"Shattered Hands", By Ur'Marshal Karnagan De'Unnero, the Implacable

Chapter 4: Anomalous Readings

13th of Gorgani, in the 543rd year of the Imperial Empire.
Twenty-five minutes before the Incident.

The team of orclach warriors milled about on the great dais in Magnagora, their
murmured conversations breaking apart as a single woman moved through them
towards a regal figure in gold armor, a gigantic black waraxe crossed with a
huge claymore on the black plate of his armor. "Commandant!" Muja's voice
sounded clearly, gaining his attention as he turned around to look at her with
a curt nod, ignoring the dull roar of the teeming crowd gathered around them.
"Muja. Status report." She inclined her head politely as she briskly said,
"Catacombs are secure, sir, as are Acknor Province and our expeditionary force
in Angkrag. The new soldier trainees are coming along nicely, particularly the
First of the privates: perhaps you remember him, that boy who was the
transceiver operator during Ladantine's Day of Address? However, sir, I
strongly recommend you leave more senior officers in the base for this mission:
we won't come under an attack we can't handle, but we will be in poor position
to respond to any threats outside of the base. A bandit attack during the
Cosmic Hope celebrations could cause widespread property damage without a
strong Ur'Guard response."

Korath shook his head, coolly responding, "Noted and rejected, Senior
Technician. I leave any disorganized rabble to be dealt with by your capable
hands. But my planar knowledge does not extend to theoretical research: I have
no idea what to expect from this 'supra plane' and I will need all the
operatives I can get. Besides, the Emperor's safety is of absolute importance."
Muja nodded, a note of worry entering her voice as she insisted, "Sir, I- just
don't like the thought of all our eggs in one nest. With all due respect, at
least take me with you."

Korath looked at her stoically, saying, "Denied. The fortress needs qualified
techs, especially if we require a power transference from Magnagora for any
reason. Rocs put their eggs in one nest, Muja- the trick is to just watch the
nest carefully. So harden up, princess," he chuckled lightly as he grabbed her
shoulder and squeezed with a rough affection, "I'll be back before you know
it." Muja responded by thrusting a sinewy arm forwards, squeezing Korath's
opposite shoulder just by the neck as they both tightened their grips in a
familiar fashion. "Make sure, Commandant- wouldn't want the ancestors to
whisper that a girl needed to rescue you."

Korath laughed throatily at this, turning around with a pleased gleam in his
eyes as he beckoned to Krangar and the other giant orclach fighters clad in
fullplate, with a simple bending of his fingers. "C'mon, you men! Emperor
Ladantine- we go to clear your way, sir. If we send no signal, then we drink
with our ancestors!" Ladantine clasped his hands in front of his chest, smiling
thinly as he interrupted Korath, "Commandant, how would you find the Supra Plane
without me? No, I'm afraid our fortunes will rise and fall together, my friend.
Follow me as we enter the portal." Korath bowed his head in mute
acknowledgment, the guards falling one step behind the merian leader as the
portal's light blazed around them.

Muja stood at the portal as the others filed in, watching as Korath's body was
drowned in the flash of brilliant white. She whispered sadly to no one in
particular, "And I damn well don't want you wounded that badly, either."

***

Korath gazed around the area as he landed gracefully on the mangled mass of
iron, right hand instantly unsheathing the blood-red claymore on his back.
Addressing Krangar as the other orclach stepped through the portal, Korath
tensely muttered, "I don't like this, Krangar. This plane looks dead. Strange."
Krangar nodded in agreement as he pulled two slender longswords from his belt,
apprehensively saying, "It's weird. I'd rather have the familiar sounds of a
battlefield, but this- it isn't natural, Commandant." The bubble surrounding
the Emperor and the other members of the expedition faded as the merian inhaled
the thick air, seeming invigorated by his discovery. "You see threats,
gentlemen, and that is your way," he responded with palpable excitement. "But I
am a scientist. I see opportunity. Diamonds in the rough. Look how this great
sphere is shaped, will you? It looks like chaotic metal, but you can see the
glittering of the strange light." He tore his eyes away as he raised both arms
to another sight in the east. "And look over there! The great spheres, bearing
otherwordly gifts. We are certainly not in the Prime Material Plane- perhaps we
are in the great stars that shine above our world!"

Ladantine drew himself up proudly, beckoning over to Lolly as he spoke into the
mobile transceiver in the little furrikin's hands, "As prophesied and as guided
by the Light, Cosmic Hope is a great success. Of the Supra Plane, by the grace
of the Gods and with the power invested in us, we hereby name it the Astral
Plane, hope of the universe! Know now, my people, that the Fates and the Light
shall guide us."

As if on cue, Ladantine's pronouncement was answered by an angry whinny,
sounding as if from a throat of steel. The Ur'Guard officers whirled around to
confront the threat, Krangar heroically leaping to catch the goat with a
vicious hacking from his longswords. Captain Galvorg drove his hammers into the
beast's metal back with punishing force as it engulfed Korath in a gust of
breath, and the Commandant of the Ur'Guard screamed in pain and rage as his axe
snapped out to cleave the metallic goat's head cleanly from its body. Krangar
rushed over, shouting "Sir! Are you all right?" "No!" Korath snarled in
response, sipping from a frosty vial as he sighed in relief, the hands of the
Holy Mother knitting his wounds together magically. "Ahhhh! Dammit, those
things burn like the fire pits of the dracnari. All forces! Frost vials out,
now!" The orclach reached into their belts in unison, quaffing the icy potions
as their skin seemed to frost in the air. Emperor Ladantine nodded gravely to
Krangar, who handed him a frost vial of his own as the party began walking to
the south. "Thank you, gracious Krangar. But you men dealt with that creature
easily- we must press on. Behold- a structure of power!" the merian ruler
beamed as he extended a hand forth grandly, indicating a pearly obelisk glowing
in the distance. The jaws of the orclach dropped as they stared at the mighty
tower, drawing closer to it in tandem with the small expedition. Ladantine
threw back his sleeves in the manner of a man ready to use his hands as
weapons, breathing in deeply as he seemed to savor the air.

I have been waiting my whole life for this day... Sidean, son of Sinenth- my
father, let your troubled soul rest gently. Your son shall heal our world in
one final moment.

***

"This is it, folks! Everything we've been promised may just be coming any
moment!" Globglob jumped up at down with excitement at the transceiver as he
turned slightly away from the dazzling display on Prime. "We'll be right back
with the greatest discovery of the century, loyal listeners, after this brief
word from our sponsors!" He clicked the public transmission of his microphone
off with a satisfied nod, but frowned slightly as it crackled to life. "Uh-
yeah- Globglob? It's Timmie. Uh. I meant to bring this up earlier, but the
broadcast got in the way. I think I lost a contact lens- It's really making my
eyes look like a rabid squirrel when I try to focus!" the brown-skinned
furrikin whined as one eye comically squinted against the glow of the Stone in
Shallamar. Globglob replied, with a tinge of skepticism in his voice, "Well-
did you check around the platform up there?" "I totally did, Globglob! I think
I must have thrown it on Earth Plane or something. Leela, c'mon, can you please
look for it?"

An uncharacteristically strained voice belonging to a rabbit-like furrikin cut
in, replying, "Sure, Timmie- I'll look for it. I'll crawl in the dirt trying to
find your contact lens- I even know where to find it! Next to my broken dreams,
Timmie!" The heartbroken reporter punctuated her sentence with a sudden sob as
her ex-boyfriend exploded, "GODS! Leela, I just wasn't ready for a long-term
relationship, honey-bunny, you'll find a nice-" The bald-headed mugwump cut him
off with a tactful cough, "You guys, we need to focus! I understand you're both
upset, and maybe you two can work it out later, but- defining moment of
history, ok? Leela, you go to Shallamar, and just remember what an attractive
person you are. I mean, you were voted "Miss Serenwilde" at the Associated
Dinner, ok? I hear they're selling calendars now! Timmie- go to the Earth
Plane, and please, try to hurry it up, ok?" He pressed hard between his eyes as
he continued in an exasperated tone, "See, this here? This is why we need
glasses so badly- and Timmie, don't complain they make you look like a raccoon,
you practically are one, and there's nothing wrong with that. Now break's over,
the Emperor is about to touch the stone- game faces on, people! Only lucidians
or nerds could really care who switched reporting spots when the world is about
to change..."

***

The world erupted around them, the monstrous tick-tock creatures seemingly
conjured from thin air as the orclach commanders drew together in a tight ring.
"Forces! Defensive formation. Protect the Emperor with your lives!" Korath had
roared as he held his massive claymore, pointing it straight ahead as the goats
kicked forth limbs attached with gear wheels, pouncing upon the Ur'Guard lines
with terrible precision. The warriors formed a perfect circle around the
dignitaries, as they chanted in unison against an enemy who held no regard for
honor and discipline. The goats started to collapse, their metal bodies sheared
by blades as more started to appear, linked together with terrifying efficiency.
All falling upon a single soldier, an Ur'Guard captain crashed to the ground
with a sickening thud, charred bone visible beneath the armored gaps the steam
had blasted into. Krangar swore, shouting, "They're stronger than the one we
saw earlier. All team members! Split them up and pull them towards you! Don't
try fighting more than one, or they'll cook you like Agrilnor!" The Guards
fought with the brutality of their race, sending the shattered corpses and
silvery blood skittering along the iron plain as more jumped out of the air.
But the machines were baking the orclach with wheezes of superheated steam,
even as their wickedly-tipped horns sloshed through the liquefied flesh of the
guardians.

"Hey, boss, fun as this is, there's got to be something spawning these things!"
Krangar tried to hide his grimace by forcing a casual smirk as he snaked his
swords into two goats at once, twisting his arms like a man crucified in empty
air as the other warriors fell heavily around him. "LADANTINE, STOP LINKING YOU
NO-" Korath shouted as the goats cut down another of his senior officers with a
horrifying roar of triumph. But the dignitaries seemed to hear Korath's intent
if not his words, bodily grabbing Ladantine as he started to weep in agony from
the pain of touching the obelisk, glowing ever brighter. Suddenly, as the
dignitaries laid their hands on the leader of the Holy Celestian Empire, the
obelisk instantly turned a sinister midnight black, sending dark purple pulses
of energy to the stone representing the Nexus of Magnagora. Ladantine and his
company were blasted away from the looming obsidian like rag dolls, smashing
into the ground as they continued to writhe in agony. "NO!" Korath screamed,
cleaving the goats as they suddenly stopped resisting the bites of the Ur'Guard
steel, their ranks swelling as the area flooded with metal monsters.

The Commandant unsteadily walked back on tottering legs, grimly staring at
Krangar, Galvorg, and Merkun as they surrounded the shuddering reporter, the
last non-orclach left standing. "Status report! Get to healing the wounded-"
Korath's bark was cut off by Krangar's icy whispering, "Sir... no one who has
fallen is getting back up. We-" Korath nodded once to Krangar in a simple
fashion, ending the conversation as his face twisted with anger at his fallen
troops. "Eight seniors! Gone!" the military leader swiped at the air in a
towering rage. "We even failed to protect..." his voice trailed off, struck
into silence as Ladantine's charred corpse thrashed about in sudden spastic
gestures. The dead body rose from the earth, calmly extending a hand as he
opened his sunken sockets, revealing twin flames burning within the empty holes
as a cruel grin rose and fell from his face. Turning to the orclach soldiers, he
lifted his arms wide open in a messianic posture.

It was enough for the Ur'Guard. Korath reverentially fell to one knee before
the undead Emperor as the others joined him with the aura of fanatics, the
simple reporter staring at the scene in mute horror and astonishment. Korath's
voice shook as all trace of anger and and loss faded instantly, comprehension
blooming into his face. "You... are the Chosen One of our prophecies! The
Undead Emperor, who shall lead the Ur'Guard to a glorious new beginning!"
"Quite right, Korath," Ladantine's first words came out in the calm voice of a
man who had come to understand his purpose in life at last. "I have read your
prophecies, in the original Orclach- ironic that the Great One referenced an
orclach champion, eh? But no, I chose you. I brought you here. I... was drawn
to everything I have done. And if you stick with me, Korath Cho'kuul, no
orclach will ever be a servant again!" Ladantine proclaimed with a cruel
intensity as he clenched a fist in front of his face.

"Really? Who died and made you a Divine?" the hissing voice of Grand Cipher
Chum sounded behind Ladantine as his eyes glowed beneath his hood with magical
energy, surrounded by Professor Lars, Holy Mother Natharian, and High Prophet
n'Rotri, all perverted reflections of their former selves. The Ur'Guard rose
and stepped in front of Ladantine as they brandished their weapons
meaningfully, and Ladantine raised his eyebrows in amusement as his whole body
glowed with a malignant aura. "Why, I did, Chum. Would you kindly deliver your
rebuttal to these gentlemen? Now... it seems that we cannot transverse off this
plane. We shall need to find an alternate route. Perhaps this is a sample of the
power we are dealing with: that of Almighty Kethuru..."

Chapter 5: Elevated Threat Level

15th of Gorgani, in the 543rd year of the Imperial Empire.
Two days after the Incident.

Colonel Bladewing briskly walked down through the War Room of the Imperial
Temple of the Paladin Corps with three maps securely in his hands, brushing
past countless young men and women in uniform delivering messages to the
various command stations. His eyes lit up as he found a raised station in the
center of the room, and promptly called out to the harried merian stationed
there, "General! I have a new series taken by the Matrix Research Institute,
you're going to want to look at these." General Inalai promptly grabbed some
papers off his desk, shoving them into a drawer as he cleared a space. "Very
well, Malin. Hurry! Earliest maps first," he ordered in a tight voice as he
pointed to the clear area.

The Colonel nodded, quickly arranging the first map neatly as his slender
finger pointed to a large, angry purple blotch on the right side of the map.
"This is it. Ground Zero. The so-called Tainting exploded along all known
manifestations of the Stone of Truth. Earth Plane and Shallamar are no longer
safe: our two teams in Shallamar have not reported in for days. They are
presumed dead. Meanwhile, Magnagora was the first area on the Prime Material
Plane affected by the blast of Taint energy: the entire city was consumed
inside the first few minutes, and the energy dispersion was noted to have
burned plant life away in a wide radius around the city."
Inalai frowned with a heavy sigh, his gaze piercing through his friend.
"Brother, surely you did not ask the Institute for information we already
know," he uttered wearily. Malin soberly shook his head as he laid a second map
over the first, tapping multiple images laid out in sequence. "These map images
were determined by researchers over the past day based on ritualistic
cartography. Now, as you can see the Taint is spreading into the northern
Crystal Sea and the Gloriana Forest. Of note is where the taint seems to have
concentrated. At 11:00 this morning, the Taint seemed to have stopped at
Avechna's Teeth, right along the border with Angkrag. Meanwhile, it's
concentrating around Castle Djarrakh and Paavik in the south."

Inalai leaned back in his great chair, rubbing his eyes as he asked, "And what
do you think of the progress, Malin?" The Trill responded excitedly as he began
to urgently tap two images, "General, the Institute has suggested that their use
of aeromantics to blow the Taint back on the evening of the 14th might have
actually spread it into the Gloriana. But look here- Dolph, the spread only
began one hour after the initiative ended. Likewise here, in Angkrag- it seems
like the mountains are blocking the progress of the Taint, but actually the
gates were open, according to aerial reconnaissance. In addition- we've lost
contact with the Ur'Guard expeditionary force inside Angkrag proper, and a
distress call from the forces of King Varrim was abruptly terminated less than
a half-hour ago. It would have been suicide to send anyone into the Taint
clouds to rescue them, though." Colonel Bladewing added in a hushed voice,
leaning across the table, "Don't you see, Dolph? Paavik, Acknor, Djarrakh,
Angkrag- all locations with high populations of orclach or krokani! There's
also been spread in the Crystal Sea, yes, but look where's it heading!" Both
pairs of eyes traveled north along the maps, until they stopped at Malin's
finger- poised directly over the Shallach River.

Lord General Dolph Inalai's eyes met those of his comrade with starling
alacrity. "Why the orclach? Why the krokani? Malin, THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!"
his voice raised heatedly as the other man shook his head. "Sense or not, old
boy, it's almost like this Taint phenomenon is being guided by some higher
power. And like it or not, its next target is Shallach Fortress. I've sent out
a warning message on relay to their technicians. But they're a smart folk,
whatever we tell the politicians- and they almost certainly have their hands
full," the Colonel concluded warily...

***

Muja pulled the transceiver up from the command chair as she spoke into it in a
deeply wary voice. "Arkal, talk to me! What's the situation up there?" The voice
came back over the transceiver as a metallic scraping whined in the background.
"Not good, Senior Tech! The surface was completely overrun by the invaders-
we've lost everything beyond the Gate. Many of the sentries on the surface
level have fallen, and most of our fallen soldiers have mutated into some kind
of creature. They're attacking the Gate in shifts according to our scryers. If
they break through..." Muja nodded to herself as she delivered her orders into
the transceiver. "All right, Technician leaders- you know the drill. Begin
forming into your pre-assigned teams. Full manual overrides on all levels."
Clicking the transceiver off as she took a deep breath, Senior Technican Muja
Harlnor scanned the status outlays with increasing concern. Ugly crimson had
been daubed all over the ethereal representation of the surface level,
indicating that no reporting sentries were present there. On the first level,
the majority of the green dots were concentrated at Gate Prime- all sentries
were concentrated at the permanent link between Shallach Fortress on the prime
plane and the inner Catacombs which held most of the offices, technology
stations, and sacred tombs of the Ur'Guard.

She turned around hastily, approaching an elderly orclach stationed at the
observation deck. "CMO Gruvar! What are we looking at on Prime?" "Chaos,"
Gruvar told her tersely as he pointed to the struggling gatekeepers, their arms
shaking as their gates glowed with sickly blue light. "We're getting feedback
pulses all along the planar grid, and hostiles are attempting to enter through
the Paavik, Acknor, and Angkrag gateways. Our people are keeping the gates
distorted for now, but there's a presence trying to reverse it! They can't keep
up forever, Senior Technician. My recommendation is that we secure the focus
discs for the gateways, and deactivate ALL the obelisks leading into Shallach."
As he watched the woman's furious expression, he sharply told her, "We cannot
maintain all the gateways at once, not while dealing with the power surges and
attempted hostile incursions!" "What discs?" a private in the group of soldiers
following Muja asked blankly. Gruvar rolled his eyes, looking back at Muja,
"Tell the pup what's going on as you walk, I don't have time for a history
lesson. Go!"

The armor-clad woman pelted towards the door, the younger orclach soldier and
his fellows struggling to keep up as she delivered the explanation. "Listen
up," Muja told the young men while bounding up the stairwell, " our objectives
are to deactivate the planar foci, and sabotage all the automated systems!
That's something we can't do remotely from the command center. Throughout the
fortress, various stations hold rune discs, which are used as keys to
manipulate the planar gates downstairs. The ancient Supreme Command placed them
there as final override measures- even I couldn't reproduce the discs without
the technology in the fortress." The small group of soldiers sprinted through
the hallways, finding one of the ancient-looking seals as Muja faced the
apparatus, continuing her speech as she carefully traced some sigils on the
seal, then roughly wrenched a handle away from it. "What I do know is how to
get the discs- and how to disable the stations, so that foreign forces can't
get to them by accident. Most of the other techs don't know how- it's one of
our most closely guarded secrets." The orclach continued through the corridors,
Muja occasionally stopping to adjust a power coupling or fix a small metal
sphere next to the opening mechanisms for the doors. "We also have to take out
all the power lines, so that all doors on the way down have to be opened with
manual switches. But to avoid trapping techs on the wrong side of the doors, we
can only sever the power lines or detonate the doors once the whole place is
wired and ready. So let's move!"

The team ran until the massive iron gate was in sight, sentries perched all
over the doorways in preparation for the attack. Muja yelled out to the
troopers as she put her hands on her hips, "All right, soldiers! There's no
more time- you three, stay here with me so that we can seal off this room. The
rest of you, make sure all the upper levels are evacuated, then transport out
to Gaudiguch- we can cool our heels there while we figure out what to do next.
Go!" Muja's tone brooked no compromise, and most of the heavily armored
troopers reluctantly filed towards the exit at a brisk pace. The young First
Private behind Muja suddenly started, shouting a warning at the entranceway as
the massive gates finally buckled inwards and a hideous creature emerged. Its
pale grey skin was covered in a tarry oil as black as pitch, while two
sightless white eyes stared out from its misshapen face. Baring its fangs, it
turned around and snarled at the young soldier in a haunting, gravelly manner.
The Senior Technician raced forwards, planting her body weight onto her left
foot as she cocked a large wrench behind her head.

It has to be mentioned that orclach society was widely known for holding
martial virtue in the highest esteem. It would be no more appropriate for an
orclach with any cultural pride to marry a prissy, high-maintenance aristocrat
than it would be for him to own a poodle. While their traditionalist ways meant
most women in the Ur'Guard worked on technological or administrative duties,
female Ur'Guard were thought of as women, but more importantly as orclach.
Orclach tools and machines were equally strong and durable, taking advantage of
their prodigious physical strength. So when Muja suddenly swung her arms
forward, the sheer weight of the wrench instantly bashed in the brains of the
abominable creature, spraying black blood and brain matter all over the gate as
the sagging body collapsed. But the creatures on the other side started pouring
through the gate in earnest, and the orlach were forced to give battle.

The violence raged on for an hour, the stream of monsters decreasing in flow
but showing no signs of ending. The orclach First displayed heroic stamina,
hacking away the claws and feet of the monsters before stomping their bodies
into the ground and tearing their throats out with his wicked-looking saber.
Lifting the corpses above his head, he would then hurl the dead into the groups
coming through the door, knocking them down while he caught his breath. The
other orclach relentlessly stabbed, bludgeoned, and chopped at the disgusting
invaders, chucking the defeated into a large pile to try and block off the
door. But while the ranks of the creatures thinned, they kept flowing in
through the Catacombs gate, and soon only one orclach private and the Senior
Tech were left alive. Muja gazed around through bleary eyes, her face suddenly
hardening in resolve as she threw herself on top of the explosives, hastily
connecting wires. "First," she barked, "distract some of those things at the
door, then run as fast as you can to the lower level! You have to detonate the
traps I put in the upper levels, or our security systems will be compromised."
"But you'll die!" the private shouted back at her, carving a wide gash through
the lips of a figure clothed in ragged leather armor. "Really? Thanks for
telling me. I'm buying time to make sure you accomplish this, so get it done,
private!" Muja growled acerbically as the monsters started slashing at her
armour, gritting her teeth as she forced the last set of wires together. The
young private's mouth went dry as he nodded jerkily, suddenly rushing towards
the northern door as five monsters pursued him. Closing her eyes as she
whispered her last regret, Senior Technician Muja flipped a switch on the
device.

A roaring inferno erupted, reducing all the monsters in the room to ash as the
shockwave knocked the young orclach clear through the northern door. Rolling on
the ground as he looked back up at the gate, realizing he wouldn't be able to
rush back before the newest set of undead reached the door, he formed his right
hand into a fist. A platinum ring with a fiery stone started to glow, finally
sending a small fireball across the room as it set off the explosives on the
door. Though his face clearly grieved the loss of the Senior Technician, he
stoically raised his arm again and again, firing sparks into the charges around
the area and causing the doors to automatically shut. "Urlach's Blood..." he
whispered in horror as he turned around, watching black-stained claws force
their way under the southern door. Dashing down the staircase as he armed the
booby-trap, he touched his temple in communication with Gruvar. "Sir! The
charges have been expended, but the Senior Tech is dead... and those creatures
are still coming through the doors!" "Disabling security isn't meant for those
mindless undead, First. Get down here now- we're evacuating the base," the
voice answered crisply. The doors above him suddenly blasted open, and the
private shouted while sprinting at full blast down the stairs, the flood of
monsters hot on his heels. Finally emerging in the basement level, spying a
large gathering of soldiers waiting next to mighty reinforced steel gates, he
put in a heroic last effort to cover the ground to his comrades.

Gruvar sighed to himself as he contemplated what he was about to do. "All those
centuries... come down to this. This is Gruvar, command code
Klangratch-Nine-Six. Full base lockdown- release Black Deck in preparation for
evac," he called out. "Acknowledged," a deep tone rang throughout the base, as
massive plates of reinforced steel descended to make all the doors
impenetrable, and the gates opened to reveal three jet black aetherships,
bristling with turrets and colossal engine exhausts. As the orclach quickly
charged up the loading ramps, Gruvar manned a turret and started blasting at
the teeming horde that had flooded the lower levels. The creatures were blasted
aside like twigs in a windstorm as the few in the front lunged, tearing at the
back of the private's vest, the young orclach giving an agonized cry before
finally leaping onto the ramp. The mighty aethership's engines roared to life
in the same instant, lifting lightly off the ground as the three Ur'Guard war
machines abandoned Shallach Fortress.

Turning away from the turret as he exhaled slowly, rubbing his temples, Gruvar
hastened down the ladder to the gangplank, looking at the private lying on the
ground. The young orclach pulled himself up from the spreading pool of blood
and grinned weakly at Gruvar. "Hey- good work, right?" he asked before his dead
frame collapsed through to the ground, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling.
Gruvar bowed his head, taking a deep breath. How much of our blood was just
wasted, he wondered to himself gloomily. Meanwhile, the forward hulls of the
aetherships glowed bright orange, engines howling as the craft blasted their
way into the aetherspace surrounding the world.