Shadows and Stardust: A Tale of Ambition & Quest for Recognition

“The idea that the stars literally influence men is plainly untenable. But that the movements of the constellations are a clock by which earthly changes can be measured is less easy to dismiss.” ― Camille Paglia

Operation Menu: Phase Breakfast (D-13hours)

Three teenagers huddled together in the cramped corner of a room, each claiming a spot amidst a disarray of mismatched pillows strewn across the floor. The sole window in the room offered little solace, as its view was obstructed by a dreary brick wall. Interrupting the desolate ambiance, a lopsided whiteboard adorned with smudges of various colors hung askew, breaking the monotony of the barren walls.

Suddenly, the door swung open, unleashing a silver-haired girl with violet eyes. With her entrance came a refreshing gust of fresh air, stirring the drowsy occupants from their slumber. They sat upright on their pillows, rubbing away the remnants of sleep from their weary eyes.

“Rise and shine kittens for our day has finally come,” she said while stepping over legs on her way to the whiteboard.

“Blue Council finally gave us a match point, Mistress Estelle?” asked a girl in a pair of wide-rimmed glasses.

She pulled her curly red hair back and tied it up with a brown scrunchie.

“Absolutely, my dear Heather, and now that the new season is almost upon us time is not a luxury,” Estelle said reaching into the pocket of her violet dress and pulling out a map and pinning it to the wall with a spike.

“And once the starting gun is fired, we are marching here and taking this territory,” Estelle continued pointing to the middle of the red-highlighted portion of the map.

Two others in the room rubbed their eyes while Heather stood up and studied the map.

“Umm, attacking would be unwise Mistress,” Heather said. “Need I remind you that Mars is the furthest away possible? We should be helping reinforce key Blue zones or…”

“That’s precisely why we should begin our offensive,” said a deep voice of a man who stood in the doorway. “We are on the cusp of Cancer, and it would provide a boost to magical defensive networks, but what teams Yellow and Red don’t realize is that it will take weeks for defenses to be fully fortified.”

Heather smiled and curtsied at the guy. The wrinkles etched under his eyes, deepened when he smiled back at her with a toothy grin. He walked into the room and the chains on his leather jacket jingled. She glanced over at Estelle and back to the guy.

“If I understand this correctly, Mistress Estelle wants us to launch an attack deep within Red Territory, would you go to Hell if Estelle asked, Tauru?” Heather asked looking up at him.

Tauru stopped for a moment and his eyes changed from blue to red.

“Sure, I heard they throw the best keggers there,” he said stepping past her.

With a glacial stare, Estelle dismissed Heather’s attempt to give Tauru the bedroom eyes and declared, “No more amorous distractions, it's time for war.” She pointed resolutely at the map and continued, “Focus your attention, for here lies the plan..."

***

Operation Menu: Phase Breakfast (D Zero hour)

Appearing before a grey stone building and stretching into the blue sky, a grey stone building loomed above Estelle and her retinue. The tip of the spire rested on top of the residential skyscraper.

“Welcome to our new home,” Estelle said waving her arm toward the building.

Heather inched closer to Tauru and said in a mousy voice, “I don’t know how you can be so optimistic, but we are deep in Red lands, with no reinforcements, not to mention the third stronger guardian-tank is somewhere behind those doors.”

“We just need to evict the current landlords,” Tauru said to Heather.

Estelle turned her attention to the set of double doors as she walked up the stone stairs. Her black leather shoes tapped the pavement. Gingerly, she tapped on the side of the door with her fingertip and listened. Tiny whips of energy passed through her finger as she continued to tap. Passing through the door and entering the building the waves spread out through the rooms.

She opened and closed her fist. The waves returned to her hand.

“Fifteen occupants detected, Tunnel Cat would you please verify this?” Estelle asked.

A short teen with messy dishwater blond hair wearing several leather bandoliers over his shoulder and hips moved up the stairs, silent as a snake’s shadow. Tunnel Cat lowered himself to one knee and tapped on the door in a pattern.

“Shave and a haircut,” he whispered and then he closed his fingers together. “Two bits.”

“Seventeen Mistress Thornewood,” Tunnel Cat whispered as he stood up and stepped behind her.

Estelle stepped to the side and snapped her fingers. In response, Tauru charged forward, his colossal frame barreling towards the double doors. With a mighty kick, he sent the doors flying open, forcefully colliding with two guards adorned in red sashes, instantly crushing them upon impact. As the doors swung wide, the lifeless guards' bodies underwent a startling transformation, morphing into a vivid shade of blue before disintegrating into a cascade of fine dust.

“I stand by my previous statement,” Estelle said.

She picked up her dress and walked inside.

“I stand corrected,” giggled Tunnel Cat.

The last of her retinue, Heather, and a tall figure wearing golden plate armor, looked up at the building. A golden helmet covered the person’s face.

“Now the entire building will know we are here,” complained Heather.

The figure in the plate armor shrugged and walked inside.

“Remember do not under any circumstances engage Citadel, leave that guardian to me,” Estelle said moving towards the stairwell near the elevators and walking down.

“Right, be seeing you,” Tunnel Cat said walking over to an air vent and after pulling the grate open, crawled inside.

***

Deep in the windowless basement Tauru and Heather waited by the stairway. The only ambient light that dared enter was from a dirty window. Occasionally Tauru glanced up at the stairs, back down the darkened hallway and then to a nearby door. His heart thumped against his chest.

“She’ll be fine, Tauru” Heather said softly.

Heather reached for his hand and gently caressed it. His heartbeat slowed down as he noticed a slight smile from her full lips.

“Look alive Clan Thornewood. Made contact with Red Defense Team,” mentally telepathed Tunnel Cat. “They are all kinds of angry after I gassed their gaggle of task mages with the Mu-7 virus. Task Mages are puking their guts out and Citadel is on the move to your location.”

“He’s got a kill team with him and looks pissed,” Tunnel Cat added a few moments later. “Detection mage is near, TC out.”

Heather held on to Tauru’s hand tighter. She brought his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers.

“Too bad we didn’t have more time or I’d kiss something else,” she whispered to him.

His cheeks turned red, and his eyes wandered down and stopped at her cleavage, tucked away in a green silk bodice.

The stairs creaked and groaned. Tauru shifted his stance and Heather’s ears twitched while they watched the doorway leading up. The footfalls grew louder but turned into a slow walk.

“Breaking into my house,” a gruff voice said. “Making the tasks mages under my care sick and interrupting me when I’m trying to get some with my girl. That's unforgivable!”

"Ahh crap," Heather said taking a step back. "It's Citadel."

A hulking, barrel-chested figure, resembling that of a gorilla in both size and strength, descended the staircase with resounding thuds. His penetrating yellow eyes fixated on the group, a red aura emanated from him as he clenched his fists, each punch exuding a bone-crushing intensity. Adorning his blue shirt, bold black letters stood out, displaying the unmistakable inscription: INMATE 578903, carefully stenciled just above the pocket.

"Who bears responsibility for this?" Citadel's voice reverberated with a dangerous edge. "They shall suffer a fate so gruesome; I shall beat them to death using their own arms, ripped slowly from their sockets."

Tauru and Heather, trembling in fear, frantically pointed towards an adjacent room, their voices barely above a whisper, "She's in there!"

Without hesitation, the Tauru and Heather spun around and ran down the dimly lit hallway, delving further into the depths of the basement.

Citadel's voice thundered behind them, issuing a chilling directive: "You four, spare those two cowards' lives, but make their arms and legs bend in unnatural ways until I've dealt with the fucking trog."

In swift response, the remaining members of the group dashed into the hallway, following in the wake of Tauru and Heather, propelled by a mixture of fear and determination.

***