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 Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:07 pm
Carnallite took her boot off the neck of a Squire of Neptune, allowing the struggling figure to breathe.
“Lucky for you our orders are to avoid unnecessary hostilities,” she said.
The Squire struggled back to his feet, coughing and gasping air into his lungs. Carnallite remained unmoved. She was without her weapon, not because she’d been disarmed but because she didn’t need it. The Squire had been foolish enough to ignore her first warning. If he had any brains in his head, he wouldn’t ignore the second.
“Run, before I change my mind about what’s necessary.”
She received a glare and a hoarse string of curses, but the Squire inevitably cut his losses and fled.
Carnallite sighed. She thought about cutting him down while his back was turned, but wasn’t in the habit of defying orders from the Queen. So she watched the Squire scamper away into the night; his stupid suit in all its blues and shells and netting eventually faded into a spec in the distance, only to be swallowed by the dark. Carnallite stood ready for a fight until his aura vanished from her senses.
Then she relaxed. Carnallite scoffed and looked into the sky. Another storm was building. She’d done what she could over the last several weeks, but she wasn’t built for information gathering. Sweet talking answers from people didn’t come naturally to her. She was a woman of action. The rest she left to those better suited to it.
But the action would come, sooner rather than later.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:08 pm
“You handled that rather tactfully.”
Jet sounded impressed, having appeared close to where Carnallite was standing, where he remained primarily in the shadows. He was a General at the moment, keeping his aura to a minimum to avoid scaring too many people away. Not that he’d been getting a lot of good information recently. Collecting energy was likely going to be their main goal, leaving the building of shields to the Velencians and, unfortunately, the White Moon.
Their Mauvians were helping, of course. But they could only do so much when they were working with the enemy. They couldn’t afford to give away too many of their secrets.
Before Carnallite could question how he knew what she’d been doing, he gestured vaguely to the darkness beyond the trees. There was nothing there at first, but then the shadows seemed to move. Lights that could have just been streetlights filtered through the trees shifted.
The youma’s aura had been dampened. He felt like nothing more than what a civilian might feel like, which gave him the perfect cover for scouting.
“I actually wanted to make sure you’ve got everything you need for what’s coming,” he said, deciding small talk would just waste time. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but there’s a possibility of trying to attack this thing off-world. If that happens, I wanted to make sure we had people keeping an eye on things here. You’re more than capable for either task, so if there’s one you prefer, well… I wanted to know your preference.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:08 pm
“Sir,” Carnallite said in acknowledgment, accepting the compliment with a minute nod of the head.
If she was surprised by Jet’s arrival, she didn’t show it. If she was disconcerted in any way that a youma had gone undetected by her, she didn’t show that either. Granted, Carnallite gave very little away on the best of days. Some called her cold. Jasper called her a b***h. Carnallite didn’t care either way. She had a job to do. The Negaverse had given her power and she made sure to put it to good use.
She gazed at Jet neutrally. Jasper despised him for whatever perceived slight Ilian Jones had committed in his younger years (existing in close proximity to Jasper’s precious brat of a little brother, most likely). Bloodstone thought him too young for so much authority and bristled when Jet commandeered his dutiful little Roselite. Carnallite had no clear bias of her own. Jet did his job. He did it well enough to satisfy the Queen. That was enough for Carnallite.
“I’d prefer to be where the fighting is,” she said. “The more hands we have against the creature, the greater our chances for success. But if Earth needs defenders and you think my abilities are better suited to it, I’ll abide by the decision. I have as much reason to ensure the Earth’s survival as anyone else.”
As much as she hated people in general, Carnallite had no intention of letting harm befall her sisters. She would work as vigorously for the Earth’s protection as she would for the creature’s destruction.
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:09 pm
Jet couldn’t deny Carnallite’s abilities. He’d been skeptical of her involvement with the Void when Bloodstone brought her along, but it turned out that she was a very valuable asset.
They could use that, both on Earth, and wherever they were going to fight this monster. Maybe it would be on Earth. They really didn’t know, yet.
“I agree with you,” he nodded, because the faster they got rid of the creature, the better it would be. He paused, frowning slightly before continuing.
“I’m worried that the White Moon might try something when we’re at our weakest. We might need to use more of our energy reserves than we’d like. They might take advantage of that,” he shared. He wanted her with them to fight. They would be better off with her by their side. But he also wanted to make sure she understood it wasn’t just about defending Earth from the ground. It was defending it against the same enemy they’d been facing. Like the Neptune Squire that had run off.
“Fight with us, but if you can think of ways we could increase our defenses, would you let me know? Doesn’t have to be now, just when you’ve thought about it.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:09 pm
“They’d be foolish not to,” Carnallite said.
She didn’t underestimate the White Moon, but she was confident in her own abilities, and those of the Negaverse as a whole. If the White Moon had any sense, they’d use any opportunity to their advantage. What did they truly care for the Earth? They had their own worlds, didn’t they? She wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning to abandon the Earth in secret. They could seek safety elsewhere. The Negaverse only had Earth to call home. What better way for the White Moon to ensure their destruction than to allow this creature to devour the Earth, and Metallia and her army with it?
“If we had any way to determine their numbers ahead of time, we’d be better off. Especially in regards to their royals,” she advised. She spoke with surety. Carnallite had no hesitation in making recommendations to a General King. “If we end up going off-world and have a way to keep them there after the fact, assuming they’ll be assisting, that would be even better, but devising a means to do so might require more resources than we have at the moment. So we satisfy ourselves with Earth’s survival and our own. If any of them fall in the attempt, the better for us.”
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Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:09 pm
Jet laughed softly, because once again he found himself agreeing with Carnallite’s ideas. He didn’t understand why General Bloodstone wouldn’t promote her, but if she wasn’t making requests herself, then he would stay out of the process. It might be easier for her to stay a Captain. Although if she remained one for too long, he would have to go to her himself. At least for now, she could use her lower aura but clearly formidable prowess to her advantage.
After all, Jet was no stranger to taking advantage of being underestimated.
“Sounds like we’ll need to make sure to take them out while they’re at their weakest. Don’t use up all your energy on this serpent if you can help it. I might need the assistance,” he said with a decisive nod.
The less Senshi and Knights to deal with when this was all over, the better.
Fin!
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