With the sands slowly settling around him, Soul Reaver crouches at the bottom of the crater his impact has created, Blooddrinker's blade buried deep in a fissure it has carved out of the ground. Slowly, the Tyrants tar-like blood oozes down the fissure, until it begins to flow around the blade. A satisfying sigh emanates both from the weapon and from Soul Reaver's lips.
Slowly, Soul Reaver rises, making his way up the crater wall to the edge of the Tyrant's corpse. He stands there for a few moments, a look of contempt on his face, his hair and cape flapping behind him from the desert winds that are quickly dispersing the dark clouds above him. Then, with a shout, he holds blooddrinker aloft and slams it down into the Tyrant's unmoving corpse.
The sword drains the fluids and more from the corpse, defiling what is left of the creature as it satiates itself on the destruction it has wrought. The corpse begins to sag and crumble away into dust.
Blooddrinker eventually has nothing left to feed upon, and so Soul Reaver slides the blade from what little remains of the corpse.
In the meantime, the soldiers, dreadnaughts and fighters have been helping the marine forces mop up the remains of the genestealer swarms. The precise, guided fire from the marine infantry is enough to do the job, as the dreadnaughts and fighters cease attacking in order to prevent friendly fire incidents against the marine forces.
Suddenly, another blue blast streaks down from the monstrous ship hovering overhead and strikes the ground close to Soul Reaver and the companions. Soul Reaverl ooks up in surprise and with a feral wariness in his eyes. The beacon flares a bright blue, and teleports in three soldiers. Two are simply marine infantry, but one standing in the middle is dressed in what is clearly a high-ranking officer's armour. At present, his helmet obscures his face.
There are tense few moments as the two flanking figures carefully scan their surroundings. They are holding their massive weapons at the ready, though they are making no threatening moves. All the soldiers have stopped their firing since the enemy forces have been neutralised. The silence on the battlefield is growing tense.
The central officer fumbles for a moment for a switch on his wrist. Once it has been pressed, an electronically altered voice becomes audible. It is unfamiliar to everyone... except Soul Reaver. Though distorted, he can still make it out, and it startles him.
"So I've found you at last... you know, it wasn't exactly easy."
Soul Reaver seizes the moment of surprise... he doubles over for a moment, growling, his body convulsing. The officer beforeh him hesitates, then moves to help him. When Soul Reaver stands up again - slowly - he seems paler than before... older somehow... but he also seems to have regained his self-control. The officer removes his visored helmet, revealing a face familiar to Soul Reaver.
"Are you all right??"
Hoarsely, Soul Reaver replies.
"Yes. I am... now. But what are you doing here?"
The officer stands straight, then looks at the strange warriors surround him.
"I am sorry... I think perhaps I should introduce myself.
I am Admiral Gideon, of the United Military Space Fleet, and commander of the U.M.S.F. Manticore, the first of the three prototype Interdimensional space cruisers."
His voice becomes a bit more quiet as he speaks more directly to Soul Reaver, but he is still clearly audible to the others.
"You came to the rescue of me, my team, and all the colonists of CNV0019 a year ago. Perhaps it was not memorable for you - it seems you do this sort of thing often - but the impact it had on me was... well, considerable. Nobody really would have believed what really happened if I told them, so my team and I were sworn to secrecy. However, we were lauded as heroes, given commendations for success against insurmountable odds...
Suffice to say, I attained the unearned reputation as a hero, was promoted to admiral... and finally, I even earned the honour of piloting the first Interdimensional vessel on its maiden voyage.
But I must confess, I've gone against orders somewhat. I have kept from my superiors my knowledge of the 'anomolous energy readings' seen at CNV0019 before our escape.
Those readings, of course, came from you. I still owe you a debt of honour, and I tracked you across entire dimensions to repay it, using that energy signature in the hope of tracking you. Maybe I'll be demoted for this unscheduled trip, but if that's the case, then so be it.
We finally found you here, and it seems just in time to help out. We do not know exactly what these creatures are, but it was clear you needed our aid... so we did everything we could."
Soul Reaver bows deeply.
"You have my eternal gratitude for your noble actions. Were it not for you and your men, we may have been overrun."
Admiral Gideon waves off the compliment.
"It seems that you can all handle yourselves quite well on your own."
Looking over the other warriors on the battlefield, he asks,
"And who are these... people? Your friends, no doubt... they look to be quite a varied group..."
OOC
Slowly, Soul Reaver rises, making his way up the crater wall to the edge of the Tyrant's corpse. He stands there for a few moments, a look of contempt on his face, his hair and cape flapping behind him from the desert winds that are quickly dispersing the dark clouds above him. Then, with a shout, he holds blooddrinker aloft and slams it down into the Tyrant's unmoving corpse.
The sword drains the fluids and more from the corpse, defiling what is left of the creature as it satiates itself on the destruction it has wrought. The corpse begins to sag and crumble away into dust.
Blooddrinker eventually has nothing left to feed upon, and so Soul Reaver slides the blade from what little remains of the corpse.
In the meantime, the soldiers, dreadnaughts and fighters have been helping the marine forces mop up the remains of the genestealer swarms. The precise, guided fire from the marine infantry is enough to do the job, as the dreadnaughts and fighters cease attacking in order to prevent friendly fire incidents against the marine forces.
Suddenly, another blue blast streaks down from the monstrous ship hovering overhead and strikes the ground close to Soul Reaver and the companions. Soul Reaverl ooks up in surprise and with a feral wariness in his eyes. The beacon flares a bright blue, and teleports in three soldiers. Two are simply marine infantry, but one standing in the middle is dressed in what is clearly a high-ranking officer's armour. At present, his helmet obscures his face.
There are tense few moments as the two flanking figures carefully scan their surroundings. They are holding their massive weapons at the ready, though they are making no threatening moves. All the soldiers have stopped their firing since the enemy forces have been neutralised. The silence on the battlefield is growing tense.
The central officer fumbles for a moment for a switch on his wrist. Once it has been pressed, an electronically altered voice becomes audible. It is unfamiliar to everyone... except Soul Reaver. Though distorted, he can still make it out, and it startles him.
"So I've found you at last... you know, it wasn't exactly easy."
Soul Reaver seizes the moment of surprise... he doubles over for a moment, growling, his body convulsing. The officer beforeh him hesitates, then moves to help him. When Soul Reaver stands up again - slowly - he seems paler than before... older somehow... but he also seems to have regained his self-control. The officer removes his visored helmet, revealing a face familiar to Soul Reaver.
"Are you all right??"
Hoarsely, Soul Reaver replies.
"Yes. I am... now. But what are you doing here?"
The officer stands straight, then looks at the strange warriors surround him.
"I am sorry... I think perhaps I should introduce myself.
I am Admiral Gideon, of the United Military Space Fleet, and commander of the U.M.S.F. Manticore, the first of the three prototype Interdimensional space cruisers."
His voice becomes a bit more quiet as he speaks more directly to Soul Reaver, but he is still clearly audible to the others.
"You came to the rescue of me, my team, and all the colonists of CNV0019 a year ago. Perhaps it was not memorable for you - it seems you do this sort of thing often - but the impact it had on me was... well, considerable. Nobody really would have believed what really happened if I told them, so my team and I were sworn to secrecy. However, we were lauded as heroes, given commendations for success against insurmountable odds...
Suffice to say, I attained the unearned reputation as a hero, was promoted to admiral... and finally, I even earned the honour of piloting the first Interdimensional vessel on its maiden voyage.
But I must confess, I've gone against orders somewhat. I have kept from my superiors my knowledge of the 'anomolous energy readings' seen at CNV0019 before our escape.
Those readings, of course, came from you. I still owe you a debt of honour, and I tracked you across entire dimensions to repay it, using that energy signature in the hope of tracking you. Maybe I'll be demoted for this unscheduled trip, but if that's the case, then so be it.
We finally found you here, and it seems just in time to help out. We do not know exactly what these creatures are, but it was clear you needed our aid... so we did everything we could."
Soul Reaver bows deeply.
"You have my eternal gratitude for your noble actions. Were it not for you and your men, we may have been overrun."
Admiral Gideon waves off the compliment.
"It seems that you can all handle yourselves quite well on your own."
Looking over the other warriors on the battlefield, he asks,
"And who are these... people? Your friends, no doubt... they look to be quite a varied group..."
OOC
