Gateway (part 4)
Mr Zoat
Dedicated ragequitter
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Late Summer, IC 687
"Shit."
"Prince Diabo, the dragon may have-"
"Shit."
"-an understanding of language and it-"
"Shit."
"-genuinely wants to comply-"
"Shit."
"-with your instructions, but you do need to actually-"
"Shit."
"-express them coherently."
Diabo merely clutches the hastily converted saddle's reins and stares straight ahead as the dragon he's sitting on flaps towards Alnus Hill. As I suspected, he found it far easier to force it to do what he wanted it to than he would have to beat it down, and right now it's got a glowing Orange Lantern sigil shining out of its forehead. We interrupted it in the middle of 'burninating' an elven village, where the locals were ineffectually trying to kill it with what appeared to be longbows. Fortunately for the locals, Diabo drew its attention almost immediately, and now we have a way to make an epic entrance.
"Shit."
If he can regain sufficient control of himself to actually use this ring.
"I can't really see from here, but from the sounds we were hearing earlier I suspect that the people we are flying towards have a large number of weapons which can accurately hit flying targets. If you can't get a hold of yourself, they will shoot you dead. If you want to live, I can only suggest that you grow some testicles."
"Yes, yes I want to live, but this is insane!"
"I know. You beat a dragon in a fight. Who knew you had it in you?"
"I don't-."
"Oh that's right! Me. I did. And while you're not exactly impressing me right now, I have faith that you can handle this."
"R-really?"
"I could have chosen anyone in the Empire. I chose you. Now, can you work with me?"
"What range do their air weapons have?"
"Want to know, and the orange light will show you."
It takes him a moment, but glowing orange reins appear around the dragon's muzzle and pull it into a circling pattern while Diabo's eyes glow orange. Interestingly, I can see what he's showing himself as the ring picks out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and gun emplacements owned by the people who now hold the area around the gate. Looks like… NATO standard equipment… Late twentieth century. High rate of fire explosive-driven kinetics for the most part. They don't appear to have any dedicated anti-air, though that may be because they saw that diving wyverns died perfectly easily to automatic rifles. The flag is… Post World War 2/Pre Great Awakening Japanese, though oddly I'm not seeing anyone from America.
The ring also shows him ranges and arcs of fire, and while he twitches he doesn't let his fear of getting shot distract him. I metaphorically nod approvingly as he bards his mount and armours himself in glowing plates instead.
"What should I do?"
"That depends on a number of factors. Meeting up with the commanders of the Empire's armies will firmly establish your authority with them, and allow you to halt any foolish attacks against the Japanese position. Attacking the Japanese directly will allow you to utterly destroy them. You could then use this ring to shut down the gate, or bury it in a hole. You could even use this ring to mentally dominate the Japanese and learn their secrets."
"That sounds risky."
"I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done here that is entirely without risk. Another option would be to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese. This ring will allow you to understand any language and be understood in any language."
"And they won't attack me?"
"There are no guarantees. But there are ways to indicate that you wish to parley that it would be surprising for them to ignore."
"A.. white flag. We use something similar."
"Though to be honest, establishing yourself as powerful and then attempting to negotiate might be a better idea. Are there any wounded Empire soldiers down there?"
"They-."
And now he sees what heavy machine gun ammunition and canister tank rounds do to people in lamellar armour. Ah… Well, the Empire's army has only just arrived, so those are almost certainly the reserves for the original attack…
"No."
"In that case, I'm going to suggest flying down and landing just ahead of the Imperial army."
"Those are actually.. vassal armies. The Imperial army hasn't arrived yet. Which… Is almost certainly my father's intention."
"They die, he has some spies watching and learns what the Japanese can do without risking any further Empire soldiers and doesn't have to worry about the vassals siding with the Japanese. What a depressingly short term thinker." Hm. "Do you have a personal standard?"
"Yes? I don't.. use it very often…"
"Prince Diabo, you're hesitant. And I understand why. But I'm sorry to say that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to rise to them. To confront them. The only way to stop feeling the constant fear that you feel is to throw yourself into it. If you were now the man you ideally want to be, what would you do?"
He breathes in.
He breathes out.
Then we're diving towards the centre of the battlefield, construct wyvern riders bearing the standards of the Empire and the Imperial family and blowing battle horns. Through his ring-granted sight I see the moment the Japanese soldiers spot us. They're well-disciplined; there's no panic or shouting, just people rapidly talking on their radio. And I see one man… A lieutenant, mouths the words 'raid boss', and I see the tanks and IFVs aim their primary armaments in our direction.
And then we land, the dragon-.
The air in front of us lights up, rifle rounds, depleted uranium anti-armour rounds and heavy machine gun rounds slamming into a construct barrier just in front of us! I see that Diabo has reinforced his own armour. Not to better protect him, but to keep his limbs from trembling as he endures that assault. The wyvern construct escort fall in close by our dragon's sides and are dismissed.
Then Diabo rises off the dragon's saddle, floats over its head and stops just this side of the construct barrier he's using to keep the firepower of the Japanese assault force off him. He stays there for thirty seconds, until an order goes out on the Japanese side and the fire slackens off somewhat. They're still shooting, but it looks like they know that the weapons they're using aren't going to brute force their way through.
Then Diabo lands, creates a construct table and chairs and sits down. Behind him, a construct standard appears with the flags of the Empire, the Imperial family and a third which I assume is his personal device. Next to it, he transmutes a white flag and attaches it to a wooden pole.
As the fire from the Japanese army stops he puts his feet up on the table to wait.
"You were right."
"Oh?"
"Yes. It is very hygienic."
"Shit."
"Prince Diabo, the dragon may have-"
"Shit."
"-an understanding of language and it-"
"Shit."
"-genuinely wants to comply-"
"Shit."
"-with your instructions, but you do need to actually-"
"Shit."
"-express them coherently."
Diabo merely clutches the hastily converted saddle's reins and stares straight ahead as the dragon he's sitting on flaps towards Alnus Hill. As I suspected, he found it far easier to force it to do what he wanted it to than he would have to beat it down, and right now it's got a glowing Orange Lantern sigil shining out of its forehead. We interrupted it in the middle of 'burninating' an elven village, where the locals were ineffectually trying to kill it with what appeared to be longbows. Fortunately for the locals, Diabo drew its attention almost immediately, and now we have a way to make an epic entrance.
"Shit."
If he can regain sufficient control of himself to actually use this ring.
"I can't really see from here, but from the sounds we were hearing earlier I suspect that the people we are flying towards have a large number of weapons which can accurately hit flying targets. If you can't get a hold of yourself, they will shoot you dead. If you want to live, I can only suggest that you grow some testicles."
"Yes, yes I want to live, but this is insane!"
"I know. You beat a dragon in a fight. Who knew you had it in you?"
"I don't-."
"Oh that's right! Me. I did. And while you're not exactly impressing me right now, I have faith that you can handle this."
"R-really?"
"I could have chosen anyone in the Empire. I chose you. Now, can you work with me?"
"What range do their air weapons have?"
"Want to know, and the orange light will show you."
It takes him a moment, but glowing orange reins appear around the dragon's muzzle and pull it into a circling pattern while Diabo's eyes glow orange. Interestingly, I can see what he's showing himself as the ring picks out infantry fighting vehicles, tanks and gun emplacements owned by the people who now hold the area around the gate. Looks like… NATO standard equipment… Late twentieth century. High rate of fire explosive-driven kinetics for the most part. They don't appear to have any dedicated anti-air, though that may be because they saw that diving wyverns died perfectly easily to automatic rifles. The flag is… Post World War 2/Pre Great Awakening Japanese, though oddly I'm not seeing anyone from America.
The ring also shows him ranges and arcs of fire, and while he twitches he doesn't let his fear of getting shot distract him. I metaphorically nod approvingly as he bards his mount and armours himself in glowing plates instead.
"What should I do?"
"That depends on a number of factors. Meeting up with the commanders of the Empire's armies will firmly establish your authority with them, and allow you to halt any foolish attacks against the Japanese position. Attacking the Japanese directly will allow you to utterly destroy them. You could then use this ring to shut down the gate, or bury it in a hole. You could even use this ring to mentally dominate the Japanese and learn their secrets."
"That sounds risky."
"I'm afraid that there is nothing that can be done here that is entirely without risk. Another option would be to attempt to negotiate with the Japanese. This ring will allow you to understand any language and be understood in any language."
"And they won't attack me?"
"There are no guarantees. But there are ways to indicate that you wish to parley that it would be surprising for them to ignore."
"A.. white flag. We use something similar."
"Though to be honest, establishing yourself as powerful and then attempting to negotiate might be a better idea. Are there any wounded Empire soldiers down there?"
"They-."
And now he sees what heavy machine gun ammunition and canister tank rounds do to people in lamellar armour. Ah… Well, the Empire's army has only just arrived, so those are almost certainly the reserves for the original attack…
"No."
"In that case, I'm going to suggest flying down and landing just ahead of the Imperial army."
"Those are actually.. vassal armies. The Imperial army hasn't arrived yet. Which… Is almost certainly my father's intention."
"They die, he has some spies watching and learns what the Japanese can do without risking any further Empire soldiers and doesn't have to worry about the vassals siding with the Japanese. What a depressingly short term thinker." Hm. "Do you have a personal standard?"
"Yes? I don't.. use it very often…"
"Prince Diabo, you're hesitant. And I understand why. But I'm sorry to say that the only way to overcome these obstacles is to rise to them. To confront them. The only way to stop feeling the constant fear that you feel is to throw yourself into it. If you were now the man you ideally want to be, what would you do?"
He breathes in.
He breathes out.
Then we're diving towards the centre of the battlefield, construct wyvern riders bearing the standards of the Empire and the Imperial family and blowing battle horns. Through his ring-granted sight I see the moment the Japanese soldiers spot us. They're well-disciplined; there's no panic or shouting, just people rapidly talking on their radio. And I see one man… A lieutenant, mouths the words 'raid boss', and I see the tanks and IFVs aim their primary armaments in our direction.
And then we land, the dragon-.
The air in front of us lights up, rifle rounds, depleted uranium anti-armour rounds and heavy machine gun rounds slamming into a construct barrier just in front of us! I see that Diabo has reinforced his own armour. Not to better protect him, but to keep his limbs from trembling as he endures that assault. The wyvern construct escort fall in close by our dragon's sides and are dismissed.
Then Diabo rises off the dragon's saddle, floats over its head and stops just this side of the construct barrier he's using to keep the firepower of the Japanese assault force off him. He stays there for thirty seconds, until an order goes out on the Japanese side and the fire slackens off somewhat. They're still shooting, but it looks like they know that the weapons they're using aren't going to brute force their way through.
Then Diabo lands, creates a construct table and chairs and sits down. Behind him, a construct standard appears with the flags of the Empire, the Imperial family and a third which I assume is his personal device. Next to it, he transmutes a white flag and attaches it to a wooden pole.
As the fire from the Japanese army stops he puts his feet up on the table to wait.
"You were right."
"Oh?"
"Yes. It is very hygienic."
Last edited:
No Americans, after all.
