"Fuck! This was our only lead!" Cayde shouted. He and his team managed to find information on Eudora about Hiraks' whereabouts. Unfortunately, when they reached the location of the space station, all they saw was its debris. This made Exo very angry as he thought he would be able to catch his nephew.
"So what do we do now?" Petra asked. The woman was also upset by this turn of events, but she decided that she could not give in to her emotions and keep her friend in line.
"I don't know...I don't know anymore," Cayde replied. The man then let out a deep sigh and sat down in the chair on the bridge. He had had enough of this. Barons, the Scorn, and constant attempts of contact by Zavala and Ikora. Even Aunora called him, but after he didn't answer the phone, so all the man received was a message that she had found someone to take care of Ratchet.
'What a nice word for an assassin,' thought Exo. For the next few minutes, he and Petra stared at the stars and wondered what to do next. It is obvious that they will not give up and will look for the young Lombax. They had to, because now there is a time pressure in their mission.
At some point Don came into the bridge. In his hands he had a holo notebook on which he was doing something.
"Boss. I managed to dig out some information from scouts' reports that may help us," Cazar said. Intrigued by this news, Cayde ordered the entire team to gather in the command room.
The ship they were traveling in is the work of one of Cayde's friends, Amanda Holliday, which was intended to serve as a mobile command center for the Guardians called H.E.L.M . i.e. Hub of Emergency Logistics and Maneuvers. This ship is large enough to accommodate a dozen or so space fighters. And it's all thanks to the ingenuity of Cayde's friend, Amanda Holliday, and engineers from the Lux City.
Back to the story. Once the team was gathered in the command room, Don began to explain what he had found.
"Seeing as Ratchet is hunting Barons, I decided to check the reports of their presence. I managed to find information that the planet Batalia is currently under siege by the Scorn and Blarg mercenaries led by Pirrha. It's safe to say that he will soon become Ratchet's target."
Hearing this, Cayde decided that this was the best lead they could have at the moment. So he ordered everyone to prepare to travel, so they could set a trap for Lombax.
That old Exo won't let some fucking nun kill his nephew.
To say Rivet is pissed is an understatement. Her blood was boiling with rage. How dare he not tell her anything?! Why didn't he say anything?! Why didn't her mother say anything about it?! These were the thoughts that ran through the young Lombax's head when she learned that the Alliance leader was her biological father.
After this information get out, the girl ran out of the office with tears in her eyes and ran to her room where she locked herself. She was really, really angry at her biological parents and everyone.
She didn't know how much time she spent inside her four walls, but it was definitely a few hours, because it was already getting dark outside. She spent those few hours screaming into her pillow and wondering why no one told her anything. She had a right to know!
Suddenly, the girl heard someone knocking on her door. So she went to it and opened it and saw Anna standing on the other side.
"Hey, kiddo. Can I come in?" the young adult asked.
Even though Rivet didn't want to see anyone right now, she let the older girl into the room. Then they both sat on the bed and remained silent. Neither of them said a word, thinking in their heads what to say. Finally, Anna broke the silence.
"Listen Riv. I know you feel upset about all this and I understand that, but please know that neither of us hid this fact from you because we didn't want you to ever find out."
The white-furred Lombax looked at her friend, listening to what she would say next.
"We just knew Alister would tell you when the time was right, but apparently he still blamed himself for your disappearance and the fact that he and Jill got divorced."
This surprised Rivet. Her are parents divorced? Because she disappeared? This made the girl sad knowing that her family was in shambles.
"You know... I wish I had such loving parents."
Rivet looked at Anna again and saw that the older girl had a sad expression on her face. Apparently, talking about her family is not a pleasant topic for her.
"You were born by love, and I was born only to become either a new body for the Emperor or a carrier for his new body. I was not born out of love, but only because someone told my parents to have a child. And they did it without hesitation."
This both surprised and saddened the young Lombax. Knowing that you were born only at someone else's request is probably not information that anyone would want to know.
"Fortunately, your father saved me from my fate and for that I am grateful to him. Yes, for an outsider our relationship is strictly as master and disciple, but privately we are like a family," said Anna. Then she looked at her friend. "Do you want to know how your father saved me?"
Rivet thought about it for a moment, eventually deciding that she wanted to know. With this in mind, Anna left the room and returned a few minutes later wearing pink pajamas with ponies, a pillow, a duvet and snacks. She decided that if she was going to talk about her past, the two girls might as well have a pajama party. After preparing everything, adult Lombax started talking.
Korriban. An ancient planet where members of the Praetorian order of the Lombax Empire have trained for generations to serve their Emperor. The ancient buildings and the Academy, which have been located here for centuries, provide training and home to every generations of this order. And thanks to the dangerous fauna, flora and environment, this planet full of deserts, canyons and swamps tests newly arrived adepts every day.
Today, however, Alister Azimuth does not come here to visit, but on a mission. He and his friend, Alor Nass, flew to Korriban to investigate rumors of the Empire's holding here a Children of the Emperor, selected children that have to serve the Emperor personally.
"Are you holding on, man? Because these dark circles under your eyes are probably not a cosmetic addition," Alor said.
A black furred Lombax and his companion/boss recently landed on the surface near the Academy. They decided to use the element of surprise and break into the building. All the way on foot, Alor watched his friend with worry in his eyes.
"Yes…I'm fine, Z. I'm fine," Alister replied. His voice sounded like he hadn't slept for another day in a row, even though his movements seemed smooth.
"Really? I've known you for a long time, remember? We both took over that weapons factory on Balmorra and took out that rebellious praetorian, and that was many, many years ago."
Seeing that his friend wasn't responding, Zero quickly realized what was going on.
"Ahhh…I get it now. You were thinking about this day, right? About how Rayla disappeared and Jill blamed it on you and divorced you, hmm?"
At the mere mention of his daughter and ex wife, Alister stopped in his tracks and looked at the ground. Yes, he was thinking about it again. That day was still fresh in his mind. Two years, thirteen days. That's how long it has been since Rayla disappeared. She was probably kidnapped or killed and her body was dumped somewhere. All of it to break a man.
Seeing his friend's condition, Alor walked up to Alister and hugged him. Knowing each other and working together for so long has allowed the two men to develop a brother-like bond. There once was also Kaden, the second founder of the Alliance, and Runaan, with whom they also formed brotherly bonds, but unfortunately they are no longer with them.
After a few minutes of standing there, Alister came out of his depression and thanked Alor for being there for him. The two men then went to the Academy.
When they arrived, they saw a huge pyramid located inside the canyon. Its dark gray surface made of metal gives it a rather dark yet powerful look. It was once home to Alister when he was an acolyte here. He still remembered having to fight his way through hordes of huge worms full of sharp teeth and claws, and then through other acolytes who had come here just like him. All of this to select the strongest of the new arrivals. The knowledge and experience he had then made him who he is today. A leader, a warrior, a Wrath.
And now this knowledge will also be useful to him again.
"All right. From what I remember, there is a chamber in the Tomb of Lord Naga Sadow that is ideally located next to the prison cells. We can use this to get inside the Academy undetected and see what they are doing here," Alister explained.
"I see. Any specific obstacles might be waiting for us?" Alor asked, checking the area with his binoculars.
"Death traps, dangerous creatures, and possible ghosts of former acolytes who died on this planet."
"So a typical Tuesday?"
"Yup."
"Okay. Let's start this party."
The two men then sneaked into the Tomb. The entire journey went without incident, and even if any guards did appear, Alor quickly used his camouflage belt to silently eliminate them and he threw the bodies into the nests of K'lor'slugs, big worms with teeth and claws.
Being inside the burial place of one of the larger Lombaxian Lords, Alister immediately upon entering felt how great a concentration of magic was here. He, like a small portion of the Lombax population in the universe, is able to feel and use this mythical energy. That's why Praetorians are essentially magic users themselves and rare.
After fighting through the beasts and ghosts of the dead acolytes, both men reached the chamber which, according to blueprints, is to be located right next to the Academy's prison cells. So Alister walked up to the actual wall and then used his plasma sword to cut a hole through which they could slip through.
Once in the Academy, the first thing they saw was that there were Lombaxian teenagers in the cells. Each of them was muttering something, had tattoos on their fur, and dark smoke around their bodies. Alister recognized this ritual because he had to undergo it himself. The acolyte is imprisoned in a cell for a whole month, where he does not receive food, and has to survive by feeding on the magic around him. This ultimately creates a powerful Marauder that feeds on magic and enhances its own physical strength.
However, having no time to reminisce, our heroes began to stealthily walk towards the principal's office.
Thanks to the camouflage belt and Alister's magic, both men made it to the principal's office without any problems.
However, a small surprise was waiting for them there.
As soon as they entered the room, they both felt their bodies become heavy and it was difficult to breathe. As they both fell to their knees, an old, gray-brown Lombax in a dark robe emerged from the shadows.
"Hahaha. Hello again, Alister. It's so nice to see one of my best acolytes," said the director.
"Overseer Harkon? What are you doing here?" Alister asked with heavy breath. In response, he was only electrocuted by Harkon.
"Due to my achievements as Overseer, and my skill in transforming slaves into powerful Lords, the Praetorian council has deemed me suitable as Headmaster. I accepted the position, of course, and then killed every Overseer and Instructor who dared to question my promotion. Just like you and I were taught by our masters" the man replied. He then walked up to Alister and lifted his head slightly so they could look into each other's eyes. "Let me show you what improvements I've added to the academy. I think someone with your skills would be…delighted."
With these words, Harkon used his lightning again and shocked our heroes into unconsciousness.
When Alister opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was that he was in a huge stone chamber that resembled an arena. The man quickly examined the area and realized that he was deprived of his equipment and that Zero was not with him. The latter initially worried Alister, but he quickly remembered that his friend had come out from bigger troubles.
After a moment, Harkon's voice rang throughout the chamber.
"Wakey wakey! Get up, my dear boy. You probably remember this place from your lessons, hmmm? This is where you and many other acolytes fought to the death. Great memories, aren't they?"
The gray-furred Lombax growled. He remembered this place perfectly. He clearly remembers the faces of 20 acolytes he cut with his training sword.
Alister was about to perform one of his magical attacks when suddenly the gates opened in front of him and out came... many children from age 6 to 12. And each of them was holding an iron training sword.
"Pupils! Show that your training paid off."
After these words, the children attacked the man. The sight of such a large swarm made the Alliance leader hesitate slightly, but eventually he began to fight the children. He only used techniques that were supposed to stun them. As the last child fell to the ground, Alister heard Harkon's laughter.
"Haha! Look, ladies and gentlemen! The mighty Lord Wrath defeats a bunch of brats! Let's be afraid of him!
The thought of the former Overseer using children to fight made Azimuth furious. Maybe when he was younger he would have understood such practices, but over time he realized how wicked they were.
At one point, the man felt the blade of the sword cutting into his back. He groaned in pain and jumped away from the person who attacked him and looked at him. He saw a little 6-year-old girl with dark fur and blue stripes.
"Death to the traitor! For the Emperor! Remember this, traitor, that I, Anna Temple, will be the Children of the Emperor who will kill you! - shouted the little girl, who then charged at her opponent.
Without thinking, Alister quickly dodged to the side and then aimed a punch at the girl's neck, knocking her out. He quickly caught her before she hit the ground and then placed her gently on the ground.
The director of the Academy was watching all this.
"Oh ho ho ho! Does our Lord Wrath have a weakness for children?! What happened? Do you have a brat of your own or what?"
At the mere mention of having a child, Alister summoned magic from the area and then let out a demonic roar that shook the entire arena and its surroundings. The roar was so powerful that even Harkon, in his office at the Academy, fell to the ground.
The director of the facility, irritated by this, decided to end the whole show and pressed a button on his computer. This caused another gate to open in the arena, and several dozen guards, droids with plasma swords and guns aimed at Alister, emerged from behind them.
"You are surrounded, Azimuth! Surrender!" the captain shouted.
Filled with anger towards his former brethren, Alister grabbed the nearest training sword and empowered it and himself with his magic.
"The only thing I'm surrounded by…is fear and a dead man."
After these words, the man let out a demonic roar and attacked his opponents. Despite numerical superiority and better equipment, they were unable to deal with the former Emperor's Wrath. Yes, they managed to hit him a few times, but the man didn't care about the pain.
After a few minutes, the fight ended with the victory of the Alliance leader. After taking a few deeper breaths, the man decided it was time to complete the mission and kill the Academy's principal. Before that, however, he decided to check on the children he had defeated earlier. When Alister turned around, he saw that several grenades and blaster shots had hit the children and killed them. Terrified by this sight, the man began to look to see if any of them had survived. After a few minutes, he discovered that only Anna was alive. So he took her on his back and ran to the open gates to get out of the arena.
After running through the stone corridors, Alister found himself inside the Academy again. With a little surprise.
"Seriously? Have you had an artistic inspiration attack again, Alor?" he said to himself.
In front of him, were stretched, quite literally, the corpses of guards and acolytes. Cut into pieces, hung by their insides, or impaled on sharp spikes that serve as decor. Additionally, there was an Alor's symbol on the wall, which showed a skull with the number 0 and the inscription "Z3r0" on its forehead. These were markings placed by Alister's friend.
Knowing that the area was secured, Azimuth moved towards Harkon's office. When he got there, he saw Alor sitting comfortably in a chair and resting his legs on the desk.
"It took you a while. Are you slowing down as you get older?" asked the black-furred Lombax. Then he got up from the chair and approached his companion with a bag with the equipment they lost and a data pad in his hand. "Are we going back to HQ?"
"And Harkon?"
"He's going to show everyone how "stuffed" he is, if you know what I mean."
Alister walked to the office window and looked down. He then saw Harkon impaled on a spike, which was going straight from his butt.
"Seriously?"
"What?! I had artistic inspiration!" Alor explained. Then he pointed to Anna, who was still sleeping. " And who is that?"
Alister looked where his companion was pointing and answered.
"My redemption."
"Then he and Zero took me here to Odessen. When I regained consciousness, for the first moments I acted like a wild animal freshly released from its cage. Only Alister managed to tame me and reveal to me that what happened to me was bad. The best thing is that I knew it from the beginning. From the time I was born, my mother and father told me that my only purpose in existence was to serve the Emperor as his servant. It doesn't matter whether as his vessel or as the person who will carry his new body in the future. And stupid little me just wanted her parents to love her as their own," Anna said.
Both girls made themselves comfortable on their beds, in Anna's case on her sleeping bag, and ate snacks while the eighteen-year-old Lombax talked about her past. Rivet was stunned by what she heard and was sad and furious. Sad for what happened to her friend. Furious at the Empire for treating her this way. She wanted to say something about it, but Anna spoke first.
"It was only when Alister became my master and introduced me to Jill that I felt what it meant to have a family. Yes, it took me some years, but on Father's Day when I gave him my own drawing of me, him, Jill and Zero, he cried and hugged me. So we are not a family on paper, but they are the parents I needed in my life."
After these words, tears began to flow from Anna's eyes. Just remembering all of this is hard for her, but it's in the past. Now she must focus on the future.
The girl suddenly felt someone hug her. She turned around and saw that it was Rivet who was hugging her and she also had tears in her eyes. Seeing this, Anna returned the gesture.
What both girls didn't know was that Alister was standing outside the door and had heard it all. He knew he had completely screwed it up with his life, decisions and others people lives.
But he's going to fix it.
After the events with the Scorn, life on Veldin continued as normal. Mercenaries and bounty hunters were taking jobs on the left and right, pirates were talking about their voyages, and smugglers were joking and playing cards. And so is every day in the main pub in the town.
It's a pity that someone decided to ruin it all.
Suddenly, the door to the building opened with a loud bang, and a person stood in the doorway. A man wearing a medium armored leather vest, combat pants, a helmet with a blue visor, cowboy boots and hat, and a short torn cape. All of it in brown color with small gold elements.
"Welcome and bow, everyone! It is I, a great hero, who came to your wonderful, stinking town and no, I don't give autographs, unless it's for beautiful ladies." said the newcomer.
Every person in the bar looked at him like he was crazy, which one of the pirates even said.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Hearing this question, the mysterious man pulled out "The Last Word" , a revolver with gold engravings and a wooden case from its holster, and then shot the pirate in the head, killing him instantly. This made everyone in the pub get up from their chairs and point their guns at the newcomer, who just laughed and said in a dark tone.
"They call me Jack Malphur, a descendant of the famous Shin Malphur. And I have a few questions for you about a certain young Lombax, you bunch of drunken thugs."