Hi everyone. I wanted to break up this chapter into parts due to its length. For those wondering, 6/#1 means Chapter 6, part 1. Same if you see (6/#2). That means chapter 6, part 2, and so on. I hope that's clear enough. With that out of the way, here's the chapter.

At his regular position, a being of dark hue stood. The screams of wind prevented the gallops of twenty thousand from being heard, but he waited in anticipation.

Even more, he waited and waited, his patience wore thin; but then, small punctures pierced the horizon. Defined by a natural border, the nudity of the base's lands was brown and bare and the rest lush with roses, even if many were frail and struggled to stay home. A peculiar craft suspended from the tip piqued his interest. The many clad in War Troupe attire followed to embellish this.

Around Wixin were munitions composed of huge, clear containers filled with razor grass alongside more traditional ones. These ornaments had tubing that led to the earth below.

Wixin, Supreme General Ippe, who was seated in the heart of Grand Station, wanted to hear if he did his job.

Yeah, bossman. He responded on the private communication line through the wire mesh underneath his uniform.

Have you done the inspections on your end? His voice was smooth and clear. This contradicted a three-metre frame of muscular green. He also had three equidistant horns at his chin that slightly hooked towards his throat.

Yeah, sir. All the munitions ready to fire.

Ippe wanted to bombard them as soon they were in range.

The soldiers at the perimeter facing the invaders were prepared on all levels—the munitions not so much. Prior battles took their toll but check-ups ensured they were fine.

"Pop off, fellas!" Wixin descended from his privileged position with appendages straightened and wind spanking his body, causing the stretched sides of his skull cap to flap.

His speed had to be reined in. Such a fast fall could hurt him.

As he neared the bare ground, his shoes swelled with helium. With his descent slowed, he gazed at the impending sight of devastation below.

First up was the Trim with their upright rectangular containers that spat their load through long and thick tubes.
Only a few minutes passed for their contact with flesh. Shed fluids and wails were carried by the wind. The dirt once more became victim to new gashes. They were unable to heal, for the breeze left each to fester.

Throughout this, a soldier named Jeh stumbled upon Cascachu's poor state.
His immense strength meant his wounds were skin deep. Not an ounce of fluid had spilt from his body.

Jeh, with three fellow soldiers he knew well, pressed forward, along with a few dozen less familiar to him.

Their movements ended at that moment. A great grass blade, primed and ready, and still a virgin to murder, tore through the squadron, and more joined to lengthen their agony.

Cascachu ignored what happened in front of him. He knew vengeance and victory were most important.

* * *

Crash imminent! Crash imminent! Doom bellowed from the alarm.

"Damn it, the visual plating is wearing thin. This grass is putting a number on us." Teinova's view of the outside world became more obscured with each plating failure.

"We've lost sight in twenty per cent of them. They're not going to hold for much longer." Zazavin reported this as streams of data ran in front of him.

Caught in the torrential clippings harvested from the grasslands, only one placed them in true distress. This blade of grass cleanly sliced the spike with guidance by a small fracture. The craft began to slide off. Their momentum slowed and they struggled to maintain balance.

"What's happening?!" Teinova screamed at Zazavin while keeping her focus.

He had to hold on for a few seconds until the data popped up. "It's the shard at the bottom. It's been cut in half."

The stranger perked up instantly. What Zazavin said wasn't good. He longed for a craft. Sneaking into them to get from place to place was tiring. This bet was important to him just for that reason.

Durin pulled out his hook and squeezed all the energy before the craft completely slid off. It phased through the bottom and snaked to the shard. Zazavin and Teinova repeated this for the three streams of energy to fuse to keep the spike intact. The craft soon stabilized. Teinova now had a chance to continue piloting the ship.

"Stranger, can you hold this for me?" She rushed through her words to focus on maintaining the craft's path.

"Sure." He took it from her while keeping the firmness of grip.

"Let's see what I can do." Her hands flew all over the controls so the craft could have a steady position and speed. She noted how close they were to disaster.

The stranger overheard this and added his views.

Teinova didn't like this. She had an expression of 'Dude, I didn't ask for a reply from a weird being like you.'

Zazavin kept the mysterious stranger in the corner of his eye. We don't need some problematic guy to help us fight our battles. We're battlemongers, aren't we?

Everyone paid no mind to the plating; the shard was more of a priority.

They would regret that obvious lapse.

Some of the plating separated and this brought strong winds that took them into flight. Its power forced Zazavin to swallow his energy hook by mistake as the result of being chucked toward the visual plating.

The stranger's hoodie was flicked; his true form was revealed. He was characterised by the dark pigmentation of his skin and a defined jawline. However, no one cared as their focus was to not die.

Crash immi...nent. Crash immi...nent. Crash immi...nent.

Durin slipped his hook into his uniform amid the commotion. He didn't want it to get blown away. This piece of technology was too vital to lose.

* * *

"Hmmm. The thing they were travelling with falling." Cascachu rubbed the end of his arms together.

"Sir, what you wanna do?" Deeli gained serious wounds but still had full use of her body.

"We going to catch them. You best get in position so I could place two lash in them."

"But bossman, we taking casualties. It'll be hard to get enough able lifeforms to do that kinda thing."

"Come nah, don't tell me that. Do what you have to do."

"Okay, sir." She relayed the message to the soldiers and they readied themselves in response.

As the craft descended, a lifeform jumped out and conjured something to latch onto. The radiated letters held firm at this altitude. Jumping, bobbing, and weaving was his plan of action to avoid fire.

"That hooded dude left us to the slaughter." Zazavin knew who to blame. "But that doesn't surprise me. It's because of Durin we're in this crap."

The craft suddenly jolted. Zazavin was scared by this.

"I think it's flares. Listen closely." Teinova placed her head close to the plating to hear the outdoors.

"Oh shit, look at that. The War Troupe is shooting at us now. Thanks, Durin."

With armaments from the sky, lesser ones from below, and wind stirring the petals, the death of alarms was the only benefit to their concentration as they jumped, but Durin's large form held up their escape.

"Teinova, just kick me. I know you want to." Durin wore his guilt. He knew they wanted to do it after what had happened with the stranger.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"Can I join the ass beating too?" Zazavin used what little manners he had to join in.

"Why not. We're going to die anyway."

With a leg and a tongue, they hit his conveniently placed buttocks (even though his species doesn't have any), but he wouldn't budge.

"Bossman, they trying to escape," Deeli listened in. "And they cussing each other even more."

"Let's take them out while they distracted. Soldier, you still have ammo in the rocket launcher?"

"Yeah, sir."

"Shoot them down, nah."

His light turquoise arm complemented the darker circles strewn across it. The slightly rectangular stub at the end of it gripped the handle like velcro, pulled it back, and the missile raced out.

"Do you hear that hear that?" Teinova's senses were heightened.

"Hear what?" Zazavin couldn't hear anything. He remained confused.

"It sounds like a missile but I could be wrong." Teinova wanted to see it for herself for confirmation, so she made a short hop from Durin's back between her and the plating to get there.

Her fingers dug into the vehicle so she could remain where she was against the powerful breeze. She noticed the trajectory of the missile. Her mental processes had to speed up more than normal to determine its trajectory.

"We have a few seconds before it hits." That was her best guess.

"What's our plan?" Zazavin began to panic.

"We'll make it up as we fall." Durin braced for impact.

The red-tipped warhead on the missile struck the visual plating to cascade it in a blanket of black, grey, and red. The vehicle was finally put out of its misery.

"I blew them up, sir." The rocket wielder happily said at the sight of his leader.

As the smoke dissipated and the remnants were strewn about, the trio was revealed. Their clothing had minor burns and blotches of soot.

"They falling, they falling! Get in position!" Cascachu's voice got everyone where they needed to be, but he was taken aback by the massacre of his troops.

Being too great to ignore, he commanded the medical team to go into the deep gashes and treat the wounded with the escort of able-bodied soldiers.

* * *

"...I'll wrap my tongue around you two." Zazavin tightly wrapped his tongue around Teinova and Durin.

Now Teinova had to come up with something. Ideas spiralled within her before she decided to put soap on her arms.

Durin's turn came. He maintained an unnecessary tone of silence which irritated Zazavin. "Durin, DURIN! Say something! We're going to die here!!!"

His nostrils twitched to the twang of finely powdered soil and he sneezed as a result.

The silence became long.

"You bastar—ACHOO! Say something!!!!!"

He certainly wasn't this crazy before he assumed the role. Teinova stared at the War Troupe silhouettes in the distance.
Durin suddenly snapped out of his silence to the screams of his comrades.

He rushed to drop several big globules of oil on Teinova's forearms and shouted, "Teinova, make a bubble!"

She was curious why she had to do such a thing in this situation.

Durin stated that once the flares struck the bubble, they would ignite it and send them toward the base.

She understood now. Her left forearm swelled a bubble while her dominant right hand held tight to Zazavin's tongue. If they survived this, they would be forever grateful.

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