Chapter Fourteen: A Good Start

Twenty minutes later Will and Lyra sat in a briefing room as Mamba outlined the mission at hand. Present were an elite group of Pancrateans hand selected for the mission by the Pancratean high command. Present were the three different sub-species of the Pancratean race. There were eight Ocodrecliads including Mamba that stood eight feet tall and resembled large, powerful veloceraptors with large crushing arms and powerful legs. Next were sixteen Sabiskili, a full head and shoulders shorter than Will but with strong, wiry bodies designed for climbing. Their heads resembled that of a cobra with a large hood that extended if threatened. In addition to their extraordinary eyesight they also possessed razor sharp extensions of their tail bones that jutted out in a curved blade at the tip of their tails and deadly poison was stored in a gland just below the blade. Rounding out the group were four massive Rotagillas that towered over the Ocodrecliads at a lofty twelve and a half feet fully erect. They would have resembled tyrannosauruses were it not for the upward jutting tusks from their bottom lip, arms in proportion to their hulking figures and the long spiked horns jutting up from their snouts like a rhino.

Once the hodgepodge group had assembled, Captain Mamba took his place at the head of the conference room. "Manjana! Manjana!" he called for silence and was rewarded almost instantly. "Alright, this meeting will continue in Common tongue due to the large variety present." there was a general mumble of assent before silence resumed. "Now you have all been chosen by Commander Korialis or myself to be part of a joint effort that has the potential to end this long and drawn out conflict." Will could tell that questions were on everyone's lips but rigid military discipline stilled their tongues.

"Assuming you have all heard the recent speech made by the Zealot and his associates," Mamba went on "You undoubtedly have heard rumors regarding the nature of this venture. I'm here to say that they're all true: Cardinal Lezigandros intends to activate the Valthusian Defense Grid and purge the planet of all life as we know it."

Once again Will marveled at the effect Mamba had on his men: they had just been told that everyone they knew or loved was going to be killed and yet they maintained their silence, waiting for further news. Will made a mental note to behave as Mamba did if he were to command soldiers in the future.

"Having said that, there's no need to mention that we cannot let this happen. Our way forward is clear: we escort the Supreme Arbiter and Oracle into the temple and assassinate the Arch Cardinal and High Zealot Argos Malathestran Lezigandros."

The silence broke. Instantly the assembled soldiers began jabbering away, roaring or screeching in shock and dismay.

"Calm yourselves!" Mamba said, holding his claws up. "The idea is radical, I know. But I see no other course! Lezigandros must die or we all will!"

Silence gripped the room again. Then one of the Ocodrecliads stood up. "I take it we have a plan, Captain?"

"I was just getting to that," Mamba activated a projector and a three dimensional map of the temple and the surrounding area popped up beside him. "The Cardinal has initiated the launch sequence within the temple which means the other temples are coming online. That's the bad news. The good news is that after six thousand years the technology is a little rusty and each station has to come on one by one. Our engineers have estimated that it will take nineteen kreelocks to activate each station. At eight hundred and eighty two stations scattered across the planet it will take him half a day to activate the web. So we have time, but not much." The 3-D map zoomed in on a small cliff side encampment in the outskirts of the ancient temple. "This is where we land. A small temple cluster about sixteen standard furlongs to the main temple cluster. Now the area is hot so we can't touchdown for risk of getting fragged before we touch dirt. So that means we have to hard drop in and clear all resistance before support can follow." There was a grumble of discontent and Will gathered that a hard drop wasn't popular with the troops.

"More bad news." Someone muttered.

"And more good news. Once we clear out the enemy forces and anti aircraft weaponry we'll be free to drop in Cobra hover tanks, Viper troop transport, Cottonmouth light assault vehicles and Python heavy assault ships. We will also be connecting with Commander Korialis' boys before we commence the attack." The troops seemed to brighten at the prospect of heavy artillery and even Will, who had no idea what any of these things were, felt a little surer of himself.

"More bad news: We're going to need every advantage we can get. The temple was built to house the planetary defense grid so it was made to be impregnable. The first problem we have to overcome is the lake around the temple. There's no central bridge system so we'll have to rely on a ferry to get there. This is where we split up. Based on the cards you drew at the start of this meeting, Red team will enter the temple first and shut the main power system down and retrieve the activation index, rendering the web useless. Meanwhile Blue team will hunt the Cardinal down and send him to the Great Beyond a few years early."

"So what, we just waltz right in and take the holy roller without a fight?" one soldier asked.

"Not exactly. As you know Lezigandros never so much as uses the bathroom without his personal Honor Guard." The screen showed a Pancratean painted black and white, dressed in long sleeveless robes and ceremonial armor on their chests, arms, legs and heads. "As you also know they're some of the best blade fighters on the planet so use your Hex Luminate or tailblades and fangs if things get too friendly." The screen changed again, revealing a column of armored vehicles. "They also have the new Cobra IV battle tanks so anyone who gets their hands on some serious firepower will have to deal with them." The screen changed, showing a shady image of a massive, muscular creature being led on by two smaller ones. "We also have reports of strange creatures patrolling the ground and making unholy noises as they go. We aren't sure if these are just rumors or not so stay on your toes."

Will and Lyra shared a look. The creatures may have been unknown to the Pancrateans but Will and Lyra had seen enough of those creatures to recognize them anywhere. If Demons had already been deployed to ensure that Lezigandros succeed; things had moved from bad to worse in no time flat.

A large Rotagilla raised a clawed hand. "And what can we expect for equipment?"

"Standard fare: Emulsion Rifles and Pistols along with depleted radioactive magazine loading carbines. Two of our Sabiskili sharpshooters will be sporting long range particle acceleration rifles while the rest get Spikers, pistols and Shields. The Ocodrecliads get Hex Luminate energy blades, stick grenades and whatever else they can get their claws on and our fine Rotagillas get high powered particle cannons, highly radioactive explosive launchers, blast door shields, bladed grenade launchers and the biggest nastiest melee weapons they can find." A savage war cry loosed itself from every throat and Will felt even more confident to be going in behind such a well prepared force. "Okay everyone to the armory and meet me in the loading bay in twenty kreelocks! It's time to make history, gentlemen!"

One by one the strike team left the room until only Will, Lyra, Pan, Kirjava and Mamba remained. Mamba hit a switch on the wall that caused it to slide open revealing a personal cache of weapons and armor. Silently he dressed himself in the deadly looking armor before turning to look at them.

"Are you ready?" he asked them. "Can I offer you a weapon?" he indicated the rows of firearms on the wall

"Thanks, but I think we're set." Will said, fingering his blade hilts.

"I hope you know that the task at hand is extremely perilous…bordering on suicidal." Mamba continued, fastening several odd looking blasters on his hips while fastening a powerful looking rifle on his back. "There's a good chance we may not live to see the world cleansed of Lezigandros' hatred."

"We'll take our chances." Kirjava said confidently

"Will you?" Mamba now turned to face them, bright yellow eyes glinting in the artificial light. "Let me tell you something; I've seen fully trained Special Ops. Commandos die in agony on the field. I've seen entire villages of Pancretans slaughtered all in the name of purity and truth." Mamba's voice now took an ominous edge and Will and Lyra subconsciously moved closer together. "There have been a total of sixty-two attempts on the High Zealot's life and all have ended in death or torment for those who failed. The two of you are still hatchlings, by our standards and yours, and your companions have only walked like men for a short time. You think you can succeed where others have failed?"

"The Author chose us for a reason…" Will said defensively, a little unsure of himself now. "We have the Creator on our side."

Mamba simply snorted and turned to leave. "In a war of faith the gods owe no allegiance."

A short while later Will and Lyra had packed themselves beside Pan, Kirjava and twenty four of the best the Pancretan special ops team had to offer inside the hold of a Night Adder troop transport drop ship. As Mamba barked something harsh in his native tongue, the ship thrust forward out of the hanger doors and into the space surrounding the planet. Artificial gravity held everyone down but Lyra still felt her stomach turn as though it were weightless.

The men were silent for the most part on the ride over: loading and checking their weapons repeatedly, polishing massive war hammers that the strongest carried, firing up strange two pronged energy swords and strapping explosives to their chest.

"Target directly below us." A technician said, monitoring the viewscreen. "Awaiting your command."

Mamba nodded. "Disengage."

"Disengaging…Freefall engaged." The technician echoed and suddenly the pod they were in lurched and fell free from the ship. Weightlessness took hold for a brief second before the planet sucked them in its gravitational field. Will and Lyra felt the tremors of re-entry and held each other's hand tightly. The Pancrateans were now chanting a strange battle hymn under their breaths, voices undulating like throbbing bass drums.

"Installment directly below us!" The technician yelled over the roar of the capsule breaking through the atmosphere. "Brace for impact!"

Thick crash webbing sprung out of the walls and held the occupants of the pod fast, absorbing any shock that was imminent.

Suddenly the ship rocked more violently. "Anti-spacecraft artillery!" Mamba called out. "Don't worry; these pods should be able to support us!"

The ship was now rocking like a washing machine, shaking, rattling and rolling through the air. At one point a particularly strong blast sent the pod into a spin before the stabilizers righted it.

"Planetfall in three…two…one…"

SMASH

With a jarring thus, the twenty eight members of the capsule touched down on Pancratean soil.

"Dim lights!" At Mamba's command the lights in the pod went out, plunging the pod into darkness. There was a series of snaps and hisses as artificial flares appeared in every soldier's claws, casting an eerie orange light under their reptilian faces.

"Enemy infantry moving in!" the technician whispered, monitoring the radar.

"Osgrillion, whip us up some cover…" The Ocodrecliad in question pulled the pin on a small sphere attached to his chest. There was a slight pause before thick red smoke poured from the balls, flooding the pod and obscuring everyone inside.

"Get to the back of the pod, Arbiter." Mamba's disappearing face instructed Will and Lyra. "We'll come for you when the fighting ends." Will nodded in spite of the urge to protest and led Lyra and the daemons to the very rear of the pod.

Mamba assumed his place at the front of the column of soldiers that stood facing the door. "Open blast doors on my mark!" Will made his way over to the panel and saw a blinking red button saying BLAST DOORS in acrylic characters.

"NOW!"

Will smashed his hand down on the button and bright sunlight flooded the smoky cabin. Mamba rushed forward, throwing two grenades into the surrounding Honor Guard and with a twin pair of booms, the Pancrateans vanished in the artificial fog.

Will and Lyra could only watch as the Pancratean army tore through the Honor Guard. The sights of war still sickened Will so images floated in front of his vision in chunks.

He saw Mamba thrust his sword into an enemy's chest, glowing blade appearing out the back…

HE saw a Rotogilla pick up a smaller Honor Guard private and hurl him clear across the battlefield and into a stone column…

He saw the Sabiskilli flare their hoods and lash out with their tails, causing the enemies to crumple in a heap on the mossy tiles of the…

And then Will saw it. The beast from his nightmares. Sixteen feet and almost two metric tons hurling itself forward in slow motion, blank eyes staring ahead.

"Berserker!" Will cried out, making to go and fight until something stopped him dead in his tracks in shock.

A Rotogilla slammed a massive hammer into the colossal killing machine and crashed it through a temple wall. It jumped in after it and proceeded to deliver another blow with his maul. Horrible screams and flashes of laser fire pulsed throughout the temple clearing for a few more seconds and then all was silent.

"You can come out, Arbiter." Mamba called. "We're done here."

Will led Lyra out into a nightmarish landscape of smoking, dismembered corpses. Sabiskilli were cleaning their tails of the thick black blood and three Rotogillas were congratulating the fourth who was sporting the Berserker's heart, still mildly pulsing. Mamba himself was presently stowing his blade after slicing the head off an Honor Guard commander.

"What…what is this madness?" Pan breathed as he surveyed the chaos.

"That, Master Daemon, is what we in the core call a good start…" Mamba said wearily, tossing the head aside.

AN: Okay i just wanted to get specs out of the way before moving on with the story. This was kind of a support chapter to introduce the Pancretan heirarchy. So R&R and i'll get more plotty nonsense later!