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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 19, 2018 21:46:36 GMT -5
Drones flew past a barren and sterile alleyway, within which Lemun Squad currently resided. Kiwi poked his head out to make sure they had passed. The last thing they needed on this mission was attention. It didn’t help that they were forced to wear armor the size of two grown men. Kiwi turned to the others who were currently huddled at the end of the Alley. They had set up a quick choke point just in case things went sour. “Coast is clear. Time to set up shop somewhere else” Honeydew would chime in as he dismounted the large Bipod from his Rifle “I bet we could try and sell some of those Tails to Polaris” He would elbow Threepiece “Eh buddy?” Even with a helmet on the scowl of Three-Piece was obvious. He had his hand set on the seven or so Saiyan tails draped across his shoulder pad. “You touch them, you die” He would state, a low growl in his voice. “Stop fighting you two. We need to move, Appos is waiting in the residential block ahead” Three-Piece would pull a lever on the bottom of his mounted turret. With a slight snap the Turret’s magnetic bracing would unlock and allow the turret to be folded. “Why the hell are we even checking this Polaris guy out? He wants to kill the Saiyans just like we do” Grumbled Three-Piece. “The mission is to find if they are working on Bioweapons, not to strike up a chat with Polaris. If our intel is right that is…” Kiwi would bolt into the next alleyway. “Polaris is the leader of the Empire. If we follow him we are bound to see whatever this weapon is. And if he spots us well…” Honeydew would roll past Kiwi. “At least The Continuum won’t have to pay for an open casket” Honeydew would look up. “We get caskets?” Kiwi sighed and started tapping on his wrist. A grappling hook would launch into the window above and propel the MELON Trooper into a nicely decorated living room. The owner of this abode was about two feet away with a hole in his head.
Appos was kneeling in front of a window overlooking the local Imperial HQ. Whatever lab they were making this bioweapon in didn’t show up on any of the maps. Too risky to drop in blind or scan the planet. Appos zoomed his lenses toward a landing pad. A small and inconspicuous ship landed. They had their mark. He would lean back just in time to notice Kiwi hopping through the window. He pointed at the body. “What happened to ‘Leave No Trace’?” Appos held a small Kinetic Projectile Pistol. It was about the size of his palm. “Rule it a suicide” He would toss Kiwi the pistol as Three-Piece and Honeydew hopped through the windows. Honeydew stretched. “I know that we have to keep everything on the down low, but couldn’t they of given us some rocket boots or something equally cartoonish? I hate not being able to fly” Appos would peer through the window once more before stating “You hate it now, but you raise your Power level anywhere past 5 and these Ultramarines will be on you in an instant. The Continuum is taking a big risk with this mission. We can’t afford to screw it up”
Three-Piece would lean against the wall as they waited for the Emperor to show his face. “I still think we should be working with this guy. Leader of a Galactic Empire AND hates the Saiyans? What’s there to lose?” Appos would pop off a tube leading into his helmet. He cracked open a Hetap and stuck the tube inside. “He’s too smart for his own good” He would pause and take a long drink. “And intel is starting to think that things aren’t clicking right upstairs. He’s making too many dangerous moves, disregarding people’s lives. We don’t need another Frieza to jack everything up” Kiwi would lean forward and gaze through the window. He would state sternly “And we are not under orders to contact Polaris. If he finds out about us, then we risk the secrecy of the entire Continuum” Three-Piece sighed angrily “Maybe it’s time we make ourselves known. I’m tired of all this cover up crap” Honeydew, currently playing with the Laser-sight on his Rifle would mockingly say “You just want to watch the bodies pile up Threep. I can’t blame ya, probably makes tail hunting a lot easier” He would shine the laser in Three-Pieces face. “But I’m with Boss and Kiwi on this one. That crazy clown would probably kill us all if he knew about the Continuum. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being dead. It takes away from my charming personality” Honeydew would give an exaggerated bow.
“Everyone, get ready” Appos chimed “I spot a Frost Demon”
Word Count: 815
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Post by Legume on Aug 20, 2018 9:43:46 GMT -5
Emperor of the Galaxy
The Galactic King may have been incompetent, too old-fashioned and thus unable to grasp the changing situation in the Galaxy and in his Patrol - the botched mission on Planet Sirup was probably the most obvious example of this - but even he managed to make a few clever moves from time to time. For example, the idea to harvest the genetic material of the ancient Frost Demon emperors Frieza and Cooler to start building an army of clones as a replacement for the Galactic Patrol. No, 'clever' doesn't cut it. 'Genius' is a much better description.
And somehow, the old geezer also had enough smarts in his head to keep this project under wraps until the very last moment. That is, until the events in the Palace of Abbayor, where Polaris finally encountered the fruit of that effort - Subject Alpha Blue, a monstrosity cobbled together from the genetic material of the two ancient Frost Demons, completely subservient to the Galactic King's will, and wielding a power level intimidating enough to threaten Polaris in his Fifth Form transformation. Of course, Polaris ended up prevailing against Subject Alpha Blue in their battle regardless, but that came less from the problems with the program and more that the fruit of that program was tossed at the most powerful Frost Demon in history. It certainly did not sour the deal for Polaris, that's for sure. The fact that such a genetic warrior could be controlled and remain completely subservient to its owner even if they are thousands of times stronger was already great news, and add the fact that such a trooper could threaten the most powerful beings in the universe with their raw power? That's a deal anyone would find tough to resist.
After the establishment of the First Galactic Empire and the seizure of Patrol assets by Ultramarine forces, more had been uncovered about this clandestine research program. As it turns out, it was initially started sometime after the conclusion of the Galactic Patrol's ki wielder recruitment program and the subsequent end of the direct Patrol-Frieza Force war. After a cold war began across the Galaxy, both sides began to rearm and search for "super weapons" to turn the tide of battle in any subsequent conflicts. For the Galactic King, this was turning the genes of the ancient Lord Frieza into an ironic weapon against the Planet Trade Organization. Constant lack of funding and interest from the military high command of the Galactic Patrol made it a low-priority venture, which explains why after twenty years of development, only one prototype had been created.
The Frieza clone program received a new lease of life following the Battle of Planet Pepper, a conflict which marked two significant changes in the politics of the First Galactic Empire. First, the flight of Patrol loyalists to Earthling territory meant that the Empire established complete control over the territory of the former Galactic Patrol, as the Rebellion no longer threatened its internal stability - which meant that Polaris could look outward, towards the Dominion, where powerful weapons and new tactics, which is what the Clone program presented, would be necessary. Second, the emergence of new, powerful martial artists on the side of the Loyalist rebellion, and a parallel lack of powerful individual fighters on the scale of Audrey or Murowski on the side of the Empire, meant that Polaris needed to find a way to compensate and eliminate this enemy advantage. The Clone program presented solutions to both of these problems, and thus, it has been reopened, given ten times the funding it received during the time of the Galactic Patrol, with new facilities provided for the Imperial research corps to work in, such as this fresh new facility in the suburbs of Abbayor, labelled Imperial Research Grounds A01.
Grounds A01 was among the most top-notch research facilities in the Galaxy. Security was paramount - five battalions of Ultramarines constantly patrolled the surroundings of the facility, a force field against spaceships surrounded it with the diameter of a kilometer, while the facility itself was only completely underground, only a small single-floor concrete shack sticking out into the surface. A series of vents and exhaust pipes were scattered around the diameter of the facility, too, but each one was constantly watched over by an Ultramarine fireteam. Grounds A01 itself, meanwhile, stretched out for a total of thirty underground floors, self-sufficient on geothermal energy and carrying everything necessary for the effective work of Imperial scientists - design and theoretical labor grounds, cloning tubes, DNA splicing and modifying facilities, leisure, like cafes, smoking areas and even a pool, an Ultramarine barracks, command room for controlling the facility's work, contacting the central command on Mitra and thousands of other jobs a control room would need to do, so on and so forth... Similar facilities were already designed and under construction across the Empire's other major planets, such as Zalt and Kanassa. In addition, Polaris envisioned that in the future, they will have to be focused less on research and theoretics and more on mass producing clone troopers, so a lot of focus was put on room for expansion.
Grounds A01 has recently reported that they achieved an important breakthrough and that the Emperor needs to come to check out the results. And that's what he was doing here. In a discreet location, not far from the shack leading to the underground facility, a single small ship landed, carrying Polaris and two Ultramarines as escort. Not long after the spaceship touched down on the planet's surface, the Frost Demon stepped out. He was greeted by the nearest platoon of Ultramarine guards, and salutes were briefly exhanged before the Frost Demon moved forward. There really was no reason to spend too much time outside, lest anyone who might be trying to spy on him gets the wrong idea.
The entrance into Grounds A01 were hid by a few lush trees and artificial wear and tear to make it appear like an abandoned concrete shack. The rundown wooden door suddenly opened like the entrance to an elevator, and Polaris stepped in, vanishing from sight as soon as the door closed like nothing happened.
(1024 words)
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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 20, 2018 23:47:07 GMT -5
Honeydew bolted to the window with his rifle prepared. He quickly flipped off the laser sight before taking a peek at the ship. Polaris stood for only a moment before continuing on, it gave Honeydew chills. “Boss, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, maybe we could just follow the ship via exhaust trails” Said Honeydew, leaning back slightly from the scope. If he missed this shot, Polaris would know they were here. Hell, all the Ultramarines would know they were here. It was a dangerous gamble. Appos looked down at Honeydew and prepared his grappling hook. “I’m sure. Their exhaust trails are going to be masked by zalt injection. All the sensors would pick up is a cloud of dust” Appos paused and leaned forward. At least he could say Polaris wasn’t vain. The ship looked to be a dingy taxi cab. The pilot a Namekian in clothes of the latest fashion. Windows tinted. All they had to do was hit the side of the cab and they’d have a nice little paper trail to the lab. Appos leaned back and patted Honeydew on the shoulder. “I know it’s dangerous, but it’s our duty. If you don’t take the shot then I will. And you know I’m not the greatest shot” Honeydew nodded and reluctantly returned to his scope. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Boss…” It was true that Appos was a notoriously bad shot with the Sniper Rifle. Trying to get him to take the shot would be signing a death warrant. Honeydew held his breath. “If I miss, I’m killing you before Polaris can” He would mumble towards Appos. With a sudden puff, a tracer shot out towards the cab. It would slightly knick the side of a lamppost before landing with a satisfying and soft thwap as the magnetic tracker attached to the cab. Honeydew sat back and sighed before shouting “Take that you bitch!” No noise escaped from his helmet. Appos slapped Honeydew’s helmet jokingly “Good shot Honeydew. We’ve got our route boys” The tracer would dispense Yethiri-7, a chemical which could cancel out the effects of zalt. Appos switched his lenses to CBRN sensors.
Two hours pasted as the MELON Troopers trudged along. They would eventually reach the brim of a forest. The tree line seemed rather neat and trim. Only a few meters further, Kiwi would hold up a hand. The MELON Troopers immediately dropped to the grass and disabled any visible lights on their armor. Kiwi raised an arm towards a nearby tree as slowly as possible. “Sarge, we have Power Level signatures up ahead. 2000 and 2300” Appos lifted his head slowly towards where Kiwi held his arm. A strange creature with Purple skin accompanied by another creature with a bulbous head would slowly come floating over the tree canopy. Upon closer inspection it was notable that these creatures wore battle armor, decorated with the symbols of The Ultramarines. A patrol force most likely. They couldn’t risk taking them down, the others may have scouters…
“Lock your armor” Appos said
The four MELON Troopers sat as still as statues. Luckily their green armor blended in wonderfully with the grass. “Boss, I don’t like this” Three-Piece chimed. “It’ll take at least 30 seconds for the armor to disengage. Those pieces of shit will have amp-” Honeydew would suddenly unlock his armor, roll over onto his stomach and take aim with his rifle. A stifled shot sounded, followed by another, both hitting their mark in the back of the Ultramarines heads. The two marines dropped with a loud thud and splashed the Earth with bluish purple gore. Appos unlocked his armor as soon as the creatures fell, running over and grabbing Honeydew by the shoulders. “What the hell were you thinking?!” Honeydew knocked him to the ground before dropping himself. “-t is why I shot” Honeydew would pause. “Wait, shit, did I mute my comms?” Four Ultramarines would fly over the horizon to scout out the disappearances. “No time to talk bossman, we need to move!” Honeydew hopped up and started trudging towards where the scouting party had originated. Appos sighed and started after him. “Honeydew, what the hell was that?” They would eventually stop at a small cottage. Honeydew would pop off a few rounds from his slug rifle before reholstering it. “Those two were over extending their Power Levels to impress the others. Trust me, I do it all the time to the mercenaries. They couldn’t handle a well placed shot from this baby” He would slap the rifle on his back. They didn’t normally use Kinetic weaponry but risking a rise in power level was too dangerous. “It just so happened that I spotted this little baby in my scope” He would beckon to the cottage. “I went to scan for Power Levels and well… I mean it’s not my fault that the mute and Scouter buttons are right next to each other ok? Anyways, I saw a bunch of these goons at this area. Dingy little cottage in the middle of a forest, which might I add” He would suddenly slap a tree causing it to bend like rubber and hit a just arriving Kiwi to the ground “Are artificial. We had to check it out!” Kiwi would walk over and sock Honeydew in the helmet for revenge before turning to Appos. “Sarge, the Cab signatures stop here before continuing onward. I think we have our location.”
Appos walked up to the door of the cottage. It didn’t seem like it’d be fit to live in, let alone house a top secret biological weapon. Appos reached for the handle before receiving a violent shock that caused him to recoil. “Taser locks. Probably a genetic lock” He would clench his fist “If anyone managed to make it this far without being spotted, the handle would probably knock them cold. Hand me your data pad Kiwi” He would do so reluctantly. Appos popped open the back panel and moved around a few wires. Kiwi squirmed in utter horror at it’s butchering. After a minute or so Appos touched one of the wires to the door. A loud pop sounded before the door slid open. “Well that seemed to work. Let’s move” The door slammed behind them as light burst forth in the small cottage. The interior seemed to be lined with metal and highly sophisticated machinery. Appos pointed to a panel in the corner “Hit the button. Looks like we just found an elevator” Three-Piece strolled over and slammed a fist onto the button
“Next stop, Hell”
Word Count: 1100/1915
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Post by Legume on Aug 21, 2018 5:29:23 GMT -5
Emperor of the Galaxy
The trip to the depths of Grounds A01 went without a hitch, only Polaris and two Ultramarines standing in the center of the cab for a few minutes until it released a soft buzz to indicate that they have reached Floor 27, with the reinforced steel door opening a second later. From there, the Emperor stepped into the heart of the facility - the cloning grounds, where all the theory and design crafted by the other departments was put into practice. Line after line of tubes, each one filled up with a some sort of thick green liquid to keep the monstrosities inside alive, could be seen from the elevator. Each of the tubed also had plenty of electronics and humming devices attached to it - those were for hastily aging the clones held inside, nobody's got time to wait for them to grow to adult size normally. Dozens of scientists buzzed around those tubes, marking down data displayed by each of the tube's computer and adjusting their calculations accordingly.
That's pretty much what this entire floor had been composed of. At least three thousand cloning tubes. Of course, only a small part of the entire floor could be overseen at any time - and, in fact, the tubes and computers drained so much electricity that the absolute majority of the floor was shrouded in darkness, only the few LED lights on each of the computers and the slightly glowing green healing fluid illuminating it. The floor was slippery and unclean, as the scientists were too much in a hurry to look after their environment, so splashed green fluid, discarded failed clones and biomatter could be seen about.
Something you'd be a lot more likely to find in a cheap horror flick, rather than a research and development facility. But hey, it works.
The head of the operation in this floor was a short, frowny Tech-Tech bloke by the name of Savarkar. Far from the most pleasant persona to work with. Formerly a researcher for the Galactic Patrol, specializing in hydroponics, botanics and plant genetics, he was recruited into the Galactic Patrol's clone program thanks to his experience in the field of genetics. After the Galactic Patrol was disestablished and replaced by the First Galactic Empire, Savarkar opted to not flee and instead offered his services to Polaris and his clique, thus rapidly rising in rank among the Imperial scientist corps. A man of little morals and ideals, only caring for how to save his skin and how to further whatever field he is researching at the moment, he might not have fit all that well into the "mad scientist" stereotype, but certainly wasn't the type of guy you would want to meet in a dark alley somewhere. Especially if he wanted to study human organs and you just happened to have some specimens fit for harvest.
As soon as Polaris stepped into Floor 27, the short alien scientist stepped up from his seat next to one of the test tubes, where he was fiddling with the computer controls and testing the effect dirfferent environments might have on the growth of Frost Demon clones, and greeted the Emperor with a hand salute.
"What brings you here, Your Majesty? Were you informed about the news?" Savarkar spoke in a raspy, screeching voice. Polaris folded his arms behind his back - a classic standing position - and replied:
"I'm not here to reprimand anyone, no. I had been informed that there have been recent breakthroughs in cloning technology on these research grounds and I came to see the results with my own eyes."
"Oh..." Savarkar muttered, a smirk widening on his face. The Tech-Tech scientist turned towards the test tube he had been working on and began to explain:
"Ever since the beginning of the project decades ago, the largest hurdle our research teams had to face was decoding and mapping the Frost Demon genome - a task which has, surprisingly, never done before in history. The Earthlings, who are the most advanced in this field of technology, are leaps beyond us in mapping their own genome, which has allowed them to do things such as gene therapy or genetic modification without a problem. Historical creations such as the monster known as Cell are an example of Earthling superiority in this field.
However, there is not much we can learn from Earthling achievements in this technology, as the Frost Demon genome is completely alien to them. Though it also uses a similar spiral DNA structure, the code is completely different and uses six different proteins for coding information, unlike the four of the Earthlings. In a way, we had to start research from the ground up and learn how to decode the genome provided to us from scratch.
However, though careful practical tests of which parts of the Frost Demon genome correspond to which part of the body, we have been able to decode the absolute majority of the Frost Demon genome and create machines which can easily produce new and unseen Frost Demon DNA, which can then, if necessary, be inserted into embryos and developed into clones of Frieza with any abilities you could imagine."
Savarkar suddenly turned to the Emperor and looked straight at him in the eye. "Your Majesty, how much time do you give us for fielding the first Frost Demon platoon?"
"I believe I was clear when I said that I give you a month." the Frost Demon muttered back, then glanced at the clone floating in the tube - it was a monstrosity, looking less like a living person and more like a bunch of clamps of white biomass, with barely formed eyes and face and nothing resembling a body.
"Then we'll give you that platoon in a month's time. Now that the Frost Demon genome has been decoded and can be easily rewritten, the bigger problem for us is that we don't have a way how to test our creations in battle."
One of the Ultramarines standing behind Polaris had had his finger pressed on the earpiece in his right ear for a few minutes now, listening to reports from the surface, and as soon as Savarkar finished, he stepped forward, interrupting the conversation with a salute and speaking:
"Your Majesty, something is happening on the surface. A number of our comrades' power levels have mysteriously vanished and gunshots have been reported in the surroundings of the entrance. Something may be trying to break in."
Immediately after hearing that news, Polaris grinned and turned his eyes towards Savarkar.
"Sounds to me like we've just found a few unlucky victims to help with your combat testing."
(1103 words, total 2127)
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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 21, 2018 22:40:31 GMT -5
Lights slowly flickered by as the MT moved ever closer to the core. A loud clicking noise came from where Three-piece stood. He had removed the barrel from his auto cannon, placing it on his back before grabbing a new attachment. He would snap it onto the bottom of the weapon. A small flame would emit from it’s end. Honeydew looked behind him as he too removed the barrel of his sniper rifle. “Who let him have a flamethrower?” Three-piece pushed past him and raised his weapon forward. “I’m taking point. No reason to keep a low presence, is there boss?” Appos hesitated slightly as he reached for his sidearm, a large sword with a chain running it’s length. It was more of a chainsaw then a sword. He preferred close combat, to make sure the enemy died. He revved the sword to make sure it worked. “I found it” Kiwi chimed in, snapping his datapad closed. “And next time you take my pad, don’t destroy it Sarge. It’s a pain in the ass to put back together. I’ve found a concentration of low power levels towards the central base. The way they’re moving indicates a wide open room, perhaps a missile silo or laboratory. I don’t know why but there seems to be no Powerlevel greater than 200. Well, except for Polaris” Appos revved the sword one more time. “Threep is right. Prepare for offensive tactics. Fire at will, especially upon any scientists” It didn’t make sense not to have any Ultramarines guarding the lower levels… What was Polaris’ game? Appos knew the Emperor wouldn’t sully his hands with the MT’s, they were much too weak. At least that’s what he could gauge from his psyche analysis. “Sarge” Kiwi said brisky. “A lot of those power levels seemed to be in a grid. I don’t know whether they’re being suppressed or not. Are you sure this is a good idea?” The doors to the elevator opened. “Kiwi, I don’t think we have a choice right now. Since Honeydew decided to blow our cover…” Honeydew shrugged “Rather fight down here than up there. Well, as long as Threep stays at least ten meters in front of me” Three-Piece would discharge his Flamethrower to ensure it was working. “Keep talking shitstain, I’ve got plenty of plastic charges with your name on them” Honeydew stopped and looked at Appos. “Boss I don’t think he’s kidding” Appos sighed and continued forward. Honeydew seemed to falter before continuing forward.   The rooms of this facility were bleach white, it was obvious that great care went into ensuring it’s proper sanitation. “Make a right at the end of the hall!” Kiwi said as Three-piece charged forward. Two scientist stood in absolute horror as the deranged Melon Trooper opened a torrent of fire. It washed over them and sent them onto the floor screaming in pain. Three-Piece would stomp on one of their heads as he rounded the corner. Appos put his chainsword through the other’s chest. “Three Signatures on the left, rising rapidly” Two Ultramarines stepped out from a room with hands raised. They fired rapid orbs of Ki towards the MT, knicking Three-Piece in the helmet and causing him to shout in anger. Three-Piece slid onto his knees as three bullets flew in from behind him. Honeydew held a thumbs up as two of the bullets struck the Ultramarine to the left, exploding into smoke. The third nailed the right Ultramarine’s Scouter. Three-Piece bolted up and crashed into the right Ultramarine, driving his Flamethrower forward and opening fire. A spout of flame burst through it’s torso, spattering purple blood across Three-Piece’s broken helmet. Appos would charge up to the left marine, bringing his sword down only to have it swatted aside. Kiwi would come in from the side and punch the marine in the torso. This would grant Appos just enough time to bring his sword back up and saw through the marine’s armor. It would hop back and fire a large blast of Ki towards the two MT. “YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT M-” His head would explode into a colorful mess of red and purple. “Too bad, I wanted to hear that monologue” Honeydew snickered as he chambered a new round in his rifle. Three-piece would continue forward, turning to shout “Where’s the thi-” Only to be clothed lined at the end of the hall. He would rise only to be grabbed by the neck by a muscular Namekian. The MT attempted to swing at the Namekian only to have his fist caught and snapped back. With a sneer the Namekian threw Three-Piece towards the other charging MT. Kiwi and Appos would manage to slide under, Honeydew was not so lucky. Three-Piece crashed into the sniper, sending the two spiraling back. Kiwi would roll forward and jump up. He managed to get a single punch on the Namekian before being swatted aside. Appos brought his sword up with a violent revving. The sword buried itself into the Namekian’s stomach before being ripped out. Appos visor was splattered with purple blood, blinding him just long enough for the Namekian to grab him. He would lift the MT above his head and struggle as he attempted to tear Appos in half. Kiwi rose and looked towards where Honeydew and Three-piece collided. Three-piece held Honeydew like a ball, Kiwi noticed three or four pieces of plastic explosives attached to the sniper’s chest. They each had Honeydew written on them. Three-Piece tossed Honeydew forward with such force that it made the walls bend. “I HATE YOU ALL!” Shouted Honeydew before unfurling and latching himself onto the Namekian. He looked up and said “Honey, I’m home!” Before violently headbutting him. The Namekian dropped Appos and reach for his now broken nose. Honeydew pried his front armor plating off and snatched Appos. Kiwi helped him forward. Three-Piece held up a switch with a big red button, waiting to make sure the Namekian got a good look at him. “Boom” He clicked the button, sending a mass of purple gore all around the hall. Kiwi knelt and tended to Appos’ wounds. Luckily most of them got away with only superficial wounds. Appos stood and walked over the pile of gore, reaching in and pulling out his sword. Three-Piece walked past him through a now-destroyed doorway. Appos could see a single, almost animalistic eye peek through the broken helmet. The rest of Lemun Squad entered the room carefully, weapons raised. The room was pitch black, and seemed colossal. “Hold” Appos said with his hand raised. “You can quit with the supervillain act, Polaris!” Word Count: 1102/2927 |
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Post by Legume on Aug 22, 2018 13:57:20 GMT -5
Emperor of the Galaxy The room opened by Appos responded to the LEMON soldier's demand with nothing but empty silence, a few sounds of bubbling healing liquid, perhaps a few beels let out by the systems attached to each one of the uncountable number of cloning pods. The initial darkness of the floor shrouded the insides of the room, but once a person's eyes got used to the lack of light, they would be able to make out some of the objects surrounding them. Faint, barely visible light released by each of the tubes would help illuminate the room just a little bit as well. However, the sight was nothing encouraging.  This part of the room appeared to have not seen any scientists or janitors for a whole day, seeing as the floor was even messier tnan you'd normally expect. Splashes of liquid were a common occurrence, so were bits and pieces of discarded bio-matter. Some as small as nails, others as large as detached arms and legs. Nobody bothered to pick them up and place them somewhere where they can be recycled - after all, they were going to decompose eventually anyway, so why bother with spending the energy to pick them up? If one were to look into the chambers themselves, they could see that each and every one of them carred the clones of the same being in various stages of development, from barely functional embryos to fully grown adults. And they all carried the face of the same individual, this being Lord Frieza, the legendary Emperor of the Planet Trade Organization from hundreds of years past, the progenitor of the Frieza Force, one of the most infamous and powerful Frost Demons in history. Thousands of species, including the Saiyans, vanished or were brought yo the brink of extinction thanks to his power, attitude and tyrannical rule, destroying planets with his finger was a hobby of his, and his mutations granted him enough innate potential that with only a few weeks of training, he could catch up to and nearly surpass Son Goku and Prince Vegeta in their myterious "Super Saiyan God" transformations, instantly placing him among the most powerful beings in the Universe's history. And here he was, cloned hundreds of times and grown in this laboratory, clearly for something nefarious. Unleashing an army of Frieza clones at the Galaxy? Nothing could stop the Galactic Empire then. The Dominion, the Valkyries, the Crusher Corps - they all had powerful individuals who could probably defeat one or two Friezas, sure, but an entire army of them? Not a chance. The Galactic Empire was lacking in their ability to wield powerful martial artists and always sought for ways how to recuperate, but this is quite a radical swing to the other direction, don't you think? The complete silence of the room was suddenly disturbed by the sound of slow, but audible footsteps, echoing through the narrow pathways separating the lines of cloning tubes. The footsteps were coming with noticeable pauses between them, indicating that whoever was walking didn't have much experience in that field. The steps also felt low and with constant sounds of falling drops of water following them, as if the feet were drenched in something liquid. From one of the corners in the crossroad that the narrow pathway was leading towards, a white humanoid figure emerged, staring directly into the squad of LEMON soldiers in front of it. It appears that someone has left a pod unattended for too long.  This Frieza clone, although fully mature, seemed to have undergone a horrific mutation during the experiments conducted on it in the tube. For one, it completely lacked a mouth, its hands were webbed, the ear tubes were far too tiny, and the body structure was unnatural for a Frost Demon, with hands too narrow and thin muscles bulging out, while the feet were much more massive, more fitting for one of their species. For now, the Frieza clone watched the LEMON squad curiously, not sure what it had just encountered in its exploration of this room which it could call "home". However, a high power level, reminiscent of that of the ancient Frieza, emanated from it, and it could certainly be put into use. (705 words, total 2832) |
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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 22, 2018 17:02:48 GMT -5
Lemun Squad stopped dead in their tracks. Even Three-Piece, who usually cared little for danger, stood in shock at the sudden realization. This wasn’t a Biological weapon… This was a Clone Army “Boss?” Honeydew chimed in. “Boss, something isn’t right. My Power level sensors are going crazy just by looking at this thing. It’s base PL is almost as strong as Polaris... “ Appos stood in still. He had never been in a situation like this before. Even against strong enemies, Lemun Squad could usually hold their own through teamwork and proper equipment. This was… this was impossible! This thing was as strong as Polaris himself, with hundreds of others to back it up. It wasn’t just a threat to The Continuum, but to the entire galaxy… It had to be stopped. The MT’s lives did not matter right now, nothing mattered right now except stopping these things. A sudden explosion burst from Kiwi’s helmet, causing him to hold his head. “Damn it, Sensors are blown! Sarge we need to evac, we have our information” Kiwi turned to Appos who simply stared forward. “Sarge?” Appos turned to Three-Piece “You know what to do, Threep” Three-Piece nodded before reaching into his pack and producing multiple plastic explosives. The freakish monstrosity simply stood and stared at the MELON Troopers. It seemed curious. Almost innocent in someway. Appos looked down and removed his helmet, dropping it to the ground with a loud clang. “Lemun Squad. We were born to fight. So what we are going to do is fight. Avoid contact with that thing, it doesn’t seem hostile yet but if that changes, we are all dead. Three-Piece I want several Charges across these chambers. Spread out evenly to take as many as possible. Honeydew, get to the door and prepare for an assault. That distraction you pulled isn’t going to last. Kiwi I want you to support Honeydew, stims, painkillers, meds, I want you to turn him in a fucking killing machine. Keep him alive at all costs. Once Threep is done we evac” He would tap on a few buttons lining his forearm-guard. “Threep, Connect the trigger to our armor” He would pause. “Lemun squad, either we make it out alive or we go out with a bang. I’ve got no preference” They heard the thunderous footsteps before actually seeing the Ultramarines. There had to be hundreds of them. The Empire’s most highly trained killing machines, stuck at a choke point. Three-Piece was about half way through with planting explosives as the first wave charged through. “Disable your singularity generators, Lemun Squad” Kiwi turned in surprise. “But Sarge, that's highly against regulations! We need them in order to assure they don’t-” Appos slammed his chainsword down. “We die too soon and Threep is undefended” He would pause before revving up his chainsword. “And I don’t know about you, but I want to die taking as many of these bastards with me as I can” Kiwi stared for a few seconds before nodding. Even with such a large number, only about 10 or 15 marines could fit through the door at a time. Perfect. These Ultramarines could normally tear through the MELON Trooper’s in such large numbers, but they had the benefit performance enhancing drugs. They had detrimental effects, which included death, but that did not matter anymore. Honeydew managed to take one or two of the marines before having to reload. Five shots in the chest each, three to destroy their armor, two for their lungs. Appos flew through the remainder with his chainsword, shredding limbs as they blocked the crushing blows. One managed to nearly blast his arm off, turning the armor plating to ash and leaving his bare arm. The nanosuit was missing in various patches across, revealing scorched skin and meat. Eventually they managed to take on the first wave before their injuries started to hinder them. Three-Piece chimed in “Alright, I think I-” before grunting in pain and surprise. He looked down to see the mutant staring with cold dead eyes. It tilted it’s head at The MELON Trooper. Through the crack in Three-Pieces helmet, it could see a single anger ridden yellow eye. It told the creature all it needed to know. This being wanted to kill it, to shred it into pieces. It would start to float up as it lifted the man higher. Three-Piece attempted to headbutt the creature, only to crack his helmet further. The creature didn’t even flinch. Appos turned to see his brother being lifted like a ragdoll. “NO, THREE-” He shouted as a fist burst through his lower torso. He spat blood before turning and sawing the Ultramarines arm off. He shouted in anger and flew forth, adrenaline being the only thing that kept him conscious. “Boss, I’m running low on bullets!” Appos ignored Honeydew, simply continuing to slash at the Ultramarines. He shouted in anger as his chainsword slowed, jamming with the excessive amount of blood which now coated it. Appos would begin swinging it around like a baseball bat before reaching for his rifle. His injured arm prevented him from accurately firing the weapon, resorting to random and constant bouts of fire.  Three-Piece would begin to punch the creature in the face repeatedly. He thrashed like a cornered beast, simply shouting “LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP THEM!”. The creature once more tilted it’s head before letting go of the MELON Trooper. He managed to slow his decent slightly, but couldn’t fully adjust before getting hit by one of the Ultramarines. A large dent formed where Three-Piece landed, he struggled to stand and limped towards his autocannon. With a few loud clanks he managed to set it up into it’s mounted form and opened fire upon the hoard of Ultramarines. Honeydew slammed his rifle down in anger. “Boss, we need to go now!” His voice seemed to echo away as something snapped within Appos. Ki spheres would begin forming in his hands, he used them like gloves to beat his way through the Ultramarines. This was not possible for a normal MELON Trooper Appos shouted in anger as he started pushing back the hoard just enough to create a gap. Appos proceeded to throw down and energy shield at the gap, only those with Continuum chips could pass through it. “Get out of here!” He shouted. “Boss, we can’t-” Three-Piece grabbed Honeydew by the helmet and started charging forward towards the shield. Kiwi followed through behind them before shouting “We’ll come back for you Sarge! We won’t leave you!” Appos turned and looked at Kiwi. “Take care of Lemun squad, Kiwi” Kiwi nodded before running through after his fellow squad mates. Honeydew shouted curses as Three-Piece dragged him along. Many of the Ultramarines attempted crashing through the shield to no avail. Appos began to purposefully move back to garner attention. It worked for the most part, but still a few marines went after the remainder of Lemun Squad once the shield dropped. “FOR THE CONTINUUM!” shouted Appos before having one of his legs cut through with a sudden Ki Blast. He fell to one knee before getting smacked half way across the room. The creature caught him, holding him with one arm, simply staring. The Ultramarines stopped as not to get the ire of the ungodly creature. It stared at Appos, it’s curiosity evident. Appos started laughing. He looked at the Ultramarines who had stopped their attack. “You’re all PATHETIC!” He shouted, the creature still holding him in a vice-like grip. Word Count: 1253/4180 Legume |
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Post by Legume on Aug 24, 2018 2:00:32 GMT -5
The Frieza clone eyed down the Continuum soldier it held with one hand, curiosity clearly visible in its eyes. After all, this was perhaps the first living being it had seen in its short life. The other MELON Troopers or the Ultramarines - they were nothing for it, this was the real deal. Unfortunately, having inherited the genes of Lord Frieza, the clone also inherited the ancient emperor's unhinged drive towards making their opponent suffer. Hell, it might have been the only way it knew how to communicate its feelings.
A small ball of glowing red ki energy formed above the Frieza clone's finger and it began slowly dragging it across the MELON Trooper's armor, leaving a line of burned metal as it went. When it noticed that there wasn't any point in doing that, however, as torturing the set of armor a person was wearing wouldn't really make the person inside feel anything, the Frieza clone opted to go for a different approach. The ball of red ki energy dissipated and the monstrosity instead grabbed onto the trooper's upper arm, aiming to rip it off.
However, that goal never came to be.
If one were to turn to the side and check what the Ultramarines were doing as this "bonding session" was taking place, they might notice that the blue-clad warriors had went from collective terror to a collective sigh of relief. Moments later, a fist coated in a white glove and fiery purple aura slammed through the Frieza clone from behind, coming out through the other side of the torso and splashing blood on the MELON Trooper's armor. Said fist suddenly began to glow, before the clone could realize what had just happened, and released a burst of energy, vaporizing the monstrosity in one fell swoop and revealing who was the perpetrator of the execution.
A furious, transformed Emperor Polaris. It took him a while to get to where the fighting was taking place, and apparently, by the time he actually got here to solve the situation, a bunch of the cloning pods had been destroyed, several Ultramarines were now dead and a clone had been let loose. It's a good thing that he came when he did, then - had the clone gotten too agitated, it could have certainly used its uncontrolled ki powers to blow this whole facility to smithereens. The Fifth Form transformation Polaris had used to take out the clone dispersed, leaving him back in his short base from, but the frown on his face did not go away.
Polaris stretched his arm forward, placing the MELON Trooper in a psychic choke.
The question arises - who was this person? With this heavy armor and logos plastered over it, it certainly wasn't some raider or pirate, not that any pirate would have the guts or lack of self preservation to attack a facility protected by the Emperor himself. This must have been a spy, an infiltrator, or a saboteur sent by one of the Galaxy's many factions. This is where you get into a problem, however. This didn't look like a soldier of the Dominion, nor an Earthling trooper. The Crusher Corps didn't have anything like these heavy armor suits, either. The Frieza Force, even if it was still around, couldn't have been responsible for this either. So what the hell?
The only option now is to ask and squeeze out the answer from the person in front of him.
"I'm not going to lie, trying to sabotage a facility protected by me takes a lot of guts. Not that it wasn't futile from the get-go, especially since we have now closed all of the structure's exits." the Emperor spoke, locking him eyes on the MELON Trooper's helmet. "Identify yourself. Who are you and who sent you here?"
(633 words, total 3465)
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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 24, 2018 14:59:49 GMT -5
Appos felt the power level before seeing its owner. This was the first Power level he had ever felt before, it was crushing the breath out of him. He turned to the creature as it started burning his armor, that sickening innocence across its face. He almost felt bad for what he knew was coming. It reached for his already injured arm, starting to apply pressure. Purple splatter his helmet. It would of blinded him if the lenses were not built with a laser mop which shone across the golden eyes. The burning blood made a sickening smell, smoke rose from his eye pieces. The entire creature burst into ash, one final act of mercy from the Galactic Emperor. Appos, however, did not fall to the ground. He felt a hand through his armor grasping his throat. Polaris stood there with his hand raised in a choking motion, a foot or two away. The Frost Demon would shift suddenly to a new form. It was a relief, as the crushing power level left with it. It was his more common form. Polaris spoke to him in a calm and unsettling tone. As though the Emperor wasn’t going to tear him him half. Appos smirked underneath his helmet.
“I appreciate the compliment, my Emperor. My friends call me Appos. As for who sent me...that’s classified information”
Lemun squad bolted through the hallway with fire under their ass. Literally. Two Ultramarines launched Ki barrages towards the MT’s, all they could do is charge forward and hope for the best. Honeydew would turn to check, only to have his lenses burst from his helmet. “Shit, is that Polaris?!” He shouted trying to wave the smoke from his eyes. “Keep moving Lemun Squad, Appos gave us a chance to escape and we are not wasting it. Three-Piece” Kiwi shouted while tapping on his datapad “Door ahead. Once we make it through set up the turret and cover while I open the elevator” Three-Piece gave a thumbs up. The doors slammed open, Three-Piece stood to the side as the other two MT’s flew past. He would turn into the door frame and open fire upon the marines. It slowed them but not by much. Honeydew looked at Kiwi frantically tap on his datapad. “This is taking too long!” He shouted before grabbing onto the elevator door. With a few seconds of prying, he eventually managed to open the door as the elevator lowered. They piled in, Three-Piece falling to the ground from exhaustion. Kiwi tapped on his helmet comms. “Sarge, I don’t know if you made it, but we’re escaping right now. We will come back for you”
“I’m sorry to tell you, My Emperor. But disclosure of such information would be in direct breach of protocol #342. Personally I find my CO more scary than you” He waited for the Emperor to respond.
Word Count: 482 /4653
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Post by Legume on Aug 24, 2018 23:03:12 GMT -5
Ah, classic, the ever so present and annoying trope of captured soldiers not wishing to disclose any information about the people they are serving for. Appos was certainly into it. He only gave his name and nothing else, declaring that it would be a breach of protocol. The only thing this sentence said to Polaris was that the armored soldier was definitely not a part of any of the main factions. If he was a member of the Saiyan Dominion, he'd probably rub that fact into the Emperor's face right now.
Polaris lowered his hand, but maintained the psychic grip over Appos's neck. It would be very easy to just continue this torture session and force the soldier into submission that way. In such a scenario, the heavy armor that the MELON Trooper was wearing would be helpful - because, for example, Polaris could burst and break his arms without any impact on the environment. And it would certainly be very funny.
In fact, he decided to do something like that right now, as a spanking for a wrong answer. While the psychic choke over Appos's neck remained, a second grip burrowed into the MELON Trooper's right arm, ripping flesh and breaking bone on its way from the fingers to the shoulder.
A sudden call to Polaris's earpiece disrupted the scene, however. Pressing a button right next to his ear, the Emperor was greeted with the voice of a winded, exhausted Heran Ultramarine.
"Your Majesty, we've been chasing that squad of intruders for a while now, and they seem to have outsmarted us. We're left biting the dust and they're currently taking the elevator to the ground floor. What's the plan now?"
Polaris didn't even need a second to think of an answer:
"Cut off the elevator's power. Now. I'll deal with this particular intruder in a minute."
Polaris's eyes shifted back towards Appos as he removed his finger from his earpiece. Truth be told, even though he was in the middle of torturing the MELON Trooper with his psychic powers, it was unlikely that the bastard would just disclose all the information he needed. The man was clearly as stubborn as a boulder, or at least lacked any sense of self-preservation, this being one of the few reasons why they thought attacking this facility would be a good idea.
No, the situation calls for a more tactful approach. Squeezing out other information from Appos and working with the pieces.
"Alright then, Appos." Polaris spoke. "What's your species? What was your objective here? What does your mysterious organization have against us?"
(432 words, total 3897)
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Post by Captain Appos on Aug 26, 2018 20:53:22 GMT -5
It was a good thing that the helmets could mute speech. Otherwise the Emperor might of heard Appos shouting in agony as an invisible force tore through his undamaged arm. The shouts only helped distract him from the pain. When it suddenly stopped, Appos looked up before stating “That was my Ultramarine killing arm…” He would stop just short of finishing his snarky remark. It seemed the Emperor had some orders to give.
“Cut off the power to the elevators”
Appos opened his private comms to Kiwi. “They’re shutting off power to the Elevators. Leave them a little gift”
Three-Piece grinned like a madman at hearing Kiwi’s orders. “We’ve got at least one minute until the power shuts off. Honeydew, get a Ki-Cutter to the ceiling. Threep, you know what to do”
As soon as the lights went dark, Lemun squad burst through the ceiling panels of the Elevators, launching their grappling hooks to the top. It would take them at least three minutes to reach the top. “Kiwi, are you sure we can get Appos? I mean, that's Polaris we’re talking about” Kiwi turned to Honeydew, even wearing a helmet, his anger was evident. “It’s our fault he’s stuck down there. We weren’t good enough. So we are going to save him. It may not be today, it may not be for weeks, but we will save him. If you have anymore complaints, take it up with Threep” Honeydew would turn to Three-Piece, who held a plastic explosive with ‘Honeydew’ written across it. “God damn it, I thought you got rid of those!”
“I’m sorry to tell you, my Emperor, but I don’t even know what I am. They don’t like telling us much other than who to shoot or scout. My mission was to observe whatever you held down here, we thought it was a biological weapon. Guess we were right. As for what we have against you? Nothing at all. It was my decision to destroy those clones, not my squad or my organization. It was nothing personal, I swear, many of us actually admire your work. But I wouldn’t let anyone have an army of Frieza clones. One nearly destroyed the entire galaxy, you let that many loose? Well, I assume you’re smart enough to do the math. I would of destroyed it no matter who owned them. This facility would be a hole in the ground if it was the Dominion…”
Polaris wasn’t a fool, but neither was Appos. He wouldn’t risk killing his only link to the Continuum. This was too major a blow to his operations. He just had to hold off on giving too much information.
Two Ultramarines reached the now deactivated elevator. Their arms were raised in preparation for attack, but upon entering, they only found one thing.
Plastic explosives molded to say:
Suck it
- Love Three-Piece
The team made it to the surface just in time to watch the explosion rise up the elevator shaft. Three-Piece was almost in tears at it’s beauty.
Word Count: 503/5138
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Post by Legume on Aug 27, 2018 11:57:02 GMT -5
Oh, how funny. Even at intense pressure, having his arm ripped apart by psychic forces and himself approaching impending doom with ever single waking second, this man just wouldn't budge, veiling his resistance with bullshit statements such as not knowing anything or not knowing who he is. Bloody hell, how do you not know who you are? What, do you never look into a mirror when you're outside your armor? Questions like these flowed freely across the Emperor's mind as he locked eyes with the tortured MELON Trooper with a scowl on his face.
Well, to be perfectly fair, Appos did squeeze out a few things during his blabbery. For one, he was definitely not sent here by the Saiyan Dominion, as he talked about being sent here for investigating the development of a biological weapon and not because of any particular grievances with the First Galactic Empire, and even stated that if someone like the Dominion were to repeat the same research that his faction was doing, they would target them all the same. The second was that the faction which Appos represented was in some way ideologically similar to the First Galactic Empire, as Appos blabbed out that many members of his organization sympathize with their actions or at least admire their work. So it could not be a pathetic degenerate "democracy" like the Kingdom of Earth, and more likely a faction leaning towards totalitarianism. Or, perhaps, a faction which believes that the Saiyans are its primary target.
The statement that Appos doesn't know who or what he is and that their higher-ups don't give them much more than who to shoot, though a point of ridicule within Polaris's mind, also had to be taken into consideration. This implies that Appos, much like the rest of his troopers, are in one way or another not... normal. Being blindly ordered without even knowing who you are or what your organization's goals are isn't a trait which volunteer units or even conscripted soldiers exhibit. That's something more akin to combat androids, brainwashed soldiers, clones, and all the other types of soldiers who are engineered for war from birth instead of being pulled into it in the middle of their life. Polaris would know, he's building an army like that right now!
So, it is an organization which is maybe totalitarian, maybe anti-Saiyanist, maybe clandestine (how else would Polaris not know who Appos represents otherwise?) and uses some sort of engineered soldiers (which not only affirms their likely totalitarian nature, but also implies that they are at least, if not above the current technological level of the Galaxy!). I don't know about you, but that is a much better picture of who Polaris was dealing with than what he started with. This sounds like something the Dark Ops would be interested in. They're experts in everything clandestine and undercover, which includes collecting dossiers about anything the Emperor might be interested in and is not public knowledge. Even if they somehow don't have a clue about what this mysterious faction is supposed to be, they're likely to uncover that within a reasonable timeframe.
Polaris's thoughtful mood, however, was rudely overturned by the sound of an explosion happening in the distance, a number of floors above where the Emperor and the MELON Trooper were standing. Moments later, one of the Ultramarines standing around the floating mysterious intruder removed his hand from his earpiece and walked up to Polaris, speaking:
"You Majesty... we just lost the elevator."
Polaris responded with a raised eyebrow and a slight confused frown.
"I beg your pardon?" he responded. His suspicions about what this sentence might have meant were confirmed real quick, when the same Ultramarine explained:
"Those intruders placed explosive charges in the lift cabin before climbing out through the shaft. The cabin and much of the corridor around it were destroyed in the explosion and it appears that the intruders have escaped."
Oh...
What a bust.
He loses a bunch of cloning pods, a platoon's worth of Ultramarines, a mature Frieza clone and even the elevator shaft, and all he has to show for are a bunch of escapades and a worthless trooper who won't say anything beyond a few cryptic clues about his organization. Keeping him alive and continuing to torture him would be a favor Polaris was not willing to grant.
"You can talk to your comrades from a distance, correct? I don't know the way you communicate, be it telepathic powers or radio signals, I couldn't care less." the Emperor spoke, lessening the psychic grip over Appos's neck, but continuing to keep him floating in the air. "Transmit them this. You lot are trespassing on my property, I'm going to need your organization to pay a fine. But the only payment I accept is in all of your members' blood. Starting with this fine gentleman over here."
A few seconds later, Polaris suddenly raised his right hand and fired a beam from his index finger, watching it pierce through the MELON Trooper's helmet and come out through the other side with a splatter of blood. To the Frost Demon's surprise, however, the suit activated something immediately once its wielder was registered as dead. A miniature black hole suddenly swallowed the entire armor and its owner whole before releasing the energy stored with a flash, blowing away the few nearest Ultramarines and cracking glass for the next dozens of meters. Moments later, Polaris and his subordinates were left watching as the MELON Trooper ran circles around them for one last time, this time by not leaving anything to research or autopsy.
Polaris's frown somehow managed to grow even harsher.
"You," he suddenly spoke towards the Ultramarine closest to him, who nearly jumped, fearing that he was next in line on the chopping block. No such misfortune, though - Polaris may have been a cold-blooded murderer, but at least he limited himself to killing his enemies. "Calculate the damage caused."
The subordinate nodded and pressed a few buttons on his scouter. The miniaturized computer inside ran a series of calculations, taking into account all the information about the encounter, and soon spat out a number.
"Three hundred fifty million Galactic Credits, sir." the Ultramarine stated, still tense, fearing that the Emperor might not like the answer. Polaris, however, sighed.
"Thank goodness, it's not as bad as I thought." Though the damage dealt was severe, it was limited to a small part of the facility. It might take a while to rebuild and replace all the machinery and pods that were lost... but not unachievable.
The blow to Polaris's pride was an another matter.
(1108 words, total 5015)
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