The order had been given. Lenai, High Priestess of the Island of Shadow, had relinquished a small platoon of Scathachian warriors to voyage to the far off city of Rhydin to aid Illea and her contingent of Sisters. Standing along the sunny shore of the Island's cove, Lenai and her High Council watched the ship carrying thirteen of her hand-selected warriors depart. It was with a heavy heart and a sour taste in her mouth that she watched the ship's sails disappear over the horizon. She suddenly felt as if she had made a grave error.

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Of the thirteen Scathachian priestesses, their ranking leader was Athena. Her coppery hair shone with a brilliant blonde sheen as it reflected the sun's light. She was standing near the prow of the ship, nearly willing the shore closer. They had been at sea for longer than they cared to be: two and a half weeks to be precise. When they had set sail from their Island home, the situation in Rhydin had not been as dire as it now was. And there was no way of knowing what would be waiting for them when they finally docked. The twins, Casta and Polydicae, were standing on either side of Athena. They flanked her with their strong, long bodies and their deep red and black hair blowing in the sea breeze.

"How much longer now, Athena?" Casta's voice called out over the waves. Her twin, Polydicae smirked sidelong at Casta, nodding her impatience with the voyage. The twins were known as the pranksters on the Island. They had, on more than one occasion, come under disciplinary action for their rough, winner-take-all mentality during training exercises and practice spars. Casta and Polydicae were the bookends for war and they took their vows to the Goddess of War very seriously, often forgetting that Scathach was the goddess of war as well as righteous vengeance.

"Only another day, Casta," came Athena's strong voice. She had personally seen to the training of most of the women on this ship. She had been their troupe leader through their years of first degree lessons, and she had been their commander upon their initiation. Athena was blessed with the wisdom of her namesake, she had personally aided the High Priestess in the selection of the warriors who were to be the newest arrivals in the city of Rhydin. "Come morning light, you and your mischievous twin there will be walking on Rhydinian soil," she smirked toward Polydicae before she ushered an order. "FREYA! RACINE!" Athena's voice bellowed above the spit and spindrift of the waves, "BEGIN THE PACKING UP! WE WILL HIT LAND BY MORNING!"

A cheer went up among the women and two, a large hulking blonde and a smaller crimson haired warrior, nodded to their commander and began to prepare the ship and its inhabitants for docking. The sun was setting and there was little time for dallying.

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As the northern-skinned blonde Freya and her more petite companion, Racine, worked to ready the supplies to be removed from the ship, they shared their expectations of the world beyond their Island home. "I heard that the food is unbelievable. That there are more meats than you can imagine," Racine smiled as she hoisted a modest crate of oats upon the crate of weaponry and began securing them with rope. Her crimson hair rivaled the color of her sash, and her clear blue eyes would be the envy of artists' models everywhere. "And that there are more spices than the tongue can taste!"

A low chuckle came from Freya, "Always thinking with your stomach, Racie. How about all of the people that are there" I've heard that Rhydin is a city that is absolutely teeming with people from all over the world. And beyond!"

Racine paused, rope still in her hands and looked to Freya, "Beyond" What the heck does that mean?"

"Well, you know. Beyond. Up there," Freya waved her well-muscled arm to signify the heavens.

"No...." Racine figured that Freya was once again trying to spin a tall tale to yank her chain. "Really?" But maybe she wasn't.

"Yep," Freya got back to the heavy-handed work of hefting large crates as if they were made of egg cartons. "All sorts of people, all races, all kinds." Racine watched her Sister for a bit, then smiled at the promise of so much to take in, so many new experiences. All beginning in the morning. The crimson-haired beauty knew there was no way she would sleep tonight...

For the better part of a month, the Scathachian's various abodes had been under careful, discrete surveillance. Tiny machines, built to resemble houseflies had been watching the Temple, the Hospice, and the stronghold of the Sisters of Scathach. Behind these many robotic eyes was another machine, one of intellect and cunning where the others were simple automatons. Hex had watched and waited for the Sisters to call for help from their fellows beyond the sea. For the moment, the mercenary machine did not know the location of the Scathachian's Isle, but after this mission perhaps that secret would be revealed.

Now however the time for waiting and patiently watching was over. As the Sister's ship sailed toward the Rhydin harbour, the time for action would arrive, and more blood would flow. #Teams Manticore, Harpy and Basilisk prepare to deploy. Wyvern one and two, begin approach now.# Hex's voice was received by the seventy-five infantry which had dispersed into the buildings flanking the docks on three sides, as well as the two assault dropships which had been loitering just outside the city limits.

As the ship approached, death awaited those aboard. Hex itself was waiting underwater to signal the attack. Hex's plan was simple. Approach the ship from beneath in the manta-ray shaped body, punch through the hull and up through the deck, grab the first available Scathachian as a prisoner, then dive back underwater as the Iron Dragons opened fire with particle rifles and anti-infantry rockets. After the ship had been filled with holes, the dropships would unload a barrage of high-explosive rockets to destroy the ship and ensure there were no survivors. #All units, ready weapons. Wait till the ship enters the kill-box and open fire once I am clear...#

The sun was shining and Rhydin City was a beacon. As the light bounced off of the water and lent the Scathachian Priestess a runway to the harbor, preparations for disembarkation were well underway. Freya and Racine had finished readying the ship and its contents and were down below with the horses. They were already talking about what they would do first; Racine was of a mind to find a tavern and challenge a few Rhydinian males to drinking contests, while Freya just wanted to get to the Sanctuary and have something to eat that wasn't salted beyond all recognition.

Lexia was on the starboard side with most of her Sisters watching the dock come closer and closer. They could even see the dock workers lined up on the pier ready to receive the ship, its passengers and cargo. She received an elbow from Casta who was standing with her twin, Polydicae, whose arm rested on Casta's shoulder. "You ready for some fun before work, little Lexia?"

"If you can dish it, I can take it, Casta. And that goes double for you, Polydicae!" The young Scathachian playfully sneered to the older twins. Lexia was never one to shy away from a challenge, even when it came at the rough hands of the twins.

"Oh leave her be," Isis shouted. "There'll be plenty of trouble for you two to get into once we dock."

"Yeah, that is until Illea gets her claws into them!" Leo chuckled, remembering the classes once taught by Isuelt. "Illea'll make sure they are so sore by the time it's time for fun, they won't have the heart to make trouble!" The girls laughed and elbowed each other, even the twins. They were collectively excited to land and to see their Sisters. And what was more, they were looking forward to doing the Goddess's work and making this city safe.

Dolores and Thetis had brought up a few of the crates from below and were ready to make disembarkation a faster process, they were as thrilled as their Sisters that land was near.

Athena, meanwhile, was set apart from the girls. She was watching over them, as she observed the shore nearing them. A light smile played at her lips as she overheard most of the young women's comments. They were warriors to be sure, she had seen to that. But sometimes she forgot that they were also exuberant and energetic females who loved having fun and seeking out adventure, much as she did in her youth. She inhaled, the scent on the wind changing ever so slightly as she did. Athena paused and turned her head; her coppery hair shifting across her features as she did so.

Something was off. She heard a strange creak from below deck, not loud enough to catch the attention of the others, but too clamorous to be normal...

The communication channels were all open, the command echoed into the ears of all of the Iron Dragons in formation. Laitnum did not repeat it, but lifted the heavy weapon in his hands and aimed down the scope. He felt the heat of the end of barrel as the first blast fired from his rifle, sending rippling plasma energy through the air. The first impact scorched the wood where it hit and the second burst into a full flame. There was water aplenty on the ship now, thanks to the large hole punched by Hex, but as the bombardment of shots came from all around the harbor, any attempt to quell the rapidly growing flames would be quite difficult.

On top of making everything burn, the plasma ate through wood like a hot knife through butter. It splintered what it didn't scorch and ripped great holes through everything it came into contact with. Water sizzled and boiled at the intense heat of the charges that flew from the many rifles sported by the Dragons.

"Phase two in effect," he replied unnecessarily. No doubt Hex could hear and see the massacre that was underway.

Batten Manor

He was just coming through the front door into the foyer of his spacious house in New Haven when Diana's voice came out from from nowhere.

"Sir, there is a situation developing in the harbor, near the docks. It seems a ship has come under attack."

So much for taking the rest of the day to relax. Not that it had been a particularly stressful day - just a typical day at the company, looking over reports, touring the complex, whatnot. But there hadn't been anything else to do, so rather than sit in his office and stare at the walls or out the window, he'd opted to head for home.

He had intended to have a couple drinks, maybe head out for the Inn a little later. But, rather than continue through the entrance hall and into the grand salon beyond, he turned right, down the hallway to the end and down the stairs to the basement level.

"Lay it on me, Di. Some reason dat de locals can't handle dis?"

The clear glass door slid out of his way as the cool, sultry voice of the AI went on. "The sensor network in the area is recording evidence of heavy weapons fire with a plasma-energy configuration. There appears to be advanced technology involved in the initial attack on the ship of a type consistent with your friend Hex of the Iron Dragons."

Hex" That made things more interesting. "What about the ship?"

The voice of the AI comes back almost right away. "The ship is registered as the Plight of the Innocent, from the Island of Shadow, according to my files. Cargo: reinforcements and supplies for the Scathachians here in Rhy'din."

That was all he needed to know. Even as he turned right, walking across the workspace for the concealed entrance to the basement level, the thready secretions had begun through the pores in his skin, and a moment later he was streaking out through the other side of the tunnel, up into the sky and heading southwest for the harbor and the attack already underway...