Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2014 3:44:35 GMT -5
The bright Blue sun loomed low in the sky leaving a misty haze over the cloudy atmosphere that Riva’s strong gravity held onto; if not for the thick layers of gases that held tight together the vast amount of radiation that the pulsing star released would have been more than enough to wipe all sources of life from the face of planet. Whether it was just by chance or sheer luck of the matter the planet had developed the strong atmosphere which protected what life it held above, on and below its rocky and richly forested surface. Thankfully with such a protector to watch over the humid world, life had thrived and even flourish to the degree where a great race was able to pick themselves out from muck from the rest of the weaker life forms and push their way to the top. That’s when the ferocity and cunning of the warriors of the Vennor rose up to become the governing race that they became today.
The signs of their workings from over the years could already be seen even far from the planet’s surface even as far as their furthest satellites that sped around the world from their high orbits, however most if any outsiders that would so happen to come visit the planet they would notice that the world was mostly covered by vast mountain ranges, deep oceans that shimmered with the blue might from their home star and the dense jungles that light often found it difficult to reach the forest floor. As advanced as the Vennor was in technology, culture and warfare, they had done their best to converse what limited lands that they had, keeping their buildings high and tightly compacted they had managed to do this feat that most civilizations had struggled to deal with over the billions of years life had existed within the vale. This was mostly due to the fact of how they develop as species over the early years of their final stages of evolution, someone would compare that time period to something like their “stone age”. Just as strong as the Vennor the animal life of Riva came loaded with many different types of weaponry just as dangerous as anything the Vennor had, wanting to keep themselves at distance from such creatures they had found that living high in the trees was the best way to keep their young, old and food supplies away from such creatures that could not possible reach that high. At first it was just another way to best survive but over the years the structures became permanent and sturdier, and eventually it became a part of their culture. The now high rising building take model after the trees in which their people first took their stand too take over the world they had grown on, once such a technology had spread among the other tribes it was only a matter of time before they would start to cultivate the lands they had to bend as they saw fit. Soon living on the ground became a daily task with the invention of weapons, tools and larger and sturdier buildings across in this time period, which better able them to keep the dangerous wild life away from their housing and ways of life.
After many years of tribes ruling over themselves it was decided that the best course of action was too assimilate them under one ruling system in which all could follow one law and order of the land, in thusly doing so the world came under one race that had emerged out from the thicket and conquered the planet. The Vennor society was a well-placed system that had its own checks and balances so that everything would even out between the military, economy, technology and ecosystem, it well as well-known fact that these four branches of intelligent life had to be in harmony less the system would buckle under its own weight. Though looking complex to an outsider the system was rather simple when it had the right leadership to deploy it, to support an military said system would need a great economy but an economy was based off what the civilization could produce which relied on the lands around the civilization, however the larger the economy the more it relied heavy on the ecosystem, to make sure that the ecosystem was not torn apart to keep the economy afloat technology improvements helped to better crops yields, fishing techniques, and how to make more with less. They system was durable, and long lasting but it required balances and checks and that where the military came back into the picture, being that their man job was to make sure that the masses would follow the strict guidelines in which they should follow.
Military-> Economy-> Ecosystem-> Technology
Each one relied upon the other just as much as they all reply upon one another too fully function as a proper system, and such a system had been around for decades and decades, though it worked for the Vennor people as a whole it might not have the same effect as on another world as it relied heavily on the fact that the people that it governed over would be more than willing to give up freedoms that they might already have. Never having some freedoms that others might have had this was not an issue with the Vennor, logical thinking as a whole the Vennor always sought for the best answer when it came to the well fare of their world. Voting, limited free speech, protests, were things most on Riva had never heard of, with the military as the ruling class courts were all seen over by members of the branch that had been in service for many years. As such some civil liberties when never given in the first place to their kind, whether or not they would really care about them was something that no one had ever questioned. That was until a young Vennor had left his world and opened his mind up to what the vale would have to teach him. However this is still many years before such a day would arise, and every great warrior had many tales before their greatest endeavor that set them apart from the rest.
The vast forest of Riva looked like a green blur from high above where a single plane rode across the orange tinted skies, the twin white vapor trails wavered as the strong winds blew them away from its tail. Already the flight had been in progress for about an hour and nothing had seemed to change the ever burning engine had not wavered one bit in the turbulence of the winds, built just like their creators every Vennor aircraft could with stand bomb dives straight into the planet’s surface so the buffering winds did little to effect the prowess of the metal beast. The slight tilt of the wings seemed to be the only sign that anyone was still aboard the seemingly lifeless flight, with no reason or want to leave the hull of the plane its passengers kept quiet as the looming engines of the flight was all that kept them company.
Sitting side by side in long columned rows the groups of men awaited for whatever reason that they had flown out here in the first place, nothing was ever really known until they were about to land for their operations though rumors that passed around were the only relatively known information about what they might be but against but with how well secrets were kept most of them were rumors and nothing else of merit. Keeping to themselves most had either drifted off to sleep or were cleaning or fine tuning their variety of equipment, if something wasn’t properly cleaned then it was a waste to even have in the first place. One should show pride in what they have, make it look presentable as well functional, no one wanted their gear to malfunction when they needed it most…and from the looks of it wherever they were going they were going to need it.
As mentioned before the rumors were the only real clue of what might have been going on but traveling as far as they had and as fast as they had it meant usually only one thing though most on the journey here would have no idea what it was, luckily Anri was one of the lucky few that did. After spending so much time in the service he had about done every damn training they could have come up with, not to mention every disciplinary punishment they could dish out, but he always held strong no matter what he faced. No machine, beast or even person could match him when it came to his hard hardheadedness, a brute by nature, in the reality of the matter he just hated to take orders from other people. Leadership, was not something he got along well with, not seeing eye to eye was an understatement this this situation. Often Anri would go far out of his way to disobey an order as he would have found an better solution than to follow and order than was idiotic and wasteful however doing such things often led him into not the best of places with his superiors, which would probably explain why it was that he was on this plane today, heading out miles from civilization, deep into the great jungles of his world. Though to him, it was just another training, and just like the times before he would make it out alive even stronger than before. They had meant it as a punishment which is why he held the grimace of hatred on his face but it was full of deception, he was going to enjoy these next few weeks more than anyone else would have known. Out of everyone that was there Anri was probably the only one that was the least bit excited to be on this plane, it wasn’t often that he was able to partake in such activates but he jumped at every chance he could.
During the whole flight time he had been calculating just how fast they had been going from the small land marks he had been able to see out the small glass window, math wasn’t this strong point but even a small calculation such as distance was easy achieved in his head. One thousand or so miles? It sounded about right, from about five minutes after the plane had taken off till now they had come around one thousand miles. It defiantly wasn’t a trip anyone would call within walking distance but that wasn’t the point of the training, whereas walking was an important one it wasn’t the main focus of the task at hand. It was survival, the simplest and harshest of every training, if one could not survive in the jungles of Riva then how would they be expected to fight for their world?
The thoughts danced around in his head but he kept them to himself, he wasn’t one of the most popular guys to begin with mostly for the sheet fact that those that hung with him often got dragging down into whatever plans he was cooking up. Anri didn’t mind though, who need friends? He had comrades in arms, even if they didn’t like him they were forced to work with him regardless of how they felt not to mention his extra brute strength and cunning mind is what made him one of the finest the Vennor military had too offer, he was not one to toot his own horn though. He knew it as a fact because of his skills he displayed on the field and the fact that he had about kicked everyone’s ass in sparring at one point or another, once the Vennor got a hold of someone it was game over for them, less they wanted their plated head bashed apart then he was more than happy to lend them a hand.
Anri kept checking his equipment over and over making sure that everything was in top working condition, even though he wasn’t going to be using it he still needed something else other than sleeping to pass the time otherwise he might go made and rip open the bay doors and with that much air pressure they would have been sucked out in the Riva’s open skies. Glancing his eyes up and down the corridor he took notice of the captain as she had made her way out of the cock pit and was now watching over them. Was it time already? How weak. Last time he had partaken in one of this survival trainings they had gone at least seven hundred more miles out, it was a shame how they were watering down their forces strength. Sighing at the idea he reached under the steel chair he was resting in and pulled out a heavy set of body gear, though all the equipment was missing the extra weight would prove things more difficult than it would have been as it was now. Just because he was going to miss out on the extra seven hundred trek doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to get that extra damn training in.
“Attenion!” It was the captains voice that broke through the dull roar of the engines in the background, her booming voice causing the metal frame to sake with its force.
Of course anyone that had been resting at that current time was quick to snap awake their eyes automatically darting towards their leading officer not daring to think otherwise; within a few second every Vennor that one not piloting the vessel were stuck on the captain like glue. Drilled into them since they were younglings everyone one of them knew when the eldest or leader was talking to shut up and listen to what they had to say, even hundreds of miles away from home it held true.
“Glad to see some of you enjoyed your nap, you’ll be needing every second of that energy during today’s training.” She paused as her eyes moved slowly across the room, checking the faces of her soldiers. Her face held strong, while at the same time it was stern it also displayed a sense of pride and respect to anyone that were to look at her, a leader by birth.
“As I’m sure many of you have noticed…we are very far away from home. Over the last hour we have been on a course for the deepest jungles this side of the globe. For anyone of you that have not been aware of the travel feel free to glance out the window just encase you think I’m lying.” Curiosity for those that had been sleeping during the whole trip was burning holes in the back of their minds but they sat locked in their seating not wanting to think they disbelieved the woman. Giving a quick grin off the captain took a deep breath and continued once again.
“Good. Now… todays training… a choice few of you might have done this before and believe me it gives those select few a distinct advantage over those that have not.” Anri held his laugh back, less he be confined to the ship and forfeit his chances to test his skills once more.
“For my own reasons I will not deliberate the individuals names but if they so wish too they may later once you are on the ground.” Most of the men on board the ship had gotten the general idea of what they were going against now but everyone could feel the extra weight on her last word. The jungles of Riva were known for being one of the most dangerous places on the planet, which made that fact even worse when it covered at least sixty percent of the landmass. Leaving ten percent for flat grassy areas, ten percent for the mountain ranges and ten percent for various environments such as tundra, swamp, and deserts. With the surface area of the planet being around sixteen million and twenty percent of that being land that would meant around two million square miles of Riva was jungle (about the surface area of Earth). With so much of the thick trees to cover the land mass it was possible that once someone entered they might never find their way out again. In one case it was reported that a survey group went missing after a nasty fall damaged their radar equipment, without anyway to signal the outside world they had decided it was best to stay put and wait it out. It wasn’t until eighty years later that another survey team found them after six teams had been sent to scout along the original path. It was no place for anyone too want to live that was advance enough to live in a city, though they had the necessary skills to do so.
“The assignment is simple when just talking about it but once you are living the real thing the comfort of this plane will feel as though you were on another world. Once the signal is given, one by one you will jump out from the bay door and descent into the forest below. Most of you have gone through impact training so such a fall should not be deadly as long as you know what you’re doing. On the ground find your bearings, and head north. Keep going north until you hit the poles or you find a city. If you get lost, or killed then you were too weak to serve your people in the first place and should be glad you died where no one could witness your weakness.” Her last words left a cold sting in the air, though they were used to it. At least one out of every five Vennor suffered some type of major injury that discharged them or sent them to deaths door in the span of their service; death was all around them though most had thought it just a normal part of their lives.
Not even a mummer was giving at their captains words, it wasn’t as thought this was anything really new that hadn’t been said to them before, death, training, both went hand in hand, eighty percent of them would make it to leave the service and the rest would parish before ever seeing that day. However the lack of words was due to the fact they had been conditioned to keep their mouths closed in the presence of a commanding officer; though they looked calm each one’s mind was abuzz with thoughts about their upcoming training. Only about three of them in the bay area had ever under gone this before, those that were the ones that could be seen taking off their gear. Once anyone had gone through the training before they sought to push themselves even farther than before, some would lose any equipment that would make the endeavor any easier, and some would even add weights to their body such as Anri had already done.
Sitting furthest in the back away from everyone he had a good look around at everyone, their stone cold faces seemed to be looking off in the distance, he couldn’t read minds but he had a good idea of what they were thinking. ‘Am I going to be the one that dies?’ ‘Just how long are we going to be out here for?’ ‘Wished I had said goodbye to my parents before I left’ Just the same shit over and over again no doubt. Pathetic to say the least, these were supposed to be warriors of the mighty Vennor men and woman alike, not some home sick guppies from the black sea. He had never had this problem, in fact he had been the first one to take the dive, even before the captain had given the signal, of course with that one he had been force to pull the trains from city to city for a week but it was worth it to feel the freedom that falling through the skies and into the jungles below. Watching the blur of green racing towards him was an experience that one could not fully understand less it happened to them, Anri was lucky looking from his point of view he got the chance to relive it once over again.
Though they were warriors it wasn’t beyond any Vennor to have such ideas floating around in their brains just before something as dangerous as what they were about to endure, they weren’t uncontrollable monsters that bided their time until each fight. Each one was their own person, and had their own beliefs and feelings, it was only when they worked in unison in the service that their true self’s where masked behind the uniforms they worn. Anri was a different case than the rest of then never seeming to have any qualms with anything he was put through, dangerous or not he had never been heard whining other than whatever it was too damn easy. He was one of the most disobedient Vennor in the military history of Riva but he was also one of the most skill full they had ever had in their ranks.
A loud blaring sound shot throughout the cabin as the metallic sound of the safety harnesses began un hooked from every passenger in the hangar of the ship, the time had arrived; it was time to bale. Following in unison order the organization of the men in uniform was perfectly synchronized together, but of course Anri who had already sung over his seat to get past anyone that would block his way; first one out and first one home. These exercises often called for team work to complete but that was not a way Anri liked to swing, flying solo was the greatest to find his true potential, if he had to rely on others all the time to get his back then he would never grow stronger. Every experience, practice, training should always be a challenge, pushing him farther than need be, he had to become the strongest…he didn’t know why the idea had stuck in his head but he had to be. Maybe it was the honor that would come along with it or that he would be remembered as the strongest of his people at some point in their history, never forgotten through the annals of time.
Groups slowed him down and even proved as a fact as he walked impatiently for the bay door to lower as the gears of the machine seemed to be taking their painstakingly slow time, almost as though they were properly making him wait longer. The high pressured sound of the air leaking into the room kept his hushed words of grimace from being heard. He knew the idea came from idiocy but it still lingered in his head. With the scrambling of feet in a synchronized beat and the whirling of the gears his patience had all but worn out, he had waited for many hours to get to this point and he was done with it.
With the captain near the front of the ship she had been scanning her eyes over her troops, even as low ranking as they were she could already see that her hard work and training had paid off, all those hours of tedious marching and drills had formed the ugly mess of clay into something that was he could consider adequate; it was still far off from the real expectations of the core of their system but *Ivino wasn’t built in a day. However just like in every freshly picked basket of fruit there was always one that had its fair share of bruises, and she was staring at bruised one right now…Anri. He was a trouble maker, always going against what she had to say, or for that matter anyone that was above him in rank; following direct orders must have been mentally painful for the man if had do it so many times before hand. If it hadn’t been for the fact that once a troop was under a captains command they were stuck there he would have sent him to another squad years ago… that… and the boy had great potential if he ever managed to gather his act together. Strong, smart, and calm…for the most part… he was still young but he had so much promise to his name… a good uniform and a tad bit of filing would make him a great mate…. The idea caused her to curse under her breath at having such an idea, as if it wasn’t bad enough she was in the military she was an officer and having such thoughts about one her underlings was something that should never become of her. Her mind was hanging on that last part as she watched as if in slow motion as Anri charged head first straight through the metal plate of the hangar door and out into the open sky.
It was a sight for anyone there to behold as one of their own had just pasted through almost a foot of steel as if there had been nothing there, even as they looked now the once solid plate now had a seven foot Vennor shaped hole it its center. With the such change of air pressure the ship shifted side to side trying to regain on its course, having not expected such a occur it had caught the pilot off guard as he struggled with the controls.
“Damn it Anri!” The captain yelled over the gushing sounds of the air as it leaked into the bay.
Her anger voice the small cabin but it did little to effect Anri as he was already plummeting stories below the plane as the air gusted over his plates, with as smooth as they were it felt as though he was aerodynamic. The rest of troops stood in the bay holding their own against the strong winds that ripped at them, a look of confusion was held on their face as they all turned in unison towards their captain looking for guidance. With her eyes still locked on the metal door in disbelief of what had just happened she quickly regained her self-awareness and snapped back to her troops. With the doors now fully opened her face hardened at she shouted at the soldiers.
“What are you waiting for? Do I need to hold your hand? Roll out you guppies!” Her voice even bellowing over the sound of the rushing airs.
Not needing an invite for the task each troop quickly turn tailed and lunched themselves out from the back of the ship and into the open Rivan skies, leaving the captain alone in the bay with her thoughts.
“Fucking moron… great now I have days’ worth of paper work for this… what type of punishment should we do this time?” Sighing she pinched the plate covered area of her face where the bridge of her nose was and turned back towards the cock pit as the last of the troops fled the bay and the doors were closing up once more.
Hundreds of feet below already Anri had given into the blowing winds that passed over his body, with each and every passing second he could feel his bodies speed increasing as he plummeted towards the ground. The land was completely consumed by the greenery that was the vast jungles of Riva, in every which direction anyone would look all that could be seen was the tops of high risen trees, even as high as they had been already the trees were quickly rushing towards Anri. The sight was a beautiful one for anyone that was lucky enough to experience the suddenness of dropping through the thick skies of Riva, just to be able to see the natural untamed wildness that was their world, so much had been left the way it was, it was almost as if no one had ever lived on the planet to being with.
Though the sight was not one he was able to see often Anri’s eyes were actually closed as he let the feeling of falling through the skies fill him up, when he blocked his vision out and spread his arms out at his sides it almost gave him the impression that he was flying on his own will. Such a feat was impossible to his people less a piece of machinery was acting on their part to lift them up so this was the closest he imagined to what flying might actually feel like. Shutting out the world around him, the dark green leaves coming towards him, his fellow troops that still held a many feet behind him, he shut it all out to experience his flight…it was a wonderful feeling not to be shackled to the ground below, too be able at will flee away and leave everything behind. He wondered if this was how all creatures that had wing felt like all the time, such freedom to roam where they pleased then return whenever the urge raised inside of them… such joys were not to his to behold, while he was in the sky he could only get a slim glance at what another life would be like before reality came knocking back once more.
Hearing the brushing sounds of the leaves coming into his vison he gave a heavy sigh as the smile that had been spread across his face slowly began to fade… his world…his life was calling him back… he wished he could had stayed up here forever but this was not his world, not his life…. Cracking his eyes back open he caught the first glances of the large leaves in time to shield his face from the assault that they would bring on to him. The canopy level, the top most layer of the jungle, was the thicket part of all of it, with all the trees struggling against one another for the smallest sliver of light the area was packed with thick foliage, leaving the lower levels of the forest dim too those without such a skill to see in the dark, lucky for the Vennor that they held just such a skill.
Bring his legs out below them in a point he broke through the first layer of leaves like a jack hammer smashing through a concrete barrier, and the sound matched something similar but much crunchier with the planet material crushing under his weight. Having done this before and going through impact training tearing into the sheets of leaves was a simple task not even making him flinch under the force of the original impact. As quickly as Anri had been dropping he made quick work through the layer of leaves and quickly entered the barren zone of the forest, already it could been seen that this layer seemed to have no planet life of any type other than the occasional branch that had randomly jutted out from the base of the tree, those that did manage to sprout here kept a withered and weak looking appearance. This was the largest section of the jungles between the base of the forest floor and the tree tops, where the vast empty spots between the tree could really been seen. From above the forest looked as though the trees were jammed up against one another but they were actually spread out quite far, giving at least fifty feet of space until one would reach the next base; with their root system so deep into the soil it made it possible that the could stretch so high but also kept the trees far away from one another.
Other than the hard and callused tree bark plant life here was pretty much non-exist, however the animal life was not, as already large groups of winged creatures were scattering away from the suddenness of the Vennor’s break through into their home. With a ten foot wing span, razor sharp, claws and poisonous teeth the winged swarms were best to keep away from, Anri had only seen the creature twice before but had read enough about them too not want to have the off chance of being bitten by one; as tough as he was one bite from those creatures would leave him dead within a days’ time. That was only one of the many dangerous animals that lurked in the dim under belly of the tree tops, the largest reach wings spans of twenty five feet or more. Lucky for Anri he didn’t spot any as of the moment but he was sure that they were hiding far off from his vision in the depths of the thicket… lucky for them as well though, Anri wasn’t really in the mood to have to deal with such creature right now, air combat wasn’t something he specialized in, though he did have some nasty tricks for whatever managed to sneak up on him.
Eventually Anri’s speed maxed out at his terminal velocity making it so that he could not fall any faster than he already was, even after how far as he had fallen he could not yet see the ground coming up on him. Those Vennors that had not experience falling into the jungle didn’t fully understand just how tall the trees were, leaving them too believe that it was a short fall but it often took a few minutes of falling before one would reach the bottom and as of right now he had been falling for about three minutes straight. Anri knew it took about three and one half minutes for impact from the height he had fallen so it wouldn’t be much lon-
As the thoughts raced through his mind the ground quickly came rushing up upon him and with lightning reflexes he tucked his legs up too his body and rolled himself into an armored plated ball of meat and bone. Smashing into a ground with all the force and speed that had been building up behind, the forest floor shock with seismic waves that his body brought with it. Sending chucks of soil, broken bushes and rocks into the air as Anri rolled across the shrubby covered floor crushing everything that lay in his path until his armored body came in contact with a tree and stopped him in his rampage. Taking a few second to recover from his swirling head did Anri unroll his body and spread out his legs onto the pulverized plants on the ground, the landing hadn’t been the best of his but he had made it out without damaging anything vital.
Quickly pushing himself onto his feet he glanced around his surroundings as already his low light vision eyes had kicked in taking in all the small sources of light around the area. Even with his specialized eyes Anri till found it difficult to see more than out to the next tree, but he would take every foot of visibility he could take in a rather unknown territory, even now he got the feeling that he was being watched but given by how much noise he had generated as he crashed it made all the sense. Stretching his arms and legs out he took in his bears and got a fix on which way north was, tracking his direction was his first task and losing that bearing was something that would lead him to a quick death out here. Over a thousand miles trek through dim, unknown, dangerous territory would have been the death of him if he ever got lost out here but as long as he kept his wits about him then Anri would quickly be home in a month and drinking a cool beverage while he over looked the black sea. Was he already home sick? What a weakling he was….
It was the crashing sounds nearby that drew him from his current thoughts, though it was nothing to worry about, it was about time the others showed up but he cared little for them. The idea of the training was to build the team work of the troops but Anri had no time for such things, the clock had started and the race was on. Already he had let too much time pass stretching his limbs and could have been into his first mile already. The rest of the unit would just slow them down and out here in didn’t have time to deal with other peoples weaknesses, he had to worry about himself and no one else. Like the captain had said “if you get lost, or killed then you were too weak to serve your people in the first place…” and he held those words to be true, if they really needed him to survive then they should be left to their own fate, not being strong enough to endure the wilds on their own. Anri was the strong one, he needed no one else by his side to hold his hand, to guide him in every step, he took life by the horns and led it, not the other way around. Facing completely north Anri took off into a sprint kicking up dust in his wake, even with the weights that pulled down on him he didn’t even seem to notice their extra tug.
*Ivino- Capital of Riva (actually built in two days)
The signs of their workings from over the years could already be seen even far from the planet’s surface even as far as their furthest satellites that sped around the world from their high orbits, however most if any outsiders that would so happen to come visit the planet they would notice that the world was mostly covered by vast mountain ranges, deep oceans that shimmered with the blue might from their home star and the dense jungles that light often found it difficult to reach the forest floor. As advanced as the Vennor was in technology, culture and warfare, they had done their best to converse what limited lands that they had, keeping their buildings high and tightly compacted they had managed to do this feat that most civilizations had struggled to deal with over the billions of years life had existed within the vale. This was mostly due to the fact of how they develop as species over the early years of their final stages of evolution, someone would compare that time period to something like their “stone age”. Just as strong as the Vennor the animal life of Riva came loaded with many different types of weaponry just as dangerous as anything the Vennor had, wanting to keep themselves at distance from such creatures they had found that living high in the trees was the best way to keep their young, old and food supplies away from such creatures that could not possible reach that high. At first it was just another way to best survive but over the years the structures became permanent and sturdier, and eventually it became a part of their culture. The now high rising building take model after the trees in which their people first took their stand too take over the world they had grown on, once such a technology had spread among the other tribes it was only a matter of time before they would start to cultivate the lands they had to bend as they saw fit. Soon living on the ground became a daily task with the invention of weapons, tools and larger and sturdier buildings across in this time period, which better able them to keep the dangerous wild life away from their housing and ways of life.
After many years of tribes ruling over themselves it was decided that the best course of action was too assimilate them under one ruling system in which all could follow one law and order of the land, in thusly doing so the world came under one race that had emerged out from the thicket and conquered the planet. The Vennor society was a well-placed system that had its own checks and balances so that everything would even out between the military, economy, technology and ecosystem, it well as well-known fact that these four branches of intelligent life had to be in harmony less the system would buckle under its own weight. Though looking complex to an outsider the system was rather simple when it had the right leadership to deploy it, to support an military said system would need a great economy but an economy was based off what the civilization could produce which relied on the lands around the civilization, however the larger the economy the more it relied heavy on the ecosystem, to make sure that the ecosystem was not torn apart to keep the economy afloat technology improvements helped to better crops yields, fishing techniques, and how to make more with less. They system was durable, and long lasting but it required balances and checks and that where the military came back into the picture, being that their man job was to make sure that the masses would follow the strict guidelines in which they should follow.
Military-> Economy-> Ecosystem-> Technology
Each one relied upon the other just as much as they all reply upon one another too fully function as a proper system, and such a system had been around for decades and decades, though it worked for the Vennor people as a whole it might not have the same effect as on another world as it relied heavily on the fact that the people that it governed over would be more than willing to give up freedoms that they might already have. Never having some freedoms that others might have had this was not an issue with the Vennor, logical thinking as a whole the Vennor always sought for the best answer when it came to the well fare of their world. Voting, limited free speech, protests, were things most on Riva had never heard of, with the military as the ruling class courts were all seen over by members of the branch that had been in service for many years. As such some civil liberties when never given in the first place to their kind, whether or not they would really care about them was something that no one had ever questioned. That was until a young Vennor had left his world and opened his mind up to what the vale would have to teach him. However this is still many years before such a day would arise, and every great warrior had many tales before their greatest endeavor that set them apart from the rest.
The vast forest of Riva looked like a green blur from high above where a single plane rode across the orange tinted skies, the twin white vapor trails wavered as the strong winds blew them away from its tail. Already the flight had been in progress for about an hour and nothing had seemed to change the ever burning engine had not wavered one bit in the turbulence of the winds, built just like their creators every Vennor aircraft could with stand bomb dives straight into the planet’s surface so the buffering winds did little to effect the prowess of the metal beast. The slight tilt of the wings seemed to be the only sign that anyone was still aboard the seemingly lifeless flight, with no reason or want to leave the hull of the plane its passengers kept quiet as the looming engines of the flight was all that kept them company.
Sitting side by side in long columned rows the groups of men awaited for whatever reason that they had flown out here in the first place, nothing was ever really known until they were about to land for their operations though rumors that passed around were the only relatively known information about what they might be but against but with how well secrets were kept most of them were rumors and nothing else of merit. Keeping to themselves most had either drifted off to sleep or were cleaning or fine tuning their variety of equipment, if something wasn’t properly cleaned then it was a waste to even have in the first place. One should show pride in what they have, make it look presentable as well functional, no one wanted their gear to malfunction when they needed it most…and from the looks of it wherever they were going they were going to need it.
As mentioned before the rumors were the only real clue of what might have been going on but traveling as far as they had and as fast as they had it meant usually only one thing though most on the journey here would have no idea what it was, luckily Anri was one of the lucky few that did. After spending so much time in the service he had about done every damn training they could have come up with, not to mention every disciplinary punishment they could dish out, but he always held strong no matter what he faced. No machine, beast or even person could match him when it came to his hard hardheadedness, a brute by nature, in the reality of the matter he just hated to take orders from other people. Leadership, was not something he got along well with, not seeing eye to eye was an understatement this this situation. Often Anri would go far out of his way to disobey an order as he would have found an better solution than to follow and order than was idiotic and wasteful however doing such things often led him into not the best of places with his superiors, which would probably explain why it was that he was on this plane today, heading out miles from civilization, deep into the great jungles of his world. Though to him, it was just another training, and just like the times before he would make it out alive even stronger than before. They had meant it as a punishment which is why he held the grimace of hatred on his face but it was full of deception, he was going to enjoy these next few weeks more than anyone else would have known. Out of everyone that was there Anri was probably the only one that was the least bit excited to be on this plane, it wasn’t often that he was able to partake in such activates but he jumped at every chance he could.
During the whole flight time he had been calculating just how fast they had been going from the small land marks he had been able to see out the small glass window, math wasn’t this strong point but even a small calculation such as distance was easy achieved in his head. One thousand or so miles? It sounded about right, from about five minutes after the plane had taken off till now they had come around one thousand miles. It defiantly wasn’t a trip anyone would call within walking distance but that wasn’t the point of the training, whereas walking was an important one it wasn’t the main focus of the task at hand. It was survival, the simplest and harshest of every training, if one could not survive in the jungles of Riva then how would they be expected to fight for their world?
The thoughts danced around in his head but he kept them to himself, he wasn’t one of the most popular guys to begin with mostly for the sheet fact that those that hung with him often got dragging down into whatever plans he was cooking up. Anri didn’t mind though, who need friends? He had comrades in arms, even if they didn’t like him they were forced to work with him regardless of how they felt not to mention his extra brute strength and cunning mind is what made him one of the finest the Vennor military had too offer, he was not one to toot his own horn though. He knew it as a fact because of his skills he displayed on the field and the fact that he had about kicked everyone’s ass in sparring at one point or another, once the Vennor got a hold of someone it was game over for them, less they wanted their plated head bashed apart then he was more than happy to lend them a hand.
Anri kept checking his equipment over and over making sure that everything was in top working condition, even though he wasn’t going to be using it he still needed something else other than sleeping to pass the time otherwise he might go made and rip open the bay doors and with that much air pressure they would have been sucked out in the Riva’s open skies. Glancing his eyes up and down the corridor he took notice of the captain as she had made her way out of the cock pit and was now watching over them. Was it time already? How weak. Last time he had partaken in one of this survival trainings they had gone at least seven hundred more miles out, it was a shame how they were watering down their forces strength. Sighing at the idea he reached under the steel chair he was resting in and pulled out a heavy set of body gear, though all the equipment was missing the extra weight would prove things more difficult than it would have been as it was now. Just because he was going to miss out on the extra seven hundred trek doesn’t mean he wasn’t going to get that extra damn training in.
“Attenion!” It was the captains voice that broke through the dull roar of the engines in the background, her booming voice causing the metal frame to sake with its force.
Of course anyone that had been resting at that current time was quick to snap awake their eyes automatically darting towards their leading officer not daring to think otherwise; within a few second every Vennor that one not piloting the vessel were stuck on the captain like glue. Drilled into them since they were younglings everyone one of them knew when the eldest or leader was talking to shut up and listen to what they had to say, even hundreds of miles away from home it held true.
“Glad to see some of you enjoyed your nap, you’ll be needing every second of that energy during today’s training.” She paused as her eyes moved slowly across the room, checking the faces of her soldiers. Her face held strong, while at the same time it was stern it also displayed a sense of pride and respect to anyone that were to look at her, a leader by birth.
“As I’m sure many of you have noticed…we are very far away from home. Over the last hour we have been on a course for the deepest jungles this side of the globe. For anyone of you that have not been aware of the travel feel free to glance out the window just encase you think I’m lying.” Curiosity for those that had been sleeping during the whole trip was burning holes in the back of their minds but they sat locked in their seating not wanting to think they disbelieved the woman. Giving a quick grin off the captain took a deep breath and continued once again.
“Good. Now… todays training… a choice few of you might have done this before and believe me it gives those select few a distinct advantage over those that have not.” Anri held his laugh back, less he be confined to the ship and forfeit his chances to test his skills once more.
“For my own reasons I will not deliberate the individuals names but if they so wish too they may later once you are on the ground.” Most of the men on board the ship had gotten the general idea of what they were going against now but everyone could feel the extra weight on her last word. The jungles of Riva were known for being one of the most dangerous places on the planet, which made that fact even worse when it covered at least sixty percent of the landmass. Leaving ten percent for flat grassy areas, ten percent for the mountain ranges and ten percent for various environments such as tundra, swamp, and deserts. With the surface area of the planet being around sixteen million and twenty percent of that being land that would meant around two million square miles of Riva was jungle (about the surface area of Earth). With so much of the thick trees to cover the land mass it was possible that once someone entered they might never find their way out again. In one case it was reported that a survey group went missing after a nasty fall damaged their radar equipment, without anyway to signal the outside world they had decided it was best to stay put and wait it out. It wasn’t until eighty years later that another survey team found them after six teams had been sent to scout along the original path. It was no place for anyone too want to live that was advance enough to live in a city, though they had the necessary skills to do so.
“The assignment is simple when just talking about it but once you are living the real thing the comfort of this plane will feel as though you were on another world. Once the signal is given, one by one you will jump out from the bay door and descent into the forest below. Most of you have gone through impact training so such a fall should not be deadly as long as you know what you’re doing. On the ground find your bearings, and head north. Keep going north until you hit the poles or you find a city. If you get lost, or killed then you were too weak to serve your people in the first place and should be glad you died where no one could witness your weakness.” Her last words left a cold sting in the air, though they were used to it. At least one out of every five Vennor suffered some type of major injury that discharged them or sent them to deaths door in the span of their service; death was all around them though most had thought it just a normal part of their lives.
Not even a mummer was giving at their captains words, it wasn’t as thought this was anything really new that hadn’t been said to them before, death, training, both went hand in hand, eighty percent of them would make it to leave the service and the rest would parish before ever seeing that day. However the lack of words was due to the fact they had been conditioned to keep their mouths closed in the presence of a commanding officer; though they looked calm each one’s mind was abuzz with thoughts about their upcoming training. Only about three of them in the bay area had ever under gone this before, those that were the ones that could be seen taking off their gear. Once anyone had gone through the training before they sought to push themselves even farther than before, some would lose any equipment that would make the endeavor any easier, and some would even add weights to their body such as Anri had already done.
Sitting furthest in the back away from everyone he had a good look around at everyone, their stone cold faces seemed to be looking off in the distance, he couldn’t read minds but he had a good idea of what they were thinking. ‘Am I going to be the one that dies?’ ‘Just how long are we going to be out here for?’ ‘Wished I had said goodbye to my parents before I left’ Just the same shit over and over again no doubt. Pathetic to say the least, these were supposed to be warriors of the mighty Vennor men and woman alike, not some home sick guppies from the black sea. He had never had this problem, in fact he had been the first one to take the dive, even before the captain had given the signal, of course with that one he had been force to pull the trains from city to city for a week but it was worth it to feel the freedom that falling through the skies and into the jungles below. Watching the blur of green racing towards him was an experience that one could not fully understand less it happened to them, Anri was lucky looking from his point of view he got the chance to relive it once over again.
Though they were warriors it wasn’t beyond any Vennor to have such ideas floating around in their brains just before something as dangerous as what they were about to endure, they weren’t uncontrollable monsters that bided their time until each fight. Each one was their own person, and had their own beliefs and feelings, it was only when they worked in unison in the service that their true self’s where masked behind the uniforms they worn. Anri was a different case than the rest of then never seeming to have any qualms with anything he was put through, dangerous or not he had never been heard whining other than whatever it was too damn easy. He was one of the most disobedient Vennor in the military history of Riva but he was also one of the most skill full they had ever had in their ranks.
A loud blaring sound shot throughout the cabin as the metallic sound of the safety harnesses began un hooked from every passenger in the hangar of the ship, the time had arrived; it was time to bale. Following in unison order the organization of the men in uniform was perfectly synchronized together, but of course Anri who had already sung over his seat to get past anyone that would block his way; first one out and first one home. These exercises often called for team work to complete but that was not a way Anri liked to swing, flying solo was the greatest to find his true potential, if he had to rely on others all the time to get his back then he would never grow stronger. Every experience, practice, training should always be a challenge, pushing him farther than need be, he had to become the strongest…he didn’t know why the idea had stuck in his head but he had to be. Maybe it was the honor that would come along with it or that he would be remembered as the strongest of his people at some point in their history, never forgotten through the annals of time.
Groups slowed him down and even proved as a fact as he walked impatiently for the bay door to lower as the gears of the machine seemed to be taking their painstakingly slow time, almost as though they were properly making him wait longer. The high pressured sound of the air leaking into the room kept his hushed words of grimace from being heard. He knew the idea came from idiocy but it still lingered in his head. With the scrambling of feet in a synchronized beat and the whirling of the gears his patience had all but worn out, he had waited for many hours to get to this point and he was done with it.
With the captain near the front of the ship she had been scanning her eyes over her troops, even as low ranking as they were she could already see that her hard work and training had paid off, all those hours of tedious marching and drills had formed the ugly mess of clay into something that was he could consider adequate; it was still far off from the real expectations of the core of their system but *Ivino wasn’t built in a day. However just like in every freshly picked basket of fruit there was always one that had its fair share of bruises, and she was staring at bruised one right now…Anri. He was a trouble maker, always going against what she had to say, or for that matter anyone that was above him in rank; following direct orders must have been mentally painful for the man if had do it so many times before hand. If it hadn’t been for the fact that once a troop was under a captains command they were stuck there he would have sent him to another squad years ago… that… and the boy had great potential if he ever managed to gather his act together. Strong, smart, and calm…for the most part… he was still young but he had so much promise to his name… a good uniform and a tad bit of filing would make him a great mate…. The idea caused her to curse under her breath at having such an idea, as if it wasn’t bad enough she was in the military she was an officer and having such thoughts about one her underlings was something that should never become of her. Her mind was hanging on that last part as she watched as if in slow motion as Anri charged head first straight through the metal plate of the hangar door and out into the open sky.
It was a sight for anyone there to behold as one of their own had just pasted through almost a foot of steel as if there had been nothing there, even as they looked now the once solid plate now had a seven foot Vennor shaped hole it its center. With the such change of air pressure the ship shifted side to side trying to regain on its course, having not expected such a occur it had caught the pilot off guard as he struggled with the controls.
“Damn it Anri!” The captain yelled over the gushing sounds of the air as it leaked into the bay.
Her anger voice the small cabin but it did little to effect Anri as he was already plummeting stories below the plane as the air gusted over his plates, with as smooth as they were it felt as though he was aerodynamic. The rest of troops stood in the bay holding their own against the strong winds that ripped at them, a look of confusion was held on their face as they all turned in unison towards their captain looking for guidance. With her eyes still locked on the metal door in disbelief of what had just happened she quickly regained her self-awareness and snapped back to her troops. With the doors now fully opened her face hardened at she shouted at the soldiers.
“What are you waiting for? Do I need to hold your hand? Roll out you guppies!” Her voice even bellowing over the sound of the rushing airs.
Not needing an invite for the task each troop quickly turn tailed and lunched themselves out from the back of the ship and into the open Rivan skies, leaving the captain alone in the bay with her thoughts.
“Fucking moron… great now I have days’ worth of paper work for this… what type of punishment should we do this time?” Sighing she pinched the plate covered area of her face where the bridge of her nose was and turned back towards the cock pit as the last of the troops fled the bay and the doors were closing up once more.
Hundreds of feet below already Anri had given into the blowing winds that passed over his body, with each and every passing second he could feel his bodies speed increasing as he plummeted towards the ground. The land was completely consumed by the greenery that was the vast jungles of Riva, in every which direction anyone would look all that could be seen was the tops of high risen trees, even as high as they had been already the trees were quickly rushing towards Anri. The sight was a beautiful one for anyone that was lucky enough to experience the suddenness of dropping through the thick skies of Riva, just to be able to see the natural untamed wildness that was their world, so much had been left the way it was, it was almost as if no one had ever lived on the planet to being with.
Though the sight was not one he was able to see often Anri’s eyes were actually closed as he let the feeling of falling through the skies fill him up, when he blocked his vision out and spread his arms out at his sides it almost gave him the impression that he was flying on his own will. Such a feat was impossible to his people less a piece of machinery was acting on their part to lift them up so this was the closest he imagined to what flying might actually feel like. Shutting out the world around him, the dark green leaves coming towards him, his fellow troops that still held a many feet behind him, he shut it all out to experience his flight…it was a wonderful feeling not to be shackled to the ground below, too be able at will flee away and leave everything behind. He wondered if this was how all creatures that had wing felt like all the time, such freedom to roam where they pleased then return whenever the urge raised inside of them… such joys were not to his to behold, while he was in the sky he could only get a slim glance at what another life would be like before reality came knocking back once more.
Hearing the brushing sounds of the leaves coming into his vison he gave a heavy sigh as the smile that had been spread across his face slowly began to fade… his world…his life was calling him back… he wished he could had stayed up here forever but this was not his world, not his life…. Cracking his eyes back open he caught the first glances of the large leaves in time to shield his face from the assault that they would bring on to him. The canopy level, the top most layer of the jungle, was the thicket part of all of it, with all the trees struggling against one another for the smallest sliver of light the area was packed with thick foliage, leaving the lower levels of the forest dim too those without such a skill to see in the dark, lucky for the Vennor that they held just such a skill.
Bring his legs out below them in a point he broke through the first layer of leaves like a jack hammer smashing through a concrete barrier, and the sound matched something similar but much crunchier with the planet material crushing under his weight. Having done this before and going through impact training tearing into the sheets of leaves was a simple task not even making him flinch under the force of the original impact. As quickly as Anri had been dropping he made quick work through the layer of leaves and quickly entered the barren zone of the forest, already it could been seen that this layer seemed to have no planet life of any type other than the occasional branch that had randomly jutted out from the base of the tree, those that did manage to sprout here kept a withered and weak looking appearance. This was the largest section of the jungles between the base of the forest floor and the tree tops, where the vast empty spots between the tree could really been seen. From above the forest looked as though the trees were jammed up against one another but they were actually spread out quite far, giving at least fifty feet of space until one would reach the next base; with their root system so deep into the soil it made it possible that the could stretch so high but also kept the trees far away from one another.
Other than the hard and callused tree bark plant life here was pretty much non-exist, however the animal life was not, as already large groups of winged creatures were scattering away from the suddenness of the Vennor’s break through into their home. With a ten foot wing span, razor sharp, claws and poisonous teeth the winged swarms were best to keep away from, Anri had only seen the creature twice before but had read enough about them too not want to have the off chance of being bitten by one; as tough as he was one bite from those creatures would leave him dead within a days’ time. That was only one of the many dangerous animals that lurked in the dim under belly of the tree tops, the largest reach wings spans of twenty five feet or more. Lucky for Anri he didn’t spot any as of the moment but he was sure that they were hiding far off from his vision in the depths of the thicket… lucky for them as well though, Anri wasn’t really in the mood to have to deal with such creature right now, air combat wasn’t something he specialized in, though he did have some nasty tricks for whatever managed to sneak up on him.
Eventually Anri’s speed maxed out at his terminal velocity making it so that he could not fall any faster than he already was, even after how far as he had fallen he could not yet see the ground coming up on him. Those Vennors that had not experience falling into the jungle didn’t fully understand just how tall the trees were, leaving them too believe that it was a short fall but it often took a few minutes of falling before one would reach the bottom and as of right now he had been falling for about three minutes straight. Anri knew it took about three and one half minutes for impact from the height he had fallen so it wouldn’t be much lon-
As the thoughts raced through his mind the ground quickly came rushing up upon him and with lightning reflexes he tucked his legs up too his body and rolled himself into an armored plated ball of meat and bone. Smashing into a ground with all the force and speed that had been building up behind, the forest floor shock with seismic waves that his body brought with it. Sending chucks of soil, broken bushes and rocks into the air as Anri rolled across the shrubby covered floor crushing everything that lay in his path until his armored body came in contact with a tree and stopped him in his rampage. Taking a few second to recover from his swirling head did Anri unroll his body and spread out his legs onto the pulverized plants on the ground, the landing hadn’t been the best of his but he had made it out without damaging anything vital.
Quickly pushing himself onto his feet he glanced around his surroundings as already his low light vision eyes had kicked in taking in all the small sources of light around the area. Even with his specialized eyes Anri till found it difficult to see more than out to the next tree, but he would take every foot of visibility he could take in a rather unknown territory, even now he got the feeling that he was being watched but given by how much noise he had generated as he crashed it made all the sense. Stretching his arms and legs out he took in his bears and got a fix on which way north was, tracking his direction was his first task and losing that bearing was something that would lead him to a quick death out here. Over a thousand miles trek through dim, unknown, dangerous territory would have been the death of him if he ever got lost out here but as long as he kept his wits about him then Anri would quickly be home in a month and drinking a cool beverage while he over looked the black sea. Was he already home sick? What a weakling he was….
It was the crashing sounds nearby that drew him from his current thoughts, though it was nothing to worry about, it was about time the others showed up but he cared little for them. The idea of the training was to build the team work of the troops but Anri had no time for such things, the clock had started and the race was on. Already he had let too much time pass stretching his limbs and could have been into his first mile already. The rest of the unit would just slow them down and out here in didn’t have time to deal with other peoples weaknesses, he had to worry about himself and no one else. Like the captain had said “if you get lost, or killed then you were too weak to serve your people in the first place…” and he held those words to be true, if they really needed him to survive then they should be left to their own fate, not being strong enough to endure the wilds on their own. Anri was the strong one, he needed no one else by his side to hold his hand, to guide him in every step, he took life by the horns and led it, not the other way around. Facing completely north Anri took off into a sprint kicking up dust in his wake, even with the weights that pulled down on him he didn’t even seem to notice their extra tug.
*Ivino- Capital of Riva (actually built in two days)