by SK Benton
Vid displays showed imagery of Vrol fliers, ground bugs and centipedes, causing many viewers to shudder in disgust. Imagery and video continued with footage of the Vrol invasion of Earth, displaying a decimated, yet still-recognizable New York skyline, and of the Vrol's ship-locking encapsulation of Earth.
"Working with the resistance movement, we have uncovered and stopped a plot by Johnson where he was retrofitting ancient Exodus barges with faster-than-light drives in a base on Sienna. Johnson has been coordinating with the Vrol, facilitating their unimpeded arrival in exchange for the promise they would never attack Earth again. You know this to be true, as Johnson has enacted stand-down orders to all military vessels, and has put genetic locks requiring his personal live, active DNA on the FTL side space drives on our best ships. Why would he do this? What does he fear? Not the Artusians slash Vrol - they are his allies. He fears us. He has already selected hundreds of citizens to depart our beloved Azul system shortly before the arrival of the Vrol, ensuring their survival - and our deaths. These select, fortunate individuals tend to have very particular genetic markers in common - another thing we have discovered, and something we shall discuss after we have restored Constitutional rule. Now that we have common knowledge of our mutual best interests I am ordering all Azul military to join with us, and together we shall restore freedom and dignity back to our worlds."
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"Where the hell is this feed coming from? This shouldn't be possible!" screamed Councilman Cristof Milonas, recently appointed to the council without a congressional vote, made possible under Johnson's new emergency powers. He was a replacement for the unfortunate Councilman Robert Reed, who was one of the few dissenting votes against Johnson's power play some months earlier. Reed suffered a sad and unexpected death when his air car exploded in midair, and was immediately replaced by someone friendlier to the dictator's designs. Milonas flipped frantically through every possible feed line, hard and wireless, but was unable to stop Bagatelle's monologue.
"Councilman, we have also been informed that mysterious, holographic vid displays have appeared and are also playing Rear Admiral Bagatelle's message," said a minor tech, who was unwittingly according Bagatelle his current, legal title.
"How dare you call him anything other than traitor, you less-than-nothing," hissed Milonas. The councilman then pulled a stinger pistol out of his holster and shot the tech point-blank in the forehead. Milonas then took over the tech's position, standing over the poor fool's body as if it weren't even there, while staring at useless displays with his steel-blue eyes.
Vera Base, Azul System
"In closing, fellow citizens, this is not a military coup - this is the restoration of Constitutional government - something that was stolen from us. It is our birthright."
Bagatelle continued to glare into the camera, not seeing the reactions of the myriad of military personnel on the bases throughout the system.
Jennie stood off to the side of the massive throngs of troops, worried and hoping that somehow things would be all right. She wasn't concerned with Portlandia, but she was preoccupied with New Sydney, where her brother was going.
"All troops, prepare to pass through the portal. Once you go through please go to your predetermined destination. Alpha Group, forward!" Bagatelle yelled loudly, his voiced carrying nicely thanks to a cantus provided by Max. The troops started going through, Alpha Group consisting mostly of Azulians, all hoping to see some friendly faces.
Max and Jennie watched an infoscreen with Draagh, grinning when they realized that not only was there no resistance, the crowds were welcoming the invading troops, cheering and throwing confetti.
"Admiral! You are being welcomed! We're forming Buenos Aires groups now, and we'll see you in the Capitol," yelled Max, right before his brother-in-law walked through the gleaming portal to another world.
New Sydney, Oz
"Sir, we have experienced sporadic small arms fire, but the interlopers were inexplicably taken out by unseen forces. Their heads seem to have exploded."
Admiral Luigi Bagatelle nodded his head to the leader of Delta Group. He had a pretty good idea who had taken that course of action, but checked in to be certain. He used a private channel on the comm to speak with an Archangel who had a particular knack for making heads explode.
"Gabriel, I assume you have taken care of our sniper fire problem?"
"Yes, Luigi. They have been neutralized."
"And, who were they?"
"Genetic vampires, Admiral."
"Very well, please continue. And try to keep one alive for questioning."
Bagatelle switched over to the officers' channel, intent on keeping his liberation forces pouring through the portals.
"Max, send B.A. forces through. We have encountered some small arms fire, all by gen-vamps. However, Gabriel kindly eliminated the bulk of them."
"You got it, G. Krynos is heading out now."
Buenos Aires, Nueva Argentina
If the troops arriving in New Sydney were a surprise, then Buenos Aires Air Base had no idea what was even going on. Despite the fact that Draagh had created infoscreens that could not be touched or turned off by anyone, political operatives in the Argentine location managed to shut down power to all man-made vid displays, denying critical knowledge of the system's liberation to a good percentage of military personnel. Added to this was the fact that it was already nightfall in Nueva Argentina, so the locals were working at a distinct disadvantage, compared to the invading lycans with superb night vision.
Krynos was fortunate to be accompanied to some of the more trusted naval officers aligned with Bagatelle, two of them being Cpts. Stor and Stanton, who in turn were flanked by their top aides and junior officers. Stor and Stanton carried recessive lycan genes, but were fortunate enough to have been enhanced to their full potential while in the Rhönen Dominion for training. Their initial appearance in the center of the base, an area called the grinder, shocked many, but due to base restrictions, only military police carried weapons with live ammunition - and they were smart enough to not try to apprehend hundreds of extremely large and heavily-armed invading soldiers. However, sniper fire started to ring out. After a few minutes and one Rhönen lycan being hit with a bullet (and magically healed), troops heard some screams from the perimeter, with the live fire stopping suddenly.
"I do believe the good Gabriel has come to our aid," said Krynos, as he looked around smiling. "Truly impressive is this location. I believe I shall rebuild our troop quarters upon return to my home, using this place as a model for construction."
"Okay, that's awesome, King Krynos, but we need to command all stations, and if you didn’t notice, there's no power," said Capt. Stor.
"They probably cut the power to keep the Admiral's message from disseminating much," added Stanton. "I'll take a recon team and go restore the power grid."
Both Krynos and Stor nodded in agreement, while Stanton silently motioned to an Azulian recon group to follow his lead. Stor started moving various teams out to the perimeter of the base, while Krynos maintained his position in the center of the grinder, standing unafraid in front of his own brethren.
Vera Base, Azul System
"Max, it would be wise to go to Portlandia ahead of your troops, under the cover of an invisibility cantus. Nefarious forces had cut power lines in Buenos Aires in an attempt to keep as many as possible from learning of our efforts." Draagh was slightly concerned for Max and Jennie's efforts after having found that there were more government-aligned agents in Buenos Aires than had been previously imagined. His granddaughter-in-law gave him a sideways glance, and then moved over to her husband and started to adjust the sword strap that held his katana onto his back.
"Max, be careful, they can still see you with your simple cantus," cautioned the gorgeous dega.
"Yeah sweetie, no worries. It's daytime right now over there anyway. I'm just gonna shoot in, fly around, check things out and slip directly back," said Max, who then kissed his wife befor
e he took two steps and impressively jumped into the air, wings sprouting out from his back at the same time. He made a short loop over the remaining troops before disappearing through a portal to Portlandia.
Portlandia, America
An invisible hybrid lycan/archangel, the only his kind in the universe, shot into the air over Portlandia, a large city with a massive natural harbor. Unlike its Earthly west coast namesake, the port was salt water, and was named for the ancient town in the former United States of America due to its geographical similarities.
Max first went to the naval annex, and noting that only Draagh's infoscreens displayed Bagatelle's frozen image he immediately surmised something was wrong. Dropping to the ground in front of a building entrance he detected no electricity - someone had shut the power off.
He slipped inside the building to avoid being discovered by opening a door. Once inside he went directly to the ops center, finding it abandoned and dark.
Looks like someone's buddied up with Johnson
The young mage dropped an infoscreen over the top of the main control panel, noting where circuits traveled. An engineer by education and trade, Max had little difficulty using his human skills along with his magical abilities to determine that the power plant's main line had been severed. A quick 3D slip to that location and Max had the entire base lit up, which also caused a lot of soldiers and civilian personnel to exit their quarters and offices. Luckily, he was still invisible, even to heat scans, so he moved about the population, using his enhanced HUD to look for inactive lycans, ghouls and mages.
Max saw only normals for the first twenty minutes, but his readouts told him everyone was nervous - afraid of some form of deceit. It wasn't long afterward when he sniffed the air and detected a foul odor - a noxious, yet familiar odor. Shaking his head he knew it couldn't be true. He quickly generated an extra cantus around himself, one to block his scent, and upon rounding a corner what he saw shocked him to the point of nearly dropping all of his sensory defenses.
Vera Base, Azul System
"Max had better be careful," said Jennie, while she looked at the glimmering portal to Azul - specifically Portlandia. "It's already daybreak there, and he hasn't checked in for a while. I'm starting to -"
"Everyone. Hey, Mike? I think I need some… help here," commed Max.
"Max, what is wrong? Why do you not come back and we can discuss your quandary," responded Michael.
"Max, get your ass back here now. You don't sound right," demanded his beautiful but preoccupied wife.
"I'm not right. It's just something that shouldn't be. It's impossible."
"What is it, Max?" asked Gabriel, chiming in from New Sydney.
"I'm looking directly at an active vampire. And he's standing out in the sun."
Chapter 19 - Activated
Portlandia, America
"What? A ghoul survives in the sun on a world where there should be none? Max, please hold. I have your position and I shall assist you in killing it," said Gabriel.
"Gabe! No! You can't just go killing everything. We need some intelligence here. I'm taking it with me. Draagh, are you there?"
"Yes, my boy. How may I assist?"
"Max, are you bringing that thing back here?" asked Jennie.
"Oh hell no. Draagh, meet me at Krynos' castle. Whatever made this freak can probably track it. Jennie, hold off on Portlandia. Something weird is up here."
Max opened the comm to include New Sydney COC, so they could bring Bagatelle into the fold.
"Admiral, can you give us a status update? We're holding on Portlandia. I found an active vampire and Draagh and I are taking it to the Rhönen."
"Captain, we are good here. In fact, it's almost like a party. Draagh, I could use some assistance getting troops over to Buenos Aires," said Bagatelle.
"Admiral, I believe we are experiencing the same revelry in our campaign," reported Krynos. "Isamu and I are currently overseeing a change of leadership. We have captured twenty genetic vampires and they are in custody. In my opinion you should concentrate on Max's issues at the moment."
"Okay, but these guys are getting restless. I need to send them somewhere. Admiral, do you have any suggestions?" asked Jennie.
"Jen, send them here. We'll need a massive contingency to march on the Capitol anyway."
Max silently approached the being that shouldn't have been where it was. For a moment it almost appeared that it somehow detected Max, but the moment no one was looking in their mutual direction Max slipped them both to the meadow outside Krynos' castle, and released his cantuses at the same time. The vampire screeched and hissed, looking around in confusion, and then dove towards Max. The young lycan mage merely pointed his hand out and froze the beast in midair, with it retaining a look of confusion upon its rotting visage. It wasn't a few more seconds and Draagh was at his grandson's side, looking at the creature curiously.
"Hmm, yes, strange, quite strange indeed," said the ancient Primulus.
"What's that?" asked Max.
"I had my suspicions, but now I am certain. There are probably many more."
"My sons, you shall encounter activated ghouls. Please do not hesitate in eliminating them. We have all of the information we shall need from this one sample," said Draagh.
"Wow, pops. That's kinda not your style, is it?" asked Max.
Draagh gave his grandson a sincere, weathered look and sighed as the captured vampire popped out of sight.
"My boy, the further we delve into our campaign, the more ruthless we shall need to become. This is no small battle with a pathetic warlord. We are dealing with universal forces - those of your, and my kind."
"Huh? Who's involved now?"
"Let us go inside and I shall explain to you."
New Sydney, Oz
"I'm done standing around. I'm going to New Sydney with my brother. He says it seems safe," said Jennie. Her father-in-law, Michael, nodded his head and walked through the shimmering portal with her and the remaining troops, exiting out onto the expansive grinder in the center of the base.
New Sydney Naval Base had been the center of Jennie's military career ever since she graduated from the academy, so she needed neither escort nor directions, even though Michael stuck to her like glue, mostly for her protection. Jennie was wearing standard military fatigues, as was Michael. She found it funny that he could technically be arrested and brought up on charges for impersonating an officer. That is if anyone could actually arrest one of the most powerful being in the universe. The two moved to Bagatelle's command center he had set up in the communications center of the base, and walking in, noted that the officers and soldiers near him were almost exclusively inactive lycan.
Wow, we really do gravitate toward each other.
"Admiral, it is good to see that your efforts have been successful," said Jennie, speaking to her brother in a manner befitting of his rank.
"Welcome, Commander. I am assuming Captain Gunnarsson is busy with our ancient ally in an attempt to discover just how an active ghoul came to be on this world?"
Jennie nodded her head, as Bagatelle looked at Michael. "Mickey, that's a good look on you. Let me know if you ever want to make it permanent."
Michael smiled while nodding his head, and then asked over the comm, "Luigi, what is my rank in this uniform?"
"Let's just call you Commodore. It's the rank above Captain, but hasn't been in use for generations."
"What? He's a frikin' Commodore? Dang!" Jennie exclaimed with fake dismay, and then elbowed her father-in-law in the side, giving him a mischievous grin.
"Jennie, I know you're joking, but I did that for a reason. First of all, Michael is billions of years old. Second, his rank is only eclipsed by mine, so no one will question him nor his authority at this time. Sadly, it appears that all command-rank officers have disappeared - erased. They are all dead and I am the highest-ranking officer in Azul System. I have platoons out hunting down anything not lycan or normal, and hearing an active vamp who's sun-resistan
t was found has me preoccupied. You are staying with Michael and coordinating intelligence from all recon units. I want a status report every hour on the hour."
"You got it. But G, what about the police force? How are they playing into this?" asked Jennie.
"They appear to be all normals, with a few lycans. The chief of NS civilian security is an inactive ghoul, and has been detained."
"But then who's in charge of the police force?" she inquired.
"Sir, I understand the military situation, but where's Chief Robinson?" asked the patrol officer in the doorway.
A kindly and slightly indigenous-looking older gentleman sat in the Chief's office, wearing military fatigues, but displaying no rank. He looked up at the patrol officer, detecting the man was an inactive lycan. He then gave him a broad grin and said, "Chief Robinson has been detained for assisting in Leonard Johnson's illegal elimination of the Constitution. I am Chief Jake Williams. It is a pleasure to meet you, young sir."
Jake Williams looked out onto the Buenos Aires precinct floor, military and police officers mixed together, working on restoring order, if it was even unrestored in the first place. It turned out that no non-politico wanted anti-constitutional rule. They welcomed the military just to stop the rumors and the disappearances. Jake was a student of Earth history, having come from Alaska of the core timeline - the one that could not be changed. His village was moved to the alternate Earth by Marnn in an unexpected display of compassion for the Haidas, but Williams knew Mankind's story all too well. On his world a military takeover meant even more death and destruction - more deceit and disappearances. It happened in Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and El Proceso in Argentina, as well as many other smaller countries. However, lycans had taken over on Azul, and were fulfilling their genetic role as the protectors of Mankind.