Tales from a lost Universe

[Dracos]

Olguin Saotome...a complex man in a world going to hell.  For many years he wandered the world.   And for some of those he worked for COR....  Dreaming back..he remembers...

Fearless Leader

[Anonymous]

The steady drops of water hitting the ground in a constant hail...

The heady smell of the jungle...

The cawing of a rare, and beautiful tropical bird.

Olguin Saotome, at the tender age of fifteen, HATED having to be out in the wilderness!

Wearing camoflague gear, he once again grunted as he rearranged his pack more comfortably.

Shoving aside another branch, he winced as it struck back, hitting him directly in the face.

The young lad looked quite startled as he heard the rustling of some bushes nearby, ducking out of sight he crouched low.

Reaching up, the air briefly shined before seemingly opening up for his questing digits. Drawing a seven foot long staff out, he crouched slightly.

Waiting for his prey to appear.

[Yuthirin]

He growled to himself, slicing through the various foilage with his razor-sharp claws, muttering deeply about the heat and bugs under his scales as he cut his way noisily through the jungle.

The smell of the flaura made his nose itch and the birds annoyed him.

The rain made his thick cload wet and caused it to cling to him wherever it could.

Yuthirin was not happy.

He tore his way through to a clearing and stopped and wondered, not for the first tome, why he was out here. His senses perked at the lingering touch of magical energy in the air, and he began search about cautiously.

[Anonymous]

A fish?

Olguin's jaw dropped, totally ruining the stoic expression he was working so hard to get.

Oh hell...THAT'S Knight Yuthirin!?

Flashes of the briefing he had received before hand ran rampant through his mind.

He and Knight Yuthirin were to investigate and verify if the rumors about the Inquisition's latest Super Weapon were true.

But still...

A fish?

When had he fallen through the rabbit hole?

"Probably when I joined this organization." He wryly murmured.

Shaking his head, he walked towards Knight Yuthirin, bowing as soon as he was in sight. Opening his mouth, he introduced himself in Japanese.

Silence fell on the clearing.

Oh dear...

Looking suitably chargined, he began again.

"Forgive my terrible manners, my name is Olguin Saotome, Squire rank. I'm to be your partner on this mission."

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin stared at the boy as he began spouting gibberish.

Then the boy started speaking English.

He twitched.

"My partner...is a boy?" He closed his large eyes and sighed. "Very well. I am Knight Yuthirin of the Deep Ones.  We are wasting time here. We had best get moving."

He growled to himself, mentally preparing the rant he was going to send to Dracos when the mission was over.

[Anonymous]

Oh...this will be just peachy. Olguin mentally groused, still terribly embarrassed about his earlier error.

Tromping along the forest, he kept to his own consul.

-----Half an hour later-----

The sounds of fierce battle reached the duo's ears as they approached the lab proper.

"I hope the forces buy us more time, or this won't go well for us at all." He softly whispered, the faint glow of spiritual energies briefly surrounding his staff as he prepared himself for any attacks.

[Yuthirin]

"You had best hope so. I doubt we could fight pur way in alone." grumbled Yuthirin, flexing his claws, having overheard what the boy had said. "Hopefully we'll at least have some challenge..."

[Anonymous]

"Yes sir." Olguin mumbled, slowing down enough that he was following his commanding officer by a pace. Eyes darting from side to side cautiously, his own steps lightly touching the forest ground.

He hardly wanted to give their position away now, of all times.

Takahashi would KILL him if he allowed one of the KNIGHTS get hurt!

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin narrowed his eyes and slid silently through the bushes, peering about to see whether or not there were any guards in the immediate vicinity, then slipping through the bushes and trees, his dark green scales adding to his stealth as he moved toward the facility.

After carefully noting where the COR forces assaulting the main gate were, he smoothly snuck about the perimeter, searching for a way in without alerting the guards to his presence.

[Anonymous]

Following closely behind, Olguin had his right index finger placed to the side of his right ear, making an occasional sound of agreement or bobbing his head.

"Yes sir...over and out." He quietly whispered, "Lord Yuthirin, our forces are now pulling back, we'd best hurry into the lab now, sir."

Placing his staff off to the side, he knelt down in front of an old, rusty rail on the ground. Grunting in effort, he slowly lifted...and moved it out of the way, leaving the entrance clear to them.

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin jumped down the hole, claws splayed before him, ready to strike. His feet splashed into the sewer water, and he stared at it before shaking his head and striding forward.

He began speaking, having expected the boy to follow him immediately. "I would like nothing more than to find this supposedly ancient psionically-powered so-called super weapon of these Inquisition fools and get it for Dracos as fast as possible. Come, we must move quickly to avoid detection."

He stumbled after a few steps, then grumbled, "Even their sewers are substandard...I cannot wait to go home." He continued onward, quietly ranting.

[Anonymous]

Olguin merely stayed quiet, keeping to his own consul as they waded through the water. Inwardly he quietly wondered what exactly the weapon would be.

His musings didn't assure him one bit...

Shaking his head in anger, he shook those traitorous thoughts out of his mind.

The mission is first and foremost... With that in mind, his grasp tightened on his weapon. Marching along after his commanding officer, one last stray thought crossed his mind.

It's quiet...too quiet.

[Yuthirin]

--- Moments earlier... ---

"Hey, boss, we've got movement down in Sewer Sector Three." said a tech to the Head Security Supervisor.

"It's probably just feedback from the ship's computer, it's been happening a lot lately. Go ahead and send down a few men, though. Better safe than sorry." said the supervisor.

The tech nodded and radioed the closest security station.

--- Presently... ---

Yuthirin slid silently through the water, slightly annoyed by the comparative noise the boy made as he waded through the ankle-deep murky water. Yuthirin stopped suddenly, and stared into the darkness, his body leaning down into a fight-or-flight stance.

Up ahead, several voices became audible. "...shit, Sarge. I hate these damn sewers. Why do we gotta be down here, anyway?"

"Shut up, Lewis. It's bad enough that is stinks down here, but I don't wanna haveta put up with your bitchin' and moanin', too."

"Blow me Riggs, I-"

"Shut up, both of you! They think there may be something down here, and we gotta make sure of it."

"Err, something, Sarge?" said Lewis, a bit shakily.

Yuthirin quickly grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him down a side tunnel, crouching low against a pile of rotting refuse as the men passed, their flashlights grazing over him.

"Lewis, you know damn well that ship makes radio signals and stuff like that go funny. It's probably just that, but we still gotta make sure, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so..." said Lewis as they vanished down the sewer corridor, away from the two.

Yuthirin sat up and pulled the boy out of the pile, glaring at him. "Do try to be more attentive in the future." he said, then crawled out of the tunnel and continued back down the main corridor.

[Anonymous]

Olguin briefly held the glare, but broke it. Shoved down into his soul of ice, the flare of anger he held for himself fizzeled out of existance.

I can't affort to drop the ball, not again. Dammit!

The sounds around Olguin suddenly went dull, his own pace suddenly becoming much more smoother.

Up ahead...a faint light could be seen.

[Yuthirin]

Yuthirin crept along the wall, slipping quickly from shadow to shadow, passing corridor after corridor, and after passing through a larger archway and two imposing stone gargoyles, he finally came to a chamber with four tunnel entrances, side by side. Each entrance was framed by a brick arch, and had a carving of an angel towering over it. The tunnel walls were made of brick, and the four corners of the room were augmented by stone pillars.

"...the hell is this?" muttered Yuthirin.