Welcome back to the story! Previously on…Goddesses are rescued from their temporary imprisonment by a resistance group led by Artisan. They also learn, that by the time they were in cryostasis, three years have passed, in which the Empire, as well as their new allies in form of Arfoire and many other people, held the system with an iron grip, consolidating power and quenching any form of resistance. Meanwhile, on Gamindustri, IF works in secret against the occupation. But now, with goddesses back, a new hope wakes within the resistance fighters.

But before that, reviews.

To end5: Thank you.

With that, let us continue.

Chapter 5

February 3, 2257

11:01

Planeptune, Planeptower, hangar

Day within the walls of new imperial palace started pretty normal, except the fact, that today, several important guests were supposed to arrive. This is why the butlers and maids were hard at work, making sure everything will be ready when they come, cleaning and cooking food. Security was also strengthened, as always during the important meetings.

As of now, most of the guests were already there, with their shuttles currently parked in the hangar of the tower.
"Man, seems like almost all the VIPs are here."one of the hangar's guards said.
"And who already came, because I kinda slept on them?"his companion asked, yawning.

First guard shot him a glance.

"Well, we already have general Al'roy, there is Nintendus Governor Arfoire, Chairman Affimojas and of course Empress and princess Hall-A. Only remaining three princesses are missing."

"I wonder what's taking them so long? After all, they are all on the same planet."

"Probably some governy stuff."
"Probably you're right."

Right then, in the corner of his eye, first guard noticed three shapes flying into the hangar. He looked in that direction and immediately stood at attention.
"Speak of the devil."second guard whispered, also standing at attention.

Landing in the hangar were remaining three Imperial Knights: Tacoma, EVEa and Stellaria. They slowly descended and started walking towards the hangar exit. They passed by the two guards, who quickly saluted.
"At ease."Tacoma ordered with an emotionless voice.
"Yes, Your Highness!"two guards said, standing at ease.

Imperial Knights continued on their way, leaving the hangar.

"Haven't been here in a while."Stellaria said, looking around the corridor."Still the same."
"Yeah."EVEa said."Honestly, every time I come here, I expect to see guts hanging everywhere, courtesy of Hall-A's taste."

"Mother probably didn't let her."Tacoma said."She's the only one who can show Hall-A her place."
"Good, because otherwise, we would have to put her down."EVEa sighed."We would probably never see the end of that."
"And I don't even want to think how many people would die…"Stellaria said, shaking her head.

In response, EVEa hit her in the back.
"Come on, you're talking like real softie right now."she stated."Are you an Imperial Knight or not?"
"I am, but…"Stellaria tired to reply.

"You're gonna continue this later. Let's focus on what's important right now."Tacoma ordered.
"Yes, sis."the two of them replied.

They approached an elevator guarded by two guards, which immediately saluted. After ordering them to stand at ease, Tacoma pressed the button and called the elevator. The three got inside and the second oldest of the three pressed another button, which made the elevator go the a higher floor.

"By the way, I wonder…"EVEa said.
"Wonder about what?"Tacoma asked.
"Why did mother call us and everyone else? She does it only in emergency situations. And when she wants to hear our reports about the state of the nation."

"Then this must be an emergency situation."Tacoma stated."After all, we already gave her our report on January 1."
"True that, sis."EVEa sighed.

Elevator finally reached the top floor of the Planeptower, where Empress Keya set up the main conference room. The door opened and they were greeted by the sight a corridor leading towards another pair of doors, once more guarded by another pair of soldiers, who also saluted, making their armor clatter. They both had a sign of gray falcon, the insignia of Imperial Guard, personal guard of the Empress. Due tot he fact that Planeptower served as both Hall-A and Keya's residence, it was split in two, with the oldest Knight occupying floors from 1 to 50, while Empress had the remaining fifty at her disposal, so only after floor 51 one could run into Imperial Guard.

"At ease."Tacoma ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness!"Guards said, standing at ease.

"Open the door."EVEa said.

The two grabbed the handles and pushed the door open. Behind them, three Knights saw a large, round room. Only things in that room were a screen hanging opposite of the doors and a long table, with numerous seats at it. Today, there were only few seats occupied.

The ones closest to the top were occupied by the very top of the Imperial command structure. Keya was sitting on a seat directly at the top of the table, while on the first seat to her left sat Hall-A, with her legs on the table and with her inseparable sword, cleaning it. She glanced at her sisters and smiled at them.

Next, closer to the middle, chairs were occupied by three most important military-political allies of the Empire. First of them was general Al'roy, constantly looking around with his insectoid eyes. He was always pretty careful, even among allies. He always said, that the ones that you trust the most are the ones to most likely stab you in the back.

Sitting opposite to him, was a big, shining suit of armor. Or rather, something that looked like a suit of armor. Affimojas, leader of the Machine Union, was looking at something that was being projected on his tablet. Knowing him, he was probably checking out the revenue brought to him by his numerous businesses and enterprises. Money was probably the most important thing to him.

And finally, there was Arfoire. Leader of Arfoire Syndicate of Interplanetary Crime, or ASIC in short, and current Governor of Nintendus was one of the first to pledge allegiance to the Empire after The One Day War. Although the name, ASIC was not a criminal organization anymore, but rather a paramilitary one. ASIC's soldiers could always be found fighting or operating alongside regular Imperial Military, quelling rebellions or pacifying various elements in society. Arfoire herself apparently vanished for a few years after one of her many skirmishes against the CPUs, but returned upon hearing of their defeat and wanted to meet the ones that did it. Although she was treated as equal among the Imperial higher ups, she was still under constant surveillance, because she did have some ambition which she could try to fulfill.

Seeing her daughters, Empress Keya stood up.

"Ah, you finally came."she said.
"Of course, mother."Tacoma said, nodding.

The four approached their seats and sat on both sides of the table, near their mother. Hall-A smirked.
"What took you so long?"she asked.
"You know we're the ones that have to come from other nations, while you are at the place."Stellaria said.
"Yeah, you could just walk here, we had to fly."EVEa said.

The oldest of the four princesses shrugged.
"Not my fault."

Only Tacoma and Keya noticed, that this conversation could quickly turn into an argument, which then could turn very violent very fast. It wouldn't be the first time, though. There were already occasions when Imperial Knights started fighting each other over petty things. Often, it ended in many people accidentally murdered and a lot of machinery destroyed. But they didn't end up killing themselves.

Yet.

"It's not time to argue."Keya stated."We have pressing matters that we have to attend to."

Hearing this, everyone looked at the Empress.

"Oh, yeah, I was about to ask."Affimojas said."What is the matter we were called here to discuss? Because I was forced to stop doing something very important."
"Counting your income?"Hall-A asked, rising an eyebrow.

"Even more important!"leader of the machines stated."After all, I waited for my new batch of scandalous magazines for a few months now!"

If sight could kill, Affimojas would lay dead within seconds from the moment Keya looked at him. But it was no secret that although being fully mechanical, he had rather…'interesting' tastes. In short, he really loved busty blonds. And as stated before, he didn't particularly hide it. It was a pretty common knowledge. But he was good at his job, considering that except of is numerous businesses, he was also the owner of state information company, so he was also in charge of making the Imperial propaganda.
"Whatever."Empress sighed."What I wanted to discuss…is a matter of state security."

Four Imperial Knights immediately tensed.
"Do you mean that…"EVEa started.

"…They were sighted?"Stelliaria finished.

But Keya shook her head.

"No. We didn't see any signs of Them in years and let's hope it stays like that."
Arfoire and Affimojas looked at each other. It was not the first time Keya and her daughters, as well as Al'roy, mention the mysterious 'Them'. The two of them always asked who are They, but each time, they received either no answer, or something evasive. But wanting to keep their positions, they decided not to dwell on it.

"No, the thing I wanted to talk regards our four most important prisoners."Keya said.

When she said that, the screen behind her turned on, showing a security footage from a camera. On it, everyone could see a large number of people, dressed in something that looked like a mix of military and mining uniforms. Some of them were watching the back of more people, who were doing something at the door. Soon, the door opened and squad of six 'soldiers' ran into a room full of Imperial soldiers, which they then proceeded to quickly eliminate, what was showed as another piece of footage. Rest of the group joined and continued on their way.

When the footage stopped, Keya turned back to the gathered.
"Ohhh, something's brewing."Hall-A said casually.
"What was that?"Arfoire asked.

"That"Keya replied"was footage from Alcellay. From yesterday, but the ship's captain decided to report it to us only this morning."

Hearing this, everyone widened their eyes. Knights additionally stood up, clearly unable to believe in what they were told.
"Alcellay?"Stellaria asked."Isn't that where we placed the so-called 'goddesses'?"
Empress nodded, but it was general Al'roy who answered:
"Yes. Apparently, an unknown ship managed to sneak past their radars and drop troops, which then proceeded to fight their way through the ship. To free them. They took them and left. They did lose around thirty men, three fifths of their assault group, but they managed to complete their mission and fall back. After that, they left, damaging Alcellay's engines, making the vessel unable to pursue."

"And they're telling us about it a day after it happened?!"Hall-A exclaimed, slamming her sword onto the table."I will go there and personally gut that idiot of a captain! I will make myself a shawl from his innards!"

"Is violence really your only response to anything?"Tacoma risen an eyebrow.
"No, violence is the question! And the answer is YES!"Hall-A stated.

"So in short."Arfoire said, massaging her temples."These lousy CPUs are back again?"

"Possibly. But we're still figuring out who and why broke them out."Keya said.
"Do we have any picks?"EVEa asked.

Al'roy and Keya nodded. Screen changed from the security footage to show four photos. One of them showed a stylized insignia painted on a wall with white paint. Second showed a photo of dead ASIC soldier with two crosses riffles carved in his naked chest. Third was a hologram visible in the sky of some city, presenting a spiral in a hexagon. And fourth showed a white mask with mustache and wide smile.

"There are, of course, four main suspects."Al'roy started.

First photo zoomed.

"First, we have probably the second most possible, which is the organization we have to deal with on daily basis here, on Gamindustri."general said."It is, as you all know, Freedom-2-People, or F2P in short, led by the ever illusive 'IF'. Although eliminating several of their cells, they are still a huge threat to our national security. Their terrorist activity is still very vivid and they recently made several attacks on our institutions in Leanbox and Lastation. But on the other hand, there are few things, that speak against their involvement. First is the fact, that they are very secretive and rarely lean out their heads. Second, if they somehow managed to gain a ship capable of long-range voyages, we would probably managed to detect it leaving and entering the atmosphere, thanks to our numerous listening posts and stations. Unless it was a Stealth-capable vessel, which is even less possible, as all such vessels are in our possession. We would know if one of them was stolen."

"Then how did they sneak past the ship radars?"Affimojas asked.
"Probably they managed to somehow gain the ability to break into Alcellay's systems and go the range of our radars. Whatever the case, we are still figuring it out."

Photo was then replaced by the second one.

"Our second guess, and the most possible option, is the Veterans Alliance. As we all know, Veterans Alliance consists of enemy soldiers, which evaded death or capture in The One Day War and managed to somehow escape the planet. We also know, that they possess a small fleet of warships, which consists mostly of frigates and corvettes, although there is rumor, that they even posses a whole light cruiser as their flagship. Most of their activity was observed on Nintendus and it's areas, as well as near the moons and rings of Sonius."
"Speaking of which."Keya said, looking at Arfoire.

ASIC's leader was well aware, what the incoming question was going to be.

"As I reported numerous times before, we're doing what we can to eliminate the VA's presence. But the guerrilla warfare they use against us is really effective. We still cannot get close to their planetary HQ, let alone find it. We're losing too many men in our struggle to eradicate them."she replied.

"Still, I want them to be eliminated before the fifth anniversary of The One Day War. So you still have two years to throw them off of Nintendus."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."Arfoire said.

"Affimojas, maybe you can help her with that?"Stellaria asked."She maybe ruling Nintendus, but as a ruler of Lowee, I also have something to say in this matter."

"We're doing what we can."leader of MU said."My agents all across the system are hard at work trying to track the leadership of the VA. However, their fleet is very good at covering their tracks. After each attack they perform, they simply disappear. Even considering they don't use FTL drives."
"As we all. Whoever is in charge of them must be a good tactician."Tacoma stated."Which makes them dangerous."
"But for now, let us return to the matter at hand."Keya said."So, was it VA that might have broken out the CPUs?"

"We can't be fully sure, but as I said, it is the most possible option."general replied."Although these miner uniforms cast doubts on it."

"They could've as well get them from some other source and use them to fool us."Tacoma stated.
"It is a possibility that we cannot exclude."Al'roy agreed."But let's look at the other suspects."

Next, the third photo zoomed in.
"Third option are the Technocrats. As you all know, this organization is made up mostly of machines that refused to pledge their allegiance to us, as well as scientific minds which also refused to do so. While other two organizations are aimed at eliminating our military assets, this organization for the past three years focused on eliminating the economic potential of our new Empire. They are famous for attacking our factories and mining facilities which supplied us with necessary resources."

"Eh, if only they could understand that our alliance is a good business."Affimojas said, shaking his head.

"It's pretty rare for the Technocrats to perform armed attacks, they focus mostly on IT operations, hacking into our systems, or on planting bombs. They also possess a small fleet, but it only consists of either hacked freighters or old EW ships, which often change locations, so it's hard for us to pinpoint it. This is why we also have problems with fighting them. Thanks to their technological capabilities, they are able to detect our approaching fleets and quickly change positions."

"Hm."EVEa thought, rubbing her chin."How much are we sure that they aren't the ones responsible?"
"Well, after closely analyzing the security footage, we were able to determine that these aren't machines wearing human uniforms. They move too naturally and organically in comparison to machines."

"But it is possible, that they might have get some kind of organic combat team, but that's highly unlikely. Technocrats lean out of hiding even more rarely than the previous two. So their involvement must be minimal."

And finally, the fourth picture.
"And finally, the fourth and last major resistance group in the system, the Anonimals."Al'roy said."We know the least about them. We have no idea who they are, we have no idea where they might be hiding or if they have any offensive capabilities. But from what we know, we can deduce that they are some kind of group of hackers, which are responsible for numerous security breaches and system failures in the past three years. They allowed several classified documents to leak into the system-wide network, they made several refineries malfunction and explode and even caused numerous ships to go off course and crash into others. I don't have to mention, that these ships were only our military ones."
"And they are like these hacker groups we had to deal with back home."Stellaria asked.
"Indeed. But on much larger scale. Back in Aristian System, these groups were limited only to single planets. While here, they operate on system-wide scale. So they are harder to track down and eliminate."
There was another piece of information Arfoire and Affimojas were interested in. They knew of the Aristian System, the star system from which the Aristian Empire originated, but not much else. It was interesting that the Empress of the Empire, instead of staying in the capital and operating everything from there, came here and set up the capital in Planeptune. They could assume that the fact so many civilians were brought alongside the military personnel was because the Empire wanted to replace locals with them. But why did the Empress and her daughters come all this way and for some reason settled here for the whole three years? That was something the two was still trying to figure out.

But for now, they decided to focus back on the conversation.
"Anonimals claim to 'fight for the access to free information and to destroy the oppressive system'."general continued."But we all know, that they are nothing more than another group of terrorists that want nothing more than to plunge the whole system into chaos. And considering their secretiveness and how well are they hiding, we can easily say they are the most dangerous of the main four, but they are the lowest on our list of possible culprits."

Al'Roy sat down.

"This is all, Your Highnesses."he said.
"Thank you, general."Keya said."What do you think?"

This question was directed at everyone else sitting at the table. Arfoire and Affimojas looked at each other.

"In my opinion"Hall-A said"we should launch a system-wide assault on all terrorists. We've been happy with them for far too long. And I need someone to finally fill my dungeons."she added with a wicked smile.
"As always, you're thinking of only one thing, sister."Tacoma said."In my opinion, we should set up a trap and capture these goddesses when they appear. Because it's certain, that sooner or later, they will appear."
"I'm kinda on it with Hall-A."EVEa said."I guess we should react to this in some more…appropriate way."She glanced at her sister."But maybe without the dungeon part. I think we should simply place them in concentration camps."
"And I think we should just try to find a better way."Stellaria said.

"And what do you propose, pipsqueak?"Hall-A asked.
Stellaria winced.
"Stop calling me that, I'm not a child anymore."she said."I propose, that we should wait and see how the situation develops. After all, people are low on spirits and believe that goddesses are dead. This means, that no shares are going to them. So they can't transform. And if they actually do something, we could just simply play it down as misinformation by terrorists."

Everyone looked at Stellaria for few seconds, making the Knight visibly uncomfortable. She never liked to be in the middle of attention.

"What?"she asked.
"Nothing."Tacoma said."I'm just surprised I didn't think of that."
"Even I have to admit, you got a point."Hall-A said."Although I still would love to kill some innocent bystanders…"
"Stop it."Keya said.

Hall-A simply threw up her arms.

"We will go with Stellaria's plan."the Empress stated."We can't let any word of what was said here to get into the public. So, keep your mouths shut."
"Yes, mother/Your Highness."everyone replied.

Keya nodded.
"This is all. You're dismissed."
Everyone stood up and proceeded to leave the room. Keya, in the meantime, went to the elevator in the corner of the room, which she used to travel across the building, as it was her personal elevator.

She pressed the button and elevator started to quickly descend towards the lower levels of the Planeptower. The lowest, underground parts of the building were used as the most secure prison on the planet. It was where most political enemies of the Empire were held. There were also people that Hall-A simply didn't like and decided to place them there for whatever reasons. Most were simply a fraud, but nobody cared about that.

After around five minutes of ride, the elevator stopped and Keya exited through the opened door. The door was hidden in a wall, far from any prisoner's eyes, so they couldn't use it for escape. Keya was happy, that she decided to install it here.

She quickly made it through the small, hidden corridor and stepped into the main corridor. Immediately, she was met with numerous screams from prisoners that sat int prison cells, when she rounded a corner.

"Bitch!"some shouted.
"You will burn!"others exclaimed.

"You will pay for everything, freaks!"different ones hollered.

Keya ignored them. She heard them say it every time she visited. They could call her whatever they wanted, that wouldn't change anything.

She continued down the corridor, before she stood before the door guarded by two soldiers. They wore Imperial Guard insignia, although this place being under Hall-A's jurisdiction too. It was because Keya personally demanded that this place will be guarded by only the most loyal of her troops. Ones that could never be swayed and convinced to betray the Empire.

Seeing her approaching, the two quickly saluted.

"Your Majesty!"they both exclaimed.
"At ease."Keya ordered."I want to see the prisoner."

Guards nodded and stepped away, with one of them pressing a button on the control panel. The door slid open, while soldiers saluted again. Keya passed by them, while the door closed.

Now, she stood in a small, circular room. It was only five meters wide on all lengths and there was only a singular pillar standing in the middle. It was place Keya commissioned to hold a special prisoner. Probably the most important one there was.

And this prisoner was held in the glass part of the pillar, which was covered in frost. It was barely possible to see what was inside, but she still managed to see the thing held inside.
"I think you might like these news."she said, not expecting the answer."Unlike you, someone managed to escape this type of prison. With help, but they did."

Prisoner simply stayed there, not moving, frozen. Keya scoffed.
"Doesn't matter."she stated."This changes nothing. Goddesses may be free, but they have no way of endangering us. We control everything in this system. Whatever they do, we will sell is as another terrorist attack. People fear us. And you know what my late husband loved to say about ruling a country?"

She smiled. These words were still carved in her brain.
"'Fear always keep people in line'. And so far, it worked. Our military might is unparalleled. We have the control over all spheres of information. Our control is absolute. And sooner or later, we will find them. And this time, we will not be so considerate."

Of course, prisoner stayed quiet. Keya actually had no idea if the prisoner actually heard her. But she didn't care. There was nothing she could do anyway. As long as the generators were running, her prison would keep her here. And Keya cared only for that.

"I will go now."Empress said."Let what I told you sink in."

With that, she turned around and left.

Meanwhile, the prisoner, still kept in the deep frost, heard everything. She heard every single word she told her for the past three years. And because of that, she felt every possible emotion. Anger towards every insult. Sadness after every truth. Resignation. However, this time, she felt something, that she didn't feel in years. Since that faithful day nearly three years ago. She felt it now.

Hope.

"Goddesses."thought Histoire, deep in slumber within her book, frozen in stasis."You can't fail. Everyone counts on you. The fate of the whole system is in your hands. The time has come."

XXX

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