Britz-This chapter doesn't exactly curl my toes I must admit, I'm posting it because i'm a man of my word but it wasn't easy, had it sitting heavy and ugly around for a long while now.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Phoenix hung in orbit above the dank and swampy Gervasid half of Pentasera, hiding in the shadow of the planet in order to remain undetected, it was a ruse that would not last long but their luck had held so far.
"Well Dave, we got some options here, and we got to look at them fast," Mace told him, "First, should mention there is an established freedom fighter group on surface already, actually there may be a few of 'em, this ain't really clear, either way these guys have got the Yeerk's in this sector stirred up something fierce."
"Any chance we could link up with one?"
"About a snowball's chance in a supernova Davey-boy, If the Yeerks can't find 'em then we ain't gonna have much luck." Mace replied "As for our fightin' slugs we got a Pool Ship orbiting on the other side of the planet, protected by it's own fleet, attacking it would be a big no-no, you guys may have been slick as shit with those back in your own system but they weren't expecting attack, this ones got a whole fleet ready for one, hell they should have more than that normally, I think we got lucky."
"So that's a no on the Pool ship, what about planet-side?" The crew marvelled at how fast he'd picked up this Captain Kirk bit.
"Well capt'n, we got Yeerks crawlin' all over tha place." Siggs took over, "A lot of garrisons jus' askin' for it."
"Anything stand out?"
"Lab complex." Rachel answered, "Some Yeerk science big wig, looks like a pretty major hit."
"If by major you mean impossible." Rasped Roach.
"Impossible eh?" Dave was grinning dangerously, "Do tell me more."
"You'd need an army to so much as take a gander at this place." Roach said, "We'd be blown out of the air before we could even see the place, locked up tight in a mountain range, only approach is miles through about the meanest fucking swamps you'd ever see, real heavy guard, no fucking way we'd be getting in."
"Alright, I get the point." Moonbeam's face fell, "We'll start small, a garrison here, a command post here, see where it takes us."
"Hey Dave we got an S.O.S signal coming through over here!" Rachel yelled, "Looks like a Yeerk platoon got itself some local trouble, and we're closer than any support."
Moonbeam leapt into action, "Take us there, this could be a break for us!" The ship arched down towards the swamps of Eastern Pentasera.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Phoenix landed heavily planet side with a squelch and a sigh, the swamp around was silent except for the wind rustling in the stunted patches of reeds that actually made good, the ramp lowered itself from the belly of the ship and cautiously the Posse made their way down, as if creeping by on tippy-toes they might throw off anyone who hadn't noticed the arrival of the megaton spacecraft.
As their feet stepped onto the semisolid swampland their boots sunk up to the laces and the mud sucked longing at their feet as they walked.
"There was a fight here." Said Taz simply, and it was clear he was right, the bodies had been cleared away but the ground was littered with blast marks and strange frantic tracks in the mud, a Dracon beam lay half submerged in a puddle.
"We can't stay here forever Dave." Rachel said finally, "Yeerks will be on their way you know."
"I know, but this is our chance." Moonbeam replied, "Yo! We come in peace!" He was greeted only with an appraising silence.
"I don't mind telling you Dave, this place makes me fucking nervous." Mace said as he reached inside his suit and drew both his guns, Dracyer Lawman's, shiny and silver and ridiculously large even in the Dracyer's claws, long smooth barrels shaped like compensation jokes waiting to happen, "I can't smell shit over the swamp and the laser runoff but meanwhile trust an old space farer only two things survive in places this fucked; Mean and Ugly."
As if that was a cue the swamp around them seemed to explode to life, creatures, large as life and as ugly as sin erupted from the mud around them, they had lizard like heads not unlike Earth's komodo dragon and crowned with ram like horns, five crab like limbs encircled their bodies, in these limbs they held weapons, without hesitation they opened fire.
Roach took the first, a direct beam shot around the head and neck knocked him to the slimy ground, as far as Moonbeam could tell dead or unconscious, Siggs moved as if to aid him and another caught her in the chest, she flew back firing wildly into the air, Rachel fell against him, a slack face still filled with shock, he saw one of Mace's hand cannons go off, blowing back one of the crab/lizard creatures with a deadly spear of blue light before he too was taken down. Taz fired valiantly, for several seconds after he was shot he seemed not to notice but when it finally caught him he fell heavily, face down in the mud.
Moonbeam had stopped, the blasts seemed to have forgotten him but he stood stock still as if waiting for a target to present itself, waiting for that same eerie clarity of battle when from directly in front of him the mud erupted and like Godzilla returning from the depths an enormous beast unfolded itself in front of him.
He was ten foot tall if he was an inch and his skin seemed to be changing colours as he stood up, from a murky brown the perfect imitation of the swamp around him to a healthy green flush, it looked like a velociraptor on steroids, certainly it's head bore a resemblance but with long horns around the ear area and jutting tusks out of a mouth filled with ripping canines. It's body was a massive expanse, a slightly hunched mountain of lizard flesh, it's long and powerful looking legs unfolded from the mud, a tail over twice the length of the beast itself ripped out the mud and waved in the air dangerously.
It held in it's arms the most serious looking gun Moonbeam thought he had ever seen, it looked somewhat like a pump action shotgun but rather than a long and slender barrel it was black and blocky giving it an appearance more akin perhaps to a personal grenade launcher, not to mention Moonbeam thought as the beast slid the pump action of his weapon back and forth with terrifying ease, that the bore of the gun looked so large he could probably cram his entire fist into it, he was struck with the maddening urge to try just that, it was the last thought he had before a flash of red and a whole lot more black.
Chapter Thirty-Five
He blinked himself into grainy consciousness, it took almost a full minute for his eyes to adjust to the dim light and finally become aware of the hulking figure over him, he went to rub his eyes and chains jangled around his wrist.
His head swept back and forth for a moment trying to establish a sense of where he was and the enormous creature kicked at him with its foot.
"Good to see you awake Yeerk, we were afraid you were going to sleep the day away." It rumbled.
Moonbeam squinted at it, he wasn't sure if it was the same creature who had risen up out the mud but it looked close, almost undistinguishably so in the dim light, certainly it was the same species and around the same size.
"Where am I?" He said.
"Somewhere your comrades will never find you I can promise that much."
"What? I ain't no Yeerk, where are my people?"
"Alive, we're currently trying to decide wether we should starve you out, torture you for information or simply kill you outright." The hoarse and heavy voice was off handed; he might have been discussing the weather.
"I like the starving myself, starving is good."
"Really?" It was the first hint of emotional infliction Moonbeam had heard, "Well we'll see."
Like miniature mortars to Dave's corneas light suddenly burst apart the darkness, dazzling him, he blinked away the irritation and spied to either side the slumped figures of his crewmates, a couple beginning to stir and growl in their sleep.
The Gervasid stepped back, behind him two of his smaller five-armed cronies stood sentry at the heavy metal door, it threw out it's arms at the empty room with dirt and stone walls dramatically, "The name's Tak Sistranus, Son of Krull, welcome to Iron Flagg."
To Be Continued
Britz-Oh and I just want to point out, as if you didn't know, that Tak Sistranus is not mine own invention, neither Iron Flagg, or Pentersera, y'know, everything, isn't mine, rights reserved to Elcolo9 and his Antimorph's Saga, I would've made a disclaimer but didn't want to go spoilling the "surprise". Review you mangy curs.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Phoenix hung in orbit above the dank and swampy Gervasid half of Pentasera, hiding in the shadow of the planet in order to remain undetected, it was a ruse that would not last long but their luck had held so far.
"Well Dave, we got some options here, and we got to look at them fast," Mace told him, "First, should mention there is an established freedom fighter group on surface already, actually there may be a few of 'em, this ain't really clear, either way these guys have got the Yeerk's in this sector stirred up something fierce."
"Any chance we could link up with one?"
"About a snowball's chance in a supernova Davey-boy, If the Yeerks can't find 'em then we ain't gonna have much luck." Mace replied "As for our fightin' slugs we got a Pool Ship orbiting on the other side of the planet, protected by it's own fleet, attacking it would be a big no-no, you guys may have been slick as shit with those back in your own system but they weren't expecting attack, this ones got a whole fleet ready for one, hell they should have more than that normally, I think we got lucky."
"So that's a no on the Pool ship, what about planet-side?" The crew marvelled at how fast he'd picked up this Captain Kirk bit.
"Well capt'n, we got Yeerks crawlin' all over tha place." Siggs took over, "A lot of garrisons jus' askin' for it."
"Anything stand out?"
"Lab complex." Rachel answered, "Some Yeerk science big wig, looks like a pretty major hit."
"If by major you mean impossible." Rasped Roach.
"Impossible eh?" Dave was grinning dangerously, "Do tell me more."
"You'd need an army to so much as take a gander at this place." Roach said, "We'd be blown out of the air before we could even see the place, locked up tight in a mountain range, only approach is miles through about the meanest fucking swamps you'd ever see, real heavy guard, no fucking way we'd be getting in."
"Alright, I get the point." Moonbeam's face fell, "We'll start small, a garrison here, a command post here, see where it takes us."
"Hey Dave we got an S.O.S signal coming through over here!" Rachel yelled, "Looks like a Yeerk platoon got itself some local trouble, and we're closer than any support."
Moonbeam leapt into action, "Take us there, this could be a break for us!" The ship arched down towards the swamps of Eastern Pentasera.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The Phoenix landed heavily planet side with a squelch and a sigh, the swamp around was silent except for the wind rustling in the stunted patches of reeds that actually made good, the ramp lowered itself from the belly of the ship and cautiously the Posse made their way down, as if creeping by on tippy-toes they might throw off anyone who hadn't noticed the arrival of the megaton spacecraft.
As their feet stepped onto the semisolid swampland their boots sunk up to the laces and the mud sucked longing at their feet as they walked.
"There was a fight here." Said Taz simply, and it was clear he was right, the bodies had been cleared away but the ground was littered with blast marks and strange frantic tracks in the mud, a Dracon beam lay half submerged in a puddle.
"We can't stay here forever Dave." Rachel said finally, "Yeerks will be on their way you know."
"I know, but this is our chance." Moonbeam replied, "Yo! We come in peace!" He was greeted only with an appraising silence.
"I don't mind telling you Dave, this place makes me fucking nervous." Mace said as he reached inside his suit and drew both his guns, Dracyer Lawman's, shiny and silver and ridiculously large even in the Dracyer's claws, long smooth barrels shaped like compensation jokes waiting to happen, "I can't smell shit over the swamp and the laser runoff but meanwhile trust an old space farer only two things survive in places this fucked; Mean and Ugly."
As if that was a cue the swamp around them seemed to explode to life, creatures, large as life and as ugly as sin erupted from the mud around them, they had lizard like heads not unlike Earth's komodo dragon and crowned with ram like horns, five crab like limbs encircled their bodies, in these limbs they held weapons, without hesitation they opened fire.
Roach took the first, a direct beam shot around the head and neck knocked him to the slimy ground, as far as Moonbeam could tell dead or unconscious, Siggs moved as if to aid him and another caught her in the chest, she flew back firing wildly into the air, Rachel fell against him, a slack face still filled with shock, he saw one of Mace's hand cannons go off, blowing back one of the crab/lizard creatures with a deadly spear of blue light before he too was taken down. Taz fired valiantly, for several seconds after he was shot he seemed not to notice but when it finally caught him he fell heavily, face down in the mud.
Moonbeam had stopped, the blasts seemed to have forgotten him but he stood stock still as if waiting for a target to present itself, waiting for that same eerie clarity of battle when from directly in front of him the mud erupted and like Godzilla returning from the depths an enormous beast unfolded itself in front of him.
He was ten foot tall if he was an inch and his skin seemed to be changing colours as he stood up, from a murky brown the perfect imitation of the swamp around him to a healthy green flush, it looked like a velociraptor on steroids, certainly it's head bore a resemblance but with long horns around the ear area and jutting tusks out of a mouth filled with ripping canines. It's body was a massive expanse, a slightly hunched mountain of lizard flesh, it's long and powerful looking legs unfolded from the mud, a tail over twice the length of the beast itself ripped out the mud and waved in the air dangerously.
It held in it's arms the most serious looking gun Moonbeam thought he had ever seen, it looked somewhat like a pump action shotgun but rather than a long and slender barrel it was black and blocky giving it an appearance more akin perhaps to a personal grenade launcher, not to mention Moonbeam thought as the beast slid the pump action of his weapon back and forth with terrifying ease, that the bore of the gun looked so large he could probably cram his entire fist into it, he was struck with the maddening urge to try just that, it was the last thought he had before a flash of red and a whole lot more black.
Chapter Thirty-Five
He blinked himself into grainy consciousness, it took almost a full minute for his eyes to adjust to the dim light and finally become aware of the hulking figure over him, he went to rub his eyes and chains jangled around his wrist.
His head swept back and forth for a moment trying to establish a sense of where he was and the enormous creature kicked at him with its foot.
"Good to see you awake Yeerk, we were afraid you were going to sleep the day away." It rumbled.
Moonbeam squinted at it, he wasn't sure if it was the same creature who had risen up out the mud but it looked close, almost undistinguishably so in the dim light, certainly it was the same species and around the same size.
"Where am I?" He said.
"Somewhere your comrades will never find you I can promise that much."
"What? I ain't no Yeerk, where are my people?"
"Alive, we're currently trying to decide wether we should starve you out, torture you for information or simply kill you outright." The hoarse and heavy voice was off handed; he might have been discussing the weather.
"I like the starving myself, starving is good."
"Really?" It was the first hint of emotional infliction Moonbeam had heard, "Well we'll see."
Like miniature mortars to Dave's corneas light suddenly burst apart the darkness, dazzling him, he blinked away the irritation and spied to either side the slumped figures of his crewmates, a couple beginning to stir and growl in their sleep.
The Gervasid stepped back, behind him two of his smaller five-armed cronies stood sentry at the heavy metal door, it threw out it's arms at the empty room with dirt and stone walls dramatically, "The name's Tak Sistranus, Son of Krull, welcome to Iron Flagg."
To Be Continued
Britz-Oh and I just want to point out, as if you didn't know, that Tak Sistranus is not mine own invention, neither Iron Flagg, or Pentersera, y'know, everything, isn't mine, rights reserved to Elcolo9 and his Antimorph's Saga, I would've made a disclaimer but didn't want to go spoilling the "surprise". Review you mangy curs.