Though my subordinates and children wished to tell me a great many things, I declined them - I needed to rest. So did Vivian, though she had come out of this better than I had.
Thus, as soon as we had finished off Void's body and offered our children and followers praise, we did the sensible thing...and promptly retreated to my tower and found some place comfy to fall asleep. And before you ask, no, we didn't sleep in the same room - ignoring other constraints, neither of us had anything on our minds beyond going to dream land.
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A familiar sight greeted me in the land of sleep - that of Celempheros watching over a sleeping Vivian. Now, though, I was able to perceive what had happened after he had finished relieving her of her nightmare.
As the girl found peace in her sleep, Celm let out a small, yet genuine smile, before leaving her room via a portal. Now, he was within a strange looking void, at first empty, but soon filled by shapes that were odd, yet recognizable: stars, black holes, planets, and galaxies. Things one would find in space, though obviously not to scale.
Eventually, two objects came into focus: one appeared to be the Earth, well, more like one iteration of it, while the other...was that a Halo Ring?!
Putting a hand to each one, Celm did something that cause an image to appear above each object - the ring showed the Master Chief fighting both the Covenant and the Flood, while the Earth's viewing image showed a girl wearing blue armor using an invisible sword to fight a man wearing blue armor and wielding a red spear...huh. Guess that was the Fate branch of the Nasuverse.
With another gesture, Celm converted these two images into spheres of swirling gas, which he then pocketed away. Apparently done with his business, he let the Nasu-Earth and Installation 04 go free, then turned to leave the room.
That, frustratingly, was where my dream ended.
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Shaking myself awake, I found I had only slept for an hour, but felt surprisingly refreshed. Letting out a yawn, I was about to inquire as to how Vivian was doing, only for Synais to answer that for me - she had just woken up.
Well, time to sort things out. Though I was pretty sure that Fide, Synais, and Kathikon could handle this.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
...Or maybe not.
"Wait, are you telling me that there are new planets in this system now?"
Kathikon smiled sheepishly at me. "Yes?"
Wordlessly, I put my hand in my palm. "I presume that was the biggest surprise that Void had for us."
"Right about that, boss man," spoke Synais. "Though, there are certainly a lot of other new arrivals to account for."
Like that was a surprise. "What should I expect? A standard set of phantasy races? Elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and so on?"
Synais looked at me, mildly uncomfortable, before showing me a picture of some of the new arrivals. Looks like I was right on the money with them being orcs, though these ones were brown instead of green...Wait, we're those Draenei?
"They are, sir. And according to what has been observed, they aren't fighting each other. So I believe it can be assumed that they are from before the opening of the Dark Portal."
"I see. Have there been any other reports of beings from the world of Warcraft here?"
"Many, actually," replied Kathikon. "So far, we've managed to isolate the races that dislike each other most so as to avoid incidents, but how long that will last is up in the air. Especially since the trolls have good reasons to hate the high elves."
"No shit they do," noted Synais. "You build your capital on top of a troll holy site, of course they're gonna be mad at you!"
"Moving on, any other fantasy creatures here?"
"I've found being from Pathfinder, the Forgotten Realms, and Starfinder here, and that is just the start. Also, this characters from Alien Swarm showed up, as did two giant blobs of flesh that fell onto Origin. Which still appear to be alive, by the way."
"Acknowledged. What about our friends from Zero Dawn and Prehistoric Park?"
"Managing - they want to have a meeting with you later," noted Fide.
"Unsurprising," was Vivian's answer. "I'd suggest you ask them for permission to set up a research outpost there - if for no other reason so that they have help on standby."
Considering that according to the probe, one of Void and Main's kin had tried to eliminate them as witnesses, that wasn't a bad idea. "I will. Now, are there any other items of note that need to be addressed immediately?"
"Not now," intoned Celm - he had joined us after learning about the portal debacle.
"Excellent. Because there is something I want to discuss with all of you."
"Does that include us?" Asked Rory.
Viv smiled at him. "Indeed it does. You, your siblings, and my little ankle biters are all a part of this conversation."
"And what might that be?" Questioned the golden progenitor.
"...Forgive me, but can I make a request?"
"For what?"
"Access to the schematics for all progenitor commanders."
"Why?"
"After observing how these machines fight, I think I may need more help than just Vivian. I think I may need to acquire additional commanders to aid us."
"So you're going to make new ones?"
I shook my head. "Not exactly, Lord Celempheros. Making a commander who could be adaptable enough to fight these machines off would be rather time consuming...especially when I know there are already existing candidates that could fill in that role easily enough."
"So you intend to give your followers commanders?" Asked my son.
"Yes," I replied, glancing between Rory, Fide, Kathikon, and Synais. "And I already see four candidates within this room."
Oh how silly the looks of shock on their faces were.
"But...but...but dad-"
"You're not ready for this? I'd say yes and no - true, you really don't have much experience, but you handled yourself well enough today. I believe that you could follow in my footsteps with additional training and experience."
My attention turned toward my three advisors. "As for you three, you not only proved yourself capable commanders today, but have consistently proven to be talented administrators. You were the ones to manage the Extinction's crew after the ship crashed outside of Cetus. I trust you to be able to carry out additional duties...and it seems my trust was not misplaced."
"Don't think they will hog all of the glory," intoned Vivian. "He's not the only one choosing candidates here. And before you ask, Cass, you're one of my first picks."
"...thanks..."
"So, what? Are you going to make a commander school now?" Questioned Celempheros.
"Yes. That is exactly what we intend to do."
"Interesting."
Really? "I thought you'd have some reservations about this."
"Frankly, the battle you just fought proved how powerful commanders could be when they are working together. So I am fine with you deciding to make/train more-"
Without warning, Fide shot upwards, eyes wide with shock. "Commander, I just got a transmission, I think you should see this."
Without bother to wait for me to respond, she pulled up a screen and played what she was seeing.
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(Note: Major POV shift)
"Secure, Contain, and Protect" is the motto of the Foundation. The Foundation's mission is to secure the anomalous from civilians, rival groups, and trusted to operate in all major nations without restriction. Containing said anomalies in facilities so secure it makes area 51 low security in comparison. Perhaps the most important goal of the Foundation is protecting humanity from the horrors that lurk in the dark. by whatever means necessary, and unfortunately it also applies to me.A "Brutally Efficient Self Replicating Engine of War" is the very definition of an anomaly. Commanders can violate all three objectives of the Foundation, with ease. To them, I need to be locked away in some facility to be studied.
However the Global Occult Coalition is a different story. The GOC views all anomalies as threats and need to be destroyed. Unfortunately the GOC found me first, and attempted termination. Normally that won't be a problem, however I underestimated the technology of this world. My arrogance cost me a majority of the base, 80% of units, and the frame taking damage(minor damage but damage nonetheless). Enemy losses were around 50%, but in the end a pyrrhic victory. What remained of the base was rebuilt with units rolling off the pad. At that moment radar picked up multiple contacts heading toward the base. The prospect of termination looked very real at the time. With the meagor forces available, most were devoted to defense.
At the time there was no way of knowing if this was a second wave or a different entirely group. Realizing that there was one option left to advert termination, Diplomacy. With a simple message sent, now it was time to prepare for the end or so I thought. When the radio crackled to life, I was surprised. They wasted no time and quickly explained the deal. Come with them or die.
As a commander, I should have refused the offer however my human side took over and agreed. Before agreeing to the "deal", operational units were hidden within the remnants of the battlefield. In the worst case scenario, a secondary base was constructed away from the main base. Thus with these plans in place, the Foundation "contained" me and I was relocated to a nearby site. Once there, the Foundation started testing, experimenting, and interviewing me.
———-
I was cooperative at first, but in time my mistake became evident. It should have been so obvious at that time they weren't offering safety but imprisonment. From what I told them, escape will be more challenging than before. Even if I got out, the gate I used to get here was damaged. It needs to be repaired and charged. That requires time that I may not have. The long game seems necessary.
"Alert incoming message." Chimed my OS.
"What does the Foundation want this time?" I responded, annoyed.
"The message is coming from a Progenitor source."
"Well what does it say!?!" A feeling returned to me that I haven't felt in a while: excitement.
"Unknown, but the source has appeared near the gate."
"Is it possible to take it before the Foundation?" My excitement turned into dread.
"Not without alerting the Foundation of the operational units "
"Is there any way to decrypt in my current condition?"
"Yes, the Foundation isn't aware of this form of communication, however you need to get closer to accurately decrypt it. "
"Activate the fail safe, I'll leave you in charge of it. Our ventrue in this universe is over." My voice is filled with conviction, it's do or die now. My fabricator wirled to life, constructing numerous grey blocks. With a simple command: "Replicate". From the blocks rose up replicators, these machines melted down the cell. Personnel occupying the observation room raised the alarm, causing the blast shutters to fall. It was a feudal attempt to delay the growing numbers of replicators. As the mass melted through the shutters blistering speed, I could only imagine the faces of humans. Seeing a mass of metal melting through their protection. Once the hole was wide enough for a replicator to squeeze through, a replicator leaped on a man's back. Digging into the flesh with audible cracking of the bone. His screams were cut short, as the machine drove a single leg into the spinal column. The once smooth movements turned janky and stiff. Walking back to the terminal he started to open the blast doors to the cell. It wasn't necessary to open the cell, I could blast through it, however it was easier this way. We parted ways, the goal was the replicators was to cause a distraction. It was time to leave this prison.
————.
"The site is experiencing a CODE: RED. Proceed to the evacuation shelters. Do not engage the hostile forces, mobile task forces have been dispatched to deal with the threat." P.A system blared for a fourth time.
My sensors can almost smell the taste of freedom. Aiming my cannon directly at the center of gate A. Gate A crashed into the pavement, being blown off the frame. Echoing through the site the sound of freedom. I was greeted by an advanced force of units, although battle scars were clearly evident. I wasted no time, sooner or later the MTF will arrive.
"How are we looking for time and the package?" I asked the OS.
"Main base suffered minor damage and no casualties. Repairs are underway. We recovered the package from the Foundation with little trouble. Package is enroute to the base and should arrive before you. Mobile Task Forces are being dispatched as we speak. ETA: Under one hour."
Damn, I took longer than I thought. It's going to take at least 30 minutes to charge the gate with the current level of power, and they might have developed a MTF to counter me. Haste is of the utmost importance right now.
"OS, decrypt the message, NOW!" I was getting slightly concerned, the probability of escape was decreasing.
Message here.
"Start recording a message, OS"
"Greetings Flame, your message has been received. My name is Commander Gears. To be truthful, this care package came at a most opportune time. In turn, the Exodus fleet would gladly stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Location of the Home Gate will be transmitted shortly, I look forward to meeting you in the steel." Now it's time to deal with these pests and leave this universe.
--
"MOBILE TASK FORCES WITHDRAW OR FACE THE TRUE POWER OF A COMMANDER!!" Status of the gate read at 90% charge. Escape was close and I would be free. Returning to the cell is not an option, it's time to fight.
Gunfire erupted from the MTFs. So they have chosen termination. So be it. With a single order the MTF line erupted in explosions. The amount of gunfire coming from the MTF was cut in half. What did I have to fear from th--. My own lines erupted in explosions, costing me dosen of units. Sensors revealed a new force,four individualsand several vehicles. The figures immediately charged my line, being supported by the vehicles. Infantry charging vehicles? Are they insane? No matter, they are still out classed. Issuing a new command to eliminate the new threat. Enemy vehicles took out several more units before succumbing under heavy fire. Changing focus on the gate, about five more minutes left.
"Unit lost, unit lost, unit lost….." What how? The infantry were in my lines, HOW!?!?! What are these humans, or are they even humans? These people are cleaving through tanks and blasting through everything! WHERE DID THE FOUNDATION GET THIS TECH!! HOW DID THEY GET HUNTERS AND HUNTRESS!! I'm not prepared for this threat at all! However long can they last against my remaining replicators. A tide of metal rushed forward to engage this threat. Damn, with my lines in chaos the other MTF's are regrouping. How much more time does the gate require to open? The arrival of these four has me concerned for what else could be lurking.
"Impact detected, right arm. Fabrication offline." Several alarms balred at once.
There is no possible way that those four could have survived. Yet they were here, however unscathed. Taking a step back, I readied the cannon and prepared to go down fighting. My forces took major damage to these beings, most of the remaining units engaged with the other MTF's. Main gate had a minute left to charge, and I'm running out of options.
They fired first, resulting in multiple hits with varying amounts of damage. Nothing critical yet. I backed towards the gate and returned fire trying to kill the enemy. Enemy rounds continued to hit my frame while mine struggled to hit them. One round managed to hit directly and the blast hit one nearby, resulting in a kill hopefully. One of the remaining three enemies landed a blow on my cannon, severely damaging it. At this rate I don't know if there will be anything left of me.
*Whoosh* "Gate open, you may now proceed." chimed my OS.
"Damage be damned!!" Turning to rush through the gate. The backside of my frame started to take hits, some enemy rounds penetrating far deeper than I would have liked. More systems started to fail, but I was almost there. Only a couple more steps then freedom, the blue vortex was so close.
*Boom* A force sent me tumbling through the portal. My last thought before going through the portal was: this is going to suck.
———————
I stared for a moment, stunned at what I had seen...well, heard, since the response was audio only.
Someone had gotten my call for help. And they wanted to make their way here. Or at least arrange a meeting.
It took me a moment to notice Clem glancing at me, much to my embarrassment. "So, um, I'm guessing you didn't expect that?"
"No, I did not."
"I see...are you going to do anything about that?"
"Not really. I think you two should meet when you can arrange the meeting yourselves."
Well, that was hardly helpful. Still, nice to know.
Also, my train of thought was going nowhere fast.
"So, what's next on the docket?"
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AN: The scene where the POV shifted was written by a reader of this story known as Mechatank.
Now, to elaborate on that, I always had plans for Flame to eventually encounter other commanders (and I do mean other Self Inserts in this case), as well as train his own. I went through a number of ideas on how to handle this, and eventually came to a conclusion: I'm going to host an RP for this story dedicated to following those commanders as they help battle the Infernal Machines (the official name of the Enemies of the Artifacts). That being said, do not expect me to recruit for that RP for a long time. As is, the RP won't happen for a few months at least.
That being said, I am working on another RP side story for this story, Far From Home, to be started next month. OOC Thread will be up later this week.
I plan to answer a lot of questions in the epilogue and post-arc notes, so please mention any you have now.
Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!