It had been a week since the Siege of the Halcyon Academy had begun. There were none left on its campus who existed beyond the control of the fallen guardian Zahavi. A militia of Dawnbreakers patrolled the grounds, watching for any sign of outwards attack. Those who bore the name Halcyon and yet lived now toiled day and night on the construction of a mighty weapon. When the time came, Zahavi would activate the device, and all traces of the Halcyons would be forever erased from the galaxy, and all that remained of the Academy would be a crater.
But before that could be done, there was another issue to deal with. A band of those bearing the Halcyon name had escaped the Academy before it was taken over. Even now, they hid in the jungle, no doubt devising their plan to attempt a reclamation of their home. Little did they know that once they all were in range, the warhead would be activated and all would ascend in holy fire.
Zahavi's eyes flared as the completion of his mission was so close at hand. This rebellion would be crushed, once and for all.
Night fell, and the last remaining Halcyons rested before their assault on the Academy.
The students of the Academy banded together, having found in each other a family that none of whom had ever known individually. Despite all arguments, disagreements, and rivalries, these six young men and women were forever bonded as the first class of the ill-fated Halcyon Academy, and these last few days would forever impact their marks upon the galaxy. They piled together in a makeshift bed of brush and leaves and found peaceful sleep amidst their fellow's heartbeats. In the heart of the pile lay Asmodeus, bearing their weight upon his chest. He loved these children, and would die to protect them.
The Hellfathers found in this unlikely reunion a new vigor, and spent most of the night around the fire catching each other up on the stories of their lives. Haran'buir recalled to them the story of his upbringing in the Mandalorian lifestyle, and how he had sought out his place in the Halcyon clan when he had learned of the others joining. It was his intention to eventually reveal his true identity to them, but circumstance had forced his hand. The others welcomed him into the fold with open arms. There were wounds related to his 'death' that needed healing, but by the time the sun rose they would be brothers once again.
Far away from the two groups, Oryon waited in the treetops. Five years on Belsavis, wary of predators and roving gangs had made him uncomfortable sleeping on the ground. He leaned against the trunk of a tree and wept for the loss of Michael, his adoptive brother. It was his actions that directly led to his death, and he knew this and accepted this. He had been ready to betray all of his brothers over what he believed to be right. And yet, the revelation that was the existence of his daughter had shook him from this self-righteous paradigm and forced him to confront his motivations and his decisions outright. The weight of that guilt would remain on him for as long as he lived. He took solace in the promise that he had made to Nila-Om, that no one else would die as a result of his actions.
Little did he know that he had already failed in this promise.
The device had been completed. It loomed over the terrace where the student once held class. By tapping into the latent Nexus energy of the deceased Halcyons, Zahavi had been able to complete a steady link to source of all their abilities. When activated, the device would call home, temporarily creating a pathway that would draw all Guardian energy out of this galaxy and return it to its original source, the original Guardians of the First Nexus. This would act as a dirty bomb for all those touched by Guardian abilities. Any remaining Halcyons from this world or any other would be instantly disintegrated into the energy flow and returned to raw energy.
Of course, Zahavi was aware that this device would likely affect him in the same way. But this mattered not to him. Once the Halcyon line was destroyed, his future of endless war would be averted and his mission complete. As for those under his control, they too were touched by the Guardian energy, and would likely be dissipated as well. But no war is without collateral damage, and the lives of a few dozen men and women weighed nothing against the countless billions he was saving.
The only remaining matter was to activate the device. But when? The death he had sown here had strengthened the machine, for certain. But there was no way to properly estimate the blast radius. Activate it too soon and all the pieces may not be in range, rendering his entire mission a failure. All those lives he had taken would be without purpose, just...senseless carnage.
No, that would not do. Every life he took in this galaxy was a means to an end. He would give them honor by making their deaths serve a noble purpose. No, the device could not be activated until the timing was absolutely perfect. They would all be consumed in a holy fire, converted to pure energy and sent into the First Nexus for their eternal reward. This was Zahavi's cause. This was his war. This was his judgement.
The final day of the Siege began as any other. The sun rose slowly over the horizon, and sounds of the predatory night creatures gave way to the pleasant calls and songs of the morning birds. Dawnbreakers marched the perimeter, keeping constant watch over the Academy, on the lookout for missing rebels. They marched ceaselessly, their eyes glowing gold with the after effects of Zahavi's mind control. The stopped not to eat nor sleep, and had it not been for the rigorous standards embedded in them by their commander, Haran'buir, then most would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.
Of course, Zahavi was no great commander. He cared not for those under his command. To him, they were a tool to be used, nothing more. A good commander knows when to give his soldiers time to recover, to rest, to refuel. A good commander knows how to keep his forces in peak efficiency.
A good commander also knows when to strike a weakened opponent.
A mechanical roar filled the air, and the exhausted Dawnbreakers raised their weapons in the direction of the sound. The noise was quickly followed by identical roars, filling the air with a mighty cacophonous harmony. And they were getting closer.
By the time the sound was clear enough to be identified, it was too late. Four swoop bikes exploded from the jungle brush like a thunderous wave crashing against the beach. Blasters fired in all directions as the Hellfathers rode once again. The Dawnbreakers tried to keep up, but the attack was everywhere at once. The first line guarding the perimeter was mowed down in the initial attack, and after a moment, it was over.
Oryon, Asmodeus, and the academy students filtered out of the trees as the Hellfathers disembarked their bikes and examined their foes. Bersk, who had been riding with Otso, pulled down a nearby branch, gently forming it into a crutch before severing it from the donating tree. He leaned against it as he surveyed the battlefield.
"This is just the outer line. Im sure backup is already on the way." He remarked.
Haran nodded. "All of their vitals are recorded in a linked broadcast. One goes unconscious, the others are alerted. They'll be here in seconds."
Oryon plugged a dataspike into one of the fallen soldier's helmet, cloning the data it broadcast. "This is the first strike. Zahavi will be near the middle of the campus. I'm counting on you four to penetrate as deep into their defenses as you can, clearing the way for Asmodeus and myself to find him." He turned to the students. "You wanted to fight, now is your chance. Keep the Dawnbreakers off our backs."
"Non lethal, kids." Loth's voice was stern as he reloaded his rifle. "These are still our brothers and sisters in this armor. Stun, debilitate, or remove from the battle. No killing."
"Asmo? You're with me. The rest of you, buy us as much time as you can." Oryon and Asmodeus disappeared into the jungle, cutting around the east side of the Academy in order to flank the advancing troops.
Otso mounted his assault cannon on its turret stand and prepared for the advancement. "Never loaded stun packs into this big fella before. Should be fun to watch, if nothing else."
Zahavi watched as his forces descended into the jungles, chasing after the sounds of blaster fire. The rebels had made their move, it would seem. This was good. They would fight to the center of the facility, and then Zahavi would activate the device. And then all of this would be over. Then he could finally rest.
The ambush came so quickly that Zahavi barely had time to react. While all his forces were advancing to the south, the sneak attack came from the east. He barely had time to raise his blade over his head to absorb the blow delivered by Asmodeus. The force of the impact threw him several meters away, but he remained on his feet and ready to fight. Asmodeus and Oryon stood before him. Oryon was calm as he ever was, carefully examining the device. Asmodeus was breathing heavily, his shoulders pumping up and down with rage. Blood dripped from his fists where Zahavi's weapon had blocked the attack, but if he felt it he showed no indication. The only emotion in his face and eyes was pure heated rage, and it was aimed squarely at Zahavi.
The Togruta swept his weapon in a wide arc, slinging the blood off the blade and bringing it into an offensive position. Oryon was the first to speak. "Keep him busy. I need to find out what this is."
Asmodeus roared and charged Zahavi, attacking him bare-fisted. Zahavi side-stepped the attack and flicked the blade in a vertical arch, clipping the meat from from one of Asmodeus's knuckles. More blood dripped as Asmo turned and pounded a fist into Zahavi's chest, driving him into the wall. Zahavi smiled drove his own fist into Asmodeus' ear, causing the larger man to roar in pain and stumble backwards.
He turned and saw that Oryon had already plugged his datapad into the device was downloading its specs. His smile faded. He could not allow the traitor to disable the bomb within! He leapt towards Oryon, but Asmodeus caught him by the ankle and swung him in the opposite direction, flinging him into a stone wall that crumbled and gave way to the impact. This would be more difficult than he expected.
It was time to stop delaying. With these final two Halcyons in range, the device was ready to be activated. Zahavi said a silent prayer, asking the gods to accept his soul into the Nexus at the moment of his death, and charged forward.
Asmodeus reached an arm out to intercept Zahavi, but the smaller man was too fast for him. The was a flash of light, a sound akin to a branch breaking, and an excruciating pain. Asmodeus watched as his left arm fell to the ground, no longer attached to the rest of him. He had no time to process this, as Zahavi had struck his ankles before the arm hit the ground. In a moment, Asmodeus was on his knees, bleeding out and clutching his stub of an arm. Zahavi stood before him, allowing himself a prideful smile for his victory. The mighty and infamous Asmodeus, on his knees before him, powerless.
Zahavi's pride was his mistake. With his final strength, Asmodeus reached out with his remaining hand and grabbed the back of Zahavi's head. With every ounce of will he could must he drove his own forehead into Zahavi's nose. There was a sickening crunch as the front of Zahavi's face shattered, and he drove his sword deep into Asmodeus' chest, puncturing his heart.
Zahavi stumbled backwards. His vision was blurred, blood ran down his face. He had lost several teeth and could not see out of one of his eyes. Asmodeus lay dead before him, but his mission was not yet complete. The device must be activated. He screamed in rage and leapt for Oryon, who was on his knees, rewiring the device from the inside.
Zahavi may have be a split second too late, but it mattered not. Oryon activated the device, and the world around them erupted in golden fire.
It was difficult to tell how much time had passed. A second? A day? Time had no meaning here. Here, where the fire burned you to the bone and healed you back at the same time. Zahavi and Oryon grappled in the flames as they plummeted through the air. Were they falling? Ascending? There was no way for Oryon to tell, the flames surrounded them and carried them. This mattered not. Zahavi with his deformed face laughed as he struck Oryon over and over. Their minds were open to each other here, and Oryon could see the future that Zahavi had shown him. But more than that, he could see the parts that Zahavi had not shown him.
He saw, through Zahavi's eyes, as he joined the Guardians of his time, an ultra-military police force imbued with an otherworldly power. He saw as Zahavi underwent the procedure that gave him his Word, his power to force others to kill in his name. He watched as the implant was placed in his tongue, limiting his vocabulary to a single word. He saw as Zahavi used this power to control others through fear.
But fear was not enough. Zahavi desired more. And when his organization was dismantled and his fellow soldiers locked away for abuse of their power, Zahavi saw his chance. Those who had uncovered the corruption and destroyed their power base were a renegade band of guardians who had united under the name Halcyon, who had taken inspiration from a line of Guardians in the distant past to reform their organization.
It became clear to Oryon that Zahavi had lost his mind at this point. There was no endless war, there was no Halcyon invasion of the galaxy. There was just Zahavi and his corrupt organization going to war with those that served the light. He saw as Zahavi stole the tech that allowed him to jump backwards in time with the intention of destroying the Halcyons.
He looked down at his opponent, who was still cackling with delight. And he knew what to do.
Oryon punched Zahavi in the face and reached into his mouth, wrapping his fingers around the implant embedded in the tongue. A second later, amidst Zahavi's screams of pain, the implant was plugged into Oryon's eyepiece, which copied the data and integrated it into his own systems. He grabbed Zahavi by the shoulders and faced him, his one organic eye looking directly into Zahavi's remaining eye.
"Kill, you son of a bitch."
Zahavi continued to laugh up the very end. He pulled a knife from his pack and drove it into his heart, maintaining his eye contact with Oryon the entire time. He fell backwards into the flames, which devoured him and carried him away.
That is it, then. It's over.
Oryon curled into a fetal position and gripped his knees as the golden fire sent him spiraling through space.
He had only two thoughts before the end.
I love you, Nila.
I'm sorry.
Oryon awoke in a darkness. Blue clouds drifted past him in black sky. He floated amongst them. It was quiet here, peaceful. It had to be akin to floating through space without protective gear. He raised his head and beheld an enormous stone temple, greater than anything ever built by man. A beam of white light emitted from its apex, and just looking at it gave Oryon a feeling of warmth. Was he dead? Is this the afterlife?
"Hello Oryon."
The voice came from everywhere at once. Before him formed the likeness of an enormous person, humanoid in shape but devoid of any physical features. There was no face, no mouth, only the vague outline of a person. And yet, it was somehow familiar...
The figure dwarfed Oryon, several hundred meters tall, but came to rest at a comfortable level for him to see. Oryon unfolded himself and attempted to stand straight to face this new entity.
"Who are you?"
The figure tilted its head slowly, and answered.
"I am Halcyon, First Guardian of the Nexus. And I think it's time we spoke."