by Devin Cain
"Admiral Chen," I replied. "It’s good to see you face to face, and not over a video feed from across the system."
"Likewise, young man. I would ask you to be so polite and change back before we start the meeting."
"Sorry, not happening," I replied and started moving up the stairs, one slow step at a time. I observed the crowd as we moved. Many high-ranking officials, some politicians I recognized, and finally, no less than five Armament users. I recognized Krieg from last time, along with Nikita and Godfist, the Red Alliance and United Federalis legion's aces, but the other two were an unknown to me.
"And why is that?" he snapped, all pretense of hospitality gone down the drain. With each step, he looked less sure of his supremacy, even though there were five very strong individuals guarding him from either side.
"Because if I do, even a pistol can kill me. You will have to excuse my distrust, Admiral, but I’ve had my fair share of lies, betrayal, and being pushed around in my youth."
"Yes, that I know. But never mind that, we’re not here to speak about the past, but the future. Please, join me so we can address the council."
Gremory hadn’t activated her Armament, and instead, she wore an emerald green, strapless dress that flowed behind her as she walked. It was way too long, and I knew that I’d never understood women and their choices, but she was beautiful. Breathtaking even. A warrior goddess.
I offered my claw-like hand to her and helped Gremory up over the last step. She stopped right beside me, eyeing all five of them suspiciously.
"Gentlemen! Ladies! Here I am! On my own terms, not yours! Keep that in mind, please, as we proceed with this charade," I announced. It was uncalled for, but what did I care. We’d either live or die, depending on what they had in plan for us.
The men and women present burst out in jeers and shouting. Admiral Chen however, slammed a hammer against the gavel and started yelling in turn.
"Order! Silence! We’re not here today as judges, the jury or executioners. We are here today to try and prevent a war, and maybe gain a valuable ally in the process."
I turned toward the center of the room and stood tall, unfurling my wings, and flexing my muscles. I knew it would be met with unrest, but I didn’t care. They needed to know I wasn’t afraid. They needed to know I was someone to be feared and not fucked with. Sure, I had barely two tier two’s in my possession, but it was more than enough now that I’d become a Nephilim.
"Bold words, Admiral Chen," I replied, turning to him. "But tell me, what have you done to redeem the military of people like Cafka? Do you even know what he has been doing back when this was still his Steel Legion?"
"That’s not the topic for today’s talks!" he hissed, baring his teeth. "And what we’re doing about it, is an internal matter."
"So you want me to trust you blindly, follow your orders and do whatever you want?"
"Why are you like this? Has gaining a little bit of power turned your head so far around you can’t see right from wrong?" Chen asked.
"Admiral, it’s not me who doesn’t know right from wrong, it’s people like you, and people like those present here. You look down on the ordinary man, you mistreat him, dispose of him when needed, and choose another victim. You think that because you were born into a rich or a strong family, you have the right to play god, don’t you? Now let me tell you something, I am a God! My vengeance will be felt and remembered for centuries to come if it doesn’t stop!"
The five Armaments stepped closer toward me, but all it took for them to stop was for me to stand up straight and show them myself in full. I was hideous, I was strong, and I was evil. In their eyes, I had become the devil. Good.
"We can not change anything like that overnight. You need to understand why you’re here! We have called you to see if you’ll be a danger to Humanity or not! Man, why are you so stubborn!"
"Because I don’t trust Humanity! All of you in power are evil and only care for your own ass! What have you done to better the situation in the legions, I ask once more!"
"Nothing! And we will do nothing because that’s the way it is! There needs to be fear and respect, loyalty, and sacrifice! Otherwise everyone will think they have a chance to become one of us!"
I grinned, having finally heard it.
"You see, that’s exactly the answer I wanted to hear, Admiral Chen. I don’t think we got anything else to talk about right here."
"I guess we don’t," he replied and leaned into his guards, whispered something and stepped off the podium. The Armaments changed into their battle forms almost instantly.
"Embrace each other and do not fight! God loves Humanity, his perfect creation. If we could have been swayed and made to love you, then you should be able to do so as well!"
The voice came from my left and was soon accompanied by the image of an Angel. I hadn’t met him yet in person, but I doubted he was a nobody. Was that Azrael? Ariel was female as far as I knew.
"Gabriel! What are you doing here?" Mikhail shouted as he descended from above, like an avenging Angel. "I told you not to come before me again!"
"Brother! You will no longer dictate my life. As I left The Host, I will today leave Humanity behind. I’m joining the only remaining Nephilim to repent for what you made me do!"
Mikhail’s aura started flickering wildly, lashing out at the walls and ceiling. All of the five Armaments jumped to action and trained their weapons at the Angel while taking up position to defend the Admiral.
"Mikhail! Stop it, or you’ll destroy the building again!"
"Again?" I whispered, glancing over at Gremory. She shrugged as if it was nothing.
"Happened before my time I heard. All officials died."
I gained some newfound respect for The Host’s top dog.
"Mikhail!" I yelled and rose to meet him. "You promised that anyone who wished to join could do so, did you not? Do Angels go back on their word?"
He narrowed his eyes on me, baring his teeth.
"You do not wish to go there, Nephilim!" he spat, his voice full of malice and hatred.
"Yes, we will go there, brother!" Gabriel roared as he soared to the sky. "You told father to make me kill them, to prove I wasn’t rotten as our brother. As Lucifer! All he ever did was hate our father’s creation. How could he have abandoned him? And the rest of our brothers and sisters?"
"This isn’t the place or time! You, Cain! Get lost! There will be no parlay, and there will be no negotiations. You have six hours to recall your people and leave Earth. In seven days, there will be a universe-wide proclamation. You and your legion will have no place among the ranks of Humanity and will be dealt with only by brute force. You will feel Humanity’s entire weight crashing down, killing you before you even have the chance to grow."
"Hey!" I yelled in turn and got up into his face. "Why the hell did you call us here if you’d planned on doing this from the start?" I demanded. He grinned and leaned in to whisper.
"Because I wanted to see if Gremory’s sins could be redeemed. Now that she’s given herself over to you, her body and soul, instead of to me, there will be no life for the two of you. Seven days. I don’t know where you’ll hide, but sooner or later, you’ll make a mistake, and I’ll be there to finish you off myself."
Lost to his malicious words, I slashed my claw across his chest, drawing Angelic blood. He flew out of my reach and summoned an incredibly powerful sword of light that made the very walls around us shake and crumble. To my luck, I was too dumb to be afraid. Instead, I licked my fingers clean, absorbing the holy power into my very being and awakening my Nephilim powers.
An image appeared before me as time stood still, depicting a dark gray Angel with four rows of skills underneath. A number two floated beside the image. I grinned, hopeful about the possibility of new skills. Still, I decided to wait with assigning any until we were out of reach, fearing the adrenaline might wear off.
"Leave!" Mikhail roared as time resumed. I nodded and looked down at Gremory, who had already change
d into her battle form. Her emerald-green dress was mostly torn to shreds, causing me to feel bad for her as she’d looked like a goddess herself.
I looked back up at Mikhail, only to notice Gabriel standing between her and the five others, ready to defend my Lady Death. I had no idea what his game was, but one thing was clear to me. I needed allies, and badly at that.
"Very well, Mikhail," I replied and looked down at the onlookers who were too baffled to speak or react. "Humanity! Remember! It was the humanity, the Angels, and God who brought this down upon you! Not me!"
With those words, we made our exit and flew straight through the wall toward the hotel. Gabriel followed us, holding a massive shield in his one hand and a sword in the other. They lacked power compared to what Mikhail just summoned, but it was much better than what we had to offer at the moment.
"What’s your story?" I asked as he caught up.
"It’s rather long, but basically, it was I who wiped your kind out thousands of years ago."
Chapter Forty
"We’re ready for lift-off, Admiral. Both ships have already undocked and taken up the vanguard," a new first officer said. I didn’t recognize her, but her name-tag said Freya.
"Oh? Freya like the Valkyrie?" I asked curiously. She opened her mouth to respond, then noticed Gremory standing beside me and looked away, her cheeks already changing color.
"Yes, Admiral. I’m from Denmark. Or rather, my grandparents were."
"I see. Good to see you’re still here, helm."
"Thank you, sir!"
"Fiery. I like it!" Gremory purred. I raised my eyebrow at her and chuckled.
"So do I, if I may say so," I joked along. "Helm, get us out of here. "Comms, name?"
"Helena, sir!" a young woman snapped to attention as she stood.
"Very well. Greek?"
Her eyes lit up as she nodded.
"Yes, sir!"
"Good. I’m getting better at this, huh?" I joked and winked at Gremory who groaned and facepalmed. "Whatever. Fleetwide broadcast. Meet over Gebradim Beta."
"Very well, sir."
She busied herself as the pilot uncoupled us from the station, much before the ultimatum had expired. The two great fleets were still out there, but they had powered their weapons down as far as we could see.
"Engaging rear thrusters to adjust course," the pilot said as the ship lurched slightly to the left. "And we’re set. Engaging rear thrusters."
"Easy," Freya said. "Helm, plot the course and engage full thrust. We don’t want to lounge here any longer than necessary."
The corners of my lips curled up slightly. She was doing a good job keeping her cool in front of all the ‘brass’ as I’d call us. Then and there I decided that needed to delegate authority, give people rank and let them pull their weight, just like the rest of us. I, no we, couldn’t be taking care of the whole operation by ourselves anymore.
I glanced over at Freya, studying her freckles and the way she pursed her lips, then at Gremory who stared at me intently. She didn’t like it when I looked at other women, but I couldn’t help myself. If she had a problem with it, she could take it up with God for giving me eyes.
"We need to have a chat in the meeting room," Gremory said, taking my hand in hers. "Devil, can you arrange that we can talk to the leaders of the communities on both of the smaller ships? We need to nip all the problems in the bud, no matter if they haven’t even come up yet."
"Very well. Once it’s over, Cerberus will take over. I’m tired or rather exhausted. I need to rest."
"Sure, big boy," I chimed in. "So many things to do, yet so little time. The queen, Gabriel, this meeting, my new powers, manifests of the goods, and so on and on. How the hell does anyone even manage to do all that?"
"They don’t. There are people who will do it for you if you trust them," Gremory replied and leaned in, planting a kiss on my lips. No doubt it must have been aimed toward Freya, saying this guy is off-limits, freckles. I had to admit that it felt rather good, even though I wasn’t yet used to it.
"Right. How about you take care of the meeting, and I’ll have a chat with Gabriel. Kris can check the manifest and see how good or bad we stand with supplies."
"Sure, I’ll tell her right away. You talk to him. He said that the only place calm enough for him was the observatory."
I nodded and planted a kiss on her forehead, then on her lips.
"See you later. Bring Kriss with you. She’s gone through a lot of shit the last couple days."
She nodded and pushed me away with two thin fingers. Her smooth skin never ceased to amaze me.
"Admiral? Do we hold the course to Beta?" Freya asked as I turned to the door.
"Yes, First Officer. I’ll come to relieve you later so you can get some rest," I replied and was about to walk off the bridge, but stopped. "No. Can you pull up these coordinates in comparison to our current projected route to Beta?"
"Hmm, we sure can, Admiral. We won’t be deviating too much off course, but we’ll lose a day at least."
"Is good enough. Let the other ships know."
"Yes, sir," she replied as I walked off the bridge. The door closed behind me with a metallic screech and a whoosh of air. I sighed and nodded at the passersby. I didn’t recognize most of them as I made my way through the corridors, but I doubted any Admiral knew all of his crewmen. At least that’s what I hoped, or I was one lazy ass Admiral.
Everyone seemed in high spirits, no matter that we were fleeing Earth and going off into who knew where. Just showed how badly people wanted to leave the planet behind. Still, it was hard to imagine that one could be made an enemy of his whole race just because someone wished to. No, this wasn’t about me, this was about Mikhail and Gremory. He’d lost something dear to him, and now it was mine.
"Sir?" a familiar voice called out from behind me. I stopped and turned around, only to find myself face to face with Khavvrin. I couldn’t help myself but shake the man’s hand.
"What can I do for you, Khavv?"
He winked and grinned back before patting my shoulder.
"My blood is boiling, and my hands are itching for a fight! I haven’t felt so alive in years!"
"Well then, you’ll be happy to know that we’ll be fighting on a planet called Entraxila soon. Please keep it to yourself for now, though, as that’s to be our new home if all goes well."
"Great! So, like a new Humanity’s cradle, huh?" he grinned.
"More or less, though probably less than more. See, we’re taking the Gebradim and the Sqvardians with us. In total, there will be four races inhabiting that planet, even more later on I hope."
"Will we all fit, Admiral?" he asked visibly worried for some reason.
"The planet is roughly two times Earth’s size. I’m sure we can make it work."
"Right. Can I offer you a drink, sir?" he asked. "As a thank you for the information at least. I got some interesting things to look forward to."
"I’m sorry Khavv, but I got a meeting with Gabriel right now. We can drink after if I’m not wasted. The guy has a strong aura."
"Is he near the observatory perchance?"
I nodded and narrowed my eyes on him.
"Why do you ask?"
"Shit, sir, no one’s going near there since we loaded up. People faint or get epileptic attacks and stuff."
I groaned scratching my head, then thought about how to solve this issue. The only thing that came to mind was to tell people to stay away for now. I couldn’t help but wonder how he’d affect me.
"Tell everyone to stay away from there. Post guards to every exit and entry point that leads there. No one but the ranks are to go there."
"Yes, Admiral!" he replied and snapped me a salute. The man tapped away on his tapper as he moved down the corridor, almost bumping into a guard.
"If everyone were like you, Khavv, we’d have a much better chance at this," I murmured as I went on my way again. The observatory was close by, and there weren’t any people around by the time I a
rrived. Gabriel’s voice came from inside, loud and strong as if he was talking to someone.
"Gabriel?" I asked, slowly opening the door. "Can I come in?"
"Admiral Cain! Of course you can. Please forgive me, I was trying to come up with a tone for my voice."
"For what purpose?"
"For when I talked to you, of course."
"Well, I can’t say that I don’t appreciate the gesture. Please, can we sit and have a chat? I want to talk about some things with you."
"Yes, please. I have to say that my brother did a rather remarkable job. Sure, it isn’t as sleek and pretty from the inside, but it's functional and sturdy."
"What is? The ship?"
He nodded as I sat. His shoulder-length brown hair and hazel brown eyes were in harmony with the rest of his body, sculpted to look like an Adonis from ages past, he stood there like a mountain of a man. The golden armor embracing his body glimmered in the least amount of light that bounced off its plates. His hands and biceps were unarmored, along with the shins, but the rest was as guarded as possible.
"Yes, Admiral. I got to say, though, I miss my brother. It’s been millennia since I spoke to him, all thanks to Mikhail and The Host. I’ve tried to contact him many a time, but he wouldn’t see reason."
"Sit, please. We got all the time in the world," I said, waving him over. "Unless you plan to fight me."
He stopped and stepped back.
"I would never go back on my word, Admiral!"
"Please forgive me for not trusting an Angel so easily anymore. Mikhail made a fool out of me in more ways than one, but at least he stayed true to half of the agreement."
Gabriel scoffed as he sat down opposite me in a massive leather sofa.
"My brother is infatuated by Gremory, Admiral. But our father did not want him to be with her, so she was cast out. Instead, it’s Ariel who’s spinning her thread around him ever since she was banished."
"I see," I replied leaning back against the recliner. "You know, I really could have done without all this spiritualistic stuff. I mean, the Armaments are already over the top for me, adding god and his children to the mix sounds like something from a fairy tale."