Ezekiel
Disclaimer: Do not own Buffy.
A/N: overview.
A/N2: I did some research into this but, I couldn't find much about the British version of the Pentagon so, mostly just guess work on a few things. Please forgive any inaccuracies there may be.
London, England: 1997
Barton Wells had been born in Britain during the last days of King Arthur, had even met Sir Gawain before he had been slain in armed combat. Then, he had been turned into a vampire and had been trying to make his way through the world for quite some time. He was a Master Vampire inside of the English underworld, and head of several organizations. He was also a very efficient businessman. Tonight, he was with a necromancer named Bartholomew Horne who Barton had contracted to raise up an army of zombies for their passage to the Hellmouth at Sunnydale, where they would join the Master for the glorious ending of the Earth.
"It's freezing out here," the young necromancer said as he and Barton walked along the path in the cemetery, "And why are we in this particular graveyard again?"
"Because, you prat," the British vampire groaned, "This is the cemetery of the bravest soldiers in the history of Great Britain. Hell, Montgomery's buried here. We get him and his decomposing brain on the Master's side, and he'll give us our pick of countries and slaves."
"Too true," Bart said with a smile, "Hey, what say we bring back Hitler? Get that maniac on the Master's side?"
"Bloody Hell no," the Master Vampire said as he glanced around the cemetery, "Hitler was a fucking prick, eviler than the Master had been. Bring back that idiot, and we got ourselves a fucking regime to deal with. How many Aryan nations throughout the world would come flocking to his flag? We don't need World War Three on our hands when we can take over the world alongside the big demons. Right?"
But, Bartholomew did not answer him. Barton turned his attention back to his cohort, intending on shouting at the moron, but he stopped before he could say anything as he noticed what had captivated the necromancer.
Standing in the middle of the graveyard was a tall, pale girl dressed in a black leather suit that appeared to be molded into her every fiber, exposing the skin along her stone-like abs and her firm breasts. She had on no shoes, but walked barefoot, her toenails a wicked pasty white. It was all covered up by a flowing, black cloak with a red lining. It was a stark comparison to her hair, the color of midnight. Her eyes were completely white and they glowed in the night sky.
Barton Wells had seen quite a bit in his life. Yet, he had never seen such a creature as this beauty. She held within her a dark aura that would probably make the Master quiver in fear, but, it was shrouded in a blindingly red light. He would have been attracted to her had it not been for these factors.
She eyed them coyly, her face alit with a feral smile that contained pure, unadulterated lust. She lifted up her arm and extended her index finger and slowly brought it back towards her, a universal sign of saying 'come here.' The two men shared a grin and walked forward, both anticipating what was going to come next.
Neither of them saw when she lifted her sword up to meet them as they came. They both died instantly, Bartholomew with a body, Barton with a pile of dust. The woman kept her smile as she sheathed her weapon and walked away from the scene.
"Men," she said.
Tivona sighed as she listened to the struts of the plane as the vehicle landed. When she had first boarded the device, she had not been prepared for what was going to come, but she reminded herself that she had been through much worse while on the land. As the plane made its way around the tarmac, she watched the people muddle around for their supplies. It was odd watching all these people move around inside a huge coffin as though it were normal. Sighing, she leaned back in her seat and made sure that all her weapons were in check.
The second she had tried to board in Plymouth, the officials there had tried to detain her but, after a few quick phone calls to her friends in the City of the Holy Light, she had been released and sent away with Plymouth's deepest apologies. Now, after convincing an irate Father to do her a favor, she was pretty much untouchable by any normal form of law enforcement. She smiled as she wondered what her brother would have done in this situation. He always hated whenever he had to rely on the church for anything, so, he'd probably just knock a few people out and end up getting into more trouble than was worth. That was what she loved about her bro. He was fiercely independent when it came to the people who had raised him. She understood this loathing of them, but, they were here to defend the Earth just as they, and all the other Warriors, few as they may be, out there in the world were destined to defend the Earth also.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for flying with us and we hope you enjoyed your flight from Plymouth to Heathrow International," the Captain said over the intercom, "All passengers will be allowed off the plane once it has come to a complete stop. Thank you."
Tivona smiled as the plane continued on until it stopped at the ramp. She'd always wondered what being in a big city would be like.
She stood upon the dark buildings of London as she watched the vampire buggers move around. They were the business associates of those two blaggards that she had dusted the night before. Sighing, she sat down and watched from above the window as those bastards moved around. She wanted so much to rip their arms off and flip them off with their own limbs. She really had issues with vamps.
Sighing, she waited until she felt it was the right time. When she felt the air turn stale and the sky darken, she knew it was her moment. Smiling, she leapt up into the air and crashed into the window.
Tivona knew the second she had heard the sound of glass breaking that something was going on. She ran down the darkened street and, as she did so, the whole area seemed to be consumed with a bleak dankness that spoke 'evil' in many more volumes than she wished to feel. She brutally destroyed her fear, but upped her caution as she did so, and continued in her path. When she arrived at the warehouse that she felt must have caused the disturbance, she heard a battle going on. She drew her rapier and her rune dagger, then kicked in the door.
She sliced the last head off and watched the vampire turn to dust with grim satisfaction. Her powers had worked again, and the vampires had not even known what was coming. Another arm of the Master's army had been cut off tonight. Her superiors would be so pleased.
Her smile became a frown as she heard someone come inside. Turning, she knew instantly that whoever it was held power through faith.
Tivona held her weapons at the ready, not yet willing to attack. From what she could tell, a large scale assault had just occurred. It had apparently been vampires, considering the larger amount of dust than usual in a warehouse. The only figure in the building was a woman with white skin. She stood about a foot higher than the Warrioress did and was dressed in tight, black leather pants with a matching leather belly shirt. She had on biker gloves that were braided at the knuckles with apparent crosses. Her black hair seemed beyond natural. She had no eyes, only white orbs in their stead. Her aura spoke of the most evilest things in the world and, yet, was shrouded in goodness. That alone forced the huntress to hold off in her onslaught.
Sighing, she stood straight up and sheathed her weapons, a sign of peace. The leather beauty looked at her for a second, her facial features unreadable due to her eyes, but she then stood up and sheathed her own sword.
The two female knights walked until they met each other.
"Who're you," they asked at the same time.
Tivona sat down at the demon bar called 'Caritas' late that night with the warrioress that she had met earlier. After a small bit of conversation, the two had agreed to have a drink at this bar. They had agreed because the man who ran it had an upstanding deal with the band that performed often. Bob Kard held a reputation in the UK as an upstanding gentleman with no taste for violence, and his band held the same rep. As it so happened, good old Bob had gotten back three weeks ago from a gig in three cities: Las Vegas, LA, and a place called Paradise in Oregon. Somehow or another, that name struck a chord with the Warrioress. Ironic, she found herself thinking. Oh, well. She couldn't ask him, seeing as how he was taking the day to get his head back together. After all that time, he was still suffering from something.
"What'll it be," the bartender asked.
"Brandy, Charlie," the dark haired woman said, "On the rocks."
"I'd like a mimosa," the Warrioress said.
"You of age," 'Charlie' asked.
"She's with me tonight, Charles," the leather babe said with a tone that spoke business.
"…Right," he said with a slight stutter, "I'll be back in a moment."
"So," the huntress began, "Who wants to start? Me or you?"
"…You go first," the woman said, "You feel holy. I'd like an explanation for that."
"Alright, if you must know, I am a Warrioress of God."
"Trained by the Cardinals, Fathers, Brothers, Monks, and Friars of the Vatican City. I've heard of you lot before, but never met one. Bloody good thing we didn't tango. Would've been bad for business, right?"
"Yeah. So, what's your story? I'm guessing it's longer than mine."
"You'd be right. Thanks, Charlie."
The bartender nodded and took the twelve pound note as tip, then scurried away to deal with the next customer.
"Alright," she said with a sigh, "My name's Lonna Weeks and I am the child of a wraith."
"What," the Warrioress said with a disbelieving look, "That's not possible. Wraiths can't have children."
"…How many kinds of wraiths are you aware of, Tivona?"
"Seven, two of which are in the forms of dark spirits, the other five of which come in the form of either demons, dark knights, or dead warriors. All seven share a common trait in which they absorb the feelings of good and evil from people and use them to their advantage. Some wraiths actually have taken up the sword and axe in defense of good instead of causing evil like their brethren."
"Correct. However, one of those two forms of dark spirits are capable of possessing people. One of these kinds of wraiths did exactly what you last mentioned, took a stand against the dark. This wraith made a bargain with a dying warrior, that he would take over the warrior's body in order to continue the fight. This covenant formed a bond between the two and the wraith continued to fight for the light as years went on.
"Then, the wraith met my mother and shagged and, Robert's your uncle, I plop outta my mum's enlarged gut."
"That's not possible, either. Whenever a wraith takes possession of a body, it cannot reproduce. The possession destroys the reproductive essence."
"That's when the possession is forced," countered the dark child, "If it's consensual, then pregnancy is still capable. Of course, I'm the only recorded incidence like this, so…"
"Alright. I'll believe you, and it's mostly because of your aura. It's wicked weird. So, Lonna, what exactly do you do?"
"I'm an officer in the Royal Air Force."
"OK, explain this to me one more time."
Lonna groaned aloud as she drove her vehicle down the London street. She hated it when people just wouldn't accept the answer she gave them. Right now, she was driving her BMW to the base in London for the RAF Regiment. Technically, she wasn't even supposed to be her rank or in her position but…here she was.
"It's a complicated story," the wraith child said, "But, I'll try it one more time.
"When I was eighteen, I tried to join the RAF, but was denied due to my gender and skin tone. Let's face it, a pasty white girl is going to turn heads. So, when I was turned down, I got pissed off and went out to kill a few demons and guess who I save? The commander of the bloody freaking Regiment station in London, that's who! He saw me in action first hand and decided to start doing research about the demonic element. He made a bunch of phone calls and rang bells up the chain and managed to get someone to admit that the British government is aware of the demonic element.
"So, the good bossman did as much research as he could and made every effort he could to create a force dedicated to defending the homeland and the world from demonic forces. I was tempted to tell them about the Watcher's Council but, I really don't want the RAF guys meeting those tweed masters. Anyway, Wing Commander Granger became Air Marshal Granger, head of the Special Operations for Ancient Studies inside of the War Office. He was given a RAF Regiment and I was given the rank of Squadron Leader, after I went through due processes, of course. It took a while for people to adjust to a female Regiment officer, but, they got used to it."
"Sounds good, so far," the Warrioress tried to absorb the military lingo, but failed. In the Vatican, the only military she had to deal with was the security forces, and they were not the Royal Air Force.
"Ever since then, I've been helping the RAF, Army, and Navy forces keep the demonic element under control in the UK. I've even heard rumors that I'm up for a spot inside MI6."
"Great, you may be the next Agent Double-O Seven."
"You Americans and Bond. I swear, next you'll be saying that all us Brits are gay."
"Not all. I'm sure at least four percent aren't."
"Blaggard."
"Wiseass."
"Oh, bugger off."
Tivona felt the oh-so familiar feeling of captivity as she sat inside the waiting room outside the office of Air Marshal Granger. Lonna had already gone ahead to speak to her superior officer and convince him of the Warrioress's usefulness. In truth, she didn't know what she was doing here. She just had this feeling that she needed to be here for this. Whatever the this was.
Finally, after what felt like an eon, Lonna opened the door.
"Come in," she called out.
Sighing, she stood up and walked into the office. Unlike what she thought it would have been, a bleak black room with little furniture, it was similar to a wooden cabin room. It had a fireplace, artificial however, along with a case filled with liquor and wine. There were two plush, leather chairs in front of the main desk, which was wooden and at least five feet long and three feet wide. The air was cool, nothing like the blistering heat in the waiting room.
Smiling, she walked up to the seat to her left and stood before it, mimicking Lonna as best as she could. Standing behind the desk was a tall man with blonde hair. He was dressed in his service uniform and held a smile on his face.
"Please," he said, his Irish accent coming through to the fore, "Take a seat."
The Warrioress did so and awaited his first words. The Marshal held his smile as he sat down in his seat and stared directly at her. Now, she was beginning to get nervous.
"So," he said, "Squadron Leader Weeks here tells me that you are a demon hunter trained by the Vatican. Is that correct?"
"It is, sir."
"No need for formalities," he said, his smile becoming thinner, "I never have truly appreciated the name of 'sir.' I prefer Henry. Unless, of course, you become my subordinate, then it should be 'Marshal.' So, miss…Tivona, is it?"
She nodded.
"Nice name. So, Tivona, what exactly are you doing in the United Kingdom right now?"
"I'm making my way to the USA," the Warrioress said, "My brother lives there."
"Really? Is he like you?"
"Yes. He is."
"I must admit, I am surprised that you are able to share this information with me. What, the church doesn't care who you tell?"
"Not really, no. They've trained me well and trust my judgment, but have warned me not to divulge any secret locations."
"Right, right. Well, I must admit, I am surprised that there is a Warrioress now. That's the first time in…well, a very long time."
"You know about us?"
"I've read texts that include legends about the Warriors of God, but hardly ever a Warrioress. So, in this case, I say 'well done.' I never was one to keep women out of the work they wished to do. Of course, where I was raised, most of the womenfolk there could slaughter me without much thought. Not to say I was weak or anything, but, well…those birds were tough."
"…OK."
"Well, let me ask you this. What exactly is the purpose of a Warrioress or a Warrior?"
"To defend the Earth."
"And that would include our island, right?"
"…Yes. Is there some point to all of this?"
"Tell me, have you ever read any of the Arthurian Legends?"
"A couple of times, yes. Why?"
"According to these legends, Merlin discovered that there were two dragons underneath the king's castle. As he found these, he was given a vision about the destruction of Vortigen's place in exchange for King Uther's crowning. The castle was, unfortunately, buried by an earthquake nearly twelve years ago. A group of archaeologists began an excavation of the area around a year ago. Unfortunately, they did not find the castle. What they did find, however, was the pool where the two dragons were kept.
"Naturally, the government found out and dispatched my group to investigate. Unfortunately, neither me nor Lonna accompanied the task force. Instead, a grade 'A' moron named Block got the stick. Lo and behold, this moron started to dig the dragons out. I bet you know what happens next, eh?"
"Dragons got out and are causing mayhem inside your country," Tivona said, wondering where this was leading.
"Exactly," he answered with a smile, "Now, of course, we have the responsibility of dealing with them. It's our mess, so we need to clean it up. Unfortunately, again, we have never faced a dragon before and very few chronicles detail an actual dragon slaying. Also, factor in that these wankers are about the size of Big Ben out there, and we got ourselves a problem."
"How have you kept these things out of sight of the public," the Warrioress asked.
"We haven't," Lonna answered, "They've been attacking cities for a couple of weeks now. We've sent in Regimental forces to defend these cities, but, it's always the same way."
"We've been explaining these two as experimental aircraft," the Marshal picked up, "The public just accepts this explanation and ignores the fact that we have our own jets, infantry, and navy fighting them. I think they believe that we're simple testing the 'jets' maneuverability."
"Every time these two have come up against a city or town," Lonna picked up, "We've managed to force them away. However, satellites are showing both dragons making a turn towards London. They rested in Ireland for a while, but, they eventually decided to make a play for here."
"At their current speed and velocity," Granger stated as he pulled out a paper from a file on his desk, "They should be arriving within London airspace in…sixteen hours. They're large creatures and take a long time flying, thank God. We are out of ideas to defend our capital without getting the public involved and we need any help we can get."
"…The dragons were held inside a pool," the Warrioress asked.
"It was frozen over, yes," Lonna informed.
"So, that means that these creatures don't like the cold," she surmised, "If you've deterred them before, then maybe you could force them into the Artic Circle. Freeze them to death."
"…That might work," the Marshal said, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Maybe a spell could freeze them," Lonna said, "It'd probably have to be powerful, considering that these creatures have resisted our magical weaponry every time we've used it."
"We'll get the Coven to stoke it up," Granger said, "And, we'll exercise your idea, Ms. Tivona. Cover both fields with one strike."
"Wait," the huntress began, "If you know a Coven, then why haven't you gotten them to just…banish them or summon them away?"
"Too risky," Lonna said with a dismissive wave, "These creatures are dangerous. If the Coven banishes them, then they could be sent to a dimension where a devil could use them."
"Alright, I'll buy that one," Tivona said with a scowl as she thought about what would be possible if they had done that, "But, how do we force the dragons into the Arctic?"
"We'd need a very maneuverable aircraft," the Squadron Leader said, "With advanced weaponry to keep the dragons occupied so that they don't slip past. If we can drive them away from the London, or better yet, meet them before they reach London, then we stand a very good chance and, if we fail, at least we've prevented their assault."
"What kind of a plane could manage that?"
"I believe I have the answer to that one," the Marshal said with a menacing smile, "Since you are the one who came up with this strategy, I would like for you, Warrioress, to lead the charge."
"I can't fly," she countered, "Plus, I'm still not sure if I should trust you."
"Do you trust Lonna?"
"Yes. She fights the darkness, and she's a good person. I can tell. But, you are a military man. Granted, so is she, but she doesn't have nearly half as much to lose as you do. There might be something else driving you."
"There isn't," Lonna responded, determination evident within her eyes, "Granger and I have been fighting the dark in London for a while now. I trust him with my life."
"…Very well," the huntress agreed, "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but, if you cross me, then you will see just what the forces of the Vatican can do."
"Fair enough," the Marshal said, his smile now compassionate, "I can guarantee you that you have nothing to fear. We're not quite as politically minded here as your American brethren. Well, not me, anyway."
He reached over and hit the intercom.
"Arrange a meeting between my two colleagues, myself, and the head of Project MANTA."
"The TR-3A Black Manta was designed alongside the Stealth Fighter and B-2 Bomber, leading it to be called the Baby B-2," the RAF officer explained as he led Marshal Granger, Lonna, and Tivona down the tarmac of the air base, "It was created by a team of engineers from the UK and Germany with a special coalition of US military scientists and engineers. Ever since its initial design, members of MI6, MI5, the MOD, and NATO have been attempting to modify its original design, with little success. Then, the SOAS came into being and began to tinker with the beauty with magic. The new TR-3AB is almost the exact same in perimeters and scale, but it can fly at speeds equal to, if not, greater, than the Aurora jet."
He stopped speaking as the group reached a large hangar. He reached into his pocket and withdrew an ID card and placed it into the scanner along the doorway. The trio heard a buzzing, which signaled that his card was accepted. The officer opened the door and made room for everyone to go through. The Marshal went ahead and entered the hangar, followed by Lonna and Tivona. When the Warrioress got a look at what was there, she gasped.
There were six huge aircraft within the hangar, three to each side. They each were black with no markings along the side or bottom, but were each armed with three rockets and missiles along each side. The cockpits of the vehicles were blue orbs of darkness, like deep water. The sleek design of these machines screamed stealth and death. The Warrioress had never flown a vehicle like this before, had never flown a plane period, but, she was eager to learn. However, she was curious as to how she would learn to fly these kinds of vehicles within fifteen hours. She decided to ask the Marshal.
"No worries," he responded with a smile, "Do you want to keep helping us?"
"At least until this dragon situation is taken care of," she answered, "Then, I want to make my way to America."
"Sir," the officer called to Granger, "There might be a way to arrange both."
"How so, young man," Henry asked.
"It's been arranged for the American government to receive one of our Manta 2s in exchange for access to their tactical database concerning their ODP. We'd have to send a small force there, but, they're willing to cooperate with us. Your young lady could fly the Manta to their station."
"That sounds like a plan," the Marshal said, "What do you say, Tivona? Would that work for you?"
"Two questions: one, how would I learn to fly these vehicles in less than fifteen hours?"
"You'd have to undergo an operation," the officer said, "It's standard field tactics to upload data to the brain, used quite often, as a matter-of-fact."
"Ok, three questions now," the Warrioress said, "Second question: how do I know you won't do something extra to me like, oh say, insert bugs into my brain?"
"I would be there," Lonna said instantly, "I've seen these operations and I know how they go. If anyone does something out of the ordinary, then I'll get you out. You have my word."
"We haven't known each other that long, but," the Warrioress paused to consider her next statement. So far, she had been extremely trusting to people. Nigel had been a good man and, so, she hadn't had much difficulty trusting him. She could sense his goodness, somewhat, and had decided to have faith in him. Plus, she had needed a translator. Kind of hard to get around that one.
But, this situation was much different. If she gave these people her trust, then she was leaving herself open to a very big possibility of assault. However, these people were in apparent danger, she had no doubt of that. They were desperate and were showing that desperation by admitting they need help to her, a complete stranger by their accounts, who claimed to be trained by the church. They were putting a great amount of faith in her. The least that she could do would be to return that trust. But, that didn't mean she was going to be stupid either. Lonna had done nothing at all to make her distrusting so, Tivona would place her faith in the wraith child.
"Let's do it," she said.
Tivona gasped as the pain circulated throughout her brain. She could not wait until she was out of this infernal machine.
"Task Force Charlie," Air Marshal Henry Granger said into his headset, "Prepare for takeoff. Flight pattern Alpha Tango."
"Roger that, Control," the commander said over the intercom.
"Charlie Two," Granger called, "Just as a reminder, you are underneath Squadron Leader Weeks for this assignment. Follow her lead and you'll get the job done. And keep a lookout for your four other compatriots, eh?"
"Roger that, Control," the Warrioress said with a grin, "I can't wait till we get started."
"How's it feel having all that info in your head, Charlie Two," she heard Lonna call as the leader made her way along the tarmac towards her takeoff zone.
"I got it all, Charlie One," Tivona said, "Flight patterns, evasive maneuvers, all the weapons systems, cockpit controls, procedures, and a bit of the lingo."
"Cut the conversing, people," Granger called, "Group takeoff in thirty."
"Roger," Lonna said in a condescending tone, "What about Intel? They got anything on the targets?"
"Red and White are on approach as we speak," Control answered, "Get ready. Twenty."
"Great," the Warrioress said to herself, "I'm in Topgun."
She smiled as she began her flight.
"Marshal," a technician said, "Red and White just came within sector seventeen, roughly eight miles northwest of London, sir."
"Did you get that, Charlie One," Granger called out.
"Sector seventeen," she repeated, "We don't have visual yet."
"Keep your eyes peeled," the Marshal said into the radio, "Those buggers are on the screen. You should have a spot on them any time now."
Shit, this is weird.
Tivona held onto her controls as she hit Mach three as tightly as she could without breaking them. When she had gone through the simulator, it hadn't been this bad. Oh, well. It was weird, but worth it.
"We have visual," she heard Lonna say.
She looked up and saw their enemies. Two huge, ferocious looking dragons. Their mouths were opened, exposing huge, gashing fangs that looked as though they were capable of swallowing their jets in a single gulp. Their wings were monstrosities in themselves, causing such a gust of wind that she could feel the vessel shake at the turbulence they created, even when it wasn't direct. She hated to think what would happen if she got hit by those wings or the wind they created. Then, she noticed their thrashing tails through the air. She decided then and there that she'd take her chances with the wings much rather than the tails. One hit from them, and she was dead.
"Charlie Two to Charlie One," she called out, "Do these things breathe fire?"
"Roger."
Fuck.
"All right, everyone. Attack pattern Delta, move in quick and unload your guns. Don't use missiles till you absolutely have to. On my wing."
Tivona twisted her wrists and brought the vehicle up beside Charlie Three and prepped her guns for the attack.
"And…FIRE!"
She hit the buttons and immediately felt the shaking of her vehicle. It felt as though her hands were being shocked by a nuclear engine and it left her with a numb feeling after she stopped. She let out another barrage of projectiles at the creatures and moved to her left in order to give Charlie One some more room.
The dragons had noticed them and were baring their fangs, fire flaring from their nostrils. They were annoyed and they wanted to destroy the group. So far, so good. Red, however, did what they hoped they wouldn't. He released a bolt of fire in their direction.
"Evasive maneuvers," Lonna shouted.
Don't need telling twice, the Warrioress said in her mind as she dove up, avoiding the fireball by a good forty yards.
"Fire at will!"
Tivona pressed down and unloaded another several hundred rounds at Red and sighed in content when it began to turn to the left. They were deterring it, now they had to force them both to the Arctic. She turned her attention to White and saw that, it too, was turning to the left.
"They're breaking off," she said into her radio.
"Move to intercept," Lonna ordered.
"I'm going for their eyes," she heard Charlie Four shout.
"Don't," the Warrioress called out, "You take out their eyes and they're flying blind. That makes them even more of a danger to us. They could accidentally fly right into us and into the land. Aim for their wings."
"Isn't that just as big a danger," Charlie Three asked.
"They'll see that danger," Tivona answered, "And they'll realize just how big it is. They'll retreat back north."
"Shut up and shoot," Lonna shouted.
Air Marshal Granger watched the aerial battle take place on his monitor. Two satellites were in place over the field-of-play, one for the British and another for the Americans. So far, things were working well. The two dragons were already turning back and heading north.
"Task Force Charlie," he called into his headset, "Switch over to deadly tactics."
"Roger that, sir," he heard Lonna call back, "You heard him, people. Set down your guns and ready your rockets, but use them sparingly. Once you're done with those, return to your guns. We'll save the best for last."
"Sir," he heard a technician from nearby call.
"What is it, son," he asked.
"The Minister of Defense wants an update on the situation," the young man informed.
"Send him this footage and keep a live feed up," Granger replied.
"Also, the Secretary of Defense for the Americans wants a report for their President."
"Same thing, boy."
"Yes, sir."
Granger returned his attention to the battle at hand.
Lonna dove as White's tail lashed out towards her and felt the huge onslaught of wind as she did so. If she survived this, the first thing she wanted was a promotion and a medical leave to pull her brains out of her feet. Sighing, she prepped her rockets and targeted the beast's underside. The child of a wraith and a human smiled to herself, a cold, calculating smile, and hit the button.
The creature screamed in pain as the rockets struck its thick flesh. She backed off and switched over to her guns.
"Marshal, they just reached Arctic waters."
"Get the Coven online."
"Yes, sir."
"Squadron Leader," Henry said into his radio, "You have entered Arctic territory. Continue to drive the creatures forward. The Coven is going to release a large burst of energy at them which should weaken their defenses greatly and allow you enough time to use your specialty artillery. Are you ready?"
"Roger, sir."
"Marshal, the Coven is doing the spell!"
"Here it comes. Godspeed."
"OK, team," Lonna called out to her Task Force, "The Coven's spell should be taking effect any moment now. Keep your guns up until the last minute. Keep those buggers confused till it's time."
Sighing, she pressed down and released another surge of bullets upon the monsters.
Miss. Hartness channeled her energies into the spell. Everything was connected, and these creatures were upsetting the balance. Sometimes, in order to correct that imbalance, measures had to be taken.
She focused and felt the cold energy flow around her and all those around her.
"Holy Lord," Tivona said to herself as she saw the beam of white light flow from the sky.
The beam itself was at least twice as large as the dragons and she could see the cold steam around it. She watched on from her perch in the air as the beam struck the two creatures. It flowed around them, created a sort of cocoon for them. For a moment, that was all, and then, the beam stopped its flow, leaving only the two creatures contained within the orbs of light.
They exploded outward in a burst which left her momentarily deaf and blind. She stayed her course, hoping that none of the others would fly off somewhere, and awaited its passing. After a few minutes, the deafness became an annoying ringing and a slight blur along her vision.
She looked down. There were enormous waves along the waters, all from the point above where the two dragons had fallen from the sky.
"Task Force Charlie," she heard Lonna call, "Prep artillery for final strike."
She smiled and flipped a few switches along her overhead and armed her weapons.
"Subzero Torpedo Strike in three…two…one…Fire!"
The aerial torpedoes flew down into the water and made their way to the two dragons. They were in waters that would kill many creatures, but they lived on, plates of ice still around their scaly skin as they thrashed around, attempting to break free of their prison. The Subzero Torpedoes flew thru the water, like knives through melting butter, and pinged their way to their targets.
When they struck, the dragons cried out in pain as white hot energy exploded from the metallic shells. As the bubbles settled, the two dragons were now frozen solid in a coat of magical ice. They fell to the bottom of the icy waters, never to see the light of day again.
"Well done, Granger," the Minister of Defense said as he put the file down, "This is the first major victory of SOAS. I'd say that earns you a drink. I'd got brandy. Ice?"
"No, thank you, Defense Minister," Henry said with a straight face.
"So, do you have any recommendations before I hand in my report to the PM," he asked the Marshal as he handed him his drink.
"Sir, during our defense, we had the aid of a civilian."
"Yes, the Warrioress of God, we're aware of that," the Minister said as he sipped his brandy.
"I'd like to recommend that she not be put through the…standard treatment, Sir."
"…She's a security risk, Marshal."
"I am aware of that, Sir, however, she did give us aid when she had no responsibility to. She trusted us with a great deal. It would be extremely ungrateful for us to simply take advantage of that trust."
"She is, still, a security risk."
"She understands the standards of morals, Sir, and has already agreed to the standard confidentiality clause and the Secrecies Act. Also, she has agreed to remain on as a civilian reinforcing agent and believes that she can also supply us with even more reinforcements if the need becomes necessary."
"…We do owe her a lot. Very well. I shall make this recommendation to the Prime Minister. She's going to be delivering the Manta 2 to the US military, correct?"
"Yes, Sir. Afterwards, she shall be allowed off the base and will make her way to her family."
"Keep a standard surveillance on her at all times. Now, any more recommendations?"
"No, Sir."
"Very good. Let me know if any more situations arise."
"Oh, Sir. One more thing, rumor has reached my Regiment that there is a secret society set up within the island that involves itself in the demon world. With your permission, I would like permission to launch an investigation into its affairs."
"Granted. Also, I would like to know what happened with Wells?"
"Agent Weeks took care of him and his associates. Another arm of the Master's army has been taken out."
"What about the Americans? Are they aware of the situation with the Master?"
"No, Sir."
"Have you discovered exactly where the Master is coming from?"
"One of the Hellmouths, sir. We're not sure which one, yet."
"…Let's keep them in the dark about this one for the moment. If they become involved and start banging on doors, then things could rapidly become worse for us all. Particularly with her involved."
"Yes, Sir."
"…You tell your brother I said 'hi,' you hear, you silly bint?"
"I hear you," Tivona said into her radio as she prepared to take off, "Hey, think Henry'll let me buy one of these things?"
"Doubtful," Lonna answered back, "But, you could talk to him about it whenever you see him next."
"Hopefully never. I like you guys, but, he gives me the Wiggins with a capitol 'W.'"
"He does that often. See you in the next life, Tivona."
"Cheerio, Lonna."
With that final goodbye, the Warrioress of God hit the accelerator and took off into the skies.