Vermilion Wings: The Storm of the Sons

[Evz]

PART I

 

I

 

Five years after the events of Neophyte...

 

Lael stepped out of the drop pod, taking his first steps onto the sands of this alien world. It was a Tau world. Alas, they were not here to fight the xenos. No, it seems that a Chaos renegade warband was using the planet as a base of operations. That, and they had kidnapped the High Commander of the Oshim Imperial Guard regiment, from the Hive World of Oshim itself. Sneaky. He held in one hand the beacon that would summon his brothers, and in the other, a boltgun. Nearby the second drop pod had crashed, and released the Kill Team organized by the Inquisition. There were twelve of the guardsmen in total, all carrying various weapons. Most were taken from gangs on Oshim.

 

Lael turned his helmeted head towards the enemy. There it was. An Imperial fortress from a time long forgotten, built long before the Tau had taken the planet. He heard a beep in his voxx communicator, and put his finger to his ear. "Yes?"

 

"Brother Lael. The Tau have picked up our signal. Their warriors will be in your area in around a half hour. Move fast. Emperor be with you."

 

"And you." He gripped the beacon, and broke into a run across the desert sands. Across from him the Kill Team was doing the same. In front of him he spotted two heretics, wearing the same outfits as those on Anat. He sneered. Then he heard an explosion. "What!?" He looked over his shoulder to see that the Kill Team had fired a grenade into a squad of heretics, and the heretics did not seem too happy. They drew blades and guns and charged the kill team, which opened fire on them, gunning them down. Lael sighed, gangers from a hive were too angry and trigger happy to use in a mission of stealth. Another explosion rocked the sands. Lael continued running, and punched a cultist in the face, his teeth flying out with a spurt of blood and he fell dead. The second came at Lael with a dagger but Lael shot him in the chest at point-blank range. The guy flew back into the wall of the ancient Imperial outpost. Lael then took cover behind some rocks as Chaos marines began to engage the kill team across the field of battle. They were grotesque, one with a giant muscular arm ending in long talons. The other in dark blue armor, carrying a heavy bolter, opening fire and tearing one of the gangers apart, but they held together and took him down.

 

Lael slammed the beacon down and activated it. "We are en-route, brother..." The voxx in his ear said. Then a great portal opened up, and blood-red giant scaly hounds ran forth, their giant paws slashing the earth as they charged, grabbing the nearest ganger in their mouth and thrashing them about. Then came the drop pod. The five other space marines jumped out and opened fire on the daemons. Lael joined them, and the daemons turned to face them and crashed into them. The marines drew their combat knives. Thran dug his blade into the neck of one of the hounds, sending them down. The hounds bit at their armor, attempting to break through the strong ceremite. One marine was thrown away, landing in the sands. As he reached for his bolter he looked up to see Flamers of Tzeentch had appeared, and burnt him alive in warpfire. The hounds dissipated. The marines turned on the Flamers and blasted upon them. A ganger, a young girl in her late teens carrying a lasgun ran up to Thran, who was leading the marines.

 

"OY!! You fight the monsters, we'll take on the cultists, a'ight?" Thran nodded to her, and opened fire with his bolter again. Lael stepped in beside him, opening fire as well. As soon as the flamers were gone, more hounds appeared, and charged them, and they were in close combat once more.

 

The kill team ran to a area covered in rocks for cover. Atop the battlements of the ancient outpost was a chaos marine, gripping a bolt pistol. "WEAKLINGS! WEAKLINGS! HEY! WEAKLINGS! HEY! YOU FETHED UP!! YOU FETHED UP NOW!! NOW YE FETHED UP!" It spat its words at the kill team as they tried their best to take him down. The kill team was down to four gangers now. They were not doing so well. "YO I AM SPEAKING TO THEE!! THOU DOTH FOLLOW THE IMPERIAL CREED THOU WILL FIGHT ME!!" He continued to laugh manically, blasting bolt shots at the rocks. "WHAT?" He started shouting. "TOO SCARED!? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? WHAT!? HEY!!" The ganger gripping a grenade launcher turned to him.

 

"WHAT!?" The ganger yelled.

 

"WHAT?" He fired his shot and hit the ganger directly in the skull, blasting his brains all over the rock behind him. The girl grabbed his grenade launcher and fired, blasting the chaos marine off his perch, one leg blown off completely. He fell face first onto the rocks and died. The kill team's leader, a man wearing a command cap, who was actually of the Imperial Guard, gripped his bolt pistol tighter, his knuckles turning white.

 

"Follow me, we'll go around the wall. Stick close." They went up alongside the high wall and crept around the corner.

 

"BLOOOOOOOOOOD! CARNAAAAAAGE!" A large monster of a space marine ran out from behind the walls, with a great red horned helmet. He wielded a huge chain axe. "BLOOOOD!!" Behind him were three more. The kill team was slaughtered in a matter of seconds.

 

The marines fired their last shots into the daemons before they dissipated. Thran turned to see the kill team being ripped apart by the berserkers. One of them ripped the girls' spine out and held it above his head as a grizzly trophy. "To the rocks, brothers!" Thran led them, knife in one hand, bolter in the other. They jumped atop the rocks as the berserkers surrounded them. The berserkers ran closer and closer, but the bolters of the Vermilion Wings did their duty and held them at bay. There was a sea of red-armored warriors surrounding them. One of the Vermilion Wings, Brother Zachriel, had his foot ripped off by a chain axe, and he stumbled forward, right into the mass, and he died violently. Every heretic that died, another took its place. Then, a great crack of lightning struck straight through the horde. The horde turned to see a group of skimming sleek silver and gold vehicles on the horizon. The Tau of this colony had found them and was going to defend it to the end. Thran turned his beak-helmeted head towards the Tau. One of their tanks opened its hatches and fire warriors ran out, and opened fire on the horde. The horde turned on them, charging and howling battle cries, thirsting for blood. "Is that what we are, Lael?" He asked his friend. "Will we one day become that bloodthirsty?" Lael reloaded his boltgun.

 

"Only time shall tell. Let us go inside. It's a bit drafty out here." The four marines, Lael, Thran, Castiel and Samax walked around the wall and came to the door, which seemed to have been trampled down by the huge mass of berserkers. Within was a chaos lord, and the High Commander, in a cell.

 

"Marines. How's the corpse doing?" The traitor said in a raspy voice.

 

"He is doing pretty well, last I checked." Said Thran. "Release our friend."

 

"Oh... You mean him?" The chaos lord gripped the Commander's weak head in his clawed fingers and then with a swipe the High Commander's head fell off. He turned his gaze back to them and they opened fire on him. The bolts smashed into his armor and he fell back. "LET IT BE KNOWN, MARINES. THIS SECTOR BELONGS TO CHAOS!! THIS ENTIRE AREA OF SPACE SHALL BE DESTROYED WITHIN THE DECADE!! GOODBYE!!" He turned and ran, and jumped into a warp portal in the corner of the room, which fizzled shut.

 

Thran walked over to the headless corpse. Castiel put his finger to his voxx. "This is brother Castiel. The mission was a failure. The commander is dead. We are requesting immediate pick up and extraction." He looked to them all. "Thunderhawk inbound..." Thran took his helmet off, cut a chunk of the commander's flesh off and ate it. He saw visions of the cultists taking him. He saw things he wished he had ever seen. Things that, if he was not steeled by his training, would drive him to madness. Thran stood at his full height.

 

"Right. Let us leave." He clasped his helm back on and the four of them ran outside as a thunderhawk came down. The outskirts of the fort were full of battle as the berserkers slaughtered Tau left and right. The last thing Lael saw before boarding was a Hammerhead falling as a madman drove his chain axe right through the cockpit window.

 

The thunderhawk took off, blasting into space. The marines all sighed with relief. "I hate aliens... And I hate... Traitors..." Castiel moaned. The rest of them were silent. Lael noticed this. The ride home was always quiet. Then suddenly there was a jolt. Samax's harness came undone and he fell to the floor as a loud buzzing ring sounded.

 

"They are pulling us in. We're caught in a tractor beam!" Shouted the pilot.

 

"...who?" Lael asked.

 

"The Tau." The pilot said. The pilot was but a chapter serf. He ran into the armory and grabbed a shotgun. The others primed and loaded their own weapons as the ringing ceased. They were in the Tau ship. "We are caught in the Tau ship!" The serf radioed the Strike Cruiser. "Repeat, stuck within the alien vessel. Need aid!!" The pilot turned to them. "They are coming. In the meantime, you go take out the tractor beam. I'll guard the ship."

 

The marines stood and left the gunship. The hanger was full of fire warriors surrounding the ship. A grenade rolled out, then two. Then three more. Then they all exploded. The Tau went flying and transformed into chunks of meat. Lael bounded down the ramp, blasting another with his boltgun. Thran charged into one, breaking its lens-covered helmet and sending it down, the face of the helmet completely dented inward. "Tip. They have weak bones. If you can get close enough, they WILL die. Don't let them get any range. That'd be bad." Thran said, and walked back to the ship, coming out with a bolt pistol and a chainsword. "Thought I'd try my luck with these."

 

Lael kneeled by a Tau body and ripped one random organ from its body, put it in his mouth and swallowed it. Within a minute he had the layout of the ship, and all patrol lanes. He stood. "I know where the tractor beam is... And the reactor..."

 

"We are behind you." Samax said, his bolter ready. They left the bloody hanger bay.

 

Suffer not the alien to live.

[Evz]

II

 

The corridors of the Tau vessel were very narrow for a space marine. They were clean and pristine. Lael had been in a Tau colony during a hit and run mission as a neophyte, but never had he been aboard one of their starships. Everything was so clean and pretty. That is, until they had arrived. Every turn Lael took them around, there was a fire warrior or two. Or three. Any who stood in their way was crushed by either bolter fire, or one of the marines slit their throat with a combat knife. Or Thran would just chew their bodies up with his new chainsword. Lael opened a door and pressed a button, and it slid open. Within were several long tables with plates of strange star-shaped fruits, noodles, and other foods. Samax grabbed one of the star-shaped fruits and bit into it. He then grinned, and stuffed it into his pouch on his belt, and grabbed a few others. "They are so so good!!"

 

"Samax." Thran turned to him. "We have to keep moving."

 

"But the food! I have never eaten such glorious food!" A group of fire warriors appeared in the door from where they had come from, and opened fire. They all blasted Samax in the back. His backpack began to spark and fizzle then exploded. Samax was flung forward onto the table, breaking it in half and sending food everywhere. Lael charged out the opposite door.

 

"Come, brothers! We must hurry if we want to escape this place!" He called them. Thran took down three fire warriors with his bolt pistol and followed. Castiel followed soon after tossing a grenade, and killing the group of enemies.

 

The tractor beam control room was big. It was a dark room lit by several drones floating above, giving it a blue light. "Brother Castiel. You're up." Castiel walked up to the console and began pressing buttons. "This shall take only a moment... Done. We are now able to leave. I have one question, can either one of you pilot a thunderhawk gunship?"

 

"No. We know as much as you do about vehicles. Only trained in the use of jump packs thus far." Said Thran "Now, shall we escape, or destroy the reactor?" Lael turned his head to speak to him.

 

"We escape. The strike cruiser shall dispose of this ship. I am sure of it." Lael started for the door.

 

"Then I guess it is settled. I will lead the way as I have the close combat weapon, all we must do is simply follow the corpses of the rotten xenos." They started back the way they came, on the way grabbing Samax's body and heading to the hanger bay holding their thunderhawk. Within was an entire squad of fire warriors and a crisis battlesuit.

 

"What do we do?" Lael asked. "There are too many for even three of us..."

 

"Gue'la!" Shouted the pilot of the battlesuit. "I am Shas'O'Nu'Mai. You have invaded our planet and defiled it with your chaos and madness. An entire colony was slaughtered before you exited through the gate. Now we have you. And you are dead. You cannot win."

 

"Grenades." Castiel said.

 

"What? But there's not enough..." Thran said to the marine. Castiel began strapping them all to his chest.

 

"There is enough to take out maybe that whole squad of warriors. I will destroy them. You worry about the machine." He then charged in. "LET ALL BLOOD FLY!!" He shouted, pulling the pin of one of the grenades and tackling one of the fire warriors to the metal ground. He exploded. As did all the warriors, and more body parts flew every which way and that. Lael peaked around the corner. Through the field, he could see the strike cruiser coming up along side the Tau starship.

 

"We take him together." Lael said.

 

"No, brother. You bring the body of Samax to the ship. I shall dispose of this alien myself." Without argument, Thran charged, shouting. "LET ALL BLOOD FLY!!" He fired several shots but all bolts hit around the chassis of the machine. He dove into cover behind a large crate. The battlesuit opened fire with a burst cannon, tearing the crate to bits. All the while Lael carried the corpse of Samax aboard the thunderhawk gunship, and set him down. The serf pilot was cowering in the cockpit, clutching the shotgun. There were three dead Tau in the ship. He made sure to toss them out.

 

Outside in the docking bay, the machine continued to fire its burst cannon as Thran charged again to more cover, and more and more. "This is not working... One shot, one kill." He loaded his bolt pistol, and ran towards the crisis battlesuit. It was all in slow-motion to him. The gun barrels of the battlesuit began to slowly spin. Thran roared defiantly and fired one shot. The single bolt flew through the cockpit window and smashed the Tau pilot in the head, and the battlesuit sunk down. Sighing with relief, the marine squad leader walked up the boarding ramp of the thunderhawk gunship, shouldering his new chainsword. "I like this thing..." He said, walking in and the pilot closed the boarding ramp.

 

"You are clear to open fire, we are leaving the enemy starship." He activated the thunderhawk, and it hovered in the air for mere moments before turning and blasting off towards the Imperial starship. They landed safely before the starship opened up its holy salvo of missiles and laser cannons upon the alien vessel, which in turn fired its own weaponry. Lael and Thran both carried Samax's body down. A Sanguinary Priest found them.

 

"You were his brethren. You deserve to have him with you." Servitors removed the marine's armor, sucked out all of his blood via a large needle, and left the body for the two marines. Their omophagea took over them. They were hungry suddenly. And like rabid wolves they tore into the dead marine, in the middle of the docking bay, where chapter serfs were busy going about their everyday tasks. They consumed and devoured their brother. They felt him within. They received all his memories, from childbirth to his death. He grew up in a desert village on Callisto. He was with them when they were inducted. Then finally they had finished. The great skeleton was carried off by servitors and the Sanguinary Priest led them away.

 

"That is what it feels like to be a Vermilion Wing..." Thran said. "We really are no different from those berserkers..."

 

"We do not follow a evil god. Nor do we fight and kill for evil. We defend. We are defenders of humanity..." Lael told him, putting an hand on his shoulderpad. "We are not like the-" The ship rocked hard.

 

"Prepare to repel boarders!!" Came the boom over the voxx. "Repeat, prepare to repel boarders!!" More Vermilion Wings space marines charged into the docking bay, ready to fire against anything that dared enter. Thran and Lael did the same.

[Evz]

III

 

The Tau battleship ceased firing. Several yellow pods were launched from the side of the enemy vessel, and they lanced through the void directly at the Imperial space marine ship. Within moments they were smashing into areas all along the ship. Lael was in the docking bay when one smashed through the energy field keeping the vacuum out, and skidded to a halt, crashing into several landspeeders. The Vermilion Wings within the docking bay aimed their weapons as a hatch slowly opened. A vulture-like creature, with powerful muscular arms and legs hopped out, carrying a knife and an alien rifle of some sort. A kroot, thought Lael. He had known of them but had never fought one before. Now was his chance, and he had little choice and the creature leaped upon him. More of the creatures bounded from the boarding-pod vessel. The kroot atop of Lael pinned him down. Even for a space marine, it was difficult to get him off. They struggled, and Lael attempted to reach for his bolter. Then the creature began to howl and was pulled off of him.

 

Thran stood, ripping the quills from the monster's head. Blood gushed out and the creature gave one final yelp of pain and fell limp. Lael grabbed his boltgun, nodded his thanks to his brother, and went back to the fight, blasting away two of the aliens. Another came at him but he kicked out with his mighty ceremite-covered boot, and the creature's leg was shattered and it fell down screaming, and Lael put it out of its misery. "We are clear!" Called out the sergeant of one of the tactical squads.

 

"Good.." Whispered Lael to himself.

 

"Borders have been repelled. We have captured several prisoners." The voxx operator from the bridge said. With that, Lael turned his gaze towards a bright light beyond the energy field. The Tau ship had cracked in half. One half fell towards the planet whilst the other exploded.

 

"What just happened...?" Thran said.

 

* * *

 

Captain Varcan sat in his command throne on the bridge, watching the view screen of the exploding Tau starship. He had a grin on his face, and a goblet of wine in his hand. "Excellent. The aliens are dead. Now, we destroy the planet." He stood at his full height and waved his arm forwards. "Destroy the planet. It is too corrupted with the filth of both aliens and heretics. Kill everything on it."

 

"Yes my lord." A serf responded, clicking a few things into the data-slate in front of him. Within moments the cannon batteries of the Blood Tear opened fire, sending a virus bomb down to the planet. Within the hour, the world burned. Nothing would survive. Not for one thousand years. Varcan smiled, and downed the remainder of his drink. Inquisitor David stepped out of the shadows, his hood shadowing his face.

 

"Captain. This was a warning. They are informing us of an attack..." The inquisitor said to the captain.

 

"Bring me the two survivors."

 

Within the next thirty minutes, after the ship had entered warp-space, Thran and Lael were brought to the bridge, and they stood like steel before their captain. "You two." Began the captain. "High Commander Alaxander is dead."

 

"We tried to save him, brother-captain. The Chaos lord was too fast. He ripped his head clean off." Thran told him what had happened. "And the bloody gang members you turned into a kill team was noisier than the grox on Callisto during mating season. They are what ruined the mission. Where did you find them?" He said looking to David.

 

"The prisons of Hive Zues on Oshim. I offered them freedom... I thought they would have been smarter than that... Hmm..." He turned, walking away. The ship came out of warp-space in orbit above Callisto. The defense systems of the moon and the starports glinted powerfully in the sun. A section of the floor opened up, and through an immense thick glass window, they could see the planet below.

 

"My lord..." Said Lael. "He, the chaos lord, said that within the next decade this entire system will fall."

 

"Well then, battle-brothers... We will have to be ready. Go join the others in the mess hall for a feast, and then we shall return to the Spire."

 

"Understood." Muttered Thran. The two marines headed back down to the mess halls. The food was good. Grox meat, and some ancient Terran milk with some noodles from some faraway world. The two battle-brothers ate in silence. What was there to talk about? Other than the many aliens and heretics they had just killed, watching their brothers die in battle, and consuming the flesh of one of their own dead while a machine sucked out his blood to be put in a pool.

 

Madness.

[Evz]

IV

 

Eight years later...

 

It was the Year Passing festival. Across the planet of Callisto, all of the civilized nations celebrated another year of existence. The Vermilion Wings were able able to join in on the festivities, a chance to be normal, and to walk among the humans of their world. Thran and Lael were in the standard "off-duty" clothing: a red silk sleeveless tunic, red pants, and a brownish-red cloak. They had arrived just yesterday and were taking the week away from the war and carnage that their galaxy was always engaged in. Their weapons and armor were stored away in a stormraven gunship at the city's landing pads. Unlike most cities, this was actually farther in technology. Most people within the city knew of the outside universe they lived in. The two of them were walking through a thick crowd of people in the middle of the city of Saonis, named after the original chapter master of the Vermilion Wings. The city was the biggest on the planet, and Lael doubted that they were the only adeptus astartes within its glorious marble walls. The buildings were tall and high, made of stone and marble. People ran shops. Blacksmiths hammered weapons. Homeless people begged for money. One such man, clad in rags with no pants came up to Lael. "Money? Money?" Lael peered at the man's feet. They were bloody. He had been wounded. Lael pulled out a sack and handed it to the man.

 

"Here you are my friend, go and get yourself fixed up..." The beggar turned and ran into the crowd. He didn't even get a thank you. Lael sighed. Thran pushed past several people to enter a tavern. Lael felt he had no choice but to follow him. Automatically they realized they were the largest people within the building. They sat at a table. A booth on the opposite side of the door. The seats were more like benches, ergo it was easier for them to sit. Lael took his seat, and Thran followed suit.

 

"So..." Thran began. "We have made it so far. Very far." He grinned, running his hand through his short-cropped hair that he had gotten cut earlier in the morning by a barber in Saonis, something he had considered a delicacy. The two of them had just got back from a campaign in the Crystalline sector, defending an inhabited Imperial World from the Tyranids. There was no end to them. All Lael could remember were the seas of chitin and claws and maws, biting and salivating. He had seen a Land Raider tank capsize and be dragged underground, its pilots and passengers disembarking only to be ripped apart by hundreds of small creatures no longer than his own arm. He snapped back into reality as the barwench came by.

 

"Oy." She said, "What'll ye be havin'?" Thran hammered his large fist onto the table.

 

"The bloodiest meatiest things you have. And big too! Very big very tasty! And covered in sauce!!" She looked to Lael, who simply nodded. And she was off. Soon they were given their food, and they dug in. It was red-meat. It was chewy. It was the greatest thing Lael had eaten in the past five years. Maybe even longer. Eventually they were left with but bones. The woman returned to collect the plates. The two of them went to their belts to get their money. Lael had remembered he had given all his gold to the begging homeless man. Thran stood and charged for the door, pushing past several people. Lael got up and followed him out the door. "THRAN! WHAT IS IT?" Outside, Thran drew his combat knife.

 

"That bastard in the yellow stole my money." He hesitated for a mere moment, then re-sheathed his weapon. "Let's teach him a lesson about stealing and taking that which is not his." They began running down the street after the man in a yellow robe. The man jumped up a stack of crates and grabbed a hold of a window, pulling himself up onto the roof, and began to run across it.

 

"This way!" Said Lael, turning down an alleyway. They jumped over a stack of melons from the east, and rolled after hitting the ground. Coming out onto the next street, they found the man running through a park, full of exotic plants from the wilder areas of the world. They charged after him. It was in the center of the woods that they had caught him. Thran grabbed the person by his hood and lifted him up and turned him to face him. His face had a large long scar running from his chin up the center of his face and into his hair.

 

"Excuse me, mate, but you seem to have taken my bag of personal belongings. I would like it back and for you to apologize." Thran said, annoyed.

 

"Yes yes yes! Take it all!" The man said. Then from the bushes came five others in similar robes, sporting bows, arrows notched.

 

"Give us everything else!" Said another voice. A sixth walked out, pulling his hood down. He had the same scar. "We are the scarred. We desire only your money."

 

"Do you even know who you are dealing with...?" Lael asked him, curious to see if he was really stupid. One of the robed bandits fired an arrow at Lael. The arrow smacked him in the shoulder. He winced in pain, ripping it out, and punched the bandit down. The leader looked down at the man, who was holding his bleeding nose in pain. The leader wandered over to him, and drew a elegant rapier. He ran the wounded bandit, ending his life.

 

"If anyone else decides to attack without me giving the word, I will destroy them as well. Now, I ask for your possessions and money..."

 

"We have nothing but the money." Said Thran, tossing him the bag. "Are you happy? We are simple monks. We do not carry possessions. Damn you."

 

"Language?" Said the leader of the scarred. "I don't like language." He took his rapier and swung it around hit head, attempting to cut Thran across the chest, to give him a 'warning shot' and a nasty scar across his stomach. Thran drew his combat knife, parrying the strike. "Oh? You are a swordsman as well?" They were interrupted as the skies began to grow dark. A large beam of energy lanced down from the dark clouds, and smashed into a building by the park, destroying it and throwing rubble everywhere. Thran looked up in surprise. The bandits turned and ran. "COWARDS!!" Called out the leader. "What is this?"

 

"An enemy of man." Lael said. "Brother, we must get to the ship. Come, little man." Lael continued, motioning for the leader to follow them.

 

"My name is Tarot. I will follow you. My men are cowards." Another blast occurred. People were running around, screaming and confused. Thran watched as a mother was killed before her daughter as she was running outside of a building to gather her. A chunk of rockcrete began to wobble above the pile of rubble. It would crush the young girl. Thran charged, dove and grabbed the girl, rolling and set her down. She was in tears.

 

"Dammit... Dammit..." He looked up into the sky, and pulled off his cloak and gathered up the girl. He looked to Tarot. "You. You have a hideout or something??" Another orbital strike hit the market district a mile away. Tarot nodded.

 

"Aye... I do." He said, panicking.

 

"Take her. We may cross paths again one day."

 

"I will do it..." He said, taking the girl.

 

"Emperor be with you, Tarot." Thran said. Tarot nodded, turning and running. Lael looked to him.

 

"Let us get to the ship before it burns as well..." With that, they ran back to the gunship. The landing pad was in one corner of the city. They ran up the ramp, and began to dress in their armor with the aid of the on-board servitors. Eventually they were armed and armored. Lael walked to the front, where the pilot sat. "Take us back to the Spire. I am sure a defense is mounting. There is not much we can do here."

 

"Aye sir..." The ship lifted off and blasted away across the sky as the entire platform was razed by another lance of energy.

 

PART III