((Sorry it took so long. I took me 4 hours to write this. It is almost 40,000 characters long. There is a surprise at the end.....))
How did our kids get involved with the Vanguard?
Yes how did our kids end up here?
How did our kids get involved with the Vanguard?
+1 to asking how our kids got involved with the Vanguard. Although i assume that it had something to do with the Vanguard going "OH SHIT ABDUCTION!" coming to the rescue way too late, and then having to take the kids in because no one else could. Besides think about it, the Morey said we were special so i guess those special genes are in our kids also?
Yes how did our kids end up here?
You finally let your curiosity and motherly protectionism overcome you. You have been itching to know how your precious daughters got involved with the Vanguard but the right time to ask didnt seem to appear. As all you seem to be doing now is waiting for confirmation that their shuttle is here, you decide to ask the question.
"Annie, how did you and your sister get involved? I thought the Vanguard didnt show themselves to Earthlings?"
Annie smiles at you.
"When the Vanguard found out that humans were getting abducted from Earth for an unknown reason, they took steps to stop it. They also adopted orphans that had been left alone after the abductions took place." Her smile drops, as if she is remembering something.
"Orphans? What happened to my husband? Your father?"
Annie looks at you, seemingly surprised.
"They didnt tell you? The Morey abduction team that took you killed him. I dont know why but it might have been because it woke up when they were taking you."Your mouth falls open. You let out a pained gasp, your eyes watering. You cover your mouth with your hands and start shaking your head.
"Dead? No....NO! That cant be!"
Annie reaches forward and hugs you, shushing you like you used to do to her when she was little and she had been bullied at school. You sob into her shoulder, mourning the loss of your soul mate.
When you had composed yourself a little more, Annie continued.
"When the Vanguard came Katarinka and I thought the people who had taken our mummy and daddy had come for us, but the Vanguard scooped us up and took care of us. When their shuttle touched down and the door opened, we were met by two females, both damage control councilors. There was also a squad of soldiers who went in to see if the aliens were still there."She pauses, giving you anther hug.
"They took us and gave us new lives. We were kept and taught alongside others like us. There were thousands of us. Tens of thousands from all over the world. After a week or two of rest and care by their dedicated carers, we were inducted into their schooling system which is extremely different to any system on Earth. It was then that they also started the augmentation.
You see, the Vanguard are far older than they first make out. Several generations have been born and due to the way the nano and pico machines in their bodies are made and used to augment the body, the augmentation is passed down from generation to generation. The nanomachines and other nano-augmentations in their bodies are as much a part of them as their hearts and brains.
Thus, Vanguard children are already born with the augmentations they will need in adulthood, and their now 'natural' augmentations can be added to if needed however it rarely, if ever, is needed.
But we were different. We were 'vanilla' humans, born on earth with no augmentations. Also, had they just pumped us full of bio-nanotech, bad things would have happened as the technology had evolved to assume some inheritance from the parents.
So they slowly gave us doses. We soon started to realise we were becoming bigger, stronger, faster, more intelligent than any normal human could have ever been.
We were confused, but they assured us it would be alright. They even displayed their abilities to us to show that what was happening was, to them. normal.
But then we started to become even more powerful, more than them even.
It wasnt until the process was almost complete the scientists told us what was really happening.
You see, every super soldier they use on the offensive is an orphan. Every Phantom like me, every WarBreed, every Titan, in fact, every different section in the Warlord Corps is made up of orphans. There are some volunteers, but they are few and far between.
And they were going to put us to good use.
Due to the speed of their eduction, by the age of 14, everyone was educated up to what would have been considered masters degree level on Earth. But that wasn't the end of it. We were then taken to the Vanguard WARLORD Corps Training Academy on Valirus Prime. There we were put through grueling training for two years before been selected for specialisation.
Katarinka was chosen by the ASOG Techs to become one of them. She took to it like a duck to water. They boosted the computational nano-augments in her brain to take in all the information there was so much. She can now build, repair, maintain or just describe how any Vanguard tech works. She can also jury rig anything from anything. Literally. its sometimes quite freaky what she can do. Sometimes it reminds me of BA from the A-Team and his knack for making tanks out of a wire bed, a spiring and a kettle.
I was selected to become a Phantom. We are a bit like the Warbreed and to be hoonest we are a bit like the Morey Vat-Born. Main difference been we operate like ghosts. Hell, we even have a unit called the Ghost Division, mainly because no one, not even high command, knows where they are most of the time.
There was another year of training before my sister and I were put into service, where we have been for the past year. Believe it or not, we are only about 20 years old.
And that brings us to the now.
You have been chosen to be a Phantom, like me. You will hold a senior rank, higher than me, than Katarinka and Levinia here, due to your age and experience."She finishes. You sit there for a moment taking in the information. Interesting.
However the motherly part of your brain just wants to cuddle and care for your daughters, and is repulsed at the idea they put themselves in danger. You pull Annie into a hug again, and she returns it. You can foresee there been a lot of hugging in the future. there is, after all, so many years of hugging you missed.
"And i just realised something, you are technically almost forty years old." She pulls away, smiling.
" You oldy. She giggles.
***
Ask why we need to be present? are they going to have us infiltrate the ship?
You then start chatting with your daughter about what you missed, funny things and her achievements, occasionally aided by Levinia's input (it seems she has been with your daughters since the Academy).
You then ask why you need to be present when the Vanguard attack the Morey ships. Are they going to have you infiltrate the ship?
"No, we dont need to you infiltrate the ship. Once we have taken control of the ship, we need you to vouch for us to the Morey. Tell them or show them that we are not the real enemy. We just want peace with them. And the Slinkar, but they will be another problem entirely." ***
follow through, she as a mother would be so overjoyed that any friends would be forgotten, and anyways, we are a prisoner in god knows where and surrounded by Spartan 3s, and I hope we would get a chance to personally cause the excruciating death of the presidentess
After all that has been told to you here, you decide that the Morey can go stick their loyalty probes where the sun doesn't shine.
"I'll join. What do we do now?"
Both Levinia and Annie's faces light up.
They shout 'FANTASTIC!' in unison.
"Right, the first thing we need to do is get you ready." Annie pulls out a loose jumpsuit you didnt see she had and lays it next to you.
"Strip out of that battered armour. We'll put it with your other equipment here."You do so, slowly peeling the damaged armour off of you, after you remove your dented and battered boots and gauntlets. Briefly naked, you then slip into the rather comfortable jumpsuit.
"What now?" You ask as Annie rolls the box of your things, which now includes your old armour, into an opening the wall that wasnt there before. Once the box is inside, the opening closes.
Seeing your questioning look, Levinia explains.
"This is both a store room and an interrogation room.""That seems...efficient." You say. Levinia chuckles, nodding.
"The Vanguard are all about efficiency."Annie motions for you to follow her. The door opens onto the hallway and you follow her to the shuttle bay. Sitting there is a sleek looking shuttle, large enough to hold almost fifty people, you guess, in its passenger bay. Inside you can already see some Vanguard soldiers. You falter when you realise who they are.
The insignia on their arms gives them away.
A mixture of Vanguard Marines.....
Images on the attack on the Morey vessel that killed most of Elianna's brood flash through your head.....and also some ASOG WarBreed, towering over everyone.
As you, your daughter and Levinia board the vessel, they notice you. And smile. You feel uncomfortable.
"Erm...Hi?"
Some of them chuckle.
One speaks, a woman who is shorter than most there. She seems familiar.
"You're the one who led the defense of that old facility five years ago aren't you? Berginstaff was pissed he lost half his forces than day." She chuckles merrily, verging on manic, with a cute russian accent.
It takes a moment to click. "...You're one of the WarBreed that blew away the walls like they were made of paper."
She grinned even wider. "Yep!" She chirps. "In fact, all the Warbreed you see here were at that battle. It was FUN! Glad to see you are on our side now! Means we can have FUN! together!" She chuckles manically afterwards and grabs you in a hug that threatens to break bones.
"Varis, leave her alone. She's way more fragile than we are. You'll break her in half." Came a booming voice from further inside the shuttle, shortly followed by the emergence of what has to be the largest man you have ever seen. He is huge, his head nearly touching the roof. To make him more imposing, he has muscles the size of mountains and his clothes looks like they are threatening to jump off him at any time.
"You worry too much Baldor, i was just greeting our newest comrade!".
You then spend the next ten minutes meeting and greeting the men and some women who only a couple days earlier would have killed you without mercy and not given you a second thought.
War and life are strange things, you conclude.
After the meet and greet session, the shuttle gets underway. Unlike the Morey shuttles, that bounce and jerk about, the Vanguard shuttles are a smooth ride. In fact, they are so smooth you had to be told you were now in the upper atmosphere of the planet and heading towards the VMV (Vanguard Military Vessel) Obelisk.
After a short journey no longer than half an hour, your shuttle touches down in the shuttle bay of the Obelisk. Once the bay doors open, you follow Annie and Levinia through the crowd. You see Warbreed, Marines, Regulars, Orbital Drops troops, Technicians, engineers and even the odd scientist team all over the shuttle bay. Its remarkably busy and full of quite a few non-combat staff for a military vessel supposedly at war.
You get looks, but you keep your head down and keep following.
Eventually you get to a laboratory. Full of vats. Vats with people in them. This brings up interesting memories.
"Annie, why are we here?"
She turns around.
"We are here to being your augmentation. We will remove the loyalty probes they put in your head, keeping you on board AI and its own modifications to your body intact and then we will return your body to proper human structure. Your brood sisters and the Morey will still be able to tell its you, but you will now be human, not a hybrid.
But this will take time, normally, but as the assault is in four days due to delays caused by the war with the Bal....with the other enemy we are fighting, you will need to be in one of these for the process to be sped up. Now, get out of that jumpsuit and put this mask on."You do as you are told. In only a short while you are standing naked wearing only a mask that covers your nose, ears and mouth.
"Please step into the vat."You do so. Once in, Levinia starts attaching the various bits and pieces dangling from the roof of the Vat to your body. One on each temple, one on your throat, one on the back of your neck, 8 down your spine and another eight on your back to the left and right of your spine, one on each breast and three on your chest. Four on each arm and eight on each leg. Two on each bum cheek and finally one on your crotch.
Once you are fully attached, Annie asks you if you are ready. Unable to speak in the mask, now attached to a tube of its own and supplying you air and communications through your ears, you nod.
The front panel of the vat closes, and it starts to fill with a clear, thick liquid. It takes ten minutes before the vat is full and you are bobbing up and down. Strangely, you can open your eyes and see comfortably in this liquid. You see Annie then press a series of buttons and the tubes attached to you tighten and hold you still. Your arms are pulled out to the side of you at a 45 degree angle. You then see arrays of extremely thin needles approaching, that pierce your arms as the wrist and elbow.
More come out and pierce your legs at the ankle, knee and hip. A third lot emerges and pierces your body in the stomach, chest, breasts and back. You then get a strange sensation, as if your body is also been pierced where the tubes are attached. Then, as if something is been pumped into your body, you start to feel things inside you. You then start to feel strange all over your body, but you cannot think any more on the matter as you fall into a deep sleep.
----
An unknown amount of time later, you awake in the vat. The needles are gone, and you are bobbing up and down serenely in the vat. You feel odd. More intelligent for one thing, but also stronger, faster, better. You feel giddy for some reason. You also feel taller again. You cant look at your body yet as the tubes are obstructing your view.
You then see Annie enter. She hits a few buttons on the panel outside your vat and the liquid drains slowly. Once the liquid had drained, the tubes fell away on their own accord. The door panel to your vat opens and you walk out, far faster than you expected.
You also expected to have to look up at Annie as you did before, but you now have to look slightly down at her.
"Hi mum!" Annie chirps.
"Hi daughter. How long was I in that treatment chamber?" Treatment chamber? Did you just call the vat a treatment chamber? Strange things have happened to your body.
"Oh, about three days. Which leaves us a day to get you your new equipment." She looks over you and scrunches up her nose.
"And for you to have a shower. Treatment chamber liquid stinks."You chuckle. "I will once i can get to one." You glance down at yourself. You see that the 'tattoo' the Presidentess gave you is still there. No doubt they read your unconscious thoughts of been able to identify yourself to your friends, and also to keep it as a reminder of your revenge vendetta against the corrupt Morey regime currently in power.
You see your other wounds are gone, however. You are a bit more muscular than you were, but also well padded and curvy. Your hair is longer and thicker, almost down to your knees and as dense as a cloak, and is a brilliant white blonde. Annie hands you a couple of hair scrunchies which you use to tie your hair up until you can get it cut.
She also hands you a newer, larger, jumpsuit for you to put on, which you accept gratefully. it is, after all, cold in the lab.
"Come on mum, Katarinka is both itching to meet you and to fit you with armour."You smile. Katarinka was always impatient when she was younger. And a perfectionist. She hasn't changed much either.
You follow Annie through the halls again, this time to an engineering workshop full of tech, equipment, machines and armour. You then get blindsided by a young woman. "MUMMY! I missed you mummy!" She almost cries as she snuggles into your chest. She is shorter than her sister, most likely due to having different augments.
"I missed you too, dear."
"I love you mummy."
"I love you too, Kitty"
At the mention of her pet name, which she hadn't heard for years, she bursts into tears and latches on, not letting go for a good ten minutes.
A tall well built man, every bit the techy, walks over. He must be the overseer of the workshop. "What is going on he...." he stops, seeing Katarinka. He smiles. He must have known how much Kitty was missing you. "Nevermind, take as long as you need." With that, he walks off back to his office.
"Kitty, i hear you have something for me?" You ask tenderly.
"OH! Yes, right this way mother!" She says as she bounces off into the workshop. You and Annie do your best to keep up with her, but she is like a little rabbit, zipping about like a mad thing.
"TO THE FITTING ROOM!" She proclaims loudly.
"Is she always like this?" You ask Annie.
"No, she is just extremely happy you are back with us. It was hard thinking you were gone. We knew dad was gone, but we refused to believe you were dead too. Until a vanguard psychologist intervened, Katarinka was driving herself insane trying to find ways to find you, despite how hopeless it seemed at times. All that worry and loneliness, heartache and fright has been dissipated by your return."
You smile and give Annie a hug. She looks like she needs one. She always was one to keep things bottle up.
Eventually you find Katarinka at a workbench, working on something.
"There is a shower room over there" She points to her right. "Have a shower."
Curious, you go and have a nice long shower, relaxing under the hot water. Eventually, you come out of the shower stall and into the changing room again, a towel wrapped around you. Annie and Katarinka are waiting for you with a light gray bodysuit, similar to the ones you wore when you were with the Morey.
"Dry yourself off and put this on." Katarinka says.
You quickly dry yourself and slip into the suit. It is not as thin as it looks. Katarinka takes out a small hand held computer and starts tapping away.
"I am calibrating the suit. Please be patient." She taps away as the suit gets tighter int he areas that it was loose. Katarinka then presses a series of buttons and the suit starts to move and shift along your body, eventually forming armour plates all over your body. You also feel a strange sensation, as if thousands of tiny, hair like...
things...are slowly moving into your body and becoming one with you.
"Now, follow me for the rest." Katarinka says, clearly excited. You and Annie follow along. You notice that Annie is wearing a suit just like yours under her other clothes.
"This is just the undersuit, Mother, the rest is to come."You return to the workbench you saw Katarinka at just before your shower. Now, however, there was a pair of armour boots, gauntlets, helmet and other assorted armour on it. It looks just like the armour worn by Levinia and Annie when they captured you.
"First, put on the boots."
You grab them and slip them on. They fit perfectly. Then, without prompting, you put on the gauntlets and the body pieces, as if you had done it before. '
Must be information they put into my head like the Morey did...' You think to yourself.
Finally, you grab the helmet and put it on. Once its on, you see it is far more advanced than the Morey copy. It has far better capabilities in all sectors. Just as ou are about to take it off, it opens and folds back into itself before concealing itself in your chest piece
"Wow. Nice."
"That's not all, either. Try taking the armour off, or truly wanting to be out of it." Katarinka says, looking pleased.
As you think of getting out the armour, the entire thing shifts and becomes normal clothes, which you could easily take off and put on. Like Annie, you look like you are dressed in smart-casual ware with the body suit underneath.
"That....That is very handy."
Katarinka smiles and jumps into your arms again, snuggling to your chest. "I am
so glad you are back, mum. Enjoy the MK 21 Phantom Armour"
You smile and hug her back, hard. Katarinka squeaks with happiness.
***
We should also make sure to conceal our identity with a mask and robotic voice over when we get on the presidentees ship. In case this fails, we don't want them to know it was a Brood sister going rouge.
Just a thought.
As you hug Katarinka, you think about ways to conceal your identity. However, with the armour you ahve now, that should not be a problem.
***
Annie seems to be distracted for a moment, before speaking.
"It seems the assault has been moved to later today. We need to get you armed and ready. We'll be attacking the Presidentess' ship alongside the marines. We need to get to the armoury."Katarinka nods. "Come on mother."
You follow the girls to another part of the workshop and through a thick door with the word Armoury printed on the outside. Inside there is a vast array of weaponry.
Annie selects three different weapons. A long, scoped weapon you instantly identify as a Mk 29 Mass Driver sniper rifle, a shorter weapon you also identify as a Mk 32 Pulsed Hyper-Plasma assault rifle and a third, handgun type weapon you identify as a Mk 3 Plasma Beam Pistol.
"These are your new weapons. Your old equipment is now useless to you, so it has been recycled into these weapons. They were produced whilst you were in the Vat." As you intuitively press the 'fold' button on the weapons, turning them into easily carried box-like creations and you are putting the pistol in its holster on your right thigh, Annie also hands you a long knife.
"This is the far better Vanguard version of the knife the Morey gave you. The stun knife is an effective weapon, as i think you already know." She smiles.
Now armed and armoured, Annie leads you to the meeting room where the plan is going to be distributed.
~~~
You enter a large meeting room which already has many people standing around it. Your new knowledge kicks in. At the head of the table is High Marchall Veldin. To his left is Berginstaff, to his right is Valdin's second in command, Field Marshall Devron.
Everyone else around the table except you are the leaders of various units. Ships Admirals and Captains, Regulars soldiers, orbital drop troops, Marines, and various WARLORD Corps leaders are seated around the table. As you aren't a leader, you try to keep a low profile.
~~~
The High Marshall speaks. "The plan is simple. As the fleet engages the Morey ships, shooting to disable, not destroy..." He makes sure to stress that to the Admirals and Captains. "....the Obelisk will launch boarding parties whose composition will be a mixture of Marines, Phantoms and WarBreed. Should the enemy launch any boarding parties of their own, the Regulars and Orbital troops will stay ship-side to repel boarders.
Once aboard, the boarders will shoot to wound. Remember, we want to make peace with these people. They are
not our true enemy.
We will, however, be taking the current head of government off of her thrown, as well as her entourage. We have someone here who has at least one bone to pick with them." He glances at you, smiling. "Make sure to give them hell. They deserve it for what they have done.
I know this plan is simple, but simple works. More detailed information will be directed towards your personal computers. You are dismissed."
Everyone in the room salutes the High Marshall. You do to, as he is now your High Marshall. Once the saluting is done, you all leave.
You follow Annie back to her room.
"Make youself at home. There is more than enough space in this room for the three of us." Three of us?
"Three of us?"
"Katarinka shares this room with me. And now you do too."You smile. "Thanks."
You spend the next few hours checking each others equipment and chatting before the time of the assault begins.
When Annie fell asleep for a short nap, you decided to talk to Talli.
'
Hey, Talli? You still there?'
"Yes we are here. There have been extensive changes to your physical structure. You seem to have been returned to human form. That is very good. Very good indeed. You also seem to have joined the Vanguard. That is also very good indeed. What would you like at the moment?"'
Full status report please'
"Aside from the physical changes, there have been changes to your augmentations as well. The loyalty probes implemented by the Morey have been removed completely. The multi-range optics system installed by the Morey has been upgraded to the far superior, far sleeker Vanguard design the Morey tried to copy, as has the Command and Control module and the communications array, although the Vanguard do not usualyl use implanted Communications array. Speculation on why it was upgraded is most likely something to do with your role as a mediator between the Morey and Vanguard.
Next, you now have Phantom-Spec 28th generation Bio-nanomachines and bio-picomachines in your body. You will have the same physical capabilities as your Phantom brothers and sisters. Lastly, you now have nano-scale supercomputers and larger memory modules in your brain, augmenting all mental functions. We cannot speculate on how this will affect your psychic capabilities, but mental efficiency and power has increased to unimaginable levels.
Which is nice.
Anything else?"'
No thank you Talli. that will be all.'
After your conversation with Talli, you then decide to get some sleep yourself.
~~~
The alarm wakes you up.
Both you and Annie jump into action. As if you had done it before, you and Annie both run to were the rest of your team is located. Levinia is there, as are three others who you do not know yet. They are ready and waiting.
As Annie forms her armour, you do too. Your weapons automatically un-fold and slip onto the magnetic clamps on your back, for easy reach and grabbing. You select your assault rifle for this fight.
"When we are in there, I'll be calling you by your name, Katia. 'Mother' is a bit iffy in a combat situation and 'Pandora' will give you away to anyone who knew you.
As for the team, this is Phantom Section 34, known as the Jungle Shadows. There should be another nine, but they are in sick bay after a fusion bomb exploded and wounded them. Get ready, the fleet battle will begin shortly. We need to make our way to the assault shuttles." She walks with purpose, motioning for the others the team to follow.
After a few minutes of jogging, you arrive at an assault pod, specially designed to penetrate an enemy ships hull, stop the venting of atmosphere and release its load of soldiers into the enemy ship. You all fit, with more then enough room to spare.
It is then that you hear the rumbling of the ship, and the rocking caused by enemy weapon impacts.
"Get ready, we'll be launched soon. By the way, guys this is my mother, Katia. Katia, you know Levinia, but these are Willhelm..."
"Hello again" He says, with a distinct American accent.
"...Emma....""Hi, nice to meet you!" She says, in a vaguely German accent.
"...and Kilroy.""Welcome to the club. You sure your her mother? You look like your in your twenties?""Yes, i was in my twenties when i was abducted and forced to fight as a Morey super soldier. I haven't visually aged since. Most likely due to the fact the Morey gave me a Morey lifespan."
"Sorry if that is a sore subject.....""Its OK.".
You wait for a few more minutes before you are almost pushed off your feet by the acceleration of the pod.
The pod flies through the void of space towards the Morey capital ship containing the Morey Presidentess and her lackies. You ant help but think you will enjoy this.
***
With a crash and a sudden stop, the pod comes to a halt. The inertial dampeners of the pod stop everyone inside from being turned to paste due to the sudden deceleration. The breaching doors open just as the team cloaks themselves. Annie quickly tells you how to do it. It only takes a second for you to figure it out.
Now cloaked, you exit the pod.
You see Morey soldiers to the left and right of you lining the corridor, fighting other Vanguard boarders. To the front of you are three more corridors, filled with morey regulars either trying to make their way to the fighting or barricade the corridors.
"Straight through. Our targets are the leaders. Lets leave the fighting to the WarBreed, Titans and Marines. Move out!"You follow her orders, moving swiftly towards a makeshift barricade. Unfortunately, one of the team kicks a dropped gun, which alerts the Morey behind the barricade. They open fire. None of your team get taken down, but their cloaking undoes itself due to the impacts on the armours shielding.
"Dammit, fire! remember, do not shoot to kill."You open fire with you assault rifle, aiming for arms and legs. You manage to cripple two Morey regulars with grazing leg shots. Nothing that cannot be fixed. The rest of the team does well also, disabling their targets, before stunning them unconscious with their stun knives.
With that fight taken care of, you re-cloak and move deeper into the ship. With great skill, care and luck, you mange to avoid Morey patrols and reinforcements making their way to the boarding parties and combat. Eventually, you get to the central command chamber, a huge room, also known as the bridge.
Inside is the Presidentess and her entourage consisting of most of the New Guard generals, many of her Senatorium lackies and other hangers on.
Ala-Shar is also there, with the Old Guard Generals, the Matriarch and at least a team of notable scientists. They all seem to be in the middle of a heated argument.
Then something catches your eye. Kaleetra, Ari, Elianna and Ankara walk in and stand next to Ala-Shar. You smile. They were safe. But what are they doing here, You wonder?.
Your team moves closer, silently, trying to overhear what is been said.
"....We
need to retreat! This is madness! They are attacking in force, trying to drive us from the system. Their boarding parties aren't regular soldiers, but teams of their best supersoldiers!
Staying here is madness!" Ala-Shar is almost screaming at the Presidentess.
"COWARD!" Presidentess Karista screeches. "You dare to put forward the notion of surrender or retreat in the face of our most dreaded enemy!? You are not worthy of your post as head scientist! Guards! take her away."
"Belay that order." the Matriarch says, her regal demeanor coming through, threatening. "Karista, I am relieving you of command of this fleet. You are clearly insane, and I have had enough. Guards, Take her to her chambers."
"BELAY THAT ORDER!" Shouted the young leader of the New Guard generals. "Matriarch, you show your true colours. A real Matriarch would fight to the death against her enemies! Guards, you take orders from myself and my generals staff. Take the Matriarch and her supporters to their chambers and keep them there. Should they try to leave, shoot them."
As the guards move to try to take your friends, your Brood sisters and Kaleetra move to prevent them. Weapons are readied and pointed at each other. The entire situation is tense.
Clearing your throat, you speak up.
"
IF i may make a suggestion....." You trail off, for dramatic effect.
Everyone freezes, then starts looking around.
"Pandora?! Is that you?" Ari says, shocked.
"Yes, it is. I wont tell you where i am standing, however I do not like the fact that people who should be on the same side are point guns at each other. Also, know that I am not alone."
"What happened to you? You disappeared!"
"I was captured by the Vanguard."
"And you are still alive?" Ala-Shar asks in astonishment.
"Of course, or else i wouldnt be here speaking to you. The Vanguard are not your real enemies. They want peace. Although i doubt Karista and her supporters told anyone...."
Everyone not loyal to Karista then looks at the Presidentess with anger.
"What does she mean, the Vanguard want peace? You only told us they were sending threats and taunts!" Shouts Grand General Ferray, leader of the Old Guard.
"Lies! She is lying, if that is even that beast Pandora!" Karista screeches, sounding more like a harpy than a woman.
There is the sound of a charging weapon.
"Do not call my Mother a beast, you innocent-abducting cunt" Annie growls, making sure the hot end of her gun is near the Presidentess's head.
"SEE! They don't want peace! They would
kill me! Your leader!"
"Karista, there are many people here who would love the Vanguard for all eternity if they did that." Deadpanned the Matriarch.
The presidentess glares at the Matriarch.
"Everyone, please, calm down." You say, uncloaking yourself entirely. There are, predictably, gasps. Well, wouldnt you if a six foot four, armour clad amazon strode out of thin air?
"The Vanguard want peace. All you have to do is contact them. Your soldiers fighting at the moment are, hopefully, not dying as the Vanguard have given orders to incapacitate only. They are reaching out. All you have to do is accept." You turn to Kaleetra. "The same goes for the Slinkar. The Vanguard does not want to fight you. In fact, they may even...."
"LIIIIEEESS!!!!!!!"Everyone turns to Karista. That screech was not something you would hear from a Morey, or any other known species.
And then she started changing, transforming before your very eyes.
"Oh....No....."Her eyes changed colour, her skin ripples and tears. Her body seems to be rearranging itself underneath her skin. Her clothes rip as she gets bigger, her form changing to something that looks like a cross between Satan, a succubus and a horrible creature from the depths of tartarus.
"What in the name of the seven hells is going on!?" Exclaims Grand General Ferray.
"You all need to leave. NOW! That is not something you can defeat. Not yet." Levinia says in perfect Morey, uncloaking and motioning for them to leave. When they dont move, she shouts at them, waking them from thier stupor.
"LEAVE OR DIE! THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO CHOICES!!"The Matriarch, her entourage, the Generals, scientists, Ala-Shar and your Brood Sisters leave, however your sisters and Ala-Shar linger at the doorway, as if looking for ways to help.
You turn back just in time to see that Karista has tripled in size, and her entourage beginning to go through the same transformation, however most only seem to double in size.
"Annie, what the fuck are they?"
Your daughter gulps.
"They are th....."She is interrupted by a roar that shakes the ship itself.
"GLORY TO THE BALSHAAN IMPERIUM! DEATH TO THE INFERIORS!"All you can think to yourself is a simple two word phrase.
'
Oh Hell.'
~~~***~~~
It seems you will be getting to beat down the (Former)-Presidentess, but not in the way you thought.
What do you do now?
Status:1. Demeanor/Status: Calm.
2. Mental Condition: Mentally fit and stable.
3. Physical Condition: Extensive Scarring.
4. Clear thoughts and currently inactive mental factions.
Inventory:1. Mark 21 Phantom Powered Exoskeleton Suit (Wearing)
2. Mark 21 Phantom Powered Exoskeleton Helmet (Wearing)
Available Equipment (Everything not equipped is unavailable at the moment):1. Mark 21 Phantom Powered Exoskeleton Suit (Wearing)
2. Mark 21 Phantom Powered Exoskeleton Helmet (Wearing)
3. Mk3 Plasma Beam Pistol (sidearm)
4. Mk 29 Mass Driver Sniper Rifle
5. Mk 32 Pulsed Hyper-Plasma Assault Rifle
6. Combat Engineering Equipment and explosives.
Implants and Augmentations:1. Vanguard Multi-range optics (Thermal, magnetic, IR, UV, multi-stage magnification etc) implant on eyes.
2. Vanguard Command and Control (C&C) nano-module implanted in head.
3. Vanguard Communications array nano-module implanted in head.
4. Phantom-Spec 28th generation Bio-nanomachines and bio-picomachines in blood stream, bones, muscles, tendons and organs.
6. Vanguard Nano-memory modules in the Cerebrum, holding all relevant non-personal data and nano-supercomputers throughout the brain aiding mental capabilities.
Brood Composition:1. Forward Command and communications: 10 Vat-born.
2. Field Combat Medic: 37 Vat Born
3. Long Range Specialists (Snipers): 48 Vat-Born
4. Heavy assault: 148 Vat-Born
5. Light Assault: 127 Vat-Born
6. Infiltrators: 27
7. Heavy Support: 77
8. Combat Engineers: 69
9. Scouts: 80
Allied Characters:1. Ala-Shar
2. Ankara
3. Ari
4. Elianna
5. Kaleetra
6. Talli
7. Dornishi, Morey regular Commander
8. Tirl-kha, Morey Commando Commander
9. Quish-ka, Morey Regular Commander
10. Annastasia
11. Levinia
12. High Marshall Veldin
13. Major General Hopfield
14. Kilroy
15. Emma
16. Willhelm
Enemy Characters:1. Presidentess Karista (Now mutant thing)
2. Kirish, the Presidentess's assitant. (Now mutant thing)
3. The Senatorium (Now mutant things)
4. New Guard Generals (Now mutant things)
Currently Neutral Relations:1. Brigadier Xander Berginstaff
Author
Topic: (SG) Starfire: War and Politics - Enemies Old and New - UPDATE 03/07/2014 (Read 87412 times)