Manifest Fantasy

7 P.M. Local Time

Month 5, Day 21, Year 237

It was dusk, and the sun began to set. Unfortunately for the diplomatic team, they were not able to stick around Sonaris long enough to view the beautiful scene, of the golden sun striking the shimmering city. The team had orders to return to the portal after they had concluded the diplomatic mission. As they rode back, Perry thought of the warning that the Sonaran officials gave him: be wary of the night. The unscrupulous n.o.bians tended to stalk their targets from the shadows, and were known for their expert a.s.sa.s.sins and stealth techniques.

According to the intel procured from the prisoners back at Area 51, the n.o.bians fielded an elite a.s.sa.s.sin organization: the Dark Shadow. The secretive members of this elite group were supposedly at least expert wizards, and were additionally proficient in swordsmanship.

Gra.s.sy Fields

7:30 P.M.

"The vehicles are approaching. Remember our objective, and remain silent."

American Diplomatic Convoy

7:30 P.M.

Considering the firepower of the M2 Bradleys, Perry dismissed the slight sense of unease. Suddenly, the vehicle in front of him veered to the left, crashing into a tree. The body of a strange bug like critter, which would be later known to the Americans as a Skitter, blocked the road. The frightening appearance caused the driver of the lead vehicle to swerve away.

After ensuring that the strange monster was dead, the security personnel began removing the corpse from the road. Before they were able to get back in their vehicles, cloaked individuals began to rise from the gra.s.s surrounding the road. Wearing a n.o.bian ghillie suit and amplifying their camouflage with light refraction magic, the a.s.sa.s.sins slowly creeped toward their targets.

"Ghaaa..!"

A soldier had his respiratory tract blocked by cold steel; he was stabbed by a knife and was unable to warn his allies. One by one, the security personnel fell, as they had not antic.i.p.ated such an attack and therefore were not equipped with any night vision or thermal gear.

"Why aren"t they back yet? Simmons, Brown, Dawson, and Whitman aren"t on comms… Something must be going on Sarge."

"Roger that. I"ll check it out. Perry, we believe something may be going on outside. Stay inside."

The driver of Perry"s Humvee exited in order to a.s.sist his fellow soldiers in their investigation, as they scoured the surrounding area with flashlights.

The a.s.sa.s.sins remained silent, although in their minds they were laughing at the ignorance of these inferior humans, who were magically inept.

This vain attempt at a search led to inevitable failure, and the convoy decided to regroup instead. With the corpse now off the road, the lead Bradley was instructed to move back in formation. Unbeknownst to the soldiers, this occurred too late.

With the four soldiers handling the bait corpse now eliminated, the Dark Shadow a.s.sa.s.sins began to surround the convoy and prepare an attack on the remaining guards. With bright lights coming from the vehicles, the a.s.sa.s.sins deemed it impossible to silently kill any near the center of the convoy. As such, they planned to execute a chain magic attack using a powerful lightning spell. Deactivating their cloaks, the a.s.sa.s.sins began to charge their spell, their hands crackling with lightning.

"Visual on enemy targets! They"re casting some sort of spell!"

"I"ve got the one toward the tree!"

"I got the one toward the corpse!"

TATATATA!

The soldiers at the convoy realized that they were under attack, and began to fire their weapons at the sources of light.

All of a sudden, the sources of light intensified in luminosity, releasing the charge stored within the mages. Despite managing to incapacitate two of the targets, the soldiers ultimately reacted too late; the remaining a.s.sa.s.sins had completed their spell and unleashed lightning upon the remaining guards, immediately frying their internal organs.

Although the Bradley crews were still safe inside their vehicles, danger close prevented them from firing upon the enemies, as their fire control systems clearly displayed them next to friendly vehicles. They decided to report to command and request for backup.

While the Bradley crews hurriedly contacted their superiors, the n.o.bian a.s.sa.s.sins were able to break into the Humvee that contained Perry. As masters of stealth, the a.s.sa.s.sins were able to unlock the door without rattling it at all, thereby leaving Perry unalerted as they quickly opened it.

Perry, with his sidearm ready, attempted to search for targets, but found none, as they were skillfully cloaked. A split second later, Perry fell asleep, having been afflicted by a sleep spell. His sidearm fell on the seat as he was carried away by the a.s.sa.s.sins, who disappeared into the night.

Unknown location

Some time later

Perry awoke in a cell, finding his hands shackled. His shuffling as he got up from the bed alerted the guard outside, who hurried off to report the situation. A few minutes later, a barbaric man entered the room, adorned with extravagant pieces of jewelry. He identified himself as a bandit leader, who informed Perry of his predicament.

"Don"t give me trouble and you"ll make it out here alive. Well, hah, if I get my money actually."

"Who do you think will pay your ransom for me?"

"I"m sure the Mekkanese government can scrounge up some cash for your release."

"Mekkanese? I"m American!"

"Mekkanese, American, it doesn"t matter. I"ve left a note for your friends," the bandit chided. "I"ll get my money either way," he declared as he plucked Perry"s wedding ring from his finger.

(How dare he…)

Seething with anger, Perry managed to contain his emotions, preferring to avoid irking his captor in order to prolong his lifespan. The bandit also stole Perry"s Rolex, but thankfully he neglected to take the American Flag pin from his suit, as this pin housed a small tracking device. Perry breathed a sigh of relief as the bandit exited the room.

Despite this elaborate facade, Perry was able to sense an inconsistency with this situation. After defeating a professionally trained army of 20,000 n.o.bians troops, there was no way some bandits could boast greater proficiency in magic and stealth operations. He suspected the involvement of the Dark Shadow, and his suspicions were indeed correct.

With the disappearance of the entire Fourth Invasion Detachment, the n.o.bian Emperor called a meeting to discuss strategies. An advisor from the Dark Shadow suggested clandestine operations in order to raise funds, as the n.o.bian Empire could face an economic crisis if the war against the Sonarans dragged out longer, without any significant gains. One such operation was kidnapping.

n.o.bian spies discovered that a mysterious convoy arrived at Sonaris. Believing this to be a Mekkanese diplomatic convoy, due to the presence of mechanical vehicles, the emperor authorized a kidnapping operation of the supposed Mekkanese diplomat. The funds secured from this ransom by "bandits" would be used to help replenish the ranks lost from the disappearance of the Fourth Invasion Detachment. This operation would prove to be the beginning of the end for the n.o.bian Empire, as the bandits" prisoner was not only American, but also suspicious of the involvement of the n.o.bians.