The VTOL aircraft banked left as it travelled through the narrow passageways of the valley. The twin jet engines shifted again and the craft quickly righted itself

The occupants of the aircraft were not concerned about that however. Something more important was on their minds.

 

“OK everyone, let’s go over this again” a loud voice said over the roar of the engines. Everyone in the cargo bay looked towards the rear cargo bay door where the voice had come from. Standing there was a somewhat tall man holding a long tube-shaped weapon over his right shoulder.

 

He idly fiddled with the scope and began talking once he knew he got their attention. “I will summarise my previous briefing on why we’re here”

“Yesterday we picked up a distress signal from the surface of this planet.” He continued, keeping his balance as the craft shifted to the right.

“The signal asked for help from several threats that have been plaguing their world for years”

“Naturally, we assumed it was an alien invasion. Those things are popular with the grey-folk...”

He glanced down at his left arm to look at a thin computer screen that was strapped to it. Several readouts of the planet were displayed on it.

The atmosphere was breathable and no anomalous energy sources were detected at the designated landing zone a few kilometres away now.

“But that was not the case according to what little they could send out... we’re dealing with a large threat” he explained. “The people calling for help sounded desperate and requested for anyone out there to arrive soon to help them.”

“Then the signal had degraded into static. That’s all we could gather.”

 

The man adjusted his brown longcoat as the VTOL dipped for a few seconds. He could hear the belly of the craft skim a few outcropping treetops.

“Our current objective is to find out what happened to that transmitter and gather intel on the new threat” he finished. “Then we are to find where the monsters hide and destroy them by all means possible”

Then there was silence, apart from the background noises as the craft rose again.

 

“Have you supposed this might be a trap, Mr Dragonhelper?” a woman’s voice then asked. The man looked over at her. She held an assault rifle in her bare hands, and wore a large teal dress over her thin body.

The woman always liked to call people by their surname, never by rank or just a simple “sir.”

It would have been annoying, had Captain R Dragonhelper been an actual military officer. Right now, he was just a mercenary. A mercenary with the best damned squad you can ask for.

 

He simply replied “Considering the enemies I’ve had to face, it could possibly be a trap.”

“But, that’s the thing Rosalina... we’re gonna have to face it. It’s why I asked everyone to bring their best weapons with them.”

He gestured to the missiles strapped on his back in neat rows.

 

Rosalina sighed and examined the clip of her rifle. “Do you think we could turn back? I’ve only brought the soft rounds and now I have a feeling I might need the AP” she asked jokingly, running a finger through her long light brown hair. A large triangular bang covered her right eye. The Captain sometimes wondered if it were there to improve her night vision or that there was something wrong with that eye in particular.

 

Rosalina looked up as the Captain was staring at her for a second too long and not replying. The Captain cleared his throat only to be interrupted by another voice, another woman’s voice and one that he valued very much dearly.

“I think it’s a bit too late now to change your mind. We’re just over the LZ now” this voice said, this one over the VTOL’s intercom system.

“And if you’re that concerned about armour, I’m sure my husband has plenty of rockets to spare to assist you.” She added with a laugh.

“Thanks for that Rhiza” Captain Dragonhelper yelled back.

 

-----

 

Rhiza Kalanin smirked as she peered at the various displays in the cockpit. One of them she kept an eye on the most. “Dopplers are still not picking up anything” she keyed over the intercom. She paused for a second and added “Or at least nothing important is being picked up. We’ve got birds if you’re interested”

 

“No thanks” yelled her husband again.

Smiling now, Rhiza began the landing procedures of the craft. Truth be told, I’m not really good at flying this bucket, she thought to herself, the thrusters aren’t fully repaired and it handles like a pregnant cow... I’d probably crash this thing easily if it got into an actual fight.

 

Looking at the cockpit glass, she caught a faint reflection of herself. Her short hair was a bright purple in colour and she wore a closed black longcoat. A glimpse of black padding underneath could be seen indicating that she was protected more than others.

 

The landing wheels and the cargo ramp of the VTOL lowered at the same time. Rhiza then opened up a small compartment in front of the controls which carried a bulky-looking pistol with a sphere on the end of it. The words “Peacebringer” were stencilled on the side as a company name.

 

Retrieving the gun, Rhiza then undid her seatbelt and got up from her seat to enter the cargo bay. The autopilot would handle the landing, or at least she hoped it would, does it actually come with one?

 

-----

 

As the craft began to land, the Captain looked over at the only other two people onboard. They wore what appeared to be suits of medieval amour. The closest one, the man was dressed in a chain mail shirt and long leather pants. His hair was black and long, with a large ponytail at the back.

He idly fiddled with a small crossbow. A red aura could be seen emanating from the quiver of bolts on his back. He glanced at the scenery outside the cargo bay door which was revealed to be a verdant jungle and then back at his crossbow.

“I wonder if the natives are pretty” he commented to the floor with a short laugh.

 

A gauntleted fist answered him. That was from the woman sitting next to him. She wore full plate armour made from a dark grey material. Her hair was a silvery grey in colour, with two long thin braided ponytails at the back.

She lowered the thin reading glasses on her face and replied “You better not be thinking what I think you are thinking Marth.”

“And I thought our relationship would be more open...” Marth Shepard muttered. “I should have refused that mission...”

Martha Shepard glared at her husband and went back to what she was doing before- polishing a long grey sword that emanated with a black aura. Why does he always have to bring that up? She thought to herself, a depressed look on her face.

 

-----

 

As soon as the VTOL had landed, Captain Dragonhelper jumped from the cargo ramp to the ground, his rocket launcher already loaded and poised to strike.

 

Seeing that the area was clear enough, he waved his free arm to signal the others to follow. Rosalina shook her head and stood up, attaching a scope to her rifle as she moved towards the entrance.

“Basic hand signal. Come on” the Captain called, continuing his waving.

Ignoring that, Rosalina moved towards the cargo ramp. Instead of walking down it though, she closed her eyes for a few seconds and began to float, as if the air was like a pool of water. Instead of swimming though, she moved as if guided by invisible strings, her body bobbing up and down gently.

 

Martha slung a large teardrop shaped shield over her back before picking up her sword and sheathing it behind her. She followed her husband who was moving down the ramp quickly, his crossbow held awkwardly in his arms. His wife noted that he wasn’t used to wielding the weapon.

 

Rhiza stepped off next. She slipped a power cell into the pistol and heard a satisfying charging noise for a few seconds. Looking over at her husband, she frowned. He’s wearing that stupid bandanna of his, she thought to herself, looking at the piece of red cloth around the Captain’s head.

 

“You smell that?” Rhiza suddenly said, sniffing the air.

“The one who smelt it...” the Captain started to reply before Rhiza interrupted with “No, it smells like smoke”

She glanced down at her left arm. Much like the Captain, she too had a computer screen around her arm. Unlike his though, this one seemed to have a few small devices attached to the bottom.

“I’m running a thermal scan now.” She explained as the Captain looked at his own screen. His didn’t have any special features beyond displaying data.

 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea Mrs Kalanin? The jungle is full of thermal signatures.” Rosalina asked.

“I’ve got a lock. It’s coming from the same location as yesterday’s transmission.” Rhiza stated, ignoring Rosalina’s comment.

“Obviously the enemy caught on to their transmissions and burned the place down. Be careful, they may still be around” the Captain replied, moving forward into the jungle.

 

-----

 

They travelled a short distance before they stopped outside a large burnt area of jungle. It was black from a massive fire. The smell of ash and smoke was still rich in the air.

“Still think it could be a trap?” the Captain asked Rosalina smugly.

“Never dismiss the possibility Mr Dragonhelper.” The woman replied as everyone moved forward.

 

The base was a massive pile of burnt wreckage. Various buildings and towers lined about, toppled or crushed from a massive impact. They could not see any signs of surviours within the area.

“I’m guessing this used to be a radar base” Rhiza commented as they approached what was left of a massive transmission dish.

 

“What could have done such a thing?” Rosalina asked, examining the dish’s transmitter by floating to the top. She was quite surprised it was still standing, the only damages being the transmitter and several large gashes being taken out in the dish.

“Many possible causes... could be aliens, mutated lifeforms...” the Captain listed “I wouldn’t be surprised if the call was asking for help fighting a terrestrial war or something.”

“I’ve got a possible cause” Rhiza suddenly spoke up.

 

Everyone turned to look at her. The woman was pointing to one of the crushed buildings. There was a large metal spike with a thin coating of dried blood on it slightly bent. “A large creature probably had stepped through here” Rhiza was explaining, walking over to the spike. “And while they did so, they got their foot pierced by this sharpened support beam”

“It could have been an impalement of a person” The Captain suggested, looking at the spike himself.

“Then there would be a body...” Rhiza replied, examining the base of the spike. “And it would have had to have been moved...”

 

Just then, Rhiza heard the sound of the rubble nearby shifting. She took a step back and drew out her pistol in one quick move, pointing it at the source of the noise. Everyone else had their weapons at the ready.

A small rat scurried out of the rubble and ran past the spike. Rhiza kept her pistol trained on the rubble though.

“Anyone in there?” she called.

 

There were more shifting noises. “Who are you?” a voice called. Rhiza could see an eye peering out from a hole, as well as the barrel of a submachine gun

“You’re not a cultist are you?” the voice asked as he got a better look at the purple-haired woman.

“I’m not in any cult as far as I’m concerned. I know my husband has blown up a few in the past” Rhiza replied.

“They all deserved it.” The Captain yelled back. “No religion should ask you for money to join.”

The survivor then suddenly cried “Thank God! Our call has been answered!”

 

-----

 

In a nearby building, two men were lying prone on the second floor, looking down at the gathered group. While the Divine Goddess Cult was certain that there were survivors hiding in a bunker somewhere in the base, it wasn’t a high priority. Regardless, a watch would be kept for any activity, just to be certain.

The first man spoke into a headset “This is Watchman One. We’ve got stragglers. Be advised, over.”

“Copy that. Keep an eye on them. We have a strike team en-route to your position.” His commanding officer replied. “For the Goddess! Over.”

“For the Goddess” Watchman One signed off.

 

 

“By the way, I’m Eric Ross, Corporal of the United Military.” The survivor asked, leading the group through the pile of rubble and towards a short passageway that led to a thick metal door. “So let me get this straight, you’re mercenaries from another planet, yet you look just like us?”

He reached into a thin pouch on his light grey camouflage clothing and withdrew a packet of cigarettes. Maybe now I’ll have a chance to use these, he thought to himself, rubbing his stubbled chin.

“That’s very much who we are.” Rosalina replied “Mrs. Kalanin is probably fuming about how many humanoids she finds on other planets.”

“You barely see any alien aliens these days” Rhiza grumbled.

Eric nodded to himself and lit the cigarette. “The Divine Goddess Cult left this place a week ago and I have been too afraid to come out from the bunker since then... let alone having a light”

 

“Divine Goddess? Did they run out of names or something?” The Captain commented.

“Honey, you forget you’re using a translator” Rhiza reminded him. “That’s also why his military came up as United Military and not some country name”

“Oh right... but how do they pick up alien languages so quickly?” The Captain asked.

“I don’t know... you’re the one who built them.”

 

 “It isn’t a coincidence we happen to speak the same language.” Rosalina explained to Eric. “Are there any more survivors here?”

Eric nodded his head and carefully opened the door into the bunker. He then called to the occupants “We have reinforcements!”

 

The bunker was spartan in appearance, with a concrete interior. Several passages led off to other areas of the bunker, unlit. “To conserve the generator’s fuel...” Eric explained “Of course, most of our electronics are offline already”

Four people were sitting on a worn-out sofa in the main chamber, either drinking from chipped cups or looking at the ground. The first two were scientists, wearing torn white labcoats.

The others were in simple jumpsuits that Rosalina guessed to be maintenance workers. Reminds me of the old days where I couldn’t wear a dress in a workshop...

A long-barrelled sniper rifle was lying disassembled on a workbench nearby, as well as a few tools and pieces of metal.

 

“I’m guessing you’re the only military person here?” Rosalina asked, taking a glance at the Captain. The man was looking at the other rooms from where he was standing, as if expecting an ambush.

Eric sighed. “Yes... not even the Lieutenant made it...”

He puffed on his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke, making sure not to blow it into anyone’s faces. “You’d think the commanding officer would be the first one to get below... but he isn’t”

 One of the scientists decided to speak up “Why are you telling them this? How do we know they’re not cultist infiltrators sent to kill us in our sleep?”

“Shut up Vidic” the other scientist replied. “You’re too paranoid... remember how you thought owls were reading your mind”

“I was certain that last one was!” Vidic growled.

“Besides, they’re pretty damned rag-tag looking to be cultists.” A worker chimed in. “Seriously, that chick in the green is in a dress for crying out loud!”

 

“We’ll have time to introduce the fine people I’ve been bunkered down with later... I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re in such a bad way” Eric explained Rosalina.

She  nodded and said “If it’s too distressing, you don’t have to tell us. We’re good at figuring things out”

Eric shook his head “It’s not too distressing. I’ve seen plenty of my friends and leaders die over the past few years... I’m used to it now.”

 

He explained what happened. “This base had been lying untouched for years when The Goddess arrived”

“We don’t know how, but we were desperate... and we knew that maybe if we could get the transmitters working, just maybe we could call for help... if there was an alien race that would take pity on our world”

 

“We were very few in number, maybe a whole platoon, commanded by Lieutenant Banks...”

He looked to the other survivors in the bunker. “And now we’re all that’s left. The Cultists wasted no time with conversions and executions...”

 

He took a deep breath and continued. “I was positioned as a sniper on the roof of this very building.”

“As soon as we transmitted, the Cultists mobilised against us. It was two days later when they sent a jeep to force us to surrender... they had a man with a megaphone and loudspeakers broadcast their demands.”

“What were their demands?” Rosalina asked. The Captain and Rhiza were still arguing, their conversation having nothing to do with what was happening right now.

“The standard bullshit. To lay down our weapons and embrace worshipping the Goddess...” Eric replied with a slight chuckle. “No one bought it of course.”

 

He looked to the rifle on the workbench. “I popped him right in the head. Simmons finished the jeep off with a rocket.”

“Of course, as soon as that happened, that’s when the attack started...”

 

He thought back to that moment. All he could see through his scope were waves of men and women, all unarmoured and armed with medieval weapons. It was like they were being sent through a meat grinder.

 

 “Shortly after the initial wave, the Goddess came! The cultists were only there to waste our ammunition!”

“Cannon fodder” the woman said disgustedly.

“She towered above us all, barely clearing the treeline. I myself had never seen the Goddess before in the living flesh, only posters, statues and effigies...”

 

Marth Shepard commented “Let me guess, she was the most beautiful sight to behold... naked, blonde and with really large...”

Martha nudged him on the arm hard. “Eyes!” Marth quickly added. “Really big, beautiful eyes that can stare deep into your soul and cause terror within...”

Eric looked at the couple confusedly.

 

“They’re married.” Rosalina quickly explained, waving as if to rebuke their presence. “Did your weapons have any effect when the Goddess approached?”

“Hell if I know... if my rounds had an effect, she certainly wasn’t feeling it as she casually strolled up to the perimeter.” Eric replied. “To be honest, seeing the Goddess herself made us less willing to fight. We thought were doomed”

 

The Captain hefted his rocket launcher. “Didn’t you say there were rockets?” he asked, no longer arguing with Rhiza now.

“Only one left after the first wave... and it missed” Eric replied sadly. “It was heard all over the radios...”

“That’s when you fled to this bunker?” Rosalina asked.

“Yes. I grabbed my rifle and ducked down the stairs. Just in time too... a massive foot had went through the building, crushing half of it. I thought I heard a grunt of pain as if she had stepped on something sharp”

“That would explain the spike outside and the blood” Rhiza commented.

 

“I didn’t see anyone else run for the bunker, so I sealed the door behind me while the screams sounded above.” Eric concluded “And we’ve been hiding in here ever since they died down.”

 “They were here for two days, and then as soon as they arrived they had left, leaving us to our fate and in fear...”

“I’ve been keeping watch ever since. Just in case they have scouts...”

 

He glanced around the bunker for a bit. “You didn’t find any on the way in here did you?”

Rhiza immediately looked down at her computer screen. “I’ll run a Doppler now...” she explained, tapping several buttons and initiating the program.

“What’s a Doppler?” Eric asked.

“It’s some kind of detection device that can pick up movement. I have no idea how it does that” The Captain explained. “I didn’t build it either”

 

Rhiza shook her head. “Half the crap he builds he doesn’t understand.” she explained, and then looked down at the screen as it started flashing a bit more rapidly.

“Uh-oh... We’ve got company” she said.

 

Vidic took a pistol from his labcoat. “You fool! You’ve led them right here!” he yelled, waving it front of Eric. Almost immediately did Rhiza and Rosalina whip out their own weapons and point them at Vidic.

The others in the room dived for cover, trying not to get involved in any crossfire.

“Calm down Vidic, let’s not jump to conclusions” Eric replied, unfazed by having a loaded weapon being waved at him.

“Calm down!? You brought these spies in here and doomed us all!” Vidic kept yelling.

 “I can pull this trigger faster than you can” Rosalina calmly said “Put the gun down and it’ll save you a lot of hassles”

 

Rhiza glanced at her screen display and then pulled the trigger of her own gun first. Vidic didn’t have time to react. A beam of coherent light fired from the round end of the gun and instantly impacted with the scientist’s chest, causing him to collapse almost instantly.

“Peacebringer Stun Laser” Rhiza explained, lowering her weapon. “He’ll be fine in a few hours”

Eric looked down at the unconscious body of Vidic and frowned. “Do you know how dangerous that was?”

“The man with the gun was distracted and not looking at my trigger finger” Rhiza replied smugly. “Now that’s out of way, let’s deal with the threat at hand shall we?”

She looked at her scanner display again. “We’ve got ten unknowns heading our way...”

Two yellow dots were displayed moving towards a series of white dots in a large group.

“And it seems we’ve got the Shepards already moving out to deal with them”

“Cultist strike team.” Eric commented. “So they did have scouts”

 

“There’s only ten contacts?” The Captain asked. “I’m sure Martha alone can handle them easily. Having Marth there would just be overkill...”

He glanced at his rocket launcher and muttered “A few more are saved for when we confront this ‘Goddess’ figure”

 

-----

 

“So what’s the plan here?” Marth asked his wife as they ducked behind a concrete support pillar. They were on what was left of the second floor of the ruined building.

“Nothing too special. I drop in from above and carve our way through the enemy” Martha replied, peeking to the side.

There was a large formation of about ten people, all dressed in dark orange jumpsuits and armed with big swords. The few women who were part of the formation had their heads shaved and carried knives.

 

“Looks to be a fair fight... can’t stand the use of guns.” Martha commented to her husband.

“I’ll try and cook something up as well... you can’t have all the fun now” he suggested. Martha moved towards another pillar. Her plate armour made loud clanking noises as she moved.

 

All of the Cultists looked up and went for their swords. As expected, she thought to herself, holding her sword downwards and shield up before taking a leap off the edge of the structure and in the middle of their formation, making sure that the sword was stuck well into the ground.

They all closed around the woman, cutting off any escape. One of them stepped forward and barked “Surrender now or face the consequences”. Must be their squad leader

“What makes you think you can do that?” Martha asked with a smile. A symbol in the shape of a set of balancing scales appeared in the middle of her shield.

The leader growled “You dare reject the Goddess? You think your false gods will protect you?”

Martha frowned. “I wouldn’t say he’s false if I were you... he may not view me in the light I should be viewed, but he is always protecting those who believe... especially his most loyal servants”

“Enough of this blasphemer! Slay her in the name of the Goddess!” the leader ordered.

The cultists began to charge when a wall of purple fire suddenly formed in front of them.

 

“What sorcery is this?” the leader demanded before seeing there was a man at the same building the woman dropped from.

His eyes were glowing red as if on fire. “Sorcery is exactly right. Who needs weapons when you have magical powers?”

 

The leader looked back at the woman with the sword. The wall of fire made his men hesitant to cross. “Now your men are probably thinking that my god is not as false as you would think he is” Martha calmly stated, taking her sword out of the ground easily.

“Now we’ll see whose deity protects who” she then added, moving forward quickly.

The leader went to parry the woman’s strike while dodging out of the way. Martha quickly turned and placed her shield in the path as her opponent went to strike after parrying.

 

When the leader parried though, his steel blade broke in half on impact with Martha’s sword. He went to grab another sword when Martha used her shield to push her opponent back towards the wall of fire. “I’ve had years of experience with my equipment.” She explained to the squad leader who was trying his best not to be moved backwards. It was too close to be using swords, making the battle now a struggle to out-push the other

“You on the other hand were probably given a sword and a few pointers and told to slay in the name of your false god...”

“Do not mock the Goddess as such!” the leader instinctively responded.

“I can see how you’re the leader of this sorry squad...” Martha commented, knowing she was out of force to press upon the taller and stronger man. But has he realised it yet?

The leader pushed back and Martha let him for a few steps. “Screw you!” he yelled, taking the bait as Martha wanted him to.

Just then the woman planted her feet down hard and bent her legs to prevent further movement. Her heavy armour and equipment helped keep her in place.

“By the way, I haven’t shown you yet how my God protects me more than yours” she added, moving back quickly and then swinging the side of her shield into her opponent who was trying to regain balance.

 

The leader groaned and attempted to stand only to have an armoured boot land on his arm, crushing his bones slowly. “Who... are... you?” he groaned painfully.

“Martha Shepard. Doomguide of the God of the Dead, Kelemvor.” Martha stated.

She thrust downwards with her sword into the man’s chest, ending the life of the squad leader. “You will be judged according to your deeds.”

 

The wall of fire was released and the remaining cultists stood there cowering in fear now that their leader was dead. “Does anyone else have an appointment with the Wall?” Marth yelled from his vantage point above. “Surrender now or else you will have one!”

The response from the cultists was unanimous. They got on their knees and renounced their religion on the spot.

 

There were the sounds of a few people applauding the couple. The Captain and Eric stepped towards them. “That was a very good show... I especially enjoyed the way you instilled disbelief amongst them” the Captain commented with a smile.

“It is their choice to follow a false god. It is another to try and convert me to it.” Martha replied, closing the eyes of the dead leader. “Nothing more...”

 

-----

 

“Unbelievable” Watchman One said, viewing the whole battle. Within a few minutes, two people had converted a strike team from their deity using only swords and fire.

“This is Watchman One. We’ve lost the strike team. Over” he said over his radio.

“Say again? How could have that happened?” came the reply.

“They’ve brought in outside help... I don’t think they’re from around here. Over”

“We’ll inform the Goddess on how to deal with this. For now, remain in position and keep us updated on their progress... For the Goddess! Over.”

“For the Goddess” Watchman One signed off.

 

The following morning, Rhiza Kalanin sat at a table in one of the side rooms of the bunker. Vidic and the other scientist were sitting opposite her. “I don’t think we were introduced properly” she said to them.

“I’m Gustav. Gustav Adams” the scientist replied, his accent thick. “And he’s Vidic. Just Vidic”

Vidic was holding a hand to his head. “What were we celebrating last night?” he asked, appearing hungover.

“The fact that we’re fighting back against the Cult” Gustav explained. “You were out like a light after a few drinks.”

“I can’t seem to remember hearing such news...” Vidic groaned. “But how are we fighting back?”

Gustav got up and poured himself a cup of instant coffee. “Our allies have captured a Cultist strike team. I think the couple in the medieval armour are interrogating them now”

Vidic groaned again. “I don’t recall anything about allies”

Rhiza cleared her throat. “So you’re what’s left of the science team?” she asked, running her fingers across the dusty table.

“Yes, just myself and paranoid Vidic” Gustav replied.

 

Rhiza nodded and grabbed a canteen of water. “I see. Well today you’re going to be very happy to know that I too am a scientist”

“I never would have thought that” Gustav commented, looking over the purple-haired woman. “What fields do you work in?”

“Quantum Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics” Rhiza listed off quickly. “I’m also a  skilled computer programmer”

Gustav and Vidic leaned forward in interest. “It’s a hobby.” the woman explained “So tell me, any of you know biology? Especially biology of your own species?”

“That would be me” Gustav replied “Are you looking for differences in our anatomy or something?”

 

“Not quite. I’m more interested in the fact that you have an 80ft or so person running around your countryside, tearing up cities, brainwashing your people into devoted cultists... and violating many laws of physics!” Rhiza ranted. “If any of you know biology, now’s the time to give me your bullshit explanations as to justify what the hell is going on here!”

“Ummm...” Gustav stumbled, racking his thoughts. “We are looking for the same answer ourselves actually”

Rhiza raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, you never did get to study her?”

“My lab was destroyed in the first year... I’ve been tagging along with the United Military ever since trying to understand those questions myself.”

 

Vidic spoke up, placing both elbows on the table as he shouted. “The Goddess has come from the stars to punish us for being too complacent! All this suffering is just a way of learning!”

“Not this alien invasion theory again...” Gustav groaned. “It could easily be terrestrial”

Rhiza shook her head. “Paranoid and delusional. Just how is he not a Cultist?”

“Because they killed my family!” Vidic shouted back. He then put a hand on his head as his headache returned.

 

I wonder what my husband is up to, Rhiza thought to herself

 

-----

 

Captain Dragonhelper, Rosalina Sunburst and Eric Ross were quickly moving across the clearing to the jungle.

“So are you sure this is a good idea?” Eric asked, carefully holding his submachine gun slung over a shoulder. A second sling held his sniper rifle and a few boxes of its ammunition.

“Of course it is. We need supplies and the Cultists should have plenty if they could send a strike team here so quickly” The Captain replied, holding his rocket launcher over one shoulder.

“I’m not worried about the objective. A supply raid is highly reasonable; I’m just concerned about the strategy” Eric said.

“He has got a point Mr. Dragonhelper” Rosalina commented, floating next to the two men.

“And what’s wrong with my strategy? I think the plan is flawless” the Captain complained.

“Can you please explain it to us again then so we can understand its perfection?” Eric growled sarcastically.

 

They just reached the jungle line and started moving through the underbrush, making loud steps. “Certainly.” The Captain answered. “It’s a three-man... person job. We all rush in there shouting “Oooga booga booga!” at the top of our lungs and scare them into submission!”

“And you’re somehow the leader...” Eric shook his head.

 

 

It was approaching noon when the Cultist camp was in sight. It consisted of several small buildings with a low stockade, all made from the local timber. Several Cultists in their dark orange jumpsuits were on patrol, armed with a variety of melee weapons. Seems like they’ve looted a few police cars and perhaps a gang or two... The Captain thought to himself, looking over at Rosalina.

“Rosalina, could you please get a headcount of the camp?” he suggested to her.

“Change of plans, Mr. Dragonhelper?” the woman asked.

“I just remembered something Lieutenant Jenkins told me back in the days...”

“Rush into a firefight once you know how many of the sorry bastards you’re going to be killing?” Rosalina quoted. The Captain looked impressed.

“I overheard one of his briefings while I was working on the Skyranger... his voice could carry through the hangar...”

“Now I can see where you got your plans from...” Eric muttered.

Rosalina floated upwards and hid herself in one of the trees. As a precaution, she moved her rifle to her hands and trained it over the camp.

 

“Shouldn’t we be doing recon from a much further distance?” Eric asked “And preferably with binoculars, not an assault scope?”

“I don’t want to give it away, but Rosalina’s got a few tricks of her own, besides being able to float in the air.

 

Back in the treetop, Rosalina started to focus on the Cultists below. Her irises expanded to cover up most of the eyeball and her vision began to turn purple. The Cultists began to emanate a yellow glow to which the woman easily picked up in her enhanced sight. The camp looked faint compared to the glows

She looked across at the wall and the buildings, the timber not dampening their energy signatures.

She kept a count of all the yellow spots before blinking, her sight slowly returning to normal. With that, she floated out of the tree and landed back with the others.

“There are about thirty Cultists. Ten on the walls, the rest throughout the camp” she explained. “Five are indoors”

“You got all that from sitting in a tree?” Eric asked.

“Ever heard of psionics?” Rosalina answered. “If not, let’s just go with magic...”

“Do all of you have magical powers of some sort?” the sniper questioned.

“Only myself and the Shepards. Marth has an affinity for...”

“Alright guys, let’s do this!” The Captain interrupted, running straight towards the camp.

He then started screaming at the top of his lungs “OOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!”

 

“By the stars... he just ran in there” Rosalina sighed. She followed after the leader quickly.

Eric just watched as the two mercenaries moved ahead. I’m not sure on what I should be doing here... he thought to himself.

 

 

The Cultists at the gate stood up and drew out their various weapons and knives and began charging at the screaming man.

An eager Cultist with a pair of switchblade knives was suddenly knocked to the ground as the man hit him in the side of the face with the metal tube. He twitched several times before he died.

Another Cultist with a collapsible nightstick reached the enemy next. He deployed the stick just before making contact, only to suddenly find himself on the grass.

Before he fell unconscious, he thought he heard the words “Falcooooon...”

 

The Captain saw that the whole camp had mobilised and were charging towards him with their weapons. Seeing a few were wielding pipes and crowbars, he thought to himself, I like variety!

He eagerly dropped the rocket launcher to rush into the fray with his gloved hands.

“Stand back! Let me deal with this one myself!” a woman’s voice yelled over the shouting.

 

The Cultists stopped their charging and made way for a woman in dark orange robes. Unlike the previous Cultist women, this one had a full head of long black hair. She carried a pair of curved swords that the Captain recognised as katanas. “I take it you’re the leader of this ragged little band?” the man asked her.

“I am Karen Sirius. Captain of this Company of devout believers in the Goddess” the woman replied.

“Well hello there Karen, I’m...”

“You have only two choices. Surrender or die” Karen interrupted. “Either way, the Goddess will be pleased.”

“Hey, I was trying to introdu...”

“If you choose to surrender, you will put your hands behind your back and kneel down. You will be punished according to your sins.”

“My name is Captain...”

“If you wish to die however, you will be killed either by my blades or by the men around me”

Rosalina landed next to the Captain. “What’s happening? Should I be shooting?”

“Nothing to worry about, the Cultists are just being rude and not allowing me to get a word in edgeways” he replied as Karen was explaining how surrendering worked.

“Well I can see the makings of a great lawyer in her” Rosalina commented.

 

Once Karen finished her speech five minutes later, she noticed that there were now two people standing before her. “And who is that? Another one of you wishes to surrender to the Divine Goddess Cult?” she asked, pointing at Rosalina.

“No, that’s my lawyer.” The Captain replied. “If you actually had shut up for five minutes, we would have introduced ourselves”

He offered a hand and started again “Hello, I’m...”

Karen whipped a blade out at the hand, causing a deep cut in the palm.

“Ow... ok, so handshakes are not your thing. Anyway, I’m...”

The other blade went for his side. The Captain quickly ducked back. “Hey careful, you could have cut someone in half with that”

“I was intending that to happen, now shut up and die!” Karen snarled.

“Oh so you get to yammer on about nothing for five minutes and I don’t?” The Captain asked as the blades went at him again. “I’m all for equal opportunity, but you gotta throw me a bone here...”

He jumped back a few more feet, only to slip and fall to the ground. “Do you choose to surrender now?” Karen asked, pointing both blade edges at The Captain’s neck. “Your gods have failed you... it’s never too late to worship The Goddess and beg for Her forgiveness”

 

 

Rosalina shook her head. This is getting silly... she thought to herself. Closing her eyes, she waved a hand out at Karen. The Cultist started to float in the air and her arms were forced away from The Captain’s neck.

“What sorcery is this?” she screamed, looking around.

“Mind over matter” Rosalina stated, moving Karen further into the air. She could see the tops of the trees now.

“Hey, I have a better idea for you, bitch!” The Captain yelled, leaping to his feet. “How about you surrender?”

 

There was an immediate uproar within the Cultist ranks. “They wield the powers of the Gods themselves!” a man shouted.

“Blasphemer!” another yelled.

“This is going to get nasty. I’m going to call Rhiza for transport” The Captain commented to Rosalina as he drew his radio out and extended the aerial.

“We’re gonna need a two-niner on seven three. You got my ten?”

“Umm... copy that Honeybee... I’ll be there in half an hour to an hour, tops... and please don’t butcher radio code again”

 

-----

 

Rhiza landed the VTOL half an hour later in the centre of the camp. She grabbed her Peacebringer laser pistol and stepped out through the cargo bay door as it lowered.

As she stepped onto the ground, she viewed the area. Several Cultists were lying dead next to a large stack of wooden crates.

She kicked one of the bodies with a black boot to check for signs of life.

“Sorry about the mess... we forced a surrender out of the camp’s leader and some of the Cultists didn’t like the idea” came a familiar voice.

“You certainly excelled here today, honey.” Rhiza replied.

“Well... the Shepards had their chance to shine and now I’ve got mine.” The Captain replied, embracing Rhiza in a big, strong hug.

“I take it those crates are to be loaded onto the VTOL?” the woman asked, pointing to the stack.

“Before we get started, I need to seriously address the matter of my radio callsign...”

“Why, you wanted something cooler than Honeybee, honey? Because I didn’t write the callsigns”

“That’s because I wrote them... and I thought yours was appropriate...” said another voice.

 

Rosalina floated out of the leader’s building over to the couple. “I’ve found a radio transceiver in there. I think we can listen into Cultist transmissions rather than adjusting our own sets” she explained, pointing back to the building she just came from.

“Or send them threatening messages” The Captain replied. “Or even crank calls... hey Goddess, is your fridge running? Well you better go crush it!”

He looked around and saw that the two women had moved away very quickly to the building. And yet I stick around for their jokes... He followed after them.

 

In the Cultist Captain’s office, Captain Dragonhelper saw Eric was sitting in the chair, pointing his gun at the woman who was restrained to a window bar. Her head was completely bald though, a wig of long black hair was hung over a nearby lamp.

Eric looked disappointed at not participating in the camp’s surrender.

“You will not get away with this you bastards! The Goddess will return and she will punish you for your arrogance!” Karen was yelling.

“Maybe we should have made shutting the hell up part of your surrender terms!” The Captain yelled back at her.

 

The radio transceiver crackled to life. “Captain Sirius, status report!” barked a man on the other end.

“Should I answer it?” Captain Dragonhelper asked the team.

Eric tied the wig around Karen’s mouth in a crude gag, commenting “You should have done this earlier...”

Seeing the sighs of relief, The Captain picked up the microphone. He pressed a button on it and began to speak.

“Greetings from beyond the stars, intrepid natives! I am Captain R. Dragonhelper of the Planet Earth!”

“What is the meaning of this? Report Captain Sirius!” the voice barked back.

“We have been watching your planet for eons, studying your people and your various cultures and we have learned a lot about your ways”

Rosalina couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve heard this speech before... First Contact... what a joke!

“We know that you as a people are violent and this threatens our way of life, threatens everything we have worked for.” The Captain continued. “We have offered you the olive branch of peace and prosperity, but you have spat upon our offer and desecrated our gifts.”

“Because of this, we have no other choice but to destroy you as you have destroyed your chances of peace from beyond the stars”

“We came in peace, but now we will be shooting to kill. For the good of our race” he finished.

Rosalina then began bursting out with laughter. “You copied the speech almost word-for-word!”

“Hey, the microphone is still on... let me finish up” The Captain replied.

“By the Goddess! Stop fooling around and get me Captain Sirius!” the voice barked back. “We’ve received word from our forward recon that there’s a band of rebels heading your way and...”

“Then you’re a little too late” The Captain replied. “Because we’ve already invaded and taken your women...”

He handed the microphone to Rosalina and went over to Karen to untie the gag.

“You bastards will pay for this! You don’t know who you’re talking to!” she immediately yelled.

“Care to elaborate for me then?” The Captain asked, smiling at her.

“General Jack Sirius, Advisor to the Goddess herself” Karen replied, smiling back. “Not only does my father command a large army of followers, he has high favour with the Goddess”

“You’d better release me now and surrender, because you’re going to be in a lot of trouble... and pain when they’re through with you”

 

Captain Dragonhelper applied the gag again. “So it seems we’ve got a hostage now” he said to the General. “This should be interesting.”

“Your resistance is through. I will have the Goddess see to your destruction personally” Jack replied calmly.

“I have four words to say to you: Come and get me!” The Captain laughed. He turned to Rosalina.

“If you may, I think the transmission is breaking up”

 

Rosalina nodded and focused on the radio transceiver. It quickly crumbled inwards until it was a small ball of scrap metal on the ground. Captain Dragonhelper kicked the ball away and faced the others. “Load the hostage onto the VTOL with the rest of the supplies. I think this is a job well-done” he stated, walking out of the building. He hummed a few bars of a song he knew. “Doot do dootdo dodo dodo...”