Nondescript News

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Unsuspecting, the several of the enemy interceptors are struck head on by the missiles launched from the dark continent. Unlike the previous fighters which eventually fell to the sea, these fighters begin to bulge and spew energy haphazardly before glowing green and disintegrating into specs of ash.

Some of the interceptors manage to toss out flares, chafe and even seem to emit lasers, in the attempt to throw off the missiles, with mixed results, while the final few are struck- but repel the powerful concussive blasts with blue, almost crystalline force fields before beating a hasty retreat back to land... Though that doesn't mean additional interceptors aren't on the way.

At this point, the Storm Crow likely spots the various explosions further north and reads approaching objects from the land mass, heading right at them via their choice of detection method. A wise man once said 'medical, please prepare to receive ALL of the crew', though that need not apply here, but evasion will only get you so far if someone's specifically attacking you. This in mind, preparing defenses is probably a good idea before the Storm Crow reaches the object's like of sight- or maybe the other way around?

The CTC Fighters

The pilots of the strike fighters let out ragged cheers as several of their pursuers are downed by the unexpected ambush. Pulling away from the coastline, they form up to take stock of their own losses. For now, they start heading back towards their carrier.

Whether or not the Storm Crow is detectable by the CTC's sensors is up to Lord Bones -- they CTC fleet is not trying to hide their active sensor sweeps at all, particularly after one of their air patrols gets ambushed. So they might detect the Storm Crow's imminent attack... or not...

Down below, the beast bellows in anger at losing the original Raleigh- but is quickly distracted by the second attacking. *the initial barrier is defeated by his nails, but he soon finds that the barrier is layered upon itself. The layers themselves aren't that strong by themselves, but they're distracting enough- especially as the beast swings more tendrils at the second Raleigh, the air screaming with the beast's fury.

As several tendrils flash about the sea, the beast's maw begins swallowing the ocean, creating an nigh unstable vortex towards it- whether this hampers the scout vehicles is one thing, the waves from the tendrils are still an issue. As they approach, they probably begin to realize how immensely large the beast is... and perhaps wonder if it's alone.

Off of the Shoreline

The scout vehicles make an effort to keep their distance from the gigantic beast and its flailing tendrils! Although with the wind, waves, and electromagnetic interference as they are, this makes piloting increasingly difficult, and one of the scout vehicles drops too low, and is abruptly sucked down by the waves!

Further out to see -- i.e. several miles away -- the commander of the naval task force frowns at the displays revealing what's occurring along the coastline. "Damn that's big..." he mutters, before another display flashes for his attention.

"Sir! The scouts confirm the creature is engaged with an H-class or higher entity... analysis indicates 60% probability that the entity is the individual known as Raleigh!"

Admiral Brede frowns. "Raleigh? That's a D-class..." He strokes his chin. "I suppose something here attracted his curiosity."

"Sir, we're detecting a gravimetric anomaly. An unusual flux field has formed around the creature."

The admiral quirks an eyebrow at this. "What's the vector on the field?"

"It's moving upwards, sir!"

The admiral allows himself a smile. "Hmm... so, either that beast is trying to fly, or someone's trying to fish it out of the water. Either way... let's see if we can lend a hand in clearing the path for our forces. Comm! Contact the Ganta, Floyd, and the Snapfire. All three are to proceed to a position to fire upon the coastline! The Ganta and the Floyd are to charge their railguns for shore bombardment, while the Snapfire is to ready 12 MCM-20 cruise missiles!"

"Yes, sir!"

As the orders are relayed, one of the arsenal ships, as well as two of its destroyer escorts, begins proceeding closer towards land, although they don't close any more than 5 kilometers -- and stay well away from the rock formations, if they should happen to project that far out to sea.

Otherwise, the landing force is largely left alone- as is Raleigh, who finds himself on a barren, dead beach, complete with bones, rusting pieces of metal, and other assorted pieces of decayed items. The air is repugnant, even to him. With or without the need to breath, the 'air' itself is anathema to him, so perhaps some form of protection is a good idea, if he intends to explore the land mass further...

As Raleigh gets his bearings, he'll likely notice the two bulky transport GEVs making their way to shore, doing their best to avoid the tendrils of the thrashing sea monster. A couple of the hovertanks probe ahead, their vectored-thrust engines kicking up a cloud of dust as they reach the shoreline, their turrets swivelling back and forth warily, apparently expecting an ambush.

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

Given the considerable mass of the monster, it takes a considerable amount of energy and effort to pull it out from the water. This becomes more evident as the true size of it's bulk becomes obvious as more and more of it is drawn out from the dark waters- obviously while the creature is able to move about fine in water and is fairly buoyant, without the water 'supporting it, he slowly collapses on itself due to it's immense weight.

But not without a fight.

More tendrils sprouting from it's almost torpedo shaped body thrash about, some showing the ability to elongate and emit a blue energy which can be blasted at the second Raleigh as projectiles. Misses result in fairly large explosions in the water, sending more of those blasted waves crashing about, giving the CTC more issues to deal with. Of course, now that the creature's bulk is not longer shielded by the waters, it's basically a sitting duck. A sitting duck with lots of tendrils shooting blasts of energy, but a sitting duck just the same.

To the north, the CTC fighters have taken some pretty heavy damage for those that did survive, as the near misses from the energy beams, and the void creating missiles have taken their toll. But at least they'll be able to make it back to base.

As for the arsenal ships move into position, nothing seems to disturb their movements, though active sonar may pick up some odd pings... approaching from the shore? Strangely, the pings seemed to have first emerged just behind those landing craft, and are just ignoring the landing craft, assuming they are enemies.

Back on the shoreline, the GEVs make landfall without further incident, but they likely make not that the air seems to be slooowly corroding the vehicles' exterior. Though Raleigh's change in alignment seems to help with slowing the corrosion, it isn't stopped completely. Regardless, surveying the coastline, both Raleigh and the CTC are sorely disappointed- there doesn't seem to be any form of welcoming party for them. Unless you count that obnoxious miasma.

But, at least Raleigh likely notices thatit's not just the air that is 'wrong' but something in the energy flow of the land seems off... almost artificial. Whatever caused this phenomenon, it likely wasn't due to natural causes. And is likely tied to those odd fighters the CTC encountered. And probably that beast in the waters as well.

(Whenever Feng wants to post, I'll reply for him as well.)

"Squeak squeak..."

[Raleigh]

*Raleigh2 keeps dodging about in various flashy manners from breaking apart like glass only to reassemble the shards to simply turning into water and allowing the tendrils and blasts to pass through him before reforming.* I wonder dear monster if you have ever heard of the cordyceps? Its an amusing fungus that hijacks the mind of its host and overrides survival instincts. Guess what kind of fungus you hit earlier? *His eyes light up triggering any spores that might have found the flesh of the creature to begin to grow and spread while continuing to attempt to keep the creature aloft.* Since you seem to be undead I doubt you have much of a survival instinct to start with thus meaning it shouldn't be too hard to hijack your mind at all.

*Raleigh sticks his hand into the sand to try and get a feel for the life energy of the planet and to see how weak it is currently. The lower the level the greater the spread and duration from his experience.* I might actually have to use a life tree after this is dealt with to restore the place. *While doing this he also attempts to see if he can't get a sense of the epicenter of the corruption.*

[Feng]

((Sorry I'm late. Real life has kept me busy. ))

As the objects approach the Storm Crow, they might initially find what appears to be heavily built Steam Punk style zeppelin sailing at a leisurely yet evasive pace towards the perceived mainland. However, as they draw closer the jet black aircraft begins to reveal its defenses. The barrels of heavy rail guns peak out of concealed compartments located on the side of the ship. Furthermore, they might see what appear to be strange figures dashing about the open desk of the ship armed with anti aircraft weapons...

At the moment though the ship does not open fire, merely awaiting orders from its captain.

Said Captain observes the approaching entities from his cabin.

"It would appear that I've underestimated the defenses of our hosts. Clearly a stealthy amphibious operation is out of the question then," he laments, sipping his tea.

[Jello Shot Mischa]

Given the considerable mass of the monster, it takes a considerable amount of energy and effort to pull it out from the water. This becomes more evident as the true size of it's bulk becomes obvious as more and more of it is drawn out from the dark waters- obviously while the creature is able to move about fine in water and is fairly buoyant, without the water 'supporting it, he slowly collapses on itself due to it's immense weight.

But not without a fight.

More tendrils sprouting from it's almost torpedo shaped body thrash about, some showing the ability to elongate and emit a blue energy which can be blasted at the second Raleigh as projectiles. Misses result in fairly large explosions in the water, sending more of those blasted waves crashing about, giving the CTC more issues to deal with. Of course, now that the creature's bulk is not longer shielded by the waters, it's basically a sitting duck. A sitting duck with lots of tendrils shooting blasts of energy, but a sitting duck just the same.

To the north, the CTC fighters have taken some pretty heavy damage for those that did survive, as the near misses from the energy beams, and the void creating missiles have taken their toll. But at least they'll be able to make it back to base.

As for the arsenal ships move into position, nothing seems to disturb their movements, though active sonar may pick up some odd pings... approaching from the shore? Strangely, the pings seemed to have first emerged just behind those landing craft, and are just ignoring the landing craft, assuming they are enemies.

As the Snapfire and its two accompanying destroyers position themselves, their crews ready to fire!

"Both the Ganta and the Floyd are ready to fire, sir! All railguns are charged at 100 MJ!"
"Target has cleared the horizon from the gravitational flux!"
"All weapons, open fire!"

The railgun mounts on the destroyers open fire, simultaneous thunderclaps causing the ocean water to deform visibly from the concussive overpressure of their shots! The railgun rounds blast towards the rising monster at over 1 kilometer per second, although even at that velocity it'll take them a few seconds to reach their targets!

The Snapfire, meanwhile, opens a dozen of its missile hatches, and with a roar twelve cruise missiles launch upwards, their thrusters quickly reorienting them to horizontal flight before their ramjets kick in, and the supersonic missiles streak towards the rising monster. Each carries the equivalent of a 1,000 pound bomb payload -- and a dozen would be more than enough to sink any 21st century warship on the seas.

However, even as the attack is launched, the crews of the three ships can't relax.

"Active sonar detects inbound targets!"
"Prepare for submarine combat!"

The destroyers begin readying their depth charge launchers, but they're hardly alone in their fight -- much farther out to sea, the Vigilant scrambles a flight of assault fighters, armed with torpedoes!

Back on the shoreline, the GEVs make landfall without further incident, but they likely make not that the air seems to be slooowly corroding the vehicles' exterior. Though Raleigh's change in alignment seems to help with slowing the corrosion, it isn't stopped completely. Regardless, surveying the coastline, both Raleigh and the CTC are sorely disappointed- there doesn't seem to be any form of welcoming party for them. Unless you count that obnoxious miasma.

The CTC is fortunately prepared for the toxic effects of the miasma, although it's likely that even they hadn't realized its condition had worsened to this degree. The hovertanks and scouts start patrolling the nearby area, searching warily for any sign of hostiles.

The transport GEVs set down upon the sand, their hatches opening up to disgorge a contingent of soldiers in full-body environmentally-sealed armor, robots, and support vehicles. They immediately start moving according to pre-established plans, deploying digging equipment to start digging in, throwing up makeshift berms which are reinforced by modular components.

Raleigh may note one oddity about the CTC operations -- they seem to be quite keen to keep their thermal emissions to a minimum, with extensive coolant systems. Even the reactor plants they're establishing have widely dispersed coolant vanes being sunk into the ground and water.

Finally, another squad of individuals disembarks from the GEVs, apparently a team of scientists or technicians. They're carrying some rather unusual equipment with them.

"Establish a perimeter, and then we'll attempt geomantic stabilization!" the leader of the team calls out.

[Raleigh]

Raleigh2: Ah, the CTC are always reliable. *He turns into mist as the incoming missiles and stuff get closer to target.* After this I'll need to pop over to Bones' ship to see if they need a bit of help.

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

Out at sea, the massive beast's movements become more sporadic once the fungal spores begin to sprout and cover it's massive flesh, the high velocity rounds from the CTC ships impact it's flesh, hexagonal barriers shattering due to the barrage and it's already weakened state. Once the barriers have shattered, missile impacts and other explosions cause further damage to the huge beast- but somehow, it persists. Though the beast continues to lash out with tendrils and fire bursts of energy, the movements are becoming more infrequent as it takes more and more damage. The already dark seas turn black as parts of the creature fall back to sea, lacking any form of energy. It's only a matter of time until the beast is done for good.

As the enters its last last (un?)death throes, the submersed objects begin to rise up from the sea- with obvious dorsal fins sticking out from the water, each a gunmetal grey color, and slicing through the water with impressive speed.

Overhead, the Storm Crow finally spots the approaching objects- each of the objects turns out to have the rough appearance of a huge, black owls. Only are the size of jet fighters. How they maintain flight is a mystery, as they seem to lack any form of propulsion, and aren't flapping their wings. Regardless, as the aircraft approach, five suddenly flare their wings open, releasing several bolts of green-black bolts of energy at some of the Storm Crow's defensive emplacements. The other five accelerate, apparently on a collision course with the massive airship, and following the bolts of energy from the first five.

On the shore, as Raleigh sticks his hand into the sand, a shock causes him to pull his hand out almost immediately as he tries to feel the planet. What he just tried to feel is nothing like what he, with his wealth of experience and knowledge, has never experienced. Somehow, the land has been completely cut off from the rest of the world, and become something else. No, this land hasn't become someplace different- perhaps a better explanation is that another land has come and overwritten the previous land that once was. Maybe that's why it's like the land is from another planet- maybe it IS another planet. But it's hard to tell from feeling the land, which may actually hurt him if he tries to feel it out again.

As for the CTC, their efforts in establishing a forward base seem to be progressing well, and as they establish communications back to their main HQ, they begin to receive some form of interference. The interference seems to increase with time, until all channels go silent. There is silence until a crackling, synthetic voice speaks over their communications (the Storm Crow likely receives an anonymous communication line at about the same time).

"A-aRe yOU th-ERe?"

Now who could that be?

(Let me know if you feel I missed something. There was a lot to sift through, and I'm a little out of it tonight)

"Squeak squeak..."

[Raleigh]

Raleigh2: *Reforming after the explosions.* Get thee hence. *In an effort to keep the thing from depositing more troubles into the sea he causes a gate that opens out into the empty depths of space to appear behind the creature and sends it floating through.* Perhaps the ocean of stars will be a better home for you.

*Raleigh chuckles.* Encroachment and already established beachhead scenario. How fascinating for such a thing to happen while I'm actually on a planet and for me not to have felt it. This should have caused a more massive disturbance in the flows of time/space than the usual background chaos could have possibly covered. Then again the veil is weak here so I suppose its not entirely impossible. Oh well, no choice but to crush the core or whatever is at the source. *He snaps his fingers and his usual eight barriers flare into the visible spectrum for a moment as they shift about and reconfigure themselves.* That should hold out the environmental contamination going in my direction rather than only keeping me from doing the same. *Turning to the CTC.* Need any help?

[Feng]

The Chibiwanbanshu stare quizzically at the Owl creatures not sure what to make of the strange assailants. Are they a new form of human aircraft? Are they some cousin of the Thundering Ones? Or are they simply nightmare fuel in a can?

Eh, the Chibiwanbanshu try to blow them out of the sky irregardless, showing preference for the wings. The Chibiwanbanshu focus primarily on those making a Kamikaze run towards the Storm Crow while the guns duel it out with the remaining owls.

Deep in his study Bones responds to the call via morse code.

<<This is Lord Bones, Captain of the Merchant Class Airship, the Storm Crow. Please identify yourself and state your purpose.>>

[Jello Shot Mischa]

"Squeak squeak..."

Out at sea, the massive beast's movements become more sporadic once the fungal spores begin to sprout and cover it's massive flesh, the high velocity rounds from the CTC ships impact it's flesh, hexagonal barriers shattering due to the barrage and it's already weakened state. Once the barriers have shattered, missile impacts and other explosions cause further damage to the huge beast- but somehow, it persists. Though the beast continues to lash out with tendrils and fire bursts of energy, the movements are becoming more infrequent as it takes more and more damage. The already dark seas turn black as parts of the creature fall back to sea, lacking any form of energy. It's only a matter of time until the beast is done for good.

As the enters its last last (un?)death throes, the submersed objects begin to rise up from the sea- with obvious dorsal fins sticking out from the water, each a gunmetal grey color, and slicing through the water with impressive speed.

The CTC ships cease their bombardment after the first barrage hits, as they detect Raleigh's opening gate, and anticipate that the creature will be deposited... elsewhere. They have more pressing concerns, in any case.

"Initial scan of approaching unidentified targets complete! Evaluation indicates 90% certainty that approaching craft are hostile!"
"Commence attack!"

The squadron of assault fighters roars through the sky above the ships, launching a barrage of torpedoes and air-to-surface missiles at the approaching shark-like objects, even opening fire with their nose-mounted cannons to rip up the surface of the water, with the torpedoes and missiles closing just behind!

Meanwhile, further back, the Snapfire starts to withdraw, while the two destroyers move to cover her retreat and engage the inbound attackers. Missile turrets mounted near the bow and stern swivel and begin disgorging a barrage of subroc missiles, designed to engage and destroy attacking submersibles. The ships' Close-In Weapons Turrets swivel into position, their multibarreled cannons spinning up to speed, while various robots begin to arrive topdecks, levelling their weapons at the water to provide additional point defense.

As for the CTC, their efforts in establishing a forward base seem to be progressing well, and as they establish communications back to their main HQ, they begin to receive some form of interference. The interference seems to increase with time, until all channels go silent. There is silence until a crackling, synthetic voice speaks over their communications (the Storm Crow likely receives an anonymous communication line at about the same time).

"A-aRe yOU th-ERe?"

Now who could that be?

*Raleigh chuckles.* Encroachment and already established beachhead scenario. How fascinating for such a thing to happen while I'm actually on a planet and for me not to have felt it. This should have caused a more massive disturbance in the flows of time/space than the usual background chaos could have possibly covered. Then again the veil is weak here so I suppose its not entirely impossible. Oh well, no choice but to crush the core or whatever is at the source. *He snaps his fingers and his usual eight barriers flare into the visible spectrum for a moment as they shift about and reconfigure themselves.* That should hold out the environmental contamination going in my direction rather than only keeping me from doing the same. *Turning to the CTC.* Need any help?

The CTC continue to make their preparations, fortifying the walls around their nascent base, and bringing automated defense systems on line.

As the interference starts to affect their transmissions, the command of the landing force has them switch over to laser-based transmitters, bouncing the signal off of a high-altitude drone to the naval task force offshore, while still monitoring the incoming transmission.

"This is the CTC Eastern Expeditionary Force," the commander announces. "Who is this?"

Meanwhile, outside the base, the scientists and technicians begin placing their devices, activating them in sequence. They seem to be some kind of energy field emitters, design to try and manipulate geomantic fields -- in fact, it's an attempt to technologically mimic the field Ligel produced while visiting a CTC base not too long ago.

One of the patrols, however, is greeted by Raleigh! "Oh..." There's a pause. "You're the one known as Raleigh, aren't you?" she asks. "The commander may want to speak with you."

[Raleigh]

Aye that would be me. Got some communication equipment or should I just psy link with them? *Reaches into a pocket and pulls out what appears for all intents and purposes to be a glow stick. He snaps it and tosses it off to the side before fully facing the scientists.* Well, lets get to talking. *Where the stick lands a magic circle appears. It would appear he is opening his own staging grounds for dealing with this incursion.* Scarlet, send in the drones. I want my men buffered and sealed before they step through. The same for Orthros and any of the others in the menagerie. *As he follows the scientists seven small tennis ball sized metallic orbs rise up from the gate and begin collecting data.*

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

Out to see, the battle rages despite the immense beast being drawn into the portal to space, a futile bellow shaking the waters below it as it disappears.

Despite this, the oncoming submersed vessels rip through the waters as several take hits from torpedoes launched by the CTC fighters- but somehow don't seem to take any appreciable damage despite the explosions ripping apart the waters all around them, black energy flickering across the hulls of the vessels. There's a roar as one of the vessels rises up, revealing a huge, shark-like maw. In this maw, the air distorts with gathering energy and arrays of devices forming extending from the maw to stabilize the gathering energy which is becoming dangerously concentrated. As a distraction, the other vessels charge on, taking hits for the one preparing to attack- with one's defenses failing under the combined barrage, spewing inky black fluids into the sea and breaking apart before exploding violently. The two of the three left to defend the one charging seem to launch torpedoes of their own at the CTC vessels, while the third's back pops open to reveal an array of missile tubes which release a cluster of sea to air missiles! Though each of the defending shark-subs seem to be dangerous, the rising energy output from the one charging up is one for real concern.

Overhead, the owl-based fighters charge toward the Storm Crow, the defensive emplacements rip into their hulls, four spiraling off to the side and exploding before hitting the air in flares of green-black energy. The remaining one is knocked to the side, not impacting the Storm Crow directly, but raking the hull with immense talons, apparently vibrating at high frequencies to enable ripping through even solid steel- which could be an issue if said claws are able to breach the hull, and permit additional miasma to enter the air ship. The other five continue to open fire on the Storm Crow, juking about with bird like grace, while releasing additional bolts of green-black energy at the airship, each appearing to have qualities like plasma, searing and cutting into whatever they manage to hit. Indeed, it seems the kamikazis may have sacrificed themselves to distract the chibi's while the other five did real damage.

Further ahead, at the beach head, the CTC and Raleigh's preparations seem to be progressing well, with the artificial geomantic arrays reaching near critical levels before the miasma seems to withdraw a distance, allowing the CTC to make additional preparations. This also enables Raleigh to focus his own efforts with opening his own portal to the dark continent, which remains stable within the CTC's artificial geomantic array.

As for the mystery communication, Lord Bones receives a follow-up communication- but upon decoding, it just appears to be gibberish in morse code, so nothing further seems to happen. The CTC however, suddenly find their receivers gaining a huge load of information from whatever the source was, causing computer systems to crash, and their communications network going haywire. As backups come on line, or systems are restored from the brief overload, incoming transmission seems to end. How suspicious!

While Raleigh's drones begin to explore the lands near the beachhead, the conditions don't seem to change appreciably- lots of wasteland, and no apparent settlements- until they come across rather expansive ruins to the northeast, just a few miles away!

"Squeak squeak..."

[Funny Hat + Funny Accent]

<TacCom reporting. Situation has escalated. Involvement in events to reduce casualties is now necessary. Requisitioning nearest available forces. Forces deploying.>

*Across the skies, five flaming objects race toward the Dark Continent. Each drop pod bears a lethal cargo: a full squad of Zone Trooper infantry. Each pod is a roughly cylindrical object with drag panels flaring on the sides as massive rocket boosters burned brightly at the rear of each pod. No mere turbulence will dissuade their inertia. Should any object happen to obstruct their flight paths....Well, the nose-mounted, rapid-fire rail guns will handle those obstructions.
Additional extra-astromospheric contacts can clearly be detected by CTC forces and the Storm Crow. There might even be reports of a massive magnetic anomaly ghost detecting in the depths of the murky waters surrounding the continent.*

<TacCom reporting. Zone Troopers have been deployed. Lieutenant Rommel is in command. Callsign is Striker Three-Six. Contact protocols require situation reports every three hours. Additional reinforcements will be dispatched if contact is lost.>

<Striker Three-Six acknowledges Reporting heavy turbulence. Anything less than Predators for conventional vessels will have a rough time punching through it.>

<TacCom acknowledges Striker Three-Six. Be advised, Goldeneye device is on stand by.>

[Anonymouse]

"Squeak squeak..."

Going directly through the storms above the dark continent, the drop pods encounter a great deal more than turbulence, as the clouds themselves seem to have a mind of their own, hurling the pods about with unseen energies in the attempt to destroy them. The pods come perilously close to crashing into one another at times, but they fortunately don't collide. The miasma for its part, corrodes the pods a great deal, but given the speed they're traveling, they're able to breach the clouds before being destroyed completely. As for how well the landing goes after all the corrosion, that's another story entirely.

ELSEWHERE

In a dark operations room, illuminated by red lights, an array of people talk into mouth pieces with hushed voices, relaying commands and orders to those on the other side. The room is expansive, and tiered, with several entryways at each tier. However, at the back of the room where it's most elevated, a single door sits behind a large, throne or sorts, with tactical displays currently dimmed due to a lack of an occupant. That is until the back door opens with a snap-hiss, and all activity halts. A shadow steps from the back door, sweeping to the throne before coming to a seat. Its hands move, bringing red-glowing displays online, while activity resumes though the room remains tense. The shadow issues a growling order, and a huge display comes online at the front of the room, displaying the topography of the dark continent. It zooms in on its western shores, highlighting a number of 'disturbances'.

The shadow considers the primary display a moment before white teeth become visible in a cruel smile.

"Begin scenario number seven. Move plague three through five into position and inform them to await further orders."

There is a pause, the room loud with silence as a glowing beacon appears at the CTC's main base on the map.

"And inform our Lord that the first piece of Orden has just arrived at our own doorstep."

The shadow gives a laugh while the room erupts in a cacophony of movement and sound while the operators begin their work. The shadow allows another smile.

"Are they so naive that they aren't even aware of the opportunity they've given us? Huhuaahahahaha!!"

At more points, ELSEWHERE, the gears begin to turn, steam rising from across the dark continent, far beyond the detection range of the various parties landing there can detect. Something has begun to move, which only time will reveal what ominous intentions other have for our heroes!

"Squeak squeak..."

[Raleigh]

Scarlet: Boss, we've detected some ruins not far off. Perhaps you should investigate once you are done discussing with the CTC. *Raleigh nods at the message sent by his familiar and continues to follow along with the scientists.*

*Raleigh2 sighs to himself.* And now to help another ally out. *He fades out only to reappear on the deck of the Storm Crow.* Hellooooo? Anyone aboard?