The roar of battle was a welcome sound. Too long I had been away from the screams and cries, blood and sweat, hate and agony that made up the front lines. The dust and explosions heralded my arrival. Once I had left this place, now I returned for the glory of my Lady. I, who had been crafted and tempered in this place, was back in the only place I knew intimately. Here in the chaos and madness of battle I was at home.
Before me the Princess's Guardsmen lay entrenched along the valley slopes on either side. A division of artillery and Iron Warriors held the middle as they shelled my forces. Overhead I watch the artillery shots soar well over head and land far behind me. Those arcane cannons had also been notoriously inaccurate, but plentiful, the remnants of a wars long past.
The squad of Daemonguard I had laid claim to gathered behind me. We were going to take the Iron Warriors head on and then outflank the Guardsmen once the artillery were smashed. Despite their inaccurate fire, the artillery had forced me to ground all out aerial mages and ships. Casualties were expected, but the aerial support would be needed once we reached the capital and the fortresses.
I drew my Devil Sword and cursed at the enemy across the way. They had taken shelter in the trees were their massive shields would allow them to control the flow of the battle. The Iron Warriors knew they couldn't beat us on the open ground, but the trees would also hinder them as much as us. Their hammers and axes would be restricted as much as the Daemonguard's would be.
They fired a small barrage of magic missiles, but the Daemonguard responded in kind. Soon orbs of a dozen colors were being exchanged to no effect. Our missiles weren't hitting anything important and theirs were simply too weak to inflict serious harm.
I raised my hand to them and open the palm in their direction. I gathered magical energy into my palm as I began to chant. If we couldn't fight to our full efficiency then I would level the field and break them from afar. "Nine times I call upon the spirits of earth! Nine times I call upon the spirits of fire! Nine times I call upon the spirits of wind! Heed the call of the Demon Queen and tear the land asunder, HELLFIRE PILLARS!"
There was a great cracking noise and I felt the heat surge from the planet's core. I watched the fire burst from the earth as men and tree alike were brunt. I watched with glee as the Iron Warriors fell over each other in their vain attempt to flee my flames. I called up more pillars and more died as the Deamonguard charged, whooping and screaming for blood.
I followed at a more sedate pace with my followers all the while maintaining the spell. It was fun to blast the fools who thought to attack me from a dozen paces without having to stop moving. Each of them was a weak mage, but a strong warrior. In five thousand years the Iron fools had never learned to mix a powerful mage with their elite forces.
"Well this sucks! What kind of vacation is this? First monsters, now abductions? By aliens no else!" Harry bemoaned his lot to the empty cells that run up and down the corridor. His cell was a stark white and blue place with a small cot and a heavy door with bars across the sole window.
He had been fine and dandy until Signum showed up with her story. He had ended up wandering the city for a while, thinking and pondering, before returning to his hotel. He could vaguely recall the receptionist telling him that some friends were waiting in his room, but he had been too caught up in his internal debates to comprehend her words. "Geez, Harry we have to stay focused. Slip ups like this will get us killed," he chided himself as he lay down on the small bed.
The moment he had opened the door to his room he had been knocked out. The lump on the back of his head attested to the fact rather well that it hadn't been a soft blow. Personally he placed his injury squarely on the pup's shoulders; the pup couldn't control his Enforcers against the Book and they failed at abducting people properly. He was sure he had left blood behind and that would invite questions. That was what you got for letting little children command, especially since the pup looked no more than eleven or twelve physically, but claimed to be fourteen. He was starting to doubt that claim since had first heard it from the pup's mouth two hours ago.
"I'll have to look at these Mid-Childa law books sometimes. Wonder if they have anything about child labor laws?" he mused. Thinking was all he had to do here in the central cell block aboard the TSAB's ship. He had been taken into the heart of the enemy's camp, striped of his weapons, and imprisoned. Azriel had been taken by scientist looking woman when he was brought aboard. He had seen her briefly as he came to. The Enforcer that had hit him hadn't counted on his natural resistances to such moves that had been so common during the battles with Voldemort.
He had played the part of the unconscious man to the end, and ended up with a good idea how to get to the room he had first come to in. All he had to do was break out, get Azriel and take over the bridge, but it was pointless. He had now knowledge of the dimensional sea, or what was even out there. He knew nothing about the universe beyond planet Earth. "That will be rectified," he promised himself. "They can't keep me forever."
"Nor will we, Mr. Potter."
Harry slowly got up. "Ah, Captain! Nice you to drop by. I'd offer you some tea, but I don't seem to have any on hand, this being a prison cell and all. Though I must say this headache your Enforcer gave me is a bit painful. Does the TSAB accept such violent actions as apart of regular protocol?" He could have continued his sarcastic tirade, but he had no issues with the green haired captain that would make her worthy of receiving the rest.
Lindy sighed, "I'm sorry for the injury. My son, I mean the Head Enforcer had his orders." She honestly looked displeased with the pup's actions. "Word came from Naval Command that you, the Wolkenritter and Hayate were to be brought in."
"Ignoring the fact that I am a citizen of a foreign country were your organization has no recognized authority, let alone the rights to arrest me of course. On that topic, what charges?" Harry was honestly curious to find out what they wanted to peg him with. As Captain of the ship Lindy should be privy to such information.
She shock her head sadly, "It a weak case really. Charges are of the possession of a Lost Logia, use of a dangerous Lost Logia, and threatening a TSAB officer. For what it's worth the last one was something that needed to be done. Chrono…no, my son needs to learn…" she trailed off suddenly then looked up, meeting his eyes. "I'll talk to Chrono about having you moved to the guest quarters. By the way you might like to know that Nanoha, Fate, Arf, and Yunno have been brought along as character witnesses against you, Hayate and her Knights." Lindy looked side to side suddenly, seemingly worried. "I shouldn't be here," she muttered softly, but Harry caught it. She looked back at him and smiled. "While you were out one of the Enforcers took a blood sample. Was your mother Lily Potter nee Evans?"
"Yes," he said slowly wondering what his mother had to do with anything. He was more worried about the blood sample. Too many spells and rituals involved blood and while he doubted the TSAB had access to, let alone the ability to cast, those spells he could never be too careful. "Make sure the sample is destroyed," he said firmly, hoping she would understand.
Lindy nodded in agreement before she began to speak. "She's dead correct? You're the last of that bloodline?" she quickly asked.
"That I know of. What are you getting at?" Harry was getting confused by the second. He had no idea what was going on here or why his mother suddenly matter.
Lindy gave him a strange, unreadable look. "Everything," she whispered. "I have to go." A look of distaste crossed her face and then vanished.
Harry rushed to the door only to see the tails of her uniform flutter around the corner. "What the hell was that about?" he wondered. "Wait, if she's the captain and she's not suppose to be here…does that mean Enforcers are a different branch from the Navy?" he questioned as he returned to his cot. He could use that, cracks could be exploited, he could worm his way in and push, then the whole thing would collapse like a house of cards. That would show them not to mess him anymore. It would a fitting revenge for assaulting him in an ambush. At least the Death Eaters had the courage to face him down, not that he had ever followed their example. That was why he lived and they died. "That and the grenades," he murmured with a smile. "I wonder the TSAB has grenades…"
Tony Lamrest was nobodies fool. As a child the blond haired boy had answered the call of power. Soon student councils weren't enough for the ambitious boy. With a fiery determination he had taken his university by storm. There he first clashed with the pragmatist and idealists and swept them both aside. In his first year he soundly beat down the current student council and took over.
With his loyal puppets he tried to change the university, but clashed with the dean and the board of directors. Soon it turned to open warfare as both sides used the local newspapers in the court of public opinion. Within days the dean unleashed a wave of dirt on his puppets and one by one they bowed out, but Tony Lamrest was undaunted. He struck back with blackmail and bribery.
In the end he had won and stood victorious. The university wasn't enough for him and after four years he moved on. He set his sights on highest office any American could occupy, President of the Untied States. It had taken him decades to reach his goal and here he stood at last. The Oval Office was his, the presidency was his and the people were his.
He had lied, cheated, bribed and clawed his way from the lowest of lows to the leader of the free world. Guilt was a foreign concept to him, morals were trinkets he played with and feelings were tools to be used. He slowly sat down the in President's chair, hardly believing this was real.
"It is done," he intoned gravely, then snickered. "Ah, know to make this a permanent thing, but why stop there? I could aim higher. Take over a few more countries make this nation an empire. Boom! I'm the Emperor of the Americans. Then Europe, Africa, the Middle East, China, Russia then I'd be Emperor of the Earth. Why stop then? The solar system…the galaxy, no higher, the universe. I'd me Tony Lamrest, Emperor of the Universe, no I'd be a god!"
His mad tirade was interrupted by a snicker. His hand went to the pistol concealed in his waistband as he spun in the chair. "What! Who are you?" he demanded.
"Oh, do calm down." The melodious female voice came from a black haze that sat on one of the couches. "Your little toy couldn't hurt me and don't even bother with your men in black. I've sealed this room. We will not be disturbed."
Tony never let his hand move from the gun. Of all the scenarios he had envisioned after his ascension this was not one of them. He needed information, that would bring him control and Tony Lamrest hated not being in control. "What is your name?" he demanded.
"Do not presume to command me human!" The woman's voice was cold. "Remember your place and I may not crush you."
"Are you threatening me? I am the President! I will not stand for this intrusion! You will reveal your name and purpose here at once!" he demanded, his anger barely controlled.
The black haze was silent then seemed to darken. "Fool! You know nothing and yet you wish to rule all of creation, bah! Do not make me laugh! If you wish to be a god you need my help. Only I and my kin could even give you the briefest of chances to become a god."
He leaned back, his hand still on the pistol grip. "You want to help me?"
"No, I am here to offer you a deal. Information you will need if you want to achieve your…dream." The woman spoke with open disdain. "This is not a partnership, as that implies equals. This is a master and slave deal. I will not lift a finger for you or against you and you will be free to do as you please. In exchange…" At this a sinister red hue began to manifest in the black haze.
"Yes? I'm listening." He was interested in this…thing's offer. It hinted at secret knowledge and as a god he couldn't allow such information to go by him unchecked. If the plebeians found such knowledge that he didn't know then his rule would be undermined. That wouldn't be acceptable for his continued rule.
"You will be my slave. When I order you will answer and carry it out as quickly as possible. If I order you to slaughter five million people what do you say?"
It was a test, Tony knew it. This thing was testing him. "I would say, 'do you have a preferred race, demographic, or region?' Now tell me about this information you have."
"Not so fast human." The red hue vanished from the haze. "You have heard the terms of this contract as laid out in the Code. What is your answer? Do you accept or not? If you walk way I will vanish and you will never reach you goal, not that I care on way of the other," it said, seemingly bored by the conversation.
He thought for a minute. The clock's ticking was the only noise as neither party moved. He didn't dare move and the black haze seemed to have lost interest in everything. "I…I accept your deal," he declared with far more bravado than he felt inside.
"Good," the haze hissed. "I accept your servitude."
There was a flash of gold as it said those words that left Tony blinded. He rapidly blinked, trying to restore his vision. It came back and the haze was still there, waiting.
"I shall reveal the secrets long hidden from the mundane humans," the haze declared. "You will learn all the secrets of the wizards, mages, sorcerers, immortals, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, unicorns, dragons, demons and angels. As the mistress of Miracles I declare it to be so. Tony Lamrest is authorized to have access to all knowledge of the magic." The haze rose into the air, forcing Tony to look up. "You may address me as mistress or your highness, worm!"
He opened his mouth to snap back in defiance, but something held him back. Something, a pressure in the back of his head forced, compelled him to say otherwise. He had sold his soul, he understood that now. She, this haze owned him body, mind and soul. Memory began to vanish. His childhood was blank; his middle school and high school years vanished like dust in the wind. He could feel his personality unraveling. Hopes and dreams vanished. Desperately he tried to hold on to something, he tried to cling to what was left of his personality as a downing man clings to a life preserver, yet he felt it slipping away.
He opened his mouth to scream, but couldn't. Unseen bonds constricted his vocal chords. He looked to the haze with loathing and pure hate. He tried to snarl, but it was as if his mouth was stuffed with cotton. His vision began to flicker, going dark and then coming back, but all the while fading as color and form were lost to him. The bit of personality he clung to was erased ever so slowly and he wanted to curse, but couldn't. He wanted to scream, but couldn't.
All he could do was listen…
And regret…
Listening to the mad, feminine cackles form the haze was he had left to do. The cackles of an evil witch that toyed with him and know sought to erase him. He would cease to exist; Tony Lamrest would cease to be. That was unacceptable. The shell named Tony Lamrest would not be a puppet for this monster. He was to be a god. It was his destiny. No god would fall before such a being as this haze with a female voice.
Then came the void. He felt it for the briefest of moments. The infinite feeling of falling, the glorious freefall and for an instant he felt it. In that moment he let go. He ceased to be. The man known as Tony Lamrest ceased to be. The shell of Tony Lamrest was a puppet for madness incarnate.
"Let it be known as this: All who dare to enter the world of politics will lose their soul!" the haze declared with an insane cackle. "This is opening move of the new game. As the master of this game I open the floor to my fellows. Let the horns of madness be sounded, let the doom of men come!"
"Captain on the bridge!"
"At ease," Lindy ordered at once, letting her bridge crew return to their duties. "Give me an update." She slipped into her chair and began to cycle though recent data on the holographic screen.
"Nothing to report at the moment, ma'am. Our dimensional drives are at forty percent power, shields are holding and the dimensional sea is finally quiet," one of the two answered her. "We are little over two hours from dropping out at our current speed."
She hummed in acknowledgment. The screen with the dimensional sea scans caught her eye. There were the normal dips and rivets, but far more than she normally saw. "That's odd," she murmured to herself. Then she issued her order, "Rescan the dimensional sea. Focus on…" she studied the coordinates of the greatest concentration of rivets and dips. "Focus of DA-134 to JF 678."
"Ma'am?" One of bridge hands started to say before she caught herself. "Ah…yes ma'am. Right away!"
"Captain! Oh good!"
Lindy spun around as Amy entered from behind. The brunette carried a tray with her favorite tea, still hot judging from the rising steam. She waved to the girl that was a daughter to her. "Yes, I just got back."
Amy quickly joined Lindy and set the tray on the console. "You know this probably isn't healthy," Amy stated, resignation in her voice. She knew it was a pointless argument.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lindy responded with a half smile as she ladled spoonful after spoonful of sugar into her tea. She enjoyed bantering with Amy. She lifted the cup to her nose and inhaled the wonderful tea smells.
"Think about your doctor. What do your doctor think when the next round of blood tests show an insanely high level of sugar?" Amy questioned her commanding offer with all concern for her well being in mind.
"Nothing…probably." Lindy took a small sip of the tea and sighed contently. It was a good batch, straight for her own garden on Mid-Childa if she had the flavor right. "Rin has come to accept it anyway. After the last, what ten years or so, she'd be surprised to anything other than sugar. Can you believe that last time she theorized that I was turning into a sugar based life form? Ridiculous, I tell her, that sort of thing is restricted to those bug type life forms. Then she went into some long rant about the nature of evolution, pinnacles, adaption and some other stuff. Needless to say I made my escape post haste."
Amy smiled and sighed dramatically. "Runaways, they never change. Maybe it's something about doctors…" she mused with a hand on her chin. "Maybe we can use them against the pirates and smugglers. We'd send them in and the target comes out then we snatch them. I wonder if HQ will approve of that?"
Lindy snickered. "Then we'd have to get rid of the Enforcers completely. HQ would probably take over the medical schools and colleges for recruits. Can you imagine the uproar that would cause?" She shook her head slowly at the grim joke. Mid-Childa was a slowing boiling pot that much she knew and under the TSAB it had only hastened the pace towards boiling over. She honestly hoped that she was out of the service when it boiled over and off world too.
"Ma'am, the scans are coming in now," the male bridge member, Lyon was his name if she recalled right, called out. "You're going to want to look at these!"
Lindy bit back a curse as the data appeared in front of her. To anyone else it would appeared to be a large, gray, three dimensional sphere with bumps, ridges and rivets, but her trained eyes it was bad news. Few things had the power to affect the dimensional sea to the extent of the data she was looking at. That short list included supernovas and black holes. Of the two she feared the first more than the second.
The TSAB, when they had first pushed into the dimensional sea some eighty years early, learned the danger of the supernovas first hand. Early dimensional jumping ships hadn't been equipped with adequate anti-radiation shielding. When those first crews encounter the same event she was looking at they had died. By all accounts the ships had been found adrift in the dimensional sea filled with bloodstains and radiation galore. All hands were lost in those missions and it took the TSAB manhandling the surviving Belkan people for their ship designs, as the Belkans had researched heavily into dimensional sea shields.
She was faced with a crisis in the works. At any moment the supernova could burst into dimensional space, sending its deadly payload of radiation straight into them. Judging by the data, the sphere was massive. She couldn't risk her ship by exiting now, the danger of ending up in a planet or colliding with something was too great. If she pulled the ship away from the sphere they would never reach Naval HQ and would have to drop into real space just to recalculate their location. "Divert all excess power to the shields! Shut down all non-essential systems! Bring the engines to seventy percent then slowly bring them up to ninety percent! Amy," she whipped her head to look at the girl, "get to your station and set condition yellow throughout the ship."
Amy gaped for a second then snapped to attention. "Yes ma'am!" she said with a quick salute. She quickly gathered the tea set and vacated the bridge.
A part of Lindy was glad Amy didn't question her. The fear of imminent death by supernova or gamma ray burst wasn't something she wanted the young woman to have to burden. "Lyon, Cassandra!" She had finally recalled the other bridge hands name. "Scan real space for a safe location to drop out. Preferably a target is a system with a planetoid or TSAB relay beacon. Alert engineering to set those engines to RSRD status. We can't risk anything that might set off the supernova from this side."
"Yes, ma'am," they chorused. Soon their stations were filled with new screens and live video feed as they relayed orders.
Lindy vaguely heard Amy over the ship wide communication system, but ignored it as new data followed in. She began to send reports to the main crescent screen that doubled as a window. She called up a diagram of the Asura and began to mark off sections to seal or divert power from. Without looking she hit a button on her chair and a new holoscreen with the chief engineer on it appeared.
"Captain!" he said, startled at her sudden appearance. Grif Harloan was a muscular middle aged man, receding hairline and all, wearing a messy Navy uniform. Her chief engineer was a rarity in the TSAB. He had refused dozens of promotions over the last twenty years, claiming he loved his machines too much to take a desk job without them.
"Lock down the Arc-en-ceil and all its compartments. Then seal off bulkheads R-1 through F-2. Make sure their evacuated fully too, get the Enforcers to help if you need it."
"Captain, what's this…no I don't want to now. Your orders, do you really want to take this old girl to ninety percent?" he asked, leery of how they would perform under such stress. "These aren't the shiny BE-045s we're talk'n about of even the BE-033s those dreadnoughts use. We're talk'n about old BE-29! Hell, these things are being decommissioned left and right. I told 'em brass boys we'd need better engines, but those ball less bastards up at Central refused," Grif snapped in anger.
Frustration was all she saw on his face. Grif had tried and tried to reason for the upgrades to the Asura for the last two years, but even with her support the suits at Central refused. They both wanted to save the Asura from the fate that awaited her; to be gutted and left adrift in one of the TSAB salvage dumps and then sold off as scrap.
"I know. Just give what you can. When we reach Central we'll use this in our argument,' Lindy said, trying to placate the man. "I need you focused Grif. This old girl needs you right now more than ever."
He gave her a dark look. His frown turned into a reckless smile and the dark look vanished. "Alright! I don't know wants going on, but the threat of death has lit a fire! My girl's go'n to give you the best damned show of her career!"
Lindy smiled. Grif was predictable, but he was her friend. One of the few left at that. "Roger that. I'll be waiting. Lindy out." She heard the door behind her open and winced at the familiar footfall. She knew this would come, ever since her return from the holding cells she knew this would happen. "Yes, Head Enforcer?"
Chrono swiftly reached her side. He began to study the open screens and Lindy studied him. He had his hands shoved into his black greatcoat. The look on his face was tense and his body language spoke of great worry. The burden of leadership was finally taking its toll on her son. "What's the situation?" he asked tensely.
"Head Enforcer Chrono, we are at condition yellow. Why aren't you at your station?" He was supposed to be in the teleport bay with his Enforcers, but she had a good idea what he wanted.
"Never mind that." He had gone into professional mode, cold and detached in tone and speech. "As the second highest ranking officer aboard this ship I am to be kept up to date on the situation in case of your…incapacitation," he finished with a wince. No son liked to talk of their mother being hurt.
"Hardly," Lindy scoffed. It would be true if he was in the Navy, but he was an Enforcer. They were a different branch completely and so far as she knew no Navy regulation allowed him to assume her post in the event of her injury or death. "Status report!" she barked.
"Ma'am, the anomaly is expanding at a rate of three point four six parsecs per minute in real space. The anomaly is expanding at half that rate in the sea. There's no way we'll be able to jet around it!" Lyon said, panic in his voice.
"We have to jump out now," Chrono warningly told her.
Lindy waved him off. Her girl could make it, she could get past the bubble. The bulge in the dimensional sea was growing and the real time feed was already too limited to judge the full scope. "Scan all real space location with five hundred parsecs for relay beacons ASAP!"
"The bulkheads are sealed and all personal are at their stations, but we're missing…oh there you are!" A new holoscreen opened on the main screen. Amy began to berate Chrono to return to his post and he responded, but Lindy tuned them out.
"Shield status? Speed?" Lindy asked as she fished a small key from her pocket.
Cassandra hastily answered, "Shields are at full. Triple layer barriers are locking into position…now!" There was a loud snap followed by a thud that told of the barrier generators finally dropping into their positions across the ship's hull. "Engine output is at seventy five percent and rising! Seventy seven…seventy nine…eighty…eighty five! They won't go any higher!"
"The lass is right. I pushed the old girl as far I dared and beyond," Grif stated from new screen.
Lindy stared at her friend. She knew he was lying. The engines would go higher, but he didn't want to risk burning them out. She knew that he could push it to ninety five at least, but it would only be for a few moments at best. After that they would breakdown leaving them stranded. She saw his mouth twitch, almost creating a genuine smile. They had an accord without needing words. "Good. Open a line to Naval HQ and Central on signal 866B-SU8NO-RS4. Authorization is Lancer57-Fay-0045. Tell them what we've got and to take the necessary steps!"
Cassandra was slack jawed for a moment as she committed the information to memory. The brown haired woman then snapped a salute and began to type on the virtual keyboard. Lindy saw the communications window open above Cassandra's station and turned her attention to other matters.
"Captain!" Chrono called out. "There is no time! We have to drop out now! The Asura cannot out run that anomaly!"
"No!" she snapped, whirling around to face her son. "One wrong move will kill us all. I will not risk this crew in a blind exit!" She took a breath and calmed herself. "Head Enforcer, please see that out guest in the holding cells is moved to the guest quarters at once."
Anger flashed in her son's eyes. "What? Why now? That man is a threat! My orders-"
"Shut up! What you and your men did was wrong and you will make up for it. Ambushing a man walking into his own room is hardly an action befitting a TSAB officer. So long as I am captain of this vessel my word is supreme whilst we're in space. Once we reach Mid-Childa or Naval HQ, he falls under your jurisdiction, but until then I will not have my holding cells used to imprison an innocent man. Am I understand?" she finished icily.
Many emotions flickered over Chrono's face and Lindy almost sighed. He was too young for his post. A fourteen year old was more likely to throw a temper tantrum and should. In her mind that would tell her that he was still a child. He hated the wizard because Harry Potter had called him down for his lack of control and casual disregard for what was technically an organization with no legal power on Earth. Perhaps it was a chance meeting for him to meet Chrono, but Harry Potter might have given her a way to reconnect with her son though it would be by anger and hate.
"…yes, ma'am," he said sullenly. He turned on heel and stalked away, every step betraying his anger towards many people, foremost being the wizard and, she had little doubt, herself.
"One less issue," she muttered before the data caught her attention. "No! It's too soon! Where are those beacon scans?" she yelled. They were almost out of time. The bulge was starting to crack. A quick comparison showed the Asura would never make it past the bulge before it broke. They would have to drop and dropping into a star or planet had ruined many a good ship.
"Uploading to main screen!" Lyon responded, his voice unsteady. "There are hundred and two beacons within the scan range!"
"Pick the closest planetary one and jump! Hurry!" she commanded. Looking down she saw Lyon, he really was a boy not more than nineteen and fresh of the Naval Academy, had frozen. Panic and terror of visible death had rendered him useless.
"On it!" Cassandra cried out, no doubt having seen Lyon's uselessness. "Target is…the Riv system!"
Lindy saw the surface of the bulge break. She saw the light that was so bright against the dimensional void, the Light of Death. She didn't need scans to tell her of the heat or radiation that was pouring into the dimensional sea. "Jump!" she roared. "Hurry!"
"Shields are weakening! Falling to seventy percent!" Lyon shakily stated as Cassandra punched in the coordinates for the jump. "Massive radiation burst detected! Twenty seconds to impact! Nineteen…"
"Damn it! Get us out of here! Grif fire her up! Give me everything!" she commanded. Death held no great fear for her. Many of her friends had already died. She heard Grif say something, but it was lost to her.
"Fifteen…"
"Move it Cassandra!" she yelled at the girl who desperately typed away. There were too many on the Asura that had yet to live. Fate and her friends still had their entire lives before them. She would not let their story end here as bloody stains on the walls of a derelict ship. She would burn Mid-Childa to the ground before she let that happen.
"Ten…"
"Almost done!" Cassandra yelled, her voice had started to shake. It seemed her typing only sped up as Lyon counted down.
"Captain! We can't risk the engines any more! They'll break!" Grif stated, rather calmly.
"Doesn't matter. Keep them fired up until I say so! Every second is a chance at escape!" She was glad he was calm. Grif had always been a rock of stability for her and her dead husband. He was the best friend she could have asked for, yet sometimes he cared too damn much about the engines.
"Fine!" he retorted.
"Five…"
"Done! Firing jump engines! Logic drives calculating!" Cassandra shouted in triumph.
"Four…"
"All hands brace for emergency jump!" Lindy informed the crew over the intercom with as much calmness as she could muster. The Asura began to shake. She felt the metal shift and bend as her hull was battered and torn apart by the supernova. Nothing could survive a supernova blast, only try to escape.
"Two…One!"
"Jumping!"
"The Cyganous sector is little more than a dead sector. Ten million years ago the six planets that had orbited its primary star were ripped apart by a supernova. That star was now, but a dwarf. Its fury was spent and now it cooled as it ran towards death. The only life that existed in the system is a small TSAB outpost on one of the larger pieces of a former planet.
Ten years prior a band of pirates had used the Cyganous sector as a hideout of sorts and when the marauders were taken prisoners their base became TSAB property. Naval HQ wasted no time and turned the pirate base into what it is today, a surveillance outpost. Out here we serve four month shifts before we're rotated back to Mid. Umm…I can't think of anything else. Captain Jomes Lafrete signing off."
The Captain leaned back in his chair and let out a long yawn. In less than a week he would leave this boring rock, but HQ had placed a special assignment on him. He had to make a 'Welcome to Cyganous You Poor SOB!' video for his successor as his medical officer had called it. He was sorely tempted to label the video as such, but the fear of being transferred back when HQ found out sent that thought far away.
He rose, straighten his messy Navy uniform and let out a sigh. This was his punishment. Cyganous was a dead end assignment and a known way to punish the failures in the Navy. He knew his chances for promotion would be lost with Cyganous marked on his service record. That was the way the Navy rolled.
He had been giving resignation a thought ever since he was assigned to Cyganous. His sister ran a family restaurant back on Mid and she had been complaining about him not caring enough about it. He'd never move upwards or at least not for a long time nor did he didn't have the magical power to reach AA rank. That was the way the TSAB worked, time was the deciding factor in rank, but the extremely powerful could climb the ranks almost as fast. It wasn't the model that the old Mid military had used in his father's time.
The military machines had morphed into the TSAB bureaucracy and seemed to be running away from everything that had made the old Mid military so powerful and feared in the post Belka era. Generals were those who served the longest or young upstarts with insane levels of power and he despised them. Neither was truly suited to wear those ranks. His grandfather and father had both said as much when he first joined the Navy and while he was growing up.
"It's sad. What will we do when if Belka comes back or some other threat comes?" he mused as he wandered the small base. He needed to stretch his legs and going outside was not advised. The lack of any atmosphere was a serious deterrent at times.
He wandered into the command center and sighed. It was hardly the pristine or spacious room that all the videos the TSAB gave to the general public. It was a gray walled room stuffed with far more equipment than was needed or probably even legal. He knew nearly tripped over a bundle of wires as he made his way to upper command deck and his official chair. Jomes stopped briefly to shake a man asleep on a console. "Up and at 'em Charles!"
The resident engineer looked at him groggily and then let his head hit the console again. Charles glared at him, but the young man had no will behind it. "Don't bug me. I was up all night trying to fix those sensors. Ugg! My head!" Purple rings told volumes on how long he had worked on those sensors.
Jomes shrugged and quickly made it to his chair. The base didn't receive enough funding to have any of the fancy holo systems, forcing them to use old fashion consoles. As he leaned back he scrolled through the newest reports from the sensors. There was a lot of nothing out there, just slabs of rock falling through space. They were supposed to watch for the telltale signs of ships passing by or smugglers trying to hide cargo for later pickups.
In the entire history of the base he knew of only two incidents when the Cyganous listening post had every found anything. The first had been during the first years of the TSAB when the pirate fleets had made hid in the Cyganous sector. At that time the base was on the cutting edge of technology as it served as the main communications lien for the TSAB forces fighting the pirates. The second had been Cipher Incident some thirty years back. Jomes recalled hearing stories about the crackdown on the illegal substance when he was little. The TSAB had chased a drug lord and his fleet into the Cyganous sector after wiping out the gang's Cipher selling operations on Mid. After that the Cyanous base fell into decay as the penance center for the TSAB.
Then there were the red lights.
The glowing red lights.
Thousands of them.
Jomes had tempted fate and she had bit back. The newest senor readings showed thousands of contacts. Looking out the windows he could see them. Each was a red light that glowed at a steady rate then turned off only to repeat the cycle.
"What the hell?" Charles said as he looked at the lights. "Okay, what the hell do you bastards put in my coffee?" He had visited Earth once and picked up a number of colorful curses he often employed.
"Nothing," Jomes snapped as he considered his options. The lights were moving. They were red and turning off and on at regular intervals. He should call it in to Naval HQ. He should set the base on condition yellow. On the other hands they were lights, simple red, harmless blinking lights that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Hey we're getting a message! Audio on an old frequency too," Charles shouted from a console he hastily cleared.
Slowly the audio began to filter in as Charles forced the system into full operoational mode. A part of Jomes began to wish he hadn't. The dull roar over the filter had been a bad enough. He could hear the rhythmic chanting of the audio getting clearer and clearer. He couldn't stop the chills running down his spine as he finally heard the words.
"- the Return is nigh! All hail the return! From the black years come our great masters! The Return is nigh! All hail the matchless glory! In the blood of the betrayers we shall renew the covenant! Spill the blood, crack the marrow, tear the flesh of the betrayers for our righteous lords! The Return is nigh! All hail the Return!"
And the track repeated…and repeated…. and repeated.
"Shut it off!" Jomes cried. The audio feed stopped and not a moment too soon. Shakily, he made a recording on his console and sent it off to Naval HQ. He marked it urgent. Any threat of violence was suppose to marked as such, but the madness…the fanaticism…the awe in the chanters voices made him think they were far more caable of murder than any other group.
"The hell was that?" Charles snapped. "A bunch of nutjobs? Terrorists? Damn man! This must be the real shit HQ deals with!"
Jomes was a fifteen year veteran of the Navy, he knew it wasn't a common thing. For the last ninety years the idea of opposing the TSAB was non existent. The scars of the Belka Civil War and the Mid-Childa Unification Wars still stung. Very few groups still had the strength to oppose the TSAB, yet this one openly proclaimed its intent to murder. They were either insane or suicidal. The TSAB was ruthless when it came to murder and premeditated murder or even conspiracy to commit murder.
"Holy shit!"
Jomes looked up at the lights that Charles pointed to. One by one they were exploding. In a flash of light the red ceased to be. Internal explosions sent bits of metal in all directions. It was beautiful in an odd way. The destruction of the messengers of murder, it was oddly poetic in its own way. He knew that HQ would ask him to recover one intact, but as the last light exploded he knew it was beyond him. They would have been happy with the remains, if there were any.
Charles looked at him. "Damn man! I thought this place was duller than my Aunt Angie's cat. You think we should call this in?"
"Of course not! Why the hell would we want to warn our friends, comrades, and family on Mid that a death threat on the scale of mass genocide has been issued by an unknown party that throws red, blinking lights around that explode. I sure we can just classify this as random shit of Cyganous sector and leave it at that," Jomes deadpanned, and then he saw Charles disbelieving face. "Of course we're calling it in! Get me a channel to HQ on the double!" He leaned back and palmed his face. "Charles you bastard! Your language is rubbing off! What would my mother say?"
I've been insulted many times over my long life. Every curse in the book had been thrown at me to the point was wondering who was writing those damned books. I was left with the option that I was in fact inside a time loop and my future self had to be writing that book then sending it back to all my enemies. She'd probably rig it to explode when they open it too, I know I would, but then and there I resolved my self to kill future-me if I ever found her.
The Iron Warrior that lay under my boot heel spat and cursed me. He really couldn't do much else. My hellfire had taken an arm and a leg and the other limbs had been removed during the battle by someone. It hadn't been much of a battle really. The Warriors had broken when my hellfire hit and the Daemonguard excelled at slaughtering the disorganized foe.
The man was rather handsome, other than set of claw like scars running across his face. If not for the scars he might have been rather handsome, in a rugged mountain man sort of way. It was a pity he wasn't healthy enough to take prisoner. My Lady could always use some new playthings and maybe I would get him when she tired of him.
"Look Iron ass!" I snapped as he spit on my boots. They were nice boots too; only now they had spit on them. I didn't mind the blood, brains or other gore on them, but spit… "If I had my way you'd be halfway to the tournament rings fighting for my Lady's favor so count yourself luck you get to die here!" The Daemonguard were finishing off the last of Warriors. We didn't have times to slaves or prisoners.
"Bah! Go to whatever doom await your Lady! I pray to the Goddess of Iron it's a true hell! Your kind doesn't care for any basic decency of war!" he said defiantly. His eyes were filled with hate towards me and the fires of faith.
"Decency is for another age metal head! This is war! The point is to win! WIN! At all cost, not matter the sacrifice or cost! This is the new age! You and your Steel and Iron whatevers have no place in this age! We should have killed you all instead of taking out the Wolves!" I brought my Devil Sword to his forehead, right between the eyes. To his credit the man didn't flinch as the ever screaming blade inched closer and closer.
"You will never escape her wrath. The Angel will come and she'll send you straight back to the flames from whence you came. Holy is the Lady of Iron. Holy is the Angel of Wrath who guards the Iron from the night and the flames of damnation! In her name I commit my soul and damn you to the Fate of Traitors!"
I slammed by blade into his forehead before he could go on. The blade sank deep through bone and brain, but ever sharp and screaming blade was as good as the merchants said. The man had been annoying with his holy prayers and curses. The Iron lugs had always annoyed me for their fervor towards that false goddess. Why couldn't they see the light of my Lady was truth? Was the grip of this Iron whatever that grand they were blinded form the truth?
"No matter," I said as I yanked my blade free. The blood and gore were quickly absorbed by the blade, leaving it clean and ready to go to work again. "I wouldn't want to fight alongside such idiotic blind faith! Those people have no imagination; they'd be dead within days of the campaign and leave their crap for us to deal with."
"Inquisitor!" The captain of the Daemonguard saluted me. "All hostiles are dead. Not one tried to flee. My squad will be moving towards the artillery in one minute. Will you and your entourage be accompanying us?"
I considered it for a moment, but the choice was clear. "The company would be much appreciated on this fine day, Captain. The weather is good, the sun is in a good position and it's a Friday night! Well, not quite Friday night, but close enough. To war then! The time is ripe for more war!" I wonder it was the sing-song tone I delivered the last line in that made the other Daemonguard shy away ever so slightly.
"My lady, it Friday night somewhere!" the Captain said, delight in his tone. "I'd almost say its five o'clock somewhere too!"
I gave him a predatory smirk. "I like a man that knows the classics. To war then! To WAR!" I screamed trying to get the Daemonguard to work themselves into a frenzy. So it was with frenzied shouts of 'TO WAR' we rushed into the next battle, down a path of bodies drenched in blood.
A/N: Yes, I'm alive and this chapter is not coming to you from beyond the grave. I've been sick and the flu doesn't like me writing.
Anyway, new arc starts here. This is the last arc of the Chronicles of Ascension, but it is fairly long and action packed. Two sections in this chapter were supposed to go in Timeless Days III, but they fit better here. Chapter 6 has been edited and I'm working on the rest of the Timeless arc, but it will take some time before those chapters are fixed.
