“It was the Great Enemy, wasn’t it?” Thanos asked, but it didn’t sound much like a question. “It was Him” he confirmed with himself.
“That was my own suspicion, Thanos. I was hoping that Valkyrie could affirm that, though?” Lupus replied, turning from one to the other as he spoke. Raina’s tone may have angered him and not too privately, but he was wise enough to remain diplomatic and used her Apostle name on purpose to appease her.
Raina glared at him as though his response to Thanos was completely pointless and added nothing to the discussion, but eventually bobbed her head in the barest of verifications. “Do you have any idea where he is? How do you propose we fall into the next trap he sets?” she bit. It was a challenge to both his competence and rank.
Before his ire got the better of them, someone cut his reply off in advance. “How could he know the location of the dark god? How could any of us, for that matter? You’re the most talented in the psychic department, yet where are your divinations?” It was Gaia who defended Lupus so vehemently. Raina gave her a scolding look as though she could break her hostile sister’s mind in two with a single thought, but if the former saw any of that in her expression, she gave no sign of fear or regret.
“It is clear that events have spiralled out of their intended destiny” Oz put in neutrally, reluctant to let a feud break out between them.
Lupus gave him a nod of thanks for his intervention. Oz managed to express to him with a smile that, like their sister Gaia and everyone else round the table, he didn’t see the weakness in him that Raina insisted upon pointing out. There was only so much a soldier, even an Apostle, could understand or anticipate in war. What happened to Pheia was beyond any of them to plan for and thwart.
Orion’s voice broke the tension that had settled over them like a treacherous parasol. “My Lord Lion, we are receiving hails. Our legionary forces in the Pantheon, Tempest and Orpheus sectors report massive enemy presence. Critical worlds are under attack”.
Lupus slammed his fist down on the holo-table causing the surface to ripple as his hatred of the Phantoms could no longer be held in check. The others were stunned, never having seen or realised he could lose his temper so quickly and explosively. His anger was impressive, but its lack of control told them more about his state of mind than they wished to know.
“What do we do...” he muttered under his breath. He didn’t expect anyone to answer him, or even hear. He was unexpectedly desperate for help, but should he admit his fear and let someone else take the reins? No, that was forbidden; he was the First Apostle, and by the Elysian Law, he had to remain as he was. Yet for all his certified position, something gnawed at him, a biting doubt that told him he couldn’t lead the others anymore.
Solitaire, ignorant of the conflict raging inside him, had heard his runaway fret. “We fight them, brother. We go to our worlds, we take our legions and we win the game”.
The idea was encouraging, but childishly naïve. Lupus couldn’t help but want to entertain her answer, but then he remembered that there was reason and a logical plan behind everything she said no matter how nonsensical and hopelessly optimistic it sounded.
He lifted his head and hands up from the table to reply, but it was Novus that spoke to her. “How do you propose we do that, sister? What hope do we have when the enemy can destroy entire sectors with a single strike?”
“When we rip out enough of their hearts they’ll all start to bleed. I’ll do it myself” Nightingale said, her voice hauntingly vindictive and murderous. It was the first time since being back on the Luminon that she had spoken and the timing she chose couldn’t have been more dominating of the room. The Apostles looked at her with awkward expectation, as though she were about to leave the ship immediately and start her vengeance all on her own. Only she didn’t; she just glared at the inactive holo-table, in a world of her own hatred for the enemy and paid no heed to the palpable chill that had settled over them all by the sound of promise in her speech.
Only Solitaire seemed to ignore her eerily simplistic, vengeful solution and walked round the table to be next to Lupus, as though she were about to share a secret with him on the playground. “The Great Enemy doesn’t want to fight us like that; he won’t enjoy it if he does. He wants to win the war the long way” she smiled at him, blissfully unaware how casually she had just told him the enemy wanted to annihilate everything in the Dimension, one piece at a time, for His amusement.
“Our sister speaks the truth, brother” a familiar, welcome voice announced. It was Hydra, whose human form appeared as a hologram projected on the remarkably intact table. It was made of sturdier stuff than the other Apostles thought, but they had no doubt that Lupus was more than capable of destroying it with ease if his rage was deep enough.
Lupus had informed Hydra just before the meeting of what had happened at the now non-existent Frontier. “You weren’t there Hydra, how can you know such things? Enlighten us with the knowledge of your many heads, if you would” Phoenix answered. Her tone was a little more caustic than she intended and she looked at the others for support. They seemed to share both her interest in their brother’s explanation and her anger at his absence from the fight, though they knew it wouldn’t have gone any better had he been there to help.
“The war for Pheia would have been won were it not for the Hollow Bomb; all of you know that. We can defeat the enemy in space and on the ground when they do not cheat us of victory, no matter the odds. We have tactics and strategies where they have sadism and a senseless thirst for the kill”.
“I agree, but all that will become redundant when the Phantoms bring out another bomb on the next world they draw us to, won’t it?” Oz replied, his voice only a little softer than Novus’ before him.
When Hydra turned to search for Oz at the other side of the table he was projected to face, his expression was blank despite his much demanded revelation. “They don’t have another one” he said frankly.
The meaning of the answer was as striking as it was multitudinous. The Apostles looked at each other in disbelief and confusion, but it was Lupus who calmed himself first. “How could you possibly know that, Hydra?” he said, feeling betrayed that his brother hadn’t told him that little fact when they talked privately just moments ago.
“Our brother Seraphim had this knowledge. Trust me, my family, even I did not know until I told him the fate of the battle” Hydra explained.
The others were horrified at the news. The implications were catastrophic to the brotherhood of the Apostles.
“Why did he deem it prudent to keep such a thing from us? If he knew the enemy had the weapon, why didn’t he warn us before we went to the Frontier? He helped thousands of legionnaires to die…” Thanos asked, aghast as he began to realise how easily the slaughter he witnessed and railed against could have been prevented.
“Because I was uncertain, brother,” Seraphim answered. He appeared as a separate projection to Hydra, but it was obvious they were on the same world by the shared background of their holograms.
“The Auranair’s messages to me at the Blessing were vague at best and so ambiguous that a hundred different omens could have been heard from Her words. The only thing I knew for certain was that the Great Enemy would unleash something terrible, something He could do only once, at the start of the war. I had no idea it would be a Hollow Bomb, I promise you that on my honour as an Apostle of Vermillion” Seraphim said, his honesty threatening to undo every bond he had made with them. The word honour hung heavy in the air like it didn’t belong to any of them anymore, but his defensive answer wasn’t strong enough to deflect their anger.
Before the others could lose their rationality and forsake their brother, Lupus found himself defending the imminently accused traitor. “Seraphim cannot be blamed for what happened. We all thought we should go and it was I who insisted it more than any of us. The blame is mine” he told the others.
If looks could kill, Raina’s would have obliterated Lupus. “You can’t
be serious…” she sneered. Next, she was yelling at the height of her fury. “He had a responsibility to warn us!”
The others stood passively, unwilling to react to what Seraphim had confessed. By now they were too weary of hard truths to feel anything too intensely.
“Maybe so, but we never gave him the chance. How could he give a warning of an omen he didn’t understand? Would we have listened to his inexplicable fears? I doubt it” Lupus replied calmly, understanding her feelings without sharing them.
Calla decided at that moment to contribute her own voice to the table, realising that if she didn’t help Lupus to reknit their ties, the union between the Apostles would likely fall apart. It was Raina, her own blood sister and natural kin that she challenged though. “Would have you stayed behind and left the humans to their doom if you had known the danger, sister?” she asked. The question seemed to make the others regard Raina with a sense of unease and judgement.
Raina seemed to consider the point for a moment, her brow creased in hesitant wrath, before stepping back and surrendering to Calla’s reason. It was a sign of concession, they all knew. “I would have gone, of course I would” she admitted, a sadness in her words from seeing that the others, even Calla, could have doubted her integrity.
“A human life is worth every effort we can make to save it,” Lupus said. “Ourellius Himself favoured mankind. No matter what we are now, we were born into that race. We cannot forsake them, nor risk their extinction to save ourselves. Our honour may have been tarnished today, but I intend never to stain it again”.
His brothers and sisters seemed to accept this, but Oz had just one question to voice to the group. “But how, brother?”
“We pay heed to the conviction of youth” Lupus smiled faintly, referring to Solitaire who still hadn’t left his side to re-join Novus. “We protect every world we can with our lives. Whatever it takes, however many losses we suffer, we will not fail the humans again. We must not.”
The discussion had reinvigorated his energy, driving him back to his purpose and duty. They may have taken a dozen steps back in this war and they may have been wrong-footed and placed on the edge of despair by the Great Enemy’s wits, but they could learn to walk again with pride enough for victory.
Novus was the first to reply. “I am at your side, brother. Now and always, to whatever end. We can do this. We were Blessed to do this” she nodded, believing in him more than ever. When they saw Pheia consumed, they were in a place of darkness and futility, but he was the light that would lead them out with sword and shield in hand. She took her form as Phoenix again, the shackles of shame forgotten and the conviction of duty and righteousness returned.
The others looked at their sister, surprised by her eagerness, but she inspired them to keep their faith in themselves and when she took form and became a brilliant body of flame, she served as a beacon of confidence to remind them of what they were capable of.
“I too will fight again. We belong together as one or not at all” Oz declared, smiling in a way that was meant only for Phoenix to completely understand. “I shall not rest my hatred until the Great Enemy Himself begs for our mercy” he said.
“And I” the others replied, each so soon after the other that it was impossible to determine which order their affirmations came in.
Lupus stood once more with dignity at the head of the holo-table, a determination to see the Deian War through to the end so rich in him that the feeling felt altogether new. “We will be spread far and wide, my brothers and sisters, for the enemy have given us no choice but to split our forces, yet we Twelve will remain as strong as ever. We will divide and conquer them, wherever they choose to plague the Empire with their presence.”
He could sense the others believed in him despite what had happened, but perhaps it was because of his leadership now that they still loved him. They always would. Even Raina showed less hostility towards him now than usual, finally coming round to see that he was the one meant to lead them. If they stuck by him, maybe they could do it. They just had to believe in each other too.
As they shared the same look of fortitude and resolve that emanated from Lupus, they knew what oath they had to swear once more. Their bonds were now so great and so refined that they each knew what to say, the phrase as pure and true as it had been spoken the very first time between them and they filled the Primary Tactical Hall of the Luminon with an ennobling chorus.
“Retyr Auranair!” they all intoned.
ELSEWHERE, WITHOUT ANY forewarning, a small ship appeared in orbit over Hydron. Smoke was venting from a series of holes in its hull, fires lighting the vessel like festive decorations. Its sleek, smooth skin gave away its class before the legionary fleet stationed there could scan it. With its stealth systems damaged and down, the frigate couldn’t prevent the Guardians from detecting it. But then, that was its hope.
The Clandestine sailed past a Blackstar, weak and degraded by a battle that none of the legions had been a part of. On board, the crew desperately fought to maintain control of the ship’s power supply and keep it stable long enough to send a hail to an ally. Its engines were going critical and it had only moments to spread its news to someone, anyone, who would listen.
Fortunately for them, they had jumped in-system right next to the hulking Luminon. “Captain, we’re receiving a hail from the Clandestine. It’s urgent-priority” Zeno announced on the Blackstar’s bridge.
Orion leaned forward in his throne, wary of what he was about to hear. “Put them through” he answered.
A crackling, distorted voice echoed around the chamber. The signal was so impaired that Orion couldn’t make out more than a single syllable. “We-…att…ph…asdsadk….”
He thumbed a button on his throne to send a reply. “Captain Rian of the Clandestine, this is Captain Orion of the Luminon. Repeat your last transmission. We’re getting nothing but static here” he tried.
There was a delay before the captain of the frigate came through more clearly, but the transmission was far from perfect.
“I…say…again…we-azgd…attacked...by-apllg…enemy…numbers too great. Prometh-sdsao…allied…Our drives…crit-ifwac…repeat, our engines are critical!”
Orion called out for someone to repair the comms, but he knew there was little that could be done. All the damage was on the Clandestine’s side, not the Blackstar’s. He suddenly realised there was something else wrong, something he should have noticed as soon as Rian had started talking. There had been an Apostle on board with them on the mission, so why wasn’t he talking to Orion rather than Rian?
“Captain, where is the Fourth Apostle?” he urged. There was another delay during which he called Zeno over to his seat. “Send repair craft immediately, the Clandestine is in imminent peril…”
Rian’s voice suddenly came back. “Miss-ozsd...led a Voidhawk…asad…against the enemy…dskkl…never came back…kkkckc…couldn’t detect him…adsapper…but received order to withdraw”.
It didn’t make any sense. Orion needed to know more. He thumbed the comms button on his throne again, but it was too late. The scout ship abruptly exploded even as he opened his lips to ask where the Apostle had gone. The drives had finally given way, detonating as a result of the core’s destabilisation and obliterating the Clandestine in a grotesque fireball.
Orion was in disbelief. The repair craft he commanded to be sent out hadn’t even left the launch bay yet. He wondered if they could ever have saved the Clandestine had they known how serious her damage was from the start.
He felt sad to admit that he didn’t know Rian at all personally, but he had heard all the stories of her mastery of stealth and the injustice of her untimely death was poignant. He’d had so many more questions to ask, answers that he needed to know. How did such a brilliant captain lose her ship when it should never have been detected by the enemy? How could they have lost the Apostle when the vessel was one of the fastest in the fleet? It was supposed to be a simple recon mission and it had been any
thing but.
“Well, this changes things…” Orion muttered as the flames engulfing the frigate guttered out with finality and the reality of the missing Apostle sank in.
FAR AWAY, ON the cradle of mankind, the Senate raged. The Great Auditorium was a cacophony of noise and disorganised debate as politicians, both old and young, yelled at each other over the Empire’s involvement in the proclaimed Deian War.
The Senate had just received word, a message that had been piggy-backed from sector to sector until it reached their ears, that Pheia had been swallowed by a black hole. The entire Frontier had been lost and the legions fled without a single human life saved. The Phantom armies on Colossi had been released two decades earlier than they were promised. The Black Guardians had failed them.
A man stood in the centre of the vast chamber on the raised dais, silent and brooding. He watched as the Gothican government tore at itself in disarray over the recent development. When he had heard enough, he slammed a fist repeatedly on his podium. Slowly, like a chain of falling dominoes, the arguments simply stopped and the Senators around him hushed themselves.
It may have been his status that provoked their silence, or merely his body language, but the men and women around him dared not speak without clear permission now. He smiled at them like they were children ready to do his bidding, too scared to disobey his word. Having the rank of Lord Governor granted him such privileges.
Yet, for all the power his position granted him, it was not that alone that made him fearful. He was not the same man that had greeted the Black Guardians more than ten years ago and agreed to their protection. Maybe he was physically that person, but his personality and behaviour was altogether new and different.
The Deian War: Vermillion's Apostles Page 40