As the teleportation light faded, Melissa sighed. This universe had been very interesting. The things she had seen, the things she had done...
And, of course, what she had done with the Commander.
Looking back on it, she was...unsure how to feel, to say the least. She had enjoyed messing with him, oh yes, and seeing him fight epic battles, but here...
She had fought side by side with him.
He had come to her birthday and given her a thoughtful gift, in spite of having plenty of reasons not to attend.
And, of course, when he had been invited to a victory gala following the victory against the Drengin and Dread Lords, she had been the one he had chosen to take with him as his, for lack of a better word, date.
True, he had done so mostly out of lack of better options, and pressure from his subordinates, but that didn't change the fact that he had invited her, and for all his annoyance at being her 'date', he hadn't groused about it at all at the gala. Why?
...Did he like her? At least, as a friend?
...Good heavens, had long had it been since she had used that word?
Friends - she had had those once, and her coworkers had once been among those, but now, the word was alien to her. Oh, Celm and his children might count, but she thought of them as family, not friends. Her subordinates could also count, but they were not exactly equals to her, and she could not view such an unequal pairing as a friendship. No, right now, she was without friends.
And yet, that did not change how the Commander seemed to view her. Or how she was beginning to view the commander.
Then she felt a familiar presence in the room behind her.
"So, how are you doing?"
And then came a familiar voice. Sighing once more, Melissa turned to address the white-suited ROB.
"Fine, just fine. So, how have things been for you?"
"Predictably well. It seems Faith's 'sister' has finally decided to take up her now deceased sibling's duties as my commander. One less inconvenience for me."
"Well, lucky you. Looks like you have no need to abduct another Commander to free you from your shackles."
"Indeed. So, what about you? How has your commander progressed?"
"Splendidly. Unfortunately, though, problems have come up - the artifact he recovered that caused that mess when we last met was not an isolated incident, and have been causing no end of problems."
"Oh. You have my sympathies. Though I must ask, how badly was he imperiled by them?"
"I had to get involved personally to save his ass twice due to the trouble those machines caused."
"...You're serious?"
"Indeed. My own master has actually given me a fair amount of freedom to get involved in the Commander's jouney because of those blasted machines."
"I see...well, good luck, and I hope your pawn continues to provide you with some amusement."
"Thanks," replied Melissa, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"Well, I must be going. Farewell."
With that, the White Suited Figure vanished.
"...Not that those struggles are really amusing anymore," finished the female ROB, to no one in particular.
XXXXXXXXXX
The feed on the screen looped itself several times, always returning to the topic the gathered Operatives were interested in - the most junior of their number dancing with her own pawn, both seeming, if not happy, then at least content with their current situation.
Hours had passed since the couple and their entourages had left the gala, during which time the couple had shared an emotionally intimate moment, as Operative Omega had clearly shown a vision of some sort to her Commander, one of great personal significance. What she had shown eluded them, for their master had explicitly prevented this machine from showing people's thoughts, for the sake of off-roading those they observed some measure of decency.
Still, they could speculate. Both on what the vision was and what showing it had meant.
"So, are those two an item now?" Questioned one of the more intellectual of the Operatives. Sigma was her designation.
"Don't be stupid," replied Operative Iota, the most brutish of the Operatives. "They haven't really interacted enough for romance to be a thing for them, plus the good Commander hasn't forgiven her for his abduction - his emotions on that subject are easy enough to read. Besides, didn't Omega say that she preferred, well, people with a little more meat on them?"
"He isn't a pile of twigs," replied Sigma.
"Yeah, but he's still rather slim, even if he is more athletic than any other Commander we have observed."
"Regardless of whether or not those two are now a couple," intoned Zeta, "shouldn't we be focusing on our next move? Should we not be trying to figure out how to knock Omega off her perch?"
"Lady," retorted Iota, "you and Tau are the ONLY ones who wish to remove Omega from her current position. And while you've said it's because you believe she has been promoted primarily out of nepotism, which may or may not be true, fact is, she still puts in all the effort her position demands and then some. You're just jealous."
"We are not!" Shouted Tau in defiance. "Envy may be a motivator, but if you think it is our only reason for trying to force a demotion of our compatriot, you are sorely mistaken."
"Oh, right," noted Sigma, "there is another reason you want Omega denoted: you two want your friend back."
"...wwwwwWhat!?" Stuttered Zeta, her face beginning to flush with blood. Beside her, Tau's expression remained calm, but his face had also begun to turn red.
"Yeah, that's it - you're angry that Omega neglected your friendship because of her promotion. That she decided to put prestige before companionship. Well, I hate to break it to you, but she doesn't care one bit about any fame her office provides her. Heck, have you seen the things she did for our Leader? Some of it is incredibly degrading, yet she did it anyway. Omega's not brown-nosing the boss. She's serving him practically out of fanaticism."
"What are you saying?!" Questioned Tau, heavily offended by Iota's speech. The fact it was true just rubbed salt in the wound.
"I'm saying that Omega doesn't care about prestige. She's so devoted to Celempheros because of some other reason, one that I am pretty sure will ALWAYS supersede her friendship to you. She once told you that she owed him everything. From what I've seen of her loyalty to him, she probably does. And if you can't realize that, it's your problem."
The two Operatives stared at their fellows, trying to formulate some response, but ultimately failing. Beaten, they both turned their backs to their comrades, primarily out of disgust...but also so that the others would not see the single tear on each of their faces.
"Look," began Sigma, "we are all sorry that you two lost your friendship with Omega, but if you keep trying to displace her in an effort to get her to open up to you once more, you'll only ruin any chance you have to get it back."
"Then what should we do?" Shot back Tau, bitterness evident in his voice.
"Just...well, maybe try being nice to her? It might make her open back up to you two?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. The fact of the matter is that Omega is the one who broke our friendship, and she will have to be the one to make the first move to mend it. And the day that happens is the day a Commander actually meets something that can fight them and win."
The remaining operatives stared at their two compatriots for a moment, before ultimately dropping the subject. Tau's words rang true, even if the other wishes they weren't. Omega had been the one to sunder their friendship, and she would need to be the one to start mending it.
XXXXXXXXX
Iacturos watched on as Melissa, having just finished her conversation with the Kan in the White Suit, quickly returned to her quarters and prepared a bath. Her normal, teasing mood was gone, replace with one of uncertainty. Clearly, something from the previous night had riled her, yet what it was eluded him. Breaking his examination of her some privacy to undress and bathe, his thoughts turned to her interactions with her Commander. This was the first time that he had ever observed a Random Omnipotent Being interact with a Commander beyond occasionally sending them taunting messages, and it made him curious to how it would affect this experiment. True, Celempheros had wanted the Commander to help him recover the relics of their forebearers, but now, it seemed things had changed. The artifacts were the cause of it, but the effects were many and, occasionally, unexpected. Melissa's friendship, if it could be called by that name, with her Commander was just one.
A ticklish feeling to his left alerted Iac to the presence of Ismerina. Turning to his left, he examined his sister, who was, for the first time in a month, clade only in her casual clothes, as opposed to the armor Celempheros had appropriated for her, or her formal wear that she wore to Melissa's birthday. Her form resembled Iacturos own, barring the moth-like antenna on her head, in place of her brother's stubbier, segmented one's. While her primary eyes were focused on him, her secondary and tertiary pair were focused occasionally stole glances at the observation screen, where Melissa had finished bathing and had already changed into her night clothes.
Ismerina's constant glancing told her brother all he needed to know - she was worried about Melissa. She was not the first - all of his hundred plus siblings had expressed concern for Melissa after the events of Iakesh, in no small part because they knew it would push one of her most personal buttons. Ever since they had met her so long ago, they had felt that she was one of them.
Even if Celm was not her sire.
XXXXXXXXX
The Leader of the Operatives and his wife sat down, quietly contemplating the events that had happened. So much had occurred that threw their plans for a loop.
Chief among them was the artifacts. Milsanrima has been the one observing the odd couple leaving the gala and, consequently, had been the one to tell him what their adoptive daughter had shown the Commander. In turn, she had also been the one to see the vision this universe's artifacts had offered, depicting the Progenitor engines of war, both mechanical and biological, did what they did best, against the armies of others from all over creation. The mere fact these artifacts showed this vision riled up the two overseers, for good reason: as the artifacts were showing visions of their enemies, it meant someone else had already accessed the technology of the Progenitors and was likely abusing it for their own reasons.
And that was something neither could allow.
XXXXXXXXX
(Note: next two segments take place a few days after the Battle of Drengi)
As soon as the last rifle was put into storage, Mithrios got to work packing th container for transport. It was time to leave.
After securing the container to the transport, Mithrios took one last look at the devastated building he had been resting in, before vaulting out of a hole in its walls. A moment later, his wings extended fully and began to vigorously flap, until he was at a comfortable height to soar. From here, he followed the transport as it headed back to safety.
Mithrios had just signed on with the Naverosaurus navy when the creator had made himself known, and had been part of the force that had helped extinguish the Grox. Still, he had expected his chances to prove himself to the Creator to dry up after this - the creator had armies of unfeeling machines to serve him, ones that would follow his order to the letter and were nigh-invulnerable. To send fleshy beings like him into battle would have seemed cruel when such forces were available. For Mithrios, it would have been...very boring.
It HAD been boring, until the Commander had decided to host war games against the Illuminate, then send them here, to Drengi, to help nlenforce the Drengin's compliance. With a new, holy purpose given to his existence, Mithrios had carried out his orders to the letter, even if they reduced him to a police officer. To serve his creator and follow his almighty purpose was all he could ask for.
At least, he thought it was. Yet now, he felt the desire to do more. His time serving under the creator had made him desire more than merely prestige. Now, he wanted to help others - bring them food, fight evil, be a model soldier. While he would never disobey his Commander, part of him chaffed under the restrictions given to the organic forces in the Infernum Military.
After all, how does one help others in need when they can only show up when the war has been won?
XXXXXXXX
Lernea helped Mithrios offload the last of the weapons before sending him off - she could deal with the rest from here on out.
Lernea had been among the only Infernum forces to attack Drengi, with her war planes providing fire support for the Illuminate Ground forces. She had once again encountered Timingila, who she had ended up fighting alongside. The two had lain waste to the enemy wet navy until nothing remained of them but broken planes and broken bodies. Timingila's prowess had impressed her, especially since this time, the Battleship had not been holding back out of a desire to none lethally defeat their foes.
Soon, though, Lernea's thoughts became more morose. She realized that she was worried about what would happen after the fight. After all, she and Timingila were only allies so long as the Drengin were a threat. With them gone, it was now time for the two empires to go back to conflict.
Was this conflict to last all time? Or could peace be achieved? Lernea would have liked the Federation to be at peace with the Illuminate. Then she and Timingila could fight side by side against any foe they encountered.
XXXXXXXX
Across the Endless expanse of the multiverse, the creatures watched and waited, trying to find their elusive foes. For as long as the could remember, they had been searching for those who would seek them destroyed, all to no succes.
Now, though, they at last had a lead. A trio of mechanisms made by their foes had activated, surreptitiously informing them of where they need look to eliminate their foes.
One head of the snake had been found. Now, it was time to cut and burn it off.
XXXXXXXXX
AN: Tired from flight to Hawaii, but wanted to post this. [USER=7827] Faith[/USER] helped me write the first part.
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!