Kain is startled awake by a beeping. Though still half asleep, his enhanced reflexes bring him up into a sitting position as he subconsciously searches for the source of the beeping. "This better be important." Kain mutters when he realizes that someone is trying to contact him on his personal comm. unit. "This better be important." Kain repeats angrily when he answers. "We need you down at the runway sir." A female voice tells him. "A transport just arrived with suspicious cargo. The pilot says he can only release it to the Last Raven."

"Suspicious how?" Kain asks. "Apparently, the sender is one, White Glint." Hearing the name banishes the last traces of sleep from his mind. "Say what?" He exclaims. "White Glint sir." The caller repeats. "Damnit." Kain curses. "Alright, sound the alarm. I want at least two ACs on the tarmac ready to fight by the time I get down there. Get the base defenses online too while your at it, and someone call Sumika, have her meet me down there."

"Will do sir." The woman replies before signing off. Getting to his feet, Kain realizes that he had slept on the couch again. Frowning, he checks the bedroom, and sees the bed hasn't been slept in. "Where'd she go?" Kain says absently. "Where'd who go?" DK asks, his voice surprising him. "Don't do that!" He yelps in surprise. "Well excuse me!" DK replies testily. "Good to hear you back online." Kain sighs. "When did you get back online?"

"About an hour ago." DK replies. "As soon as I woke up, that thing in Diana's mainframe dumped me into a sub-system. I couldn't stop it since I was still in boot-up."

"So much for that idea." Kain mutters. "Can you find out where Megan's been hiding? She didn't come in last night."

"Will do." Nodding, Kain makes a quick stop in the bathroom to make sure he still looks presentable, then leaves his room, a few steps short of running towards the runway.

********

Standing a distance from the parked STORK transport, Sumika chews her lip nervously. "What's going on?" Kain asks as he approaches. "Not much." Sumika replies as she turns to face him. "The pilot radioed in that he had a delivery for you. He didn't mention the fact that he came from the coast or that the cargo was from White Glint until after he landed."

Looking around, Kain sees three ACs standing off in the distance, all of them with weapons pointed at the STORK. "Those the rookies?" Kain asks curiously. "Yeah." Sumika replies. "Right now, they're the only ACs that aren't either damaged, or possibly infected by the Attacker."

"Great." Kain mutters sarcastically. "Alright, where's the pilot? And has anyone had a chance to look at the cargo yet?"

"In the tower." Sumika tells him. "And no, the pilot refuses to open the bay doors until you've signed off on the manifest. I think he's scared of something."

"He'd better be scared of me if he knows what's good for him." Kain says. "Alright, let's go meet the man." The two make their way to the runway control tower. Inside, they are directed to one of the small rooms at the base of the tower, where two guards in full combat gear stand watch over an older man in an alliance flight suit holding a data pad. "Alright." Kain declares as he enters the room. "I'm Kain. What's in the STORK?" Seeing him, the man breathes a sigh of relief. "About time." He mutters. "This cargo's been more trouble then its worth, even if that woman paid me double to get it here."

"By woman, you mean White Glint?" Sumika asks. "Don't know." The pilot replies. "She didn't give me any names except for the one I was supposed to put down as the sender. Real pretty little thing, but man, she's was a cold one." The pilot hands Kain a datapad. Taking it, Kain checks the contents and frowns when he sees a communications frequency. "Looks like someone wants to talk." Kain says absently. "I don't have the codes to disarm the security." The pilot tells him. "She never gave them to me. Guess she wants to talk to you first."

"What security?" Sumika asks suspiciously. "They've sealed the cargo." The pilot explains nervously. "Said that if I tried to open it without the codes, the whole thing would blow. I didn't ask for this shit, let me tell you!"

"Relax you old fart." Kain mutters before leaving the room. "Go check out this security crap they're talking about." Kain tells Sumika once she too is out of the room and the door closed. "I'm gonna head upstairs and see who wants to talk."

"Shouldn't it be White Glint?" Sumika asks. "Who knows?" Kain says. "Alliance built a freaking monster under everyone's nose? I'm not too trusting right now." Nodding, Sumika leave the tower while Kain goes over to the elevator and calls it down. Checking the datapad again, he finds nothing on it save for the communications frequency and a note addressing the pad to him. "What's they're game now?" He wonders aloud, stepping into the elevator once it arrives.

Several seconds later, Kain steps off the elevator into the tower's control room. "Someone put a call to this number." He says, tossing the pad to the nearest worker. "Anything else popping up on sensors?"

"No sir." Another tech sitting at the radar station replies. "Too early in the week for any real air traffic, and even then, UEG have things locked down fairly tight in panic mode." Kain grunts, going to the window to look down towards the tarmac, and the STORK transport with its mysterious package. "Has there been anything coming out of the coast lately?" Kain asks absently. "Nothing that we've heard of sir." The same tech replies. "But it is out of our operational range. I could put in a few inquiries if you want."

"Don't bother." Kain tells the man, his personal comm. unit beeping. "Was just curious." Checking the unit, Kain sees that it is Sumika. "There's definitely something wired to the doors." Sumika tells him once he answers. "We're going to have to get someone with explosives knowledge down here though to figure out the what and the how."

"How dangerous is it?" Kain asks. "How should I know? I'm not a bomb tech! All I can tell is that every primary entrance into the STORK's wired. Even some of the secondary ones too." Kain takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Alright." He starts to say when one of the techs calls out. "Sir, we have a connection. Someone wants to talk to you."

"Give me a minute." He tells Sumika before signing off his comm. unit. Going over to the tech who had spoken, Kain takes the seat that the technician offers him. On the screen before him is the picture of a white shield with a red rose on it, a pair of swords crossed beneath the shield. "I'm here." Kain says once he is seated. "Greetings Raven." White Glint replies from the other end. "I am elated to see that my package has arrived in time."

"And what, exactly, is in that package?" Kain asks. "Cause right now, its a few short steps away from getting blown straight to hell. Assuming of course, it isn't a bomb."

"Is that what you think it is?" She asks him curiously. "The way things are right now." Kain says evenly. "Anything coming from Alliance is usually dangerous and/or nasty in some way. No offense."

"I can understand your suspicions." White Glint admits. "But you need not worry. The transport contains an important cargo, one I am certain you would have retrieved had you not been forced to make your escape after damaging The Spirit of Motherwill."

"And what would that be?" Kain asks. "The remains of the warlord Jeremiah Backlash." Kain looks at the screen in shock. "Say what?" He exclaims. "The warlord's Normal proved to be quite more resilient then we had thought." White Glint exclaims. "Though most of the Normal was destroyed, the core and some other parts remained, as well as the corpse of the Warlord himself. Though the body was badly damaged, it is nonetheless intact."

"So you sent it to us?" Kain asks suspiciously. "Is he not your leader?" White Glint asks. "Damn right he was." Kain replies. "And a real tough sonnova bitch too. Don't get me wrong, if that really is him in there, we'll have him back. Man deserves a proper funeral."

"But you doubt my sincerity in this matter." White Glint points out. "Perhaps your memory is faulty Raven. I am not of the Alliance. We of the Order of the Dawn live and fight with honor. The Warlord proved himself in battle countless times. Even to his last, he fought fiercely. It is only proper that his remains be returned to his family, so that he may be honoured one last time. Make no mistake Last Raven: We are still enemies, and the next time we meet, I will not hesitate to kill you. But in this, we are temporary allies of sorts. You have my word Raven: This is no trick."

Kain regards the screen for several long seconds. "Alright." He finally says. "You've been on the up and up so far, so I'll buy it."

"Thank you."

"But." Kain adds. "The next time I see you, I'm putting you out of commission."

"I eagerly look forward to your attempt." White Glint replies, almost purring, a sound that catches Kain by surprise. "Right. So how do I open the transport?"

"I have already sent the de-activation signal." White Glint tells him. "No doubt your engineers would have found a way to deactivate it given time, but in this way, you will have time to mourn your dead. The pilots return flight path has already been inputted into his transport's navigation systems. Please inform him of this before his departure."

"Alright. Be seeing you whitey."

"Be prepared, Blacky." White Glint replies before cutting the connection at her end. "Order of the Dawn eh?" Kain mutters absently, staring at the image still on screen. "Make sure a copy of that gets to Diana." He tells the tech. "I'm going downstairs to see what's going on."

********

Half an hour later, Kain, Sumika, and Valkyrie stand by the open bay door of the STORK transport. Inside, the remains of AC Hammerfall are clearly visible, the head and left arm still attached to the core, the right arm and left leg strapped to the deck. Seeing the damage, Valkyrie could not help but cry, Sumika doing her best to comfort the other woman. Standing a polite distance away, Kain debates going in, but decides not to, when Doc Benson and Diana come walking down the ramp. "Is it?" Valkyrie asks once they get close.

"There was, extensive damage to the body." The doctor says hesitantly. "It's going to have to be a closed casket, but it is Jeremiah." Hearing this, Valkyrie breaks into a new wave of tears. "The AC is scrap." Diana says quietly. "There's just too much damage to really salvage anything. But, the LX, is still operational."

"You sure?" Kain asks, surprised. "The Hammer lives." Diana says. "Some of the parts are fused, there's a few dents to pound out, a piece or two here to replace, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. Unless. . ."

"You fix it." Valkyrie orders her, looking up at the other woman. "You fix it, and you enhance it."

"Enhance?" Diana asks hesitantly. "You know what I mean." Valkyrie tells her. Diana thinks for several seconds, then starts. "You don't mean?"

"Fix it." Valkyrie orders her before turning and walking off. "What was that about?" Sumika asks Kain quietly. "Don't know." He admits, looking over at Diana. "It, was a contingency project." She admits hesitantly. "That the warlord, I mean, Backlash, was thinking about having me implement."

"Which is?" Kain asks. "I'm not at liberty to say." Diana replies, shaking her head. "I didn't even realize Val knew about it."

"Maybe it was in the safe." Sumika suggests. "The thing was supposed to hold all the keys."

"Most likely." Diana agrees. "But either way, I can't do much until I regain control of my mainframe." Kain opens his mouth to ask her how that is going, when Doctor Benson politely clears his throat. "If it's alright with you." He says. "I need to remove the warlord's body. I still have to do a preliminary autopsy to confirm cause of death before the wake this evening."

"Of course." Sumika tells him. "Go ahead, I'll take care of the paper work." Doctor Benson nods. "Thank you. If you'll excuse me." The doctor takes his leave, Sumika following him. "Why would White Glint do this?" Diana asks. "I mean, it's not like Alliance to-"

"Order of the Dawn." Kain speaks up suddenly. "What?" Diana asks. "White Glint, she isn't Alliance." He explains. "She's part of something called the Order of the Dawn. I'll bet you next month's pay they're the one's fielding the NEXTs, and probably the brains behind that giant pain-in-our-asses walking along the coast right now. My guess is that they're allied with the Alliance."
"You sure they're not just some special part of Alliance Tactical?" Diana asks. "No." Kain grunts, shaking his head. "She kept making a point of reminding me that she isn't Alliance. Whoever these guys are, they're their own little group."

"Group of what though is the question." Diana sighs. "Anyways, I need to take care of Hammerfall. If you get a chance, maybe go talk to Val before the wake?" Kain nods. "I'll do that a little later. Right now, I got something that needs doing."

********

Sitting in the warlord's office, Valkyrie is slowly flipping through an old photo album. In it, are cherished memories: pictures of her mother and father, pictures of her when she was younger, and even some that had been recently taken in the last year. Pictures Backlash, her father, had been carefully keeping, a photographic history or their lives. Flipping through the pages. Valkyrie tries to lose herself in the memories, tries to forget about the pain that weighs heavily on her heart. Unfortunately, reality will not let her rest, the comm. unit on her desk beeping for her attention.

Sighing, Valkyrie puts the album down, and after taking a moment to dry her eyes, answers. "What is it?"

"The Alliance representative is here to see you." Tina tells her. "It's Bren."

"Send him in." Valkyrie tells her before closing the comm. Seconds6desjar

later, her door chimes, and Overseer Bren walks in. In his mid-fifties, Bren has an air of authority about him, his face affixed with what many believe to be a permanent scowl, though at the moment, it is soften slightly with a look of sadness. His steel gray hair is starting to thin, but is still neatly combed back. As he always seems to, Bren wears a three-piece suit, a heavy trench coat over his shoulders. He leans heavily on a cane, the hand sculpted in the form of a long, sinewy dragon.

"How are you doing my child?" The one time overseer of the last Layered asks. "I've been better." Valkyrie replies, getting up out of her chair. Going around the desk, Valkyrie and Bren hug briefly. After the collapse of the Layered, and the death of the last controller unit on Earth, the surviving refugees of the Layered were without a home. Many eventually made their home with the UEG in Baylore city, including the Overseer and his assistant Kai, now his adopted son. Despite this, Bren and the warlord had developed a friendly relationship, one that Valkyrie had been privy too over the last five years.

"When I heard the he had been killed." Bren says once they separate. "I almost hit the man who had brought me the news. I never thought Backlash would meet his end in the field."

"Its how he would have preferred to go." Valkyrie says quietly. "But, we were out-matched out there."

"Yes." Bren agrees. "These NEXT-type ACs. Quite remarkable really. UEG engineers have been studying the data that was collected during the Panarkair campaign, though I am certain that Doctor Killian will make much better headway once she has regained control from the intruder."

"Does UEG know about that?" Valkyrie asks worriedly. "No." Bren replies, shaking his head. "Kai received a message from the doctor asking for his assistance in the decryption. Since the Layered systems were much more advanced then what is currently being used here on the surface, he has become quite adept at dealing with troublesome computer systems. I believe he is down there now assisting in the fight." Valkyrie nods, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Does the UEG trouble you so?" Bren asks curiously. "Dad wasn't getting along with some of the brass." Valkyrie explains, going around the desk and taking a seat. "Word was that he was going to be given a very high place in the military, a lot higher then most others would have wanted him to get, and one that was going to cause some waves. With him gone now, there's been talk of Outer Heaven been ceded to the UEG military." Bren nods. "Yes, that is one of the reasons why I have come. Officially in any event. The review board that is to make that decision has sent me here to investigate, and determine whether or not it will be necessary to amalgamate Mars Base and the Outer Heaven warband ahead of schedule."

Valkyrie gives the old man a worried look. "Oh, don't worry." He chuckles. "I already wrote my report. Did it on the flight here in fact. If you'd like, you are welcome to read it."

"Shouldn't you do some investigating first?" Valkyrie asks. "Hardly." Bren snorts. "The ones pushing for the takeover of Outer Heaven are your father's opponents within the UEG, most of which are snivelling bureaucrats that were offended when he would not bend backwards for them. In truth, most of the concerns and accusations put forward are complete fabrications and groundless rumors. And while I do believe in the ideal of the UEG, I will not be party to such shameful politicking."

"Which is why you're here." Valkyrie says. "In part." Bren agrees, chuckling. "After spending a better part of my life running a large segment of the Layered, working with the UEG has been rather, simple. It does have its complexities mind you, but they are far from the bureaucracy that ran the Layered. Their were some who opposed my being named as investigator, but my reputation for being an efficient, and somewhat merciless, administrator made me ideal for the task." Bren smiles slightly. "And your father, was quite the efficient man when it came to his warband."

"I don't know if I'm ready though." Valkyrie sighs. "Perhaps not yet." Bren agrees. "But I see in you the best of your father, and some of his less favourable qualities as well. In time, I have no doubt that you will be a fine leader worthy of his name. You also have a loyal and excellent staff." Valkyrie nods. "I just hope I can live up to their expectations."

"I'm certain you will." Bren chuckles. "But on a more serious note: Of the dozen or so warbands that will be amalgamated into the UEG military, Outer Heaven is the only one that has not required any form of EUG intervention, be it in supplies, leadership, or in one case, military action to quell internal conflicts. Even after your father began taking to the field again and left you in command, the warband's efficiency is still one of the highest in the military. Certainly, the current situation will be your trial by fire, but I have confidence that you will endure."

"I hope so." Valkyrie sighs. "But, let's get down to business for now." Bren nods in agreement. "We're going to have a full briefing tomorrow, but before that, there's a few things I want to talk to you about."

"Such as?" Bren asks. "Before you got here, Diana sent me a message. According to information gathered by Kain, the NEXT-type ACs are being fielded by a group called, The Order of The Dawn." Bren nods. "I see. That is most interesting."

"Then you know something?" Valkyrie asks. "I do." Bren agrees. "However, it may not be what you expect."

********

After some searching, Kain finds Megan on the terrace where they had held the wedding a few short days ago. "Been less then a week since those two got married." Kain says out loud. Surprised, Megan spins around, tensing, but relaxes when she sees that it is him. "But it feels like it's been ages already."

"It has." Megan agrees. "Kain, I-"

"Save it." Kain tells her. "Until I've said my piece first." Megan nods. "I heard what Val did, and frankly, I think she's wrong." Hearing this Megan looks up at Kain in surprise. "You were sloppy and stupid out there." He continues. "You know damn well you can't go one on one with a NEXT. Hell, I had a hard enough time keeping up with them as it was. What you did out there was reckless, stupid, and cost the life of a good man who was like a father to a lot of people. Frankly, you got off real lucky."

"Why are you telling me this?" Megan demands. "Because you need a damn reality check!" Kain roars. "Every time we go out there, I got this nagging voice in the back of my head wondering when you're going to do something stupid that might get you hurt or worse! Frankly, it's getting real annoying. You need to stop chasing me out there damnit!" Megan looks at him as though he had just slapped her. "Do you really think so little of me?" She asks him quietly.

"When I get sent out into the field." Kain tells her. "It's to take care of the stuff they know other ACs can't do. I don't take missions just cause it might be a little tricky: I take the ones that no one else can do."

"Because you are the Last Raven." Megan says bitterly. "Yeah." Kain agrees. "I'm the latest Last fucking Raven. People expect me to make miracles. But even I can't do the impossible. I do what I can." Kain sighs. "That's all I got to say right now. As far as what happened out there, I'll go with what Val put out earlier. That bastard Belial got lucky. But if you really want to make up for what happened, you better start toeing the line like the others. We're a unit. We work together, and if we have to fly solo, we do it cause we have to. But so help me, if you put anyone else's life in danger like you did the other day. . ." Kain shakes his head. "I'll see you at the wake."

Turning, Kain walks back towards the door into the base, when Megan calls out. "Do you ever regret what we did?" She asks him. "Did what?" Kain asks, stopping and looking over his shoulder at her. "Marrying." Megan replies. Kain thinks for a second, then shakes his head. "Nope." He replies. "There've been more then a few days I've wanted to throttle you, but no, I don't regret it. I sometimes wonder though, if you do." With that, Kain takes his leave of the Terrace, leaving Megan alone with her thoughts.

********

Later that evening, Kain arrives at one of the larger nameless rooms of Mars Base. Inside, tables and chairs have been setup, a large crowd of base personnel and other people who had flown in during the day in attendance. At the head of the room, is a large, dark grey casket, the lid closed. Resting on the casket is a large picture of the warlord Backlash, his AC hammerfall in the background, his signature LX linear cannon down and firing. More flowers are sitting on stands and tables near the casket.

Looking around, Kain sees Midas, Maya, Sumika, Jouster, Tina, and Diana off to the side. "Where's Val?" Kain asks as he joins the group. "She hasn't arrived yet." Tina tells him. "But she'll be here soon."

"I saw Bren when I got here." Midas says, his voice raspy. The large man is sitting in a wheelchair, his head swathed in bandaged, as well as the parts of his body visible from under the large housecoat he is wearing. "He's here with the UEG." Tina explains. "Came to, investigate us."

"That going to be trouble?" Jouster asks. "No." Kain shakes his head. "Bren and the warlord were real chummy. No way he'd turn on us."

"He isn't." Sumika says. "I talked to him earlier. He's already written his report for the UEG stiffs trying to screw us. Val's taking over, one way or another." The others voice their agreement, then fall silent. "I saw, Megan earlier." Midas says. "She looked, bad." Sumika looks over at Kain, a hint of concern on her face. "She's blaming herself for what happened." Kain sighs. "Is there a reason for it?" Maya asks. "No." Kain grunts. "When it's your time, it's your time. Yeah, she was out of position, but even if she had been, there was nothing she could have done."

"Just like the speech." Midas says sadly. "The speech?" Tina asks. "I told you about that." Jouster says. "You know, the one the warlord used to give to all the new pilots." Tina nods her head in understanding. "I never got the speech." Sumika says. "That's cause you were never an official member of Outer Heaven until just recently." Kain says. "You were gonna get the speech when he got back from the coast." Midas nods. "Yeah. The warlord was even supposed to call in to give Maya speech during the reception."

"He was?" Maya asks, surprised. "All the pilots get the speech." Kain says. "I think it was one of the few things he'd look forward to. A chance to put the fear of Backlash into the new recruits."

"It worked for me." Midas mumbles. "What about you?" Tina asks Jouster. "He didn't give me the speech." Jouster says. "You didn't need it." Kain points out. "You've been piloting about as long as Backlash had been."

"Longer." Jouster corrects. "But I knew about the speech." Jouster chuckles fondly. "The warlord would never let me say it. He always kept that little pleasure for himself. But it worked though. Saw a lot of cocky pilots get weak in the knees after getting the speech from the warlord."

"I wonder who's gonna give it now?" Sumika asks absently. "What is so special about this speech anyways?" Maya asks. "The induction speech that Backlash gave to every new pilot that joined Outer Heaven." Kain explains. "He used it to impart a little wisdom, and to make sure the rookies knew who was really in charge, and what would happen if they screwed up."

"The way the warlord talked about it." Jouster says. "You were the only one who didn't get too shook up by it. But back then, you always were a real cocky little bastard."

"He still is." Sumika snorts. "Anyways." Kain continues. "The speech's been changed over the years, but a few lines were always there." Midas nods. "If you're going to go, make sure you go with your boots on, your finger on the trigger, and guns blazing until the very end."

"I remember Backlash said something like that at Greenhorn's funeral." Sumika says. "I always thought it was a little corny. Boots on?" Kain shrugs. "I never really understood that part myself. I'll be back in a minute." Breaking from the group, Kain makes his way to the front, and catches up to Valkyrie as she arrives at the coffin. "How you doing?" He asks her quietly. "I'll live." She replies. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, you know me." Kain chuckles. "Yeah." Valkyrie replies, smiling slightly. The two spend a silent moment looking at the picture of warlord Backlash. "Do you remember the first time we did it?"

"And got caught?" Kain asks. "Don't remind me. I swear, the guy looked like he was gonna climb into his AC, and use me for target practice."

"He actually did make it to his AC." Valkyrie says. "And was going to use you for target practice, but Gunner heard about what had happened before hand, and disabled Hammerfall's generator." Kain looks at her in surprise. "You kidding me?" Valkyrie shakes her head. "You remember what he had said while you were running for your life?" Kain shakes his head. "He said something, but I was a little too busy running for my life to catch it."

"He said 'Nobody touches my daughter until she's good and ready'." Valkyrie sobs slightly. "He was always like that. He had to be tough because he was the warlord, but he really did care about everyone, even if he couldn't show it." Nodding, Kain puts his arm around her comfortingly as Valkyrie starts to cry. After a bit, Valkyrie regains some of her composure, wiping the tears from her eyes with a tissue. "What was the last thing he said to you?" Valkyrie asks him. "I'll understand if, you don't want to talk about it."

"He didn't ask me to take care of you if that's what your wondering." Kain tells her. "You would be the last person he'd ask for that." Valkyrie tells him ruefully. "He said." Kain says, his voice getting serious. "Don't let them win. This endless fighting has to end, or we're all dead." Kain puts a hand on the casket. "When you think about it, the fighting was almost over. One real good push, and Alliance would have been gone. UEG would have their world government, and the wars would finally be over, at least for a little while. Who knows, maybe the peace would last long enough for us to finally get our act together as a species."

"He was pushing for that." Valkyrie says. "For an end to the fighting. Peace talks, ceasefires, mutual disarmament pacts. That's one of the reasons why he wasn't too popular in some circles. But he was right: The fighting has to end. But it can't end while Alliance is still out there. As long as the corporations are still out there grabbing for power, we'll never have peace."

"Don't worry." Kain assures her. "I think it's safe to say that Alliance has got some pay back coming, in a real big way."

"I just hope, we're all still around to see it." Valkyrie says quietly.

********

"I am impressed my child."

"Matriach? Forgive me, I did not realize it was-"

"Do not fret so my child. I have just been informed of what you did with the remains of the warlord. I merely wished to tell you, how proud I am. Few others, even within the Order, would have done what you did. I am very pleased."

"Thank you Matriarch. I am pleased that you approve of my actions. The warlord was an exceptional commander, more so then many of the others on this planet. And he fought bravely to end. He did not flinch or hesitate when the time came. It seemed only right that he be given a true burial."

"Our informants have indicated that this is occurring as we speak my child. But enough of this matter. There is another I wish to discuss with you."

"I will arrive at the Scissor Forest facility within the hour Matriarch. Our forces have already begun preparing for the deployment, and the fort is ready for battle. I will begin inspections and final preparations for deployment upon arrival."

"I see. And when will you launch the attack?"

"Our projected time table is three days from now, at dawn. Any sooner and we risk exposure."

"Excellent. Additional forces will arrive in time for the attack. They will be under your command as well my child. But be cautious. The Outer Heaven warband has proven resourceful. I have no doubt they will be a formidable foe."

"I agree matriarch, but I have taken precautions, perhaps more so then necessary. Rest assured, when the time comes, Outer Heaven will be no more."

"And the Last Raven?"

"I still believe that he can be swayed to our cause, but I have a concern Matriarch. I fear that we may have chosen the wrong faction to ally with. The Alliance, their philosophy is-"

"I am aware of this my child, but that is not something you need concern yourself with. There are many things in motion that you are not privy too. Focus on the task set before you, and in time, all will become clear."

"As you say Matriarch, so shall it be."