BZPB 2.20: The Fire Rises

RBU returns now with 100% less Sefer

Old Thread: BZPB REBORN

Pastebin: Pastebin

The year is 10 AR.

Following a trio of calamitous wars - the Tanari-Takemikazuchi war, the expansion of the New Order, and the invasion of the sinister Arc Blair - peace has returned for the galaxy. The New Order and the Alliance of Free Planets, once bitter enemies, have set aside their differences, working together to heal the wounds dealt - by both sides- during the many wars the galaxy has ensued. Even the various non-aligned states of the galaxy are caught up in a general desire for peaceful cooperation; but whilst most of the galaxy has their eyes and hearts turned towards the future, there are, as always, those whose minds dwell in the not-so-distant past...

---

[ Shinsengumi Interdictor DTTK Ayanami ]
[ Wreckage of the Divine Providence, Sundowner Expanse ]

Captain Canaan Jones stroked his chin.

"What's got you thinking?" asked Selena, leaning on the armrest of the Captain's chair. She knew Canaan hated her doing it; she also knew he wouldn't dare say anything to the Emperor's sister, even if she was his subordinate. Still, he was far too focused for her to coax a reaction from him - which has not a usual occurrence.

"We were both here, the day that war started. It seemed almost apocalyptic. I never thought we'd win..."

"...and now we're sitting here, willfully disarming the last remaining supply of our trump-card-level-super-weapon?"

"I just hope we won't need it in the future."

The weapons officer, a young woman barely in her 20s, turned towards Canaan. "Captain Jones - we've got a lock on the S1987 canister. Permission to fire?"

"Hold off for a sec. Bring it up on viewscreen - magnify it."

A six-barreled container, no bigger than the trailer of a sixteen-wheeler truck, was the target they had come here to destroy. It contained enough S1987 gas to 'pacify' an entire solar system, and it also contained the only S1987 still known to exist. It had been the task of the Shinsengumi to destroy all remaining stores of it, as a show of the New Order's commitment to peaceful relations with the AFP. Still, thought Canaan, with Sefer dead, it should all be essentially inert anyway.

"So this is what's been causing us all this trouble. Lieutenant - fire when ready."

"Roger that." replied the Lieutenant, her hand momentarily spasming as it ran over the control interface of her station. "I-"

Canaan raised an eyebrow. "What's that, lieutenant?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Captain."

"Is there a malfunction with your station?"

"No." she replied, standing up. She slid her pistol from her belt, and aimed it at Canaan. "It's working just fine."

"What's the meaning of thi-!"

"Shields are dropping!" called out another bridge crewman. "Teleporter signatures are flaring up all over the-"

Another crewman stood up, knocking him out with the handle of their pistol. He aimed his pistol at Selena, before the bridge lights cut out, a metallic visage momentarily appearing on the screen.

"I am sorry for hijacking your ship, Captain. Or rather... the crew of your ship."

Canaan looked around hurriedly, trying to find the source of the mysterious metallic voice cutting through the ship's intercom. The voice chuckled in return;

"Please, allow me to introduce myself. I'm a man of wealth and taste."

The neon blue glow of a teleporter transmission briefly illuminated the bridge, as a masked man walked towards Canaan from the darkness. Canaan reached for his pistol, but his own crew rushed him, dragging him out of his chair with his arms behind his back, and forcing him to kneel before the mysterious intruder. The weapons officer slid Canaan's pistol out of its holster, and held it out to the masked man.

"This... is a declaration of war, you bastard!" roared Canaan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Of course it is, Mr. Jones; why else would I do it?"

Canaan paused, looking up at the man; his eyes met only the hollow gaze of his mask. "Who the hell are you?"

The man tilted his head. "You may address me... as PLUTUS. I require your ship, supplies, and the full cooperation of your crew... but, ultimately, I feel I have already obtained all three. Which simply leaves me with the question of what to do with you two."

"This... You're using some kind of mind control power, aren't you-?

PLUTUS put a round through his knee. Canaan cried out in pain; Selena gasped in horror. PLUTUS walked past the both of them, taking his seat in the captain's chair.

"Lieutenant Souji, is it?" he said, looking over to the weapons officer, tilting his head. She turned to him, saluting. "Would you kindly make preparations to have the weapons canister brought onboard?"

"Yes, sir." she replied, walking off. He looked back towards Selena and Canaan, who were surrounded by crew-members pointing guns at them. PLUTUS sighed.

"Sirs, please have those two relocated to the brig and appropriately restrained. They might make for apt bargaining chips, after all..."

"Captain PLUTUS!" interrupted the Radar operator, looking over to their new Captain. "The Shikinami and Makinami are locking weapons on us... they're demanding to know what's going on here."

"Tell them that the entire crew has been taken over by a psychic android, who has hijacked the ship, and is now going to steal the S1987 sample and use it to fulfill the script of Sefer Yetzirah."

The Radar operator repeated PLUTUS's narration verbatim to the other ships, before turning back to the captain. "They've apologized for the interruption, Sir, and say that they're waiting by for new orders."

"Excellent." replied PLUTUS, folding his legs and steepling his hands above them. "Once the sample is on board, set a course for the Altaeon system. It's time to bring the spoils of war... home."

<Liquid Metallicon, 10 Years After The Assassination of Yuy>

It was S'chiliarak, the planet's most joyous festival. Based on an ancient tradition, the week-long holiday is one of the few moments per year where the Pirate Lords, the officials, and civilians alike all celebrate. S'chiliarak was so popular, in fact, that it attracted tourists to the planet for legal reasons!

-

*Liquid Metalliconites danced and marched on the shore, various paintings of their gods and heroes decorating their armor. A rhythmic melody filled the air, accentuating the night's revelry. A human man dressed in a gold and purple suit and top hat stood triumphantly to the side, a Venetian mask. He leaned on his cane until he noticed a woman in an elaborate costume coming by. He held out his arm, and rung it around hers. They locked arms and spun around, and she immediately knew who it was.*

The Woman: "You're getting more romantic in your old age, Lalli."

Lalli Cain: "Shut up, Regina."

*Both of the mercenaries, now a decade older, turned around and observed a Liquid Metalliconite moving around in roller skates in one of the paths several feet away. They made their way through the crowds, following him intently. The Pirate on roller skates went up to a carnival game stand, and disappeared behind it.*

*Lalli and Regina went up to the side of the stand, noticing that there was a burly guard standing near a cellar door.*

Burly Pirate: "Identify yourselves, assholes! Who are you?"

Lalli Cain: "I'm Mickey Mouse, and that's Minnie Mouse. Who are you?"

*Even a Liquid Metalliconite knows Disney.*

*Lalli and Regina showed rings on their fingers, proving that they were here to see none other than Keichi himself*

*The guard rolled his eyes and walked out of the way. Regina and Lalli Cain entered the cellar.*

OOS: More characters will be seen in my future posts. Right now, I want to get things started.

<Tanar, Rock Ridge Cemetery>

A young woman wearing a black hoodie walked through the cemetery, seemingly unaffected by the chilly wind blowing around her, rocking tree branches and sending brown leaves flying through the air. She was completely alone, something which would not have surprised anyone who cared enough to watch her even there. Most of the graves had obviously not been maintained for a long time; the men and women buried there were rarely disturbed, except for one, whose grave the woman stopped in front of. The grave stood out from the rest; it was more recent and much better maintained, showing that someone actually cared about this person. They were lucky - or rather, they had the questionable fortune to die recently and ask in their will to be buried at a cemetery which everybody else had long since forgotten. The woman stood over the grave, touching the writing on the gravestone, as if she were a blind woman trying to read it by running her fingers over the grooves in the stone.

"DAVID ROBERT JONES"

"1129-1190"

"Sorry, Jones. I know it's been a while." the woman said as she took a small brush out of her purse and started cleaning Jones' grave of leaves and dirt. "But I've been out there, trying to make you proud. The government won't do a thing for us shifters unless we force their hand." She sighed. "You know that better than I do. Or, well, knew. So I'm trying to force their hand."

She squatted on the grass in front of the gravestone, and smiled sadly. "I've missed you so much these past few years. I must've said so a thousand times but I don't give a fuck, to be honest. We needed good men to rebuild this world after Allman, and instead we end up with Silver fucking Eachan calling the shots. It should've been you, Jones. And I know what you'd say. 'Oh, Aster, but I'm old. It's time for the new generation, people like you'. Well, the time has come for people like me, and I sure as hell don't feel like we're making a dent."

Aster got up, and put the brush back in her purse. "Thanks for the talk." she said, and walked away. There was quick transportation waiting for her outside the cemetery, which was a good thing because she was short on time as it was. There were still too many problems to tackle.

-----

<Olson City, Yorak Colony>

A small mob of journalists gathered in front of a hotel, all waiting for someone, anyone to come out. It'd been almost half an hour since the exit poll had been published by the media, showing that the People's Liberty movement had won a majority in the Yorak legislature. They were all hoping to get some comment from the leader of People's Liberty, but he was refusing to leave the campaign headquarters. Drinking in his triumph, and showing who was really in charge now.

Finally, two tall, uniformed men brandishing thick batons appeared on the steps of the hotel, followed by another just as imposing man who was wearing a suit instead. The journalists all threw themselves at the man in the suit, asking their insipid little questions. He took them on one by one, either giving a polished answer or no answer at all depending on the question.

"Mr. Morrison, how do you feel?" "Is this the first step to secession?" "Will you become First Minister yourself?" "Is it true that ten shifters have been elected as PL candidates?" "Mr. Morrison, what do you have to say about the rumours of voter intimidation by your activi-"

Blair Morrison suddenly glared angrily at the journalist who had asked the last question, and gestured to his bodyguards. One of them immediately grabbed the journalist by her arm, and firmly escorted her away from the press pack. Blair, having caught sight of a camera, then began to make a seemingly improvised speech.

"Good men and women of Yorak! Tonight, your votes have forged a new order! People's Liberty has taken this colony by storm, and I must thank each and every one of you for the faith you have placed in us. But this is only the beginning. Soon, these planets, not just Yorak but all the worlds this side of the Expanse, will be free. Free of the incompetent, corrupt Tanar elites who pretend to know what's best for us while squeezing us dry! A new independent state will soon rise, and law, order, and justice shall be restored. I will not assume the office of First Minister of Yorak. I am needed elsewhere, to ensure the triumphant march of People's Liberty will continue unhindered. Thank you all, and may the gods bless the future Xal State."

Blair turned and returned to the hotel even as, much to his annoyance, the journalists continued to yell questions at him. Yes, this was only the beginning, he thought. Soon enough, they'd learn their place.

[ Osdurandt System ]
[ 7 AR ]

Ishikawa pulled through the wreckage of the Kotaka, soaring upwards towards the now-exposed underside of the Kanos Jai cruiser Venos Tel. Ishikawa bit her lip, as if to stop herself from grinning, before thumbing open the weapons release tab on the right side of her control wheel, and loosing her Soryu's full payload of Hellstrike missiles into her unexpecting target. Her fighter pulled elegantly away from the resulting explosion, before its propulsion thrusters cut out, its maneuvering thrusters flipping it over so that it was flying backwards. The targeting visor on her helmet flipped down over her right eye as three Kanos Jai Dart-Fighters shot forth from the exploding hull of their mothership, barely initiating their combat rolls towards her before Ishikawa cut them down in a hair of focused railgun fire. Manually sliding the targeting visor back up with her hand, Ishikawa pedaled the accelerator, launching her fighter away from the outskirts of the battle and back into the fray.

A voice cut in over her communicator. "Lena, you're too goddamn far out. We need you on AA!"

"With all due respect, sir, this is just a very proactive form of AA. All I'm doing is shooting down the carriers before they can get their fighters out in the first place."

Lena darted in and out of cover, approaching the unsuspecting Kanos fleet - in the periphery of her vision she could see the rest of the Takemikazuchi task force drawing their attention away from her. The Kanos flagship caught her attention - gold livery covering the entirety of its ghastly dual-hull configuration. She locked onto its engines.

"Lena, we're getting our asses handed to us over here!" said the voice over the radio. "This is a goddamn order! Get back here!"

"Negative, sir, I am presently engaged in combat." she replied, cutting off the communicator. She flew between the ships of the fleet - swerving between the spindly, ornate architecture composing them, as she closed in on the flagship. Her on-board targeting computer recognized it as the Tel Viras Ahmeri - and she recognized it as her next kill. She slid the weapon select lever to ready the Soryu's compliment of bulkhead-penetrating Misericorde missiles. She loosed one on a course that would take it just under the Tel Viras Ahmeri's hull - a deliberate miss which would ensure the ship's CIWS guns were facing in completely the wrong direction. Pulling upwards to put herself over the ship, she forced the fighter's nose down with her maneuvering thrusters, locking onto all six the ship's main turrets.

"LENA, BEHIND Y-"

It was too late. She felt the skin on her right arm searing as the cockpit smashed open, alarm tones blaring and quickly being drowned out in the vacuum that now filled the cockpit; her fighter spun wildly out of control. Her HUD was out - and in-helmet feed had glitched. Her pilot suit constricted tightly around her joints as it pressurized, a pair of emergency braces sliding out of the ship's seat to hold her in place. A voice whirred through her helmet comms - Bail out, Bail out, Bail out - but Lena had a habit of ignoring potentially useful information if it happened to come through a communicator. Peering over her shoulder, she could see the Soryu's entire right wing was gone - the mess of molten metal that now engulfed the wing root evidence that she had been hit by some kind of beam weapon. Extending an emergency RCS arm from within the wingroot, to give her some control over the ship even with one wing missing, she pulled up, circling to see what had targeted her.

A Lanciere. A god-damn Lanciere, in the flesh. Or, err, steel. It stood, like some black knight of yore, many hundreds of feet in height, on the deck of the Tel Viras Ahmeri. Its arms were folded, yet two more sub arms behind its back held its armament in blace; on one side, the Lanciere's spear, and on the other, the beam lance it had just used to target Lena.

She chuckled, a wad of blood spitting out and painting the lower half of her helmet visor. She looked down, realising a shard of the glass cockpit canopy had wedged itself in her lower gut. The tendons in her right arm had burned out, too, so she couldn't even clench her hand into a fist, let alone operate the controls. "Well, this is my excuse for being a poor shot." she said, smirking. "What the hell was yours?"

As if its pilot had heard her, the Lanciere shot upwards, sliding its spear from its back in a lightning fast-motion. Lena gunned the accelerator, flying towards the tip of the spear, and then rapidly rolling around it, loosing railgun fire straight into the Lanciere's visor. It was a futile attack that only earned her the attention of its clavicle-mounted beam repeaters, so she rolled onto her side, using her belly-mounted maneuvering thrusters to circle around to the back of its head, her trigger finger pulled tightly around the the cannon trigger all the whilst. She circled around it like an electron around a nucleus, until she built up too much speed and flung away. The Lanciere rapidly adjusted, throwing its spear to one side and readying its beam lance, a golden glow forming around the tip of it. Lena smirked, loosing a Misericorde missile towards the Lanciere, which instantly dropped its beam lance, thrusting its palm outwards to generate an energy shield around itself. The missile bounced off harmlessly. Lena pulled open a compartment on the dashboard of her jet, sliding what looked like a snub-nosed pistol from it, and aimed it at the Lanciere.

"Deflect this."

With a pull of the trigger, Lena detonated the seven other Misericorde missiles she had lodged into the armor of the Lanciere during her orbit around it. Contained within the energy shield the Lanciere had just generated, the explosion tore it to shreds instantly - shards of armor flying off and cutting through the hulls of the Kanos Jai fleet they were fighting within, the skeletal frame of the Lanciere collapsing like some flaming aberration down onto the command tower of the Tel Viras Ahmeri below. That too, exploded, and suddenly the Kanos Jai fleet began to panic. One of their beloved Arcs had just been slain in-front of them, and their flagship had been taken out - without a clear chain of command, the fleet began to dissipate. Some captains took their ships away immediately; others intended to honor the sacrifice of their leader, charging bravenly towards the Takemikazuchi fleet which rapidly cut them down. Lena felt her vision fading as the thumbed the release lever, her ejector seat shooting her away from the now-sparking remains of her fighter. A feeling of immense warmth rushed over her, and the last thing she remembered seeing was the prow of the Kusanagi coming into view.

---

[ 72 Hours Later ]

Lena awoke; she was in the medical bay of a ship. She breathed a sigh of relief, before trying to sit upright - a decision she instantly regretted. Pain shot through her stomach, causing her to gasp. She fell backwards onto the pillow. Sefer chuckled.

Wait, Sefer?

Lena shot back up, steeling herself through the pain. She tried to raise her right arm into a salute, before remembering that it no longer worked; instead, she made a half-arsed attempt with her left arm. The grey-haired Emperor sat on a chair near the end of her bed, her legs folded as she mulled over a cup of coffee.

"Em-em-emperor Sefer-sama-!"

"You only need to say one of the two, Lieutenant." she replied, smirking. "Otherwise, it's just redundant. Anyway, at ease."

"I-"

"You're wondering why I'm here. Well, firstly, this is my ship, so it's generally understood that I have a right to be. Secondly... The Shinsengumi has to make sure anyone who came into contact with an Arc hasn't been possessed by them, or anything like that." replied Sefer, placing her cup onto the end of the bed and standing up. "You'll be glad to hear that you haven't been."

"That's... good."

"...And I suppose as the Emperor, I need to congratulate you on being the first Takemikazuchi to ever actually kill an Arc. So, well done. With that being said... you disobeyed a direct order from your commanding officer to do it."

"I... sincerely apologize, Lord Sef-"

"Three-hundred and eighty-three people died." interrupted Sefer, her emotionless gaze as cold as ice. Lena froze. She felt, in that moment, as if her very existence was a mistake. There was no higher force that could possibly be judging her. "A combat interceptor managed to cut through the CIWS field and sink the Wakamiya, your mothership. You weren't there to defend it, despite being ordered to do so." she added, folding her arms. Sefer wasn't angry; and that made the whole situation so much worse. Lena wasn't being berated - merely presented with an objective truth that highlighted her status as a terrible human being, if not an outright criminal. Lena sat openmouthed; there was no reply to be made.

Sefer sighed, as if disappointed that Lena didn't have any witticisms to offer in return. She paced back to the end of the bed, and picked her coffee cup up. She took a sip of it, her eyes locked on Lena's all the while.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"The constitution outlaws capital punishment."

"But you could do it anyway. If you want to, I won't-"

"I don't think you understand, Lena." replied Sefer. This time, she was angry. Lena shuffled back in her bed like an animal backed into a corner, her heart pounding in her chest like a redlining engine. "Our Empire is held together by laws and regulations. I don't get to disobey them just because I'm the Emperor, and you don't get to disobey them just because you're an ace. Without rules - without order - we're no better than the barbarians we're trying to bring the light of our civilization to. Without order, we lose our moral high ground." she added, before sighing. "Sorry, that was out of tone." she added, smirking.

"You're absolutely right, Em-"

"I know I'm right." she replied, wryly. "That's why I said it. That's generally how things work when it comes to me." she added, leaning forwards over the railing at the end of Lena's bed. Her red eyes locked onto Lena's. "Now, I'm not going to have you court-martialled. In fact, I'm going to exercise my executive privilege in pardoning you - which means three things. Firstly, you're now a member of the Shinsengumi, which means you report directly to me. Secondly, you're reassigned to Kusanagi as of this moment. Thirdly... you do exactly as I say, exactly when I say, and exactly how I say - and if I tell you to jump, you have the good courtesy to ask me how fucking high."

"Yes, sir!" replied a mildly shocked Lena, saluting awkardly with her left arm. Sefer leant back, and smirked.

"Oh, and fourth thing - sorry, probably should've mentioned - no saluting. Oh and, don't call me 'sir' or 'lord' or anything tacky like that - it's just Sefer." she said, walking towards the door. "Oh, and I take my coffee black. No sugars. If Lilith tries to put any of that sweetener crap in it, you have my full permission to shoot her." she said, before disappearing behind the sliding doors. Lilith was stood outside, her arms folded as she leant against the wall, one knee up. She had a look of fierce disapproval upon her face.

"She gets nearly four-hundred people killed, and you reward her by making her one of your personal bodyguards?"

"She didn't get four-hundred people killed. That Lanciere was the one who shot it down - and it would've leveled the entire rest of the fleet if she hadn't been quick on her feet. Her actions probably saved ten times that number."

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see. And good old Sef-Sef can't be seen to endorse soldiers disobeying direct orders..."

"...even if they were shit orders. Besides - I need to take her down a notch if I'm going to train her up as my new apprentice."

Lilith burst out laughing. Sefer looked confused.

"What? What did I-"

"'My new apprentice'" replied Lilith, doing an imitation of Sefer's voice. "Do you even realize how cheesy that sounds? What is this, Star Wars?"

"Oh lay off it-"

"'Master Heyerdahl, I have recruited a new apprentice, she is strong in the ways of the force, but I fear she has a wild soul and will require a lot of training and intimate female-to-female bonding, blah blah blah blah blah'"

"Lilith I'm going to slap you."

"'Oh, my apprentice, how could you fall to the dark side, I always expected you to turn on me but not quite in this sense, blah blah blah-'"

Lilith's hand rose up and slapped her own face, interrupting herself. She looked at Sefer scornfully. Sefer shrugged, smirking.

"I'm a psychic. You've just got to deal with it." she said, before walking off with her hands in her pockets. Lilith smiled meekly, and eventually took off in the other direction.

---

[ Shangri-La, Imperial War Memorial, Melchior Colony 07 ]
[ Present Day ]

A young woman, who had been wearing a brown overcoat, a grey scarf and a pair of black aviators, got up to leave from one of the memorial's benches, a newspaper tucked under her arm. As always, the memorial was deserted; the Takemikazuchi weren't the type to linger on the past. The guard stationed at the gate was the only person in sight; a kind-looking older man, who suspiciously resembled Max von Sydow. As the woman made her way out, he called out to her for the first time since she had started coming to the memorial.

"What's your name?"

The woman stopped, looking to him.

"You've come here every day for the past six months, yet I don't even know your name."

"Lena Ishikawa." replied the woman, pulling her glasses up to her forehead. "And you're... Carl Isaacs, right?"

"How did you-?"

Lena pulled a badge from her jacket and flashed it. "Internal security - Shinsengumi. I could tell you the name of anyone who worked at any public installation in the Empire - as long as you gave me time to look it up." she added, turning to walk away. "And I've got a feeling that wasn't the answer you were expecting. Anyway, have a good evening, Mr. Isaacs. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Did you fight in the war, Lena?" he asked, stepping out of the guard box to do so. "I've got to know. Is that why you keep coming here?" Lena smirked.

"Not personally. But I... had a very, very close friend who died in it. Who knows... you might have even have heard of her."

My name is Klak Vell. I was orphaned at a young age, and taken in by the Dr. Pa Vell, and Norma Vell. Supposedly, I was given enhancements at a young age, which helped me excel in all aspects of life. I decided to use these abilities for good, becoming a cop. Everything seemed to be going well, until tragedy struck. Ancient evils had been unleashed, and war was declared on my people. To fight these and other threats, I signed up to fight in the Malchiorian military. At some point they decided to call me a hero....and when President Howard passed away, Congress created an emergency session and made me President. Humbled by this honor, I led my people out of the war and into peace. We formed an alliance with other worlds during the conflict, and this friendship only grew stronger in peacetime. However, I knew that my time as leader was up, so I stepped down.

It was better that way, for I had been carrying a dark secret with me. I discovered my dark powers before the war began, and was shocked to find out that the enhancements I had been given were actually inhibitors to prevent me from transforming into something else. I ended up using my powers in the most dire circumstances in the war, but they were costly. I needed time to tame the beast within, and politics would be a source of distraction...or worse, a temptation. Now, I wander through the galaxy with my friends Nadle and Coro, learning ways to use my powers for good, and finally become the hero the galaxy thinks I am.....

<Qurtmoq, Town Market>

*Qurtmoq was a planet in the same system as Ortmoq, the site of the infamous shipyard where Figlio di Armechio had demonstrated the power of the Craft of Laigula. It was under Amun Collective control, captured by the empire during their sudden return to this side of the galaxy as a symbol of strength (and because of the planet's lucrative commerce).*

*A man in his thirties wearing a brown cowl and a black combat suit underneath slowly walked through the marketplace. Rain fell down from the sky as though the angels were weeping, but no one seemed to mind, as vendors chatted with potential customers.*

*The man bought a local fruit from the stand, paying the regular price in credits, a currency that was tolerated this side of the Amun Collective. However, for some reason, the irate alien (imagine a LGM with the head of a squid) merchant claimed that the man had stolen the fruit.

*The man raised his hands as the alien yelled at him, calmly explaining to the vendor that he had paid his price.*

*Suddenly, three bear-headed humanoids--Amun Collective guards--came up to the man, charging massive prods that looked like Ancient Egyptian staffs. The man tried explaining everything to them, but one of the beasts shouted and swung his staff at him.*

*The man blocked the staff immediately, shocking the soldiers. He swung his fist right into the chest of the humanoid, knocking him into a food stand several feet away.

*The other two soldiers were shocked at this man's strength, but they both charged at him anyway. The man spun around and kicked the staff out of the hands of one humanoid, shocking him with it and smacking him with it until he was knocked out cold. The remaining bear-beast growled and lunged forward, but the man charged an energy blast and fired it in retaliation, instantly knocking the guard out cold.*

*The alien vendor gulped and backed away. The man ran from the scene at speeds impossible for a human, and opened a portal in front of himself. He reappeared inside an abandoned pyramid like structure.*

*The man removed the contacts affixed to his eyes, as well as a voice disguising device stuck to his throat. His disguise dissipated, and he was revealed to be none other than Klak Vell.*

Klak: "These damn contacts get more annoying every time."

*Nadle approached Klak. He had many more wrinkles due to the passage of time.*

Nadle: "Did you get breakfast?"

Klak: "Tried to get something for you, but this guy tried to rip me off. Had a bad run in with some guards."

Nadle: "Oh for crying out loud. I'm tired of what we have stored, kid."

*Klak chuckled.*

Klak: "Sorry..."

Nadle: "Eh, no worries."

*The two smiled. Klak and Nadle had grown somewhat distant during the war and the first year of the Vell presidency, but their friendship was rekindled when the latter brought the former onto his staff as an adviser. After Klak resigned, Nadle followed.*

Klak: "So where's Coro?"

Nadle: "Doing his meditation thing. Oh, by the way, someone's been trying to reach you on your holo-cell."

Klak: "Who is it? President Krieger? A reporter? Don't they know I retired from politics almost three months ago?"

Nadle: "Even better."

*Nadle winked at Klak, knowing that he would react with joy to hear about this.*

---

My name is Uteriach di Armechio. Born to a warrior to a family of warriors, my destiny was to help my people, the Dachori, conquer and perfect the universe. But we could not accomplish this mission set upon us by the gods, for in the midst of our greatest conflict, we were betrayed by one of our own: Cagnazzo il Verduro. I spent the twilight days of the Dachori Empire fighting for my life...and was enslaved. Millennia passed, and I was able to recuperate my family's wealth. I became a General in the Kingdom of Vongola, and eventually orchestrated a coup against King Oncé along with my son, Figlio di Armechio. The revolution had begun. Our triumph was short lived, as an entangling alliance brought our burgeoning empire into war. We were shattered, and I was imprisoned. My son has disappeared, and is likely dead. My revolutionaries now fight against their capitalist and monarchist enemies in a struggle to keep the flame of change alive. But they are not without hope. I will escape from these chains, as I have done multiple times. I will return to my revolution, and restore the Riders to their rightful place in the universe. The humans have a saying: third time's the charm. The same shall be said of the Dachori Empire. Edward Allman and Sefer Yetzirah are dead: but Uteriach di Armechio lives. We stand united.

<Supermax Prison, Micho>

*Uteriach stared at the clean, white floor of the prison cell. Had he not had a window, he would have easily believed this prison to be in a shining metropolis, and not a hellish backwater desert planet.*

*He stood up, and paced around the room. His scrubs scraped against the floor. He had to get out of here and finish the fight.*

< Betweentime >

Calm ducked backwards, his huge arms folded across his chest like lengths of braided steel cable. The wave of energy that seared over his head left a ghostly trail that led back to the outstretched palm of Dalton, who grinned knavishly at the bigger man. Calm reached down with his foot, coming into contact with the floor and seemingly pulling himself from the air with one simple gesture. Naturally, three years training in the Hyperbolic Chambers of Antuin had forced Damien to become a formidable adversary; an adversary so formidable that Calm had found himself taxed at points and nearly beaten at others. Both men had improved, and the proof was clearly evident. Dalton made to step foward, pulling his fists close to his hips, but Calm stretched out his hand, slowly, and Dalton stopped. Calm waited, savouring the moment they had both been longing for.

"We're done here," the huge man boomed. Damien's grin of determination turned into one of triumph. Entering the chamber a child, Damien Dalton would emerge an adult, a man, a warrior. Calm had taught him everything he knew and more.

The pair turned toward the shimmering purple portal hovering a foot from the marble floor, and made ready to enter reality once again.




< Supermax Prison , Micho >

The guard shot backwards, the force of the blow caving in the ceramic-plastic armour he wore across his chest. He impacted the wall, cratering it, and a steady stream of blood leaked from under his perspex visor. His assailant stood over him, and as the guard's conciousness slipped, he could just make out the slender beauty of an elflike sillhouette.

***

The blast doors that had slammed closed to block off the adjoining wings of the panopticon crumpled, surrounded by a ghoulish purple glow, before rocking clean from their concrete troughs, and were tossed twenty meters or more by unseen forces, utterly destroying the main viewing tower of the antechamber. The intruder strode forward, cutting right with a slender silver blade as tall as most human men. A guard was rent in two, and the seperated pieces dropped to the floor with a wash of arterial gore that the intruder elegantly pranced over. The intruder passed hundreds on holding cell doors, focused intently on the seemingly impassable blastcrete wall at the far end of the corridor. The material began to splinter as the intruder approached, plaster crumbling away to reveal tranium reinforced concrete, which, in turn, began to crack and split under the sheer psionic barrage that the intruder exuded.
Uteriach di Armechio shielded his face with one arm, covered in plaster and on the floor of his cell. The intruder reached down, offering his hand to the considerably larger man.

"As you may have guess this is a breakout. If you'd accompany me, that would be splendid"

[ Altaeon IV ]

The hijacked Ayanami cut through the atmosphere of the tropical world, coming to a landing outside the capital city of PLUTUS NOVA. PLUTUS, who had been sitting in the captain's chair with his hands steepled, disappeared in a flash of neon blue light, reappearing aboard a Gondola, his legs folded. Canaan and Selena - who had been transported alongside him - looked around in surprise, before realizing their restraints had not been teleported with them. Canaan lunged towards PLUTUS, but was blocked by an invisible forcefield surrounding the android.

"My, my, Captain Jones. Where are your manners?"

The gondola, driven by a man in a suit that resembled PLUTUS's, entered one of the main waterways into PLUTUS NOVA. Selena's eyes widened as they scanned the architecture that surrounded them - impossible intricate stonework that might have resembled 16th century Venetian architecture were it not for the detail of it all; in every wall were etched tapestries and carvings, all of them featuring the emotionless visage of PLUTUS. As the waterway opened into the center of the city, the two were taken aback by the beauty of it all; nearly every style of recognizable European architecture had been recreated, from ancient Greek temples and Colosseum to illustrious palaces, all inlaid with fine giltwork and carvings that revered the image of PLUTUS. Yet, for all its beauty and scale, the city was abandoned; not a single soul was in sight. The gondola driver was the only other person they had seen since arriving. The gondola pulled up to a bay, and PLUTUS disembarked, gesturing for his captives to follow him.

"It took me two iterations to arrive at this Utopia. For the first go, I tried following Sefer's script - the one she enacted in Shangri-La. I used my psychic abilities to control the spread of memes that supported my ideals. By forcing people to reject ideals I perceived as harmful, and unquestioningly accept ones I perceived as beneficial, I was able to effectively control the flow of information throughout PLUTUS NOVA. As such, I could shape public will to my interests - to an extent. There were always outliers - outcasts, rebels, the mentally unstable. People who's natures caused them to automatically reject all forms of authority and control."

"There were people like that in Shangri-La. We just called them 'Journalists'." replied Canaan, grimly observing his surroundings.

PLUTUS laughed, raising a finger in delight. "Excellent! But you see, I could not tolerate the existence of these outliers. And no matter how many times I purged them, that non-cooperative element kept  re-appearing - it was clearly endemic to the nature of the people I attempted to manipulate. So I tried again." replied PLUTUS, who by this point had led the group to a diamond-shaped platform inset into the base of the great temple that had been erected in his honor. A flickering forcefield surrounded it, before it slowly but surely lifted up into the sky.

"I went beyond merely dictating what the populace should percieve as 'right' or 'wrong'. I altered the core values they held - the darkest recesses of their ids. By doing so, I prevented any form of cognitive dissonance - by doing so, I controlled the morals by which they judged right and wrong against. Freedom, Independence, Self-Determination - all vestiges of a primal past, after Adam was cast from the Garden of Eden and hand to fend for himself. Now, mankind - nay, all life in this galaxy - has a new god to shepherd them, and so they need no longer know fear. Culture, Tradition - all discarded. When my psychic abilities are there to feed the truth directly into the minds of my subjects, they no longer need the skills by which to interpret the memes which propagate throughout their society. I educated them, instead, on values that would help them become good citizens of my Empire - Piety, Reverence, Submission, Selflessness. It took a few iterations, but I eventually arrived at a combination which would turn any individual - of any character - into a flawless cog in the machine. A machine beyond hatred, a machine beyond pain, a machine beyond conflict."

A hardlight control panel appeared before PLUTUS, which he began to type into.

"A machine beyond want and need. A machine that is the deliverance of all life in the galaxy... a machine called God."

"A machine... called PLUTUS." replied Canaan, realizing what the android was getting at. If PLUTUS's stoic face was capable of emotion, he would have smiled. The platform they had been standing on now stood many hundreds of feet above the city; as it came to a halt, PLUTUS keyed in a few further commands on the pad, before it disappeared back into thin air. He turned back to Canaan and Selena, gesturing with his arms held out to his side.

"Ladies and Gentlemen; You are witnessing my Genesis. I will now finish what Sefer started."

It emerged from off the coast of PLUTUS NOVA like a chandelier falling through a thin plate of glass - the immense city ship that was the true form of PLUTUS's capital. Water rushed over its surface as its engines cleared sea level, emitting a shockwave so powerful that it wholly destroyed the ancient city below, sending tidal waves of immense size over the entire hemisphere. Selena and Canaan both rushed to cover their ears as the gargantuan ship lifted upwards, its size such that ten Divine Providences probably could not have displaced as much mass as it. It resembled the ancient Tower of Babel, with a swirling configuration running around its central superstructure that continued spiraling around the hexagonal base of the city, dividing it up cleanly into six districts, each one populated by enough buildings to rival a Takemikazuchi colony cylinder. Six smaller towers stood at the vertices of the hexagonal base, funneling energy towards the central tower in the form of six neon blue hard-light beams. Before Selena and Canaan had the chance to take in the sheer majesty of the fortress city, they found themselves teleported into its bridge room - a tremendous chamber which resembled an insanely oversized opera house, with rows upon rows of balconies leading back from the central view-screen, which was the size of a football pitch. PLUTUS slotted the canister of S1987 into a slot at the back of his command throne, which slid shut, the ship's interior lighting activating as the final initialization procedures completed. It was clear to see where the population of PLUTUS NOVA had gone; they composed the ship's crew. Thousands of them - Humans, Riders, Ventraadi, Ta'har, Lithans, Artorians, Drow, Terugans - of all the various races and factions of the Galaxy, standing united as the crew of PLUTUS's Tower of Babel. Canaan fell to his feet, clutching his head, as Selena stood paralyzed. PLUTUS took his seat in the command throne, which slid forwards from the dais it had been positioned on, hovering in the center of the bridge hall. The ship cleared the atmosphere of the planet below, and found itself flanked by the rest of the ships making up PLUTUS's ragtag fleet - ships of various races and armies, of various classes and configurations, all standing side by side and the Tower of Babel lifted away from the planet.

PLUTUS bowed his head. "And he said unto me... It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life... freely."

"Payload received. Tower of Babel online." called out a sexless, automatic voice from within the ship.

"Set course for the Galactic Council." replied PLUTUS, looking back up to the viewscreen. "Maximum speed."

---

Meanwhile, on the planet below, a redheaded girl pulled herself out from under the rubble of the destroyed PLUTUS NOVA, coughing up a wad of dust and soot. She climbed to her feet, brushing the rubble off her body, before sighing.

"I thought all this shit woulda ended when Sefer died." said Lucy, pulling a cigarette from her jacket and lighting it whilst smirking. "But then again, I suppose there really is no rest for the wicked."  she added, looking up at the night sky, as PLUTUS's fleet warped away to their destination. She paused, before letting the cigarette fall from her mouth. "I suppose I better warn somebody about this." she added, before disappearing in a violent burst of red light.

<Tanar Capital City, Shifters' Political Union HQ>

Aster and Richard sat down on the couch in their office, watching the Yorak election coverage. Morrison's spin doctors seemed to be constantly pointing out how many shifters had voted for them and the shifter candidates who had been elected for their party, as if this somehow made them progressives and not jackbooted thugs following in Allman's footsteps.

"How can they follow someone like Blair Morrison?" Aster said. "After Allman..."

"Some of them remember Allman quite fondly." Richard sighed. "Remember, he wasn't that hard on us."

"Only those of us who agreed to spend the rest of our lives in the army," Aster replied. "he still put thousands of us in camps. It's only been a few years."

"Yes, Aster, and in those few years Silver Eachan has made things even worse for us by chasing racist votes. You know that." Richard said. "We're underfunded and Eachan makes a show of ignoring us. When progressives fail, desperate people turn to fascism. That's always been the way things worked."

"That's bullshit, Richard. Do you remember the Clockwork Crocodile guys? Lowest of the low. Didn't stop them bombing the crap out of that cruiser."

"Look, you get my point. We're ineffective, or at least we look ineffective. Unless we can do something about that, or discredit Morrison, they're just gonna keep voting for the promise of a new start in a new state."

Aster sighed deeply. "You're right. We need to pull off something big." She suddenly got up without a word, grabbed her holo-cell, and left the room.

---

"Hey, Klak! It's me. Aster. What's up?" Aster said. "Look, man, I need your help. It's very important to me, and almost certainly to Malchior and the whole AFP."

-----

<Tanar Capital City, Executive Mansion>

"No, Kragg. I don't care if the next First Minister is a god damn teapot. Yes, I said teapot. No, fuck off. Fuck off! Yorak is going to allow the TSO Corp mining project and they're going to like it, too. They paid good money for the exclusive mining rights and I'm not interested in going through arbitration or, worse, an investigation. Now leave me alone, my wife's waiting for me." With that, Silver Eachan hung up, tossed his holo-cell at the wall, and turned around in bed to face his wife, and former secretary.

"I'm sorry, Shae." he said.

"Do they have to call you when they know you're in bed?" said Shae.

"They're not supposed to. But this fascist Morrison is really getting on my nerves. Now he wants to block that mining project. The one that paid for our house on Malchior III."

"Silver, stop thinking about work..."

"I'm just trying to ensure the best possible future for us all, my love." Silver said, as he pulled Shae in for a kiss.

It's been 10 years since I lost everything. Since I came to this part of the universe. I gave up trying to get home a long time ago. The only relics I have of my former life is my progenitor's legacy, and somehow the mass populace of humans that are here. It seems they remember Earth history, but nobody knows where it is. My theory is that time being non-linear, this is the future, only taking place somewhere else in the galaxy. What a mind-boggling mess.

Regardless of my past, I've made a name for myself here. I was once called Nif, but have taken many aliases since. "Nosferatu," is my most recent one, referring to the way I've been killing people. Being able to dehydrate them, or turning their bodies into an ecosystem and be my pawn.

Not that my only allies are reborn corpses, however. After killing Lady Thorne and her lover, it was easy to start getting a following of other vigilantes. The Malchior Government didn't take this well, so we left there and got more. Our goal is to help anyone with any problems. It's all subjective to a being's sense of right. One place we might be killing morally criminal people, other places we might be stopping a plague and rebuilding housing. We do this for free, payment is taking dead men's possessions. Our name? The Enders.

Unfortunately, during the Tanari-Takemikazuchi war, most of us were doing other things. Active members only helped the citizens with defending their planets, or taking in refugees. I was never able to meet Arc Blair, or Sefer, or any of those barnacleheads - I was at the edge of the galaxy stopping a plague. What was even more confusing was afterwards, everything went back to normal in a time reset. I really hate this universe.

—————————————————————————————————————
[Galactic Council Asteroid Belt]

On the spaceship Baal was a group of Enders who were coming to the Galactic Council for a proposal. The Enders weren't well liked by The Galactic Council, but they cooperated well when they needed help for rebuilding and criminal searches, unlike several other empires after the war. The Galactic Council had lost a lot of power and hope after Arc Blair's invasion, and it's not a surprise. The war caused a distaste for centralized power in few individuals in the eyes of free groups. To top it off, the Alliance of Free Planets has done a better job of being a united, planet based driven group of peace than the Galactic Council!

Regardless of new groups' successes, the Galactic Council had one advantage. They were old, and with age, comes knowledge. They had datakeeping of every known sapient species, faction, criminal, planet, and registration in the quadrant. That's what Nif needed, after all. A lead. And so did a lot of others in Enders.

The Baal was docking at the Guest Asteroid, for processing and clearing. Nif was not actually on the ship, instead he was waiting far away in his own ship to see what would happen. Obviously many wouldn't be happy to have a mass murderer with unlimited power in the station.

Unlike the other Asteroids with cities built onto them, the Guest Asteroid was very simple. It had several scanners over it for ships coming in, the hangar to park and inspect the ships, and then a large internal building with places to eat and buy parts. Akin to an airport. The internal buildings were also sectioned off by species for replicated living standards to be comfortable in, with the spaceship parts shop being in the center of all, with gravity chutes to send them wherever in the station.

Now, the Baal was a warship. It had several cannons, all around it. You can think of it like a sea urchin of weapons. People got in and out with a teleportation device. The only reason they were allowing it is because all the weapons were turned off with GC engineers on the edge of the system. They wouldn't get them reactivated unless they leave the system. The Enders knew of this, and had ways to get around it, after all. The ship was Trilagon tech and most people can never truly understand their bioweapons.

<Liquid Metallicon, two days before Uteriach's breakout attempt>

The remaining mercenaries all entered the cellar, either by sneaking through crowds of revelers using unique disguises or simply walking up to the Burly Pirate like they owned the place. Either way, all of them had to show their rings to the irate Burly Pirate.

Ashton Carney tried to make the same joke that Lalli Cain had made a few minutes earlier, but was annoyed to find out that his longtime rival had already beaten him to it. Raigen rolled his eyes after his encounter with the guard, quietly expressing his belief that this pirate was taking his job too seriously.

Orbit Clean kept his cool, lighting a cigarette once he was inside the dimly lit basement.

The mercenaries all acknowledged the presence of one another, some greeting each other while others simply nodding at each other. Most of them had already known each other from several previous missions, one of the most memorable being the one where Cain, Faral, and Carney had met Raigen over 10 years ago.

Regina Faral simply nodded at Orbit, recognizing him from a previous mission sometime during the wars.

Lalli Cain: “Orbit Clean, is that right? I’ve heard stories about what you did in the wars. Interesting work.”

Orbit Clean: "Cain... Don't pretend you have the moral high-ground. I knew you tried to accept that colony drop set up before I had... and tried to cut me off one I was in there. Shit, at least congratulate me on a job well done."

Lalli Cain: "Alright, alright, congrats. Sheesh."

Lalli and Ashton grimaced at each other. Their rivalry cooled slightly over the years, but it had recently heated up again.

Lalli Cain: “Carney.”

Ashton Carney: "Cain. I thought you were still digging yourself out from the ruins of that casino."

Lalli rolled his eyes and looked away.

Raigen looked over to Regina, and shook his head.

Raigen: "We gotta start meeting up somewhere nice for a change. Not that I don't enjoy our little get-togethers, but I'd rather do it in a decent bar with a nice cool glass of booze in my hand."

Regina: "Heard that. I know a place in this quadrant. Let's all go if we're still alive."

The pleasantries were suddenly interrupted when Fourteen approached them.

Fourteen: “Hi there. It’s been quite a while. We’ve ‘ad a lot of missions over the years, and we’ve seen plenty of mistakes…. but you’re a tough and efficient lot: some of the best mercenaries this side of the galaxy. Lord Ozar knows what he’s doing, so it’s time to bring part of the band back together for a new mission.”

Lalli Cain: “Shame all of us couldn’t be here.”

Fourteen: “Aye, I hope they find Sruban. Lincoln never responded to my call, and the and the gods only know where the Diamond Dogs are now, but we’re fine. Lord Ozar’s ‘partner’ didn’t want too many people to know about this anyway. Oh, yeah, and we have a new coworker.”

Keichi suddenly emerged from the shadows. He growled, then waved to the mercenaries.

Regina Faral: “Who would have thought it? Pirate Lord Keichi joining forces with Ozar, his enemy.”

Lalli Cain: “Weird that it wasn’t Treskis. They are related, after all.”

Keichi: “Piss off! The wars made things tough for the business, so we all had to pick sides or…...well…. you get the picture.”

Lalli Cain: “Speaking of family and business troubles, how’s your brother, Urimetsu?”

Keichi: “F**K OFF!”

Ashton tried to stop himself bursting out laughing. Raigen face-palmed.

Raigen: "C'mon, Lalli. We haven't even started the briefing yet. At least let's find out what we're being called here for before you start pissing people off."

Fourteen: “Easy, easy! Anyway, let’s get to it, shall we?”

They all followed Fourteen down the dark hall, passing through what appeared to be a doorway into a larger room. Once inside, holographic displays describing various details of the mission were projected from a table in the center of the room.

Fourteen: “Client’s anonymous, wanted to deal through the black market to make the hit look mysterious. The location is Micho. The target’s Uteriach di Armechio.”

The mercs’ jaws dropped. Orbit clenched his teeth, a muted "shit" escaping as half gasp, half curse.

Fourteen: “The Galactic Council imprisoned Uteriach several years ago for all the things ‘e did before and during the Tanari-Takemikazuchi War. Lots of people think that Rider sunovabitch should have been sent to Hell by now, and one of those people is our client. They believe that justice will be served effectively through us, but they want to avoid the diplomatic cockup of directly assassinating a former intergalactic leader.”

Lalli: “Hey, I don’t mind the politics and hypocrisy, as long as we’re getting paid.”

Ashton: "Don't worry Fourteen, he'll take payment in the form of any girl's holo-cell number. God knows he can't get one otherwise."

Fourteen and Ashton laughed out loud, and Keichi chuckled. Orbit grinned, while Raigen rolled his eyes. Lalli shot a death glare at Ashton, and Regina blushed.

Fourteen: “Course! You’re all getting paid….after Lord Ozar, Lord Keichi, and I obtain a finder’s fee and a consultant’s fee.”

Orbit: "Shit, if anyone else wants to take a cut they can borrow my knife."

Ashton: "Well thanks, I can't even afford a knife anymore with these kinds of fees."

Raigen merely shrugged, accepting it in stride.

Raigen: "Eh. Working for some of the most bloodsucking assholes in Xaldari space, I'm used to that dance by now."

Fourteen rolled his eyes, hissing quietly.

Fourteen: “Anyway, our client was gracious enough to provide images from spy droids. Turns out the target gets transferred to a new prison once a month, all of them hundreds of miles away from each other. To create confusion in anyone who wants to break him out, the Rider gets transferred in a caravan of armored vehicles that stops at five separate outposts for rest and for changing of guards before arriving at its destination.”

A hologram of the map of the caravan’s path appeared, and Fourteen pointed to a series of locations.

Fourteen: “I’ll need a sniper to set up camp here with me. A pair of you will take care of Outpost 3 here, disrupting communication with minimal casualties. Another pair will cut off comms in Outpost 4. That’ll give us a thirty-minute window to assault the caravan, draw Uteriach out, and shoot him from afar. Vehicles and some gadgets will be provided, but you’re bringing your own guns. Keep it clean and efficient. Any questions?”

Raigen: "Yeah. We dressing for loud, or stealth?"

Fourteen: "Both."

Keichi smiled, baring his reptilian teeth.

Keichi: "It's that kind of mission."

---

<Supermax Prison, Micho, two days later>

Uteriach sneered at his slender liberator, eyeing him suspiciously.

Uteriach: "Who sent you?"

He did not stand up. When you're a being who can live thousands of years, you can afford to skip a few breakouts.

-

<Desert, Several Miles Away, Micho>

Fourteen tapped his head, telepathically communicating with both of the mercenary squads.

Fourteen: "10 minutes till departure. Are you near the outposts yet?"

Lalli Cain was crouched on top of a dune near Outpost 4, binoculars observing it.

Lalli Cain: "I'm here. Weird, they all seem to be on edge, as though they're preparing for attack."

Fourteen cursed.

Fourteen: "Regina, what do you see?"

Regina: "Umm....no one's in Outpost 3. They seem to have left. My partner and I will check things out."

Regina signaled to her partner as she quietly moved across the sands to the small outpost building. She raised her rifle slightly, and approached the door.

---

<Abandoned Pyramid, Qurtmoq>

Klak's eyes widened

Klak: "Aster! What a surprise!"

Klak sighed.

Klak: "Straight to business, eh? I'm no longer president, Olivio Krieger is, but I can still pull some strings. What do you need?"

Nadle smiled as he saw Klak speak with Aster. However, he noticed a series of runic markings on his gloves, likely created when he used his powers against the Amun Collective soldiers moments ago. He was succumbing to the power's influence. Nadle walked away, silently pondering to himself.

My name is Nadle Akutam. An archaeologist by trade, I also have some war experience under my belt. I met Klak nearly 14 years ago, and we've been friends ever since. Hell, I even helped him when he was president. But now....now our friendship is facing its ultimate test. Years ago, we discovered that Klak wasn't as augmented as he seemed. He's host to some kind of dark power, and it keeps taking over parts of him. For the sake of the universe, I hope he is able to tame the beast within, otherwise we're all doomed. Besides...this galaxy needs someone to fight for them. I've seen four major intergalactic wars in my lifetime. The universe is going to need a hero to survive the fifth.

---


<The Baal, Galactic Council Asteroid Belt>

Barry Bavi, the shapeshifter Ender, smiled throughout the process, as he was eager to get a new contract. He and his friend, the Mosquito Man named Tayne, had been comrades of Nif's for a decade.

Barry Bavi: "Looking forward to the contract."

Tayne: "Same, to be honest."

Suddenly, a being that resembled a human in his early-20s with pale skin, long black hair and prominent cheekbones teleported behind Barry and Tayne. He wore a black trenchcoat, a black sleeveless T-shirt, black swimming shorts, and black combat boots.

???: "You're leads? Heh...that's right. I'll get to them first."

Tayne: "Haha okay Chad BTW you and not being allowed on here are brothers."

Barry: "Yeah, you Mother F**ker..."

Chad: "wh-wh-wh-wh---??"

Chad appeared in the station, as one of the Enders had teleported him out of the ship. He screamed angrily.

Chad: "Why is everyone so mean to me?"

---

<A Random House, Malchior IV>

Someone knocked. The weeping woman opened the door, revealing a blond man wearing a blue hoodie and jeans standing in front of it.

???: "Good morning, ma'am. My name is ''David.'' I knew your son."

OOS: Who could this be?! Find out soon!

[ Micho, High Orbit ]
[ Shinsegumi Hybrid Interdictor SKB Thieves Like Us ]

My name is Lieutenant Commander Lena Ishikawa. I'm commander of the Shinsengumi's notorious Shinigami division - no points for guessing what our primary objective is. Before that, I served as a fighter pilot in the naval air wing, and before even that I was just a beat up Liquid-Metallicon slave kid with no prospects ahead of me that didn't involve prostitution, theft, or any combination of those two. The Takemikazuchi Empire saved me from that life - I wasn't even a teenager when the original Shinigami division took out the pirate lord keeping us captive, taking us back to Shangri-La as refugees.  

Since that day I've been convinced that the Takemikazuchi Empire is the only true force for good in this universe. Training under Sefer as her apprentice taught me that; falling for her afterwards only drove that point home further. The Empire is the physical manifestation of her will, and her will was - is  - the liberation of all sentient life from the bonds of conflict and disorder. It's a cause worth dying for. More importantly, it's a cause worth killing for.

---

Lena had a skin tone that looked somewhere between Arabic and South Asian, with a facial structure that seemed distinctly European, and ice blue eyes. Her messy black hair was cut to a shoulder length, though pulled into a half updo. Her accent, despite having lived in Shangri-La for all of her adult life, still resembled the harsh, raspy, almost masculine tones of Liquid Metallicon. In fact, Lena was a human who might possibly have only been able to come into existence on Liquid Metallicon; she was part of a growing generation of humans who had lost racial definition to the point that they transcended the boundaries of 'mixed race', as they could not possibly trace their lineage back to any specific population of humans. Lena probably wasn't even her birth name, and 'Ishikawa' was just a surname assigned to her by the Takemikazuchi immigration board.

Hans, on the other hand, was Lurian, with blond hair, blue eyes, a jawline that could break bricks and a set of cheekbones to match. If he was a product of Ascheronian ideals of racial purity, then his demeanor in no way reflected the sinister ideology that had left to his conception; he was a defector of conscience. Hartmann was the highest-scoring Lurian fighter ace of the Tanari-Takemikazuchi war, but had defected to Shangri-La once the true evils of Ascheron's script of racial purity were revealed. Even with the creation of the reformist Lurian splinter state known as the Kingdom of Luria, he had refused to return to his homeland, disavowing the reign of the Ascherons regardless of what ideology they toted.

"The mission is to recapture Uteriach." announced Captain Hartmann, folding his arms as he looked down on the gathered Shinigami unit. "That's recapture, not kill. The Galactic Council doesn't want us to make a martyr of him."

"Then the Galactic Council should've asked for a unit other than the Shinsengumi's notorious god of death division." replied Lena, pulling her flight jacket over the form-fitting bodysuit that the Shinigami division wore as combat armor. The other Shinigami troopers got a chuckle out of her response; Hartmann frowned, his disapproving gaze running across the lot of them.

"This is a highly dangerous mission. The one responsible for Uteriach's escape is a Lithan."

Lena's brow furrowed. "A member of the Kanos Jai?"

"We don't know, but if Blair taught us anything, it's to not take chances when Lithans are involved. The Shinigami division is the only group equipped to even potentially take on an Arc - and if we don't know who this Lithan is, we essentially have to assume it's Arc Blair himself."

Lena's hand twitched. The Kanos Jai were all but wiped out, but every shot she had at finishing the job was a job she had at avenging Sefer. Recapturing Uteriach was, essentially, now just a side objective for her.

"Shinigami Unit." she said, adjusting the cuffs of her jacket. "Prepare for a drop-pod insertion in twenty minutes. Prep for heavy combat."

---

[ Hyperbolic Time Chamber ]

When Calm and Damien exited, Lucy was waiting for them. Calm flinched.

---

[ GC Asteroid Base ]

The Light Frigate DTTK Tachibana emerged from hyperspace, approaching the asteroid. Immediately, point defense ships were sent out to intercept it, as it had not registered its arrival beforehand. The command tower of the base hailed it.

"DTTK Tachibana, turn back immediately. You have no authorization to enter Galactic Council airspace."

"Negative, GC command. We are on an emergency mission from the Emperor to retrieve Ambassador Shortman."

"Tachibana, you are not listed as a DTTK vessel with emergency authorization. Turn back immediately or we will fire on you."

At that, the Tachibana loosed a burst of MAC rounds from its deck-mounted cannons, cutting into the side of the diplomatic reception asteroid. Alarms sounded in the base as the Tachibana closed in, coming under heavy fire from the base's heavy interceptor cannons. Its engines exploded and it tumbled into the side of the asteroid, but the marines on-board had already disembarked on assault landing craft, which entered through the opening the Tachibana's collision had just made. They made their way towards the command tower, mowing down anyone who got in their way.

<Tanar Capital City, Shifters' Political Union HQ>

Aster smiled. "Yes, Klak, I know you're not president anymore. I follow the news. But it doesn't really matter to me." She sat down in a comfortable chair and started tapping her fingers on the armrest. "I need you to publicly condemn Blair Morrison. Question his commitment to shifters' rights."

"Please, Klak, you're my only hope. The man's a fascist, the new Allman, but they don't want to see it because the Confederation is in such a mess. My people will listen to you far more readily than they will to me at this point. You're a hero of the War. Do this for me. Please."

-----

<Desert, Outpost 4, Micho>

Ashton was crouched next to Lalli Cain, reloading his gun. "Maybe we're not the only ones who want Uteriach's head?" he mused.

OOS: Waiting on Red, Nif, and Clay for the rest.

<GC Asteroid Base, Ender Ship>

Barry Bavi: "wh-wh-wh--?? Is that a battle going on in the distance?"

Tayne: "Yeah, we should all go see what's up!! Right, Nif?"

Tayne was conveniently trying to communicate with Nif through hologram.

---

<Orbit Above Malchior IV, Tanari-Takemikazuchi War, c.2 AR>

Dr. Vell smiled at his son. He had come on board The Froward to assist with some technological updates to the ship

Klak: "Thanks again for coming on board, Pa."

Dr. Pa Vell: "No problem, I'm happy to help my world in the war effort...and I'm happy to help my son. Your mother and I are so proud of you."

Klak: "Thank you, father."

They embraced. The Malchiorian soldier that was going to escort Vell through a transport walked up and nodded at both of the Vells.

Lt. Wilson: "Uhh...you get to bring friends."

Dr. Pa Vell: "Don't worry, he's staying here."

Lt. Wilson: "Alright, get on board, I'll call Ittin."

They got on board. However, several minutes later, a squad of Coridan fighters (who had been tipped off by the Tanari about the location of the Malchiorian fleet, as Allman wanted to show the Malchiorians how much they actually needed the Tanari to deter them from breaking their alliance) attacked.

Klak screamed as he saw his father's shuttle being torn to pieces.

-

<Ruins of Vell Household, Malchior IV, New Year's Day, 4 AR>

Klak returned to consciousness, and got up, realizing he had been knocked out by Caiaphus. The villain held Norma Vell by her neck, and glared madly at Klak.

Caiaphus: "She lied to you all these years about your true nature. You know, now, what you are...who you are. Say your name..."

Klak: "Klak."

Caiaphus: "That is a false name! SAY. YOUR. NAME!!!"

Norma Vell screamed as Caiaphus tightened his grip. Klak screamed as well....

-

<Abandoned Pyramid, Qurtmoq, the previous night>

Klak continued screaming, realizing that he had a dream within a dream. The haunting memories of the death of his adopted parents had tormented him all these years. Not even retirement would make them go away.

--

<<Abandoned Pyramid, Qurtmoq, present day>>

Klak pursed his lips. He put himself into "politician mode", and quietly calculated the risks and benefits of this action.

Would it really be in Malchior's best interest for him to condemn Blair Morrison? Would it not be better to let him be, and allow him to destroy the Tanari Confederation from within? It would mean one less problem for the AFD to deal with. They already had the New Order and that android terrorist to deal with, not to mention pacifying Coridan yet again.

But in truth, Klak pined for Aster, and cared for her. He wanted to do whatever he could to help her and her people.

Klak: "I'll do it. Expect a message in the morning. However, Malchior IV and the AFD may follow a more diplomatic course of action."

He would have to ask President Krieger to do so. A decade of war and politics had made Klak shrewd and devious, and he often did things under the table to satisfy all parties.

Klak: "Sound good?"

---

<Desert, Outpost 4, Micho>

Lalli Cain: "Figures. I bet half the galaxy would pay millions to put his head on a pike."

Lalli Cain (who was lying down) dragged himself through the sand, moving closer to the Outpost. He aimed his rifle at a few guards, seemingly checking what spots to fire first should the need arise.

< Desert, Micho, 2km from Outpost 3 >

Orbit Clean slid a magazine into the modular laser rifle he toted. The firearm boasted a dedicated retrofitted targeting computer / telescopic sight, a revolving twin barrel and a shunt for a neural relay circuit so that the firearm could be operated with thought alone. It was Clean's pride and joy. The mercenary himself was dressed in a simple outfit consisting khaki overalls under a tan denim jacket, a black bandana secured around his neck, and a wide brimmed hat reminiscent of a cowboy's perched on the mop of curly blonde hair that fell to his broad shoulders. He hauled a strange ceramiplastic crate in front of him and began tinkering with a single control panel set into the top of the box. The mercenaries with him regarded him with a sense of respect and detatchment; Clean was a strange sort of individual but evidently a capable one.


When the call came through from Fourteen, Clean moved with the group into position and indicated his readiness with a lazy two finger salute.




< Supermax Prison, Micho >

The slender Lithan grinned almost maliciously down at Uteriach "My name is After Opulent Facade, and I'm here of my own accord - or rather, fate's. The fire is rising, and those who will be scorched by the flames need be center stage, not rotting in a Supermax prison cell."

Facade turned and began to walk away, assuming Uteriach would follow. More guards appeared at the end of the corridor, setting up a blockade with repulsion fields and plasteel barriers. Hot lead and concentrated energy beams rattled down the corridor toward Facade, who merely dissipated them with a wave of his hand, a ghostly purple glow spreading like a shield ahead of him. Some of the wider shots began to ping and scorch the rubble where Uteriach lay.





< Tsai-Lazini, Derrignham Shantytown Marketplace >

Calm grimaced and gritted his teeth. What the hell was she doing here, of all places? No rest for the wicked even when distorting time and space, it seemed to Calm. Damien looked quizzically at Lucy, all curiosity at the world around him, still possessed of that boyhood trait. Lucy shot him a sly grin and then addressed the (far) larger of the two men. "It's about time. I've been waiting here for a month, scrub. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

Calm pushed past her, folding his arms across his huge chest. "What do you want, runt? We're training." Damien skipped to catch up with the bigger man's stride, Lucy trailing behind.

"Stuffs going down. Big stuff. Like, end of the universe stuff. Well, maybe that's a slight oversta-"

"What have you seen?" Calm cut her off unceremoniously. The ragtag group pushed their way through the market, passing traders bartering with all manner of aliens, androids and humans, and even a chimp with a cyberbrain-implant. The market was hectic, but Calm was by far the tallest being in it, towering over the people going about their business like a yokai of lore. Lucy chuckled at the thought. Real yokai were far more intimidating, she mused. Calm stopepd outside a corrugated metal shack draped with mouldy carpets and curtains, the smell of incense thick in the moist, tropical air. A flickering neon sign displayed some form of sanskrit - Lucy couldn't read it - But Damien ducked inside, leaving Calm and Lucy on the bustling street.

"I've seen a lot of shit the past two years." she said, pulling a cigarette from her jacket and lighting it, before scowling after it was snatched out of her hands by Calm, who promptly took a seemingly titanic drag, sighing. "It all started on Tybion. I was with Evangelise - the blonde one, not the, uh, dead one - hunting down Kanos Jai sympathizers, when were attacked by a pair of combat synths."

"Androids?"

"Incredibly powerful androids. We barely made it out alive - but when we cut them down, we found a mysterious coin ( https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7TSczzNYhvA/maxresdefault.jpg ) hidden in their clothing. Then we started to find more - more assassins, more cultists, more of those coins. Then we found the man to whom the emblem belonged; his associates call him Mr. Plutus."

Lucy paused, lighting another cigarette. Cassius turned to her, confused. She had, for the first time in living memory, a serious expression on her face.

"He's powerful. Strong. Far stronger than anyone has any right to be - even Sefer didn't give me the heebie jeebies like he did. Hell - my dad, Naraka and Malak together would barely be a match for him. I don't know what or who he is - but he's a psychic, he's amassing an army, and..." she paused, looking into the darkened doorway, "...he's pretty intent on finishing what Sefer started."

A troubled look shadowed across Calm's face. He flicked away the butt of the cigarette, ducking into the shack after Damien. The inside was as cramped as it looked from the outside; not befitting a man of Calm's size. Stacks of junk were piled up to and seemed to be supporting the ceiling which appeared to be made of tarpaulin covered pallets. Data stacks, cooling units, medivac crates and a complete collection of the Encyclopedia Medicinae was amongst the trash surrounding a recycled dentists chair, in which was sat Damien, and a skeletal Android holding a fission-scalpel. Damien's silver-blonde hair had been cropped back to his skull, and Lucy could see, past Calm's bulk, the already healing scar on Damien's scalp. The Android looked up at Calm with a quizzical motion, which could not be displayed through the static silver face-plate it wore over its cyberbrain. That face-plate was iconic on Tsai-Lazini, and even across the galaxy. It was fashioned in the classical beauty of Michelangelo's David, formed of burnished silver that glinted in the sombre glow of the shack. Calm nodded at the Android and the Android nodded back. Damien stood up, and calm led him by the arm firmly from the shack. Lucy trailed behind, mesmerised by the Android. "Calm what was that thing," She quizzed when they were out of earshot.

"It says it's called Saint Blank, and its the best damn nanonic surgeon this side of Chronos Prime. Lets go find a ship."

Name's Raigen Mikhailov. I'm what you call a... private military contractor. Not much to say about my past. I didn't really have some 'chosen prophecy' to fulfill or 'dark tragedy' in my childhood or any of that bullshit. I guess I was just always curious, you know? Wanted to see other places in the galaxy and stuff. The nice, quiet life just never really stuck to me. As soon as I was able to, I signed up for the navy. Discovered pretty early I was really good at fighting and I'll admit it was fun for a while, but didn't really give me that freedom and adventure I'd always dreamed about. So after my tour was done, I decided to go freelance.

After that? Well, you probably already know most of it. Worked with a lot of employers over the years, including the infamous Pirate Lord Ozar. Yeah, that Ozar. And proud to say I've also met quite a few people I've learned to trust to have my back in a sticky situation. It's important to have good connections in this job, you know? Loyalty is a very rare currency in the galaxy, especially these days after the war...

-------

[ 'Mao's Place' Nightclub, Neos, Nugohuevi Corporation Capital System ]
[ 1 week before Fourteen's meeting ]

Despite, or perhaps because of, the late hour of night, the 'Mao's Place' nightclub is a hive of raucous activity as throngs of party-goers and thrill-seekers are either intoxicated at the bar, perusing some of the 'special services' offered by certain employees or lost to the pulsating beats of the club music.

"Busy day today, huh?" A white-furred anthropomorphic wolf clad in an inconspicuous black coat was currently seated at the end of the bar counter, idly swishing around a cocktail in his hand as he cast a look at the sizeable crowd occupying the dance floor.

The bartender, a smartly-dressed human, merely grunted in response as he continued to mix drinks for his clientele.

"Been a while since the last job." Raigen took a measured sip of his Screwdriver cocktail, diverting his attention to the transparent wall next to him showing a scenic view of the city. "Starting to get bored..."

"Perhaps you should give your sister a call." The bartender suggested as he served a glass of 'Mind Eraser' to another patron.

Raigen was about to respond when his phone suddenly rang. Pulling up the small holographic display, he noted the caller ID as 'Fourteen' before answering the call.

"Heh, what took you so long?"

-------

[ Dune overlooking prison convoy route, Desert, Micho ]

"Can't wait to try this baby out!" Raigen grinned as he calibrated the scope on his new Kusanagi adaptive combat rifle currently set to long range sniper mode. "Hopefully the intel's spot on and the convoy comes right on time."

Pulling out a bottle of high-quality vodka, the wolf takes a big swig of it before offering some to Fourteen.

[ Shangri-La ]
[ DTTK Temmokuzan Colony Bunch, Balthazar Orbit ]

My name is Lilith Yetzirah. I am Empress of the Takemikazuchi Empire, and High Inheritor of the New Order. I command what is arguably the most powerful and complex military and political entity in the known galaxy, and now find myself the highest authority in the religion that Sefer Yetzirah's legacy has become; a twisted misappropriation of her ideals that has swept up the Empire in a wave of nationalistic vigor - and hunger for revenge.

This Empire is still mourning the loss of the woman who was like a mother to it. In her wake, we find ourselves clamouring for a new identity - tasting the reality of a world where we no longer have Sefer's word to guide us effortlessly to a promised Avalon. For the first time in over a decade, we are making our own decisions - and our own mistakes. Leading us forwards through this difficult era is a lot of responsibility to bear, but I cannot shirk it. The light of Shangri-La was Sefer's gift to this universe. It's all I have left of her.

So, I'll fight for it with everything I have.

---

Lilith stood upon the podium, arrayed before the gathered soldiers and military officials. From the observation deck of one of the Colony Bunch's many military observation platforms, Lilith could see the shroud covering the newest addition to the Takemikazuchi fleet, awaiting the moment she signalled for its unveiling. Beyond it lay the rest of the Bunch's observation platforms, orbiting in a ring. All this was behind the soldiers, who were looking directly towards Lilith. The Empress had not lost a single speck of her beauty in the past decade; like Sefer, she had been granted biological immortality through overexposure to the (now-defunct) Fruit of Life. That was not to say she looked no different; the passage of time, and the loss of a Wife and Daughter, had turned her from an eager, sarcastic young woman to a severe, almost callous individual. Sefer had earned the adoration of her populace through parting from traditional concepts of what a leader should be; Lilith, instead, had ticked off every box in the chart, to similarly succesful results. The aura she gave off was that of an ancient warrior-queen - the leader of some forgotten, ancient civilization of immense power that must've ruled worlds in times gone past.

But the New Order wasn't ancient, and it certainly wasn't forgotten. Today, it was going to remind the rest of the galaxy of that fact.

The soldiers turned as the DTTK Yamato slid forth from its housing like some vast predatory bird emerging from the shadows, glistening with weaponry along the length of her Dreadnought-type hull. She was the second machine of the Divine Providence class, after the original which has been destroyed in the Sundowner expanse. The gathered soldiers exploded into applause at the sight of the battleship - a icon of Takemikazuchi power that had risen from the ashes of war, resplendant in its updated New Order livery. Lilith smirked; the unveiling of the Yamato would fill the hearts of Shangri-La with pride they had not felt since the reign of Sefer.

"'To exist is to change, to change is to mature, and to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly'. Those words were once spoken by an Earth philisopher named Henri Bergson, but I feel they are just as relevant today, all these hundreds of years later. The New Order must continue to exist, and as such, must change. We must create a new identity for ourselves, and I have given you all the tool to create that identity with."

She leant back from the podium slightly, her eyes running across the gathered soldiers who looked up at her with adoration.

"The Yamato is not just a ship. She is the measure by which the rest of the galaxy shall judge us. If we use her purely as a tool of war, then we are doomed. But, conversely, if we hide her away, we reveal to the galaxy that we fear their judgment - that we submit to their authority. As such, it must exemplify the finest qualities of the New Order. She will not be crewed solely by those born and raised within the walls of Shangri-La - gathered before me stand people of all different walks of life, human or otherwise. We will show the galaxy the power of our superior technology, the unity of our superior civilization, and the purity of our superior ideals. We will show the galaxy that the New Order deprived of Sefer is not a civilization deprived of its leader - it is merely a civilization deprived of its finest subject. And that the ideals that birthed Sefer - the ideals we all partake in - are more powerful, more strident, than they have ever been. And we will surpass her. "

"We will surpass her." replied the gathered soldiers, saluting. Lilith looked over to the Yamato's captain, standing in the row of military officials gathered behind her. The half-drow smirked back from beneath the brow of her captain's hat.

[The Galactic Council]

Just outside the main structure of the spherical station that made up the inner chamber of the Galactic Council, now bustling with activity due to the recent reports of an attack on their own space - there had been skirmishes, certainly, but this kind of attack by a rogue ship of the Takemikazuchi was unheard of - a solitary ship exited warp.  The ship was elegantly and masterfully crafted of a shiny black metal that resonated with the bright red, diamond-shaped power crystal that was the ship's core.  In addition to the red energy conduits, the individual pieces of the ship pulsed intermittently with power drawn from the crystal.  The ship's occupants were clad in similar black armor, most wearing face-concealing masks that bore some passing resemblance to certain beasts or birds of prey.  The ship itself bore a crest depicting a stylized three-pointed star inscribed within a triangle, all in the same red - a symbol which marked the ship as belonging to the Razaan Ascendancy.

Two small security vessels, each bearing the symbol of the Galactic Council, immediately flew to intercept.  One hailed the Ascendancy vessel, demanding it identify itself.  The leader of the vessel responded, clad in particularly ornate armor, bearing the Razaan emblem on its chest, their mask bearing vague resemblance to the face of a falcon.  Their cloak billowed out behind them as they spoke in a powerful, commanding tone.

"I am Second Ascendant Roa Jyll al-Hakim.  I represent the interests of the Razaan Ascendancy and I demand an audience with the Galactic Council.  There are urgent matters I must discuss.  Immediately."  The voice was distinctly female, albeit somewhat distorted by the helmet.  "It is to do with the rogue AI and his army."

The guards paused for a moment, confused.  The Razaan Ascendancy was something they had heard of, but only in stories of lightning-fast raids, stolen ships, and mysterious black-armored figures with phenomenal destructive power.  Never before had the Ascendancy sent a diplomat to the Galactic Council.  However, it was just one ship.  Just one frigate wouldn't be a threat to the Council, so...  "Very well.  Permission granted to come aboard the Council Station."

"My thanks."  And she signed off.

After her ship was docked, the red crystal core ceasing to hum and glow with crimson light as the ship powered down, she exited, accompanied by two of her honor guard - each clad in similar armor to her, albeit more subdued, less ornate, and lacking the long cape.  The guards escorted the trio down a few corridors, until they reached the central room.  When they entered, announced by the guard announcing a "delegation from the Razaan Ascendancy," they were mostly ignored by the rest of the room in heated debate.  Ignored, that is, until Roa stomped her foot, once, a hollow, echoing sound ringing through the chamber, accompanied by a demand to "Listen."

From behind her helmet, Roa smiled, as all eyes turned to her.  Being a talented psionic had quite a few good points, but the ability to hold an audience captive by sheer presence was quite possibly her favorite.  She moved a finger, slightly, and her helmet unfolded itself, revealing her face - human, with dark skin and very curly black hair, a wry smile on her face as if she was laughing at some private joke.  Surprisingly prettier than they might have expected the metal-clad Ascendant to be.  "I am Second Ascendant Roa Jyll al-Hakim, of the Razaan Ascendancy," she said, the room itself amplifying her voice, "and my people have been tracking the movements of the rogue artificial intelligence that refers to itself as PLUTUS."  At the mention of that name, some members of the crowd inched closer.  "And we know that the single ship that has invaded your borders and assaulted one of your asteroid encampments is just the beginning.  The city-ship named the Tower of Babel and a full fleet descends upon the Council itself, and without aid, it will fall."

At that, an uproar sounded in the council chamber, of people frightened, angry, surprised, a whole slew of emotions melding into one as numerous delegates reacted to this revelation - at least two of them made for the door immediately, before Roa put up her hand to silence them.  "With aid, however, you stand a fighting chance.  The Razaan Deathfleet shall be pledged to the defense of the Council.  We will discuss further terms once PLUTUS is defeated."

With that, she pressed a button on a console, with a smirk, and warped out of the council chamber with a flash of red light.

----

[Subspace, the Razaan Deathfleet]

A moment later, Roa reappeared in the captain's chair of the flagship of the Razaan Deathfleet, the Victory, a smirk on her face as she scanned the readings of the Tower of Babel.  In subspace, of course, there was no visibility, and they were forced to operate by sonar, but once the Tower entered Council space, then she would strike.

And she, the Second Ascendant, would finally be able to have enough power to challenge the Highlord.

<Desert, Outpost 3, Micho>

Regina nodded at both Orbit Clean and Keichi, and burst through the door. They both raised their rifles, checking all points for enemies.

Regina: "Empty. Wait, look!"

Regina pointed to a holographic map that seemed to display a blinking red light at a location labelled "Prison".

Regina: "Looks like something's happening at the prison."

Regina communicated to everyone using Fourteen's telepathic link.

Regina: "Something's happening at the prison. Someone must be trying to get to Uteriach first."

Keichi, who was wearing a bizarrely huge suit to protect his metallic exoskeleton from the desert heat, scoffed.

Keichi: "Or maybe they're trying to break him out."

Regina: "Crap. There has to be some way to get there in time!"

Keichi: "Maybe they have some sort of teleporter or instant transportation system?"

Fourteen: "Kind of. Some old schematics our client sent to us showed a pneumatic transport tube of sorts connecting all of the outposts and both of the prisons. I suppose they never put prisoners like Uteriach in there for their own safety, but don't expect it to be an easy ride."

Regina: "Right. We'll find it! Orbit, Keichi, let's go."

The group advanced down a corridor, when suddenly, several spider drones emerged and fired lasers at them.

Orbit could see a sign labelled "Transportation" pointing down the hall. They were almost there, they just had to get rid of those darn spiders.

-

<Desert, Outpost 4, Micho>

Lalli: "Well, looks like the plan's gone to hell."

Fourteen: "It has not gone to hell! There's just been a slight change!"

Lalli Cain: "Right, well, we're infiltrating the outpost to find that pneumatic thing. Carney, you want to go stealth or go loud?"

OOS: Make your choice, DRJ, and feel free to take control of Lalli and the GC/Supermax guards to RP their subsequent actions.

-

<Dune overlooking prison convoy route, Desert, Micho>

Fourteen opened the face plate of the helmet of his bizarrely huge suit (which he needed to protect his metallic exoskeleton from the desert heat), and took a swig of it.

Fourteen: "Vodka. The humans got that one right, among other things, I'll admit."

((Everything with Regina and Lalli happens)).

Fourteen cursed in his Liquid Metalliconite tongue.

Fourteen: "Always....always, something goes wrong. Always. Well, Raigen, you'll get to use that rifle alright, but in a different way. I'm going to call the transport ship to take us directly to the prison, or somewhere close enough for you to get a shot at Uteriach and whoever's interfering with our plan."

As Fourteen contacted the ship, Raigen noticed something on the dune across from the one they were on. He looked through the scope, and saw a dummy with a sniper rifle in front of it. He immediately recognized it as a decoy tactic, one that had was most prominent during the Vrai Wars, and made a comeback during the Kanos Jai war.

The decoy was a signal that there was another sniper nearby who had discovered the position of the enemy sniper. Raigen surmised that the other sniper had repositioned themselves, and was likely looking for a new vantage point.

Suddenly, a bearded human burst out of the sand, leaping onto Raigen and attempting to stab him with a beam knife.

-

<Supermax Prison, Micho>

Uteriach's eyes widened as the shots scorched the rubble near him. He had to act now. Uteriach thought Facade's reason for rescuing him was convincing enough, for a Lithian at least.

Uteriach stood up and grabbed some of the pieces of rubble. He quickly jumped out of his cell and into the corridor, running past Facade. Energy beams swarmed all around him, somehow missing the Dachori as he sped up to the blockade with break-neck speeds. A bullet, specially made to pierce the skin of many species (even Riders) slammed into his arm, but he was not deterred.

He leaped over the blockade, burning parts of his scrubs on the shield a few inches below. Uteriach slammed a piece of rubble on the head of one of the guards, immediately killing him. Before another guard could react, Uteriach knocked her down using the corpse of the previous guard. He reeled towards one of the turrets, and ripped it from its stand, firing at all the other guards and killing most of them instantly. Only one guard, a xenophibian, survived. The Rider slammed his fist into his chest, a punch so powerful it killed the poor xeno instantly.

The shields shimmered away, leaving only the plasteel blockade. Uteriach triumphantly emerged, smirking. He cocked the turret.

Uteriach: "Let us proceed, After."

---

<The Galactic Council, Office 22-besh>

The Malchiorian Ambassador to the Galactic Council, Erika Wong, shrugged as she explained the situation to Secretary of State Al-qi-tuk Kirea and Secretary of Defense Perseus, both communicating to her through holograms.

Amb. Erika Wong: "In short, Mr. Secretary, I found the speech to be very convincing."

Secretary Perseus: "Jedi mind control notwithstanding."

Secretary Kirea: "Seems like every day some state or faction comes out of the woodwork and tries to change things. The Amun Collective, the Kanos Jai, and now the Razaan Ascendancy. They want to pretend they haven't been largely hostile to intergalactic affairs for decades! Certainly there are strings attached, but this could be a good chance to get some more help against this PLUTUS terrorist. I don't want some mad robot damaging whatever relationship the AfD has with the New Order."

Secretary Perseus:  "The Secretary is right. President Krieger has already approved reinforcements to be sent to the Galactic Council base to aid the Malchiorian and AfD forces already present there. But watch yourself, Ambassador. Trust no one."

The Ambassador nodded, and disconnected.

Back on Malchior IV, the Secretary of Defense continued his communication with the Secretary of State.

Sec. Perseus: "I miss the Xīng Zhànshì, we could have sent it out there had it not been for those damn Takemiks. Well, at least I took down several of them with me."

Sec. Kirea: "As much as I would like to reminisce, Perseus, we have to focus on the task at hand."

Sec. Perseus: "Indeed. PLUTUS is now one of our top security threats, and we need to do everything in our power to neutralize him and his force. If the ships don't work, there are other weapons we could use."

Sec. Kirea: "What about the....former President? He has abilities."

Sec. Perseus: "No. No way."

Sec. Kirea: "Oh come on! He'll be our fail safe in case the coalition doesn't work! Plus we can show the Razaan and the New Order that we're even stronger than they already know we are."

Sec. Perseus: "The planet's top diplomat is lecturing me on deterrence."

Sec. Kirea: "You know I'm right, Perseus."

Sec. Perseus: "....Right. I'll consider it. Good night, Al."

The holo-call ended. Perseus leaned back in his chair, and looked out to see the setting sun. It seems that he would live to see another war.

My name is Perseus, Secretary of Defense of Malchior IV. I have served my planet for decades, fighting the Vrai, the Coridanites, the New Order, the Tanari, and the Kanos Jai to protect my people. I moved up the ranks and was named Secretary of Defense by President Vell himself. But unbeknownst to any of my compatriots, I have been a member of the Sha'lythe, a secret intergalactic society composed of individuals dedicated to protecting the galaxy by working behind the scenes. Recent years found us focusing on stopping Arc Blair, but we recently returned to our other project: watching the very man who made me his Secretary of Defense. President Klak Vell carries a secret power within him, one that, if unleashed, would be a threat us all...and this android only complicates matters even more. Allman, Ascheron, Caiaphus, Yetzirah, Blair, now PLUTUS, and soon.....Vell.

---

<Galactic Council Base, Near the Tower of Babel>


A fleet of Galactic Council ships, many of which were carrying the AfP banner, arrived from hyperspace and started firing at the Tower. Turrets from nearby asteroid stations also sent their barrages.

Suddenly, a Malchiorian battleship and two cruisers arrived as reinforcements. Ziggy Stardust, Weird, and Gilly were their names. They viciously fired at the Tower, the Ziggy releasing squadrons of fighters and bombers from its bay.


---

<Vongolan People's Republic, Haven City

Haven City had gone through many names in just a decade: under King Oncè it was known as Quiftani, under Uteriach it was known as Karana, and now, under rebel control, it was known as Haven.

After Uteriach di Armechio was arrested in the time between the Tanar-Takemikazuchi War and the AfP-New Order War, the entire People's Republic fell into chaos. The tribunal of Uterian loyalist generals dissolved the Global Assembly and declared themselves leaders, as the only likely heir, Figlio di Armechio, was missing and presumed dead. The generals decided to appoint Major Rahksha to be the new Acting Generalissimo, believing that they could use his fanatic loyalty to his imprisoned predecessor as a means of manipulating him to do what they wanted.

After Thomas P. Kane was killed, Joshua Kozín became leader of the Separatists, a faction of anti-Uterians that survived the Armechios' purges. The Separatists waged war against the Vongolan People's Republic, the latter desiring to maintain Uteriach's system of government, while the former struggled to decide on a political identity.

Eventually, the Separatists separated (pun intended) in two: Kozín's Democratic-Republicans (often called rebels or derogatorily referred to as "Kozínites", who favored a new, more democratic approach to governing Vongola, and the Restorationists, nationalists and monarchists who wished to restore the Vongolan monarchy (their leader claiming to be a member of the Royal Family).

The three-sided civil war tore through Vongola, and even spread to Tuvar'quóth and other pro-Uterian planets in the system, resulting in mass casualties and wanton destruction. Rumor has it that even the Kanos Jai refused to enter the system, as Arc Blair had joked that the Vongolans and Tuvar-nloq would destroy themselves, leaving the system ripe for the taking.

Caught in this conflict was a young courier. He had seen many things, he even worked for a Pirate Lord of Liquid Metallicon once. But he was terrified, as this was his most dangerous mission yet.

He ran through Haven City, climbing over rubble and passing by ruined buildings housing refugees. The courier carried with him a metallic case, one that contained an object of extreme importance to the rebels.

He huffed and puffed as he finally arrived at the meeting spot. Joshua emerged, his facial scars and eyepatch frightening the courier even more.

Joshua: "Calm down, calm down. You're safe. I have several of my men nearby, they will protect you."

Courier: "It's here. I finally got it."

Joshua: "Thank God..."

Joshua opened the case, revealing a massive silver broadsword with blue energy coursing through various lines that were across the blade. Inscriptions in an ancient tongue decorated the fuller, and the central ridge pulsated with the aforementioned energy.

Joshua: "The Master Sword. It was forged by Uteriach's people, and now we have it. This could devastate the VPR's morale, and show them that their Generalissimo is finished. We had better get it to a safe location. We don't want it to fa-"

D-R Soldier: "CONTACT! CONTACT! WE HAVE CONTA-"

The soldier on the roof of a damaged building's words were cut short by a laser blast that instantly killed him. The other Kozínites soldiers panicked, firing at an incoming force of VPR troops. A woman triumphantly fired at both Joshua and the courier.

Joshua: "Crap, it's Cassandra Cromwell! RUN!"

---

OOS: And now, finally, the moment you have all been waiting for...

<A Random House, Malchior IV>

The remnants of the house smoldered as "David" grinned, sitting in a chair. He raised a knife to the sky, and saw a reflection in it: one of a purple avian alien....

I am the nightmare of a thousand legions, the terror of many a mortal. I have brought destruction and death to many universes, but I am not finished with this one yet. My enemy lives, believing he can escape me. But he will be proven wrong, as I unleash the monster within....and destroy him. I am his darkness, and his fear. The mere thought of me reduces the bravest to their knees. I am nothing. I am chaos....I am Caiaphus.

OOS: Fanservice

< Galactic Council, Ambassador Shortman's Office >

Security Captain Chow burst out of cover, spraying towards the attacking Takemikazuchi invaders with his twin beam pistols. He spun around to the other side of the station bulkhead, taking cover behind it as a wave of return fire shot narrowly past him. He gasped, reloading his pistols. Two other security officers were holding the bulkhead with him - the resident defense forces had been spread thin to counter the rogue Takemikazuchi attack. Ambassador Shortman took cover within the arch of a doorway, his pistol at the ready.

"Any idea why your own soldiers suddenly want to kill you, Shortman?" asked Mr. Chow, spitting out the toothpick he had been chewing on. He rolled out of cover, charging towards the doorway at the other end of the room, spraying wildly with his pistols. Chow's two subordinates, Hong and Kong, followed him out, spraying at the attacking forces with their assault rifles. Shortman moved up, following the men.

Reed. thought Shortman. I knew he disappeared too easily. He's organized a coup, and now-

Long's thoughts were cut short by the pistol round that tore through his gut. Time seemed to slow; he clutched at the wound, looking over to the doorway behind him where his assailant stood.

S-Selena?

Hong and Kong turned, but were cut down by the blonde-haired princess as she charged into the room, using the bulkhead for cover. Mr. Chow turned his attention away from the previous doorway, but was blown off the walkway by a HE grenade, which flung him through the room's window and into the cold expanse of the hangar bay outside. Hong and Kong looked over to the window Mr. Chow had just made a timely exit from, but their distraction cost them their lives as Selena charged forwards, spraying into them with an SMG resembling a MAC-10. Selena aimed her gun at Shortman, as a group of the rogue Takemikazuchi soldiers flooded in, surrounding him. Though Shortman's vision was fading, he could see - no, rather, feel - the ominous platinum aura of PLUTUS's ego, which was infesting Selena's mind, corrupting it. The silver glint of his visage seemed to be reflected as her irises as she raised her gun to Shortman's head, smirking.

A group of soldiers entered the room, escorting a group of the station's technicians who they had taken captive, as well as a large camera apparatus. By now, the Takemikazuchi had full control of this asteroid block, and were quickly expanding out into the other blocks. A soldier pulled out a Takemikazuchi flag, hanging it on the wall behind Selena.

She looked over to the technician standing behind the camera, and aimed her gun at him.

"Turn it on."

---

< GC Prison, Micho >

The broadcast had been transmitted to every GC-aligned world within communications range, on a hijacked emergency frequency. As such, the speech was shown on nearly every government-owned information screen, and on much of the public media as news stations rushed to be the first to show it. As such, it was shown within the Kar's enclave on Tybion, the center of Neo-Kampala, capital of Suganda, and within the administrator's office of the GC prison on Micho, interrupting the emergency response efforts going on. The room fell silent as the visage of Selena Heyerdahl appeared on the screen, standing authoritatively before a blood-stained flag of the Takemikazuchi Empire.

She cleared her throat.



The door to the administration office opened. The guards reached for their guns, and aimed at Lena as she walked in the room. She held her hands up, jokingly.

"Don't shoot, I'm one of the good guys."

One of the guards looked back to the screen showing Selena's broadcast, then back to Lena. Lena looked at the broadcast, then back to the guards.

"What the f-"

The guards opened fired. Lena jumped backwards, dodging the fire as she ran down the corridor. She ran out of the main administration block and jumped down into one of the prisoner holding wings, running between cells as gunfire poured down on her from high above. The sight of an open blast door sent a pang of joy through her as she ran through it, sealing it behind her. She sighed, allowing herself a moment to breathe. She then thought of her squad, who were not aware of what had happened, and reached for her radio, before freezing in fear at the sight in front of her.

After Opulent Facade and Uteriach di Armecchio were staring straight at her.

And she'd dropped her gun half a prison back.

---

< Tower of Babel >

Within the control room of the gargantuan city-ship, Selena's broadcast was being displayed to PLUTUS.



The bright glow of the command room's viewscreen reflected off the silver hues of PLUTUS's metallic visage. He raised a finger, gesturing to the ranks upon ranks of weapons crewmen seated in the command chamber below him.

"Show these profligates the power that the New Order now possesses."

A bright glow engulfed the base of the Tower of Babel, before spiraling up around the central superstructure, culminating in a single point of light at the very top of the tower. A beam of light shot out from this, rapidly cutting through the space around it, tracing over the surrounding fleet and asteroid emplacements like some kind of light display.

Five seconds later, everything the beam of light had touched exploded in an inferno of brilliant white light, briefly illuminating the entire sector of space the battle was occurring in.

< Qurtmoq >

A young warrior who had been journeying across the surface of Qurtmoq walked into town. As he cleared the dusty badlands behind him, he raised his goggles to his forehead, sighing. its really dusty out there really a lots of sand. he thought (btw he is played by this guy). He walked into the nearest Mexican restaurant, and was immediately taken back by how much Hispanic culture had to offer his planet. Hispanic work ethics, family values and commitment to small business had established a veritable utopia of enchiladas, fajitas and tacos amidst the uninhabitable wasteland of Qurtmoq. Contrary to popular belief, many of the employees here were on legitimate work visas, spoke good English, and had values which aligned closely with the native conservative values of Qurtmoq. And some of them, TMV assumed, were good people.

"take me to this man" said TMV, holding up a picture of Klak.

"I have no idea who he is!" replied the restaurant manager, who looked suspiciously like one of the many Users who oversaw the existence of the BZPB multiverse. The user looked nervously into the distance, as if looking to a camera for further instructions. "Infact you better get out of here because this is! a restuarant and you have to be a customer to be in here, kid."

"i have no family, sir... i can't afford any things to eat."

The manager smiled. "Well it's a good thing you came here to beg for food because you would've been shit out of luck with those Jews over at-"

He stopped, as the intangible ethos of Sefer Yetzirah warped back into reality to punish him for his antisemitic humor. Raul clutched at his throat as the poisonous essence of Sefer seeped into him, suffocating him. He fell to the ground, clawing towards the sky above. "Fuck... AIPAC..." were his last words as he fell to the ground, dead.

"Hey, that amigo just killed one of our hombres!" said Noel Gugliemi, who was cooking up food behind the counter. He pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at TMV.

"no you don't understand it wasn't me it was a metaphor for the tyranny of political correctn-"

"Dios fucking mio kid, you picked a bad day to be retarded." said Noel Gugliemi - that is another, identical Noel Gugliemi, who walked in wearing a full Dia de Muertos costume. Benecio del Toro rose from his table, wearing a mariachi outfit and strumming a guitar. Michelle Rodriguez entered the restuarant, flanked by two of the Noel Gugliemi clones who carried stormtrooper blasters. TMV turned to run but found himself embraced by the masculine, fatherly arms of Ricardo Montalban.

"Have I ever told you about the old Klingon proverb that states that revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold... in space."

"it is very cold inside my heart!!! ive been bretrayed time and again... i didnt kill klak! and you are ! falsely blaming me for this!"

"We don't need a culprit." replied Benecio Del Toro, ominously staring over to TMV whilst contrapuntally strumming his guitar. "Just a scapegoat."

TMV turned and ran, so hard that Ricardo Montalban's arms were torn off. They chased after him, firing guns whilst a mariachi score played in the background. Two Noel Gugliemi clones burst out of the ground, grabbing TMV's feet. Luckily he had his fathers boots of fire on.

"its a good thing i have boots of fire on what i got from my dad before he's killed" and then the two clones burst into flames and TMV could continue. He ran into a temple, which the Hispanics could not enter, because they have a great abiding respect for the cultures of places they visit and settle in and seek to integrate with it, rather than damaging it or replacing it with their own. TMV was safe, then he turned around...

"hello klakky boy hows it been its been a long time since we were at malchior academy together even though you were the wise master an i always wished to follow in your trail well here i am, i have." he said. "caiaphus... is back!!!"