The story of Kelepar: Cut the snake’s head off
This story follows up on the events of The Invasion and The First Treaty.
The Interrogation — Captain Ennyo
Blood-curdling screams filled the room as Captain Ennyo cut two fingers off the Doth’Rin he was interrogating. “Will you fucking tell me now what I need to know?!?” the captain screamed at his prisoner. Tears and sweat ran down the Doth’Rin’s face as he looked at the interrogater in pain and terror. Ennyo enjoyed these interrogations where he could let his sadistic fantasies run free. Sure, his methods weren’t popular at all, but the high command had granted him full authority to do whatever is necessary to find out more about the resistance and its leaders. Freeing the Doth’Rin and the idea of peaceful coexistence was a gamble — or stupidity in Ennyo’s mind — that certainly hasn’t paid off. Parts of the Doth’Rin population immediately used the newly gained freedom to organize an underground terror organization they call the resistance. If the UHN couldn’t eliminate their leaders quickly, another war was imminent. The high command was rightfully scared of the consequences of the treaty they had signed.
“We should’ve just killed all these damn sandrats when we had the chance. It was so obvious. These idiots in their fancy offices don’t know shit about real life. But at least I get to play with some sandrat here now.” He thought to himself and a smile started to fill his face. Meanwhile the pain had made his Doth’Rin prisoner pass out. Ennyo spilled some cold water over his face. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me who the leader of your organization is and where I can find him.”
The Doth’Rin whimpered something in response, asking for mercy.
“My dogs love eating Doth’Rin finger. I can’t imagine how excited they’ll be if I bring them your entire arm!” Ennyo screamed at him.
The Doth’Rin begged for mercy again. Seconds later Ennyo’s machete cut through the Doth’Rin’s upper arm. Bones cracked and blood spilled as the arm was separated from the body.
“Obviously this motherfucker passed out again.” Ennyo mumbled. This time a bit of cold water wouldn’t bring him back though. After stopping the bleeding, Ennyo grabbed one of the phials filled with adrenaline and injected it in the Doth’Rin’s body.
The prisoner’s eyes shot wide open. “Please, I can’t take this no more.” the Doth’Rin stuttered.
“I promise you, as soon as you tell me what I need to know, I’ll relieve you. Who is leading the resistance? And where can I find him?” Ennyo asked kindly with a smile on his face.
The Doth’Rin had visibly capitulated. He had broken another prisoner. Under tears the Doth’Rin told Ennyo what he wanted to know. “War chief Drek’Zhar has founded it. No one knows where he is. He lives a nomadic life with his closest allies in the dunes. Here in Rhûn Chieftain Zal’Tar leads our efforts. You can find him in the slums, in the light blue building at the end of Calle 15.”
“Thank you, friend. I’ll keep my word, your pain shall end here!” Ennyo said as he grabbed his pump gun and blasted the Doth’Rin’s head off.
The pre-emptive strike — Captain Haley
Lord General Elijah Wilkins had ordered Haley into his office. It was rare that her dad asked for her during work, so this must be important.
“Have a seat”. Elijah said. “We’ve news from Captain Ennyo.”
“Ennyo? Isn’t that the psychopath that loves torturing Doth’Rin insurgents? What did he find?”
“His methods might be questionable, but his effectiveness isn’t.” her dad answered coldly. “He found the location of a crucial resistance leader here in Rhûn. If we can take him out and secure data about their plans we can crucially weaken the terrorists. We need to cut the snake’s head off before this escalates into another war.”
“I understand. So I assume you want me to take the mission and eliminate him?” Haley asked while trying to hide her excitement. She was promoted to be captain of her special forces team not long ago. Leading such an important mission would be an incredible honor for any young captain.
“This mission will be crucial for the fate of Kelepar. It’s a difficult task and of utmost importance. Everyone in the slums is armed, violence can escalate quickly and under current circumstances we can’t afford collateral damage, especially not human. We will need a small strike team, capable of executing a precise attack, take out the insurgents quickly, secure their devices and leave before anyone realizes what happened. Since you were a girl, I made sure my good friend Lord Commander Li Shing taught you about combat, strategy and leadership. Now that he is too old to lead such missions himself, you need to fill his shoes. I know he has prepared you well.” her father spoke.
“Aye, Aye Sir! I won’t disappoint you.” Haley answered with pride in her voice.
The slums were quiet and dark in the middle of the night. Captain Haley and her small strike team quietly moved through the shadows of the countless tiny corners. Undetected, they arrived at the light blue building of their target. On Haley’s command the operators kicked the door in and stormed into the room firing rounds of their silenced guns at the guards. The two Doth’Rin guarding the entrance didn’t know what hit them. Before they could even react to the attack, bullets penetrated their skulls and they went to ground lying in a sea of their own blood. Haley took the lead, smashing up the next door. The Kelium she had inhaled before the mission allowed her to manipulate electric energies. Just like Li Shing had taught her she summoned a lightning bolt and shot it at the three resistance fighters in the room. The fighters hit the floor and with a couple spasms life left their bodies. The Doth’Rin were now definitely on high alert. Haley could hear their steps as they were hastily running through the building. The team had to act quickly now. Taking out Zal’Tar was an important mission, but even more important was securing data about the imminent attack. They had to take out all the insurgents before any of them had the chance to delete the sensitive information. The strike team pushed on clearing two more rooms before they finally stormed into the command room. With a precise shot between Zal’Tar’s eyes Captain Haley took out the local resistance leader as her team was firing rounds at his guards. Without any time to download the data, the special operators unplugged the computers and quickly put them in their backpacks before heading for exit. As swiftly as the team entered the building, they left it again.
Evac was waiting a couple intersections down of Calle 15 hidden in the garage of a UHN safe house. As the team left the light blue building bullets started flying their way. The insurgents apparently had enough time to alarm their allies. A sniper round hit the chest of one of Haley’s team members. The man broke together, coughing blood as life left his body. Quickly the team deployed smoke grenades to advance in cover. Instead of quietly disappearing, they found themselves fighting their way forward block by block. Not causing collateral damage in such close quarter combat was a difficult task. With precision fire and Haley’s controlled lightning bolts they took out a couple more resistance fighters as they advanced. Eventually a last smoke grenade was deployed to enter the safe house and the team stormed into the garage. The engine of the armored vehicle was bellowing as the driver revved up the engine. With a loud bang the aluminum door of the garage was smashed out of its angles as the vehicle bursted through it out into the streets. The once calm dark slums were now definitely not quiet anymore. Bullets hit the vehicle from all sides as the team was racing down Calle 15 out of the slums. From the machine gun tower on top of the vehicle an operator was firing ferociously back at the resistance fighters. The tracer ammunition of the heavy machine gun enlightened the streets of the slum. If this wasn’t a play for life and death, it would have been a truly beautiful spectacle to watch. Despite the heavy fire Haley’s team was facing, the vehicle’s armor held strong and kept them safe. A few minutes later the team had escaped the slums.
It’s not over! — War chief Drek’Zhar
Drek’Zhar was eating breakfast in his tent as his personal assistance Xan’Kina stormed in.
“I told you that I want to be eating my breakfasts in peace! What is it that is so important that it can’t wait twenty minutes?” the war chief spoke, not hiding his annoyance.
“They took out Zal’Tar yesterday night and stole all his devices. Surely they now know what we had planned.” the assistant said.
Drek’Zhar spit out the dried lizard meat he was chewing and smashed his fists on to the table so hard that the eruption caused his mug to fall. Tea spilled all over the food. “FUCK! How did they know his location?”
“We don’t know sir. I’m afraid someone must have been sharing it.”
“So our security measures weren’t good enough. Call in all chieftains immediately. We’ll have to increase our security measures and prepare for plan B.” commanded Drek’Zhar. With a nod Xan’Kina left the tent.
Just ten minutes later, the chieftains gathered in Drek’Zhar’s tent. Whoever was not staying with him in the dunes joined the meeting remotely. Their holograms filled the empty spots in the circle.
The War Chief opened the meeting, “We’ve been compromised. A strike by human special forces yesterday night took out Zal’Tar. Even worse is that they managed to secure all the data he had. Ema’Nka, you’ll take his position as the local resistance leader in Rhûn. Reach out to all our warriors there and tell them to leave the city immediately. The UHN knows all of you. I’d assume many have been captured already. Everyone who is still free has to flee immediately. Hide among our allied tribes in the dunes. I’ll inform Kun’Dur and the other overseers aligned with our cause.”
“I know war chief! I already had to leave the city. My house was attacked two hours ago. I managed to kill their marines and escape. I’ll try to reach out to anyone else and let them know in case the humans weren’t knocking at their doors already.” chieftain Ema’Nka answered.
“That’s not great news. But good to hear that you’re safe, chieftain. Further it’s clear that we can’t proceed with our mission as planned. The humans will ramp up their defenses at our initial target. But I’ve a plan B up my sleeve. I will share it with all of you, as soon as you’re safe. For now it would be too risky. We don’t know what happens if any of you get caught. Reach out to me once you found a tribe where you can hide. Everyone that is here with me, we’ve to break down our tents immediately and relocate. We can’t take any more risks.”
In our next story article you’ll read how Drek’Zhar’s plan B plays out. Make sure to subscribe to us here on our medium page and follow us on twitter to stay up to date with the story of Kelepar as well as news regarding our game and NFT marketplace.
Written by Lukasinho
