Kairshii Ridge was a huge upheaval of rock and hard-packed dirt. It rose up into a long, flat plateau, then abruptly cut off into a sharp cliff's edge. The cliff edge plummeted straight down for two hundred feet, then leveled out into the flat, barren plain. The Ridge stretched out for nearly a full mile, and more or less maintained the same width.
Raven stood on this ridge with two other men. One was a Scout, who nearly blended into his surroundings due to the coloring of his suit. The second was a well-built flyer wearing a gray Talon suit.
"So," Raven said. He stared out at the gigantic, ugly compound that marred the flat plain. Someone had made an attempt at camouflaging it, because some buildings had been painted a dull gray-brown colour, and a net made of tans, grays, and browns had been laid over others. However, it didn't make much of a difference, since it was nearly impossible to hide such a giant fortress. Nearly impossible, because Raven was sure that there some technologies that would be able to the the job. But this fortress belonged to Ra'Skevvor's main operations, and Ra'Skevvor didn't really bother with hiding his headquarters. He was too confident in his defense systems.
"Have you discovered anything, Gray?" Raven finally shifted his gaze to the gray-colored Talon. In response, Gray's helmeted head swiveled to look at him.
"Not really," he shrugged. "I'm not much of a scout. Besides, what can one discover just by watching a bunch of boring buildings?"
Raven rolled his eyes. "Forget I asked. I forgot you were here just for bodyguard duty." He pointed at the Scout. "You – what's your name?"
"Fent," replied the Scout. His voice was oddly high-pitched for a male.
"Right, Fent. Can you tell me what you've found out?"
Fent's manner became serious. "There's been a lot of activity lately. Lots of troops coming and going – and even worse, a lot more of those war machines have been turned out. I asked Gray to follow one regent out, and he found that they just camped several miles out, along with a large number of soldiers, and three or four flyers. Ra'Skevvor's been planting these camps here and there, but I have no idea as to what he's plotting. The guy's an enigma."
Fent fell silent, so Raven asked, "Is that all?"
"Well, I recorded the location of each camp, and so far there's nine in all. More keep going out, though, and little groups of Kairg keep coming, so it's difficult to keep track of the numbers. . ."
"Well, to keep it simple, let's just say that there's a lot of bad guys," Gray put in. Both Fent and Raven ignored him, and the Scout went on.
"Other than that, I can't really tell you anything else. I'm sorry; we've been here for a long time, and we haven't -"
"It's fine, Fent." Raven dropped a hand onto the Scout's shoulder. "You've done a lot and I appreciate it."
"Heh," Gray snorted. "You sure wasted your time. You just got here, and now you have to go back with basically nothing!"
"Nah, not really. The ol' geezers sent me here to find out what Ra'Skevvor's up to, so that's what I'm going to do."
"Oh yeah? How're you going to do that?"
A smile spread behind Raven's helmet. A chilling type of smile. "I'm going to go ask him, Gray. I find you get more answers if you ask the questions face to face. Works much better than this spying business."
"Oh no. . ." Gray immediately understood what the dark Talon was planning. The Scout, however, didn't know Raven very well, and remained clueless.
"What do you mean, 'go ask him'? You can't -"
Raven cut him off. "Keep him here," he told Gray. "I'll be back, so wait for me."
"Your funeral," Gray muttered. He shook his head as Raven proceeded to throw himself over the edge of the Ridge. The dark Talon opened his wings immediately after, without engaging any of his boosters. Without their aid, he glided slowly to the ground, and made an effortless landing. Then he disengaged his helmet, and proceeded to walk casually towards Ra'Skevvor's fortress.
It was about a ten minute walk, and he figured the welcoming party would be ready long before he arrived.
X X X
Back on the Ridge, Fent turned to Gray, clearly aghast. "What's he doing?! They're gonna see him!"
"That's the plan," drawled Gray, arms folded across his chest as he watched the small black figure walk on below.
"But he's gonna get killed! Why aren't you stopping him? Are you both crazy?!"
"Probably." Gray agreed easily. "But he won't get killed.. The last time he visited Ra'Skevvor, he walked out without a scratch."
"....he went in there before? Are you being serious? No, you're not. You're just . . .crazy."
Gray looked over, and watched as the Scout rubbed his temples in exasperation. He always found it amusing to watch people who were witness to Raven's methods. "You know," he said, "if you wanted, you could go join him. Probably have a cup of tea with ol' Ra'Skevvor himself. Maybe one of his freaky war machines will make cookies."
Fent made an interesting sound, and threw up a hand. "I give up! There's no talking sense into lunatics."
Gray grinned, and went back to watching Raven.
X x X
Two flyers wearing ugly, mottled suits greeted Raven when he finally reached the compound. "You are Raven?" one asked.
Raven responded by spreading his hands. "Who else could it be? I just wanted to give a hello to the old man."
"Come." The two Kairg flyers turned, and entered the building via the nearest door. It was a strangely normal-looking door without any of the obvious locks or fortifications you'd expect. Even so, Raven noted several camera-like devices tracking his movements. Only one was probably camera; the rest were most likely devices that induced death.
They led him inside, through several halls and doors, down an elevator, more halls, rooms, and doors, and finally gestured him through two heavy, steel doors. This was it. Final destination.
Took long enough. "Thanks, guys. You've been real helpful." He gave a little wave, and waited until they stepped back, and closed the doors with resounding boom. Then he turned to face the other end of the room. It was where he sat. Ra'Skevvor.
Raven gave a dark, mocking smile. "Why, hello, dear Father of mine. And how are you doing tonight? Arthritis acting up again?"
Ra'Skevvor reached up, and removed the mask hiding his face. He set it on the armrest of his chair. His face was unblemished, contrary to popular belief, and held only a few wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. He looked younger than the forty-seven years that he was. Raven couldn't help but be startled by the man's face; he'd seen it before, but this time, it was shocking how familiar it was. And he knew the reason why it was so, although he'd never utter it aloud.
"Raven," Ra'Skevvor smiled softly. "I've been wondering when you'd come to see me. It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Oh, yes." Raven's own smile became strained. The last time he came, it was to hold a gun to this man's forehead, in an attempt to kill him. He'd failed.
"It's not been long enough, though," Raven added coldly. "But I'm not here to talk about that." He walked forward, and sat himself in a chair that had been conveniently placed in the middle of the room. His smile faded, fake as it was, and his violet eyes narrowed angrily. "Why have you built the war machines?"
"Right to the point, I see. Well, you always were direct. Just like your father." The Kairg leader folded his fingers, and tapped them against his chin. His ebony eyes had lost their usual iciness, and were now focused intently on the Talon flyer.
"I'm nothing like you!" Raven spat. "Now answer my question."
"Tell you what," Ra'Skevvor lowered his hands, and leaned forward. "Why don't you stay and have a meal with me, and you can tell me what you've been up to lately. Then afterwards, I'll answer whatever question you like. Otherwise, I'm not interested in talking."
Raven glowered for a full minute, before relenting. He knew his father was as stubborn as he was, and wouldn't have it anyway. "Fine."
"Great!" His father beamed. "I'll get the kitchen to send something up immediately. You like steak?"
The Talon's voice was flat. "Sure."
X x X
"Think he's dead yet?" Fent sat on the edge of the Ridge, fearing that he'd be held responsible for the death of the Troit' Legendary flyer. After all, he was the only one here with any ounce of responsibility.
"Nah," Gray was stretched out on his back, with his legs dangling over the edge. He swung his feet back and forth lazily. "He's probably having a five-star steak dinner with the old man himself."
Fent held back a groan. Well, if you can't beat them, might as well join them. "Don't forget the steamed baby carrots slathered in butter, along with creamy mashed potatoes seasoned with fresh herbs."
The gray Talon paused, stilling his feet. He looked over at the Scout, his face showing his faint surprise. Then he grinned. "'Atta boy, Fent! You're learning!"
X x X
Raven had to admit – the food was delicious. He hated himself for it, but he polished off every last morsel: the steak, the buttery carrots, and amazing mashed potatoes that was sprinkled with tasty green stuff. The whole meal literally melted in his mouth. It been forever since he had eaten food this good.
He wipe his mouth with a napkin, then set it down with a small sigh.
"Good, isn't it?" Ra'Skevvor watched him, his dark eyes pleased. "So tell me, what have you been doing with yourself? You've been staying pretty close to your little 'Front',"
"Well, you hadn't tried to kill anybody for the longest while, so I got suspicious." Raven mentally kicked himself for giving away the fact that he'd enjoyed the meal. That creepy, happy smile on that man's face was just. . .disturbing.
"Oh, Raven. Why can't you just join me? I'd hate to see you die by the Kairg's hands."
"If you hate it so much, why don't you just self-destruct your entire army?"
The kairg leader chuckled. "Not going to happen. I'll see my objectives through, no matter what. Though I'd prefer that you were by my side."
"Not going to happen," Raven threw the man's words back into his face. "Now, answer me – why build war machines?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"You broke the Covenant!"
"Yes." Ra'Skevvor set down his fork, and pushed his plate away. He hadn't really been hungry, so most of his food was left untouched. "The machines are perfect for my purposes, especially when soldiers are in such a limited supply. Consider this: they are much harder to destroy than a human, they kill easily fifteen times as much as one man could, and they are quite the intimidating creature."
"But how -?"
"That's my secret, my dear son. Perhaps if you join me, I will share it with you."
Raven grit his teeth. "You broke the Covenant just so you could create an army of war machines?"
"Well, to start with," Ra'Skevvor's eyes gained a dark glimmer – they became more like their usual black pits. "But they need some more testing. Your Front camps are actually quite useful in that regard. You must give them my thanks."
A horrible, dark snake curled into Raven's gut, sending icy chills up his spine. "You sent more," his voice was hoarse.
"I suppose I did," the Kairg leader seemed quite unconcerned. "Five, was it? Or more? Can't seem to remember. Of course, I thought you'd be there, at the center. Outpost 12, right? I was quite surprised when you showed up here – ah, well. Now my machines will have hardly any resistance to deal with. . ."
Raven surged to his feet, knocking his chair onto the floor. His face was a mask of calm, but Ra'Skevvor was not fooled. His son's violet eyes were absolutely livid.
"If only I could end your miserable life," Raven hissed. His hands tightened into fists, his knuckles turning white. For a moment, he glared at his father, his whole body radiating his rage. Then his hands rigidly uncurled from fists, and he whirled around. He stalked to a door, and as if sensing his approach, the doors opened.
The two Kairg flyers were there, and led him back to the outside. They didn't speak, and were careful to keep their distance. Once outside, Raven engaged his helmet, and kicked on his boosters. He shot into the air, making a beeline towards the Ridge.
A minute later, he landed heavily. Both Gray and Fent got to their feet, their faces grim as they sensed his dark mood.
"I'm going back to center Front," the dark Talon quietly told them. His voice seemed to be too calm for the darkness that swirled within his gaze. "I suggest you do the same. He's sent at least five machines, most likely improved from the last type." Without saying anymore, he launched into the sky.
His heart pounded wildly, as both anger and fear coursed through his system. Ra'Skevvor's news had troubled him more than it usually would have, because this time, something more was involved. Or someone. Raven shot through the sky – a black streak tearing through the air at high speeds – his thoughts revolving around a certain flyer-in-training.