Hexaflexagon

[♛] 𝓡equiem. // the rise of soldier.

^{A R C H A D I A - E A S T E R N A P P R O A C H}

---

Hands dragged bodies up the shore lest they be washed away with changing tides. Allowing whatever patrol that came to collect their dead. Adrenaline dampened and the Giant fell to slumber, allowing for reality to lurch back into place. Pain flared across the body distant yet discernible. He didn't think about it. He didn't think about the faces of the bodies that he dragged, how young they were. There wasn't time for that. To become consumed by the dead would only serve to draw his eyes from the living. There was still a mission ahead of them, there was still a task that needed completion.

The mind did focus upon other more troubling aspects of that which had occurred and which would. Shyps don't fall out of the air without purpose. Corr was not a man of obtuse equations and obscure theorems, but he like the others had studied the mechanical diagrams. There were fail-safes and fail-safes built into those fail-safes to ensure skyward orientation. Yet there was no changing of whatever had occurred, the mind could wander upon thoughts of sabotage for hours if left alone. Focus instead came to what it meant moving forward.

The crash had its own merits no matter how few they were. A distraction they set out to create and a distraction they had created. A Shyp falling into the canal was something that wasn't ignored. And once the squad that mustered upon the shore did not report in more and more Archadian forces would come. This was of course assuming that the infiltration team was worth all the trouble. In that regard Corr could only hope that Corbyn kept his team moving towards the objective. The only real downside was those that they had lost.

The smell of smoke filled lungs and nostrils as the Shyp began to burn out at sea. A burial of short muster for fallen comrades consumed by unfeeling waves. Promises of protection having fallen short upon the blades of chance. A slow exhalation of breath followed as hands brushed away at particles of sand. Cool water still dripped from hair and beard, a chill in the lonesome night. A slow pulse of greenish hue ebbed beneath the skin as unnatural processes combated the cold.

Words spilled forth from somber lips. The tongue was old and broken in its countenance from a time when Gatrea was still young - spoken now only in temple. Among its few scant breeding grounds it swirled and reverberated with power. The old a tongue a chanting chorus doubling back upon itself with mystical reverence. Here on the lonesome beaches of Archadia it was a quiet and unrefined dirge gentle enough to get lost on the wind.

Join us those whom have fallen

Join us in a final song

Join us those who fought as the sword to keep balance

Fear not that your sacrifice will go unforgotten

And may you find peace in Spirit's embrace.

Letting the words drift off into the night, Corr turned and followed his companions.

---

Feet moved with aberrant silence through the foliage. A discordant mixture of life and death like most of Archadia. Life surged upwards towards a distant sun, nourishment provided from that which could not survive. The air was still accented with salt and blood, the sounds of waves crashing onto the shore fading in the distance. Curious animal life flickered about eyes peering through the brush at the foreign entities which traversed the woods.

Corr's eyes flickered with every movement as he watched on alert. He was at the back of the group, leading up the rear is it were. Making sure that they did not have any unpleasant surprise pounce upon them. Yet from a cursory glance one might gather an air of calm. Deep within he touched the whispering voice of the Giant, predatory senses alert. He was 'anchored' to this place and it anchored to him heightened sense beyond mortal reach. He heard the cautionary grumble in the back of his head and looked up to see Carmen looking back at him. He give a simple thumbs up before turning his attention back to his watch.

As they moved forward focus fell upon Kain - a font of destruction which crackled with anger and flame. If Carmen was the Void than Kain was the furious breath of Creation. Yet Kain's thread was one which never rested, the tension ripping through it. The fires were useful when harnessed but when left unattended it would burn till death.

Corr placed a heavy hand upon the berserk's shoulder as they walked. When he spoke his voice was in direct contrast to his fellow commander one without sneer or hunger.

"I fear you are better than you think. But if you must insist, the funny thing about hounds is their loyalty to the pack, they do not act in such ways to endanger the whole, lest they have to be put down." Corr explained pleasant despite the slight air of warning which came with it. He did not continue - no other words were needed. The man was not in the business of giving other people lectures but he was in the business of making sure what remained of his team made it out of this shitshow alive.

And then Corr stepped back withdrawing his hand and taking his position at the rear once more. Soon enough they came to a stop as Carmen hashed out the next stage of the plan. More fires it seemed was to be the way of approach. Rather than smoking them out it seemed they would be smoking them in.

"So we either split up or we stick together. We split up: more smoke across more locations make us look like a bigger force than we actually are. Stay together: we have a big old cloud to draw them in with. Matter of preference really, either way it should bring our friends running towards us rather than Corbyn's group."

Test

Testing one two three. Testing one two three.

Spiritum

@vietmyke
It's okay I forgive you. This time.

Spiritum

@vietmyke

_{Love you Myke.}

[♛] 𝓡equiem. // the rise of soldier.

“Doctor, we are about to be in a lot of trouble!”

Corr yelled his warning over the roar of the rushing water towards Natalya as the last of their surviving companions escaped through the dark waters. At this point it was cresting far above his waist and soon threatened to consume the entire cabin. The low audible groan of strained metal somewhere above him was enough to make him spin his head. He had enough of his faculties about him to dive out of the way slipping underneath the darkness as part of the Shyp’s roof came down right where he was standing moments earlier.

Head emerged from frothing darkness as water began pouring into the newly formed wound. The ruined wreck groaning as it shifted once more. Water quickly passing the chest and meeting up to lap at the neck. The slow chill sinking through the flesh and rooting itself into bone.

It was time to go.

He extinguished his arm, took a breath and then dived beneath the water. The saturation gripped at the furs weighing him down like an anchor. He made his way pulling himself along through the waterlogged skeleton. Finding his way through the rip in the metal he pulled himself through and out of the wreck. Almost immediately his body was buffeted by the intensity of the current. The downward thrust by the collapsing vessel trying to drag him down to the jagged seafloor below. He moved upwards propelled by feats of inhuman endurance towards the surface. Eyes burning against the salty mixture focused upon the glow of moonlight refracting against the shimmering aquatic barrier.

He broke the surface moments later. Deep gasps of air tinged with smoke and salt. Looking upward in the breaks and channels that the sea breeze cut through the fog he saw the sky. A broken geode, sparkling contents strewn in the darkness. It would've almost been beautiful if not for the sounds of conflict that were carried by the wind. Eyes flickered in the dark watching shapes move, the flash of fire and the occasional muzzle flare. A brilliant chiaroscuro of conflict.

He sighed, “Well there goes the element of surprise.”

The Giant inside roared as the sounds of battle awakened it. The clash of metal it's symphony, the yells of struggle it's chanting chorus and the blood its anointment. He looked around in the dark waves for Natalya wanting to make sure the doctor made it out okay. Yet the waves made it too difficult and the darkness too hard to see. She was a strong one though and Corr had a feeling she made it out okay. Besides he was wasting time. And so like a knife he began to cut through the water, the shoreline getting closer and with it the sounds of conflict.

Hands soon found purchase upon wet sand that embedded itself upon cloth and fur. The fog on the shore was less condensed than it was at sea allowing for a further gaze. The combined pull of the currents had put his companions further up the beach and inland then his current landing position. He needed to get to them quicker, the pounding of feet against sand would only waste precious seconds. Luckily for Corr he was not alone.

“You feel like helping out?” He whispered to himself and took the accompanying silence as begrudging acceptance. “Good.”

And so Corr concentrated turning his gaze inwards towards the swirling mass inside of him. Heartbeat began to slow, a solid pulsing drum as the iris of ember began to flicker and flame. Corr’s vision warped and distorted itself as he saw the world as the Giant saw it. A swirling cacophony of chaos and life, brilliant and mind consuming all at once. Invisible strands seemed to stretch outward from the darkness from where his companions battled. Some of the strands vibrated instantly as if they were about to snap. A hand reached out and grabbed at one of the strands. From the curious watcher on the outside it would of all happened within less than a second, one moment he was there and in the next he vanished in a flash of light.

The Archadian soldier moved forward legs shaking. Her allies were falling around her. They weren't trained for this. They were barely an upgraded militia meant to keep militants off their shores. Fight and flight responses were screaming to run but deserters just got shot. Shaking hands leveled a shotgun state of the art forty years ago towards the laughing clawed banshee that was ripping through her allies. Preoccupied with her friends she might of been able to get off a shot. As a finger began to squeeze the trigger there was a flash of light and a deep voice.

“Hello there.”

As Corr appeared he felt a kick in the chest as a slug slammed through ceramic plates and hit flesh where it found surprising resistance. A normal person may have just received a new hole in their chest for Corr there might of been heavy bruising and even blood but it would take more than a singular firearm to break through his increased vitality. The helmet obscured the face of the soldier but a face wasn't need to sense the fear.

He reacted quickly before another shot could be fired, hands grabbing the gun and yanking forward with a surge of strength. As the body was pulled forward it was met with the thunderous smash of a boot against chest plating. The impact enough to loosen the fingers from their death grip. He flipped the gun around and wielding it like a club brought it down hard upon the stunned soldier's helmet. The blow was enough to cave the metal in and send the solder into unconsciousness. Satisfied Corr dropped the weapon to the sand.

“You know commander you can't keep having your subordinates save you; what will the people start to think?” Corr yelled over the roar of the battle towards Carmen; a playful jab as he knew fairly well that even without his intervention the soldier would not of hit her and that it was more to speed up his own entrance to the fight.

He then turned his attention back towards his remaining foes, outstretching his arms and welcoming them to try and take him down.

[♛] 𝓡equiem. // the rise of soldier.

Similar situation on my part. Post should be up sometime on Friday hopefully, depends on how much actual work I can get done tonight.

Spiritum

@HeySeuss@vietmyke@Mercenary Lord@Draken@AlexStarsion@Mike73
The glorious or not so glorious once a month posting schedule continues. Things are going to quiet down for a little bit. Give y'all a breather from having to write frantic action for at least a while. But you know what that means character interaction and gasp maybe even plot!

Spiritum

---

Left!

The truck veered hard as it narrowly avoided another large pine that had materialized out of the darkness. Whatever accoutrements that had not been vacated previously were tossed around haphazardly throughout the interior. Shaking hands smashed the gear shift and prayed to whatever powers existed that the whole rig didn't stall. Somewhere beneath the roar and protest of the engine, the sound of branches snapping in the distance followed as their pressures maintained a close distance.

Setzer peered out into the darkness from his position at the back of the truck. He clutched his sword waiting and watching ready to repel any persistent robots. A roar sounding off in the distance and somewhere to the right of them a cluster of trees exploded. With all the lights turned down, their attackers were forced to go off of audio clues and their accuracy was seeing the worst of it. Not that Setzer was complaining as just one lucky shot from one of those machines was probably enough to blow all of them sky high. Somewhere ahead of him he heard Gideon somewhere ahead of him yell out another direction and felt the entire truck jerk. The Princess was doing surprisingly well at not crashing them yet.

His eyes flickered upward towards the skies. He intently watched a cold and unwelcoming blanket of skies watching, waiting. And then he saw it a slight flicker of bending light that marked the slow pursuit of the cruiser. He watched the slight glow as it began to charge for another bombardment. He turned his head and called back towards the driver’s cabin yelling as he did.

“Oi! The Fireworks are about to start up again.”

Chasing after the vocal conformation the sky flashed with a rapid strobe of hot white. Collette saw the flash in the rearview and a second later the landscape ahead of her began to detonate. It was almost as if night had become midday as the area around them was oversaturated with light. The heat licking at their skin and drawing the moisture from the body. Trees were tossed through the air like pieces of straw, boulders flung about like pebbles, and the earth itself spewed up chunks of molten material. The truck jerked and weaved dodging detonations that nearly toppled the truck just from the resulting shockwave. The smell of burnt earth and fire filled the air.

The explosion having acted like a flare to their pressures continued their own volley in earnest their shots landing much closer to their intended target. For the first time in a long time Setzer wasn’t one hundred percent confident about anything. They were going to die. They were going to die in a shitty fucking truck, in the fucking woods. They were going to die more hungover than drunk. They were going to die and he could do nothing about it. He couldn't swing his sword at a cruiser and even if he could he wasn’t quite sure that it would necessarily do anything.

This manic chase ontinued for what felt like an eternity. Eventually tires bounced from dirt roads to slick asphalt. The woods ended they had no choice but to go back to the highway. The bumping subsiding somewhat as the Truck began to pick up speed. Illumination coming once more from highway lights. It would be it. They could now get an easy shot off at them especially from the ship.

And then something strange happened.

Their pursuers stopped. Mechanical frames halted at the very border of the woods. Raised Cannons were lowered. Eyes flickered from a piercing orange to an unassuming blue. And very slowly they began to disappear back into the darkness. The ship froze in the sky. Another low tone from somewhere within its bowels was sounding that seemed to stretch across the land and vibrate their very bones but it stopped. It flickered and then vanished scattering like a disturbed reflection at the water’s edge.

They drove onward in continued silence still on edge. Setzer could of swore he could hear the heartbeats of his companions pounding waiting for the other shoe to drop. Yet all that was heard was the occasional cry of a wolf somewhere in the distance and the sound of wheels against asphalt. Cautiously the lights of the truck were flicked back on and headlights cut through the darkness. The sounds of the radio left on from before and seemingly forgotten in the chaos began to slowly fill the truck.

Collette’s hands were still shaking. Her heart felt like it was somewhere in her neck and refused to move down. Very gently she pulled her foot of from the gas pulling them from a frantic gallop down to a slow and steady trot. The old engine letting out a low sigh of relief as it did, a few seconds away from overheating itself. She flickered her head towards Gideon who still peered into the darkness ahead of them.

“You know you can loosen up a little bit.” She commented but whatever or wherever the jab was supposed to land somehow fell flat. “But uhh thanks for making I sure I didn’t flip this thing and kill all of us.”

In the back Setzer collapsed finally into a seat. The sword vanishing back into the mist. He breathed deeply wincing slightly as the adrenaline that filled his body slowly began to subside and the pain came rushing in. Nothing was broken from what he could tell maybe some deep bruising and a cracked rib but nothing that the magic of medicine couldn't fix.He peered out the back watching the lonely and desolate landscape roll on by. He tried not to think about those that didn’t make it. That wasn’t conducive to moving forward, to the mission. Yeah guess that was what they were on now, a mission.

He fished around in his pants and pulled out his cell phone that had somehow survived. The screen was cracked and half the buttons seemed permanently pushed in but it still turned on, which was something. The signal was weak but it existed. Though he didn’t even know who they would call, who would they tell. Oh yeah, we have an enemy princess that was here on a diplomatic mission, her shipped crash and then robots tried to kill us. Who would believe them? At best they would take it as WARDEN trying to prolong the war at worst they would take them as rogue agents acting out of line.

A warning light flickered on as the gas began to run out. Sighing Collette followed the signs off of the highway. Still very much in rural Rassvet the town they pulled into could barely be considered a town more of a rather large rest stop. Yet it was what they had going for them. Silently they pulled up to a self-service gas station harshly illuminated by an artificial glow that was disrespectful to the eyes. Somewhere within a small kiosk an employee pulled away from their phone to look at the scorched and banged up truck. A cock of the head and then a shrug as they want back to whatever they were doing. Attached to the station was a ramshackled building whose flickering sign of neon red advertised motel and vacancies. The prospects of sleeping an appealing idea. A key turned, an engine stopped.

Setzer dropped out of the truck and stretched. As he did he looked around at the emptiness that stretched out beyond them. The only sign of life beside them and the employee being the five or so long haul trucks parked in the motel parking lot.

He sighed, tired.

“So what’s the plan?”

[♛] 𝓡equiem. // the rise of soldier.

^{S O L D I E R E N C A M P M E N T - Z A L E R A T U N D R A}

---

“Hmmm. Oh. Don’t mention it.”

The steel covering of the foot locker pushed open upon soundless hinge. The wind battered the outside of the tent distorting the wailing calls which it carried. Running a hand through his hair he looked down at the contents of the locker. The large engine head of his staff, a harsh cube carved from a single portion meteoric ore whose contents contained whirring pieces of archaic machinery barely understood outside of Rabanastre; blade and pole hidden within the cube’s confines sealed until deployment. He dropped the piece of metal atop of the cot that had served as his bed for the past week, fabric pooling downwards from the newfound weight.

Quickly stripping down from his abundance of furs and cloth that covered his upper body. The chill of the tundra air a distant afterthought. He brought out a simple garment, long sleeved and black and almost alien to the touch. A moisture absorbing, quick drying, flame retardant and bullet dampening mixture of synthetic compounds and science that Corr didn’t care to look into - the only real piece of ‘military sanctioned’ gear that he owned. It clung tightly to the body like a second pair of skin. Checking to make sure everything was fitted properly he went about the process of redressing himself in his garbs of fur and cloth. They carried a surprising amount of weight to them partly from the sheer density of their entire assemblage and partly due to the thin ceramic plates woven and hidden amongst the strands. The whole process more like donning chainmail than it was a simple jacket or shirt.

As he finished tying the last of the bindings his eyes caught something tucked away at the bottom of the chest. Beneath a pile of loosely assembled papers with various degrees of hastily assembled handwriting, peaking out amongst the pages was a leather bound cover. Despite the gravity of the situation, a small smile crested along the corners of the mouth. Brushing the papers he looked down at the book. A gift from a lifetime ago, something serenely beautiful in its simplicity. A simple tuft of yellow stuck out from within the middle of the text. Cautiously like one disarms a bomb he plucked at the splash of yellow and pulled it from its confines.

Cradled in impossibly large hands was a small pressed flower, golden in hue. Long since dead it still managed to conjure up phantom visions of life. Particular smells and sounds dragged from resting places long buried in the recesses of the mind. A particular smile, a particular laugh.

Caught in his reverie he didn't notice another body enter the tent until a throat was cleared.

“Commander Rhinebeck? The Shyps are waiting.”

A steady hand repositioned the memento and dropped the book back into the foot locker resealing it with a well placed boot heel. He turned a smile breaking across his features as the sirens continued to wail in the background.

“I suppose they are.”

^{Aboard the Shyp}

---

He sat down as pretty much as far back into the ship as was possible. His eyes flickered across the space searching for fleeting moments of human contact, giving out any last gazes of encouragement. Then easily they fell back to the ground focusing upon the slightly raised hills of the rivets holding the metal plating together.

He exhaled breath snaking out of nostrils in a small plume of white. His face a mask of concentration as he dwell upon the state of affairs. He already didn’t like the mission from the start. It felt the wind before a storm heavy and filled with bad news. And now the added complications only seemed to further spell bad omens to come. A sane man may have protested but Corr was not a sane man he was a brave one. He was there to protect people, he had a job to do and he wouldn't stop until that job was done.

He buckled in the heavy restraints effectively pinning himself to the chair given that such things were not typically designed for such a creature of his stature. Giving the straps an experimental tug which didn’t do much to assure his own worries he pushed his head back against the wall of the craft feeling the metal vibrate as it slowly began to take off from the ground. The quiet rumbling, a low comfortable static to his buzzing aerial slowly fading away into peaceful oblivion.

_______

When his eyes opened his was in a familiar space. An empty expanse of darkness stretching all around and all consuming. Corr didn’t dream per say anymore, nor was he plagued by nightmares. Instead he had whatever this was. He stood alone in the darkness, stark naked and impossibly cold. Somewhere ahead of him impossibly far like the sun upon the horizon was a gargantuan figure sitting atop a throne. The light being cast from it harsh in the surrounding darkness, making it impossible to truly perceive the Giant. The great rumbling cacophony that he had become accustomed to over the years sounded out all around vibrating through his body from head to toe.

Corr gritted his teeth at unwanted sensation. Taking a single step forward he found the ground as it were beneath him sink. The ink like texture grabbing and sticking to flesh. He grunted out of frustration as he ripped the foot upward and took another step towards the glowing figure in the distance. Another step moving forward even as the figure seemed to grow more and more distant. The rumbling still continuing.

His voice rang outward even as his mouth remained close, echoing and amplifying. It filled the space overpowering the rumble, a singular question.

“What do you want?!”

▲̷͞▲̛͞▲̀͏̀͟

The rumbling intensified, the ground shifted and seemed to spin driving Corr down to one knee. The dark ink-like substance that made up the floor sneaking up the flesh of the leg like a tendril. He reached a heavy hand down and grabbed at the black substance ripping it away from his leg and throwing it to the ground as he stood up. He took a single step forward feeling the terrain give even more resistance to his movement, trying to stop him, trying to consume him.

“I . D O . N O T . U N D E R S T A N D . Y O U .”

▲͘͡҉̛͟▲̵̧▲̨̀͜͟͡

He sensed it before it happened something impossibly large driving into his back. He fell plummeting face first towards the ground. Before where it was like a thick molasses now it shattered beneath him like glass. Yet he did not fall, rather it was like the whole floor had flipped with him in a roll forward, his feet never leaving the ground. When he looked up he was now at the feet of the Giant. The human like shaped blurred by the intensity of the heat, skin screaming outward in pain like standing next to burning napalm. His body froze, muscle tightened and he couldn't move. What was that feeling. Fear? Awe? He couldn't quite tell.

The Giant leaned down form it’s thrown bringing up a hand - so big it could cup the world in its palm, down towards Corr. A single finger reaching towards him. His vision filled with the glowing light, blinding him.

When his eyes opened he was no longer at the ‘feet of the Giant’, he was above the canal that he knew they would be crossing soon. It was day and the sky around him was a perfect shadow of boundless blue. And then he was falling, falling, falling. The waters approaching his vision closer and closer. As he neared the surface it exploded upward, a human face being crafted from the rushing waters. It’s jaws opened and swallowing the man. And then there was darkness once more.

^{T H E C A N A L}

---

Eyes focused upon a simple light fixture. A green ready light casting its quiet emerald glow over the surrounding darkness. Somewhere in his periphery words were being spoken but they were distant like they were underwater. He could feel himself slowly pitching downward. Clarity rushed back to the brain. The words becoming clear.

“Brace-!"

An eternity later the force of the descent lead in one hell of a crash. The restraints mind to hold down smaller individuals flexed, buckled and finally snapped sending Corr smashing into the opposite wall. He managed to pitch his body mid flight in such a way that the broadside of his back took most of the impact. For normal people such a hit probably would of snapped the spine, for most SOLDIERs it might of left a bruise, Corr barely felt it. He body slumped to the floor of the Shyp in an ever increasing pool of frigid water. Making a sound akin to a stricken ox he reached up to find purchase to pull himself up. Hands slipping on now drenched material.

He felt something grab at him and with surprising amounts of strength help yank him to his feet. He stood face to face with Natalya. Nodding his thanks he moved forward. Ahead of him voices swallowed by screaming metal and rushing water he saw some of the others moving towards the crack in the metal which seemed to be their only exit. He moved forward as he watched them disappear into the rushing water. He pushed his way through the water with his greater height it not being as much of an issue as it was for some. He felt the chill pull and gnaw at his skin and bones beneath his clothing. A small crack burst on the wall to the left of him splattering his face. The whole ship groaned in protest as light alloys designed for aerodynamics not for surviving rapids continued to buckle and distort all around them.

Corr raised an arm which began glow harshly illuminating the darkened interior. Casting light about dark thrashing water and the surrounding interior giving those inside something of an easier path to navigate. He beckoned the other forward heavy hands steadying their progress and in some cases out right ferrying them to the exit as the water threatened to swallow their smaller forms in the ever increasing deluge. He did dive nor would he until the others had all gotten out. He was confident enough in his ability to swim. Memories of diving into the rushing rapids in the forests adjacent to the monastery and seeing how quickly he could get out. Memories of having to scrubs the floor for weeks in retribution for the gray hairs he had caused.

Beside it's what he did, protect people. Corr never claimed to be big on the whole self-preservation thing.

"Come on people this shit ain't gonna hold for much longer!"

Star Wars: Left Behind [Hex & Gowi]

@Gowi