Bel'tha'go

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi walked up next to Ra'Sha as her army of 3,000 fire deamons joined the Templars down below.
" and my army of 3,000 fire demons and I will help. Along with about 10,000 anti material pistols for you all to use. We are just as advance as the Kah'jan."
Kasumi Said, standing in her silver fire queen armor.  

[Sigma Annihilus]

The Highlord stood at the top of the plateau along with his Captain and the Aegalorean Marshal as the Templars, with the aid of the Riot Officers, started affixing rappelling lines to the cliffside. Ra'Sha looked over to Kasumi with a surprised expression as her fire demons began appearing in the tattered ruins of the military camp at the plateau base, "Kasumi?! My, I wasn't expecting you but I'm glad to see you regardless.", he said with a smile, about to say something else as the ASV on the eastern horizon unleashed it's devastating energy attack on the Keh'Jan ruins, the ground and plateau quaking violently as a loud sonic boom washed across the land. Marshal Stadt stared with his mouth agape as the colossal beam slammed into the distant unseen Kehjani ruins, a mountain of twisted black crystal jutting out of the horizon as a result, "By the One...What the hell was that?!", Luka muttered with a frightened astonishment, trying to maintain his composure. Ra'Sha glared with intensity in his furious golden gaze as Firin clenched his fists with a horrified look on his face, "That b*****d! He's insane!", the Templar Captain growled, his clenched fists shaking with rage. Ra'Sha placed his armored hand on Firin's shoulder to calm him, looking to Kasumi with a furrowed brow, "As you can see, we are in quite deep. Long story short, a Kehjani Colonel has declared war on us and all organic life. I have witnessed the things he has done, namely twisting the minds of good people to do his bidding and warping the flesh of some, like Sable over there, to resemble soulless machines. We've managed to save the Night Reaver as well as Firin's lover's associate, but at a cost.", Ra'Sha explained with a serious demeanor. Firin clenched his teeth as he fought back tears, "That madman took her...He took Selene from me!", he growled angrily, his rage causing his eyes to glow a furious blue. Ra'Sha sighed deeply, feeling the Templar Captain's frustration as Sable stalked closer, "You. Highlord.", the Second growled, breaking the tense atmosphere as Ra'Sha and Firin looked to the Umbral, the Captain's eyes going back to normal, "Look.", Sable hissed as he stood on the edge of the cliff, pointing a claw straight out past the ruined camp to the south as a group of Kehjani Soldats crested the dunes. Ra'Sha observed the Soldats as they marched in an uncharacteristically disorganized formation, "Just one squad? They must be crazy.", the Highlord said in disbelief, the thought of the Kehjani sending only one group of around 200 soldiers on a straight path not sitting well, "Something is not right here.", he said seriously, focusing his eyes as his visual senses extended their range of sight. Ra'Sha gasped as he observed the soldiers, spying not only men, but women and, most shocking, children barely old enough to hold their carbines, "No... Those aren't soldiers... Those are civilians! Women and children!", the Highlord growled, his eyes flaring like suns as he clenched his fists in anger. Firin and Marshal Stadt gave a shocked look to Ra'Sha as he relayed the news, "That's...inhuman! That b*****d has crossed the line, this is just...sick!", Firin said with a grim tone, filled with hatred for how low the Colonel will sink to win.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi let out a gasp when Ra'Sha said they were civilians.
" he's using them as a distraction. He's waiting till his secret weapon is ready. That's what I would do. We need to have someone infiltrate his ship and take it down from the inside. I have some fighter jets on there way here to give air support. "
Kasumi said and pulled out four small communication ear pieces.
" I know this is more of a technology war So I brought most of my best guns, jets, and these communication ear pieces. I hope they help."  

[Sigma Annihilus]

Ra'Sha nods and takes one of the earpieces, looking to Firin as he affixes the earpiece in place, "What do you think, Firin?", he asked his Captain for his opinion. Firin took an earpiece, nodding as he set it in place, "I'll go. Once Epsilon's finished with the arcanic fighter and the moment a window of opportunity presents itself. As much as I want to go up there and put that Colonel in his place, I can't abandon my soldiers and my home.", the Captain replied, the Aegalorean Marshal nodding, "Spoken like a true leader.", Luka said, refusing the earpiece but setting his own headset to their frequency. By fortuitous coincidence, Epsilon walked over to the group now down to just his black bio-suit, "The engines are operational, Zenith. Theoretically, I can get the Zephyr airborne now but I wouldn't recommend it, the controls still need some fine tuning, it is a bit different than the mechs their designed for.", the Technomancer said, wiping a smudge of oil from his cheek. Firin gave Epsilon a confused stare, "Zephyr?", he asked as Epsilon gave a chuckle before looking back to the fighter where the Aegalorean engineers were adjusting the landing gear, "Yeah, they started calling it the Silver Zephyr because of the Caelium plates we used from Beta's wreck, it just sort of stuck.", the Technomancer said, giving the Templar Captain a smirk. Firin nodded with a smirk of his own, "Ah, I can see that. Well, I'd rather not die before I get off the ground so go ahead and tune the controls, we have to punch a hole through the line anyway before we can go anywhere.", he said, as the sound of heavy gunfire thundered through the atrium. With a startled jump, Firin turned to witness a few of the passing flight squads of mech drones had opened fire on the Aegaloreans and Templars rappelling down the cliffside, forming a firing line in midair with their shields raised to deflect any return fire. Firin gritted his teeth and ran to the cliffside where the Aegalorean tanks and his Caelium Ballistae teams had begun firing back, the tanks' shells bursting in fiery explosions across the mech's Caelium tower shields while the Ballistae teams worked to get the flying assault machines in their sights, "Keep going! Don't stop!", he called down to the soldiers on the cliff wall, looking to the Marshal. Luka nodded in acknowledgement to Firin, words not needing to be said as he opened his headset communication, "It's go time, boys, get up there and take those flying hunks of scrap down!", Marshal Stadt commanded, the whirring sound of helicopter blades roaring over the gunfire. Within moments a fleet of Aegalorean Wyvern attack choppers begin rising from all along the rocky surface of the plateau, unleashing swarms of Hellfire missiles from their wing pods to pepper the mechs with explosives, breaking their formation and drawing their fire as the helicopters start separating into strafe teams.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

30 Fighter jets flew above and started firing anti material missile. Kasumi walked over to Firin.
" you need to leave now and stop him and that ship if you are to help here."  

[Sigma Annihilus]

Firin clenched his fists at his sides, looking down to the camp as the Riot Officers and Templars reached the bottom of the cliff, "But...I can't abandon them...", he muttered, torn between his people and his heart. Ra'Sha stood by his Captain, placing his armored hand on Firin's shoulder, "You aren't abandoning them, by going out there and taking that monstrosity down, you're giving them hope and confidence. Being Templar Captain is not just about dying with your soldiers, it's about fighting the harder battles so that they can live to see tomorrow.", the Highlord said with strong resonance, giving a confident smile. Firin looked out to the aerial battle, several of the mech drones being caught in the crossfire of Kasumi's fighter jets and Marshal Stadt's choppers while the others split their focus, some of the mechs overdriving their boosters to shield check several fighters on the wing to send them spiraling out of control while others rush head on with shields raised at the choppers as the gunners on board unload streams of blazing lead from the side bay chainguns. Marshal Stadt looked to the Templar Captain as he tried to make the right choice, "Go on, we got this. Another part of being a true leader is following your heart.", Luka said with a smirk, turning to leap on board of one of his tanks and leveling his anti-material rifle to target the mechs charging his choppers. Noxx'Zus walked over to Firin, removing his arcane omni-tool bracelet and grabbed the Captain's wrist to place the object in his grasp with just a silent nod and a confident gaze. Firin growled with frustration at having to make such a difficult decision, but dismissed it as he ran after Epsilon, "Hold up! Change of plans, I'm going out now! Better suit up and get in because you're my co-pilot!", he called out, dashing past the Technomancer towards the arcanic jet. Epsilon gave the Templar Captain a shocked look while jogging after him, "Zenith, are you sure? The controls are touchy at best!", Epsilon said with concern for his Commander's safety. Firin jumped onto the fighter's wing and hopped into the front seat, flipping the onboard switches as he would a Uni-Corps ManaMech, "We don't have a choice, that ASV has to come down and I'm getting Selene back right after I deliver a hard kick to Parallax's mechanical a**!", the Templar Captain growled angrily, regardless of what the Highlord and the Marshal said he still felt guilty for leaving the front line. Epsilon sighed as he joined his Commander in the fighter, "Very well, Zenith, I hope you know what you're doing. Any idea how we're getting past the defense line?", the Technomancer asked, bringing the harrier engines online as the cockpit hatch closed. "Not a clue!", Firin said with a seriousness that frightened Epsilon a bit. As the arcanic fighter's harrier jets flared with bright blue exhaust, a flight squad of mechs soared over head and disengaged their boosters to drop to the plateau, five mechs landing on their feet to face the slowly rising jet, "Crap...", Firin muttered grimly, although Epsilon let out a relieved laugh, "Took you lot long enough!", the Technomancer called out into a vocal amplifying device. The five mechs' electronic eyes flared bright blue as a halo of azure arcana formed around their heads revealing themselves to be Epsilon's Technomancer squad, "Need an escort, sir?", a voice echoed from the lead mech. Firin gave a sigh of relief as he took the voice transponder from Epsilon, "Great timing, watch our flanks and follow us! We're breaking into that flying fortress and tearing it apart from the inside out!", the Captain shouted as the arcanic fighter's harrier thrusters went into maximum output, the Technomancer mechs rising alongside the jet as Epsilon disengaged the harriers and engaged the main thrusters, sending the fighter screaming through the air over where Ra'Sha, Kasumi and Luka stood with Epsilon's Technomancer squad soaring alongside.  

[Sigma Annihilus]

Firin gripped the flight controls tightly, his body pressed against the pilot seat as the arcanic fighter screamed through the air, "It's...got a bit more...kick than a mech...!!!", he shouted as the intense speed threatened to force the air from his lungs. The escort of Technomancer ManaMechs had a hard time keeping up with the rocketing fighter jet even with their boosters at max, the front two mechs putting themselves between a pair of onrushing drones while unleashing a beam of raw arcane power on the mech drones to deter their collision path while the rear three held their hands out and combined their respective powers to form a rippling barrier of force to absorb the drones gunfire, the five Tehcnomancers fiercely protecting the Zephyr. Firin attempted to turn the fighter towards the ASV's direction, the controls making their flaws evident as the fighter went into an uncontrollable barrel roll, the Templar Captain attempting to pull the jet out of it but only succeeding in pushing the controls forward and sending the fighter into a spiraling dive, "PULL BACK, ZENITH!! IT'S NOT A MECH, PULL BACK!!!", Episilon shouted over the roar of the arcanic engines, attempting to assist with pulling the jet out of it's dive with his control panel. Firin growled with a terrified frustration, pulling back as hard as he could on the controls, "NO s**t, EPSILON!! I'M TRYING!!!", he shouted back, as the fighter pulled up literally at the last minute and rocketed back upwards into the sky. As the arcanic jet finally leveled out, Firin and Epsilon let out a sigh of relief, their hearts pounding with fear as they looked to one another with widened stares, "I tried to tell you...", Epsilon said after a moment, the Templar Captain giving him a sharp glare, "Oh shut up, I can fly ManaMechs just fine and I assumed this would be similar! But NOOO!", Firin said with a sarcastic tone, as Epsilon let out a mocking laugh causing Firin to start laughing out of reflex.  

[Sigma Annihilus]

The arcanic fighter, now far on the southern horizon, finally gained it's bearings as Firin successfully turned the jet towards the ASV in a sharp aerial turn, leaving a trail of shimmering blue exhaust in it's wake as the Technomancers followed as close as their boosters would allow. In the chaos of the aerial dogfight between Marshal Stadt's helicopters, Kasumi's jets and the Kehjani mech drones, a swirling pattern of black fog formed halfway between the Templar defense line and the Kehjani civilian Suicide Squad. As the fog slowly receded a man stood with his arms crossed with his hands ending in three taloned claws, his skin night black with his right eye a glowing yellow orb on his featureless face while the left eye was nothing more than an empty socket. The obviously Umbral man's long platinum blonde hair was slicked back with several locks hanging defiantly in his face, an open tattered and shredded white robe coat trimmed in blood crimson billowing in the night air revealing a crystallized crack of glowing light across his inky black chest. The Umbral man's gaze was firmly fixed on the top of the plateau, at Ra'Sha. The Highlord looked back down to meet the man's gaze, his body frozen with his mouth agape in disbelief and a hint of fear flickering in his golden stare, "Impossible...", Ra'Sha muttered, unable to move a single muscle as Noxx'Zus walked up beside, "What is it, sire?", the Steward replied, noticing the look in Ra'Sha's eye as he looked down at the Umbral man standing tall as if in defiance of death itself. At that moment, both the Highlord and his Steward stared with the same look in their eye as a rolling growl formed in Sable's throat, his younger sibling cowering behind her brother as they all looked upon the sight of Ran'Ku down below.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi looked at were the commotion was coming from and gasped.
" but how? "  

[Sigma Annihilus]

The Kehjani civilians stared in pure terror as the Umbral man appeared with his back to them, the children standing on the front line stumbling back behind their parents as the women held their children tight. Ran'Ku looked over his shoulder to the Kehjani civilians, the gesture alone enough to cause the Suicide Squad to break and run in fear, "Hmph, no backbone.", he muttered as he returned his attention to Ra'Sha, beginning to walk at a slow pace towards the Templar and Riot Officer defense line. As the Templars stood firm with their blades in hand, the Riot Officers leveling their carbines over their allied comrades' shoulders, black smoke roiled off of Ran'Ku's umbral skin to engulf his body. When the cloud of inky black fog dispersed, Ran'Ku was nowhere to be seen, a wave of confused whispers and stares washing over the defense line as a cold chill ran down Ra'Sha's spine, the Highlord slowly turning to see the Umbral phantom from his past standing mere feet away from the group, his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed his brother with one good eye in eerie silence.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi looked at Ran'Ku and glared.
" How are you alive? "  

[Sigma Annihilus]

Ran'Ku stared unblinking at Ra'Sha for several moments before looking to Kasumi, "Isn't that adorable, brother? She's giving me the scary eyes.", he said with a chuckle of amusement, his voice resembling a dark distorted echo. Ra'Sha snapped out of his shocked disbelief, his golden eyes flaring brightly as he gripped his sword's handle tightly, "Answer her, Ran'Ku. Now.", the Highlord said with a demanding tone. Ran'Ku's amused chuckles slowly faded as he eyed his brother and Kasumi, "Is that all you care about? No how was death, Ran'Ku? Which hotel are you staying at, Ran'Ku? Always with these interrogations, and here I thought we were siblings.", he said with heavy sarcasm in his echoing voice, "Fine, if it's that important to you, I will tell you. First, let me say thank you, brother.", Ran'Ku said with a serious tone. Ra'Sha's own serious expression became confused and shocked, "You are...thanking me?! For what?!", the Highlord asked with disbelief, unable to understand why. Ran'Ku let out an amused laugh, shaking his head as he brought his right hand up to his good eye, as if wiping away a non existent tear, "Oh that's a good one! See, you can have a sense of humor if you try. But in all seriousness, if you hadn't flooded my body with light, I would have still been trapped by the Annihilus curse. By doing that, excruciatingly painful as it was, I would have been back much much sooner.", Ran'Ku explained, as the Highlord and his Steward stared in silence. "Oh okay, fine, enough dodging the question I suppose. Now then, why am I here? I guess you can thank the new Crimson King for my resurrection, he came into the otherworld and brought my soul back from the City of Judgement, hasn't told me why yet but I'll bet it will be great fun.", the Umbral dark born explained, causing Ra'Sha and Noxx'Zus to glare with intensity in their eyes at the thought of a new Crimson King.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi's eyes widen in shock.
" the new crimson king, then the rumors are true, the eternal fire of the crimson king changed to signal the new king.... I thought the priest had gone mad."  

[Sigma Annihilus]

Ran'Ku began to laugh uncontrollably, holding his midsection as though staving off sharp laughing pains, "He very well may have! The Crimson King does that to people.", he said through his laughter, eventually settling to look at Kasumi with his good eye. Ra'Sha drew his blade and pointed it at Ran'Ku's throat, "Hey now, why are you pointing that thing at me when it's YOUR fault for not destroying the Mantle?! As long as the Crimson Mantle exists, there will ALWAYS be a new Crimson King. It's an endless cycle so long as that relic remains intact.", Ran'Ku said, pinching the tip of Ra'Sha's sword with his right hand and lowering the blade. Ra'Sha growled with frustration before letting it out in a long sigh as he sheathed his sword, "I have a very bad feeling...", the Highlord muttered, the thunder of Marshal Stadt's rifle breaking up the moment as his mech drone target exploded in midair with a flash of blue fire, "Oi, there's something down there you might want to see.", Luka shouted to Ra'Sha over the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Ran'Ku shook his head as he noticed the Aegalorean Marshal on board the tank, "Tsk, tsk, brother. Siding with Aegaloreans?", he said with disappointment in his echoing tone, Ra'Sha glaring at Ran'Ku with intense fury in his eyes, "Shut your mouth, Ran'Ku. You are lucky that I have bigger problems to deal with.", the Highlord said with contempt, turning away from Ran'Ku and nodding to Noxx'Zus before looking to Kasumi, "Don't let him out of your sight. If he becomes a problem, you know what to do. Be careful, my Fire Queen.", he said to her, glancing back at Ran'Ku one last time before he and the Steward walked over to the cliff edge.  

[Selene Shepard]

Kasumi

Kasumi nodded and pulled out her own swor, staring at Ran'ku.