"My ONLY reservation..." Tony pointed out now. "Is that over the fence means we have to go through the interior of the base... and the reactor is the heart of it... the heart... meaning more fights, more patrols, more unknowns. I know my way isn't guarded because..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out an elevator key. "I picked this up before I defected from the Purifiers. It's the key to this elevator... leads to the service tunnels under the building, which were used as evacuation routes in case of emergency. However, lacking this key, the tunnels were useless as evacuation routes because there was no way out of them. I picked this up a week before you guys captured me, and DIDN'T let the Purifiers know I had it before that little event took place. The reactor room itself isn't guarded because it's in the middle of the base and currently useless..."
He looked at Emilena then back at Axel. "Remember the plan? It's not JUST about getting Lily out, but blowing the base sky high so that things like your limbs don't become useless the minute we step outside. We can go her way, but I think there's a far more likely chance of running into security if the alarms go off... which it seems like they will, than if we come in from underneath. Where's security gonna rush to when alarms go off, after all? The perimeter. Where are they NOT gonna rush to? The interior areas. See my point?" the ferret asked, looking from one to the other.
"Anyway, it's your show, Axel. I just got you out here. However you do it is up to you, but I need to make it to those reactors, and I'm gonna have a much harder time coming in from the outside than I am if I just walk into the room itself from the tunnels. So do what you want, but yes, we shouldn't debate this any further." the ferret said softly. "Go with her if you want, and I'll come along, but just thought I'd voice the opposite perspective here, because it seems you're fixating on rescuing Lily, and we've got some bigger goals here."
Somewhere over the Pacific
Over the stormy and tumultuous waters of the northern Pacific, an aerial fleet of warships hovered in tight formation, currently idling on standby and consuming minimal power. Several massive carriers formed the core of this fleet, with battleships, cruisers and destroyers rounding out the group. At the heart of it all was one particularly powerful flagship, the name Red Castle emblazoned on her side.
Upon the bridge of this behemoth, a creature in long, flowing red robes stood with his arms across his chest, his features pale as death, and his eyes an intense and brilliant yet very dark golden in color. Most of his face was covered by a contraption that concealed much of it, with some of the nose, eyes, and forehead visible. What kind of creature he was was hard to say, for what little could be seen of his skin had been bleached and scarred heavily.
"Lord Kalis..." the words came from an admiral clad in black who approached him from further down the bridge. "Our agents in Lanthae picked up an interesting broadcast a few hours ago and transmitted it here. You'll want to see this."
The one called Kalis turned to look at the datapad in the admiral's hand, and narrowed his eyes as Rhaegson's broadcast began to play. At his mention of the dropping of Lanthae's defenses, a great exhale escaped his mouth. When he spoke, his voice came out raspy and metallic, and not natural in the slightest. "Lanthae... I've been after a way to conquer that city for years... perfect... continue to monitor the situation... if this pulse indeed strikes and lowers their defenses... we'll gate-jump the fleet to the city and commence an attack."
"Yes, my lord." the admiral bowed his head here, slapping the cover of the datapad shut.
"Perhaps I'll finally find what I've been looking for as well..." Kalis said in a wispy voice that sounded like death. He shifted his attention out to the forward viewport, and stared intently into the night, clasping his hands calmly behind his back.
