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Hornets Briefing room, Clan world, one week after events of chapter 7

Mike stood with his back to the large observation window, his head down and hands on the large table that dominated the room and looked over the mission brief one last time. It was a simple enough mission being that they were to try and make contact with the Gryphons and Hippogryphs on the Equines behalf to try and forge an alliance, only then could the neutralise the Avian clan. The area the crew were going to was a section of the northern mountain range known as the Gauntlet; from the reports the Equines could give them it was a narrow mountain pass dotted caves and ridges that the clan could use to their advantage, other reports indicated that the Hybrid clan as they called them had access to a series of aircraft called Talons which had both the capacity to carry troops and rain down fire from above.

The sound of the door caught his attention, looking up he spotted Night-Flash walk through into the room and smiled as he noticed the alien device on his left wrist. "Good to see you up and about, how's the B.A.N.D. feeling?" he asked as the colt walked up and took a seat at the table.

"It's ok, just need to get use to wearing it I guess" he replied and held up his wrist, "the A.I. is very helpful by the way, I have never seen anything like it in my life...well until I saw Angel".

"Well I aim to please" a sing song voice said from the Equines B.A.N.D., there was a flash of light as a glowing orb appeared to Night-Flash's left forming into a female unicorn with golden wings and white fur. Unlike Angel, Night-Flash's A.I. avatar wore a set of glowing silver plate armor making her look like a paladin, "after all, I do what I can to help the wearer adjust to his new role".

"Well I'm glad you're here Sunburst, otherwise I would be panicking right now" Night-Flash replied as he walked up next to Mike, he looked at the text on the small hollow screen in front of the human with a thoughtful look on his face, "is that the mission brief?" he asked inquisitively.

"Yep, just going over it one last time before we leave, as far as I can see there are several ways this mission can go. One, we succeed and get their full support, two, we have to give them proof that the Avians are bad news and should be stopped, three, we have to earn their trust somehow and four, they have allied with the Avians and thus we unleash the full capabilities of the ships new forward batteries."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that" the colt replied as he brought up a three dimensional image of the Gauntlet "so you and I are to land here then make our way up the Gauntlet" he pondered for a moment before turning to Mike "what did Marcie mean when she said land?"

"The armor we wear is capable of constructing anything we need; Angel found a set of schematics for a jet pack in the temples database and has loaded them into the machine that manufactures the Nanites our armor uses" Mike explained with a grin "similar to the heavy weapon I used to scrap that Mech"

"Ok, now I've definitely been taught a new thing" the young equine commented, he was about to add to it when Marcie's voice broke over the ships internal comms.

"All hands, report to the shuttle bay, Hayley has discovered something interesting" she said before the comm went silent.

"Well best not to keep them waiting" Mike said as he shut down the terminal, with a nod Night -Flash followed the human to their intended destination, it took them a few minutes to find a nearby lift that would take them to the Hornets on-board hanger but they managed to get there before most of the other crew. The bay was big enough to house a small squadron of fighters, four shuttles and two drop ships however due to the ship being converted to a blockade running cargo ship most of the areas were taken up by extra crates; in the centre of the room was Hayley standing next to the wreckage of a Mech. She looked up at the two men and gave them a wave, Mike returned the gesture and walked over to a stack of what could only be described as an industrial sized V8 engine blocks where Galadriana sat looking down in the dumps, she hadn't been the same since the incident with the Avian infiltrators but she was slowly recovering.

"Hey, how are you doing today?" he said as he reached up and gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek "you seem to be looking better" he was rewarded with a warm smile and a playful lick.

"I feel better, thankyou" her smile turned to a frown as she jumped down and approached him, "I'm just disturbed at what Hayley found when she analysed that wreck over there" Mike nodded before the two walked over to the wreck.

It didn't take long for the rest of the crew to arrive; each member of the crew filed in then stood in a semicircle around the wreckage. As he looked around at the faces of the crew he got a surprise to see two of the Imperial defectors walk up, 'ok this is new' he thought to himself before turning to Hayley giving her his full attention.

"Ok now, as you know we encountered one of the avian Mechs not too long ago, but thanks to Mike being a bit too "trigger happy" it was reduced to slag" she gave a glare of annoyance in his direction "so we went out Mech hunting and bagged this beauty, after looking over the wreck with a fine tooth comb I came across something disturbing". She kicked the wreck and the grubby form of Ash popped out of what was left of the cockpit holding a piece of armor plating, the Mouse quickly placed the piece on the floor as Hayley pulled out her side arm and continued, "looks like an ordinary piece of armor right? Well let's apply a bit of laser blasting" the Lioness fired a quick shot at the metal plate and to everyone's astonishment the bolt was absorbed as if the plate was a sponge.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Andrew Marcus burst out; the former captain of the Leviathan that was destroyed over earth had decided to make the trip to rebel space to personally hand over information he had obtained.

"Yes it is, at first I didn't believe it myself but after a bit more searching I came across this" she pulled out another panel, a panel showing the crest of the Avians peeled away revealing the Human Imperium insignia.

"So an Imperial transport carrying Ranger class Mechs crashed on this world and the Avians have learned to fix and pilot them, is that what you're implying?" Phil asked scratching his chin.

"I can't say for sure, for all we know there could be a crashed transport or there is more to it" Hayley replied "I'm sending up a recon drone to investigate the Avian clan within the hour, if things go well we'll have a definitive answer then."

"Good work Hayley, make sure the drone has a cloaking device installed" Marcie said with a smile, she turned to the rest of the crew "well what are you all standing around for, we have a mission to complete" with that the crew began to file out, only Ash, Hayley and Night-Flash were left.

Hayley looked over at the Equine and smiled thinking up several dirty thoughts but pushed them aside when she heard Ash begin to access the ships drone manifest, it didn't take the Mouse long to choose a drone then rope Night-Flash into manufacturing a cloaking unit using his B.A.N.D.'s Nano Forge. Once the device was complete Ash and Hayley quickly installed it into the drone and began diagnostics, when she turned around Night-Flash had left the room 'damn, he's like one of those Ninja people Phil keeps talking about' she thought before helping Ash set the drone up for launch.

The Gauntlet, hours later

Night-Flash was on edge as he followed Mike along the rocky canyon, his head darted from left to right as he kept an eye out not only for Hybrid but also for dangerous animals that used the many caves of the Gauntlet as their lairs or ambush points. Mike on the other hand was running a sweep using his armors sensors making sure that if something was going to jump them they had fair warning, the two hadn't gotten far down the pass when Mike threw up his clenched fist making the stop immediately hand signal.

The young colt activated his comms "Mike, is everything alright?" he asked, there was a small burst of static before Mike replied

"We have company, closing from the east and at high speed by the looks of it" he replied transmitting a feed from his sensor readout to the Equines HUD.

As Night-Flash watched the readout he heard a sound that shook him to the core, turning off the feed he keyed the comms once more "we have to get to cover, now!" he said as he removed his staff weapon from his back before proceeding to activate it.

There was a loud roar that got Mikes attention, to him the sound was like the roar that the dragons made in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It didn't take long for the human to see what had made the strange sound, the creature was huge, so huge it would have easily made him look like a side dish to whatever its main prey was, as it landed in front of the two armored figures Mike realised what it was. The creature was what the Equines called a Dread-Wing a pterodactyl like creature that looked like a cross between a Great Leonopteryx from the move Avatar, Alduin from Skyrim and a Chaos Heldrake from Warhammer 40,000, taking a closer look at the beast he noticed that it was decked out in nicely polished ornate battle armor and an equally fancy bridle and halter was attached to its head.

The creature lowered its immense frame toward the ground revealing a large Gryphon morph siting defiantly in a saddle, he wore a set of armor that Mike figured to be indicative of a high ranking military officer. The Gryphons helmet retracted revealing the head of a bald eagle that had seen much in the way of combat, its face was a mosaic of scars and gashes that hadn't healed completely. A devilish grin crept across its face as it activated what looked to be a microphone head set, "Talons 6 and 12, I have a visual on the intruders, take up defensive positions at my location and standby" it said, moments later two sleek looking craft flew in and began to take up position behind the Gryphon at a height that would allow them to gain the advantage if things turned sour.

Mike knew this was the time to bring out diplomacy so he retracted his own helmet and walked slowly towards the Gryphon with his arms up showing him he was unarmed. "My name is Mike Hamilton, I am a human form the planet Earth, and I come here seeking to end hostilities between your clan and the Equine clan." Mike said making sure that he kept calm and collected.

The Gryphon just smiled back as he dismounted and walked toward the two him and Night-Flash, "Tell your companion to lower his weapon and show his face, then we'll see if you truly mean to stop the conflict" he said with a chuckle knowing very well the two were out matched.

Mike turned and nodded at Night-Flash giving him instructions without even talking. For a time he was reluctant to comply but he eventually gave out and followed what he was told to do, after all it was all for diplomacy. When his face was fully revealed the Gryphon gave out a chuckle before shaking his head, obviously he thought that this was a joke of some kind and a twinge of pain and anger hit a nerve deep down inside.

"so the great clan chief of the Equines has sent his son on a diplomatic mission, how cute" the Gryphon said before looking back to Mike "I am Nexrig, commander of the Hybrid clan guard, I will ask you to accompany us back to our Citadel so we can talk, there have been some events you should be aware of".

With a nod of agreement the two waited for Nexrig to mount up and allow one of the Talons to land, once the machine was on the ground the two were escorted to the craft by armed guards and seated down in two of the several free seats in its troop's bay. It wasn't long before the aircraft was airborne and headed for the Hybrid Clan Citadel.

Hybrid Clan Citadel several minutes later.

The Citadel was huge, a massive spire stretching out of the snow-capped mountains like a giant obsidian spear being plunged into the planets crust. Around the outside Mike could see small landing pads teeming with activity as Talon attack craft prepared for take-off or were coming in for a landing, as the Talon he and Night-Flash were on climbed higher he spotted what looked to be a large gathering of people toward the top of the tower. Upon closer inspection he noticed that the top of the tower was a large flat surface spanning the entire circumference, the Talon slowly veered to one side as its course changed following a flight path toward what could only be described as a VIP landing zone, the small pad sat jutting out from the central balcony platform connected by a long bridge that on closer inspection had very little in the way of guard railing.

"Look there, that must be the chief talking to Nexrig" Night-Flash said pointing out a lone figure standing in front of the main congregation of people talking to the armored form of the Captain of the guard, no sooner the talon touched down on the platform Mike and Night-Flash were ushered out of the aircraft and escorted to Nexrig and the Hybrid chieftain.

When Nexrig spotted the two he side stepped to allow the chief to approach them, he was a young Hippogryph possibly the equivalent of a teenager with brown with white markings like lightning streaking over the parts of his body that were visible. He wore a set of flowing robes that looked like the kind a mage would use in a role playing game such as Skyrim, in his hand he held a staff most likely the symbol of office for the clan, the young Hippogryph sauntered over as if full of pride then looked Mike directly in the eye. Night-Flash gave a sigh and shook his head 'the arrogance of the Hippogryph' he thought knowing that the young ones were so full of themselves, seeing one in a place of power was a sign that something was not right but he couldn't put a finger on it.

"So you're the human, interesting, and it looks like I'm in the presence of nobility too, nice to meet you young Equine" he said giving them a small nod, "I am Lorquon acting chief of the Hybrid, I know you wish to form an alliance to stop the Avian attacks on both our clans but as you know we are not a trusting people".

"So how can we gain your trust?" Mike asked "we are willing to do any trial to show you we mean to not backstab you", at this point Mike's enhanced vision spotted a small grin creep across the Lorquon's beak and the hint of a fiendish glimmer in his eye, he opened his mental connection with Gal back on the Hornet "I think this guy is hiding something".

"Same here my sexy human super soldier, this guy is shiftier than a rat morph" she replied, "I'll let Marcie know where we stand, she might want in on this" and with that she closed the thought link leaving him with a small shiver heading down his spine and a few dirty images of what she was going to do with him when he got back 'damn I love that woman' he thought before snapping back to reality.

"Well if you truly wish to earn our trust, there is a cave with a monstrous creature living inside. It has claimed many of our best warriors and will keep doing so if it's not destroyed, go to the cave and slay this creature, bring me back its fangs as proof and we will discuss the alliance further" Lorquon said then turned and walked back to the large congregation of people.

"I will guide you to the cave, it's not far from the Citadel" Nexrig said with a concerned look on his face, "besides I believe he is up to no good, ever since our chief went missing he has let parts of our territory fall into the hands of the Avians and hasn't made plans to take them back"

"I'm coming to!" came another voice from behind the Captain of the guard, all three people turned to see a female Hippogryph in what looked to be battle mage armor walk up next to Nexrig, she had similar markings to Lorquon but unlike the acting chief she had black and white markings instead of brown and white. "My name is Rya, and I have the same suspicions to, I also been warned by the spirits that something bad will happen if we don't find the truth", she looked at Mike and gave him a look that said "don't try to stop me, I'm going and that's final" which made him jump a little in fright.

"No complaints here, I for one would gladly accept help from a Hybrid with the ear of the spirits" Night-Flash said with a smile, he was relieved when the Hippogryph gave him a nod of appreciation.

"So are we taking a Talon or do you upstanding young warriors have another form of transport?" Nexrig asked with a smile on his face. The two super soldiers turned to each other and smiled. With a nod to his Equine counterpart the Human reactivated his helmet then placed a hand where his right ear would normally sit, after a few moments of what looked to be him talking to himself he retracted the helmet.

"Our ride in on its way, however we will need to take a Talon to a place where we can switch over without raising any alarms" Mike said, "I have given coordinates for the changeover so without further interruptions we can get going whenever you're ready" the two Hybrid clan members smiled and lead the Human and Equine to the same Talon that had brought them here then set off to the set coordinates.

Several minutes later after switch over, captured Imperial drop ship

Phil gulped as he tried to sneak a look at the female Equine who sat next to him; the human had always liked horses even when he was a little kid. Back on Earth his parents ran a stables in the Adelaide hills, he and Mike use to help out on weekends or in the school holidays, mostly it was to earn a few extra bucks but it also go Mike away from his Uncle long enough for him to show some improvement but it wasn't enough. He couldn't believe that even a morph would be capable of such beauty and majesty as the Equines, to him Zorna was the morph equivalent of Jill from the abandon ware game Jill of the Jungle.

"Phil, can I ask you a question?" Zorna said as she sat staring at the far wall, she had remained quiet so far but there was something that was bugging her, "this may be personal and I will understand if you don't want to talk about it".

"Ah...yeah, what is it you want to ask?" Phil said trying not to stammer, the realisation that Zorna was talking to him had caught him off guard and his long-time friend and wing man Mike was too busy going over details of the mission with Night-Flash, Marcie, Rya and Nexrig to assist him a with advice on talking to a girl.

"I'm curious about your world, tell me do you have people like us where you come from?" she turned her to Phil and almost in a second he felt like he was a plastic army man under a magnifying glass that's focusing the light from the sun on to him, He turned away quickly and composed himself before turning back to the beautiful Equine.

"Well...first off humans were the only ones who became the dominant species on the planet, we have beings like you but they are what we call feral. They have basic instincts and tend to live out their lives like the animals in this world's forests and mountains" it's hard to explain without a visual aids at the best of times but at this moment Zorna seemed to understand, in her eyes he could see a "wisdom beyond her years" as the saying goes.

"I see, so humans subjugated their feral counter parts, kept them as labourers and pet even though they didn't become like us. Seems to me that humans can be brutes, savages that are driven by greed and desire...." she turned away as she trailed off causing Phil's heart to sink. She had hit the nail on the head, it was no secret that most humans were more concerned with money and power and didn't think about the little man or the environment they lived in, a worm feeling washed over his hand, looking down he noticed Zorna's hand on his "but I also know there are some humans who will go out of their way to protect others and to help no matter the cost, and one of them is sitting next to me" she finished.

Phil was stunned and he began to blush "I'm glad you think of me as such, thankyou", it was now or never, he cleared his throat and turned to her. "Zorna, you are someone I would die to protect, you make feel like I can do the impossible" he soon realised what he was saying 'that was your best pick up line, what the hell were you thinking?!' he thought to himself when suddenly he found himself locking lips with the Equine filly, 'on second thoughts scratch that, you're a pure genius, score!'.

To Phil the kiss had been going for what seemed to be an eternity however when he was snapped back to reality by Mike he had found that it had only been a few minutes, "while it's good to see that you found someone to hook up with we still have a job to do" his friend said and ushered the two blushing love birds over to where the rest were seated.

In the centre of the small group was a holographic projection showing the area they were heading to as well as a map of the cave system that was said to contain the monster, as Mike went over the plan Phil glanced over at Zorna and smiled knowing very well that they had started a fire that wouldn't burn out any time soon.

Minutes later at the cave

Rya walked next to the armored Equine as the group took up formation, she was happy she was placed on the inside of the group while the rest stationed themselves around the perimeter but it was the fact that she could freely talk to the young colt that made her day. There was one question that was bugging and it demanded a true and honest answer, taking a deep breath she worked up the courage to ask the questionall the while hoping for the answer she was seeking but expecting to be shot down.

"Night-Flash, I know this may be a bit off putting but I need to know, how did you come across your armor?" the Equine looked at the Hippogryph as if she were a young hatchling that asked a very stupid question at a very inappropriate time mixed in with a feeling of 'mind your own business' but after a while the young colt reached around to his back and pulled out an orb that looked like it was made out of pristine liquid silver.

"This orb was the treasure I was sent to retrieve during my Trial by fire, every initiate had to retrieve one, each had a different artefact inside" he replied as he ran a finger over the top. There was a loud click as part of the orb retracted to reveal it was a container of some description, "when I found out how to open it I found my Biological Augmentation Nanotech Device or B.A.N.D. for short, Mike had to explain it to me and now I can do what he can do and more".

"Oh, so it was a relic like the other pieces of technology that have been appearing, interesting" Rya said as the group entered the cave her voice echoing around the entrance as they went. Suddenly there was a rush of wind as several small creatures made a bolt for the exit, Mike and Phil would later describe the creatures as Scorpion Bats but right now they had a job to do.

"let's hope that we don't have any more surprises like that one, Phil, are the scanners picking up any life signs?" Marcie enquired recovering from the initial shock of almost being spooked.

Phil looked at the had-held scanner then at Marcie, "there is a life form but the scanner is registering it as a Hippogryph and by the looks of it" he paused as a worried look crept across his face "its life signs are very faint".

The group wasted no time in getting to where the life sign was, this was either a trap laid by some cunning beast or it was an injured Hippogryph sent in to clear the cave before them, how wrong were they. As soon as they came close to the life sign the cave opened up to a large artificial chamber, in the centre was a large tube that looked to be a containment cell of some kind and inside was a large Hippogryph morph draped in cloths that looked to be a mark of nobility. The creature was slumped up against the glass with its back to the group, as they got closer the Hippogryph shifted itself giving the group a good view of its face.

Rya's face broke into an expression of dread at the sight "Father!!!!" she cried out and ran forward before any of the others could stop her. She was almost at the tube when a blast of energy hit the ground near her feet.

"Well this is a surprise, the daughter of the great chief Nimbus has come to save him. And I see that you brought the two intended targets and a few additions to our neat little gathering" came a voice from the shadows, moments later a large snow white Gryphon walked out making Nexrig growl in hatred, "As you can see this is all part of Lorquon's great plan for the future of our Clan, cease control then broker a deal with the Avians, then we set our sights on the stars, however now that you know the new chiefs plan I as well as my men must eliminate you all." As he finished several Gryphons and Hippogryphs emerged from all sides, they were armed with what Mike and Phil figured was an energy gauntlet of some kind allowing them to fling plasma bolts like a mage throwing a fire ball at an unsuspecting enemy.

"General Salazar, why sell yourself out to a power mad boy? Why turn your back on the people that you swore an oath to protect?" Nexrig asked as he brought his own weapons up ready for a fight.

The General just laughed at his soon to be former student "Lorquon has a vision for us, for the glory of the hybrid and nothing is getting in the way" he turned to his men "kill the Hippogryph girl first then deal with the rest"

The Hybrid troops took aim at Rya and lobbed the first volley, large green fireballs streaked through the air and heralded toward her only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. As the smoke cleared Mike stepped forward projecting his armors shield as if it were a wall around the young Hippogryph. "I really hope you'd realise that me and my Equine friend here are wearing devices that turn us into super soldiers, and that opening fire on our group has just signed your death warrants" Mike piped in before gunning down several enemy troops "and I think you also pissed off the girl who is BFFs with the spirits of this world".

Rya clenched her eyes shut as they began tearing up along with her hands forming fists of rage, how could her brother do this to their farther, how could these "monsters" try and kill them just to cover up a conspiracy that could potentially end up wiping out their entire way of life. It seemed time slowed down as she opened her eyes, on the back wall she saw a ghostly image of what looked to be some kind of large animal moving toward the back wall, at that second a voice echoed through her mind.

"Use the worms, they feel your pain as do us, you are the beast mistress, show these traitors that we demand their blood" suddenly she felt her body fill with an energy that she couldn't recognise but she knew what she needed to do with it, she began to glow with a green aura before slammed her fist into the ground. The energy left her body and was transferred into the ground as if she were a hammer hitting a ground plate causing a slight tremor in the surrounding rock. Silence followed and for a while no one moved, then suddenly a blood curdling roar pierced the air.

Some of the enemy troops knew what she had done and were backing away toward the entrance they came from when the back wall burst outward revealing a large worm creature that looked like a Sand Worm from Dune crossed with a Thresher Maw from Mass effect and a Nidus Worm from Starcraft 2. The creature roared again before going to town on the enemy troops swallowing some in one go while others were impaled on its spines then taken for a ride, all the while the general was gritting his teeth with rage, watching as his troops were being decimated, he gave a squawk of annoyance then turned and made a run for it.

"Mike! You and Rya go after that bastard! The rest of us will get the chief out of here!" Marcie called to them over the sound of carnage, with a nod the two set off in hot pursuit. The wolfess keyed her communicator "Gal! Come in! Do you read me?" she said as Phil, Zorna and Night-Flash ran over to the containment cell, within minutes the Phil was hacking into the locking systems of the containment cell using all his programing skill he had learned over the years at high school.

"Gal here, what's the problem?" the signal had a lot of static but she was able to hear the Dragonesses voice alright. Marcie began to give Gal an update on the situation and to have her bring in the Hornet on full tactical alert, "acknowledged, ETA, seven minutes".

When the comm channel closed she turned to the group to find Phil had bypassed the lock on the cell and was assisting with moving the Hybrid chief out of the chamber, the walls were now starting to show signs of unstable structural integrity as the worm continued its rampage, 'let's just hope Mike and Rya can find another exit' the Wolfess thought as she guided everyone out of the cave. Meanwhile Mike and Rya had chased the general through a maze of corridors; the bastard had almost evaded them till they arrived at another exit, like the entry the two had entered the opening lead out to the top a huge plateau not far from the entrance, there they found him mounting up on what could only be a Blood Dragon from the expansion Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon. The Gryphon grinned and aimed his weapon at the two, it was similar design to Mike's plasma cannon only it had modifications and instead of a singular barrel it bolstered three sets of triple barrelled chain guns on a rotating mounting.

"Well this is new" Angel said as she brought up the guns specs on his HUD, "It seems he has a fully functional Vortex Auto-gun but we have something batter" time seemed to slow as the Auto-gun began to prime itself, at the same time a small metallic ball materialised in Mike's hand, "The grenade is ready, throw it at the gun now" Angel instructed.

Complying he lobbed the ball with all his might, the grenade flew through the air at phenomenal speed eventually finding its mark attaching itself to the guns main rotor, seconds later the grenade exploded melting the entire gun to Salazar's flesh causing him to howl in pain. He was oblivious to his mount rearing up on its hind legs then using its claws to rip the general from his seat before tearing him to shreds, Mike looked at Rya with a look of confusion as she looked on the gruesome scene.

"I told her what Salazar did, who he was working for and the sentence the spirits had decreed, she will need a new rider now, let's hope she chooses wisely" she said with a cold hiss. The creature finished disembowelling her disgraced rider before turning its gaze on Mike and Rya, like a true predator the creature stalked up to mike then gave a sniff, "Mike, retract your helmet and allow her to sniff you" Rya said with a concerned tone.

Mike thought the request was suicide but complied anyway, knowing that this monster would get freaked out buy the sudden movement of his helmet snapping back into the Armor he told Angel to retract it slowly allowing the creature to register it, as soon as it was fully retracted the creature took in a deep breath through its nose. Suddenly without warning the creature gave Mike a massive lick before nuzzling up to him giving out a happy sounding purr, Mike's first thought was to flinch but he managed to supressed it instead giving the creature a gentle pat on the head, "um, care to explain?" he asked even more baffled by the sudden behaviour change in the monster.

"believe it or not, she has chosen you as her new rider" she moved closer to the large creature, "you must have given her a good impression, usually Shadow Stalkers take time to forge a bond between them and a ride."

"So not only is she a fabled Shadow Stalker but she has accepted me as her rider, nice" Mike said to Rya as he looked his new mount in the eye, "if she is to be may faithful steed she needs a name" he was about make a suggestion when his comm chimed.

"Mike are you and Rya out, please respond" Marcie's voice barked through the speaker, she sounded almost worried.

Mike keyed his comm "we're fine here and it seems that I have just acquired a new...." He trailed off as he tried to think of a good word to describe his newly acquired beast, he eventually though of the best word he could think of then returned to his reply, "Mount" he managed to say to finish.

"What?! Never mind, Gal is bringing in the Hornet on full tactical alert so give me your coordinates and we'll swing by and pick you up" Marcie replied, Mike gave her his location and with that the wolf closed the channel.

Eprologue, Minutes later, Hornets Briefing room

Marcie stood at the head of the table with her hands on the desk and her head down trying to collect her thoughts, taking a deep breath she turned to everyone who was present, she had asked everyone including Nexrig and Rya to attend her little impromptu conference and with good reason.

"Ok, I have some good news and some bad news, the good news is that A) we managed to get Chief Nimbus out alive and he is going to make a full recovery, he has also agreed to open talks with Talvis so the Equines and Hybrid can work on creating an alliance, and B) Mike has managed to aquire a second hand Shadow Stalker Mount which we will take good care of" she paused as a shiver ran down her spine, "the bad news is that Lorquon has taken the thrown and he will undoubtedly try to kill all of us if we attempt to foil his plans, but that's not the worst of it, we found out where the Avians are getting Imperial tech from".

As she said that everyone was directed to a monitor on the far wall, second later the screen lit up showing the camera footage from the drone Ash and Hayley had launched earlier that day, the footage showed the Avians strong hold, a large bastion that looked to be built from a Virtues complex like the temple, around the outside of the bastion was a thriving city with all the bells and whistles but as the drone got closer it caught sight of a large transport ship with Imperial Logo slapped on the side, below it running around like ants busily collecting food before it started to rain were several Avian along with several humans unloading a series of Mechs. The camera zoomed in on one individual, a human waring an officer's uniform taking to a Magpie draped in purple robes with a gold crown on his head before zooming out to track another transport that was taking off, minutes later a huge starship filled the drone's field of vision. The ship looks like someone had taken a gigantic block of metal, merged it with a floating city then slapped engines and antigravity units on it, soon after taking the sight of the ship the drone turned around and flew back the way it came before the video stopped.

"What you just saw was a Monolith class Battle Fortress, one of the Imperium's favourite battle ships, it's able to enter the atmosphere of any planet and is capable of housing any form of manufacturing plant including Dry Docks and Mech construction facilities" Marcie said with a sombre tone, "I have managed to send a communication to Rebel command to send any available ships to this system, as of today this planet will be placed under the protection of the Black Scythe Rebels, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to show the Imperium the new and improved Hornet".

TO BE CONTINUED.