[Center][Color=Cyan][H1]Kol'Khen[/H1][/Color]
[Color=Crimson][B]Empire of Fleshly Succession
[I]Crush Native Resistance Through Symbolic Conquest[/I][/B][/Color][/Center]

[I][Color=Gold]The City of Gods[/Color][/I] hadn't been treated like a sacred site for the better part of a hundred years. [B]Raj'Avail[/B], a field leader for the Dynamo Squad, well understood the value of symbolism, as well as the need to overrule any thoughts of holy resistance among the native people. The city's golden horizon was blocked by magnificent towers that stood in front of the sun, as though to deny the people any light during the day.

"Commander Wells, Dynamo is on course to the shrine," Raj notified his distant overseer via an encrypted frequency. The subtlety was made better by the fact that he never had to say it aloud. Somewhere before the third or fourth generation, silent conversation became a standard feature for all Imperial forces.

"Very well, Raj," he heard back quickly. "Change of orders. You are not just to secure and oust the locals. You are also to replace the figure of Vanericko," a local deity, "with the likeness of Resolv."

Dynamo was a tight-nit group, bonded through hard fought battles. Under the cover of shadow from the very towers they'd erected at the city's edge, they were able to move without gaining detection, or so they believed. But Dynamo was not alone in their endeavor, at least a dozen other squads were reaching toward the same objective. Raj wasn't fond of fighting, but he was fond of the only family he'd ever known: Dynamo Squad. He'd been manufactured in Generation Six, a wave dedicated solely to Imperial conquest. While others saw him as a hero of sorts, Raj viewed combat as no more dangerous than hiking through the woods of Earth. Based on what he'd heard fleshly life served only to destroy each other and to survive at the expense of their own. But digital life, they were more civilized. Despite occasional spats with the Eym deemed necessary by The Emperor, they got along more peacefully. And between the two species, they had thus far proven that biological life was simply outdated.

"Raj, the shrine is guarded by natives, no one armed though. Do you think Capitol should clear them out?" Capitol Squad leader Atalaya asked.

"That would be too swift," he answered. While Dynamo wasn't alone, Raj'Avail had been given authority over all accompanying squads, including Capitol. "Instead let's give them something to remember. Send in the Gremlins."

At once, roughly a dozen knife-racks jumped into the air and left behind vertical columns of smoke. They shifted directions before crashing down near the locals. Their edges pierced some of the natives bodies, but the others ran away in a panic, hands in the air and feet going so fast it looked like they'd cartoonishly turn into wheels. The gremlins pursued a bit, one grabbed hold of a squirrelly local, dragging him skyward by his arms before tossing him onto one of the other runaways.

"Very well, Capitol," Raj addressed the crew of hovering nightmares. "Scout for any sentries. If they're here, they must realize that we are too."

"Yes sir," one of his subordinates chattered before blasting through the doors to the local temple.  Smoke lingered in the doorway, creeping heavenward after he, and others outfitted like him entered. Radio silence highlighted their attentiveness as preparations were made for a confrontation. "Area secure. The coast is completely secure."

"Excellent," Raj responded, promptly forwarding the orders, "send in the Crocs to level the statue."

At once, a series of heavily armored units sauntered into the religious center, tossing their weight about in a way that managed to casually lead them at a panthers' pace. In moments, the statue turned into a torch, with metal scraps falling off so thin they'd be best used as a bird's nest. Raj walked inside the area in time to see the ankles uprooted from the pedestal they'd proudly stood on for generations.

"Excellent," he commented with a mad grin, a grin no one could see because his 'face' had no capacity for facial expression, unlike later models. Radioing his closest associates, Dynamo, he ordered, "Begin work on constructing an image of Resolv."

"Sir, we have a problem.."

"And what is that?"

"We're under attack." Whether it were natives or conquerors like themselves went unspecified. "Please send reinforcements."