Tales of a Dragon Rider

September 10, 2009

By request of one of my friends here, I will post my Non-Starfox story, Tales of a Dragon Rider. Note: this story does, at some point, make a reference to something that happened in the prequel, and the prequel is mentioned in another topic. I think you can find it. Anyway, here's the intro...

A Multi-Universal Morrowind/Oblivion tale

Introduction

}} Journal of Kylet’oran Jek’ari {{

Recording {{Initialized}}

It takes a special kind of person to survive on a world where your enemies are numerous as they are ferocious, running rampant all over the land. It takes a special kind of person to cover your tracks well enough that the Sith can’t find you, not to mention the Kemorainian Phayder assassins of the old Kemorainian Empire. It takes another kind of person altogether to stop an incursion of dragons led by a mad Dragon with a heart blacker than his skin when the person’s teachings have taught them never to kill a dragon, even though they may have lost their way.

My name is Kylet’oran Jek’ari. I am a Terran Dragonarian from the land of Dragonaria. I am also a Jedi Weapon Master. I had been trained in the ways of the Jedi since I was five until I was thirteen. At that age it was noticed that I was a type of Jedi that was damn near impossible to find, one so rare, that never before had one been encountered; nameless type of Jedi that possessed both the Light and Dark sides of the force within them. I was able to use both sides of the force at my will, which instilled fear in others.

I went on a self-imposed exile, traveling from universe to universe to explore my potential. I formed an alliance between two implacable enemies, humans and an alien empire known as the Covenant Collective, United the races of another universe against the threat of the old Kemorainian Empire and a race known as “The Borg”, Helped a mercenary team known as Star Fox fight off Sith assassins targeting them and killed the Sith Master, rescued a dinosaur known as “Deinonychus” from the Liandri Corporation’s malicious contenders that planned to kill him, rescued several of his friends from the Liandri corporation, and crafted an MA52B Sniper/Assault Rifle and collected many weapons as I traveled until I stumbled across a world called “Tamriel”.

This world was in some sort of medieval age, and somehow, I got myself caught up in a quest to stop dragons from destroying the world, led by a great black dragon known as Unthoiz. At the same time, I was being hounded by Sith assassins and was confronted by a mystery; something had followed me to Tamriel, and had been following me everywhere I go. People had been disappearing, and nobody knew who or what or why.

When I got to Unthoiz after dispatching the first three dragons leading the dragon invasion, I learned that he was encountering the same problem; Dragons were disappearing for no reason, and a pool of dragon blood marked the death of one. I was able to negotiate a truce, possibly even an alliance, between him and Tamriel. I promised him that after we find out what’s been going on and fight off the Sith if they come knocking, that I would send him to a world where dragons were revered as brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, teachers and friends. Of course, this place was my homeland, Dragonaria, where I grew up until I was taken in by the Jedi. He seemed to like the idea, and agreed.

Unthoiz is calling me, so I’m signing off.

Recording {{Ends}}

September 14, 2009

Um... Hello?

September 14, 2009

Yeah, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm always so busy at this time of the year that I simply don't have the time to read fanfics.

I like the introduction. I once played a roleplay where my character where quite similar to Kyle is in this story. A dragon-like jedi weapons master that can dip into both sides of the force, and still walk the path of light.

September 15, 2009

That's cool! Here's Chapter One. It tells how Kylet'oran and his dragon meet. If one has a good eye, they could spot the implications of what happened between this story and Princess Mononoke II...

Chapter One

Enter the Warriors

Kylet’oran deactivated the recording device for his voice memo when Unthoiz called him. He slogged up the steps, tired from not having a good long rest in a month. Hell, ever since he found out that something was following him, he hadn’t been able to get a good night’s rest at all.

Kylet'oran was a Terran Dragonarian, standing tall, easily seven feet, with Emerald-green dragon eyes that he used at night, and whenever the situation deemed it necessary, light brown eyes that he used to hide the Dragonarian part of himself, which he could switch between the two eye sets whenever he wanted. He also had somewhat short brown hair that he wore military-style, a semi-flat nose, a slender, yet muscular body that fit in the armor he wore, and a scar ran over his right eye. All of these features, however, were hidden underneath Kylet'oran’s hand-crafted armor.

The armor design was one he borrowed from the Humans’ SPARTAN program, having received it after he formed the alliance between humanity and the Covenant. It was angular like Master Chief’s armor, had the same type of shielding, but with a minor twist; he included an extra shield he borrowed from the Sangheili as an emergency shield, in case the primary shield failed. This would give him twice the protection, and double his chances of survival. Plus, he used a Dragonarian-Sangheili metal alloy that was extremely light, but extremely dense. It would provide protection against physical attacks. The only thing capable of penetrating this armor were High-Velocity bullets, Plasma-powered bullets and projectiles, high-density plasma projectiles, and plasma-detonated fragmentation grenades, in which, the weapons would have to hit the armor’s soft spot around Kylet'oran’s mid-section.

As he reached the top of the steps, Unthoiz said,

“Well, Kylet’oran, since you have decided to help us, we dragons will help you. I am sending one of my sons with you. He has yet to be named, so you have the honor of naming him. He will serve as your guide and friend.”

“Where is he?” Kylet’oran asked.

“He’s on his way. In the meantime, I would suggest you get some rest. You look exhausted. If anything other than my son comes our way, I’ll wake you.” Unthoiz replied. His suggestion made perfect sense—and it was one the weapon master was glad to take. He made a quick circle around the area he was in and found a likely flat boulder no more than six meters from Unthoiz’s side. Once there, he laid down his MA52B, his M90 8 gauge Tactical Shotgun, his MRT6 Shotgun Pistol, his modified M806A2 tactical pistol, his two lightsabers, removed his armor piece by piece, revealing his unnaturally white skin, resulting from too much time spent in his armor, laid down on the rock and closed his eyes. He found it relatively easy to sleep, as he drifted off almost as soon as he closed his eyes. But he kept his mind open for the slightest disturbance in the force. The last thing he would want was some Sith Assassin or Kemorainian Phayder or something of the like to sneak up and kill him in his sleep.

Kylet’oran had gotten no more than four hours of sleep when he heard faint footsteps. Too faint to be human, so he assumed them to be Kemorainian, which compelled him to jump up, force-pull his MA52B into his hands, and point it at the disturbance, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.

But his target wasn’t Kemorainian, or even Sith for that matter. It was a Ruby-Red scaled dragon almost three times his size. Kylet’oran lowered the Sniper/Assault Rifle when he sensed that the dragon had no intention to harm him.

“Sorry,” Kylet'oran said, “Thought you were... something else.”

“Sorry I startled you. I didn’t know your hearing was so sensitive.” The dragon apologized. Kylet'oran shook his head slightly with a warm smile.

“The Sith don’t know that... hell, neither do those damn Kemorainian Phayders, until they wind up on the wrong end of my MA52B. Or, if one of them gets lucky enough, they end up facing two lightsabers.” The young dragon made what looked to be a frown.

“Who or what are ‘Sith’ and ‘Kemorainian Phayders’?” he asked. Kylet'oran looked to Unthoiz, who nodded, equally interested in learning about these enemies that pursued Kylet'oran. With a sigh, he started,

“Very well, seems how you’ll be traveling with me, Keedar—”

“‘Keedar’?” the red dragon repeated.

“It’s going to be your name, son.” Unthoiz said.

“I understand that part, but where did you get Keedar?” the young dragon asked. Kylet'oran felt a certain degree of anger at the mentioning of that subject, and replied through slightly clenched teeth,

“Keedar was the name of a friend of mine. And I won’t say any more than the fact that he died helping me escape a Sith prison near the remains of Malachor V.” Then, as if a switch had been thrown, his demeanor changed.

However, just as he was about to speak, he saw a shimmer nearby, followed by yet another shimmer, and brought his MA52B to bear. One of the shimmers he recognized as a Sangheili friend of his, Voro ‘Zamamee, a special ops commando that admired the Dragonarian Jedi not only because of who he was, but because he had bested him in hand-to-hand combat before. They felt a certain level of kinship with one another, having suffered the loss of someone close to them.

Kylet'oran pointed his MA52B at the shimmer behind ‘Zamamee, as from what he saw, it was a Khajiit, and the only Khajiits that use invisibility were either thieves or assassins. He fired a burst just above the figure’s head as a warning, which caused the Khajiit to run to the relative safety of a rock. ‘Zamamee then de-cloaked, calling out in the usual throaty voice of the Sangheili,

“Hold your fire! He’s here to help!” These words struck Kylet'oran like bullets striking a target. Here to help? What use do I have for an assassin? Just Keedar, Voro and I are enough of a team! He thought. ‘Zamamee turned to the invisible Khajiit and nodded. The Khajiit materialized, and slowly poked his head above the rock.

“Come over here, near the dragons so I can get a better look at you.” Kylet'oran called out. ‘Zamamee confirmed this with a single hand motion, and the Khajiit inched his way towards the dragons. Kyle could not only see the fear on his face as he got closer to the dragons, but sense the apprehension of what would happen once he was that close. Would the weapon master ask questions pertaining to who he was and who he worked for, or just outright blow his brain through the back of his skull?

When the Khajiit was close enough, Kyle began his interrogation.

“Who are you, and who do you work for?” He started.

“My... my name is M’raaj-Dar, an associate of the... of the Dark Brotherhood.” the Khajiit answered truthfully. With his rifle still pointed at the cat’s head, Kylet'oran inquired,

“Then the Brotherhood is aware of the situation on Tamriel?”

“Yes. They have sent me to assist you.” M’raaj-Dar replied. Kylet'oran looked to ‘Zamamee, who confirmed this with a slight nod that told him,

“He’s on our side. Put away the weapon.” He slowly lowered the weapon, and M’raaj-Dar breathed a sigh of relief. Kylet'oran picked up a holo-projector, placed it on the ground, activated it, stepped away and said as he picked up his personal effects,

“Computer, display hologram: Sith Soldier.” Instantly, an image of someone covered from head to toe in silvery armor with a pitch-black faceplate hiding his face from view appeared. “This,” Kylet'oran continued, “Is a Sith Soldier. They all look alike outside, and for the most part, the Sith is just another race of humans. They have few variations, as far as uniforms go. The soldiers and commandos are armored just like this one, but their officers—” he switched to a human in a gray uniform— “—look like this. They are completely unarmored. They’re not usually seen on the field, but around bases and commanding starships. The Leaders, however, vary in appearance. This is just the most common one—” Kylet'oran displayed a human in black robes with a red lightsaber. “Their leaders are called ‘Sith Lords’, and they are fanatical with their widely varying points of view.” Unthoiz made a curious hum and asked,

“What do you mean, ‘widely varying points of view?’?”

“In other words,” ‘Zamamee answered, “different sub-factions of the Sith believe different things. One particular faction, calling themselves the ‘Disciples of Ragnos’, believe that they were destined to bring back Marka Ragnos and conquer the galaxy.” Keedar chuckled.

“The term ‘different sub-factions of the sith’ makes it sound like they’re broken, scattered and lost.” he stated.

“They are,” Kylet'oran affirmed, “they were devastated late into the Jedi Civil War, and again five years afterwards when one particularly large faction tore a fleet from the graveyard of Malachor V and attacked a Republic planet, Telos. Their command ship, a large ship called the Ravager, was destroyed in the first half hour of the battle.” Keedar and Unthoiz nodded, and Kylet'oran added, “These sith lords themselves—they’re the exact opposite of the Jedi, using the dark side of the force.”

“Right, and the Jedi use the light side. But which side do you use?” Unthoiz asked. Kylet'oran looked at Voro, who nodded. Looking directly at Unthoiz, He answered,

“I’m not like the Jedi... I’m not a sith, but I’m not a jedi, either. I use both sides of the force, and my connection to the force was, as my many teachers described it, ‘completely unprecedented and extremely deadly’. I am a type of jedi that possesses inside me both the light and dark sides of the force.” Both the dragons frowned, clearly confused. Kylet'oran continued, “Usually, there are two types of force sensitives; Light and Dark. There never was a gray area. No jedi or sith could be between the light and dark sides and stay there, no jedi could actually be a jedi and yet fool a sith into thinking they were a sith, no jedi could possibly know as much about the force as I do. If I wanted to, I could resurrect someone who was just slain, although there are few people I would resurrect.” Keedar’s frown deepened.

“Why?” he inquired, intending to learn more about this “Dragonarian” he was going to be traveling with. Unthoiz, who apparently could see the small amount of anger that had manifested itself in his eyes, spoke before the weapon master could chew Keedar out for asking so many questions that probed his troubled past,

“What about those ‘Kemorainian Phayders’ you spoke of?” His angered demeanor now gone, and directing his comment to the computer within the hologram projector, Kylet'oran said,

“Computer, display hologram: Kemorainian Phayder.” Instantaneously, another image flickered into appearance, this one of an alien. He looked surprisingly a lot like Voro in terms of physical strength and leg and feet configuration, with double-jointed legs and unusually-shaped hooves. But the alien’s torso looked almost human, with a slick, scaly lavender tint. The alien’s head was even more surprising, looking like that of a cobra, complete with the serpentine eyes, head shape and fangs. The only difference was that it had eye lids. This particular version wore a set of gray armor that covered most of his body. “This is a Kemorainian Phayder. Thanks to the alliance between the Dragonarian Empire and the newly-reformed Kemorainian Empire, we now have detailed information about them, including places they go, what they do, technology they use, and the like.”

“If your people have an alliance with these Kemorainians, than why are Kemorainian Phayders a threat to us?” Keedar asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. Kylet'oran ignored it and responded,

“Because there are still remnants—which, with a certain satisfaction I would add, are being located and exterminated each day—that still follow the ways of the old, genocidally racist Kemorainian Empire, and the Phayders only serve those remnants. Some of the biggest signs for non force users—no offense to you, Keedar, or any of the dragons—”

“None taken.” Keedar said.

“—that a Phayder is around is: One, you see a very slight shimmer in the air that shapes a figure. This is almost impossible to spot, unless you have sharp eyes. Two: If you have sharp hearing, listen for a hiss anywhere around you. Phayders always hiss like a snake before they strike their targets down. And, most importantly, three: If you smell a metallic or mechanical smell, or the smell of blood, follow it to its source with your sword swinging. Or, if you have an automatic weapon, like the MA52B or a Covenant Plasma Rifle, fire all around you. At least one bullet, if not a few bullets, will strike the Kemorainian. While this won’t kill them unless you hit their throat, it will reveal their location when blood seeps out of the wound.

“Also, we’ll be up against, from what I’ve gathered in my time on Tamriel, all the Ruffians, Deadra worshipers, and any other sort of criminal or monstrosity that Tamriel has to offer.” the weapon master explained. M’raaj-Dar chose that particular moment to pipe up.

“If I may say so, Kylet'oran, firstly, the dark brotherhood will not harm you on your quest. If they wanted to do so, I would not be standing here right now. If anything, we would be honored if you would pay us a visit at our sanctuary in Cheydinhal, a city in Cyrodiil, to share with us what you call ‘Intel’. If any of these enemies that you spoke of come by, it would be beneficial to you if the brotherhood knew how to identify them, so we could alert you. As you may or may not know, the dark brotherhood is stationed all throughout Tamriel.” he said. His suggestion made perfect sense. If what the Khajiit said was true, then having an alliance with this guild of assassins could give the party a real-time, all-weather picture of this planet, as well as where the enemy might crop up.

“Agreed,” Kylet'oran sighed. “But first, we’ll have to stop by a certain... place of mine... to gather supplies. Plus, en route to this place, we’ll stop by an old friend’s place.” The Khajiit nodded, and the group prepared to set off.

As Kylet'oran put his armor back on, Keedar asked,

“Where’d you get that armor?” Kylet'oran chuckled as he put on his right shoulder piece. Looking to Keedar as he picked up the helmet,

“I made it. The design I borrowed from the humans in another universe, and borrowed another feature from the Sangheili; an energy shield to go with the primary shield this armor already has.

“When the primary shield fails, the secondary shield activates, which buys me more time to eliminate any threat attacking me. This, of course, doubles my chances for survival.

“Believe it or not, I actually designed Dragon armor with the same concept.”

“And that’s why we’re heading to this ‘place’ of yours,” Keedar said, “the armor is stored there.”

“Yes,” Kylet'oran admitted, “among other reasons.” He then started hitting buttons to issue commands to the computer in his left gauntlet.

“What’re you doing?” Keedar asked.

“Summoning an M10 Cheetah Light Escort Vehicle.” Kylet'oran said.

“Why don’t you ride on my back?” Keedar asked. Kylet'oran stopped what he was doing.

“You would let me do that?” he asked.

“Um... yeah. You’d get a better vantage point in the air, and if our mystery enemy is ground-based, then you’d be better off in the air.” Keedar said tactfully.

Kylet'oran smiled. “You make some valid points... but what about the Sith? Or the Kemorainians?”

“If that thing does what I think it does, and you are what I think you are, you could summon a couple of aircraft for Voro and M’raaj-Dar, and they could fly cover for us.” Keedar stated. Kylet'oran’s smile broadened.

“Very clever, Keedar.”

“Dragons usually are.” Keedar said, returning the smile. Kylet'oran then called for Voro, explaining Keedar’s plan. Voro nodded, and Kylet'oran dispensed two needle-like items with red knobs at their tops. He said for Voro to activate them outside of Unthoiz’s lair.

Once outside, Kylet'oran hopped onto Keedar’s back, and Voro activated the items, materializing two purple-and-black Sangheili aircraft called Banshees. Once in the air, it was a relatively easy to follow M’raaj-Dar on this clear day...

(If you want to know about the weapons mentioned in this story, please, don't hesitate to ask. I'll post them. Granted, they're not hand-drawn, but I have them nonetheless.)

September 16, 2009

For those wondering, The M806A2 and the MRT6 looks like this:

[Pruned to save disk space]

September 22, 2009

Well, since no one is replying, I'll just post Chapter Two... see what replies that incurs...

Chapter Two

Attack on Chorrol

Before going to Cheydinhal, the group stopped at Chorrol and went to the Northern Goods and Trade shop. Kyle had Voro and M’raaj-Dar wait outside while he went inside. As usual, he was carrying his MA52B, M90, MRT6, and his two lightsabers. Almost as soon as walked in, he was greeted by a female Argonian voice.

“If you’re looking for Seed-Neeus, you just missed her.” she said. Kylet'oran smiled.

“No, actually... I am looking for Dar-Ma. I heard she was a good friend of Kylet'oran Jek’ari’s.” Kylet'oran heard the thumping of a rifle being put down, and a female Argonian appeared at the top of a set of stairs.

Argonians were the reptilian race of Tamriel, with a natural-born resistance to disease and the ability to breathe underwater. The Argonian that appeared at the top of the steps wore a dress, with dark green and red scaly skin, and was approximately 6’ 5”,

Hands on her hips and a smile across her face, Dar-Ma asked,

“Gee, I wonder who would come looking for Kylet'oran at a shop like this.” She went down the steps and embraced Kylet'oran in a hearty hug.

“How are you, Dar-Ma?” Kylet'oran asked.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Dar-ma answered. “Just got finished cleaning that M32A2 Duster that you sent me.”

“And how’s it working for you?” Kylet’oran asked.

“Like a charm,” Dar-Ma answered. “But, uh... I need ammo.”

“Yeah, about that... what do you say to going up on a little... adventure?” Kylet'oran asked. Dar-Ma raised an eye ridge.

“Investigating ruins or blowing up bad guys?” she asked.

“Kind of both. We’ve been asked to... investigate disappearances of people and dragons all over Tamriel.” Kylet'oran answered. “An unknown adversary somehow followed me to Tamriel, and ever since then, people and dragons have been disappearing.”

“Sounds... interesting.” Dar-Ma said. Suddenly, Kylet'oran’s radio went active.

“Kylet’oran, I have detained an Argonian by the name of ‘Seed-Neeus.’ What do you want me to do with her?” Said ‘Zamamee’s voice.

“Did Voro just say he detained my mother?” Dar-Ma asked.

“Don’t look at me, you’re the one who decided not to introduce him to your mother!” Kylet'oran laughed. Speaking into his battle armor’s comm system, he added, “Let her inside. She is of no threat to us.” A moment later, Seed-Neeus entered the shop.

“Kylet’oran! How nice to see you! What brings you here?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, an investigation.” Kylet'oran said. “I was just asking Dar-Ma if she wanted to tag along. How’s the business expansion going?”

“Quite well, to tell you the truth. But, uh... why did the tall alien outside detain me?” Seed-Neeus asked, hitching a thumb to the door.

“Ah, don’t mind Voro. He’s known amongst his people for being a little paranoid. But he’s a fierce and loyal warrior, nonetheless. The Arbiter sent him here to assist me.”

“Ah, the good old Arbiter,” Dar-Ma stated. “When can we expect to see him again?”

“To tell you the truth, I really don’t know. Last I heard, he was caught up helping the Humans in his galaxy re-colonize other worlds and silence the last remnants of the human rebels. He’ll come to help if needed.”

“Kyle, if we’re to go,” Dar-Ma said, “we’ll need some decent firepower to stop the sith or the Kemorainian Phayders.” When Seed-Neeus cleared her throat, implying that Dar-Ma should add something else to the end of her statement, Dar-Ma added, “And preferably somewhere not on the other side of an TDIG Rift.” Kylet'oran knew what Dar-ma was talking about when she mentioned “TDIG Rift,” which was a Trans-Dimensional Intergalactic Rift. Kylet'oran had used them to travel through numerous parallel universes.

“Already got ‘em,” he said. “Hidden under Hackdirt.” At that particular moment, Dar-Ma was taking a drink, and upon the mentioning of “Hackdirt,” she spit it out.

“How the hell did you manage to do that?!” She exclaimed. “That cave was crawling with Hackdirt brethren!” Kylet'oran smiled.

“A few friends and I cleaned the place out a few days after you left.” Kylet’oran said. “After that, I moved my entire weapons cache on Lamdon III to the caves under Hackdirt, and left a few friends guarding it, just in case there were survivors.” Dar-Ma allowed her eye ridges to rise.

“The entire cache?” she asked. “How did you manage to do that without arousing suspicion?”

Kylet’oran smiled. “I nano-locked all the entrances and used the rift to get into the cache on Lamdon III, and moved everything. Took a few days, but my friends and I managed to get it done before the Izanagi corporation caught on.”

“Did they try to follow you?” Seed-Neeus inquired. Kylet'oran shook his head.

“They did, but they stopped after the first four incursions were stopped.” Suddenly, Kylet’oran’s radio burped static, and Voro’s voice came over the channel, his throaty voice unusually quiet, but ringing with alarm.

“Kylet’oran, we have a group of Sith marines entering Chorrol!”

“How many?” Kylet’oran asked.

“Twenty-two.” Voro answered. “They passed the shop, but it won’t be long before they circle around and hit us!”

“Acknowledged,” Kylet'oran said as Dar-ma grabbed her M32.

“I’ll be in the basement,” Seed-Neeus said. “be careful out there.” Kylet'oran and Dar-Ma nodded to acknowledge her, and headed out. As they met with Voro and M’raaj-Dar, Kylet'oran took a moment to contact Keedar, whom had been implanted with a radio transmitter prior to arriving at Chorrol.

“Keedar, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Kyle. What’s the situation?” Keedar replied.

“We’re about to get hammered.” Kylet'oran stated. “How fast can you get here?”

“Two minutes, give or take.” Keedar answered.

“What do you mean, ‘give or take?’” Kylet'oran demanded.

“I’d have to deal with the platoon of Sith soldiers headed your way.” Keedar said. Kylet'oran grumbled to himself. He’d have to get out of there before the Sith realized he was there, and with one platoon of marines plus one more on the way, made it difficult. But he’d have to try.

“Okay,” he stated, “change in plans; we’ll head to Hackdirt on the ground. Meet us there. If the Sith realize that you’re helping me, they’ll know to watch the air.”

“Copy,” Keedar responded. “Keedar out.” Kylet'oran signaled for everyone to follow him, and they were just getting out from the Chorrol graveyard and past the shop when a sith PFC spotted them and opened up on them. Without hesitation, Dar-Ma shouldered her M32 and brought the soldier down with a burst. The silver-armored moron dropped like a rock when one of the depleted uranium shards burst through his helmet.

But that wasn’t the end of the fight. Almost at the same time the soldier dropped to the ground, the rest of the sith marines appeared and started shooting. Kylet'oran and Dar-Ma took cover behind the shop, while Voro and M’raaj-Dar took cover behind an adjacent building. The sith also took cover behind anything they could.

Damn, Kylet'oran thought. It’d be tough to hit the sith marines from their location unless the group could get them from behind. Even though Kylet’oran’s MA52B could punch through the relatively thin slabs of stone, he didn’t want to damage the houses or any bystanders nearby. Then, Kylet'oran had an idea. Turning to Dar-Ma, he called out over the gunfire,

“Dar-Ma, find a way behind the sith positions and take ‘em out!” He materialized four NRP57 pineapple grenades one by one and handed them to Dar-Ma before she headed off. He then returned his attention to the sith marines to ice an overly-ambitious sith private and a PFC...

Dar-Ma took the four grenades from Kylet'oran, counted to three, and sprinted past the Oak and Crosier inn as he and Voro covered her. She clicked her tongue and shook her head as she noticed M’raaj-Dar hiding behind the inn. Understandable, if one thought that the Khajiit was little more than a black-robed being.

But Dar-Ma knew better. An assassin like him usually would have been inclined to sneak up on the marines and nail them. But Dar-Ma ignored that as she headed around behind the inn, past Renoit’s book store, and came out on the rear flank of one group of Sith marines taking cover behind a wall and another smaller group behind some crates.

Dar-Ma looked around to ensure that there were no civilians, and there were none, pulled the pin on a grenade, released the clip, counted to three, and then tossed the grenade. Not at the marines, not directly, but over their heads. A marine NCO may have noticed the grenade in the air, and was about to yell for everyone to take cover when the device detonated and greased all but two PFC’s.

That’s when they ran for a space between two houses, and Dar-Ma realized that they were flanking Kylet'oran. She considered her options. She could both call out to Kylet’oran and tell him that the enemy was flanking him, therefore letting the marines know she was here, or she could seek them out more quietly.

Screw it, Dar-Ma thought. “Kyle! Check your six!” she called out...

Kylet'oran knew that he had enemies approaching him from behind even before Dar-Ma shouted the warning. He was a Jedi, after all. When the marines came around the corner, all they saw was the building opposite to the Northern Goods & Trade shop.

Too late, they noticed the cloaked rifle barrel pointed straight at them. By the time they reacted, Kylet'oran had already opened up on them. Four of them went down, a grenade detonated behind them that nailed eight more, leaving three. Dar-Ma appeared behind them and opened fire with her M32A2 CAR and greased the survivors.

Kylet'oran, Voro, Dar-Ma and M’raaj-Dar were headed to the gates at a dead run when they were suddenly forced open, and an M12 Warthog LRV skidded to a stop before them. A Spartan Lieutenant Commander in MJOLNIR Mk VII armor was behind the wheel, who said with a raspy voice,

“Did someone call for a taxi?”

“You’re just in time, John.” Kylet'oran replied. Kylet'oran had called for John before the group arrived at Chorrol. As Kylet'oran materialized another Warthog next to John’s, he ordered,

“Voro, man that M41! Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar, get in here with me!” Dar-Ma complied and jumped behind the M41 of Kylet’oran’s warthog, while M’raaj-Dar jumped in the passenger seat. Both Warthogs roared to life, and shot out of Chorrol, kicking up twin geysers of dust and dirt.

Not even fifteen seconds later, the platoon of sith soldiers that Keedar saw arrived and tried to shoot out the tires of the ‘Hogs. The punishment for their stupidity and incompetence consisted of a swarm of bullets fired from two M41 LAAGs. Those that survived the initial fusillade of flying bullets—which were a pair of PFC's and a Corporal—were killed on the next pass, after which the two ‘hogs headed off to Hackdirt...

September 28, 2009

I know this is my fourth post in a row, but could one of the admins move this topic to the Starfox Fanfiction subforum? I just remembered that Krystal and Falco (And later, the rest of the team) makes an appearance in this story in chapter four (I think...)

October 5, 2009

I know this is my fourth post in a row, but could one of the admins move this topic to the Starfox Fanfiction subforum? I just remembered that Krystal and Falco (And later, the rest of the team) makes an appearance in this story in chapter four (I think...)

that would be cool!

I love the intro, and the weapons, especially. nice job!

October 5, 2009

Thanks, Julius. WARNING: Violent post! If it is TOO Graphic, tell me and I will edit. But I would prefer you bear with me, as I don't like to downplay my creative ability. And here's Chapter Three... (Oh, if you like, I could post a .zip attachment [if possible] of the weapons in my armory.)

Chapter Three

The Armory/The Simulation

At the high speeds the two M12 Warthogs were going, it took only two minutes to reach Hackdirt. After which, they were hidden in the remains of a building, and after they all got out, the ‘hogs were pulled underground by a hydraulic elevator, and the hole in the ground was sealed by two doors disguised as grass. The Spartan, the Terran Dragonarian, the Sangheili, the Argonian and the Khajiit rounded one corner and came across Keedar in a set of dragon armor. Keedar noticed them walking toward him and took their arrival to heart.

“I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to you,” Keedar said with a smile. Kylet'oran returned the smile. Indicating the armor Keedar wore, he asked,

“Like the armor?”

“It’s very impressive,” Keedar remarked. “I especially like the part where it’ll flash on and off at a single thought.”

“Did my friends tell you that it also comes equipped with a cloaking device?” Kylet'oran inquired. Keedar nodded.

“Yes, actually,” he said. “quite useful, if you ask me.”

“Well, be on your guard,” John put in. “We ran into trouble on the way here, and there’s no telling if it followed us here.” Keedar nodded to acknowledge John, and the group headed into what was Moslin’s inn. The sign that said “Moslin’s inn” was hanging on one wire, giving the illusion that Hackdirt had been abandoned long ago.

The group descended down a trap door and into an enormous cavern with several shelves of weapons. Upon getting there, they were greeted by a Raptor pack, all of which looked exactly alike, aside from markings on their sides to tell them apart.

“Deinonychus, Carillon, Andante, Mazurka, Cavatina, these people are with me.” Kylet'oran said to them. After he said this, the raptors seemed to relax a bit. One of them, a raptor armed with the same type of Plasma Rifle Voro had, indicated Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and John and asked with a voice that had a hissing quality to it,

“Who are they?”

“Deinonychus,” Kylet'oran replied, “this is Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and John-117.” The Raptor, apparently named “Deinonychus,” lowered the plasma rifle. Kyle then said something in his native language to him. Whatever he said, M’raaj-Dar was sure it had to do with him. For one, he could’ve sworn he heard his name in that comment, and two, Deinonychus looked straight at him, as if he didn’t trust him, and then back at Kylet'oran. He hissed in response, and said something to his pack in the same language. After that, they all walked off, and as they walked away, they were approached by a young woman dressed in animal furs and a young girl, no older than fifteen or sixteen.

The woman, who bore a wedding ring on her finger and a lightsaber in her right hand and a short lightsaber in her left hand, ignited them in an instant upon sight of M’raaj-Dar. One was green, the other orange. She twirled them for a moment before coming to a battle-ready stance, with the long, green blade over her head and the short, orange blade across her right side.

The younger girl, whom M’raaj-Dar assumed was this woman’s daughter, held a violet lightsaber in her hands, ready to fling herself at the group at any given second. Kylet'oran held up his arms in alarm, as if to stop the two women from attacking.

“Stop!!! They’re with us!” he called out. Almost as soon as he said this, M’raaj-Dar noticed the wedding band on Kylet'oran’s finger. They were his wife and daughter, he reasoned. The two women stayed in their battle-ready stances, as if unwilling to trust M’raaj-Dar. Understandable, yes, but not needed. Not here. The older woman chattered something in Dragonarian to Kylet’oran, and Kylet’oran chattered back, and the three of them held a conversation, apparently about weather or not to trust M’raaj-Dar.

Finally, after a seemingly endless moment, the two women de-activated their lightsabers. Kylet’oran turned to M’raaj-Dar. “You’ll have to forgive them. They’re hesitant to trust a Dark Brotherhood assassin.”

“Understandable. Most people wouldn’t recognize us, but those that do don’t trust us. Yes, I completely understand their… trepidation.” M’raaj-Dar answered. If there was something in that statement that gained Kylet'oran’s distrust, he certainly didn’t show it, especially given the fact that he led everyone else towards the racks of weapons. M’raaj-Dar stopped just in front of one particular weapon on a rack. Just below it was the designation “SRS-900 Battle Rifle” It had a 1’ 4” barrel that extended out from the weapon frame, a red-filter scope, an extended magazine and an extendable stock.

Kylet'oran, who noticed how M’raaj-Dar was staring at the SRS-900, chuckled. “You like what you see?”

“How good is this weapon?” M’raaj-Dar asked.

“Only as good as the one using it.” Kylet’oran answered. “If you plan on doing some sniping, this would be one of many weapons to use for just that.” M’raaj-Dar frowned.

“What do you mean, ‘sniping?’”

“In other words, taking down enemies from a long distance.” Kylet’oran frowned, as if genuinely puzzled. “I would have figured you would like that idea.” M’raaj-Dar nodded, then asked,

“Do you have any other sniping weapons?”

“I’ve got plenty of ‘em,” Kylet’oran affirmed. He led the group around the opposite end of the weapon rack where, amongst the several weapons, lay a weapon marked “T72 ‘Widowmaker.” “This,” Kylet’oran continued, “is a Type 72 50-caliber sniper rifle, nicknamed the ‘Widowmaker.’ Fires 50-caliber slugs that are absolutely lethal if you know where to hit your enemy.”

As Kylet'oran turned to Dar-Ma and told her something about a “Fuel Rod gun,” M’raaj-Dar reached out and took the sniper rifle, aimed at a torch-light, and practiced zooming in and out with the scope and reloading with the help of a set of instructions he found nearby. Once he was comfortable enough with the weapon, he picked up a weapon marked as a “Covenant Plasma Rifle.” That done, he picked up ammo for both weapons and headed off...

In addition to the melee weapons they already had, Kylet'oran had his party choose a primary and secondary firearm and a sidearm.

Dar-ma, in addition to her M32A2 CAR, chose a fuel rod gun and an MRT6 Shotgun sidearm. The CAR she would use against one or two opponents, while the fuel rod gun was for multiple opponents. The MRT6, however, was for the possible scenario that an enemy should get in close, or if the enemy was too close for the fuel rod gun and there wasn’t sufficient time to reload the CAR.

John, of course, went with the MA5C he used in the latter part of the human-Covenant war, an M90 8 gauge pump-action shotgun, and an M6D pistol. If forced to, John would use Covenant weapons, but he preferred to use UNSC-issue guns. The only melee weapon he had was a covenant plasma sword.

Deinonychus had his claws as melee weapons, and couldn’t carry very much, so he carried his usual A73 Disruptor Carbine. He had used the weapon many times before, and was eager to use it again. Besides, it was one of his favorite weapons.

Keesha, Kylet'oran’s half-human, half-Dragonarian daughter, had her usual violet lightsaber, as she was a jedi, like her mother and father. And like her jedi weapon master nature, she carried other weapons. In addition to her lightsaber, she had a modified Steyr Aug A3, an M763 High-Power 12 gauge shotgun, and a modified M6D.

San, Kylet'oran’s wife, had her two lightsabers, and like Keesha and Kylet'oran, her jedi weapon master nature allowed her to carry more weapons. She had her heavily-modified SRS-900 Battle Rifle, an M700 12 gauge semiautomatic shotgun, and a .50-caliber AP plasma-powered Desert Eagle. Her SRS-900 Battle Rifle was modified to have a small, slightly powerful Electromagnetic Accelerator Chamber (EMAC) and an extended clip of forty-five bullets.

Voro, as usual, had his Covenant-issued weapons. He had a Plasma Rifle, a plasma carbine, a plasma pistol, and his usual payload of plasma grenades. These were his typical weapons of choice, and he never used anything else.

Kylet'oran, desiring a mix of weapons, had his usual MA52B, an MRS138 10 gauge tactical combat shotgun, his modified M806A2 .50-caliber High Velocity Pistol, his two lightsabers, and his armor. Then again, everyone had armor on. Plus, conscious of the fact that grenades would also be useful in this quest, materialized several NRP57, M9 HEDP, and Covenant plasma grenades for everyone.

With the weapon and armor selection out of the way, Kylet'oran activated a cloaking device/force-field around Hackdirt and a two-kilometer radius, followed by a VR Training hologram, which would allow for training the others in the use of the weapons they had. The Scenario he selected was called “Hackdirt Onslaught,” which was, essentially, a scenario where Kemorainians and Sith marines would attack from every direction possible. Not all at once, but in groups attacking from one or two directions.

In this Scenario, M’raaj-Dar was the spotter, because he was the one with the sniper rifle. Dar-ma would play the heavy weapons specialist because of her skill with the fuel rod gun, and would be taking out heavy concentrations of enemies and vehicles. Deinonychus would play the fast reaction team (FRT) with San and Keesha, since they were the speedier ones of the group, and Kylet'oran would play the initial reaction team with Dar-Ma and Deinonychus’ comrades, Carillon, Mazurka, Andante. Keedar, along with some drone-piloted Banshees, would play the air support.

Also, there were several vehicles spawned throughout the area. And to conserve ammunition—despite the fact that he had an abundance of it—Kylet’oran created holographic replicas of the weapons that the team used. This would serve to avoid wasting ammo on artificial targets and to teach the teams how to use the weapons they have. Now, as they finish the first and second onslaughts, they wait for the third...

M’raaj-Dar sat cloaked in an adaptive camouflage with his T72 aimed at the interlopers. In what he recognized as a familiar pattern, M’raaj-dar saw the Sith come in one direction, sending their low-ranking grunts in first, followed by the middle-rank noncoms and a pair or more of officers, while Kemorainian Phayders came in from another side cloaked in their electronic camo. M’raaj-dar’s T72 had Infrared imaging gear that allowed him to see the enemy, and this gave him an advantage. One, because the Phayder’s camo gear didn’t block heat, it actually generated it, and two, because the Phayders didn’t know he was there.

Just when M’raaj-dar was about to take the first shot, he heard what he thought was a mosquito whine, but quickly transformed into a blood-curdling wail as a Banshee with Sith markings circled over Hackdirt, followed by several more. The Banshees were an unexpected move, and could rip the teams to shreds. Definitely not good. But then again, that’s why they had Keedar, Voro and the five Banshee drones.

Looking to the hidden Keedar, M’raaj-dar gave a series of hand signals, and was rewarded with a deafening dragon roar. Shortly after that, Keedar burst from his hiding place, his fiery red scales hidden under his crimson armor, followed by six Banshees with the symbol of the reclaimer—which, at the time of the human-Covenant war, the Covenant thought to be the sign of reclamation—and attacked the squad of six Banshees. It was easy to tell them apart; the Sith didn’t favor the purple that the Covenant did, and painted their banshees gray.

And just as a banshee couldn’t withstand a salvo of plasma fire, the Sith Officer on the left flank of the Sith formation proved vulnerable to the 50-caliber slug that suddenly flew through his helmet. This was the signal for the IRT to attack. While the IRT attacked from their left side, hurling grenades and firing bullets and whatever else they could at the formation, M’raaj-dar shifted aim.

His next target, a Kemorainian Phayder, was the next to go down. The serpentine warrior’s head exploded like a grenade in a watermelon, and his headless body collapsed in a heap. The dark brotherhood assassin fired again, this time nailing a sith noncom before he saw the ghostly shimmer in the watch tower that M’raaj-dar was in.

The assassin heard the wail of a Banshee, looked up, and saw a Sith Banshee. Did the pilot see him? M’raaj-dar wasn’t sure. And there was no time for hesitation, only time to shoot. And that’s exactly what he did. He aimed at the center of the aircraft and fired. The 50-caliber slug passed through the attack craft, blew the pilot out the back, and sent it spiraling to the ground. The impact, plus the force exerted as the aircraft slid to a stop, was enough to crush five of the nine remaining Phayders.

By now, the Sith marines were too busy fighting for their lives to notice that their air support was gone, and the last four Phayders didn’t survive the flying fusillade of shrapnel, bullets and plasma projectiles that was suddenly hurled their way. Keedar made a pass, and half of the remaining Sith marines went up in flames. The rest tried to retreat, but ultimately fell short when Voro and the other banshees cut them down. After the last Sith marine fell, the combat simulation was terminated, and the party returned underground before the Cloaking Force-field de-activated. From there, they suited up and headed off to Cheydinhal...

October 5, 2009

doesn't look to violent to me... :wink:

October 5, 2009

The serpentine warrior’s head exploded like a grenade in a watermelon, and his headless body collapsed in a heap.

And just as a banshee couldn’t withstand a salvo of plasma fire, the Sith Officer on the left flank of the Sith formation proved vulnerable to the 50-caliber slug that suddenly flew through his helmet.

Not even these bothered you?

October 5, 2009

Not even these bothered you?

No, those were AWESOME!

October 5, 2009

Okay! and here's where Krystal and Falco make their appearance...

Chapter Four

Enter the Jedi Watchman

It took a few hours to reach Cheydinhal, with John, Dar-Ma and Deinonychus covering the ground in a M12 Warthog with San and Keesha in Ghosts supporting them, and with Kyle and Keedar covering the air with Voro and M’raaj-Dar in Banshees. But once they did, they headed through a well into an underground dark brotherhood sanctuary. The decent down the ladder was slow because M’raaj-Dar refused to slide down the ladder lest he get a splinter, but they all managed to get through before anyone noticed them. Keedar hid himself in the woods surrounding Cheydinhal.

Once inside, the dark brotherhood assassins, who didn’t recognize M’raaj-Dar in the black armor he wore, almost attacked the party upon sight. The only things that stopped them were M’raaj-Dar as he removed his mask and the leader of this particular sanctuary, an Argonian female named Ocheeva.

“Welcome, master Jedi,” Ocheeva said. “We’ve been expecting you.” The assassin’s seemingly deceptively friendly demeanor caused Kylet'oran, San and Keesha to place their trigger fingers on their weapons. As if M’raaj-Dar sensed this, he said,

“It’s okay, Kylet’oran. They’ll not harm you.” As if to comfort Kylet’oran and his party, a vampire named Vicente Valtieri added,

“Not to worry, master jedi. We want to help you on your quest. You see, the Speaker for the dark brotherhood, Lucien Lachance, disappeared some time ago. We have sent a few family members to Fort Farragut, but none have returned.

“We were going to send M’raaj-Dar there, but when we heard about your… special abilities, we decided to send M’raaj-Dar to assist you in the investigation.”

“And your insight on the Kemorainian Phayders and the Sith will prove invaluable to us. We have their whereabouts, but not what to look for in case they come looking for you.” Ocheeva put in. Keesha frowned, pointed her Steyr Aug A3 at Ocheeva’s head, and demanded through clenched teeth,

“How did you get that information?”

“The Kemorainian Phayders had a traitor among them who sought us out. Thanks to him, we were able to drive several Phayders out of Cheydinhal.” Vicente said. Gently forcing his daughter’s weapon down, Kylet’oran asked,

“Is there anyone here that has been to this ‘Fort Farragut’ place?”

“No,” Vicente answered, “I’m afraid not. But there is someone in the Imperial city that was a part of the brotherhood that went to the thieves’ guild.”

“Who?” Kylet’oran inquired.

“His name is Higham Mocory,” Ocheeva stated. “He was our best assassin, and he knows Fort Farragut inside and out. He could get you in there quietly, if there are any hostile creatures there.”

“How can we find him?” Kylet'oran asked.

“You can’t,” said a Kemorainian voice as a Kemorainian dressed in the usual gray armor of the Phayders stepped out of the shadows. “At least, not directly. Not even I know the whereabouts of that one.”

“Okay,” Kylet'oran replied, resting a finger on the trigger of his MA52B. “what’s the indirect way to find him?”

“There are two ways to find him; one is to speak with his ‘Doyen,’ a man named Armand Christophe.” The Phayder stated.

“And the other way?” San inquired.

“I believe Master Jek’ari is familiar with the name ‘Atton Rand?’” The Phayder said. This time, Keesha aimed right at the Phayder. Before she could react, San snatched the weapon out of her daughter’s hands. Kylet'oran turned to Keesha and whispered something her ear, then at the group. They all nodded, except for M’raaj-Dar, who wasn’t close enough to hear. San handed Keesha’s Steyr Aug A3 back, and Kylet'oran returned his attention to the Phayder.

“The name rings a bell, yes. Where is he?”

“Higham and Atton are jedi that stumbled upon Tamriel by accident. But, instead of leaving, they felt compelled to stay, and they currently reside in the imperial city.

“Atton passes himself as an adventurer, while Higham, as was mentioned, worked as a dark brotherhood assassin until Atton found out. Now, he works for the thieves’ guild.”

“Where in the imperial city do they live?” Dar-Ma asked.

“They live separately,” Vicente put in, “To throw off any enemies following them. Atton we know lives in the Elven Gardens district. Higham, however, is a different story. We don’t know where he lives, and we know little of what he does from day-to-day.” Kylet'oran nodded.

“Then I guess—” before he could finish his sentence, his radio burped static, and Keedar’s voice came over the channel.

“Keedar to Kylet'oran, come in!” he sounded tense, as if he had just been in a fight. Kylet'oran grabbed his radio and keyed the mike.

“Kylet’oran here, go ahead.”

“Get ready for a tough fight out of Cheydinhal; I just spotted three dropships. I couldn’t stop the first one from landing, but I nailed the other two. I would take them out for you, but I’m hit and they’re too close to civilians.”

“Acknowledged,” Kylet'oran replied dryly. “Find a place to lay low and stay there. I’ll come find you.” There was a double-click over the radio by way of acknowledgment, and Kylet'oran turned to his party.

“M’raaj-Dar, you have the sniper weapon here; go and get in a watch tower or some other high ground. Keep the enemy busy while I take San and Keesha around the enemy’s left flank.

“Dar-Ma, you, Deinonychus and John take the enemy’s right flank. From there, we’ll ambush the enemy. Dar-Ma, I would advise you use your fuel rod gun to thin the enemy numbers until the rest of us get too close.” Everyone nodded to acknowledge him, and before leaving, Kylet'oran tossed Ocheeva the holo-computer and said, “Just ask the computer to display images of the Sith and the Phayders with a description, and you’ll get all the information you need from there.” Ocheeva had no more than looked up to say “thank you” when Kylet'oran disappeared behind the door...

The Cerinian Jedi Watchman sat perched on a rooftop, her presence cloaked in the force, and watched as the Jedi Weapon Master and his motley crew of comrades made their way out of the abandoned house that the dark brotherhood hid out in. Thanks to the hidden comm device planted in the hideout the night before, she had accurate intelligence of what was going on.

According to what she gathered from the conversation between Kylet'oran and the dark brotherhood, a dragon named Keedar spotted a force of incoming Kemorainian troops, and was able to take out two of the three dropships before they landed before being forced to withdraw. That still left thirty-two troops left. And the Jedi Watchman—or, more accurately, the jedi watch woman—planned to help Kylet'oran take them out. After all, she would be doing her former trainer a favor.

She keyed the mike to her friend hiding cloaked with a stealth field generator in the bell tower of the Cheydinhal chapel.

“Falco, our allies are out. Where is the enemy?”

“They’re out in the middle of the city,” answered the proud voice of a former gang member. “On that island-thing asking a drunken Dark Elf about Kyle.” Falco, along with the Cerinian jedi watchman, was a part of the mercenary team called “Star Fox,” and was here to assist Kylet'oran in his quest. Falco was armed with his blaster, and a silenced S2-AM Sniper Rifle and Reman Disruptor Rifle taken from Kylet'oran’s armory under Hackdirt. Had it not been for the Cerinian, Falco wouldn’t have been able to take any weapons from there at all.

“Roger,” the Cerinian whispered, “Wait until the first shot is fired, then take out the most important target.”

“Copy that,” Falco said. “and, uh, do me a favor; don’t get killed. I’d hate to end up explaining to your son how you died protecting an uncle that disappeared from his life ten years ago.” The Cerinian made no reply as she checked to ensure that her AM67 was loaded, her Phaser Compression Rifle was fully charged, her SA58 FAL Assault Rifle was ready, and her lightsabers were secure.

With that done, she jumped down from the rooftop she was on and had just cleared the house when she heard the telltale sound of a fuel rod gun, followed by three plasma explosions. The Cerinian looked towards the Kemorainian formation and saw their leader take a 14.5x114mm bullet to the head and drop to the ground like a rock. The Cerinian considered firing her own weapon, but decided against it. Such an action would only give her away.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared in the unlikely event that one of the Kemorainians would see her. With that in mind, she unlimbered the SA58. She then pulled out a Covenant plasma grenade, primed it. And threw it. Once that was done, she ran like hell around to the aliens’ rear flank.

She had timed it perfectly. The moment the grenade materialized from thin air, the enemy fired all manner of plasma bolts in that direction and hit nothing but air. The Cerinian heard the startled surprise as the grenade latched onto one of the soldiers’ armor and refused to let go.

The device detonated with a loud boom that resonated all over the city, which sent people running in all directions. Not that they weren’t doing so already. They avoided the island where Kylet'oran and his crew converged from two sides. A loud gun shot rang out like a thunderclap and took down a Kemorainian Sub-Lieutenant.

Then, as the fuel rod gun kept the enemy pinned down, Kylet'oran’s crew advanced on the enemy. Then, when they were close enough, the group hurled grenades at them; NRP57, M9, and plasma. The multiple explosions tore holes in the enemy formation, and the Kemorainians found themselves completely hemmed in. The select few that hadn’t surrendered were cut down in the hail of gunfire that followed.

When the Kemorainians surrendered, the Cerinian slowly crept up behind the Jedi Weapon Master. She knew he would be able to sense her out. After all, he had mastered the force like no other, being able to dip into the dark and light sides of the force while still walking the path of light. It was only a matter of time....

While Kylet'oran and his crew handed the Kemorainians over to the Cheydinhal guards, he sensed a familiar presence, a presence he’d not felt in a decade. And it was standing directly behind him. He clicked his tongue, chuckled, and in his native Dragonarian language, he said,

“Of all the places I could have run into you, Krystal, this is the last place I would have expected it.”

“Someone has to return to Lylat to tell your nephew about the new exploits of Kylet'oran Jek’ari.” replied a Cerinian voice. Kylet'oran turned around just in time to see Krystal appear from thin air.

“Uh, Krystal,” said Falco’s voice, “I’m seeing a big, red dragon just outside the gate.” Kylet'oran then realized that he’d forgotten about Keedar.

“Oh, crap! I forgot about him!” he exclaimed and rushed out to Keedar.

“I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me.” Keedar remarked as Kylet'oran found him.

“Sorry,” Kylet'oran apologized. “I ran into an old friend.” He pressed a button on Keedar’s armor, and part of it retracted to reveal a very minor plasma burn, most likely felt from when the armor took a hit.

“Well?” Keedar inquired. “Is it bad?”

“No,” Kylet'oran answered. “just a small burn. The armor took the brunt of it.” Keedar winced as Kylet'oran used the force to heal Keedar’s wound.

“Does it need repairing?” He asked.

“No, the armor self-repairs.” Kylet'oran responded. “When I designed it, I engineered several modified Borg nano-factories into it that would automatically repair any damage done.” With the press of a button, the armor covered the wound and sealed. When Kylet'oran pressed another button, an energy shield activated. “Can you fly?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” Kylet'oran stated, “Find a place to hole up and get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning.” Keedar nodded.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” Kylet'oran replied.

(This'll be the last chapter I post until Chapter Five is done.)

October 6, 2009

not bad at all! :yes:

October 12, 2009

This isn't *all* of chapter five, just part of it. But it gives some clue to who (or what) the main antagonist of the story is. Oh, and there's the name of a KotOR II char in this part, and he *is* going to be a part of the main story.

Chapter Five

Bandit Attack

Keedar was awakened by a strange sound... a soft, liquid, sort of slithery sound. He stood up, looking around, wondering what was going on. It was early in the morning, but Keedar could see just fine.

But whatever this thing was that was making that sound, it was keeping itself hidden, or it was beyond his ability to see. That, or he was just imagining things, feeling after-effects of being wounded. But the sound persisted, and Keedar suddenly felt very much alone.

He felt strange. But he didn’t know... then he had it. He felt as if he was being watched. Whatever this thing was, it was watching him. But why?

Keedar’s fears were erased, however, when Kylet'oran and the rest of the party appeared with an arctic-blue fox person carrying an assault rifle, a rifle, an AM67 and two lightsabers and a blue falcon person carrying a silenced S2-AM, a Reman disruptor rifle, and a blaster.

“Um, Kylet'oran... who are they?” Keedar asked, indicating the two strangers.

“They are Krystal and Falco of the Star Fox team. They’re here to assist us.” Kylet'oran said. Keedar nodded, then asked,

“Where to?”

“We’re headed to the Imperial City,” Kylet'oran stated. “We need to locate a Jedi Master named Atton Rand.” Keedar’s response was nearly instantaneous.

“I know that guy!” Kylet'oran raised his eyebrows.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Keedar said, “Last I heard from him, he and someone named ‘Higham Mocory’ were helping the Thieves’ guild in Morrowind track down a missing member.”

“What city?” Falco asked.

“Last I heard from Atton, he was in Balmora.” Keedar said.

“Well, it’s back to Morrowind, I guess.” Kylet’oran replied. M’raaj-Dar grumbled.

“Tell me I’m not going into slavery again.” He said as he headed to his Banshee.

“Relax, M’raaj-Dar. Slavery has been banned in Morrowind.” Dar-Ma stated, climbing into a warthog with John.

October 12, 2009

sweet!

good job!

October 14, 2009

Chapter Five is almost done and will be up soon. Thank you for your patience

October 15, 2009

Okay, peoples, here's the much-awaited Chapter Five! This chapter gives a clue to who the main antagonist of the story is...

Chapter Five

Katt Monroe, Atton Rand, and a Clue

Keedar was awakened by a strange sound... a soft, liquid, sort of slithery sound. He stood up, looking around, wondering what was going on. It was early in the morning, but Keedar could see just fine.

But whatever this thing was that was making that sound, it was keeping itself hidden, or it was beyond his ability to see. That, or he was just imagining things, feeling after-effects of being wounded. But the sound persisted, and Keedar suddenly felt very much alone.

He felt strange. But he didn’t know... then he had it. He felt as if he was being watched. Whatever this thing was, it was watching him. But why?

Keedar’s fears were erased, however, when Kylet'oran and the rest of the party appeared with an arctic-blue fox person carrying an assault rifle, a rifle, an AM67 and two lightsabers and a blue falcon person carrying a silenced S2-AM, a Reman disruptor rifle, and a blaster.

“Um, Kylet'oran... who are they?” Keedar asked, indicating the two strangers.

“They are Krystal and Falco of the Star Fox team. They’re here to assist us.” Kylet'oran said. Keedar nodded, then asked,

“Where to?”

“We’re headed to the Imperial City,” Kylet'oran stated. “We need to locate a Jedi Master named Atton Rand.” Keedar’s response was nearly instantaneous.

“I know that guy!” Kylet'oran raised his eyebrows.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Keedar said, “Last I heard from him, he and someone named ‘Higham Mocory’ were helping the Thieves’ guild in Morrowind track down a missing member.”

“What city?” Falco asked.

“Last I heard from Atton, he was in Balmora.” Keedar said.

“Well, it’s back to Morrowind, I guess.” Kylet’oran replied. M’raaj-Dar grumbled.

“Tell me I’m not going into slavery again.” He said as he headed to his Banshee.

“Relax, M’raaj-Dar. Slavery has been banned in Morrowind.” Dar-Ma stated, climbing into another Banshee. Once everyone was ready, the take-off began, raised a cloud of dust visible from a mile away, and the banshees disappeared into the morning darkness…

The Phayder sat cloaked in his adaptive camo, waiting for the diverse crew led by Kylet’oran Jek’ari to arrive. With him was a crew of Bosmer bandits. Incompetent as they were, being native to this primitive world, they would prove to be an excellent straw wall for the Phayder to hide behind and get a perfect strike on the Terran Dragonarian.

First, a dragon landed, and Kylet’oran got off. Then, he told the dragon something, and the dragon nodded and took off, and a few Covenant Banshees landed, with a few more in the air. The Phayder waited to give the order for the bandits to attack.

The bandits, perhaps spurred by the alien craft landing, or just tired of waiting, sprang out from the trees and attacked. The Terran Dragonarian’s dragon must have anticipated this, as he came roaring back, and mowed down a third of the bandits in a single pass. Two more screamed and died when a fuel rod cannon on a banshee sent them flying. Another died when the group’s Argonian female blew a hole the size of a dinner plate in his chest with her Fuel rod gun.

Before the Phayder could even move, a 50-caliber slug hit his neck, exited through the top of his head, and blew it off…

Perfect, M’raaj-Dar thought. From the distance he was at, his aim was a hair high, but the result was a welcome one nonetheless. He watched as Kylet’oran, his daughter, and his wife cut the remaining bandits down. Just as he was about to sling the T72 over his shoulder and head off, a rifle was cocked behind him.

“Don’t move, assassin.” Said a feminine voice on his rear flank.

Damn it, M’raaj-Dar thought…

After Keedar was hidden and the Banshees de-materialized, Falco stumbled across an old colleague of his, Katt Monroe, holding M’raaj-Dar hostage. After convincing her that the dark brotherhood assassin was with the party, Katt released him and the group continued on into the city of Balmora.

“So, Katt,” Kylet’oran asked, “What brings you out to the middle of nowhere?”

“Tracking down Falco,” Katt replied, “I wanted to join him in helping you.”

“Gee, thanks, Katt.”

“So, what are you guys doing?” Katt asked.

“We’re looking for a Jedi named Atton Rand and his apprentice, Higham Mocory.” Kylet’oran answered

“You’re not going to find Higham here,” Katt said, “He left to go back to a planet called Coruscant.”

“What about Atton?” Voro inquired.

“He is at the lucky lockup inn.” Katt replied. “C’mon, I’ll show you where it is.”

Katt led the crew into an inn just inside the walls of Balmora, and she silently pointed to a man with somewhat messy hair, brown jedi robes, and a lightsaber on the counter next to his right hand. Kylet’oran approached the man slowly, and without warning, the man grabbed the lightsaber, activated it with a loud snap-hiss, and made a swing at him with the yellow blade that jumped out. Kylet’oran countered with his blue blade with a simple flick of the wrist. The jedi, realizing the mistake he made, extinguished his blade and clipped the lightsaber to his belt.

“Atton… Atton Rand. I assume you came here for me?” he asked.

“Yes, we are.” John said. “We need to get into a place called Fort Farragut. Do you know anything useful?”

“I know that the place was overrun by some sort of creature, and that there is a secret entrance to the place through an adjacent mine.”

“Could you take us there?” Katt asked.

“Sure, but I have to find out what happened to Joalenn.” Atton answered.

“Who is Joalenn?” Falco asked.

“He’s a thieves’ guild member I was hired to find. He disappeared somewhere in the Caldera mines.” Atton said.

“Wait a second,” Katt stated, “did you say you needed to get inside Fort Farragut?”

“Yeah, why?” John asked. Katt paused for a moment. She paced back and forth until she finally replied,

“Okay, here’s what I’m thinking; four of us can go with Atton to find the missing person, while I take the rest of us to Fort Farragut.” Kylet’oran nodded, contemplating this idea, then added,

“Agreed. We’ll meet up in the Imperial City at the conclusion of our respective missions. San, Katt, Krystal and Keesha, you’re with me. John, Dar-Ma and M’raaj-Dar, you’re with Atton. We’ll rendezvous at the Tiber Septim Hotel after we finish our missions.” Everyone agreed, and as they left the inn, they immediately came under fire.

As the party scattered, it became apparent to them that a group of Phayders and a platoon of Sith marines had stationed themselves in various places of Balmora in an attempt to find them. Kylet’oran, Keesha and San stuck together, moving toward the river that split Balmora in two. Katt, Falco and Krystal headed in the direction of the fighter’s guild hall, taking cover behind some crates. John, Atton, and Dar-Ma headed toward the temple, and M’raaj-Dar got onto a rooftop…

Lieutenant “Jagged” Leon and his platoon of Marines had met a group of Kemorainian Phayders on the way to Balmora, and decided to team up with them. The Phayders were after Kylet’oran Jek’ari, while the marines were after his companions. With someone at every possible exit, the team would surround the elusive party and kill them. The moment of victory drew closer…

M’raaj-Dar had the Sith lieutenant and the Kemorainian Phayders’ commander in sight. Which life should he take first? Should he kill the Lieutenant, the human dressed in a grey uniform and no armor? Or should he kill the Phayder, the shiny silver-armored punk? In that particular moment in time, M’raaj-Dar was the harbinger of death, the Grim Reaper.

The Barrel drifted for a moment, and M’raaj-Dar felt the T72 buck against his shoulder as he let loose a 50-caliber slug…

While the troops fought, the Phayder commander, Petamee, and the Sith Lieutenant discussed what they would do if they managed to capture prisoners. While Petamee didn’t take prisoners—no Phayder did—Jagged liked to torture them for information, and then condemn them to a life of torture on the Prison facility near the remains of a planet called “Malachor V.” It is sadistic malice in the likes of what Jagged had which the old Kemorainian Empire respected.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, and the Sith Lieutenant’s head suddenly exploded. Petamee snarled, and therefore evaded the second shot. He looked around, looking for the sniper, when a third shot rang out and nailed his chest…

M’raaj-Dar’s aim was a hair too low, hit the Phayder in the chest, and threw him to the ground like a useless rag doll. Maybe not dead, but definitely out of action, which left M’raaj-Dar to turn his attention to the other Sith and Phayders in the city. From the Radio text message he got from Kylet’oran, the remaining Phayder and a group of three Sith—a Gunnery Sergeant and a pair of PFC’s—were headed his way.

M’raaj-Dar shifted his gun to face the enemy, who were coming from the direction of the fighters’ guild hall. M’raaj-Dar fired two shots and took out the Phayder and the Sith noncom, leaving just the two PFC’s. After the PFC’s were dead, M’raaj-Dar caught a glimpse of something on the mountain overlooking Balmora; a mass of tattered, gangrenous corpse flesh and tentacles. But before he could get a good look, the figure disappeared, Leaving M’raaj-Dar wondering what it was…

October 15, 2009

Wow...I have no idea who that figure is/was...dang, good job!

November 4, 2009

Okay, Julius. Here's the first seven pages of Chapter Six. Anyone should recognize the main antagonist of the story in this chapter. I used a scene you should recognize...

Chapter Six

Surprises and Ambushes

Since hearing about the situation in Tamriel, the guards and duke of the city Caldera had declared martial law. Guards were everywhere. While not the stealthiest of his Spartan brothers and sisters, John led Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and Atton through the city. It was very dark, and it was relatively easy to travel without attracting attention.

Once they were through the city, they followed the road up to the mining outpost. When they got there, the found it very much deserted. Atton, who was armed with his lightsaber, looked around, as if surveying the damage.

“This doesn’t look good,” He commented.

“Why do you say that?” John asked.

“This place was delivered a shipment of weapons a month ago. I know because I escorted that delivery.” Looking around and picking up a BR55 Battle Rifle and the ammo sitting nearby, He added, “Let’s try and find any survivors. They might know what happened.” The others agreed, and they headed off into the outpost...

While Atton and the others were searching for the missing thieves’ guild member, Kylet'oran (Who was on Keedar’s back), Krystal, San and Keesha followed Katt to the secret entrance to Fort Farragut. The trip was, for the most part, uneventful, with only a band of bandits or a stray animal to take care of here and there. However, when they got to the secret entrance, things got more ominous.

The first sign that something was wrong was the mangled body of a Dark Elf in a pool of blood lying just shy of the entrance.

“This blood is still fresh,” San said. “This Dunmer has been killed recently.”

“By what?” Kyle asked.

“My guess is we’ll find out pretty soon,” Krystal said. “I’m sensing several life forms further in.” Kylet’oran cocked his MA52B. He sensed something unnatural in Fort Farragut. But what it was…

Now wasn’t the time to ponder this. He was going to go in there, locate Lucien LaChance, and possibly what made him disappear, and meet up with the other party at the Tiber Septim Hotel. Simple and straightforward. But then again…

A sound caused the whole party to turn, including Keedar. It was a soft, liquid, almost slithery sound. Everyone had weapons raised, but there was nothing to shoot at.

“Does anybody feel like we’re being watched?” Keedar asked.

“Feel it?” Krystal asked rhetorically. “I can sense it. There’s something not right, here.”

“Keedar, keep your armor active. Alert us to anything you can find.” Kylet’oran ordered.

“Right.” Keedar replied as the party entered the secret entrance. They rounded two corners and stopped.

“Ugh, what is that stench?” Katt asked. “It smells like—”

“—Something died down here.” Kylet’oran finished. He knelt next to a pool of slimy, gray-green ichor and stared at it.

“Is something wrong, Kyle?” San asked. There was a long pause before Kylet’oran replied,

“I’ve seen this before… but I can’t remember where I’ve seen it.”

“C’mon, dad. Let’s finish our business here and leave… this place gives me the creeps.” Keesha said.

“Agreed.” Kylet’oran responded. The group continued on, came across a dead Phayder, weapons missing, and took a certain amount of comfort that the body had been riddled with bullets. They continued on, deeper into the mine and into the fort, when they came across a dead Sith marine lying in a pool of blood just shy of the next door. Kylet’oran had long ago learned to trust his instincts, and they nagged at him now. Something was really wrong.

As if that weren’t enough, the next door dumped a dead human onto his arms. His pulse quickened, and he held the MA52B one-handed and covered the room beyond. Nothing. The group moved into the room, set the body down, and noticed a helmet lying nearby. It had a vid cam attached, the kind worn by the typical combat team so they could critique the mission, feed data to the ghouls at Intel, and on occasions like this, provide investigators with information regarding the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Kylet’oran removed the camera’s memory chip, tossed the helmet aside, and slipped the chip into a playback device. The video was standard quality—which meant pretty awful. It started out with pretty routine stuff at first, starting with the moment the trooper’s drop ship touched down, up to their arrival at the secret entrance.

“Kylet’oran spooled ahead, and the video started to get more ominous after that, starting with the dead Phayder, and finally coming upon a door. Not just any door, but the same door that Kylet'oran and the others had passed through just moments ago. Kylet'oran was tempted to kill the video, go back the way he came, and scrub the mission, but he forced himself to continue watching as one of the troopers said something about a “bad feeling...” A badly garbled radio transmission came in, that rustling noise the party heard outside was heard, a door gave way, and a swarm of fleshy balls rolled, hopped, and danced into the room.

That’s when the screaming started, when the party heard the troopers’ leader say that they were “surrounded,” and the video jerked as something hit the trooper in the back, and the video snapped to black. For the first time in several years, Kylet’oran felt fear. Both San and Keesha could sense it.

However, while one aspect of his kind sought comfort, another directed him back toward the door which he and the party entered the room from. It made a loud bang as he tried to open it, a sign that everyone knew meant trouble. Everyone loaded weapons, and looked around for a target. Gripped with a growing sense of dread, Kylet’oran saw a flash of white from the corner of his eye, and turned to see one, then five, twenty, fifty of the little fleshy blobs dribble into the room. Kylet’oran fired, the little beasts jumped at him, and the battle was joined…

November 5, 2009

Good chapter!

Shoot, I can't remember who that is, it's on the tip of my tongue :banghead:

November 5, 2009

Okay, Julius, here's the rest of Chapter Six!

...Kylet’oran fired, the little beasts jumped at him, and the battle was joined…

Having learned that there were no survivors to the site, Atton and his party headed into the Caldera mines. The cramped, confined spaces of the mines forced Dar-Ma and M’raaj-Dar to switch to their shorter-range weapons. Dar-Ma had her M32A2 CAR, and M’raaj-Dar had his Covenant Plasma Rifle. The team tried their best to walk in a staggered formation, but the confined spaces dictated how they traveled.

When the group came upon an area with several doors, Atton motioned for everyone to stop. Had he heard something? Or seen something? No one was sure. Then, everyone heard it; a soft, liquid, somewhat slithery sound.

“This brings back memories…” John said.

“Of what?” Falco asked.

“The Flood…” John droned.

“The… what?” Atton inquired. The conversation was cut short when there was a loud bang! On one of the wooden doors, and it burst open to reveal several shambling corpses with weapons and tentacles.

John was the first to fire, and the 7.62mm bullets tore the monstrosities apart. Another door burst open, and Dar-Ma opened up on a pair of misshapen creatures that exploded when fired upon, spewing small, fleshy little pods all over the room. M’raaj-Dar fired and popped the pods, but the other doors in the room burst open, and Flood Combat, Carrier and Infection forms all flooded into the room, forcing Atton and his party back.

John threw a pair of M9 grenades into the mix and ran like hell. The twin explosions pulverized a large clutch of infection forms, sent two carriers flying to the other side of the room, and put three combat forms down. It took less than three minutes to reach the entrance of the Caldera mines with the Flood forms attacking from every possible direction. Once they got outside and shut the mines, they saw a clutch on infection forms rush at them and knew that any possibility of containing the Flood in the mines had been lost…

…Kylet’oran fired at what seemed like a tidal wave of tentacled horrors. Kylet’oran, San, Keesha, Katt, and Krystal were forced to scatter, and that made it even harder for the Flood to keep track. But the problem was that there were so many infection and combat forms, far too many for each to handle individually.

But there were tactics that they could utilize, things they could do to even the odds. One was to run from wall-to-wall, stretching the enemy’s formation thin. While this threat was spotty but determined, they weren’t particularly bright. Another tactic was to trade fire from all of their weapons, reloading only when there was a lull in the battle or under the protection of one of the others. This served to provide a constant rate of fire.

But the entire group needed to get out of there, and fast. Acting on this, Kylet’oran threw a grenade toward the door they first entered to room. When it detonated, the door was blown off its hinges, and the party took the opportunity to get out before that doorway filled with flood forms. It was a short trip from the room of flood to Keedar’s location. Once outside, Kylet’oran placed some explosives on the secret entrance and detonated them once they were away.

“That won’t hold them forever,” Keedar stated.

“No,” Kylet’oran said grimly, “We’re already too late.” As the party headed to the Imperial city, no further words were said. The Kemorainians and the Sith were bad enough to handle, but the Flood… The flood was the worst of them all. Now, all that mattered to Kylet’oran was keeping his wife, daughter and his friends safe…

November 6, 2009

The Flood!

Nice touch! :yes:

December 1, 2009

I barely have enough time to post this chapter, so here goes...

Chapter Seven

A Three-Front War

When both parties met up at the Tiber Septim Hotel, they were surprised to hear the similarities of each other’s stories.

“If the Flood are on this world, we need to call in help!” San said.

“I already have.” John stated. “The UNSC Marine Corps and the Covenant will be here to assist.”

“What we need to do is find out where the flood came from.” Kylet’oran said.

“Why?” Dar-Ma asked.

“If what I suspect is true, then we should find out how the Flood got here and shut the door on them.” Kyle answered.

“What I want to know is how the Flood escaped the destruction of the Ark.” John said.

“You’ve fought these things before?” San asked, her voice somewhat irritated.

“A long time ago, yes. I had thought they were all destroyed with the Ark.” John replied.

“Apparently not,” Keesha remarked.

“We need to warn the my brothers and sisters in Cheydinhal,” M’raaj-Dar said. “So they will know what to look out for.”

“He’s right,” Katt put in. “They have eyes all over Tamriel, and we don’t.” Suddenly, Krystal and Voro burst through the hotel door and ran up to Kylet’oran and the others.

“We have to go, now!” Krystal exclaimed.

“What’s going on?” Falco inquired.

“The Sith are scouring the city as we speak!” Voro said in a hushed tone. When this was said, everyone readied weapons. Kylet’oran took point and led the group out of the Tiber Septim Hotel. They rounded a corner and immediately took cover to avoid being seen by a Sith noncom and his three companions.

“Damn it,” Kylet'oran grumbled to the others. “A Sith patrol, right where we need to go.”

“I would say we take them out and run for it, but there’s no telling where their friends are.” John said. Kylet'oran grabbed his communicator, punched in the scrambler code, and spoke.

“Keedar, what’s your position?”

“I’m in the water surrounding the imperial city. You’ve got two Sith platoons entering both entrances of the city, need a distraction?” Keedar replied.

“That would’ve been useful earlier. We need a diversion to escape. We’re in the Talos Plaza district, and there are Sith right where we need to go.” There was a momentary pause as Keedar searched for a suitable place to create a diversion. Finally, he replied,

“One first-class diversion, coming right up.” There was an explosion in the distance, and the Sith marines rushed off. Kylet'oran and the others rushed for the exit door, and were seen from behind by a Sith corporal. He made a hasty potshot, missed Kylet'oran’s head, and caused him to turn around and fire a burst into the PFC’s head.

The vehicles the group used to get to the Imperial city sat untouched by the Sith. There were two M12 LRVs, two Covenant Attack Hoversleds, and three Banshees. John, San and Deinonychus hopped into one of the LRVs while Keesha, Krystal and Falco hopped into the other. Voro, Katt and M’raaj-Dar each got into one of the banshees, Dar-Ma and Atton got onto the Hoversleds, or “Ghosts,” and Kylet’oran hopped onto Keedar’s back.

The group headed northeast, towards Cheydinhal. However, upon getting on a road, Keedar spotted a group of Kemorainian Phayders setting an ambush just ahead.

“Keedar to ground teams; you have a Phayder ambush near the road! Evade! Say again, evade!” Keedar exclaimed into the radio. The Warthogs and the ghosts veered off the road in separate directions, while Keedar and the three Banshees made a strafing run on the Phayders. The Phayders couldn’t withstand this attack, and were dead within minutes. Always on the defensive, always retreating, always hoping for a respite.

This wasn’t Kylet'oran’s kind of fight, nor anyone else in the party. Kyle and his party were supposed to be on the offensive, but ever since this quest began, they’d been on the run. They had to find a way to go on the attack, and soon.

With the Phayders out of the way, the Banshees and the Warthogs’ M41 LAAG gunners were now free to turn their attention to the four-fighter Sith air patrol squad approaching from the west. The first two were blown out of the air when the LAAG gunners, Deinonychus and Falco, opened up on them. The fighters flew right into the flying fusillade of bullets and were torn apart. The next fighter was destroyed when Keedar materialized two shoulder-mounted mass driver cannons and fired them simultaneously. The first slug clipped a wing, and the other hit the engine compartment. The fighter exploded into shards, plummeted to the ground like a rock, and blew up when it hit a tree. The fourth fighter did loops as it tried to avoid the plasma fire from Voro, Katt and M’raaj-Dar’s banshees, failed, and ran headlong into the trees. The pilot survived, however, which meant that John could drive by while Deinonychus killed him with the M41.

With that threat out of the way, the party was free to get back on the road to Cheydinhal…

The Kemorainian Phayder Kontemall stood before the assembled Phayder and Sith Commanders. The situation on Tamriel was deteriorating rapidly. While the Sith had landed a Sith Centurion-class Battle cruiser on the island of Vvardenfall, and were steadily expanding with the help of the old Kemorainian Empire, a parasitic species referred to by the UNSC Humans and the Covenant collective as “The Flood” had already been present. How long they were here, no one knew.

Even worse, the flood had located their ship. However, the Flood gave no sign that they were going to strike. It was as if they were waiting for something. Even worse, there were rumors amongst the ranks that the UNSC and the Covenant were coming to Tamriel. Kontemall knew that meant trouble, as their presence would be supported by TDIG rifts, meaning that they could reinforce their forces if they took heavy casualties. The worst part was, the marauding party led by Kylet’oran Jek’ari was still at large.

As if to prove that Kontemall was truly cursed, still another threat had been found, one inimical to Flood form, Sith and Phayder alike. This threat sent an army of armored dragons to attack the Sith and the Kemorainians, and to help the UNSC and Covenant sterilize Tamriel of all the Flood forms. While they had located the Sith Centurion, called the Ragnos, they had yet to launch a full-scale attack.

“So,” Kontemall began, “It seems that a marauding Jedi has arrived on Tamriel, and is causing us much trouble.”

“A Jedi?” inquired a veteran Phayder named Ketimuuni. “As in, a single Jedi? With respect, sir, one Jedi more or less will hardly make a difference.” Kontemall swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Yes, well, normally, I would agree with you there.” Kontemall said. “But this Jedi is somewhat unusual. One, because he is a Terran Dragonarian Jedi Weapon Master. Two, because he has a Dragon and a squad of twelve, all varying in race. And three, because his squad has killed off three platoons of Sith marines and one platoon of our Phayders. The last time anyone saw them was in the imperial city, where they escaped two more platoons of Sith marines.”

Unbeknownst to Kontemall, or anyone in the room, the seemingly lethargic Phayder named Petamee sat up and paid close attention. Having survived being shot in the chest by the Terran Dragonarian and his squad, Petamee was eager to learn the Jedi weapon master’s location and return the favor. Although personal vendettas were typically frowned upon by the empire, they were acceptable when the target was as important as this marauding Jedi and his motley crew. Petamee listened in from the back of the room as the conversation about this Jedi continued.

“One squad accomplished all that? That hardly seems possible!” Ketimuuni exclaimed. Kontemall sighed.

“Well, they did. And, having accomplished whatever they went to the Imperial City to do, they left, and were last reported by the Sith unit there to be heading northeast, towards the city Cheydinhal.

“And so, the question falls to this: Who among you has the skill required to track and kill this marauding Jedi and his squad?” The response came with gratifying speed.

“I do.” Petamee said.

“Who is that?” Kontemall asked, peering into the somewhat harsh Sith lights.

“Petamee, sir.” Petamee replied. Kontemall punched in the data in his handheld computer, and read the results.

“Are you sure you can handle this mission? Your file notes you were critically wounded in your last encounter with this Jedi and his squad.” Petamee inquired, looking to Petamee.

“I am sure, sir.” Petamee answered in typical military fashion.

“I assume you have a plan?” Kontemall asked, standing up straight and looking directly into Petamee’s eyes. Not only did Petamee have a plan, but an exciting plan, and was given the mission.

Later, as the meeting ended, Ketimuuni went looking for Petamee, fully intending to compliment the younger officer on his initiative. But, like the Jedi he was supposed to find, Petamee had disappeared...

December 8, 2009

And... Here's Chapter Eight...

Chapter Eight

Ambush at Cheydinhal

Having fought off three more Sith and Phayder ambushes, Kylet’oran decided that the roads were no longer safe, and had all the ground vehicles stay off the road whenever possible. Aside from the occasional troll, wolf or goblin, there was no opposition in the forest south of Cheydinhal. But that was subject to change.

Kylet’oran stopped in the forest two clicks south of Cheydinhal to give Keedar a rest. The sun was setting behind them, so that’s where Kylet’oran decided to stop for the night. As the others went to sleep, Kyle, San, Keesha, Krystal and Atton went into a half-sleeping meditation trance—sleeping while keeping their minds open to the force, watching for the slightest disturbance.

However, several hours into the night, Keedar awoke to a slight rustling. Not Flood, from what he could tell. It sounded like three, maybe four people were headed their direction. Not taking any chances, Keedar bellowed an earth-rumbling roar and woke the others. The five Jedi jumped up with lightsabers in hand, while the others scrambled to grab their weapons.

“It’s okay,” Ocheeva’s voice said. “It’s just us.” Everyone lowered their weapons and M’raaj-Dar asked,

“Are you hurt?”

“No, but we’re the only survivors to the attack.” Ocheeva replied as Gogran Gro-Bolmog, Teinaava, and Vicente Valtieri appeared out of the darkness.

“What about that rogue Phayder that was with you?” Kylet’oran inquired.

“He’s dead. He died with Telendril and Antoinette Marie helping us escape.” Gogran said.

“But what’s worse is that a Kemorainian Phayder has set a trap for you all in Cheydinhal. He hopes to lure you all in and kill you.” Vicente stated.

“Not very surprising, but traps work both ways, do they not?” Kylet'oran asked. There was a moment of silence before Keedar inquired,

“Alright, what do you have in mind?” Kylet'oran paused, then laid out his plan...

Petamee had found conditions in Cheydinhal both better and worse than he’d anticipated. One, the local population was easy to subjugate. They had no wish to fight. Two, the Flood had located the city, and while they gave no indication they would strike, a few people had disappeared.

His assistant, a tiresome Sith Lieutenant named “Jaggar Leto,” came up behind him.

“The Jedi Weapon Master has entered Cheydinhal, sir.”

“Where is the rest of his squad?” Petamee asked with his back still turned to Jaggar.

“We don’t know, sir. However, we have lost contact with a squad in the forest south of here.”

“Flood?” Petamee asked.

“We’re not at all sure. I sent a cloaked recon squadron to the last known location of the squad.” Jaggar replied.

“Very well. Have your men spring the trap for our Jedi friend.” Petamee ordered.

“Yes sir!” Jaggar answered. He then saluted and left, leaving Petamee to watch the Jedi Weapon Master as he wandered the streets of Cheydinhal…

Kylet’oran wandered Cheydinhal, MA52B in his hands, lightsabers clipped to his belt, and his M806 in its holster. He was fully aware that he was being watched by a Phayder, and that the Sith were laying a trap for him. While he was determined not to fall for it, Kylet’oran decided it was wise to play along and act as if he knew nothing.

In case the Flood showed up, or if things went haywire, he had everyone in vehicles ready to assist at a moment’s notice. He headed toward the empty house where the Dark brotherhood sanctuary was, went around to the back, and entered through the Well. Halfway down the ladder, he activated his PCD, and finished his climb down the ladder and found himself on the rear flank of a Sith trooper not wearing his helmet, running his armored fingers through his messy brown hair.

Lightsabers were too dangerous to use in this particular situation, even though there was no one in the immediate area. Instead, he grabbed the soldier by his neck with a hand over his mouth, snapped his neck, and dragged his body up the ladder. After he got to the top, he carelessly tossed the corpse aside and headed back down. Sure, some Sith trooper or Kemorainian Phayder was bound to find it and raise the alarm, but given Kylet’oran’s plans, his presence wouldn’t remain a secret for very long.

Kylet’oran then began to set explosives on the support pillars in the main hall. That done, he headed into the empty training room, set explosives, and exited stealthily. He went about the entire sanctuary and set explosives until he had three left and one place to go; the sleeping quarters. He entered quietly, made his way down the hall, and into the sleeping area. Once there, he saw that it had been turned into a makeshift barracks, and several Sith troopers were sound asleep. One Kemorainian Phayder was patrolling the area, and Kylet’oran decided that it would be necessary to eliminate him before setting the explosives.

Kylet’oran lured the Phayder into the hall, where he brought the butt of his MA52B down on his head. With any luck, he’d have finished the Phayder off quietly enough. This wasn’t the case, though. When the Phayder’s body hit the floor, the Sith troopers woke up, grabbed their arms, and rushed to the fallen Kemorainian. Using the Force, Kyle made a few things fall in the main area, and the Sith troopers rushed off to investigate. That gave him one, maybe two minutes to set the explosives before they would be back.

Kylet’oran wasted little time placing the explosives and hurrying to his original hiding place. One explosive was on a support pillar, one was on their intelligence documents, and one was under one trooper’s pillow. Kylet’oran forced down a chuckle as the Sith troopers passed him. Once they were out of his way, he hurried out the door in time to hear one exclaim in surprise. He headed through the Well entrance, let it shut with a loud CLANG! And headed two houses away before triggering the explosives.

There was a loud thud that could be heard across Cheydinhal, the ground caved in, and the house that sat on top of the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary collapsed. If anything could grab the attention of the Kemorainians and Sith all over Cheydinhal, it was the destruction of their underground base. Kylet’oran then headed to the palace where the Duke was supposed to be.

But before he could enter, He was intercepted by what he assumed to be a resistance movement. They took him to an underground base of their own, and Kylet’oran de-activated his PCD. The leader of this resistance movement, an Orc Knight named Mazoga, Stared him directly in the eyes.

“Take off your helmet, stranger. Let me look at your face.” She ordered. Kylet’oran complied, and stared Mazoga back in the eyes. His emerald-green dragon eyes seemed to surprise her a little, and she said,

“Well, you’re obviously not from Tamriel. You must be that Jedi that the aliens came for.”

“They laid a trap, but I evaded it and destroyed their base.” Kylet’oran replied. Mazoga’s eyes widened and her eyebrows rose.

“You did what?” she asked.

“I destroyed their base… and I nabbed these,” Kylet’oran answered, handing Mazoga some intelligence dossiers about the Flood that he’d nabbed before blowing the base to hell.

“It says that… a race called ‘the Flood’ are going to attack Cheydinhal!” she exclaimed with surprise.

“Take my advice; gather everyone you can and get out of here. Theoretically, the Flood could already be attacking.” Kylet’oran said. Mazoga nodded, began issuing orders, and Kylet’oran returned his helmet to his head. Suddenly, the alarm was heard outside, and Kylet’oran rushed outside to see that the Flood were already attacking. Kylet’oran headed for the nearest exit, and was surprised when what looked like a platoon of Flood forms tried to rush him.

In what Kylet’oran saw as a familiar pattern, the Flood attacked. Combat forms vaulted fifteen feet in the air, shriveled, and flew apart from the 7.62mm bullet impacts. Carrier forms waddled up like old friends, came apart like wet cardboard, and spewed infection forms in every possible direction. Roly-poly Infection Forms skittered all over, dodging this way and that, all hoping to claim the weapon master as their very own.

But Kylet’oran had other plans. He greased a pair of Combat forms as their feet left the ground, turned around long enough to ice an overly-ambitious Phayder, and ran like hell out the gates to find Keedar waiting for him. Not only that, but he was bleeding from the neck. Kylet’oran didn’t ask him what happened, he just rushed to meet him, dodged left to evade a charging carrier form, ran like hell as it detonated behind him like a grenade, and hopped onto Keedar’s back. Keedar roared, took to the air, and radioed the others. Then, he landed in a forest clearing where the others were. Once he was sure they were safe, Kylet’oran got down off Keedar’s back and examined his neck.

“What happened to you?” he asked. Keedar groaned.

“An infection form caught me by surprise. Little bastard would’ve had me for sure had John not stepped in and killed it.”

“Did you remove the penetrator?” Kylet’oran asked John.

“There wasn’t any time. He said he had to get you out of Cheydinhal.” John replied. Kylet’oran sighed and shook his head.

“Keedar,” he sighed, “this is going to hurt like hell, but it’s got to be done.” Keedar shut his eyes tight, ready for the inevitable pain.

“Do it.” He said. Kylet’oran plunged a pair of fingers into the wound, found the penetrator, and jerked it out. Keedar let loose a loud roar of pain that could be heard three miles away. After that, Kyle cleaned the wound, sprayed a stinging puff of bio-foam to seal the wound, slapped a quick-adhesive battle dressing over it, and carefully wrapped bandages around it. After that, he re-engaged the armor and called for a council of war…

Tales of a Dragon Rider

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