Revan part 2/ chapter 14: The Meeting

The cavernous chamber was dark, only lit by the holo-panels that the various crew toiled upon. On a circular platform that floated twelve feet above the consoles and floor of the Infinite Sojourn's bridge, a lone figure sat, cross-legged, meditating. He was clad in gleaming sapphire armor, his shaved head did not reflect the light from the white spheres that bobbed about. For in the many centuries of wandering space, the aged Dark Naryyn had learned many arts of the shadows that few imagined.......

A single, dagger-length, jewel hovered before him, suspended by his his power. Slowly the crystal split, like a blossoming flower, and he began to lift off the cushion........ Now the gem was in several pieces, that twisted this way and that, they twirled about, and the light began to turn to a blue hue as the faces refracted the light.

Two others levitated to the platform, both sported more practicle armor then their commander. The fragments came together, each fitting like a puzzle, and fused back into one. They bowed, and the larger of the two spoke. "Commander, we did not wish to disturb you, but we've felt a..... flutter from a nearby world."

The man opened his eyes, they were slightly bleached of their original crimson, and he stared into space for several moments before answering. "I have felt this as well, and what do we know of this world?"
His voice was solid, strong, but wise all at the same time.

"This planet did not register in the databanks, but when we cross-referenced it with the old charts from before the founding of Xarmanca..... we made a discovery." The ancient sage stood and turned to face his two warriors. "What discovery was that?"

-------

Revan finally woke up, and he noticed a dull ache in his neck from his awkward position. He flexed his tense muscles and felt the "crack" of his neck realigning. Holding his helmet in one hand, he rubbed his eyes with the other.

The vehicle bounced as it ran over a series of crevices, and Revan was surprised he had fallen asleep in the first place. Rhys was on the floor, hands on her lap, sash off, and eyes closed. Her presence was soothing as ever, and Revan was filled with her tranquility. He couldn't help but grin. I never imagined, that I'd ever fall in love, and enjoy it. It was true, he'd never stopped to think about love, only worrying about getting better.

He undid his harness, strode until he reached Nara, who was lying on a bunk peacefully. For a moment he just stared at the girl, the white scar now seemed to enhance her attractiveness rather then become a disfigurement. Revan slowly reached down and pulled a strand of hair away from Nara's eyes, and readjusted the thermal blanket.

As he turned, he noticed Rhys watching him with great interest. For a moment they just stood there gazing at each other, and Revan was irrationally worried that he was blushing, even though with his complexion it was impossible. Why is it, that I can stand in the presence of Mehrunes Dagon without fear, and be rooted to the spot by a beautiful woman? He mused.

Rhys was studying him closely, and registered his unease. She switched to Tamrielic to keep the conversation private. "Revan, if you wish, we can do this in private."

"Very well," He answered, then in a more pained manner. "Thank you," In an attempt to banish his uncertainties, he decided to make a joking attempt. "But I doubt you can wait that long to resolve this, Rhys."

She relaxed, and responded by fieghning disappointment. "I will remain content." And she glided past him........ Revan took a deep breath and replaced his helmet. "One thing I have to love about you Rhys, your incredible understanding." It wasn't sarcasm, it was the truth.

Revan part 2/ chapter 14 (cont.):

Turning to the two High Naryyn in the cockpit, Revan asked them in Naryyn about what had gone on while he'd slept. "Well, dark o-" The gunner winced at his verbal blunder. "Sorry, we're still getting used to the idea of working with you all."
Revan inclined his head. "It's alright, we don't have much in the way of honorifics." Then he thought for a moment. "And we take pride in our heritage, just as you do. We're proud with what we are." At least those that Revan knew were happy with themselves as they were.
"Yes, sir." The reply was obviously automatic, but Revan wasn't sure he outranked this soldier. The gunner finally spoke as he manuevered through the various obstacles in their path. "We split up from the main group, and are about to meet up with another scout devision. The commander wants us to check the area around the bay for a way to the mainland without being noticed."
"How long has it been since our departure?" Revan queried. The gunner took a look at a chrono on his headgear, as he lacked a full helmet. "According to my suit it's been a good half hour, we'll hook up with the other group in a few minutes."

Marthyn.........

The Hunter's hull was long and pod-like with a lustrous gold alloy, and several aquamarine colored power conduits appeared and dissappeared along the length of the ship. The gold finish was now smothered beneath black scorch marks from the wash of enemy weapon's fire.
One of the carriers took a particle blast to its prow and was gutted, the attack caused a chain reaction. Though carrier didn't carry much amunition, they held fueled up fighters, dropships, and worse, bombers in their cavernous bays. Those ships were now tearing the capital ship apart as they detonated, violently.
Hundreds of single ships were wiped out in the shockwave, but there were easily thousands more. And they swarmed towards the Dominance and the Hunter. In respounce, the twin hvy. cruisers launched their contingents of fighters and bombers.
However, the expiditionary ships remained in the protection of their mothership's shields. Marthyn could understand, they were out numbered, outgunned, but this would play for time, time for reinforcements to arrive.......

High Naryyn cruiser, Dominance

Ankrus stood defiently in the face of the enemy. The two cruisers under his command were holding their own well, but he could tell that there would be no glory in fighting this single battle. If we leave and fight on our terms later, then we can defeat them when our support arrives..... He thought to himself.

Norik's shuttle had docked with the Hunter just before this trouble started. He won't like this, but we'll have to retreat for now. As an envoy of the council, Norik outranked Ankrus, but the Naryyn commander had made up his mind. The heirarchy tends to be overly ambitious, and allow it to blind their better judgement.
"Helmsman: prepare for jump manuevers, Ensign: get those aircraft back in their hangers, and alert the crew to brace for a planetary jump!" He barked to his bridge crew, who jumped to their tasks. "Sir!" The com officer yelled. "We're recieving a comunique` from the Hunter."
"Ignore it, tell them to prepare to withdraw!" He ordered him. Norik is going to roast me for this, but as long as this gets results I couldn't be happier. He thought dryly.

Marthyn.........

The Dominance suddenly stopped firing and the single ships wheeled to reenter the two hanger bays of the warship. In a clumsy imitation, the Hunter followed suite. What are they doing? Marthyn exclaimed.
Then a javalin of pure white light erupted from Dominance's depths. The bolt sped toward the enemy fleet, but it was not an attack. The bolt tore open a huge vortex that flashed green, white, and yellow. It seemed to thrash as though unstable and violent, which it was.

Together, Dominance and Hunter blazed forth and dissappeared into the whirling cyclone. The portal shuddered as if struck, and winked out of existence. The two cruisers were gone!

Wow, lots happening in these updates Revan. Battlecruisers dissappearing, more powerful characters showing up. Things just keep building up!

Keep going my man!

High Naryyn Society: As with its military, the general public is organized into a rigid system. All construction and architecture is logical, but ornate. There is no crime on the worlds that are the center of the High Naryyn's Empire. The law enforcement is very strict, and are feared by any would-be criminal. Medical care and hygenics are easy to obtain. The inner worlds are beacons of civilized life, with little to no poverty.
All High Naryyn are "middle-class" at the very least, prestige is passed from generation to generation, young adults must earn what they are due. The enviroment is devoid of any clutter (aside from bio-degradables).
Agriculture is commonly indoors, all plants are treated to precise care, in this manner, there are never shortages of food. With almost every planet raising its own necessities, there is little need to import and export supplies and foodstuffs.
Public transportation is made up of thousands of large passenger vehicles (like metro buses today). There are close to no privately owned vehicles (aside from diplomatic or politically important vessels). In this system all traffic flows smoothly, and resources are easy to manage. The entire system is linked, controlled by a central tower that is fully staffed at all times.

Only on fledgling colonies or worlds that are governed by non-Naryyn, are there pockets of organized crime. These organizations run black markets, smuggle countraband, and control other elements of illegal activities.
But despite their influence on the outer worlds, these guilds do not dare enter the center of Naryyn power, and for good reason. The only thing that can compare to the severe punishment of being found guilty of a crime is the persecution of the Dark Naryyn. Only the youngest and most foolish scoundrels go near the core worlds with illegal goods.
The Council's power is undeniable, they have no regard for any species' laws and regulations on organized crime. If a crimnal enters Naryyn jurisdiction then they are under the scrutiny of the Council, and the common punishments are exile from civilized culture or (in greater frequieny) execution. The Council does not intend to appear sqiemish. And their will is clear, "no creature may display the audacity to blight High Naryyn society"

High Naryyn Naval Vessels-

Carriers- though massive (1.5 miles in length), these warships are dwarfed by the mighty cruisers. Each ship has three hanger bays (one on each lateral side, and a third running along the dorsal area). They may be large, but their size is mostly taken up by the hanger areas and by the armories for every ship in the navy. With two meters of armored material (like synthisized titanium) at the least protected point on the hull, these ships can take a handful of punishment.
However, despite this, if an enemy could cause enough internal damage then the fuel, munitions, and singleships could start a chain reaction that could tear the capital ship apart. Aside from their huge fighter contingents these vessels have little weaponry.

Frigates- the smallest naval vessels to garner the title of a capital ship, frigates (like modern day specimans) are built mainly for speed and mobility. Never in the history of the navy has a frigate been given flagship status.
Their hanger bay is usually used for troop transports, but they can hold roughly a squadron of starfighters in addition to their dropships. Their arsenals are mostly point-defense (anti-fighter/ anti-bourding craft) guns, but on some occasions they are outfitted with a single, light particle cannon (barely capable of scuffing a hvy. cruiser, but capable of fending off carriers and destroyers).

Revan part 2/ chapter 14:

The small fleet hovered for the next few minutes, confused at the High Naryyn's sudden departure. The lead cruiser, the flagship, slowly oriented itself into a position above Vardenfell. The other ships flanked it, the frigates breaking off to take up posts above the Grazelands, Ashlands, and other topographical regions of the island.

Marthyn took another step back, the surviving carriers released great flocks of dropships upon the land below. There had to be hundred, no thousands, of transports, each of those capable of carrying twenty-four man-sized creatures. Morrowind was being invaded by something altogether worse then the Expiditionary Force.

Those can't be a part of the navy, no officer would dare fire on an expansion group like that. Marthyn had a sinking feeling that whoever -or whatever- was commanding those ships wasn't interested in colonizing or conquering, but instead interested in only extermination.........

High Naryyn fleet............

In the black void a brilliant flash of white light erupted beside the red satilight planet of Nirm. The Hunter and the Dominance burst into view. They rapidally decelerated to a slight drift......... On the Dominance's bridge, Ankrus shakily rose, during the hasty jump manuever he'd failed to secure himself to something and was thrown to the deck.

All around him the pitch-black command deck brightened as the moniters and systems reactivated. One would think that with all our advanced technology we'd be able to pull off an instantanious jump without all our computers frying. He thought to himself privately. The crewmen began to stir as well and check the ship's status.
"Report!" He barked to them. "Navigation: the core is running hot, cooling now, the engines are off-line, and engineering isn't responding. Weapons: all guns are off-line sir, and the main particle cannon's slagging!" Ankrus snatched a small computer pad from its cradle and it affirmed the senior officers' news, the ship was a mess.

The core was damaged, but Ankrus found himself more worried about the MPC. That cannon was the hallmark of any heavy cruiser, unlike normal particle weapons that fired blasts of charged particles, the MPC loosed the coherant beam that had gutted the carrier above the planet's surface. In a way it was more important then the other cannons that lined the hull.
As if all this wasn't enough, it got worse. "Commander....." The comunications officer began. "Patch it through." Ankrus said, resignation coiled around his voice.........

The Infinite Sojourn..........

The ancient Naryyn stared at the hologram of Nirm with a look that could turn sand into glass in an instant. Nirm, how long has it been since I last walked upon your surface? His thought was not well-guarded, so the bridge crew probably caught the a murmer of the comment.

"My lord, shall we proceed to this world?" Asked Capt. Yarkan. Around seven feet tall, the slender Virtarak captain was a perfect representative of his people. Long ago, after Nirm, the Dark Naryyn had only just settled down on Xarmanca when they encountered the Virtarak. Captain Yarkan's people were natural warriors, proud adventurers and explorers.
They were brilliant with technology, and had forced to fight for survival against the other species of their homeworld, which they based their technology on. Though lacking great strength for close combat, they had amazing eyesight and uncanny agility.

When the two races met, the circumstances weren't candid, there was a misunderstanding between the two cultures, and war broke out. After half a century of fighting, the Dark Naryyn finally found the Vitarak base, and defeated them. However, through the many years of combat, the Naryyn had come to respect the Virtarak as equels, and the survivors were allowed to reprieve if they agreed to fight alongside the Naryyn in the future.
And now here they all were, five hundred years later. "Yes, Yarkan, we must proceed with all due haste to this world, it was of great significance before our people mingled with one another."

Things are progressing... and it seems hard to judge who is on what side! We'll just have to wait and find out...

Good stuff Revan.

Revan part 2/ chapter 14 (cont).

"We're nearing the coastal areas." The commanding officer in the lead scout anounced. The cliffs and frozen canyons had dissappeared, and given way to a forest of trees and bushes. Still the trip was no less bumpy. Revan, who was standing behind the driver and gunner, glanced toward the aft compartment. Nara was awake and Rhys lay sprawled backward on one of the bunks staring at the cieling, resting her head on her hands.

The High Naryyn were beginning to get uneasy about the silence over the command-link, which was normally filled with com-traffic. Revan was getting uneasy about a the sence of malevolence that resonated from something unfamiliar. "Ok, from here on out were in the open and vulnerable, so stay alert and keep an eye out......"

As their vehicle cleared the last of the treeline, Revan took in the new details: there were now more then a dozen ships floating above them, the two ships he'd seen before were gone, and one of the smaller ships was sitting one-hundred meters from the scouting group. The other Naryyn began to react, and the CO was ordering them to bull back to the forest.

Meanwhile the numerous weapons on the frigate were swivleing to take aim at the intruders. The recon patrol were almost to the cover of the forest when it opened fire. Snow and dirt erupted all around the APC, and the trees splintered like so many pieces of twigs.
Something exploded beside their transport and it nearly flipped over on its side. But at the last moment the driver hit a series of controls and with a roar, the vehicle righted itself. Rhys was standing beside Revan by then gripping a nearby weapons rack for support.

Suddenly there was a shrill tone blaring throughout the APC and a light on the console was flashing red. "What's that mean?" Revan yelled over the alarm and the other noises of ammunition going of around them. The gunner managed to glance at it before a tree began to topple over into their path. Fortunately the pilot punched another set of contros and the armored vehicle jumped over the obstacle.

The gunner yelled back. "They have a missle lock on us!" And he jumped from his seat running toward an odd mass of consoles and gadgets that Revan couldn't fathom. The officer threw himself into the chair and began furiously tapping buttons, sweat pouring from his scalp. A small moniter beside Revan blinked on and it showed a overhead view of the region, small lights indicated the surviving scouts, there was a flying shape that soared above them, the frigate!

The frigate released a storm of small flying lights that had scrolls of text and numbers beside each as they approached the scout vehicles. This is insane! Revan mentally fumed, but Rhys gave him a look that could have been agreement or admonishment, but in the chaos of the moment he couldn't tell which. The screen zoomed out and the main force of defectors came into view, moveing laterally from them.

Revan felt a sense of dread when he realized that they would soon exit the forest and be in the open again. Through it all, the swarm of dots that made up their devision were winking out one-by-one, and the missle salvo drew ever closer......

The Dominance.......

Ankrus took his reprimand like the soldier he prided himself to be, but even he was reaching his limit. Norik paced about the bridge, and even though the conversation was private, the other officers would of had to be blind and deaf to not realize what was happening.

"So,......" Norik's mental voice was calm but possessed a veiled threat beneath it. "Had us flee like spineless cowards instead of stand like our heritage dictates?" Ankrus replied. "I decided to put the well-being of our troops before my own honor, holy one. We were outmatched, and it was a strategic withdr-" "May I remind you commander," Norik cut him off. "that it is our way to stand in th face of impossible odds and fight to the very end?"

What happened next was unexpected but welcome. "Commander, we're being hailed by a heavy cruiser called the Armet." The comminications officer informed them. A vein became visible on Norik's forehead, but it dissappeared after a moment as the envoy sighed. "Patch it through to the main projector."
The hologram came to life and a middle-aged Naryyn wearing the uniform of a fleet admiral appeared. "Greetings, brothers, I am Fleet Admiral Satith. I'm the one in command of the reinforcements that you were promissed to eliminate the rogue fleet." Ankrus bowed to the ranking noncom; Norik merely nodded to him, but no one dared confess that the same fleet had just kicked them off their own world.

Infinite Sojourn, edge of the system.

On the rim of the star system, the Infinite Sojourn and its entourage emerged from a flash of light and began to excellerate in-system. Deep in the bowels of its armored shell, its commander, Arastus strode along his command platform. The viewscreen on the wall showed Nirm along with its sister planets, Arastus nodded and studied the scene.

Finally he spoke his mind. "We'll continue toward Nirm at a moderate speed; release the probes to scan the area." The orders were given and along the aft section of the ship several surveilence drones launched from their ports and sped across the system to gather information. Each of the cylinderic drones sported curving "wings" that folded along their black shell. Three traveled toward the target, while the others swept across the nearby void for any threats to their mission.

Looks like trouble to me. I mean, I don't think that the APC has that much point-defence. ECM might help but kinetic kill dumbfires are almost as bad as live tracking explosives. I wonder what will happen? And will Nirn survive?

Revan part 2/ chapter 15: The Resistance

For several minutes Marthyn watched as thousands of troop transports swarmed over Vardenfell and the mainland. He felt a painful throbbing in his head as the population began to feel the effects of the invasion. He dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by the mental sight of the carnage......

The village of Seyda Neen, most people were in their houses (as per the orders of the High Naryyn). Suddenly dozens of large blurry creatures raced into view. They threw open doors, tearing them off their hinges if they were locked.

Men and women of different races were torn from their houses and familes into the streets. Screeches and cries were audible but completely incoherent. The vilagers were grouped up and many of the creatures would approach and kill them.

The screams were drowned out by the sickening sounds of snapping bones and bodies colapsing. A single, larger creature stood in the center of the blood-stained street; it raised its staff above its head and began blasting the buildings to pieces.

Everything, from the lighthouse to the most run-down shack was destroyed. Finally after the village was razed and the people were dead, the attackers began to search the coastline for more things to kill.

The scene deminished, and Marthyn was found it hard to breathe. He looked down at the snow between his hands and knees. Nuasia gripped his body and he felt mentally ill. What are those things doing?
Marthyn willed his stomach to calm down, and was so distracted that he didn't notice he wasn't alone until it arrived.

A dropship swooped down and came to a halt fifteen meters from his hill. The doors opened and its ramp extended. He struggled to his feet despite the wave of malicous intent that radianted from the vessel.

Marthyn waited, dazed, for the inevitable. Suddenly a large hand, larger then any human's, grasped the side of the ship for support. The creature revealed itself, it stood two and a half meters tall, but was slightly hunched over. Its helmet hid its face, but its enlongated head was shapped like a snake or some other reptile.

Its eyes, however, were visible, they were those of an animal, a verticle slit that showed no mercy in its depths. It swung its head this way and that, twitching up and down as though sniffing. As more began to exit the vessel, it brought its leer upon Marthyn.

Kill the High Naryyn, kill the Dark Naryyn, kill all the Naryyn! Its hatred was coated with centuries of spite and anticipation for vengence. The group spread out, eight in all, advancing toward their prey. The leader, about a head taller then the rest pointed its staff amnacingly at Marthyn, the tip gleaming with lethal energy.....

The imediate threat banished the sickness they wrought, and Marthyn channeled his power.... An energy blade jutted from his very arm, and he did the same with his left arm. The malevolant being before him loosed its attack.........

Seems like a lot of creatures like invading Nirn... These one in particular just seem plain old evil. Good stuff Revan!

Sorry for lack of posts, I'm getting involved with role-playing, and it's still one day after Christmas
-------

Revan part 2/ chapter 15 (cont.)

The Infinite Sojourn and its entourage approached the world of Nirm. Their silhouetes were almost completely broken up, black metal on black void, the only exeptions were the moments where a ship would move past a star in the distance.

The Nirm probes showed rolling plains, mountain peaks, and arid tracks of desert. Commander Arastus was only mildly surprised at the discovery of primitive civilization, a probe came in close to a huge one-hundred foot tall tower in the center of a city. To be expected, give anyplace a couple milenia and life begins to sprout.....

As one of the three probes soared over one of the mountain ranges, an unexpected sight was portrayed by its sensors. A small group of golden, bulbous ships hovered around a small island. High Naryyn, here? Arastus cocked his head and pondered this new development.

Meanwhile the probe soldiered on, collecting more footage of the ships. This was made possible by the cloaking technology integrated into their compact shells, which were based on the ability of some Naryyn to bend light. Shrouded by their cowl of invisibility, the other two probes moved in and joined their brother in studying the ships.

Suddenly one of the probes recorded a sub-sonic roarm and changed its course. The scout revealed a single frigate-class ship in pursuit if of a devision of ground vehicles...... Why would High Naryyn attack their own forces? These growing questions lead to no obvious conclusions.

Curiosity getting the better of him the commander reached out and evaluated the vessels with his mind. The scan answered one question, There aren't any Naryyn in those ships. But there were Naryyn, of both castes, in those vehicles.

Suddenly the scouts that had been searching the nearby region sent a report. The new image was filled with more High Naryyn ships, but there were only two. Both appeared to be damaged or reasonably disabled. Naryyn minds resonated from within their contents.

Arastus nodded, taking in the information. So a small fleet of hyjacked High Naryyn vessels launching an active invasion against the planet, who apparently defeated the vessels that were already here........ With the tribes in the middle.
A feeling of sorrow filled the ancient warrior. They've fought for survival for the ages they were stranded here, now they have more then earned the right to join the rest of us on Xarmanca! The thought wasn't quiet, it wasn't meant to be, it was a proclamation.
Every Naryyn in the fleet mirrored the determination and will of their leader. "We shall not fail!" It was a rallying cry from one ship to the next, until every ship chorused it.

Even the Virtarak, who lacked telepathy, could feel the roaring sea of voices. It was unfortunate they could not be linked in such a way, but Yarkan stood beside Arastus resolutely, if not in a slightly bemused mannner.
"So what is our plan of action?" The Virtarak captain asked. "We take the fight to Nirm. Sharpen your blades and steady your minds!"

Like a swarm of predators, the armada descended silently upon the sphere, intent on saving both their brethren......

Nara........

The APC tossed and turned as all manner of ordinance exploded around it. Rhys and Revan were both in the area between the troop cabin and the cockpit. The gunner was furiously typing at the pad in front of him.
Beyond the current chaos a new sound came into play, a sound that she was more sinsetive to. It was the sound of thousands of mental voices chanting together as one wave of concentrated thought. The Iso Naryyn, our older siblings are coming.....
Nara had never heard of the two words used in such context, but these beings used it to refer to themselves. Dark Naryyn was what we were called during our exile, we made a new name for ourselves when we began our new life........

Rhys........

Another detonation knocked the all-terrain vehicle into a rock, and Rhys slammed into the wall beside her handhold for the four-teenth time. If we don't get blow to pieces, Revan, then I'm certain we'll be smashed into submission....
The armor-clad man glanced at her, but before he could reply the com-unit for the APC belched static. They both turned to look at the device, and a voice pierced the white noise. "........ther...... ravine......we.....use......cover....." The unit went dead, and the driver studied the landscape through the hellish scene of fire and falling debris.

Rhys flinched when the troops in a nearby transport died....... there were no screams, just a sudden cold where warmth had once been. The pilot began to smile, gazing intently at the area beyond the windsheild, but he wasn't suffering shock, yet.
"This is good, this is good, this is......" Before he could finish the third 'good,' the ground dissappeared beneath them, and a sickening sense of free-fall washed over everyone.........

I had the urge to write this for some reason......... I guess I got bored
---------

Revan part 2/ chapter 15 (cont.)

The lance of energy soared at Marthyn, but he crouched to avoid it. The blast grazed his pauldron, slagging the strong metalic substance. He shook himself, ignoring the stifling heat to the best of his abilities.
Though it grazed him, the brunt of the attack slammed into a cliff-face.
Marthyn struggled to right himself, his suit's mechanical parts whined in sympathy, and stood to face the foes arrayed around him. The blades on his wrists cracked as they carved through the snow around him, and the air smelled of ozone.

Rearing up, staff raised above his head, the leader snarled and swung a viscous downward strike. Rather then parry, Marthyn swung his left arm, his blade meeting the attacker's staff. Both weapons crackled, niether opponent backing down, and the struggled evolved into a contest of strength.
Aided by his suit, he held fast against the larger creature's staff. Not many beings could match a full-fledged Naryyn warrior in full combat armor. The bulky power-suit stood out, but it was a life-saver in sieges, increase in strength, speed, and the protection it provided were invaluable.

The stand-off was halted when a thundering sound filled the air. Both combatants lowered their weapons and all beings gathered in that place searched for the source. Suddenly the hulking monsters became more agitated and they all looked simultaniously over Marthyn's shoulder.

Dumb-founded, the Naryyn turned to look, and felt a gripping panic envelope him. The cliff that the energy blast had hit was cracked, worse it had snow on it. That very snow was now rolling down the slopes, an avalanche! How do these things go blasting everything and not expect things like this to happen?

He turned to look at the creatures, but they were gone. They were clambering into their dropship in a blind panic. Marthyn shook his head, that piece of machinery will never got off the ground before it gets buried.......
The roar behind him reminded the Naryyn about his impending doom. I'm not dead yet. He thought to himself as he began to run at top speed, multiplied three-fold. The avalanche was leaving the mountain, and he was halfway to the transport.
Marthyn's mind still hurt, and his legs were catching up fast. "Keep running!" He yelled at himself, and welcomed the feeling of flowing adrenaline and blessed detachment. The world became the patch of land ahead of him, there were no sounds, no coucghing engine, no deadly ice and snow, nothing at all.

His breath came in short strangled gasps, and Marthyn was burning up despite the cooling units in his armor and the freezing gale around him. Darn it, keep running. You won't get your honor back by getting killed out here! A voice in his head told him.

He passed the transport by and looked back to see nothing but churning white powder half a kilometer away. Marthyn ran with renewed resolve to survive, he was determined to live through this.
I will find Revan, and put an end to this once and for all! He swore to himself. The thundering flow grew louder by the second, yet the young Naryyn didn't dare look back for fear of seeing the white about consume him.

Marthyn screamed but kept up his struggle to survive, he felt the lives of the creatures dissappear. No way is that going to happen to me, no way! His legs were about to come off, and his chest was going to tear itself apart from the inside out. There was so little air that he had to beat down the urge to claw at his throat.
Finally he spotted the snow in his periphical vision, and he felt an insane calm. This is it, either this thing crushes me, or I somehow live........ regardless, there is nothing more I can do now..... The man felt himself lift of the ground and get thrown through the air. He flailed out of animal instinct, the world's horsizon spun, all his senses became jumbled.

Suddenly he slammed into the ground........ and before the darkness replaced the white, he felt the presense of his brother.......... and his vision faded.......

The Infinite Sojourn.......

The ships dived from the heavens, in an area far south of the hyjacked fleet. The three probes reported a lot of activity since the last scan. "Sir," Capt. Yarkan, addressed the older veteran. "It is likely that the recent activity has been unrelated to our presense, and that we are still undetected."

"Thank you, Captain." Arastus replied and he approached the pilots and navigation officers. "Submerge the fleet, have all ships recall their fighters and seal their bays. If there are any of the fleet that can't comply then have me notified so we can deal with it accordingly."
The order was answered by several 'Yes, Commander's. All capital ships could be submerged under water, the Iso Naryyn made their vessels in the logical process of placing their bridges deep inside the ship's hull. The fleet slowed and slapped into the water, then they began to sink as the kenetic drives that moved them pushed them under the waves.........

Seems like everyone has more time to write during the holidays! Consistant work as always Revan. All these editions always get me interested in what's going to happen.

Well, these events are leading up to a war in the skys of Nirm...... but I might have said too much already. This will also lead up to the end of part 2....... and of the Naryyn on Nirm.

Revan part 2/ chapter 16: Of Blood and Honor.....

Revan's boots lifted of the floor slightly, but the pilot activated the manuevering thrusters and everyone was forcefully slammed into the floor. In his armor the impact only made his head spin, but he knew that Rhys and Nara could have been injured.

He glanced at Nara to find that she had secured herself halfway into her harness and had not been severly injured. Rhys had landed right beside Revan, but had avoided hitting her head. The gunner had been in his seat and had only hit his head lightly on his moniter.
And of course the pilot had braced for the impact, so no one was seriously injured. "That is why you must stay in your seats." The driver chuckled. Revan pulled himself up and searched the chasm's floor for the other vehicles...... There were only three out of the original fifteen craft remaining.

"All in all, we were real lucky back there" The gunner reasoned, Revan decided to agree with him. "Darn it, the vehicle isn't operational." Revan looked at the various service lights and found that they were all dark.
He didn't understand. "But that wasn't a horrible crash." The driver gave him an amused look. "You don't even know the first thing about our tech, do you?" Rhys spoke up, measurably less calm then Revan was. "No, we don't, so would you explain why we can't use this vehicle anymore?"
For as long as Revan had known Rhys, which wasn't that long now that he thought about it, she'd been a patient and empathetic person, and this was the first time she'd seemed extremely agitated with someone.
But then, everyone feels stress sometime in their lives, maybe Rhys just doesn't experience it that much....

"Well, some of those missles must have blast some shrapnal into a few places, not to mention that fall could have dug those pieces in deeper...." He muttered. Suddenly Revan felt a chill run down his spine, Rhys reacted as well. "Where is that frigate now?"
The gunner flinched. "Well, along with the other systems the sensor array is down, so......." No one needed him to finish, the pilot and Nara hastened to remove their restraints, Revan and the gunner gathered as much general ammo as they could, and Rhys grabbed cartridges of railgun spikes.

With twenty-five magazines clipped to his bandoleer, Revan kicked open the rear hatch. Once on the ground he spotted the other vehicles, each one had soldiers rushing to grab everything useful. A great shadow engulfed the canyon, and Revan looked up.
The frigate hovered above them like a huge predater, its fusalauge was an elongated sphere, with small bumps along its fore-side. And on each bump was a weapon, those weapons were swivling, choosing targets.
The farthest APC, along with most of its crew, erupted in a roiling ball of fire and smoke. Smaller energy pulses tore at ice, walking it toward the other survivors. By then Rhys was beside him with her high-velocity rifle cradled in her arms, the rounds glowing inside the firing chamber.

Both new that they were more outmatched now then they had been earlier. The frigate continued to rain destruction upon the other APCs. They heard a shout from behind, and turned to see the gunner waving around the corner.
"Agreed" Both Dark Naryyn told each other in unison, and they ran after Nara and the others. The Frigate gave chase above the ravine.

Norik.......

As the envoy held the council of war with the two ship commanders, the three exchanged points and counter-points. "It is clear that the Darn Naryyn are univolved with the rogue fleets." Satith informed them.
"Fleets, what do you mean 'fleets'?" Norik asked him. The officer sighed wearily. "There are more then a single fleet that went rogue in the last few hours, command is still trying to keep stock of how many ships we still have in our possession."
Norik clenched his fists, regardless of what Satith had to say, he was certain that the fallen ones were somehow involved. Perhaps they incouraged whoever is responsible to do this...... "That is unlikely, envoy." Ankrus said, and Norik gave him a glare. He had been surprised that the commander could have read his thoughts. I'll have to remember that......
Satith cam to his fellow officer's aid. "Indeed, the council itself has conceded that these are simply traitors, not heretics." Norik felt slightly taken aback at the news, but didn't show it. "So, how do you intend to retake they system?"
The two commanders glanced at each other, and irritating habbit of the military hierarchy. "My fleet is a couple of hours out; by the time we arrive your ships should at least be in some state of repair."

Marthyn.......

He was deep in mud, wait, no he was in hot coals....... no that wasn't right either. Marthyn wrestled to control his confused mind. I am at the citadel, no, no, no! There was a single column of light in his head and he siezed it and looked over the other regions with its aid. I was attacked, they are dead...... I got buried.....
The realization opened the flood gate of his recent memory. I was sent to kill Revan, my younger half-breed brother, to regain my honor. The High Naryyn fleet here was chased off and a huge force of monsters are all over this region........

With that straightened out, he forced open his eyes and beheld nothing but white. Snow, I was hit by an avalanche...... He brought his energy to bear and blasted the snow off himself....... In the sunlight Marthyn evaluated his armor and body. His left pualdron was blackened and warped out of shape, but it didn't hinder his movement. The rest of his armor was in mid-condition, most had withstood the force of the snow. His throat hurt and his body was still warming up from lying underneath the snow.
Marthyn felt exhausted, and it was difficult to concentrate. Sitting cross-legged, he slowed his thoughts and heart, beginning to meditate on the current situation..........

How unfortunate for Revan, at the moment he's under attack by a frigate and his brother who seeks to kill him survived the avalanche. He's got a lot of problems to deal with.

Continue when you please, Revan.

Revan part 2/ chapter 16 (cont.):

Xarkum woke with a start, he glanced around the troop bay of his APC. When he noticed the fellow High Naryyn sitting around him he calmed down. While he'd been sleeping he'd felt something..... He couldn't put his finger on what it was......

The rest of the Naryyn were soldiers in their heavy combat armor, some were wearing their helmets, others were conserving the energy in their suits. Most of them were armed with the standard issue assault rifles that fired fragments of molten metal at their targets.

The guns had a moderate stopping power at close and medium range, but when in close formation the gunners could bring down things that would normally require anti-armor weapons. A couple were carrying heavy repeaters that had twice the power of the assualt rifles, but were more encumbering.
The main difference between the two weapons was that the rifles used magazines, but the "rippers" (as they were more colorfully know as) had power cores directly behind the firing chamber, these power cores recharged during lulls in use, but produced lots of waste heat.

Xarkum felt vulnerable, despite being inside a full combat vehicle. The APCs had three pairs of all-terrain wheels, along with the thrusters placed on strategic areas of the craft they could nogotiate all but the most difficult obstacles.
Though not as swift as their smaller reconaisance variants, the APC was something of a small tank. The gunner commanded a single light pulse cannon on the top. The cannon could tear most known races to shreds in a second, and could spit ninety rounds per minute.

His vehicle was currently two klicks from the main force, it was a part of the devisions who's task was to protect the mobile artillery guns. Normally these machines would have been carried by a small flock of dropships, because they weren't as fast as their escorts. But the problem was: they had no dropships.
Despite all the heavy firepower surrounding him, the young scholar couldn't shake the dread that nagged at him. I wish Kartah was here at least..... Though occasionally hard to deal with, the sargent was an experienced soldier, someone you would want watching your back. Then there was the fact that neither Revan, nor Rhys were here either.

I'm the only one who isn't a warrior. He envied Revan for his calm and fearless demeanor. Well, he's not fearless, no one is, he's just used to it already..... Xarkum recalled what Revan had told him about his childhood. He grew up with death. What about me? I spent most of my childhood with Xaries' hand on my shoulder......

Xarkum sat there in his harness, frustsrated by his weakness. He idly put on his helmet, and looked at the stream of data that flowed through it........ Or used to.... The combat-net didn't exist anymore, not without a warship to sustain it. Lacking its support, there was no data on their positions or a real-time map of the continent.
These things were considered nessecities to any Naval offensive, all they did have was stock of personnel and all their resources. Still the privacy granted by the circular headgear was a blessing, Xarkum had to admit.......

Still the dread ate at him...... So he took a look at the vehicle's sensors through his suit's uplink...... Nothing, but our devision...... Suddenly, a piece click into place when he looked. It's not for me, it's for Revan!
Certain of his friend's need for help he overrid his harness' saftey locks. Xarkum moved toward the cockpit surprisingly well in light of the vehicle's motion. He removed his helmet again, and the gunner, who wasn't occupied at the moment, stood up.

"Get back in your seat, trooper, we're in a possible engagment area right now, and-" Xarkum did something out of character, for the first time in his life he cut off an authority figure. "I'm Xarkum, Commander Xaries' nephew, and I am ordering you to check the status of recon battalion 507." His voice was not one of a scholar, but of a person who possessed great influence and authority, neither of which he actually had.
Still, the gunner looked convinced, and gave a few moments of thought, then shrugged. Typing the proper command quiries the gunner cocked an eyebrow and did not give the group's status immediatly.... "For some reason that platoon's transponder isn't responding...... could be a technical problem."

Xarkum knew for a fact that there wasn't a problem with their equipment. "Are there any reports of a hard contact recently?" The trooper put in the request. "No, but here's something odd, we lost the 507th several minutes ago."
How he got the information he got then, Xarkum would never know, but he began to give orders to the other vehicles...... Apparently they either found his false charisma very convincing or thought that a relative of their CO knew his or her stuff better then anyone else. Xarkum couldn't tell, but was satisfied by the results none-the-less.

The group came to a halt on a nearby butte, the mobile cannons took up firing positions and made the preperations to fire. The hovercraft only touched the ground when unoccupied, or when in their bombardment mode. They slammed into the earth and gained a powerful grip on it with four firing claws.
All twenty-two cannons latched onto the butte's soil, their guns were capable of firing when moving, but truly shined when they were secured and brought to bear appropriatly. The operaters moved about their duties quickly and efficiantly, and the other soldiers lended a hand wherever they could.

In ten minutes, the artillery batteries were finally ready, and Xarkum took a deep breath. In the fading light the frigate was only disernable because of its glowing power conduits and it was quite active..... Now for once in my life I can do something that I can be proud of......
"Sir, the frigate doesn't appear to have its shields activeated; we have the element of surprise." The ranking officer reported. "Good, now we can strike a blow at these traitors." It struck him as ironic for him to call something else a traitor, but they had heard the broudcast from their homeworld. This is but one vessel in a great many traitors..... Xarkum thought.....

The scholar-turned-officer gazed intently at the target. "Fire at will...." And the gun emplacement opened up in earnest.

I like how Xarkum is stepping out of his shell in this update. Looks like such things happen when the going gets tough. Good update.

Yeah, but does he know what he's doing? If that frigate survives the initial attack, they're toast. Whatever happens, things are about to heat up. In the plasma striking at lightspeed type of heat.

High Naryyn ship building- like our construction of military tech today, the High Naryyn mass-produce and standardize (not sure that's a word). Therefore their ships are almost all identical, and equal (with the exeptions of hvy. cruisers and flagships).

Vessels are powered by immense fusion reactors, and are made from artificial alloys, such as synthesized titanium. They're propeled by ion engines, and so they can go on long voyages without resupplying problems. Though this does limit atmospheric mobility, to solve this problem the ships store 5% of the ions passing through their engines for environments that lack any amounts of such particles.

A ship's bridge is located externally, on their bow. To protect these valuable control areas most ships have extra armored plating around their bridge. This however limits the command center's field of view to a directly forward view.

Iso Naryyn ship building- in their exile where resources were scarce and rationed occasionally. The Iso Naryyn learned to depend on their natural power for energy. And so all their technology is based on the Naryyn's mystic power.

While the High Naryyn had plentiful resources and shipyards with which to construct their vast fleet, their cousins made things by working together as a whole. They built their military in the few places that would allow tedious work to be done.

Rather then sophisticated, man-made power sources, Iso Naryyn vessels are powered by huge crystals that channel the energies of the Naryyn into a useable source of power. As with their cores, these ships do not possess engines, but they have powerful kenetic drives deep within their hulls. These drives move the ship in virtually any direction.

The bridges are located in the center of these ships, protected by countless layers of metal and mystic energy. Though the High naryyn make their ships of reflective, golden alloys, the Iso Naryyn imbue their constructs with the same sense of subtlety that they favor. The only give away for these shroaded behemoths is their deep purple running lights.

-------

High Naryyn vehicles-

APCs- medium sized all-terrian vehicles, these small tanks are the middle ground between the heavy artillery batteries and the nimble scouts. Outfitted with jump-thrusters along certain areas of their chassis, they can jump and hover over or around obstacles.

Their armor is resistant to light-arms weapons, energy or projectile based. Their wheels are fire-resistant, and stab-proof. They are, when unoccupied, neutrally bouyant (they float, well actually bob on the surface).
They have more electronics in their arsenal then any scout, and any APC could function as a temporary outpost on wheels. With a built in transponder mounted in the cockpit, a warship could pin-point one within five-meter's accuracy.

Scouts- small, vulnerable, and fragile are justifiable descriptions for these vehicles. Their main asset is speed, they have the same thrusters on their bigger cousins, but in less number. It seats five man-sized humanoids when properly outfitted.

All of these soldiers are relatively unprotected from enemy fire, though the driver is defended from all but a shot to the helmet. Though lacking any advanced tech in their compact chassis, they do possess a communications uplink that any nearby troopers could use for short range communications.

Mobile Artillery Cannons- bulky, slow, and stubborn, these things are the complete opposites of any scout. MACs (not Halo MACs) hover over the surface at such a slow speed a normal human man could outrun one. This problem is solved by the employment of dropships specifically built to lift these bad-boys from hot-zone to hot-zone.

Though armed with a small 72mm for repelling enemy infantry on the move, MACs require an escort to protect them from hostile threats. Because it would hardly be a chore for a soldier to jump on one and plant an explosive on its armored plating.
These things are only worth the sweat when deployed for attack. They have four restraining claws that hold them in position when they fire their deafening 228mm terror of a gun. Their main weapon fires a highly explosive projectile like a railgun's spikes. The primary difference is the expolsive yeild given by the round when it hits its target.

Coupled with a warship's invaluable combat-net services, these armored tyrants can put a HE surprise on any enemy's lap. Although on Nirm there are no ships to provide this sort of accuracy.

Revan part 2/ chapter 16 (cont.)

Despite the cold gales around the convoy none of the soldiers, officers in particular, felt uncomfortable thanks to the heating units in their armor. It was a blessing when their empire spanned an entire galaxy, thousands of environments, it was a miracle that one set of armor could function and keep the wearer warm or cool in savage conditions.

Master Gunnery Sargent Kartah sat in the passenger seat beside the scout's driver. The small, but nimble vehicle bounced ahead of the APCs and troop transports of their devision. Other scouts dotted the frozen valley they were driving through.
Thanks to the men and women long ago who designed this armor milenia ago we can all fight anywhere at an equel level of performance.... She thought quietly to herself. Actually the armor was too heavy for certain unstable battlefields where the ground could give way at any moment.

Her helmet was somewhat larger then the typical trooper. That was because, as an officer, she needed more knowledge of the immediate situation then her subordinates. Kartah patched her helmet into the crude 'net' that had been fabricated by spreading out their forces.
Though not as efficient as the real thing, the hastily fabricated system did its job well. There were enough vehicles that all troops were able to communicate. But the High Naryyn sargent, along with every one else, wished they had their main advantage back.

In a way, the combat-net was just as valuable as the powered armor they all wore. It gave the needed intelligence to syncronize troop movements, plan offensives, and so much more. Working without one was like fighting blind and nearly deaf. It was possible to fight without it, but it was a much needed comfort.

Suddenly there was a thundering sound audible over the background noises, and everyone around them instantly woke up. Training was the closest thing to telepathy they had, true they could feel emotions and possible triggers for actions. But all troops' ability to do more then that were denied upon recruitment. Only when a soldier gained significant prestige were their powers recindled and nourished.

Kartah's helmet indicated that the sound had come from the left, beyond the ridge. The path ascended and the source was revealed. On the butte, the twenty or so artillery guns were just visible, their shots were flying toward a nearby frigate....
On some instinctual cue, Kartah knew that Xarkum was responcible for the attack. Meanwhile the ordinance slammed it their target, blasting it into the earth. Xarkum what are you thinking? She thought angerly.

The vehicles had come to a stop to watch the display, but Kartah knew what the should be doing. She rushed to get the vehicles moving again. "Wake up everyone, this isn't a firing range!" The sargent yelled through the com-unit in her helmet.
She didn't actually know if she was the ranking officer or not, actually she knew she wasn't. But Kartah didn't let that stop her. "Scouts form up, we're going to that butte and give them a hand; everyone else, continue along the path! Move!"

The devision didn't need a repeat on that order, because they immediatly snapped to their tasks. The scouts swung around and moved full-speed toward the walls along the path. But rather then crash into the ice, they all bucked and jumped over the obstruction.
Kartah's head slapped against her headrest when the driver hit the jump-thrusters. Don't be dead before I get there Xarkum.....

Xarkum.......

In the exileration of the moment Xarkum forgot to put on his helmet, so when the mighty artillery fired, their booming reports caused his ears to explode in pain. He fell to his knees lightly carressing his screaming eardrums.
Still that didn't stop him from seeing the cannons' handywork. Fifteen shells hit the broadside of the frigate, three shots missed when the others hit their mark, and the remaining shells hit the ground all around the downed frigate.

But despite the attack, the frigate slowly rose back into teh air and spun to face its assailants. Its engines brightened and it burst forward toward the butte. By this time Xarkum had put on his helmet and heard one of the troopers yell. "It's trying to get under our minimum depth!"
The soldiers did their best without direct orders, the guns fired their second salvo, and the soldiers nervously readied their weapons. The frigate continued on its charge, and ran head-long into the second volley.

It slammed into the ground again, and even skidded across the blanket of snow. Hopefully that's the end of that. Xakum thought, just as edgy as his troops. The officers began to order the guns to get portable again, and the soldiers hastened to get moving.

But it wasn't meant to be....... The same feeling that had filled him with fear on the outskirts of the Marhun-Kar village chilled his spine. Then a chorus of engine noises roared over the butte, and the soldiers on the closest to the cliff gestured empathetically.
As he rushed over, Xarkum already knew what he would see, but he clung to the hope that he wouldn't see it......... That also wasn't meant to be, the area between the butte and and the wrecked frigate was filled with golden blurs...... with rogue dropships.

Now you've done it, Xarkum. I don't know if Naryyn culture allows it, but Kartah needs to give him a good lecture on acceptable risk once they get out of there.

Revan part 2/ chapter 16 (cont.)

Revan vaulted over a sudden hole in the chasm floor, and turned to see Rhys do the same. She landed gracefully beside beside him and they both shared a moment's length of silence before there was an explosion above them.

Both looked up to see the flames and debris block out the sky for several moments. "Come on, we have to keep going until we find a way out of this textbook nightmare!" The driver shouted, his voice slightly muffled by his helmet.
After three minutes of running it was clear that the frigate wasn't chasing them anymore, and they slowed their pace. "Over there I think I saw a cavern." The gunner told them. It proved that there was a cavern.

The contents was pitch black, Revan, Rhys, and Nara were unhindered. The two High Naryyn didn't follow, so Revan stopped and turned to them. "Come on, this could be the only way out!" The soldiers looked at each other and shook their heads. "Surely there's a better wayto the surface."

Revan rolled his eyes wearily behind his visor. "We can see just fine, you only need to follow us." He could detect their reluctance to enter a dark cave that could be unstable. "That might go down, deeper into the planet, we need to go up."
He turned to Rhys, "Do you see a way to convince them to come with us?" She furrowed her brow for a second. "No, the High Naryyn obviously lack our afinity with darkness; we might as well be asking them to fight with chitin daggers instead of assualt rifles. He nodded, and turned back to them...... then he saw something unexpected.....

Rhys....

She looked in the soldiers' direction just as Revan did, but took longer to realize what she was seeing. Nara was moving to join them, what is she doing? The girl stopped beside the High Naryyn, and turned back to them.
"Nara what are you doing? There probably aren't any paths for another kilometer!" Rhys asked the girl. Nara's respounce was prompt, if not somewhat illogical. "They will find a way out of the canyon, but you two have to go this way."

Rhys was confused, Nara had always been distant, but she'd believed it was simply because she had lived on her own and never branched out to be close to others. "What are you saying, Nara?"
The girl gave Rhys an odd glance that seemed deviod of emotion, but was also brimming with it. "You and Revan must go one way, and we must go another, your fate is bound to his...... in more ways then one." Her voice sounded almost prophetic. "What will happen here can only be experienced by you two, neither I, nor these soldiers can interfere."

"I don't understand, Nara, why are you talking like this?" Rhys asked, she had no idea what was happening. Nara smiled, amused. "I'm Hurso-Vernah, I can see what can and may happen, but I can only minipulate the riverbed, not the river itself."
An chill ran through her, and she knew that she couldn't comprehend this girl until she wanted her to. Rhys realized that only she was having this conversation, that Revan and the High Naryyn weren't experiencing this conversation........ "Now go with Revan, let your life play out, but one day the rules of our people will be challenged." Nara's voice was now forceful and commanding.

Revan.....

The two High Naryyn left with Nara, but Revan couldn't remember agreeing for them to take her with them...... Rhys stood beside him, she seemed dazed and detached. "Are you all right, Rhys?" He asked, feeling a sense of worry. Am I even ok myself?
Rhys shook her head, and returned his gaze. "Don't worry about me Revan, I.... I'm fine." No you're obviously not, just tell me what's wrong. He wanted to say, but he kept it to himself.

Revan shrugged and looked into the dark depths of the cavern. "Well, we'd better get going." He turned to glance at Rhys...... she was still looking at the enterance.

Marthyn.....

His mind focused, and his destination clear, Marthyn stood and made his way to a nearby ravine. Revan......... It won't be long now...

Revan part 2/ chapter 17: Waging War.....

Kartah, gripped her assualt rifle tensly as the scout bounced over a small hill. The battalion of small, vehicles sped along toward the butte, their tires kicking up plumes of snow. The dropships were circling the top of their destination, raining energy-fire down on Xarkum's forces.
Right now, the Staff Sargent felt completely helpless, the nimble scouts were eating up the distance to their comrades, but Kartah feared that they wouldn't be able to help. They better not die, if I find Xarkum after this is over..... She let the thought go, and let herself concentrate on saving the scholar's life.

The lightly built vehicles bounced as they hit common obstructions in the snow. Scouts were built for speed, and hit-and-run. Now that Kartah thought about it they should have let some of the APCs tag along, these little mechs could deliver a viscious bite, but they were asking for trouble attacking air targets like this.

Forget the odds, we have troopers with anti-air weapons, so we can take them out. That was a foolish hope, though bulky, the standard-issue transports were also built for fast infiltration of enemy territory. They weren't as manueverable as fighters, but they could move on a greater axis, capable of hovering, strafing, and reverse thrust.

One of the rear-guard vehicles shouted. "Incoming, they're coming in high, repeat, some dropships are inbound, they're diving!" Kartah looked straight up, her visor compensating for the glare of the sun, and spotted five faint dots.
Activating the long-range setting of her helmet, the dots leapt forward and resolved into the silhouetes of dropships. And just as the soldier had reported, they were diving at a 90 degree angle toward them. Kartah yelled into the com-link. "Split up, loosen up this cluster, do you all want to get blow up?"

With a chorus of "yes, ma'am"s and hand signals, the devision split apart, like the petals of a flower. Some of the vehicles hit their thrusters, jumping into the air or leaping forward with a speed boost, while others slowed down or skidded to a halt to choose a new course.
With five airships, bristling with anti-infantry guns, the group's intention was to confuse the dropships and cuase them to lose their advantage. Kartah looked back up at the bandits, they adjusted their angle of attack, choosing targets.

The other soldiers were making similar notes, and the squad made the necessary preparations to guard the targeted crafts' backs. This will be a costly battle, no matter how well we fight back we'll lose firepower and troops that we can't afford to lose....... The dropships screamed, and accelerated......

Xaries.......

Studying the grid critically, Fleet Commander Xaries asked again. "Are you certain that these ships aren't controlled by the Expiditionary Force?" The small-scale hologram of a general, consulted his officer helmet's display again. "Yes sir, the ships appear to be needlessly hostile, no communications, no verification, nothing. I don't think the envoy would be so indiscriminate, even with his overblown loyalty to the council."

Frowning slightly, Xaries diggested this information. "And what of the missing patrols? Have we had any word?" Normally he wouldn't have asked that question, but lacking a proper combat-net, he couldn't be certain of much of anything. As the general spoke to another officer, Xaries looked around the troop transport's bay.
A giant compared to the many APCs in their control, the heavy troop transports were over twenty meters long. Out of the fifty seats, fourty-two were occupied by an exhausted soldier. The goliath-sized transport was like a huge siege engine, with armor comparable to their warships and firepower to tear any resistance apart, the so-called "transports" were juggernauts.

Not only were they warhorses, but these vehicles could act as a command center, their computers were holding this makeshift combat-net together. Finally the general replied. "No sir, we aren't picking up any transponders or transmissions, but it gets worse....." Xaries sighed, "tell me."

Revan had a feeling that something was going to happen, or at least about to happen. Rhys had remained completely silent since they'd parted ways with Nara and the two Naryyn troopers. She isn't telling me something, he thought to himself.

He knew there was a reason for her silence, but it made him slightly distressed, not to mention the fact that she'd closed her mind off from him. Of course Revan knew he could confront her and get the answers he wanted, Rhys wouldn't lie to him, of that he was certain.
But he didn't feel that was wise, nor did he wish to do that to Rhys. Still the quiet hung like mist, despite being reserved for almost all his life, Revan felt miserable inside.

I have to end this! His quick pace same to an abrupt stop, and Rhys walked a couple paces before noticing him. She spun on her heel with a look of conflicting annoyance and regret. "Don't ask, Revan. I won't give you an answer."

He met her statement with patience that was born of his former life. "Then I shall simply wait for you to tell me without asking."

Rhys....

Why does he have to be so stubborn? Rhys glared in irritation into the ebony black faceplate. "It's personal, let me handle it." Rhys turned and had barely taken a single step before a cold, bone-white guantlet gripped her right shoulder tightly. She turned her haed just enough to get Revan in sight, and she placed her hand on his right arm.

"Let go of me, Revan!" The amount of venom in her voice surprised her, and she was appalled by the veiled threat as soon as it left her mouth. The man paid little attention to her protest, trying to spit in his face was like trying to knock a wall down with piece of straw.
Still his voice was colder then usual when he replied. "I'm not going to until you tell me everything. And there is no personal; there won't be until our bond fades away." Rhys bit down the angry retort, with visible effort, and turned to face Revan fully.

When she spoke her voice was full of shame, they both sat down on the floor.

Revan.......

He removed his helmet, she did likewise with her sash, they were speaking as complete equals, no half-truths, no misinformation. Revan didn't doubt her for a moment, her shame struck something deep in his heart.
While she spoke Rhys looked at the floor, never meeting his gaze. She unburdened her feelings upon him, Revan knew that Rhys had considered Nara her daughter. Rhys didn't want Nara to grow up like she had, without a parent to make her feel secure and loved.

Revan recalled the memories and emotions that Rhys had experienced after her adoptive father had died. She was experiencing something similar to that now, the abandonment. Rhys had simply wanted to help Nara with love, but instead the girl accepted this then just left.
Right now, Revan simply wanted to find that girl and...... well, do something. Rhys finally finished, but didn't seem to have the will to retreat from her demons. He couldn't let her drown in pain like she had nearly a century ago, he wouldn't let her.

Gently he reached his hand out and gripped her shoulder, this time in a soft, comforting manner. At the same time his mind touched her's, he was with her in mind and body. "Rhys," he began in the same kind of caring way Barrick had done. "I am still with you, you're not alone anymore. I've had trouble finding a way to tell you this, but......"

Rhys lifted her head, her eyes glistening with tears unshed for decades. "I've fallen in love with you, and you don't have to hold your feelings inside yourself anymore." Revan spoke softly, running his guantleted hand over her left cheek.

Rhys......

He didn't just say...... Rhys took several seconds to make sure she'd heard him correctly. Revan's cool presence reentered her mind, but it was a chilly breeze that substituted the freezing cold that had consumed her because of Nara.

Rhys embraced Revan with a surprisingly powerful grip. She did exactly what Revan had told her, she released all the grief and loneliness that she'd kept locked away for so long. "I owe so much to you, Revan. I didn't realize that I was the one who needed your help."
Revan replied, "no, you owe me nothing. I need you as much as you need me, Rhys. We are strongest when together."

Nice character building. I wonder how Marthyn will respond when he finds out that his little brother has found a companion. I'm sure that it will cause a slight change in his plans.

The moment he admitted his feelings with Rhys, Revan felt a burden lift from his shoulders. But then it could have been Rhys' burdens that were being lifted...... or just a mix of both, their bond had yet to be fully explored or explained.
I'll, we'll he corrected himself. We'll need to look into that, all we know is that it sometimes passes pain, gives us insight into the other's actions or motivations, but there are so many unknowns..... Rhys had let go of her past, completely, the pain that manifested itself after Barrik's death was no longer an affliction. Now, it was simply another occurance that made Rhys what she was.

They both beamed at each other, her spiritual ease was his, as his resolve was hers. "It's difficult to tell what I'm feeling from what you're feeling." Revan nodded, "What affects one of us affects the other, it's for the best that our minds are connected."
After a long silence, Revan stood and replaced his helm over his head. "But now we must find away out of this canyon and to our allies." With their goal in mind, both set aside their feelings. When this was over there would be time, more time than most beings had who were born upon this world......

Xaries

As a time-served veteran of wars that spanned decades, Xaries felt he could credit himself with an inner calm that few who lived less than a century could ever experience. But when the general informed him that Xarkum, his pacifistic nephew who knew little about combat, was involved in a hard contact with whatever was controlling those ships made almost all his calm vaporize in an instant.

With the only remaining pieces born of military self-control he restrained himself from railing at his consort. But his voice was not what he wanted it to be. "What is the status on the devisiona nd all devisions in the area?"
Xaries clenched and unclenched his fist, a nervous habit he'd gotten rid of many, many years. The general spoke briefly with his subordinates. "The division's transpoders are not responding to our signals; we know however that part of division 2105 is in transit to-"

He knew his troops wanted to help any survivors, and as much as he wanted to let them, Xaries knew better then to risk more men and women for an equal amount who were most likely dead. "Call them back." The general paused for a fraction of a second. "What was that, sir?"
"Call the vehicles back, we can't get spread out and confused in the middle of this situation." The general stared in borderline disbelief, but noticed his commander's solemn expression. The man's voice was quiet, apologetic even, when he replied. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

Marthyn

Following the chilling sensation that he concluded to be Revan's mental pattern, Marthyn steadily continued through the winding pathways of ice. Though lacking a helmet, therefore a full atmosphere within it, he was reasonably comfortable despite the cold air.
His hurso was hot with the end in sight, though he was confused as to the other presence he sensed. While his brother's was chilly, foreboding, and to a degree, inspiring, this second one was warm, welcoming, and brimming with loyalty.

I don't want to kill anyone if I don't need to....... Marthyn thought as he stopped momentarily. If they get in my way, then I'll make them get out, unharmed if I can, but their well-being isn't my concern.[i] He felt reluctant to press on for a moment, then he banished the hesitation with disgust. The two presences were steadily coming to him.......

[i]Kartah

For a few precious seconds all that was audible in the Staff Sargent's helmet was her own somewhat irratic gasps for breath. The world came crashing back to her instantly, the trooper in the driver's seat beside her yelled over the personal comms. "We just got a message from command, they want us to fall back!"

In spite of being close enough to reach out and run her gauntlet over his, the short-range transmission was hardly coherant enough to make out. Kartah yelled back, but the words refused to leave her throat. In frustation she gave a shake of her head and a slashing motion with her hand. No, we remain.
Though the pilot managed to see the gesture and understand its meaning, several other scouts lacked the benefits of hand-signals and they peeled off, attempting to comply with orders from their superiors.

Kartah held back a curse, but her fears were not as horrible in reality. Half the dropships spun and gave chase to the fleeing scouts. Still, the sargent knew they couldn't fend off this smaller force either. "I want to be on that butte ten minutes ago, soldier, make it happen!"
The pilot nodded and hit the rear thrusters, the scout bucked in respounce to the speed boost. It looked like they could get to their destination unhindered, the other transports were retreating to the other capital ships....... But it wasn't so, niether Kartah nor the driver heard the dropship, and lacking any additional troops in the back they had no eyes to watch their backs.

Suddenly her suit gave a high pitched whine, and a warning symbol flashed on her HUD, the driver's helmet was also flashing. Kartah couldn't remember what the alarm meant, it wasn't a missle lock, that was for sure.
Only the shadow over them gave them a good warning. She looked up, and gave a disbelieving sigh. Not one meter above their scout was a dropship, its weapins weren't targeting them, but there was another threat.

The lights of a anti-grav lit up and with a mighty heave, the transport lifted the tiny vehicle and its occupants off the snow-covered ground. "No, no, no, no this isn't happening!" The pilot yelled miserably as he lifted his hands off the steering wheel.
While he stared at their captor, Kartah looked at where it was taking them....... And she noticed the sheer clifface of the butte they were heading for. I am not going to die like this! She swore, and slapped her palm against her compatriot's pauldron.

As he glanced at her he saw the sargent jump out of her seat and grab the hull of the dropship, and begin to climb out of view. That's suicide, I'm not going to climb over a moving aircraft's hull! It was then that the soldier spotted the cliff. Forget that! And with that he gripped the dropship with a death-grip.
Just as he gained a proper grip in one of the landing struts, the transport gave a roar as it pulled a reverse thrust, and let go of the scout vehicle. The light recon buggie soared through the air and blew to pieces as it collided with the cliff. I'd like to see them fightus face to face rather then with our tech.......

Sargent Kartah struggled to fight the wind, even with power armor on this was a unique challenge to her. The reverse-thrust nearly pulled her hands loose of the aircraft's frame, but adrenaline was very helpful in situations like this.
The transport hovered, as if to watch the wreckage fall all the way down the escarpment. Kartah used the window of oppertunity to get beside the rear hatch. The mechanisms hissed as the doors began to part, the Naryyn pulled out her assualt rifle with one hand, hanging on with other other. If I fall now, then that's one-hundred meters before my body splatters over the ground.........

Wow, that some daring moves by Kartah. I hope she pulls this off. Not to mention having control of a dropship would come in handy as well.

Keep it up Revan.

Kartah's mind was focused in only one direction, nothing else mattered. She could lose her grip and plunge to her death, some exotic airborne creature could try and snatch her from behind, but all that mattered was what was coming out of that hatch.
The aural sensors on her helmet picked up some patches of hissing noises and snorts. Kartah's grip tightened on the trigger-guard of her rifle, and even as a hand, with long grasping hands, reached for the frame of the door she cautioned herself. Hold your fire until you have a clear target.....

Her hand continued to apply more pressure on the trigger despite her best effort to wait. The hand gripped the hatch, and exhibited the tell-tale signs of supporting something's wieght. Wait for that things head to show up......
Kartah was losing the clarity and focus, which was being replaced by an consuming desire to make these thing as dead as possible. A long, helmeted snout came over the edge of the frame. The helmet's resemblance to her's loosened her trigger-finger for a fraction of a second, then she recognized whwere she'd seen something like this before.

That thing is an honor guard! The "honor guard" continued to reveal more of itself untilit was balancing on the dropship with its hands and legs. I don't care what these thinsg are, if they want to kill my sevro and sevra then they're marked for death!
With that heated conclusion Kartah let loose three burst of automatic fire into the creature's armor. But bing that they wore the same materials the weapon was only as affective as the assualt rifle would have been against herself.

The cold-blooded reptilian thing shook with every impact, though none of the rounds penetrated its armor. It clearly had not expected the attack and it lost its grip on the dropship's hull. As it plummeted toward the ground below, Katah let herself feel a sense of satisfaction in killing the creature.
This feeling was short-lived, as there was a renewed chorus of reptilian hissing and sounds of shifting wieght. I can't fight an entire dropship load of these things like this. She thought, as she stowed her rifle. With her left hand she reached over to the top of the transport, and hualed herself up.

Two more honor guards pulled themselves on to the same area, both were armed with assualt rifles of their own. There was a split second before both opened fire, but it was enough for training to kick in. Kartah threw herself down onto her stomach, holding both armns crossingover her head.

The arms were the most protected areas of her suit for a reason, they were meant for blocking. All soldiers were trained to take cover, if there was none then they used their own armor as cover. In a folded up shape such as this the arms protected the head, even when someone was wearing a helmet.

Because of this, the anti-infantry rounds pinged uselessly off her more efficiantly. When the fire subsided, Kartah jumped up from her position, and slammed her guantlet into the ship as hard as she could, multiplied by the armor's enhancements.
Drophsips were capable of holding position in severe weather conditions, but the pilot wasn't expecting a sudden force like this. The aircraft flipped with its starboard side almost perpendicular to the ground. Both attackers flew off the side, and Kartah managed to find a hand hold before sliding of herself.

She gave a glance at the butte, it was several meters below and forward from the dropship. Perfect! She accessed an exterior panel that was used for maintenance, but rather than fix it any borken equipment she reached in and ripped out the conduits and power lines that ran along the ships dorsal area.
The pilot had begun to level out the ship, but suddenly the aircraft flew irratically. It went into a loosely spiralling dive toward the butte, and as the creature wrestled aginst the stubborn controls the two Naryyn soldiers jumped to land uncerimoniously on the butte.

Like in training, she landed on her left foot, then stepped forward with the right one to keep her balance and absorbe the fall. The other trooper's landing was less graceful, but he didn't look like he'd fractured anything.
Kartah looked up fast enought to see the dropship slam into a snowy hill, fly through it, and dissappear from view........ She waited a few seconds before the roar of its crash below to get out of her crouch. The soldier followed suit and looked around with the common look of someone who had been through hellish conditions....... and knew it wasn't close to over yet.

"By the Patriarchs, they were all masscred; just look at them." He whispered in a slightly frightened tone. Kartah agreed completely, she didn't want to look at the bodies, but she didn't have the luxury to be squemish about death of kin.

There were blackened craters, twisted wreckage of cannons and other vehicles, slagged pieces of armor, and the unmistakable scent of ozone and heat that accompanied energy weapon discharges. Both of them began to move in different directions, combing through the bodies.
Xarkum, what were you thinking? You should had someone watching for a counter-attack, you'd better be alive or I'll- Her thought was cut off when she stumpled over something on the ground........

Darhun

These 'sevro' avoid me, the Marhun Kar warrior thought sourly to himself. The things I was told about how their anscestors treated ours didn't paint a masterpiece, but I'm not ignoring them. In truth, Darhun felt uncomfortable among them too.

They walk differently, they socialize differently, they even think differently, these are not true kin. His ramblings were interrupted was he felt a pulse deep in his consciousness. None of the High Naryyn gave any sign they'd noticed it, but darhun knew he'd felt something. Something has just arrived........ it's so familiar, but.........
He shood his head again, and he simply stared at his intricatly designed battle-helm. These High Naryyn, they don't have any real individuality when it comes to a lot of things. Most of their helmets look exactly the same!

Darhun let out a breath trying to calm down, and he began to slow his heart and meditate. I hope you're all safe, sevro and sevra.... He thought about the only High Naryyn he could consider true kinspeople: Xarkum, Kartah, and Xaries.

Sorry here's a short one, I'm going to try and be more diligent about updating, but then there's school......
-----

The winding pathways were carved out of solid ice, in the time they'd spent trekking through this cavern they had not found a single pebble. It's so cold, why does this place have to be such a frozen wasteland? And how can Nords actually live here comfortably?

Rhys shivered slightly, she'd traveled in cold conditions before, but Sosthiem was the worst experience by far. Revan's calm voice entered her mind, "well, it's part of what makes them Nords. Just like we can minipulate arcane energies and dissappear.... Just look forward to when we meet up with the convoy again."

She raised an eyebrow and stared at him. "You don't even feel the cold in that armor, and my clothes aren't meant to be worn out in sub-zero temperatures!"
To that he shrugged, "like I said look forward to when we get out of this place." Rhys didn't feel much better, but she didn't bring the subject up again. She knew he could feel a similar, weaker, sensation of her discomfort in the back of his mind.

When they came to a opening to the surface, both paused. The necessity for vigilance was Revan's instinct, yet their bond transfered the characteristic over to her. She scanned the immediate area, dozens of icy pillars jutted from the ground around them. "What is it, Revan?"

Revan....

The link between Rhys and him was effectively a loop, therefore he could feel her discomfort and anxiety. Though none of this was really important, he could feel something...... familiar, from long ago. So long ago he could only discern it as something he'd felt before.

"I don't know....." Revan shouldered his assualt rifle and slowly creeped further into the forest of pillars. He gripped the weapon tightly, his senses were throbbing as he moved closer to the source. As he rounded another pillar, a figure stepped out from one further down the line.

The source was a High Naryyn, his armor was similar to Xaries', made of several light plates of overlapping metal. It wasn't as light and ornate as Norik's, nor was it a heavily plated set like the standard trooper's.
All the pieces were smaller but made of more pieces, not doubt for mobility and for greater freedom of movement. Though quite shiny, the armor appeared to have been slightly damaged recently as it had several minor dents on the breastplate.

The Naryyn looked only a couple decades older than Revan, his gold colored eyes bore a look of anticipation and relief. This warrior's presence exuded pride, purpose, and a mixture of sympathy and hatred.

Marthyn....

As Revan came around one of the many pillars of ice, Marthyn allowed for a rare smirk, one of victory. "I've finally found you, little Revan, now I can avenge my honor that you made naught a century ago!"
The other he'd felt came into view, appearing beside his brother. Marthyn was moderately surprised that the other was a female, though he didn't know why he felt a brief moment of extreme anger.
Composing himself, he projected. "if you value your life, sevra, then let this score be settled. Your companion slighted me in the past; I am only here to restore my honor. You are not in any way involved, so leave now."

Rhys....

When she caught up with Revan, Rhys "heard" the High Naryyn's threat. Revan was simply confused, but Rhys felt the venom in the warrior's proclamation. Her own warning didn't have as much affect as this man's threat to Revan.
"A century ago? Revan did you ever interact with High Naryyn before now?" Before the question had been fully formed Rhys knew the answer. She'd seen Revan's memories, He'd been born by a High Naryyn father and an Iso Naryyn mother, but aside from the fleeting period when he is birth been a secret he had never met this Naryyn.

She reached for her staff, as Revan drew his blades. "I'll stand by you, Revan, as you have stood by me."
Four energy blades crackled to life each shining silver, Revan replied. "We breathe and move as one, sevra."

Kartah spun to train her rifle on the object she'd tripped over, but when she saw what it was she stowed her weapon again. It was a small data crystal, a cylinder no larger than her palm, and it was Xarkum's personal storage device.

As she held the tiny trinket in her hand, Kartah felt a wave of raw emotion. Xarkum never let go of this piece of carved rock, he put all of his thoughts and knowledge in it. Therefore she had always assosiated the crystal's presence with the scholar.
And he would never think to leave it in the middle of a battlefield, so...... The sergeant shuddered as the harsh reality stared her in the face, there wasn't any body near the place she'd fallen, only a blackened crater.

She dropped the crystal, continuing to shudder uncontrollably. Xarkum, are you really gone? For one of the rare times in her life of killing things and watching things kill people around her she felt a small part of herself shriek, struggle against the cold that formed over something that had been so warm before, warm and full of life.....

The shuddering stopped, only an empty void remained, blurry eyed Kartah, Staff Sergeant in the Imperial Navy, retrieved the crystal. She proceded without thought, her body working independantly, her mind was non-existant.
The shell marched through the battlefield without direction, but not once tripping over a single corpse. Eventually Kartah came to as she reached the cliff that ended on side of the butte, in the hollow depths of her mind she managed to consider jumping.

She braced, all she needed to do was push and it would all be over....... that felt so appealing, but. "Sergeant, I've got movement," another voice, the soldier's voice. "Confirmed, hard contact, repeat, Hard contact!"
Kartah turned to the sound of gunfire and angry chittering to find the trooper retreating to her position firing back at a group of honor guards. In an instant the thought of self-inflicted death was drowned out by a desire to fight.

Leaping to the right, she fired several sustained bursts from a prone position. The oncoming cluster slowed considerably as the anti-infantry rounds bounced of their armored bodies. None had a ranged weapon, a few held large staffs which they used to continue forward despite the twin barrages.

Getting up into a crouch, Kartah kept housing the creatures with more ammo, only pausing to slam another magazine into place. Still the enemy advanced slowly, pieces of armor chipping off from the abuse. And when they were six meters away, her hand clenched empty air.
Her sedated mind conjured up, I'm out of ammo...... It took an eternity squessed into a dozen clicks for the realization to hit home. Kartah discarded the empty weapon, noticing that the other soldier had done the same and was now raising his back-up.

The despreate attempt did little, the honor guards hardly slowed to the secondary's projectiles. When they suddenly did stop Kartah and the trooper stared in amazement for a few seconds before their suits picked up the dull roar.
Her armor painted several large objects rushing toward them at high speed, before she could turn to look her comm unit projected. "Get down, now!" Throwing herself to the ground again, Kartah saw seven blurs slam down between them and the honor guards.

The newcomers loosed a mixed flurry of brilliant light and thunder upon the awe-struck reptilians. Nothing short of an armored bunker could take that sort of firepower and still exist afterward. As the smoke cleard, the newcomers resolved into the hulking shapes of aerial assualt units.

Over the comm they confided amongst themselves, "I'm picking up another disturbance, 03 and I will investigate. 04-06 will secure the area, and 02, you stay here with the survivors."
The squad scattered, except for the one nearest to them which turned to face them......

The long-awaited showdown. I bet this is going to be an interesting match. Sure Revan and Rhys outnumber Marthyn, but wounding one of them will also hurt the other. That link has advantages and disadvantages.

I am sad about Xarkum's apparent death though. He seemed like a nice guy.

Chapter 18- Sorrow and Mourning

Marthyn sighed and shook his head, dissappointed at the foolishness of both Iso Naryyn. It cannot be avoided anymore...... He raised his arms to chest level, then both blurred as he slashed them downward.
Two beacons of golden light crackled from his gauntlets, two volatile energy blades of his own.

His opponents were momentarily surprised, but stood defiantly before him. The High Naryyn warrior pointed his right blade to Revan, daring him to make the first move. Show me whatever skills you have, they shall do you no good.

Revan didn't move first, neither did his female companion, both moved not a moment before the other. Splitting off left and right, both seemed to dissappear and reappear, though Marthyn believed it was simply an optical illusion.

Beyond the display of coordination there was something else...... it was at the edge of his reach, its slippery surface gliding around his perception like water. Not a single instant were both visible, when one winked out of existance the other would appear to take his attention.

This wasn't what I had in mind! It was complex and yet simple all at once, this was more of a display than actual strategy. It carried a sense of mystic and grace, accompanied by an unnerving threat to anyone unwilling to partake in this devine artistry.

With no choice, Marthyn began to mirror their tactic as best he could, keeping track of the positions of each when they came into view. Finally he caught a flash of a slender form and slashed at it with his energy blades.

On contact the blade discharged a small burst of disentegrating energy, ripping open the target. Marthyn didn't notice it until he heard the shards of ice shattering on the ground. Where the female had stood was a stump of one of the numerous ice pillars.
Mind tricks! He had been fooled by the display, he'd attacked one of the pillars thinking it was a foe. "Over here," an icy male voice called. He turned to see Revan standing three meters away, this one was not an illusion, Marthyn could feel his brother inside the armor.

"You wished to fight me alone." It was a statement, shaped from a question. "First tell me why you're here, and then we shall duel!"

Kartah.....

The comm-link crackled, "You both owe me one." The voice was male, playful and lighthearted. "So, Sergeant, can I get a promotion?"
Kartah scowled beneath her helmet, why did it have to be the 885th that had to rescue us? Officers like Kartah loathed workling with the '85th airborne legion; they were trigger-happy, lacked disipline, and rarely followed orders. In essence, they were an officer's worst nightmare to command.

"No, I can't get you promoted."
"Some shiny honorific?
A month's leave time?"

Kartah's scowl grew, "neither, you know that is against protoco-"
The trooper interupted, "not even a kick between the legs?"

That was the last straw, she turned away and began marching down the trail. "Sarge, the pick-up will be here in a few minutes, shouldn't we-"
"I'd rather walk than stand around listening to that idiot!" The soldier didn't reply, shifting his gaze tentatively to the heavily armored juggernaut before averting his gaze and rushing to catch up with his current CO.

As for the said mech pilot, he simply turned to look at the horizon, though he discreetly toggled one of his suit's sensors to track the sergeant as she descended. What a royal-helm, but she's not as bad as the others I've met..... Maybe I could find her while we're both off-duty
Grinning, he kept his eye on the tab that tracked Staff sergeant Kartah's current position in real-time. Something's got be bugging her..... It would certainly explain why she didn't reply to his last comment, shrugging he pondered what the possibilities could be.

Infinte Sojourn......

The fleet was halfway around the north-eastern tip of the continent, none of the ships were reporting difficulties with the submergence of their crafts. Arastus stood, brooding over his next move as the Sojourn continued its course at the head of the armada.

The veteran leader reached out to the rest of the fleet and called. "All frigates, prepare to return to the surface; two destroyers will accompany them, you are to make contact with the High Naryyn stragglers."

With their orders twelve frigates broke the surface, dissappearing as they left the sea behind. Followinbg their invisbile comrades the destroyers set course for a series of mountains that would shield them from the sensors of the rogue fleet.
All frigates approached the convoy shroaded from sight and detection technology. One Frigate slid downward, releasing its cowl to reveal itself to the troops below. It swung low and came to a halt before the head of the line.

Looks like Revan doesn't remember Marthyn, that won't do well for holding back his rage. I see this duel is going to be quite interesting.

The High Naryyn had fallen for the diversion, but it was a trap without at trap, simply meant to judge the enemy. Revan stood impassively, arms crossed over his chest, waiting for the answers he wanted. "Rhys, this is my fight, don't interfere unless absolutely necessary."

"When will that be? When you're half-dead? I'll respect your wishes, but I'm not going to let you die for the sake of being honorable and fighting with one hand behind your back!" She snapped at him, he didn't reply.

The Naryyn Warrior opposite of him hesitated, then nodded. "I can understand why you don't know who I am or why I've come to kill you." The twin blades receded, and the warrior stood upright with an unmistakable bearing.

"Do you know your father's name?"
Revan was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected question. "Yes, his name was Markus; why do you ask?"

The man didn't answer his question, only nodding to Markus' name. "Yes, you are his son, but you are not fully Naryyn. You're a half-breed; the very act of bringing you into existance was a shameful act. It stands against everything the Order is based on......"

He paused letting the words sink in, or just searching for a way to continue. The Order, so this man is one of their agents, that's why he's here....
Revan listened with vague surprise to the rest of this agent's story, surprised there was more. "However the shame is not only on those who gave you life, but also to those from whom those two are descended!" Anger was wrapped around his every word...... anger and bitterness.

All the implications hit Revan like freezing water, those who are descended! My entire family was affected by my birth. Never in his long life had Revan considered having family, when he'd met his parents his view only incorporated them, but now...... now he realized he had a complete family!
His shell of calm disintegrated, Revan lost his confident stance. The realization was crushing, everything changed in this new light. It was too much to grasp in such a short time.

A powerful voice dominated his awareness; Revan looked up at the Naryyn man standing before him. "I apologize, Brother; our father's actions are not your fault. Still it is my mission to destroy you for everyone's good."
A meter-length blade crackled to life, projected by the man's arm. He raised the blade slowly, a look of complete remorse on his face. "I hope you shall find peace in the afterlife, Revan." Shining its glorious, golden glow, the blade was lifted to the perfectly blue sky.

And an intense wave of heat lifted him off the ice he'd been kneeling on seconds earlier...... Revan slammed into the ground, pain erupting from between his shoulder blades.

Rhys.......

Sitting atop one of the pillars, Rhys had watched the exchange between Revan and the High Naryyn. She had been about to act when a dull roar reached her ears. No sooner had she begun to turn did a huge flying shape zoom past her.

A wave of heat swept through the air, Rhys shuddered in sympathy to Revan’s sudden agony. Through the pain, she felt the presences of the honor guard raiders, the maliciousness, the clarity of purpose.
Gasping, Rhys forced herself to focus despite the discomfort that raked her mind. She saw three transports drop hordes of armored monsters. The creatures snarled and shrieked, as they marched forth, some even crawling along the walls of the cliffs.

Rhys became translucent, in seconds she was hardly discernable from any of her surroundings. Cautiously, she made her way through the garden of icy spires and glistening murderers.
Revan was lying facedown a good distance away from where the missile had landed. This close to him, she could “feel” the injuries he had, her body tingling where his was wounded.

The reptilian hisses reminded her of the ever approaching threat posed by the honor guard search party. Why is it that no one ever had the sense to give their race a real name rather than a title? She wondered to herself.
In his armor, Revan would likely be too much of a burden to haul away without being discovered. Even if he were conscious, Rhys could tell his injuries would slow them down, and even invisibility wouldn’t save them from whatever advanced sensors the enemy was packing. At least not for long........

She was woken from her suppositions by a cold metallic grip on her shoulder. "Don't speak; I imagine it will only take minutes for them to find us here, so we should get moving. At least if you wish to live, Sevra."
With painful sluggishness, Rhys turned to see the Naryyn who had nearly just killed Revan....... his so-called "brother".

Fixing him with a look of resolve, she firmly stated. "We're bringing Revan with us; I refuse to abandone him while he's still alive."
The brother gave her a skeptical look before relenting, "very well. If he is alive, then he will gain a more honorable one than freezing here, or being executed by these things."

Fortunately, the task of carrying him didn't fall on Rhys, leaving her capable of keeping an eye on the honor guards....... and Revan's brother. They progressed swiftly away from the enemy, the High Naryyn suits actually allowed them to move faster than they could normally, a concept utterly foreign to her.

Brooding over the deteriorating situation, Xaries stood with his hand clapsed behind his back. He'd recieved word that the 885th hvy. assualt units had left the convoy without premission or even notifying superior officers.
For all their valuable talents, those juggernauts could afford to learn something about disipline. We can't wage a war if we don't know where our troops are at what time. He sighed, these recent events had taken a toll on his mind.

First Xarkum sacrifices his life and all of our artillery guns to destroy one rogue frigate, then the 885th go of on their own at our expense....... Xaries was too fatigued to feel appropriate sorrow, or even concentrate effectively.
He sat on one of the vacant seats and lost consciousness as soon as he bowed his head. After an unknown time, a hand shook him from his exhaustion-induced sleep. Groggily, he looked up at the senior officer.

"Sir, we have a new situation, it would be best if I show you." By this time Xaries realized he had fallen asleep. Darn it, I can't afford to do this in front of my troops, he thought angerly as he followed the officer to the rear of the troop bay.
He finally noticed the hatch was wide open and the crowd of troopers clustered outside the troop transport. Most held their helmets in their hands or under their shoulders; talking amongst themselves. As he rounded the rear of the transport, Xaries came to a sudden halt.

Sitting before the convoy was long, slender, pitch-black craft. Violet glowing sections were the only respites in the light-swallowing shadow that was the ship's hull. It hovered meters above the ground, not a single piece making contact.

Movement was only the slight bobbing in response to the bitter winds that blew snow against everything on this frozen lake. The craft looked about the equivelant of a frigate-class, though its weapons were not obvious due to the affect it had on the air around it.
Xaries slowly made his way toward the front of the group, not pausing until he bumped into a black-clad figure. The man turned to reveal himself as the other Dark Naryyn that had accompanied Revan and Rhys, Darhun.

Darhun opened his mouth to say something, but before he could utter a word the strange craft speared the ice below it with some of its crackling violet energy. The thin layer of snow lifted off the ground and began to swirl about the circumference of the ship.

A smear of shapes became visible in the crackling force field, they resolved into the forms of twelve Dark Naryyn and a collection of floating armor. The Naryyn scattered, taking up positions in a wide half circle around the armor pieces.
The pieces clung tight together, suspended a meter above the ice. They all shook as if gripped by a spasm, then an explosion of silver fire blasted them apart. Next the pieces came together again in a looser fashion, leaving an average distance of three centimeters between each other, the flames came back to form a vaguely transparent aura around the pieces.

Two pinpoints blossumed before the ornate headress that was its head, the creature was now recognizable to all gathered. It was a Dark Naryyn Ascendant, the spirit of a fallen Naryyn who had lived on at the expense of his physical body.
All the High Naryyn Ascendants came forward from their side in responce to their counterpart's appearance. The silver apparition studied the assortment of golden specters with what could be amusement; the High Ascendants did the same with curiostity and slight disdain.

No one breathed, the Ascendants were revered and valued as symbols of wisdom and knowledge; they were also very powerful though lacking the strength and prowess of their former selves, they were the embodiments of the hurso. They could kill many individuals in a single instant with but a minimal amount of mental energy, or rob the weak-minded of their sanity.
Both Xaries and Darhun made their way through the other Naryyn to get closer to the spectacle.....

Kartah.....

Stalking down the path that still showed the fresh scars of APCs and scouts that had recently traversed it, Staff Sergeant Kartah exuded extreme anger. But grief prevailed over the smothering rage, and she came to a stop, shoulders slumped.

Moments later the pilot stopped a safe distance behind her, for he could tell his CO was in a sensitive state of mind currently. Evac was on the way anyway; there was no need to hurry. His armor already pinned the incoming rescue party.
As he kicked the snow waiting, he cast a glance at the mesa, half expecting that same 885th guy to be diving out of the sky ready to fill them with ordinance. In his relatively short tour of duty, the pilot had certainly heard of the reputation of the'85th Aerial Devision.

The entire outfit used advanced suits of armor that were thicker, heavier, and stronger than anything less than a troop transport. Those things were walking tanks, no, that was an understatement, they were faster and more deadly than any tank.
As for the people inside those dreadnauts, well, they were universally known as brain cases. Trigger-happy, bombastic, you name it, the pilots tended to disregard most order unless they were from a high place in the command-structure.

That guy isn't quite as bad as the general rep, but I wouldn't want to be in front of him in the middle of a charge.......

I heard you guys wanted to see the raptors again..... so This is a short post, but this is my spring break, so I should be able to post more later.
----------

The only breaks in the consuming silence were the distant howl of the wind, the subtle drone of his armor's servos aiding his movements, and the crunch of snow under his heavy footfalls. Marthyn strode alone, baring the burden of his brother, it seemed prudent to take his chance to end his quest and kill Revan in his defensless state, but he found the will to slay his brother ellusive at the moment.

The female had vanished several minutes ago, still Marthyn doubted she was far. The woman's devotion to Revan was absolute as it patterned her soul....... Shaking his head to clear his head, Marthyn continued on with haste.
His armor easily compensating for his burden as he ran, allowing Marthyn to travel faster than most humanoids without tire. I do not need these people's favor; no one could stop me if I killed Revan now...... The thought had no greater an effect on motivating him than it had five minutes ago......

It's an easy task, but is it the right course of action? This was more sensible in his opinion, for less sensible reasons....... When he is able, I'll kill Revan one on one, the honorable way. He nodded to himself, that felt right.

Rhys......

Shrouded in invisbility, she looked over the coastline carefully, searching for anything that might be a threat. Not much to see, even if I were running by the water's edge carelessly, nothing could see me unless they happened to be just fifteen feet away from me.....

Rhys closed her eyes, consoling herself in the fact that for now they were out of danger. Are we? She mused, the honor guards are not our only enemies. We have to remain wary of the threats of Nirm, not just those that are beyond it.
Suddenly she noticed a slight.... sensation, like a single note being played on an instrament. Focusing on it she realized it was a beacon, a psychic call.

The signal paused for several heartbeats in responce to her reply, then it resumed growing steadily every few moments. Finally, Rhys heard the sound of snorting and snarling, but it was different than the honor guard's, and familiar.
Several shapes resolved, squat, bipedal, birdlike forms with long snouted heads. Along with the black silhoutes in the white-out there were faint violet points of light. A single form detached from the others, coming nearer and nearer.

The creature swept its head side to side, three lights pulsed, and Rhys recognized the creature and that it was sniffing her out by her psionic signature, like a dog could sniff out a rabbit. Casting off her mantle of invisibility she, reached out her now visible hand to the approaching raptor.
The form striaghtened, then moved close and rubbed its head against her outstretched hand. The creature was the same raptor chiefton that had lead her and Revan through the underground tunnels of Dagoth Ur. He looked her over with the reptilian, slit-pupiled eyes of his and produced a low rumbvle from its throat, a sign of acceptance and recognition.

Rhys saw the same calculating, predatory intelligence in the chiefton that she'd seen from Dagoth Ur, but accompanied by a thoughtful touch of understanding that was never exibited by a full animal. "Greetings, mistress. It has been awhile?"

The male cocked his head quizzically. "I suppose not being a full animal is a compliment; do not apologize, at least not until it is about something that truly matters." Rhys was taken aback, still not used to conversing with something that did not restrain itself from redaing your thoughts; the chief had even known she had been forming an apology.

"I don't practice restraint because I have no reason to, I have no personal agendas like the masters aside from mantain my pack's survival. And you have no reason to hold me accountable if you can not guard your own private thoughts." Rhys simply answered the lecture with a nod, not having the stomach to speak with this creature at the moment.

The chief looked at her oddly for a couple of moments, before moving beside her. "We had best find your companions, the rest of the village is a short distance from here, we can meet up ith them later on....."

Yay! Raptors! Those things are cool, even with the freaky mind reading capabilities. Good work Revan!

Uhhhh......awesome! Good work Revie.....excellent!

I like the latest addition. The return of those little critters is nice and Marthyn's internal dialogue is nice as well. Continue, please.

The rest of the pack joined them, and they progressed along the path. For the most part the bulk of the pack ignored her, moving around her and never interacting or making contact. Rhys felt their communal unity flowing about, connecting all the members.

The chief lead them further and further, the path was wide enough to equal a street in the Imperial City. Striding beside the chiefton was a raptor who possessed two antenae, it tended to hold its head slightly lower than the chief, as if in submission.
Both occasionally gave throaty chitters and intermitten rumbles to one another. Their vocalizations held no meaning to Rhys, or at least from her limited expertise in animalistic linguistics. She noticed that the pair would sometimes glance at her from the corner of their eye and then say something to the other.

Rhys could do nothing but bare their scrutiny and keep up with the pack.

Marthyn......

He came to a icy cavern enterance, the warrior paused, studying the opening critically. Nothing moved........ but Marthyn couldn't shake the feeling........ well just a bad feeling about it. Still, he resumed his march, doing his best to sense what was making him uneasy.

It wasn't until something inhuman shrieked and struck him hard on the back that he finally noticed. Dropping Revan and spinning to face his assailant, he found himself face to......what had been a face with a revolting colection of rotting flesh and mangled body parts.

In all his years, Marthyn had never seen anything like this before; it looked like something that died and came back to life after rotting in the ground for months. The bonewalker rolled its one remaining eye and made an inarticulate gaging noise.
Marthyn narrowed his eyes, whatever the hell this thing is; it's not going to strike me and live. The dead thing, waddled awkwardly toward the shiny armored figure that stood defiantly before it.

Before that thing had even made three clumsy steps, Marthyn had slamed his first through its chest. With a disgustingly graphic spectacle, his armored guantlet went through the zombie's chest. As if made only to blight the world, the undead swatted invain against his arm.
Shaking his head impatiently, Marthyn vaporized that abomination's ugly torso with an energy blast, gore and smelly yellow fluids splattered everywhere. I wish all our enemies were this pathetic...... but more clean than these wretched things The Naryyn thought sourly as he smashed a flailing hand under his boot.

Then he stumbled back two steps as something hit him in the middle of his breastplate. Now very agitated, Marthyn looked up to find even more shambling corpses...... accompanied by skeletal pieces that carried primitive weapons and shields.
A robed figure stood atop a rock, only its head was visible........ it was a half decomposed face, the thing's brains were flopping out the side of its cracked skull. It howled through a toothless mouth, one side of its manibles was hanging, ligaments gone.

In its bony hand it held a piece of wood that could have been a walking stick, but the wood glowed with recently discharged energy. Recalling he'd been hit, Marthyn inspected his breastplate, it was partially covered by a thin layer of ice.
So, you like shoot ice at people, do you? Marthyn raised his hand to aim at the lich, well, time to get a taste of your medicine! A glorious flash sprung from his guantlet, the blast blew the sorcerer apart.

Rhys......

Just shy of rounding the corner, the raptors froze, antenae held rigidly outward, feeling the environment. Rhys didn't wait for them, she activated her staff and charged into the scene. By the time she realized what was going on, she'd cleaved through three blurs that had their backs turned to her.
She stopped, and she took in the situation: twenth undead, fifteen zombies, five skeletons, one motionless form of a lich, and Marthyn with one energy blade activated.

So much for being out of danger, she thought sarcastically to herself as sheslashed a zombie into tiny pieces.

Hmm, normally I would worry about the strenght draining effect of the Bonewalker's magicka, yet with Marthyn's suit, I doubt it will be as effective as usual. And Rhys, she's simply untouchable. You can't hurt that which you can't even hit.

Oh how I loath the strength drain spell!

Anyways, great update Revan. I was wondering when normal Morrowind fauna was going to appear once more....

Everything that's old is making a comeback: old allies and old enemies.....
--------

The crisp air was now smothered with the unholy stench of decomposed flesh, and the inhuman shrieks of the undead minions. Rhys bisected a bonewalker as she forced her way to the center of the space before the necromancer's lair.

A single skelton stood to challenge her, it raised a rusted over mace above its head, and howled for her death. The common weakness of such creatures were their sluggish and clumsy movements. Rhys' energy blade cut through the steel weapon with ease, and she quickly slashed through the skeleton's groin as well.

To her relief, Revan appeared unharmed aside from his earlier injuries. "Marthyn, keep them busy for a little longer; I just have to revive Revan!" The warrior was holding his own quite well against the remaining spawn of necromancy, but all the same he had no time to aknowledge her.

Before starting, Rhys removed Revan's helm and placed it on his chest. Then, her hands glowing faintly, she focused on speeding up the healing process.

Marthyn......

The undead were a nuisance at best, but having fought for most of his life, Marthyn knew better than to let any foe get out of his sight for all but the shortest time. Bones shattered like sticks under his enhanced strength, and flesh burned by his blades' edges.
During a brief lull of ten second, he picked up a blade that was only a foot shorter than he was and decided to experiment with it. Though he was certain this weapon was meant to be weilded two-handed, Marthyn's guantlet took up all the blade's hilt.

Marthyn swung the claymore with blinding speed, and the unfortunate bonewalker that became his test-subject was cut neatly in half at the waist. The survivors, term used loosly, hesitated long enough for Marthyn to find another tool to end their suffering with.
The weapon had a large head that he could only assume was used to hit things with, which, in turn, was mounted on a long shaft for the wielder to hold. Grinning menacingly, Marthyn brought down the warhammer on a fearful skeleton.

As if on reflex, the skeleton went through the trouble of raising its shield....... pity really. The yellow-gold tower shield broke like brittle glass under the dwarven warhammer. Now defenseless, the skeleton quivered.......
Marthyn's armor whirred and propelled the one ton warrior ten feet high. When the hammer landed there was a snapping sound, but it wasn't just bones that broke. Bringing the weapon closer to inspect it, Marthyn realized he'd broken the head off the hammer, as for the shaft....... it was bent back to a 38 degree angle.

With a shrug, he tossed the useless metal stick away, then he looked back to check of Rhys' progress.

Rhys.....

In her limited use of restoration, Rhys was able to set all of the broken bones and get them all at least halfway mended. All the bleeding had been stopped, so now she had to get Revan back. Placing he hand on his cheek, Rhys reached over to his consciousness. "Revan......."

Revan.....

The world was an unending void, it was nothing...... not pain, not warm or cold...... Then a change occured, a sound, a voice calling him back to the real world. Steadily he felt a warmth caress his face and then the cold air coming down his throat.

Revan opened his eyes, then closed them against the glare of sunlight. He opened them more cautiously, and Rhys smiled back at him. The next sensation was a brief but intense lance of pain along his back and he winced.
Rhys muttered apologetically, "I'm afriad, I'm not the healer I used to be. You should be able to walk at least."
"Don't worry, you're better than nothing." He added, sincerly, "much better than nothing."

Her grin broadened but before she could reply, another voice called to them. Another familiar voice, "Did you just feel that?"
Revan looked past Rhys to see that disiple from the Order, my brother? The moments leading up to being injured ran through his mind again. No, not brother...... he's my step brother. Rhys turned back to him, and stopped him as he tried to get up.

"If you break those bones again then all my effort into setting them was worthless wouldn't it?" Rhys pulled him to his feet, and slung his arm around her shoulders.
"I asked 'did you two hear tha-'" Marthyn was cut off by a sudden blood-curdling shriek.

A large creature landed in between them and Marthyn, its body was covered by glasslike armor, it had an elongated head, three long, grasping, claws on its fingers, and four slited eyes that looked over all three Naryyn like a predator would look upon prey.
The monster lifted its large maw to the sky and loosed another terrifying shriek......

Eh, trouble. Hmm, that armour really is something, that it allows him to break Dwarven weapons like that.

This looks like one of those creatures from the hanger or whatever have appeared again. Let's see how Marthyn handles this thing....

On his display, Lt. Thane noticed the evac for the survivors had arrived. Nodding to himself, he turned and neared the edge of the escarpment with the intent of joining the vehicles, but stopped suddenly. He played back the noise, a faint screech; Thane ran it through the databanks for a match...... nothing.

Next he checked the origin of the call, northwest. He lingered for an unknown amount of time, then shrugged, his armor duplicating the motion. I have no standing orders against scoping this out, best to keep this off record though.

With his new personal initiative, Thane's suit vaulted into the air, arcing 10 meters before changing course. His thruster packs roared as they struggled against the gravitational pull of the planet. Then two tons of metal, Naryyn, and weaponry impacted the ice below.
The ice buckled under the sudden meteor strike; Thane looked over his suit's status. Nothing was knocked loose, the mortar was still ready for action, missile launcher intact, and the plasmathrower's fuel-line hadn't ruptured; all was in perfect working order.

Naturally he could run and save power, but where was the fun in that? The golden dreadnaught hunched forward slightly, the drive thrusters hissed as they warmed up. Snow was whipped up by the charging scram-jets.
Linked directly to the power cells, the main thruster pack blazed electric blue. Seconds ticked by, Thane waited two seconds longer than necessary before hitting the release. A heartbeat, then the 885th trooper exploded forward, leaving a swath of melted snow and boiling water in his wake.

Darhun......

The Ascendants stood, floated in some cases, inert, Darhun swallowed to relieve his dry throat. "Greetings, brother and sisters, I, Severin, liege subject of Lord Arastus, have come to offer aid to you.” In his short life, Darhun had not interacted with many of the ascended, but he knew that they spoke through gesture and telepathy.

This Severin's mental voice was comparable to crackling embers of a long burning hearth. The Darn Naryyn Ascendant raised his arms in a gesture of good-will to the Naryyn gathered. Xaries began to move past him, Darhun could tell he was anxious, but the leader resumed his air of authority to set an example.

"Wise vassal of Arastus, I am Xaries, commander of the High Naryyn Naval Forces. We are all that remains of the original force sent by the Council from which we are all sworn allegiance to." Xaries had cast aside the fatigue and stress of the past month, being strong for his subordinates.

"Xaries of the High Naryyn, my liege lord offers you and yours solace amongst our own. Lord Arastus also extends our aid in the struggle against the rogue fleet.” The soldiers around Darhun relaxed at the thought of aid.

"Inform your liege lord that we readily welcome your aid with open arms. There are possibly others scattered throughout the region who might be able and willing to fight as well." Now Severin relaxed, his pauldrons lowered, eyes dimmed a fraction.

The Ascendant bowed, "if there are others then they shall be sought out.” Severin turned his gaze skyward, and several more vessels appeared out of thin air like Revan and Rhys could. The ships scattered scouring the landscape for other survivors.

Rhys…..

Hissing menacingly, the monster made several bounding steps toward them. Revan slowed her down considerable, but leaving him was out of the question. Rhys looked around for something, anything that could give them an advantage, but she knew, deep down, that if the last time they’d faced one of these things was any reminder, there was nothing short of a powerful explosion could stop it for more than a few moments.

Suddenly the charging creature slammed to the ground, Marthyn standing behind it with his two hands clasped together in an improvised club. “Get going, I’ll catch up later!”

Revan was about to voice a protest when Rhys shoved both of them further away from the downed beast. “We can’t afford to die here; we’re still fighting a war, Revan!”
He stopped struggling, accepting the stakes being too high to proceed with this suicidal battle.

“I’m sorry,” She whispered.
Revan replied in the very same tone, “Yeah, I am too.”
Both vanished from sight.

Marthyn……

As the two Iso Naryyn fled, he turned his attention back to his opponent. The vargukei rose from its sprawl, making its characteristic hissing snarl of aggression. Marthyn stepped back, moving out of range of the giant insect’s claws.

It came to its full height, its eyes possessed intelligence, but no conscience behind it ferocity. Wings appeared from its back and buzzed a supersonic drone as they beat faster and faster.
Crouching low, it launched itself bodily skyward. Marthyn kept a watchful eye on the black shape, knowing vargukei swooped down to smash their prey from above. Inwardly, the warrior knew this was all pointless; his command of psychic and energy attacks was not at all effective against the beast’s reflective hide. On his own strength, perhaps he could triumph, but that would require grounding the vargukei…….. permanently.

Revan…….

Silence hung between them like a cloud, not because of ill feeling toward one another, but in a form of reverence to Marthyn’s sacrifice. He intended to kill me, but not for ill reasons. In other circumstances, it could be an unjust pursuit; honor was at stake, and it was his honor to reclaim........

“But you didn’t deserve to die either. You can’t choose the situation surrounding your birth.” Revan didn’t meet her gaze, but Rhys did not yield. “And Markus did not intend to create these conflicts.”

Now he looked her in the eye, and Rhys was quieted. “How can you possibly know what he ‘intended’?”
She snapped back at him, “I don’t but neither do you, so you have no right to call me the fool, Revan!”

They stopped walking, glaring furiously at one another. “Yes, I don’t know of his intent,” he said finally in a more civil tone. “And by now we should both realize intent matters little compared to the result.”

“Like right now?” she asked calmly.
“Like right now,” Revan answered with an amiable grin.

Go Marthyn, go Marthyn.

It looks like the alliance is about to be formed which is good. Marthyn is ready to ground the Vargukei and the required explosive is on its way. All in all, things don't look so bad now.

Marthyn seems like a capable warrior. I'm sure he'll pull off the victory. Nice sense of tension going on here Revan.

Time and time again the vargukei swooped down from above, Marthyn managed to evade its thrashing claws every time. However he had yet to get close to making progress, the monster was faster than any would give it credit because of its size.
It took too long for him to get ready for Marthyn to make an effective counter-strike. This has gone on long enough, forget being prepared there has to be a better way than trying to swat it out of the air.......

Marthyn caught a glimpse of the cavern the undead had ambushed them from minutes earlier. Minutes? It seems like hours, but that's not what is important! With a crude plan in mind, the Naryyn rushed as fast as his augmented speed and armor could carry him.

No sooner did Marthyn reached the cave did his plan come together....... the vargukei dive-bombed him from behind. Rolling to avoid crippling his armor, Marthyn spun and vaulted over the beast. As he regained his footing, the vargukei turned to face its prey.
Although one would believe it impossible the creature's four eyes widened as its mistake became understood. When it had knocked Marthyn into the cave it had thrown itself into confined quarters, without space it could no longer take flight. And now the Naryyn warrior stood between it and its advantage.

Roaring in rage it charged toward Marthyn, if the prey dodged then it would have its advantage again, but meeting its charge was hardly practical, at least in its experience.
Marthyn stood his ground, eyes closed, breathing steadily.
He called upon all his reserves of energy, bracing for the moment that would win or lose the battle.

As the vargukei came within striking distance with its rapier claws, Marthyn came out of his trance. He saw the vargukei and yet did not see it; the power running through him also blurred his senses.
In his time amongst Iso Naryyn disciples Marthyn had learned to further enhance his strength, speed, and endurance by converting his powers into a form readily useful to his body.

This training would either save him our kill him; it would serve its appointed task. Marthyn raised his right arm and struck the ice below his feet…….. The floor buckled and shattered, fragments burst above and away from the strike.
The vargukei collided with the ceiling, pinned by the slivers of ice that impaled its body; its decapitated head rested on the floor, frozen with a look of disbelief.

Marthyn collapsed, his life expended, even in the face of unimaginable weakness and exhaustion he grinned victoriously. Too bad I won’t live to enjoy regaining my honor........... but this is good enough.......
Everything faded, there was no weakness, no triumph, and no cold ice on his face, only blessed darkness of death…………

Thane………

After ten minutes of constant burn, he finally paused to allow the abused engines cool. Not that giving his thrusters a break meant he was taking one too; Thane could proceed quickly enough without them.

He made long, bounding steps over the snowy landscape, his eyes scanning along with his sensors, tech can miss things that your eyes can’t or something like that. It was even more true at this moment in time.
What I would do to get a link to those things’ combatnet...... He was certain some royalhelm had already thought about the possibility of hijacking the enemy’s command net.

Someone’s probably beating their helmet against a bulkhead right now because they can’t keep tabs on all of us. Naturally, Thane was where he wasn’t supposed to be, but since when had that ever stopped an 885th legionnaire? Absolutely never!

As the legionaire rounded the bend, and stopped dead. Thane blinked several times to insure he wasn't seeing things. "Oh boy......"
They were milling around the basin, thirty giant insect things. Each was almost as large as his armor made him, and that was big. "Well, who let the ugly-buggy beasties out?" Thane asked the air in a nervous voice.

Very few things put a dent in the spirit of a true member of the '85th airborne, but Thane had trouble swallowing his fear. Ok, no worries, just ease on back the way you came and those things won't even notice.
He took one step backward, then slipped on the now uncovered layer of ice that rested beneath the snow. Thane didn't have to hear their sceeches of outrage or see them leering at him to realize he'd been discovered. Anyone could have heard the ice breaking beneath his suit for three klicks.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! As the legionaire struggled to his feet, thirty vargukei took to the air, their beating wings creating an angry buzzing noise worse than anything readily imaginable.