[04th March 2011]
[Camp Cerberus, United Nations Emergency Forces Bialya, Alegab, Bialya]
"It's confirmed..." Colonel Whitmore, his new American 'aide' and 'liaison', stated coming forward and pressing a code into the map display, moments later satellite coverage appeared alongside the other maps and radar data for the area "...there's an actual dragon after appearing near to the Quraci border. It's somewhat visible as the sandstorm in the area is starting to clear, but..."
Major-General Duncan Wall nodded "But it's still a bloody dragon appearing out of nowhere after the Quracis broke up somebody, doing something, at an ancient ruin...this could be a repeat of that mess over in Kutha. What is it with ruins in these parts being full of deadly monsters just waiting for some idiot to wake them up?"
"Almost makes you miss Queen Bee Sir?"
Duncan gave a dark chuckle at that "Not in the least, clear she knew about a lot of this now isn't it? All her secret weapons coming at us piecemeal rather than when she decided to take over her neighbours is probably the better option unfortunately"
He tapped at screen, zooming in towards the blinking red icon out in the middle of nowhere "Looks to be moving south-east, slowly though...is it flying?"
Colonel Whitmore shook his head "No, though the Quraci team, at the creature's arrival...appearance...indicate it did take limited flight before the sandstorm and, potentially, could be a shape-changer based upon brief...interviews...with captured enemy combatants on site. The presence of Deathstroke, even if he escaped yet again, likely indicates this is a dangerous creature someone was seeking to control"
Duncan sighed tiredly "Yes, control, every idiot and their mother keeps trying to control the savage uncontrollable monsters around here, be they demons, zombies, and now dragons...we're holding back for the moment, but a full air strike is being readied alongside probable help from the Quracis, Russians, and Iranians just like when we neutralised the enemy forces here"
He rested his hands on the metal sides of the display, studying available forces and mulling over standing orders for the situation at hand "For now we monitor and track, and get ready for any deployment required of us, or supporting any deployment that those up the chain of command might decide on. Priority is ensuring we know what the hell it is we're facing, and to keep it away from the civilians, population centres most importantly...for now nobody rests, we are on full alert. Monitor for radiation and biohazard"
The situation in Kutha had required copious application of flamethrowers and squadies in sealed suits, or hazmat gear, to thoroughly purge the ruins and surrounding village of the 'problem' caused by animated dead. And the 'Demon Lord' which had caused the original problem, and left sickness and abominations in its wake, had been long gone by the time they secured the site. Saying something was a 'Dragon' because it looked like one could mean it had any number of abilities, and it was rarely a good idea to charge in blind with the humanoid, and non-humanoid, monsters that prowled the world.
"Of course Sir, though I have a concern about this area here if the creature should change direction"
Duncan frowned, then nodded "Send word to the town to begin evacuating south, it's militia held but 'Captain' Al-Waziri has been cooperative so far, stress to him the urgency of the situation. Also, the deployment of the airmobile assets here and here are authorised, but avoid engaging the creature unless forced into a confrontation, understand"
"Understood" came back along with a salute before the American moved off to relay those orders. Duncan meanwhile toggled his video-phone to his superiors through a satellite uplink while also sending on updated reports on what they'd found, and where...
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[04th March 2011]
[RNAD Coulport, Long Loch, Argyll, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland]
...watched as the data was displayed on the screens before them and Nabu, Doctor Fate, studied them images and words carefully before the eyes of Jason David Wynn-Jones. The silence, a little longer than expected, persisted before he found his voice, hands clasped together before him on the desk inside the secure room of the facility.
"So, do we have serious situation on hand? Dangers of our forces engaging?"
Doctor Fate's helmeted head nodded, the melodic mixture of the Lord of Order's voice muddled with that of the Irishman's emerging eerily as always "Yes, I fear we do Mr. Wynn-Jones. Other serious matters have distracted our gaze, but it would seem some very brave, and very foolish, group have opened a prison and released the beast contained within. Tiamat was is an alien beast, one capable of slaying even a Lord of Order such as that this one is, or one of Chaos such as Klarion once was. Intelligent, cunning, hateful, it will need to be dealt with urgently before it can spread destruction far and wide"
"Threat level?" the American woman, Waller, queried from the wall mounted video screen.
"She is a world conqueror, potential civilization destroyer. The strength of this world are different than when she first appeared, but outright destruction will prove difficult as she can rejuvenate even from the most fatal seeming of wounds. It required great magic, and a god amongst men wielding them and the Tablet of Order, to defeat her in the Age of Gods. One would recommend coordinated strikes from all available military forces within the region, and whatever champions we can gather, to batter her into submission. Imprisonment via means of magic, or seeking the aid of the Guardians of Oa for utilising their far distant prisons, would then be advisable"
"Is there no means to slay it? Utilising one of the weapons we used against the demons?"
"Perhaps Ms. Waller, but she does possess significant resistance to the powers of the arcane, and is a physical being rather than a spiritual one. Making use of the special weapons geared towards such threats in continuous blows is likely to yield superior results than attempting one killing blow. In part, as local military commanders suspect and warn in these details, she can shapeshift to a degree from human sized to a full dragon form, though her strength is greatest in her larger form"
Jason frowned, tapping his fingers off the table "Powers?"
"Magic resistance, Hydro-kinesis, Super-Strength, Enhanced Senses, extremely resistant to physical damage, fire breath sufficient I believe to harm even Superman, most problematic is the Rapid Regeneration and Healing abilities that stem from her near immortality. Damage needs to be sustained as even if her body was reduced to ash she will regenerate fully. She can also breathe underwater without issue, so engaging her over the sands of a desert is preferable to allowing her reach any large body of water. I would estimate she is...confused...currently, but that will soon fade, we must move against her with utmost urgency"
"The Quracis have fighters on standby, as do our own forces on site..." Jason replied glancing at the American woman on screen who nodded in agreement ever so faintly "...as do the US forces deployed. The mandate and rules of engagement for all UN forces present will allow rapid engagement..." lessons learned from the Starfish Alien invasion "...but we will need to get respective government heads to authorise further release, and to speak to the Russians as their special powered unit is still in the region"
"There shouldn't be any difficulty there, they have been cooperating with us for months, and they should be available on a moment's notice based on our latest intercepts" Waller stated as the map of the region was brought up and respective forces showing up as icons "...strikes from here, here, and here, could intercept the creature on its current flight path within twenty minutes"
Doctor Fate nodded "Adequate, one can teleport to nearby and organise a response while other forces such as the Justice League and Lanterns, can be mobilise. It is imperative that we force Tiamat from the sky to fight on the ground, and ideally force her into her, weaker, humanoid form. To ensure the most effective intitial damage it would be best if one teleports the necromantic and affflication based arcane missiles for usage by the forward strike elements"
"That will slow our response time"
"Understood, then the secondary strike can make use of them as the first serves as a direction Mr. Wynn-Jones. Fate fears there will be unavoidable deaths in this clash"
The American snorted "It's a solid plan, and all we got so there's that. I would suggest you begin teleporting what needs to be teleported now, and we here shall clear channels and organise support. Let's blow this dragon out of the sky and pummel her into those sands of Bialya"
--
[04th March 2011]
[In Orbit above Planet Earth, Sol System]
"Kellic, Nadia Safir, it has been too long" Ganthet greeted his former collegues calmly as his 'escort' of Lanterns Kilowog and Stewart fell back. Just as the guards of those once of his species, three of these 'Darkstars' for Kellic, and two of her 'Star Sapphires' for Nadia Safir as the three of them hovered in space above this world clad in the Light of the Power they had each chosen to wield.
Nadia Safir laughed "Oh, Ganthet, so stiff and formal as ever I see! And secretive as ever it seems, dangerously so perhaps"
Kellic nodded, coldly, calculatingly as his gaze bored into and through Ganthet to the world behind him "Yes, it seems you have and the others have been up to many things"
Ganthet nodded slowly, the consensus amongst his fellow Guardians was it best to appear to have been secretive with matters that had occurred upon this world, rather than have been caught entirely unaware despite multiple lanterns being assigned and many, many, reports hinting at long standing issues upon the world. Logical paranoid and scheming was much more defensible than what appeared to be negilence and failure to plan as appeared to be the case.
"Perhaps, but it is our task to Guard against dangers to the universe and knowledge of certain abnormalities upon this world would have drawn unwanted attention"
"Yes, Queen Aga'po did think it strange in retrospect that multiple Lanterns of Will had been recruited from this world, and even more strangely multiple Lanterns assigned to a Planet let alone a Sector as is your wont"
Kellic nodded in agreement with Nadia Safir's words "Yes, it was well played Ganthet, we Controllers can admit that of you and the others. But you are discovered now, and we cannot allow you, who claimed no use for any colour but the Green Light, to seek to control the Red Light of Rage"
"It was less about control Kellic than circumstances forcing our hand, this world has several abnormalities upon it and we had sought to keep them...contained. Most importantly the nature of the Bleed mechanics, and dimensional incursions, we have encountered here. Also the extraordinarily high levels of magic within this area of space...we did not create the Red Central Power Battery, it was created despite our best efforts to maintain stability and status quo. Unfortunately it appears to dam other powers, and is a response to growing...difficulties...we are dealing with"
"Would that I would believe you without proof Ganthet, but there are now Red Lanterns, the First formerly one of the Green. Will you seek to deny us access to this New Battery, or the species that have done as we have done and taken a Light into themselves?"
"Yes Ganthet, you remember all the mistakes *we* as a species made in our first fumbling efforts" Nadia Safir added on before he could reply, mildly to the irritation of Kellic "...Queen Aga'po would rather we *advised* these humans on such perils *together* rather than being under Oa's...guidance...let us call it"
"We have guided many species my friends"
"Oh, yes, indeed you did Ganthet while leaving others of us to face the likes of the Reach more actively" Kellic replied coldly "...guidance you call. But this matter must be studied, the dangers controlled, and considering the behaviour of you and the others in deceiving..."
"We did not reveal true, but not actively deceive nor be untruthfully Kellic"
"Be that as it may, we would..."
Both of them paused as Nadia Safir glanced at the world behind them, then back at her 'guards' who seemed as perturbed as she was...just as Ganthet's silent 'report alert' indicated his Lanterns passing on a problem. Nadia Safir *smiled* again, this time fake and annoyed "Ganthet, can you explain why there was an Anunnake seemingly imprisoned on the world behind us, and is now running free while the locals attempt to subdue it while contacting your Corps to help imprison it again?"
Kellic gazed back at his Darkstars, then the world, and finally back at Ganthet "Yes, Old Friend, could please explain such? As well apparently a Kyrptonian serving alongside several of your Lanterns over this world's primary interstellar defence? Or the fact this 'Watchtower' of theirs is clearly one of our peoples old designs? We would have let this pass...but Nadia Safir asks a good question. What *else* might be hidden here by you and the others I wonder?"
--