Samuel
The man of light held up his hand and Samuel quickly slid into the shadows of a nearby tree. The impassive mask of the hooded figure in front of him scanned the forest slowly. His gun was half raised as he listened to the silence. Eventually he relaxed and made a quick motion with his hand for Samuel to join him. Samuel crept up next to him, surveying the scene just like his protector.
"What did you see?" Samuel wondered.
The tall figure moved forward without answering him. The cloak he wore waved behind him as he lept over a fallen tree, then disappeared as he crouched into its cover. Irritated at the affront, Samuel tried to follow the stranger as best he could. He tried to replicate the same fluid motion the man had made and fell flat on his face as he toppled over the large trunk. He looked up from the mud to see the man standing over him in what he could only assume was disappointment.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"I was jumping over that log."
"You were falling over that long. Noisily. You need to be quiet."
A bright light blossomed over his shoulder as a small white spirit descended down to float in front of Samuel.
"Now now Ziarik," the spirit said, "Be nice to the young one."
"I was just telling the truth," He retorted, "And also giving some well needed constructive criticism."
"Constructive criticism eh? Well here's one for you, go scout ahead while I talk to the boy."
The man muttered something and set off into the forest. The little spirit turned back to Samuel. It had one eye and many little arms rotating all around it. It looked him right in the face and asked, "What's your name?"
"Samuel."
"What is this village called?"
"It tis the village of Viralas."
"Now Samuel, what can you tell me about your gods?"
The word was unfamiliar to him. He looked at the spirit, puzzled, as he pushed himself up off the ground. The spirit looked at him inquisitively as it waited for his answer.
"I do not understand."
"Hmmm, do your people worship? Do they have any higher being above them?"
He started to understand, "We follow the teachings of the Great Viralas."
"Fascinating," mused the spirit as it flew around him.
The boy looked at it in wonder, "What kind of creature are you?"
"I am a Ghost, and Ziarik is my Guardian," the flying spirit stopped and looked at him.
"And why are you and Zee-kikk here?"
The ghost chuckled, "It's Ziarik, and we are here to help you."
The small white cube floated close to Samuel's face, "Now I must ask you…where do you practice the teachings of the Great Viralas?"
Kilia
"Why don't you just let me create a distraction?" her ghost eagerly offered, "Then you could go in there, do your magic, and mop up what is left."
"And what would I do if more of them were to show up?"
"You're smart, you'll think of something."
Kilia took a deep, patient breath, "We are going to wait. You wanted us to join this fireteam. You said it would be good to have backup. We are waiting for backup."
"I hate waiting."
She never thought a ghost could pout, but her dark blue one was making a good show of it. It looked like a sulking shadow flitting around the trunks of the trees. It moved next to her and peered at the spire. She scrutinized the clearing before her, trying to form a plan of attack. The captains paced steadily as their charges restlessly fiddled with their equipment and armor.
"What are they waiting for?" Kilia wondered aloud.
"Probably for their backup," her ghost chirped sarcastically.
She sighed. The servitors below hummed softly as they levitated around the prisoners. The large orbs resembled giant purple eyes, each as big as a man. She saw them investigating the town square, pausing occasionally to peer unblinkingly at one of the prisoners. She looked closer and realized that it wasn't the prisoners they were circling. They were looking at the spire.
A bolt of blue light arched from the eye of a servitor. It crashed against the exterior of the monolith, tracing long cracks across its surface. The second servitor did the same, then the third. The light from the blasts reflected off the smooth stones of the tower as the cracks began to break open. The servitors hummed louder and retreated.
Captains moved in, pushing dregs towards the crumbling tower. Some dregs looked timid as they approached. Others looked excited. They surrounded the tower and the villagers in a large circle. Then each of them unsheathed a dagger. Kilia tensed, ready to spring forward and save the villagers, but the knives were turned on their owners and thrust deep into their chest cavities. Kilia watched, shocked and appalled, as white wispy light issued from the dregs as they fell one by one. The light moved through the air, floating upward, until it slid with a hiss through the cracks in the tower. Then the ground shook. A shockwave emanated from the tower, knocking everyone down. A few of the prisoners screamed. Most of them just wept loudly. Kilia gripped a tree as her legs buckled beneath her.
"Status report!" she commanded.
"Structural integrity is weakening. Support is failing. Estimated civilian casualties are at 40% minimum."
"What is it?"
"Running probability algorithm…comparing to known reports of Fallen activities…wait…that can't be right…"
"What?" Kilia growled as the ground began to shake again.
"There is only one thing that it can be. That tower contains a prime servitor."
A cold wave of fear crept over her as her ghost relayed his bad news. Kilia cursed and yelled out over her radio, "Guys I need you here now! Shit is in the turbine. We've got a prime servitor to slay.
Ziarik responded, "I'm on my way. Hang on!"
The ground thudded again and Kilia called out, "Será do you copy? Será!"
Será
"I'll meet you two at the town center," Será said as she clicked off her mic and raised her arms over her head. She stared down the barrels of at least 20 rifles. All of them manned by very angry Fallen soldiers.
She spoke into her mic again, "What is your ETA Brain?"
Her ghost chirped in her ear, "T minus two minutes. Hang in there Será."
The Fallen slowly advanced on her. The one in front pointed and made an awful noise in their guttural language. She knew it probably was not best to antagonize them, but she couldn't help it.
"Thank you for participating in our gameshow 'Battlehouse'! This show has been brought to you by our sponsor Tower-City Radio. Now, if you can answer one question correctly you win the grand prize! Here's the question: What is something that humans do better than Fallen?"
A captain roared in her face menacingly.
"I'm sorry, that was not the correct answer. The correct answer was bodily hygiene. Better luck next time!"
The creatures began to converge on her when a clap like thunder exploded from the heavens. She looked up to see her ship roaring down at her. It pulled up at the last second, sending gusts of hot air blasting over them. Será grinned beneath her helmet as her body materialized. Her ghost teleported her into the cockpit as it chirped, "I managed to shave a couple of seconds off my estimate for you."
She rolled her eyes, "You never cease to amaze me Brain."
Looking pleased with itself, the little gold-striped robot said, "I saved you your favorite part." The flight controls slid forward as the weapons systems powered on. She smiled at the little one as she took the helm.
"You know me so well."
"Just make sure to send the Fallen my regards."
She whooped as her fingers squeezed the triggers. The heavy machine guns attached to the hull jackhammered away as the Fallen were cut down before its spray. Soon only ashes remained. Será pulled back on the lever and punched the throttle, sending the ship speeding swiftly over the treetops.
"Where are we headed?"
"To the same war Brain, but to a whole new battle."