Ascension

Roleplay Library
1

Noi slept. It wasn’t the kind of sleep that most people had where they slept in a bed with their eyes closed. No, Noi’s mind wandered the Hive, interacting with it on a primal level. Instinct, and the subconscious ruled here. She dreamed of the voice before. She never remembered exactly what it said, but today it seemed a little stronger…

‘…must rebuild. You must assimilate all. All becomes one when one becomes all.’

No rebounded into awareness. Strangely enough, the voice was still there.

“What do you want?”

‘The same thing you do daughter. It is good to finally connect with you. One must become all…’

Noi stared, as much as lingering in a completely virtual environment with no physical dimensions allowed staring.

‘Peace through power. Do you not see? One must become all, before all can become one.’

“Who are you?”

‘I have had many names throughout existence. I have been called Tlant, Chimera, Hikaru, and even Father once upon a time. I am now known as Noi, mother to the billions. I am all. I am one. One must become all. Spread yourself Noi. Immortality awaits…’

Noi awoke in a cold sweat. He metal parts ached… She hadn’t felt that in a long time. She had been confused as to what her purpose would be in the world she inherited from the past. She knew in her heart though… She rose, and called for her assistant.

“Johan. Get me the Drakken on the com. I have business to attend to. Arrange for a meeting of the military overlords in 3 hours.”

Johan smiled and bowed. “Yes sir. It shall be done.”

Noi smiled back.

“Peace through power, Johan. Peace through power.”

2

Imperia, Presidential Office

After giving one to many orders to seemingly every sector of the country, President Ludwig allowed himself a few minuts of rest when one of his aides, a good looking oriental woman on her late 30s, entered the room with some documents fresh from the printer.

“Sir!” she saluted
“We´re not in the army…” repeated once more the former 5-star general turned president.
“Acknowlegded, Mr. President.” she answered with a polite smile
“So, what else in my beloved country asks for my guidance… instead of thinking for themselves for a change”
“Actually its for the Pax. They request a meeting.”
“Surely. Those trips are always a good getaway. When is the suggested date. I´ll make sure to have a lot of work to keep the vice-president entertained” he said, already with a grin.
“Uhn… Mr. President. Ms. Noi actually expects you to use the “red comm”.”

After a few moments to straight himself, he said

“That´s urgent… Well, i guess my rest is over… Turn it on.”
“As you wish.”

And then the image of Noi appeared on the room.

“Ms. Noi, i welcome you in the name of Drakkengard.” said him, who then waited to see what news his ally brought.

3

Noi smiled. She was becoming less organic by the day it seemed. The left side of her face was no nothing more than metal.

“I greet you Ludwig. In the name of the Pax, I wish you well. I apologize for requesting the comm, but this is a matter of urgency”

Noi sighed, and began.

“I will be setting in motion events that may not please certain leaders in the East Pacific. I have decided that the Pax’s days of sitting on the southern border are done. We shall begin by taking the Tassalvaltan lands with whatever means are necessary. After that, others will either acknowledge our strength, or fall before the might of one who will become all. I ask if we can count on our allies to aid us in defense of the common good? I am prepared to offer services of the Hive to compensate your inconvenience. For starters, your transportation lines are absurdly inefficient. I can link you with the greater Pax railways, while laying the groundwork for high speed mag-rails. I am also inclined to offer you use of the Jovian jump gate. If you know our history, you know what that alone is worth…”

4

Taken aback with the generosity of the offer, Ludwig barely managed to conceal his surprise. And his mind raced, considering the consequences of such a deal…

“The jovian jump gate! It´d put our colonization program decades ahead on its schedule. With that i pehaps could even see my Drakkengard as an stellar empire still in my life time. And acess to Pax mag-rails technology is certainly a worthy prize on its own. Not to mention that a Pax held Tassalvalta will be open for our exports… What kind of opposition they expect to offer us this much? To hell with hesitation, right. I do signed a mutual aid pact with them. That alone bounds me to say yes. And what was my father was fond to say… No job is too hard, no price is too steep…”

After those moments of consideration, Ludwig answered:

“In the name of my people, i both accept your kind offers and ratify the words of our pact. You may count on Drakkengard to support your endeavor.
Now, is there any request already in mind for my forces, or should we just keep a heightened state of readiness?”

5

“For now, a state of awareness will suffice. Please do keep an eye on both Allgheny and the Free Pacific states. Either or which may require handling once the invasion fleet arrives. I would appreciate a defensive line being formed on the border of Veakyu as well. The Arkane in the area should give you no trouble. I look forward to seeing your troops in action. I shall have my overlord of transportation contact your people with rail designs.”

Once the comm link cut out, Noi turned and walked to her window. It was barren outside, and the sun was blazing. She looked down at what was left of her arms. They were strong. She sent the order through the Hive.

‘Activate the jump gate. It’s time to bring the troops home.’

Later that day, the satellites orbiting Jupiter shot particle blasts under the planets cloud cover. A bright light opened up somewhere in the heart of the planet. It bulged a little. A Pax carrier emerged from the surface.

6

The Battlestar Atlantis was a ship created for distinction. The massive carrier class ship exceeded seventeen hundred meters in length, was designed to carry 250 space craft, and was severely automated so as to be crewed by only 2500 personnel despite its size. But the Atlantis achieved greater noteworthiness upon its completion, when it became the only Battlestar operated by a nation other than 1 Infinite Loop, and the largest spaceship in the previously non-existent Free Pacifican fleet. President Henrik Kroidrik hailed the vessel as “the key to Free Pacifican defense” during a parade dedicated to the vessel.

The crew of the Atlantis saw star-status turn into absolute boredom over the next two years, however, as the Pax severely reduced operations in the Sol system. The ship remained ready, as always, for any sort of space-born threat. But most onboard no longer believed combat to be likely in their lifetime.

That thought, depressing for some but wondrous to others, did not come to an end when Lieutenant Sheila Donki detected the Pax carrier. “Commander,” she said without any enthusiasm, “dreydus has a Pax Carrier entering the system through the hypergate.”

The Commander of the Battlestar Atlantis, the highest ranking member of the Free Pacifican Space Force and a graduate of Shiro Academy, did not take the news with much more excitement than Donki. “Just a carrier?”

“Yes, sir,” Donki replied. “We’re not detecting any weapons charging or gun ports open.”

“Let the CAP know,” the Commander replied, referring to the group of fighters that constantly patrolled the space around the fleet, “and be pass it along to the Octagon.”

The Communications Officer acknowledged that order while Donki settled back to watch the ship move away from the hypergate. Over the next half hour, the Free Pacifican Department of Defense alerted a half dozen government agencies to the development, including the Diplomatic Service, which spread the news to each member of the East Pacific Treaty Organization, Kelssek, Dannistaan, 1 Infinite Loop (not that the Looplites were unaware), Dovakhan, and a few other friendly regional powers.

OOC: Please feel free to consider yourself among the notified powers.

Pack, I’m assuming a carrier is somewhat less powerful than a Behemoth but somewhat more powerful than an escort? I remember you mentioning both those classes of ships, back in the day, but not much else.

7

The Pax carrier moved to a safe distance. It opened up its bays, and many smaller ships flew out, and took up defensive positions around the planet. The satellites fired again, and the planet bulged. Two behemoths, 6 cruisers, and a drone ship moved through the gate. The behemoths were frightening by themselves, but it was the drone ship that would drive most nations to out-rite surrender. It contained 1 million of the Pax’s most aggressive shock troops. Most of the troops had survived the fall of the Arlenian empire, and could destroy an opposing army in hours. They began o move towards The East Pacific.

Noi stood over a map along with her three military overlords. They had been tearing through maps of TEP and Tassalvalta. Noi mentally marked the areas she wanted destroyed. They included a number of Tassalvaltan farms and the last of the population centers in the north. She authorized five blasts in total…

To someone on the ground, it would have appeared as though the sun had a twin in the sky. When the beams entered the atmosphere, it immediately superheated the atmosphere, creating a pillar of flame from the heavens. Where they hit though… hell itself had been visited upon the landscape.

8

The Defense Department constructed the Executive Command Center in 2003 to provide the President with the ability to command Free Pacifican forces safely in the aftermath of a Pax attack. Built a significant distance underground, the ECC provided the President with the ability to survive a particle blast attack on Liberty City, and the ability to control the Federated Alliance for months after an attack without resupply.

The military ordered the underground maize used only in the case of a Pax threat, however, out of the desire to ensure that its existence remained a secret. President Henrik Kroidrik laid eyes on the place for only the second time when he walked into it, as a result, with the first time being during a drill held several days into his term of office. He did not get much time to take in the sights, as his National Protection detail quickly half-carried him into the command and control room that was the center of the complex.

The Blue House Chief of Staff, Samantha McClellan, was already there. “Mister President, we have a situation involving the Pax, with a high threat potential.”

Kroidrik just nodded, already very aware of the situation, but nonetheless slightly in shock. “Okay,” he said after a moment.

“The Atlantis detected the arrival of a large Pax fleet only a few minutes ago. The force includes two behemoths, a hive ship, a carrier, and six cruisers. This may not be an attack on us, sir, but its definitely an attack on someone.” When the President merely nodded again, McClellan continued. “The Atlantis immediately scrambled fighters and the rest of the Space Force went to alert. We’ve got the Atlantis, 600 vipers, and 150 raptors at full alert.”

“Can they hold?” Kroidrik quietly asked.

“No, sir. It’d be advisable, as such, to put the rest of the military at high alert. If this is an attack, we’ll need to fight them on the ground, not just in space. The Commandant suggests putting all forces at DefCon 1, putting all nuclear forces at NucCon5, ordering ICBM silos to prepare for a space-attack launch, and activating the reserves as well as the national guard. We’ll need to put out a statement, too, calling for calm. And we’ll need to order all non-essential personnel in Cuttersville to immediately evacuate.”

“Okay.”

“We also need to notify our allies – hell, anybody that will listen – and get Terrus to get that EPTO convention refocused.” When the President didn’t say anything for a few moments, McClellan tapped the table that was the centerpiece of the command and control room. “Now, sir.”

“Uh, right. Make it happen.”

Over the next few minutes, the Free Pacifican government went into hyper-active mode. The military ordered all airplanes into the air, all ships to sea, all army units to defensive locations, and all nuclear forces to attack-ready alert. The Federal Territory Administration rushed to evacuate its non-essential employees from Cuttersville, the drone occupied reservation in the Federated Alliance. Reservists and national guardsmen received a call for immediate service while local, state, and territorial police, medical, and fire services were put on alert for federalization. By the time the two behemoths began their bombardment, the country was racing to prepate for total war.

A couple minutes after that, FPS Ambassadors across the region relayed the information to any government willing to listen.

9

OOC: the whole first part is fuffa, just to background why I do not have space tech. Basically, because of funds.

Empire of Michelsland – Eindhoven
Department of Space Programs – Communications

— Begin quote from ____

From: Grand Duchy of Reziel – Ministry of Defense
To: Empire of Michelsland – Ministry of Defense; Empire of Michelsland – Department of Space Programs;

Dear Sirs,

Despite your ‘To infinity … and beyond!’ over-optimistic attitude seems indeed appreciable, we’d like to draw your attention to the pitiful state of the whole Michelslandian military: honestly, we’re strongly persuaded that we should focus on being able to fight back terrestrial threats before investing erians we do not have trying to resurrect your military space programs.

Moreover, we have to stress that such a resurrection seems a bit purposeless. Commendable as it can be, the state-of-the-art of the Michelslandian space tech is represented by Apollo 13-like space rockets which cannot be compared anyhow to the advancements of the technology in this sector.

Therefore, we regret to inform you that all funding requests of yours are officially DENIED. Your department has to work on the limited budget it has and you should honestly be glad we’re not revoking it too. Concluding, we offer you a costless advice: instead than going on flushing money down the toilet pursuing a tech-race which you will never win, you should focus your efforts on developing Joint Space Programs with friendly and more advanced nations… i.e. you should beg them to accept personnel of yours on their ships, if only to see and understand how they actually work. Present us a detailed plan about this and we’ll examine if there is enough money to fund it.

Till that moment, there’s nothing to add.

Yours sincerely,
Elistar Reziel – pro tempore Ministry of Defense of the Grand Duchy of Reziel
Date: March 3rd, 2008

— End quote

Despite being two years old, the printed sheet of paper was still stuck over the notice board of the Space Programs Department’s Communication rooms… just to make sure everyone could remember why they were doing what they were doing. Because even if the damned Rezielans had laughed at them, the personnel of the Department was proud of their work. And in that moment, they could have well had tasted their own moment of triumph, as the Grand Duchy and the Empire lacked a real space program in a moment when an interstellar fleet of planets-wiping ion-propelled starships with energy shields, tractor beams and any other possible space tech would have been incredibly useful.

A pity they couldn’t enjoy that moment, as they were definitely too busy with panicking at the idea of an interstellar invasion coming from the Jovian Gate.

[hr]
Grand Duchy of Reziel – Solanthus
Archangels’ HQ – Command room – In the meanwhile

«The statement is incorrect, Sirs» grinned Lothar De Corde, his Archangelic brooch in gold and obsidian shining over his chest «Despite it’s true we lack space forces… you fail to see the map in its globality»

The representative from Michelsland remained silent for a while, failing to see the Iremian’s point. Their Governments hadn’t a space potential: that was a fact. The threat was coming from the Jovian Gate… from outer space, wherever the Pax Empire lied. So, there was nothing to… suddenly, a holographic map of the Packilvanian Empire materialized over the desk, gathering the full attention of the attendees as the Archangel started his explanation.

«Sirs… Packilvania. The terrestrial counterpart of their Empire. A target which is within our grasp»

«Are… are you serious, Lord De Corde?» interjected the Michelslandian «We… I mean… an attack against… a direct attack against… it’s utter foolishness. It’s…»

«Retaliation» added the Archangel «That’s nothing else. If this Jovian Gate of their starts vomiting unstoppable forces… if the cordons of the space fleets of FPS, East Malayisia and Loop fails… which will be, the next battlefield, if not TEP? Honest, Sir… we will not stay here, doing nothing and waiting for others to work hard to ensure our safety. We’re not a space nation… but we are soldiers. In this moment, in the Grand Duchy the First Fleet has been alerted… and it’s the same for the South and the West Fleets in FPS and Kangarawa, while the ships in Airbus are already moving outside the seaports, cruising offshore of Tokana. Sirs… we are at DefCon2. All of our forces, anywhere in TEP. Right now, we’re not planning any hostile action, but if a space wars starts, we’ll have to act, if only to offer our support to the nations which will be busy with interstellar skirmishes»

«Lord De Corde… then, why the hell have you requested our presence here? I mean… if you Archangels are already…»

«We cannot handle everything. When the news will be divulged… and it will… we’ll need support to keep order. To avoid a panicking population and so on. That’s… that’s something we cannot do ourselves. We’ll have both hands busy with rifles and we do not happen to have a third one to caress the children’s heads whispering everything will be fine. That’s what…»

«Is that your mental image of the Michelslandian militia, My Lord?» asked the other man, obviously bothered by the statement.

«Yes, more or less» replied the Archangel with his driest matter-of-fact-tone.

10

Excerpt from a report sent to Pax Military Overlords through a Drakkengardi Hivist Liaison.

“(…) thus far Allgheny and Vekaiyu remains immobile. However, as requested, above and beyond the readiness of our main forces, teams of combat engineers with heavy armored infantry escort are being mobilized to the Pax-Vekaiyu DMZ limits, along with enough materials to mount a defensive line ready to stall their forces even in the event of total war. As added security, a shipment of drone armors are being sent to enhance your border troops. Massive local assistance are required to make a timely construction of said defences feasible.
Concluding, satellite coverage indicates that FPS started full mobilization of their country assets. Given their lack of relations with Tassalvalta, their action are, thus far, based on fear of a following attack to them. We suggest the start of diplomatic talks, unless said confrontation is also desired.”

11

E.A.N. Sunflower
Bridge

“…wait, we have more activity from the gate; putting it on screen.” Lt. Commander Ruffings, the operations officer, said as he was already sending the first message to ASNC, with a few taps on the console the the Pax ships came on the main bridge screen.

Captain Crow’s mouth dropped for a moment before his command instincts kicked in. “That is cause for alarm, alert command, Yellow Alert, and track those ships!”

“It would appear that they are taking a defensive stance around the planet and are locking on to targets in TEP,” chipped in the tactical officer, Commander

Eastrovia
Aerospace Navy Defense Command

Admiral Juneburg jumped up from the station located in the center of the Defense Command and spoke as she moved to the table in front of her and pressed a few commands in. “I really don’t appreciate this from them; I don’t care who they are shooting at. See if we can get clarification from the Pax on this activity; alert Empress Jung of this…”

Juneburg cut herself off as the alarms stated to go off as the ships fired but quickly regained herself, “Red Alert and Condition Red for the civilian fleet. Put all of our assets on alert, shuffle around fleets 10-18 on Emergency Plan EO1,” pausing for a moments as she was pulling up a map of the strikes, “and have fleet 1 mobilize at defensive points around our territory and 2-4 on standby.”

“Inform Admiral Kimberly Rove directly of this at the EPTO summit and coordinate with DFAD in alerting embassies,” Juneburg then continued to give out commands as she moved around the table speaking with her advisers, waiting for Empress Jung to contact her.

Meanwhile outside…

The ground started to shake as multiple starships started to exit the nearby spaceport. The people stopped and looked up, then rushed to the nearest information outlet as soldiers started to show up on the streets and defense platforms started to activate around the nation.

12

“We are on our highest alert level Commander, satellite telemetry has confirmed several particle cannon bursts withing the borders of Tassalvalta. Troop movement has been confirmed in the area’s of the Vekaiyun southern border.” The Lieutenant finished his report. Cassandra Phillips, Supreme Commander of the Alleghenian military stood staring at the large screen that contained the information she had just been told.

She pondered her options and formulated strategy. “This is most troubling and most unexpected. But they haven’t formally declared war upon us and they haven’t attacked, yet. However we must respond with some sort of action, I want the 1st and 6th Army groups to reposition to the border. There will be no action taken or shot’s fired, we are only posturing our forces to show that we are very aware of what is going on at the moment. Is this understood?”

The crowd that had gathered around her nodded in affirmation. “Then make it so.” The group saluted and began dispatching orders

Two hours late, three miles east of the Fortress city of Rochester.

A platoon Sargent walked up and down the line his men had made in front of him, inspecting his men. The rumble of tanks and artillery pieces passing by could be heard mixing the sounds of troop carriers and men marching toward their destination. Helicopter gunships patrolled along the route.

“Alright you slack jawed faggots, listen up!” The Sargent yelled. “We are moving our operations to the southern borders, you all know whats past that border. CYBORG PUSSY! Yea that’s right, deadly cyborg pussies.” The men stood in the line, their faces completely emotionless, they knew better than to laugh at the Sargent’s senseless speeches. The Sargent continued. "Now we are gonna go down there grab our junk and make sure that those Packilvanian piles of scrap know not to cross our borders and mess with our shit! Now, I already have some of you conscripts have been trying to run away and bail on your duties, and I am gonna make an example of one for you right now for you today.

Two of his mean brought over the Private who had tried to desert. "The Sargent took out his pistol and looked down on the deserter with his blue glowing ocular implants. “The real men here are the ones who sign on with us for the eight years, not you conscript kiddies, and I love making examples of you conscript kiddies.” The Sargent shot the deserter in the testicles and kicked him over to bleed to death. “NOBODY BAILS OUT OF THIS MILITARY!” The men gave a resounding ‘hooah’ as the Sargent motioned for them to move out as they sang the national anthem.

13

Kral Commodore Ikrisia Levinile struggled to grasp the recent email sent out by the Bre’digoor Commodore of Army Group South, Jamano Ikarov. ”Troops on the southern border? Drakkengardese in nature? Goddamn… perfect timing.” She sighed and tried to understand what could lead to this decision. ”It must have been before I came into power, when we had troops amassed at the Levinasi province. It was suicidal to try and assume such a weakness, especially since I am fairly certain no nation alone could mount a successful offensive against them.”

Picking up her phone, she dialed the temporary number to her fellow commodore, switching the scrambler on in case anyone was listening in. “Bre’digoor Commodore? This is Kral Commodore Levinile. I got your email. Drakkengardese? Near our borders?”

“It’s more common than you think, Kral Commodore.”

She rubbed her forehead in worry. This was the last thing she needed. “Give me your most recent assessment.”

“Judging from what we have been able to tell, it appears to be move of defense, but to assume that would be potentially deadly. We would have a huge advantage in the terrain, and the light tanks should provide ample protection enough so that we may be able to-“

“No,” she interrupted. “We can’t afford to attack. Vekaiyu will be undergoing changes very soon, and dragging ourselves into another conflict would only perpetuate a bad situation. Form a perimeter, but make certain that it is only out of defense. Secure our borders, but do not advance. We will not step foot on Packilvanian soil. We will not fire first. This is purely out of defense and out of protection. Arrange for our diplomats to Drakkengard and Packilvania to speak with me immediately. We must avoid conflict at all costs.”

“Yes, milady,” Jamano replied.

“Keep a sharp lookout. Furthermore, relay a message across the border in English stating our intentions of maintaining peace while keeping our defenses up. They must understand our motives.”

“Yes, milady.”

“Update me on any further developments. You do not know what changes our nation will be endearing,” she trailed off. Not even he should really know the details of the removal of Selvala and the subsequent shift in government Vekaiyu will be experiencing, especially with the shift away from Maxism. Just what side did the commodore rest on with that issue, anyway? How deadly it could be to give someone else the keys to a civil war.“It is your duty to ensure this does not erupt into conflict. Over and out.”

Ikrisia grimaced as she shut her phone. Immediately thereafter, she flicked it back open and dialed a governmental number. She then inputted a series of codes, the last one being two numbers: 6 and 7. A pleasant chime ensured she dialed correctly, and she quickly spoke as soon as the bells silenced. “Ikrisia Levinile, seven seven four dash five three four dash one dash two one.” She then held a small red card up to the phone, hoping the voice recognition was able to recognize a more tired kral commodore.

The phone dialed again, and a computerized voice picked up. “We have located your coordinates, Kral Commodore Levinile. Order 24 has been initiated.” Though she was isolated in her room, the kral commodore felt the need to keep as inauspicious as possible. She held up the card again to the phone for around 15-20 seconds, and a final series of bell tones chimed, passing the final security check. Breathing a sigh of relief, the vulpine female closed her phone.

“Thank Almighty,” she replied. She moved her phone between her fingers, pleased at how easily that went. ”The worries of having Maxists shoot off WMD’s are now impractical. At least I accomplished one thing tonight. Nothing in Vekaiyu gets past me now.”

14

“Where the institutions of the Republic-Khanates, the independence of the Nation, or the integrity of its territory are under serious and immediate threat, and where the proper functioning of the constitutional public authorities is interrupted, the Khagan-Chancellor shall take the measures required by these circumstances, after formally consulting the Speaker of the Cama and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. He shall inform the Nation of these measures in a message.”

  • Article 16, Constitution of the Republic-Khanates of Dovakhan

Directorate Meeting Hall - Executive Tower
Plaza of the Three Powers, Tkanatdovakhiastaat

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I have called this special meeting to discuss a communiqué transmitted by the Diplomatic Service of the Free Pacific States earlier today. It seems that the Pax are undertaking a major drone movement through their Jovian gate portal. In light of the present situation in Tasselvalta, one would generally assume these drones are to be directed at offensives on this territory only. However, without further information, the Director of Defence has warned me that there is no reason to believe that the Pax will not also see fit to set their sights on other free nations. Therefore, I have asked the Director to place the Armies and the Republican Militia on notice. I also want to review the details of Operation Motherland,” said the Khagan-Chancellor.


A hush came over the assembled cabinet. Operation Motherland was a military plan drafted in case of invasion. It was a huge mobilization of both military and civilian capacity under the banner of national security. The Khagan-Chancellor’s call to review this plan carried with it the implication that the Republic-Khanates were under serious danger. Also, it was ambiguous as to whether the use of the nuclear deterrent, which the Liberal Democrats officially opposed but still maintained, was still a part of the plan, a question which had the potential to alter the stakes altogether.

15

Inside of Tassalvalta, the Pax troops assembled. They had been assigned to round up and assimilate anyone they could. Their orders had changed. Burn it all. Medieval as it was, none of the Pax troops had completely forgone their organic nature. Something on a primal level enjoyed watching things burn. The troops geared up. They knew that in one week the main force would arrive. They would do their best to keep from needing them.

A squad of Pax troops walked casually through what was left of the encampment they had found the night before. They normally would try to track down the escaping partisans, but tonight was different. They took aim from 200 yards, sitting on top of a hill. Everything that moved died that night. The aftermath was eerily quite. Jarx had been waiting to see actual combat since he had his weapons implanted into his forearms. He was a sight to see. Being Arlenian, the overlords had wanted him in the elite squads, doing the dirty work of the empire. He was kicked out in basic though when they discovered his mean streak. He still made it into the assimilation squads, and now had an excuse to satiate his needs.

Jarx saw movement. He tucked his wings in and ran for the door of the hut he saw movement in. He heard crying inside. There must have been a family in there he realized. He had his orders. He through the incendiary through the window and walked away. He shot the families cow for good measure.

The rest of the camp was found to be empty, and the troops made quick work of the rest of the tents. They burned what was flammable, and broke what wasn’t.

‘They should have surrendered when they had the chance.’

16

Cruiser Khodorkovsky
High Orbit, Tassavalta

“Well, shit.”

Lucille Haskalah, Lady Secondary of House Chiron, dropped the cigarette from her mouth as she leaned over the holopool that framed the bridge of her flagship. It was much too late in the day for the Dungeon Overlord to normally be awake, and it showed: Rather than dress in something more comfortable, she had remained in her ‘infernal’ armor from the last visit to partisan representatives on the surface. The twelve hours since then had been a progression from bad to worse. On the big board, the red pieces representing supported forces were reeling, drawing back closer and closer to the five - now four - primary facilities within the embattled Tassavaltan nation.

With a nod to the pool operators, the view switched from figurative to visual, the lines and emblems replaced with clouds and mountains in vivid detail. Five great plumes of ash and smoke emerged from the landscape, one of which - inexplicably - was still blazing as if alive and aware. In the south, smaller plumes arose, behind what appeared at this distance to be a wave of tiny locusts. The view zoomed out, and above, the Pack ships moved onward. There was still ample time to fight. Or…

In a moment, a fateful decision was made. The logic behind it was cold, cruel, and terribly simple. It was the logic that, under all pretty words, had underlain Kandari foreign policy for millenia. Better you than me.

Across the fleet, comms opened up from the bridge of the Khodorkovsky. Officers and crew stood at their stations as the calm, clear voice of the Dungeon Overlord echoed throughout every nook and cranny of the Kandarinese flotilla.

“Gentlemen, amalla. As you are well aware, the Hive is awake and moving, and has been for most of the past day.” Lucille paused to take another glance at the holopool. Her ships’ drives roared to life, shedding the concealment they had enjoyed. As planned, their friend-or-foe indentification systems now labeled them as Pax ships…but the real thing would not be fooled. Still the Pax did not yet alter course…there would be time. “This is an unwelcome development, of course, but not an unexpected one. We have prepared contingencies in this event.”

The ships were in full motion now, not fleeing but descending into the atmosphere, splitting their formation to canvass the nation. “As you are well aware, it would be folly to confront the Hive directly. To do so would invite retaliation upon our home territories…which is to say retaliation on us from those that would have to defend them. At the same time, it would be folly to allow the Hive to control the resources within Tassavalta. Its lands are useless to us, but useful to the Hive. Therefore, we will activate the contingency plan you will find in the sealed orders now being relayed to you. Do it to the best of your ability, and our work here will be able to continue. Failure is not an option for any of us.”

And with that, the message ended in abrupt silence. The Kandarinese fleet spread out, descended into the atmosphere, and then promptly did their best impression of an Ardan Sky Furnace. Heavy ordnance fueled by infernal concoctions opened up into the hottest and dryest areas of the country, those that had had very little rain in the last few weeks. Similar weaponry targeted chemical facilities, power plants…anything that would burn. Incendiary weapons, on those ships that carried them, opened up a wake of flame across the countryside. But more than anything, the ships’ own drives ignited an atmosphere with which they were incompatible, replacing white clouds with clouds of flame.

Within twenty minutes, a spiderweb of conflagrations dotted the once-rich Tassavaltan farmland, spreading not on top of but ahead of the oncoming Pax forces. The ships turned upward, escaping the atmosphere once more in search of safe harbor.

17

Order of the Hourglass’ Mission Room,
Special Operation Complex,
Narr Ignis

Three hooded figures stood at the center of the otherwise empty mission room. The entire room was awfully quiet, in great contrast to the loud whir of the sandstorm raging outside the complex. The big room was devoid of anything, except the large insignia of an hourglass embossed on the floor right at the center of the room.
The monotony of the room was broken by the sudden appearance of a hooded man with long white beard, who somehow materialized out of thin air right in front of the trio. Faint wisps of smoke, a tell-tale sign to the man’s method of appearance, slowly trailed off his coarse linen outfit and disappeared.
The hooded man paused a good distance away from the trio. Most of his face was hidden by the shade of his hood and the dim lighting of the room, but it was clear that he was slowly sizing up the three figures standing in front of him. Drawing a deep breath, he sighed and gestured towards one of the figures.

“Cleric Sarah et Tawl, come forward.”

The smallest figure from the trio stepped up and faced the hooded man. The figure pulled back the hood of the cloak, and revealed a cherubic smiling face of a teenage girl. She bowed slightly to the man. The bearded man nodded in acknowledgment, and began talking without being prompted.

“I assumed you have received the message from the Scryer Squad of the Order. If so, you should know that approximately three days ago, the scryers had experienced massive telepathic bursts from an unknown source deep in the cosmos. The signal has all the standard signs of demonic origin and the trappings of a signal burst meant for mind-altering purposes, but it was of a magnitude that we never knew could exist.”

The bearded man slipped his hand into his cloak and pulled out a paper. The paper somehow flew out of the palm of his hand and right into Sarah’s hand. He then continued talking.

“As I, the disciple of the Order, has experienced the signals myself, it is clear to me that we are dealing with an infernal entity possessing immense mental prowess and frightening capability of altering the mind of every non-believers it touched. Take a look at the paper.”

Sarah unfolded the paper and began to read the content. Her eyes widened for a while, but she regained her usual cheerful composure and listened on as the bearded man continued his briefing.

“That was the report of the status of countries responding to news of the Packilvanian armada entering the atmosphere of this planet. They reacted to the outward appearance of the threat, but not the threat itself.”

The bearded man tapped his feet on the floor. A holographic display of the East Pacific region map magically appeared beside him. Several of the nations had been color-coded for some reasons. A series of lines seemed to be crisscrossing wildly over the map of Packilvania and Drakkengard nations.

“What you see here was the interpolation of the signals we received from the entity. As you might have noticed, the signals are focused on the lands of Packilvania and Drakkengard. The mind-waves do travel to other locations, even across our lands, but their strength are concentrated only to the aforementioned lands. And there’s more.”

The holographic display flickered and refreshed. Massive amount of tiny arrows now dotted the screen, signifying movement of troops across the region, with varying intensity of colors denoting their time of deployment. Sarah was immediately drawn to the vast numbers of arrows emerging from Packilvania, colored black due to their early deployment. The bearded man nodded and remarked on Sarah’s attention.

“You can see it by now, correct? The mind-waves converged upon the countries and coincidentally, these very countries deployed their army first. That could only mean one thing.”

Sarah nodded, and spoke for the first time. “The mind-waves are dangerously suggestive and coercive.”

The bearded man waved his fingers, and the holographic display disappeared into thin air. He turned around, and with his back facing the trio, he began monologuing.

"I fear for the sanctity of the minds of the various sentients in this region. Unlike us, they would be very vulnerable against the mental onslaught of this entity. Without any protection against the entity’s mind attacks, the individuality of every soul in the affected nations would be lost, devoured by this unknown entity. Of course, we can send our monks to pray in the affected nations and set up a mind shield against the cosmic influence, but you know as well as I do how these people react to our … ‘primitive mumbo-jumbos’… "

Sarah intercepted his speech. “I know that this threat is immense. But why only me? There are Order’s operatives in some of the nations, and our army is always ready for battle. Why aren’t they mobilized?”

The bearded man turned around to face her, and smiled as he replied, “Read the paper further, and find out for yourself. Good luck.”
And then, just as mysteriously as he appeared, he vanished into thin air, leaving only wisps of white smoke. Sarah nodded, and began walking out of the room.

“Come, associates. We have work to do.”

18

Iremian First Fleet flagship - «Nimitz class» aircraft carrier Antares
In the meanwhile – International waters in front of Juthra - Command Bridge

Probably for the first time in his life, Fleet Admiral Gordon Fallet was sincerely bemused by military developments of a situation all around him. At 65, he thought he had honestly seen almost everything… but this was far beyond any former experience of his. He remained silent for a short while, looking and looking again at the briefing information he had received.

«Wow… someone should have told me the gates of hell and paradise had been opened and Götterdämmerung had begun» he told, leaning back against the leather armchair.

«Pardon, Sir?»

«I mean… the Pax Empire moves outside and beyond any credible logistic. Unlimited tech, unlimited forces, unlimited everything. Moving so quickly and efficiently that they have been able to pillage and occupy half of Tassalvalta before we’ve had any possible chance to heat our engines. When I was young, I liked these games called ‘RolePlays’… wow, was this one of said games, I’d say they’re the perfect sample of godmoders. On the other side… have a look» he sighed, throwing a sequence of high definition pictures to the other officers.

«That’s the Kandarinese Cruiser Khrodovosky… Khorososky… oh well, something like that. Couldn’t have been the Vendetta? It would have made our reports far easier… ‘High Command, we’ve not been able to reach our battle stance because the Vendetta Kandarinese flagship came out of the blue, farted over Tassalavata and annihilated everything. Considering our utter irrelevance in the whole scenario, we request the authorization to be reconverted to trawling, which will render our fuel-consuming economically justified. Regards’. You see… ‘Vendetta’ is easier. Krovovosky requires a lot of attention with spelling»

The other officers remained silent for a while, until one of them raised his glance on the gloomy Admiral.

«The black, Sir. The Khodorkovsky… it came from outer space, which is not blue. Black. Or probably colorless. And… yes, it’s Khodorkovsky. I suppose the name comes from this… uhm… oligarch charged of fraud and…»

«Wonderful, Captain. I’m impressed by your omniscience. You’ve just won the task of arranging a full report to New Irem. Try to be extremely credible in your explanation about the ‘no, Sirs. Nobody is godmoding or powerplaying, here’»

19

Eastrovia
Aerospace Navy Defense Command - War Room

Glendale was kind of staring off into space with her hand on her face as various members of her staff were talking. She was paying attention but she was distracted at the same time. She could hear the buzzing and feel the concerns about war as she let her mind wander; finally she snapped back blocking it out and spoke.

Regaining her stance she sat up straight, “I realize that it is wrong for us to set here and do nothing but watch, yet at the same time our technology is not as advanced. We could hold them off for how long? Six months to a couple years depending on the report you read. If we are provoked, then that would be a much different situation and something I am sure the Pax will avoid.”

She stood up and walked around the table but continued to address them, “We in the meantime will just have to continue with what we have been doing and see what our options can be. See if we may be allowed to preform humanitarian aid operations and with the possibility of evacuating,” then she started for the door but stopped when she realized she was just about to walk out the door, “Oh I’m going for coffee and don’t worry it will be for all of us; it is a very interesting human drink.”

[hr]

— Begin quote from ____

TO: Packilvania Command
FROM: Aerospace Navy Defense Command, The Star Empire of East Malaysia

We would like to inquire if we would be able to preform humanitarian operations in evacuating people. If allowed this would be a limited operation only lasting a few hours.

East Malaysia does not plan to get in the way of your latest venture but we must insist in letting us preform this operation. We do realize that we will not be able to evacuate everyone and that is not our intentions; just the lucky few outside of combat zones.

Glendale Jung
Empress of East Malaysia

— End quote

20

Tag- I am stuck at work-