Taking Toron Aleo

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie could feel the change in temperature through her loose shirt. Goosebumps popped up on her skin and she rubbed her arms.

"It is cold out, isn't it?" At the voice Zanx-iie jumped gracefully sideways to face the speaker. A flare of fire partly illuminated a face before the match went out. The end of a cigarette burned red and Zanx-iie found every muscle in her body screaming to run. "I found something of yours, I hope you don't mind that I read it. A letter, from a father to his daughter. Touching." The voice was cold and the man stepped forward with a chilling smile. Military, human probably but Military all the same. Zanx-iie's lip curled into a silent snarl.

"Zanx-iie is a pretty name. You live up to it. Its a shame that beauty fades." He took a drag from the cigarette and blew the smoke from the corner of his mouth. "Do you have a last name to go with your pretty first name?" Zanx-iie slowly stepped sideways, almost as if she was circling him. Her eyes were narrowed and the man smirked.

"Not going to say anything to me are you? Its a damn shame you know. I need you to talk to me, Darling. I've tracked you for sometime. That diversion with the Teron's was smart. They managed to take out fifteen of my men before I figured out what was going on." He chuckled and at the words her shoulder throbbed. It was the General that had shot Tare, hatred boiled in her veins and she growled low in her throat. "People are expendable, pawns really. I would have taken a bunch of you out if that bloody fox hadn't freed my slaves and burned down my office. However, I have found a useful pawn right here." He took another drag of his cigarette and Zanx-iie felt her claws ache to extend and wished to drag them through his flesh. It was a feral thought that Zanx-iie relished.

"Still not a word? Just growls like the feral animal you are. I hope you realize what we do to feral animals." He smirked. "We break them, chain them, and train them to work for us." Zanx-iie threw herself at him, knocking him over. Her claws out she held him down with claws to his throat.

"I will not be broken, I will not be chained, and I will never work for the likes of you. You break my family, you break their souls and each one of them is a burden I have to carry." She bared her teeth and wished more than anything to bury her claws in his neck and end him right then and there.

"A heavy burden that must be. I have killed and broken many, dozens... hundreds." He smirked at her and calmly brought his hand up to take another drag of his oh so precious cig.

"You cruel, sadistic bastard!" She pressed he thumb claw to his throat so tightly it broke skin. He did nothing but chuckle and blow the smoke into her face.

"My parents were married, I'll have you know. Now, enough of this." In a smooth move he threw her off and placed a boot on her chest. "No one, and I mean no one, puts me in the dirt." Zanx-iie grabbed his boot and twisted it sharply before rolling away into the dark.

"You can hide, you can run but I am very, very good at my job. I will find you." He smirked coldly and Zanx-iie stood up.

"Then Tao take you, General. For she is a harsh and unforgiving Mistress and your misdeeds will not go unpunished for long."

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth wanted to sleep but something in the air told him not to. Something sinister was happening and he could feel it around him, trying to choke him where he sat. Saulus and Kia immediately saw the difference in his stature. They immediately knew something was either coming or happening that wasn't good at all. Xanth sighed stood up and grabbed his weapons to stand at his tents opening. Memories came back to him as he looked at the glow of some of the brush still burning in the distance.


Flashback....55 years before.

"Xanth! Get your stinking arse up here! We don't have all day!" General Xi Lang shouted from the top of a cliff.

Xanth climbed as fast as he could. It took him only a few minutes to reach the top. He was the first of the group to make it to the top. Immediately, he shouldered his rifle to aim around to look for possible ambush points. He kneeled down to look at human slave trader tracks from not too long ago. An hour at most. The rest of the group finally made it up and they saw Xanth already drawing up defensive postitions should anything happen. The difference about this period of time was that something was always bound to happen. Xanth knew this better than anyone. He had enough experience to know how to deal with almost every scenario. Xanth was considered the ghost of the group. Not many approached him because of his squad mortality rate: 5%. A very low number for someone who was exalted by the Recon units of the day. Many wondered how he did the things he did without even flinching, without feeling anything other than apathy. Things that made someone pure soldier and not being. The shell of a Tarian and ghost of anything anyone held dear. That night while everyone was getting rest, Xanth took off to scout and find those who were possibly hunting them. When he returned back, his squad was dead. Even those who were on watch. Xanth sighed, grabbed their dog tags, and swore vengeance. A vengeance that took nearly thirty years to complete.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie knew the Military General was following her. Slowly as if cocky in his position. She didn't care, he could follow her and follow her but he did not know Tao as she did. The mountain was deadly and cockiness got you killed. She knew you could never underestimate the mountain's power, to do so was to die. She made her way to the base of Sua, there she could cross the river behind the Sualt Falls, where Saturan river flowed over the mountain's edge. There was enough space between the sheer face of the mountain and the falls that she could pass through easily.

"Come one, Zanx-iie. You are getting behind." It was a phantom voice of Dragil sounded from the trees ahead of her and she shook her head to clear it. She hated the feeling of the past creeping up on her. She had it buried and this mission was digging it up again. She wondered how many more voices she would hear, how many more memories would stop her in her tracks.

"Zanx-iie, stop with the exploring! We have to make it to Sualt falls before noon!" Dragil smiled at her, his bright blue eyes shining. His hand reached for hers and she could feel phantom fingertips brush it.

"I know, Dragil! Its just you don't see many of these plants near the forts, I just wanted to look." It was her voice that replied but it was an echo of something long ago.

"Always so curious, Zanx-iie. The others are waiting on us, we must hurry." His bright smile was full of life and Zanx-iie blinked and the illusion disappeared. She was on the right track then. The area was overgrown slightly but familiar. She closed her eyes and pulled in a shuddering breath. This was going to be difficult.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Barius searched for any sign of Zanx-iie but he couldn't find one. He had to try and head her off near Sualt falls. It was his only chance to get at her in familiar territory. Tare was flying overhead, his sharp eyes searching for his companion.

"We will find her, Tare. I promise you." He shouted it at the Elut who circled lower before flapping his large wings once and ascending high into the air. Barius had never felt such guilt, despair, and worry. Zanx-iie was his world, his reason for living. She was the last part of his mate, the Tarian he loved more than anything in this world, other than Zanx-iie of course. He refused to be the one to send Zanx-iie to her death. It was funny how the best laid plans fell apart with a simple mistake. She was never supposed to get as far as she did. She was supposed to meet with Firtez's group and get her orders to stay at the caverns and help plan attacks but now she was heading the Tao, the last place Barius had ever wanted to send her but he was following the orders of his king and his king's word was to be followed to the letter.

[T1B3R1U5]

Xanth stood waiting. He knew something was up. Not exactly what, but he knew something bad was coming along. He looked to Kia and Saulus and motioned with his hands orders to move quietly and run. This wasn't going to go over well. Whoever was out there, was amost prepped and ready. He knew the enemy almost like an extension of his own self. 'Know your enemy, know yourself.' He thought to himself as he scanned the local brush and forest. He knew he lost whoever was following him, so he knew this was someone else entirely. Humans maybe. He couldn't tell. Not yet at least.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie could hear the rumble of the falls from her position. Flashes of memories had followed her the entire trek. Phantom voices and ghostly touches had reminded her of the previous mission. The people she lost hung just over her shoulder and she felt their lives weighing heavily on her. Each step was a calculated decision to push herself forward. She moved silently, her footsteps light. The following General was a bit more loud. Sticks snapped under his boots and he made no caution, as if he didn't care if she heard him or not. There was a sudden silence and she frowned and stepped up her pace.

"Zanx-iie!" It was her father's voice and Zanx-iie had to shake her head, convinced it was a faint memory. "Zanx-iie, where are you?" It wasn't a memory, her father was actually here. She rushed through the foliage and trees towards the river. She could see him on the other side of the bank. Tare resting on his shoulder.

"Baba? What are you doing here?" She squinted to see him better through the mist of the falls and shook her head slowly. "Go home, baba. I don't want to talk to you." She crossed her arms over her chest. He shook his head.

"Zanx-iie, I'm sorr-" His words were cut off as the sound of a helicopter swooping down.

"It seems we have found out who you really are, Zanx-iie Tal." At the voice she whirled around. The General leaned against a tree, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His blue eyes were almost maliciously cocky. "Seems you are a very, very important pawn in our little chess game." The helicopter descended and Zanx-iie stared at the General.

"I would rather die." With that, Zanx-iie threw herself backwards into to the fast and deadly river.

[T1B3R1U5]

The faceplates of the human's armor was now reflecting in the light. We were both equals and he knew it. Xanth looked at the human and he popped off his helmet with a slight hiss. The human was sloppy and it may have worked on his home world, but here. Xanth was a god in the forest, able to track and hunt without being noticed until it was already too late. Xanth didn't smile or make a motion, he didn't want the human to know where he would disappear. The human started to speak, "I've seen your skill. Very impressive, comrade. You were very hard to find." Xanth made a mocking chuckle and he looked at the human to say, "I'm not your comrade..." He tossed a knife towards the human that easily dodged but made the mistake of looking at the blade as it was coming at him. That spilt second allowed Xanth to practically "disappear". He was heading towards the Tzu river basin and the river itself. The rest of his stuff was already moved and all he needed now was lose the people following him. And the river was the best way to do that. Maul would be waiting for him, probably sleeping like a lazy old man would.

[Mistrus]

"You can't just fool me, Zanx-iie Tal. I know you are a Water Natul." Zanx-iie popped out of the water with a nasty smile. With a wave of her hand a large wave of water wrapped around of her father and Tare and pulled him into the water.

"That I am, General. You will never get any of my family." She released her control on the current and it swept her away. She waved her hand and she joined her father in the bubble of air she had created. "Baba, that was incredibly stupid." Tare rolled around on his back, enjoying the feel of the water.

"Yes, very stupid. I understand that now." He shook his head and pulled her close. "You were never supposed to go to Tao Mountain, Zanx-iie. There was a planning error, you were supposed to be headed off by a group telling you that we were relocating to the caves." His big frame wrapped around hers as they flew down the river.

"I still won't forgive you, baba, and I am still going to Tao. I need to find them." After several miles of flowing down the river she let the bubble of air go to the surface. "We should be far enough away now."

[T1B3R1U5]

A few miles to the Tzu River Basin, Xanth encountered some drone beacons that would follow Xanth until he stopped. But, of course drones weren't very smart about what they were tracking. Xanth stopped to gather his breath and looked back over the foilage of the forest he was in. Xanth knew this part of the forest well. He figured that Zanx-iie would almost be to Tao mountain right about now. That is if the humans didn't catch up to her. He thought on himself for the time since his enemies were still trying to follow him. 'If I don't loose them soon, my own extraction team will had off without me. I have to stall these bastards....but how?' he thought to himself as he scanned for any sign of his followers.

[Mistrus]

Zanx-iie looked at her father and Tare and pushed her hand out, sending them to the shore.

"I'm sorry, Baba but I have my orders. I need to go." She dived back into the river and used the current against itself to propel herself forwards. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold the pace for long but she needed to get back to Tao. She needed to find out what happened to the others. Their memories were everything and she needed to find them, to know what had happened. She knew it would seem like an obsession but she couldn't help herself. In order to heal herself, she had to face her greatest fear.

[T1B3R1U5]

A twig snapped to Xanth's 3 o' clock and he heard some hushed cursing. Xanth ran fast enough to not be seen as he jumped off a cliff face. He had about twenty-three seconds to find a landing spot, but having as little time as that you know how it going to end. In mid flight, Xanth grabbed his blade and stabbed it into the cliff to slide all the down to the groun at a much slower velocity that would allow him to live. Once on the ground, he started running again. His pursuers were still clueless as to where he was.