Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

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anonfox123
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#61 Post by anonfox123 »

Hurray! A longer update this time! Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

***********************
Back at the Nova Liberty Base, Zen was about to head back into his room when Kara walked by.

“You handled that mess back there pretty well, actually.”

Zen looked up in surprise: “You really think so?”

“I wouldn’t expect any less of a fellow Alpha.” Kara replied. “We do more than fight, you know.”

“Oh, right. I guess I forgot about that part.” Zen frowned in concentration. “Say, isn’t Alaric in charge of some kind of negotiation? He mentioned it some time ago but never elaborated on it. How’s that going?”

“We leave for Maine next week.” Kara said.

Zen’s look of concentration turned to a look of confusion: “Wait, what? Are you saying that…?”

Kara cut him off. “The mayor of that town has decided the increasing Templar presence is interfering too much with the rather laissez-faire status-quo that the town had come to enjoy. After a loudmouthed trader all but confirmed the rumor of our existence to him, he decides to turn to us for help. Alaric has been sending letters back and forth and negotiating by remote for now: so far it seems as though Maine’s mayor is going into this with best intentions. It helped that the trader in question was selling some of the Confederacy’s more unique goods, stuff that’s completely revolutionary back in the empire.”

Zen nodded as he thought back to things like the ambrosium crystals that fixed all manner of injuries, especially useful after the Alphas’ more intense practice fights, and even that strange “Keidran-safe” bread that he’d found himself munching on from time to time.

Kara continued speaking. “If everything goes well, the trader might even be pardoned.” She turned to look Zen straight in the eye. “We’re going to get a more formal briefing once the Director actually gives us our orders, but I will tell you this: we’ll be dealing with all the VIPs and the who’s-who of the whole of Maine. You, along with your brother, are the weakest links here, being the least-educated among the Alphas.” Kara paused, her expression turning to an icy glare. “But even so, if you screw things up your head is going to be first on the chopping block. So prepare yourself.”

Zen could only look on dumbfounded as Kara shut her door with a slight excess of force, cutting off the conversation.


****************

Down in the mess hall, Zen picked glumly at his food: by now the temperature of his meal had dropped about as low as his hopes. He looked up as about 250 pounds of half-feral tiger made the bench across from him creak in protest.

“Wha…? Oh, hey Markus.” Zen went back to picking at his food. He wasn’t in the mood to talk. He looked up again as Markus slid a notepad across the table.
Markus wrote:[Good thing you know how to read. What’s bothering you?]
Zen looked testily at Markus. Something about the way Markus’s sympathetic expression clashed with his glowing, feral eyes made Zen both very annoyed and very afraid. “I don’t want to talk about it.” The notepad slid across the table again.
Markus wrote:[How about writing about it?]
Zen stared blankly at the page in front of him, before snatching Markus’s pencil out of his hand. “Fine.” Zen snapped, and started scribbling down his thoughts.
Zen wrote:[It’s the whole diplomatic mission that’s coming up. The more I think about it the more I realize just how out of my depth I’m going to be. We’ll be dealing with the high-class elite of the town, people who have the time and money for a higher education. To make a long story short, I’m scared that if I open my mouth to talk I’m going to look like an idiot. Maybe it’s foolish, but all I can see myself doing is trying my hardest to sink into the floor.]
Markus only glanced at Zen’s writing for a second before growling in exasperation. The pencil looked like a twig in Markus’s massive hands as he started on his reply.
Markus wrote:[Believe me, going from a Keidran of few words to a Keidran of no words was not a welcome change. Just because the only sounds coming out of my mouth are growls and such, almost everyone assumes I’m just dumb muscle. Come to think of it, even you act like you think that way sometimes, but I’ll let it slide for now. Keeping your mouth shut is the worst thing you could do, if looking smart is what you’re worried about.]
Zen wrote:[So, what do I do? I’ve got to say something, but what?]
Markus wrote:[Of course, it doesn’t do any good to over estimate these people either. Sure, they might have the time and money for an education, but you’ll be surprised at how little of them actually use it. Aside from the Mayor himself, most of the people there are either rich gossipers, or people who are simply good at appearing “smart”.]
Zen wrote:[Oh? And how do they do that?]
Markus wrote:[Giving speeches and such. It’s just stepping on stage and blowing smoke, really. One-up them on that, and you should be fine.]
Zen wrote:[Right… And how do you know all this?]
Markus wrote:[Unfortunately, there are quite a few of those types in the confederacy as well. You should have seen the last Director of Agriculture. I have no words for that fool, even on paper.]
Zen wrote:[A speech, huh? I’d still have no idea what to speak about, though.]
Markus wrote:[I’d say talk about something you know. There’s always something worthwhile to say. And I’m going to leave now, it’s late and I’m running out of paper.]
And with that, Markus walked off, leaving Zen to his own thoughts. “Something I know…” He muttered.
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LuckyMudman
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#62 Post by LuckyMudman »

A sneaky abuse of the fact that the qoute code says "xy wrote" :D .

I wonder what will Zen speak about, assassinations? Women?
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#63 Post by TinyVoices »

LuckyMudman wrote:Women?
If Zen talks about that, and considering he's been raised to be moderately sexist, I think he'd get a beating from Kara afterwards. Indeed, what would he talk about, though. He has been affected by the Templar's reign/racism against Keidran. What with him being an orphan because of it all. Even if the attack on his village- which cost him the life of his parents- was in a way justified (the keidran from the village were doing raids on local human towns, so the humans fought back), he was young and it all made his life pretty crappy. I'm sure he'd have a few things to say to a city that thought about seceding from the empire. Like, "good for you" or something. :P Or maybe more like "Zen wrote good for you" :cheekygrin:


I could have sworn Markus could speak, though. Didn't he once yell something at the others back when Kara beat the [censored] out of the Magi Brothers? Maybe I'm thinking of someone else. It's a little like with your post in my thread: it's been a while since I read the previous chapters. :roll:

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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#64 Post by anonfox123 »

Hooray! A new update! As usual, read, review, and most importantly, enjoy! (But no speech yet, muwahahahahaha!!! :twisted: )

****************
Zen looked around at the other Alpha’s as the carriage rattles across the trail leading out of Lyn’knoll. It was a strange feeling: He’d gotten used to the smooth ride of the streetcars, and before, he had always traveled around Mekkan on foot. And from beneath his new, jet-black dress uniform came another feeling: folded neatly in one pocket was a sheet of paper, small enough to go unnoticed but still big enough that Zen could feel it burning a hole in his pocket. His speech.

Zen smiled as he thought back to what he wound up doing right before they left: tossing a whole pile of drafts in the fireplace. Nobody needed to see those, not now, not ever.

“Remind me again, just what route are we taking?” Jason asked, getting eye rolls from the rest of the Alphas. He had used an illusion to hide the fact that he was napping during the mission brief; nothing new for Jason, but that didn’t stop people getting annoyed.

“Like I mentioned,” Kara grated out in exasperation “We’re going to a coastal outpost, near the wreckage of the Windleton. Last I heard, the Maine mayor is getting a waypoint set up so that we can use a teleport spell and jump directly into the Keep.”

“The keep?” Jason asked, confused as ever. Paws and palms alike smacked their owners in the face at his ineptitude.

“The Keep. The combination of town hall – slash – mayor’s residence.” Kara continued. “You know, the place we’ll be staying at for the next week or two?”

“Well, I figured that much, I just wanted to make sure.”

“Right…” Kara replied, rolling her eyes once again. “But just to make sure, seeing as you’re paying attention now, the reason we’re going to the outpost is so that if they know anything even resembling the Holtzmann theory, they won’t be able to trace us back to the city.”

Now it was Zen’s turn to have a question: “Wait, even if they could track us, what’s to stop them from overrunning the outpost and just continuing on?”

“They never did figure out what sunk the Windleton, did they?” Jenna piped up from the next row forward in the carriage. “I mean, no survivors, no clues… Not even the wreckage is real.”

A moment of silence followed as everyone lowered their heads in sorrow. Zen remembered the time he got taken to the White Valley memorial. A simple inscription, “Dammit, Florida…” seemed callous at first, but conveyed so much more once he found out just what happened.

Then the carriages stopped, and the drivers jumped down to open the doors. Blue-white powerstone lights illuminated a smooth, stone-grey tunnel, where a stripped down version of a confederate streetcar awaited on the tracks.

The moment everyone had taken a seat, it started moving, picking up speed. As they practically flew by other cart stops, strange sights could be glimpsed from behind a few windows. Crystals floated in steel chambers, energy arcing from their vertices to the walls of their chambers. A Keidran in a white researchers robe grinned wickedly as the large contraption in his hands turned a straw dummy into a pincushion. Two humans seemed to talk with a green figure made of light.

But all those sights quickly receded, the cart slowing and letting the Alpha’s off at a small room, a complex series of intersecting of circles drawn in the floor, pulsing with light as the outpost personnel added the final inscriptions and figures.

“Seems rather complex for a teleport.” Zen commented. “I mean, my brother and I have had to use that kind of spell on a much shorter notice, and…” He got interrupted by one of the staff.

“Most of those inscriptions are to accommodate for an increased transport throughput that supports multiple people. A few more increase the accuracy since you’re jumping directly into a building, and the rest use what we know of the Holtzmann theory to reduce the chances of getting tracked, even to this location.” A brief alarm sounded, signaling the facility’s mages to leave the teleportation zone.

“Well, looks like that’s your curtain call. Good luck, Sir.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Zen replied as he stepped into the circle along with the rest of the Alphas. Then everything flashed white as the room was sucked away.
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#65 Post by TinyVoices »

Awesome. I like all the quick flashbacks and stuff. The needler thing the Keidran had sounds pretty brutal though.
anonfox123 wrote:(But no speech yet, muwahahahahaha!!! :twisted: )
Heh, but it's coming up. :mrgreen:

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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#66 Post by LuckyMudman »

For some reason, I imagined the teleporter as the ARC from Doom, but that might be just because I watched it recently.
TinyVoices wrote:
anonfox123 wrote:(But no speech yet, muwahahahahaha!!! :twisted: )
Heh, but it's coming up. :mrgreen:
*crowd roaring in the distance*
SPEECH! SPEECH! SPEECH!
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#67 Post by anonfox123 »

Well fellas, here's another segment! Its a little short, but I reached a good stopping point. I won't leave this story alone for too long though! In the meantime, enjoy!

****************
Everybody was staring at them. The moment the small room at the outpost rushed away, the sight of a relatively small but ornate dining hall took its place just as fast. Tapestries hung on the walls, while candles and mana-lights alike shone in the glittering chandeliers overhead. Suits of armor with detailed inlays stood on carved marble plinths.

The people in the room, needless to say, had dressed to match: the only time Zen had seen anything close to the finery worn by the officials and VIPs in the room was when he had been sent to off Kara’s old master. Though detailed and finely crafted, the Alphas’ monochromatic dress uniforms felt uncomfortably simple in comparison to the colorful robes and tailored dresses that filled the room.

Not a single person had moved as the group flashed into existence on a raised platform at the end of the hall. A few last whispers of conversation trailed off like the threads on a fraying piece of fabric left un-hemmed after cutting. A clear, commanding voice cut through the silence.

“Ah! It would seem as though our guests have arrived!” A figure in dark robes, lined with bright golden trim, worked his way to the front of the crowd: the Mayor. Approaching the Alphas, he extended his hand: “Forgive me for the confusion, but I’m really not sure whom to address first.” He said in a low voice.

The mayor gestured at Sage as he continued speaking. “Alaric’s letters referred to a leader named Kara, but…”

“But the only women you see aren’t human?” Kara responded.

The mayor could only stammer under her analytical gaze. “Ah, well… Um, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to offend, certainly not that, but…”

Switching to a more friendly expression, Kara brushed off the Mayor’s concerns. “An understandable error, Mayor Breen; a group like ourselves is certainly far from conventional.” Pointing at the real Alaric, she continued: “And just to avoid future confusion, he’s Alaric, the one who you corresponded with over the past weeks.”

“I see… I must admit that I had expected a bit more of a divide between the wartime and peacetime aspects of your group, even after the letter exchange. Well, if you’ll excuse me for the moment, I have a few people to confer with before the food is served: the main table is over there, feel free to talk with others in the meantime.” And with that, he walked over, ready to start a discussion with one of his advisors who shook his head as the Mayor approached.

“I still can’t believe you think we actually have something to gain from these animals. The humans with them are no better. They’ll be the ruin of us all, I’m telling you.”

The Mayor forced a grin as he prepared to deal with his colleague, who was quite biased, to say the least. “Come now, you’re a trader, a business man. I couldn’t even run the market square without your intuition. Give some credit where credit is due, Mr. Palmer: you saw for yourself what their trader brought in, after all.”

Palmer brushed it off with a derisive snort. “Unnecessary contraptions catering to the weaknesses of lesser races are the only things I saw. From a commercial standpoint, their only use is a lure for hopeful and naïve Keidran.”

A flicker of annoyance showed on the Mayor’s face: “Well, whether you think so or not, this is an excellent opportunity to use whatever they have to offer so that we can break away from Templar control. Unless, of course, you actually want Templar taxes and restrictions sapping your profits?”

“Oh no, not at all. I am a very pragmatic man, and understand that desperate times call for desperate measures.” Palmer smiled coldly as he made a sweeping gesture across the room: “Besides, there are many other opportunities to be had here, and who am I to pass them up?”
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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#68 Post by TinyVoices »

Cool, finally got to read it.

It's a good chapter. I like the imagery, along with the word choice which went with it. Some of the things the Mayor says doesn't make complete sense, but maybe I'm just really sleepy right now or something. Haven't gotten a lot of sleep this past week, so I'm behind.

Anyway, I like it, and I'm excited for the next installment. Don't keep me waiting too long there. :grin:

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Re: Alpha Guard: Rise of the Confederacy (A TK fanfic)

#69 Post by backonninja »

This story was going really well, and then all of a sudden, poof! It stopped. What happened? Lost interest in writing it, writers block, forgot about it? What happened? I was really excited to hear Zen's speech. seems like everyone else forgot about it too.

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