CHAPTER 60 – INTRUSION

DATE: JUNE 10th, 7 A.U. (AFTER UNIFICATION)

LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, OUTER ASTEROID BELT,

UNKNOWN FACILITY, CODENAME: FIREPIT

CHIEF PETTY OFFICER VICTOR FRANKLIN

“Jeez these fuckers love carving out long hallways. This would be a perfect moment to use the drone to scout ahead, but nooooo… Boss man said they need it more than we do.” Lucas griped as they moved steadily down the long and slightly curved hallway.

“That’s cuz he’s right; They do need it more than we do. They’re far more likely to run into danger, or to have to scout multiple pathways at the same time.” Janessa replied in a curt tone.

“Like we haven’t run across alternate paths? There was a door just back there! What’s to stop them from spilling out of that door and ambushing us from behind? If I had my drone we could check these doors while still scouting ahead.” Lucas scoffed in reply.

“Quit bitching about your damn drone Lucas, we can check the side paths later. Lance is counting on us to get that hangar open, so that’s what we’re going to do. Everything else is just a distraction.” Victor replied.

“Fine, I’ll drop it, but so help me if there's so much as one scratch....” He said with a touch of bitterness still evident in his tone.

“I can’t believe you’re worried about a stupid drone when our friends are out there risking their asses just to watch ours! Do you care about anyone but yourself?" Janessa turned to him and hissed.

“Sheesh, I didn’t realize it, but apparently I must be the world’s biggest asshole over here. Fuck me for living…” Lucas trailed off.

Lucas…. Victor thought as he scrambled to find the right words for the moment. His opportunity never came as they came round the final part of the bend. Two doors stood before them at the end of the hall, one large enough for cargo and another smaller door on the side wall for personnel to pass through.

“Stow the bullshit, Petty Officer; we’re here. Time to get busy.” Janessa said.

“Yes, Staff Sergeant. I’ll get right on it.” Lucas replied as he set his bag down to retrieve his laptop. “Fucking marines.” He muttered under his breath.

Victor shot Janessa a look of warning, just in time to deflate her raised hackles.

“Lucas… This is exactly the kind of shit that keeps stalling your career advancement, man. What are you going to do when you don’t have Lance or I to cover for you?” Victor warned.

“Maybe that’ll be the day I finally get the hell out. I never asked you all to cover for me, anyway.” Lucas replied in a bitter tone.

“Look, I know you’ve made it clear you’re done with the military life, but this isn’t the way to express it. Keep your personal issues to yourself and stay focused on the mission. I sure as hell ain’t getting killed because you fuck up.” Janessa sniped.

“Say whatever the hell you want about my attitude, I don’t care, but when it comes to my job I’m the goddamn best at what I do.” Lucas hissed as he popped open the access panel beside the personnel door.

Janessa simply scoffed and leaned against the opposite wall with her arms folded.

“It’s true, he’s saved our tails more often than I care to count, now. The man knows what he’s doing.” Victor stated flatly.

“Then why isn’t he trying to cut through the big door?” Janessa asked.

“Because this door leads to the control room, and that big one leads directly to the hangar. We cut through those; we compromise their functionality as an airlock when we open the hangar. We’ve cut through too many doors as it is. We're one accident away from a violent depressurization.” Lucas replied while he worked.

“Oh… right. Carry on then.” She replied.

“Well, now that I have your permission…” Lucas replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm. “Got it!” The door slid open moments after he spoke.

“I’ll take point, Lucas stay back until I call you in. Janessa, watch our backs from the hall.” Victor ordered as he raised his breacher to his shoulder.

One after another, he switched through his various visual filters before he was satisfied that the room appeared empty. He still took zero chances as he swept the room in a series of fluid motions. The room was large with a small console and chair set below a wide window overlooking a huge, dark chamber.

“Clear!” He called out.

Lucas walked past him and set himself in front of the console. “Fuck yeah! They left us a chair.” He said as he scrambled up onto the comically large seat.

“How’s it looking out there?” Victor called out to Janessa.

“Still dark and dead, no signs of any life at all. Lucas did his job well.” She begrudged.

“Let me know the second something changes.” Victor replied.

“Roger that.”

Victor looked back over to Lucas, who worked deep within the guts of the open console.

“No common connectors huh?” Victor asked.

“Nope. Couldn’t have made it easy on me, could they? Don’t worry though, I’ll have full control in a few minutes. Just gotta identify everything and find my route in.” He replied.

“You’ve got this; take as much time as you need.” Victor said as he walked over to get a look through the window. His light cut through the oppressive darkness as he ramped up its power and spread to the maximum possible extent.

“That’s definitely the hangar in there. Looks like there’s some kind of smaller ship docked in one of the spaces. At least… I think it’s a ship. I mean, it’s gotta be, right?” Victor commented as he looked through the room.

“That would make sense. It is a hangar bay after all. What’s it’s design look like?” Lucas replied as he worked.

“It’s hard to see from this angle, but it looks like a step pyramid. Man, they’re really leaning into that trope aren’t they?” Victor said in an amused tone.

“The more I work with their technology out here, the more I come to think it’s not all a disguise. Their technology levels have seriously degraded from what I’d have expected. Hell, this console is on par with what we had in the early 2000’s.” Lucas replied.

“To be fair, you’re comparing what they could manufacture out here in the galactic boonies to what Apophis supplied to his navy. Of course, there’d be a huge divide in tech levels. How much longer ‘til you’re done under there, anyway?”

“I’ve just about mapped the wiring and the functions on their circuit board. I’ve identified how to splice myself in without setting off any alarms. Shouldn’t take more than another couple minutes and I’ll have full access and the system sequestered. Hey, hand me my soldering kit?” Lance replied as he worked.

Victor grunted and dug through the man's pack until he found the case he was looking for and handed it over.

“Thanks.”

“No prob…” Victor said before the lights turned on and the speakers crackled to life in the ceiling.

“UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO FACILITY DETECTED.

GARRISON CAPACITORS AT FULL CHARGE.

AWAKENING FORWARD GARRISON; ACTIVATING TEMPORAL COFFINS.

RESERVE GARRISON ON STANDBY; CHARGING CAPACITORS.”

“What the hell did you do, Lucas!? God, I just knew he was going to fuck this up!” Janessa shouted from the hallway.

“Fuck off! I didn’t even touch anything yet!” Lucas fired back as he pulled his head out from under the console.

“I don’t think it was Lucas…” Victor said before his attention was drawn to the picture window.

A shiver went down his spine as the outer hangar door split down the middle and opened outwards to reveal an impossible sight. A pillar of smoke and fire raced through space towards them. As it came to a stop, the illusion dissipated to reveal a bright silver ovoid craft that landed in one of the open bays.

“THRONE ROOM CAPACITORS CHARGING.

ACTIVE REPROGRAMMING DETECTED.

ANALYZING… RE-ROUTING POWER…”

“Janessa, fall back to the control room! Lucas, seal the door!” Victor ordered as he worked to calm himself and to reassert mental control..

“ARMORY CAPACITORS NOT RESPONDING

SERAPIAN GUARD DEPLOYMENT ABORTED

WARNING: EMERGENCY SYSTEM MAINTENANCE REQUIRED.” The speakers blared.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Janessa shouted as she stormed into the room.

Lucas took one look at the craft and its disembarking occupants through the window then bolted over to the inner door’s control panel.

THREAT DETECTED, NEPHAELI’IM-HUMAN HYBRID; ARCHANGEL ARCHETYPE, QUANTITY: THREE, THREAT LEVEL: DEADLY, AVERAGE INTEGRATION LEVEL TOO LOW; RETREAT RECOMMENDED FIGHT OR FLIGHT DETECTED; COMBAT HORMONE PRODUCTION RELEASE APPROVED

“Get away from the window!” Victor hissed at Janessa as he flipped his selector to fire and rushed to reinforce Lucas by the door.

He took a deep breath and switched his view to thermals to inspect the unknown contact’s progress. Three giant-sized heat flares moved swiftly toward them before one of their heads lit up brightly. A blade of some form of energy seemed to materialize out of nowhere before it hovered over to slice through the blast doors.

“Three giants, we can assume one is a Reaver, like Anubis. He just sliced through the outer door like it was paper.” Victor whispered as he tightened his grip on his breacher.

“Any sign of Ghost or HT one?” Janessa asked.

Just where the hell are they, anyway? Shit, I hope they managed to hide in time…

A shiver ran up Victor’s spine, causing him to twitch involuntarily for just a second before he locked the impulse down. A quick scan of the landing bay confirmed they had no easy reinforcements coming.

“No. We’re on our own.” Victor said as he steeled himself for the order he would soon be forced to give.

“Get ready to ambush them as soon as they pass by us. We can’t allow them to reach the boss unopposed!” Victor hissed.

Lucas nodded and flipped the selector on his rifle. Janessa patted him on the back and then shouldered her rifle beside him. He watched the thermal outlines intently as they moved down the hall and stopped in front of the control room. His brow furrowed as even his enhanced hearing struggled to make sense of the muffled words spoken on the other side of the thick door. His confusion rapidly turned to alarm as the head of the lead giant glowed brighter in a familiar way.

“Lucas! Get down!” Victor shouted before a horizontal blade of null matter sliced through the door straight towards them.

Time slowed to a crawl as Lucas pivoted to move before the blade caught him. His shield popped and failed as the pitch black blade passed through his stomach. Blood and viscera spilled through the air as Lucas’ torso and legs flew apart in opposite directions in the microgravity. Victor had the presence of mind to shove Janessa to the side despite his mind’s refusal to accept Lucas’ fate. The blade impacted his stronger shield and dissipated in a shower of bright particles.

NULL MATTER STRIKE DEFLECTED; PHOTONIC SHIELD DEPLOYED…

64% INTEGRITY REMAINING… RECHARGING…

“LUCAS!!!” Victor cried out as his brain caught up to the horror of what he had just witnessed.

This can’t be happening… Not like this!

“NO! DAMMIT, NO!” Victor shouted in impotent defiance as the door was ripped violently from its frame.

Victor fired his breacher into the open doorway, mauling the thick armor of the winged giant that was foolish enough to expose itself. The heavy slugs spread out and tore into one wing as the uncontrolled burst went wide and high. Blood and feathers flew before a thick black shield was raised that deflected his fire into dangerous ricochets that forced him to lay off the trigger.

“You’re not getting away with this! Not that easy!" Victor shouted as he pulled the forward trigger to fire one of his rail-launched micro missiles into the shield. "Tank this!” He roared.

Smoke and fire filled the doorway before it dissipated to reveal the barrier had survived the stress of the explosion, though a noticeable ripple reverberated throughout. The giants shouted between themselves before the top surface of the shield began to ripple slightly faster.

AUTO TRANSLATOR ACTIVATED. LANGUAGE FAMILY IDENTIFIED; NORTHWESTERN SEMITIC;

ANALYZING… LANGUAGE INTEGRATION COMPLETE. ENJOY!

“Worry not, young one, for the Lord is with us. Already my wounds heal thanks to the abundance of his blessings. Such weapons are fearsome, and their bark inspires great fear, but their bite you need not fear more than an arrow or sword. Trust in your gifts, and gird yourself in your righteousness. Arrayed against the might granted us by the Lord, they are nothing!” One of the giants said.

“You have done well to warn us of the danger, Metatron. The strength of your faith bears fruit in abundance. You were chosen rightly for this mission and for the gifts bestowed upon you. One heretic is slain, and we are safe against their weapons,” Another, deeper voice spoke.

“My faith is strong, General. My heart will not fail me, for I know the Lord is with me.” A third voice spoke.

What the hell?! It can’t be… Victor thought in pure shock as his finger hesitated upon the trigger guard.

“What’s happening!? Who are they?!” Janessa hissed in an alarmed tone.

“Their armor shields their emotions well against my empathic senses, but some traces leak through. They are afraid, though the large man harbors confusion and deep sadness in his heart as well. A new sense dawns... one of recognition where there was none before. They have come to understand our words!” The first voice spoke.

“There is only one possible explanation for such speed of new language comprehension. They are agents of the Alderei! Do you deny this fact, heretic? I say you have but one chance. If you speak truly and submit yourself before the servants of the one true Lord, then you shall not have to die this day!”

Several strips of null matter peeled away from the top of the shield and formed themselves into spears. In perfect synchronization, they arced through the air and stopped mere centimeters from their face plates as others hovered in front of their hearts.

HEART RATE ELEVATED TO DANGEROUS LEVELS; RELEASING HORMONE PACKAGE TO COMPENSATE…

“Your weapons suggest you are from a future spot in the timeline of man, while your armor and technology implies Alderei interference. Such contradictions should not exist.... Unless? Speak the truth now, do you know of the blood of the lamb who is to come; the one who will die for your sins?!”

A single tear rolled down Victor’s cheek as his emotions warred with each other.

“It is said he came and died two thousand years before our time. But how do you know about that? Who are you?” Victor managed to say amidst the churning sea of his conflicting emotions.

“I am the spirit of the helper that is to come, the teacher of the heart, and the gift of the everlasting covenant. I am the invisible hand that will guide the church-to-be, and the general of the armies of the Lord of hosts. I am Michael, the holiest of the spirits of the Lord, and you will submit yourself to me! Throw down your weapons and repent or you shall face the fiery sword of my wrath!”

Victor turned to look at his dead friend with a painful stab of emotion before he turned back to Janessa and the null matter spears. With a heavy heart, he nodded at her and slowly moved to set his breacher down on the ground. She nodded back at him with a slump of her shoulders. Before Victor could think of something appropriate to say, the spears dissipated before them along with the shield. The moment he saw them, the third, wingless giant began to violently writhe and convulse.

“Brother Gabriel! Secure the prisoners! Metatron, speak to me! What do your Prophet’s eyes see?”

Gabriel advanced upon them with his sword drawn. With a flick of his wrist, a gem embedded in the pommel of his sword flared, and the blade began to glow with a coating of plasma fire.

“Fire… death… the destruction of everything we have accomplished. There are more of them… so many more! FLEE! We must escape before the fires of their desolation burn us all! How could it be that Lord El is in such danger!” Metatron managed to speak amid the convulsions as Michael fought to hold him steady.

At that same moment, Victor’s radio flared to life.

“This is O’Brien calling all friendly forces in range, unknown enemies have boarded the facility, I have eyes on them now. Air integrity and radio silence are no longer a priority! Sound off if you’re still alive or converge on my position to help support and evac survivors! Laying down suppressing fire now!”

Bullets raked across Michael and Metatron’s position before Michael raised a shield to block them. With Gabriel distracted, Victor hardened his heart and sprang into action. He summoned his wrist shield and blasted the window out with his other hand before he turned and fired his laser at the faceplate of Gabriel’s helmet.

“Janessa, RUN! Hide in the hangar bay! O’Brien; fall back and escape through the air shield and mount a rescue! I’ll hold them off!” Victor ordered as he dove for his breacher.

Janessa fired a string of wild suppressing fire from the hip before she dove headfirst through the window and into the docking bay.

“We won’t forget... what you’ve done for us today.” Janessa said in a choked voice over comms.

Wounded and enraged, Gabriel let out a war cry and pointed his sword at Victor at the same time as he raised his breacher to his shoulder. Victor managed to squeeze off two shots as the plasma coating Gabriel’s sword coalesced into a bright beam that slagged the upper receiver and knocked him back a step.

PLASMA STRIKE DEFLECTED; PHOTONIC SHIELD DEPLOYED… 52% INTEGRITY REMAINING… RECHARGING…

“You’re going to regret that!” Victor shouted as he tossed the ruined rifle away and drew his spear from its saddle on his back.

Always the breacher first! WHY!?

PRIMARY WEAPON CONNECTION RE-ESTABLISHED;

CAPACITOR FULL, ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL

“I will regret nothing! The Lord is my shepherd, and I am his willing bond servant. You have chosen the path of death and defiance, heretic, and to you I will show no mercy!” Gabriel shouted.

“Michael… They threaten the revival of El Shaddai! I understand not how, but we must move swiftly! So much fire... the flesh melts from the bones.... Lord!” Metatron cried out as Michael helped him back to his feet.

“Go, brother! Take him with you as I smite this heretic!” Gabriel cried out as he charged Victor.

“This is HT One, stand clear of the doors, I’m making a hole!”

An explosion rocked the landing bay doors, and a loud torrent of escaping atmosphere filled the air as Janessa made her escape. A slow smile crept across Victor’s face as he met Gabriel’s charge head on. He parried the first of a series of lightning-fast blows that rained down upon him before he leapt backwards to gain some room to fight.

“O’Brien reporting, we’ve linked up with Janessa and are moving to minimum safe distance!”

Checkmate. Victor thought. Now to buy the boss some time…

Victor launched into an aggressive series of strikes using his superior reach to his advantage. They circled each other, trading blows and testing defenses until Victor’s back was to the open doorway. He then switched his spear to his shield hand as he finished a horizontal slash and blasted Gabriel with several lasers, taking him by surprise. With his foe temporarily distracted, Victor sprinted from the control room to chase after Michael and Metatron. He felt a strange serenity cooling the fires of the rage boiling within as he leapt over Lucas’ torso. Raw, brutal shards of memory stabbed at him, but he shoved that to the side. He had a job to do.

You’re finally free, buddy. Time to make my remaining time count before I join you in Valhalla. Victor pulled the pin on a grenade and left it floating behind him as he rounded the corner.

Let's see how he likes a taste of the ol' floating Betty. One of Lucas' many masterpiece ideas.

“Come and face me, you honorless coward!” Gabriel shouted in fury as he made it to the doorway with his helmet half-melted and his armor bloodied and scarred. He must have hit him one more time than he'd thought judging by the way his side bled.

Victor fired a few more lasers behind him as he ran in a desperate attempt to hold the Archangel in place just a little longer. Gabriel pointed his sword towards Victor to fire a plasma bolt, oblivious to the danger. Victor dove to avoid the shot a mere fraction of a second too late.

PLASMA STRIKE DEFLECTED; PHOTONIC SHIELD DEPLOYED… 41% INTEGRITY REMAINING… RECHARGING…

At the same moment he was knocked to the side by the impact, the grenade exploded and launched Gabriel backwards into the bulkhead in a bloody heap. A cloud of blood and feathers floated in the microgravity, drifting with the escaping air towards the hole in the hangar wall. Victor forced himself back to his feet and rushed towards Lance and the increasingly desperate sounds of battle that rang through the steadily depleting air.

Are those machine guns?! Victor thought in alarm as he increased his pace.

Hold on boss, I’m coming!

MEANWHILE…

DATE: UNSPECIFIED

LOCATION: SOL SYSTEM, OUTER ASTEROID BELT,

AHT'LANTEAN PANTHEON FACILITY: TARTARUS

ENOCH-METATRON

Metatron had never felt such overwhelming fear in his life. The only feeling remotely comparable had come the first time he had been in the presence of the Lord. The horrid, loud, metal slug throwing weapons of the Aht’lantean heretics made it impossible to move and fight with honor. Thus, he hid behind Michael’s summoned shield, like a coward, unsure of what to do.

“Fire your weapon! The blessings of the Lord protect us! Now put your faith in the Lord, and act with courage!” General Michael shouted as he summoned and threw another of his black lances.

Metatron gripped his firebrand and poked his head out from behind the wide shield in time to see the lance split into pieces before impact. The slug thrower and its operators each took a piece of the projectile, causing the gun to fall silent. Metatron took the opportunity to raise his sword arm and launch a plasma bolt at another one of the hated slug throwers before a burst of fire from yet another one on the other side forced him back into hiding.

He’d missed! He realized miserably after taking another fast peek. Michael formed yet another lance and sent it flying, no doubt flying now to hit its target perfectly. Metatron knew such thoughts of frustration and envy were beneath him, but the flesh had a powerful mind of its own. In his struggle against his own weaknesses, an idea came to him.

Use your gifts, Metatron! The Lord is with you, so none can stand against you.

He recalled the memory graft tutorial on his telekinesis, and he focused with his mass senses to gain an awareness of the room. With his eyes closed, he found he could perceive the mass and vibrations of everything around him easily. He focused on one of the slug throwers that had been harassing them most, and formed a powerful TK field overhead and threw the weapon and its crew into the opposite wall.

His instincts screamed at him of a new danger as Michael eliminated the second to last weapons emplacement. A series of images of the broken body of Gabriel and the Heretic flashed through his mind followed by the same images of the blinding white light and the flesh melting from his bones returned.

What is this? Tell me what this means, Lord, I do not understand!

What he was sure of, was that they needed to move faster, as he fought the horrid sensation that all would be lost. Reinvigorated, and full of righteous anger, he ripped the last slug thrower from the hands of its crew and pulled over the top of the shield to him. He dropped his sword and grabbed the weapon by its top and rear handles as he had seen one do, then opened his eyes right as the heretic rounded the corner.

“You shall NOT interfere with our holy mission, heretic!” Metatron yelled through air so thin, he could scarcely hear his own voice.

VACUUM DETECTED; SEALING HELMET, ACTIVATING INTERNAL OXYGEN RESERVES, DEPLOYING RESPIROCYTE RESERVES

He felt his helmet tighten around his neck as the breath of life filled his burning lungs once more.

Thank you for your many blessings, oh Lord. This is for you, and for your glory.

Instinct took over as his finger found the trigger and he lined up the strange cross and circle over the heretic’s charging form and fired, using all his muscle to keep the weapon on target.