Author Topic: That which yields is not always weak. [glooob!] [M/TW] (Read 17678 times)

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #200 on:** October 25, 2015, 03:00:21 pm »

Esha looked away from him and the vehicle both, feeling sick. How many people had those massive treads crushed? How much blood was still crusted in all its little crevices?

She shuddered, hugging herself, and closed her eyes and took a deep breath to push back the awful images that filled her head at his words. He was sick. A true monster...

Gods. Did her people know who they were dealing with? Did they even plan on rescuing her at all, with stakes like these? The thought made her stomach churn, threatening again to empty it of what little she'd eaten.

"They didn't do anything to you," she whispered, shivering.

Daglobster · « **Reply #201 on:** October 25, 2015, 03:24:15 pm »

"They stood in my way," Skerrondus said as they entered the driver's area. The place looked more like the bridge of a starship, furthering the image of this place as a giant, rolling fortress. At the center of this bridge, there was another throne, except this one had a steering wheel mounted in front of it. Working one of the consoles was none other than Korto, and he regarded Esha with a moderately friendly glare as Skerrondus brought her in.

Skerrondus hooked her leash to the foot of his throne, so that she'd always be at his feet. He sat down, and put his helmet on.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #202 on:** October 31, 2015, 01:05:03 pm »

Oh gods, it was Korto.

For a brief moment, Esha met his eyes, her own expression a strange hybrid of panicked and angry. This was the monster that had murdered so many--because they "stood in his way"! And so he'd crushed them. He was a sadist. That much was clear. He knew her kind were no match for his, and he delighted in that sort of pointless domination, delighted in the power trip of torturing something that couldn't fight back.

For that was exactly what he'd done to her--exactly what he and his kind were doing to her. She was no physical match for any of them, yet he lorded that over her in every way he could.

Curling up at the foot of his throne, she hugged herself and shivered, desperately hoping that, at the very least, what the Steggadonians had said still held--that he at least wouldn't be fucking her again for a bit.

And at least they were outside his home. Maybe, out here, there would be more opportunities to escape. Maybe Korto could get her out...

Daglobster · « **Reply #203 on:** October 31, 2015, 01:57:35 pm »

Skerrondus sat down in his driver's throne, and he pumped a fist up into the air. The massive engine of the Hare Krushinya came to life, and Esha'd be able to feel the raw power of the death machine as the floor rattled with ignition.

Skerrondus revved it a bit, the rolling fortress sounding like a dragon as toxic black smoke came rolling out of the exhaust pipes. The side turrets came online as the crew members switched them on, and the whole thing got rolling along.

Skerrondus sounded the Krushinya's horn, and it was met with a chorus of beeping and hollering from the assembled warparty of vehicles.

This was not going to a pleasant trip for Esha.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #204 on:** November 05, 2015, 12:08:56 pm »

As though any part of this had been pleasant.

With a small squeak as everything roared to life and the floor rattled, Esha curled in closer to the throne and grabbed at her ears, pulling them down. All the loud noises hurt her sensitive ears, and that at least closed them off enough to muffle the sounds--at least a little. She clenched her eyes shut as the fortress rolled along, stuck once more in a position where she was just chained in with little more to support her.

Daglobster · « **Reply #205 on:** November 15, 2015, 12:31:55 am »

"I always wonder..." Skerrondus started, and before he said anything else, he gunned the Krushinya's engine. Ton upon ton of mashed together steel, guns, and hatred lurched forward on its treads, set upon its warpath.

He gave a hand motion, and shutters on the windows fell down, and the place fell into blessed quiet. Truly, the only indication that they were still moving was the rattling of the ground. Lights came on inside, and the interior consoles lit up.

Before the invasion of Jeth, the Hare Krushinya was a crude beast, something that was able to crush the Feylini merely by its size and durability alone. Now, however, with sleek Feylini tech awkwardly kludged up against rusty, Rividean construction, she was smart as well. Skerrondus attached a single-eye visor of Feylini design to his helmet. The dented white steel contrasting with black iron. It let him see where he was steering, which was why the cockpit's shutters were all closed.

"Why was it we crushed you Longears so quickly. Can you guess?"

Skerrondus looked down at Esha, and pulled her chain up.

"Guess."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #206 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:15:36 pm »

Esha didn't want to speak to him. She curled in tighter on herself, a chill going down her spine as the shutters fell and left them fairly secluded. But she kept her eyes clenched shut, trying to go elsewhere, trying to take her mind off the situation and where she was and who she was with.

It only lasted so long, for soon he was pulling at her chain. She let out a choked gasp and rose to her knees, her eyes snapping open as she stared up at the monster.

She grabbed at the chain, trying to take some of the pressure off her neck. "Because we're not monsters," she managed to grind out from between clenched teeth.

Daglobster · « **Reply #207 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:30:42 pm »

At her answer, Skerrondus smiled.

"Precisely."

With a lurch, the Krushinya started to move, and a looted Feylini tactical projector mounted on the ceiling sprung to life. The Krushinya, the vehicles moving in its formation, and the surrounding landscape were all simulated.

He dropped her at his feet.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #208 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:43:54 pm »

With a grunt, Esha plopped back down and rubbed at her neck beneath the collar. Still she glowered up at Skerrondus, hating him as much as she feared him--perhaps more.

"And you enjoy that? You enjoy being a monster?" she said, ears back. The projection flickered around her, but she ignored it, instead staring up at him. "Why?"

Daglobster · « **Reply #209 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:47:51 pm »

"Rividea is a planet of monsters. Around here, the only way to survive is to take what you want."

He laughed, and started to pet her.

"A soft longear like you would never understand."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #210 on:** December 15, 2015, 01:56:20 pm »

Esha cringed at his touch, but bit back her knee-jerk impulse to pull away. She knew if she resisted, it would likely only get worse, and right now he was being gentle even if his touch felt slimy and vile. Right now, he was just talking, not hurting her. She wanted him to stay in such a mild mood for as long as possible.

She shivered and licked her dry lips. "Sur...survival of the fittest. Evolution. I, um, I...I learned about that in school..." she said lamely, swallowing down her fear. "I...understand it...its basics, at least. But it doesn't have to be like that. Is it...does it actually make you happy being feared and hated?"

Daglobster · « **Reply #211 on:** December 15, 2015, 02:05:46 pm »

"I don't care if I'm hated or feared."

He stopped petting her, but his hand remained. His hand tightened on her head, reminding her that all it would take was a thought, and he could break her neck.

"All I care about is keeping my warband running, and being in charge."

He pushed her head away from him, and straightened up on his seat a bit.

"Now quit your talking, before I find something to quit it for you with."

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #212 on:** January 07, 2016, 11:32:04 am »

Wisely, Esha took the hint and curled away from him, as much as the chain would allow, her skin still crawling from his touch--and the unspoken promise that he could kill her whenever he felt like it.

If she displeased him, if she upset him in any way...

That was all it would take.

She bit her lip, her chest tightening in another familiar wave of grief and panic, but she looked away and blinked hard against the burn in her eyes. How stupid, to think she could find even a hint of mercy in such a monster, that she could reason with a beast that murdered and raped without a thought.

Gods...

"Yes, sir," she mumbled.

Daglobster · « **Reply #213 on:** January 07, 2016, 12:35:04 pm »

Skerrondus smiled at her submissiveness, and turned his attention to the tactical simulation.

"We're clear of Da Krag," Korto said, and Skerrondus nodded. Despite her current situation, Esha had a stellar opportunity for gathering information. After all, she was the first Feylini to ever step into Skerrondus' nerve center.

"Warm up the guns."

Another Raptian attending a terminal leaned towards a microphone, and spoke Rividean into it. A holographic display of the Krushinya appeared, and all of the weapons were highlighted.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #214 on:** February 22, 2016, 10:22:39 am »

That was...a lot of weapons.

Esha's keen eyes took it all in as they roved along, watching the holographic display and studying it. She had nothing else to occupy her but her own horrific memories--and for now, she fought to keep that and the accompanying fear at bay. She had to focus. Focus on what was right in front of her. She had to remember that, despite whatever horrors she'd experienced so far, she was here, in Skerrondus's bloody warship.

And thought some large part of her doubted she would ever see home again, the part of her still clinging to hope, still hanging onto Korto's words, knew that this was an opportunity.

And that if she ever did escape, she would take everything she'd learned here--and fucking destroy this monster.

So she sat quietly, arms looped around her knees and fighting back shivers of fear, and took to watching and observing.

Daglobster · « **Reply #215 on:** February 23, 2016, 09:13:36 pm »

The Krushinya rolled along for several minutes, the other vehicles in the war party following along in a loose, formation. However, if Esha had an eye for tactics, she'd be able to see that there was a pattern to it. Vehicles in the formation seemed to keep a certain amount of space from each other, and they formed a sort of zig-zag line.

Whether it was coincidence, an actual display of Rividean combat tactics, or Skerrondus' own personal design, was yet to be seen.

One of the other raptians manning the Krushinya's controls turned back to face Skerrondus.

"We got NutTurna Klannies comin' in on the long range, boss," The raptian hissed out, and Skerrondus nodded.

"Switch 'er to vish," Skerrondus grunted, and a rather comprehensive visual of the area in front of the Krushinya.

There were several incoming vehicles in the distance. Many of them were mounted with giant swiveling claws and repurposed construction equipment. Skerrondus observed for a few moments, before he sat back in his seat. He placed a hand on Esha's head, stroking her ears while he thought.

"Tell the boys to loosen up. Sideswipin' em's suicide," Skerrondus said.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #216 on:** May 10, 2016, 04:36:55 pm »

Oh gods. Esha tensed at what she heard--and what she saw-- because from the sounds of it, this was about to be a skirmish. Her ears twitched ubder Skerrondus's hand, her stomach churning at the contact--and the upcoming violence.

But she took deep breaths and kept her eyes on the screen. Maybe it was just a silly kind of hope, but maybe...just maybe...

Mahbe she could learn something about hiw he fought. How THEY fought.

And what worked best to defeat them.

Daglobster · « **Reply #217 on:** May 10, 2016, 04:49:24 pm »

It wasn't long before the nightmare of combat started. The Krushinya was the first vehicle to fire, and the main cannon's thunderous roar heralded the instant obliteration of one of the incoming vehicles, and then the true cacophony began. Gunfire from the Krushinya, gunfire from the vehicles around it, it was all she'd be able to hear. Cannons, machine guns, haphazardly mounted lasers, everything.

And it was coming from the other side as well. Weapon fire impacted the hull of the Krushinya, and both forces got closer and closer.

The fight had only just begun.

Rhi-Rhi · « **Reply #218 on:** May 13, 2016, 11:51:15 am »

Esha felt like she should have been more afraid than she was. And yet, she couldn't muster up the ability to be afraid, because the worst had already happened. She had wound up Skerrondus's captive, and she couldn't really think of anything that could top that. Besides, it was Skerrondus. He had a reputation of being unbeatable. If he could conquer her planet, she didn't think he would have much of a problem obliterating this gang.

Part of her hoped she would be proven wrong. That Skerrondus would fall today, that this vehicle would explode. She knew what it would mean for her, but gods.

She didn't want to die, but she couldn't deny it wouldn't be an escape.

Unfortunately, she couldn't make much sense of their tactics; to her, it looked like chaos, like there wasn't even much strategy involved at all so much as just sheer brute force. Biting her lip, she gripped the chain connecting her to Skerrondus's throne, needing something to hold onto as the whole thing swayed and jarred and bounced.

Daglobster · « **Reply #219 on:** May 13, 2016, 12:04:34 pm »

And yet, even as it all seemed to be chaos, Rividean tactics started to show a pattern once vehicles got in close quarters. Squadrons of smaller vehicles loaded down with boarders would try to make close-combat assaults on the larger vehicles, who had their own escort cars. Larger vehicles were the ones making the big hits, running into others with rams and sideswiping them with side-mounted implements. The only vehicle that seemed to break this pattern was the Krushinya, which was simply too big to the bothered, crushing and running over anything smaller than itself.

The Feylini, modernized and acclimated to long-range engagements and organized tactical movements, were defeated by the simple fact that they couldn't defend themselves at close range and couldn't account for unpredictable and sometimes suicidal Rividean tactics.

Also, it helped that the Rivideans had no concept of "rules of engagement."

Skerrondus' warband had the upper hand from the very start of the fight, but things took an interesting turn when the Krushinya impacted the enemy lead vehicle, causing it to lodge in the Krushinya's ram. Boarders started pouring out of the stuck vehicle, and Skerrondus stood from his throne, picking up the same blade he'd used to murder Peg-Leg.

He turned to Korto, and motioned to Esha.

"Watch her."

and like that, he was out of the cockpit, running down the Krushinya's length to join in the brutal melee that was forming on the front of it.