Insane Cafe 4: The Insane Frontier

[Nick22]

Any help you can give me, will be appreciated." stripetail nodded"So how can you assist us Fairchild? Of the living planes, to my knowledge only Major Lockie has transported people so far. ' So we;re on guard duty?' Stitch chimed in. " essentially yes.
-
 I will meet you at the summit master ' Tarrax said, sticking his head into the doorway. ' BEst fly there now, my friend. We will also need volunteers, to activate these  antimatter charges . They will need to be placed on Vaalbara and activated. We will be trying to thread the proverbial neredle, here, but that cannot be helped ." stripetail said before standing up. "Try to keep morale up here. Be courteous and respectful. and.. wish me luck.. I'm going to need it. Are there any other questions?

[tempestwheel]

"We brought all your favorites," Kitty smiled as she and several others brought food to the tables, "It's a big day ahead for all of us. No need to be hungry."

"Thanks mam," Ollie needed to the lady cat.

"This is cool," Oliver said, looking at the belt Luca gave him. "I'll use it as soon as I can," he promised.

...............

Nick was opening up his bar, seeing the early bird crowd arrive. "Nice to see consistency," the fox smirked, "Ladies and gents, what can we get you?"

.................

Shoukichi and Kiyo awoke in their cabin. "Wake up Kiyo," the male tanuki from Mawashi yawned, "Breakfast time. Could you make steak and eggs?"

...........

Kiara simply snuggled up to Kovu as she and him got to sleep in.

[Serris]

"Major Lockie does not have the durability to fly you as close as I can," Captain Fairchild said. "I can have something like an saddle made so I can get your group as close as possible to the Apollo Sanctum. With so little time left, we need to shave off time whenever and wherever we can."

It was the Stripetail's radio buzzed. "Captain Carson here. A mixed crew of Vaalbarans and Spirarians are heading to Vaalbara as we speak to place the antimatter charges. I'll also have to move the ship behind one of the larger asteroids as well."

----------------

The "fleet" sent to Vaalbara was rather large consisting of only several paired shuttles. One carried the crew and the other carried the antimatter charges and the equipment. Thanks to their small size, about 25,000 of them could be carried on one of the heavy cargo shuttles.

As it were, they were planning to place the charges scattered around the surface that face Weyard and detonate them in a precisely timed sequence so the vaporizing gas would act like a rocket and push Vaalbara away.

[Nick22]

Thank you captain. tell your group that they have 2 hours to get everything in place.  I'm heading out now with a small team, to the Sanctum to operate the Lens be sure captain to have medical personel ready to assist me on my return,Ii fully expect to  be heavily burned  and magically drained from this endeavor , moving a planet requires enormous magical strength, as these things weigh decillions of tons' Stripetail sighed " good luck to you Captain . Stripetail out." Stripetail turned to his group. "Go help keep order aboard the ship. all fun excursions  will have to wait until we reach Polaris. Eat Quickly, and spread out into groups. Protect the shrines,  keep an eye on the refugees, look out for sabotage , the usual." Stripetail got  up from his seat. " Each group will consist of 6 members, pick out members as you see fit. business business business, everyone"  He said, before turning to Sveta and the others. ' Lets go. Fairchild, be  ready at Hangar 10, we will be there in about 10 minutes. " he said to the screen. " Stripetail left the room, nodding to his team in parting. " Any info, in what is inside the Sanctum, besides the light itself will be appreciated" He said to Sveta.

[Serris]

(Spire of Winter)

"While we were there last, we were attacked by soldiers of a nation known as the Tuaparang. We know little about them except that they are a highly technological society," Sveta said. She had donned the Umbra Gear and her entire body was concealed by the mysterious fabric that somehow absorbed light and yet, its purple runes shimmered with an interior glow.

"Will do. Captain Carson out."

----------------------------

The medical bay was rapidly prepared with teams of surgeons and other medical personnel on standby.

Indeed, even a magical field generator from Mr. Bigmouth's reverse-engineered shield generators was present, owning to Stripetail's physiology.

----------------------------

What looked like an oversized saddle made out of metal was quickly being fastened to the living A-10 using padded metal straps.

He had opted to forgo all weaponry both to minimize his load and because of the risk the intense light might actually set off the explosives.

He was also being fueled with a minimal amount of fuel internally and most of the fuel was externally carried so he could easily jettison a fuel tank that had caught fire.

"All right. I am ready for action."

"Good luck, Captain," Lt. Martin said, dipping her muzzle in a sign of respect.

-----------------

(Vaalbara)

While normally the Vaalbarans could walk around their home planet without their environment suits, it was far too hot to do so. Indeed, the heat from the tidal interactions had not only torn the planet's crust with fresh earthquakes, it had actually vaporized the water ice "rock" and ammonia on the planet. As a result, the ground was a muddy mixture of dirt, rock and water surrounded in a choking ammonia and nitrogen haze.

Several Vaalbarans were hauling the antimatter charges and placing them in holes dug by the Spirarian crew. Unfortunately, the digging was slow going as the ground had to be frozen with the freezing laser rifles and then drilled or else they would keep filling in on themselves.

Even so, they were hoping to get at least one of the patches laid.

[Nick22]

Best to be ready y for them then ' Stripetail said in reply.  The wizard gestured and changed his attore in a twinkling. the  seer now wore what looked to be a set of what appeared at first to be silver armor, but closer observation revealed that   this armor absorbed light causing any nearby light to dim, if not go out entirely. ' This armor is from my Sowarkard days, it has been a long time since I've worn it, I havent had to .' Stripetail said Apart from the armor, stripetail also carried his staff. Stripetail wore a look of resolution on his face, he was putting himself on the line to a degree he had only rarely done so previously, there were few sources of magic or power dangerous enough for him to wear this armor for protection. " Mertavius is likely to send us his regards as well' He added. ' Be ready for anything , my dear ' he said to Sveta. " this is a place where even the smallest mistake can be letal, and the fates of two worlds hinge on us suceeding. So, no pressure, as the humans are wont to say. " stripetail allowed himself a small cuckle, as they reached the hangar where Fairchild stood " Hello Captain' Stripetail said, before turning to  Sveta, Karis, Tyrell and amiti.  You may climb on first. Youth before age, after all' He motioned to a lader that was prepped against the side of Fairchild and which led to the siddle on top of  Fairchild.
_
 Tarrax had exited out of the ship through Hangar 3 and was flying through the Weynardian atmosphere, which glowed with the heat caused by the friction of the incoming planet. the great dragon had surrounded himself with a blue shield to protect himself from the immense heat.

[Serris]

Karis, Amiti, Tyrell and Sveta all boarded the oversized saddle and strapped themselves in. Luckily, they were seated well below the jet engines that were mounted on his tail.

"Karis, Amiti, Tyrell, you three must stay close to me to be protected with my Umbra Gear."

"I regret that I cannot stay very long to help but even with my anti-flash white coat and armor, the light is too dangerous. However, I will be back to pick everyone up when the mission is over," Captain Fairchild said. An aircraft tug hooked itself to his front landing gear and towed him over to the launch catapult where the sled was securely fastened to it.

"Ready to launch Captain?" a ground crew member asked.

"Ready." The living A-10 started up his engines.

"Hang on," he said as he waited for the linear accelerator to charge.

[Nick22]

Stripetail took the only open seat, in the middle of  the saddle.  He stapped himself in. ' Do what you can Captain. That is all we can ask of you. We cannot ask for more." He turned to the others " Stay close to Sveta, Or me. and have your weapons and magic at the ready.  We will have to carve a way though." There was a huge rush as Fairchild raced forward and Stripetail was pinned to the back of the saddle by the rush of gravity.. the atmosphere of the planet was a roiling storm, with blinding lighting, intense heat, and which drew in any perspiration from the group, the air was surprisingly dry. Up ahead a large bank of clouds formed, and in a twinkling two large  eyes sprung out of it. ' Well, Well.  A small band of special chosen sheep, sent by the Seer to their slaughter' came a booming voice from within, there was no mistaking the voice, or the pure malice that radiated from it. "Does it weigh on you, old boy? At all? there is no stopping the collision at this point, the atmospheres are combining, and the larger planet is absorbing the smaller. Weynard is going to be ripped into shreds in less than an hour, the core of the planet cannot take any more pressure. it will implode and  everything above it will shatter like a glass chandelier dropped from a ceiling.  Where the planet once stood , well there won;t be much of anything. the remains will be small, like meteors and maybe 1 or 2 large asteroids, but nothing that is livable or which will contain a small fragment of what was.  You wasted too much time, trying to save these silly fools, and trying to reason with them.  Power is the only thing mortals understand, Seer, and 95% of their existence is spent trying to obtain it and hoard it. Showing that silly Wo your power, and forcing him to your will, would have saved you at least a weeks worth of hassle and bother.  Admit it, MY LORD' the voice said insultingly ' You've lost this round, and are close to losing the whole game. Oh, and one more little thing. When Weynard implodes? your little ship, and everyone onboard, is going to be atomized in the process. So IF I  were you, I'll tell that little rustbucket of of a plane  to hurry  up? And I'd bid that little team of yours goodbye as well, as well as informing their next of kin. how does it normally go? Oh , yes  ' I regret to inform you" the clouds shook with malevolent laughter,  magical lightning  glowing around it , Each word  probing Stripetail trying to rouse his anger,.

[Serris]

Captain Fairchild ignored Mertavius. Thunder boomed as he dove into the roiling storm cloud. Lightning flashed around him but thanks to the shield from Stripetail and Sveta, it didn't strike them.

"Hang on!" His engines roared as he pushed even harder against the buffeting winds.

"There!" Sveta shouted over the roaring winds. She pointed to a barely visible speck of light in the distance.

"We're not going to make it!" Karis exclaimed. Even with her affinity to the Jupiter element, the winds lashed at her.

"Shove it! I will get you through or be destroyed in the process!" Captain Fairchild snapped. He threw himself into a sharp bank to avoid a bolt of magical lightning that nearly speared through his body. By now, the clouds were getting thicker and rain began lashing the passengers.

But the living A-10 pressed onwards; the golden glow of the Apollo Sanctum was getting brighter.

[Nick22]

Stripetail cast a spell ' Luminor" he commanded As a pair of violent lightning bolts raced towards them. a shield glowed around him, and  and magic flowed from it blocking the lightning bolts the  storms was throwing at them. again and again the storm lashed at the seer, and again and again stripetail blocked the attack or redirected it away from himself, the others and  Fairchild. the light from the lens was becoming brighter and brighter as they drew closer. Stripetail  changed his approach, and began by  changing the weather around the plane. instead of lightning and rain, stripetail converted it to snow, which  melted and vaporized almost immediately in the boiling hot atmosphere. Slowly, but surely the storm started to weaken as Stripetail began to drain away its energy, either by changing the storm or by diverting it.  Stripetauil's staff glowed like a brilliant war beacon, its light almost painful to behold, yet at the same time, the light was reassuring and comforting. ' When you get close enough Fairchild, drop us off" stripetail shouted over the wind.

[Serris]

"As you wish!" Captain Fairchild shouted back over the howling winds and the roar of his engines.

"We're almost there!" Tyrell cried. "There! I can see the lens itself!"

Sure enough, in the distance was the legendary superweapon. Even through the blinding glare of the light that streamed from the heavens above it, the outline of it can be seen.

"I'm going in!" Captain Fairchild replied as he banked around a massive thunderhead and headed straight for the Apollo Sanctum.

"Careful," Amiti replied. "Perhaps you should drop us off at the Apollo Ascent where the light is not as intense?"

"No." The living A-10 continued on past the ruined gate of Apollo Ascent. Even with the path cleared previously by Ms. Swimmer and her group, the planet's ferocious seismic activity had blocked the path once again.

As Captain Fairchild entered the sanctum itself, the light became so intense that it was blinding. The fact that golden rivulets of energy streamed from the heavens above hinted that this wasn't ordinary light.

Sveta watched as a black hemisphere enveloped herself and her three companions.

The living A-10 carefully touched down on a stone platform inside the sanctum. The remains of a stone pavilion were on it, providing some tiny amount of shade. "Go!" he ordered. Even with his armor and his anti-flash white coat he could feel his internal systems rising in temperature.

Sveta did so, unbuckling her restraints. Tyrell, Karis and Amiti did so and followed her down. Luckily, the living A-10's bulk provided them with a brief respite to allow the Umbra Gear's shield to charge.

[Nick22]

Get out of hee Fairchilsd!' Stripetail ordered as he jumped down onto the platform.  As he landed Tarrax entered the Sanctum obsuring the lethal light with his magic. " sorry I'm later, Mastrer. the storms delayed me.' He said " You are here, my friend, anmd that is what matters. " Stripetail replied. As the light was filtered by the pitch-black shield surrounding Tarrax , Sveta and himself ' Stripetail saw a number of figure approaching them. " the Tuaparang you mentioned?' He queried Sveta, before the he heard a clinking at his feet a figure near him had tossed him a pair of coins " Stripetail pickd them up up " One read ' Better" the other  read " pray"" stripetail's glowered and put the coins in his robes ' Fight!' He commanded ' They must not stop us!' He commanded.

[Serris]

Captain Fairchild sped off. One of his external fuel tanks had ignited and he quickly jettisoned it before the fire could spread.

Sveta looked over the armored soldiers. "No. Their armor doesn't look like that."

Tyrell took a swipe at the nearest figure with his sword. To his surprise, he noticed the armor looked exactly like the Exathi statues he had seen in the temple. "Wait...they're Exathi!?"

Massive chunks of ice rained down on the figures as Amiti cast one of his spells. "Impossible. There are no Exathi today. Their closest descendents are the people of Passaj."

[Nick22]

they might be spirits stripetail said ' perhaps, of those who designed the Lens and Sanctum. We must,  at leastr, make the effort to communicate .' Stripetail approached the nearest  armored figure  ' Hail, good spirit. We do not seek to use the lens for selfish reasons, for its powers  or to enhance our own powers. Nay, we seek to use it, to save this world from destruction, from the world racing in towards us . We ask for  but two things. First, that the light be extinguished, briefly, so that we may operate the lens safely. and Secondly, that we are allowed to direct the lens towards the incoming planet. to prevent the collision and to guide it away to a safe orbit.   if you permit it, it should take a mater of about 25-30 minutes to achieve this.  What say you, Good spirit?' Stripetail finished

[Serris]

(Apollo Sanctum, Weyard)

The Exathi spirit regarded Stripetail and his group with what looked like a questioning expression. Although it was hard to tell under its armor.

A few moments of silence passed, broken only by the rushing sound of the intense magical light raining from the sky.

An energized crossbow bolt then flew at the group, narrowly missing Sveta. She growled and rushed forward, delivering a ferocious barrage of punches to the armored figure.

--------------

(Spire of Winter)

Captain Carson was slowly piloting the great starship towards the nearby asteroid belt. Thanks to how close the two planets were, It had taken several hours for Vaalbara and Weyard to line up correctly so that she could fly the starship out of Weyard's gravity well and into open space and not get pulled into orbit around Vaalbara.

[Nick22]

So Much for reasoning" stripetail sighed as a stream of bolts  were fired at him. the bolts vaporized upon impact with Stripetail's shield  giving off bursts of light as they did so. ' We must reach the control panel and operate it. " He Said. Stripetail gazed up at the light streaming from above ' disturum " he roared, and the beam of light began to shift, bend and twist, finally moving away from its normal channel and being concentrated into a beam. Stripetail focused and began to move the beam, slowly, away from the center of the room and towrds  a quartet of spiritits who had  their crossbolts out and were aiming them at the group. Tarrax, for his part was contending with 3 others, who had charged after him. The massive dragon looked down at the soldiers, who appeared to him, as  toy dolls might appear to a child.  Light glowed at the tips of Tarrax's claw, and his teeth were bared, a sight that normally terrorized his foes.

[Serris]

Sveta gasped as the soldier she had pummeled was reduced to a pile of dust. "What is this!?"

Tyrell's sword shrieked and an explosion was seen as he slashed at one of the soldiers. Again, everything all that was left was a pile of dust. Not even the weapons or armor were left.

The soldiers attacking Tarrax didn't seem to react to the fearsome sight of him bearing down on them. Indeed, even though one of them was crushed and disintegrated to dust in his claws, they continued attacking him with their crossbows. It was as if they were programmed to attack and nothing else. Indeed, they didn't even show the faintest signs of self-preservation.

As evidenced by how one of them continued to stand there and try to attack Amiti even after he had hit it with an enormous chunk of ice.

-------------------

(Vaalbara)

The last of the antimatter charges had been placed and wired up.

And not a moment too soon as the temporarily frozen ground the shuttle had used as a landing spot near what was once a popular beach (as evidenced by the remains of what a boardwalk) finally melted into puddle.

The shuttle pilot radioed Captain Carson.

"Captain Carson, antimatter charges are placed and armed. We await your command to detonate them!"

"Copy that. I shall alert the Seer. Captain Carson out."

The shuttle quickly climbed into the atmosphere of Vaalbara which was now starting become turbulent and stormy as it heated up thanks to the immense forces between the two planets.

[Nick22]

These are not the spirits of the Exhalti " stripetail said as a pair of soldiers were incinerated into dust by a well-placed bolt of lightning he had thrown at them. " these are copies, created by Mertavius to delay us. doesnt surprise me at all that he would do this. Mertavius has no respect for mortals whether living or spirits. fortunately there are not many immortals who think like he does. then again, there are not that many immortals, period. "
_
 Tarraxc shrugged off the attacks from the crossbows and disintegrated his foes with a swipe from his enormous claws. ' These are not true spirits, they are frauds.' tarrax intoned. " the Dark Ones doing , most likely. 'Get me to the controls ; Stripetail said to the others. " Then Go, you have done your jobs, and done  them with great honor. Trying to operate the controls will kill anyone who isnt an immortal,  and even though I will survive doing this, It will not come without cost.I will be burned severely.  my skin will peel off, and my whiskers shall ignite, like wicks on a candle. it will drain my powers immensely, such as I have not experienced in nearly my entire life. the only parallel would be my first contest with Mertavius when I was very young. "
 If You think I'm going to leave you master, Think Again. I will stay with you.  My armor will protect me from most of the damage the light will inflict. I will carry you out of here ' Tarrax  said firmly. ' you are loyal Tarrax, and have been so for a million years ' Stripetail said. 'But I will not deny you a fresh start with Sara. 'Master, dont speak as if you are going to your grave. You will endure this as you have all the other tests and trials . Besides a few weeks of rest will do you good, you've been pushing yourself relentlessly the last few weeks. Even immortal Seers need their rest. " tarrax said and  turne to deal with the remaining enemies.

[Serris]

Stripetail's radio buzzed and Captain Carson's voice came through. "Seer. Antimatter charges...placed...ready for your..." Even though the message was distorted and staticky, the fact that the captain could be heard at all in such a high magic area was a testament to how powerful the Spire's radio equipment was. Unfortunately, Stripetail's radio was nowhere near powerful enough to do the same. Unless he boosted it with his own magical capabilities.

Sveta's jaw dropped as she heard what Stripetail was saying. "Seer! Is there no other way? After all, planets are empty. Why risk your life?"

She and Tyrell were crouched behind a pillar to allow the Umbra Gear's shield to recharge.

"Stripetail, you can't be serious!?" Karis exclaimed. She raised her arm and a set of ferocious wind blades tore apart a group of charging "Exathi".

Amiti shook his head. "I understand your desire to save Weyard, but could your group's vast knowledge of technology and engineering prevent you from undertaking such a gruesome task?"

[Nick22]

stripetail heard the staticky message and frowned " My radio is not powerful to send a reply, not from here. " He flipped off the radio. , and waved his paw over his face. " Tuus Porpurtum " He commanded.
_
 an image of Stripetail appeard aboard the shuttle where the group sent to Vaalbara had gathered " activate the charges. Good work to all of you, Get back safely, as quickly as you can.
_ Another image appeared in the Sky in front of Captain Fairchild ' In thirty minutes time, return to the sanctum, and evacuate Amiti, Sveta, Tyrell and Karis. get them safely away. Tarrax will be my transport out of here, once my job is done.
A third image appeared appeared in front of Carson " I received your message,but my radio isnt strong enough to overcome the magical interference. So I'm using an alternate means of communication.  Get as far away from Weynard and Vaalbara as possible I am also informing those on Vaalbara to active the charges"
- no, Stripetail replied to Amiti. ' there is no other way master Amiti . We have 93 minutes before impact. there is no time for any other measures, and operating the Lens yourselves  would kill you.' He sighed then turned to Sveta." I am the only one that can use the Lens and survive the process. I am doing this, so that you have your homes to return to, that you  will retain something of what you had before.  You, as well as the Vaalbarans . You could move to  a new planet, of course but it would not be the same. it would take you ages to recreate what Weynard is, or what Vaalbara is.  Mostly, I am doing this to deny Mertavius a victory, to prove that he cannot act with impunity and that there is someone to  fight him and reverse his actions. Fairchild will be returning in an half hour, to evacuate the 4 of you. Tarrax will carry me out once i am done. this will tax me, as few things ever have. but Do not fret milady. get me close enough to operate it, then go. i will join you back aboard once i am done. "