16 January, 2006, 0047 hours
Eusebio/Dorzen scrutinized the assassins carefully. They were part of the Xanos, the elite of the elite assassins in the Dark Brotherhood. They were used against the most dangerous targets.
"I'm honored that your Dark Brotherhood masters consider me to be one of the most dangerous enemies." Eusebio smiled darkly.
One of the assassins stepped forward, "Enough of your nonsensical talk, Dorzen. You know full well that our masters want you dead. Only then will their weapon be able to wreak havoc. Our combined might will overwhelm you just as we did before. Now it is the time for you to die."
"Karvak, that is big talk indeed! If I may correct you, I was giving you chances during our last encounter. That was how your group of stinky murderers could best me. No more Mr Nice Guy now. Besides, Oduric is here." Eusebio snorted.
"Huh! We shall see now!" Karvak roared as the group of Xanos surged forward, surrounding the two Republic Peacekeepers. "Kill them!"
The assassins charged, weapons up.
The first wave of assassins were thrown across the hall by a huge repulse wave emanating from...
Eusebio.
"This is just the beginning." Karvak hissed.
Eusebio and Oduric ignited their lightsabers as the second wave of assassins pushed towards them.
Eusebio blocked five lightsabers and unleashed a withering blast of lightning at their wielders. The five Xanos were sent hurtling away where they crashed into the floor. The intensity of the lightning caused massive calcification of their skeletal systems to occur, putting them out of action.
Oduric cut through three of his attackers and blasted another aside with an energy blast. He stepped back before pulling a MP-7 from his holster and shot an assassin right smack in the forehead.
Karvak watched with silent rage as he witnessed his men being decimated before his very eyes. His hands went to his M98 blaster rifle (a weapon of the MK2 Galaxy) and he pointed it at Eusebio's back.
The blaster bolt sliced through the air as it sped towards Eusebio's back. Karvak grinned as he saw the bolt burn an enormous hole in Eusebio's chest, half-expecting Eusebio to fall dead.
After few moments of suspense in which everyone stopped and stared at the hole in Eusebio's chest, Eusebio turned towards Karvak and impaled the nearest Xanos assassin, drawing gasps from everyone except Oduric. Walking towards Karvak, Eusebio dispatched each assassin that stood in his way with deadly efficiency. Karvak's eyes widened in amazement as the hole in Eusebio's chest slowly closed up.
Karvak raised his staff to parry Eusebio's blow. From the corner of his eye, he saw his men falling under Oduric's blade. The situation was hopeless. He could not hold out against the Grand Master of the Trayos Order for long. Questions rang in his head. Had his masters sent him here to be killed? Surely there must be a good reason for them to send the Xanos against the two Republic Peacekeepers. His masters had known that the Xanos would be destroyed utterly. Yet why? Why did they send them to be killed? Were not the Xanos one of the most trusted and efficient assassins of the Brotherhood?
Karvak's staff snapped into two, unable to withstand the ferocity of Eusebio's offensive. Pinned against the wall with a lightsaber just millimeters from his neck, Karvak had no hope of escape.
Suddenly, the PA system echoed. "Hahahaha! Now hear me, humans of Earth! The time has come for your doom. A biological weapon of enormous capability for destruction is about to be launched into the atmosphere. Within minutes of it's detonation, all of you wretched people will be suffering violent and painful deaths! I demand a ransom for this world! I demand all the money in this world! I give you all 12 hours to give this ransom!" All over the world, televisions, screens, radios, etc. all rang with Lemai's voice.
"Lemai!" Eusebio snarled. He knew he had been tricked. This missile facility was nothing but a decoy, designed to draw his attention from the real missile facility located at Diederich Castle, headquarters of Joseph Drescher. All along, Lemai, the head of the AF, had schemed the deactivation of the INDF and everything that followed. The AF was nothing but a tool of Lemai. Once their usefulness was ended, he would destroy them to cover up any evidence. Even when the ransom is paid, Lemai would still detonate the weapon. He had to be stopped at all costs.
At the same time, Karvak narrowed his eyes. Now he understood. Now he realized that the Xanos were simply nothing in the Brotherhood's eyes. The Brotherhood had sent them there to be killed to delay the Republic Peacekeepers and their human allies. He burned with rage. All these years, he had served the Brotherhood faithfully and this was how they repaid him? Immediately, he blurted out, "Stand down! All Xanos stand down!"
All action in the hall stopped. The agents and the SAS soldiers that had just arrived lowered their weapons cautiously as the Xanos deactivated their own.
"All Xanos! Listen to me! We have been betrayed by the Dark Brotherhood! They sent us here to die!" Karvak cried. Facing Eusebio, he pleaded, "Spare us, Dorzen! We have realized our evil deeds and that the masters we served are nothing but cowards who are vile and deserve to die! We defect to the Republic!"
Eusebio eyed Karvak cautiously, still keeping his lightsaber pointed at him. Furrowing his brows, Eusebio studied Karvak closely, looking for any signs of deceit. Finding none, he deactivated his lightsaber, "You will be spared, but you must help us save this planet. However, if you show any sign of betraying us, death will come swiftly."
Although Eusebio usually would not trust anybody that easily, time was running short. Travelling to Germany would take about 11 hours with the Payload's advanced thruster systems, leaving them only about an hour to save Earth.
Turning, Eusebio signalled for his men to head for the Payload as he spoke into his radio, "Ingrid! Get down here! Lemai's gonna detonate the weapon in three hours. Our destination: Diederich Castle, Germany."
Karvak motioned to his men to get to their ships. "Follow Dorzen's plane! Leave the dead! Treat the wounded in the ships. Our target is Diederich Castle! Move!"
As the agents and the soldiers boarded the Payload, Eusebio stopped halfway on the ramp and scanned the horizon.
The world was at ransom.
Eusebio/Dorzen scrutinized the assassins carefully. They were part of the Xanos, the elite of the elite assassins in the Dark Brotherhood. They were used against the most dangerous targets.
"I'm honored that your Dark Brotherhood masters consider me to be one of the most dangerous enemies." Eusebio smiled darkly.
One of the assassins stepped forward, "Enough of your nonsensical talk, Dorzen. You know full well that our masters want you dead. Only then will their weapon be able to wreak havoc. Our combined might will overwhelm you just as we did before. Now it is the time for you to die."
"Karvak, that is big talk indeed! If I may correct you, I was giving you chances during our last encounter. That was how your group of stinky murderers could best me. No more Mr Nice Guy now. Besides, Oduric is here." Eusebio snorted.
"Huh! We shall see now!" Karvak roared as the group of Xanos surged forward, surrounding the two Republic Peacekeepers. "Kill them!"
The assassins charged, weapons up.
The first wave of assassins were thrown across the hall by a huge repulse wave emanating from...
Eusebio.
"This is just the beginning." Karvak hissed.
Eusebio and Oduric ignited their lightsabers as the second wave of assassins pushed towards them.
Eusebio blocked five lightsabers and unleashed a withering blast of lightning at their wielders. The five Xanos were sent hurtling away where they crashed into the floor. The intensity of the lightning caused massive calcification of their skeletal systems to occur, putting them out of action.
Oduric cut through three of his attackers and blasted another aside with an energy blast. He stepped back before pulling a MP-7 from his holster and shot an assassin right smack in the forehead.
Karvak watched with silent rage as he witnessed his men being decimated before his very eyes. His hands went to his M98 blaster rifle (a weapon of the MK2 Galaxy) and he pointed it at Eusebio's back.
The blaster bolt sliced through the air as it sped towards Eusebio's back. Karvak grinned as he saw the bolt burn an enormous hole in Eusebio's chest, half-expecting Eusebio to fall dead.
After few moments of suspense in which everyone stopped and stared at the hole in Eusebio's chest, Eusebio turned towards Karvak and impaled the nearest Xanos assassin, drawing gasps from everyone except Oduric. Walking towards Karvak, Eusebio dispatched each assassin that stood in his way with deadly efficiency. Karvak's eyes widened in amazement as the hole in Eusebio's chest slowly closed up.
Karvak raised his staff to parry Eusebio's blow. From the corner of his eye, he saw his men falling under Oduric's blade. The situation was hopeless. He could not hold out against the Grand Master of the Trayos Order for long. Questions rang in his head. Had his masters sent him here to be killed? Surely there must be a good reason for them to send the Xanos against the two Republic Peacekeepers. His masters had known that the Xanos would be destroyed utterly. Yet why? Why did they send them to be killed? Were not the Xanos one of the most trusted and efficient assassins of the Brotherhood?
Karvak's staff snapped into two, unable to withstand the ferocity of Eusebio's offensive. Pinned against the wall with a lightsaber just millimeters from his neck, Karvak had no hope of escape.
Suddenly, the PA system echoed. "Hahahaha! Now hear me, humans of Earth! The time has come for your doom. A biological weapon of enormous capability for destruction is about to be launched into the atmosphere. Within minutes of it's detonation, all of you wretched people will be suffering violent and painful deaths! I demand a ransom for this world! I demand all the money in this world! I give you all 12 hours to give this ransom!" All over the world, televisions, screens, radios, etc. all rang with Lemai's voice.
"Lemai!" Eusebio snarled. He knew he had been tricked. This missile facility was nothing but a decoy, designed to draw his attention from the real missile facility located at Diederich Castle, headquarters of Joseph Drescher. All along, Lemai, the head of the AF, had schemed the deactivation of the INDF and everything that followed. The AF was nothing but a tool of Lemai. Once their usefulness was ended, he would destroy them to cover up any evidence. Even when the ransom is paid, Lemai would still detonate the weapon. He had to be stopped at all costs.
At the same time, Karvak narrowed his eyes. Now he understood. Now he realized that the Xanos were simply nothing in the Brotherhood's eyes. The Brotherhood had sent them there to be killed to delay the Republic Peacekeepers and their human allies. He burned with rage. All these years, he had served the Brotherhood faithfully and this was how they repaid him? Immediately, he blurted out, "Stand down! All Xanos stand down!"
All action in the hall stopped. The agents and the SAS soldiers that had just arrived lowered their weapons cautiously as the Xanos deactivated their own.
"All Xanos! Listen to me! We have been betrayed by the Dark Brotherhood! They sent us here to die!" Karvak cried. Facing Eusebio, he pleaded, "Spare us, Dorzen! We have realized our evil deeds and that the masters we served are nothing but cowards who are vile and deserve to die! We defect to the Republic!"
Eusebio eyed Karvak cautiously, still keeping his lightsaber pointed at him. Furrowing his brows, Eusebio studied Karvak closely, looking for any signs of deceit. Finding none, he deactivated his lightsaber, "You will be spared, but you must help us save this planet. However, if you show any sign of betraying us, death will come swiftly."
Although Eusebio usually would not trust anybody that easily, time was running short. Travelling to Germany would take about 11 hours with the Payload's advanced thruster systems, leaving them only about an hour to save Earth.
Turning, Eusebio signalled for his men to head for the Payload as he spoke into his radio, "Ingrid! Get down here! Lemai's gonna detonate the weapon in three hours. Our destination: Diederich Castle, Germany."
Karvak motioned to his men to get to their ships. "Follow Dorzen's plane! Leave the dead! Treat the wounded in the ships. Our target is Diederich Castle! Move!"
As the agents and the soldiers boarded the Payload, Eusebio stopped halfway on the ramp and scanned the horizon.
The world was at ransom.
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