Crimson Catalysts {Role-Play}

Listening to the conversation between Zecora and Bordon, Echanu crossed his massive arms. He didn't trust Bordon. Nor did he trust Zecora. However, they were extremely useful at that point in time, so he would travel with them. When Bordon said something about following him, Echanu nodded and moved to the side, letting him out of the alley. He looked at the Sha'vael, giving them a silent order which they obeyed immediately. They both scurried up the walls of the alleyway, using their arms and legs, and jumped onto the roof. As Echanu, Zecora, and Bordon would move through the streets, the Sha'vael would follow them, leaping from roof to roof. Given a good running distance, a trained Eckari could leap a distance of 30 feet easily in human terms. They would be the groups watchers.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth received word from a scouting party of a group of strange warriors heading towards the camp. He sighed and stepped out of the tent, looking towards the distance, trying to see the group. If they were invaders, Forsynth and the group of 10 Sha'vael would wipe them out. Otherwise, it was Forsynth's decision as to what was going to happen. Echanu had given the direct order that while he was gone, Forsynth was in charge. Forsynth had always been smart and tactical, more so than any other Eckari that had lived in generations. He was small in size compared to most Eckari, especially his brother. But Forsynth had known all along who was the brain and who was the brawn. He knew that he should be the one to lead the Eckari. Not Echanu. However, he would respect his brother's wishes...For now. Readying his armor, Forsynth walked past the village and up to the group of foreigners, greeting them in his native tongue.


"Fer tulens kanneda tow?" Forsynth asked.


In translation, it meant "Do you bring death?". It was an ancient greeting to any newcomer of the planet. The death was not for the Eckari, but to the invader. If they were to, indeed, bring war, then it would end in their own death. Forsynth knew that they most likely wouldn't understand his tongue, just as they wouldn't understand his. But it was customary. If these strangers did bring the intention of war, then they would most likely strike at Forsynth first. Although he was smaller than most Eckari, he was still formidable, fighting with strategy compared to brute force.


Forsynth -> View attachment 3344
 
The diplomat in the group on Faerigan stepped from the middle of the group of soldiers and walked to the front to greet Forsynth. The diplomat was a female type model in terms of default body shape and programming. The Liquos had a tendency to design their diplomats exclusively as females in order to try and make them look a little threatening as possible so they would not be mistaken as a threat even by the most basic of cultures. The diplomat's yellow, gem-like eyes flashed colours rapidly for a moments and electric currents surged inside her translucent blue body as she downloaded a copy of the lexicanum of the Eckari language from the Liquos knowledge database. The language of the Eckari had been documented and deciphered as part of the record of their history and with that information now in the diplomat's data banks, she could speak their language.


The diplomat spoke in a feminine voice which sounded ever so slightly computerized, speaking in the Eckari tongue. "We do not bring death but life. My people have been watching your people over the millennia, documenting the history of your kind. We know of the current conflict between your kind and the invading Haktu and have deemed it necessary that we intervene. We seek to preserve life and create peace." The Liquos tried to make voices unique to those that had them while ensuring the voice fit the gender model and programming. The diplomat paused to allow Forsynth some time to think. She did not expect that someone from a world with such a low technology level would be able to take all of this in at once without some time to think.


After waiting a few moments, the diplomat continued. "I have been sent to ensure that peaceful relations are formed between the two warring races here. Another group has already been sent to the Haktu homeworld to speak with their queen. We hope that the two sides can come to an agreement and the war can end. We know that the leader of your people is currently not on this world and you have been placed in his stead for the duration of his absence. I will need to speak with you about the occurrences on this world and the impact which the Haktu invasion is having. You are currently in charge so you are the one we must speak to." She bowed in respect before taking a few steps back, retreating to the centre of the group of soldiers. She began downloading information her kind had learnt of Eckari customs as she did not wish to do anything which would offend their hosts. This knowledge was limited however as they had never talked to any of the Eckari before and only observed them at a distance.
 
Bordon lead the group to a docking bay where his hunk-of-junk pile of scrap lay, ready to heave them across the galaxy. However, an Inspec Corps. officer was in front of it with a datapad, marking entries into it with his metal pen as dockworkers locked the ship down with special gravity-control devices. Bordon cried out "My ship! Wait wait wait! What are you doing?!" The officer turned to them "Mr. Genwick, despite our orders to clean your fuel emission systems regularly to avoid an explosive misshap, you continue to dock your timebomb of a ship in our city. If it explodes, this entire section of the docking bay will plummet to the mountainous depths below. Which is why you are being suspended for three months." Bordon exclaimed, irrate by this development "Suspended?! There's just a bit of mold in there! Nothing too hard to clean out!" The officer slapped a note onto the man's palm, sticking it to him, and retorted sarcastically "Then it's a wonder why you haven't already. Excuse me." He started to make his exit before Zecora stepped in his way, giving a pouting look. He gave a startled look "Z-Zecora! You're-" She cut him off with a cutesy plea "Could you please let us go? We've got some important business to attend to, Mr. Officer..." He nodded after a deep gulp and turned to the dock workers "H-Hey! Yeah! Take all that down! It's been revoked!" When one of them raised both arms up and lazily let them hit his sides in a way of saying "What?!", he demanded "Just do it!" He turned, smiling awkwardly at the girl "S-Sorry about that..." She smiled up at him as they walked past the Officer, Bordon grumbling bitterly and crunching the note in his hand and tossing it aside. Zecora leaned up and planted a soft "Thank You" kiss on the Officer's cheek, causing his face to ignite a deep red. As he turned to watch them leave, he noticed Bordon crumple the note and toss it on the floor and comically demanded "No loitering!"


View attachment 3351 <---- Zecora


View attachment 3352 <----- Bordon Genwick
 
Echanu was amazed at the turn of events. Somehow, Zecora had made the dock workers bend to her will. How had she done that? Some kind of weapon? Echanu would have to investigate that later, but for now, he would simply leave it alone. Whatever got him to Aubren the fastest was the best course of action for Echanu. He looked at the workers, perplexed, yet continued to observe quietly. After everything was done, he quietly followed Zecora and Bordon, as did the Sha'vael, who looked equally as fascinated.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth listened to the newcomers. They managed to speak in the tongue of the Eckari, which impressed Forsynth. They didn't seem to be living, but made out of liquid. This fascinated Forsynth, which was always thirsty to learn. He listened to what they had said, and when they mentioned that there was already a scouting party sent to the Haktu homeworld, he simply laughed. However, he remained silent after that until they were finished. He spoke in the Eckari tongue, slowly, so the foreigners could understand.


"Your other group is dead, I assure you. The Haktu cannot be reasoned with. The last ones to try ended up dead in an attack involving hundreds of thousands of Haktu forces. The only way this war will end is with the death of either us or them. Our leader, Echanu Han, is getting help from someone named Kin-durr. I do not know of this person." Forsynth spoke in length.


When he was done speaking, Forsynth crossed his arms, waiting for the reply from the foreigner. However, just then, he heard the familiar humming sound that all of the Eckari hated. He looked at the group of Sha'vael and nodded to them, in which they all rushed inside of a tent and emerged with various weaponry. One of the Sha'vael threw Forsynth a relatively small sword, which he caught and examined. Forsynth spun it in his hands and looked at the foreigners once more, giving them a small grin.


"Now is the time. There are a large force of Haktu heading for us. Either you're with us, or you're against us. There is no middle ground with the Eckari. Death and dishonor are the same. Will you be honored, or dishonored?" Forsynth asked as he continued spinning the blade in his hand.
 
The diplomat nodded in understanding of what Forsynth had said after having listened to him. She still believed that there was a chance of reasoning with the Haktu but if they were as hostile as Forsynth had said then the peace mission would have to fall back to plan B. Plan B was for the Haktu and Eckari to be separated from each other but it would have to be modified more along the lines of the Haktu being pushed back to their home planet and blockaded there to prevent them from inflicting any further harm. When she heard the name, she recognized it as that of the Kinder family. Her people knew of what Kinder Industries had done over the years and her kind had a general dislike of humans for their selfishness and greed.


The diplomat looked in the direction from which the humming came before looking back at Forsynth. "The Kinder family is not to be trusted. They are of the most selfish and greedy race my people know but we can talk about that later. As for the Haktu, they will find assaulting my kind to be a grave mistake. We may not be as large or strong as you and your people but we more than make up for it in intelligence and speed. The soldiers of my kind are much more difficult to harm than you might think." She turned her attention back to the humming which drew ever closer, then back to Forsynth. "We are with you but we are not yet convinced that killing the Haktu is the right option. Taking lives goes against our programming. We cannot kill without authorization as that would be deviating from our mission."
 
Bordon entered his ship, followed by Zecora and the Eckari. He gave them a short tour; showed them where the restroom was which was already giving away his lifestyle, what with the old porn magazines lying in the corner and enter piles of beer cans filling the tub, much to Zecora's disgust. It wreaked of rust and decay, but it had a slight homey feel to it. Like someone could get lost in the pile of useless junk just lying about. Would be an easy way to hide, should the ship get boarded. He showed them the cockpit, which Zecora's canine instincts made her immediately touch several knobs and buttons. He turned to her with a finger pointed close to her "Don't. Touch. Anything." When he turned back to the console to explain how everything worked, she moved her thumbs into her canine ears with her hands open and stuck her tongue out at him mockingly.


The curved ship slammed into the sandy dirt, rolling toward the village entrance before stopping almost a kilometer away from it. It's top receded back, allowing numerous elite Haktu warriors and assassins to pour out. Some had wings and others didn't. Some were armed with four daggers due to multiple limbs, others armed with handles that connected to several whip-like sheets of metal that were shaved enough to easily cut through dense materials, others armed with primitive make-shift sniper rifles. Then there was Kor, the leader of the band. Despite being a half-Haktu, half-Eckari abomination, she considers herself full Haktu and she is treated as such by others. Unless, of course, they had a death wish. She leapt out of the ship, immediately issuing orders in her native Haktu clicking language, made possibly despite her Eckari vocal chords that inhibited some patterns of speech.View attachment 3365
 
([MENTION=578]Sadow-sama[/MENTION] The Mantis from the monster girl encyclopaedia. Nice choice for an insect girl pic.)


The science vessel in orbit above Faerigan observed the vessel which had crash landed. The scientist aboard was somewhat amazed by the Haktu managing to pilot a ship. He had been wondering how it was that they travelled between planets and now he knew exactly how. He really had to see it to believe it, otherwise he would have continued to believe that someone might have been smuggling them off their homeworld and onto other planets. However, one thing was still uncertain. Where did the Haktu get the ship from and where did they acquire the knowledge to pilot it? It was also puzzling as to how they came into possession of sniper rifles, even if they were crude makeshift weapons but they were guns nonetheless. Either someone was delivering them technology, they were somehow managing to steal it or they were advancing rapidly. Whatever the case, that was something the scientist found alarming when considering the situation on Faerigan.


The scientist zoomed in on the planet surface to get a better view of the happenings taking place there. Amongst the Haktu ranks, he noticed something different. It was Kor. She stuck out amongst the rest of the Haktu like a sore thumb. Her presence was another thing which the science found interesting. A hybridization of Haktu and some other race? How was such a thing possible? This warranted investigation which the scientist was all too happy to pursue as he watched intently.


The diplomat on the surface of Faerigan looked onwards at the Haktu forces which had landed. She was just as surprised as the scientist in orbit to see that they had sniper rifles and managed to pilot a ship even if they had crash landed it. She observed the weapons which they carried, noting them and how they might be used. The soldiers forming her squad of bodyguards did the same. The group shared their processing power wirelessly to evaluate the situation. So far, it seemed the Haktu had the upper hand but they were not going to count the Eckari out. They knew far better than to underestimate them due to their noticeable physical strength.


The guards prepared themselves for the event of conflict, rewriting their programming temporarily to suit the conditions of the current situation. They did not want to engage the Haktu in combat but it seemed that it might be inevitable. Their mission to preserve life remained however and if drawn into combat, they would stop at simply disarming and subduing their opponents rather than kill them. They maintained formation to keep the diplomat safe as she had no combat routines in her memory banks, making her completely inept when it came to combat. She could however just as easily link to one of her guards to use the combat routines he had stored in memory but it was something which would be against her role.


(I forgot to mention in the bio in the sign-up but female Liquos have the general body shape of human females and have bits hanging down from their heads to imitate hair of various styles just as the males have the general shape of the human body from the neck down. Sort of like how mannequins are since they lack certain parts of the body but they come pretty close to matching it. I wish I remembered to add that in earlier.)
 
(( You're fine, Zek. As you can see, Sadow and I have been adding stuff as we've gone along. No biggie. ))


Echanu and the Sha'vael were cramped in the ship to say the least. The other two had rejoined, making a total of five Eckari aboard a relatively small vessel. Echanu and the Sha'vael listened to Bordon and obeyed his order to touch nothing, so they simply stood, unmoving, like statues. The only way one could tell that they were living was that, once in a while, one would blink or if one had good eyesight, they could see their chests moving ever so slightly. In truth, if any of the Eckari were to move a muscle, they would touch something in the small and crowded ship. Echanu finally looked at Zecora and moved the corner of his mouth barely to speak.


"Why...Can we...Not...Touch...Anything?" Echanu asked.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth saw that the foreigners moved to guard the one that spoke. She could be of high importance. Forsynth made sure that he would remember that and faced the forces ahead. The foreigners didn't wish to fight. Fine. Echanu had broke tradition to ask for help, so Forsynth figured that he could bend the rules a bit here as well and let the foreigners live. He assigned two Sha'vael to stay with the foreigners, to both safeguard them and to watch them closely in case they were to try anything. The incoming Haktu forces were relatively small, but Forsynth saw that they were elites. Some even carried sniper rifles. This would be an interesting battle, Forsynth noted to himself before he stepped onto the battlefield with the Sha'vael.


Forsynth sent three Sha'vael forward to take out the Haktu with the rifles. These three were the most heavily armored, the armor made from dense metal found in the ground and woven together with bones from the Haktu. They rushed forward, bullets pinging off their armor as the forces fired. The three Sha'vael readied their weapons and began hacking and slashing through the forces, eventually reaching the snipers. In close quarters, the sniper Haktu were nearly useless, but they still had weaponry. Forsynth witnessed as one cut down a Sha'vael and finished it off with a bullet to the head before the other two Sha'vael ripped that Haktu in half. Once the snipers were dealt with, the battle would truly begin.


Sending the remaining five Sha'vael into battle, Forsynth merely walked towards the oncoming drones. The Sha'vael ran screaming towards the enemies, swinging wildly and with reckless abandon, entering a state of berserker that could only be quelled once all of the enemies lay dead. Forsynth had never entered this mode, much more preferring to use his mind as a weapon as much as his body. He spun the blade around and around in his hand and swung it in the air in a wide arc. It was a simple swing, even though no enemy was in front of him. However, the blade extended and seemed to fragment, hurtling towards a Haktu elite. It ripped it in half and Forsynth brought the blade back towards him, swinging his arm downwards. He swung it in a wide arc again, and again, it extended and cut down another Haktu. He was systematically taking down the strongest ones. That was, until he saw the leader: Kor.


Kor was notorious to the Eckari. Her prowess on the battlefield was unmatched amongst the Haktu. The only reason she was so formidable, however, was because she was an abomination of Haktu and Eckari. The Haktu must've experimented with cross-breeding, which sickened Forsynth. He swung the blade whip around and around and lashed it towards Kor, making sure to keep his distance. This enemy was formidable and ferocious, however she was also smart. However, Forsynth was smarter. As the blade neared Kor, Forsynth pressed a button located on the bottom of the hilt which released a poisonous mist in the air that was harmful to only the Haktu. It was a strategy that he had come up with and Echanu used frequently, but only in arrow form. Forsynth applied it to other weapons.


In addition to the blade whip's gas, Forsynth reached into his pouch and pulled out three tiny balls of glass. He shattered them in his hand and threw it into the crowd of Haktu to his left side. Just as the blade whip neared Kor, Forsynth jerked his arm to the right and caused the blades to miss Kor by mere inches if she had not moved. The blade whip soared over the Haktu forces on Forsynth's right side, littering them with the poisonous gas. It wouldn't kill all of them, and Forsynth knew that it wouldn't kill Kor, but it would at least thin out the forces and minimized the casualties of the Sha'vael, as well as hopefully weaken Kor enough so to win Forsynth a killing blow. If that happened, then he knew that he would be chosen as the new leader instead of that foolish Echanu.
 
([MENTION=1923]Zekeziel[/MENTION] Thanks. Couldn't find any better, less-human ones so decided to stick with the best I could find.)


Bordon shouted back comically "Not you- Well, yes! I mean- Just... don't touch any blinking lights or buttons or knobs or anything that looks important!" Zecora smirked up at Echanu as she leaned against a wall near him, folding her arms.


====Faerigan====


Kor smirked. Scientists- ones that had a hand in her birth -had managed to create a potent anti-toxin vaccine against the poisons in the form of gelatinous goo that the Haktu warriors ingest and endure a day of aggravating stomach pain for. It nulled them, for the entire year of their lives, against the gas. Kor took it merely so it wouldn't have any weakening or dibilitating effects on her, though her life span was much longer than a year but shorter than an Eckari's. She cackled and spoke aloud in Eckari, having been taught by a certain someone "Maktu vik'ti, Han. Mo'nos veres kir'ral?" She asked him where his brother was whilst pulling a small staff from a sheath hidden on her back, behind her folded, elegant wings. Her voice was sharp and distinctly oppressive and vicious, giving light to her personality.


The Haktu elites continued to fight voraciously against the Sha'vael, managing to fight on par with them. These Haktu were trained by Kor herself, rather abusively. She was given 1,000 Haktu, and only 50 managed to live, having come out as elite assassins and warriors. One multi-limbed Haktu, armed with four daggers in each three-clawed hand, managed to carve out an Eckari's rib with a single slice before driving one of its daggers into the back of their neck whilst they lay on their knees. Still, losses were inflicted on both sides, equally as great. They had lost all but one Sniper, who has no wings and had to retreat almost a mile away and into a nearby canyon with ridges extending over the battle field, giving it a perfect vantage point to pick off targets one by one while they were distracted fighting its comrades.
 
====Faerigan====


Group B watched the conflict unfold, staying back and avoiding taking part in the battle. They had seen the vicious killings which took place on the battlefield and found the brutality unsettling. "All this bloodshed could have been avoided" is what they thought to themselves. This did, however, convince them that they should help the Eckari fight the Haktu invaders. A military force would have to be dispatched to Faerigan to ensure that the Haktu would not be able to reinforce their presence on the planet. If their resistance was too strong to drive off then they could simply wait them out as the Haktu had been observed to have shorter lifespans than the Eckari. The group wasted no time and sent a message to the others on Marash Ker'al, sending it across a network of Liquos science vessels in orbit above various planets, to warn them of the threat the Haktu posed and the change in course of action.





====Marash Ker'al====


Within just a few minutes, group B received the message. They had been on their way to one of the hives when they had received it and stopped where they were to view it. After going through the contents of the message, they sent their own across the network to Oceanus. It was a request for a gateway to be opened to transport them back to Oceanus. It would take a few moments for the trajectory to be plotted amongst other things so they decided on moving to a safer location. That was if anywhere on the planet could be considered safe. Since they had not been attacked yet, they moved back towards the spot where they had first arrived but kept their guard up. The soldiers were ready to create weapons if they were attacked and the diplomat stayed in the centre of the group for her own protection. They connected to a science vessel in orbit and watched the display it had of the area around them in the event that something came at them from the jungle.


====Oceanus====


The communications array at the gateway hub received group B's message and was viewed by one of the workers at the hub station. The worker immediately began plotting the destination of the gateway, being accurate down to the very last picometer as plotting the destinations of wormholes required accuracy. There was no margin for error as one wrong digit or misplaced decimal point could cause the wormhole to open on the opposite side of the planet or even in another galaxy and that would not do during an emergency situation. Once the coordinates had been set, they were checked three times for safety before the gateway was opened.


 
Echanu folded his arms at Bordon, and the Sha'vael seemed to get impatient. They didn't like the tiny space. They were used to the open battlefield, warm, dry sands, and the smell of the wind. Not this cold, industrial stuff. The Sha'vael had all managed to find a place to sit, whilst Echanu began pacing back and forth. He thought about Forsynth on Faerigan, wondering if they had been attacked. There was no means of communication between them, making Echanu feel worried about his people, and even more worried about his brother. He and Forsynth had never seen eye-to-eye, but they were bloodkin, and bloodkin always were close, no matter what. He looked at Bordon and frowned.


"When will we be leaving? I must speak with Au-burr-en immediately and return to Faerigan." Echanu said as he sighed heavily, showing agitation.


=====Faerigan=====


Something was wrong...Why wasn't the Haktu dying? Forsynth didn't understand. Had they built up an immunity to the gas? Was that even possible? It didn't matter. That just meant that he and the Sha'vael would have to kill them all by hand. However, he noticed that the number of Sha'vael was dwindling, there being only eight left. This was unacceptable. Forsynth grit his teeth in anger, but was quickly distracted when Kor actually spoke in the tongue of the Eckari. She asked where Echanu was.


The fact that she could speak the Eckari language infuriated Forsynth. She wasn't worthy enough to speak amongst Eckari! However, this posed several questions to Forsynth. How had she learned that? Who taught her, if anyone? Were the Eckari being studied, and if so, by whom? All of these questions flooded his mind, but he would have to think about them later. The battlefield wasn't the place to think about things not pertaining to killing. If Kor wanted Echanu, then she was out of luck. Forsynth grinned widely and decided to answer her.


"Echanu lela tobe ka, sa'nna. Ho'me, lo ro kas tienne, fa tow." Forsynth spat, the translation being 'Echanu's not important now, bug. But, since you asked nicely, I'll bring your death'.


Seeing Kor bring out her weapon, Forsynth chuckled. He brought the blade whip back towards her, whilst reaching into a small bag next to the one that held the glass balls of poisonous gas. He whistled loudly three times to the Sha'vael, in which they immediately knew what was about to happen, and reacted promptly. Forsynth pulled out another handful of glass balls and threw some to the group on his left, some to the group on his right, and the rest directly in front of Kor. As soon as they were gone from his hand, he and the Sha'vael tightly shut their eyes and covered their ears.


There was no delay when the glass shattered. At first, there was a blinding flash of light, so brilliant that anyone looking directly at it would be blinded for several minutes, and those who could even see the light in their peripheral vision would be stunned for a couple of moments. A fraction of a second later, came the secondary effect of the ball. An incredibly loud shrieking sound emanated, lasting roughly two seconds. The shriek was so piercing and loud that it would immediately deafen anyone who wasn't covering their ears at the time. Finally, the third effect began to to seep out of the broken shards of glass. A stench so awful that it would make anyone who wasn't trained with it's stomach twist and turn, if not make whoever smelt it vomit instantly, provided they could vomit. The fourth effect was rendered useless, that being the poisonous gas.


As soon as the flash was over and the shriek was done, Forsynth and the Sha'vael were back on the offensive. Forsynth had only used the whip attack as a distractionary means to make another distraction. Forsynth had created that tiny bomb, having observed the Haktu on the battlefield, noting that they relied on the senses of sight, sound, and smell the most. The flash was created from a flowering plant on Faerigan that, when one traveled too closely, it would emit a strong glow. As one got closer, the glow would get stronger, until they would have to look away. The sound was created from several tiny insects that resided near the glowing plants that, when threatened, they would all emit a high shrieking noise. Finally, the smell was simply made from gathering the most vile things from the waste pit. That job was definitely a punishment for any Eckari who had stepped out of line.
 
Bordon, too, was eager to get this done and over with. These giants were scary and hanging around Zecora for more than a few minutes meant trouble. He flipped a few switches and turned a larger one back, which emitted a loud hum as the engines revved up "We are leaving now. Get ready. Setting coordinates for the Bo-La'Oark system." Upon answering the head-giant's question, the ship rose off the ground and the landing arms retracted into the body of the mass of steel. It reared back, the bridge of the small star craft pointed towards the cloud-covered sky. With the press of several buttons and the hesitant, careful pull of a lever the ship boomed out instantaneously into the planet's orbit, zooming past satellites, debris, asteroids, and even other ships. The piece of junk was slow, but fast... They rocketed toward a massive ship in the shape of a metal covering for a glowing blue ball, passing through the center opening and jetting even faster. At this point, stars looked like blurs of light as they traveled faster than light speed toward their destination.


====Marash Ker'al====


Clicking sounds hummed in the area the scientists had hidden in, and once a light had been brought, hundreds of drones seemed to have been sleeping in that area, which happened to be a small Hive. The clicking became a chorus as they swarmed about, eager to capture or kill these intruders. Some brandished spears, others primitive crossbows that fired bolts filled with deadly poisons. These weapons were the best the Haktu could manage to create. The more advanced weaponry, obviously, came from elsewhere...


====Faerigan====


The Haktu, even the Sniper at this point, wished they were still Pods being whipped by their Overseers. Some squealed and screeched, others took the pain and discomfort silently in vain attempts to look endurant in front of their Commander, who shared their feelings. She screamed in agony and clutched her face in pain. These Eckari had evolved... normally, their ways were to die with honour, ignoring tactics that would make things easier to kill. These ones lacked honour in favour of practicality. Either way, she coughed and scrambled to get away, even pushing other bumbling Haktu in the path of her enemies to keep clear. When she felt a distance was put up and she could speak clearly, she ordered the troops in their tongue to take flight. Those who couldn't were commanded to die fighting. They did as told, taking to the air and abandoning the wingless drones to their fates below.
 
====Marash Ker'al====


The group gazed upon the hundreds of drones which surrounded them. The ten soldiers in the group formed weapons from their own bodies, shaping their arms to become lances and shields which they then hardened and crystallized. The group started backing away towards the gateway, wanting to get back to Oceanus before any Haktu with weapons capable of actually harming them arrived. The diplomat in the group stopped the soldiers when they were nearing the portal as she had an idea. She downloaded a lexicanum of the Haktu tongue from the science vessel in orbit just as the diplomat on Faerigan had done.


Now able to communicate with the Haktu, the diplomat said in the Haktu tongue "We come in peace. Please listen to us. We want to end the conflict between the Eckari and Haktu peacefully so there will be no more bloodshed. Please give us a chance to speak. We want to ensure that all races in the universe can coexist peacefully." The diplomat waited for their response, staying in the safety of the group of soldiers guarding her. The soldiers stayed vigilant, ready to fight their way to the gateway if necessary.
 
Feeling the ship take off, Echanu gripped a seat that was bolted to the floor, not used to being off the ground. The seat creaked and once Echanu removed his hand, there were large finger outlines where his fingers had been, permanently damaging the seat. Noticing this, Echanu looked at the seat, then to Bordon, then back to the seat. He didn't want Bordon to see what he had done, so Echanu quickly sat in the small chair, to which he was sure it was a comical sight. He shifted around uncomfortably as they raced through the galaxy. The Sha'vael were all huddled together and seated on the floor, afraid that if they crashed, they would die a dishonorable death. Echanu silently feared that as well, but somehow, deep down, he knew that he wasn't going to die on this day.


=====Faerigan=====


Satisfied with the effects of his little 'bomb', Forsynth retracted the blade whip and sheathed it as the rest of the Sha'vael took out the remaining ground troops with efficiency. Forsynth pulled out two curved pieces of wood with wickedly sharp blades at the end. The wood was ceremoniously carved and had different grooves amongst them. Forsynth reared back and threw both at the same time, having extensive training with the bladed weapons. They flew through the air, easily and cleanly slicing through the Haktu that had taken flight. The weapons curved around and returned to Forsynth, which he caught and reared back once more, aiming for Kor this time.


Suddenly, Forsynth felt something hit his armor. He quickly realized that it was a sniper bullet. Growling in anger, Forsynth nevertheless released the bladed boomerangs, still aiming for Kor. As soon as they left his hand and went ripping through the air towards her, Forsynth dropped to his knee and twisted his body to the side where he felt the sniper round. He pulled from his back a large bow and an arrow, drawing the arrow back and aiming. At first he saw nothing. Then, a tiny flicker of light, the sunlight from one of the three suns reflecting off the metal of the rifle. Forsynth did a few calculations in his head quickly and aimed the bow upwards, feeling no wind and calculating the trajectory. Once he was at a satisfied angle, he released the arrow and quickly pulled out another, watching the first glide through the air. He couldn't see if he hit the target or not, so he shot another arrow slightly above where he had the first and another slightly below, just to be sure.
 
The old carrier ship known by Bordon as Betsy entered the Bo-La'Oark system. Upon reaching it, they found they were eclipsed by something massive hovering above them that darkened their view of the planet marked by some as K't'ish. The object above them was revealed to be a collossal leviathan of a flagship, rivalling the planet in size. The flagship was surrounded by tinier ships roughly Betsy's size, each one starships that were fighting each other. On one side were yellow and green ships that had little weaponry; green turbolasers that, once shields were weakened enough, could easily destroy one of the rivalling ships. The other were black and red, marked with an insignia of a gear. These ships were far more advanced, carrying weapons that seemed to overload them and make them slower than the weaker ships. But the firepower definately carried more importance than the speed due to the yellow starships inability to dodge homing missiles and compete against laser fire with their shields. Bordon had landed them in the middle of a battle. But there it was: King's Bane, Aubren's Capital ship. Bordon's eyes widened as his ship started taking fire from one of the yellow vessels "Shit!" He maneuvered the heavy ship around but found his shields were being pounded away by this quick starfighter.


====Marash Ker'al====


One of the bulkier Haktu step forward, this one the Overseer of this particular Hive. It spoke in deep clicks in something that translated roughly into "Do you now? Well I'm afraid I can't accept that offer." At this, he raised his hand in a fist and opened it, ordering his Hive to open fire on these intruders, which they wholeheartedly did. Some threw spears, others fired globs of gelatinous acid.


====Faerigan====


Kor recovered quickly enough to see her comrades get killed, each sliced into halves with ease. It was just her and her Sniper now. But now the boomerang-like blades were coming for her. Quickly, she pulled out her baton and, with the push of a button, it retracted into a spear. She moved quickly and, with chopping gestures, knocked the blades back down to the ground where they planted themselves blade-first. The Sniper Haktu also found his countering of Forsynth's assault relatively easy; with quick aim, he shot the first arrow out of the sky and moved out of the way for the second. It stabbed itself into the spot where he was sitting crouched. If he had still been there... he would've been glab'na jelly...
 
====Marash Ker'al====


The diplomat was surprised that any sentient race could choose war, bloodshed and suffering over peace and prosperity. It seems the Haktu have made their choice and the bloodshed would continue until the Liquos put a stop to it. She took cover behind her guards as the spears and globs of acid came flying at them. Now they had to retreat to the safety of the gateway or risk being overwhelmed. The diplomat called out in the Haktu language "I hope you can bare the consequences of your actions this day. You brought your future misfortunes upon yourselves."


The soldiers raised their shields to block the incoming projectiles as they advanced towards the gateway. The spears struck the shields and rebounded as if they were twigs being thrown against sheets of steel, going flying and spinning through the air. The globs of acid which made contact with the shields slowly began to dissolve through the part of their suits which covered the part of their arms which they had moulded to form the shields, leaving behind the hardened layer which they had formed to create the shields. The shields themselves were unharmed by the acid as the liquid was in itself, a solvent, though not much of a reactive one at that.





They continued to advance, quickly making their way into and through the gateway. The instant they had entered the gateway, they returned their forms to their default modes. They were relieved to have made it across without any losses and now they were assured of the Haktu stance on peace.


====Oceanus====


The operator of the gateway hub watched as the group returned from Marash Ker'al. As soon as all of them came through, he deactivated the portal. Anything caught in the gateway after it was shut down would be lost in the flow of time and space. He sent a crew down to perform maintenance on the group and remove any contaminants from them before they were transported to the maintenance centre.


After a rigid cleaning regiment and an hour spent in tubes at the maintenance centre, the group was released. They were called on immediately to deliver their report to Tropico. They compiled the data which they had gathered on the stance of the Haktu towards the thought of peace with the Eckari and the manner in which the Haktu had attacked them. They also included the progress level of the Haktu in terms of what weaponry they had advanced to constructing thus far. It seemed they were only capable of crafting simpler weapons such as spears and swords. They sent a copy of their report to the group on Faerigan to share what information they had gathered.


Tropico received this report and went over the data which had been collected. He could tell that trying to make peace with the Haktu would not be possible and they would have to fall back to plan B. Now he just had to wait on the group sent to Faerigan to return and deliver their report.


====Faerigan====


The group received the copy of the report within moments. They quickly went through the information and found something. The Haktu on Marash Ker'al were noticeably less advanced in terms of equipment than the ones which they had seen in the attack force on Faerigan. It seemed that all their gear in terms of firearms were being given to them by someone. But who was giving them weaponry? Who would benefit from all this conflict? They had a feeling that whoever it was, was likely doing it for some form of material gain. Maybe they were hoping the Haktu would kill off the Eckari before their presence on Faerigan was eliminated and the planet would be left up for grabs.


The diplomat ordered three of the soldiers to split off. One of them was to inform Forsynth that the Liquos would be sending in military aid and the other two were to capture either the Haktu sniper or Kor for interrogation. Kor was the more valuable target but the sniper was the easier target to capture as he was wingless. Two of the soldiers split off, each forming a shield and energy rifle from their arms. The blasts from the rifles would only stun based on the amount of energy the soldiers planned to use in each shot. One ran up to Forsynth and said "Based on the assessment we have made of the situation on this planet, the Liquos will be willing to send military class aid to assist your people. Will you accept our offer?"


The two soldiers which were sent to capture either Kor or the sniper took off after them as fast they could. They turned themselves to pools of liquid which rapidly surged across the sands, not soaking in due to the protective suits they were wearing and the protective gel layer they had created underneath. Once within range, they returned to their previous forms and opened fire on Kor and the sniper, firing off bolts of electrical energy. One soldier aimed for Kor's wings and legs while the other aimed for the sniper's arms first, then for his legs.
 
Echanu gripped the seat once more as the ship rocked from the fire from the other ships. He grit his teeth and shot a look at his Sha'vael, which were all huddled together in fear. Normally, Echanu wouldn't tolerate such emotions from such elite soldiers. However, in this situation, he understood their fear. He felt a small twang of it, but quickly pushed it aside, not wanting to terrify the Sha'vael even more. The only thing he could do was wait for Bordon to get them out of this mess. However, the feeling of helplessness was eating away at Echanu. He knew the Sha'vael were feeling the same thing, but there was nothing Echanu could do. So, he simply gripped the seat tighter, not out of fear, but out of anger.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth witnessed Kor cut down the bladed pieces of wood and saw the sniper shoot down the arrow whilst dodging the other two. These Haktu were trained, that was for sure, most likely by Kor. He unsheathed his blade and readied another assault on Kor, but he was quickly stopped by one of the foreigners. Forsynth noticed two more of the foreigners heading towards Kor and the sniper. Forsynth looked back to the foreigner right next to him and listened to it's words. He thought for a moment, then immediately knew the answer. He replied in the tongue of the Eckari, seeing as how the foreigner was so well-versed in the language.


"Your offer is generous, foreigner. However, I must decline." Forsynth said in a well-mannered tone.


After speaking the words, Forsynth quickly brought the blade towards the foreigners torso without warning. If he were to pierce the foreigner, the blade would extend into it's whip form and Forsynth would wrap it around the foreigner, then literally rip it apart. As soon as Forsynth moved his blade, the Sha'vael were already bounding towards the other two foreigners, aiming to kill them before they touched Kor or the sniper. To have assistance during a direct battle would result in extreme dishonor to the Eckari. Forsynth nor the Sha'vael wouldn't allow for such dishonor. The Sha'vael readied their weaponry, first going for the foreigners, then the sniper, leaving Kor for Forsynth.
 
The Capital ship simply glided past the fray surrounding it and closer to the planet, close enough to dispatch a smaller carrier ship, one that still dwarfed Betsy in size. It rocketed down toward the planet, ignoring the laser fire from the yellow ships and even ramming past some of them with ease, knocking them into other ships or into asteroids. Some of the yellow starfighters followed the ship, peppering it with fire to no avail. Others of the black and red ships followed these pursuers, gunning some down when they crossed their line of fire. Bordon saw the carrier ship and followed while ducking between debris and asteroids, using them as cover. That carrier might simply be ammunition for ground forces... but, then again, it did lead to the planet. If there were ground forces, they could, hopefully, lead them to Aubren. Or safely off planet. Whatever. It was the giants' problem once they landed.


====Marash Ker'al====


It wasn't long before the Matriarch was notified of the engagement. Liquid-like species that donned special, durable armour. She consulted briefly with her noble hierarch advisors before dismissing them from the room and consulting a secret advisor, the one who had supplied them with their more advanced technology. He was a hulking human wearing dark goggles and wearing a draping desert garb with weapons stored in sheathes adorning his body. She spoke in a reverberating voice with strangely fluent English, another thing this man, or rather his employer, has brought their race "We have been attacked by a species composed entirely of a blue liquid, adorned in durable armour that even our bra'tal mi'lesh couldn't pierce. They, before teleporting, warned us about our fate. What should we do?" The man replied with a question in his stern gruff of a voice "What did your councilors say?" She continued to look out from her balcony at her great city, towering Hive buildings surrounding the palace which she and the other hierarchs resided, as was tradition in Haktu culture. The human hid behind the shadows, as usual. If the drones knew the Matriarch herself was accepting outside help, they'd probably go into a frenzy. She replied "They told me to do the usual; stand firm and resist any attempts to change our way of life." The human stared at the floor for awhile before replying "I'll contact you with further instructions. Until then, I'd advise you to do as they said." At this, he walked off toward the corridors leading to the exit. When she was alone, she sighed. Such diligence she had to show as leader of an entire species... But all of these traditions and rules, and even this human and his "advise". They all seemed so... controlling. She longed for the freedom to make her own choices. Perhaps one day...


====Faerigan====


The Sniper went limp and collapsed to the ground, releasing his hold on his weapon immediately. He went into a fervent frenzy of clicking curses aimed toward the Liquos daring to subdue him. Kor, however, would not be so easily overtaken. Using her blade-tipped staff, she slammed the end of the weapon against the bolts of energy aimed at her legs, though her wings had to retract back into herself to avoid being hit. Which was okay. She needn't use them further. She landed on her legs without sustaining injury despite the height from which she fell and charged toward the Liquos soldier who dared to interrupt their precious, bloodthirsty carnage. The end of her spear met what she assumed was the alien's head, jabbing into it and slicing outward to the left in a horizontal motion.
 
(Just for reference, the Liquos cities are domed. While they can survive underwater, they prefer to keep their equipment dry even though it is water-proofed. A bit of a contradiction since the Liquos are made of liquid right?)


====Faerigan====


The soldier was puzzled as to why Forsynth would decline his offer of help but his thoughts were interrupted when the blade suddenly came towards his torso. He had only glimpsed the blade and quickly moulded his body around the incoming blade, causing it to pass through without ever having made contact. He quickly took a few steps back and exclaimed in the Eckari tongue "What are you doing!?" He did not stay still as he believed another attack would come at him. He quickly ran off to rejoin the group, turning to a pool of liquid and surging rapidly across the sand to the others.


Upon seeing this sudden act of aggression towards one of their own, the rest of the group were shocked. Why had Forsynth attacked them for offering help now when they had been asked to help earlier? The nine group members in formation ran forth, turning into pools of liquid for faster travel. While on the move, the diplomat began transmitting a request to Oceanus for a gateway to be opened and for gas tanks and masks to be brought to the hub. She stressed the urgency of the situation and sent a summarized report of the situation. They had to leave and quickly. They planned to capture Kor and the sniper for interrogation before returning home but they had to ensure that they would be alive while on Oceanus for the interrogation to occur.


One of the two soldiers made a bee-line for the downed sniper, using his ability to move in liquid form to outrun the Sha'vael coming after him. He had to hurry in order to avoid being assaulted by these hulking warriors. Upon reaching the sniper, he warped himself around its body to create a sort of air seal around its body so ensure it would have air to breath while being transported. The soldier could, while wrapped around the insect's body, manipulate it as someone could do if they were holding on to the limbs of another. He caused the sniper to rise to its feet and start moving, moving diagonally to meet up with the other soldier who was supposed to have captured Kor.


The soldier whose head Kor had sliced into with her spear was disoriented by the sudden attack but mostly unharmed as she missed the only part of his body which her primitive weapon could damage. She had however, succeeded in tearing into the suit he was wearing as well as tearing through the gel layer underneath. It caused some of the liquid forming the soldier to leak out, giving the impression that he was bleeding. At such a close range as they were, it would be highly unlikely that she would be able to avoid a sneak attack it seemed. The soldier warped his body, suddenly surrounding Kor with a wall of liquid before quickly closing in on her. Her head was left exposed so she could get air to breath still. The soldier's body then surged with electricity to shock Kor but only enough electricity as would be required to temporarily paralyse her.


The eight approaching soldiers switched between their pool forms for speed and their normal forms for offence and defence as needed. Along the way, they broke apart into two groups. Four scattered and formed energy rifles from both their arms before they opened fire on the Sha'vael, hoping to stun them and buy time for the others. The other four went for Kor and the soldier wrapped around her so they would be able to carry her to the destination of the gateway. The diplomat however, continued for the point where she had requested that the gateway be opened.


====Oceanus====


The operator of the gateway hub received the message from the diplomat on Faerigan and having read through it, immediately began work on setting the coordinates of the gateway as it was an emergency situation. He focused the destination coordinates on Faerigan before refining them further until they were locked on to the spot which the diplomat had requested. He send out a message for two tanks of gas to be synthesized with the exact make-up as the air on Marash Ker'al to ensure that the captive Haktu would be able to breath on Oceanus and another message for the soldiers in the group which had returned from Marash Ker'al to immediately report to the gateway hub to offer assistance.


The group of ten soldiers ran into the gateway hub, entering through one of the transparent tunnels leading there. They did not waste any time due to the urgency of the situation. Along the way, they formed energy rifles from their arms in anticipation of having to fire at incoming hostile forces. They assembled in front of the gateway which would be opened, weapons at the ready. They looked to the operator and nodded to show that they were ready.


The operator activated the gateway with a wave of his translucent, cyan coloured hand. The gateway flickered to live, bathing the soldiers in a bright light and with that, they ran into the now active portal. The gas tanks however were still on their way so the operator sent a message to the diplomat on Faerigan for her to ensure that the captured Haktu had sufficient air to last them until the tanks arrived as he doubted that they would be able to breath the atmosphere inside the city which consisted of 100% nitrogen as it was an inert gas.
 
"Is that Au-burr-en?" Echanu asked, leaning towards the front window, staring at the ship.


Honestly, Echanu didn't know if this Au-burr-en was a man or ship. He just knew that it could destroy worlds. A man who could destroy worlds...Echanu shivered at the thought, but he needed the help for the Eckari. Their fate rested on his shoulders. Resorting to asking for outside help was considered dishonorable by many's standards, however, all of the Sha'vael, Forsynth, and the majority of the Eckari agreed upon seeking out Kinder for help. They were in trouble. Echanu knew, deep down, that the war with the Haktu would last for many more years unless he put a stop to it. The way of the Haktu was to have such large numbers in a battle that victory was insured. However, the Eckari reproduction cycle took several years to complete, and the raising of a youngling into a Sha'vael took even longer. Time was not on the Eckari's side.


=====Faerigan=====


Forsynth had had enough. He witnessed the liquid foreigners secure the sniper and Kor, then retreat towards the diplomat. They were fast; too fast for the Sha'vael or Forsynth. He needed to match their speeds. Forsynth whistled loudly, a shrill noise that echoed throughout the air. A moment after the echo faded, the ground began shaking and split apart in front of the charging Eckari. A pack of Elor, the horse-like race used for both food and transport, galloped out of the split ground and awaited mounting. All of the Eckari jumped at once and pounced upon the Elor, wherein they rode the ten-legged beasts towards the foreigners.


The Elor were fast, much faster than the traveling puddles. Forsynth reached into the only pack on his right side, pulling out one large metal ball. The ball was roughly one foot in diameter. Forsynth flicked his thumb nail across a corse part of the metal, igniting a small fuse in the top. He heaved it at the diplomat, the ball traveling very quickly through the air. As it neared the diplomat, it exploded into a huge fireball, sending shrapnel everywhere and the fireball racing towards the diplomat, the heat of the flames enough to sear anything it touches and cauterize any wounds caused by it.


The metal ball was created, of course, by Forsynth. He had watched the Haktu snipers, curious about how their weapons worked. Forsynth examined the rifles from fallen snipers, extracted the bullets, torn them apart, and figured out the properties and usage of the gunpowder. There was no known substance on Faerigan that could recreate the gunpowder's effects, however, there were many highly flammable objects. Many of these produced temperatures that were hot enough to turn sand into glass. Forsynth harvested as much gunpowder as he could and put it into the metal ball, along with the most flammable and highly burning of the objects, which created the bomb. However, he only had enough gunpowder for one. And this was it.


After Forsynth threw the makeshift bomb, the Sha'vael each went after the traveling foreigners, stabbing at the ground with their swords and spears. They stabbed ferociously and dodged as many shots from the energy rifles as they could. The shots they could not dodge, they simply took and kept fighting. The Eckari, as a race, were very durable and highly resistant to pain. Pain fueled them instead of hindering them. The Sha'vael were the fiercest and most elite amongst the Eckari, channeling the pain into rage and strength used against the enemy. Each time they were injured, they only grew stronger until their time of death. The time in which an Eckari is the strongest is the moment right before it's death, which the Sha'vael capitalized on. They lived on the brink of death each battle.
 
Bordon answered while staring at the box-like carrier ship "Hopefully..." As they reached the planet, the skies were a shade of yellow similar to the alien's ships. The aliens, themselves, were bald and white-skinned with yellow eyes and fanged teeth. They all wore garbs and cloaks and had formed a crowd with a wide enough circle to allow the carrier ship to land. Bordon parked Betsy in a pair of treetops, the leaves strangely purple and dark green. They watched on from the viewport of the cockpit as the box's exterior walls lifted outward and raised up, revealing a small private army adorned in black, red, and grey SWAT-like armour padding and helmets, their mouths and noses covered by grey scarves and their eyes hidden behind goggles. The emblems of the Kinder Inc. was stamped on each of their uniforms, on the right sides of their helmets and on their right breast pockets. They single-filed out of the ship and poised their advanced rifles at the citizens surrounding them. Two figures emerged from elevator-like holes at the top; one soldier similar to the others in uniform but lacking the goggles, revealing sharp, hawk-like eyes that were stern and dutiful. The other was a blonde butler-figure who stood with great figure and posture, gazing out at the denizens with a calculative lack of emotion.


====Faerigan====


The sniper struggled frantically but futilely as did Kor. Neither was too proud of being captured, and both were eager to see death come to their captors. But it seemed the Eckari were coming to their aid, which furthered their embarrassment and anger. They both didn't know who they hated more; the Eckari, their lifelong bitter enemies, or these meddlers who dared to trample on years of traditional combat.
 
====Faerigan====


The gateway opened and thankfully in time for Kor and the sniper to be transported to Oceanus before any major disaster could occur. The group on the other side came out shortly after it had opened, firing stun blasts at the Sha'vael on sight to allow their fellow Liquos to advance under covering fire. Kor and the sniper were rushed through the gateway, the soldiers wrapped around each, forming a sort of bubble around their heads to trap as much gas as they could to ensure that Kor and the sniper would be able to survive until the gas tanks could be brought to them on Oceanus.


The diplomat registered something coming towards her and looked back as she ran. She saw the fireball and knowing that she could not outrun it, instead sent a copy of herself in terms of data to the science vessel in orbit so her data could be transferred to a new body which would be made for her on Oceanus at a later date. As the fireball caught her, it burnt through her suit and vaporized her.


The soldiers watched as the diplomat was killed, though her death being temporary and were unable to stop it from happening. Had an advanced race such as humans attacked them, they would have returned with potentially lethal force but they kept their rifles on stun as the Eckari were not as advanced. At least they had managed to secure Kor and the sniper for interrogation and that seemed to be the only redeeming factor of their visit to the planet.


The group rushed into the gateway, not wasting a single second. They had to escape from Faerigan before those savages got to them. They had practically dove into it to make their escape. Because Forsynth had attacked and killed an unarmed diplomat, the Eckari would now be branded in the Liquos database as savages who could not be reasoned with. Any direct future dealings with them if any were to be avoided.


The science vessel in orbit had received the diplomat's data and the sole crew member aboard it was already at work on the process of sending it to Oceanus so a new body could be created for for the destroyed diplomat. He created a backup first to ensure that if the transmission was somehow interrupted then the data would not be permanently lost before actually sending it to Oceanus.


====Oceanus====


The gateway operator watched as the soldiers returned from Faerigan through the gateway, rushing in with Kor and the sniper both subdued. He saw the one that had captured the sniper come out first, then came four who were carrying Kor and the soldier wrapped around her. What had happened to the other four soldiers, the diplomat and the ten he had sent in, he wondered but his worries were partially dismissed as the four came in. He now waited for the diplomat and the support squad he had sent in. That was when he received the transmission from the science vessel and upon going through the contents of the data stream, found out that it was a data copy of the diplomat that had been sent in.


The operator, now knowing that something on the other side of the gateway possessed the means to actually harm the remaining soldiers, sent a message to them to hurry through and not linger a single moment. The mission already had one casualty and no more were wanted. In his mind, he had guessed that they were likely already on their way.
 
Echanu looked out of the window of the ship, staring at the people pouring out intently. He wondered if any of these people were the Au-burr-en. None of them looked powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, but looks could be deceiving. He looked at Bordon, then to Zecora, then to the Sha'vael, then back to the window. The Sha'vael all had stood and were trying to peer out of any window they could, mesmerized not only by the people but also the wildlife and different sights of the planet, all of it so foreign and alien to them. Echanu simply waited and watched the group of people, waiting for someone to identify the planet-destroyer.


=====Faerigan=====


"No!!!" Forsynth screamed, charging faster towards the portal.


The foreigners had stolen Kor and the sniper, then disappeared through the portal. However, there were still a small group of soldiers still heading towards the portal, only slightly ahead of the Eckari. However, the Elor were faster than these small blobs. Deciding to let the Sha'vael handle the soldiers, Forsynth had the Elor jump over the small group. The Elor reared forward and leapt high into the air and over the traveling group of foreigner soldiers. As it soared through the air, Forsynth pushed on the Elor with his hands and stood up on the Elor's back, readying himself. As the Elor hit the ground, Forsynth took a deep breath, filling his huge lungs with the Faerigan air, then leapt off the Elor and through the portal.


The experience was unlike anything he's ever experienced. He had no idea what would happen, but it happened instantly. The transition from the dry sands of Faerigan to the wet atmosphere of wherever he was now was extreme, however, that didn't deter him from going on the offensive immediately. He unsheathed his blade whip, instantly seeing Kor. He kept his breath held, not knowing if this air was breathable to him. He slashed toward the group holding Kor, the blade extending and cutting a huge gash into the group. As Forsynth hit the ground, he continued attacking all of the nearby foreigners and making his way towards Kor and the sniper.


He reached into a small pouch located on his arm and pulled out three metal shards. He reared back and threw the shards towards the guards holding Kor and the sniper, aiming to kill them both. One of the shards embedded itself into the sniper's head, another one went straight towards Kor's torso, the final one hitting a nearby tank and punctured it. Forsynth didn't know if the shard going towards Kor's abdomen hit home or not, for as soon as they left his hand, he went back towards attacking the foreigners with the blade whip, swinging left and right, the whip flailing furiously through the air, slicing things deeply and with fervor. Forsynth didn't know how much longer he could last without taking a breath, but he figured that he could at least take down some of the warriors before he either ran out of air or returned through the portal.


Back on Faerigan, the Sha'vael were dealing with the warriors. Three Sha'vael had been injured to the point in which they couldn't fight anymore. They could recover, but not at this time. The other Sha'vael, however, were blocking the foreigner's escape. They attacked furiously, entering their blood rage. Once in this mode, all thought left them as their muscles seemed to grow and their size almost double. Their strikes became stronger, their speed increased two-fold, and their ferocity became unparalleled to anything the foreigners had ever encountered. The Sha'vael refused to let the foreigners through the portal until either Forsynth returned, or the foreigners had all lay dead at their feet.
 
A chorus of latin emitted from the ship along with a billowing cloud of smoke and lights aimed at the Commander and Butler's position. While the Butler looked stoic and dutiful, the Commander couldn't help but give a groan as well as pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation. As to why was not certain. Following next was a shadowy figure, hidden by the perfect position of King's Bane eclipsing the sun over their position. The figure rose from the ship, slightly elevated over the Butler and the Commander. Zecora thought she saw glowing red eyes and fangs from where she stood, the appearance of the man who conquered her own planet striking terror into her very soul. She hid behind Echanu and began doing the only thing she knew how to in such a situation: sing.


"He's an evil enchanter, and he has evil dancers...


And all his evil goons ready their big iron lancers...


Then what will he do? Your day you will rue...


Then he gobbles you up and your lovely house too..."


Rhymes like this continued as the silhouetted menace was suddenly revealed, the eclipsing ship having moved out of the way for the sun to shine down. The imposing figure was merely a small boy, clothed in elaborate cloth with elongated sleeves that reached down to his knees. He had shoulder-length, messy brown hair and deep, green eyes. He smiled whimsically and childishly down from his elevated position "Hello- Uhh..." He turned to the Butler and asked "Higgins, what are these guys called again?" "Ko'toa, sir." "Ko'toa? That sounds so- I mean, hello! ...Potato... chip... people! I am Aubren Kinder of Kinder Industries! We're here for- Oh, blast! What are we here for, again?" The butler replied once again "Their blood, sir. It's an oily substance that serves as a good fuel source." Aubren gave an awkward look then simply shrugged "We're here for the oily stuff inside ya'! So if you promise not to resist, I'll promise my boys down there won't have to turn your potato-chip butts into Swiss cheese!"


The Head-Priest of the Ko'toa peoples walked up from the crowd, wearing an elaborately designed orange uniform. He spoke out against the tyrant bravely "Ma'k'l'tr're sh'k'mi la'o'a!" Others stepped forward to reinforce their religious leader, before finally all of them stood up defiantly against him. It was remarkable. Higgins was informed these people were, for the most part, peaceful nomads. Besides, how did they get the kind of technology they currently had anyway? But, regardless, Auby turned to him with a confounded look as to what that shriveled-up white Raisin was saying. Higgins turned to the Commander and gave a gesturing nod, ordering him to open fire on the crowd. The soldiers below did so, and instantly the ground battle had begun. Any green lasers fired from the alien crowd and aimed at Auby, Higgins, or the Commander were repelled by shields held up by an internal generator inside the ship.


====Oceanus====


Kor jerked her way to freedom from the Liquos soldier holding her physiologically prisoner, just in time to knock it in the way of the oncoming shard. She kicked another from beneath its feet and used one of her elbow-blades she was born with to stab the alien while it was down. She would not be kept from her glory. Turning, she saw the scholarly brute facing up against multitudes of the liquidic forces. She admired his bravado and ignorance to pain or capture. Eyes widening, she suddenly felt her throat close up. She had breathed in too much Oceanus air to keep herself stable. Quickly, she snapped out her wings and skittered them to life, trying desperately to shake off the rest of the liquids left behind from that alien to fly to the teleporter.
 
====Oceanus====


The operator of the gateway hub watched as Forsynth came through the portal and started fighting the soldiers, killing the sniper they had planned to interrogate in the process. He sent out an alert for military forces to be brought in to get the situation back under control. They could not lose Kor for she knew valuable information which could be used in ending the war and if Forsynth had to be harmed in order to save the lives of millions then so be it. They could not allow him to continue inflicting damage on them and cause setbacks in the mission. He had already punctured one of the air tanks which had been prepared for Kor and the sniper to use in breathing, letting the gases inside leak out.


One of the soldiers engaging Forsynth sent a message for the flood gates to be opened before making a dash for Kor. He could not allow her to escape and as he made his way towards her, captured some of the air escaping from the tank inside a bubble he formed in his left arm. He transformed his other arm into a whip which he lashed out at Kor in an attempt to subdue her before the water rushed in. He had planned to use the water to support the combat abilities of the military force and possibly drown Forsynth.


Within minutes of the alert sounding, soldiers were entering in groups of ten. Three groups had been sent and they began execution of their strategy as they entered the gateway hub. They moved along the perimeter of the hub to come up behind Forsynth and block off the portal in hopes of preventing his escape and that of Kor. Each of them had changed their arms to produce a shield and a lance with a spiral on it like a drill. One of the soldiers said "Stand down now or we will use lethal force! This is your only warning!"


Meanwhile in his tower at the centre of the city, Tropico watched the chaos at the gateway hub. He would have to lock it down for maintenance and cleaning once the soldiers on Faerigan returned to ensure that they would be able to embark on their next mission without the possibility of malfunction in the equipment. A Liquos science vessel had informed him of humans threatening the existence of a less advanced race and to be specific, it was being perpetrated by Kinder Industries. How many more lives would humans destroy in their greed before they realize the error of their ways if any at all?


Tropico did not like the idea of having anything to do with humans and warfare was something he did not wish for but was not unprepared in the event it should happen. He planned to send out diplomats to various inhabited planets colonized by less advanced races which the humans might try to exploit. If those races were to agree to let the Liquos protect them then automated defence systems could be set up to prevent any hostile presence from making it to the planet surface. If the humans could not land on the planet then they should be unable to capture it. He knew still that might not be enough and planned for that. A larger version of the wormhole generators used in the gateway hub would be employed to bring forth ships. The generator could be hidden on a moon or placed in space. The latter would make it more of a target as it would be easier to spot but allow greater ease of travel.


=====Faerigan=====


Seeing the Sha'vael grow larger, stronger and faster was unexpected by the ten soldiers in the group but they refused to be held up for any longer. They had to get back to Oceanus and they were not about to let these barbarians stand in their way. The soldiers clustered together, forming a tight formation before they fused together to create one soldier. They could not match the Sha'vael in strength or speed alone now but hopefully, the melding would allow them a chance to push their way into the portal. The soldier formed from the melding of the ten transformed its arms into spiral lances and formed thicker plates of armouring from its body before it started to back away towards the portal, lances raised in anticipation of the Sha'vael attacking it.
 
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