| From: | Erik Jameson <WildSmashr@***.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Happy New Year Lilith (1 of 3) |
| Date: | Fri, 1 Jan 1999 01:22:50 EST |
>>>>>[While the following footage puts me and mine at some risk, I feel
that I
can trust you not to pass this along to either Coppinger or Susan. Please
don't betray my trust.
But I felt that this was something you should have. The following is footage
of the final destruction of Shaitan and the COT organization. It was not
without great loss. A heavy price was paid for this victory. Do not think
for a moment we did this for you or for Jason, we did this because we were
ordered, we did it for humanity. But my giving you this footage is for Jason.
For the pain you endured. May 2060 be better than 2059.
+++++Drone1 vidcam recording, audio matting engaged.
Slate clouds hang heavy and low overhead, the light drizzle a precursor to the
storm that is approaching. Faintly in the distance through the mist, a city,
concealed behind the light fogging of the drizzle cowers beneath a black smog
that more closely resembles a giant hand waiting to flatten the towers and
occupants. Eight hulking suits of dull red powered armour, scaled, spined,
stylised dragons, stand tall surrounded by six squads of heavily armoured
troops. Two stand on a slight rise cracked open, their pilots standing looking
forward towards a clear area of the quarry, an area where the garbage and
detritus of a careless city greedy for the space to dump has been cleared. The
drizzle adds a faint sheen to the armour, giving them an almost biological
appearance - as though it were in fact a living entity.
Tri, for such is his name in the IFF box of the drone's cam turns to the one
named Dau. "What do you think? Is this it?"
"Yes." Dau replies, the tone of his voice heavy, and saddened expression on
his face. "This is the place. Finally we can finish this business. Though, I
feel something, something new."
"What?" Tri turns back to the distant quarry cliff, lifting a pair of
binoculars to his eyes.
"I don't know, it is too faint to make out clearly, but I fear that she may
have taken the next step, the one we all feared was coming."
"Then there is no time to waste Dau. If you are sure this is the place, the
more time we waste the better prepared they'll be."
"They have been preparing for this for some time Tri. She knows we are coming,
has known for some time. This is going to be messy, and I sicken of death."
"We are born to serve Dau. If we die in that service it is of no consequence
as long as the greater good is achieved by our deaths."
Dau looks slowly at Tri's back, thoughtful. "Whatever." Turning he climbs back
into the armour, which closes around him, only a section of the head still
raised to allow him to look with his own eyes rather than the suit's sensors.
Tri walks slowly back to his own armour, a third suit (Pedwar) walks smoothly
towards him.
"Tri." The voice twisted and shorn by the electronics, giving it a menacing
and brutal quality. The man pauses for a moment. "There is no astral cover
around the entrances, nor patrolling above the installation. I don't know if
that should make me nervous or not, but I consider it suspicious. Either they
are incredibly stupid or very confident."
Tri's head turns towards Dau for a moment before answering. "Over confident,
Pedwar. Over confident. They believe they are prepared, they believe they know
we are coming. What they have not allowed for is what we bring with us. A
mistake they will come to regret. Prepare your squad, we move shortly."
"Sir!" Pedwar's armour runs swiftly back to a squad of troops who immediately
begin to unlimber their weapons from a nearby truck.
Tri clambers back into his armour which also closes around him. "Ready arms!"
+++++Audio matting disengaged, internal comms link recording engaged.
"Echo-Bravo Niner, ready?" Tri's voice clear across the communications,
indicating the quality of the equipment utilised by the troops.
"Echo-Bravo Niner, four by four." At that announcement, several other drones
swing around the rise, and hover close to the other powered units. Saucer
shaped units, with a central enclosed fan and two small propulsion fans,
camera lenses and audio pickups visible, but no weapons. The drones are
watchers only, not designed for combat.
Echo-Bravo Niner, roger. Hotel-India, report."
"Hotel-India, standing by."
Apparently satisfied, Tri moves towards a squad of troops. "Chwech, Saith,
reserve. Dau, with me. Wyth, take Echo gate, Naw, Whiskey gate. Deg, Sierra
gate. Pedwar, guard Echo-Bravo, and stand reserve." Tri waits for affirmative
responses and stands waiting as the troops move off to their muster points. A
few minutes go by before the other units report that they are prepared.
"Acer, all units. Strike! Strike! Strike. No prisoners!"
At that command, Tri and Dau speed towards the quarry face ahead of them, the
infantry close behind, using the powered units as cover. At the 200 meter
marker, tracer gracefully slides out from a well concealed entrance. Sparks
and glistening silver streaks show hits on the armour, the impacts barely
slowing the units. Dau's right arm raises, and three rotating barrels above
the forearm erupt in flame. Clouds of dust, and stone explode around the
entrance, the insane chattering of the weapon, a tenor growl above the raising
musical chant of the infantry behind him. The weapon in Tri's suit joins that
of Dau. The hail of bullets apparently discouraging the defenders
from continuing their resistance. 75 meters from the entrance, the two powered
units split, and a veritable hail of gunfire erupts from the trailing
infantry. Nothing larger than a small rodent could survive the maelstrom of
lead around the entrance. One courageous defender sticks his head out into the
hurricane, launching a rocket towards the group before disappearing in a red
mist. The LAW explodes harmlessly, 50 meters short of the armour, sheilding
them behind the smoke and flame.
Tri and Dau's armour speeds ahead of the troops, sliding to a halt at either
side of the entrance. The infantry taking light cover a short distance from
the raw wound in the quarry face that is their destination. The fingers of
Tri's suit count down steadily, as the last digit fists, both units step in
front of the rough hewn gate, their weapons illuminating the entrance and a
short length of the tunnel behind it. Sandbagged barricades disintengrate
under the concentrated fire. Sharp deadly slivers of the rock face shower the
defenders along with the bullets. Explosions shatter stone, flesh and bone as
the two armoured units turn the entry way into an abbatoir. The gunfire
ceases, smoke peacefully spiralling from the slowly spinning barrels. Both
slowly scanning the entrance, before signalling the troops forward. Reports
from the other units indicate different levels of success and resistance.
The troops enter the smoke and dust infested interior, Tri and Dau following
immediately behind them, bright arc lamps on the shoulders of the armour kick
in, the bright lights casting long shadows from the troops ahead of them.
"Something is wrong Tri. It shouldn't be this easy."
"They are over confident Dau, they did not expect armour. Remember, so far
they have only ever faced normal opponents, we are an unknown quantity. It has
been done before."
"No. Not here, they knew what was coming. There is something..." Dark forms
rise from the ground ahead. Stone and gravel dotting the forms, dirt spilling
as they rise from the floor and step from the walls. Three troops are mulched
under the sudden attack before the rest react, spreading to each side of the
tunnel, rifles spitting flame at the slow moving forms. A low gaelic chant,
barely audible over the comms and the tunnel vanishes from the drone's camera,
reappearing a second or two later. Tri's armour, leans drunkenly against one
wall, Dau's crouches on one knee, a hand on the ground to balance it.
The head turns, as Dau stands. "Tri! Tri!"
Tri raises one hand and waves Dau off, "I'm OK. I over-extended myself, I'll
be fine in a moment."
The troops cautiously move forward again as the lights on Dau's suit penetrate
the dissipating darkness. "That was foolish Tri."
"It was necessary!" Tri's suit appears to shake it's head before pushing away
from the tunnel wall. Standing fully erect, the head is only inches short of
the ceiling, the deep ruby red dulled and paled by dust. "That was too many
for a chance encounter. They know where we are. Check for sensors or cameras."
"You think the Cabal are watching us Tri?"
"I know they are. I just don't know how yet."
Two loud thumps ahead followed by a sharp crack attract the attention of the
two, and they move forward rapidly to a turn in the corridor where the troop's
have thrown concussion and fragmentation grenades to cover their advance.
Sporadic gunfire comes from ahead and is rapidly dealt with by the weapon from
Tri's powered suit.
"Conserve your ammo Tri, you are going to need it when we find the Cabal."
"Bah! Provided the troops survive we will have sufficient to deal with Shaitan
and any fanatics she has around her." Tri marches forward, the infantry diving
in pairs into rooms and through doors off the main corridor as he advances.
"I do not say things like this for my own amusement Tri! The troops are here
to make sure we make it to the Cabal, not for us to ensure they arrive. They
are disposable. It is essential that we get through, they are immaterial to
the battle that is to come."
"You are too cautious Dau, these people are not as disciplined as you seem to
think."
"I am not a fool Tri, I know these people as you cannot. We will need all our
strength before this is over, and that is not caution but a simple fact."
"What do you know that I don't Dau. Draig-un shared with me what you knew.
There are no surprises here for us that we cannot deal with."
"There may be one."
"She would not be that foolish. Nobody could be that foolish."
"And if she is?" Dau pauses to inspect one of the rooms cleared by the
infantry. "What if she is?"
"Then we deal with that problem as well. I have led these missions before Dau,
and though your reputation as the Dark Stranger may exceed my own, that does
give you authority in this."
"You claim that the people we face are undisciplined and ineffective, yet they
have evaded the FBI, CIA, SIGA and a considerable portion of the Shadows, all
of whom have hunted these people. They have evaded and defeated their
opponents at every turn, even when it appeared they were beaten. You
underestimate them Tri, a mistake that I will not support."
The slowly advancing troops follow the same procedure at the next twist in the
tunnel, concussion grenades followed by concentrated gunfire, fragmentation
grenades and rapid advancement into the enemy positions. A bitter and
dangerous battle made more difficult by the poor visibility and the cunningly
designed corners. Every so often, a stretcher team run past and remove a
wounded soldier.
"Acer. All units, report."
"Wyth, no resistance. We've penetrated 500 meters and have encountered no
troops. Area apparently used for storage, large bays, suitable for trucks.
Wheel tracks in the broad entrance tunnel support this. Looks like they
deserted this part of the installation. I expect to find some sort of barrier
as we approach the centre. No losses."
"Naw. Heavy resistance, magical and physical, traps at every turn, penetration
is 100 meters, heavy going, losses moderate Chwech is supporting."
"Deg. Heavy resistance, losses minimal, penetration 150 meters."
Over two hours pass as the troops advance corner by corner, taking each
section gradually. Acrid smoke from the rifles and grenades filling the
corridors until even the powerful arc lamps of the armour fail to cut a path
through it. Filters cover the faces of the infantry enabling them to breathe
the toxic atmosphere, faint coughing ahead indicates that only a few of the
defenders are similarly equipped.
"Where are they, Tri?" Stranger's blood coloured armour is almost completely
coated with dust and fragments of rock. Scratches, dents and silver streaks
testament to the difficulty of their advance.
"What do you mean?" Tri's armour is similarly adorned, perhaps more so.
"All we've encountered are soldiers, many of them not even armoured, as though
they have been abandoned. Not once, except for elementals have we encountered
any of the Cabal. They must know where we are, if only from the trail of
destroyed cameras. Yet they have not chosen to show their hand yet. I find
this, troublesome."
"Oh they're here..."
"I know they're here, I can feel them. I want to know why they haven't joined
the battle. There is something terribly wrong here. Nobody defends an
emplacement in this manner, it is illogical."
"It doesn't matter where they are, they cannot hide from us forever and there
is nowhere for them to run. We'll find them."
"You don't understa..."
"Look!" Tri spins on Dau, dust sliding from the shoulders of the armour.
"Why
are you so damned nervous, we're advancing, losses are within acceptable
limits, certainly less than we expected, yet at each turn you grow more
cautious, more nervous. What /is/ your problem?"
"This is not right." Strangers voice colder than ice. "This is not how CoT
or
Shaitan operate. She has not once taunted us, the Cabal have hardly even
touched the power they possess, we have met stiff opposition from people who
are caught between death and a concrete wall. Not once has this gone the way
of any other recorded engagement with this organisation. Nothing here is
typical of their usual methods. I have studied their previous engagements and
we are walking all over them. Damnit it's wrong."
"You complain because we have only lost infantry? You? Be grateful it has been
this easy."
"Tri, I do not wish to appear as though I am trying to lecture you, you have
more than sufficient experience not to need that. But I am telling you that
this is wrong. Always Shaitan, Abbadon, Demon and others before them have
always taunted the attacking forces. Always they have used massive suppressive
fire to prevent entry or advance. Now we meet resistance from desperate
soldiers who cannot retreat and none of the trouble we expected. I do not
believe that Shaitan would allow us so deep into this place if she didn't have
something... Oh Christ on a crutch. That's it. She's trapped the central
areas. We get to the core, and she's going to blow it and us to hell and gone.
That's why the troops won't retreat, there's nowhere for them to go. You have
to stop Wyth..."
"Acer. Wyth. We have reached the core shaft. There appears to be some sort of
warding placed over the entrance. There is no-one here to oppose us, I am
attempting to open the doors to the chamber that contains the access to the
lower levels..."
"WYTH! No! Don't touch..." Dau's warning is a moment too late. The ground
shudders, a shower of stones shakes loose from the ceiling, forcing everyone
to take cover from the debris. Clouds of choking dust billow down the corridor
from somewhere ahead.
"Wyth? Status?" Tri waits for a response. "Echo-Bravo Niner, what's
happened,
I've lost communication link with Wyth?"
"Investigating now Acer. We lost the drone. Inserting second unit, now."
Two minutes pass while they wait for the report from EB-9. "Acer, Echo-Bravo
Niner, Wyth has gone. Tunnels blocked, unable to gain access from 250 meters
in. Presume Wyth and support team have been terminated. No life signs on
monitors, unable to confirm on survivors."
"Acer, all units. Advise caution at core, do not proceed until all units in
place. Echo-Bravo Niner, send the tractor in." Tri pauses for a moment waiting
confirmation before proceding down the tunnel, his footsteps somehow more
determined, an anger evident in the way they stamp down raising puffs of dust
at every step.
The infantry continue the assault, each room and corridor off the main tunnel
receiving the same treatment, grenades followed by long bursts of fire, two
soldiers entering each area firing at anything and everything. Small fat
wheeled vehicles race back and forth between the soldiers, carrying fresh
magazines and grenades, making certain that the soldiers have sufficient
munitions. Another hour of heavy fighting follows before the group is close to
the central core. A sealed chamber ahead of them and a line of desperate and
scared defenders hidden behind hastily constructed barricades. Tracer from
tripod mounted weapons, the high pitched chatter of machine pistols echoes
through the tunnels. The heavier reports of assault rifles and the insane
rapid tenor of the suit weapons replies in an almost constant stream of
gunfire.
New alcoves and patterns are etched into the rock face of the tunnels, while
the assault teams wear down and obliterate the defenders. Soon all is quiet,
only the faint ringing tone of empty cartridge cases, smoke, and the stench of
death remain to indicate anything had occurred.
The three surviving teams gather in a tunnel that runs around a central
chamber, lightly wounded infantry sporting dust covered dressings, and the
armour of the command team showing wear from the bitter fighting. "Pump.
Bring your team in. We need the demolitions kit and someone to defuse the trap
placed on the entrances." A short affirmative from Pump, while Tri and Dau
inspect the area, picking their way over the rubble that shows Wyth's last
location, the lifeless arm of one soldier projecting from under the rubble the
marker to their burial place. Tri kneels for a moment, speaking a quiet prayer
over the fallen, before continuing his investigation of the steel doors.
"Well, I think we can guess what is behind this, hey Day?"
"Yes. Doors wide enough to allow pallets and a fork truck, probably an
elevator of some description, at best it will be a ramped tunnel leading down,
but the small size of the chamber doesn't support that theory too well, most
likely an elevator, which means we have a problem."
"A problem, yes." Tri turns as Pump and the demolitions team arrives. "Ah!
Pump. Excellent. As you know Wyth discovered a minor difficulty with gaining
access to this area. We need it cleared. Also, I want charges placed
throughout this section of the installation. If we fail in our mission I want
the whole place destroyed, the only sign that anyone was here or that anything
existed in this location is to be a smoking crater. Understand?"
"Yes sir. Perfectly clear. We will need space to work, I suggest you pull your
teams back until we are able to disarm any gifts that CoT have left for you."
"Acer, all units. Pull back to safe distance." The troops and armoured units
disappear into the dust filled tunnels, seeking shelter and making space for
Pump and his team to work.
Two hours of silence, the infantry searching rooms and bodies for anything
that might prove useful for information or use later while the demolitions
team work on the core. Eventually an all-clear signal from Pump informs the
teams that the trap has been successfully defused and the core is now safe to
enter. Within a couple of minutes the teams are gathered and Pump opens the
doors sealing the core revealing the head of a powerful freight elevator. The
shaft sealed with a rock plug and the lift gear wrecked. Dau parks his armour
to the side of the entrance and cracks the seals, climbing out of hte
protective suit. The others stand patiently, watching as he circles the plug
studying it.
Apparently satisfied with his inspection, Dau stops and faces the plugs,
stretching his arms out to the side as if to embrace the elevator. Quietly he
begins to speak, the gaelic a musical sound, flowing from his lips in a smooth
endless stream of words, gradually growing in volume until a final command is
shouted and his hands slam together in a loud clap. At the moment his hands
slap together a faint blue mist projects from his hands, flowing around and
over the rock plug, crawling slowly through and filling the area between the
elevator support beams. The mist appears to solidify at the plug, and slightly
above it, revealing a cone like construction glowing faintly with black
symbols that appear to squirm and crawl over the surface of the cone. The
shape above this is almost painful to the eye. A twisting, squirming, formless
shape constantly moving and writhing, trapped within the warding below it.
Never holding the same shape for more than a second before melting into
another even more twisted and bizarre form.
Tri steps out of his armour followed by Saith, Weg, Naw, Pump, Pedwar and
Chwech. Tri shaking his head gently as he stops beside Dau. "She's done it
hasn't she?"
Dau, facing the strange amorphous creature caught within the warding nods, his
face hard and cold. "Yes. She's taken the final step. My god, why do people do
this, have they no idea of the dangers, and the terror they toy with?"
"None of them ever do, Dau. They believe that they are in control, that they
own the power and are sufficient to contain it. How long do you think?"
"Dau crouches to study the oscillating symbols, "Perhaps three, four weeks.
Sufficient for a full merge, but not enough time yet. We may still have enough
time, but we cannot afford to waste any. We need to find it's centre first.
Until we can locate that we will not be able to destroy or it."
"Chwech, Weg, Saith. As soon as we get down to the next level, destroy
everything you find. Kill everyone that stands in your way. Locate the centre
of her power and inform us as soon as it is found. That is our main priority.
Naw, Pump, Pedwar you will remain with us, we will engage the main defence
teams and free any captives they may hold." He pauses for a moment, walking
back to his armour and keying the comm system." "Echo-Bravo niner, download
the seismic survey details and other information you have gathered from the
fly by. We need everything you've got."
"Roger, Acer. Downloading now."
Tri walks back to the group gathered near Dau. EB-9 is downloading information
to your suits that will help us move around below, they should have had
sufficient time now to map the tunnels and chambers, though we will still need
to search each of them. With luck we will at least get an idea of the layout
and can plan our assault from that. Dau, what do you want to do about this?"
Tri gestures towards the writhing shape.
"Destroy it. We can nothing else for it now."
"If we destroy it she will know we've broken through. Would it not be better
to contain it?"
"No. Any containment will only hold it for a short time, and we cannot afford
to let it escape. She will know we've gained access the second we break this
warding anyway, so it doesn't matter."
"Very well then. So be it." Tri moves behind Dau, the others gathering in an
orderly group around him forming a pyramid, with Dau as it's head. The group
begins to softly chant, starting with the rear members and gradually working
their way forward, each one laying a hand on the one in front until Tri and
Saith place their hands on Dau's shoulders. The second they touch him. Dau
begins to sing. A bitter grating sound that jars the nerves and grinds into
the bones, a sound that would not seem possible from a human throat. His eyes
turn black and a slate grey mist forms around him. Step by step, he slowly
approaches the writhing form, finally plunging his hands into the warding
surrounding it, and grasping at the creature within. A high pitched shriek
pierces the song, a sound that at once is painful and riddled with dark
horror. Dau's voice raises about the prolonged scream, the tone of his voice
deepening, resonating through the chamber, almost through the very rock
itself. The singing from the rest of the group also climbs in volume and the
grey cloud that appears to be soaking into the form of Dau darkens until it is
more black flow like thick unrefined oil. Two shouted commands, and slippery
black power flows from Dau's hands, surrounding the creature, strangling,
crushing, trapping it in an inexorable stream of darkness. Suddenly the whole
form explodes, filling the warding and the area of the elevator with total
absolute darkness. A second later and the dark power shrinks in on itself like
a collapsing star until it is less than the size of a baseball. A chest
cracking thump, and the ball implodes, taking the strange creature with it.
Immediately, Dau shifts his attention to the cone shaped warding, plunging his
hands deep into the shape, chanting loudly. The intensity of the song behind
him climbs, until the song has become a series of commands, barked rather than
sung. Power flows from the group, soaking into Dau as he feeds it into the
warding. Sweat pours down his forehead from the effort, creating runnels in
the dust, streaking his face in a manner similar to ancient warriors. Dau's
shoulders heave, his body convulses and he vomits a stream of black liquid
energy over the cone. Pouring from his eyes, mouth and nose, it appears as if
he were bleeding over the warding, feeding his own life to the destruction of
the barrier.
A soundless detonation and Dau is thrown back into the gathered mages behind
him scattering them like ninepins. The infantry, until now still and
uninvolved, rush forward, weapons ready, crouching over and kneeling next to
the fallen mages, protecting them from whatever might rise from the shattered
warding and the crumbling rock plug that had once sealed the elevator shaft.
The rock plug crumbles slowly, gracefully, gradually disintegrating and
falling down into the lightless shaft below. Nothing rises from the pit to
threaten the fallen group, and the soldiers slowly form a skirmish line
between the mages and the pit weapons ready. Several break from the teams to
attend the mages. Pouring water over their faces, checking for wounds.
Tri is the first to rise. Looking around at the others he moves towards the
fallen Dau and wipes the faint trickle of blood leaking from the corner of the
mages mouth. "Dau." gently he kneels and lifts the head of his friend.
"Dau!"
An eye opens and peers up a Tri. "That fucking hurt."
Tri grins broadly. "No stamina some people." Nodding his head towards the
shaft, "We've broken through, I'd love to give everyone the time to recover
but I don't think we have that luxury. She's bound to know what has happened
here and will no doubt be moving her forces to counter us. We need to move
now, before she gets the time to rally her troops and we face opposition that
might prove a problem."
"We have to find the cabal quickly Tri, there was a power feeding that
warding, something strengthening it. It was not a power I've felt before
though I have an idea what it was. It is no longer merely Shaitan that we
oppose now. She has something else with her. Something powerful."
"I know. I think we all felt it. I do not like this Dau, I can only hope that
we are not too late."
"No, we have time still. If the ritual was complete we would not have broken
the warding,a nd right now we'd be fighting for our lives, but we do not have
much time left." With the assistance of two soldiers, Dau climbs to his feet,
the others gradually getting up and heading towards their armour as well.
As the mages climb back into their protective suits, the infantry start
rigging up an apparatus that will allow them all to drop in teams down the
shaft. Heavy duty winches for the armour, and rope chutes for the infantry. A
few minutes and the system is ready. With Tri leading, the teams drop gas and
concussion grenades down the shaft following rapidly themselves. Dropping 20
meters to the floor below, the soldiers spread out facing the various tunnels
that open onto the elevator, ready for any opposition. No-one opposes them,
and the growing group watches the silent tunnels suspiciously.
"This is so wrong, Tri. We should have met the heaviest resistance here. The
whole thing stinks of a set-up by I can't put my finger on what it is."
"I know. Don't worry Dau, I'm getting nervous myself. Acer, all units. Spread
out. 50 meters in, skirmish. Keep your eyes open people."
Gradually the rest of the assault force descends to the lower level, the
armoured mages gathering in a small group while the infantry fans out into the
surrounding tunnels ready for any attack from the defending forces.
"We are unable to pinpoint the area where the Cabal are hiding so we'll have
to search the entire complex. As you can see from the HUD map it's relatively
extensive and leads down to a lower level that I believe may be the quarters
for the labour force, certainly the lower level is not large enough to contain
much more than small cells and storage. Somewhere on this level is the cabal,
and Shaitan. They are our priority. Each of you select a tunnel, check it out
and obliterate anyone and anything you find . We cannot afford to allow anyone
from this organisation to get out into the world again, a line has been drawn
and it cannot be crossed. The second you find any information that can lead us
to the location of the cabal, tell everyone else, we will head to your
location and assault the main group, we can mop up any survivors on the way
out. Now, as far as I can tell, this is the only way out, so whatever CoT have
planned for us, this is Endgame for them and us. Expect any resistance to be
desperate and determined. They have to kill us to get out, so have little left
to lose, in that respect I understand why Shaitan has chosen this particular
place for her stand. Nobody here can escape, which means they must kill us to
survive - they'll be pretty enthusiastic about achieving that, so watch
yourselves. Any questions?"
"One. how the heck do we know what we're looking for? Finding the Cabal is not
going to be easy if they're hidden."
"You'll feel them before you see them Chwech," Dau's voice is calm, firm.
"Believe me, you will know when you are close to them. All of you must be
careful. Alone you cannot hope to beat them, or even survive meeting them, but
together we are more than a match. This is as much a scouting exercise as it
is an extermination mission. Find them, locate them, but do not under any
circumstances engage them. Also, watch out for wards, or any supernatural
allies they may have placed around. The elementals we met above are only a
beginning to what we are going to encounter here. The very second you think
you've found them, retreat to a defensible position and shout. We'll come
running."
"Anything else?" Tri looks around at the others. "Ok then, Saith, remain
here
with your troops and guard the exit. Don't let anyone past you, no matter the
cost. EB-9 will be sending drones to cover you and guard the exits above. If
you need help, shout."
"OK." The soft musical tone of Saith's voice belies the firm determination of
the woman.
"Acer, all units. Move out."
The powered units protecting the mages move to join the troops in the tunnels
and move on into the darkness. Tri leaves to join his small team leaving Saith
and Dau in the central chamber with one tunnel left.
Dau pauses for a moment, looking at the entrances to the spiderweb that leads
to an unknown fate before turning and heading to join his own troops. Saith's
infantry form a cordon around the elevator shaft, the mage standing in the
centre, on the elevator platform. A few moments later, two heavily armed
drones whine quietly down the shaft and hover close to the armoured mage. The
camera drones leap down the tunnels to acting point with the troops, advance
scouts rather than simply monitors.
