Snowtalon: Sacred World, Part VI
Erilion and Slayvel stood at the plaza under the heavy pelting of rain and dark clouds swirling above their heads, standing vigilant for their next move. Darkveil soldiers stood at the ready. Stealth operatives such as Spectres, the standard Warrior-Servicemen, the Warmongers, Rangers, the explosive-oriented Wreckers, combat mechanics known as Fabricators and feared most of all, the Mutilators - equipped with jump-packs capable of carrying them much distance, and armed with serrated-blade power flails. Erilion merely extended an arm, pointing forward with sharp talons.
Praetor Garrison was assembling. All five division leaders, with Bouncers, their jetpack troopers, Agents, Ravager heavy-weapons specialists, Recons, and MCWs, mechanized combat warsuits. Venator's mouth curled into her characteristic smirk as she quickly reassembled her semi-automatic sniper rifle, while Pilus prepared his arm-mounted rotary rocket launcher. Ballistarius prepared an oversized minigun while Legatus - Campbell - stood at the forefront, a pistol in one hand and a submachinegun in the other. At the far end of the city block, he could see Erilion at their head, almost as if he were waiting for them to attack.
"Fan out. Armour goes around the city blocks and flanks them from the rear." Ballistarius ordered.
"Remember, Praetors. Unto the crucible of war, do we make peace." Campbell added.
Drake raised his sub-machinegun and fired it in the air. And then, all-out war.
Azala Emberstone overlooked the smelting pots and the vast robotic appliances of the Munitions Factory with a large mace clutched in her hand, the head against the floor. She was a female Flame Tralonian of a most Amazonian physique and impressive-looking armour, decorated with various trophies and a dark purple sash pulled over her chestplate. Gazing at the red holopad in front of her, she began typing something to Tharne.
The scrolling lines of text were sent to him;
They've slain the Slavemaster and Snowtalon is already at the Internment Center.
Tharne replied; Brash and arrogant of them all. I have The Judicator waiting for him at the prison.
Giving some contemplation to this, she slammed in another reply.
How will he hold them off?
He has a gift I have given him, for his service...
"And that's how I survived the purge." Said Skaria, as she led the Tyrian group out of the slave quarry and into the gravtrain station, where one particular train sat idle.
"Crazy," Slicer began. "Judging by those reactions, hahah, I don't think anybody knew Skar had a sister."
Skaria turned sharply to the Ben'haian, startling her slightly, and her eyes bulged, her mouth dropping ajar. "He's alive?!"
Lyn's eyes narrowed and turned to Markus, who gave an equally exasperated expression straight back at her. Sharilyn then spoke, "Probably should have dropped the fact that he's the reason we're here..."
The rebel snow dragoness pinched the bridge of her nose near her snout, shaking her head. "How could I have been so short-sighted..."
Silver Blast waved a finger. "Whatever the case, it does not matter. We head for the Munitions Factory to eliminate Azala and reclaim it for your Partisans."
"Of course." Skaria said, very relieved.
"So we aren't going to tell him now?" White asked with some inquisitiveness.
"No. I think he'll appreciate the surprise." Skaria stated, smiling as she walked in through the large gravtrain. It was atleast twenty or twenty-five feet wide, allowing for a wide berth to enter. The Silver Lance moved in the rear-most carriage while Slicer and White remained in the center-most one, with the Brand sisters at the second-most carriage, and Lyn, Markus and Skaria at the front. After figuring out the controls, the Tralonian partisan managed to get the grav-train in motion.
Out of the corner of his eye, White could notice a shimmer in the light. Huh.
He wasn't entirely sure if he wasn't seeing things or not.
Lyn slumped back against the wall in the front carriage, groaning and rubbing her eyes. "Long day. Hopefully we'll be able to get some well-dese--actually, no, if I say that, we'll get attacked." Skaria looked behind herself, perking a brow.
"I forget humans are not so enduring as we are. Yet despite your physical limits, you do so well on the mental front."
Lyn's face cracked a smile. "I'm a little more than your standard human."
Markus stood nearby, gazing out at the dark clouds circling above Tralonia and the black sky above them as the grav-train finally took off, moving on a giant rail system which suspended it in midair via a skyhook right above the carriages themselves. A flatbed laid in the middle, which the Silver Lance dug in on using magnetizers in the soles of their boots. The gravtrain lurched through the air and lifted them out of the station and off, into the sky, away from the quarry.
"So..." Skaria asked, fidgeting with her fingers.
"We are aware you have many questions." Markus said, at the head of the train.
"I'll explain." Lyn began. "So. Skarius - your brother, as you know - met us in M.A.C.E. about roughly a year ago, before we splintered and formed Tyrian Materials Complex."
"O-kay. So why are you here, then?"
"He's leading the operation here. He was attacked by Slayvel and Erilion a little while ago, stole th--"
"The Crown of Shades. I know." Skaria answered, with a renewed confidence.
"How'd you even know?" Sharilyn tilted her head slightly, in curiosity.
Skaria shook her head. "Tharne's using it for his ascension to demonhood. He wants to bring Tralonia into the Bleak Ones' grasp and consume it. He's gone completely off his nutter."
Lyn turned away for a moment. "Snow did tell us a lot...we figured that after hearing the part about the Qliphoth."
Markus looked behind them. "We believe the factory is a few kilometres from here, but..." The Forzcan lifted a finger. Volants were flying around, at least four of them.
Skaria squinted her eyes, glaring at the vehicles. "Shit. The birdman leading the Silver Lance - I hope he has some anti-air." Skaria slide open the carriage door and went through the train, until pitch black. Slicer and White's room also fell into darkness, and so did Selena and Lydia's. Shimmers were seen as soon as they came back on. White immediately created solidified plasma swords and Slicer brandished her claws at the attackers.
Tralonian Spectres.
They were the exclusively shadow-dragons stealth specialist corps, who, through specialised training, learned to camouflage themselves by melding with the darkness and appearing invisible to the naked eye. They used a variety of close-combat weapons and sharp objects in dealing with their adversaries. The four assassins in White and Slicer's carriage all brandished dual daggers and fought against the pair. Slicer's namesake, her battle claws, swooped through the air and found its mark in one of the Spectre's necks, hitting his soft armour and penetrating his jugular.
This gave the other assasssin facing her an advantage. He attempted to plunge his glowing purple solid-energy dagger, the one gripped tightly in his left hand, into her abdomen. The armour received a gash, and lifted his boot up to kick it. Only the Spectre succeeded in breaking his foot, letting out a shriek of pain and letting Slicer plunge her claws into his chest, then twisting - grinding his heart into red mist and killing him. White fended off his own attackers via way of searing plasma. He went for a overarm slash, embedding it in the Spectre's shoulder.
He soon pulled it out, before crossing both swords together at his neck and decapitating him. The last Spectre plunged both daggers into White's back, missing his spine, but causing a shriek of pain to emit from his beak. Slicer hissed at the Spectre, gloating at his victory, and returned the favour by sinking her claws into his head, ending his life in a blink.
"Hold still, honey..." Shir'ith's hands grasped around the daggers in White's back, before forcing them out of his body. He gave another gasp of pain and fell to his hands.
White activated the medical injectors onboard his suit, which began to treat the wounds. "Caught in just a moment...damn it..."
"Don't beat yourself up over it. There's less now..." Slicer stared for a brief moment at the corpses, holding White's arm, who had a slight hunch to his posture.
Skaria bolted through the door, as did Selena and Lydia. "More are on their way!" Skaria called, before sliding open a hatch in the carriage and lifting herself up through it, into the oncoming storm. Her boots magnetized to the surface of the carriage as she moved on top of it, pulling back the bolts she fired from her bow, adorned with high-intensity explosives and firing them at oncoming fighters.
Lydia kept her chainsword brimming. "Sister, let us head for the flatbed. There will be more there."
Slicer nodded to the Brand sisters as they went back with Skaria, both of the sisters flashing glances to the dead Tralonians. They were tall, almost as tall as the carriage, yet so silent and nimble. It was more than just slightly terrifying to think about the prospect of an enemy that can blend into the scenery anywhere.
"White, you go with them."
"What? Why?"
"You're injured! Go with them, you have a better chance of surviving." She turned him around, as he started walking forward. He gave a somewhat reluctant sigh as he kept strolling on, and Slicer, too, joined Skaria up on top of the carriage, the particle cannons on the back of the suit unfurling.
Skaria gave a nervous glance to the wrist-mounted flamethrowers. "Try not to use those near me, alright? Flammable stuff!"
The back of Slicer's Septentrion suit clanked and unfurled a pair of dual, utterly gigantic particle cannons that arched over her shoulders and cocked into place, yellow energy circling the business end of the cannons. Skaria's mouth contorted into a grin as the pair started firing at the Volants around them, explosive bolts flying in all directions and cannon blasts thundering throughout the black sky and into the trident head-like fighters.
Several Tralonian Rangers expunged themselves from an overhead-flying Traductor troop carrier, their robed forms dropping out of the black sky and around the pair on top of the carrier. Meanwhile, Silver Blast, Black Ice, Crystal Echoes and Stone Gray were holding off troops of their own - Servicemen had come onto the platform, and both Lydia and Selena were battling it out in one of the carriages with a Exarch each. It was total chaos, and as Slicer and Skaria were left until the last Volant, the latter turned to the Ben'haian.
"I've got an idea. We can use that for own purposes. Throw me."
Slicer fired off another shot, giving an aside glance to Skaria and then firing another.
"...wait, what?! Throw you?!"
"Oh, quit complaining!"
Skaria broke into a sprint towards the Ben'haian, who looked taken aback for a moment, but then caught Skaria in her cupped hands and launched her into the air, just narrowly clinging to the edge of the vehicle uncomfortably close to the engines. With a rather worried grunt she brought herself to the hull of the Volant and slammed her hand down on the emergency cockpit release, surprising the pilot and throwing him out of the vehicle and plummeting to his death. She hopped in the pilot seat and quickly sealed the vehicle, bringing it around and attempting a strafing run on several melee-focused Servicemen with energy blades.
"Drozala? Who's he?"
"She, Sasha. Now that you mention it, she's the entire reason we're here. Drozala Frostfist came through a portal to Earth. She's the only reason we even knew this was happening."
"That's some pretty big information, Skarius."
Snowtalon took his finger off his helmet as the data from the computer finished exporting. "She'd appreciate us getting her out. It's the least we can do for her." Taking a data chip, he simply picked it up and dropped it as it disappeared in a blue flash, strolling around to the left wing of the Internment Center.
"Nothin' down here so far, Snowball." Power Bunny drawled, keeping her arm cannon at the ready. "We'll letcha know if we find Drozala."
"Roger." Snow responded, catching up with Armory, Mesira and Varulfr.
"Y'needta see this quick, lad..." Varulfr ran up ahead and motioned at the reinforced glass which served as the window. And at that moment, Snow realised the group was at the observation deck overlooking the Redeemer. And as they looked down, they saw a figure dressed in black and white robes, summoning a giant purple portal.
The Judicator.
VII