Chapter 98: Eleven Stories/Major Battle 18: Crown of the Core 2
Residing inside of a space station, floating within the middle of nowhere as its residents focused on secret research and weapons development, a hunchbacked weapons merchant idly sighed as he polished his weapons for the umpteenth time. This was his usual daily routine, and even though there was the odd customer that would travel through the station to occasionally browse his wares in person, most people would instead buy his weapons through the information network and have their heavy-duty equipment mail-ordered to them.
His name was Vradis. "Hrah. Nother' day of wheelin' an' dealin'. Wish somethin' would happen." He growled to himself.
He once worked as a courier that delivered messages between the Municipal Testimony, the Aristocratic Firm and the Jury of Judges. Despite having such a cushy, high paying job, he was also proficient at creating makeshift explosions and unconventional weapons in his side-job. However, his experiments led to a fiasco that accosted multiple parties at a pharmaceutical company, which resulted in his contract being terminated. However, there were members of the Gilazonica Authoritarian Military that saw great potential in his technology. In exchange for developing weapons for the military for eight years, he would then be given a clean slate. However, upon the end term of his eight years of service, he would be given further leniency and a pay raise should he choose to stay with the Gilazonica Authoritarian Military to continue practicing his hobby. The other option was to become a messenger again, bug had to drop his weapon smithing hobby altogether.
It was hardly considered a choice for the experimental weapons hobbyist.
However, his disposition completely changed when two figures approached his shop. One of them was someone he instantly recognized, which also happened to he most favorite customer. It was The Anointed Authority. The other was some lanky lizard that was dressed like an aristocrat, which had a nervous expression that seemed metaphorically welded onto his face. The latter was an easy mark, but the former was a prude, but fair, businessman. "Ey~! Kara~! If it ain't my favrit' customer! How ya doin'?"
"As always, there is something going on with Gilazonica, Vradis." The Anointed Authority replied flatly. "However, I have little time to cajole, and less time to prevent a disaster from befalling onto our populations. I need an experimental weapons blueprint. It needs to be under the table and no-strings attached."
A crooked eyebrow was raised as the weapons merchant scratched his hunched back. "Ah... Reckon I might have somethin' that'll scratch that itch ya got. What kind o' payload ya thinkin' on deliverin'?"
"Enough to... Uh... pierce through an impenetrable defense system or destroy an entire planet. Preferably both." Kara answered.
Vradis' eyes widened, but did everything he could to keep himself from smiling. "Oh~. Hmm... I reckon I got somethin' you might like. But uh... What about yer... nerdy-lookin' pansy tailin' behind ya?" He questioned, pointing at Kara's follower.
The person following behind Kara happened to be Dalzu. He waved awkwardly at Vradis. "Uh... Hello. I'm Dalzubiggatanner. Pleasure to meet you."
"Oh, yer the new head of that satellite telecommunicatin' company. Sorry bout' yer dad dyin' on ya. Heard it was horrible." Vradis said, nodding politely to Dalzu.
Kara turned to Dalzu and gestured to Vradis. "This is Vradisoonda, my weapons dealer. He doesn't sell weapons in the traditional sense, but he sells weapon designs and blueprints that I can manifest and use for the benefit of Gilazonica. He has a brilliant mind, even though he's looked down upon in most R&D departments. It is illegal for any person to become a weapons manufacturer, but designing weapons in neutral spaces and territories is regarded as a grey area, which is often overlooked in most law systems. And since we are in space, there is no restrictions placed on the creation of hypothetical weapons. Introductions are now over." After the short introduction, he then turned to Vradis. "Well? What kind of weapons blueprint do you have for me? Preferably something that can fit on my ship."
Dalzu sulked while Vradis grinned in reply to Kara's request. "The ship called Ahnuanin, huh? Oh I think I have a few ideas fer what ya might want. How bout' blueprints to a Valldex-tipped screw-head missile bombardment delivery system?"
"The Valldex-tipped missiles would be hard to procure, since my ship can't replicate those materials without losing a lot of mass. Or creating a lot of planetary debris from the destruction of the world. I'm more thinking something that leaves little evidence." Kara informed.
"A huge VAS bomb design, maybe?"
"That would produce too much gamma radiation, and would raise too many questions."
"Uh-huh. Then how bout' blueprints fer a planetary manipulation array? I remember that an old array was used to change the orbit of Gilazonica at one point. Pretty much a museum piece nowadays. The planet you want to destroy could be tossed into our star."
"I need something more. Hypothetically, what do I need if I were to destroy something that is protected by a veil of anti-quantum displacement folds in the shape of a spherical shell?"
This time, Vradis' eyes bulged out of his head as a grinning smile threatened to split his head in half. "Oh... Ya glorious motherfucker... I think I got the hypothetical thing you might be needin'. Give me a sec'."
After leaning down behind his counter for half a minute, Vradis then unveiled several blue scrolls containing white letters and shapes that would tell its reader on how to create what was ascribed to its shiny laminated parchment. After carefully inspecting the paper, Kara's eyes widened in surprise, while Dalzu was dumbfounded by what was revealed to him. Dalzu began to speak again. "Uh... What are we looking at?"
Vradis' grin continued to express itself as he gestured to the blueprints. "Ladies. Say hello to the blueprints for the PBHP Super Cannon."
"And what do the acronyms stand for?" Dalzu asked.
Vradis seemed to grin even wider. "Portable Black Hole Portal."
Libben district was host to the largest population concentration in Sovereign City. To one particular individual living in this district, it was completely ordinary, ultimately boring, and vehemently lacking. Centuries after being chosen as one of Gollog's most devout servants, the individual in question had no idea he would spend much of the last decade cooped up in this tired little dstrict only to do absolutely nothing. When he heard news that their emperor had returned, much of the populace had cheered his name. He too had cheered his name, but he new in his heart that things were changing.
"Burky. You are going to attract flies. Close the window and have a snack." A feminine voice called.
"Coming Prisd." Burky straightened his evening clothes, colored in the traditional theme of the district he lived in, before closing the window and leaving to a different room.
As Burky entered this new room, his senses was assaulted by multiple aromas, which consisted of scented incenses, freshly prepared sliced fruits, and overly sweet alcoholic beverages. He didn't partake much in Prisd's culinary masterpieces, for he had tried all of them for the umpteenth time for the past several years now. And within those several years, he saw how such a diet had ruined Prisd's figure. He saw Prisd coming into the room with a large plate of foodstuffs, her girth almost bordering on obesity. The food she prepares often tends to be incredibly enticing, but he had learned to consume his food with a healthy helping of fiber and water after each meal.
Burky sighed as he saw what was put on the platter. He estimated that the platter of sliced kalumas fruit and alcoholic drinks could feed around three or four people. "Prisd, not to be a nuisance, but I was lead to believe I was having a snack. Not a meal."
A backhanded slap was delivered to Burky's arm. "Behave. Even when you are my husband, that doesn't automatically mean all this food I made is just for you. I got the call from the hospital. They say that Burkin is fully recovered from his accident and is returning to our home soon."
Burky rubbed at his struck arm dully as he stared at his wife in surprise. "My great great grandfather has recovered? So soon?"
"I'm just as surprised as you are." Replied Prisd. "I know how much you two like to go at each others throats, so I'm preparing this to try and disarm the fight before it begins."
Burky took a slice of fruit and greedily consumed it. "Mm. So I take it he's going to relax at our home until his work calls. I figured he'd do this."
"Be that as it may, I don't want you two riling each other. You two always make the biggest messes in our house, and you two get too drunk to clean up after yourselves. Ugh... I remember the noise complaints we received from our neighbors during the incident involving the hatchling." Prisd said, looking wistful.
"Oh don't bring that story up. Besides, we found the tyke perfectly okay playing some of my entertainment system's games." Burky rolled his eyes.
Prisd pointed at Burky. "They were all porn games, Burky."
"And that's why I said bringing your family over for a party was a bad idea." Burky said with crossed arms.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Burky sighed as he went to the door. Upon opening the door, he saw his great great grandfather standing past the entrance of his home, smiling towards him. Burkin wore the same attire as his great great grandson, save for some patchwork and several insignias that displayed his position and status in the Sovereign City community. However, the face of this supposed elder gilanian looked to be around the same age as his young family member. Burky bowed toward his supposed elder. "Greetings, honored elder Burkin. Have you recovered well?"
Burkin nodded. "I have, Grandson Burky. There was some confusion with administration however. Those feckless nurses can be quite grabby, if you catch my meaning."
Burky sighed. "I know. Our family seems to have an odd fixation with nurses and sluts."
Burkin raised an eyebrow at Burky. "You seem a bit stressed. Do you need a hug or something?"
A confused expression flashed onto Burky's face. "A hug? What, are you offering one?"
Burkin looked thoughtful for a moment before opening his arms. "Heh. You know what? Why not? I'm willing to change up the status quo now and then. I hope you like getting hugged."
Before Burky had the chance to complain, he was assailed by two arms that pressed and smothered him into his visitor. After some painful pats on his back, Burky managed to pull himself away from his elder. During the scuffle, something small stabbed through Burky's clothing. He didn't even know that he was penetrated by such a subtle weapon. "Gah! Get off me, you defunct relic!"
Prisd shook her head. "Oh... Already, you two are getting violently physical."
Burkin noticed Prisd and paused for a few seconds. He walked past Burky, who was scratching his back after being heavily patted on the back, only to stand before Prisd and bow before her. "Ah... Prisd. Lovely to see you again. You have gotten curvier the last time I saw you."
Prisd offered the back of her hand to Burkin. "And you are as insufferable as ever, Burkin."
Burkin went up to the offered hand and kissed it, while delivering a microscopic needle into Prisd's flesh. Burkin looked up at Prisd with a broad smile and chuckled. "Ah, but that's the beauty and horror of having a family. Sometimes you gotta suffer your new in-laws before you suffer for the family that really matters to you."
Taggen district. A place filled with bronze and green colors, with its inhabitants focused with their various tasks of testing new chemical compounds and revising weapons technology. The war effort once made this city into a bustling hive of activity, as the scientists, researchers and professors that lived in this district tried to event creative weapons and methods to more efficiently eradicate the zerg menace. However, the years had went by, and the progress that went to alleviating and stopping the war had went nowhere. They initially assumed that the firing of Gollog's secret weapon had been a success, yet received no word regarding the end of Golden Star's war with the Zerg Swarm.
Enter Beegup. He wasn't an esteemed researcher, a praised professor, or a highly ranked scientist. He wore a simple uniform that was serviceable to the position of a janitor, and he was tasked with cleaning up major spills and sanitizing workstations. It was grueling work, but he preferred to work as a janitor instead of going through the mental exorcise of using various forms of mathematics to determine what type of metal alloy would make armor significantly stronger, or weapons cleave through zerg flesh more efficiently. Such efforts became headaches to him, and he would rather spend his work hours clearing his mind through cleaning up messes instead of working on projects that he knew was, ultimately, a waste of his time.
He was currently focused on a notably stubborn spot on the floor, stained a shade of red due to an accident involving some specialized solvents eating into someone's arm. The arm was quickly dissolved and reduced to basic components as blood flowed freely onto the floor. The janitor huffed, silently wishing that he had some bleach to get rid of the annoying color marking the floor. Sadly, his moment of peace was going to be disturbed. "Hrum..."
A passerby bumped into Beegup, which made him trip on his mop and slip onto the floor. After a WHUMP noise finished echoing through the halls, the janitor got up and leered at the offender. Despite having a ringing ear-hole, he was not about to have his day ruined from having someone crash into him."Oi! fucker! Stop right there!"
The passerby seemed to be someone he knew. Once Beegup's rude collider heard his attention grabbing call, he stopped and turned to see him. "Oh! Beegup! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"
The clumsy character that rudely knocked him over happened to be a scientist he knew well. One that was within the biology department, if he recalled correctly. Beegup sighed when he saw who it was. "Teldan." He paused for a few seconds before remembering something about the biologist. "... Wait. I thought you were supposed to be bedridden in the hospital for another week?"
The scientist named Teldan shook his head. "Turns out the illness I received was misdiagnosed. Can't trust those doctors and nurses telling the difference between a subarachnoid hemorrhage and a common cold."
A pause elapsed. "... That doesn't answer my question."
"Oh! Right!" Teldan nodded hurriedly and gestured to himself, only to pause before shaking his head. "Actually, I am already late for some lab work. I called my peers and already told them that my recovery was quick. They are expecting me."
Beegup sighed and shooed for Teldan to go away. "Alright then. Fuck off so I don't get you fired. And also, thank you for the apology."
Teldan tilted his head at Beegup. "Quick question first. Are you fine? I didn't notice that you landed hard on the floor. I was so focused on getting back to work that I didn't realize what I did."
Beegup shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine. Now fuck off already. I got floors to clean."
Teldan nodded at Beegup and hurried off. Wherever the scientist was going, Beegup didn't care to know nor wanted to. He was already behind schedule, and he didn't want his superiors riding on his tail. Besides his tardiness on completing his cleaning duties, the incident resulting in Beegup's slight altercation with the scientist wasn't a mere accident. The scientist named Teldan was, in fact, an infiltration agent in the guise of someone that Beegup recognized. Had Beegup paid more attention, he would have noticed the parasite that had entered through his ear-hole. Alas, the pain suppressant chemicals the parasite produced prevented Beegup from noticing its intrusion into his body, nor the tickling sensation behind his head.
The changelisk, disguised as the scientist named Teldan, had infiltrated into Taggen District without any further complications.
Kay had remembered an ingenious tactic some time after the infiltration mission began. He delivered several changelisks that were commanded to carry a bunch of parasites to Virid's base of operations, and instructed Virid to have the changelisks deliver and attach the parasites to a select number of gilanians that lived in the Sovereign Crypt/City. It was the same tactic he used in the first timeline, which was to sneak a parasite onto General Pallax's person and turn him into an unwitting mole that the swarm could use to exploit the Golden Star Empire.
And The Swarm would use that same tactic again to sabotage Taggen District's technology departments, which would squash any future attempts to create any technologies that would help Golden Star hamper the zerg ever again. However, there was still much more work to be done.
However, while the infiltration mission was underway, a mysterious group of surveillance officers caught wind of the conspiracy in play.
There was a place where darkened hallways were always monitored by silent, mechanical eyes. Within this labyrinth, its robed inhabitants were tasked to survey the population of the underground Sovereign City and its citizens. It was through the roles they took that had given them their names, which made them into public figures that were both revered and hated. They were Sovereign City's surveyors, and their base of operation was stationed in Quiggen District.
A lone surveyor was looking over several screens, his eyes glazed over from several minutes of surveillance monitoring, stationed within a cubicle that held no distractions other than the screens in front of him. This, however, was the norm for all surveyors. Every minute dedicating themselves to watching the populace of Sovereign City was another minute spent serving their emperor. This surveyor, as well as his other brother and sister surveyors, were dedicated to find evidence of any heretics or conspirators that would seek to overthrow Gollog's empire. Their unhealthy dedication to surveying the underground city made it so that they would often be described as cultists. Cultists in a sense that venerate the emperor of Golden Star as a holy figure, and spoke in a special code that only fellow surveyors were allowed to communicate in.
The surveyor was joined by another surveyor, a female gilanian that was only an apprentice. Once she entered the surveillance cubicle, she bowed to the surveyor. "Greetings, Brother Lammix. Have you casted your light upon our soil well?" The surveyor code was cryptic and hard to understand, since the meaning behind the words were known only to the surveyors. (In the apprentice surveyor's case, she simply asked if Surveyor Lammix was performing his duties efficiently.)
Surveyor Lammix turned and nodded toward the apprentice. "Ah, greetings to you too, Sister Groop. By my fire, my light shall chase away the darkness that covers our soil, wind, and water." (He's dedicated in his surveillance over the locations, conversations, and resources.)
Sister Groop smiled and clasped her hands together. "That is good news to hear. Then may our light chase away the darkness, and guide our blessings to rid the sinners and their corruption." (To survey everything as much as possible, and direct the enforcers towards any lawbreakers and their activities.)
A long pause elapsed between Groop and Lammix before Lammix decided to shake his head and sighed. "You know, you are supposed to say the passages when you mention light and darkness in the same sentence. The superstitious within our ranks would consider that bad luck."
Groop gasped. "Oh! was I?" She asked in surprise.
Lammix nodded. "Yes. If you were in the presence of a master surveyor, then they will certainly review your apprenticeship and cast their judgement on you. However, since you are within the presence of a surveyor that is your peer and a rank above you, I'll do us the honor of reciting the Surveyor's Conduct. Will you listen closely?"
Groop nodded in humble embarrassment. "By my fire, I will memorize the Conduct entirely. I am ready." (She is willing to memorize the code of the surveyors.)
Lammix turned back to the screens as he slowly spoke various passages he memorized.
"Light is observance, which will chase the unobserved darkness. It is through our light we bring safety to all.
Our guidance is our word, which will point the blessed enforcers to the sinning criminals and their corrupt crimes.
The fire is willpower and passion. May it never dim and become passionless and without will.
The soil is property and land. May it never be tainted with evidence.
The wind is our word and our truth. May it never become a vaporous and suspicious.
The water is our resources and our life. May it never turn to drought.
Our duty is to our role. Our service is to the crown. Golden is our stars."
Groop repeated each passage that Lammix recited aloud for her. For each passage she spoke, she would commit to her memory to the best of her ability. After reciting her passages five times, she sighed and relaxed her posture. "I hope that the masters would forgive my dimness."
"Your reciting of the Conduct was... passable. To my standards. Let us now cast our light onto the soil." Lammix admitted, turning away to look at the surveillance screens again.
After several minutes of scanning the several screens, Apprentice Groop pointed at a screen and tilted her head. "Hmm. I sense vapor from this. Should this be brought to our light?"
Lammix looked upon the screen Groop pointed too. After hitting a few keystrokes, two names appeared on the screen. "By my light, they are named... Researcher Teldan and Janitor Beegup. Our light reveals that Teldan was too dim, resulting in the taint between himself and the janitor."
"Should we offer guidance to our blessings?" Groop asked.
"Let's see how this plays out first..." After several minutes had passed, they saw the scientist taking leave from the janitor without too much incident. "... The corruption didn't continue to grow. The taint is minor and forgivable."
"From his wind, he was released early from the hospital." Groop stated.
"Hmm. Rather rare for a hospital to let its patients out early. A person who hates their work would rather act sick for a few extra days of rest. Many would bring fire to their vapor in such a manner." Lammix added. "Still, it wouldn't hurt to bring some light on this subject. When was the time of his release?"
"Check the hospital records." Groop suggested.
After several keystrokes, Lammix brought up Researcher Teldan's hospital records expediently. Once Lammix retrieved the information he needed, he nodded at his findings. "Let me see. ... Uh... ... Everything seems accurate. No corruption or taint detected by our light, as far as I can tell."
"Good."
Before Lammix could ask, he was felled by the penetrating and slicing bone knife of a changelisk. After the moment Lammix's heart was stabbed and his head removed from his torso, the changelisk quickly changed forms, shifting from the apprentice known as Groop into the appearance of Surveyor Lammix. None of the other surveyors would be spared, since they too would be replaced by a changelisk assuming their identity.
Arphas District held a vast artificial biome that was cared for by farmers, horticulturalists, agriculturists, and gardeners with the talent, skill, and knowledge necessary to care for the various flora that were grown there. Kalumas trees, pitcher plant bushes, skraken mushrooms, Shallow Ocean sea weed, vaph grass, mai grain and fire root plants were grown in this artificial ecosystem in plentiful supply, and were situated on multiple levels. The having the plants in the underground city enabled the citizens of the Sovereign City/Crypt the ability to breath fresh air. It was an economic alternative that relied on plants recycling air instead of using manifestation altars to convert carbon dioxide back into clean, breathable oxygen.
Unfortunately, the caretakers of this district would have unexpected visitors within their midst.
A changelisk, disguised as a laborer that picked produce wearing a pair of bluish-green overalls and a sun hat, had recently entered into the district, having recently used the train station that specialized in transporting passengers and cargo through the electric super-cooled tunnel, which went through the highly pressurized molten medium that was the outer core, deep inside of the planet.
This changelisk in disguise didn't come alone, since he brought a gaggle of several changelisks and a single drone with him. They was hidden in a large metal container, which would normally be used to transport foodstuffs naturally produced from within Arphas District. It was a similar tactic that Kay used to infiltrate the floating fortress that Commander Kralluf once resided in. The changelisk's mission, however, was not to infiltrate a commander's office to steal some exotic animal. Rather, it was tasked to find a patch of fertile land for the drone to morph on. The hiding drone had consumed enough bio-matter to transform into a hatchery, with just enough resources to spawn a drone and an overlord, have a drone morph into a spawning pool, and gestate a queen. The biomass contained within the Arphas district would fuel the swarm with resources, enabling the swarm to spawn the minions it needed to take over the underground city/crypt. Once a hive cluster was established within this district, then Gollog and his hidden city would be hard pressed to stand against the continually growing swarm.
"Hey friend!"
The changelisk turned around slowly to discover someone calling to it. In an attempt to remain inconspicuous, the disguised changelisk returned the greeting. "Hello to you too."
The caller in question wore the same kind of cyan-colored overalls that the changelisk wore, but was sans a sun hat and was adored with gloves and boots that was caked with mud and manure. He also had a gilded eye-patch covering his left eye. "I don't seem to recognize ya! Where ya from?"
"I just got instated recently and I'm tasked with delivering empty produce crates. I'm a bit new here." The changelisk replied.
"Oh yeh? Which transit tram did you arrive from?" The gilanian horticulturist asked.
The changelisk pointed behind himself. "From the one that connects to Libben District, the Libben-Arphas tramway. I was given instructions to deliver this empty produce crate to a forested area somewhere, but nobody gave me any directions."
The gilanian nodded. "Aaah, that. Let me help you out then." The gilanian pointed at a direction. "There's a forested area that has a lot of overgrown kalumas trees. They got fruits that are just about ripe enough to pick. If ya leave the empty crate there, go find a nearby foreman farmhand and inform them where you left the empty produce crate. They'll tally its location and send some farmhands to begin picking fruit and filling the crate."
"Mighty helpful of you!" The changelisk replied with a smile. "What is your name?" The changelisk asked, reaching a hand out to give a handshake.
"Duffah. Yours?" He replied, accepting the handshake.
"Johnny. It's been a pleasure." The changelisk replied.
"Likewise." Duffa added. After that, the disguised changelisk and the horticulturist named Duffa parted ways.
But Johnny didn't intend on finding the foreman right after leaving the not-so empty crate near some kalumas trees with fruit that was ripe for the picking. The Swarm's invasion would not be deterred by a simple side quest. However, life was barren on the surface of Kiln, and for the gilanian people to continue to live in this world, they still needed a form of flora and fauna to thrive on.
Once Johnny found a secluded spot within a forest comprising of kalumas trees, Johnny the disguised changelisk went to the crate and opened it up. As he did, several changelisks slithered out and took the forms of various farmhands, each one of them looking perfectly generic. Their disguises would be subtly altered when they find other gilanians within this district, and would slowly integrate themselves into their ranks, and continue to spread the HEV into most of the general populace.
But the drone had a different purpose. Once it floated out of the crate, it sought a place spacious enough to fulfill its purpose. A patch of vaph grass was smothered by a weak layer of creep as the drone began to morph into a hatchery. Nobody would be able to react fast enough to eradicate the infestation in time, since the new hive cluster would already spawn its warrior minions and overlords in less than two minutes. The disguised changelisks would then provide various distractions to the farmhands of the Arphas District, preventing the inhabitants from raising an alarm. By the time they realized they were being invaded and infested by Kay and Virid's brood, it would have already been too late.
Poggen district. It was a hotbed of discussions and political review. Most gilanians never had the mind to practice law or determine how the justice system works, save for the individuals that lived in this district, whom seemed to enjoy debating about such diplomatic discourses. Most of the time it was a calm district, but the end of the war had made several of the inhabitants 'discontent' after hearing the news that Golden Star had lost their campaign against the Zerg Swarm. However, replace the politically correct word for 'discontent' with 'vehemently livid enough to start rioting in the streets', and that would be the general condition of Poggen District in that very moment.
"THIS IS A BLOODY OUTRAGE! WHY HAS OUR MASTER CEASED HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE BEASTS?!"
"THIS GOES BEYOND WHAT OUR EMPEROR INTENDED! WE DEMAND ACTION!"
"OUR PROMISE TO RULE THE ABOVE-WORLD HAS BEEN BROKEN! EACH OF US WERE PROMISED A CITY TO LORD OVER ONCE OUR MOST HIGH RULER CONQUERED THE LANDS AND TAMED THE UNRULY POPULACES! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?!"
Ralkan motioned his hands at the highly opinionated protesters, which had gathered at a discussion hall that the commander of the Torus Chain Division had visited at the wrong time. "Calm yourselves down, everyone! One at a time! I realize that the war effort has turned for the worst for our side, but Emperor Gollog has decreed that news of our defeat must be kept from the lesser citizenry!"
"WE KNOW WELL OF GOLLOG'S DECREE! THAT ISN'T THE ISSUE! WHAT WE WANT IS OUR PROMISE FROM GOLLOG TO BE FULFILLED!"
"YOU CAD! YOU SWINDLER! YOU DOLTISH BORE!"
"WE DEMAND AN ANSWER FROM AN OFFICER MORE SUPERIOR THAN YOU!"
"YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!"
"Oh gods-damn it." Ralkan sighed as he rubbed his hand across his head. "Look. Arguing about this isn't going to get us anywhere. Gollog made the decree and we pulled out of the war. I hate this turn of events as much as any person would, but I have no say in this!"
"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR DEPRESSION! WHAT WE WANT IS SATISFACTION! WE WANT OUR PROMISES TO BE FULFILLED! WE WANT OUR OWN SANCTIONED CITIES TO RULE OVER! WE WERE PROMISED TO BE LORDS OF A NEW WORLD!"
"YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!" "YEAH!"
"The public giving you a hard time, Ralkan?"
Before Ralkan could make another attempt to quell the masses, a familiar copper-and-green colored robotic commander joined him. Ralkan's expression became elated, but quickly became troubled when he spotted four anti-riot bots joining them. "Uh... Greetings, Commander Faddoh. What brought you here?"
Faddoh's green LED face smiled at the commander of iron and yellow. "To offer assistance to you! I have realized that you are slightly undermanned here, so I brought some toys to help you."
Ralkan shook his head at Faddoh. "You didn't need to do that. I have it under control here."
Faddoh leaned to the side to glance at the angry mob. "Clearly." Faddoh then focused his attention back on the Torus Chain commander. "I will say this, however. If this little squabble should ever become physically violent, then I will have the anti-riot bots intercede. They are programed so that they won't subdue you. However, your disagreeable acquaintances... Well... You can imagine what might happen." Faddoh added with what might have looked like a sincere smile.
Ralkan knew Faddoh enough to know that said smile held a darker message. However, the message that Faddoh emoted to Ralkan was ignored. He escaped from the surface of Kiln to escape from the war, and not to quell the angry masses. Ralkan made a dismissive wave toward the angry protesters and began walking away. "You know what? You are more of a people person than I am. See if you can calm these people down. I'll be at the liquor seller with Kralluf if you need me."
Faddoh raised his LED eyebrows. "You mean the one all the way in Arggen District? Why not go to the ones in Libben District? I know that district is more your speed when it comes to societal norms."
Ralkan grumbled and shook his head. "Arggen District reminds me too much of home. Besides that, however, it has better booze." After that, he walked away from the crowd and the copper robot commander.
The crowd became livid as the commander they tried to badger had left them. "WHAT?!" "HOW DARE HE!" "COME BACK HERE!" "WE DEMAND TO SPEAK TO THE GENERAL!" "WE DEMAND TO GAIN AN AUDIENCE WITH THE EMPEROR!"
Faddoh waved reassuring hands at the angry crowd. "Now now, gents. Let us discuss this as reasonable adults. Raise your hand and I will listen to your troubles."
A thrown brick had disrupted the otherwise peaceful conversation, which prompted the anti-riot bots to violently wade into the crowd and begin subduing the protesters. The crowd tried to disperse quickly, but many of them were captured by the anti-riot bots that detained them in quick fashion.
Unbeknownst to them, many changelisk agents had silently infiltrated into their ranks. One of them had managed to lob a brick at the commander and fled the scene. The rest of the protesters were summarily captured by the anti-riot bots, while the commander of the Cube Research Division suffered minimal damage to his armored robotic body. The dent to his coppery body was ineffectual, but the mob were contained before they had the chance to turn into rioters. And with the citizens of Poggen District being contained in a holding cell, it would be easier to infest them, and eventually replace them with a changelisk lookalike. And Ralkan now had a changelisk silently following after him. All according to Kay and Virid's invasion.
However, nothing ever lasts forever.
Arrgen District was home to more stalwart minded people. Especially people that burdened themselves into being the best possible law enforcers of the Sovereign City/Crypt. The people that lived here were a step above citizens, as they focused much of their concerns on keeping the peace and maintaining order. It was an entire district dedicated to training soldiers capable of hunting crime in whatever shape it took, and ensuring that trouble would never escalate.
Asides from Faddoh having to commission anti-riot bots to quell some civil unrest in Poggen District, Arggen district was still abuzz with its regular activities, which consisted of drills, mock breaches, practicing their accuracy in the shooting range, and going through excessive mental exercises and tests. They did these things every day to help further identify any hazards and dangers they needed to deal with as part of their line of work.
However, this district had certain establishments that provided special amenities to the residents living there. A local tavern was one of such examples. Within said tavern was a regular patron, whom had already guzzled down several bottles of gilanian alcohol. This patron was also the commander of the Crescent Arms Division. "Blergh... Fuckin'... Bastich emperor... Pullin' us out of... a good fight..."
Eventually, another soul joined with the commander, whom happened to be another commander he was familiar with. Ralkan sat next to his fellow commander and clasped his hands together, looking as though he was deep in his thoughts. After a minute or two of contemplation, Ralkan finally sighed and turned to Kralluf. "... You look worse for wear."
Kralluf turned to see the commander of the Torus Chain Division. "... And you look like you got told you can't ever go home."
Ralkan nodded and turned away. "Yeah... A lot of us got shafted when we realized the zerg were more powerful than we thought."
Kralluf grunted as he aggressively took a beer bottle and took swigs from it. "Life is a bitch. No doubt about it." After he imbibed his drink, he then turned to Ralkan. "I heard you went to Poggen. What did you do there?"
"I tried to stop some rioters from causing a ruckus. Faddoh took over for me, but... knowing those people, the anti-riot bots are probably processing them as we speak." Ralkan answered.
"Mm. I've been holding up here since eh... Since eh... Since we got MEM shifted here." Kralluf said.
Ralkan narrowed his eyes at Kralluf. "You have been drinking since then?"
"Mm." Kralluf replied with a grunt, taking another swig.
Ralkan nodded and sighed in defeat. "I wonder where Guik is? Do you know how she is taking this?"
"Dunno. I'd figure Faddoh might know, but I doubt it. You, and I, and motherfucking everybody knows she's a reclusive lady that prefers to have her privacy." Kralluf said, pointing the lip of the bottle at Ralkan.
Ralkan hummed as he looked up at the ceiling of the tavern. "Knowing her, I predict she's sulking somewhere in the Liphas District. Only the lucklers chosen for inventory checking are allowed to go in there."
Kralluf scoffed. " 'Lucklers'. What the fuck kind of name is that even? You just... kiss emperor ass all day and all night? Bunch of fuckin' brown-nosers."
Ralkan shook his head. "You aught to be more careful with those loose lips of yours, my friend. If Gollog had half a mind, he would reinstate your position and have someone else fill the role of commander."
A backhanded slap knocked Ralkan out of his chair and onto the floor. Kralluf growled as he returned to his drink. "Fuck off with your concerns. I only got into this commander business just so I can hunt down a good fight. Fuckin'... We didn't know this would have turned into a protracted war. I killed a bunch of war claws and razor fiends in my better days, but this last year made our efforts to contain the zerg infestation into a complete wash. Our campaign against the zerg was for nothing! Bupkis!"
Ralkan rubbed a sore cheek as he stared angrily at Kralluf. "And that gives you an excuse to get drunk?"
"Would you rather I complain to Gollog about continuing our war with the zerg?" Kralluf asked rhetorically. "Ever since Pallax died, he became a bigger bitch than you. And that is saying something."
Ralkan was about to say something, but then decided to stand up and compose himself. After taking a calming breath, he addressed Kralluf. "I'm going to see if I can find Guik. I suggest you sober up."
"Bitch, don't tell me what to do." Kralluf replied and gave Ralkan a rude gesture.
Once a long pause had finally passed, Ralkan had left Kralluf to his own devices. Ralkan would have wanted to leave on better terms, but he knew that Kralluf was mourning the death of his general. The war effort was affecting everyone, and everyone was dealing with their depressions in their own ways. Pallax and Kralluf had been war buddies since Gollog had began his campaigns to take control of Kiln and eradicate the zerg. However, with General Pallax gone, Kralluf found a way to silently, if a bit angrily, grieve for his general.
However, the district would not be safe from the invasion of changelisks.
Arrgen District would have an influx of visitors. They would disperse into the ranks of the enforcer forces, contaminate the population within the district, and replace the infected with changelisks that looked like them. But the changelisks would be commanded to avoid approaching the commander of the Crescent Arms Division. Virid knew how dangerous Kralluf was when fighting, and she knew from several past experiences that Kralluf was significantly more dangerous when drunk. Instead, her changelisks would be tasked with watching the commander closely.
Liphas District was devoid of light. The hallways were normally this dark, save for any visitors that decided to brave those hallowed and blackened passages. Behind each door was a spacious room that mainly contained various crates which were filled with various goods. Much of the crates stored within Liphas District contained rations in the event there was a food shortage, while some of the crates contained a supply of weapons and equipment that would only be used for emergencies. Since Golden Star's topmost command structure had retreated their forces from the war effort, some of the crates had been opened and them systematically raided of their comfort foods.
However, there were several crates within a storage chamber that had been unceremoniously torn open. Much of their innards laid scattered upon the floor, while a lone commander ate the rations in silence.
Guik had been binge eating her favorite fatty snacks ever since she had entered this storage chamber. She wasn't motivated to do much else, other than creep into the shadows and find her own solitude within the darkness such shadows provided. Ever since she was pulled from the campaign against the zerg, she couldn't help but feel like her purpose was made bare and empty. However, she didn't dare breathe such concerns to her fellow commanders or her emperor. She didn't dare tell them about her feelings on this subject not from fear of being resigned, but was more concerned about saving her image as a commander of the Pyramidal Guard Division. Or whatever that was left of it. She was supposed to be in charge of an elite sect of hidden assassins that hunted down any foe that dared oppose her emperor or her empire. And now... She had no foe to stalk or eliminate.
A door leading into the storage chamber had opened, which prompted the room's automated mechanisms to slowly brighten the room with light. Despite her binge having been interrupted by another party, she quickly resorted to putting back on her face-mask and activating her light-screen mesh to become invisible. It was standard procedure for all soldiers within the Pyramidal Guard Division to become cloaked when within the presence of those that are not part of their own division, with the exception to commanders of other divisions, General Pallax, and Emperor Gollog.
To Guik's surprise, the intruder that interrupted her time alone was Commander Faddoh. He took a few steps into the storage chamber and looked around. Upon seeing some of the crates being opened, he clasped his hands together and began speaking loudly. "Commander Guik of the Pyramidal Guard Division! Are you in here?"
Guik didn't answer, deciding to slink back into the crate she was slowly emptying.
"Look! I've been trying to find you for a few hours now, and I'd rather refrain from asking Gollog to use his empirical clout to find you instead! I know how much you hate it when that happens, but I will ask him to help me find you if I cannot do so on my own. We need to talk." Ralkan shouted.
Instead of directly talking to Ralkan, Guik decided to use the storage chamber's intercoms to communicate. [Annoyed. What do you want to talk about?]
"I just want to know how you are coping after being pulled form the war effort. And maybe find someone that's willing to share some camaraderie with." Ralkan explained.
[Discontent. I don't care. Leave me alone.] Guik answered.
Ralkan shook his head as he stepped toward one of the opened crates. "I know you better than most people, Guik. Faddoh would argue he knows you more than I do, even with his sister/daughter complex or whatever shitty witch's brew of mental neuroses he transferred over to his mechanical body, but that's besides the point. This war has gone on for far too long, and it has affected everyone psychologically in severe and drastic ways. Now, we can do this the easy way, where you show yourself to me and we can talk to each other person-to-person. Or we can do this the hard way, where I walk over to that opened crate and blindly feel around for you. However, if you're going to make me choose the hard way, then I would like to make my apology first and say that I'm sorry I groped your tail during my search. So what is it going to be?"
A sigh escaped through the intercom system. [Reluctant. I'm lying down in the crate.]
Ralkan blinked a few times. "Uh... Okay." He approached the crate carefully, unsure of what to expect when he came to the side of the crate with Guik residing within.
As Ralkan came up to the lip of the crate, the light-screen mesh hiding Guik had became undone, revealing Ralkan of her presence. "What do you want?" Her face-mask was showing the word for 'annoyed' on it.
Ralkan raised his hands up. "To talk."
"Then talk." Guik said, not moving her gaze from Ralkan.
"Alright." Ralkan nodded. "So uh... You've been coping by eating snacks?"
"Yeah." Guik answered. "I also prefer eating alone."
Ralkan nodded. "Still shy about revealing your face, huh?"
"You know what I look like." Guik responded.
Ralkan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Come on. It's me. Ralkan. Everybody's friend. I took time out of my schedule to search you out to see if you are doing okay. Shouldn't that say something about how much you mean to me and everyone we work with?"
"... I guess so." A long pause elapsed between Ralkan and Guik before Guik took her turn to sigh. She sat up and began to remove her face-mask to reveal a feminine gilanian face. There were no scars or disfigurements to Guik's facial features, save for one. Her face looked near-identical to Faddoh's LED-light produced face. Her face grew into a slight scowl.
Ralkan blinked his eyes a few times. "... You do realize the rules and traditions regarding your division describes that if your mask is deliberately removed from your face by your own volition, you'd be granting me permission to copulate with you?"
Guik smiled. "I'm aware. Besides, I have been meaning to find an outlet for my pent-up stress. It would be a lot healthier than binge eating."
Ralkan, embarrassed, nodded. However, a smirk crept up his face. "I think we all deserve some means to relieve ourselves in some way or another." Everything was going as planned.
Gilanians in brown hazmat suits lazily ferried refuse of varying quantities and compositions. The people that worked here had been tasked to deal with the trash and waste that was delivered to them from the other districts. It was a thankless job, but it was also a job that was necessary to maintain the sanitation of the Sovereign City/Crypt. All forms of bio-degradable matter was brought to Quiphas District, only to be composted and to later be turned into soil that would feed the flora within the Arphas District. For all the residents living within Quiphas District, they have learned to live with the constant smell of rotting garbage and the pungent odor of incinerated rubbish. Such was the norm for them for however many centuries they have done this.
But their seemingly ordinary lives would be disrupted by an outside force.
"Glemmin, get back to work." Warned a foreman of the Quiphas Distract, whom happened to be breathing down the neck of a new recruit. "If I catch you slacking again, I'm sending you into the recycling chute while it's turned on."
Glemmin, whom was idly napping on the control pannel of a complicated trash-scanning system, continued to sleep. A rude boot abruptly interrupted his slumber. "MUH-WUH-DUH-Where's the fire?!"
"In your resume folder if you keep this up." The foreman growled.
"Oh! Uh..." Glemmin then continued to look over his complex controls. It wasn't hard, since all he did was ensure that the conveyor-belt system was sorting garbage, ensuring that non-compostable and non-recyclable materials were separated and sorted. "Sorry, Foreman Yoonis."
"Don't 'sorry' me, you prat. Just make sure you don't mix too many metals or plastics with the rest of the degradable stuff! Ya hear?!" Yoonis barked before he turned around and left his employee to his own devices.
Yoonis grumbled to himself as he made his rounds with the other workers that were employed in the district's waste management and sanitation services. In his opinion, it was treated as the lowest rung of their Sovereign City/Crypt's society. But despite being in such inglorious positions of said society, they were incredibly important to the other districts. If they weren't around to convert trash back into usable materials, then the districts would flood with garbage. If they weren't around to clean the streets of its refuse, then disease would run rampant. The life of a garbage collector was not very glamorous within the Sovereign City/Crypt, but it was a dirty job that pays well.
"Work going well, Foreman Yoonis?"
Yoonis looked around to see a white-robed individual, which wore a opalescent headband and bracelets of a similar color. She stood there, shining like a jewel amidst unrecognizable tossed debris. Yoonis calmed himself down once he realized whom had caught his attention. "Luckler Oav." He composed himself and politely bowed before the most high servant caste member of the emperor. "In this vestibule of garbage, my position ensures that those under my care shall continue to service their emperor. They labour in honor and devotion in the hopes of the day we rise above our ranks and come ever closer to him."
A hand gestured for Yoonis to stop. "And the day will come where we shall join our emperor. You have my assurances. Have you filled your work quota?"
"Yes, though my efforts are strained, it ensures my employees a place besides the emperor." Yoonis answered.
Oav smiled sweetly at Yoonis. "Oh please. Barking at someone to work faster is the job of a commissioned officer to their enlisted soldiers. As a butler, we clean the filth and remove it from our community. That man you spoke to recently?"
"Uh... Yes? What does Glemmin have to do with this conversation?" Yoonis replied, looking at the conveyor belt operator he had visited recently. He suddenly felt his gut sank after seeing what Oav had done.
She unsheathed a pistol from within her robe and fired it at Glemmin. After firing her weapon, she sheathed it back into her robe and turned to Yoonis. "The emperor tolerates very little. Lethargy and idleness are among those things he does not tolerate. Let this be a lesson to your lackey, and a warning to you, Yoonis. Do you understand me?" She said, her smile still present.
Yoonis didn't answer Oav for several seconds before responding. "... Yes. I understand." However, as his eyes trailed back to the terminal that Glemmin was working on, his expression quickly became puzzled. "... Uh... Where did Glemmin's body go?"
Oav noticed Yoonis' expression and looked at what he saw. Her expression quickly changed to match his. "... What?" She walked toward the trash-scanning system to inspect Glemmin's remains. What should have been a deceased gilanian in a brown hazmat suit, was instead a pile of reddish goo and a single blade made out of bone.
Yoonis followed after Oav, getting a closer look at his late employee to see what has happened to him. "... Wow. Uh... That's going to be a bitch to clean up."
Oav suddenly signaled Yoonis to stop. "Don't touch it. It's the remains of a zerg doppelganger."
Yoonis paused for several seconds before his jaw dropped staring at the puddle of Glemmin and Oav. "... The-the-the zerg are here?!"
The luckler hissed, cursing her luck as she brought her wrist to her face and spoke. "Alert to all security forces, to the lucky hundred, and to Emperor Gollog. The zerg have infiltrated our districts. Raise the alarm now."
It was at this point all hell broke loose.
Orange-suited workers looked up when they heard a loud klaxon pierce the air of their workplaces. This interruption into their otherwise normal lives would spell doom for their futures, though they do not know of the message it contained. Sometimes, they would tinker, repair, and maintain various types of technology that passed into their care, which would then be delivered back to their respective owners and military divisions. However, the war between Golden Star and the zerg had made the workers in Taphas District to concentrate on building the weapons, armor, and vehicles needed for Gollog's campaign. Such was the primary purpose of Taphas District's entire population.
Within the vehicle bay, they were busy making repairs to Gollog's greatest war machine, Gollog's super cyborg mech suit, to which Kay had affectionately called 'the mecha thing'. In another timeline, it was a weapon that had been piloted by Commander Kralluf's brain. It had been placed within the mecha so as to prevent the rest of him from mutating from the zerg hyper-evolutionary virus. Much to Gollog's unenthusiastic chagrin, Kralluf had pointlessly sacrificed himself in an attempt to destroy the hive cluster on the hexagonal moon. Within this timeline, Gollog had somehow found a way to control the super cyborg mech suit without having the need to place his own brain within the war machine.
The engineers of the Taphas District were busy making the last necessary maintenance repairs to the super cyborg mech suit. The damage it sustained to its armor and systems were minimal, but the super combat mech suit greatly needed to have its energy core recharged and tuned. Its magic armor defensive system had the ability to absorb energy and recharge the mech's energy core, which enabled it to sustain itself on any conflict that involved using energy-casting weapons or defenses. However, the zerg's biological nature, and their affinity to using biological projectiles, had forced the magic armor of the giant robot to incinerate any projectiles and melee attackers that assailed it, resulting in a significant energy drain that would have eventually compromised it. Their progress continued smoothly, but that was until the klaxon begun, which distracted their work.
"... Grengren." One orange-suited gilanian said to his work partner. "Do you know what that klaxon means?"
"... No clue, Judham." His partner said. "Let's wait and listen. There might be an announcement."
The alarm continued to blare for several more seconds. It was then silenced as one of the lucky hundred began making an announcement through the com system. [Attention. This is an opal level emergency alert. All citizens, and personnel in service to Emperor Gollog, must avoid physical contact with each other. Zerg doppelgangers have been detected within Sovereign City. Any physical contact with the doppelgangers will result in contracting an incurable illness. Checkpoints have been hastily installed between the district tramway entry-points. All districts are under quarantine until further notice. Attention. This is an opal level emergency alert.-]
The message continued to repeat. Much of the residents in Taphas District began to panic. The rest followed suit when a blue and orange-yellow portal appeared right before the resident engineers of the district. Two colossal arms passed through this portal intersecting two separate spaces, which pulled out a collosal-sized tyrannozor out from it.
Alexandriana had arrived.
She knuckle-walked forward, ignoring the orange-suited ants that scrambled under her while stepping on several vehicles that were still in the middle of repairs. Equipment that hanged on cranes were either pushed out of the way or were forcefully grabbed and slammed into the ground. Walkways were bent in half or were pulled apart by incredible and bestial might. A mist of green surrounded her as her warpath carved through the vehicle bays, the acid particles which consisted of Alexandriana's noxious defense ate away at everything that came close to her. The symbiote that floated just over her spines spat out its own spines at the closest target, which also provided a regenerating ablative carapace shell that protected its host. A loud, cacophonous, powerful roar rocked the walls, floors, and ceiling of the district, letting everyone near and far know that she was here. "KROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH~!"
The roar was a warning to any interlopers that dared impede her. It was also a roar that demanded a challenge. Once the changelisks had discovered Gollog's giant robot being maintained in the Taphas District's vehicle bay, Virid reported the discovery to Kay. Whereafter, Kay transported Alexandriana to Taphas District, granting her the means to hunt her target by herself.
Despite having a somewhat tenuous connection to the zerg's hivemind psionic connection, she knew the location of the giant robot thanks to one of the changelisks that discovered it.
"IT'S GOING TOWARDS GOLLOG'S SUPER CYBORG MECH SUIT! CONTAIN IT!" Walls suddenly descended from the ceiling and rose up from the floor, trapping Alexandriana in some sort of method of containment. Such walls were designed to activate in the event that a power generator suddenly began leaking radiation when activated. However, the cadmium and lead walls did nothing to contain Alexandriana for long, as her claws, toxic acid clouds, and teeth tore through the radiation containment walls. It was like being soaked with warm water while tearing through drywall made of thick layers of cotton candy, using red-hot butter knives to cut through it.
She then saw her prize. Standing before her was the 120 meter tall giant robot, laying down on its back, while the engineers scrambled away to safety. She neared the silent machine, but noticed that her acid sparked against its defense system. It was magic armor technology, Alexandriana seemed to surmised. Even her symbiote's spines evaporated before it could harm the ancient war machine.
Alexandriana inquisitively pressed a claw into the defensive field. The field burned her claw. Though it was painful, her regeneration allowed her to recover quickly. Apparently, the field was so intense it could reduce her sharp claws into black carbon stains. She decided to pick up a nearby engine and throw it onto the field, only for it to turn into instant slag, which splashed like water onto glass.
But before she tried to experiment further, the telltale white and blue static of a MEM shift field enveloped the super cyborg mech suit. She paused. Rage then began to build in her gut, and she released it into a livid roar. "KRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH~!~!~!"
She will not be denied her challenge.
Gollog was dumbfounded. His servants were panicking. His commanders were nowhere to be found. Pophas district was in a full-blown panic.
"Tell me, Gargas." Gollog said as he turned to one of the ten elders belonging to the lucky hundred. "How did this happen?" There was a forlorn look upon Gollog's expression.
Elder Luckler Gargas bowed before his emperor. "My apologies, my opalescent lord. We are still trying to find the method in which the zerg had entered our sacred sanctuaries."
Gollog sighed in a depressive manner as he shooed his servant away. "Then report to me what damage you can readily ascertain. We need information on the condition of the other districts so we can prepare accordingly."
"And our district, sire? How do we prevent it from being infested by the zerg?" Gargas asked.
After a pause, Gollog nodded. "Checkpoints might not prevent the zerg from infesting our district. We need to close off all transportation access in and out of Pophas."
Gargas tilted his head. "And if that fails, sire?"
A longer pause was followed by a sigh. "... We open the tramway tunnels. Fill it with Kiln's molten outer core."
Gargas was stunned by Gollog's tactic. However, he didn't dare doubt or further question his emperor. He bowed. "R... Right away, sire."
After a few more bows, Gargas hobbeled away from his emperor. Gollog got up from his opal throne and gritted his teeth. "Time to re-summon my faithful. ... I summon forth my divine power. May the divine light transport my four commanders to my side."
In an instant, white and blue lights shimmered in front of Gollog as four commanders appeared. They looked around in a confused manner before they realized they had been transported to Pophas District, right inside of Gollog's personal throne room. They all bowed before him.
Gollog gestured to them. "I have called upon all of you for a singular purpose. To defend this district and myself. I apologize if I may have interrupted each of your brooding moments, but this is gratingly important. This districts is of great importance to me, and it is for that reason why I had brought all of you here."
Kralluf burped and slouched forward. "Bleugh... So that alarm thing wasn't a sick prank."
Ralkan visibly paled. "... And I thought the rest of eternity would include good company, and not being eaten and digested inside of the bellies of arthropod monsters."
Guik patted Ralkan's shoulder. "Hey. Better to make your last moments remembering good memories than pining over bad ones." She said, as her face/mask's letters changed to 'calm'.
Ralkan was about to ask Guik why that was. Instead, Faddoh had stepped into the conversation. "I think, perhaps, we should corroborate on a plan first. What should we do?"
Gollog motioned to Faddoh. "I have sent instructions to one of the elders of my hundred lucky chosen to close off the tramway tunnels. If that fails, I have instructed him further to fill the tunnels with the magma from the outer core."
Faddoh turned his mechanical head. "But wouldn't that risk filling the districts with the outer core magma?"
"Not to worry." Gollog said, shaking his head. "Several contingencies and hardwired systems prevents the districts from being compromised. Special heat resistant doors and hatches within the tramway tunnels will close and prevent the pressurized magma from filling our district."
Ralkan blinked. "I never heard of such complex engineering at work before. Are you sure the doors can hold?"
Gollog nodded. "Yes. Whereafter, we can make the neccessary repairs to the tunnels after depresurization, in the event the tramway tunnels become compromised of their structural integrity."
Kralluf sighed. "Then I say we fill the tramway tunnels now. Save us the trouble."
"My lord, we have done as we are told. We have closed the tunnels by your permission." Gargas said, hobbling back into Gollog's throne room.
Gollog stepped past his commanders and nodded at the old gilanian. "Good. Do you have Both sides of the tramway entrances connecting to our district monitored?"
Gargas nodded and handed Gollog a digital plastic sheet. "Yes, my most high lord."
Gollog took the data sheet and began to scan it. His expression, though manifested by dream-light technology, paled. He saw zerglings already gathering on the other side of these gates. They slowly approached the gate as the guards stationed there began firing at the invasion forces. They didn't last. "... This is bad. There are blade hounds appearing in the districts now."
Faddoh whimpered. "Oh... How... How did they get down here?! I thought we were supposed to just be worried about doppelgangers?!"
"Quiet!" Gollog barked. He then turned to Gargas. "Fill the tunnels with magma. Now."
Gargas was wide-eyed. "All of them?"
"ALL. OF. THEM." Gollog bellowed, giving the plastic sheet back to Gargas.
Gargas hastily took back the plastic sheet. After fumbling over its controls, he began speaking to it. "Attention to all my lucky hundred brethren! This is a direct order from our lord, Emperor Gollog! You must fill the tramway tunnels with magma! Do so immediately!"
Gollog then turned to his commanders. "As for you four, we shall take refuge in my crypt."
"Why?!" Ralkan nearly squeaked.
Gollog strode past his commanders again, this time in a hurried power walk. "To prepare for the worst."
A/N: Huuuuh, this chapter took me way too long to write. There were several cool games out, some good movies that needed to be watched, then I got hit with a dizzy spell of unproductivity. Grah. I'm sorry I made all of you wait for this chapter.
Anyway, I hope you're ready for Chapter 99: Crown of the Core Final in the coming future! :D