Valendir

"I have some questions; most of which pertain to how not to get the lady's airship thrashed and get the rest of us killed." His gaze went to the king.

"I assume because you've brought two mechanics and a former captain into the group, we'll be doing insertion from the air. I'm wondering if we'll have any support from the troops on the ground; if there's anyone we need to meet up with once we're on the ground; and what additional resources we'll have at our disposal. But most importantly," Shade paused s moment.

"Who's leading this group?"

Galmor looked at the Trejan sniper, codename 'Shade', excellent shot and could pick off pretty much anything, the reputation of Trejan snipers would be spoken highly by this one.

"1. Kit here, as I've heard, is one of the best pilots in the GRA, she also keeps her ship properly maintained so there is no problem there, however," he pulled a crystal from his pocket, "you will be landing, so you'll be needing this," he tossed the crystal to Kit which she caught, "its an invisibility crstal, quite rare, only used for specific situations, this situation, perfectly counts."

"2. as for support troops, Galmorian troops are plenty in home territory and you will meet some for specific missions, and keeping us updated via tele-crystals, will allow us to contact the other races, tell them you're nearby and meet up with you."

"3. Your leader of the group will be Captain Taldrin here," Taldrin gave a nod, "and second in command will be Paladin Rishi of the Falro Clan," he stood up and gave a bow, then proceeded back into his seat.

Suddenly the doors bursted open as a short fat thing came through, it was talking something about food, a closer inspection revealed it was the other palenxi.

"Ah, you've finally arrived, Mr... Nyx. Please sit in one of the chairs."

"Oh, hello there," said Nyx idly. He began searching the room.

"Pardon me, but where are the machines? I was hoping to become familiar with the general workings of them. After all, I'm not going to let them over-stuff me with eggs! Do you know what happened to the LAST guy who was stuffed with eggs? Incidentally, I met him once upon an alley. His name was Vitellus, and the eggs were beginning to burst through his skin! Now, if you, kind people, could lead me to the factory machines, that'd be just SPLENDID! I'll use my Cranaken Powder and my magic wand, and I'll destroy them before they even realize it! All that'll remain will be a bucket of fried cheesecakes! How delicious!"

He searched under a table, disappointed at the fact that the machines were not there.

"Well don't just stand there like a troop of Crackling Cristles! Where are the machines!?"

Galmor and the others just stared blankly at the Palenxi. As he searched about the room telling a story about... eggs?

"Well don't just stand there like a troop of Crackling Cristles! Where are the machines!?"

"Egg... Machines?" said Galmor still utterly confused, "Mr. Nyx, we have no machines with... eggs. Now if you'd please... sit... down... we can continue with this."

He cleared his throat,

"Now, we go onto the bigger story," pressing a button, the map disappeared and the crystals melded into one giant crystal, "this is what my grandfather archived, its a what he called a God crystal, it has the ability to rip the fabric of time and space, causing the different races to come into the free world."

"The crystal is located within a chasm below the portal. An infiltration group, that's you, will be heading underground with an experimental bomb which we believe is capable of destroying the crystal. This isn't exactly a normal magick bomb, its a bomb with another substance, nitro glycerin, very sensitive and a must handle with caution care."

Galmor tossed another crystal onto the table, which melded into the different members, each turning blue, with a picture of them above their crystal. The giant crystal shrunk down as the other crystals rose up.

"You'll go into the chasm by means of a rope ladder, onto a legde, then follow the path down onward from there," the crystals begin to move downward, "once you reach the crystal you'll place your bombs at the base of the crystal. I guarentee you won't be able to arm it, the crystal sucks up magick energy, using magick will just get absorbed into the crystal, which makes it a big flaw for magick users, magick bombs, or magick guns."

"This is where we thought ahead," he pulled out a very long rifle, "this is a new rifle, just came from the factories, it specializes the use of gunpower to fire, the good ex-captain there will be using this to shoot the bomb once the group is high enough to escape the blast radius, while being close enough to actually hit your mark," he put the rifle on the table.

"Once the crystal is destroyed the portal will disintegrate, that's when they'll know you're there, and that's when you're going to need to make a run for it. Once you reach the surface, book it. Now, any more questions before you head out?"

Shade's questions were answered immediately and without reservation. They were being very up front about the whole affair. The procession was interrupted by another Palenxi entering the Stratagem Hall and raving madly about machines and eggs. Shade studied the creature for a moment, and then looked back to Galmor, raising an eyebrow. Shade was under the impression these were all elites here. Of course, being elite at some field did not necesarily mean one was in one's right mind.

Shade sighed and slumped back in his chair slightly. An angry technician, a rogue pilot in it for his own good, and a half-insane Palenxi so far. This was looking lovely.

Notwithstanding there were members there who appeared to be competent. So far, Shade decided, he'd be trying to work closely with his Trejan teammate; for in a fellow Trejan he knew he would see skill and competence. He hoped, at least.

The explanation went on, and Shade listened intently. So, the situation was that bad, then, that they were ready to destroy such a powerful device. Shade considered asking if the crystal could be saved, instaad of done away with, but thought better of it. They had made the decision based on a knowledgable assessment of the situation. There was no need to change plans now and incur the extra time.

Shade shook his head slightly. He was ready to go as soon as they said the word.

"Well, there are no egg machines in the premises. We are all free to escape now. Of course, there's the question of how to deal with the guards outside the hole. Clearly they don't have bladders. I once met a fellow with no bladder, of course, most forklifts have no bladders."

He continued to rant about oil leaks, when he heard:


"Now, any more questions before you head out?"

"Oh dear me, you should NEVER ask for questions! Once I attended this meeting where the questioning period lasted three days! Mopping about, asking questions, and it never stopped! Please sir, if you are going to do something, get on with it!"

A new rifle then. Well, this was a suicide mission, and they would need someone who’s marksmanship was unsurpassed. Which meant they needed him. Edward reached for the rifle, checking it’s balance before scowling. Whatever idiot made this was skilled blacksmith and an even better magician. But an idiot still; this was a brittle weapon, the kind that was unusable after blocking a single attack. Hardly combat worthy.

He briefly thought on testing it on the new arrival, another Palenxi, another idiot. At least this one confirmed his linger suspicion of the race; blithering idiots all of them. He turned back to the table, shaking his head, and saw that he wasn’t the only one who thought of this as a ridiculous situation.

“Don’t worry, Trejan, I tend to make this a succesfull mission. You’ll have another century or so to bask in my brilliance.” He gave the man a ‘charming’ smile before turning back to the king.

“One last question, my liege; when do we leave. I would prefer changing into something a little more comfortable. Also, I will need ammunition.”

"Oh dear me, you should NEVER ask for questions! Once I attended this meeting where the questioning period lasted three days! Mopping about, asking questions, and it never stopped! Please sir, if you are going to do something, get on with it!"

"I suppose that is true enough, if you have any more questions Captain Taldrin will answer them."

“One last question, my liege; when do we leave. I would prefer changing into something a little more comfortable. Also, I will need ammunition.”

"You're leaving now, if you wanted to change then you should have brought something with you, as for ammunition it will be provided," he pressed a button and 6 guards entered the chamber ready for escort, "these men will escort you to the launch bay, Kit, your ship has been transported there. I wish you all the best of luck, Taldrin, you're in charge."

"Its been a pleasure old friend."

"Yes it has," both gave a strong handshake. Galmor then exited from the doors he entered and the captain stood, "Royal Guards, about face!" They turned in unison, "March!" They began marching with the entire group following.

* * *

The entire group then reached the launch bay, the ship they were taking was prepped and ready to go, everyone grabbed whatever they needed from the armory and boarded the vessel.

"Our first stop is Falchion, from there we'll fly into Reandir territory and then into Galrin territory. Ms. Kit, you have the wheel."

"Our first stop is Falchion, from there we'll fly into Reandir territory and then into Galrin territory. Ms. Kit, you have the wheel."

Nyx turned in the direction the man was facing as they boarded the ship. She was gorgeous.

He walked faster to catch up to her, and poked her shoulder.

He took off his hat, and bowed. With one hand, he held his hat at his chest, and with the second he took hold of her hand.

"Excuse me, miss. You're absolutely stunning! I've not seen a girl like you in years! Not since 1986, when that girl first boarded that ship. It's a shame the aliens got to her. What can you do when their blood is highly concentrated acid?"

Excuse me, miss. You're absolutely stunning! I've not seen a girl like you in years! Not since 1986, when that girl first boarded that ship. It's a shame the aliens got to her. What can you do when their blood is highly concentrated acid?

... I can't let this go on any longer... Alacer thought... I'll kill myself if I do...

Alacer flew up in front of the deranged excuse for a Palenxi (giving him a small, almost inperceivable, kick in the nose on the way) and hovered eye level with the girl that he was harassing.

"I'm very sorry about him miss. He's not a very good representative of our race. Let me introduce myself; I am Alacer." Alacer said with a small bow.

As the ship lifted into the air, a sudden thought hit Lyla.

"Hey!" she yelled, trying to get someone's attention. She managed to attract the notice of Taldrin.

"What about Artie?" she asked breathlessly, her entire face showing desperation.

The captain looked very confused.

"My tank! I can't leave without him! Someone'll steal him or take him apart! And besides that, he'll get lonely!"

* * * *

Syril did not like airships. He could deal with them, but he liked having solid ground beneath his feet.

He found himself sitting next to the other Trejan. He seemed like a good representative of Treja, but Syril was not so sure about himself. After living in the human world for over 60 years, he was bound to have picked up some undesirable traits. He stole a glance at the Trejan out of the corner of his eye, his cloak still hiding most of his face.

The other Trejan seemed to be looking at him, but he wasn't sure.

He got a mocking response from Kit, he promptly ignored it, knowing full well her ship her rules,

She doesn't want anyone to get ketchup on the leather seats, fine by me, he thought.

"Hey!"

Taldrin looked towards the young technician.

"What about Artie?"

He looked at her more than confused.

"My tank! I can't leave without him! Someone'll steal him or take him apart! And besides that, he'll get lonely!"

She named her tank, he thought, "that's already been taken into account for, your tank is in the custody of the Galmorian Army and will soon be taken for transport towards the outer ring of Galmorian territory. When needed we'll have them drop it off."

Charmed. I’m Kit, as you may already have gathered. I’m also meant to be flying this ship, so unless either one of you has something really important to say I’d appreciate it if you’d sit down, buckle up and let me concentrate.

"Of course," Alacer said as he flew off and took a seat, only to find that the buckle was as big as he was.

"Darn buckle..." he murmered as he grew to the size of an average human so that he could sit properly.

The briefing went much faster than Sen had expected. He remained glued to his seat, with his eyes darting from the king, to the other Reandir, to their captain -- Taldrin, was it? He had a bad habit of absorbing words -- names, directions, information, whatever -- and not making sense of them until later. He couldn't make heads or tails of it now, but he'd figure out this 'bomb, chasm, crystal' nonsense in due time. Until then, just do what everyone does.

He followed them out of the room when King Galmor abruptly ended the briefing. He followed them down the hall, to the armory, where he stood around doing absolutely nothing. His weapons and armor were exactly as he liked them: dull, rusty, and reminiscent of home. After everyone had gathered what they needed, he followed them to the Celerity, stepped aboard, and took a seat.

Miss Kit seemed like a capable pilot, or at least she seemed to have a lot of faith in her flying ability. Sen had faith in anyone who had faith in themselves, so he didn't doubt her for a moment. The takeoff was a little rough and she certainly seemed to like going fast -- really fast -- but it was all fine by him. He gazed out the window with a smile on his face.

Bomb. God crystal. Gunpowder. Nitro glycerine. "Oh, this will be fun," he said, suddenly realizing exactly what was going on. And Taldrin had said something about going into Reandir territory a little later. They were going to be visiting quite a few places, actually. It was the perfect vacation. "Amazing," Sen said, settling back into his seat blissfully.

At the reassurance of Taldrin, Lyla sighed and leaned back in her seat. She was glad that she would have Arite, though she was a tad ticked off that they had moved him without Lyla to drive him.

Most people might have thought she was crazy for naming her tank, but it had been a gift from an old, old friend and Lyla cared for the tank almost as much as the friend.

As she sat, she thought about the mission, and the bomb sprung to mind. What she wouldn't give to get her hands on it, and maybe make a few adjustments of her own.

"I wonder what this nitro-glycerine is capable of," she mused. Unless she tested it herself, she wouldn't like working with it at all, no sir. She preferred her own way of making bombs, even though the briefing had said that magick wouldn't work on the crystal. When they got to Falchion, she'd have to give it a try, whether with Taldrin's go-ahead or not.

Shade had stopped for a moment as they approached the airship, his eyes raking closely over every detail. He had little idea what he was looking for; anything that indicated good engineering and fault-tolerance, he supposed. It certainly was beautiful in its own sense, and he could understand and empathize a little with its pilot's hesitancy to take it into battle.

Shade's immediate concern was that he had never flown in such a machination before. His missions had been mostly on the ground. He had traveled by foot through forests; waiting sometimes for days to take one shot. Surviving by instinct and knowledge of the land. Of these machines, he had little knowledge.

Nonetheless, he climbed aboard, reassuring himself that the pilot and the others here knew what they were doing. Shade found himself sitting next to his fellow Trejan, and was able to get a slightly better look at him. Dressed in black, a hood obscured his face. Weapons lay on his person in various places, and when he moved, he moved like Shade himself did; confidently and soundlessly. An assassin, Shade guessed.

The other seemed to have noticed Shade's gaze, for he cast him a sidelong glance from one narrowed eye.

"'A silent death, a ghost, a wraith; all tremble in the assassin's wake.'" Shade smiled.

"Was such a prize hired to the mission, or did he perhaps choose it?"

As the Trejan next to him spoke, Syril smiled. Turning slightly, he spoke in his soft voice.

"I'm not sure if I would have chosen this mission, for I am not sure what part I am to play. I was hired, along with my young . . . acquaintance. She seems to be enjoying this mission far more than I am."

It was true. Syril had seen Lyla's expression change as the cogs in her head began to grind to a start. No doubt she was thinking about the bomb. She had an unhealthy obsession with bombs, he thought. Returning his attention to the other Trejan, he asked him a question.

"And what about you? Did a sniper such as yourself choose this mission?"

Edward had sat down in the middle of the craft, while the other ‘team members’ had chosen to stick to the corners, or at least, as far away from him as possible. He couldn’t blame them; he wasn’t a man who was well liked. Such was the curse of all great men, to live their lives in solitude. All the fact they were ignoring him proved was that the saying was right; it was lonely at the top.

Then again, he felt for them; it couldn’t be easy for them to sit in a room with him, knowing that he would always best them, that they would always be second as long as he was around. He chuckled, absentmindedly brushing his fingertips over the rifle that lay across his lap.

It was a pretty standard smooth bore long gun, be it with an abnormal long barrel. Highly accurate, no doubt. It would have to be. Edward knew little of explosives, but he didn’t plan on standing close to the nitro-what’s its name when he put a bullet into the substance.

Other then the barrel, the stock was to broad, the breech to fragile and the entire things was too heavy. Well balanced, but to heavy. That was what you got when you infused weapons. No good could come from that. He had seen people hurl around their pretty infused swords and other kinds of weapons, but such things came with extra weight.

Oh well.

At least he wouldn’t have to fight with it. The military had been kind enough to supply him with ample of ammunition for his two pistols. Even though the bullets were a few sizes smaller than the ones that were meant for the long gun, he knew the kind of damage they could do; a single round in the head was a kill. A single round trough the lungs was a kill. A single one in the spine was a kill.

And the good thing about bullets; they were small. He had several of the magick bullets with him, enough to last him a few days, and he could simply carry them in the three pouches he had on his body. The archer, on the other hand, had to carry a quiver, and was still only able to carry a fraction of the amount of ammunition he had on him. Silly Trejan’s and their bows. Giving the two Trejans in the corner a cocky smile, Edward leant back and closed his eyes. There was a long journey ahead of them, still, and even gods needed rest.

A lost shot with Kit, but Nyx took heart!

The last man that did not compete for the woman of his dreams lost her to a hydraulic pump. he told himself.

Nyx surveyed the ship in attempts to find something of interest. A Gangled Gornkit, or a Gyrating Gelumph. No such luck.

One man with sharp sticks. The beautiful Kit-lady. And...

What's this? A man closing his eyes?

He waddled his way over to Edward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please, sir. Don't cry. Ms. Kit is a very competent pilot, I'm sure and we'll be back home soon. In case you weren't listening, we're just going to go chandelier shopping. They had trouble deciding between crystal or simple glass. Of course, crystal is far more ravishing, but glass is a much better buy. No reason to drench yourself in tears, of course none seem to be there. Have you, perhaps, met Elric Wotsby? He also cried invisible tears--"

"Oh, pardon me. How rude. My name is Nyx. What are you known as?"

Once they were safely above and outside the city limits, Kit set the course for Falchion then opened the throttle and gave the Celerity a burst of speed. Not nearly as fast as she could go, if she wanted, but it would reduce the length of their journey by a decent time while still maintaining fuel efficiency - all the handiwork of Kit's own additions to the engine. And, given that they were now travelling in a fairly straight line with few hazards, she could, somewhat, relax her concentration and perhaps even find out some more about her new companions.

She hoped that they appreciated the artistry of her ship, though with little real expectation. Most of them probably hadn't flown at all, let alone enough to appreciate the smooth running of the Celerity or the beauty of the customisations she had made. It hurt to think the Celerity might not be recognised as the first-class ship she was.

At least, Kit consoled herself, they might recognise the aesthetics of the design; the main hold was a bright, open space with enough seats for half as many again as were here, and Kit had even taken the trouble to install a small map table for briefings take place aboard ... or meals. And beyond that, the control panel and pilot's chair were set against a wide, reinforced sheet of glass that gave a panoramic vista of the open sky before them. If anyone didn't appreciate that then they didn't deserve to be on an airship in the first place.

Leaning back in her seat, Kit decided it was time she gave everyone the standard welcome to her ship. Reaching over, she flipped on the microphone that would relay her voice back to passengers seated behind her.

"Welcome abord the Celerity everybody. My name is Kit Solange and I have the honour of being your pilot today. Flying to Falchion will take the better of part of several hours, and that's only because my ship is the fastest in Galmora." She spoke with her trademark cheerful mocking, but turned deadly serious as she added, "Now we're aloft feel free to wander Celerity as you will, but know that if there is any scratching, denting or otherwise marring of my ship I will not be responsible for the resulting bloodshed."

She paused to let that sink in, then finished chirpily, "Enjoy the flight."

The deranged Palenxi came to make his acquaintance, and Edward had to admit the man amused him. Their race were usually so full of themselves, their two sizes and all that. This man was everything Edward believed the race to be; blithering idiots with no sense of their surroundings.

Still, twenty years of pirating and free looting had learned him that fools were useful, especially if one managed to feed their delusions. He gave the man a smile reserved for cases like these, and leant closer.

“The name is Edward Teach, pleased to meet you Nyx. I am afraid my tears are different from those of poor Elric and his invisible tears. You see, the choice between glass and crystal reminds me of a beautiful set of chandeliers I had myself. I lost them, I am afraid. Lets them aboard my ship. If you happen to see a ship that can sail land as well as water, would you let me know?”

Nyx was fascinated by Edward's story.

"Oh you poor soul. My best wishes to you. This must be so difficult, having to aid in chandelier choosing. I say, the ship you described DOES sound familiar. Does the name Captain Syntas sound familiar? Told me he'd saved the ship from destruction. Incompetent Captain of some sort. A pretty girl sat on the hull of the ship. She had nothing on Ms.Kit, but there was a certain aura of beauty about her. Anyway, Syntas was the one who gave me this magical Cranaken Powder. If I use it when casting spells with my wand, it quintuples the amount of magic! I traded my Amulet of Sharhiar for it. Beautiful necklace, but quiet useless."

"Oh, my apologies, I seem to have gotten lost in a story. That tends to happen to me. Say, do you happen to know how long to the chandelier store, or perhaps, where it's located? I'm rather lost."

At the sound of Kit's warning, Lyla dropped the screwdriver she had in her hand and assumed an air of innocence. Of course she was not about to open up a side panel and explore the inner workings of this ship.

Still, her fingers ached to find out the specs of this baby. Pressing her ear to the panel she had been about to dismantle, she listened intently. This girl's engines were barely showing off. Lyla was impressed. Most airships she'd been on would have been going full out by now, or close to it. She wanted more than ever to see the inside of this machine.

Stowing her screwdriver in her belt and pulling off her gloves, she wandered around the large room. It was quite nice, but she still preferred her tank, with everything she needed within reach, as a means of transport. She wondered if she'd ever be able to meet Kit and talk to her about her ship.

She found herself near a Palenxi, the one who didn't appear to be insane. Looking him over, she smiled and stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Lyla, what's your name?"

[/i]"And what about you? Did a sniper such as yourself choose this mission?"[/i]

"Yes, I..." Shade began. He was interrupted by their pilot's voice over the intercom. He filed it away, and made a mental note to explore his temporary habitation before the trip was up. For now, though, he was happy where he was.

"I did make this choice for myself. Granted, I knew little about it. I and many of our people trust Galmor. He has made a noble name for himself and represents his people well. If he sends a direct call for help, the Trejans are bound by friendship to answer. And I am one of those who stepped up."

Shade noted his companion, the other human technician. Everything in her seemed to echo enthusiasm.

"Your friend does indeed seem ready to take on the world. She is young...as many of these with us are." Shade gave a bit of a chuckle.

"Interesting, actually, the robustness of humankind." His eyes lingered on the different humans present, and then returned to his fellow Trejan.

"Please excuse my ramblings. By what name are you called?"

"I am known as Syril Tanth," replied Syril to the Trejan sniper.

It was becoming rather warm in the room, and Syril let down his hood, which he wouldn't normally have done, but in the presence of one of his race, he felt somewhat at ease, a feeling that no human could ever replicate in him.

He smiled slightly at the form of Lyla, who was bouncing around, trying to figure out the ship.

"She is rather impulsive. Sometimes I think it's a wonder she's lived as long as she has. She almost blew up herself once, when she was making a bomb. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to ask your name."