Everflame (Finished)

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Asia rolled his eyes at the wolf's arrogance, as he climbed into the buggy. The vixen slipped into the driving seat with a giggle,
"I wouldn't ever betray you, Mr Lambent." She pulled from under the seat, a pair of goggles and pulled them on. "Why would I? I'm your biggest fan." After shifting to let Korius get into the back, the vixen blasted the buggy over the sandy landscape


Miles high above them all, the GA ship's optic sensors gained visual contact with the town.
"Sir, we have visual on a trio climbing into a buggy, just south west of the town."
"Roger that, chase them down, do not fire until identity is confirmed. Stream the images up to me."
"Yes sir." The carrier swooped down through the clouds, bearing down on the tiny ramshackle buggy, casting a shadow over them all.

[HowlTheGrayWolf]

When close to the atmosphere of G7 and the alcohol's effects finally wearing off, all the soldiers got geared up. Howl was talking to Leon, when another man approached him. "Alright, I'm the equipment manager, and your gonna need this to fight off any tossers who bother ya." He handed me an upgraded version of my assault rifle with countless cores to reload with. "Don't furget your winter suit and equipment, if ya don't want to freeze to death, then grab it. Some blokes have gone out there without the right suit and have died right before my eyes!" Howl blinked widely, "Th...thanks." After talking to the equipment manager, he walked into the suiting room and put on his snow suit, it held enough power to keep you heated for about 5 hours before in need of recharging. He stuffed all his belongings into a backpack, put his 1911a1 clips in quick reloading holsters then stuck on his helmet. Turning it on showed a HUD of vital signs, suit energy and a radar. When he got back to the main bay, the pilot got on the intercom, "Alright, men, we're going through the atmosphere now, so get strapped down!" Everyone did as they were told, not thinking twice about what they were doing. The ship began to shake, Howl felt like his body was going to rumble out of his seat, but once through the atmosphere, all the soldiers got up. The leading officer stood in front of the group. "Ok, get ready to go, it's going to be tough out there, and-" In the next second, a huge round hit the side of the ship, making a big gaping hole in it.

In the pilot's seat, he was trying desperately to slow the ship down, and he had it at the right speed for a parachute jump, so he pushed the auto-pilot, forcing it to keep it at the specific speed, and got on his parachute. "EVERYONE, JUMP!" Howl ran to the hole and flew right out, as he looked up to see everyone else jump out, 5 more men leaped through, but then another round hit the ship, killing everyone else inside. So without hesitation, Howl pulled his parachute chord, slowing him down. Multiple seconds later, someone spoke in their headset, "Ok! The town we need to get to is 50 clicks from my position, I'm sending the data to the rest of you now, once you land, go straight for it!" When Howl landed, he took off his parachute and loaded his rifle. The officer was right, it was going to be tough.....

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

While he sat in the back, Korius dug into his jacket and pulled out two bullets. He took out his M500 and pulled on the release and inserted the bullets. He noticed Asia looking at him and explained. "This is an old Smith & Wessen M500 Tanaka. It's a gun from ancient society, dating back more than 2000 years. I found it, studied it, fixed it, and then modified it. It's history points it housed 5 bullets, but I prefer the number eight. It's "magnum" rounds are no longer existent, but the materials to make them are plentiful. Despite the age of the design, these bullets can blast a 3 foot hole into the side of your daily GA carrier, and all types of armour that we have today." He spun the chamber and flicked the gun and the chamber snapped back into place and he re-holstered the weapon. He took out his PDA, connected it to his shades, and unsheathed his katana half-way and examined the blade, his lenses scanning the blade and making diagnostics. "I'm not sure if you're familiar with martial arts, sir. It is part of a lost culture since the discovery of the Everflame 1,000 years ago. So-called combat training in the military and police force are merely just basic hand-to-hand forms with barely any true application. I was raised and trained by the legendary mercenary, Lilu Yamamoto. He was the last of his clan's lineage, a samurai lineage. It was supposed to die with him, but it lives on in me. The true study of martial arts makes one stronger, faster and more adaptable. However, a conventional and traditional sword can't cut through just anything, given today's armour technology. That is why I had my vibro-blade custom made like a katana. Do you understand why, Officer Asia? Do you understand why I chose this life, and my weapons the way I did, a sword and an ancient ballistic weapon over all the plasma blasting firepower in the universe? Why I would choose to become a mercenary for hire when I can make even more money as a hitman? It is because I share your vision. I see what you see, the tyranny of the Central Government."

[KittKat chunky~]

The command team reached the hanger as more Triffids spilled out of the forests only to be shredded or cut down by the combined firepower of the carrier and Triffid enforcers.....

"Get the frack in!"
Colonel Crow shouted at his men, raising the visor, he didnt need to as every man and woman in the five man team was already clambering aboard hurriedly...


~~~~~~~


Kitt and his team where fighting their way through a literal forest of Triffids..
"They must be frackin' attracted to the sound of that Carrier!"

A scream interrupted Kitt as another of the team was caught by a Triffids sting, it had managed to catch the poor fox right in the chink in the armour at neck height....
"I can see light sir! the clearings just over there!"

The three members of the team who where left, including Kitt, burst out into the clearing, only to have their next breath catch in their throats... the clearing was a mass of Triffids, clicking and crawling towards the carrier..

"Shred 'em! we got this far!"
The team opened fire, inciendary rounds penetrating the form of a triffid and bursting into bright flames, soon a clearing had been cut in the swarm of Triffids around ten metres in width, maybe enough for them to get through, maybe small enough to get them surrounded and killed...
"GO... RUN!"

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Over the frozen world of G7, the commander of the military task force gave his orders.
"Launch missiles, deploy energy trackers and infiltrators. Make sure everyone dies. They don't deserve a third chance."
"Aye sir," replied a Lieutenant, who pulled up a series of menus on his data screen, aboard the craft carrier, orbiting the planet. Down below, small pods rocketed to the surface, pounding into the ground as aircraft tore the skies above. Immediately, the pods began to tunnel towards the base. In the sky, sattelites were deployed, observing the field of battle, pinpointing positions for the military. From the carrier itself, warheads fizzed with unstable force as the missiles were armed and launched to the stronghold below.



Over on Skeeva, the vixen stared in awe at Korius' every word and movement.
"Wow," she said, shaking her head in disbelief, "You got some next toys, man. You's a bad-man, God I love you"
"Keep your eyes on the road," said Asia, causing the girl to be torn from her daydreaming, swerving the buggy slightly as it bounced over every rock and dune along the way. Asia turned to the merc, "Frankly, I haven't a clue what you just said cus it makes no sense. You're telling me that that thing can punch a massive hole into one of the most heavily armoured craft in the galaxy, and that people forgot how to fight because the sphere forgot to fight, and that using museum pieces as weaponry defies the central government. It's ridiculous."
"Oi!" The vixen punched Asia in the arm. "Dont insult him."
"He insults me all the time," Asia replied.
"That's different. He's better than you," she said, before gazing with big, rich eyes, back at Korius. "I hope he don't bother you, Korius, 'cus if he does i could kick him off right now, and you and me could drive together," she said with a smile.
"He doesn't even know your name,  I don't even know your name... And keep your eyes on the road!" said Asia, flailing his arms in frustration.
"There is no road!" the young fox shouted, "It's just sand and dirt and rocks, that's it!" she said, before looking ahead, making sure the way was clear before looking back to Korius. "Name's Tabby by the way," she said, supressing a giggle as she spoke, then she slowly bit her lip as she looked him over. Asia held his head in his hands.
"God please let the ship be close by."

Overhead, the carrier flew in the thin cloud.
"Identity uncomfirmed sir, something's jamming our signals."
"Drop the ground pounders,"
"Aye sir, Vehicle assault team, launch." The side of the carrier slid away as four all-terrain, fast moving six-wheeled vehicles drove off the ship, falling to the ground, initiating thrusters to hit the dirt like a feather. Their wheels immediately tore up the dirt, moving in formation to surround the buggy.






On Corolan, the last of the first group made it on to the ship.
"That's the last one sir!" shouted the great pyrennees into a handheld transmitter strapped to his cheek.
"Ok, lift her up, let's find the next batch," said the captain to his pilot. Almost immediately, the engines roared up and the bay doors began to close.
"Wait up, sir!" roared the voice down the comms. "There's more coming through the forest."
"There's triffid's everywhere!" said the cat, who was currently mowing down all she could. For every plant they killed, the others got that much closer, now able to reach out and grab the turrets before being torn to shreds. The meerkat acted fast,
"Get those doors open, and try and try and bring the ship to those boys down there. People, this is just gonna get harder."
"Aye aye sir!" came the chorus of the crew.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius smirked. "Well, that's only if I use my dum dum shells. Almost impossible to make and the materials are scarce for that. I only have two shells of those. The normal ones, probably dent the sucker, but not blow it open. They still pack one heck of a..." Yells as they close in on a boulder. "Keep your eyes on the bloody road!!" Korius holds on as the buggy swerved to avoid it. "Alright, stop right here. We go the rest of the way on foot. Thank you for the ride, Tabby." No sooner did he step out when did a plasma shot nail him in the chest and sent him flying. He landed with a huge thud and lay  limp on the ground. A voice came from just behind the treeline. "Alright, don't you folks move a muscles. Officer, I'm here for your head and the Stealth Streamer. Make any moves and you both die."

The voice emerged, another wolf, though he was much more shabby looking and he was missing his left ear. He walked over to Korius's body, gun pointing at Asia and Tabby and started to go through Korius's Jacket and took out a remote key. He pocketed the key and took the M500. He examined it a bit before pointing it at the other two with his plasma rifle. "Ok, officer, hands behind your head an...d..." He looked down and found the vibro-blade sticking out of his chest, and there, behind him, stood Korius. "Im...possible. I k-killed.... you...." The man fell hard onto the ground. Korius took his key and M500 back. He pulled a fried piece of metal from the hole in his jacket. "You shot my PDA, you idiot. Hunters 101, always check for a pulse." He threw the PDA onto the floor and re-holstered the M500. He then pressed a button on the key and, the oversized boulder they almost hit blew up into the air like paper in the wind, it was just a camo-sheet that covered the Streamer. Korius cursed as he walked over to the ship. "Bugger! That was my only PDA that could access those databases! Bloody sod! Why in blazes did you have to shoot it! The access chips are irreplaceable!" He violently kicked at the dead body.

He finally stopped and turned to Asia. "Well now. I know that was unbecoming of me, but are you coming? This is my Stealth Streamer. I call her Vee. She's undetectable by normal radar and can outrun more than half of the GA's carriers, gunboats and cruisers. I must warn you though, we're going to have to tread more carefully now. I can no longer gain access to any military, police or government databases. Those access chips are completely fried and there's no way to get new ones. I stole those before they remade the protocol on the chips. One made for each issue and dead-switched to their users. No one can steal them anymore. They fry by remote access if necessary. Now hurry, we haven't time to terry around. Give me the coordinates and let's go."

[KittKat chunky~]

The command team finally having clambered aboard set about firing off their own weaponry into the crowd of Triffids, they too had spotted the three other surrounded...


~~~~~~


Kitt, the Wolf private and a fox where all that remained, surrounded by Triffids... a litteral wall of flak, shrapnell and inciendary rounds burst through the ranks of Triffids, shredding the oversized plants left right and centre... but each time someone had to stop to reload, or for each Triffid shot down, another three would crawl in and strike...

A triffid managed to get in under the rain of fire, roots binding around the fox in an instant, dragging him out of the clearing...
"NO!"
Kitt shouted, spit speckling the inside of his visor... another minute... just one more minute and he would have made it... he squeezed the trigger again, felt the jolt of the cleaver as it spat it's hot death.... he was dead, almost all his team was dead... but to hell if they would die in fracking vain!"

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Asia looked at the corpse, shook his head and gave a smirk.
"Here's the coordinates," he said, pulling a PDA from his pocket before opening a file onto its screen and handing it over. "The place is called G7, I dont know what the locals call. Apparently is hell out there so maybe it just doesnt have a name," he said as he climbed into the Streamer. Just then, energy fire burned past them, sucking the air out of the sky as they flew. The vehicles that were deployed closing in. Tabby, who had been open mouthed, drooling at her hero felt the energy collide with the dirt around her. It ripped her out of the trance and she ran for the Streamer hatch, diving inside as shots hit the hull.



"Identities confirmed, Korius Lambent, Mercenary and Asia Kali, Guard of the Everflame," said one of the drivers. "Identity uncomfirmed, female minor."
"Asia?" replied his CO aboard the carrier, "seriously? aw what the heck man, why did you do something so stupid? I shoulda known." The CO shook his head, thinking the facts through, "But then with Lambent there. I guess it's obvious who planned this little runaround. Fire at will, take them all down, the girl is collateral." He sat back in his chair. "You stupid boy."







"Cappy, they're not gonna make it," said the bear to the meerkat. "We should get out, no point all of us dying."
"Guns one and five are gone, Cap," called the cat down the comms.
"Keep fighting, if they die, then we leave, if they survive then everyone's happy. Focus fire around them," ordered the meerkat.
"YES CAPTAIN!" screamed the giant dog, drilling through hundreds of plants, tearing them down, with the survivors on board firing alongside him. His laughter was contagious.

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius looked at the data that Asia handed to him. "Yea, I know the place. That's Raven's Nest. We'll be there in two days." As the shots fired,  he ran into the first hatch. Korius plopped onto his seat and his hands flew through the controls almost too smoothly, getting the power on and shields up at full. He smiled cynically, like a whole different person. "You picked the wrong wolf to screw with." He flipped a small cover ontop of the joystick and pressed the yellow button, firing his ship's own guns and blowing some of the enemy vehicles. He flipped another panel on the other joystick and pressed the red button, firing one salvo of rockets. He thought to himself, "Bugger! Can't believe I had to use those too." Without taking his eyes of the panels and the enemies, he yelled over to Asia and Tabby. "Ok, children sit down and shut up! This is going to be a bumpy ride!" He fired one more salvo of rockets, but shot them to the ground to make a cover as they lifted off and sped past the atmosphere. There, waiting for them, were two carriers, making a blockade. He smirked evilly again. "I'm sorry, officer, but we're going to have to take a detour. If we're going to bet past that blockade, we're going to have to use up a lot of energy from my ship. About 80% to be exact. We'll have to stop by a nearby system to get refueling after we get out. Hey Tabby! You see that red button under glass in front of you? Press it now!" As the excited little vixen pressed the button, the ship built up a large humming sound. On the top of the ship, a tuning fork-like object came from inside the ship. Power built in between the two prongs and fired a high concentrated beam right through the middle of the blockade. One carrier took hull damage and over 20 small cruisers were decimated. "Eat my rail gun you, ************! Ok, hold on tight! We only have enough energy for one jump and about 10 minutes of flight left. It's gonna cut reeeaaaalllll close! If we're lucky, we crash land on Vega 12!" He punched the drives and they sped into lightspeed 1 towards their destination.

[KittKat chunky~]

The last two of Kitts team focussed on firing almost exclusively towards the carrier, trying to blow a hole through the impenatrable wall of Triffids. With a fierce desperation he pumped the shotgun, forcing another round into the chamber, and squeezed the trigger... the cleaver jolted as an inciendary round spat across the short distance between him and a Triffid....
"Cover me!"

He stopped for a second, relying on his team-mate, the wolf private to shoot anything tall and green nearby while he pulled a large box-shaped ammo hopped off his belt and secured it underneath the cleaver shotgun... pulling back the automated firing pin he grinned... if he was gonna die... then to hell with single shot weaponry...

"C'MON THEN YOU FRACKIN' DANDELIONS!"
Pulling the cleaver up to his shoulder he squeezed the trigger, a long continous stream of inciendary rounds flaring through Triffids, burning their dark green forms to dry withered husks... The wolf shouldered up beside Kitt, opening fire on any triffid that strayed too close, the inciendary rounds tore through the hoard of Triffids like strobe lights.... The carrier was only a few Triffids away... just a few more seconds... they wouldnt die.. not here... not Frackin' now!

[HowlTheGrayWolf]

As the enemy pods landed, Howl raised his rifle and shot two soldiers then ran for cover. It was in the middle of G7's worst blizzard to date, and these enemies had thermal vision. On the microphones, you could hear screaming veterans being killed. Only Leon's vital signs were up on Howl's HUD. Plasma flew by his head, and he ran for a cave, where he found Leon, with a bullet wound in his stomach Leon coughed. "H-howl....I'm not going to make it, go down this cave...it leads to...the base. The cop who stole the e-ever flame is meeting us there...good luck." With his last breath taken, Leon was dead. Howl sighed, he had seen it happen too often. "Don't worry, your death was not in-vain!" After that said, Howl ran into the depths of the cave, where dangerous creatures lurked.

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

"Sir, they jumped!"
"How in the... well it is a stealth streamer. It can jump anywhere. Alright, what's the damage?" replied the CO
"Most of the task force is out of action sir, and the carrier's jump drive has been hit. We wont be able to persue," said the lieutenant, as he flicked through on screen dynamic reports. The CO sighed,
"Is there any way to track where they're going?"
"The nearest habitable planets are PX5 aka Jinto, BuRi2 aka Vintex and LE3 aka Vega 12."
"Ok send the reports over to command. Let's get this ship moving again."
Over the comms, a slew of messages piped into the CO's headset.





Over on Coloran, the team poured their ammo into the advancing horde. Triffids whiped out vines and roots to pull and slash at the carrier and its crew.
"We've only two guns left, Cap," said the feline over the comms. The great dog at bay doors was rapidly running out of ammo, though he had too many targets to care. Colonel Crow and his people fired incessantly, shredding the Triffid, yet the numbers still grew. From the left of the ship, a vine whipped out and slashed around the colonel's arm, slicing his elbow through the armour.. In one quick movement and the pull of the trigger, the triffid was dead and the vine released. Kitt and his team were in spitting distance, and the crew threw everything they had on the horde.






Within the caves of Raven's Nest, a lone soldier stepped through the darkness. In the walls, in the ceiling, a rustling could be heard, a scratching, and a crumbling. The very rock itself seemed alive, moaning in the quiet. The muffled echoes of battle reverberating through to join the quiver of stone around Howl. To the left, within the rock, something was moving, digging. It sped ahead, and he was alone, until a rough yet hollow voice of a woman spoke.
"You, you not from here. Your friends did... no survive."

[KittKat chunky~]

Kitt kept squeezing the trigger of his gun until he had no ammo left, shouting an obscenity to every 'stupid daffodil on this godforsaken planet' he slung the cleaver over his shoulder and pulled a shock baton from his thigh holster, swinging the metal truncheon into the form of a Triffid it crumpled into a writhing mass of leaves and vines, several hundered volts coursing through its entire 'body'...

He swung again, only to have the shock baton torn from his grasp by a mass of roots, spitting several choice words at the Triffid he threw all his might into bludgeoning the plant with his lower arm, the kevlar armour crunching against the tough stem and leaves with a sickening squelch... he pushed the Triffid aside. The ramp of the carrier was within arms reach, grabbed the only survivor of his team, the wolf private. And with every last ounce of his strength hurled himself with the wolf towards the ramp....

[Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy]

Korius did his best to control the ship as they came out of their jump. He had overshot his original point, right into vega 12's atmosphere rather than outside it. It rumbled hard as they came in hot. A voice came over the comm, "Unidentified craft, you have jumped past the gate and are not authorized to be within the atmosphere. Turn away now, or you will be shot down." Korius keyed the comm. "Hey! Sloan, listen, it's Korius. I don't have the fuel to do that. Please get me an escort STAT! I don't even have enough fuel to make a landing." "Roger that, craft Vee, I'll need to clear this first tho..." "Just bloody do it now! Unless you feel like me aiming for you and the comm tower as my landing brakes!" "... Roger that."

[Asia Kali Yusufzai]

Kitt and the wolf slammed against the bay floor, legs flailing over the edge, as the triffids reached out to grab, only to be torn apart by the twin guns of the great pyrennees. The other soldiers ran for the remaining survivors, grabbing them and pulling them on board as the ship lifted up from the ground.
"Get us out of here, NOW!" ordered the meerkat.
"I am already!" replied his pilot as the carrier took off from the ground, pulling with it some triffid who had grabbed hold, but a few shots from the mounted guns ripped off the hull.
The dog cheered, "Yeah, get some! hahahahaha!"
While the cat threw herself into the arms of her mate, the lynx who was firing with her. Back in the cockpit, the captain looked over the forest and smiled.
"See, a little confidence is worth everything." While in the cargo bay, Colonel Crow fell unconscious.




Over on Vega 12, a pair of automated drones shot out from a control tower on the vibrant red planet surface. The drones zipped through the air towards Vee, flying up to the sides of the craft. In an instant, a bubble of energy consumed the Streamer, emitted by the drones, slowing the ship, balancing it, before gently guiding it to the ground. Tabby stared out the forward viewer, entranced.
"Aw this is sick! I seen this on videos but... it feels weird, man." Her voice was punctuated with wonder filled yips. Asia looked around as well, but at the buildings instead of the drones. The landscape was pockmarked with clumps of plants, punctuated by buildings blooming out from the dirt. The entrances were underground, to prevent longterm exposure to the sun's radiation.
"This place is a bit high profile for my tastes," said Asia. "I hear they have some of the best medical facilities this side of the sphere."
As they landed, the drones disengaged the field and departed back to the control tower. Meeting them, were a pair of red pandas with wide brimmed hats, apparently made from the grass like plants that riddled the view. They had gloves made from something else, a similar plant but larger leafed, covering them like mittens.
"Welcome to Vega 12, we'll escort to the main lobby and check you over... oh and try not to look up."