Just a few quick notes, folks. This is a story told from 3 different perspectives: The Nosgothic Humans, The Nosgothic Vampires, and a group of Human Colonial Marines.  A line of ****'s means your changing perspective.  A shorter line of ------ means time has past, but, you haven't changed perspective.  Also, author's notes for part 1 will be released with part 2, so, if your confused with anything, it'll be explained in a few weeks.

        "Fellow Vampires. You may or may not have heard the grave news. All the Clan leaders are no more." Turel was probably out their somewhere, but, he was no longer one of them. "They have been struck down by some unknown creature.  Some Scourge. There are reports this creature was our own fallen Raziel. However, since this has not been confirmed, we shall count it as untrue for now.
        "There is also the matter of Kain. No one can sense Kain's presence anymore. It can therefore be assumed Kain has either met his end at the hands of this unnamed Scourge, or, has used the Time streaming device to leave our time, and possibly space."
        Jacob allowed the crowd to murmur. It had been rumored Kain had been tampering with Moebius's infernal machine, some even wondered if the machine was real, but it was thought impossible for anyone other than the pillar keeper himself to operate.
        "Our trackers have traced Kain's trail to a Arch way, where it suddenly disappears. The same with the Scourge's. It can be assumed the we are all alone now. Our Leaders, our Creators, are dead. We must rebuild. I have already heard rumors the more free-spirited slaves grow restless.
        "If even our slaves stir to the sound of the disappearance of Kain, how will those humans of the cursed city react? I say, we mount and offensive, and deal with these humans, while we still have surprise."

        A Melchahim named T'Ror stood up. While still only a Melchahim, he had devolped his master's Phasing ability.
        "Why should we?" T'Ror questioned, "Who made you our new god? I say we find Turel, if we can, and make him the new leader. He may be a rogue, but, he is still the most powerful vampire left alive!"

        Jacob glared at this upstart, dressed in a newly acquired skin. He knew that T'Ror would be a match for him in duel, should he get to a place with gates.  A direct confrontation would not work. The Melchahim would bear a grudge against him. No, this must be dealt with more subtly. He would humiliate him. He raised his hand heavenward, while focusing in on the tiny pebbles lying about. He would pelt the transgressor, sending him running. He would never challenge Jacob again for fear of bringing this embarrassment to light.

        However, even though causing all those stones to hover in mid-air was an impressive sight, it went unnoticed. For just as Jacob had raised his hand, and was about to send the stones flying at their target, dozens of new stars appeared in the sky. They grew brighter and brighter, and then stretched into lines. The biggest of these headed for the human city in the north.

        The Vampires needed no further prodding. The sign was clear and unmistakable. It was time to cleanse the City.

        Thomas glanced back at the rest of the patrol. The Citadel Counsel had finally approved sending a few hunters to aid Raziel. The problem now was finding him. The group sent to met him before he got to Turel's fortress had reported back the Raziel never came.  There were rumors from the slave camps were that Kain was dead. If this were true, the vampires would be weak, without leadership. The Counsel was convinced that Raziel would need very little persuasion to continue his assault on them. Offering to crown him King of Nosgoth might aid his decision, and the patrols were authorized to offer it him.

        As Thomas scanned the night time forests of Nosgoth, there was no motion. Normally a Rahabim or two could be heard out hunting, or returning from the hunt. There were no sounds. Thomas was unnerved. Something must be up. Perhaps some vampires laying in ambush for his patrol. Suddenly, new stars appeared in the sky, providing slight, but still eerie, illumination to the forest. The stars were increasing in size. Thomas began to wonder if this was some sort of vampire trick. Suddenly, the largest star changed its path. It was headed straight for them! As it approached, Thomas saw it was not a star, but some sort of...of..of building. A flying building. A flying building that burned with some sort of unnatural fire. It flew overhead, spiraling in mid-air. It was heading towards the city. A few seconds after it passed, there was a great roar, like thunder, and an invisible force knocked Thomas to the ground. He quickly got up and ran towards the city, signaling his men to follow. The Citadel might be in trouble. 

        Lt. Green brought the Wasp-class dropship out of the barrel roll.
        "YEE-HAW!" He said into his headset "Bet you guys didn't see THAT coming. WOO!"
        "That's because we figured you had better sense than that, Green. That may feel great from he cockpit, but back here, it feels like something seriously went wrong. You should wait to pull those stunts till the ship has at least cooled from re-entry."
        "Relax, Carver." Col. Major's said, "The kid needs some flight experience. No harm dooooo-whoa!"
        The last part was said as Green knuckled the craft to the landing coordinates, just outside some ruins.

        Jacob paced in front of Kain's throne. He was worried. If Kain were still alive, he would not take kindly to Jacob's initiative. It would probably mean a trip to the abyss. Jacob looked at the throne. It was cold. He sat upon it, and gazed out. Kain was dead, he assured himself. Killed by the Scourge. As he looked around at the decaying structure, he decided that, as soon as the feral humans were vanquished, he would have his capital moved elsewhere. This place, with its outdated pillars, was past its usefulness.

        He looked more closely at the pillars. Silly, he thought, to have 9 perfectly good pillars, and not to use them in the palace's construction. Granted, some of them were cracked, or leaning, or both, but, that was nothing some of the more skilled slaves couldn't have fixed. Perhaps he would have them moved to his new capital, a testament to the great Kain, father of them all. No matter what Jacob thought of the vampire, he still owed Kain his immortality.

        "Yes," Jacob thought, "I shall have them brought to the new capital. Kain deserves at least some recognition."

        Just then, Jacob heard a cracking sound, and jumped away from the throne. A pillar crashed down, pulverizing the throne. If he had delayed even a split second, he would have been killed.

        "Blasted things.” Jacob spat, "Perhaps I'll just have a statue carved in his image."

        Jacob's planning of his new capital was interrupted by a page running up to him. The page, out of breath, bowed to him and spoke.

        "My lord, accept my humblest apologies for intruding, but the tribe leaders of the other clans have met. There is a consensus. All the vampires will attack the Citadel tomorrow night. Every vampire of the 3 clans will join you in the assault"

        Jacob was pleased. He had expected to have some tribes wish to stay behind and guard against counter attack. Now, every vampire on the face of Nosgoth, minus those accursed Turelim, will be at his command for the assault tomorrow. The pillar's long forgotten, Jacob turned to rally his own troops.

        Thomas and his patrol crouched, motionless, with the other hunters. The vampires had chosen a perfect time to strike, with a good deal of their force scattered through out Nosgoth searching for Raziel. Pages had been dispatched to get the search patrols, but it was already too late. They would take as many of the unholy creatures with them as they could. Suddenly, the building opened, and figures emerged. They didn't look like any vampires they had ever seen. They carried strange objects in their hands.

        They turned their heads toward one another, as if to speak, but no sound was heard. The signal was given to fall back. They would only attack these new vampires if they ventured near the city

        The squad of 10 marines walked down the landing ramp. An 11th figure, carrying a briefcase-sized box, brought up the rear. The lead marine switched on his radio. No transmissions. He gestured for the rest of the squad to turn on theirs. He turned to the marine on his right.
        "Hurley, anything on IR?" 
        "Nothing yet, sir. Just us and the normal background."
        "McGuiness, how's the atmosphere?"
        "Nitro, O-2, CO-2, very trace Argon.... nothing toxic."
        "Brown, any motion?"
        "Just some normal background. Probably some small critters, sir"
        "Johnson, how are the packages?"
        "All my little ones are reporting back 100%. Geo-probing is going good, and the party-favors are standing by for arming."
        He turned to the last figure out of the ship. He was opening up the box, the glow from the LCD screens illuminated his visor.
        "Doc, any sign of air-borne contagion?"
        "The air appears clear, Captain Carver."
        "Alright, helmets off everyone."

        Carver removed his pressure helmet. It was heavy, and, with the breathable atmosphere, it would be easier to move in normal combat armor. The rest of the squad removed their pressure suits. Without the pressure suits, the unit patch, an Angel, wings out, holding a sword. The patch of the Angels of Death, the grid's best disease contol team.

        "Ok people, let's check out those ruins. Brown, keep an eye out for motion. Hurley, take the IR. You've got point. Let's move out."

        The squad ventured into the forest toward the ruins.

        "Hurley, anything on IR?"
        "Nothing"
        "Alright, stay close people. Stay with your buddy,  and in constant radio contact. Our flyby probe data said there were people here. If they're clean, we move on. If they're not, we stop the disease. Let's heat 'em up and spread out."
        The sound of the Colt RF-204 45Kw Laser rifles warming up filled echoed throughout the ruins.

        "Captain, I'm getting some trace motion."
        "Can you verify?"
        "No sir. Nothing on the seismo, it’s all EM and Front systems. It could be something big sitting still and watching us."
        "Hurley, anything on IR?"
        "No sir."
        "Wait, I'm getting a spike on motion!" Brown stopped dead in his tracks as a spear slammed into the wall just in front of him.  "S***!", Brown yelled as he rolled and fired in the direction the spear came from. "Dammit Hurley! I though you said there was nothing on the IR.
        "There wasn't! Maybe you tripped a booby-trap or something!"
        "That wasn't a trap! Something threw that!"
        "Shut up, both of you!" Captain Carver interjected. "Hurley, tune down the screening on your IR so you get some background."

        "Sir, I see them. We're surrounded."
        "Hurley, how many?"
        "Too many, Sir."
        "Alright, squad, fall back to my position. This could get ugly, and I don't want friendly fire losses."

        Benjamin motioned to the other vampires, and the Dumahim scouts crawled the small rise, and looked in on the area around the human citadel. There were a lot of humans outside, with their backs turned, weapons raised, closing in on another band of oddly dressed humans. This new group held strange objects. But, nothing pointy or useful for impaling. Benjamin licked his fangs...it had been a while since he had fed. The wind changed, and blew in the scent of these new humans. This was a different scent, fresh, clean, not the muted scent of the native humans. He stared at them ...he could almost hear their blood, pulsing....fresh blood...not contaminated by Nosgoth’s decay. But, they were here only to scout. No attacks.

        A spear flew, just nicking on of the humans in the shoulder, just enough to bring the blood. The fresh, red, dripping blood...Fresh, pure...it had been a while since he'd smelled pure blood. He couldn't hold out. He had to have some. With a yell, he motioned for his patrol to follow. He had to have that blood.

        Thomas had just cast his spear. It nicked his target. Whatever form of vampires these were, they were slower than Nosgothic ones. The wound also didn't heal. Could these be humans? But humans from where? They were dressed to well for slaves, even the personal slaves of Kain himself. And he didn't recognize them from the citadel, and that was the only human stronghold left...or was it? Could there be another citadel? Or, perhaps they were messengers from God, the flaming house his form of deliverance?

        Thomas’s thoughts were interrupted as he heard a roar from the hills. Several vampires came running at the newcomers, completely ignoring closer humans. This was a most peculiar night.

        Robertson grasped his shoulder. He's been nicked in the shoulder by a spear. The captain still ordered them to hold fire. It was a small wound, but enough to draw blood. There was a roar, part human, part beast, and 7 figures emerged from behind a hill.

        "What f*** are those?!" He yelled. They closed in at incredible speed.

        "Kill them!" Carver shouted. By the time they rest of the squad knew what to aim for, the creatures were almost on top of them. Ugly bastards, too.

        Benjamin started in surprise as a vampire near him screamed in pain, and almost exploded in flame. He stopped in his tracks. Another one flamed up. And another. They burst into flame when one of the strange objects carried by these new humans was pointed at them.  He watched in almost awe, unable to move. He saw one of the humans point his object at him, and felt a pain in his chest. He looked down. Through glazing vision, he saw the end of a spear sticking through him. He had been denied his blood. And this new death. As he lost consciousness, he felt it was a most unsatisfying way to die.

        The vampire hunters could scarcely believe what they saw. These new humans pointed there objects at a vampire, did a slight hand motion, a sound was heard, and the vampire burst into flames! The small party of Dumahim were nothing but ash now.

        "These aren't human!", Thomas thought "They must be...Angels!"
        It all made sense now! They came from heaven! That wasn't a burning building they saw, it was their burning chariot!  Thomas dropped to his knees, and bowed to these angels. The rest of the hunters followed suite.

        "Captain, what gives?"
        "Yea, first they throw pointy things at us, now, they’re worshiping us."
        "What the hell are they chanting?"
        "Settle down, guys. We just annihilated some sorta freaky beasts. Probably hunting the humans here. And these look like tough SOB's." Carver gestured at the impaled creature. Though dead, it was still twitching. "There's only one way to find out what's going on."

        Carver walked up to the nearest vampire hunter. He pulled him up. He turned to his squad.
        "Alright, if any of you laugh, I swear I will kill you, personally"
        He turned back to the hunter
        "Take us to your leader."

        Carver's statement was followed by the sound of 10 colonial marines desperately trying not to bust out laughing.

        Jacob grew worried. His patrol should have been back by now. Even if they'd stopped for a quick snack on their way back, the patrol was way too late. He hoped the humans hadn't mobilized. He knew that nothing was more dangerous than a group of humans in a religious fever. He remembered the raid on Dumah's territory. There was no way the humans should have been able to gain entry to the fortress, let alone kill Dumah, but they had. 

        He was worried. Would there be enough vampires after the battle to re-spawn the legions? He was beginning to wonder if bringing all the vampires with him was wise idea.

        Perhaps he should solicit the Turelim for assistance.

        Thomas could scarcely believe his luck! He had been touched by the angels’ leader! And he, not any of the other higher-ranking hunters, had been chosen to lead them to the city. He would be grilled by priests back at the city, all of them wanting to know how it feels to be touched by something that had been so close to God. His armor might even become a holy relic. He could even get promoted.

        He glanced back at the angels. They didn't seem like the angels from the stories of the priests. No wings, no blazing holy swords, no white robes. These angels wore subdued jackets and pants, carried bulky packs, and held weapons that looked unlike anything he'd ever seen before. But, the weapons these angels carried did work. Those stories about the Angels were old stories too, dating back to the days of the original Sarafan. The holy armory and uniform had probably been updated in those years. And with flying chariots such as the one he'd seen, that wielded the power of thunder, who needed wings? 

        Thomas looked again at the picture of the traditional angel on the leader's shoulder. Did they not have the angel pictures on them? Probably to inform such backward worshippers, such as themselves, that they were, indeed, angels.

        2 of the obviously lower ranking angels were carrying the body of vampire he impaled, still with the spear in it. They had begun to remove the spear, but, when the vampire stirred, it was quickly replaced. They probably wanted to save that one, to show the people the power of their holy weaponry.

        The entrance to the citadel was just ahead.

        "Ah, sh** captain, why do I have to carry this thing? Its big, its heavy, and it smells."
        "Yea, why do just me n' Yank have to drag it? Couldn't someone at least get the legs."
        "Quit your b*tching. The rest of us have to be ready in case any of those things come back. You saw how fast those creatures moved."
        "Yea, and those critters never even blinked on IR."
        "Whatever, Hurley. Anything that lives has to give off IR. Hell, dead stuff emits IR for a while."
        "I don't care what you say, those things gave no IR what so ever. I only saw them from blanks in the background IR. Its like they're already dead or something"
        "F***, with the way this sh** smells, I'll second you on that theory."

        The hunter that was leading them gestured to a small stream hidden by heavy vegetation. The marines followed the hunter into the stream, and then the rest of the hunters entered. The stream followed a small, narrow, low-ceiling cavern.
        "Sh**. Hey, captain, something's happening with the critter. Water's eatin' away at it."
        "Hell. Rameriez, Robertson, get the legs."
        "Yes sir."
        "Yes sir."

        Robertson and Rameriez picked up the legs of the creature, removing it from the water.

        "Holy sh**. Look at that! If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd swear you'd dunked this f***er's legs in hydrochloric acid"
        "Hell, screw the LR's, we need to get us some super-soakers!"
        "No IR, They move quicker than a cat with a burning ass, and they dissolve in water. The boys at the bio-classification department are going to have a field-day with this thing."
        "Well, I guess that's why the only entrance to the city is this stream. If they dissolve in water, they can't get in."

        The squad emerged in the city. The hunter ran ahead yelling for the priests.
        "Why the hell is he yelling for priests?"
        "Wait, why the hell do we know he's yelling for priests?"
        "Captain?"
        "Look, this is an isolated planet, right? No contact has ever been had with this planet. Hell, until that fly-by 7 months ago, no ship had even been with in 6 parasecs of here. So how the f*** did they learn English? Doc, any ideas?"
        "No idea, Captain. Unless there had been unlisted contact with the planet. But, that's not very likely, near impossible. Even though there are theories that English is a language imprinted on our subconscious. And this is a very corrupt for of English. It seems to have stayed closer to Latin."
        "F***. They also had Latin. Next your going to be telling me the have their own f***ing Pope and Vatican. I don't like it. It makes talking a lot easier, but, I don't f***ing like it." Carver turned to see the 4 marines dump the body onto the dry ground. Some the humans who had gathered to watch the marines turned and ran. A woman screamed.
        "Just like I don't like those f***ing critters." He switched on his radio "Johnson?"
        "Yes captain?" Came the reply.
        "I want to you to start getting a eco-scan of the planet. I want a decent food web within 6 hours."
        "I'll get on it sir. May I ask why?"
        "We've found a new species, and if they aren't a major part of this planets eco-system, I want to make them extinct before we leave."
        "Now captain, its never a good idea to mix business and pleasure."
        "Johnson?"
        "Yes Captain?"
        "Shut the hell up and get busy." Carver switched of the radio as their guide came running back, followed by what he guessed were the priests. Finally some answers.

        "Doc?"
        "Yes captain?"
        "You know Latin?"
        "Required course, sir."
        "Alright, I want you to arrange for us to get a private room, as clean as possible, to gut our friend over there. I really want to see what makes him tick. If we see anymore, I wanna know exactly where to aim." 
        "I'll do my best sir."

        The creature lay on its right side on a table. McGuiness, the field medic, was laying out his surgical equipment. The spear was still sticking through the body, the priests only allowed it to remain in the city walls on the condition the spear wasn't removed. They seemed scared that the creature would suddenly leap to life if someone removed the spear. Carver stood in one corner, out of the way, but certain to get a good view of the dissection.

        "Alright. Let's take a look at this guy's dental hard ware." McGuiness opened the creature's mouth.
        "Holy sh**. Captain, can you see those fangs? Those are razor sharp boys...as are the rest...they're very deadly, but, are useless for chewing. Like a snake's teeth."
        "Great. Giant mutant humanoid snakes." Carver said.
        "I wouldn't go that far yet, Captain. Nothing else seems to suggest relation to snakes, or any other reptile for that matter." McGuiness picked up an 8-inch combat blade.

        "Let's open up our little present, shall we?" McGuiness said as he made 2 vertical incisions, one near the rib cage, and another at the other end of the abdomen. He then connected the 2 cuts, creating flaps. As he pulled down the lower flap, liquid gushed out.
        "Sh**. Man, look at this....well, what ever it is, it eats humans, I know that....there's a lot of blood, and pieces of internal organs there."
        "Exclusively humans?" Carver asked.
        "Well, I don't know. There seems to be no other animal parts here."
        "Well" Carver said, coughing as the smell of the creatures insides reached him, a smell like the most horrid smell in the universe was left to rot in the sun.  "If you find anything else good, I'll be outside" Carver ran outside, desperately trying not to throw up.

        McGuiness summoned carver inside an hour later.

        The creature had been completely eviscerated, with pieces of it in sample jars. The head had even been cut open, exposing the brain, sinus cavities, and an eye. It was now lying on its back, arms to its sides.
        "Captain, I made some startling discoveries since you've left."
        "Such as?"
        "Well, sir, those organs that fell out? Those weren't the organs of its meal. Those were the creatures organs."
        "What?"
        "This creature has an open circulatory system, like an insect. The only working organs it has are a more-or-less free-floating heart and lungs. Everything else is just there. No purpose."
        "But why? Why would this creature have organs it never uses?"

        "Well, I think I can answer that." McGuiness said as he reached for a bucket of water. He dumped the water over the remains, letting the flesh slowly melt away, like ice, leaving pure, white bone behind. When he was done, only the skeleton remained lying on the table. It looked very familiar. If fact, to Carver, it looked exactly like....
        "Holy sh**."
        "Holy sh** is right. These aren't creatures. These are the diseased humans."
        "But how?" Carver asked. The skeleton on the table was perfectly human. No deformities, not even so much as a badly-knitted fracture.
        "I don't know. I've tried to culture parts of its tissue, but, anything grown is normal human tissue. The genes are all human."
        "F***ing hell."
        "Well, captain, look on the bright side. It looks like you will get to make these things extinct before you leave."

        Jacob walked around Dumah's fortress. Well, really it was his now. Everything that was Dumah's was his now.  Dumah's slaves, Dumah's fortresses, and Dumah's legion. He had previously ordered the human slaves to begin the process of bringing out the legion's armor. The fortress echoed with the sounds of armor being drug from store rooms, of the sharpening of weapons, and armor being repaired. The hall he walked down was full of slaves scrubbing the rust from armor. 
        "Rust?" Jacob sighed to himself, "I must make a note to have the armor used more often."'

        Jacob knew he would need every advantage he could. Despite the fact that he was to be fielding nearly 4,000 superior vampires, the capture of the human citadel would be taxing. If there was only some way to increase his numbers. He knew that soliciting the Turelim was dangerous.  Not only would it put their defenseless lands at risk for attack while they were away by alerting the Turelim to their absence, but, if the Turelim agreed to assist, his position of power would be at risk. Most of the Turelim were stronger than he.

        "Master! Master!" A human slave came running up to him. Jacob looked up, trying to see who he would slaughter for this transgression. But, he saw Job running/limping towards him. Job was Jacob's favorite slave. Job had been sent to the fortress, as he was a cripple. Originally slated for feeding, Job's clumsiness and ability to follow orders blindly had gained him favor with Jacob. And as such, he was given special privileges. Like gaining his Master's attention without being killed on the spot.
        "Yes Job?" Jacob said with indifference. To be spoken to with indifference is a great honor.
        "Master, the Worshippers from the south have arrived, and are wondering...."
        "What did you say?"
        "A thousand pardons Master! I meant no disrespect!" Job said, cowering away.
        "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
        "I...I said the Worshippers from the south h-had arrived, and are wondering how much blood you require."

        Of course! The worshippers! They could be sent in as a first wave! Although somewhat small in number, they would certainly reduce the number of humans they would face.

        "Job, you are a genius!"
        "Thank you, Master Jacob, but I don't see..." Job started.
        "Just go get the High Priestess," Jacob said, "And bring her here. We have some sacrifice to discuss."
        "As you wish, Master." Job said, bowing as he walked away."

        Labras, the human High Priest, slumped in a chair in his inner quarters. 
        "They maybe your angels, Lord" He breathed. "And our deliverance, but could you at least have given them some of your divine knowledge, and exasperate your servant less?"
        There was a knock on the door.

        "What is it now?" Labras asked, more than a bit perturbed. Then added "Enter!"
        A younger priest entered.
        "Forgive me, Brother. But, I bring you news."

        News. Great news. News was something Labras never looked forward to. It was always news that caused his hair to fall out, his stomach to ache, and his bowels to hold their food longer than normal. News consisted of the Vampire's latest victims, the shortages of whatever, the poor quality of the well water, and the latest revolt. Why? Why did he have to get all the news?

        "What is it NOW?"
        "Well, I just thought you might like to see the angels off. They’re going out to eliminate the unholy vampires."
        "They're WHAT?"

        Labras was surprised. The angel he'd talk to was uncertain as to how much assistance they could offer. Mostly, he mentioned taking the people with them. Now, they were going to be killing the menace for them.

        "Apparently, that is the reason they were sent here. They just didn't know the vampires were what they were to kill."
        "God, why must you torment me so?" Labras lamented to himself.

        Doctor Kensington walked across the courtyard to where Captain Carver stood waiting for him. 
        "Doc, what did you learn?"
        "Well, Captain, it would appear this planet has been plagued by vampires for millennia."
        "Vampires? You're joking, right?"
        "I wish I was, Captain. These seem to be the real deal. Only, these seem to be some sort of off-type."
        "Off-type is right. These things are human."
        "Were human. And, according to the priest, its not a disease of the body, but one of the soul. There were genetic vampires once, but they're all gone. These new vampires are all that are left."
        "Disease of the soul?"
        "Yes, I believe that its really just effects the chemical messages the glands sends out, causing the body to grow the way it does."
        "Well, these maybe the only vampires left, but I have my orders."
        "Yes, and I believe we should follow those orders, and bring one back for study."
        "Are you MAD?! Have you seen how fast those things move? And how big they were? I can only IMAGINE how strong they are."
        "But, Captain, you saw how impaling immobilizes them."
        "Its still dead. We can't bring one back alive."
        "Not so. They seem to heal if the impaling object is removed before the body begins to decompose."

        "Oh. Great. Let's take one of these things to a research station, PROVIDING it doesn't get un-impaled and kill us all, then, let it be studied by they egg-heads, who will most likely forget to lock the cage, and let it convert everyone there. And when the science guys call for help, and it arrives, the Vampires will hijack the ship, and maybe find their way to some place like Gideon 3, and start making 14 billion new vampires. Uh-uh. Nothing doing."

        "Captain, you were ORDERED to bring back a specimen!"
        "PROVIDING it didn't put my men or any uncontaminated populace at risk. I'm calling these things a huge risk."
        "You will be reported for this."
        "Better to be reported than dead, or remembered as the guy who unleashed these things on the Colonies." Carver's ComUplink beeped. He flipped it on.
        "Carver here. What's happening?"
        "Carver, its Johnson."
        "Johnson, forget about the food web. The creatures are what we're here to kill."
        "Well, sir, about those creatures."
        "What about them?"
        "Could you turn on your imager?"
        "Sure" Carver flipped down his ComUplink's LCD screen. It showed a creature much like the ones he and his men had just killed. This one was in armor, and wielding a sword, but still the same.
        "Are these the creatures you fought, Captain?"
        "Yes there are. Fast SOB's."

        "Well, Captain, there are about 3 thousand of them advancing on your position, as we speak. SurveySat picked them up. The Sat also picked up armor and weapons on them, circa middle ages tech. They are also organized into 3 distinct blocks. They aren't complete beasts."
        "Thank you Johnson. Tell Green I want the Tundra airborne and ready for action. Come to our position."
        "I'll do that Sir. " There was a warning beep from the computer.
        "What's wrong, Johnson?"
        "Hmm, what do have here....oh shi-" Suddenly, there was nothing but static.
        "Johnson? JOHNSON?" Carver yelled into is ComUplink. There was no answer. The computerized voice came on.
        "Transmission Terminated. Connection lost. Terminal refuses to respond."
        "McGuiness!" Carver yelled.
        McGuiness came running.
        "Yes, sir?"
        "Tell the men to gather their gear. We're going to be facing about 3 thousand of those things, " Caver gestured to where the corpse had been dragged, "here very shortly."
        "Yes sir."
        "If any of you signed up wanting action, you're going to get it." Carver said, powering up his weapon.

        At dawn, Jacob went out to inspect the assembled legions. Although somewhat reduced in number by the ravages of the Scourge, they were still an impressive fighting force. His Dumahim were dressed in full armor. Although vampires healed instantly, that layer of metal could be the difference between a glancing and an impaling blow. His Dumahim. His. Jacob liked the sound of that. 

         The Zephonim appeared almost radiant, their carapaces polished to a glossy sheen. They looked almost beautiful, if such a thing was possible for such twisted, mutilated creatures. 

         The Rahabim had only their tribe leaders present. The rest were still at the Abbey. The sun was up, and some of the fledglings were still affected by its light, even with the protection of the clouds. 

         The Melchahim were also out in full splendor. Every last one had a newly acquired skin, carefully cut in the back, where the incision didn't show. The skins were also fitted to their wearer. All but the closest inspections would leave the viewer to believe they skins they wore were their own.

        Jacob paused for a moment, savoring his power. At a single word, the bloodiest conflict in several Millennia would begin. Jacob stood, facing the assembled vampires, savoring the power. He at last drew his sword and pointed northward. 
        "Kill!" He shouted, a yell that was picked up by the vampire legions as they headed for the human city. The Rahabim went to rally their own troops. They wouldn't be along till well into the night. 

        "Pity," Jacob thought as he lead the army northward. "They're going to miss most of the fun."

        Thomas watched the returning patrols. The pages had already arrived back, reporting the same: No Raziel. Thomas was glad these angels had come when they did.  They had protection again. Protection he liked a little better than Raziel. Yes, Raziel hunted the vampires, but, they were his kin. It might only have been a matter of time before Raziel would have hunted them. Oh well, it was a moot point anyway, Raziel was gone. Thomas turned his attention back to the angels.

        Their leader had been talking to someone invisible again, perhaps another angel, or even God himself. Then, he had gotten very agitated, and the rest of the angel's began scrambling about, gathering their weapons. They seemed almost worried. Labras had come out to talk to angels. Labras, who was always upset, seemed almost happy as he strolled to the leader. They said a few words, and Labras practically collapsed. He said something to a lower priest, who immediately ran to a warning bell, and rang it. Thomas grabbed his spear. The vampires were coming.

        Carver lead the marines away from the city. It took less convincing than he thought to assure their leader that even though the vampires were miles away, he knew they were coming. It was time to brief the troop, he decided. Carver motioned for his squad to turn on their Com-Uplinks. 

        "Alright, Angels. Here's the situation. If you haven't already heard, SurveySat picked up about 1000 of those things we got attacked by, moving on that city. Those are diseased humans. There are 2000 others moving with them that give off similar readings, but look different. We are assuming them to be hostile, and also diseased. Shortly after I received this report, we lost all communication with the Tundra. We can assume the diseased humans took it out. After we have eradicated the disease, we will see how much damage has been done to the Tundra. We'll take it from there. 

        We are currently heading to a position about 1.2 clicks away from here, the opening to a network of caves. Then plan is to lure the vampires into the caves, and proceed to cut them down with a serious of ambushes. If the enemy is too great, there is an underground river that we can retreat into. As you make have noticed, these diseased humans cannot touch water. If we cannot destroy the infected human's from our position in the river, we will retreat back to the city, and request priority e-vac for us and the uninfected humans."

        The marines responded with a chorus of  "Yes, sir".
        The marines marched to their position, near a hill over looking the path the infected humans were taking.
        "Martinez!" Carver called.
        Martinez ran up. "Sir?"
        "I want you and one other man to take the heavy gun up on that hill and wait for the infected populace. When they come by, I want to you to open up on them, using the heavy gun and grenades. Let them know where we are, and get them pissed enough to follow. Then, run let like hell for the cave, we'll follow."
        "Yes, Sir."

        Martinez motioned for Robertson to come with him as he picked up the heavy gun and extra grenades. 
Carver wished he had the Tundra for support. 10 against 3,000 weren't very good odds. He heard the sounds of laser fire the hill. The enemy approached.  Time to kill.