|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:13:54 GMT
Telestus system Joint AI and Union held: 4:23PM local time
Telestus System Overview File: Current Date
6 planets: 2 inner worlds uninhabitable, radiation and temperatures too high. 1 inhabited world under Union control, 2 star bases in orbit and one small shipyard. Another colonisable planet, currently divided between Union and AI control with each controlling half. both have small settlements here. Another 2 far flung worlds, not inhabitable but AI empire has presence here, with small and large settlements, along with one large defence station in orbit around the farthest world. currently 13 ships in system not including civilian ships. 6 Union and 7 AI, all warships, 4 Union ships are on patrol in system while another 2 lay at dock, they consist of a Dart class 4 Razor class escorts and 1 bodkin class escort. 3 of the AI ships also lay at dock with another 4 on patrol around the outer reaches of the system. long range sensors indicate anomalous readings. End of File...
By now the Union ship crewmen are used to seeing the strange wave-particulate quantum state that the AI ships normally are in, spreading them over thousands of kilometers like fog.
However, they are suddenly surprised by the unexpected activity of the AI ships, the fog appears to be much less stable than as usual, and their paths seem erratic, incoherent, while most of the times the AI ships conducted clean straight flights.
Four ships, apparently damaged, flickering in and out of existence, approach the Union world. These enormous craft share the elegant, streamlined design of the rest of the AI vessels, but appear clearly damaged, decayed, and emit a radio cacophony that can only be understood as a distress call.
Alexander was immediately notified of the event by an alarm, in an instant the bridge was swarming with warnings and information. Alex booted up the tactical feed and tried to make sense of the sudden data flow. It indicated 4 AI ships had come in hot, they were heavily damaged and appeared to be broadcasting some sort of help frequency. He reviewed the extra data and immediately turned to communications "Get that radio garbage unscrambled and play it to me, also send a message back to base I want them to have the same data we do. make sure this isn’t some sort of Quantum trick played on us by the AI Quantum fog like the last time... And also what are the AI doing? do we have their movements? are they coming to intercept?" Alex asked. Tac Com placed his small fleet about an hour away from the 4 wrecked ships, his Dart class and 2 Razors were in tight formation along with the numerous Bullet KKVs in attendance. He waited from orders from command and also to see what the AI would do.
The Union ships didn't have much success deciphering any of what the AI ships were transmitting, despite running billions of decryption keys through it. Little by little he began to think that the heavily damaged AI ships were actually broadcasting noise as they rapidly approached the homeworld. Unusually large, even for the standards of the extremely long AI ships, the broken vessels spanned several kilometers.
One of the ships broke in two just as it approached the formation of Union vessels, with smaller fragments hitting the other ships. A distorted mess of a gravitational field surrounded the vessels, making the debris orbit and slingshot in wild patterns
Alex watched as the breakage happened, it was very sudden and projected paths at least showed damage to the Union world to be slim. However coms had no luck in making out any pattern to the distorted mess. That and holographics had confirmed that this type of ship was nothing seen by the Union, despite the AI ships size the Union cruiser still dwarfed it, but that wasn’t on Alex's mind, from what he had seen of the AI their ships were small and fast, these were massive by their standards, they seemed clearly warship in origin but damage and decay had caused and further scans useless. An alert chimed on his coms bead and Alex took the call, it was from command "Captain we have reviewed the situation, your fleet is to remain above the main planet in high anchor and stop any big chunks from making the atmosphere. Civilian life’s are paramount here, we are trying to contact the AI however there are weird distortion fields coming from the surrounding debris, we cannot get through the interference. Perhaps you can try" Alex acknowledged and helm plotted a course, however Alex opened up coms to the AI "This is Captain Alexander Thane of the Cruiser Alliance please respond" He said urgently.
The only thing he got as reply was more modulated noise, a buzzing and screeching mess that seemed to allude to a scream in certain parts as the ship further broke apart and the gravitational field around it became more and more distorted, pulling another of the ships apart, creating even more debris.
To the Union's alarm, the rest of the AI ships in the system coalesced, then immediately disappeared, as if they had left the system.
A thin, unfocused laser beam was emitted from the ships, followed by a couple others. It seemed as if it was an attack, though the ships were far too damaged to do anything effectively
Alex watched as the beams flew out, thankfully the shields were still up, he had tried to contact the AI but their move was somewhat startling... "Why the hell did the disappear?" He muttered to himself, perhaps they had abandoned the Union, maybe this was a herald of a greater disaster... by now one of the starbases had positioned itself so that it could intercept some of the debris. all the while Alex’s fleet drew closer to the planet, they were faster than the seemingly momentum driven AI wrecks however Alex knew something was up, it was only a matter of time before he saw where exactly the beams were heading.
Suddenly the beam intensified in a violent flash, and was bent by the gravitational fields 45°, resulting in it striking Alex's ship.
The cruiser rocked slightly, the brunt of the impact had been absorbed by a Bullet KKV which had intercepted most of the beam, however the beam had passed through and had impacted the shield, there was negligible damage... however Alex was very confused. "All stations! Listen up i want all guns to open fire on those wrecks, take out any sort of energy spike you can register we cant let this... thing open fire again, if it gets into planetary range and fires it could kill thousands!" Alex shouted into the com link, in an instant the small Union fleet opened up, Mass Driver rounds, Meson laser beams, and plasma bolts flew out into the mass of tumbling wreckage in an attempt to damage it further. It was all they could currently do. "Repeat my message to the AI and lets hope they damn well reply!"
The barrage of fire hit the first ship, which did not deploy its fuzzy shielding. However, the gigantic explosion that followed was unexpected even by Alex. There was no fireball or radiation, the ship simply exploded into pieces as if it was a popped balloon. In the middle of the massive cloud of shrapnel, there was a single small, white dot.
The cloud of debris from the explosion then stopped and began imploding back into the white dot, rearranging, swirling and warping itself as if it had become semi-liquid.
Suddenly and with a flash, the whole mass was ejected at a blinding speed towards the planet; millions of small parts sent at relativistic speeds towards the planet like a giant cosmic shotgun
"What in creations name..." Alex said to himself as he watched the parts fly towards the planet, he knew he was too late to intercept the parts however he could try to get there and help. The starbase that was in the way however did what it could, the defence guns opened up, blasting parts out of the void as they sped near or towards it. the station itself took numerous hits, some were absorbed by its shield however at the speeds the projectiles were travelling some got through and punched holes through the station. the rest entered the atmosphere. By this time the planetary government had sent a distress signal to the Union territory requesting urgent aid. however it would be a while until aid arrived.
Another of the ships then crushed itself into a second spray of hypervelocity parts similarly directed at the planet, which was battered by the potent impacts of the chunks that made it through. The rest of the ships remained inert, still simply floating towards Alex's ship.
Alex watched as again the starbase contended with the incoming projectiles, many of them had made contact with the planet, thankfully outside of any populated areas however readings were hard. the other starbase on the other side of the planet was slowly making its way round to help its other defend more. However the two other wrecks were heading this way. Alex gave the order to fire at them, unfortunately if they exploded like the other two had Alex’s ship didn’t have the huge starbase shields to protect him, he could only rely on his KKV screen and shields and armour. But he gave the command anyway, and once again the void lit up in fire.
The first of the ships likewise disintegrated, sending a third wave of debris towards the planet. The second and last, however, did something different, and instead phase-shifted into the fog once again, right in front of Alex's ship, bypassing the volley of weaponry fired at it.
However, since all the ships were gone, Alex was able to re-establish interplanetary communications
Alex flinched as the ship de materialised in front of him, the third debris shower had rendered the first starbase badly damaged, he could see fires burning on decks and its shields were clearly down. However it had done a mighty job and had destroyed many of each wave. Alex suddenly was being called by command "Captain our star base is down and we are getting reports of unidentified units attacking outlying outposts and towns on the planet. I don’t know what the hell is going on but you better get hold of the AI fast or so help me..." He went on cursing and Alex shut the link when he finished. "Alright, my send word to those docked ships to support the planetary defence forces, give orbital support to the troops on the ground, we will be taking a little trip over to the AI worlds... see if we can get an answer then..." He said, the small fleet once again turned around. weapons at the ready, the fourth ship Alex knew was still out there somewhere...
By the time the ship re-materialized, it had already fully bypassed both the small flotilla and the starbase; it materialized right in the upper atmosphere of the planet, and only a few fiery seconds passed before the large vessel violently smashed against a large rural area in the planet, completely disintegrating itself and causing a large shockwave.
Alex saw the images as they came, the crew were silent. and so was he. All those lives lost... and they still had no idea what was going on. Alex had no choice but to keep going. however the planets worries had only just begun.
Telestus system Joint AI and Union held: 5:56PM local time planet side
Red and black smoke rose over the valleys and their once white-covered peaks where raging wildfires caused by the meteors melted the snow and scorched the forest. The massive columns of smoke blackened huge swathes of the sky, speared through by more of the falling meteors that came down without pausing.
The earth shook where a city once stood, now reduced to a cratered warzone in the middle of the ravaged mountains split by large lakes and rivers. Too briefly after the impact, all transmissions from the zone had ceased, and continued to cease in an increasing radius. The armies of the paradox Bullhead assembled, the rumbling of 60,000 boots shaking the ground ominously. Demiorganics and Integrals rose from the impact craters, strangely unscathed and accompanied by their vehicles and support forces, bringing with them the miasma of smoke over the mountains.
The direction of the army was becoming increasingly clear. The elements of the paradox quickly assembled and regrouped between impact zones, then began moving towards the nearest city with inexplicable, unwavering efficiency.
Johnson watched the massive smoke plumes from the surrounding forest wild fires and the huge cloud from where the city over the other side of the forest used to be, He stood on top of his Seraphim MBT with a pair of binoculars watching as some of the supposed enemy seemed to be regrouping. His armoured squadron of around 5 tanks were positioned in an open clearing roughly about 20 miles from the next city, behind him were other Union elements however these were the basics, the main forces was still assembling at the city along with com lines to the AI trying to be established. Johnson didn’t know what the hell was going on but he knew t wouldn’t be long before forward elements ran into his small force. He booted up his personal computer and surveyed the elements of his force, it wasn’t enough but hopefully it could fight a delaying action at least he was alerted by his gunner who shouted up to him "Sir we got movement about 2 miles out" Johnson nodded "James notify command" he said to his coms crewmen and he gave one last look before going inside his tank and readying his forces for an attack.
A trifecta of tanks rolled up to Johnson's position overlooking the apocalyptic scene of the ravaged mountains, pummelled with such fierceness by the orbital bombardment they looked like erupting volcanoes.
The three tanks were visibly not Seraphims nor other Union tanks. Their dull, opaque grey betrayed their allegiance to the AIs, but otherwise it was of a type not commonly seen and visibly different from what the AI usually employed. The height of the entire tank was little over the height of the chassis of Johnson's Seraphim, and an enormous gun protruded from the sleek low-profile contours of its turret, covered in optics and machinery. Oddly enough for an AI vehicle, it was tracked rather than floating.
The hatches on the hull were open., revealing its two crew members lying down on their positions, wearing fighter pilot-like helmets.
"All units this net" A female voice said from the friendly command tank that stopped next to Johnson's. "Be advised, heavy armour elements have made contact, break. Our forward units have received heavy weapons, small arms and missile fire, break."
Johnson watched from the in tank cams as the AI tanks rolled up into position, at least command had gotten contact with the AI elements. He activated coms in response to the message "Net This is Johnson, we are reading enemy advance elements moving up in the forest, I expect combat in the next few minutes, what is your status? Johnson out" He replied, maybe he could ask them exactly who they were fighting as well. He looked around at his forces, he had 5 MBTs sin hull down covering the main road down to the wooded area, to the sides were also dug in infantry positions, they had some heavy weapons but they were mostly PDF forces though they were no less trained, as well as that he had access to some Rapier hover tanks and some of the artillery batteries from the city at least, along with these AI tanks who looked like they could pack a serious punch.
"We're operative and looking for a position, got 12 tanks with me."
The rather conventional-looking tank was quickly recognizable as a type of vehicle called the 'Ravael', its actual designation unknown to Union personnel. Not a single Ravael was registered in the forces of the AI itself.
All the Ravael tanks -and some say their design and production as well- belonged to a proxy of the AIs. A group of cultists naming themselves 'E Pluribus Axioma'. EPA consisted almost in its entirety of civilians from other factions who had decided to join the cult of the Syntagma by their own will, though rumours existed that they were brainwashed. They operated in border or neutral or shared worlds, in close-knit and secretive sects. Due to their rather esoteric and highly religious -and preachy- nature, Union citizens could not help but harbour a suspicion of E Pluribus Axioma.
This of course was not the moment for such suspicion.
"We're ready for combat." The pilot of the command tank said. A rather pristine-looking female encased in the biomechanical machinery that hard wired her to her tank. Like most members of E Pluribus Axioma, her hair was dyed a snowy white and her irises were dyed a dark green. "You can call me Dinah."
Johnson nodded to himself "Excellent, Dinah I suggest your get your forces into a good area for some first shots, however... do you know anything about this enemy? I have received no information from high command other than to hold his position and delay the enemy advance" He looked at the scans again and flicked a few switches "I need to know capabilities and what exactly we are up against, I don’t like this blind fighting" He said slightly on edge, the battle nerves were getting to him again.
"Unless our tarot is mistaken, this might be a Paradox, brother." She said, finding a firing position a few meters away. "An accidental deity, a mad dog created by the blind forces of entropy and tarnishing our sacred armed forces with heresy."
She aimed her gun at the clearing like the rest of the tanks, emitting a high-pitched noise, like a flash that was charging
Johnson had heard of the AIs complexity of language and understanding however he was used to such like this "So they are rebels then... break off entities... All right then, so we are effectively fighting AI forces. This shall be... difficult" Johnson said as he felt the turret transverse and the rails of the main gun began to hum as the capacitors came online ready to fire. "Sir the enemy are around 30 seconds out, seems only advance elements" The coms officer called out "Alright listen up everyone" Johnson said over the coms "Lets give these bastards hell, engage when visible and when you have a clear shot, lets give the guys back at the city the time they need then we can withdraw and begin the real fight. Don’t let me down, Johnson out" He said as he calmed his breathing and looked through the main sights towards the tree line catching the first movement.
Several deafening noises shook the forest, extremely low-frequency bellows that sounded like low-pitched war horns punctuated by a strong percussion that sounded almost like distant explosions set to the rhythm of a battle march. The horn was heard four times, each time modulated in a slightly different frequency.
Suddenly, it was as if the world was torn asunder around the tanks as the position was hit by scalar artillery. Invisible waves emitted from a distant position materialized themselves as fiery explosion, wracking the ground asunder, melting rock and setting the grass ablaze. It was as if an invisible whip was being cracked against the ground itself.
"Steel yourselves, brothers!" Dinah said as her tank was shaken by the explosions. "Our spirit cannot be broken this easily!"
Johnson felt the deep waves pass through the tank and his body with a very subtle rumbling like a deep note, he watched the explosions around his position noting as one of the Seraphim was rocked up to one side nearly flipping over as the explosion came to life just inches from it, the tank crashed back down again shaking the crew inside "Tank 4 are you guys ok?" The reply was instant "Yea sir just a bit shaken, some of the leccys a bit stunned but nothing we cant live without" Johnson smiled that could of been worse... "Sir! I spot enemy vehicles approaching! 3 sir... Im not sure what to classify them as but it seems they are approaching fast" Johnson looked through his omniscope to see the incoming vehicles. They looked lightly armed and armoured but he didn’t trust it... "Wait a bit longer, let the AI take the first shot, we can see how they react and plan accordingly" He picked up the coms again "Dinah open fire, i want to see how they react" he said again squinting down the scope to obverse.
"Alright, everyone set optics to logarithmic filtering." Dinah ordered as her tank automatically took aim. "They might try to jam your optics!"
Flaming trees collapsed before the approaching horde, kicking up ashy clouds behind it as it drew closer. Admist the explosions they suddenly became visible, two dozen or so vehicles like APCs storming through the plain, engulfed in infernal smoke and fire. Autocannons blazed, sending tracer rounds towards them.
"What men would give for such a chance at glory! Kill them all! Kill them all, and laugh!" Dinah yelled as the capacitors discharged an enormously powerful bolt of laser energy on one of the unusual wheeled APCs. A huge explosion obscured the entire position with smoke and debris.
The APC, however, appeared from the explosion and kept rolling forwards, apparently undamaged. A loud noise, like a swarm of bees, became audible then ear-splitting.
"What the hell?!" Dinah double-checked her targeting monitor.
Johnson watched in disbelief as the shots merely bounced, the enemy forces had now opened fire and he was not about to let them get the upper hand "All forces open fire! Remember use line of sight Dinah said they can jam optics!" he shouted, the MBTs fired their 150mm railguns into the APCs, the hypersonic rounds leaving vapour trails in the air as they impacted, all the while the infantry at the same time opened fire, Missiles and deep red beams flew out into the enemy ranks along with small arms far from the mens Plasma autorifles "Big Dave this is Johnson! I need artillery fire on these co ordinates!" He plugged the co ordinates using his small 3d battle map and over the coms came the reply "Farstrike battery Big Dave responding! Firing for effect!" deep in the distance the discharge of artillery fire from the city responded and the huge shells flew overhead to impact into the enemy ranks "Die you bastards!" Johnson shouted as the Seraphim lurched again as the railgun fired.
The battlefield was torn apart once again under the sustained barrage of artillery, laser and railgun fire which completely engulfed the entire formation of APCs and turned the plain into a cratered swamp lit up by the glow of the rock molten by the intense fire.
The EPA tank's sensors reacted quickly to the enormous barrage, adjusting its optics before finally switching to a radar gun sight mode given the sheer amount of smoke and interference heat that was delivered by the mighty guns of the Union.
She reeled in shock when she saw, just a dozen meters away from her, the formation of APCs, intact, heading for her. She immediately aimed her gun and fired at near point-blank range, a laser jolt so powerful as to send vaporized soil in all directions.
The APC rolled towards her some more before finally dissolving, flickering away into non-existence.
"Shit!" Dinah said as a chill went down her spine. "Everyone cease fire, they're spectres, they're just decoys!"
The buzzing noise augmented in pitch and loudness. Through the flames and smoke, two enormous AI gunships rose from behind the trees, their aggressive angular forms bristling with weaponry. Missiles, laser emitters, autocannons and rockets pointed at the defenders. However, they only fired once.
With a loud bang, each one of the gunships let out a 35mm hypervelocity slug directed at the trenches where the infantry took refuge. The beryllium-jacketed californium bullet flew at prodigious speeds towards the Union PDF trench, loaded with enough fissile material to explode with the yield of a 500kg iron bomb. Right after firing the gunships lowered their altitude again to get out of the line of fire.
Johson barely had time to mutter the words 'Oh fuck' when he saw the infantry explode in massive fireballs, one or two men survived as they saw the gunships and ran but most didn’t even get the chance, the bodies of the blue armoured men and women laid dead in the crater, what remained on them anyway, now blackened scorched carcasses "Bastards... Dinah we need to take out those gunships, we don’t have much left here. And we don’t have any AA, we still have at least 40 minutes until our designated fall back time, any suggestions? I don’t want to see what they can do to our tanks" Johnson said, the nerves were gone and replaced with adrenaline now.
"There's two of them, get two tanks of mine and two tanks of yours to watch the skies..." Dinah mentioned as debris crashed against the roof of her tanks. "They're flying low enough that we can hit them with our main guns but only if we react quickly."
The horn was sounded for a sixth time. Another barrage of scalar artillery scorched the land, completely vaporizing another meter of the ground of the battlefield.
A fierce battle cry was heard, almost as loud as the explosions that set the battlefield ablaze. Hundreds, nay, thousands of battle-thirsting warriors crying out as the charge drew near.
Spearheaded by two armour destroyers and backed by a laser carrier, the infantry charged across the ruined wasteland. They weren't the organized force of the sacred Axiom Hjelmsdelare. They were barbarians with their grey armour painted with blood, engulfed in ethereal fire, battle-banners hoisted high bearing the black symbol of the bullhead; heralded by the thunderous artillery.
Johnson acknowledged "Tanks 3 and 4 watch the skies, the rest of you use your cascade cannons and mow down those infantry! Let the AI take the tanks! They seem better suited to it!" Johnson switched the battlefield command system over to the cupola remote controlled cascade cannon and he listened as the whining and rushing of both the barrels and the nano assembler unit could be heard as well as the void cooling array beginning to hum, he looked through his sights and towards the mass of infantry running towards them, he kept an eye on the skies but he levelled the barrel and fired. very low ripping sound could be heard as the cascade cannon opened up, thousands of rounds tore up the already scorched ground and the first members of the line charging merely disappeared into a red mist as the sheer weight of fire ripped them apart, he moved the gun left and right raking the line with the sheer rate of fire keeping an eye on the void cooling and nano assemblers, the other two tanks including his also lit up with their Railguns, switching to HE rounds the tanks fired again, almost igniting the air with the sheer speed of the rounds, explosions kicked the ground up again and sent bodies flying but still they kept coming... Johnson again radioed an artillery barrage but it would take several moments to get here...
The armour destroyers quickly moved to cover the second wave of the charge, who advanced without a single moment of wavering or fear, driven only by the will to fight, stepping over the splattered remains of the fallen warriors as they continued to advance, showering the tanks' position with laser fire.
The armour destroyer absorbed the shots with its superplastic hull plating, providing a mobile cover for the soldiers who crossed the swamp. The two vehicles quickly fired one missile each, which instantly disappeared from sight and re-materialized right above the crew cuppolas of two EPA tanks, exploding and completely annihilating the two tanks that burst out into a fiery cloud and electrical arcs.
"Kill them all, kill every last one of them!" Dinah quickly recharged her gun after reducing a group of enemy troops to a bloody smear. She fired again, but her shot was cleanly stopped by the fuzzy armour of the enemy hovertank.
The gunships appeared again above the tree line to deliver another devastating strike, and were immediately met by laser fire. A slip-up of less than a tenth of a second between shots meant that the fuzzy armour was able to intercept the two potent laser jolts. However, the impacts caused the gunships to miss the second shot of their nuclear cannons, overshooting the line of tanks and blasting an enormous crater behind them before hiding again.
Johnson directed some of the fire against the Armour destroyers from the railguns, he was disturbed by the disappearing missiles... if they were anything like Phase missiles his forces has some serious problems... the railguns fired at the destroyers, one firing slightly after the other two while the cascade cannons continued to rake the advancing infantry. The other two Seraphim engaged the gunships, one fired its railgun in time to get at least a shot but the other was two slow, however cascade cannon fire still peppered it. Johnson went back to firing the cascade cannon just as the artillery barrage came in, the shells sent more dirt and infantry flying while one of the shells exploded directly next to the Laser carrier though the dirt and cloud obscured any sort of confirmation of damage from Johnsons eyes.
Shells exploded out of the air as the laser carrier fired thousands of pulses per second, modulating its lenses to quickly re-target the shells, shooting dozens of them down before being finally silenced by the near miss. While the fuzzy armour managed to protect the vital components of the vehicle, shrapnel still managed to pepper it, forcing it to float away from combat.
The enemy forces now found themselves in the middle of the cratered area. While this slowed them down, it meant they were no longer advancing through exposed ground and could protect themselves from gunfire by ducking behind the debris and into the craters. This didn't stop them from still taking casualties to the ferocious barrage of rounds by the Seraphim's cascade cannons, thousands of tracer bullets bouncing off against the ground and mimicking the stars above the apocalyptic battlefield.
Dinah wasn't about to fall behind, as she let out bursts from her coaxial 35mm autocannon that savaged the infantry from behind their cover, her body electrified with adrenaline.
The armour destroyers took the many hits well, absorbed by either their hulls or the massive immaterial bulkhead that protected them, and let out two more missiles. The projectiles quickly teleported themselves over the turrets of an EPA tank and a Seraphim, detonating themselves almost immediately.
"Johnson!" Dinah called as she pulled the handle of the emergency barrel cooldown system. "Johnson, those missiles are going to destroy us if we don't stop them, I have an idea."
Johnson cursed as the shells were shot down and the infantry started to take cover. However he shouted out as he watched tank 2 explode into a fireball as he guessed the disappearing missiles took their effect... "Damn it..." He listened to Dinah as she contacting him, the Seraphim rocking as the railgun again fired an ultra AP round towards one of the Destroyers "I’m listening Dinah! We need to take those things down before we loose our units!" He shouted, watching the burning wreck of one of the AI tanks glow. Once again another infantry charge was made as they broke the cover from the craters only to be ripped apart in a cross fire made by the AI 35mm autocannons and the Union Cascade cannons, at least the infantry were pinned down it was just those damn vehicles...
"I'm switching my ADS to benchmark mode." She said, the infantry having closed in greatly through the blood-covered swamp. "The missiles won't be able to teleport but they'll still be fast as hell, you think you can shoot them down with your cascade cannons!?"
As if to reply to the artillery barrage of the Union, another wave of scalar artillery engulfed the ground with unprecedented intensity, reducing the hill to a wasteland scorched black and devoid of life; destroying another of the EPA tanks in the process.
Johnson felt the tank violently rock from the barrage and held onto the rail on the side of the turret to stop his head from smacking the side he shouted into the com "Yes I think that can work! We will be fast but I think we can do it!" He shouted as he saw the remains of another AI tank... damn down to 14 tanks... He again looked through his sights and picked out one of the laser destroyers, That armour seems to protect them well... I wonder how I can deal with multiple hits... "Dinah target the right destroyer and fire on my mark! We can try to overwhelm it!" He painted the target with the marker and comed the other Seraphim "Fire on my target! Gunner load AP round and fire on my command!" Johnson lined up the shot and waited watching the destroyer move around slightly and the infantry run around it "Steady... steady... NOW!" he shouted and the Seraphim fired their rounds simultaneously at the destroyer the railguns again creating sonic booms that knocked the infantry flying who were close to the flight path of the shell.
The meter-and-a-half cylinder of overhardened composite armour was loyal to the armour destroyer, absorbing the railgun projectile in a cataclysmic impact that sent hypervelocity shrapnel flying in all directions, butchering the infantry unfortunate enough to find itself near the destroyer. A circular shock wave whipped the ground from the point of impact.
However, it wasn't quick enough to reload itself to protect against the enormous jolt of invisible laser light that quickly found its mark near the rear of the vehicle's flank, annihilating the flimsy resistance put upon by the plastic armour and skewering it in the bolt of energy. The tank exploded in a maelstrom of shrapnel, internal organs, blood and plastic which was swirled into a deadly storm by the gravitic spikes.
"Take that, you animal!" Dinah clutched her teeth as the destroyer -what remained of it- quickly began retreating from the field. "Bring me more!"
The second vehicle was quick to fire in retaliation, launching a missile at Dinah's tank. Her ADS reacted quickly, illuminating the missile with quantum interference and preventing it from phasing out, forcing it to fly towards its target conventionally, though at prodigious speeds.
Johnson was took busy directing railgun fire however the tanks AI intelligence kicked in almost instantly inhumanly targeting the missile fired from the remaining Destroyer recognising it as an immediate hostile threat, the barrels whirred and the gun spit thousands of rounds and the spray only just impacted the missile meters from Dinahs tank causing Johnson to look up and sigh with relief "Thank the universe for autofire weapons" Johnson replied as the tank once again went back to firing at the advancing infantry, however Johnson again began directing the Seraphim tanks to engage the remaining Destroyer that was taking some sort of cover in one of the massive craters "And remember watch out for those gunships! they will be back!"
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:15:25 GMT
Telestus system Joint AI and Union held: 7:00PM local time planet side
Johnson moved quickly hearing Dinah shout gunship and the top cascade cannon fired at the hovering craft almost instantly, the rounds ricocheting off the armour, the other Seraphim joined in with the one tank left watching the skies firing its Railgun the moment the gunship came up, its gunner still watching the skies. The vapour trail once again followed as the shell impacted with extreme force "Take that you bastard!" Came over the coms and Johnson smiled "Dinah shoot that thing down!" He said as he once again fired into the mass of infantry who were starting to charge, overriding the cascade cannon to target the running infantry "Big Dave I need another barrage! Danger close I repeat Danger close!" Johnson shouted a reply came instantly "Yes sir firing now!"
The shells impacted and shattered against the hull of the aircraft, shrouding it into a cloud of smoke before it was hit by the powerful railgun, enshrouding the aircraft in the large explosion that resulted, but as soon as the smoke cleared the aircraft was still hovering in place, not only undamaged but not even scratched or affected by the barrage of gunfire that came its way.
The hovering gunship then simply dissolved out of sight, becoming semitransparent before finally ceasing to exist altogether. Dinah had only time to gasp in terror as she realized what had just happened. It was another decoy.
The two gunships rose from the treetops on the opposite side of where they had fired, and in a pop-up attack that lasted little over a couple seconds, they let out a volley of devastating heavy missiles that immediately teleported themselves to their targets, as Dinah's benchmark gun lacked the traverse rate to target the lightning-fast projectiles that repositioned themselves to target the weakest parts of the enemy tanks.
The missiles reaped on the armoured formation of E Pluribus Axioma and the Union of Worlds. The large missiles, used normally to target heavy tanks and fortified positions, completely annihilated the EPA main battle tanks, ripping turrets off of hulls and tearing hulls apart with sheer explosive force. Only Dinah's tank survived the ordeal, while the other missiles targeted the UoW armoured vehicles. As quickly as they appeared, the gunships went back to cover beneath the line of sight.
Johnson awoke to feel his head ringing, the screens in front of him were screaming error signs and he could feel heat and smell smoke, he managed to pull himself round and pop the hatch, he went to shake the gunner but realised he was the only one alive. He quickly pulled himself out of the tank and jumped off the hull, he pulled his pistol and then made his way behind the MBT, he watched the Gunships disappear behind the treeline again and saw the EPA forces and his own had been decimated, he watched Dinahs tank pulling back still firing its autocannon and main gun into the enemy. He shouted which did little good and so started waving his hands in the air and decided to make a break for the tank he tried his personal coms which by a miracle had survived "Dinah! This position is lost! My crew is dead and I'm behind my wrecked tank! We have to get back to the city, we cant hold here!" He shouted as he fired off some shots into the advancing infantry horde that were getting closer.
"Hold on, hold on, I'm coming to get you!" She said as she quickly manoeuvred her tank towards him. As she covered Johnson, her tank absorbed an inordinate amount of laser fire and self-targetting grenades. The adrenaline quite simply didn't allow her one single second of respite. She didn't think for a moment about the dozens dead, her mind was completely focused on the one that was still alive. Her tank weaved amongst the wreckage that was scattered all over the place.
"You need to call in the artillery!" She said loudly through the loudspeakers in her damaged tank, which had taken a dud missile. "Give them something to worry about or that gunship is gonna kill us!"
Johnson shouted back through the coms "I did it should be here momentarily! Can i get a lift!" He said shouting just as the whistles of the shells could be heard over head, with the laser carrier gone the shells impacted the ground literally right next to the front of the Seraphim and the wall of running infantry simply disappeared, Johnson braced as his armour protected him from some shrapnel though he felt a few small pieces piece his right leg and he gritted his teeth, the infantry however went flying and merely was blasted apart as the shells impacted with deadly force. He jumped onto the hull of the EPA tank and shouted in pain "Go go now!" He said holding on.
Dinah simply floored it, straining the suspension of the tank as she boosted her way out of the chaotic battlefield. There was no internal room in the highly-compartmentalized tank, Johnson had to hold on to the large vehicle with his bare hands as it ramped over craters and uneven terrain. His ears were assaulted by the sound of the powerful explosions. Shells began to explode overhead as the gunships began intercepting them with their laser pods, though it prevented them from focusing on the escaping tank.
If there was a thing the low-profile electrically-driven EPA tank was good at, it was speed. Once the two-man crew managed to find the highway amidst the cratered inferno that the battlefield had become, they stepped on it, quickly outpacing the deadly forces chasing them. Just on the side Johnson held onto for dear life, he could count laser impacts by the hundreds, some still glowing a faint red.
The highway didn't go to the city directly. Rather, it took a detour through another town which the paradox would soon arrive to. Rather than risking meeting the full force of the enemy army, Dinah set way for a shortcut to the city; the Temple of the Holy Ergosphere. It was the largest of such temples in Telestus, its full extent only known to the higher-ups of E Pluribus Axioma. It was built into the walls of an ancient canyon that stretched for several miles, and was serving as an evacuation point towards the city for Union and EPA citizenry alike. Guarded by a large combined arms EPA-UoW contingent, the temple was quickly turned into a fortress.
As they travelled towards the temple, Dinah opened the hatch of her tank and took off her helmet, peeking her head out to check on Johnson. Her white hair was rather messy, her face was fatigued though still host to a certain strong beauty. Her amber eyes, clear and almost golden, took Johnson by surprise.
"Y-...you OK?" She said between heavy breathing.
He was speechless though whether it was the beautiful women who had just saved his life or the fact he had nearly died which had shocked him most "I'm alive I guess and that’s something i owe you for" He looked down at his leg which was bleeding heavily, he pulled out a small back with a needle and syringe containing a grey metallic liquid, he injected it into his neck and sighed as the nanites slowly got to work "That should help, what about you are you ok?" he asked, he also thought about the troops he had lost... all those men and women...
Kilometres behind them, several large mushroom clouds rose into the skies. Behind the nuclear blasts of unknown precedence was the enormous black shroud that emanated from the impact sites, shrouding and consuming mountains and landscapes. It seemed as if they had escaped apocalypse itself.
The tank continued driving on autopilot. Dinah began to tremble, then tears began rolling down her cheeks. She didn't sob or cry, it was just silent, shocked tears. 24 men on her command, only 1 remained alive, her tacit driver. So much chaos, so much death and to her it felt as if her world had gotten torn down in an afternoon.
"This... this was too much."
Johnson looked back at the rising mushroom clouds "They must have ordered a nuclear strike after we left... thank creation we got out in time" He said as he looked to see her silently weeping, he climbed over to her wincing in pain as he went to embrace her "Don’t worry, we escaped, i owe you my life. We will have time to mourn their losses later in a proper ceremony right now we need to focus on staying alive... Don’t you think Dinah?" He said smiling weakly, the most he could muster at this point in time though he was still holding on to the tank as it made its way to the next destination.
"I don't think there's gonna be much to smile about after this..." She mentioned, turning to the rear of the tank as well to take in the scenery of devastation that scarred the planet.
The fields around them were full of small impact craters and debris. Whatever remained of the paradoxal ships and the damaged defence stations of the planet were re-entering orbit, showering the ravaged planet with wreckage. It shook her even more than it should. She felt like there was a knife, twisting in her gut. She had to let it out.
"It's strange..." She said, feeling his embrace somewhat emptily. "All of a sudden I feel like I'm fighting someone else's war. I don't come from Axa's Cathedral or Archaeus..." She paused. "Heck, I haven't been to seen any of the axiom's planets. I was born in Inargi, to tell you the truth."
Johnson was taken a back "You used to be part of the Union of Worlds?" he asked, the fact she was from Inargi... he wondered what had made her leave, though he could understand the fighting of someone else’s war, surely the Axioms or AI should have to deal with these 'Paradox forces' Not the Union... He knew they had ties but still, however this planet was his home and he wasn’t going to let some toaster brain crazed AIs take it over for their own purposes.
"I did, I was born there, yeah." She repeated somewhat silently. Abandoned cars lined the edges of the highway as they neared the temple, flares and ad-hoc evacuation camps were seen periodically, all of them abandoned. "I was always the kind of person who tried to be different and go further. Maybe just for the sake of it in hindsight." She breathed in. "It all started when I was maimed in an accident, as stupid as it sounds. I felt awful. I had to be interned in a hospital from that... at first I thought it would get better, but the treatment made it so much worse. I couldn't bring myself to feel pain or sickness anymore, all I felt was humiliation and self-hatred, almost as though I felt in hell"
She was surprised by how light the words felt. Usually recounting the memory of her darkest days was enough to stop her, but not here. Perhaps they weren't her darkest days anymore.
"I hated myself minuciously. I hated my identity, my body, my humiliation. I cried every time they told me I had nearly died of a complication. Another day I told me that I was going to get better and that soon I would get out of the hospital. Incredibly, the day actually came.
Ever since then I couldn't bring myself to care about the Union, the Emperor, my friends or my family. All I wanted was my dignity back, to live the way I dreamt of while I was in the hospital: something honourable and full of purpose. I wanted to live and die standing up, like a woman, not like a... rag-ass cripple waiting for her next surgery in a bed.
As soon as I learned of the Axioms and EPA I joined. They rejected me several times and I kept applying until they got tired and took me in. I did all the stupid feasting and dancing shit, I felt like I had finally left the hospital for the first time.
Well, at least I felt it then." She paused herself for the second time as they passed beneath a sign that indicated the proximity of the temple. "Now it feels like I'm just gonna die in the mud, unremembered and uncared for anyways."
Johnson felt a tear in his eye as he listened to the women, to think the very nation he held so high had been unable to save her... And even the AI had barely been able to help her recover, it was a sad tale, the Union wasn’t perfect and those who had such happen to them felt alienated in their own empire, one made for equality. For how could you be equal if you didn’t see yourself as such? Johnson shook his head "You wont die, not if I can help it, besides we will be hero’s after this war is won, I'm sure of it. You saved my life, you will never be forgotten for you will always be on my mind thanks to that, thanking every second of my life for the fact you saved me. Nobody has to die here. We will win this war and drive these bastards into the dirt. And avenge those who died here and what they have done to this world. Besides I may have to buy you a few round of drinks if you would let me" He said smiling, this women really was beautiful and he wasn’t going to pass up the chance to at least flirt a little, hell if he was to die here he wanted to feel love one last time at least.
"Maybe you'll be a hero in the Union, but I'm no Evensong Veteran, the Son of Man wouldn't give a damn about me." She said. "I'm not fighting to make the universe a better place, I'm not fighting to bring peace or a country, I'm just fighting for survival." She leaned back a bit into her cockpit. "And there's no big golden statues waiting for the people who fought for survival."
The entrance of the canyon became visible. On each side of its 300m-tall walls, two enormous statues of Evensong War soldiers stood guard. A massive traffic jam of empty cars led to it, forcing the tank to drive off the road. Huge signs read 'ABANDON CARS AND LUGGAGE'.
"...But if I'm gonna be a hero in the eyes of at least one person, I'll accept those drinks." She relaxed a bit.
Suddenly the two heard a loud voice yelling at them. It was a directional loudspeaker that blared at them from several kilometres away from the fortified temple.
"You on the tank!" The voice said, a rough, aggressive voice. "Identify yourself at once or I'm fucking killing you!"
Johnson was about to reply to Dinah but the loud speaker caught him off guard, he shouted back in response "I am Ground commander Gary Johnson of the Union 987th tank Legion and this is Dinah of the EPA, we have just been overrun by Paradox forces who are hot on our heels, we need medical help and protection as well as passage through to the main city, they need to know the enemy has broken through in strength" He said loudly, able to stand on the tank now his leg had healed into a usable state.
"Come in, we'll open a pat through the minefield" The voice replied. "But you two do anything funny and you're dead!"
A safe passage was made as some of the hidden mines were remotely deactivated, allowing the tank to drive through them. The temple had been truly turned into a fortress.
Infantry positions, all centred around heavy missile launchers and anti-air guns, dotted the landscape, each one providing overlapping fields of fire and mutually-supporting each other. They were spread out so that nuclear rifles could only take out one at a time, reducing their effectiveness. In between these positions, many prepared firing positions for EPA armour destroyers laid hidden in the steep hills over watching the entire terrain alongside more tanks. Seraphim of many variants augmented the force, alongside large semi-mobile artillery emplacements. Trenches, ditches, minefields and explosive wire fences were meant to bog down infantry, and the hills interrupted the lines of fire of any possible attackers from the ground. To defend from gunships, every position had at least one high-powered laser, remotely linked to be able to fire fuzzy armour piercing simultaneous shots.
A mobile reserve of Rapier hovertanks remained in the rear, ready to respond to breakthroughs in the defence, while huge defensive bastions were formed by a mighty Achilles tank, supported by an equally large EPA vehicle.
Johnson looked at the array of the forces defending this area, as a direct route into the city this was one of the routes chosen by high command to be reinforced with the best defences, After all the weak spot in the cities lines due to the AI forces refusing defences to be placed in peacetime in and around the temple and Union forces had to allocate more forces than normal, however in a valley it also offered a very powerful bottleneck advantage one which the allied forces were keen to exploit. Johnson looked over at the Achilles Land Fortress and pointed "There! The commanders for this area will be over there, we need to inform them what happened, and hopefully I can get a new vehicle" Johnson said close to Dinah also looking at the EPA vehicle next to it impressed by its equal size.
The canyon appeared to be full of tents and absolutely crowded with civilians trying to make their way through the canyon to safety. A group of twelve EPA gunships flew in circles above the canyon, scanning for any infiltrators and other possible threats.
"By the way, Dinah is my surname." The EPA tank commander mentioned, breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the massive amount of EPA-Union units defending the Ergosphere temple. "You can call me Lyn."
The EPA vehicle, albeit less armed than the Achilles, was no second to it in sheer size. Large twin hulls connected by a series of central struts housing high-powered cannons and missile launchers, propelled by six sets of threads. From the slab-sided appearance of the hulls, it seemed as if the vehicle was amphibious.
Standing next to the vehicle were the commanders of the defensive action, both Union and EPA alike, waiting for them.
"Lyn" Johnson said smiling "I like that name, short and sweet, though i suppose calling a women tank commander sweet would confuse many a person, though i have to admit for someone just coming out of a warzone you certainly have a special look to you" He said grinning "Forgive me, it must be the nanites" He looked around to see the commanders and as the tank came to a hault between the two Massive command vehicles Johnson helped Lyn get down from the tank before he himself carefully jumped down faltering for a moment due to the pain, he limped over with Lyn giving him walking support as they met with the commanders, a Union officer in Union power armour walked forward "Good to see you two are still alive, where are the rest of your forces?" He said looking behind them and out towards the gate entrance again.
"They... They didn't make it, sir." Lyn lowered her head, carrying her helmet in her hand. The uniforms of the Union and EPA tank commanders were quite different, as Lyn's trailed a lot of interface cables and was pretty form-fitting, albeit not skintight, like the suit of a fighter pilot. She carried several screens on her wrist and the left side of her chest.
The Union commander turned to Johnson "Is this true Commander?" Johnson looked down then back up "I'm afraid it is, we were overrun and everyone else was killed by an overwhelming attack by Paradox Forces, if it wasn’t for Dinah here i would be dead too. We only just made it out and they were right on our heels, their forces will be here any minute now commanders, I suggest we get ready for combat" Johnson said looking at Lyn and smiling "We will be remembered this day" He whispered to her.
"Well, quite a shame." The EPA commander approached.
He was a strange creature. The only thing human that remained in him was his head and his spine, both of which were visible on the surface of his large robotic body, as if a form of integral power armour with smooth polygonal surfaces. The bulk of his artificial body made him look like a demiorganic in a way.
"You two can consider yourselves relieved." He said. His face was mutilated beyond recognition, it barely resembled human. "You already risked your lives enough, you can get some rest while we take the defence... not even Haine Akyros herself could crack through this fortress."
Johnson nodded as the Union commander agreed "You two have taken your battle today, we will call you up if necessary for now go get seen to and get some rest, we will handle the assault" The Union commander turned to the EPA commander and nodded "Lets get ready the enemy will be here soon" Johnson turned to Lyn "Lets go get cleaned up and sorted out, hopefully we can get some sleep before the enemy arrive and perhaps they might let us get some revenge" He smiled weakly but in pain.
"Hopefully, yeah." Lyn said, still somewhat disheartened as her tank was towed to the repair yards by another vehicle. The inside of the canyon was lined, in its entirety, by huge statues of the Evensong War soldiers. Gardens and plazas and other places for prayer were now occupied by a mass of worried civilians that expanded for miles, having lost every possession to the invasion. The EPA and Syntagma personnel tried to process them to no avail, there were simply too many.
Inside the canyon, even more tanks and soldiers awaited, nervously standing ready for the order to move out. Suits of power armour, motorpools, field hospitals and encampments occupied the shrines that extended underground in between the statues.
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:16:51 GMT
Telestus system Joint AI and Union held: 6:00AM local time planet side
The forces of the paradox, that in just a few minutes had anihilated the first lines of the defenders and seemed to advance without stopping for breath, gave a surprising respite to the beleaguered defenders. What little reconaissance units remained reported of their mysterious movements. The main force had paused to regroup and changed its direction: it was taking the long path to the city.
This gave the defenders further time to try and evacuate the enormous number of refugees as well as rest. On the other hand, however, it caused rumor to spread like wildfire. Why was the paradox taking the detour? Some argued that the paradox did not want to desecrate the temple. Some said it was just a distraction to let their guard down. Either way, Syntagma priests and EPA veterans were unanimous in their consensus:
Paradoxes, self-aware intelligences created by the blind forces of information entropy, weren't supposed to act so strategically. They were supposed to be entities of corruption lacking all self-restraint and throwing themselves at enemy defenses without any subtlety. To the Axioms they were vermin, historical records were peppered with their extermination. And yet the EPA and Union forces had been driven out of a continent-sized area with amazing haste by a coordinated action of solid strategy and tactics.
No matter how hard the EPA or Syntagma followers trying to put them down, rumors spread like wildfire. Shrouded by the veil of anonymity, some whispered that there was no paradox: Bullhead was simply a proxy of Hjelmsdeläre who wanted to take over Telestus. Heretical voices hiding behind hoods proclaimed that Hjelmsdeläre was the paradox and Bullhead was the axiom, ready to reconquer the Ancerious territory in the name of the Syntagma. Some even more abominable argued that Bullhead was tapping into something; a source of quantum information so strong that it put its intellect on par with Hjelmsdeläre.
Crackdowns had already began happening in the temple, now crowded by more than 100,000 refugees. The situation deteriorated. Hjelsmdeläre had remained silent. Reports came in of missing E Pluribus Axioma followers having accepted Bullhead as an Axiom and joining its forces. Other reports said their fate was much worse.
The turbulent atmosphere swirled over the broken elegance of the temple, now part refugee camp and part barracks where thousands of soldiers held the line. Amongst them Johnson and Lyn, who had gotten some much-needed rest in the tents that lined up the central promenade of the canyon.
Johnson looked around at some of the assmebled troops, him and Lyn had gotten some sleep and the nanites had finally sorted his leg out to bearable levels. He had heard the rumour and the reports that the Paradox had been using tactics, no shit, he thought they had more tactics than Draken thats for sure. He turned to Lyn and smiled, she seemed to be a bit more relaxed than earlier “Hey how you feeling?” He said as he smiled seeing her face again. He looked around and saw some commotion with the EPA and some citizens over the next tent line but chose to ignore it for the time being, he would deal with it after he had made sure Lyn was ok.
"Like shit" She simply replied, then paused for a moment not wanting to be completely pessimistic. "Less bad than when we arrived, at least."
Several large hovercraft passed above the tents carrying refugees. Reports had come in: the Paradox had captured another large town, but, unbelievably, several large ships full of refugees had managed to escape and were on their way to the temple.
Johnson nodded "Well thats better than nothing i suppose" He looked over again as the shouting got louder also observing the Large craft flying overhead "Hey whats all the commotion about? Do you know?" He asked as he overheard, what appeared to be a preist shouting at some civilians with EPA troopers looking ready to pounce behind the preist, something was up and it wasnt good.
"Survival is what's up"
Just as she said that the priest basted out into furious yelling, before quickly displaying a bomb belt underneath his robes and holding the detonator on his hands. The EPA soldiers were quick to incapacitate him with several shots of non-lethal weapons before he could manage to blow himself up, but he had succeeded in starting a panic.
Johnsons eyes widened, the commotion was some way away however he was still worried "Lyn we better get to the commanders, the fight will get here at some point, there must be a reason why their forces havent attacked yet, Besides we need to get some sort of forces, i aint sitting out of this fight, i have troops to avenge" He said, looking back over to where the preist was being dragged away by EPA troops with another couple of Union troopers having appeared trying to calm everyone down.
"I agree with you." She said, getting up and rubbing her eyes. "Let's go get our commanders."
The Union and EPA commanders were no longer standing by their tanks, having instead been called to one of the shrines built into the walls of the canyon. The mausoleum had been turned into a command post computers and communications equipment blocked and desecrated the many statues and crypts that had once serenely stood in the place.
A crowded guard of EPA and Union soldiers gathered around a prisoner overlooked by the two commanders. Apparently he had been an EPA soldier who had joined the Paradox forces but gotten captured back.
"Well, commander, we can't get anything out of this one..." One of the Union soldiers mentioned over the beaten-up prisoner, who was tied to his chair in somewhat solemn silence. "Sure as hell knows how to keep his mouth shut."
"It matters little." The EPA commander added with his eloquent voice. "Find a way to get the intel out of him. Were it not for our logistical woes I would have cracked this man long ago."
Johnson and Lyn entered as the EPA commander stopped talking Johnson looked down at the battered prisoner "This isn’t how the Union treats prisoners of war... What have you done to him!" Johnson said angrily, this was clearly a breach in Union regulations, he stepped forward "No more! We have a battle to fight not be busy beating up prisoners" Johnson said standing forward next to the down man, he then looked over at the Union commander overseeing it "How can you let this happen sir?" The Union commander looked back "This is high commands business not yours Johnson, i need men behind my back not stabbing it" Johnson shook his head "Your doing that yourself sir"
"Calm down, calm down." The EPA commander raised his large robotic hand slightly, insidiously spraying a relaxing gas from the tips of his fingers to defuse the situation without needing to talk. "This is not the time, Captain Johnson. Fighting a battle is exactly what we are doing... this man's mind is merely another side of the front, perhaps the one that holds the key to sort this situation out."
Aided by an Union trooper, one of the EPA soldiers walked up to the prisoner to inject him with an unknown substance, making the prisoner visibly writhe in pain. Outside the shrine, several companies were being called into action as the civilian ships approached the vessel, transmitting emergency calls that they were being attacked by paradoxal light craft.
"We might have a task for you."
Johnson narrowed his eyes and decided to let the problem slide, High command would learn of it anyway. Besides, he looked back at Lyn, he had a mission to fufil "What mission? And will Commander Dinah be acompanying me? I work exceedingly well with her and our forces complement well" He said justifying his reasons, he looked at the prisoner again and quickly averted his eyes, he hated torture, ever since the Capitol invasion... He got his mind of the subject and looked back at the two commanders to recieve the debreifing, with any luck he could strike the Paradox a serious blow as payback.
"You see, captain." The towering, inhuman EPA commander continued. "The paradox would not have such an interest for this world were it not for something valuable... something we believe is of paramount importance not only to the paradox, not only to us, but to our whole kind.
Thirty months ago a woman named Mjone Antis was interned in one of your Union's hospitals here in Telestus. Your records have no trace of her, neither do ours." He paused and pointed at the tortured soldier. "Higher powers have briefed us as to the importance of this subject, whose location has been pinpointed thanks to the unwilling collaboration of our enemy right here.
We have prepared something special for the Paradox, two divisions totalling 40,000 men are assembling in this temple to drive into an occupied town and recover this comatose woman. Our numerical superiority will be... overwhelming, the paradox will focus its forces on the assault on the capital, we will strike the rear through the most hallowed catacombs leading out of this temple.
You both are instructed to join the force... take all the gear you need."
The armoury was mostly full with troops from both nations readying to move out. Johnson himself was slightly annoyed with the way his commanders were acting but then again he had a duty to attend to. He had been put in charge of the force chosen to take back a town and secure a women along with a joint command with Lyn which he was at least happy about. However this time it was urban combat and his tanks would be useless. He walked towards the Assault lockers and opened it to see a set of Blue power armour staring at him, he remembered his old days in the Hawk squads and smiled. He put the armour on as it fit to his form and the servos engaged, he then attacthced the wirst mounted laser blade and the other wrist mounted energy shield projector and look around to see who could help him with the Jet pack he needed to put on, he turned to see the face of Lyn staring at him "Dont suppose you could give me a hand could you?" He smiled.
"I'll be fine." Lyn replied with a sly look as she opened her own locker, revealing the living power armor used by the Fundamental troops of Hjelsmdeläre.
She quickly put on the fatigues and shirt and stood in front of the armor, which quickly awoke and, moving by itself, began encroaching on her. It lined up with her hands and feet. Somewhat painfully, it inserted large, wide needles into her forearms and thighs and began pumping extra blood from its second heart. The outer appearance of the armor was fleshy down to its color. Several visible veins snaked across its surface embedded with microchips and rivets.
The troops all around them continued their preparations. Amongst the soldiers still gearing up, several unit leaders stood in front of maps, briefing their troops in ad-hoc plotting tables put on top of the crypts and mausolea of the temple.
Everyone looked up to the sky at once as soon as they heard it. It was another sounding of the powerful war horn that heralded the arrival of the forces of the Paradox.
"Here they come!" A soldier yelled. "Here they come!" He repeated.
"All available troops move to the main gate and prepare for combat, this is it!" An officer signalled through the intercomms built onto the temple
Johnson quickly managed to attactch the jet pack to his back and he powered up both his energy blade and shield to check they were in working order, he also cycled his jetpack for a few seconds happy that it was working he looked at Lyn "So looks like we will have to fight our way out to the objective" he said smiling, he reveiwed his tactical computer on his wrist and picked the units that would be best for breaking through an enemy attack, he chose the Veteran Hawk squad and a squad of Skia which had been attatched, their objective would be to break a whole for the forces to move out, and this time Johnson would be in the thick of it. Lyn would also recivie his descision no doubt she would add more too the breakers as well.
The troops quickly moved to their positions in a stacked array of trenches that spanned almost an entire kilometer, a veritable minefield of overlapping fields of fire constructed in between the colossi of two Evensong soldiers.
The horn was sounded three more times, in intervals of one minute. optics and laser illuminators scanned the hills, not spotting any enemy.
The silence was frigid, almost tangible. Hundreds of barrels, from laser rifles to the colossal cannons of the superheavy tanks, pointed in silence away from the door to where the attack would come from. Thousands of civilians joined in, every man and woman who could hold a gun did so, for the paradox had arrived. There were no strategic ruses or maneuvers left, only two choices: survival or death.
"Enemy aircraft spotted!" An AA operator yelled. "They're attacking the civilian ships!"
The convoy of civilians closed in, escorted by 10 EPA gunships. The two large civilian transport ships were smoking and clearly damaged, while the EPA gunships fired desperately in what seemed like an attempt to keep the enemy away. Three small aircraft kept attacking the formation with fast, sharp maneuvers.
Johnson rushed outside to see the event going on with Lyn quick on his tail, they two looked up and observed the harassing manuver as the civilians ships tried desperately to get back to freindly lines, the EPA gunships being no match for the Paradox figher craft which were attacking them at speed, AA fire was useless as the flak could hit the civilian craft and it was then that Johnson heard the tale tale sound of Firestorm engines as they roared overhead, it was a small squadron of 4 which flew into the fray, Cascade cannons and lasers blaring they engaged the Paradox fighters with a wall of lead, one was destroyed as it came around for an attack run as multiple beams carved it apart, the other two took some hits however moved round to engage, however the Civilian craft had got far enough away that they could safely land, a cheer went up from the troops on the ground and Johnson smiled, however he turned to Lyn "We need to get to our forces quickly while we can still move out"
The two surviving aircraft quickly darted out of the scene, one of them being shot down on its way out while the other managed to boost to a higher altitude. As they did so, they apparently shot up one of the EPA gunships, which quickly began heading towards the temple, slowly lowering its altitude but getting ahead of the rest of its group. The civilian ships and their escort gunships continued going towards the temple.
The Firestorms were not shot at, adding to the suspiciousness of the scene.
With the fourth sounding of the horn, they came. Heralded by a ferocious barrage of scalar artillery which set the skies afire, the rampaging horde of the paradox became visible. It was another infantry assault, hundreds of berserking warriors running for miles towards the gates with utter disregard for their own lives.
"Now, under the sign of the Syntagma we stand!" The EPA commander rose out of the trenches despite the scalar artillery, his enormous armored body offering some resistance to the barrage. Shield in one hand, power sword in the other, the giant cyborg rose his weapons towards the coming horde. "And here we'll fight and die! Their blood on the ground, their battle horn sounds, let the bullets fly!"
The EPA followed his order immediately, opening a mercilles barrage of autocannon and laser fire at the attackers of such ferocity it made the entire face of the hill glow red. The enemmies exploded into gore and blood; they were not decoys.
The two surviving aircraft quickly darted out of the scene, one of them being shot down on its way out while the other managed to boost to a higher altitude. As they did so, they apparently shot up one of the EPA gunships, which quickly began heading towards the temple, slowly lowering its altitude but getting ahead of the rest of its group. The civilian ships and their escort gunships continued going towards the temple.
The Firestorms were not shot at, adding to the suspiciousness of the scene.
With the fourth sounding of the horn, they came. Heralded by a ferocious barrage of scalar artillery which set the skies afire, the rampaging horde of the paradox became visible. It was another infantry assault, hundreds of berserking warriors running for miles towards the gates with utter disregard for their own lives.
"Now, under the sign of the Syntagma we stand!" The EPA commander rose out of the trenches despite the scalar artillery, his enormous armored body offering some resistance to the barrage. Shield in one hand, power sword in the other, the giant cyborg rose his weapons towards the coming horde. "And here we'll fight and die! Their blood on the ground, their battle horn sounds, let the bullets fly!"
The EPA followed his order immediately, opening a mercilles barrage of autocannon and laser fire at the attackers of such ferocity it made the entire face of the hill glow red. The enemmies exploded into gore and blood; they were not decoys.
Johnson was ready, his whole troops were ready, even Lyn and her EPA forces were ready. It was time, the enemy was coming and they needed to punch through to their objective, the forces here were adequate to hold. Now was the time. He watched the EPA cyborg make the grand speech before the opening salvo was launched and he stood up with his Hawk assault team and raised his sword to the sky "For the Union of Worlds! Drive these bastards back to the abyss they came from!" Johnson shouted "Charge!" He triggered his jet pack and leapt into the sky, his squad followed and as he soard through the sky he could see Lyns EPA troops carving a path from the front forwards, as well as tanks and other support helping out. He landed soon after crushing a Paradox trooper with the bunk of his armour and cleaving another in half with his laser blade in a reverse stroke, his squad landed around him and did the same, the Paradox forces taken completely by surprise "Forward men break them! We need to advance!"
The EPA commander was not one to lead from the furthest rear of the battle but rather the kind that would jump straight into the battle using his body's large thrusters. Supported by the overwhelming ammount of laser fire that went his way, the commander sliced his way through the disorganized ranks of the paradox, bashing soldiers apart with his shield as it absorbed enormous ammounts of fire. He wasn't in for mindless carnage, however, and his objective was clear: he was looking for the enemy demiorganic commanders that were sure to be pulling the strings of the whole operation.
The paradoxal integrals attacked ferociously, undeterred by the coming gunfire, by the high ammounts of friendly casualties and even by having their own limbs blasted apart. They kept standing back up and fighting; firing their lasers, bashing enemy soldiers with them or killing with their bare hands when the enemy drew too near. They were savage, but their savagery was applied with cold, calculating precision; as many EPA and union soldiers could attest to. However, the viciousness of the EPA/Union counter-attack quickly ground their advance to a halt.
In the middle of the firefight, several fire support troops of the paradox came up through the carnage, clad in their thick shells of power armor to make a breakthrough. With powerful autocannons the group of ten such troopers began carving a path through the flank of the EPA/Union lines, large-caliber autocannons smashing through their enemy. As they established a position they began firing powerful HE-loaded missiles at the rear of the enemy lines.
"Strike now and strike hard!" The commander urged, absorbing the autocannon fire with his shield. "You may delay, but time will not!"
Johnson surveyed the battle on his HUD while keeping an eye on the swirling melee, he could see the EPA and Union forces had blunted the Paradox assault however he could see the Paradox fire support troops pushing through the lines, He was torn, he could commit his best asset to help his forces break through or to help destroy the forces which had broken through, he decided to keep them in reserve for later, however he booted up the coms "Achilles! Fire on those targets breaking through our lines we need heavy fire support!" Johnson shouted, as soon as he did so he was struck by a Paradox trooper hard and hit the ground, the trooper raised his weapon but was shot down and the form of Lyn appeared and rushed over to help pick him up "Thanks for saving my ass again" He laughed. he turned to see the Achilles tank starting to engage the support squads breaking through the lines along with additional armour support, at least it could destroy or hault them long enough for them to be pushed back.
"No problem, get back up!" She said and resumed her fire against the enemy alongside the rest of the EPA, saved by a thread from getting severely beaten by the fire support troops, who ended being blown to pieces by the enormous tank.
The first vehicle of the paradox appeared on the battlefield: a laser carrier hovered above the hill for a quick and lethal attack from its laser, that scythed down countless troops in a rapid pop-up attack. While much like the gunships it was counting on doing many of such hit-and run attacks, the laser carrier was quite simply pulverized by the massed fire coming from the armored lines that backed the Union advance. Its fuzzy armor was completely overwhelmed by the attack.
The laser carrier fell from its position as a burned-out husk, eliciting a loud roar of victory from the EPA.
"Everyone, here our fallen wait!" The EPA commander continued his mid-battle speech, crushing the enemy underfoot as he brought his large sword to bear on one of the scattered, power-armored survivors of the fire support squads. "To join us by our side! Let the gates of hell open wide!"
The EPA gunships flew over the allied lines towards the entrance of the temple; though strangely enough they did not fire on the enemy.
Johnson watched the gunships fly overhead as the next wave of Paradox crested the hill, he had lost one of his squad to a mob of Paradox before they were cut down by EPA supporting fire, thankfully the more they fought the more the opening was starting to look acheivable and the less the defences had to fight alone. He charged another Paradox and roared as he sliced the half man half machine in two with his laser blade as a burst of shots were taken by his energy shield, the person who fired it was in turn cut down by another member and Johnson waited for Lyn to jog over to him "This enemy attack is too weak!" He shouted over the din of battle "It seems to easy!" He said skirting the ridge with his eyes.
"This is just the overture!" The commander replied some distance away, still looking for the enemy demiorganic. Through the corner of his eye, he saw one of the EPA gunships flicker.
"Watch out!" Lyn, accompained by her squad, quickly threw themselves into a ditch, taking Johnson and some of his troops with them.
Just as the first in the oddly-arranged line of EPA gunships arrived to the gates of the temple, their holographic camouflage dissolved, revealing the small, cylindrical objects underneath.
The next thing Johnson saw was a flash, a flash that seemed to drown out brightness itself.
Five large nuclear bombs detonated in perfect synchrony, marking a line that covered the EPA and Union lines from the very front to the rear and the gates of the temple. The shockwave swept the land, unearthing and scorching the fortifications and trenches in a mere couple seconds. Men, vehicles, robots and materiel were all thrown into the skies by the enormous detonations, anihilated in a moment. The paradox troopers unfortunate enough to be caught on the side of the hill facing the explosions were no exception.
While the group of soldiers avoided being crushed by the shockwaves or ripped apart by the ensuing shrapnel, they could still feel as if a train drove over them, the massive change of pressure perceivable even under their power armor.
When the group finally rose their heads, they couldn't see five meters away from the dust and the firestorms that raged on the ground zeroes. Glowing mushroom clouds rose to the skies
Johnson moaned as he got up with Lyn, the wind was buffeting them heavily and he only just managed to stand up, he looked up to see just out of the clouds and dust the growing form of a gaint mushroom coud surrounded by others. He swore loudly and atempted to get command over the coms "Anyone! Anyone please respond!" There was static and nothing more, his suits radiation counter was also screaming at him but he ignored it, if it was to be he was dead anyway. He helped Lyn up "You alright?" He asked her but before she could respond a few Paradox troops ran at them, horrifically burned they ran like fanatics and Johnson parried one of them and threw him to the ground stamping on his skull, Lyn shot another after quickly grabbing her rifle and Johnson managed to slice the other in half "They are still coming!" He shouted "They just nuked their own troops! How can they still be coming!"
"Shit, shit!" Lyn tried looking around, her power armor blackening itself to reflect the radiation; forced back into the battle as soon as the burnt remnants of the paradox forces that had gotten caught in their own blasts. She tried contacting her troops as well. "I can't link back up the temple, they just nuked this whole fucking place!"
The two civilian transport ships circled over the battlefield once before they began descending, crashing into the ground in a deafening cacophony of destruction. One of them crashed in between Johnson and Lyn's units and the temple, crushing the remains of countless soldiers as well as some survivors in the process. The second one began diving towards the crater that laid where the entrance of the temple had once stood in a rapid kamikaze attack.
The crash of the ships created an enormous cloud of dust and made the ground shake, throwing the survivors back into the ground.
They could hear a somewhat forced mechanical noise as a large figure rose from the dust around a couple hundred meters away. It was the EPA commander, who had survived the blast, and silently began walking towards the wreckage of the ship.
Johnson looked at the EPA commander who was casually walking towards the remains, as the dust started to clear he could see the devstation, most of the defensive lines were literally craters with charred corpses littering the landscape, both blue and grey. Thankfully most of the tanks had survived, hardened against such weapons they had taken the heat and managed to keep functioning as well as both of the Super heavy tanks had survived though one of the Achilles main railcannons had been destroyed. A few of the EPA emplacements had survived also as well as some infantry that had managed to evade the blasts. However far too much was gone, Johnson knew he couldnt stay and help, he still had an objective to fufil and this was the only time he could get an opening "Lyn we have to get what forces we can and make for the village!" he shouted over the raging wind and roaring of the firestorms "We still have to secure the main objective!"
"We can't, there's not enough infantry to finish the push" Lyn observed the commander as well. "We got to fall back to the temple or we'll get slaughtered!"
The EPA commander grabbed his sword from the ground and continued walking towards the wreckage with a fury that even Johnson and Lyn could feel from the distance.
Suddenly, another flash of light came from the wreckage. It wasn't a sixth nuclear detonation, rather, something different and some would say worse.
A spherical volume of air was cleared from dust by an unseen force. In its center was a large crack in the hull of the fractured vessel that glowed a soft blue. In the middle of it was a figure.
The figure was at least four meters tall. It could only barely be defined as anthropomorphic; it was an almost shapeless bulbous demiorganic mass colored a deep black. Two heads protruded from the body, one in front of the other as if two humans had been fused into the mass front-to-back; their visages were pale and bald, though visibly masculine and feminine. Alongside the head, 10 arms but no legs. Several pieces of symmetric machinery and inorganic components protruded as well from its body, looking like air intakes or large filters that joined the pauldrons that expanded sideways from the two heads. It floated about four meters above the surface.
A halo of soft blue light and a holographic cube floated above each of the heads. Archparadox, master of revenge. Blood and death pulsed on his ebony scythe; the blind forces of entropy its only lord. To its flanks two huge, monstrous demiorganics floated alongside him; enormous bloated right arms holding a bident, eyeless heads extending as spikes. Its name was N0x.
"Long shall I be remembered, I who walk the road of danger!" The EPA commander walked towards the personification of the paradox, raising its sword. Even with his huge demiorganic body and potent sword that had felled many, he was but a gnat before the paradox. "In a minute I will be by the Son of Man's side, I will be home. You will only be closer to your inevitable doom, and you will be felled by one such as me. Tonight I won't die alone."
The commander charged to no avail, as the paradox simply rose its hand, stopped him in his tracks and causing grass and flowers to spontaneously grow out from around the paradox. Soft sounds appeased the EPA commander in his final moments.
"Ensō." N0x enunciated as the EPA commander was forced to bring his large sword upon his own chest, impaling himself with a sick noise and fell to his knees.
Johnson gasped as the thing ended the EPA commander swiftly and without any sort of problems. He coudnf fight this, there was nothing he could do against such power, if the Angels were here they could combat whatever this... this thing was but they were realities away. Here all they were was human. Johnson knew he couldnt even damage this thing "Lyn what the fuck is that thing!" he shouted "How the hell do we kill it!" He said looking back, he saw it practically destroy a load of Union tanks though 'destroy' wasnt the correct words as they died in elaborate and physically impossible ways. The return fire merely dissapating or ceasing to effect it.
N0x softly let go of his scythe, whose descent to the floor was slowly descelerated until it floated in the air statically. It then began moving towards the dead EPA commander, whose body quickly reanimated itself to grab it and stand back up again, with the sword still protruding from its chest.
Lyn gasped in utter horror at the easiness with which the aberrant demiorganic had killed his commander. "No, no!" She yelled. "I don't know! I don't know!"
The EPA commander then turned towards Johnson and his unit, walking towards them with the scythe in hand. Thunder marked his heavy footsteps as black rain began coming down from the apocalyptic heavens. The infernal glow of the nuclear explosions reflected off of the edge of the wicked phasic blade like blood.
"It's a demiorganic, it must be!" Lyn stuttered. "I've never seen anything like it!"
N0x had scanned his mind and completely deconstructed it in a matter of seconds. He was supposed to know where Mjone was held, but no matter how hard he looked it seemed as if he had erased the memory from his mind. Inexplicable, powerful, N0x then teleported away, though the two Narvals remained floating, static and seemingly inert.
Johnson watched as the massive once allied commander came at them "RUN LYN!" he shouted to her as he activated his shield and blade, the commander charged him and he activated his damaged jet pack aiding him in jumping out the way, the scythe clipped his shoulder armour and sent him spinning into the ground and he shouted in anger. He managed to stand up and knew he couldnt kill this thing. But he knew some that can. He called into his HUD "SHADOWS!" he screamed and in seconds the ghostly form of 3 Skia phased in around him eyeing up the EPA commander like they were intrested "I need it dead! We have an objective to take!" He shouted as the lead Skia turned to him and nodded. He saluted in return and ran off to find Lyn as the EPA commander turned to face the Skia, the pitch black beings readying for a fight
Lyn quickly joined him, running at superhuman speed thanks to her power armor while the some of her soldiers accompained her getting away from the superpowered being.
The commander walked towards the three Skia unwaveringly, like a machine. Perhaps for the first time ever behaving more like machine than man.
"Alright, let's hope your guys can take him while we get to the objective, at least the nukes give us a clear path!" Lyn yelled as she ran alongside Johnson. For a moment, however, her emotions got the best of her.
She felt somewhat guilty. After having been so dramatic to Johnson about the misery she had felt in her life, her troubles seemed reduced to nothingness compared to the horrifying fate of her commander. A fate that he had taken bravely without ever lowering his head. It put things in perspective for her, maybe she should have been thankful all along.
For a fleeting moment she stopped, overcome with emotions, and turned back. She saw the towering giant slowly heading towards the three Skia, scythe in hand, enmarcated by the nuclear fires that raged behind him.
"Be at peace, Commander Qrtz" She said, saluting him, before turning back and running along with Johnson.
The Skia moved slowly, almost stalking the commander as he walked towards them, one stayed still, motionless apart from the occasional tilt of its head like it was analysing the corrupted EPA commander, the other two started to move round, encircling him in a elegant and majestic way. Though they were beings of death the Skia were elegant in their movements. It was almost ritualistic as the three of them waited to pounce. The glowing of the nuclear firestorms lighting the commander as he walked forward though the light did nothing but be absorbed by their pitch black skin, revealing their strange form in the backdrop against the fires. The motionless Skia suddenly talked, in a strange ethereal snake like voice "You... Are a traitor"
No answer came from the commander. The part of him that could answer was long gone, all that remained was a walking fortress of superplastic and ceramic. His scythe humbled the land, pulsing with ancient energies as he neared the Skia.
Behind him the Narvals stood motionless, still guarding both sides of the hull breach of the ruined ship, seemingly oblivious to the apocalyptic confrontation that would soon come.
The commander halted his march with one last thunderous step. The scythe was brought up to his side in an ebony blur. As fire encroached on all that surrounded him, the lifeless head of the commander began glowing with blue divine light. A small torus-like halo formed above his head, topped by the same cubical hologram as n0x.
Suddenly there was a flash, and from a few feet in front of the commander, a white beam of energy surged materialized towards the Skia; encasing in it a truly colossal ammmount of explosive energy.
The explosion roared as the flash would of blinded anyone left alive in the area, however the moment the blast hit the other two Skia had struck, both came from the sides, one attack with its claws, the half real blades passing through the armour with ease as it slashed multiple times in its passing, the second however fired its eye laser at the commander while dogding to the side to stop him from getting an easy hit. For the third that had been targetted with the monumental blast it had actually survived, however it was not unscathed. The Skia came out of the blast its triangular red eye cracked in multiple places, it screamed as it did so. An inhuman mind breaking scream as it drove forward, its claws up and out ready to strike the commander in revenge for its great pain.
The commander's reflexes were superhuman, supermechanical. He quickly brought his heavy shield to bear in the direction of the deadly claw, parrying the attack once it materialized. In the same movement he brought his scythe to the second Skia that dodged around him, bringing the phase blade onto the phased being in a titanic strike.
A huge conical shroud of compressed air blossomed around the blade as it broke the speed of sound on its way.
The Skia that had fired the beam and dogded found itself being hit by the scythe and the top of its right head horn was sliced through, as the horn came off it merely disspated and in an almost instantaneous response it brought its claws down into the commanders scythe arm in a counter move, seemingly ignoring the fact it had taken a hit. The Skia who had been deflected moved upwards and into the air above the commander, as it flew over it fired several bursts of fire down into the more vital areas of the armour while the roaring Shadow that had come at the commander in revenge struck with a huge force, hitting the shield with the force of a fully laiden freight train at full speed.
The undead Qrz focused on the Skia as it arched above him, and the two giants fired their beams in unison, bloody red meeting pure white in an apocalyptic interference that set the air between the two ablaze with explosions and turned the ground around the commander into a cratered hellscape.
The third Skia smashed into the commander's shield with legendary force, sending the gigantic cyborg flying backwards towards one of the Narvals. As if hitting an invisible wall, his flight was brought down in an instant by a brutal impact. Blood was splattered all over the invisible forcefield; the Skia's claw had cut his arm clean off. Yet he still held onto the deadly scythe.
The scorched ceramic of his missing arm was replaced by the aureal shine of golden armor engraved in baroque motifs. His right arm was now seemingly a solid hologram.
As soon as they caught a glimpse of the golden glare, another beam cleaved through the group of Skia; not managing to hit any but blasting them apart from each other and obscuring their sight. The next thing that one of the Skia saw was the commander, surrounded by a plasmatic flare that scorched the edges of his armor, right next to him and swinging his scythe upwards onto him, cleaving through the ground like it was air.
The shockwave oh phasic energies cleaved through the ground, the Skia that had smashed the commander into the seemingly invisible forcefeild was fast, but not fast enough, the energies of the blast caused shockwaves and the already damaged eye of the Shadow shattered, its black body merely dissapating like gas on the wind. The other two however angry at their comrades death attacked again. One leapt at the commanders sheild arm, firing a barrage of shots as well as swiping at the shield with its unreal claws, the second phased in and out of reality fully in a side to side motion until it went low and swiped for the under chest armour of the Commander, the claws finding purchase as the phasic being roared in anger and kept swiping.
The two sides traded titanomachial blows, each marked by the shaking of the ground around them and the huge clouds of dust that rose from their blurred, lightning-fast shapes.
The cratered shield, however powerful, was no match for the ferocious attack of the angered Skia warrior, whose beams and claws scrapped the shield in tenths of a second. Rapidly did the commander adjust his thrusters and fire them, causing him to spin once at extreme speed, which he used to throw the scrapped remnants of the shield at his Skia attacker.
Acting with its natural, almost imperceptible reaction speed, the Skia dodged the supersonic projectile thrown at him, but it was already to late, as the crystalline blade of the scythe met him as soon as he re-materialized, slicing off its right legs in two points; one in the base of the claw and another in the middle of its shin.
Massive tensile forces stretched the arcane fractal structure of the paradoxal scythe as Qrz tried to redirect his momentum towards his second attacker, but he was not fast enough and was once again struck away. The chestplate was sliced open in a spray of blood and synthetic cooling fluids, exposing another section of the underlying holographic body, beautiful patterns carved into gold-and-ivory armor.
The Skia were beggining to break through his shell. The muscles on his disfigured face quickly came back to life to describe a subtle smile.
Swiftly and brutally, the commander grabbed the winglets of his robotic body and ripped them off in a bloody mess; exposing two enormous angelic wings.
"I may die as a slave to the enemy, but they'be allowed me to die fighting. I have won."
The Skia roared as its legs were cut, thankfully it still had two more... and could fly however it was now in a state of rage. With the shield gone it came down, attacking the commander from above with its two remaining claws and firing as many beams as it could fire, almost like a rabid attack by an animal, however it was clear it was a desperate attack, the Shadow knew it was doomed however was ready to die as long as it took the enemy down with it. The second Skia however made a quick move in response, not striking the commander but attacking the Scythe itself, its imcomporeal claws slicing through the shaft towards the head causing the end of fly off with such force it impacted the ground with a spray of dirt, it then dodged to the side and moved away while its comrade hammered the Commander from the top.
"Brothers in warfare together again!" He extended his hands and welcomed the attack. The beams brutalized the ceramic armor, blowing off the other arm and his head, uncovering the knightly form hidden within, a golemic, chiseled human figure gigantic in its proportions and glory. "With blood in our voices we'll fight!"
The commander had probably never looked like that in life. The appearance came from something deeper than his look; it was the manifestation of his very chained soul. Underneath all the cybernetics, infinite and unindistinguishable, was a warrior.
The animalistic attack of the Skia met the controlled counterattack of the commander, who now moved in blinding, fluid flashes towards him. He could tell the Skia longed its furious death, and he was there to give it.
The blinding strikes came quick, but the commander dodged them now more with grace than ferocity. Supersonic shockwaves marked his moves as if they were infernal war-drums. He was quick in putting his angelical wings in front of him for a second to obstruct the view of the mutilated Skia. From in between the feathers, his two golden hands came, one punching through its chest and the other grabbing the neck of the Skia. With a fierce roar the commander lifted the phasic being above his head.
"And I'll fight until I die!" The commander yelled and pulled the Skia apart with his bare hands, his eyes shining in golden light. He knew he was next to die.
He charged the last Skia armed with nothing but his fists, throwing himself at the shadow with such force he blew a crater into his jumping point; flying amongst the thunder and nuclear flame to meet the last Skia in battle.
The last Skia saw the death of its comrade and instead of feeling rage only sharpened its combat urges. As the massive golden commander came flying at the Skia time seemed to slow, the sheer speed of the fight would of been too fast for any mortal to register and this moment was no exception. Thankfully Skia brains processed information so fast they were on par with some of the most advanced combat AI programs currently used. It analysed the attack and in a way guessed the commander knew it was going to die, its brain quickly calculated an ending move and in unbeleivably quick time moved to intercept, as the commanders arms reached out for the Skia it phased out, and re materialised inside of the giants guard, in one fluid and elegant motion the Skia raked its claws through the giant being, cutting it in two as the golden majestic hologram continued to fly towards an enemy who had already moved, with that the Skia phased out again, and re appeared a few feet away to leave the commander to impact, it now being clearly cut in the middle of its torso.
One last impact shook the ground as the commander - now completely devoid of his physical form, as the last remnants had been just cleaved off of him in his lower half- tumbled to a halt. The Narvals simply continued their mute observation.
The halo above the commander finally disappeared, causing him to begin flickering out of existence. Whoever controlled him, n0x or the Narvals, had obviously lost control over him.
"I thank you, Shadow."
The Skia, a being normally associated with all emotion looked down on the fading form of the Commander and nodded, it acknowledged his death as an honourable one. One worth the attention of the Skia, for the commander had been deemed a equal opponent. With the corrupt commanders death the Skia gave one glance to the Narval who stood motionless still and then phased out, leaving the surrounding area still burning as the nuclear fires raged and the bodies burnt. A mission still had to be carrried out, one that was to still decide not only the fate of Telestus but of many other systems as well.
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:24:13 GMT
Telestus surface: Paradox attack underway
A deserted traffic jam stretched for miles. Standing downstream from the massive forest fires caused by the nuclear detonations, the highway that led to the city's entrance was an eerie scene of foggy devastation. The populance only had a few hours to evacuate, in vain they had loaded every possesion they had into their cars and personal aircraft to try and flee, but the Paradox had run them down.
A couple of smoke plumes were all that was left of the confrontation between Bullhead's lightning attack and the local defense forces, consisting of local police and garrison. Disorganized and caught by surprise, the local defense forces had fallen completely silent as Bullhead had went on to assault EPA's temple.
Cars extended for miles; personal posessions and baggages were strewn all over the place. Several craters smoked slightly where the checkpoints into and out of the city were built. However, strangely enough, there was not one single body in the vincinity.
Lyn and Johnson's group advanced in the overgrown foliage that ran alongside the highway, weapons at the ready. there was no enemy presence either, all the forces that got to the city had already advanced past it.
'Be advised' The radio transmitted its encrypted comms signal. 'Enemy offensive has switched its center of mass to the capital, over. We've lost contact with the south sector, units in the perimeter are reporting enemy scouts'
Johnson scanning the abandoned highway, looking for anything which could be remotely enemy. Nothing moved. He knew they had to still get to their objetive however the two of them were in command of but a few platoons each, they were to secure an objective which in reality would of been captured by nearly two companies worth of troops. Never the less he knew they may be the only ones who could stop this. He turned to Lyn and nodded, slowly making his way over to one of the wrecked cars, his plasma autorifle scanning the area looking for targets. Things were sarily quiet. Though they were close to their destination he decided to take no chances. "Lyn the coasts clear, lets get off this damn highway"
Flashes of light blinked through the fog, too fleeting for either of the soldiers to realize what they were. The eerie scene of desolation continued to the outskirts of the town, where the only signs of activity were several sall, smoking craters.
"Alright" Lyn said, taking out and unfolding a large scanner. "We better find where she is quickly."
The two soldiers immediately threw themselves into cover behind an abandoned truck as soon as they heard some screaming followed by the buzzing sounds of superfrequency laser fire. The screaming wasn't the authoritarian commands of officers, it seemed to be civilian pleading
Johnson signalled his men to move up, as the noises puntuated the still air he knew there was nothing he could do to save them. The only way they could save these people was to get to their objective and somehow stop the Paradox. He readied the tactical map on his bracer holopad as he looked around. His men and those of Lyn were moving into positions, while not small amounts of men he would of liked to of had tanks too. Though thankfully they still had some anti tank weapons. The squad sergeants came over and gathered, kneeling down behind the truck. He looked at Lyn and nodded "Alright, we are almost at the target, up ahead across this highway should be the city in question, while not huge we will have to find the target street by street. Though we think she is somewhere in the hopsital area. Enemy strength is unknown but im guessing they still have surprises for us. Watch yourselves. Lyn do you want to add anything?"
"So far so good" She nodded to her company to follow.
As soon as they got into the town itself they noticed where the screaming was coming from. Dragged and gathered up in a large sports field, what looked like hundreds of civilians had been rounded up and executed by a group of a dozen Integral soldiers. With an efficiency so cold it could only come from ignoring the cruelty of their own actions, the paradoxal integrals had forced the crowd to bring up dead EPA and Union soldiers' bodies to the field before mowing them down.
Corpses laid scattered all around. In the middle of the sports field was the gunship that carried the Integrals and, towering above them, the enormous muscular figure of one of the Demiorganic Narvals, analytically watching over everything with its bident in hand. An aura of flickering yellow lights surrounded him
The view of the carnage overwhelmed several of the EPA troops, who, from behind cover, either began panicking or clamoring for Lyn to allow them to open fire.
"Wait, wait..." Lyn said, instinctively putting a hand over her mouth at witnessing so much death. "This isn't right... this isn't right..."
Johnson moved over to Lyn making sure he kept his head down "Whats not right?" He asked, he could hear the murmering and anger of his men wanting to know why they were not opening fire. Johnson wanted to give the command but if Lyn knew something then he needed to know, he wouldnt lead the last hope into an ambush or a situation where they were to be killed. Besides he didnt like the look of the Demiorganic, he had heard of those things abilities before and wasnt sure even with the heavy weapons it would go down easily...
The Integral troops, having completed the massacre, quickly began mounting back onto their dropship, whose engines turned on, hitting the EPA and Union soldiers with distant gravitic swaying. The Narval staid behind, looking at the scene.
Meanwhile, a shiver went down Lyn's spine as she saw the flickering lights, vaguely human-shaped skeletal frameworks began approaching and fusing with the bodies of the dead civilians and troopers; inserting themseves into the corpses via their eye sockets and mouths.
"Shit..." She said, stepping back in horror. "Heavy weapons! Heavy weapons!"
"Ma'am...?" The commander of her RPG team answered with trembling voices
"Shoot the bodies now!" She ordered. "Incendiary charges!"
"What?!"
Johnson shouted to fire and the RPG team opened fire, the missiles screaming into the dead bodies below, the other Union troops immediately opened fire, covering the RPG team and attacking anything else that moved. The noise exploded from the silence and Johnson fired too, his autorifle aiming for the Demiorganics head, or what he thought was its head. As for the other heavy weapons the Union Mass Rifles opened up on the gunship, trying to take it out before it got airborne to effect their troops. Johnson raised Lyn on internal coms due to the noise of the gunfire "What are those things!"
The dropship flew over the troop, absorbing the mass driver shots with its fuzzy armor as it quickly accelerated away to link back up with the main force of troops that was readying to assault the planetary capital without firing at them.
While the neural training of the EPA soldiers had taught them well how to aim and fire the RPG, they were still only civilians dressed up in armor and imbued with doctrinal instructions. Thus, while the Union soldiers fired, the students and workers that were under the EPA uniform didn't find it in them to fire at and burn the bodies of the civilians and their own brothers in arms.
The bodies that hadn't been blown by the Union rockets, dozens upon dozens of them, quickly rose back to their feet. They quickly shouldered their weapons, ran behind cover like trained soldiers and began attacking Lyn and Johnson's troop. While their movements were mechanic and simply puppeteered by the Narval, they were frighteningly still clinging onto life, horribly wailing in pain and agony.
"Spread out, spread out!" Lyn yelled. "Covering fire!"
Johnson cursed, these things were reanimating civilians... It was a horrific sight and he was instantly reminded of the Draken wars... when he and his men had fought the puppeteer... He had reanimated corpses to fight for the Draken and his own freinds and family had inhumanly attacked him and his men, that had broken Johnson that day but he knew how to stop this. The demiorganic had to die. He screamed for the Union troops to concentrate fire on the Demiorganic, the heavy weapons switching their aim as a few of the Union troops were cut down by the mechanical zombies fire. "We need that things dead now!"
A powerful shot from one of the mass drivers made its way directly into the Narval's temple, blasting a huge exit hole that sprayed the wall behind it with grey matter. The Narval itself, however, seemed unfazed, and subsequent shots only managed to hit the invisible, spherical forcefield around it.
"God damn, we're gonna have to fight through them!" Lyn yelled as the enemy troops started positioning themselves to block their way into the town. "We need to flank them!"
Johnson nodded and pointed to the area "Lyn you keep it busy i will take my squad and flank round to the right! I can use that building overlooking the field to our advantage we could get some good shots off from there!" He shouted over the coms, using sign language he formed up his squad, the troopers nodding to the commands, itching to kill the enemy after seeing the atrocities before them. He siganalled for them to move out and they quickly pelted towards the building, as the men fanned out they covered each other as they entered, while the main force hammered the enemy from the front. Johnson and his men entered the flat and made their way upstairs, some of the building was damaged due to the fighting here and they propped and set themselves up overlooking the enemy right flank. Lining up their shots Johnson messaged Lyn "In position! We can fire on your mark"
"Alright, give them the hammer!" Lyn commanded while her own men assembled behind a waist-high concrete wall that separated them from the torrent of gunfire coming in from the undead. "We'll move up to the building next to you and cover your movement from there!"
Johnson acknowleged and opened fire, the hail of gunfire from the destroyed building scything down and cutting apart the horde of undead, coming in from the side and above the Union squad negated the enemy the use of cover and the bodies fell as the plasma rounds tore through flesh and bone. Johnson watched Lyns forces charge and he picked off targets of oppitunity as they tried to repulse the EPA charge, occasionally a Mass round would impact a large group sending body parts everywhere but no matter how many they killed the bodies kept coming.
Lyn's troop used the fierce fire as cover to run along the streets and garrisson themselves in the building next door, losing a few men in the process to the undead's accurate gunfire. Just as they managed to get into the building, however, an undead RPG team managed to place a shot on the front of the building where Johnson and his men were taking cover.
"Shit" Lyn was knocked off her feet by the nearby explosion, and quickly ordered her men to spread out amongst the windows of the building and engage the enemy troops, sending forth a hailstorm of laser fire against the entrenched positions of the undead. While the lasers that found their target quickly punched through the unarmored bodies of the civilians and put them out of their misery, the casualties sustained by the undead were relatively light. "Johnson, are you alright down there?" She asked.
However, what mattered was that Johnson was in the clear to move again. "Johnson, I know that must have hurt but I need you to keep moving up to the next building, double time!"
Johnson groaned as he picked himself up "Of course it hurt, alright moving up now give me a sec" He looked around to see his unit picking themselves up, however two of his soldiers had been killed, one was missing limbs while the other had been blown apart by the explosion, he paid quick respects to them in his mind. The time for mourning would come later, for now they had to move and fast.
He was moving in an instant with his squad, they gave covering fire as the men rushed through the streets, the accurate fire of the enemy impacting their armour, one man went down, his leg hit. However he waved the group on, firing on the floor he was finally taken out by a lucky head shot. Johnson glanced over to where Lyn was located and then managed to pick out the enemy RPG team, stationed in the building next to Lyns he sent over the coms “Enemy weapons team in your next door, they are lining up another shot on us, we will keep you covered, move up! Go Lyn go!”
"We're getting the hang of this, just keep moving!" Lyn moved up to the next building as Johnson had done before her, losing an equal ammount of troops to the enemy fire. As the Union soldiers fiercely attacked the position of the enemy RPG team, Lyn's own team fired a thermobaric rocket into the building, blowing it and the undead gunners apart.
"we're almost to the hospital, move!"
Johnson laughed "Dont jinx it" He said as his forces moved out, the Demiorganic had slowly moved back, sending more and more undead units towards his and Lyns squads, they were entering the hospital courtyard now, his forces diving into concrete barricades and walls erected by the now deceased defenders. The firing had intensified and Johnson was sure the enemy had some more heavy weapons set up in the building itself as well as those around the area. If only they could take down that damn demiorganic... "Lyn how do we take down the big boss, we need it dead. Will the undead cease to function if it dies?"
"I don't think we have anything heavy enough to take him out yet." Lyn announced as a distant rumble sounded over the battlefield. "Let's hope whatever's in the hospital can help us deal with it!"
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:24:31 GMT
Telestus Surface: Paradox overrun, all forces retreating
The rumbling slowly intensified until it turned into a deafening, high-pitched roar. On the streets in front of the hospital lobby they saw as a large Union Ace light dropship slowed down and opened its doors. Its left wing was entirely destroyed and replaced by a flickering, hologram-like afterimage that nevertheless seemingly allowed the aircraft to keep flying and deliver its deadly cargo.
Despite being hit multiple times by rocket and heavy weapons fire, the dropship landed and from inside it dismounted three full platoons of undead EPA and Union soldiers spearheaded by two hulking units of Union power armor. Cracking the marble-like floor of the hospital lobby with every step, the two gigantic soldiers advanced, one with a shield covering the other, who carried two cascade guns.
Lyn's forces were caught on the first line by the unexpected undead reinforcements, and with a barrage of missiles and gatling gun fire that went through the barricades and walls like they were butter, dozens of the EPA soldiers went down
Johnson sighed "You jinxed it... Seriously can this get any worse" He signalled his men to reinforce the flank, the Union heavy weapons setting up under the barrage of missiles and cascade cannon fire, a few went down to the barrage of attacks however the Mass rifles managed to get some shots off, staggering the shield and sword armed warrior who was currently advancing the other fire support warrior stood giving fire support and pinning the allied forces down. Now and then EPA and Union forces picked off some of the undead forces but the Heavy power armoured combat warrior kept coming. Johnson knew if he got close it would be game over. They had to do something "Lyn how much high explosives do we have?" He asked.
"Demolition charges, RPGs and self-guided mines" Lyn said as the troops retreated back into more solid cover as the undead assault demolished their way through the lobby. "We're losing men, we need to get these guys off our backs fast!"
Keeping its shield up to absorb the heavy rocket and mass driver fire from the Union troops, the shielded heavy power armor soldier made its way to the left side of the lobby, backed up by several soldiers with plasma rifles. As soon as it neared one of the structural pillars of the lobby it activated its energy blade and cleanly sliced through it, causing the left side of the roof to collapse on top of the Union troops. A cascade of rubble came down on the troops and the power armored soldier, who put its shield above its head for protection
Johnson cursed as he watched his men get buried, some managed to crawl out however others were crushed. Moments later the power armoured figure smashed its way out of the rubble and continued its slow advance forward. He made up his mind as the suicidal idea went through his head. He turned to one of his demolition experts and grabbed a demolition charge. Locking his rifle in his magnetic gauntlet he put the charge in his left hand and activated it. He turned to Lyn and laughed "Wish me luck" He bolted forward as the cascade cannons followed him, tearing up the area with shells as Johnson went from run to sliding along the floor, the warrior brought up its energy blade to slice him and he managed to avoid the blow with only a slice to his shoulder the blade instant quartarising the wound. He winced as he slapped the charge onto the waist of the soldier and slid past into the rubble, moving into a more protected area as the charge finally detonated, the small fusion device engulfing the figure and causing the missiles in its shoulders to also detonate. The light died down to reveal the armour had been blasted apart, the warrior now dead Johnson realised he still had another they needed to take down.
As the situation grew more hopeless for the remaining Union and EPA teams that now found themselves both outnumbered and outgunner, a damaged EPA transport gunship touched down and landed in front of the hospital, disrgorging another platoon of undead troops before frlying away.
"Johnson, there's no use trying to fight these people!" Lyn yelled. "We have to get to the room fast!"
He swore and sighed, Lyn was right there were no end to the hordes being thrown at them, he once again bolted for Lyns position braving the cascade cannons as the shots clipped his armour and kept the allied forces surpressed. He hit the deck behind the cover next to Lyn and nodded "Agreed, we need to head upstairs and find this women, and then hope to whatever that she can somehow stop this!" He shouted over the loud ripping sound of the double cascade cannons.
Following the newly-arrived EPA undead, two of EPA's own power armored troops backed up the advance, firing up autocannons at the remaining positions. The undead Union PA on the meantime switched its fire to light up the entrance to the stairs and prevent Lyn and Jonhson from escaping.
"We're trapped!" Lyn yelled as the last remnants of her troop were being wiped out by the autocannons. In two battles she had lost two entire units, the realization hit her. She had failed her men twice now. She was expecting sorrow for the dead and anger against their slayers but she was only hit by the dark, viscous flavor of self-hate.
"This is all my fault..." She said, clutching her weapon in anger. She looked everywhere as if again looking for the explanation and justification of her actions, again she found nothing but the ennemy winning. "No, no!"
Johnson watched as more of his men were cut down. And then looked to Lyn who seemed to be breaking down. His faced dropped in sympathy. And he slowly and calmly kneeled down to her height, he placed his hand on her shoulder and calmly spoke "Lyn. Hey, its ok dont cry. Dont be sad. Trust me, if this is our time this is our time. And by the universe we got this far, but now is not our time. We will not loose here Lyn and no matter what you think this is not your fault, our soldiers need us, they need you. And we still need a way out. Calm your senses and help me think" He came in close and kissed her helmet. He had fallen for her, and though it wasnt a good time to say so it may be the only time left he had.
Her arms reached for the ATGM launcher of the fallen EPA gunner that laid beside her, somewhat galvanized by Johnson's company and words, she dropped her gun and some of her armor, she needed to move quick. She tightly held against the large pillar she was taking cover behind and, in a quick motion as the EPA power armor-wielding undead troopers stopped to cool down their gun, she jumped.
She jumped quickly from one pillar to the other, traversing half the width of the lobby in one jump where she fired off the remaining rocket in the launcher at the Union power armored soldier. The deadly cascade cannons quicky brought themselves to bear on her with horrible and effcient accuracy, shooting off her left arm, and right leg.
The missile was below its minimum range, so upon hitting the hulking suit of power armor it didn't explode but simply crush itself against it, leaving it literally unscatched. However, as the undead warrior rose its cascade cannons to finish her off, they didn't fire: they had been jammed by shrapnel from the missile.
Lyn didn't even feel the pain at first, just the pressure from her suit's automated tourniquets closing in on her joints.
"The way's clear..." she said in an adrenaline-infused monotone, shocked at the ammount of blood coming out of her
"No!" Johnson cried as he watched, he rushed over and grabbed the gel from his pouch applying it to Lyns stumps the gel quickly hardned to stop the bleeding, though he could tell she was in shock. She needed serious medical attention and fast. He picked her up carrying her towards the allied men, the EPA and Union soldiers firing feircely after witnessing the ordeal. Finally the stairs were clear and Johnson signalled the men to go, they rushed the stairs and Johnson ran up too talking to Lyn constantly "Stay with me!"
The power armored warrior dropped its guns and quickly walked over to the wreckage of the other one, ripping off the energy sword from what was left of its hand and activating it to cast its eerie yellow glow. Slowly, it began walking after the Union and EPA survivors, now numbering little more than eight.
All the smoke from the rocket's impact began clearing before violently swirling into a vortex away from the lobby. In the middle of it, surrounded by a perimeter of undead soldiers, was the Narval, its wound now healed. As it walked forth towards the stairs, the bodies of the fallen from Lyn and Johnson's units began acquiring flickering yellow auras and rising back up, moaning in pain as they did.
"He's hot on our heels..." Lyn said, drifting in and out of consciousness. She appeared to have been hit in the head by spalling or shrapnel, as there was now a small hole punched into her helmet.
"Dammit" Johnson raged, they cleared rooms fast, bodies in the rooms of the hospital or completely empty. He was running out of time, they needed to find the women. Firefights erupted as the various undead followed behind firing at the small band of soldiers. One by one the allied forces fell, firing into the masses as the Power armoured soldiers advanced the yellow glow permiating the corridors. Johnson saw that Lyn had gone uncouncious and knew there was seconds to spare, he kicked another door down to reveal an empty room, he swore as a round richoched off his shoulder pad and he turned to kick another door down, the warrior hot on his heels. And there she laid. The women they had been looking for, blissfully unaware and in a deep coma. Johnson dropped to his knees still carrying Lyn. He didnt know what to do now. It was too late for them, he had failed.
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:24:41 GMT
Telestus Surface: Paradox held, main city under heavy assault
He wasnt sure if he was hallucinating or not but he crawled over to the women, placing Lyn carefully on the floor he carefully took the womens hand. Tears welled in his eyes, he knew the end was close, though whether his end or the enemies was yet to be seen, he took one hand in two of his and closed his eyes "Please... I dont know if you can hear me but you must help us, we will die. Thousands, no millions are dying and we need your help. You are the only one who can save us... I was sent here to get you. And so was she" He turned to face Lyn "She is dying, please save her. Save us all" He turned to the strange beings next to her and waited for some sort of reply. It couldnt end here, it couldnt.
"Sir, please step away from the perimeter" One of them said in a distorted, quasi-alien voice while gesturing with his hand. His face was invisible under the ballistic goggles and balaclava, but he didn't seem to be looking directly at Johnson, he was like a robot preprogrammed to say that
Johnson was somewhat confused, he had seen EPA philosophies and he hadnt seen these described before. He looked down at the women again before he heard the undead EPA power armour approaching. With a stern look he stood up and grabbed his weapon, leaning down to kiss Lyn on the forhead he turned back to the women and the two ghostly soldiers "Help us. I dont know how much longer we have" He checked the gun and aimed at the doorway into the room, he would go down fighting.
"Sir, please step away from the perimeter." They repeated. As Johnson looked back he saw the two soldiers in fully corporeal forms, revealing them to be typical 21st century assault riflemen with G3 rifles and antiquated-looking riggings. The body of Sofia was now bathed in a warm orange light from the window.
As he looked outside, he noticed the buildings were completely different. Instead of the ravaged small town of Telestus, large office buildings and repeater antennae shot seemingly endlessly into the sky. There were no spacecraft nor hovercraft anywhere, only ancient-looking cars identical to the ones he had seen from pre-Union history. A silvery necklace with a crucifix now adorned Sofia's neck, as her eyes began to twitch.
Johnsons eyes widened "By the univserse..." He muttered as the changes happened, this wasnt what he signed up for. He reognised the buildings like the stories father used to tell him about the old world. Before the nukes fell and the unification "Help us" he said to the women again before turning to the door
He almost pulled the trigger when he saw someone come in, but it turned out only was a nurse, who happily came by, smiling at Johnson as she passed by to water the flowers sitting on the window frame next to Sofia, identical to the ones on the dead bodies outside of her room. Silently, she made her way out of the room.
She woke up, yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her features had a sharp youth to them, green eyes and light brown hair hair adorned her lively face. She didn't look at all like she had woken up from a coma, just from a brief nap.
"Hello." She said with a curious look
Johnson stared in disbleif, how was this possiblem what was happening. He stared at the young women dumbfounded, unable to speak for a few seconds. He managed to somehow reply "Hello" He said gulping not sure how to proceed.
"Who are you?" She simply asked, reaching for a cup of warm milk that sat in a tray next to her bed. Lyn seemed to remain unconscious, the warm summer wind blew through the open window softly
He hesitated before his training kicked in "My name is Gary Johnson, Union of Worlds sergeant" He replied "Who are you?" he asked. "My name is Sofia" She said kinda timidly, shaking hands with the sergeant, with an impressive sense of normality, as if ignoring his futuristic armor
He accepted the hand shake, feeling strangely calm around this girl he didnt feel the pain in his arm, something was clearly wrong here. But whatever it was did not alarm him "Nice to mee you Sofia, I wonder if you can help me. I was sent here to find you, along with her" He looked down directing Sofia to Lyns unconcious body "Can you save her?"
"You came here to find me?" She asked with a pondering voice. "Nobody has visited me in a while."
"Yes we were ordered to find you, we were told there was a chance you could help us, millions are dying. Including my dear freind here. Please you have to help us, the Paradox are destroying everything" Johnson said desperately, truth be told at this moment all he wanted was for Lyn to be saved, though it was selfish he had seen war before. Planetary anniahlation was nothing to knew to him, but he would be dammed before he lost another loved one.
Sofia looked down, stirring her mug of milk with a straw with a kind of melancholic expression. "I remember when I was in school, it seems like a thousand eternities ago." She said as she looked out the window. "Just... tiny circumstances here and there, building up in my life. Now they're so unimportant I can't even remember them, nor do I really care for it. Either way, I was a cruel person to those around me. I thought it would help me, I thought if I was mean to everyone nobody would be mean to me. Didn't quite work out that way."
A distant helicopter flew overhead, a gust of wind entered the room. The soldiers hadn't moved an inch since Johnson had come in, they were like statues.
"It was after that that I crossed paths with them on the street. Maybe I thought that doing a good action would make karma ease up on me for a little. I gave my lunch away to that poor woman and her emanciated baby."
Johnson clicked. The women and the baby, the fact this women had changed his surroundings, he had been told she was a fragment of the Son of Man and this proved it. He was slightly taken aback in awe at her statements and replied in ernst "You are a fragment, the women and the baby... You are a fragment of the Son of Man, the first. I was sent here to ask you to help us, to use what power you have to save those who have fallen and to help us defeat the paradox" He smiled at her "If you wish to take more good actions, come with me, save my freind and you can make your karma right" He smiled and looked into her serene face, he had suceeded. He had really found her.
"Look at where trying to get my karma right has gotten me." She said, sighing. "I didn't know the child was special. In the end it didn't do anything, since I had an accident..." She paused and swallowed for a bit. "If I had the choice now I would have probably kept my lunch to myself. I didn't know it would make me what I am now, I didn't know it would keep me from dying and seal me in this hotel room forever for other people to visit me and ask me to win their wars...
Mr. Gary Johnson, I am just a student. I do not know what the paradox is, I don't know what the Union of Worlds is, nor Hjelmsdëlare or Silence Within or the Combined Fleet or Yokozuna or Basilides." She looked at him with resignation, as Johnson was hit by the realization that Son of Man's enormous power had been gifted to the quasi-ghost afterimage of a girl who never woke up from her coma and was now an artifact rather than a person. "I cannot lend my effort to a war I cannot ever know anything about"
Johnson looked her in the eyes "It may have done so, but your actions have saved billions and changed the lives of countless more, you made empires what they are today. Living happily and trying to continue their way of life, you helped create something infinitely larger than the person you believe yourself to be. You were given this power for a reason and you can make it so that countless billions more are saved" He looked down at Lyn "please, if you wont end this war. Save her" he begged.
"I have ended wars that have nothing to do with me." She said, tears streaming down her cheeks as her voice cracked. "Over and over again, everyone who has come to me... they all say that they have peace and prosperity in mind, that they will help save countless, but how can I know that they ever spoke the truth? Wouldn't that be exactly what you would want to tell me? I am not even a person anymore, I'm not even an object, I'm just a means people will use to do what they want, and how can I know I'm not helping monsters?!" She sobbed "How can I meet so many creatures and people coming here to ask me while the people I actually hoped would visit me never did?!"
It seemed Sofia's anger was having an effect on her surroundings as, just for a flash, Johnson was shunted back into the same room in Telestus just as the power armored warrior demolished the wall with one sweep of its power sword. In the blink of an eye, he was back in the unknown location, the wall was still there.
|
|
|
Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 17, 2017 13:25:03 GMT
Telestus Surface: Paradox held, all forces mainly destroyed, full evacuation authorised
"...Zsofia Czajka..." Lyn said as she came back to her senses in a weak, dying voice. "...one of the people that you're waiting for is called Lyn. That's also my name. I picked it up... you see... in my culture our names have no vowels" She breathed in with some effort. "I thought it sounded better than Nrz or Xyz and I had read that name show up in the Syntagma." She said with a fatigued chuckle. "But the one you've waited for in this room is not me, her name is called Lynnette Dewoude, she was your friend."
Just as she mentioned that name Sofia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.
Johnson moved over to Lyn and held her making sure she didnt end herself in her attempt to communicate with the Quantum being "Lyn..." He uttered seriously concerned about her. He knew she didnt have long and judging by the quick shuntback to the room and the power armoured being he didnt have long either, if it flickered back. His only chance now was for him and Lyn to somehow convince Sofia...
"How do you know...?" She asked, clutching her bedsheets. Lyn took off her helmet.
"The religion I follow is the Syntagma" Lyn mentioned, speaking slowly and breathing deeply to avoid straining her body too much. "It mentions that the Son of Man knew the universe when he laid his gaze upon a dog. He didn't just see the dog, he saw the dog's parents and grandparents, he saw the meat the dog had consumed, he saw the grass that the cows that made the meat consumed... he saw the stars that fed the grass and the supernova that created those stars.
While we see objects he saw an endless series of causes and consequences that all coverged in the creation of the universe.
When he saw you, he didn't just see the girl I see now." She gave her a calm smile, almost motherly, despite the horrific state of her of her body. "He saw your thoughts, dreams, worries, your parents and friends, as well as their thoughts, dreams and worries."
The fragment of the Son of Man, the vessel of the quantum god's almost infinite power, looked on in suspense. For centuries her visitors had only come with request pertaining to the obscure, alien matters between the Axioms she could not even hope to begin understanding. For this time, for the first time, someone had come to talk to her personally.
Lyn continued.
"He knew they didn't hate you, he knew they all suffered for and with you but kept their faith and looked forwards to the moment the old you would be back from the very moment you decided to approach His divinity. From the mouth of the most holy of Axioms I can tell you that Lynette, Anne-Marie, Manon and Natalya loved you as a person until the very end."
By now Sofia had completely broken down in sobs, overwhelmed by the emotion.
"I guess he preserved you not just because of the bread you gave him but so you could have the news delivered to you sooner or later rather than stress and insecurity being the last thing you knew. If your existence here has been stressful and purgatorial I apologize from the bottom of my heart in His name, the gifts of the Son of Man are never easy to bear but always given to the most exceptional of souls."
Johnson came over with a warm look on his face “We dont wish to treat you as an object, you are a fantastical person. And you were given this gift for a reason. We will do everything we can to help you Sofia. We really will” He turned to Lyn, she had a motherly expression on her face, he took happiness in that. It showed her true self, wanting peace and to help all even when everything seemed lost and that she was horrifically injured. He respected her greatly... even going as far perhaps to love.
"Let that be so then" Sofia said after finally regaining her composture and wiping the tears off her face. As she did so, an aura of light began appearing around her head. "Stuck here, forever caught in the last weeks of my life. I never thought that anything could justify this, I thought it was just the accidental gift of an uncaring god. I never expected it to bring me any good, but if all this time was the price to pay for my peace of mind, then it was worth it."
A holographic cube appeared over her head, which both Lyn and Johnson recognized from the images of the Son of Man and some of the more powerful demiorganics. Around it, a network of haloes of different sizes appeared out of thin air, taking the form of the orthogonal projection of a 4-dimensional hypersphere.
She rubbed her crucifix.
"Must be God's work that we met, don't you think?" She said
Johnson merely nodded, though he didnt beleive the Son of Man to be a god he respected him just as highly as the Emperor, for such a being of power to create such things, to help those further down the line he could understand why he was revered as such. He smiled, nothing in his life had quite prepared him for an event like this he was in total awe. Witnessing an event like this must be like those who have met the Emperor... perhaps with the ending of this he would get the honour to. But he didnt care, he just wanted Lyn to be safe, and his world returned to normal. "It was certainly a set event Sofia. Of that I am sure" he said caringly.
As Sofia quickly floated back to her feet, arms to her sides, Lyn unexpectedly got back on her feet, completely consumed by awe. Her missing limbs had been replaced by holographic afterimages thereof, like the damaged wings of the gunships but with a purity far higher.
Johnson stepped back he wasnt sure what to think, Lyn had been saved. Tears welled in his eyes. This was it. His mission was complete. Now they could help change the course of the war. And save those who were under threat.
The room changed back, from the warm light and scenery of the Earth shortly before the coming of the Son of Man to the bleak and ruined scenery of Telestus. The power armored warrior was no logner charging through the wall, instead he laid suspended amongst the pieces of shrapnel he had created, stuck in the same position as Sofia as the flickering afterimage disappeared from its body.
Johnson turned to Lyn "What just happened?" He asked as he stared at the body. He then realised the pain in his arm was gone, a gentle golden light spilled from the wound, just like those of the quantum afterimages. Yet it felt like his arm was completely intact. Incredible he thought, however his first thought turned to the forces still pursuing them, and Sofias safety.
The enormous frame of the power armor quietly and serenely disassembled itself; as pieces of hardened quantum plate floated away and evaporated, the dead pilot was left in a peaceful, resting pose with flowers in his hands.
The scene flickered a couple times, vertiginously and with little distinction. He saw the undead EPA and Union soldiers die off similarly, purged of the malignant afterimages cast upon them by the Narval. The corridor became littered with bodies, neatly arranged and each possessing a small bouquet of Sofia's flowers in them.
Only the Narval was unaffected, as Johnson found out when he was quickly teleported right in front of it alongside Lyn.
Somewhat confused the Union sergeant stared into the strange looking Demiorganics eyes. Turning over to see Lyn he looked at her for direction. She was still possing the golden limbs and seemed perfectly healthy despite her ordeal before hand. He himself felt like he had all the energy in the world to spare. Somewhat uneasy he shouted to Lyn "So what happens now?" He asked.
"I... I don't know!" She could only reply as the events unfolded.
The spherical forcefield cracked and evaporated away as the blinding light emitted by Sofia shone upon the Narval's black frame. It was then that he felt the weight of a sword upon his hand, a long straight blade made of the same otherwordly material as Lyn's limbs were now made.
The demiorganic looked upon the two, each one carrying one of the swords. Dropping its bident in front of him, the enormous muscled creature bowed to them.
Johnson was confused, with the gleaming quantum sword in his hand he stared at the Demiorganic. It had bowed, yet moments earlier had been trying to kill them. Ressurecting their freinds into hideious parodies which in turn had tried to kill them. Did he end its exsistance? It was afterall a Paradox creation, but then again could it be returned to the Axioms light with Sofias power? He was unsure. He spoke to Lyn "I do not know if we are to destroy it or not. Will it obey us?"
"It knows it is paradoxal." Lyn replied as she observed her own blade. "Let's purify this place so that we can finally go back to the capital!"
Johnson stiffened up, mustering his hatred for the machine he sliced his golden sword downwards, shattering the Narvals body in twain, the hardened form which had protected it from Mass driver rounds and other weapons was little to no match for the sword he had been gifted. He was amazed at the power he weilded. But for now they had more pressing concerns. The capital was bound to be breaking by now, the last defenders making a desperate last stand to defend the civilians. Johnson turned to Lyn after surveying the things corpse "Your right we have to help them!" He shouted "Lead the way!"
"Fight your battle." Sofia said with her soft voice, levitating higher and higher as an enormous pillar of light emerged and engulfed the whole hospital, then the city block and the entire city. "You have my gratitude."
The next thing they knew, they were levitating above the city.
The scene was one of total desolation. Fierce fights had leveled the city as the defenders fought for every street and room of the capital against the ruthless forces of the Paradox. Around the city, spreading as far as the eye could see, a cratered hellscape of nuclear impacts extended, its intense fires eclipsing the sun with ebony ash. This time there was no quick blitzkrieg or seizing of objectives: the paradox forces were there to kill and nothing more. Felled by hundreds by the tenacious defendants, the increasingly broken and ghoulish forms were brought back into life over and over again by the second Narval that overwatched the battle. Thunder marked every gunshot, every death, the black ash of the nuclear fallout mixed with the blood that ran on the streets.
Hovering above the slaughter was the architect of the battle, n0x. A stack of haloes floated above the archparadoxal demiorganic who coldly observed the action, untouched by gunfire and heavy artillery, as thunderclouds swirled above the creature.
"You again..." Johnson growled. Unpeturbed by the fact he was flying he had done orbital drops before and wasnt afraid of heights. He somehow knew there was only one way this was to end. Lyn and himself were the only ones who could do this. End the war. End the Paradox. It would take both of them. He had seen this being before, the granduer of it alone painted it to be the enemies commander "Lyn are you ready?" He said raising his quantum blade "This is it. We have come this far. Lets end this and save this world" he took a deep breath. This was going to be a hard fight, with or without the powers of a SoM fragment.
"Let's do this." Lyn said
"For a single bridge to the enchanted realm I pay with one world, I am granted supreme wisdom" n0x said, extending his arms while carrying his black scythe. "She is the god of poetry, sorcery and death. Wounded, torn apart as her life had just begun, pain and agony agony she made of herself a sacrifice to herself."
As the creature spoke the words of a forbidden tongue, reverberating in reality itself, hands came out from its body, followed by the spiked head and muscular torsos of two additional Narvals, red in coloration and with two heads each, who began floating towards Lyn and Johnson.
"I now give you what so long had been denied, I now give you the destruction of this world tainted by the reflection of your most hated brethren. Given no chance for survival they look down and with a loud cry they fall screaming from existence!"
The thunderclouds chaotically swirled about as they took on a deep red tinge mirroring that of the sun's sudden change of color. A foul smell began to permeate the entire battle, the smell of blood and amniotic fluid to which the rain was transmuted into, flooding the broken streets below. "In a flash of insight the secret divinity of your power are revealed to me. I took up the runes and mastered them, powerful charms for protection and success in battle!"
|
|