The Planewalkers War

The Core Media Forum
61

Cless and Duran looked at each other for a while, and then put the wireless keyboards down and started going all over the ship, ceasslessly looking for something unusual. After some time, they finally reached the living quarters, and they looked at a particular door.

“Hey… I remember this room!” Cless said.
“Of course!” Duran replied, slapping his own forehead. “We have our armored friend here, the robot, but what about…”
“The Angel!” Cless said.

They looked at the door, and they noticed a sticker saying “No entry beyond this point.” Right next to it was a red one, saying “Warning! Flying Tables!”

“Yeah, this is the place, all right.” Duran said, nodding.
“I don’t get it… Where did she go? That’s what seems wrong… That’s what’s missing.” Cless concluded.

The two decided to call Aeon to find out what was going on.

“Aeon, where is she?” Duran asked.

The nanobot-based being’s voice reached them through one of the many speakers.
“Hmmm… I guess we forgot to tell you. You see, a few weeks ago, we were on the world of Zenkhat, a land inhabited by a group of people who can harness the powers of nature. While we were there, a plague broke out and someone took the chance to steal an ancient artifact. As soon as we managed to stop the plague, the disturbances in Thezaria began. Our Lady wished to investigate, so she insisted that we should get moving right away. Don’t worry, she’ll be back.”

62

Flying tables? Rrright ^^;; Somebody in that story is apparently from Earthbound… or have connections at least…

63

Back to the battlefield on Thezaria…

The stranger had just managed to wipe out almost all of the Bone Dragons, when one of them charged towards him. Even though he was clearly a powerful and skilled warrior, the pyrotechnics he had employed had certainly exausthed him. Before any of the heroes below could do anything, the Black Dragon below took off and smashed the undead beast’s skull with a powerful tail strike.

The warrior wasn’t surprised, but the others had never seen anything like this. Varnak was the first to say what was in everyone’s mind.
“What trickery is this?! Why would a Black Dragon fight against a Necromancer’s beasts?”

The warrior took a deep breath, and the sound he made was deep and unsettling. He raised his hand once again, and this time a golden and black orb of swirling energy burst from it, darting towards the remaining Bone Dragons and annihillating them with a colossal explosion. The Black Dragon approached him and he calmly climbed onto its back. The creature carried him to the ground safely.

Sakura didn’t look surprised to see this warrior, but the Black Dragon’s presence was clearly putting her on edge. Her companions, on the other hand, didn’t know who they were dealing with, and as such they were prepared for anything.

Elysium was known for his patience and prudence, but in this moment, he still didn’t know whose side the stranger was on. He ignited his energy blade once again and stepped forward, moving its tip dangerously close to the warrior’s neck.
“Who are you, and what are you doing here? And what’s the deal with the Vader suit anyway?” he asked with a steely stare.

The warrior’s eyes glittered with amusement, and then he noticed the ring on the Templar’s finger. Without a word, he quickly reached for his belt and pulled out an odd metallic cylinder. Somehow, he moved so quickly, nobody could stop him.
He held the strange object tightly, and suddenly a blue energy blade erupted from its upper end with a strange electric noise. He quickly used it to push Elysium’s blade away, before staring at his eyes.
“I believe I’ve heard of you… The brightest mind in the entire Ragnarok Force, I presume.” he said with a deep voice.

Helga readied her spear, but Sakura decided to intervene.
“Put your weapons away, all of you. Darth, I think this little comedy should end. I doubt you’ve come here just to see the sights.” she said, looking at the stranger.

He laughed softly and deactivated the blade.
“Ah, it’s good to see you too. But you really shouldn’t be so serious all the time, Sakura. As my other self would say, chill out.” he replied, in a tone that sounded strangely friendly.

Elysium wasn’t understanding a thing.
“OK… Would someone please explain what’s going on in here?” he asked, deactivating his own weapon.

“Ah, if you remember, during the war against Zable Fahr, you were in your Battlecruiser, working on Marcus Skyshroud’s spaceship. Didn’t you receive any report from the Chronos Tribe?”
the warrior asked.

Elysium paused for a moment, thinking.
“I did hear about someone leading a Zerg swarm… wearing a strange black armor… Going by the name of… Darth Manus.”

The stranger’s eyes glittered as he heard that name. He reached for a pocket in his armor and pulled something from it… A golden ring, marked with a strange seal, a hand with a cross on its palm, with a sun symbol behind.

“What the…?!” Arche said, incredulous.
“You’re one of them too?!” Angela added.

“Indeed. I am also known by a less flattering, yet suitable name… The Fallen Guardian. For some time, I was indeed one of them, but I allowed my rage to blind me. Zable Fahr certainly knew how to take advantage of it. When I finally managed to break free from his grip, I was too late to stop Marcus Skyshroud from hurling his Silver Sparrow against the beast… It should have been me.” he replied, disgusted with himself.

Sakura approached him and placed her hand on his head.
“Nobody blames you… We all know what happened. Not even your other self harbors any hatred towards you.”

“Still… Zable Fahr detached me from the timeline, so I’d never be undone, even if my other self’s future was changed. Now, I am a Guardian without a realm. Knowing that my other self didn’t become me is a small comfort, but…” he said, saddened.

Elysium straightned his glasses.
“I believe I’ve heard this… but I was distracted with my inventions… My apologies, fellow Guardian. You’ve been through much.” he humbly said.

Sakura opened her backpack and pulled out a carefully wrapped package, handing it to the Fallen Guardian.
“Jim asked me to give you this.”

He looked at her for a while, before opening it. Inside he found a futuristic-looking gun.
“I remember this… My other self’s… my particle gun… Oh yeah! I could recognize it anywhere…” he said, deeply touched.

“See? After all, you are him. He has forgiven you long ago. You can return to Mar Sara and see it for yourself.”

64

Meanwhile…

Magus left the strange cabinet and headed towards the ship’s library. It was a large chamber, filled with thousands of bookcases, and it also had several computers and curious devices. He took a seat and grabbed a particularly large tome.
“Aeon, could you lock the door so I won’t be interrupted?” he asked.

“Certainly.”

A few seconds later, a whirring sound was heard, and the chamber was tightly sealed.

Around that time, a transmission reached the Guardian. An almost bald man in his late thirties appeared on the screen, wearing a teal metallic armor.

“Jim Raynor…” the Guardian said, recognizing him.

65

Well, You certainly got ahead of me Manus. ^^;; But I can’t read right now, glasses broken so… I’m half blind and headache building up. I’ll read later. Sorry. :too bad;

66

Raynor looked very pleased with something.
“Hey dude, what’s up?” he asked.

“Well, the usual… Investigating disturbances, bashing the occasional mad tyrant wannabe… I’m beginning to feel like one of the X-COM.” the Guardian replied, laughing softly. “So, how are things over there?”

“Nice. Everything’s going smoothly. In fact, things are so peaceful around here, I’m almost getting bored. Takes a while to get used to it, I suppose. Have you found anything interesting over there?”

The Guardian smiled under his armor, as he remembered the way Magus started throwing curses when he was forced to fire a cannon in his castle just to wake him up. He could still hear him saying “Demons of the Abyss! What in blazes is going on…?! … Oh, it’s you. I thought it was that amphibian again.”
He sighed, laughed a bit more and replied.
“Well, I’m on my way to join a team that was investigating a few disturbances in the mana flow, and I feel there should be plenty of fights ahead. I can also feel that a certain someone has decided to join the party.”

“Do you mean…?” Raynor asked, amused.

“Indeed. It looks like our friend Darth has decided to get some fun. I guess he didn’t lose that part of the original personality.”

“You got that right. If I could sneak out of here, I’d do the same.”

67

While Raynor complained about the boredom of sitting in an office taking care of massive paperwork and Darth explained where he had found a Black Dragon willing to help, a cloaked figure was running through the jungle of a distant world.
The mysterious being made a tremendous leap, landing right in the middle of a group of thugs. These hideous-looking men were apparently trying to escape with a plated suitcase. They were muscled brutes, wearing grotesque blood red leather suits. Some of them were carrying guns, a few uzis, while the one who seemed to be the leader had a particularly large machine gun.
Startled by the unexpected appearance, they reached for their weapons. The being looked at them, fearless and defiant, before speaking with a serene feminine voice.
“Return the artifact, and the Order of Light will take that into consideration. This is your only chance.”

They laughed as they realized they were being threatened by a girl, and one of them drew his gun.
“I’ve got a better idea. You come with us, and we won’t spread your guts all over the place.” he said with arrogance and malice.

“I’d like to see you try.” She replied in a steely tone.

The thug opened fire, and before he realized what was going on, a blue and golden lightning jolt struck him everywhere at the same time, sending him to the ground, gasping and bleeding.

The girl appeared on a branch, and the hood on her outfit was now off, revealing her face. She looked like something from a dream. Her big blue eyes were glittering with the sun, her golden hair was smooth and shiny. Her face was flawless, like a painting from one of the ancient masters, and she looked incredibly cute, but also wise, and in this moment, she was frowning in anger, and she looked absolutely terrifying. Her expression was capable of making anyone think of the wrathful goddesses of legend.

68

The thugs were terrified, but lacked the intelligence to give up. Instead, they foolishly opened fire, thinking they could still get away. However, the girl’s eyes started glowing with a blue light, and the bullets were disintegrated in mid-air. She then stared at them, even more furious. Then, she streched her arms and pulled a glittering sword from inside her outfit. Suddenly, a pair of white wings appeared on her back, bursting through the blue cloth. Then they knew they were in for the beating of their lives.

69

Sheez, when will the thugs of the world realize that you shouldn’t attack mysterious girls, especially not with silly weapons like shotguns…

70

Not just mysterious girls, actually. Any being wearing a cloak or a hooded robe tends to get in similar situations.
Other weapons used in such silly situations include katanas, swords, machine guns and even rocket launchers once in a while. :stuck_out_tongue:
turns the tape recorder off

Gotta be careful. I could go on like this for hours before passing out from exausthion. ^^;

71

After a scene of rare violence (Yeah, right! Wrong fic, kids! :P), a group of armored men dashed in, only to find the thugs tied to a tree, unconscious and full of bruises. The girl was already gone, soaring through the skies with the plated briefcase. She opened it and examined its contents, finding what appeared to be a small wooden totem with golden incrustations.
“Perfect. The artifact is here. Now to return it to where it belongs.”

One of the men turned to the others.
“What the…?! Hey, it looks like someone made the arrest for us.”

“You’re new here, right?” one of the others asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“This isn’t exactly uncommon these days. When we get back to the fortress, you should ask Sir Maximus about this kind of situation. Some people say we’re getting some help from above.”

72

The winged girl landed in the middle of a jungle village, where an old man was waiting. He was tall and thin, his skin darkened by the sun, and he was wearing astrange suit that seemed to be made of woven leaves. Strange paintings covered his chest and arms, and his gray hair was stirred by the wind raised by her landing.

The elder looked at the apparition naturally, as if he was used to seeing this kind of thing everyday.

“Ehl-Ramkhar Shothal, messenger of the heavens.” he said with a small bow.

The girl opened the briefcase and held the artifact forward.
“May radiance guide you, elder.” she replied, handing it over to him.

The man smiled, relieved.
“Our ancestors may now rest in peace, thanks to you.”

“It was an honor to be of assistance. I simply hate grave robbers and defilers.”

73

The girl vanished from sight, leaving a warm radiance in the air for a few moments. In an instant, she crossed the endless void and reached the spaceship, precisely when Cless and Duran had decided to raid the kitchen.

The two were feeling hungry after hours just running around and fiddling with a few experimental devices, so they dropped their battle gear in the Leisure Room and dashed off.
Two minutes later, they were opening a large door with an unmistakable mark, and before them a large chamber appeared.
Cless grabbed a pair of green apples, while Duran decided to enjoy a special juice. He walked towards one of the matter converters and typed his request on a small keyboard. A few seconds later, he was sipping a great mix of all known fruits.
They took a pair of seats and relaxed.

Cless closed his eyes and started thinking about Mint and wondering what she could be up to. The juice was sweet and refreshing, and it brought back so many pleasant memories…

Magus was still around an old tome, and he was definitely not in the mood to talk. He left the library for just a while, to get some cherry-flavored tea.

He entered the kitchen a few minutes after the other two, and Duran noticed the beverage he was preparing.
“Hey Magus, what’s up? Did the doctor tell you to cut down on blood?”

Magus knew he was just trying to raise a ruckus and get a good laugh, so he just sighed and threw a bored reply.
“Actually, no, but you should get some hormone inhibitors. I could hardly sleep last night with you screaming as if Angela was jumping you.” He calmly said, sipping some tea.

Cless snickered, and waited to see what Duran would say to that. He didn’t have to wait long.

“At least I don’t go to sleep with an oversized dentist’s hook.”

“No, you go to sleep with a sword, perhaps to make up for something else you’re lacking.”

Cless grabbed a packet of microwave popcorn and started preparing it.

“Who needs a movie with these two around?” he thought, snickering.

74

“I honestly don’t know why we have to haul you around. All you ever do is mumble, grumble and make bad jokes.” Duran shot.

“Well, at least I didn’t make YOU, and thank the heavens for that.” Magus retorted.

“Hey! Leave my family out of this!” Duran yelled, reaching for a few toasts and throwing them at the Wizard’s face. Magus just turned them into a pile of ashes in mid-air.

“I don’t know why we have to carry you around anyway. Every universe is chock full of Paladins, and I’m sure they’re at least twice as competent as you. I’d rather have to put up with that annoying Sir whatshisname any day.”

Cless laughed at the scene, while enjoying the popcorn. Magus looked at him.

“Having fun? That reminds me, I think you should be more careful as to where you swing your toys and also where you leave them.”

“What do you mean?” Cless asked, puzzled.

“I mean that even yesterday you left the Eternal Sword in the middle of a couch’s pillows, and when I decided to take a seat there I was suddenly dropped into Ayla’s hut, where she happened to be BATHING! I had enough of this kind of incident last time, when a few mischievous kids decided to play Peeping Tom.” he said, sending a stare at Duran that could melt rock.

“So you found out about that…” Duran sighed.

“You’re very lucky Lise didn’t pin your tongue to a tree and use you as a punching bag.”

“Ah, memories…” Duran said, in a mocking innocent tone.

“Not to mention that I had to put up with silly pranks all the way between Sikharon and Guardia. Just WHO stuck a pair of plastic fangs in my mouth when I was asleep… and GLUED them?!”

Cless raised an eyebrow. He could have sworn he had seen little kids behaving better than them. Still, he remembered that time when he replaced the liquid soap in one of the bathrooms with glue, and what had happened to Hawk when he tried to wash his hands… and then he laughed out loud. But then he started thinking.

“Hey, wait a minute! The Eternal Sword doesn’t just go off. It had to be activated. But who could have been toying with it?”

A large explosion was heard, and they rushed to the research facilities a deck below. There they found Lucca, covered in ash and a room that looked as if someone had detonated a nuke inside. She wiped her glasses and coughed, trying to get away until the cleaning systems went off.

“What happened this time?” Magus asked, with a tone of amusement in his voice.

75

Darth was tired. Even though he looked fearsome in his black Vader-like suit, the others could see it. He sat down in the grass and searched his pockets.

The Black Dragon was still getting suspicious looks from everyone, especially Sakura and Varnak. Finally, after looking at Darth for a while, he decided to speak. His voice was strong, but somewhat tortured.

“You question my actions, even though I’ve risked so much by coming here… You have no idea how it’s like, being an outcast among your own kin.” he said, staring straight at Varnak.

“If this Guardian trusts you so much, then so be it. However, we deserve an explanation.” the Golden Dragon replied tensely.

The beast sighed and looked around, making sure he had everyone’s attention. Hesitating only for a moment, he spoke again.
“In a remote world lies a mysterious place known as the Valley of Wonders. Although I could go on about its history for ages, we have little time for that. After aeons of turmoil, that world was invaded by beasts known as the Shadow Demons. They were a ravenous pack of insect-like beasts that devoured everything in their path. An ancient race known as the Syrons had been overwhelmed and their world taken over. They ended up as slaves, expendable fodder. However, some of them managed to escape this fate and seek aid. This world that was being invaded was already divided, with an open war raging between the ancient races and an empire led by a hypocrite of a Human, who wished to eradicate all magic except his own. Several powerful Wizards gathered and grew in strength until they toppled that empire. In the meantime, one of their kind who was imprisoned in the Shadow World led them to the Syron. The Demons eventually launched their final offensive, but the Syron were determined never to be slaves again. The captive Wizard, who was the most powerful of his kind, was unbound and joined the battle. His companions fell around him, but he vanquished the Demons and their mastermind, the All-Devourer.”

“Yes, I know of that war. Even in my sleep I could feel the massive Mana clashes and the dimensional breaches.” Varnak interrupted “And then…?”

“The ancient races allowed the Humans to live and thrive, and all seemed to be well. But one day, a mad apprentice murdered his master and usurped his title of Wizard and his powers. Seeking to control the Mana flow and make himself invulnerable, he started commiting random acts of unspeakable violence. However, he made the mistake of torching the hometown of a particular human, an apprentice of the Archons called Keranthos. After years of training in the sphere of Life, he returned home, only to gaze at the devastation. To cut a long story short, he chased the Wizard like a bloodhound, from one continent to another, until he finally destroyed the maniac in the Valley of Wonders.”

76

The creature had a strange look on its face, as if lost in thoughts. After a while, it continued the tale.
“That was when I came into the scene. My kind isn’t exactly the most popular around, and its reputation is not undeserved. One day, a pack of them thought it would be fun to raze a farmland and burn it to the ground. Unfortunately for them, they ran into Keranthos, and got blasted with a barrage of holy spells before they knew what hit them. When they returned to their lair, they became the laughing stock of the entire clan.” he said with a grin “Served them right… Anyway, around that time I was already pretty sick of my clan. First they had degenered into sadistic jerks, and I couldn’t get any peace because the only thing they thought about was getting some victims. Then, one of the members of the Wizards’ Circle, a vile bastard by the name of Tempest, took control of the Draconians. The idiots in my clan then betrayed all dragonkind by becoming his willing tools , and that was something I could never tolerate. They turned on me and threw me out, leaving me to die in a miserable hole where they kept the bones of their victims in a filthy pile. I couldn’t move, my wings were broken, and I was expecting it all to end. After days of agony, I heard footsteps. Someone was sneaking into the den through the pit, probably some Knight in search of glory. I expected no mercy from their kind, but just that time, I was lucky. It was Keranthos. Even though he hated the Black Dragons for their misdeeds, he didn’t have the heart to strike me down. To my amazement, he restored my strength and released me, before going into the den and fighting those treacherous fools. I could hear the screams and the entire mountain would sometimes flash red with the flames within. It was indeed a terrible battle. Since that Human had so kindly saved me, I thought about returning the favor and having my revenge at the same time. He was fast. By the time I got there, only a handful of them remained. I had the satisfaction of taking them on, one by one. In the middle of the battle, Keranthos did something… I can’t quite explain it… I felt a rush of strength and a strange sensation in my heart. I started seeing all the victims of my clan in my mind, screaming in endless agony. I stopped thinking about revenge, and instead, I found out that I was actually fighting for them. I don’t know what happened to me.”

77

Back to the ship…

Magus looked at the colossal mess and tried to guess what had just happened.
“Still trying to make that portable Gate generator work, Lucca?”

Lucca wiped her face and sighed.
“Yes, but something’s still missing… I just can’t seem to stabilize this thing. Well, back to the drawing board.” she said, before walking towards the library.

Cless and Duran looked at the trashed room, and then at each other.
“Remind me never to get on her bad side. If she can do this with a simple experiment, then what would happen if it was on purpose?” Duran said.
“Sure…” Cless replied.

Magus mentally recounted the number of times Lucca’s project had exploded on her face. She seemed almost obsessed with the idea, probably because the Epoch wouldn’t be enough to transport a larger group in case of emergency. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn’t go anywhere near the prototypes without a good solid blast protection helmet.

The nanobot system was extremely efficient, cleaning the entire room and repairing all the damage in a matter of seconds. Cless decided to take a look at the plants in the greenhouse, while Duran wanted to find something to do, so he decided to grab a few comics.

As for the Guardian, he looked at the scene, yawned and dragged himself to his room. He was about to fall asleep since the last few days had been very tiresome, and his late night reading habits weren’t exactly helping.

78

While all these events took place, someone was keenly watching them from afar, in the depths of the End of Time. Somewhere in infinity, a massive space platform floated over the timestream. It was covered with strange towers of a maddening height, smaller oval buildings with tiny windows and larger domes, all of them fashioned from a combination of stange gray, golden and blue metals, as well as unusual crystals. In the largest of all domes, precisely at the center, two Protoss warriors stood vigilant, wearing odd silver and blue armors, much different from the commonly seen kind. These suits made their wearers look even more mysterious. Their large eyes were shining with a blue light, their thin and pale forms looked strangely connected to this place, as if they belonged there.
Other Protoss warriors were all over the place, but they were not alone. Smaller gray creatures with large heads and eyes and small noses were also around, some of them operating strange devices while the others walked into the buildings with a tired look on their faces.
Strangely enough, a few human-like creatures were also around, but some of them had unusually small noses, and their eyes had the size seen in the gray creatures.
One of the grays and one of the strange hybrids walked together to the largest dome. The guards at the door were already expecting them, so they merely sent a mental command, and a round entrance opened with a spiraling motion.
The interior was large, with many corridors. An eerie golden light illuminated the place, and countless consoles, screens and strange devices of mysterious origin and use were all over the place. The floor, ceiling and walls were made of a strange gray metal-like substance. More guards were inside, along with grays and hybrids, who were operating the devices. The two beings walked through a maze of corridors, opening several doors, until they reached a large door, at the center of the dome. The guards there checked their bioreadings, and then scanned the small blue cards the two presented. After double-checking everything and sending a telepathic call for a final confirmation, they opened the massive door, allowing them to enter the chamber.
The room was dark, filled with screens. A large chair was in the middle, right in front of a strange computer. The machine was made of the same material as the building itself, and it was massive, spreading in a half-moon shape to the sides of the chair, covered with keyboards, touchpads and all kinds of devices.
A tall and well-built figure was sitting at the chair, wearing a silver and blue suit. Darkness concealed its face and nature. Noticing their arrival, the being made a gesture, and they approached.
The gray was the first to speak, with a frail voice.
“Lord Kronox, everything is going as foreseen. The timeline is progressing as it was meant to.”

The being replied, with a human voice.
“Excellent. Keep monitoring the timeline for disturbances. We must safeguard it, if we are to assure the future for all those under our care.”

The hybrid moved closer and whispered.
“What of the… the matter we discussed, sir? Should we intervene?”

The being replied with an unmistakably sad tone.
“No… Unfortunately for him, there are some things one has to endure alone… It pains me too, but we cannot risk interfering. The slightest mistake, and the timeline will be disrupted. However… Let’s see now…” it said, while requesting information from the computer “Schedule me a trip to Extropia… six months from now. Although I cannot interfere for now, I intend to help my friend as soon as the safety margin is out of the way.”

79

Darth finally found what he was looking for, and pulled a small device from his pocket. It was gray and had a small rectangular shape, with a square screen and a few buttons on the side.
He pushed a few buttons, and a map of the surrounding area appeared. Their presence was signaled by glowing dots, indicating the energy readings. He then frowned as he saw another dot moving to the south.

“Sakhrat, I’m afraid your tale will have to wait. We have a necrophile to catch. It looks like he’s scouting the continent, trying to see if more of his kind have already arrived.”

The Black Dragon sighed.
“Well, all in due time. We must not lose track of our mission.” the beast replied, before spreading its wings and taking off.

The others were quick to follow, as Kyrenthal climbed onto Varnak’s back. The Golden Dragon decided to carry everyone else in order to move out as soon as possible.

Arche looked at the creature’s massive form.
“Are you sure he won’t bite?” she asked.

Kyrenthal smiled.
“If you behave, he’ll be as sweet as a kitten.”

Arche jumped onto the Dragon’s back and held on tightly. Angela, Sakura, Helga and Elysium followed, admiring this being’s majestic appearance.

80

The group flew over the large continent, soaring past a few cities and fields, until it reached a large and jagged mountain chain. Night was drawing close, and the sun’s orange glow, far to the west, was now rather faint. The clouds were shining in purple tones and a peaceful silence took over.

Darth took another look at his device, and he saw how it picked up a strange energy signature within the mountain.
“Looks like the pyromaniac has holed himself in a cave. Well, since his den must be close, we should decide what to do next. Elsydeon, it’s your turn to call the shots.”

“Well” he replied “I suppose he can’t go anywhere undetected, so we can take the time to examine the surrounding area. What do you think, Kyrenthal?”

The Mage streched his arms and looked around.
“Indeed. Varnak, I think we can land right here.”

The two Dragons descended very carefully, landing under the branches of a massive tree that stood nearby. A large rock was now between them and the mountain, a few steps away.
“This location is very convenient. This should provide some cover while we plan our next steps.” Sakura said.

As soon as Varnak landed, she jumped to the ground, followed by Angela. Darth and Elysium started going through their pockets and retrieved two small gray devices that looked like a mix between a mobile phone and a lightsaber hilt. They pushed a few buttons and pointed them at an empty spot right next to the massive tree. Then, a pair of small beams struck the air, and within a few seconds the others were looking at two shelters, made of a green and gray material. They resembled igloos, but looked sturdier and more welcoming, and had small plated doors.

Helga looked at them for some time and then realized how tired she was feeling. She looked behind her and saw Arche sleeping on Varnak’s back.
“Maybe we should follow her example for the time being.” Angela said. “How far did we go today?”

“I’m not sure.” Sakura replied “Hmmm… So, Elysium… How about giving us the details on those things?” she said, ponting at the shelters.

“Well, they’re made of a mix between flexiplast and nanofabrics. Each of them is self-contained, with an orichalcum-powered energy generator and a small matter converter in order to obtain supplies. They’re fitted with air purifiers, fire extinguishers and medical supplies for emergencies. Each of these contains four special sleeping bags. As for the door, it’s reinforced and it can be locked with a small mental command. Privacy, comfort and convenience, thanks to the Extropian scientists and our research.”

Kyrenthal and Angela lifted Arche very gently in order to avoid waking her up and took her to one of the sleeping bags. Everyone else sat down, resting after the eventful day they had been through.