It happened, With no warning!

[Zeke]

"Where was intelligence?!" blared General Mackenzie, who even he was caught of guard. "Sir!" came a voice. A generic looking lieutenant stepped forward with a crisp salute. "They came with no warning. A large force passed just south of Fallou." there was a small break, as the general realized what the full picture meant. "That means.." he began, while the LT finished his sentance for him. "...Sir, they're heading for Darrande." General Mackenzie was stirred, for the first time in any of the men seen, he hesitated. The morale was sinking fast and the general acted as any seasoned vet would. "How many are there?"

"large frigates scores of them. Even more smaller drone ships, Sir!" Mackenzie narrowed his eyes. He calculated the odds, and he was beginning to form a plan, that is until the LT continued. "Sir, there's more. Intel has learned of a snag."

The general hated snags, always meant more complications.

"Sir, there's evidence they have the virus with them."

Mackenzie sighed, but he still had to go to action.

"Prepare the gulf defenses! Box them in and sink them to the ground. Prepare our Summoners now!"

"Sir, what about the virus? Our summoners would be useless." Mackenzie smirked, the first positive sign all morning. "Get me visual feed in here and wake up the 106th, we got a job for them!"

"Right away sir!" snapped the Lieutenant with another salute before rushing out of the command center.

[TigStripe]

The briefing room was bustling with anxiety as a small platoon of soldiers sat awaiting the arrival of their superiors in the squad: the 106th Infantry division. Mackenzie stood atop a slightly raised platform at the front of the room, his hands crossed behind his back and a solemn look upon his face as he surveyed the unsettled faces around him.

Just as the room began to quiet down on its own, tired of waiting, the door to the briefing room flew open. Light flooded in from the hallway, obscuring a feminine form as a silhouette as it entered the room.

The voice that issued from the silhouette was not a pleasant one. "By Veyna's spirit, Mackenzie! Can't you bother to contact us during the day?"

Dae Nara stepped into the room, her face contorted in irritation. She placed an insubordinate hand on her hip and gave Mackenzie a one-armed shrug. "I'm not even joking, this time, Mackenzie. Get this over with."

[Zeke]

The seasoned vet gave little attention to the captain. He motioned her to take her seat in the briefing room all the while his eyes followed Dae Nara as she made her way across the room. "settle down now, Captain. All will be explained. I would rather like know where the rest of your unit is. I seem to remember there being more in the 106th."

[TigStripe]

"Most of them are on leave," Nights replied. "Two are on vacation in southern Zarack, while another is on a delegation mission to Shantellona." Nights tallied off on her fingers as she spoke. "That leaves Dante, myself, and any hired help you may have planned for us."

[Zeke]

As if Nights last statement was a command word for wooden heads to come bouncing from no where, these words did just that. A small grapefruit sized wooden carving of a head rolled from the entrance of the briefing room to General Mackenzie's boot. The general silently picked up the head, gazing at its magical stone eyes and lever style mouth. Despite the fact that it was made out of wood, he almost expected the carving to speak to him.

"HEYAA" screamed the head. "Lemme down!"

Mackenzie smirked almost fighting the urge to laugh but before he could say anything another voice sounded.

"Fluke, do not bother the general. You are supposed to be silent and invisible during governmental affairs."

Mackenzie looked up to see a scarlet locked man of only 27 with mahogony eyes, and a deep purple cloak. 'very unfitting for a military outfit' thought the general. But he was used to his special forces dressing in their own attire. "Private Dante Flint. Very glad you could make it." he looked again down the head he referred to as fluke.

"Aww boss!" he responded in a high-pitched whiny voice , with an almost human-like glint of humor in it's jeweled eye, "I get SOOOOOO bored. You try being stuffed in a bag with a bunch of puppets all day long. All they do is sit and stare at me with this dumb look on their faces. Do you have any idea how annoying that can be?"

Dante's hand gently grasped the puppets head and took it from Mackenzie's hand, all the while muttering to the object. "I can imagine" He then looked from the puppet's head to the generals gaze.

"Sorry sir, he can be a bit of a nuisance but in the field Fluke is a valuable resource."
With this he held up a limp lifeless wooden body garbed only in a simple poncho and placed the head on the neck joint where without any aid the head secured itself in place.

"Thanks boss!!" exclaimed Fluke as he liberated himself from Dante's frustrated grasp, adjusted his wooden joints, pulled a straw hat from seemingly nowhere on his bodice and took a seat. Where Dante soon followed with his hefty bag in tow.