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Post by Ridley on Nov 25, 2021 4:03:16 GMT
"It seems Ridley has returned."
"Yes, and our efforts to keep him under our control seem to have failed. It wasn't enough."
"The Bastard Federations are likely to move on his location, I doubt he escaped quietly."
"Shall we reinforce his rescue? It could earn us his favor."
"Yes, but we will send only the Cunning Death, and some of our lower fleets, nothing fodder, but nothing to worry about if we are to lose it."
"So transports with light weaponry?"
"Quite."
"Shall we discuss the other Urtraghan in the room?"
"It is of Weavel, yes?"
"Quite."
"Very well."
"It is a shame Weavel had left us. He was one of our best."
"Quite. Though he was not the ONLY one of our best."
"Indeed, indeed."
From their roundtable, the echo of a door opening alerted High Command, those that made it up looked on towards the intruder of their conversation. "High Command. You called?" The individual who stood at the doorway was a humble Qymor, few parts of his body covered in worn yet glistening armor standing ever dignified.
"Ah yes. Yulwehn, please, inside." Such a request made, the general stepped inside, the door closing to seal their words within the room, getting onto a knee and bowing his head. "How is the training of the Commando Pirates?" Yulwehn kept his head bowed, never looking up as they stared down upon him, his eyes remaining shut. "Their training has been making great progress. They will serve you well." One of the Command members would grimace as they heard his words, yet still smile like the others. "Good, good. Now, to business. We are assigning you to reinforce the Cunning God of Death."
The Qymor's eyes would open, as he looked up to his superiors with clear disagreement. "Ridley? But--" One of the Kromus in Command quickly growled, his teeth bared out for those inside to see, the others agreeing with this aggression. "Is that treason I hear?" The general quickly submitted "Apologies, High Command, is there anything else I should know?"
His tone far softer, the Kromus High Command relaxing before the same Kromus to have bared his teeth, spoke "Your orders are to simply reinforce and salvage the thorn with the Death. However, if the ships supporting you are to go down, you are to simply escape as soon as possible regardless of if Ridley is on the ship or not. You are, however, to bring back as many of our assets as possible. We cannot afford any of their losses, nor the loss of the Death. Ridley is the only acceptable loss we shall cut, are we clear?" Claws grinding against the metal floor, the Qymor looked to his brethren, disdain clearly beneath his eyes. ". . . Yes, of course High Command." Getting up from his knee, Yulwehn turned to exit, eye glancing to what sat behind him, before the door opened, exiting into the hall before him.
"Perhaps we should discuss the third Urtraghan in the room."
"Yes, Yulwehn's deception."
"In due time brothers. We must focus on other things, besides, Yulwehn has so little a following it shall not make a difference. We are Kromus- We submit to the strong. And there are none besides Ridley himself, stronger than us. He'd sooner be torn apart by his own brethren than raise an army against us."
"But what of the Commando Pirates? If he turns them to his side--"
"Yulwehn serves the Kromus, and thus his Commandos will as well. We are not yet in danger of such. Yet. Though worry not brother, such thoughts have come to my mind. They are implanted with special devices designed to induce enough pain to force subordinance out of them."
"Not kill them? Brother please, you must recognize that left unchecked for his treacherous machinations-"
"We cannot afford to terminate them yet, until we create the second generation of Commando Pirates, then, we kill them."
As their conversation continued on, Yulwehn had remained near enough to the door to listen in on the conversation, before actually beginning to walk along the path, one Kromus walking alongside him. "Sir, new orders?" Spoke the Kromun eagerly, though the Qymor had anything but eagerness in his voice. "Indeed. I am to help reinforce Ridley on Tallon IV." The other's eyes widening "What? But I thought the God of Death died fighting the Hunter?" A question that the general nodded to. "I thought so as well, though from what I've heard, it appears that is a result of High Command. Speaking of. It appears they are aware of my plans. They know what I've been doing. Even with the Commando Pirates, my children."
With that revelation, the Kromun ran in front of his distant cousin, the two ensuring to look each other in their eyes. "What?! Then we must--" The Qymor looked to the Kromun with both stopping place, the general placing a hand on his young cousin. "Quiet down brother, we musn't alert others of our intentions. Everything will be alright. Though it is certainly a struggle, I believe I have been making progress, and I've already planned for their backup by even training their willpower. We will have to accumulate more of our brothers to unite against both High Command and Ridley. I can only pray to Glory that our efforts are enough to impact our species." The Kromun had become silent, simply nodding his head. ". . . Sh. . Should we attempt to contact Weavel, request an evac? Anything to help us? Surely two of Kroma's greatest generals could amass enough numbers for a rebellion!" Yulwehn shook his head "Nay. Even if we were able to communicate with him, I would not ask for him or his allies to waste precious resources to aid in a fool's quest. Have you any more additions to our group?"
The Kromun simply shook his head, bowing in shame "I see.. Then it remains only the 63 of us, among billions... Very well. I shall be on my way. Let us hope I am able to return." The general had joked, a hearty chuckle rising from his vocal cords. "Thank you Zav'en'kah." The Pirate said before walking away, the Kromun turning with a grimace, walking the opposite path.
His next location was to check on the Commando Pirates, mostly to ensure they hadn't eaten each other. Thankfully, when he opened their holding area, he found them all accounted for, each a different subspecies of Kromus, though one of them was certainly not happy, instead roaring, slamming one of his fellow Commandos to the ground. Yulwehn slid to try and pry the two off each other "What is going on here?! Malfa'ten! Oghuza!" He yelled out their names, placing his hands on the Fro'my'xin and Batta, throwing the large aggressor off the smaller submitter. Malfa'ten, this specific Fro'my'xin was sent to the floor before getting off his rear and moving forth with his teeth bared "He killed Lapis!" The Qymor flicked his attention to the Batta "Oghuza! Apologize to Malfa'ten immediately!" Oghuza, feeling outraged at such a statement from his mentor, promptly responded with such feelings in mind "WHAT?! He shouldn't be fawning over a damned piece of ROCK! I saved him the embarrassment!" Yulwehn extended a finger authoritatively to the Batta, his voice matching such "That was not your choice to make for him." The Fro'my'xin Commando nodded in agreement, his voice still clearly containing anger "YEAH!" However this excitement would be put to an end quickly as Yulwehn turned to do the same to him "And Malfa'ten, apologize to your brother for acting so violently against him! Save that in battle! Not your brothers in arms! And no buts this time!"
With that said, the Fro'my'xin would look down ashamed. Yulwehn looked to Oghuza "Oghuza. Were your reasons as petty as you say? There is no embarrassment in the truth." The Batta sighed "No sir. I was worried that, if any of our other brothers saw him fawn over a simple rock like we have, it would risk his life, and I wish not to lose my brother." The Qymor began to smile softly, well, as softly as a murderweapon with teeth could. "Oghuza. Your reasons were noble, and for that, you stand further above your kin with such thoughts, there is nothing to hide among those who would appraise you for it. Malfa'ten, you know striking your brother, even for the death of Lapis, is a horrible thing to do, especially with your much larger size. Why would you dare do so against someone you know to have at least noble intentions?" The Fro'my'xin looked even more down in shame. Before finally looking up to look Yulwehn in the eye, his explanation quick and concise. "It hurt, sir. I loved Lapis, and I always thought she loved me, and he took her away. I.. Know it would get me killed to express such things, but I felt I had a connection with her, even if non-existent. And I was angry, I was very angry, I wanted Oghuza to feel the same pain I felt." The Batta would soon too look down, finding his explanation brutally honest, but would nod his head. Yulwehn placed his three digited hands onto Malfa'tens shoulders "Malfa'ten. You have a passion sorely lacking in even the most common of our people. But with that passion comes struggles only you can defeat at your hands, and you must understand, no matter what, two wrongs will never make a right. Though we may wish to be treated as equals, sometimes that isn't always the case and thus why we must strive for such ideals rather than wait for them to come to us. You are the strongest, but the strong do not remain so alone. Now, with all of that out of the way, apologize to each other." The two Commandos sighed, looking each other in the eye before both simultaneously speaking "I'm sorry."
With a nod, Yulwehn would continue "Good. Now go for a two mile run. Three laps. And that goes for the rest of you too." Four of the five Commandos went wide-eyed "Wait- What?! Why?!" Spoke the snarky one of the bunch, Demma, yet before it could be explained, Verme'leon, their Urtraghan leader, spoke up. "Because us three stood by and simply watched them fight, right?" Which bred a nod from his commanding officer "Correct Verme'leon, getting more perceptive every day I see. You'll still do the same amount of laps as the rest of them, but you already knew that. Good job. Now, I am only here to see you before I leave. I have been assigned a mission by High Command, and I would rather not disappoint." Turning to leave, Demma spoke again "Wait Whiskers Senior! Take us with you." Sigh. Whiskers- One of his irritating nicknames he gives to others. And in case one was wondering, the Senior is because he names HIMSELF "Whiskers Junior". "I cannot. Your training is still incomplete. As the First Generation of Commando Pirates, you must uphold a standard set upon you by your superiors. And if what I have seen is proof of anything none of you are ready." With those words given, he exits.
Verme'leon would stand up, his voice firm and authoritative as it should be for a leader. "Alright brothers, let us begin our run." As the rest of the four stood, Verme placed a hand to the shoulder of Akvi, the Kromun who looked up at his leader confused, as did their brother Commandos. "Not you, yet- I must talk with you. You three can go." Confused, Demma, Malfa'ten and Oghuza would leave to do their run. "What is it, oh so great leader?" Verme would glare at Akvi, staring them down. "I know what you've been doing Akvi. It's a betrayal of his trust." In a fit of anger, Akvi would smack away Verme'leons hand "Betrayal? BETRAYAL?! The only betrayal are his intents- You know it as well as I! And it is disgraceful to our people--" With a snarl, Verme moved to show but one authoritative finger, his face displaying how such words made him feel. "You've not even seen the effect his efforts could have!" Though he backed away an inch from such displays of anger, Akvi would snarl back "And neither have you! It could lead us to a downward spiral of chaos and unending war! The Kromus way, the way he fights against must be right!" His bared teeth slowly being hidden once more, he breathed outward softly, before pinning Akvi to the wall. "Very well. But if you do not cease, if you look at me in the eyes again thinking there's any MODICUM of respect between us, or if I even so much as hear of this again, I will rip out your throat, and you will TRULY be a mute." With such threats established, he let go, the other clearly fearful for his life. As Verme went to join his brethren, he turned to Akvi. "That. That is what you strive to maintain, brother. See it for what it is, not for what you wish it to be."
An unknown amount of time later.
"Alright you insufferable bug ingrates- Activate the distress beacon of the lab, and rig the doorway with explosives. And be DISCREET about it. If it's easy to spot, I'll gut you myself. Keep the Freak nearby or inside. It'll make a decent enough bullet-sponge and distraction. Ah! Which reminds me. For our more.. Traditional traps, latch explosives to them. Even if they're dodged, well- You can't dodge an explosion!" The murder dragon roared out in laughter, most of the Pirates joining in his laughter. "Make sure to place large rocks, or even boulders in places that seem vehicle accessible. Make it hard for them to move around. Hell, Ice Troopers, use your specialized beams to make the ground much harder to traverse in general, however make such spotty in areas our own troops will be standing. I expect you all to practice and memorize these places, because well there are no second chances in combat." The Dragon chuckled. This smile would fade as he saw a Pirate running towards him "LORD RIDLEY! THERE ARE METROID ON THIS WORLD!" Such a response would have Ridley bellow out in laughter, crying, even "Oh that's right! I forgot to mention that!" A statement that had the Pirate look on with horror "Wh.. What..? You.. You knew..? I'll... I'LL KILL YOU!!" The Urtraghan roared, leaping for the abomination of flesh, only to be smacked down into a paste by the same monstrosity. Ridley would look to the others, his face going from a grimace to a cheshire smile. "Let that be a lesson. And a reminder to some of you. Don't cross me. Now, for the Metroid problem, for every squad member in a squad, you will have a Ice Trooper for each individual not of that element. While causing a genocide of the poor killers would be lovely, it's also a waste of our time and resources, so they're not worth the slaughter.. Yet. With that aside, I am considering the inclusion of a tunnel system, and even an underground safehouse for you all to sit in." Despite the potential good will within such a statement, his real intentions were the opposite. To make a small concentration of Kromus into targets and a center for attention to purge by the humans. He knew at least some would turn that safehouse into a slaughterhouse. Besides, it could as well serve a distraction.. "Y'know what, we'll do that. Make a tunnel system, and make an underground hide-y hole for escape and safety. Now get to work."
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