FSE

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"My Lord, we do not know what we face. Our brightest minds cannot identify the metal bird in the sky." The young soldier was wearing his armor, primarily chainmail with some welded on bits of iron on key areas. His sword was a little worn, but properly cared for and kept razor sharp at all times. The shield on his arm was painted a simple blue and red pattern, the colors of the kingdom.

"I see... are my soldiers ready?" The king was a tall man, clad in purple and gold. He was wise, or so he said, and reportedly a war hero. It was always suspicious when he was asked to recall his battles but would mix up key details and locations. If you spoke against him however, you would soon find yourself in the dungeon. Mercy was not one of his strong suits, nor was critical thinking, "Get them ready. I want my archers prepared and siege weaponry set."

"Very well. I will inform my betters and take my place upon the battlefield." The soldier left the throne room and told a royal guard what to do, "Now I must steel myself, may the Gods have mercy on us all."

"Though you are not allowed to show weakness, do not be afraid to order a retreat. Discretion is the better part of valor."

The soldier marched on and out of the fortress, joining over a hundred men in their long hike to the metal bird's landing point. There was no chanting, no conversation, not even talk of after the battle. The men were frightened of this new opponent. Even the young soldier was struggling to keep a cool expression, all while imagining what would happen.

It didn't take long for the fears to mumble out. Some wondered if it was an enemy that had discovered a new way to attack. Others were curious that if it was an invader from the sky, wanting to enslave them all. Other interpretations came out, but they all revolved around those two base ideas. This was truly a soldier's worst nightmare.

Just down into a valley, a group of ten invaders casually walked towards the soldiers. They were diffeerent species and carried bizarre weapons, completely impractial for melee combat. The one in front was smooth, save for the hair on his jaw and head. He was also missing an eye, "Hold! Not a step further!" The young soldier shouted so that the invaders could hear. They looked at each other and mumbled amongst themselves, "This is the sovereign land of Kiheal, the Conquerer. You are not welcome!"

"Why don't you just calm the fuck down and talk like a normal guy!" The one-eyed smoothskin shouted in return, "We aren't even here to fight."

The young soldier signaled for twenty of his men to follow closely, and for the others to ready ranged weaponry, "State your purpose!" He stopped about a hundred yards away from the smoothskin.

"I swear, every damn planet has a group of idiots. Titus is huge but harmless, so I don't get the hostility."

"Dante." The white mink said, "I believe that their leader isn't one that would listen to reason. Perhaps they are being mislead." She drew some mumbled among the soldiers, half about her ample bosom, the other half about her massive blade.

The smoothskin shrugged, "Seems that way. At least they aren't deceiving us for once. You, tin can, we're here to scan some books, alright?"

The young soldier wasn't sure what the man meant, but theft of knowledge was a serious crime that was punishable by death. He reached for his sword, "I cannot allow such a violation of law."

The smoothskin sighed, "Listen, I have enough bullets on me to take out all of you. Twice. Keep your sword down and you can all leave alive."

The archers in back readied their bows, but kept them hidden with the men in front, "I have no idea what a bullet is, but my sense of duty is stronger. Of that I have no doubt." He raised his sword high into the air, "Fire arrows!"

Before he finished, the smoothskin snapped his fingers, "Chey." The squirrel lifted a long metal tube and the sound of gusting wind deafened the soldiers. Within a second an explosion sent the archers flying through the air, not always in one piece, "Are we clear?"

The young soldier knew when he was outmatched, but he could not afford to retreat even as his men scrambled and ran out of formation. How could he fight these people that could destroy land and flesh alike with the pull of a trigger? There was only one way that he could make a stand, "I challenge your leader in single combat!" The smoothskin walked forward, "No, I said-"

"Yeah, I heard you. What, you thought Victoria was the leader just because of the sword? Please, I kicked her ass with my bare hands and then took her in under my wing." He tossed his bizarre sword to the ground, "But I don't like your attitude, so I'm just going to kick your ass."

"An insane man with no sword nor armor... the others will pay for their retreat. But for now I must slay you." The young soldier approached the man known as Dante, but as the distance decreased between the two a new fear arose. Dante held an aura that inspired terror, and the soldier's nerves were starting to go. Still, he initiated the challenge and held the upper hand, so there was little to fear, "Prepare yourself!" The soldier charged.

With a mighty slash, he attempted to kill Dante in a single attack, but the smoothskined man easily sidestepped and kicked the soldier in the stomach. Through several layers of armor he could feel the incredible force of the kick, instinctually he jumped back to create distance, "Armor like yours is a crutch that gives you a false sense of security."

"What are you? You are no man." He gasped for air while holding his shield up, "No man can hit that hard."

Dante rolled his eye, "Whatever you say moron." The young soldier looked out from his shield and saw Dante's fist careening towards his face. Even though he wore a helmet, the force alone was enough to create pain and knock him down, "Can you believe this? She thought there would be resistance."

"Dante, stop toying with him. This planet smells like a swamp filled with rotting corpses." Jill cringed in disgust, but Ratchet nodded in agreement, "We just need to find a library."

Dante's back was turned, this was the soldier's chance. He gathered his strength and attempted to stab the smoothskin. To his surprise, Dante grabbed the sharp end of the sword, "How?!"

"Idiots like you make me sick. You practically beg me to kill you, then wonder why I am. I won't kill you today." He ripped the sword from the soldier's hand and then pierced his leg, pinning him to the ground, "But I'm not letting you off the hook. Jill, how much further?"

The pain was intense and the blood would not stop. He tried to move, but the earth held him still, "I'm... I can't... I can't die here..."

The group of ten walked past the soldier as though he wasn't there at all, "Probably another few minutes, then we can get the books and get out of here."

"Remind me again why we couldn't land closer?"

"She was worried that we would cause a panic."

Miss Star laughed, "Really?"

Dante sighed, "She isn't a practical person. Maybe she shouldn't stay in her library so much. Bad for reality."

"Kill me... just finish it!"

Victoria, the tall mink, glanced at the soldier, "Make your own destiny. Asking others to solve your own problems will never allow you to move on."

He was alone soon, in what would surely be his final resting spot in the valley. He failed his king, he failed the people, and he failed his fellow soldiers. How embarassing to be defeated by a man that was unarmed, surely he would carry this shame into the afterlife. The Gods would scorn him, dismiss him as an unworthy soul. These thoughts were too much, combined with the loss of blood he soon accepted the soothing call of sleep.

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

The Keeper of Knowledge cowered in a corner as the bizarre invaders looked around their library, "I think this is a good spot, we'll get most of it."

"Stay back you devils! I won't allow you to steal our most sacred tomes!" He was old, but he wasn't going down without a fight. He raised his cane, but lowered it almost immediately as the tall mink reached for her massive sword, "Please leave, this is all we have."

"We aren't here to steal. Jean, hurry up already." The fox appeared irritated.

The smaller mink, perhaps a relative to the tall one, produced a blue cube from her pouch and held it up. A beam of light slowly washed against the walls and books, "What is this witchcraft?!"

"Easy gramps. Why do these people think we're stealing their junk? We're just making a copy for our records, nothing more. Besides, I highly doubt you know anything we don't." The one-eyed smoothskin mumbled, "Hell, we can travel between planets in seconds. Now just sit in your corner and let us finish up."

The light kept moving, and the Keeper knew he needed to stop these foreign invaders. He knew they were trying to erase everything so that the king would be without the intelligence of those before him. He was just a humble old man, but the guard outside could surely deal with these intruders, "Gods guide my hand." he lifted an oil lamp and threw it through the open window.

The shattered glass spread fire, "What is this? Who is responsible?!" It was a patrol outside.

"Help! The invaders are stealing our knowledge!"

"Well fuck, there goes the peaceful route." The smoothskin drew his bizarre sword, "Titus, Cratis, cover the main door. Shoot on sight. Jean, how are we doing?"

"Another few seconds and we should be good."

"Alright, keep a level head, tell Sere and Angel to get over here."

A cat, one not that different in appearance from the people of the land, sighed, "Dante, you remember what she said?"

Dante nodded, "Yeah, and I'm overriding that order. Sere, get your ass over here. We need pickup."

The mink known as Jean snatched the cube from the air, "We got it." The two dragons killed the city patrol with some sort of explosive device, "Let's get to an open area fast."

"You heard the lady, move out people." Dante pushed through his people and over the dead bodies, "Shoot any who attack, knock out the rest. City square people, move!" They mismatched group moved quickly and left the library in seconds.

The Keeper was in awe, "This is beyond belief... nobody can can do what they did without magic." The old man stumbled to his feet and used his cane to leave the library, doing his best to avoid the dead bodies near the door, "The metal bird is already here..."

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

A man in a black cloak approached the throne of the disheveled king, "My my, to be so quickly overwhelmed by so few. The others will talk." The stranger's voice was distorted, as though several people were talking at once.

"Who dares approach with such an insult?!"

"Someone with an interest in seeing those people dead is all."

The king settled into his throne while his protectors kept a firm grip on their weapons, "What do you know of them?"

The cloaked man shrugged, "I know where they come from, what they are capable of, how to contact them, and how to lure them into a trap. All I lack is the numbers to do so and a location far from their allies, such as this planet here."

This stranger, another man from the stars, wants to use this land for his own purposes. This was entirely unacceptable, "What do you think I owe you for that pleasure? This is my land, my country, my kingdom, and you would use it for yourself?"

The stranger chuckled, "Why, that would just be rude. I insist that you are rewarded fully, including the metal bird and their complete armory. As I said before, my only goal is to have them killed. Surely survivors of the skirmish can attest to their might, and you would surely be in complete control of this world."

A reasonable offer, "Very well, but if you betray us I will send every man, woman, and child available to kill you."

"I wouldn't dream of it."