The Ikon

[Shagohad]

Ulrich was a rather repulsive sight, even to a machine. To Viatcheslav, it seemed that the man loathed his humanity and had tried every method in the book to bring himself to an immortal state.

"All Hail the Volkhan," Via replied in his tinny voice, returning Ulrich's salute.


"I'm not sure about you, but I'm tired of sitting in this rat hole. The Volkhan is in his chamber with a detachment of Fedaykin. More than a match for us, no matter how advanced you may be. However, we do have a card up our sleeve."

Via's head tilted quizzically to the side, silently bading him to continue on.

"How goes the defense of the main gate?" He said over his vocoder, then continued on in the private frequency, "One of them is loyal to me, and me only. Taalib, I'm sure you have seen him at my side more than once. We also have the perfect time to strike. During their morning prayers. There is enough fire power in this room to simulate an attack. That is our best chance of entering the chamber. We will simply pretend we are falling back to reinforce his position. Thoughts?"

"The men are prepared for war. I just gave them a motivational speech to brighten their spirits," He hissed, then swapped to the private channel, "Your servant aside, we still need a strategy. Surprise attacks only work as long as they maintain their value of being a surprise. The moment they coordinate is the moment that we will lose."

One of the guards approached the pair of generals, giving off a resounding, "All Hail the Volkhan!" before saluting.

"What is it, soldier," Via snapped, his voice displaying his annoyance.

"General, we have an issue in the communications center. We have been recalled to provide more security. Permission to reposition?"

Almost instantly the machine-general hissed out, "Yes. Do so with haste." The man gave another salute and rushed off with his paired guard, heading away very quickly. "And this," Via turned to Ulrich, "Is the moment we have been waiting for. I suggest we grab as much as we can and hide them in a secure location. Tell your friend that the plan is in motion." And with that, he walked over to the racks and began collecting all that looked favorable.

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"THE HULL HAS BEEN BREACHED AND THE SCIENCE IS LEAKING OUT!"