Tales of the Deep Arc

[Dracos]

Deep beneath the waves, a tale of horrific fishmen is found... a city of indescribably wonders and mysterious magicks.  Follow the tale of Yuthirin, a knight of Cor as he leads his people to glory and power.

http://dracos.anifics.com/COR/Yuthirin/

Fearless Leader
An intro arc for the fishman

[Rezantis]

Deep under the area of water that the surface-dwellers liked to term the 'Bermuda Triangle'... a large rock and metal juggernaught protruded from the sea floor.

---

"Sir!"

Thomas Llundqvist, commander of the Jeneba Complex, turned a resigned gaze towards the intercom.  "What is it?"

"Sir, our perimeter is detecting something very strange in sector G23 - biologicals, but..."

There was a blink, then a sigh as the man stood up.

"I'll be right down."

---

"Status report?"

"We're tracking a group of 10 biologicals that have entered our perimeter and are heading straight towards us.  However, if you look at this replay from one of our IR sensors..."

Thomas leaned over his subordinates shoulder and examined the replay, his eyes widening.

"That's a formation."

"Yes, sir, that's what it looks like - they've been maintaining it for as long as we've been tracking them."

"Well, it was only a matter of time before something started happening down here.  How long until they reach us?"

"Several hours."

"How long until they pass over or near a weapons emplacement?"

The younger man tapped some keys on his console.  "11 minutes."

"Power it up, and light the beacons - I want to see their reactions.  Lower the amplitude on the sonic transducers to make the charge non-lethal if possible."

The lieutenant bent to his task.  "Yes sir!"

"Michaels!"

"Sir!" came the response from across the room.

"Dispatch a squadron of mantas and a pair of recovery vehicles to the location NOW, but they are not approach within range of the group until I give the order."

---

Mat'ha noted the distant glow with surprise, and mentally communicating it to the rest of his scouting party confirmed that they could see it also.  Swinging around, the formation of scout troops moved towards the glow.

As they swam, the glow resolved into a metal tower, with several smaller spires around it.  The spires were topped with small...

---

"Lock the sonic transducers onto them."

---

The tops of the spires began revolving, and it took a moment to register that they were now tracking his squad.

*SCATTER!* went Mat'ha's order... slightly too late.

Waves of sonic energy lashed the group of fishmen, and within seconds the ocean was dark and silent again.

---

"Sir!"

Korga swam towards Yuthirin, important news to deliver...

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin turned from speaking with the Beast Handler and addressed Korga. *Yes, Captain? What is it?*

*Chosen One, the squad we sent to the ruins of Lemuria has vanished.* Korga relayed.

Yuthirin stared at him hard. *Send a Magus and an Elite squad, and have them keep quiet. Find out what it is and have it relayed to me IMMEDIATELY. I will not be impeded. Dismissed.*

Yuthirin sat on a fleshy pillar and pondered. *I wonder if this is what we're looking for...*

[Rezantis]

OOC:  There was a terrible, ghastly timeskip...

--

IC:

The squad, weapons at the ready, swam onwards... and they would not make the same mistake as their predecessors.

--

In the Jeneba Complex sensor room, a light came on.  One of the bored looking sensor techs scattered around the room leaned forward and looked over the data, then tagged the contact; painting it a soft green and putting it up on the readout with the rest of the collection.

"Another school of fish...  I really think they build these things too sensitive."

There was a mournful nod of agreement from one of his colleagues, while the rest didn't even bother looking up.

[Yuthirin]

The group swam on, coming in from the east, the Magus in the center of an eleven-soldier circle. All eleven swam through the water with grace, moving no more than they had to in order to maintain their current speed.

To the Magus, the intricate sphere of magic woven around them shimmered in a thousand different colors, but he did not let himself be distracted. He held another web at bay, a shield, ready to protect them.

Onward they swam, purposeful and silent. They passed the sunken and hidden towers of Lemuria, what men had called Atlantis, with nary a glance; the men had not found it, nor would they ever, so long as they valued technology over magic.

They passed several metal towers, obviously man-made, and ignored them. They would not be seen. The evidence that men were nearby became more and more apparent; ground tilled, sea life disrupted, such things that men would not notice.

They all knew that they were getting close to what they must be searching for.

[Rezantis]

Silently, the open semi-spherical heads on two of the towers rotated to towards the group...

[Yuthirin]

Two of the soldiers on the passing side noticed the motion and mentally reported it to the others. The three others on the passing side kept an eye on the towers, but swam on with the rest of the group, never slowing even for an instant.

[Rezantis]

Synchronised, the towers swivelled away from the 'school of fish', and returned to their original sweep pattern...

--

OOC:  Yuth, minor timeskip here.  :)  Call it a couple of hours; your troops doing anything?

[Yuthirin]

OOC: Besides moving forward and being quiet? No. ^_^

IC:

The squad continued forward, passing more of the towers and watching them warily each time until they were no longer focused on them.

[Rezantis]

A no-longer-quite-so-bored Inquisition sensor tech drummed his fingers thoughtfully.

They had been ordered to pay more attention to contacts from the eastern sectors after the discovery of those... whatever-they-were.  Apparently several had been brought back, although dead or alive nobody was saying.  What everyone knew, though, was this:  something was definitely out there.

Anyway, this school of fish was slightly strange.  It had been maintaining a standard course and speed for a fair while now; and that was mildly uncommon... it certainly wasn't on a migratory route.

Well, there wasn't anything much to do anyway, and the sensors could always use some more testing; he'd check them out when they passed over the next platform.

--

There was a soft electronic hum as the sensors on platform G-42-B came to full operating levels, and the sonar and IR transducers swivelled around to face their targets, as had innumerable ones beforehand...

[Yuthirin]

On the swam, paying no more attention to this tower than any of the others, but no less, either. They had been trained well, and were wary of each one as though it were a lionfish. The half on the passing side watched it as they moved past, and grew more wary as it began to hum.

[Rezantis]

Hmm...

The sensor-tech gave a shrug, and tapped his finger down on the one of his buttons.  Even though he wasn't really expect anything, he was bored and curious enough to torment a few fish.

--

The hum on the platform increased for a moment, and it let loose an active sonar 'ping' - a loud, high-pitched sound, intended to reflect back, giving precise position information.

The wave of sound rushed towards and over the fishmen scout group...

[Yuthirin]

Shifting the lace of the magical webbing ever so slightly, the Magus forced the wave through one side of the shield and out the other, leaving no trace that anything had been in the spot in the first place. He mentally ordered the soldiers surrounding him to move forward out of range of the tower with him.

[Rezantis]

There was a long moment... then as the fishmen continued moving, the tower swivelled towards them again, letting out three 'pings' in rapid succession.

[Yuthirin]

The Magus ordered the squad to halt and set about fooling the three pings unhappily. He had a sneaking suspicion that the humans knew they were there. Perhaps it was time to leave.