Factions 2

[Dante]

Labouring for breath, the beast lifts its head...

I pestered Dragoon for weeks to post here. He refused, and as far as I know continues to do so. My posting would not change that, and I have nothing to add at this point anyway. Nothing that I could go anywhere with, at any rate. Feel free to throw yourselves at the gaping maw of his utter disinterest though.

[Dragoon Knight]

"It can't be much further now," Eemins commented, relying on what he remembered of tactical reports of Catrione's defences.

"It's getting much hotter," Aleksandr noted, running a finger along a railing laden with condensation.

"We're here." Relnev said flatly, stopping in front of what appeared to be just another section of wall.

"But the tunnel continues for..." Aleks began.

"I said I had another trick up my sleeve, Aleks," Relnev said, retrieving a small device with a screen full of figures and graphs, "and this is it."

Aleksandr examined the trinket as best he could.  "Some sort of sensor?"

"A rudimentary life detector; not much, but better than any sort of heat-sensing equipment would be down here."

"What do the readings say?" Eemins asked.

"There is a large concentration of people behind this wall.  Several are arranged in a semi-circular formation around a central target," Relnev explained, then tapped a section of wall very lightly.  "This wall."

"Ekaterina's bodyguards?" asked Eemins, his nerves showing more now that combat grew nearer.

"The only ones we have to fear are Vail and Alacia, and the latter is being handled, with a pentashield between us and her." Aleks said.

"Do they know we're here?" one of the Ixian Defenders asked.

"Unlikely that they know we're right on their doorstep, but they know we're coming, no doubt."

"How do you plan to get through this wall?" Eemins asked.  "It looks fairly solid to me."

"There will be a mechanism to open it, somewhere, but we're going to be a bit more flashy with our entrance."

"Meaning?" asked Aleks.

"Bring up the plastic explosives," Relnev commanded, then frowned, looking at the device.  "And be careful... I'm getting a strange reading.  Not a standard life sign."

With that, the Ixian Defenders set about preparing to turn the wall between Ekaterina and themselves into so much confetti.  All the while being watched...

(O.O.C. --> Bah.  Terrible.  TERRIBLE.  But meh, it's a post.)

[Barbarossa]

You just became my Hero, Dragoon.  ;D

The Guardsman tapped determinedly at the wall surrounding the Penta-Shield. "The Mechanisms controlling the Device are sunk much too far to be reached from here. Where is Drake?" The Nokkers surrounding the man stepped aside to allow the passage of an Engineer. Carrying a large Bundle, he appeared mush shorter than he was. His thick Spectacles added to the image as well. There were quick laughs as he passed. All fell silent when the man reached the Shield, However. Removing his Glasses and dropping his bundle and cases he moved to examine the Unit. Turning to look at one of the Ducial Guardsmen, Drake snapped quickly "Give me your Shield, and a Las-Rifle." The Nokker, although puzzled- Handed the Engineer the requested materials. Dragging a few tools from a pack, The man set to work tinkering inside the Shield's Control, Stopping only to pull the Cartridge from the Las-weapon. Minutes later, the man finished his task. Getting up, he held the modified Nokker's Shield.

"Everyone step back... Quickly now!" He said. Among the Rustling and clanking of the Hastening Ducial Guardsmen- The Man Switched on the Modified shield and hurled it at the Penta-Shield.

The Resulting Reaction was impressive. Following a large concussive blast, the entire Tunnel was quickly filled with a high-Static charge. Which had the effect of frying their communications. The effect on the Shield was even more impressive. The area formerly housing the Defense was blackened. And large Cracks had appeared in the was for several feet.

Almost Unanimously, the Nokkers asked Drake what exactly he had done. The Engineer simply smiled, and said something along the lines of "A trick" Stolen from some recently deceased Richesians.

The man now in charge of the mission, was a quiet man. Unlike the usual Nokker, he was slight of build- And Wiry, instead of the usual Hulking Juggernaughts of men. But he was an incomprehensibly intelligent man, A former mentat and one of the last Ginaz Swordmasters. Hamid Trosno was one of the last people that you would want coming for you.

"Men, lets go. Double time." He ordered calmly, stepping forward and designating a Nokker to take Point. The Force began clomping quickly down the passage.

Farther down the tunnel, the air was getting considerably thicker and hotter. The Troop was beginning to breath heavier, when the Ducial Guardsman on Point noticed someone laying in the Tunnel. Drawing their weapons, and approaching the form. They quickly recognised their own Equipment and Armor. It was indeed one of their two comrades that had been sent with the Ixians. Kneeling next to the man, Trosno inspected the neckwound. "Inflicted by a No'Kar'e. Look for the other."

Within moment, a call came from further down the corridor. The Second Nokker's naked corpse was found in a small crevice.

After Identifying the Deceased. The men set on, quicker and more determined than ever. Aleksandr was in grave danger, that was all they knew.

Sooner than expected, the running Trebeis came to a point where lights and voices became noticeable. Motioning the men to a halt, Trosno paused to attempt to Identify the voices. It was undoubtedly the Ixians. The Suboids Monotone voices, and that of the others were distinct. The Ducial Guardsmen stepped into the Tunnel, Hamid Saluting to the surprised Relnev. "The Assassin has been taken care of, at the cost of Commander Wren Flanken. I, Hamid Trosno, am now the XO of this Force. Our orders, from the Duke Trebeis, Are to defend and watch over Aleksandr Trebeis." Pausing and narrowing his eyes "Please, explain the situation- And do not lie. I will know."

[Dante]

*mutter mutter* Mixed messages... *mutter*

"Isn't it obvious by now?" Aleksandr muttered.

"What he meant to say is that this wall here," Relnev tapped the side of the tunnel, "is about to become a little more nonexistant. I suggest you take cover, gentlemen." The Chancellor turned on the spot, striding further down the tunnel. The Ixian sortie followed suit, with Eemins bringing up the rear. The Trebesians were left staring at a circle of plastic explosive, spread around one side of the tunnel. The detonator was counting down from 20. Hamid Trosno frowned.

"You five, follow them. Everyone else fall back." He ordered curtly. At once his company began to retreat along the tunnel, with the five selected men hurrying after the Ixians. As the timer continued to count out the seconds, both groups prepared for the blast.

"You have to give them points for persistance." Relnev commented as he lay on the ground, turning his shield up.

"Reminds me of a dog that followed me home once. I couldn't get rid of it." Aleksandr agreed, doing likewise.

"What did you do?" Eemins asked from his position against the opposite wall, behind a support beam.

"Nothing. Ekaterina dropped it from a balcony." Aleks replied.

"How very unexpected." Relnev rolled his eyes. "And now, if everyone would be so kind as to block their ears..."

The explosion shook the tunnel, jarring some of those Ixians who had chosen to stand from their positions by the walls. The blast itself carried a wall of hot air and brought little shrapnel, and was immediately followed by a rush of cooler air as the air-conditioned central office was breached. The effect was immediately lost, however, as the hole in the wall was immediately filled with dripping flames. Having started to move just after the blast, the two groups now held their positions as the tunnel began to heat up again. Relnev and Trosno could just see each other through the fire.

Each was so busy contemplating their next move that at first neither noticed the single Nokkar break free from the Trebesian camp and march directly toward the flame-filled gash.

By the time he was in plain sight, the flames were already licking at his heavy armour. Tronso shouted orders while the Ixians looked on, but the man ignored them. And then, abruptly, the flames flickered out; and the Nokkar disappeared in a blur. The scorched hole was left empty.

"She hopes to force us into a bottleneck." Relnev muttered, looking down at his instrument as the life signs rearranged themselves on the other side of the wall.

"And using flame weapons too. Our shields will be next to useless." Eemins noted, turning his own shield down from its maximum setting. He looked across to the Trebesian group. "What is he doing?" Relnev looked up, and swore in a most un-Relnev like way.

"Trosno!" He shouted across the divide. The new commander looked up. "Those are flame weapons in there, powered by a highly explosive fuel!" Relnev shouted. "Grenades are not an option at this point!" He turned back to Eemins and Aleksandr. "We have to act quickly, those men cannot be allowed to interfere." Even as he finished the sentance, flames once more started to flicker around the edges of the hole. In seconds, it was a raging inferno once more.

...Yeah, that wasn't any good. I wanted to do more as well, but that would involve taking a few too many liberties.

[Mihail]

"We are caught, my dear sisters, in nothing short of a deathtrap," Wensicia gravely announced to her audience, which consisted of Chalice, Rugi, Josifa, Halir, and Rihael. "The Guild shall not transport us to Arrakis for fear of the Trebeis destroying the spice, and even if they do, we shall promptly be attacked and destroyed by legion after legion of Hundro's Sardaukar. Remember, he is not our ally. I think he would love to see nothing more than our complete and utter destruction. After that, he will rule the whole Known Universe with an iron fist. Nobody will pose a threat to him. Halir, what do you suggest we do?"

The old mentat rose to his feet, his face etched with deep lines that indicated worry and stress and purple bags under the eyes that indicated lack of sleep. His expression was thoughtful and grave.

"I think it is very clear what we must do," he stated, pressing several buttons. From the middle of the table appeared 2 holograms, one of Salusa and the other of Kaitan. Several small areas of Salusa were tinted red. Kaitan was simply the green-blue of the hologram.

"These areas," Halir pointed his finger at the red areas of Salusa, "Are where Hundro's Sardaukar watchdogs are stationed. Hundro has several thousand men on Salusa, we have not been given an exact count. There are no red areas on Kaitan since we do not know the troop displacement there, but here are our estimates," he pressed a butten and several large puddles of blue appeared on Kaitan.

"We suspect that they're stationed most around the important centers; Hundro's palace, important buildings, the Halls of the Landsraad, and so on. What I ask of you, my ladies," he said, glancing at Chalice, Wensicia, and Rugi, "Is whether you are ready to try an attack on Kaitan?"

Chalice was the first to answer.

"Yes, since we have almost no other course of action that we can take. First, though, we must take care of the Sardaukar on Salusa."

Rihael butted in.

"Halir and I have been discussing this. I have set up machine-gun posts overlooking the camps, as well as transmission blockers that will block any and all signals coming into or going fomr the planet during the time they are activated. We can explain to the citizens that there was an electromagnetic storm that blocked all communications. We only await orders from you, mi'lady."

"Excellent. Get those blockers up and commence the attack ASAP. If possible, use the troops from the Minor Houses to the maximum."

Wensicia chimde in, "Don't forget to bomb them. I would prefer napalm followed by a carpet bombing, but do whatever you see fit to destroy them."

Rihael got up and bowed.

"Of course, my ladies," and he left.

    And so the attack commenced. Above one Sardaukar camp, 30 high-power machine guns threw off their camouflage and whirred to life, chattering and barking bullets down onto the camp. The Sardaukar were taken by surprise. Picking up a transmitter to try and notify Kaitan of the act of war, a Sardaukar got only a ear-piercing whine in response. With a roar of rage, he donned his armour and weapon, and ran outside, looking for the attackers. he saw a line of infantry advancing upon the camp, and, rage-filled, charged them. Shooting his weapon wildly at them, he dropped several of the soldiers, but stopped when he heard a flap flap flap. Looking up, he had barely enough time to scream at the ornithopters before the fiery rain engulfed him and the camp. In other areas of Salusa, the same happened. The battle was raging, but no one outside of Salusa knew about it...

[Dante]

"My Lady." The mentat Halir indicated a large viewscreen. Wensicia looked up from her battle plans, squinting in the half-light. On the screen she saw Irulan's diplomatic craft tearing through the atmosphere of Salusa Secundus, accompanied by five smaller Sardaukar ships. They were already breaking lower atmosphere.

"Who allowed her to take off?" She hissed. "Nevermind. We can't risk it... Destroy her." Halir nodded, and began to give the appropriate orders.

Wensicia watched as missiles began to detonate around her sister's ships, destroying one of the escourts at once. Build for comfort rather than manoeuvrability, the Princess' craft was clearly struggling to keep up its speed, and had no power left to avoid the incoming barrage. Another two fighters explosed, one of them crashing into the larger ship. Mortally wounded, the craft was the proverbial sitting duck as the next round fired. Wensicia watched it detonate, exploding rather prettily in a halo of purplish flames. The screen filled with static for a moment, before blinking back online to show the falling debris.

* * *

"How far thou art fallen, my sisters." Irulan muttered, kneeling in the corner of a ventilation shaft. Dressed in a simple shift, with a generous supply of body armour beneath, she had sacrificed her royal dress as cumbersome and potentially suicidal. One of her ladies in waiting now wore it, acting as one of several distractions as she crept through the Corrino complex elsewhere. Irulan herself had seen her ship destroyed in the sky above, and noted with a heavy heart that her gamble had paid off. Her sisters were indeed prepared to kill her.

She slid along the duct, trying not to imagine her father's face if he knew what was going on. Or her mother... Irulan had never paid much attention to her mother, even when the poor woman had been dying. For the first time she felt a pang of regret. Even if she survived this encounter, she would never be able to treat her sisters the same way again. She doubted that her father would emerge unscathed either. Silently she cursed her family's ambition.

A grille passed beneath, and Irulan took a moment to peer through. A storeroom. She moved on. Up ahead, a tiny red light blinked. Comeye. Irulan frowned, and removed her pistol from its holster. She paused. The comeye was still too far, and facing in the wrong direction to have spotted her. Its destruction would almost certainly alert somebody to a presence within the ducts... She replaced her pistol, and slipped backwards to the grille.

Prising it from its setting, Irulan dropped soundlessly into the storeroom.

It was dark in here, but no darker than it had been in the ducts. Irulan's eyes had already adjusted, and she peered around. Boxes. Crates. All stacked neatly on shelves. Out of curiosity, she opened the nearest box. Carefully packed within lay twenty or so assorted parts for groundcar repair. Sighing, she replaced the lid. Halfheartedly, she opened the box next to it.

Several hundred rolls of shigawire glinted ever so slightly in the near-darkness. Irulan smirked.

* * *

Maria von Hagal, one of the five ladies in waiting that Irulan had taken with her to Salusa Secundus, slipped along the silent corridor, pistol in hand. Of her companions, she knew that at lesat one was already dead. Lania Destrym, bravely volunteering to take the princess' place aboard her ship in order to distract the Corrino defences. Where the other three had scattered themselves, or where the princess herself had hidden, she did not know.

Maria had already killed two men today. She had hardly known what to do, but Irulan had guided her hand the first time, shooting one of the guards outside her chambers right through the neck. The second had been caught by surprise, and Maria suspected that she had been lucky to shoot him in the eye. She had considered retrieving the needle projectile from the body, but found it buried far too deeply. Prepared to kill she might be, but delving into someone's brain was just too much.

Reaching a corner, Maria peered around. She was spotted immediately.

"Halt!" A single guard. Maria's mind raced. If he lived, he would alert the base to her presence. She had to kill him. But he could kill her so much easier, she had been lucky before... Making her decision, she flung herself to the ground and pushed away, leaping from behind the corner and firing two shots towards the guard.

Both needles flew wide, and she landed poorly, winding herself. The guard levelled his weapon at her, but did not fire. He had, she noticed, turn his shield up. In her hands, the pistol was now useless. She felt her heart sink. The man was reaching for something at his belt.

"Stop." The voice echoed and at the same time did not. It was pitched exactly, tuned to the precise frequency and speed required. The guard froze in place. A lithe shape let itself down from the ceiling, landing soundlessly on the ground. Even as the guard began to turn, the figure jumped and spun in the air, bringing one leg across the side of his head. There was a cracking sound as the guard's neck snapped, and he toppled lifeless to the floor.

"Your majesty." Maria breathed her thanks, still lying on the ground.

"Maria. Are you hurt?" Irulan whispered, genuine concern on her face even as she stooped over the body of the man she had just killed. She began to check his supplies.

"No, no Ma'am." Maria shuffled to her feet, making her way over to join her mistress. "Madam, was that-"

"Bene Gesserit training." Irulan smiled ruefully. "I never thought I'd have to use it like this, but it seems that the old witch's lessons have proven their worth after all." She retrieved the guard's sword and pistol, as well as his transmitter. She began to strip him of his armour. "Here, you can wear this. I saw a place back there where we can hide the body. Quickly now."

* * *

Several miles above, the surviving two escorts from Irulan's false escape broke away from the last vestiges of Salusa Secundus' atmosphere. Masked by the temporary buzz of static given out by the larger ship's destruction, each carried one sardaukar guardsman. Only the express orders of the Princess herself had persuaded them to part from her. Even as they entered the Heighliner above, their minds filled with conflicting messages. Get to the Emperor. Warn him of the assault and inform him of the attack on his sardaukar and wife-to-be. Inform him that Irulan faked her own death. But at the same time... run away from battle. The Heighliner warped.

* * *

Erine Forbino strode majestically through the Corrino complex, the royal dress and veil that she had been given by her mistress billowing out behind her. Surrounding her on all sides, as though she were the Princess herself, marched forty three sardaukar guardsmen. Elite troops from Kaitan, part of the royal family's personal bodyguard. No mere backwater trainees, these men were armed to the teeth, literally, and baying for blood.

Irulan had understood. The sardaukar had served the Corrino family loyally for centuries. Many had their doubts about the new management. All of that had been erased by the Corrino sisters' attack on their old shock troops, and now the sardaukar felt betrayed, furious, and vengeful. The Princess had stirred them into a bloodthirsty mob, killing the guards outside her chambers herself. After that, she had retored discipline. Cold, ruthless efficiency. The mark of any sardaukar. So now they marched in silence.

Two guards up ahead. Erine did not even need to give the order to fire; her troops attacked on sight. The two men were peppered with bullets before they could react, and the force marched on.

The outside of the base may or may not have been well guarded, nobody knew for sure. But once you were on the inside, it was surprisingly easy to get about. Erine stormed her way through, killing everyone she came across and destroying every comeye. She knew, of course, that she would be detected. That was the plan. With her face covered by the veil, she was almost indistinguishable from Princess Irulan herself. And if she should fall, well, that was what the exploding ship had been for. Erine felt the anger rise once again at the death of her friend, the lady Lania. She pointed to the right, and the column swerved down a new passage. Find a map. Find the control room.

* * *

Irulan switched off the stolen transmitter, and turned to help Maria don the uniform and armour of the Corrino guard.

"Good news." She whispered. "The sardaukar are playing defensively. They've retreated to their bunkers across the planet. Heavy installations, build in a nuclear wasteland and all that. They'll survive for a while yet. None of them can transmit a message offworld, but it seems that the Heighliner that brought us here has just left."

"Did any of ours get on board?" Maria asked, her voice muffled in the helmet.

"I don't know." Irulan's expression was grim. "But I've been listening in on the home frequencies. It seems that Erine is causing quite a stir. There are some troops moving to intercept her, leaving part of the base less well guarded. I think we might be able to slip through. If not, she should be able to kill them."

"What of Tessa and Nina?"

"No mention. Since they haven't turned up dead, I would assume that they were still active." Irulan smiled. "There. Don't worry. It's a little big for you, but it will protect you if you keep the visor down and your head lowered." She stood up, grabbing the transmitter and hooking it to her belt. "Come on, we should split up again."

[Barbarossa]

"I get the distinct feeling, that we are not quite welcome." Trosno whispered. Loading a Cartridge into a Heavy Repeating Projectile Weapon. Pausing to motion to his men, he started "Men, we face approximately Ten enemies directly. From what we know, they have at least three Flame-throwers trained upon our one entrence." Stopping for a moment, He cocked his large weapon.

"We can assume that they are not using Sheilds, but that is not certain. So as it is, it appears our best option will be to provide covering fire with Heavier Projectiles, while a group closes to enter Melee combat. Once we can get in close- We'll have them." Nodding, the Ducial Guardsmen agreed. "Sir, I have something to possibly augment your plan as well." Drake said. Producing a large Sack, he continued "You see, sir. I have a handful of samples of a new addition to our Arsenal. Concusison Grenades." Uncovering the Sack, he retrieved the Weapons and handed one to Trosno. "As you may assume, the weapon produces a concussive force, strong enough to hurl a Sadukar Meters. What is special, however- Is the absence of explosive materials. These weapons instead rely on a Soundwave, generated by a small Generator within the weapon, to cause the damage." Examining one of the Grenades, Trosno said "Very well, We will incorperate them into the assault. However, we should perhaps inform Relnev of this." Quickly making his way to the Ixian's group, Trosno singled out Relnev. Explaining the plan, Trosno asked if the Soundwave would detonate the Flame-throwers.

[Barbarossa]

*Notices the new Inactivity*

Need I go medieval on your non-posting selves?  :P

[Dante]

Your 'new hero' has gone back to old ways, I believe.

[Barbarossa]

Well, well, well. It's 3:19am. I'm bored, So I may as well keep the damn ball rolling.

"DUCK!"

The Trebesian Line, Hunkered down behind piles of Rubble and within Trenches, did as suggested. Another Enemy volley had screeched overhead, exploding near the Command Area.

"Sir." Qapmoc began. "Enemy fire is becoming more accurate. They are starting to inflict heavier Casualties."

Readjusting a piece of Armor, Atillian quickly replied. "Well what would you have us do? The Dumb B-tch has us pinned to where we sit. We move, the Snipers hit our Infantry."

"What of the Meks?"

"They too, will not be sufficient to make us a gap. Her Artillery and I-Meks are too damn Strategically placed."

Both men paused as a Formation of Trebesian Ornithopters roared by. Watching grimly as Tracer-fire began to lance into the Craft. Six fell before the rest reached their Targets. Dropping Their payloads and launching Missiles, the Trebesian Craft silenced another few Enemy Gun Emplacements.

Hurried footsteps were heard, the Duke and Qapmoc turned to their Visitor. Escorted by a Ducial Guardsmen, was a Fremen. Upon reaching the Duke, The man quickly spoke into Atillian's ear. Nodding and waving the Fremen away, he turned to Qapmoc Again. "Prepare the Men and Meks for another charge. And order the Artillery and Airforces to hit them with everything we've got. Now."

"Ay, I doan't see why dees damn Trebesiens make such gooad taargets!" The Sniper said in a heavy Accent to his Partner. The men had been upon a small Rock Outcropping all day, and had taken down two Enemies each. Civilians however, they had stopped counting long ago.

"I nary doan't know Moyt! Sure is eaasy pickins though!" The second Sniper replied. Pausing he continued. "If we keep thees up, we'll geet paid well, ey-" The man's ramblings were cut off, accompanied by a loud "Snickit" of a Blade being drawn through Flesh and Bone.

The first Sniper had just barely enough time to see a fount of blood spout from his Partner's headless neck. The Second Fremen finished him before he could even reach for his Side-arm.

All around the city, the Fremen completed their task. After lying in wait for the Enemy Snipers to reveal themselves, the Silent Warriors crept into position. And removed the threats.

All too quickly afterwards, the Beginning of the Trebesian Barrages began. Seemingly seconds after the last Fremen left the "Danger Zone" The Shells, Rockets, Missiles and Las-rounds began pouring into areas selected as having larger concentrations of Enemy Forces. It was too at this point, that the last of the Straggling Civilians left the City. Finally, the barrages were joined by the Trebesian Airforces.

Minutes crept into an Hour of uninterrupted Attack. At last, however. It slowed to a near-stop. It was then that The Trebesians Jumped from their Cover, and with a blood-curdling Battle-cry, Charged once more forward. Toward the Large piles of rubble that marked the Transition from "Not in city" to "in City". Their Blood-lust filled yells, and the ground-shaking movement of the De-Meks was said to be heard from the Orbiting Ships.

The Artillery then began once more, accompanied by the Trebesian Airforce- And several Capital Ships overhead. This time, however. They targeted the great Bunker-Entrance to the City-proper....

POST GODDAMNIT!

[Barbarossa]

I hate to make it come to this.

Simply put...

+

=

Unless you all want the blood of the Innocents to be shed, I suggest you comply with my demand to F*CKING POST!

[Mihail]

I hate to make it come to this.

Simply put...

+

=

Unless you all want the blood of the Innocents to be shed, I suggest you comply with my demand to F*CKING POST!

=

SPAM!

If it's dead, it's dead. I admit that I would have liked to continue it too, but I've lost all drive for FF.

[Davidu]

As the fighting rolled on, Carth analysed the options to break the doors over Catrione.

His laser tanks were not enough to melt the damn thing. And his men were under constant sniper fire. They left many dead on the plateau in front of them from the previous attack.

Carth suddenly moved towards a groups of technicians:

- Can you somehow determine how deep in concrete those doors go?

- We need to get closer to get any readings... and the area is pretty hairy, sir..

Carth went back to the officers:

- I want to get as close to the doors as possible but being safe. I say we hide beind the laser tanks... They can't destroy them that easy.

The men and machines moved as a whole being resonably safe from enemy fire, while taking out gun posts as well. When in place, the technicians started to probe the concrete with resonance scanners.

- Sir, the doors continue under the concrete floor for about 1.5 meters.

- Can out laser tanks make a hole under them? We NEED to get inside.

The techs looked at each other

- If they fire in the same point... but it will take time.

- Then that;'s what we'll do.

After several seconds Carth's laser tanks started hitting the ground in front of the gates, slowly pulverising the concrete away...

OK! NEXT :D

[Barbarossa]

Any hope of convincing anyone to revive this for Christmas?

[Beonid]

I'm willing, but I won't be able to post often

[Barbarossa]

I'm pretty sure I could get Davidu intrested as well.

We really just need Dragoon and Dante then.

[Davidu]

well, i'm here...

[Dante]

'I will not be beaten. Not here and not now.' Ekaterina tightened her jaw. She looked sidelong at Rachael, who was swaying slightly as the temperature in the office soared ever higher. A trickle of sweat ran down her face, and her lips parted as she began to pant gently. Ekaterina frowned, and tapped her on the shoulder.

Rachael looked around, and Ekaterina nodded her head in the direction of the door. Rachael looked questioning for a moment, and Ekaterina nodded again. Neither woman found herself inclined to utter a word in the stifling heat, and Rachael simply nodded gratefully before making her way to the double doors. She slid through and closed them behind her.

Ekaterina looked after her assistant for a moment, frowning as she felt something press uncomfortably on her shoulders. She glanced to the side, sparing a look at her fiery defences on the other side of her office, and rolled her eyes when she found her shirt clinging wetly to her body armour. She reached down and peeled it off, casting it aside and rearranging her chestplate. She turned on her shield, choosing a medium setting.

"The Ixians and Trebesian forces are camped on opposite sides of the breach, M'lady." Vail finally stepped forward, performing a cursory bow as he did so. "There appears to be some disagreement in the ranks, however. I believe that the Ixians were attempting to separate themselves from the Trebesians." He made to continue, but stopped suddenly. A thoughtful expression passed across the face dancer's visage. He remained silent, letting the absent words speak for themselves.

Ekaterina was already glaring fiercely at him, her face twisting even as she attempted to prevent it. A drop of sweat fell from her brow when it twitched violently.

"And... Alacia?" The words were forced between tight, grimacing lips. Vail shrank back despite himself.

"Alacia Vorbid died in-" He got no further as Ekaterina launched a vicious swipe at him with her right hand.

"Liar!" She screeched, aiming a disemboweling kick at the face dancer's stomach. Vail dodged out of the way, rolling across the wide floor to stand behind a flamethrower. He crouched, prepared to spring, but the next attack never came.

Ekaterina stood behind her desk, facing the breach in her defences. Her expression had gone momentarily blank, and she stared as though hypnotised at the flickering defences of her fire wall. The red glow of Catrione's magma pits shone through the large windows behind her, framing the Lady in hellish crimson. Her eyes moved ever so slightly, following a tiny grey object as it sailed through the air toward her...

[Dragoon Knight]

*Moments earlier*

"We need to get into that office before the Trebeis.

[Dante]

The little object began to drop from its arc, heading directly for Ekaterina's forehead. She stared up at it, seemingly entranced.

Vail left the floor with lightning speed, flinging his stolen Trebesian helmet aside as he drew the bloodied blade. He landed in the centre of the desk, rolled and leapt forward again. Flinging his sword arm forward, he felt the tip of the blade connect ever so slightly with the incoming device. Curving his arm, Vail coiled his entire body into an unnaturally tight angle, bringing the sword around in a curve that sent the projectile skittering along the flat of the blade toward his hand. With a final, exhausted flick of the wrist, Vail guided the device around himself and back down the sword, hurling it away into the opposite corner of the room.

His body protesting at this impossible exertion, Vail felt a wrench inside even as he found himself landing heavily on his back. He dropped the sword with a clatter, but by that time he couldn't hear anything at all, and the room was filling with purple smoke.

[Dragoon Knight]

"Forward!" Trosno bellowed as the smoke began to clear rapidly.  The flamethrowers were all extinguished, and through the hole in the tunnel wall he could see the scorched office beyond.

Relnev grunted as Aleksandr jumped up to follow, restraining his friend.

[Dante]

Aleksandr did not reply, but fixed his eyes on Ekaterina's huge wooden desk. Relnev followed his gaze. The desk was dirty, and the papers that had covered it now lay scorched and strewn across the floor. The large windows behind them had shattered; through the frames emanated a heat even heavier than that of the fire weapons. Outside them, a faint trace of purple smoke trailed in the air above the caldera. A deep red glow accompanied the sound of distant flowing magma. Relnev sighed - smashing the windows had caused such a stir in temperature and pressure that all of the smoke had been sucked from the office. He almost cursed, but just then a movement caught his eye - Ekaterina stood slowly from behind the desk. She wore black body armour, not a shirt. Her hair was still clinging tightly to her neck, but no trails of blood ran from her ears. She held a sword in each hand, and grinned maliciously.

Saying nothing, Relnev gestured for his remaining militia to spread themselves around the room. Ekaterina's eyes slid to follow each of them, but she made no move. Relnev took his staff from his belt, holding it to one side as it extended to full length. Eemins stepped back while Aleksandr pressed himself against the doors, quietly closing them as he did so. Ekaterina did not move, but her eyes flashed at once to regard him; her grin widened by a fraction of an inch.

"You sent Vail as a distraction." Relnev stated, looking steadily at Ekaterina. Her eyes slid around to focus on him. She nodded with glacier speed.

"You have a chance to surrender now, m'Lady." Relnev spoke calmly, returning to old pleasantries. "Your defences have been breached, your forces removed. You have no one to call on. Come with us peacefully."

Ekaterina said nothing, but turned her head languidly from side to side, her eyes never leaving Relnev. It occured to the Chancellor that she might finally have lost the last vestiges of sanity. Her eyes glittered.

"You still have allies." Relnev tried once more, even as some of the Ixian militia glanced uncomfortably at him. "Your brother arranged for us to pick you up before the Trebesians could kill you. We will take you back to Kaitan."

[Dragoon Knight]

This appeared to be the final straw.  Without warning, Ekaterina launched herself to one side, slashing ferociously at the nearest target while screaming a senseless trail of animalistic howls and screeches.  The other Ixians moved in but were immediately beaten back by a flurry of wide sweeps.  The initial target fell backwards, her face a lacerated mess.  In keeping with their training, the remaining Ixians moved around Ekaterina and attempted to pull her away from the casualty.  Relnev made a sharp gesture, which Eemins copied.  From behind the mentat emerged two Ixian medics who scuttled forward to the fallen woman.

Ekaterina was now locked in combat with five of the Ixian militia, parrying blows deftly while slashing and stabbing in all directions.  She was hit on numerous occasions, but the stun batons appeared not to faze her as she swung around and around, her eyes narrowed and her expression a foul grimace.  Four further casualties lay on the ground, bleeding from various newly-created orifices.

Relnev strode forward, staff at the ready.  Seeing him coming, the Ixians fell back to make room as he slipped into combat, parrying a blow from Ekaterina that would have taken the head off a nearby militiaman.  She grinned again and jumped back, kicking out with her heels in the process and sending two more Ixians sprawling.

"Fall back." Relnev ordered between clenched teeth.  His remaining militia immediately manoeuvred themselves out of the way as Relnev and Ekaterina duelled.  Aleksandr could only watch as the two swords flashed back and forth, each blow narrowly missing or sent wide by Relnev's spinning staff.

Ekaterina made a high sweep with her right hand, bringing the left low for a stab at Relnev's midriff.  The Ixian slipped to one side, preparing for his counter, but Ekaterina brought both swords around in a crossing motion that sent them both slashing for his neck.  Forced to bring his staff to the vertical, Relnev stopped both blades at once.  Both combatants heard the crack when something in Relnev's staff broke.  Ekaterina hissed, but even as she did so an electrical discharge from the staff lanced through both of her swords, causing her to yell in pain and hurl them to the floor.  She reached up at once to swing at Relnev, landing a solid punch as he too discarded his broken weapon.  Relnev ducked the next blow, jabbing Ekaterina under the chin in return.

She stumbled backwards, tripping on the steps behind her desk.  Relnev moved in quickly, but Ekaterina was already scrambling to her feet and heading for the top of the steps.  She whirled around at Relnev raised his arm, but instead of hitting him she unexpectedly seized him by the wrist.  Relnev had just enough time for a confused expression to cross his face before he caught sight of Ekaterina's expression in the infernal light from the windows.  She grinned once more, and jumped.

"Chancellor!" Eemins dashed forward just as Relnev's feet disappeared though the shattered window.  "Chancellor, I-" His shoulders slumped as the remaining Ixian militia ran for the window.

"Sir!  He's alive!" One of them shouted back, leaning dangerously over the edge.

"What?" Eemins looked up.  He took a step for the window, while Aleksandr ran up to the adjacent pane.  About twenty feet below the window he could just glimpse two figures.

[Dante]

"You. Wretched. Interrupting. Interfering. Insufferable. Bastard!" Ekaterina's fists were a blur, punching and slashing left right and centre as Relnev struggled to avoid her frenzied attack. He ducked as she aimed a swipe for his head, impacting her fist with the solid rock of the cliff. Relnev heard several things crack, but Ekaterina did not even slow down as she drew back her bloodied hand and kicked out. Her foot landed squarely beneath Relnev's jaw, sending him tumbling from the ledge. Without hesitation, Ekaterina jumped after him.

Relnev felt the rippling heat of the magma far below as he fell. Rolling in the air, he reached into his bag and aimed a grappler for the rock face. Suddenly he landed, hard, and the wind was knocked out of him. He dropped his grappler, but it retreated back into his bag on a coil. Wrapping his arms around whatever he had landed on, Relnev opened his eyes and blinked away the sweat.

It was narrow, perhaps only a foot in diameter

[Dragoon Knight]

This was it, Relnev sensed; the final gathering of what remained of her strength.  Drawing upon resources that few even possessed, Ekaterina prepared for her death or glory moment... and sprung.

The flight seemed a long time in coming - Ekaterina appeared almost to move in slow motion, hands outstretched, blood flowing freely from where her nails used to be.  Relnev felt his own pain grow dull for a moment.

Just long enough, he recognised; his mind had to be clear for just long enough.

He felt himself begin to sink, the action instinctive rather than voluntary.  Ducking on his knees, his eyes widened as he caught sight of a new weapon wrapped around the fingers of his attacker - a spiked knuckleduster, aimed directly at his face.

Slowly, so slowly that he found the notion of escape impossible, Relnev lowered his head.  He was already pressed low against the pipe, but now he coiled himself into as small an area as possible.  Even so, he felt the burning rows of pain as the spikes raked across the top of his skull.  No time to think about that.  Relnev opened his eyes.

He could see Ekaterina passing above him, her screech of fury only now reaching his ears.  Relnev felt reality begin to speed up again, and reached up desperately to grasp Ekaterina's ankle.  Locking his legs around the underside of the pipe, Relnev used Ekaterina's own momentum to swing her around in the air.  She spun in a half circle before he let her go, sending her headfirst into the cliff face.  She hit it hard, falling to the walkway and lying still.

Relnev stared at her prone form while around him the world became real again.  A dull ache in his side reminded him that at least one of his ribs was broken, and as he moved his arm to support more weight he remembered that it too had been damaged... but he could not rest here.  Not yet.

Slowly, Relnev began to crawl the last two metres along the pipe to the stairway.  His muscles twitched in protest at the exertion.  He wondered what Ekaterina had felt during the confrontation... nothing, he guessed.

Upon reaching the steps, Relnev heard distant voices.  Looking up he could see blurry figures far above, hurrying down the stairs toward him.  He turned away, heaving himself over to Ekaterina.  She lay still.  No tricks, no last minute surprises, not a single movement.  Relnev slipped forward, the motion bringing his hand across her neck.  He held his fingers there for a moment.  The voices were growing quieter.  He screwed up his eyes, blocked his ears, deliberately ignoring the cries.  All outside distractions faded away as he concentrated on the sensation in those two fingertips.  Beneath them, as faintly as the wriggle of a microbe in the ocean, Ekaterina's pulse made itself felt.  Relnev smiled, and slipped at last into darkness.

"-to wake up."  Relnev caught the end of a sentence as it passed above his head.  He frowned, and attempted to open his eyes.  They responded sluggishly, and when they finally overcame their reluctance  Relnev was annoyed to discover that they provided only a blurry picture of a charred maroon ceiling.

"Unacceptable." He said.  Something made a scuffling noise overhead.

"He's awake!" A voice shouted through several thick woolen sweaters.  A nose flew into view.  Thankfully it was quickly followed by the remainder of a head.

"Eemins." Relnev muttered.  "Could you please unwrap my brain?"

A confused expression crossed Eemins' magnified face, before he reached to one side and said something that Relnev's wool-filled ears did not quite catch.  The fluffiness began to subside.

"Sorry sir, the pain dampeners were a bit too high." Eemins reported.

"How... how is she?" Relnev frowned, noting the numbness in his left arm and lower torso.

"Unconscious." Eemins replied, glancing sideways to where Relnev assumed Ekaterina lay.  "We've got her on a sedative to prevent her from coming round."

"Good work." Relnev muttered, attempting to lever himself upright.

"Sir, you shouldn't exert yourself." Eemins protested.  He thought for a second.  "Any more." He added.

"How long was I out?" Relnev asked impatiently, leaning heavily on Eemins' shoulder.

"Just over a quarter of an hour, sir." The mentat replied.

"Too long." Relnev sighed.  "We should be out of here already.  I don't want the Trebesians finding Ekaterina with us.  Or at all." He finally made it to his feet, and swayed for a moment as blood rushed from his head.  He put his hand on his head to steady himself, and found the newly cleaned and stitched wounds from Ekaterina's last weapon.  Some dried blood came away in his hand. Eemins was distracted by one of the militia behind him, and as he turned to listen Relnev looked about, taking stock.