---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This is your first mission right, you feeling nervous?" Salmar asked, watching as the red female entered the tank from the top hatch. "My people do not get nervous, Salmar. We focus and complete our task." Deianiary replied, moving to the front of the tank and sitting in the driver's position. "And I will complete this mission with the focus and skill demanded of me." "That so?" Salmar replied, shifting off to the side as two more crewmen entered. " That orangeish engineer guy looked pretty nervous to me." "That male will not secure a mate at this moment. It is that simple." Deianiary replied as she started the tank, quickly looking around to make sure the crew was secure. " I am ready." Salmar sent a signal to the shuttle informing it of his team's readiness and gave a thumbs up to Deianiary." You're not even a little nervous about being the first of your kind to pilot a tank? I mean, you still haven't even told me why or how you were selected, not even in sim training... Not that it matters, I mean." He quickly added. Deianiary sighed as she grabbed the controls and slowly guided the tank to its position behind the shuttle, waiting for the green light informing her to move under it. " I was next in line to be a ship captain. It would have been nothing larger than a patrol ship, but it would have been mine... Chrarada decided otherwise." She started, pausing to stop the tank in its designated position. "She personally offered me this position, saying I would be blazing a trail for our people by gaining experience in something we don't have a modern concept for. Upon my return, I will be the instructor of hundreds, and I'll have my pick of any male I could wish for. It also helped she accepted my request as well." "Ahh, so doing it for the D. Got it!" Salmar replied, keying a few controls and ignoring the glare he earned. "What did you request of your leader, though... It seems kinda risky if you ask me, to demand something in return from Chrarada." "I don't know what you are insinuating, but I feel it's offensive." Deianiary spat, moving her tank under the shuttle as the light turned green. " My demand was simple. A lift of breeding restriction for myself." Salmar quirked his eye, trying his best not to pry too deeply but letting his curiosity get the better of him. "What breeding restriction?" "The limit to our birthing. All families are limited to one offspring. Two for those in military service, though only once your first has reached the age of entering the workforce. I asked her to lift the restriction so that I may have many children." Deianiary stated proudly. "I will be the envy of many and have countless joy-filled days." "Uhh... I didn't take you for the type to like children." Salmar replied as his tank shuddered and the shuttle overrode the controls. " I mean, honestly. When I look at your people, all I see is 'HONOUR TO MY HOUSE!' and be strong and proud and stuff." Deianiary scowled at Salmar's words, hitting a few commands as the tank attached itself to the shuttle. "Of course I do, all my people have a deep love for children. However, you must be healthy, strong and a good provider. Otherwise, the children will suffer. Why else would you look for a strong mate who is competent at their work." She replied, cautiously placing her hands on her thighs." We work hard so that we may provide the best life for our children within our current situation. The males have it the hardest, needing to earn enough heat to keep a gestating female within tolerance. It's why we fight so hard for them." "Waaaait, wait, wait, wait... Hold on here, what the hell. You're saying, all your people are so stuffy and all 'Must look for a good mate' because your people love children and want to give them a happy life." Salmar replied, blown back at his findings. Deianiary sighed and turned back to her display. "Partially yes. Though we love our partners so very much as well. Why else would we do such things if not for love and children?" Salmar looked to his other tankers and then back to Deianiary in quiet enjoyment, finding this discovery to shed new light on her people. "So you're saying that orange dude's prospects of having kids have gone out the window?" "Currently, yes." Deianiary replied, waiting for the shuttle to launch. "Anyone you have your eye on then?" Salmar asked, tensing for the swift rebuttal. Deianiary thought to herself, quietly pondering the happenings of the previous day in silence. "The three top males on this ship are taken. However.... I find Talon Leader Ranarus would be a suitable mate. He is strong and has achieved much. He is also quite pleasant on the eyes as well as his horns are rather remarkable." "So aren't you going to go... What is it you do... Claim is it? Him." Salmar said, watching the Voktlix dignitaries and their aides walk through the hangar towards the shuttle, an armoured Terran holding a few bags following. "I did. A Terran maintenance engineer disputed me... I did not know what to do with her, so I revoked my claim and began studying Terran mating rituals. I did not see challenging for a mate in the database, so I am at a loss." Deianiary muttered, losing herself in thought once again. "Your mating rituals are rather complex." Salmar sat in silence for a time, wondering just what happened before finally coming to understand just what might have occurred. "So.. You claimed him, and she challenged your claim? Wouldn't that mean he belongs to her now since you backed off?" Deianiary whipped around in shock, looking Salmar directly in his eyes. "But she is Terran... Surely, she would not fight me for him?" "Sounds like she was playing by your rules, lady. I would go kick her ass when we get back and take your claim." Salmar replied, accepting the countdown timer from the shuttle. Deianiary frowned and turned back to her locked controls in anger. "I see. I will do so then." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael finished double checking the power draw and shield extensions as the shuttle completed its power-up, watching as Aylen helped Both Basthin and Ekianei aboard the shuttle. " Got everything you need, Sergeant?" He said through a private com. "Yes, Sir. Formal, regular, and camo gear ready to go." Aylen replied, walking onto the shuttle and beginning to help the Voktlix strap in. "Commander is pretty pissed, ya know... Sir." "Yea. He sent me a strongly worded letter about it." Michael replied, remotely sealing the doors to the shuttle. Aylen let out a laugh as he sat next to Ekianei, buckling himself into the chair. "I told him it's fine, and it was my decision in the end. I think he's angrier about losing his drinking buddy, honestly." Michael powered up the engines and sent a message to the attached tank to ready itself. "Remember. You have my ear at all times, let me know when you want out, and I'll send a fighter crashing through the roof for ya." "Ekianei isn't too bad. Bit handsy, but maybe that's normal for her people. It'll also do good to gather some intel.. I think this is the best way of going about it." Aylen replied, thanking the fact he had his helmet on. "Alright. Let's get this tank out to the surface then." Michael replied, cutting the com and opening one to the entire shuttle. "This will be a bit bumpy at first as we enter the water, but please be at ease. I've done this hundreds of times." Ekianei grasped Aylen's hand as the shuttle began to shake, the shielding coming online as it lifted itself off the ground and slowly began moving to the end of the hangar. "This is quite frightful." She said, fighting the urge to harden her fur. "It'll get a bit bumpier as we enter the water, but like the Captain said. He's done this a lot, so you don't need to be afraid." Aylen replied, looking over to Ankiah, who seemed to ignore the bumpiness. "It feels like I am rolling down a hill. How does this contraption work?" Basthin asked, showing a strong face as he held tight his safety restraint. Aylen shifted to the General with a shrug as the shuttle entered the water, sinking deep into the lake as it exited the ship, and skimming along the bottom for a time as Michael studied his surroundings. "Hey, look. Crabs! Everything evolves into crabs!" Michael said, throwing the display to the back for all to see. Ekianei tightened her grip as the odd-looking water insect skittered along the bottom, stopping to dig through the dirt and put odd lumps in its mouth. "How have I never witnessed one of these creatures before?" "Well, your lake is big enough to hide a frigate. Aylen said, watching a small group of three-tailed, sharp mouth fish swim by. "Everything on your planet looks like it wants to kill everything else. No wonder your evolution leaned towards defence." "Ahh, this is quite the common fish to catch. Though their bite is rather painful." Ekianei replied, finding solace in seeing something familiar to her. "That, however, is not." Basthin pointed out, watching as the eel-like fish with wide pincer-like appendages scooped up a crab and swam off with it. "Yup... Nature." Aylen stated, looking over to Ankiah, who continued to watch the display. As Michael continued his short flight, skimming across the bottom of the lake and giving the passengers a show as he went, the entire trip taking approximately eleven minutes. The ship finally exited the water, splashing the surrounding area as it left and reminding Michael just how long he had been awake. "It's dark out. Didn't we start operations in the morning?" "Sir. It's almost twenty-two hundred." Aylen replied, looking out at the night sky. "That's a lot of ships." Ekianei sighed as she continued her grip on Aylen's hand. "Yes, they appeared from nothingness and looked as if new stars had blessed our planet... How wrong we were." "They won't be there for much longer." Ankiah replied, finally breaking her silence. "The Terran navy will destroy all of them when they arrive. You can count on it." Basthin nodded his head along with her statement, holding his restraints tight as the shuttle shuddered once more while the tank detached from its underbelly. " If what I've witnessed is any indication as to the power balance between the two. I would count on it being rather one-sided as well." While Michael finished offloading the tank, he did a quick check of the map and aimed at his next target. "I'll be taking you to your mech next Ankiah. It should take about twenty seconds." "Understood, Captain." Ankiah replied, unlatching her restraints and gripping the roof supports as she made her way to the back entrance. "Have fun, Aylen." Aylen shot her silly a look from behind his helmet, noticing that the vixen did indeed grip his hand a bit tighter as he looked away from her. " I'll be fine, don't trip on a stone on your way back." As The shuttle touched down and the power left the engines, Ankiah keyed the door and walked out, leaving the three remaining guests to themselves as she walked towards her kneeling mech, which was already drawing a small crowd of citizens. "Back away please, I'll be activating it in a second." She shouted, trying to be heard over the shuttle as a few Voktlix skittered behind whatever cover they could find. Sighing, Ankiah climbed into her mech, beginning the link phase in annoyance at her people's cowardice. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You're free of the shuttle. You have control." Michael stated over the com to Deianiary. "I have control." She replied, grabbing hold of the controls and steering the tank towards the gate. " So, these Stydun? They're supposed to be everywhere, right?" "You would be correct." Salmar replied, looking at his ops readouts. "Follow the plan I laid out. We'll leave through the gate our forces entered through and move through the battlezone. I want to run a quick scan before we enter the forest." "Understood." Deianiary replied, driving through the empty streets. " Locals don't like going out at night." Salmar ran a quick scan and nodded as if confirming his suspicion. "Locals are still locked up in their bunkers. Only a few should be out right now." "Having bunkers prepared was quite the stroke of luck... For all the good it would have done them." Deianiary replied as she continued down the road, slowing down to eye a particularly flashy apparel shop. "Their fashion is quite odd." Salmar chuckled, thinking back on the bit about focus before eyeing the store himself. " HA! That shit would fit right in with a cyber rave..... We need to focus..." Salmar quickly corrected, turning away from the shop. Finally approaching the illuminated gate, Deianiary looked back at Salmar, who shrugged and popped the top hatch, climbing up so his upper body was sticking out from the sleek turret. "HELLO! Gate guards! Can you open up and let us out." Watching as a guard poked their head out from the gatehouse, Deianiary fought back a sneer as what she assumed to be a female slowly approached the tank with caution. "Hello!" Salmar said as the Voktlix walked up to the tank to get a better look at it. "Hello, Sir... Do you have papers allowing your exit?" The female asked, looking at the machine. To her, it was massive. Seemingly blending in with its surroundings as parts of it changed to match whatever light bounced off it. It's enormous metal tracks and sloped front spoke of an unstoppable menace meant for nothing but destruction, much like the walking one she had seen earlier. "Nope. I got a big gun, though. It shoots a lance of anti-matter... all sorts of shells too. And three auto rail cannons... And lots of other guns and mortars that can break that gate. So can I please get by." Salmar asked, looking at his gunner with a grin. The female didn't seem to understand what Salmar was saying but easily understood the part about breaking the gate and quickly ran back to the locking house. "Big guns solve problems." Salmar said to his tank crew with a slight laugh, pointing forward as the gate began to open. "ONWARDS!!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------