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Rebirth - The Long Expected Meeting
Posted By: KnightmareWolf, Shadow, Archangels_Blade, Spartan415<Guarded_Winter@aol.com>
Date: 12 November 2003, 2:09 AM
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Hello again, everyone. A long time it has been, yes?
To those who are new, this has been a series for... a while. To get all of it just do a search for Rebirth, at the top of the fan fiction screen in that box.
The preludes are Rise to Honor, The Ascendant, and Fafnir. I can't remember 415's... maybe an author search?
Anyway, as Arch would say... ahem:
The Merry Marines Live?
"Lord Weilan," Tras'Lok began his reports and instructions. "By now you've received our orders so conveniently relayed by the Lady. Halo's location has been marked on your navigational maps." - He paused, considering whether to tell him of their plans for Biraak, tapping the datapad as he did so. - "My personal instructions to you are as follows. Find the estimated time of completion for our planetary offensives, and tag them on your own report. When you have completed such, send them with Urien."
He tapped his pad once more, and sealed its authoring function before handing the troublesome device to the Jackal. "If you are assaulted in Uzumri's corridors..."
"Truly my Lord, I recall. Should I be attacked I will dispose of this item." She waved the pad. Tras nodded, more or less satisfied. Like him, Urien was a firm believer in honor. As a general and warrior he respected that sort of initiative. Upon learning of her existence, he'd immediately requested her services as an aide, which she happily accepted.
When his new aide departed, Tras'Lok pulled another grouping of documents onto the holographic representations facing him. He hated his duty. All he wanted was to live solitary, apart. Perfecting his arts and learning. T'was not to be, he knew that much. He still had duties to perform. But...
"Lord Tras'Lok."
"Yes?" He activated the intercom reply.
"Ambassador Mydrias Laxamee' is en-route."
"Thank you, I shall be there shortly. Is the Lady...?"
"She is currently on location."
Hopefully she did not see cause to 'punish for tardiness'. Tras ascended from his current post, and began the trek toward his monarch... and his destiny.
Shade felt her patience dangle once again. Ten minutes ago she had arrived, and was now standing on the boarding deck, where the ambassador's vessel would hopefully land without ill tide. All too slowly, his single ship glided in.
Around her general area, several meters behind, eighteen of a total nineteen Lanaan shifted in nervous tense, their perfectionist worlds shattered when shrill audio speared the room. The ship's engines were loud. She resisted the urge to cover her ears.
Gradually, it dropped into place, and the canopy slid open. The mists and smoke jumped out in a grand acrobatic display, created in order to compensate for the chill of space. Another grouping of molecules followed, a gray figure, a Torra slightly shorter in stature than was normal. Immediately she began walking towards him, hand outstretched. Their greeting would be simple. One handshake that identities might be confirmed, two in order of proper conduct...
Suddenly, her ears caught what her eyes could not. Footsteps! He was running!
Eliminate it.
Who are you?
I am in you. I AM you. You want to eliminate it, because it is trying to cease you.
She stood, or thought she was standing, it mattered not. What did matter was that she could see the entire exchange from her vantage point- and much to her dislike was unable to influence its workings. As the blurry shape landed from his brief contact with her, one of her flanking guards managed a rapid counter-attack in the form of a diagonal swipe with his sword.
Had she been shot? Shade could not remember being hit by any sort of projectile. But her ears were ringing; did that mean...?
Instead of slipping back and crushing her as she had expected, the intruder swerved into her guard's attack and latched onto his throat, pushing him -and his translucent tower shield- between himself and a pair of incoming azure plasma bolts.
You've been shot, affirmative, Reclaimer. Computer readouts specify zero one Depleted Uranium rounds. These were fired from a customized Sniper's weapon with an extended magazine of unspecified ammunition quantity.
Training took hold, and her world became sharp. Perspiration was in the air, as well as carbon and ozone. A second member of her Lanaan shoved the intruder over the side of the walkway. Victory!
He simply let go of his previous trouble, crashing down with audible clang, and rolled aside as a plasma sword whip-lashed the air inches from his face. In moments the barrel was up, and her Guardian's head was missing. The god-forsaken uranium slug had gone completely through his shields!
In rising volcanic tenure she allowed her legs to carry her upward, locking them so that she would not stagger, inhaling deeply what air remained surrounding. Eyes glazed with unnatural light; willpower bolstered by deeply burning anger, Shade raised high her hands and shouted. This affront- this human; would die.
"Infurnum!" Source-power inconceivable, a single blazing fireball leapt free of her outstretched limb and soared away. "Creatis Infurnium!" Three identical their brother followed, utterly blinding, remorseless. Like her in many ways. These, her prey warded; a beautifully sapphire sword nearly one with his feeble paws, those paws he surely called hands.
Shade growled. Not grimaced, not groaned displeasure, not hissed...
Literally growled another spell into being. "Bari sendur frigidice!" Air chilled, her blood began an ugly, bone shattering freezing process; biting her very soul with rabid delusions, sharp contrast to her usually vibrantly morbid self. And then, she relinquished her tight hold.
Gobs of what, to a casual observer, appeared nothing more than tar. How wrong they were. Any substance they passed seemed gathering nothing less than frost, chanting worship as a better traveled. After what Shade perceived like minutes of calm tension, they struck. With each moment wasted, the plasmatic wonder shriveled, sizzled in death throes. Her prey let his arm glide retreat, and advance.
Every instinct told her to dive, to get away! But she knew that did not need to happen, she would be protected regardless... nonetheless, something within denied such an accusation of brazen carelessness. As any truly sane warrior might, Shade gathered her instincts and dove aside. Her ambition paid good fortune, and the impossibly cold weapon lopped off a considerable lock of hair. The initial attack at a simple bullet's hand had obviously proven enough that she must rest before her defenses would function correctly. For several key moments, she hesitated.
This was all her human prey needed. Deliberately expeditious, he swerved, ducked, rolled and sidestepped over fifty brain-searing plasma globs and dropped his knee on her chest, a gleaming metal shard in hand. Apparently he needed to be sure, and would watch her bleed in his own time. Shade supposed she would have done no less. It was not in her plans, however. And would not come to existence.
Look within each glittering pool, human; reach starlight, that is my eyes.
Soon, Shade reflected. Soon he would feel an odd pull, an irresistibility pleasurable temptation. He would gander her eyes, and view hatred reflected there- feel his soul ripped away. Only then, would she watch him die. Humans deserved no less than eternal servitude; she mused internally. There were very few fates worse than slavery.
"Human, I will not permit your savage mission whilst I may end it; for I know such grants your safety!" In human tongue, had these words, this sentence, been cited. Tras'Lok was the only entity, other than herself, capable of such feats. Tras's dually booted hooves slammed into his arm, and the Torra's muscled hand clamped onto her prize with a zealous magnetism.
Shade watched in unavoidable shock as they descended, dropped off the cable which Tras'Lok had swung in on, and sunk through a hatch.
The midst of battle, the intensity of the situation, the ferocity of the enemies that he fought, the adrenaline that was flowing through his body: all was interrupted quite abruptly as he was snatched from his current position across the hangar floor. Taken off his feet, he was immediately in the state of frantic inaction, attempting to break loose form the iron grip that held him in place, but to no avail. Immediately, the force stopped, and the grip was let loose, in the loud clang of the bay doors being shut in front of him.
Apparently, an elite had dragged him from the battle into something of a secluded and safe area in a fairly small airlock room, with the bay doors already locked tight. He stared at the elite, searching for any reason for the performance of such an action.
Immediately though, the search for a reason was taken away by the recognition of the elite himself. It was the one that had brought him here in the first place. Without any break in time, the rifle was up, and aimed at the elite's skull. He was going to accomplish his task of assassinating this Shade, even beyond what currently stood in his way. The elite was only a foot away from the gun's nozzle, and he realized too late that the elite had quite impressive reflexes. A blur of blue was sighted on his left as his gun's unreasonable stillness was suddenly interrupted by an outside force, sending bullets flying both at the floor and at the wall behind Tras. The force was extremely powerful, enough to knock the weapon out of his hands. Yet, as surprised as he was, he would not let an unpredicted action set him off balance completely. He reached behind him, quickly swiping out at the elite with his small sword at hand. But, this elite proved too quick even for his own reflexes, as he stepped back with amazing calmness that rivaled his own. Before he could make another strike, he was met with the elite's words.
"I wouldn't have imagined you to be so stupid."
"Honor in the destruction of evil is rendered as stupidity in your society?"
"I was speaking on our little tirade in the tavern. I wouldn't have thought someone of your abilities to be so... trusting."
"So you're saying that coming on this ship and taking on dozens of enemies was a smart thing."
"Nay, that too was foolish."
"Only as foolish as your words, elite."
He clicked his small sword back into its sheath behind his back, and un-strapped his sniper rifle with his other hand in one smooth motion. He set the rifle down, apparently aimed at the elite. The shot was fired, but did not reveal a dark purple spray of blood, rather the sparking and breaking of the locking panel directly behind Tras. Before the elite could react, Shadow was past him and through the now open doors.
(NOTE: Thanks to Louis for the hasty reply to my e-mail! - Knightmare)
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