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Battles rage on all fronts...

I'm so far beyond you!

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Cain stumbled away from Grey Fox as he screamed. Cain winced at the noise as it was amplified by his enhanced ears, Grey Fox looking down at his arm and squeezing his eyes shut. “God… Rrgg!”
He sat down clumsily, as though his legs just gave way. Cain slumped back against the Oculus beam. “Whew… that felt good.”
“Oh… Ah! … I bet it did.”
Grey Fox reached up towards his neck, extending a claw. Cain narrowed his eyes as Grey Fox traced a line under his chin. “What are you doing?”
“Just… getting myself… something for the pain… Rrg…”
He stabbed himself, paused, then dug around underneath his skin. “There… Ahh…”
He relaxed, lying out flat. “May as well spend my last moments in bliss, eh?” he said, slurred.
Cain laughed. “A sub-dermal painkilling device?”
“Oh, nothing so crude. It’s actually part of my nervous system itself. Almost another organ, now that I think about it.”
He laughed. “Broken bones feel funny when you’ve had a dose, eh?”
Cain stood. “Tell me how to shut that off.”
“We’ve been over this.”
He climbed the walkway. “I’ll start tearing off bits of this machine if you don’t. Chances are I’ll break something.”
Grey Fox had taken to laughter, now that he was high and his life was about to end. “You’ll die first, probably! Hahaha!”
Cain punched a flat metal surface with his prosthetic arm. It dented the metal, but the alloy was stronger than his expected. Plus, one of his joints was now sticky. “Dammit!”
He returned to sitting against the humming machine. It was now vibrating hard enough to make his skin tickle. “Say.”
“Hm?”
Cain was still feeling the effects of the taser. He placed a hand over the burned patch of skin where he had been shocked. “We’re both criminals, right?”
“No, Cain, we’re not.”
“Heh. How do you figure?”
“I’m on a mission, sanctioned by my government. Top secret, but sanctioned nonetheless.”
Cain laughed, hard. “And how does the Atriean Empire justify genocide? I’m not an expert on the Atriean Charter of Rights, Restrictions, and Liberties but I’m pretty sure that one’s not okay.”
“Well… few people know this, but the Atriean government has certain… options in suspending the constitution, when it comes to the greater good of the Empire.”
Cain nodded. “I knew this was a… how did Yalogalil put it? Secret black project?”
Grey Fox offered no commentary.
“Fine, sure, the government wants to have its cake and eat it too. But level with me, here. Given all the charters and constitutions and the lies the left hand tells its right, you know you’re really just a criminal.”
“Kid,-”
“We’re the same age.”
Grey Fox laughed at that. “Ha! Fine, Cain. I think of it this way: There is a charter of rights that I am following to the letter. It’s just not the same one the public is held to. Or knows about.”
“That’s a crock of shit and you know it. Seems like the Atriean public’s not the only one being lied to here. You’re lying to yourself.”
He leaned forward. “I just have one last thing to say before we both die: I’m a criminal, you’re evil.”
“Hahah! Evil?! You are a child. Don’t get me started on evil.”
Cain crossed his arms and leaned back with a relaxed sigh. Grey Fox’s laughter fizzled out, and both sat/lay listening to their demise charge its main beam generator.

Yalogalil was faced with a difficult scenario. After encountering no resistance after employing his launcher, they wandered, guided by Nai’s fragmented memory of the halls. Then Yalogalil led them through an empty hall, and seconds after they stepped into it were flanked by machines. They opened fire without hesitation, hitting several Sytis and Yalogalil’s arm. “ARG!”
He dropped the launcher as the Sytis returned fire, using their puny hand-held weapons to fire a stream of energy at the robots. The ones that goopy stuff hit seemed to lose power and fall to the floor. Nai pulled Yalogalil to a shallow alcove and inspected his arm. “You’re hit!”
“I know! Get off me, we must be fight or we die!”
The Sytis were fast for their size, but couldn’t evade the shots. However, they didn’t seem to mind being hit all that much. Yalogalil watched one get hit three times in the chest and fire back with the same coolness as when the ambush first was sprung. Yalogalil fumbled around Nai’s waist. “Give me… gun!”
“Uh, oh, here!”
Nai pulled his pistol from his back pocket. Yalogalil clutched it and squeezed his eyes shut. He hadn’t taken many hits in his career. He bit his lip. “Fuck… this is hurting me!”
“Hey, are you alright?!”
“No! We… Ugh…”
He slumped against the wall and dropped the pistol. “Yalogalil? Hey, you can’t die! Hey!”
One of the Sytis fell over nearby, the only sound he made was the thump of his body, then his tail. Yalogalil’s eyes opened again, and he slapped Nai. “Shut it!”
Biting his finger hard for a few seconds, he roared. “Robotic bastards!”
Two Sytis had taken cover behind their fallen comrade, and Yalogalil joined them. “Give me suppressing fire! I will charge, then you are follow me after! Do not delay! Understood?!”
He did not wait. Jumping over the Sytis, Yalogalil ducked as low as he could, running for his launcher. Two of the robots zeroed on him, but goopy projectiles shut them down. Before any more could take their place, Yalogalil fired three shots into the remaining robot, dropping it. He got to the launcher the moment two more robots shoved their way into the corridor. “Got you!”
He pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Instinctively, he brought his knee up and propped the launcher in the proper position to check for a jam, just like he was taught to in his Special Forces training. A shot hit the launcher, causing Yalogalil to fall flat on his back. Another shot seared off the fur on his footpaw as the Sytis continued firing. “Ah!”
Yalogalil rolled out of the way as one of the robots charged him, slamming into the floor a few centimeters away. It was big enough to have crushed him. He growled, springing up and swinging the launcher like a club. The robot’s weapon snapped off from a direct hit, and Yalogalil used his entire body to shove the thing over. The Sytis were doing an excellent job keeping the other robots at bay, but they were beginning to lose ground, the enemy using their fallen brothers as cover. Yalogalil picked up the gun that cad come off the robot and pointed it at his assaulter, just as it righted itself. Luckily, the gun had a trigger, and Yalogalil grinned as the shot melted a large section of the thing’s outer covering. The second shot went right in, and Yalogalil was sure it was more than a flesh wound. With his new gun and bloodlust, Yalogalil charged the line of robots. “FOR THE UCH’FA!”
Nai watched in horror as Yalogalil dove into the group of robots. He heard yelling and shut his eyes, flattening himself into the alcove. The gunfire intensified and, after only another minute, stopped. Nai head the Sytis begin to move, and opened his eyes. Two Sytis were on the ground. One of the soldiers was checking over the nearest. “Is… is he dead?”
“No. He is injured.”
Nai approached. The Sytis had a dozen injuries all over his chest, but he was still breathing. He winced, speaking without a hint of pain in his voice. “I will be fine.”
The other Sytis wasn’t in good shape. The soldier Sytis seemed to ignore him, and Nai assumed they had some telepathic way of checking life signs.
Nai gulped. “I’ll get Yalogalil…”
He took a step towards one end of the hall, then stopped. There was a dogpile of machines and parts, but no Yalogalil. “Hey! Yalogalil!?”
“What?!” came the muffled reply.
“Are you… in there?”
“Yes! Get me out! I am needing bandages!”
Nai turned to the Sytis. “Hey! I need some strong arms over here!”
With the Sytis’ help, Nai pulled Yalogalil from the rubble. He was in bad shape. “Thank you…”
“Here, lemme help you…”
They slumped against the wall. “Uh… Oh! I can rip my coat-”
“No, I have my bandages.”
He detached a small pouch from his coat and took out two small bottles and a roll of bandage. “I have… been in worse…”
He took out a flask as well. “Talk to me.”
“Oh, uh… Why’d you faint.”
Yalogalil jerked up, and he hadn’t even touched his wounds yet. “What?! I was… Nai, I am in too much pain to be a dishonest. My pain tolerance, it is… very low…”
“Ah. That’s, uh… nothing to be ashamed of.”
“For me? Yes, it is.”
Yalogalil poured some of the flask’s contents onto his leg wound. He grabbed Nai’s arm, who cried out. “Ow! H-hey, don’t break my arm!”
Yalogalil relaxed, then set to work cleaning the wound. “Disinfectant. Well, it is whisky.”
“Whisky?”
“A human alcohol. It is both delicious and medicinal.”
“Huh. Say, what was that thing you shouted before you charged into that pile of robots?”
“My cry? Yes, my clan name. Er… it is an old northern language. The name of my ancestral tribe.”
Yalogalil climbed Nai, and wobbled on his injured leg. “I will need help.”
“Sure thing… Hey, Sytis! Let’s go!”
The Sytis took up the front and rear as Nai chuckled. “We’re close, I can feel it…”

Czyak was enjoying himself. The stream of language coming from Teliko was overwhelming almost to the point of driving him insane, but Czyak loved the feeling. Before it had scared him. Before it had been meaningless and intrusive. Now, it had utility, and Czyak used it with the pleasure of a man on uppers. Free from God’s grasp, he charged the monster. God reacted quickly, exerting his influence towards Czyak. Teliko once again intervened. “Child… Cease your meddling at once!”
Teliko had no choice but to watch everything that happened next. With her interfering with God’s telekinetic abilities, there was nothing to stop the absolute juggernaut from reaching him. There was a loud roar from Czyak, and his claws rent the air.
An Atriean claw is considered long in the Atriean’s native universe. Few other sapient species grow nails as sharp and long as an Atriean. These claws can reach three inches in length if not trimmed properly. A Sytis’s claw would cause any Atriean to look upon their own with dissatisfaction. Despite being blunter than their Atriean counterparts, Sytis claws were usually up to a foot in length.
When impaled into another Sytis, they proved quite deadly.
“Guh… You little, you’ll pay for this!”
God was not an ordinary Sytis. He ripped the claws from his chest and physically shoved Czyak. Czyak reeled for a moment, before launching himself bodily at his target once again, the lack of hesitation and restraint in his movements surprising even God. This time both claws went in, but Czyak didn’t stop there. Pushing with every muscle, he rammed God against a wall and began mercilessly slashing at him. Teliko nearly was sick, the savagery of Czyak’s actions. The air filled with the smell of Sytis blood and the sound of each penetrating slice, all of it nearly drowned out by the screams of God and the chilling yells from Czyak.
After a minute, one of Czyak’s claws snapped off, flying across the room and nearly hitting Teliko. She felt God was still trying to lash out with his mind, so she continued suppressing him.
After five minutes, God was no longer able to scream. Yet, still he fought against Teliko.
It was only until shortly after, Teliko felt God relax. She dropped to the floor, exhausted, throwing up her mental defenses once again. Czyak stumbled away from what was left of God, falling on his back as his chest heaved in the aftermath of his uncontrollable rage.
Teliko stumbled to her feet and forced herself to look at God. “Oh… Drifrasa have mercy!”
Instead of following her instinct to run, Teliko knelt by God’s head. “I’m sorry.”
She stroked his scales and began to cry. As soon as Czyak could stand again he scooped Teliko up and carried her out of the throne room. As he ran through the halls, Teliko reached up and placed a paw on his face. Czyak’s scales began to glow, and instantly his body felt like it was under a healing waterfall. “Czyak, I know you’re hurting right now… b-but you didn’t kill God.”
Czyak stopped. “What do you mean? I… I was very much responsible.”
Teliko shook his head. “A-at the end… I could sense his mind. If he wanted to, he could have kept healing over and over but… he chose not to.”
Czyak looked away from Teliko and continued down the halls. Teliko smiled. “You’re welcome.”
They rounded a corner. “Freeze! …Oh, hell! Teliko, there you are!”
Serleah slung her rifle back over her shoulder as Czyak placed Teliko on the ground. She was completely unharmed. “Are you hurt? Where were you?”
“We, uh… we defeated the, uh, Evil.”
Serleah straightened up. “You… defeated him?”
“Me and Czyak.”
Serleah took out her S-com and turned around. “One sec… Yeah, Leph, I found her. Yes! She’s fine! Listen, she says she… took out the Evil guy… Yeah. No? Put Leo on.”
Teliko sighed. “Put it on speaker! I wanna hear!”
“Fine, but you’re in big trouble, young woman!”
“Leo here. Bit busy.”
There was an explosion over the S-Com, which could be felt in the deck plates. “I take it the enemy has not disengaged?”
“No. Why? Should they have?”
“The Evil is dead. Apparently, his troops didn’t get the memo.”
“Really? Well, good job.”
“Thank Teliko.”
“The kid killed him?!”
“Not a kid!”
“Hey, she’s not a kid.”
“I heard… One moment, please… They’ve found the cargo bay! We’re beginning the final phase of the plan.”
Serleah grinned. “Great! We’ll wait for the signal here. Serleah out.”
Teliko gulped. “So, what we did didn’t help?”
Serleah crouched in front of Teliko, who was shaking. She put a paw on her shoulder. “I don’t know, Teliko. Maybe they just haven’t realized yet, or they don’t care. One way or another, the plan has to go on. In a minute, I’ll get you two down to the cargo bay and onto the Rocinante. Then we can go home, okay?”
Teliko nodded, more tears coming to her eyes. “C’mere. Hug it out.”
She buried her face in Serleah’s fur coat and cried.

Yalogalil lowered the S-Com from his face and grinned. “That did not take at all long! Come! Search the room!”
The Sytis fanned out as Nai tugged on Yalogalil’s shirt. “Hey… look.”
He pointed to the massive piece of machinery in the center of the room. “It’s complete.”
“Ah… so, you are going to, er… fix it?”
“No, not fix it. Well, yes, but it’s a little more complicated than that. Come on, I’ll show you. Be careful though, Grey Fox and Cain could be still here.”
It turned out that they were right. As Nai and Yalogalil rounded a corner, they were met with the sight of both. Yalogalil forgot his own injury and approached Cain. “Cain.”
He blinked a few times, then squinted up at Yalogalil. “What the… why are you here? I thought you died!”
“No! I decided to help the people we were to capture.”
“I see.”
There was a long pause as Yalogalil sat down and leaned over into Cain’s face. “Who is tranny now?”
Cain burst out laughing. Grey Fox began chuckling also. “Hehe… Oh, hello Nai.”
“Grey Fox.”
Nai stepped over him and climbed onto the control platform. Grey Fox coughed as he tried to sit up. “It’s no use trying to-”
“Yep, I see what you’ve done here… I just have to edit these frequencies before the beam charges.”
Grey Fox slumped back. “You bastard. I wish I had never hired you. You’re too smart for your own good. I should have known that traitorous streak would come back and bite me in the ass!”
Yalogalil frowned. “Traitor? Nai is traitor?”
Sensing an opening, Grey Fox responded enthusiastically. “Oh yes! Betrayed his government to a terrorist.”
Yalogalil stood. “Is this true?”
“Um…”
“It’s alright, Nai! You can say it!”
“Then yes.”
Yalogalil laughed. “Nai! I have gained much respect for you! After this, we must get drinks, yes?”
“What are you- Grrr!” No one paid attention to Grey Fox.
“Yeah, we can have a drink, sure. I’ll introduce you to my mate and son.”
“Ah! A family of traitors. That will entertain.”
“Oh, Drifrasa’s tits! I can’t believe you’re-”
“Hey!” Cain barked, “Shut your goddamn mouth, would you? You’re beat, quit complaining.”
Grey Fox sighed. “Fine. I’ll just dose myself again and sleep.”
Nai worked away as Yalogalil watched the two injured men.

Leo was not noticing a shortage of fire from the ship, even if the Evil was reportedly dead. Now that the cargo bay had been found, he was waiting for an opportunity to break off and retrieve Leph’s pod. Yalogalil delivered it to him. “Lion!”
Leo furrowed his brow. “Lion?”
“He means you.”
“Right… Hello? Is that Yalogalil?”
“Yes. I am being told there is no time. Er… Nai tells me we have only less than an hour before the beam is active. We must gather and set in motion the final phase before then.”
“Dammit! Alright, I will see what I can do, but we won’t have a clean opening anytime soon.”
“Ah, well… Call me in one half of an hour if you cannot. Yalogalil out.”
“Hey, Leo?”
The ship rolled out of the way of yet another blast from the beam. “Yes?”
“If we disengage, we’re gonna condemn our Sytis friends.”
“I know.”
“We gotta take out that beam.”
Leo pulled up and accelerated. “I know that, too.”
The beam weapon was tiny at that distance, and Fieru had trouble making it out. It began to glow again. “Are we just… going to fly over and shoot it?”
“That’s the first thing we’ll try, yes.”
Fieru laughed. “Alright! Aiming point defence!”
A brilliant flash nearly blinded both men, and although Fieru instinctively threw his arms up to shield his eyes, Leo put the ship into a roll, easily avoiding the blast of energy. “Fieru! Fire whenever now!”
“Aye!”
Although they were much less bright than the Evil ship’s beam, the manually targeted point defence hit with great force. Small explosions could be seen against the red hull surrounding the beam. “Tell me that hit, Fieru!”
“It did!”
“And?”
“AND GET READY TO DODGE AGAIN!”
The beam fired again, clipping one of the Rocinante’s wings. Fieru slammed his paw on his instruments as damage reports told him just how much repairs he would need to make. “Damn! We’re okay, Leo, but we’re not making any atmospheric landings anytime soon!”
“We’ll have to launch a missile.”
They span for a few more moments, then Fieru stood. “Alright. Just… keep her steady.”
“Careful!”
Fieru disappeared into the magazine. Leo kept one eye glued to his instruments, the weapon screen showing “NO ORDINANCE” thanks to the complete destruction of the automatic missile loader. He completed a large loop, leveling out with the HUD lined up with the beam once again. It began to glow. “Fire!” came a voice from below.
The missile streaked away, sending ripples of particles through the dense space. “Fire! Fire fire!”
“I have!”
“No, I mean actual fire! Get the extinguisher!”
“Damn!”
Leo had no time to verify the hit. He grabbed the extinguisher and hobbled to the magazine hatch. His foot caught something, and as he went down, the extinguisher flew from his paws and directly into the magazine. “Got it! Nice throw!”
White mist rose from the magazine. Fieru coughed. “Was it a hit!?”
“I don’t know!”
Leo dragged himself up. The com was beeping. “Well, we aren’t dead…”
“Good sign! Jeez, this stuff stinks…”
Vaà spoke over the line. “Good hit. It seems as though the ship is no longer capable of attacking us.”
Leo leaned back. “Good. Never thought we’d survive long enough to exhaust all those rockets.”
“You fought well.”
“Thank you. Likewise. Oh, could you pick up Leph? Him and the Frontier crew are floating just off that debris field…”
“Of course.”
“Thank you again. Bring him to the meeting point.”
“Yes.”
The line cut, and Leo coasted towards the cargo bay.