Choir of Angels (Angelii/Firemane)

[Drystan Talroth]

As the gunship dropped low enough for Sahal to be heard over the "loud voice machine", the irregular plinking of primitive black powder muskets against the armored hull became more frequent. Drystan had to admire the people of Surani. What must have looked like a massive metal bird of prey had arrived above their heads, and they had the courage, discipline, or both to engage it instead of fleeing. However, the gunship was designed to withstand heavy bolter rounds and the hard vacuum of space, so low velocity ball rounds didn't even scratch the paint.

The inhabitants of the ship, however, were not so resilient.

"You heard the Host Leader. No firing unless ordered. Helmets on." The other three troopers quickly donned their protective helmets. The gunship might be nearly impervious to such weapons, but Eldorai skulls were not.

"Weapons down, we don't want them to think we're hostile. But pick your targets in case things go poorly. Start with the officers." Unsurprisingly they were not hard to spot, decked out in the same over-gaudy outfits that so many of these people favored. His mind wandered back to a lesson he had once been given by their woodland cousins. "The raid leader should be dressed as his warriors, that the enemy may not target him over the rest."

He smiled tightly, nudging one of the troopers on the shoulder and pointing out a bejeweled fop riding an elephant that was similarly decorated.

"Take him out first if needed."

He merely received a muffled chuckle in reply. His team knew all too well the many sayings and -isms he'd passed on to them in turn.


[member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Elincia Alanis"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Drystan Talroth"] [member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Nima Tann"]

Kaida’s ‘cultural exchange’ with the Qadiri officer had ended in violence. Whilst satisfying in the short term, it was not the most diplomatic measure of things.
Suddenly the tension had ramped right up, and several soldiers and officers had their guns levelled at Kaida.

Things might have gone quite awry if Selene had not stepped forward with the Vizier.
“Seraph, enough!” she ordered. “We are here to negotiate with these people, not point out their inadequacies. Kindly refrain from giving them the beating they probably deserve. This is diplomacy, not a free-for-all.”
This was obviously not translated.
The Vizier was giving orders swiftly as well, and the tension eased a little. The winded officer got up, glowering balefully at Kaida.

“Vizier, if your troops are going to fight Surani they need to be better than this. Seraph Taldir has fought in a dozen battles across the stars and what she points out is true. Your troops are poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly led. We will not commit to any aid without seeing some sort of improvement. We will not fight a war solely for you.”
Criticism was something which nobles were poor at taking. At first the Vizier bristled at the words which implied that her glorious legions were anything less than such. However, grudgingly, she nodded.
“What do you suggest?” she asked Kaida, clearly disliking having to ask the Eldorai anything.

XXX

Sahal took the microphone and spoke into it.
“Warriors of Surani, we come in peace to negotiate. We seek to parley with your leaders and negotiate.”
There was confusion down below. Some enterprising officer had wheeled up a cannon onto a ramp so it faced into the sky at them, but they did not fire.
It was at this point that Sahal realised the problem with her plan – she had no way of hearing an answer.
“We need to go down to the ground,” she told Drystan and Vaena.

They’d have to be ready to take off in a hurry if they were attacked. There was an open area of ground in front of the city where they could land safely without being attacked unawares.

XXX

Whilst all the fun was going on with Kaida, the Vizier and Selene, Elincia had acquired a friend. A small lizard-like creature had scuttled over the stones and was ineffectively gnawing at her leg armour.
A small child broke away from the crowd and ran over to collect what was presumably a pet lizard. She looked up at Elincia with wide eyes as she held the creature….

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Drystan Talroth"], [member="Elincia Alanis"], [member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


As had become apparent, Kaida was an awful diplomat. She lacked tact and had a prickly, condescending personality. Subconscious racism or at least culturalism might also play a role in her behaviour. Still, the point was made, even though the situation had almost turned into a violent, diplomatic incident.


The winded officer was probably led away to get medical care since Kaida had broken her nose and cracked a rib or two. Kaida shot Elincia a withering look, as if to tell her to behave. This was probably a 'do as I say, not as I do' situation.


"This unit can be a model of efficiency, but it must be thoroughly drilled. Regular drills and exercises are a must. Day and night. They cannot be commmitted to battle unless they're proficient with their weapons. And they need better equipment. Their uniforms look shiny, but will make them walking targets on the battlefield. Get something light, bland in colour and preferrably somewhat armoured." This was probably as polite as Kaida could be.


"And they need professional leadership, preferrably promoted from their ranks." She knew the Qadiri were very unlikely to implement that. "Leaders who've shared the same risks as the soldiers under their command. Soldiers who perform well should receive a bonus, shirkers demoted or kicked out. We can provide more advanced weapons for the best in the unit and train them in their use. I can whip this division into shape and make it something to be feared. Then they can serve as a model for others and provide a cadre of leaders." In that regard, the Grand Division's small size could be an advantage.

xxx

Meanwhile, things were being a lot more peaceful in Surani. Admittedly, they'd only just arrived, so who knew what might happen. However, though not free of culturalist arrogance, Vaena was a lot less abrasive than her boss and a lot easier to get along with.


She felt a stab of respect for the natives, since they had the guts to engage the Gunship instead of fleeing in terror. It was a warrior mentality she could get behind. Drystan was handling his minions with surprising professionalism, making sure they were prepared.


The firing ceased, though she spotted the big cannon in the ramp. "Signal to them that we intend to land to parley," she ordered the Qadiri before addressing the Firemane contingent. "Land in the open area in front of the city, but keep the engines running if we need to make a quick getaway. If things go poorly and we have to flee, we let the shattercannon and the missiles speak. First target would be the cannon on the ramp."

 

[Elincia Alanis]

"Uhh yeah, that's fine too I guess." She said as the diplomat lady got involved with the situation even though she was talking about not wanting a metal object to the face at some point. Well, diplomats being diplomats, she never could understand them. She was clearly not a damsel in distress, that was for sure. So, yeah, no brownie points for the young Angelii. Also she saw the icy look that the ice lady shot at her, she looked back at her, her expression saying "What? It was funny." But then of course it turned into yet another annoyed Elincia look as she realized ice lady, of course, didn't find it funny and she sighed. Meanwhile the two Eldorai were having fun trying to solve this little diplomatic mess, she felt something on her leg. She looked down to see what was happening, which resulted her immediately cringing as she saw the little lizardlike creature. Nope, Elincia wasn't amused since lizards.

Soldiers dressed like a dance group, diplomats talking like they never talked with people before, people were given around as if they were objects, and now, ugly creatures, another cringe moment hit as she remembered one of them was right there gnawing at her leg armor, in the courtyard? Ugh.... "Shoo." She said with a cold tone, shaking her leg to scare it away. The creature was determined not to leave her armor not gnawed though. "Shoo dammit.. Shoo! Shoo!" Her tone was getting sharper and sharper each word as her movement quickened to get it away from her leg. Luckily for her, a child suddenly appeared from the crowd and ran towards them to collect her friend? Well.... she wouldn't judge because of tastes and all, but really? A pet lizard?...

She continued looking down just to see the girl was staring at her. "So this is your 'friend'. You should control it better. I was seconds away from stomping on it." Oh wait? She sounded like the ice lady just now. Nope, nope nope nope. Not at all!

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

 

[Drystan Talroth]

A cannon. An honest-to-goodness, old style, black powder cannon. Whoever had decided to wheel that thing out to fire at them deserved a medal. Just to fire those old weapons that relied on poorly controlled explosions to hurl their payload had to be brave or foolish. But to take the time to even aim it at them...

The pilot brought them down, the gunship hovering several feet above the ground. Conspicously, the shattercannon rotated to point at the crew manning the cannon, ready to spray them if they so much as twitched.

"Stay here, grab the SAW from the rack and protect the gunship. If anyone comes up the ramp that's not us, take them down." He told one of his troopers, pointing at the small cache of weapons the gunship carried to give it's inhabitants some options. "You two, on me."

He jumped down to the ground first, followed closely by the other two. They fanned out around the exit, trying to cover adequately all avenues that the Surani Warriors might have come from, but it was tough going. He would have preferred at least twice the numbers they had, but alas. They could still pick out the officers though, and they got the brunt of the attention from the Firemane soldiers. Musket wielding natives would hardly have been the most fear-inspiring enemy that they had faced in the past several years.

Still...that cannon though...

[member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

The Vizier listened to the translation, then shrugged.
“Our glorious arms have carried us to uncounted victories,” she declared. “However, this is clearly a new era, and we have asked for your help. Your efforts will be rewarded with both gold and whatever other commodities you ask of us. That unit is under care. If you can train them satisfactorily in time for them to join the army they can join the first assault.”

Selene raised an eyebrow at Kaida and waved to the droid that this was not to be translated.
“Congratulations, Seraph. You’ve become drillmaster of Multan. Of course, we have no weapons to give them, but we might be able to organise something with what they have. I will have one of the Angelii check that out. The rest can aid you. Elincia, can you…” she began, turning to the other Eldorai, but she was busy causing her own incident.

XXX

The little girl cowered away from Elincia’s angry words. The translator droid was busy, and the girl was quite young anyway.
Selene hurried over with the droid.
“Wing Leader, enough! Diplomacy!” she snapped. She seemed exasperated at having the two least diplomatic Eldorai in existence. Well, maybe Tarissa Cadalthor would be worse, but still!

A slave came forward to take the little girl’s hand. “I’m sorry, Mistress, the Princess meant you no harm,” the slave said, bowing.

“My guard meant no offence. She was just surprised by the…thing,” Selene said smoothly.

The Queen was watching impassively as presumably her daughter and lizard pet were corralled.

Meanwhile Elincia would see her smiling ‘friend’ from before in the crowd, now no longer smiling, but studying them intently.

XXX

Before the gates of Surani Sahal walked forward with a sheathed sword before her, blade pointing horizontal. It was a Qadiri symbol that she wished to parlay.

The walls were lined with Qadiri, and though they were armed none of them fired. The cannon was not reseated, but there were others further along the wall which were aimed at them, but seemed not to be loaded.

Finally the gate opened and a single noble emerged, her blade held the same as Sahal.

Sahal gestured to Vaena and Drystan.
“Come, they will talk,” she said.

The noble stopped about halfway to the gunship. She was dressed in an ornate uniform and lowered the sword when they approached.
“I am Nawab Bharria. I am authorised by her Highness the Most Excellent Queen of Surani to discuss terms. Do you come here at the behest of Multan?”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Elincia Alanis"], [member="Sahal Jai Azal"], [member="Drystan Talroth"]


Kaida shrugged. "Wing Leader Ankali shall assist me. There's plenty of crappy slugthrowers that'll look like advanced technology to the natives. I know a few people." H&K slugthrowers had been proliferated across the Galaxy. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Elincia cause an incident. This was very hypocritical since the Seraph had just beaten up a Qadiri officer, but she was the commander! Do as I say, not as I do at its finest.


"Wing Leader, you remember the tigers? I'm sure the Qadiri have a few - and this time I'd deprive you of your Sciia first," she snapped irritably. This was going to be a black mark for Elincia, who was still on probation.


Anyhow, it seemed she had a unit to drill, so she headed towards them. Some soldiers seemed happy about the annoying officer suffering a beating, others were pissed, others again were just plain dispirited and looked like they wanted to be elsewhere. Kaida could not care less.


"I am Seraph Taldir, your new drillmistress," she began, voice like the crack of a whip upon bare flesh. Has this one mentioned that Kaida had...another job? "I don't care about your ranks, your titles and previous awards. From now, what counts is how you perform under my watch. I expect every officer to pull their load as much as a common soldier. Those who are unable to meet my standards will be sent home, shirkers will be punished severely, the meritorious will be rewarded. At the end of my training, those of who make it will be able to defeat any foe. You'll wear your uniform and wield your weapons with pride. First order of business is an eight mile run." As she knew, their present equipment was impractical, but this would prove the point.


xxx


Vaena followed in Sahal's wake, holding a sheathed sarix in a similar manner. It was not an Eldorai gesture, but she figured it was the Qadiri way to indicate she wished to walk instead of bombarding their walls. "Keep your eyes on their artillery," she said quietly in Eldarai.


Should things turn ill, the shattercannon and the gunship's missile launcher could rain down destruction, but they would have to move quickly to return to their craft in order to avoid being swarmed. While the Qadiri's weapons were primitive, they could be dangerous en masse.


"Greetings, Nawab," Vaena spoke. I should've gotten the other assignment. Why could Taldir not handle the diplomatic talk? she wondered to herself, then reconsidered. No, that would've gone poorly. She'd still prefer a mission that involved fighting evil! That was way easier and her actual job. This is most unsoldierly and above my pay grade. I hate politics.


"The Goddess' peace be upon you." That was a traditional, albeit somewhat old-fashioned Eldorai greeting. "I am Host Leader Vaena Askari. We know of the Multan, but we do not come at their behest. I am here by the order of Her Majesty the Glorious Star Queen of the Eldorai and Lady Tarai, her ambassador to the nations of Khajwar."

 

[Elincia Alanis]

And the little child from the crowds revealed to be the Princess as one of the slaves rushed to their side and took the girl's hand to get her out of this situation. Whoops. It was at this moment Elincia realised, she karked up. Of course, this little incident of hers got the attention of two Eldorai immediately, and they were not amused, not at all. Especially ice lady since she threatened to throw her to the tigers without Sciia. Come on, it was an honest mistake! I didn't know it was going to get this much attention. Besides, look at who is talking! She wanted to say but of course just a sigh escaped. Things weren't going as planned for her, and she knew this behaviour was going to be punished once they were done here. But seriously it was an honest reaction since she didn't like lizard like creatures, so it was justified that she was panicky! "I didn't know she was the princess!" She said in Eldarai with a low tone to the diplomat lady, making sure people didn't hear her since they were busy with meeting their new drillmistress. "Who in their right mind gets a lizard as a pet anyway? They are disgusting."

Soon, things would return to "normal", well, how normal they could be after all these events. So, without any more ugly creatures to gnaw at her leg, Elincia was back to watching the crowd. At one point, she saw the creepy girl with a smile was back, this time with no smile. Immediately she had all her attention. Just, she had a feeling that something was wrong with this girl. But they were going to find out sooner or later, huh?

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

 

[Drystan Talroth]

Diplomacy was something best left to those who knew it, and so Drystan was only too happy to focus entirely on the security of his superiors. Let them handle the tricky minefield of negotiating with the locals. He just had to protect two high ranking officers from a city full of decidedly unfriendly desert elves armed with centuries-outdated technology.

Easy.

"Change of plans..." He muttered to the two Firemane troopers accompanying them. "Those cannons up on the walls, take out their crews first."

If they had to, he suspected that their armor could withstand a few hits from the muskets the natives favored, barring any miraculous feats of accuracy. But cannons, those would transform the whole party into a red smear across the ground in one salvo. Deciding that everyone present dying a messy death would nix his chances of a promotion any time in the near future, he decided that they would be the priority if things went south.

At least, he mused, they weren't Xioquo. If they had been sent on a diplomatic mission to their underground kin, they would be running out of ammunition by now. Still the whole situation was less than stellar.

[member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

An eight mile run through the jungle heat in long robes was doubtless be unpleasant. The soldiers looked at Kaida as if she was mad. They stared at her, but did not move.

All except one soldier who removed her headdress and pack, brought her musket down from attention to an easier pose, and then set off at a run down the steps and into the city below, aiming for a gate from which they could run around freely.
A second soldier followed, then a third, and suddenly more were streaming away. Some, the officers, the soft NCOs and soldiers, did not move. Some pretended to join the group but started to drift away into the city, deserting.

The Vizier scoffed. “Is this how you train armies? Make them run around like headless avians? Soldiers need to know how to follow orders, stand in line and reload their muskets, nothing more. I cannot believe your commander is serious.”
“She is always serious. But understand this, Vizier, my people were once in the place of yours, beset by offworld raiders, trapped with ancient weapons and helpless. It took a long time for us to adapt – but we did. Now….”
“I will see where this leads,” the Vizier said.

Selene nodded, turned to Elincia. “This will take a while. Go and see to our accommodation. Make sure everything is prepared. And take charge of the tribute too with one of your battle sisters. Don’t worry, I’m well-guarded here.”
Was she getting Elincia out of the way so she didn’t cause more trouble? Maybe.

XXX

Elincia was given a handheld translator. It was less exact than Sahal or a droid as it repeated words exactly as translated without compensating for grammar. Still, it was better than nothing.

Slaves carried the tribute to the largest of the rooms and led Elincia and another random Angelii to there.
Of course, Elincia might be tempted to ‘borrow’ some of the tribute, but that’s probably what the other Angelii was there to prevent!

XXX

Before the gates of Surani, the noble considered the words carefully.
“If you come not at the behest of Multan, and by the order of your own Queen, what is it you wish from us? The treacherous Multani have attacked our caravans and disrupted our trade for too long. We will deal with their pitiful armies in battle. However…if you seek allies, we are very receptive to any deal you may have. We would wish for your aid in battle of course. That flying machine of yours would certainly destroy the cowardly Multani before our muskets even need to fire.”

The scene before the walls had become a regular zoo, with men, women and children all coming up to stare at the strangers.
Some of them were pointing at Drystan. Male soldiers were not unknown but were noticeably rare enough to cause comment!

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Drystan Talroth"], [member="Sahal Jai Azal"], [member="Elincia Alanis"]


Kaida's sense of humour was profoundly limited and she never joked on the job. There was no place for shirkers in her unit. "I'm gonna need my riding crop," she muttered in Eldarai. That part was obviously not translated.


Several soldiers had broken into a sprint, others she was certain were deserting. She would not bother try and chase after them. She was a practical woman and it meant she'd have less weaklings to deal with. Instead, she focused her attention on the lazy weaklings who just stood there.


"Talon Lavallan, organise the runners. Don't let them slow," she ordered. Her cold eyes bore into uncooperative officers, NCOs and grunts. They were weak and would learn or be cast out. The NCOs' laziness was particularly vexing because a solid corps of noncoms was the backbone of any army.


"I gave you an order. It was not a request. You will run or or you will leave the unit." she snapped. "Either way, you'll get your arses in gear." Calmly, she lifted her Cylix bolt pistol and squeezed the trigger. Boom. One NCO jumped when the bullet suddenly hit the ground right before his foot. "The next shot won't miss."


Kaida gave a curt nod, and as if on cue a stream of fire leapt from Ankali's hands. It came at the Qadiri soldiers from the behind. Anyone who stood risked having a fire lit under their arses. Suitably motivated, they began to move! Naturally Kaida joined in to make sure they were suitably motivated.


xxx


So far, things were a lot more peaceful at Surani. The Qadiri had cannons aimed at them, though it seemed most were not loaded...yet. There was an awful lot of commotion since the locals were understandably curious about the strange aliens who'd suddenly showed up in the sky.


"I appreciate your directness, Nawab," Vana responded in what she thought was a polite tone. I suppose this is what monkeighs call a deja vu, because I recall hearing the same tirade in Multani, she thought to herself.


"We want friendly relations with your Queen. If the Multani are as depraved as you say, I'm sympathetic to your cause. But I cannot make such a far-reaching decision without consulting with my superior first. I can use this device to speak with her. It's one of the many things we can share with your people,"


at that she revealed her palm-sized comm device. "I've brought a gift, as a show good will." Had she? Well, not really, but it seemed like a good idea to improvise. So she she removed a semiautomatic H&K slugthrower pistol from her belt. She'd taken it from a dead pirate who no longer needed it.

 

[Elincia Alanis]

Their staring contest with the creepy girl continued for a while until she heard the diplomat lady's voice once again, so she broke the eye contact first. Well, pretty sure she won the last 2 or 3 so she would give her a pass for now. But she wondered how long would their staring contest would go on like this, since obviously the mystery girl was too shy to say hello. Anyway, returning to the scene, she sighed as she heard her words. Watching ice lady drill some poor souls would be fun, but nope, she sensed in her words that the diplomat lady was purposely trying to get rid of her because of her troublemaking nature. Where did she get that, you ask? Well, everyone tried to get rid of her at some point because of her troublemaking nature. Of course, Elincia would be happy to escape this attempt of a diplomatic mission because diplomacy wasn't her thing anyway. Besides, she was going there with the shinies, who would even notice some of them missing? So she could even turn this into profit!

It was her thought until she heard the battle sister part. Ugh... No shinies for the girl, it seemed. She rolled her eyes and grumbled inaudibly, but nodded, probably didn't want to join those poor souls for drilling herself. So, with some slaves carrying the tribute and a random Angelii they would escape the courtyard, not before Elincia looked at the crowd, and not surprisingly the mystery girl wasn't there again. Ugh. Elincia stopped looking at the crowd and her gaze returned to the tribute, probably daydreaming about the value of the things inside. Hey, she wasn't getting paid, alright? It was difficult for a 45-50 year old, because character development brought some age, young Eldorai! Unluckily, the other Angelii caught her gaze. "Don't even think about it." She said, not so silently judging her with the looks. "Don't even think about what?" She asked with a smile. "You know what." The Angelii answered once again. "Come on..." Elincia whining intensifies. "They won't notice if one or two disappear. There are plenty inside. I am broke, okay? It's difficult." She made her best to apply puppy eyes into her little speech. "I am pretty sure you are given food, a place to sleep and even comfort for someone who constantly breaks rules for entertainment. So stop with the drama." Ugh... Well, it was a burn. She was lucky that she was a cryomancer. Again, puns. "Dammit." Well, there was nothing else to say at this point.

Luckily, they would arrive to their accomodation. Not necessary to say, it was quite a good sight. She hoped she brought some entertaining magazines, here would be just the place to enjoy some of them! Slaves would put the tribute to a safe place and leave the room afterwards with a slight bow. Now, the other Angelii and Elincia were the only ones in the room. "So, uhh... What do you do for fun? You know, we have quite some time." Shameless flirting in display. The other Angelii just looked annoyed with her. "I was just talking about this behaviour of yours." She simply responded. Elincia sighed. "You are no fun."

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

 

[Drystan Talroth]

Drystan had to really think hard. It was a standard Firemane procedure when possible to observe and understand the opponent you were facing before engaging. And most of the time that wasn't so hard. Even the randomness of the reavers who had plagued their people for so long had their patterns and their tactics that could be deciphered and used to ultimately defeat them. But cannons? Who used those anymore? Only the most primitive of societies used such weapons, employing barely contained explosions to hurl chunks of metal at their opponents.

Fortunately only a few of them were loaded. Primitive though they were, a ten pound ball of metal would carve it's way through Eldorai armor quite harshly. On the plus side, the ones that weren't loaded were essentially useless, since they took so long to load.

The truth of the matter, though, was that Drystan wasn't doing much of anything. Scanning the crowd took up most of his attention, waiting for someone to draw a weapon, or appear hostile. The negotiations taking place had little to nothing to do with him, and the only thing that mattered to the small team of Firemane troops was the safety of their charges.

So far, everything seemed tense, but safe...

[member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Drystan Talroth"] [member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Kaida Taldir"]

Nawab Bharria took the weapon, handing off her blade to a servant. She examined the weapon closely. She took aim, pulled the trigger at some distant tree. The gun clicked.
“We have experimented with multiple shot weapons, but they were not effective. I see this is different.”
She detached the magazine after a moment and examined the rounds inside.
“This is a mighty slug,” she commented, examining the bullet. “But it would not fit out of the barrel, and there is no powder. The powder…inside the brass shell. Like a cannon cartridge. This means this slide here allows you to extract the casing!” She reattached the magazine and pulled the slide, loading it.
She glanced up from her work. “Oh yes, yes, do what you must,” she said, enthralled by her new weapon.

Sahal held an impromptu conference with Drystan and Askari. “I know of these two cities by reputation. They fight each other all the time. It never ends, neither of them is ever strong enough to conquer the other!” she said.
“We should call her ladyship and see what she suggests!”

However, before they could do that there was a commotion behind the ship. From the forest there emerged a bestial howling and roaring, and a dozen riders on Yazgid emerged.
They were aiming for a village just over a mile away. The civilians were rushing in from the fields, but the attackers would be on them before help could arrive from the city. Only the Eldorai could get there in time with their machines.

Bharria looked up in alarm. “Pallukai! They are evil nomads and brigands. Please, help protect our people. We will reward you for your aid!”
She turned to the walls. “Summon our lizard riders to aid the outsiders!”

XXX

With the tribute secured the other Angelii sent Elincia out of the room, just so the icy Eldorai wouldn’t be tempted to ‘liberate’ some cultural artifacts.
Standing guard kind of sucked when it was of empty rooms, but when Elincia entered the mistress bedroom she found she was not alone.
The mystery woman was there, hands on her hips.
“Well, well, you took your time, Angelii,” she said in accented Basic. “Do not be alarmed, I am not armed. However, I was hoping we might talk….”

XXX

The first Qadiri runner also proved to be the fastest. In a slower time than the ‘Rules and Regulations Befitting the Goddess’ Wrathful Angels’ would prescribe, she arrived back at the former square. She looked spent and puffed, but managed to come to attention a full two minutes before any of the others arrived.
Top marks for effort and enthusiasm!

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Drystan Talroth"], [member="Sahal Jai Azal"], [member="Elincia Alanis"]


Despite herself, Askari could not help find the way the Nawab nerdgasmed over the slugthrower kind of cute. It helped that she was easy on their eyes despite the silly uniform. "You are correct, Nawab. Perhaps I can instruct you more in the weapon's use later on. I shall confer with my superior, for now," she said diplomatically. So far things were going well!


This left Sahal, Drystan and Askari alone for a brief interval. Listening to the Qadiri warrior woman, the Angelii nodded. "I am reminded of certain Eldorai holodramas. Admittedly the Surani seem less decadent than the Multani, but not my call. I shall call Lady Tarai and..."


However, she never got to finish the sentence, for suddenly there was a great commotion. First there was an animalistic howling and growling, then a small horde of riders aboard raptors dashed out of the forest and charged towards a distant village. The Goddess has answered my prayers, Askari thought to herself. She was probably feeling more exultant than she should, but then she was a soldier. Diplomacy was not her job, fighting bad guys was!


"We shall aid you and grind them into dust," she declared when the Nawab beseeched them for aid. This way, she could both be diplomatic and get some action. "Board the gunship." Quickly she returned to the craft and embarked. Thanks to it, they'd be able to reach the raiders in time. This was a good opportunity to show off Eldorai firepower. "Intercept the raiders and perform a strafing run to drive them away from the village. Make sure you avoid the civilians. We'll land and finish of anyone who survives with Sciia and blade."

xxx

Finally, the long run came to an end. It had probably been more gruelling than these soldiers were used to. The first Qadiri runner had shown appropriate effort and enthusiasm. This was something that pleased their gruff drillmistress. "You've met my expectations. Rest of you, follow her example," Kaida said in what passed for a nice tone in her opinion. Her standards of niceness differed considerably from everyone else's. "What is your name, soldier?" The Seraph did not ask, she demanded imperiously.
"Uh, Sohalia Kamath...ma'am," the Qadiri runner replied after the protocol droid had translated. If she looked intimidated, she made a good effort hiding it. The young woman looked rather exhausted and puffed up, but managed to stand at attention.
"These here lack vigour," Kaida pointed towards a few Qadiri whose enthusiasm had been remarkably lacking. Coincidentally, they happened to be lazy officers. "From now, you're responsible for making sure they meet my standards. If they're lazy, discipline them."
"I...Yes, ma'am! I will drill them." Perhaps she sounded a bit too enthusiastic about being able to boss officers around.
"What? She's only a filthy commoner! This is outrageous!" one of them protested
"Shut up, or I'll beat you with a musket, too," Kaida's voice snapped like a sharp whip. It was time to move on to phase two. She was certain the Vizier would be aghast at what she had in mind. "Now you'll practice basic marksmanship with your muskets. Tear off your parade uniforms. They'll be your targets. Soldiers who can fire quickly and accurately will be taken to the side. Those who can't hit the target will practice until they get it right."

 

[Elincia Alanis]

"It's time for you to go, Elincia, I will protect the tribute from now on. Thanks for your help." The other Angelii said, just to meet Elincia's angry gaze. It was just another way of saying get the hell out. She had to say something about it. "Why? I am not going to steal anything when you are staring at it anyway!" She said, then added, her voice was pretty tired of everyone pushing her around, even though she deserved some of them but that was besides the point! "Besides, what am I going to do all alone? It's going to be boring." She went for a more diplomatic approach this time since boredom was the last thing she wanted out of this journey, if only she brought some magazines with her! "Simply put, I don't trust you a bit with the 'shinies', so yeah, get out now. You can stand guard outside, make sure no one enters." So simply put, this Angelii was not a fun one to be around, even if she agreed with her staying around it would be boring nonetheless. Well, she would always find ways to entertain herself and didn't need magazines. So she nodded, murmuring something about the destruction of world and all that stuff. No, she wasn't. "Fine. Have fun being a grumpy old lady then." She said and walked out of the room instead.

Okay, next step, find a bedroom, plenty of time to do her business, and leave no evidence. Seemed like a good plan. Karking nameless Angelii unit with no importance but to protect a plot device, right?!? Walking towards what it seemed to be a bedroom, what she saw inside... Well, one could say it shocked her a little. The mystery creepy girl from before was here, it seemed like she was specifically waiting for her. Not the entertainment she had in mind, but "This'll do." Her hand slowly got closer to her weapon, just to threaten her if she had something stupid in mind. She knew Basic, which was interesting enough. But being in the same room with a stalker didn't feel that much good. "I can say the same thing about you. Was starting to get bored of our staring contests. You seem to be good at that." She said to the woman, then added. "So, if by chance you aren't here to sleep with me because we are in a bedroom and you were waiting for me, what do you want?" Examining her for a brief second , she continued. "And why were you watching us all the time? You better start to explain."

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Elincia Alanis"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

(Been two weeks, time to get this moving again.)
(I also can't post with formatting due to the forum bug. Sorry.)

It was clear to say that when the gunship roared into the air the nomads were surprised. Panicked musket rounds and even a few arrows were loosed, but even if they hit they’d do nothing against the ship.

Sahal looked down and felt a little bad. But then…she knew people terrorised by the nomads in her region of the world. Now she didn’t feel bad at all, even a little vengeful.
“Open fire!” she shouted excitedly. Going to the door she fired her blaster pistol at the scattering nomads. The range and speed made all her shots go wide, but she’d wanted payback for a long time.

XXX

The order to tear off the uniforms was greeted with universal enthusiasm. The soldiers hated the thick, stuffy uniforms, impractical and draped with brocade. It limited their ability to move, it made them stand out like snow in the jungle and they were a queen to clean. And of course, if they weren’t kept clean it would be punishments and fines.

As the runners returned a huge pile of coats were stacked. Some rake had even put a pyramid of the turbans on top as a target.
Even with this incentive though the soldiers were slow. The drill manuals specified eighteen different movements to be performed in turn rather than a fluid motion.
Sohalia though took the initiative. “Watch!” she called, stepping forward. “Produce. Bite. Pour. Spit. Ram. Prime. Fire.” She demonstrated, a little clumsily. However, the next volley shattered the little pyramid of turbans, followed by another one twenty seconds later. Then another one. Three rounds a minute was good for a unit like this.

The Vizier was appalled. “How can you let them do that?! Those uniforms cost fifty dinars each!” she said crossly, making to step forward.

An invisible hand gripped her and prevented her. “Do you want to fight and win or do you want a toy army which cannot fight?”

The Vizier subsided grumpily as her expensive uniforms were turned into rags.

XXX

“I am not wanting to sleep with you,” the Qadiri said in amusement. “When I first met your people I thought you were goddesses come from the stars to judge us. I learned quickly you are just other people with technology we do not have.”

“I apologise for before, I was trying to obtain your attention, but I couldn’t go to you in person. You see, I needed to talk to someone from your party and fill you in on something. That something is that I am actually the Queen of Multan. The girl out there is my double, my bodyguard. The Vizier thinks it is I out there right now, and is planning something. We must stop her.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Drystan Talroth"], [member="Elincia Alanis"], [member="Sahal Jai Azal"]


Bodlly the raiders rode upon their reptilian mounts and well...until they found themselves seized by the jaws of death. Panic broke out when the mechanical abomination roared towards them. Musket rounds and arrows travelled through the air, but they did not have the punch to damage the craft.


Askari felt a little bad for the poor bastards. However, that feeling did not last long because they'd come to murder, rape and pillage and thus deserved their fate. "Make the cannon roar. Drive them away from the village. Let one escape. He can spread word of our prowess," she commanded.


There was a loud roar, much like the noise generated by thunder, except even louder, when the shattercannon fired. Firing rate of more than 6000 rounds per minute, hypervelocity projectiles that could even penetrate heavy vehicle armour: Go figure.


Raiders and their lizard mounts were mowed down by the hellstorm. Cries of anguish and fear filled the air as the raiders scattered, trying to flee the demon from above. As the gunship dove down from the sky, the soldiers aboard it could open fire upon the nomads.


Disdaining ranged combat, Askari watched from above, then suddenly jumped down in a Force enhanced leap, knocking off a nomad. She took the reins as the Yazgid roared, then charged and decapacitated him with her sarix.


xxx


Kaida was pleased with Sohalia's initiative. If she kept up the good work, the dour Seraph might take her on as a personal project. She liked having those. She shot the Vizier a withering glance when she grumbled about the absurd parade uniforms being destroyed. The Seraph watched the soldiers fire several volleys as time passed.


"You'll get proper uniforms and armour. Stuff that'll protect you and not make you stick out like toy soldiers," she said gruffly. Three rounds a minute was good for a unit like this. If they kept it up, they could become a formidable fighting force.


"Precision is key. You have one shot, make it count. You'll practice marksmanship every day. Now you'll move to melee. Split into teams of two. Each pair faces another. Work as a team, outmanoeuvre and dominate your opponents, until they're beaten and on the ground."


Weapons would be handed out. In each pair, a Qadiri soldier would receive a quarterstaff, the other a short sword and a shield. The point of the exercise was not only to improve their combat prowess, but them teach them some teamwork.

 

[Elincia Alanis]

"Aww, you are breaking my heart now. Oh well... " She said sarcastically to her response about the sleeping part. Who would sleep with a total creeper anyway, it was too risky! Moving on, her next words put a grin on the young Angelii's face, now, "Goddess from the Stars" was a good title. But of course, reality was cruel and she wasn't one, instead she was a rebellious teenager stuck in a bedroom with a creepy woman. "You see... actually, we killed a Goddess once, so that's a thing." She said, confident in her tone and happy to take all the credit even though Angelii was only a part of this operation. Anyway, before getting ahead of herself thinking about that epic day, she returned her gaze at the woman. If she tried anything funny, well Elincia would.... Wait what did she say? It created a shocked expression that could clearly be seen, but then she quickly collected herself. It was probably a trick. Right? Well, looking at her now, she looked like royalty. Creepy, diplomatic, and hard to get. Hmm....

"Ha ha. Very funny. And I am the Grand Seraph, nice to meet you." She said first, but then curiousity took over and she talked again, this time her confusion was clear in her tone. "Wait, you are being serious right now?" Scratching her head since it was a lot to take in immediately, she then added. "So uhh... You are the true queen of Multan and the Vizier is trying to kill you or something and you want our help. " She repeated, just to be sure that she understood. "Yeah, I am not sure if I believe that story. Do you have any proof for me to see if you are truly the queen?" Elincia was young, but not naive. After all, she would just go to a totally foreign place and say she was the Grand Seraph and the current one was her double, right? It worked in a holo-movie she watched before.

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Sahal Jai Azal"] [member="Drystan Talroth"]

 

[Sahal Jai Azal]

[member="Kaida Taldir"] [member="Elincia Alanis"]

The nomads, completely terrified out of their minds by this sudden onslaught, fled. All except one. One of them couched her lance and galloped straight at Askari, her Yazgid snarling and roaring.

In the gunship, Sahal wasn’t sure if Askari had seen this new threat, and so levelled her blaster and fired a hail of bolts. If nothing else it would alert the Angelii to the threat!

XXX

The melee training was very hesitant at first. Mostly they just ‘stage’ fought, banging their weapons together noisily.
Sohalia though again proved herself an apt pupil. Usually the pairs would pair like weapons against each other, but in her case she took up the staff and faced the sword and buckler user herself. Using the staff’s long reach she was able to keep the swordswoman back long enough to trip her and then turn on the other staff user.

The Vizier as usual looked disapproving. “This is all very well, but her highness grows tired of this fighting. We will retire. Feel free to send us a message when you are prepared to march to war, though I suspect that will not be today now,” she said sourly.

XXX

In response, the Qadiri started to remove her robe. Sadly, there would be know non-PG-13 times for Elincia yet. Instead, the other woman showed a small tattoo-like mark on her stomach.
“There has been times before when factions attempt to use the bodyguard as the real queen. Thus this little design is added to each of us with our names. However, if you are still suspicious, let me come along with you. I will switch places with my double for the feast tonight. You will know because we will have a code word we will use. If I do that and something happens, will you promise to protect me?”