DISCLAIMER: Overlord/オーバーロード belongs to Kugane Maruyama, and Star Wars belongs to Disney (Unfortunately). The scenario and original characters are mine, besides those gifted by ComparedDread12. I hope you enjoy!
Chapter IX: The Fall of Shalltear
The "Switch" + 30 (One Month Since the "Switch")
Onboard Unknown Vessel, Far Edge of "New World" System
Aren Varick was busy tending to one of his fellow crewmember's injuries as the console beside them burned and spat sparks. The man he was tending to was one of the few engineers aboard their ship, and would be a major loss to both morale and the repairs still underway all around the blasted thing. Varick was trying to staunch the flow of blood coming from the mangled hand that been caused by the sparking mess of a console. The engineer had been trying to fix the damn thing before it blew up and knocked him into the opposite wall. He was unconscious, and would have only been discovered after the next shift came by to do more repair patches, but he would be dead by that point.
Varick had just finished treating a navy trooper when he discovered this engineer. The trooper had gotten his leg stuck in a malfunctioning blast door. He was lucky the door hadn't shut with full strength, which would have amputated the leg. The door closed with only half strength which resulted in a compound fracture in his lower leg. Varick had then immobilized the trooper's leg before calling for a medical team to take the man back to the makeshift Medical Station they had set up in the safest place onboard the ship: the Hangar Bay. It was a miracle alone that he hadn't shut down when he treated the first casualties of the accident that had sent them to this strange galaxy, as the injuries were getting worse all the time.
It also didn't help that the entire bridge crew was killed in the accident, which meant that he alone was the sole high-ranking authority aboard. Knowing that he was woefully inexperienced in leading anyone, he let the NCOs take over on most matters. There were two areas where the NCOs actually allowed him to lead somewhat. These areas were in ship-wide decisions, like rationing, and anything relating to medicine. It only made sense since he was the Medical Officer before becoming de-facto Captain. Once the leadership structure had been figured out, Aren sought out men who could fill out medical teams for emergencies like this man and the naval trooper. The crews were a mixture of former doctors, medical students, and even veterinarians. It was a motley jumble. Their ship wasn't completely killing them all, however. Many of the functions of the ship had been restored. Hell, the bridge was back in only an hour. Aren didn't understand it at all. He didn't bother trying to figure it out, though, since there were a lot more pressing matters at the moment, I.E. the man bleeding out in front of him.
"Lieutenant Varick? This is Petty Officer Cano, can you hear me?" Cano called over the ship-wide intercom, to Aren's consternation.
"Yes, I can. I'm busy, what is it?" Aren replied as he finally managed to stop the bleeding.
"There's been an update on our heading, sir. You better finish up what you're doing and get up here."
"Right. Send a medical team to the Third Maintenance Corridor on Sublevel 8, we've got an engineer who's hand's been damaged severely."
"Right away, Lieutenant."
Aren stood up and headed out the door as the medical team arrived. He entered the bridge after getting up the stairway. The NCOs were gathered at Ensign Lybun's console, which showcased their trajectory based on the transmission they received eight days ago. They turned to face him as he finally got close enough to see.
"Is that their ship?" Aren asked as he gripped the back of Lybun's chair.
"Aye, Lieutenant, that's the Basilisk." Lybun stated as she zoomed in on the ship's current position.
"What are those other ships in the background?"
"Acclamtors, I think." Chief Petty Officer Garash answered, stroking the gray stubble on his face.
Garash was one of the older breed of Imperial servicemen aboard. He had been a Petty Officer serving his home defense fleet that fought side by side with the Republic during the Clone Wars. He had helped support an invasion of a Pro-Separatist world in his home system, one that used a prototypical variant of Assault Ships instead of the more common Acclamator-Class. The ships were called "Unification-Class Assault Cruisers". They were basically an upscaled version of an Acclamator-Class, being bigger and able to offload more forces. They even had a separate Hangar for smaller ships like LAATs. A number had made their way into the Imperial Military, however, but it was only five or six ships of that class.
"Acclamators? Out here? Who do they belong to?" Engineering Petty Officer Morgana asked as Lybun tried her damndest to read the code signature.
"Says here that it's called the Radiant Perception. Pulling up data on it now."
"Where have I heard that name before?" Cano muttered as he scratched his head out of habit.
"Here we go. It's the flagship of one Inquisitor Sedyn Merrick, and one ship in a fleet of four that is home to his personal legion of Clones, the 95th Nexu. The other ships are The Bloodied Spirit, The Absolution, and the Blameless Conceit. They were all en route to Mandalore to quell an uprising when both the Bloodied Spirit and the Radiant Perception went missing in hyperspace the same…"
"'Same…' what, Ensign?" Sergeant Major Olvik of the Naval Troopers asked with apprehension.
"The same day as our accident…"
"Bloody hell…"
"By the Empire…"
"Spast!"
"You're sure, Lybun?"
"Aye, Lieutenant. Those two ships and ours left our own galaxy the same day. The Basilisk, though, that's been gone for… over six months?"
"What?"
"You're kidding!"
"The hell?"
"That's impossible."
"I don't know what to tell you, sir."
"I can't believe this. Those are probably the only Imperial forces in the entire galaxy besides us right now."
"All the more reason for us to link up with them in a quick fashion, Morgana. How long until we reach their position?"
"I can't really say, Lieutenant. About a week, if we're lucky. If we're not, then about a month or two."
"Damn. Cano, do we have enough rations to last that long?"
"Yes, Lieutenant. Don't forget, we've still got enough food for at least six months."
"Right, I forgot. I guess we should be somewhat thankful, then. That's one of the few things that helps lessen the stress this blasted heap is causing us."
City of E-Rantel, New World
"It still amazes me how fast they got this city cleaned up." Major Werin Imore stated as he looked out the window of the hotel room.
"Yes. I preferred it when the sick were still there. I used to go into the back alley to 'help' some of them." Solution Epsilon said as she fixed the few creases in her dress.
"Now we can leave the city and continue onto Re-Estize." Sebas Tian stated as he stood patiently next to the door.
Werin had joined both Sebas and Solution only two days ago. He was playing the role of the suffering fiance to Solution's bratty rich mistress from Baharuth. He was yelled at for being late to the hotel by Solution as a way to establish his cover, to which he hurriedly apologized to her and blamed the recent plague for his tardiness. The true reason as to why he joined the two was so the Basilisk could get practice in infiltrating the nations of the New World. If an Imperial agent could be placed into the capital city of the Re-Estize Kingdom, then the Basilisk could start building an intelligence network throughout the most powerful nations on the New World.
Werin was a member of the newly created Basilisk Intelligence Division. His original job aboard the Basilisk had been similar, in that he was gathering intelligence. He had been an interrogator in the brig. His experience in the brig would not help him on the New World as he couldn't simply beat the information he needed out of the King of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Not yet, anyway. He imagined he might get the chance in the future.
"Are you almost ready, 'dear'?" He asked Solution sweetly, to keep up appearances to any eavesdroppers.
"Where is that gift you promised me?" she replied in an irritable tone.
"Sebas, if you would?"
"Of course, my lord." Sebas nodded as he went to the closet and retrieved the box that had been set in the closet.
Sebas handed Werin the box, who promptly set it on the bed. He then pulled out a small blaster pistol from the box. It was a new model created in the Basilisk's Armory. It had originally begun its life as a SE-14c, and now everything about it had been changed. The scope was completely removed while the barrel had been shortened and made more boxlike. The port for power packs was now placed inside the grip rather than underneath and just behind the barrel.
Unbeknownst to the trio in the room, the weapon in Werin's hands looked similar to an old Glock 17 from Earth. That is, it would if the slide of a Glock 17 had been extended backward by one inch and slimmed out to a trapezoid-like shape over the hand gripping the pistol. Besides that change, the barrel from the Glock 17 would stick out of the slide by three centimeters. The weapon's creator, Lieutenant Junior Grade Perinim, dubbed it the "SE-15a".
Werin then pulled out three Hush 98 comlinks. While an older model of comlink, they were much more easily hidden than the Imperial C1 Personal Comlink. He then handed two to Sebas and Solution after he instructed them on how to use them. Sebas pocketed the comlink as Solution hid hers inside herself. There was a slight concern that the comlink would be dissolved, but Solution reassured Werin that even though she was a Slime, she could choose what to dissolve and what to keep intact.
"Has our driver arrived yet?" Werin asked as he hid the SE-15a in a concealed hip holster.
"Yes. He's waiting for us out front." Solution said, smirking at the memory of watching him talking to the men in particular.
"Very good. We shouldn't keep him waiting, should we?"
"No, we shouldn't 'beloved'."
"Hmph."
Sebas opened the door for Werin and Solution after the Slime Pleiades dissolved the box the equipment came in. After the two left the room, he shut the door, marking their first step in leaving their first stop on the road to Re-Estize. They exited the inn and entered the carriage that was waiting for them in front of the building. As they entered, they were met by Shalltear Bloodfallen, who was sitting comfortably in between two of her Vampire Brides. She smiled as the trio of spies sat opposite her.
"I don't believe we've met, Mr…?" she asked, letting Werin introduce himself.
"Major Werin Imore of the Basilisk's Intelligence Division, at your service, ma'am." he replied with a nod. She nodded in turn as the carriage ran over a rock.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Major."
"Please forgive my impertinence, but I was under the impression that this mission was to be conducted solely by myself, Ms. Epsilon, and Mr. Tian?"
"It is, but there is a concurrent mission within yours. The reason as to why you've been making yourselves a target is so that we could acquire a magic or martial arts user that would be suitable for lord Ainz."
"That does explain some of our recent actions. I do wish I'd had some sort of forewarning about this. However, it's not as if you're inclined to tell me everything you do. We both serve different leaders after all."
"I'm glad you're taking it so calmly, Major."
"To be completely honest with you, m'Lady, it's happened to me before. It's why I transferred to the correctional area aboard the Basilisk. I used to be an Imperial Stormtrooper before I switched career paths."
"An Imperial Stormtrooper? Don't be absurd. I've seen the Basilisk's Stormtroopers, and they all look the same underneath those helmets of theirs."
"Well, the Basilisk is a special case, m'Lady. The Grand Admiral believes normal human soldiers are too fallible, while droids would be too narrowminded. He chose a third option to balance it out: Clones."
"Really? Then what about the rest of your Empire?"
"Most of the Empire's Stormtroopers are natural-born humans now, but in the early days, the Stormtrooper Corps was entirely made of Clones. This is because they were in abundance after the Republic's victory in the Clone Wars. Gradually, humans slowly began to enter Imperial service after the war, but the Stormtroopers would not begin to take human recruits until it was deemed that Cloning was too expensive to the Empire."
"I believe Lupusregina was reading about the Clone Wars. Was it some conflict in your home dimension?" Sebas put in, remembering seeing Lupusregina looking at what the Imperials called a 'Holo-recording' of someone wielding a weapon like Inquisitor Merrick's.
"It wasn't just any bloody conflict! The Clone Wars has been one of the worst wars in recent galactic history! The death toll can't even be counted because there were so many damn battles everywhere in the known galaxy alone."
"It did lead to the rise of your Empire, though, from what Lupusregina has told me so far." Solution cut in, remembering the time she asked Lupusregina about what she was watching. Lupusregina had been surprisingly vague when asked about it. All she had said about the 'Holo-recording' was that it was the 'Rise of the Grand Admiral's Empire'.
Werin was about to reply when the carriage stopped and something banged on the door. He pulled out the SE-15a and inserted a 20-shot power pack. He held the pistol close to his chest as Shalltear stood up.
"Knock-knock, girlie! Why don't you come and play with us? I promise we'll be real gentle!" a man called, as others began to laugh.
Shalltear opened the door to the carriage and the bandits that had surrounded the door began to laugh. Zach, on the other hand, looked confused. This wasn't the girl he had picked up outside the inn. He certainly would've remembered picking this one up, judging by her rack. A bandit stepped forward and began to speak.
"This ain't your lucky night, girlie. Don't fight us and we won't kill ya, alright? You've got a helluva a pair for a kid!" he said as he reached a hand forward to grope her.
He stopped as he felt a stabbing pain in his wrist. His face contorted into a look of confusion, then fear as his hand fell to the ground. He brought it back to himself as Shalltear stepped down from the carriage. The man began to scream as his stump shot blood into the sky. Shalltear glanced around and began to smile evilly as the blood collected into a sphere above her head.
"As if I would let your filthy hands ever touch me." she said as her Brides leaped from the carriage interior and behind the men.
"Oh god, what the fuck ha-!" the bandit was cut off as he was decapitated.
"Shit, a fucking magic caster!" One bandit cried as looked up and saw the blood collecting above them, drawing his sword.
"W-where the hell did these bitches come from?!" another cried as he came face to face with a Bride when he tried to run.
Zach stood back as he watched the men get slaughtered by the girl and her friends. He turned to run and saw the girl he had picked up. She lowered the top of her dress and all thoughts about the others disappeared from his thoughts. He reached both hands out to cop a feel, and promptly sank into her. He screamed as the rest of him quickly followed suit. Solution laughed the whole time, loving the way Zach's screams made her vibrate ever so slightly as he was slowly digested.
Werin stood on the carriage steps and waited for any stragglers. A man tried to run back into the forest, and Werin took aim. He let the poor bastard think he would get away for a few more seconds. He slowly raised the pistol and lined it up on the man's back. He squeezed the trigger and felt the blaster jolt. The blast from the pistol pushed the man forward a couple more feet. He then fell face-down, smoke billowing out of his back. Werin surveyed the carnage caused in only a few minutes.
"This was a stupendous waste of our time." Shalltear remarked in a bored tone as one of her Brides came forward with a still-living man.
"My Lady, we have learned where these men house themselves. We have also learned that there is someone among them who has martial arts skills. He goes by the name of Brain, and by the words of this man, has apparently fought on equal terms with the Royal Head Warrior of this kingdom." the Bride said as she lifted the man up.
"Is this true?" Shalltear asked the man, who nodded.
"Does he mean that this 'Brain' has fought Gazef Stronoff? I've heard tales of Gazef's exploits while we were stuck in that inn." Werin put in as he walked over to the trio.
"Have you? What do they say about him?"
"That he is one of the strongest warriors in Re-Estize. This 'Brain' must be powerful indeed if he can hold his own against him."
"Then this might not be a waste after all. What should we do with this man, then?"
"Allow me." Werin said as he quickly aimed his pistol and shot the man through the side of the head.
The Bride dropped the man as Shalltear curtseyed to Werin. He nodded in turn as he returned his pistol to his holster. Solution walked over to them alongside the other Vampire Bride.
"I'm afraid that we must part ways, Lady Shalltear," Sebas said, turning to her, "as we have our own mission to attend to."
"Of course. My Brides and I will be heading towards the martial arts user." she replied as Werin helped Solution into the carriage.
Before he completely went inside, Werin took a sword from one of the dead bandits. He explained that it was "for emergencies" when he couldn't use the blaster. This would mean he would need training in using the weapon, but that would come later. Sebas climbed into the driver's seat, taking the reins for the horses. He nodded to Shalltear, and the trio of spies was off.
"May we meet again in Nazarick." she called to the retreating carriage.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick, New World
The "Switch" + 31 (31 Days Since the "Switch")
The blades clashed against each other once more. BalancedFear attempted to counter the incoming blade, but was swiftly knocked down. He attacked after the counter, only for his blade to disappear off into a nearby corner. He felt the blade of his opponent's sword and knew the fight was over. He had lost.
"I see my lessons in fencing haven't been wasted on you. You've improved since the last time we fought." EmpireForLife remarked as he removed the blunted tip of the rapier that had been in BalancedFear's practice vest.
"Well, you're a good teacher." BalancedFear replied as EmpireForLife helped him to his feet.
"I wouldn't be if I had allowed you to use the Force during our practice sessions. You would've taken me down several times before now."
"Most likely. However, we Mandalorians stick to our word."
"I know. I've dealt with Mandalorians before."
"Of course you have."
The two laughed as the audience gathered in the amphitheater's stands applauded the match. The Pleiades, Aura, Mara, and Cocytus had come to watch the match. Originally it was just Aura and Mare. Yuri Alpha and Lupusreigna then took an interest, and so on and so forth. The two Players bowed to their audience as two Imps arrived. One Imp flew over to the stands while the other went down to BalancedFear and EmpireForLife.
"Lord Ainz requests your presence immediately. It's very urgent." it said and then flew towards the opposite gate before either Player could ask about why it was urgent.
The two removed their practice equipment just as they were forcefully teleported to the Throne Room. They appeared next to Ryuzaki, who was in a nightgown. Momonga was already seated at his throne and looking at what looked like an in-game console. Momonga had explained that the in-game console they were seeing was not truly an in-game console, but a spell he had created called "Master Source". The spell replicated the console's more basic functions. At the moment, it was showing the NPC names, with one in red. Neither EmpireForLife nor BalancedFear could read it, however, as it was in Japanese. It was a weird discrepancy since the NPCs could all speak fluent English without a hint of an accent.
"Grand Admiral, Inquisitor, Lady Shioko, I'm afraid that I must inform all of you that Shalltear Bloodfallen has betrayed us." Albedo stated as Momonga held up a hand.
"I still do not believe she has." Momonga put in, thinking aloud.
"After we lost contact last night, I checked the Master Source and discovered this, my Lord. It's extremely likely that she has betrayed us, as both of the Vampire Brides that accompanied her have both died."
"What about mind-control magic? She's obviously not dead. Her name would have disappeared if that were the case." Ryuzaki questioned, getting their attention.
"She's undead, so that cannot be. Lord Gown has explicitly stated that all undead are immune to mind-control." BalancedFear replied in a somewhat doubtful tone, shaking his head.
"Then perhaps it has something to do with the New World?" EmpireForLife said and causing everyone to look back at him.
"That is an interesting point. Perhaps a martial art of this world caused her to become our enemy?"
"It makes sense. We still don't know everything about this place."
"But we still don't know how it happened."
"The cause doesn't change the fact that she betrayed us. We should send a hunting party to deal with her, my lord. I will lead them, with Cocytus and Mare acting as my vice-commanders." Albedo stated with finality, already moving to begin putting the party together.
"No, Albedo. That might be too rash of an action at this point in time. We must confirm that she has indeed rebelled against us of her volition first. If she has not, then we must make all possible efforts to rescue her and find out who has caused this. If she betrayed us due to our treatment of her or she is upset about something I possibly did, I would understand."
"Upset?! With all you have done for us? If she truly feels that way, I will not allow her to live!"
"Calm yourself, Albedo. Remember, my fellow Supreme Beings created all of you. That includes both the good and bad qualities of each of you. You were all made the exact way we wanted, and I love all of you for it. So if Sh-"
"So you love me?!"
"A-Albedo?"
"Loves me. Loves me. He loves me!"
"You were listening to me, weren't you?"
"And off to her own fantasy she goes." EmpireForLife snickered as Ryuzaki and BalancedFear attempted to hold in their laughter.
Albedo then went off on her own tangent while Momonga tried and failed to snap her out of her stupor. By the time she had stopped long enough to listen, Momonga had already located Shalltear. She was just outside of E-Rantel. He was about to begin speaking again when he received a call from Narberal.
"What is it, Narberal? I told you I was not to be disturbed!" his status effect of being an Undead kicked in, calming him down, "Forget it, what do you need?"
After Narberal explained that the guild had sent him a request to meet about a Vampire terrorizing the area outside of E-Rantel, he was off. EmpireForLife and BalancedFear took off soon after. They headed back to their rooms to prepare their forces.
The Grand Admiral's Quarters, Great Tomb of Nazarick, New World
"Basilisk, this is Grand Admiral Taver Slazin, come in." I stated as the Holo-projector turned on.
"This is Lieutenant Sarkley, Grand Admiral. Do you need something?" Sarkley said as his face appeared on the table.
"We have a situation. Shalltear Bloodfallen is being mind-controlled and is to be considered hostile at this time. I need a squadron of Clone Snipers sent down to these coordinates immediately. Also, have all weapons trained on her position. I will not take any chances that lord Gown will be unable to contain her."
"At once, Grand Admiral. Anything else?"
"Put the ship, the expeditionary force, and our outpost at full alert. Then I want a doubling of the guard at the outpost until this situation is resolved."
"Will that be all?"
"For n- wait. We were monitoring the planet last night, correct?"
"Yes, but why is that important, sir?"
"Bring up every recording from the past 24 hours. We may see what caused this blasted mess."
"Right away, Grand Admiral."
"That is all for now. Send the data to me once it has been retrieved." I finished and shut off the holo-projector.
I sighed as I went to sit down on my bed. With any luck, this entire mess would be sorted out in a short amount of time. My data-pad pinged once the data from the past 24 hours had been sent over to me. I scrolled through the videos until one caught my eye.
From the recording, I could see a group of people were in the forest facing down a hideous-looking monster, one that I knew distinctly. It was Shalltear in her Vampire form. She was going berserk as she charged the group. A man with a spear attempted to strike her, only for her to block it with a spear of her own. She knocked him out of the way and was still charging at an older woman and a big man with a shield. A spell was cast just as Shalltear attacked the two with an energy attack. She stopped moving soon afterward. It was the same spot that Momonga had seen earlier in the Throne Room. The recording then showed the armored spearman looking up as if he heard a noise. He pointed at the camera, which was attached to all of the Viper droids that had been sent down for keeping an eye on the New World. He tossed his spear as the droid started firing at them. Two of the group went down, and the droid hurriedly escaped before they could bring it down. He zoomed in on the group and cursed as he recognized them. From Clementine's description of the Black Scripture, it was impossible to mistake their Captain.
The Slane Theocracy had attacked and tried to control Shalltear, but they were only partially successful, it seemed. She would have gone with them when they left if she were fully mind-controlled. Then again, the spell could have worked completely, and she was simply left there without orders due to the fact that the one who cast the spell was too injured. It didn't really matter, as in the end, it would only lead to one outcome: the complete, total, and utter destruction of the Slane Theocracy.
Holding Cell, Imperial Outpost, Carne Village, New World
"Wake up, Clementine." Jidak's voice cut in, waking Clementine from her slumber.
She grumbled and got off the cot that had been provided for her. They had given her a slightly larger dose of the temporary cure to the disease so that she could get back into shape to kill. She was then provided a bed, food, and water. She was getting bored, however, and thought about attempting an escape.
"Yes, master?" she groused as she put on her armor.
"You have a mission to complete. We need you to eliminate a target."
"Who is it?"
"You are to eliminate one of the six Miko Princesses of the Slane Theocracy. They need to focus on their own lands for a little while rather than snooping around our territory."
"Are you crazy? I'm wanted all over the Theocracy!"
"You will either do as you're told or die horribly to the 'Red Death', which would you prefer?"
"Alright. How will this work?"
"We'll be dropping you at their location this evening. They haven't arrived, yet, so you should have ample time to familiarize yourself with the location. Once you've dispatched her, use the flare that you will be provided to signal for extraction. If you complete the mission, I will see about getting you better quarters."
"Consider it done, master."
Forest Outside of E-Rantel, New World
"All units, check-in." Second Lieutenant CC-1457/8801 ordered via his helmet comm.
"Viper reporting, sir." one member said from his position on the ground.
"Sneak here, sir." another said from within the trees.
"Forty-Four over here, sir." the final member said as he walked out of the foliage on the left.
"Form up on me, troopers."
The three other Clones appeared in a sem-circle around him as he pulled out a Commando Recon Probe droid, given to all Imperial Sniper units while serving aboard the Basilisk. He tossed the droid up into the air to survey their surroundings. The droid searched for a black armored knight, a woman in a brown cloak with plainclothes underneath, and a large rodent the pair had found while going back to E-Rantel on their first mission as adventurers. Once found, the troopers watched them as they were being accompanied by another larger group of adventurers.
The other adventurers presented a problem for the Clones, as they would need to be dealt with if secrecy was to be maintained. It wouldn't be too difficult to deal with them, however, as the four Clones had fought tougher during the Clone Wars. There was also the fact that their armor had been painted to blend in with the environment. It was also Clone Scout Trooper armor rather than the normal Phase II, as the Scout Armor was better for snipers to operate in for this kind of environment. The group of adventurers was due west of them, so the troopers set up an ambush for them.
It was only an hour until the adventurers had appeared and been surprised by both Mare and Albedo. They drew their swords, only to be torn apart in a crossfire as their leader was knocked unconscious and tied to a tree by lord Gown. The man was livid when he awoke.
"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you for this! You and your band of freaks!" he cried as CC-1457/8801 put a DC-17 to his head.
"Shut up." he said as he blew the adventurer leader's brain out. He then turned and saluted lord Gown alongside his brothers.
"Second Lieutenant CC-1457/8801 at your service, lord Gown. If you prefer to use my name, it's 'Explorer'."
"Thank you, Explorer. I take it that the Grand Admiral sent you to help with Shalltear?" lord Gown asked as he transformed back to his original robed skeleton form.
Explorer nodded and explained their mission. After a moment, lord Gown sighed but said that he understood. He then ordered Mare and Narberal to take the bodies back to Nazarick with the large rodent. Apparently, its name was "Hamusuke". It tried to make an excuse not to go to Nazarick but was ignored by all.
The troopers followed Ainz Ooal Gown and Albedo to within twenty meters of Shalltears position. They then split off and took up positions on the surrounding cliffs. Explorer watched through his scope as Albedo and lord Gown approached the still Shalltear. In only a few minutes, the pair teleported elsewhere in a panic, leaving the four snipers on the cliffs. Taking this as a cue that they could not regain control of Shalltear, the four troopers lined up their shots on her head and were about to fire when the Grand Admiral cut in.
"Do not open fire on Shalltear!"
"Missed your last, sir. Please repeat, over?" Explorer asked as he placed a hand to the side of his helmet.
"If you attack her, she will kill all of you! Hold position until lord Gown returns, understood?"
"Wilco, sir. Out."
"Damn it all, I was hoping we could get some action." Forty-Four griped in an annoyed tone.
"I'd rather not face that freak. You saw the report that BID Major made on his way to the capital, right?" Viper said in an exasperated tone, referring to the slaughter of the bandits last night.
"Cut the chatter you two, and start getting comfy. I've got a feeling this is gonna be one of those days."
Momonga's Office, Great Tomb of Nazarick, New World
The "Switch" + 32 (32 Days Since The "Switch")
Demiurge walked in and sat down beside Albedo as she finished explaining Momonga's plan to Cocytus, me, BalancedFear, and Ryuzaki. I could tell that he was displeased about something, and I wagered it was because Momonga didn't have any real backup from Nazarick. He cleared his throat as he turned to face Albedo.
"Care to explain what exactly is going on?" he asked as she pulled up a Mirror of Remote Viewing.
In the Mirror, Momonga was casting spell after spell on himself to prepare for the coming fight with Shalltear. My snipers were still in position, though they had been given explicit orders to only intervene if Momonga seemed to be in very serious trouble. The Basilisk still had every weapon that could shoot at ground-based targets pointed at Shalltear as well.
"You already have the answer to that." she replied calmly, a small smile on her face.
"I was meaning the fact you let him go unsupported!"
"It was our master's orders. I simply obeyed, as I hope you will do as well."
"Why didn't you protest?! We could have sent some lower-level creatures ahead of him in case this is a trap! If all of us fought together, we would be unstoppable! I can't even begin to fathom the kind of madness that went into his descion, but it was damn obvious that lord Ainz was testing us, and don't you even act like you didn't notice it!"
"It is as you say."
"THEN WHY DID YOU ALLOW HIM TO GO UNSUPPORTED?!"
"If I may, Mr. Demiurge?" I interjected before a fight would break out between him and Albedo.
He turned toward me, angry at Albedo's actions, and barked for my reason to interrupt. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my communicator, putting it to my mouth. I asked a simple question to the man on the other end.
"Are the guns still on target?"
"Yes, sir. They haven't deviated from the target at all in the past 24 hours." the Gunnery Officer replied.
I shut off the communicator and began to explain to Demiurge, whose face turned from one of barely restrained fury to an angered curiosity.
"That was the Gunnery Officer aboard the Basilisk. Do you know what exactly I was talking about when I asked him that question? No? It's quite simple really. All gun batteries aboard the Basilisk that can attack the planet are currently aimed at Shalltear's position. Lord Gown isn't 'unsupported', he has quite sufficient support from both my ship and the four snipers I've had placed around Shalltear's position. The snipers' weapons are currently aimed at her head, and should the need arise, they can blow it off with a simple pull of the trigger. With this kind of support, I doubt she would get very far in hurting lord Gown. There is also the assumption that he can survive a direct hit from about 5,000 turrets firing down on him all at once. If he does perish in the battle, however, I will give you complete control of both the Basilisk and her crew. I hope that will somewhat ease your concerns."
"Dude, are you crazy?!" BalancedFear shouted through the Player-Player communications.
"Please tell me you're not serious." Ryuzaki put in through her own version of the 'Message' spell.
"Relax. I've already got a contingency in place should Momonga die. Once Demiurge and most of the Nazarick Guardians are aboard the Basilisk, and the entire crew evacuated from the ship down to the planet, I will destroy both it and myself along with the Guardians. You two will then be de-facto leaders of the Imperials who survive. Once the leadership is figured out, you two will destroy Nazarick and attempt to continue taking over this world. I doubt you would have too much trouble with it. We are the most superior when it comes to tactics, weaponry, and armor on this world."
"You're joking, right?"
"Do we look like we're leaders?"
"You led a hive, Ryuzaki, and lest we forget, BalancedFear, you have led your own Clone Legion. It will be fine. For now, though, let's hope that outcome doesn't come to pass."
We sat in silence as we waited for Momonga to begin the battle.
Unknown Village, I.E.E.F. Route, New World
"Piotr? Piotr, where are you?" Yusnal Zuma called for her six-year-old son.
She was a widowed farmer and mother of four, three girls and a boy. Their father had died due to the disease that had traveled from E-Rantel, near Carne Village, where her sister and brother-in-law were chiefs. Piotr was a curious little boy, and liked to play in the woods around their farm. He went out further into the woods from where he last played every single day. She hated it when he did this. It caused her to worry about what might happen while he was in the forest. She continued to call him, walking into the forest herself and leaving her eldest daughter to watch the farm.
As she entered the forest, a chill began creeping down her back. Her own parents told her stories about this place. Most of the stories revolved around its name: the Rotten Grove. It was plagued by the souls of the damned, who lusted for battle long after they fell. She still believed in those old stories even as an adult. At night, when the wind carried in just the right way, she thought she could hear screams coming from within the forest.
She continued on her path until she finally found Piotr, who was busy splashing around in a small pond. She sighed as she finally got his attention and lead him back to their home. They didn't know how lucky they were that day. Only a few yards away, under a hillside, was a cave. Inside that cave, the remains of a ship from the long ancient Old Republic lay still. The ship itself was mostly sealed due to the environment it found itself in. There was, however, a large opening from where it had broken in half when it crashed a millennia ago.
A man stumbled out of the wreckage. He staggered over to the remains of a deer that had fallen into the cave by accident. The man then collapsed and crawled to the deer, beginning to feast on it once more. The fall wasn't what killed the deer all those days ago. It had been this man, or rather, his corpse. The man himself, an Ensign in the Republican Navy, had died a millennia ago when a horrible virus had been unleashed by the captive Sith Lord aboard their ship. It had infected and killed everyone in a matter of days. Most of the casualties occurred when the ship crashed, however, as the dead started coming back.
The man himself had died when he'd been shot by one of the corpses, his blood mixing with that of another corpse. The corpse whose blood the man had been lying in had reanimated and was then swiftly cut down by a Republic Trooper who himself was later swarmed by a group of them. The man heard something in his head as he died. It was a strangely distorted voice. It repeated itself over and over again as his corpse rose back up.
"Kill and eat... kill and eat... kill and eat."
Author's Note: Surprise! The Sickness makes its own appearance in this story! Before you say anything, however, this version is the older strain. It will still be able to learn and everything, though.
The strain that was airborne in Joe Schreiber's Death Troopers was tampered with by the Galactic Empire. This original strain was spread through contact from either a bite or contact with the Sickness's liquid form.
Next time, we'll see the fight with Shalltear, the I.E.E.F. will meet face to face with this new horror, and the Slane Theocracy will lose something precious.
P.S. Did anyone catch the easter egg I hid? If you read the Thrawn Trilogy, you might recognize it.
TBC: Canon Stormtroopers are a lot worse than Legends Stormtroopers. The Legends troopers were more accurate than the Canon ones, and that is saying something. This is meant to explain why Werin is pretty good with a blaster. If this were Canon, I imagine he would have somehow managed to hit Shalltear while aiming at the retreating bandit.
Please Read and Review! The next chapter should be up by February 17th at the latest (College Resumes Tomorrow for me).