The sight outside was eerily similar to the one he and Calla witnessed on the observation tower of the Luminon, though it was far less beautiful and cosmic. There were a thousand things to wonder at, a vista of things he couldn’t explain or try to comprehend. The only difference was that the galaxy of suns was natural and full of creation, but The Shield was its opposite; a vast network of fabricated weapons that was meant for the utter destruction of things both living and material.
Lupus took in the lay of the place as the Admiral climbed the stairs to the second tier. There were banks of data terminals on the ground floor that transmitted information from sensors, satellites and communications from other stations to the equipment on the middle deck. There, three surfaces that appeared to be inferior versions of the holo-tables the Guardians used were sat purposefully, surrounded by various Gothican officers. They were discussing the various data that the first deck screened up to them. Lupus was well aware that The Shield was not entirely complete, but he wondered what the high-ranking men were talking about when the void outside was so empty and quiet.
Looking beyond them, he noticed what constituted the third and final deck. Though he had to ascend to the second, resulting in a multitude of mixed reactions from the human officers, he could easily understand what he saw even if he didn’t want to accept it. Two dozen men and women were sat in a ring around the room’s outer edge. The stairs ran from the second floor to the third, but Lupus had to climb them halfway to see it.
The third deck was suspended above the other two by a series of supports around the outer edge of the Command Centre. The men and women who were sat on the small, hollow ring were all plugged into computer banks by means of neuro-cables that accessed their brains and nervous system. Those that he could see without going all the way to the top, something he now didn’t want to do, looked half-mechanical.
“They are the gunnery crew” a voice said next to him. He realised it was the Admiral and wondered why he hadn’t noticed the man move to his side. Lupus guessed the sight of the gun operators had been discomforting enough to distract him, which hadn’t happened before according to his perfect memory.
“Are they always…” he began, but he couldn’t finish the question.
“Plugged-in?” the Admiral said for him.
Lupus tore his gaze away from the third deck to nod. “Are they even self-aware? They seem so focussed on their tasks”.
The Admiral shook his head. “Whilst they’re locked in like that, nothing from the outside world gets through. No emotion, no fear…not even spoken orders. Everything they know and do is directed by the data passed from the first floor, which is filtered by the second and passed on directly to their brains”.
When he saw the faint look of disgust in Lupus’ eyes, he continued. “I know how it sounds; trust me, when I first saw the plans for the defence stations I railed against them, but after a time I understood. The chaos of battle can affect any mind, Apostle. It doesn’t matter if you have decades of experience or if you’ve seen things that would normally break anyone else…war is damaging and sooner or later, it gets to everyone. Being locked-in…well, that prevents it. Those men and women up there, all they know is data and calculation. To them, every battle, no matter the odds, is just that - ratios and statistics. There is no connotation, no meaning, just a need to address the equation”.
“It’s the same across The Shield?” Calla asked, overhearing their conversation. She had been watching the operations on the first floor alongside the legionnaires, who she left behind. Unlike her and Lupus, the Guardians didn’t want to understand the reasoning behind the third deck. To them, there was no reason to be separated from the instincts of war. A battle couldn’t be transformed into a process to be worked out without instinct or feeling.
“Yes, in varying degrees. Some stations play different roles; this platform is designed as a countermeasure against capital ships, where others will focus on smaller vessels like carriers and frigates. There are a few that house our fighter and bomber squadrons, which serve both offensive and defensive functions. We are equally mobile and stationary. The Shield is impenetrable, because if the line breaks, we have the flexibility to remake it and adapt to any incursion” the Admiral replied.
Lupus was close to assuming him of overconfidence, but if he asked himself truthfully, he believed what the man had claimed. The Shield was more formidable and powerful than he could have imagined. He had no doubt that they could repel the Vorlans if they continued to encroach upon the Empire, but he couldn’t help but wonder if the Admiral realised it was more likely that he would encounter the Phantoms first.
“I must confess I am emboldened by being here” Lupus said. “But I admit as well that seeing this place was not the only reason I came here”.
The Admiral looked expectant, but not surprised. “No, I didn’t think it was” he answered.
“Is there anywhere private we can talk?” Lupus asked.
The Admiral shook his head. “I hide nothing from the crew in this chamber. They all serve here because they are the best at what they do and they are the most called upon. Rank aside, we are all equally vulnerable. Whatever I hear and know, they do too”.
“Very well” Lupus said.
FOR THE FIRST time since the recommencement of the Deian War humans, Black Guardians and Apostles all stood in the same room to participate in the same conversation. Though they kept to themselves, with the legionnaires on one side of the second deck and the station crew on the other, they were joined together.
“What I am about to ask of you requires absolute honesty and truth. As your protectors, we have suffered our defeats and failed you, but we still give our lives and everything we have to defend you until this war is gone, or we are” Lupus began, his rich voice filling the room. His admission got mixed reactions from his audience, ranging between respect and resentment.
“Ask what you must, Apostle” the Admiral insisted.
“When is the Senate going to participate in the fight against the Phantoms?” he frowned as he asked it, his gut sick to hear the truth that despite his advice, the Empire was going to participate in the Deian War.
The Admiral looked at his staff and they each shared the same expression. “How do you know about that?” he replied.
The answer confirmed everything Lupus was dreading. Despite Raina telling him the reality, he had never fully believed it until it was just asserted. He crossed his arms. “We like to keep an eye on things and rightly so, wouldn’t you agree? We warned the Senate against this move - why did they ignore us so readily?”
He depended on the Admiral to be open and he didn’t let Lupus down. “The loss of Pheia was unacceptable, Apostle. You promised the Senate protection and salvation, yet worlds have already begun to fall years before the war was supposed to even start. What trust do you think the Lord Governor has in you now, let alone the rest of the Empire?”
Lupus already suspected why the Senate had chosen to fight, but he wanted the Admiral to explain so he could determine how the Gothican military felt as well. “That was beyond our control, but what defeats have we suffered since? We have evacuated two sectors whilst spreading our forces wide enough to defend the others as well”.
“I’m sorry, but that changes very little. The Empire has too many enemies now for the Senate to sit by and trust in others that can’t fulfil their promises” a human officer answered.
“What about the victory on Ardentia? Or Carthage? You can’t have forgotten Sigma either…” Calla challenged.
“We knew about those only because your complacency let us,” the Admiral replied. “We know what you can do and what your capabilities are. The Empire is rife with the rumours and myths of the Hydra, for one. His utter control over communication has done more harm than good. You should have known something was going to slip his eyes and it did.
Mind you, the Senate hasn’t revealed the whole truth to the public…and there’s blame with them for that too…but th
ey don’t want chaos and we can’t afford disorder. Yet we all know the truth; there are more defeats than the legions can take, aren’t there? Just how much do the Phantoms outnumber you by, exactly?”
“We don’t have to explain ourselves to you when we give our lives for every metre of ground they take” said Olympus. A glance from Lupus silenced him, but the point was made.
“Nor do I seek one, legionnaire, but I do not control the Senate and they will move regardless of your explanations. They have already taken action to be seen as the only force capable of saving the Empire” the Admiral assured him.
“What do you mean?” Lupus asked.
The Admiral sighed. He didn’t like to share secrets, least of all those that belonged to the Senate and those in the military higher than even him, but the way he saw it, the Apostles were the ones fighting the real war, not the government.
“To the public, the Senate admitted their mistakes and confirmed they wouldn’t interfere with the Frontier any longer. But in secret, they ordered the construction of a flagship, bigger and stronger than anything we’ve had before and called it Fortitude. It will take a third of our remaining fleet and meet the Phantoms head-on at the Frontier. The Senate claims there are worlds still there to evacuate, no matter the cost”.
“Admiral, from what you say I can tell you disagree with everything they’re doing, but a man in your position has a lot of say - why haven’t you said anything to the Lord Governor?”
Laughing with frustration, he replied “Because nobody can get to him these days. The closest I got was talking to the Advisors of his Inner Circle. Speaking to them about my fears is what landed me here, where I’m the most likely to be forgotten or killed”.
“Well, actually they could have sent you to the Frontier with everyone else to die…” Olympus said. This time, a gesture from Sabre shut him up.
“The Senate aren’t that stupid. They know if they gave me the fleet, I could take it from them. I still command the loyalty of the Empire’s armies after all. No, I rather doubt the noble purpose of this venture and it does not bode well for any human taking part in it”.
“Explain yourself” Calla urged.
“Well, it’s obvious isn’t it?” the Admiral said. “They want the fleet to be destroyed”.
Calla shook her head in denial. She didn’t believe that even the gluttonous Senate could want something like that. “That’s insane. Why would they do that?”
The Admiral shrugged. It was a simple expression, but one that was filled with sadness and remorse. “I can’t answer that, Apostle”.
“I can,” said Lupus. He fixed his gaze on the Admiral and his staff and looked them dead in the eyes. “The Lord Governor is a Corrupt. He serves the interests of the Great Enemy now, not the Empire’s”.
THE CORRUPTION WAS something Lupus was becoming familiar with, but not through choice. It was a force that could affect all beings, but despite his affinity with it he only understood a fraction of its nature. Now he had to explain to the Admiral and his men that the supreme authority of their Empire had become irrevocably evil and why it was that he could notice it and they hadn’t.
“A Corrupt?” the Admiral asked in disbelief. “I thought you removed those from the Senate the day you revealed yourself?”
Lupus shook his head. “A Corrupt is not a being of origin or creation. Nothing born of this life is affected by Corruption through genes or blood. It is a force impossible to measure or see, because it is an influence. It is far from the enemy you or I am used to; it cannot simply be killed or removed”.
One of the crew officers furrowed his eyebrows. “But what kind of foe is it, then? You talk like those affected by this...influence…fight a war against it. How can you be in a war against an immaterial enemy that you claim exists purely through persuasion and manipulation?”
Lupus gave him a look that convinced the man to trust his next words completely. "You’re right to assume the fight against Corruption is a battle like no other. It is logic against impulse, reason against chemistry, sanity against desire. The weapons you have are few and far between. The armour offered to you is thin and your shield is frail. Even hope is but a drop in the ocean of emotions that the struggle will visit upon you.
It is capable of destroying the purity of even the holiest of people, but the terrifying thing about it is that it convinces you to give up and let it take hold over you. It will test you like nothing else” he said.
One of the Majors that stood guard with the Admiral let out a frustrated, nervous laugh. “First we have the Vorlans to deal with, then the Phantoms…now this Corruption, a force that you imply is all but impossible to resist. How can you expect anyone to be victorious against it? What encouragement is there if it can trick even the greatest of men?”
Lupus tried to ignore the implication that the Lord Governor of the Senate had been a great man before he changed. He hadn’t known him personally or for very long before he became a Corrupt, but the Major’s view of him was certainly wrong. “Because, if you do succeed, if against all the odds you are victorious and regain your purity...the reward will be immeasurable by any gauge and indescribable with any language".
The assembled Gothicans in the room all looked on in dismay. Sabre could feel a presence in the room, a dark brooding threat that stemmed from the mere mention of the Corruption and its power. To admit vulnerability was to allow its existence and he knew the dangers of that.
“It is a battle for your soul, one that we all must face. Why wouldn’t you want to fight to save it, against all temptation?” he said.
For a while the room was silent, the point made succinctly by his question. Then the Admiral asked, “You believe the Lord Governor has lost his battle, then? That we cannot bring him back?”
“You know the answer to that question already, Admiral. You saw the traits in him long before you knew what the Corruption was, you were just too afraid to admit it” Calla answered. He seemed surprised that it should be her that delivered the harsh truth, but he seemed to accept her authority on the matter nonetheless.
“There are many Gothicans that doubt your purpose, Apostles. Even more have lost faith in the might of the legions, but not I. It is a shame that we can forgive our own mistakes and failings, but not those of the angels sent to save us from forces we can’t even understand” he sighed. “But what would you have me do? Kill the most powerful man of my race and find a new leader for the Empire, just like that?”
“No, we would never ask that of you” Lupus answered.
“Then what?”
For the first time, Lupus felt like he was about to expose himself to the Gothicans’ mercy. “We need you to forgive us for doing it” he said. Ironically, he was afraid that they would do that all too easily.
Chapter 17
THERE WAS SOMETHING familiar about the device that Nightingale had retrieved from the clutches of the Phantoms. Naomi, Commander of the 101st Shadow Legion, viewed it through the hazy vision that her armour’s ability cost her.
Her Apostle was an ethereal being that could exist as nothing more than a shroud to ambush her enemies. Like the Lion’s rumoured gift of strength to his own legion the 617th, the 101st were given a portion of Nightingale’s power. Each Shadow Legionnaire could, for a limited time, become a shade. At least, their armour appeared to give them that effect. Naomi wasn’t sure how it worked, but she could tell from her experiences in battle that her foes couldn’t comprehend what was attacking them, let alone retaliate against her strikes.
Naomi didn’t activate her armour for the purpose of remaining hidden as she observed the weapon, and there was nothing obvious about its appearance that suggested that’s what it was, but when she was using her armour in this way the object somehow seemed easier to understand.
She tilted her head to one side and noticed the world shift and swim as her eyes realigned with the angle she now viewed it in. When she first went into battle with her Apostle, it had taken a lot of practice
to get used to the effects of her armour. Now it was like second-nature to her, but she had never experienced something like this before.
The spherical object defied her apprehension when her armour was deactivated, but now it yearned for her to reach out and clutch it with both hands. It almost seemed to speak to her, but she knew there was only her and silence in the room to keep it company.
She took a step forwards and felt a vibration in the air. It was undeniable that something about her ethereal state connected with the weapon’s own. It both spooked her and drove her mad with curiosity, yet her instinct warned her away even as her feet moved of their own accord towards it.
“What are you?” she whispered to it.
“Something that should never have been made” it answered.
A chill ran up her spine, but when she turned through instinct she found Nightingale standing next to her with a calm expression as though she had been there all along. Naomi realised with relief that it had been the Apostle speaking, not the otherworldly sphere.
“My Grace?” she said, helplessly intrigued. She looked at Nightingale, wondering at her pale blue form. She had the appearance of a ghost, simultaneously present and absent in the world. Naomi knew she disturbed the members of other legions, but the Commander felt only admiration for her Apostle.
Nightingale didn’t return the look, but stared at the device with a level of understanding and knowledge that Naomi envied. “It feels familiar, doesn’t it?”
Naomi felt her armour getting heavy, a sign that its power was being drained by the activation of its shade ability. She brought her left forearm up and pressed a button that brought her out of the shadowy form and there was the faintest whirring sound as the suit’s automatic systems began to recycle the power supply. Only a select few legionnaires had an understanding of even the most basic Guardian armour systems, but they were all aware of the various functions and capabilities.
The Deian War: Conquest Page 21