Banshee

4. Torn Between Two Lives

Karina shot up with a loud scream. Where was she? How did she get here? Why wasn't she dead yet? This wasn't the bridge of her ship; it looked as if she was in some sort of laboratory. She noticed that she was sitting up on some sort of elevation

Why do I get the feeling that I am on an altar?

Okarron was standing close by, a look of concern on his usually stoic face.

"What happened?" she managed to ask. "How did I survive that?"

"I followed you from the monitors of the city ship. When I saw that you were in trouble I had you and your crew evacuated with an experimental extractor. The healers have just confirmed that you have suffered no effects from the extraction but you should rest for now."

He looked at her to see if she was really alright.

"We will be going down to the continental mainland when it is night time there. One of our strike companies had managed to secure a foothold in an area rich with natural gas. Keeping a tight grip on this area should disturb the sentients' supply systems."

"I will do my best to be well rested then." Karina said.

"Go to your quarters, you might get the most effective rest in there."

Karina went to her quarters, which luckily just so happened to be on the same floor as the extraction chamber.

The loading docks were buzzing with life as thousands of strike troops boarded their transports. Most of them were Trena infantrymen, but there was also a large contingent of Silcar shock troops and a few Ranh commandos (even though they look like oversized furballs). Okarron oversaw the whole procedure, being the last to board the ships along with Karina.

It was very dark as the transports descended upon their target destination; a place that appeared to be a small town, surrounded by a wide moat of water.

Almost like a fortress...

The ships landed just north of the town, unloading troops and vehicles as fast yet orderly as possible. Most of these troops immediately took the road heading north, towards a pocket of sentient resistance. The Ranh's, however, as well as 100 Trena and a dozen Silcar stayed with Okarron as he went into the town. Once over the moat, he was greeted by a Kanarr commando, who had been in charge here up till now.

"How are we doing here, captain?" Okarron asked.

"We have secured most of the village, mylord. There is only minimal resistance, only 20 dead, all Trena. My forces engage their stronghold as we speak."

As the commando said those words, a loud bang could be heard only a few hundred meters further into the town, along with a lot of shooting and several cries, which were muffled by distance.

"What do the sentients call this place?" Okarron asked.

"From what I have seen, mylord, they call this town Zevendorp. The structure of this town is quite ingenious too by their standards; this whole place has literally been placed and anchored into a bowlshaped structure filled with water. So far, we believe this is to minimize damage caused by earthquakes. This whole region is an earthquake zone."

"Hmmm, quite ingenious indeed, captain."

"Right this way, mylord. I will take you to the command center."

Karina followed Okarron along with the other Silcar, who were, for the duration of this mission, assigned as his personal bodyguard. They went into a large building, which served as a command center, garrison, and round up point for sentients all rolled into one. She could see hundreds of sentients sitting in what looked like an auditorium as the entourage continued its way to the command center.