairs Minister, and Arthur was head of The Farstation (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=99213&highlight=). Reamus Kastor was the head of the most powerful house within Eurydice. It was his fleet that watched over Eurydice, and so it was his Septum Monitor that crashed into the Palace Rigard. He was the loudest of all in attendance.

“What I’d like to know is how in the hell did this happen?!”

“There was no way of knowing that the monitor had been commandeered. Our forces did the best they could.” Antonidus knew the answer would not be sufficient.

“So you’re telling me a military grade ship was captured by an old and decrepit freighter, and your forces did the best they could? It appears as though the EBN failed in its entirety.”

Antonidus could not deny that.

Beowulf chirped in, “What I’d like to know is why our Lance Cannon’s didn’t shoot the ship down once it had entered the atmosphere. The HORDS system did its job, but our Lance Cannons weren’t even warmed up, or so the report says.”

Antonidus again answered, “They didn’t know the Domonisi was hostile. It was either they fire on a possibly friendly ship, or they don’t shoot and wait to see what the situation was all about. The L-Cannon System does not follow a policy of ‘shoot first, ask questions later,’ thankfully.”

Reamus was outraged, “So we have a 300 meter long starship buried within the palace itself, and you say, ‘thankfully?’ The Emperor and his son have been captured and you say, ‘thankfully they didn’t shoot it down?’”

John shook his head, “He means to say that if they shot at everything that looked suspicious there’d be more death and destruction than what the Domonisi has already caused.”

“Exactly,” Antonidus said. He nodded to John, who in turn nodded back.

“I don’t care what he meant!” Reamus shouted, “We need to know what we’re doing now! How are we going to protect the Emperor?”

“I believe,” Beowulf started, “We need to wait and see what exactly these attackers want. If they do indeed have the Emperor we can’t just storm in and retake the Palace Rigard.”

“We can’t just sit around argueing,” John said, “For all we know they mean to kill the Emperor.” John thought for a moment, “Perhaps we could call upon SOCOR to handle the job.”

Antonidus’s eyes shot open, “Yes! I was just about to mention that myself. Special Operations Corps has already been briefed of the situation and they volunteered to infiltrate the palace and rescue whoever they could.”

Reamus eyed the Admiral skeptically, “And you think they can do it without getting everyone within the palace killed?”

“As John said, ‘We can’t just sit around.’ SOCOR is the most highly trained force within the Republic. They’ve rescued more people then you know, and all of it has been done without even the public getting wind of it. They have a 97% mission success rate.”

Reamus understood numbers well. He had built his family up to what it was, and anything at 97% was good. “All right,” he said, “It sounds good enough for me. Get in touch with SOCOR and tell them to work quickly. Also, I think we should all be kept informed of the situation. We should be directly linked with whoever goes in there, as well as any command staff coordinating the operation.”

Everyone nodded. “All right, SOCOR will commence the operation shortly.” Antonidus left the table. He had work to do.

It had been only one half of an hour since the Domonisi had been captured.

The entirety of the Eurydian Royal Navy sat in standard orbit of its home world. Just over 300 ships of varying sizes: Star Dreadnoughts, Intari War Cruisers, Reakor Frigates, Septum Monitors, Fury Battle Platforms, and the single Command Dreadnought. The show of force was pretty much useless, the entire situation was unfolding on the surface. Still, it comforted Admiral Antonidus to know that he had enough firepower to pretty much handle anything. Though he was an older, wiser man he still was shaken by the events that had unfolded thus far.

The Admiral had been looking over reports coming from police and fire stations concerning the crash of the Domonisi. Local military, as well as the aforementioned departments had already set up a perimeter around the Palace Rigard. Communications into and out of the city had been cut off, word of the crash couldn’t spread. Road blocks were set up, news choppers downed, and a state of marshal law was instituted within Eurydice’s capital city. Antonidus knew these measures wouldn’t stem the tide forever, but at least it gave him time.

Antonidus was startled by a ring. “Hello?” He said. The man on the other line was from SOCOR. “Yes commander, you’ve been given the go ahead. Blueprints of the palace are being recovered as we speak. There are countless, secret entrances not covered by the defense system that the palace uses. Your men should find one of them easily with the map. All right commander, keep in touch.”

He hung up the phone. A sigh escaped his lips and he wondered how long it would actually take to accomplish this mission.

OOC:
Very good read! I have been tagging along with the reading. I am just waiting until I could bring in my character, that is why I have not posted more.

For those reading, if you have not read it all, then you better get a move on it. It is long, but worth it. The quality of the posts are very good. It is well written and interesting!

:D

ICE Assassin had been drafted by SOCOR over 7 years ago. During the infamous Sky City Riots the SOCOR unit stationed there was completely overwhelmed. They ordered “all able bodied citizens loyal to the Republic” to report to General Military and SOCOR HQ. ICE reported for duty –since he was loyal to the Republic- and was immediately given a “crash course training regiment” and assigned to a riot suppression taskforce. This part of SOCOR didn’t really deal with stealth all that much, but ICE displayed courage and quick thinking during his involvement in the Sky City Riots. For his efforts he was offered a position in the higher echelon of SOCOR itself, and he gratefully accepted. Over the next months ICE was pushed to his limits during SOCOR training. Somehow, with no prior military experience save the Riots, ICE managed to impress his superiors. He was a natural with a weapon and extremely intelligent. He was assigned to “Virgo Element,” the most highly secretive and professional of the various SOCOR taskforces. The years passed and eventually he came to command an “ Ops. Team” of his own.

Now as you may have guessed his original name wasn’t ICE Assassin. Every soldier within SOCOR has a call sign. They give up their real names and replace it with an untraceable one. ICE’s original name can’t be given out, lest enemy forces trace it back to those he loves. The other soldiers under his command, three to be exact, have names just as strange. First there’s BIGGS. He’s a veteran Virgo who has been with ICE for roughly two years. He’s just as smart as his friend, but seems to like being told what to do. It’s this indecisive part to his personality that has kept him from getting a team of his own. Next we have DRAKE. DRAKE is a hotshot, there’s no denying that. Just recently assigned to ICE’s Team, DRAKE still has a bit of trouble respecting authority. If it weren’t for his dead on aim, he wouldn’t be anywhere close to Virgo Element. He is a capable rookie. Finally, we have HOBB. He’s a quiet, but strong willed man who shoots like he talks –only when he needs to. Very professional in the way he approaches his work; HOBB is the ideal SOCOR soldier.

These four soldiers had been chosen to execute a rescue operation aiming at infiltrating Rigard Palace, neutralizing any hostiles, and safely extracting any and all prisoners. This was a routine mission, save for the fact that they were rescuing Emperor Traiden. Even with their experience, ICE and his Ops. Team was jittery. Sitting silently within a small van, the anticipation could have been cut with a knife.

Ops. Team was suited up in Urban Assault gear, and so it was mostly metallic/concrete colored camo with darker hues mixed in. Their face paint matched their uniforms, and their uniform was rounded out with a sturdy helmet and black combat boots. The rest was pretty standard for a Special Ops. Soldier.

The van in which the team was sitting in was surrounded by chaos. A perimeter had been set up around the Palace and it basically consisted of thousands of police officers running around or standing around. No one, save the Ops. Team itself knew what was going on. A small disc was being played for them; it laid out the basic mission plan.

The mans voice was a mundane one:

Greetings Team, hope you are all in good health. Here are the particulars on your mission. You’ll be inserting just outside of the palace gate. From there you’ll need to infiltrate through the sewer system. Once you’ve managed to enter the palace you need to eliminate all enemies in the immediate area without being seen by the security cameras. After that take the security room itself. It will be heavily guarded, so watch yourselves while completing that objective. We don’t want you disabling the Lockdown Mechanism right away; doing so would tip off every enemy there. Once the security room has been taken you can move onto the primary objective. You must secure any prisoners quickly and quietly. Once you have secured them your team can then turn off the lockdown from the security room and escape through the main door. Police will be there to greet you when you exit.

It was straightforward enough, ICE had heard those same objectives mentioned countless times before. “All right guys,” he said coolly, “This operation’s going to be simple. Don’t think about who you’re trying to rescue, just think about the mission.” BIGGS, DRAKE, and HOBB nodded in unison. “Even though it’s evening and there’s still plenty of light out it’s going to be extremely dark in certain areas of the palace. They’ll be monitoring us from outside of the palace gate but we could still get lost very easily. Just stick close to your partner and nothing will happen.” Again they nodded. ICE sighed, “Right, let’s move out.”

You may come out now, I have returned.

Cador’s message was simple, but definitely effective. Every creature in the entire universe loyal to Uther would respond, regardless of how long they’ve been sleeping. It wasn’t so much what Cador said, but the fact that the Dread Legion was receiving a message at all. They would find out where it was coming from and then descend on that location. Cador had other plans concerning that.

The rest of the people situated within the throne room looked either bored or frightened. Upon Meleagent’s orders, Scrag had rounded up all people still within the palace. They now sat in the throne room, huddled together like newborn birds. Among them were Icarus and Alex, but none of the Dark Lords had any clue who they were. In fact, Nightmare was about to conduct a “search” of the prisoners to find out which one was the Emperor.

“How long must we wait before our forces respond?” Meleagent sat on one of the stone benches.

Cador sighed, “It shouldn’t be to long. I assume they are already stirring.”

Meleagent nodded, “Good. So we just sit here until then?”

“Yes.”

A smirk crept upon Meleagent’s face, insinuating a response of, “How quaint.” He stood and walked toward Nightmare, who was propped against Kreigoth. “Tell me, which one do you think is their leader? We know he’s among them, why else would they have thousands of soldiers waiting outside?”

Nightmare eyed each of the prisoners with equal interest, but he couldn’t tell. “Meleagent, perhaps we could use one of the oldest tricks in the book.”

“A good idea, which one should be the first?”

Nightmare walked over and grabbed a man from the crowd. He pulled him a few feet away, then dropped him to his knees. Nightmare knelt down and looked eye-to-eye with the man, “Tell me, who among you is the Emperor?” The man stared, but didn’t respond. “Perhaps your hearing is flawed,” Nightmare said, raising his voice, “I’ll say it again, Which one among you is the Emperor?”

Silence.

Nightmare stood and addressed the entire group, “If he won’t tell me, perhaps one of you will. If someone doesn’t tell me who the Emperor is, this man will die.” Traiden’s eyes opened slightly. The man Nightmare talked to before turned to face his comrades, “Don’t tell him who the Emperor is, the Republic will surely fall if they hold the Emperor hostage.”

Nightmare motioned to Meleagent, “Kill him now.”

As Meleagent drew his sword, a boy’s voice cried out, "No! You mustn’t. He’s my father!!”

Nightmare smiled, “He’s already sealed his fate, you can just hope to save the next one.”

Icarus Traiden remained still; he knew what he had to do. If they knew who exactly he was, they could hold the entire Eurydian Republic hostage. This was the only way.

Meleagent approached the man, who looked solemnly toward the ground. He lifted the sword over his head, then brought it swiftly down against the man’s neck.

All at once the crowd erupted into shouts and cries. Above it all the boy’s voice could be heard, “No! You bastards! You… you murderers! How could you have done such a thing? My father...” The boy stopped shouting and wept. His name was Alexander Traiden.

“Enemy spotted.”

The Ops. Team stopped in its tracks and pressed themselves -in unison- against the wall. The blackness enveloped them and they vanished. “Hold your fire.” In addition to the verbal command, ICE motioned with his right hand. The four men crouched there as the guard walked nonchalantly around the corner.

They had an easy time making it into the palace. The sewer system was protected by a simple metal grate which the Ops. Team cut through easily with a portable torch. They were now on the 1st floor, 3 floors below their final destination.

ICE signaled, “Hold position” and the three nodded. ICE then slowly crept forward; the silence was nerve-wracking. He pulled his small utility knife from its holster and gripped it tightly in his left hand. ICE was just two feet from the brutish man when he struck. He leapt forward and slit the guard’s throat in one motion. The guard let out the remnants of a scream –a gurgle-gurgle if you will- and collapsed to the floor. ICE grabbed the body and pulled it back into the darkness. He motioned for his team to follow and they did so. That same sequence of events continued as they made their way toward the stairs. They had neutralized roughly 5 guards by the time they were on the second floor.

The lights were on their highest setting and it made ICE very uncomfortable. There was no way they’d be able t o use stealth. He ordered his team into a small room. “Well it seems our only advantage has been blown to hell.” ICE whispered.

BIGGS nodded, “If we get spotted now it’s gonna be all over. If all we have is the hallways to work with they’ll see us for sure.”

“Right,” ICE said, “We need to either turn out the lights or bypass the hallway.”

DRAKE chirped in, “Well, what about taking the elevator?” ICE, BIGGS, and HOBB stared at him with a blank expression. DRAKE shrugged.

BIGGS patted DRAKE on the shoulder, “Don’t worry, you’ll come up with a good idea one of these days.”

ICE looked at both of them, “Guys, this is no time for jokes. What are we going to do?”

“I think DRAKE did have a good idea.” HOBB said quietly.

“Lets hear it,” ICE said.

“Well, I’m sure one of these adjacent rooms must have a dumbwaiter. If we aren’t too fat we can crawl up to the fourth floor using that.”

ICE shook his head slowly, “I don’t know, that seems a bit risky. If we get stuck, or drop our guns we’ll tip off every guard in the palace.”

“Shit ICE,” BIGGS responded, “If there’s no chance of us making it to the stairs and there’s no other way around, I think HOBB has the winning idea.”

There was a moment of silence as they all thought it over. ICE spoke first, “All right, it seems there’s no other alternative. We’ll use HOBB’s idea.”

HOBB nodded, “You should give DRAKE the credit, he came up with it.”

“Whatever,” ICE said, “We’re wasting time.”

The four slowly crept out of the room and into the one across the hall. After a quick inspection no dumbwaiter was found. The next room proved much more fruitful. Even though the room hadn’t been used in years –the abundance of white sheets covering everything being an indication- the small dumbwaiter was no worse for wear. ICE opened the door and poked his head in. A quick search with the flashlight yielded everything ICE needed to know. The dumbwaiter was actually much larger than ICE had anticipated. It could easily accommodate a man, as opposed to its usual ferrying of fine cuisine. “All right, we need to maintain absolute silence. I’ll go up first. Don’t start up the shaft until I’ve made it out. Same goes for the next guy.”

They nodded and ICE slowly crawled into the dumbwaiter shaft. He climbed slowly, careful not to knock his weapon against the sides. The walls were extremely greasy and ICE would slide down a bit every time he moved. He reached the 3rd floor dumbwaiter door; small slits of light illuminated the shaft. He rested there momentarily before continuing. After another minute or so he reached the 4th floor. He slowly opened the door. ICE was momentarily surprised to find the kitchen, but then his memory of the Palace blueprints reminded him that that was where the kitchen was supposed to be. He climbed a short ways above the door and slid through, feet first. He landed and immediately drew his gun. The room was silent except for a small pot boiling on the stove. ICE knew they were in trouble.

The pot wasn’t boiling over, so it had been placed there recently. One of the attackers was making himself dinner. Within moments BIGGS jumped out of the dumbwaiter, startling ICE. He looked to his friend, “We might have company here real soon.”

BIGGS eyed the steaming pot, “Well, if he’s here to check on some grub I doubt he’ll be expecting us. I say we stay behind the door and take him out as he comes in.”

ICE nodded, “Just what I had in mind.” Slowly DRAKE and HOBB made there way toward the kitchen, and eventually the entire Ops. Team was reunited. Their darkened camo contrasted the bare whiteness of the kitchen. ICE felt exposed. They took up positions against the wall on the same side the door would swing. With any luck the guard won’t look behind him and it will be an easy kill.

“Shut up Grogoth, I made this food for myself. Stay in your position and I may bring some back for you.” The brutish orc made his way into the kitchen. His eyes were fixed on the pot. He was almost to his boiling dinner when 1 silenced round pierced his skull.

Meleagent stood over the dead man; blood dripped slowly off of his sword. Around him people cried and howled. Meleagent had never seen a response like this from a crowd of prisoners. He kneeled, wiping the blade off on the mans shirt as he whispered, “Rest easy at The Well of Turoth.” Meleagent then stood, sheathed his sword, and walked to his comrade, Nightmare. “What do you think all of this crying is about?”

“I can’t be sure. Perhaps death is foreign to them. Either that or we killed someone they all love.”

“Perhaps. Let’s ask the boy.” Meleagent walked to Alexander who had his face buried in his hands. “Tell me, who was that man?”

A nearby prisoner overheard the question, “He was a great man. He was…”

Alex lifted his head and cut the other man’s words short, “…nobody! He was just my father and you killed him!”

“Well I had to. I gave you fair warning, but all of you sat silent in defiance.” Meleagent’s eyes shifted to other members of the small group. “Now look at all of you, weeping and sobbing like children. Take responsibility for your actions damn it! All of you killed him, not me. I may have swung the blade that felled him but it was all of you that said nothing.” Meleagent stood. He wore an expression of disgust, “You should all be proud that he died for your pitiful Emperor the way he did. I saw his eyes, there was no fear in them.”

Meleagent’s words stifled the crowd’s tears. Silence filled the room. Nightmare approached Meleagent, “So, shall we kill another?”

“I have no stomach for death right now. They all make me sick. I don’t think any of them will talk, even when threatened with death. I say we just leave them be for now. Let them wallow in their own self pity.” Meleagent shook his head and walked away.

Nightmare hefted Kreigoth with his right hand. He brought it crashing down inches from Alexander. The boy jumped back and he was embraced by one of the other captives. Nightmare laughed, “Not so tough anymore are we? I dare you to shout at me boy! If you had spoken to me like that you’d be torn to pieces! Meleagent’s heart may still beat but mine is as dead as your father’s. ” He waited for a response from Alex, but got none. He shrugged and looked to the others, “All right then. C’mon, who wants to…”

“Stop Nightmare,” Cador’s voice echoed through the hall, “Leave them all alone for now. Soon you’ll be able to torture them to our heart’s content. Until then you must leave all of them unharmed.”

Nightmare sighed and picked Kreigoth up off the ground, “Fine, fine. You’re all lucky. Although, the Death Knight has something in store for all of you, so I don’t know how lucky you are. Perhaps in the long run you’ll wish you’d been slaughtered by me. After all, Kreigoth makes it quick and easy.” He strolled away laughing. The cackle could have shattered glass.

*tag, per not enough free time right now*

ICE looked around nervously. The brute made a louder thud then he had anticipated. Perhaps other guards would come to investigate. His team didn’t have time for mistakes. There was blood all over the white tiled wall of the kitchen so disposing of the body was pointless. ICE slowly made his way to the “swing style” door. He peered through a small crack. Nothing.

He kept his eye on the hallway as he spoke. “All right. The security room is just about 20 ft away. If we can secure that without alerting everyone in the palace we’re set.” ICE glanced to the downed orc, “These guys don’t look like your everyday terrorist. I’d be extremely careful if things degenerate into close quarters combat; they’re probably better fighters than we are. It doesn’t look like they have any firearms, so if you just stay back and pick them off you shouldn’t run into trouble.” He let the words sink in for a moment.

He pushed open the door slowly, light from the kitchen spilled into the darkened hallway. The Ops. Team quickly exited, slowly closing the door behind them. There were no guards in the immediate area. Most were probably located on the 2nd and 3rd floor; who would manage to make it to the 4th when you have 30 brutes to contend with? On the other hand, ICE knew there was at least one patrolling the hallway (The now dead orc talked to someone). He couldn’t be found.

Soon the four sat outside of the door leading to the Security Room. “So, you think this calls for a Base Grenade?” Even though ICE knew everything there is to know about Special Opserations he usually conferred with the rest of his team.

“I’d say so. It’s pretty much standard issue,” BIGGS said.

“Right. BIGGS you’ll open and throw, I’ll guard, DRAKE will lead. Any questions?” Their silence answered. “All right, lets move.” They nodded and got into position. BIGGS pulled the pin on the extremely volatile grenade. He slowly opened the door to the security room. The clearance was next to nothing, but he still managed to thread the needle. BIGGS then slammed the door shut and within moments screams could be heard from within the room.

Now the Base Grenade is a simple, but effective warfare tool. It basically sends out a sheet of the most basic substance known to Eurydians in all directions as it explodes. After ten seconds a slow reacting acidic substance neutralizes the basic substance, returning it to safe ph levels. Basically the grenade melts away anything organic within its blast radius.

The ten seconds passed quickly, but they seemed like an eternity to DRAKE. He sat there, eyes fixed on the door. There probably wouldn’t be anybody left on the other side, but then again these weren’t your average soldiers. DRAKE had counted a full ten when BIGGS reached for the door handle. He pulled it down and pushed the door open. DRAKE rushed in and was met by a half liquefied fist to the chest. He went flying back into the hallway, hitting the wall with a dull thud. ICE Ice fired a few rounds, dropping the orc that had managed to survive. He gave BIGGS and HOBB the order to clear the room.

ICE rushed to DRAKES side. The young soldier had trouble breathing. ICE quickly dragged DRAKE out of the hallway and into the Security Room. He shut the door and turned to his friend, “Just take slow breaths for now. I’m pretty sure the guy broke a few of your ribs.”

BIGGS knelt beside DRAKE and ICE, “Is he gonna be all right?”

DRAKE’s panting had subsided, but he still wasn’t in much of a position to say anything. ICE answered. “He’ll be fine if his ribs didn’t puncture a lung or anything. We can’t do much for him right now; we’ll need to get him out and into a hospital as soon as possible.”

DRAKE managed to regain his breath, but it was a laborious effort for him to speak, “I’ll be all right. You guys can just leave me here and complete the mission.”

ICE nodded, “We need you to turn off the lockdown. You stay put here and listen for my order. Once you do that we’ll be by to pick you up.”

DRAKE nodded. HOBB, who was fiddling with the computer controls, called out to them, “It looks as though the computer program is still intact.” He pointed to a small red button, “DRAKE, just press this button to turn off the lockdown.”

DRAKE nodded and motioned to a chair next to the aforementioned computer, “Help me up into that chair guys. I won’t be able to press anything here on the floor.”

(OOC: That took forever to write. Not very good either.)

You may come out now, I have returned.

The figure in the dark abyss snapped fully awake.

"It has begun," the voice whispered to itself. The figure moved through the darkness.

Some time later, the figure awaited in the shadows watching the scene between Meleagent, Alexander, Nightmare, and Cador. She was sure that Cador would have picked up her negative aura, which she did not bother disguising.

As Nightmare strolled away, the figure stepped out of the shadow.

"You called Cador," a sweet innocent childlike voice of a woman called out.

http://www.angelfire.com/ky/Lunicorn/evil/bw1.jpg
A picture of Eve, the character I will be using.

Tag :!:

8)

OOC:
Sorry, I have been away and have not gotten to post much of anything. Sorry, my quality of posting is not that good. Please bare with me until I get back into the groove of things. I have been very inactive (for me at least) these past weeks and I am just getting a hand on everything now.

OOC: Quite all right. We all are a bit rusty sometimes.

IC: Alexander had started sobbing again. He wasn’t sure why his father had sacrificed himself like that. Then again, Alex wasn’t sure why any of this was happening. It was too surreal for his young mind to handle.

Meleagent didn’t care too much for the boy’s crying, but he figured the lad was entitled to a moment of peace. Nightmare had done a number on him a moment before and Meleagent wasn’t inclined to make things worse. His eyes stared into a shadow. He’d never been one of those “evil” beings who liked darkness. He was accustomed to both brightness and darkness. What intrigued him was the fact that the darkness in question seemed to move. It appeared as though he were staring into a pair of eyes. Perhaps…

“What the hell!?” Meleagent said suddenly, “Show yourself!” Meleagent pulled his sword and pointed toward the darkness.

The being, a woman, slowly emerged from the darkness, ignoring Meleagent’s order and addressing the Death Knight himself, “You called Cador?”

Meleagent didn’t care for the disrespect shown by the woman, and he felt like calling out to her once more. Nightmare simply snickered; he found Meleagent’s ineffectiveness at giving an order quite amusing.

“Welcome to Rigard Palace my lady.” Cador said. He stood, his full 7’8” height giving off a sense of supreme power. He spread out his arms as he spoke, “Please, make yourself comfortable.” He looked to the felled man whose head stared blankly back. The pool of blood now covered the surrounding area. “Forgive the mess. Meleagent and Nightmare were testing a few… theories as to who the Emperor of Rigard is.”

Cador took his seat once more. Meleagent noticed that the Death Knight wasn’t readily concerned by the woman’s presence, so he replaced his sword into its scabbard. He folded his arms. Meleagent still wasn’t sure who this lady was and why she was here. He addressed her with a small drip of skepticism, “Quite an impressive feat my lady, arriving through complete and utter darkness. Pray tell, what is your name?”

The lady smiled.

"Name...oh that sounds familiar! Let me see...that is what that lady called me."

She stood for a moment, her smile fading as she contemplated. She had never been called anything but the Lady before she met that one girl. That one girl gave her a name before!

"Oh! I remember. I believe it was Eve. Yes, Eve it was. That is what she called me...Eve, that is my name."

She smiled again and slowly crept over to Cador.

"Thank you my Dark Lord. Ah, such a lovely place," she said slowly walking around the dark red puddles of blood. She heard crying from a live body; a body that of a boy.

She crept over to him and stooped, her dress spreading out like a puddle of dark water as she stooped, while part of dipped itself into a puddle of blood she tried to avoid.

The boy looked up in curosity and quick put down his face in remorse. He was terribly shaken from the events, this she could see. She lifted his head, their eyes interlocked. Her gaze, enigmatic and mysterious looked on his, lament and frightened.

"This boy has spirit," she said, slowly releasing his face. His fight is not over yet.

She stood up again; the boy bewildered and confused. He looked with cynacism as this odd lady, as she paced slowly and silently back to Cador.

"My Lord, is there anything you would like me to do?"

She spoke silently and innocently.

OOC:
I am sorry I played your character. It is a tendency of me to sometimes play people's characters when I am posting. I blame my region, because back home you have to play one another's characters, and you must understand them all to play them. They hate me for that because I have so many characters that I avidly use and it confuses them because I am always pulling in new ones.

My favorite characters of mine are Der Fuhrer Dyszel, Mathias Bortniansky (a man who can not speak at all, so fun to play him), and Eve (because she is so fickle, childlike, and unpredictable).

“What can you do for me?” Cador turned the question over in his head. He tapped the stone armrest of his throne, which was surprisingly warm considering it was composed of solid rock.

Nightmare slowly approached the girl from behind. He was sure she knew he was coming; he made no attempt to hide his movements. “Quite the pretty thing we have here, eh Cador?” He shifted his burning eyes to the Death Knight. Nightmare slowly paced around Eve, sizing her up. “I would think she wasn’t from the Dread Legion at all. Something this beautiful couldn’t be this… wretched.” He grinned from behind the helm. A slight snicker escaped his lips. “Just look at me, I’m about as foul as they come. Surely something this beautiful couldn’t have spawned from the vile origins as same as I?”

Cador shook his head –or skull rather, “Stop undressing her with your eyes… you’re creeping her out.” Nightmare laughed. He hefted Kreigoth over his shoulder and nonchalantly walked away. Nightmare took a seat next to Meleagent on a long bench. “My fare Eve, Nightmare does have a point. You don’t seem to be Dread Legion material. I wonder, where do you come from?”
_________________________________________________

ICE and the remnants of his team slowly made their way down another long, darkened hallway. With DRAKE out of commission the Ops. Team was reduced to 3. ICE hoped there wouldn’t be any more casualties. ICE recognized the corridor from the schematics given to him by Command; they were nearing the Throne Room. DRAKE chirped in over the comms. system; he could see the Ops. Team easily from the Security Room’s surveillance system. “Guys, it looks as though you’ll be coming up on a few armed guards and then the Throne Room itself. From what I see the prisoners are being held there.”

“Good, good. This will make things easier than I thought.” ICE paused for a moment. “Guards,” ICE said questioningly, “how many?”

“Hrmmm… I see three outside the door. The rest are on other levels of the palace.”

“All right, good work DRAKE.” ICE halted his team.

“Whats up?” BIGGS asked.

“Looks as though we have a last bit of company before we reach our objective: three guards outside of the Throne Room. Not to much trouble for us, eh?”

“Not at all,” BIGGS said, “I’ve been dying for some real action.”

HOBB smiled and shook his head. ICE did likewise, “Well,” he said, “you’ll get plenty of action here in a minute. Let’s go!”

A look of mild surprise filled Eve's face, as she was forced to recall where she came from.

"I do not remember," she giggled slightly. It has been so long that she had just wandered around that she has completely forgotten her past life and home.

She smiled some, "Oh, how looks could be deceiving," she more or less spoke the thought aloud.

Refocusing her attention, "So my lord, what is it you plan to do? I am here to help, although you may question it. Is there a task I should fulfill to prove my loyalty," she asked as she looked about the room slowly, taking in the surroundings as if they were made of solid gold.

Tag.

Whoa, long posts alert :wink:

Cador shook his head, “Your loyalty isn’t in question, my dear. I am merely curious.” The Death Knight felt a dark presence within Eve, which was all that mattered. He motioned for Nightmare and Meleagent to approach; they did so. Meleagent wore his usual expression of boredom on his face while Nightmare’s eyes burned with their never-ending intensity.

“You called, my lord?” Meleagent said.

“Yes,” Cador said, “I would like for you –when the Dread Legion arrives- to usher the prisoners through the Gate as quickly as possible. I feel as though we are wearing our welcome here on Rigard out rather quickly.”

Meleagent nodded, “Of course.”

“Are you frightened of these people Cador?” Nightmare asked.

“Hardly,” Cador said, “I merely think that we aren’t prepared to take Rigard yet. I’d rather secure the Hellspire, then Rigard.”

Nightmare nodded, “Good plan, sir.”

Cador turned to Eve, “Now, as for you. I would like for you…”

Suddenly, a small portion of the wall to the left of Cador slid out, revealing a darkened passageway. A man stepped out, sopping wet and shivering from cold. He stumbled further into the room, coming to rest on the hardened marble floor. The stones replaced themselves as quickly as they had vanished.

Samson.

Meleagent stared wide-eyed as the Lord Protector slowly picked himself up; it was as though he were seeing a ghost. “What… what are you doing here!?”

Samson’s face was battered and bruised; there were a few cuts across his right cheek. His cloak had vanished and his plate mail was covered in a thin veil of mud. It was clear he had fallen into water of some sort. “I’ve come here to finish you off, Meleagent. I’ve lived so you could die!”

Nightmare chuckled, “I don’t believe this!”

“How did you survive the fall?” Meleagent asked grimly.

Samson closed his eyes briefly, bringing the events fresh to mind. “I landed in an unused portion of the Palace, a room probably filled with about 2 feet of water. It wasn’t enough to break my fall completely, but I did manage to survive.”

By this time Alexander Traiden recognized the voice he heard. He lifted his head from his hands, eyes widening involuntarily, “Samson!” Alex jumped up in an attempt to run to his side.

Nightmare caught Alex as he ran past. He lifted the boy off the ground with his right hand, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Let go of me!”

Nightmare laughed, “Come on, don’t give me a reason to kill you.” He looked to Eve, who seemed to be minding her own business, “Here, take him.”

Alex struggled to break free, but was contained by the combined efforts of Nightmare and Eve.

Meleagent approached Samson, drawing his sword, “Well old man, you are more resilient than I anticipated. I was careless in letting you plunge into darkness. I should have followed and finished you off.”

Samson wavered for a moment, drawing his own sword, “Indeed you should have followed me. In the darkness I found true bliss for a time. I was lucky to find a way out. It’s even more wonderful that the passageway led strait to this room. It’s fate my friend, plain and simple.”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Meleagent shouted, “There’s no chance you could defeat me. I almost destroyed you the first time… you wont be so lucky now.”

Samson nodded, “You’re probably right. I don’t care. See that boy over there,” he pointed to Alex, who was still struggling with Eve and Nightmare, “It’s my job to protect him, and so I shall.” Samson glanced to the fallen body of Icarus Traiden. He gritted his teeth, "I may have failed him, but Alex will live."

“You had better not fail me again, Meleagent.” Cador’s words felt cold. Meleagent knew he had better win.

“You have no need to worry, my lord. This man will be dealt with shortly.” Meleagent turned back to Samson and smiled wickedly, “Well my friend, it looks as though this little party needs to come to an end. The Dread Legion will be here shortly, Cador will take his seat on the throne of the Hellspire, and Rigard, nay the galaxy, will fall soon after.”

“You’re wrong Meleagent. Eurydice has no place for abominations like you. The Royal Navy will cut through your forces like a sharpened blade. This I assure you.”

“Shut up,” Meleagent said coolly, “Your Navy couldn’t stop our transport, how do you expect them to quell a darkened uprising the likes of which you’ve never seen?” Samson had no response. It was true, Cador and his forces had landed on Rigard Palace. How could they stop an army? Meleagent sighed and approached Samson slowly, “Come on, quit stalling. I don’t have much time.” Samson took a step forward and immediately fell to one knee, clutching the hilt of his sword as though he were about to fall to his death. “Look at you. You can’t even walk. How do you expect to defeat me?”

Samson looked up as Meleagent stood over him. Meleagent’s eyes showed a glimmer of pity, then contempt. He lifted his sword, ready to strike the Lord Protector down. Suddenly the Throne Room was filled with a brilliant white light. It sounded as though a thunderstorm from outside had infiltrated the palace itself. Meleagent whirled around to see what was making the noise, forgetting Samson completely. The white light fell in upon itself, the mass growing larger every moment. Slowly he realized what it was: a portal. A man –if you could call him that- slowly stepped through.

http://207.44.246.95/147/67/upload/p1004.jpg

The man took a step toward Cador and bowed, “My lord, your forces are ready. The Hellspire awaits.”

Eve grinned as she helped detain Alex.

"Hellspire," she thought. "Sounds interesting."

Eve smiled, as she took hold of the boy.

"Ah, such a cute little boy," she chanted, tantalizing the boy, angering him.

She locked her hold on him and continued to smile as if it were a game that she has mastered, but played childishly, taunting and toying with her opponents.

"Come now. You should not watch this little one," she half-witted spoke, making no attempt to block his view.

OOC:
If it takes me a long time to respond it is not because I lost interest, but because everytime I get on the forum acts up. I rarely get to make good posts anymore.

Two things happened at once.

First, Meleagent felt a slight twinge in the back of his leg; at the exact point where the plates of armor meet. He screamed in pain immedietly.

Second, an explosion blew the doors of the Throne Room inward, sending pieces of timber and stone everywhere.

Meleagent quickly shot a glance over his shoulder and saw one of Samson’s concealed daggers protruding from his leg. The blood spilt down over his darkened armor. Samson removed the knife coated with Meleagent’s blood and prepared to strike again. Meleagent was attempting to turn as Samson plunged the knife into his side, just under the breastplate. Again Meleagent screamed; his face was writhing. Even though Meleagent was in a great deal of pain and bleeding profusely (with a blade still stuck inside of him) he managed to gracefully hack at Samson with the butt of his sword. Meleagent lashed out at him repeatedly, finally subduing Samson. Samson collapsed to the floor; his head ridden with bruise marks. Meleagent grunted and ripped the blade from his side.

__________________________________________________

Cador and Nightmare had seen the commotion between Meleagent and Samson begin, but the ensuing explosion sent their senses spinning. Dust and smoke started filling the room, ruining any chance of seeing who the “invaders” were.

“Nightmare, Meleagent, Eve, We’re leaving.” Cador made his way toward the portal and motioned for a disoriented Nightmare to step through, forgetting that Nightmare couldn’t see anything but the brilliantly shining portal.

He shouted quickly from across the room, “But sir, what of the prisoners?”

“Bring them.” Cador looked to Eve, “I want the boy especially.”

__________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Meleagent was making final preparations to send Samson to The Well. Though unconscious, the Lord Protector still clutched his sword. Meleagent looked at the blade, admiring its craftsmanship for only a moment. “You fought well, I must admit that. I should never underestimate an opponent.” He smiled and prepared to thrust Samson’s dagger through his own heart. Meleagent lifted his hand; the muscles and sinew on his body were taut as a coiled spring. The blade fell.

__________________________________________________


One moment Nightmare was rounding up confused prisoners, the next he was under assault. Bullets sparked off his armor like fireflies; some penetrated into his disfigured flesh. He was enraged, forgetting his orders entirely and pursuing the man who had fired upon him. Kreigoth shifted from hand to hand as Nightmare sifted through the smoke.

Cador was worried; his brothers had been thrown into utter disarray by the smoke and shouting, “Nightmare, Meleagent, I want you through this portal immediately, forget the prisoners! I said come!”

Nightmare heard the Dark Lord, but his new objective had not changed. He was still following the dark man through the room. Bullets continued to bounce off harmlessly. Quite suddenly, he broke into a full on sprint, quickly overtaking the retreating SOCOR soldier. Kreigoth was lifted high into the air, an immense amount of leverage in Nightmare’s possession. The man tripped, and The Corruptor knew he had his prize. With one swift, deadly motion, the blade fell.

__________________________________________________

Samson moved with speed unknown to him for at least 20 years. As though he were the forces of lightning itself, Samson reached with his free arm, blocking the blades deadly progression. With the other he lifted his sword and plunged it through Meleagent’s neck. Blood spurt forth from the tender flesh, and Samson’s face was gleaming with crimson. It disgusted him, but the job was done. Meleagent recoiled immediately, a look of horror upon his face. He fell backward. As he landed on his butt he reached for the sword, his mouth and neck oozed blood slowly, an unending stream. He grabbed the blade with his strong hand, turned his head to the right slightly, and pulled the blade out.

The only noise he registered was a undecipherable gurgling sound. He did not scream as the blade came out; it was entirely possible he lost the ability to do so. The sword clattered to the floor, coming to rest alongside Samson’s dagger. Meleagent stumbled to his feet, clutched his neck with both hands, and ran towards the portal.

__________________________________________________

The three met simultaneously. As Cador was readying a stern lecture for Nightmare concerning his dereliction of duty Meleagent fell to his knees, his once vibrant features pale. “Oh my god!” Nightmare shouted, grabbing hold of his comrade, “What… happened?!”

Cador knelt as well, eyeing Meleagent's gaping wounds grimly, “He’s going to die if we don’t treat him soon. Quickly, there’s no time to find out what happened. We must make it through the portal.”

“What of the prisoners?” Nightmare asked

Cador’s response was quick, “There is no time, we must save him!”

A seemingly innocent bystander to the entire event, Zul’Ruen (the man who came through the portal) was quickly assigned to care for Meleagent. They made their way through the portal: Meleagent first, Nightmare second, Eve third, and Cador last.

All of the prisoners had been rescued by the Ops. Team.

OOC: I'm ready to kill this post... way to much of a hassle.

Amid the confusion of the fight, Eve smiled to herself, as the boy Alex struggled in her grasp.

“Bring them.” Cador looked to Eve, “I want the boy especially.”

She turned him around, his face looking at her, as she held him tightly.

"Who are you boy," her voice asked him, suddenly sounding seriously. "You must be pretty important to Lord Cador, if he wants you that bad."

He refused to answer her, confused on what she trying to get at. However, Eve had already gathered enough information already to guess that he was the heir to throne, or someone equally as high.

Her smiled reappeared on her face, but her voice remained serious, with a childlike manipulation entwined in it.

"Hellspire," she said aloud, seeming that she was speaking to herself (or was she). "We are going to Hellspire. Sounds interesting," her childlike voice innocent voice rang out.

She looked to boy again, her thoughts making no immediate plans. She looked around the room, everyone was in confusion, the fight was intense, and all were preparing to leave. Her subtle gaze gliding across the room, laid itself to rest on another boy. A boy who looked remarkably like the one within her grasp, which caused her to look down on him to reassure herself that he was still within her clench.

Her smile remained as she moved back into the shadow, out of everyone's sight, who were so focused on the confusion. She moved silently about working her way to this split image of Alex huddling in the corner.

"Hellspire," she spoke, again seemingly to herself, as she released the boy and snatched the other one. Alex remained in the shadows. Eve took notice that the look alike child's clothes and Alex's attire were quite similar, and that only hard scrutnizing would determine the differences. Perhaps, this was one of Alex's friends, if he had any, being the heir to throne and all. Or perhaps, it was just someone who admired him, and longed to be like him.

Eve withdrew to her former place clutching the new boy. She returned to her spot, and took notice that everyone was still in a state of chaos and that no one had noticed her loss of presence. At that moment, Cador looked over to her. She smiled, as she had smiled the entire night, something completely natural in that childlike "innocent" smile.

She watched them leave, Cador motioned for her to come quickly.

"Come Alex. We are going somewhere interesting," she songlike voice spoke to him. The boy struggled to break from her grasp in fear of this statement. He did not want to die and he thought that is what she ment.

"Leave me go," he called out.

She covered his mouth with her hand and pulled him vehemently toward the bright portal and thrust him in and went through herself, following behind Nightmare, while Cador followed behind her.

“You’ll be fine,” the voice said, calling out him. It couldn’t have been further from the truth. Alex Traiden sat in a crumpled state as soldiers and medical staff rushed around him. The dust had begun to clear and while it still coated most of the room he could make out the distinguished shapes of the prisoners and their rescuers. Alex’s blonde hair had been turned a dusty brown, as had everything else there.

The man, a soldier, who had spoken to him stood and started to confer with one of his comrade. They spoke as though Alex couldn’t hear them, “He looks a bit shaken. Do we know what happened yet?”

The man nodded, “It looks as though… Emperor Traiden is dead. We found Lord Protector Samson over there,” the man pointed in the proper direction, “he’d been beaten over the head pretty bad.”

“What about the other prisoners? Any injuries?”

“No,” the man said, “Probably just the usual mental stress associated with being taken hostage. Seeing the emperor die probably didn’t help either.” Upon hearing that, a single tear streamed down Alex’s face, ruining the fine layer of dust that coated it.

Across the room more tears were falling from the eyes of BIGGS. He was on his knees, huddled over his best friend, ICE. You could hardly recognize the mass of broken flesh as a man, but it was indeed the body of his friend. HOBB sat close by, just staring at the corpse with disbelieving eyes. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes given to him by one of the other soldiers. He carefully lit the tip and took a long drag before exhaling slowly.

“I don’t believe it,” BIGGS said between sobs, “He’s not supposed to die. He’s our commander. He’s our leader.”

HOBB looked to the body of Emperor Traiden, which was now being carefully laid upon a stretcher. “It looks like we lost two leaders today. I don’t know if the Republic will be same after this.”

BIGGS looked to HOBB, “You really think it’s over? You’re a dumb fuck if you think that!” His sadness turned to anger quickly, “Those bastards escaped! We have to go find them and make them pay for what they did to us! We failed in saving the Emperor, we can still take those who killed him down!”

“I suppose we will. Alexander…” he paused for a moment, realizing something for the first time, “…Emperor Traiden will most likely follow these guys to the end of the galaxy. They won’t get away, not from him or the Royal Navy.”

BIGGS nodded, slightly reassured, and looked back to his friend. Soon after that he too was loaded on a stretcher and carried out of the Palace.
___________________________________________________________

At the bottom of the steps, just outside of the palace, Admiral Antonidus met Alex. He had rushed there in hopes of conferring with Emperor Icarus Traiden on dealing with these terrorists. Now he would deal with Emperor Alexander Traiden. The boy, or man rather, still had a slightly dazed look as men and women scurried around him like frightened ants. After a few attempts Antonidus managed to rouse Alex’s attention. “Emperor, We have a problem.”

Alex looked up slowly. People are already calling me Emperor and my father hasn’t been dead an hour. You all make me sick. He felt like kicking Antonidus in the balls, but stood motionless on the concrete steps. “You don’t have my father’s murderer?”

“No,” Antonidus said flatly, “They transported to a ship that’s using some sort of cloaking device we’ve never seen before..”

“You’re telling me they’ve escaped?” Alex’s voice was low and unwavering.

“Yes, my lord.” He tried to soften the bad news. “But we have managed to calibrate our sensors to pick up the signature of these ships. We think it has something to do with their engine design. Anyways, we can follow them.”

Alex nodded, “Good, good. When do we leave to give chase?”

Antonidus smiled, “The ships are ready. If you like you may join Admiral Beowulf on the Terminus. He would enjoy your company.”

“Then ready the shuttle.” Alex and Antonidus started to ascend the stairs. The Royal Shuttle was on the 6th floor of Rigard Palace. Alex and Antonidus walked through the familiar hallways that were now teeming with soldiers and workers. “Admiral, when will they bury my father? When will I become Emperor?”

Antonidus had expected these questions after learning of Icarus’s death. He put a hand on the boys shoulder, “Don’t worry about that right now. Your father is in good hands. And you needn’t worry about the formalities of becoming Emperor. Once the people learn of your sacrifice in leaving your father to battle his murderers, they will love you. Forget about everything else and focus on what’s taking place now. There is plenty of time for mourning.”

Alex nodded, “All right. This is all just so… sudden. One moment I’m Alex Traiden, the next I’m Emperor. I’m not even ready.”

Antonidus laughed, “Don’t doubt yourself. You have the same stuff your father had, I can see it. Trust your instincts and you should do fine. Also, I suggest listening to Lord Protector Samson. He is a man who loves you as much as your father.”

“You're right,” Alex said with a sigh, “I can’t worry about this stuff. I just need to go out and bring these men… or whatever they are, to justice.” He paused for a moment and collected his thoughs. “They took a prisoner, didn’t they?”

Antonidus looked a bit astonished. He didn’t want to tell Alex for fear of him losing his nerve should he need to destroy Cador, Nightmare, and Meleagent. Still though, now that the cat was out of the bag, he might as well say something. “Yes, they took someone.”

“Who?”

“They took your double. He may not have been in danger drawing the attention of the news and media. But now he’s sacrificing his life for you.”

“Lupin…” Alex said softly. His “double” had also been one of his only other friends besides Samson. Lupin looked strikingly similar to Alex, and so he was given the task of drawing potential assassins, as well as he media away from Alex. He had been performing the job for roughly 7 years. Now it may kill him.

There was one thing Alex didn’t understand. Eve, his captor, had Alex right in her grasp. He could just as soon be onboard the ships with Cador instead of his double. Something happened though in those split seconds after the doors burst open. It was as though Eve knew Alex needed to be on Eurydice. She quickly tossed him aside and picked Lupin up. He didn’t know why she did it, but he was grateful.

The ship was dark and Lupin could barely see the outline of the guard watching him. His two wretched eyes were lit like two dim candles. Lupin sat on a long bench -probably a bed- not knowing where he was. He guessed it was a ship; the low, engine like hum convinced him of that. The bench was made of a solid piece of metal that was greasy and cold to the touch. The metal bars that held him within his cell were composed of the same material; the walls and floor as well.

Lupin thought he was going to die. Lupin knew he was going to die. While in the deepest recesses of his soul he was terrified, on the outside he remained stoic. What he didn’t understand was why the lady (Eve) had taken him instead of Alex. It’s almost as though she wanted Alex to escape. She specifically let him go and went after me. He thought about it long and hard. Perhaps she’s on our side. It would make sense. But how come I’ve never seen her in the palace before. Maybe she’s a member of Bravo Element. The harder he thought, the more confused he became. Lupin decided to leave the issue alone for now. Eve would make her intentions apparent in due time.

Lupin looked back to the guard. “Why do your eyes glow?”

As though doing it for himself (for Lup had no way of seeing the guards face), he smiled, “Well, I have no eyes, so to speak.” The guard spoke with a slight hoarseness in his voice, “These things you see are merely replacements. When this body was found its eyes were gouged out. The rest of it was still in perfect working order, so they just shoved these marbles into this head. It may not be perfect, but it sure beats the Well.” He chuckled.

“The Well?” Lup said questioningly.

“Aye,” The man said, nodding slowly, “The Well of Turoth. All souls head there when their bodies die –at least if you’re a soldier under the guidance of Uther. You head to the well and wait in line until a new body is presented to you. It may not be a perfect body, but at least you can fight again.” He thought for a moment, reflecting on his thousands of years in a state of limbo. “I guess you could say I’m lucky to have a body at all. There are a billion other souls still waiting to live again.”

Lupin was taken in by the words. It was like out of a fairy tale. “The Well,” he whispered. “Will I go there when I die?”

Again the man chuckled. His raspy laugh made Lup shudder, “No boy. You follow Keer; can’t you see that? You heathens just die and that’s it. Keer isn’t there to save you. You have no chance of being reborn. When you die, you’ll die alone.”

_________________________________________________________

Meleagent was close to making the long trek to the Well, very close. While the ship they transported had a doctor of sorts, he could do nothing besides wrap up his neck and give him some old pain medication. Meleagent was laid out on a long metal slab, much like one Lupin sat on. Cador and Nightmare flanked their friend on either side, with the doctor at the head of the table. Meleagent was sleeping.

“He’s going to live doctor?” Cador didn’t ask the question, he basically told it.

“Yes, he will live.” Cador and Nightmare nodded, slightly relieved. “But, I’m afraid he will have some permanent damage. While Uther has the power to heal bone and mend flesh to a degree, the Lord’s voice is a complicated matter. I’m afraid Lord Meleagent will never speak again.”

Cador left the infirmary with the bad news lingering in his head. He made his way to the bridge, with Nightmare following only slightly behind. Eve and Zul’Ruen were on the bridge; Cador was anxious to speak to both of them.

Eve's childlike nature radiated from her. She walked gracefully around the Bridge looking about the technology.

"Lovely," she said. "Lovely, indeed."

Zul'Ruen looked at her as if she were mad, but could not resist a slight giggle at her seemingly odd behavior. He looked about and rest his eyes on Eve again, to see what she was up to.

Eve was playing with a small sphere, made of stone or perhaps glass, it was hard to tell. Eve twisted the small sphere within her hand, her eyes glowing with mystery as she stared at the round little sphere. She had kept it with her since her last real action and has never let it go. She played with the little sphere, which could roll easily within her hand. She rolled it back and forth between her hands when Cador entered.

She thrust her hands behind her back and stood straight smiling at him, as if what she had was an effect she had stolen from him.

"Will he be fine," she asked, through a remorseful serious voice, although her face seemed jovial.

OOC:
You are invited to join this thread:
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=120270&highlight=

I hope to see you there if you would like.

The bridge of the Terminus was an expanse of computers, workers, and bright overhead lights. Amid the organized chaos stood Emperor Traiden, flanked on one side by Admiral Beowulf and on the other by Beowulf’s lieutenant, Edgar. Beowulf was a man who aged gracefully. While he was pushing 60 there was no sign on his face or stature, save his graying beard and hair. As with everyone, eyes usually make up a large part of a person’s complexion, and Beowulf’s were a combination of bright blue on the rim and gray near the pupil; the shades in between those two colors were staggered as you moved inward. He had a powerful jaw that was masked slightly by his short beard. When looking at him you may have suspected he was the meanest commander within the Royal Navy, but upon a closer inspection of his personality you would find him to be quite mellow, almost humorous.

Edgar was tall and powerfully built. His green eyes radiated confidence; it was apparent that he had slept with quite a few women. One could mistake his broad smile for brashness, but Edgar could easily be the most loyal and competent 2nd in all of the Royal Navy. Being roughly 32, he had a long way to go before he could fill the role Beowulf held, but he had his sights set on being an Admiral someday.

The Terminus, as well as the entirety of the 1st (out of 2) fleet was steaming ahead at breakneck speeds somewhere in hyperspace. They were hot on the tail of Cador’s vessel. The Dreadnoughts, long and imposing with their 4 slender, spike like appendages; the Cruisers of massive height being the epitome of Eurydian style and engineering. With ships like these representing the Royal Navy, how could Cador possibly escape to the Hellspire?

Alexander walked to a chair adjacent to Beowulf’s and took a seat. Beowulf followed suit while Edgar moved off, finding some way to make their ships move faster.

Here you are, filling your father’s shoes. Quite soon, don’t you think?

Alex started to talk, but realized the voice had come from within his head. He looked uneasily to Beowulf and sighed.

Who are you? Alex asked.

I am nobody. he said dismissively. And yet, without me everything that has happened thus far would have never occured.

What do you mean? Did you start this?

The voice laughed. No, my boy, I did not. I may have coaxed these events, but I did nothing to start them.

Who are you?

Still though.. The voice continued, ignoring Alex’s question. I may indeed have caused everything that has happened without knowing. It’s hard to see what I’ve caused when I merely threw a pebble into the proverbial lake.

What do you mean? No one is so powerful that they can influence a series of events.

Again, the voice laughed. My how little you know young Alexander Traiden. I guess you haven’t heard the phrase “one drop raises the ocean.” A shame too, it’s a rather good saying.

Alex persisted. You still haven’t answered my initial question. Who are you?

A sigh, and then. My name means nothing. But if you must give me a designation, call me… The Ageless Stranger, or “stranger” for short.

Okay stranger. Alex said smugly. Now tell me this, just how have you set all of these events in motion?

OOC:
Are you still here?