July 8th, 875
Magic Testing Chamber, Metirine Castle
Empire of Sedina
Suddenly, light and gravity were back. As her boots hit the ground with a soft thump, she realized 2 things; the first was that she wasn’t alone and the second was the smell of blood. Since neither the United Terran Military nor its allies had technology that allowed dimensional travel, she could only assume enemy action. That made her next course of actions very simple: break out.
Four targets. Three armored and armed with melee style weaponry. The fourth in the back, no visible weapons, possible technician, keep him alive for the moment.
As Target Number 4 started to speak she slowly unzipped her gear bag while watching the enemy.
The ‘technician’ cheered, “Success! It worked! Now, don’t bother trying anything because-”
If you have time to talk, I have time to act. She thought as she drew her standard issue Modular Pulse Pistol (MPP for short) and shot the three armed targets in the head and then shot the “technician” in the knee. Target four fell to the ground screaming and she watched the first three for a brief moment to make sure they didn’t get back up, she doubted they would as 10mm Shatter rounds were particularly devastating on soft tissue and the shots hadn’t impacted on any form of energy shield.
With no movement from the first three targets, she reevaluated the room before proceeding towards target four, but had to stop as she located an iron cage off to the side with a short four-legged silverish creature with leathery wings and a tail. It’s appearance was similar to that of a Pendorian Flying Lizard but the wings on those were feathered and multi-colored and the fact it was silent, Pendorian Flying Lizards were only known for being silent for extended periods of time when flying or sleeping and this one was in a cage staring at her.
She decided to ignore the strange creature for now and interrogate target four. At least that was her plan until she walked into an invisible barrier. She heard a pained laugh from the technician, “I told you not to bother, nothing living or magical can get through that ward. Your only way out is to swear to serve me, do that and the bindings will activate and bind you to me. Once the bindings have settled, then I will release you from your cage and you will serve me.”
She stared at him in disgust, “I have a better idea.” she said. “How about you release me and I won't kill you.”
He laughed and winced in pain, “Kill me? You do that and you will never get out.”
“Oh I’ll get out, just depends on how much of this building I have to destroy first.”
“That’s impossible, you can’t do anything inside your cage.”
“Tell that to your knee or to them” she said as she gestured to the dead bodies.
The two stared at each other for a few minutes before a hesitant voice spoke up, “I... can help…” The two turned and stared at the creature in the cage in shock and spoke in unison, “You speak?!”
Shit, that’s not a pet or some shit. It’s an intelligent unknown species, and probably a kid judging by how it’s acting. This shit just keeps getting better. Wait, if I help it escape then maybe I can get in good with its people, establish good relations, and get their help to get back. Potentially introducing a race to the UE.
“Yes, I speak. If you break the lock and help me escape, then I can break the ward that is holding you in.”
“Impossible! You can’t do that, you don’t even know how the ward is constructed to unravel it.”
“I watched and listened to you when you were creating it. You made it with my blood. Breaking the ward is a simple thing compared to the effort it took to stay silent while you tormented me.”
... Made with his BLOOD?! By the Divine, this man isn’t a technician, he is a mad scientist. New Plan: get free, take the kid, kill the madman, destroy his research, and find a way back.
She reached for her gear bag and opened one of the compartments containing her spare mags while keeping her eyes on the mad scientist. She ran her thumb over the base of each as they were marked for what was in them. She grabbed the one with squares on the base denoting Smashers, which were designed to smash and destroy whatever they hit. Smashers are normally used for breaching doors, disabling equipment, or just breaking things in general. As she swapped magazines and chambered a new round, she used her implant to input a custom setting on the MPP for the pulse charge.
Pulse charges are preset based on the ammo but can be dialed up or down depending on the desired result. However there is a limit, if you go too high then the energy can destabilize the round resulting in the energy tearing the round apart in mid air. The custom setting she was inputting was based on research done by a Werewolf during the war on how to get the most punch with a Smasher and not have any of the projectile intact after impact. The result was a Smasher that acts similar to a Popper, which is a projectile with a small amount of high explosive in it that explodes just after impact (allowing for a small amount of penetration prior to explosion).
She turned and walked with her arm out feeling for the edge of the ward and walked around. She stopped at a spot that would give her a good view of the entire cage and give her an angle on the lock.
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“I like your offer, you should back up as far from that cage door as you can. Oh and cover your eyes.”
The whine of the charge building in the MPP was faintly audible as the creature scuttled backward and wrapped its wings over its head. She took aim and with a slow trigger squeeze and a FHUMP followed by the sound of smashing metal, the lock was shattered and blown apart.
“Now it’s your turn little one. Your cage is unlocked and can be opened, now unlock mine.” She said as she switched her MPP back to the Shatter rounds that she had loaded previously and placed the magazine of Smashers back in its place.
The silver creature retracted its wings and stared at the place the lock had been just moments before. An iron lock obliterated without the aid of magic and without being touched. It slowly moved toward the door of the cage and hesitated for a moment before pushing on it. With a squeal of unoiled hinges the door opened. The creature cautiously looked at the door then at the madman laying on the floor and darted out and to the far side of the ward from the madman. Placing Heidi between the two of them. It stared at her for a few moments before turning its attention to the reddish marks on the floor, marks she now knew to be the creature’s blood. The creature started muttering in a strange language and smeared the marks, rendering them illegible. With a pop, the ward flickered and disappeared.
Heidi smiled a feral smile as she thought to herself, and now, the hunt is on. She walked over to the cage that once held the creature and set both her bags on it. She opened one and started unpacking her armor and equipment. When she got to her gauntlets, instead of setting them aside as she had the rest, she put them on. She turned and stalked towards the madman, as she did so she flexed her hands and short sharp claws ejected out of her fingers. Between the claws and the look on her face, the man started scrambling backward. He managed to get to his feet and turned towards the door when his head and throat were seized by clawed hands.
He heard a voice whisper in his ear, “I don’t remember saying you could leave. Now, I understand that you have been a naughty naughty boy. Kidnapping, torture, and slavery just to name a few. I wonder which will be faster asphyxiation or exsanguination. Let’s find out shall we?” He felt the claws dig into his throat and felt them rip across his neck from one side to the other. Suddenly he couldn’t breathe properly and felt his clothes get wet as his blood gushed out of his neck. The hand released him and he fell to the ground clutching his throat.
Heidi moved towards the door and after checking to find out which way it opened, she proceeded to barricade the door. After that she turned and walked towards one of the dead armored men. She used his cloak to wipe the blood and fleshy bits off of her hand before retracting the claws. Then she went back to the cage and began to change out of her uniform and into her armor. Gotta get this kid talking, find out what I can from him and get him to open up a little. Well it's not like he will just tell me everything instantly. Need to coax him a little. Asking his name would be a good start but most would never just tell a stranger their name, much less a suspicious and dangerous one like myself. I know, how about what he is?
“So kid, what do you call your race?”
“My race??”
“Yes, your race, your people. What do you call yourselves?”
The creature just silently stared at her as if confused.
She paused while taking off her shirt, turned and looked at the creature and sighed. “Look, I’m obviously not from here. Where I’m from, there are no creatures like you, at least none that we have ever heard of or discovered. I don’t know what to refer to you as other than as something that would probably be offensive.”
“... Silver Dragon. What are you?”
“Human, female.” She replied as she turned back and finished taking her shirt off and got to work on removing her boots and pants.
“... What is your name? Calling you Human... feels rude.”
“Komodo, that’s the call sign that I use.”
“Call sign? What’s that?”
“It’s like a nickname but it’s official. Many people know me more by that than my actual name. Actually now that I think about it, few would relate my name to my reputation unless they knew me or had access to my records.”
“So it’s a Title? Are you a Noble or something?”
“Noble? Oh like some kind of aristocrat? Ya, no. I’m a soldier. Title might be closer but not the same. I guess the closest would just be a different kind of nickname, one that is given to you and not one that you come up with yourself.”
“Oh... What is a Komodo?”
“A Komodo Dragon is the largest land based lizard on my ancestral homeworld. It is a predator and a patient one. Once the prey is close enough it will strike with claws and teeth. It’s bite is venomous and IF the prey survives the fight and escapes, then the Komodo Dragon will track it down. Waiting for it to either die because of the wounds and the venom or for a good time to strike again. It is also willing to take on creatures up to 5 times its size and its half again longer than I am tall.”
“Does it speak?”
“No, it’s an animal. Why would it speak?”
“Dragons speak, if it doesn’t speak then it’s not a real dragon.”
“If you're speaking of dragons like yourself, then as I said, there are none where I come from.”
“How can that be…” the little dragon said softly to itself.
As the little dragon sat there thinking about what it had just learned, Heidi worked on putting the rest of her armor and equipment on. Once she got the last of it on, she then carefully folded her uniform and put it away in her other bag with the rest of her other clothes and extra gear. That second bag was then folded and placed in the bottom of the equipment bag and the straps for the equipment bag were attached. The last thing she pulled out of the equipment bag was a small display screen, which she held up and called out to the little dragon.
“All right, thinking time is over. Time to get moving. I need you to help me navigate this place, since you have been here for a while you should know how to get to his lab and quarters.” She pointed at the dead mad scientist on the floor.
“I can do that but the moment the guards see me, they will either try to kill me or capture me.”
“That is why you will be in the bag. They won’t see you but,” she raised up the little display “you will be able to see what I see with this.” As she finished speaking, she ran her finger along one side and suddenly the device showed part of the wall. The dragon moved closer to get a better look at what had just a moment ago seemed like a piece of black slate.
“I can carry you, you can navigate, and between the two of us, we can destroy his research and find a way out of this place. What do you say kid?”