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Xanieth - Assault at Lilat
Chapter 1/ Chapter 2/ Chapter 3/
Xanieth awoke with a start. The loudspeakers boomed across the hallways, reverbing throughout the tunnels of the BattleCruiser "Arkanov". Getting out of bed, Xanieth began to tie his boots and grab for his sidearm. After putting on his uniform, he grabbed a container of water and splashed it across his face. The cool jet mist awoke him and gave him energy. He turned on his lights to a 100% and eyed around the room. Frowning, he looked around his small metal cubicle. Filled with dust and grime, he was wondering how much longer it would be before he would be either promoted to a new larger sleeping quarter or before he simply lost his mind. Glancing out the window he noticed that over the course of his rest they had neared a planet. Seeming mostly composed of desert, the planet had sparse bodies of water dotting the surface. He could see the clouds swirling about. "Probably a storm." He thought.
Once again the loudspeakers blared their message, "All crew to their stations. All crew to their stations. The great Emperor Deathwing has a proclamation to declare."Walking past the hallway of his cubicle he made a right and passed the Chemistry Lab. A faint odor of rust and burning could be smelled coming from the room, and heat was emanating from the inner bowels of the research room. Quickly making his way past, he finally reached his destination: The Deck. There, hundreds of soldiers were lined up in perfect formation. Each one with a Gauss Rifle and military sidearm stood at attention. Filing in with the rest of the soldiers, he saluted to the Sergeant that passed by and focused his gaze, along with the others, on the great Holo-Net screen that took residence on the wall, over 100 feet in length and width.
A minute passed and nothing seemed to be happening. Suddenly, the screen came to life and thousands of lights across the screen blared. The screen seemed to be divided. In the top left corner was the glaring image of Deathwing, focusing on his subjects. The Admiral of the ship "Arkanov", Micuu, took up the rest of the screen. Micuu was fingering a large glass of wine, which seemed to have been recently drunk. Micuu readied his gaze on Deathwing as his orders began.
"All military proceedings are well, I assume?" Deathwing asked.
"Yes sir. All engines are online and functioning at 100%. All troops are here at attention, and all weapon systems are already deploying on the surface." Micuu answered justly.
"Very well. I expect our forces to be deployed and ready within the hour. I have another matter to take care of in the Grebun System. Inform me when you are prepared."
Deathwing's screen shut off to a fading black, where a moment ago stood the visage of great power. All at once the entirety of the ship let out it's held breath. Micuu still on the screen, glowered at them, for the loss of form. He began, "I have no doubt you do not know of what Deathwing was speaking of, so let me tell you. Exactly four hours ago in the Klanta System several of our fighters and transports filled with Civilians were attacked and destroyed by the nefarious and utmost unworthy forces of the SCL."
Murmurs began to rise. Some soldiers could be seen with signs of hate etched across their face, at the very mention of their archenemy. More noise began to bubble up, but the soldiers were silenced quickly by the Sergeants on deck. Micuu allowed the full force of the impact settle in before continuing.
"As you know, this violates every accord we specifically mentioned in our peace treaty with SCL. They have purposefully attacked and destroyed unarmed craft carrying an unknown amount of civilians."
"This can only mean war. Our fleet and this Battle Cruiser are positioned at this time directly above planet Lilat, which is one of the SCL's most valued colonies. Forces are deploying as we speak, and Deathwing expects us to report in of our victory within the next week." Micuu continued.
"I am personally angered at these people for intentionally destroying an unarmed craft. I did not expect them to go so far to further their cause. I regret the loss of the civilians that died with this fleet, and letters of sorrow have been sent out to the families of the dead. Let us all observe a moment of silence for the dead." Micuu closed his eyes.
After what seemed an eternity Micuu opened his eyes and intoned the moment of silence was over. Xanieth nudged his friend John and said, "So, how many SCL'ers do you think you're gonna get this time?"
John looked over grinning and replied, "Heh. I expect another twenty." He said, motioning toward the tally marks on his shoulder plate.
Xanieth looked back over to the screen.
"All right. The BattleCruiser has landed. Let's move out!" Micuu declared.
A rise washed over the crowd as everyone eagerly prepared for battle. Grenades were tossed into the crowd of soldiers and everyone was assigned into teams. Each team was given three detonation charges in case they would ever need them. Of the four possible groups, Xanieth and John were assigned to team "Alpha Bravo". Marching off the loading ramps, Xanieth was one of the first soldiers to step on Lilat's hot desert soil. The sun struck him with intense heat, and he could see heat waves rising off the sand.
After the men were deployed, next came the machinery. Everyone gazed in awe as the newly manufactured Goliaths walked down the ramps shining in the blistering heat of the sun. Tanks secondly came into formation, and finally the rest of the Arkanov Contingent could be seen flying boldly overhead. "This heat is blinding." thought Xanieth, as he trudged into his next formation. Their commander pointed toward their destination. A Command Structure lying in between two canyons. Several other buildings were attached to it, making it a prime target for attack. Only small forces could be seen patrolling the perimeter of the fortifications. Covering his eyes against the blaring sun, Xanieth wondered what would happen of this suprise attack as they slowly marched forward, tanks and goliaths following behind...
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