The Bullet did not have any windows, so the passengers within would not immediately see that the Universe was gone. Even as it pulled into the Captain’s private docking bay and commenced with disembarkation, there were no windows through which to notice the distinct, though subtle, and slightly disturbing lack of stars.
“I’ll bring Bravo to Volo and have him do his thing. Dorin, you, Tiana and Gaelan can get CL repaired, resupplied and re-armed. That is…” Aelyn turned to the Ranger, “Assuming you’re still interested in working with us, you’ve no obligation. Which reminds me – I think you deserve some answers by this point, so once you’re back to full capacity meet me in the mechanics bay and I’ll tell you whatever you’d like to know.”
Harkahn gave a low chuckle, leaning in toward CL to say lowly “Don’t worry, Tiana’s nothing like Drakis.” He couldn’t remember if he’d already said that, but it didn’t matter to him. Absent-mindedness had the effect of cancelling itself out that way.
“Rivierre, y-“
“I’m going to take a @#$%ing nap.” She cut him off, deadpan. The Captain grinned.
“Exactly what I was going to suggest, believe it or not.”
With all that out of the way, Aelyn-Paeryc took the plastic bin in which Bravo’s salvageable parts had been tossed hoisted it up and carried it off to the Chief Mechanic and Roboticist.
Volo absolutely lit up when he saw it being thunked onto the desk. Before he could say anything, the Captain held up a finger, raising his chin slightly. “Uh-uh- Don’t tell me about it, just do it.”
Volo was much too excited to be offended. He went to work immediately.
The first order of business was creating backups and copies of everything – and Volo was very thorough. Not only was every piece of information, data, programming, software and the like transferred to a backup drive, but the physical parts were duplicated as well. Or, at least, they were uploaded into advanced 3D printing devices, which would be able to recreate them down to the most minute detail.
Having anticipated the possibility of having to re-construct Bravo, Drakis had been working feverishly on just that. He had dug up schematics for the original model and put them aside – that would be dreadfully easy to recreate, and Volo wanted more.
First, he created an ‘external host’ of sorts. It would be best described as looking like a chromium sphere wearing a top-hat, monocle and handlebar mustache, with a mess of wires and ports in the back. This was actually a complete coincidence, though few would believe that.
It was simple – he would need only to plug in Bravo’s most basic components, and Bravo would be ‘transferred’ into the host as though it were his new body. It would be extremely limited, of course. He would only be able to speak and call up images or other information he had stored within him on the built-in screen and/or holograph projector. Ideally Bravo would not be confined to that ridiculous body for very long particularly if it could be made certain that it was safe to put him into a more functional form. That might require modifications in Bravo’s programming or hardware, but that remained to be seen. When Drakis hooked Bravo up to the host, he would be unaltered. At least as unaltered as he could be given the condition of being practically incorporeal.
The Captain strolled down to the mechanics’ bay – Alex in tow as ever – just as Volo was finishing up the final connections. He was giddy as a schoolboy.
When the switch was flipped, Bravo would be brought ‘back to life’ in the equivalent of a fully functional severed head. When his visual circuits kicked in, the first thing he would see was Drakis Volo’s beaming face. It was too close for comfort.
A.P. stood behind, casually observing to see what the disembodied android would say, how it would act, and so on – now that it once more…existed.
As President Eisenglower worked furiously at preparing international politics and dismantling the majority of the federal government, General Sanders was flown to the beachhead via military transport helicopter. There was the Z-Bot encampment, already beginning recovery procedures. Sanders was impressed.
“I never thought I would see the day,” he said to the pilot of the chopper, “When the planet might actually be at peace with itself. As much as I hate this Kampfer kraut for making fools of us, he does know what he’s doing…And it does seem to be the right thing.”
“I sure hope so Sir.” Replied the pilot through his mask. Sanders disembarked, and began immediately making demands and being bossy. No more bossy than anyone would expect him to be – but no less either. Foreign occupation was not going to make him meek. He wouldn’t be of any use in that case anyway.
---
Even though the fighting had ended, there was still strife and chaos abound throughout the city. The streets were a mess of unrest and civil strife. Many militant units had been unable to receive the ceasefire order. Others outright refused it and continued shooting against orders. Then there was the matter of angry citizens, of which many of them were armed themselves. “The right to buy guns is the right to be free” was a popular Earth City Nation quote. Nobody was sure who coined it.
Dallen immediately spun to hip-aim her rifle in the general direction of the voice, but Sand gently rested a hand on the barrel and encouraged her to lower it without words. He gave a look which spoke for him. It was another of Sand’s many talents – the ability to communicate so precisely and effectively through minimalist means.
“The right to bear arms is the right to be free.” Dallen quoted, in response to the new platoon leader’s words. “I’ll butt this gun right into their robot nads before they take it from me.”
Sand said nothing.
Reltakov had apparently been pretty seriously traumatized, considering that through everything, he was still aiming his pistol at the spot in the air where the man’s head had once been. He was still trembling, looking through the wall, through the universe, through nothing that anyone else could see – the thousand yard stare.
Sand did not have any objections, but he did give Ducote one of those meaningful looks, then nodded toward the paralyzed Reltakov. The kid needed help. Nineteen years old, not entirely unfit to be a soldier but certainly ill-prepared mentally. Sharp, Russian features, wheat colored bristles for hair, sharp grey eyes which, given the look he had now, may have seemed as though the color had drained out of them and run down his face.
Royanna rested a hand comfortingly on Toffi’s back when he started to cry – her expression was not sympathetic, but her actions were. It must have counted for something. Still, it would be no surprise if it had no effect at all. ”Everything is going to be okay.” She said in a similar tone to before – more stern this time, but still confident. As though she were very, very sure of herself that everything was going to, indeed, be just fine. “And for what it’s worth…”
Inwardly, Roya grumbled at the idea of saying something so disgustingly…sentimental, but the situation called for it.
“For what it’s worth, I’m not going to leave you alone. Unless you want me to.”
At least he would have some constant. She knew very well what he wanted – she knew what it was like to feel the need for someone who had always been there, a need that a stranger simply could not fill. She knew she couldn’t be much to the kid, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to make him believe it, but she was actually committed now to him. She hated to admit it, but she felt responsible for him now.
He heard the sound first. For a split second, Kallenger’s heart skipped a beat as she realized something was wrong. She had missed something. Sound.
This is what I get for getting soft on someone, she thought bitterly. IT reminded her of one of the many reasons why she usually kept so cold.
Yet still she had to admit that she was too fond of this…admittedly pathetic kid, and would have a hard time getting back to icy formality. That didn’t stop her from getting back into soldier-mode though.
“We do.” Kallenger responded, gravely. The strangeness of his eyes had not gone unnoticed though for the moment she assumed it to be a trick of the dusk.
With a deep breath, Kallenger heaved herself to her feet again, took a moment to get her balance.
Then – awkwardly, because it was positioned to be drawn with the left hand and she was forced to use the right – removed her firearm from the under-arm holster in her coat. It was a shiny black antique .44 revolver with a long barrel, short range (and high tech) recon scope, and a 7 bullet chamber. She clicked off the safety, and – holding it by the receiver instead of the grip – shoved it into Christofer’s chest. She gave him a meaningful look. There was no mistaking what she meant.
There was a silent intensity, an electricity in the air that came with these sort of moments. A sense of desperate urgency, quelled by the need and the instinct to think rationally.
Kallenger was left handed, and therefore fired weapons ‘southpaw’. Her sword however was more effective in her right hand. This was convenient enough, since she could still use her right hand with relative efficiency. In this day in age, if a weapon as archaic as a sword was going to be in the least bit useful in combat, it had to be a damned good sword in the hands of a damned skilled swordsman/woman. There were no ‘cheap swords’. Just like the Eoclu assassin, Kallenger’s blade was monomolecular, and could slice through quite literally anything that was composed of molecules as easy as warm butter. If she were to drop it straight down, the blade would simply fall through the ground as though there were nothing there at all, until the hilt caught it. She could still at least potentially defend herself without her gun.
It was convenient that her new unexpected, impromptu ally had some military experience. They had that much better a chance at survival. They might be able to communicate with hand signals which seemed to be more or less uniform throughout all military institutions.
Kallenger indicated that they should move toward the east, as she was pretty sure they would come to the park if they went far enough. Going deeper into the jungle to avoid whatever was moving near them would be counterproductive, and if she could avoid a confrontation then…obviously she needed to avoid a confrontation if at all possible.
“I’ll bring Bravo to Volo and have him do his thing. Dorin, you, Tiana and Gaelan can get CL repaired, resupplied and re-armed. That is…” Aelyn turned to the Ranger, “Assuming you’re still interested in working with us, you’ve no obligation. Which reminds me – I think you deserve some answers by this point, so once you’re back to full capacity meet me in the mechanics bay and I’ll tell you whatever you’d like to know.”
Harkahn gave a low chuckle, leaning in toward CL to say lowly “Don’t worry, Tiana’s nothing like Drakis.” He couldn’t remember if he’d already said that, but it didn’t matter to him. Absent-mindedness had the effect of cancelling itself out that way.
“Rivierre, y-“
“I’m going to take a @#$%ing nap.” She cut him off, deadpan. The Captain grinned.
“Exactly what I was going to suggest, believe it or not.”
With all that out of the way, Aelyn-Paeryc took the plastic bin in which Bravo’s salvageable parts had been tossed hoisted it up and carried it off to the Chief Mechanic and Roboticist.
Volo absolutely lit up when he saw it being thunked onto the desk. Before he could say anything, the Captain held up a finger, raising his chin slightly. “Uh-uh- Don’t tell me about it, just do it.”
Volo was much too excited to be offended. He went to work immediately.
The first order of business was creating backups and copies of everything – and Volo was very thorough. Not only was every piece of information, data, programming, software and the like transferred to a backup drive, but the physical parts were duplicated as well. Or, at least, they were uploaded into advanced 3D printing devices, which would be able to recreate them down to the most minute detail.
Having anticipated the possibility of having to re-construct Bravo, Drakis had been working feverishly on just that. He had dug up schematics for the original model and put them aside – that would be dreadfully easy to recreate, and Volo wanted more.
First, he created an ‘external host’ of sorts. It would be best described as looking like a chromium sphere wearing a top-hat, monocle and handlebar mustache, with a mess of wires and ports in the back. This was actually a complete coincidence, though few would believe that.
It was simple – he would need only to plug in Bravo’s most basic components, and Bravo would be ‘transferred’ into the host as though it were his new body. It would be extremely limited, of course. He would only be able to speak and call up images or other information he had stored within him on the built-in screen and/or holograph projector. Ideally Bravo would not be confined to that ridiculous body for very long particularly if it could be made certain that it was safe to put him into a more functional form. That might require modifications in Bravo’s programming or hardware, but that remained to be seen. When Drakis hooked Bravo up to the host, he would be unaltered. At least as unaltered as he could be given the condition of being practically incorporeal.
The Captain strolled down to the mechanics’ bay – Alex in tow as ever – just as Volo was finishing up the final connections. He was giddy as a schoolboy.
When the switch was flipped, Bravo would be brought ‘back to life’ in the equivalent of a fully functional severed head. When his visual circuits kicked in, the first thing he would see was Drakis Volo’s beaming face. It was too close for comfort.
A.P. stood behind, casually observing to see what the disembodied android would say, how it would act, and so on – now that it once more…existed.
As President Eisenglower worked furiously at preparing international politics and dismantling the majority of the federal government, General Sanders was flown to the beachhead via military transport helicopter. There was the Z-Bot encampment, already beginning recovery procedures. Sanders was impressed.
“I never thought I would see the day,” he said to the pilot of the chopper, “When the planet might actually be at peace with itself. As much as I hate this Kampfer kraut for making fools of us, he does know what he’s doing…And it does seem to be the right thing.”
“I sure hope so Sir.” Replied the pilot through his mask. Sanders disembarked, and began immediately making demands and being bossy. No more bossy than anyone would expect him to be – but no less either. Foreign occupation was not going to make him meek. He wouldn’t be of any use in that case anyway.
---
Even though the fighting had ended, there was still strife and chaos abound throughout the city. The streets were a mess of unrest and civil strife. Many militant units had been unable to receive the ceasefire order. Others outright refused it and continued shooting against orders. Then there was the matter of angry citizens, of which many of them were armed themselves. “The right to buy guns is the right to be free” was a popular Earth City Nation quote. Nobody was sure who coined it.
Dallen immediately spun to hip-aim her rifle in the general direction of the voice, but Sand gently rested a hand on the barrel and encouraged her to lower it without words. He gave a look which spoke for him. It was another of Sand’s many talents – the ability to communicate so precisely and effectively through minimalist means.
“The right to bear arms is the right to be free.” Dallen quoted, in response to the new platoon leader’s words. “I’ll butt this gun right into their robot nads before they take it from me.”
Sand said nothing.
Reltakov had apparently been pretty seriously traumatized, considering that through everything, he was still aiming his pistol at the spot in the air where the man’s head had once been. He was still trembling, looking through the wall, through the universe, through nothing that anyone else could see – the thousand yard stare.
Sand did not have any objections, but he did give Ducote one of those meaningful looks, then nodded toward the paralyzed Reltakov. The kid needed help. Nineteen years old, not entirely unfit to be a soldier but certainly ill-prepared mentally. Sharp, Russian features, wheat colored bristles for hair, sharp grey eyes which, given the look he had now, may have seemed as though the color had drained out of them and run down his face.
Royanna rested a hand comfortingly on Toffi’s back when he started to cry – her expression was not sympathetic, but her actions were. It must have counted for something. Still, it would be no surprise if it had no effect at all. ”Everything is going to be okay.” She said in a similar tone to before – more stern this time, but still confident. As though she were very, very sure of herself that everything was going to, indeed, be just fine. “And for what it’s worth…”
Inwardly, Roya grumbled at the idea of saying something so disgustingly…sentimental, but the situation called for it.
“For what it’s worth, I’m not going to leave you alone. Unless you want me to.”
At least he would have some constant. She knew very well what he wanted – she knew what it was like to feel the need for someone who had always been there, a need that a stranger simply could not fill. She knew she couldn’t be much to the kid, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to make him believe it, but she was actually committed now to him. She hated to admit it, but she felt responsible for him now.
He heard the sound first. For a split second, Kallenger’s heart skipped a beat as she realized something was wrong. She had missed something. Sound.
This is what I get for getting soft on someone, she thought bitterly. IT reminded her of one of the many reasons why she usually kept so cold.
Yet still she had to admit that she was too fond of this…admittedly pathetic kid, and would have a hard time getting back to icy formality. That didn’t stop her from getting back into soldier-mode though.
“We do.” Kallenger responded, gravely. The strangeness of his eyes had not gone unnoticed though for the moment she assumed it to be a trick of the dusk.
With a deep breath, Kallenger heaved herself to her feet again, took a moment to get her balance.
Then – awkwardly, because it was positioned to be drawn with the left hand and she was forced to use the right – removed her firearm from the under-arm holster in her coat. It was a shiny black antique .44 revolver with a long barrel, short range (and high tech) recon scope, and a 7 bullet chamber. She clicked off the safety, and – holding it by the receiver instead of the grip – shoved it into Christofer’s chest. She gave him a meaningful look. There was no mistaking what she meant.
There was a silent intensity, an electricity in the air that came with these sort of moments. A sense of desperate urgency, quelled by the need and the instinct to think rationally.
Kallenger was left handed, and therefore fired weapons ‘southpaw’. Her sword however was more effective in her right hand. This was convenient enough, since she could still use her right hand with relative efficiency. In this day in age, if a weapon as archaic as a sword was going to be in the least bit useful in combat, it had to be a damned good sword in the hands of a damned skilled swordsman/woman. There were no ‘cheap swords’. Just like the Eoclu assassin, Kallenger’s blade was monomolecular, and could slice through quite literally anything that was composed of molecules as easy as warm butter. If she were to drop it straight down, the blade would simply fall through the ground as though there were nothing there at all, until the hilt caught it. She could still at least potentially defend herself without her gun.
It was convenient that her new unexpected, impromptu ally had some military experience. They had that much better a chance at survival. They might be able to communicate with hand signals which seemed to be more or less uniform throughout all military institutions.
Kallenger indicated that they should move toward the east, as she was pretty sure they would come to the park if they went far enough. Going deeper into the jungle to avoid whatever was moving near them would be counterproductive, and if she could avoid a confrontation then…obviously she needed to avoid a confrontation if at all possible.
The resistance by citizen's were really irritating since they kept bothering the troops with there small arms and the occasional assault weapons. Of course this has angered Admiral Omega who gave the ordered for the troops to retaliate against ones that fired upon them and gave a decree for citizens to give up there weapons, which if they don't do that they would have to face a well armed rebellion, in which high command doesn't want to happen. Of course this decree wouldn't be so like upon, but with a few Doc-bot's, Megalith, and Universal Colossi the resistance should fall.
Back at the park, the ATT slowly made its way through the park. One of the Z-bots on top of the vehicle yelled "If there is any injured civilians or soldiers please try to make your way to the medical camp off Fuller street, please" He continued to repeat his message at least three times hoping someone would hear. The ATT soon was in the same area in where Kellenger and Toffi where. The turret on the ATT scanned further forward and weren't able to see the two who where hiding from them. The Z-bot on the top banged on the vehicle and said "Time to go into the forest to find our quarry". The ATT turned into the forest turned on it's flood lights and went in, pushing down trees and crushing those tree's that have already fallen.
Back at the park, the ATT slowly made its way through the park. One of the Z-bots on top of the vehicle yelled "If there is any injured civilians or soldiers please try to make your way to the medical camp off Fuller street, please" He continued to repeat his message at least three times hoping someone would hear. The ATT soon was in the same area in where Kellenger and Toffi where. The turret on the ATT scanned further forward and weren't able to see the two who where hiding from them. The Z-bot on the top banged on the vehicle and said "Time to go into the forest to find our quarry". The ATT turned into the forest turned on it's flood lights and went in, pushing down trees and crushing those tree's that have already fallen.
Christofer did appreciate the attention and care that he received from Kallenger. It was at least enough to furry assure him that she was indeed on his side. Or that he was on her side.
Upon receiving the gun, the boy was pulled back to the moment and time being from his determined glare. It had been a while he had held a 'regular handgun'. Being more used on long-range weaponry such as rifles, Christofer was tempted on asking how far the range on the 'toy' was, but ultimately decided to just stay silent
It seemed that he'd have a chance to ask it during a less hectic moment, as the thread that was upon them, appeared to be changing their direction and was heading another way.
The boy turned to look towards Kallenger, asking wordlessly for more advices and if she had a plan planned out. His expression was reading "What next?"
The ATT wouldn't be able to go on its way so smoothly for long. The Z-bots on top would be realizing it soon, as one of them was shot down. Or rather, to speak on a more accurate term, split in half.
Upon receiving the gun, the boy was pulled back to the moment and time being from his determined glare. It had been a while he had held a 'regular handgun'. Being more used on long-range weaponry such as rifles, Christofer was tempted on asking how far the range on the 'toy' was, but ultimately decided to just stay silent
It seemed that he'd have a chance to ask it during a less hectic moment, as the thread that was upon them, appeared to be changing their direction and was heading another way.
The boy turned to look towards Kallenger, asking wordlessly for more advices and if she had a plan planned out. His expression was reading "What next?"
The ATT wouldn't be able to go on its way so smoothly for long. The Z-bots on top would be realizing it soon, as one of them was shot down. Or rather, to speak on a more accurate term, split in half.
The other Z-bot looked at the carnage in horror. The ATT stopped its advance, and opened up a really thick and heavy hatch open for the bot get inside, which it was able too and quickly closed the hatch. The ATT is of the most heavily armored vehicles that Kampfer ever designed. Able to withstand nuclear explosions and heavy enough to withstand alien animals that have great strength to toss it over. "With hell happen out there?" the commander asked "I don't know, James was there but not there anymore" the z-bot replied in horror. "I hope this thing doesn't interfer with our search, let's do one bing form our radar" the commander said as the ATT made a large *Ding sound that could be heard at least a mile away, a drawback for a powerful scanner like that for the ATT. The scans picked up two life forms only a couple of clicks away. "I think we may have found our guy and I guess he's with some stranger deep in the forest, let's go! And keep your eyes peeled for that thing" the commander said nodding for the driver to put it in drive. The ATT started its advance once more, as it moved the half of the corpse fell off the vehicle and fell on the ground. The ATT soon shifted its direction heading towards Ketin and Nirix
The man looked after the fleeing bomb-proofed vehicle. The sound of the radar had hurt his ears, but overall he was fine and unharmed.
It took him a few seconds to recover from the static sound that had taken over his hearing when the alarm had gone off. Seemingly there was another sound ringing under his hood and inside his helmet. The man took the call.
"Second patrol. I read." He'd stand firm, awaiting for the information to be given. A few other similarly equipped people waiting on standby for orders on how the plan was going to be executed forward
"I understand, we'll spare them for now to gather more information. Just don't count on it~ Just one of them alive should be more than enough~" The albino would make a snarky remark as he ended the call before he'd cut the call off and turn to the others in the troop, all of them now having turned off the camouflage mode in order to save energy and power.
He counted his followers, making a quick call after that.
"Stay put, there is no need for you here. I'll send Magnus and 3 others to bring you something to look at. I will continue to follow the plan." The lead would then turn to the men on his right, giving them routes to follow. "You, take the carnage, TEC-5 will inspect them and make observations as they please. Get moving."
The four set off, carrying the two halves of the Z-bot as they did. The albino would turn to face the remaining half of his troops, signing them to wait a bit for the ATT to get further so it'd be harder for it to acknowledge their presence
"You can keep your dang corpses Inga. I have my eye set on some other things."
It took him a few seconds to recover from the static sound that had taken over his hearing when the alarm had gone off. Seemingly there was another sound ringing under his hood and inside his helmet. The man took the call.
"Second patrol. I read." He'd stand firm, awaiting for the information to be given. A few other similarly equipped people waiting on standby for orders on how the plan was going to be executed forward
"I understand, we'll spare them for now to gather more information. Just don't count on it~ Just one of them alive should be more than enough~" The albino would make a snarky remark as he ended the call before he'd cut the call off and turn to the others in the troop, all of them now having turned off the camouflage mode in order to save energy and power.
He counted his followers, making a quick call after that.
"Stay put, there is no need for you here. I'll send Magnus and 3 others to bring you something to look at. I will continue to follow the plan." The lead would then turn to the men on his right, giving them routes to follow. "You, take the carnage, TEC-5 will inspect them and make observations as they please. Get moving."
The four set off, carrying the two halves of the Z-bot as they did. The albino would turn to face the remaining half of his troops, signing them to wait a bit for the ATT to get further so it'd be harder for it to acknowledge their presence
"You can keep your dang corpses Inga. I have my eye set on some other things."
The silence between the two stretched out for awhile. Nirix had been oddly content to see Kete's reaction to his new found freedom. Though he was angry at first, a cold and hateful wave of venom sprang from his lips, it was cooled within seconds to something the Assassin couldn't quite place. He cried, but for what reason? Was it the thought of freedom? A reaction to the heat of the moment? For her? What was it?
It hurt though; to watch him react like this. Her heart leaped for him, though not too much that it was visible on her face. She had seen these reactions before, when releasing the slaves of certain slave traders when their master's happened to fall into her line of work. But even then, it left no effect on her heart.
Somehow Ketin's did. Was she becoming too soft?
At the sudden sound of his question, Nirix blinked. She had been prepared to open her mouth but nothing came to mind for a good answer. It was simple, to answer his question with the truth. She had killed everyone of Kallenger's men she had came across and confronted said woman, leaving her with a mere bullet wound through her shoulder. Of course Nirix had thought about killing her too, but she had already caused so many deaths. It hadn't sat right with her. But even now, The Eoclu struggled to answer his inquiry. Honestly, she was...afraid of his reaction. His face was already pale and solemn and hurt. Would telling him place an unwanted burden of worry upon him? She hadn't killed Kallenger but she had meant to. Hopefully she wouldn't come back...
The snapping of distant trees, broke Nirix's concentration of replying to Kete's question. Something was coming this way and by the sounds and increase thumping of the falling trees and shrubbier, it was gaining closer. That was definitely not good...Her blade is in her hand so quickly that she falters to remember when she had even drew it in the first place. Taking a leveled breath, one ear twitches distinctively as the sounds grew closer.
"Ketin, we need to move...now,"
It hurt though; to watch him react like this. Her heart leaped for him, though not too much that it was visible on her face. She had seen these reactions before, when releasing the slaves of certain slave traders when their master's happened to fall into her line of work. But even then, it left no effect on her heart.
Somehow Ketin's did. Was she becoming too soft?
At the sudden sound of his question, Nirix blinked. She had been prepared to open her mouth but nothing came to mind for a good answer. It was simple, to answer his question with the truth. She had killed everyone of Kallenger's men she had came across and confronted said woman, leaving her with a mere bullet wound through her shoulder. Of course Nirix had thought about killing her too, but she had already caused so many deaths. It hadn't sat right with her. But even now, The Eoclu struggled to answer his inquiry. Honestly, she was...afraid of his reaction. His face was already pale and solemn and hurt. Would telling him place an unwanted burden of worry upon him? She hadn't killed Kallenger but she had meant to. Hopefully she wouldn't come back...
The snapping of distant trees, broke Nirix's concentration of replying to Kete's question. Something was coming this way and by the sounds and increase thumping of the falling trees and shrubbier, it was gaining closer. That was definitely not good...Her blade is in her hand so quickly that she falters to remember when she had even drew it in the first place. Taking a leveled breath, one ear twitches distinctively as the sounds grew closer.
"Ketin, we need to move...now,"
Harlan, addressing his platoon again, says in a hushed tone, "The bots, do any of you know if they have a weak point? If we can down the ones outside the building and any between us and the nearest form of transport, we could make a break for it and get to somewhere safer."
Once again, Ketin’s expression changed. It was more gradual this time, a look of slow realization, eyes wide with a concerned frown. A half thoughtful pout. He nodded in agreement to Nirix’s sentiment that they needed to go.
Then he cleared his throat – complete with the gesture of putting a fist to his mouth – put the other in his coat pocket, then shouted loudly. His voice was clear and annunciated, and was most certainly going to give away their position. He even tilted his head upward a little as if to be absolutely certain that everyone who was conceivably within range could hear.
“I knew you were never really my friend, you bounty hunter!” He bellowed, eyes locked on those of the woman, but once again, seeming to look through her.
”You’ve never been on my side! You’ve been working secretly for the Empire! I knew it all along! I only let them think you were my friend! Well I’ve killed all the soldiers who were after me and you’re lucky I don’t kill you too! Now get out of here, go that way and save yourself while you can!!” With the last words, that strange, distant stare he had shifted sharply to look Nirix directly, piercingly in the eyes. He pointed with a somewhat exaggerated motion to his 3 o’clock.
Then, (If possible, taking advantage of the possible distraction of the eye that his pointing hand might make) he deftly produced that little pistol from his pocket and hip-fired it at the woman. She may or may not have gotten a blinding white afterimage of the words:
NOT WORTH IT
Lastly, through the muted ringing and doubtless quickly returning sight, she would get a good look at him taking off desperately in the opposite direction from which he had pointed. He vaulted a boulder, sprinting toward the far end of the clearing, waving his arms some and shouting “Come and get me! Cooooome and get me! This way boys and girls! Catch me if y’can!” He even went and fired his little pistol once into the air when he was far enough away that the second BANGPOPFIZZLE wouldn’t effect Nirix. The words hung over the treetops for a moment:
<==OVER HERE FELLAS
Royanna Kallenger blinked. Blinked and thought, and listened and stared into the darkening jungles which ever more bathed in a deepening, darkening amber. Shadows beyond the range of sight were thick and viscous, could have been physical objects – clouds or blobs of inky death that lurked just beyond ones’ vision, hiding dangers untold…
They had not gotten a good view of the armored vehicle which had been approaching them, merely heard it. (I think?) As such it was easy to hear that the thing was retreating, or at least turning to search in another direction. There had also been some commotion, Roya could only guess as to what had gone down. It sounded like they had taken a casualty, though she’d heard no bullets. Even suppressed shots usually couldn’t escape Kallenger’s ever-alert ears (Usually.) but she didn’t get the feeling that a bullet had done the job. That left only one option – it was that bitch assassin with her sword! At least, that’s what Kallenger had to assume.
Christofer was looking to her for further instruction – or communication, at any rate.
It occurred to the woman at that moment – very inconveniently – that she’d no clue what she wanted to do. Find her potentially remaining soldiers? Get to civilization? Get fixed up? Get way?
Well the last one was obvious. They needed to get out of this damnable jungle and back to where there were people. Her presence would be tolerated in the city – whatever had happened there, it was no longer a concern since the noises had stopped – she would be able to seek professional medical attention, get that shoulder back in working order. Then…then what? Maybe help the boy further figure out where he was? Maybe. But everything depended. Too much to consider, too many possibilities, unknowns. She could not afford to waste mental effort thinking that far ahead, vain as it would be.
He was still looking at her. She blinked again. Then she nodded toward the east, made the hand signal which indicated ‘we’ll move that way, cover me’.
And that’s what she did – they would be an efficient team in the endeavor of moving quietly, since both of them had quite a lot of experience in it. Christofer was admittedly better trained in stealth than Royanna, who usually relied on more high-tech means of keeping silent and hidden – but she was able in a situation as this to stay more than adequately out of sight, out of hearing, and out of mind. She knew where to step to avoid making loud noises, where to glance, what to listen for – she wasn’t going to go giving herself or her new comrade away any time soon.
Someone else was nearby – there may have been multiple but there was no way to tell – once again she was going largely off instinct and a hunch which could very likely turn out to be false.
All she knew was that nine-out-of-ten everyone in this jungle was hostile in one way or another. She trusted her soldiers – if they were still alive – to not give themselves away, so in good faith she let them slip from her mind. In Kallenger’s eyes, every movement was hostile, because she was so certain that her soldiers wouldn’t let their movements be known.
Christofer would find, if he was faced at any point with the need to fire the revolver – that it was vastly more powerful than it looked. It was similar to Roya’s monomolecular rapier in that because it was an archaic weapon, it needed some serious modifications to be useful in standing up to modern weaponry. The scope on top would prove exceptionally useful – night vision, thermal imaging, target tracking, even features like estimated vital signs and armor points, all automatic – the receiver had been highly modified as well. Micro-exhaust ports along the barrel, inertial compensators in the grip, microtuned firing mechanism among other things would make for loud and excessively powerful shots, capable of standing up to – in the right hands – any modern combustion rifle. It didn’t even have much kickback, thanks to those inertial dampeners. Space knew how all of it worked.
If Kallenger got her way, the two of them would continue moving through the jungle with unprecedented stealth until reaching the treeline that opened into the park. From there they would be able to re-assess the situation, and figure out where to go. Probably north toward the city, certainly away from the park.
But then, R. Kallenger did not always get her way in these respects, and it was entirely possible that they’d run into whatever this mysterious new force was that had drawn the hunting armored vehicle away from them…
(Will do Platoon D/other parts later)
Then he cleared his throat – complete with the gesture of putting a fist to his mouth – put the other in his coat pocket, then shouted loudly. His voice was clear and annunciated, and was most certainly going to give away their position. He even tilted his head upward a little as if to be absolutely certain that everyone who was conceivably within range could hear.
“I knew you were never really my friend, you bounty hunter!” He bellowed, eyes locked on those of the woman, but once again, seeming to look through her.
”You’ve never been on my side! You’ve been working secretly for the Empire! I knew it all along! I only let them think you were my friend! Well I’ve killed all the soldiers who were after me and you’re lucky I don’t kill you too! Now get out of here, go that way and save yourself while you can!!” With the last words, that strange, distant stare he had shifted sharply to look Nirix directly, piercingly in the eyes. He pointed with a somewhat exaggerated motion to his 3 o’clock.
Then, (If possible, taking advantage of the possible distraction of the eye that his pointing hand might make) he deftly produced that little pistol from his pocket and hip-fired it at the woman. She may or may not have gotten a blinding white afterimage of the words:
NOT WORTH IT
Lastly, through the muted ringing and doubtless quickly returning sight, she would get a good look at him taking off desperately in the opposite direction from which he had pointed. He vaulted a boulder, sprinting toward the far end of the clearing, waving his arms some and shouting “Come and get me! Cooooome and get me! This way boys and girls! Catch me if y’can!” He even went and fired his little pistol once into the air when he was far enough away that the second BANGPOPFIZZLE wouldn’t effect Nirix. The words hung over the treetops for a moment:
<==OVER HERE FELLAS
Royanna Kallenger blinked. Blinked and thought, and listened and stared into the darkening jungles which ever more bathed in a deepening, darkening amber. Shadows beyond the range of sight were thick and viscous, could have been physical objects – clouds or blobs of inky death that lurked just beyond ones’ vision, hiding dangers untold…
They had not gotten a good view of the armored vehicle which had been approaching them, merely heard it. (I think?) As such it was easy to hear that the thing was retreating, or at least turning to search in another direction. There had also been some commotion, Roya could only guess as to what had gone down. It sounded like they had taken a casualty, though she’d heard no bullets. Even suppressed shots usually couldn’t escape Kallenger’s ever-alert ears (Usually.) but she didn’t get the feeling that a bullet had done the job. That left only one option – it was that bitch assassin with her sword! At least, that’s what Kallenger had to assume.
Christofer was looking to her for further instruction – or communication, at any rate.
It occurred to the woman at that moment – very inconveniently – that she’d no clue what she wanted to do. Find her potentially remaining soldiers? Get to civilization? Get fixed up? Get way?
Well the last one was obvious. They needed to get out of this damnable jungle and back to where there were people. Her presence would be tolerated in the city – whatever had happened there, it was no longer a concern since the noises had stopped – she would be able to seek professional medical attention, get that shoulder back in working order. Then…then what? Maybe help the boy further figure out where he was? Maybe. But everything depended. Too much to consider, too many possibilities, unknowns. She could not afford to waste mental effort thinking that far ahead, vain as it would be.
He was still looking at her. She blinked again. Then she nodded toward the east, made the hand signal which indicated ‘we’ll move that way, cover me’.
And that’s what she did – they would be an efficient team in the endeavor of moving quietly, since both of them had quite a lot of experience in it. Christofer was admittedly better trained in stealth than Royanna, who usually relied on more high-tech means of keeping silent and hidden – but she was able in a situation as this to stay more than adequately out of sight, out of hearing, and out of mind. She knew where to step to avoid making loud noises, where to glance, what to listen for – she wasn’t going to go giving herself or her new comrade away any time soon.
Someone else was nearby – there may have been multiple but there was no way to tell – once again she was going largely off instinct and a hunch which could very likely turn out to be false.
All she knew was that nine-out-of-ten everyone in this jungle was hostile in one way or another. She trusted her soldiers – if they were still alive – to not give themselves away, so in good faith she let them slip from her mind. In Kallenger’s eyes, every movement was hostile, because she was so certain that her soldiers wouldn’t let their movements be known.
Christofer would find, if he was faced at any point with the need to fire the revolver – that it was vastly more powerful than it looked. It was similar to Roya’s monomolecular rapier in that because it was an archaic weapon, it needed some serious modifications to be useful in standing up to modern weaponry. The scope on top would prove exceptionally useful – night vision, thermal imaging, target tracking, even features like estimated vital signs and armor points, all automatic – the receiver had been highly modified as well. Micro-exhaust ports along the barrel, inertial compensators in the grip, microtuned firing mechanism among other things would make for loud and excessively powerful shots, capable of standing up to – in the right hands – any modern combustion rifle. It didn’t even have much kickback, thanks to those inertial dampeners. Space knew how all of it worked.
If Kallenger got her way, the two of them would continue moving through the jungle with unprecedented stealth until reaching the treeline that opened into the park. From there they would be able to re-assess the situation, and figure out where to go. Probably north toward the city, certainly away from the park.
But then, R. Kallenger did not always get her way in these respects, and it was entirely possible that they’d run into whatever this mysterious new force was that had drawn the hunting armored vehicle away from them…
(Will do Platoon D/other parts later)
In the ATT, the drive was just able to see the words over the treetops saying "Over here, fellas". The driver looked at the commander. The commander saw the words and said "He knows we are coming, let's put out more dings". Soon the ATT stopped and made another loud DING* noise and the scanner indicated that one of the dots is on the move. The ATT shifted gear and went after the moving dot. As the vehicle moved, more loud Dings* were made as they pursed there catch. The commander went on the loudspeaker and said "If this is you Ketin who's moving, please stop, we wish only to talk to you, we mean you no harm, please stop" the message from the loud speaker is obviously pretty loud but it could be heard pretty far away, all the way to Kellenger's location, but the commander only did it out goodwill and not ill intentions be he knows that there is something following them and will be possibly interested with Ketin as well and so he wants to do this fast and get it out of the way. After another Ding*, the commander added "We are not part of the Galactic Empire" as they continued to drive on.
Soon a squad of doc-bots arrived to the patrol trying to find platoon D. Thier orders were to crush any resistance and since they heard the gun fire and the Z-bots shouting they rushed over to give them hand. One Doc-bot is able to pick a couple of life forms with its sensor. It is the building with Platoon D in it. All the bots started to converge upon there location with guns drawn and pointed. The leader of the Z-bot squad yelled "Surrender now and we don't have to fight, but continue to resist, we will use lethal force". This was there last warning to comply until the Doc-bots open fire following with the Z-bots
Soon a squad of doc-bots arrived to the patrol trying to find platoon D. Thier orders were to crush any resistance and since they heard the gun fire and the Z-bots shouting they rushed over to give them hand. One Doc-bot is able to pick a couple of life forms with its sensor. It is the building with Platoon D in it. All the bots started to converge upon there location with guns drawn and pointed. The leader of the Z-bot squad yelled "Surrender now and we don't have to fight, but continue to resist, we will use lethal force". This was there last warning to comply until the Doc-bots open fire following with the Z-bots
Harlan mutters, "Shit. They've found us. No use trying to hide, they've probably got life form sensors." He leans up against the wall, next to the door. "Dammit.... God knows what they'll do to us if we give in. I say we go down in a blaze of glory yeh?" He asks his teammates. He adds, "Do we have any radio contacts by any chance? Might be able to get some form of support in here... Unlikely though."
Being slightly airheaded still, Christofer didn't think much of the situation now that the factor of 'immediate thread' had been somewhat removed. The boy wasn't a fan of Kallenger's long pauses, but he understood that they were important and it was good to think things through before advancing aimlessly.
He was a bit unsure when she finally gave them directions. Not fully even knowing where he was and what was where, the boy was sliglt lost and only understood that 'someway' was the city and 'somewhere' was a jungle or something.
"... Are you sure we should go to 'public'?" He'd speak quietly, not meaning to talk to anyone else but the lady. "I... I mean... We don't know if what was in the forest was really hostile or not... It feels... risky..."
Then again, he had probably gotten the idea of 75% of the people in the city to be some sour faced Grumpy Cats. Maybe even 90%, how could he tell? Ketin and the white haired lady hadn't turned out any better and Christofer didn't want to go back there only to be met with more hateful glares and punches to his face.
He did have Kallenger there with him now though, but... ... No... It wouls be way too bad of a luck to have her turn ot to be a backstabbing **** too. Then agan... Christofer didn't have the best of lucks... But he wanted to believe. Somehow, he wanted to believe that Kallenger was truly a good person and would be staying by his side with no intentions on hurting him - for now...
And to be honest, thinking of the other over himself, Royanna did need some attention to be paid for that bullet wound, some medical are he himself wouldn't be able to provide. The boy sighed innerly. He shouldn't be selfish in a situation like his...
Christofer would follow Kallenger's lead, looking around and observing the surroundings as they moved, with the gun held ready if anyting was going to assault them...
He was a bit unsure when she finally gave them directions. Not fully even knowing where he was and what was where, the boy was sliglt lost and only understood that 'someway' was the city and 'somewhere' was a jungle or something.
"... Are you sure we should go to 'public'?" He'd speak quietly, not meaning to talk to anyone else but the lady. "I... I mean... We don't know if what was in the forest was really hostile or not... It feels... risky..."
Then again, he had probably gotten the idea of 75% of the people in the city to be some sour faced Grumpy Cats. Maybe even 90%, how could he tell? Ketin and the white haired lady hadn't turned out any better and Christofer didn't want to go back there only to be met with more hateful glares and punches to his face.
He did have Kallenger there with him now though, but... ... No... It wouls be way too bad of a luck to have her turn ot to be a backstabbing **** too. Then agan... Christofer didn't have the best of lucks... But he wanted to believe. Somehow, he wanted to believe that Kallenger was truly a good person and would be staying by his side with no intentions on hurting him - for now...
And to be honest, thinking of the other over himself, Royanna did need some attention to be paid for that bullet wound, some medical are he himself wouldn't be able to provide. The boy sighed innerly. He shouldn't be selfish in a situation like his...
Christofer would follow Kallenger's lead, looking around and observing the surroundings as they moved, with the gun held ready if anyting was going to assault them...
The albino on the lead of the little troop kept on stalking after the ATT with his me, not focused or interested on the 'signs' that laid up ahead. Well, the group wasn't exactly after the person who set them up, they were after the ATT crew and what they were after.
The man was pretty sure that they had gone mostly unnoticed by the bots, the camo, tech and other things were going for them and they were highly trained on such hidden acts. The only fact that wasn't so strong on them was the knowledge of their 'enemy'. Sure they knew a thing or two, or a dozen, but they didn't know them fully and that's what was preferred for the group.
The Ding Radar and the sound it caused was the biggest harm to them though. Either they had not been noticed and the ATT crew was still trying to locate them, or they had indeed noticed them and were trying to disturb them with all these sounds. Half of the chasers gringed, losing their focus and started to move in a nonprofittable, messy and distorted way.
It was essential for the troop's composition for the error to be acknowledged and fixed immediately. The albino couldn't order the chase to halt though, instead he'd switch on the volume level of their transceivers.
"Konstantin get a hold of yourself!" the albino would direct his words to the bit smaller person moving at the end of the line "Get back into position. We're putting on the muters, just follow my signs." 'The muter' was the world they used for the switch in their gear that would eliminate most to all the noises that came outside of their helmets. They were mostly used during combat though, but as they had already located their target and were tailing it, there was no need to detect them via listening to it for the time being.
The request for Ketin by the chased still got through the mutes though, but it was more pleasant and sounded more on the lines of any regular talking instead of some ear ripping yelling.
"Do we bypass them now?" asked a slightly accented voice, similar to what some from ways back could have referred to as Belgian. "We got the information we had planned for."
"Not yet. We got some additional bits in our books" The albino would take a quick glance on the surroundings, getting some plans as of what was to come. It seemed that something had gone down on the area, even before the ATT had run over the now fallen and crushed trees "We will continue on with our pursuit. Stay behind the vehicle, they are obviously more focused on what's in front of them than us."
The group would chooce to advance behind them, observing their moves...
The man was pretty sure that they had gone mostly unnoticed by the bots, the camo, tech and other things were going for them and they were highly trained on such hidden acts. The only fact that wasn't so strong on them was the knowledge of their 'enemy'. Sure they knew a thing or two, or a dozen, but they didn't know them fully and that's what was preferred for the group.
The Ding Radar and the sound it caused was the biggest harm to them though. Either they had not been noticed and the ATT crew was still trying to locate them, or they had indeed noticed them and were trying to disturb them with all these sounds. Half of the chasers gringed, losing their focus and started to move in a nonprofittable, messy and distorted way.
It was essential for the troop's composition for the error to be acknowledged and fixed immediately. The albino couldn't order the chase to halt though, instead he'd switch on the volume level of their transceivers.
"Konstantin get a hold of yourself!" the albino would direct his words to the bit smaller person moving at the end of the line "Get back into position. We're putting on the muters, just follow my signs." 'The muter' was the world they used for the switch in their gear that would eliminate most to all the noises that came outside of their helmets. They were mostly used during combat though, but as they had already located their target and were tailing it, there was no need to detect them via listening to it for the time being.
The request for Ketin by the chased still got through the mutes though, but it was more pleasant and sounded more on the lines of any regular talking instead of some ear ripping yelling.
"Do we bypass them now?" asked a slightly accented voice, similar to what some from ways back could have referred to as Belgian. "We got the information we had planned for."
"Not yet. We got some additional bits in our books" The albino would take a quick glance on the surroundings, getting some plans as of what was to come. It seemed that something had gone down on the area, even before the ATT had run over the now fallen and crushed trees "We will continue on with our pursuit. Stay behind the vehicle, they are obviously more focused on what's in front of them than us."
The group would chooce to advance behind them, observing their moves...
An amused grunt escaped from behind the Ranger's mask as the Bullet had seemed to stop with the crew almost getting off from their seats. They were already at the Stella Viventium? Or where they somewhere else? It was not something the Ranger was willing to ask but he certainly felt curious about all of this. The idea of having his equipment tinkered with by a paramilitary bunch that used a teleransporting city as their, apparent, main base of operations did not feel quite wise... It was a possibility, however, that Harkahn's or anyone who had a chance to repair CL's equipment had already rigged his stuff with tracking device of sorts...
"As I said before, Cap'n, I have other issues on hand so I don't think that I have - That I want - to hang out on your capital ship, but I don't think I have any choice, don't I? After all, the life of a thing like me is a... Quite demanded commodity around the galaxy." - CL would just follow the Captain towards whenever he was leading to. "There's someone I want to get in conta--"
That's when the Mad Ranger finally saw himself behind a clear glass frame, with only empty nothingness behind. It was an almost instinctive reaction. He halted his walk with Aelyn, heading hurriedly towards the frame, frantically touching the windows as he even more frantically looked around... But no single star were found. Even if he didn't knew anything about the actual place they were now, this sight was unpleasantly familiar.
"Heh, heh, you son of a *****... Say, Cap'n..." - The Ranger suddenly turned to Aelyn, with his Revolver pointed right between his eyes... "How many billions my head is worth, huh? Two and a half if my memory won't fail me, right?"
His heart were pounding like war drums, a cold drop of sweat managed to run down on his concealed face behind the mask, even though his skin were enhanced with thermal adjustment nanocells. Was that it? After a whole year wandering almost aimlessly Galaxy Wide, spending all of his life savings on an empty quest just so he could end in the last place in the whole universe he wanted to be?
"As I said before, Cap'n, I have other issues on hand so I don't think that I have - That I want - to hang out on your capital ship, but I don't think I have any choice, don't I? After all, the life of a thing like me is a... Quite demanded commodity around the galaxy." - CL would just follow the Captain towards whenever he was leading to. "There's someone I want to get in conta--"
That's when the Mad Ranger finally saw himself behind a clear glass frame, with only empty nothingness behind. It was an almost instinctive reaction. He halted his walk with Aelyn, heading hurriedly towards the frame, frantically touching the windows as he even more frantically looked around... But no single star were found. Even if he didn't knew anything about the actual place they were now, this sight was unpleasantly familiar.
"Heh, heh, you son of a *****... Say, Cap'n..." - The Ranger suddenly turned to Aelyn, with his Revolver pointed right between his eyes... "How many billions my head is worth, huh? Two and a half if my memory won't fail me, right?"
His heart were pounding like war drums, a cold drop of sweat managed to run down on his concealed face behind the mask, even though his skin were enhanced with thermal adjustment nanocells. Was that it? After a whole year wandering almost aimlessly Galaxy Wide, spending all of his life savings on an empty quest just so he could end in the last place in the whole universe he wanted to be?
Aelyn never made it to the mechanics bay. CL never made it to his repair/rearmament. Instead the Captain suddenly found The Ranger's revolver staring him down between the eyes. This was deeply concerting.
And it was, too - Aelyn still did not appear to have much emotional range, but he definitely looked more concerned now than he had about anything before. Previously, weapons aimed at him might as well have been sticks. This time it was clear to Aelyn that what was being pointed at him was a gun.
Still, he was confident that he wouldn't be fired upon, even if for some reason the potential of such happening was actually present now. Alexa - ever by his side - tensed immediately and did not do quite as good a job at concealing her distaste for what was happening - though she did manage to hold her tongue for the moment.
Everyone else had made their way off, it was only the three of them in that otherwise deserted hallway, where the window to nothingness loomed over them like some menacing black portal of oblivion.
Aelyn furrowed his brow slightly, then raised his hands. Not much - perhaps to mid-waist - but enough to signal that he did not intend to reach for the gaudy weapon he kept hidden behind him under the coat.
"....Pardon?"
He waited a long moment, seeming to choose his words carefully. Slowly and intently, he lowered one hand to rest it on Alexa's shoulder,a meaningful sign that she need not be hasty with her immediate upset at the Ranger. It worked, her fists unclenched slightly, though her glare kept consistent on the Masked Man.
"Frankly, I wouldn't know. Whatever bounty any given institution has put on your head is irrelevant to me. You're vastly more useful for my purposes as an ally than you would be as a bank statement... As I said a moment ago, I'll be happy to give you whatever answers you'd like, and explain everything you'd like explained - but I should make it clear first that you are in no way being held here against your will. Say the word and you'll have a fully fueled two-seater transport at your disposal which you can take as extended payment, and go where and when you please."
Then he chuckled a little, sounding almost chiding. "Honestly man, do you really think I'd have any use for money? Even in vast quantities? I understand your suspicions, I'd be similarly distrusting in your position - but like I said, my ship has a fully self-supporting economy. I'm already just about the wealthiest single individual in the Universe."
He was pulling something. Hiding something. It was obvious - but what could it be?
It was similar to when he had first met The Ranger, landing from nowhere in that little black shuttlecraft in the jungle. That look in his terrible, inky inverted eyes. The ragged scars which only seemed to enhance his menacing appearance.
There was menace in the very honesty of his words. Too honest. A man such as Aelyn-Paeryc Petrovalyc always had a plan, always worked everything around him into a goal. But what?
"Now with all that said, I would greatly appreciate it if you would lower your gun. Then perhaps I can fill you in on everything you'd like to know. I am an open book, sir."
His words were convincing. Too convincing.
Royanna Kallenger nodded. "It is risky." She assented grimly, "But if I don't get this thing looked at it's going to put me out of commission and I won't be much help to you that way." The statement ended in something of a grunt and accompanying grimace, as a random surge of sharp ache shot through her, almost like a punctuation to the words and actually not intended as such. "It'd be more risky anyway to stick around and...gamble whether or not we'll end up as target practice."
Her voice was hoarse, the movement starting to bring soreness back to the wound - but still it was nothing she couldn't manage. It seemed that Roya would have benefited from a less powerful force, considering she was so unaccustomed to being severely wounded.
Still moving slowly, quietly, with the boy close by, she added "Don't worry. I won't let you get into any more trouble than I'll get myself into." with a grin in his direction.
She jumped at the words barked over the loudspeaker. So, it was some other bounty hunter or institution looking for Devil Eye. It didn't matter. Her mission was over here, as much as it seethed her to think that the bastard was still nearby, she knew her battle was long-since-lost and the important things now were herself and this kid whom she'd become far too attached to in far too short a time. It still perplexed her, in the back of her mind.
By some miracle, the pair actually managed to sneak out of the jungle and back to the park. The thick brush, papery leaves and hanging vines, gave to open, grassy fields with evenly spaced trees. A path, some benches - definitely the same park they had been in before.
And there to the north was Earth City, standing tall and...ominous.
The Colossi were not visible from the south, for whatever reason. Massive as they were, by some fascinating coincidence Christofer and Kallenger would not be immediately aware of their presence. Despite that, the city did not look right. She led the boy closer northward, and as they grew nearer disturbing details began to emerge. Namely plumes of billowing, black smoke from fires near street-level deeper within the corridors of buildings, as well as damage to the larger structures. There was rubble. Whatever had happened was big.
The two of them stood by the edge of the park now, looking onto the long, straight road that bordered it. Across the street was where the city really began. It loomed there, like some gaping black cave they had been faced with delving into of their own peril. Royanna sighed. She let herself step back to lean on a tree, rubbing her eyes with fingertips and pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to think.
It was beyond obvious that the boy would not want to go into the city, not in the state it was in now. But what else could they do? Even now where they stood it was entirely possible that whoever had been in that vehicle as well as whoever had diverted that vehicle to find them. For the moment they were in plain sight, even if their surroundings seemed eerily devoid of life.
Roya only noticed that with some delay, but when it did occur she didn't like the feeling. There was nobody else around. Where was everyone...?
A long moment of stressed thought, then she looked to Christofer, trying to better gauge him. She wasn't about to drag him into the city if he really didn't want to go, but...
Her left hand twitched slightly, spasmed just a little. It was becoming apparent that the bullet had struck a tendon and may have inflicted nerve damage. The pain was starting to spike drastically, and the need for proper medical attention (or at least proper medical EQUIPMENT) was becoming more dire. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to drag the poor kid into that city...especially now that more disconcerting sounds were beginning to emanate from that direction.
Shouting. Sparse gunfire.
Roya let a heavy, heaving sigh. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she hadn't the foggiest idea what to do. Or, rather, she was so stuck between two decisions that she had reached a mental impasse. All because of that damned kid. Again she reminded herself not to become so attached in the future.
She looked at him now, eyes heavy, expression gloomy with the reality of the position she had been put in. Likely the dilemma would have become clear to Christofer too by now, and she was confident that there was no need to explain the problem with words. She was caught between her own rapidly growing need for a proper medkit and her rapidly growing need to keep the kid safe. She wondered what he'd say.
"Attention citizens of the Nation of Earth City. This is President Hiram C. Eisenglower." The voice echoed through the streets, being projected from every device still in operation which could transmit sound. Picture was included as well where available - the rotund, yet still somehow dignified President stood before the ECN crest, backed on a blue curtain. Actual working images were few and far between, though one wall-mounted television, cracked and barely operational, managed to get it through to where Platoon D was holed out.
"It has come to my attention that the good people of this great nation have been drastically misinformed by the media as to the nature of international relations with the Technologic Empire." He had made up the term 'Technologic Empire' for lack of a better term to use when referring to Kampfer's forces. He thought it sounded good enough - made it sound that much better to the unhappy citizens.
"Friends of the nation, do not despair in the face of this new age. A gross and drastic misunderstanding has occurred on this day, and it is a day which will go down in history as a lesson to future generations on the nature of communication. For it is communication that is important beyond all else - communication which sets man and sentient life apart from beasts. We are not beasts, but men. We communicate with logic and reason, and it is under this pretense which I address you this evening.
"The Technologic Empire's attack on the city today was the product of a poorly organized governmental structure on the part of our own institution, and indeed, my own cabinet. This day was intended to be the fruition of a plan years in the making, in which we would unite beneath the flag of the Technologic and bring Earth one step closer to true unity. Unfortunately, miscommunication conveyed the intention on my part to go back on the plans, and indeed to make hostility with our Technologic friends.
"But fret not, good citizens! Earth City Nation remains a free people. This day constitutes merely a change in regime. High-President Kampfer has my full support as leader of this nation, and I urge you fellow citizens to stand with me. Together we can-"
The image on the television shattered to blackness with the CRRACK!! of Dallen's rifle, one round clear through the President's face, decimating the already wounded television. Apparently the President's bull@#$% was the last thing she wanted to hear.
There were no other operational devices within their range of hearing to see out the rest of the speech for Platoon D, though throughout the city the President's voice continued to spread his noble message to the people.
The people weren't having it.
In the end, it was an excellent speech. The message was similar to that which he gave to his cabinet just before their dismissal. Eisenglower had a way with words that few men could match - but the unreason of the angry citizens was overwhelming. To Eisenglower's dismay, his valiant attempt at unifying the people served only to spark the revolt proper.
En masse the people were set ablaze in a passion of revolution - a frenzy so wild that it was able to rapidly swell from angst in the streets to a full blown chaos - before long they had actually become a force to be reckoned with.
In hoards, citizens raided weapon shops (which were plentiful in EC) and military bases, even going so far as to overwhelm a few of the smaller 'Technologic' bases which had been set up only recently. Even the Earth City Defense was not safe from their passion, and indeed many of the smaller detachments were equally overwhelmed by surges of angry people, stealing their weapons, in many cases gunning them down. The citizens of Earth City vastly outnumbered either military force after all, and it was the numbers and the passion which made up for the lack of organization in skill. Indeed the lack of organization served to heighten the destruction as they rioted and looted, as they gunned down their own military, gunned down Z-Bots when they could.
In the long run, it was obvious that such a wild revolt was not going to drive away the 'Technlogic' - but it was going to keep Kampfer's forces fighting and skirmishing midst the increasingly ruinous city for some time. After all, simply killing everyone off would be counterproductive and defeat the whole purpose of taking over the city in the first place.
In the Alabaster Office, President Eisenglower sat at a fold-out desk in a makeshift office, leaning heavily over it, clutching his head miserably. A few secretaries and assistants were there, solemn and quiet with little to do now that the international communications had gone through and the three largest, most powerful nations had all declared war on ECN and Kampfer. Already they were threatening total nuclear annihilation, disregarding the inevitable mutually-assured-destruction.
It was a serious threat, even considering Kampfer's vast power. If a single nuclear warhead was launched, it was the end of Earth. Nothing would be able to stop the torrent of warheads which would follow, nothing would be able to deactivate them all, not even the most advanced orbital system could handle the mess it would make. The issue was going to have to be solved diplomatically...and the one man most capable of pulling this feat off had, it seemed, failed. On a global scale the situation looked hopeless.
And already swarms of furious, armed citizens were gathering around the gates of the Alabaster Office, which was guarded only sparsely by a small troop of EC Marines - men who would rather not fire on their own people, who were doing their best to hold off the mobs.
Back at the building where Platoon D was holed out, the four soldiers were about to get the 'out' they needed. Just as Kampfer's forces were about to storm the building, the people appeared in the streets, swarming in chaotic blitzkrieg, wrecking everything in their path. It would be more than enough of a distraction for the Platoon to slip away unnoticed.
Dallen and Sand leaped to their feet with rifles unslung and at the ready. Poor Private Reltakov had resigned to half-collapsing, half-sitting against a wall, still clutching the pistol in his hand and still staring blankly forward with that ghostly pale expression of horror locked on his face, mentally all but gone, it seemed...
The voice over the loudspeaker was loud. This was not surprising, as it was the intention of a loudspeaker. What was surprising was that whoever was talking over the loudspeaker was clearly chasing Devil Eye, yet outwardly claiming not to be Imperial.
In itself it was not strange. Plenty of non-Imperial bounty hunters and organizations came after Ketin on a regular basis, merely seeking the reward which the Empire would provide for his death or capture. (A vastly larger reward for capture of course)
The strange part was that they felt the need to state that they were not Imperial.
It didn't matter. Kete did not believe for a second that they meant him no harm. The very idea was preposterous. They should have tried harder, he thought - terrible liars, whoever they were. 'Only wanted to talk'? Sure, that's what they all said.
Once he was within range - fifty feet - the existence of the ATT and crew popped into his brain. There they were, a part of him and yet completely independent.
They were not human, that much was immediately obvious - they were robots. Machines of some kind. Ketin had no quarrel with bringing death to machines, and they did not bear the distinct complexity of artificial intelligence. Extremely complex programming which could adequately mimic AI, but not true AI. That meant they were merely items, not precious lives.
But it also meant that Kete could barely do anything to them. It didn't stop him from trying.
And so, running through the jungle at the very edge of his range, still shouting and flailing his arms and doing all he could to get the attention of his new 'enemy', Kete did what he did best; wrought havoc.
It was internal havoc, it came naturally to him as breathing and running. He overloaded every electrical circuit he could find, flooding all potential gates with as much electronic and/or electromagnetic energy as he could. It did not require hunting or precision, merely will, and that Kete had a lot of. He was going to make very sure that every electronic device within his range would be thoroughly disabled. Only a truly antique vehicle would be immune to the effects - even the steering system on a modern military vehicle was likely to have electronic components. Not to mention the bots themselves, which would suffer some intense internal damage if any of their parts were conventionally electronic.
The blast would also include, if somehow they had managed to find themselves within that range, the equipment of the new team.
Once disabling, frying, malfunctioning, corrupting and explosming everything he could, Kete would make himself seen for the slightest moment, merely leaping from one thicket of trees, bounding across a small clearing within sight of the ATT, and leaping once more into the thick brush. Likely that persistent assassin was somewhere nearby.
"C'mon y'jerks! Come and get me! Devil Eye hot-and-fresh and served up on a siiiilver platter!! Is that the best you've got? You're liars and scoundrels~!"
And it was, too - Aelyn still did not appear to have much emotional range, but he definitely looked more concerned now than he had about anything before. Previously, weapons aimed at him might as well have been sticks. This time it was clear to Aelyn that what was being pointed at him was a gun.
Still, he was confident that he wouldn't be fired upon, even if for some reason the potential of such happening was actually present now. Alexa - ever by his side - tensed immediately and did not do quite as good a job at concealing her distaste for what was happening - though she did manage to hold her tongue for the moment.
Everyone else had made their way off, it was only the three of them in that otherwise deserted hallway, where the window to nothingness loomed over them like some menacing black portal of oblivion.
Aelyn furrowed his brow slightly, then raised his hands. Not much - perhaps to mid-waist - but enough to signal that he did not intend to reach for the gaudy weapon he kept hidden behind him under the coat.
"....Pardon?"
He waited a long moment, seeming to choose his words carefully. Slowly and intently, he lowered one hand to rest it on Alexa's shoulder,a meaningful sign that she need not be hasty with her immediate upset at the Ranger. It worked, her fists unclenched slightly, though her glare kept consistent on the Masked Man.
"Frankly, I wouldn't know. Whatever bounty any given institution has put on your head is irrelevant to me. You're vastly more useful for my purposes as an ally than you would be as a bank statement... As I said a moment ago, I'll be happy to give you whatever answers you'd like, and explain everything you'd like explained - but I should make it clear first that you are in no way being held here against your will. Say the word and you'll have a fully fueled two-seater transport at your disposal which you can take as extended payment, and go where and when you please."
Then he chuckled a little, sounding almost chiding. "Honestly man, do you really think I'd have any use for money? Even in vast quantities? I understand your suspicions, I'd be similarly distrusting in your position - but like I said, my ship has a fully self-supporting economy. I'm already just about the wealthiest single individual in the Universe."
He was pulling something. Hiding something. It was obvious - but what could it be?
It was similar to when he had first met The Ranger, landing from nowhere in that little black shuttlecraft in the jungle. That look in his terrible, inky inverted eyes. The ragged scars which only seemed to enhance his menacing appearance.
There was menace in the very honesty of his words. Too honest. A man such as Aelyn-Paeryc Petrovalyc always had a plan, always worked everything around him into a goal. But what?
"Now with all that said, I would greatly appreciate it if you would lower your gun. Then perhaps I can fill you in on everything you'd like to know. I am an open book, sir."
His words were convincing. Too convincing.
Royanna Kallenger nodded. "It is risky." She assented grimly, "But if I don't get this thing looked at it's going to put me out of commission and I won't be much help to you that way." The statement ended in something of a grunt and accompanying grimace, as a random surge of sharp ache shot through her, almost like a punctuation to the words and actually not intended as such. "It'd be more risky anyway to stick around and...gamble whether or not we'll end up as target practice."
Her voice was hoarse, the movement starting to bring soreness back to the wound - but still it was nothing she couldn't manage. It seemed that Roya would have benefited from a less powerful force, considering she was so unaccustomed to being severely wounded.
Still moving slowly, quietly, with the boy close by, she added "Don't worry. I won't let you get into any more trouble than I'll get myself into." with a grin in his direction.
She jumped at the words barked over the loudspeaker. So, it was some other bounty hunter or institution looking for Devil Eye. It didn't matter. Her mission was over here, as much as it seethed her to think that the bastard was still nearby, she knew her battle was long-since-lost and the important things now were herself and this kid whom she'd become far too attached to in far too short a time. It still perplexed her, in the back of her mind.
By some miracle, the pair actually managed to sneak out of the jungle and back to the park. The thick brush, papery leaves and hanging vines, gave to open, grassy fields with evenly spaced trees. A path, some benches - definitely the same park they had been in before.
And there to the north was Earth City, standing tall and...ominous.
The Colossi were not visible from the south, for whatever reason. Massive as they were, by some fascinating coincidence Christofer and Kallenger would not be immediately aware of their presence. Despite that, the city did not look right. She led the boy closer northward, and as they grew nearer disturbing details began to emerge. Namely plumes of billowing, black smoke from fires near street-level deeper within the corridors of buildings, as well as damage to the larger structures. There was rubble. Whatever had happened was big.
The two of them stood by the edge of the park now, looking onto the long, straight road that bordered it. Across the street was where the city really began. It loomed there, like some gaping black cave they had been faced with delving into of their own peril. Royanna sighed. She let herself step back to lean on a tree, rubbing her eyes with fingertips and pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to think.
It was beyond obvious that the boy would not want to go into the city, not in the state it was in now. But what else could they do? Even now where they stood it was entirely possible that whoever had been in that vehicle as well as whoever had diverted that vehicle to find them. For the moment they were in plain sight, even if their surroundings seemed eerily devoid of life.
Roya only noticed that with some delay, but when it did occur she didn't like the feeling. There was nobody else around. Where was everyone...?
A long moment of stressed thought, then she looked to Christofer, trying to better gauge him. She wasn't about to drag him into the city if he really didn't want to go, but...
Her left hand twitched slightly, spasmed just a little. It was becoming apparent that the bullet had struck a tendon and may have inflicted nerve damage. The pain was starting to spike drastically, and the need for proper medical attention (or at least proper medical EQUIPMENT) was becoming more dire. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she didn't want to drag the poor kid into that city...especially now that more disconcerting sounds were beginning to emanate from that direction.
Shouting. Sparse gunfire.
Roya let a heavy, heaving sigh. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she hadn't the foggiest idea what to do. Or, rather, she was so stuck between two decisions that she had reached a mental impasse. All because of that damned kid. Again she reminded herself not to become so attached in the future.
She looked at him now, eyes heavy, expression gloomy with the reality of the position she had been put in. Likely the dilemma would have become clear to Christofer too by now, and she was confident that there was no need to explain the problem with words. She was caught between her own rapidly growing need for a proper medkit and her rapidly growing need to keep the kid safe. She wondered what he'd say.
"Attention citizens of the Nation of Earth City. This is President Hiram C. Eisenglower." The voice echoed through the streets, being projected from every device still in operation which could transmit sound. Picture was included as well where available - the rotund, yet still somehow dignified President stood before the ECN crest, backed on a blue curtain. Actual working images were few and far between, though one wall-mounted television, cracked and barely operational, managed to get it through to where Platoon D was holed out.
"It has come to my attention that the good people of this great nation have been drastically misinformed by the media as to the nature of international relations with the Technologic Empire." He had made up the term 'Technologic Empire' for lack of a better term to use when referring to Kampfer's forces. He thought it sounded good enough - made it sound that much better to the unhappy citizens.
"Friends of the nation, do not despair in the face of this new age. A gross and drastic misunderstanding has occurred on this day, and it is a day which will go down in history as a lesson to future generations on the nature of communication. For it is communication that is important beyond all else - communication which sets man and sentient life apart from beasts. We are not beasts, but men. We communicate with logic and reason, and it is under this pretense which I address you this evening.
"The Technologic Empire's attack on the city today was the product of a poorly organized governmental structure on the part of our own institution, and indeed, my own cabinet. This day was intended to be the fruition of a plan years in the making, in which we would unite beneath the flag of the Technologic and bring Earth one step closer to true unity. Unfortunately, miscommunication conveyed the intention on my part to go back on the plans, and indeed to make hostility with our Technologic friends.
"But fret not, good citizens! Earth City Nation remains a free people. This day constitutes merely a change in regime. High-President Kampfer has my full support as leader of this nation, and I urge you fellow citizens to stand with me. Together we can-"
The image on the television shattered to blackness with the CRRACK!! of Dallen's rifle, one round clear through the President's face, decimating the already wounded television. Apparently the President's bull@#$% was the last thing she wanted to hear.
There were no other operational devices within their range of hearing to see out the rest of the speech for Platoon D, though throughout the city the President's voice continued to spread his noble message to the people.
The people weren't having it.
In the end, it was an excellent speech. The message was similar to that which he gave to his cabinet just before their dismissal. Eisenglower had a way with words that few men could match - but the unreason of the angry citizens was overwhelming. To Eisenglower's dismay, his valiant attempt at unifying the people served only to spark the revolt proper.
En masse the people were set ablaze in a passion of revolution - a frenzy so wild that it was able to rapidly swell from angst in the streets to a full blown chaos - before long they had actually become a force to be reckoned with.
In hoards, citizens raided weapon shops (which were plentiful in EC) and military bases, even going so far as to overwhelm a few of the smaller 'Technologic' bases which had been set up only recently. Even the Earth City Defense was not safe from their passion, and indeed many of the smaller detachments were equally overwhelmed by surges of angry people, stealing their weapons, in many cases gunning them down. The citizens of Earth City vastly outnumbered either military force after all, and it was the numbers and the passion which made up for the lack of organization in skill. Indeed the lack of organization served to heighten the destruction as they rioted and looted, as they gunned down their own military, gunned down Z-Bots when they could.
In the long run, it was obvious that such a wild revolt was not going to drive away the 'Technlogic' - but it was going to keep Kampfer's forces fighting and skirmishing midst the increasingly ruinous city for some time. After all, simply killing everyone off would be counterproductive and defeat the whole purpose of taking over the city in the first place.
In the Alabaster Office, President Eisenglower sat at a fold-out desk in a makeshift office, leaning heavily over it, clutching his head miserably. A few secretaries and assistants were there, solemn and quiet with little to do now that the international communications had gone through and the three largest, most powerful nations had all declared war on ECN and Kampfer. Already they were threatening total nuclear annihilation, disregarding the inevitable mutually-assured-destruction.
It was a serious threat, even considering Kampfer's vast power. If a single nuclear warhead was launched, it was the end of Earth. Nothing would be able to stop the torrent of warheads which would follow, nothing would be able to deactivate them all, not even the most advanced orbital system could handle the mess it would make. The issue was going to have to be solved diplomatically...and the one man most capable of pulling this feat off had, it seemed, failed. On a global scale the situation looked hopeless.
And already swarms of furious, armed citizens were gathering around the gates of the Alabaster Office, which was guarded only sparsely by a small troop of EC Marines - men who would rather not fire on their own people, who were doing their best to hold off the mobs.
Back at the building where Platoon D was holed out, the four soldiers were about to get the 'out' they needed. Just as Kampfer's forces were about to storm the building, the people appeared in the streets, swarming in chaotic blitzkrieg, wrecking everything in their path. It would be more than enough of a distraction for the Platoon to slip away unnoticed.
Dallen and Sand leaped to their feet with rifles unslung and at the ready. Poor Private Reltakov had resigned to half-collapsing, half-sitting against a wall, still clutching the pistol in his hand and still staring blankly forward with that ghostly pale expression of horror locked on his face, mentally all but gone, it seemed...
The voice over the loudspeaker was loud. This was not surprising, as it was the intention of a loudspeaker. What was surprising was that whoever was talking over the loudspeaker was clearly chasing Devil Eye, yet outwardly claiming not to be Imperial.
In itself it was not strange. Plenty of non-Imperial bounty hunters and organizations came after Ketin on a regular basis, merely seeking the reward which the Empire would provide for his death or capture. (A vastly larger reward for capture of course)
The strange part was that they felt the need to state that they were not Imperial.
It didn't matter. Kete did not believe for a second that they meant him no harm. The very idea was preposterous. They should have tried harder, he thought - terrible liars, whoever they were. 'Only wanted to talk'? Sure, that's what they all said.
Once he was within range - fifty feet - the existence of the ATT and crew popped into his brain. There they were, a part of him and yet completely independent.
They were not human, that much was immediately obvious - they were robots. Machines of some kind. Ketin had no quarrel with bringing death to machines, and they did not bear the distinct complexity of artificial intelligence. Extremely complex programming which could adequately mimic AI, but not true AI. That meant they were merely items, not precious lives.
But it also meant that Kete could barely do anything to them. It didn't stop him from trying.
And so, running through the jungle at the very edge of his range, still shouting and flailing his arms and doing all he could to get the attention of his new 'enemy', Kete did what he did best; wrought havoc.
It was internal havoc, it came naturally to him as breathing and running. He overloaded every electrical circuit he could find, flooding all potential gates with as much electronic and/or electromagnetic energy as he could. It did not require hunting or precision, merely will, and that Kete had a lot of. He was going to make very sure that every electronic device within his range would be thoroughly disabled. Only a truly antique vehicle would be immune to the effects - even the steering system on a modern military vehicle was likely to have electronic components. Not to mention the bots themselves, which would suffer some intense internal damage if any of their parts were conventionally electronic.
The blast would also include, if somehow they had managed to find themselves within that range, the equipment of the new team.
Once disabling, frying, malfunctioning, corrupting and explosming everything he could, Kete would make himself seen for the slightest moment, merely leaping from one thicket of trees, bounding across a small clearing within sight of the ATT, and leaping once more into the thick brush. Likely that persistent assassin was somewhere nearby.
"C'mon y'jerks! Come and get me! Devil Eye hot-and-fresh and served up on a siiiilver platter!! Is that the best you've got? You're liars and scoundrels~!"
"AHH! Sir the controls aren't responding, the ATT is shutting down!" the driver exclaimed as they were trying to get to Ketin. Everything inside the vehicle was getting hay wire and the bots inside were starting to feel a bit qeesy. A voice came on the radio with a distinct German accent saying "Give me ze location of ze target, as accurate as you can" it crackled and shuttered before being fired. The crew inside did it without hesitation and activated all sensors before the entire system shutdown. With another loud Ding* and few zips and zaps. They basically had a information to created a 3D image of Ketin and his direction, but the sensors also picked up a bunch of unknowns behind the ATT. They were able to send the information to the battle network before the ATT finally shutdown, sealing the crew inside. With this last piece of information, Kampfer teleported directly in front of Ketin, intercepting his course, and grabbing by the throat with his mechinacl hand which is immune to the Ketin's electronic attack. As he grabbed him by the throat, he said "You're coming vith me" and both soon teleported out of the area, sparing the crew of the ATT form the attack. Which interestingly, reactivated the ATT, this time focusing on the unknowns behind them.
In Earth City, the chaos brought by the rioting citizens left the Kampfer's forces with no choice. The entire objective is to control the planet with or without a population. The Z-bots receded and rows upon rows of Doc-bots took there place. The megaliths and Universal Colossi reactivated and restarted there destruction upon the city once more killing the resisting citizens and arm forces with ease. The doc-bots also did there part in killing by lining up in row's occupying entire the width of streets and letting loose with there machine guns, mowing down all resistance on the streets, while the Z-bots go into building clearing out citizens inside, whether helping them get to safety or killing them if they resist. Soon new fires started to burn and it was clear that Kampfer is willing to use force and fear to get his way. Before teleporting to Ketin's location, Kampfer was furious that the powerful nations did not comply to his offer and decided to unleash his hordes of bots upon them, having them destroy there cities within hours after they sent in there responses. More of Kampfer's ships came into the planetary system, with reinforcements on them. Now Kampfer has made this an entire planetary invasion, is determine to capture it no matter the cost and with or without a habitable population.
Soon both men were teleported, to a interrogation room, but with out a one way window, just walls on all sides and hanging lamp two chairs and a table. Kampfer released his grip from Ketin and gestured him to take a seat, as Kampfer took is own seat across from the empty one. "Mr.Ketin Devil Eye Clarke, ve have much to talk about, so please have a seat and make yourself comfortable" he said looking at him with smile on his face. "Your electronic attacks von't vork on me, and soon after zis conversation it won't work on my personnel either" he added as his smile to turned a more sinister smile, thinking that Ketin will try to pull a fast one.
In Earth City, the chaos brought by the rioting citizens left the Kampfer's forces with no choice. The entire objective is to control the planet with or without a population. The Z-bots receded and rows upon rows of Doc-bots took there place. The megaliths and Universal Colossi reactivated and restarted there destruction upon the city once more killing the resisting citizens and arm forces with ease. The doc-bots also did there part in killing by lining up in row's occupying entire the width of streets and letting loose with there machine guns, mowing down all resistance on the streets, while the Z-bots go into building clearing out citizens inside, whether helping them get to safety or killing them if they resist. Soon new fires started to burn and it was clear that Kampfer is willing to use force and fear to get his way. Before teleporting to Ketin's location, Kampfer was furious that the powerful nations did not comply to his offer and decided to unleash his hordes of bots upon them, having them destroy there cities within hours after they sent in there responses. More of Kampfer's ships came into the planetary system, with reinforcements on them. Now Kampfer has made this an entire planetary invasion, is determine to capture it no matter the cost and with or without a habitable population.
Soon both men were teleported, to a interrogation room, but with out a one way window, just walls on all sides and hanging lamp two chairs and a table. Kampfer released his grip from Ketin and gestured him to take a seat, as Kampfer took is own seat across from the empty one. "Mr.Ketin Devil Eye Clarke, ve have much to talk about, so please have a seat and make yourself comfortable" he said looking at him with smile on his face. "Your electronic attacks von't vork on me, and soon after zis conversation it won't work on my personnel either" he added as his smile to turned a more sinister smile, thinking that Ketin will try to pull a fast one.
Upon hearing the wild stampeding of disgruntled citizens and the proceeding thunder of guns, Harlan decides that this would be as good of a time as ever to get the hell out of there. He yells at the top of his lungs to the rest of the Platoon, "Let's haul ass out of here!" He flings the door open and the platoon members run out of the basement. Harlan is about to turn when he sees Relkatov and grabs him by the shoulder and pulls him out and up the stairs, wielding his pistol in his other hand. They charge out into the street, pushing past surprised citizens and ZBots. When the citizens at the front of the charge begin falling and the rattle of machine guns rings out, Harlan curses and yells to the Platoon to follow him. He ducks into and alley and begins looking for a fire escape.
Aelyn's turn wasn't so reliable for him as he tcould easily notice CL clenching even harder unto his weapon's grip. All of it angered the Ranger. Work back in the outermost arms of the Galaxies Wide didn't quite work like this, at least for the Ranger. None who had control over a transdimensional capital ship would pluck an highly dangerous bounty hunter out of nowhere and claim it as one of it's most trust worthy gunmen. The Mad Ranger thought he had the upper hand. Having his equipment repaired, being thrown into an proving mission just so he could get out of there back into his Quest while he still had time.
It quite didn't work like it.
"The old space monopolist bullcrap, eh?! Who in the actual **** you think you're ******* with? Your typical Wabba Futt wannabe??" - By this point, CL's would-be cool and low hissing tone were twisted to dreaded yells. "... If there's something I want to know - R͟I̸G̡HT̨ *̛͈̳͔*̬͝****͈͉̫͞*̷̹̖ ̟̀Ṇ̶̣͎̹̥̱̙O̱W̸ - Is WHY THE **** I shouldn't blast yours and your mockery of girlfriend brains HERE ON STAGE!"
Maybe it was Aelyn-Paeryc own dark, piercing glare... Maybe it was the equally blacker gaze of the window behind the Ranger, but it was certain that something about this whole 'darkness' deal had considerably unpleased the Ranger to barbaric extents. He didn't even gave a split second back to Aelyn and Alexa to get a proper response before he would begin to blabbering to his ownself.
"... And to think you ******* needed a whole freaking city to - JUS̵Tͥ͗ ̾ͦTỞ͋̔ͬ̄͂ ̧ͨ̓͛ͫ͒͋Mͭ̔A͘ḰE S̕U͡RE - I don't get away with it!" - By that time, it was highly doubtful that CL's, not exaggerated to assume, legendary one-man army, war prowess would compensate for his equally legendary ability to be throw into sudden fits of nuclear explosive fits of rage and frustration. Even when he wasn't even sure if Aelyn had any malicious, at least current, intent towards him.
"... At least tell me what kind of deal you did with the Supervoid."
Supervoid. The only one known in the entire known universe was the Eridanus'. Eridanus Supervoid. Supposedly, the reason the Ranger was so (wait for it) mad about. This unknown region of existence known as The Not by Aelyn and his crew was incredibly similar to the inner depths of the Supervoid. A deep, endless ocean of pitch blackness. An literal abyss constantly staring back at you, even though they were completely different in nature, or Not, to one another.
It quite didn't work like it.
"The old space monopolist bullcrap, eh?! Who in the actual **** you think you're ******* with? Your typical Wabba Futt wannabe??" - By this point, CL's would-be cool and low hissing tone were twisted to dreaded yells. "... If there's something I want to know - R͟I̸G̡HT̨ *̛͈̳͔*̬͝****͈͉̫͞*̷̹̖ ̟̀Ṇ̶̣͎̹̥̱̙O̱W̸ - Is WHY THE **** I shouldn't blast yours and your mockery of girlfriend brains HERE ON STAGE!"
Maybe it was Aelyn-Paeryc own dark, piercing glare... Maybe it was the equally blacker gaze of the window behind the Ranger, but it was certain that something about this whole 'darkness' deal had considerably unpleased the Ranger to barbaric extents. He didn't even gave a split second back to Aelyn and Alexa to get a proper response before he would begin to blabbering to his ownself.
"... And to think you ******* needed a whole freaking city to - JUS̵Tͥ͗ ̾ͦTỞ͋̔ͬ̄͂ ̧ͨ̓͛ͫ͒͋Mͭ̔A͘ḰE S̕U͡RE - I don't get away with it!" - By that time, it was highly doubtful that CL's, not exaggerated to assume, legendary one-man army, war prowess would compensate for his equally legendary ability to be throw into sudden fits of nuclear explosive fits of rage and frustration. Even when he wasn't even sure if Aelyn had any malicious, at least current, intent towards him.
"... At least tell me what kind of deal you did with the Supervoid."
Supervoid. The only one known in the entire known universe was the Eridanus'. Eridanus Supervoid. Supposedly, the reason the Ranger was so (wait for it) mad about. This unknown region of existence known as The Not by Aelyn and his crew was incredibly similar to the inner depths of the Supervoid. A deep, endless ocean of pitch blackness. An literal abyss constantly staring back at you, even though they were completely different in nature, or Not, to one another.
Someone had finally managed to hit a nerve, evident by the tightening of Aelyn’s jaw, the sudden sharpness in his inky inverted eyes and the low, carefully regulated tone of his voice.
“Sir, I will forgive words spoken in passion without the need for apology, but if you speak disrespectfully to or of my wife again you will be removed from this vessel and put on the other side of that window.” He glanced toward the panel of blackness which had seemingly started the whole ordeal. “And I will do it before your bullet can reach either of us. Consider that reason enough as to why you should not go firing that weapon. Now with that said…”
He paused, choosing his word carefully, trying to maintain the balance of calm and alertness which would best suit the enraged Ranger. After all, there was nothing more infuriating than being white-hot angry at someone only to have them appear completely unaffected – but obviously A.P. was not about to meet the temper – if it was even possible for him.
“I assume what you are referring to is the blackness outside the window. I have never heard the term you use for it. To me it is known as The ‘Not’, and I know very little about it. It was created – or possibly discovered – by my late younger brother Paeryc. Others may have worked with him on it, I don’t know. It appears to be a state of paradoxical non-existence separate from the physical universe. It defies most scientific laws and I have never been able to make even the slightest progress in coming to comprehend it.
I am, as far as I know, the only individual who can freely travel between the physical universe and the Not – and I believe that was my brother’s intention. The reason we are here right now is because it is impossible for our enemies – or anyone in the physical universe for that matter – to find us. It is for this reason that the Stella has lasted so very long while being so under-defended.
“The Stella Viventium”, he continued, “Is a civilian colony ship, optimized for travel to and from the Not. I oversaw the construction of the whole and my brother dealt with the optimization. For one reason or another, he never fully explained his intentions to me, and I have been left to inference.
Shortly after the completion of the Stella, there was some kind of great calamity in the system I lived in. As to what exactly happened, this has been somehow purged from my and Alexa’s memory. What I do know is that the Sol System – the original star Sol, Earth and eight accompanying planets – was brought into the Not either in preparation for, or as a result of – the disaster.
“The Stella had been intended, I believe, as a sort of ‘Noah’s Ark’. I think my brother somehow foresaw the disaster. I think he intended to avert or respond to the disaster by taking the system into the Not, leaving behind a sizable sum of people in the physical universe as a contingency so that if it failed, humankind would live on.
“That was my original responsibility as Captain. Contrary to popular belief, there was once a time when Men did not populate the Wideness of the Galaxy. Mankind was restricted to a single solar system and if that system was somehow destroyed or made null, that would be the end of humans. As such I was tasked with seeing to the colonization of other worlds when such a time had passed without the system returning from wherever it had gone. The people living on Stella today are, with a few exceptions, direct descendants of the people of Earth, Luna, Mars, Phobos and Deimos.
“Since that time I have been looking for the missing Sol System with little success. That endeavor is what brought me to hunting down the droid, policy of following every potential lead, considering all the bot’s talk. In turn, the bot is what brought me to enlisting your aid – you can see where you have proven to be useful in this effect. The fact that you are in yourself a fascinating enigma is beside the point…Not to mention that I had a gut feeling you might be interested in the end result of my endeavors.”
He stopped again. Then, seeming to conclude the long winded, carefully spoken story “So you can see that my endeavors are far beyond the scope of collecting some monetary bounty. I am not in the least bit interested in money because, if I may speak so highly of myself, I am serving a higher purpose.”
That was the end of it, it seemed. Having spoken his piece, still resting one hand on Alexa’s shoulder and holding the other at waist-height with loosely opened palm, he did have one thing to add. “And before you doubt the truth of my story, tell me if you have ever known anyone else who could tell you what the nonsense words ‘America, Russia, Europe, Africa and Australia’ have in common.”
Indeed, the last bit was something of a test on the part of the man of ‘higher calling’. He wondered…Would The Ranger know what those words had in common? That would certainly change things.
But more to the point…would the Ranger listen to his monologue at all? Or was he too blind with rage to think clearly? Surely the possibility was there, and it disturbed Aelyn deeply. He darted over the details in his mind, trying to decide if he had left anything out.
Or if he had left anything out that he hadn’t intended to…?
“Kampfer you bastard call off those giant robots at once!! An infuriated General Sanders cried raggedly into a communicator which…someone had assured him was a direct line to high-command. Unfortunately the Lord was busy at the moment interrogating someone, so he went down the line. He went to everyone he could manage around the ECN base of operations. Before long he was in contact with Omega, hoarse and furious. “Use infantry units to put down the riots for God’s sake! Infantry and crowd control not total @#$%ing annihilation! I refuse to support a regime who would handle this situation with holocaust! ”
Sure, there was no real reason anyone need listen to General Sanders, but he had a point. The bottom line was that to any sane individual the whole point of controlling a collective people was to control the people – not just the barren land they had once occupied. If Sanders ordered it, the ECN military would gladly fight to the death – and die they would, but again Kampfer’s forces would be faced with total nullification of their goal, counterproductive purging of what they were trying to control.
“You know very well that using ground units will be just as effective in killing the riots and require only a fraction more time. You keep this up and you’re going to have body counts higher than populations! Eisenglower and I can unite these peoples beneath your flag when all this is over, but not if there aren’t any people left to unite!!”
It wasn’t long before Eisenglower was also in contact with Omega, barking angrily with desperate urgency in his voice. “Dear God man, stop this madness at once! This is a world of conflict – the network of nuclear warheads kept at the ready by the various nations, ECN included, is incredible. If any one of them is detonated without first being fired, it will cause a chain reaction and blow the entire planet to pieces!”
And even Kampfer’s technology wouldn’t be able to protect them from the ultimate power of the atom bomb. Especially if there was no solid planet left.
“You need to take a more subtle approach to this or you’re going to literally destroy what you’re trying to build!”
---
Private Reltakov snapped back into reality – or at least, back into motion. This was all a dream, after all…
Dallen and Sand were right on Ducote’s heels, weapons at the ready, unhesitant to fire upon any potential conceived threat.
And they did fire. Dallen’s eyes were deep with hate and Sand’s were deep with regret as the two of them were forced to gun down a number of others – citizens and Z-Bots alike. This is all so pathetic, Sand thought somberly, No reason for any of it.
By the time they had made it around to the back of the building, Reltakov had regained enough of his gross motor functions to at least run on his own. He clutched the pistol but was quite unable to fire on anyone or anything for the time being. Luckily he managed to stay away from the need to do so in the first place.
From the darkness of the alley beneath the red glow of war, the deep blackness of the starry night above, everything seemed suddenly distant. Unreal. It was a narrow alley, cluttered with debris and…and a couple bodies. Nobody had the mind to see whether they had been soldiers, invading forces or citizens.
They came to the fire escape that Ducote was hoping to find at the very end of the alley, where it met the center of a city block and broke into what would amount to a maze of alleys – definitely best not to go past the fire escape at the risk of getting lost in the labyrinth that was Earth City.
Dallen expertly placed a bullet on the release mechanism for the fire escape and it descended with a CLAAAANNNNG which would have seemed much louder if not for the madness they were so near to.
Sand picked a few shadowy figures off as they ascended – he knew not who they were, only that they were aiming weapons at the Platoon and they had to be pacified.
It was a long hike to the top of the building, which was made of brick and not tall enough to constitute a skyscraper, but still tall. It was another apartment building, likely intended for lower income individuals.
At the top they were greeted with the ghastly silhouette of the wartorn cityscape. Power was out throughout the city but the fires and other lights illuminated the decimation in spots. It was more than enough to understand the scope of what was happening.
To one side, there were the great Colossi, laying waste to entire city blocks. Some kind of flying machines buzzed in the distance, dropping bombs or machine gun fire to the streets below.
They would go quite unnoticed up on that rooftop. That was good at least.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the war turns the minutes to hours…” Sand intoned quietly, quoting an old war song his grandfather had taught him. No, this was no time for poetic reflection, yet still it fit so well.
“Well what the @#$% do we do now?” Dallen said, her own usually sharp voice subdued by the horror of the sight, the hopelessness of it all. It was obvious that they had lost – so obvious that even thick-headed Dallen had finally gotten it through to comprehension. It wasn’t as though they could wait here and hope for evacuation. It wasn’t as if going back onto the streets would result in anything but their own useless demise, more wasted lives in the flooding sea of those who were no more. And for what?
If General Sanders ended up getting his way, the situation would deteriorate – or refine – into the typical wartime scenario. Soldiers would be patrolling the streets squashing pockets of rebellion as they came upon them. There would be the sense of occupation and oppression, but surely it would be better than this…
From nowhere, there was a sound. It was a sad, wheezing laugh. “Well, what do you know…” The voice said. It was low, dry, pained. “Our ‘great Earth City enemies’.”
Not far off, where the rooftop met with another building which stood taller than their current perch, there was a man leaning against the raised wall, slumped on the floor. He bore the uniform of the Hitzen Republic – one of the more considerable enemies of ECN. As Platoon D looked over, two more of them would appear, stepping through a window on that taller of the two buildings.
“Don’t be alarmed.” The soldier on the floor said, weakly holding up a hand. His comrades did not seem alarmed. “I think there is no point in fighting now, is there?” They did not appear hostile. The two newcomers had rifles slung over their backs and the wounded one was unarmed.
Dallen, who had spun around to aim at the ‘enemy’, was convinced with surprising ease and lowered the weapon.
“Our government thought they could taking advantage of the chaos to get an edge over Earth City, I guess.” Explained one of them, thickly accented in something vaguely Chinese, “I think now they have bigger fish for frying. I wonder…if our home is as bad as yours…”
Breathing heavily and stumbling from both the exertion and the furious pain in his ear, Kete found himself slowing down more than he would have liked.
Then he found himself being choked more than he would have liked. He let out a stifled yelp, flailed uselessly about, clawed at his neck. Where had that guy come from…?
And then he was somewhere else. Not in the jungle. In a small room, in fact – with gunmetal blue-steel walls, sparsely furnished and insufficiently lit. He was also on the floor.
For he had been in such shock at the whole thing that when Kampfer released him he was far from coordinated enough to do anything so complex as stand, so he scrabbled and tripped and fell onto his back beside the table.
He lay there for a minute, blinking. Which way was up? That way. No, that way. There we go.
At last he got wearily and dizzily to his feet, rubbing the back of his head where it had contacted the floor. Nothing too bad. One of the adhesive bandages that were makeshift holding his ear together had come half-off in the one-sided scuffle. Without really acknowledging his captor at all, he felt gingerly at it, then went about digging from his pocket a replacement, applying it, crumpling up the old one and depositing it in his pocket. Only after that would he pay any attention to the man at the table.
He certainly seemed calm now. Dazed and confused, but calm. He blinked, looked at Kampfer with a half blank, half curious expression. Standing there, so very short with hair so mussed, the thing couldn’t possibly have been much older than his late teens, at most.
He regarded Kampfer in curious silence for some time. Then with a scratch at the back of his head he said “...We do?”
It seemed for all the world that he had no idea what was going on. More so it was clear that he did not understand what dire straits he was in – but one would learn that of Ketin quickly. He never seemed to comprehend the seriousness of whatever danger he was in at any given time, even when situations started to get truly perilous.
“E…electronic attacks?” Again he blinked. If the kid was faking ignorance he was doing a damned good job at it. Even psychological scans would read that he was entirely clueless.
Taking his studious eyes off Kampfer at last, Kete looked casually around the room. “Wow, this place sure is gloomy.” As casual an observation as any – such triviality! Eyes back to Kampfer. “I can’t imagine what you’d want to talk to me about…Unless –“ ears perked suddenly, he brightened up. “Unless you were looking for help making this room look less spooky~! I think some windows would help, like there and there…” He held up his hands, looking through one eye at two different spots on the wall in turn, gesturing the visualization of potential windows. Following that he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looked to the lamp. “And maybe a warmer light, like one of those rusty glass things they got in old-timey bars and the like!”
Eyes worked next to the table, he crossed his arms. “I don’t know what we could do about that old thing though. You might be best off just getting rid of it, bringing in a nice patterned rug and maybe some hardwood furniture. Like a, like a dark wood and velvet motif. Yeah.”
“Sir, I will forgive words spoken in passion without the need for apology, but if you speak disrespectfully to or of my wife again you will be removed from this vessel and put on the other side of that window.” He glanced toward the panel of blackness which had seemingly started the whole ordeal. “And I will do it before your bullet can reach either of us. Consider that reason enough as to why you should not go firing that weapon. Now with that said…”
He paused, choosing his word carefully, trying to maintain the balance of calm and alertness which would best suit the enraged Ranger. After all, there was nothing more infuriating than being white-hot angry at someone only to have them appear completely unaffected – but obviously A.P. was not about to meet the temper – if it was even possible for him.
“I assume what you are referring to is the blackness outside the window. I have never heard the term you use for it. To me it is known as The ‘Not’, and I know very little about it. It was created – or possibly discovered – by my late younger brother Paeryc. Others may have worked with him on it, I don’t know. It appears to be a state of paradoxical non-existence separate from the physical universe. It defies most scientific laws and I have never been able to make even the slightest progress in coming to comprehend it.
I am, as far as I know, the only individual who can freely travel between the physical universe and the Not – and I believe that was my brother’s intention. The reason we are here right now is because it is impossible for our enemies – or anyone in the physical universe for that matter – to find us. It is for this reason that the Stella has lasted so very long while being so under-defended.
“The Stella Viventium”, he continued, “Is a civilian colony ship, optimized for travel to and from the Not. I oversaw the construction of the whole and my brother dealt with the optimization. For one reason or another, he never fully explained his intentions to me, and I have been left to inference.
Shortly after the completion of the Stella, there was some kind of great calamity in the system I lived in. As to what exactly happened, this has been somehow purged from my and Alexa’s memory. What I do know is that the Sol System – the original star Sol, Earth and eight accompanying planets – was brought into the Not either in preparation for, or as a result of – the disaster.
“The Stella had been intended, I believe, as a sort of ‘Noah’s Ark’. I think my brother somehow foresaw the disaster. I think he intended to avert or respond to the disaster by taking the system into the Not, leaving behind a sizable sum of people in the physical universe as a contingency so that if it failed, humankind would live on.
“That was my original responsibility as Captain. Contrary to popular belief, there was once a time when Men did not populate the Wideness of the Galaxy. Mankind was restricted to a single solar system and if that system was somehow destroyed or made null, that would be the end of humans. As such I was tasked with seeing to the colonization of other worlds when such a time had passed without the system returning from wherever it had gone. The people living on Stella today are, with a few exceptions, direct descendants of the people of Earth, Luna, Mars, Phobos and Deimos.
“Since that time I have been looking for the missing Sol System with little success. That endeavor is what brought me to hunting down the droid, policy of following every potential lead, considering all the bot’s talk. In turn, the bot is what brought me to enlisting your aid – you can see where you have proven to be useful in this effect. The fact that you are in yourself a fascinating enigma is beside the point…Not to mention that I had a gut feeling you might be interested in the end result of my endeavors.”
He stopped again. Then, seeming to conclude the long winded, carefully spoken story “So you can see that my endeavors are far beyond the scope of collecting some monetary bounty. I am not in the least bit interested in money because, if I may speak so highly of myself, I am serving a higher purpose.”
That was the end of it, it seemed. Having spoken his piece, still resting one hand on Alexa’s shoulder and holding the other at waist-height with loosely opened palm, he did have one thing to add. “And before you doubt the truth of my story, tell me if you have ever known anyone else who could tell you what the nonsense words ‘America, Russia, Europe, Africa and Australia’ have in common.”
Indeed, the last bit was something of a test on the part of the man of ‘higher calling’. He wondered…Would The Ranger know what those words had in common? That would certainly change things.
But more to the point…would the Ranger listen to his monologue at all? Or was he too blind with rage to think clearly? Surely the possibility was there, and it disturbed Aelyn deeply. He darted over the details in his mind, trying to decide if he had left anything out.
Or if he had left anything out that he hadn’t intended to…?
“Kampfer you bastard call off those giant robots at once!! An infuriated General Sanders cried raggedly into a communicator which…someone had assured him was a direct line to high-command. Unfortunately the Lord was busy at the moment interrogating someone, so he went down the line. He went to everyone he could manage around the ECN base of operations. Before long he was in contact with Omega, hoarse and furious. “Use infantry units to put down the riots for God’s sake! Infantry and crowd control not total @#$%ing annihilation! I refuse to support a regime who would handle this situation with holocaust! ”
Sure, there was no real reason anyone need listen to General Sanders, but he had a point. The bottom line was that to any sane individual the whole point of controlling a collective people was to control the people – not just the barren land they had once occupied. If Sanders ordered it, the ECN military would gladly fight to the death – and die they would, but again Kampfer’s forces would be faced with total nullification of their goal, counterproductive purging of what they were trying to control.
“You know very well that using ground units will be just as effective in killing the riots and require only a fraction more time. You keep this up and you’re going to have body counts higher than populations! Eisenglower and I can unite these peoples beneath your flag when all this is over, but not if there aren’t any people left to unite!!”
It wasn’t long before Eisenglower was also in contact with Omega, barking angrily with desperate urgency in his voice. “Dear God man, stop this madness at once! This is a world of conflict – the network of nuclear warheads kept at the ready by the various nations, ECN included, is incredible. If any one of them is detonated without first being fired, it will cause a chain reaction and blow the entire planet to pieces!”
And even Kampfer’s technology wouldn’t be able to protect them from the ultimate power of the atom bomb. Especially if there was no solid planet left.
“You need to take a more subtle approach to this or you’re going to literally destroy what you’re trying to build!”
---
Private Reltakov snapped back into reality – or at least, back into motion. This was all a dream, after all…
Dallen and Sand were right on Ducote’s heels, weapons at the ready, unhesitant to fire upon any potential conceived threat.
And they did fire. Dallen’s eyes were deep with hate and Sand’s were deep with regret as the two of them were forced to gun down a number of others – citizens and Z-Bots alike. This is all so pathetic, Sand thought somberly, No reason for any of it.
By the time they had made it around to the back of the building, Reltakov had regained enough of his gross motor functions to at least run on his own. He clutched the pistol but was quite unable to fire on anyone or anything for the time being. Luckily he managed to stay away from the need to do so in the first place.
From the darkness of the alley beneath the red glow of war, the deep blackness of the starry night above, everything seemed suddenly distant. Unreal. It was a narrow alley, cluttered with debris and…and a couple bodies. Nobody had the mind to see whether they had been soldiers, invading forces or citizens.
They came to the fire escape that Ducote was hoping to find at the very end of the alley, where it met the center of a city block and broke into what would amount to a maze of alleys – definitely best not to go past the fire escape at the risk of getting lost in the labyrinth that was Earth City.
Dallen expertly placed a bullet on the release mechanism for the fire escape and it descended with a CLAAAANNNNG which would have seemed much louder if not for the madness they were so near to.
Sand picked a few shadowy figures off as they ascended – he knew not who they were, only that they were aiming weapons at the Platoon and they had to be pacified.
It was a long hike to the top of the building, which was made of brick and not tall enough to constitute a skyscraper, but still tall. It was another apartment building, likely intended for lower income individuals.
At the top they were greeted with the ghastly silhouette of the wartorn cityscape. Power was out throughout the city but the fires and other lights illuminated the decimation in spots. It was more than enough to understand the scope of what was happening.
To one side, there were the great Colossi, laying waste to entire city blocks. Some kind of flying machines buzzed in the distance, dropping bombs or machine gun fire to the streets below.
They would go quite unnoticed up on that rooftop. That was good at least.
“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the war turns the minutes to hours…” Sand intoned quietly, quoting an old war song his grandfather had taught him. No, this was no time for poetic reflection, yet still it fit so well.
“Well what the @#$% do we do now?” Dallen said, her own usually sharp voice subdued by the horror of the sight, the hopelessness of it all. It was obvious that they had lost – so obvious that even thick-headed Dallen had finally gotten it through to comprehension. It wasn’t as though they could wait here and hope for evacuation. It wasn’t as if going back onto the streets would result in anything but their own useless demise, more wasted lives in the flooding sea of those who were no more. And for what?
If General Sanders ended up getting his way, the situation would deteriorate – or refine – into the typical wartime scenario. Soldiers would be patrolling the streets squashing pockets of rebellion as they came upon them. There would be the sense of occupation and oppression, but surely it would be better than this…
From nowhere, there was a sound. It was a sad, wheezing laugh. “Well, what do you know…” The voice said. It was low, dry, pained. “Our ‘great Earth City enemies’.”
Not far off, where the rooftop met with another building which stood taller than their current perch, there was a man leaning against the raised wall, slumped on the floor. He bore the uniform of the Hitzen Republic – one of the more considerable enemies of ECN. As Platoon D looked over, two more of them would appear, stepping through a window on that taller of the two buildings.
“Don’t be alarmed.” The soldier on the floor said, weakly holding up a hand. His comrades did not seem alarmed. “I think there is no point in fighting now, is there?” They did not appear hostile. The two newcomers had rifles slung over their backs and the wounded one was unarmed.
Dallen, who had spun around to aim at the ‘enemy’, was convinced with surprising ease and lowered the weapon.
“Our government thought they could taking advantage of the chaos to get an edge over Earth City, I guess.” Explained one of them, thickly accented in something vaguely Chinese, “I think now they have bigger fish for frying. I wonder…if our home is as bad as yours…”
Breathing heavily and stumbling from both the exertion and the furious pain in his ear, Kete found himself slowing down more than he would have liked.
Then he found himself being choked more than he would have liked. He let out a stifled yelp, flailed uselessly about, clawed at his neck. Where had that guy come from…?
And then he was somewhere else. Not in the jungle. In a small room, in fact – with gunmetal blue-steel walls, sparsely furnished and insufficiently lit. He was also on the floor.
For he had been in such shock at the whole thing that when Kampfer released him he was far from coordinated enough to do anything so complex as stand, so he scrabbled and tripped and fell onto his back beside the table.
He lay there for a minute, blinking. Which way was up? That way. No, that way. There we go.
At last he got wearily and dizzily to his feet, rubbing the back of his head where it had contacted the floor. Nothing too bad. One of the adhesive bandages that were makeshift holding his ear together had come half-off in the one-sided scuffle. Without really acknowledging his captor at all, he felt gingerly at it, then went about digging from his pocket a replacement, applying it, crumpling up the old one and depositing it in his pocket. Only after that would he pay any attention to the man at the table.
He certainly seemed calm now. Dazed and confused, but calm. He blinked, looked at Kampfer with a half blank, half curious expression. Standing there, so very short with hair so mussed, the thing couldn’t possibly have been much older than his late teens, at most.
He regarded Kampfer in curious silence for some time. Then with a scratch at the back of his head he said “...We do?”
It seemed for all the world that he had no idea what was going on. More so it was clear that he did not understand what dire straits he was in – but one would learn that of Ketin quickly. He never seemed to comprehend the seriousness of whatever danger he was in at any given time, even when situations started to get truly perilous.
“E…electronic attacks?” Again he blinked. If the kid was faking ignorance he was doing a damned good job at it. Even psychological scans would read that he was entirely clueless.
Taking his studious eyes off Kampfer at last, Kete looked casually around the room. “Wow, this place sure is gloomy.” As casual an observation as any – such triviality! Eyes back to Kampfer. “I can’t imagine what you’d want to talk to me about…Unless –“ ears perked suddenly, he brightened up. “Unless you were looking for help making this room look less spooky~! I think some windows would help, like there and there…” He held up his hands, looking through one eye at two different spots on the wall in turn, gesturing the visualization of potential windows. Following that he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, looked to the lamp. “And maybe a warmer light, like one of those rusty glass things they got in old-timey bars and the like!”
Eyes worked next to the table, he crossed his arms. “I don’t know what we could do about that old thing though. You might be best off just getting rid of it, bringing in a nice patterned rug and maybe some hardwood furniture. Like a, like a dark wood and velvet motif. Yeah.”
Omega was rubbing his head as he listened the complaining from the two men on the line. "Gentlemen, do not question on how we operate, we have down this before on other worlds and see the successfulness of gunning down the ones who resist with overpowering force. Plus, we aren't worried about the nukes, there under our control now and they don't even know it" he reassured the two men. In reality, Omega spoke the truth about the nukes since there arrival, Kampfer the Mother AI to hack into the different nuke systems that scattered all around the planet and taking hostage of them. This will allow Kampfer's forces not to worry about the nukes since there under Kampfer's control and only Kampfer can launch them and strike at targets and not there respective nations. One by one in rapid succession other cities around the planet fell under Kampfer's control, with little resistance or large resistance that was put down by ground and orbital forces, like Orbital bombardment. Unless the nations surrender, total victory of the planet is assured with two days, impressive by military standards. "So General Sander's if you do not wish to cooperate, I won't hesitate to put you down and your men. Our mission is to control this planet with or without the population and if it is the latter then this will either become a fortress world or a mining world" he added giving the two men the goal of Kampfer and his bots. "Of course, we will still accept those who surrender or injured, but if they don't, they die by laser fire and machine gun fire" he said to the two men as he hung up on them.
Unlike with Aelyn, Kampfer doesn't want Ketin but just to talk with him, but seeing his ear in bad shape, he knew if he could fix it Ketin should listen and tell him good news for him. As he still sat on the chair, Kampfer gesture him to come over next to him. "Come here, Ketin, I vill fix your ear before ve can get started" he said as he reached in his pocket for some tools despite his hand being a tool as well. If Ketin, decided to go next to Kampfer,he would then fix his ear in a matter of minutes using just his mechanical hand and a few tools and his ear would be fully operation and work like it wasn't injured.
Unlike with Aelyn, Kampfer doesn't want Ketin but just to talk with him, but seeing his ear in bad shape, he knew if he could fix it Ketin should listen and tell him good news for him. As he still sat on the chair, Kampfer gesture him to come over next to him. "Come here, Ketin, I vill fix your ear before ve can get started" he said as he reached in his pocket for some tools despite his hand being a tool as well. If Ketin, decided to go next to Kampfer,he would then fix his ear in a matter of minutes using just his mechanical hand and a few tools and his ear would be fully operation and work like it wasn't injured.
Aelyn's initial points pierced deep through the Ranger's confused head with the same 'firepower' as the Revolver pointed straight towards him. The obviously noticeable ferocity of defending something far more valuable than any niobium deposit or a highly sought bounty was almost palpable, it was, in a certain extent, as that was the same reason the Ranger were thrown into an enraged fit. CL slowly descended his weapon back to his hip upon the Captain's words, not afraid of being banished into non-existence or a fate worse than that, but merely by relating to him.
Then he continued. Every term was surprisingly not strange for CL. Experimental Faster-Than-Light technology able to pierce through time and space gone wrong. This same accident happening back in the Sol System. An ancient colony ship built as a human Noah's Ark and, of course, ambitions far from any form of personal gain.
The Ranger's dead stare unto Aelyn meant he had completely lost any justification for his actions at the moment, either for his quest, either for his 'profession' or for his threat to the Captain. As far as himself knew, the Mad Ranger were nothing but a stray pawn in a game of peg, bet on blood instead of a proper palpable or electronic currency. Still...
The whole purpose of Stella Viventium, however, could soon bring a temporary cut-off of from the vicious circle of carnage THAT the Ranger had been dragged unto. His goal of finding Earth and, consequently, a being dear for his human self... It still meant far from the end of his career of bounty hunter. It was not much of an option to working at Aelyn's side for a while.
"Heh, Africa... The Americas... Both were the home of an ancient interstellar locating system. The Pyramids, I guess. Anyway, if you have any considerable amount of dosh to spare, I could **** up those bots on that planet... If that's even a relevant subject at the moment."
Then he continued. Every term was surprisingly not strange for CL. Experimental Faster-Than-Light technology able to pierce through time and space gone wrong. This same accident happening back in the Sol System. An ancient colony ship built as a human Noah's Ark and, of course, ambitions far from any form of personal gain.
The Ranger's dead stare unto Aelyn meant he had completely lost any justification for his actions at the moment, either for his quest, either for his 'profession' or for his threat to the Captain. As far as himself knew, the Mad Ranger were nothing but a stray pawn in a game of peg, bet on blood instead of a proper palpable or electronic currency. Still...
The whole purpose of Stella Viventium, however, could soon bring a temporary cut-off of from the vicious circle of carnage THAT the Ranger had been dragged unto. His goal of finding Earth and, consequently, a being dear for his human self... It still meant far from the end of his career of bounty hunter. It was not much of an option to working at Aelyn's side for a while.
"Heh, Africa... The Americas... Both were the home of an ancient interstellar locating system. The Pyramids, I guess. Anyway, if you have any considerable amount of dosh to spare, I could **** up those bots on that planet... If that's even a relevant subject at the moment."
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