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"YOU are responsible for activating the emergency protocols, to protect the Cflen in your charge, I am sending 200 Cflen Gladiators, but there will be a time delay before they get to you. Follow your instincts. You WILL know what to do next!“ The screen went blank. Sadi was panicking.
“What’s the emergency protocols?“ Nadisa stepped over to a panel then slid it back inserting her hand into the hole in the unit which now illuminated there was a faint buzzing sound. She stepped back to beckon Sadi to follow her outside.
Coming face to face with other Cflen who had realised something was happening.
There was a grassy, as we would know it, mound to the side of the settlement. It had been played on by the children,
Sat on and the warmth of lazing back on it. in peaceful moments had indeed been enjoyed. A disc in her hand? She waved it at the mound.
A rumble as part of it moved. Liken to a mini earthquake. The front section, probably about 1/3rd of it, was displaced to reveal some rectangular hatches. Nadisa stepped over to the hatches as her hand rested the disc on a control unit. The hatches slid open.
She peered inside, remembering the ONLY occasion she had ever, seen inside this, was as a child. A long long time ago and just after it had been built. BEFORE the main settlement. The whole of the interior was massive, it was well lit and already environmental units were making the air clean and refreshed ready for habitation.
Nadisa had to ensure her team, who had been trained to react to her orders in this so called EMERGENCY situation, did just as they had always been trained. Several minutes passed before she was aware of them being present. Sadi too had been enlisted.
Orders delivered. They did not fail her, it was astonishing to watch them as now they moved the entire settlement into their, they said, temporary, home.
The elderly and infirm. The mothers, the babies, the children, all moved at speed into the confines of the as we would know it bunker. yet believe me it was like the settlement in almost every detail, cept below ground and covered with a protective shielding, about to become active, AFTER the hatches were closed, locked tight and sealed.
FROM NOW ON until the invasion forces were terminated. This was their home. The last of the Cflen into the underground habitation. From where Nadisa was unaware but pleased to see them? Gladiator Cflen. All two hundred of them, taking up defensive positions beyond the settlement.
They had taken care to ensure there were no visible signs that the settlement beneath that mound existed. "Stage 1 has been completed." Ariel heard the news. So the rumors had been about a possible invasion. No doubt put into action by Holli! Mercenaries! She smiled.
They were going to be in for a shock. "Have we the Globe cast visual sequences ready? " "Yes!" "When we have confirmation of the invasion from the Globe cast sats, ensure the visual imaging is played throughout this complex.
Including the Galacia Federa Judiciary chambers."
On Cflenia, the invaders had not been idle. Weapons primed and the attack about to begin. From the beginning when Nadisa had first received the orders to move everyone into safety, the Cflen Gladiator Commander had been aware of the necessity for them to give her time to get them all to safety.
The invasion force, was hammered by his Gladiators. Preventing them from going anywhere, keeping them pinned down with an astonishing success rate, until the orders were received re the safety of the secured Cflen. The chances of the detection of the settlement by the sophisticated scanning equipment carried by the invaders.
Less than an Earth hour, before they had pinpointed the main settlement. Vikra had no knowledge of the secret facility, all he had intel on was the ground habitation areas, He called in the heavy weapons of the M Class craft, to attempt to break up the force of the Cflen Gladiators. The invaders were feeling the 4 strokes of the Triomena three bladed weapon these things carried.
Fear? Watching those around you beheaded in front of your eyes? A number of the invasion force turned and ran!
The Cflen Gladiator covering the enemies retreat fell upon them mercilessly slaughtering them. To many of the mercenaries the raw experience of battle was nothing new, but this level of savagery? FEAR was rife.
The M Class warships in the end did manage to take out a number of the Gladiators, BUT had also taken out some of their own. The mercenaries were blasted blown up along with the Gladiator Cflen. That amongst the mercenaries, fuelled a rage within the ranks.
Vikra had not told them of the threat of the Gladiator Cflen, there had always been stories, fireside tales of terror about them. To actually meet them face to face, to discover that the nightmare was all too real? Vikra had NO qualms, about losing some of this hired scum. if it meant casualties on the opposing forces?
The battle raged until finally, both sides backed off. Some respite, Vikra needed to know the strength and position of his remaining mercenaries. He needed the time to regroup to assess the situation and to plan what to do next!
What Vikra failed as did his other commanders to accept, was the fact, that EVERY, Cflen Gladiator, is born to live, to die and to die? To them it was an honor.Yet the Cflen Gladiator Commander was no fool, nor would he lose such companions to suicidal madness. Whilst the invading troops rested and planned the next phase of the attack on THE SETTLEMENT
Two miles from the main invasion forces encampment, released from chambers within a building and now heading towards the mercenaries? The creatures representative of hell itself.
"Tfa was not happy at all. He had lost his brother and best friend, both beheaded by those things. The fact that the bulk of them were female incensed him further. "All I am saying is we should ensure the battle cruisers secure the ground before we go any further." "I am inclined to agree." It was Dja who had a lot of power from those who respected his opinions.
He was a very competent speaker, eloquent and a vicious nasty con artiste.
Anyone who opposed his views often met the fists of his to accomplices. They had turned to run off at the first sight of one of their own being beheaded! "I didn't see you in the fray." Nard scowled at him. "Where were you lot?" "I would hold your tongue!" Dja interrupted them. "All I think we are saying is, leave the battle cruisers take out the bulk of their ground forces and we can rest easy.
Tomorrow after they attack tonight we can make a move when it's daylight." A lot of them agreeing with them? Vikra was aboard the battle cruiser, he listened as the talks went on. No one would be moving until they had pounded the areas around the settlement. Those below on receiving confirmation that Vikra had relented and agreed settled back to relax. Vikra went back to planning the next stages of the bombardment.
"The only trouble with this kind of situaiton. When you gotta pee, you gotta pee. Siam grinned as Dja moved towards the brush. Behind it. Siam decided he too needed to relieve himself. Yards from where Dja was stood? It was the sound, a swishing sound that first had his attention. Suddenly he saw this shape in front of him, huge talons reaching out and grabbing Dja, sweeping him up and he was gone!
If he had felt left out of proceedings it would not be for long! Seconds later his head was in the jaws of a Fodawke and snap crackle and pop. Swallowed back. The whole encampment were now aware of these whatever they were swooping down and taking them up, snapping and swallowing the heads whole. The torso? Flung back down onto the rest of those left below.
Now, I don't know about you, but if it were you below and this headless torso drops out of the darkness above you what you be thinking? Ah relief, not I suspect of your own desire. Running down your legs and talking of running? Chaos, mayhem as figures ran here, ran there, anywhere but where they had been stood! Not that it did them any good.
Hundreds of these things and a massacre kind of springs to mind. By morning? NOT one was of them was alive. As for the creatures themselves? Finding no resistance they dropped to feast. True, pre-packed food isn't all its 'cracked' up to be but still, sometimes you can't be too choosey.
Unable to make contact with his ground forcesVikra was about to land more troops? That was within minutes of the reports getting back to him from the troops that had landed at the mercenaries site. One hundred of his best troopers? No sooner had they left their craft when out of the heavens?
They looked like the original Fodawke, but their bodies were different, tougher harder and as the invading forces looked up to see the skies full of these creatures what followed was a mass attack on them of such savagery, the likes of which none of them had ever experienced, well apart from the midnight snacking that had taken place earlier.
Imagine your most powerful weapon being used against these things. Time after time after time, you pound the damm things and still they keep on coming at you, until either they’re dead or YOU’RE DEAD! Time to call in the heavier artillery.
Craft to destroy these things in flight?
Imagine your car windscreen, being covered with the things? You can’t see where you’re going? What followed next is pure genius on the part of the creatures themselves. On the top of them were Cflen Gladiator. They steered the things to drop onto the craft below. A mass of the Fodawke across it.
The sheer weight? Into the furrets as they were known, that release what we would understand to be exhaust gases, the Clfen Gladiators threw grenade like weapons. Small explosions enough to take out the propulsion systems? You know what happens next. They drop like flies.
Vikra had ordered a full assault with missiles to totally bombard the settlement. Smash it to pieces. That would suit their purposes enough to leave. Yet even that, was thwarted by these hideous creatures. Mid air before they even reached the settlement, the missiles hit the barrage of creatures blowing em to pieces, but nothing got past them! A formidable sheild!
Attack after attack failed. Time to get the hell out of there! Vikra gave the orders much to the relief of the rest of them in the craft above. Coming out of the darkness? The two hundred reinforcements the Cflen had sent? Vikra knew they could not be a threat in space. On the ground or face to face, yes. His fleet started to move off. Ahead of them as the Cflen vessel passed them an object released into space.
Vikra had never in his life ever seen anything like this before. It was, as we would say, shaped like an oil drum and spinning. The Cflen craft had dropped into the atmosphere of Cflenia. Dropping down and down until it was near to the main settlement. Below it the scattered bodies of the Fodawke that had been slaughtered by its enemy.
"Destroy it!" Vikra had the sensation of FEAR. Of not liking the look of whatever the heck it was that the Cflen had left behind them. A few of them thought it was the Cflen offloading their rubbish before landing on the planet below? "Destroy it!" Vikra was furious that he had to repeat himself! A dust, flooding out from the blown up drum. Across the front of the fleet, sucked back towards the oncoming craft, across them, laid on them.
The true horror as before his eyes the craft started to vanish. Eaten by this dust? Section by section, gone, blown to dust. His included.
Sadi looked at Nadisa “YOU, must report!” Nadisa nodded left the child Cflen she had been talking to, as she moved towards the control unit. The Cflen Gladiator Commander made his presence known. “All invading forces have been eradicated, my forces remain on standby. I suggest we meet at the earliest opportunity."
The Cflen Gladiator Commander bows, the screen goes blank. It flickers back into life. "Nadisa!" A Cflen Elite sister, Ariani appears “Nadisa your report!“ "Cflenia was attacked, an invasion force against us of rhe BEAST.“
The female smiles. "You may rest easy sister. The attack was of no consequence,. the invasion force was annihilated, on the ground and in space.
We deployed the drum against them, to ensure they did not escape and return at some other time. Now tell me sister, our people?” “We did not lose ONE of the Cflen settlement and in fact." She turns as Sadi hands her somthing with the female onscreen watching her. Nadisa to hold the baby in her arms. “We gained a few extra Cflen!“
Ariani smiles. "I am proud of you sister." Her voice tails off, her head glances at another screen? “I am getting the full information from the Cflen Gladiator Commander re the battles and the casualties to our military forces. We lost 34 of our Gladiators. The Regen processes are taking place to replace them. You may consider this a time for celebration sister!
NOW go Nadisa. I have to report to the Queen and I WILL be mentioning you, for carrying out your duties effectively to protect the Cflen settlement. Our sister Ariel will also, be showing the imaging of the attacks, by the invasion forces, against Cflenia, to the Galacia Federa. With Ljne at her side, to acquaint those present, with this violation of our interplanetary rights, another victory for the Cflen as we bring others who are not friends of the BEAST over to our side.
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