Kellian Ravennhart...

“Kill her. It’s all you have to do.”

“Kill Mary?” was his reply to the man seating in the back seat of the limousine. He’d been waiting for sometime now, deep into the night, in fact. It was a relief to finally have him here for his orders, as the steady rain was getting worse.

“She’s a risk,” the man whose features were easily obscured from within the limo responded flatly.

Sister Mary was the head nurse in an orphanage he’d become acquainted with in recent months. To be asked to kill her, it was startling to be sure. Being a hit man, however, a paid professional killer, he simply couldn’t balk at his assignment. Sister Mary will not be alone, either. There are a lot of kids in that orphanage, the one in downtown Harlem. Rules, however, are rules. All witnesses must be eliminated.

“… And get the priest as well.” Was his final word as the rear window scrolled closed and with a steady drumming of the engine, the limousine rolled down the street into the rainy night.


“Pucker up, Ladies! Here they come!” Sergeant Cattlann barked over the hammering roar of the anti-aircraft bases batteries.

The automated weapon emplacement were always a good indication of an upcoming Bane assault. As the drop ships ascended onto them, the batteries would start their relentless salvos, blanketing the sky in a vicious blaze of explosive shrapnel. However, despite their reliable doggedness, they were very inaccurate.

The Bane would be coming, and they would be coming in droves.

Kellian Ravennhart checked his weapon smartly, assuring himself that it was fully loaded. Several clips of ammunition were within easy reach, as well as a few grenades and, finally, an incendiary shotgun for the inevitable close quarters action. Hoisting his rifle to his shoulder he scanned the countryside over the reinforced bulwark of the checkpoint his team had been assigned to defend.

He also checked possible avenues of retreat. Things would undoubtedly become rough and he’d need to beat a hasty exit, falling back to other firing position or, should the word be given, evacuate the entire base altogether.

A few moments passed and Ravennhart could have sworn he heard birds chirping over the deafening roar of the automated cannons nearby. Sweat beaded at his temples, nervous perspiration and the plastic taste of the air rebreather caused his lips to parch.

The shrill rattling of drop ship thrusters focused him quickly. The first wave had hit the ground at a full sprint, charging their defensive positions. These were the younger ones, the more enthusiastic of the Bane. Forgoing any means of cover, they galloped full speed toward the base walls. These were simple brutes, not too bright, but tough enough to handle a few rifle slugs before slowing down. There was more movement behind them as Light Benders took up firing positions around the tree line to cover the first wave of the assault.

The first several heart racing seconds emptied Kellian’s clip into the Bane advancers. Several had fallen, easily many more had taken their place. Slamming a fresh clip home on his rifle the familiar heat of an energy beam was felt on the side of his head. It was a near miss, part of the energy of the weapon dissipating across his graviton armor. The heads up display of his helmet quickly triangulated the origin of the attack and Ravennhart leveled his rifle at the Light Bender for a reply.

Two shots were all it took to end it and more rounds were shot in answer to the Bane’s driving advance. The second and third waves saw more, advanced and season warriors; Hunters and their vicious Howlers, doglike creatures, capable of stunning any caught in their sonic waveform; Linkers, able to reflect weapons fire onto nearby assailants; and the Kael, enormous walking tanks whose fists shatter bone and duralloy with equal ease.

They came, several with the smell of human blood enraging them, charging through the wood line into the clearing, leaping over their fallen brethren and striking the reinforced barricades like a tidal wave of alien flesh.


“What is it you’ve done?” asked the priest, masked behind the small window of the confessional.

“Murder… Father,” was the sullen reply.

“And why did you murder?”

“For money.”

“Who did you murder for money?”

“You… Father.”


The explosion shook the entire base, overwhelming the roar of the automated guns, the yelp of the base klaxons and the screams of the wounded. Kellian gasped for breath as he struggled to get back to his feet. His eyes watered and he tried to get his focus, everything seemed so blurry and his legs were numb. The once proud and resilient bulwark of the base was now a mess of molten and twisted metal, gaping holes easily seen through it.

He fired several more rounds, emptying yet another clip into the oncoming Bane. He didn’t bother with accuracy this time, no aiming, simply shooting into the mass of alien assailants and hoping to have hit something… anything.

Scrambling around amidst the ricochet of Bane return fire, he tried to find himself something to put between him and them. A nearby concrete slab sufficed as a make shift and quite temporary barricade, as Kellian considered his options.

There was a lot of chaos now as many had been killed when the Bane detonated the wall. Others were locked in close quarters and even hand-to-hand combat with the aliens, all of which easily towering over them. More explosions only served to reinforce the fact that the Bane were indeed getting the upper hand of this situation.

The order to fall back was not given and Kellian wondered if Sergeant Cattlann had joined the long and distinguished list of casualties of this defensive. The teleporter was still functional, despite the explosions so near the base power generators. He knew it was still active because he noticed a few of his squad had used it to make their escape. Which was, at this point, not a bad idea.

He rolled to his feet and scrambled from the concrete slab to a nearby stair well. He’d have to make use of whatever cover was available and work his way to that teleporter before he too join in a posthumous medal ceremony.

A howling growl and the steady thump of a heavy creature approaching shook Kellian of that premature thought quickly. Turning he yelped with surprise jumping clear of the charging Kael that had propelled itself at him like a missile. Hosting his rifle at him, he loosed a few shots as the creature collected itself for another charge. The high velocity armor piercing rounds merely bounced off the creature as it looked at him, and quite nearly smiled.

Cursing under his breath at his stupidity, he pulled his energy pistol from its holster as the Kael closed on him. The energy bolts burned into the dense hide of the creature, several shots in fact. Reaching back, the Kael swept low in order to bowl Ravennhart from his feet. The blow knocked his onto his back with a bone-jarring thud, but failed to relinquish him of his pistol, still pumping bolt after bolt of energy into the raging beast.

With both of its tree trunk arms high above its head, it made one last desperate attempt to crush Ravennhart before the energy pistol finished it off. Rolling to his side he emptied the entire battery of the weapon into the Kael before it finally fell face first onto the ground. Rolling back to his feet, he continued to crouch, his eyes peeled for anymore would be attackers.


“Hello there, Mr. Ravennhart,” Sister Mary greeted with a genuine smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

He barely had time to hide the pistol and exit the confessional before the Nun rounded the corner. He nodded curtly toward her in greeting, his face a mix of sullen determination and a hint of guilt.

“We’re about to sit down for supper. If you’re hungry, perhaps you would join us?”

“Hey Kellian!” Shouted a boy from behind the Nun, cause her to yelp lovingly at him. “Look what I found!”

The boy ran toward him, but slowed to a stop as the pistol was drawn, the light from some nearby candles reflecting hideously off of the dull black surface of the weapon’s silencer.

All witnesses must be eliminated.