Chapter 4: Escape attempt


Date: 7th April, 3573 A.D.

Location: En route to Mars.

Mars, the fourth planet of the Solar system. Named after the Roman god of war. The red planet sat there in the middle of the endless night, glaring balefully as if to pierce through the mysteries of cosmos with its unrelenting gaze.

Slow and his group closed in on the planet at full speed, yet the aspect's mind was occupied by the grandiose view. But the perfect positioning of the now-visible Phobos made it look as if the planet now stared at him specifically. The realization sent shivers through the core of his being.

"Damn.. need to lay off those horror stories." he muttered quietly to himself, getting close to sweating bullets just because of this one coincidence.

"You said something, sir?" Ridge inquired.

"No.." Slow responded, "It's nothing."

The tiny natural satellite, or at least compared to Luna, almost seemed to grow as they rapidly closed in. With a tug of his limbs, the booster frame changed course and swerved away from Phobos before resuming, and made a straight beeline for the location on the planet where the alien base's located from there.

However, in a passing weather analysis, he found it to be covered by a massive sandstorm rolling across the landscape. And that was even before he detected what could be artificial satellites put in place by the aliens, not to mention what looked like ships moving around in rough formation.

It only took a few moments to decide how to go about this. "Follow protocol, boys. Maximize your speed and cover our approach with a mass projection." Slow told the others as he immediately followed his own order. The booster frame vibrating mildly as afterburners were brought online to achieve maximum thrust. A motion followed by the broadcast of data to make sensors within range see the approaching dôji as naught but harmless meteors.

"Head for the sandstorm at these coordinates. We're not taking any chances." he called out in due turn. Despite prior measures being good enough for insertions like this, it's better to play it safe.

Once again a trio of confirmations responded as they all initiated reentry. The dôji cut power to the thrusters and turned around. The booster frames quickly transforming into what resembled inverted pyramids, creating heat shields to protect against the resulting friction as they descended through Mars' atmosphere.

Slow kind of liked this part, the booster frame felt like a warm bed now. Not uncomfortably so, even for a human. He closed his eyes and relaxed, waiting through the following minutes, letting automatic routines within the booster frame take appropriate measures should any errors occur. He fell thousands of feet before initiating his own boosters for the final approach. His booster frame folding into its inactive backpack form, which was both small and seemingly innocuous.

He and the rest finally plunged into the sandstorm below, and fought the extremely violent wind currents until they arrived at the surface. Momentarily adjusting parameters to adhere to the ground before throwing a glance downwind, where his subordinates knelt down against the ground. "You guys okay?"

Sweeper twitched, "N-no sir." he slowly stood, while a gauntlet raised to shield his eyes from the storm, "I'm fine."

"So am I." Dirge confirmed. Having some difficulties at first keeping himself from getting blown away.

"Ridge?" Slow asked next.

"I can deal.. Really hate all of this sand though." he muttered, he and the rest ending up staring at a big rock as it almost flew past them. "... And I'd love to get away from here."

"We... will." the aspect replied reassuringly as he turned and pointed into the distance, "The base is this way. Keep your feet on the ground and get moving. We'll clear this storm in one go!"


Location: Northern dome, hospital.

It sure took a while, but now it's done.

Pardonner passed through the corridor, carrying along a tray covered with cups of food, some of it which were created through studying and replicating some of the rather unique compositions of the food packages brought by four of the aliens.

It was a miracle by itself to get Paresse's boys to do this. The slothful git being the only one of the sins who prefer to work somewhere he doesn't need to move around at all; chief of food production. The closest thing in dôjidom to traditional farming. And more than a few of his subordinates have decided to pick up Paresse's habits for themselves. Particularly the one that involve leaning against a fence while absently chewing a piece of straw – all day long.

He sighed while pushing the door between him and the aliens open, ready to greet them.. only to find all the beds empty. It took a massive amount of effort to keep himself from dropping the tray as he simply stood there. Until someone arrived behind him.

"S-sir! I'm t-terribly sorry, but the aliens ran away." Daos nervously called out to him, bowing far down to the point of prostrating himself before the aspect.

Pardonner turned slowly to regard his assistant.. "Why's there a bucket on your head?" he asked slowly.

"Ah... this?" Daos laughed, his voice trembling.. "T-they kinda ambushed me.. and then ran for it while I was blinded. They seemed to have memorized the guard patrols in the vicinity, so they did not notice a thing either..."

The aspect was not pleased. His scowl said as much, "Raise your head..."

Daos did exactly that, only to be slapped hard across the face and sent flying into the opposing wall.. and sagged back to the floor after the impact, his ears probably ringing, "P-please forgive my negligence..." he pleaded after recovering from the blow.

"Just... don't be so careless next time." Pardonner said as he lowered his hand back to the tray, "Did you send the guards to find them?"

Daos bowed immediately, "Yes, I did! I also took the liberty of sending a humble request for assistance from an aspect who just arrived."

"Oh?" the aspect hummed as he tilted his head, "Sophia has returned at last?"

"No, good sir." the minor dôji replied, "It was Désir."

"You asked one of the sins to help with a matter this delicate?!" Pardonner nearly shouted spontaneously. "And of all the sins, you asked Désir?" His worries about the aliens' safety just increased by an order of magnitude.

Daos sank back against the wall, cowering before the now-furious Pardonner who almost nailed him to the aforementioned wall with a glare.

But just as quickly as his anger flared up, it subsided once again. "I need to get out there. I'll decide your punishment later, so be ready!"

"Y-y-yes!" Daos cried out as he watched Pardonner leave in a hurry, not once lowering the tray he still kept in his hands.


Ten minutes earlier...

"Should we be doing this to our hosts?" Liara asked as she and the others continued their run. Having managed to ambush one of those synthetics, and then followed Saren on the way out as he used some solid timing regarding the guard patrols. They used a side-entrance to escape, and fled through the following alleys that appeared largely empty.

No matter how she saw this, it was a pretty half-assed escape. They managed to find their armor, and some weapons. But it was all damaged. Both from the encounter earlier, and perhaps also from back when the locals tried to undress them. Wandering into the wastelands would be suicide now.

Yet, despite them being synthetics, she was curious about them.

"Please, don't even think about it, Liara!" Tali responded, as she slowed down to a limp while groaning dimly in hunger. "They healed us just so they can interrogate or experiment on us without us dying right away. Of that much, I'm sure."

"What if they did it out of the kindness of their hearts?" Liara tried, slowing down to match Tali's current pace while the turians up ahead made sure to check the area as they passed through. She had heard that the quarian used to have a high opinion of the locals until Saren told her about their saviors being synthetics, and then made a complete turnaround out of a mix of fear and prejudice. Most likely tainted by thoughts about the geth.

The quarian coughed a laugh, "How can you believe that? They're machines."

Liara briefly caught a glimpse of the other girl's eyes, wide-open in disbelief. The asari nearly bit her tongue as she prevented herself from trying to argue with her. Deciding that now's definitely not the time.

They continued their run for several more minutes until they were halted. "Get into cover." Nihlus growled at them, and pulled them with him behind a container. The other turians had likewise gone into cover..

Behind them, a trio of locals happened to walk by and looked the area over with alert eyes. The large gauntlets upon their arms configured into odd-looking weapons. Obviously looking for them. The armed synthetics stood there for a little longer before they moved on, and vanished from sight.

"Coast's clear." Saren hoarsely called out, "Press on. We'll plan our next move once we're somewhere relatively safe."

"And where is this 'relatively safe' place?" Tali asked, peering into the distance ahead.

Saren said nothing in reply. Instead, he turned and moved on.

"Get up.. let's go." Liara whispered to Tali, who barely managed to get up on her feet. She understood well the reason. Tali and the turians are all starving, though the latter ones handled it better. Oddly enough, she was the only one who wasn't hungry. Making her quietly wonder if the locals fed her while she slept. The possibility intrigued her.

But she said nothing about it though as they all continued their run through the streets for the next hour until they emerged into what looked like a construction area, which appeared to be largely empty.

"This looks good enough..." Saren muttered as he looked the place over, "We'll rest here for a bit."

"Finally." Garrus whispered as he shouldered his rifle and sat down. Tali was much more unceremonious about it as she fell to her knees, and almost doubled over if not for Liara's kind support.

"Sorry about being such a burden, Liara." Tali chuckled dryly as she forced herself into a more dignified sitting position, "I'm so used to at least having one meal a day.."

"No need to apologize." the asari responded with a smile, "Just save your strength."

The quarian nodded meekly, "Thanks, I will."

"So..." Nihlus turned to the rest, "What do we do from here?"

"The possibility is out there, that they found and brought our shuttle here too. If that is the truth of it, we need to find it, and a way out of here." Saren replied as he turned his gaze to the sky, though a mountain was in the way. "It's obvious that this place's underground, so the problem is finding out where the exit is.."

Garrus groaned, "Good plan. The question is, where can we find the shuttle?"

"And we need to find food too, or we won't be able to do much at all." Liara also pointed out.

"We all knew there would be risks." Saren told them with a snarl. "And we discovered a possible threat to the galaxy. So, no matter what. Our top priority involves getting a word out so this threat can be nipped in the bud."

"I agree." Garrus nodded, "Though it doesn't really answer any of our questions." and threw his arms up in the air, though the gesture was more for laughs.

"A map would help if any of the sort exist." Tali almost rasped.

"It'd require a lot of guesswork." Liara shook her head. "It's a literal search for the eponymous needle in a haystack."

"We ain't got much of a choice now, do we?" Nihlus asked with a wry grin. "We just gotta— huh?"

Just as he said it, a figure suddenly crashed into the ground right in the middle of the group. All that Liara could see, was a slender figure with a lot of pink, and a large spherical object on its back. We've been found! She quickly concluded as a rather flamboyant – and strangely exotic-looking – synthetic emerged from the dust cloud that was thrown up by the sudden landing, as if having fallen down from high above them. "Now, Look what we have here~" it spoke playfully in the language these synthetics used. And after a quick glance thrown at everyone around it, reached out to grab Saren, who responded by deflecting the offending gauntlet by shooting it in the palm with his pistol.

Nihlus quickly threw himself into the fray and deflected the other gauntlet with a well-aimed shotgun-blast. Sending the machine stumbling back a step, from which it quickly recovered, and with a flick of its hips, bumped the oversized tail into the turian and sent him flying. Nihlus able to let out a loud cough prior to landing in a heap, fifteen feet away. "Get in line, I'll play with you in a moment.." it said with a soft chuckle.

"Damn it.. do not engage in close combat!" Saren shouted the recommendation as he retreated out of the machine's arm-reach. Garrus bought him time to do just that as he shouldered his sniper rifle and shot a bullet at the back of the being's head. It was nudged forward by the blow, yet the bullet looked as though it bounced right off its mane.

It stopped to rub the back of its head nonchalantly before throwing a rather annoyed glance back at Garrus, who was quick to take a cautious step away. "Uh... yeah. This is going to be a problem."

"You call that a gun?" it spoke, the right arm quickly reconfigured into what looked like a skull, with a barrel between its jaws. The robot went and aim it at the ground a little bit away from Garrus' feet, "This, is a gun!"

Garrus did not even have time to jump before the strange weapon discharged and turned the spot into a crater, with a blast wave strong enough to bodily shove the turian a distance.

He landed clumsily on the ground while the robot turned its attention back to Saren, who shot it repeatedly even as it approached, and lunged the final distance, delivering a punch to the spectre's abdomen. Saren, utterly stunned, slumped against the fist, and spat some blood at the ground. This dazed state only lasted for so long though before he recovered and tried to struggle. "M-monster..." he managed a groan while staring into the robot's burning red eyes, who was delightfully fascinated by the drops of blood before turning its attention back to him with a voracious grin.

It did not manage to do any further damage to Saren though before the robot was catapulted into the air by Liara's biotics. The synthetic flailed in bewilderment at a form of attack apparently unlike anything it had seen before, until the effect of the strange field began to dissipate.

By then, Nihlus had managed to recover and ran to haul Garrus back on his feet, his eyes instantly meeting those of the asari and quarian.. "Use another one, and then scatter! We need to get away from this thing!"

Liara focused for a moment with such intensity that sweat trailed down her skin as she next pictured a singularity in her mind, and deployed it just a couple of meters from the synthetic's position. She did not wait to see the effect, instead turning to run after pulling Tali up.

The asari ran as if on autopilot for what felt like a long time as she sought to get away from the thing that had so suddenly appeared in their midst, running around various corners of the alleys between the buildings until finally feeling safe enough to slow down. She tried to listen for any sign of a threat, but nothing.. "There.. I think we lost them, Tali... Tali?" she turned to look at where the quarian's supposed to be, only to see that her comrade's nowhere to be found. And it finally dawned upon her that she had left the quarian behind without realizing it.

The sudden loneliness made it feel as though the walls tried to close in and crush her body into powder.

"W-what have I done?"


"L-Liara, where are you?" Tali asked as she leaned against the wall, staring fearfully into the distance. Having lost track of the asari completely during their escape. All it took was to stumble once, and she ended up all alone. Alone in a place filled with synthetics that are apparently bullet-proof.

She knocked her head against the wall, hoping that this was only a dream. And that she would awaken back in the prothean archive on the fourth planet, surrounded by the idiots who hounded her so often, just for being a quarian. But at least she could deal with them. Her horror was great when she saw the bullet from Garrus' sniper rifle bounce off of the back of the synthetic's head at near-point blank range.

Tali picked up her pistol from her holster and stared at it. A weapon that now looked little better than a pea-shooter. Only a sense of duty kept her from putting a single bullet to a very specific use, and holstered the weapon, if only with great reluctance.

She took a step forward, and almost instantly keeled over as a certain organ inside her cried out like a caged beast. "Oh, come on..." Tali muttered while clutching her abdomen, "Get moving, I can't stop here. Keelah..."

What really made the pain recede wasn't the thoughts of what could happen if these synthetics got off this planet, but a lovely scent that tickled against her nose. Such a good aroma that the quarian managed to get up, if just to find out where it come from – making it awfully clear which organ's calling the shots now.

Quietly, Tali followed the scent and soon arrived at a door that willingly and quickly slid aside so she walk through. Inside the scent was even stronger, so tantalizing that she ignored the door as it shut itself behind her.

She sniffed deeply at the enticing fragrance. Something this sweet could only possible come from food. But the quarian wondered, why would the synthetics care about making food? Maybe they keep organic slave labor?

Curiosity becoming one of the driving forces in this little quest. Soon arriving at the door leading to a much larger one, and only barely managed to keep herself from entering it the moment she realized that there are people inside. All of them synthetics.

But the shocking fact was that they are eating food fit for organics. All color drained from her face as she backed away, utterly horrified by what she beheld. And accidentally bumped into a waiter who had just come out of the kitchen.

She whirled around, plucked out her pistol, and planted several bullets into its chest.

The synthetic – one small of stature – stumbled backwards, dropping the tray it held and spilling the food and drinks across the floor as it was attacked by the panicked alien. Though it sustained minimal damage, it turned and fled quickly into the kitchen.

"What the hell just happened?" someone asked, startled by the sudden noise.

"I don't know, but I got shot at!" the waiter shouted back in turn.

A spent thermal clip clattered to the floor, followed by a snap as Tali fed a new one into her weapon while running back the way she came, only to find another of them standing at the exit. She ignored the bewildered look in its face and forced her way through another door, only to end up at a dead-end. Turning around only revealed that a crowd of them now stood just beyond the door, all staring at her with a mix of curiosity and surprise.

Reaching out, she accidentally bashed her elbow into a panel and both closed and sealed the door in their collective face. Though it did not remove the fact that she's completely trapped now. Just because her belly overthrew the brain for an instant. The quarian sank against the wall, and as futile as it seemed, aimed her gun at the door. Daring it to open.

In this darkness she waited. How much time passed, she quickly lost track off. All she could do was stare at the door, her mind strangely empty of thoughts. With no idea of how to get out of this, until a voice came from the other side of the exit: "So, she's here?"

"Yes. The alien's armed too. And frightened I reckon."

"I see." the other one spoke. Tali tensed as she listened, "Go and resume your work. I'll take care of this from here.."

The silence returned before a set of claws suddenly stabbed clean through the door and moved to force it open.

Exhaling a shrill gasp, she pulled the trigger and fired all but one of the available bullets on this clip, only to see every one ricochet off the claws and embed themselves into the surrounding walls, floor and ceiling. Tali swallowed nervously. Afraid of being boiled alive or something like that, having seen what they eat. She pulled back the gun and aimed it at the side of her head, ready to pull the trigger just as the door was fully pushed aside to reveal the synthetic she saw that one time while sick. But before the trigger could be pulled, it shoved the rest of the gauntlet through the door and struck a claw straight through the weapon, shattering it before a bullet could be discharged.

Tali sat there, realizing now that she's utterly defenseless, and bereft the only quick way to end this without anymore suffering. Now only able to glare defiantly at the other as it approached, blocking the now-open door. Expecting an attack, but was instead handed a bowl in a nonchalant manner.

"Go ahead, eat." it told her. The words translated perfectly, "It's edible.."

Tali lowered her gaze to the bowl, which contained something that resemble the typical rations she typically subsisted on during most of the pilgrimage up till now. "W-why should I believe you? It's probably poisoned."

"You don't know that." it replied calmly.. "All you can do is trust."

"And why should I trust you? You turned on and destroyed your creators."

It blinked at that, as though offended by the notion. "We did not destroy the humans. The kurozu did. Now, eat. I don't know how long members of your species can survive without food, but I'd rather not wait to find out."

"The kuro-?" Tali blinked as the bowl was brought closer, close enough to see the spoon in it.

"My name's Pardonner." it said with a small smile.. "Come on. We don't have all day. Can't predict what Désir will do to your comrades if I don't catch up to him soon. He gets bored very easily."

She did not know why she did it, but went and accepted the bowl with utter awkwardness. And proceeded to dig in with no further ado. The quarian swallowed a mouthful and waited for the allergic reaction, or poison that she expected would kill her in a moment. But instead felt a sweet sensation rise through her body. The sense of relief so overwhelming that she could not hide it at all.

In response, it nodded in approval.


Liara wandered in silence. Not afraid to admit that she had gotten completely lost.

Occasionally, one of the synthetics would appear. When that happened, she simply hid herself away and waited for it to leave before continuing. Eventually coming to the end the end of this alley, and found a great plaza beyond it.

She expected a synthetic civilization to be heavily industrialized, but these live in a society not much unlike that of organics. The plaza being filled with people. People, she allowed herself to call them. Some of them working. Guards, street-cleaners, store-owners, etc. Plus many people who simply relaxed and chatted lively with one another.

The architecture of this underground metropolis appeared to be strangely ornamented, the inhabitants obviously seem to possess an artistic sense. The buildings looked the way one would expect of an advanced city, but without too many sharp edges. The design only utilitarian in a partial sense. But one stood out among them, one which resembled a shrine... or temple.

The concept of religious synthetics fascinated her deeply. Several of those walking up and down the steps that lead to the entrance looked like monks, and often stopped to speak with visitors.

Despite the situation, she wanted nothing more than to walk in and see what's inside. And was so caught-up looking the shrine over that she failed to notice anything else until something or someone suddenly tugged against her armor, almost making the asari jump in surprise.

"W-what?" Liara turned and looked down, and was profoundly surprised to find a miniature version of the other synthetics standing close to her. Barely reaching up to her knees. Its sea-blue eyes filled with naught but child-like curiosity. It stared at her until the lips spread into a wide open-mouthed smile, from which came an excited squeal. Like from a kid who just made a great discovery while investigating new surroundings.

Liara was completely astonished by the sight. It's a child. A child! She crouched down slowly and – without a second thought – reached out to pick it up. At which it raised its arms in a cooperative manner and let her with no fear to show for it. The synthetic squirmed and wiggled playfully as she wrapped her palms around it, which grip she shifted slowly so as to cradle it in her arms instead. It reacted by gradually curling up into a ball. It did not even take ten seconds before it got itself comfortable, and promptly fell asleep, snoring quietly.

A synthetic, yes. But it was so adorable that Liara's heart melted completely at the sight, as she held the sleeping child close. And likewise, it melted away her preconceptions about the locals being enemies of any kind. If they maintain a society so much like that of organics to the point of raising children of their own. Then... they couldn't possibly be as bad as Saren and the others may think.

Once again she gazed at the plaza, and was amazed to see more like this one. Truthfully, at first glance, most of them looked like teens. But with a closer look, she could see the actual children among them as they either slept in the arms of those that had to be their parents, or went around playing with one another.

It seemed so... idyllic.

Before she could stop herself, she left the alley and moved along the shadows in the outskirts of the plaza, her intended direction being the temple itself. Feeling so oddly safe with this one's friendliness. She also stopped regarding them as robots, more like fellow organics.

The asari pulled the attention of more than a few as she climbed the steps. The monks were amiable enough, while the guards eyed her warily. The attention only spurred her into moving on to the grandiose entrance that towered over her like a monument, and into the temple itself, which interior stretched before her seemingly endlessly. A space filled with dancing lights and entwined colors. A soothing silence greeting her in turn.

It was fascinating to say the least. The pillars looked as if they're made out of marble, while the rest were made of more humble materials. Liara stepped in until emerging into what looked like the inside of a dome. Beautiful murals covering the curving ceiling. In the middle of the circular room, she could see a coffin, covered in glyphs and scriptures, yet otherwise made from nothing but plain wood.

Here, barely anyone paid much attention to her presence. Quite a few could be seen kneeling down at the wooden fence that surrounded the coffin, clasping their gauntlets together as if praying. Children standing nearby, mostly looking at the surroundings in awe or boredom, while clutching their parents' robes.

But Liara's eyes were focused fully on the murals. In most religious places she's been at, such images usually illustrate divine figures. But these did not. Instead they showed what looked like illustrations of different eras. Maybe even historic events. Maybe a quick summary of these synthetics' early history.

It was just an educated guess, she couldn't be sure without investigating more closely.

"Oh?" someone nearby spoke up, managing this without the word echoing through all of this empty space.

Liara turned to see one of those with a smaller stature, but far from being young. He also held a tall ringed staff that is three times taller than its wielder. The being examined her briefly from a distance before opening its mouth to speak again, "You're one of the aliens I've heard of, aren't you?"

She did not understand what he said, but the tone was pleasant and... strangely welcoming.

"... No need to worry." he moved on to lower the staff, and dangled its ring-covered head over the child that continued to sleep in the asari's arms, but who woke up at the proximity of the crystal-clear metallic clangs. And in a new burst of curiosity reached out to grab one of the rings, and was quickly fished out of her arms before being lowered to the ground. "Now then, what's your name, little one?"

The child did not let go at first, but once he did, he lowered the arm and rubbed its left eye tiredly. Only answering with some effort, "... Sirius."

"Mm, if memory serves, you're Lancaster's child. Correct?"

"Y-yes." Sirus spoke shyly, squirming where he stood.

"Okay.. now don't go wandering off."

The child nodded and shook his head all in one motion. Not sure how to respond.

The older synthetic raised the staff and waved calmly. Liara stood there with the two and waited until another synthetic appeared from nearby. Clearly distressed, and with rising relief as he came and picked the child up, who let himself sink deep into his parent's embrace with a soft squeal.

"T-thank you, sir Regula." this one; Lancaster, bowed to the older one in gratitude.

"Hoh, don't thank me. It was this alien who kept your son safe." Regula responded plainly, gesturing to Liara.

"Oh?" Lancaster asked as he finally acknowledged the asari's presence with a startled gasp, and hastily bowed after a moment of shock.. "Oh, oh! Thank you."

"Though, I'm not sure she understands what we're saying." the old one chuckled, reading her confused expression pretty well.

Liara felt mildly embarrassed. She could understand the gestures, but not the words. It felt extremely weird to be in a place where she couldn't understand what's being said at all. There was a situation a time ago where an Elcor terrorist managed to shut down all translators of those attending a concert with an EMP, and then started a fire. What followed was complete chaos as everyone suddenly started speaking and shouting gibberish.

In the end, she could do little but to nod cautiously, which seemed to satisfy the parent as he soon headed off with the child.

Regula however looked rather unsure what to do at the moment. Until he finally decided to gesture for the asari to stay, or at least for now. Not to go running off while he's away on some business.

That's at least the impression Liara got as she quietly agreed to it and watched him leave before investigating the roof. Or at least as well as she could from where she stood.

The first mural showed a triangle, and what looked like a beautiful city in the background, presumably from the past. On the top of the triangle, a pair of beings stood. One of them resembling asari to an astonishing degree, except with that long mane covering her head, and the skin tone.

The lower left side of the triangle features the image of what looked like a doll, a very rudiment one. While the lower right side featured the image of a circuit with what looked like an eye in the center.

Liara guessed it had to be the 'start' of the story told by the murals. And with exquisite observation moved her eyes from one to another, seeking an understanding.


Three minutes earlier...

"That's enough, Désir." Pardonner asked the moment he entered the construction area and saw the carnage. Despite organic being fragile, these aliens fought rather well. It looked almost like a platoon's been rampaging through the area. But against one the likes of the aspect of Lust..

He could at least trust Désir not to kill the aliens right away, though that did not stop him from worrying about the extent of their injuries.. that flamboyant dôji got a habit of playing with his food, after all.

And logically, he was the first Pardonner saw as he stood there looming over a heap of bodies. The aspect ran past Désir to check up on the aliens one by one – repositioning them gently into more comfortable positions – and exhaled with relief. They're still alive, beaten up – the one with white facial tattoo looked like his face-plates barely held together, but alive. They all had been rendered unconscious by then. A blessing considering the damage, it must really be hurting right now. "You went too hard on them..."

Désir's lips spread into a grin, "Of course, they wouldn't get down when I told them."

"I doubt you told them anything like that.." Pardonner verbally slapped that aside. "And even if you did, they wouldn't have understood anything."

"Much pain would have been avoided if they did not keep trying to get back up." the other sighed as the grin collapsed, "I had to..." and flexed his left gauntlet, "...insist."

Pardonner emitted a low groan while he moved closer, a gauntlet reconfiguring quickly into a large and flat panel, thin enough to shove in underneath the bodies, and yet strong enough to lift them all without breaking. Preparing to bring them back to the hospital. He could treat them here, but that would probably only reignite the struggle.

Désir huffed, though it sounded as delicate as brushing a hand across silk. His eyes on the other dôji's seemingly crippled arm, which he kept from using. "Now then, tell me. Just how did that Arcanite-fellow get-"

"Could you stop asking that question every time we meet?" the aspect of Patience growled.

"Only asking because I'm curious." Désir replied in turn.

"Don't be..."

"Fine, I'll let it lie for now." he watched as Pardonner moved to leave, with the aliens in tow. "By the way, that guy hasn't been back since his platoon moved back into the field?"

Pardonner halted, his eyes peering at him, "Yes... what of it?"

"It's just a rumor right now circulating around Eastern dome just before I left. That platoon's been incredibly busy since the war picked up its pace again, so there's been no time to send a detailed report about what's happening in the Gobi desert.."

"What is it?"

"I heard Arcanite got himself killed during one of the engagements.. Booby-trapped Leviathan. Blew up in his face.."

Pardonner's composed expression fell apart, for a moment replaced by pure anxiety. "You're lying.."

"It's just a rumor so far." Désir appeared slightly taken aback by the other dôji's sudden change, "Still awaiting confirmation. Though we'll probably learn soon enough."

With no further word of it, Pardonner turned away and stormed off with the aliens. And left Désir standing there. After a brief pause, the member of the sins raised his arms and waved casually.. "You're welcome. If you need some comforting, you know where to find me." knowing that he's just talking to thin air right now.

Absently he checked the time and hurriedly brushed the dust off his clothes. He'll be late to work if he doesn't pick up his pace right now. Just like Service, he's one of the morale officers. Though what Désir does are much less refined, and he preferred to keep it that way.

That being done, he turned and left.


Thirty minutes later...

Location: Gobi desert.

A massive dust cloud had been obscuring a large part of the Gobi desert since the trafficking changed, which resulted in a large number of convoys leaving the highways. All speeding to the north, to what seemed to be the location of one of their more recently built outlying factories.

A vast tunnel was quickly blasted through the cloud as a force arrived and sped towards the closest convoy in the area. A thousand dôji soldiers led by Rage, the aspect of Wrath. The swarm speeding across the land at nearly the speed of sound.

One platoon was patrolling the area when the trafficking changed so abruptly. And it had sustained about fifty percent casualties while trying to intervene. Rage made sure to recall them before he and his forces entered the area in full force.

It took less than a minute to see one of the convoys filling the horizon, with a Leviathan hanging around in the back of the formation like an enticing bait. Which it indeed is, most of the aforementioned platoon's casualties happened because of precisely that gambit. Leviathans filled with enough explosives to qualify as a small-scale tactical nuclear strike all on its own.

All as one, enemy units opened fire. Lights flashing across the entire horizon.

"All units! Shield formation!" Rage shouted to those behind him, his booming voice reaching across the formations behind him. All groups of three to four gathered together, and folded shields they quickly forged from their gauntlets on top of one another just as enemy fire arrived. Most of the bullets bouncing off those that curved the shield. While the few groups that formed a traditional wall were sent crashing to the ground when they took a straight hit from high-caliber rounds.

"Ignore the Leviathan in the back! Wreck everything else, charge!"

The dust cloud scattered explosively as hundreds of sonic booms tore through the air. The groups scattering as soon as they closed the distance sufficiently. Racing for their targets like a swarm of angry bees. The first gunships in the enemy convoy falling apart as the swarm of dôji engaged them up close.

Further up ahead, carrier vehicles opened to vomit thousands of interceptors into the fray.

Rage ignored them as he lowered himself to the ground and sped through the convoy until he arrived at the foremost Leviathan and initiated a transformation as he raced for it from behind. "Axe of Minos!" he half-muttered as his glove changed into a massive battle axe and swung it it the vehicle, pushing his speed up greatly upon this final approach.

He grit his teeth as the blade of his weapon met with the vehicle's heavy chassis. And cut it in half in one prolonged, but swift swing. The separate halves momentarily fighting to remain connected before falling apart. Falling and tumbling like a pair of broken barrels, pulverizing nearby vehicles that failed to turn away quickly enough.

This sudden loss caused the convoy to fall into temporary disarray as it had to navigate around the wreckage scattered around at the front that now kept increasing as Rage rampaged at the front, while his soldiers tore into the formation from behind.

It took ten minutes filled with pure carnage before the wreck of the last vehicle tumbled over and lay still upon the desert sands along with the convoy's last dozens of diminutive defenders.

"Form up!" Rage cried out once the troops had finished gathering the dead and wounded and sent them back to the Eastern dome. His troop strength having fallen to slightly better then eight hundred for the time being.

"We're not waiting for the recovery force?" one of the soldiers closest to him inquired even as the rest gathered, waiting for further orders.

"No." Rage shook his head, the overly large pompadour managing to sway with the shaking motion without making it look comical. He raised a hand and pointed north, "We are to investigate the factory up ahead. See the reason for this sudden change of route. Any problem with that change of plans, huh?" the aspect proceeded to ask, cracking his knuckles.

Every one of his soldiers lowered and shook their heads. No one spoke up.

"Good." Rage hummed without breaking his frown. He ran a tight ship. "All troops, on me!" the aspect cried out as he took to the air and blasted off. It only took a second for the rest to follow suit.


One hour later...

A factory's a dangerous place for anything that ain't a kurozu. Sometimes, not even for some types of kurozu. It covered the area up ahead like a carpet, but the real beast's underground. They're much bigger than meets the eye. But one thing was strange. The fact that the horde of dôji could see it just happened to be the strange part.

"They've disengaged the cloaking field in this area? Something's off." Rage muttered as he tried to see if anything else is out of place. Far below, other convoys could be seen arriving. Hurling themselves screaming through the entrance that opened. But the only real thing that stood out was the somewhat barrel-shaped thing sticking up from the center of the factory. And the only apparent reason it's standing is because of the scaffolds supporting it.

He stood there, relatively speaking, as he tried to examine it from this distance. That was, until all but one of the scaffolds dropped away. Then the realization struck him.

The scaffolds had dropped away to reveal thrusters at the lower end of the structure. And the moment it was done, they ignited and launched the now-obvious ship from its cradle. Spiraling slowly as it quickly built up speed and blasted through the layer of clouds far above. "It's a spacecraft..." he whispered.

With the theatrics out of the way, a massive cloud of claws and metal erupted from the factory. At least a million guard units swarming out to greet the intruders of the factory's airspace.

Rage scowled at the skies above, and then to the swarm before giving the signal to fall back. They couldn't hope to win against that many with just the strength of this small a battalion.

All as one, the dôji turned away and retreated from the area before the swarm could catch up to them.


Fifteen minutes later...

Location: Central dome; The Core.

"Damn those kurozu..." Vice complained as he watched the image of Earth along with the others. The orbit around the image displaying fifteen distinct moving dots. Kurozu spacecraft according to the message they received from Rage through his Communications Officer. One had taken off from the factory in the Gobi desert. While the fourteen others came from several other launch sites across the globe.

"It's indeed vexing." Ultimo could not help but nod in agreement, watching the sight with great concern. "Maybe it's got something to do with the capture of the alien ship earlier."

"Cursed aliens. Screwing everything up."

"What's their heading?"

Milieu sighed, "Apparently, all of them are heading for Mars."

"That's bad. Slow's there, and only three stands at his side. And there's no way to send reinforcements." Ultimo spoke gravely.

"That's it." Vice growled as he stood up, "I say we should go and get some answers. Field a full Army Group and tear the Gobi factory a new asshole until we know what they know."

The other two blinked and tore their eyes from the image, directing them at Vice. There are several reasons that they don't engage in overly large battles, one of them being the fear of causing irreversible environmental damage to the planet. The standard strategy has been to build up their forces and strangle the kurozu slowly into weakness by cutting off their access to resources.

No battalions and divisions can topple a factory head-on. And a couple of centuries back, Vice's suggestion would have been seen as an attempt at being funny. But now it's no laughing matter.

Ultimo wasn't as eager as he brushed his gauntlets together worryingly. "But what if we don't get any answers from that factory? And the loss of one does not hinder our enemy much. Indeed, it'll weaken our ability to strike at their resource routes for a time."

"Better than going blind." Vice argued.

Milieu nodded and raised an arm, "And I happen to agree with you in this matter, Vice."

Ultimo was silent as he considered. Two for. One against. No way out of it.. except, "Then we prepare. But let me take the lead."

"...Huh?" Vice nearly quacked.

"No matter what, getting in will require a great deal of force. But once we're inside, it'll become a more delicate operation. There's no way to extract information if we smash it all before it can be done. Please, for the sake of limiting the extent of the damage, allow me to lead the army for until the operation's conclusion."

Milieu looked him over, and smiled gently.. "I allow it."

"And just one more thing." Ultimo continued, "Let's try to recruit the aliens presently in the Northern dome. There's a high chance we'll be dealing with alien tech, of which they know much more about than we do."

"They haven't exactly been particularly amiable though..." the silver-haired dôji whispered in contemplation, "You sure they'll be willing to cooperate?"

"Yes. I'm certain they'll be willing to trust and help us once we explain things to them."

"Hmpf...have it your way." Vice growled. It was two against one regarding leadership for the army, so now it was his time to find little way around.

"Then bring them before us once the aliens are ready." Milieu said.. "Are we in agreement?"

"Yes." the other two spoke with mixed response.

"Then we start preparing immediately."