The Queen's Bane

[Infested]

The Augur Rift. A maelstrom of violence and conflict. Brutal factions vying for its territories. But who will be the greatest? Who will rise to glory? Will it be the all-encompassing Yin Empire? Or will the Conglomerate return it to its own hold? Only time will tell, and the decisions of the rightful few...

==

"We are now descending to the planet's surface," a voice cracked over the dropship's intercomms, "So be ready for touchdown."

The Irden tithe, armored in the colors of the Yin, were mainly comprised of young first-timers. Only one veteran of the Augur Rift's conflicts, a man by the name of Petram, could tell that these recruits were not entirely ready for the surface below.

"So, what's the planet again?" Asked Witnam, trying to clean his helmet's visor with a small handkerchief, "Helikora something?"

"Helikora Prime," answered another young soldier to his right, "Read up all about it during briefing. It's one of the CPA's main holdouts."

"It's also under siege by the Emerald Legion," Petram would mutter as a warning.

Lever would sway off such foolish caution. "Yes, and?" We would retort, "It's our job to push them back, and that's what we're gonna do."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," the older man would grumble to himself, as the dropship descended through the atmosphere, curtailed by several other ships of the same shape and size. Eventually, these craft would come to halt on a massive airstrip. As Witnam and the rest of the Tithe would exit their starcraft, they would be dazzled by the massive metropolis that stood before them. It seemed as if cities sat upon cities, through the outer edges of each city seemed battered and roughened, with holes blown out of buildings, and rubble standing where statues once stood.

"Helikora Prime's capital," Petram would remark, "Welcome to Talorven. City of Innovation and current target of the Emerald Legion. It's been under attack for the last eight months. In our last reports, it seems the Typhon navy has been forced to retreat to one of this system's gas giants to regroup. But they left ground forces here, so we need to hurry and get inside."

"Right away, sir!" Witnam would state, quickly catching up with the rest of his troop after ogling the mega-city's magnificence.


(You can have your character show up however you please)

[Kiora]

Jeya was sitting down on a large wooden crate in the entrance to Helikora Prime's capital. She was in some sort of un-official landing zone for ships and jets, hundreds of crafting passing through every day. Jeya tried to attract as little attention as possible, hiding her face in her notebook of contracts. She preferred them hand-written, as no one could hack and/or sabotage her plans on the go.

She looked up as a crew of soldiers descended from their craft and started walking towards the entrance gate. She gazed at them, trying to recognize the new faces. She did that to everyone who entered the city, but this time, something felt... off. She tried to match all of them to her current contracts. Nope. She was relieved, as she essentially only hunted criminals. But maybe they were indeed criminals? Jeya had no idea. She continued to ponder in her thoughts as they disappeared from her view.

[Infested]

"Talorvern's got every kind of crook possible, kid," Petram noted to the young recruit, "So be on your guard. Hell, by the political situation, it's safe to say Knights've made their way in the city someway or another."

"Knights?" Witnam asked, "I thought the Knights of Humanity were some Irden fairytale."

Petram laughed, "You are going to learn a lot is more than myth and song, Levver. You know of the RHEA?"

"You mean the Yin drones?" Witnam asked, "Of course we know about those! My father used to have one shoo off things that'd like to eat our flocks. Some dang salvagers took care of it, though.."

"Ah, good. You're not as green as I thought. If you know about RHEA, then you know the RHEA legions," Petram stated, as several machines stepped by, their forms similar to those of Old Earth's ratites, save for their metal frames and lack of a head at their front, instead substituting it with a turret, placed on the center of its back. It, as with the Tithe's armor, was a strong yellow and orange. Their singular eyes, glowing a calm, emotionless blue, shimmered over the Irden troops as they walked into the city, "According to latest sources, theres... 13 Legions inside and outside, both defending and policing. Levels of unrest reached critical points last month, so they had to call in more."

Levver would ask, "Can't the Helikorans police themselves?"

"It isn't our place to question the orders of the admirals or generals, soldier," the older gentleman stated, his tone changing slightly, "It's to follow them. Now, our platoon is to be patrolling the city and make sure Typhonian or Knight insurgents don't cause a mess of the place. You and Rackkerland will take the lower level bazaar. I got word of some kind of illegal trade going on, and I want you to figure out what is going on. You understand?"

"Yes sir, but what about the Typhon offensive? I mean, shouldn't they have as many troops bracing the walls as possibl-"

"Witnam, do you understand?"

Levver sighed a, "Yes sir," before jogging to catch up with his now-partner, another recruit by the name of Rackkerland.

==

"Callsigns Alpha through Delta, copy."

"Alpha Squad, standing by."

"Beta Squad, standing by."

"Gamma Squad, standing by."

"Delta Squad, standing by."

"New orders from the High Lord. Converge on the Bazaar. Alpha, plant explosives in high-traffic areas. Beta and Gamma, when Alpha signals they have finished, lay covering fire. Delta, lay sniper fire. The Typhon's hold on the black market must be severed."


"For the High Lord, it shall be done. Over and out."

[Kiora]

She overheard them talking about some juicy mission around the city. Patrolling? The black market? Things couldn't get any more exciting. Hopping off the crate, she started to walk behind them, entering the capital as well. As long as there was some illegal activity that was spicy enough to attract Jeya's attention, she was there, and she was ready.

Stepping into the enormous city, she passed a few enforcers, feeling a little intimidated by their new designs. She never had any trouble with the law, really, but she still felt as if she was doing something wrong... like, doing what the police is supposed to do, after all. But Jeya reminded herself that it was for the best of everyone, and went on. She kept following them, attracting as least attention as possible and constantly taking turns to avoid any awkward eye contact.

[Infested]

The Lower city was a massive slum, its streets crammed with peoples of many races, along with the usual pack of RHEA surveying the areas and keeping the peace.

"So," Witnam's partner, another recruit by the name of Rackkerland, with ginger hair and pale skin, asked to his partner as they walked through the crowded streets, "Where might you be from?"

"I'm from Ophelia," Witnam replied, "Worked on a little farm there until I could get in the military."

"No way! I'm from Ophelia too!" Rackkerland gasped, "My family worked in the shipping industry there!"

Levver thought for a moment, "Now that you mention it, Rackkerland does sound familiar. Does that mean your father was.."

"Arbeil Rackkerland? Yep, and I'm his.. second heir, I hope," the ginger man thought, "He's been through so many women, I could be a long ways further down the line."

"So that makes you Devin?" Witnam asked, "My dad worked with you for a bit."

"Yeah, that's me," Devin Rackkerland smiled, "I've worked with so many people, I dunno."

As they entered the Bazaar, the streets grew wider and less crowded. A band of cloaked individuals were along an alleyway next to the group, chanting in old tongues as one demanded the people to repent. Witnam rolled his eyes as they continued.


If one were perceptive, one could see the glimmer of a scope through a window, and the chatter of a similar voice through hidden radioes.

[Mavanger]

Mordeci stood in the CIC, watching the operation unfold from behind the man on the radio. "Proctor Teth, I assume that everything will be carried out smoothly, yes?." he asked, his hands clasped behind his back, his helmet on the table behind him.


"All is to be going as planned, Lord Mordeci. The attack squads should be able to cull the Typhonian threat if all goes to plan."


"Very well, Proctor. I'm going to the Bazaar to get... acquainted with the local aliens. Contact me if something goes wrong- I'll be on-site to clean up any messes." he said. He motioned for two of his High Guard to follow him out of the building, grabbing his helmet and placing it on his head. They were trained to stop assassinations and attacks on his person, which meant combat efficiency. They were his personal guards, a Captain Filib MacNill and a lower rank man, named Jenkins. He was MacNill's personal protege, and a replacement for the last man on his personal guard.


They followed him dutifully out into the street, their robes and armor similar to his, but modified to seem mor important than his, to throw off possible attackers. And then, they moved to the Bazaar.

[Kiora]

(Shall we move this to the new site?)

[Infested]

(Yeah, that's what I was planning. It's already copied over, so post there whenever you please!)

[Sponsored content]