"Sir, do you copy? Sir!! SIR!!"
"Colonel Gene. Is everything alright, Sir."
"General Luke seems to be in distress." Colonel Gene, the man second in charge of the ArkVille Military Academy for the young Gifted, had arrived at the base in the crater with a fleet of about one thousand Gifted students currently in five, thick, heavy armored carrier aircrafts that were extremely close in similarity to those belonging to the Granians.
Each aircraft was designed like a coffin with a larger end than front. With a large cockpit which could sit twenty pilots and gunmen. Two floors for technical and field operatives and a thin layer filled with ammunition for their heavy guns and blasters. At the back of the ships were wide spaces for two hundred men and women to fit with some space for precious cargo and right now, there were one thousand men, women, and teenagers all together, each fully trained and equipped for war.
"I can't locate his signal, I can't make out where exactly he was going, and his communicator's gone offline. I've lost all communication with him." Gene sighed. Just then, an idea struck his mind so hard that he gasped with joy and quickly run to a different section in the aircraft. Once there, he typed away at a fancy computer, but this caused some confusion amongst his subordinates.
"Excuse me, Sir. What exactly are you doing?"
Gene went on to explain saying, "Luke moved out with a couple of Gifted students and each one of them was equipped with the new armor sets, correct?"
"Understandable."
"I—am going to—track the signals from their suits and—pin point where exactly they….BINGO!!" He cheered. "I've found them and it looks like they're…."
"Moving." Gene and the other gasped. "Could it be that?"
"Luke and the others must have been abducted." Gene replied. "Do you remember seeing the Granian forces moving out earlier. They must have been heading in this same direction." Gene stopped in the middle of his conversation in order to process his thoughts. He quickly snapped his fingers and said, "Since we're already going to war with these damned creatures, let's go swoop in and save them and maybe we'll gain the upper hand by holding one of their most powerful members captive."
"Why do you think that'll work, Sir?"
"Once they're within our grasp, we'll negotiate terms of getting them out of our planet and maybe, we'll find a way of giving them back their comrade. Let's move now. I've already marked out a target we can select. I'll need eight of the strongest members we have onboard so IF you don't mind, please help me and mark them out."
"Understood, Sir."
With that said, Gene ran over the plan one more time with the other leader-heads and devised an attack plan on how they were going to rescue Luke and capture one of the Granians. Once an agreement was made, the five aircrafts set off in the same direction as the Granians, towards the city that was only a few hours away from them.
---------------------
"Lord Grim. Our sensors have come across two of our own, Sir. It could be Huntress and Murdock. Shall I send a carrier to fetch them?"
"No need," Grim replied gallantly. "I'll meet them myself. We set camp for the night from here. I've heard that this place isn't the best time to fly once the sun sets."
With Grim's command given, an escape hatch was activated, allowing him to drop from his ship and crash into the Earth's vast desert biome. While his fleet waited for him at a distance, Grim continued on foot until he finally met with Huntress and Murdock.
Huntress quickly dropped whatever she was holding and embraced Grim while Murdock bowed gently, making sure not to make eye contact with Grim. Granian custom forbade anyone to stare directly into the eyes of their superior if they were with their mate until permission was granted, and right now, Grim was with his mate Huntress.
"How well did you two perform?" He asked. "I believe you have some good news for me."
"Yes, my lord," Huntress replied while starring back at Murdock.
"We stumbled across a human settlement not so far from here. Once there, we sort of got some information out that our targets were heading that way," Murdock pointed towards the city skyline that was slightly visible under the night sky. "I believe they could be there. We just need to find a way of comforting them before war breaks out."
"War?" Grim wondered while starring into Huntress's suspecting eyes. "What's this I'm hearing about war?"
"Ask the one you're holding." Murdock replied, earning Huntress a piercing gaze from Grim and Murdock.
"Forgive me, Grim," She bowed. "I got carried away and nearly let 'her' out." She shyly met eyes with Grim who frowned deeply. Suddenly, the female Granian felt pressure coming from her tail as a body crushing pressure radiated from Grim's presence.
Both Huntress and Murdock took a few steps back as Grim developed a red glow which outlined the frame of his black-scaled, muscular body. His eyes, now slanted in a triangular shape, glowed faintly with a red color as his tail swayed from left to right.
"How could let something so careless to happen, Huntress?" He asked in a low tone. The sand beneath his feet begun to vibrate like it were on a boom box as slight tremors spread out from his location and died out once they got further away from him. "Do you know what could happen if these humans learn of our power? You've seen for yourself how fast they can adapt. What if they…"
"I'm sorry, Grim," She apologized on her knees. "I understand if you don't want me to come on these exhibitions anymore."
*SIGH*
"Nonsense," He replied. "This is the last part of our custom before we're mated for life." He then moved closer to her in a more relaxed state and said, "If she does come out, I'll be more than happy to put her down again. Makes these trips more fun."
"Both of you, follow me. We haven't much time left. Once this planet's sun sets, flying becomes impossible for us. We'll move out at daybreak."