"Like they reach, boi." uttered the big, blue, and round Hahbou who pacified the hooded stranger.
She and some Defence Force troops occupied a massive hovercar. They filled every seat around him while travelling along the petal connector bridge. It was the product of a two-metre white machine with a polished sixty-four-sided crystal floating over it called the Architect of Roses.
Random petals would hang in the sky until it was activated. They flew in from all directions until a bridge was formed.
However, an Architect from a neighbouring petal would have to be activated to establish the bridge.
Several soldiers didn't like to ride the hoverbus. Unfortunately, they had to. None of the hovercars, particularly the fast ones, were functioning.
The wrinkly, yellow-skinned driver wasn't bothered by this. He expected nothing less from a warzone. Things just didn't work. That was their reality.
* * *
"...It was hit and run tactics the being with the yellow hood use with the dense terrain in Swampy Swampy. He framed it to make it look like a bunch of animals from the mangroves did it." Cascachu broke down what the stranger did as his wounds were being treated in one of Zartzs' front carriages with Cassadon nearby.
Guys! Nem's facial visualization shield identified him through the glass of the hovercar. It was transparent, rested in front of her face with a band around her head, and had a small, lightweight processor that revealed obscured beings or objects. His external structure was quite distinct in the minimalistic heads-up display. I see a Inganop! The youth in the hood and jeans.
Cassadon and Cascachu pondered on the fact he was an Inganop. They were rare in this part of the galaxy.
That youth the one who do you wrong, Cascachu?
Yes. He was soft-spoken with his answer.
Cassadon took note of this and said, "Cascachu, you can't do it alone. We're going take him out together."
We have to take out his accomplices and them as well. Nem slid in her suggestion.
No problem. We's a team.
Their superior honked in great pleasure.
The starcraft Ral piloted came into the literal tracks of the War Troupe. She got the glass covering to levitate for Supreme General Ippe of the Defence Force to freely stand on his seat.
His equivalent, Top Commander Zartzs of the Balmi War Troup, responded by halting on the self-generated track.
"Hello, Zartzs." He raised his arm to welcome her with a wave.
"Hello, Ippe."
"Is this a part of your new invasion plan?" He folded his arms. "If so, you can do better."
"You know if it was me, I would've come up with something more comprehensive." At the very least, she, Cassadon, and Nem would not arrive so late to an invasion of the enemy headquarters, and they certainly wouldn't let Cascachu lead such a thing, especially with the elevated risk of doing this.
Cascachu knew she wouldn't be that dumb. "Those random lifeforms in Defence Force uniforms must be coming to take back their starcraft."
"I'm surprise that don't happen more often, you know."
"Yeah. I thought the same, honestly." He grinned. Cascachu had a new trick for all to see.
"Let's see it then." Nem's curiosity got to her.
Zartzs told her to shut up before she took aim and shot at him.
Cassadon built up dough on her abdomen and flung all its mushiness towards the War Troupe. Nem and the soldiers also joined in this assault.
Long-range flare rounds penetrated the armour of the starcraft. Even with increased reactive manoeuvres, the hits piled up.
This did not prevent Ippe from using his hands for his new trick.
At the same time, the winds from the tornado died. From the manifested pond to petals large and small, there was an eerie silence largely caused by many beings' own silence. Without the rotations of the twister, petals like Mago and Dagger's Log would fall gently to earth. Those on them could feel the sways; each left and right caused immense unease that grew with every move.
"It must be a delay effect from Cascachu. Like it finally kicked in." A soldier with full lips suggested this while stationed at the back of the local snacks store near Zazavin and Mezamica Um. Those around him agreed.
For one to find their footing under the swaying was a challenge. But two beams with sharply pointed tips appeared from the twister to provide newfound stability. They came from a mass of carbon fibre that was formerly the tornado. From it, came a shadow most ominous.
"Right. Let's get started." Mezamica Um supported his whole form with his rigid, contorted ends that placed him at a forty-five-degree angle.
Zazavin's tongue stabbed the ruined ship, easing Durin's discomfort. Then it swung around amid flares to hit the base of the weakened building to knock out its last supports to collapse it, forming a thick cloud of debris that masked the whole area.
The dust held strong with no gusts to take it apart. A neutered flame from the burning starcraft was the only light source within it. Mezamica Um wasn't deterred. With his squad in some disarray, he took one last sway and launched himself.
He zipped through the air at the same forty-five-degree angle. Clipping a few buildings and vehicles failed to slow his momentum. It was not long before the best close-range fighter in the Defence Force found Zazavin with his colleagues on Yayco Hover—the barracks district just outside the town centre.
Mezamica Um had to get some group coordination for this fight. Zazavin was more of a problem than previously anticipated.
His soldiers had their attention near their communicators, and once he explained what they had to do, they were ready to execute.
Mezamica Um didn't like what they said. He lacked confidence, and this reverted his mind to what Ippe told him earlier.
Are you listening, Mezamica Um?
Of course when you have loudspeakers. He hung on with one of his twig-like ends while flying over rooftops.
I need to drill something in your head and I think it will be best done with the general lingo in our parts. He cleared his throat. Yea, Mezamica Um. Watch na, do what you have to do to build back yourself real best. You's we best close-range fighter in the Defence Force. Take down them youths and bring them back for questioning.
The lack of confidence was now minute in his voice. His short pep talk was enough to get him going.
Mezamica Um's henchmen got in their positions for the right time to jump out.
Zazavin was fed up. He decided to stand his ground in the middle of the street as Mezamica Um came. The taste of Durin's current gel exterior was unpleasant. However, he suppressed it for his sake, and to his benefit, he no longer had the urge to sneeze. Despite this, small amounts of snot drained out of his nostrils.
Mezamica Um took a mighty swing but Zazavin's backward bounce gave him the room to cover the area in abstract and sporadic designs. The constant back and forth of attacks and dodges continued until Mezamica Um extended one of his ends to break an apartment complex before dragging it with little impediment.
"Zazavin, why am I up in the air?"
Teinova was confused.
"Do something, please. I'm begging you!!!"
"Whatever. It looks like you're having fun. Are you having fun, Zazavin?" She held her hands together while upside down.
"Yes!" Come on, you demented bitch. Do something useful. You got a free ride, now pay up.
He realised that someone needed a lot of 'fun', so he directed her to give Mezamica Um just that.
"Sure. I'll give him some." She squirted a negligible amount of liquid soap.
How disappointing.
Zazavin needed to do something. His only action was to enter a deadlock—all to buy time to formulate a rash plan.
TALLAS - NOT LONG AGO
"What you doing here, Yan? You come to bully me again?" Pogorie's house was tiny, and cramped and boring defined it further; a haphazard square structure along the road's edge was her house.
"Nah. I wanted to ask you something about the foreigners." He was on the dusty road. Houses faced the broken collar of his blue vest on his Pristal frame.
"I don't want to. You must want to advantage me. I'll go tell my daddy who sleeping to chase you away."
"Nah, nah, nah. Don't do that. What we have to do for you to trust us?"
"Tell me a shameful secret then lick the dirt."
Topa Top shouted displeasure at what she said.
"I will just go back taking a nap." Her tubes pulled her back to the house. She was mostly out of sight until...
"Wow, that dirt taste real bad, boi!" That concluded step one for Yan.
Topa Top did the same.
"My secret is that my favourite colour is pink," Yan was ashamed to say this.
"My own is that I can't read good." Topa Top copied Yan's shame.
"Okay. I'll tell you." They went to the back of the house where a local watering hole was next door—which was very much worn out by Tallas's standards—so she could open up to them.
After she told them what she experienced, the anticipated scorn never came. Rather, they were excited.
"Way, that real dread!" Topa Top was impressed. "You's friends with them now because of the touching thing."
"You serious?" She was surprised by his statement.
"Cooler than my parents would allow. I have to do real tiptoeing to get around my paranoie... pretadoy.... peraajoy...."
"Paranoid parents."
"Thanks. I was struggling a bit with that word."
Blushing with embarrassment, Yan expressed apologies. As he did, the breeze went still. The children didn't notice this change.
"Hey, what you two doing in the back of the house?" Tantie caught them in the act. She was coming from a few houses away. "I want you to do your stupidness in the open where everybody could see you. You hooligans will get good licks for messing with Pogorie."
They broke apart with a run. Topa Top and Yan put up their hands quick to wave goodbye. They took little time to reach the horizon.
"You good?" Tantie's green face expressed concern once close to her.
"Yeah. I'm going inside now."
"Like I catch them in the act." She felt heroic thinking she saved her from another instance of bullying.
"Yea, Tantie." She regressed to the door and closed it.
THANK YOU FOR READING IF YOU REACHED THIS FAR. IF YOU LIKE THIS AND OTHER CHAPTERS, FOLLOW, LIKE, SHARE, COMMENT, AND ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR LIBRARY FOR MORE BATTLES BEYOND. MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES AS WELL.