3:31
Base 64
Southeast of the Kithan border
"Alright, listen up!" Sgt. Devolle, the operation manager for this mission, announced to the High-ranking Survivalist officers partaking in the reclamation operation. "In about a matter of minutes, Beraxis flight will arrive overhead, assuming that they didn't run into trouble. Once they penetrate the nation's airspace under the cover of darkness and wreak havoc by taking out the Kithar and Fantine's defenses and infrastructure, our forces will roll in and do the clean up. Here's how it will go." He turned to the projector that lit a ghostly blue map of Kithan, pointing his small laser at the dark blue outlines of the state as well as the bright red dots that marked cities and important targets. "Beraxis flight will take care of the places marked with red, as you've been told. As for you, your forces will enter Kithan once the enemy is preoccupied with the air divisions from here and there in what's called a Pincer envelopment, closing the lid on the coffin for both the Fantine occupiers and the rebellious Kithars."
Ulric rolled his purplish silver eyes. "Yeah, we know what it means."
"We outrank you after all," Sythe reminded him.
"You lack a quarter of the experience we possess ," Merv added.
"What was S.I.N. thinking putting you in charge?" Captain Rena rolled her icy blue eyes.
Oh Baphomir, these lot are relentless. It's as if I was thrown into a pit of merciless shadow wolves.
The Dathorian Sergeant raised his hand to ward of the concerns of the higher-ranking officers. The elitists can shove their complaints and demurs down their throats for the time being as they needed to be reminded who's in charge here.
"Officers, I know what you are thinking. Yes, I'm quite aware of the doubts and jealousies you have of me as you all outrank me." His amber eyes surveyed the quiet bureaucrats before him. "You don't try to hide your contempt for me, but think of it this way. You need to put your trust in me for the greater good. The fact that a lowly sergeant issuing orders to captains and generals can be quite humiliating, but you will have to suck it up and make do for the time being. You know I was appointed as the task manager for this operation by the Top Brass. I put all my trust in Mithros, S.I.N., and Skritsk for this operation as I know what is best for the Survivalist Federation Force. You may argue that your rank makes you significant, but to me, experience is key. How do you think Major Mithros recruited me? If you must know, I have served an integral role in the Ratakhi-Asahi Conflict."
Devolle's monologue drew exasperated groans and sighs from the SFF bigshots.
Colonel Guraff shook his head, his navy blue officer cap nearly sliding off his head."By Johar, don't you love to hear yourself talk. Your long-winded lecture was unnecessary and undesired."
Before the horned humanoid sergeant could respond to that affront, the mousy Skymarian who served as his personal assistant appeared and unveiled a Touch Pad and whispered into his ear. His eyes widening in either shock or awe, Devolle thanked her and turned to the officials.
"It seems that our flying comrades are right on time. In about 10 to 20 seconds, they'll be shooting by overhead. Perhaps we can indicate a proper greeting for them as we see our comrades in the air off. After all, they play a vital role. Let's begin a countdown, shall we?"
Hall'ya shook her head among the moans and groans of their colleagues. "You got to be joking."
"10....9....8...."
"I guess not then."
Before anyone else could join in on the banter, distant rumblings were heard.The upper echelons of the operation hurried to the red-tinted windows while their guards stood by inside the room, still as statues. As the rumblings turned into roars and booms, the officers noticed red, black, and blue dots on the magenta horizon overtaking the dark blue sky, morphed into larger shapes and the SFF warplanes materialized overhead. The windows rattled as the fighters shot by before linking up with the larger bombers above. Devolle waved at the aircraft as Hellhounds, Vipers, Cobras, and Marauders tipped their wings to them before heading off to complete their objective.
"There you have it." The Dathurian manager turned and raised his hands in a showy gesture. "SFF's very own Beraxis flight spearheading this operation to regain our dignity and glory. Purhaena herself led the squadron with her red Bat, followed by Targon's black one as well as Saemon's dark blue one. Did I see Kaneen aircraft flying escort to our bombers? I hear the latest addition from our Research Division's lab under Dr. Narvid is flying with the squadron, except that it isn't visible to the naked eye. I hear it is a force to be reckoned with."
Outside, a sound that resembled the growling of a Rangator cut through the early morning, signaling the arrival of the units that would augment the invasion force. Large black, red and blue tanks that included the Nightmare, the Tiger, and Armageddon rumbled by along with armored vehicles like Badgers, Armadons, Karkodons, and Clawdons with troops marching by on foot or on inside the vehicle. Above them, helis and gunships flew by like Rocs while the troops and vehicles passed by. Among them , the blue and black armored Reserve troops marched, augmented by the shadow-colored Black Legion troops with glowing green eyeholes, the Marines with their blue shoulder-patches, the Rangers with camouflage designs of all shades of blue, and the gray and black Special Ops with their glowing gas masks. Even a few navy troopers with their frowning black helmets could be seen among the horde of Survivalist troops. It was quite a majestic scene captured in the red of the building's windows under the coming dawn.
"Quite a sight for sore eyes, wouldn't you agree?" Devolle smiled.
72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuSW06ylxh
"I wouldn't take credit for it if I were you," the Hangman spoke up. He straightened his wide-brimmed hat as his rusty-looking black eyes fixed onto the high-ranking officers. " I guess it is time for me and my enforcers to accomplish our mission. They won't see it coming as the Kithars and their Fantine overlords would be busy contending with an air and ground assault they didn't see coming. "
"I sure don't want to be Jorji or any officer or top administrator in the Kithar military or government, least of all Fantine." Devolle shook his head. "Best of luck to you."
As the Razamjami assassin motioned to his troops and took his leave with them, General Breda of the 22nd Reserve stood up.
"Rather than view the action from the comfort of these sleek Obsidon chairs, I want to experience it from the front lines, not to mention taking part in it. "
"Suit yourself." General Ludd, the Krieger officer who had switched allegiances to SFF, shrugged." We have a nice view from our Hunter-Killers anyway. I prefer we take out the Arodorian champagne as well as the Pyreni'i cheese, we have a show on in a bit. Those Fantine dirtsuckers ,as well as their Kithar pawns, won't see what hit them until it's too late. That will be a show worth watching."
"Nay, I'd rather not be a fat slob that has been chomping on rubbish while my troops have all the fun." Breda, the Ahyman general , motioned to his assistant Tarik, the dark-haired Luxorian boy to follow him. "Tarik and I will accompany our men where we can spectate their valor and bravery in battle."
As soon as the two left almost about a minute after the Hangman and his thugs, Devolle turned to address the officers who would be commanding this battle from the table before them. In the distance, the sounds of the SFF planes and the dull explosions that followed signaled that the strike was underway. The Dathurian manager smiled devilishly as his eyes went from Ludd to Rena.
"So it begins."
---
Jenna University of Scholastic Vocations
Prefontaine
11:53
"What time should we study for the midterms?"
As the four friends left from their Essentials of Metallurgy class, Niko, a medium-sized human with fair skin and light golden hair glanced between a turquoise and cyan-scaled Vishbynn male , a red-skinned and magenta-haired female Zeltari, and a brown-furred Skaven boy. The latter put away his data tablet before turning to fix his mustard-colored eyes on her.
"We have them scheduled at 8:00 in a couple of days so let's take a refresher at the Vogon Stop. I hear they have killer Galagan milkshakes."
The Zeltari licked her lips. "Sounds like a plan."
"Looks like we have it settled. Milkshakes first, then hitting the Tablets tonight," the Vishbynn murmured. "Our schedule is set."
The Skaven's bright yellow eyes widened as he pointed toward "Look, it's the Empirical Inquisition!"
All eyes turned down the walkways past Thorne Fountain and the end of the black and scarlet-tiled buildings with creamy metallic bases where the daunting figure of the Grand Inquisitorial agent and his four silver, pearl white, and jet black-armored enforcers stood, their 0.267 laser guns in their hands, ready to be utilized should the need arise. Clad in royal magenta and black regalia with gold markings, the agent's glowering purple eyes fell upon the four students. Niko felt her nerves go cold as the gaze of the Capital secret police agent landed upon her. It felt like she had stepped into the Iskartan capital city of Wandenburgh. Surely, the imposing Federal security agent wasn't after her, was he?"
"There they are! Nab the four of them!"
Before she could process what was occurring, the four enforcers, their eyes hidden behind their silvery helms, arrived and roughly nabbed the perplexed students.
The Zeltari girl tried to futilely resist. "Hey, what is this for? We haven't done anything wrong!"
"Silence, girl!" The Grand agent snapped. "You four are placed under arrest by the command of the Empirical Inquisition!"
"On what grounds?" The young Skaven thrashed wildly as the ElectroCuffs, glowing a vibrant neon purple, were placed onto his hands.
The arresting officer smiled. "Perhaps you should take a look yourself. To say the least, you have several counts of high treason against the Capital. "
The four friends glanced down at the portable projector that the Inquisitor carried in the palm of his hand. He pressed a glove-enclosed finger onto the center of the gray-black device where a crimson button lay, emitting four ghostly holograms of the college students as well as the charges ascertained to them like specters. As the four Metallurgy students kept their flabbergasted gazes onto the projector, the Inquisitorial agent spoke on.
"All four of you are guilty of slander and traitorous statements against the Capital. You will now be taken to the Circuits of the High Court inside the Capital to face the charges against you. You may retain a defense should you choose, but the evidence against you is too great."
"So you are taking us into custody for statements made on the Net a couple months ago?" Niko seethed. "Are our personal opinions such a grave threat to the royals?"
"You would be surprised to see what kind groups get riled up by seemingly harmless pronouncements," their captor informed the group as they were led toward a waiting silver vehicle with the words Empirical Inquisition plastered in magenta, shining in the dying sunlight. "Eco-terrorists or other radicals like Force 3 or Echo-9 were formed after various students and activists vilified the Capital's operations in the Katkhan Jungle. In fact, some of the most vocal posters joined those groups. It might surprise you to know that SFF was formed a century ago due to mass criticisms of the Capital and the Great Kingdoms, all done by a vocal radical minority."
"Perhaps if the Capital actually paid more attention to the sufferings of the citizens outside the spheres of influence and interests of itself and the Great Kingdoms, then you wouldn't have issues like dissenting opinions of student activists or terrorist organizations or even the blasted Survivalist Federation Force. You created these monsters with your suffocating grip on the lives of the ordinary citizens of the Offworld. You have only yourselves to blame for the mess you made," Niko muttered under her breath.
As they were taken away from the school grounds, several onlookers stopped what they were doing and viewed the Inquisition arrest some dissidents, something that rarely occurred, if ever. The Inquisitor chuckled as he adjusted his cap.
"Is that what you think? That kind of mindset usually ends up sending one down the wrong path."
"So raiding an Entymol village in Thorayyxx is the right path?"
The Inquisitorial agent turned to the smart-mouthed rebel. "We had a major security threat to attend to. Had we sat by idle and not taken action, who knows how many Offworld citizens could have lost their lives to a large scale terror attack."
Once they had arrived at the Inquisition's detainment vehicle, the back doors slid open and the guards gave the detainees a hard shove inside the vehicle, chained them up to their cold metallic seats, and activated the doors once more. Once the doors were shut, enclosing the occupants in a darkness lit by magenta lights, the vehicle started to rumble as it took off. The silver-clad guards took their places among the prisoners as they drove in sullen silence to either the Capital or some other detention center for political dissidents.
"What's going to happen to us once we get to a holding center?"
Niko glanced to her right as her Vishbynn friend's narrow scaly neck stuck out into the aisle when he addressed her.
"I'm guessing we will be processed and put into holding cells until everything gets sorted out. I hope they won't separate us."
Her scaly fishy friend's doe eyes seemed to bear a look that the human girl thought was terror and uncertainty. "That sounds horrifying. Will we be able to retain a legal defense team?"
The rumblings of the transport's engines as well as the hum of the lights were the only audible things before Niko broke the silence with her reply. "I certainly hope so. Now if only Fantine would learn of how the Capital's Inquisition handles dissent, then maybe they'd rethink their alliance. "
Is the beloved King Emperor and his retainers any different than S.I.N's attack dogs?
---
"Sir, we have set up the launchers. The K-9 trucks mounting the missiles are in position. Permission to fire?"
As Corporal Rynn, a black and tan-spotted Kaneen trooper clad in black combat gear with the glowering canine insignia of the Kaneen military's 113th Projectile Unit plastered on her shoulder , supervised her troops setting up the Howler missiles on the backs of the Lupeen and Vulpeen armored vehicles and carriers, the eerie glow of Warmaster Skritsk's hologram hovered over the Kaneen officer and the rest of the furry anthropomorphic canine troops, lighting up the dark foothills harboring the troops and their weapons. The luminescent cities of the Kithar homeland glowed like comets flying close to orbit in the approaching dawn.
"You may fire when ready."
Hearing the graveling voice of the Khaotik, the Corporal gave her troops the signal and in a matter of time, the Howlers, true to their name, roared into the night, emitting high-pitched screams as the flames arced into the air and toward the cities of the Kaneen's longtime rivals. Orange flames blossomed here and there as the projectiles made contact within the cities. It wasn't long until the roars and howls of aircraft engines were heard and the deep rumblings that followed indicated the arrival of the Survivalist Air Force and their Kaneen allies. Corporal Rynn turned back to Skritsk's flickering blue form.
"Do you advise that we go for a second volley?"
The Khaotik warlord's brows, the same color as the midnight sky, furrowed as he looked intent on witnessing the destruction of the Kithar.
"Why not? An extra dose of ruination wouldn't be bad for the eyes. Wouldn't you say?"
Rynn's snout formed into a sinister toothy smirk as she turned to order her techs to reload the launchers. As the black-clad 113th Projectile Unit troopers set to work, the Kaneen junior officer turned to view the assault and bombardment on the city by SFF bombers supplemented by Kaneen aviators. The loud explosions followed by the rumblings of the earth lit up the dawn. The sight of the flames engulfing the bombed-out cities of the bipedal feline was satisfying enough for the sadistic canine woman.
"Incoming bogeys at our 12'0 clock and 1'0 clock!"
Hearing the shouts of a radar technician based in one of the lead Vulpine vehicle with the purpose of keeping radar overwatch should any hostile outfit approach their position caught her attention. Scanning her amber eyes over the horizon and sky awash with smoke from the air raids for the approaching aircraft, the Kaneen junior officer failed to discern any sounds of approaching Lightnings, Thunderbolts, or Yowlers.
"Corporal, get down!"
Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground by one of the rocket crew members as whooshing sounds were heard, followed by the heat of the exploding vehicles. The intense heat, followed by the roar of the flames that finally reached her ears, engulfed the vicinity as the Kaneen overseer and her savior rose to their feet, surveying the burning vehicles. Before she could take in the scene, a second explosion, ignited from the missiles on their launchers sent her tumbling down the foothill. Once she shakily rose to her feet, ignoring the cuts and bruises over her body, the hum of light aircraft filled the vicinity. Glancing up, Rynn saw a few heli hovercrafts with orange, green, or brown color schemes backed by a few gunships materialize from the smoke and strike their position.
Those must be the Butterfly gunships Skritsk told me to be on guard for. It seems Fantine and those furball scum they call allies have pinpointed our position and are launching a strike to neutralize us.
Rynn could see ropes thrown appear from the sides of the hovercraft and several armored troops, along with some Kithars in forest green military gear and balaclavas, ziplined out of the craft and onto the base of the hill. These must be the Fantine shocktroopers and the Kithar Droppers. SFF's Kaneen liaison officer watched as enemy commandos fought their way uphill past the twisted metal, some still blazing, and the corpses of her missile unit engineers. Soon, the leading white and red trooper with his visor glowing a ghostly red stopped before her, the Fantine and Kithar paratroopers following suit.
"Halt!I am Buraki of the Shocktrooper Corps. Discard any weapons or gear you have on you, that includes comms, blades, and night vision goggles. Any sudden moves and-"
Rynn drew her sidearm, but before she could press the cold metallic trigger, the trooper that referred to himself as Buraki, quicker on the draw, squeezed off a shot which embedded itself inside the Kaneen fighter's chest, searing through the armor and knocking her down. As the darkness overtook her vision, the armored shocktrooper and his troops stood over her.
"Pity, you could have surrendered and lived to fight another day, but I guess SFF doesn't take retreats lightly. If only your government wouldn't have allied itself with such a barbaric and self-serving group, you wouldn't be in this mess. I guess that is a difference between us and you."
---
As soon as his shift ended at the Scientific Research lab at the Bunker, Kachi and a couple of his colleagues, a wolfish humanoid Lykkan as well as a Skaven, entered the lockers.
"Wooh, was this a long stretch!" the Skaven stated as he stretched his sinewy oakwood-colored arms as his amber eyes glanced between the furry human and the yellow-masked one.
Kachi just ignored his colleague's remark as he held his finger to the scanner. Once it was satisfied with the identification check, the locker door popped open.
"Yes, the Silent Killer project must have maximal importance for the Research Division," a mustard-skinned Reptylian remarked,
"What do you think, Noraz'ii?" The Kalash with the skull-mask over bat-like face asked. "You're unusually quiet as opposed to the rest of the Federation's scientists. "
All eyes turned to Kachi as he took off his blue hazard gear and stuffed it inside his 6 foot locker. The Noraz'ii, like most of his brethren, covered himself in leather clothes and armor platelets in addition to a mask due to their sensitive bodies and enhanced senses to avoid being overwhelmed. His button-like eyes stared back at his fellow scientists.
"What do you care about the opinion of a lowly grunt like me?"
"I only asked just to be jovial," the scaly chiropteran replied. "We need that kind of spirit in this dark and gloomy atmosphere since no one in the Survivalist Federation Force knows how to have a good time."
"Careful, you don't want guards to hear you," the Skaven warned. "Else you'd be thrown in the Cellar."
The Reptylian shivered. "I hear spooky tales about that place. Those that get taken there never see the light of day."
As the spent researchers continued their sallies, the enclosed humanoid hurried through a set of metal blue sliding doors with a red skull plastered over a hazardous sign, he tapped his comm and prepared to accomplish what he had planned to from the start.
---
As the crack of dawn shone on the horizon off the Immattorre Bay, the cumulus clouds took on a royal purple hue befitting the proximity to the Royal Intelligence Headquarters. Inside the Office of External Espionage and Recon, Rakshi the red-clad Noraz'ii received a call on his comm. Tapping his receiver, he answered it.
"About time you reported to me, Kachi. Did the Essies tighten security again?" The voice on the other end of the encrypted comm device responded. Rakshi nodded as he prepared his data tablet to record notes. "I figured as much. Now please divulge the intel I've been longing to receive."
After ten minutes had passed, the spy chief had recorded what he had desired to know and forwarded a copy to the top brass of the Royal Defense Forces as well as the King-Emperor and his retainers. This could play as a game changer should the Capital and its allies enter the war against the Survivalists.
"Once again, a job well done, Kachi. I need you to linger there for some time until the time is right for an extraction. I will make sure you will get rewarded handsomely for your part. In the meantime, I want to know everything about Dr. Narvid and his projects, including his favorite pastries.
---
As Breda and Tarik sat inside the dull and dusty green Karkadon as it lumbered through the rubble-strewn streets along with many units of his camouflaged blue and black 22nd Reserve troops, the tension and excitement permeated through the atmosphere of the war machine as the gunners kept their goggled eyes trained for targets. From the octagonal windows of the vehicle, the two executives spotted a skull-masked death squad operative as well as some Special Ops, Marines, Black Legionnaires, Marines, and Rangers march alongside their troops or hitch a ride on a vehicle. Breda decided he wanted to feel the warm air of morning on his skin as he crawled up onto the surface of the APC from the hatch. Glancing downward, he decided to offer his lieutenant as spot alongside himself.
"Thanks, but I am better suited to providing my assistance from within the safety of this armored vehicle. Won't do the troops any good should any of us get taken out from a lucky shot by a Kithar insurgent sniper."
"Suit yourself."
The Ahyman general shrugged as he tightened his olive green and steel blue officer coat around himself amid the predawn chill as the Karkadon drove over the rubble and wreckage of marble in what used to be some sort of monument created by the locals, but was most likely taken out by artillery or from the air. Either way, it was ground to dust under the tracks of the SFF armored columns. It wasn't even fifteen minutes later when the dirt and mud of the unpaved roadway became littered with not only burnt out debris , but with corpses as well-both civilian and combatants. As Breda took in the wondrous sight, the top gunner, his goggles glowing a ghastly green in the predawn darkness, tapped his shoulder.
"Sir, take a look around."
As he swept his toffee-colored eyes around the ruined landscape, the Survivalist general spotted the civilian population arrive to view the arrival of the Survivalist invasion force. Anthromorphic felines of all ages peered out from behind their windows or even appeared in their doorways, some intrepid or thoughtless enough to step out into their yards, to survey the blue, black, or green armor carrying SFF troopers. As the small breeze flapped at Breda's hair, the general took in the sight with delight.
Ah, a welcoming committee. Unexpected, but welcome. They deserve to see their overseers and pay their respects-or meet their doom and despair. The subjects of the Force will be paying their respects to General Hyliman Breda of the 22nd Reserve Battalion.
As soon as they pushed through a ruined marble archway with the sign that contained the words Sorelli Square enveloped in yellow and red paint tipping on its side, the convoy was surrounded by what seemed like the inhabitants of a whole town of Kithars as they approached the invasion brigade.
"Beat it! Back off!"
Despite the gunners and operators trying to dissuade them, the miserable cat people wouldn't leave the path of the cavalcade. Breda then thought of an immediate solution.
"If words won't register with their small minds, then speak with your weapons. Surely, they will understand that. Those turrets aren't for show."
After the general issued those orders, the tracers of the APC guns, glowing green, red, or blue, trained upon the crowd.
---
Skies above! This is not good at all! It is as Breyan said. We are literally sitting birds for this Survivalist monstrosity if we can't figure how to take it out soon. Though it may undo what we fought tooth and nail for, a retreat may be necessary to prevent the annihilation of Fantine's air force.
A blinding white flash, followed by a bright red streak, filled the immediate atmosphere, resulting in a couple of planes in the Fantine-Kithar air squad to crumble in pieces to the surface of war-torn Kithan. Ari was sure the rest of the aviators were feeling the same anxiousness he was as the bat-shaped plane killer disappeared from view once in the early morning sky. The leader of Eagle flight felt intense nervousness as he grappled with the choice of retreat or to stand and fight to the last pilot as their foes were famous for. The question that remained in the back of their minds was who would be the next to meet their end at bright beam of the chameleon aircraft?
"Abner's guns!" Strygar cursed. "We need to think of something and fast, else we are toast-all of us!"
"No kidding!" Wolfgang muttered. "The question is what do we do? How do we go about solving this issue? If you have any solutions, now is the time to share."
"Guys, can we please hurry?" Meysa's frantic voice cut through the comms. "That Survivalist super freak weapon will strike again if we keep bickering."
It was Ludwig's turn to break radio silence. "Ari, it's your call. What do you suggest our next course of action to be?"
"How about we spread out, thinning ourselves so we don't provide the plane killer a bulk of targets? That way, it will make earmarking certain aircraft harder for it."
Having no other ideas, the Kithar and Fantine force spread out through the wispy haze as the early morning sun started its ascent. Desperately trying to conjure a plan to keep the Survivalist flying camo-fortress at bay, if not neutralize it, Ari heard a distinct chiming sound. Glancing downward at the control panel, glowing various colors, Ari selected the middle of the orange graphical screen, activating the Double Eagle's comms.
"Come in, this is Eagle Lead-over!"
There was a crackle as Sentery's voice came through.
"Silent Killer.....Squamaton...Chamomile....sunlight.....weakness."
"Sentery, you are breaking up! Repeat, over! You are breaking up. "
The PR specialist's voice was cut off by static. " Weakness....underbelly....cannon...attack."
"Ari, we have incoming blips from our 9, 6, and 3 0'clock positions!"
As Adlan cut in, Ari glanced down to see Amethyst ovals light up the black quadrants to the south, west, and north of their positions. A sense of panic swept through the Fantine aviator.
No, please tell me that the enemy hasn't sent reinforcements already! If that's the case, we are done for!
"Fantine flights, this is Saint-1 reporting. Fly skywards now!"
Ari's heart leapt out of his green flight suit-strapped chest as he heard the familiar voice.
"Ahron, what are you doing here?"
"I'll explain once the Survies are booted from their imperialistic strongholds. Now if I were you, I'd move it unless you enjoy losing more aircraft to that nightmare machination."
Not needing to be told twice, the Fantine flight leader relayed the order to the flyers under his command and jammed the stick straight up, shooting into the sky. The engines of the Eagle shrieked like the plane's namesake as it rocketed through the thin wisps of cloud remaining in the troposphere. The heavy G's pressed onto the aviators body as he leveled out well above the cloud level. In a matter of seconds, the planes under his command appeared in his line of sight, silhouetted by the sun reaching above the clouds.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Hiram, one of the pilot's in Eagle flight, exclaimed.
Glancing at his radar, Ari was wonderstruck to see a large circular blip, dwarfing all other dot, cover the southeastern sky quadrant like a large Pelopenlypo ink stain. If it was large on the quadrant, relative to scale, it must be quite gargantuan in the sky. Sure enough, as Ari glanced out of his plane's cockpit, he could see the bat-like plane killer illuminated in the magnifying sunlight, glowing an orangish green through the flyer's helmet.
So that's what Sentery was trying to warn us about. That chameleon behemoth that functions as an aircraft bane has sunlight as its Achilles heel. Now that it's in the open, is there a way to take it out of the sky?
"Saint-1, this is Fantine flight leader Prime. From our altitude and angle, we can spot the camo-plane killer between your 10 and 11 0'clock ."
"Fantine Prime, Saint-1 acknowledges your information. I personally thank you on behalf of the Royal Air Corps. Your observations were necessary in order to bring down this monstrous sky battlestation and tip the tide of battle in our favor. I'll transmit this info to Sentery. Once she activate the jamming frequencies in some UAV you guys call the Ninja, the phantom threat will now be like a Annoji whale ripe for a feast for Lomann sharks. It's time to get some!"
Oh boy, why did you have to go and divulge one of our most secretive weapons to him, Sentery? Now you will boost his already inflated ego even more!
From the trapezoidal windows of his forest green and orange jet, Ari watched as the pearl white Saints- Was that Ahron leading the flight?-, flanked by purple, gray, beige, and other -colored Capital warplane zero in on the beleaguered floating ghost fortress and begin to assault it with their multi-colored lasers and missiles. As the Royal aircraft pounded the underside of the ghost plane, Ari spotted a few, Raptors, Falcons, and Martens among the Capital's finest air squadron. As soon as the silver cannon on the ship's underbelly caught fire, he deciphered Sentery's final cryptic message.
So the beast's soft spot is its underbelly? No problem, we got this covered.
---
"We have incoming spooks from our south, west, and north!"
Inside the Silent Killer's Weapons and Targeting station, the radar crew, dressed in black with red or blue helmets bearing black visors that covered their faces, were about to coordinate with the gun crew on the next plasma beam burst when the oval blips appeared on their sensors.
"Are they friendlies?" a royal blue helmet-clad supervisor asked the radar techs. "Establish contact with them at once for confirmation. I don't understand why they are waltzing in when we have the situation under control?"
As the communications between the approaching aircraft was established, white noise screamed all over the ship's dark exterior, blinking with a few green lights. All operators on board covered their ears at the ghastly sound. One glance at the black and gray static on the tactical display boards was all the confirmation needed to discern the unidentified planes and their loyalties.
"That answers your question," one of the radar operators muttered. "What's the next step? Should we respond by requesting backup from Beraxis Flight? After all, it was their job to clear out any extraneous threats. The plasma cannon can't target all aircraft in the Kithan airspace at once!"
"Switch to the anti-aircraft Isotope turrets!" The supervisor shouted above the din.
As soon as the technicians complied, the sound of what sounded like gusts of wind picking reached their hearing senses before the Silent Killer shook with loud explosions reverberating across the rooms like an ancient god beating his war drum. Glancing out the dark windows, the visored-crew could see multi-colored aircraft dart in and out of view. The cameras showed fires breaking out below the underbelly of the weapons bay as it became apparent that they were under attack. The shrill cries of the alarms were blaring as the Silent Killer's crew registered the unthinkable: That the enemy planes could locate and hit the phantom killer!
"Sir, we have taken multiple hits. Critical damage to the plasma cannon and the infrastructure. Should we do damage assessment?"
As the whumpf whumpf sounds of the Isotope turrets rung out, the ship started to shake more violently. Falling to the floor, the techs and their overseers struggled to rise and carry out their duties. There was no way they'd waver in their obligation lest death or a fate worse than that should they fail awaits them.
---
Abner's Guns! These bastards actually made a dent on that ginormous floating city with cannons! There's no way I'm going to let them take all the credit for all that we bled for.
"All remaining aircraft of Fantine and Kithar flights! Let's take our shots at this Survy menace and avenge our fallen brothers and sisters! Who's with me?"
As the pilots under his wing affirmed their decisions, Ari yanked back the stick and his warplane shot forward with a jolt as the thrusters boosted its speed toward the hulking behemoth, its cannons hanging limp and blazing, some pieces breaking off , while the midnight black underbelly lay exposed. As Ari locked both his cannons and remaining missiles onto the target, beckoning to be struck, he called out to his flyers and checked in with them.
"Going on the warpath. You all in?"
"Aye!" Meysa shouted.
"Aye!" Hiram replied.
"Copy!" Sven called out.
"Affirmative!" Jousseff stated.
"Great, now let'em rip!"
As Ari's wingmen all shouted their affirmative, the lead Fantine airman evaded magenta and celadon warplanes as he shot up under the Survivalist weapon of terror and let his weapons loose. Once that was completed and the flyers under his wing had a chance to complete their run, the Fantine aviator gradually descended his aircraft, staying out of reach of the electric blue turret lasers streaking out of the sides of the doomed skycraft, and glanced out of the cockpit to see if the behemoth had taken enough hits to knock it out of the sky. As Fantine and Capital birds buzzed about like insects, a bright flashing object that resembled a dragonfruit streaked across the sky and connected with the conduit that attached the cannon to the bat-shaped plane killer. Flames shot out of its windows as the massive aircraft tilted on its side, its cannon fully severed now, and began its descent to the ground.
"Well, what do you know? The blasted horror machine has bit the dust-literally!" Breyan broke the tense silence.
"Cheers!" Ludwig and Wolfgang exclaimed.
"We need some when we get back to base," Hiram declared.
"You need to try Auslandian Weisskeg," Sven suggested. "Good ale. I can attest to that."
His sister just scoffed. "Don't listen to him, gentlemen. His taste in drinks hasn't been reliable in the past so why would it be now?"
"We can try it for ourselves before we judge," Nute chimed in.
"Good plan," a Qualish Meteor pilot agreed.
"I can't care less about drinks," Adlan muttered. "I'm glad that we now have air superiority once again. Let's focus on booting the Survies from Kithan before we debate drinks."
"Sounds good to me," Strygar inputted. "Speaking of which, who fired the death blow?"
Precisely what I want to know.
Ari glanced out the window just as a white Saint aircraft shot past, its burners glowing a purplish blue in the early sunlight.
Why does he have to be such a showoff? Isn't killing the sky fortress enough for him? Besides, he arrived late to the party.
---
The hum of the brown Land Ranger, designed by Dexter Manufacturing Labs, reverberated throughout the vehicle as Arienna sat in the cold metal seat in the vehicle's communications room. Prepared to accomplish her confidential mission for Assistant Director Calhoun, the bright white lights from above as well as the glowing red, blue, and green console lights gave the PR representative's body somewhat angelic glow as she waited for the Holo-meeting to begin. The Habsburhian and her superiors had agreed that taking a Land Ranger and ranging into a location that was unremarkable such as one with endless wheat and dry shrubs as a precaution in case hackers or techies working with the Survivalist or any black-marked group or organization tried to tap into their comms would be necessary. No one would suspect a remote Ranger to be harboring a meeting of utmost importance for the fate of the Offworld. Arienna took a breath and smoothed her curly blackish-brown hair down her as she awaited the sign-ins from the representatives or spokespeople from the Seven Great Kingdoms of the Offworld.
Any moment now.
Almost immediately, a green box with a yellow background appeared on the touchscreen before the PR specialist. Smiling, Arienna was relieved that all the parties of interest had responded to the summons and were waiting to be allowed onto the meeting. Touching the silver accept button, Fantine's personnel expert experienced the glowing white transparent shapes of the participants take form in the room beside her. It was as if the public relations representatives of the Kingdoms and the Capital were physically standing around her in a semi-circle. A kindly smile formed upon the olive-skinned Habsburhian as she kicked off the classified meeting.
"Welcome, representatives of the Kingdoms and the Capital. We will commence with the talks in a bit, but let me tell you that it means a lot for Fantine and the rest of the Offworld that you all agreed to attend. Acceptance was anticipated to be low, but to see that everyone invited chose to attend speaks volumes. If this is an indicator of what's to come for the future of the Offworld, then SFF and any blacklisted organizations will cease to be a scathing threat to us any longer. Anyway, with that said, let's all go along and introduce ourselves. Who will start?"
After a few seconds of silence, filled by the sounds of the Land Rover's mechanics, a red-haired woman spoke up.
"I am Odessa, speaker of the Iskartan Ice Kingdom."
A spectacled man with golden hair spoke next. "I am Libertad, the the Chief Royal Public Representative for the Capital. "
"Caesar, Chief Public Relations for the High Trade Kingdom," the wrinkled tan man with a tear-shaped birthmark on his left cheek added.
"Armagini, High Priestess of the Eastern Island Kingdom," an older woman with almond-shaped eyes and short hair as white as snow spoke up.
"Obedoran, Acting Deputy Negotiator of the Desert Kingdom. "
"Kelis, PR representative of the Nomadic Plains Kingdom."
"Volgor, Head of Intelligence for the Volga Forest Kingdom."
"Zukho, Head Hunter for the Katarn Peninsular Kingdom."
When all the introductions were concluded, Arienna smiled as she proceeded with the bit that carried the most weight.
"Great, now that we have all introduced ourselves, let's get the show on the road. I have detailed a plan that will mend the relations between us and bolster the Offworld's security, thus leading to the eventual demise of the Survivalists. Now who will be the first to pitch in their ideas of how to tackle this hurdle to world peace?"
---
Above is the reference for the Hangman though imagine him with darker hair and red-rimmed eyes.
3:31
Base 64
Southeast of the Kithan border
"Alright, listen up!" Sgt. Devolle, the operation manager for this mission, announced to the High-ranking Survivalist officers partaking in the reclamation operation. "In about a matter of minutes, Beraxis flight will arrive overhead, assuming that they didn't run into trouble. Once they penetrate the nation's airspace under the cover of darkness and wreak havoc by taking out the Kithar and Fantine's defenses and infrastructure, our forces will roll in and do the clean up. Here's how it will go." He turned to the projector that lit a ghostly blue map of Kithan, pointing his small laser at the dark blue outlines of the state as well as the bright red dots that marked cities and important targets. "Beraxis flight will take care of the places marked with red, as you've been told. As for you, your forces will enter Kithan once the enemy is preoccupied with the air divisions from here and there in what's called a Pincer envelopment, closing the lid on the coffin for both the Fantine occupiers and the rebellious Kithars."
Ulric rolled his purplish silver eyes. "Yeah, we know what it means."
"We outrank you after all," Sythe reminded him.
"You lack a quarter of the experience we possess ," Merv added.
"What was S.I.N. thinking putting you in charge?" Captain Rena rolled her icy blue eyes.
Oh Baphomir, these lot are relentless. It's as if I was thrown into a pit of merciless shadow wolves.
The Dathorian Sergeant raised his hand to ward of the concerns of the higher-ranking officers. The elitists can shove their complaints and demurs down their throats for the time being as they needed to be reminded who's in charge here.
"Officers, I know what you are thinking. Yes, I'm quite aware of the doubts and jealousies you have of me as you all outrank me." His amber eyes surveyed the quiet bureaucrats before him. "You don't try to hide your contempt for me, but think of it this way. You need to put your trust in me for the greater good. The fact that a lowly sergeant issuing orders to captains and generals can be quite humiliating, but you will have to suck it up and make do for the time being. You know I was appointed as the task manager for this operation by the Top Brass. I put all my trust in Mithros, S.I.N., and Skritsk for this operation as I know what is best for the Survivalist Federation Force. You may argue that your rank makes you significant, but to me, experience is key. How do you think Major Mithros recruited me? If you must know, I have served an integral role in the Ratakhi-Asahi Conflict."
Devolle's monologue drew exasperated groans and sighs from the SFF bigshots.
Colonel Guraff shook his head, his navy blue officer cap nearly sliding off his head."By Johar, don't you love to hear yourself talk. Your long-winded lecture was unnecessary and undesired."
Before the horned humanoid sergeant could respond to that affront, the mousy Skymarian who served as his personal assistant appeared and unveiled a Touch Pad and whispered into his ear. His eyes widening in either shock or awe, Devolle thanked her and turned to the officials.
"It seems that our flying comrades are right on time. In about 10 to 20 seconds, they'll be shooting by overhead. Perhaps we can indicate a proper greeting for them as we see our comrades in the air off. After all, they play a vital role. Let's begin a countdown, shall we?"
Hall'ya shook her head among the moans and groans of their colleagues. "You got to be joking."
"10....9....8...."
"I guess not then."
Before anyone else could join in on the banter, distant rumblings were heard.The upper echelons of the operation hurried to the red-tinted windows while their guards stood by inside the room, still as statues. As the rumblings turned into roars and booms, the officers noticed red, black, and blue dots on the magenta horizon overtaking the dark blue sky, morphed into larger shapes and the SFF warplanes materialized overhead. The windows rattled as the fighters shot by before linking up with the larger bombers above. Devolle waved at the aircraft as Hellhounds, Vipers, Cobras, and Marauders tipped their wings to them before heading off to complete their objective.
"There you have it." The Dathurian manager turned and raised his hands in a showy gesture. "SFF's very own Beraxis flight spearheading this operation to regain our dignity and glory. Purhaena herself led the squadron with her red Bat, followed by Targon's black one as well as Saemon's dark blue one. Did I see Kaneen aircraft flying escort to our bombers? I hear the latest addition from our Research Division's lab under Dr. Narvid is flying with the squadron, except that it isn't visible to the naked eye. I hear it is a force to be reckoned with."
Outside, a sound that resembled the growling of a Rangator cut through the early morning, signaling the arrival of the units that would augment the invasion force. Large black, red and blue tanks that included the Nightmare, the Tiger, and Armageddon rumbled by along with armored vehicles like Badgers, Armadons, Karkodons, and Clawdons with troops marching by on foot or on inside the vehicle. Above them, helis and gunships flew by like Rocs while the troops and vehicles passed by. Among them , the blue and black armored Reserve troops marched, augmented by the shadow-colored Black Legion troops with glowing green eyeholes, the Marines with their blue shoulder-patches, the Rangers with camouflage designs of all shades of blue, and the gray and black Special Ops with their glowing gas masks. Even a few navy troopers with their frowning black helmets could be seen among the horde of Survivalist troops. It was quite a majestic scene captured in the red of the building's windows under the coming dawn.
"Quite a sight for sore eyes, wouldn't you agree?" Devolle smiled.
72Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCKsE29uLy
"I wouldn't take credit for it if I were you," the Hangman spoke up. He straightened his wide-brimmed hat as his rusty-looking black eyes fixed onto the high-ranking officers. " I guess it is time for me and my enforcers to accomplish our mission. They won't see it coming as the Kithars and their Fantine overlords would be busy contending with an air and ground assault they didn't see coming. "
"I sure don't want to be Jorji or any officer or top administrator in the Kithar military or government, least of all Fantine." Devolle shook his head. "Best of luck to you."
As the Razamjami assassin motioned to his troops and took his leave with them, General Breda of the 22nd Reserve stood up.
"Rather than view the action from the comfort of these sleek Obsidon chairs, I want to experience it from the front lines, not to mention taking part in it. "
"Suit yourself." General Ludd, the Krieger officer who had switched allegiances to SFF, shrugged." We have a nice view from our Hunter-Killers anyway. I prefer we take out the Arodorian champagne as well as the Pyreni'i cheese, we have a show on in a bit. Those Fantine dirtsuckers ,as well as their Kithar pawns, won't see what hit them until it's too late. That will be a show worth watching."
"Nay, I'd rather not be a fat slob that has been chomping on rubbish while my troops have all the fun." Breda, the Ahyman general , motioned to his assistant Tarik, the dark-haired Luxorian boy to follow him. "Tarik and I will accompany our men where we can spectate their valor and bravery in battle."
As soon as the two left almost about a minute after the Hangman and his thugs, Devolle turned to address the officers who would be commanding this battle from the table before them. In the distance, the sounds of the SFF planes and the dull explosions that followed signaled that the strike was underway. The Dathurian manager smiled devilishly as his eyes went from Ludd to Rena.
"So it begins."
---
Jenna University of Scholastic Vocations
Prefontaine
11:53
"What time should we study for the midterms?"
As the four friends left from their Essentials of Metallurgy class, Niko, a medium-sized human with fair skin and light golden hair glanced between a turquoise and cyan-scaled Vishbynn male , a red-skinned and magenta-haired female Zeltari, and a brown-furred Skaven boy. The latter put away his data tablet before turning to fix his mustard-colored eyes on her.
"We have them scheduled at 8:00 in a couple of days so let's take a refresher at the Vogon Stop. I hear they have killer Galagan milkshakes."
The Zeltari licked her lips. "Sounds like a plan."
"Looks like we have it settled. Milkshakes first, then hitting the Tablets tonight," the Vishbynn murmured. "Our schedule is set."
The Skaven's bright yellow eyes widened as he pointed toward "Look, it's the Empirical Inquisition!"
All eyes turned down the walkways past Thorne Fountain and the end of the black and scarlet-tiled buildings with creamy metallic bases where the daunting figure of the Grand Inquisitorial agent and his four silver, pearl white, and jet black-armored enforcers stood, their 0.267 laser guns in their hands, ready to be utilized should the need arise. Clad in royal magenta and black regalia with gold markings, the agent's glowering purple eyes fell upon the four students. Niko felt her nerves go cold as the gaze of the Capital secret police agent landed upon her. It felt like she had stepped into the Iskartan capital city of Wandenburgh. Surely, the imposing Federal security agent wasn't after her, was he?"
"There they are! Nab the four of them!"
Before she could process what was occurring, the four enforcers, their eyes hidden behind their silvery helms, arrived and roughly nabbed the perplexed students.
The Zeltari girl tried to futilely resist. "Hey, what is this for? We haven't done anything wrong!"
"Silence, girl!" The Grand agent snapped. "You four are placed under arrest by the command of the Empirical Inquisition!"
"On what grounds?" The young Skaven thrashed wildly as the ElectroCuffs, glowing a vibrant neon purple, were placed onto his hands.
The arresting officer smiled. "Perhaps you should take a look yourself. To say the least, you have several counts of high treason against the Capital. "
The four friends glanced down at the portable projector that the Inquisitor carried in the palm of his hand. He pressed a glove-enclosed finger onto the center of the gray-black device where a crimson button lay, emitting four ghostly holograms of the college students as well as the charges ascertained to them like specters. As the four Metallurgy students kept their flabbergasted gazes onto the projector, the Inquisitorial agent spoke on.
"All four of you are guilty of slander and traitorous statements against the Capital. You will now be taken to the Circuits of the High Court inside the Capital to face the charges against you. You may retain a defense should you choose, but the evidence against you is too great."
"So you are taking us into custody for statements made on the Net a couple months ago?" Niko seethed. "Are our personal opinions such a grave threat to the royals?"
"You would be surprised to see what kind groups get riled up by seemingly harmless pronouncements," their captor informed the group as they were led toward a waiting silver vehicle with the words Empirical Inquisition plastered in magenta, shining in the dying sunlight. "Eco-terrorists or other radicals like Force 3 or Echo-9 were formed after various students and activists vilified the Capital's operations in the Katkhan Jungle. In fact, some of the most vocal posters joined those groups. It might surprise you to know that SFF was formed a century ago due to mass criticisms of the Capital and the Great Kingdoms, all done by a vocal radical minority."
"Perhaps if the Capital actually paid more attention to the sufferings of the citizens outside the spheres of influence and interests of itself and the Great Kingdoms, then you wouldn't have issues like dissenting opinions of student activists or terrorist organizations or even the blasted Survivalist Federation Force. You created these monsters with your suffocating grip on the lives of the ordinary citizens of the Offworld. You have only yourselves to blame for the mess you made," Niko muttered under her breath.
As they were taken away from the school grounds, several onlookers stopped what they were doing and viewed the Inquisition arrest some dissidents, something that rarely occurred, if ever. The Inquisitor chuckled as he adjusted his cap.
"Is that what you think? That kind of mindset usually ends up sending one down the wrong path."
"So raiding an Entymol village in Thorayyxx is the right path?"
The Inquisitorial agent turned to the smart-mouthed rebel. "We had a major security threat to attend to. Had we sat by idle and not taken action, who knows how many Offworld citizens could have lost their lives to a large scale terror attack."
Once they had arrived at the Inquisition's detainment vehicle, the back doors slid open and the guards gave the detainees a hard shove inside the vehicle, chained them up to their cold metallic seats, and activated the doors once more. Once the doors were shut, enclosing the occupants in a darkness lit by magenta lights, the vehicle started to rumble as it took off. The silver-clad guards took their places among the prisoners as they drove in sullen silence to either the Capital or some other detention center for political dissidents.
"What's going to happen to us once we get to a holding center?"
Niko glanced to her right as her Vishbynn friend's narrow scaly neck stuck out into the aisle when he addressed her.
"I'm guessing we will be processed and put into holding cells until everything gets sorted out. I hope they won't separate us."
Her scaly fishy friend's doe eyes seemed to bear a look that the human girl thought was terror and uncertainty. "That sounds horrifying. Will we be able to retain a legal defense team?"
The rumblings of the transport's engines as well as the hum of the lights were the only audible things before Niko broke the silence with her reply. "I certainly hope so. Now if only Fantine would learn of how the Capital's Inquisition handles dissent, then maybe they'd rethink their alliance. "
Is the beloved King Emperor and his retainers any different than S.I.N's attack dogs?
---
"Sir, we have set up the launchers. The K-9 trucks mounting the missiles are in position. Permission to fire?"
As Corporal Rynn, a black and tan-spotted Kaneen trooper clad in black combat gear with the glowering canine insignia of the Kaneen military's 113th Projectile Unit plastered on her shoulder , supervised her troops setting up the Howler missiles on the backs of the Lupeen and Vulpeen armored vehicles and carriers, the eerie glow of Warmaster Skritsk's hologram hovered over the Kaneen officer and the rest of the furry anthropomorphic canine troops, lighting up the dark foothills harboring the troops and their weapons. The luminescent cities of the Kithar homeland glowed like comets flying close to orbit in the approaching dawn.
"You may fire when ready."
Hearing the graveling voice of the Khaotik, the Corporal gave her troops the signal and in a matter of time, the Howlers, true to their name, roared into the night, emitting high-pitched screams as the flames arced into the air and toward the cities of the Kaneen's longtime rivals. Orange flames blossomed here and there as the projectiles made contact within the cities. It wasn't long until the roars and howls of aircraft engines were heard and the deep rumblings that followed indicated the arrival of the Survivalist Air Force and their Kaneen allies. Corporal Rynn turned back to Skritsk's flickering blue form.
"Do you advise that we go for a second volley?"
The Khaotik warlord's brows, the same color as the midnight sky, furrowed as he looked intent on witnessing the destruction of the Kithar.
"Why not? An extra dose of ruination wouldn't be bad for the eyes. Wouldn't you say?"
Rynn's snout formed into a sinister toothy smirk as she turned to order her techs to reload the launchers. As the black-clad 113th Projectile Unit troopers set to work, the Kaneen junior officer turned to view the assault and bombardment on the city by SFF bombers supplemented by Kaneen aviators. The loud explosions followed by the rumblings of the earth lit up the dawn. The sight of the flames engulfing the bombed-out cities of the bipedal feline was satisfying enough for the sadistic canine woman.
"Incoming bogeys at our 12'0 clock and 1'0 clock!"
Hearing the shouts of a radar technician based in one of the lead Vulpine vehicle with the purpose of keeping radar overwatch should any hostile outfit approach their position caught her attention. Scanning her amber eyes over the horizon and sky awash with smoke from the air raids for the approaching aircraft, the Kaneen junior officer failed to discern any sounds of approaching Lightnings, Thunderbolts, or Yowlers.
"Corporal, get down!"
Suddenly, she was tackled to the ground by one of the rocket crew members as whooshing sounds were heard, followed by the heat of the exploding vehicles. The intense heat, followed by the roar of the flames that finally reached her ears, engulfed the vicinity as the Kaneen overseer and her savior rose to their feet, surveying the burning vehicles. Before she could take in the scene, a second explosion, ignited from the missiles on their launchers sent her tumbling down the foothill. Once she shakily rose to her feet, ignoring the cuts and bruises over her body, the hum of light aircraft filled the vicinity. Glancing up, Rynn saw a few heli hovercrafts with orange, green, or brown color schemes backed by a few gunships materialize from the smoke and strike their position.
Those must be the Butterfly gunships Skritsk told me to be on guard for. It seems Fantine and those furball scum they call allies have pinpointed our position and are launching a strike to neutralize us.
Rynn could see ropes thrown appear from the sides of the hovercraft and several armored troops, along with some Kithars in forest green military gear and balaclavas, ziplined out of the craft and onto the base of the hill. These must be the Fantine shocktroopers and the Kithar Droppers. SFF's Kaneen liaison officer watched as enemy commandos fought their way uphill past the twisted metal, some still blazing, and the corpses of her missile unit engineers. Soon, the leading white and red trooper with his visor glowing a ghostly red stopped before her, the Fantine and Kithar paratroopers following suit.
"Halt!I am Buraki of the Shocktrooper Corps. Discard any weapons or gear you have on you, that includes comms, blades, and night vision goggles. Any sudden moves and-"
Rynn drew her sidearm, but before she could press the cold metallic trigger, the trooper that referred to himself as Buraki, quicker on the draw, squeezed off a shot which embedded itself inside the Kaneen fighter's chest, searing through the armor and knocking her down. As the darkness overtook her vision, the armored shocktrooper and his troops stood over her.
"Pity, you could have surrendered and lived to fight another day, but I guess SFF doesn't take retreats lightly. If only your government wouldn't have allied itself with such a barbaric and self-serving group, you wouldn't be in this mess. I guess that is a difference between us and you."
---
As soon as his shift ended at the Scientific Research lab at the Bunker, Kachi and a couple of his colleagues, a wolfish humanoid Lykkan as well as a Skaven, entered the lockers.
"Wooh, was this a long stretch!" the Skaven stated as he stretched his sinewy oakwood-colored arms as his amber eyes glanced between the furry human and the yellow-masked one.
Kachi just ignored his colleague's remark as he held his finger to the scanner. Once it was satisfied with the identification check, the locker door popped open.
"Yes, the Silent Killer project must have maximal importance for the Research Division," a mustard-skinned Reptylian remarked,
"What do you think, Noraz'ii?" The Kalash with the skull-mask over bat-like face asked. "You're unusually quiet as opposed to the rest of the Federation's scientists. "
All eyes turned to Kachi as he took off his blue hazard gear and stuffed it inside his 6 foot locker. The Noraz'ii, like most of his brethren, covered himself in leather clothes and armor platelets in addition to a mask due to their sensitive bodies and enhanced senses to avoid being overwhelmed. His button-like eyes stared back at his fellow scientists.
"What do you care about the opinion of a lowly grunt like me?"
"I only asked just to be jovial," the scaly chiropteran replied. "We need that kind of spirit in this dark and gloomy atmosphere since no one in the Survivalist Federation Force knows how to have a good time."
"Careful, you don't want guards to hear you," the Skaven warned. "Else you'd be thrown in the Cellar."
The Reptylian shivered. "I hear spooky tales about that place. Those that get taken there never see the light of day."
As the spent researchers continued their sallies, the enclosed humanoid hurried through a set of metal blue sliding doors with a red skull plastered over a hazardous sign, he tapped his comm and prepared to accomplish what he had planned to from the start.
---
As the crack of dawn shone on the horizon off the Immattorre Bay, the cumulus clouds took on a royal purple hue befitting the proximity to the Royal Intelligence Headquarters. Inside the Office of External Espionage and Recon, Rakshi the red-clad Noraz'ii received a call on his comm. Tapping his receiver, he answered it.
"About time you reported to me, Kachi. Did the Essies tighten security again?" The voice on the other end of the encrypted comm device responded. Rakshi nodded as he prepared his data tablet to record notes. "I figured as much. Now please divulge the intel I've been longing to receive."
After ten minutes had passed, the spy chief had recorded what he had desired to know and forwarded a copy to the top brass of the Royal Defense Forces as well as the King-Emperor and his retainers. This could play as a game changer should the Capital and its allies enter the war against the Survivalists.
"Once again, a job well done, Kachi. I need you to linger there for some time until the time is right for an extraction. I will make sure you will get rewarded handsomely for your part. In the meantime, I want to know everything about Dr. Narvid and his projects, including his favorite pastries.
---
As Breda and Tarik sat inside the dull and dusty green Karkadon as it lumbered through the rubble-strewn streets along with many units of his camouflaged blue and black 22nd Reserve troops, the tension and excitement permeated through the atmosphere of the war machine as the gunners kept their goggled eyes trained for targets. From the octagonal windows of the vehicle, the two executives spotted a skull-masked death squad operative as well as some Special Ops, Marines, Black Legionnaires, Marines, and Rangers march alongside their troops or hitch a ride on a vehicle. Breda decided he wanted to feel the warm air of morning on his skin as he crawled up onto the surface of the APC from the hatch. Glancing downward, he decided to offer his lieutenant as spot alongside himself.
"Thanks, but I am better suited to providing my assistance from within the safety of this armored vehicle. Won't do the troops any good should any of us get taken out from a lucky shot by a Kithar insurgent sniper."
"Suit yourself."
The Ahyman general shrugged as he tightened his olive green and steel blue officer coat around himself amid the predawn chill as the Karkadon drove over the rubble and wreckage of marble in what used to be some sort of monument created by the locals, but was most likely taken out by artillery or from the air. Either way, it was ground to dust under the tracks of the SFF armored columns. It wasn't even fifteen minutes later when the dirt and mud of the unpaved roadway became littered with not only burnt out debris , but with corpses as well-both civilian and combatants. As Breda took in the wondrous sight, the top gunner, his goggles glowing a ghastly green in the predawn darkness, tapped his shoulder.
"Sir, take a look around."
As he swept his toffee-colored eyes around the ruined landscape, the Survivalist general spotted the civilian population arrive to view the arrival of the Survivalist invasion force. Anthromorphic felines of all ages peered out from behind their windows or even appeared in their doorways, some intrepid or thoughtless enough to step out into their yards, to survey the blue, black, or green armor carrying SFF troopers. As the small breeze flapped at Breda's hair, the general took in the sight with delight.
Ah, a welcoming committee. Unexpected, but welcome. They deserve to see their overseers and pay their respects-or meet their doom and despair. The subjects of the Force will be paying their respects to General Hyliman Breda of the 22nd Reserve Battalion.
As soon as they pushed through a ruined marble archway with the sign that contained the words Sorelli Square enveloped in yellow and red paint tipping on its side, the convoy was surrounded by what seemed like the inhabitants of a whole town of Kithars as they approached the invasion brigade.
"Beat it! Back off!"
Despite the gunners and operators trying to dissuade them, the miserable cat people wouldn't leave the path of the cavalcade. Breda then thought of an immediate solution.
"If words won't register with their small minds, then speak with your weapons. Surely, they will understand that. Those turrets aren't for show."
After the general issued those orders, the tracers of the APC guns, glowing green, red, or blue, trained upon the crowd.
---
Skies above! This is not good at all! It is as Breyan said. We are literally sitting birds for this Survivalist monstrosity if we can't figure how to take it out soon. Though it may undo what we fought tooth and nail for, a retreat may be necessary to prevent the annihilation of Fantine's air force.
A blinding white flash, followed by a bright red streak, filled the immediate atmosphere, resulting in a couple of planes in the Fantine-Kithar air squad to crumble in pieces to the surface of war-torn Kithan. Ari was sure the rest of the aviators were feeling the same anxiousness he was as the bat-shaped plane killer disappeared from view once in the early morning sky. The leader of Eagle flight felt intense nervousness as he grappled with the choice of retreat or to stand and fight to the last pilot as their foes were famous for. The question that remained in the back of their minds was who would be the next to meet their end at bright beam of the chameleon aircraft?
"Abner's guns!" Strygar cursed. "We need to think of something and fast, else we are toast-all of us!"
"No kidding!" Wolfgang muttered. "The question is what do we do? How do we go about solving this issue? If you have any solutions, now is the time to share."
"Guys, can we please hurry?" Meysa's frantic voice cut through the comms. "That Survivalist super freak weapon will strike again if we keep bickering."
It was Ludwig's turn to break radio silence. "Ari, it's your call. What do you suggest our next course of action to be?"
"How about we spread out, thinning ourselves so we don't provide the plane killer a bulk of targets? That way, it will make earmarking certain aircraft harder for it."
Having no other ideas, the Kithar and Fantine force spread out through the wispy haze as the early morning sun started its ascent. Desperately trying to conjure a plan to keep the Survivalist flying camo-fortress at bay, if not neutralize it, Ari heard a distinct chiming sound. Glancing downward at the control panel, glowing various colors, Ari selected the middle of the orange graphical screen, activating the Double Eagle's comms.
"Come in, this is Eagle Lead-over!"
There was a crackle as Sentery's voice came through.
"Silent Killer.....Squamaton...Chamomile....sunlight.....weakness."
"Sentery, you are breaking up! Repeat, over! You are breaking up. "
The PR specialist's voice was cut off by static. " Weakness....underbelly....cannon...attack."
"Ari, we have incoming blips from our 9, 6, and 3 0'clock positions!"
As Adlan cut in, Ari glanced down to see Amethyst ovals light up the black quadrants to the south, west, and north of their positions. A sense of panic swept through the Fantine aviator.
No, please tell me that the enemy hasn't sent reinforcements already! If that's the case, we are done for!
"Fantine flights, this is Saint-1 reporting. Fly skywards now!"
Ari's heart leapt out of his green flight suit-strapped chest as he heard the familiar voice.
"Ahron, what are you doing here?"
"I'll explain once the Survies are booted from their imperialistic strongholds. Now if I were you, I'd move it unless you enjoy losing more aircraft to that nightmare machination."
Not needing to be told twice, the Fantine flight leader relayed the order to the flyers under his command and jammed the stick straight up, shooting into the sky. The engines of the Eagle shrieked like the plane's namesake as it rocketed through the thin wisps of cloud remaining in the troposphere. The heavy G's pressed onto the aviators body as he leveled out well above the cloud level. In a matter of seconds, the planes under his command appeared in his line of sight, silhouetted by the sun reaching above the clouds.
"Look at the size of that thing!" Hiram, one of the pilot's in Eagle flight, exclaimed.
Glancing at his radar, Ari was wonderstruck to see a large circular blip, dwarfing all other dot, cover the southeastern sky quadrant like a large Pelopenlypo ink stain. If it was large on the quadrant, relative to scale, it must be quite gargantuan in the sky. Sure enough, as Ari glanced out of his plane's cockpit, he could see the bat-like plane killer illuminated in the magnifying sunlight, glowing an orangish green through the flyer's helmet.
So that's what Sentery was trying to warn us about. That chameleon behemoth that functions as an aircraft bane has sunlight as its Achilles heel. Now that it's in the open, is there a way to take it out of the sky?
"Saint-1, this is Fantine flight leader Prime. From our altitude and angle, we can spot the camo-plane killer between your 10 and 11 0'clock ."
"Fantine Prime, Saint-1 acknowledges your information. I personally thank you on behalf of the Royal Air Corps. Your observations were necessary in order to bring down this monstrous sky battlestation and tip the tide of battle in our favor. I'll transmit this info to Sentery. Once she activate the jamming frequencies in some UAV you guys call the Ninja, the phantom threat will now be like a Annoji whale ripe for a feast for Lomann sharks. It's time to get some!"
Oh boy, why did you have to go and divulge one of our most secretive weapons to him, Sentery? Now you will boost his already inflated ego even more!
From the trapezoidal windows of his forest green and orange jet, Ari watched as the pearl white Saints- Was that Ahron leading the flight?-, flanked by purple, gray, beige, and other -colored Capital warplane zero in on the beleaguered floating ghost fortress and begin to assault it with their multi-colored lasers and missiles. As the Royal aircraft pounded the underside of the ghost plane, Ari spotted a few, Raptors, Falcons, and Martens among the Capital's finest air squadron. As soon as the silver cannon on the ship's underbelly caught fire, he deciphered Sentery's final cryptic message.
So the beast's soft spot is its underbelly? No problem, we got this covered.
---
"We have incoming spooks from our south, west, and north!"
Inside the Silent Killer's Weapons and Targeting station, the radar crew, dressed in black with red or blue helmets bearing black visors that covered their faces, were about to coordinate with the gun crew on the next plasma beam burst when the oval blips appeared on their sensors.
"Are they friendlies?" a royal blue helmet-clad supervisor asked the radar techs. "Establish contact with them at once for confirmation. I don't understand why they are waltzing in when we have the situation under control?"
As the communications between the approaching aircraft was established, white noise screamed all over the ship's dark exterior, blinking with a few green lights. All operators on board covered their ears at the ghastly sound. One glance at the black and gray static on the tactical display boards was all the confirmation needed to discern the unidentified planes and their loyalties.
"That answers your question," one of the radar operators muttered. "What's the next step? Should we respond by requesting backup from Beraxis Flight? After all, it was their job to clear out any extraneous threats. The plasma cannon can't target all aircraft in the Kithan airspace at once!"
"Switch to the anti-aircraft Isotope turrets!" The supervisor shouted above the din.
As soon as the technicians complied, the sound of what sounded like gusts of wind picking reached their hearing senses before the Silent Killer shook with loud explosions reverberating across the rooms like an ancient god beating his war drum. Glancing out the dark windows, the visored-crew could see multi-colored aircraft dart in and out of view. The cameras showed fires breaking out below the underbelly of the weapons bay as it became apparent that they were under attack. The shrill cries of the alarms were blaring as the Silent Killer's crew registered the unthinkable: That the enemy planes could locate and hit the phantom killer!
"Sir, we have taken multiple hits. Critical damage to the plasma cannon and the infrastructure. Should we do damage assessment?"
As the whumpf whumpf sounds of the Isotope turrets rung out, the ship started to shake more violently. Falling to the floor, the techs and their overseers struggled to rise and carry out their duties. There was no way they'd waver in their obligation lest death or a fate worse than that should they fail awaits them.
---
Abner's Guns! These bastards actually made a dent on that ginormous floating city with cannons! There's no way I'm going to let them take all the credit for all that we bled for.
"All remaining aircraft of Fantine and Kithar flights! Let's take our shots at this Survy menace and avenge our fallen brothers and sisters! Who's with me?"
As the pilots under his wing affirmed their decisions, Ari yanked back the stick and his warplane shot forward with a jolt as the thrusters boosted its speed toward the hulking behemoth, its cannons hanging limp and blazing, some pieces breaking off , while the midnight black underbelly lay exposed. As Ari locked both his cannons and remaining missiles onto the target, beckoning to be struck, he called out to his flyers and checked in with them.
"Going on the warpath. You all in?"
"Aye!" Meysa shouted.
"Aye!" Hiram replied.
"Copy!" Sven called out.
"Affirmative!" Jousseff stated.
"Great, now let'em rip!"
As Ari's wingmen all shouted their affirmative, the lead Fantine airman evaded magenta and celadon warplanes as he shot up under the Survivalist weapon of terror and let his weapons loose. Once that was completed and the flyers under his wing had a chance to complete their run, the Fantine aviator gradually descended his aircraft, staying out of reach of the electric blue turret lasers streaking out of the sides of the doomed skycraft, and glanced out of the cockpit to see if the behemoth had taken enough hits to knock it out of the sky. As Fantine and Capital birds buzzed about like insects, a bright flashing object that resembled a dragonfruit streaked across the sky and connected with the conduit that attached the cannon to the bat-shaped plane killer. Flames shot out of its windows as the massive aircraft tilted on its side, its cannon fully severed now, and began its descent to the ground.
"Well, what do you know? The blasted horror machine has bit the dust-literally!" Breyan broke the tense silence.
"Cheers!" Ludwig and Wolfgang exclaimed.
"We need some when we get back to base," Hiram declared.
"You need to try Auslandian Weisskeg," Sven suggested. "Good ale. I can attest to that."
His sister just scoffed. "Don't listen to him, gentlemen. His taste in drinks hasn't been reliable in the past so why would it be now?"
"We can try it for ourselves before we judge," Nute chimed in.
"Good plan," a Qualish Meteor pilot agreed.
"I can't care less about drinks," Adlan muttered. "I'm glad that we now have air superiority once again. Let's focus on booting the Survies from Kithan before we debate drinks."
"Sounds good to me," Strygar inputted. "Speaking of which, who fired the death blow?"
Precisely what I want to know.
Ari glanced out the window just as a white Saint aircraft shot past, its burners glowing a purplish blue in the early sunlight.
Why does he have to be such a showoff? Isn't killing the sky fortress enough for him? Besides, he arrived late to the party.
---
The hum of the brown Land Ranger, designed by Dexter Manufacturing Labs, reverberated throughout the vehicle as Arienna sat in the cold metal seat in the vehicle's communications room. Prepared to accomplish her confidential mission for Assistant Director Calhoun, the bright white lights from above as well as the glowing red, blue, and green console lights gave the PR representative's body somewhat angelic glow as she waited for the Holo-meeting to begin. The Habsburhian and her superiors had agreed that taking a Land Ranger and ranging into a location that was unremarkable such as one with endless wheat and dry shrubs as a precaution in case hackers or techies working with the Survivalist or any black-marked group or organization tried to tap into their comms would be necessary. No one would suspect a remote Ranger to be harboring a meeting of utmost importance for the fate of the Offworld. Arienna took a breath and smoothed her curly blackish-brown hair down her as she awaited the sign-ins from the representatives or spokespeople from the Seven Great Kingdoms of the Offworld.
Any moment now.
Almost immediately, a green box with a yellow background appeared on the touchscreen before the PR specialist. Smiling, Arienna was relieved that all the parties of interest had responded to the summons and were waiting to be allowed onto the meeting. Touching the silver accept button, Fantine's personnel expert experienced the glowing white transparent shapes of the participants take form in the room beside her. It was as if the public relations representatives of the Kingdoms and the Capital were physically standing around her in a semi-circle. A kindly smile formed upon the olive-skinned Habsburhian as she kicked off the classified meeting.
"Welcome, representatives of the Kingdoms and the Capital. We will commence with the talks in a bit, but let me tell you that it means a lot for Fantine and the rest of the Offworld that you all agreed to attend. Acceptance was anticipated to be low, but to see that everyone invited chose to attend speaks volumes. If this is an indicator of what's to come for the future of the Offworld, then SFF and any blacklisted organizations will cease to be a scathing threat to us any longer. Anyway, with that said, let's all go along and introduce ourselves. Who will start?"
After a few seconds of silence, filled by the sounds of the Land Rover's mechanics, a red-haired woman spoke up.
"I am Odessa, speaker of the Iskartan Ice Kingdom."
A spectacled man with golden hair spoke next. "I am Libertad, the the Chief Royal Public Representative for the Capital. "
"Caesar, Chief Public Relations for the High Trade Kingdom," the wrinkled tan man with a tear-shaped birthmark on his left cheek added.
"Armagini, High Priestess of the Eastern Island Kingdom," an older woman with almond-shaped eyes and short hair as white as snow spoke up.
"Obedoran, Acting Deputy Negotiator of the Desert Kingdom. "
"Kelis, PR representative of the Nomadic Plains Kingdom."
"Volgor, Head of Intelligence for the Volga Forest Kingdom."
"Zukho, Head Hunter for the Katarn Peninsular Kingdom."
When all the introductions were concluded, Arienna smiled as she proceeded with the bit that carried the most weight.
"Great, now that we have all introduced ourselves, let's get the show on the road. I have detailed a plan that will mend the relations between us and bolster the Offworld's security, thus leading to the eventual demise of the Survivalists. Now who will be the first to pitch in their ideas of how to tackle this hurdle to world peace?"
---
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