Chapter 74: Countdown.
Jay just couldn't help the gushing sense of pride he felt as the Clan Mason leadership strode through the hall towards the king and queen.
Despite not being a Dream Warrior himself he could feel the power in every step they took, looking every bit the warrior royalty that the entire Clan considered them to be despite their own protests on the matter.
Jack Mason their Grand Patriarch was at the head of the quartet flanked by his wife and equal partner in all things Tik eleth Mason, she was dressed in her Valkyrie armour making her look every bit the warrior queen of Clan Mason as she strode forwards with her confidence and power shining with every step she took.
Behind the pair were Ryan and Sela eleth Mason both stood as tall and proud as their parents before them showing the true unity of the Clan in that a call had been sent into the depth of space, a call for help and for mercy and the four most powerful people in the Clan had shown up in person to answer it.
Jack Mason stopped before Jay and Ketra and retracted his mask so that Jay could see his face and Jay slammed his fist into the metal breastplate of his armour in salute.
"I think you're out of uniform Saviour but I think my beloved cub might just forgive you this time given the circumstances," he said in a voice so deep and gravely that it simply oozed confidence.
"Sorry Grand Patriarch mine kinda got a little Ummm destroyed pulling off an orbital drop while holding onto an escape pod to prevent it from smashing into the planet carrying a civilian," Jay said and Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Now that sounds like one for the Chronicles you'll have to tell me that one later on, pretty sure my cub here is gonna want to put that one into the Saviour records," he said.
"Damn straight patriarch and I think queen Citrus is going to want to hear that one as well pretty sure she'd love to know that the armour her hatchlings produces is capable of saving its wearer while doing something like that," Sela eleth said resting her massive XVT sniper rifle on her shoulder.
The XVT was a relatively new designed weapon that had just come into service among the Saviour snipers, it had been designed using a blend of Raptorian and Xeno technology, it was larger and far more powerful than traditional designs which simply used railgun tech, this used a mixture of standard ballistics and coilgun tech to fire its projectiles.
The projectiles were the same size as all the anti-material slugs the Clan used but these were steel rather than tungsten to reduce the weight, this was because as well as having coils ringing the barrel the weapon had two canisters of the liquid propellant in the buttstock to be able to fire the slug conventionally for much closer range without risk of over-penetration of the target, it could also be fired subsonic which was useful as the entire barrel was one large modular suppressor, giving it extreme adaptability regardless of circumstance.
"I get the feeling I might need the language if I'm going to speak around here given the company we are keeping, so with your permission Saviour?' jack said retracting his glove and reaching a hand towards Jay which made Ketra bristle slightly until jay gently took her hand and patted it while giving her a knowing smile.
"Of course Grand Patriarch, you might want to look into my memories as well, it might be quicker as time really is not on our side here," Jay said and Jack's expression nodded at the implication his words gave rise to while nodding.
He touched Jay's face and instantly Jay felt the power of this living legend, he had had a Dream Warrior in his mind before of course infact very recently when both Ketra and Ava took plunges into his mind, but Jack Mason was something else, the man was like raw energy and power made flesh.
Jay could feel the blessings of the many God's that guided his hands swirling through him like the breath of creation as he swept through his mind seeing everything all at once.
he was connected for less than a few seconds before he stepped back and instantly his expression darkened even further, "VILE COWARDS!!" he bellowed with such raw fire that it made everyone present jump back in alarm.
Then in perfect Beledon Jack spoke addressing Ketra and the other Beledon gathered around Jay, "You have my sincerest gratitude for saving and protecting our kinsman, I swear this to you one and all Clan Mason will not only do everything it can to make sure that we pull every Beledon soul we can find from this world to safety but we will not rest until those responsible for it are dragged before your people kicking and screaming to face justice at Beledon hands, this is my promise and my oath, they will NOT hide from us," he snarled with a such fiery passion that jay could see that it touched every one of them.
He turned back to Jay and Xao, "Good work on defusing the bomb you two, you might have just very well saved an entire species with those actions, when we get back to Clan Mason space I will make sure these actions are recognised before the whole Clan but for now Jay get yourself into uniform again then report to the cruiser Surefire with your team, your team is now in charge of the rescue efforts for Lord Beltran and his people, get them all to safety, I will transmit priority orders to the Captin to follow your commands, go with the Eternal Huntress young Saviour!" he said slamming his fist into his chest which instantly Jay returned in kind.
"Yes Grand Patriarch, not one shall fall while I stand for we are the shield behind which all innocents are saved," he said.
Sela eleth stepped forwards and slammed a massive hand down on his armoured shoulder making his armour ring like a bell, "Well said young Saviour, well said," she said.
Jack Mason turned towards the king and queen and he saluted the king with a bow that both the Grand Matriarch and their two cubs copied, "Greetings your highness, I am sorry for the abruptness of our arrival and please let me first say that you and your people are under no threat from us, one of our people saw what was happening here and called for us, a call so sacred to us that no Clan member may ignore it as it invokes our most sacred oath, so please do not be alarmed by the force which we bring to bare, it is not meant as an invasion but as a force to bring to bear in order to protect you, people," he said.
"Thank you, I assume you are the king and queen of these good people here?" the king said gesturing to towards Jay's team and assorted Beledon that were with them.
"Not a king no but a leader yes, our titles are not a royal one but an honorary one, now I'm sure one of my people has brought you up to speed on the calamity and great evil that has befallen your lands?' Jack said and the king nodded.
"Yes, one of my fellow blessed ones was kind enough to share the knowledge they have gained from both your people and their own experiences with me, what are we to do now? How can I protect my people from such monstrous evil?" the king asked his voice sounding so lost.
"Fear not good king that is why we have come, but you must make this decision quickly as hard and as horrid as it is, the choice is a simple one, come with us and we will do everything in our power to protect and rehome you and your people while protecting as much of the Beledon culture as is in our power to do so, or stay and meet your fate though I warn you the second option has a zero chance of survival," Jack said.
"So it is true, our planet, our home, it truly is dying," the queen said her voice sounding even more lost than her husband.
Jack nodded his head solemnly, "Yes I'm afraid so, the devices detonated in your world have had a devastating effect and while my people were able to stop one of the devices which allowed us to reach you in time, the others have doomed this place, they bought time nothing more," he said.
The king looked around his court and it was obvious to all that he was searching the eyes of every person gathered here, then he blew out a massive snort through his passive nostrils, "I will do whatever it takes to save my people even if that means giving up our lands and my kingdom, a kingdom is not a kingdom without people, it is a graveyard and I will not let my people die when I swore to protect them with all that I am as a man the day I took this throne," he said and Jack smiled and nodded.
"Good to hear your highness, you need to order an evacuation immediately, tell your soldiers to head for the large strange ship that will be parked outside of your keep, and leave the rest to us, Clan Mason stands ready to serve the Beledon people as both Guardians and protectors until the day comes when you can stand proudly on your own two hooves again, then we will stand proudly at your shoulders as friends," he said and the king nodded and copying Jay he slammed his fist into his own chest plate.
"Thank you Grand Patriarch today you have made a friend here we will not ever forget this kindness," he said and Jack Mason nodded before pressing his comms pannel.
"This is the Grand Patriarch to Queen's Heart commence the landing procedure, get that big girl on the ground asap, we have a species to save," he said and Jay's mouth fell open, they were actually going to land a fucking heavy cruiser on the damn planet!!
Suddenly a massive hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him, it was commander S'Call, 'Come on Jay you heard the Grand Patriarch we have people to save so lets not pauking dally to smell the pauking roses!" he said turning Jay towards the door and shoving him ahead of him.
Jay, his Saviour team along with Ketra, Ava and their team of knights bolted for the doors of the great hall, rushing out into the courtyard, S'Call pressed his comms panel as they ran, "This is Spectre one to the Surefire we need immediate pick up from this location, we are on direct orders from the Grand Patriarch himself, your ship has been tasked to help us in evacuating a native town, over," he yelled,
Suddenly a small blue blur along with three other blue blurs appeared next to them before morphing into the small Raptorian Seeker from earlier, "Get the feeling you guys could use a hand so we'll be tagging along if that's alright," Remal said running alongside them with his team of mixed humans and Yautja behind him.
"The more the merrier Seeker Rainbowscale," S'call said before his comms bleeped and he punched the speakers for all to hear.
"Message received and understood Spectre one the order just came through from the Grand Patriarch, we've dispatched a Runner to your location it should be touching down momentarily, over and out," the Surefire's comms operator replied.
"What's a Runner?" Ava asked as they ran together over the shaking ground.
Ever since the detonation of the other devices Jay had been able to feel micro tremors passing through the planet's surface and crust, he knew this was just the first stage of what was to come and they seemed to be greeting worse by the minute as the waves of energy got steadily worse in the core far below their feet and hooves.
"One of Clan Mason's scout ships, it's kinda like a really advanced version of the skyships that brought us to these lands, it was what brought us here to you in the first place," Jay said as they dodged and weaved between Beledon civilians that were crowding the streets to see the spectacle happening all around them but it what was happening in the sky above them that really grabbed their attention.
"Holy shit what in the fuck is that!!?" Ova yelled in alarm pointing skywards.
They all looked up and a smile cracked Jay's face as a massive pointed shape punched through the clouds high above them trailing smoke and flames from the heat of reentry like a giant angry Dragon god descending from the heavens above to wreak havoc on the lands below it.
Blue flames burned bright all along the pointed sleek hull as the nose rose up into the clouds again and the rear of the massive cruiser dipped o position it for landing, all of the Clan Mason cruisers up to and including the super heavy combat cruiser the Dreamer which up until the introduction of the Dreadnaught class of ship and the switching of the flag to the Grand Matriarch's Fury had been designed to land on planets as a last resort as it wasn't exactly easy to put a couple of million tons of metal down with any ease.
But the Saviour pilots at the helm of this flying behemoth were best of the very best and the massive ship turned effortlessly around thrusters flaring and angling to position it correctly so that it could easily bridge the valley beside the castle and its enclosed town without touching it.
Slowly the large ship descended until with a large dull thump it came down onto its landing struts straddling over the valley like a giant armed bridge spanning the gap.
"Ladies and gentle Beledon may I introduce you to the Queen's Heart, one of the prides of the Clan Mason Navy," S'Call said as they continued to run through the winding streets until they finally made it to the draw bridge leading out of the city.
Below them, Clan members from Hunters to Saviours were plucking wounded Beledon from the battlefield that now stood quiet but for the cries of the wounded and even from up here Jay could easily make out the armour of the Battle Angel teams scurrying around.
Almost immediately loading ramps began descending from the Queen's Heart as her cargo docks and loading docks began opening up and floods of fully armoured, Saviours, Hunters and Battle Angels, as well as the newly minted War Angels, began swarming out of the massive ship to escort the Beledon refugees aboard as quickly as possible, in literally no time they had a kind of daisy chain system in place guiding the fleeing Beledon towards one of the ramps.
"Looks like our ride is here!" S'Call called from the head of their pack and he pointed up just in time for a Runner Class scout ship to swoop in over their heads before turning on its axis to land directly before them.
A small hatch on the side of it opened and a pride of Raptorian Hunters popped out of the side of it taking up defensive positions around the ship, as the team approached one of them called out, "You Spectre team?" she yelled in a rather high pitched voice.
"That's us and some Beledon advisers," S'Call called jogging up to them.
"Roger that good to meet you, I'm Vippy and this stalker pride one, the captain said you might need some help and holy fucking shit I thought the Yautja were big girls but by the Great Tree you got them beat big girl!" the little Raptorian female said suddenly spotting Ketra as she stood next to Jay.
"Umm thank you little one," Ketra said not quite knowing what to say.
"Wait till you see the boys," Jay said with a laugh as he gestured for the Beledon including his wife to board the shuttle.
"No thanks got ourselves a pretty human back on the Surefire," Hunter Vippy said.
"It's good to see you again Vippy how is the Guardian of males?" Remal said signalling greetings to the female Raptorian as her pride quickly ushered all of the Beledon and assorted others on board and got them seated.
"Oh he's good, little stressed at the moment as you can imagine, he's in contact with the embassy back home on Raptoria he's trying to get the command prides and the newly appointed joint council pride to send as many ships as they can spare for the relief effort, so far he's managed to get them to part with about thirty heavy freight hauliers though given the size of these guys I think we might need thirty more," Vippy said punching the door controls as the last of them entered followed by her pride.
"Yeah I hear that Seeker Diamondscale's pack is in charge of co-ordianting the Serpentinus contingent to the effort," Remal said as they all took their seats.
Ketra and all of the other Beledon were looking around in awe at the ship that they found themselves standing on, looking in amazement at all of the screens and displays that littered pretty much every surface of the high-tech scout ship.
Jay quickly guided them to the Yautja-sized seats and got them all sat down and strapped in with the help of the Stalker pride and his own team, "This is incredible!" Ova exclaimed as she clung to Xao seated next to her.
Jay smiled as he could see that despite her obvious fear she was taking strength and confidence from having her much smaller human love at her side.
"Oh you haven't seen anything yet big girl, just you wait and see, the Clan has really come out swinging this time," Remal said in perfect Beledon and Jay raised an eyebrow until he saw the Seeker doing his glove back up and S'Call looking a little dazed and he nodded knowingly.
"Yeah I thought the response to the call for Xipa was something but this is really something else, when they heard what was going on The Grand Patriarch and Matriarch brought the full hammer of the Clan down, he's got full teams of Seekers doing language pulls and running from member to member to spread the language as fast as possible along with patching out translation systems with the data pulled from both your suit and your implants when they connected to the network again, oh and you can thank our beloved one for that one," Vippy said grinning at Jay like she knew who he was somehow.
Suddenly the Runner lifted off and all the Beledon began to stare at the monitor displays that showed feeds from cameras all over the outer hull showing them the outside, but it wasn't until they breached the atmosphere and flew into the orbit of the planet that Jay could see exactly what Vippy was talking about and his breath was sucked from his lungs by the pure power of pride and love for his Clan.
Surrounding the entire planet was a truly enormous fleet of ships headed up by the instantly recognizable Dreadnaughts which hung like silent guardians at strategic points around the equatorial belt of the planet for easy deployment of their multitude of shuttles and lander craft all of which were currently swarming around them like a clouds of high tech bees.
Around them were everything from cruisers right down to freight haulier ships, they were being arranged into wings by the mighty Dreadnaughts and dispatched to various regions so their crews could be dispatched to help the Beledon of those areas.
Suddenly a wing of troop carrier lander craft known as Owls took up formation with their Runner, "This Mercy wing five to Paya's Sight we have you on our scope, we've been sent by the Grand Matriarch's Fury to assist you in your retrieval operation, we have orders to transport all you retrieve to the Surefire, we'll follow you in, over," a distinctly male Yautja voice said through the comms.
"Roger that Mercy Wing five we are just awaiting coordinates and we'll be underway, over and out," the pilot replied.
"You're up Jay," S'Call said and Jay nodded leaving his seat and patting Ketra's arm motioning for her to stay where she was as she made to unbuckle to follow him.
As he entered the open cockpit he saw a human pilot at the helm with the Runner's crew all at their posts, "Nice uniform Savior think you might need a change of clothes there's some in the rear lockers along with a more regulation weapon, so where to?" the commander of the ship a rather large Praetorian male asked.
"Don't know the exact coordinates all I know is it's on that continent there, look for the wreckage of a destroyed earth ship and a large population hub nearby," Jay said pointing at the continent they'd come from when his journey had begun.
It was then he truly got his first look at what was happening to the Beledon's beloved home world and his heart nearly tore itself to pieces in his chest, he was truly glad he'd told Ketra to stay put, she really didn't need to see this.
All over the beautiful blue globe plumes of thick black smoke and ash belched into the atmosphere from the volcanos that were erupting thanks to the detonations destabilising the core and mantle, some parts of the continents were completely obscured from sight by the thick smoke and ash. l
He could also see tremendous tsunamis heading across the world's oceans to wreak havoc on the land masses they would inevitably fall upon, that's when he remembered that Ava's home was a coastal town.
'Got it coordinates locked in, wreckage located, transmitting coordinates to the wing," the helmsman said and the Runner turned and began to speed towards a point on the continent. Jay just hoped that they could save everyone, he never in a million lifetimes would have had imagined that the fate of an entire species would rest squarely on Clan Mason's shoulders.
Jay quickly turned and headed towards the crew area of the ship and Ketra watched him closely, infact she was the only one watching him as all of her comrades were too busy marvelling at their planet from space along with an armada of ships that were surrounding the planet with more arriving all the time from various hyperspace rifts.
"Where are you going?" she asked moving to get up again till he stopped her once more though this time with a simple gesture from the doorway.
"To get changed I'm kinda out of uniform, don't worry this won't take long," he said flashing her a smile as he turned and headed into the crew area before turning to one of the spare lockers.
As he began to remove his armour he heard Ova addressing Seeker Rainbowscale, "Umm sorry if this impolite but what are you?" she said nearly making Jay snort as boy the big black and white Beledon girl could be rather blunt and indelicate when she wanted to be.
But by the tone in his voice Seeker Rainbowscale seemed more amused than offended, "I'm a male Raptorian and we are a new addition to Clan Mason after they stood for my people during the Scalathor and Draconis wars," he replied.
"Clan Mason stood for your people as well?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, we are the children of the Great Tree, four species born of one world, the Scalathor, Draconis, Raptorians and the Serpentinus, but we separated and all went our own ways, both we and the Serpentinus made mistakes in our pasts but we paid for them and the Great Tree showed us the way and brought us back under the protection of his mighty branches, but the Scalathor and Draconis refused to see the evil of what they were doing and then they attacked first the Serpentinus and then us, Clan Mason stood for both of us on both of these occasions, not because they were asked but because it was the right thing to do, now we repay that debt by joining them in their quest to guard this universe of ours against any and all evils that would threaten it, it is my absolute pride to wear the colours of our Grand Patriarch and to stand side by side with my brothers and sisters in both combat and in mercy," Remal said with such fire and pride in his voice that it made Jay's heart swell.
"Will there be a place for us in this Clan Mason of yours?" Ava's voice suddenly chimed in and Jay stepped back into the room now wearing his full Saviour armour and checking his new ZRT after placing his back in the rack so its batteries could charge.
"Of that, I have no doubt, Ava, the Clan protects all and to any who earn their place it is given, in my eyes, all of you have already earned your places with what you have done for me and Xao, you took us in and kept us safe before escorting halfway across your world to reunite us with my people if that doesn't show the nature of true Beledon's I do not know what does," he said making them all smile especially Ketra who was looking him up and down in his shiny new blue armour.
There was a sudden jolt and all of the Beledon looked around in alarm with Ova issuing a squeak and clutching to Xao for reassurance, "Don't worry big girl it's just atmospheric reentry, it always does that," Jay said heading through to the cockpit so he could guide the wing on the village.
"Hey I got something here, looks like there's some kinda fighting going on down there!" the intel officer called as he stepped through the threshold.
"Where? Show me!" Ketra exclaimed suddenly appearing next to Jay as if by magic.
The intel officer transferred the image to a large screen mounted above the commander's head and they all looked up as the image zoomed in to show black armoured knights fighting with what was blatantly Lord Beltran's forces, infact the big Lord and Lady were clearly visible right in the middle of the chaos.
"Those cowards would attack us at a time like this!!?" Ketra bellowed her anger flaring making her look like an enraged bull.
Jay snarled, "This ends now, we'll clear the LZ circle and provide air support, only target those in black, all others are friendlies, permission to disembark and kick some pauking arse commander," he said turning to the ship commander who gave him a dark smile.
"Granted Saviour, go with the Huntress and show those pauks who the Saviours truly are!" he said.
"We are the shield! Saviours on me we're taking the express elevators down!!" S'Call yelled from behind him and at once his team were at his side pulling his weapon up as his and his team's helmets snapped into place.
Suddenly Remal and his Seekers were next to him, "mind if we join the party?" he asked.
"Not at all Seeker glad to have you," S'Call said.
"Not as glad as my wide," Remal joked making the massive Yautja bellow a laugh.
"We're in too! Been itching to try these fucking things out," Vippy said suddenly appearing with a massive Smartgun hooked to her hip.
Jay turned and placed his hand on Ketra's arm, "Stay with the ship my love, don't worry we'll protect the Lord, Lady and the people, not a single innocent will fall while a single Saviour stands," he said.
"But those are MY people down there I can't leave them!!" she yelled in obvious frustration at being left behind.
"Can you fly my love?" Jay asked and she looked confused as hell now.
"No of fucking course I can't!" she exclaimed.
"Exactly so wait till the ship is on the ground, we'll leave you at least one arse to kick, promise," he said snapping his helmet down just long enough to plant a kiss on her lips before quickly turning to join his fellow Clan members at the ramp.
"Strength through UNITY!!!" they bellowed as one and with that S'Call hit the ramp release and they all jumped out much to Ketra and the other's alarm.
"This is your show, Jay where are we headed?' S'Call said as they plummeted downwards like living missiles towards the pitched battle below them.
"Roger that, Seekers get in amongst the battle and cause chaos, what out they like to use Nightmare Assassins and I don't know how many got left behind when this shit kicked off," Jay said.
"Roger that we're on it they won't see this shit coming, Seekers on me!!" Remal replied and went into a rapid nose dive deploying his wings as he did to stabilise his dive followed in rapid succession by the other Seekers.
"Hunters get stuck in the target only those in black armour, I repeat black armoured targets only, weapons free to engage any and all threats," Jay said.
"Roger that Saviour and that is what I like to hear come on girl lets show these fuckers the power of true Raptorian pride!!" Vippy yelled and they went into a dive just like Remal and his Seekers speeding towards the battle.
"Saviours we are the last line of defence, form up on the Lord and Lady not a single knight must break through us, we cannot afford for either to fall as they will be imperative to getting the people to listen to us, so we are truly the shield here if we fail then all is lost," Jay said.
"Roger that lets pauking go!!" Kess'all yelled obviously eager to get stuck in and with that Jay went into a dive with his team in tight formation behind him heading right for the Lord and Lady who were blatantly obvious even from up here by their gold and silver coloured armour which guided the flying Saviours in like a beacon.
Jay slammed into the ground and hit it running as his wings folded in behind him and his jets instantly slowed him to allow him to hit it running while also slightly killing his forward's momentum, he instantly shouldered his ZRT and his casters sprung up and began spinning up ready to engage any and all threats.
He sprinted right towards Lord Beltran who was currently locked in combat with a truly massive black armoured knight who looked like he ate bears for a light snack, but as big as he was three well-placed shots from both Jay's ZRT and both his casters sent the massive man spinning off into the air to slam down into a cart smashing it to splinters with the weight of the impact.
Kess'all's landing was a little bit more dramatic as she flew in doing a flying tackle on another knight who was facing off against Lady Layla who looked every bit the proud warrior queen as she stood her ground with her massive broad sword held before her towards the charging knight, well that was until Kess'all flew in like a Yautja shaped missile and hit the knight with such force that she crumpled his chest armour and sent him spinning head first into a tree with enough force to snap it clean through like a toothpick.
Both S'Call and Vessi slammed into the ground on either side of the Lord and Lady and the four instantly formed a ring around the pair, "Saviors raise shields! Not one step back we hold this line!!" S'Call bellowed and Jay, as well as his comrades ignited their wrist-mounted plasma riot shields as they formed up on the Lord and Lady.
"What is the meaning of this!? Who are you!!?" Lord Beltran bellowed drawing himself up into a battle stance as he faced off towards Jay that was until the Saviour dropped his mask long enough for him to see his face.
"It's good to see you again my lord and you as well my lady," he said and both of their mouths fell open.
"Jay? You have returned to us!?" Lord Beltran exclaimed.
"Indeed my lord and I've brought some friends, do not worry Clan Mason will not let this cowardly attack stand, not one of your innocent people will fall while the Saviours stand on this you have my word," he said snarling as he re-engaged his mask.
"Where is Blessed Knight Ketra and the rest of our knights!?" Lady Layla yelled above the din of the battle.
"If I know her she's demanding our pilot land in the middle of all this so she can get stuck in," Jay said pointing skywards just in time to see the Runner dive through the cloud bank and open up with its small calibre strafing guns using smart targeting to chew into the black armoured knights at the rear of the enemy ranks chewing them into chunks under the heavy fire.
As if on cue the Runner pulled a low altitude manoeuvre skirting just above the ground and dropping its ramp which allowed both Ketra and Ava to jump clear of it followed by the rest of the knights including Xao who was tucked under Ova's arm gripped like an armoured human shaped cuddly toy.
They wasted zero time in getting stuck right into the battle, both Ava and Ketra speeding in to join Remal and his Seekers as they pinballed around the field taking down targets like whirling pinballs of death while the others joined the Hunters and Lord Beltran's knights in driving back the attackers.
"Whoooo eat this you cowardly fuckers!!" a small voice yelled and Jay turned just in time to see Vippy and another of her pride riding along on a rolling cart that was being pushed by two more of her pride and both were ripping into the knights with their smartguns which cut clean through their black armour like it was made of paper, it was like watching a Raptorian powered pedal tank charging into battle.
Lord Beltran and Lady Layla looked truly amazed and confused and they turned to Jay for an explanation, "When I said Clan Mason protects our friends I meant every word, you stood for and helped me when I was in need me and now we stand for and help you in the hour of yours," he said.
"To the victory!!" Lady Layla bellowed and Jay and the three other Saviours around them bellowed along with her and more prophetic words were never spoken, as only a single minute after the words left her lips than the final black knight fell to one of Remal's Seekers who cut him clean in half with a swipe of his mighty sword that was so fast that if you'd have blinked you'd have missed it.
Ketra rushed up and grabbed Jay from his feet, "We are victorious my love, the cowards are defeated and my people are saved!!" she yelled holding him aloft like a child.
Jay just laughed and hugged her back until she placed him back on his feet, "Your timing is impeccable Blessed Knight Ketra, have you any idea what the calamity is that is driving this madness? These scoundrels just showed up screaming about how our gods had forsaken us and now is the time for the dark ones to rise and then they just attacked us?" Lord Beltran said approaching as he cleaned his massive sword on a large leather rag.
Ketra turned and saluted her lord, "Indeed I do my lord and I bring news of the worst possible kind, but rather than try to explain if it is your will I will just show you as if I had not seen it with my own eyes I would have never believed the words of telling it in a tale," she said.
Lord Beltran and Lady Layla looked at one another in both confusion and alarm at the severity of both her words and her tone, but Lord Beltran nodded his consent and Layla stepped forwards and placed her hands to the sides of her Lord's head making Layla bristle slightly.
His eyes flashed and his mouth fell open and much to the surprise of all tears began to fall from them which instantly set his wife on alert, "What is it my love!? What do you see?" she exclaimed.
"B-B-By the gods above i-i-it can't be true! Please tell me it is not true!" he exclaimed searching both Ketra and Jay's faces for some minor ray of hope, but both looked solemn.
"I'm afraid it is my lord and this is why Clan Mason has come here, we discovered what the cowardly cursed ones who have been plaguing your lands and their people have been truly doing and it is something so vile that it pains my heart to even give it thought let alone words, but it is true, we were able to slow them somewhat by disarming one of their devices but it is still a ticking clock, it has bought us hours if that, all is indeed lost here so all we can do now is try and save all we can, Clan Mason stands ready to help you and your people but we must act quickly," Jay said solemnly.
Layla gripped her distraught husband's shoulders and forced him to look at her, "What is it my heart! Tell me!" she exclaimed.
Lord Beltran glanced at Ketra, "Show her," he said and Ketra did so.
Layla screamed in futile rage and dropped to her knees, "R-R-Ragnarock, the cowards unleashed Ragnarok upon us!" she exclaimed as her mind struggled to comprehend what it was seeing.
Jay stepped forwards and gently touched the Lord's arm and he looked down at him, "We can help my lord but we must act fact, Clan Mason is offering safe harbour to all Beledon, but you must rally your people and come with us as fast as you can, we have brought ships and we can get all of your people to safety but we must act now and not delay," he said.
The lord nodded his head and signalled for his knights to begin evaluating people to the waiting Clan Mason ships from their homes, but as Jay turned to go and help Lady Layla grabbed his arm with enough force to spin him on the spot to face her, "When you find these cowards that did this I want to be there, I want to be the one who plunges her blade into the heart of the one evil enough to do this to us, promise me Saviour!!" she yelled and he planted his hand on top of hers.
"You have my word that'll I'll do everything in my power to make that happen, Lady Layla, trust me when I say that Clan Mason will not rest until the hole that these cowards scurry into is dug open and the truth revealed and when that time comes I have no doubt in my heart that our Grand Matriarch and Patriarch will have Beledon warriors like you stood proudly shoulder to shoulder with us as we pay back this villainy with pure brutal justice, we will hunt them down no matter how far they run," he said and with that, he turned and began to help with the evaluation but all he could think as he shepherded frightened civilians and children from their homes into the waiting arms of the Clan was that there was going to be a fucking long queue for that particular strike.