Paragon's Story

The group of Invictus soldiers known as the Custodis Caeleste, lead by the southern belle known as Arya Bones, moved through the building down to the streets. Herding anyone they could find to the NPA Enforcers who were setting up a safe haven on the last few floors and the roof.

"If you have food, water, medical supplies, clothing, cellphones, radios, take them with you. There's no telling how long we'll be here or what will happen." Sugar said as he and the soldiers marched through the building from floor to floor. "Incoming transmission." One of the other soldiers said loudly.

"Caeleste, this is Sandman of the Benevolentia and Team Ripper. We've got these... things moving in on the Palace, the rest of my team are out trying to get civilians to safety." Sandman said over the soldier's communication devices, "We need a distraction or they can't get in. Can you make it?" Sandman asked.

The Invictus soldiers glanced to each other, gauging what the general consensus was on the matter. Most nodded their heads, a few giving thumbs ups or shrugs of their shoulders. "We'll be there in fifteen." Arya told Sandman, "Hold the fort." She added, gesturing for her men to follow as she began to rush down the staircase to the ground floor.

She knew what was waiting on the other side of the door, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to be that close.

Will had landed on the building as did the rest of his team who went to work barricading the lower floors and taking up firing positions. Will was on the second floor, he had his sniper rifle loaded with 50 cal explosive tipped rounds. These were usually reserved for taking out armored vehicles but they would suffice here. He noticed that the cyborgs were jumping from buildings so he began to pick off ones he could see above their position. "1...2...3." He mumbled trying to keep track of his kills. Around him he could hear the other commandos firing their munitions. He broke off of his attack and lowered his rifle for the moment opting for a commlink.

"Jackson To command Requesting munitions supply drop at our location would be nice to get some heavier weapons down here." He said.

"Copy supply drop in route, We have close air support in range but be mindful of Civilians Major." A robotic female voice responded through the commlink.

So they give me these toys but then I can't use them? He thought rolling his eyes. He retrieved his rifle and resumed taking shots at the cyborgs. He had to switch Targets as the joes location was swarmed he began to fire below into the street. He retrieved a grenade from his belt and tossed it into the street below. "Hornet, this is Foxtrot requesting you sweep the street on our location Over?"

"Roger." Responded, an F-18 Could be heard as it's 20mm Gatling gun opened up on the cyborgs in the street thinning the numbers a bit but from a skyscraper another jumping cyborg clipped the planes wing. It spun helplessly out of control crashing into the mob in the street in a plume of flames and a deafening explosion.

“I see you… But, where did you come from?” Chromatic eyes magnified every mile of distorted chaos, which immediately unraveled, after their appearance. The aforementioned chaos was the instilled aspirations of another like-minded being. Perhaps, this was a night for death and despair; a fate surely taken into the hands of mortals, and out of gods’. Though, which hand manipulated these poor souls? More importantly, which would succeed the other?

He saw them, all of them: The roaring, undead creatures, which appeared miserable in every feat they achieved, and each one they failed to. His presence had remained away from the bouts of destruction; the burning aircraft, the dramatic screams, and the dead and dying bodies of victims. He did not disregard the heroics of certain individuals. Achievements, which were made by the winged demi-god, held a certain comedy about them. His spectacularly colored irises reflected the pit of another heroic massacre; that is, the ones of shade and ash. Why do the powerful assist the powerless? The reactions and interactions of good and evil had always attracted a pandemonium. Though, chaos has always remained a neutral thorn in the hide of both light and darkness.

“What was it the Americans once said? ‘Give me Liberty, or give me Death.’ What a horribly desperate quote.” Teeth so white were glistening in the shadows, as they had been revealed by a grin so wide. He stood in the darkness, and watched from a distance, which was unbeknownst to anything but his own conscious mind. “My proxies,” The electronic whispers of a silent order streamed through the waves of air, and perked the ears of many hidden bodies within, and out, of the steadfast mob. “Have the first lines of the crowd disperse. Be prepared for the first wave that comes your way. Hopefully, you all have your markers on, unless you don’t care to be shot.” Only a light pause was to pass between the addressed orders and the secured line, before the unknown numbers had readied themselves mentally for the city-wide battle.

“Tell our friends what lies at their backs. As, I’m sure their cards are already being dealt out, let them know what it means to be low on chips.”

Seconds passed, as the independent horde took valid strides down the Main Street, and toward the line of authorities. They spread to either side of the street to endow the vanguard with more force. He, the voice of the crowd, could smell the uneasy fear mounting the officers and soldiers alike. “WE ARE THE CORE! This is Wing City! It will forever, and always, remain our home! Stand fast, if you can!” His voice spouted through the speaker of the mega-phone, as it pierced ahead at the gun line.

An effort to protect this city from the fallacies of control had amounted to an ironic hope for the ones losing control. The ‘Thousands Core’ would not stop its march. The people maintained a varied armament of weaponry and explosives. A single question rose as a flag in the minds of the once defending soldiers, and careful officers. It was a choice of whether to turn and let this army of citizens charge the corruption of the undead, or to hold their line and risk a death, which would be deemed as a crime.

“CORE, CORE, CORE!!” Their voices pounded the air as a rampant beast. The call was enriched with an impressive pride, as it craved a sacred mate: The wreak of havoc. It would reach from northern Main Street, several miles down to the southern Main, which held the screams of several innocents. They demanded their adversaries to stand aside.

“God-speed to the fools,” A chuckle preceded the unrewarded appearance of a suited man, who stood atop the roof of a building, and remained entertained. His feet came to the edge, as if to bait his will with a gush of invigoration. It was not time to enjoy this folly, not yet.

As the cyborgs piled upon a seemingly doomed Maria, a dark shadow would suddenly fall upon the sprawling hordes. Paragon slammed into the street like a bolt of lightning from the sky, a shockwave of wind and asphalt throwing many of the nearby robots flying into street lamps and public benches. The mysterious warrior advanced on the mindless metal zombies with impressive speed, weaving through the beasts in a blur of black and white. As he finally approached the merciless dog-pile, he thrashed out with a series of violent punches, arcs of high-decibel sound shooting out of his knuckles with every blow and slamming into the wretching beasts, forcing them off Maria by the dozens. He would attempt to reach the woman as quickly as possible, fighting through the monsters as efficiently as he could.

In the distance, he vaguely heard a strange chant rising from the chaos. "Core... core..." Curious. No time to dwell on it now, though. Lives needed saving.

The first criminal was easy. The large man had been smoking, looking out for his criminal friends inside the warehouse nearby. The smoke didn't drop, the Vicar had been too though. The first criminal's head violently exploded into bloody fragments of skull and viscous blood, splattering all over the concrete wall.

"For the Dark was wretched, cold and cruel." The Vicar snarled, his mouth lulled open by thick leather strap, his half-helmet giving him perfect night-vision and an eerie red glow in the night. The criminals were laughing inside, examining a shipment of firearms imported from the Taiyou Empire. Warn them. Please, they're not that bad.



The Vicar kicked open the door, his weapon in both hands. "And thrived in fear and pain." he screamed, caving in the skull of the nearest man, kicking another in the chest so hard that there was a distinct crack and the man spewed blood all over the uncaring floor, all while bullets flew everywhere. "With murd’rous lust it sought its goal." Vicar added angrily, seizing a nearby criminal cocking his sidearm and using him as a human shield for the hail of bullets that came his way, the screams of pain filling the warehouse.

"And so a war waged tween’ the frays" yelled the Vicar, throwing the body forward into another criminal and swiping upwards with his mace, shattering another skull in a flicker of electricity. "This vicious cycle, night and day."



The Vicar threw his mace, colliding with the second to last criminal in the warehouse with a loud splat, intestines violently hitting the other side of the wall. The last criminal dropped his gun, but wasn't fast enough to make it to the back exit as the Vicar fell upon him, lifting him high into the air with one augmented hand.



The Vicar growled, quoting the works of the Paragon as he raised his other hand in a fist to smash the face to pulp, screaming the name of his god over and over.

The rumble of Armored vehicles could be heard down mainstreet. Ben Rudder sat in a command vehicle. Ahead of him 6 massive rail gun tanks made their way toward the street. The all stopped short of the defensive line. Ben Surveyed the destruction but also the mass of enemies approaching. Magical attacks could be seen but they only did so much. "Tanks switch to shell mode. Fire mine distribution rounds." He ordered, a few moment's later they tanks signaled the ammo was loaded. "Fire." He said as the tanks each let loose a shell. The rocket assisted shells sped down the street each releasing a large cluster or remote detonated mines at separate locations on the street.

Above F-35 Lightnings flew overhead, each passed over using their 25mm gatlin guns, some dropped precision bombs while other launched shortrage storm shadow cruise missiles sweeping the street north of the barrier. Six armored personnel carriers released additional commando support who began to file in toward The forward lines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Will Jackson's force had began a steady retreat back to the main defensive line they hopped from building to building clearing them as they went along top to bottom. They would climb then jump the roof and start over again. He had heard they used this tatic in Iraq back on earth and it seemed to be working here. Will was in a struggle with a cyborg it clawed at him and he brought his combat knife up to slice through it's neck. "These damn things wont go down!" He shouted as he grabbed his side arm and pumped 6 rounds into it before it finally lay still. "Let's move something tells me these things aren't done yet." He said as they made their way down to an alley. They were only a block away now maybe 10 houses left if they skipped them they could make it to the line in five minutes. "Forget the houses let's get back to the main line!" He shouted they had already lost half their force only 15 not counting Will if they searched the buildings they would surly sustain heavier losses. "Were gonig to have to run it or risk ambush!"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben could see Will as he and his forces ran but suddenly a swarm of cyborgs exited the unsearched buildings. Ben and 10 others jumped the baricade weapons firing as other weapon systems could be heard. They began to cover Will's retreat. 3 more were taken by the undead cyborgs. "Fall Back!" Ben shouted as Will and his men reached them they began to climb the barricade. The building to the left of the suddenly opened up as M2 Browning barrels appeared in the windows and opened fire. Ben looked around. "Could I speak to the officer in charge here?" He shouted. This was still a Terran operation and he wanted to see what support they could use and what he could do to help.

Jade and her people stood aside for the rioters, if they wanted to get themselves killed they could. Jade wasn't there to keep from committing suicide, but to put them down if they needed to be put down. That's what you did with vicious dogs, take them to the woods and put a bullet in their heads.

The WCPD and NPA Enforcers on the street hesitated a little when it came to stepping aside, but they eventually did. They didn't have much faith in untrained civilians trying to face the cyborg zombie horde, but if they died the riot problem would be done with and they might even clear out a good number of the cyborgs.

"You all know this is crazy, right?" A police officer asked, "And stupid." Jade added, "We advise you against trying to fight those things." The cop continued, "It's suicide."

"Air's getting awful crowded up here," Jayden muttered as several jets soared in front of him, littering fire down into places that he would never have considered pulling the trigger on for the risk. He patched himself into the radio, "I'm coming down! Getting too difficult to get a clear shot with my big guns on anything from up here without risking friendly fire."

Swerving around, Jayden guided the fighter ship through the city and away, setting down a safe distance away from the fighting in the street and climbing out. He took a moment to peer around the area, determining that the zomborgs were nowhere near reaching the place yet. "So help me, if any of those motherfuckers so much as scratch your paintwork..." he muttered to the Eclipse, locking it down and setting up a proximity alarm.

Hefting a plasma rifle, Jayden set off on foot to join the barricade, "If anyone's got a spare helicopter I could call driver's seat on, that'd be totally awesome," he half-joked into the headset.

Following slowly behind the two soldiers was a strange, tall figure garbed in black robes. A somewhat dark aura followed him, emanating off his body like writhing licks of silent shadow. As he entered the room, he looked around the place briefly, his pale white mask glaring ominously towards the suited man at the end of the table.

"You are the one I was instructed to speak to?" he asked quietly, his voice a strange but subtle mix between whisper and calm speech. "Before we begin, I would like to be assured that this conversation is not being recorded in any way." He took a few slow steps forward, resting a black hand on the nearby chair. His abysmal eyes bore into the Scatteran with merciless scrutinization. It was as if he was intently watching every curve, line and twist of the man's face.

It was difficult to decipher exactly how the Paragon reacted to the capsuleer's assurances, mostly because it was difficult to garner a reaction out of him in general. That said, if there WAS a face behind that pale white mask, it might have been smiling.

"Perfect."

The Paragon moved slowly around the room, looking up at the cluster map on the far end of the wall. He reached calmly into his robes, procuring a small holo-cube and holding it up for the other Scatterans to see. Activating the device, the room would flood with images of old Aschen news articles... pictures of Julia Hagan... alleged information about the Belkan rebels... practically anything and everything available to the public about the Hagan incident that'd taken place several months ago.

"I trust you're all well familiar with the information I am presenting to you," the Paragon began, "five months ago, the daughter of Miles Hagan, wealthy Aschen businessman, is captured by Belkan rebels. They demand Tech Con weaponry in exchange for her release. The Hegemony steps in, supposedly rescues Julia Hagan before the terrorists demands are met, and returns her safely to Miles and his family." The Paragon looked again towards the capsuleer, dark eyes betraying nothing.

"I am here before you today because I do not believe in this 'happy ending'. I have reason to suspect that it is a lie invented by the Belkans to mask some nefarious plot. I have a plan to illuminate this dark secret... but I need your help." He drew another careful step forward. "Namely, I need your help in capturing a ranking Belkan official.

"Then my suspicion is correct," the Paragon mused, "the Belkans orchestrated both the capture and release of Julia Hagan. But why? Relations between Tech Con and the Hegemony didn't improve after the ordeal. If anything, Miles' hatred towards the Belkans only intensified. What did the Hegemony have to gain by kidnapping a girl under a clever facade, only to give her back a few weeks later?"

The Paragon turned back to the capsuleers slowly, standing before the council of Scatteran Counter-Balance agents with ominous intentions. The dim-blue light of the holo-cube illuminated the sharp lines of their faces prophetically.

"It is my intention to raid the Belkan military headquarters and archive on Tannhauser," he said quite suddenly, his ash-whisper voice inexplicably developing a hardy, metallic substance, "I shall do this by using a former Belkan Archduchess who still maintains significant clearance in the Hegemony's security systems." The Paragon flicked at his cube, the visage of a woman flickering into the air. "Former regent Liese Redwing," he announced, "currently retired. Living a secluded life, far removed from the watchful eye of the Hegemony military and its spies. A prime target." He looked back to the capsuleers.

"If you can help me capture this woman, I can do the rest."

"I'll take whatever aid you can unofficially give me," Paragon said plainly, looking at the picture of the Scatteran specialist. His mask tilted slightly. "I'll need a guide and partner on Eglin. Someone who won't blow our cover. I want it to be clean. This is the easy compared to the rest of my plan." He turned back to the capsuleers.

"We seem to face two immediate problems. One, we need to find a way to bypass Eglin's orbital defenses and sneak onto the planet undetected. Two, we need to find a way to get the archduchess alone, and in a position where she won't be missed for a while." The Paragon removed his arm from his cloak, tapping at a screen on one of his bracers. "I'll download information concerning all upcoming Eglin social events, particularly those with interest to House Redwing. Parties. Balls. If we can catch the archduchess in one of those, we'll have the best chance for success."

Paragon merely looked quietly between the bickering Scatterans, slightly unnerved.

"Please understand that your description thus far of Mr. Riley does not at all assure me of his tactical competence," the Paragon said plainly, "if he is as powerful a psychic as you say he is, then I have no doubt he can be of use to this mission." His head lowered slightly. "...but if he is half as inane and reckless as you are making him out to be, then perhaps he is not the most appropriate candidate for this assignment. Either way, I'm afraid I don't have much time to 'sit and wait' for Mr. Riley to come and find me. If my suspicions are correct, then I fear Ms. Hagan is playing into a deep and intricate plot that could culminate at any moment, possibly endangering the lives of billions of innocent people. I must find out the truth as soon as I can, with or without Mr. Riley."

"Alright then," Paragon drew another step forward, "do you at least have an idea of where I MIGHT find Mr. Riley? Forgive me of my impatience. Sitting and waiting quietly for people to find me isn't one of my strengths."

As Paragon drew near to his target, what rose up out of the mass of cyborgs was more beast than woman. A hulking monstrocity towered over him with its wolfish eyes gleaming amber in the moonlight. The werebeast was muscled and toned, and its russet fur thick with blood and other fluids; some if it the beasts, and some of it from the cyborgs that surrounded it.

Bodies were flung free to smash haphazardly against nearby walls before the werebeast rose to its full height of eight feet. Rend and torn limb from limb, the cyborgs fell with a fervor to match Paragons own, and as the pairs matched ferocity cleared the way, the werebeast eyes locked onto Paragon and it took a menacing step towards him. Inhaling deeply the beast let out a bone rattling roar as thick gobs of heated saliva dripped from its maw to spatter upon the pavement.

Coiling its muscles the beast lept into motion and swung a backhanded blow to knock Paragon clear of its path as it threw itself free of the alleyway and into the open street. The sounds of jets overhead and the explosion of cluster bombs went off up and down the street, but the werebeast was unwavering in its ferocity.

The snap if its jaws and the rend of its claws felled the cyborgs by the dozens, but even its ferocity could do little to stem the sheer quantity of numbers that filled the streets.

High above the city, a brief distortion flickered in the air, and suddenly gases were forcibly pushed aside, culminating into a deafening crack.

There was a flash of light above the streets, and the buildings until the imposing form of a Reverence I flickered into view. Subsequently following, a transmission to Terran and Invictus forces in the area.

"Attention, this is the Reverence I Planetary Assault Carrier 'Nascent Echo' We're deploying medical supplies, and military personnel to evacuate civilians and deal with the Zombie outbreak. Secure all loose ends, the entire city's being lit up condition red." The Message then ended as the Reverence moved into position, the Commander, a veteran of several conflicts, Lionel Pendergast turned and brought up several red icons on a three-dimensional map of the city.

"Target those monsters for precision fire, deploy the FOB, and let's get some assets into the city." He said, manipulating the controls.

At the Intersection between Main Street and Sol Avenue, the Reverence finally came to a stop, her engines roaring over the zombie commotion.

"Light up all friendlies on the HUD." The Commander added, and the AI Hologram spoke. "FOB is ready for deployment."

Beneath the Reverence, there was another deafening crack, and it was as if a piece of the ship detached and slid down on a gravity beam. The Circular piece of hardware was a large prefabricated hardpoint, manned by eight Aschen gunners manning plasma cannons. Atop the platform were a pair of Myrmidon Urban variant, their strange pixelated camouflage making them hard for the eye to see.

"Let them rip!" An Aschen gunner shouted, before he loosed a flurry of plasma bolts into the shambling masses, Aschen soldiers firing in all directions as the two tanks rolled out, and down Main street.

"Hotel Bravo this is Myrmidon One, moving and engaging." There was a series of cracks as the Zomborgs were crushed under the treads of these massive tanks.

While the Prefabricated FOB held it's own, the Reverence continued to beam down reinforcements down the gravity beam, Soldiers to fight for the streets in all directions, while bodies began to build up.

The streets became thick with the smell of ozone, Aschen energy weapons discharge echoing in the distance.

As the Reverence appeared man of the Joes looked upon the giant space craft with a look of distrust. Ben had been waiting for the NPA response when he place a hand to his ear comm and just nodded. He tossed the radio back to the NPA officer and then opened up a comm to the Joes. "All Joe mount up we are with drawing, air support is inbound to cover our convoy." He said as the 80 or so commando's loaded supplies wounded and then finally themselves back onto the transports they had arrived on. The Railgun tanks backed out of the fortifications laying down a few last shots at the Zombie masses before the convoy began to form up and crawl down the street heading toward the exit of the city.

A few helicopters landed and picked up excess commandos including Will. "Keep the side door open there isn't a reason I can't take a few last potshots on our way out." He said as he leveled his long range sniper and picked off a few more of those things. Soon the range was too great. The Joes were leaving behind them the city seemed to burn and the Dark form of ships loomed over. This bothered Will he had friends and family here around him a few civilians were also huddled in the chopper. He recognized Ben's sister Sarah and there were also two familiar men in armor. One was clutching a baby the other a strange dog. A few other choppers held civilians as well.

The Joes were leaving this fight, it wasn't because it was a loosing battle nor the friendly fire but due to a seething distrust of the Aschen. They had almost wiped out the Joes in the past and to them that was unforgivable. This action was for their survival, these precious civilians were the Joes last act of mercy for the day. If they returned it would not be for the good of Terran citizens but as an act of revenge.

The Paragon stood his ground against the beast's monstrous roar, his cloak fluttering madly behind him from the force of the werewolf's bestial declaration. His deft block did little to counter Maria's powerful backhand and he soon found himself jerking through the air like a tossed ragdoll, slamming forcefully through the windshield of a nearby parked car. He rose, dazed, clutching at the side of his head, looking tiredly down the street at the carnage Maria was leaving behind as she ran.

The Paragon briefly looked to his right, picking up on the faint psionic trail he'd managed to gleam from a captive cyborg. He ought to be heading that way, towards whatever villain was controlling these monstrosities... but what about the wolf? Whatever had risen from that pile of robots had not been human nor sane, and was clearly a far greater threat to civilian life then these tin-canned corpses. He needed to deal with the most immediate problem first: stop the wolf, then find the murderers behind this invasion.

Drawing himself upright, the Paragon took three pounding steps before leaping off the ground, a small shockwave of energy resounding out of his boots as he jumped, propelling him into a speedy flight. The dark edges of his cloak outstretched like black wings against the pale evening sky, jagged and bat-like. The wings of a demon.

After a short flight, the Paragon had managed to gain on Maria, looking down on the trouncing werebeast from his aerial vantage point. Folding his cloak violently back over his torso, he fell into a straight nose-dive, spiraling back towards the earth at an alarmingly fast velocity, aiming directly for Maria's back. The impact, if successfully placed, would be monumental. Paragon would do all but drive the beast six-feet into the asphalt.

After patching the male's bleeding shoulder, Ki stood and stretched, his silver blue eyes taking in the carnage about him and flinched, recalling how it felt when the human soldiers died. "Fucked up way to go." he muttered as his ears twitched as his tail flicked behind him. Silently he moved away from the man who's wound he cleaned and dressed, and began to move the bodies, ignoring the stench of the decayed zombie cyborgs. Which he carried or dragged a fair amount away from where they were. While the deceased humans, those killed by friendly fire he laid side by side with their comrades, while searching for those who were bitten and lifted up a silent prayer for forgiveness as he slid his sword into their heads before laying them out in a single file.

"From a hellish world of beasts and monsters, to another with humans fighting cyborg zombies." he muttered as he gently closed the sightless eyes of one of the soldiers that didn't make it. Before dragging the headless soldier over to rest beside the others.

Quickly, but with the practiced ease of one used to such labor, Ki work relentlessly his ears always twitching towards each sound that drifted towards him. Whether it was the sounds of clanking shuffling moaning zombies, or the shouts and cry's of other people further away, along with the sounds of firing weapons. His silver blue eyes would drifted about the area, watching the shuffling and moaning zombies that were making their way towards him and the dead soldiers along with the living one he had tended to.

After laying out the last soldier, Ki moved towards the place where where the zombies were gathering as the stumbled and crawled over the dead he had piled up and snarled at the foul smelling things before he lifted his right arm up palm facing up and seconds later a small fire burned in the palm of his had and smiled as he he flung his hand out towards them. "Infernal blaze." he said softly and watched as the ball of fire grew as it struck the first zombie and exploded into a blazing infernal as is spread towards the others until a burning wall of moaning and groaning zombies stumbled and fell against each other.

Each time a zombie stumbled away from the other burning zombies Ki reached out towards it, closed his hand and yanked back, causing it to fly back into the burning horde. All the while not allowing the flames to go past the perimeter of the wall of fire, while keeping one ear trained on the soldier behind him and towards the other sounds, knowing the blazing fire would draw attention.

"What good am I,really?"

"You tell me," a dark, raspy voice slithered out from the darkest corner of her office, a strange hybrid between cooing whisper and brooding rumble. Slowly, the figure emerged from the black, holding out his hands disarmingly. A dark cloak was draped over his shoulders, hung about his frame like a shadow. A white mask like shining alabaster adorned his face, the only light-spot on his whole physique. His chest was just barely exposed between the folds of his ash cloak, the symbol of a crescent moon etched between his armored pectorals.

"I mean you no harm, Chief Delancy" he spoke swiftly, "I would have asked for an appointment, but I don't think the fine officers of Wing City to a person with no citizenship, identification or real name of any sort." He took a few slow steps forward.

"I would have a word with you, if you would permit me. This is your office. I will not stay here if I am not welcome."