AUgust24 14 Princes and Princesses (Slovity Pagus, Cross, Graz OC, Tree Prone)

a/n: The Cavern Prone in NLA are led by Slovity Pagus. She still worries about the people she left behind, and especially about the dirty tricks the Ganglion use. She's not the princess in question.

The plan had evolved the moment they'd reached the Ganglion compound. As Slovity had predicted, their mismatched uniforms had not gone unnoticed. The convention of Cavern Prone had drawn members from all over Mira, but the gear they had were wearing was distinctly provincial. It was the best that the humans could managed, collected from opponents no longer in need of gear. She hadn't argued against it. Slovity's original garb would have drawn an equal amount of attention. She had once been an elite forward fighter, and was still proud to wear her uniform while waiting for the change that she hope New Los Angeles would deliver. However, all eyes would have been drawn to her in this situation, so she had accepted the uniform of a lesser commander.

As a result, they had arrived dressed as hicks, and as a result they had suffered stares and whispers and finally direct questions. The challenge was discrete, because the conclave visitors were a mixture of fresh and older troops, and no one was willing to assume rank based on appearance. The challenge presented the perfect opportunity to refresh their gear with more modern pieces. Just as in Primordia, their opponents would have no further need of it.

She examined her team critically as the pieces were hastily swapped. Her right-hand man was a reliable as ever, silent and stalwart to external eyes, fiercely opposed in private. Graz hadn't liked the idea of using stealth to fight the Ganglion, but in the end he had bowed his head. "You have always been right, Slovity, and I am the first to remember that. The Ganglion have used every trick to poison and demean us. If you want to feed them their own medicine, I will play nursemaid." She didn't waste her time doubting him. She had greater concerns.

They had been saddled with a Tree Prone at the insistence of their allies. The heavy armor hid most of his silly blue skin, and the camouflage makeup was holding strong on most of his his neck and head. However, his face tentacles already had a blush of sky blue at the tips. It wasn't uncommon for Cavern to have mottled skin, that was true, but such defects hinted at a parentage that would exclude soldiers from sensitive duties. She wondered if he had brought something to touch up the worn patches. It didn't matter much. No concealer would solve his very aura. He had the voice and gait of a farmer, not a soldier. He was probably as strong as Graz, but his build was broad and his manners common. It had been a waste to teach him the proper military responses because his accent instantly marked him as coming from the lowest society.

Yet he had been the one to track the location of the conclave. He had been the one to round out their emergency rations with resources gathered as they ran. He had been uncomplaining and faithful, and without his skills Slovity couldn't swear they would have arrived safely. At one point in her career, she would have been proud to have a recruit of his quality. Now he reconfirmed her decision to leave the Ganglion and to make accord with the NLA Coalition.

"Commander, we are ready," said the fourth teammate quietly. She was the worst of the four, an abomination drawn from BLADE itself, a human controlling a mimeosome in the shape of a Prone. The head tentacles drooped in stiff expressionless mockery, making artificial half gestures to match the slurred speech. Slovity's skin crawled, but she hid her repulsion and reminded herself that this was Elma's rookie, a woman who had defeated war machines that would have dwarfed this entire convention.

"Do you know where the target is?" Slovity asked.

"There is a small dressing area behind the stage. We have 5 minutes before the Princess gives her speech."

Slovity didn't argue with the description of their target. She signaled for the team to move into the nearby corridor. The tight time constraint was necessary. The Ganglion's puppet was almost untouchable and this was the only window of opportunity that the ECP had uncovered, short of an all out attack on the massive stronghold of O'rrh Sim Castle.

That exaggerated alternative would have matched Slovity's rage perfectly. The Prone had no need for royalty, but the Ganglion had created one, a puppet to lead her people into deeper enslavement. The humans had initially called the creature "Joan of Arc", which made no sense to Slovity, until they had settled on calling her the Princess. That was too generous for a tool that mimicked concern and leadership and was in fact bringing the destruction of any hope of independence. Slovity despised her with every atom of her being.

Slovity had memorized everything about her enemy, based on limited videos. The Princess spoke before crowds and swayed them with her hypnotic presence. She was uncannily beautiful and graceful, dressed not as a soldier but in flowing alien robes of white and silver that covered her from head to toe. Only her face was revealed, unmarked as a child's. She was a creature that had never doubted herself, had never listened to council, had never suffered the consequences of defeat or victory. She had only been revealed by the Ganglion a few short weeks prior, and already the troops were flinging themselves against the humans into hopeless suicidal waves. Slovity believed in New Los Angeles and its ability to withstand this surge, but she despaired over how the Cavern Clan would survive the losses.

"We take the guard. You are relieved," Slovity announced officiously as they approached a guarded but unmarked door. The soldiers on duty hesitated, but it was enough. She left Graz and the farmer to remove the debris, and she and Cross entered the room.

There was the Princess, head bowed as in human prayer over a small table. She didn't turn to see who had entered. Her robes were lowered to her shoulders, and her exposed neck was curved and vulnerable. Slovity wouldn't even need to draw a weapon. The girl's major tentacles quivered slightly.

A splash of greyish tears fell onto the girl's clasped hands.

Cross gestured silently. Wait.

Slovity did not want to wait. She did not want have pity for this creature that left the battlefront to the fools she had charmed. If she looked friendless, if her tentacles trembled like a child's, that was nothing to Slovity.

The door burst open and the farmer rushed in. The puppet ignored the commotion, as she had ignored Cross and Slovity. They in turn had narrowly avoided slaying him, but the Tree Prone didn't care at all. He rushed the girl and grappled with her, lifting her from the ground. Slovity didn't stop him. The job was distasteful enough; if he wished to be the one to kill her, then let him do it and be quick.

"Sister," the Tree Prone choked out, doing everything in his power not to shout. "I knew it was you." The girl screeched in response, then wrapped her arms around his neck, stifling her sobs against his chest. The skin paint was no match to the flood of tears from the farmer's six eyes, and when the girl shifted, matching blue streaks were revealed on her cheeks.

"Mission converted from termination to extraction," said Cross into her comm device.

Slovity was far ahead of her, striding down the corridor. She and Graz could place explosives around the stage, target the dignitaries. They might even be able to broadcast a new message first, spoken by the Princess, before they whistled up emergency transport from the hidden Ma-non ship. She and Graz had all of four minutes to decide.

a/n: update: that feeling when you realize you misspelled the main character's name. Every. Time. Could have been worse, could have been "Slobbity".

All thanks to Niofo of the AUgust Discord for suggesting assassination instead of more romantic or fairy tale plots. I love those, but I can't write them. Not only did I enjoy building more indefensible Prone head canon, I also avoided adding to the Vandham/Lila selkie/smuggler AU from last year.

So far.

Next up: Secretly alien. I am in hysterics.