“And here comes in the question of whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved. For of men it may generally be affirmed, that they are thankless, fickle, false studious to avoid danger, greedy of gain, devoted to you while you are able to confer benefits upon them and ready as I said before, when danger is distant, to shed their blood, and sacrifice their property, their lives, and their children for you; but in the hour of need they turn against you.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Chapter 1 - World on Fire

Earth - Wednesday, March 15th, 5575 A.D. - Present Day

An armored figure stood motionless inside a shallow trench overlooking a pockmarked battlefield. The last command post had fallen days ago. All that remained of humanity’s front-line command structure stood before him. A group of quivering men with a single malfunctioning radio split between them. Simon, one of the last commanders, Lieutenant or otherwise, remaining within the United Self Defense Force (U.S.D.F), turned his head and watched the sunset on what he knows will be mankind’s last day.

Beneath the horizon, hundreds of transport vehicles were frantically delivering what supplies they could to the ARK, High Command’s secret project that will supposedly save us all.

Another storm. Simon sighed to himself before looking up at the rapidly darkening clouds. Far above them, another one of humanity’s orbital defense stations was falling from the heavens towards the Earth. Its stabilization systems, destroyed, along with over half of the station itself. Occasional blasts from the few remaining thrusters could be seen firing rapidly as the surviving crew no doubt tried to aim the station into a large cluster of enemies.

He watched solemnly as it breached the clouds, beside him several other men were saluting as the station crashed into the horizon line, no doubt killing thousands of enemies. Simon waited until the shock wave passed him before offering his own crisp salute to the brave men who were on board.

{Artoria, was that our last one?} he asked his eternal companion.

{Yes. Sadly. That was our last defense platform. Honestly, I’m surprised that they held out that long. The orbital assaults have been going on for days now}

{Fucking cultists.} he replied before glancing at the acidic droplet of rain that fell into his outstretched hand. And now we’ve got acid rain to contend with as well.

Behind the tired Lieutenant Commander, a group of lanky men appeared, panting heavily before one eventually spoke up, “Sir! We’ve lost contact with Alargo’s Squad! The AA guns are down!”

Simon stood still while listening to the panicking man, not even bothering to turn around as he focused his gaze beyond the blood-soaked battlefield and into the smoke-filled horizon. {Artoria, how much longer does the Exodus need?}

Artoria’s virtual avatar closed her green eyes for a moment before replying, {The Exodus’s wormhole drive is still charging. Command estimates at least another 20 minutes until it’s fully charged and ready to launch.}

Simon sighed again while shaking his head, {Do we have any air support left? SAM’s? I know we just lost the last defense platform, what about the ROG satellites? Are any of them still around?}

Artoria’s green eyes closed again before she too shook her head, {They hit the runway in the last barrage. We’ve still got a couple VTOL’s left, but High Command has currently ordered them to assist with supplying the ARK.}

{Of fucking course they have.} he replied.

{SAM wise, there are two batteries left. Terrok and Marco are currently manning them. I’m still checking on the ROGs. Give me a moment, High Command is still trying to block my access to them.}

Simon brushed away his sweat before commenting, {It’s the literal end of the world, and they’re still acting like children.}

Artoria smiled softly, {Did you expect anything less?} she replied with a slight giggle.

{Not really, but I had hoped in our final hour they’d at least pull the stick partially out of their asses. Instead, they seemed to have just shoved it in further.}

{Indeed. It appears that way. I’ve still got no idea what exactly the ARK is supposed to do since they’ve kept everything on hard copies and disabled the base’s internal security cameras.}

{Please, Darlin, don’t remind me about that.} Simon replies before spitting on the ground. We’ve got literal cultists running around sabotaging essential systems and High Command willing to disable the security cameras to keep their little project secret. “Complete fucking insanity.” He mutters before turning around.

“Inform the men to return to their positions and hold them at all costs. The ARK still needs more time. Jon-,” Simon said in a commanding voice before being cut off by one man.

“Sir! That’s suicide! If we don’t fall back now, we’ll all b-”

The soldier’s complaints were cut short by the commander’s vibroblade bisecting him down the middle. The remaining terrified men took a single step backward as the two sides fell onto the trench floor, blood and gore mixing into the sizzling mud around them.

“I said. Return. To. Your. Positions.” Simon said coldly before turning to Sergeant Jones, “Jones, inform Terrok and Marco’s squads to hold fire until they exit the smoke. Fire only at Level 4 threats and above. The ARK is still charging.”

Jones nodded his head in reply before offering a quick salute and running off to deliver the message.

Simon turned his head to the right and looked out onto the blackened, blood-soaked battlefield that had once been Tokyo, The Last City on Earth.

No trace of mankind’s existence could be seen. All that remained was crumbling jet-black rocks, their glossy glass-like surface reflecting the sunset and painting the battlefield an eerie red.

Just beyond the ridge, hidden beneath a curtain of never-ending artillery fire, ‘they’ appeared. Unholy abominations that never should have existed within this reality, much less within the realm of man. Their shape and size varied wildly. Some were as small as ants, while others were larger than the orbital shuttles humanity had once used to travel among the stars before being chased screaming back to Earth.

{Simon} Artoria’s regal voice resounded in his head as he flicked the remaining viscera off his blade before sheathing it.

{Darlin?}

{I’ve gained control of five of the ROG satellites that are currently within firing range. The rest of them sadly are not.}

Simon nodded as he glanced back out to the horizon, {Have the satellites aim where the smoke ends. Might also be a good idea to have one of them bombard the mountain behind us. If Alagro’s squad is down, the mountain front will fall if it hasn’t already. We’ll need to bring the whole damn thing down to buy the ARK enough time on that front.}

Artoria nods, {Alright. The satellites will be ready to fire in 60 seconds.}

{Make sure they’re in bombardment mode. I don’t know how long they’ll survive before those creatures figure out what they are. Can’t be more than five minutes. If that.}

{Already have. I’m also moving the remaining satellites into position as well. They won’t help us here, but at least we’ll take out some more of them before they realize what those satellites are.}

Simon crosses his arms as he focuses on the smoke, {Good. Any word for-}

A sudden blast nearly knocks him to the floor. Men watch in horror as the left side of the front becomes covered in a dark light. Screams of agony fill what’s left of the trench as men dissolved from the ray’s effects. The railing he had grabbed onto to steady himself buckles under his weight as the shaking stops.

“Artoria! Status report!” he cries out while jumping into the trench and pulling a nearly crushed soldier out of a pile of rubble.

“Durango and Havel’s squads just went dark! Drone footage is showing that Marco’s and Terrok’s squads are gone, along with the hill they were on and everything else around the area. Analysis suggests a direct hit from an obliterator.”

“Damn it! They’ve got an obliterator with them as well.” He cried as a towering black leg emerged from the horizon. [Magnify] he ordered while climbing the trench wall and focusing on the leg.

Simon’s worst fears were realized as one of those shuttle-sized horrors lumbered forward. A gaping puss-filled module, grotesquely torn into the creature’s head, slowly emitted a black light as two voices spoke at once.

{{Obliterator.}}

{Artoria, have all remaining batteries focus fire on that damned thing!}

Simon vaulted nimbly off the trench before grabbing a nearby man by the shoulder, “Henrik, have all mortar squads aim at 1134/231e immediately! Johnson, gather whatever we have left. Wake up anyone still asleep. Drag the wounded out and arm them. Tape them to their guns if you have to.” His gaze focused on the second shuttle-sized object emerging from just beyond the line of fire, followed closely behind by dozens more. “This is it.”

Johnson’s face paled, but the man refused to give purchase to his fear. He gave his commander a single sharp salute and disappeared off into the muddy trench.

A downpour of acidic rain began as soon as the man left. The mud-filled trench began to fill rapidly, the liquid burning any exposed skin it came into contact with.

Not even the rain had been spared the monster’s corruption. Simon thought through a grimace while fastening his helmet.

{Darlin, How much longer does the Exodus need?} he said mentally.

Artoria sighed softly, {15 minutes. Something caused a malfunction with one of the charging arrays and pushed back the timetable. Engineering is still trying to get it back online.}

{Don’t suppose they’re willing to let you help them, either.}

Artoria shakes her head in frustration, {No. I offered, but they merely referred me to High Command for permission.}

A loud clash ran out as Simon’s clenched fist pierced through a 30 mm steel plate, {Cunts. All of them.}

Artoria’s soft laughter fills his head and forces the tired soldier to smile slightly before another gigantic explosion rocked the shallow trench. Several soldiers fell off their slightly elevated positions and into the acidic liquid below.

Haunting screams filled the air as one man crawled himself to Simon’s feet. He looked down and watched the man’s skin start sloshing off his face, revealing the muscle and bone beneath, one of his eyes already melted through.

Simon offered the man a solemn salute before raising his foot and crushing the melting man’s skull. There was nothing he could do for him aside from putting the man out of his misery.

Simon raised his leg and shook off the clinging bits of dissolving flesh, and observed the battlefield. The remaining artillery pieces had already shifted targets. The original obliterator had been torn to shreds, while the next three were missing several of their legs, rendering them immobile.

Around him, some men cheered as the second one burst into a wave of black liquid. When one of these monsters dies, no remains are left behind. Instead, they erupt into a thick black sludge that seeps into the ground, poisoning the earth. All that’s left is a glassy black rock, creatively named, ‘void rock’ by humanity’s scientists.

He raises a single hand to quiet the cheering men as others go around silencing the remaining few men that fell into the rising pool, “It’s not over. That wasn’t even the beginning.” He states as dozens more appear behind the black wave.

12 Minutes Later

“Hold the line!” Simon cried while firing a massive rifle into the oncoming horde. “Artoria! Ready the rods!”

{Simon! Obliterator cannon charging at 1135/223g!}

His hand shot out like lightning and grabbed hold of the battered radio beside him, still attached to the corpse of its former operator, “All units! Aim at 1135/223G! Artoria! Switch to speaker mode!”

Artoria’s regal voice played across the palisade suit’s external speaker system and into the open radio, “Obliterator cannon charge estimated to be at 87%. 89%. 9-”

“All units, aim at the glowing object across the ridge! Artoria, Launch the rods!” he cried.

“97, 98” she counted

“Fire!” Simon screamed.

All at once, the trench line erupted into smoke. Several cannons hidden deep within the earth began spitting out fire, each shot causing the very ground beneath their feet to shake. Several unlucky men became buried alive as sections of the tunnel surrounding them collapsed in on themselves from the shock wave generated by the rapidly firing cannons.

“Artoria!” he shouted, despite the ringing in his ears.

“Volley ineffective! Obliterator cannon preliminary power supply damaged! Estimated charge 91% and increasing!”

“Shit! Right-wing, get out o-“ Darkness descended upon the blood-stained world for a single moment, yet when the light returned, all that remained of the right-wing was an empty void. Simon’s fist impacted the boiling earth as he cried out in frustration, “Fuck! How much longer do those bastards need?!”

“3 minutes to charge and another 5 to fire on the ARK. First impact in 10 seconds!”, Artoria replied.

The surviving men’s eyes went wide as the first of many 385,000-kilogram rods impacted the earth. The ground before them was terraformed as each of the 20-meter long and 1-meter wide objects crashed into the surface, vaporizing anything near them and tossing the rest high into the air.

He couldn’t fully suppress his smile as several metallic twangs rang out from the impacting rods.

Simon twisted his head to the mountain behind him and watched as the rods impacted there as well. The front had already fallen, and they were closing in. The mountain erupted into a gigantic column of fire before an apocalyptic amount of rock rained down on the approaching enemies.

Cheers rang out as an entire side of the mountain collapsed in on itself, while another sheared off completely and tumbled downwards, squashing anything in its path.

{Simon, High Command is on the line.}, Artoria replied while trying to hold in a laugh.

{Put ‘em through.} He replied.

{A1431! What are you doing?! We didn’t ap-}

{My only regret is that I won’t be there to watch you bastards hang.} he replied before cutting off the connection.

{To be honest, I had expected a better one-liner from you,} Artoria said with a smile.

Simon shrugged. {One-liners were never really my thing.}

“All units! Stop cheering and keep firing!” he cried out as another black leg emerged from behind the shattered earth.

{Artoria, have the remaining transport vehicles form a blockade behind us. I’m uncertain how much good it will do, but they’ll be on us within two minutes. Has the ARK finished charging?} Simon said.

{Charging is complete. High Command is trying to override the order to move the transport, but most of the drivers are ignoring them as well and heading to form a barricade.} Artoria replied quickly.

{At least some good people survived till the end.} he replied.

Artoira’s digital avatar nodded in the corner of his vision when suddenly the woman’s green eyes opened wide, {Simon!}

The entire world shook violently, hurling everyone and everything to the ground. Even the towering horrors approaching became unbalanced and started crushing their allies during their frantic attempts to stay upright.

The commander quickly got to his feet and scaled the trench wall in a single bound.

Simon closed his eyes and grimaced. Nearby, frantic footsteps splashed wildly behind him in the gore-soaked trench.

“C-commander.” the child-turned-soldier cried.

“I know.” He replied softly before embracing the small boy and gently patting his head. Not even thirteen years old yet. He thought to himself before his vibroblade gave the scared child an instant and painless death. Simon’s eyes still focused on the encampment in front of him.

Off in the distance, a mushroom cloud reaching far beyond the exosphere could be seen rapidly expanding across the now burning sky.

{Estimated time until blast wave arrival, 70 seconds, estimated time until oxygen depletion, 175 seconds.} Artoria said solemnly.

Simon briefly nodded his head at Artoria’s words, {So, that’s how this all ends then, eh? No blaze of glory or a valiant last stand, just a few scared men at humanity’s end. What a shame.}

Simon returned to the trench before activating his armors onboard speakers, “Everyone, that’s it. High Command’s secret project, as usual, just blew up in our faces and finished what they couldn’t. Fucking idiots just set the atmosphere on fire. Can’t say I’m surprised.” He said loudly before letting out a long-drawn-out sigh.

Some men fell to their knees, while others shot themselves to put a premature end to things. The majority, however, simply shook their heads and laughed at the absurdity of it all, firmly gripped by gallows humor.

Simon quickly joined in with them before speaking again. “Might as well take as many of the fuckers with us as we can. Shame we never got to hang Command, though.” His last comment received several cheers as the men grabbed whatever weapons they could and began firing toward the oncoming horde.

Simon quietly approached one of the nearby crumbling walls and swiftly scaled the trench.

{Well, that wasn’t your worst speech ever, you know. Fufu.} Artoria replied.

{Huh. Figures I’d get better at the end. Still, next time, you do it.} he replied with a smile.

{It’d be an honor.} she said softly.

“No, the honor’s been all mine, Darlin.” He said aloud.

They spoke no more as a lone soldier crossed the trenches’ threshold. His booming footsteps drowned out by the constant metallic pings of bolter fire ricocheting widely off his armor, followed closely behind by an unstoppable wave of destruction crowned with a burning sky.