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Tauga leapt further, up on the threads of her tendrils, a dark bullet piercing the dark canopy.

She shattered the branch in her way with no more than a thought and an extended hand. As she tossed away the splinters, the Valtanansa saw her, and the foremost of the great-winged pirates dove to meet her. She brandished her bush-knife. The slingstone shot past her by some short inches, and she realised she'd have to close.

Riding the swing of an ophan around the colonial epicentre, Tauga flipped the machete back-hand and launched into the Valtanan, the Grotling immediately diving to do the same. The thorns on its first did nothing to slow the advance of the godling; her control of trajectory was greater, as was her speed. She rushed past with blood on her blade as the Vosh amputated what was left if its fist.

More slingstones fell, but Tauga had no intention of waiting around.

The rift in space spat, and Tauga's polehammer appeared in her hand. She'd done this so many times. The Grotlings could only move so fast, and Tauga's Vosh knew vents in the suit from which it could extend its limbs as it rose. The slingstones broke its fragile arms as one by one they were batted away.

Without disturbing the ophanim from their orbits, Tauga ripped through the Valtanan ranks, striking one by one the faceless entities in the language they understood.

She levelled her altitude on the top of a Bludgeon, let her feet settle upon it. The wounded Valtanansa fell spiralling to glide down and land amidst the trees. From afar, their reinforcement came.

Even a hollow-boned Grotling is too large to ride the [url=https://orig10.deviantart.net/ca7b/f/2010/222/e/d/cloud_ray_by_benwootten.jpg]mottled skyray[/url]. But they have loyal slaves.

With a single movement, an ophan departed from its orbit, and cut them both in half. The watchers on the dirigible cloudwhale grew still. Tauga flicked herself up with another ophan, extended her wingsuit and soared easily onto the cloudwhale.

She landed at the dead center of their arena. She looked around. Grotlings looked back at her. She beckoned to all of them, turning, one by one.

[colour=antiquewhite]"...That's what I thought."[/colour]

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