Old Score Chronicle Ch. 02

"No! I don't want him to see me!" Madji said.

"We have to get stuff done, Madji. One thing Roka can do that you must learn is put your subjective differences aside to focus on an objective front. You and I have our differences but at the end of the day, you're on our side..." Breecher explained. Madji sighed as Talla pulled the long curtain around Madji's bed, hiding him from sight

Ohunna had gone out to find Roka. Indeed, he was in his usual spot, the upper longue. He and Tangu were sitting near one another in utter silence. Tangu looked up as Ohunna made his way over.

"Roka..." Tangu said, tapping the boy's shoulder. Roka looked up to see Tangu pointing behind him. His eyes fell on Ohunna who was steadily making his way over.

"Talla wants to see you." Ohunna said.

"What happened to Madji?" Roka asked bluntly.

"We'll talk about that later...just come on... it's urgent." Ohunna responded. Roka looked back to see if Tangu was coming alone. Tangu simply shrugged, not willing to feel the guilt Madji would usher upon him.

Ohunna and Roka walked down the stairs to the infirmary. Talla and Breecher were standing there, making the situation even more confusing. Roka slowly walked in, caution written across his face.

"Ok Roka," Talla began, "My surveillance team has tuned in to the messages between two outriggers in the upper atmosphere, ready to drop a terrapod in the deserts to the west. There is no nearby civilization which makes this even odder. I believe it is a trap... The laser canon is not quite ready for use yet so we're going to have to use that tank canon of yours."

"Ummm... I'm going to need more details. We messed up last time because the range on the tank cannon is limited when the tank is in mobility mode." Roka responded, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah and I couldn't be launched as far so we had to get closer to the Terrapod, dangerously close. Our coordinates were off and I missed the target and we had to flee or be consumed by molten metal." Breecher added.

"We generally are on top of locating Terrapods since they take months to prepare but that one was sudden and we had to scramble weeks prior." Ohunna said.

"So how much time do we have?" Roka asked.

"About three days...BUT, this ship is really fast, extremely stealthy and is being modified so the tank's barrel can be fired during a bank. The tank is also being modified so we can fire from a much greater range." Talla explained.

"So what does that mean for Breecher? The hardest part about shooting down the terrapods is finding that sweet spot... Too close and we have to face reinforcements, too far and Breecher can't locate us. Since he is our biggest asset, we can't gamble too much with him." Roka asked, worriedly.

"At the end of the day, I'll be getting the job done, saving lives in the process. I can find my way back Roka..." Breecher responded, reassuringly.

"You know you're like my older brother..." Roka smiled, his arms still folded.

"It's a bit too late to do a test fire so we only got one shot... but since we have a team of computational geniuses and machines built specifically for triangulating coordinates, the chance of hitting the target are very high." Talla added.

"Is this ship modular?" Roka asked.

"Yes, it and the tank are merged as one this instant." Talla answered.

"So, why was I called here precisely? It seems this could have been sorted without me." Roka continued to ask.

"Not quite Roka. You're kind of the mastermind behind all of this and truthfully, I'd like to keep certain operations... separate... this is one." Tall continued.

"Wait what? Separate?" Roka chuckled, confused.

"Picture it this way... Only a select few shall know what a select few shall need, so there won't be any cross-patterns. I'm no fan of secrecy but, I know my people... I'm not too familiar with yours... Tensions might arise if the mission types are revealed simply because one group of people can perform certain tasks better than others. My folks can be a bit...touchy." Talla clarified.

"Oh, OK... I see now... So I'm going to be some type of lead tactician?" Roka asked.

"Well, yeah...if you're comfortable with that." Talla responded, hoping Roka wouldn't come to realize that it was more of a representative role than a tactical one.

"I mean... just don't want people coming to me, asking me about shit because I truthfully don't know how to run this operation." Roka laughed.

"I will respect that." Talla smiled back.

"Two last questions... When precisely will we talk tactics and what the hell happened to Madji?" Roka responded going over to the curtains. He yanked them back to see a surprised Madji sitting on the gurney, covered in bruises, "You... alright?"

Madji couldn't even form words. He just sat there, his pupils as full as his irises, frozen from discomfort.

"Hello?" Roka continued.

"Roka," Talla said, drawing the boy's attention, "Just leave him for now." Roka nodded, waved goodbye to Madji and went on his way. Talla then turned to Breecher and Ohunna who both gave a tense sigh.

"That boy is intense..." Talla said, full of relief.

"He knows what we were trying to do." Breecher laughed.

"You serious?" Talla asked, surprised.

"Could you not read all that sarcasm?" Breecher asked.

"No, he tends to have this lack of expression for the most part." Talla responded, clenching her head, "Will he go through with it though?"

"If it's anything Roka is good for is taking on responsibility... He'll complain, hiss, spit, and maybe maul a few people but he'll get the job done ten times over." Breecher laughed.

"You obviously know your... little brother well... But truthfully, I really don't want anyone less than five hundred years of age on the battle field, including you two, Roka, and Tangu." She said. The two boy's jaw's fell from shock, not expecting such odd age restrictions.

"Why?" Ohunna asked.

"I have plans... You will be my recruiters, my intelligence officers, my recon specialists... I'm having to put off a lot at the moment, problems seem to be arising at every turn, but this is something we need..." Talla explained.

"I'm confused... so will I be launched from the cannon or not?" Breecher asked.

"Oh you definitely will but..." She began, "We're all going to have to multitask until we can fill this ship up with more people. Right now we have a little over a hundred ten people on a ship with a capacity for four thousand... Do you know how thinly spread we are?"

"I see now..." Breecher said, nodding.

Roka went back to the lounge where Tangu was waiting patiently. He sat next to him with his typical blank expression.

"Um... Yeah you were right." Roka responded.

"What?" Tangu asked, forgetting the conversation that happened not even ten minutes ago.

"Your mom," Roka began, "She pointed out how I've been unknowingly appointed to some type of leadership role by my own and handed official responsibility over to me but tried her best to underplay it... She made it seem like tactics were the only thing I'd be handling when truthfully it is one of probably the dozen tasks I'll be given..."

"Well, we have virtually no one on this ship so... You got to see where she's coming from." Tangu responded.

"I understand. Whatever needs to be done will get done... No question about it..." Roka sighed.

"So...We have all this free time," Tangu began, "Want to give me a rundown on all your Angels? I'll do my best to remember."

"Um...sure," Roka replied, "I'll go in order of importance. At the top of my list is Breecher who I'd consider the closest thing I have to family. Very intelligent, mature for his age too... You haven't seen him in action yet but he's a frickin powerhouse. Then you have his team of five, Ochen, Sero, Liron, Sepheli, and Nesh. They are the five angels that run the tank. After that, I'd say Ohunna and his team. I'm not quite sure all the members' names but it's about twenty or so of them. All are expert trackers, assassins and arsons... it's how they managed to track Madji, Breecher and I down and we became a united team. Then there was my team, fifteen of the best scientists in our lands... On a different note, I spent a few decades of my life doing research on my kind and that is how I became acquainted with them... There's Tenro, Ciam, Sted, Namasiou, Urken, Cretuch, Sebad, Idizo, Tuk, Brish, Semou, Tetchi, Segi and another Sero. None of them are really what I'd describe as warriors but they've surely become battle hardened over the past six years. Oh, how could I forget Madji and his handful of survivors? Um... they were originally his advisors, and counselors but many died leaving him only with four. There is Necora, Suda, Ulli, and Nuni."

"So, it's about forty of you?" Tangu asked.

"Yeah, forty seven if I remember right...give or take a few dead guys... I haven't really counted lately." Roka said. Tangu, strangely, burst out laughing, "What?"

"You said that with such dryness..." He said.

"Y'all make me feel like I'm just completely void of any emotion." Roka laughed.

"It's just hard to tell how you feel and then when you say certain things... It just warrants a good laugh." Tangu justified.

"Well, I like to think that I don't have a sense of humor." Roka said back.

"Nah, you're funny." Tangu said, giggling.

"So how old are you precisely?" Roka asked.

"I'm three hundred six." Tangu said.

"Awe, you're still a teenager..." Roka teased. Tangu looked at him defensively, folding his arms.

"And you're not?" Tangu asked.

"Nope, I'm three hundred seventy eight..." Roka smiles smugly. Tangu rolled his eyes and stared up to the ceiling.

"Why is everyone older than meeeeeeeeah..." He sighed.

"Um..."Roka began but stopped suddenly as the couch shifted. Tangu looked up to see Bonebroil taking a seat across from them. The giant Mongrel propped his feet onto the ataman, staring at both boys with a smirk.

"How you two fellas doing?" He asked, his voice giving a nauseating low frequency boom. Neither boy responded, Tangu looking on nervously. Roka simply stared, as expressionless as ever.

"We're good." Roka said with a tense tongue.

"So this is your little friend huh, Tangu? Seems you two like each other quite a bit..." The huge Mongrel hinted at.

"Why the fuck are you here?" Roka asked, obviously pestered at this point.

"Why such hostility, little boy?" Bonebroil asked with a sickening smile.

"I'm not a little boy..." Roka responded, giving Bonebroil a menacing glare.

"It doesn't matter what you think you are...it matters what you are... you're a little boy." Bonebroil continued.

"I'm not the one you want to test. You come after me and that'll be the last thing you do... Not to mention, you'd be putting countless other lives at stake. You don't know what you're bringing upon yourself." Roka threatened.

"What are you talking about?" Bonebroil asked, his being curiosity aroused.

"You made a terrible presumption... I'm not as naïve as I appear. I can put two...and two together. You don't know what you've done... Everyone might have had their fair share of feelings about Madji. He might seemed like he's all alone but at the end of the day...us Angels stick together even for those good and bad. You didn't take into consideration exactly who or what he was, angel customs and traditions, and how what you did affected him and his customs... If anything...I just want to know why...? Roka said.

"You're right... I didn't take it into consideration... I simply didn't care. I would have gotten you if I could... it doesn't matter to me... I want what I want and I take what I want! It's the simple fact of the matter..." Bonebroil responded.

"Me?" Roka asked, getting to his feet. Tangu grabbed Roka's hand, knowing the feisty boy was about to lose his temper.

"Bonebroil, it's probably best if you leave." Tangu advised.

"Yes, you... it's something about you that just make me want to choke the living..." Bonebroil began but couldn't finish, as Roka had leapt forward reaching and grabbing at him, held back by a struggling Tangu. Tangu wrapped his hand in Roka's tail as the angry boy flapped vigorously to go after Bonebroil. His radula fell from his mouth, snapping wildly from side to side.

Bonebroil looked on in exhilaration as Tangu somehow managed to get a firm foot hold on the couch and drag Roka backwards. However it was futile. As Tangu managed to pull Roka from over the lounge set, Roka began to crystallize. His hand planted firmly on the floor, claws dug in. His body began to grow substantially larger, becoming more bulky and impossible to control.

"I NEED SOME HELP OVER HERE!!" Tangu screamed. The few angels and mongrels in the lounge fled, seeing this was about to get grisly.

Roka's entire front half was now crystallized, dropping to the floor due to the mass. His wings and the rest of his body began to grow and crystallize, leaving Tangu still gripping on the fleshy tail. Roka, took another step forward, dragging Tangu along. He pushed the couch out the way, as he closed on an unfazed Bonebroil.

"SOMEONE!!" Tangu begged out! Roka's legs were now crystallizing, giving him the added leverage to completely rush forward.

Just in the nick of time, Breecher, Ohunna, Talla and several other angels rushed in. Breecher leapt in front of Roka, between him and Bonebroil. Ohunna and Talla grabbed Tangu, pulling him to safety. He fought them hard, trying to get back to Roka. From the navigation room, Siron and several other technicians came down the stairs, looking on in complete astonishment.

Breecher cupped Roka's face, locking eyes with the enraged boy.

"It's ok, Roka..." He said, calmingly. Roka, now twelve feet tall, reared up off the ground, climbing onto Breecher as if he were an overgrown infant. The crystalline structures that began to encompass Roka fell, disintegrating into dust. Roka stood on Breecher's shoulders, facing Siron and the others. He leapt down, trying to make sense of what happened.

Breecher then turned to Bonebroil, giving him a deathly scowl.

"You really don't realize how grave a danger you put us all in. If he would have fully turned, there would have been no stopping him!" Breecher hissed. Bonebroil simply looked at him, lax as ever. It really made Breecher want to lash out, himself.

"Can we please just let Roka tear him limb from limb in the cargo bay...just a little bit..." Ohunna asked. Roka rushed past them all, disappearing done the dark hall. Tangu watched, wanting to go after him but knew it wasn't a good idea. He looked to his mother, who was staring down Bonebroil with so much concentrated rage, he could have burst apart.

"Really?" She asked, stepping forward. Everyone moved out her way.

"Oh, save it Talla. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you banded with me." Bonebroil, said with his legs crossed. Talla froze in place, processing this all.

"Get off my ship..." She demanded, looking at the upper entry door. Breecher stood next to her, arms crossed, irises slit.

"I can get him off..." He said. Bonebroil stood up. The ten foot tall mongrel walked towards the upper entry door and leapt out of the moving ship to the forests below.

Breecher then left. He searched the ship up and down for Roka, finally finding him sitting high in the frame of the cargo bay. His knees were tucked to his chest and he simply let his wings hang down. Breecher climbed up next to him, perching comfortably as he geared to ask Roka was he ok.

"Before you can get a word out about how I shouldn't blame myself, I just got to say this. I have more control over my powers...I knew what I was doing. I wanted to feel that rush again! Thing was, I wasn't expecting to be so...hungry. It's been over two centuries since I fed last... I need blood." Roka said to him.

"I'm not surprised. The older you get, the more control you get. But..." Breecher said, looking at Roka in concern, "You took the risk? Did you consider what would have happened if you fully transformed?"

"It all happened so swiftly. Bonebroil said he'd have chosen me if the opportunity gave itself and snapped. All restrain was put to the side... I just wanted to drain him of all chemical properties until he popped into dust!!" Roka said.

"I think you could have hurt more than just Bonebroil. You're serious about needing to feed, though?"Breecher asked.

"I feel like I'm dying... I just want to latch my radula onto the biggest living thing and suck all its life out!!" Roka sighed, his hands helping to envision some big juicy creature full of organic molecules to break down.

"Do you think you can control it?" Breecher asked.

"I guess, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a danger to any whom I affiliate with. I just want fresh organic compounds surging through my body... I really need to feed." Roka said, his eye glinting in a bloodthirsty way.

"I, I'll think of something. Just hang in there." Breecher told him.

<><><><>

Later that evening, Talla called for a meeting with all members of the crew that she felt was important. Herself, Roka, Siron, Tangu, Breecher, Ohunna, and a science expert one Mongrel one Angel sat at the center table in the navigation room.

"I'll say it," Talla said clinching her head, "I'm running a hot mess."

"This program is in its infancy. You can't say such." Breecher replied.

"I try to make progress, then something sets me back, and I got one hundred people doing the work of a thousand and I know my people are exhausted. It's like I can never get organized enough..." Talla complained.

"That may be because you're doing it all by yourself. As stated, personnel are short." The Mongrel scientist said, "On the up side, we finished syncing the ship and tank. The tank is now an outboard rail gun."

"How are the coordinates?" Talla asked.

"The team has been working on polygonal figures day and night and the computers are linking it all together. We don't know if our calculations are one hundred percent right. A test fire would surely help." The Mongrel scientist responded.

"We don't have the time let alone the amount of energy needed for a test fire." Talla responded.

"Breecher see's the world differently when he enters his charged state. The world literally slows down around him. Depending on how high of a charge he has, the world slows down, anywhere from a thousand to three thousand hertz. The thing is, we always count on precise calculations rather than aim and forget. I've seen Breecher shoot down six terrapods over the past three years and enter that charged state countless more. He can use his tail or secondary wings to slightly change direction at those hyper sonic speeds and still be precise because he sees the world in slow motion. In essence, he'd be a living missile." The Angel scientist said. Everyone looked at him as though her were mad.

"Steering?" Ohunna asked.

"I never tried it before, but I'd have to be launched at a very, very high speed for me to even be in control." Breecher said, not sure it was even possible.

"Why is no one addressing the main issue," Roka began, "I paid attention to the cross talk over radio feeds in the upper atmosphere. It doesn't make sense for the Bhalil to launch a random terrapod...in the middle of the desert."

"You think it's a trap?" Talla asked.

"I know it's a trap. The last terrapod was a top secret launch we learned of days prior to it actually falling. It was in an effort to deceive us and was in a very highly populated nation. We arrived too late to be able to shoot it down and had to destroy it after it activated. Thankfully, it only managed to destroy a small portion of the planet rather than reaching the core. And why does Bhalil keep launching one terrapod per given era when he would launch multiple equatorial terrapods per given era on other planets? He's staying specifically in the northern hemisphere for this planet. It makes no sense to me." Roka said, scratching his chin.