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Post By Hatman Sat Nov 11, 2006 at 01:14:15 am EST |
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Another Front Part 3 | |
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“So, umm, do we have a plan?” D’ur Acell flew through the vacuum of space, towing his silent partner on a small chunk of earth. Gamma Ray Gary had appreciated the silence until D’ur figured out that if he willed his Power Bracelet to let him speak with Equinites in the vastness of space he could bypass the restriction laid upon all Yellow Flashlights; their power did not affect things that started with the letter ‘G’. Gary did not answer, choosing to continue his brooding. He held Ljouis in his lap, trying in vain to summon the power within the weapon. D’ur shaking the rock Gary sat on forced him to pay attention to his companion. “We find whatever trace we can of the Parody Master on Maxel, track him down, and kill him,” said Gary matter-of-factly. “I was thinking more along the lines of maps and stuff,” admitted the Flashlight. “Though I would like to discuss revising your kamikaze strategy at some point.” “My course is clear to me. You are under no obligation to see it through with me,” grunted the Equinite. D’ur snorted his disagreement. “Hey man, I may be new at this, but I don’t need basic training to tell me that you don’t leave a sentient to die. Besides, I already called back to Flashlight HQ and my mission is to officially see if there’s still Parody Master activity on Maxel. So you’re officially stuck with me.” “Joy,” is what Gary wanted to say, but without D’ur’s help he would be stuck in space with rockets built into his legs not designed for long distance travel. His thirst for vengeance had not entirely dulled his logic. “So,” said D’ur as he spun around and set his Bracelet to autopilot. Construct-playing cards formed up in his hands and in front of Gary. “Old Maid or Hearts?” “Power down your bracelet,” instructed Gamma Ray Gary as he and D’ur Acell touched down on the ruined surface of Maxel. “We don’t want the energy signature to give us away.” “Umm, are you sure I can breathe here if I do?” asked D’ur uncertainly. The remains of the once proud planet continued to smolder in places and if there was ever smoke that looked toxic D’ur was sure the smoke above his head would qualify. Gary snorted. “Use your Bracelet to analyze the air quality first, “ he said, as if speaking to a child. “Oh, yeah, I knew that…” said D’ur sheepishly as he consulted his Bracelet. “Looks like it should be safe enough, though I sure wouldn’t want to be exposed to this for a long period of time.” D’ur deactivated the energy sheath around him and stretched his arms out wide. “Been too long since I had solid ground beneath my feet.” “Quiet!” hissed Gary as he crouched behind the remains of a wall. “Is there something there?” whispered D’ur as he dropped down beside the Equinite. “I don’t know yet,” growled Gary, “but there’s a good chance that if there is they know we’re here now.” “So we’re just going to sit here?’ questioned D’ur, fiddling with his Power Bracelet. “No, you’re going to be quiet so I can focus on running a passive surface scan of the surrounding area for lifesigns.” Gary’s left eye flashed as he activated his cybernetic scanning system. The pair sat there motionless while Gary’s computers did their work. D’ur grew impatient after a few minutes. “Okay, look’s clear to me,” he said as he rose to his feet. “Not a soul in sight.” “You fool!” cursed Gary. He angrily regained his feet, his scan complete. “How did you know nothing was there?” “If someone was going to jump us it would’ve happened by now, “ shrugged D’ur. “You telling me your fancy scanners wouldn’t have picked something up by now?” “No, “said Gary testily, “I’m saying that the Avawarriors are all mentally linked, so with the number I have battled of late I would not be surprised if they could shield themselves from my scans.” “Oh. That’s a good point,” admitted D’ur. “But c’mon, why would there be patrols out on a dead world?” “I don’t know at this time,” conceded Gary. “But it would still be wise for you to observe caution.” “Me? What happened to all of this ‘I’m gonna kill anything gets in my way’ ‘tude I was getting earlier?” challenged the Yellow Flashlight. “Vengeance drives my mission, but for me to succeed I must let my warrior instincts guide me. We are on unfamiliar terrain against an entrenched enemy whose resources we have no intelligence on. We take it slow.” Gary turned to indicate a tower off in the distance. “We go there.” “Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re wising up a bit, “ D’ur ignored the look he got from the Equinite, “but I doubt we’re going to run into anything out here. This planet is dead.” Gary began to walk towards the tower, not waiting to see if D’ur was going to follow. “And what’s so special about that tower anyway?” “It is the high ground.” Gary looked to the sky and wished he could soar on the winds rather than plod along by foot, but Ljouis’ powers were still denied him, and his leg rockets weren’t powerful enough to work in an atmosphere. He reminded himself of his need to stay out of sight as consolation. The pair trod along, picking their way over the rubble. It was nearly 20 minutes before they saw the first corpse. “The Maxellians are extremely powerful as a race,” D’ur said quietly, looking at the remains of the Maxellian before them. “Each one has power that I daresay rivals your own, when you’ve got your hammer mojo working.” “The force required to annihilate them would be considerable,” admitted Gary. He bent down and examined the body. “This one was cleaved by an Avasword.” “How can you tell?” asked D’ur, crouching down next to the Equinite. “There is almost no loss of blood. The wound was cauterized instantly.” Gary regained his feet and sniffed the air. “Have you ever been in a war zone before, D’ur?” “Well, there was this one time I fought off a battalion of space pirates a few parsecs from Cybertron,” D’ur considered. “I’m not referring to a space battle fought with energy weapons and force shields. I’m talking about trench warfare, being able to smell the sweat of your enemy before you run him through with a blade before he gets you.” “Umm, eww,” replied D’ur. “Can’t say as I have, but I’ve fought some pretty hairy battles in my time.” “All in the emptiness of space.” “Mostly, yeah,” he admitted. “So?” “You can’t smell the death in space. You see broken hulls and debris, not blood and sundered flesh. Prepare yourself,” warned Gary as he steeled himself for the next stage of their journey. “It can’t be that...” D’ur Acell stopped in his tracks at the sight before them. He promptly turned and vomited. He had thought himself prepared for the sight of warriors fallen in battle, whether the be Maxellian or Avawarriors. He hadn’t been prepared for the sight of dozens of murdered children, some of them clutching each other in what must have been fear. If the adult Maxellains could not stand up to the Avawarriors, what chance would their children have? Gary laid a comforting hand on D’ur’s shoulder. “Do you see now why I must stop the Parody Master? This is what he did to my people.” D’ur regained his feet and steadied himself. “The visual sure adds to your argument,” agreed the Yellow Flashlight. “Can’t I just fly us there yet?” “No. We will have to continue on foot. The closer we get to the tower the more likely there are to be patrols.” The severed head of the Avawarrior that had been tracking them fell at their feet. D’ur instinctively activated his Power Bracelet to protect himself even as Gary oriented his sensors on the new threat. "You’re right,” agreed Gamona the assassin as she dropped the headless corpse of the Avawarrior. “There are more patrols.” To be continued… ~Hat~  |
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