Transmissions

[Silent-sigfig]

1"Kenny, we got a fresh arrival bearing Zero-Eight-Four Mark Nine-Nine-Seven Mark Three-Eight-Four."

2"That's a direct fucking route."

1"Tell me about it. Beginning initial scan."

2"You got an I.D.?"

1"CMV Katie Queen, 50,000 ton freighter out of--"

2"Katie Queen? She was supposed to arrive three days ago."

1"You gotta stop interrupting me man."

2"Sorry. It's just that the Katie is usually on schedule."

1"Okay... So hail her. Isn't that your job?"

2[sighs]

2"Katie Queen, this is Redford Traffic Control, what can we do for you?"

2"Huh."

2"Katie Queen, this is Redford Traffic Control, please respond.

2"Katie Queen, please respond."

[shuffling]

1"Oh fuck."

2"What?"

1"Look at her bridge. You see any comms?"

2"Jesus."

1"Call Harbor Patrol and request a SKYSHOCK alert."

2"You think she's gonna go Meteor?"

1"Scan's complete. No one's home."

[The Shadowscythe]

This intruiges me. I wish for more.

[Vami IV]

This intruiges me. I wish for more.

[Silent-sigfig]

POSTITION COMPROMISED

CASUALTIES UNSUSTAINABLE

REQUEST HEAVY AIR

REQUEST [tao tie]

[Silent-sigfig]

"He who builds monuments to ashes is forever surprised when they blow away"

[Silent-sigfig]

The super-soldier called Morse was not easy to follow. The tracks of his company were disguised so well that even she lost them at times, and the bursts of radio chatter to his lieutenants so infrequent that they could not be relied on, but there were other ways to hunt.

He was only a mortal, but he was the most dangerous mortal on the planet. His efforts had turned a straightforward invasion into disaster for the empire, smashing much of the fleet in orbit and waging guerrilla warfare for months now. She was mortal too, but if she could end him, put an arrow through his heart, then just maybe she would be have a chance at becoming immortal. For that she would hunt him forever.

She follows him, reporting his position, begging command for a chance to kill him. Wait, they say. Wait, and let him reveal the rest of his forces.

It happens when he and his men enter a valley carved with bunkers and hangers. He is greeted by another company, one considerably better fed and less weary then his.

It has to happen now, she said. It has to happen now, while he is pinned in by the mountains, while most of his forces are consolidated. Command agrees.

A VOL Drekkar jumps to position in orbit over the valley. Klaxxons scream in bunkers deep below the surface as men and women grab rifles and run to defensive positions. Ambassadors rise from hidden hangers and sweep over the valley, scanning the terrain for the officers to analyze and designate firing lanes. A voice over their battle network: Hold fast. Prepare to fire. Hold fast.

She takes up position on a bluff overlooking the valley.

The drop pods come screaming out of the sky, disgorging their inhabitants into enemy positions. Tracer rounds illuminate the night, making the bronze runes engraved in the VOL armor dance and twist. The air is alive with the crack of automatic weaponry and screams as axes find necks. An Ambassador tumbles overhead, caught in the shockwave when an orbital strike from the Drekkar destroys the gun position below it. Knock it down! screams Morse. Get that ship out of the air!

The navy must not have scoured the orbit as clean as they claimed. A defensive satellite activates, rotating to find its target, and fires.

For a moment the sky is as bright as midday as the Drekkar is violently torn apart above. A moment of silence in the vlley below, and then panic as a chunk of the burning starship begins to fall towards the valley. She dives behind a boulder, covering her ears moments before impact. The sky burns even brighter, and for a moment she is concerned that she would go deaf.

And then nothing. The valley is silent but for the low crackle of scattered fires. The battle has ended. She is worried that she has lost her prey, that she won't have a chance to earn immortality when Morse begins to speak, his voice screaming across an open network: All units, sitrep immediately! Rendezvous at position Sierra-niner-Delta and prepare to move! This isn't over!

She draws a breath of relief and resumes the hunt.