FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"It has excellent ecm capabilities on its own. If I remember correctly it will handle nearly any air to air or air to ground ordinance. If you plan on me not landing, we will have to hang tanks on it." Roslyn said.

Roslyn and Sherman both glanced up at Nodrog. "You have no idea what she is talking about."

"I got the basics. If it can be mounted, we can have it." Nodrog said.

Roslyn turned back to Sherman and shrugged. "Works for me."

Nodrog smiled as the two of them worked out the finer points of arming the aircraft and flight plan. It was in his mind the downfall of modern warfare, most weapons could be used at extreme ranges making killing so impersonal. Unlike hand to hand and very short range weapons. It made the decision of going to battle much harder since you would see your enemy fall.

They axed the auxiliary fuel tank idea. One they were incredibly heavy and two, the more bombs the better. Sherman and Nodrog could also plant smaller charges in the building to help persuade it to fall down. If that is what they needed to do.

While Sherman rounded up the rest of their equipment, Roslyn took Nodrog down to the simulators for a little flight instruction. Just the basics so she could sleep part of the way over, since he never sleeps. Why waste time on the ground sleeping? When one of them never needed so much as a nap.

Roslyn rewarded his quick learning with a little more, personal instruction in the simulator. Or did he reward her very excellent teaching skills... In either case she felt considerably better then she had earlier. Hell she felt so good, she gave Sherman a kiss before heading to her apartment for a shower.

"That was a little unexpected." Sherman said as the two of them watched her walk away. For her age, Roslyn had one fantastic ass.

"And that is why I like this era better." Nodrog chuckled.

"I guess I better finish up some things before I call it a day. Tomorrow is going to be an early and long day." Sherman said and his ears fell flat as he glanced to the stack of work in his 'in' box."

"You will sleep most of the way over as it is." Nodrog said and walked over to the office door.

"Not even going to offer to help?" Sherman asked.

"My signature doesn't mean anything. After all I am an artifact." Nodrog chuckled. He waved as he headed out. After his earlier exercise with Roslyn, he was in the mood for a little more. And he figured it would not take much to convince Alice or Jenny to play.

The two of them were sitting on the couch watching TV when he got back. Jenny was actually sitting in the middle and Nodrog pulled her over to him after he sat down.

"Hey there..." Jenny said and almost instantly started purring as he kissed her neck.

Alice let out a little squeak as his tail wrapped around her thigh. She smiled and crawled over to the two of them after a little tug on her leg. Alice ran her hand along his arm and followed it under Jenny's shirt. Jenny shivered as Alice's finger tips oh so lightly ran across her flesh.

Nodrog and Alice kissed and nibbled on Jenny's neck, ears and shoulder. A soft moan escaped her barely parted lips as Alice's fingers found their way to her stiff nipples under her now loosened bra. Jenny sucked in a breath as Nodrog slipped a wet finger inside of her.

Alice whispered an almost inaudible "Oh god." in Jenny's ear as his tail curled into her pants, panties and into her. The scales rubbing across her clit as the tip of his tail went deeper.

Jenny was almost limp as they pulled her clothes off. Nodrog removed her shirt and bra, while Alice pulled her pants and panties off in one go. Alice kissed her way slowly down from her lips to her clit. Jenny moaned as Alice's little tongue teased her.

Nodrog managed to get his pants off with only minor interruption to what he was doing to the two of them. Alice lightly wrapped one hand around his knot and very lightly and slowly ran just her finger and thumb up and down his length.

Jenny looked down as Alice pulled back a little and took most of him in her mouth. Causing him to tense up under her and moan in her ear. Jenny watched as Alice went down on him, Alice smiled at her as she ran just her tongue along his member. It was a rather naughty smile Jenny thought, and soon found out why as Alice helped him take her first.

They both moaned as Alice helped him get inside of Jenny. Alice kept her attention on their lower halves. She moaned as his grip on her tightened and the scales rubbed her even more. While it was not very easy, Alice did manage to get her own shirt and bra off. The way his tail wrapped around her leg and into her pants, they would be staying on a while.

While the handcuffs were a little much, being bound by his tail was completely different in her mind. Yes they and he were made of metal but one was cold and lifeless. Nodrog was warm and radiated life. He also radiated power, and a lusting hunger that was difficult to describe. While Alice and Stacy did not know they shared the same thoughts, they both did.

Alice moaned as his tail brought her to climax. His hunger, lust and anger were tangible, unmistakable... over whelming. But like Jenny his lust also conveyed the sense that while they were going to get what they wanted, she would be well taken care of. She arched her back and pushed back in hopes of getting more and moaned as he did give her more.

Jenny let out a moan as she came. Alice and Nodrog's eyes met as he ran his tongue along the back of Jenny's neck. It sent a delightful shiver through her body, because it meant she was next to enjoy his full attention. Alice kissed her way up Jenny's body. "I love you both so much."

Nodrog and Jenny kissed Alice. "I hope days like this never end." Jenny said as she put her arms around Alice.

"And I love the two of you." Nodrog said softly. They lay in quiet embrace until his tie with Jenny ended. Then he turned his attention to Alice, and made sure she was equally taken care of.

Nodrog gave both of the sleeping girls a kiss before he headed down to meet Roslyn and Sherman for their 'before god was up' as Sherman called it breakfast. Aside from the staff running the cafeteria, everyone else was sleeping soundly.

Roslyn changed in the flight crews locker room while Nodrog and Sherman were already geared up.

"That does not look like anything I have seen before." Nodrog said as the approached an oddly sharp lined aircraft. It was roughly the same size as the gunship, in length and width.

Roslyn took the clip board from one of the ground crew. "Its shape is determined by two things, stealth and being able to take off vertically just like a chopper. Unlike that flying tank, you are used to, this will break the sound barrier if we really need to hurry."

"Sound has a barrier?" Nodrog asked.

"That is a little misleading catch all phrase. Sound travels at seven hundred and eighty six miles per hour. It was for a time thought impossible to go faster than sound." Roslyn said absent mindedly as she went over the check list.

"It is just a way to say it will go really fast." Sherman said as they walked up the aircraft's small ramp. It would only hold the pilot and six troops.

"Guess I will have to look into it more when we get back." Nodrog said and stowed his gear. They weren't expecting trouble, but if Roslyn had to demonstrate her aerobatic flight ability, loose gear would not be good.

"I thought the quest to break the sound barrier was a interesting bit of history." Sherman said as he packed his gear.

"Agreed, what was once impossible, now done with rather boring repetition. Takes away some of the mystic from things." Roslyn said as she walked up the ramp. Her flight suit hiding the figure they enjoyed admiring. After checking a few last things, she closed the hatch. She could feel their eyes on her as she walked past and ducked to get to the cockpit. To get that response at her age, she wouldn't complain, just smile.

Nodrog and Sherman both strapped in and put on their helmets as she started the twin turbine engines up. A few more preflight checks and she gave the ground crew a thumbs up. They pulled the last of the lines and wires tying the craft to the ground.

Roslyn taxied out to the runway and got final permission to take off. They were quickly in the air and heading west, not that Sherman or Nodrog could see anything. Roslyn got them up above commercial air traffic and into more military air space. "Lets she how she does."

Nodrog and Sherman did not expect the kick in the ass as Roslyn jammed on the afterburners, hurtling them past the speed of sound. "We should fly this way more often." Nodrog said with a grin nearly ear to ear.

"Alice would be jealous." Sherman chuckled.

"Considering we are cruising at eleven hundred miles per hour, I would think so." Roslyn said and checked her gauges.

"Here's the run down. We got three hours till we land on the coast to top off the fuel tanks. Then a ten hour dash to the next way point on our trip. A second refueling followed by a two hour under the radar crawl to our target." Roslyn said as she checked her notes.

"I hope that will be a little more pleasant then Amy's NOE stunt in the chopper." Sherman grunted.

"I thought it was fun." Nodrog chuckled.

"You would." Sherman said.

The short leg of the trip passed quickly, and Sherman managed to stay awake during all of it. After topping off the tanks and a quick lunch to hold them over they were back in the air. They had no information to go over, no photographs, or satellite images. Sherman was not a big fan of going in blind, and while he did not have to worry about dying. He did worry about Roslyn's safety.

They had decided on just having her do a quick fly over and let them hop out at low altitude. She would then find a clearing to land in outside of the facility and wait for their signal to come and get them.

Roslyn and Nodrog switched places after a few hours into the long leg of the trip. Where with a little work she managed to not see how well of a lover Sherman could be. They played cards for a little while before each stretched out on what was only uncomfortable seats.

"Hey Sherman." Roslyn said after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" Sherman asked.

"Quit starring at my ass and get some sleep." Roslyn said with a sly smile he couldn't see, since she had her back to him.

Sherman chuckled as he rolled onto his back. "Yes ma'am."

Nodrog sat with his arms crossed as the plane cruised along by itself. Auto pilot was rather boring. Still if something happened he could at least do something while Roslyn slept. At the moment they were out running the sun, but darkness would catch them when they landed again. The plane would take considerably longer to refuel and they would need to eat supper.

Nodrog looked down at the vast pacific ocean. The seas looked calm from forty thousand feet up. The first time he had seen the curvature of the earth was when he took a little side trip while heading to China and stood atop the tallest mountain in the world. As big as the universe was, it still seemed so small.

Yes he was created for war, but the three separate beings that made him had their own wants, needs and ideas. The moments of solitude, be it atop the tallest mountain, or the tranquil gardens of some one's estate... The three of them could forget their differences and actually enjoy sharing thought and story.

Elric had insisted they take a few days and go fishing once. Nodrog and the vampire thought differently. Still after a few hours of solitude, even they conceded that the elf was correct. Outside the city and away from the people, the three of them found they did have much in common.

Nodrog chuckled. "I never thought I would miss them."

Nodrog woke them up a half hour out from their second pit stop. He heard one of them stretch and pop nearly every vertebra in their back.

"Oh fuck that sucked. The floor would have been better." Roslyn grumbled as she stretched.

Sherman cracked his neck a couple times after sitting up. "Next time I would like first class accommodations."

"It wasn't that bad." Nodrog laughed as he came to the back so Roslyn could take over.

They belted back in and Roslyn radioed the facility that was hosting their little layover. She taxied them over to a low hanger where the ground crew quickly got to work. They hopped in a jeep like utility vehicle and zipped over to a mess hall for a bite to eat. One of the higher ranking people giving them a little more information, including weather and a few clearings large enough for Roslyn to land and wait.

"The radios are not scrambled, so be on your way up when you call me." Roslyn said as she looked over the maps the woman had given her.

"I am still a little troubled over the size of your team." An older Asian woman said softly.

"Any more troops and we would run the risk of being spotted sooner. Plus we are not officially here." Sherman said.

"You can understand my concerns, correct?" She asked.

"We do, and the risk you are taking in aiding us. There is the possibility that we will find nothing." Nodrog said.

"If you heard any of the rumors you would know that to be false. Still, we cannot allow them to go unchecked any longer. Mr. October has been a very kind and sincere business partner, if he says the three of you can handle it. We will trust him." She said softly.

"I know it is hard to believe most of the things they can do. Hell I have seen some of it with my own eyes and I still have a hard time believing. It is with that reason alone I am flying them in." Roslyn said and they looked up as a young man spoke to the woman.

"Very well, your plane is completely refueled. If you are ready, we will take you back to it." She said.

"We are ready." Nodrog said. The four stood and headed back to the hanger.

Chapter.

They quickly got belted back in. Once more Roslyn taxied them out to the runway and after getting clearance took off. She held a normal flight path until they were clear of the city, then she turned off everything not needed for flight and dropped back down to low altitude.

Roslyn flipped a few more switches making them disappear even more then the gunship could. "Alright boys, we are now ghosts."

"The nightmare cavalry rides again." Sherman chuckled.

"Indeed." Nodrog chuckled.

Roslyn had flown low like this so many times, she could probably do it in her sleep. Fighting forest fires and delivering less scrupulous items tended to make one fly below radar quite often. Still, it touched something in her in a way nothing else could.

They only had to follow a river, fast enough to not be identifiable, but slow enough to not trigger alarms. If anything Roslyn was hoping to mimic standard military flight training used by many nations. The river was large enough, and with good light from the moon she could navigate without active sensors.

This late at night the river and roads they passed carried little traffic. Sherman and Nodrog said nothing, there was not much to say or go over. That they had not already discussed. Roslyn had a clear course of action, even if something happened to them. The night was nearly clear save for a few clouds.

Sherman disliked flying, and if not for the fact his adrenaline was starting to kick in, he would probably be sleeping. They were getting close.

"Heads up boys. I can see our target." Roslyn said.

Nodrog and Sherman unbelted and started getting ready. They had most of their equipment ready.

"Fuck, three... no five large ships just came out of nowhere!" Roslyn yelled.

Nodrog and Sherman both ducked to get a look out the cockpit canopy. Looming over the facility were five obviously alien ships of some kind. "Holy fuck..." Sherman said.

They watched in stunned silence as the five ships fired at the facility, instantly taking out all of it's defenses. "They made us!" Roslyn yelled as a number of warning lamps went off at once. Her left hand flew over controls as she instantly reacted to get them away. They were way too close.

Something on board one of the ships reached out and grabbed Nodrog, causing him to gasp in surprise and fall to his knees. Roslyn uttered a lengthy string of rather un lady like swearing and yelling as she tried to get them away.

"Piece of shit!" Roslyn yelled and smashed her fist down on one of the controls.

"What are you doing?" Sherman asked as they turned back toward the alien ships.

Roslyn looked back at him, fear clearly in her eyes. "Nothing, they hacked the controls..."

Sherman turned back and noticed shock on Nodrog's face. "You okay? We need to bail."

Nodrog looked up at him. "No."

"What?!" Sherman and Roslyn yelled.

"There is something on those ships that can sense magic, they know I am here. We cannot run away." Nodrog said as he stood back up.

Sherman and Roslyn watched as he sat down and of all things, remove the weapons he was carrying. He paused and looked up at them. "If they wanted us dead, we would already have been shot down."

"I have been taken prisoner once this year, I will not be taken again god damn it!" Roslyn yelled.

They all turned to look at the radio as whatever was on the ship hailed them. In a rather pleasant and soft tone of voice.

"I recognize that..." Sherman said.

Nodrog chuckled and got up to answer them. "You should. It is Elfin."

"Wait... Elf like pointy ear elf?" Roslyn asked and pointed to her own ears.

"I don't know if they are Elves, but whoever is on the ship we are heading to knows how to speak it." Sherman said.

Sherman and Roslyn were not sure what to make of the conversation Nodrog was having with who or whatever was on the other side of the radio. He laughed and was smiling, which was odd given the situation. Nodrog set the headset back down and turned to look at them. "Remove your weapons, all of them and just set them aside for now."

"What is going on?" Roslyn asked in shock as Sherman did as he was told.

"You and Sherman get the privilege of being the first humans on this world to meet Velopians." Nodrog said and took the sword and knife he had off and set them next to the pistol and the machine gun.

Roslyn took a deep breath. He had saved her life and disobeyed orders to do it. Not trusting him now, would be stupid. She removed her pistol and knife and set them next to Nodrog's weapons. "What do they look like?" Roslyn asked as the small plane entered the landing bay of the largest of the ships.

"I do not know. They did say the air on the ship was very similar to the outside air, well considerably cleaner, but the same ratio of gases." Nodrog said and walked to the rear of the plane.

"Do you even know what you are talking about?" Sherman asked.

"No, but I did specifically ask if you would need oxygen to breath." Nodrog said and waited.

"You know, they never thought about that kind of stuff in the movies..." Roslyn said.

"That aliens might breath stuff besides oxygen? Super heroes never had that problem." Sherman said and glanced around as the plane spun around and landed rather softly.

"That's why I asked. Because unlike you two, I can breathe anything and be fine." Nodrog said and hit the button to open the hatch.

Sherman and Roslyn looked at the other expecting them to follow Nodrog down the short ramp first. Sherman got the hint he should go next when Roslyn crossed her arms.

Roslyn followed after Sherman, they were not that far behind Nodrog. The landing bay was rather open and a number of smaller craft sat in rows. Standing just in front of Nodrog was a centaur... But he was not part horse. Roslyn thought the coloring of his fur and slender stature was a deer or antelope of some kind. The antlers were a good visual clue as well.

Nodrog greeted the man in Elf and bowed slightly. Eryk Tylien was the Velopian equivalent of Admiral of the navy. Well their version of a space going navy. Velopian was like Elf and is a soft spoken language. It was difficult to translate from Velopian to Elf then to English. He was very grateful for Nodrog's patience in his less then fluent Elf.

The Velopians were all a species of deer or antelope. And while they shared similar body structure of centaurs, their fur came a little farther up the human like portion of their body. Like the animals on earth, the size of their antlers was dependent on age. All of those present were modestly dressed, well at least the upper half of their body was covered.

Nodrog introduced Sherman and Roslyn in kind before inquiring about why the Velopians where here. Their conversation was cut short by a dragon.

"Of all the dragons I have to run into. It had to be you." The female spoke in draconic. She was as tall as Nodrog, but was not in her true dragon form. She appeared to be an elf, but her hair was ruby red along with the scales of her tail. Also not hidden in this form were her golden horns curving gracefully back from the area just behind her hair line.

Sherman found her quite stunning, as well as some of the female Velopians. With their lack of complete clothing, his nose told him more then he really wanted to know at the moment. He would need to learn Elf at least if he was going to leave earth behind in the future. And he was tired of feeling like a retarded side kick half the time.

Nodrog chuckled and replied in draconic. "You know who I am, but I not know your name."

"I am Perenth the Red." Perenth knew earth elemental dragons were very common. There was only one iron dragon she had even heard of in hundreds of years. He was not as intimidating as his typhoon status would indicate. The Velopians were a little more timid around him then they were around her. Granted they tended to be a timid race.

Roslyn lightly tapped her foot as the two dragons conversed, forgetting about those around them. Actually due to the nature of draconic, it sounded like an argument. Roslyn put two fingers in her mouth and blew the loudest, sharpest whistle she could.

Nodrog and Perenth both turned to look at her as the others removed their hands from their ears. "Hey, the rest of us would like to know what the fuck is going on."

Sherman rubbed his left ear. "She does raise a rather valid point."

Roslyn and Sherman were shocked when Perenth spoke perfect English to them. "We followed a lead on the cause of a blood disease the Velopians suffer from. Our preliminary scout found Grays working with the humans at this facility."

"Black Blood." Nodrog growled.

"You know of it?" Perenth asked a little surprised herself.

Nodrog nodded yes. "The humans of this world suffer from it as well. I learned that the Velopians suffered from it by an Elf mage I know."

"Michaela Lorase, a very wise elf." Perenth said and crossed her arms.

"I am guessing the grays are another race. We came to investigate the facility on a different premise. It seems we share a common goal." Sherman said.

"So it seems. You did not bring very much in the way of force." Perenth said flatly.

"And with all of this stalling, it has to have raised alarms and gotten them ready for any more attacks." Roslyn said.

"We have sent warriors into the compound." Eryk said softly in Elf.

Nodrog smiled and replied in Elf. "Then we should join them."

"I will not let you and that mangy human go in alone." Perenth said in English.

Sherman was a little offended at the comment, and was going to say something until two more dragons walked over to them. One a female elf like Perenth, but much shorter and the other like Nodrog but made of stone.

"They have met little resistance this far." The stone anthro said.

"Actually they are waiting for you." The female elf said.

Perenth pulled out a pocket watch. "Very well the two of you may accompany me. Inilth, you and Mianth remain here and oversee the operation."

Roslyn watched as they gathered up their weapons. "Were you expecting things to turn this way?"

Nodrog smiled. "No, however the plot thickens since we now know the disease is not natural. Imagine the look on Marko's face when we show up with the Velopians in tow."

Roslyn laughed. "Oh that will be very entertaining. I do have a question before all of you head down." She followed Nodrog and Sherman back over to Perenth.

"What is that?" Nodrog asked.

"Could one of you, do something so I can talk to and understand our hosts? I cannot monitor the situation anymore and that is troubling." Roslyn said.

Mianth, the younger female elf pulled off a necklace and held it out to Roslyn. She was a little shorter than Roslyn, her hair and tail were shades of blue. "Here this will translate for you while you are on the ship. You need do nothing but wear it."

"Thank you, I will not feel so out of place now." Roslyn said and put the necklace on. Instantly understanding the softly spoken Velopians.

Eryk walked over to them. "You are more than welcome to join Mianth, Inilth and myself in the command room."

"I would like that." Roslyn was surprised by how natural the magic worked. She followed them to a different part of the ship.

Sherman and Nodrog followed Perenth. She had to get her own weapons before the world went black. Sherman looked around and they were no longer on the ship. They were inside the building and they followed the dragon over to a group of well armed Velopian warriors.

Sherman stood around while they talked in a language he couldn't understand. For warriors their equipment looked... cheesy... Like cheap science fiction movie cheesy. But his opinion might not be solid since, they did just show up without any warning and opened fire on a heavily defended facility. Which did not so much as get a shot fired off at them.

"Hey, I am guessing those little guys are grays?" Sherman asked and pointed back down the hallway. He almost laughed because they were five foot tall gray skinned aliens, big head, check. Big odd shaped eyes, tiny nose and mouth. Check. Then they started shooting and Sherman actually did laugh. Cheesy laser gun noises included.

"What is wrong with your friend?" Perenth asked as she looked at Nodrog.

"We will have to ask him later." Nodrog pulled the load lever on his machine gun. He slugged Sherman in the arm. "Hey return fire."

"Sorry... that is just too funny." Sherman chuckled and flipped the safety off of his rifle. He couldn't get the line 'take me to your leader' out of his head.

Both aliens used energy weapons which if you could get past the lame sound they made, were rather effective. If they hit bare skin or lightly armored portions of the body. All laser or plasma did to Nodrog was bounce off or polish his skin. After taking a couple of rounds, Sherman elected to take cover.

Nodrog just hefted the .30 caliber machine gun in one hand and pointed it down the hall. A smile spread as he squeezed the trigger and the gun's heavy, violent, rapid thumping report drowned out everything. Fire belching from the barrel, the gray's high tech shielding and armor doing little to protect them from steel jacked death. The gray's blood and entrails being torn out and sprayed across the wall behind them as the belt fed machine gun chewed the enemy to pieces.

Sherman didn't wait long before adding the sharper sound of the .223 rifle he preferred using. And kept to short bursts of fire, he was a trained soldier after all. The flanking grays fell rather quickly and they regrouped after the short fire fight ended.

"Gods the two of you are crazy, now they all know we are here!" Perenth yelled.

Sherman's and Nodrog's eyes glowed and they only smiled. Nodrog started walking down the hall further into the building. "I was made only for war, my whole existence is war. So is Sherman's, we have only but one purpose and that is war."

Sherman looked Perenth in the eyes. "We are the Nightmare Cavalry."

The two took off down the hall chasing after the sound of more fighting. Perenth and the Velopian officers ran after them, as best they could. The primitive guns made it rather easy to follow them. Perenth and the Velopians turned down a different hall to help their own, leaving Nodrog and Sherman to their own devices.

Roslyn was amazed with what they could see from the command room as they directed troops while watching the enemies move on their own security cameras. Perenth and her troops had gotten pinned down. With all the jamming the Velopians were using to conceal their ships, the radio link she had with Nodrog and Sherman was no good.

Perenth and the Velopians were a little lost as the grays showed fear for the first time any of them had know. The sickening crunch of bone and ripping of flesh interrupted the silence.

They all watched as Nodrog tore off a still living gray's leg and ate it. His eyes glowing brightly. He turned to Sherman. "Hey you should try one of these grays. They taste like the wild boar you said I should try at the noodle place."

Sherman looked down at the scorched gray in his hand. With little thought he ripped off an arm and took a bite out of it. He chewed on it thoughtfully. "Needs a little salt... or BBQ sauce."

The battle had come to an odd turning point as the two continued their sickening culinary conversation. Members of both sides vomited at the rather grizzly scene. It made the grays and humans that came to assist pause in horror. It was the first time the grays or Velopians dealt with monsters like them.

Nodrog and Sherman both raised their weapons with just one arm. "We were going to let you surrender." Sherman said with a toothy grin and his ears laid back.

"But we changed our minds." Nodrog said and they both pulled the trigger.

Perenth watched as they slaughtered human and gray alike. Her ears hurt and the stench of burnt flesh and gunpowder hung thick in the air. Her heart skipped a beat as they turned their attention to her and the Velopians.

"We found the main computer hub. If you can contact your ship and let us transmit a signal; we will transfer all the information to our headquarters. They have the personnel to dig through the information quickly." Sherman said the glow leaving his eyes as he relaxed.

"Very well. But what do we gain in allowing you to do that?" Perenth asked.

"One, the answers will be found faster. And two, they have a treatment that can slow down black blood." Nodrog said.

"We are not supposed to be talking about that." Sherman said with a smile. He knew why Nodrog had said it.

Nodrog smiled. "True, it is supposed to be a secret since it is only in testing stages."

"Then why are you telling me?" Perenth asked.

"So you and the Velopians will know not all humans are bad." Nodrog said.

Perenth turned and talked to those with her. They came to a quick conclusion and she turned back to Nodrog. "Some of us will accompany you to do what you need to do. The others will round up the injured and dead then return to the ships."

"This way." Nodrog turned, gesturing for them to follow him.

Sherman pulled the transmitter out of his backpack. Thankfully the tech guys had packed a short and to the point instruction manual for it. He was fairly tech savvy, so he just needed to know what part of the server he needed to hook the transmitter too. After hooking it up he looked up at Perenth and Nodrog. "All set to start."

Perenth reached up to her ear and tapped what Sherman thought looked like a cell phone ear piece. A short conversation with someone and she told him they had stopped the heavy jamming.

Sherman turned the machine on and checked that it was working. The small screen rapidly scrolled through information until a secondary window opened and one of the tech guys talked back to him. "Good they have a solid connection, all we need to do is wait."

"Perenth, can you get keep some warriors patrolling around this part of the building? I do not want to put them in great harm, but we should have them spread out enough to give us warning." Nodrog said and glanced at his own watch. It had been nearly an hour since they entered the main building. He did not know how fast the Velopians had stormed the facility after their initial bombardment.

One of the Velopian warriors made his way slowly over to them he did not look well. "What's wrong? You look sic." Perenth asked and place a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not sure, several of us have become ill." The warrior said.

Sherman took a deep breath and coughed. "Something's wrong...(cough) the air."

Nodrog walked over to a vent and listened. "They are releasing some kind of gas."

The warriors throughout the facility began to collapse unable to breath. Sherman was starting to feel very sick and even Perenth had lost some color. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Nodrog had knelt down and drew very quick markings on the floor and placed his palm in the middle of an strange shaped pentagram. "Casting magic... Forced retreat!"

Sherman and Perenth looked at the ground beneath their feet, his drawings were under all of them. "Wait you can't..." Sherman started to yell. The world went black.

Nodrog had one of the Velopian radios. "Inilth, quarantine the warriors, Sherman and Perenth in the hanger. They released some kind of gas. I am not sure if it is poison, or if it is contagious."

"They have some suits that will protect the medical staff. I will have them look into it immediately." Inilth replied over the radio and then shouted orders.

Roslyn picked up a radio. "What about you? If it affected Perenth..."

Nodrog walked over to one of the dead grays. "It only seems to be affecting organic life forms."

"Can you give us a little more information?" Mianth asked.

"I'm trying too. It does not appear to be affecting the plants in the building. The dead look to be rotting a little faster than they should be." Nodrog said. He did not want to leave the transmitter unprotected, but there was little around the hub.

The Velopian medical staff took every precaution they could. They brought in every air tank they could find to get the affected warriors breathing oxygen rich air to force out the gas.

Sherman almost felt instantly better after a minuet breathing air from a tank. Perenth recovered a little quicker. Just being out of the contaminated building was an improvement. She walked over to Sherman who was sitting on a crate. "I apologize for my comment earlier. I did not realize you were half monster."

Sherman chuckled. "I am still getting used to being this way. You do not need to apologize."

"Inilth what are you doing? We don't know what they did to us." Perenth exclaimed as the stone dragon walked over to them.

"I need not worry. Whatever they released only effects organic life forms. Nodrog and I are not organic in nature. Stone and iron are unaffected by poison or illness. I see you and the wolf have recovered quickly. What about the Velopians?" Inilth asked as he turned to survey the ill.

One of the medical staff came over. Perenth translated for him so Sherman could understand. "They are recovering slowly. It does not appear at this time to be a poison, but just a chemical that reacts with the mucus in the lungs."

"What are you thinking Sherman?" Inilth asked.

Sherman scratched his head. "There are a number of chemical weapons that react with mucus in the lungs and sinus cavity. It was not tear gas and I do not think it was mustard gas."

Inilth translating Sherman's comments for the medic.

"What is the usual treatment for exposure?" The medic asked. And Inilth again translated.

"Fresh air... although we need to warn Nodrog about firing any weapons or igniting any fire." Sherman said.

"Are they flammable?" Inilth asked while Perenth and the medic talked.

"Some of them are." Sherman knew he should have paid more attention in those lectures.

"I will join him and warn him of the matter." Inilth said and vanished.

Nodrog was still examining things when he felt Inilth enter the room. "How are they doing?"

"They are recovering slowly, thanks to your quick action. We need to be careful, Sherman thought it could be a chemical weapon and it may be flammable." Inilth said as he walked over.

"Why are the grays at war with the Velopians?" Nodrog asked.

"The Velopian home world and several in their system are abnormally rich in rare metals and gems. Things like titanium, platinum are common place so the Velopians craft everything out of it." Inilth said and knelt down to examine a dead gray.

"So the grays are mad because the Velopians will not let them mine it all?" Nodrog said.

"Not just the Velopians. Many advanced races and monsters are staunchly against it. The grays are worse than humans when it comes to ruining worlds to get the riches it holds." Inilth said.

"Like locusts then." Nodrog said and stood up.

"A plague of them. The grays are a very technology driven race. They have little care for nature or earth." Inilth grumbled.

Nodrog chuckled. "The Velopians seem to have a firm grasp of technology."

"I suppose it would look that way. However their ships are not as advanced as you would believe. There are at least two dragons on each ship." Inilth said as he examined a small tree.

"They use a great deal of magic energy to travel then." Nodrog said.

"Yes. The ships have solid pewter framework throughout, all tied to a large room. One or both dragons take their true form and teleport the ship over the vast reaches of space." Inilth said, pleased that the plant was indeed unharmed.

They walked a perimeter around the hub. Nodrog slung the machine gun and had pulled out his sword. Inilth also wielded a sword. "Mianth is our navigator, there is a large crystal tank of water with slender pillars of pewter inside. Water and air elementals make the best navigators due to the fluidity of their nature."

"Then what is your role?" Nodrog asked.

"I go were the fragile creatures cannot. I also help with shaman duties, healing the sick and helping perform ceremonies." Inilth said as they stopped.

"And Perenth instructs them in matters of war." Nodrog said. Several mask wearing humans and grays were making their way to the computer hub.

"Yes. Mianth is the only one who does not take to the battle field. She is kind hearted, and peaceful much like the Velopians themselves." Inilth said. Their enemies seemed a little unsure what to make of the stone and iron dragons.

While Nodrog and Inilth dealt with the more prepared enemies, Marko was in the tech room over seeing things. Roslyn had come up with the idea to just steal everything they could find. Then make a more informed plan latter.

"We are getting an excellent signal from the transmitter. But we have not heard from the three of them beyond that." A Tech said as Marko watched.

"Have we found anything yet?" Marko asked.

A different tech answered him. "Possibly. It is still too early to tell with the terra bytes of information we are getting."

Marko glanced at a clock. "Very well keep me informed on anything that happens."