Mana4X2

Can't Save Them All From onboard a creature whose eight legs kept it aloft he surveyed the battleground below. He wasn't surprised to see which side had won almost losing his own life to a weapon under no one's control. Her allegiance was clear. Her ability to unblock doors bolted and sealed by the likes of a woman so consumed with power was nothing short of a miracle. No wonder Myrrah had kept them separated until she was sure Mana was just as misled as he was. Those brown eyes were exactly as he remembered and the maturity in them now – how he wished things could've been different. In a moment of clarity he wasn't sure how long would

Behind Yellow Eyes Elaborate and large, the Palace Throne Room was built to overawe and show off the power of the soul royal occupant of the room. Standing next to her was the ever faithful Second in Command, almost double in size yet entirely under her sway. Kaius had taken this long walk from the inner entrance to kneel at the foot of the dais stairs many times. By now he was able to ignore the wall-length upper levels on each side, the Imulsion pits built beneath the platform-to-roof columns stabilizing the sides of the room, and the low-lying metal cover that rose along adjacent straight lines about three meters apart in the middle. Wit

A Deeper Deception Many attempts had been made to try and stop the grubs from creating their Emergence Holes. Traps, interception, man-made obstacles of endless inventions; none of them worked. They had the perfect tunneling creature at their beck and call, the Corpser's sheer size enabling even a Brumak to amble up to the surface. It was not difficult to still be amazed at the ingenuity of the enemy, their technology may have seemed primitive in comparison but its uses were endless. They utilized what they could find and enslave. If only humankind had been aware of the weapons that dwelled beneath them. It didn't matter to the Corpser whet

Once We Were The only problem with taking a Raven was what if there were more survivors than could fit on one bird? It was possible maybe one or two of the Stranded had made it. Even so, how would they get through the battle Anya was keeping them apprised of and where exactly should they start looking? On the ten minute ride over Baird brought these points up many times, his whining thankfully cut out by simply focusing on the sound of the rotors. He knew he was effectively being ignored, didn't stop him though, the one person present who held out absolutely no hope for anyone being alive. "Gettner, take us down here. We'll cover the rest o

Man of Action Cole's eyes just about bulged out of his head, staring at the plate Mana was carrying piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, a couple pieces of toast on the side, and also managing to balance a jar full of juice. He reached over to steal a piece, the Healer promptly smacking his hand. She had this warning look in her eyes, this whole demeanor of Mine without even having to say it. "Whoa baby, you got some empty pit thing goin' on?" he asked, motioning to her stomach. Mana nodded fast, already lifting a piece of bacon to her mouth at the same time she was sitting down. "I'm starving, absolutely starving. First

"There comes a time when one has to accept the inevitable. When you realize the only way out is to face the very thing you've been dreading." ACT 7: Shredding The Veil Feeding Ground The burning sensation in his nose, and the smell, it was almost enough to put him back out again. He remembered something about a knockout gas so potent none of them had even had the time to really react to it before they were out cold, at the complete mercy of the grubs that were coming up out of the Emergence Hole the Corpser had created. He'd felt what happened before that though, had a couple seconds to register their APC suddenly tossed sideways, landing

That Crawlspace In-between Journal Entry: Mana 84th Day of Frost, 15 A.E. It's warming up now. Last night didn't have that usual chill factor to it, at least, not when it came to the how cold it was anyway. Will this ever stop? Were they the last connections to New Hope or are there more scientists out there? Sometimes I get this feeling so strong that I almost pack up everything I now have and quietly leave this place behind. I'm getting that feeling now, ever since I woke up this morning in my own bed. Marcus must have carried me back here. When I walked away from them last night it was clear I didn't want anyone to follow me. I needed t

Asset Denial Anya turned from the monitoring terminal at the sound of Hoffman, Bernie and Delta-One entering the Ops Center, the Colonel already giving her the usual look that asked for an update without having to say a word. She nodded to them all in turn as they surrounded the table then moved one hand to point at the highlighted convoy, running a finger in a direct line to an area South East of Jacinto. Hoffman raised an eyebrow, it was a section of the plateau hardly ever traversed, terrain covered in a thick forest, yet he didn't feel it would be so easy as to find the location of this New Hope 2 there. "The convoy is made up of four a

Action and Reaction That was the last of them, the crate handed over to the family just after nightfall. With a nod of appreciation from the father, Delta watched their retreating figures until they were out of sight, following after the Gears that'd been assigned to them. It had to be admitted, this good feeling they were all experiencing now. Well, except for Baird, he was still pretty ticked he'd had to waste a good day on saving the butts of Stranded scum. Still, when Mana pointed out to him some of those Stranded were kids there had been a hint of something else behind the hatred he felt for their type as a whole. Not even Damon Baird c

One Sided Assist It hadn't taken long to verify why exactly the Locust had attacked that Stranded camp. More attacks had come the next day, coordinated, strategic, there no doubt what their objective was now. Since then, in the days that'd followed, the carnage had been amplified so much people who usually didn't want to see hind nor hair of the COG had started crying out for their help. Marcus stood on the back of one of the four trucks, and one Centaur about to head out to the nearest camp as yet still untouched by the Horde, checking over the information on the data pad in his hand. They'd managed to figure out a pattern, the first attac