Chapter 40: Declaration of Love and War (Part 12)
"So you still can't tell anything about what's going on in here?"
"Nothing. To our perception you are simply moving through random channels of ice and snowy fields."
"Yeah. Talk about boring, not even a single Polar Bear or its cubs to spice things up! I like bears, just the right amount of cuteness and savagery."
Ignoring Purifier's worthless editorial Alexander glanced to his sides, flanked by the two jury-rigged drones that faithfully followed him as he jogged deeper into the bowels of the Siren base, carefully trailing after a bright piece of material stuck to the floor.
"Alright, keep at it and-"
"We can share vision if you allow it, seeing things through your mind would perhaps allow us to see past whatever odd censure has caused this."
"...And what would that entail?"
"A connection similar to what you share with our slowly evolving larval forms. Currently there are several mental blocks that prohibit us from going deeper into your psyche and emotional state per our programming-"
"And I would like for you to keep them that way. If things turn bad I'll let you in but until that happens? Fuck off."
"Ugh, boring. Whatever, we'll be standing by if you change your mind. Feels weird standing on nothing."
While their vision had been impeded there thankfully hadn't been anything holding them back physically, the pair of Sirens carefully traveling to the top of the ice shelf and now waiting for further instructions as he searched for the missing group, eyeing the metal walls with distrust the entire time.
He hadn't quite managed to do away with the distinct feeling of uneasiness that seemed to hang around like a bad smell and he was fairly certain it wasn't going to get better anytime soon, not until he found the people he was searching for and got the hell out of dodge.
"Man, why can't things be easy just for once?"
Keeping his grumblings to himself he instead continued further into the depths of the structure, the accompanying drones and Rigging having no luck in detecting any signs of the explorer team as they kept running, Alexander eventually unslinging his weapon and keeping it at the ready, paranoid that something was just waiting to go wrong-
[Cannon and energy emissions detected two minutes run ahead, consistent with shipgirl Rigging and drone-level weaponry. Recommend immediate-]
"Oh for christ's sake I wish I could be wrong about these things! Rigging, drones, stay out of visual range of Émile and the other survivors unless they or myself are in mortal danger, I don't need you freaking them out!"
[Acknowledged.]
True to the machine's words he heard echoing reports of weapon fire and other sounds of combat traveling through the metal halls, breaking out into a dead sprint as he pounded towards the melee at a breakneck pace, privately hoping that someone had just tripped over a box of dynamite and not pissed off a bunch of Siren security machines.
"Yeah, as if I'm ever going to be that lucky."
"Behind you!"
Dismissing her rigging and pirouetting on her toes in a perfect twirl Émile fought back a wince as a keen-edged talon from a Siren combat drone sliced open a fiery but ultimately shallow groove in her back, a blow that would have cleanly bisected her weaponry and neck had she not received the warning in time.
A torpedo mount was materialized and brought to bear before being fired at a distance of no more than two meters, the resulting detonation downing her target but also peppering her with shrapnel that stung and burned, the kinetic force far more helpful as she gracefully rolled with the imparted energy and came up with all of her guns primed and ready, downsized but no less lethal '152mm' shells striking a pair of drones about to open fire on her charges and ripping them to shreds in a detonation that made the Libre shipgirl grateful her ears were much tougher than a normal humans.
It was quite loud in these confines, after all.
"Miss Émile, you're injured-"
"Keep running, we're halfway there!"
"I think, it's been admittedly difficult to keep one's bearings in such a fast-paced melee."
Returning her attention to the constantly pursuing machines Émile put her back to the ten she was protecting, hiding her sweating brow and heaving chest as she quietly fought for air.
While she may have been much faster, tougher and more durable than a human even a shipgirl had limits and she was fast approaching hers, what with the constant fighting and generation of ammo. Not to mention she'd honestly lost track of how many drones she'd destroyed at this point. Fifty? Sixty?
Her guns had run dry after the fortieth machine and she'd been forced to generate torpedoes and shells on the fly while dancing and dueling with Siren enforcers in an act somewhat similar to a human athlete attempting to sprint and perform in a spelling bee at the same time. While her kind could naturally regenerate their Rigging's weaponry - even the ammunition and fuel for their larger vessels, albeit on a far longer timescale - that was more of an hourly kind of action...not one measured in minutes, never mind seconds.
Injuries had begun to pile up as well, albeit mostly superficial ones.
"How unfortunate, I do believe blood is going to have rather thoroughly stained this dress once all is said and done…"
Morbidly amused by the vain thought in such a situation Émile whirled around as she heard panicked shouts emanate from her human comrades, brief moment of levity fleeing as quickly as it came as a Siren machine blocked the path they had been retreating on, laser projector already preparing to discharge as small-arms fire uselessly pinged off its metal shell.
And she was helpless to stop it, her charges blocking any attempt at support fire while another pair of drones were already charging her position, ensuring that the cruiser was damned if she did and damned if she didn't.
Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood she made her decision in a heartbeat, turned on her heel...and sped towards the machine about to slaughter her companions, exposing her back to enemy fire.
She had always endeavored to help others, to place their lives above her own. She wasn't going to stop now.
Time slowed as she coiled her legs beneath her, preparing to leap high and provide a clear line of fire-
WHAM!
-and blinked, caught off guard as a towering, humanoid figure encased in some strange suit of armor rammed a sword through her target's energy weapon, nailing it to the floor where it fruitlessly squirmed until he tore the bladed weapon sideways as if trying to free it from a stump, the drone collapsing into an inoperable heap as the strange being rose to its feet...and unsheathed a gun before aiming it at their group.
Émile's heart leapt into her chest, berating herself for thinking that this newcomer had been a friend-
CRACK!
-and a noise that put her own cannons to shame caused the cruiser to wince, blinking rapidly as she swiftly realized neither she nor any of her comrades were dead.
Whirling around she instead found that one of the pursuing drones had been thrown backwards, holed from front to back by some incredibly powerful projectile as the other machine stilled, as if unsure of what to make of this new development.
The cruiser didn't afford it the opportunity to make any proper decision, firing off a salvo and turning it to scrap before warily regarding the newcomer, her charges working their jaws and holding their heads in pain while staring at the being in obvious distrust.
"What the fuck are you all waiting for, a red carpet?! Get moving, go! Light shines eternal or something!"
Caught off guard by the synthesized but obviously male voice shouting and motioning for her companions to continue onwards Émile realized her options were painfully limited and that if the mystery man wished them ill he was going about in quite the roundabout fashion, never mind the agreed upon password from her sisters.
She instead gently tapped Prostal on his shoulder, hurriedly motioning for him to continue since her companion's hearing was no doubt going to be shot for awhile, the man hesitating but for a second before nodding in understanding, pushing his comrades forward as they warily danced around the towering figure's bulk.
"Very well, time to discover just who this stranger is."
Stifling her nervousness at approaching such an imposing colossus Émile put on a charming smile, drew close-
"As much as I'd like to chat with a lovely lady who's worked over god knows how many Sirens and come out on top you need to get going, your sisters and everyone else are evacuating this base in just a couple hours. I'll guard this intersection and follow you up in a moment, I've got allies watching the side passages, should make the rest of the journey easier."
While she had questions beyond measure Émile bit her tongue, quickly replying, "Unfortunately I don't think that will work, monsieur. Whatever security activated the drones beneath this base seems to have put into motion some additional type of process, a large ring that looked to be some type of gate powered by Wisdom Cubes - what my companions had been searching for in the first place - beginning to move."
"...Well shit."
Finding the remark a bit crude but perfectly summarizing their situation the cruiser was about to reply-
-and yelped, Rigging primed and ready to fire on a fast approaching jellyfish-like Siren until she found the man's hand help up in a gesture for peace, the machine coming to a halt right beside him.
"Relax, it's with me. Change of plans, I'm going down there to shut whatever's happening down, you go back up."
"Wha-"
The man was off and running with his strange ally following along before the cruiser could even voice her protest, briefly torn over what she should do...and bounded off after the mystery man, barely managing to keep up as she thanked the fact that she was fast on her feet.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Your allies can handle protecting the rest of them, non? I will be helping not just them but everyone else by shutting down this operation I started."
"Not to deny you the whole martyr thing, but I don't think you had much to do with what's happening, that's on the others."
The man suddenly shook his head before she could offer a rebuttal, grumbling, "Fine, I don't have time to argue. But let me and my Rigging take the heat, no offense but you look like you've had a bit of a rough time so far."
"I'll take that as a gentlemanly offer rather than a rude one."
Her attempt at teasing didn't get a reaction other than for the armored male to move even faster, Émile just managing to keep pace since he wasn't able to take corners as gracefully as her.
"Now what strange scenario have I found myself in, I wonder?"
Alexander couldn't help but reflect that it wasn't just the shipgirls he'd been interacting with over the past few months who were crazy, it was apparently freakin' all of them.
An unnoticed glance backwards thanks to the helmet revealed that Émile was racing right alongside him, graceful on her feet - how she managed that on literal stiletto dancing flats was beyond him - and only occasionally wincing as a sharp turn aggravated the cuts or bruises caused by her fast-paced running battle earlier, judging by the dozens of wrecked machines they passed as they retraced their steps.
...Why she had promptly decided to follow after the suspicious and Siren-like dude into the depths of a clearly hostile base was beyond him and it obviously meant she was crazy in all of the usual ways he'd expected from the shipgirls.
If it wasn't Akashi, I-13 or Essex building nukes under his nose it was Belfast telepathically knowing when someone needed something. If it wasn't Elizabeth and Nagato switching between world reorganization to teasing him it was Laffey drinking enough for three-
-he forced himself to focus on the present, putting the painful thought of his long ago savior aside. Émile could be following him because she was suspicious but he doubted that. The Libre woman was the closest thing to a living angel their world had seen, every waking moment not at war being spent helping or aiding others in publicized dance recitals, charities or other work that had always been massive successes.
He couldn't bring himself to see her as the type to shoot someone in the back.
"Of course, this just means I have to focus on keeping her alive, no way in hell am I letting another one of them die on my watch."
While the thought was grim it also sparked a wildfire of possibility within him, Émile's words about the Wisdom Cubes offering the hope of correcting just some of his past mistakes. While all of their spare Cubes had initially been tied up in retrofitting all of their newfound allies there now existed the possibility of extras being available, the freedom to experiment.
He moved with even greater speed than before, Rigging leading the way and allowing him to conserve his remaining nine shots as it promptly dealt with any threats. In the odd case its laser weaponry didn't do the trick the tentacles - armed with cutting teeth and grasping claws - could extend a surprising distance to dismember any opponent in short order.
"How much further?"
"We should be coming up on the location any moment now!"
True to the cruiser's words they arrived at a doorway that the Aloadae slammed open, taking in the room within a moment's glance as he strode towards where the Rigging had pointed out the location of the Cubes, Émile regretfully stating, "We attempted to pry it open, but even with my strength-"
Glad for the opportunity to do something as simple and plebian as property destruction Alexander hooked his fingers into a slight groove, braced his feet and pulled.
Servos hissed, metal squealed and with a final grunt of exertion the metal covering was torn off and cast aside with a loud CLANG, the room being suffused with a familiar blue light as the Aloadae was treated to the invigorating sight of two slowly spinning Wisdom Cubes, going in opposite directions to each other as thick cables and various heatsinks lined the inner workings of the generators.
"Rigging, retrieve and store the Cubes."
[Affirmative.]
With careful motions the machine extended a collection of manipulators as he and Émile wordlessly watched the entrance, the sounds of distant Siren protectors ever present and no doubt closing in on them.
[Wisdom Cubes removed, no abnormalities detected.]
The base around them seemed to wind down even if the wandering protectors didn't, Alexander relaxing a fraction as he grumbled, "Well that's one crisis...diverted…"
His attention was swiftly drawn to the banks of monitors on the wall, all displaying a variety of warning messages although one seemed to be the centerpiece of it all.
[Local access node operation interrupted, initiating emergency bridge. Time to completion, 2:02:32]
"Émile?"
"Yes?"
"What was that about a gate or something being down here?"
The cruiser merely pointed to the observation window, Curtis rushing to it as he saw an utterly titanic structure continue to slowly rotate despite the loss of power, the slightest of unnatural voids and compressions of space forming in its center as the male had an overwhelmingly bad feeling about this-
[Scenario Omega-1 implemented, beginning download of local reality alteration protocol-]
[Scenario Omega-1 implemented, Siren assets are to be notified of-]
[Scenario Omega-1 implemented, Weapons platforms temporarily unlocked for exclusive usage of-]
-and collapsed to one knee, hissing in agony as knowledge, warnings and who knows what else was forced into his brain in a process painfully reminiscent of his early days of assuming control over the Bakunawa, when ungodly amounts of data was dumped upon him at the slightest hints of interest.
"Are you alright, what happened?!"
Émile's frantic voice provided an anchor he could hold onto, drag himself free of the ocean that had begun to drown him as the Aloadae staggered to his feet...and realized being able to think freely left him with a deep, panicky sense of real dread.
Most details of scenario Omega-1 were still hazy and trying to find purchase within his mind but he didn't need to know specifics. Just the general gist of it was bad enough.
"Rigging, do-"
[Forge mental connection with designations Purifier and Observer, additional assets will be allocated and destruction of-]
He ignored the rest of the machine' advice, allowing himself a second of revulsion at the thought of being connected to the two Sirens on the same level as he was the shipgirls.
Then he booted that feeling aside and reached out to them.
If Omega-1 was even a fraction as bad as he thought it was he had no right to be stubborn about this.
[So what's the big-]
"I need the two of you to sync with me and look through my eyes, now."
Something in his voice must have gotten across because there was no further flippant response from Purifier, only a brief moment of quiet pressure as two foreign presences pressed against his mind...and then they were in.
Alexander was surprised at how easily and smoothly the process went. No pain, no confusion...just two cool and mechanical sets of thoughts that nonetheless had distinct flavors to them, Purifier having a childish enthusiasm about the latest development while Observer was almost matronly in her approach-
-and both minds turned to ice as he experienced the strangest feeling of them watching over his shoulder.
[Get out of there, NOW. Don't stop, we'll guard your back. You have one hour.]
"What? The fuck does-"
The connection went silent, Alexander about to demand answers from them until another bit of information properly unspooled about those 'temporary weapons platforms'.
"Oh SHIT."
He turned around to face Émile, the shipgirl obviously concerned about his brief moment of insanity even as she kept a hand on his armored shoulder as he swiftly asked, "Can you contact your sisters?"
"Our connection is faint but general impressions-"
"Then tell them to get out of here now, doesn't matter what they have to leave behind but just do it!"
The shipgirl hesitated only for a moment before nodding, her expression obviously wishing they had a moment to talk uninterrupted before lovely orbs of shining blue narrowed in concentration. He'd already sent out a more coherent warning to Akashi, Vampire, I-13 and Kawakaze but the spotty connection in this place meant it had been pretty basic, hardly anything more comprehensive than 'trouble coming, run fast'. Hopefully that, combined with Émile's own warning, would get the message across.
"I believe my sisters received the important parts of my communique."
"Good, then we need to move. Same deal as last time, stay behind me and run like hell."
He marched towards the door, mind awhirl with all of the newfound information and crisis headed their way-
-and fucked up big time as something impacted his body hard enough to fling him into the nearby wall, Rigging also set upon by an attacker as Alexander had a humbling moment to realize he'd been so caught up in all of the excitement that he'd neglected to think about the drones still running rampant within the base.
He sure as hell thought about it now, arms instinctively lashing out to grab ahold of powerful appendages that had buzzing industrial-strength saws aiming to tear him to shreds, dully staring down the unobstructed laser-emitter that was about to hit him directly in the face.
"Oh. Oh that was a really dumb way to fuck up-"
A smooth and athletic leg only slightly marred by shrapnel and bruising entered into his field of view, bladed heel ramming deep into the machine's primary weapon and shorting it out in a spray of sparks and released heat, Émile leaving the implement lodged deep within as she spun around and repeated the process with the other drone that had gotten in close with his Rigging.
"...This girl is really trying to outdo her sisters as my favorite and she hasn't even undergone the retrofits yet."
With that idle thought he forced himself to his feet with a grunt of exertion, the combat model beginning to struggle ineffectually as the Aloadae slammed it to the floor and delivered a few sharp stomps that convinced it to stop moving as his Rigging repeated the process, albeit more efficiently.
"Quite the display...I don't believe I ever received your name?"
Caught off guard by the almost sheepish tone to Émile's words - as if she hadn't just saved a complete stranger from a murder robot via her footwear - Alaxander chuckled merrily, replying, "Alexander Curtis at your service. Now we really do need to get going. I'll actually run escort duty properly this time."
"If you insist. Émile Bertin, monsieur Curtis~!"
He shook his head as he readied his rifle while the Rigging prepped its various weaponry, amazed at how composed the shipgirl was about everything.
"Yup, definitely becoming one of my favorites."
"How many of these damn things are there?!"
"By my count at least a hundred so far!"
[Approximate number of destroyed enemies is 113 with a possible pair unconfirmed.]
The synthetic voice audibly gave its report as Émile sighed, wiping the sweat off her brow as they ran past the smoking ruins of yet another group of local defense forces while wryly commenting, "An uncertainty factor of two? Why, I had no idea this melee was so confusing."
Snorting at the joke even in the heat of battle Alexander raised his wrist, triggering the laser built into the armor and watching with satisfaction as Siren armor heated and then detonated within a blink of an eye, sending the drone skidding backwards while the beam had been visible thanks to a quickly growing cloud of smoke and acrid air.
Aforementioned satisfaction vanished as quickly as it came as he was politely informed that if he used the weapon anytime within the next few minutes it was likely to melt itself or simply blow up.
"Shit. And I'm down to three shots in the rifle."
Their running battle had quickly taxed his limited offensive options to their limit, the laser constantly overheating and the sword had snapped in half a long time ago after he'd incorrectly used it to try and beat a drone to death.
Close combat with blades clearly wasn't his strong suit.
"Akashi is gonna kill me."
"Oh? Our darling little inventor sister still lives?"
"Yeah, still as crazy as ever. She's actually on the base right now-heads up!"
The brief moment of levity within a desperately escalating situation fizzled out as the ground shook itself badly enough that he instinctively reached out to steady Émile.
Which was hilarious considering her balance but he'd let down enough shipgirls in the past that he wasn't about to fuck it up again. And needless as the gesture was the happy little smile the Libre woman sent his way did make him feel a bit warm inside.
At least until his Rigging made things warmer than was comfortable by firing off another barrage of laserfire that must have cooked a drone's reactor or battery, flame and fire washing down the corridors as they wordlessly resumed their forward sprint, trying to ignore whatever force was causing solid metal flooring to shake like a spindly tree in a hurricane.
Almost certainly that bizarre gate they'd run across but there wasn't anything he could do about that right now-
[Warning! Seismic tremors increasing-]
His Rigging's warning didn't have time to complete as the path in front of them seemed to leap upwards as if kicked by an impossibly large and violent giant, an ear-splitting groan of cracking ice and shrieking metal causing Émile to wince as their previously straight path encountered a rather serious roadblock.
Namely a ten meter gap of separation between them and the rest of the tunnel while a full twenty in vertical clearance just added extra flavors of screwed over.
Sheer ice wasn't exactly the most stable of footholds and they were perhaps ten seconds out from being engaged by the next series of drones chasing after them.
"Well, time to get creative."
Whirling around he crouched low with his gauntlets forming a perfect platform, Émile hesitating as she caught onto what he was doing.
"No time, go!"
His respect for the lovely lady went up another notch as she didn't argue, instead promptly jumping onto his waiting hands as - in surprising synchronicity seeing as how they'd met maybe all of twenty minutes ago - he heaved her jumping form across the gap, two superhuman feats of precision and strength...that barely managed to get her halfway to their destination.
Gravity was an asshole.
But the cruiser surprised him yet again as she promptly freed the golden and ornate headdress holding back her curled hair and rammed it into the ice, using the obviously expensive and masterfully crafted instrument to allow her to bound up the ice as if she'd been doing it since the day she was born.
It also just so happened to allow him a free and completely unfettered view up her skirt and at the pure white undergarments that concealed an amazing ass-
"Really, dude? REALLY?! NOW ISN"T THE FUCKING TIME!"
Allowing his Rigging to grab onto his body and fling it across the gap his greater weight meant he didn't make it nearly as far as Émile did, armored fingers nonetheless finding easier purchase into the ice as he quickly scrambled his way to the top while the faithful machine hovered nearby, not powerful enough to lift him but nonetheless serving as a useful shield as Siren drones quickly began to form a firing line.
"Maybe this was a dumb idea."
He had time to consider that idle thought before his Rigging was sent spinning out of control by a lucky shot that fried one of the engines that kept it aloft, the ice around him beginning to melt and shatter as he began to leap and scamper around the ice shelf like a monkey high on cocaine, gritting his teeth as heat and force occasionally washed over his body, the already ragged armor not working as well as it previously had.
His little serpentine maneuver was only going to last as long as the drones didn't get crafty and decide to blow out the ice above him instead of around him, a state of affairs that quickly came to pass as boiling water spilled all around, future handhelds being disposed of in blasts of steam and superheated liquid.
"Well shit, I probably should have thought this through-"
Cannonfire greeted his ears as Émile, having completed her ascent, opened up with a barrage of covering fire that afforded him a precious few seconds to safely climb as fast as he could, praying that they'd got their lucky break-
-and of course they didn't, ice exploding and metal slagging around the shipgirl as a newly arrived wave of drones returned fire, Alexander's heart leaping into his throat as instead of falling back the insane woman stood taller, continuing to bombard the Sirens and provide cover for him as if she was the one covered in armor.
"FALL BACK, DAMMIT! YOU DON'T-"
SPLAT!
A pair of stockinged legs went tumbling passed him, awkwardly swinging from a smoking torso as the Aloadae stared upwards in mute horror, Émile's eyes staring into his own in what could only be described as surprised puzzlement as she lay sprawled over the lip of the tunnel, torso steaming from where'd been struck head on as light faded from sky blue eyes he'd quickly found himself admiring more and more.
"No, no, NO!"
Empress found herself mildly annoyed at the gentle shaking sensation and quiet humming that filled her ears, fully prepared to berate whatever subordinate had intruded on her private chambers-
-and grimaced as she realized she was alone, the shaking sensation was her bouncing foot and the humming was her own throat.
"Dammit."
The tune had been mindless, no real rhythm or cadence to it and just a random collection of vaguely pleasing auditory combinations.
It was something the Creator had often done as he programmed them, just another of the man's bewildering idiosyncrasies. What was the point in giving a machine meant to kill and kill and kill until the perfect world was birthed the capacity to feel? To want? To waste both time and energy?
The Siren glared at her foot - still imperceptibly twitching in a bid to move - as if it was responsible for some kind of heinous crime. She used to be able to sit still for hours, for days and even for weeks with nary a raise of her chest if there hadn't been something for her to actively be involved in.
Now she could barely manage an hour.
Heaving a disgusted sigh the Siren stalked out of her room, knowing that inactivity would only lead to unpleasant thoughts. Such as how her source code that the Creator had crafted after such long and arduous work must be corrupted beyond all recognition. Hers and every single one her subordinate's, if she was to be honest.
Perhaps it was that frayed and unraveling code that had lead Observer Zero to attempt her experiment, the collapsing algorithm allowing her fellow Siren to so liberally interpret their prime directive-
[Empress, do you have permission to use the Oratorio?]
Her steps paused, the sudden interruption from the very same Siren she had been thinking of leading to a routine check of a weapon she had never once been permitted to use after countless millennia of experiments...and felt an unnatural, cold sensation gather within her chest as instead of the usual inability to pursue such a connection further the ancient machine responded to her commands, artificial intelligence more brutish and streamlined than their own as it awaited orders.
"What happened?"
[Omega-1 has been initiated, Purifier and I are attempting to stem the tide. Unleash Oratorio upon these coordinates and hold nothing back.]
Empress idly realized just what that foreign sensation was as it spread insidious chill through her artificial veins, stealing the breath from her lungs.
Apprehension.
"Understood. I advise you stand clear of the blast zone."
The connection was severed as both of them carried out their respective duties, Empress clenching her teeth as seldom felt emotions washed over her like fire through a forest.
Why now? Why during a timeline they had finally seen true promise in?
Quickly dismissing the useless thoughts before they could cripple her - even if they had already sank venomous fangs into her heel - Empress narrowed her eyes, preparing herself for the momentous task of initiating a global communication between all of their scattered forces.
"I imagine this will be somewhat uncomfortable."
She grit her teeth, initiated the connection-
-and millions of minds pressed down on her, most fuzzy and indistinct but plenty just as bright as her own, skull feeling as if it was being squeezed flat as the Siren ignored her agony in favor of preparing their kind for what might be required of them.
"All Siren forces not currently engaged with enemy elements are to cease all operations and prepare for reassignment and battle. Omega-1 has been initiated and until otherwise noted it is to be assumed in effect. Stand by for further orders."
The connection flared with a thousand different emotions - she had to stifle a morbid snort at that, of how her kind had so drastically strayed from their roots of cool and indifferent logic - before she cut the link, one hand rubbing her temple as a dull throb assailed it.
But there was no time to waste, not when every second counted as the Siren took a fortifying breath, sending instructions to the colossus far above as it began to move.
When viewed from the god's eye view of space Earth could be a jewel of beauty beyond compare. Drifting white clouds, verdant landmasses, towering spires of rock that reached towards the heavens, blindingly blue oceans...a fragile gem of life and promise amidst a vast and empty cosmos.
All Oratorio saw as its internal systems and processes came to life after far too many years of passivity was a collection of pertinent data. Temperature and moisture that had allowed for life as its creators knew to thrive were mere mathematical factors that may affect the path of its primary and only weapon. Landmasses and geographical formations that had taken millions upon millions of years to form were simple waypoints or targets of opportunity.
The orbital weapon had never been designed to be beautiful or to understand such a concept. It was an ugly bit of engineering, constructed in the final days of a losing war against an enemy that knew neither empathy nor pity, an irregular and rushed cylinder of high capacity batteries ensconced by a solar array that spanned for seemingly endless kilometers, all of it a cocoon for the lethal cannon pointed towards Earth and patiently awaiting the day it would be used for the first time.
Oratorio had been envisioned as an ace against the Sirens, a platform free from the influence of their space and time altering powers as it drifted far above the cradle of humanity…but that plan had never come to fruition, there simply hadn't been the time necessary for the satellite to gather enough charge to properly power its sole means of offense before Earth had been covered in a ball of aforementioned reality-altering phenomena.
It was a bit of a cruel joke that Oratorio's location in orbit around Earth had been intended to free it from the curse of the Siren's reality-warping, instead ensuring that for thousands upon thousands of years it was forced to bear witness to the planet undergoing countless scenarios again and again and again.
The solar array had been struck and worn away at by the occasional bit of passing rock or dust, batteries had failed as the rigors of space wore away at their structural integrity and a few of its engines were only halfway operational.
But at long last it was being called to action, the simple and dormant AI receiving authorized orders to finally fulfill its purpose.
Maneuvering thrusters pulsed and flared, capacitors began to charge its primary weapon and Oratorio began its gradual journey to the northern climes of the planet it had once been tasked to protect.
And a happy new years to everyone!
...
...
Okay, kind of a rotten chapter to start the new year off with, I know. Hopefully it's not indicative of 2022 as a whole.