Terra Anoyo: The Chief
"Although we have no obligation to stay alive, our broken backs we beg for mercy, we will survive! Break out, or we'll be left here, behind closed doors..." - Rise Against
"You know to wait for Carver's signal, right Allie-Jay?"
"Yeah, yeah boss."
Two creatures, a raptor and a blizzarian stood at the helm of the small carrier ship. The raptor, male, was tall and stoic. His scales were an odd shade of green for a raptor, like the color of fresh pine needles. Usually raptors were more like the color of the many cactuses that littered Terra Bogaton's landscape. Other than this, he was a perfectly average raptor. Sharp, long head spikes, and a pale underbelly. His tail swayed back and forth slightly, showing his obvious irritation for the nickname his blizzarian friend used.
"You know I don't like being called 'boss'. Just because I'm Hoerk's son doesn't make me any better than any other Talon."
"That may be, scaly butt, but you are the owner of the Chief, are you not?"
The raptor growled and his scaly tail curled. Boss was one thing, but scaly butt? Now that was just rude. True, his father did give him the small carrier ship for this mission, but that didn't make him the boss.
It made him captain. There was a difference. He made a point to remind his partner of this, and she replied by snorting and raising her furry ears.
"Whatever you say, captain. By the way, I've been thinking about getting some highlights. What do you think?"
"No. Your fur is fine the way it is now. And please don't call me captain... it sounds weird."
"Jeez, make up your freaking mind, Remus."
Allie-Jay wasn't your average blizzarian. The furry disasters were usually light-hearted, fun, and wild. Allie-Jay was wild, that was for sure, but she wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine. She was biting, cold, and pessimistic. Remus was the only one that she acted even semi-tolerable around. Him and the Talon Commanders of course. She was no idiot, a smart dog didn't bite the hand that fed it.
Her looks seemed to reflect her personality. Her black head fur was clipped short, aside from her bangs, which she let grow long enough to hide her hard, golden eyes. Her ears had several piercings, most of them silver, that lined up along the edges of her long ears. She wore a customized Talon uniform which consisted of black pants, a hole cut in the back for her short tail, and a red sleeveless shirt with the Talon insignia in red. Black arm guards and black fingerless gloves protected the skilled hands that worked the ships controls.
Remus wore pants similar pants to Allie-Jay's, but he wore a vest instead of a shirt. His father had once told him a story about a man who was hanged by the hem of his shirt, and that pretty much turned him off of the common attire for good. Besides, vests were much more comfortable, at least in his opinion. So much lighter and non-constricting. He wondered why people didn't wear them all the time.
"Is that it?"
Remus raised his head and his pupils instincitvely constricted. A raptor's eyes had one unique and useful feature which was the reason they were excellent hunters. When their pupils went to slits, their vision extended and could focus in on things that were too far away to see with the average eye. Remus used this to his advantage, and focused in on the image of the Red Eagles' ex-Sky Knight.
He had his skimmer, now stripped of the Red Eagles' shields, parked on outcropping just below the terra's egde. That's where everyone was, below the terra's false top. Several carrier ships, all loaded with talons, were floating around the area beneath the terra. Xavier's Prison was intelligently built within the terra itself. The top of the terra was empty, desolate and devoid of any signs of life. It was a wonder raptors hadn't tried to settle there.
'Maybe they did try... and maybe the were killed for it.'
From what Carver had told them, the prison guards at Xavier's didn't give much leeway for intruders. And it was part of their job to keep the prison a secret, so having people who knew of it's existence walking around didn't exactly run in their favor.
"Yeah... I think that's it. You ready for this?"
Allie-Jay flicked her ears and flashed Remus a grin.
"Does the Dark Ace have a stick up his ass?"
Remus chuckled and pressed a finger to the radio switch.
"Carver, come in Carver."
"Is that you, Remus? What is it?"
"We get the guys in Block 13, right?"
"Right. Where they keep the really rotten ones. You think you and AJ'll be able to handle them without me?"
The blizzarian in question bristled at the nickname, but continued to guide the Chief down to their designated entry gate. The plan was that every ship had a pre-chosen entry gate, and once the signal was given, the gates would be opened and everyone would fly in to collect their designated prisoners. Master Cyclonis wanted them for her new Talon platoon, one that would be made up of masters at stealing, theiving and fast-talking. This break-out had been planned for weeks, and there was no way it was going to fail.
Even if the Sky Knights found their way inside.
Clusters of cloaking crystals had been strategically placed all around the terra, and Carver had the trigger. Once everyone was inside, he'd flick the switch and activate them all, completely cloaking the terra. It was brilliant really, even Allie-Jay was impressed. How could the Sky Knights stop a break-out they couldn't see? And, even if the Sky Knights got close, everyone would still be safe. The lookouts were a specially-chosen group of talons that had snuck inside the prison, cracked some skulls, and stolen their very own guard uniforms. They were the ones that would open the gates and let the rest of the talons inside, and they'd be the ones to alert the Cyclonians of any coming threat.
As long as the prisoners cooperated.
That was the only hitch in the plan. If one could call it that. Not even the Master herself knew what the prisoners would really do once they'd been let out of their cells. Most assumed they'd be grateful for rides out of there, and listen to them long enough to hear they'd be fighting against the people that put them in jail in the first place. But, with people who were bad enough to be even sent to Xavier's, you never knew.
Still, even if the prisoners didn't want to go quietly, everyone had been given paralyzer stones. Paralyzer stones were crystals made by Master Cyclonis especially for this occation. They worked to shut down an organism's nervous system by overloading it with electirc waves. It didn't hurt, but it did leave you immoblie for a good two hours.
"Alright you two, our guys should be opening the gates in three... two..."
Allie-Jay's grip on the wheel tightened, and Remus reached down for his sword, the cool of the steel calming his nerves.
"One."
The gate gave a great creak, one that sent shivers down the two talon's spines, and began to ease open.
"As soon as the opening is big enough-"
"We floor it."
"Pretty much. And remeber, you are not allowed to leave the prison under any circumstances unless I say so. If you leave the terra, then the Chief will become visble and the Sky Knights will know something is wrong. Do you hear me?"
"Yeah yeah... that looks big enough for me. Jailbirds here we come!"
The gate wasn't even halfway opened, but the wily blizzarian paid no mind. If the Sky Knights were coming, then they needed to do this fast, right? Remus' hands balled into fists and he growled, but did nothing to stop her. Allie-Jay was a risk-taker, but she knew better than to mess up such a critical mission. Something as stupid as tearing the ship wide open before they even got inside is something that even she wouldn't do.
On purpose.
However, accidents were things Allie-Jay didn't make all too often, so as her skilled hands guided the small ship through the small opening, the young raptor wasn't too worried. He was anxious to get started, that was for sure, but also nervous. He was still something of a greenhorn when it came to Talon business. Usually he was assigned missions that involved stealing things, like crystals, maps, and such. He supposed this was stealing in a way, but it sure as hell wouldn't be as easy as shoving a couple of stones in your pocket when no one was watching.
Once the gate was behind them and they were inside the prison, Allie-Jay immediately had to stop and search for the headlight power switch. The entire world around them had gone black, there was no light and no noise it was extremely unsettling.
"Carver, is it supposed to be this dark?"
Silence over the intercom.
"Carver? Carver, come in."
The raptor and blizzarian looked at each other, and shivers went down both their spines. This prison was creepy, dark, and their radios didn't work. How were they supposed to know when to leave if Carver couldn't contact them? Regardless, Allie-Jay finally found the lighting system and flicked the switch. Light flooded the long stone tunnel that stretched before them. Farther down, Remus could see several steel doors lined up along both sides of the tunnel.
"Those must be the cells farther down. Drive her down a bit more, and then we'll park."
Allie-Jay nodded and eased the ship forward, cautious to avoid scratching the Chief's paintjob on the tunnel walls. Remus gripped the hilt of his sword and left the bridge. As he strode down the hall, he continued to practice his speech. Once the prisoners were in the ship, they'd need a damn good reason to not kill the two talons, take the ship, and fly away to Terra Saharr or somewhere similar.
'If you behave yourselfs long enough to... no that won't work. Maybe... if you will just allow us to tell you our plan for you all... damn it. Why is this so hard? Oh well, first we need to get them on the ship before we figure out how to keep them there.'
He reached the hangar just as Allie-Jay was setting the Chief down onto the tunnel floor. Remus lowered the hangar's ramp and, making sure his paralyzer stone was still in his pocket, made his way down.
He started his job straightaway, jutting his sword into the lock on one of the heavy metal cell doors. The door swung open without a sound, and the raptor was met with more blackness. He growled and activated the scalus crystal within his sword's hilt. The sword's light cast a dark golden glow throughout the room, revealing a figure hunched over against the far wall.
"...put that light out."
"Excuse me?"
"It hurts."
Remus eyed the man that leaned against the wall, and focused in on his eyes. Screwed shut. The raptor soon figured out why. The cells were in absolute darkness almost all the time, so he could guess that every prisoner's eyes were so used to it, that even the moon might hurt them. No wonder this man was asking him to de-activate his sword.
"Sorry, but I'm going to need to keep this on so I can remove those chains."
The prisoner perked up at this, and cracked one eye open ever so slowly. Remus moved closer, but lowered the power level on the sword, so that the light became dimmer enough for the inmate's sensitive eyes. As Remus set to work on the heavy chains that bound the man's hands and feet, he felt rather than saw the prisoner's eyes on him.
"Who are you?"
The last chain fell away from the man's hands, and he reached up to rub at his chafed wrists. Remus motioned for the inmate to follow him as he left the cell. He waited patiently for the man to regain full control over his under-used legs, and soon the man stood beside him, still eyeing him suspiciously.
"I'm a friend. We have been sent here to get you all out of this place."
"We?"
Remus chuckled and pointed to Allie-Jay, who was now handling her own prisoner on the other side of the hall. The man squinted, before smirking and turning back to Remus.
"And what makes you think we want to get out of here?"
"You and I both know that that was a dumb question."
"...okay. You aren't an idiot. I'll go with this, for now, but only because this place is hell. But you're gonna need a damn good reason to keep me from stealing that nice ship over there and taking off later. You got that, kid?"
"Yessir."
A few hours later, every cell in the hallway had been relieved of it's occupant.
Allie-Jay and Remus stood before a crowd of merbs, humans, raptors, and even a few blizzarians. All of which had one thing in common. They each had numbers tattooed, though the job was clearly very poorly done, on their necks. The numbers were each seven symbols, ranging from 0000004 to 0002791. The first moment Remus noticed the tattoo on his first prisoner's neck, he visbly flinched. That's how ragged and poorly cared for they were.
"Okay, is this everyone?"
"How the hell should we know?"
Allie-Jay frowned at the merb that chose to give such an unneccessary spiteful tone to his words.
"Well, we cleared every cell, is there anywhere else we should look?"
"Did you check the holes?"
Every head turned to look at the old man that sat huddled at the back of the crowd. He was gaunt, grizzly, and crippled. Remus had had to carry him to the ship. He wasn't exactly talon material, but he seemed wise enough to maybe be a strategist. There was one tiny problem with that, though.
He was blind.
He stared away into nothingness, his eyes a clear and empty blue. If one could call it that. There wasn't even any real color in his iris at all. If blue had a shadow, that was the shade of the man's eyes.
"Holes?"
"Yes."
"What are they?"
"You'll see. There are five at the end of the hallway."
"But we went to the end of the hallway. All there was were five hatches in the floor and-"
"I'll be right back."
Allie-Jay trotted off down the hall, leaving Remus the nervous raptor alone with a crowd of deadly criminals. If reptiles could sweat, then Remus would have been sleek with the stuff. Each and every inmate eyed him with an almost mischeivous gleams in their eyes. The first prisoner that Remus had released smirked, stood up, and moved to stand right before the nervous raptor.
"Remeber what I said before? Well I suggest you start your speech before I decide to take this baby off your hands."
A chorus of chuckles and noises of agreement rose up from behind the man, and Remus sighed. His speech would have had to have come out sooner or later. Now probably was the best time. He just hoped he worded things right and kept his ship and his cargo under his control.
"Who put you all in this shit hole?"
"Those goddamned self-righteous Sky Council bastards."
"Exactly. Now, if you would be so kind as to stay with us, you'd be able to see each and every one of those bastards die."
Silence.
"Explain."
"You may not know this, depending on when you were sentenced, but there is a war going on. Between us, the Cyclonians, and the Atmosian bastards who act like their way is the only way. Our leader, Master Cyclonis, is a cunning and calculating fighter that can and will promise that every single Atmosian that opposes us will either bow before us... or die. And you can help us do this."
"And why would we want to help you rule the world? We just want the first thing you promised."
"I know. And you don't need to stay with us for the entire war. If you want, as soon as every old geezer that put you in here is six feet under, you may be relieved of duty. And we will ensure that you will never be put back in prison."
"And you really think you can promise that?"
"We can. Master Cyclonis has a special force that can ensure that no harm will come to you after your job is done. They are merciless assasins, and will not hesitate to kill anyone who threatens your safety."
The crowd of criminals went silent, but the man that stood before Remus continued to question him.
"I don't think your Master would be able to protect us. These tattoos will show who we are. Everywhere we go we'll be hunted. How can you protect us?"
Remus met his stare cooly and evenly, despite the growing tension in the crowd.
"You can't recognize someone by something you can't see. There are plenty of civialian clothes, piloting uniforms, and accessories that easily cover the neck. Besides, only the Sky Council knows what those marks mean. If a person doesn't know what something means, then how could they possibly see it as something that should be thrown in prison? There are well-known and well-trusted pilots with weirder features."
"Great speech buddy. But your praise is going to have to be cut short."
Allie-Jay was back, with a crowd. Five more prisoners, four male and one female. They weren't what caught the raptor's attention, though.
There was a guard with her. One of their men in disguise no doubt, but the sight of the uniform unsettled every criminal in the room. Some even started to stand, while others muttered amongst themselves.
"Everyone please, don't worry. This guard is not really a guard. He's one of our men in disguise. There's no need to worry."
"That's right, I'm working to get you all out of here. Now, I need to talk to you two."
The three talons huddled together, while the four male prisoners went to join the rst of the crowd. The female however, stayed right were she was, by the exit.
She was human, with a neutral skintone and an oddly well-built frame. Even the strongest of the other prisoners had absolutely no muscle left in their limbs. This girl, though they were slight, had obvious muscle lining her arms and legs. Though the muscles were stringy and thin, they were still something to watch for. Allie-Jay made note of this as she gave the girl a once-over.
She only looked to be about seventeen, Allie-Jay's own age, and she was probably the youngest one there. Her tattoo number read 0000011. Her head was down, so Allie-Jay couldn't see her face, but she probably wouldn't have been able to even if the girl's neck was as straight as an arrow. A mane of messy hair spiked out in every direction, the color an odd shade of reddish-brown. There was a definite presence of red, but the color was still brown.
Allie-Jay made a mental note to keep an eye onthis girl, and turned back to her felow talons.
"What's up?"
"Okay... first off..."
The talon handed Remus a small radio, one that he had never seen the likes of before. He examined it from every angle, but could find no talk switch, and no antennae. There was only a speaker and a white light below it.
"This is a special underground radio. It's the only kind that will work down here, because of this weird magnetic field the rocks of the tunnels give off. It's why the Chief's radio doesn't work. Carver wanted me to give it to you. When you want to talk, put your finger over that light there. It'll work. Secondly, did you retrieve every prisoner from this area?"
Remus looked to Allie-Jay for confirmation, and when she nodded, he turned back to the guard and replied, 'Yessir.' The officer gazed at the crowd for a minute, and turned back to them.
"Alright. We need to leave soon, because Carver wants us to blow the place up."
"Blow it up!?"
"Yes. The prison itself is filled with violent crystals that will set off a chain reaction when we activate the detonater. He wants to destroy this place for good, so we'll never have to do something like this again. But there's one problem."
"What's that?"
The talon glanced at the prisoners again, for longer this time. He turned back to them and leaned in close, his voice little more than a whisper.
"The Sky Knights are here."