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A Lesson In The Art of War: A Meeting of Two Monsters

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A Lesson In The Art of War: A Meeting of Two Monsters

Tips: 0.00 INK Postby Alucroas on Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:06 pm

200KM North of the Velrius Border: 1900hrs

Amid falling flakes of snow, sonic booms from fighter-jets racing across the sky, and the muffled clickity clank of tank treads plowing through the tundra...an unusually large beast bolted through the permafrost-stricken land. Thick sheets of frozen mist camouflaged his movements, the powerful beat of his ten-foot wide wings aiding his gradual ascension into the evening sky above. What few aircraft that, did pass him by suddenly found their navigational systems going on the fritz; it was as if an electromagnetic pulse - not strong enough to fry any circuits - but carrying an ample amount of voltage to temporarily shut them down had nudged them off balance. The pilots only clue as to what had just happened to their planes was a lingering trail of electricity, slowly dissipating into the raging storm.

Far below, in a forest full of beautiful white maple trees, a black creature stalked through the wilderness. It had managed to spot a stealth-platoon of about twenty ESP soldiers; tall, lanky and a bit wide at the mid-section. Years of genetic research which involved splicing DNA from sharks, platypus had paved the way to a revolution in genome soldiers. The ability to feel their comrades' heartbeats, coupled with the right training allowed for perfect synchronization, the power to detect danger and to decipher the enemy's true goals. As their brains developed even further, powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, and psychokinesis had been spawned - effectively transforming them into the elites of their nation's military.

Their trek through the snow would last all the way through the night, physical and mental training allowed them to persevere in the cold. Black and white camouflage was the color of choice for the strange-looking troops. The masks they wore were designed to fit neatly around their facial structures which jutted out in an under-exaggerated rectangle, but was brought back into proportion when it narrowed out, and for good reason too; their anatomy was a cross between that of a cheetah and an iguana, which explained the lean, yet, lanky physique they were possessed of.

The spots where their ears were located suddenly puffed up, as did all the others once they realized that they were being followed. Moving with the wind wasn't exactly the best course of action, but, their enemies were well-known for their paranoia, so it didn't matter too much. On the plus side it was that very method of travel that gave away position of their stalker. For just a split-second the group seemed to spring up a few inches in height, their straight and narrow path widening ever so slightly as to provide each other room.

--

A few hundred clicks back, something long and black snaked through the woods; every step the creature took was cold and calculated as to ensure that, sound was kept down to a minimum. Its supple muscles flexed with caution, inserting its clawed digits into the snow with a soft crunch whom only it could hear. In any case, the creature preferred to keep its movements painstakingly concealed. Small horns protruded from its sleek, slimy skull, its ten foot tail dragged through the snow, ending with a sharp, curved bone, perfect for stealthy assassinations.

Let's start the hunt, my companions...

Aludon shivered uncontrollably - fresh DNA from shed skin, hair follicles sprinkled his smell receptors and tastebuds. As an Aptosite he had been engineered for that very purpose: selecting the strongest beings the universe had to offer and merge with them. Those soldiers seemed to as ideal candidates for his mission... but first, he had to figure out which was the strongest. While the monster had not gained any of their powers, he had most certainly found a way to better track them now, that he had acquired a means to pluck out their individual scents.

His mind was like a dam - hundreds of complex systems had been set in place to ensure that the structural integrity was never compromised... that the beast never went berserk and turned on its creators. One of the many problems that, came with being an Aptosite was a profound lack of... everything. From the moment of birth up until their inevitable deaths or subsequent 'bonding' with their enemies, the Aptosites were prone to feelings of emptiness, feelings of being incomplete. Like a motherboard with a broken processor, information they had gleaned from engaging thousands of opponents built up inside their minds, and without any way to regulate the flow of battle-induced stress... the pressure would build-up, the dam would break.

A tidal-surge of uncontrolled blood-lust slammed into the concrete walls of his mind and produced a fracture - the first of many which would spur him on in his quest to fill the empty gap in his conscience. He had to find the one who had managed to escape his grasp. Vindication... like adrenaline was the only tool he needed to slaughter the soldiers who stood between him and his quest for unity. The valves been sent off their nozzles, the hammers of alarm bells already broken off from far too many bangs... nothing but a tint of red -- as bulletproof glass shattered from too many bodies taking too many bullets in too many places.

Northern Military HQ of the Velrius Empire: 2100hrs

Bright blue light from a holographic display-grid filtered through refulgent clouds of steam; the result of thirty over-sized tea kettles evenly distributed throughout the oval-shaped table. Their drinks were kept warm by a metal plate which sat atop an electric heating system embedded into the table's thick, granite material.

Velrian Generals sat uncomfortably in cobalt leather chairs, debating the right course of action to take against their rivals: Vanathia. Their strained exhalations could be seen pouring from their pointed snouts with every word they spoke. Even in situations that required little-to-no physical action, the Velrians still felt the constant inclination to keep their bodies in top physical condition. Keeping the room at such a chilly temperature was their way of exemplifying the fact.

"Mind Over Body."

This was the Velrian way.

A purple-scaled Colonel rose to his feet, pressed two clawed digits against his right temple and projected his mind's thoughts into the floating panorama in the table's center. Like all Velrian officers, he was dressed a in white leather coat with black fur trim. His interior was a simple muscle-shirt outlining his squarish pectorals.

"As you can all see," Telian removed his fingers from his temple and sat down, "our psychic unit is already closing-in on Vanathia's border." The computer's A.I. reacted to every projected thought Telian sent out, by articulating his thoughts into an image and integrating it into the hologram.

A higher ranking officer wearily pressed his gray digits against the oak wood, forcing himself into a standing position. His assistant - a burgandy-skinned female reached out to help her superior, but was shunned away by what almost turned into an irritated backhand. "And how do you propose they make it through the mountains?" General Rean inquired, his thoughts filtering into his comrade's minds like sewing needles attached to thick metal wires.

"Caves." The former stated flatly in his deep, forked tone.

A third member - this time another General, like Rean stood up to voice his thoughts on the matter. His eyes were a rich yellow, piercing everything they gazed into. Everything except for Telian's labyrinthine brain, anyway. "Those caves are littered with superpredators, each of whom have genetic identification sensors inserted into their brains."

"This means what to me, Eurial?" Telian's tone grew just a bit more aggressive, but his calm facial expression belied an ulterior motive.

"It means that all the creatures have to do is wait for an unfamiliar 'scent' tickle their nostrils," Eurial sat back down in his chair, and sighed, "and the whole operation gets blown to smithereens."

"You are aware of what happened the last time we sent experimental soldiers into the field, Telian?" Rean asked accusingly.

"They were attacked by a parasitic organism which devoured their brains, and narrowly escaped capture by a Vanathim patrol unit."

"And who was the one who made the decision to implant bombs inside those soldiers, should their mission ever be compromised...?"

Telian suppressed the urge to hiss; Rean was well-known for allowing his inflated ego to cloud his judgment - in most situations, however, it just came in the form of missing the point entirely. "Do you really think they couldn't simply mask their signature?"

Eurial folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, contemplating the correct response. "You see that over there?" The Velrian extended a long, pointy claw at the north Vanathian mountain range. It cut into Velrius' southwest border, which was exactly where Telian's troops were headed. "If Telian's stealth-platoon is successful in breaching the 600km mark, I can begin sending in our fleets."

"All my soldiers need is enough time to screw up the mental state of the Vanathim people's military, and your fleet has more than ample time to mobilize."

"And seeing as General Rean has yet to propose his own version of an idea," Eurial gave Rean a knowing grin, "then, I suggest we allow Telian to go through with his plan.

Agreed?"


Velrius HQ, Exterior Watch Deck: 2200hrs

Gale force winds battered the Velrius HQ. Telian and Eurial both stood side by side, dressed in light form-fitting snow outfits. Their thin tails flailed about in the wind as they stared out into the wilderness, protected only by a high-frequency fence dispersing the blizzard into a harmless breeze. "I'm surprised you were able to shut him up so easily, Eurial."

"General Rean is just an old coot. He's reached that age where he no longer knows how to apply new strategies to a war scenario."

"Senial is the word I'd use to describe him." Telian's thoughts had a peculiar rasp laced with a bitter taste.

"You're also just a Colonel, so that may be one of the reasons for his lack of trust in you." Eurial stated calmly, ignoring the negative sensation his tongue felt upon receiving Telian's message.

The Colonel turned around and started walking back to the entrance-way before stopping in place.

"Can I trust you with a secret, Eurial?"

"Of course."

Telian delved into his pocket and procured a mini-screen which folded out to the width of his hand. It displayed an aerial view of Velrius' central border; there were eight red dots in three different locations, situated in a triangle formation. "Vanathia isn't the only reason I urged the council to allow me to send out our psychic troops."

Eurial's deep, yellow eyes widened in a bit of surprise at what he saw happening to the dots: they were exhibiting a rather unusual flight-pattern. They were zig-zagging back and forth, descending tens of thousands of feet every few minutes before shooting straight up in a speedy ascension.

"I've always thought of the Vanathians to be better ground-fighters, but this is... rather unnerving, Telian." The General gave him a rather suspicious look which Telian only greeted with a flick of his forked tongue before slipping the device back into his pocket.

"That was at least four hours ago," Telian said with a look of concern, "it has yet to finish. I am of the belief that Vanathia has developed a new type of fighter-craft, hence my sending my own troops out to investigate."

Eurial nodded in approval of Telian's plan, laying a hand atop his shoulder as a way of showing the Colonel he now had his full support. "This is why you wanted my heavy assault unit to accompany your platoon?"

"Yes."

There was a brief period of silence before Eurial began to head back inside."This will remain solely between you and I, you have my word, Telian."

"Thank you, General."

"I'm going to begin readying my unit. They should rendezvous with your platoon in 0200 hours."

Velrius: Southwest Border 2300hrs

A warm updraft shot out from a medium-sized crevice, granting temporary relief to the soldiers who had been enduring the harsh cold for over six hours now. Each one took turns descending in, claws finding purchase upon every nook and cranny they could find. While it was also true that, they could simply rely on telekinesis to gently lower themselves down, their combat instructors had felt it better to instill a bit of discipline. The powers they had been given were meant strictly for "Special Operations", and therefore reserved for special situations.

Upon reaching the cave floor, the troops activated their night-vision lenses, lending them a black and white view of everything their location had to offer. After twenty minutes of walking, forked tongues picked up on at least three separate drafts.

"I'd think it best if we don't get sandwiched in here", First Lt. Vaze said to his platoon, "therefore, Dio, Owa, you're coming with me as group three. Meri, Nehel, Teris are going to be taking the left as group one, Gyan, Rae, Lephi will be acting as group one."

Vaze reached down to his pant-loop, removed a thin cylindrical object and extended it with an effortless flick of the wrist. Each member immediately followed the same course of action, with the exception being that, their weapons each had their own unique shapes. They were designed to allow the user to craft his or her telekinetic abilities into a shape fitting for any task. Naturally, every member had a preference to which they were most at comfort with, therefore making for quite the efficient tool.

"Let's move out!"

Velrian Airspace, 80m Northeast of Velrius-Vanathia Border: 2330hrs

Blazing belts of yellow left of a trail of tossed up snow from streams of bullets slamming into the mountainside, narrowly missing their same-colored target as he dived between peaks. A trail of vapor was left in the wake of compact combat jets racing after the winged beast. The creature's high rate of electrical output made him an easy target for their heat-seeking missiles, yet at the same time did little in the way of actually damaging him, for his flat, streamline scales were more durable than any fleet armor, and far more flexible.

Ace Pilot Tarial hit the thrust on his jet engines, making a b-line for the monster who gave him a blue-eyed death stare from several thousand feet away. Zucroas' rest-break was short-lived as he kicked his strangely humanoid body off, causing the tip of the mountain he perched on to implode inwards. A twelve-foot wingspan kept him aloft as he descended once more, a power-packed fist of buzzing bolts smashed through hundreds of feet of rock in a single blow, forming a pathway for the dragon to tunnel through.

"Let's see if we can't cut off his escape route, Jari!"

At that point, Tarial had already made his u-turn; he wouldn't need thermal imaging to track Zucroas' location underground - keeping close to the jagged rubble caused by his target's insane digging ability produced a clearing for him to fly through and start firing more bullets. Seconds later a pair of horns exploded out from the ground, followed by the rest of the dragon's muscular body. He aimed to rend the plane in two using his claws, but, missed when the pilot quickly pulled back on his control-stick, thoroughly irritating him to the point that, he unleashed a deep, bass roar which sounded like it had been trapped inside a room with the acoustics designed to wake a deaf man.

Rear Pilot Jari had been relatively new to the game of aerial combat, and like any young soldier, he was as cocky as they came. His tongue never seemed to stop flicking at everyone he projected his thoughts at. He was the type known for performing ridiculous feats like trying to land a plane backwards, or driving his plane directly into his enemy's right after ejecting himself from the cockpit.

The dragon's scream was suddenly silenced when he felt the explosive impact of a missile colliding against his chest, burning several scales clean off and driving him a good several feet into the ground. Jari had flown dangerously close to ground-level where the thrust from his plane's engines would roast the beast out of hiding. Had his partner not fired at an angle he would have surely been torn to shreds.

Tarial attempted to confirm Jari's kill on Zucroas, who had been laid out like a fucking ragdoll, tail twitching faintly against the frozen rocks as his claws unconsciously grasped for something to pull himself onto. He deployed basketball-sized spheres from his craft's belly designed to scan wide areas for signs of life. In normal scenarios, they helped other ground units determine when and where it was best launch an assault.

Jari scored a direct hit.

Zucroas didn't miss either.
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Alucroas
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