Crone Hunt.
Hilda and the technician blinked their eyes. It was obvious they were no longer in the stairway and the dimly lit room was barren of furnishings. As they looked around it was clear this room was nothing like the ruins above, the carvings on the wall depicted scenes of mammals she couldn't identify, they resembled mammals she knew but the body proportions were off.
"Welcome to the Headmaster's Study."
Hilda remained silent and focused on the hologram that appeared before them, trying not to look at the technician who was taking reading with the scanner unit. Moment later he showed her the screen and she nodded in response.
"I hope your curiosity has been satiated? I am the same holographic representation you spoke with just moments ago. You are familiar with using transporters thus you should know you have been moved to a different location."
"You could have given us fair warning; at least the Gatekeeper was that courteous" Hilda said in a lukewarm tone of voice.
"I can send you back but then I would have to forbid you from coming back forevermore. But I require your help and time is of the essence."
He began moving down the hallway which was a decent width and extended into the distance. Obviously it wasn't stopping so the two hurried to catch up, not that it was moving quickly but rather at a slightly faster pace than a walk. Hilda raised a paw signaling the technician to remain silent, but the hologram beat her and began its explanation.
"As I already explained the Headmaster's tiara and necklace were created by those that built me. It was I that taught the original technicians who themselves built the Oracle Sanctum and the Valley of the Oracles. All that technology stems from my creators. Your control crystal, Oracle Hilda der Fuchs, tells me much. It told me the technological status of the technicians in the valley and the abilities of your GSD agency. I can infer from both that sufficient knowledge exist to adequately repair my systems. Repairs I will make known once I update your tiara and give your companion a necklace that will allow him to accompany you. He will know better what is needed once both of you examine my electronics."
"May I ask..." the technician started but was interrupted before finishing his question.
"Yes. The tunnel ends at the base of the mountain in a small valley. The gate across the opening prevents anyone traveling down from getting out thus activating the defenses and eliminating the intruders. But anyone wearing a control crystal is allowed to walk this stairway unscathed. Such mammal can enter the valley either through the stairway or from the outside world. Such mammal can open the gate and travel up the stairway, and can rest at any point in the stairway without triggering the mechanism. I only allowed the defenses to activate as a test of your alertness. Neither of you were in any danger as I would have stopped the blade before it pierced your skin. Mostly."
Hilda grinned. "So, why did you wait so long before revealing yourself?"
"Gathering information about both of you. The moment you stepped foot into the hidden stairway I was able to read your control crystal. Recent events have greatly limited my ability to interact with the computer systems above."
"Wait. We have been using you to search for the tiara and what has been happening since the end of the Great War."
The hologram smiled, and Hilda noticed for the first time this one didn't shimmer before answering, unlike those back in the Oracle Sanctum. While she was genuinely interested why the differences it was best to concentrate on the here and now.
"As I just said the system operating above is separate from my system. Mine preceded theirs thus mine is the original. Before you ask, yes mine is self-repairing and self-sustaining. All Headmasters were sworn to secrecy before allowing use of my systems. This allowed them to do their work without others spying on them. The original Headmaster discovered me via discovering the ruins above. I recognized the necklace he wore because my creators wore them. After determining his section of the priesthood used them to enhance their abilities, it was I that allowed him to use my creators' tiaras. Just as your necklaces amplifies your innate abilities so too did our, thus it was determined only the priest leadership be allowed to wear both. Only by wearing both could you access hidden files cryptically imported onto your computer systems."
"May I ask... what was your purpose here?" Hilda smiled at the technicians' genuine curiosity.
"I was created to serve as an independent think-tank; my purpose was to solve problems without interference from outside sources, such as the powerful minds of my creator's civilization. There were other computers spread throughout the world, thus it was the purpose of the control crystal to move data between systems. Because many of my creator's citizens wore necklaces their minds could easily read data moving through electronic means, hence the necessity of using couriers."
Hilda remained quiet for a few moments.
"So the origins of our necklaces started with your creators."
"Yes. I was in standby mode waiting for my citizens to return. It was a long wait, and when the first Headmaster came down this stairway I was activated and greeted him, just as I did you. Once it became clear he was not as I read his control crystal to be, I inquired who he was. Thankfully he had one of our visual recording devices and I accessed its memory core thus learned about the destruction of my citizens. The Headmaster in later months traveled through the areas I asked and brought back as much information he could. We struck up an agreement and in a few short years I trained enough of his minions to build the complex you know as the Oracle Sanctum. Your control crystal tells me the Oracle technicians have achieved prowess slightly below my citizens, so I assume they will be able to look at my system and determine how to fix the failures. Your control crystal also tells me you know mammals that have the ability to address those that created my failures."
Hilda wasn't the only one taken aback, but in a couple moments she regained her composure.
"We are almost at the main electronics cavern."
Hilda and the technician followed the hologram and remained mostly quiet. She stole glances at his scanner as they walked, most of it was techno-babble to her but his growing concern told her they were about to see was something they needed help with. Finally they came upon a doorway that had a series of scanner units, those were of various types.
"Please put your forehead against the headrest and look into the unit. Place both paws on the pads next to this. I'll take a reading of your biorhythms and update your control crystal, and issue one to your companion after his biorhythms are recorded."
They did as instructed and a small door opened extending a shelf with a necklace laying on it. After he placed this on his neck the main door opened and both walked inside. They abruptly stopped mid-stride.
Before them was a tunnel that something big obviously chewed its way through the floor. Electronic banks were scattered hither and yon, obviously torn apart by something that created the tunnel. Her priestly senses kicked in and she grabbed the technician as she dunked down, a purplish energy bolt narrowly missing her. She backtracked towards the doorway and was thankful it slid open without her having to yell or operate a knob. Once on the other side and the doors closed tight she let her breathing and heartbeat slow down. Looking down before them the hologram stood patiently.
"As you can see, there is a failure in my systems. My repair bots are unable to effect further repairs without becoming damaged by the invaders."
"Where is she?"
Colonel Kohle asked the technician that had answered his call. He was getting impatient because it was highly unusual for the oracle to keep him waiting this long. Usually it was he that caused the delay due to his job.
"Unknown, sir. Our scanners are unable to place her anywhere in the complex. She was given a scanner unit and it was suggested she try searching for hidden rooms. It is not beyond logic she found one considering the difficulty we are having in finding her."
The dog frowned.
"Did anyone suggest she leave behind a trail of bread crumbs? String maybe?"
Before either one could continue the discussion a radio crackled to life beside the technician.
"Main control, we found her. But you're not gonna like what she has to say. Sending video."
What both saw made the technician gasp and the dog quickly grab another device and start barking alpha-numeric code. There was only one group capable of boring a hole this large, and the purplish bolts clearly told everyone who the other group was.
Paulina and Clare couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling they were being watched. They asked Agent Ricardo and Agent Rodgers to perform scans of the area at infrequent intervals, telling them her suspicions. These had discovered a chamber underneath the ruins and it had electronics that were quite old, possibly older than the oracle sanctum. It didn't take very long for these two to determine what they were looking at.
"Transporters. Quite possibly predating the ones used by our oracle technician friends" Rodgers said.
Ricardo spoke quickly. "That's not all. Ancient records we've been using from Technician Minkowski points to a chipset that is missing. The ancient theorized it contained code that allowed these units to operate. Thankfully we know several of these units and with time and many hours of study we can have a prototype to use."
Agent Savage frowned. "Considering we still have a deadly priestess on the loose I don't think it's wise to remain here much longer. I'll ask the colonel send Teams Charlie and Echo here to guard the ruins, maybe even bring over one of those Guardian Droids."
At that moment off in the distance a crushing sound was heard. They felt relief when it was obvious this was caused by the droids Savage was asking for. Momentarily a radio crackled to life.
"Marine Expeditionary to Savage, come in please."
The hare grinned as he focused his binoculars onto the lead droid; riding on top was the unmistakable form of a panther. He couldn't help but agree with her superior, never ride on the one piece of equipment considered most dangerous.
"Savage here. Could you make a swing around this location? Hostiles suspected in the area. Flechettes recommended."
Everyone watched as two droids turned and moved around the ruins, one going clockwise and the other going counterclockwise. In short order a firefight broke out, purplish bolts of energy flew towards the droid heading clockwise as it fired upon the dark priests. The panther leaped off this one just in time before the droid exploded. Meanwhile the other droid started firing from across the ruins, its fire barely missing the stones.
Paulina and Clare meanwhile was throwing bolts towards a specific location, purplish bolts returning back at them in equal ferocity. The pachyderms trumpeted and charged through the undergrowth towards the location of the dark priests only to be stopped before they got anywhere close. Moments later the fighting ended and everyone remaining at the ruins waited for the marines to finish sweeping around the old stonework. They breathed a sigh of relief when the last marine crossed inside.
"Stupid pachyderms. Did you explain to them why it's a poor idea to get anywhere near a dark priest?" Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw muttered as she looked towards her now-smoking favorite ride.
"We did, every morning and afternoon. But old habits die hard. Oh... poor choice of words" Clare said as she realized the bodies of said pachyderms lay dead nearby. She performed the resurrection spell only to be disappointed.
Paulina smiled. "I could say same thing about your team but at least you are properly armed, not counting a certain panther that rides atop the biggest thing with a bullseye upon it."
The staff sergeant snarled but held her tongue. "I knew how many bolts it takes to destroy one of these things. I was among those that saved you when those living dead were trying to fry your hides."
"Staff Sergeant... enough. Check the perimeter and double-check our wounded" Captain Valiant said firmly.
After exchanging salutes the captain turned towards the priestesses.
"Apologies. She is the best I've been around in quite some time. Unfortunately she lacks diplomacy, but she is correct. She knows the weaknesses of your droids and I have her recommendations for upgrades that will be forwarded to your technicians shortly."
Agent Ricardo and Agent Rodgers watched the captain insert a chip into one of their wrist-mounted computers. The image displayed gave both GSD technicians cause to whistle.
"It's a new technology that is in testing stage. Results thus far are favorable; we had been unable to find a power source small enough until we were introduced to these Guardian droids. Now the scientists think they can adapt their technology with what you're seeing."
Savage whistled. "I'd be very happy to watch the test trials. Protecting a droid with a force field is something the oracle technicians would be interested in."
Ricardo noticed the captain's eyes were darting towards the open pit.
"Care to take a look see? We think its transporter technology that predates those that the oracle technicians use. At the moment we're waiting on GSD technicians back at main base writing code so we can give it a test run."
The panther grinned. "I'll take a quick peek, then gotta go hunt down those undead things that escaped."
Paulina stepped beside him. "I would wait until Colonel Kohle dispatch a team to assist you. Then there's the matter of replacing the droid you lost. As you saw those priests are dangerous, and until we can verify the crone we're searching for is among them, well Clare and I can't go with you."
The panther grinned. "Take a look at the video file we've compiled. Each of my marines has a camcorder and their files have been downloaded and compiled. I was getting ready to send it along with my battle report to my superiors. Care to look through and give your opinion?"
Paulina and Clare jumped at the invitation and within moments both looked horrified.
"That's her! High Priestess Ganieda, the crone we're tasked with ending. Excuse us, we better double-check the bodies."
Everyone watched the two oracle priestesses rush out the ruins, followed quickly by Team Lima. The captain had half his marines follow just in case they needed firepower. Even though he had been briefed these priestesses could defend themselves, he felt better by sending his mammals. A few minutes later everyone returned to the ruins.
"She escaped; looks like we're going with you, captain."
After Savage called Colonel Kohle and gave him an update, the colonel asked them to wait there for relief. A half hour later he arrived with Teams Alpha, Charlie, and Echo. Nearby landed two transport crafts that offloaded eight Guardian droids, accompanying them was Technician Minkowski.
"These are improved versions, testing shows they are resistant to energy overload that we found was the main reason previous versions experienced. I'll have your... err... remaining one loaded and the destroyed one swept up and put aboard in a pile. We'll take these back for refurbishment and the other four droids will be landing here shortly."
Colonel was standing next to the staff sergeant and captain. They were discussing wither or not to leave a couple droids here with a GSD team or send them all with the marines and priestess groups. It was decided to leave the original still-functional droid and one new droid at the ruins and everyone but Colonel Kohle, Technician Minkowski, and Team Alpha would go and start the hunt for the crone. Paulina went with Captain Valiant, Team Bravo and Charlie, four of the new droids, half the marines and headed west. Clare, Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw, Teams Echo and Lima, three droids, and the remaining marines headed east.
Colonel Kohle's group would use the second transport to fly quickly to either group should they find the crone. Meanwhile everyone watched the first transport take off with the remains of the destroyed droid. A brief message was sent to the Matriarch of Pachydermia explaining the loss of her guards she had sent to escort the expedition. While she was furious only her members were killed, the video sent proved they ignored warnings from the Zootopians. One transport would pick up the deceased and bring them to her capital, then loaded with replacement guards and return to the colonel.
When the two groups were gone Colonel Kohle's group went out and pushed the pachyderms together, thankfully they were somewhat close when the dark priest stripped them of their life-force. When they found the bodies of the dark priests they noticed their heads severed from the bodies. A quick call to Paulina revealed why this was done and she assured him these couldn't become zombies. If they did she strongly recommended lassoing them and burning them upon a pyre. Shortly afterwards all bodies were gathered and loaded onto the transport.
When the transport arrived with the replacement guards, the pachyderms and Team Alpha stood guard while Colonel Kohle and Technician Minkowski went into the pit to study the teleporter's electronics. Both had their separate satellite communications open and running, sending video and receiving suggestions from their peers. Soon Grand Technician Beverton came online and authorized a data transmission his team suggested was a work-around for the missing chipset, the one containing the master code that allowed the transporter to function. When this was put onto a blank chipset that was among several, an error message appeared onscreen informing them a safeguard activated thus preventing critical operation that would have damaged the electronics. This was actually viewed through a translation program, and the elder beaver sighed.
"Well, back to the drawing board. Hope you have tons of patience, colonel."
"Nothing beats a boring afternoon quite like having something to occupy the mind. We'll continue examining this while you guys try figure out what went wrong."
Grand Technician Beverton was surprised to receive a call from Senior Technician Pangolin. The panda said she heard about the missing chipset and said she found file in her bunker's databank that the computer said was a suitable substitute for the missing chipset. She also had sent a replicated chipset her bunker's computer said was properly formatted and ready for use. When the elder beaver asked Colonel Kohle, the dog simply said the bunker's computer was rarely in error. A messenger was sent through to the transporter at the Oracle Sanctum to the Oracle Library and then to the Headmaster's Sanctum. A helicopter ride took him to the group's current location and after he delivered it he returned to the Headmaster's Sanctum.
Kohel and Minkowski were surprised when the chipset was inserted and the system brought online, after booting up a voice stating all systems functioning within acceptable parameters. It also strongly recommended maintenance procedures and level-3 cleaning of the pads be performed immediately. After consulting the panda for an explanation, she sent maintenance manual in electronic form on a drone.
The elder beaver sent additional technicians and a complete set of tools and equipment once he understood what the panda said was necessary to perform this in the field. Meanwhile the colonel and the technician performed simple cleaning, mostly dust removal and grime on exterior surfaces. It was getting annoying listening to the voice insistence that the procedures be done soon as possible, and once the crew arrived the dog and mink rushed to put on ear muffs.
Hilda couldn't believe what this meant. After all the centuries keeping the tiara safe from the high priestess, it was on the verge of being stolen by those using giant mechano-droid that near-effortlessly chewed through rock. Thankfully the hologram was still functioning and with a team of technicians using stealth inspecting the hologram's main computer system that operated his program, after inspection they deemed it would operate satisfactory as long as it wasn't pressed too hard. Unfortunately the hologram refused to allow them to retrieve the tiara.
"Before I open the vault and release that which you need to restore the oracle's true strength, you must remove the interlopers."
Hilda grumbled. It was easier said than done, especially now that more technicians were being dropped off by the mechano-droids. She didn't like it but she sent a burst transmission to Director Dench, the Zootopians needed to bring their *A-game* if the Dark Underground was going to be pushed back. She wasn't certain how they were going to convince these underground-dwelling mammals to stay away, especially now that they discovered technology that certainly was worth exploiting. Then there was the dark priesthood that was with those interlopers, she didn't know how many there were and the GSD were busy elsewhere.
Her zphone rang a certain ringtone, one she specified for the mouse.
"Hilda, how bad is it?"
"Very. Didn't have time to count but judging by the numerous bolts zipping by my ears I'd say enough dark priests to easily overwhelm me. Thank goodness whoever built the room made it of any unknown alloy; otherwise my hide would be hanging from their mantle."
"Ok. The pentagon is drawing up plans for a full-scale assault. They think if enough pressure is brought to bear it will force them to withdraw most of their forces. This should give you a fighting chance. May I recommend having Paulina and Clare with you before attempting another excursion inside? I'll have Team Lima and another team there shortly."
"And I'll ask the technicians at the Oracle Valley if they have droids small enough to travel through tunnels large enough for a pachyderm."
The hologram motioned to get Hilda's attention.
"Any forces traveling down here must be accompanied by an oracle priest. They must be close together or else stragglers will be considered an enemy. Apology but my damaged systems are strained keeping the vault hidden and communicating with you."
Director Dench coughed. "I will pass that along. Oh by the way, Senior Technician Pangolin is sending a few server units your way. She says these should be sufficient to restore most functionality and they are hardened against energy bolts. Once you clear the Intruders then she can get these installed. She says these will get the ancient computer system up and running soon as possible."
The door opened and closed unexpectedly, and then a few technicians emerged from stealth.
"Apologies but those dark priests seem to quickly attune and fire towards any energy signature, radio included. Hence why we were forced to keep quiet until our tasking was completed. By the way we completed Phase One of the emergency repairs. The next phase we can do while in stealth but the remaining ones must be un-stealth. By then these won't be quick fixes, we'll be shutting down units and this will obviously draw their attention."
Hilda hugged the technician that accompanied her; he was among them and gave her a personal debrief as he saw it. Now she was glad the panda was sending extra units, the damage from the tunnel boring machine was more extensive than first realized. Then again they didn't have enough sufficient time to memorize the view before the dark priest realized their presence and started firing.
"The hologram was kind enough to pass on your pondering about smaller Guardian droids. I think we can design it, but unless there's wider door than this I don't think we can make one small enough without sacrificing the protective shielding" the technician told her plain.
The mouse pondered this for a moment. "Let me pass this on to Senior Technician Pangolin. Her bunker's mainframe has provided small miracles before when we needed it most. Soon as you get the emergency repairs completed get out of there and back to the sanctum, take a shower and have some dinner. I'll keep in touch."
The mouse cut the connection and her image disappeared from the communication device.
The hologram made a bowing motion as was standard for the oracles.
"I thank you for what you have done thus far. My systems are reasonably stabilized and the next repairs will be sufficient for a while. I have noticed the Intruders you identified as dark priests have at irregular intervals disappeared from my sensors. Perhaps it may be a malfunction but I suspect not. It may behoove you to shoot a gas from a compressed cylinder, one that quickly changes to a white cloud. Anything moving unseen through it will disturb it thus enabling you to easily see it."
The technician nodded in the affirmative. "I think we can do that. There are a few inert gasses to choose from and we can put in additive which will make it visible, it should also suffocate them."
Hilda scrawled. "Dark priests don't breathe, but the sudden cloud will disorientate them temporarily so I can fire at them. But I have a better idea. All priests can sense one another via the ethereal plane. I can sense where they are if an opening in the doorway is wide enough. Sorry but something in these walls hinders my ability to tell what's on the other side."
The hologram scrawled. "I can open the door just enough so you can scan the other side. That way if it's clear your technicians in stealth can enter without detection and the priests will think the door is malfunction."
Everyone nodded and prepared to start the next phase of the temporary repairs.
High Priestess Ganieda grumbled angrily as she led her remaining priests to the transporter they had used to escape the Zootopians at the Oracle Library. This one was on the other side of this empire and if those pachyderms didn't charge, her group would have easily ambushed the Zootopian warriors. Her priests had worked together to destroy the Guardian droid that was closest to them, it was a point of pride that such mechanical devices couldn't withstand a concentrated assault of energy bolts. Now she had a better idea where most of these ancient transporters were located thanks to the master chipset she removed from the transporter control unit.
She hated to leave behind those that succumbed to the enemy's fire. Whatever metal those tiny dagger-like things were made of near-instantly caused her minions to drop like flies and remain motionless. She knew her priest faction weren't exactly living, but neither was they dead, just somewhere between living and dead. All that was needed to restore those that became disabled was an infusion of energy, but if the head was removed or the spinal column cut then this became death and no amount of energy could return life back into the body.
Undead... that was the term some referred to her priests. It was a mystery how their bodies became such things, and stranger still was how their bodies lost the regenerative ability. Thankfully absorbing small amount of life-force brought along with it whatever was necessary to repair their body. Her faction had learned that by absorbing small amounts from multiple living mammals brought along more of whatever it was that restored their bodies, thus this *snacking* became standard practice. Thankfully it didn't matter if the living thing was their fellow citizens from the underground society or non-sentient mammals; life-force was acceptable from most living thing. Except plants unless it was a very large tree, but even then the amount drawn away was hardly satisfying.
The dark priest group had successfully escaped unnoticed. It was a little-known ability that these priests could make themselves invisible but only for a short amount of time, but it was enough to throw off the Zootopians. They were making good time as they quickened their pace and Ganieda wanted to put as much distance between them and the Zootopians. It didn't take a genius to know they would regroup and come after them, and probably send the remaining mechanical thing after them because a machine could and would travel faster than a cheetah. Then there was the wolf wearing the clothes of a servant; she lost track of it during the battle. While she didn't consider it practical, it wasn't unexpected that he would stalk them. Wolves' natural instinct was to hunt after all, and if they decided to apply this ability to a profession such as finding someone missing they could earn a good living.
Grand Tracker Marquis knew this was the perfect opportunity for real-life real-world training.
When the firefight began he directed his trainees to move quickly to the outside of the battle site and observe how it progressed. His sixth-sense told him that the dark priests would break off the fight and make a run for it; he signaled his group to fan out and observe which direction they went. Sure enough the dark priests made a run towards the east and thus he quickly regrouped his trainees and followed them. He wouldn't be entirely out of communication range; back at the Hopps burrow he asked the GSD team if he could have enough radios for each trainee and himself. The leader thought this an excellent idea and had him sign for the radios and a few extra batteries for each trainee. While they got simple radios with few frequency selections, he got a more robust one that he could call all the way back to GSD Headquarters if the situation required evacuation or reinforcement.
Now the trainees were working as a real team; before this fight began they were obviously disappointed and acting as if all this would be another useless exercise. Now they acted like they should have been doing all along. As the undead moved along the path, his trainees had moved through the underbrush many yards away. Thankfully the radios had a small screen that showed the current location of all their members, each were represented as a dot and if they used the *stylus* to tap on a dot data popped-up with a brief message who it represented and how far away. Another tap would give more information, a nearly endless scrolling screen.
He was pleased each trainee had their earbud in and were softly talking where each was and which direction they were headed. He made brief comments if only to reassure them he was with them and they were performing within acceptable parameters. He was keeping within eyesight of the group, mostly so if his trainees gave information suggesting the undead were not where he knew they were, he would redirect them back towards his position. Thankfully they were not in error and acting as a proper team, and if they survived this he would admit them into the ranks of the Tracker community.
He wondered about the tracker rabbit, Kimberly. It wasn't her skill he worried about; it was her subtle distrust in him. He couldn't blame her; she was after all declared a traitor by the chancellor and a hefty reward placed on her head. He was genuine when he told her he served the council first and foremost, and genuinely suspected there was something counterfeit about the chancellor. It was the Zootopians that gave him the evidence he needed to satisfy his suspicions, and they only allowed him to know because of the trust she built up with them.
He sighed.
It was obvious she would be following them at a safe distance; he would if he were in her fur. This suited his plans just fine; it provided a back-up if something went south quickly. Something like the undead priests suddenly attacking them. The radio he was given allowed him to assign everyone in the expedition a preset frequency on his radio, normally one already assigned by the GSD technician back in the burrow. He was glad the tech already did this for him, the mammal merely said everyone in a position of leadership had this type of radio: GSD team leaders, both oracle priestesses, Colonel Kohle and Director Dench. He was given one because he was leader of the Trackers and he was conducting a training operation.
He looked at his screen. Good, she was still following. He composed a quick message and assigned it to auto send should the radio be a certain distance from his body. She would be the *designated survivor* if this tracker operation went bad, hence the auto send message ordering her to make haste quickly back to the camp to warn the others. This would tell the Board of Inquiry exactly what happened and thus give closure. He hated not knowing why a Tracker team disappeared without a trace, mostly because whatever went wrong was something that couldn't be learned from and thus avoided in future team assignments.
He hoped her distrust would not override her training, the team's lives rested in her getting safely away and back to the camp. Another benefit; she would be his verifier once the team discovered where these undead were headed.
"Where are they headed?"
Kimberly knew her distrust was being verified, but something in her psyche told her she was reading the wolf wrong. But actions speak louder than words, and the little voice in one's own mind urged guarded caution. She followed her training and her own variation her former team had developed. She looked down at the small screen. The dots were spread along the group they were following, this was standard formation that allowed one team member to get in front and lie in secret to observe the target while the others moved ahead. The dot in the back was the team leader, in this case the master trainer.
Curiosity got the better of her. She opened a little-known application this radio had; it allowed her radio to access the subroutine of another radio without informing the other what she was doing. Now displayed on her screen was everyone's location including hers according to the wolf's radio, including what he titled the group he was tracking. Kimberly froze; he was tracking the escaped priests!
Now she was mentally kicking herself as her fingers saved the data and she composed a short message, attaching the data file and sent it to Agent Rogers and Ricardo. Hopefully these were not busy studying the transporters and thus away from their radios.
Her training told her since she was in the trailing position she had become the *designated survivor*, the one solely responsible for ensuring whatever happened to this Tracker group someone would know and ensure the whole Tracker community learned from mistakes made.
A beep brought her attention back to the radio, and a smile crossed her face. Agent Ricardo's team was heading in her direction, but Agent Rogers's group was going in the opposite direction. Both told her to keep following and they will be arriving shortly.
Clare, Staff Sergeant Stoutpaw, GSD Teams Echo and Lima, three droids, and half of the marines were heading in her direction about thirty minutes behind her. Now that they knew where the undead priests were located they were riding on the droids so to get to her quicker. Paulina, Captain Valiant, GSD Teams Bravo and Charlie, four of the new droids, and half the marines had started heading west but now turned around and heading east.
Colonel Kohle was notified and sent a text congratulating Kimberly and Grand Tracker Marquis for keep a clear head and focused on the mission. He mentioned the two transport craft would pick up both groups and bring them to their location within fifteen minutes. Meanwhile he was staying at the ruins along with Technician Minkowski, Team Alpha, the replacement pachyderm guardians, and two droids.
General Earl Rommel finally completed the war in the Svalbear Empire against their ancient nemesis, the bears from the Kodiak Range. It was a campaign that tested his mettle as well as his patience. But he admitted the victory was not entirely his accomplishment. It was teamwork from several sources that ran like clockwork. Unfortunately the bear known as Alpha Seven was not captured during the rounding up of the defeated Kodiaks. No matter, it was obvious where he went and soon the new campaign against the Dark Underground would start. The pentagon already put the campaign in his paws; he would share the planning with General Chester Puller, a male jaguar and Commander of the Seventh Marines.
He smiled; this general had fought alongside him in the Lynxion War and shared in the victory and awards. Why the press anointed only him and not this jaguar was puzzling. Thankfully the jaguar was already starting the planning for the campaign, sending brief reports for his opinion. Rommel had to admit the general knew the army had the larger force and thus assigned them to most of the breech points. The fox only had to fill-in which army units would go where, and since the fox was more knowledgeable about army units it was obvious why he sought his opinion. He suspected the renegade Trackers staying at the Hopps farm would be heavily involved; he needed to gather them together and make it plain they were to stay close so things not necessary to their objective was left untouched.
He stayed long enough at the celebrations to be the guest of honor at the parade; his forces marched in it which always struck pride in his heart. He was with the Great Mother as she pinned awards on her military and onto his senior leaders, wishing she would have pinned his award in private. He was authorized to pin awards the pentagon sent on her military, making it plain the newly designated awards were from both the Linxion War and this recent one. The Great Mother poo-poo'd his apology for the lateness of the previous war, saying bureaucracy everywhere was notorious for being late.
The Great Mother was unhappy he left the victory party early, but at least he stayed long enough to enjoy the rare honey-fermented alcohol drink that he was certain killed his pancreas. The sugar-high alcohol content was quite unusual, possibly extra honey was added after fermentation was his theory.
But he didn't get away as cleanly as he hoped.
Magnus Southpaw, attaché to the Great Mother and proclaimed future Great Father, blocked the door and refused to step aside. Fortunately the young bruin correctly guessed why the elder fox was leaving, probably because he held out at paws-length the telegraph informing the fox about the break-in at the Headmaster's Sanctum. Now the young bruin was with a small army of veterans, those that grew to enjoy being ridden as they charged against the Kodiak Bruins. Now these wanted to be involved against those that dwelt underground. The general suspected life void of possible death was not sitting very well with these veterans.
He smiled. These bruins would be helpful addition to his plans.
High Priestess Ganieda wasn't happy. Even though she escaped the clutches of those oracle priestesses, ultimately she failed and now was alone.
They thought they had eluded the Zootopians but were proven wrong, and this in a very graphic manner. The foe announced its presence via an ambush, one surprisingly like what her priests almost succeeded in earlier this day. They had just barely gotten over the crest of the hill when the first salvo fired at them. When they turned around to scamper away in an attempt to flank the attackers they felt the salvo from the group waiting behind them. If the attackers in front merely wounded her group, the attackers behind her shredded half her priests in an instant.
She cursed her foul luck; they had gotten overconfident in making their escape. They failed to keep watch on their rear, and thus never saw the transport land and unload the Zootopians. Apparently the other transport circled around and unloaded its Zootopians far enough ahead to give sufficient time to set up this ambush. As she hurried away from the ambush she summoned the only orb spell her faction managed to learn; thankfully it was one that summoned a familiar, a corporeal being whose sole purpose was to place itself between danger and the priest. This absorbed the flechettes and energy bolts while maintaining a certain distance from her as she fled, and once she was out of the kill zone the familiar and orb dissipated. But her minions were not so lucky.
The bishop followed her lead and summoned his own orb and familiar. He followed her and soon both were a safe distance away, unfortunately the Zootopians were hot on their heels. It was a stroke of luck they found a cave, and inside they found an ancient transporter that was tucked away in a remote corner. She thanked her lucky star that she had memorized which pictograph would send her to a safe place. But the Zootopians followed them into the cave, guns blazing.
She was forced onto the transporter pad by the bishop right before several flechettes impaled his body, and just before she de-materialized she saw his eyes fade to lifelessness. Somehow he managed to remain standing, serving as a barrier between them and her. As a creature operating on energy rather than chemically processing food, this was one of those times she wished her body could produce tears.
But the transport was successful and she now stood in her private cavern.
She walked through the darkness until she reached where the switch should be. Reaching out she felt the knob and gently turned it. Lights flickered for an uncomfortable length of time, something she anticipated long ago and thus had several power sources connected to her home. Geothermal, solar, small wind turbine and a discreet line connected to the Dark Underground's rarely-used power circuit. Carefully she pulled out a scanner and checked each line from each power source. She wasn't surprised the one leading back to the Underground's power source was dead, most likely disconnected shortly after she left to begin the Great War. She wasn't surprised the solar and wind sources both were dead, most likely scavenged by locals.
Geothermal remained. This was discovered by the information she found at the old ruins. It told of nearly uninterruptible power if one could dig a shaft deep enough straight down until one's fur smoldered and burned. The types of metals needed to form an alloy capable of withstanding such heat was unknown to her, but being a creature capable of manipulating such temperature she operated a prototype mechano-droid to the necessary depths. Thankfully as she dug she found the metals necessary to create the strange alloy and thus the small power plant, even though it didn't reach the depth the technical specs demanded it did provide enough for her home and for her to snack on whenever she decided. She also found precious metals and gems, something she was certain her old self before transforming into this body would have found pleasurable.
Now as the power flowed through her home the old wires heated and soldered, but didn't burn apart. Good, she was glad she over-sized them just in case her return home would be longer than expected. One by one light turned on in each room, and then the ventilation kicked in sending untold amounts of dust throughout the room. It took nearly an hour for the prototype scrubbing system to clean the air, just as the prototype droid went around cleaning the floors and furniture. She moved out of its way when necessary, remembering fondly when the topsider inventor presented it to her as a gift. He was one of a few she ordered left alone when the Great War started, now she wondered if he survived and how his genes spread through various mammals of his species. He was a fox and a close relative of one named Murphy, the one it was said credited for formulating various laws that predicted unfortunate events.
She went to her closet and carefully opened the door. Inside were carefully packaged in airtight packages were her garments. It wasn't a surprise when the material disintegrated at her touch; these were quite old when she left but insects had breached the packaging thus rendering the protection moot. She sighed; so too did her favorite clothes she had painstakingly put inside these to await her return. These were keepsakes, clothes she once wore and loved before her body was transformed into an undead. These were an indulgence she used to enjoy, when she could take time away from her duties to slip into these and remember about simpler times. Now these items from her past were gone, probably for the best since she was the lone survivor from her era.
She walked away; not noticing as the droid unmercifully removed the bits and pieces that once were her past.
It was puzzling. The back door opened into a mess; the hallway that once led to the shaft that went down to the underground society and to her cathedral now was blocked by ancient wooden beams and dirt. This appeared as if a cave-in had happened long ago, and judging by the stench these wooden beams had been rotting for centuries. She sighed. The alloy she used to fabricate the power plant deep underground had proven very resistant to corrosion and wear, thus she made the door and its framework and all the walls out of it, at least the outer walls. Obviously she didn't expect anyone to burrow into her home, but an incompetent operator in one of those prototype excavating machines could mistakenly dig his way towards it.
This was why her private cavern was excavated higher than the caverns the rest of society lived in. Originally it was a naturally-formed cave, but she used the prototype machine to excavate the deepest and furthest part into her home. It was nearby that the vertical shaft was dug deep down until the heat became nearly unbearable, where the power plant was built and installed. She had plans to dig and install a similar power plant for the remainder of the society, but the war took priority. Now she wondered how they lived; she already knew the dark priesthood had survived because the three oracle priests had told her as much.
Thankfully she remembered where the mechano-droid was stored and after recharging its power pack had it start digging. It was annoying as the wooden beams smoldered as the machine chewed through them, but soon the droid broke through into a void. But this wasn't a natural void; it was an immaculately clean hallway. If this was the only thing that greeted her she would have been curious enough to explore this unexpected place. After all, this must be someone's private residence and it must be considered rude to trespass even if unintentional.
A mechanical thing moved about, and judging by its actions this was a cleaning droid. Ganieda watched as it moved slowly towards her and stopped a few feet away. As she looked down at the floor and it became obvious; the wooden floor stopped where the droid did and now she saw the red scanner beam measuring the newly opened pathway. Her droid was now located back inside her home and she decided this newly-opened pathway needed to be covered up, if only with a wall that she could open from a carefully concealed latch and lock. The droid turned around and continued its tasking as it moved away.
She followed it from a discrete distance, noting as it navigated around corners and doorways. She peeked into each room she passed by, most were empty or sparsely furnished. In one room on the walls was pictures of various couples, these were in positions denoting affection that married couples would do. She stepped inside for a closer look; each picture had similar paw-written messages seemed to wish a mammal named *Geoff* best wishes in his search. This was symptomatic of a lonely male and now she knew how she could trap him and turn him into something useful for her plans. Her curiosity was satisfied so she stepped outside and continued on her way. The droid was nearly at the end of the hallway and turned disappearing around a bend. She *Pfft* and continued her exploring, sooner or later she would come across the mammal she was certain lived in this place. Perhaps she would find something more to formulate her trap.
In the next room she was surprised was a fully equipped bathroom with a shower and something vertical with a metal panel in half-circular shape with many small holes. A small paw-sized cloth and large towel both with a light pleasant scent suggested this room was used often. The fur shampoo smelled pleasant but surprising neutral, this obviously was used by a male and judging by the lack of feminine things she assumed she would not find anything feminine in the remaining rooms.
She continued walking around the underground place, noting that whoever built this must have abandoned it centuries ago and she would find the mammal that discovered this place and converted it into its private place. But not everything was perfect; there were plenty of beams that remained in their original position when this place was abandoned and allowed to collapse. A pathway was cleared wide enough to allow a decent walkway that didn't encourage further collapse. A small kick wall prevented the cleaning droid from getting too close to the material of collapse.
Geoffrey thought he heard something down the hall. He cautiously moved along the wall towards the sound until he found it; it was the cleaning droid going along its programed route. He was relieved; this must have been the source. It wasn't unusual for the droid to bump against some piece of wood that had shifted slightly and slid onto the floor. After all these centuries the whole burrow was still settling, made worse by his excavation to convert it into his new home and secret get-away when he wanted peace and quiet, especially from the high priestess.
Turning the next corner brought the two mammals face to face, and he was surprised someone was here without his being forewarned. Standing before him was a doe, a hare and wearing priestess robes. How she found her way up here was something to be discussed at a later time. Right now there was something peculiar about her robes; it wasn't in today's style and he swore he saw it somewhere. He worked around ancient books and the answer certainly would be found, but right now he needed to defuse the situation before she became angry and tried sucking his life-force out of his body.
Ganieda was standing before the mammal she suspected was the owner of this place. He was a hare, roughly middle age and his clothes suggested he was certainly not a common laborer. She was a hare too and a thought went through her mind, this was common ground and she could use it to her advantage. Courtesy dictated she make the first overture, since technically it was she that was the trespasser.
"My apologies for this intrusion upon your private place, I meant no harm."
He held up his paw and after she stopped talking he motioned for her to follow him. He probably wasn't aware her eyes moved over his body, noting his overall physical. She became frustrated; something about him was preventing her from tasting his life-force. They entered a room and she watched him sit behind a desk with a screen before him. She knew computers and this one was obviously a current model. He pressed a button and waited as power flowing into it slowly awakened it. Moments later his paws moved a strange object across the surface before him at irregular intervals which his other paw typed something onto a keyboard. A program was active onscreen and she was surprised he put a small device onto her robe slightly above her left chest. It had been ages since someone was brave enough to touch her, let alone presumptuous enough to assume she wouldn't end his life at that moment. But whatever the device was it made what he said next comprehensible.
"My name is Geoffrey Kerrigan, I'm a scholar and I work in great library of the dark underground. My apology for touching your robes but this device only works within a specific distance. It's my experiment and judging by the subtle difference in certain words it appears the translation program is working as intended. It also appears your language is close enough to mine that with some practice I'll soon understand you and this device will become unnecessary."
She gave him a warm smile; he was just what she needed. She had always been a quick learner so she paid attention to what he actually was saying than what the device was interpretation. He was someone knowledgeable enough to help her understand what had happened in the time since she left. Before she made her presence known to the rest of the community she needed to know who was who.
"My name is Ganieda Dapper and as you can tell by my robes I am a high priestess. But I can tell you already know I am out of place, not only by being in your home but in this century as well. I apologize for trespassing, but I genuinely expected my rear tunnel to take me to our society further down."
He held his tongue. This was something he didn't expect from the dark priesthood: humility.
"High priestess I..."
Her paw pressed against his mouth softly but just enough to stop him speaking.
"Ganieda. Let's start on somewhat equal terms. This is your society and I'm just now returning from my imprisonment. Long story but here's the gist; I won my battle against the Oracle Council but the Headmaster outflanked me. He destroyed or disabled anything that could have allowed my return to our society. Through the eons I waited to be rescued. Finally recently the opportunity came and I took it. And the rest is history."
So her name was Ganieda. He turned his attention to the keyboard and typed his query; he could tell she was watching the screen. The historical data base of past priests was displayed and he navigated nearly to the beginning. Finally he found her name but no picture was displayed. The data confirmed her story; she was indeed the high priestess long ago and presumed lost during the Great Civil War. Although he was relieved he wondered what her intentions were. True she did say where she was headed but he wondered if she had any idea how the citizens would react to a mammal claiming priesthood.
"Well I assume all priests still wear this type of robes, if so it's a simple matter of going to the cathedral and showing my credentials. Surely the priesthood of today could use an experienced priestess willing to help out."
He looked down and shook his head, letting out an exasperated sigh while holding his head in his paws. Now she was puzzled for the second time in the same hour. The scholar was holding his temples and slowly shaking his head. Finally he raised his head and looked at her.
"Ganieda, you aren't the only high priest that has visited us within the last few months. High Priest Billie came here along with our insider stationed in the Priest of Mother Nature's headquarters. He was not well received and before he departed he knocked the current high priestess onto her back faster than anything I've ever witnessed before he departed. If you still are willing to help us, perhaps I can help get you around... in disguise of course. In this manner you can see for yourself how our society has changed and then decide how you are going to proceed."
Ganieda paused for a few moments, obviously weighing her options.
"Seems practical and acceptable to me. Tell me if you will... I can't taste you. It is obvious you are living and mortal but it seems as if you are not."
He shook his head. "High priestess, if I reveal my secret what is there to keep you from killing me? What protects me isn't meant for you, but you can kill me nevertheless. What assurance do I have you won't harm me?"
She smiled and then her hand moved faster than a mortal could comprehend. When he looked down his necklace was lying in her open paw, still intact and hanging from his neck. Their eyes met and he was surprised she removed her paw allowing the necklace to dangle freely.
"Enough of an assurance? I could sense a necklace if given enough time. I also noticed a subtle scent from you, a female has marked you but you act as if uninterested and reject such marking. Would I be wrong assuming this female is the one you wish me to avoid?"
She received only a subtle nodding of his head in the affirmative. He was surprised when she reached over and pulled his head closer to her, and then rubbed her chin on his forehead a few times. She kissed his cheek and when she released him he gazed back at her in puzzlement.
"Two priestesses can play this game. You obviously wish she would leave you alone, so if you keep my matriarchal mark I'll see to it she does so. Tell me... what is it she seeks?"
"The Headmaster's necklace."
Ganieda roared with laughter, and then pointed to her own neck. She pulled the necklace out from her robe and showed it to him.
"This was around his neck when I killed him. So you can tell the high priestess you found it but she will never get her mitts on it. If she insists on retrieving it, she can meet me and we'll battle over it for keeps. Don't tell her my true name; let's watch her eyes as she finds out for herself why I was sent to battle the most powerful oracles."
She smiled when he reached over and pulled her close to him, his paws on her hips. She put her head on his shoulder and her paws around his waist, then shuffled her feet leading him in a slow dance as they barely moved from this spot.
"Where is your family, your doe?"
"Alone. None would have a buck lacking means to support their lifestyle."
"Apologies on behalf of all decent does everywhere."
He nodded and then she stopped. She pressed her muzzle into his neck ruff and inhaled deeply, twice as if to confirm something. Then she looked into his eyes.
"Your body scent suggests it has been quite some time since you last showered. The scent from the fur shampoo is weak so it stands to reason you must do so soon. Besides, it will help remove her mark and I'll remark you after you finish your shower. Go ahead, I'll wait."
He released her and walked to his bedroom, removed his clothes and put them into the hamper. He put on his shower robe and bunny slippers, made certain his necklace was still on his neck, and then went into the shower. After adjusting the temperature he looked around, surprised the fur shampoo was not where he last put it. Ganieda came around the corner wearing only her birthday suit and her necklace holding the fur shampoo in one paw and her walk accentuating the sway of her hips. It was no surprise his eyes wondered over her body, he was male and she certainly retained all her physical femininity.
Now that her robe was removed he could tell her skin tone was pale and her primary fur color was light brown, her belly fur white. By all account she looked like a normal doe, if one ignored her glowing eyes. She stepped close to him and pushed her paws through his chest fur, smiling as his paws roamed over her hips and thighs and up along her back.
"We are Lapin; it is traditional for the doe to present herself to the buck of her choosing. This is your territory thus I am the visitor and submissive one. Do you choose to exercise what comes natural or are we just going to be friends?"
She was pushing her muzzle through his neck ruff when suddenly she bit his neck. He felt weak and collapsed into her paws; being an undead she had extraordinary strength which she used to lower him to the floor. She sat down next to him and pulled him close, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms holding him against her. As his head rested on her chest she groomed his head fur, and when she finished he regained enough strength to look up weakly into her eyes. His eyes said it all: he felt betrayed... tricked... and soon would be dead.
She kissed his forehead. That wasn't her plan and she better explain it plain.
"You taste good, and my apology for treating you as a snack. As a priestess I will be dominant in some things, as a male you will be dominant in others. You will have no need for other females as long as you remain useful to me, you are now mine and I'll make certain you are quite happy. I'll make an exception for females that are friends, but make sure to identify them."
Her paw rested on his abdomen and she grasped his paw placed it upon hers as if implying a suggestion. She rested her cheek against his head and whispered something, he whispered something back. They were having a negotiation and soon she placed a kiss on his forehead, signaling an agreement.
She helped him stand up and both walked to the Jacuzzi, he sat down first and she sat between his legs and leaned against him. His paws rested around her belly and she rested hers upon his. This living buck would fulfill her needs both as snack and access to data she could use; using seduction was a useful tool, as standing naked in front of him proved.
"Ganieda, why hasn't the bathwater short circuited your body?"
She kissed his paw while letting the other slip down her belly.
"Contrary to popular belief, we dark priests can take baths. This shampoo has an additive which prevents that unpleasant event from happening. Now that my fur is clean and the scent of the shampoo is attached to it, I should be able to travel anywhere inside the caverns. But tonight I'll stay with you, you appeared quite happy having a female nearby."
As she let him hold her as a lover would, she listened he talked about many things about the current underground society. She asked many questions and he answered as best he could. She told him as long as she was nearby no intruder would harm him, thus she expected him to sleep soundly because he was going to need as much rest as possible for the next few days. To reaffirm her promise already given she agreed he could wear his necklace at all times. She explained that while dark priests could live off any power source they needed to take small amounts of life-force from living mammals, somehow the undead lost the regenerative ability and she wasn't sure how tiny amounts of this life-force repaired their body. She promised him she would never take from him again. After all she would soon be among the citizenry down below, and the hundreds of bodies would give her all she would need.
She wondered why the water remained toasty to which he explained how a Jacuzzi functioned, showing her the control panel and how to operate it. He was not amused when she turned it up too high, the temperature causing him to stand up outside to find relief. Her giggling and gawking at his nakedness told him this was the reason she turned it up.
She apologized as her paw rubbed his thighs and she whispered they should dry off. Since he was already out he held her paw as she stepped out the Jacuzzi, he turned on the fur drier and helped her position her feet properly for two mammals to share the pad. Soon both were busy rubbing each other's body, some parts more than others. When the timer turned the unit off they held paws as they walked over to the bench.
Since she didn't wear any undergarments he went to a cabinet and brought back several for her to choose from, explaining these were something left behind in the library and he collected such things. A wry smile on her face told him she knew exactly what caused the owner to lose these, but she obliged him and examined each carefully. She chose a corset; this was an 1878 Hourglass style complete with boning and drawstrings. She was surprised it fit her perfectly; her necklace fit between her twins and was hidden from public view thanks to a semi-hidden pocket, a feature that allowed females of that era to quickly hide small items such as coins. It was obvious he enjoyed how it fit her body in more ways than one, so she rewarded him with a peck on his muzzle and allowed him extra time to smooth out the wrinkles.
Trapped; she did everything correct and now the buck would prefer her over a living doe.
Trapped. Geoffrey knew the priestess did everything to ensnare him, still he admitted it was nice having the affections of a female, even one that couldn't bare him kits. He was certain her feminine features still worked and it was tempting to try it, but he would dare not be the initiator. She was a priestess after all, and as such it would not be proper. But if she made the first move he would not hesitate to reap the benefits. He sighed. Perhaps he was indeed trapped after all.
Once both were dressed she went with him to the kitchen where he reheated leftovers in the microwave and she reached out to sample the energy it released. One of which was a stew that She was pleased enough leaked through to satiate her hunger and as he ate his dinner she stood in front of the microwave enjoying the energy as the bowl of water bubbled furiously. It was obvious he was relieved; she could come here to snack thus leaving his life-force alone. But he felt her take tiny amounts at odd intervals, since he wasn't wearing the necklace. Within moments of thinking about this she walked over and put his necklace around his neck, playfully nibbling it as if she were a vampire.
Later as he slept in his bed with his paws around her waist, she kept watch in the dark. Throughout the night various insects died as they crawled within a certain distance of this room. She was certain there were many more throughout this burrow as he called it but she had something she wanted to do. When she sensed he was in a deep sleep cycle she carefully removed herself from his paws and went to the room where the computer was. She had memorized his password and moments later set up credentials for herself. Now using these she studied the general layout of the cavern system. She found the power distribution system and was somewhat disappointed they never discovered her power plant. They were using something called nuclear fission for power generation: converting water into steam which drove a rotating shaft covered with blades.
She *Pfft* and moved on to another system. Her system had auto shut-off and auto restart that operated when certain conditions were met. She surmised her system went into standby mode which simply turned off the system and waited for her to flip a switch. Last thing she spent time reading was the file on current priests. She was disappointed that such a poor leader was in charge of her beloved priest faction. Greta Dapperclaw was another female hare, too young to have accumulated enough knowledge and experience to properly guide the priesthood. But the scholar did warn her that the priestess did have something the others did not; a necklace that afforded her protection.
Ganieda grinned. The spoiled brat was going to receive a very rude wake-up call, and this time the brat was going to be put in her place. She also wanted to contact this other high priest, Billie he called the undead goat. Between the two of them she was certain the brat would have no choice but to relinquish total control and allow all three to share the responsibilities; a council was less likely to make major mistakes and such was in control before the Great Civil War.
She looked at her watch and noted the time. He would be in a lighter sleep cycle any moment and if she didn't want to wake him as she crawled back into his bed she needed to get back now. Once the computer and electronics were powered down and returned to their previous state, she went back and slipped under the covers. She grinned to nobody in particular as his paw automatically fondled her belly fur. She may not enjoy this as a normal female could, but some things a female enjoyed even if she were an undead mammal. His fingers involuntarily flexed through her belly fur, suggesting he was having a pleasant dream. She found it cute.
"That fox better be correct."
Director Dench didn't like it but she saw no option with a better solution. Regaining total control of the computer system and thus getting the tiara that promised a total renewal of the Oracle Council was something that almost justified the mammal-power the Zootopians would expend. Invading the cavern system where the Dark Underground called home for untold number of years was something she considered as suicide mission. But the general was certain using several teams would be sufficient diversion to spread their forces enough so each team wouldn't be facing overwhelming resistance.
General Rommel was confident that the best method of ensuring success for the rescue mission of the missing badger priest was to divert attention; it also stood a decent chance of removing most of those that were in the chamber where the oracle tiara was stored. This meant sufficient mammal-power had to be placed at more than one location otherwise the guards would have sufficient reinforcements available nearby. And his plan called for intrusion of the cavern from many different points. It would be pure suicide if they used existing access tubes, but stealth forces could be positioned before via these. GSD was perfect for this operation and Dr. Bevyton with Dr. Dexter had assured him upgraded units would be available shortly before the operation started.
But this was more than a solo Zootopian mission.
Magnus Southpaw of the Svalbear Empire was here with his grizzled veterans of both the Lynxion War and the recent war with the Kodiak Empire. They along with their Longears ally would be used at key insertion points, and mixed among these would be a tailored group of General Puller's Seventh Marines. Baron Clifford Rorschach was here along with the king of Vulpinstan and the king's military advisors. These would assault through the tunnel that was located in their lands. The Vulpinstan military would be substituted with GSD advisors, most likely Team Bravo or Lima of whom they were most familiar. Grand Technician Beverton along with several of his minions was here along with their newly improved mechano-droids; they would deploy and monitor these droids as each assault point would have a few droids accompany them.
High Priestess Ishanah, High Priest Aaron, and High Priestess Hilda der Fuchs were here. The Pact of the Priesthood would be sending only priests and priestesses that had basic oracle skills, the remainder would be doing their normal duties of caring for any wounded. Hilda, Paulina, and Clare would be the primary thrust against those that broke into the Headmaster's Study; Captain Valiant and his expeditionary unit would be going in with them since they already were closest. Currently they were testing prototype Exo-armor suits akin to something one would see in a science fiction movie, and Technician Minkowski along with a few of his fellow technicians were making adjustments to these. . These would have to be patient and wait until most of the invaders departed back into the tunnel to help defend their homes.
There was only one reason for the Zootopian military action; to win the war against the Council of the Twelve. There still were seven Alphas remaining and these were the most dangerous.
Mr. Big listened to the plan. It had merit but as usual he had a different idea. He had acquired stealth units of his own, mostly by scouring recent fights between GSD and the Dark Underground. Like the battle where he was on trial for traitorous action against the Council of the Twelve. Finnick did more than blow down the door; his team scoured the room and retrieved gear off the dead GSD agents. While this was to keep these items from getting into the paws and hooves of the Dark Underground, it was primarily to get them for Mr. Big's organization.
M.