Prologue: Invasion
Valpranna Forest
20 kilometres Southeast of Unity Palace
Capital World Luthirovka
Golden Age 259, Day 69
The forest was full of life. Animals moved around it peacefully, going about their normal lifes. A small group of six Tapriboar (similar to the wild boar) had their heads bent down, happily sipping water from a nearby stream.
Birds flew from tree to tree...constantly making a racket of noise. The other animals joined in, and one could hear a multitude of howls, purrs, growls, chirps and so on.
Then everything fell silent. A faint humming sound is heard, growing louder and louder each minute...the animals all scattered as the vibration of the forest floor became more and more intense...and among the trees, appeared several Nzaathar-Class Hovercrafts. These agile hovercrafts weaved in between the trees...heading towards their final objective: the Unity Palace...
Unity Palace
Luthirovka
GA 259, Day 69
The Unity Palace was a exquitsite building. It was the only building of its kind, completed early into the years of the Unification War. Miraculously, it survived the War and in fact, had not been used after the War had ended and the Golden Age began.
The palatial buildings or the palace were arranged, if one viewd it from above, in a circular shape. One would think that they looked just like two olive branches, There was a statue of a dove right in the middle, and flocks of doves flew around the compound...and it seem to glow with a calm, peaceful aura.
That was true, the Felidians were indeed a peace-loving people. They were well-known throughout the galaxy for being excellent meditators in any conflict. But...recent developments have driven a rift between the Felidians. In GA 220, Karlus Marxus (:P) and his Felidia Liberation Army rose up against the current government, led by the Chancellor who was only known as Castor to his people. The main gripe of the FLA was the the Felidians were TOO peace loving. The militaristic FLA wanted more weapons, and more power, for the Felidians. Propaganda spread about by the FLA had brought more and more of the Felidians to their cause.
In GA 240, uprisings began in all parts of the Felidia galaxy. Government forces, which were only token troops for the defence of each planet, were quickly overrun by the FLA troops which had numerical superiority and weapons smuggled in from other races eager to see the Felidians fall. Rumour has it that the Kreloss mercenaries were operating within FLA forces...
And today, this particular day, the FLA thrust had finally reached the heart of Felidia: Luthirovka.
Unity Palace Command Center
Luthirovka
GA 259, Day 69
"Sir, we have lost contact with Orbital Outpost Nadir a few hours ago. We now have multiple contacts detected on our sensors, all headed this way."
Tai-shu Jenrya Matsuda looked at the holoprojector, currently showing an overhead image of the palace. Yellow dots were converging on it from all sides. A tear formed in his eye...his ears twitched a little and with a snarl, he ordered: "Chu-i, evacuate the royal family. Sound a full alert, we will fight to the end."
*********************************************
In Hangar I-9...
Military personnel scrambled all over the area. Chu-sa Keith Rogers tightly grasped his sensor-helmet in his paw as he rushed quickly to his hovertank. As he reached it, the technician working on it gave him a paws-up. With a hiss, the hatch of his hovertank opened and he quickly slid into his seat, buckled up, and powered up his tank. The tech detached the wires holding his tank still, and with a slight hum, the tank hovered out of the hangar on a cushion of ion particles, with several assorted units following.
"Hey Keith, any idea what we're up against?" Kari, a member of his company asked over the command channel. Normally, Keith would have given any person who talked to him like that on a COMMAND CHANNEL a serious admonition...but Kari was an exception.
"Most probably FLA and their mercs, from what we see. We are gonna have FUN."
"Tanma Company, report by the numbers." Keith ordered, then said "One" into the microspeaker mounted on his sensor-helmet.
"Two."
"Three."
"Fou..oh my god...INCOMING!!!!!!"
"Tanma Company, get out of the hangar!!!"
It was too late. The flight of missiles streaked past Keith's and Kari's hovertanks, barely missing them, smashing into the hangar. Both their tanks shuddered with the force of the impact, then fires blossomed all about in the hangar, a huge, mushroom shaped cloud forming as everything in the hangar exploded simultaneously. Keith and Kari's tanks were
thrown forward by this huge, powerful force...but somehow they still landed right side up.
"Get a track on those d***ed launchers!!!" Keith shouted, the adrenalin of combat flowing through his veins...
"I've got track..."
"Take'em out!"
Keith felt his tank jolt a little as the missile racks were unstowed...and rockets streaked out from their canisters, heading towards their targets...
"Oh no...in..comingg..."
"Kari! Activate countermeasures!! Do it!!"
Somehow, the small, chemical laser on board her tank failed to power up. The rockets flew above her tank...but then dove down..and exploded at the most vulnerable part of the hovertank...the fusion generator. Kari's tank was instantly ripped apart in a blossom of fusion fire, and her body was immediately vaporised..
"Kari? Are u there? Kari? Respond!" Keith cried with concern...but no reply came. Keith then tried contacting higher command...
"Control, this is Tanma Company Leader. Tanma is lost...I repeat, Tanma IS down...awaiting further orders."
No response.
"Control, Tanma Company Lead. What's your status? I am proceeding to central courtyard."
No response still.
Keith drove on...and he felt nothing but anger. He spied the charred hull of an FLA transport...and he proceeded to ram it...
"ARRRRRGHH!!! You b****ards!! Why? WHy!"
The shriek of metal on metal was heard...and he promptly crashed through the wall...into the Central Courtyard.
What he saw shocked him. The Dove was lying in ruins...and he could see the royal transports being hit by weapon fire...and some FLA Catborgs jumping onto some transports and ripping them apart with their superior strength. Destruction. More destruction.
Keith knew it was his last time...and he flicked open the panel on his joystick, instantly activating all weapons.
"Control, this is Tanma Company Leader. Enemy spotted at Central Courtyard. I'm going to hold them for as long as I can..." he growled in a low voice, before letting off an animalistic snarl and squeezing the fire button on his joystick. His tank leapt into action, rockets streaming from the launchers, htting the Catborgs and FLA vehicles. Scarlet beams from his lasers nicked off armor from some hovercraft...and gatling cannon fire smashed through the ferasteel plating of a command cab.
This alerted the FLA units. They all turned towards him...and unleashed the full extent of their weaponry. Electrical discharge could be heard as particle beams slammed into his tank. Emerald beams from the FLA pulse lasers stabbed hard at the skirt of his tank. As if by miracle...Keith's tank didn't stop firing...until a few Catborgs bounded up to it, ripped apart the turret...then everything turned black...
Valpranna Forest
20 kilometres Southeast of Unity Palace
Capital World Luthirovka
Golden Age 259, Day 69
The forest was full of life. Animals moved around it peacefully, going about their normal lifes. A small group of six Tapriboar (similar to the wild boar) had their heads bent down, happily sipping water from a nearby stream.
Birds flew from tree to tree...constantly making a racket of noise. The other animals joined in, and one could hear a multitude of howls, purrs, growls, chirps and so on.
Then everything fell silent. A faint humming sound is heard, growing louder and louder each minute...the animals all scattered as the vibration of the forest floor became more and more intense...and among the trees, appeared several Nzaathar-Class Hovercrafts. These agile hovercrafts weaved in between the trees...heading towards their final objective: the Unity Palace...
Unity Palace
Luthirovka
GA 259, Day 69
The Unity Palace was a exquitsite building. It was the only building of its kind, completed early into the years of the Unification War. Miraculously, it survived the War and in fact, had not been used after the War had ended and the Golden Age began.
The palatial buildings or the palace were arranged, if one viewd it from above, in a circular shape. One would think that they looked just like two olive branches, There was a statue of a dove right in the middle, and flocks of doves flew around the compound...and it seem to glow with a calm, peaceful aura.
That was true, the Felidians were indeed a peace-loving people. They were well-known throughout the galaxy for being excellent meditators in any conflict. But...recent developments have driven a rift between the Felidians. In GA 220, Karlus Marxus (:P) and his Felidia Liberation Army rose up against the current government, led by the Chancellor who was only known as Castor to his people. The main gripe of the FLA was the the Felidians were TOO peace loving. The militaristic FLA wanted more weapons, and more power, for the Felidians. Propaganda spread about by the FLA had brought more and more of the Felidians to their cause.
In GA 240, uprisings began in all parts of the Felidia galaxy. Government forces, which were only token troops for the defence of each planet, were quickly overrun by the FLA troops which had numerical superiority and weapons smuggled in from other races eager to see the Felidians fall. Rumour has it that the Kreloss mercenaries were operating within FLA forces...
And today, this particular day, the FLA thrust had finally reached the heart of Felidia: Luthirovka.
Unity Palace Command Center
Luthirovka
GA 259, Day 69
"Sir, we have lost contact with Orbital Outpost Nadir a few hours ago. We now have multiple contacts detected on our sensors, all headed this way."
Tai-shu Jenrya Matsuda looked at the holoprojector, currently showing an overhead image of the palace. Yellow dots were converging on it from all sides. A tear formed in his eye...his ears twitched a little and with a snarl, he ordered: "Chu-i, evacuate the royal family. Sound a full alert, we will fight to the end."
*********************************************
In Hangar I-9...
Military personnel scrambled all over the area. Chu-sa Keith Rogers tightly grasped his sensor-helmet in his paw as he rushed quickly to his hovertank. As he reached it, the technician working on it gave him a paws-up. With a hiss, the hatch of his hovertank opened and he quickly slid into his seat, buckled up, and powered up his tank. The tech detached the wires holding his tank still, and with a slight hum, the tank hovered out of the hangar on a cushion of ion particles, with several assorted units following.
"Hey Keith, any idea what we're up against?" Kari, a member of his company asked over the command channel. Normally, Keith would have given any person who talked to him like that on a COMMAND CHANNEL a serious admonition...but Kari was an exception.
"Most probably FLA and their mercs, from what we see. We are gonna have FUN."
"Tanma Company, report by the numbers." Keith ordered, then said "One" into the microspeaker mounted on his sensor-helmet.
"Two."
"Three."
"Fou..oh my god...INCOMING!!!!!!"
"Tanma Company, get out of the hangar!!!"
It was too late. The flight of missiles streaked past Keith's and Kari's hovertanks, barely missing them, smashing into the hangar. Both their tanks shuddered with the force of the impact, then fires blossomed all about in the hangar, a huge, mushroom shaped cloud forming as everything in the hangar exploded simultaneously. Keith and Kari's tanks were
thrown forward by this huge, powerful force...but somehow they still landed right side up.
"Get a track on those d***ed launchers!!!" Keith shouted, the adrenalin of combat flowing through his veins...
"I've got track..."
"Take'em out!"
Keith felt his tank jolt a little as the missile racks were unstowed...and rockets streaked out from their canisters, heading towards their targets...
"Oh no...in..comingg..."
"Kari! Activate countermeasures!! Do it!!"
Somehow, the small, chemical laser on board her tank failed to power up. The rockets flew above her tank...but then dove down..and exploded at the most vulnerable part of the hovertank...the fusion generator. Kari's tank was instantly ripped apart in a blossom of fusion fire, and her body was immediately vaporised..
"Kari? Are u there? Kari? Respond!" Keith cried with concern...but no reply came. Keith then tried contacting higher command...
"Control, this is Tanma Company Leader. Tanma is lost...I repeat, Tanma IS down...awaiting further orders."
No response.
"Control, Tanma Company Lead. What's your status? I am proceeding to central courtyard."
No response still.
Keith drove on...and he felt nothing but anger. He spied the charred hull of an FLA transport...and he proceeded to ram it...
"ARRRRRGHH!!! You b****ards!! Why? WHy!"
The shriek of metal on metal was heard...and he promptly crashed through the wall...into the Central Courtyard.
What he saw shocked him. The Dove was lying in ruins...and he could see the royal transports being hit by weapon fire...and some FLA Catborgs jumping onto some transports and ripping them apart with their superior strength. Destruction. More destruction.
Keith knew it was his last time...and he flicked open the panel on his joystick, instantly activating all weapons.
"Control, this is Tanma Company Leader. Enemy spotted at Central Courtyard. I'm going to hold them for as long as I can..." he growled in a low voice, before letting off an animalistic snarl and squeezing the fire button on his joystick. His tank leapt into action, rockets streaming from the launchers, htting the Catborgs and FLA vehicles. Scarlet beams from his lasers nicked off armor from some hovercraft...and gatling cannon fire smashed through the ferasteel plating of a command cab.
This alerted the FLA units. They all turned towards him...and unleashed the full extent of their weaponry. Electrical discharge could be heard as particle beams slammed into his tank. Emerald beams from the FLA pulse lasers stabbed hard at the skirt of his tank. As if by miracle...Keith's tank didn't stop firing...until a few Catborgs bounded up to it, ripped apart the turret...then everything turned black...