A/N: Hey people, muchas gracias for that last review I have 7 now!!!!!!! Yeah pathetic but, what are u gonna do right? Ok so we're gettin close to the climax so here we go!!!!!
Disclaimer: Any of my references to star wars or any other source are not mine, so im saying this now before I get sued :)
Chapter 14: The Beginning of the End
The Nedian supply ship quietly landed in a secluded area, away from the capital city. No one had detected their descent because the ships in orbit had been bombarding the capital city and they were jamming their communications. They were after all the forward group, they were doing all the heavy lifting.
Ophelia left the bridge and left Kian in charge, she needed to see to Fayt and the others. When she walked in they were all fast asleep and there was a different shift of nurses tending to them.
"How are they?" she asked.
"Bad, they need rest, all of them. Even Captain Fayt sustained injury, he put too much strain on his nervous system during the fight. He isn't fit to go into battle right now, I'm sorry."
"No it is alright, it might be against his wishes but I prefer it that way." The nurse nodded and went over to the other side of the room to change Nel and Albel's IV. Ophelia examined them for a second. She was examining Fayt's features, his blue hair his skinny build. She laughed and shook her head. Her comm. began to beep. She excused herself from the room and told the nurse when to alert her when they could talk.
"Go ahead," she said as she spoke into it.
"Its Kian, Ophelia we have trouble, a scouting unit has been detected within our long range scanners, what course of action should we take?"
Ophelia was speechless, Fayt was always around to make these decisions. Heck even Albel or Nel took charge. "Meet me on the exit ramp, suit up, get your team. We're going night vision and silencers on, we don't want a stray laser bolt to give us away." Kian replied with a 'roger'.
She went into her room and threw on a suit of armor and grabbed her scoped battle rifle. She picked up her Tetragenian Katana as well. It was a normal curved blade but wasn't made of steel. It was an energy blade, almost like a laser weapon, but not as fragile. And the weapon was retractable.
She met Kian at the exit ramp, and it slowly retracted when they pushed the button. The area they had landed in was a heavily wooded area. There was very tall grass and huge trees, they landed there because the trees concealed the ship.
"Alright stay stealth unless I tell you to go weapons free. And be careful we don't know, they may have something to counteract our night vision shades." She told them to stay silent, only communication through hand symbols. So she pointed ahead and they moved forward.
She spotted the outline of a scouting tank. It had a single mounted cannon. She gestured to halt and examine the area. Strange, nothing. Suddenly she heard the rustling of leaves behind. "Shit," she whispered. "They are behind us, you are weapons free, go go!!" She instantly pulled out her katana and hit the activate button. The blade retracted with a loud hiss and she instantly whipped it around to catch one soldier in the stomach. He grunted and yelled out. "Go to heat vision they are using cloaking!!" she exclaimed.
The team instantly did it and were surprised when they found their enemies right in front of them. A few shouts were heard, and a few allied soldiers were down. Kian was pushed on the ground. He pulled out his old handy steel knife and stabbed the man on top of him in the neck.
Ophelia spun around and saw two men running for the vehicle. She put away her katana and took out her rifle and then took a deep breath. She steadied the gun and held her breath. She looked through the scope and lined up the first enemy. She pulled the trigger and the bolt flashed and struck the enemy. She immediately turned the end of the barrel onto the next enemy, aimed for his head…and pulled the trigger.
The man's body took a violent jerk and then it went limp. Ophelia exhaled and her body relaxed. Suddenly she heard a loud, "Yahhhh!!!!!!!!!" behind her. A soldier had shot at her and she immediately froze up. But as if by instinct she pulled out her katana and deflected the bolt. She caught him on his reload and dashed towards him and then chopped his head off.
She looked down on him mercilessly and panted hard. Kian killed this last soldier that tried to choke him and got up. "Man I haven't had to use my old man's knife in ages!!! Whoa, your work?" he asked as he looked at the man's dismembered body. Then he took a glance at the two soldiers dead by the tank. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Well done." Ophelia still seemed to be in a bit of shock, she quickly shook it off.
"A-Alright guys check the tank and make sure they didn't get a message out. At least one good thing came out of this. We have a way into the city now." They moved toward the tank and clambered in and sent a message back to its command center: Engine Malfunction, be back tomorrow. Hopefully they would buy it.
"I gotta say this ship is really coming along, can you really have it done in 5 days?" Cliff asked. He had traveled down to the actual production area and was admiring the work. They had the overall structure of the Diplo II done and all the main rooms and facilities of the ship were done.
"Yes sir, we only have to finish the weapons and engine systems, basically. The calibration of the weapons won't take too long. The engines however, might. It is going to be hard to be able to manage such a large gravitic warp engine. We want to ensure that the engines won't just blow out," the engineer explained.
"Of course, of course. Well thanks pal, I look forward to its completion." Cliff shook the man's hand and began his way back to the observation deck. His communicator began to beep. He looked at the screen first, it was Mirage. "Hey what's up Mirage?"
"Conference room in 10." That was all she said and she signed off.
"Sheesh, she has to learn to chillax." He took the elevator lift to the conference rooms' level. He entered the usual room they had been using during their stay there. Cliff's dad, King Elmond, Mrs. Leingod and Mirage were seated around the white table. The room was small with a small plant in the corner. And then the entire right wall was made of square-paneled windows, showing the shipyard below.
"Cliff, good you are here, let us start," said Mirage as she cleared her throat.
"Ok so the Diplo II will be done in a few days on schedule and we should be in good shape for New Year's Eve," King Elmond said, as he read his engineers' report.
"Excellent, we have one problem though. We still need a Nedian transport to be able to breach the Nedian forces and get down to Earth. So the only choice is to hijack one. Captain Kirk will explain the situation," Mirage said. She gestured for Cliff's father to begin.
"Thank you Mirage, as she said we have to be able to hijack a Nedian cruiser, without them suspecting it later on. So we have to steal an unregistered shuttle, straight from their shipyards. We will be raiding one of their smaller construction yards on an isolated asteroid belt in the Beta Sector. It used to be a Federation shipyard until the recent takeover," he said.
"Dad how are we gonna do that?" Cliff asked.
"Ah, I was just getting to that. We are going to need two men to pilot a single fighter, through a cannon. You are going to take a light bomber with a small disabling hyperion cannon. And of course it has proton bombs and a light mounted hyperion gun. They must then pilot it to the hangar, it will be marked on your map, and then steal the cruiser. While you steal the craft the Hawk will attack the base, accompanied by other battleships in our allied fleet. It should provide a sufficient distraction to divert attention from you guys."
"Exactly, Cliff I was hoping you and Lancar would undertake this mission. There is no one I can trust more right now, with Fayt and everyone else gone. Only Peppita is left, but she won't be able to help here," Mirage added.
"An almost impossible mission…I like the odds, when do I leave?" Cliff asked as he got out of his chair.
"In a couple of hours, just board the Hawk when you are ready. You know where it is," he said as he also got up.
"I'll just go with you, I am ready now, we can leave as soon as possible," he said confidently. "I'm getting bored standing around here." They both got up and got ready to leave the room. Cliff hugged Mirage before leaving and told her to take care.
"So we have to bypass an entire radar grid and then hijack a shuttle facing impossible odds?" Lancar asked. They were next to the starfighter they were going to use. He was loading his battle rifle and slung it over his shoulder. Cliff put on a heavier combat vest with a single-pump shotgun, instead of a rifle. He also had his gauntlets from the battle against Luther.
Cliff shrugged, "Pretty much bro, sorry I dragged you into it."
"Nah its cool, one I get to pilot this new Y-Wing craft fresh out of Expellian design!! Besides it should be fun," he said sarcastically. He got into the pilot seat while Cliff got into the gunner seat behind him. Lancar powered up its engines and then piloted the ship out of the Hawk's hangar bay. They jetted off into space and traveled toward the asteroid belt in front of them.
The ship cruised along and they soon reached the belt and were surrounded by asteroids and Lancar had to agily dodge each rock.
"Alright lock on to the highest energy level you can find, it will probably the biggest asteroid too so keep a look out," Cliff said. They soon found the asteroid and saw the shipyard. "Alright we have to approach through that one canyon, it is the one area their long-range scanners do not cover. So there are individual short-range radar scanners instead, we should be able to disable them.
"Roger." Lancar piloted the Y-Wing into a sharp dive into the canyon. Cliff's stomach did a backflip, but it gave him a rush that he thoroughly enjoyed. Here was where the work began. The canyon was very dark so he changed his gunner to heat vision. The scanners up ahead burned like fireflies up ahead, versus the dark and cold void space.
"Alright, keep her low and steady Lancar," Cliff said as he charged the Hyperion Cannon and set it to 'disable'. Once it was charged he pulled the trigger and a blue blur of energy shot at the scanner. Once it hit it, the ship began to pulsate blue and the turbine on the top, stopped spinning.
"I count 8 on my scanners Cliff, so 7 more to go." So the two continued on the next 7 scanners and proceeded with their precise work. Lancar nearly blew it on the last one, he flew almost too high, but Cliff got the shot off in time.
"Phew that was close," Lancar said as he exhaled a sigh of relief. He piloted the ship upwards, as the canyon seemed to rise upwards. Up ahead they spotted two raised platforms, where numerous starfighters were stationed, and prepared to fly.
"Alright Dad, bring the fleet out of Gravitic Warp in about a minute, we are about to make contact and I hope we don't get killed," Cliff said as he opened a line with the Hawk.
"Roger," was the old captain's terse reply. Lancar pulled the trigger for the mounted Hyperion guns on the front and red laser bolts tore through the unsuspecting fighters on the platform. As the bomber flew over the platform, Cliff switched to the bombing reticule and dropped a few proton bombs on the platform, eradicating the threat.
Their cover was over because an alarm began to blare, signaling the base was under attack. A couple starfighters off the second platform lifted off and began to chase the rogue bomber.
"Damn, here is when the fun begins!!!" Lancar exclaimed as he pulled the ship into a barrel roll. The fighter giving chase suddenly got disoriented and crashed into another fighter.
"Alright cut the fancy crap and pilot us to that hangar," Cliff said.
"Fine, I'm locking on to the coordinates…" Lancar said disappointedly as he pulled out of the barrel roll.
"So this tank will get us through the city's outer wall?" Fayt asked. The group had recovered hours ago and they were consulting what the next course of action should be.
"Yes as far as the Nedians are concerned, their scouting party was delayed but are expected back soon," Ophelia.
"Good work Ophelia, alright guys be ready in 30, meet up by the tank outside the ship," Fayt said.
"Are you sure you guys are ready? I can just take Kian's group," Ophelia butted in, concerned.
"Yeah, we are fine, we just got banged up a little, but we are fine, right guys?" Fayt asked.
"Damn straight maggot," Albel replied. Nel simply nodded and Adray flexed his muscles in response.
"Besides, Kian has to coordinate with the invasionary force. Besides, no one else is as stealthy as Nel or Albel. And we're going to need that if we are going to open the main gates. And we will work better as a smaller unit. Alright so, see you guys in 30."
Everyone nodded and most of them proceeded to the area they had fashioned as a weapons room. Fayt picked himself a battle rifle, some ammo, and incendiaries. Adray somehow found a modernized minigun and he grabbed a strap for it and flung it around his shoulder. Albel looked at him, as if ready to murder him but he got his regular shotgun instead.
Nel only put on some reflective armor, and a few grenades and bombs. Ophelia took another assault rifle and replaced her scoped gun for a sniper rifle. It had a 12x scope. Fayt went up to the bridge to give Kian orders while the others proceeded to the tank.
In about 10 minutes they saw Fayt trotting down the ramp and gave them all a smile. They entered the armored vehicle from a hatch on the top. Ophelia turned the tank on and the screens all around them whirred to life and mechanical beeps sounded. Albel took a position on the gunner in case any difficulties should occur.
Ophelia set the tank to autopilot and the computer routed the course back to its base. Ophelia sat back in the pilot chair and looked at the others behind her. "Guys, thanks for everything, this is really important to me. I promise once we are done here, I'll do everything in my power to lend support to the alliance."
Fayt snorted, "Ophelia, relax, we want to do this, and even if it wasn't on the agenda, we would do it anyway. Just like Mirage said, its business," Fayt said and smiled. Ophelia nodded and turned around in her seat. In an hour or so the capital city came into sight.
"Wow, the city is gorgeous!!" Fayt exclaimed. The city seemed built into a crater, but rather a huge waterfall. Three rivers converged on the city and water poured past the edges of crater. It seems the world just ended and you would fall off but inside the crater was the city. The city wall was built around the crater. There was a water system which distributed the water around the wall which regulated the flow of water and created a moat around the city.
If one had a bird's eye view from above the city center would be seen in the center of the crater with water flowing into the crater from all sides. Numerous bridges protruded from the center and shields were placed on the bridges to allow the water to safely flow around it. Along the sides were houses built into the sides of the crater. The technological succession could be seen since the buildings from their middle ages had been preserved and one saw the complexity and structure change as the buildings extended from the exterior of the crater to the center. And then at the very center was a beautiful palace.
"Yes, the Nedians may have taken over. But at least they have had the decency to keep our culture and city's beauty in tact," Ophelia commented, scornfully. "Alright, helmets on." The ship had reached a bridge over the moat into the city wall. They traveled over the bridge and once it was inside the wall the tank stopped. They peered at the screen to look at the exterior of the tank. They seemed to be in the military garrison of the wall.
Other identical tanks were stationed there. Many Tetragenians could be spotted and were obviously disgruntled with the Nedian rule. There was a group in front of a Nedian officer barking commands at them.
The group carefully exited the tank and then waited for an officer to entertain them. A Tetragenian man approached them.
"Alright troop 721 you are late, cause of engine failure?" the man asked while he held a stylus to his data tablet.
Albel elbowed Fayt in the side to start talking. "Uh, erm…my friend here uhh trooper 634, sneaked a beer into the tank, got drunk, and started shooting the hell out of everything. He somehow hit a cylinder and we were stranded until I fixed it," Fayt made up and then elbowed Albel to start talking.
"Erm, he is right foo-I mean sir. I am a trigger happy bastard," Albel said shamefully. Nel and Adray began to snigger and he turned around to beat them but stopped himself.
"Well its alright 634, just don't do it again. Report to the main gate, you are scheduled to do guard duty until the next shift," the officer said.
"Yes sir, I won't do it again. Which way is the main gate again? I seemed to have forgotten in my drunken rage."
"Why don't you just ask-ughh, never mind. Take the elevator lift to the third level then go all they way to the right. You can't miss it. I'd have him checked first captain, if I were you," he said to Albel and Fayt. As he walked away, he made a hand gesture to Albel, calling him crazy.
"Yessir right away," Fayt replied happily. Adray and Nel had to restrain the Albel who was about to rip the man's head off. He muttered something like 'I'm not crazy' and folded his arms.
"Well this is working out perfectly for us," Ophelia said happily. The others just nodded and then went to work to find the main gate. They followed the man's instructions perfectly and soon found the main gate. They were to patrol the office and regulate who entered the city. The previous guard before them looked extremely tired. They probably had to cover the shift they had missed the night when they had their 'engine' malfunction. They groggily greeted them and exited the room happily.
"Albel lock the door," Fayt said. He set a suitcase he had been carrying and propped it open on the table in the room. It revealed a long-range communicator with their forces in orbit and in the forest.
"Kian, Wifra; do you copy?" he asked as he opened lines with the stolen Nedian cruiser and the Sharktooth.
"Copy," he heard from Kian and Wifra replied simultaneously.
"Begin your landing of troops and begin the advance we will have the main gate open, notify me when you are close," Fayt said. He closed the suitcase, not waiting for their reply. "Alright I guess all we can do is chill until then."
The group didn't hesitate and immediately began relaxing in the chairs. A couple hours later there was a gruff knocking on the door. "This is a Nedian commander, what is going on in there why is the door locked?" Silence. "Open the door or we'll blow it down 1…"
"Crap what do we do?" Nel asked.
"2!"
"Nel cling to the walls or do something ninja-ish. Albel get behind the door, sorry in advance if it hits you." Nel scowled at him as she climbed the wall.
"3! Alright we are coming in!!" Before they could blow the door down, Fayt opened the door, and smiled.
"Hi, come on in!!" He said graciously. He glanced up as three men walked into the room. Nel jumped down and slit a man's throat. Albel closed the door and locked it, he took out his katana and killed the other man, leaving the captain surrounded.
"Alright don't kill me!" he yelled. "A man is gonna call in a few seconds to make sure everything is alright, you'll need me to make sure everything is cool." The man was desperate and he was breathing hard. Right on cue the console began to beep. Fayt picked up the phone and told him to talk.
"Yeah, everything is alright here, I'm good, I think I'll just relax with these guys for now, yeah, over and out." Fayt put down the phone but Albel kept his shotgun trained on his head.
"Alright according to Wifra's last transmission they'll be here in 30," Fayt said, taking a look at the clock.
"Hang on, what are you guys talking about? Who are you guys, and could this have anything to do with the 5 battleships that landed a couple hours ago?" the Nedian officer said.
"I didn't say you could talk maggot," Albel said as he pumped his shotgun.
"Hold on are you guys rebels?" the man exclaimed. "Yeah that would make sense!!" He was about to scream out again until Fayt nodded and Albel clubbed the soldier in the back of his head with his shotgun. He fell limp to the floor with a stupid grin on his face.
"Finally, that maggot was beginning to annoy me," Albel muttered. The suitcase began to beep, yeah it seemed weird but it began to beep and Fayt opened it up.
"Yeah go ahead," Fayt said.
"Gunships and dropships are 5 minutes away," Kian said.
"Alright we are opening the gate…now," he said as he gestured for Ophelia to open the gate. Albel intently watched the door into the room.
"Alright the door is open, right the long-range sensors detect about 30 light cruisers approaching," Ophelia said. Fayt told her to stand back as he planted a bomb to the console.
"Alright let's move, we gotta find the shield generator fast and then take it down so we'll let the troops do their work, while we do the hard work." Fayt said. As they made their way to the elevator the wall was suddenly rocked by torpedoes fired by the approaching allied gunships.
"We better take the stairs," Nel suggested. Everyone agreed and they made their way down to the ground level or staging area. All the soldiers were disoriented and had no idea what to do. Ophelia had an idea.
"Wait guys stop! Don't you think if we just tell the Tetragenians that we are liberating them, then wouldn't they turn against the Nedians? It is obvious they aren't satisfied with their rule! And I do not want to kill any more of my countrymen!" she exclaimed.
"Alright, take off your helmet, we'll try it your way," he replied. They descended down the stairs and they encountered numerous soldiers with one Nedian commanding the group. The soldiers gasped when they saw her, they recognized her instantly.
"It's the princess!!" they exclaimed. The Nedian commander told them to shut up and start firing.
"Men! We are here to liberate you, if you do not want to get killed by our troops revolt against the Nedians, their time is up!" Ophelia yelled. It seemed it wouldn't work until the men turned their guns on the Nedian commander. It was quick work.
"We are yours to command madam," the soldiers said.
"Good, half of you tell the men on the walls to let our soldiers pass through the walls, and kill all the Nedian commanders. The rest of you lead us to the palace, alright understood? Let's go!" she ordered. Fayt smiled at her and they followed her into the inner city.
"What the hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cliff yelled as Lancar made the Y-Wing dive, climb, and pull into another barrel roll. They had about 10 fighters behind them shooting like hell. Their laser guns pulsating and then the sharp whining of the guns was heard. Amazingly they hadn't been destroyed yet.
At that moment 5 Klausian starfighters maneuvered behind the group chasing them and cleared their back.
"Thanks guys," Lancar said, as the Klausian fighters broke off to deal with other fighters. The hangar where the Nedian shuttles were made, was up ahead.
"Alright pilot her in nice and easy," Cliff said. As he brought the Y-Wing in, it hovered slightly at first and then the cockpit opened and Cliff jumped out of the fighter. He landed on a soldier and knocked his lights out. He took out his shotgun and made his way around the hangar. The hangar was like a huge twisting labyrinth with numerous cargo boxes, weapons, and spare items. A man on a mounted turret on an elevated position began to shoot at Lancar, but he took him out easily.
"Alright I see only 5 men ahead be careful Cliff," he said in his comm. link.
"Thanks man, I'll see you on the way out," Cliff replied. Cliff held his shotgun ready and then he turned the corner. He saw a man and instantly shot his gun, the blast catching the man instantly. He spun around and sensed another man, he knocked his lights out with a right-handed cross.
Cliff continued forward but hid behind a block of containers, there were 10 shuttles ahead, three men guarding them. It he took them head on, he was guaranteed to get killed. If he threw a bomb he risked losing one of them, and he couldn't risk anyone escaping.
He planted a time bomb on the walkway towards him and then showed himself to his enemies. Two men instantly ran toward him, he ducked to the side as the soldiers walked over his trap. Then he got on top of one of the containers and took a big leap and pulled an acrobat locust on the last man. He was out like a bulb.
Cliff picked the biggest shuttle, it was actually a combat shuttle, armed to the tooth. Its tail wing had a rocket launcher in the middle. Its wings on either side had retractable wings that folded upwards when it was parked. There were two large mounted laser cannons on the ends of either wing.
He entered from the ramp in the back and then ran into a man on board the ship. He yelled out but Cliff threw a punch at him. The soldier blocked then threw a kick at Cliff's stomach. He shrugged it off and grabbed the man's foot, lifted him on his shoulder and then he slammed him into the ground. The soldier was still kicking.
He pulled out a knife and stabbed Cliff in the arm. "Arghh!!!" he yelled. He got angry and began to wildly punch the man in the face. Cliff's strength was too great and soon made a bloody mess out of the soldier. The soldier fell staggered backwards and Cliff gave him a good kick in the side, to make sure he was dead.
"Damn, that was annoying," Cliff said as he closed the exit ramp and powered up the engines. He ripped some cloth off his vest and wrapped it tight around his cut. "Alright Lancar do you have me marked on your computer, I'm exiting the hangar now, let's head to the rendezvous point."
"Roger, I'll be right behind you, it looks like the Hawk has most of the enemy forces concentrated on them," Lancar said.
"Great, it should be smooth sailing from here. Holy crap I just counted 10 bogies on my radar. Damn we are still far from the rendezvous safe point, and we can't have anyone discover the stolen shuttle," Cliff said.
"It looks like we are going to have to fight them," Lancar aid grimly. Cliff agreed and set the ship to autopilot and set the computer to an automated evasion course as he headed to the gunner in the back of the ship.
"Alright Lancar cover my front, I'm in the gunner in the back," Cliff turned on the firing console and the warning klaxons began to beep, signifying enemies en-route. 5 ships whizzed into view. Cliff fired a few rounds at one that whizzed past but missed them all.
Instead he felt the shields get rocked. Lancar apologized over the comm. and quickly took down the fighter Cliff knicked one on the engine and it crash landed into the asteroid. The shuttle was rocked again by gunship fire and Lancar desperately tried to keep them contained, there was just too many.
"Damn, my left engine is acting up, and my stabilizer has been knocked out," Lancar cried.
"Hold on bro, we're almost near the rendezvous!" Cliff yelled as he released gunfire at a fighter and it blew up in a red fireball. His shields were rocked again when a fighter released its torpedoes on the shuttle.
Lancar was quick at work again until he stressed the engine too much and it blew and his ship crashed into the asteroid. "Lancar, no! Come in Lancar, answer me!!" Cliff yelled over the comm. No answer. Lancar was dead. Shots rocked the shuttle again. "NO Damn it my shields are down!!" He futily shot at fighters, but actually caught one.
A fighter came behind him but was suddenly engulfed in flames, from a shot from the asteroid. It came from the fighter. "You owe me one Cliff," Lancar said. Cliff glanced down and the cockpit was still intact.
"Lancar you're alright! Well pal looks like it is the end for both of us, we've been through so much and have escaped situations like this. But now…it looks like our luck has ended.
"I wouldn't count you two dead quite yet," a voice said over the comm. line.
"Dad?" Cliff asked. Sure enough Kirk Fittir flew in with 10 other fighters and dispatched the remaining starfighters. Cliff landed the shuttle and picked up Lancar.
They made their way back to the Hawk thanking god, or rather Mr. Fittir for his timely save.
"Yes Kian, we've entered the inner city we are on the main bridge, on approach to the palace!" Fayt yelled into his comm. link as he took cover behind a broken statue on the bridge. He pulled out his rifle and fired a few well aimed rounds at the enemies ahead. "How is your position on the wall?" he asked as he took cover again.
"We have it secured there are just 1 group of Nedians that are causing problems, my men and I are en-route to the palace."
"Copy, I'll tell you if we make a breakthrough."
"Over and out." With that Fayt loaded a new magazine and then sprinted ahead to the barricade where their enemies were hiding. He pulled out his sword, and began to deflect the blasts. You could tell he was angry. He rampaged through the soldiers and tore through the ranks when he reached them.
"Bless his enraged and ravaged soul," Albel sneered. Nel clonked him on his head and they advanced forward and helped clean up the rest.
Once they were done they took a short break and looked ahead, the outer wall of the palace was visible. This main bridge was the only bridge from the central city to the main palace. "Alright we are sure to face a heavier Nedian presence within the palace, maybe we should wait for reinforcements," Fayt wondered.
"We might as well, we gotta wait for the tank to bust down the wall, hold on wait…the gate is opening," Ophelia said. She was right the big golden gates were opening and a huge garrison of troops came out, seeming battle ready. And at the end a tall man with blue armor was walking at the end. Two blades were attached to the wrists of his gauntlets, each attached by chains.
"Another Wise Man," Fayt whispered. This one wasn't huge in size but he was tall and probably possessed an impressive and slim physique. They looked ahead in caution. Their group stood ready.
"Captain, if they attack, take on the soldiers, leave the commander to us," Ophlia told the Tetragenian captain. Their group had grown considerably, picking up a lot of men along the way.
"Y-Yes m'am," he stammered. He gulped, he had right to fear the being that had taught the Tetragenians the meaning of fear. They neared them and then stopped. The soldiers in the middle parted, and moved to the side. Then a soldier was seen unrolling a red carpet, with the Wise Man walking on it.
Fayt eyed him mindfully and held his sword ready by his side. The man in blue armor stopped at the end of the carpet, which was about two sword lengths away.
"I know you," the man said, his voice was deep and intelligent. He wore half-moon spectacles and had blue eyes and shaggy brown hair. He had a young face, after all they were the Wise men and not the Old men. "Fayt Leingod, my master wants to see you. So if you would kindly surrender, this would make everything easier."
"Albel, kindly submit my answer to our esteemed friend here," Fayt said sweetly. Albel pulled out his shotgun and shot a soldier. The Nedian soldier fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.
"Wrong choice," he said and the scene around them erupted in chaos. The man disappeared and he appeared at the gates, and at that moment both sides began to fire at each other, without even bothering to try and find cover first. About 10 Nedian soldiers stepped forward with energy spears and reflective shields. They leapt at the group. Fayt was suddenly stuck fighting 2 of them. Nel and Albel each began to duel one and Ophelia and Adray were also targeted.
All around them soldiers were fighting each other, at point-blank range. Using their guns both as projectile weapons and melee weapons. The soldiers clubbed and shot each other with their rifles.
Meanwhile Fayt was stuck in heated combat with the two Nedian fighters. They seemed to actually have more fighting prowess, and weren't the average soldier. Fayt had to duck and parry both spears. "God Damn!" he swore as he had to parry a spear and then he ducked until his body was perpendicular with his knees.
From that position he jumped up and sliced one of the soldier's head's off. As he landed he faced the next soldier and began to slice, stab and chop at the man. The man was forced to step backwards until he knocked into another soldier and became disoriented. Fayt mercilessly killed both soldiers.
Nel had handily dispatched her enemy by feinting to the side and then she spun her leg around and cracked her enemies' neck with her studded boots. Albel had a harder time, because his enemies' spear tip could cut his blade like butter. So instead he dodged from side to side and used his flexibility to slide under his enemies' spear then he cut his head clean off.
Adray simply blew up his enemy from afar with a simple runological spell. Ophelia had a harder time and almost got herself killed. But in the end she got the soldier with a good stab to his stomach. Her arm got cut badly though. Fayt took her aside to a safe area.
"Look I don't think we should keep going, you're hurt really bad," he said.
"Look just have Adray cast a healing spell and you guys go on, I'll hold down the fort here and wait for Kian. Go!! Fayt…take down that bastard for me," she said. Adray cast the spell and she got up, lifted her katana and joined the fray once more. She cleared a way for Fayt and the others to sprint towards the gate, where the man stood. He smirked at them then he disappeared again and 10 more soldiers replaced him in his stead.
"Fayt keep going and take him down, we'll handle this. The faster we take him down, the faster we'll win," Nel said. He was about to protest but she silenced him. "GO!" she yelled. He disappeared past the gates to face him.
"Come here you maggots," Albel said as he struck the soldier hard.
Fayt ran from the outer palace wall, through the courtyard and into the main hall of the palace. He glanced around, the palace seemed empty. It seemed as if the whole garrison had left the palace and the royal family was probably locked in the dungeons. Fayt knew he had to free them, but not now. He glanced around first. The palace had a high ceiling painted with a bunch of historical pictures.
The ceiling told the story how their ancestors had first built into the crater-city. He looked around for the Wise Man. From the Main Hall, he could go three ways. He could cross into the West or East Hall or go into the Royal Antechamber which was the path in front of him. Except, he didn't have the time to make the call when something collided into him, hard. He was thrown against the wall and he crashed into the trophy case. He heard the brandishing of a blade.
"I don't think so!!" Fayt exclaimed. He pulled out Destroyer and slashed out at his attacker. He learned it was the Wise Man. He had pulled the blades off his gauntlets and was wielding them.
"My name is Shigeo, pleased to meet you," he said as he bowed.
"I'm gonna make you pay for enslaving these people. Then I am going to kill your master!" he yelled at him savagely.
"Wow so brave, come let us talk first. I assume it was you who destroyed my fleet in orbit through your rage and anger. Now look at yourself, you've killed endless numbers of soldiers for your own conquest. To save your beloved am I right? Now, how does that make you any different from us? In our soldiers' eyes they see you as your soldiers see us."
"It…isn't the same!" he yelled in response.
"But isn't it?"
Fayt considered it but smiled, "You're wrong. You took what wasn't yours to claim in the first place. Look around you, outside. The people want to be liberated. We aren't mercilessly killing, well maybe Albel is. But my point is we are just reclaiming what was rightfully ours. You have no right to abused these people!" Fayt looked on at him and sneered.
"Fine, die you fool!!" he yelled. Man! Was he fast, he couldn't even see him move! At one second Shigeo was in front of him, striking him, then next thing he knew Shigeo was behind him and slashed Fayt's exposed back.
"Arghh!!" he screamed out. He stepped back and looked around him, he was gone again. No wonder he surprised me the first time, he is too fast! Fayt steadied his breathing and focused just to hear the slightest change in his environment. There he is! To the left! Fayt spun around and raised his sword to block the blow, and then he countered immediately and slashed at his head. Shigeo, using his inhuman agility, was able to dodge the blow easily.
He disappeared again and Fayt waited for him to patiently strike again. Same thing happened. He was gone once more. Grr, I might have to blast him…I can't get a strike on him. All I am doing is countering. Alright here goes… Fayt began to charge up his sword with energy. He sensed him coming again, this time he rose his sword above his head. When Shigeo appeared he brought down his sword with all his might on the omnigod. It sent him crashing into the ground.
Shigeo's body began to fizzle with blue energy. "Now we can fight on even grounds." Shigeo sneered at him and rose his blades. He swung his blades attached to his wrists at Fayt.
"Still even?" he laughed as he swung the two blades at Fayt, causing him to parry each one. They were like two tentacles keeping him down. Fayt parried one of the blades and then cut one of the chains. But Shigeo used the opportunity and he stabbed Fayt on his calf. He staggered and almost hit the ground, but he used all his strength to stay up.
He retracted one of his last blade and held it. "Well, your spirit must be applauded, but you will not win. You'll make a nice trophy for my master!!" he yelled. He was about to stab Fayt but someone stopped him.
"Stop right there you maggot, its over! All your worms are defeated and we have you surrounded," Albel yelled. It was true, all the soldiers and everyone was in the doorway.
"Wait stop! This is my fight guys! I need to be able to beat him, if I can't beat him, then we are doomed to fail against their leader. So..ack…I must face him," he said as he struggled to get up. He assumed his stance, his leg paining him the whole time. This time something felt different. He had his blows and Shigeo had his. They were both hurt. But he felt he had the edge for some reason.
Shigeo disappeared once more, but this time he anticipated where he would appear. Shigeo appeared and slashed at Fayt, but he moved first. He parried upward with his sword and then grabbed his rifle and put a few rounds in him. Shigeo jumped backwards and began to pant hard.
This time, Fayt attacked first. He sprinted towards him with insane speed, faster than Shigeo had ran. Then he stabbed straight through him. "Your master is next," Fayt whispered as he plunged his sword deeper. He let Shigeo fall to the ground and lay unconscious.
Albel and the others approached Fayt slowly. Fayt looked up to the ceiling and then he fell backwards. He looked at the mural on the ceiling. He seemed transfixed on the scene depicting them breaking through the rocky dome, revealing a hollow underground cavern. Thus, the crater was formed and the water from the surrounding rivers poured into it. It was a picture of beauty. His vision blurred and Fayt almost fell backward, but Adray caught him.
"Easy boy, you've done good. You've done good," he said as he patted the unconscious Fayt on his shoulder. Fayt was out like a log, the good news was that the Nedian presence was officially exterminated. He lifted him and carried the unconscious boy over his shoulder.
"That maggot is strong," Albel said as he looked at Shigeo's lifeless body. He pulled Destroyer out of Shigeo's stomach. The instant he touched the blade, the blue color slowly faded away.
"I guess it doesn't like you," Nel teased. Albel playfully hit her. Ophelia was soon seen limping through the main doorway, accompanied by other Tetragenian soldiers. She smiled as she walked through, she was home.
"Guys, come with me, I want you to with me!" she said excitedly. She grabbed Albel and Nel and skipped along giddily…to the dungeon.
"Why are you taking me to the dungeon, woman!" Albel yelled as he struggled to break free from her grip. But she wouldn't be deterred. Adray followed after them, with unconscious Fayt the whole time. They clambered down the dark spiral staircase leading downwards. The dungeon, was a dungeon. It was dark, damp, and lit solely by a few burning torches here and there.
They began to pass numerous barred cages and then they passed a cell full of people that looked totally out of place. There was a man and a woman that had bright red hair…kind of like Ophelia's.
"Daddy!!" she yelled. She gripped the bars and tried to awake the sleeping man. He woke up and looked around.
"Wuzzgoinon?" he asked stupidly. This man must have been the king of Tetragenesis, Ophelia's father.
"Ophelia?" he asked hoarsely. "Ophelia it is you!!!" he said as he gripped the bars too as he tried to hug her.
"Guards, Guards!! Open these doors I command you to!!" Ophelia yelled. Before the guards could respond, Albel told them to stand back as he cut the bars in a perfect rectangle, to allow then to get through. Ophelia threw herself on her father, and her mother soon awoke. Nel looked on and thought it was sweet, a family reunited. Albel thought he was about to puke. Adray thought of Clair back on Elicoor. For how long the family weeped, who knows, they seemed to cry and hug forever. Time seemed endless in the dreary dungeon.
"So you are saying one of my shipyards have just been destroyed because of a recent raid?" Indalecio asked. A poor messenger had the unfortunate duty to tell his master about the recent raid by the Hawk. Surprisingly, he didn't go crazy. "And what about the situation on Tetragenesis?"
"Well sir, Lord Shigeo informed me that they had easily put down any rebellions and had seized control of the planet. That was 2 days ago, there haven't been any transmissions since then. Do you want me to reply to him?"
"No, he should be fine, I trust his skills. Besides our enemies seem to be hiding at the moment. No, as long as Earth isn't attacked, I do not really care. Just tell fleets in the Gamma and Delta sector to return." The man nodded and left Indalecio's room.
"Hold on wait, any news from Jyril?" he asked.
"Sources say the Expellians took him down, we can't confirm his death though. And furthermore, I don't know if we can say our enemies helped kill him. Sorry sir, out intel is spread out across the galaxy and our resources are limited at the time."
"Its..alright, you can leave now. Can you tell King Nede to contact me, I would very much like to talk to him," Indalecio said calmly. He slumped further in his chair that he had christened as his 'throne'. It was just an extremely comfortable Lazy-Boy. "Nicolus, Vesper!" he yelled.
They both awoke and spazzed on the sofa they were sleeping on. "What do you want boss?"
"I want you two present to witness the overthrowing of King Nede," he said as he pressed a button that lowered a huge flatscreen from the ceiling. The screen immediately flashed to life and King Nede was seen playing golf somewhere. His guards stood on either side of him, with stoic expressions. Waiting anxiously to carry out their orders.
"You wanted to talk to me Indalecio?" he asked as he hit a ball. He didn't turn around to look at him. Indalcio looked at the guards and nodded. They called more guards, and then 20 more soldiers appeared in view.
"I just wanted to see how your vacation was going sir. Having fun in Italy?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am," he said as he hit another ball. He was still oblivious to the men gathering around him.
"I'm sorry to inform you that I am relieving you of your post sir, I want the title of king, and I'm sure my men trust me more than they do you."
Nede suddenly dropped his club as the guards grabbed him. "What is the meaning of this, unhand me!" he yelled. King Nede had no weapons on at all and was at their mercy. "Indalecio? How long have you been plotting against me?"
"For quite a while now actually. Men take him away, lock him up and ship him to the Prison Cube, I'd like to chat with him face to face in a couple day's time."
"Yes my lord," a soldier said as he bowed and signed off. The last image they saw was King Nede struggling and strangling a soldier. At last someone clubbed him in the back of his head, with the butt of his rifle.
The three began to laugh. "Congratulations Indalecio! You are now king!!" Vesper said as he embraced his lord.
"Thank you brother," he said. "I think to celebrate, we should be reunited with our last brother, Nicolus, fetch the two brats from their cages." Nicolus walked over to the cage and lowered the energy bars.
Vesper looked shrewdly at his lord. "Sir, why do you still need the Fayt boy? I thought the reason was because you needed them all three to revive everyone…but you are able to revive them with those two only."
"Ahh my good Vesper, I need the boy's destruction gene, it opens the possibility of cloning myself. Have you met my altar ego Lucifer? He is quite the devil," Indalecio said and laughed.
Vesper looked shocked, actually scared, "L-L-Lucifer?" He looked scared to death. Indalecio laughed and looked on as Maria and Sophia were chained up to the machine again. Both were exhausted beyond measure and didn't even scream anymore when the machine did its work. The energy ran through their bodies, and afterwards the chamber was smoking again. A figure was seen in the smoke again, just as always, after every draining.
To Be Continued......R&R
