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Against the backdrop of the rolling mountains and the thin mist, the ruins of the enormous drone lay smoking and sputtering. The observation device had burned through the atmosphere and charred itself an ugly mottled grey like overcooked meat, its bone-white faded into a grimier colour. Dirt and stone had cratered around it into small ridges around its body and one could still hear its dysfunctional anti-grav boosters sputtering, kicking up dirt and pebbles but too feeble to move its hulking, shattered body.
How convenient that it should land in such a location. On this wilderness of jagged rocks and innumerable valleys, it had landed in a location that intersected three differing territories at the edges of their reach. The Carnazir, the Pan-Celestial League, and the Assembly of Solar Republics had all carved out their spheres of control and influence across maps physical and digital. A few rows of poles seemed to converge towards the enormous burning hulk lay like some procession of worshipers but those with HUD's would be able to see the translucent multicoloured barriers overlaid onto their sight - purple for Carnazir, red for the Assembly, and blue for the league.
It just happened that there was a lot of yellow molding around the wreckage in this electronic realm, signifying overlapping space..
Three patrols had been sent; their purpose to investigate and if possible, secure the crash site. The rules of engagement were simple: body cameras on, watch for the approaching vultures, and if they're about to shoot, beat them to the punch.
Oh yes, the peace talks were going similarly and three great powers were now resorting to more civilized means to end this painful near decade long reign of violence. Everyone smiled for the camera whether they were a suit-and-tie politician or a medal-adorned warlord. The smiles were only smiles and the "mop up operations in the final days of conflict" were only adding thousands upon thousands more to the body count.
The news agencies were correct, even if they could only grasp a mere fragment of the raw carnage that had turned the Caracosa nation sector into the festering sore of Chalgheol and a bonfire that could be seen from space.
What none of the patrols that had recently arrived had expected was an onslaught not of mortar shells and ether-fire but ear-scraping cacophony erupting onto their com channels.
The sattelite had pried open their encryptions and any line of communications with their respective headquarters. A wild torrent of collapsing layers made of pure atonal grinding erupted into their ears. Digital shrieks, fragments of unintelligible code, HUD-distorting waves of unknown composition - the satellite was going wild in its sputtering death-throes. Its data storage was visible through the various puncture wounds in its hull and one could see lights blinking and flashing, peering through the fog that lazily rolled over its iron husk.
All around them, there was fog. That was not unusual per se; this area of the wilderness had been a popular sightseeing location before the war had swallowed the country. The mist-shrouded hills were romanticist art themselves crafted by hands of naturalistic processes unknown millennia ago but the fog had always been gentle and rolling. Not the swarming, bulky clouds that slowly swallowed the visible horizons, the distant fang-heads of rock formations, and diffused the light into an enfeebled pale.
Even before the last beams of light could be smothered in the rolling wave of fog, communicaiton systems erupted into wild chatter and scrambled half-coherent signals.
"NEUTRAL DIPLOMATIC CONVOY HAS BEEN AMBUSHED, ENEMY IDENTIFICATON UNKNOWN. CARNAZIR, LEAGUE, AND ASSEMBLY FORCES ATTEMPTING TO PROTECT ENVOYS, ANY ASSISTANCE NEARBY PLEASE H-"
"Charnov and Karnlang city-sectors opening hositlities, League-funded rebel groups have broken ceasefire and are assaulting the city ha-"
"-and will you shut it and get that damn pulse-cannon up? No I don't know who the fuck they are, that black armour doesn't match any known design! Hell if I know, they just stormed through the Assembly blockade! We're next if you d-"
"THIS STRAYIR KAVROS, ANY CARNAZIR FORCES, NO ANY FORCES IN THE REIGON PLEASE RESPOND! VOID-CREATURE CONTAINMENT FIELDS HAVE FAILED, UNTAMED BIOWEAPONS ARE BEING RELEASED IN OUR AREA!"
"Varczily Narsrilov here, my atntennal scanners are partially jammed, biomech sensors detecting multiple on-foot and amour hostiles. All Assembly forces prepare for defensive formations!"
"CARNAZIR! True blood inheritors of Caracosa! The facade has been dropped, the scum have outed themselves, and their claws digging into the soil our ancestors lie have grown brittle and weak! Take their lives and shatter their grasp!"
Static slowly began to wash over cries for war and clarification and what little could be heard was as indefinite as the now dense fog, swepping over the hills like some flood of scriptural prophecy. Large swathes of the land remained visible but already the thin white tendrils were creeping over the stone and grass.
The patrols, now cut off from their own commanders, lay alone with only the pathetic crackling of the sattelite.
Options were limited - they could go back the way they came... but some of those communications were from their very own. With the fog having swept over those areas first, there was no telling what was waiting in there.
A few clicks to the north, Alcerica, one of the larger regional cities was present but in the scramble to pacify Caracosa for the diplomatic meetings, it had been neglected. It was known by all that pirate and mercenary groups had been eyeing its lush ruins since a few years ago and with weakening armed presence around the city, it was only a matter of time before they acted.
The large neutral city to the south, Garzaril, many of them had deployed from in the south had gone dark unsurprisingly. With how heavily protected it had been, that didn't bide well. They should have been able to hear the gunfire even this far out.
Westwards lay one of the large fortresses that had once belonged to some rogue general. He'd broken off from the old regime and holed himself up, remaining silent and hostile to anyone that neared him. Word had gotten out both his armies and stronghold had fallen into disrepair but his paranoia was legendary and frequently concerning.
Off to the east, a wilderness of twisted trees and rough terrain. A frequent area all forces moved through when conducting stealth operations or concealing their actions from others. The fog would take the longest to wrap around the woods, streams, and rocky formations and it was connected to a number of riverways.
How convenient that it should land in such a location. On this wilderness of jagged rocks and innumerable valleys, it had landed in a location that intersected three differing territories at the edges of their reach. The Carnazir, the Pan-Celestial League, and the Assembly of Solar Republics had all carved out their spheres of control and influence across maps physical and digital. A few rows of poles seemed to converge towards the enormous burning hulk lay like some procession of worshipers but those with HUD's would be able to see the translucent multicoloured barriers overlaid onto their sight - purple for Carnazir, red for the Assembly, and blue for the league.
It just happened that there was a lot of yellow molding around the wreckage in this electronic realm, signifying overlapping space..
Three patrols had been sent; their purpose to investigate and if possible, secure the crash site. The rules of engagement were simple: body cameras on, watch for the approaching vultures, and if they're about to shoot, beat them to the punch.
Oh yes, the peace talks were going similarly and three great powers were now resorting to more civilized means to end this painful near decade long reign of violence. Everyone smiled for the camera whether they were a suit-and-tie politician or a medal-adorned warlord. The smiles were only smiles and the "mop up operations in the final days of conflict" were only adding thousands upon thousands more to the body count.
The news agencies were correct, even if they could only grasp a mere fragment of the raw carnage that had turned the Caracosa nation sector into the festering sore of Chalgheol and a bonfire that could be seen from space.
What none of the patrols that had recently arrived had expected was an onslaught not of mortar shells and ether-fire but ear-scraping cacophony erupting onto their com channels.
The sattelite had pried open their encryptions and any line of communications with their respective headquarters. A wild torrent of collapsing layers made of pure atonal grinding erupted into their ears. Digital shrieks, fragments of unintelligible code, HUD-distorting waves of unknown composition - the satellite was going wild in its sputtering death-throes. Its data storage was visible through the various puncture wounds in its hull and one could see lights blinking and flashing, peering through the fog that lazily rolled over its iron husk.
All around them, there was fog. That was not unusual per se; this area of the wilderness had been a popular sightseeing location before the war had swallowed the country. The mist-shrouded hills were romanticist art themselves crafted by hands of naturalistic processes unknown millennia ago but the fog had always been gentle and rolling. Not the swarming, bulky clouds that slowly swallowed the visible horizons, the distant fang-heads of rock formations, and diffused the light into an enfeebled pale.
Even before the last beams of light could be smothered in the rolling wave of fog, communicaiton systems erupted into wild chatter and scrambled half-coherent signals.
"NEUTRAL DIPLOMATIC CONVOY HAS BEEN AMBUSHED, ENEMY IDENTIFICATON UNKNOWN. CARNAZIR, LEAGUE, AND ASSEMBLY FORCES ATTEMPTING TO PROTECT ENVOYS, ANY ASSISTANCE NEARBY PLEASE H-"
"Charnov and Karnlang city-sectors opening hositlities, League-funded rebel groups have broken ceasefire and are assaulting the city ha-"
"-and will you shut it and get that damn pulse-cannon up? No I don't know who the fuck they are, that black armour doesn't match any known design! Hell if I know, they just stormed through the Assembly blockade! We're next if you d-"
"THIS STRAYIR KAVROS, ANY CARNAZIR FORCES, NO ANY FORCES IN THE REIGON PLEASE RESPOND! VOID-CREATURE CONTAINMENT FIELDS HAVE FAILED, UNTAMED BIOWEAPONS ARE BEING RELEASED IN OUR AREA!"
"Varczily Narsrilov here, my atntennal scanners are partially jammed, biomech sensors detecting multiple on-foot and amour hostiles. All Assembly forces prepare for defensive formations!"
"CARNAZIR! True blood inheritors of Caracosa! The facade has been dropped, the scum have outed themselves, and their claws digging into the soil our ancestors lie have grown brittle and weak! Take their lives and shatter their grasp!"
Static slowly began to wash over cries for war and clarification and what little could be heard was as indefinite as the now dense fog, swepping over the hills like some flood of scriptural prophecy. Large swathes of the land remained visible but already the thin white tendrils were creeping over the stone and grass.
The patrols, now cut off from their own commanders, lay alone with only the pathetic crackling of the sattelite.
Options were limited - they could go back the way they came... but some of those communications were from their very own. With the fog having swept over those areas first, there was no telling what was waiting in there.
A few clicks to the north, Alcerica, one of the larger regional cities was present but in the scramble to pacify Caracosa for the diplomatic meetings, it had been neglected. It was known by all that pirate and mercenary groups had been eyeing its lush ruins since a few years ago and with weakening armed presence around the city, it was only a matter of time before they acted.
The large neutral city to the south, Garzaril, many of them had deployed from in the south had gone dark unsurprisingly. With how heavily protected it had been, that didn't bide well. They should have been able to hear the gunfire even this far out.
Westwards lay one of the large fortresses that had once belonged to some rogue general. He'd broken off from the old regime and holed himself up, remaining silent and hostile to anyone that neared him. Word had gotten out both his armies and stronghold had fallen into disrepair but his paranoia was legendary and frequently concerning.
Off to the east, a wilderness of twisted trees and rough terrain. A frequent area all forces moved through when conducting stealth operations or concealing their actions from others. The fog would take the longest to wrap around the woods, streams, and rocky formations and it was connected to a number of riverways.
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