Authors note: Okay so as I post this the poll winner is . . . . .a tie between human magician and youkai. well damn. So I either make it one of them or put up a new poll. and a new poll seems like a waste after I asked all of you for your opinion, so one of those will be it. I guess we'll see.
Oh and this chapter has one part that mentions the Levo Dextro amino acid thing mass effect had going, so let me say this. That is not how amino acids work! If it was, we'd die when eating candy because sugar has both types of amino acids in it. Hell, some types of meat have their amino acids invert from being cooked even! what I've done for this is that the basic difference is that their bodies catalyze dextro amino acids over levo ones, so eating things like gluten and sugar is fine, but other foods will provide little to no nutrition and may have bad reactions.
The entire idea of alien races eating each other's food is space magic in th first place so I think this is a fine alteration. Also has reasoning for something that will come later.
So that's it for my notes, please enjoy the chapter!
A beam cut across the sky, ending thousands. Then ships came down adding forces to the battle, and quickly the tide began to turn, until the city was filled with the death cries of Turians. At some point he had gotten out from his chair and had moved to the balcony railing, but he hadn't realized when he did so, he was far too focused on the events happening before him.
"It was all planned. A ruse, no, a trick? An ambush with bait so simple than the Hierarchy couldn't see it, none of us could." Desolas finally muttered, after having been silent since it all began high above in orbit.
"It's possible, but I doubt even Yukari could organize this perfect a plan. Your government simply fell for misinformation you could not know." Keine said simply, making Flandre smile.
"Fairies being immortal helped the matter; otherwise it is possible your people would have taken Shanxi. But you didn't know, couldn't know, and now our forces are slaughtering yours in what will be a complete rout."
Desolas looked out at the city, catching a glimpse of Turian soldiers at a crossroad, firing down the road. A second later, a half dozen aliens appeared, tearing them apart with everything from weapons to blade and even claws and teeth. It took barely three seconds before all the Turians were dead, nothing more than a pile of blue and grey flesh upon the pavement. "This, this can't go on, I need to stop this. I need to help them!" Desolas muttered as he turned around to head for the door, to see Flandre sitting in her chair beside it, smirking at him as a ball of crackling red energy sparked in an open hand that she held level with her eyes.
"Oh, where do you think you are off to?" Flandre asked, her grin turning into a vile smirk that made her fangs clearly visible to Desolas. "Please remember that you are here as my guest. And that if you leave my property, your life is forfeit!"
Desolas felt his limbs grow cold as he realized that her meaning of the word guest, was more similar to prisoner. "You think I will just sit still as I watch my people get slaughtered?" Desolas asked softly, his tone firm and cold.
Flandre continued to smile and glanced over to Mamizou. "Now I see why you took a liking to this alien!"
Mamizou simply smiled and went back to sipping her tea.
"What?" Desolas finally asked in confusion.
Flandre looked back at Desolas and closed her hand, crushing the energy between her fingers. "Once your people here on Shanxi are taken out or imprisoned, the Alliance will move forward with interrogation. We will find out where all your planets are, likely within a day, and then our full might will likely begin falling on your people. Thousands if not millions will die. Blood will flood on your planets streets, and when the alliance is done with them, I would not be surprised if Marisa takes pot-shots at your home world with her new gun, the same one that killed your fleet, turning it into a pile of molten slag!" Flandre said with a smile, clearly enjoying the thought, before she levelled her gaze at Desolas. "Do you want to stop this from happening?"
Desolas looked at Flandre in horror. Her words,.. such a thing would normally sound completely absurd. But with what he had just seen and the way that Flandre was saying it so nonchalantly, as if it was completely normal, made Desolas very worried over if it could indeed be done. After a few moments he simply nodded to her.
"Good, then there are three things we must do, but first, is what you need to do. Who can order your forces to surrender?" Flandre asked with a grin as she rested her chin on the back of one of her hands.
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"How stable is the situation?" Tenshi asked as she and Iku stood at the side of the Hologram table that showed the city of Xi'an. Across from them was General Williams, who until just a short time ago had been commanding the defence of Shanxi entirely on his own.
"It appears stable now." Williams said with a hint of calm relaxation in his voice. "The reinforcements have driven all of the aliens away from our lines, and the BladeBreakers are leading them further forward. There is one thing of note however. Apparently Operative Youmu Konpaku is returning here, with a message ordering the preparation of a cleansing chamber for Element Zero contamination."
"That is worrisome." Iku said calmly as she tapped a side screen on the table.
"I agree. Williams, make sure it is prepared and have Youmu contact me as soon as she's been cleansed. Contact me if anything important happens that you cannot deal with. I need to go check in with the research team that arrived with us." Tenshi said as she turned and left the room, Iku following behind her after giving Williams a polite bow.
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"Biological notes on the invading alien race, that I am currently calling Stymphalians until their official name is discovered. This is due to their obvious avian ancestry, and what I believe to be metal in their external flesh. Current cadaver stands at nearly six and a half feet tall. Legs are double jointed reverse bend with three talon tipped toes. Similarly its hands have only two fingers and a thumb each, also with claws. Strangely shaped mandibles flank the alien's mouth, leaving small areas that are constantly open to the elements, and while they may have been protective, or offensive at point in time, I see no immediate use for such straight and rigid mandibles. It is likely they have evolved out of the need for them, but the mandibles have remained regardless." Eirin Yagokoro paused as she took a breath and reached over to a side table, picking up a large scalpel with a curved tip before going back to the alien cadaver in front of her, plunging the scalpel into its chest and slicing down to open it up. A few seconds later she had metal clamps holding open its chest and began poking around inside, blue blood squirting out occasionally as she continued her recorded monologue.
"The biology of the Stymphalians appears similar to our own. A single heart pumps blood through the body, and two lungs bring air into the blood. Strangely, because of its biology its blood has a deep blue coloration to it when contacting oxygen, though I cannot tell if this is because of biological differences or chemical. Additionally the alien's flesh is slightly tight across their body, and some places appear harder, similar to human callous, but more rigid, like scales or plates. I have taken a sample of outer and inner tissue and am currently running them through a detailed scan; perhaps it will unearth more information on these aliens. Another interesting, although likely aesthetic point of these aliens biology is the strange horns coming out the back of their head. They are rigid, yet appear to serve no purpose, as discovered by cutting many off and finding they are comprised mainly of a cartilage equivalent.
"While these aliens are physically large and have an appropriate muscle mass for a combat unit, I can see nothing in their biology that would set them apart as a dangerous species. The average Youkai or Lunarian should have no trouble with them in a physical comparison, and any human in our military will need only show appropriate skill to keep the upper hand in my opinion."
"That's good to hear." Tenshi said as she stepped into the room, much to Eirin's surprise.
Eirin nodded and leaned over, tapping the console on her nearby computer to turn off her recorder before she wiped blue blood off her hands and onto a medical robe she was wearing over her clothing. "Come to check up on us to see if we're doing our jobs?" Eirin asked with a neutral smile.
"To an extent. What can you tell me about these aliens?" Tenshi asked as Iku came into view, standing in the hallway outside of the room patiently.
"Not much currently. Bipedal. Muscle mass and build suggest they could be decent sprinters, but they honestly are not too impressive biologically. I am still waiting on a detailed notice of their chemical structure. I may have more information then." Eirin said, just as a small ping came from a module beside her computer.
"And I assume that is it? What can you tell me?"
"Let's take a look." Eirn said as she turned back to the computer and tapped the screen a few times. "Carbon based with traces of thulium in their skin, possibly as a magnetic or radiation defence. Same number of DNA spirals, and chromosomes. They appear to be dextro amino based however."
"Meaning?"
"Their bodies catalyze dextro amino acids over levo amino ones. Basically, they would have trouble digesting fruit and meats that we would eat normally. Gluten and sugars could still be catalyzed, but it would not provide the same nutrition."
"So the few we've captured alive will have to be fed candy and bread then, it could be worse." Tenshi said with a shrug. "Anything else of note?"
"Not at this time. The one cadaver is all I've had a chance to study, and until I have more whole samples I will not be able to get a clearer image of their biology."
"Very well. . . . Rinnnosuke and Sanae have set up in the bases firing range, correct?" Tenshi asked as she turned to the door and stopped just shy of it.
"Yes. They are there testing alien weapon and armour against our own. There were far more instances of intact alien weapons and armour waiting for us than there were whole cadavers. They should have more for you."
"Thank you. If you find anything immediately useful please send it to Iku." Tenshi said as she left the room, Iku following behind her.
"You were hoping for more, were you?" Iku asked after a minute of walking.
"Yes I was. These are aliens. I hoped we'd find some crucial weakness, like being allergic to water considering their temperament. But instead they are carbon based and can even eat our food to an extent!"
"It does feel rather lackluster. At least their blood isn't red." Iku said with a small snicker.
"A small mercy, one we won't give back to the aliens, no matter what our people or, the aliens, call themselves." Tenshi said as she tapped a keypad beside a door and watched it slid open, assaulting her and Iku's ears with a strange repeating sound, like classic chemical arms fire, twenty old style pistols firing consecutively.
The firing range was designed like almost every alliance range. A large area at the back with lockers for personal effects, split off booths with tables that looked down the range, and target dummies at the far end, with controls on the table to change lanes distance. Tables had been set up in the area in front of the lockers, and many of the dividers between firing lanes had been taken down, making the room feel far more open.
At the table, in front of an array of strange, fragile looking alien weapons stood Rinnosuke Morichika, one of the alliances most skilled and intelligent weapon experts. And probably the only person who was capable of making a Hakkero out of spare parts in sixty seconds. He was a half-Youkai with white hair, and in his simple dark blue pants and white shirt he looked imposing and strangely professional. He wore a scowl on his face as he put down an alien weapon, a string of steam coming out the end of it.
Further in the room, standing beside one of the firing dummies was Sanae Kochiya. She was wearing the R&D bodysuit she had designed, and seemed to wear exclusively, and had her long green hair tied into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She appeared to be fixing a suit of silver armour onto a dummy. It was clearly an alien suit of armour, and she scowled and grimaced as she touched pieces of it, clearly uncomfortable.
"It's ready!" Sanae suddenly said as she ran down the firing lanes over to Rinnosuke, just as he picked up a long alien weapon with what Tenshi assumed was a scope of some sort. He aimed it down range from the table where he stood, grimaced and pulled the trigger. A sharp and strange crack echoed in the room alongside a faint blue flash from the guns barrel, and while fast, Tenshi caught sight of a small fleck leave the barrel, just before it hit the dummy. Another three shots were fired before Rinnosuke abruptly dropped the weapon unceremoniously onto the table, cringing.
"So, I assume the alien weapons still work then." Tenshi said as she walked up to the table in the room, glancing over the alien weapons. All of them had sleek designs, but something looked odd about them, as if they had to many seams for their size.
"They work, well enough, I suppose." Rinnosuke said as Sanae ran back over to the dummy and began unhooking the alien armour from it. "You want the quick version of weapons and armour, or the combined version?"
"Combined I think. What can you tell me about it, how does it stack up to our own equipment?"
"Their weapons and armour are terrible!" Sanae said as she came over and dropped the alien chest plate on the table.
Rinnosuke nodded in agreement. "The alien weapons, regardless of whether it is a sniper rifle, assault rifle or pistol, fire metal pellets roughly the size of a grain of sand at high speed by use of mass altered acceleration in an element Zero field. A block of metal inside the weapon, similar to an ingot, is used as the ammunition. It gets pieces shaved off as needed and then the grains are fired at far less than their regular weight, giving them substantially more striking power than their size would suggest."
"Sounds pretty dangerous then." Iku commented calmly.
"Yeah, except for the designs of their weapons are terribly shoddy, and have a built in critical distance to them. After a certain distance, they lose speed, and therefor power and accuracy." Sanae said as she hit her fist to the alien breastplate. "Their armour is a composite metal alloy, similar to our own basic armours, but their armour is lacking and cannot take a large number of rounds, see here? The three rounds Kourin fired all stuck within an inch of each other, and the metal between them is cracked and warped now. Their armour is not made as their main protection!"
Tenshi looked at the armour for a moment and then looked at Sanae. "Any race designs protection based on what they need protection from. So what is their armour for then?"
"It's a backup." Sanae said with a sigh. "Their armour is outfitted with an element zero field that creates a barrier that blocks kinetic objects moving at or above a specific motion threshold. Simply put, bullets get stopped by a shield, but a sword swing gets ignored by the shield and goes right into their armour, and through most of it depending on who's swinging."
"How strong is this barrier?" Tenshi asked immediately.
"It varies on the weapon used against it and the amount of fire it take at one time." Sanae said with a shiver. "We tested three of them, one with their weapons, two with our own. Alien weapons are blocked for anywhere from two to forty shots depending on velocity and volume, and their shields do not block our lasers at all. Beams are blocked for up to a full second depending on intensity, and pulse cannons are only partially blocked."
"So our weapons can break them easily enough." Tenshi said with a nod. "How much danger are our own people in for?"
"Graze shielding will block all of their attacks." Rinnosuke said with a sigh. "However, as most of our personal armour, for those that wear it, is ablative in nature and made to guard against lasers and beams, it will likely shatter in pieces when stuck by the alien rounds in number. Their rounds are very capable of piercing skin with ease as well. Only youkai such as Oni, those with naturally magically enhanced skin toughness, will be able to shrug off shots directly to their body. Shots to the head will prove fatal instantly for those without such skin, I believe."
"So our weapons completely counter the others because they weren't designed for the other." Iku said simply.
"Yes, there is however one good thing." Rinnosuke said as he picked up an alien sniper rifle and flicked a switch, the rifle suddenly shifting into itself, folding down to a third its full size before he put it to its full size again. "The alien weapons all fold up to some extent to save space. In some circumstance I'd say it is useful, but because of how these weapons are designed and how their fire," Rinnosuke stopped, held the rifle by the barrel and swung down against the table, the rifle shattering into pieces as it struck the table. Pieces of casing went everywhere, internal parts were bent and even the barrel bent around Rinnosuke's hand a bit. "These alien weapons are fragile because of their design. Melee attacks, or any beam, laser or pulse hitting them will ruin them immediately, provided they are hit."
"I see. That may be useful. What about contamination? You said the weapons run off element zero fields, so it must have some inside of it, right?"
"Yes, but it is a small amount, and the risk of contamination is minor." Rinnosuke said as he grabbed a spray bottle and began covering the broken weapon pieces in bubbly orange foam. "Better to be careful though. Touching the weapons will not cause a reaction to our people, but firing the weapons creates the element zero fields, so it would be best for our people to not fire them. At the least it will make people uncomfortable, at worst, contamination could occur from repeatedly firing these weapons."
"Ugh, weapons that will cause contamination if used, great. At least there won't be the need to use them with our weapons not needing reloading." Tenshi said with a sigh of relief.
"Actually, neither do these alien weapons." Rinnosuke said, making Tenshi look at him with a glare that said, please tell me you are joking. "They are fed by the block of metal inside them, and I figure they'd get numerous days of use before the block was shaved to nothing. They have to worry about their weapons overheating due to their flimsy design and lack of efficient cooling technology, but not running out of ammunition unless they are fighting constantly for days on end."
"So they won't run out of ammunition before we beat them into the dirt, great. Keep me posted if you discover anything else of value." Tenshi said as she left the room with Iku in tow, only for her communicator to beep a second later. "Yes, Williams?"
"Lady Scarlet has contacted us. She is wishing to speak to you." Williams's voice came over the comms, stopping Tenshi dead in her tracks.
"Has Flandre been seen in the city at all since the invasion began?"
"No, she's been at the manor with Keine and the city's children. There has been very little fighting around it as well."
" . . . . Patch her through." Tenshi said as she waited a moment until a telling click told her she was connected. "Flandre, what do you want?"
Flandre let out a sadistic giggle that made Tenshi shiver. "I have a favor to ask of you. I would like you to patch a signal from my manor to Byakurens ship in orbit, to act as an amplifier."
"For what purpose?"
"I'm going to contact the government of the alien alliance these attacking aliens are a part of!"
Tenshi paused for a moment as she tried to comprehend Flanders words, and settled for one thing in reply. "WHAT!?"
"Hmm, maybe I should explain-."
"Please do, before I come over there and demand answers in person!"
"Calm down. I,acquired, a group of aliens, ones that Mamizou was shadowing. Their leader wants me to let them contact their government to plead for them to send an envoy to broker peace between us."
"Are you forgetting that they attacked us first? They won't want peace, not after we're done with them!"
"No I mean. . . . Okay, look, I'm sending you some data, look it over!"
Tenshi looked down at her wristComm and scanned it with her eyes as line after line of data surged across it. "These aliens . . . have a governing structure similar to our own then, and only one of their species is attacking us. The others don't know?"
"The alien that gave me this information doesn't seem to think so. His species is their government's military arm, and seem to be acting alone."
"Fine, I'll get Williams to set up a patch in a moment. How much more information on these aliens do you have?"
"It's still being downloaded off the alien's multi-tool. Takes a while though, probably won't be done till the morning. If the aliens can be convinced to surrender, will you allow it?"
" . . . . Yes, if they surrender honesty and do not use it as a way to sneak attack our people, why?"
"Because Mamizou volunteered to sneak into their camp and give them a chance to surrender."
". . . The Red eyes are likely there by now."
"Oh. Can they be called off in time?" Flandre asked neutrally.
Tenshi waited a second and then sighed. "Maybe."
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A quick slip of a blade, the gurgle of pain and blood flowing out of a throat, and the heavy slump of a lifeless body as it fell to the ground. Red Eyes were experts at infiltration, assassination and terror tactics, and Reisen was one of, if not the, best.
She never had many chances to utilize her training in Gensokyo, but once the border fell and the alliance was created, she had an incalculable number of chances, all of them against those groups that refused the idea of the alliance. Once they had been dealt with though, there was no need again.
Now though, now she was fighting real aliens! Aliens intent on hurting her friends and family, aliens who were here to invade, enslave, or simply to destroy them. Aliens that still bled when she slit their throats or put lasers in their backs. though they bled blue of all colors. Seriously, why blue?
It didn't matter though. The fights at the alliances creation had been stealth ops, not like this. She was a predator on a world of prey in the middle of a war zone, and it made her blood boil like when she was part of the lunar civil war.
Jumping out from behind a tree she ran up behind an alien that was patrolling. It didn't hear her coming, and her blade went into its back and up to its head in one silent motion. Before its body fell to the ground she was already on the move, advancing on the alien camp outside of the city.
Inside the city she had killed easily a hundred different aliens, all individuals of groups. The singular soldiers died by her blades and guns, while those around them were left alive in horror, catching the barest glimpses of her when she allowed it. They already were being pushed back by the BladeBreakers, and she added to that horror with insane abandon.
And she hadn't even used her eyes yet!
That needed to change!
The alien camp was set up outside of the forest that surrounded Xi'an. It was organized in cascading half circles coming away from the ship that sat on the grass at the end, and parallel to it was a line of fighter craft and armored vehicles.
At least it had been until the artillery strikes devastated the land and camp. Tents were turned to scraps of cloth, vehicles were devastated wrecks, and fight craft had been turned to slag. All over the base were bodies of aliens, crisp and smoking from a recent barrage of electrical magic. Even the cruiser parked on the grass had its armour torn and melted in many placed from the artillery strikes.
Then the sky whistled in a way that made Reisens blood shiver in anticipation. Electrical cluster rounds crashed all across the camp. Tents and aliens within them were fried in an instant, and the few vehicles that were not already wrecks began to smoke as electricity coursed through them. Most of the rounds struck the open area of the airfield and the cruiser however their electrical surges coursed across the cruisers plating, causing some random placed to light aflame, and outer lights to explode at random.
After a few seconds the barrage stopped, and aliens all across the camp began scurrying around like headless fowl, unsure of what to do first. Dozens were lying dead; fires were interspace all across the camp, lit from the electricity lighting flammable substances, and their camp itself was in shambles with only a handful of gun turrets still standing at uneven intervals around the camps perimeter.
It was the perfect time to break in and sow even more chaos among them!
Climbing up a tree Reisen positioned herself on a bough overlooking the whole alien camp and closed her eyes, focused her power then opened them, her eyes now glowing a deep bright red. It was said by some people that looking in the eyes of a moon rabbit caused insanity just as fast as looking upon a true blood moon, but that was not totally accurate. It was just as fast, but the rabbit themselves had to have control over the ability and be actively using it. Just looking at one did not cause insanity.
But looking in her general direction when her eyes were glowing with power most certainly would, and a pair of red glowing dots in a tree was a wonderful way to attract attention.
Almost immediately a new chorus of screams, yells and gunfire erupted within the camp. Aliens turned on each other, began seeing hallucinations, and other similar insanities, making the rest of the camp go back into high alert only for its own people to then become even more erratic and confused as their fellows rage around them.
Resien blinked hard, returning her eyes to normal as she looked over at the alien cruiser, thinking it would be a perfect place to search for commanding officers, until a line of explosions cut across its entire length, spitting fire all over the camp and making over half the functional lights across the ships stop being functional. The camp became significantly darker because of it, and darkness amplified fear.
"This is Red seven to all other Red Eyes'. Enemy cruiser is defunct, and nonoperational. The crew onboard is a skeleton crew who was, up until a couple moments ago, trying to hardwire some systems together. Reason unknown."
Resien tapped her earpiece. "Red Seven, this is Red one. A line of explosions just went across the cruisers length. Your work?"
"Possibly. I killed some birds and blew apart a junction they were working on. Might have done it, but it's hard to say without knowing how they wire their tech."
"Have you tried accessing a computer?"
"Yeah, it's a no go. Alien languages and systems, my wristComp couldn't get into them."
"Understood. The alien camp is chaotic, so I'll be searching for commanding officers, be careful on your way out." Reisen said as she closed the line and dropped from the tree, rushing into the alien camp with the silence of a light breeze.
While the camp was chaotic, it was calmer near one edge. Normally she'd chalk it up to the range of her eyes, but numerous aliens came in and out of one large tent, and all of them seemed to be trying to take control of the situation.
Weaving in between tents, behind alien's backs, and even over them in some cases, Resien made it to the back of the tent where it seemed likely a commander was hiding. Carefully looking at the backside of the tent she grinned and pulled out her blades, slicing pieces off of the tent and crawling through to find herself under a table, and three pairs of legs in the centre of the tent around another table.
The three aliens squawked among each other for a few moments, and then, finally, two of them left, leaving the one alien alone. She took a short step forward, ready to spring out of her hiding place and strike, and would have, until her comms were suddenly pinged.
"Reisen, where are you?" Asked Tenshi over the comms.
"About to kill an alien commander, why?"
"There's been a . . . . Slight change of plans. Send the location to me, then leave the alien camp."
Resien sent her coordinated and then growled lightly under her breath. "Why am I doing this? Is there something you need or-.."
"Flandre, Kiene and Mamizou want to try to make the aliens surrender, Mamizou is on her way to your location now. If she fails I'll tell you, and you can go right back and the kill the alien leadership."
"I don't like this. Do you really think they will surrender?" Resien asked as she crawled back out of the tent and crouched down behind a pile of metal boxes, many of them half melted and pitted with holes.
"Flandre and Keine seem to think it's possible, so I'm willing to give them the chance. If Mamizou fails however-," Tenshi stopped for a few moments, leaving the line silent before continuing, her tone cold. "–then I want you to kill their leadership and any others you please before giving Mokou more firing coordinates. Devastate these alien forces, and leave none alive. If they refuse to surrender now, the alliance will exterminate them, and move onto their home world!"
Reisen was quiet for a moment, and then nodded to herself. "I can live with that arrangement. One chance, or complete annihilation." Reisen said as she noticed a Tanuki go into the tent the same way she had. "I wonder what these aliens will decide?"
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Septimus Oraka heaved a pained sigh as he watched two of his subordinates leave the tent.
Subordinates, he had had them for a long while, but never so many of them at once. With the loss of their fleet high in orbit, for what else could make the entire fleet go quiet completely, and the loss of other commanders, captains and squad leaders from alien artillery bombardment, there were barely any leaders left in their forces.
The hierarchy had strict lines of succession which meant when someone died it was well known who would replace them. The problem was that so many people were dying so fast, they could not keep tabs on all of them. Just keeping orders moving between groups, keeping the forces in the alien city notified, and the wounded kept care of, was taxing all of their remaining power.
Septimus Orka had become the highest ranking general among the Turian forces on, or around this entire planet. He had become the most powerful Turian on the planet by the fact that he lived while others died.
And, oh, did they die!
Thousands of Turians had already lost their lives, the wounded outnumbering the combat ready, and the dead outnumbering them both.
Lasers that ignored armour and left searing holes.
Beams that could cut through a Jiris in seconds, slicing any between in half.
Blasts of energy that electrified and melted all they contacted.
Lights that would ignore shielding and barriers. electrocuting, bursting into flame and ice. Turning those that they touched to stone, incinerating them, driving them mad.
Artillery that let loose waves of electricity, flaring cloth, destroying machinery and devastating infantry.
And that was just these aliens' weapons, to say nothing of their own physical capabilities. Aliens that could fly seemingly at will, and out maneuver and beat down elite Turian soldiers was a terrifying prospect.
"These aliens, when they are done with us, will they attack council space? Will they attack Palaven?" Septimus muttered to himself in fear and worry. It was possible, more than possible really. What were now his forces were on the defensive, being pushed back more and more every hour. It was the dark of night, and he wouldn't be surprised if the aliens had his forces out of the city before dawn. "Those aliens fight well in the dark as well. It's like they can see in any light." Septimus said with another heavy sigh as his claws clenched against the table, putting marks in it.
"Only some of us can see in the dark." came a new, feminine voice that Septimus did not recognize.
Septimus turned around and drew his pistol in one motion, glancing around for the voice's owner, but found no one in his sight. Was he hearing things now?
"If you think you are hearing things, you are not." came the feminine voice again. Then a second later a furry animal came out from under the table, and then jumped backwards onto it without making a sound. A very agile creature indeed!
Septimus looked at the animal, his mind racing with possibilities, all of them seemingly impossible. "A-are you, what just spoke?"
For a moment nothing happened, then the animal pawed at its ear, and its mouth opened slightly. "I am."
Septimus looked at the animal and realize he had been pointing his gun at it, and shifted it to his side, but did not let go of it. "That's not possible. The stress of the situation must be getting to me."
"It is not." The animal said, seemingly smiling at him like an Asari would. "Is my talking to you so strange when our weaponry is also alien to you? Or is it my form that makes you unwilling to believe?"
". . . Yes, animals don't talk, not intelligently. You're merely a hallucination brought on by stress and worry.
"I see. Then perhaps my main form will garner more trust for your senses."
"I doubt that-." Septimus began to say, until he saw the animal before him begin to change. Its body shifted, becoming tall, its fur disappeared across its entire length except for its head and tail, and mounds of flesh appeared on its chest. It only took a couple seconds, and by the time it was done, the alien woman was sitting on the table before him, legs crossed, and hair cascading over her chest. Septimus had read the few reports that explained the aliens shape and looks, claiming them to look Asari like, but he wasn't prepared for just how similar they looked.
"Your mouth is open, might want to close it unless you want to invite flies." The woman said. Septimus had no idea what the reference itself was to, but understood the meaning behind it and closed his mouth.
If only for a moment before speaking. "You are one of those aliens then?"
"You are the aliens here. This is our planet after all, yes?"
"Why are you here?" Septimus asked as he leveled his pistol at the alien woman, ignoring her question, true as it was.
The woman smiled and leaned a bit back, using her arms on the table as a brace. "My name is Mamizou Futatsuiwa, and I am here to deliver you a message!"
" . . . . From whom?"
"Our General. They have acquired one of your people's wrist computer devices, and from it have gleaned the location of many of your planets, as well as the location of your coalition government that you call the Citadel Council. They will soon contact them, with the hopes of organizing a cease fire and an end to hostilities."
"I fail to see how..-"
"If your government does not agree to the ceasefire, the alliance will finish off all of your kind on Shanxi, if it has not done so by that time, and will then move ahead to begin assaulting your government's controlled space. Individually taking over planets would be to slow though, and planet wide sieges are pointless to us." Mamizou said as she pulled some form of data pad out of her hair and flicked it on. It showed the Turian fleet, along with the alliance one, just moments before one ship disappeared, reappeared, and then annihilated the whole fleet with a massive laser. "Imagine what that weapon could do to a planet."
"Your people would kill entire planets! That's clearly a weapon of mass destruction! Using such weapons on any garden world is illegal under Citadel law and-.."
"And we are not part of your law! Your people have attacked us, and we do not take such things lying down. My people, the alliance, will give your government one single chance to stop this before it escalate and ends with total war!" Mamizou paused for a moment as she hid the datapad again. "That still leaves all of your kind here on Shanxi, however. The leader of our defences has allowed you one chance to surrender, both for your own sakes, and for ours."
"For what purpose." Septimus asked grimly. Normally he would not take such threats, no Turian would. But the video, as surprising as it was, matched the beam he had seen from the surface. And these aliens had been pushing his forces back constantly. His people didn't even have an alien body to autopsy. The idea of them being able to annihilate his forces seemed more and more likely by the second.
"The purpose is twofold. Those that remain of your people here get to live, and their stories of what we are capable of will help give proof to our threats to your government."
"You want us to be proof that you can do what you say you can?" Septimus asked carefully.
"Yes. In return, you get to live and will be returned to your people with all your effects and currently attached limbs…, attached. You will also be given basic rights as prisoners of war."
"What if we refuse and then later decide to surrender?"
"Then you die. You get one chance, and if it is squandered then your people will be mercilessly dealt with."
"So we get one chance . . . when?" Septimus asked nervously, hoping that he would have to make such a decision.
"Now. You must decide now!" Mamizou said as she shifted back into her Tanuki form and smiled at him. "If your forces are still fighting one hour from now, you all will never leave this planet alive, that I can guarantee. Make your decision quickly." She said as she jumped down from the table and ran under one, disappearing as quickly as she came.
Septimus stood for what felt like an eternity before looking down, and realizing that he still had his gun up. His arm was shaking incessantly, as if that one alien had the power to undo him. Considering that shapeshifting had just been done right in front of him, he felt all the weaker as he looked up from his arm and realized what had just happened. Realized the choice he now had to make. "Oh, spirits."
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Ablative armours – Most personal armour in the Alliance is a combination of kinetic padding and ablative scaling designed to stop or mitigate the damage from beams and lasers. When lasers or beams strike ablative pieces of armor they melt in layers, transferring heat across their entire section instead of one small spot. It is a simple, yet effective, armour for the small percentage of alliance forces that utilize them. Roughly 28 percent.
Operative Bio – Rinnosuke
Name: Rinnosuke Morichika
Race: Half Youkai
Gender: Male
Age: exact age unknown. Suspected to be well over 300.
Power rank: E
Class: 1
Class Specifics: Can work alongside nearly anyone and command others well. Has distaste for leading combat directly however and prefers to lead from behind and coordinate actions.
Powers: identification – can identify anything by touching. Understanding the intent of its design, its build and how it is operated.
Capabilities/skills: cleaning. Business sense. Mechanic intuition. Mechanical skills. Salvaging skill. social skills. scientific conceptualization skills
Bio: a Half youkai originally from Gensokyo, Rinnosuke Morichika ran a used goods store that had limited success, his true income coming from valuing items from the outside. When the border broke he was important in discoing what outside technology did what, and teaching others from Gensokyo how to deal with them.
He was a major player in the invention of the MAGTECH reactor, being responsible for designing a way to mass produce engine grade Hakkero and helping design several weapons still in use.
Despite being well known in Gensokyo, no one knows his actual age, or who his parents were. The only thing know about his past is that his family was friends with the Kirisame before they all, except for Marisa, passed on.
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Operative Bio – Eirin
Name: Eirin Yagokoro
Race: Lunarian (immortal)
Gender: Female
Age: Immortal and un-aging. Looks in mid-thirties to early forties. Is suggested to be easily over 4000 years old, but this is unconfirmed.
Power rank: B
Class: 2
Class Specifics: works best around others of similar skillsets, or when there is no choice. Dislikes having to work with others in situations where any knowledge difference makes thing difficult for both parties.
Powers: none.
Capabilities/skills: Genius level intellect. Biological knowledge, medical knowledge, chemical, knowledge.
Bio: impossibly intelligent, and the head of alliance R&D (unofficially), Eirin is one of the greatest minds alive and pioneered many technologies that have helped the alliance. Before the time of the alliance she worked as Kaguya's retainer and the lunar capitols alchemist and doctor. Until she created the Hourai elixir at Kaguya's behest, getting them both banished in the process.
when banished they moved to Gensokyo where Eirin opened a clinic to use her medical prowess to help the people of Gensokyo, be they human or youkai, and was well known and loved.
She does not hold grudges against the lunar capitol, or its people, or even against Mokou who despise kaguya, and is a very understanding person. She does however value knowledge and respect for a person's biology and their own opinion. if someone wants something done to their own body she has nothing against it, but is someone else would alter someone's body without their permission she hates it, the worse the alteration the more the hates it.
When not working with R&D or as an operative, Eirin creates and tests drugs and pharmaceuticals for all the alliance, continuing to use her medical knowledge for everyone's betterment.