Part 5 - Blood of the King
Chapter 78 - The Vision
Miles drove the trio to La Guardia airport, an area of which contained a hangar bearing the insignia of the Ethereal Legion: a red hexagon surrounding a shield surrounding a shape with ten corners. Inside the hangar was an extremely sleek aircraft. It wasn't one of the old Phantoms; those had been retired from military service years ago. This was an Ares: it had many similarities to the Phantom but its body wasn't as tall and its wings drooped down at the ends. Three security guards met them; Miles showed an ID badge with a fake number. Clearly his identity as Senior Director was hidden even from the ranks of the Legion. It was probably for the best, especially following the assassination attempt. The guards escorted them the last few metres to the ramp leading into the Ares. The interior was relatively bare: seats lined the walls, in between them were two ridges between which some boxes were placed. Max seemed to be enjoying this far too much for the context, but Miles figured it was best to let him have his fun. The aircraft took-off, heading out to sea, before being consumed by a multicoloured storm of bubbles.
The siblings and Rachel watched out the window in awe, taking their first look at the world between worlds. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of ships were parked neatly in rings orbiting a structure which Max thought looked similar to the Death Star, minus the super laser. As the Ares came closer, Max pulled his phone out to take a photo.
"No." Ordered Miles.
He stuffed it away again, hastily, deciding to live in the moment. Most of the ships bore the Legion insignia, but a few wore the Quintari flag.
"How many ships are there?"
"I've not got the current postings memorised, but the full fleet consists of about a thousand. The older ones are ex-Sol before it was merged with the Legion." Miles replied, glancing out the window at the view he saw every day.
"Can I have one?"
"There's a reason we call you Mad Max." Said Charlotte, glad to take her mind off things momentarily.
She clutched the envelope in which was her description of her dream. Even Miles hadn't read it, deciding to save it for the meeting with the directors. She wondered if it was just a simple case of saving time, or if he was scared of what he would find.
When the Ares had docked, Edward met them. He took Max and Rachel to keep out of trouble whilst Miles and Charlotte made their way to a medical facility. As soon as they entered, a doctor met them. She wore a Legion uniform, consisting of a black suit and red shirt, sporting a red cross on the shoulders next to the number four. The doctor took them into a private ward and locked the door.
"I need to run some tests, Charlotte. Can you lie on that bed?"
Charlotte glanced at Miles who gave her a nod to tell her to do it. The doctor held a small cylinder in her right hand and an iPad in her left.
"There doesn't appear to be any abnormal brain activity, at least nothing abnormal for extreme fear."
"Then what happened?" Asked Charlotte.
"That is a question I am unable to answer. Considering your reference to the Scarlet King, Director Montauk would be the best person to make speculations. Your eyes are normal, so is your nervous system and all other bodily functions. The only abnormality is the quantity of adrenaline still to filter out of your blood."
"That explains the shaking." Miles breathed.
"As I say, there is nothing I can do to help. Director Montauk's expertise is the best help you can get."
"I'll take her up. Thank you, doctor."
"Any time. As always, level five matters shall remain that way."
Miles and Charlotte took the elevator up to the top deck of the station where the other directors, along with Max and Rachel, were waiting in the old briefing room. Miles took his seat at the head of the table, glancing at Max and Rachel to make sure they were OK.
"For the benefit of our guests, this would usually be our weekly briefing, but circumstances are quite different at the moment. So, as usual, thank you all for coming." He started.
"In ten years, there's yet to be a week when you haven't been thankful for us coming." Said Teresa with a grin.
"Maybe I'm just glad you haven't all quit yet. Before we get to the main item, does anyone have anything else? Get it out now before you forget."
"The investigation into the shooting still hasn't dug anything up." Said the former commander.
"The O5 want to give 049 a live human specimen." Added Robert.
"Tell them to come up with a good reason and have it on my desk by the end of the week." Answered Miles.
"There's still a Kha'raar outbreak in dimension 6546. They're trialling a new bacteriophage treatment." Said Lisa.
"Any progress is good progress. Edward, anything?"
"Nothing other than the usual old ships with some malfunction."
"Nothing too big. That's a nice change."
"Actually there were some pretty major things going on, but we all decided before you got here that there's enough on your plate. The reports will be on ELIS if you want them." Said Teresa.
"I might have a read later. For now, let's turn to our main subject. We've had an SLIL five for these three, along with a six with the two girls."
"I'm still extremely curious about what's in Report R-0." Lisa commented.
"You'll find out when the right time comes. For now, what do we do about the SLILs?"
"Amnestics." Said Robert.
"You've forgotten that unlike the SCP Foundation, we try and maintain some level of morals." Replied Edward.
"Would it be better to sort out our issue with Tufto first? That way we can get Max out of here and he doesn't need to hear anything else?" Suggested Teresa.
"I like that name...Tufto. Sounds like a bad haircut." Joked Rachel.
"OK. All that Max knows is the name, but that could be bad enough. If people find out just how much the Legion is hiding, there'll be another civil war." Said Miles.
"I won't tell anyone." Said Max.
"Unfortunately we don't take people's word around here. It's about as hit or miss as leaving a child alone in a room with a priest: sometimes it's safe, other time's not so much." Said Robert.
"Inappropriate." Muttered Lisa.
"Without a gun to his head, there's no assurances." Said Teresa, glancing at the fifteen year old 'Spider-Boy'.
"If you need a gun to my head to be certain I won't tell anyone, then do it. But I won't. I get this is all some really big security problem and stuff." Max pleaded.
"We're not putting any guns to anyone's heads unless we have to. And we are not using amnestics. Max is crazy sometimes, pulls his pranks and weird tricks, bugs the only room you don't want him to, but he doesn't want to cause harm." Miles intervened.
"Do I detect your personal feelings standing in the way of your work, Morales?" Asked Robert.
"Maybe I'm just protective of my son like you would be if yours was still alive. Maybe I want to maintain my morals and not create something as horrific as 110."
"Alright, both of you stop there." Teresa intervened before the pair started trading blows.
"We could just take a trick out of Max's own book." Lisa suggested. "Stick a microphone in him that records his conversations. If he says anything, we send in the amnestics team."
"That's a bit creepy, sticking a microphone on a fifteen year old." Said Rachel.
"Oh please. Your phone records every noise you make and films your every move." Answered Teresa.
Rachel looked down at her pocket.
"That's really creepy."
Miles sighed.
"We're here to discuss the issues at hand, not tell them even more. But to reassure you, the only thing with access to the feed is ELIS which uses it to detect information leaks and anomalous activity. I agree with Lisa: the microphone isn't a bad move."
"We could have his phone's priority boosted on ELIS. It saves us planting a bug." Suggested Edward.
"It could also be done by microchip. It means we have access even while he's asleep in case he sleep talks." Said Robert.
"Consider it done. I'll have the doctor inject it." Miles concluded.
"Hey! Don't I get a say in what get's injected in my body? You know how I feel about that." Asked Max.
"Usually you would, but there's a lot more at stake than you realise."
Max slumped in his chair.
"I hate needles."
"Get the doc to do it now and keep him busy while we sort out the rest of this." Said Lisa.
"Yeah. ELIS, get Doctor Pembury up here."
"Operation complete."
When the doctor had collected Max, Charlotte and Rachel pulled their chairs up to the main table.
"Where to start..." Miles muttered to himself.
"Maybe we should ask if they have anything to say for themselves?" Suggested Teresa.
Charlotte looked at each of the directors briefly.
"None of it was Rachel's fault. It was my idea, I just persuaded her to pick the lock."
Teresa turned to Miles.
"You mean to tell me that Report R-0, the most secretive document in the multiverse, is held in a box with a lock that can be picked by a school student?"
"In my defence, Rachel has a course in engineering which lockpicking was part of for some reason."
"Technically it was one lesson, but it was fun so I took it up as a hobby." Rachel added.
"It's made of Reapersteel-Vibranium alloy."
"What the box is made of is irrelevant if the thing that's supposed to make it more secure makes it weaker." Edward commented.
"I'll get it sorted. For now, we need to discuss what we do about everything they know, and then last night's events."
"What do they know?" Asked Lisa, looking at the girls.
"Tufto, the Animator, the Plates, the first order I signed and the details of Gwen's death." Said Miles.
"The details of Gwen's death are of little importance. That's a personal affair, not a threat." Said Robert.
"I'd argue your first order is of little risk to security either, at least on the grand scale of things. It sounds more like a conspiracy theory rather than a real event and there's no way to prove it other than some long lost ones and zeroes in the shape of your signature." Said Lisa.
"Which brings us to the Plates and the Animator. We'll save discussion of Tufto for later." Miles concluded.
"The Animator is not a threat in itself. The temptation is the bigger thing." Said Lisa.
"Don't let the Nazis near it or they'll bring back Hitler." Teresa commented.
"Don't let anyone near it. There's a lot of bad people who could be brought back. Lucifer, for one." Miles answered.
"What's the Animator?" Asked Rachel.
"So there aren't any details in R-0?" Asked Teresa.
"Just a mention, I think. In the context of a conversation with the Scarlet King."
"I never understood what he was rambling on about with that. 'Bastria', 'zargos bet zargos bet zargis', 'the Quintari withhold'."
Miles glanced at Charlotte and Rachel, but they hadn't reacted.
"Me neither." He lied.
"It doesn't matter. What about the Plates?" Interrupted Edward.
"A short reflection about Gwen merging with it, but other than that not much."
"When it's all in perspective, this doesn't sound nearly as bad as you had us all imagining." Robert commented.
"I was panicking, a little."
"Dad never swears, and he swore when he found out. He was panicking a lot." Charlotte teased.
Miles rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. What do we do about this?"
"If I'm really honest, I think we should just do what we did with Max: implant and a promise." Said Lisa.
"I'm with her." Robert agreed.
"And me." Said Edward.
"Then that's that." Miles concluded.
"And now on to the fun part." Said Robert.
"Charlotte, do you have the envelope?"
She placed it on the desk.
"For everyone's sake, I'll read it in case it puts the reader in a trance or something." Said Miles grabbing it before Robert could.
"You think your daughter is a witch?" Asked Lisa.
"No, he's just thinking logically about something nobody understands the true nature of." Robert explained.
"Shall we put headphones in?" Asked Edward jokingly.
Miles took a deep breath and ripped open the envelope, pulling the sheet of paper free. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was a circle of six points surrounding a seventh at the bottom of the page. He turned his attention back to the text.
"At first glance, there's some things in here from R-0. I'll redact them."
"What fun..." Muttered Teresa.
"'My dream started sort of normal, although it felt really real: I was lying in the sand on a beach. Suddenly, above me, I saw an eye just watching. As I stared back, the sky turned into a depiction of what could have been mangled flesh. The image grew more and more, the world grew darker. Suddenly, the eye was coming closer and I felt like I was falling into its pupil. There was a horrible voice that seemed to come from every direction. It said: 'Once there were seven kings to rule '' - redacted - '', now there is one to rule all. The Scarlet King's reign is eternal.' I kept hearing the word 'eternal' echoing in the background as things continued. I saw ' - redacted - ', then I saw seven brass cubes that seemed to have been split open and were firing a blue beam each. At the end of them formed a figure: the first six I didn't know but the seventh was Mum, at least they were wearing her spider suit. Then she was killing people in a city until a red hand crushed her. The hand belonged to a massive creature: it had red skin, seven black spikes stuck out of its head. It was holding a sword that destroyed everything it touched. The creature stabbed the ground and the world exploded.' The Scarlet King's reign is eternal."
Charlotte frowned.
"I don't remember writing that last bit."
Miles placed the paper down.
"It doesn't say it...what the heck?"
"Put it back in the envelope. Nobody reads that without all five of our signatures." Said Teresa. "ELIS, register new ELO. Title: The Scarlet Vision. Type: object. Class: dangerous. Security: five."
"ELIS, change that to security: six." Miles interrupted.
"Object registered as ELO-8756."
"Just to be safe, from now on we call the big red monarch 'Tufto'." Added Edward.
The other directors agreed.
"Time to break this down. The eye you saw: what colour was it?" Asked Robert.
"Yellow." Charlotte answered.
"Did you recognise the beach?" Lisa enquired.
"No. And I've never sunbathed before."
"Good choice. Waste of time and a good way to get cancer." Said Teresa.
"What did the voice sound like? Was it like someone shouting?" Asked Miles.
"No, it was sort of raspy and came from every direction."
"Definitely Tufto's voice." Teresa observed, taking notes on her iPad.
"The rest of that was redacted. I'm sure your father can discuss it further with you. Now onto the brass cubes: what makes you so sure they were cubes since they were broken open?" Asked Edward.
"They opened up as it came into focus."
"What did the insides look like?" Asked Lisa.
"Loads of gears and a gemstone."
The directors looked at each other. Miles spoke what they were all thinking.
"That matches the Animator. ELIS, status report concerning containment of ELO-012."
"Status is secured, contained and protected."
"Then Tufto hasn't made a move on it. Did the cubes all look the same?" Asked Teresa.
"Not quite. The gem was a different colour. Other than that they were the same."
"More than one Animator?" Mused Edward.
"We'll look at that later. Gwen: was there any reason to suspect it wasn't her?" Pressed Lisa.
"I didn't see her face; she was wearing her suit."
"If the Animator is involved, there is every possibility it was her." Observed Robert.
"But she was killing people. Gwen wouldn't kill people." Said Miles.
"Oh now that's some bullshit. Did you forget the five years of suffering we all endured under the Empire's rule?" Said Teresa.
"I mean without cause, or something making her."
"Was there anything strange about the people she was killing?" Asked Robert.
Charlotte hesitated for a second, trying to recall.
"I don't think there was. But they were getting out of a red car. There was a sticker on the door. It looked like a black ring with seven spikes."
"Like Tufto's bad choice in hair accessories." Joked Teresa.
"They must have had something to do with him." Said Edward.
"Possibly members of the Children." Said Robert.
"Great...Ghost-Spider is going around killing Tufto's followers." Teresa muttered.
"The creature was clearly Tufto himself, although I only remember him having four spikes, not seven." Said Edward.
"I think it was five during the Civil War." Said Teresa.
"It sounds like he used the Crucible to destroy a planet, maybe an entire dimension." Said Lisa.
"There's nothing we can do about any of this other than what we already are: keep the Animator and Plates secure. If anyone hears anything about someone who looks like Gwen, let me know." Concluded Miles.
"I'll keep a closer eye on SCP-682." Said Robert.
"Good idea. Has anyone got anything else to discuss? Alright, this concludes for today. Rachel, Charlotte, you're with me."
Crossovers in this Chapter
- SCP Foundation
- Subnautica (a mention of the Kha'raar virus)