A Long Ways From Home

Chapter Six: Inner Warzone

~ 15 Minutes Earlier ~

"The vicinity is surrounded sir," cackles the roughly translated voice in his ear. "We are prepared to engage on your signal."

"Excellent," the General responds while surveying the interior of the large earthly construction through one of the many heat signature goggles granted by his Beloved Leader. "I count five of them on the uppermost level, six of them on the lowest, and four of them on the ground. Looks like most of the beast creatures are out back. Deltoch, I want all of the Piken and Kraul sent to deal with their Chimærae. Divide the Kraul evenly to support the soldiers in the front. Focus on our target."

"Copy that General," Deltoch answers through the headpiece. "Ready to launch on your command."

"Soldiers in position. Garde accounted for. Accomplish the task and you will be rewarded. Failure to complete mission results in death. Remember that," General Sutekh reiterates. "Commence Operation Execute and Collect. Now, strike at once!"

"You heard the General!" Lieutenant Shu-Ra says at the northern front of the house in his heavy dark uniform. "Initiate the first strike!"

A soldier, grown from the vats, holds his launcher at waist level, aiming at the great double front doors, and pulls the trigger. As soon as he does, a grenade with a light green glow shoots out of the barrel and an explosion rocks the front of the house ahead of the Lieutenant's force. The windows are shattered and blown inwards, and they can all hear it at once.

A man with a voice that cannot sound older than thirty shouts upon the impact, "Get down! They're here!"

Indeed they are. The Lieutenant waves his squadron through while he leads them in. They will have their prize by the time the night is due.

At first sight, the Lieutenant catches glimpse of a man – presumably the one that yelled during the explosion – brandishing a kitchen knife and standing a fair fifty feet away. He looks ready.

Ready for a fight. Though with only a moment, the Lieutenant pulls a dagger from his waist and flings it at the man, speeding rapidly towards his chest.

The man jumps to his left, avoiding the small blade by mere inches, and in that time he spends getting back to his feet, Lieutenant Shu-Ra wields his 20-inch simmering steel sword and charges, the rest by his side following suit. The long blade ignites with the night even while inside the house is still perfectly lit.

Once he reaches the man, of whom shields two young children by which he assumes is the Garde, the Lieutenant swings the sword. From his top left down to his right, in a smooth diagonal motion to cut the man's torso clean in two. Yet before he is able to, something blocks his attempt. Lieutenant Shu-Ra is thrown off his feet by his own weight, losing his grip on the mighty weapon.

A girl stands shortly before his feet, her bronze hair flowing down to her shoulders. There is an ominous blue barrier between them, emanated from the girl's pale open palm she ultimately thrusted forward to protect the man that he was so close to pleasantly slaying. It spreads all the way from her feet to a few inches above her head.

The man, in just as much shock as the Lieutenant but with the ability to recover more speedily, shouts, "We have to get to the others!"

In that moment, the otherworldly force field of her creation disappears under the clench of her fingers, blue shattering like glass until nothing remains.

The Lieutenant has gotten up to his feet once more; he smirks at the thought of killing a Garde. Ever since he was a young boy, he had heard of very skilled soldiers among his race that fought in the Great Expansion and came back victorious. They had received a special class of tattoo among their heads that signified their leadership and strength. He had long wished to be granted his own. He had long waited for the day that he could make his adoptive father proud.