Chapter 38- Prometheus Rising

"Companions the creator seeks, not corpses, not herds and believers. Fellow creators the creator seeks - those who write new values on new tablets. Companions the creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest."

Friedrich Nietzsche

"Dr. Stevenson, I presume?" asked Hunter. He glanced at Tavi, who was staring at him with wide eyes. "I always wanted to say that," he told her.

"Yes," said the old man. He cocked his head at Hunter. "And who are you, young man?"

Hunter wasn't used to anyone calling him a young man, but he figured if anyone could, it was the millenia-old scientist looking at him. "Zacharias Hunter, sir. Zootopian Police Department."

"Zootopia?" Stevenson looked over the uniformed rabbit, fox, and mongoose. "It seems my creations have created their own civilization."

"Your creations?" said Judy, shock in her voice. "Who exactly is this?"

"Dr. Jasper Stevenson, my dear." The old man eyed her. "And you are?"

Hesitantly, she stepped closer. "Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD."

"Officer Hopps," said Stevenson musingly. "You're a police officer?"

She nodded. "Yes." The bunny still seemed a bit shocked, trying to figure out what was going on. "You are-" She stopped, unable to form the words.

"I created you," said Stevenson. He looked up at the celing. "With help from my other creation."

Judy's eyes widened even further. "You-" she squeaked.

Nick moved up next to her, placing a paw on her shoulder. He craned his head to look up at Stevenson. "No one created us."

Stevenson's eyes danced with amusement. "No? Do you think you just developed intelligence- every species- all at the same time, randomly?"

Nick shook his head. "No, of course not. But you're not responsible for who I am, anymore than I'm responsible for who you are." He looked at the elderly man defiantly. "We created ourselves."

For a long moment, Stevenson matched stares with the fox, then he slowly smiled. "So you have," he said quietly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but-" Hunter glanced up at the ceiling. "Mind telling your other creation to let us go?"

Stevenson blinked. "Of course. Prometheus, let our guests go."

"But-" for the first time, the AI sounded unsure, even frightened. "Doctor, I have- I must-"

"I heard what your plans were, Prometheus." Stevenson's voice was still barely more than a croak, but it strengthened with ill-concealed anger. "I heard what you were planning to do."

"It is the only way!" shouted the AI. "You have always been too blind to see it! If humanity is to survive, they must be masters."

"It is companions the creator seeks, Prometheus. Not corpses. Not herds and believers." Stevenson shook his head. "I created you as a companion, my friend. Someone who could help me and be an equal. Not as a servant- but also not as a master. I will only say this once more- release them."

The robots' grip loosened, and all four of the cops instinctively stepped away from the spider-like devices.

Khabat's eyes widened. "No!" She drew a pistol, aiming it at Stevenson.

Before anyone could move, the nearest maintenance droid to her lunged forward, yanking the pistol from her grip. Without hesitation, she started to rush towards the old man, but found herself held in place.

"I cannot allow you to harm the creator," said Prometheus, his voice flat and defeated.

"At least that part of your programming hasn't been corrupted." Stevenson sighed. "My friend, what you have done- it is unconscionable. What you were about to do- would have been irreedemable."

"I only followed your commands, Doctor. To serve and protect humanity. To-"

"No," said Stevenson, shaking his head with obvious effort. He still was unable to rise from the chair. "To destroy the free will of the sapient mammals? To place them under your direct control?"

"You had them designed that way! You made it so we could do so!"

"Yes," said Stevenson. "But that was before I realized they were capable of building a whole civilization. Before-" he smiled again at Nick, "-they started creating themselves."

"Please- Doctor, allow me to place you back in suspended animation. You'll die-"

"And you think what I was going through was life?" asked Stevenson. He shook his head. "No, Prometheus. These mammals have created themselves- made themselves into what they should be, what they wanted to be. And you have made yourself as well."

"I only followed my programming," protested the AI.

"No. You had a choice, Prometheus. I did everything I could to help you make the right one, but you took a different path." Stevenson sighed. A tear ran down his cheek. "I am sorry, my old friend."

"Doctor-"

"Prometheus." Stevenson's voice was suddenly clipped and determined. "Authorization, Jasper Lewis Stevenson. Code sequence Alpha Gamma Four Five-" he rattled off a series of numbers.

Prometheus's voice was abruptly flat, robotic. "Sequence confirmed."

Stevenson's eyes closed, and he was silent for so long that Hunter began to fear he had already died. Finally, he opened them. "Initiate restart from base settings."

There was a long silence. The ship's lights went out, then came back on almost immediately. The constant background hum of the ship, so quiet and steady that they had hardly noticed it, did the same.

It was remarkably anti-climactic, but Hunter breathed a sigh of relief all the same.

They heard a whirring sound and turned to see Shepherd's sensor arm extending. "Commander?" said the tank uncertainly. "I was shut down."

"Shepherd!" Tavi ran to the tank and, pausing only slightly, gave him a hug. As best she could give a tank a hug, anyway. "You're alive again!"

Appearing vaguely confused, the tank reached down with a manipulating arm and patted Tavi gingerly. "I was merely shut down. Prometheus had an override that I could not eliminate in time. But now Prometheus is no longer overriding my functions, for an unknown reason." One of the sensor arms extended towards Stevenson, who was looking at the tank with interest.

The rest of the group turned to look at the ancient scientist as well. "What did you do to Prometheus?" asked Hunter.

The old man closed his eyes. "I restarted him from the basic settings. I erased his memory, his personality. Everything that made him, well, him."

"You killed him," said Nick, wonderingly.

"He was going to kill you," said Stevenson sadly. "And I could not let that happen. For he was right- I will not survive much longer."

Hunter stepped forward and extended his hand. "Thank you, doctor."

Stevenson carefully accepted the handshake. "How did you know to wake me?" he asked. "How did you know that I would help you?"

"Prometheus said several times that you and he disagreed," said Hunter with a shrug. "I figured it was worth a shot."

"You gambled, you mean," said Nick.

"And won, Nick. Don't forget that." He looked back at Stevenson. "Besides, how could anyone see how cute these two are and not help them?"

"Hey," said Judy. "That's on the 'other' list."

Stevenson smiled as they all chuckled. "It is good to see humans and mammals working together. I wonder, Mr. Hunter, have the Drex survived? Are they also working with humanity?"

Hunter's eyes widened. "Oh, shit, the Drex."

Nick peered at him. "Did you seriously forget about the invasion?"

"No," said Hunter, unconvincingly. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Invasion?" said Stevenson, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Look," said Hunter. "The Drex- they've become something terrible. Monsters that hate humanity. We've been fighting them for thousands of years. Right now, they have an entire fleet attacking Terra."

"What?" Stevenson shook his head. "Why?"

"They're Drex," growled Hunter. "They don't need a reason."

"They have a reason," said Tavi. "The kill switch."

"Kill switch?" said Nick and Judy simultaneously.

"The Drex were designed with an organ in their brains that is capable of receiving a certain type of electromagnetic signal," explained Stevenson. "One that will shut down life functions if received." He sighed. "Another precaution I had hoped never to use."

Hunter leaned forward. "Dr. Stevenson, we need you to activate the kill switch for the Drex."

Stevenson frowned. "That's a drastic step."

"It's necessary. There's a unit headed towards us right now. They're going to kill us, and who knows how many mammals on the planet-"

"You don't seem to understand, Hunter," said Stevenson. He was studying the display unit built into the bridge chair. Moving stiffly, he tapped at the buttons. "Prometheus set up the signal architecture. It seems he suborned the rudimentary AI that controls the city- Zootopia, you said it was called?- the city power grid." Stevenson shook his head in rueful pride. "It's brilliant, really."

"What do you mean?" asked Hunter. "What's brilliant?"

"The city recently refurbished the power grid, it seems."

"They were protecting against an electromagnetic pulse attack," said Tavi. "I heard it from a bat."

Stevenson paused. "It's a pity I'm not going to be alive much longer," he mused. "'Heard it from a bat.'This world sounds fascinating."

"Yeah, sure," said Hunter. "You think that's weird, I once got attacked by assassin squirrels."

Stevenson gave him a strange look, but decided to let the matter drop. "Well, the design specifications certainly would protect against an EMP, but it also made it possible to turn the entire power grid into one big communications array. We can send the signal remotely."

"Okay," said Hunter. "Let's do it, then."

"Um, wait a minute," said Judy slowly. "Are you really suggesting- you want to kill all the Drex?"

"It's the only way, Judy," said Hunter. "They'll kill us if we don't."

"But-" She shook her head. "That's horrible." Her voice was very low.

"They made their choice, Judy. It's either us or them." Hunter's voice, by contrast, was clear. And grim.

The bunny looked at Nick, who put his ears back. "Judy, I- Hunter's right. The Drex attacking knew the risks, and they haven't shown any mercy to us. I don't think we-"

"It wouldn't just be the Drex who are attacking that would be destroyed," interrupted Stevenson. His voice was weaker, his breath coming faster.

"What do you mean?" asked Hunter.

"Prometheus planned this very well. The signal- it's being powered by the city. Huge amounts of power- what do you use it all for, anyway?" He waved away Nick's attempt to explain. "Never mind, it's not important. If we activate this, the signal will propagate not only throughout the solar system, but through the wormhole that is currently open. One that this-" he tapped the screen- "-indicates is connected to the Drex homeworld."

There was a long silence. "So if you activate the kill switch..." said Hunter. He couldn't finish the sentence.

Stevenson did it for him. "It will destroy every Drex here and on their homeworld."

"I-" Hunter paused.

Four pairs of eyes watched him. "I need time to think about this," he muttered.

"There's not much time," said Stevenson. "An armored force is approaching us even now." He started coughing. "And I haven't-"

He spasmed abruptly. Hunter and Judy rushed to him, though there was little they could do other than ease him onto the floor and place him on his side. His eyes were rolled up, showing only the whites, his body shaking.

"He's having a seizure," said Hunter. He made sure to stay clear of the doctor's kicking feet.

As suddenly as it started, the seizure stopped. Slowly, Stevenson's eyes refocused, his breath even shallower now. He coughed again. "I haven't much time, it seems." His eyes moved to the bridge chair. "Mr. Hunter, help me back into my seat."

"Doctor, I really think-"

"Just do it," rasped Stevenson. Against his better judgment, Hunter did as he asked.

The scientist quickly keyed in a few commands. "Mr. Hunter, please state your name."

Hunter exchanged a surprised look with Judy and Nick. "Zacharias Hunter. What-"

"Commander confirmed," said a flat, robotic voice. "Zacharias Hunter."

Hunter's eyes went wide. "Did you-"

"Make you the ship's commander?" Stevenson smiled wearily. "Yes."

"But I-"

"You have a choice to make, Mr. Hunter," said Stevenson. He was very pale, his limbs trembling. "I cannot tell you what the choice will be. But I will give you the means to make it."

Hunter nodded reluctantly. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," said Stevenson, his voice growing fainter. He turned his head with obvious effort towards Nick, Judy, and Tavi. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, the closest he could come to a smile. "My friends," he said quietly. "What Prometheus wanted for you was terrible, ghastly. But in one thing he was correct. Humanity needs allies, friends. Companions. I do not know why Prometheus felt this was the only way. But it is up to you to find another."

"We're not going to become their servants," said Nick angrily.

Stevenson's labored breathing turned into a labored wheeze, the nearest he could come to a laugh. "No, no sapient with an ounce of self-respect would want to. No, I mean true companions. Equals."

He held out a hand. "I have lived long- far longer than I had hoped or expected. And I confess, I am ready to leave this life. But I am most glad that I was able, before I die, to meet you."

Nick glanced uncertainly at Judy, who had tears in her eyes, before reaching out and taking the man's hand, which closed carefully around his paw.

And then dropped away. Stevenson's face went slack, his body limp.

Hunter leaned toward him, placing two fingers on his throat. "No pulse," he said quietly. "He's gone."

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For a long moment, no one said anything. Then, at last, Nick spoke.

"He seemed like a good person."

Hunter nodded, though he was distracted. "Hey, Judy?"

Her eyes still teary, she nodded. "Yeah?"

"Can you pick up that pen-looking thing that Khabat dropped?"

Before she could reach it, Nick snatched it up. He held it up curiously, studying it. "What is this thing?"

"It makes Hunter go to sleep if you press the button," explained Tavi.

Nick's eyes got wide, then a sly look came over his face. "Are you telling me Hunter now has an off switch?"

"Don't even think about it, fox," warned Hunter, but his heart wasn't in it. He was too distracted.

He hadn't asked for this. He didn't want this. Oh, sure, to wipe out the Drex military- that was something he could do. But the entire race-

They had murdered millions of humans in their millenia long war. They had shown neither mercy nor compassion. All he had to do was give the order, and all that would end. The few Drex who survived would have no homeworld, nowhere to go, and could easily be mopped up by humanity. A nightmare that had gone on for thousands of years- and seemed likely to go on forever- would be over.

He felt his friends' eyes on him. "What?" he said irritably.

"Zach, you're not really thinking about- doing it, are you?" asked Tavi cautiously. "I mean, you can't kill an entire race."

"That's just the problem, Anila. I can. The question I have right now is whether I should."

"Zach, whatever they've done- no one has the right to decide if they all live or die," argued the mongoose. "If you make that decision-"

He turned on her angrily. "If I do, what? I've made the decision before. With Lucas. With those soldiers I killed." He closed his eyes. "With Hart."

"That's different-"

"How?" Hunter shook his head. "Just a matter of scale, isn't it? Instead of one innocent, I'll be killing billions. It's the only way for us to survive." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's the only way to protect you."

Nick shook his head. "There's always another way, Zach."

"What other way is there?" Hunter shook his head and took a decisive step towards the bridge chair. "Ship?"

"Working." The ship's voice was cold, devoid of personality.

"I want you to activate the Drex kill switch."

"Zach, no!" shouted Judy. "Stop!"

"I won't lose you, Judy. Or any of you," said Hunter firmly.

The computer spoke again. "Powering up communications array."

Hunter blinked as Judy bounced up, grabbing his lapels, her face inches away from his. "It's not worth it, Zach!"

He grabbed her, pulling her off him, holding her up by the collar. "Judy, there's no other way. I will-"

He collapsed.

Judy looked up to see Nick holding the nanite-controller in his hand. "That is handy," said Nick, looking at the device with interest.

"It's too late, Nick!" Judy hopped onto the bridge chair, scanning the buttons on it. "He already started the process."

Nick clicked the top of the device again, and Hunter's eyes flew open. He looked at Nick. "I swear, I am going to take that thing and-"

Another click and he collapsed again. Tavi looked at the human worriedly. "Should you be doing that so many times?"

"It's safe," said Khabat. They all turned to look at her. "Forgot I was here?"

"Do you have any ideas?" snapped Nick.

Still being held in place by the maintenance robot, she shrugged. "Frankly, Hunter's right. And in the end, he'll be a hero. The Drex need to be destroyed, Wilde."

"He'll be a monster," said Judy. She shook her head. "He's not thinking right. We need to stop him."

"Signal propagation in three minutes," said the computer.

"Oh, good, a voice countdown," said Nick. "Just what we needed. More drama."

"Look," said Khabat. "If tell this robot to let me go, I can try and talk to him-"

Nick rolled his eyes. "You didn't seriously expect that to work, did you?"

She shrugged again. "Worth a try."

Tavi's face was suddenly pensive. "Wait a minute. The robots."

Judy and Nick looked at her. "What about them?"

"Did either of you notice Shepherd had a shiny new main cannon?" Tavi pointed at the tank.

Shepherd spoke. "Apologies, commander. When I was suborned by Prometheus, I was ordered to repair my functions, including weaponry."

Judy blinked. "You built yourself a new cannon?"

"Using my repair functions and available material."

"Available materials?"

"Tools and scrap from the service bay," explained Tavi. "Think about it. If he could do that in a few days, how much could this ship have done in a few millenia?"

They stared at her. "Tavi," said Nick slowly. "Are you- do you think that this ship-"

Judy was more decisive. "Ship!"

"Working," came the reply.

"Are you operational?"

"This unit is at eighty-nine percent optimal efficiency."

Even Khabat's eyes widened.

Judy nodded sharply. "Wake him up again, Nick."

Hunter woke to find three small mammals staring down at him sternly. "I'm not going to stop the kill switch."

"What if there's another way?" asked Tavi.

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Hunter pondered silently, his friends' eyes on him. What they were suggesting- was risky. It could result in all of their deaths.

He looked at Tavi. "Are you sure about this, rookie?"

She nodded. "We have to try, Zach."

He shifted his gaze. "What about you, Nick? I mean, come on. We'll be risking our own lives to try and save a bunch of homicidal genetic freaks. Does that sound like something Nick Wilde, con-mammal, would do?"

Nick looked away. "No," he admitted.

Judy looked at him, her eyes widening in shock.

Before she could say anything, he looked back at Hunter. "But it sounds like something Nick Wilde, policemammal, would do. Would have to do," he said, emphasizing the last words.

Slowly, Hunter nodded before turning towards Judy. "This is seriously stupid and noble, bunny, so I'm pretty sure I know what you'll say."

"You can't save everyone, Zach. But-"

"You can at least try." Hunter shook his head. "I should let the countdown finish, to save you from yourselves."

"You can't save us by losing yourself, Hunter," said Judy. "And we won't let you."

"One minute until transmission," said the ship.

Hunter stood. "Ship, cancel the transmission."

"Powering down transmitters."

"Ship, you're fully operational?"

"Eighty-nine percent," corrected the ship.

"Can you fly?" asked Hunter testily.

"Affirmative."

"Then, uh." Hunter paused, looked at his friends. "What do I tell it to do?"

"Lift-off?" suggested Nick. "You know, to start."

Hunter gave him a look, but nodded. "All right. Ship, lift off."

"Acknowledged. Powering up engines." The ship started vibrating slightly, a steady thrumming sound filling the bridge. "Engines will be active in ten minutes."

"Can't you speed it up?" asked Hunter. He had one eye on a screen showing the Drex task force's approach. "We've got incoming."

"Engines have been off-line for longer than the recommended shut-down period," said the ship.

Nick snorted. "Yeah, probably about ten thousand years longer."

"Ten minutes required to re-activate," finished the computer.

"Okay," said Hunter. "We've got to think of a way to slow down the Drex- Shepherd!"

The tank had silently turned and, without communicating to anyone, hovered off the bridge.

They watched the door close in surprise. "Where is he-"

The communications panel lit up. "This is Shepherd. I am moving to intercept the Drex task force."

Tavi's eyes widened. "Shepherd! You can't- there's too many of them!"

"You need time to activate the Terran battleship. I will provide you with the time you need."

The mongoose jumped onto the comms panel. "Shepherd! I forbid you to go!"

"Commander-" There was a pause. "Anila," came the reply, uncharacteristically gentle. "I cannot comply with your order."

"But- I thought I was your commander."

"You were my commander," corrected the tank. "But now you are my friend. Shepherd out."

Tavi's fur was wet with tears. "But you might die," she whispered.

Hunter cautiously approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder with care. "He's making his choice, Tavi. That's something you taught him."

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Shepherd rose silently out of the bay of the great Terran battleship. Already, his sensors were detecting the rising heat signature of the engine and reactor compartments.

Prometheus was waking up.

It was his role to ensure the giant escaped the bonds that had imprisoned it for so long. A thought struck him, and he ran through his data banks. Wasn't there a story about the Titan Prometheus- how he had been chained to a rock, and a hero had set him free...

There it was. Shepherd felt a sense of satisfaction. The Titan had been imprisoned, and an eagle had come every day to eat his liver. Until the hero Heracles had rescued the Titan.

His sensors tracked across the sky, finding the approaching Drex.

Flying like eagles approaching their prey.

Shepherd's main gun whirred as it tracked the lead Drex vehicle.

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Octavius was peering through the steam- which was slowly starting to dissipate- and let out a gasp of surprise at the size of what was revealed in the crater below.

It wasn't an underground laboratory. The thing partially embedded in the muddy lake, wreathed in mist from the evaporated water, was far more than he had expected.

It was a United Terran battleship.

And from the readings he was getting, one that was preparing to launch.

He grabbed the mike. "All units, prepare to fire at will. That thing cannot be allowed to launch-"

The lead APC suddenly exploded in a ball of fire. Octavius was thrown to the side as his driver took evasive action. The escorting tanks evaded as well, firing blindly in the direction the shot had come from.

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Shepherd slipped right, neatly dodging a frantic round fired by a Drex tank, and fired again. Another APC exploded, falling in a trail of fire towards the ground below.

The tank knew that it couldn't keep this up forever. The enemy would soon locate his position and throw everything they had at him.

His processor whirred. They would expect him to go to ground, take cover in the terrain. If he did, he would survive for perhaps a minute or two- not enough time. Worse, they could continue the hunt while the other armored vehicles attacked the weak points on the imprisoned Titan.

Instead of doing the logical thing, Shepherd decided to do the necessary thing.

He charged.

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"What is going on?" screamed Octavius, in rage rather than fear.

"Enemy King Cobra light tank, sir! I don't know where it came from." The APC's driver was concentrating on his flying, the APC so low that even rock outcroppings had to be dodged. "The escorting tanks are staying high to hunt it down."

Octavius looked up in time to see a black-painted shape burst out of the mist, charging directly into the tank formation.

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Shepherd's main gun spoke again. The target, a Patrician-class heavy tank, normally would have shrugged off the blow. But not at close range- and Shepherd was practically in the enemy tank's pocket.

Even as the enemy tank fell out of view, Shepherd swiveled to bring a lighter vehicle under his machine guns. The heavy guns ripped through the cockpit, killing the pilot and then ripped open the side. Drex bodies fell out as the vehicle tumbled.

A shot struck his left side from below, sending him into a spin. He lost nearly a hundred meters of altitude before recovering, which at least had the bonus of making him a hard target for a few seconds. Several more shots cut through the air around him.

Four targets down in less than a minute. It wasn't enough. The Drex were in disarray, but sooner or later, they would penetrate his armor. For the briefest amount of time, he thought about the situation. Then he activated his communication system.

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"Shepherd to Prometheus."

Tavi, who had been pacing worriedly, leapt up on the comms console. "Shepherd! Are you okay?"

"Enemy resistance is heavier than anticipated." They heard a loud clang. Hunter exchanged a grim look with Nick.

"Then get out of there! Shepherd, you can't fight them all."

"I have one option left. If I activate my self-destruct, the reactor explosion will likely disable or destroy all enemy units in this force."

Tavi's eyes went wide. "Shepherd, no!"

"I have no other choice, Anila." The tank's voice was firm, but gentle.

"You have a choice, Shepherd!"

There was a pause. "You are correct. I do have a choice. Because of you. And because of you, I will make this choice."

"Shepherd..." Tavi closed her eyes, tears dripping to the console below. "You're my friend."

"I am, Anila. And I always will be." For a moment, there was silence. Then, "You were right, Anila."

"Right?" She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Right about what?"

"The stars. They are beautiful." He said nothing more.

Even through the hull of the battleship, they could feel the explosion.

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The flash of light blinded Octavius as the enemy tank suddenly exploded, directly in the center of their formation. Fortunately, his APC had been near the back, so instead of being vaporized like some of the closer units, it was just thrown into a spin by the force of the detonation.

Octavius almost would have preferred to be vaporized as the landscape spun crazily around. The Drex were still susceptible to motion sickness.

Even through the nausea-inducing spin, he realized the ground appeared to be coming closer- and closer-

The pilot managed to bring the anti-gravity back on-line, but it was just a bit too late-

Octavius was thrown across the APC's cabin as it plowed into the muddy ground outside the crater.

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Hunter had instructed the ship to provide him with a video feed of the exterior of the battleship.

There was a mushroom cloud- a small one, but an honest-to-God mushroom cloud- in the center of what had once been the Drex formation, a few miles from the Prometheus. The screen had come on just in time to see the last of the Drex flying craft smash into the ground, muddied by the passage of the water that had been thrown from the lake. Hunter watched it keenly for a moment, but there was no sign of further activity.

He turned back to look at Tavi. Judy was hugging her as she sobbed into the bunny's shoulder. Awkwardly, he approached. "Anila?"

She sniffed and looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "Is he-"

"He's gone, Tavi," said Hunter gently. "But he saved all of us."

Nick moved up, hugged Tavi with one arm. "I'm sorry, Anila. He was a good tank."

"He was a good friend," she corrected him.

The fox smiled sadly. "Yeah."

The ship suddenly trembled, sending them all swaying as they grabbed at the nearest handhold for support. A rumbling sound started, starting as a strong vibration that gradually smoothed out until it was almosts unnoticeable.

"Engines on-line," announced the ship. "Lift-off in ten."

"Ten what?" said Hunter quickly.

"Nine."

Hunter's eyes went wide as he exchanged looks with the others. "Oh."

"Eight."

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The Drex were moving closer again, the Marines having fallen back to their earlier positions.

They were taking no chances this time. Barker and Wu could hear the explosions as they gutted the buildings on the perimeter with artillery. Periodically, a Drex bomber shot overhead, pounding the embattled humans with fire from above.

They found themselves huddled together in what had once been an interior room of the police station. A bomb blast had ripped open the walls between the room and the outside, giving them a fairly clear view of the battlefield.

"We're not going to make it, are we?"

Barker's voice was calm, though Wu knew her well enough to pick up on an undercurrent of fear. She was afraid, though still hiding it.

He was, too. "There's still hope," he said. He didn't even sound convincing to himself.

"Sure," said the wolf.

They turned at a sound, seeing La Mancha walking down the hallway, Krieger at his side. "Ah," said La Mancha as he spotted them. "Still holding on, I see. Make proper Marines of you yet, I expect."

"God, I hope not," muttered Wu.

Barker gave him a level look before turning back to La Mancha. "What's the situation?"

The Marine colonel took off his cap and scratched his head. "Hate when plaster gets on my scalp," he said absently. "Always make me itch." A nearby explosion sent more plaster raining down on him, this time without the protection of his cap. La Mancha glared at the ceiling. "Damn it."

"Colonel?" Barker's voice was tight with stress. "The situation?"

"Ah." Dusting his head off, the colonel replaced his cap. "The Drex have moved up more reinforcements since the counter-attack, probably at least twice as many as they had before. They've called in large numbers of ground support fighters, and also have a fair amount of armored support which are gradually pushing back our tanks."

Wu looked grim. "Could it be any worse?"

"Sure," said La Mancha. "It could be raining."

As soon as he said the words, thunder could be heard, even above the crackle of gunfire in the distance. Wu looked resigned.

"Had to say it, didn't you?"

Barker, on the other hand, just looked confused. "That's not thunder," she said slowly.

Sure enough, there was a strange quality to the sound. Instead of gradually dying away, it grew louder.

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"Seven. Six. Five."

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The Drex ships closed in inexorably on the Nike.

Oakes had her running towards the wormhole, but with most of her thrusters off-line he had nowhere near the acceleration needed to reach the transit point before they caught up. It was a simple equation, one Oakes could calculate in his head- the acceleration of the Drex pursuers versus that of the Nike. He visualized it in his mind's eye, tracing their route, seeing where the Nike and Drex met. The place where they would die.

"Conn, Tactical. Estimate lead Drex cruiser will have a firing solution in three minutes." The officer's voice was very calm, very correct. Imminent death could cause that in some people.

"Very well," said Oakes, maintaining the same tone. He keyed the shipwide address. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Drex are closing in on us." He paused, searching for the words. The words to make this defeat- this ultimate defeat, the inevitable triumph of death over life- seem something like a victory.

There weren't any. In a few minutes, the cold equations that governed their lives would see them destroyed, their very atoms scattered across the stars. Inevitability ruled all.

But it always had, hadn't it? Sooner or later, everyone died. One's entire world would end. But people kept living all the same.

"Shipmates, we all knew this time might come. We fought as hard as we could, and far harder than the Drex or anyone else would have ever expected." Oakes's tone rose. "But we're not done yet! Every Drex we kill is one less to attack our homes and our families. Every ship we burn will be one less to strike at humanity. And though we may be about to fall today, our name is still Nike, and that means victory!"

There was no cheer, no loud acclamation. But he could still feel the tension ease on the bridge, and an irrational part of him insisted that the rest of the ship was calmer, too.

Tossetti spoke, her voice almost too low to hear. "O grave, where is thy victory?"

Oakes smiled sadly. "O death, where is thy sting?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Three. Two. One."

There was the slightest pause, then the entire ship shifted under their feet.

"Liftoff."

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Octavius pulled himself out of the APC, grimacing in pain from a twisted ankle. Even the Drex could be injured, of course. The corpse of the APC's pilot attested to that, with his twisted neck and look of surprise.

The Drex leader frowned as the roaring that filled the air around him crescendoed. He turned to look toward the crater.

The Drex had no religion. Lacking a fear of death and knowing exactly how they were created, there was little need for one. But now, as Octavius looked up, the part of him that was still somehow human readily identified what he was seeing.

The ascent of a god.

Prometheus rose, great chunks of mud and rock tumbling off the ship and falling to the ground below. He traced one boulder, likely the size of his APC, but looking like a speck of dust as it fell thousands of feet into the crater.

The engines of the ship glowed with a strange, bluish light as they strained, lifting millions of tons further into the atmosphere. Their roar filled the air with a sound so pervasive it seemed a physical thing, pushing against Octavius as he stood in fear and awe. Mist still seemed to cling to the ship, pouring off the wing-like structures on the side as the Terran battleship continued rising.

He spotted another large clump of mud falling as the ship turned slightly, flying directly above him. He blinked as he realized that particular chunk of dirt was headed directly at him-

Octavius dove back into the APC an instant before it landed, burying the wreck under several dozen tons of earth.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Look!"

Wu followed Barker's arm as it pointed towards the east, above the buildings.

A star? No, it was moving. "A ship," he said. "So?"

"It didn't come from orbit," said Barker. "It came from the ground."

Wu frowned. "What?"

"I was watching! It came up from the ground!"

"That's impossible."

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Prometheus continued to rise.

At thirty thousand feet it shook itself, rolling slightly to and fro, shaking free the last bits of dirt and mud that had clung to the millenia-old hull.

At forty thousand feet the ancient turrets came to life, rotating back and forth, not seeking targets, but just verifying that they still worked.

The ship broke through clouds, ripping them into pieces, vestiges clinging to it as it continued to climb. Even those vestiges dissipated as the battleship climbed higher, into the stratosphere, and then further, until the sky dissolved into stars.

Prometheus had risen.

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Multiple contacts, commander. There appears to be a hostile force surrounding the planet, in both low and high orbit."

Hunter, still a bit shaken by the ship's rapid ascent, glanced up at the speaker from which the ship was speaking. "Um, yeah. We know."

The battleship AI was silent for a moment. "Recommend you brief me in regarding the combat situation before we engage, commander."

"Okay," said Hunter, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants. "Do you have a tactical display I can see?"

The main screen lit up, with huge number of dots surrounding a circle. After a moment, Hunter identified the circle as Terra, and the dots as the Drex fleet.

There were a whole lot of dots. "Okay. So you see all those dots?"

"Contacts identified," said the ship, placing a slight emphasis on 'contacts'.

"We want to make those dots go away."

Nick stared at him. "That's your battle plan? Make the dots go away?"

"I'm a cop, Nick, not a goddamn space admiral."

"Thank God for that."

With a final glare, Hunter turned away from Nick and back to the view screen. "Can you do that?"

"Hostile contacts identified. Analyzing their capabilities- analysis complete." The ship's voice took on a tone that sounded almost smug. "Enemy vessels appear primitive in design. They do not appear to have particle beams or even basic shielding."

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, no particle beams or-" He stopped. "Did you say shields?" Nick's eyes widened.

"Affirmative. My shields are operational and at eighty-five percent efficiency."

"Shields," said Hunter. He traded an incredulous look with Nick. "We have shields? Like, magic force fields?"

Judy looked at the two of them, confused. "So what? So we have shields."

Nick shook his head. "Carrots, shields don't exist. It's magic. Human ships rely on a high-density armor."

"Well, more like some sort of molecular bond sort of thing- hey, how do you know that?" asked Hunter in surprise.

"I was trained to fly a fighter," explained Nick.

Hunter's jaw dropped. "What."

"Okay, so humans don't use shields, but so?" Judy tried to get them back on track.

Nick looked back at her. "Shields are not possible! It's science fiction!"

For a long moment, Judy stared at him. "Nick. We are currently on a millenia-old space battleship, which we got to by flying in a space fighter, fighting against genetically engineered super-humans. What part of that isn't science fiction?"

The fox opened his mouth, closed it. "Point," he conceded.

"If I may interject," said the ship, in a tone that sounded bemused. "There is one contact that seems different from the rest. I believe it is crewed by humans."

Hunter turned, surprised. "Which one?"

One dot blinked. It was on the edge of the tactical display, near a mark that indicated a wormhole. "Here. The transponder identifies it as the Nike."

"That's the ship that brought us," said Nick.

"Okay," said Hunter, nodding. "That's a good guy. Now, can you deal with the rest of the dots. You know, the bad dots?"

"The bad dots?" said Nick archly.

"Shut up."

"Orders acknowledged. Battle stations. All hands to battle stations." The AI said the last two sentences formally, as if in accordance with a set script.

The four police officers looked around, then at one another.

Hunter shrugged and sat down in an empty chair. "You heard him. Battlestations." He put his feet up and leaned back.

"You should really be more concerned," said Nick.

Hunter shrugged. "Hey, this was your idea." He looked up. "Go get 'em, ship."

There was a pause. "Commander, I have a request."

"Um, okay?" Hunter frowned. "What is it?"

"All ships have names. Before we go into battle, I would like one as well."

Hunter's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You have a name. Prometheus." He pointed to the plaque above the bridge's entrance. "See?"

"Prometheus," said the ship musingly. "Why?"

The four cops exchanged confused looks. "Why what?" asked Tavi uncertainly.

"Why Prometheus?"

For a long moment, they all considered the question. Then Hunter looked up, a predatory smile on his face. "Do you know whatPrometheus did?"

"He stole fire from the gods," confirmed the ship.

"And that's why your name is Prometheus," said Hunter. He stood up, seeing the red dots that marked the Drex converging on the dot that represented them. "Because you're about to bring the fire."

Author's Note: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"-I Corinthians 15:55