"Quiet down," a concealed man whispered to another, despite no audible noise coming from him. Paranoidally looking about, he closed an oddly shaped door, blending the secret passage back into the wall it was carved from. "You'll plague us with the Royal Guard for certain with your reckless blundering!"
"Calm down, Higg, no one knows we are here," he assured while removing his dark hood. "It's the middle of the night. I took the longest and least direct way here. I've walk miles from my home, and, along the whole way, I was certain that no one followed me, not even those relentless scum."
"I pray you are correct, Goab," whispered the first man, removing his concealment as well. Striking a torch, his bald head and beak-like nose glistened in the faint fire as they both made their way through a tight corridor. At the end of their long travel, Higg emerged first into a small, cluttered chamber hidden inside the building's walls. Goab, his short companion, shortly followed. Here, they had assembled a laboratory for designing new weaponry against the Royals. As part of the Resistance, and as one of the few remaining functional branches of it, it was their task to find a way to penetrate the enchanted armor worn by the Guards. Hundreds of other scientists and alchemists alike had the same task, but, for all they knew, they have been long since dead. The only certain fact was that none were successful since the Royals were still alive. They went quick to work, studying fragments that had been struck off of the full armor, scavenged from battlefields. Higg, a high ranking member of the rebellion, not by seniority but by all superiors officers being "relieved" of duty, was certain that the key to this weapon was within their grasp. Concentrating profoundly on the years of data gathered in front of him, his mind found it difficult to focus.
"Goab, please," he quietly hissed, too fearful to raise his voice even in rage, "must you tap so incessantly while contemplating?" Tearing his eyes from the scattered pages, they met with his companions, blank with confusion. He was currently working with test tubes and compounds. His hands were not free for such mindless action, yet the sound still came, and it grew louder.
"Oh dear, sir," Goab whelped as a hole was torn through one of the closed in walls. As the dust cleared, a shining plate held tight within strained fingers was all they needed to see before fleeing for their lives.
"By order of the Supreme Ruler, by decree of her Majesty, I, Gormel Vladik, find you guilty of conspiracy to overthrow the Sacred Empire. You are hereby sentenced to execution." Withdrawing the badge through the opening, two loud gunshots cleared the way enough for a man to enter. Toting a massive rifle, a gleaming blade travelled up the single barrel. Limber and built, the man wore the armor of a Guard, the shining blue plates that struck fear into all men. What he lacked was the helmets worn by the common infantry. In place of this, a simple band around his forehead held down his long hair. Switching the position of the cigar in his mouth, he finished the rest of his required statement.
"Comply, and your death will be swift. Resist, and I am permitted to make you suffer." A bottle of some chemical shattered against his head. Gormel never flinched. He bled, but he did not quiver. His only reaction was a slowly forming smile. "I love it when they don't comply." Slinging his firearm around on a single arm, he rained bullets at Higg. Knocking him against the wall before smashing him against it, his robes were tattered in the spray, revealing a suit of white armor, the insignia of the Rebellion. "Ah, that's a good sight. I know I got the right people this time." Crossing his arms, the scientist's suit began to spark and spew fumes as a glittering bubble surrounded his body. The following round of ammo stopped dead in the field. A slight frown came to Gormel, but it would not spoil his fun. Slamming a heel upon the rebels' work bench, the massive structure was stood vertically. Spinning around his body, the Guard's other foot smashed into the table's top, hurtling it at Higg. Pinned and trapped by the furniture, the Royal Guard threw the whole of his body into it, producing a squishing and a cracking noise. As smoke and blood poured out from the compressed boards, Gormel moved on to his remaining target, but Goab had already sought out the assassin himself. A quiet metallic clatter was the only heed the Enforcer needed. Smugly scoffing, he took one last, deep puff from his cigar before discarding the burnt down nub. With a quick flick of his heel, a small object, a grenade, was sent back to its source. Turning around, the gust of the ensuing explosion could be felt along his back.
"Mission accomplished," he declared, already fishing out another cigar. "I told the team I could take care of this little problem on my own. I wonder how they're doing with the insurgence?" Docking his heavy gun against his plated shoulder, he enjoyed the tranquil walk back to base, confident that they were having no trouble at all.
"Damn it all! We're in trouble," a Guard's dying breath groaned to his superior officer...
