The bastards serving in the VLAD spy agency had their own Green Room, when waiting for mission assignments. It was reinforced to handle any unexpected explosions and had a catering table set up at all times. No cheese was available due to its intoxicating effects on the little alien beings. Instead the largest plate was covered in peanut butter and banana sandwiches, both peanuts and bananas known to have a calming effect on a bastard’s constitution.
The Green Room was right down the hall from Agent McMurphy’s office. This was a calculated danger to prevent the bastards from traveling too far around the facility when attending meetings with the boss.
Luckily the bastards were loyal, and McMurphy’s own personal assistant Tilde was a bastard as well. She had her hair up in two little ponytails, and was skipping down the hall from McMurphy’s office. She opened the door to the green room and skipped past Grim, and helped herself to a peanut butter and banana sandwich. She turned with a mouth full of peanut butter and began to skip back towards the boss’ office. Grim asked her, “What’s keeping McMurphy? Our meeting…”
“Your meeting is delayed,” said Tilde in a high pitched voice, “Mr. McMurphy is telling Mr Colony General Sir news about Warmonger Cult activity down in the Goblin Lands.”
“I just got back from there,” said Grim, “Can you tell me what is going on?”
“Okay it wasn’t top secret just a battle report,” said Tilde, “An Olgog named Protodoxa led a Warmonger Cult attack on a Church of One Fortress Isaias.”
“An attack? How many soldiers did he lead?” asked Grim in surprise.
“None, one blue fur Olgog against an entire castle,” said Tilde growing so excited she spat bits of bread and banana, “Two hundred Earther colonists from Dunesphere are dead. I don’t like Dunesphere, they are a bunch’a’racists.”
“Agreed,” said Grim, “Thanks Tilde. Can I leave McMurphy a note on his desk?”
“Sure,” said Tilde hopping away. Grim had been a loyal VLAD agent in every mission he’d been on, and VLAD gave their good agents a lot of latitude.
Grim had heard the his old friend had succumbed to the madness again. ‘This is not good. I have to keep my promise to the old bum,’ Grim thought to himself as he sliced off his finger and left it wrapped with a note on the office desk. ‘Well, at least i’ll go knowing that I messed with McMurphy one last time.’ Laughing to himself, he vanished out of the office of VLAD.
Appearing outside the fortress, Grim started to draw on his inner Darkness. Walking calmly forward, he drew out his harmonica and proceeded to play a dirge. In the sky above him, the wooden airframed Lur Union Fightercraft were drawing missile fire from the top of the Fortress.
As the hidden missile launchers revealed themselves, counterfire from a Hindengog Zepplin eliminated one launcher operator after another. A trio of missiles flew forth from the fortress going straight for the Hindengog. A pair of Lur Union fighter aircraft intercepted the missiles, blowing them out of the sky with precise laser strikes.
One of the fightercraft was not so lucky. A stray missile locked onto it and crashed into it, washing plasma throughout the inner hull. The Lur Union Fighter exploded from the inside out. From inside it fell Lalog’na and the tribals of the Auf Lal’al. They were burned but not dead, and their fall drew Grim’s attention for a few moments.
The attacks had bought time for a Hovercopter to drop off allied knights. They quickly took the Launcher emplacements and the missile fire stopped as suddenly as it had started.
In front of Grim was the large and imposing rock wall of the Fortress Isaias.
