The Vault – 1 August 1944

Although they were all filled with strong determination, it was no use if they couldn't get the machine to work. It was the next day, and Jan and the rest stood around the machine, trying to figure out what exactly they should first try. Lutz paced around the semicircular perimeter of the machine.

"Could you describe again what happened when you first entered the Vault?"

"We came in and headed straight for the machine," Jan began. "At first, nothing really happened. Then I think Elisabeth touched the globe or orb or whatever you call it," he said as he pointed towards it. "And then, a mechanical bird appeared, much like a movie being projected onto a screen, except it was life-like, not flat and two-dimensional."

"And then it spoke to you, yes?"

Lutz's eyes were still on the machine as Jan confirmed his question.

"Doubtless you've tried this, but let's try it again. Elisabeth, can you touch the orb?"

Elisabeth nodded and took the few steps to get to the orb. With a slight hint of hesitation, she lifted her arm and touched the orb gently with her fingers. But nothing happened.

"Well, we tried that," Lutz remarked. "If this contraption was really built by who the Templars call the Ones Who Came Before, then it must be quite old. No wonder it's broken."

Lutz said that as he walked up towards the main part of the machine. It did look like a tree to Jan. An old, sturdy oak. But instead of wood, it was bare, pure metal. There was no rust nor stain, just a slightly blinding silver colour. The "roots" – which are probably pipes – connect from the ceiling, down the "trunk", and into the floor. These pipes then connect to about seven boxes surrounding the "trunk" in a semicircular pattern. These boxes are open, like coffins without their lids, but touching them has had no effect so far.

Wait.

"Those boxes," Jan said. "Has anybody tried doing something to it?"

"Some of our brothers and sisters have tried touching parts of the inside, but nothing happened."

"But you haven't, right?" he asked Elisabeth.

She shook her head in response.

"How about you try?"

"Couldn't hurt," Lutz agreed.

Elisabeth nodded and made her way to the nearest box, the one in the centre. With some trepidation, she touched various points on the inside of the box, but nothing happened. She turned her head around to look back at the other two and raised her shoulders in confusion.

"Hmm…," Lutz pondered. "Well, this sounds stupid, but it looks like a coffin. How about you try getting inside?"

There was a short silence as people looked at Lutz in slight disbelief.

"What?" he said to them. "Do you lot have any better ideas?"

Without saying another word, Elisabeth turned back to the box and stared at it for a few moments. Then, she clenched her fist and made her way inside. It was a bit awkward as she tried to position herself like a corpse in a coffin, but in the end, she managed to.

A few seconds went by.

"So… do you feel anything?" Lutz asked.

Elisabeth shook her head.

"Nothing's happening too," she said.

"Well, I guess that didn't work either."

Just as Elisabeth was trying to get out of the box, suddenly she screamed and went stiff, her eyes jolting open for a bit before returning to normal.

"What's happening?!" Jan shouted as he instinctively ran towards Elisabeth.

"Wait, Jan!" Lutz shouted as he held Jan by the shoulder.

Jan turned to him, not believing that he would ask him to stop in this situation, but Lutz was pointing towards the orb. It was coming back alive just like it did the first time they came into the Vault. It was slowly turning on, the light going from nonexistent to dim to flickering bright. Jan looked back to Elisabeth and saw that she seemed to be frozen but fine as her eyes were watching the orb just like everyone else.

The Assassins that had been close to the orb jumped back in surprise, taking out what weapons they had and entering a defensive stance. There was a mechanical whirring somewhere in the Vault and as it grew louder, so too did the orb grow brighter.

Until finally, the Eagle appeared.

"By God…," Lutz muttered as he too took a few steps back.

"Welcome, humans," the Eagle said in a booming voice, much louder than last time, saying the exact same words it had welcomed them with when they first came to the Vault. "Welcome to the Vault."

Nobody responded. The Eagle, at first stationary, then began to look around. It's not just a computer, Jan thought. It can think.

"I see there are more of you now," the Eagle said.

"Hello," Lutz said in greeting as he cautiously stepped forward.

"Hello," the Eagle replied.

"What are you? Do you have a name?" Lutz asked.

"I am Aquila, a servant of my master, Jupiter."

"Jupiter, the Roman god?"

"I'm sorry. I do not know what Roman means. Jupiter was my master, the Father of Understanding." Aquila's answer was exactly the same as the one it gave to Jan and Elisabeth.

"Are we the first humans you've met?"

"No. Two of you came before. A son of Adam and Eve, and a daughter of Jupiter, who is currently connected to the Fulmen."

"Fulmen? What is that?"

"It is the machine behind me, the weapon that this Vault holds."

"What is it exactly?"

"It is an experimental weapon made by my master Jupiter during the war with your kind."

"Our kind?"

"Yes. Humans."

"The go-, I mean, Jupiter fought humans in a war?"

"Not just my master, but all of his kin as well. There was a great war between my master's people and humanity."

"And this weapon, your master made it to destroy humanity?"

"Yes."

"How does it work?"

"It sends a device into orbit that will specifically destroy the specified targets."

"Specified targets?"

"Yes. Through my console, the weapon can be calibrated to attack specific targets. The power of the weapon means that no target will remain standing after an attack."

"How does it destroy its targets, exactly?"

"The device sends a blast to the target from orbit, destroying it and the surrounding area for several kilometres."

This surprised the Assassins present. No weapon was so strong that it would destroy the surrounding area like that.

"I see. But you said this was experimental. Was it ever used?"

"No," Aquila said. "My Master stopped its development in the middle of the war to face a greater threat."

"A greater threat?"

"Sorry, I do not know what that is. I only know the information up until I was deactivated."

"I see."

Jan stepped forward.

"Do you remember me?" he asked Aquila.

"Yes, you and the daughter of my master reactivated me."

"How come you were half-broken then and completely fine now?"

"Analysing…"

Aquila froze for a few moments, looking straight at the Vault entrance, before returning his gaze to Jan.

"Many of my components have been damaged overtime, including the power supply. When my master deactivated me, I also lost access to several systems. The authorisation provided by the blood of my master present in his daughter has allowed me to access backup systems."

"So, Elisabeth's blood gave you authorisation to access those backup systems?"

"Yes."

"How can we use the weapon?" Lutz asked.

"As the weapon is destructive, authorisation is needed when firing. The daughter of my master must remain in the pod during the entire process. You can enter the targets through my console."

"I see. That will be all, Aquila. Thank you. Can you release Elisabeth?"

"Understood."

Aquila disappeared back into the orb, and at once Elisabeth's body relaxed and she got out.

"Are you okay?" Jan asked her as he helped her to her feet.

"I'm fine, I just couldn't move."

"Did it hurt?"

"No, not at all."

"Well, we've figured out how to use it," Lutz said as he came and put his hand on Elisabeth's shoulder. "Daughter of Jupiter, you might just win us this war. Nay, not just this war. The war. The endless war that has been going on for thousands of years."

"Are we going to use the weapon?" Jan asked cautiously.

"Let's talk about it in my study," Lutz replied as he turned around without waiting for their reply.