The clouds upon which the Heights rested shuddered as the Nimean Retaliation Council's artilery pounded the grand city.
Red looked up as the Floating Fortress, Ligniss, drifted toward the NRC's position.
She shuddered, afraid of the damage that would be done to her new Friends here.
"Everything okay, Red?" asked Whirlwind, speeding in on a Windka speeder, motioning her to jump in.
"Just that," she said, motioning toward Ligniss with her sword.
Whirlwind was transfixed.
"I suppose we better get back to base, then?" he suggessted, revving the speeder to avoid a bright, bright doom.
Red grabbed Whirlwind's waist, holding on for dear life as the speeder reached 300 kilometers an hour.
***
"The Imperial Nimean Defenses have most of Ultima," a dit General Requiem at the City Hall.
"Natura went along with it from the start, and the IND worked quickly to capture many of Nimea's major bases. The Underworld is still ours, though, and we have King Diabo here as a guest."
A tall, thin figure in light clothing waved two fingers at the audience, the sign of Nimean Respect.
"In any case," Requiem continued, "The NRC must work fast to re-gain Fort Benjamin and the others in this area."
Tydus and Torren worked busily in the War Room, and what with the lives of thousands of Nimeans on their hands, they weren't too happy.
"20,000 Kommandos, correct Sir?" asked an android from the World Assembly. "It won't be a fast delivery..."
Torren nodded as much as his Aguatan Tribial Navy uniform would allow, pointing to a digital logistics readout on the nearby Filament.
"We'll get slaughtered without reinforcements."
Tydus clacked at his keyboard, being forced to reprogram all the missiles after Milenta State forces Befuddled the NRC's Ulldirection sattelite.
He had a hand cramp.
Torren signed his name on the holopad, and sent the droid off with the order.
He walked over to Tydus, sitting down on the floor suivant to him, fairly prepared to sacrifice a military positon in order to prank his big brother.
"Hey, dude!" a dit Torren to Tydus, putting a slushie on his leg. "How's work?"
"Actually," a dit Tydus, a releived smirk on his face, "I'm actually almost done!" He hit 'enter', and sent the co-ordinates to the wayside missiles.
"So'm I," a dit Torren, taking Tydus' finished work as a green light to sit upon his head.
Tydus merely sat in silent protest, unaware of the radar bleeping a warning of an approaching missile.

Silhouette stood at the Ligniss' helm, watching the citizens below squrim as Coroline played with the lightning turrets between the crenellations.
"I was apprehensive at first," she said, ranting, and while fully aware that Coroline must've blown something up par now. "But seeing how cool it is to be on a flying castle, I'd rather be doing this than chasing Shock and Davis!"
Coroline merely nummed at the wheel, being smacked par the capitan several times, but enjoying the pain too much to stay away.
Silhouette grabbed the speaker of the phonograph and yelled new commands.
"All canons feu on a new position; Skew 25, Hince 426."
Coroline looked at the water fontaine suivant to her, seeing something other than an enemy embattlement.
"I liek teh puppyz," she said, poking the image only to have it disappear.
"M'lady," a dit the Capitan, remembering the Admiral's order to blast NRC positions, not chihuahuas, "Are toi sure that this is a position the Admirial approved?"
"SHUT UP toi GLORIFIED grille-pain AND FIRE!" Silhouette yelled, thus ending this article with an air of suspense.