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The Fortress at Naika,
Thick stone walls to those who had taken it over the defences were of little concern. NO one was getting in unless of course invited. Taken after the great war. Where the beasts had been slaughtered the spoils of war and of course to the victors go the spoils.
 That morning had started much as normal. If some were bored at the monotony it offered up they were about to discover strangers who sought an audience with the commander.
TWO of them allowed to use special communication devices OUTSIDE of the fortress.
Nothing wrong with that the coms were clear and gave audio plus video. The images were of two females covered in thick cloaks.
Beneath those cloaks, NOTHING visible. Facial views were more than acceptable to those looking on. Nothing out of the ordinary. When it came to the actual conversation however the tone was harsh.
Unforgiving, tense and a DEMAND for them to exit the fortress and go elsewhere where was of no concern of theirs.
The commander stared at his adjutant with what the hell on his lips as now they started to laugh.
“Do we look like fools,
Go away, while you can or we will send out troopers who will delight in showing you, sharing some of their assets. “ Laughter. Below them no one moved..
“This place is ours by ancient rights from ancient times it is OURS. “ One might have wondered if they had any weapons well other than ones carried by their troopers? NO.
BUT as we know the place WAS a fortress, impregnable. When you have that sense of strength, of security why would cannons be necessary. Commander Atof was of the opinion that being over cautious in this day and age was being paranoid.
“If we have to is it OK if we take this from you with you of course accepting that there will be some death and destruction. Of course we will not drive you away into a cave network seal it up for you to die a slow agonizing death.”
‘Into a cave network and seal it up.’ Atof stopped went quiet. Those words he had not heard them for decades.. The clearing of the caves? He had been a junior commander.
The stench, the sight of all those bones and the horror of mass GENOCIDE.
Nothing had erased that from his mind, OK he had shoved it to the back of it but this suddenly acted like being shocked with an energy weapon. He looked down onto the two below. 
“HOW do you know about those caves. ?” Some tension in his voice to those around him much younger difficult to relate to. From earlier to now the tone had changed.
A young officer shifted, to look over, sees the two cloaked females. Shouts out. “Take this fortress.. you two.
You’d need at least over a hu (hundred)” He laughs.
“I’d be more than pleased to share this with you.”
He drops his pantoons to lean over the flush of hot liquid from his loins. pouring down to scatter in the wind.
Joined by several others, now doing the same. Laughter as they finished stepped back.
A screech from Atof.. Some rage at their lewd actions.
The response was how could he disrespect the garrison by continuing to converse with them..
THEY, had been told to go away in polite terms.. actual abuse was far more the actual TRUTH. ...off.
“Then we, can take the fortress our property back from you,
YOU want to fight for it, NO, to die for your stupidity.
We offered you and all within to walk free..
NO transport.. NO weapons. ? Again the repeated remark..
WE won’t lock you all up in a cave network seal it off for you all to die in a mass grave.”
It rattled Atof.. his senses were all in disarray askew. Something she said the way it was said rattled around inside his head like some Lurker (rat) in the shadows scuttling away at some speed barely visible but still there?
Then one of the junior officers leaned over shoved up his hand in a form that was derogatory liken to some of our kind putting up two fingers.. abusive.. outright rude was an understatement.
Leaning over backwards to drop their pantoons their butt cheeks in the air wriggling them about. The final insult before stepping back in and falling about laughing.
Atof said nothing. The message they had delivered was clear enough. He muttered to himself that IF he was right they had sealed their own fates. Victory over those beasts the ones sealed in the caves had been a long long time ago.
 BUT IF.. he looked over. “YOU have your answer.” “The female looked at the other.
YOUR history, will long remember this day, SHOULD any of YOU live to see it through.
We WILL leave at least one of you to live so they can tell those of your kind what happened here.” Then they stood watched by those on the battlements as they dropped their cloaks,
The look on Atofs face, the shock of seeing those creatures as they raised their wings? Massive wings..
Outstretched as they lifted to fly back away from the fortress at some speed barely visible.
Some silence then they saw them. Out on the ridge moving down to the open plains a short distance away from them. Tens of NO, HUNDREDS losing count at how many there were of them.
Wings raised then folded in. Close lineup.. Clear defined and Atof knew it was in all sense of the words an attack formation,.
Coming into view. Huge what we would call catapults HOVERING liken to the movement across ground of a ‘hovercraft’. A device capable of launching a projectile.?
For us the Romans ah yes they used such devices launching ballisters to sink ships et.
Hedgehogs .. not the living ones.. projectiles used to target submarines during WW2 carrid on the escort protection vessels, destroyers corvettes?
Highly machined polished metals that gleamed in the light. Now moving self powered NO drivers NONE with them; to line up what was a fixed distance. HOVERING momentarily before coming to STOP with the height lowered.. to rest on the ground.
Stepping into view. The sight of female well assumed to be. Certainly where that lot were concerned, one could coin the term; ‘appearances can be deceptive’.
She stood to shift moving to the front of the line of whatever those things were.
Her voice no coms devices needed as they heard clearly the words.
“YOUR final chance to walk out of there ALIVE and to stay ALIVE.
More than you gave my race, those you slaughtered imprisoned in the caves to seal them in, alive to die a slow painful death, their fear, their terror. as they died in their hundreds;
‘The Nature of the BEAST.. GENOCIDE. ‘
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