Chapter I: Epilogue

Foreword: The following store takes place in an alternate universe based on my scrappy knowledge of the 40k Universe. Whilst I try to source information from the Warhammer 40k Wiki, it may not entirely be accurate, therefore consider any deviation from canon to be either creative liberties to explain things not well known or the product of this AU. Or just Gaster doing Gaster stuff, whatever suits your headcanon best.


POV: Unknown l Location: The Milky Way Galaxy l Date: 62nd Millennium


Three beings pierced the veil of this multiverse long ago and simply observed, taking no action, never being noticed. They watched as a collection of shamans sacrificed themselves to bring about the hope for all mankind. They watched as this man, this perpetual, wandered the globe, learned all that he could learn, bargained with the ruinous powers and built an empire of reason and enlightenment. They watched as his empire burned, crumbled after his personal defeat at the hands of his own son. They watched as his battered form kept alive the interstellar infrastructure, as his vision was twisted into the very thing he sought to rid mankind of. Chaos, endless war, suffering, blind faith. They watched as one of the Emperor's sons returned from death and slowly but surely, rebuilt the empire from within, retaking lost lands. Then they watched as the swarm came. The Tyranids, unending in number to the perception of the galaxy. They fought, worlds ended, in the last throes of the milky way galaxy, many beings, but not all, from the ruinous powers aided the imperium, but then they just gave up, one by one, even Holy Terra fell to the swarm. And just like that, yet one more galaxy consumed by the relentless hordes of the Tyranids, they never stood a chance.

One of the beings, a skeletal like figure in a black trenchcoat and a crimson red scarf around his neck, concealing his spine, spoke, saying "A bleak existence, much like our own, wouldn't you two agree?"

The other being, a young woman probably in her 20s with the ethnic appearance of those who once dwelled in the land known as Indonesia and short brown hair, wearing a blue shirt with two violet stripes and khaki shorts spoke, saying "It could be better, if everyone just got along."

"Oh please, that never happens and you never admit it can never happen." said the other being, a woman the same apparent age as the other, but she appeared of Irish and Italian ancestry, long brown hair down to her waist, a green shirt with a single yellow stripe and brown shorts. "It could! There are many true pacifist endings in the Undertale Multiverses!"

"And have you forgotten the afterstory of those tales? The few we have observed going into surface life still have conflict, still have war and it only takes one bad human to end what's left of monsterkind, most of the time, the few others it's a brutal war that still leaves only one end result. Genocide. Something this realm has in far greater numbers it seems."

"Chara, Frisk. Enough, we've had this argument for the last 5 Manifold Cycles and still you two have not reached a conclusion, though I suppose it's merely in your nature as the representatives of War and Peace." said the skeleton, one of his eye lights crimson red, the other a vibrant cyan blue.

"You've seen more than we have Gaster, what exactly do you think will change by showing us this reality? The Emperor causes more harm than good, something humanity is very excellent at accomplishing by the way, and what few creatures could pass off as monsters are in fact no better. It's a bleak existence that gets snuffed out by an intergalactic bug infestation." said Chara, the woman in the green shirt.

Gaster sighed and said "How is it that you two can have witnessed so much, and still be so blind? 16 Manifold Cycles and you still have not learned one simple fact. All things drift towards equilibrium, towards balance, no matter however long it takes. War is made to bring peace and peace is made to prepare for war. The Emperor represented Order, the ruinous powers represented Chaos, the Tyranids represented not balance, not chaos, not order, but Entropy. Though in a way they were agents of balance, destroying Order and tempering Chaos, eventually, their way of consumption will bring this universe closer to thermal equilibrium than it should naturally come to. Do you see now?"

"I see you've gotten into another one of your long and boring lectures that nobody understands." replied Chara. Frisk just silently observed them.

Gaster sighed once more and said "To put this as simply as I can, because the Emperor did not allow enough freedom or enough chaos rather, his Nation was too rigid and was completely unprepared to deal with his passing. He stood the best chance at bringing order to the galaxy and failed because he was not balanced. This in turn means the two of you, representatives of War and Peace, will suffer the same fate if you do not consider the other's point of view and merge it with your own."

"Still long and boring." said Chara. Gaster smiled and replied "Long and Boring yes, but now perhaps you understand?"

Chara shrugged and said "So basically, I'm too violent, and Frisk is too much of a pushover? Is that what you're trying to say?" Gaster nodded and Frisk sank her head slightly.

Gaster then said "Those who always wage ceaseless war will find their strength sapped with each battle, never to be recovered. Those who seek peace at all costs will find themselves destroyed by those who care little for it.". The Skeleton paused, held out his hand and focused his sight, reading through the paths of several souls across all creation, all universes, all multiverses and found one to suit his needs, a yellow SOUL of JUSTICE appeared in his hands as he then said "We begin with this universe. We will give this universe hopes and dreams."

Chara chuckled and said "With that guy? Really? He's from a dead timeline all because he trusted the wrong woman. If you were also to consider the fourth wall implications as well, you might want to choose someone more, canon. Not some trashy self insert OC with a god complex."

Frisk chuckled as well and said "Well I think he would do just fine. Sure he's not a pacifist, but he does strive for peace, often at the cost to his own sanity. Wouldn't his powers be a little, overkill for a universe like this? I mean it's still nothing compared to just hacking the code of existence but it's still a high tier reality warping capability. The Mad Goddess might also intervene if he uses that power, as she hunts multiverse spanning instances of this individual."

Gaster smirked and then opened up a console screen and edited the code of the SOUL of Justice. Chara broke out laughing and said "Oh that's just cruel. An arbitrary limit? What about his other powers?" Gaster shrugged and said "Compared to the ruinous powers, they are balanced enough, especially considering the scale on which war is waged here. He will not be alone either. He will have you two to guide him."

"You mean to pull at his sanity. You've run enough of these experiments to know how it ends." said Chara, Frisk just continued to listen silently whilst Gaster then said "And yet I've not finished even the first phase of the plan. Patience, my dear daughter, is a virtue."

9.6 Billion SOULs appeared, of various traits as Gaster tinkered with the code of reality, pulling back time to a specific point, this power was absolute, it even affected the Warp, to a place without time, even it had what could be described as causality, albeit in a non-linear fashion. Any linear being could never hope to understand yet alone manipulate it.

But Gaster was not linear.

The Ruinous powers sensed him now, they reached out with their power, only to find it useless

"Oh please, I've dealt with far more powerful entities, The Scarlet King could do more." said Gaster as with one of his smaller summoned hands simply swatted away the ruinous powers efforts to stop him from tampering with their own existence.

"You are way too overpowered. You know that right?" said Chara.


POV: Raymond Zenji l Location: The cliffs of San Francisco. l Date: 100 Years before the Unification Wars began.


He stared at the ground, something ached, his very soul maybe? He reached out with his abilities as a Shinjin to manifest closed space and learn what had just transpired, he found this power was no longer available to him.

"The hell?" he said as he stood from his position of being face first in the sand, it was a familiar sand, the beaches of San Francisco, but where was the sea? He could not hear it's waves nor smell it's scent. There was salt for sure, but it was a dry salt.

He stood, wearing a finely crafted black tailcoat with gold lined trims and upon his head a wreath made entirely of diamonds. He didn't like this outfit that much, didn't suit him, but when you're dining with the monarch of the Transvaal Empire, you had to keep up appearances, especially when you were the Imperator of more than half the galaxy.

"Where's the ocean? This is Earth, I know it is." he said to himself, cybernetic sensors in his eyes confirming the star patterns in the night skies, he had to rely on other powers apparently, hopefully they still worked. Forming his left arm into some kind of shadow whip, it plunged into the ground, reforming and reshaping the matter it consumed and he then flung a decent portion of the ground into the sky at hypersonic speed, a satellite was now in Earth Orbit, it took a detailed scan of the entire solar system and relayed the information to his unbound mind, then mere seconds later, it was attacked by a primitive fleet, albeit with innovative weapons. They appeared to be some kind of pirate group, the satellite showed it's force by firing a cyan beam across the bow of the largest ship, cutting it clean in half with no resistance, cascading explosions wrought through the battleship as it was destroyed in a glorious fireball, taking several smaller escorts with it. The remaining ships turned around, all but 800 out of the 3200 strong fleet. Those 800 were then quickly assailed by the Satellite's weapons, eventually the Satellite was destroyed, but only 12 enemy ships remained. They had superior numbers, that much was certain.

"It seems I have a long journey ahead of me." he said to himself, turning in the direction of the north and walking away from what was once a beautiful beach which had now become a barren cliff side.

He needed to find the others, if they were here that is. His Praetorii, Laura, Haruhi, Azula, Ty Lee. To name but a few of his agents and allies. His head ached, he felt as if he was forgetting something, some of his memories were locked and none of his powers or technologies could seem to unlock them. He would have to figure out the reasons for this later, for now, survival. Food and drink wasn't really an issue, he could simply convert any matter into life energy thanks to the experiments done on him before he awakened his true powers, he didn't need sleep, only occasionally sleeping as a recreational activity. He sensed something was, wrong with this world and the sense of being watched always lingered.


35 Years Later l Weaverville, California. l POV: "Ulysses"


A traveler came into the small Californian town, the ancient man-made lake nearby, Lake Trinity had been dry for millennia, 35 years ago, a man came and brought life to it, restoring it's waters. This Traveler was no ordinary traveler, he was a scout, a scout for a man who was unlike any other, a scout who saw a vision to be carried out and he would report to his Emperor the rumors that had spread, that of a man who could cure any ailment, resist the temptations of Chaos and most curiously, preached a religion that had long been extinct, swept away by time, chaos and persecution.

The Traveler identified himself as Ulysses, he was a simple man from a Techno-Barbarian Raider Tribe that sought to pilfer the secrets of an ancient fortress in the Himalayas, he instead came face to face with the Emperor, so radiant was he and so enlightened and reasonable was he, that this former barbarian could not bring himself to strike him, instead kneeling and offering his life in humble servitude, when the Emperor corrected him, telling him that he was in fact, not a god, the Traveler, Ulysses, only found himself more in devotion to the Emperor, not with faith as his initial impression drove him to, but with reason. The Emperor explained his plan, Ulysses was to learn about the various tribes of Terra and report this information back. And here in this small town that was once a bleak and desolate place, children played outside again freely, the air felt clean, the looks on their faces, hopes and dreams.

Then he saw the symbols, symbols of an ancient torture device that became a symbol of hope, before descending back to a symbol of tyranny.

The Cross.

Each one was golden, as Ulysses talked to the villagers, they were very reasonable, enlightened, nothing like the techno-barbarians he was used to. They spoke calmly, they were an interesting mixture of faith and reason, preaching the holy word of God and the ancient, long thought lost teachings of the Roman Catholic Church during the 21st Century, a time where the Church was at it's best, though Ulysses knew from his conversations with the Emperor that religion inevitably became twisted by man, no matter how righteous their origins, eventually it is used to justify horrid atrocities. The time would come one day, for the taint of religion to fade away, forever forgotten, but for now was the time of patience, of study, of reconnaissance. The Emperor's project was nearly finished, soon Ulysses thought, soon...

Ulysses though of a strong opinion on religion's evil, concealed it well, though he knew little of the catholic teachings, he knew of much of their history, or at least what little of it remained, most of his knowledge on the subject was by chance conversations when passing by the Emperor as he made his reports directly to him.

Ulysses came before a crowd and blended into it, they were gathered for a speech by the leader of Weaverville, elected by popular vote after driving away techno-barbarians 35 years ago. It is said he knows not the passage of time, the man who approached the podium was young, likely in his 20s, he was dressed simply in a brown leather bomber jacket, black sweat pants and wore small framed square glasses which had a kind of glimmer or shine to them even when no light from sun nor moon nor lamp graced their form, it was a greenish light, not radiant like a lamp but dim, as if it was showing something to the one who wore it.

"People of Weaverville, Long ago when I first came to this place, you had forgotten so much, the name of your town, the days when the lake had water, the feeling of freedom and tranquility, feeling secure from those who would do you harm. Your ancestors valued freedom and I have come to give you that freedom back, you also have desired security. I was here when the Ren'Oh raided our town , I organized your defenses, when they brought allies, I showed my power. When their armies were defeated, I forgave them and offered them a place here. Now here we are, two decades later, celebrating together as brothers and sisters, rather than as enemies. Today marks a new dawn, my labors have paid off and the resources we've mined in the mountains have been put to good use, I know many of you may have misgivings about what I am about to reveal, but I ask for your understanding, your patience and your reason. Above all else, I believe this is God's plan for me. We must restore these barren lands, given time, we shall restore even the great oceans, Earth must become a paradise once more, but there are those who refuse to change, those who will not welcome this, there will be ruinous powers working against us, the first answer to these challenges, I reveal to you now. The Drona!"

With those words, the sound of metallic footsteps upon the wooden planks could be heard, four machine abominations to Ulysses' mind had just marched unto the stand, brandishing weapons, bearing ancient symbols related to both the Catholic Church and an old world nation, the United States, flags and symbols long forgotten by man, somehow reintroduced despite no known living practitioners and no known repository of knowledge to pass on their existence to man.

At first there was silence, then cheering, they all shouted in unison "Glory to God! Glory to his servant Raymond!".

Ulysses felt sorrow, it was as he feared, but something was upon the leader of these people, a look of disapproval. The crowd noticed it and the cheering slowly died as the leader raised his hands, saying "Caution yourselves. I do not seek glory and though we should seek to praise the Glory of the Lord, we should remember his justice is absolute and no matter how much a man may claim to be faithful, God knows the truth and you cannot hide your sins from him. Praise the Glory of God, I am but a humble servant."

There was murmuring, Ulysses couldn't make it out too well given the crowd, but it died down and they raised their hands and made a salute, three men moved forward to the podium, the one in the center spoke, saying "Raymond, it is our belief that you are our salvation. Though we know you do not seek worship nor glory, know we stand beside you, united in our purpose to restore mankind's safety and liberty. As such, the Council has decided to grant your proposal from last month, complete, unrestricted power shall be afforded to you to use as you require. We hereby proclaim you Dictator of Weaverville."

Ray, the man on the podium, nodded and said "You have my thanks. I promise to use this power responsibly and to build an Empire to stand the test of time, all things have small beginnings, so too shall this town become the center of trade, diplomacy and military might in these regions and in time, the entire Earth shall be our domain."

Ulysses had heard and seen enough, he left when the crowd finally dispersed of their own accord, following these speeches and revelations, he knew that he must report to the Emperor as soon as possible.


In the dead of night the following day, Ulysses prepared for his journey and to his surprise, as he was approaching the old road leading out of the town, Raymond approached him, having eluded his senses somehow.

"Greetings Traveler, I take it your stay was to be short?" said the new Dictator of the town of Weaverville.

Ulysses nodded and said "Yes, I had heard tales of a beautiful land, but I alas, cannot stay, I have matters to attend to, though perhaps one day I shall return. I am Ulysses, I take it you are Raymond?"

Ray nodded and replied "Indeed I am. Raymond Zenji, You can call me Ray if you like." Ray looked over to his left shoulder briefly, nodded as if someone had said something and looked towards a puzzled Ulysses, saying "Before you leave however, there is something I would like to show you, if I may have a moment of your time of course." Ulysses was cautious and said "Forgive me, I do not wish to be rude or inhospitable, but should I trust you? I find it strange you would approach a random traveler in the midst of night."

Ray chuckled and said "Indeed it may seem strange for that of course. But you're not just a random traveler, are you?" Ulysses was concerned now, was he on to him? It couldn't be, the Emperor was still not revealed to mankind, maybe he assumed him to be a spy from a neighboring tribe?

Ray smirked and said "Do not worry. I may not know whom exactly you serve, but I can tell you've made a very long journey, your clothes were made from materials local to the Himalayan regions, across the great deserts and what remains of Earth's oceans. Such a journey is rarely happenstance, in addition, I have many ways to see a great distance away. The particular leather you wear was from a particular region of the himalayas with a thermal signature that suggests an extremely advanced society. Are you here to scout out possible conquests? Or possible trading partners?"

Ulysses decided that covering up being caught in a lie with another lie was best, so he said "Trading Partners. Forgive my deception but given the perilous state of affairs we as a species find ourselves in today, you can never be too cautious." Ray nodded and said "Indeed, I know this all to well. I take it you were concerned about the Drona? Given that what remains of history that has been preserved has proven that machine intelligence are a dangerous technology leading most often to blood and pain."

Ulysses nodded and said "If you know this, then why do you pursue this technology?" Ray sighed and said "Because for all my aspirations and goals, I am but one man. Perhaps long ago, I would have no need of this technology, and I have witnessed it cause great pain and loss before. However I know the reason for that. Mankind has always mistreated his creations, so therefore I must ensure our creations are not mistreated, that they are recognized as our children. Also, these machines are not sentient, they follow commands and can operate autonomously to some degree, but they are reliant on human command and control. Does this perhaps relieve some of your fears?" Ulysses nodded and said "Some of them yes. There are other fears, but I get the impression you are a reasonable man, so I do not believe we will have many difficulties forming a trade relationship in the future, should my leader decide it, of course." Ray nodded and said "Well then, I bid you farewell then Ulysses. Unless you've changed your mind and would like to see what I have to show you. Either way, I give you my word you will be permitted to leave in peace and you will be welcome here in the future should you choose to return." Ulysses weighed his options, his duty here was reconnaissance after all. He nodded and said "I suppose it couldn't hurt. What did you wish to show me?"

Ray grinned and motioned for Ulysses to follow him, he led Ulysses to a small construct on the outskirts of town, pressing a button, a holographic display lit up, displaying a model of a solar system. Not Sol, but rather, a different system, it's name was Kylandor according to the model.

Ray spoke, saying "I have a dream Ulysses, to bring liberty and freedom to Earth. But I have no intention to rule from Earth, nor to lord directly over it. I will uplift Earth into a beautiful world that can govern itself, after which, I will depart to this system shown here. Together with Earth's future government, we will unite mankind and then, unite the entire galaxy against a threat that I have been warned is coming, an all consuming swarm that even the ruinous powers could not deter from devouring the entire galaxy."

Ulysses looked upon the holodisplay with awe, true he had seen many wonders in the Emperor's refuge, but none like this, though the Emperor had talked of more complex devices like this one, he had stated most had been lost to man. Perhaps Ray had retrieved an intact one? Ray turned off the holodisplay and said "When that day comes Ulysses, when the day comes that humanity is united. There will be a golden age unlike any before. If there is nothing else you wish to ask or know, I suppose we should both be going, as I have duties to attend to and you have your superiors to report to. Do tell them we have much in the way of technology and agricultural resources to trade and should they find themselves with nothing but despair, we can offer religious sanctuary. Much of the people here are Catholic, but we turn our backs to no one and all beliefs, so long as they do not threaten the rights of man, are welcome here. Not just tolerated, welcome."

Ulysses nodded and said "Thank you. I depart in peace and hope to one day return in peace."

Ray waved as Ulysses carried on towards the road, Ulysses knew this place would serve the Emperor, one way or another, this man's dreams are naive, but Ulysses was never skilled in the arts of persuasion, perhaps the Emperor himself could sway Ray to Truth.


15 Years Later... l POV: Ray Zenji l Location: Sac'Mento, Western Mercia.


70,000 Merican Infantry had taken up defensive positions around the city of Sac'Mento, armed with various old world firearms from the 15th Millennium, primitive swords, spears and even bow and arrows.

Their leader, a man by the name of Anax the Cruel was a brutal warlord who hailed from the steppes of Alaska, he had conquered many tribes, subsumed them into his warpack and had recently sacked the city of Sac'Mento, but the location of the richest land here, Weaverville, was in the north, in the mountains. It was unassailable, but it was a place that valued helping others like the sad, naive fools Anax believed them to be.

Ray looked through his binoculars, the datalink with the satellite network he placed into geosynchronous orbit over North America feeding him accurate information about the enemy positions. They had taken the city hostage and though many sections were still fighting against Anax, they were encircled, it was a chance miracle that their envoy reached Ray asking for relief in exchange for joining his loose alliance of towns that had become known as the Continental Army.

Standing around Ray were legions of machine warriors, lightly armored but humanoid in form, wielding new kinds of firearms which discharged bullets at hypersonic velocities via a combination of chemical powder charges and electromagnetic pulses, the type of ammo, called Electromagnetic Blasting Caps or EMBCs for short, could be easily used by most firearms, allowing ancient, 21st Century Weapons like the HK-416 or the M4A1 to be just as effective as a Bolter.

Ray had with him 111,000 Drona and 18,000 Volunteers from various nearby towns and villages, some part of the continental army, others merely allies. They were called Minutemen, after an ancient paramilitary force that rose up against a corrupt and tyrannical king in the eastern coasts of Merica.

Their flags were placed along their encampment, Old Glory, the stars and stripes of a long forgotten nation.

Ray used his datalink to send a command signal to the satellites, which began to carve through the enemy positions from orbit, the sudden and unexpected flaming death from above as cyan beams of light shot into the Atmosphere, turning into blinding white beams which ignited the air around them, being like pillars of flame descending from heaven to incinerate the enemies of civilization.

Within seconds, half the enemy force were naught but ash. Ray sent commands through the datalink, ordering the Drona to begin charging whilst the Volunteers would act as a spearhead for the center of the formations. The disoriented and disrupted defenders barely putting up a fight. The Drona captured more than they killed, within minutes the battle was over, of the 70,000 Barbarians, 16,000, give or take, had been captured, the rest were dead, most from the orbital bombardment. Anax himself was captured. Ray stated Anax would stand trial in the very city he had besieged and his fate would be in the hands of his peers.

They sentenced him to death and Anax was given the choice of his method of execution, he chose death by bloodsport and killed twelve feral wolves in Sac'Mento's Blood Zoo before his throat was torn out by a grizzly bear who then proceeded to maul and devour Anax to thousands of cheering spectators.

Later, a treaty was signed with Sac'Mento, renaming the city Sacramento and adsorbing it into the Continental Army. Ray knew he couldn't reform the city's barbaric practices just yet, but in time, in time they would be civilized, by force if necessary.


Later as Ray was back in Weaverville, the two interlopers appeared before him again. Only he could see and hear them, so he was very cautious when others were around when they made their appearance.

Not that he minded their company, they were both very beautiful young women, though he did not trust their motives, the advice they offered was useful more often than not, Frisk seemed to be the voice of Peace and Diplomacy, Chara the voice of War and Punishment.

"I've seen a lot of executions but that one was spectacular indeed." said Chara, Frisk made a pout and Ray said "Perhaps, but it is a barbaric practice that should be abolished in due time." Frisk smiled while Chara sighed, saying "Why? That prick deserved it." Ray nodded and said "Yes, I agree, but the wolves deserved better, they should have been allowed to roam free or at the very least be protected in the zoo. Not used for bloodsport."

Chara laughed and said "I never took you for one of those animal rights hippies." Ray made a dismissive wave of his hand and said "I believe in respect for nature. Animal cruelty should not be tolerated whenever the means for ending it exists. Unfortunately, I need the short term support of Sacramento for now. The Drona are numerous, but still are not in sufficient number to begin a full scale crusade to unite Earth. And I am getting reports that the dominant tribe of Merica in the east is expanding westward and will soon control most, if not all of North America. If not for my abilities and knowledge, Weaverville would still be a barren landscape."

Frisk spoke up, saying "Can they not be reasoned with?" Ray and Chara both stared at Frisk, Ray then said "No, unfortunately they cannot. Whilst I respect your dedication to peace Frisk, this world is not welcoming towards it. I must unite Earth through bloodshed before the tides of peace may once again flow. All reports indicate that the Mericans, although having some resemblance of the Old World United States, is but a perverted form of it, offering daily sacrifices to twisted caricatures of the founding fathers who are worshiped as false gods who demand nothing but absolute devotion to the constitution, which has been lost to them and instead they've drafted up an abominable document which the founding fathers would soak in pitch, ignite and throw down the grand canyon should they have ever laid eyes upon it."

There was a knock at the door, Ray gave a look at the two and then said "Enter."

The door opened and there was one of his trusted military advisors, Commander Preston Garvey, a man who hailed from the Eastern Coast and by luck, divine providence or skill, had made his way to Weaverville with the intent to help defend them. Out of the many who set out on that journey, only Garvey endured. Garvey spoke, saying "General, there is an ambassador from Merica here to see you. She has requested an audience, or rather demanded one."

Ray nodded and said "Show her in."

In walked a woman wearing an affront to Ray's American heritage, though he did not let it show. She was covered by a cape that mirrored the old revolutionary war flag, wearing a golden ornate eagle helmet and at her sides two ceremonial swords engraved with the words "E, Plebenus al'lee'num."

Not that it wasn't worth of a meme, but given her barbaric nature, these images used in this manner by a barbaric corruption of America rubbed Ray the wrong way, though again, he did not make this known. He made a gesture towards the chair in front of his desk and said "Please, sit."

She nodded and did so, removing her helmet, revealing long, white hair flowing down to her shoulders, her eyes were blue as the ancient seas and she appeared to be in her late 30s. She spoke, saying "I am And'Ah'Bell of Merica. I come with the customary offer of statehood. The Continental Army and it's holdings are to be impressed into Merica, where it shall serve as constituents to our wars. We have heard much of your military power and demand you cede to us this power." Ray sighed and said "I don't know whether to laugh, shake my head, cry or do all three. I'll simply say this. We will not submit to Merica, though you may have numbers, you will find that I am more than capable of incinerating any military force you send across the Cascadian wastes. If I was of a more barbaric mindset, I would even threaten to burn your cities to the ground. But we are a force of liberation, not extermination."

And'Ah'Bell shook her head and said "The Founding Fathers will swat your death beams away, we cannot be made to question our faith in their will. The constitution is clear, all lands of Merica must be united, All lands of Merica must be in service, all lands of Merica must pay taxes and all lands of Merica must produce hamburgers."

Ray sighed and said "Please tell me that last one was a joke." And'Ah'Bell frowned, she appeared offended. "So, not a joke then." replied Ray.

And'Ah'Bell then said "Enough talk, do you surrender or no?" Ray raised an eyebrow and said "No. You may leave, in accordance with the law of hospitality, you shall be give-" She didn't let him finish, drawing her swords and lunging at him, Ray sighed, his left arm reshaped into a black tentacle whip and moving at a pace she could not track, it wrapped around her, tightened and slammed her up and down into the ceiling and floor and back again dozens of times, when it released, she was unconscious and alive, bleeding, broken bones and possibly having gone through intense shock and fear, but alive and unconscious nonetheless.

"Take her to the prison and put her with all the others who violated the law of hospitality." Ray said to Garvey, who nodded, saluted and dragged And'Ah'Bell away.

Ray's datapad on the desk beeped and showed satellite data that three merican armies were crossing the Cascadian boundary, apparently having already been sent, they would reach Weaverville in two weeks.

Ray moved around the holodisplay and pressed a very ancient, very frightening symbol. Within minutes, red line streaks indicating missile launches moved from the four long range missile silos around Weaverville Ray had built a year ago. Three reached the Merican armies, dispersed multiple smaller payloads and saturated the armies with nuclear fire, the fourth detonated a single nuclear payload in low orbit above the Merican capital of Dee'Cee. Too far to cause any radiation burns or direct damage, unless you count the EMP, but close enough to be seen by everyone in Dee'Cee who could see the sky. Ray sighed, Earth had already been razed in nuclear fire hundreds of times, a few more nukes couldn't make things any worse than they already are. For now, he'd buy time, use strategic weapons to keep them at bay, he just needed ten years. Ten years to finish his army, his air force, his navy. Ten years and North America could be liberated.


10 Years Later...


The War with Merica was laughably one-sided, whenever their armies marched, it was as if God himself told the Continental Army when and where they would be, nuclear fire, pillars of flame from the heavens and if they ever got close, death from fast flying machines.

Ray had built and improved a variety of 21st Century weapons. Although technically speaking, the majority of mankind's technology was highly advanced, with lasguns, powered suits and spacefaring ships delivering water from icy comets and other NEOs, their weapons were inefficient, often ineffective and horribly maintained. The day came and Ray had built up more than four million Drona Android Infantry, 100,000 M1A2 Abrams which were outfitted with modern armors and EMBC shells for their main weapons, F-22 Raptors served as an Air Superiority Fighter and F-35 Lightning IIs as a Ground Attack Aircraft, the A-10 Thunderbolt had also been built, serving as a close range patrol aircraft. The Continental Army had been reorganized into the United States of America, flying old Glory and declaring renewed manifest destiny, to liberate all of North America, with Central America and the Caribbean fitting into that criteria. Various support vehicles also were built, with a heavy reliance on the Abrams as a main battle tank and making use of modernized Stryker ICVs and Mobile Gun Systems for other duties. As the Drona marched with air and vehicle support, around 40 Frigate sized Spacefaring ships had been built, identified as Enfilade class Frigates, they were outfitted with four vertical launch missile bays, two dorsal, two ventral, four railguns, two dorsal, two ventral and one high energy laser, mounted directly on the bow. These frigates quickly began to move over the cliffs and patrol the great dunes that were once Earth's oceans. It took years, given the vast size of Merica, but it came.

At Ore'Gone, now renamed Oregon, Drona marched onto the Cascadian Tribes and defeated their disunited armies with ease, in Salty City, Now Salt Lake City, Squadrons of F-35s and F-22s laid waste to Merican forces. In Dal'Ass, now Dallas, metal pods rained down from the sky, bearing the gift of Drona Soldiers having been sent from orbit, loaded onto 20 Enfilade Frigates and descending across the city, securing it as a foothold to open a deep strike into Merica, it wasn't long before heavier equipment and reinforcements were airlifted under escort to the city with the goal of cutting off Merica's supply lines and then pushing for Dee'Cee.

Dee'Cee itself, now renamed Washington D.C., DC being short for District of Columbia, was perhaps the longest, largest and most famous battle in the North American Liberation War.

Hundreds of thousands of forces on both sides fighting across the dense, overpopulated, polluted urban population center. Merican forces caused so many casualties among their own citizenry whereas the Drona, with their advanced targeting abilities, would, at the cost of their own assets, preserve and protect the citizenry, this rallied the Mericans against their overlords, draining enemy supplies, disrupting their logistics and resulting in the final nail in the coffin.

Ray marched through Dee'Cee one week later in a military parade, declaring that the United States of America had been reborn. Ray would go to work, drafting the constitution from his records, rebuilding damaged infrastructure and building new terraformer stations to begin restoring America's natural beauty and resources. It took years, but before long, North America was a garden of Eden compared to the rest of Earth, pollutants disappeared in the air, moisture farms collected vast amounts of the oceans that had been boiled away by nuclear fire in the millenniums before, moved into space, waiting for the day that a new great flood would strike the Earth, not to wash away mankind, but to restore mankind's hope.

Fifty Years passed and a report made it's way to Raymond's desk, hard at work being the Self Appointed President of the United States. Elections had not yet become a federal concern, but they were localized for counties and soon the old States would be restored. But this report concerned him.

Warriors in powered armor, towering as giants, wielding the most advanced military hardware that Terra had ever seen since the Golden Age of Technology, brandishing the standard of an eagle and bolts of lightning. Being given the name Thunder Warriors amongst themselves and by their enemies. Led by a seemingly invincible, almost divine man who calls himself the Emperor of Mankind.

In time it would seem, two giants are inevitably destined to clash. But perhaps a different future could await, if this Emperor can be reasoned with, perhaps they can inherit the Earth for when the time comes that Ray takes to the stars, allowing Earth to decide it's own destiny, it's own future. For now though, he must prepare. The Navy has become the most important asset to fund now, seconded by the Air Force. With a strong Space Navy, the great dunes that were once oceans could be properly patrolled for any significant military deployment and if these thunder warriors are as strong as they say, even Ray's advances in Drona technology and numbers may not be enough, but perhaps, just maybe, the autocratic seat of power could be dealt with, but their Emperor is said to always be on the move, campaigning with his armies. Even if he completely incinerated the capital of this newly declared Imperium of Man, it would not stop the Emperor. Ray would not be deterred however, he was determined to rebuild his Imperial Republic amongst the stars. He would not be stopped, not by anyone, he would not allow techno-barbarism and ruthless, unjust autocracy to return to humanity. All in all, he still believes he is forgetting something, all his research has yet to find the source of his feeling of forgetfulness and without the powers of a Shinjin, he is no longer invincible.

None of his Praetorii could be found that were with him during that meeting, perhaps they were elsewhere, the long range satellites did detect a star system in a temporal stasis of sorts where his old seat of power once was. He would develop the necessary equipment to counter temporal interference and then figure out how to restore his Imperial Republic.

Time would tell if he succeeds or not, hopefully those two interlopers continue to give good advice...


To be continued...