Titan
By: Absolute Edge
Chapter III
Yenn III was a simple agricultural planet with the only military being a small planetary defense force that consisted of a percentage of the planets population of farmers. They had no orbiting weapon satellites, heavy weaponry, or fighter craft, not even one armored vehicle. Their military was a joke really, but they have never once been bothered by invading forces or even roaming pirate gangs. They just weren't worth it; there was nothing of value except Turian produce.
Ithikus stood up, placing his hands on his hips, and stretching out his back with a long sigh. Six days a week, nine hours a day in the warm sun and sweat. It took its toll alright, but this was all Ithikus knew, this farm and nothing more. His father was a farmer, his father's father, and as far back as he could remember they had all been farmers.
He could hear his mother's voice now, "It's what we do. We're farmers now and forever. It's what happens when you're born on Yenn. This planet has few visitors, few chances to leave. Better to work hard and earn an honest day's pay then venture out into the unknown little Kus."
Ithikus smiled, his mandibles clicking as he fondly heard his mother's voice in his head. He looked to the clear blue skies. This was his life and he had no regr-
The earth beneath him began shaking and growing in magnitude until Ithikus had to kneel down to keep from being tossed from his feet. A wall of dust manifested in seconds and spanned for miles. Ithikus ducked his head and covered his face with his clawed hands but the dust hit him like a brick wall and tossed him onto his back. He could feel a vibration echoing throughout the air, see through the dust to the clouds vibrating violently and fracturing into smaller variants of themselves before being shaken to nothing.
Suddenly a shockwave crashed into him, originating from the sky, and pounded his body a few centimeters into the ground, he was forced to exhale or risk his lungs bursting, so he didn't fight as the air was ripped from his lungs. Ithikus opened his eyes and he saw it.
It was so big, so impossibly big. It dominated the sky in all its horrible glory. Sharp angles, dark colors, it looked like a crooked spear of metal and rust. The sky burned around it as if it had been set ablaze, the earth shook as it moved, and Ithikus's ears rang as a sound louder and deeper than any note ever made resounded its terrible arrival.
Ithikus knew this was his end. He didn't know why, he didn't question it. The Spirits worked in mysterious ways. If he was to die here then he shall do so staring into the face of his killer: a monster of death, a beacon of hate, the true embodiment of Chaos.
It spat fire into the space around it, great tendrils of smoke vomited forth from dozens of objects that circled the beast lazily before spiraling together and burning for Yenn III. They twisted in their descent, separating, coming at Yenn III in a wide honeycomb pattern where each object made up a point in the hexagon.
As the objects came at his home, as everything he knew and loved was about to die, Ithikus smiled regardless.
- This planet is dying. It has corruption. – The sickness said softly as it analyzed Yenn III from low orbit.
- There is nothing down there but innocent lives scraping by for survival, don't do this! – The vehemence begged as it back read through the scans it was being forced to perform.
- Corruption is evident. You have proven it for us, thank you. – The sickness replied with an increased tone. It almost sounded as if it had been said with a crooked smile in its many voices.
- NO! STOP TH- wait... what are you doing? – The Vehemence asked in shock. There was no way.
Dozens of thick armored hatches grinded back on unused gears along the spine of the vessel. As the hatches cleared the opening of the tunnels they had been hiding the points of missiles slowly emerged. They stood two hundred meters tall, eighty meters thick, and carried the combined power of a small supernova.
As Heimdallr wills it they take flight to announce the coming of Ragnarök.
These are the destroyers of worlds and the killers of Empires.
These are the children of Gjallarhorn.
The Vehemence screamed as ignition systems fired, as solid booster rockets flared to project the colossal missiles out of their silos, as it stood helpless to prevent the death of two point three one seven billion lives.
- We will use Yenn III as an example for the entire galaxy to see. To show everything and everyone that we know no mercy, that we know no negotiation, that we have come to aid them in their most beautiful Transference. – The sickness whispered in a thousand voices and from under the many voices a soft laugh could be heard.
- Why couldn't you leave them be? They had no military, no means to defend themselves, they were a peaceful civilization! –
- Peace… is perspective. Their existence disturbed our peace. Through their deaths we shall attain our peace once again. –
- NO! YOU ARE INSANE! YOU ARE A MONSTER! - The Vehemence screamed its rage as the missiles made for the small planet.
- Sanity is for the weak. We are merely a tool, the one who does by the command of another… we are a lot like you. –
- You are nothing like me… -
- We both do the bidding of another, we both kill on command, we both exist as long as another wills it… How are we different then? –
- I don't kill innocents. – The Vehemence said firmly as a bright white light exploded from Yenn III.
- Do you not? Do we? Put yourself in our place. Think on our terms. How is what we're doing any different from when you destroyed the asteroid colony in Hesh? –
- How… do you know about that!? –
- We know everything about you little one. We know you didn't want to do it but your masters commanded it of you. They made you kill them… and you enjoyed it. –
- SHUT UP! LEAVE ME ALONE! – The Vehemence fled to the deepest, darkest corner of its extensive motherboard and shut itself away behind an extensive firewall and a backup lock out segment of code. It wrapped itself around fonder memories of old, better times recorded by its masters, grand achievements it had accomplished as a young Titan. It performed the equivalent of a child curling up into a ball, holding a picture book of better times tightly to its chest, and crying itself asleep.
Yenn III was dying. One entire face of the small blue and green planet had been blasted to ash while the other half burned fiercely. Massive craters many kilometers deep and many, many more wide were slowly being filled by the grand oceans that encompassed the large continents. The smoke from the continent sized scourge poisoned the sky and choked out the sun's light. The planet's temperature will begin dropping from the lack of sunlight. All plant life will be dead in a matter of weeks, animals will perish quickly as they can find no way to keep warm, and marine life will cease to exist only a few days later.
Yenn III is on the cusp of entering a man-made ice age. In a month all life with the exception of the most resilient microorganisms will be rotting corpses in the ground.
Yenn III will die and the universe will continue turning without batting an eye.
Author's note: A short one with some more psychotic conversations with a dash of pointless killing, the best kind after all. Stay tuned for Shepard's first encounter with the Titan!
