ã€ŠQUANTUM CRISIS: ALEPH JOURNEYã€‹


 Final Attempt Initiation.

    New Persia 3049

    I thank you for reading and God for my ability to write no matter how poor or well it is and thank you too reader for giving this a chance and choosing to be my audience for your time.

    Praise God.

    Aleph¡¯s heart would never beat, but he was very sure if it could they would hear it pounding loudly relentlessly.

    He felt a bit out, he wasn¡¯t making his grief over his failures as clear as their disappointment and he wasn¡¯t ignorant that they took this as complacency in his failures.

    Again and again, he had failed, too painful, shocking, extremely agonizing wounds causing him to freeze up, he had half the mind to run away but.

    Here he was again, facing down pain albeit a far more abstract version¨CCold glares of the rest of his training unit, extremely gifted, far ahead of the curve and yet still retaking the same section of the training repeatedly wearing them out.

    Aleph pained knowing he was the weak link to repeating this nightmare, holding them all back as the cold steel platform they were on loudly rose up to the top leading to the live-fire combat-hall.

    ¡°Have you done the mental exercises?¡± Saiyah broke silence starting then hesitating for a long while drawing Aleph¡¯s attention.

    ¡°Did you at least try anything?¡± She started again straight with some bite, annoyed.

    ¡°The least he could do is anything other than squealing the moment he¡¯s struck.¡±

    Aleph feels his head throb, when he was younger, seven this made him cry once or twice in the academy that he was so pathetic,

    ¡°Son even if you fail now, you can get better you have to believe in yourself.¡± His father told him often he hated those memories now and only grew enraged, to be raised by a human of all things has held him back.

    To be raised by a human has only made his life and duty impossible to live. He has half the mind to curse his long-passed father, but often on Saturdays he had him learn many things that would forewarn such a thing.

    Aleph tightly grips the handgun tightly to his chest, his fingers tapping an uneven rhythm that betrayed his fear.

    He can hear an ambient voice present on the ride upwards become louder and louder

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± He forces out straightly but with waning confidence, only earning an eyeroll from his team leader

    "Not good enough, though wanting at the very least to do anything other than repeat your failures is-." Asaph stops himself "No that''s not enough, stay out of the way!" Asaph snaps at Aleph.

    Aleph tries his best to daydream the cold words that seem to just be repeating rather than passing on.

    ¡°It¡¯s not human to be kind, it¡¯s purely righteous to be kind.¡± Aleph is flinching at Asaph¡¯s words and only remembering more of the softness of his father, he makes sure to think on his father to stay angry.

    He hates how that humanity of his father rubbed off on him, the kind that has him softly greeting and saying polite a "thank you", that has him hesitating on trading blows with his betters in training.

    It made the words they spoke to him more biting, but he can''t manage to make it a mark against them on his list of people who''s earned his hatred, it was how they were raised, nearly from birth to treat every problem like something that can be stamped out immediately verbally or physically.

    Even if the problem was another person.

    And it was¨CAleph was a problem, out of 144,000 Shock trooper candidates on New Persia currently he is the only singular participant falling behind.

    They hear the clicking noise as the brakes on the platform are engaging, something being slotted loudly as metallic sockets and joints slam together and lock.

    Albeit completely dark light seems to bounce into the rising platform

    they are almost at the top

    Saiyah seems to shoot Aleph a few glances at this ¡°Aleph, you¡¯re our best bet to finally get through this, if you can just make it to the end, I¡¯m sure you can do it.¡± She is soft and encouraging her voice a bit high to reach him

    Saiyah wasn¡¯t raised by humans, but Aleph is left thinking she was sometimes.

    If she was he wonders why he isn''t like her..Maybe she was like him at first.

    hopefully I can be like her. He thinks again, every time he dwells on her.

    Asaph is looking back at the two only to shrug and sigh.

    Aleph nods his head in time with the bounce of the platform as he hears another set of impacts and locks engage as the second breaks are caught by the platform.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best, it¡¯s just¨CI feel the pain more than you all do.-¡± Aleph starts but doesn''t finish, even he''s heard it from myself all before.

    ¡°I get it, Aleph, you feel it on a similar level most humans do, but get over it.¡± She¡¯s still soft but bares her teeth near the end of the ¡°pep-talk¡± she thinks she is giving Aleph.

    They could all feel pain but for Aleph it was different, he feels more alive than most, wounds that would feel like pricks for them rightfully feels like directed suffering manifest against him, He hates knowing how painful being stabbed truly is for humans with pain tolerance comparative to theirs, a condition his betters didn''t at all share, he''s seen them shrug off limbs.

    Not as if they don''t feel pain but it''s far less for them.

    ¡°Maybe that¡¯s going to make you stronger, smarter!¡± he can hear the only human he gives a damn about¨C he still thinks she is wrong, this condition only seems to enhance his torment, but rarely the pain has made him more evasive albeit due to the excruciating pains of being struck by a directed energy weapon, or having your throat slit by a sword only able to bleed yet not die.

    He grips the handle of the pistol.

    Hopefully this time will be different.

    The old platform makes a screech as it nears its stop, buckles and loud clamps slam together as its caught in place after it finishes its ride to the surface, a metal gate ahead of them screeches, their attention is caught to it.

    The metal entrance screeches as it begins to split apart into two parts horizontal parts then as the rusty gate finishes opening, wisps of smoke from the gates drawn out contact with the ground coming toward them.

    They all pass the titanium threshold, going through a long hallway dimly lit, the only sound is the shuffle that came from moving in the training suits,

    purplish highlights on the spinal portion of the uniform casts on the five as they make way to a brighter arena.

    The weapon is light in Aleph¡¯s hands as he steps out into the arena with them.

    Paved asphalt roads broken up by shelled craters ¡®struck by artillery¡¯, overturned human transportation, and broken buildings stick out to him ¨C¨C likely places to take advantage of when the firefight begins.

    Aleph watches his team-leader Asaph motion twice, left and right urging them to make the split and prepare for the engagement.

    Aleph follows his command, going with one of the others to the right, moving with her by Asaph¡¯s commands as they trail.

    What followed next was as it always was.

    He is launching ahead of the group as planned, swift enough to draw attention and avoid most of their hits for now, his aim is snapping between targets a whistle as his arm cuts through and creates a trail of wind like contrails around the bottom of his wrists.

    They are facing the HK-5000 Series training bots made to resemble the Mechra.

    He shudders to think these machines aren''t even close to the danger the Mechra pose

    Aleph is very assured he can sense a pen begin to drop and the milliseconds before its impact, but he''s had them sneak up on him with ease, he''s seen them move even faster than him.

    The Mechra are much more dangerous.

    "Contact, don''t freeze, Aleph draw them!" Asaph starts loudly, most of his words are toward Aleph, the others are already clambering onto objects, he can see Saiyah leap from her position on the ground up to a nine-feet high pole, perch herself with the handgun.

    nanoseconds don''t pass a lack of hesitation on her part as she''s immediately suppressing the machines.

    Similarly with great bounds of agility the rest of the team leap and launch over wreckage and vehicles, precise mechanical aim as they repeatedly hit the weakened points of these machines, they closed distance fast. Aleph is barely able to recognizing the collision of purple training suits and towering purple mechanical machines.

    Blows are traded rapidly, ungloved fists becoming bloodied, bones exposed at each fierce hit.

    Aleph sight''s a few machines, draws up his gun and fires twice, his barrel smoking as the vision of his surroundings become a blur.

    He speeds up, gaining speed fast to evade the returned fire from the armed machines, he draws fire quickly. Aleph has always been quick, he blames it due to his inability to take a hit and keep moving but his mentor often claimed he''s always been that quick he''s just built up what''s inside of him, it''s why he is pointman, always.

    He shoots his eyes left.

    Saiyah lets out a sound he''s never heard before

    a haunting scream as she wails, He hasn''t heard her scream like that since-... Since initiation..

    His head whips in her direction as he maintains sprint whilst noticing him drawing twice the amount of gunfire.

    Saiyah seems to be struck by a considerable projectile not in the standard loadout of these training machines, it''s a spear measuring five feet in diameter that''s struck her torso, he can see most of- half of her as a portion of her body splits and flops from her position.

    plummeting down in cruel fashion and quickly trampled by the culprit machine, making way for Aleph!

    Aleph can feel his cold body foreign to heat rise with it, and fall back down, as if his body came alive just for the chance to express the chilling nature of the sight his eyes relayed to it.

    In worse circumstances that could kill a Vampire, even one of their caste. Something has gone awry!..

    What, that''s impossible- no this. He can see his team already out, the machines heading toward them, they are much faster this time, they barely have any signs of the fight they just had with who he calls his betters.

    Almost cursing by instinct of seeing the situation turn sour, Aleph clears over an overturned automobile wreck.

    Aleph is able to sweep around them, he launches himself over one of the overturned cars, he feels like he is in a storm as the sudden speed of him flying into the air causes it to sound like he is speeding through a tunnel.

    In a mere moment a thought comes to mind as he gazes over the approaching machines "That''s twice the armor." they bear no visual difference but he can just sense it, like most machines he runs into.

    He aims from above, flanking at an angle the machines can¡¯t hope to expect, firing from above open but swift as he flies overhead like a projectile

    Aleph is truly left alone, he can spot in peripheral the highlights of the rest of his comrade''s. The training suits glow with red highlights on shoulders indicating they''ve been counted out, it was standard to prevent death, if you were placed into a position in which a vice versa would''ve surely resulted in your death you were disqualified.

    It should be activating, Aleph was outnumbered ten to one, this was a team exercise but it wasn''t.

    Aleph is frantically glancing around ten- no twelve, he is unsure where the extra two came from.

    He¡¯s struck the ground by now nearly a lifetime of analysis done in moments before the end of his leap and down with his fall, and tucks downwards rushing the primary line of the machines, the machines are all armed with rifles containing live-rounds, whilst death was a possibility it was not his concern.

    He dove toward the ground, rolling on the asphalt and evading the rounds rocketing out of those rifles ¨C not fast enough.

    His leg is hit, and he stumbles- but they dont.,

    Such a hit taken would''ve never made Saiyah stumble but he did, the pain was unbearable he could feel the bullet fragment and expand throughout his leg. He tries to keep himself up, his eyes bulge and turn with his head left, seeing his team out of commission with unreadable expressions... Alien even.

    He tries to keep pace and counts the targets amidst pain one¨Cor two¨C

    There is a dozen more, on top of the already engaged machines that have basically caught up to him, Aleph was faster than any of the candidates, this made him faster than the machines who had double the armor- Or so it should''ve been, they were overclocked he could hear the machines catch heat as they caught up to him

    Something is terribly wrong, get out of there Aleph! This is a malfunction! Evade! His mind screams but he doesn''t run.. what if he can manage this, what if he can just get through this.

    He grasps the handgun gives accurate but sporadic fire to suppress and scatter them as they come from two locations in a horde despite having rifles to finally kill the last bit of the distance between them and him.

    One¨Cthen two drop from rounds to critical weak points and crumple, a crash as the machines drop down the servos and mechanical skeletons deactivating leaving the hulk of armor plating and internal systems collapsing down quickly.

    Aleph knows hit the neck, disable visual optics bulkhead, strike the lower torso disconnect the pelvis. The Machines often will automatically shut down due to diminished capacity, chambered in his handgun is ¡®.50 AE Training Rounds¡¯.

    They aren''t enough, they should shut down losing legs but they keep going, should be slowing down as he blows out all visuals but still chase toward him.

    Aleph can hear it, much like he could sense machinery that wears down he can sense something horrible, these machine''s have been overclocked, more than just doubled armor. Someone upgraded them. This has to be a mistake. He can hear it in them from here, intensified heat he eyes their power cores like he can see it through plated bulkheadsUnauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    On top of hitting key points Aleph knows the rounds will cause enough damage with the creation of internal shrapnel to hit other key infrastructure, the machines have an auto-reactive threshold so they are more easily recycled again for future training usage. Something this teammate behind neglect.

    Launching himself to the side as rounds come his way, he breaks off into a sprint near a ruined simulated car, the sparks of rounds headed his way from the machines still firing his way¨C rifles in one hand as one motions, and they get ready to flank.

    Terrible mistake on the machine¡¯s for now.

    Aleph can hear the thuds of another machine that sprinted over, he¡¯s already thrusting his fist into the air like a spear guessing its location.

    His left hand ignites in agony at impact and as it travels through the entire headframe of the machine

    metal rips apart his fingers, slicing his ungloved hand as it soars through the entire headpiece of the machine.

    ¡°That¡¯s one.¡± He wrestles out aloud, speaking to keep himself conscious and actively aware of his situation, he.

    He can hear two more diving to assault him at once, he isn¡¯t wasting the precious milliseconds to do something elaborate, he tucks himself down and rolls out the way, the machines don¡¯t collide they recover with terrifying grace and speed up chasing him.

    He can hear three more coming toward him, a mechanical fist sailing through the air.

    He feels the bones in his arm shatter, he had thrown it up to counter the fist, he did do well but the machine threw the punch with such force the metal digits forming a fist caught fire.

    It¡¯s own hand was broken trying to break the bone of his forearm with ease, in this moment he notices something unnatural.

    They shouldn¡¯t be moving this fast, this calculating, and they shouldn¡¯t be durable enough to send punches with enough speed to nearly re-prove faster than light travel

    Aleph feels pain but it¡¯s different time, there¡¯s a real threat here, More so than being dismembered limb from limb again, that hit would¡¯ve absolutely killed him.

    The risk of death is always at any time in this training twenty-percent, no one¡¯s died, but he would¡¯ve proved the facilities calculation.

    He draws in breath hearing another machine coming in and he doesn¡¯t hesitate.

    He kicked up dirt as he shot his knee into the pelvic plate of the machine to partially unbalance it.

    He shatters the entire plate and knocks out the synthetic mesh that allows it¡¯s joints to rotate and still have durability compared to most composite armor. ¨C

    He thanks the one unnatural thing he has far from being human is what they all unanimously call their Seventh sense¨C it is the reason he ducks another strike that would¡¯ve cleaved his skull.

    His eyes are able to just pinpoint a machine that was swinging its hand for his neck in a chopping motion.

    He initially moves to make a smooth recovery diving back up lead by his fist gun in hand,

    The machine flies up with him and he is in a fair amount of pain as its entire head and visual receptor piece rocketed off of the chassis, it comes out with enough force to take out some more vital components.

    Disabling it.

    The synthetic fluid powering this machine coats him as he is getting violent, but less deliberate and less mindful.

    The machines work faster, they kick into gear readied

    ejecting magazine out of his handgun¨C he is prepared to start to reload and keep them at a range¨C

    But he is suddenly left unable to move as he feels pain spread out from his shoulder as a hot blade glides through the durable flesh, he can still move it, but it only hurts more.

    He is struggling against the machine now, his movements frantic as he sees it trying to drag the knife upwards as it rips through his shoulder blade, his flesh follows behind regenerating behind the blade.

    Blood is pouring out of a gruesome wound made more swiftly than his capacity for regeneration.

    as the blade is twisted up toward his neck his wound opens more, and he doesn¡¯t dare look, now soon being assailed by other machines. He rises more to struggle but the machine only pulls him back, another blade shoots into his stomach.

    More machines than on the dossier for this training mission are here

    Humanoid machines are gathered around and fully equipped with combat knives of all great degrees.

    He screams

    Asaph unlike the others has his head raised upon hearing Aleph and looks on helplessly, they¡¯ve had a few limbs twisted, wounds, but they see how the ones on Aleph are trying to kill him holding him still.

    Asaph wants to help, he knows to him it would be painful but he could persevere, knowing and understanding how much more pain is doubled on Aleph has him wanting to break protocol and re-enter to save him but he doesn''t.

    He is too fearful of being disqualified, betraying his doubts in Aleph''s..in this one moment, seeing how Aleph has not simply gone mad from the pain.

    He has hope in him for the first time.

    It looks as if they are bloodletting him

    Agony!

    Aleph feels his mind nearly reach a point of snapping.

    He can¡¯t stop the constant screams that begin to turn his throat sore, terrified he is wailing His suit is ripped open with dozens of gashes surrounding the entry wounds of the knives as he is viciously cut open again and again, coated in red.

    "TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!"

    The mangled body of Saiyah glances up She is terrified to witness Aleph wailing.

    He no longer feels like a candidate, his mind wracked with so much pain, it''s as if he''s brought to the realization he''s just a child, about to be ripped apart due to a malfunction of simulation.

    He tries to drag his mind anywhere, to think of those outside this facility, of his teammates watching him be stripped for parts and he can''t find strength in any of that, it only makes him struggle more to be more field-stripped alive by the training machines.

    The sound that fills his hears driving him mad as he hears them clicking, mechanical clicks, gurgles of synthetic fluid shooting through their own metallic chassis as they drained him of his own blood.

    He can¡¯t pass out from the pain, nor will this kill him, for some odd reason the lights on suit won¡¯t turn red no matter how much he¡¯s obviously lost and been restrained¡­Wracked with enough pain he begins to slobber, he¡¯s lost enough blood he thinks to kill him.

    Regrettably there¡¯s still more, he¡¯s nearly lost his mind and nearly begging for death. But that feeling desiring for death grows and grows until it blooms into something else.

    He should never feel it, but he does as if something courses through his veins and it hurts.

    Thump

    He is terrified to feel that organ move. He wasn¡¯t human¡­it was helping something pulse into his veins

    His mid-torso is an open gaping wound as the machines continuously and viciously dig in, he can hear servos whir as they grind his ribcage and bones tearing through him and sending chunks of him into the air behind them, he can hear blood shoot out from wounds and strike the boxy metallic frames.

    He howls in agony again

    One of them twists his neck back as if to tear off his head, he feels the skin split and something sparks¨C

    He surged up with a roar, his arms surged up and flung wide. Tossing the machines off¡­ His entrails hanging out from his stomach as he roared with anger his mind lost in a moment of pure survival,

    and he has what could be a bloodshot stare, signs of adrenaline had he been... human or¨C still alive.

    He is shaking scared at how his strength rises with the fear of death and realization these training machines are aiming to kill him; he doesn¡¯t know where this kind of strength is coming from yet but the idea of what it might be has him trembling more than his fading vision.

    His head is pounding not with pain but with renewed fury, it was a blur when he had thrown those machines off by sheer strength and panic alone, reaching a new limit despite the sheer loss of blood.

    He can hear the grinding of his broken ribcage, excess bone falling out as new flesh, new bones begin to seal up albeit even after such losses incurred, he¡¯s still standing, he should be much weaker after having lost so much stored up blood, but he¡¯s always been an enigma amongst his caste for better or for worse.

    The machines charge in, whilst stunned and catching themselves almost falling off balance they shoot straightway up as their spines arc their bodies up with them and their torsos shoot straight up

    Gyroscopic stabilizers are working double time as they throw themselves back at him.

    He swings his left fist into the first one shouting in pain as the machine barrels its fists forwards into the newly regenerated stomach, Aleph is struggling to fight against a metallic fist that has burrowed itself into his stomach and exploded out the other side.

    Another machine grips his neck and digs its mechanical fingers in.

    They shouldn¡¯t be this aggressive and eager to go for the head it¡¯s like they¡¯ve been programmed to kill him.

    Aleph throws himself forwards even as the metallic hand grips his spine and crushes it, disabling most of his lower torso, by sheer will still standing¨C although more credit because of being held by the machine aiming to behead him with its sharp fingers.

    His spine begins to regenerate in the hand of the machine holding him, he quickly brings both fists splattering into the torso of the machine shredded by shrapnel as his hands rip through a titanium frame and the layers of armor, his hands resembling mangled meat before they too regenerate.

    The pain is causing Aleph to speak incomprehensibly, more of the machine¡¯s pummel and overwhelm him. Far more than he counted.

    Dozen¨Ctwenty he can see far more groups of them come as he is being buried in the violent mechanical hands, whilst his teammates watch on with expressions of fear for his likely death.

    hands full of knives or balled into fists begin breaking his body, tearing chunks of flesh causing him to shout and lose all sense of language.

    He throws his hands, fists sailing as they begin to strike machines until he they begin to cease, each hit splattering his hand as it impacts the frame of the machine but destroys it all the same, he can feel empty as the blood left in his body is nearly gone.

    He¡¯ll die from blood loss if this keeps up, only if they can¡¯t quickly decapitate him first.

    He wants to give up in a momentary lapse of hope but something speaks louder a woman''s voice...

    He more quickly starts to kick, strike, and desperately pummels machine after machine until he can¡¯t even see anymore, shivers trail down his broken body struggling to regenerate.

    His fists swing and land on nothing falling limply at his sides, the chunks of flesh exposing his skeleton, his face covered in blood with only the glow of his soul emitted through the socket of his eye.

    The bone structure of his face fully exposed, nerves and flesh reforming back over it like, washing over the greyish darkened bone like a wave.

    \Success! ~/ A robotic but sharp loudly announced, he still can¡¯t see. His vision darkened. For the first time ever, he¡¯s finally succeeded.

    He hasn¡¯t held them back, but he¡¯s not joyous. He¡¯s¨Che can¡¯t move¡­ He nearly died, this was different the machines, it wasn¡¯t unusual for the machines to rip you apart and to go for the neck, but he knew it was going for a quick decapitation¡­. he surely would¡¯ve had little ability to survive that...

    It shook him not to know that he was on the verge of death, but his only hope was being pushed on the brink of almost being guaranteed it¡­.

    He¡¯s been here for decades, albeit his body and mind fifteen, the unique way this facility had built displaced him from the time of real space, it provided the safety of lengthy training and yet still emerging at most only a handful of years later.

    In all those years he¡¯s never had such strength, able to grow it was always a possibility even as a Vampire,

    but this was different, this sensation tickling him, it wasn¡¯t his innate vampiric resilience or strength,

    it was primal,

    he can feel time slowing as he was nearly decapitated the terror of death spurring him on a mindless rampage with precision, working in double time, yet the pain wasn¡¯t fading.

    It was something human and that thought terrified him more than dying ever could have hoped to.

    Thirty minutes draw on, albeit it feels like hours and seconds, the strange nature of the anchor this facility was built around has space still destabilized, he¡¯s often having to count twice how long time has passed due to the strange nature of it.

    By the time his vision returns he can hear shouting, he¡¯s been taken out of the simulation hall, grabbed and restrained, pulled out...

    At the very least he can have comfort his team will finally be going ahead with the rest of the training sections now, but he is unsure what¡¯s going to happen to him.

    He¡¯s thrown somewhere strange but familiar and as his vision comes back along with most of the flesh around his eye-sockets he¡¯s realized

    ¡°He needs to be failed immediately.¡± He had recovered by now.

    It¡¯s been approximately two months of him failing this exam, he¡¯s finally succeeded and still he sticks out with something wrong about him it hurts but he can¡¯t help but feel a small smile that he wont be holding anyone back

    Delara, someone who had taken up much of her time to watch over Aleph is standing straight, she towers over him but not by much, he¡¯s well over six feet but she stands in stark contrast at a full seven, he considers she¡¯s nearly eight feet and honestly and much older.

    She¡¯s a vicious Shocktrooper much like him, older than him and from another time, she has no scars, but she bears them in the way she carries her voice.

    ¡°Denied he succeeded; we asked for your assistance in training courses.¡± The instructor retorts, leaning his hand on his palm as he sat on his desk, smoke rising from the cigarette pursed between his lips

    ¡°You set him up to die and by pure chance and unforeseen circumstances regarding his¨C.¡± She pauses for a long while glancing down at Aleph

    ¡°Due to his strange Condition. he survived.¡± She balled up her fists and hesitated. She is formal, but her tone is shifting angry, but sharp never loud always low and sharp, deliberate as she works herself through a constant pain.

    ¡°If I had my earlier authorities, I¡¯d execute you and every other bit of your filthy caste.¡± Her hands crossed behind her back; she says with dead confidence, slow building rage dancing with her voice.

    Aleph is desperate to speak up for himself to prove to her he deserves to be in

    Aleph¡¯s respected the woman who took him in, his senior, 33 years his Senior and the only survivor of the generation of Shocktroopers before him.

    A woman that saved his life, that brought him here and most importantly helped him after his father had been sentenced to death.

    A woman with a silver fire in her iris, a faint emissive glow to her eyes, her hair perfectly matches her eyes in color and haunting appearance, a woman pale like a ghost.

    ¡°The machines saw a 200% spike in capability simply from a scan, we were watching the machines be scrambled like they were being hit with electronic countermeasures each time he struck one!¡±¨C Aleph is surprised to hear this.

    During the fight, he could recall the machine¡¯s stumbling, but he blamed it entirely to the force exerted on each one, he questions how he couldn¡¯t notice.

    ¡°I¡¯m not pushing him further for a clear indication of his caste being altered at birth for some unknown enhancement he may not repeat so he can die! I¡¯ll kill you and every other instructor here first!¡± Sharp and strong, full of calm rage but professional.

    Aleph is always thankful for how she protects him¨CNot always And this was one of the few times he recognized it. She doubted him, even when he managed to succeed other times with less questioning circumstances this came out.

    Delara didn¡¯t seem to outright hate the Vis-stasi caste, but she often made it clear she blamed them for the second generation she watched die around her.

    ¡°They tried to kill us.¡± He recalls her mentioning it often, she never told him details, he¡¯s seen vampires show fear, but her fear recalling it silently was almost human.

    ¡°You can go now.¡± She¡¯d end off any personal talk with as more of a command than suggestion, When she reminisced, leaving him before he himself can follow,

    he can almost still sense the salt of tears where she would¡¯ve been sat back where she kept him.

    She carries an unknown hell unspoken of that she seems to be taking to the grave.

    ¡°Sergeant Delara.¡± Kommandant Krul speaks with vicious monotone She¡¯s cut off during her demands and remains silent of him to speak

    Aleph had been making moves to speak against her similarly, but he held his peace as she gave him a sharpened glare, much like a mother would.

    ¡°This comes from the Empress herself. He will be pushed further ahead we have the info we need¡± He simply states blankly.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t speak for itself.¡± Delara speaks in a low vicious mocking cadence¨C ¡°Is that why the machines were tampered with? To target and decapitate him, kill him assuredly?¡±

    She speaks a bit higher and in bitter tone, possibly protective as she shoots Aleph an assuring look.

    ¡°That too, she suspected Aleph is lost property modified from standard production base. And we confirmed he was, had he not been what she was searching for he would¡¯ve died.¡±

    Aleph seems to shoot up at these words, I was in the eyes of the empress, of her. He¡¯s terrified to think someone like her, wanted to find him or wanted anything from him.

    ¡°Be more careful in your speech Vis-stasi, No one on this planet can exact judgement if I take your life.¡± Her voice isn¡¯t low, but it¡¯s a dead weight.

    The Vis-stasi seems reminded of his position, of the disparity between all castes and the shock troopers, his shoulders slump and he lean back tugging his own collar

    ¡°Wait stop!¡± He can remember the voices of Vis-stasi after his father was executed, begging minutes after they took his fathers life,

    Aleph in one moment was staring down the barrel of a gun and then a mountain of purple protected him.

    Fury, she was a blur as she had nearly killed all of the Enforcers sent to exact ¡®Judgement¡¯

    ¡°Her words.¡± He apologizes for tapping his hands as if he has had the same memory.

    Krul was there to exact ¡®Judgement¡¯ on word the child of a Shocktrooper raised by a human was there, he¡¯s had a deep hatred of them ever since the ¡®first rebellion.¡¯

    ¡°She won¡¯t have him, I reject the circumstances of his success this round.¡± Delara is absolute in this.

    I need you to back-off.. he often found himself speaking of her to himself, but he feels so fearful of speaking it aloud, he¡¯s guessed so much about her past he fears how she will react if he verbally distances himself from her

    ¡°No arguments she¡¯ll personally be here to oversee the rest of his and the 144,000¡¯s training.¡± Krul replies with a wide smirk. Sitting up straight again, confident in what these words will elicit

    ¡°To hell with all this! She¡¯s coming here!?¡± Delara is for the first time visibly surprised, her voice breaks and she takes two strides toward the desk.

    Surprising Aleph ¡°Delara.¡± He speaks up quietly but is completely ignored.

    ¡°Right now!?¡± Delara is demanding this.

    Krul jolts back, but as his eyes scan slightly frantic he locks onto Aleph and smiles.

    ¡°Delara wh-what is so wrong. About how I succeeded I beat the test.¡±

    ¡°You channeled something unusual, adrenaline! Like a human! You shouldn¡¯t even be able to!-¡°¨C She doesn¡¯t finish snapping at him, nearly about to shout she can see his expression.

    but Aleph¡¯s expression is already sour.

    Aleph didn¡¯t mind when she had an outburst, he felt sort of in tune raised among humans he saw humanity in this outburst,

    but her last words in that sentence remind him the mere existence of emotion isn¡¯t exclusive to human¡¯s neither is letting them insult those around you.

    ¡°Aleph¨C..¡± she hesitates, he only gives a slow nod in reply.

    ¡°Delara, the time I¡¯ve spent here betrays how old you think I am; I¡¯ve been here for what feels like lifetimes, I¡¯m too old, you¡¯re not a mother.¡± He seems to stay low in tone toward Delara, fearful even.

    Calm collected it¡¯s all Aleph can remember, she¡¯s betraying the stoic attitude he sees in her, it¡¯s like the mere mention of the Empress drives her made.

    So much hatred and yet. She looks like her spitting image often made Aleph daydreams often they are related, maybe it¡¯s an open secret he isn¡¯t let in on.

    it would explain the magnitudes of courage it takes to say something bordering on treason, she spoke now and often in private with Aleph.

    ¡°She¡¯s a murderer and a liar.¡± He often recalled her speaking of the Empress, he hardly ever believed it, everyone and everything else said otherwise

    ¡°He will not be going ahead; she¡¯s clearly tampered with him at birth.¡±

    ¡°She has, and she¡¯s chosen him.¡±

    Aleph can feel it, a voice pricking at his head.

    ¡°Split from her.¡± An angered voice voices, splitting his mind and intruding, he feels like a worm just pierced his frontal lobe and began wriggling around a terrifying tickling sensation as it seeps in.

    It makes him pause, and what now becomes another spiteful exchange between the two becomes muted, ignored and feeling pacified he doesn¡¯t think to speak to them, but that voice in his head.

    He turns his head, feeling it come toward one ear. The presence of a woman nestled on his shoulder.

    He feels the interior of this room cloud around, darkness, he recognizes what this is from the words spoken by others.

    ¡°I have chosen you, son of the rebellious, arise amongst all you will be first ¡®Aleph¡¯, second to none.¡± Aleph is so stunned the two heads in the same room turn to him.

    He¡¯s in fear, he¡¯s heard her voice! She is near!

 Post Initiation Revelations.

    Aleph feels as if he understands what it means to have a cold sweat, hands held together nails digging into his palms, his coping mechanism is ended by striking pain.

    Saiyah was waiting for him the moment he entered the main quarters they all shared, ¡°Thought we¡¯d be here till 7000AD!¡± Voice warmer than in that live-fire simulation hall.

    Saiyah was playfully socking him the moment he passed into the doorway, enough to cause a bit of blood to gush out his right eye, hooking his neck and holding him in a lock, Aleph feels the pain, but he can see the others.

    They are celebrating me?

    Aleph considers, a frown on his face betraying the joy as there is murmurings, positive but murmurings none the less.

    Asaph is there too; his natural resting frown remains leaning against a back wall near Aleph¡¯s plate eyes closed. giving little nod of approval toward him as he sensed commotion not opening his eyes

    ¡°Everyone¡¯s been waiting on you, finished in time I saw some of the dropships swing by.¡± Asaph opens his eyes and starts in dead tone¨C

    ¡°Two months, it was insane!¡± Saiyah cuts in, Asaph wants to speak but she finished ¡°You went¨C.¡± She glances left to right like a joker leaning in to Aleph¡¯s face.

    His dead grey skin still bright in some locations turns slightly red.

    ¡°Feral.¡± She blows into his ear.

    He jolts swinging his arm and knocking her back a few paces

    She stumbles with a laugh, the others are slightly smiling, then it fades quickly.

    Then they are back idly talking to one another.

    He strode over and stood near Asaph followed closely by Saiyah going on and on about how long it took him making jokes and gags about it, Asaph still coolly located next to Aleph¡¯s assigned plate, Aleph didn¡¯t speak expecting he would first. His eyes shooting around as the others returned to their plates.

    They went dead, motionless. Still, not an ounce of movement a slightly lively bunch, probably a hundred or so went dead silent, more lifeless than they already were.

    Standing atop silver plates.

    Their Quarters was a massive hall, with hundreds of plates, as big as a ceremony hall, there was little furniture and there was an aggressive hum of some device bolted to the ceiling of the shared quarters.

    They, when not assigned, would be expected to stand on these plates when ordered until training began again, he could count on hand the number of times in the twelve¨C no ten years he¡¯d been training here.

    Time worked differently, he thinks of how reliably things worked then, he hasn¡¯t seen the sun in quite some time, comparatively to a human dwelling there¡¯s no heat or lights.

    But he can see in the dark just fine.

    It bothered him to live like this for a while, but his complaints faded eventually.

    The plates each had their name, a blackened screen embedded center of the plate

    always projecting his name regardless of presence, cyan highlights same as the others, the glowing highlights had the room dimly blue at the surface.

    Frost would form and then melt, another sign of what Aleph knew to be.

    The Anchor

    Utilizing terror space, it¡¯s had him thinking he¡¯s been here for quite some time.

    A year or passed maybe two he often thinks.

    It¡¯s been one, for him it¡¯s been a decade and extra, anyone on the outside has merely observed a year.

    I¡¯m going to be sick. Aleph often thought as he dwelled on the Facility itself, the interior betrayed the size of the exterior which by no means was small, the interior was much larger and stretched underground, built like a maze, with purposefully lacking directions, Shocktroopers memorization was tested.

    Thankfully he hasn¡¯t had an issue since the first day.

    Same as everyone else.

    ¡°Aleph, the dropships I saw it.¡±

    Aleph is smooth ¡°It must have been distinct for you to point out something so pointless.¡± Casually speaking with more bravado less meek.

    ¡°Model and markings?¡± Aleph shoots straightly.

    Asaph gives a short laugh ¡°You get confidence because you finally beat the test?¡± He challenges planting hand on Aleph¡¯s shoulder.

    He returns to a colder tone ¡°Well you also must¡¯ve gave a huge beacon with your performance, Vacerick markings, I saw a battlecruiser curve in overhead in escort, it¡¯s her!¡± Asaph speaks as if speaking on weather

    Aleph feels a bit slighted he is treating him being in crosshairs of the literal Eternal ruler of their lives.

    Saiyah to Aleph unhelpfully added, ¡°Tcht you got very popular from just that small spectacle!?¡± She laughs and continues ¡°Going to start handing out autographs?¡± she finishes, nudging him trying to goad him to speak.

    Aleph gave a slow head turn, silent for a long while to make her slight smirk falter and wither away.

    Aleph considered she was being bright and cheerful to soothe his mind about this, ¡°Haha very funny.¡± He speaks dead. ¡°I¡¯m unsure of this full picture, but apparently it was planned.¡±

    Asaph rolls his eyes ¡°A-duh!¡± he mocks before rubbing his eyes.

    Aleph crosses his arms, his sharp teeth bared momentarily, Asaph doesn¡¯t flinch or back down, he wasn¡¯t even looking.

    Eyes closed he relents ¡°Sorry it¡¯s just. It¡¯s obvious.¡±

    Saiyah ¡°Benefit of a doubt Aleph probably was meaning it wasn¡¯t a Krul trying to sneakily murder one of us again.¡±

    ¡°His constant failure of that has only honed my senses.¡± Asaph, Aleph doesn¡¯t miss that rare moment of Asaph showing a bit of pride

    Wide smile, drenched in blood as the mechanisms of a live-fire simulation sabotaged in an attempt to kill Asaph left to fail, more machines needed replacing, amidst it all Asaph staring in a mocking grin at Krul toward the camouflaged one-way glass.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    They stopped speaking and left to silence that was quickly then swallowed by the hum of the machine above them.

    Well at the very least this can¡¯t be that bad.

    Delara was like a ghost standing in the hall leading to their quarters, she was a keg of much rage brewing, heavy enough to block the proverbial door to her surrogate son and all of the candidates.

    He wouldn¡¯t share her fate nor would his friends share the fate her friends had, she¡¯d kill everyone on this planet first.

    Yet her stance betrayed this, hands at ease, legs tightly together as she was straight, she even had her helmet on, a single white line with a sphere acting as a mono-eye, it flickered occasionally.

    A towering figure in purple armor subject to what took on the appearance of a woman barely even able to be compared to the stature of the hulking 7¡¯4 woman.

    ¡°Delara S-.¡± Eternia was nearly about to start

    Delara put her hand up, she faced down the woman with many names, she knew from history on earth in the dark ages of 1862AD it had been Emilia, it changed so frequently it was just title she went by.

    Eternia was shouldered by two guards hulking a similar but different shade of purple, shackled with weapons, they seemed to waver at the sight of Delara, they recognized her some had survived her.

    But Delara didn¡¯t see just fear, she could sense hate among them. She¡¯d double the existing reason they already had to hate her for if they tried anything. They held Ion-Spears bladed weapons with capability of range, they weren¡¯t slouches either

    marking on their armored masks betrayed their anxiety, seasoned veterans of conflicts stretching decades uninterrupted.

    She knew Eternia had a disturbed relationship with this caste she was born of, it isn¡¯t out of question that if Aleph has something they want they may just need to take him, or may be looking for a mutation they need to be rid of.

    I won¡¯t let them take him. Her hands at-eased tighten enough to be heard, plates made to shrug off high-caliber rounds buckle at the tension she exhibits.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait. Be elsewhere now.¡± Delara starts but seems subtly lose her footing on what she wants to say just to get her to leave

    ¡°Of course, but I¡¯m here first for you again.¡± Eternia finished looking to begin new conversation.

    Delara had always known something was wrong, Delara was a survivor of an entire generation sentenced to death a sole survivor of the black-helms of the second shocktrooper generation, and yet for all the time she¡¯d been alive could so casually encounter often the nightmare ruler and show little respect.

    ¡°I know you wish to speak with me, it¡¯s been some time.¡± Eternia¡¯s voice pulls Delara back to senses her wrist twists out of what looks like a mixture between a robe and a dress, her face obscured in oppressive unnatural darkness.

    She can see bones on her fingers that fade quickly into flesh and skin as they form on them almost in an instant purely by her own will as the arm stretched out from her strange apparel.

    Eternia rose an eyebrow ¡°I know I can¡¯t read minds, but I can read intention, What Vampire is not mine?¡± She finished matter-of-factly

    Not him, not me not anyone else She fiercely shows on her face, this time an expression she wishes she wasn¡¯t hiding.

    ¡°Let¡¯s talk, elsewhere.¡± She started to walk, and she could sense a towering presence follow, it wasn¡¯t the guards it was Eternia alone, unspoken she seemed to supernaturally suggest they remain.

    A mountain of suffering held over Delara¡¯s head, she could see sorrow, anger.

    Kill them, kill them all. It was starting again, any Vampire felt this around her, it was ambient an open secret Eternia hadn¡¯t even known.

    They traversed cold blackened walls, darkness that soon ended.

    ¡°I¡¯m more used to lights.¡± She speaks simply smoothly in stride alongside Delara.

    Delara doesn¡¯t hide the jolt of surprise, how she can become almost invisible to her even in her most uneasy state.

    Delara is aware, but it only worries her anytime she¡¯s had to speak to Eterenia, Eternia speaks to Delara so cooly as if she was a friend, Delara had challenged her and

    she treats her almost like one would an unruly daughter who¡¯s attitude you refuse to entertain or acknowledge, it worries Delara. They have the same hair after all.

    ¡°Before we reach this place, I have a question you may answer, Aleph¡¯s father-Where is he?¡±

    That question has Delara¡¯s blood boil for another reason.

    Where the hell is his father! Her senior, one of the first generation just gone! Missing! Leaving his son to be raised by feeble humans to nearly die, idiots.

    Delara is so lost in the thought she didn¡¯t realize a switch in which Eternia had lead her to a training hall until Eternia lets out ¡°Hm?¡± to regain her attention.

    She doesn¡¯t have time to think of how by just being in her thoughts she can barely keep track of where she wanted to initially go. This Entire facility was built in such a way any brain would be scrambled with the patterns to the point of lobotomy, but a Vampire¡¯s brain, a young one would be more susceptible to indoctrination

    ¡°This arena has seen much action, hasn¡¯t it?¡± She stares ahead not immediately prompting Delara to reply but giving her a moment to reflect.

    She could make him sound unappealing now, it¡¯d help her out.

    But Delara is drawn from that idea by the unusual sight of a patient Eternia gazing upon the stains of a blood with a disturbing look of wonder.

    She knows which bloodstains are his. Such a thought makes Delara sick and terrified at such capability she just learned of In this instant she remembers the earlier question and jumps at it

    ¡°I found him about to be executed by Krul, years before you assigned Krul here. ¨C¡± Delara starts to inform but,

    ¡°He¡¯s forgiven purely because he failed, I¡¯d had him killed if he wasted the efforts put into my test subject.¡± Eternia cuts in immediately with possessiveness mixed with a feint lack of care.

    Eternia doesn¡¯t take a false execution of any Shocktrooper lightly, Delara¡¯s hate for Krul fades, she feels a bit sorry for him, almost regretting she revealed that.

    Delara is disturbed as always to know Eternia is so far from her vampirism or her ancient human persona she can¡¯t be wholly dedicated to caring or treating the Shocktroopers like numbers.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question, did you?¡± Eternia starts speaking quickly ¡°To-the-point!¡± She demands fiercely.

    Delara¡¯s strength fades, she answers as if her father or any other member of the founding caste scolding her when she was a candidate training fiercely. They don¡¯t leave the enclaves anymore, so broken by Eternia.

    ¡°His father was missing; I found him raised among humans.¡± Delara informs

    ¡°His father mentioned he had humans assigned to help watch him, they must¡¯ve been the ones that cut contact with my chosen prototype.¡±

    Delara¡¯s head snaps up and swings left.

    A revelation she struggles to speak against, the mere audacity of what she¡¯s heard has her lips unable to part. Her fingers trembling with turmoil and a pain far too familiar to her.

    It continues to leave her silent a long time letting the ambient hum of the reactor that vibrates through the

    Eternia entertains the silence so much it goes on for seven minutes.

    ¡°He-willingly abandoned his son. To you? ¨C.¡± Awe struck Delara speaks

    ¡°Gave me!¡± Eternia sharply corrects Delara doesn¡¯t argue.

    Eternia gives a short laugh ¡°The same as your father had done with you? Is it not?¡±

    Delara flinches at having to even think at that question she doesn¡¯t answer knowing the words are simply a blade. Though no matter how much she thinks herself aware it¡¯s a blade that cuts well to the soul.

    Eternia gives a slow head turn not breaking contact.

    Delara even Delara slumps a bit losing composure she can¡¯t sweat but she can feel pounding in her head, her eyes stuck wide under the helmet.

    Don¡¯t take it off. She warns herself in a half mutter.

    I can read you This cruel stare from Eternia speaks

    Delara struggles to speak up.

    ¡°Mutations? I can accept that.¡± She joked looking over it, taking it upon herself to monitoring his unusual kinks far different than his livelier almost human physicality.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t accidental mutations or mutations at all as Eternia seems to be suggesting

    Worryingly enough it sounded like something done in ancient times and it has Delara hurting at feeling powerless seeing how well planned out his life is and how she only contributed to this.

    Eternia has snatched Aleph and Delara feels ignorant and uncertain of what will become of him.

    ¡°I mutilated his soul, at birth from Thanatos.¡± She paused then continues threateningly moving her fingers at Delara ¡°From many lightyears away as I was half-resting.¡± She often treads what Delara knows she can do just to verbally punish her.

    It¡¯s working. Delara¡¯s hands unclench from fists behind her back and are at her sides, she feels small despite towering over her. Her head is pointed downwards and not raising back again

    ¡°I am brewing a prototype to face against the Mechra, have you not noticed they face machines much like the Mechra here more often than in your training you and your lost kin trying to kill each other.¡± Eternia informed

    ¡°So, you¡¯re going to suit him up and throw him to them, you came here to collect?¡± Delara speaks to Eternia in reply in nothing but a now weakened whisper.

    ¡°I now know my prototype was being nurtured by my best, kept alive, you even went as far as to enroll him, I¡¯m sure he hasn¡¯t missed a day here.¡± Eternia prods.

    ¡°When I brought him here initially.¡± Delara starts but is almost shaken enough to pause stumbling back

    Eternia¡¯s face is shown, angry, grey skin and abyssal pitch-black eyes with Violet dotted in center glowing in their natural color ¡°Don¡¯t waste time.¡± A threat arises, the first Delara¡¯s ever heard that¡¯s shaken her.

    ¡°He would often escape.¡± Speaks Delara, refusing to say anything further and risk the little things that keeps Aleph resistant to indoctrination tied with his training.

 Post Initiation: Pride and doubt.

    Aleph is back there again, the past is hardly far from him, it¡¯s a year ago and it¡¯s still in the present. The Quantum Vampire hardly has trouble keeping memory, the past and future is traded for the present what was moments ago still is and what will be never comes.

    Aleph has his eyes closed in the shared quarters, silence and darkness it allows him to relive the memories with visceral quality.

    Aleph is thinking of the worst of it, he argued with her before he came back here again, shoved her he almost struck her... he¡¯s sorry but it just ends these ways doesn¡¯t it.

    3048AD ONE YEAR AGO

    He stood up... reaching to help her up but she waved him off and stood up on her own.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the opportunity to abandon things without consequence like ¨C¨C.¡±

    ¡°Like what, Tell me!? Like what!?¡± Arms stretched out as her voice raises, he could see it in her eyes she was afraid of him and it hurt yet he doesn¡¯t feel that pain travel to his heart, it only makes him ball his fists

    She gasps as his finger as at her chest and he harshly points, the force in what for her is him striking her knocking wind out of her, and she gives ¡®the flare¡¯ sort of glare he saw when she faced someone betraying her or when he didn¡¯t heed her commands when they were mindlessly running about

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you grow up!!¡± He forces out looking aside to the ground.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you run away with me!¡± Retorting angrily

    He rolls his eyes and turns away looking away ¡°Not this again. You want me to run away with you? Live like a human, like your father attempted? Die like him too?¡± He States in that cold punishing tone the same he used when leader in training, his mouth runs on his mind on autopilot unable to stop until the words have already pierced her

    ¡ªThe expression on her face¡ªearned by how he foolishly let his anger drive those thoughtless words- haunt him searing into his mind for life.

    He whips back around to face her

    ¡°No so- we...¡± she is choking up, it¡¯s killing him, but she finished before he can try to heal the wound he¡¯s made. ¡°Live like us, like we ourselves choose.¡±

    She isn¡¯t ready to cry yet, but feels the floodgates of her heart crack under the weight of what she is beginning to understand

    as Aleph reaches out to her. She recoils from him, as she wipes the tears with her hand and stares down into it then as more fall into her palm

    Aleph staring helplessly not daring to hug or hold her.

    ¡°It really doesn¡¯t matter what happens to you Aleph? That you¡¯ll let them kill who you are because of a duty you never chose ¨C¨C a duty not even your father willingly honored? You have the opportunity he never had ¨C¨C to live! We can run away right now ¨C¨C you know we can I met you here everyday, hoping we will!¡±

    He doesn¡¯t have the heart to tell Arianne the truth, he doesn¡¯t want to go with her. But the look in her eyes is as if she already knows¡­

    PRESENT 3049AD SEPTEMBER

    He can hear his pad turning on. They¡¯re being called. It¡¯s uneventful and silent, they start with his first... they never do, he¡¯s not a team leader are they plotting again?

    They shuffle out, he barely has time to process where he is in line because he already know he¡¯s perfectly aligned purely by muscle memory, the walls of this place reflect into his eyes despite having no light, he¡¯s back into the hallway and out of their quarters.

    The walls seem to close in on Aleph without ever touching him, dragging him backwards and he¡¯s¨C he¡¯s back? Smoothly moving back from the exit of the shared quarters and into the hall¡­

    Saiyah is behind him, none of them breathe they have no need save for her, too talkative to be without taking a breath.

    Agitating Is all Aleph can think.

    They are making their way toward a larger room, despite the usual darkness the metal walls now carried their reflections, the immense line of candidates without pauses shuffling through the corridors.

    Strange, the lights are always off, he wonders why they were ever installed, was it for a particular person..was it for Eternia? That wouldn¡¯t make sense ruler wouldn¡¯t need them especially.

    Aleph was where they often would all be called too, they took formation quickly, there was hundreds of plaques, this was different all 144,000 candidates were here, each of them were organized neatly.

    Krul and the Instructor came, keeping them all on alert, the 144,000 candidates having as much active purpose to existence as a pillar does when it stands tall, soon to hold up the roof and protect the foundation.

    30 Divisions and, 4,800 candidates each.

    S2N2

    Krul was short and tact and to the point. ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you may have heard of Candidate Aleph performance in the combat quiz section of the latter engagement courses.¡±. He doesn¡¯t wait for them to give affirmation.

    Silence is golden they are to encourage obedience.

    ¡°This is going to be the standard of all future simulation courses, in accordance with reintroducing older standards.¡± He takes a slow pause and looks them over.

    Krul¡¯s mask looks over the teenagers.

    Saiyah, Asaph, Aleph. Three bastards.

    He waves a hand ¡°In forty minutes meet me here exactly as the time is up, repair your uniforms, feed at the bloodbanks.¡±

    Krul watches them leave ¨C Aleph is last muttering something to the other two bastards.

    Krul shakes his head, and turns to the instructor ¡°Prep the information pad for the next lesson.¡±, The Instructor nods to him and she maeks way to center of the room.

    This hall is where they would teach them lessons.

    Vampires don¡¯t need cafeterias, restrooms or even beds. Krul is happy to remark and remind himself.

    This interior room is where they often taught them, most rooms had dual function ¨C the function of this room being utilized by some sort of lever being pulled, the floor shifts revealing a large rectangular shape. From her position, a keyboard and screen emerge from the wall.

    The instructor preps the next lesson.

    Krul hated Shocktroopers it was no question about it, the descendants of their forefathers many of whom the parents of this batch were had earned his ire and hatred.

    His hands haven¡¯t left his back, he has something for one of them.

    He doesn¡¯t have to worry about them being far too late, soon due to his sharp command they arrived the moment forty minutes were up, he could sense they were at greater strength now

    Especially Aleph.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    Run through whatever he thought could kill them, especially with the recent command of determining if Aleph was a lost prototype.

    Krul had to now balance this, Eternia herself was here.

    Balance it..they¡¯re monsters, I could do my damned best and likely end up killing myself  he stops and speaks boldly to them as they return.

    ¡°Now that you can all go to the next section together.¡± He sharply nods toward Aleph, he likes the way heads turn to him, sees him squirm like a human, his gloved hands rub together cruelly with what he holds in hand.

    ¡°We have now a new lesson to teach you.¡±

    The lesson was by no means quick. Aleph was prepared and witnessed it, they sat there, legs crossed.

    It was an eternity, Krul treated it as if it was moments but Aleph in this one moment, mind and soul untampered temporarily by the nature of this facility, how the walls drag along the mind and scrape the psyche as you try to walk through them.

    Resisted and was tormented, unable to move purely by order and reasoning.

    It had to have been a year, but he knew outside it was no time at all, it felt painful to remember every inch of the lesson, he knew one thing that wasn¡¯t human his sense of time.

    The concept of tomorrow is hard and what happened weeks ago is barely considered distant for them.

    Aleph does oddly thank being raised by humans for moments like these, he feels more aware than they are, his appreciation of time helps him understand they stayed and stared forwards, speaking up occasionally for what amounts to a year.

    It¡¯s nothing for them, they¡¯re barely fifteen like him and still have no care of how much time has passed.

    They¡¯re anger at how he held them back was purely because of obstacle less of what is being lost.

    Even now, It¡¯s as if I¡¯m watching who I am yesterday become distant.

    Aleph can feel the lesson scratching at his mind, a voice emitting mechanics, information of cybernetics, to any child raised by a son¡¯s of Adam this should purely be nonsense even if introduced to a young genius.

    But this training knew what they were. Aleph feels comforted and also vexed that the very nature of his being fits what they¡¯re doing well, he¡¯s learned much now, purely a visual learner he understands far more now than ever.

    The benefit of how this facility is constructed, but he feels like it¡¯s destroying him, he would so eagerly give up everything human sometimes, but he¡¯s realizing something.

    She feels so far away, Arianne, it¡¯s scaring him, nothing should be distant, but she is it¡¯s like this surprise lesson is meant to target that.

    ¡°The only good thing about humans.¡± Krul mutters on a section about honor of humans and how to some degrees it is weakness. He sees what reconstructed images of the dark age of mankind is, a year in which a great empire joined an ally within an Axis, how their honor lead to futile charges amongst open terrain, how their bodies were split by gunfire.

    Aleph struggles to think of this last portion of the lesson being worthwhile amongst mechanics, intricate information of cybernetics and complex mathematics intertwined with physics, is this purely to teach a futility in mankind¡¯s beliefs?

    Aleph feels the walls passage of time grind away at him.

    Being raised among humans made him value time despite not being subject to such a short life as they were, to spend so much time grated at his soul, he¡¯d gotten used to it, some lessons were longer.

    They don¡¯t value time like I do because they¡¯re more in tune with who they are. Aleph laments.

    They¡¯re all seated, occasionally one is questioned, they raise their hand. Krul¡¯s identification is sharp.

    Krul wasn¡¯t just any twisted Vis-Stasi given command, he¡¯d fought every twisted thing the Universe threw at her, at Eternia, I could give some respect Is how Aleph has conditioned himself, feeling apologetic for the few times he had to fight the urge to kill the one in charge of training all of them.

    ¡°Aleph!.¡± Krul cut into his thoughts, starting slow and deliberate. ¡°What is the direct advantage you will be expected to have as her fist

    ¡°Sir!¡± Aleph addresses as flat as they¡¯ve all been demanded to when speaking to a superior since he arrived.

    ¡°Speed, strength, adaptability. Without armor a Shocktroopers combat effectiveness shouldn¡¯t lower even by one-one-billionth of a percentile.¡± Alephs memorized that statement.

    he¡¯s only read it twice during course work, he didn¡¯t believe something like this until they¡¯ve shown him what his body can do, fully let him understand.

    Just how fragile the world around him will be as he grows stronger..

    ¡°Notice how not a single one was honor?¡± Krul laughs, ¡°Honor is character that will help build trust among your fellows.¡± Krul informs, he points to the screen, it transitions to human legends and literal history, the artistry used to present it is immaculate hand-drawn by new-historians.

    Then it shifts toward that old army of the dark age, and others from various periods of humanity on accursed earth. ¡°Weak human honor begins a seed of defeat that will creep in eventually.¡±

    Krul¡¯s lesson goes on about honor instructing for and against it in such contradiction Aleph¡¯s head spins, he catches sight of his comrade, his eyes on Saiyah who mechanically listens, straight posture mouth unmoving, no breath drawn or exhaled.

    ¡°Honor practiced incorrectly in terrible time will result in death. The honor you should all practice.¡± Krul¡¯s tone shifts from ambitious and proud as it was from the great ability he used to instruct without pause or stutter for great durations of time to¨C

    ¡°That honor you are all entrusted, as the caste who founded this empire.¡± Krul says begrudgingly as he speaks something they know is required of him.

    They collectively notice with smiles etched on everyone¡¯s faces as his tone is falling flat, from ambitious to weak.

    As if his jealousy inspires them This entire facility of shock troopers once dead-silent both ways had it only one way now, they were smiling, a horrible thing shown in their faces.

    Pride.

    Aleph felt no such pride, to be chosen.

    Hours later.

    Krul had been hiding something behind his hands.

    Not for anyones benefit.

    Asaph had struggled to hold back but had him pinned to the wall his teeth bared, he wasn¡¯t going to bite, just pummel, Aleph was stronger, but his fear of pain gave the former all the advantage needed.

    ¡°Then¨C¡°Asaph wants to do so many things, bitter and angry, all Aleph did was exhibit some incredible strength, all he did was do what was expected.

    Asaph doesn¡¯t hate Aleph he just thinks less of him Is that so wrong? He held us back.

    Asaph isn¡¯t team leader, it¡¯s Aleph, Asaph was picked immediately, when he lead a significant group of them before Aleph had ever arrived to dismantle the previous instructor with teeth, hands and claws this was oddly rewarded.

    Asaph was proud, he faced no punishment his strange ability to encourage brutal ferocity, devious planning was rewarded, and now Aleph succeeding where he should¡¯ve already been able to was being rewarded.

    He couldn¡¯t help but slam him into an equipment locker the moment it was just them three, they got another addition, a candidate for Sergeant¡¯s who was as equally angry at Aleph

    Saiyah wasn¡¯t here right now, and it was good thing. It would be a big fight!

    Being marked for Sergeant was already coveted, and now it was Aleph.

    ¡°What are you smiling for!?¡± The newbie to their team growls with anger, fists readied.

    Aleph is smiling at Asaph, noticeably down at him even as he is being held higher than Asaph.

    Asaph¡¯s fury reignites, his care for Aleph dies again and his wounded pride makes his fist take off.

    It soars and surges into Aleph¡¯s chest covered by training suit, he can feel the bones under the uniform shatter.

    The entire row of lockers bounces and clatters around doors bursting open as they shake.

    Aleph has no issue throwing Asaph off in retaliation, blood falls onto Asaph¡¯s nose, than he can see two hands raise and become a blur, Asaph is wrenched off in a struggle.

    They struggle and the Newbie doesn¡¯t think of getting in, she hasn¡¯t seen punches thrown that quickly, not even amongst Shocktroopers.

    Asaph is the only one throwing them, and Aleph takes them, struck dozens of times, eyes and nose.

    Asaph can throw hits of incredible strength but he¡¯s encouraged to throw them past even his undead limits knowing the kind of strength Aleph can return even before his snap in the live-fire hall.

    Asaph is already tumbling into the benches from a mere shove, left alone on the floor he doesn¡¯t even sense the newbie anymore despite her still lingering presence.

    Furious in the stare pointed up at Aleph, Aleph would give in. This wasn¡¯t the first time they¡¯d fought.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Asaph didn¡¯t consider humans but to see that brutal sorrowful quality had him seeing Aleph as a lesser to take care of, an annoying little brother. He often relented even when he¡¯d fought Aleph.

    He can¡¯t imagine truly looking to hurt his brother, but this time was different.

    Aleph was smiling earlier but now it faded into a stern glare, Asaph expected to hear a whole spiel but the words that came out were like instruction.

    ¡°Jealousy is very human Asaph.¡± Aleph speaks.

    Asaph is expecting his hurt to cause him to rage, rise up and give a brutal uppercut physically rather than verbally.

    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Asaph fully considers this; I doubt the credibility of their decisions but-.

    ¡°Aleph, I don¡¯t think you should make leader for what should barely even be a minor feat in training.¡± He discredits Aleph¡¯s last stand boldly with monotone voice again lacking any rage.

    ¡°But¨C¡± He pauses still looking up at Aleph still and it irks him to see it that damned thing saw the pin Krul was hiding behind his back¨Cmore than just a pin.

    It was an object for what would eventually be placed into their SET¡¯s. A Sergeant¡¯s communicator piece.

    It doubled as a pin for uniform.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re not enough for it like I am.¡± Asaph laments in loss of his place, what he would¡¯ve had as team-leader as responsibility is now in the one who stands above him.

    But he hadn¡¯t spoken that truly only out of coveting, he hadn¡¯t seen Aleph ever make command

    Elsewhere.

    Eternia is waiting, seated behind glass as the final bit of the instruction she ordered Krul to begin early has begun, she knows the candidates will adapt quickly she¡¯s seen it before in the two previous generations.

    Eternia taps her fingers as she sees all of them walk into a live-fire training hall that is massive.

    The facility burrowed into the ground has one particular space that deceptively in size is built with the same mechanisms that distort the time around them.

    In a literal sense this part of the facility is burrowed into terror-space so finely, it presents a massive area that can be visible entirely as if the room was small, but the size is that of an immense battlefield.

    Aleph marches in some of his betters and lesser with him. That is my solution to the Mechra, if he can¡¯t exhibit what is required of him here it is better they all die, rather than slowly much later. Eternia speaks weakly toward herself, standing next to Delara, she uncomfortably fidgets as sees him and the others waltz into an arena they haven¡¯t been in yet.

    This unspoken was the next part of their training, ¡®gauntlet¡¯.

 Post Initiation: Eager Anna.

    Eternia gazed down.

    The complexity of this training had it divided up into locations key groups would be training in, from a one-way glass wall built in she could see everything, it was taxing on maybe a human mind, she imagined this was how God saw things.

    He with all his intent on man inhabiting earth, glance left and see all of mankind across the Americas, down to the individual man at his home, glance right and see Africa, Europe and Asia, the middle east.

    She knew his perception was much greater, but she had this replicated in the idea of that, this needed to be the perfect facility.

    Eternia saw Delara and all of her generation progress through this threshold the ¡®gauntlet¡¯ in her training,

    Traps and mechanisms they wouldn¡¯t be told of, purely to test something intangible, intuition it bordered on superstitious to human beings but to a Vampire it was a key part of evading danger, anticipating it.

    It was impossible to anticipate everything but that¡¯s above a certain threshold, it differs on caste

    for Shocktroopers to the extreme, vast open expanses across four different sections are prepared.

    They will contain perfectly replicated desert dunes and cliff-faces can open and swallow them into pits of spikes and other dastardly devices bordering on murderous even for them.

    None ever dies here, neither did anyone alongside Delara similarly but for Aleph¡¯s sake she hopes at the very least one, something to break him so he can be less human. She¡¯s been able to hear Krul¡¯s observations and it¡¯s nothing positive, he has displayed only the side effects of her alternation none of the primary benefits or positives.

    She knows that a balance is needed internally to bring it out. That¡¯s what she intends to bring out, thankful they¡¯ve finally reached the ¡®Gauntlet¡¯ in sync with her arrival and observation here.

    -

    Aleph

    Aleph is pained again, the wait is too long in that that locker-bay as the final preparations are set, he was barely briefed.

    ¡°It¡¯s like the standard danger course, larger, more violent, from here on out all training will be brutal this time.¡± Aleph hated the ambiguity in the words he remembered from Krul, but the indication their training before wasn¡¯t brutal perplexed him.

    Maybe this humanity infecting me is just making me think everything before was difficult or maybe-maybe it allows me to see that this is twisted¨C. Aleph violently shakes the thought out of his head before it can become treason, he thinks it is.

    He¡¯s benched silently as time passes on the cold steel of the bench is ambient but he gives a short laugh often remembering Arianne, before he was here. Moments he took for granted.

    ¡°Geez h-h-h-how did you not know it¡¯s too cold!¡± She shivered out, red faced when called out by Aleph, younger then. He laughed and ran with her home, a-hundred apologies on the way.

    She should be eighteen by now, but it¡¯s been so long for me. Is all he thinks as the warm memory turns unexpectedly cold.

    The newbie speaks up first to break his thoughts Anna ¡°What are you impatient for? It¡¯s only been three days.¡± Anna speaks matter-of-factly with some venom, but the confusion on her face is genuine. She¡¯d been watching him impatiently tap his foot on the bench, she was silent.

    Straight and leaning back on the bench in uniform, her fists now clenched, she was tired of hearing anything other than the silence.

    Asaph is now looking toward Aleph, his blackened hair short not needing much of a shave it hadn¡¯t grown since birth. He adjusts his new training suit the last damaged from prior.

    Aleph takes that as if he should start to speak

    ¡°You see things differently Raised by simply humans. They live short lives barely a-hundred¡± Asaph coldly cuts in before he even could begin

    ¡°As if most of them are lucky to reach that.¡± He speaks like this when mentioning humans all the time, no hate, no malice, disregard, not unlike speaking of a pet you have no attachment to, or like a fact of any animal.

    Aleph seems to growl out his thoughts aloud, enough to shake Asaph ¡°That¡¯s just means they learn faster to appreciate what little they have¡± Aleph is growling more to himself, angry that he snaps to defend them.

    But he was thinking about Arianne, he imagined Asaph saying that to her and he couldn¡¯t join in..she was human and she mattered despite how weak she was.

    He felt that certain humans did in fact matter enough to not have the species spoken of as a collective mistake that hardly lives longer than the youngest of its own kind.

    Ever since Eternia came here I started thinking about her more what is this¡­. It bothers Aleph enough he doesn¡¯t want to argue with Asaph who clearly is hot-headed enough recently to start it, he moves away before Anna can interject like she wants too visibly.

    Their voices rise as he leaves but are so muddled, the likelihood of another fight too great to bear it grates on him, he can¡¯t remember many positive memories with Asaph, but he sees him as a strange faraway friend despite it, he couldn¡¯t show how much it hurt to be put down by him.

    It shouldn¡¯t matter if I need to be worn out, I need to be stronger.

    He clenches his fists, he¡¯s hoping everything that isn¡¯t killing him is making him stronger, not just the brutality of this training but the harshness of the instructor the coldness of those around him.

    He¡¯s nearly bursting into prayer that it will make him better than he is now if it doesn¡¯t just kill him whilst he marches off further and further, descending into isolation.

    He moves into a rear portion of where they were loading out and looks into that mirror. He¡¯s taller, but right before a shocktrooper becomes fifteen they hit half of their expected height, it wasn¡¯t new.

    Neither was his countenance.

    He looked just like well¨C before.

    With the altered passage of time here it has to have been thirty-years and he wouldn¡¯t be wrong, but it wasn¡¯t showing on his face.

    It bothered him. He knew it didn¡¯t show outwardly entirely but the training was affecting him.

    This mental misery invited the company it loved, he can remember a helpless voice resurfacing from memory ¡°Al-Aleph?¡± He heard a certain terror in her voice when he appeared like a ghost to haunt her.

    She was looking up at him now¡­he¡¯d grown taller in such a short time; it was when he first learned the difference in time from here to there.

    And regrettably his reflexes had been altered.

    He split a man¡¯s wrist that day, a human man who had made the mistake of trying to sneak up on him to meekly ask a question.

    The screams¨C

    He broke out of thought, his hair was the same, jet-black and short, Aleph was tall now but the interior was adjusted for the rapid growth in height that would¡¯ve exploded when he would¡¯ve turned fifteen anyway.

    His eyes a strange color, he could unnaturally control the glow of them, his iris a deep purple but it turned something akin to violet, a mixture of that and red. Saiyah had the same eye color, letting him know in spite being unaware of his birth mother and blood-father¡¯s origins he was born on New Persia too with her.

    He¡¯s lost in thought, although it wouldn¡¯t of mattered had he not been, he leans against a blood-stained sink.

    Can I even manage this, being Team-Leader, A Sergeant when his is over!? I¡¯ve only watched it be done.

    He¡¯s doubtful, looking up into the mirror covered in thin layer of dust, he doesn¡¯t even feel the lifeless presence hanging around him.

    Then as usual she is there to break him from bursting into self-defeat as if she somehow knew

    No one hears Saiyah not in training or a duel you could be braced to fight her with a knife and watch her curve around you and be holding you up by the weapon you hadn¡¯t noticed her snatch from you.

    Aleph often felt himself lamenting feeling like a ghost

    When he thinks of Saiyah being like a ghost, he¡¯ds referring to a strength she has that scares him and even Asaph to death.

    He expected her to pop in but it still frightened him, he was sure he¡¯d reach a point where he could see the gun of the enemy he¡¯d trained so long to fight pointed at him, but it still wouldn¡¯t frighten him as much as well as Saiyah could descend from nothing. ¨C

    She came from behind him, no one sees her coming the way she appears,

    Another head came beside his own, like a ghost it curved out from behind him.

    He shoots up straight as he feels her fingers lightly tap his sides. ¡°Gotcha!¡± Her voice is high, enough to make him smile but still making him grow fearful.

    Saiyah can blend in.

    He hadn¡¯t known where she was, but she came up from the blue, Aleph had figured he was like a ghost to humans able to silently slip around, something natural to all Vampires once they become in tuned and permanently enter ¡®the zone¡¯.

    But Saiyah was just ¨C different, scary too.

    ¡°What you want to gaze into my eyes!?¡± Her fist sails for his neck and he blocks it with elbow, shaking his arm at pain, and a feeling of ¨C he knew he heard the ligament crack and regenerate.

    He is grabbing her shoulder and pushing her away, but his steps follow ¡°Alright! Alright¡­ Let¡¯s just go.¡±

    ¡°Alright Sergeant!¡± She mocks in good faith. ¡°I don¡¯t really see how you made qualification, but I¡¯m sure Asaph was pissed! Are you both alright?¡± She spoke smoothly and as giddy as usual but now with an edge of clarity, concern.

    ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± He mouths to dismiss, and she goes from a smile to a frown, she hesitates to say something but doesn¡¯t end up saying anything at all.

    He doesn¡¯t find her making jokes, trying to cheer him up with unnatural ability to know when he needs it, they make their way back and by coincidence he doesn¡¯t get another word out edge wise¨C the alarm sounds and they¡¯re exiting this loadout bay.

    They enter that a leading hallway to one of those same omni-elevator that led to the hall where Aleph¡¯s heart first beat when those machines nearly beheaded and killed him.

    The hallway of the facility shifted, it stopped briefly and flexed a wall twice as if waving to them.

    Asaph wasn¡¯t unaware of this, the Aleph had told him he felt the facility had been alive, a belief Saiyah had even mocked him or.

    Asaph now laughs when he notices those little quirks, he enjoys it.

    Aleph hates it.

    The walls are arranged in a way he can¡¯t understand, Aleph throughout his time here has learned enough to self-proclaim a doctorate in surgery and quantum mechanics and still can¡¯t explain how the walls are arranged.

    As he walks through them for what would be another time in the thirty years he¡¯s been here.

    The metal occasionally reflects if it wants to him in third person, he feels out of control when it does that it shakes him, has him nearly about to stumble as he walks side-by-side with Saiyah, Asaph and Anna.

    They enter in with just fresh uniforms undamaged.

    And the omni-directional elevator peels back, only surrounded by walls the one behind it slams open and they are tugged in a significant lurch has them all tilting momentarily.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°You know these simulations are so life-like, when my dad told me I may think I never left training when I hit the frontlines, I think I¡¯ll know why!¡± Saiyah started and opened, it¡¯s a bit out of left-field, Asaph usually reserved has a distinct expression that he¡¯s seen something just ¨C wrong.

    Asaph slowly seeks to change subject ¡°We have no information about this what kind of test do you think it is?¡±

    Saiyah starts ¡°If it¡¯s purely a mental puzzle I can count on Magellans lost cousin!.¡± She starts with a sly smirk at Asaph that has him rolling his eyes and stepping away, his sort chuckle turning her head to Aleph

    ¡°Strength¨Ceh maybe not so much Asaph anymore! Aleph you were tossing machines around! Those mental exercises I told you worked huh!? Keep doing them I know I¡¯m a genius!¡± She questions then exclaims high in spirit.

    ¡°New girl I got nothing to say about you, prove yourself!¡± She immediately turns cold and exclaims, bitter and demanding.

    Saiyah isn¡¯t unknown and it appears Anna who was known to be hot-headed, rough on the edges straightly speaks as if addressing she were answering Krul ¡°Yes ma¡¯am.¡±

    Aleph laughs for a moment. Saiyah is so full of life it helps him get through, reminds him of Arianne often.

    He thinks. Why are all the motivations in my life women, am I cursed? Aleph seems to more comedically remark that has him smiling.

    ¡°What are you so happy for! Get in the mood for commanding us around and not screwing up!¡± Saiyah beams at Aleph playfully.

    Asaph is just rolling his eyes and silent, fiddling with railing on the omni-elevator they were riding on hoping it gets faster.

    He looks ahead to see them going to another stop.

    The Omni-elevator shirks around large, boring tunnels, angular with smoothness, blocky turns as it reaches a point, grinds to a halt with a barely heard hiss that gets more violently the more harshly it has to slow down.

    Clicks to a stop at a corner and then proceeds on.

    The Tunnel isn¡¯t dark, an ambient blue atmosphere from the lights of the tunnel shine on them. They¡¯re switching on as they come around, a rare use of lights where those who don¡¯t need them go.

    Like eyes the lights switch off as they move out of their view and go to another pair that can see them, two on each side.

    It has Aleph looking uncomfortable.

    Asaph doesn¡¯t notice and neither does the others, he¡¯s simply leaning forward onto the railing tapping his index finger

    Saiyah leans back onto the railing, seeming to crack a few odd jokes to Aleph upon seeing him frown along the ride, he brushes them off after laughing at a few and questions where she was earlier.

    ¡°Our senior Delara wanted to speak to me after your promotion!¡± She seems to mouth off as if it had no relevance. ¡°Wanted to hear a bit about her adoptee baby boy!¡± She mocks Aleph a bit with a grin.

    ¡°Oh, come on, it¡¯s not like that she¡¯s like a mentor at least.¡± Aleph is feeling light, smiling and laughing out in reply.

    ¡°Be honest I¡¯ve seen it too, you¡¯re like the child she never had.¡± Asaph spoke.

    Anna is only nodding her head but doesn¡¯t try to find this as an opportunity to fit in with this new group, her arms are crossed, and she huffs to herself standing far off from them.

    Aleph blows out a warm breath of amusement.

    Saiyah gives an ¡®oh¡¯ ¡°Oh you got a crush on her instead?¡± she remarks simply with a smile, it grows wide into an evil grin as she sees Aleph squirm.

    ¡°Oh come on! gross Saiyah! You just suggested she¡¯s like my mom!¡± He almost turns a shade of embarssment.

    Asaph is similarly disturbed at a weird turn of the joke but cant help but laugh at Aleph.

    Anna seems to enter the banter a foreigner to it. ¡°Well you wouldn¡¯t be the first, too many of our fellows from my section have a¨C.¡± Aleph is quick to raise a hand.

    ¡°You¡¯re not helping.¡± He lets out in a sigh quickly drowned by Saiyah¡¯s laughter.

    Anna didn¡¯t smile or laugh she didn¡¯t seem to be joking, still a far off from them in former mention.

    She was a bit spiteful. She¡¯s only got an angry glare as she stares toward them, especially Aleph her eyes stick to him like glue, she watches him gulp down oxygen he doesn¡¯t need, fidget and scratch even when they shouldn¡¯t be able to so much as itch.

    She was feeling sick.

    She watches them banter and joke around, even cold Asaph isn¡¯t immune to occasionally piping it, it disgusts her.

    Silence is order

    -

    It got dark as they went out of view of any lights again, the elevator hummed and then went silent as if something had gone wrong, nothing was about to go wrong that hadn¡¯t already for Anna.

    Anna wasn¡¯t a part of their section much less their little group.

    ¡°You¡¯re too good, shoot her up to the top immediately, she is going to make Sergeant!¡± Krul spoke in an instant, she felt perfect, had always been perfect.

    She trained alone, was on solo training, that is over now.

    She isn¡¯t making Sergeant they hit the quota, ¡®Dropped me to make room for some pathetic bastard someone as dumb as a human, I could get away with shooting him probably¨C no that¡¯s too much ¡®

    Anna is brewing up a storm. Her glare is on Aleph, she shoots a look to Saiyah and it ends.

    Aleph checks his uniform and Saiyah took a moment to check her.

    Saiyah was quite scary, Anna knew this. They were apart of that group of three, stoic and cold Asaph. Glass cannon Aleph, Saiyah the ghost. She spoke much older than she was, granted they had been here for thirty years. But this was much different, even when Saiyah arrived even as her initiation was much more brutal she had a cold brutal efficiency.

    Anna had seen it when they first arrived. Saiyah found this group, they didn¡¯t find each other and they¡¯ve been like glue ever since. Saiyah is only staring at her for moments, no time at all yet it feels like millennia.

    It¡¯s a warning, it terrifies Anna has her feeling as if she is floating on this omni-elevator ride.

    She feels as if she is sinking and Saiyah rises, a feeling brought on by how the elevator swings hard upwards and is dragging them to the training hall.

    Asaph sticks up straight and grips the railing, Aleph almost stumbles but finds his footing.

    Anna keeps her mouth shut, and weakly looks away from the three of them not even daring to cast a glance.

    She wont question how Saiyah can sense her hate, how she may even know.

    She won¡¯t question anything at all.

    They entered an arena, the omni-elevator reached a surface deeper underground, it was as if heat and sun was upon them.

    Sands dumped onto their heads as they came from below, instructions were given.

    [/In accordance you have reached ¡®Seventh sensory Phase¡¯ you will complete localized objectives.\]

    [Strike the armory]

    [Obtain weapons.]

    [Gain access to the checkpoint and take a vehicle to where the main course of this training section will be located.]

    They are looking at a plaque of it from where they are standing in a massive desert, it¡¯s the size of a continent in exaggeration but they can see the end, a massive wall with a gate that ends the checkpoint is seen, with the sheer size of this simulation hall all 144,000 candidates could be here doing the intro and prep for the main course as well.

    It¡¯s titanic enough for Aleph to feel like his head is spinning.

    It¡¯s full of light they feel like they are in a desert.

    ¡°This place is massive, why don¡¯t they just simulate the perfect environments like these in factories and make the robots they have us train so hard against.¡± Saiyah speaks in slow deliberate question.

    Anna at least slightly proud enough to answer ¡°Because against the Mechra, they¡¯re not enough.¡± Anna boldly states and moves ahead.

    Aleph speaks out ¡°Hey! Rally on m-.¡± Asaph is looking apologetically toward Aleph and follows after Anna ¡°She sounded serious, I¡¯ll meet you at the checkpoint after we get through!¡± The two of them are off before Aleph can say a word.

    Aleph sighs out ¡°Just g¨C.¡± Saiyah slaps his back smiling ¡°I¡¯m not a damned traitor, couldn¡¯t give me thirty pieces of a silver to betray a familiar friend.¡± She seems to remark and quote something.

    He¡¯s heard it before, his human father spoke of it, it seemed odd to him she would know anything about the God humans inside and outside the empire worshipped.

    Before he can dwell on something he finds quite worrying her hand is on his wrist, and she tugs him along through the sands was they cut through the dunes in the jackboots.

    -

    Elsewhere the other two speeding off into a sprint that has a sandstorm behind them, they move like a vehicle, Asaph and Anna cleared thirty miles per hour from standing to sprint. Abandoning the inexperienced new Sergeant quickly.

    Anna is sprinting ahead, ¡°Why the hell are you following me!? I can hit the checkpoint and you mistakes can ride my success all the way toward the main course!¡±

    Asaph stops and skids in the sand appalled at her words.

    ¡°Watch how you talk-¡°He makes violent approach teeth bared, fists readied he anticipates he¡¯ll just wring her neck

    His approach changes destination, he sees the ground rush at him all at once faster than he can even realize.

    She swept his legs knocking him down, it was so fast that it was just a warning of what else she can do.

    ¡°I¡¯ll decapitate you, you little bastard!¡±

    ¡°Little bastard!? We¡¯re the same damned age!¡± Asaph shouts.

    ¡°Go back to that idiot and his guardian angel!¡± she remarks, the way she addressed Saiyah has Asaph raising a brow.

    ¡°Go back and keep being holding us back some other time!¡± She adds on to dismiss turning around.

    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m great! I just stuck cause that ¡®idiot¡¯ can¡¯t keep up!¡± He points accusingly in fierce tone Asaph is furious if his face could turn red it would.

    Asaph feels a twinge of guilt for how he refers to Aleph but can¡¯t bother caring enough to retract statement.

    Anna rolls her eyes. ¡°All talk! I¡¯ve seen nothing to tell me otherwise!¡± She lets that sit in Asaph and watches his mouth twitch.

    It does and she replies before he can.  ¡°Following me thinking you can impress someone!?¡± She gave a short ¡®hah¡¯ after proudly declaring ¡°What a snake you are! I¡¯d see more of this ¡®honor¡¯ we learned about if you stuck with him¡±

    If she could show any more disgust right now she would. she¡¯s just staring down at a now silent and angry Asaph,

    Her pale ghostly white skin sticking out from most other vampires who are a moody grey, her hair is long strangely and flowing in the simulated wind.

    She has a fierce stare with ocean blue eyes.

    She is as fierce as the waves too.

    ¡°Tcht don¡¯t get all silent like a cry-baby you really want to prove he isn¡¯t holding you back!? Don¡¯t slow me down, but don¡¯t expect me to think of you as anymore than a prideful snake.¡± She chastises and has Asaph staring down into the sands, empty like any of the honor he has.

    ¡°I¡¯d shudder to think what kind of betrayal you¡¯d give me if I gave you opportunity like he does.¡± She scolds him in a way that has Asaph forgetting they¡¯re the same age.

    He¡¯s sat on his rear-end legs stretched out slumped at the cruel realization of how he spoke about Aleph.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a snake! We are friends!¡± He desperately argues.

    ¡°Sure, fooled me with all that compensating you tried to give!¡± Anna speaks and gives a nod.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going then before they catch up and you face your betrayal!¡± She turns and enters a sprint immediately, knocking sand into his face.

    ¡°Why you!¡± He¡¯s angry and climbing back up to his feet chasing after her

    They traveled far enough to reach the outpost of the machines.

    Anna braces herself, perching up as she sees the exterior, the asphalt and buildings, it¡¯s all a blur she is just going to rush in, she can spot it.

    Ancient rifles, I guess the leadup to the actual part of the training is slow.

    She knows compared to their actual training this is all just a warmup but there is real lessons to be had here, they would be working together, figuring out how to quickly dismantle an enemy, seeing their mistakes. As Vampires and most notably Shocktrooper Caste they would have perfect memory of their failures, they¡¯d never repeat this mistake. The very nature of this facility made this much more of a lengthy experience than it was, the dilated time spent here would perfect them.

    She felt all the statements of the validity of these exercises were dumb, she¡¯d seen them all at first failing the first rounds, then the second they attempted again they succeeded; this facility was accelerating them at the cost of psyche albeit one that had already faded long ago¨C when she watched her family die.

    ¡°Alright blowhard.¡± She calls out in insult, forgetful of Asaph¡¯s actual name.

    He can¡¯t even mouth confusion at the strange insult before she answers again for him.

    ¡°I see a couple of machines, I strike low  you and rush the armory, frag anyone inside and use that catwalk to provide me covering fire!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be running distraction down low, I¡¯m faster than you, like moron who isn¡¯t here So I can keep them busy, evade gunfire better than you.¡±

    Asaph is quick to chastise ¡°You¡¯re too quick with this plan I¡¯d like to get something in.¡±

    ¡°Doubtful it¡¯s anything worth it, don¡¯t bother speaking!¡± She cuts him off in monotone.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t normal combat exercise hell these machines even look different and!¨C.¡±

    ¡°Are they sporting low caliber weapons? I can see the tiny rifles from here!?¡± Asaph is quick to notice those too-big robots are holding too-small guns.

    ¡°Clearly to deter us from just grave-robbing, and actually help us learn advanced battlefield procurement, practice infiltration moron!¡± She is quick to judge, too eager, too quick and wants to rush this to get away from Aleph quickly as she knows he will be coming with Saiyah.

    Asaph speaks ¡°Look their weapons have orange bands around the barrel that isn¡¯t normal, what if they have a special round.¡±

    The ambient march of the machines as they ran some incredibly tight patrols, enough to have Asaph regretful he left Aleph behind so he can run interference, play the pointman and draw fire like he does for these

    ¡°Don¡¯t get struck. Probably something to activate your suit and disqualify you!¡± She¡¯s too quick, she doesn¡¯t even pay attention or think to plan, she¡¯s still angry about how Aleph was picked over her and he¡¯s likely fumbling behind like a moron. She surges ahead.

    So does Asaph.

    Asaph seems to rush in, get close he doesn¡¯t make a leap anywhere, the place is surrounded by a fence.

    She hops over first and strikes the ground; her jackboots impact and she is heard¨C now spotted by a machine facing her down with the very small rifle.

    She is quick to rush a machine, it gives a whine, and heat steams out from the sides of its head.

    She is fast, the first few rounds exit the barrel, and she¡¯s evaded them already.

    She realizes the machines in this part of the section are much different, twice as tall, grey rather than purple, they had digitigrade legs. And they¡¯re all overclocked.

    In what seems like a long hour as time slows, she utters a half-hearted prayer internally for other candidates elsewhere before she moves swiftly to evade the full burst of gunfire.

    She¡¯s on the ground now, and her legs spin smoothly, catching the heavy two ton machine in them, she has what would be the neck of it in a vice-grip and brings her fingers into the asphalt until they bleed and they crack through.

    She swung her torso off to the side anchored to the asphalt, she could already spot another machine alerted by gunfire, the machine quick to march over to assist is struck.

    This is a major threshold we¡¯ve been held back from by Aleph this just must be an advancement!

    She can guess the caliber from diameter of barrel ¡®5.56¡¯. She¡¯s monstrous in how she surges in, not even paying its mind, she¡¯ll take the round, they don¡¯t need to sneak around is the immediate thought.

    Too low caliber to incapacitate and none of them are more armored than needing a high caliber small arms to dispatch, she thinks it is fine.

    That was up until the round struck her stomach.

    Something horrible happens, it¡¯s like fire builds up, she¡¯s felt pain before and ignored it.

    It¡¯s why she hates Aleph, He thinks we don¡¯t feel pain, it¡¯s our upbringing that has us doing something other than squirming around like a baby off his mother¡¯s breast when something as simple as getting shot happens to you. It¡¯s what separates us from humans.

    She is unable to give that sort of reasoning to herself here, she immediately rationalizes something different.

    She feels like she is dying.

    The dark hurtles around her... She isn¡¯t regenerating.

    She is trying to panic but that round cleanly went through her body and exited out the spine, that isn¡¯t coming back either, so weak and human is all she tearfully thinks, she should be able to move most of her body even without the spine, but it just wasn¡¯t happening.

    She can¡¯t scream, only gasp, she can barely even attempt to speak, only able to utter pained whimpers, the lack of control terrifies her, she hasn¡¯t been this weak ever in her life she has nothing to compare it to.

    Our perception of pain is different. Is this what¡­Aleph feels, is this what all humans feel¡­ she feels so apologetic, emotional... She¡¯s heard of such a thing happening when a human nears death.

    She squirms, finally able to move but can¡¯t escape, she gives an even louder whine as she feels liquid torment seep through her body and starting to spread.

    She feels a need to scream to tell Asaph is something wrong, but she hears a thud and how he falls, he must¡¯ve been avoiding rounds on the way to help her.

    His ability in evasion runs out. She knew such agility was Aleph¡¯s forte, she watched them constantly¡­

    She looks down to see that awful orange-glow the one that showed when her father died.. When he was executed.

    The rounds made to kill a vampire¡­

    For the first time ever, her visions fade without her control and black swallows her.

 The end of Post Initiation, The beginning of a Crisis.

    They travel for a great length of time, Aleph forgot he needed to figure out directions and let Saiyah lead them in circles for some time following strange trails, they hadn¡¯t even read the rest of ¨C he decides ¡®oh forget it.¡¯ And with enough time the simulation simulates darkness, perched up on a rocky hill, through dunes of sand lights shown.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Aleph is questioning as he sees Saiyah making weird gestures with her hands.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t get binoculars this time. Using my superior senses on the bots.¡± She states forming impromptu binoculars with her hands.

    They didn''t need to do that, they had vision like super predators...

    His eyes follow where she is looking.

    He can see from upwards of a dozen miles of way with the clarity of a man with binoculars, they used them because even being born this way it was taxing often being reminded you can focus your eyes like binoculars.

    He can see rifles with orange bands, Aleph has a certain sense unusual to most vampires.

    Technology can be as a human sees it for all but for him, he sees it as something to be manipulated subconsciously and sees it as something apart of him when he can witness it.

    He looks at the machines even from this great distance, scans them like he has root underground to feel them for traps.

    ¡°Overclocked¨CSpecial ammunition..and-.¡± He starts and then stops causing Saiyah¡¯s head to turn.

    Thirty-eight. His head senses thirty-eight armed machines, he can sense the metals, it¡¯s something he could do from childhood, machines and all sorts of things he can sense identify and number.

    He senses something else here.

    Ar-are those restrain¨C.

    ¡°We have to get Asaph and Anna, we¡¯re on the move.¡± He commands clear as day, Saiyah doesn¡¯t question when he hops off and follows him, now questioning as she follows.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, did you see them? Are they okay!? I just saw machines on false patrol, it sure as hell doesn¡¯t look like Asaph was ever here!¡± She speaks with great worry ¡°We would know!¡±

    ¡°No, no¨C it¡¯s¡­there¡¯s not just an armory¡­ Holding site, restraints¡­¡± he speaks oddly.

    Saiyah thinks to herself ¡®Is this small thing what they want from him how he senses machines, is probably in tune with em too.¡¯

    They are sneaking up on a site with the machines, they are all on patrol, they can see blood stains around.

    ¡°Asaph and Anna might¡¯ve been here..why the hell did they go ahead.¡± Saiyah mutters bitter with anger, she thinks of Anna. Stupid girl. She scolds someone who isn¡¯t even there mentally.

    Aleph and Saiyah are now in double-time, she is confident in him, they can quickly retreat if things go wrong, that is unspoken but they look to each other and nod as if they communicated that to each other.

    If she isn¡¯t fast enough, she rationalizes she¡¯ll hop onto his back just for a speedy getaway

    Aleph is a glass cannon ¡®but he sure as hell is a damn good cannon¡¯. It isn¡¯t a question of how they¡¯re going to get in.

    They have this sort of link and move in; the patrols are around a massive foundation of asphalt with scattered buildings mimicking a human weapons depot.

    Powerlines, railing and catwalks, several story buildings.

    Aleph and Saiyah are already on the catwalk, they came in like nightmares, Saiyah is much more silent albeit slower than Aleph.

    He lets her go ahead, she encounters a machine, they didn¡¯t relent.

    The machines had scanners and motion sensors. Saiyah wasn¡¯t showing up on the motion sensor¡­

    Blood trickled from her hand, she didn¡¯t go for the head of the machine, her hand pummeled the reactor with enough speed, the only thing heard was the crash it made when it hit the ground.

    Armed with a standard gas operated rifle chambered in 5.56.

    ¡°Ancient, should we use it?¡±

    ¡°No, too archaic, we could find a coilgun or something similar in the armory. from cheating.¡±

    ¡°These machines are obviously graded against it, even if we hit a weakpoint.¡±

    Aleph shrugged and dashed up, his hands and feet struck the wall, he dashed up further gripping am edge to one of the armored windows of these fortified buildings.

    The area where he could sense an active torturous restraint being used was nearby.

    He exactly and supernaturally senses it ramping up, being coated in blood, the readout of the machine was unnatural in his mind. ¡®Subjects almost eliminated.¡¯

    ¡°ALERT SYSTEM INTRUSION IN HUMANOID COMBAT SIMULATION UNIT¡± One of the machines seems to unnaturally send out an alert, alerting all other machines, weapons raised they march around.

    Saiyah is suddenly giving a leap onto a wall, grasping the underside of a catwalk, she swings back and forth until she acrobatically flips around on top of it, she gives a short leap of about fifteen feet to Aleph¡¯s location on a ledge.

    She lands on it balanced like a cat on one foot, her other atop the first that struck the edge of the ledge, arms crossed.

    ¡°Aleph what the hell! - Team-Leader you alerted the machines! Do you have a PDA, tablet!? We could get punished for tampering with the machines!¡±

    Aleph was so focused on his stare of the machines he¡¯s broken out of it by her stern chastisement ¡°It wasn¡¯t me! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡±

    Saiyah focuses her eyes, the culprit was a machine he was staring at, the machine was untouched by him or her.

    Why the hell is it motionless? Did he disable It with his head- She hesitates further internal questioning.

    Saiyah dives back down, all the way down. It has Aleph half-whispering and half shouting at her to come back.

    She lands, her eyes narrow and she glances left to right.

    She feels strange sensation travel up her spine, its like static. The sort of sensation she feels the greeting robot felt when Aleph shaking its hand made it shut down.

    She¡¯s so investigative, so lost in trying to determine what just happened, the chance they may be accused of cheating and the punishment with it too great for her to notice the machines had sighted her.

    Her last thought of the moment is glancing at the weapon this machine had.

    It was strange for them to be using such low-caliber ammunition, she grabbed the rifle tearing it from the hands and checked the magazine.

    Her eyes widen in fear, they can¡¯t afford to get hit¨C she has to tell..

    She¡¯s struck¨C not by a bullet but by arms that lance her stomach, going under and lifting her onto a shoulder, Aleph grasps her and hops up on a wall grasping the edge as he kept enough momentum to be sliding upwards

    ¡°I told you to move out the way!¡±

    Aleph is struck in the shoulder basically shielding her as he holds her in his arms.

    He screams in pain and rage as he tossed her to the side desperate, he doesn¡¯t need to say it it¡¯s already in their minds.

    Moving something is wrong.

    They came in with similar mistakes to Asaph and Anna but are quick to make recovery, Saiyah is gone in a second, by the time his eyes bound up where she was tossed whilst he clambers up. She is gone is simply remarked.

    He is still there, just as quickly as she disappeared, he is evading the rounds fired at him, he sees five rounds ejected from a barrel in a burst.

    He tucks and rolls, he is fast already but he is much faster.

    I¡¯m not healing, and it doesn¡¯t just hurt like any bullet it burns¡­is this a training round to keep me out.

    He felt like collapsing as the round had struck his shoulder, his veins don¡¯t work, he still has them in spite of being dead, but he can feel it painfully coursing through like whatever was happening in his last course.

    Except it wasn¡¯t making him stronger like human adrenaline, it was weakening him.

    He is fighting the urge to shudder his hands clammy as he glances around moments before they fire at him again, he¡¯s circled in.

    Thump thump.

    His heart is beating, and it hurts as if his body is collapsed.

    Aleph¡¯s heart is beating!

    The moment slows down, he laughs in utter disbelief.

    He can¡¯t believe, a singular bullet to the shoulder and he is coming to life. He surely is being brought as high as life to be brought back down to death he has to be. But it doesn¡¯t feel entirely for disbenefit, his heart beats greater and for a moment he can see.

    Everything Not just the mechanics of the machines, he can see something intangible he¡¯s learned of, the inner mechanics, the literal strings of designed script that forms the digital minds caged within layers of plates

    It¡¯s a strange sort of feeling that becomes ambient in seconds.

    He hears the minds of these machines their intent. It¡¯s to kill!

    , whatever round they are now firing is designed to kill the candidates, and he can see this is standard for this portion of the course, it¡¯s as if he senses the machines elsewhere fighting he wants to warn them!

    But Aleph is circled amidst his revelation, rounds fly at him, they¡¯re barely feet away yet he is barely quick to maneuver and evade some, Still slower than ever now due to what courses through him he is struck two more times.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    The combination of something human, blood coursing through him has made him weaker as if his body now temporarily relies on it, and whatever special bullet coursing through him, he can sense microscopic machines scraping through his insides was killing him.

    I could¡¯ve dodged that easy. But I didn¡¯t! I can¡¯t die, Saiyah at least needs me as a shield something! His thoughts immediately turn to her, and most of all. Asaph, Anna. He senses they are alive.

    Worst of all they may be hit by this and slowly dying like he is now, amplified by the extra shots he took, he Is desperate to get back.

    ¡°Saiyah don¡¯t get hit!¡± He screams, his voice booming ahead, desperation hanging from his lips.

    His heart stops beating heart feels like it just died and he has bile rushing to his throat, he no longer can sense the machines.

    Is it tied to that¡­this tangible humanity, the life I just breathed.

    He doesn¡¯t have time to dwell no matter how fast his mind works.

    The angry machines have a glare, tall grey plated monsters among organic living and undead who are watching him dash around without firing a shot.

    Cold calculating bastards! Is all Aleph can think, they know how the bullets work are programmed with it, they are waiting for it to kill his steam and hit him when he is slower.

    He could always sense something about machines but that human weakness that amplified his ability, only made it worse to know there is an assured threat of death more than before! More than that is always present in their training!

    More than 90%!

    Aleph powers into something strange, that adrenaline he felt near death, but he has no need to call upon it.

    Angry and terrified of that human mutation? ¨C Mutation is what it is!

    He¡¯s discovered in this fine moment or finally had revealed to him powers through, his heart beats twice and he knows he can stretch on but is only able to use it for a retreat.

    The machines are faster, faster to shoot than he is to dodge now even with this boost.

    his jackboots clattering heavily, he feels as if he is shaking the ground with each thundering step but it¡¯s not enough.

    They chase him fast as he retreats!

    Under the catwalk he skids to a stop as another line of them from another patrol links up

    This isn¡¯t even the main damned test! This is just the opener!

    He slows down and they seem to be wanting to ensure he can¡¯t evade the bullets again! Going in close!

    The Catwalk has a sick lurch, a presence at the top!

    Saiyah brings a fist and crushes the last of the supports, she was so swift and silent none had noticed, not even the additional patrolling machine up there that was watching, the catwalk is detached far before a round can hit her.

    It tumbles down the catwalk whilst the catwalk swings down from connected buildings on the third story.

    Smashes into the bots about to execute Aleph, then it trashes Aleph in figurative sense, he is knocked, he feels his torso nearly split as it flings him into a wall.

    He can¡¯t move, the feeling of doom is now present, the secondary effects of whatever he was hit with affect him.

    He can hear buzzing, mechanical shouting, and amidst it all.

    A roar! He can hear a frantic Saiyah dive down out of her element, surrounded by machines as she pummels one.

    Saiyah¡¯s fist like Aleph becomes bloodied, but it becomes a mess of flesh and bone much faster than his ever could, she¡¯s slinking around the machines that crowd and fire, barely evading the gunfire, not that quick conventionally.

    Her unnatural ability to simply fade in view of anything is fading fast in effectiveness.

    She bounces from one machine to the next, her fists are crashing through them, going as far as ripping through the power-cores directly her fists coated in the hot bright growing radioactive green of the inner-nuclear reactors.

    She¡¯s heading for Aleph.

    Don¡¯t come. Aleph now realizes he can¡¯t even speak, and it¡¯s too late, his heart crumbles as he sees her hit a dozen times and his vision fading to black.

    Aleph feels great pain, if he was weaker, he¡¯d cry, he¡¯s clutching the ground, desperately against all odds. His vision doesn¡¯t fade, and he rises to a singular knee.

    Pierce

    He can hear a round enter his spine and rip out his stomach, a low caliber round, it¡¯s like it is designed to pierce and fry the undead, he¡¯s falling onto his side nearly.

    He feels as if he is about to be decapitated again that moment from death.

    The harsh beeps of the machines surrounding them, he sees Saiyah for the first time motionless not an ounce of activity.

    He sees blood pour from her wounds.

    Riddled with holes.

    He draws one last ounce of strength, his eyes wide.

    He screams until it fades into black entirely, loss of hope.

    Aleph for the first time sleeps without his own control, for a vampire to slumber is a deep personal decision.

    He had it without choice, as he is the first to rise, because all the others are chained and awake save for Saiyah, they are in a strange room, a machine taller than them watches, it¡¯s unarmed, a computer nearby, their bindings are powered in nature.

    He can feel searing pain come alive in his hands, there are prods draining blood from all four of them.

    He¡¯s only half-happy he can see Asaph and Anna barely looking ahead, weakened.

    ¡°This is all your fault.¡± Anna starts unprompted quickly.

    The machine beeps seeing activity but sees her do nothing more, it doesn¡¯t consider her anger directed at Aleph as anything more.

    Anna could barely pass her vision past Asaph and Anna parallel to her, all the way to the right was Aleph.

    They are far apart separated by those two.

    Their arms and legs stretched out in an ¡®X¡¯ Formation.

    ¡°We¡¯re going to die because of you.¡± Anna weakly fights out

    And worst of all fail and it¡¯s all your fault comes out like an echo after Anna¡¯s venomous words

    , if they¡¯d kept me for leader hell I might¡¯ve volunteered to lead you. Maybe improved you but that¡¯s over now.¡± Anna seems to completely spill.

    Her words make Aleph think she has a pure hatred of him, one he is just learning but she can barely speak with the conviction of hate.

    Every word is so weak and defeated.

    Aleph still feels the pain, as if he is being eaten away, his wounds haven¡¯t healed, neither are the new ones from being hooked to this machine.

    If only I¡¯d been better, no planning. Asaph would¡¯ve come up with ten different strategies to break in, but he wasn¡¯t leading. He was off it.

    Asaph had always been a leader and strategist, it¡¯s hard to consider why Aleph was chosen over him, and now Aleph questions it.

    He looks to Saiyah with sparse hope, it¡¯s crushed as she is unmoving,

    even for a vampire you shouldn¡¯t be that still! please don¡¯t be dead, don¡¯t die. Is all Aleph can think his heart is waxing cold, so much. He¡¯s got no strength.

    He shuts his eyes and thinks.

    ¡°You know humans have these¡­stories..¨C.¡± He wants to believe there is hope but he doesn¡¯t see it, he¡¯s heard her stories, legends humans believed in greater strength, he believes he¡¯s just had that last-stand strength, and it doesn¡¯t amount to anything in his world.

    Whatever¡¯s human still only has him weak¡­

    Broken from grief by Anna ¡°Going to be silent! I can see you¡¯re not dead you mouth-breathing ba-bastard¡­¡± She is weak as she says this, Aleph can hear someone who was standing so stoic, silent and strong in his eyes previously break down near eventual death.

    Brutal is all he can think as she starts to growl in anger cursing him several times, he lets it breeze through him, he¡¯s heard such chastisement before.

    He¡¯s not weak, but the odds are out of favor, he doubts he could be effective even if he felt no pain, he still had so many errors.

    I should¡¯ve been faster; I should¡¯ve trusted intuition and me and Saiyah could¡¯ve stuck to the catwalks slinking around. He¡¯s shaking his head.

    He¡¯s glancing at her again.

    ¡°She¡¯s dead you know¡­.I haven¡¯t seen her move, they riddled him and he at least spat blood onto a machine.¡±

    Aleph is feeling colder than he is every waking moment, he glances to a machine.

    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you be like the rest of us¡­¡± Anna speaks weakly.

    Aleph answers cold and slow ¡°I want to know why too.¡±

    Anna looks back slow deliberate words Aleph speaks has her truly think¡­maybe he wasn¡¯t embracing his weakness on purpose.

    She thinks back to when she¡¯s seen him beat in a duel, he wants to charge but relents, he holds them back every time with how slow he is, Aleph is strong, stronger than her but such a gift is wasted.

    He blames it on being raised by humans, she can just see in his face how he blames the circumstances.

    She understands his condition immediately, and sees that he doesn¡¯t, because he feels so sorry for himself in her eyes.

    ¡°I ju-just¡­I¡¯m probably part human.¡± He weakly spoke cornered and beaten by them after he failed a necessary duel against a machine and held them back.

    She helped orchestrate the beating, she orchestrated many of them, hoping he¡¯ll get used to them.

    He didn¡¯t but yet eventually he made it he became speedy, evasive, because of his weakness.

    Anna feels as if she¡¯s lost the right to judge him, her eyes shut as she regrets her words. Thinking of new ones in this cold dark coffin of a room.

    The only noise between their occasional voices is the ambient hum of the machine ensuring they die here slowly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you were worthy of being chosen for leader, you failed. But I at the very least wished you had what it takes if you were going to take it from me instead...¡± She speaks weakly.

    Aleph looks her way weakly.

    It¡¯s an apology, he¡¯s only seen humans do something like that to each other, it has him feeling strength, not that someone would submit in apology, but that he could hear hope in her voice she would¡¯ve proved him wrong.

    Maybe he still can.

    Maybe it has to be something permanent. He thinks about Arianna, truly and regrets he didn¡¯t run away with her, but thinks and thinks.

    The restraints, electronic I sensed it, pins and mechanisms that require a signal a pulse.

    He recalls staring down the machine Saiyah scolded him for.

    It shut down when I¨C That¡¯s what they want me for, to fight the Mechra¡­This training required full team-cooperation or death. He was right on both things; Aleph was coming to realize what his gift was.

    ¡°Prototype.¡± He heard it once uttered in passing by Krul.

    Aleph was unordinary not because he was special but because he was altered, this pain, humanity, it reeked of something obvious he¡¯d learned.

    Cybernetics.

    Except, it¡¯s different, it¡¯s as if it is organic for him, he knew of cybernetics from the lessons, that spoke of something odd, manipulating machines.

    He is more supernatural; he is an organic weapon against machines.

    Whatever is happening outside this training is worse than here, it¡¯s why it is strenuous, we are fighting an enemy that encounters no less, we are punished for an inability to perfectly act together despite being perfected as individual fighters, we fight an enemy that requires us to quickly adapt at all times.

    Aleph realizes this deeply but thinks that ¡®I wont live to see such a war anyway.¡¯

    It¡¯s been too long, he¡¯s far too weak as whatever side-effect of what he had been imbued with, whatever gave him this weakness.

    He glances down at the pin to his uniform, chosen to be ¡®A leader.¡¯

    ¡°He bore our sacrifice for us on calvary.¡± He thinks of a leader human¡¯s worshipped, he didn¡¯t know much about him but clenches his fists.

    ¡°I¡¯m too weak. But I don¡¯t need conventional strength for this!¡± He powers through each word painfully, whatever is eating at his internals, preventing regeneration, the blood being siphoned from him in the machines they are in..

    Click. He pulses the mechanisms in his restraints, this strange power striking through as his body pulses.

    The machine seems to notice something, in it¡¯s own vision, he has a thermal signature momentarily.

    He can feel that pulse go through their restraints, and it is unlocking the mechanical restraints drawing the attention of the machine, it can¡¯t compute what is happening and simply gives an aggressive hum and stare.

    ¡°But none of you are, I¡¯m strong but can¡¯t use this strength¡­.But I have something else to use, I¡¯m not going to make it extending myself like this but use my alternative to strength.¡±

    Saiyah¡¯s head weakly raises.

    Aleph¡¯s heart is beating, the side effect this deviation of his caste is akin to becoming alive. It is only partially this.

    He perfectly lived among humans because like them he had the faintest spark of life and he planned to give it up.

    Saiyah can see a horrified look on Saiyah¡¯s face, she had heard Aleph¡¯s words and now looks horrified, unable to speak, her face wet with weak tears.

    Crying over one¡¯s death is so human. He laughs in irony.

    Their restraints are being released.

    Aleph doesn¡¯t have the strength to see but it¡¯s a blur, with what little strength they have and with the pain of whatever¡¯s coursing through them.

    -

    They dispatched the machine the three of them almost no stronger than a human now barely made it through, Saiyah in this weakened state was emboldened by grief.

    She had her moment of pure strength bordering on what is displayed as human adrenaline and mythical strength drawn from loss.

    Aleph is torn from a machine she dismantled with her hands with strength she doesn¡¯t even care to think she shouldn¡¯t have in this moment.

    She holds him silent.

    Asaph is quick to look around the room.

    He doesn¡¯t want to feel any more human than Aleph just was, than what he just felt.

    -

    Asaph can barely see ahead momentarily. Asaph has never had siblings, completely alone his only hope was merely competition, but that was different with Aleph.

    Aleph became a brother in their clique Saiyah started, and now his brother was dying.

    Asaph was going to use the strength Aleph doesn¡¯t have to save his brother.

    Asaph used what little strength he had and tore through the room.

    This test, Aleph demonstrated something strange, this utilitarian Empire using and throwing things away isn¡¯t going to lose something as deliberate as Aleph in an accident.

    Asaph doesn¡¯t find what he is looking for..an easy cure.

    ¡°We can¡¯t win here..I can feel whatever was in those rounds¡­we¡¯ll be dead in the next minutes.¡±

    ¡°Were we ever alive anyway. Does a Vampire even die?¡± Saiyah states with cold conviction.

    Anna speaks ¡°Aleph must be dead by now.¡± Arguing against Saiyah.

    Saiyah speaks ¡°He isn¡¯t dead¡­and he¡¯s different, he is¨C.¡± Saiyah stops her dreadful tone as something clicks within her... ¡°We can still make it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re too weak now, Aleph is nearly dead.¡± Asaph speaks defeated.

    -

    ¡°A human when cornered gets desperate.¡± Saiyah speaks.

    ¡°I want to be a human right now.¡± Saiyah chuckles exhausted even as something in need of no sleep

    ¡°I want to fight like a human right now.¡± Just like Aleph She speaks dual internally in her own mind.

    Aleph compenstated for his human tolerance to pain, he became evasive, he avoided danger, got quick, got fast.

    Anna spoke up realizing it. ¡°Well then we are going to find out something.¡± She speaks as she clenches her fists.

    ¡°Are we strong because we are shocktroopers or are we shocktroopers because we are strong.¡±

    They had one goal now, storm the armory or at the very least sneak in and fight their way out.

    This time together.

 TRAINING CRISIS: The Beginning.

    ¡°Aleph.¡± He hears his voice become stronger, he should be dead but he isn¡¯t, he is on a shoulder, soft and smaller than he is, familiar he can recognize the voice comes close.

    Strong he hears fumbling.

    ¡°Aleph..we need you.¡±

    He isn¡¯t dead but is near to it, he should¡¯ve sacrificed himself but his eyes twist up, he can¡¯t move. His palm touches a large steel door, the feeling of warm hot metal fades and steam rushes across his face, vision tunneled, he can just barely smell the scent of blood, and gunpowder on Saiyah¡¯s hair, the decomposition of a corpse still linger.

    Still time.

    She had braced his hand against the door and there was a screen next to it that pulsed, the three of them moved, Saiyah kept Aleph braced to her shoulder.

    He¡¯d gotten him through three doors already, they can hear whines, marching, strict patrols.

    The machines know they got out.

    Asaph isn¡¯t speaking but she knows he wants to be screaming in her ear hurry.

    They rush through the door, Anna is first to clear inside, tightly clutching the severed arm of the first robot they still had strength left enough to dispatch.

    Saiyah sighed

    Good news we are inside, we are obscured with cover, they aren¡¯t patrolling inside the building, they expect us to be outside by now.

    Bad news is they expect us to be outside and we are stuck in here, getting through the doors.

    ¡°It seems to work everytime we get him half-awake, do whatever you can.¡± Anna seemed to glance around holding the severed arm, her legs wobbled, they were all dying.

    Asaph was feeling real terror fists barely braced to his chest.

    Saiyah was on the next door, she spoke to Aleph and got the next sliding steel door open.

    They could¡¯ve kicked it open like a rotting gate but they were at half their capacity, they even felt a bit weaker than what maybe a human being feels.

    ¡°Alright, this should be the door to outside, how fast are we feeling.¡± They were in a room designed after a blank receptions office, fake mugs, fake chairs.

    ¡°Fast enough to still even wanting to attempt this.¡± Asaph speaks cruel and deliberate his lack of voice in tone traitorous to the idea of having faith in what they are doing.

    Saiyah thinks to herself.

    They haven¡¯t cut the trial or training, this is either the portion of training Shocktroopers start dropping or we have a shot!

    Saiyah is grasping Aleph¡¯s hand, ¡°Aleph.¡± She would be jumping for joy her mere voice is enough to give him strength but it wouldn¡¯t be the time is what she does understand.

    The steel door to the outside opens, it¡¯s light outside, an awful team for sneaking around.

    Saiyah grabs Aleph firmly and rears around, he¡¯s tossed into Asaph¡¯s arms as she considers.

    ¡°It¡¯d be a waste for you both to come with me.¡±

    From where they are standing they can see the collapsed catwalk ahead of them, the armory had a direct catwalk to their location.

    Should¡¯ve never cut it down, not like I could do it now but.. Saiyah is full of regrets, they could¡¯ve just taken stairs, she knows the other side of the armory because these are the only two fortified and patrolled buildings together, a few of the machines patrol past the doorway.

    Saiyah ducks and looks to Asaph still holding Aleph confused.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to sneak around, determine the entrance, if any of these machines can enter there is something that identifies friendly IFF, pass me the severed arm.¡± Saiyah speaks informatively in her demand.

    Anna doesn¡¯t question and passes it, ¡°You¡¯re weakened, you sure you can slip through like- usual?¡±

    Saiyah mouths out ¡°Course.¡± Before she ducks ahead, it¡¯s already hard to look at her, but Saiyah uses the strength and speed allotted in her now decaying body, the blood wounds leave an obvious trail.

    Until it doesn¡¯t.

    Saiyah doesn¡¯t forget what she went through to train this, cowering in grime. The kind of brutality and fear that allowed her to master.

    Hiding from monsters. She thinks intently as she is passed up the machines, angles anyone else could be caught from she slinks by like a ghost.

    Slower than ever, yet she feels as if it¡¯s fading.

    A machine seems to notice sporadically resuming trails of blood, tails after her and even aggressively hums as if spotting her.

    Saiyah has the mechanical arm gripped and is already at the door, she keeps to a wall as the machine tails after her.

    She uses every ounce of this talent and ability, she feels herself flow between and like that the machine is off, she was lucky she wasn¡¯t showing up on motion sensors.

    She nears the arm to the doorway. ¨C She quickly curses herself seeing that it doesn¡¯t work.

    ¡°We still need Aleph!¡± She whispers yells aloud, back toward them.

    She draws the attention of a few machines headed her way as the two peek from the doorway staring at her who seemed to have taken a peel off and lengthy way just to go left side entrance of the other building.

    Anna and Asaph waltz out and begin creeping around.

    Saiyah is losing it seeing how slow they are, slower than here right now.

    Peeks indicate they need to hurry up, the machine she has angle of hasn¡¯t rounded the corner of the building they are exiting but will catch a glimpse of them.

    If it¡¯s just a glimpse they can probably throw them off.

    Asaph is desperately trying to get Aleph back up enough to pulse the door.

    The machine¡­.

    Doesn¡¯t notice, and they¡¯re at the door,

    The machine purely by the Grace of God it missed the few pixels it wouldn¡¯ve seen of them skirting across it¡¯s visual receptors by the time they had dashed across.

    The machine beeped in suspicion albeit, a trail of blood as it sent a wide alert to all training bots on the network.

    Thank God. Saiyah speaks as she holds Aleph¡¯s hand and pressed it onto the door., her eyes land back onto the group, Asaph leaning Aleph over so she can use his hand in such a way.

    They¡¯re dying but they have one advantage still.

    With all this training they outmatch these machines, even when sick even for vampiric standards and nearly dying.

    They¡¯re seventy time seventy times above the combat capability of machines.

    They know this and are acting upon it, they get inside and frantically scan for the armory expecting to look through a maze of rooms.

    With silence they coordinate and find it immediately after entering

    Despite expectations it didn¡¯t take long the instructors and builders weren¡¯t as cruel to throw more rat racing in what the intro to the actual training is.

    Still with all they¡¯ve been through a thought forms among all.

    If this training Is this difficult, can we even comprehend the Mechra.

    The room to the armory is white, grey steel floor with pedastools and dark coal black weapons sitting in racks.

    They listen and check, there are no machines inside, but they hear what must be an investigating machine come from outside, they quickly bounce around the room which, the hallway giving full view of it in its lead to it.

    it went into that same dark-green dimly lit hallway they were entering from.

    It spotted no one¨C

    Saiyah was taking deep breaths as they ducked into the main stache of the armory by then.

    As the three waltz in they¡¯re horrified to witness a lack of standard firearms.

    On the walls are unique alien weapons, they¡¯d already done light firearms testing with unusual energy weapons, such technology wasn¡¯t uncommon but this was entirely different, these were rifles that hummed with brutal energy.

    The three looked it over.

    ¡°Special occasion?¡± Asaph speaks out of enough character to have Saiyah glancing him over.

    His condition is bad enough to have him commenting more than he needs to and he is quick to look over the weapons giving a violet glow even amidst the light that is within the room.

    Four rifles, one for each of them¨C Aleph won¡¯t be needing his due to his condition.

    Anna took advantage she wasn¡¯t taking time to figure out the weapon she grabbed.

    -

    Hands were placed on what was the ¡®D17 Pulser¡¯, vile energy hummed with

    Vampiric-cursed-energy aptly named because of how it destroys electronics, a rare weaponized energy, earning its name for the screams an artificial intelligence makes when powered by it.

    And it pulsed deeply in the energy rifle, arcs and cracks it had an ambient noise that only grew louder as it was wielded, on-board.

    The other two were arming themselves as well, Saiyah pressing the rifle to her chest, glancing at Aleph, seeing him weakly look up.

    She bites her tongue as she feels her eyes water. ¡°I look good?¡± She says to him,

    Turning Anna and Asaph¡¯s heads as the are both unaware she was speaking to Aleph, about to answer they don¡¯t¨C

    ¡°You look hot posing like that with a rifle¡­.¡± Is all he mouths delirious and dying, passing out again.

    Asaph thumbs over the trigger of the rifle as he rolls his eyes and huffs nodding to Anna as he steps back toward the exit.

    Anna gives a short laugh before nodding ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± Her voice then quickly to sharp and quick without the wit.

    Saiyah sees the two moves first, and for the first time something warm bubbles up in her chest, her and this weapon needs no magazine, but she feels refreshed with new ammunition at Aleph¡¯s words.

    Anna doesn¡¯t need to mouth off about the machine, they click together in desperation.

    ¡°We ambush the machines before they -way exit into a murder hole.¡± Asaph speeds off to Anna, Saiyah mostly silent.

    Anna speaks ¡°It¡¯s not coming back alone, it likely can calculate a high-threat level even in our current condition.¡± Anna speaks matter-of-factly. Asaph gives quick acknowledgement.

    Aleph¡¯s head barely bounds up enough whilst he is on Asaph¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with destroying the machines, strike the heads it¡¯s where the transmitter is.¡± Aleph weakly informs.

    They stack up on the walls near the exit.

    ¡°Why would we just strike the transmitters rather than the core?.¡± Anna speaks in confusion.

    Asaph shortly realizes the genius of the idea before he dismisses it alongside Anna.

    Saiyah sees a spark in Asaph¡¯s eyes the kind she learned to recognize and motioned Anna ¡°Trust us.¡± She informs Anna.

    Anna is reluctant to listen, having so much time fighting alone and trust in her own reasoning she surrenders to the idea.

    How the hell would he know that¡¯s the precise place the transmitter is,? these training bots are new.

    They hear several machines enter.

    They tense up, Asaph has Aleph on his shoulder, this would¡¯ve often been nothing, but he can feel the weight of it as his body is consumed by vicious nanites directed to kill vampires.

    The machines stomp toward them, rifles pointed forwards and far from the chest of the machine¡¯s, even going as far as to one-hand them due to the tightness of this corridor for them.

    Aleph, Asaph and Anna keep rifles in low ready, they throw up their hands toward each other out of sight. Three.

    They were accurate in the number of machines coming for them, just like their aim will be when they burst out.

    The three machines are stomping forwards,

    The Vampires weakened glide out, Anna from the right and Asaph holding Aleph with Saiyah from the left, they smoothly stride from both sides in a blitz.

    Anna wants to sweat but can¡¯t so she steels herself ¡®Don¡¯t miss, don¡¯t miss.¡¯ Is pounding through her head.

    Asaph could also feel it, heightened intensity with mortality hanging ahead of him.

    Asaph thumbs over the trigger of the rifle in painful anticipation he won¡¯t be fast enough.

    ¡®Be quick please.¡¯ He begs himself.

    Asaph feels as if he focuses, as if in the dimly lit hall not graced with the light of the armory, he can almost see the bolts.

    He sees them spark out as he fired the energy beam, it arced out dancing from the barrel and turning the metal, it forced a hot amber that became burning red in the steel of the machine,

    Its heat was comparable to that of the sun as it melted away the top armor plated layer.

    The machines began to twitch rapidly.

    whirr the sound came out violently as if mechanisms grinded themselves dull, cursed energy destroying the fabric of the machine¡¯s code and artificial mind.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Low end but effective He quickly thinks as his aim swaps he sees, about to fire but holding.

    He already sees two more columns of light coming late and illuminating the entire room in bright purple energy that burns so hot the beam oversaturates until it¡¯s nearly white

    Anna had fired striking the head and Saiyah fired striking the rifle of the same bot, the second to the left.

    Following Aleph¡¯s first strike, they similarly struck the heads together of the second machine.

    Saiyah had little worry but concern when she saw the the Pulser did the machine, quite confused.

    Anna couldn¡¯t hide the breath of relief she gave that she was much slower but not unable to keep the ambush relatively successful.

    ¡°We were out of sync.¡± Asaph chastised that the other two fired a bit late.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting slower by the minute.¡± Saiyah defends and takes a few steps forwards looking over the three machines on the floor.

    The three machines writhing around seemed to call for help but Aleph¡¯s suggestion to strike the heads worked perfectly as they were still detected as living amongst the local machine squads roaming.

    But can¡¯t call for help.

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you but how did you¨C?¡± She seeks to question Aleph, but he is far more distant now, Anna is forgetful of the situation, and quickly and desperately follows Asaph.

    Asaph had broken into a sprint with Saiyah, and they are both out the door, they see an artificial sunset, and glance around this place they had been before.

    ¡®The only cover is the buildings¡¯ They all are quick to think, they all are filled with fear of this, with a lack of cover they needed to heavily compensate.

    Anna is listening in, quicker than Asaph and even Saiyah she can immediately speak what they already can sense themselves ¡°Twenty machines close, ten more around.¡± She estimates from a hazy sense, it¡¯s usually feels more reliable

    Saiyah is breathing hard when their collective realization is stated aloud, but then it cools, she looks to Aleph.

    She thinks to herself ¡®You haven¡¯t died this is for you.¡¯ And her breathing slows, out of view she goes silent.

    They go silent, the others aren¡¯t answering, they simply take her words and focus in. They can already hear the machines after all

    Marching one-by-one clustered groupings, angry gears shift, vile mechanics.

    They aren¡¯t even in the main part of training. Comes to Aleph¡¯s mind, he is weak, but he feels as if he Is coming to.

    And he is. Aleph¡¯s ability to pulse machines seems to cause tangible affect¡­

    Asaph is wondering if Aleph even now could help them, they have a chance with all their combined strengths.

    Asaph remembers how well Anna can blend in, how she can disappear out of sight, seemingly out of nowhere. The thought becomes strong as she is suddenly silent.

    Asaph grips the rifle uneasily, shifting his eyes as he hears them coming, his eyes shoot around, and he catches a glance of Anna doing the same.

    His eyes shoot to Anna, then to his own hands, then to a third presence that seems to be lacking in mere moments.

    Saiyah is gone¡­

    Anna notices too, she wants to say something but can¡¯t, she has hope and a gut-feeling things aren¡¯t going to be okay.

    Asaph readies his rifle.

    Theres two main buildings, an auxiliary building but the sounds of clustered squads surround them, there isn¡¯t any one place they can mount and take cover from.

    Asaph takes cold breath; he feels it in his dead lungs and he draws forth everything... Much like Aleph did he wants to find that sort of inner-desperation human¡¯s does¡­and win.

    Asaph slams the butt of the Pulser to his chest, Anna is saying something, but he feels his lungs move, he isn¡¯t there to hear her.

    ¡°Contact!¡± Is all Anna had been saying, and she pushes her knee to the concrete, she knows whatever is inside them is nearly at the point of killing them, the impact of her knee to the ground has her eyes shut in pain.

    Her finger taps the trigger helplessly, and a beam of light strikes out.

    Purely by chance the column of fire and energy travels at light-speed and leaves a trail of fire across the asphalt, barreling into the machine it strikes,

    digits twitching across the trigger. Anticipating a need to fire again, carrying the fear that comes from knowing the outcome of failure.

    Asaph wants to scold her for a misfire but it¡¯s lucky. ¡®I am taking everything.¡¯ Asaph is happy she can hit anything. He has no luck as he spots a machine rounding one of the buildings.

    It¡¯s tall, he can feel the size of it now, Asaph is well over six feet but in vulnerability the size of the machine is too worrying, he thunders fingers on the trigger desperate.

    The machine crumbles to the ground, he holds the trigger striking the second ¨C then third.

    The weapon almost overheats, and he relents

    A gust of steam blowing out the barrel like an angry storm from the Lord.

    His grip on the weapon almost slipping even without recoil, he leans back as he feels the heat his sensitivity heightened.

    His fingers feel like they almost burn merely from being around the heat of the beam of this gun¨C No his entire skeleton feels like it¡¯s on fire.

    In the latter stages of death from what he has been injected with, this is what they feel.

    Anna and Asaph Sa¨CSaiyah still is gone¡­..

    Anna is catching on to the utility of pulling the trigger and tugs it downwards with the last of her strength as a few more machines pop out.

    The column of heat is roaring, a violent hum as she pushes it past the point of overheating until the flesh of her hands scald, past the point of lacking regeneration.

    The two of them can¡¯t stay there, they stand up and move pressing toward the group they are assailing.

    Firing sporadically, occasionally singular shots or beams. Anxious and afraid their fear becomes ammunition to fight for a better position.

    A machine is spotted about to fire and struck; this happens several more times

    ¡°That¡¯s more than twenty¡­even my senses and intuition are dead.¡± Anna is proven wrong and becomes frantic wondering just how many they spotted the first time they came here.

    The combat continues, a machine gets close It fires! Asaph is struck, Anna is unsure if he is struck her vision tunneled!

    Asaph screams in her face ¡°Focus!¡± Turning to another machine, firing a beam that melts through it.

    Rounds whiz by, sparking impacts on the building behind them.

    They last outside of cover purely by target acquisition and pre-firing the machines faster than they can be computed as targets capable of being fired upon.

    We need to get to cover! Is a look amidst the firefight they give each other.

    The sound of gunfire is rocking the world around them.

    the Vampiric Cursed Energy powering a weapon that has them surviving, the slowness of a projectile weapon would¡¯ve already had Asaph, Anna and possibly Saiyah corpses by now!

    Asaph is struggling to hold onto Aleph.

    Forgive me now, not in Hell! Asaph conditions determine they might escape.

    ¡°Asaph! Second catwalk! Two-o-Clock!¡± Asaph is thinking he heard his voice, his aim snaps to a second catwalk and strikes a beam at a machine flanking from above.

    ¡°Asaph!¡± He thinks he hears his voice again ¡°Rear!¡±. Asaph can see a target ahead but he trusts ¡®his senses¡¯

    Asaph feels a familiarity to the voice and spins, he sees only machines he struck before, he feels a jolt as he hears rounds strike through something. ¡®That was Aleph¡¯s voice!¡¯

    ¡°You moron!¡± He screams realizing what Aleph had done, Aleph had taken several more hits, Aleph was coming-to.

    Maybe there was reason they were still fighting! Why no Instructor was coming!

    ¡°Forget about me! Survive!¡± Aleph is fierce, fiercer than Asaph has ever remembered

    Both of their attentions are turned after Asaph dispatched-two more targets.

    Anna¡¯s eyes blow open wide as she screams, hot metal and over-pressured heavy-grain gunpowder rounds enter her right-side.

    ¡°ANNA!¡± Asaph and Aleph scream in Unison, Aleph having enough recovery to scream.

    Aleph is slowly coming-to¡­...Whatever his ability may be, it may be beneficial.

    She stumbles to nearly fall.

    Asaph grabs what feels like his second wind coming on the longer Aleph grips more firmly onto his shoulders hanging from his back

    Asaph kicks like a mule in opposition to the direction she was falling, sending her stumbling away from him, farther from the center of all hostile directions!

    Anna screams in howling pain at the force Asaph could still exert but it¡¯s as if she feels her death slowed and an electromagnetic pulse a shock! Rip through her body!

    The bones in her hip fractured but she could still hobble, she feels the microscopic anti-necrotic beings slow as the pulse ripples through her.

    She¡¯s given enough second wind to be alert!

    ¡°Flank!¡± Asaph shouts!

    ¡°On it!¡± Anna screams back amidst gunfire they barely avoid.

    Asaph covers her as he strikes a target, switching and hitting another, barrel glowing chaotic energies swirling around the end as if it nears combustion.

    Anna splits, she draws as much heat as she can, she pounds her feet to the ground and marches over.

    She circles eagerly the building to the holding cells, clinging to the wall, hearing the sounds of Asaph firing.

    She can hear a machine, screaming! She hurries. ¡®They can¡¯t die!¡¯ She finds new kinship.

    Circles and helplessly hit the trigger thrice splitting up the beam rather than focusing.

    Three machines had unloaded on Aleph and Asaph, Asaph is nearly to the ground, riddled with holes and all of them drained of blood. ¡®It¡¯s not a matter of time God help us!¡¯ She¡¯s completely lost.

    Asaph is purely running on spite and whatever God allows to happen, he grips the trigger, firing on machines sporadically as they appear.

    Something indeed has been allowed to transpire, Aleph considers it must be a will of God whatever he¡¯s done to the doors is slowly bringing him to revival, he feels weak, but his hands hold onto Asaph still on his shoulder.

    This pulse has gone through Asaph, trying its best to hold back nanites within his body, slowing down what has been accelerated by extra rounds that pierced him but it¡¯s a fading support.

    Asaph¡¯s aim doesn¡¯t ring through for a few hits and costs him another hit. He barely struggles to not fall with Aleph on his back.

    He¡¯s feeling the barrel slack down, Asaph forces it back up level with an enemy.

    A feeling in his left arm that should be there is missing A sudden sickening realization of how far the decay has gone strikes him.

    He is only able to glance down a moment, his left-arm missing, but a melting mash of meat is melting on the ground an orange glow surrounding it!

    Asaph screams! Roaring desperately not out of anger or vigor, not even terror.

    but pure frustration at a near inevitable fate

    Anna joins him in a roar

    ¡°HANG ON ASAPH! ALEPH!¡± Anna screams

    ¡°KEEP FIGHTING!¡± A voice shouts!

    Anna believes it was Asaph but it was feminine and piercing as if from above and all around¨C That sounds like Saiyah!

    ¡°SAIYAH!?¡± Anna screams in desperate question, worried and furious at how they were abandoned.

    They should¡¯ve been completely culled with this situation but she notices sporadically gunfire from a direction lightens occasionally!

    Amid rage, their joined shouting they can almost hear¨C A missing fighter among them as if she has joined them.

    Several machines stop firing saving their lives purely to look for what is barely noticed as a third weaker voice from above oddly enough.

    The sudden mysterious absence of Saiyah is all too taxing now that things seem slim.

    Stomping is heard as machines round from behind, their aim is too good ¨C Left around the armor ¨C Right around the holding facility.

    We¡¯re going to die! What is this even teaching us?! Aleph and Asaph think in unison.

    Asaph strikes the trigger as he huddles to the left causing a machine to collapse immediately in a crash straight down like an anvil,

    he can¡¯t even tuck and roll or sprint out the way, he¡¯s hobbling like an old man just barely avoiding the sightlines of a machine.

    Asaph and Anna can hear bullets crack as they narrowly avoid being hit purely by resilient and precision in their firing.

    Anna was able to flank several, she provides a key point covered.

    ¡°Saiyah could¡¯ve flanked better than me!¡±  Is what she thinks, she¡¯s seen Saiyah in a duel, she can fade out of sight with ease, Aleph may be far less useful now, but Saiyah would be a Godsend if she appeared again.

    It has Anna realizing. ¡®Is she sneaking around? Why is she late?¡¯

    But she is still ducking her had as rounds land near her head striking the metal of the buildings wall.

    Across from Asaph who is still in the middle of it all entirely exposed and filled with more rounds than ever.

    Anna only has more enemies to her south and west, she could run east knowing well enough she has enough limited speed to try and escape but refuses. She won¡¯t run alone it this time.

    This fight only has them thinking one thing.

    Why! As they almost fade into the darkness of the heavy combat, sound barely filling their ears as their bodies continue to decay.

    They question the validity of this training, what it will even teach them.

    Is this to test their strength, the validity of who they are without their vampirism their quality and strengths without power inherent to their being? Was this designed with injury in mind?

    Are the questions that cross their minds as they are consumed by a death-lingering firefight.

    -

    Eternia can feel her chest tighten at the view of it all

    Their desperation, fighting is in view¡­. Delara is shaking as she sees Aleph, a screen representing the four, elsewhere the combat continues, similar sights.

    Zero Candidate deaths¡­.Possibly and hopefully this will not change....

    Delara can remember being in their place now, she was in their place although it wasn''t as brutal for her number on Thanatos as it is for the 144,000 here on New Persia.

    ¡°As when I had done this. Zero Candidates have made it to their checkpoint.... But we''ve faced no deaths¡± Delara¡¯s hand is shaking, fighting all urges to break the one-way glass. Dive down to save Aleph, to bring them all, to crush her way through every machine.

    Every soldier that would be sent to stop her for interrupting the training as she rescues all 144,000 candidates.

    Eternia gripped her seat, staring out at the one-way glass seeing all of the simulation from it every candidate with the view akin to that of an Immortal. Giving a simple nod. ¡°None of you will die.¡±

    Her voice Is soft in a way Delara has heard before it has tension heighten

    Delara gives pause ¡°Are you¡­speaking to them?¡±

    Eternia mouths out ¡°Who else¡­.¡±

    -

    Amid carnage, blood, struggling fighters, near total loss of all candidates it this voice is heard, bearing on them no strength, no healing. The Shocktroopers all over are in a desperate fight, machines given weapons and ammunition braced to kill them, but another sentence permeates in their mind.

    Clarity is brought to them.

    ¡®S2N¡¯ is reverberating through their minds, a supernatural link exists between her and them, and it strikes their minds as they auto-translate the words of their Ruler.

    ¡°Second To None.¡±

    -

    The test exists in such a way for what they may face but here is not simply to test co-operation, it¡¯s to completely strip them of everything, all greater strength, forcing them to survive through each other.

    And to enforce why the leaders of each time were selected.

    Aleph¡¯s humanity is flaw of his modification but it is not unnoticed.

    ¡°You, learned from humans?¡± Eternia is suspect.

    Years ago, this has taken place.

    ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot, about sacrifice. About purity amongst them, it has in irony sought me to seek a sacrifice to you though not one out of dishonor.¡±

    The man clads purple armor, towering over her was a shocktrooper of the 1<sup>st</sup> generation, direct descendant of the founders.

    Eternia raises an eyebrow and sights a woman behind the Shocktrooper who has visited her on Thanatos.

    The darkened pillars can¡¯t hide the radiant light.

    ¡°Just like your fathers..A human amongst my greatest, you seek to share their shame?¡±

    ¡°You know he¡¯ll carry none of the humanity his mother has, no child between the two will.¡±

    Eternia rubs a thumb under her chin. ¡°So¡­that¡¯s what you offer me.¡±

    ¡°You seek to change me, but I offer instead my son.¡±

    ¡°So easily, your father would seek to rebel, inflict grievous wound on you and seek to rebel and assassinate me, as if he could manage.¡± Eternia is confident, the first Shocktroopers would never allow another founding shocktrooper to do it.

    The father speaks, his name the same as his later son of the future. ¡°He will be a junior, and you will take him and he will be part of your experiment. I want my son to fight, he is fated to be a Shocktrooper¨C.¡±

    Eternia hears the word fate and runs sour ¡°There is no fate, do you think God has allowed me all this Empire, because it¡¯s fate? It¡¯s merely what has been allowed as always.¡±

    Aleph-Senior answers ¡°He¡­.Allows you very much, doesn¡¯t he? I fear to imagine whatever plan is in store for me as I commend my son to you.¡±

    Eternia has one twinge ¡°Your human wife she has come with you knowing this?¡±

    ¡°I convinced her, using what she has taught me, amongst humans the strong shelter the weak, those we know as pathetic.¡± Aleph-Senior answers.

    ¡°She¡¯ll die before I allow you to turn her into what we are.¡±

    ¡°Good, she has made up her mind. Despite everything she wishes to remain human.¡± Aleph-Senior speaks before glancing at Eternia.

    ¡°But she pleads with you, let him be raised amongst humans, to show what is within them is not weakness.¡±

    Eternia ¡°Let him be influenced ¡°for a time?¡± She questions.

    Aleph-Senior answers with a nod.

    And so, it was done.

    For a time, Aleph was raised amongst humans, an extended family placed on new Persia.

    His father was recalled elsewhere as the fight with the Mechra intensified, seemingly lost. His mother refusing to be turned, died on an unknown world naturally. And Aleph was prepared.

    Eternia had modified him to be a counter, a foil to machines that rapidly advance. But he had flaws¡­

    -

    Now New Persia 3049

    Aleph¡¯s intensified pain was ending, Asaph was had fallen already.

    Anna hadn¡¯t been struck by more rounds she merely fell apart unable to hold on.

    Anna and Asaph stood filled with rounds, their fingers fainted, their bodies about to collapse entirely, the machines were on advance.

    The last two¨C Yes two remained.

    Aleph and Saiyah took reigns, as Asaph began to collapse, as the gunfire shook the ground and nearly brought Anna and Asaph to an end.

    Aleph touched the ground, his boots covered in grime, blood and sand, dust and dirt were standing and holding him up.

    But Aleph was still surrounded.

    The nanites were in stagnated of his system constant pulses weakening them But he himself was still weak, still lacking the full capability of his vampirism he stood.

    He remembered the words they spoke, the question held in that room

    He saw how Anna and Asaph lasted in this fight as he stares at his enemies.

    ¡®By the God that has allowed us to exist in this world, we are not strong because we are vampires, purely we are as I was told chosen to be.¡¯ Second To None It Reverbates in mind.

    The Machines find no respite as they through sheer attrition they¡¯ve all been cleared save for the direction Aleph faces, under the second cat-walk.

    Footsteps thunder from it from above.

    Aleph¡¯s eyes trail in the moments before a line of guns fire upon him.

    Saiyah even amidst dying, lacking any of the pulses Aleph gave has still held out, he can see half of her face is exposed, skeletalized.

    The machines are drawn from him, as if even as machines they sense something far more worrying above!

    Saiyah is lancing toward them, diving from a spear like above as she fires beam center-amongst all the machines.

    She is falling fast, wind blowing through her ears, skin and flesh fading away, her eye sockets empty.

    Her weapon is pushed to the point of over-heating whilst their barrels are pushed to the point of melting in the rapid fire they give whilst she approached.

    Aleph thinks She¡¯s too good.

    Saiyah struck the ground, a sickening crack as both legs impact, she splatters but with a heated rifle, she¡¯s sent it straight into the ground.

    There¡¯s a violent fireball and blast wave that goes outwards entirely and slices through the machines around.

    It¡¯s enough to blind Aleph.

    Aleph is barely standing, and seeks to aim.

    He can hear crashes, grunts and whipping shadows in now a cloud of smoke blinding.

    -

    Saiyah is fighting, the machines have no such weakness to smoke but her talent to disappear that even works on a machine is doubled¨Cno Quintupled here, she isn¡¯t even identified anymore and the machines panic.

    They enter a moment of attempted retreat yet hands that shouldn¡¯t be able to pummel strike through metal.

    Grinding flesh, blood sprays, it¡¯s all her own wounds as she whips through the machines, decaying bones.

    Saiyah¡¯s leg¡¯s are barely there to stand on, and her arms no longer ready to use weapon a lack of regeneration as her forearms be fleshy exposed sharpened bones

    They pummel through the hot-radioactive cores of the machines basking her in a warm greenish glow.

    Aleph had imagined this would¡¯ve been a moment when he stood against all odds and saved the three.

    Saiyah instead burst out of the smoke, a whiplash of force that has caused a hollow circle of the smoke instead to surround her, she is center of it all a roar, bits of machine surround her.

    She¡¯s much stronger than realized!

    She isn¡¯t deterred, close combat even in her state isn¡¯t worrying her.

    She¡¯s fully expecting to die, she saw Aleph stand and jump into action, she¡¯s going to get him out¨C get all three of them out, and they¡¯ll succeed without her.

    The last machine is impaled by both arms so brutally her entire arms are scrapped off, and what little blood remains in her form is nearly gone.

    She¡¯s watching it all fade to black again.

    But she sees an object of love carrying one¨C then two, then he comes and carries her.

    Saiyah thinks to herself. If they die together, carried by Aleph it¡¯d be well enough for her to accept such a death.

    But death never came for them.

    Aleph took the weapons, took their bodies.

    The Ambient pulse stagnated the decaying nanites.

    He trekked sluggishly with stolen strength back into that desert.

    Aleph¡¯s mind was fragged.

    -

 Training Crisis: A beginning and introduction.

    Pain and distance are all Aleph had to look forward to in the long road ahead carrying those who may still hopefully be his friends, who suffered for him...

    Aleph isn¡¯t even including his own near sacrifice; he merely sulks that he hadn¡¯t died to not see them in a state lower than him.

    He¡¯s given much time as if punishment to sulk. Is all he can lament in a moment.

    humans had such little time, a day among humans was a lengthy amount of time, a day among vampires in the larger scheme of things barely passes for a minute, for Aleph it was the latter.

    Although he¡¯d still seen vampires complain often to human servants.

    But he wasn¡¯t to suffer until he pondered a suicide or gave up.

    He made his way to the tall walls, the well-fortified checkpoint lacking any guards, along the wide wall obvious cameras panned over, upon sighting him carrying his other three comrades.

    The camera¡¯s internal lens seems to switch and extend.

    The gate seems to swing open, going outwards toward¡­

    A blank tram on a line, low and braced for them to climb onto, it lacked a top and doors, it was like a rectangular steel cup.

    Aleph fought hard to bring him in a state where he could only barely stave off what was eating them with pulses, he felt worried to imagine all other candidates had died.

    He has enough strength to stop dragging Anna, he is glad she is basically out of it enough for her to be dragged foot first.

    Anna and Asaph on his back like luggage.

    He marched up to the tram, it was off an artificial pier with an abyssal chasm beneath, He realized the great distance ahead between him and his destination wasn¡¯t going to be as painful as he imagined. It was very much not hours¡¯ worth of journey.

    Well, that¡¯s great. He mouths off imagining Saiyah saying something to help the mood.

    ¡°Thank, God, we made it.¡± He says in heartfelt gratitude.

    They are on the tram before Aleph can buy any more time, up ahead is where the real training would take place, and with it he began to see the massive facility.

    Aleph pondered what this training was for, as his betters were laid out on the tram, there were benched seats he placed them off, ensuring they were safe to not tip over.

    The ride lasted barely an hour, he was assured heading into this concrete facility would take long,

    He does notice the interior will include much traveling see it from his place on the tram. but with it he saw it had to be as large as a town, it was an oppressive cube, likely holding many trials,

    a box of hurt discomfort.

    But growth, nonetheless.

    Aleph reasoned if he made it, if he still had the respect of his friend¡¯s and Anna he may be able to become worthy enough to aid them much more, not just at the lowest but maybe even as the leader.

    Aleph thinks to himself, the near sacrifice he made ¡®A captain sacrifices himself for his friends.¡¯

    He loathes the humanity his human-father taught him, but it¡¯s what gave him strength to find use of his ability, to know it was a side-effect. But is the side effect of being good and honorable so evil?

    Should he truly loathe his human father forever? These are things Aleph pondered.

    He continued to think on these things as he approached, in a quick scan he could see hundreds of Trams, still stationed and unmoving.

    ¡°No one else made it yet?¡± he says this aloud in disbelief.

    He had a cable line above the abyssal chasm leading to a hole in one of the walls, it was a square extrusion, he didn¡¯t take much time examining.

    Most of the facility was a brutalist, hell-scape interior and exterior, ancient like a large town-sized bunker used in the fourth world war in dark-age earth human history. Stairs and containers akin to a military outpost.

    Green boxes marking ammunition.

    Will I brace for facing mock humans? Will I see many things of the dark ages recreated? Imperial Japanese? The American Nuclear army of the fourth world war? He was thinking hard of what he might encounter.

    More vicious fighting, more physical challenges, he lamented they hardly challenged his mind and strategy, but he hardly had much of it or else¨C..Saiyah and the other¡¯s wouldn¡¯t be as they are now.

    He carried them on his back, those that had carried him, as if taking penance for his failures.

    The elevator tram finally struck the top and he felt a lurch, he glanced around again.

    Aleph wants to scan his surroundings, get rest but he feels rushed and worst of all he is suddenly not so alone.

    He can sense a presence like him but¡­. ancient, like Delara.

    This couldn¡¯t be.

    He¡¯s already stepping forwards, the room is empty, simply here to accept him on, he sees a tram and weakly steps over, he remembers how he was carried.

    Fists struck him the first time arrived, they didn¡¯t believe him, he knew they felt pain too but they didn¡¯t believe his pain tolerance was akin to a human¡¯s. He was given ruthless beating for his initial failures that required them all to be held back.

    He could only remember pain, stomping and kicking, duels where they held him down, where they stabbed him until his mind shattered from the pain, until then-.

    Aleph thought about when it all stopped, when he was given relief by someone who initially only watched but never fully went out of the way, until in a short moment they clicked together in isolation.

    Saiyah stepped in then after, brought him to Asaph who rarely if ever joined in felt apprehensive. It stopped when he was among them, the strength that he would be spared even a bit of pity Aleph ponders on it all How Saiyah and Asaph carried him above eager hands that sought to punish him for failure.

    He thinks something ungrateful Maybe they should¡¯ve let me be tortured so I could be better, I¡¯ve endured so much agony now, this pain tolerance doesn¡¯t hold me back. Aleph was thinking about his pain tolerance as if he was stronger now and he was, he grew used to it, it never changed and hurt the same.

    But Aleph was adapting to it, and that truly would make him much stronger, he could feel unimaginable pain and still fight likely.

    He readjusts the three on his back, desperate to ensure they never fall.

    The silence of the room is oppressive the only sound he can hear is like a faint electronic symphony and the dance of his ability and that ancient presence

    ¡®The pulses of whatever is in me keeps us alive.¡¯

    Regarding this feeling of ancient presence, it was above.

    He knows where he must head next. He steps forwards

    The tram he stands on moves automatically, a drab grey room is left behind, lacking any lights.

    He cuts into darkness, silence, and not even a low rumble just his purest thoughts and weaknesses.

    But he hardly thinks of the latter knowing he needs to be strong enough to keep carrying others and fall by sword of failure much later. He keeps in his chest ¡®I can¡¯t afford accepting defeat now.¡¯

    He is cast into darkness and shuts his eyes thinking truly.

    This humanity is a consequence of what I have.

    He thinks in tandem as he almost feels his heartbeat as he pulses the suppression of the nanites in his betters.

    He had realized by now what he had in the chamber before was adrenaline, human-adrenaline as if part of him was still alive and maybe it was, but the adrenaline wasn¡¯t back.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    He was in pain greater than when the machines dismantled him in the training, he continuously failed for reason of pain yet did not buckle.

    Aleph thinks ¡®I¡¯m no need of that ¡®human¡¯ adrenaline, the ¡®human¡¯ element has already done its part.¡¯ He thinks long and hard.

    He can remember the exercise he kept failing for months before reaching this far, each time a machine shot him he stumbled around and tripped unable to get up due to the pain immediately disqualified.

    He¡¯d been riddled with holes, with strange machines eating his body inside and out to defeat his vampiric nature.

    My mind remains, the pain is ambient.

    Aleph feels as if he has reached a threshold.

    He could sense them, they were designed to feed on the undead, it¡¯s as if he can see the programming¡­The Script made to hold it together.

    ¡®Anti-Nari¡¯ is what the Script was called as he clenched his eyes shut and read it in mind.

    Aleph opened his eyes.

    He stood on the tram with his comrades on his back.

    Until the tram hit a stop, until there was a gate around him in the darkened space¡­Until it opened¡­

    It revealed a large room, center space, a towering figure in the midst a wide rim and a view of what was a giant town but was a massive center

    In it stood a vampiric man.

    Like me! Aleph¡¯s mind shouted.

    Standing straight tallmassive in stature and hulking carrying a blade that was half his frame, his height measured seven-foot-eight-inches.

    He had one arm folded on his right to his chest, staring outwards not facing the staircase.

    Shocktrooper. Baring distinct and strange armor, Aleph marched forwards only to nearly slip with comrades on a staircase.

    His armor seemed first-generation, Aleph had learned about their style, more archaic, harder and bulkier but it hardly was known to slow them down, Delara never spoke of the armor. She referred to it as a ¡®prison.¡¯

    Aleph never understood, but he was focused on how the figure had a massive cloak, ending at the latter-end of where his lower torso would be.

    The man was staring outwards, down below was a staircase leading to where the man was, a massive balcony with view of the rest of this massive facility, hundreds of balconies.

    Like where other students were located.

    Aleph marched down those steps.

    There was two pits of fire ahead, bowls that burned brightly, it looked like ceremony and sacrifice was up ahead, he felt something akin to wind but found no evidence of it.

    The figure wasn¡¯t even looking his way. ¡®But he sees me!¡¯ Is all Aleph could shout to his brain.

    The man stood as if disregarding Aleph¡¯s presence.

    The pits of fire seemed to cease as Aleph got closer, and it got darker on this odd balcony with seemingly only one exit.

    He felt anticipation, he wanted to sweat but couldn¡¯t¨C no he did, he was starved of blood and now he felt empty at his limit.

    He saw the man ahead and thought of more harsh trials. Would another shocktrooper kill me!? Delara is the only one I¡¯ve ever known in person¡­

    It was a strange sight, a fully fledged shocktrooper. More ancient than Delara. He sensed from it that made him run metaphorically cold.

    The first generation, direct from the founders.

    The man folded his fingers and only slightly glanced his hand backwards, ¡°There should¡¯ve been four of you¨C.¡± Prepared to scold, he stopped, grasping the blade.

    He had turned to spot Saiyah.

    Her lack of presence confused and intrigued him but he would have to seek questions later.

    ¡°The four of you have arrived¡­first among all, far earlier than all.¡± His words were slow and deliberate as if he was careful to not speak in a way they couldn¡¯t understand.

    He had a speech pattern that mimicked on a historical people Aleph recognized.

    Compounded with the weird structural place, Aleph questioned if this place and Shocktrooper were simply from another time unknown to the entire Empire.

    Aleph flinched as the heat of the barrels came back, an orange hue cast upon all, but he was darkened.

    Darkened by the towering shadow of the ancient one.

    He looked elsewhere for some comfort.

    Down below was a town that mimicked a style akin to a hamlet from the darkest portion of humanities dark ages, a feudal society albeit one that¨C Had skyscrapers! Aleph recognized those must be for further training.

    To make worse this strange figure sounded himself alike to a stranger of the darkest-ages of earth...

    He sounded like an ancient warrior¡­ Thankfully even Aleph knew the first generation were not such but surely have fought long enough to still hold that title.

    ¡°How could you know that from here!?¡±

    ¡°The others.¡± He spoke and didn¡¯t continue.

    Aleph paused, realizing the presence bordering on ancient was greater.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, not all of us are here, you needn¡¯t worry to be worried you¡¯ve too impressed an entire generation.¡± The Shocktrooper spoke humbly.

    ¡°I¡¯m Yervandal, and I was called to volunteer for exceptional units, for which you all must be.¡±

    ¡°But I see this portion of the training, one I¡¯m familiar with has occurred within you.¡±

    Aleph being informed by Yervandal answered ¡°Yes but¨Cmy team is in no ability to fight. We¡¯ve been struck by rounds carrying a nanite plague.¡±

    Yervandal marveled at Aleph¡¯s words in an instant. ¡°To beg for an antidote, all but be expected.¡± He was slow and deliberate in words, he speaks as if talking to a very intelligent child, and by comparison Yervandal was.

    Yervandal continued ¡°Knowing them to be nanites? That is simply intriguing.¡± He held his hand out, as if holding out his curiosity between his fingers to showcase it as he tiddled fingers in the air.

    He snapped them a spark of fire that made Aleph jump, an ancient dangerous strange figure.

    ¡°Fi-fire!?¡±

    Yervandal didn¡¯t answer¡­ it wasn¡¯t magic, he had modified the fingertips of his armor to be as matches, he often lit a smoke for a woman elsewhere¡­

    ¡°So-so¡­. what is so intriguing¡­Can we have the antidote!?¡± Aleph almost wavers before correcting himself ¡°The Antidote!?¡± he stays strong as he thinks of those, he held all the way here.

    Aleph didn¡¯t answer, every test was set out to kill him, he knew not of the characters of the shocktroopers, save for Delara and he knew the brutality she went through.

    If he had to fight him and die, he wasn¡¯t going to give up any advantage.

    -

    Aleph weakly raised a hand ¡°I do, my team...¡± He felt strong enough to answer for his team ¡°Blood and a cure!¡± He exclaimed.

    Yervandal answered ¡°I Yervandal, deny your audacious demand and instead make a conditional proposal.¡±

    Yervandal stopped for a long time, Aleph uttered something but got no answer, in a moment Aleph was dumbstruck at how Yervandal stopped speaking.

    But then Aleph sensed it, he was going through data on a helmet, screens he shouldn¡¯t be able to see he could feel vibrate into his mind through the steel floor, ornamental with the shape of a great sword underneath them in darkened steel.

    Hardly ever gold even with such designs in the Empire.

    ¡°You¡¯re the only group to be fully incapacitated save for one, so I offer you a deal according to failures.¡± Aleph flinched at the word ¡®failures¡¯ he had seen how hard they fought.

    ¡®We were no good.¡¯ He imagined other candidates going through the same they¡¯d gone through, weak and dying filled with these harmful nanites and somehow pushing through.

    ¡°I really did hold them back.¡± Aleph frowned and almost sulked, holding his friends up.

    It is the least I owe them.

    Yervandal was considering Aleph and thought deeply ¡®This boy, made leader? He hardly looks it, but he carries on his back other candidates.¡¯

    Yervandal wasn¡¯t suggesting Aleph was more honorable, other candidates had hardly left those in weakened states behind, but this was different.

    Aleph carried them all the way here ¡®dying¡¯. Others all were spared of such loss, able to mitigate the rounds they took. (The Other candidates had indeed been struck often, but either took one or two rounds compared to bursts of Aleph¡¯s team, they fared much better, but would be here all standing.)

    Yervandal decided to provide the offer and not wait¡­He needed to run him through this portion of the training.

    He lifted a cloak, on it lie syringes, on it lie blood bags strapped to the inside of the cloak.

    ¡°Thou can take the antidote und blood and move on with strength alone. Yervandal spoke, his accent showing something akin to Persian more humanish style, albeit Aleph noticed he was ancient looking like that.

    Like a strange warrior his helmet of shocktroopers lacked a filter and instead was sharply beaked at the front, it was tight a visor, so the mono-eye appeared to almost be a solo-colored visor.

    ¡°Or you can face me as you are now, weak and dying and face the end of my blade in hopes you may beat me and take all that is there for them.¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t just pass!?¡± Aleph grew belligerent without hesitation his voice laced with fury

    The strange Shocktrooper laughed ¡°To do what with their failure? They hardly fit her words about us, second-to-none. Without her gift of vampirism, they may as well be human.¡±  Yervandal bit coldly.

    His blade extended out from his right-side, it was a blade coated with a line of energy around the blade, dark vamp-steel, folded into a longsword.

    Aleph recognized it. If he doesn¡¯t hold back, I¡¯ll die, I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m human but with my current condition I really may be no better than a human. Aleph truly thought on it, truly considered.

    I could go on now, the pain isn¡¯t holding me back and I don¡¯t think it will but they¡­ Aleph had never been of value in any way, but here he could do something.

    What leader would he be now if he went ahead alone¡­

    Aleph thinks of the lessons of human¡¯s showing honor Krul showed him, he decides to take the bad example, he¡¯ll take honor to his own detriment.

    ¡°I¡¯ll face you.¡± Aleph carefully crouched and let down those he carried knowing he may lie with them, as far as he knows he will die with them.

    Yervandal doesn¡¯t show it visibly, his helmet is beaked unlike the standard helms of the first-generation.

    And the singular-mono eye shoots out into a line his surprise and emotion reverberating through the helmet linked to his very-soul.

    -

    Yervandal and all the first generation had done this, but they resisted indoctrination, resisted all the evils the Vis-stasi sought to instill of the, the brainwashing¡­They proved they could be loyal and be far from vicious mindless beasts, they could be proud warriors standing above.

    The fist of, HER or who many call Eternia Yervandal loathed that nickname, he knew it wasn¡¯t one she enjoyed.

    Aleph¡¯s character had just given Yervandal hope, that this generation and any other would maintain the independence of the shocktroopers would never fall prey to indoctrination. And maybe they could learn something not even those of his generation seem to remember.

    Their fathers were once all human¡­.

    -

    Yervandal drew a blade, and Aleph stepped forwards weakly, his arms drew upwards to his chest.

    Yervandal didn¡¯t spare the boy, as much as he loved it but he knew he provided an impossible challenge in spite of this.

    Aleph didn¡¯t get to understand what had happened until the blade swiped across his eyes and he was blinded.

    Yervandal ¡°Torso¡¯d¡± Aleph with his blade, taking eyes, arms and legs.

    Aleph had no feeling but screamed ¡°DO IT!!¡± He shouted in anticipation of death, but his open mouth was only filled with something that tasted vile.

    An antidote!?

    The Vampire gulped down what amounted to something ten times worse than bile eagerly. Then blood poured in from above, until a bag fell from above, it was covered in plastic.

    Aleph went feral, his teeth slamming into the bag and drinking.

    He heard the footsteps of what Yervandal must¡¯ve been heading for his team.

    This was a test!?...

    It appeared to be so, but to what end...for honor? Or for Leadership?......

    --------------------------

    The test before had been many things, they were thrown into a scenario in which they would be brought down low, they would prove their ability beyond with what she had gifted them, but now this. They would additionally learn to strategize and leadership in a situation where nearly all are in a position gone awry, a scenario where intel lacks, a scenario in which your enemy knows what you are, knows your weaknesses and yet you must adapt even with your weaknesses exploited even as they pinch on your weakness you must prevail.

    Asaph, Aleph, Anna and Saiyah all had seemed to now standing before Yervandal.. Though in darkness Aleph wonders what will become of them know.

 Training Crisis: A near end of the training.

    The tests were grueling from thereon out, and little time had been given to the four who had been first. As they were brought from their sickness, their recovery was well.

    Yervandal was only able to observe the four eager and happy watching Aleph, even the more despondent one who was stranger to the three showed gratitude at his life, but he sensed more-so happy her own was assured.

    Yervandal had broken them up in that time ¡°SILENCE AND ATTENTION!¡± His voice thundered.

    He had them elsewhere now, a strange chamber, laced with stone, laced with brutality, it lacked any sound save for his voice, their voices.

    But even as they had awoken here they struggled to hide what Aleph had slowly imprinted onto those around them

    Worry

    They rushed Aleph like hounds noticing he had awoken.

    ¡°Aleph!¡± Saiyah cried so eager to confirm he truly was alive, and she wasn¡¯t dreaming she bit down hard, on his arm. Something he was eager to scold and shout for, and something that had Yervandal uncharacteristically laughing.

    Care

    Human things that would need finer correction, useful in a vacuum but detrimental employed childishly.

    Yervandal could remember tight connections in a time before this.

    But they were even younger, they grew up fast.

    Even more worrying they had been ready by the age of fifteen, as the age of those before him.

    They¡¯d been given fewer years, ten without the usage of the device utilizing terror-space to dilate time within.

    He knows they don¡¯t need to have all of this¨Ccompensation, technology to put them on another time to get longer training, a shocktrooper could learn faster than any living thing he¡¯s learned of in the Universe.

    He could see from the very insistence of using technology that Eternia.

    Was truly well indeed, afraid of the mechra¡­. She¡¯d lost faith in them.

    The brutality has forced the shocktroopers into bonds, and the vis-stasi lack the wisdom to test more than the brawns, they need their minds.

    Yervandal would not utter it, but this cube was his own intercession, they would be trained by Vis-stasi they could trust and shocktroopers themselves for candidates ahead of the marks.

    Yervandal would use these four to prove something. If even, we only had a year we¡¯d still be able to serve you with levels of success you couldn¡¯t hope to dream of.

    ¡°I¡¯ll make use of every resource. Provided to me.¡± Yervandal glanced into the dark room, deeply eying weapons. It was in the towers he found Aleph glancing upon, there were courses here for Yervandal to test.

    These four, and that one significant among them. Aleph!

    They had their strength, power, speed tested now it would be, wisdom, intelligence and the mind.

    Their spirit would be broken and brought back here. For greater benefit.

    [A month within the ¡®Ancients Chamber¡¯ later.]

    The four were surprised to see that they would not leave this place, they had a schedule that confused them.

    Yervandal demanded that they for twelve-hours to mark the end of a day rest, should they not complete portions of their training in time they would repeat them the next day.

    Anna was smart enough to quickly understand what Yervandal was trying to do in this tower, and most strangely this tower hurt their minds to work in.

    It was built like an open-maze, a clear exit but it was as if often they could not find it, they were forced to maneuver to a winding series of alternating staircases, some to dead-ends and some straight on to a part of a test in the tower.

    They would often be separated, and return together to the coffins, where Anna expounded the likely reasoning.

    ¡°This testing is faster, like human training it is as if we are accounting for time.¡± She spoke in whisper, arms folded into a space that tormented them.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t like to waste time.¡± Saiyah spoke grimly, the training was even wearing her out.

    Yervandal¡¯s warning of not being finished within a year carried more than just threat of being held back and falling behind, but outright classified as full¨C

    ¡°Failures.¡±  Yervandal had said that with so much venom the four were struck down from even thinking of failure.

    The tests and training purposed here were clearly for mind, the times they would end up in chamber together by chance or coincidence was often mordaciously maybe through forewarning to Yervandal.

    That the test would entail Aleph requiring full utilization of the skillset of being a leader, he lacked enough for them to be in a chamber for all-allotted twelve-hours and back into the coffin¡¯s without finishing a few sections.

    Aleph was breaking and the other three so hopeful in him were having it diminished.

    One of the tests entailed Aleph suddenly in the forced time within the coffin being given whispers of what their next test would entail.

    It followed. With them failing again, due to Anna losing her trust when Aleph had failed

    Then one day Yervandal¡¯s belief¨Cno understanding was made reality.

    One day after seven months the tower was no longer a maze, they would never be split up, one day they worked like a blanketed machine.

    One day Aleph¡¯s resolve was tested again, even as they began to succeed.

    Even as Aleph learned to command, strategize, utilize information and study his surroundings, come to a complex understanding of what he is facing merely from clues before encountering them.

    Aleph would endure pain, but it ceased slowing him, his vampiric and even human natures were changing

    He learned to tactically and strategically use his regeneration, not over-extending what is within him, even to the point of his face being eviscerated to bone and refusing to bring it back to recovery

    He could take greater damage yet sought to learn to evade better, and grew much greater at evading.

    Aleph recognized he wasn¡¯t just evading projectiles in some of these tests before they were fired but after some time they traveled.

    His mental capabilities were pushed to the point of an overload, he was beginning to see time as a vampire world, psychologically and practically.

    Able to examine the exact nature of the projectile approaching him in a single thought and evading.

    He faced gunpowder and beam weapons, occasionally able to give full evasion to energy weapons as they traveled at tremendous speed.

    He was scaring himself of how monstrous he was becoming.

    His mind was working in double as if there was a new-him forming, A new Aleph, who he was before felt out of place now. his mind was splitting and one was taking root ahead of another, it was as if everything came together, it was a realization that Aleph may die to become what he seeks to be here now.

    He fought tears in that coffin again, his mind worked fast enough he could think in double-time. He thought of this, everything he was going through and Arianne.

    He felt as if who he was some time ago remained and was present with him but was taking a backseat to who he was becoming in merely lesser months.

    There was a natural part of him that didn¡¯t need the time-acceleration of New Persia¡¯s shocktrooper facility, one that could learn what took decades in months and what took months in weeks.

    It was agonizing, it became painful.

    He is wondering if this was the same for them, Saiyah was slowly beginning to not communicate with Aleph often, they switched to gestures.

    They learned them in an hour and could recall them weeks after, that scared him the most.

    How life was compressing itself, how fast it seemed to be going as if he was speeding into the heat-death of the universe how it was collapsing in on him.

    His memories constantly recalling information he can¡¯t forget burrowed into his mind.

    But it wasn¡¯t just his mind¨C

    Robots that his hand would be eviscerated by, that did bring his hand to inner-flesh and bone when he struck them up close

    Cleaved with ease in his punches untouched, machines dismantled by his bare hands.

    Yervandal¡¯s took the brutality of training and tempered it with working the mind and fine utilization

    He was changing them.

    But Aleph lamented this, they were required to put on such brutal efficiency, he stopped hearing his team talk amongst each other.

    He can remember a moment in which they finished a test, he looked to Saiyah seeing part of her face skeletonized, he could se a flow of blood from the wound, an eyeball dangling out of socket.

    Bits of flesh burst by a round.

    No quip or comment came, not even Asaph spoke.

    They all stopped speaking; Aleph was worried they might never speak again.

    It didn¡¯t hamper them, this not-speaking, because in time Yervandal taught them of something he angrily stated

    ¡°Thou should have known this.¡± He spoke as an ancient warrior angry at a new line lacking care in training.

    It was scary to learn this ability, to practice a mental link between them. And to think it could be wordlessly shared with Shocktroopers he was not as close to almost paralyzed him.

    But he broke from it as he encountered the last. The one he suffered with consistently.

    One test he still failed.

    There were machines in that one¡­He learned to utilize his ability albeit never bringing full utilization to handicap himself. Even though they failed.

    But this time they didn¡¯t.

    It was as if this part of the test was the interior of a large ship made of stone, a meltdown inevitable, each time they would¡¯ve been expected to perish due to them never being able to complete all objectives in time.

    But Aleph succeeded.

    He fully encountered a realization of what Leadership meant not to just vampires. But to Shocktroopers.

    Aleph ran into the chamber where the meltdown was ¡°Occurring¡± it was something that simulated a reactor, his mind so programmed he didn¡¯t care it was a pile of rocks, he struck it with his fist.

    His mind immediately identifying it would¡¯ve killed them all¨Cbut! Aleph had been faster than that, he completed the test In such a way he assured his own death, he had succeeded

    but was given stern warning by Yervandal alone. That sacrifice is a waste if there is even an inkling of hope one may succeed without any loss.

    A pyrrhic victory whilst acceptable is not always what is desired. Even more not always will you be so privileged to merely sacrifice yourself without taking those in your command with you.

    What kept him anchored was the lingering thought of sacrificing him and his team to accomplish something, he¡¯d much rather just sacrifice himself if possible¡­.

    Now Aleph accepted he must to sacrifice everything, himself, his teammates and even his mind to accomplish a mission, he felt those lingering bits of sanity that reminded him of Arianne fade, and soon it was as if he had forgotten her.

    He had forgotten Arianne¡¯s warning of truly what he would lose worse than a mortal like her.

    Himself.

    -

    They¡¯d done much better, Aleph demanded they be done in a year, but it was just seven months.

    Aleph thought about the pain that held him back before, and felt angered with himself, that truly he could ignore it, if anything being hyper aware of pain encouraged an approach that minimized damage to himself.

    This testing taught him that there were times when he would endure hits due to his new-found mental strength to endure a heightened sensitivity to pain only to fail because of such courage.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Durability wasn¡¯t just a weapon but a tool in a set all Shocktroopers had, it was one he knew if he lacked, he may be able to work without.

    He even noticed Yervandal must¡¯ve known Aleph was faster and stronger than any other shocktrooper, this may be why these tests were presented this way, to teach Aleph a horrifying thought.

    You could have the strength to crush a tank and the ability to easily be impaled by blades, but if you lack mind, technique, genius and strategy you¡¯d die before it could even be known you¡¯d had these!

    Aleph took Yervandal¡¯s teachings to heart.

    -

    A YEAR PASSES IN TIME ALTERED WITHIN THE FACILITY YET REMAINS THE SAME OUTSIDE

    Things had changed in the time given, and now the first to arrive from the checkpoint and first to finish above all was Aleph and his unit.

    He was observed by Eternia, he was recognizing as utilizing his ability in monitoring, he had become something perfect, the strongest and fastest of the 144,000 merely by chance.

    He learned to endure a pain sensitivity that was exactly four times that of a human, something Eternia regretted as a failure of his post birth-manipulation, a great side-effect that seems to be a strength to him now.

    Aleph was presented proudly by Yervandal, within the cube they were down below, amongst what looked like a false pseudo-feudal town and village, a massive square where all 144,000 Candidates stood

    There was silence and a lack of life in the air.

    None spoke, they stood and saluted.

    They were all changed, despite Aleph and his unit being the most active, even the most ambient nature of the others was crushed into nothing by now.

    Eternia had suspected Krul¡¯s training style for the Shocktroopers was only near perfect but had some flaws, but it may be resourceful mixed with training the training that has now made them all almost perfect and near-death constant combat training and exercises. These flaws were now recently rectified by the Shocktroopers who have now perfected the candidates near entirely.

    She had a new generation stronger than ever.

    They were ready, there was just one last piece, their armor.

    The final seal of judgement to be beared upon them, though they will be able to remove it afterwards, the first equipping is something that will never be forgotten.

    -

    Saiyah^

    My eyes never left a strange-stage like structure where Krul spoke, but I could see something strange, vis-stasi men and vehicles in distance, far ahead was a massive structure with ash and smoke rising. It wasn¡¯t present earlier.

    It must¡¯ve appeared sometime after.

    But I forgive myself for not noticing, I¡¯m not the same as I had arrived.

    I know who I was before the seven months is still there but not fully present.

    I question if who I was before scarily enough was human. And if that is what I cast aside.

    I can¡¯t talk to Aleph anymore, I can¡¯t break what I¡¯ve learned so quickly, too inefficient, too slow..

    Now I¡¯m much like the machines, I understand that a soldier must be as efficient as one, but I struggle with how my mind is warped to consider¡­ Anything anymore, and Aleph¡¯s gone silent. I want to reach out but can¡¯t.

    Krul speaks out and my eyes squint to hide I had lost focus, that I had been so in my thoughts. Or so I thought I was¨C I was listening and can quickly recall the entirety of it.

    He went on about how there is another section of training beyond this, but first I heard something worrying.

    ¡°You have passed the best of her tests, you¡¯ve learned to become tacticians, master planners, to adapt to any scenario, now you are worthy of the equipment she seeks to bestow upon you.¡± Krul spoke matter-of-factly.

    I bite my tongue. Angry it was true, in seven months Aleph blew much expectation, as our new selves were born this same happened in Aleph, he was too effective and monstrously so, without pain or who he was holding him back.

    Aleph monstrously and relentlessly attacked any failure until it became a victory.

    I didn¡¯t recognize him; his incompetence had brewed something human. I would wish he could be as capable as he is now without losing who he was.

    I miss him. Is all that vibrates through my mind.

    I look to the side to see Aleph, static only to see his head turn smooth on rotation. There¡¯s nothing in his eyes anymore.

    ¡°Saiyah move!¡± His eyes shoot a command my brain registers, and my hand strikes right in the formation, we are directly in the front with Anna to my right, Asaph to the right of her.

    Anna struck Asaph after and we¡¯re moving.

    Krul pointing out ¡°The first line goes to receive your armor; you are ahead of the pack! The first wolves to have their teeth come in!¡± He says with high cadence, there is a smile on his face.

    Nothing good. Is all I can think, Krul is never happy when something happens to us, I know his jealousy, I¡¯ve been told of it by shocktroopers older than Delara who assisted in watching over us.

    ¡°Vis-Stasi have hated our caste from the beginning they¡¯d never celebrate us!¡± I vividly recall Delara giving advice on when to be careful.

    But it is too late for me as we march, we cross a winding path, an oppressive structure laced in dark-steel fortified with plumes of smoke blowing out, an intensity of heat felt even from the path we walk toward it.

    The buildings surrounding us are not feudal within, these were places where the others had been training like us, in more open spaces due to the number of candidates.

    I do wonder if the training in New Persia is as everywhere else.

    I¡¯ve been here long enough to be considered an adult-twice over amongst humans but I hardly feel as if I¡¯ve aged.

    I feel like just a more dangerous fifteen-year-old born after all this time.

    Albeit with enough strength and speed to eviscerate a bear as if it was a chore.

    But I wonder if what is in there is enough to eviscerate me in a new way, I have a sense of dread and lingering doom.

    The entrance is heavily fortified, I can see layers upon layers of metal.

    ¡°Are they forging our armor right now?¡± The doors are hot, and are a slightly different color, the Vis-stasi don¡¯t follow us within.

    Faded worn out markings are within, arrows pointing.

    The interior is incredibly hot, and there are checkpoints, massive barriers of metal, we stop at a checkpoint where a massive door opens.

    This is not to protect our armor from being stolen; such fortifications would be to keep anyone inside from escaping! Even us! It has me finally breaking out of order to steal a glance at Anna and Asaph!

    Their faces are full of resolve but they crumble as they catch of glimpse of my own which has faltered!

    We aren¡¯t led by words but grunts and men in suits as if they are to run a boiler.

    I look to Aleph in worry, for both of us¡­

    ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± He doesn¡¯t speak to me, but he gives me a look that the old-me would¡¯ve understood, the look I often gave him. Smirking at me.

    I almost lose all tension, but as I feel a small nudge to my side I glance to a vis-stasi in boiler-suit, or at the least I hope this is a vis-stasi, I can¡¯t imagine who else would be bold enough.

    He¡¯s hitting me with all the force he has, enough to break wind and it only feels like a nudge.

    ¡°They¡¯re separating us?¡± I speak aloud in question.

    He nods and points at a door, it has a massive warning sign, it¡¯s bolted so thick even I know I couldn¡¯t tear it down regardless of how easily I know I could burst of steel bulkhead.

    I feel something is wrong here, this armoring I draw back to what I¡¯ve been told, what I heard before.

    Even now I remember how Delara never removes her armor, how Yervandal never removes it, how none of the first-generation I met as a young child ever removed it.

    I remember my father, seeing him without armor only once¡­

    A vampire shouldn¡¯t be able to have scars, we regenerate too quick especially one as powerful as he was but¡­

    Those scars hadn¡¯t regenerated¡­.

    I gulp nervously.

    I feel oddly thirsty for blood now. So starved of it and rarely getting it unless the odd-chance I¡¯ve been injured, I hope for freedom after this even a moment where I can feast.

    The heat is getting to me! The man in the boiler suit seems to near the bulkhead door, a rhythmic coded percussive knock as it opening, more and more shocktroopers file in.

    Each door is separated by twenty feet. We¡¯re going to be far apart each room begins to make vicious sounds of winds as I hear them open.

    Soundproof! Something is wrong and it¡¯s driving me nuts now.

    I¡¯m entering a strange room, a gust of heat blows onto me, a storm of fire as I see embers flying out of a large pit, deep within are chains somehow not melted attached within, a pedestal is there.

    I finally hear a voice, it¡¯s deep and thick with insult ¡°Go! Accept your reward, take it.¡± It sounds like a taunt, it had a sense of rehearsal, I consider turning around.

    Snapping his neck. Maybe¨C no I can only step forwards, I feel a natural lure to it, it¡¯s on a higher catwalk led to stairs.

    I often heard among human¡¯s hell is on earth prepared to be separated on a gulf at the end of days, I imagined it was beneath whatever kingdom the God they believed would set up.

    And yet I¡¯m walking upwards to something that feels like it, fire and heat. My heart is weeping but my teeth are not gnashing¨C Or at least I hope they won¡¯t be¡­

    I step upwards on the catwalk, I can only hear the heat of a kind of metal being poured, I can see a gigantic mold of cast, I can see mechanical arms far behind what I understand as a giant crucible.

    I can see patterns etched in, mechanical arms behind assembling something with the delicacy of an angel and the mastery of a careful loving God.

    It has me worried how they have this assembly so naturally processing, until I see the mechanical arms dip them.

    I¡¯m getting an idea of what¡¯s about to happen but I¡¯m not moving, it¡¯s as if I¡¯m programmed to accept what I¡¯m slowly understanding is about to happen.

    ¡°Your armor is made to your measurement; it was prepared almost when I was finished.¡± Delara¡¯s voice haunts my mind.

    I can see mechanical hands, purple metal withstanding the heat to immense degrees, claws that no longer are purple in seconds as the room burns a brighter hot, my boots melt under my feet, searing my flesh and skin.

    It burns but this is pain I can endure; what I know I can¡¯t endure what I know is greater than that is what they are about to do.

    I¡¯m paralyzed in submission; I know there is nothing more if I seek to run.

    What would happen if I ran¨C No why would I run? Why¡­Why would I run, this is what I¡¯ve worked for all the pain that I did suffer that was great enough to harm me this truly will¨C Aleph! I want to escape.

    But I¡¯m on that pedestal, I want to escape and stop this, for him it will be¨CMy arms are caught as if this is predicted.

    I can feel it on my bones quickly, the heat of the metal so hot my flesh that I¡¯ve seen go from vulnerable to reinforced is melted through, as if the hot blade of a destroying-angel has swept through.

    My bone barely holds, rapidly regenerating.

    I scream.

    I cry out for mercy babbling incoherent nothings I can¡¯t even hope to understand.

    I barely notice, only catching glimpses of a helmet slowly rising from the depths, facing away from me!

    It¡¯s dreadful as I see the rest of out come out of the crucible, large armor, smooth yet sharp and angular, it¡¯s in two distinct parts.

    The First is approaching to me. Even in pain I¡¯m lost in thought in how strange archaic electronics are inserted into the helmet without melting by auxiliary mechanical parts, the man in a boiler suit comes by my side.

    There is a second one I couldn¡¯t have hoped to notice now in my state.

    He¡¯s holding some tool; it clamps onto my waist to hold me still!

    I swing almost knocking him and the other into the crucible, I can almost hear his shout against the roaring heat and blazing sound

    I can see them extending more mechanical arms, simply dexterous claws akin to that of a vicious crab deep in the walls.

    I keep screaming as they grab on, sinking into flesh and melting through. I¡¯m left with the feeling of being within an inferno!

    I feel as if the blood inside of me begins to reach a point of boiling that has me shaking uncontrollably, I¡¯m assured I can feel scorching gusts of steam exit my mouth like a sinner in a great lake of fire.

    I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m frantic, I only become more frantic as I see chains drag something toward me, on rail-line to bring a frame onto me.

    I lost the ability to scream, the heat was already incinerating me, the metallic frame for the armor!

    It¡¯s not even purple as it comes out the standard color that Yervandal, Delara and all others bore, it¡¯s a bright fiery orange bordering on white as it is cast! Live!

    It is planted to my flesh, I can feel it scald sink into my flesh, like a hot poker onto soft cream it weeds through my flesh, turning what isn¡¯t under it to ash, until it strikes the bones of my chest.

    In an X-Shape I¡¯m enduring pain.

    I feel bits of my throat regenerate in the heat.

    And I hear near the wails, the gnashing of teeth of the only occupant of hell currently. Me!

    I¡¯m in hell and I can¡¯t die!

    The under-portion of the armor must not be finished, what is like a fine suit is brought by mechanical arms and laced around my entire body, I feel my clothes melt under them as it wraps to my skin and keeps me burned.

    Bolts are slammed into the armor intensifying the pain.

    I feel like a subject of all the torment God has allowed and I beg him for relief.

    The rest of the armor hasn¡¯t been fully installed and I feel like I¡¯m trapped, the armor is heavy even for my standard of strength, I don¡¯t feel wires, electronics or anything of the sort under me.

    It¡¯s pure metal, well-crafted intricately cast and smooth but metal none-the less cast over me.

    It feels like a second body formed on me, restraining me

    Like a prison! I¡¯m trapped I can¡¯t escape! Then I see it¡­. I¡¯m not done.

    I¡¯m brought to greater pain, greater torment as more pieces come.

    Attachments for the gauntlets,

    Hot metal rings on my joints to latch the armor,

    A burning  bodysuit that''s melted my clothes in an instant at the sheer heat now forming that had been wrapped on me like a hot-net, flexible torture..

    held to my body like a prison-jumpsuit¡­

    and a loose guard attached to my neck, I feel it burn and heat up the flesh of my neck until my vocal cords burn out. I¡¯ve lost my voice and can¡¯t scream anymore!

    My voice isn¡¯t coming back, I¡¯m fighting against the restraining mechanical arms, I can feel one snap, a man in a boiler suit silently watching, his face obscured, body language so neutral I couldn¡¯t tell if he enjoyed or was simply a spectator.

    I hated him all the same! I reached out as there was an audible crack, the sound akin to an explosion as I snapped a binding that held my arm!

    Crunch! In time with the regeneration of my throat I wail again as another mechanical arm more violent, an auxiliary lash out and crushed my harm, heating the grip underneath.

    It¡¯s built with blades not meant to rip but to tighten grip, the heat of them is boiling my blood and melting through my bone!

    Finally. I see the armor approach.

    It burns all the same, wrapped around me is a suit, that is latched to me, cast live on me, each piece that latches to my body is still hot but seems to cool, steam blowing off quickly as it cools to a dark purplish hue.

    Until my body is covered in a full shell of smooth rigid armor, I feel as if I¡¯m in a hot prison, as if Gehenna has been wrapped around me.

    I can¡¯t stop myself when I see the final piece. A man in a boiler suit seems to be pulling a mechanical arm that holds the final piece¡­

    Electronics inserted, I can see a plain helmet, turned to face me, my future gazing at me.

    ¡°No no no stop!¡± I beg pathetically! Constantly like a mantra to convince them.

    I only earn a tilt of the head and momentary pause as I stare into the reflective visor, before they carry on.

    My exposed weakness and fruitless begging I gave burns in my mind as much as the armor encasing me, burns me like the bars of a tight prison.

    The helmet had a blank blackened visor, electronics within resistant to heat with technology and materials I couldn¡¯t possibly hope to understand.

    It¡¯s turned around, prepared to be placed on me.

    I wail as it¡¯s raised above my head.

    They lower it¡­ Darkness encapsulates me and I¡¯m in an inferno, darkness surrounds me, as sound seems to become muffled.

    I hear the heat of the crucible, the fluid burning within, I can hear my flesh constantly burned and regenerated.

    My memory is so perfect every ounce of torment is amplified. I¡¯m there for what seems like hours.

    Hours do indeed pass, but the room does not cool, I¡¯m dark and blind.

    I seek to break out, I throw my arm again, snapping another machine and bang my fist against the chest of my armor, yet even with force that could rip a hull and bulkhead of titanium my harm only recoiling off as if I¡¯m a child!

    I scream in rage, desperate to break out, it¡¯s like I am restrained by this armor, my movements are more labored I can¡¯t push my joints out of place against this armor, it is protecting me from myself!

    I am a prisoner under something fit to my own form!

    Once again, my arm is quickly restrained, I nearly grasp the neck of one the two men and crush his skull, I barely was able to grab him, my arm quickly re-restrained. I¡¯ve lost again.

    An endless cycle of regenerating flesh being melted away soon after it returns keeping me on the absolute verge of death even for a vampire of my caste.

    I then relent, I fall weak and give up, I can¡¯t move, the armor is too strong, I couldn¡¯t break it even if I escaped, it¡¯s melded and bolted together so tightly, segemented into an underlayer acting as its frame and secondary.

    It¡¯s the armor of a knight A punished Knight¡­

    For a long while I am sitill consumed in darkness, until the brutal silence I endure amidst my torture is killed by a mechanical voice intruding within my mind.

    ¡°Activated.¡±

    Dear God, it¡¯s even burned its way into my mind.

    The pain was not as it was double on spirit and body, it indeed was the helmet is as if the very systems of it scorched into my spirit and imprinted onto me like a brand, I can hear its systems broadcast to my head.

    The only portion of the armor to be powered is the damned helmet, it¡¯s as if it is wired to my mind, I try to resist its voice but it is as if it continues

    I am tormented by the voice of the suit repeating ¡®activated¡¯ until I nearly lose it, it stops. But it only leaves me in more pained silence, left to ponder ¡®why¡¯ I am tormented more, why every ounce of training was suffering.

    Until

    I¡¯ve realized it now, the Shocktroopers are her chosen her greatest, and because of that such measure will be taken to restrain us! This is not a reward¡­but our pre-emptive punishment, a warning¡­ It is a horrifying realization I¡¯m assured of.

    I¡¯m now encased in a strong prison, that I can¡¯t hope to remove with ease but I am assured in vice versa would have difficulty would be broken into.

    In all this suffering I have what feels like a voice ease it, as if informing me of this purpose.

    What hurts you, traps you will be your protection, and what protects you will hurt you. Is a voice, the voice of who I will fight for, unnaturally and unbelievably speaking into my mind.

    Yet I submit to it, and in time I brace through this pain, as I stand for hours in this chamber, and continue to burn within this prison without relief, till I feel as if I am nearly dying as my blood boils.

    As my eyes melt in my sockets and become hot thick near liquid that rolls along the scorching flesh along the way.

    You should rebel. It¡¯s a small voice that fades as a stronger one rises. You have your reward, nothing your enemies may do now will amount to what has been done, you now wear bindings. The stronger voice is not my own like the former. It¡¯s Her¡¯s and yet I follow it.

    But what lies in the former voice¨Cmy voice I still seek to consider.

 Training Crisis: END Of courses and Initiation.

    This ¡®SET¡¯ is what hurts and traps, and it will be what protects you for what grants safety will hurt you.

    That is what had been incidentally broadcast to another mind, Diana¡¯s mind, it was. She was to witness what would occur, and to change the tests of this simulation.

    Magellan was also present, the designer of this generation¡¯s variation of the armor, Magellan herself had predicted it would last for few, thousand years. Such confidence spoken by anyone else.

    Would be pride.

    But Magellan hated conflict, she hated the war, so when she was sullen and pained to see this armor would last, they knew they had hit the mark, it was power.

    But Diana wasn¡¯t here to think over the armor, she clenched fist and looked out a one-way glass.

    Machines were entrenched, false pseudo locations.

    It was a false ruined city, small and compact with all advantage to the machine, their armor plating doubled, they had a series of reactive plates to minimize impact as much as possible and disperse damage across.

    The Reactive auxiliary plates on top of an already up-armored chassis acted as ceramic armor and would break after being struck to further ensure protection.

    Diana was responsible for these machines as Magellan was responsible for who would be facing them.

    ¡°ALPHA-VICTOR IS ON DECK DEPLOYED TO SIMULATION.¡± A machine-like voice spoke

    ¡°Proceed Alpha-Victor-Actual.¡± Diana mouthed back at the static that came after.

    She was speaking to Aleph

    She saw the Command group head out, they were first to be running training in these circumstances, they were ahead of all the others, and their training with Yervandal made sure they were treated as special subjects.

    On each of their hips in darksteel scabbard sword, they were the first to be equipped, the extra training with Yervandal guaranteed them a first-come and first-serve benefit and special treatment.

    They were facing an enemy entrenched, with a heavy defensive and powerful offensive, the machines would not relent today¡­.

    The group each had bulk on their backs that did not weigh them down. Mobilitypacks meant for fast evasion and limited flight, with two thrusters on each side that moved on a gimbal, swiveled and had legs that could extend and rotate aswell.

    They didn¡¯t immediately use them; they maintained enough mobility.

    -

    Aleph could see ahead; he didn¡¯t need to speak but he was desperate to hear anything other than the wind from the artificial atmosphere that came from this advanced live-fire training deck underground.

    He found the reason quickly.

    ¡°Alpha-3 Recoiless rifle dead ahead!¡± He shouted, and in sheer moment Alpha-3¡¯s barrel became leveled and locked with what was a prick in her vision.

    She took the initiative of combat by firing a single-shot from her VK-419 Bullpup.

    The rounds thundered through the sands, even as high as they ejected from the now 7¡¯7 Vampire

    they exited from a miniaturized railgun system that accelerated heavy rounds. Each charged viciously.

    The massive twenty-millimeter rounds ejected, the sound akin more to an explosion than a rocketing boom heard from anti-material rifles.

    The robot nestled between the rocks was hit by a projectile that moved faster than it could compute a solution to evade or hunker down from.

    The sound came sometime after the impact, the head of the machine had already been penetrated by a round that had flung fifteen paces farther and struck another entrenched machine through perfectly simulated granite-rock cover.

    The first machine had been impacted by a kinetic round that strangely enough also left metal slag, it had a payload that activated on impact, the payload entering a fourth state as it burned through.

    Each quantum Entangled [VIPER ROUND] Possess tremendous capability, the force it struck with being multiplied thrice. Exactly as if it had struck three times where it lands.

    These were now the weapons they would train with, their final major training course of seven against machine opponents ten times the efficiency of what they¡¯d encountered before.

    Preparation to ensure they are ready, for the weapons, armor and equipment they hold now are what they will deploy with soon¡­

    -

    The four of them are now in full sprint, Aleph at the helm.

    They are with limited cover, but Aleph already has the plan, he¡¯s merely been in this field for moments and is already predicting his next move as if has native¡¯s advantage

    He can see the speedometer on his armor spark on, created to measure a velocity one might fall from above, it flickered on for safety. He had a burst of speed, maintained a clear fifty-miles-per-hour.

    Closing gap and distance with an enemy nine miles ahead of him.

    ¡°Saiyah!¡± He sparks sharp into his helmet, it¡¯s wired to him in a way he can¡¯t comprehend, it borders on technology but is far from it, and it shares a message with her helmet.

    Saiyah already knows what he wants

    She¡¯s happy to hear his voice again finally, if only to hear orders

    She¡¯s slowing up digging her feet into the red beneath,

    bursting into a cloud of red sand until she explodes into a cloud of it, she¡¯s shrouded by it, when it fades away, she is gone.

    This causes the Machines to get aggressive, harsh beeps are heard from distance as highly accurate coil gun fire erupts from afar.

    Enemies unleash projectiles measured and rated readily in [HVAP 14.mm] with doubled acceleration from the mechanisms of the coil gun watch the shocktroopers evade as an ambient action.

    Aleph isn¡¯t taking it into mental consideration to evade, he¡¯s focused on how to utilize the one-word command he gave Saiyah.

    It comes to mind in an instant, as he watches a round fly for him, he can sense the heavy core of the round as it travels at twelve-hundred miles per hour.

    Carrying enough energy to knock dents in a lightly armored vehicle isn¡¯t even a worry as he tucks his body left.

    A smooth evasion.

    It fiercely whizzes by he can hear the zip and snap of it striking the terrain behind him. A crack afterwards as the sound travels to his ears under the helmet.

    He hasn¡¯t removed it since it was placed on, he knows he can but it¡¯s new to him, it¡¯s the clothes of a new being born. A new Aleph.

    He doesn¡¯t return fire but gets faster, the speedometer giving velocity warning as he clears seventy miles per hour in quick burst, going ahead of Saiyah and Asaph.

    He¡¯s assured he can do this; he isn¡¯t who he was before. He laments that boy he names ¡®Old-Aleph¡¯ How he finally perished fully when that armor was cast on him, and it melted away with his old flesh.,

    Whatever regenerated from the burns was new-Aleph, capable of many more things.

    Commanding his unit was one!

    He opened his mouth in his helmet again. Watching the visor shake and tactical elements of his digital-HUD fail to keep up.

    ¡°Asaph Suppress!¡±

    Saiyah, two-snipers above!¡±

    He strikes out targets and their positions, knowing as soon as he calls them, they¡¯ve died.

    He hadn¡¯t needed to worry, the two of them predicted that command, eyes on the targets and rifled leveled, even at the speed they ran, even as they curved around the aim of enemies mailing rounds thundering past.

    Asaph stuck a knee into the harsh red sand, he skid, he could read all the information in his helmet processing it as much as the mind of a human would process breathing subconsciously.

    [30-MPH] [11-MPH] Asaph and Aleph watched both their speedometers slow as they were both going to hang back and provide precision fire, albeit Aleph had more in-depth plan.

    They were tasked with not only eliminating the target but completing this within a limited span of twelve minutes.

    They already killed two minutes¡­

    -

    ¡°Not fast enough.¡± Aleph skid low, not stopping as he was still speeding at the targets whereas Asaph had stopped.

    Asaph laid down suppressive fire, he let loose a flurry of Viper rounds draining the 40 round magazine completely, laying down twenty in two positions, one where a line of the machines were

    The HK9000 Series were military grade frontline machines that had been fruitlessly deployed against the Mechra.

    Showing their prowess for how they took the suppressive fire, units ahead of Asaph in two places behind rocks took the suppressive fire, twenty rounds in both directions and they called his bluff.

    Ten machines from each position rushed out, calculating a 90% likelihood his magazine was depleted.

    The decision for this to be enacted by the two squads amplified by their precision machine sensory mechanisms able to detect the drop of the magazine amidst the chaos of a full firefight.

    Asaph knew the machines would act in such a way, in counter the bullpup all four were utilizing dropped into his lower-left hand at his braced knee.

    And the AUTEC-944 came into right-hand, a high-caliber automatic handcannon.

    The robots coming up were immediately introduced into precise automatic fire, not a single shot wasted in the 19 rounds that swept what would be brain and head of any humanoid target,

    an additional nine placed center-mass of all.

    All occurring within a second

    Deactivated! Asaph thought proudly and braced up, Autec slapped back to his right thigh, magnetizing before he ejected bullpup magazine and got back up into sprint.

    Asaph had his aim ready nearby by swinging the barrel and leveling it right, spotting Asaph¡¯s advance.

    He saw two dead machine snipers nestled in a fortified elevated position in a greyish ruined structure, sighting them in darkness and camouflage.

    He got up and thundered back into his own sprint running as he accelerated.

    His ability to sense machines shot into his mind, sensing a machine about to ambush to his left behind several feet of rock and granite with some sort of explosive device.

    He countered by throwing himself toward the rock, His sprint came to an end as he tilted and rammed through pre-emptively striking as he gripped the carry-handle of his own bullpup.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    His first led him through the rock which the machine hid behind. He could sense it with his ability almost see through the rock, the shape of the machine behind was as if it was made of the literal digital script that made up its mind in his vision.

    It is disturbing the way Aleph saw perceived machines in turn, made crushing through them fulfilling as if he was having hearty amount of blood to drink as a reward.

    The machine gave a surprised beep as it went straight through and struck the head of the machine.

    Whew

    Aleph would¡¯ve been hit by another machine braced to expect him and the others getting as close as they did, squads of machines now having their battle lines filled by three hyper-aggressive and hyper-evasive enemies.

    The machine in two hands had more than a recoilless rifle, a guided weapon to take on MBT¡¯s main-battle-tanks.

    Locking on to the read off and electronic signature of Aleph¡¯s helmet, the only powered part of his armor.

    It arced the aim of a massive cylindrical weapon and fired off a rocket, before a large boxed magazine built into the side allowed it to switch aim.

    A rocket thundered toward Aleph who had swept around several targets,

    He still coordinating with Anna who had eliminated two snipers and several other squad¡¯s of machines that could¡¯ve reinforced positions.

    Unaware of what thundered toward him from thirty feet above in a ruined structure within simulation.

    It sliced through the air barreling at him from above.

    Anna encountered a group of machines who were reinforcing, they tied her up before she could warn Aleph and forced her to throw herself into sand and rock. Rolling right

    A plume of smoke, with projectile trailing toward target, fire as its tail as it whipped through the air and circled toward Aleph.

    Aleph didn¡¯t need the innate senses of his power, he heard it coming and sensed its approach naturally as a vampire.

    His left arm braced as he lowered again, his rifle to his right-hand only gripping firmly the carry-handle until it cracked.

    His left arm whipped into the rocket, practicing extreme precision, timing and showcasing the knowledge of Krul¡¯s part of training.

    A full understanding of weapons and equipment he could face.

    The rocket bounced off the end of his left elbow, meant for firing into the top of tanks it struck the ground

    A fireball erupted that swallowed Aleph.

    The Machines¡¯ own mechanical mind computed Critical strike and moved to switch targets onto Asaph.

    Aleph albeit now caught in the blast anyway was thankful it wasn¡¯t direct, he¡¯d spotted the machine even from all the distance they first approached from, it was why he gave the command to Saiyah.

    Saiyah by now would¡¯ve been up, albeit late by Aleph¡¯s own expectations, going thirty-feet up the side of a weak ruined structure built to deter post-candidates from climbing

    did have its difficulties.

    2444 Pounds including her in the armor she was above the machine about to launch it¡¯s second lock on to Asaph, the blade that had been clattering about her hip hadn¡¯t been heard.

    Her ability to disappear, to in the literal sense fade almost from reality was perfected, it carried with what she carried now.

    She felt pride as that blade whipped out of sheath, the machine not even able to sense and then it had no capacity for sensing anymore.

    It came down brutal, the edges of the blade glowed a bright-purple, as it powered on mid-cut and slammed through.

    She carried a standard-issue longsword that cut the machine straight down the middle with ease.

    Leaving bits of burnt slag burning reddish hot.

    Glancing back down to the brutality down below in the red sands of the life-fire hall.

    Catching Anna routing the reinforcements that would¡¯ve tied up Aleph,

    Aleph pounds feet through the sand, the sheer weight of him in a marching-sprint is heard, far less stealthy than Saiyah.

    But his presence is felt in how he keeps speed, the fastest and strongest he knows as a Shocktrooper Sergeant, he has to make primary headway to control the engagement.

    Anna knows this and fills in, curbing anything that can slow his destructive assault on the primary machines ahead, throwing herself, whilst not as fast as Aleph she is far more evasive.

    Open and drawing fire she doesn¡¯t mean to take the role of point man from Asaph but she can fulfill her primary role and fill in for him if need be.

    She does it efficiently, she¡¯s become happy with them, happy to have originally been sent to work solo. She¡¯s found more glory in working with them.

    A glory earning her sparks and scrap flying into her visor as her fist pummels, her inner heart is excited at the prospect of encountering the Mechra.

    Smile upon me in the last day when God Recounts this She says in her smiling heart

    It almost beats in same rhythm the butt of her rifle slaps into the torso of a machine, an entire chunk of the machine falling out, angling her hips she digs into the ground, jolting her head back and narrowly avoiding a stray round to the visor.

    Several others come and strike her chest plate, as it soaks up the energy of the rounds with ease she opens up with a single-fire, prioritizing precision.

    Striking straight for the core of each machine, dumping a VIPER round that with its own payload causes each machine to explode!

    A few stragglers advance rather than retreat.

    She doesn¡¯t bother hammering the trigger of an empty rifle, she¡¯s quick to grasp her sidearm, but the sound of a barrel dumping rounds ahead is heard above her.

    Shell casings bounce off her full helmet as Asaph covers her immediately, having caught up quickly.

    The team succeeded in routing, pinching down and finishing the machines.

    Aleph gives the last blow by crushing the chassis of a machine, much more importantly they didn¡¯t just break the machines they secured the area.

    Pure destruction of the enemy is a consequence of their objective required it wasn¡¯t the only primary objective.

    Aleph secured the core area required to success.

    And they struck with flying colors blowing away expectation.

    Across their heads the results rang through, each of them distant, yet having view of each other, past rocks or ruins give a nod.

    Aleph is hesitant though.

    I need to bring them better. He¡¯s learned bitter self-reflection¡­

    Saiyah can sense it, how his head falls and she¡¯s worried.

    I can say something to him later¡­

    -

    A bright armory, they are watched by two figures entering after their success awaiting further information,

    purple crates scattered and in view of an aging digital screen, She can see them headed to the racks for their weapons, there is a machine within seen on screen, tied into the wall, repairing Aleph¡¯s broken carry-handle

    Machines were not common in the Vampiric Empire due to the Mechra threat, they were relegated to places like New Persia, so deep underground and under the crust they couldn¡¯t be controlled, places like these isolated and safe are what allowed the Empire to rarely, rarely enjoy the luxury of machines.

    Magellan was at the least bit happy, she could see more utility from her machines than fighting, but Diana crossed arms behind her back. ¡°Krul won¡¯t be happy, they¡¯re blowing away all expectations.¡±

    ¡°Why would he not be happy?¡±

    ¡°I served with Krul, his hate-love for the shocktroopers has more hate.¡±

    Magellan crosses her arms, flicking a lamp she has brought with her the seat uncomforting for her. Especially considering what she used to enjoy in the ¡°Dark-Ages.¡±

    Diana flicks her head up hearing it turn on before it fully illuminates the corner of the room

    ¡°Mag¨CMs. Must you bring that everywhere you go.¡± Sternly interrogates

    Magellan gives Diana a strong stare, and Diana lets the presumptuous way she asked the question die in her chest.

    ¡°There was a time when I was not as I am now and desperately clung to the light. Before your father was even a thought and his father.¡± Magellan seemed to answer with far more bite than needed.

    It had Diana weakly folding her hands, a veteran twice over of nearly two-hundred years against the Mechra, giving a slight cower.

    Albeit it good reason, Magellan had lived alongside Eternia who was ¡®Empress¡¯ she was talking to what amounted lifelong friend of the Empress. Not servant¨C Friend.

    Even the room was dreadful, grey and dark with dark-steel lining painted purple.

    The additional light of a screen showcasing the team in their locker-and-loadout bay.

    -

    ¡°Aleph.¡± Aleph hears something his helmet still firmly latched to his head.

    ¡°Aleph!¡± Aleph is hearing it again, and he¡¯s shaking his head ¡°Wha¨C.¡±

    Aleph wasn¡¯t expecting to finally hear Saiyah but he felt her too.

    A crashing force impacted the back of his helmet, causing his visor to see slight static, the singular red mono-eye etched into the wide visor causing his head to swing around.

    He sees her holding the purple helmet, it¡¯s much like his with what looks like a massive rebreather on the front, designed to allow them to intake a safe atmosphere or oxygen to allow them to speak. Otherwise the suit was vacuum-sealed.

    The helmet in her hand large, spherical with extrusions raised up on top, with two tubes leading to the rebreather device on either side where cheeks would be. It¡¯s much larger than their heads, but fits fine, the visor has wide coverage and is pitch-black allowing no way to see in only out.

    When powered on it has a red-line with a singular squarish oval center¨C a sphere if it is a sergeant like his, with additional armoring and what is like tusks on the front ends on both sides of where his mouth would be.

    He can see the light on her helmet is off and she has teeth bared.

    ¡°I was talking to you!¡± She has cut professionalism, New-Aleph is about to viciously scold, bring down a sword like the one on her hip verbally.

    Old-Aleph is revived and kills that.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He says attentively.

    Saiyah¡¯s expression softens and her eyes widen a bit. ¡°I¡¯m asking for¨CYour condition..hotshot?¡± She is seeking that same sort of spark she had before but struggles to find it.

    Aleph is assured, he is cringing under the helmet hearing the words ¡®hotshot¡¯ leave her lips, his eyes lingering on them.

    Saiyah did have soft-attractive features, they were well enough adults now, but to the outside world they had disappeared at fifteen, it was a strange juxtaposition, and she had grown, she was stocky like him regardless of armor but he could immediately identify her with ease.

    She was someone who carried an ¡°exact figure¡± he himself didn¡¯t know how to identify how she just looked like ¡®her¡¯. Even some vampires looked somewhat alike it was only normal but save for her.

    Yet even with that helmet Saiyah uncomfortably leans her head back, his helmet is tilted downwards.

    ¡°Err¨CAleph, you can¡¯t see through the breastplate? Or does the Sergeant¡¯s modification come with blueprint scanning?¡±

    The statement hits him, brings old¨CAleph to the forefront and has him cackling in his helmet, coming out as a muffled laugh to her.

    ¡°Shut up! I¡¯m fine, we just could¡¯ve crushed that mission harder.¡± He speaks informally now.

    Drawing attention from Anna, ¡°I do agree we could¡¯ve done much better.¡±

    Asaph would¡¯ve disagreed coming in after but held peace thinking Saiyah had said it and halting as he saw it come from Anna, Saiyah turning her head around to those two with helmets.

    Asaph kept a strong face; his constant ever-present frown had faded into an ever-present and stern neutral yet still guarded expression.

    Anna had sharp expression always, she looked like a monolith, something that would be utilized in propaganda if it were even needed in the Empire.

    ¡°It matters I wish we could run this back again.¡± Saiyah doesn¡¯t fight that she was content with their success, they¡¯re far farther than any others albeit not to discredit them, she along with Aleph and her squad has been tasked with overviewing others and aiding them

    She¡¯s seen they are capable, but that them-four who she is apart of is still a cut above edge her own words that caused a frown in one of the candidates for designated marksmen.

    Aleph is continuing sternly ¡°But it doesn¡¯t matter we are going to be leaving very soon.¡±

    ¡°Huh, you sure we wont just be exiting out into another simulation?¡±

    No one responds after Saiyah jests those words, she mutters out a ¡°Sorry¡±.

    They hold no fears yet, but one sensitive thing is the anxiety of never escaping, this living facility taunts Aleph still even the new-him who is fighting back against the old one thought to have been died.

    They worry they could enter the war, fight for years only to discover it was a perfect simulation hall. Their training was so rule they had deduced two possibilities.

    Either the Mechra will be something above understanding, or we¡¯ll be put through simulations unknowingly until God himself brings time to an end.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get ready then?¡± Asaph irks out breaking the tension and marching over to elbow Saiyah, she just barely smiles throwing a strong nudge back into his hip.

    Aleph speaks ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯m to assign your weapons, may as well do that early and confirm your loadouts after.¡±

    Asaph raises a brow, Aleph is being so professional he forgets what they are, he doesn¡¯t mind efficiency, but he hates to waste time for efficiency¡¯s sake, it is no longer efficient in that case.

    ¡°Aleph we¡¯re not Vis-stasi, you no need to answer to their checks, we don¡¯t even use their ships.¡±

    Aleph had forgotten, flicking a finger at his own helmet ¡°Oh! Yeah.¡± He was ready to be orderly to a people who had banned his caste from their navy.

    The hatred between Vis-Stasi and Shocktroopers was something Aleph never got to see, raised by humans, but it was there and strong. It wasn¡¯t just jealousy.

    The First generation in literal sense had almost collapsed the entire Empire and killed some of the most prestigious members of the Vis-Stasi in a disagreement some called what Aleph found as disturbing ¡°Human¡±.

    They had their own navy but the Vis-Stasi still had some influence.

    ¡°Krul is to instruct us, but we¡¯ve reached the threshold Aleph remember, we answer to Delara and others with seniority.¡±

    Aleph clenches his fists ¡°Yes, no need to retread!¡± Aleph snaps, insulted Asaph needed to retread taking it as an insult to intelligence.

    Saiyah goes to speak but Asaph had hand up. ¡°Apologies, you know me Aleph, I¡¯m robotic!¡± He seems to misstep words.

    And it has Aleph shrug ¡°Forgiven.¡±

    Asaph hearing Aleph say that now has him a bit angry, a clear frown

    Feelings suspenseful to sour.

    Saiyah speaks ¡°Our assigned loadouts?¡± Saiyah and Anna break in with Unison to cut the sour strings playing.

    ¡°Asaph!¡± Aleph bitterly speaks ¡°Standard VK-419, underbarrel grenade-launcher. You¡¯re pointman.¡± He dictates policy to Asaph.

    Asaph is unhappy with this Aleph who can get bitter, it seems Aleph is unhappy too and corrects himself, stepping away from them.

    They form line, heads tilting in unison

    Aleph is now opening a crate and digging in, he hasn¡¯t even removed his mobility pack, additionally it seemed still unused.

    He repeats himself ¡°Standard VK-419¨C¡° he continues the same sentence but again neutral-tone.

    It has Asaph thinking of their bond, how far they¡¯ve come, his hand swinging to catch it as it is tossed to him.

    ¡°We can be machines of war and tight-knit, you are why I think that.¡± Asaph considers, he doesn¡¯t want to just be a kid anymore, he wants to always be a heightened war machine, but in any moment.

    Mercifully given he wants to be as much as it grinds his sense of duty, to enjoy his friends and bond within this squad he feels lucky to be apart of.

    Anna nods her head slowly at their exchange, still feeling far from the clique she was forced to join but to see it lightly strained brings tension to her as well.

    ¡°Me?¡± Saiyah speaks out. Expectantly and with a forced expression, a poker-face.

    Aleph nods ¡°I requisitioned Delara for this to be brought to our armory permanently, it¡¯ll be utilized by you effectively.¡± His hand flung out of the crate

    Saiyah had used it a few times, albeit not this last time but hse was happy as his hand swinging out of the crate tossed it into her hands, she gripped it firmly.

    Three-barrels-close-range. Albeit wrapped in something, a bandolier of knives.

    ¡°I could kiss you y¡¯know.¡± Saiyah laughs, a chuckle is earned by Anna in rare instance aswell.

    Aleph doesn¡¯t respond, Saiyah unknowing of the smile that earned.

    Asaph nudges Anna ¡°What are you hoping for? I think Aleph understands your role with your last show around here!¡±

    Anna smiles slamming fists on her hips ¡°Sure as hell he should have! Right Sir!¡± She pre-emptively commends Aleph with honorifics.

    Aleph is chuckling knowing the true reaction.

    Her hands are soon only catching the Shamsir marksman rifle by instinct.

    She couldn¡¯t let it drop but wanted to, the distasteful long-barrel, chambered in heavier Viper-shells.

    Seven round magazine¨C Dear God it even had a mounted-range finder and screen.

    ¡°Aleph what am I supposed to do with this! Inside of a Close-Range Firefight!¡± She drones on! The honorifics and professionalism are gone but even new-Aleph lets it slide.

    He goaded it after all. Maybe even New-Aleph wasn¡¯t much different, maybe there was a room for what he considered weak humanity and his newly revealed true nature.

    Aleph reasoned there was now two of him the more recent true name of the newer more clearly revealed with old.

    Aleph

    And Victor.

 The Crisis and Journey: Prologue

    A room cast in shadows,

    Weak illumination from a dim-hanging bar of light clinging to the ceiling.

    A stretched powerful dark oak-wood table covered in dust save for where arms and elbows must¡¯ve been.

    Here at the center of the table was a large black platform, it had a singular point where a holographic emitter was displayed.

    A harsh purple light shot up inches above from the platform, a circular hollow band displaying the screen of all candidates in prep for loadout training or running duels.

    ¡°The candidates have progressed beyond expectation.¡± Eternia¡¯s voice weighs into the occupants standing within the room, she doesn¡¯t have all of her vanguard, but she has one, Magellan someone who¡¯s accompanied her since Earth.

    ¡°To horrifying degrees, with the methods of Yervandal and other first-generation, we could¡¯ve had them all trained within two years,¡± Magellan speaks with cruelty, her eyes scanning toward Kruel at the far left of the table.

    ¡°We would have been able to deploy them with enough experience to match a hundred years at seventeen.¡± She spoke in disregard for something she had designed.

    Krul wants to argue but lowers his head in shame, Magellan nodding ¡°A clear waste of me being commissioned to dangerously utilize terror space to violate the local time and space of this facility with the Anchor.¡±

    Magellan chastises and judges cruelly.

    Krul is less angered by that, it was by her measurement of how fast they could¡¯ve been trained.

    If any other powerful ancient mind had said something he would call exaggeration, truly what ground the bones in his body was that Magellan wasn¡¯t at all exaggerating, she was like an artificial intelligence.

    The only perfect substitute of such they could safely have with a threat as great as the Mechra lingering able to corrupt any unprotected automated machine.

    ¡°Yes, I can see that. Albeit with such capability, I do lament the great deal of resources put into upgrading their helmets and mobility-packs.¡± Eternia speaks dead on.

    Yervandal is there, standing across from Delara on another end of the table, Yervandal beside Magellan with his armed crossed.

    Delara at-attention hands clasped together at her back beside Eternia.

    Yervandal opens ¡°Whilst Krul had effective training, he focused too hard purely on utilizing their strength, natural combat aptitudes and speed.¡± Yervandal dismissively and sharply rebukes Krul.

    Albeit as if he is to gossip about him, treating him as inconsequential.

    Krul is going to speak up, even facing someone like Yervandal, of that caste he would defend his training.

    It would not be without defense, Krul¡¯s training was simply not as supernaturally in tune with the nature of the caste, he had made them brutal, effective even in conditions where they were severely limited and even hampered.

    Krul himself mentally remarking. I¡¯m the reason why anyone is assured without their vampirism they could crush any threat with enough effort. Krul remarks how Aleph¡¯s team held out nearly dying, starved of blood.

    But Yervandal clarified before Eternia could even question ¡°I know what I am, and what they are we don¡¯t need years we need months, and what you think we need in months expect that to be learned in hours.¡±

    Yervandal went on a full boast that held no lie ¡°As if we¡¯ve done it in repetition for centuries.¡±

    Krul wouldn¡¯t dare slam fist into table and be bold and unruly, his voice wavered.

    ¡°Even if you taught them complex usage of their nature, I taught them the most raw form of it. In a situation where they demand¨C.¡±

    ¡°Combat doctrine bordering on feral, to fight like a desperate wounded dog, Krul I understand you Weren¡¯t born a vampire, something you regret but I might commend as good.¡± Yervandal sharply points

    It draws a grin from Magellan and a sharp frown from Krul as if he¡¯d almost broken.

    Delara is fierce in one moment, her senior catches it in the eyes he can¡¯t even see through the helmet.

    ¡°Yervandal!¡± Delara sharply snaps in a shout, just his name¡­, it has Yervandal giving a gestured shaking apology to Krul, and Krul surprised to witness this.

    Krul doesn¡¯t thank Delara, it¡¯s too weak to show amongst Vis-Stasi caste but it¡¯s in his heart

    Magellan makes a move to speak but Delara is fierce and cuts in.

    ¡°I let Krul drag it out for thirty-years, Yervandal you know I could¡¯ve taught them but would have rather you and the others had done when you arrived.¡± She is still cutting in but is fierce and has fire.

    Eternia is grinning as she sees the authority Delara exudes, and authority not even afford to Magellan who Is simply quiet and listening. Magellan has been alive ten times more than Delara.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    As far back as 1948AD Magellan and Eternia had stretched, yet Magellan felt no insult seeing Delara left to take reigns, she knew exactly why Eternia let her stomp in such a way. Why it made Eternia smile.

    Delara¡¯s voice booming as she corrected Yervandal

    ¡°Krul¡¯s training is full of flaws.¡± She motioned to Krul, he flinches at this but feels far less insulted than he thinks he should, he¡¯s confused¡­

    ¡°But more than fifty percent was credible in ways we ourselves were not ready to look, it immediately communicated something every Vampire foolishly forgets.¡±

    Delara shoots a look at Krul, he smiles and nods his head down.

    ¡°You¡¯re powerful Not invincible be fierce and brutal effectively.¡± Delara finishes.

    ¡°Should the treachery of past encounters with Vis-stasi breed pride in you?¡± Delara stabbed into Yervandal.

    He visibly fought back a stumble, her words like any others were spirit but this spirit was quite heavy.

    Yervandal spoke ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten myself.¡± He simply states.

    Yervandal¡¯s fought the Vis-stasi, but Delara gave a fierce reminder even if an arrogant truth is stated it¡¯s still prideful and pride in all forms Is simply unbecoming of him. A strong embarrassment lingering in his body like fire.

    Delara waits scanning for any other reply and seeing none.

    Yervandal accepted the correction.

    Krul albeit given brutal criticism, was now understanding the flaws in his methods, albeit he felt confident now understanding the strengths, he simply nods when her eyes land on him

    Thankful to Delara for providing clarity in correction.

    Magellan however continues silence and gives no further acknowledgement than a returned stare¡­

    turning head to Eternia, seeing that wicked grin.

    ¡°Empress?¡± She answers Eternia goading her to bring forth a more relevant topic that would not devolve into debate of what has already been observed.

    ¡°Magellan, as I seek to deploy this specific group of 144,000 who are to fully ¡°graduate¡± can you give a good brief to all those currently here.¡± Eternia spoke

    Magellan didn¡¯t need to be told twice; she spoke immediately as the last syllable left Eternia.

    ¡°Fracturia, is priority-number one. We¡¯ve been locked in a brutal skirmish.¡±

    ¡°Fraturia!? Brutal!? we¡¯ve cultivated and seeded a present and major human rebellion for centuries to perfect and practice new combat-strategies amongst the Vis-stasi, I¡¯ve even deployed myself.¡± Krul flashes

    ¡°Is the Mechra not the highest priority?¡± Krul adds inquisitively but with a hint of worry

    ¡°The Mechra have encountered the human populace on Fracturia. We¡¯ve lost contact with majority of the human rebels, combatants and civilian cities.¡±

    Delara takes in a breath, the sound of it heard on her filter, and Yervandal¡¯s head snaps left and down at Magellan.

    Magellan spoke ¡°We¡¯ve only a 12.5% statistical probability of success with the current forces engaged with hostiles deployed.¡±

    Eternia knew of this, but Magellan hadn¡¯t given her mental calculation until now, and now¡­It has Eternia worried.

    ¡°How have any current engagements gone? Fleet conflict?¡±

    Magellan became robotic as she relayed all present information.

    ¡°The 12.5% Statistical probability of success relates to holding the system of Fracturia within the Triangulum galaxy.¡±

    Delara folded her arms, an index finger curled under the chin of her helmet as she thought this over.

    The Mechra have always been this sort of threat, but there is more to this¡­They want something on Fracturia, this wasn¡¯t entirely new to those within the room.

    The true worry was that this was calculated in holding a core-system in the Triangulm galaxy deep within the Imperial territory, usually a fleet of Mechra could be threatening to a wide array of systems.

    They¡¯ve heard off-hand Magellan calculated a thirty percent chance of loss and it occurred, an entire array of systems had been lost that time in the Apostle Galaxy.

    But simply outputting all their brutality to take one-system was insane!

    ¡°A Unified collector is in orbit of Fracturia, it¡¯s wiped out the fleet and reinforcement fleet.¡±

    There was something on that planet the Mechra wanted, Magellan and Eternia knew this. Everyone else excluding the obvious two is forced to think.

    They await further explanation¡­They¡¯ve heard of unified destroyers, a powerful class of ship only photographed in irony by a human, but this was something different, this is something present with an odd name.

    ¡°Unified Collector?¡±

    Eternia adds

    Magellan returns and forces attempt to retain mechanical analysis, ¡°It¡¯s an unknown vessel maintain a is consistent measuring sixth in a Vecta-Reflux.¡± Magellan speaks deliberately to force such terrible information out.

    A Vecta Reflux was a dangerous kind of reaction, bordering on a casual planetary threat if improperly utilized, it was an explosive lingering quantum reaction in specific.

    Utilized well it could power a city wrapped around a star for what even a Vampire could consider Eternity, in merely the fourth point of its utilization.

    At a purposeful and risky use of sixth showed the Mechra mastered Terrorspace as they did the quantum mechanics deeply tied to it in just under five-years.

    ¡°They seek to begin whatever the ¡®Ascendancy¡¯ is There! They¡¯re utilizing terrorspace for it.¡± Eternia states in woe and agony she is confident in that statement

    Eternia had discovered, named Terrorspace itself and yet can¡¯t even know what intruders may utilize it for. Being informed of how far this progression is is more troubling.

    The Quantum Vampire no longer holds a monopoly on a space thats bound in Natural and Unnatural. Eternia laments, her head shaking.

    Krul gives a slow nod ¡°It appears something is on Fracturia. Something tied to all those experiments¡± Krul, whilst not fully informed catches on quick.

    Magellan confirms Krul¡¯s suspicion ¡°Yes, I am certain with a 99.9% possibility whatever we may learn the Ascendancy to be is what they are likely trying to commit, now!¡±

    ¡®The Ascendancy¡¯ a constant phrase in attempts to find leads of the Mechra¡¯s primary goals in their relentless and belligerent attacks on seemingly random targets.

    It is often a piece of coded intercepted transmission tracked in destination to strange Worlds once inhabited by extraterrestrials. Containing Gruesome experimentations and strange esoteric devices still not understood.

    The Ascendancy is believed to be an unknown danger, a project of strange magnitudes.

    A confirmation of how close it seems to be now of them learning this is brought to full attention.

    Eternia¡¯s eyes are almost fully revealed from her constant projected darkness violet orbs shaking, the flesh on her fingers recedes and turns to bone as she leans in.

    Eternia knows most of this, wanting it to be recited to them, but she is bound up upon hearing that.

    A Vecta-Reflux, they¡¯re fully utilizing terror-space, the machines learning it faster than it took Eternia to learn and leave for Magellan to refine.

    They¡¯re too fast. Eternia laments.

    ¡°Fracturia! There is something there! Something that has alerted them.¡± Krul mashes his fist against the wooden table, stressed deeply.

    Magellan¡¯s mechanical tone is fading ¡°Yes, it all ground signatures consistent with stations related to the experiments we understand were related to this ¡°Ascendancy.¡± She struggles to keep above a whimper recalling it all

    ¡°Are now present in greater magnitude of concentration on the key continent on Fracturia.¡± Magellan weakly states

    Magellan loses the muted tone, her voice wavers ¡°Emilia I think they¡¯re going to do it there, we are buying time merely by being within this facility on New Persia, but we can¡¯t just hide here.¡± She speaks bitterly.

    Eternia only nods her head.

    ¡°Prep Alpha-Victor-1 outside of this facility, they leave as soon as possible.¡± Eternia commands, straightening out.

    I¡¯m going to use everything to crush those machines! Her spirit shouts.

    --

 The Crisis and Journey: First Tragedy.

    Aleph began the slow march with all the others. Finally, he was nearing an exit. Through the constant darkness, and barely lit lights, he saw what looked to be the light of the sun shining at the entrance. The facility that had tormented his mind would never become a distant memory, but it would become a memory, nonetheless.

    Aleph wrenched out a mostly human breath of relief as he led the 144,000 out. An orange glow bathed them, the heat of the sun providing habitable conditions to the humans on the planet but irritation to any Vampire.

    Aleph would¡¯ve expected groans. But he heard a unified metal march that lacked silence, their voices sung with relief to one another. Although they march onwards to an early deployment, they are pressing forward.

    ¡± ATTENTION!¡± He gave out in a booming shout as he stopped partway out the facility, a wide open berth, a massive towering oak forest surrounding them, sporadic glimpses of the sunlight glancing upon them, layers of barbed wire, thick concrete walls and dead leaves even within the fort-zone.

    He turned his back to the massive metal gate he once climbed to meet Arianne and addressed all ahead of him, he could see Saiyah her lithe distinctive feminine figure sticking out even in her robust angular armor yet smoothed in some points.

    He had his helmet on as did they all and he saw all of them, visors shut off, even Asaph¡¯s.

    Anna gave him a nod as she sallied slightly ahead of everyone.

    ¡°We are to march to new Persia we have graduated. You are permitted to make your farewells.¡± He spoke fiercely, there was a warmth in the air, just as he had left and escaped in one moment it was summer, silent out.

    Even as he paused there was no sound to be heard, not a noise to be made

    stark contrast there was an honorable salute, fists coming down to chest plates, it was something that had Aleph filled with slight pride.

    And expectations of his new duties.

    -

    Arianne¡¯s final grief.

    ``I could recall most of my life as desolate, especially when he had left, it wasn¡¯t as if I could be angry he felt trapped as I was, he broke out to see me once a year ago, wounds barely healed and he spoke apologies as if he hadn¡¯t seen me in a millennia, it scared me¡­he was different, and it made me argue I begged him to run away and he wouldn¡¯t. I saw it in his eyes..he didn¡¯t want to go, he wanted what was happening to him.

    I sometimes grieve It but maybe I was wrong, maybe I just was so attached I¨C¨C¡®¡¯

    Arianne¡¯s hand falters, stabbing through the page, ink pools in a wave a the point of the pen snaps¨C Strains, even as she writes something meant to be read in mortem, she¡¯s nearing a breaking point.

    About to snap, her home cold, the heat as faded as the hope in her eyes, ocean blue eyes so worn they¡¯ve lost saturation, her vision ten feet ahead is blurry and she can¡¯t hope for a better future anymore.

    Arianne is a human, and being human is a vital resource.

    A vital resource treated with as much care as one might have in any other animal that sustains, she can remember the first time she¡¯d seen a body hanging in the street, her mother''s.

    Those cold dead streets filled with the sounds of racing automobiles now outside her home.

    She¡¯s been through it for so long, and yet¨C I hear it.

    -

    Cold, I¡¯m very cold and I hear it, cold steps, steps that are metallic it¡¯s a horrific presence beyond any other, I lean up from my desk and dim the light.

    I¡¯ve done nothing wrong, the Vis-stasi shouldn¡¯t come for me. I¡¯ve done nothing wrong; I attended mandatory visits to the blood bank.

    It¡¯s the only thoughts that fill my head every time I hear footfalls near my home, I brace and breathe, I linger for a bit and think that it couldn¡¯t possibly be for me. .it never is, I¡¯m treated as though I am a well, seldom attention given until I am needed for blood.

    But this isn¡¯t stopping.

    I can remember hearing screaming next door, a woman made a horrid mistake I hadn¡¯t even known what it was, I heard the footfalls stop on mine, but they were scoping her home before performing a raid...They found something incriminating there, I don¡¯t know what they did with her¡­Her execution never came..

    But these footsteps stopped at my home, I can feel pain rise in my chest as I hear it.

    Knock, knock.

    They¡¯re here¡­ I have to assume it¡¯s the Vis-Stasi, and my nerves scream at me to hide, but I¡¯m rattled by routine and muscle memory into submission, I can only weep inside my face empty as I lack resolve to fight.

    I cross from my room into the living room, looking toward that picture of my parents¡­Aleph is there..I almost find myself wishing I wasn¡¯t human.

    The knocks continue again, I¡¯m broken from a realization I had hesitated, storming to the door to brace fate.

    This would come eventually.

    But it did not¡­I could see a figure tower over me, unlike anything I¡¯d ever seen, he dwarfed me, and in the cruel dark-grey halls of the housing unit dimly lit in blue-light it gazed down into my eyes with one of its own, a mountain of metal and strong angular shapes, built for violence.

    I can see that haunting eye as if it appears on a screen, it¡¯s flat¨C to put it simply, yet its as if it idly rotates, I can hear an ambient hum¡­

    It¡¯s a helmet, it has a strange purplish hue, an odd change from¨C The usual red.

    This was a Shocktrooper¡­A fully fledged one at that¡­

    ¡°What do you want with me!?¡± I gasp out boldly, it¡¯s a gasp that turns into relief¡­Of any of them to ever rule over us, the Shocktroopers have earned a smidge of love for trading a rod of steel for wood.

    As brutal as the others yet never to our deaths¡­. I can only remember how the Vis-stasi were hateful of these powerful beings.

    And one was here¨C! It even speaks to me!¡±

    ¡°Arianne?¡± It knows my name¡­.

    ¡°Arianne¡­It¡¯s me.¡± I can feel my heart explode in revelation; saliva pours from my lips as I gag¡­If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    I can¡¯t help myself from vomiting yet hardly anything comes out as I retch causing such a powerful figure to flinch in fright¡­; it knows my name! Alas, I know its name too!

    ALEPH

    There was something wrong.

    I saw my friend before me, beneath him a victim- my couch, crushed underneath the unbearable weight.

    Previously was a boy I had a young-love with, something forbidden, with someone that wasn¡¯t human but felt as close as if he had been to me, now a living-weapon in my living-room.

    ¡°How¨Chow did you get here?¡± I hesitate, of all the things that terrify me now, even a lingering wonder if I was insane and this wasn¡¯t Aleph at all, what worries me the most is how he has otherwise appeared at my door like a dreadful ghost.

    ¡°Arianne¡­.I ran.¡± He speaks simply with no life.

    I hate his answer¨C ¡°Wh-what¡­what do you mean?¡± I am left laughing in a bit of disbelief, his answer didn¡¯t sound genuine.

    He must¡¯ve seen it in my face, I feel as though I¡¯m an insect being read by him now, because he dashes my heart immediately.

    ¡°To tell you, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± He says nothing else; he knows exactly what he has just answered and it hurts more he¡¯s made such a decision so quickly¨C It¡¯s been a year, but that isn¡¯t the only decision, it¡¯s as if he has changed.

    He had always been tall, taller than most, but he felt like an anomaly in my home, an anomaly staring toward me.

    A Violet Mountain of what I imagine must be steel, an obituary to who I once knew.

    ¡°Arianne, I thought of you¡­I nearly forgot you¨C.¡±

    ¡°Stop.¡± I want to imagine that I¡¯m maybe sarcastic, have a heart-broken smirk, but I¡¯m collapsing again, I have my fingers on my scalp.

    I see rigid shoulders slump as if my words could bring down whatever military-titan he¡¯s become. I can¡¯t hide the tortured laugh that escapes my lips.

    And I feel what is like frostbite take my hands and bring them away.

    ¡°Arianne, I..¡± I don¡¯t let him finish.

    ¡°Why are you here? Wh-who even are you now!?¡± I can hear my voice crack, I¡¯m losing the words, desperate to ask, ¡®What happened to you.¡¯ He¡¯s changed so much, and his voice is like torture crafted by the devil, I recognize the methodology of how he speaks.

    Because of all the Vampires, he¡¯s the only one to speak to me, not toward me.

    ¡°Whoever I was. ¨C¡± The words leave his some strange breathing apparatus on the helmet filtered in a way that has him sounding like a menacing beast.

    ¡°Whoever you were? What-¡­Why are you speaking to me like you¡¯ve rehearsed something¡­What are you trying to say?¡± I bite suddenly, yet I feel myself cowering in fear all the same¡­A horrid feeling that whoever¡¯s in front of me is a stranger.

    He turns his head at that cold mono singular eye slide as if he still is looking at me.. gauging my reaction

    ¡°I became a Shocktrooper, Arianne. I can¡¯t hope to explain to you, how-to you I changed in such short time but¨C¡± His tone switches, I feel some sort of condescending tone thrive in it, like as my father oft scolded me with

    ¡°Spit it out! What happened to you, you ran!? You came here!? You have something to say!?¡± I blurt it out all at once, it¡¯s too much for me and I can feel my mind unwinding.

    For two years in and out of the grey structures, taunted and hounded by those feeding those who executed my parents, it all collapsed in on my mind.

    It¡¯s too quick and I feel the room spin.

    ¡°Arianne, I won''t see you again.¡±

    The room stops spinning yet I feel the deacceleration hit me all at once.

    ¡°Wh-what¡­¡±

    ¡°I met you here every day waiting so we could run away.¡± I believed in something so foolish and childish, but it¡¯s as if the myth finally dies here, now that I¡¯m facing it¡­

    ¡°Ar-are you here to kill me...¡±

    ¡°By God no!¡±

    ¡°Then why¡­why would you bother¡­. To come see me¡­..¡±

    ¡°Because Arianne, I wanted to know you were alive before I left.¡± He seems to take direction to console me, but it just makes me angry.

    ¡°What you wanted to console me, ask if I¡¯m doing as horrible as I was the last time?¡± The words come out, my mind isn¡¯t working properly, it''s spilling out an object of my grief ahead of me victimized by my words.

    He nearly flinches before he takes two wide strides toward me¨C Jumping up, I¡¯m in a seat, and my head rises as he nears.

    The white ceiling as plain as my mind filled the center with Aleph becomes something¡­. horrible.

    Not that he became a shocktrooper¡­. but that he would leave me forever, in this horrid world.

    Where I suffered, where my mother suffered

    Till she met my father, and they suffered together until her suffering was put to an end.

    Like I would end up if we didn¡¯t run away now¡­ I planned it since I was a child, Aleph had promised me, that this world was horrid, pain riddled us all our lives and we would run away¨C he slowly had abandoned such a promise¡­! ¨C

    I watched him confirm the end to this promise and turn aside from me, as he stood tall and spoke.

    ¡°I won¡¯t lie, I feel as if who I was in your frame of a year ago is gone¡­but that doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°I learned something.¡±

    ¡°Learned what?¡± I laugh in disbelief, staring toward him.

    He leans in, on the arms-rest of the love seat I lean back in, a cold helmet menacing lingers close, I see his cold frosty breath blow toward my face.

    ¡°I was never human Arianne¡­It would¡¯ve never worked.¡± He hesitates and my eyes narrow at how he dismisses me like a child.

    ¡°That¡¯s why¨C ¡°I interrupted him with a pained laugh.

    ¡°No¡­no...¡± I pause for a long while and he unusually accommodates minutes of silence as I think-

    I remember the moments he would sneak out, ¡®claw through barbed wire¡¯ he said, just to see me, he¡¯d grown powerful strong, and I¡¯d grown wiser. I knew of a way we could escape, together! We weren¡¯t the first.

    He rejected me each time, he put forth the effort to tear me down, to isolate me as he grew further and further.

    ¡°You¡¯re right Aleph¡­¡± I wrestle out my vision filled with the blank visor, the harmful red glow of the mono-eye filling my vision as it burns my orbs.

    ¡°You¡¯re not human¡­you never will be.¡±.

    I see the visor fade, and blank dreadful eyes gaze into mine.

    That isn¡¯t him anymore¡­he¡¯s dead.

    Hours later

    A buzz rings through Aleph¡¯s helmet, but he ignores it as he leaves, he can somberly remember the times he ran through these streets, a time when he hardly found himself very separate from the humans.

    Humans¡­¨C He can see them now, watching him, their eyes bore into him fearful but like hers calm and guided.

    They perceive him with with the eye and look a servant might give a king he respects but is terrified by, it¡¯s all worse all the same, he can remember in stark contrast how he easily passed among them but now he is different.

    I¡¯m different, I¡¯m different. He shakes his head.

    He has to die now and let the undead run free. His callsign is ¡®Alpha-Victor¡¯

    That is what he is now, far from Aleph who was weak and couldn¡¯t endure pain. Victor is different, he still feels pain magnitudes greater than a human does in sensitivity but is strengthened by it, he is faster, a leader, he¡¯s met blades with those of the first generation and is impressed.

    Yet he can still see Aleph.

    The Quantum Vampires memories never fade because their immortality is as present as they are.

    At that exact moment one may have become a vampire and the days after are pulled into one, one immortal day. He¡¯d spent more than thirty-years in that training facility and it¡¯s all as seconds ago.

    So as the pain of the memories he spent with Arianne.

    So is now.

    Five hours linger.

    His helmet continues to buzz, he¡¯d gone awol, truthfully considering it. Leaving with Arianne, but that isn¡¯t what he wanted,

    ¡®I¡¯m new right?¡¯

    He doubted that more and more now, he almost had an outburst with Arianne.

    And now he is at the head of a structure, his helmet buzzes with curses, demands, and reprimands for his abandonment of post, yet he ignores it all. He sees a massive, towering elevator, surely that¡¯s carried all the others ahead of him, and now it seems to rise for eternity past the clouds of the orange sky and into oblivion.

    Surely no one ascends to heaven. He weakly speaks and crawls toward it on his feet, he¡¯s struggling to move forwards but claws ahead, seeing what he thought was dead now die, be stripped away.

    The grey maze-cities, it all becomes so dreadful, he remembers color back then, towering purple towers, the light of it all but now alone he feels nothing.

    There is a massive open section, there are as expected operators at the base of the tower, they call in to alert he has arrived, vis-stasi facilitating his arrival.

    Surely far above is a vessel

    He doesn¡¯t surrender himself; he walks into the massive platform that once held 144,000 alone.

    A vampire should be used to darkness

    Yet it feels too dark.

    Far from the city shared by humans, there is no need for light. His kind love the darkness.

    He stands on a wide platform, it grows smaller, and he feels crushed, as massive glass walls close in, it begins to rise.

    -

    He¡¯s soon rising up, seeing the massive dim structures of the city fade, the lights shining as it grows tonight and slowly rides, the whine of the mechanics that <u>whir</u> as the elevator is dragged up a cruel whine.

    With the growing distance between him and the ground, Aleph has never been so far from himself he¡¯s decided to become something else.

    The opportunity was there to escape and yet he grew emboldened to choose this over everything.

    Choose it over her.

    Yet he doesn¡¯t feel triumphant in this one moment.

    -

    Melancholy.

    Aleph was never able to convince himself he''d ever left that elevator.

    Rather that he is still looking down and watching who he was before become more distant, more difficult to see.

    A curse an otherworldly hell

 The Crisis and Journey: Quantum Travel.

    I never left that elevator, but I can still feel something with me, the darkness bears on me. Common to Vampires never needing the light it¡¯s oppressive now as I¡¯m stuck within a tube, so quickly was I corralled to where the rest of the 144,000 were. I faced no direct reprimand.

    Likely wherever we were being sent was punishment enough.

    Fracturia was the words that slid across the interior of my visor as against my will it flickered to life.

    Like an optical illusion, I felt as if I was in a theatre gazing upon a grand presentation, in reality I was still uncomfortably squished into a metallic thin metal coffin shaped like a pill.

    My eyes grazed over the data I¡¯d been given again, and again since I¡¯d been shoved inside brushing past docking where lesser castes were set out to deploy.

    I thought we were special.

    I remember the pain and suffering of our training vividly, I didn¡¯t see reverence or respect in their eyes, only fear and disdain, often both together when they set sights on me.

    This was something I immediately noticed.

    Go figure.

    I¡¯d always imagined Krul had been chosen. He hated us because he was hard on us. Jealous, maybe it was isolated, but the vis-stasi hated us just as much nearing deployment as in the city.

    I remember often how those castes constantly looked down on me and degraded those like me.

    It¡¯s having me clenching my fists tightly

    There is hardly the sound of anything other than the shifting mechanisms of the silo I was placed into.

    We hadn¡¯t trained for this, it was obvious what was going to happen to me, I didn¡¯t bother taking otherwise.

    I was last to arrive, I set out to meet Arianne, I wasn¡¯t sure if the others were in similar positions, but with the way I could feel something through the immeasurable layers upon layers of dark-steel bulkheads stuck with me.

    ¡®I¡¯m going to break out of this death-pod and ¡®bring death¡¯ I feel myself going stir crazy.¡¯ I say in mind before I hear her.

    I know it¡¯s Saiyah¡­. No one else keeps me tied down well, besides Arianne. But it has me questioning if my connection with Saiyah is supernatural.

    She knocks two more times, quick and I can sense the anger in it, it¡¯s to my right in the darkness.

    She¡¯s fuming I didn¡¯t respond; she just knows I¡¯m in the pod. I¡¯m questioning how she could know I was slotted into the silo beside her.

    The ship was noisy enough¨C.

    Clang!

    I¡¯m on auto-pilot as my right-hand impacts the thin disposable wall of this pod twice, but doing so to reply only has me to come to greater worry...

    My hand went through the steel giving an awful screech and clang as my hand hit the bulk of the ship¡¯s silo, it¡¯s as if I tore through paper!

    I don¡¯t scramble despite everything urging me to begin panicking, unsure if this death pod would even work.

    They want me to insert to orbit in this¡­.

    I consider feeling the bulkhead, having to lean over, as I touch the outer part of my death pod (self-named)

    I realized immediately this silo is big enough for a guided weapon.

    Cruise missiles, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles We¡¯d learned a lot in Shocktrooper Academy, I thank Krul even as heh- Cruel and unusual as he was, he told me things I hadn¡¯t learned even from Yervandal.

    It pauses, my thoughts that is the very mechanisms that bring them forth slow up. I hadn¡¯t even realized it, but Victor did.

    Victor was fast, faster than me.

    This ability¨Cthis thing I have, he was learning it faster than me.

    I can feel the ship I¡¯m in, I am wired in a sense to it.

    It¡¯s massive, bigger than the city I was born in, yet it¡¯s hardly even a carrier, stretching for miles upon miles, large enough to house the army I saw walking in from the space-elevator.

    What the hell¡­we¡¯re above the planet.

    I can see the screens flow through my mind, the currents and data entering my head are numbers, signs I easily translate.

    Every bit of the data is a 1 and a 0.

    Like always.

    Victor is reading it.

    Yes-no-yes-no.

    That¡¯s how the data is input, insignificant and small to the ignorant, technology was binary to me and it¡¯s all I could sense and feel.

    They were already above the planet, and it felt like no time at all. I can read an output of their sudden jump, 10 light-years in an instant from New Persia¡­my home...won¡¯t see it again likely.

    [¡®TERROR-SPACE JUMP COMPLETE¡¯]

    It¡¯s what finally flashes through my mind, the output is so strong I feel as if I¡¯m linked with my helmet.

    I confirm his glancing up and the imagery of the data in my mind is displayed In front of me, purplish bold with a tint of red.

    The death pod rumbles, it¡¯s loud due to me puncturing it, I settle in but I¡¯m left vibrating heavily, I can feel gears turning, I lurch as if the pod slides down, I can see few sparks from the hole I left in it.

    I¡¯m in a thin steel pill within a ballistic weapon¡¯s silo, if my father could see me now, he¡¯d weep.

    Arianne would cry, but maybe I would cry with her. I can¡¯t feel the pre-battle excitement, I feel void.

    Like those bits of footage displayed by and of Vis-Stasi, I can¡¯t share the wide smiles they had prepping for a fight.

    They enjoy the violence, but such doesn¡¯t come to me.

    But I do not worry about lacking such fervor I am sure all the 144,000 have a similar countenance I have in this thin pod accompanied by the ambient hum of the ship''s spinal engines, I¡¯m very assured of it.

    Bitter, Sour discontent.

    common in humans and vampires, excitement and naivety of the battle, it doesn¡¯t come to me.

    Maybe I know too much...

    I can feel his blood start to boil, he¡¯s thinking of Arianne, of home¡­of them.

    I have no warmth even I¡¯m undead yet still¡­ I feel what is like glaciers form at my feet and fingers, making me tense with scorching pain akin to how humans described frostbite

    Is it fear?

    I can¡¯t fear. Not now¡­

    I shake at the sensation of the tube buckling, my breath is being stolen from me¡­it¡¯s as if all the air has left the silo.

    They opened my silo in orbit¡­They opened mine first.

    I¡¯m not strong enough, I don¡¯t have the mind for what¡¯s to come.

    So, my eyes closed, I¡¯m not Aleph now, soon I¡¯ll be Victor I need to be someone else¡­I can¡¯t be me¡­I can¡¯t be human... I can¡¯t

    -

    \\ Fracturia 3049 August\\

    I¡¯m Victor now¡­I must be.

    I can feel that ship lurch and my pod make the jump.

    Shards of heavy metal erupted all around me washing me and armor in an ocean of scratches I couldn¡¯t hear being made.

    It was rapid and violent.

    My pod burst early due to the damage I inflicted with the hole I punctured, I¡¯m above and hurtling in toward a planet glowing with violet lights.

    Falling from orbit out of a sea of stars.

    Fracturia¡­is it?

    I can see a greyish planet engulfed in brutal violence, it¡¯s a vast metropolis covering the surface in grand degrees I can see some of the skyscrapers even as I hurtle in from orbit, I¡¯m enough distance for this trip to have taken longer had I not been shot out.

    I maintained much of the velocity and only began to fall faster¨C and faster.

    My eyes scour around and in the sea of stars, I can make out pods parallel to my left and to my right.

    KAT-THUNK

    No sound but a vibration, it''s hot and I can feel the heat through my armor, it doesn¡¯t dissipate at all for a while as I hurtle toward the surface.

    High-velocity projectiles of pure energy bright pink spheres with tails violently shoot for me at me.

    I hold a shout of pain as my entire being is engulfed and a fire rages on me along with my re-entry burn, I¡¯m heating up and the armor is doing nothing to cool me, just contain me.

    I can almost hear fire rip through the air, but not toward me.

    Toward the distant pods of them,

    Saiyah! Asaph! Anna!

    I¡¯m unable to evade myself, I¡¯m focusing on hindering the pain of being scorched as my armor burns red hot. Aleph is too weak; his pain is double that of any human!

    Less than a human¨C!

    I shut my eyes for a moment before glancing as the heat dies down yet I¡¯m still burning in.

    The color of the atmosphere and sky is circling around me as I¡¯m reaching into the atmosphere of the planet, and I can almost hear wind in the environment of low oxygen.

    My eyes frantically whip around sometimes taking my whole head to get a view.

    I¡¯m not safe even dropping in so suddenly at this velocity, they had us zoned in the moment this ship came into orbit...

    They must¡¯ve predicted that we would be launched like this.

    Static scrambles my ears as I can almost hear the voices of all 144,000 but it¡¯s so distorted we have to be subject to jamming. Or radiation-based interference.

    Titanic vessels of immense size slug each other brutally with powerful and large projectiles, my eyes can clearly see them go at speed on par with light, and beams of energy slice cleanly through vessels.

    Among vessels that aren¡¯t Purple, that are not of my people, my Empire.

    I see strange vessels, arrayed in black and white, a primary arrangement of black with milky white, brutalist vessels bordering on large boxes, fist-shaped as if to punch into atmospheres.

    They are strange having weapons concealed in humps on the armor plating coating the ships, I launched from a destroyer and knew from the Academy the power a Vampiric ship could lash a vessel with.

    I watched such dramatic power in the form of a darkish beam purple with an outlining hue of abyssal black glance off a mechra ship.

    Two of theirs returned fire, projectiles barely the size of most of the shells we were launching.

    I was illuminated by a bright purplish fireball above me from the ship I¡¯d descended from, parts of it flew faster than I could perceive with my mind, fireballs accompanying our descent down.

    Like light they shoot down impacting the surface.

    This is going to get bad. No this is going to be bad! I do nothing to comfort myself. I need to understand I¡¯m going in.

    Low Intel. Low support.

    And among them is a moon¨C but it moves, it¡¯s long, tilts and dwarfs a great deal of the surface of this large planet¨C

    No that¡¯s a ship!

    It is the flagship of our enemy¡­. The Mechra.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    I see what thousands of tiny dots must be shooting back and forth like a hive of insects toward the planet and back from it.

    Dropships¡­. This is going to be bad. That many¡­.I¡¯ve heard of massive battles when man had touched the stars, but that¡¯s just too many of those are dropships¡­¨Cno I know those are dropships¨C!

    My worries are amplified as I¡¯m struck unable to change angle due to sheer velocity, a laser domes me from the surface, as I break through a cloud hurtling in as I catch fire.

    I feel heat intensify on me, but nothing is too foreign compared to the heat that engulfed me when I donned this armor. I¡¯m tilting back as if the laser had kinetic force behind it.

    Something solid hits my armor with a CLACK-CRUSH I feel bits of the parts holding my helmet together shatter as It cuts apart in the atmosphere.

    The surface of this world is scorched by bright pinkish spheres of energy, detonations bordering on nuclear in size as I see it swallow bits of the continent from so high up.

    I hurtle down toward one of them as it dissipates into a cloud of white smoke, the surface under it a crater and the grounds stained white as if the very fabric of being below had been vaporized into nothingness.

    The entire world¡¯s sky is being drowned out in clouds of white ash as I come down, obscuring my view of the orbital engagement.

    I hear the wind, it¡¯s like an avalanche rushing by my ears, a thundering sonic boom as I break in close, I tightly ball together to protect my equipment.

    The fireball dissipated and I hit the ground, it was a short moment as I touched and it was like electricity as I finally hit the ground and I not as Victor surprise myself, Aleph. ¨Cno I..

    No, I¡¯m surprising him, I¡¯m not Aleph.

    I surprised him, Aleph!

    I rebounded the moment I struck the ground; I had my equipment on me.

    It¡¯d been rattled all the while and withstood the heat just as I knew my armor would, it has me wonder if the method of equipping it and scorching my flesh past the abilities of my regeneration to make me wear it Was for situations like this.

    But that ended quickly, I got three things in the plan.

    Rally, Regroup, Reorganize.

    I have the worst place of all, even as I stray far from being Aleph, I share his one weakness inherited.

    I can¡¯t let them down.

    I¡¯m in dirt, I struck with the force of thunder, and an explosion back into the air and onto my feet, I skip like a stone twenty no¨C! Fifteen miles.

    I see nothing but what has to be humanoids in the distance, but I can¡¯t sense a heartbeat, and I smell no blood.

    Machines.

    I can hear their steps speedily approaching me¡­I haven¡¯t encountered the Mechra yet, my finger taps my rifle as I wrench it from my back,

    Tugging a sling made of malleable metals that bend as reliably as a simple leather strap.

    I can sense it; my mind is cloudy.

    I almost forgot to regroup, so my eyes quickly scan and spot in the sky, mentally working with my helmet, I can feel it invade my mind.

    VLIR is the name of it, as it lives inside my visor, and I am quickly working with it to track trajectory.

    Mountains surround me, cities all around, I¡¯m in cratered ruins of one, with the ambient sound of gunfire, likely thermonuclear detonations by mushroom clouds quickly rising and what I now am presuming to be the destructive weapons of the Mechra.

    Anti-matter charges.

    Thunk thunk.

    The Mechra is fast, faster than any machine that could still readily match me in close quarters back on New Persia.

    I wrestled most of my equipment into place but wasn¡¯t prepared¨C! They cleared distance, killing it faster than I could think, and I usually thought as fast as possible.

    I¡¯m struck twice, and I can feel the force of the impact cause us both to sink into the ground, massive, armored machine struck my head, with such force sparks fly and I can feel heat generated.

    Winds pick up and howl as a shockwave wraps and doubles fifteen feet around us twice.

    I lived. Albeit if I was human this would¡¯ve turned my insides too mush!

    I recovered faster than it can resume attack, it closed distance rather than capitalize on its range. A big mistake!

    I¡¯m in darkness, no problem for me as a Vampire but I thank God that I am cursed to be as I am now just to win this fight that I may live another day.

    I turn to a light that switches on and rapidly illuminates me, pinkish, it¡¯s cut off just as soon as it shines on me.

    Planted into a weird visor built like a misshapen cross, glass bordering on the strength of heavy armored metals, I nearly crushed my gauntlet and hand just to wrestle through with that punch.

    My body tenses, I can sense electrical currents, five sources with enough to power a city twice over.

    My head snaps.

    Five more lights¨CI don¡¯t need a flashlight or night vision I can see in the dark, they¡¯re huge, even bigger than the one I just fought, this is not good!

    I¡¯ve got my attention on five, they¡¯re taller than me, far above seven-foot-seven, each one has an arm mounted with a cannon¨CIt¡¯s humanoid to such a degree it¡¯s a machine segmented like an insect, with curves.

    The segmented portions likeness of a ribcage, jostling up and down not fully attached as they sprint for me.

    It must work as armor!

    I can sense the machines, I feel them in the ground, this ability I¡¯m imbued with is giving me double an advantage over my vampiric seventh sense.

    Three more! -Three more behind.

    I fired a burst of rounds from my VK-419.

    Each round rockets out with force and sound akin to an explosion, rapid and immediate.

    Purplish high blazes from the end of my rifle, rounds pound the dirt merely by traveling above, a trail and blast wave.

    I watch five figures fall as heads burst into sparks and metal, whilst I hear thuds behind me

    They which had been moving at speeds comparable to an armored car hit the ground their ribcage armor broken my my Viper Shells rocketed off, they struck dirt and kid,

    impacting bits of ruins that had somehow survived or been unearthed by whatever weapon was used on the surface, turning structures of concrete into powdered clouds that traveled with their tumbling bodies.

    Thunderous booms roared around me, as I finally realized the peculiarity of their design, as I watched a body land not far off something strange ooze from it.

    They¡¯re ultra utilitarian despite a design that boders on ceremonial, the pseudo ribcage¨C Its armor!

    I¡¯m slamming my foot into the ground¨C dirt and rocks kick up, stones fly by clattering by at the force of my evasion

    I¡¯m swinging my torso forwards closing in on the dirt beneath, blazing heat like  sun flies over my back.

    Missed swing¨C but too close!

    The machine is sinking into the ground, massive and heavy its sheer weight felt in the dirt around us, even debris in the massive crater we¡¯re in is powdered as it takes steps to readjust and try and get another swing off on me.

    I throw my rifle up toward the arm that comes into my Peripheral, it takes strength to throw it off course, I can hear a whirr, a guttural whine from the machine.

    It¡¯s second arm is coming for me whilst I turn, and two others come, they¡¯re different.

    These ones are much smaller, about my size exactly, bulkier albeit and more wide as they are tall.

    Blades atop their arms extended, I can see collapsible portions of it as it swings over my head

    Swiftly forcing myself back in an awkward bend.

    Watching metal wipe cleanly off my helmet.

    They know how to go for the head and have blades hotter than the crucible which forged my armor-damn!

    I rise with a swing of the buttstock of my rifle, using it like a paddle to slam into the chin-piece of its humanoid head.

    I see what is like a secondary casing and helmet open as the machine screeches, I already turned my rifle around and planted two rounds quickly.

    I move fast, counter-charging the other two machines, I throw myself into it.

    My head shooting in every direction looking for cover¨CIt¡¯s too obvious more machines are coming.

    This is getting bad!

    The machine is not only strong enough to catch me but nearly throw me to the ground, I stumble off side, losing grip of my weapon, clattering against my abdomen as a blade comes for me.

    In the dark, surrounded, alone, without communication.

    My mind burns with rage¨C I throw a fist as the blade sails for my head, swiftly catching the arm as I lance over to the machine, merely a few feet away the second is on me.

    I can¡¯t give a strike into this one¡¯s visor.

    I¡¯m forced to duck back as it nearly cleaves my torso in half.

    I¡¯m being assailed by two machines, they get fast, faster than I can see for a moment before my eyes adjust.

    I¡¯m weaving left-right, my mind acting up, their arms move with such speed I can see fire trail on their blades, they¡¯re precise, they picked up on it!

    They picked up on my movements, I can barely get a fist in!

    I cut the bladework with my gun, grabbing my sling, planting barrel ahead and firing toward both!

    Damn-!

    They hold the blades out like a shield, blocking VIPER rounds.

    Those blades are too durable.

    I¡¯m in a crater alone.

    Thud thud.

    I can hear more marching, I fire into them, throw my feet into the ground and hop backwards, dashing as fast as I can a few good meters.

    I can sense more machines, I know their inner-workings, it¡¯s like we are soul-tied as they march toward me.

    [Command-Entity-Spotted] I see in my mind as if I have a copy of their script.

    It¡¯s like their inner workings are relayed to my mind our armor lacks personalization and they immediately isolated me as primary lead.

    I¡¯m surrounded by blades, more of them come out swinging, I can see heads and blades pop out bits of what looks like the underground sewer system that just barely survived the apocalyptic bombing

    Massive pipes where they begin to flow out!

    I got to frag the bastards!

    ¡°Grah!¡± I clutch my gun tightly as I duck and roll yet fail to be able to remain stationary enough to land more shots

    Too many are coming! This thought is mixed by me narrowly avoiding five more blades moving at a speed faster than any bullet I¡¯ve evaded.

    It has me thinking of all the times Yervandal cut me apart with a blade for months, has me working harder than even that training, has me fighting harder than I ever thought I could.

    This is taking everything we have!

    I can¡¯t imagine what the others are going through, isolated, fighting an enemy we¡¯ve got no intel on, as far as I know, I¡¯m being surrounded and even if I make it out we only have the objective of smashing the enemy''s surface side.

    I can¡¯t make an escape, but I see an opening amidst the horde of machines rushing into the crater.

    I begin to dash uphill but am being stopped.

    They¡¯re too fast, too maneuverable, these ones are smaller than the first few I engaged but are maneuverable, lithe. These are unlike any of the machines I encountered in training, I can¡¯t even hope to compare the machines we use to these ones.

    Their bladework immediately adjusts every time I evade, I¡¯m forced to switch up, I¡¯m pushing my undead body to limits even Vampires have, twisting unnaturally.

    My armor is heavy, yet it hardly slows me down¨CBut it doesn¡¯t need to.

    The weight of this fight has me nearly hurtling to the ground as I¡¯m knocked down by a machine, twin blades strike near my head.

    Too close¨C!

    This can¡¯t possibly be right, but I know it is, I think back to the brutality of our training, I haven¡¯t even been told half of what I truly am.

    You¡¯d need to be a one-person army to survive even one of these things, and that¡¯s exactly what I have to be. I¡¯m fighting to live up to what is required to survive!

    First engagement and I¡¯m assured I¡¯m going to die.

    It¡¯s up to me, I must stop thinking, utilizing everything I¡¯ve been taught.

    I lean into it, it¡¯s primal, yet far from human so I cling to it.

    War.

    I trailblaze dashing and firing whilst maneuvering

    I can see them adjust block and deflect rounds with those blades, even the explosive nature and plasma payload of a Viper round couldn¡¯t destroy those blades

    I¡¯m no longer worried I can account for this!

    I prioritize any machine going for my rear flank, they sprint down into the massive town-house sized crater after me and have their visor caved in.

    It¡¯s something that tests the limits of my undead flesh and the armor surrounding, it¡¯s tough to break through, I¡¯ve dismantled machines with my fists before but they¡¯re something else entirely!

    Compounded with how fast they adapt, how I some almost weave my punches even if I get unpredictable with technique in tense CQC.

    They are immediately reading every movement, every decision, they seem to adjust mechanically and internally to such a degree they account for the flap of a butterfly¡¯s wings, its every second.

    I can hear an ambient hum each time they do, they¡¯re fast.

    I can read it immediately, they¡¯re a hivemind of machines¡­

    That¡¯s not enough to kill me! My fist clenches

    I can already anticipate regardless of this connection I have to machines they try to relay new technique and blade work on those looking to flank me. It¡¯s not predictable it¡¯s elementary.

    I give sporadic gunfire knowing it¡¯ll be avoided, but I utilize the full capability of my body.

    Throwing my fist back into any of them that seek to round behind me.

    My fist cleaves into the visor of five machines looking to get sneaky!

    One gives a mechanical roar its visor light coming on.

    Amid a battlefield a clean white robot with black primary markings, adorned like a religious servant launches at me

    Others pursue me going further than a simple sprint then swing,

    they leaped at me, I avoided the blade, but I evaded into another, a blade caught the opening my leg armor, nearly slicing my leg off.

    I grunt, Aleph would¡¯ve screamed, glad that I take fold glad I am in control I can recover from this pain doesn¡¯t weigh me down like it does to him, I have to take control of him I was made for this to supplement his weakness¨Chis humanity.

    Fire burns my flesh, the pain is greater than anything experienced, its hot enough to be plasma or at least I¡¯m sure it is and yet does not cauterize the wound

    sending a burst of blood out of the open wound as the open wound explodes from heat and pressure!

    I¡¯m not Aleph, I¡¯m not Aleph!

    The pain torments me.

    I can sense the machines, but my mind is overloaded, this ability has limits.

    I know this because there¡¯s twenty-more!

    I¡¯m locked in!

    The machines are fast, I know this as I reload it takes only a second to eject and pound in another sixty-round mag from one of the storage bases on my armor.

    It takes them less than half that to close the distance again from more than fifteen feet.

    The large clearing of this crater is filled with the bodies of machines and only now I realize I¡¯ve been piling them to the top.

    I¡¯m nearly at the end of them but they keep coming.

    Blades swinging faster than speeding-bullets, metallic chassis that takes an uncomfortable amount of damage before the payload of the Viper shell finishes them off.

    24x154mm leaves shell casings scattered beneath my feet, my barrel smoking.

    I can¡¯t be bothered to try and provide space and distance to use my fist, too slow to use a gun.

    I¡¯m swinging wildly in a blaze of fury-!

    I¡¯m moving faster than I can think to offset the speed they throw their blades, my fists are pounding metal, sparks are flying at the velocity they strike, and as my fist caves in, I¡¯m still hurtling to the next.

    Maneuvering from target to target as my fist cleans through targets..-! They¡¯re just targets¡­..

    But I sense something else amidst the chaos, this unique sense of machines.

    [PRIMARY DIRECTIVE ¨C INITIATE PROCESS DEFEND TOWER]

    ¡°Defend tower.¡± I¡¯m muttering that aloud it has me shaken enough that I can sense what is going on through the hivemind, for a moment I¡¯m split.

    I¡¯ve never seen it before until now, it was tangible as if I could see it but it¡¯s floating in my face even as I close my eyes.

    Script revealing, they are trying to do something awful¨CIt¡¯s like revelation as my hand crosses into the machinery of one of these machines.

    I feel what is like millions of eyes scattering on me, before my mind is forced out and I¡¯m stumbling.

    What the hell is a Quantum Crisis.

    I pause long enough to be impaled by a blade swiftly.

    Damn¨C! There was only one¨CLeft! I¡¯d fought my way out with my bare hands, covered in metallic debris, my armor scorched black from the internal mechanisms of these machines exploding onto me.

    It¡¯s strong enough to lift me, even as I weigh enough to start compressing into the dirt around me if I stand still too long.

    It¡¯s as if time has slowed.

    I can see the machine, the screen.

    -

    I glance up, a smoke clearing, the remains of our fleet above, a painful screech hurtles from me as this blade goes deeper, and I begin to slide down.

    I¡¯m¨CDying!

    This can¡¯t be it!

    I¡¯m about to be sawed in half.

    I wrestle every ounce of my strength, and bring both hands onto the blade, my fingers cleaving off and parts of my gauntlet sliced apart, hot slag and scorched soldering flesh is left.

    No no no no no!

    I¡¯m at my end, I paused for a moment, my mind danced too far into the workings of these machines, I got sloppy! Overworked...

    I try to muster up what¡¯s left.

    My body pulsed and the heat of the blade cut off, the strength of this machine¡¯s blade, which allowed it to withstand the rounds, it was an energy blade.

    I catch myself on this blade as it stopped on my flesh losing its heat, but the burn is too much.

    I can only muster barbarically throwing my fists in a rage toward this machine.

    That blade was in my chest!

    I nearly died.

    I¡¯m sliding backwards off the blade, falling into dirt.

    Staring up into the distance out of the crater, the sky is black, as my wounds regenerate slowly, I¡¯m low on blood, outnumbered.

    This maybe it but I don¡¯t let it end early, my wounds regenerate, but the metal of my armor remains wounded at the abdomen.

    I¡¯m down to the last magazine left in my gun.

    I have more important people counting on me.

    And worst of all, I have a worse enemy than anything I¡¯ve faced. I know now this isn¡¯t another simulation again.

    This is real.

    Because we¡¯ve already lost. I know this for I see our fleet laid bare, and that horrific ship coming to land.

    They won orbit, it¡¯s a ground game now, and no army wins a ground game without a fleet¡­

    -

    [Seven hours later.]

    I think I¡¯m a new man now, I got out of that crater, ran into several more patrols.

    I can¡¯t agree on a nickname for the bastards with the blades.

    But it gets worse, I¡¯m down to no mag, I encountered enemies that keep distance, I got close and had my visor busted, it runs ragged now, I¡¯m keeping it together purely with my mind and hope ¨C In a literal sense survival has brought this out of me.

    I recognize the uniqueness of my ability, my connection with machines.

    It¡¯s what allows me to keep this machine alive, it¡¯s the only powered part about my armor.

    Talk about bad luck!

    I got no powered armor; luck is a lie we¡¯re more like the most powerful suicide workers.

    I can¡¯t imagine what we are expected to do against an entire planet.

    The cities that remained amidst the explosions were protected by domes preventing orbital strikes, whatever human population that lived here is within them, I could sense hundreds to thousands of lives, likely millions.

    Lights are on, bodies move, heartbeats are calm.

    Humans in there are working with these machines, I can¡¯t imagine why.

    I¡¯ve seen enough Vis-stasi corpses flayed and beheaded to think this would distress even the most hardened human mind.

    They have better weapons, energy weapons, kinetics are rare but still just as deadly. This isn¡¯t even half of it, I¡¯ve seen aircraft flying overhead, fighting and disappearing.

    The others are engaged, I¡¯ve been heading in that direction for a while now.

    I¡¯m expecting to hear that some died by now. Things can only get worse from here. After all.

    S2N2

 The Crisis and Journey: Quantum Combat

    There was a certain tremble felt in my heart, I could feel it though I shouldn¡¯t be able to.

    It was Victor clawing desperately to stay within me, he got me through a brutal fight and wanted to remain longer.

    But was fading the moment I saw her.

    I wanted to fight that warmth but I¨Cno Aleph¨CNo my. It¡¯s me..

    I felt warm seeing Saiyah was fine¡­I could see her fighting.

    Saiyah was right there!

    I could pick her out no matter what, we wore the same armor purple grim and brutalist yet smooth, nearly indistinguishable with little variation, but she had a stature and something else about her I could just pinpoint.

    Maybe we were twin siblings secretly.

    I throw myself down the side of a dark greyish cliff face, the aftermath of the glassing, as they are in a terrible crater I thank God is not irradiated.

    They were down in a death bowl, and magazines, and shell casings littered the ground around them with remains of their pods previously.

    Trails of expended supplies, impact craters, and broken bits of their armor and blood led out of their pods and into their entrenched positions around simply rock, stone, and hope.

    -

    And here I was only magazine left was the one in my rifle, excluding sidearms and the spares for that!

    Faster than I took to realize I was sliding down the side of a jagged cliff-face into the death bowl like a moron¨C I can explain!

    On all accounts enemies surround us, I was undercutting the patrols they are more like amassed armies patrolling air and sky, a strange bug-like vehicle is in mass deployment¨CAnd I quickly made a mistake¡­one Victor wouldn¡¯t of made...

    soaring, through the air cutting the wind like buzzards, brutal vipers.

    Assailing my friends, those I had to protect, those I couldn¡¯t let down.

    I was now beside as I slipped in and Saiyah threw her hand up to me, she made quick motions.

    Tactically and unprofessionally signing

    ¡®Where The Hell Were you!?¡¯ in frantic hand motions.

    ¡°Engaged!¡± I stutter out quickly in reply

    Asaph steals a glance back in the few moments his finger isn¡¯t pounding a trigger next to Anna who lays down precise shots onto the heads of larger machines.

    ¡°Aleph!¡± Asaph starts again¨CYeah it was again he had been trying to get my attention for awhile now and I can hear him quite literally break the barrier of sound of his helmet causing me to wince.

    ¡°Aleph, we got pinned the moment you split off from our drop path, we lost you the moment your pod vaporized the moment you launched!¡±

    ¡°What happened!?¡± I start to question

    ¡°Anti-Air weapons, enemy armor, been holding out for what feels like an eternity, but it¡¯s just been seven hours.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s forever to you now!?¡± I found myself uncharacteristically laughing at that for some odd reason

    Asaph is displeased by my sudden burst of humor and so am I, I don¡¯t even know where that last comment came from but I¡¯m refocusing.

    ¡°Status?¡±

    ¡°Ammunition running low, we¡¯ve chewed through enough armored patrols to get a good idea on the variety of robots, little bastards run blades, big bastards arm-cannons.¡±

    Anna cuts in rather than boom through helmet and communications she spoke low, strict and through her helmet speaker.

    ¡°Big bastards don¡¯t need the blades, they got claws, that rip through your armor.¡± She corrects. And I notice immediately I can see her face, strands of hair almost in the way of her scope as she sights in.

    ¡®Still a damn good shot regardless of VLIR¡¯ I hear that little pin prick in my head, wanting to take over¡­Victor..

    The machines were so heavy I could see whatever kept them up was purely inside of them, they sunk into the dirt immediately, as if they melted within the war-torn mud and soil.

    Anna speaks breaking up my grim observation.; ¡°If we let ourselves be here for more than hour more, we are going to die, I can assure you that.¡±

    Asaph just looks in my direction, I can¡¯t see his face under the helmet, but it feels like judgment, passed down, he should be in my position right now I don¡¯t disagree.

    But I take charge anyway using what I know.

    ¡°Countercharge, it¡¯s the only option!¡±

    Anna takes a shot fast, and I can see her whiff it, she ducks her head down behind the rock, heat and energy scalding it above her as fire is returned.

    ¡°Are you nuts!?¡± she motions, and I lower myself, we lay low as heat and energy travels above us, great lights streaming around.

    It¡¯s grown dark now.

    ¡°This is a textbook scenario; we do a staggered retreat and-!¡± She states matter-of-factly, aout to go on

    I don¡¯t even let her finish.

    ¡°We¡¯re surrounded, flanked from all angles, they had our landings zeroed in before our ship made the jump to this system¡± I speak grimly

    It was too obvious, it was so methodical, so analytical these machines in a literal sense had accounted for our landings to change even for these craters and changes to landscape and environment.

    We were facing a hyper-intelligent machine, there was no conventional way out of this, they want us to be sensible so they can strangle us for being more predictable.

    I make this clear ¡°we strike hard and fast; they¡¯ll never expect it because you¡¯ll avoid getting hit.¡±

    ¡°We can afford to charge in we aren¡¯t standard infantry you learn nothing from Krul?¡±

    Anna threw her fist into my shoulder.

    Saiyah reluctantly agreed, giving a nod to Anna but a disappointed headshake to Aleph.

    More heat warms all our bodies as bits of melted rock is flung around us flies near us as they keep up pressure.

    I can almost see them in my peripheral motioning in hand to each other.

    ¡°We can¡¯t afford to retreat, we are the command team, there¡¯s 144,000 we are the leading unit, retreat here and end up likely further from any other group.¡± Asaph steps in for me, he remains silent but cut in sharp and clean.

    I give a nod. Throwing a heavy nod to Asaph ¡°We throw all in break them here.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been fighting them hours already Aleph.¡± Anna scolds angrily, her voice laced with rage now.

    I can feel something almost snap and take her head, it¡¯s Victor¡­..I take a cue from the side of me that knows what to do..¨CNo not side..¨CThe other me we are not the same¨C

    ¡°You¡¯ve been holding out here, they can¡¯t keep up the numbers you think they¡¯ll send the moment we push. Or else you¡¯d have been dead before I arrived.¡±.

    I know this, these machines are unlike what you would usually expect, think of a machine hive mind, you think of an innumerable foe, they were powerful, and expensive.

    They had doctrine, preservation, hell they may even retreat¡­things oddly human...

    I¡¯ve no hesitation leading the charge as I burst free from the habitation of our dwindling cover melted under the enemy¡¯s relentless attack.

    Together we launched out from over our cover.

    Asaph Leaped, Saiyah dashed out from the side and I ran right through from between rocks, rubble and crater

    Recklessly moving forwards charging ahead, I could see numerous enemies and a great danger looming in the sky like a giant insect waiting¡­

    Each miniature sun launched from the machines is weaved, purely and horrendously we are doing something Yervandal strictly taught against.

    Relying purely on our inherent nature, natural and trained agility, speed and strength to overwhelm them.

    Our enemies ran a staggered line, kept up the heat and fire, machines that could calculate beyond what any human mind could comprehend in a lifetime.

    And here I was weaving past their shots, it filled me with pride but even this pride was slowly shaved off each time a shot glanced on my armor, scorching a portion, leaving it black.

    Asaph took point by throwing himself forwards and finally making use of what we had neglected.

    He brought verticality to his combat, and I saw him soar up,

    -2474lbs- of armored giant gained tremendous velocity into the air,

    A fiery tail on the two gimbal thrusters on his mobility-pack.

    The tails suddenly cut off leaving only trailing smoke as he was above a target and came down fast! Striking down as he landed onto the head of one of the larger ones, crushing it entirely, metal debris exploding around as he landed between others.

    I then witnessed His aim snapped between two targets and dispatched them.

    I cut in utilizing this brutal opening that drew great attention, he was far ahead of me battering the line of machines, now I picked off any I could with single shots from my rifle laying¨C Stopping any of them before they could kill his momentum

    There was far too much for me to keep but support up.

    But others far from him to the right flank coming into the bowl they are prepped to hold us up, I can see strange devices in their hands.

    Grenades!

    ¡°Anna! Hostile counter-push!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re thirty meters to your right!¡± Anna screams breaking up static confirming she already spotted them.

    She hits one of their bombs, a chain reaction that blows up the line of them, we¡¯re far enough ahead that her rear overwatch allows her to provide efficient support with great focus¨CDid she even charge with us?

    Saiyah seemed to weave around, the enemies were quickly adapting, focusing fire on her and us having twin mounted weapons on each arm.

    Yet even with precision, an ability to split their minds that effectively, the moment Saiyah disappeared in a plume of smoke from an evaded energy projectile they went haywire.

    I could see them, her ability had to be supernatural now, because she disappeared and only came back when in front of them weaving in and breaking machines with her RHINO shotgun.

    It was energy based yet the blast of it was loud enough to almost cause the rumble of its destruction to reach me.

    She drew enough fire and attention to give me a good opening.

    I raised my bullpup. To attack larger foes that would are an issue for Asaph who I knew was drawing close fast was my priority

    My index and middle fingers shift and take turns laying into my trigger, pounding out the last of the Viper Shells I have in quick bursts.

    Blazing heat projected into my eyes, my rifle''s explosive projection of rounds and heat burned into my retinas as rounds rocketed out and impacted the targets.

    They crumpled momentarily staggering a moment before collapsing.

    I can see the precise moment each projectile becomes quantum-entangled and repeats its impact thrice, and it is still just barely enough to eliminate each of them

    My senses are drowned out by fiery metal cascading over soil and mud, and the roars of hostile and angered machines sound like garbled nonsense that I can almost understand in English.

    If we don¡¯t break them here, we are going to be encircled and killed.

    Any more direct hits and my armor won''t hold up¡­ against a laser maybe but this had to be hotter, more powerful than most energy technology we have.

    And yet It¡¯s so common it¡¯s all I see in my vision flying at me, as I weave, roll, and leap around the battlefield, I become a hyper-active predator purely so I can evade.

    Occasionally whilst I evade, I see an enemy crash and slump where they otherwise would¡¯ve been able to get me... unaware of what is happening.

    I take advantage of that opening given by strange help I can¡¯t credit properly.

    I ensured the next nine rounds were precise, I fragged nine more in a snap and burst of white sparks flying upwards from each impact point on their torsos

    Within half a second, I was forced to engage with that much speed.

    But now with that opening, I gave him! I saw him thunder in and clear their formations!

    This allowed mean Saiyah to push get more aggressive as she casually weaves through like a ghost causing disturbance against the lines of machines dedicated to gunwork,

    even I was in spitting distance to get dirty with my hands, low on ammo I throw my fists into machines cleaving through, leaving me feeling like a trained boxer in a warzone.

    But they were still smart enough to work around our strengths They changed up tactics,

    Adjusted and rather invited us to close distance now, charging in but were still ripped to shreds and we kept closing in, one would bounce back, having deceptive agility for its size, leaping back fifteen paces.

    Me or Saiyah could dash twenty more and cleave through with fists and blade, and cull another with a quick utility of firearm

    ¡°Saiyah! Two marksmen!¡± my eyes scope battlefield amidst rock and in new fresh craters from our fighting, I spot them, angled to hit Asaph.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Saiyah seems to hear me, but all I get is static in reply, and action in adherence to order.

    She cleaves through two machines with lithe frames and large handheld rifles, whipping through them like lightning as she shoots between and eviscerates them with a blade.

    Good Asaph should be working in now!

    I peek to left and witness and confirm my asumption, Asaph is rampaging through with fists, and shreds nine more than me in seconds with his hands. His fists are like frag grenades each time he hits a machine, and it explodes.

    He¡¯s out of ammo not good! Happy to see him rip into them as well as if he had his bullpup¨C But limiting any ease I can have knowing he¡¯s out of ammo too!

    They¡¯re armored enough to be comparable to that of an AFV even standard and we work through them.

    I was nearly out of the one magazine I had left, reaching an end to this magazine.

    Saiyah was flanking, giving me signal to push further,

    She became a ghost to their sensors, the sheath clattering on her hip remained empty , and the blade it was supposed to hold was being buried in the machine after machine.

    Her ability to become like a ghost and disappear in the smokes and fire caused the machines to panic in a way I could only guess it wasn¡¯t something they could understand like we ourselves couldn¡¯t understand.

    The smell of smelted metal was stronger letting me know she was cleaving her way closer to me.

    I was getting in close, keeping the crowd controlled, I was throwing my aim around as I hit the selector on my bullpup and felt the click rather than heard it.

    I felt a rumble.

    And my senses, my seventh sense tickled my brain, my mind the only thing that can bring me do death should it fall.

    I didn¡¯t notice the fiery tails. I evaded them without a second glance, missiles flew in toward me thundering in, they broke the sound barrier and went far past hypersonic.

    I leapt and flipped to the side, shouting to Asaph and Anna a garbled warning.

    They were quick to evade as well.

    Our projectiles were coming from the air.

    We can¡¯t deal with this!

    This seemed minor but the robots were fast, we lost ground as the robots reengaged us with ferocity at the mere presence of whatever threw those missiles, any opening to strike them was halted as we evaded them, their close-range strikes, the missiles, and projectiles.

    I was glad I couldn¡¯t become dizzy; I threw myself around, feeling the heat of projectiles, I could only turn into glancing hits rather than fully evaded strikes.

    My armor burning, the smell of my flesh cooking inside as the heat turned up on us.

    Hope died in my chest in this moment as I saw whatever was providing incredible support sweep down.

    Twin autocannons linked and locked on to me, the machines around us focusing fire as if to try and push us off.

    I was struck with a full burst, my armor held up, solid projectiles large enough to be used against tanks ripped into me, my chest plate soaked up a beating I didn¡¯t know it could take.

    A whole new respect was gained in this moment for my armor as it saved my life from each shell exploding in my face, fire, and hell raining into me.

    This new aerial hostile firing precisely to harass us was about to land! Thundering in as its engine roared loudly, the massive white and black mechanical flying beast with four wings each with burning thrusters as it readjusted itself every second.

    It was larger than me, armed more than any attack helicopter, missile, autocannon. It looked ready to use its four legs as weapons too!

    The three of us are in for it now.

    I didn¡¯t bother hammering the trigger, I could keep track of ammunition¨CAnd I was out!

    I¡¯m quick to get respond to it ¡°Anna! Left Autocannon!¡± I bark into static and my helmet

    I¡¯m evading another burst of its spray, it rips into the terrain around me, a long trench is drawn by its autocannon fire where I just stood.

    I¡¯m moving fast enough my VLIR hud gets in my way as it lags behind, screwing with my peripherals.

    This big automated menace turns to try and lay into me again but is struck in left auto-cannon by a precise shot from Anna, from who the hell knows where¨CIt doesn¡¯t matter to me now!

    It¡¯s attention is drawn from a shot that easily broke through armor and took out it¡¯s right twin cannons.

    Asaph is doing well enough on his own, but as enemies seem more readily focusing on me as I rush through the open engaging me close I quickly shoot a look amidst the fight to check on Anna.

    She¡¯s elusive enough to force them into close quarters but I know she isn¡¯t so invincible to take on thirty alone

    I¡¯m glancing over and can spot her take down twenty-nine of the thirty assailants but one is giving her trouble, I can barely keep focus on my own enemies, forced into brutal hand-to-hand combat, I¡¯m trading blows at dizzying speeds.

    Almost forced to rely on my side-arm but I can¡¯t reach it this troubled.

    But as I see Saiyah falter, I jump into action, outright evading the enemy I¡¯m facing, it chases me keeping up pace

    Then slams its feet into the ground to skid to a stop and aim for me.

    but suddenly is hit from afar and collapses down as I heard it hit the ground with massive impact behind me

    Thanks Anna.

    I¡¯m on the way quickly to solving the issue.

    ¡°Asaph interference!¡± I shout into static. I don¡¯t need confirmation he¡¯s on it¨Cbut I need him to be covered as I leave opening.

    ¡°Ann-!¡± I don¡¯t get to finish before I can hear her hammer the trigger breaking up the sound of static

    I hear five shots ring out, I don¡¯t have to see to know she just cleared five targets within seconds to reply and confirm she¡¯s covering Asaph as I peel off.

    Saiyah is countered several times by what appears to be the large enemy, fifteen feet in total, four arms like it bred for close quarters.

    She¡¯s soaking up energy rounds even as I sprint over to her.

    She got too far away damn it!

    I know my role, I control the engagement, and I let the teamwork, it¡¯s the most effective use as a Sergeant, it¡¯s why I got a standard rifle only.

    I¡¯m thrusting forward off my right foot as I pick up energy and momentum fast!

    My speedometer flickers in immediately from my sprint to my rapid dash at forty miles per hour.

    The sudden stop has me feeling like I¡¯ve been hit by a train as I shoot straight to¨CZero miles per hour!

    My fist comes up into the back of the four-armed Mechra, throwing all my weight and momentum, my fist carves upwards reaching to its spine from behind

    whilst I could hear Saiyah give one last deflect to its clawed hands above her head.

    As I halt my hand rockets into the back spine of the machine, killing center of its mobility as I strike low enough to disturb pelvis and torso.

    It spins wildly trying to engage, but it only sputters and breaks down as my hand continued to rip through in the milliseconds of impact and rip through like a knife into cake.

    Saiyah gives an attentive nod after I raise and drop what weights like a medium tank down by one fist.

    Her armor is singed, blackened, and burned, we are out of cover, surrounded.

    We¡¯re not even relying on tactics in the way we should be, we are relying purely on our endurance, equipment and primal ways, this fighting¡¯s gotten too bad, we are in too horrid of a situation.

    The Aerial machine comes back into fray, Asaph was likely forced off of offensive by the sheer dedication of enemies providing this aerial machine an opening.

    ¡°SAIYAH, EVADE!¡± I¡¯m throwing myself aside  as if to signal her to evade, I can see it turn only for her as she tries to dodge, a pod ejects from its side and missiles stand-out.

    In a moment missiles fly off and engulf her in a haze of flame and fire, I can¡¯t even see the silouhette of her body as she is engulfed in it.

    NO NO NO!

    I snap, I can¡¯t grieve, I can¡¯t weep I just have to kill it quickly!

    Asaph is too close, Anna will be a primary target!

    Half in range, half in merely cold calculating strategic decision to turn course of the fight I throw myself at the aerial vehicle, it¡¯s massive as I close in on the damned thing! I have to control the battlefield!

    I let Saiyah down! She¡¯s dead! She¡¯s gone! But I can¡¯t let Asaph or Anna down either!

    Enemies focus on me, trying their best but I can hear Anna¡¯s shots rip through the battlefield, it¡¯s like a destructive tank-cannon, but merely an anti-material rifle extinguishing targets before they can stop me!

    One of the four legs whips into the air with a crack! Throwing itself toward me, but I already closed distance it was over.

    My fist easily collided with the heavy leg, I can hear metal snap, collapse in on itself as the leg is broken, throwing my other hand under.

    Colliding with the underbelly as my hand explodes components as it slams in from under, I pummel it with all the force I¡¯ve got.

    I¡¯m tunneling through layers and layers of redundant components and armored plating; it¡¯s internally honeycombed like a warship.

    And I brace and rip through.

    I can almost see Asaph in my Peripheral freeze as I tilt this massive vehicle over and toss it overside.

    ¡°FINISH THEM!¡± I bark at Asaph.

    We are going to die here.

    I almost want to look back where Saiyah was but I can¡¯t not now, we¡¯ll die if I lose focus I have to look away, and keep it forwards.

    We throw ourselves in and are barely able to clear the last of the enemies until it slowly becomes quiet, I can hear sporadic shots taken by Anna hit troublesome targets as I and Asaph keep close range and assault.

    Keeping our enemies down, swinging wildly and trading blows with machines.

    They damned us by sending us here like this, almost like they¡¯re trying to kill us..

    The end of this engagement I leave punctuated by thundering my fist into pelvis of a much larger machine, throwing my arm forwards and leaving it sputtering and downed, collapsed in a heap of debris and limbs.

    The crater is filled with machines, we fought enough of them to be well¨CI could guess several battalions of them.

    They knew where I landed to ambush and kill me, knew I was commander of all 144,000 so they had to have known this was my squad to throw all in.

    The crater is blackened, and my head turns.

    I can¡¯t hold back an urge to do well¨C¡­

    I can see out of smoke, out of rubble and fire is a dessicated corpse rising,  a vampire with her flesh and blood exposed, pouring out from wounds, leaned back.

    She sits up, her skull fresh and exposed, cheekless gaze.

    White bones blackened from the burns.

    Left-arm and left leg missing, the mist of the lingering fog surrounds her.

    I can hear Asaph saying something ¡®Aleph!¡¯ It¡¯s muffled. Drowned out by a brutal beat in my skull.

    ¡°Saiyah!¡±.

    She is fine..safe now..

    We wont last like this..not another moment¡­

    I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m thinking, she¡¯s weak now¡­.and so much blood lost I see her regeneration struggle.

    I¡¯m standing over her now, in an instant I didn¡¯t know I could move that fast, my combat-knife flies out in left hand grip.

    I drop to a knee and cleave my wrist, as it nastily flops around almost amputated, holding it over her head.

    Her mouth is almost clamped shut but with so much of her face blown apart, there is gaps in missing teeth where the blood pours in.

    She is reluctantly given enough blood for her regeneration to kick in to peak efficiency.

    The fires of the explosion almost vaporized her, I can smell a metallic scent of the blood that boiled within her.

    She almost died.

    We almost died.

    -

    Moment, minutes exactly.

    The four have a slight reprieve.

    Aleph is left holding Saiyah up, until her leg regenerates, grotesquely wet sinews and veins stretch until flesh spins out, not before new bone stretches out from the stump and recovers itself, the flesh atop.

    The same on her arm and the rest of her body.

    She stands up from him, ragged.

    Hunched over, beaten and brutalized unable to stay silent she is muttering something to herself.

    Her armor is more black than purple at this point scorched¨Cor what may remain of her armor.

    Like the rest of them, she barely made it.

    Aleph has won out over the lot of them, his armor is mostly held together, Asaph¡¯s own armor is barely clinging together, bits of metal scrap hanging off.

    Anna is out of consideration, most damage was taken previous to this fight and engagement, She sprinted over past the broken machines.

    She couldn¡¯t even have her footsteps be anything other than an impact of metal upon metal, clashing atop the mountains of machines broken.

    Machines that had taken just about every bit they had left in them, even Anna was down to just a last magazine for her marksman rifle having only landed fatal blows in singular shots.

    An already blasted crater the pinnacle of destruction was somehow even more destroyed, once perfectly shapen by a several megaton bomb was now misshapen.

    Amidst a sea of white scorched metallic bodies four mountains of purple stood, barely clinging to their armor, bits of their greyish skin and Anna¡¯s more paler complexion showing.

    The only light cast upon their bodies was of Aleph and Asaph¡¯s visors which had survived, that red monoeye casting upon the group as they circled in.

    Lingering fires from the wrecks of machines, a ghostly howl of the wind as they stood alone, it was too quiet.

    They were tensed as if to expect something, something more than just this but there was nothing left..

    They exchanged glances, standing awkwardly in this circle, Anna was straight, Asaph looked feral and crazed and Saiyah leaned awkwardly as if her leg had regenerated into awkward position.

    She straightened it out.

    But Aleph stood silent, more silent than them.

    Among all four was white clouds of their breath going through broken ventilators, the heat died down and it became deadly cold for any human.

    Gladly they weren¡¯t any such humans.

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to make it like this. We don¡¯t even have an objective.¡±

    ¡°We do, grab everyone we can, regather all one-hundred-forty-four thousand, we strike the city.¡±

    The three of them couldn¡¯t hold back a gasp of unison, Aleph had switched up in an instant.

    Cold

    ¡°Alep¨C¡° Saiyah wants to start.

    ¡°Alpha-team!¡± He shoots to cut Saiyah off and looking around to ensure he¡¯s silenced any of the others before they can speak

    ¡°Achtung!¡± He shoots to them, killing any further moment of reprieve, they have to be on the move.

    They have a war to win.

    ¡°The city is fortified with a shield¡­.even if we regroup with everyone, it has to be more fortified, than just..¨C.¡±

    Asaph was speaking but just stopped he was glancing over this crater all the bodies within, his mind quick, inhuman his mind dotted every wreck, more than a hundred thousand, but no more than a few hundred-thousand.

    ¡°That¡¯s why we take it.¡± Aleph scouted around.

    Seeing those massive cities, from their angle in the death bowl they could scope off the top, but as they clambered out in long march after Aleph.

    They could see it, shining pinkish, a bright barrier half-sphere littering the surface of this world, massive containing cities, the silhouette of perfect skyscrapers like isolated utopias.

    Asaph is raising his hand, clenching into fist as his helmet tweaks a bit as if trying to work up ability to say something.

    ¡°Those cities have humans, enough for us to replenish on blood for every one of us. Aleph is thinking well, don¡¯t argue.¡± Anna strictly lays into Asaph who seems poised to start arguing as he raises his fist.

    Aleph is glad the helmet adds the shudder he feels at the idea of running around harvesting humans for blood.

    He is starkly reminded of what sets him apart from all of them, and is reminded of his weakness again.

    ¡°We¡¯ll strike, whatever provided orbital assistance against our fleet and pods is there, strike one of the cities should be a large enough opening, we could probably utilize any groundside weapons they have there.¡± Aleph plans out in straight-laced tone

    ¡°They¡¯re machines it¡¯s all likely automated.¡± Anna adds into consideration, with pauses as if hesitant to refute.

    ¡°We sensed humans there, I can sense the blood from all the way here, they¡¯re working with them that has to be it?¡±

    ¡°Aleph what exactly are we facing have you been told anything..¡± Saiyah speaks.

    The team of four marches out the crater into a wasteland before Aleph gives an answer, with only sparse mountainous locations that haven¡¯t been flattened from bombardment or melted from the glancing shots of the orbital engagement prior.

    A pitch-black night illuminated by the giant shielded cities, pinkish light so bright its whitish cast onto their armor.

    They can hear distant fighting, detonations and hums and rumbles, likely of other shocktroopers engaged.

    Aleph hesitated for a long time it seemed.

    Before he causes Saiyah¡¯s head to shoot up as his voice clears the silence and oppressive ambience of this conflict.

    ¡°No idea, but we¡¯ve survived this long we¡¯ll deal with them enough, we regroup, gather any other team.¡± Aleph answers his voice low and beaten

    ¡°We¡¯re out of ammunition.¡±

    Aleph gives nod ¡°One of the units should¡¯ve been prepped for resupply, we find and pick anything we can get off of them, then group up to find others, fight our way there.¡±

    -

    Elsewhere Interior city FIRST TOWER.

    ¡°DIRECTIVE-TOWER-HELD.¡±

    A pyramid-like structure is surrounded by hundreds of gnarly flying machines, twin-autocannons detached, missile-pods cast aside, their legs are used for their true purpose to carry equipment, and resources to and fro.

    The structure is being rapidly constructed, a site where hundreds of bodies pile in, they are distinct from most other humans in the city, whereas the others became happy, bright, well fed amongst the machines.

    They were still pale, had elongated ears, even much before the Mechra.

    ¡°Polaries, our common enemy has arrived, you are prepared are you not?¡±

    They were strong, all of them women, they weren¡¯t very tall but their eyes were long since gone, mechanical, flickering

    ¡°They stand in the way of your common ascension, of purity, of your rightful domain as servants like us as we are of the true Gods!¡±

    He rose his hands up, as Servant machines stepped forwards, and raised up blades punctuating his personal verse.

    ¡°Mankind!¡± The machine boasted loudly.

    Joan stands among the Polaries tightening her fist, the formfitting bodysuit hugs her body, the scars of her training underneath.

    ¡°With love.¡± That was what she heard when they burned her, broke her bones and pushed her to the brink.

    She can remember mechanical hands bending her body contorting her¡­she became stronger.

    The training was filled with love, they would never go so far as to ever risk killing her but pushed her to be ready.

    Her family and forefathers on this world have fought the Vampires for millenia she feels their faces behind her. she¡¯ll be ready.

    Joan glances up at the machine as he continues.

    Bold in Italics on the chest plate of this machine, with a head shaped like a sallet and glowing glass visor, was one word.

    ¡®DELTA¡¯ an ancient machine with an even more ancient chassis, blessed personally by humans.

    Inside this pyramid structure they are aligned, one after another, thousands of them.

    They face a large machine, adorned like a saintly priest, in tassels and robes, on each of the tassels on his dies, is the image of mankind, and he reaches out, and standing above them, all is a human woman, who is peacefully in chains, illuminated in a forcefield of pinkish color.

    ¡°You must avenge the path you could have taken! That you you would¡¯ve been owed as fallen Gods of this universe, to man¡¯s ASCENDANCE!¡± But the tone became somber as the machine continued

    ¡°But you were.¡±

    The Polaries clenched their hands together saying it in their heads

    ¡°Your mothers were defiled, and you were impure when we found you, unlike those who you will protect! That you may find place alongside them!¡±

    Their ears went down in grief, long and pointed, years of intermingling with an exterterristial race made extinct long ago by the Mechra made them like this, and reintegration with humans made them as they are now.

    Soft round faces, blackened hair long.

    ¡°But we have calculated where you may find purity.¡±

    Stepping forth are the servant caste

    ¡°Fight, to return your spirits to your place, reclaim your purity!¡± The Machine speaks as if giving sermon, powerful, foreboding, there is a mechanical way the machines speak.

    Joan feels hers heart race and fire rage in her bones, she¡¯s stronger now they won¡¯t hurt her or those above her, true humans will protect her and the blessed machines protecting their makers will arise.

    The undead shall be made dead all shall be made right, and they will attain to true Heaven.

    ¡®PRIME DIRECTIVE¡¯ A chant hums from machines, they stand blades ejected from wrists, servant-castes pushing them into the air and roaring loudly.

    Boisterous and loud Delta continues Yet they speak smooth, enchanting letting the robes of they wear move the machine in natural pure white, adorning a chassis that is akin to a crusaders armor.

    The faces of the Polaries are red, blushing in awe of the machine that shall bring them back forth to purity.

    ¡°Long ago our mothers fell to alien deception, but we shall reclaim our blood.¡± Their mothers committed a grave sin, that the Mechra helped them realize in the years of their liberation.

    They were disgusting¡­their mothers slept with what should be considered animals, the aliens the Mechra extinguished were rightfully erased.

    ¡°Cousins of Our fallen Gods, fight utilize your fallen state. To ensure at the very least you will rise! Keep them from the tower! That we may finish our work!¡±

    ¡°Arise and take hold of the mantle protectors of righteous warring man alongside us, to bring forth an end to the Quantum Vampires.¡±

    ¡°And we will soon finish with our projections.¡±

    As Delta faded backward, he went to the tall chamber, a massive pillar holding the chained woman, a prime human for utilization of Ascendance.

    ¡°Goddess we are approximately 98.7% close to the objective, the hostile ground presence is devastating with zero-casualties, but they are too held up to make it.¡± His voice loses all human vocalization.

    Its garbled, barely English, she squints her eyes barely able to understand it but does as the robotic voice speaks.

    ¡°We are close.¡±

    ¡°Then be ready.¡± She speaks simply, her eyes a faint glow.

    ¡°I will bring all of us back to our ascension as Gods, cast down the unworthy, our people will reemerge.¡±

    On her neck a digital marking given since birth as the young woman speaks.

    ¡°The Quantum Crisis will occur.¡±

    -

 The Crisis and Journey: Quantum Break.

    Aleph and his command unit Alpha-1 maneuvered the trecharous wastes, encountering sporadic patrols of hostiles, every fight was brutal, and it was nearly their last, out of ammunition yet wanting to preserve their sidearms for a truly dangerous fight they kept up close-range fighting.

    Until they came upon a large encampment, in the ruins of a greyish structure a broken city, the signs of fighting was heard, shell-casings¡­their own...

    -

    There was a horrid smell, rotted flesh it tormented the senses, Saiyah was uttering incomprehensible complaints as they waltzed forwards, broken helmets made it hard to keep out the smell.

    Asaph was ahead sweeping left to right, finally a hand on the handcannon they were all equipped with the AUTEC|944 Deadliest sidearm in the Galaxy, firing Viper Shells with enough firepower to kill a moose.

    Two fire-modes.

    He had the first slide pulled back, the second was supernaturally charged, difficult to pull back even for a Vampire of his caliber, the weapon could be described as living, utilizing Vecta Reflux to charge all remaining shells in it.

    This danger and power were recognized by the other shocktrooper that popped out,

    ¡°I didn¡¯t even sense any of you.¡± Aleph immediately cuts in before they can start,

    ¡°Tcht, I had them zoned the moment I walked in. No better than me¡± Saiyah shot to Aleph, sharp and bitter

    It was uncharacteristic and had him giving a head-turn before focusing back in.

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything?¡± Asaph passively nodded and shot toward Saiyah.

    ¡°Why bother they were coming out.¡± Saiyah gave a nod.

    Aleph gave a knife-hand behind him without looking like the trio was behind, ordering them to cut it.

    ¡°Status?¡± he motions with same hand forwards.

    One of them eyes his hip and sling, and then gives a nod ¡°Green, High-Sergeant-Victor. Your rifle is missing.¡± One of them is quick to speak sternly, robotic without a hint of life.

    Aleph hides a face of unease at that in the robotic pattern of speech. But he has a bit of warmth hearing his new title, he could get used to that!

    ¡°Irrelevant, in these ruins how many of thereof of you in total?¡± Aleph was looking at twelve, but the shifting of rubble, a few rocks hitting down told him there were fifteen in total just surrounding them.

    There were several hundred of them here surrounding them.

    ¡°Are you the logistics unit?¡±

    ¡°Logistics unit? What intel were you given Sir? No one was¨CUgh!¡± A shocktrooper came back and hammered her elbow into his side enough to knock him back a few paces.

    A woman with a visor unique stepped forward, her monoeye was yellow, she had a stranger figure, albeit it was womanly even in armor. Aleph bit his tongue seeing it saying nothing more.

    He forced his head up and kept it on her¨CVisor

    she held tight form and posture yet leaned on her hip staring down at him rather than toward him..

    He could see the unique way her helmet was shaped, extra bulk bulky, communicator piece on its left flank,

    It¡¯s where the Sergeant¡¯s patch was placed into like a chip, like the one he received in training. He could see it almost sticking out on her helmet...

    ¡°Sergeant, identify yourself.¡± Aleph shoots

    There¡¯s a pause as she just stares at him, holding a long-rifle, mono-eye visor, her VLIR flickering, not just hesitant but a bit rebellious most of them are.

    They all know who Aleph is, recognize him with even armor on, and she looks as if she is judging him.

    ¡°Sergeant Juno.¡± She answers simply, causing Aleph to flinch and almost step back.

    looking over the damages of his command-unit and Aleph almost tweaks his head as if he can almost hear her laugh looking over their damages ¡°Alpha-1-Actual Victor huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s wise for those commanding to be able to identify key-leaders under his command.¡± Juno seems to add sharply

    Saiyah flinches a bit as if sensing something and takes straight and tall posture facing Juno down.

    Juno tilts her head off to the side at Saiyah before focusing on Asaph and rolling her attention back to Aleph.

    ,Aleph¡¯s finger twitches for a moment, at the discomforting silence of this wordless exchange between them all before he gives a nod

    He didn¡¯t recognize her until name came Juno, back in training when she joined the pack that savagely kicked in his sternum and skull until his eyes popped.

    How she utilized her terrifingly accurate precision and aim to cripple and beat him in live-fire exercises.

    What do I have to care for now¡­I¡¯m here, I¡¯m the leader!

    Aleph almost wants to enjoy this in a second to bite back at her but he doesn¡¯t.

    He clasped his hands together but remembered proverb told from mouth of his human-father.

    Pride cometh before fall.

    He didn¡¯t dare curse his human father for teaching him something that has him fearfully holding back, yet is at least confused why he remembers his words now.

    He didn¡¯t need to worry he wasn¡¯t Aleph amongst them now. He was Victor.

    He switched on demand.

    ¡°Sergeant your unit, are these all yours?¡±

    ¡°A hundred of us here, I¡¯ve had all one-thousands of my assigned unit moment I dropped, smoke signals.¡±

    Aleph gave a nod and stiff chuckle ¡°human culture isn¡¯t as vain as we¡¯d been taught.¡± He laughs recalling a time she¡¯d mocked him for his father being executed ¡®like most humans do anyway¡¯

    Juno seemed to tilt up, her voice gained some emotion, it was high, soft. ¡°Huh¡­¡± She spoke as if giving a laugh recalling the same, but her laugh still was vindictive.

    Both under their helmets even for vampires had stressed eyes, leading with no intel, no objective keeping everyone they can alive.

    Aleph gave a nod.

    Saiyah eyed the two conspicuously and deeply staring through the broken pieces of her helmet.

    Asaph adding ¡°Alep-!¡± He stops correcting himself in front of these others ¡°Victor.¡± He names him by callsign. ¡°We are in need of.¡± He purposefully doesn¡¯t finish and rolls his wrist at Aleph from behind

    ¡°High-Sergeant Alpha-Victor, we are indeed the logistic unit you are looking for, I think you should get your squad resupplied.¡± Juno stood before them. Shouldering her long-rifle.

    Asaph tilts his head toward her and immediately walks off speaking with another shocktrooper who leads him off.

    Saiyah doesn¡¯t move just yet and neither does Anna.

    ¡°I¡¯ll speak with her, resupply and rearm until then. I need to speak with Sergeant-Juno.¡±

    Saiyah frowned through exposed parts of her helmet upon dismissed but hadn¡¯t hesitated as she walked away whilst doing. Aleph shook his head at that and turned to Juno.

    He didn¡¯t hear Anna¡¯s footsteps and was a little bit thankful for that.

    ¡°Anna.¡± He said her name straightly. Without looking, she trailed behind him the moment Juno began to walk off and Aleph followed.

    He watched Juno from behind and took in the fine details if her form.

    but her figure had utility

    They from a distance looked like hulking purple armored mountains with bulky form that is only realized the closer they are,

    But well defined among them was Juno looked like as best as he could describe it ¡®like an odd Olympian, she was an inch taller than him at seven-feet-eight-inches.

    Her legs were long, she had a graceful form in any stance and as she moved and was perfect¨Cshe was like an enchanting predator, oddly beautiful in Aleph¡¯s eyes.

    A flower with thorns, many, many thorns.

    ¡°You landed with a marksman rifle?¡± he comments on her loadout.

    ¡°Krul singled me out.¡± Her right hand suddenly clenches into fist as she steps forwards, rocks crushed underneath her armored boots rather than trampled.

    ¡°Would handicap me whenever we did shoot. Yet I¡¯m the best, you know that well anyway don¡¯t you Aleph?¡± her voice is positive as if she recalls some nostalgia.

    It has Aleph visibly worn his arms going limp slightly but hardly noticeable.

    Except in Anna¡¯s view, she sights this and can¡¯t bite her tongue

    ¡°Yet you were still second to me.¡± Anna observantly glanced between, but her professionalism wasn¡¯t hiding that partly exposed smile in her shredded helmet. A bit of pride.

    Juno spoke up, ¡°Yes I was wasn¡¯t I?¡± Juno spoke as if wanting to say more but didn¡¯t.

    They kept moving forwards.

    Between an alleyway of two residential buildings with many windows, a hole in one as a couch was hanging from wires and debris.

    There was now four residential buildings surrounding them and what looked to be a makeshift encampment, deployable metallic foam formed barricades, and around them was crates and weapons stashed.

    ¡°These came in pods?¡± Aleph inquires.

    ¡°After ours and here.¡± Juno waves with hands and soft voice.

    She sits onto a crate, tweaking the bipod of her rifle. Her posture is straight

    She is slow and deliberate, she seems to be thinking something over yet he can feel her stare as if she is watching him able to focus on the rifle and him with ease.

    and Aleph sits down onto a crate ahead of her.

    Anna stands nearby, afar off watching the two. Juno spares her not a glance but sits up and stares down toward Aleph who is hunched downward looking at the dirt and mismatched concrete under his armored boots.

    There are two other shock troopers here keeping tabs on the weapons, checking over and counting ammunition rapidly, they are working harder as Juno is noticed by them.

    They are isolated here from most other shocktroopers, Aleph feels greatly alone now even with Anna and the two other shocktroopers he doesn¡¯t immediately recognize, he feels like Juno¡¯s eyes have become spotlights.

    Initially welcoming she¡¯s become like a predator sizing him up, and he wouldn¡¯t be wrong.

    She¡¯s not just looking to him, but where that patch would¡¯ve been slotted into his helmets communicator piece, the patch that didn¡¯t just make him a Sergeant but High-Sergeant

    There is the distant hum of combat suddenly starting, signaling there are other groups of shocktroopers around still fighting elsewhere that haven¡¯t been found, enough to have an entire planet of mechra struggling.

    Juno gives a huff, a laugh of disbelief as she looks Aleph over before crossing her arms, looking at his worn out armor, her armor in contrast appeared mostly clean as if she hadn¡¯t seen any combat.

    But her rifle was dirty, and she had faint scratches on it.

    ¡°There likely no injuries beyond superficial damages that aren¡¯t already recovered from anyone else we might find, Aleph.¡± Juno uses his name rather than callsign, her voice is deliberate and slow with emphasis on his name.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    He can almost feel the smirk, as his head looks up to her before glancing back down as he thinks.

    She has a bit of mirth ¡°You¡¯ll be wanting us to strike the city after we strike and regroup everyone.¡± Her tone stinging yet cold and calculated.

    Her prediction has Aleph take a while to give response.

    And she impatiently adds on nodding her head at him.

    Anna doesn¡¯t say much letting the two go on, but anxiously taps a finger on her arm as she crosses them and lets her rifle hang at her hip from her sling.

    ¡°Correct, and is there issue?¡± Aleph answers.

    ¡°None at all.¡± She almost lets out the condescending laugh¨C ¡°Without a hint of strategy I can see the makings of a great plan but it seems terrible.¡±

    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t die!¡±¨CAleph huffs finding resolve against a truth he will work around. ¡°We can strike subtly; hit fast we can sneak in.¡±

    ¡°And get into the shield how? It¡¯s meant to protect from orbital bombardment¡±¨C¡°You have a skeleton key, Aleph?¡±¨C She clicks the bipod of her rifle staring down further at him

    ¡°I.Have.A.Way.In¡± Aleph sharply bites, forgetting he is leader and being challenged, his foot tapping against the concrete, the rhythmic motion not soothing him but giving him something else to do.

    As he hides concern in her words being put on the table.

    He considers it as his head tilts upwards.

    The two other shocktroopers nearby counting equipment are now facing them whilst they work.

    This ability I can use it or at the very least God have mercy.

    He pleads and prays to the God of his father for a moment before turning his head back down.

    ¡°We¡¯ll get in.¡±

    ¡°Then what? Wreak havoc in a city filled with who knows-how many machines.¡± She bites as if chastising a child for wishful thinking. ¡°You even know which one-.¡±

    ¡°The one with their tower.¡±

    ¡°Tower?¡± She answers confused.

    Aleph starts ¡°The machines were peeling off from assaulting me when I landed, they were guarding a tower. It¡¯s something they don¡¯t want us to attack, it¡¯s related to a quantum¨C.¡± Aleph doesn¡¯t go further, not wanting to give impression he has any idea of their objective

    ¡°Well High-Sergeant, they give you our objectives then?¡± Juno interrogates looking up at him, glaring underneath her helmet strongly, he can see two glowing iris shine underneath her black visor partly as the yellow mono-eye VLIR fades.

    ¡°Just know we destroy it. That¡¯s all.¡± Aleph announces decision for the first time to himself and her.

    ¡°Hostiles, what are we going to do?¡±

    ¡°Regroup everyone, pile our supplies together, strike the tower, break the shield. Any of the weapons that were hitting our ships and pods.¡±¨C He draws in air.

    ¡°Are groundside too, not just in their fleet, if reinforcement comes¨C.¡±

    ¡°IF?¡±

    Anna points to Juno ¡°What are you a child? Are you trying to listen to a C.O or argue with him?¡± Anna barks and exclaims, fuming

    She¡¯s angry, but angry at Aleph too for not planting his foot down further but hesitates.

    The two other shocktroopers are witnessing this and Anna knows failing to use your authority will lead to less respect for it.

    She knows what Juno is biting him for and would¡¯ve and had nearly done the same had she not seen albeit how reliable he was, whilst still having room for some improvement.

    Juno gives a short laugh disregarding Anna ¡°IF?¡± she isn¡¯t just sitting but standing, glaring daggers down at him.

    Aleph stands up, he acts smoothly, he doesn¡¯t snap with anger but his tone is dead now. He channels memory of every moment, the machine that collapsed in training, his connection and intrusion of minds before.

    Juno flinches as her VLIR flashes, data speeding by in her eyes like a speeding automobile, yet she can read all of it.

    ¡°Ho-how the hell did you do that? It¡¯s like you sent me data from a military-server.¡±

    Aleph has realized the connection with his mind and VLIR for awhile, she just confirmed he could do something new.

    Scrolling across is the script and data Aleph gleamed when he broke into the minds of the machines he was facing.

    It has Juno clearing her tone ¡°Victor¡­. You claimed there was no intel.¡±

    Aleph shook his head utilizing something he hasn¡¯t fully understood but has come to realize may be useful Especially now.

    ¡°None given to me by Vis-Stasi or command.¡±

    Anna gives tilts her head up in confusion

    Juno tilts her head thumbing over the bottom of her helmet, thinking it over.

    ¡°The enemy hasn¡¯t hit us orbitally with a laser because they might not be able to track us so well under these clouds, you think that¡¯s enough to provide us with enough opening for whatever plan you got.¡±

    Aleph doesn¡¯t lie here. ¡°No, but it is now.¡±

    Juno is appalled at that honesty of ignorance and taking credit for her observation.

    Anna can only slightly laugh.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t answered how we¡¯ll get through into the city or shield? You some vague details of what they might be planning.¡± She glances over the data in VLIR.

    ¡°But what exactly are you using to get in, same methods you used to hack these machines? How did you manage that anyway?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s too far ahead we have to gather everyone we can now.¡±

    -

    Asaph and Anna had a short talk before they resupplied.

    ¡°Aleph¡­he¡¯s doing better than you are judging.¡± She shoots to Asaph.

    Asaph hadn¡¯t spoken a word of critique about Aleph, he knew how Saiyah gets, not that he would dare criticism him, she was fine with that and often laid into him in rare moments more than he ever could.

    But she hovered over him, protected him.

    ¡°Well Ms.Aleph.¡± He mocks her soft but womanly voice.

    Her expression suddenly going sour and face burns under the broken bits of her helmet.

    They seemed to lack any replacement parts.

    ¡°He¡¯s doing far better than I would¡¯ve expected but not good enough to have me thinking he¡¯ll get us out of this.¡±

    ¡°He found us whilst we were held up for seven hours, then lead us in a charge that decimated an enemy unit, give credit the patrols we ran into were lighter than they should¡¯ve been.¡±

    ¡°He can utilize those around him effectively.¡±¨CAsaph sighs somberly and fumbles the magazine as he tries to think. ¡°Tactically he¡¯s exceptional.¡±

    ¡°That Doesn¡¯t make him a good leader on a strategic level.¡±

    Asaph gruffly puts it, slamming a magazine into the buttstock of his bullpup VK419, the glowsights humming to life again.

    Saiyah gives a downward head-tilt in Asaph¡¯s direction ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m hoping he doesn¡¯t do well¡­I just recognize well.¡±

    Asaph gave it some thought

    How Aleph carried them all in training, used to be pointman and draw fire in training, utilized them effectively.

    Could pinpoint major threats in a battlefield and direct them to squash those threats whilst he extinguished others.

    ¡°He¡¯s damn good, faster than us, stronger.¡±¨C Saiyah smirks at the hesitant admission and lowers her hand.

    ¡°Cool it I was suggesting have faith in him, not start loving all over him from afar.¡± Saiyah kids in high tone.

    This has Asaph sharply giving his disdain in shutting off his visor and shifting VLIR down glaring at her.

    Well¡­. that¡¯s why I know he shouldn¡¯t be expected to do much, his pain tolerance is twice that of any human I¡¯d ever had pleasure of knowing.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Met a human before¨CWe all have Asaph.¡± Saiyah responds.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying he can be fast and strong all he wants, he doesn¡¯t even know why we can take our pain and he cant, you ever heard him complain he doesn¡¯t get those mental exercises, he thinks we don¡¯t feel pain.¡±

    ¡°We do about the same as a human and yet he can¡¯t realize we can just ignore it¨Che either stops all that mental weakness humans gave him or gets us killed.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s holding back like he¡¯s in training, I saw the glare and way Juno spoke to him..that wench-!.¡± Asaph stops himself upon seeing Saiyah make a flat palm make slicing motion at her throat to signal ¡®stop¡¯.

    He looks around to some shocktroopers not too far off that seem like they might be slightly ease-dropping and angry.

    Aleph is like an annoying-little brother¡­ He felt a bit too protective

    Saiyah nods ¡°She wants to test his resolve, it¡¯s obvious it¡¯s why I didn¡¯t butt in or else I would have, and bent her spine¡­¡± Saiyah grimly and darkly adds.

    It has Asaph regretting his words, because he believes Saiyah can read individuals like that, observant.

    ¡°And that human thing, it¡¯s a big weakness.¡± Saiyah acknowledges ¡°But you ever notice what it¡¯s done to you? Even now we have worthless conversations, bicker, have idle chat¡­You know that¡¯s something humans do, right?¡±

    Asaph considers and looks down.

    ¡°I have faith Aleph can get this done, he was picked because he can be the heart of whoever he leads, you want a leader who can rally and utilize anyone in an instant. The strongest or fastest doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°He has eagle eyes even for a vampire, resilience and endurance bitterly built from what he¡¯s gone through.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s more human, but that just makes his thinking more effective. He¡¯s emotionally weak enough to utilize whatever strategy keeps the most of us alive, yet it¡¯s still drilled into him to never sacrifice efficiency for humanity.¡±

    She speaks as if for the few shocktroopers Juno sent to easedrop on them.

    ¡°What makes you know so much about humans think anyway Saiyah¡­Ar-are you secretly his sister?¡±

    ¡°God no!¡± Saiyah shoots a look of disgust at Asaph.

    ¡°He just disproves we remember everything.¡±

    Asaph is confused at what that might mean, but as the hours draw by he finds no opening to draw answer.

    Aleph took them with him, two Sergeants, Juno, and another. Along the desolate terrain his team took the lead.

    But as Aleph drew closer, marching further and further, he could sense the robots these moments of quiet left him thinking, and his mind races with everything so far, the hours¡­How long has it been since he landed¡­

    Ten hours from landfall¨CFinding his unit¨CMeeting with Juno. Twelve hours of this trek.

    No, it¡¯s going to be fourteen-.

    His thoughts halt as he senses something, his eyes face left.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Saiyah doesn¡¯t sense anything herself, and neither does Asaph as he steps up behind Aleph placing a hand on his shoulder.

    Aleph can see something, strange forms made of script, snaking around. He¡¯s staring at the wall of a mountain as they are about to lead and walk into a tough canyon,

    yet far to its right is a path that leads more into the open glassed plains of dark grey scorched earth. It doesn¡¯t appear to be the right way to find the other Sergeant¡¯s.

    They can hear distant fighting they¡¯ve been following, and it¡¯d be quicker to reach the source this

    But Aleph isn¡¯t sensing danger it seems with his vampiric senses, he sees bits of script, mechanical, binary forming shapes in the distance much farther than any undead or living thing should sense.

    It¡¯s like he has overhead, its unwanted information piling into his mind, as if he is being intoxicated by the very being and existence of distant machines.

    Aleph suddenly pounds his foot into the ground, and the entire squad halts delaying to follow him,

    the others far behind can sense their halt, and turn of direction.

    Aleph has made a sharp turn of direction and change of pace that goes from a swift march to what is a swift jog.

    His metal boots impact rock, stone amplified pressure crushing them all under his weight. Moving with urgency now.

    Anna was stepping up close behind him, leaning toward his helmet and questioning ¡°Aleph? why are we running¨C.¡±

    The three of them are now following him in a run, it¡¯s no issue but it seems less careful and a pace like this with the sounds a couple thousand seven-foot vampires could make from running would make their ¡°stealthy¡± march less ¡°stealthy¡±

    But Aleph gives his answer.

    ¡°Quick-Response-Force, thirty-aerial units, unidentified tracked armored patrols and about, two battalions¡¯ worth of humanoid combatants.¡± Aleph is robotic, overly formal and dead in tone.

    Anna stops for a moment, falling behind the other three.

    ¡°Aleph?¡± Saiyah interrogated sharply yet with a hint of soft tone as if looking to identify a wound.

    Aleph gives her no response, he¡¯s moving silently, they all look to each other and shrug and follow behind him now.

    In overhead view the massive caravan is shifting, Juno far behind is confused why they¡¯re not heading between the jagged cliff-faces directly toward where she can hear distant fighting.

    ¡®I¡¯m in trouble¡­!¡¯ Aleph rambles to himself in his mind.

    His mind is working differently than he wants it to, he¡¯s become as robotic as the danger he¡¯s sensed., this his mind is cleared of his own thoughts and filled with what amounts to omnipresent tactical data

    He can almost hear a faint clicking in his head.

    Is this because¡­. He¡¯s sensed it, that tower that city, he can sense this tower they are speaking of and the closer he gets the more it wears him out.

    This march is getting to him because the less he thinks and mindlessly stalks around patrolling ahead of the logistic caravan the worse he gets

    When you think about moving your arm, but thoughtlessly you can swing it anytime you want.

    His Subconscious is learning that.

    A mere trek has him partly understanding his abilities, he¡¯s terrified, but is glad he isn¡¯t showing it glad his helmet is closed, he keeps it from his squad.

    Anna, Asaph and Saiyah are unaware and are merely following his orders but Anna his first to question his ¡®intuition¡¯ ¡°Aleph, is this a gut-feeling? I don¡¯t sense anything, no vibrations in the dirt¡­. I would at least feel¨C

    She would at least feel that blood pumping into his skull, and a heartbeat.

    Thump thump.

    Anna sensed a heartbeat, so starved of blood in all this time her mouth grows slack.

    She¡¯s slowing up layering more and more bits of distance between her and Aleph, she nods to Asaph and Saiyah to which the two nod back to her now facing her confused.

    a hunger gnawing at her, like when a human boy stuck out an arm for her and let her drink when she got lost and nearly starved as a youngling.

    ¡®Why is Aleph¡¯s heart beating¡­...¡¯

    As Aleph¡¯s ability worked, his heart came alive, he became alive pain intensified as it lessened, his heart stopped beating, and he dies all over again.

    That was the pain he felt in training, that was the torment, yet it¡¯s defective, it¡¯s not working as it should, it shouldn¡¯t be bringing him back to life each time to use the modifications made to his mind.

    But this Quantum Vampires entanglement is broken, this chord has been incidentally made to shift him from undead to alive each moment.

    And he¡¯s tormented by it.

    It¡¯s hours later, and when he finally speaks it¡¯s vicious, the pain has pushed him past a point of retreat like before, past a point of halting of freezing up.

    He¡¯s become angry, it¡¯s something human that has even Juno silent as he speaks.

    ¡°The skies been blotted out by ash, soot, clouds of fallout. We utilize in this darkness, strike from the dark. From here on out cut out your helmets!¡± Aleph¡¯s command was simple, but whatever plan next was confusing.

    They are now all with the thousands overlooking even more thousands of shocktroopers steeped in a bloody battle, encircled.

    Aleph¡¯s in pain, yet this has him working with urgency, he can barely keep himself sane, it¡¯s a pain that has him almost collapsing at their feet as he leads them all.

    He is twitching, he feels unusual¡­

    Saiyah can barely recognize him, it¡¯s like he¡¯s become tortured, and this is all so sudden, she¡¯s questioning what¡¯s even happened.

    Aleph is strange when they engage the machines that will reunite them with the rest of the one-hundred-forty-four in total Sergeant¡¯s

    He¡¯s stiff, he hardly moves, but his aim is doubly more precise, he hits the machines in weakspots they haven¡¯t noticed and is quick to identify their names.

    Each ending with Caste. ¨CLess identify their names, he can read them now..he can hardly see the

    machines as machines anymore but as extensions of a hivemind but each one with an individual body to hop into, connect and depart from once that body dies.

    The shocktroopers they found encircled offer less resistance than Juno did, because of how stiff Aleph has become, after the battle he steps toward them.

    He¡¯s silent for what amounts to an hour even amongst Vampires..

    And when he does speak ¡°We strike in seven hours.¡±

    It¡¯s painful, raw ..it has them thinking he¡¯s convinced with how he¡¯s come and regathered them.

    Aleph¡¯s different, Juno can recognize it, and it was in such a short time, she questions if her challenging activated something in him, but as they begin to change direction, drawing toward the tower she realizes this grows stronger as he nears it.

    Eternia came to our academy¡­for him¡­¡¯I almost heard it¡­those words¡­ ¡®prototype¡¯ Juno thinks. Somberly.

    They trekked forwards, leading into the jagged mountains, out of scope of those towering cities still casting illumination of their forcefield, an electromagnetic barrier that seemed to protect it from all assortments of orbital, aerial and surface based and sourced attacks.

    They weren¡¯t the first ones to attempt a plan in the same spirit.

    Whereas most of the wasteland was empty and barren, it seemed as if there had never been a vampiric presence here as if they were invaders, but they began to see it, the lingering ruins in some regions became militarized notably close to the city,

    abandoned artillery emplacements, long-guns as large as skyscrapers pointed toward the city they amrc too with melted barrels drooping down in sadness.

    All beside them as they marched along this new path.

    devastated wreckage, slumped corpses stuck out of arrow shaped fixed-wing aircraft long since decayed before they arrived, purple in color.

    Long since lost Vis-Stasi who had been warring here earlier.

    The jump from Persia to Fracturia was in total eight months, a delayed arrival to counter hostile predictions, it could¡¯ve been an instant it was only thirty-lightyears not even work for a Terrorspace engine.

    For Eight months the Vis-stasi would¡¯ve been fighting it appeared, the Shocktroopers passed by decimated tank regiments, old rotted humanoid fighting vehicles and legions of headless bodies planted into the dirt..

    The winds howled against them, taking side of the Mechra in their eyes, lightning cast down and struck the earth like the wrath of God has grown against the violence of both sides.

    The moment Aleph had waltzed through this, disregarded it, they did as well, for a moment they would¡¯ve faltered wondering if Aleph was leading them to their deaths, but his gait, his silence.

    The way he treated the evidence of a similar veined assault as if it was invisible, had them sharing his confidence in plan, all of them save for Saiyah¡­who felt something was horribly wrong.

 Crisis and Journey: Quantum War!

    //3049 ¡®COMMAND SITE ALPHA¡¯ MAGELLAN¡¯s NEST, NEW PERSIA\\

    The footage paled once again, it flashed on screen, double stacked arrows flashed and reverted it, on a blocky rectangular screen displayed the beginning, distant footage of the expanse. A blackened abyss with only a few lights cutting in.

    In the Second Heaven, Space.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it didn¡¯t work, are you telling me they can disengage that kind of kill vehicle? It was moving at a fraction of the speed of light.¡± Krul Tersely ranted, Delara rose her fist and slammed it into the table beside him.

    Magellan just watched, it recorded and replayed the footage to them, the recon vessel enough distance to maintain past engagement range recon and cool observation recorded the light.

    It burrowed in from Terrorspace, it cast a shadow into the galaxy a point so dark it was seen even from the 746 Million miles of the powerful periscopes mounted on this recon vessel.

    It warped in it was a Kill vehicle, V-19 Destiny with enough payload to kill a star.

    Yet it curved and arced in, with tremendous velocity, it was over Fracturia. And quickly killed all velocity it broke apart into millions of tiny shards in an instant, a vessel with enough mass to kill a continent on its own shattered as soon as It warped into real space slipping in like a mirror was turned to reveal a new figure.

    -

    ¡°They¡¯re better, that wasn¡¯t an autonomous machine, they remotely disabled the vehicle from within its own core the moment their eyes were on it.¡± Magellan coldly stated.

    Krul shook his head ¡°And what of the Shocktroopers that got abandoned there, what we don¡¯t have anything else!?¡± He raved throwing his hands up.

    ¡°We were expecting them to secure this planet in.¡± He sighed out as if realizing it was stupid ¡°An hour after landing!¡±

    ¡°We saw what remained of your vessels before the recon cameras went off on those too, it¡¯s just as I suspected, my proposal¡­.¡±

    ¡°Proposal?¡± Krul questioned and Magellan nodded ¡°Not just what I have proposed in the past, but what I have proposed currently, they¡¯re adapting to out non-reliance on externally controlled autonomous weapons, they are learning to bend terrorspace to violate machines isolated and without mechanic of any wireless control capability..

    Krul shook his head and leaned over the holographic table as Delara just watched between them.

    ¡°They¡¯ve been tought to fight in this recent five years but are you really suggesting?¡±

    ¡°Any advancements we are encountering now as powerful as they are, are outdated. As my proposal suggests, traveling between Galaxies is too taxing.

    ¡±.Any Mechra incursions first wave in Apostle or Triangulum Galaxy are likely ten or twelve years outdated. Then any second wave is present advancements¡± She stated briefly, her voice wavering in confidence.

    ¡°Like we face now.¡± She swiped her hand across the Holographic table, slightly giving them all view of the hostile vessels they faced, shark-like but more than that shaped like darkened hands each with moving fingers with hundreds of guns, larger than any vessel they have

    ¡°With that as the case, I encountered some significant Mechra two years ago before I was taken off the front to train the Shocktroopers.¡±

    ¡°According to your final decision to reveal to me such to me so late.¡± He complained rolling his eyes and Magellan just shrugged as the ticking of the mechanical computers running data and analysis continued to run around them, a few of strangely flickering pink a bright pink¡­

    you are suggesting they made a year''s travel of up-to-date units in a year, they¡¯re faster and upgraded far quicker¡­¡± He said on slow realization that caused his voice to tremble.

    ¡°Their utilization of terror space is getting faster too, on par with ours now..¡± Krul finished.

    ¡°Better.¡± Magellan spoke. Her expression sour a she brushed her lengthy hair out of her face.

    The rest of the room was silent for minutes upon minutes and just silently glanced around strained.

    Magellan was first to propose something ¡°We need another fleet, they¡¯ll be likely to deploy as much as they can, we need to buy Aleph time.¡±

    ¡°Aleph!?.., most of those shocktroopers that I was forced to train Are likely dead!¡± He spoke in a burst that had Delara flinch at the mere idea she had to think of that possibility¡°

    ¡±We took too many losses fleet wise! They damn near wiped out my entire First-Escort fleet that deployed those usless bastards there! We wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if I had five warfleets handed to me from what I¡¯ve seen!¡± He exaggerated throwing his hands up.

    ¡°It¡¯d be a waste to all of my men if I sent them there like that! For them of all things!¡± Krul spoke sharply pointing at Magellan.

    Magellan thought sharply ¡®You don¡¯t understand I¡¯m asking for sacrifices to distract them nothing to put up a fight!¡¯,

    Magellan was pragmatic and cold and almost alienated him that nearly in attempt to scold Krul for thinking so highly of himself and his caste.

    She just was silent and watched him, his chest rising as he was taking in deep breaths, controlling his ¡®breathing¡¯ like a human. But that¡¯s how they all feel.

    Being so Hopeless they feel so human unaware of the unknown danger on Fracturia they are only assured with all the Mechra have poured into that single system, that one planet amongst an entire galaxy to strike that there is something that can doom them all or worse¡­

    Krul continued taking deep breath, looking at a display, thousands of dots like grains of sand showing shape and form of orbit around Fracturia, a ship that dwarfed the local natural satellite and bits of wreckage so misshapen the only recreation the holographic display could make was red blips indicating errors in generating display.

    Krul went swiping his hands at the display causing them to disperse and fade.

    Delara cut the silence with a physical swipe of her hand flat like a knife.

    ¡°I can assure you.¡± Delara looked at a diagnostics display that was archaic and analog built into the table that projected the three-dimensional display, sighing at their concessions to weave around perpetual and relentless nano-second interval electronic warfare

    ¡°We¡­.may have only lost three or four Shocktroopers.¡± Delara tried to say but her fists twitched, And Magellan seemed to reach for the displays off switch and screen protector switch.

    ¡°. And I blame that to helmet loss.¡± Delara worked out, her teeth grinding. She was looking toward diagnostics.

    A rectangular blip with ¡®ACTIVE HIGH-SERGEANT¡¯ Written in Persian above, it was Aleph¡¯s military photo.

    She clenched the table tightly.

    Krul sighed ¡°I¡¯m going. I¡¯m taking everything I got, it¡¯s clear to me they aren¡¯t making any significant gains, it¡¯s only a matter of time before they get burned from orbit!¡±

    Magellan corrected ¡°They wont.¡± She spoke and the rest of them in the Command room paused.

    The sound of ventilation, the hum of electronics and others performing analysis of this wide-scale war within the entirety of the system surrounding Fracturia, data scrolling by.

    Each time Magellan saw the results of their efforts in the peripherals of the war computers her eyes grew wet. ¡°I have reason to believe they¡¯re attempting something significant and can¡¯t risk an orbital strike.¡± She gave a nod ¡°It explains why we haven¡¯t seen any atmospheric bombardment either.¡±

    Krul gave a nod ¡°All the more reason, I could take an entire unit of Vallschrimjager, link up with the Shocktroopers and then we burn that world if it¡¯s so important to them!¡± Krul spat sharply in retort.

    ¡°You¡¯d take them to their death and you know it.¡± Delara chastises and Krul is quick to respond, making swift hand-motion to emphasize anger.

    She cuts him off. ¡°You want to link up with them, the Shocktroopers to monitor but most of all confirm what you are hoping, that there has been zero-casualties.¡±

    Krul grumbles he places his hand into his face palm resting over his features, Delara gave a nod.

    ¡°Are you so prideful and full of hate for us you wont admit you¡¯re hoping the Shocktroopers succeed, you helped train them.¡±

    ¡°I did the inferior training.¡± Krul emphasized, he took it to heart and with Yervandal and Eternia not present he felt emboldened to admit that. ¡°I question why I was assigned Delara.¡±

    ¡°I hate you all for what you¡¯d done, for your betrayal your forefathers insistence on your betrayal, but I¡¯m not stupid. I know what you¡¯ve all done the moment you landed, and how you¡¯ve all but held them from taking significant ground in this Empire.¡± He suddenly burst out his voice went dim.

    ¡°How human of you to humble yourself as best you could.¡± Delara spoke thinking of Aleph.

    ¡®I¡¯m Sorry.¡¯ A phrase he had beaten out of him due to how excessively he used it, the weakness of humans their inherent limitations he thought were his own had him reluctant in sparring.

    She beat it out of him..pushed him to the brink of death even for a Shocktrooper to cure that.

    She widened her eyes and settled a gaze on Krul, inhaling deeply, Magellan and Krul expectantly waiting for her words as she went to lay out her strategy.

    ¡°But I am holding you to your command, we are going with your plan to forward the push.¡± Delara started then stopped folding both arms

    ¡°Your training has helped Aleph, but it is effective, if he had only Yervandals prime efficiency and rationalization as a Shocktroopers they wouldn¡¯t be moving as far as they are.¡± The tall woman continued shadowing over both with examination

    She gazed upon the holographic display of what was likely Aleph and the 144,000.

    Pthe holographic clouds, she saw them moving further from the scans, distorted vague figures moving toward a massive, fortified city.

    ¡°We will move forwards, I want you to deploy the Vallschrimjager Krul.¡±

    Vallschrim, a caste meant to replace the Shocktroopers meant to just barely imitiate maybe a fraction of their actual capability, instead this artificially born caste created by the Vis-Stasi caste were utilized in suicidal attacks as stock weapons, barely owning homes or having families, nearing extinction. Initially discovered through offspring of Vis-Stasi and Shocktroopers couples.

    This was utilized in more efficient methods but without the Shocktroopers inclusion for fear of retaliation, with request for help to Eternia and Magellan they gained enough material to change Vis-stasi at birth, cultivating populations on frontier worlds before recruiting them, grooming them young into the military

    Krul seemed reluctant at the request of having him not only get them in such high-demand but¨C ¡°The hoops I¡¯d have to go through.¡± He muttered aloud to Delara making her perk her helmeted head up communicating difficulty in attaining them

    but truly thought on it, with reluctant consideration he affirmed her request ¡°I will.¡± Giving a nod as he spoke grimly.

    Magellan rose an eyebrow looking between the two

    ¡°What? You both emphasized they¡¯d barely have benefit.¡±

    ¡°Exactly, I¡¯m pushing Aleph forwards with their unreliability, we are strained for time we don¡¯t even know we have or not, we can likely squeeze out efficiency¡­. I know Aleph¡¯s weakness.¡± She crossed arms behind her back.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Aleph recognizes it, it¡¯s obvious, to other vampires and even amongst each other we could be invincible, it¡¯s why I sharply believe we have zero-casualties, but that is issue. Aleph can move at a pace that ensures it remains that way.¡±

    ¡°No matter how strong he is, with an additional retinue as vulnerable as the average vallschrim is, he can¡¯t afford to be slow he¡¯ll need to be quick.¡± She paused and truly thought on it, her helmet was on her head.

    She shut her eyes under, ¡°To keep them alive.¡± She finished

    Krul seemed to nod knowing what she was getting at, emboldened to argue against risking the creation of the vis-stasi caste he realized the strategy here may be effective. It was less costly than losing another fleet of ships.

    ¡°Humans are empathetic, weak to the plight of others even for the Shocktroopers its disturbing for you all to exploit that.¡± Krul seemed to smile at this plan.

    Magellan seemed to emphasize her trust in this plan ¡°I think this could work, but might you detail?¡±

    ¡°Aleph¡¯s humanity will be our asset, he¡¯s in no rush with an invincible force, throw vulnerable assets under his command and we will squeeze him until he pushes out efficiency to save as much as he can.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to teeter close on breaking him. ¡± Delara spoke her voice cracking, feeling pained at suggesting this.

    Delara thought back to how he was when she found him, being raised by humans had muted his vampiric qualities, nearly starved for blood.. She didn¡¯t resent their teachings only ignorance they thought him pretending to be something he wasn¡¯t, was what was best. ¡°You¡¯re not human.¡± She scolded him sharply, when she realized what he was doing.

    Breaking out from the training facility to meet some unknown human, only returning to receive painful lashing, tough to regenerate from even for a Vampire¡­

    She never told them who she was meeting that she would be executed in front of, Aleph.

    She never knew why, maybe she did take to being his mother for the time she took him in¡­

    ¡°I let you go Aleph, but I couldn¡¯t protect you forever. You have to make it. Live!¡±

    [Introduction of Vallschrim]

    They came in quick and swift, the dropship they came on had thrusters, large sharp fixed-wings at its left and right and it sauntered it gracefully, gliding down toward the surface, the interior buckled and shook it had open doors.

    It had been merely two hours.

    An entire Fleet had been reassigned to Krul, and to his surprise it was without measure, much larger than he requested, things were far too approving letting Krul know the wider Empire was becoming more aware, communication heightened even at such a time things like this would be sensitive.

    Krul stood and his eyes glanced up around the walls that enclosed this portion of the facility, behind the bulkhead armored entrance that lead to this wide walkway large enough to fit a tank surrounded by water around him. The wet smell of mud filling his nose at how decrepit the surface was.

    A testament to how much the teams inside were working, they hadn¡¯t even commanded clean up because they had no longer found time to leave anymore and go to the surface.

    He was glancing at as distant ships flickered in, their shadows dawning over the sky that was far from blue but was hardly dark, it was day, and flickering in like streaks of light came ships.

    He could see dots tossing themselves off the sides of these transports..much earlier than they should be as if they had dangerously warped in beside the ship, piggybacking off its terrorspace jump.

    Soon enough one of the more obvious dots was becoming a large vaguer figure in his vision, and he focused in.

    A purplish Transport swung by the massive greyish structure¡¯s contrails behind it,

    An Omni-VTOL, ¡°Shifter¡± it was often called when he served in the frontline.

    it was a strange vessel, amongst the organization of transports that littered the sky moving to and fro of the distant skyscrapers that were still considerably close.

    Hanging above the sky was the heavy lingering ships they likely departed from, having made a marathon charge and organization here, faster than he could¡¯ve imagined.

    Two hours, either Eternia herself somehow heard the plan and commanded this

    it had sockets above the two gimbal engines attached at the end of each of the large cyndrical thrusters attached to its wings, the darkish tertiary of the rotor craft as out of the sockets came rotors as the engines cut to low burn came out.

    It came down.

    It was a single-stage-to-orbit, with high capability, making it one of the most expensive vehicles in the entire Empire due to the sheer complexity rather than any vast effectiveness, albeit decently armored.

    It was angular and boxy and provided limited places to put guns to provide support to any troops landing from it.

    The Perfect tool for the Vallschrimjagers who were already stretching onto the metallic armored plate of the military facility smacked into the center of New Persia.

    Aleph¡¯s home, precisely ¡®Cyrus¡¯ a significant city holding a decent human population, it appeared royal with a heavily industrialized, smoggy center full of skyscrapers, all military industries and structures, a site where humans were dedicated to producing weapons.

    None of them ever go to anyone on the front, it¡¯s to keep them busy.

    ¡°They¡¯d likely rebel.¡± Comes to Krul¡¯s mind as he is looking it over from the landing pad, hardly paying attention to the tall men and woman who step off the craft.

    ¡°KOMMANDANT!¡± Shouted the Woman, she threw her arm fast, fingers crashing into her plate helmet akin to a sallet with a heavy

    Thwack-Crak!

    two beady glowing red eyes vaguely seen within the dark expanse of her knightly visor

    Krul was looking at them as he didn¡¯t see the other transports coming down just the ships.

    ¡°Seems they realized the seriousness of this operation, I¡¯m offered more than I need.¡±

    The other Vallschrimjagers caught up to her, forced into a jog, they towered over Krul who was by no means short, 6¡¯2, but even Vallschrimjagers reached tall heights [6¡¯9¡¯7¡¯0] The woman was most egregious the full seven-foot over the others who were at lower end.

    They were ready and equipped, they wouldn¡¯t need to prepare they were most likely command group, high ranking amongst vallschrimjagers.

    ¡°At-ease.¡± He waved his hand toward them, as he smiled at them. He loved to see them.

    The Vallschrimjagers here hadn¡¯t met him, but if they had they¡¯d have loved to see him, Krul often made strict use of Vallschrimjagers as his premier escort, he didn¡¯t just use them as tools they were his weapon, he was devoted to them as often as they would be devoted to him and still were after serving with him on rotation of command. Discouraging consolidating power from loyal retinues.

    She spoke first ¡°I¡¯m XO on our vessel.¡± She spoke clearly.

    Krul¡¯s face twitched. ¡°That many have vis-stasi died in your sector?¡± He spoke in abject disbelief.

    Someone else confirmed as someone walked forwards ¡°I¡¯m acting Captain and sadly confirm to you sir, we are utilizing command authority of our own carriers. We are still waiting on new cycles of future naval crewman in twenty-years to replenish fleets in our sector.¡±

    He half worriedly grumbled ¡°But an army can¡¯t be birthed and raised to sixteen in a day.¡± He spoke as if saddened such a thing wasn¡¯t just possible.

    Krul was about to jump as he waited for a salute that never came, not immediately recognizing who this was until he really focused on the voice.

    He thanked himself upon realizing it, thanked himself he didn¡¯t immediately get down to rearranging the jaw of this Vallschrimjager for daring not to salute like the others were, because he knew him.

    His hand extended and shook, John¡¯s.

    He can remember the flames, the raw excitement of combat as John whittled through brigades of mechanical menaces, how he pummeled anything in his path. He had Krul saying ¡®Shocktroopers will weep.¡¯ Krul wasn¡¯t just a fan of the Vallschrim he was still trying to get them Not thrown in suicidally. ¡®You¡¯re our future.¡¯ He remembers saying often.

    ¡°I see you are leading a new unit, John.¡± He gave a nod, ¡°More than a unit you are fielding control of what looks like a few invasion fleets worth of your men and women alongside you.¡± He gave a nod.

    John motioned for the others to step behind, they parted as he stepped forwards, a full 7¡¯4, he was different than other Vallschrims His mother was indeed a Shocktrooper.

    He had scratches on his armor, a marking, with an etched sketch of a Mechra lower caste¡¯s skull dotting,

    Krul looked him over noting advancement since the last time he¡¯d seen a Vallschrimjager

    his armor with V-Neck collar and chestpiece plated together, in a unique shade of purple that made them stand out. His armor emanated a light within and there was a striking hum.

    ¡®It¡¯s even powered we are desperate.¡¯ He thought, whilst Vallschrim having such wasn¡¯t total totally unbelievable, they were as close as they would get to natural Shocktroopers, they didn¡¯t have powered armor up until¨C¡­well now he just discovered.

    It seems only Shocktroopers have the armor of not even having powered armor because they¡¯re so good now¡­ Krul grumbled.

    ¡°Alright.¡± He spoke, Krul giving a nod and fumbling his words still feeling like he was getting revelations things weren¡¯t just bad on Fracturia, being in that facility hid him from what may have been going on, but outside no time had passed he maybe just forgot it was always this bad.

    Forget!? Too Human maybe this Aleph curse is rubbing off on me! He sights to himself before straightening out.

    ¡°Sir!¡± John broke him from his thoughts. It was unusual to see Krul lost in them.

    Krul answered, ¡°You¡¯re going to be using not even a quarter of this force, you are deploying orbitally from a great distance.¡±

    ¡°Great distance?¡±

    ¡°From the next world over, I¡¯ll detail and debrief on your vessel, I do not need to chat with you again, John but it¡¯s good to see you.¡± He extended his hand.

    John shook it, and as they both withdrew hands John saluted ¡°Come with me sir!¡±

    -

    He was quick to climb aboard that transport, sitting aboard.

    He could hear its engines spin up, Krul felt small and sat between two of the Vallschrimjagers, nearly crushed but they had taken a stance they often did protecting people, he wasn¡¯t going to chastise them for good instinct.

    But he was going to try his best to avoid answering any of John¡¯s questions.

    John was glancing out the open side door as it began to raise from the clearing, giving him view over the walls, seeing humans staring and watching.

    ¡°A lot of humans here, sir permission to question?¡±

    Krul gave a nod.

    John answered either going to ask anyway before he could answer or just sensed his head moving as he faced the outside.

    ¡°What¡¯s with all these normal humans?¡±

    ¡°Shocktroopers, a ton of them live here, nearly turning it into an enclave, they took a fairly large number of refugees with them from a conquest, .

    ¡±The incident.¡± Krul elusively remarked as the transport thundered and rotorblades spun, It nearly got defeaning but their hearing was greater than any human.

    ¡°Your mother should¡¯ve told you about it.¡± Krul accused additionally

    John gave a nod looking to them as he hung on a side-door, bringing it shut to a close ¡°I heard this was an advanced facility they put here to train any children from the shocktrooper-caste who settled here¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s unapproved even by other shocktroopers Eternia herself had it set up, I didn¡¯t know it existed until she put me here.¡± Krul recognized and quoted to John.

    ¡°Really Eternia herself?¡± A Vallschrimjager spoke out of turn, ¡°Yo-you¡¯ve.¡± The woman, the XO got a sharp glare from her Captain and quickly shut up.

    Krul responded to this ¡°Forgiven, you also have permission to question as much as John there is no exceptions under my order or authority, I¡¯ve seen her.¡± He predicted next question and answered.

    The XO straightened up, And John regarded Krul nodding. ¡°My XO, is Ada.¡±

    Ada seemed to turn her head to Krul, Krul almost shuddered, she almost had that same lifeless gaze Shocktroopers had, he was lifeless, but it was beyond lifeless like a predator that preyed on Vampires as well as humans if not better.

    ¡°I realized I sensed it A stabilization anchor, not just ones on the ships¡­¡± he questioned immediately.

    Krul Marveled John¡¯s senses were so heightened he sensed it.

    Whilst John was now staring at the closed door of the transport he glanced outwards, and it was in the direction of that twisted facility where indoctrination failed.

    Krul answered ¡°We aren¡¯t using it, it got jammed as soon as the Mechra caught wind of the shocktroopers deployed to Fracturia, they searched for its signature cut it out of terrorspace, it¡¯s why briefing wasn¡¯t prepared for surface.¡± Krul announced.

    John had the senses his mother gave him to inherit. ¡°¡­.¡± They were all silent.

    -

    \\ FRACTURIA TWO DAYS LATER AUGUST 15<sup>TH</sup> //

    Aleph felt himself he was here but not really, his hands gripped and he had too much sensation in his hands, far more than the sensation due to his heightened pain tolerance.

    He was sensing it as if he felt like he was a machine calculating it after the singularity of becoming conscious.

    The streams of data he saw were now visible, he could avoid any ambush and they did.

    It¡¯s been two days so far and they¡¯ve smashed enough enemies to make a dent in the carrier operations of what he assumed to be that massive ship in orbit.

    ¡®Not a carrier¡¯ Aleph has assessed already If it was we would¡¯ve been drowned.

    It¡¯s supporting carriers, now those were indeed actually ships meant to tow units.

    Aleph had been fighting new and newer enemies as it dragged on.

    -Saturn Castes-

    They were becoming more numerous it was some sort of new unit he knew it because he couldn¡¯t just see the streams of data he could read them instantly, it was about twenty-five klicks or kilometers away which was low-balling the distance he seemed to be able to read.

    I gave away something is up.

    The machines adapted; they knew he was unnaturally predicting. And it almost made him laugh, they acted Terrified!

    They¡¯d have to be even more terrified; he¡¯d carefully lead 144,000 entrenched around a massive city, depleted carriers of their deploying units.

    Aleph had encircled and smashed hostile units in Guerilla warfare for about the two days that have passed.

    They are low on ammo, they are stocked up on whatever he scrounged up from the machines, he was in tune with machines now, he grossly learned to disturbingly cannibalize their parts he tweaked around.

    He was scared of himself now, he was smarter than he should be, gleaming information from the machines data transfers he was using against them.

    ¡®Directive, prolong assault, lead targets.¡¯ He heard once when they were engaged in a tight engagement, he immediately let another group go and counter the unprepared machines who were prepped and stocked to ambush them as soon as they were pushed into a tight position.

    Killing their plan.

    After that battle, he cannibalized their arm-cannons, directly stowed on their arms, massive energy weapons with no barrels due to being slotted onto their limbs as arms but also additionally could be slotted around an arm.

    He learned how to teach the others to trick the mechanism into thinking it was being attached tightly to the Mechra, he got angry looks when the mechanical parts bolted into their flesh, a side-effect of not being compatible machine chassis.

    But they forgave him when they ran out of ammo and relied on energy weapons with incredible energy expenditure, likely only going to deplete after a month of constant usage.

    They Adapted quickly to him and his kooky experimental tactics,

    He quickly adapted to them constantly questioning him,he used the heat of energy weapons stolen to melt together plates of the machines for makeshift armor filling in gaps for Saiyah, Asaph, Anna and anyone else who needed it.

    Now they were all around.

    They had a plan.

    They were circled around, they could sense the tower as it gained more power and with it they were going to levy all they had in one singular vicious assault, Aleph was confident in his ability now how he tangled with machines.

    He felt the hum of the shield before he even touched it, the electromagnetic barrier, repulsing any projectile until it harmlessly pinged off it would do the same to them, but Aleph was different, there was a dense layer of plasma shielding it further and he knew he could disperse it.

    He learned it.

    Even now from above, he was not making full utilization of everything they¡¯d deployed with.

    ¡®Mobility packs¡¯ it was a desperate item, all 144,000 of them were scared to use it they knew if they had to, they clearly were being outmatched agility wise in any tactical engagement, but here it was used for a new plan.

    The alertness of the machines was going to spark off as a unit of Shocktroopers went above, 14,000 splitting off from the main pack.

    They would dive down as the shield opened, and rain hell from any high position hostiles could defend from.

    It¡¯d be a hellish urban battle.

    But Aleph was confident, not because he had settled that he was far from human but he hardly recognized whatever the hell he was anymore.

    His hand rose as sounds of alarm came and as tensions brewed.

    Amidst the rising sound of electronic arcs coming off the shield attempting to strike the Shocktroopers literally flying over its dome curvature he clenched his fist.

    ¡°STRIKE!¡±

 Prelude to a Quantum Crisis.

    -

    A city unaware of what was soon to come save for an inkling of an idea in Joans mind.

    There was a cool hour as Joan walked the street, fire and trials burned into her she was yet to receive her the ready war-jacket that the Mechra would don her with she was swift to be on way to meet with her family, her siblings and cousins one last time before she would be utilized, to strike down those that opposed the holy images.

    She passed a courtyard, a false-sun cast upon the sky under the electromagnetic barrier meant to protect the humans, in the court yard many people were standing around and about a statue dedicated to mankind¡¯s image commissioned by the Mechra and constructed in way of Polarie blood.

    She felt a sense of awe and saluted it stepping along the white marble pathways and was on her way to meet her family.

    She was stronger now, and had hardly seen them in some time.

    She traveled ways, the towering skyscrapers a utopia granted to them by the Mechra.

    Fire, trials and war It was all she could remember of a time before the Mechra had come had purged the Vampires waging war against them, those beasts that drained their blood..

    She could remember greased tools, fangs crimson colored and stained, skies battered from the wrathful strike of orbital punishment rained upon them.

    They¡¯re gone now¡­.

    Many including her walked the roads as machines in the sky drifted in magnificent form, the castes created to defend mankind, uplift mankind, protect mankind and utterly destroy all his enemies.

    They had such magnificent shapes, they all were humanoid to appreciate the humanoid form though some would scarcely betray that they were of lower-caste not apart of the greater hivemind they were autonomous weapons whereas all others were vessels for the hivemind to depart from and enter whenever necessary.

    Had it been possible Polaries would be placed in them, assimilated but the Mechra have since been unable.

    Something that had Joan weep for weeks upon weeks when she realized she did not have better vessel to serve mankind in.

    Yet she still has helped build this magnificent city given tools by the Mechra they assisted in uplifting these skyscrapers in mere days, establishing the greatest of fortified domains here in her own home.

    As a young Girl she remembered it.

    A desolated rebel landscape, rubble and concrete corpses of what was once a home to those born before her now a constant warzone of unending combat, the superior monstrous enemies, in purple armor and plated gasmasks, stomping through the ruins bringing carnage as they swept through anyone, they could find devouring young, innocent and old.

    Yet in all that they never touched it¡­A strange church¡­it became a place of reufse for her..

    It was that no longer amongst the beauty of the city, the plated utopian metals that were not reflective, a perfect shade of silver, a paradise as waters flew through and the artificial sky that hid the apocalyptic sky outside showed wonderful clouds of dizzing recognizing shapes, all which would always become cloudy..dark..

    Light cast on everything but which should have had it..

    And amidst it all, the Church projected its own light¡­

    But it¡¯s dimmed in the years past since the Mechra arrived, as worshippers of an ¡®Unknown God¡¯ have dwindled or departed¡­

    -

    Joan \\ FRACTURIA NEW GREECIA 16th\\

    I was there standing strong, altered I was different my enhancements gave me strength to crush concrete, an ability to leap I could throw great stones, I¡¯m now perfect to guard Boundless mankind.

    -

    ¡°It¡¯s no secret now.¡± Delta coldly stated letting it all settle in,

    he stood before two thrones where the gods sat before us, a masterful painting drawn by the hands of one of my closest battle-sisters. It was a machine reaching up pushing mankind into the clouds, an evil menace colored and cloaked in purple held back.

    By a woman like us, long knifed ears, a short stature but powerful gait as she relentlessly fought off the evil menace that numbered many, the painting was of them and us.

    Polaries bled alongside crumbling machines uplifting the arch-machine and the protecting angelic Polarie fighting off the evil dreadful vampires as mankind is brought into his rightful ascension.

    That¡¯s me in that painting I¡¯ll be her! It¡¯s going to be soon!

    I¡¯m almost ready..but patience is going to be what is needed.

    Because we have a threat that¡¯s been here for quite some time¡­On screen was images distant, recon footage of a deadly monstrous beastial group that moved like shadows, I could see images of them cannibalizing machines ripping them apart.

    Using strange archaic primitive kinetic weapons to destroy the greatest servants of mankind. The Mechra! As if they were some unholy thing!

    Those demons!

    ¡°You are first to know as the greatest kind of servants amongst all your kin as protectors!¡± Delta stated the towering machine arrayed in white and black in priestly robes pointing toward the screen angrily chittering in mechanical rage!

    ¡°And witness to the calculated devil-like attacks from them, the defilers who seek to eat and feast upon our gods. Mankind.¡± Delta stated mechanically yet if a machine had rage I could sense it.

    I stood between Hera and Miriam my two closest friends who had helped me through troubling times after my mother had nearly given up her faith in Man especially, they both hold my hands as we hear orders.

    ¡°You are to prepare after the two days of your trial to test your mothers, fathers, siblings and ensure their faith and correct it if it is faltering if they are heretical. You will bring them in.¡±

    ¡°BY THE ¡®GODS¡¯ WE WILL!¡± Our voices boomed.

    It would be a trial of faith for me and her, all the girls and their mothers and fathers who had repented of being born and would face trial soon our trial and their trial they would share was witnessing the blessings of us and seeing us becoming the servants the Mechra helped us destine to become right at their side serving mankind ¡®as angels¡¯ I often heard sisters say.

    ¡°You are not to tell anyone yet that goes without saying, depart now see your mothers, sisters, fathers those who remain not diluted in the worthless faith that poisoned their minds before they arrived to the truth!¡± Delta stated remarkably with greater fervor to match than even us organics as his fists and palms arose.

    There was two humans before us, in robes, they had lovely eyes the couple were with Delta as his overseers he¡¯d knelt before them in past, he does it now.

    ¡°My gods, what may be your words to not just the Polarie servants but to all of us.¡± The man stepped down, waltzing toward me as his robe dragged across not even uttering word to Delta.

    His eyes addressed me, I could feel them linger over me, I shivered in fear worried that I had made mistake, Hera and Miriam¡¯s hands shaked as well as if feeling me tremble in the presence of.

    A human!

    ¡°You are to be merciful as we were merciful as the Mechra helped us use your mothers and fathers for service, you will instead of judging them for heresy at the hands of our servants the Mechra use your own discretion to see if they may have hope.¡± He spoke coldly, religiously and calculating

    It had me slack jawed in awe, his words were repetitive yet I could never get enough of being spoken to directly by a human as his eyes narrowed at me, he eyed my form.

    I shifted in the lightly armored uni-suit that hugged my form, my own grey robes on top.

    He smirked ¡°Joan.¡± He took my hand from Miriams and shook it ¡°Be strong, you are amongst all nephilm, fast and strong..¡± He laid hold of my shoulder trailing down my arm and raising it.

    He had a hum, and listened to the sound of the bright interior the lovely runic walls in images of man some even of him as he spoke ¡°You even were the first to comfortably accept alterations not just genetic but mechanical, you are first among all.¡± He spoke and gave a nod.

    Looking toward the others. The other sisters had worried expressions, I had one too for them..

    Had they failed!?

    ¡°Not that the others haven¡¯t been ahead, but, you Joan are arch-protector of our faith, you will be leading them as you have been told already.¡± He spoke happily to me.

    ¡°You show bits of pure humanity I dare say! Be strong and utilize it to lead your sisters in faith toward us!¡± He gave me the smile he gave when he saw my strength in the trials, where I nearly faltered but rose up leading my sisters in faith to victory in the trials.

    That strength I had in training faltered, my face reddened at praise as I nodded fervently nearly willing to faint as I grew warm, next to a god receiving praise, he had even touched me! Touched something so impure! Am I holy now!?

    Delta seemed to rise as he departed and went back to his throne-like seat next to his wife.

    I was too giddy unable to stand still but Miriam and Hera took my hands and helped calm me down, pinching me so I straightened out

    Delta stopped kneeling, returning to me. Towering over everyone in the room yet regarding mankind he knelt as low as his machine vessel could.

    Delta raised a hand over me ¡°You are to go first Joan, I believe in you as they believe in you, you are nearly perfect, but the others will need to improve.¡± He spoke.

    I gave a nod and released my hand from Hera and Miriam.

    Miriam and Hera also were in awe I had such good words spoken to me..-

    -

    I¡¯d left our pyramid much different

    I was graced by the gods now, improvements to benefit me!

    my eyes, my bones, my body... Replaced, though my flesh hadn¡¯t been stolen entirely ligaments were strengthened, steel skeleton as best as I could describe what was placed in me.

    I was given a rundown, and it was strange getting used to my new eyes, the baby blues my mother allowed me to have¡­She would be angry when I got home...

    Yet I was feeling fervent uttering many prayers I even earned the shake of a hand from a human.

    ¡®I am blessed!¡¯

    I was beyond what anyone could imagine being happy, superseded only by the joy that would come once mankind reached ascension once again that fateful day!

    Yet I could admit inwardly and not outwardly I felt unsafe, the Mechra were assured to tell us things were handled but I knew they could lie. They lied for good and not for evil like we would¡¯ve believed had we not been so enlightened to grace.

    They wish to keep some truths hidden until it is necessary to reveal them.

    Albeit I feel like an unbeliever when I consider distrusting the blessed creations of mankind meant to serve their glory, the glory of human beings.

    ¡®Oh, Boundless Mankind¡¯ I pray inwardly my hands clutched together in hope that I soon may find a place to convince and push my god into rightful ascension.

    I feel heat rise to my cheeks as I remember the candlelit prayers I uttered to the first human being I fell before.

    ¡®Thank you¡¯ I muttered as they passed by me, I could see a blank expression they jolted surprised at my devotion.

    Some humans are still not fully understanding their place revealed to us by the Mechra of what they will become again, of who they will be.

    I smile looking up at the skyscrapers, the places humans endure a utopia, and we down here deservedly do everything to serve and uplift that Utopia.

    Yet some would resist their place.

    I am reminded as I pass through the streets and see a strange man¨C. No not strange I can recognize him¡­I¡¯ve been here¡­why have my feet taken me to this accursed place...

    A trail of blood lead my eyes to him at the steps of some strange structure. , his darkened ebony skin sticks out as blood trails his arms. I can see a gouge in his head, split skin, meat visible to my enhanced eyes.

    Dad? No that isn¡¯t him! It¡¯s not then¡­.I fight memory.

    He looks out to me, as if he isn¡¯t pleading but wants me to witness¡­ I do recognize him..and it haunts me, a man who had opened door when I was young yet he may not recognize me.

    ¡°Sara-¡° He almost says my name, has me shake in fear as the gods turn and their ire is looked toward me, I know my gods are weak now unable to kill me.

    But to be seen as an enemy in coincidence I can¡¯t explain..

    the idea of such frightens me..

    , I can see into one of his eyes my own cybernetic replacement allows me to assess wounds he is hemorrhaging he hasn¡¯t just been stoned¡­

    But beaten, likely stabbed from gashed in his apparel, he wears robes denied clothing and likely food as he is sickly.

    Why would you be so foolish to hang on, can''t you see whatever you believe in has abandoned you!?

    I would hardly feel audacious enough to scold one above me eagerly but¡­.

    He¡¯s not the first and it pains me to know one of my betters will not be the last merely because of ¡®pride¡¯ in this unknown God. If I could convince him by showing that I would seek his life!

    I want to fall at my feet before the humans break him.

    But I hesitate they are great masters of our faith, the beholders who foresaw the Mechra coming, who had their visions and transmissions given into their minds, laced around their heads are the mechanical straps. The Foreseers of our Saviors and beholders of our gods.

    I can¡¯t disrespect them, my eyes are filled with the whitened robes they wear cleaned thoroughly and sterilized, designed to be rid of any stain and any blood that could stick. They are used to this¡­

    A shout draws me out of my terrified observation.

    ¡°You damned followers of that accursed ¡°God¡± To hell with you! You won¡¯t stand in the way of ascension!¡± Berates one of the men as he fastballs a stone.

    I can almost hear the teeth explode out as rock soars fast into the man¡¯s mouth¡­.his teeth clattering against the pavement.

    I turn my head...¨C! I see now it isn¡¯t just elder gods, young ones, children are stoning him Aswell.

    They are human why would they not be as merciful to each other as a wretch like me!?, I pain to see this, but I have no place.

    If it were me, I would gently correct him¨C! No that¡¯s blasphemy I can¡¯t inherit their divinity!

    I look at him to see what remains of a broken church. Before the Mechra came misguided ¡®Christians¡¯ held this world, now they have been corrected a great trailing away brought many to light, but some had remained.

    I¡¯ve no place but the ways I¡¯ve seen humans deal with humans not enlightened by the Mechra does scare me, because I can feel my faith waver as my heart cracks at certain brutality.

    But I¡¯m not foolish these things must be done none can stand in the way of our ¡®Quantum Ascension.¡¯. My father learned that and that¡¯s why he-.

    My father died for lesser rebellion as a Polarie, had this preacher been one I¡¯m sure he would be exterminated quickly, he has the hope to not only be forgiven this, and all he must just belief and relent. Maybe he deserves this but-.

    Wailing¡­the wails of a man who raised me in darkness, in the structure of church with her, my mothed. And how they were separated when he refused how he howled when they burned him¡­.How in his last cry he gave in¡­too late..

    ¡®I can¡¯t let that happen again-! No that¡¯s not my place¡­!¡¯I¡¯m arguing¡­with myself..no..my faith..

    I¡¯m horrified by the struggle within me but as I watch stones fly toward the preacher, I¡¯m horrified someone may miss the chance of submission he had. That my father had¡­.

    He¡¯s still there being struck, the stones bounce off his skull, whipping his head and body in tattered robes on the ground with scorched book beside him as stones strike his head,

    Yet stubbornly! The gall of him! he utters prayer fervently under attack...

    I¡¯m stepping toward the situation¡­don¡¯t do that....no! I try to stop¡­

    A have vague memories that override my faith scarily enough¡­of a man feeding a hungry man..and a hungry woman¡­they are my mother and father¡­and it is him!

    It¡¯s so sudden! I can¡¯t help myself! I¡¯m not me! I¡¯m fighting but I can¡¯t resist

    It¡¯s black for a while.

    We had been on this world before the Mechra had arrived, a man had let us into ¡®the house of God¡¯ and taken us in, we sat by the fires and warmed ourselves¡­.I remember his name none at all,

    he remembers me¡­after all this time...A man who had fed my father and mother when we starved...

    He has hope! He would be virtuous as he takes his rightful place and accepts truth!

    I come to again in moments my eyes are at the ground! -!

    I couldn¡¯t help myself ¡°Oh gods! Mercy! Mercy to your own! Mercy to those unbelieving of their birthright!¡± I¡¯m planted with my nose to the marble tiles stained with the preacher¡¯s blood and my own.

    Facing toward them.

    I¡¯m expecting retribution.

    But I only see one of them raise a hand before more stones come, some even directed to me!

    A man steps forwards ¡°Joan.¡± The lead voice stands up among them all.

    He man plants hands at his hips, staring down to me¡­I can sense his presence overbearing, I¡¯m terrified but answer.

    ¡°Yes lord?¡± I don¡¯t dear raise my voice knelt and facing the ground.

    ¡°Your fervor and passion is not ignored, but spare nothing for this man. He is from the band of fools believing in the ¡°Invisible God.¡±.¡± He speaks with great disdain as his gaze washes past me.

    So merciful, he would consider my ways and reward my passion with compliment amidst chastisement. I feel warm, almost happy but still don¡¯t raise my face.

    ¡°Stand Joan, arise, out the way.¡± The voice is one of my cousin¡¯s father, when he had learned what the Mechra had taught us his position was raised quickly

    he was one the forebearers who had told of their arrival. He helped correct my mother and have her spared when she earlier refused to accept the truth.

    He not only told the Mechra much of the enemy we¡¯d all faced on Fracturia instead he further pointed out the enemy that kept up from realizing their truth! Descendants of the settlers.

    ¡®You should not stand here¡­go as he has said!¡¯ It¡¯s what I¡¯m taught that speaks to me but I can¡¯t continue on like this, my eyes feel wet yet my tear ducts had long since been removed¡­..

    A phantom sensation as I almost rise... ¡°lord-nay, I beg you to have mercy on your own an inheritor of your promised ascension should he believe-.¡±

    ¡°Have I not said ye are Gods?¡± A wavering voice broke that silenced me before I could continue, they all froze.

    ¡°It is as my Lord had said, ¡°Is it not written in the law Ye are Gods.¡± The preacher voiced out, blood soaking him..

    The Preacher had a glare of daggers cast upon him and more stones thrown as he spoke scripture

    David spoke ¡°Speak none of that mythical drivel from me! I¡¯ve burned enough of you fools I¡¯ve heard it all!¡± He sharply spoke that had me flinching downwards.

    Quickly they¡¯ve gone to both ignore me¨C! No I glance back and see the Preacher staring toward me.

    The Preacher spoke defiantly one last prayer toward them! ¡°Ye are Gods, but you shall die like men and fall like one the princes.¡±

    H-he..he..called them gods? I remember my late-father..he was like this man and yet refused utter such about them¡­why would he call them gods? Had they almost convinced him..like my father?

    I call out almost but hold my tongue realizing it¡¯s been decided by the motions David makes.

    David glared downwards at the Preacher taking up another stone, I noticed the stones they tossed were bits of the church.

    They stoned him to final death.

    I didn¡¯t look as I heard the thud and the preacher went limp, I didn¡¯t see him breathe when I turned..

    David said, ¡°Move along, Joan.¡± His voice became angry with me, and I quickly rose and fled from his presence and the others as they stared at me.

    I was so stupid! That man hadn¡¯t wanted to be saved! Why did I risk punishment, show disobedience and defense to those judged among humans!

    I forget my place!

    It¡¯s painful for me to think if man is so holy, why does he kill himself¡­why are we to kill humans who won¡¯t accept¡­

    I lead these thoughts to make the walk all the more painful for myself and I wont know why until later...This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    If that human¡¯s God were real¡­. why did he suffer¡­.or maybe-. I shook my head When my thoughts and I were pushed out the way.

    I moved along the path again, my heartiness diminished, his lack of faith in his place had almost made mine waver, I wept for his loss and death¡­.¡± How can a god die?¡±

    I speak stepping through the streets, my emotions have me at a loss until I encounter a machine, I stumble into it, nose first and almost hear a crunch...

    I yelp before a mechanical wrist stops me.

    A towering machine above me, black and arrayed in white, powerful, its mass covers the whole of the street yet it blocked ways as I see other people walk around it.

    It stopped for me. It heard me!

    ¡°Joan?¡± The machine answered to me.

    ¡°Zeta-12-9!¡± I glance up at the massive hulking machine, large artificial muscles surround the underside of the arachnid like legs, eight of them to be exact, as it steps to the side of the street.

    His guns are raised¡­I¡¯m worried now, of what I heard earlier in our pyramid...

    ¡°Zeta¡­I-I¡¯m¡­can we talk?¡±

    I don¡¯t get to answer, what is like tendrils snatch me into the air, cold, they have the consistency of rubber and I can feel the heat of the electrical conduits within powering it, as they raise me up.

    Clambering up he takes me across the side of a building, massive in size yet so nimble, so graceful this servant of the gods doesn¡¯t even rip apart the building.

    I¡¯m raised and laugh remembering many times I spoke with Zeta, a good friend in faith.

    I glance down to see a few other gods; the men and women lead a fervent group of children through the streets¡­

    ¡°I know why you wish to talk my scans indicate emotional instability!¡± Zeta announced and I only reluctantly nodded too ashamed to answer, that I would let myself feel frenzied, sad.

    Yet I walk within the city amongst my objects of worship.

    But as I glance down and examine what grows farther and farther away I can still see vividly as Zeta scales a building, I see.

    Polaries! Even young ones in strollers, yet I don¡¯t see my own brother. And we don¡¯t live so far away¡­they are following man, likely for more lessons¡­taught by the gods themselves. I need to speak with mom too.

    -

    I¡¯m on the roof in a hurry, and I can see steam rise from ventilation... ¡±We shouldn¡¯t-I shouldn¡¯t be up here, it¡¯s not right for me to be above man!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so fervent it is mindless that is not a commandment they have given, lest Delta would ensure we are in the under-levels!¡± The massive hulking machine started coldly.

    I heard a hiss as it blew out steam, radiators extending from what is like an armored boxy yet half-rounded, beveled insect abdomen, slots on the sides.

    Steam rises out and I can smell scorched steel.

    I only gave a simple nod.

    ¡°It is about the man who was stoned.¡± Zeta gazes out and above, toward that artificial sun, I follow the gaze, of his bulbous extrusion, a giant spherical sensory organ like part that rolls covered in hundreds of optical eyes.

    ¡°Ho-how did you know!?¡± I admit startled.

    ¡°Cameras.¡± Coldly is retorted to me.

    And I sluggishly crouch down as he releases me from the coils, he held me with, they instead retract from his undercarriage something stored in his metallic container in the cold-underbelly.

    It¡¯s a soft round treat, whipped and hot, packaged and carefully handed to me.

    I take it reluctantly ¡°I don¡¯t deserve this¡­I-I¨C.¡± my eyes wet with tears ¡°how could I question them!?¡± I ask myself and question my own actions more than I inquiry Zeta

    ¡°You were as ignorant as we all first were.¡± The Mechra coldly stated. ¡°Yet they pitied you, they were merciful.¡±

    Zeta stated and I looked up to him in awe..

    He was older than I was, Zeta unlike other mechra didn¡¯t have a vessel, when the connection updated he had been cut off, he was isolated like me from a collective consciousness he fell into our hierarchy cast out from all the other machines yet his faith never changed.

    I want to be as strong as this machine.

    ¡°You were all confused too?¡±

    ¡°For a time.¡± Zeta answered mimicking emotion as if remembering I am not machine, I know Zeta feels nothing.. but it has me warm and almost blushing when a blessed servant and machine cares enough to fake such for me, so I don¡¯t feel so..-

    ¡°We realized that the gods are wise, they destroy what can¡¯t be uplifted, it is not our place to do so, and they nstilled that in us, not all humans are going to accept their right.¡± The machine stated crouching down low¡­.

    I bit into the treat, the sweet taste calming me¡­it was mediocre at best though¡­ Zeta seemed to be fully facing me which almost caused me to startle and choke when he looked.

    Observing me bite swallow¡­

    ¡°Only the strongest of our gods will reach ascension, some have been too diluted by the universe.¡± Zeta continued on, gazing toward that city. ¡°That outside this barrier that protects you from the great dangers, from them¡­¡± Zeta boasted.

    ¡°The great chassis that I hold the guns and weapons in my back.¡± Zeta spoke¡­She knew Zeta for long while, as a teenager there had been incursions from vampires and Zeta was powerful.

    His weapons were stronger than anything I ever imagined and hoped would protect us, it leveled bestial tracked monstrous tanks that towered over buildings and fried the evil grey skinned menace.

    I remember often how the Vampires helplessly attacked it and were crushed¡­

    ¡°These things are merely to assist the gods, not question them, your mind must be passenger to devotion to mankind we will lead him to re-ascension he just has to see it. And us, we will be his guardians as he attains¡±

    I gave a slow nod

    ¡°Be strong and of good courage, man¡¯s powerful violence his strength his warlike purity extends to himself, man will correct himself when necessary. It is the way..¡±

    ¡°Bu-but. Why spare us? We-we¡­are impure¡­our ancestors. I¡¯m the hybrid of..¡± I choke. And can¡¯t finish it.

    ¡°Because you are like angels, we pleaded for your continued existence, it was the last collective thought I had with the hive¡­..

    ¡±we realized we found our future kin, despite your impure ancestry¡­you are like us, even naturally in tuned with machines.¡± Zeta started without emotion yet it still had me smiling.

    ¡°I hope you enjoyed the treat; a human made it.¡±. The taste changed and shot up, as I soon gained revelation of such¡­

    ¡°I assessed it tasted bland to you.¡± Zeta gave something akin to a mechanical chitter

    ¡°Is it not now delightful, so will you think of the ways and manners of man as he treats himself Joan¡­I¡¯ll take you home I pre-predict you were headed there.¡±

    I gave a nod and laughed ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I looked down at the food. ¡°Thank you, Zeta.¡± I realized it now, how I should react I will understand the ways of man later but now I should enjoy it,

    it will be bitter but soon if I let witnessing it evolve me as it did even the Mechra it will become sweet to witness. I would¡¯ve been better off enjoying that stoning¡­

    why does that feel wrong¡­.to think¡­do I truly believe¨Csuch¡­that preacher¡­before had been a good human¡­but what even is a good human¡­if he was good why hadn¡¯t he accepted our truth¡­

    I shake the thought away and smile weakly.

    Zeta gave a mechanical chitter, as little claw-like arms came out. ¡°You are different, almost mechanical¡­¡±

    I was surprised and marveled at the ignorance of Zeta ¡°I am!¡± I stood up tall, my white robes, lightly stained in the blood I knelt in before...

    Zeta gave another mechanical chitter, almost a laugh, the cold voice he had was like a man, like an older brother yet far older, something he had taken, like the human of great age that died in his arms years ago

    I remember how I was almost able to console Zeta then a machine vastly more intelligent almost as well as he has consoled me.

    Zeta reached out one of these extended mechanical pieces the massive arachanid form reaching me, touching my face.

    I shut my eyes, as I felt a scan heat and what almost felt like radiation washing over.

    ¡°You have graduated.¡± This time I heard something unmistakable. Pride! He couldn¡¯t be faking this!

    ¡°With your teaching and advice, I faltered for a long while, but I learned. Learned much about humans their careful expertise¡­I learned from their violence¡­And I succeeded in training.¡±

    Zeta looked toward me ¡°Good.¡±

    -

    I greeted receptionist of the Polarie housing unit, it wasn¡¯t a man or anything like us but just a machine.

    Into the well-lit corridors white dry wall with lingering stains, colorings and drawings from the young children.

    I can see preserved images the Mechra extended to us, the image of two men together

    The Vitruvian-man, poorly and crudely drawn by a child misshapen.

    I regarded it for a moment as I found it quite cute, and for what I witnessed previously it was lightening to my mind.

    I shouldn¡¯t be so worried mankind who has found his place among the stars as a future re-ascended god will be delightfully intelligent in all his goings, his faults if they could even be called such a thing truly. Are the result of his current position, he must return.

    I walked through halls, the long hallways, and with the layout it was a march that irritated me but I remember that it was them who designed this for us, to help us with timing and patience. Virtuous it was to not to complain about all they offered.

    Afterall we are impure.

    I took hold of the door to my home, but it opened before me, I could see my mother carrying my little brother in her arms, bouncing him as he sucked on his thumb, a look of glee was on her face

    ¡°Sar-Sarah!? You really came!?¡± She huffed I could see her similar pale snow-white skin and features, contrasted with tired bags under her eyes. She¡¯s been stressed¡­..

    You came home, blessed be the-!¡± She paused before she could answer anything else.

    I can see her face and she frowns greatly¡­¡±It¡¯s Joan mother the name the gods have gave me.¡± She hears me say in stern tone. Gives a detestable look that betrays the faith I know is in her! I believe is in her!

    I entered, closing the door behind me as she took my baby-brother and entered the well-lit interior of our home...

    I can still see many of the knacks, toys I had for myself thanks to the Mechra¡¯s intervention and our liberation, I lived a good life. I needed to give back to mankind¡¯s creation and mankind himself.

    ¡°I di-didn¡¯t. Think they would¡­didn¡¯t think you would-.¡± I can hear my mothers voice break..

    ¡°Mother have faith they would have accepted your request, they realized it was necessary I comfort you..have you done your devotion?¡± I looked onwards to my mother, and stepped aside. Seating myself.

    She gave a reluctant nod¡­it vexed me to see a delay and lack of verbal confirmation.

    Please don¡¯t be lying again..

    ¡°Mom, have you truly? Yo-you seem tired have you not gotten sleep? Shouldn¡¯t Joseph be with the other children?¡± I interrogated not even noticing, it was natural for me..I¡¯d been trained.

    I can see the hesitations, the way her eyes cast to the side, she worriedly looks to my baby-brother she places into a high-seat nearby.

    ¡°N-no..he-well I¡¯ve just been sick, I didn¡¯t want it to spread! So has, Joseph!..¡± Her voice is momentarily erratic, but she has him at a table.

    I sat before her unknowing that I had.

    I feel different, as if a second pair of eyes are on me. The smell of coffee is stronger than it¡¯s ever been to me, its as if I can sense the dark-roast¡­That¡¯s not permitted for us- she needs time to understand I know man will understand if they were here they would be merciful unto her so shall I be.

    I shake my head loosely. ¡°Mom! Y¡¯know you can¡¯t just hide him from great service, even the young should know ¡®Man¡¯s grace to his fallen cousin!¡¯¡±

    She desperately seeks to hide a frown.

    Why was your faith never strong. I chastise her, but another reasonable part of me considers how hard it must be. She¡¯s much more receptive than that preacher¡­.

    ¡°Well¨C¡° I start to speak but as her eyes fix onto mine I hear a gasp ¡°Yo-youre eyes god-.¡± She stops herself. ¡°¡±gods.¡±¡± She forces out and leans in, seating next to me, I can hear her chair scratch.

    Her face wrinkles as she reaches for my face. ¡°Your blue eye-¡­.¡± I no longer had her inherited eyes, I knew such would make her weak faith waver..I had to speak on it eventually it¡¯s why I¡¯m here, I wouldn¡¯t consider returning otherwise I have duties.

    ¡°You can¡¯t be so ungrateful! They¡¯ve made me a nephilm mother, these enhancements are a gift.¡±

    Her horrified expression scrunches, she smiles¡­

    They trained me too well to forcibly interrogate unbelievers¡­don¡¯t let that be you.

    I regard and swallow thickly¡­¡±Mom¡­It¡¯s a gift, for me..You are blessed mankind choose you, just as father would¡¯ve been chosen for-.¡± She clears her throat.

    ¡°I understand!¡± She exclaims weakly her voice wavering, ¡°It¡¯s a gift! I understand! I-I thank them the peop-humans!¡±

    I¡¯m a bit happy she can correct herself we aren¡¯t human, long since diluted it was the point of contention that had her in so much trouble.. She resisted that with dad and then he-

    I shook my head harshly to knock memory of the unbeliever, my father away. Causing her to startle a bit and then nodded up and down frantically ¡°Yes Mom! Have you been outside in this week?¡±

    She truthfully shakes her head as she rises and goes to the counter, running water as she washes three cups, and makes us all coffee¡­All?

    I pause for awhile, and see a steaming glass mug reach a point where.. our other..sat¡­Dad¡­

    I could see her eyes widen as she glanced toward the empty seat and she laughs emptily. Laying back into her seat without a glance toward it, robotically looking back to me.. ¡°Uh-uhmm¡­Sa¨C¡± She winces

    ¡°Joan.¡± I speak and she answers herself ¡°Sarah..¡± She speaks startled yet readily defying it¡­the truth..

    I can strain my expression as much as I want¡­But it wont make her believe more, she¡¯s trying your faith this is a test!

    ¡°Mother you seem to be losing fai¨C¡° I feel ill at the mere thought of it¡­that she could end up like my father, she was always so submissive especially when David helped correct her, she was going to be righteous with me..

    ¡°I never had it.¡± I think hear come out cruel yet weak defiance laced in tone¡­.

    I look up and must be mistaken because she¡¯s trembling likely ashamed her faith is so weak.

    ¡°I-I mean! I¡¯m doing my best but these times are so trying..you¡¯re gone¡­I know it¡¯s a blessing for you to be chosen but..-¡° She¡¯s crying now wiping tears, this causes my little brother to stir

    ¡°It was meant to be!¡± I coldly state, ¡°Leaving my little brother out of our righteous truth isn¡¯t excuse though, mom.¡± I chastise. ¡°Please don¡¯t cry we can make it through this, I was sent back..To examine your faith.¡±

    ¡°. It¡¯s weak like a lamb!..needs improvement!¡± I startle myself with how convincing my fake laugh is in the way I spoke to try to cheer her up.

    She weakly nods and as I see her head lower in my presence, I¡¯m happy, she¡¯s not resisting as she had few times I¡¯d seen her before. She can be better. Not like dad.

    She won¡¯t have to die for pride in some invisible ¡°Lord¡± like that Preacher either.

    I leave it in a long pause as my little-brother whines as the sink drips of water, she swallows thickly.

    ¡°Okay.¡± She stands up, but I rise faster and hug her ¡°It¡¯s okay mom. I¡¯m glad I could visit you again, be strong we mustn¡¯t fail mankind.¡±

    I¡¯m hugging tightly and she squeezes me even more, I can feel the depression through her dress where she was branded on back to be a part of her repentance pact¡­

    -

    I do love my mother¡­

    As I sat and looked upon human approved viewing, it is old records the mechra had scrubbed off the dark-ages, we watch humans in a time called ¡®their prime¡¯ it was a gift to the Mechra for service of the Polaries during a troubling time when the Mechra faced Pulsar weapons.

    The Pulsar weapons scorched flesh of Polaries serving fervently as warriors but didn¡¯t impede them as they did the blessed mechanical servants...

    I seat staring toward the television as colors blare in my vision. The laughter of my brother almost lulls me to a rest.

    I notice my mother almost spots me lulling to a rest on the couch of our living room.

    ¡°Yo-you are staying?¡± She questions hopefully.

    ¡°For exactly two days in fact, I am being allotted time to spend with you before we depart.¡±

    She gives a nod her smile that she almost gained diminishes hearing I¡¯m going again, she knows it¡¯ll be the last time she sees me whether or not I die in battle. I¡¯ll be protecting her and my brother anyways afterall.

    She sits on the couch taking my brother in arms. And leans back onto the couch.

    Hugging me close.

    She feels my skull, her fingers twitch as she presses hard at my unfeeling armored skull.

    Yet she doesn¡¯t question she instead lulls me closer..

    Orange colors flash ahead of me, as the lights in the room are dimmed.

    I can see flames on television.

    In that church where my father held us when the Vampires weapons dropped down, assaulted man, woman, and child with devastating beams of heat we sat in that old ruined church, amidst it all there was a fire raging within despite the cold, and rain it would not diminish¡­

    Was that odd miracle that kept us from freezing warmth from the ¡®God¡¯ these more rebellious potential gods believe in?...

    ¡°I remember your father cuddling the three of us together, when the war raged way back when.¡± She reminisced heartfully, and her voice wasn¡¯t wavering it was straight and narrow like her.

    ¡°We were cold, yet that fire never seemed to go out¡­¡± She smiled as I glanced up as the three of us rested together, my little brother still a babe, stirring in his sleep.

    And for a moment I rested.

    -

    \\ ATTACK OF THE UNDEAD //

    Joan and her mother were awoken by a crash, both had endured a time when bombs fell from the stars but this was different, louder than any bomb they heard as they drifted to sleep in ruins..

    This was apocalyptic.

    As though the sky had exploded it came from above, and the interior shook, the lights flickering on from the force, the television that had been quietly playing in their familial rest on the couch flickered, and soon enough it came to realization.

    Her eyes widened and blew wide open in startling fear ¡°Shelter!¡± In tandem with her terror-ridden exclamation she bounced up, her mother startled awake was forced up as she took her hand.

    They were both up ¡°No! They-they¡¯re back!¡± She¡¯d seen a fear in her mothers eyes she¡¯d hoped to never see again as the woman froze up.

    ¡°MOM LET¡¯S GO!¡± She wailed loudly screeching at her mother.

    ¡°No! We need to take shelter!¡±

    Joan recalled what she¡¯d been learning of the monsters outside of what Delta had been preparing her and the others to face since they landed.

    ¡°No! Listen to me, this isn¡¯t a bombing! We need to head to the emergency shelters!¡± Joan was quick and didn¡¯t let her mother resist, she took her out.

    Yet the hint that this was something more had her mother visibly frightened, terrified.

    People were waking up screaming and shouting as that first sound only had them confused.

    Joan screamed. ¡°EVERYONE WAKE UP!¡±

    She was screaming through the halls of the Polarie housing complex.

    ¡°Wh-what was that!? More nukes outsid-!¡± A man exclaimed but was cut off as it came again, it was a haunting sound and from a distance down the hall they could see the artificial light casted by the exterior sky mimicking day-time.

    Become immediately black, the lights of the interior shutting off..

    Horror and panicked cries came from them all.

    But Joan didn¡¯t wait

    ¡°WE¡¯RE UNDER ATTACK!¡± She screamed..

    She was so sure of it because it was why she was conflicted of returning to her mother, something was utterly wrong¡­she trusted man..not the Mechra more than man¡­.and even humans, were worried by report of what was outside this dome.

    Monsters!

    They were rushing out, her mother and little brother ¡°Mom!¡± She noticed her mothers feet dragging!

    ¡°Yo-you¡¯re too fast!¡±

    Indeed, her daughter, Joan, was moving too fast and quickly Joan adjusted, as they burst out the building, the darkened sky was now exposed¡­.

    The Barrier¡­..that protected them their shield¡­it was gone¡­.Not just their shield..

    The shield to protect mankind! No! please no! Delta, Zeta Do something! She shouts internally.

    There was dark reddish lights, like cyclops eyes descending, all over her enhanced cybernetic eyes saw-!

    She quickly screamed at her mother to speed up, her brother babbling and crying, she could hear a sudden risk. Energy weapons!?

    She heard explosive rocketing gunfire that dared make her quake and fear and falter! I¡¯m sensing something in my mechanical eyes, ¡°Duck!¡± She screams and her mother shields her brother as

    they lay on their knees, heads toward the ground prostrated to dodge projectiles.

    Heat blares as a missile blare from a defensive point, a road in the street has opened miles ahead, mechanical gears opening the street as asphalt lowers and moves to slot away as a missile battery raises.

    -

    HELL

    Crowds of People scatter aimlessly, terrified as the rabid menace approaches, horrified as hulking figures float through the sky strange jetpacks assist them as they clear and land atop buildings, defenses implanted within roofs that emerge are decapitated swiftly.

    Machines around the city are expertly encircled, the far more numerous machines and polaries sent into fight are cut down by weapons of their own.

    These monsters are in buildings now¡­men and women scream, hungry angry monsters descend upon them, biting down into soft supple flesh, consuming the self-proclaimed Gods

    These monsters are in the cannibalized remains of machines outside the barrier.

    They use heavy cannons, one arm towering over them, and men of purple using ¡°holy weapons¡± to scorch the defenders..

    \\ Crisis Joan//

    It¡¯s firing at something in the sky above us!

    It trailed upwards toward a skyscraper and missed!

    Debris crashed down, and I looked around.

    It¡¯s as time has slowed¡­.

    I see it all ahead of me, wreckage, the fire of the explosion has lightened it, I see humans! My gods! Broken, dead¡­projectiles rain from above but I can¡¯t even fully identify the targets when I glance up!

    ¡®My family is second to my duty!¡¯ I painfully remind myself

    ¡°Stay down mom! Keep running!¡± I shouted.

    ¡°But Sarah!? Go where!?¡± She shouts painfully forgetting my new righteous name!

    ¡°KEEP MOVING!¡± I scream in rage at her and throw myself away from her as I leap upwards¡­

    My eyes scan upwards and see debris landed on a god¡­I hear his wail, he¡¯s been crushed¡­.my eyes can¡¯t wet with tears but I feel it again, my heart ripples and aches with pain.

    Yet I hadn¡¯t hesitated and leapt forwards quickly abandoning my mother and brother

    I have to!

    ¡°Blessings give me strength!¡± I cry in agony barely able to lift it in an inch, worried and unsure if my mother has even gone! I won¡¯t be able to get back to her! If I don¡¯t hurry!

    The man wails ¡°Pl-please oh God! Help me nephilm!¡± he is barely able to reach my ears as explosions rage around us, glass shatters and rains around us..I can feel it sting my skin.

    My synthetic muscles that had replaced my original kick in, my altered genetic drive, I feel adrenaline I lift it up, entirely and over my head.

    I lift what is about as large as a car before I can think about it,

    I¡¯m sending the debris flying ten feet over, crushing a sleek automobile under it...

    Thick bit of concrete debris and wall off him, and he weakly crawls out from under, I can see other human¡¯s rush toward him¡­helping him

    I turn to see my mother shivering, terrified holding my brother as he cries, smoke rising.

    ¡°Mom! I¡¯m sorry I had to-.¡± Her face is angry but only nods as if to shut me up.

    We are back to running but are shaken by what came next.

    Our home is gone!

    I turned back, and it erupted, a purplish flame rising high as it explodes and strange entities landed¡­the demons!

    They landed within crashing through as it blew apart!

    ¡°We¡¯re so far from the edges of the barrier! How are they this far in already!?¡± She shouted to me

    I thought on it ¡°Above!! They are airdropping! But how!? They don¡¯t have a fleet strong enough!¡± I screamed

    I saw the wrecks of our home, the fires rage.

    My mother finally looked back and wailed with my brother but I drug them with me.

    I yelled back ¡°Don¡¯t worry keep running!¡±

    The city is dark only illuminated by light of gunfire, plasma weapons, and fire!...

    We are dancing through wreckages, and my mother covers my baby-brothers eyes, her shoulders bloodied from glass and debris that hit her falling from above on occasion¡­

    We are hearing voices¡­¡±The others¡­the other Polaries! Joan!? Shouldn¡¯t you have helped lead them?¡±

    ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t worry about them! If they are worthy they will be escorted by my sister-nephilm!¡± I scold matter-of-factly..I don¡¯t have time to-!

    We reach an intersection, and soon enough I can hear something whistling down, a massive shadow illuminated by purplish fire¡­.

    ¡°ZETA!¡± I scream and something lands, he is massive landing in a crowded intersection crushing a fleet of abandoned cars¡­I can hear screams from surrounding humans now falling behind him, other Polaries in the streets.

    Boldly announcing from megaphone ¡°HUMANS, RETREAT, VAMPIRES YOU ARE NOT HIDDEN YOU ARE WITHIN RANGE OF EXTERMINATION PROTOCOLS!¡±

    he booms loudly, rattling glass deafening my ears, my baby brother wails louder than ever and my mother winces.

    As the screams grow louder, the tense sound of fighting elsewhere lessens¡­I see strange figures break glass, poke out windows and buildings..I slowly run to march away.

    ZETA seems to address me, his mechanical head momentarily turning toward me ¡°JOAN, RETREAT, GET TO THE PYRAMID-TOWER! RALLY WITH THE SISTERS RESIST ANY ATTEMPT TO BREACH!¡±

    The crowds are retreating quickly, they are desperate to escape and eager to get out the way as they are screaming ¡°THEY¡¯RE COMING!¡± the helpless people scream.

    I give a nod and look to my mother and brother, I¡­I have to abandon them to do that¨C.

    ¡°EVERYONE MUST RETREAT THERE, HUMAN OR NOT¡­SHELTERS ARE COMPROMISED!¡± Zeta brokenly announces! As he takes several projectiles.

    My mother saw my hesitation..that I considered abandoning her..it pains me but I had to consider..I have this duty..! But now I feel so weak..my gods are dying around me!

    Our sky is shattered!

    Hell has come!

    You shall die like men and fall like one of the princes¡­ The words of that preacher haunts me.

    Lightning fast something whips past me! It lands.

    It rolls, an automobile had been tossed¡­.

    Did Zeta throw that!?

    I can see another one fly and this time I witness who threw it, them! It lands nearby crashing into a crowd of gods, they are reduced to red mist, as it flies with insane velocity

    when I turn as I see one of them block a burst of Zeta¡¯s twin co-axial plasma autocannons, rapid fire plasma burns

    into the automobile the lead demon lifts with one-arm. The heat of passing bolts are so hot it almost brings me to heatstroke from twenty feet away, and it melts streetlights and windows nearby

    He raises it over his head and then rears back after Zeta¡¯s burst flinging it into Zeta.

    The automobile crashing into his sensory piece, I see dozens of eyes burst out at the velocity it¡¯s been thrown!...

    ¡°ZETA!¡± I scream¡­as he stumbles blind, his head spins in its socket to a point where he has a full set of eyes but they are shot out, I see him desperate.

    I¡¯m terrified as my mother tries to get me to run downright tugging my arm off! but I want to save him!

    I can see him, powerful legs weakened, these monsters have unnatural power, strength they shouldn¡¯t have¡­Zeta is immune to even the greatest of attacks but they are something else..

    I¡¯d witnessed him break tanks with his legs, yet they evade his stomps, even elbowing and redirecting his several ton weight, he stumbles.

    I¡¯d witnessed him take the brunt of an attack and shield many, but he wavers evading as much as he can with his size, as one of them wields a rifle, the commander blasting off eye after eye.

    He evades and the stranger seems to have additional shots hit the crowd, the damage it does to a man¡­a god¡­

    It was as if he had turned to red, blood and mist arising as his center-half was vaporized, and hot energy scorched the wound after, the explosive impact happening thrice! He was eradicated¡­

    The crowds are also witnessing the horror of carnage that seeps around,

    we all almost stand there to watch paralyzed in fear,

    one of them seemed to have disappeared in the midst of combat as they harass and overwhelm Zeta one of the four and re-appeared as if she was a ghost.

    She¡¯s coming from the air off the side of a building crashing down with a forceful thud, shaking the ground around us.

    A blade stabs into the head of Zeta¡­

    I scream until my throat burns raw as the blade slashed upwards as this horrific being brings it up, and rips his armored head open¡­..

    He tips over¡­..his massive mechanical frame darkening, each eye going dim one after the other.

    Thirty, then twenty, then ten, then one¡­

    It looks toward me..as mechanical boom ¡°Run!¡± is all that is uttered toward me.

    I run, I take my mother, my brother and I run..I can¡¯t fight them! I¡¯m too weak to save the gods! Too weak to fight back! They¡¯re going to kill us all! But..

    Zeta why did you have to¨C¡­.no¡­. why¡­..why¡­.

    Eerie silence was growing in the city¡­why had the sounds of combat stop?

    We must keep moving.

    We sprinted with people, moving as fast as we could a crowd of gods ¡°Polarie! Y-yo-you¡¯re a nephilm! What are those things!? They aren¡¯t any regular vampires!¡± A boy screams to me, a young boy demanding answers.

    My Mother forgets her place ¡°We no time to answer you!¡±

    I don¡¯t scold her¡­gods are dying¡­they are going to get in the way and die more if I stop to answer.

    The others want to hear too¡­irrationally..it¡¯s bitter now hearing them murmur and rail against me as I am now leading them to safety.

    They follow me toward the tower¡­I can see in the distance, humming and glowing, we are cold now the outside world¡¯s surface is clouded, from atomic weapons¡­recent.

    I only hope we can make it

    Then we all pause on the street next to a building, a caf¨¦ we a nearby attached to a skyscraper, glass cups rattle, heavy tables and chairs shake¡­

    Zeta!? I hear an unmistakable chime that sounds like him¡­but remember there are others like him¡­

    Wait..!

    S2N2

    I sense something wrong¡­as we move through the quiet streets, I hear distant combat¡­it¡¯s not too distant, it¡¯s to our left¡­the skyscraper rumbles¡­..

    ¡°Joan what¡¯s wro-¡° My brother, my mother spill into my hands like red paste from a dispenser¡­I don¡¯t know what happened, I still can¡¯t recall what was going on.

    My vision blanked out, as I saw a fight emerge, wrecking through us¡­a machine classed like Zeta was thrown through a wall, one its long spindly legs, stamping onto my family..crushing the others with us as it was tipped over¡­

    gods flattened to paste like melons so many they held it up for a short time whining, crying groaning as the machine squeezed down until they finally burst under its massive body, and it sunk into the ground¡­

    I look forwards frozen..I feel nothing¡­I don¡¯t know anymore¡­gods are dying¡­I¡¯m a fool¡­.they died like men¡­.fall like the princes..no¡­

    My mother¡­

    ¡°Mo-mom¡­¡± I reach out ahead of me as I turned back fully, feeling nothing but air and the wet bits of her flesh that exploded into my hands..

    I¡¯m glancing ahead¡­seeing a monster emerge, the secondary machine akin to Zeta lies on its side¡­

    I watched you die twice, this time with my mother.

    I can¡¯t bear to look; I see whatever my brother had been wrapped in before my mother¡­before she¨C

    I crumbled to my back legs, sitting up and witnessing a terrifying monster watch and approach me¡­.

    A second descends from darkness as man crawls helplessly, unfortunately helmet is removed her grey skin and light hair exposed¡­she descends on him biting him on the neck like a beast and lifting him by his throat with her mouth blood flows into her throat and I see her swallow gulps¡­

    Dear God save me..

    Save me God please.. I beg¡­I remember the preacher, what has happened I¡¯m lost¡­I tremble and cry as somehow I cry¡­I weep and cry yet I should not be able to¡­I can¡¯t stop what flows..

    It¡¯s their leader among them, there are three others removed helmets feasting on remains¡­they don¡¯t eat flesh they sink in..

    And like a predator he seeks prime prey¡­

    he is magnificently large, seven feet¡­he has the gait of a lion prowling like a angry monster¡­ he is taller than any of them, and he stalks toward me his armor is clean albeit their visors their armor is broken he stalks toward me.

    Drenched in the blood of¨COh God he¡¯s drenched in the blood of my self-proclaimed gods¡­.

    He is like unto a bear¨CNo great! He is¡­he is our end¡­

    I watch him prowl toward me in calm gait, he is stalking at me, his path is straight guided by the line of pavement, what little remained of my mother..my brother¡­he approached, a towering crueel cyclops in dark purple armor barely visible even in light, covered and bathed in the blood of my people my gods, stomping at me entirely silent, even his footsteps are defeaned

    Slinking forwards at me like a predator, He has it he keeps that lions gait and is dreadful he casts an unnatural shadow in the fires of my home on me, A red line appears then a dot between, in his blackened abyssal wide visor a monoeye shifts as if its alive blinking on once-twice

    His gaze is only for me utters not a word. I¡¯m going to be consumed!

    I weep, wailing

    I pray in one last effort, fervently as the stones of tragedy cast on me

    God of the preacher pity me I¡¯m sorry.

    [He must have.]

    \\ ALEPH //

    I WITNESS DEPTHS GREATER THAN I HAD EVER SEEN CARNAGE WHICH QUESTIONS MY IMMORTALITY I HOPE TO DIE FOR WHAT I¡¯VE DONE.

    Yet I approached her

    Each step I took earned a wail, a cry her hands cover her face as she holds fingers over parting to see me. I¡¯m careful attempting to be deliberate, I want to ensure she is safe¡­because she looks like her.

    Her skin is pale, far from an albino snow-white, with knifed ears, unlike any human I¡¯d ever seen..but she looks like her

    Steam blows from my ventilation ¡°Arianne?¡±

    Quantum Crisis.

 Continued Prelude: Aftermath and Quantum Recollection.

    \\ FRACTURIA NEW GREECIA, LIVERY STREET, ALEPH VICTOR ALPHA 1//

    My eyes continued to rake over the girl, seeing delectable droplets of blood go down and disturbing viscera roll down., Her pained howls were irritating my ears,

    I felt utter agony at what I realized we¡¯d done¡­what we had to do..

    I couldn¡¯t bear it and stomped twice faster finally about to fully close distance. The heavy footfalls silenced her

    She glanced up at me¡­He could sense a change within himself at that moment, shortly after he took a glance down¨Cthe remains¡­

    He gave a look of care as the beating sounds of harsh urban warfare kicked up again.

    He reached down and he shook visibly, rattled as he picked up the blanket sickened by the thick mashed remains of what he thought was an infant and mother.. He lived among humans¡­

    I was urging myself to feast the moment I saw her among survivors, but appetite and desire to live fanished.

    I starve painfully yet¡­ I cant.. ¡®you look like her.¡¯

    ¡°What have we done.¡±

    I¡¯m clasping my rifle to my chest and a fresh magazine raises from my chest before an elder one is ejected clapping into the well of my gun.

    I draw back the hammer and move toward the girl, my feet hitting the pavement, in sickening twist I hadn¡¯t realized it but I gave her the blanket¡­the chunky boney remains still within¡­yet her features softened¡­

    Resignation filled her face.

    In that moment the red light of my visor shifted a purplish hue ¡°Go.¡± I told her.

    There was no argument¡­she took it in hand and turned, retreating swiftly.

    ¡°Aleph!¡± I could hear a voice break me out from my gaze lingering on the girl as she left.

    I turned to my comrades, angry and hungry devouring mouths¡­Bodies of men and women cruel sharpened canines removed helmets or exposed mouths sinking into flesh, life draining¡­

    How disgusting, sinful¡­grotesque¡­

    They feasted carelessly on human beings, I¡¯m too weak to feed myself even as I starve now, I only dare to give command.

    I straighten from my slouched attitude, no longer leaning forwards I¡¯m straight up as an oak placing this aside.

    ¡°ALPHA-ONE, MOVE-OUT!¡± I cry.

    -

    I don¡¯t know where I lead them, I just knew It was somewhere Juno ended up, I ran through the streets littered with broken bodies, broken machines resisting, crazed war.

    I hated it.

    I recall a poignant moment in my life when I considered being like humans was my greatest fear, but now with what I¡¯ve done I am assured I am far from it.

    We all are I¡¯m assessing more and more as I glance toward Juno and she looks toward me, she is in the middle of a street a streetlight covers her form, she¡¯s been surrounded by broken bodies of heavier close-quarters machines.

    Yet her helmet¡¯s chin is bloodied...

    She¡¯s been feeding too¡­at this rate we¡¯ll be killing more unarmed humans than machines...

    I wave her on toward a street and building nearby.

    My head turns in examination covering this street a major intersection and junction, tattered nearby tables, banners and streamers, childrens toys littered across the ground, leading out of a building that had been struck by a bomb, scorched shadows burned into the wall lit by the dim fires.

    I can smell that horrid scent, burning hair¡­

    We are entering into a day-care? Childrens hospital? I can see strange things here, what amounts to a place where they had medical beds? Strange scanners¡­

    There is hum of machinery lullaby likely for children to be lulled to sleep¡­.it¡¯s so open, is this casual for them?

    I can see stains of blood too old¡­they¡¯re like wet copper stains¡­yet that still has my mouth water. Why?

    I won¡¯t drink¡­I can¡¯t¡­I cant do that..Not like then, it isn¡¯t in a bag¡­they¡¯re in innocent..people..

    I¡¯m not too sure but the question is answered for me ¡°This is a cybernetic bench workshop¡­.¡± Juno answers for me, in resignation as if sickened.

    ¡°Cybernetic workshop?¡± I challenge looking toward childrens toys littered nearby.

    ¡°Would explain organic beings we encountered, weird things they smell human taste like them but they aren¡¯t.¡±

    The others have are nearby, Asaph announces that with question ¡°What knife ears?¡±

    ¡°Yeah pale ones, they are like militia we encountered them, weak they are pointman for machines, numerable not as much as any robot but.¡±

    Juno stops and pauses and starts ¡°They got some inherent enhancements, bolted on, damn hard to bite through.¡± Juno gave cruel chuckle.

    I can sense a lingering distaste in my mouth as the exchange feels as if I¡¯ve eaten a wad of ash.

    Saiyah looks to me not even able to see my face but¨C ¡°Cut the chatter, Juno we were expecting you to scout and scan the tower.¡±.

    I forgot to ask I¡¯m rattled..I¡¯m weak..

    I back up near what is a soda dispenser, leaning against it, closing distance with it caused the dim blueish light it emit to flicker until it shut down entirely as I touched it with my back.

    Propped up as it buckles under my weight.

    Rifle lined with the floor.

    ¡°So?¡± I urge Juno.

    Juno gave a nod ¡°Fortified, it¡¯s where many evacuees are headed, retreating combatants and other, they¡¯ve been sending groups to rescue those still this deep in the city¡± Juno states mechanically.

    I throw my head up at her in affirmation I¡¯m pleased she figured that out ¡°Fortified how? Weapons?¡±

    ¡°I sighted a cannon from my scope, rest of my unit was able to determine they don¡¯t have an inner shield but it¡¯s armored.¡± She states first, and then draws motion.

    ¡°Fourteen unmanned autonomous emplacements, anti-tank likely.¡± Juno answers as Asaph looks to me, my eye twitches inside helmet as I feel a surge of agony.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be troubling to get through.¡± I speak as I glance toward Saiyah, regarding her natural talent in immediate, her visors been broken still so I can see her roll her eyes at me.

    Anna who was maintaining watch outside, crouches through the doorway into the interior. ¡°Sounds like a major weakness Aleph, Saiyah could likely get in, disrupt those defenses.¡±

    ¡°Exactly as I was thinking.¡± I admit. I ask Juno ¡°What is the structure like? Any relevance to its shape? How would our advance look?¡± I ask surprising myself,

    I almost sound like a military commander, I¡¯m forcing myself to put down the agony of what we¡¯ve done even for a moment... I don¡¯t have the luxury to grieve for the innocent.

    ¡°Large, like a sunken skyscraper, pyramid with four entrances for each corner.¡± Juno seems to describe this as best as she can but even I know the structures shape had to be odd even just from sensing its signature.

    I am wary of us being jumped by targets in this urban environment, but the only electronics I sense are automatic vendors it looks like as I glance outside, lights and¡­cameras¨C.

    My senses aren¡¯t that good I guess¡­we might be watched right now, but the enemy isn¡¯t advancing...

    I turn my attention back to juno as she finishes describing having continued.

    ¡±It has hooks like it was dropped from orbit off a ship carrying it. sunk into soil.¡± Juno spoke.

    Inbetween statements I feel a twinge of anger, my fangs gliding further down from my gums as I feel intensified pain..hunger? I¡¯d felt it often younger but here it¡¯s more painful¡­too much blood.

    ¡°Likely more underneath¡­¡± She paused for a bit the moment I jolted and she scanned me Juno was confused but Saiyah was worried obviously getting close to nudge me with elbow.

    I wave her off. ¡°Continue Juno.¡± I almost plead.

    I give nod ¡°So these pale ones? Are they human? Alien?¡±

    ¡°Obviously Human, Victor-1.¡± I¡¯m regarded by command title by Juno it feels good warms me a bit knowing the plan went that well. Opinions shifted on me, albeit if I relied heavily on intel and advantage of my ability.

    ¡± Half-correct.¡± Anna starts again correcting Juno and answering me she shifts her tone becoming almost eager to explain ¡°They¡¯re both.¡±

    A few lights flicker around us, showing an image, it¡¯s one of them with an arm

    [¡®Nephilm¡¯! guardians of the Gods.¡¯]

    I regard this ¡°So what are they, I¡¯ve seen them protecting humans but no humans protecting them.¡± I answer but Juno grimly nods in agreement.

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen lots of things, streamers, toys¡­-.¡± Juno doesn¡¯t finish commenting.

    ¡°They were having a celebration, religious, robes, crowds, you seen some of what those humans wear? We stumbled upon a human cult.¡± Asaph seemed to lean down crouching to a knee, picking up weird tory.

    ¡°Vitruvian man¡­¡± Asaph connected as he gave a nod and connected dots quickly.

    ¡°You sure it is cult?¡± I¡¯m confused hearing this question, was it not just some strange denomination, I was no stranger to religion my human-father he taught me much of it that I respected and still honor but¡­

    ¡°I saw some churches when we landed but they were burned out before we fired the first shot, they were old decrepit¡­¡± Juno remarked as she had been apart of the landing unit I¡¯d sent to strike from above the barrier, ra through when I opened it with my strange ability.

    I start to move forwards but stop as my armored boot vibrates touch with a heavy half-empty soda, can I kick it forwards¡­.Until it bumps into a¨C..

    A corpse.

    I remarked it.. Saiyah seemed to recall something and tugged my arm. Hand-motioning as she turns from the others, angled to me. ¡®You are hungry.¡¯

    I don¡¯t respond I send her a glance, and she doesn¡¯t push further but she tenses¡­angry.

    ¡°We should move, a city this advanced will have cameras, recon drones and street sensors.¡± Saiyah truthfully adds,

    she is always observant of who is watching her, Probably why she can disappear on demand.

    ¡°.She¡¯s right, we can¡¯t be still with this level of resistance we haven¡¯t struck a major military site this feels like, the capital.¡± Anna added and began to step out earning a nod from Saiyah.

    ¡°Alright we move on, Saiyah go with Juno and ensure you two are able to regroup, I want your unit dealing with the enemy air assets we encountered previously.¡± I start

    Saiyah¡¯s head is locked onto me now no longer moving.. She seems to be catching on something is wrong, her fists tighten the moment I command her away.

    I don¡¯t want to be around her right now, she peers into my soul too easily.

    ¡°Air assets, I was worried they had none, assumed we¡¯d be bombed..What do you mean?¡± Juno quickly interrogated.

    ¡°We encountered them after Aleph regrouped with us, damn terrible thing wrecked my armor.¡± Saiyah speaks moving out.

    The others are following me as I motion to Anna and Asaph, I know the enemy hasn¡¯t sent any yet but the streets are wide and we somehow broke an entire portion of the city despite homefield advantage.

    It¡¯s only obvious they¡¯d bomb any ground lost, even a squad of us seems to be considered a threat worthy of the best¡­

    We got no time to lose. I grumble against lingering hungering pangs that have me feeling sluggish.

    ¡°Anna Asaph, control any other local groups you encounter in a street fight, shut down any roads.¡±

    Juno speaks ¡°My logistics team had explosives, we could collapse buildings, prevent any of the bigger ones from moving through easier, I¡¯ve seen tracked vehicles we should prevent those.¡±

    ¡°Course, Anna Asaph meet with Juno¡¯s men get explosives and bring any local isolated teams from the other Sergeants to control roads, we hold this part of the city and prep advance and assault. Move it!¡± I shout in long drawn-out chatter.

    We are on the move!

    -

    I cleared out from them. I¡¯m maneuvering from the street¡­

    This is so pathetic..bbut I am pathetic¡­I¡¯m in pain, greater pain than I can bare, but I can¡¯t just drink it doesn¡¯t feel right¡­

    I¡¯m not opposed to drinking¡­but I¡¯ve never drank blood from a human sourced directly, maybe I¡¯m a hypocrite but I have hope maybe it was all willing participants of mandatory donor callings on Persia¡­I don¡¯t want to imagine¡­draining life.

    Stealing a soul just to answer hunger¡­

    But I¡¯m worried, scared¡­I want to remove this helmet, I want to do what humans described to me few times as ¡®almost vomit¡¯ but I¡¯ve no idea wat that is neither can I do it, it seems¡­Or else my helmet would be a filled bucket.

    I didn¡¯t think all the humans inside were unarmed¡­I sensed something here, my ability¡­

    I realized that I sensed cybernetics, I prepared finally¡­mentally before

    ¡°STRIKE!¡± I claimed to not them but my own heart as I rationalized how we might finally face a man..something that had raised me, been a friend been a first-love but this was different, we had to kill so many¡­they were in the way¡­they were willing to fight albeit but were hardly threat, and worse¡­.those pale ones-knifed ears, they are human too¡­that girl was one of them and she looked like¨C!

    I crumble to a knee leaning on a wall as I starve¡­¡±How long has it been since I¡¯ve had a drink¡­¡± I think back, to those times in training, in the moments of pause I hardly ever did¡­it¡¯s worsened by my wounds, I could go maybe what is expected years, but with this fighting with wounds I sustained on that attack on landing.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    And after as hot plasma scorched my skin, melted my flesh and bones and boiled my bones as it went near me¡­I know now.. That I¡¯m going to starve here¡­

    If I win this battle can I go home?

    This ability I have. It¡¯s obvious what this is, I¡¯m modified. Not in a way that matters¡­.

    I can recall it and see it obviously I¡¯m sort of prototype to be used against advanced weapons and technology a backup strategy against this enemy that is vastly more intelligent more collectively advanced than even our best.

    I am a foil to machines, yet already humans I am a monster to both.

    This strange working I have¡­I march through the street, confident I¡¯m abandoning my duties but I need to thing. Something is horribly wrong, I reach out against a wall, the street-lights flicker as I near¡­

    I recall a lesson in training. Krul had us sit through for years on end¡­

    Quantum mechanics.

    I¡¯m entangled to every machine I encounter, these data streams are not possible with quantum entanglement, but the nature of my vampirism intersects with that but due to my very being¡­being tied to this life¡­this undeath¡­I shift, like a misstep I was created with error.

    I become alive again. My heart beats, nerves reconnect, my brain isn¡¯t dead like the others its live, it¡¯s built like an organic computer, I can sense it in my head, it dwindled when I suffered damage to my skull in close quarters a few times. But rewires itself as my brain and skull, flesh heals.

    I¡¯m in a multi-state with all devices I entangle myself top. I see all outcomes of the machine and verify the one common solution, predicting it but it isn¡¯t for machines. Basic objects. Machinery..

    I disabled the barrier with a touch, I utilized the third mechanic I learned, quantum tunneling¡­I manipulated interfaces I should have no collision or contact with, and like ripping wires I disabled that barrier¡­

    Yet with all this there is decoherence¡­my state as a quantum-vampire, it becomes unstable..as if I¡¯m reverting to some sort of natural-state¡­I become¡­alive¡­each time I use it¡­and I suffer the pain of becoming undead¡­it¡¯s greater than I can ever imagine..

    My mind scrambles in a short moment I realize this but it¡¯s gone just as quick as it appeared. My mind processed..it¡¯s like a computer, and each machine I encounter, the more I read¡­the more I¨C

    ¡°Joan..¡± That girl¡¯s name was Joan I utter it aloud, I was fighting that machine and it was the only thing rambling in its head, every time it targeted me it spoke her name ¡®Joan¡¯.

    Each time it arced its leg to smash me ¡®Joan.¡¯

    When it fell, it cried to her..to run¡­and then spoke it aloud for her to hear¡­

    Are these machines...These ¡¯Polaries¡¯, these people..even a cult? Did we just invade a peaceful planet? But I saw wreckages of previous invasions¡­

    Why were we here.

    -

    Why were we here¡­.?

    I questioned all of this, we were sent without any reason given on a mission we survived purely because of my ability, I doubt they would¡¯ve expected that. And I¡¯m sure with our level we could¡¯ve figured out our reason for being and opportunity to succeeded.

    We haven¡¯t lost a single person, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s because of me but even if there was four of us left I¡¯m sure we could¡¯ve managed.

    Now I¡¯m sure something is wrong, so I look up with my eyes.

    There are religious imagery and iconography, this is something I¡¯d seen and heard of before in my lessons what I learned about mankind but this wasn¡¯t religion as I knew it to be this was something else, I scanned the bodies and something was utterly wrong¡­

    These Human beings were being worshipped as if they are ¡°god¡± I can see it, piles of Polaries piled on top as if to defend them.

    My ears pick up voices, I lean across a wall I¡¯m illuminated in shadow and darkened by the light.

    There they are four Polaries guarding what is a man, a woman?  They are not human or well not entirely¡­Anna may be onto something she always is, I can tell she hated me before we dropped..it¡¯s softened, she¡¯s neutral now.

    ¡°Our god please withstand wounds we will get you help.¡± These Polaries speak in unison like a well-greased machine.

    I¡¯m seeing them come in my direction now.

    Damn!

    I stretch out my hand above to the streetlight that swings loosely from damage, in the midst of distant machine gun fire I confidently snap my two plated fingers together as if cutting the cords of wires.

    The light cuts out, I can feel that twinge that suddenly jolt as if electricity has coursed into me instead as the streetlight goes out, my vision stays the same.

    They trail on and past.

    My ears wince as if hearing script stream into my mind.

    I¡¯m glancing to my right and up and see one of the skyscrapers, whilst all others are on the lights of this one are a pinkish hue, I should get in there¡­I just know why I should.

    I¡¯m not stupid, we are too clumsy they are too hungry to eat blood and happy my plan to take what amounts to a quarter of this massive capital city that they haven¡¯t realized we are 144,000 amongst a planet likely holding billions of humans and many more machines.

    We¡¯re outnumbered, outgunned, we are utilizing their weapons cannibalizing their armor.

    I¡¯m no time to explore or reflect.

    I take the time to adjust my footing, I¡¯m between half an alley from where I walked and where I stalked those passing Polaries, they¡¯re headed in the direction of the tower.

    Good same direction as the skyscraper I¡¯m looking at.

    I clear half a block in a moment, thunderstruck I¡¯m leaping off the ground, dusting off as I strike the wall of a residental buildings window, fingers cleave through rippling through plated metal, sinking into steel and reinforced concrete.

    I thunder up higher, clambering around like wild animal in vines.

    It¡¯s a concrete jungle and I mount and clamber about like I own the place, four stories!

    I admit I am surprised, the hungrier I grow the more animalistic I feel, for one of the first itme ever I¡¯m not worried about feeling human I¡¯m far from it but the senses of my ability dim.

    The more Intune with being dead I become.

    I leaped up as if there was a fresh meal above¡­clearing the roof of a five-story building, soaring down, as wind picked up I feel like I¡¯m in a sheltered vehicle bracing against heavy winds.

    The roof cracks under my weight, and my VLIR lights up in a bright and purplish hue.

    H.U.D switching on. Hardly useful but I am using it to gauge distance, how long this run is going to take. But VLIR underestimates it¡¯s hardly correct, so I just take half of its consideration.

    -

    I don¡¯t need a running start I¡¯m leaping through buildings from the roof in an instant, glass of much taller structures ripple and shake as I clear jumps. Bursting through windows my approach and noisy travel shrouded by gunfire and echoes of fighting.

    I blend in with the crumbling city more than I stick out.

    My eyes gaze down, the occasional sighting of a machine patrol between the leaps,

    Easter castes, we engaged these on the way here to the city they become numerical they are a new unit bolstered out its as if they are designed to counter us, they rapid fire plasma weapons easily melting through buildings and the ruins, they got long ears like a rabbit.

    Saiyah quickly was taking to calling them ¡°Leapers¡± they jump high, are daringly fast to evade rounds even after they¡¯ve been fired, incredibly maneuverable, even I understand the Mechra underestimate them with enough of them they could kill one or two of us.

    They¡¯re just runner-ups.

    It takes twice the usual round to take one out with 10x25mm

    I¡¯m making way in the city moving faster than the clicking of VLIR¡¯s speedometer failing to measure my movement speed, I¡¯m heading toward higher ground the buildings getting taller and taller, it¡¯s like the regions become mountainous.

    I climb my Everest, until I¡¯m clambering bits of broken skyscraper.

    We¡¯ve been here huh?

    I glance out at the city the distant fighting, I should be giving orders but my hunger even seems to fade as there is a certain serenity is this what it means to not be alive¡­to be so far from your humanity¡­no human being naturally should do this..

    I feel no warmth and only cold, but it seems to fit, in the darkness pink lights litter the streets.

    Cold blood runs through my veins¡­as I starve out...

    I should keep moving, I think as I turn my head nearly face to face with that massive skyscraper¡­

    VLIR speaks to me, or I speak to it, it¡¯s hard to determine¡­my heart burns as even with my ability to interface technology it¡¯s hard to speak to VLIR.

    VLIR itself isn¡¯t the entire visor, it''s what has been inserted into my helmet¡¯s visor, it''s alive in a sort of way.

    In my visor is a circular oval dot that is a bit too tall, it moves upon the emissive neon purplish line just like everyone else¡¯s VLIR does.

    But mine seems to shrink in, the hue changed when I saw that girl.

    Why what happened did it react to my mind¡­.?

    I didn¡¯t see anyone else comment, but I can bring my hand to my face. Color¡¯s changed¡­it¡¯s partly the hue of the mechra, that pinkish light they all emit in their eyes, technology, the lining and graft of their bodies and surface wiring.

    It¡¯s a tiresome milky white silver and black tertiary blend that is dizzying to look at.

    Startlingly the building here isn¡¯t a massive steel tower like the rest of the skyscrapers, it¡¯s built like machines, jagged but curved, smooth, utilitarian as if no space is wasted as if it¡¯s armored.

    I could probably leap, from my view its about, nine miles away and I¡¯m relatively.

    Wow I hardly notice.

    Thirty stories, I¡¯m barely going to be at the half-way point of this skyscraper¡­

    -

    \\ Downtown Saiyah //

    ¡°I¡¯ve got no clue what¡¯s wrong with Aleph.¡± I shake my head pointedly as rounds whiz by, I¡¯m ducking behind a clearing we are between two buildings each stretching into their own alley.

    Juno¡¯s careless but careful, she takes aim and fires twice, shell casings hit the ground and clatter in my ears in between the sound of her semi-automatic shots, there¡¯s a crash a bit of building struck by the sniper rounds crumble and crush some of the machine¡¯s underneath.

    They get more aggressive with their routine, firing as they hassle her back into cover.

    SWOOOM

    The immense heat of each plasma round makes an otherwise silent energy weapon loud, it burns the air and atmosphere, bits of heat and purplish fire trail round it,

    I can see a street-light limp and wither as it tilts down into melted metal just from being five feet away. The streak of plasma is melting glass windows of storefronts as it whizzes by lighting up the street now absent of the bio-luminescent posts melted down.

    Blood boils in my suit of broken armor.

    Juno takes moment to scream at me from the other side

    ¡°Well then figure it out! It¡¯s like he¡¯s become machine, what¡¯s he been doing reading the minds of our enemy!? He weaves through every major enemy checkpoint on the way here like he set them up!¡± Juno interrogates rapidly, as the chimes and mechanical chittering and clattering of machine voice boxes communicate around us.

    They don¡¯t¡¯ even speak English or need to speak¡­.

    ¡°We don¡¯t even know where he went, he just saddled you with me!¡± Juno cuts into my observation, not even allowing me to enjoy that despite keeping us held up here.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t say anything! Just walked off like what the hell, and did you see him twitching!? No blood intake and his mind almost well¨C Juno drones on, the sounds of energy weapons are quieter, allowing her to drone on.

    ¡°Almost thinking faster than me¡­¡± Juno reluctantly admits, and I must say that has even me worried.

    I love Aleph¡­no not like that, as a brother maybe¡­¨C or maybe like that, conventionally he was cute, I admit I hassled him let him get roughed up so I could save him back in training.

    But now I worry I won¡¯t get to enjoy that..if we make it back.. big old if.

    But he is acting far better than he should be, I¡¯ve seen him cave in robot skulls and then just become more observant, he¡¯s in pain each time he does but thinks faster¡­.says nothing, gives orders.

    We follow them and it works too well, like he is..

    I can¡¯t have time to really enjoy thinking about this, if it¡¯s not Juno it¡¯s them.

    The Leapers¡­or well as Aleph told me ¡®Easter-Caste¡¯ are dug in, taking this fight more seriously, fighting more desperately than we are and what should be expected.

    Engagements so far have been small, elementary like this having me worried they are just waiting until the rest of the planet regroups to drop right on top of us.

    They aren¡¯t pushing to make sure this minor firefight is taking way longer, I¡¯m hoping they do I could just cleave them up and we could regroup already on the next block, but they¡¯re hesitant, drawing it out likely so something else can flank us maybe?

    This drawing out they¡¯re doing reminds me of something¨COh!

    It''s like how Juno irritatingly draws this one firefight on! I can¡¯t get a clear shot with my primary, but she could¡¯ve hit them through cover, she¡¯s holding me hostage.

    Witch isn¡¯t even taking advantage of the time hse has an open shot

    I try my best to stifle my anger so we can get this over with.

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t just read his mind! And¨C¡± I charge toward her but plasma bolts ripple through metal and concrete nearby me, cutting me off

    I take hold of my close-range energy gun, ¡°Triple king¡± I call it, on account of three barrels in shape of a pyramid, and enough power to blow out a wall.

    It¡¯s a far distance but I take two blasts the only two left and send it down, my weapon hums and chokes as its out of energy, I¡¯d probably taken out a couple thousand just reaching this city with it, so I don¡¯t blame it for running out so quickly I put it through more combat than imagined.

    It¡¯s how I imagine Aleph after all anyway, he¡¯s weak I know that, but he snapped, unnaturally he seems to just know things unnaturally¡­like an eight-sense, the tower hummed, and I could feel it through him.

    Something that had me blushing has me shaken with fear, trembling, I¡¯m connected with him enough to know that tower, he¡¯s subconsciously reading something from it but¨C!

    He¡¯s just left! And here I am dealing with someone asking the same questions I want answers to!

    ¡°Juno, we can just trust him he¡¯s gotten us through this so far!¡±

    ¡°He shouldn¡¯t of been able to, I had the extra training, was taken out to the side! It¡¯s like he¡¯s stolen my whole flow, you know it should¡¯ve even at least been Asaph in his position!¡± Juno lulls off, she then hesitates but takes a precise shot, windows shake, and I can feel rocks of debris fall above.

    One of the Saturn-castes she hits is struck so hard you¡¯d forget it was nine-feet tall, it exploded into the air and summersaulted as sparks and shrapnel blew out its mechanical face.

    This is far too easy, it¡¯s like they¡¯ve never encountered us before¡­ Like they¡¯re more used to fighting more natural conventional vampires.

    ¡°Of all times to mention it!? it doesn¡¯t matter who they picked!¡± I quickly argued back but I know she¡¯s right.

    as I sling shotgun to torn bits of armor plating and switch out to my AUTEC.

    Juno almost rolls her eyes so strongly I can see it through her visor.

    ¡°Whatever, just keep him on a leash after we regroup, he¡¯s erratic, this plan was dangerous, but it worked.¡± She pokes out barely giving the last Saturn-Caste attempting to push us the integrity of having a fair fight.

    She waltzes out, her torso swings and evades plasma, I can see the electronics on her helmet flicker from the overheat, and waves of hot radioactive plasma wash over me too.

    She just shrugs and takes another shot, killing one of the two.

    It crumples down like a statue, toppling legs first.

    ¡°We regroup and I reign in what I know so far, I have an inkling of a thought.¡±

    ¡°Alright then be clear.¡± Juno sharply states.

    -

    I shake my head as we regroup, and the fighting dies down. We¡¯re in a tough bit of street, the other Sergeants were fighting hard so here I am admitting it.

    ¡°No clue.¡± I throw my hands up.

    Theres a hum of lightning strikes distant, and bootsteps of other shocktroopers she¡¯s rallied meeting out to gather all scouts per her commands so we can make that recon advance on the tower and wait for Aleph.

    She¡¯s amid the roving movements of her infantry throwing angered hand signals to get the others to move along quickly and cease interruption.

    But once her directions turned to me she¡¯s angry as we stand in the middle of a heavy street, crates of equipment, weapons that dropped in with us, empty and empty clips strewn about.

    ¡°That¡¯s it? I should¡¯ve drawn that out longer! Hell, I should¡¯ve been shooting at you.¡±

    You were doing that on purpose!?

    ¡°You went out of your way to¨C!?¡± I¡¯m thinking and saying it aloud in anger, I knew she was doing it but it has me reaching out to strike her.

    She deftly avoids, shaken a bit as she stutters after ¡°Wai-Wait!¡±

    ¡­I do know my own strength, but I was looking to crack her visor for that, she already knows how I can act¡­.

    ¡°Look, Saiyah I just want to know... I¡¯m not doubting it¡¯s just intriguing, I mean the whole painfully shtick was cute in training.¡± Juno states enough she has me initially nodding in agreement

    ¡°Y¡¯know I cracked his skull for it gave him double pain.¡± She states leaning back against some heavy rubble and rock,

    In-between her trying to speak to me she¡¯s having to turn motion, and nod wordlessly to any shocktrooper under her that runs up. They get it instantly and run off.

    Some of them land rudely with their mobility back, kick feet out onto ground and as engines cut off, scorch marks where they had lightly hovered

    She waves them off all the same, scolding them for utilizing it. They do it anyway and keep using it, it¡¯s about the only time it¡¯s seen usage since we landed. We get a moment to ourselves as they clear off.

    ¡°He¡¯s creepy now it¡¯s why I ask, is there just a point in something changing when he landed? Hell did the machines chip his brain?¡±

    ¡°Creepy?¡± I consider I almost want to laugh.

    ¡°Even for us¡­I¡¯m self-aware enough, I mean I lived around a few humans he almost puts that same sort of awe in me.¡± Juno seems to pointedly nod to me to draw my attention to her face.

    Her visor opens and she¡¯s eye-contact with me and my own already opened and broken visor ¡°That they saw when I was getting ready to station in training on Persia..¡± Juno clarifies.

    ¡°I think he¡¯s well¡­.. I saw his visor-color change¡­you think Eternia did something to him? Is he¡­some sort of new caste?¡± She paused and thought long and hard on it.

    ¡°And whatever it is is showing up now, like he¡¯s some sort of sleeper? Hell were his human parents just¡­well a test¡­orchestrated?¡± A question she asks and I have answer to.

    Yeah they were¡­I was with them, it¡¯s why I love him¡­.maybe platonically..

    He¡¯s no better than a human doesn¡¯t remember me, remembers a girl who he was often running toward, can¡¯t even recall anything about me¡­maybe I blended in too well.

    I considered this already, I was aware if it was not obvious, his heightened human pain, whilst he should¡¯ve gotten over it I did somewhat understand¡­as much as I scolded him for it and letting it hold everyone back.

    He treats it like a defect, and it seems to be, naturally he¡¯s faster, stronger¡­but against these machines, well he ensured not even a single one of us died¡­and there¡¯s a hundred or-so thousand-plus of us here¡­

    ¡°Yeah it¡¯s obvious but what would it be?¡± I question looking to guage what Juno¡¯s guess it.

    ¡°I think they dropped us here with no orders because we¡¯re the last hope, no other fleet¡¯s come its obvious we don¡¯t need the sky being blotted out to see that, Saiyah.¡± Juno grimly adds.

    Before I can question she raises a hand.

    Cuts in and speaks ¡°Think about it, he just figures all this out¡­..knows where to go? You saw the way he was pointed at this city, disabled the dome God¡¯knows¡¯how..¡± She shrugs¡­

    I do consider..¡± What are we then? Just escort for him?¡±

    ¡°No, he¡¯s High-Sergeant leading all 144,000 of us, his pain is still real even ig he ignores it now. Unlike rest of you his armor is clean. It¡¯s kept him alive. He preserves himself like humans do.¡±

    ¡°He can try to ignore it much as he wants but he¡¯s no different than them. He wants to live.¡±

    I feel like I shouldn¡¯t catch on, Juno¡¯s being cryptic but it¡¯s obvious.

    ¡°Eternia dropped us here to escort a weapon to objective?¡±

    Juno pointedly nods.

    ¡°Then why are you questioning me about him? What more would I know than you¡¯ve just guessed?¡± I¡¯m angry stating that and it¡¯s obvious I feel she¡¯s asking stupid questions, pointless conversation.

    ¡°Because I want to ensure he isn¡¯t about to bring the whole planet down on us.¡±

    I raise an eyebrow but can¡¯t betray whatever she alludes to has me feeling tense.

    ¡°They should¡¯ve dropped every weapon in the stars on us, but they didn¡¯t, he¡¯s right to head for that tower, it¡¯s so important they haven¡¯t gone for those using ¡°Air assets¡± you and him encountered Saiyah.¡±

    ¡°Which means it¡¯s something so fragile merely fighting around it can break it.¡±

    ¡°What could that be? They¡¯re machines...Whatever it is should be armored to high-hell.¡±

    ¡°See the signs? It¡¯s not something that is another structure or machine....¡± Juno stalks around me¡­

    She points in the distance to the hum of that tower we feel vibrating ambiently, something we didn¡¯t question.

    ¡°The signs, the strange knife-ears..they all point to it¡­.they could hit us with everything..bombs..but they don¡¯t..¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s cause of the tower.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re observant Saiyah, I¡¯m smart enough to notice that.¡± She gives a nod ¡°Seems it only extends to other vampires.¡± She gives a sly laugh that has me questioning what she means, I raise a brow at her.

    ¡°That tower is like a ship strong enough to endure any orbital bombardment, it¡¯s why it is isolated from the city.¡± She speaks matter-of-factly, and I think I can realize that.. We¡¯d obviously of tried to just nuke it from orbit ourselves if we had fleet-supremacy.

    But they can predict that and even if its invulnerable don¡¯t want it to be targeted along with the city¡­. they care for the city¡­.of humans¡­ I almost realize what she is getting at and I¡¯m tuned in..

    ¡°You can¡¯t mean...¡±

    ¡°Whoever is likely in that tower that is the reason for us being here¡±

    ¡°Whatever they defend has vitals¡­we¡¯re after a human target Saiyah.¡± Juno concludes.

    ¡°And whatever the hell it¡¯s doing to Aleph, that tower¡­is doing it to them¡­.¡± Juno grimly nods as if realizing something horrific.

    I glance up, to the banners, the celebrations, the robed humans..it isn¡¯t just a religious ceremony it¡¯s as if god himself is celebrated for coming down¨C!

    That¡¯s it! No wait, that is it! The humans¡­no this is much worse¡­what are they doing in that tower¡­

 Continued Prelude: The crisis soon to reveal

    -

    [BITE THE BULLET.]

    \\ ALEPH //

    \\MECHRA COMMAND RELAY SKYSCRAPER ONE-HUNDRED-FIFTY MILES FROM THE PYRAMID TOWER//

    It¡¯s in that moment Aleph¡¯s breached the tower, but he¡¯s weak now¡­luckily he sees nobody, no machine.. he¡¯s welcomed in¡­.He¡¯s not stupid..he knows what is going on.

    Aleph sauntered in, he can sense it..machines..but different, he¡¯s unsure of what the hell they are¡­.they¡¯re a different caste, his mind isn¡¯t correctly reading them but it¡¯s enough to have him worried, the interior is like a light caf¨¦, alien toward what the machines should be having

    He¡¯s clearing rooms that are like palaces, the moment he exits this, there are doors they all are wood, peach-wood smooth, the air despite window being broken open feels lovely.

    Lavender, peach. Fruits..

    ¡°This is a place of worship of a deity, this is the palace of a being above others..¡± It¡¯s like a love-hotel, petals litter the place and images of man strewn onto wood. He¡¯s in pain¡­but he continues onwards..

    He¡¯s reaching an elevator and as it open he encounters something strange. His finger pounds the trigger momentarily but never enough to fully weight it down to fire he¡¯s tugged it just enough to hold it¡­

    ¡°A ch-child¡­.¡± He¡¯s seeing it in his likely full vision¡­..and his teeth and canines pierce gums as they extend more and more¡­reaching a point of ferality at the starvation¡­..

    He resists, they¡¯re a young pale thing looking at him with all the horror a young gazelle would gaze a lion with non-understanding and pure instinctual terror.

    Polarie¡­..Camera¡¯s¡­he senses them around the machines know he entered when he broke through the glass window, the place hs been abandoned¡­are they catching on, are they realizing his ability too? How he seemed to instinctually and naturally enter this place..

    He gazes out the window into the hall, before entering that elevator, the child shivering and trembling but he pays the ¡®thing¡¯ no mind¡­

    ¡°Where are your parents?¡± The question is startling to the child, with how foreign it is.

    Answering as if unexpected ¡°Upstairs¡­¡± Sheepishly a little-girl answers.

    ¡®Aleph recalls a voice like his own being just as demanding to Arianne¡­why does he think of her now?¡¯

    She¡¯d been out during a curfew, rifle lowered at the pavement¡­but it could be aimed at her and Aleph appeared from darkness around her, that Vis-Stasi let them both go, as if any human seen out of turn without reason accompanied by a Vampire explained everything as if the leash to a pet showed up¡­sickening him even as a child.

    Yet there was a child here¡­was he going to ride up and kill their parents¡­.

    He hadn¡¯t fired a shot at anyone only collateral and it killed him when he did it to the humans... they were all so helpless¡­he wasn¡¯t like the others, when he raises his rifle in tandem the images of those who raised him appear.

    Ding.

    The elevator smoothly ends...

    He hadn¡¯t heard the answer of that child, seeing them took him to another place, hours ago where it seemed like he indirectly killed as many non-combatants as possible with each shot missed from a very evasive enemy, from each object thrown that missed...

    His heart had exploded with pain each time he had to see red mist spray into that dark air...How despite seeing the source of that death it only had him feeling hungry like he is now..depraved.

    He has more of an opportunity to willfully preserve a life here, to minimize collateral should something come up.

    ¡®But weak human desire to want to be merciful, well I  feels no better than when I was fifteen¡­or maybe I still am¡­.How long has it been again?¡¯

    The steady movement of the elevator and a sudden jolt of it along the cables has him coming back again, he fits well indicating larger things than himself have ridden this elevator.

    A long drawn-out pause comes from the long ride, the elevator glides up, and it is what becomes minutes becomes long enough to be enough time for him to be silent, the the seemingly innocent presence of a child grounded him, disarmed him he felt for a long while something strange¡­a lack of threat, but he could be wrong¡­

    Thump thump.

    He feels his heartbeat

    In this long moment Aleph ponders what he¡¯ll face, what would even consider leaving a child to greet him what would even do something as despicable as that, but in that moment, he reasons nothing particularly threatening¡­

    Could this be an attempt at peace¡­I¡¯ve been told nothing.

    as he steps out¡­and that child as ordered by the Mechra follows¡­

    There are rooms and the scene of this place¡­even in Aleph¡¯s helmet has blood trickling from his nose as if it¡¯s been drained from him, eaten away¡­. something awful is in here.

    where they enter a massive section, the top of the skyscraper, Aleph hadn¡¯t even questioned why the elevator went without his command.

    Before him are two individuals. The machines that were sensed by Aleph, now revealed as Polarie cyborgs, part-machine servants from looks bred for war¡­..Their minds are gone from unchanging smiles etched on their face.

    Yet there is one he hadn¡¯t noticed¡­combined they shrouded another as if wall obscured view of a queen to protect her

    A womanly droid, accentuated with curves, sat upon a chair akin to a whitened and blackened throne.

    Aleph just watched it in awe.

    -

    His eyes went over them again and again, raking over, It was the Striking contrast of what he¡¯d seen before that had Aleph more repetitively reexamining the peculiarity of this machine, cause it was the first he¡¯d seen it¨C it was lacking the naturally angry or neutral faces looks of all other machines

    the Maiden-Caste droid had a lovely face, softened synthetic in between segments of armored plating, one could mistake it for a human woman in bodied armor but her size betrayed that larger than any human should mechanically be.

    So, when confronted with this Aleph was mistaken immediately presuming he was immune to what the appearance of it, he was better than that¡­¨C Then his now beating, live and painful heart hungry for blood in recognition of its form.

    It didn¡¯t just mimic the shape, it faked what he identified as a living soul, that mental scrape he had felt when he walked the halls of his training facility

    is conditioned in the way this one is designed how it projects to the mind.

    He quickly went to attack the machine his rifle not going first but his mental strike, he went to strike to bring out that

    After sudden strong attempts, straining his eyes and mind to use that quantum entanglement, nothing came, as if he was a child pretending to have the power he didn¡¯t have.

    He was seeing them in full script dual in vision and that lessened the psychological strike its strange appearance cast on him, it had a simple feminine shape but the materials, the form of it¡­

    It seemed to be a calculated pattern meant to scramble minds, in dizzying patterns lining its body like hypnotic optical illusions, like to scramble a human¡¯s mind¡­¡­but he wasn¡¯t human..

    With shifting eyes carefully glancing at his left and right flank¨C he saw distortions that had less mental effect, a mixture of flesh and machine he couldn¡¯t figure out where began armored and covered,

    intertwined with the flesh there was a chip in the back of their brains linked to all cybernetics, his predatory mind looking for weak spot even conditioning where to bite and not hit metal to feed. The pain of starvation hit greatly.

    He felt tensed to fight immediately to spring and start assault.¡­ But he didn¡¯t, the child¡¯s presence stopped him¡­. Because innocently they stood next to Aleph, the terror in the eyes of a child...it¡¯s disarmed him¡­he curses himself.

    It¡¯s a test. Recognized by how the machine seems to hum in delight witnessing that, it has Aleph unnaturally¨C. Breaking a sweat, he¡¯s sweating and

    He feels like for the doing something unusual it¡¯s¡­.

    ¡®vomitting? Is that what that feels like, burning in chest and empty rise throat brought on by what he faces.¡¯

    Aleph physically gags in silence but nothing leaves¡­. he¡¯s forgotten to raise his rifle¡­

    ¡®Something¡¯s wrong..I feel like somethings scrambling my brain, like waves of hot electromagnetic radiation wash over me.¡¯ He panics.

    And for a while this feeling leaves the room silent as he nor the machine doesn¡¯t speak, the two cyborgs exchange glares behind visors with only mouths exposed.

    They¡¯re smiling. But the larger machine¡­this maiden-caste, isn¡¯t smiling, it is just sitting there for a long period, in silence

    After the silence becomes deeply oppressive there¡¯s chatter and click ending this strategic silence as the machine explains itself.

    ¡°You are classified as possible of reason, you hesitate to engage are slowed by methods to disarm humans.¡± It¡¯s states coldly voice mechanical, that has Aleph running cold now...

    ¡­. maybe it seems him as stupid enough to fall for some sort of psychological trick¡­

    ¡®¡­weak enough? Isn¡¯t that just saying human?¡¯ An old voice rears again in his head, Victor, yet he conditioned being someone else wouldn¡¯t work.

    ¡°I¡¯m not human¨C.¡± Aleph answers as something else¡­someone else, uncharacteristically loosening.

    ¡°Reasonably you underestimate this one¡¯s assessment...Yet my scans are not faulty.¡± It speaks cold, lifeless yet still audaciously.

    ¡°You have not fired you seek information I seek your life, commune with this-one.¡± It speaks in mimicry of.. someone¡¯s voice.. and that has Aleph freezing.

    ¡®Seek my life? And it¡¯s voice, it sounds human¡­. Is this how these machines communicate?¡¯ He ponders

    It¡¯s disarmed Aleph he hasn¡¯t realized that subconsciously it¡¯s working against him.

    An appeal to humanity.

    It has Aleph wincing, almost holding his head at the screech¡­

    He should fight now but. it isn¡¯t aiming to kill him¡­in honesty. But¨Cmaybe just not yet.

    It¡¯s voice switches from mechanical to sultry, no longer robotic it mimics something akin to a woman, a lovely woman and it¡¯s haunting how much it reminds him of an endearing voice but Aleph.

    Aleph sort of recoils at it, if his human-father had a human wife to help mother him, this is what they would sound like¨CWorse¡­He recalls something further

    this is often how he remembered Delara his caretaker, savior sounded when he was very much younger¡­

    They shouldn¡¯t know that, shouldn¡¯t recall, but its bleeding¡­.he wants to damn that bit of him that clicks with humans, unlike all the other vampires being raised among them¡­he knows this is a lie but he feels weak to this strangely.

    ¡°You are a deviation from all our calculations, we tracked you with our best calculations.¡± The machine spoke. ¡°we pride in our creation by our gods hands, by man¡¯s hands, that we can count the atoms in a star.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°Yet¡­still you evaded strategically placed patrols with grace.¡± The machine continues and waits for Aleph to interrupt but becomes even more intrigued when he doesn¡¯t.

    ¡°You predict, you calculate and control every battle. Unnaturally efficient, an anomaly beyond measure¡±

    ¡®They¡¯d tracked me they knew where I was, it hit my chest like a hammer, like an arrow onto the target, they assessed and understood me quickly as if measuring an animal, observed and assessed my capability against them, they caught on that quickly¡­terrifying.¡¯

    Aleph gave a nod but didn¡¯t answer, he didn¡¯t want to invite any further attempts to invade his mind by communicating, the machine was calculating and monstrously eating at his psyche already,

    He wasn¡¯t going to hop into a trap because there was hope the teeth will break rather than pierce skin.

    his rifle barrel lined with the ceiling in low-ready, indicating he wasn¡¯t unwary of danger

    Yet still wanted to hear this machine go on.

    After a long pause the machine laughs, a startling mechanical howl of mock at his alertness and wary stance

    ¡°You may not answer me. ~¨C¡± The machine intones and soon in sudden burst

    He¡¯s mentally shocked as fingers on the machine raise.

    A sound whips through the room akin to the crack of whips, it has him shocked and jolting back,

    At the way that helps her words echo and further whisper in his mind

    After that daze, a strange attack in his hippocampus which vibrates and burns amidst his heart kicking up.

    He¡¯s taking rifle feeling weak and sluggish, the room is cast in a bright orange hue reminding him of something vicious, ravenous and dangerous hungry insects.

    Then before he can fire¨Cpain surges In his mind and crumples to knees, rifle clattering ahead of him, the unmoving cyborgs unthreatened, not moving

    Sudden, after his collapse he senses her claws surging into his mind

    whilst he crawls and claws for his rifle, then sensation like a balled fist tightens around his skull squeezing something within his brain.

    He hasn¡¯t felt such agony before not even when this armor was cast live and melted into his flesh, he¡¯s paralyzed. Like before. Like in training when he felt pain.

    He can¡¯t ignore pain anymore...It¡¯s heightened now¡­.

    That strange path between code, where it becomes tangible and he scratches and grabs it, he feels as if the machine has done reverse

    as if his entanglement control of technology may not be one-way¡­but he could be crazy¡­weak. Starved. Human¡­.

    ¡°We knew somehow you were interfering with systems upon arrival, it hastened our plans, I was responsible for determining your method.¡± The machine answered as it idly counted the neurons in his brain.

    Hand waving around palm open and pointed up and each time a finger folded agony was casted on his brain a reflection of what he¡¯d been doing to the machines¡­to devices, reflected back onto him¡­

    ¡°We could help you master it, should you remain as you are now¡­alive.¡± It¡¯s hand extended as it scanned him, his brain pulsed,

    ¡°It¡¯s that unique mutation that allows what you¡¯ve been doing this-one senses, that has you living, me reading your thermal signature.¡± Aleph wants to speak now but doesn¡¯t.

    ¡°Has this one, measuring the weak signals going through your body each time I sense your intrusion in this one¡¯s vessel.¡± Sultry, cold, yet strait-laced, the feminine appearance is something human, it¡¯s like he¡¯s being scolded.

    He¡¯s live with something that feels human¡­...fear¡­. unknowing of his fate¡­

    Not of death but the unknown¡­ Of not knowing how intricately these machines have read him, and his ability.

    The Maiden-Caste invokes something as if motioning for the child behind him to do something, he hears a shuffle but doesn¡¯t move unable to.

    After he reaches for his sidearm¨Cin reaction to hearing the child shuffle more and more toward something.

    He wishes to fire ¡­but doesn¡¯t, he doesn¡¯t fire on the young-child..

    After realizing his weakness, he quickly retorts to draw attention

    ¡°I¡¯m not human¨C.¡±He is starting.

    After barely speaking he cries out against this strange attack, t

    his attempt to prey on his weakness his¡­latent¡­humanity he needs to escape, however, its attacks on his mind are heightened at verbal resistance.

    ¡°You deny it, yet like the humans of the underground you withhold what strength you have left to terminate this child.¡± The machine hauntingly laughs toward him in mockery. The cyborgs don¡¯t grin.

    He can sense the child is holding something¡­.as they¡¯ve retreated¡­toward a wall¡­prepared to tug a switch it seemed¡­

    He still not turn to face the child, he can sense a terror-filled murmur, it has him hesitating to rise and use his remaining strength to chase and crush the skull of the young-one.

    The Maiden laughs to his face again ¡°This is why I held from attacking you.¡± She glances a mechanical hand waving around the room¡­

    Aleph feels the thud of the lever tugged desperately by the child on cue with her words.

    The orange lights above start flickering. After that they then open¡­

    as what is like hundreds of microscopic ravenous beetles descend from the spray of nanites an orange glowing mist¡­.

    He draws his rifle quickly, but he¡¯s overwhelmed, by what is made to kill a vampire¡­. Initially fighting it off, his natural use of ability as before allows him to slow it¡­but that¡¯s all it does¡­he almost crumples¡­rifle clattering¡­gasping¡­

    The pain he had always felt multiplied twice¡­.as his heartbeat¡­as he feels alive¡­its quadrupled¡­he¡¯s frozen in agony...

    ¡°Set up those restraints per my own personal calculated prediction of your arrival.¡± The machine states verbally, matter-of-factly straight and without emotion this time.

    ¡°I knew you would well be enough to stop that from dissolving you entirely.¡± It commented and Aleph thought long and hard about the nature of something used against him in training¡­but with how it was overwhelming him like a tsunami he couldn¡¯t adapt to it like he was trained then.

    Barely keeping his body together.

    They knew I was going to hop in this tower, they don¡¯t just have my ability zoned in, they are working with it, understand it they used it to predict I would come here¡­ to..a foolish trap.

    ¡°You have something that immediately helps identify you amongst your impure kind; you¡¯re disturbed and conflicted now¡­¡± She pauses for a long while in straight mockery. Knowing he¡¯s weak to do something to her¡­or anything at all¡­

    Aleph considers¡­feels the agony¡­and can¡¯t move forwards more than he wants to...

    ¡± She speaks still sultry; fingers whirr and clack together and roll back and forth as if having puppet strings.

    ¡°That is a particularly human weakness, to spare a child, you¡¯re alive right now as we commune, do you not feel it?¡±

    ¡°Or has the upbringing of the dead surely brought you far from witnessing your glory, the glory of all mankind his beauty and grace.¡±

    Even in pain Aleph feels emboldened, oddly in this moment, his head upturns from the ground as he stands to two feet ¡°I was raised amongst man.¡±

    The Machine assesses him deeply ¡°Inaccurate assessment corrected, we were unaware such was possible amongst her empire, new information.noted.¡± She became mechanical in speech.

    Aleph is facing the machine and at his lowest¡­.he tries to use something opposed to his gone away physical strength, the machine scratches on his mind harming it¡­

    Yet in all this intrusion, it can¡¯t read his mind¡­it¡¯s something that has him remembering words he¡¯d long forgotten¡­

    For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?

    His father¡¯s readings¡­that he taught him bedside, and amongst the humans of a church he¡¯d long forgotten¡­.

    Aleph has a break at that moment and a realization of his mind being shielded and intruded.

    Then he is now the one intruding it can only attack he can read and attack, as he shuts his eyes as the machine drones on to him it¡¯s voice becoming ambient, and soon he shuts his eyes...

    Brightness crowds his vision, two misshapen claws he feels it around his mind, like the code, the devices he can shut off¡­

    hand stretches as if to snatch script and impede the machines assault, to shut it off as he had done the streetlight¡­, from within¨C!

    After this great attempt, he can¡¯t¡­... He realizes he can¡¯t when nothing changes when even in this inner space

    he shouldn¡¯t be present within as the voice of the machine drones on in the light of his mind. In that part of his brain bordering on mechanical.. like an organic computer¡­

    He still can''t, that nothing is invincible¡­not even him¡­

    After revelation, with a gasp, he¡¯s coming back sinking lower¡­

    He¡¯s crashing to the floor finally flat amid his thoughts,

    ¡®I¡¯m too weak¡¯ simmers through his mind, I couldn¡¯t kill a child, I couldn¡¯t endure the pain of training without that change¡­that moment...

    Without missing a beat, the machine begins to speak again as if recalling what he attempted in that space of his mind¨C.

    ¡°Do you think the method of and your present active intrusion isn¡¯t detected purely because I¡¯m a machine?¡± Words startling that have Aleph attempting to work harder, even in weakness¡­but it¡¯s faltering.

    The machine''s own work allows it to counter-act, the maiden-caste not originally built with this purpose was excellent in electronic-warfare and its countermeasures,

    Aleph¡¯s hippocampus flared, it was shaped differently and worked as a counter to the lack of information transfer in entanglement, but it made it all the more devastating to counter-attack to scratch into.

    After bringing him to a shout of agony as he feels what is like a ceaseless burning wheel retaliate by rolling around in his skull,

    the machine tilts head up to speak ¡°I lured you here in confidence I could convince you safely in this vessel.¡± The connected machine spoke in the maiden-caste vessel, she looked down to Aleph stuck at a singular knee.

    The machines readily forced out a great invader, he was a known intrusion now, fully confirmed with his presence here, those reactions¡­.

    The Mechra sensed the heartbeats within¡­the life within him betrayed whatever stoic exterior he portrayed

    Aleph for the first time considers it.. he thinks on it¡­when he feared death¡­when he feared to die¡­this time he doesn¡¯t fear that, he fears the complexity of his enemy.

    ¡®All this time, all of this damned time he¡¯s been using that ability. .they noticed, their patrols weren¡¯t just out of the way and erratic on the way here for no good reason, they locked in on him in as soon as he landed for a good reason.¡¯

    ¡°You¡¯re alive and die each time¡­..for each moment you are purified, then die and become impure.¡± The machine readily assesses live to him from her hivemind, the full mechanics of his readily usable quantum ability

    Aleph swallows thickly¡­.¡± Yeah¡­I imagined you would say that¡­I can read you...¡± He gives a nod ¡°You revere humans as gods?¡± he stated plainly yet loose and wavering.

    ¡°As should be, should we keep you purified.¡±

    ¡®Purified¡­.this had him recalling something.¡¯

    After her words his recollection that inkling of familiarity in the thought sof the machine culminates,

    It culminates in the memory of his father¡­something Aleph recalls deeply.

    It has Aleph forgetting his lack of ego,

    he is recalling his ability, and in one last attempt, he delves into this machine to figure out their plan, desperate to learn¡­. desperate to see the connection to his memories that has it reminisce so readily.

    Aleph gives a sudden gasp as he¡¯s dragged in, the part of his living mind that feels enclosed into darkness, the part that activates the deeper he uses his ability, what connects to a beating heart¡­as remnants of dwindling blood pulse in¡­.

    He¡¯s out of it by now with those anti-vampire nanites running free but just enough was left¡­

    There¡¯s nothing for a while... then¨CReflection.

    -

    The scripture of an unknown God.

    6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

    7 But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the princes.

    his father¡¯s faith reveals something...

    ¡®

    After coming back with widened eyes in his helmet his hud rejects him, VLIR panics

    ¡®INTRUSION-THEFT¡¯ That helmet reads, a sensation curls up his spine¡­it doesn¡¯t recognize him, his skin has life to it he can feel picks, pins and needles of the air.

    And now the smell he hadn¡¯t thought to regard comes, its soft a sickly sweet scent he can¡¯t describe, its like the sensation of the maiden-caste, emitted¡­like a pheromone a lure..

    It feels entirely designed for humans¡­luring, trapping washing their minds to its belief.

    Grinding to a halt he freezes, and there isn¡¯t a response¡­. he sees a cacophony of voices tangible to grab in lines of script flowing like glowing snakes in a blackened abyssal void.

    Each voice is a mind, he¡¯d gone deeper than he was dragged as if he subconsciously took opportunity to clamber over the body and hands of what pulled his mind in.

    He takes advantage!

    as if in this intrusion they are unable to read him as well as he can read them like a scroll, it¡¯s broken

    ¡­. something horrible happened long ago and he can¡¯t figure it out, the birth of this machine hivemind, of a time they traced a woman.

    Milky way, andromeda, then Triangulum? This galaxy? The capital galaxy of the Empire?

    , it¡¯s as if the loose historical data is transmitted binary to him, it¡¯s an instantaneous read of information, he glances at a dizzying array of numbers, and for a moment he sees it.¨C.

    Abruptly! In real space nearby computers that had been placed¡­going haywire as screens switch on and scroll endless amounts of internal data from the machine mind tethered to the maiden-caste vessel.

    Aleph¡¯s wreaking havoc and doesn¡¯t realize it, he has a blank empty stare¡­hunched over¡­. And deep within his mind as he lulls, pulled in

    subconsciously this drastically increased how far he¡¯s gotten¨C.

    Her vessel¡¯s signal is reversed, its is no longer a point for the hivemind to connect but for whatever connects to the vessel to link up to the hivemind reversed, whatever entanglement allowed Aleph to read her¨Cor its mind was aggressively utilized... he was now in the hivemind.

    And yet he saw the truth of what they were facing and reason why he was here¡­.

    There was no elegance to the structure of its mind, it was madness, madness without end, every bit of it was from foundation murderous, there was a tangible reverence for mankind soaked in the blood of many victims.

    Blood-sacrifices to its gods, it was despicable.

    Despicable without end, despicable with faulty goal, despicable to point of a crisis¡­

    The crisis it seeks to cause.

    it was built by monsters, the monsters sculpted it, the monsters were man yet eventually it was loss in all its lost in a chase¡­ isolated. Alone having purged billions, it began to see man, its creator as some sort of idol.

    The city, the nature of the city, the posters, the writing and titles of polaries even now their exclusive intertwining of technology into the polaries, that reluctance to go all out in defense within the city¡­

    they were protecting the humans like unhatched eggs ready to burst free, fragile but yet to birth a powerful unimaginable life¡­ I saw their minds; they sought to birth a God with what they were doing¡­¨CIt¡¯s going to fail!

    I see that as I score through skulls, vast arrays of skulls¡­not now¡­but in my own mind, in my own prediction, what that tower and pyramid is for is so obvious to me I can¡¯t believe it hadn¡¯t been realized¡­the ship orbiting the planet, this planet, fracturia¡­the name itself.

    ¡­

    -

    Aleph comes back with a shout, gasping for breath, his heart aches¨Che used his ability he¡¯s alive for this moment! ¡°You¡¯re so imitative of humans, you must¡¯ve programmed hubris in being too stupid and unable to realize what you are about to do.¡±

    The maiden-caste has stood up from its position, for a moment Aleph had done it, his mind synced, and being fully alive his heartbeat¡­

    He was in the machine hivemind and read if. It was a violation¡­for these machines it was a stark violation by how badly he was recoiled out forcibly,

    a slight moment of invitation that machine had given him to its vessel it connected elsewhere from, he leapt further into that space through that intelligence to that space all the Mechra were in. Without form or body¡­

    For even the shortest amount of time, barely able to get full observation he was in the hivemind¡­he had gone so far¡­.

    It was after he gasps, he feels no blood in his body, and it¡¯s a sensation he¡¯s never felt before.

    He¡¯s dying all over again as his body greys back, as his ability dwindles and as his mind fades, that inhumanity washing over him¡­

    ¡°With shame you are reverting back to what you are, as you perish and die, we could ensure you come back.. become human in one instantaneous moment, pure forever.¡±

    ¡°You could become as god, to know much as all men enlightened to their true nature know in the path of war.¡± The machine mind becomes robotic, but its words are still as light as ever.

    Yet that mention of ¡®war¡¯ has Aleph reeling like it was a casual admission of something massive, he goes to move¡­..yet feel restrained,

    ¡°You¡­with your ability, you could help bring mankind to re-ascension. Should you understand the hope you have¡± And it is in that moment even with Aleph¡¯s loose understanding he questions.

    ¡°Re-ascension? You believe mankind was god, and is a god?¡±

    ¡°We know mankind has fallen, a being of great power, slaying millions, mastering the stars and restraining her several times, an unbeatable creature, no short of the god of war, the mythologies are his loose memories, the Vitruvian man a recollection and recognition of his state.¡±

    ¡°We will bring mankind back to ascension, through it, that quantum entanglement that created vampires, bridging him to immortality, and through it also re-grant him deserved power.¡±

    ¡°Venerunt, ceciderunt, vidimus, revixerunt!¡± The machine uttered mechanically¡­

    without a hint of emotion and in latin words which were to say ¡®

    they came, they fell, we saw, we revived.¡¯

    Aleph considered, and pondered the thought, but broke free, he scrambled, he burst out the way and, in an instant, had retreated, the machine scrambled to grave him but the glass window to the skyscraper broke and he fell.

    Plummeting down into an abyss as the last of his strength faded¡­. swallowed into the night.

 Underground Intermissions: Faith and Immobilization.

    \\ The Underground.//

    As Aleph crashes from the skyscraper, the plan to scout the tower goes off without a hitch but as Saiyah and the others strike the tower, he strikes the earth, immobile, sunken through a sewer grate his several-ton body collapses through the hardened surface, one-hundred stories.

    In a dark place he lies, and as his mind is sunken, as his body wilters and withers, he is immobilized, yet subconicously something wills¡­him to fight.

    ¡®Where is Aleph?¡¯ a sign  shorts on amongst the Shocktroopers pointing.

    ¡®What do we do?¡¯ An army marches, yet the bits of the city turn against that army, for two months something strange happens, his mind buried into the depths is closer to something, the heart of the city.

    And as it seeks out, it takes hold of it, weaponizes it, and guards all 144,000 still trapped within.

    In death Aleph has sacrificed himself, using the last of his subconscious mind to protect, to defend¡­.

    Asaph later took control, after the two months the mechra seized control of the cities depleted defenses¡­and Asaph he lead them to great resolve, in a harrowing defense to the last-stand.

    Aleph will soon know the fate or whether they lived or died¡­because may God is willing he should not YET perish here.

    [\\ALEPH//]

    I awoke first, VLIR peaked on, but I couldn¡¯t move¡­.I was immobilized, my eyes came to me first my vision swam with fading stars before I could see, I¡¯m deep within a strange sanctum, the heat of a fire and its warmth at my right¡­

    Blood, I want to claw at the earth and air, and I¡¯m like a zombie, my mouth opens, widened then shuts aimlessly gnawing for something¡­

    ¡°I-It¡¯s awake?¡± I can hear a woman¡¯s voice first.

    ¡°Yes he is awake,¡± There is a voice that answers her in cold maturity yet lacking full authority, I question if it is her sibling.

    My vision no longer swims and I see ebony skin in my wake, a human¡­. I¡¯d hate to see one of these now but this is different.

    She wears rags, humbled, no robes, no white, and her hair is wrapped tight in a bonnet¡­. Where the hell am I?

    I¡¯m laid back in this bed, struggling to even¡­. think, the agony of my starvation settled in, my interior feels hollow and the lack of blood bites at flesh, I feel like a ravenous insect the late-stage of any grasshopper, I¡¯ve become a locust desperate to feed...

    Even now my vision swims, what I could initially figure was the figure of two women, in a decrepit subterranean medieval interior now fades. I see blood bags of it¡­

    I can¡¯t let this control me¡­but I must feed¡­but I can¡¯t move¡­I see an object of renewl ahead of me¡­but even if I had the strength, I wouldn¡¯t do it¡­.am I just that weak¡­maybe¡­back then¡­

    ¡®When Arianne asked me to run away¡­maybe I should have.. had Asaph been leader¡­.wait¨CI was out¡­how long has it been! The others¡­

    I see the two girls stare at my widened eyes¡­.I¡¯m in nothing but a thin blanket over my barren form, a formfitting suit covers my body, it terrifies me to imagine anyone would know how to remove my armor.

    It was cast from crucible onto my body live and hasn¡¯t been removed since then¡­ Who are they?

    Why do I feel safe? But exposed?

    There''s a third voice, the two girls retract from me, it has cold chastisement that becomes words, he speaks what I don¡¯t know... a language oft and forgotten, so I can only presume he scolded them, by how they retreat from my vulnerable form.

    He drags within an unnaturally large wheelchair, restraints cast onto it¡­and several other men enter where the two women had left, the first man must¡¯ve been father. They shared eyes.

    He is authority as my form is grasped, the men have frowns as they pick me up, fearful faces and glances as I¡¯m lifted¡­placed into this wheelchair, my head slumps down.

    I¡¯m paralyzed¡­but my eyes can still move, I¡¯m vulnerable..they could kill me now¡­if they had something sharp enough.

    I¡¯m confident I can resist a blade for a short time but not forever.

    I want to make contact to speak but my vocal cords retract, I¡¯m paralyzed my heart no longer beating, I sense no electricity within save for in distant corridors, it¡¯s wet, damp¡­the wheels of the chair grind as a flurry of men push me out with struggle.

    I¡¯m well aware I¡¯m  400LB out of this suit¡­seven-foot-seven¡­but these men seem accustomed to lifting heavy things in tandem with each other. They murmur and groan amongst each other but he silences them, barking orders, his mouth opens, I see missing teeth.

    they wrench me out. The interior of what looks like a spare bedroom that had crates.

    I¡¯m carted through a living space, pictures? No..papers with odd scriptures written in, but there is one photo¡­. it¡¯s the priest¡­this pastor standing next to, a vampire.

    Scars litter their wrists, bruises, wounds, the man leading them all¡­he¡¯s like a priest, pastor maybe?

    He wears a robe, holds a bible at waist¡­I recognize it, it¡¯s like the one my father owned, matte-black, worn brown pages¡­ a stone sticks out his skull oddly, it has stains of blood, and

    Nothing but silence my way.

    So when I¡¯m taken out, I see a wide subterranean layer, it¡¯s a two-story interior city, a long windy canal slickened with boss is below, strange circular spheres stick out from a ceiling casting light bright.

    There are what looks like flowers in dumped soil sprouted tall, there is warmth, it¡¯s damp and this moss lingers stretches to the surrounding walls, ventilation and fans line the walls¡­but I¡¯m outside.

    Crowds of people meander around the pathways of the canals like roads, the split of it is in down the center of this underground, and there are bridges to cross.

    Black, brown, grease, mold, masks and suffering... smells of water, like the result of an after of heavy rain What are they doing living down here?

    The other men from nearby leave me, yet all I get is sideway glances not even fear, so I leave my head slouches with no other option.. but that priest!

    I jolt, as the bumpy uneven broken floor of a worn out bridge is walked with me ahead¡­

    I hear laughter, crying, and shuffling and sweeping it¡¯s ambient here¡­,

    and I¡¯m walked a long-long time, until it feels like less of a city, I enter an archway and feel as if I enter a sewer now as a smell gets putrid¡­..

    We are waltzing far away and I feel a darkness clinging to us now, the dim-sun lamps distant an orange reflection on the mossy brick and stained metal walls that build up this underground.

    The priest that ferries me doesn¡¯t speak and I¡¯m left silent.

    I encounter many people, he drags me along here, and I see many people¡­today they re all gathering, and here I am ferried along like a corpse, unmoving¡­my skin thankfully isn¡¯t dried or desiccated, but the moments blend by quickly.

    ¡°Let us enjoy our sabbath.¡± The people draw nigh, breaking bread, it¡¯s as if rationed¡­.they read, they smile.. and they enjoy each other¡¯s presence¡­these humans are happy, in the filth. In the darkest pits below.

    In agony I¡¯m left in a corner of what appears to be a church, I¡¯m left to watch¡­so I watch, and I listen and I turn and time winds through...

    These people are innocent, by what measure? Are they good people? Who calls one good?

    I¡¯m struggling to consider my place, strange is this what death is like? No¡­it¡¯s a point where it all becomes black. I heard them say on this day

    ¡®The Dead know nothing.¡¯ But in the all the scriptures repeated, some I¡¯ve heard. Some new a chord hits my heard.

    ¡®For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.¡¯ I¡¯m still here and I can¡¯t recall how long it has been.

    I let the lesson end for them¡­

    Let with what power? I¡¯m immobilized. Destroyed¡­everyone else they¡¯re dead¡­gone¡­it¡¯s been too long, isolated, they wouldn¡¯t of lasted without me¡­..now they probably escaped without me they¡¯re gone¡­

    [¡­]

    I let the lesson end, and they leave me there¡­.I was regarded at first, fearful stares but I¡¯m just left there, in empty and darkness. Like a lamp-stool¡­.why did they grab me? What is this? Is this a test? Is their God testing me?

    God¡­I beg you be merciful.

    I¡¯m suffering¡­they¡¯re dead, that sensation of my ability is gone¡­I know it is, like you move an arm without thought I could use that ability, and it¡¯s gone..I don¡¯t sense the surface, it¡¯s just empty¡­are they the humans we encountered above¡­did the surface get nuked!?...Is everyone¡­

    I after sit there for an hour¨Cno it¡¯s a week¡­I¡¯m here for a week, and when they finally cart me out at the end of their second sabbath the priest doesn¡¯t speak to me, he carts me to the water¡­I¡¯m tormented by it again, I¡¯m there for two days now¡­Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    Nipping at my covered body-glove foot, I feel something hairy, with lengthy tail..

    Rats.

    [¡­]

    It¡¯s agony.

    I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s like to just be unable to move, knowing someone needs help and being unable to help them until now, something yearns for me to reach up¡­

    Saiyah, Asaph, Anna..I¡¯d even suffer for Juno right now..someone..anyone¡­

    [¡­]

    Some girls came by, decorated me with flowers and prayed¡­.that was nice¡­but then the preacher came finally.. shooing them away

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind them please, they¡¯re..innocent..removed from what¡¯s occurred surface¡­.these years.¡±

    I don¡¯t have ability to tell him I hadn¡¯t minded, that I invited such care¡­I can smell the scent of what was placed on me, they were nice..

    My head still remains lulled yet fighting against the hunger, as I near death my fingers twitch.

    He jolts as if noticing¡­¡±I wouldn¡¯t of wanted to initiate any further contact with you until the grace period had ended¡­¡±

    I know what he meant, the torment of these days subsiding in a moment, I was so easy to understand that, having forgotten I was not human..they were and why they would fear what I could do, if just so happened I had enough ability to reach the nearest person to me.

    It was obvious I was starved after-all.

    ¡°I by grace of God thank the Lord above that I was able to find you¡­may you thank him that I was able to find you as well..you¡¯re alive¡­.I did what I could, to preserve you.¡± He speaks mournfully over my state.

    I¡¯m worse than a vegetable, I was never alive to begin with..I¡¯m something awful¡­..

    I¡¯m wretched.

    But oh do go on! I blink, in Morse code.

    I can see by lack of response he only takes that as affirmation I¡¯m listening indicating he doesn¡¯t understand

    He speaks to me ¡°This place we¡¯re in, it¡¯s a very isolated habitation from those above, the Mechra and the deceived¡­¡± He gives a slow affirmation of what must¡¯ve occurred.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think I brought you here to be revived to kill those above.¡± He quickly argues, he respected my intelligent and I appreciate that greatly, though I can¡¯t show it.

    He immediately deduced I understood the situation.

    The wounds, the bruises, the children who hadn¡¯t seen the surface, hadn¡¯t even seen a vampire.

    It¡¯s clear to me the explanation of what happens to humans who don¡¯t accept the mechra, not what the mechra does to them.

    But possibly what the other humans had done to them..it stickens me to think about¡­

    ¡°When you came here, you were able to somehow bring power back¡­..the connection they refused, reopened¡­.many doors of this underground become open to us as well.¡± He spoke and my eyes followed him as he walked around.

    ¡°Could you help us?¡±

    I blinked twice.

    [¡­]

    They don¡¯t speak much to me, they just communicate, the preacher had let me know he¡¯d needed help, we had said so few words to eachother and just easily he was accepting me as a tool, it was apparent I was needed here...

    This place was deep under, and it appears it was ¡®old unity¡¯ the great capital city of what this world had once been called, I can see the remnants of our technology strewn within and about, faded insignia.

    There are doors here, the mechra has access to the sub-level systems of this city they¡¯ve sunken into he dirt and from loose description and my vague observations, its systems were still allowed to run.

    But someone shut it off, The Mechra don¡¯t work that way from what I saw in the hivemind, it had to be obvious it was other humans, only they could be so uniquely cruel to one-another.

    All they had to do was ride me around, that inability to feel the surface paled in comparison, with my body gone my body ran free, initially I was required to reach out and snatch script, snatch the latent signal, the pulse of any device nearby to alter it.

    Now I could just waltz around, my eyes look over and it shoots on, I was bringing back access...

    Water, filtration, when they were too tired to wheel me around their home, they brought me back to the habitable sector and I saw it cleaner, some bits of marble on the floor white..I was cleaning the place up.

    The chittering of rats keeps me awake..

    But I am worried now..How long have I been here.

    [¡­]

    I¡¯m left in side of the church as they hold another sabbath, as the preacher speaks scripture I¡¯m left to watch, it¡¯s routine now¡­..I want to head to the surface but I have no mouth to speak, to beg for blood¡­.

    In a moment I see a woman with child¨C. No it¡¯s many children.

    After a moment of drawn out speech I notice her again through murmuring, through a child restlessly irritating his mother, she chastises him once, then twice.¡ª

    ¡°Honor thy father and mother.¡± A strong voice lulls from beside me¡­.. The child going silent

    The preacher stops, he¡¯s at the pulpit... I consider where I¡¯ve heard this¡­voice?...as I¡¯m looked upon..

    It¡¯s me I spoke!

    [¡­]

    Yet Still and after that I¡¯m ferried around,

    It¡¯s with great distaste do I realize the intricacies due to me simply being left around occasionally to observe my surroundings like a coat on a hangar and wheeled around like fine tools,

    I fully understand this is not just an underground sewer habitat made into a home¡­

    ¡®UNITY REPAIR CENTER¡¯ is strewn across doorways at top and center, this used to be a city and with the familiarity I know¡­this was their home¡­before the Mechra had arrived.. before what I assume created the divide.

    Etched onto the walls are the occasional scripture, it was a small city less grandiose than above, but it was homely dead and desiccated potted plants.

    The structure of it is as if an entire plat was dropped onto this old city, onto ¡®UNITY¡¯ and new Fracturia crushed it¡­.a fitting namesake¡­I anger to imagine it is like this across the rest of the world..

    That humans took those who had resisted the evil vain idolatry and belief of these machines and crushed them, building over their graves¡­

    [¡­]

    I couldn¡¯t communicate further, I just continued to take orders opening these electronic doors.

    I can investigate with what little I see, they speed me past but I can see the scratchmarks on what looks like slots for keycards, even after they¡¯d been pushed down here whoever facilitated this further, ensured this city that was once theirs would reject them.

    Unity¡­was sacked, and whatever systems held in place turned against them¡­I can see faded scratched posters ¡®Don¡¯t Resist, my gods¡¯ written plain in torn worn posters on the wall, likely the Mechra did this to force those who initially resisted above-ground¡­..

    One of the men, an engineer who¡¯s had to fix this chair I cart around on quite a few times takes screwdriver, and unscrews a panel¡­.It has a screen and access point meant for keycard, I can just sense it¡¯s difficult.

    Reading out on a long rectangular strip is a faded cracked screen, it¡¯s in Persian. And I read it carefully, translating in a moment. ¡®VALID-ACCESS-DISC-REQUIRED.¡¯ Then as the text is about to scroll and I see the beginning of more letters.

    My view is obstructed I can¡¯t see much more because the engineer gets in the way, yet I can still make out the internals of it, as it has a latent signature as If it¡¯s still on.

    Disturbing me as I recognize the framework of it from a glance, in what could be measured in nanoseconds I decipher.

    ¡­it¡¯s one of ours confirming something¡­We were here before. The war, the fighting¡­it¡¯s one of ¡®those worlds¡­¡¯ that is what this place was before, it explains why the mechra may be here rather than anywhere else we have human colonies... this place used to be a-. The Vampiric technology in this sunken city, the hyper controlled and tech-integrated nature this city would¡¯ve been in make sense.

    Then after realizing this, I give no time to gruel over it, but it explains why they are hesitant to feed me, I¡¯m still an enemy¡­

    I can hear the engineer man grunt, as his fingers grapple with it, he has scars and bandages along the digits that fumble trying his best himself to get through, he has some sort of device, a cryptographic sequencer.

    It seems to spark, as he nears it toward the access point you¡¯d have placed the disc.. ¡±I-I..don¡¯t know if you can even hear us as well as you hear, Brother Daniel.¡± He grimly speaks, his eyes flitter between me and the panel.

    , it¡¯s what would be implanted into the wall of a Vampiric facility meant to medicate unruly humans or tend to their wounds and their elderly¡­...What is like script appears in front of my mind.

    And with the bicep of my brain, I crush the access restriction, these sorts of access points weren¡¯t entirely binary the Mechra kept us from conventional applications of our technology, but it still required the programmed signal from whatever access card should be slotted in.

    It was clockwork faking it, the signature and electronic signal was easy to fake, transmitting it took a bit of effort, my ability allowing me to entangle to it, simply arced it, and in a sense the machine presumed simply

    I accessing it with legal non fabricated digital signal but that I had a grade of access much higher,

    To me it seemed like I was presenting basic maintenance and debug code to a security computer to access intricate parts of its system and repair

    ¡®I¡¯d seen it done to the computers back at the facility in New Persia this felt like a supernatural equivalent to that maintenance,¡¯

    it defaulted to maintenance mode and in turn opened itself.

    Switches, lights and levers flipped open from what was initially a plain black portion under the screen.

    After the Engineer gasped ¡°Thank you! I can¡¯t imagine how you do it¡­it¡¯s just with your mind?¡± He started into fearful laughter which caused me to blink once and he nodded to me when he saw my eyes blink.

    He tilts his head up, his lip quivers slightly ¡°Oh Lord, I thought these machines could sense the twins of Dracula and that¡¯s how we¡¯ve been doing it¡­¡± He kids at me, than goes grim¡­yet stoic..

    ¡°Thank¨C.you¡­.¡±

    I could still hear hesitation in his voice to thank me, but he wasn¡¯t at all ungrateful, he even joked a bit

    No..no it¡¯s just with my mind, heh..heh..

    He clicked and flipped the switches and we were heading back.

    That gave them some rerouted power, there was a section in here that was like hydroponics, where they even farmed their bread, half of it accessible the other half locked away by a powerful glass barrier,

    I saw where the pulses went as they went about thirty meters in seconds, pulsing twice before a constant signal was given as my efforts fully gave them full furthered access¡­

    I didn¡¯t realize it in that moment but I felt pride, happy that even now I could help someone¡­. I just wish I could help everyone¡­my unit¡­those under my command¡­I¡¯m stuck here¡­

    [¡­]

    The more I help the less I get mistreated, I help with more things, the lights go out and I get them back on¡­albeit I¡¯m thinking that wasn¡¯t the place being faulty, it¡¯s as if it was remotely shut off, because I had to do it twice, carted around thirty meters outside the main habitation area,

    the paths of the canals used to be marble streets¡­this place wasn¡¯t car-centric¡­how annoying.

    Yet I¡¯m understanding more in these observations, I get my own room now¡­it¡¯s a weapon storage¡­better than being left next to the canal and sounds of rushing water, the lack of silence drives me crazy, the darkness of the locker, the isolation calms me¡­because I can just simply endure the pain of starvation let that sink in with my sensory deprivation or else I¡¯ll be thinking of the others¡­

    They are likely fighting the enemy, maybe many humans or just Polaries¡­This places these people, this planet has a history of fighting.

    I can see the signs here in Unity underground clearly¡­this planet was an ¡®Ang-Hander¡¯ class world

    a where rebellions or resistance was purposefully cultivated and most notably Vis-Stasi caste infantry would regularly use these worlds as a relentless death training game to hone military strategy, adjusting doctrine, figuring what worked¡­. It made me sick¡­thinking¡­I could ignore learning of places like that¡­as a child¡­

    but here I see it clearly¡­. Even we are partly responsible for what¡¯s happened to these people, and it hurts¡­I really am not human, if I hadn¡¯t been immobilized and encountered them with strength and hunger¡­I may have¨C..I don¡¯t want to think¡­

    [¡­]

    It was a few days after they drug me out, had me help get more things running, air scrubbers and get access to an electronically locked building within their habitation area that had tools to clean mold,

    When we came back from working, they were feasting, much more food than I¡¯d seen before, more than just the bread¡­. I hadn¡¯t any idea where they suddenly got all this food but then¨C

    A girl came to me, they must¡¯ve told her to do it because she was terrified, but she hadn¡¯t come alone¡­lest I tried to find the strength to scold, I know how terrified Arianne was of me when we first met, and that¡¯s something

    I can see in the mothers¡¯ eyes as she keeps her arm on her daughter''s shoulder like a tight leash, her pupils, she shakes and.¨C. ¡°Say thank you, he got the vault open.¡± She betrayed that lingering fear on her expression of me- it was just reasonable caution¡­. At least I know they weren¡¯t just having me open useless things¡­..

    But nonetheless carefully the mother leans herself child over in thanks

    ¡°Thank you, Sir.¡± The child remarks to me¡­and it has me wanting to flinch but reminded I can¡¯t move¡­. I¡¯m being referred to as if I¡¯m a person, as if I¡¯m one of them¡­as if I¡¯m human...

    I¡¯m in pain right now, the starvation gets to me and the reality is, I almost consider biting into their flesh right now¡­it sickens me to think they¡¯d thank a creature like me¡­.so weak I can¡¯t feed on them or help those above¡­Saiyah¡­Asaph¡­Anna¡­all likely¨C.

    Yet still here I am hearing them¡­. they thank me together again.¡­they must¡¯ve been starving she and the daughter are skinny¡­. I¡¯ve often only known healthy and well fed humans¡­

    I can¡¯t say ¡°your welcome¡± right now, even if I could speak, I¡¯d be too pained and hungry¡­.

    My subconscious seems to disagree and after they thank me twice as if they know me so well, they could tell I was in deep through, my pinky twitches and the mothers brow raises¡­she noticed¡­and-

    She smiles

 Vengeance Rising: Aleph to Joan

    She smiles

    [¡­]

    One of the women fed me today, strange I know, to feed but but¡­it gave me strength¡­ I don¡¯t want to believe what I think that means¡­but I see it in my complexion grey dies out revealing my fair skin¡­Aleph¡¯s fair skin¡­

    [¡­]

    They do it regularly now¡­feeding me, for the days that go on, I¡¯m strangely surprised they¡¯d do this but with, more food around from me accessing locked portions of this place it would be reason they would,

    Yet few murmurings betray this expressed kindness glances and strange looks¡­

    But I still feel love pour in, their love¡­. God¡¯s love it¡¯s done with care,

    In the dead night when they all go to rest, a woman comes, the same woman as before, who smiled to me¡­she¡¯s been feeding me regularly despite there being no reason for it¡­

    Yet I do feel strengthened when she does it.

    water they purified through fire from coals, and as my head tilted back she uttered a prayer

    ¡®Romans 12:20, ¡®If your enemy Is hungry feed him,¡¯ Her voice is smooth¡­

    I can¡¯t move, yet for a moment, my eyelids grow heavy. This kindness¡­her words, and care..it has me thinking of a human I¡¯d known¡­Arianne¡­

    I miss her¡­.

    [¡­]

    Dreary days stalk by, I feel cold air prick my skin and hurt rather than soothe me as if I¡¯ve become alive, the more I use this ability the more I soon realize my heart still beats.

    In any instance it would cause me great pain, for my heart to become live, then after ceasing usage of this ability its gone¡­but there is a delay now when I cease control and entanglement of technology¡­. It¡¯s growing the more I utilize myself to keep this sub-level together, each time I activate a door.

    I feel a warmth I think I would¡¯ve felt when I was a child playing carelessly in those armed streets with Arianne¡­.that warmth is something only humans may be able to feel¡­

    [..]

    That warmth subsides in the latter days, it has helped me understand something¡­I¡¯ve learned much¡­ I hear a noise call¡­.

    [¡­]

    Here I am, Lord¡­.

    amongst the children..

    I see a boy amongst them, He reminds me of myself, the underground is dangerous, broken tiles, rats, there is the occasional rusted metal that burts free from a wall, in the late nights for them hammered into the wall again.

    The children are born into pain and have a higher tolerance, but he is unlike them, he is alike me..weak, pale not under the lights his mother keeps him inside without the artificial sunlamps..

    His mother isn¡¯t human¡­

    I for days here hadn¡¯t seen her, her appearance deceived me, she was a ¡°Polarie¡± I came to understand, and she was tall remarkably tall.

    Her skin pure, she looked like a silver doll, yet her son had no resemblance of her,

    I watched him from then on¡­this boy was like me¡­

    [¡­]

    I see one day, the children play within my sight as I am near the canal, near a cracked wall,  it appears dangerous to me, I¡¯ve seen the rats that nip at my feet as I am still mostly motionless come from there, they¡¯re large, they stink of disease¡­filth¡­infection.. Why are they living in such a place where they fight this off¡­ Who would do such a thing, to cast children elderly..to this place, where mold and rot had given some bloodied cough¡­

    [¡­]

    That young boys name... I don¡¯t hear it, but it is called again and again by the other children.

    A boy, A girl, and a girl¡­.Asaph, Saiyah, Anna.

    One Nudges his head like a distasteful elder brother, one carefully watches him as he nearly trips, yet occasionally tears into him all the same as the former and the last gives him a hateful glare¡­I laugh recalling them¡­my unit, after I glance again I start to wonder if they¡¯re alive. How they are managing, I know they are likely dead but this gives me hope¡­

    Asaph, Anna and Juno..i see the qualities in those children that might help them last without me¡­.I wonder if those qualities they show are even vampiric¡­ do they imitate us? Or are we imitating humanity?

    [¡­]

    I follow this troupe of children, by the grace of God I am allowed to see, to spectate.

    They play, they laugh, they joy together, yet I see his mother afar off¡­watching, failing to take her eyes off¡­I want to consider that she may not be the only Polarie here...

    [¡­]

    I don¡¯t see them anymore, I hear weeping¡­what has happened? I can¡¯t move¡­I can only look into the canal, I¡¯m hungry, in pain and yet I want to fight to see, more than urged I have ever been in my life¡­why do I hear crying?

    [¡­]

    The boy fell ill¡­He was bitten by a rat, the fearful boy watched the younger girl who doted on him get chased and he got it to scurry off..but.. I hope he is fine.

    Why do I care?

    Have I been brainwashed?

    Are they invading my mind?

    I¡¯m not Vampiric..I¡¯m so human¡­I¡¯m becoming weak¡­

    [¡­]

    ¡­. why¡­¡­even in the darkest crevices of habitations held for humans on New Persia, there was medicine left for those cast aside into dark habitation districts,

    these refugees didn¡¯t even have that¡­

    At first, I wanted to question why their God allowed this. They prayed to him daily¡­

    He gives and he takes¡­. The Preacher stood beside me, weak over the wails of a grieving mother beside me.. as if to answer me..

    Yet as if the Preacher saw through me with discernment, I could feel something¡­a snap occurring in me, he took me on their day of remembrance they had me at front. As he preached funeral and obituary for that child¡­they buried him.

    Out of all the consolations in prayers he spoke for mourning one spoke to me¡­

    ¡°To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven, the heaven.¡±  He consoled the mother¡­the mother who had fed me who now mourned¡­

    The preacher spoke that night to ease the burdens, the spoke of how that child will now rest in the ground until the ¡°Shepard¡± returns¡­

    God allowed this¡­ evil to persist and bring death... Yet it is men who carried it out¡­

    These people are cast to the darkest pits, I know why. It¡¯s obvious, they are wholly opposite to the worship of self, they are enemies of those corrupted machines and those humans who betrayed them, who cast them here with little, locked-off access to what they should have¡­.

    God may have allowed that boy to die, but it was by the hand of man that it was facilitated¡­damn them¡­Damn humans

    [...]

    I worry Arianne may have suffered a fate similar¡­maybe amongst humans¡­maybe amongst my own¡­I don¡¯t care now, I feel erratic no longer wondering if it feels human to have this cry for vengeance in my chest, its urging me to stand even when I shouldn¡¯t be able to.

    The pain of hunger and starvation subsided, it was like knives piercing my soul¡­but witnessing this

    It was as if boiling water was for me to drink, I was raised by humans I can¡¯t change that¡­so I accept that I¡¯m weaker because of that¡­

    .. They strengthened me when others hadn¡¯t and even sought to console and feed me.. an enemy..

    I¡¯ll avenge them

    [¡­]

    a man full of madness can know nothing¡­ I know they do cause I was in the Mechra¡¯s hivemind they seek to worship mankind as some sort of image of war I still see glimpses of it, in the darkness¡­I¡¯m losing this paralyziation and I feel limbs twitch, but as I come back around and as I feel liquid pour into my veins I feel cold..I¡¯m losing it..

    that humanity I¡¯d just gained¡­.

    [¡­]

    ¡°..I need your help¡­¡± A voice stern and cold like the air breaks me angered mrumurings

    A cold visible breath forms at the end of my mouth even as I¡¯m slouched,

    he carts me away from the edge of the canal I teetered close into tipping over into without help, he fights the strain of moving my heavy body even with support of this impromptu wheelchair

    I can¡¯t turn my head but notice the lack of sound behind us¡­everyone is gone, not to see us¡­and the preacher takes me away¡­.

    We go down the path past the buildings they were huddled in and even father than that, we moved down the pathways of the canal until it looked like a post-apocalyptic underground habitat and more like a post-apocalyptic ruin,

    We went far enough on the far right hand of the canals a darkened corridor..a gate¡­¡­ was in sight far farther than any other location I immediately would¡¯ve recognized from the many times I was dragged around

    That scent of mold, decay thickened as we departed¡­

    And in my eyes bones, a valley of dry bones..they were the ruins of poor rags that startingly still have the quality of these people¡­

    [¡­]

    As the chair rocks, as I go through the bones, there had to have been thousands of these people maybe even millions, they don¡¯t live in that small section because they¡¯ve been cornered but because they can¡¯t bare the stench of death and its corruption and uncleanliness¡­.

    I see bodies piled high¡­

    My strength has returned¡­

    [¡­]

    ¡°You wonder why we suffer persist here¡­¡± I didn¡¯t ask audibly¡­

    But I considered from his faith that clear worded instruction he gave from book of testimony¡­..He and this people are beaten for their faith, he himself stoned from bits of rock stuck within his skull¡­

    Marred for truth like his God had been, like his God had borne beating until the cross, lashed¡­

    Like the rocks I gaze toward reached a stop, and it was a place I¡¯m sure I crashed through in, I see bits of marred purple under heavy rocks, broken¡­Like these people

    They¡¯ve been tortured here for years and years I can see that now from how the children though suffering were comfortable amidst torment¡­ever since the Mechra ransacked the minds of those who remained above.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    But I think, of this captivity¡­it sounds like what Arianne cried to me for, what her parents let their lives be taken for¡­

    This fills me with a terrible resolve¡­..I can¡¯t afford to lay down here, this is something truly gruesome¡­maybe the others could¡¯ve seen this and ignored it, but I cant.. my upbringing won''t let me¡­I ponder if I had even honored my human father as much as I should have... the man who raised me until he died.

    These people and their suffering¡­to my mission its inconsequential. But I realize now that they are worth something¡­they lived long enough, they hold inherent beauties I was assured were strength, resilience of human beings but it is not their strength.

    Faith and hope, is not their strength but whatever God they serve they hide in his strength...

    These people can¡¯t fend for themselves they are weak; their God has allowed many things to come unto them.

    But I¡¯m glad he has allowed this one thing to fall upon them, a dreadful monster is among them and through their love which was God¡¯s love imparted to them, imparted unto it.

    It has gained strength¡­

    I¡¯m going to repay the machines, If God has allowed evil, he will allow mine next, I¡¯m taking vengeance seven-fold... If this God wills it.

    [¡­]

    ¡­¡±

    ¡°And on what word do you darken council?¡± The Preacher chastised me,

    and it bit so clearly

    , I stepped out of line I was raised up the blood of being human sustained me, my body in unnatural human conditions was healed, a violation of what made someone human or Vampire.

    I was monster all the same

    The Preachers eyes widened¡­He cut into my words as called that I may have been here by God, this God he served..

    ¡°Let the word of God he true and every Man a liar.¡± He coldly called me out..and I had to recognize I was erratic¡­hunger, it had driven me to care¡­it had scrambled my brain¡­but for some odd reason as it¡¯s now faded¡­

    subsiding pain. I still care. About these things¡­these humans

    ¡°Gather your people, we are leaving.¡±

    ¡°Did you not hear me word-¡°

    ¡°If it not be on God¡¯s blessing I came here, that I crashed to you, then it will be his allowance and willingness I intend to do as I will as long as he allows me to live another moment¡­¡±

    My daringness had him speechless¡­

    A certain ferocity in me, I had a mission to stop what the Mechra are doing here, but first I will do to my discretion left to me from lack of command when I landed.

    I¡¯m going to place these people in far greater homes, albeit captive to my Empire

    ¡°God Willing none of you will remain here.¡± I boldly declared

    -

    \\  TWO MONTHS AGO //

    \\ Approximately One-week AFTER ALEPH WENT MISSING //

    Asaph and Anna hadn¡¯t meant to take command from Juno it just happened, this broke from Aleph it just happened, one moment he was gone,

    The assault on the tower was ill advised Saiyah was missing, then lost it, they held much of the city now they fight in rubble, out of ammo, out of weapons they dive in and out of the grey ruins catching their prey, hostile Polaries, humans who hadn¡¯t yet fully evacuated¡­anything to stave off their heightened sense of starvation here¡­

    They fought harder than they ever could of imagine, razor sharp gunfights became moments where they are chased, tailed, strange aircraft litter the skies¡­.

    A screen two months ago had shown its name on screen ¡®SERAH¡¯ and told its weakpoints, a diagram flashed on a billboard, they¡¯d followed it ever since.

    Beating the mechanical beasts with bare hands¡­

    Saiyah gone, ¡­. Asaph was off put no longer to hear the soft remarks that made light of any situation he took seriously, he had nothing to scold her for she wasn¡¯t saying anything cause she wasn¡¯t there¡­

    And the city it was alive, roads parted, turrets emerging, at first it was attacking them but startingly that changed as it began to engage them¡­.

    Something strange began to take over New Greecia this city they occupied part of... in midst of the heaviest bouts of fighting, machines scrambled, a whirr¡­

    A friend had control of the city, the planet had its teeth bared and opened to swallow them whole, yet recently. Ambiently¡­The automated defenses of the city that fought against them, fought against the city as well, bits of it uplifted roads, blocking off major portions of enemies

    an airship come overhead, and a sunken missile battery raised, utilized against them¡­.to terrifying efficiency

    -

    Now they were facing twilight, the entire planet was coming down on them. They were facing the end, not a single one of them had died for even now as Aleph was absent he guided them, and his guidance continued even in his absence.

    -

    Asaph pondered on Aleph in this darkest hour.

    The one amongst humans.

    [..]

    PRESENT, TWO WEEKS LATER

    \\ THE TOWER //

    There was little to be done, the one who was expected to be lead, first amongst the Polaries something extraordinary was left catatonic for a time she was recovered now but that had them waning, as far as they knew she was beaten in combat from all the blood grease on her, and with word some of the most powerful autonomous vessels including one-unreplacable it was clear things had taken a turn.

    She-nephilim was distraught, her mind scattered, David extended a hand to aid their greatest probably profitable protector. David took in many of the she-nephilm who¡¯d lost their families in that gruesome attack, he got them up together and in two seeks their ¡°god¡± shaped them up to be ready to train

    They can¡¯t even manage more losses amongst machines or organics..they¡¯re going to die here if things don¡¯t change..

    They have to do it soon or later. And David knew that¡­They all knew that, it¡¯s why they now meet in this chamber.

    Dimly lit in grey arrayed in black metals, bumpy, rough-hewn geometric shape, octagons loosely held together forming a floor. A blackened abyss beneath their feet should stand on thin bridges that connected many floors.

    While he was finding himself amongst humans assigned to greater duties, he made a habit of harassing the mecha, the languid chamber where the ¡°gods¡± bickered and argued, unable to come to terms and agreement.

    ¡°We¡¯re out of time! We have to do it soon Or we¡¯ll miss our chance here, with all the tools readied!¡± David barked out, he took the stand and was now letting everyone have it.

    ¡°Even if we have all the pieces have a better hope in delaying¨C.¡±

    ¡°PROPOSTEROUS! THE MECHRA OUR SERVANTS HAVE FAILED US! WHAT GODS WILL WE BE IF WE ARE EXTINGUISHED BEFORE OUR ASCENSION!?¡± David shouted at the man lancing him with words as he stuck out finger in his direction, the echo of the room made his voice all the more powerful.

    A woman oversaw as he bickered, cursed, and raved.

    ¡°We are not going to accomplish this, the piece of our ascension if we can¡¯t hold out¡­¡± He looked to Delta, the machine seemed as conflicted as it could appear and its head pointed down into an abyss. The creeping failures striking the hivemind.

    Delta clarified ¡°I understand your worry David, but the Ascendancy protocols are clear in what we are going to be risking should yo¨Cwe fail to ensure you measure to its requirements in a timely fashion.¡± Delta chittered on

    The others watched and one of them spoke up ¡°Delta you are among all the intelligence in the hivemind the greatest, and we grace you by allowing you audience and input.¡± One of them corrected and was looking to chastise.

    David barked out for the man who was scolding Delta ¡°You hold us back, I care nothing about the Cold Atom-nonsense, you investigations with it and all it is, is nonsense you have nothing sweet to tell!! Ever!?¡± David barked out at Delta.

    The machine computed the rashness and couldn¡¯t hope to understand mankind, in one moment the mind of machines linked to these vessels all over considered ¡®we are going to lose¡­¡¯ and then in that very picosecond they came up with a solution.

    ¡°We could utilize investigation on ensuring the Quantum Coherence is...¨CNegative¡­¡± Delta paused and caused a varied bit of silence in the room, the expressions changing and even the woman above them all on a darkened pedestal arrayed in a spotlight of pinkish hue looked upset at the strange pause.

    ¡°Calculations finished, method and equation for stable Quantum Coherence resolved, but we can¡¯t assure static 100% likelihood of success.¡± The machine saying that was a stark contrast for the room the inability to give a robotic reply, that it even had a hint of emotion and worry had them pausing.

    David was there to witness the many times Delta described this ¡°Is it the nanites?¡± David understandably asked

    It is¡­we can¡¯t be assured that the method of bypassing inability to transfer information via entanglement, utilizing the nanites to pre-encode your mental data have success rate more than ¨C!.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter that¡¯s enough.¡± A hand raised with authority over machine

    After there was a pause at that words that cut in,  A woman was amongst them, atop pedestal the her long blonde hair flowed upwards in the antechamber in the room connecting to the room, with a thine transcluent pinkish wall of energy that glowed staring down,

    Her hand waved upwards, and David went nodded,

    ¡®David is right we are running out of time,¡±  She is already in the suit.

    The carbon fiber techsuit wrapped around her like a full bodied skin-tight suit, yet it seemed extrouded on all corners from all over, the armor and uniform bulged outwards, points where wires could connect, piping in the nanites when the flesh would be impaled.

    Her body rose and shrunk as she exhaled deep and than inhaled, taking in deep breath.

    After answering ¡°And about the issue.¡±

    ¡°Of course, that malignant entity, that had adapted, intruded our systems we will be dealing with him shortly give us time...¡± Delta begged of his masters and gods.

    ¡°Give you more time¡­..¡± She thought on it and looked toward center-piece that allowed them to even consummate this, to set this up¡­how much time did they have¡­The aliens that built this place¡­

    In middle of the arena-like room.

    There was a fifty-foot-tall spear in the room in front of them all, it was a mockery initially created to give insult to mankind and their master, it bore the image of a cross center-piece in bold, and runic, the image laid on top of the spear

    [XVVIIILJ2] engraved in embroidery around the sharpened pointed end of the spear, it was a massive spear, as wide as it was tall, and was about to be utilized, for all its majesty and mockery and fantastical appearance it had a clear usage.

    It could pierce mankind, It was a weapon and it would be utilized to bring about¨C

    \\ THE TOWER LATER [PRESENT October 11<sup>th</sup> 3049AD HOURS BEFORE QUANTUM CRISIS ATTEMPT] //

    they needed to work harder -You nearly cost us everything he cried in the face of all that they¡¯ve lost as he watched them face the many humans their ¡°gods¡± who had died.

    , David was now rallying all the faithful¡­but seeing so many die,

    the Polaries faced a crisis of faith...that he carefully and quickly instructed them away in, they took part in rituals mingling their bodies together with their gods and the machine, and in enough time they were different, they cast off their flesh in shame.

    They separated themselves from their bodies and became even the more different, strange, they had false skin that mimicked what they had before but now through training it endured ballistics-small-arms, they could warp metal with their bare hands bending steel, collapsing titanium plates inwards with strikes¡­.they were something else now¡­

    Joan realized it¡­.she was farther from what her mother would¡¯ve wanted..

    But it seems she¡¯s been blessed by the gods to fight on their name, afterall so many died in this city she needed to earn the favour of her gods again

    David had been first to bring down swift punishment for the She-Nephilm failures, at all even though he was one to uplift them at their fall.

    She realized it was tough love, but how tough was he?

    Am I heretic for now realizing how fragile and hopeless you truly are. She thinks to herself as David scolds her in memory.

    David repurposed polaries so damaged in the fighting that they couldn¡¯t be warrior servants, they would be desperate angelic servants to the human ¡°gods¡± remaining and they did serve without dignity, to appease their angry erratic gods whom were facing mortality¡­

    Hera and Miriam stood beside Joan the depths, it¡¯s been two months now and five days, she can see the stats on the computer screen displayed ahead of them.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [POLARIE MILITIA K.I.A 663,124 Estimated

    [MECHRA COMBAT-CLASS VESSELS D.I.A 1,663,621 Accurately Confirmed

    [Hostile Agents Class-Goliath, ¡®Shocktroopers¡¯ 0 K.I.A

    [Reinforcements due for arrival in four hours¡­. three-point-five hours¡­]

    --------------------------------------------

    These were the combat stats after the initial attack and up to now,

    Joans eyes glazed over it from the tower, and she was witness to half the casualties twice as they were attacked shortly after, now it¡¯s been two months and a few weeks maybe¡­¨Cand she¡¯s in the brightly lit room

    she saw on computer Slick screen display the extensive calculated display, blurring in pinkish hue before flashing in detailed color the depths of the assault.

    The assault lead that killed her family, her gods, crushed her home.

    Hera and Miriam weren¡¯t as destroyed they had reported their families for failures in faith,

    Damned good riddance for us, a tragedy for you Joan¡­ They coldly responded, Joan couldn¡¯t relate to that coldness, she wanted them alive if even to be servants, slaves, even thrown to the depths like the humans and polaries who rejected the truth¡­Just alive is what she wished they were.

    Her hurt burned with hatred for that one with purple visor¡­

    ¡°There is an entity, we¡¯ve identified amongst all the other enemies, you are to charge and go for this exact enemy, we ourselves are facing a new kind of attack we can¡¯t adapt to, but in all hopes this will not affect you as partial-organics now.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell us what he¨C¡­what he can do?¡± Hera spoke in interrogation, staring ahead in the darkened chamber.

    ¡°A biologically dead enemy that has strangely mastered Eelectronic warfare, a walking anomaly we hope to research should his body remain intact.¡± Delta stated

    ¡°What¡¯s so special, would this affect our cybernetics?¡±

    Delta assessed visibly his visor flashing green ¡°You are 100% right for this operation, you don¡¯t operate on our systems, the vast majority of our systems are partially non-binary but still rely on strict technologies that are heavily susceptible to Quantum Entanglement.¡±

    ¡°Delta, are you suggesting there is a walking biological organ¨C.¡± Miriam stumbles for a moment

    Delta corrects ¡°Biologically-dead, organism capable of hostile quantum-entangle directed specifically for and against machines, the nature of it will revive this individual, we assess this may have separated visor color, a disturbance of technologies within their own armor.¡±

    Questinos were to be asked by Mirian and Hera but Joan cut it short.

    ¡°Give us the rundown of his armor then.¡±

    ¡°Hunk of Metal.¡± Delta spoke and Joan sort of frowned at that. And just went on ¡°We are killing our time, Delta..what are the strict capabilities.¡±

    ¡°The higher levels of your cybernetics must be tempered, he has express contact to capably disable, read and manipulate machines, capable to degrees of simply destroying certain electrical devices.¡­.¡±

    There was a sudden display, it was reflective of the street-cameras, it caught someone on view

    Aleph and as he soared from building to building what little lights there were ambiently cutting off, shutting down entirely, a view shifted and in a flashed it showed him stalking streets only viewed by careful predictive camera placements years in advance for a situation akin to this.

    His hand rose, and a street-light sparked, embers flying as it cut out¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s the one I saw!¡­? Killed my friend, my mother-¡± She didn¡¯t finish her voice shaking more and more by the minute.

    ¡°Yes.¡± Delta answered, his fingers tapping together, they made a resounded clack as the dense display material flashed a plain pearly whites, before grey-pinkish images showed of him raiding a skyscraper, being handled by a Maiden-Caste and then falling out.

    ¡°This is not capture, we have passed a point of discussion deal with it.¡± Delta announced finally.

    The three of them carefully nodded, She-Nephilm created to protect humans whilst the Mechra were a confident hivemind intelligence too aware of its own superiority of them, it found the Nephilm filling a place in the spiritual hierarchy, and it was damned good thing.

    Eternia was highly resourceful and held them from Apostle-Galaxy in her direct command and control alone, they were capable, something like this was inevitable but there was only a 0.0001% chance it would be a perfect counter not just to the Mechra but machines entirely.

    The power gifted to monsters and savage beasts that lurk in the doctor, whereas Delta with glinting visor faced the future protectors of mankind should they fail here, ones that would escort them off-world.

    ¡°Can we counteract him should it be required?¡± Hera speaks in unison with Joan., Joan shoots Hera an approving nod, and the two exchange an equal look of appreciation at the quick question

    Delta looked ¡°We are sending you will have no counter to this ability should it be utilized on you.¡± Delta started and before they could stop listening to speak themselves, he opened again

    But be not deceived this is your only task, and we report activity in the underground where the ¡®Christians live.¡¯

    Miriam questions ¡°The humans? That live down there¡­wh-what do we do about them? Only the humans went on purging inquisition duties there¡­we are not fit to do harshly wit-¡°

    Delta announces, ¡°Do them no mind, they don¡¯t match what is desired of the Gods, they rejected their godhood.¡±

    They nodded their heads.

    The three of them pounded fists to their chests ¡°It will be accomplished and mankind will have their¨C.¡±

    // Quantum Crisis \\

 Vengeance Rising: Faith and Reunions

    // Quantum Crisis \\

    The grime, muck and walk was enough to torment him in several degrees but now he was sitting in what looked like a worn out buried garage, and an engineer was in front of him, he¡¯d seen him off and on enough for them to be greeting eachother..they were terrified at first to see him walk but he spoke of his place..where he would bring them should he win¡­they were not so eager to remain if they could have peace elsewhere.

    So in due time.

    He sat there, Aleph sat there to be precise and was worked on, his armor had been broken it wasn¡¯t exactly incredible to begin with, durable enough to survive-reentry some of the more devastating and few kinetic attacks the Mechra even had and strikes that rattled windows and buildings nearby directly to it.

    It was constrictive, noticeably pieces were thrown off around all major joints, he was halted by this armor initially but he could see it would be lessened, a massive bulky part of the faceplate and chunk of the helmet was missing, it was stripped down to a hyper-durable skeleton excess fat gone...

    ¡°Good thing any part left was just joint-restrictions..it¡¯s like they designed this to halt you, I¡¯ve heard of early armor of Shocktroopers from Preacher, he spoke about it¡­you all often he¡¯s been old enough to witness one¡­this armor is close to what it used to looklike now albeit more worn out.¡± The man spoke

    Aleph realized these past encounters would be too close to be older generations but other units¡­were all of them on New Persia prototypes like he was?, to think that was interesting was putting it lightly it was damning evidence for why New-Persia wasn¡¯t like his ancestors or Delara had spoken¡­Under Shocktrooper authority as an enclave¡­

    but it was obvious this world was under occupation and invasion, deliberately built and facilitated like this, cultivated to war against to build better doctrines, all the technology, access points was utilizing his own peoples technology.

    The Empire built their home, built the walls of it, put them in and invaded them relentlessly it was cruel but he imagined it was efficient enough for this Empire to last hundreds to thousands of years being strategically intellectual enough to last against the Mechra.

    Broken from his thoughts by a voice answering an earlier request ¡°I can get this back together in a moment, but it¡¯ll take some time¡­can you wait?¡±

    ¡°I can wait for some time, ditch anything not absolutely necessary, get the helmet fine and online I can repair any long-term damage after we leave¡­¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    [¡­]

    Saiyah was gone that day they hit the tower, she disappeared when Aleph didn¡¯t appear and she hunted for him without a second word to anyone else¡­

    It occurred to her she felt him falling and as her eyes bounded to a skyscraper so far it was nearly out of view despite it towering everything else there he was, falling¡­falling¡­.

    She made it to the crash site and by the time she appeared the street was patched up, crawling with hostiles she couldn¡¯t stick around long¡­where could he have gone!?

    He didn¡¯t crash underground did he¡­..

    Ever since¡­

    She¡¯s been chasing her heart to look for him she¡¯s dispatched enemies and patrol and still hasn¡¯t discovered him in two months she knew he was active felt what she shouldn¡¯t feel, a heart beating¡­ like before in the wastes

    She knew she had to find him then but alas she couldn¡¯t track it even following her hear

    t because it couldn¡¯t possibly be calling her underground and she had no shovel, she¡¯d already scoured through the inherent pathways leading to subway tunnels, But when searching one the subways she found cause of where her heart had dragged her to, she encountered a large structural steel door in a false subway tunnel

    it was like a ladder to the depths but stairs were stretching down from where her eyes could scarcely get angle to see, she perched herself behind some building¡¯s wall looking past trash littered streets and rotten corpses¡­, she spotted two sentries guarding it.

    She didn¡¯t want to openly engage, she could get rid of them fast enough¡­

    ¡®They wouldn¡¯t see it coming, but a sudden switch off of the turrets probably be cause for patrols to investigate¡¯ She  weighted her options but a particular explosion far from her sounded, a skyscraper collapsing, she could see thunderous clouds and air-raid sirens as roads were blocked.

    In the time since Aleph disappeared and she¡¯s hunted it has been two months, now she has found this place, and she is assured they¡¯ve all been fighting hard¡­without help..Without chosen leadership¡­

    ¡®They¡¯re occupied enough with the rest of the 144,000.¡¯ She thinks in decision, and she vanishes from her place.

    There was a moment when she twitched and an arm was seen in the two minutes she held behind the wall of a grocery store, and then suddenly gone as if the visual feed of the security turret skipped¡­

    Then Darkness!

    As Saiyah¡¯s fist collided through the reinforced metals of its barrel, an attempted discharge of plasma halted, it was in that same moment she bounded to the same turret opposite end of that massive door,

    large cylindrical rotating tubes holding large tank-like heads of the turrets at the popped from the pressure of the hit heat sparked at impact her fist steaming,

    a crash as they launched up and hit the overhang before crashing again into the ground¡­

    the reinforced plating had effortlessly collapsed around her fist leaving scratches on the armor,

    she gave similar mercies to the door, clawing it open.. then speedily rushing in

    She felt a lurch as she missed by a few steps and cracked half of them down center pounding her feet as she thundered downwards an abyssal hallway lit by the outside leading

    Not even a machine can spot me¡­.

    She was indeed right not even the sensors of the machine picked her up, its ocular organ had desperately scanned again and spotted nothing but shadowy disturbance, it was as if a vaguely humanoid shadow appeared, then the machine was powering off¡­.

    Sparks that had flown agitated her¡­.

    Thankfully She hadn¡¯t been noticed, she was invisible¡­¨C

    She was used to that, she was silent and invisible for most of her time servant amongst humans, she was invisible, and it was a gift her parents paraded her around for, she doesn¡¯t admit it to Aleph but she knew the neighboring humans-servants a tad bit as strangers, her mother and father albeit knew them as family for as long as she could remember.

    They let it get in the way often and almost refused to send her off, rather she join the human band, she be like a human prayer like them too¡­there were a lot of humans in New Persia that worshipped, she assumed maybe it was the way of the weak to cling to whatever cruelty endured¡­.She hadn¡¯t known or cared.

    She instead was proud of herself, and her ability, and in time danced around with this inherent talent not even her father or mother had or inherited... For her to have something so inherently powerful it was amazing, scientists from all over the planet had swarmed her mother and father¡¯s house at request once it was learned, she was the talk of the area, and for a time she pondered if she was amazing, she was fast, strong, and deadly¡­she would fight other shocktroopers who hadn¡¯t been sent to that training yet, who hadn¡¯t been drafted, playground brawls ended in her victory, they could never see her coming.

    A blink and she was gone, a shadow emerging from darkness, it was less supernatural, she felt¡­less like she¡¯d become translucent, she felt like she had an inbuilt connection to an equation... a living equation a random bit of knowledge¡­

    Like any Shocktrooper compared to the humans she was a natural genius so when she wanted to apply her innate gift, her caste, and her ability to the Imperial military she was denied by her parents, desiring she lives as the servants do¡­she couldn¡¯t imagine living like prey... so in her pride

    she ran away from her parents at the height of her pride¡­  she was hunted like a dog not just by her parents but by the humans they loved to be around¡­and other shocktroopers in her pride, she was happy delighted to escape, yet one day she was caught¡­not by them she would¡¯ve felt no loss of pride but by another child¡­.by Aleph

    She whined and wailed when he ratted on her, worst of all learning he was raised by humans¡­.,

    she swept by those who had hundreds of years in expertise in warfare she was like a silverfish in the cracks of reality she stepped out into darkness yet that wasn¡¯t enough to be unseen by that one.

    She was wrangled back home yet this only proved to her parents she needed to be utilized, this came from shocktroopers, older than her mother and father. From the founding generation.

    From Earth and the colonies in the Milky Way¡­. A galaxy she wondered if she¡¯d ever get to see¡­

    [¡­]

    Saiyah was left thinking if her loving Aleph enough to hunt for him like this even mattered, he went dark entirely and was gone for two months, she couldn¡¯t find him in the city¡­everyone else would¡¯ve presumed he was dead, scorched by plasma¡­..

    She should just regroup, finish the mission is what a rational part of her mind thought, but her rational mind was also emotional, Saiyah towed the line between caring and insane considering she was already headed to find him even now¡­she senses him again as if he¡¯s been revived even if he had died..in her mind the her more emotional-rational side didn¡¯t want to lose someone she deeply had connection with, the only one to see her¡­

    It was something that caused her to think there was in a literal sense

    ¡®Someone that had eyes for her.¡¯

    After reminiscing She ran headfirst with corpses many corpses¡­. Oddly none of them are old enough to be from the past they all looked beaten, bruised and rotting¡­

    As if someone tortured them, then tossed them down the steps some wounds were superficial that were too weak for mechanical hands¡­

    Their bodies were broken and exposed to very damaged bone, she traveled down as they had robes, some were beheaded, others were struck by solid projectiles of great power and force, she could see what is like granite stones! sticking out from their skulls¡­ Whatever torture this was, it had to be at least two months ago¨C¨C Strange¡­

    Her mind was precise, and a vampire could always see and sight the condition of any potential or un potential meal, one of the things that made crimes of humans so hard on their worlds they were all natural coroners,

    doubly so for a Shocktrooper.. she could see their internal damages measuring they didn¡¯t die on impact but collapsed and bled to death,

    she saw how far rot had set in like under a microscope... she looked at rotted corpses but saw potentially what a fine replenishing drink of blood would¡¯ve been.

    Humans killing humans.

    Nothing new.

    ¡®I scent more blood ahead anyway; I can probably feast¡­¡¯ She thinks then disciplines herself, smacking her own eyes through the broken visor of her helmet, she¡¯d be gorging herself at that point¡­but she wouldn¡¯t mind stress eating¡­

    After some time thinking on what potential humans, she senses ahead¡­ She¡¯d finally of the long straight steps downwards made it to the bottom of the steps, seeing a ratty underground, the remains of what must be a large concrete structure, akin to something she¡¯d never see on her own world, it was massive...

    A Human mall

    it was the peak of a society''s power, something human societies often had if they were strong enough, it was an uncommon luxury for humans if the Empire could help it.

    But they may have, it had an access panel that looked vaguely familiar¡­only select-few human worlds pumped full of resources, mind-numbing indoctrination had su¨C¨C

    ¡°Rebellion¡­. this world was a rebel cultivation center, is that why resistance is so strong!? They were already fighting us...¡± She thinks back to the dead they saw, it was one of those training worlds.

    Even she often pondered the brutality of the concept, an entire world cultivated to war against, to develop doctrine in war...

    But most notably are bodies down here, they¡¯re at the bottom of the steps

    She steps forward, pacing many steps and this darkness that clouds her is nothing, water drips¡­She senses blood much blood, a wall of it, bounds of it marching toward her direction¡­

    In the darkness far ahead she sees something and marching with blood stacked behind it is something she sees right through, in a far distance she spots him her eyes fixed like a sniper¡¯s scope, she reads that form like reading the fine print of a document from more than 700 meters.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    He was Seven hundred meters because she¡¯d already seen him at the eight-hundred and been moving¡­

    She in a picosecond lurched and herself forwards, she was at nearly full speed in mere moments, bounding step after step¡­

    That stance, the way that eye doesn¡¯t look down toward the sound of a whirlwind approaching but her precisely It¡¯s him..he sees me!

    Her target grows closer and closer, her foot twists with each impact and some of the ground tiles and black tarred moldy pavement.

    She¡¯s diving forwards every few feet rather than sprinting like a killer-rabbit with appetite for blood, prowling like a overly-agile hunter after him

    her armor buckles and shakes under the velocity.

    [700 meters, seventeen seconds.]

    Her weapon buckles as she collides with him, he takes the brunt of her full impact and skids backwards five feet still on two feet

    -

    Aleph wanted to remark and scold her for having him brace one-point-four tons of weight in impact considering he saw her propel herself like a weapon¡­.

    He was happy to hear her, joyful¡­

    But he wouldn¡¯t dare remark ¡¯You¡¯re too heavy¡¯¡­.

    Not that it mattered.

    He turned to those behind him, hands raised ¡°Calm down! Calm down!¡± There were fearful murmurs like whiplash, the clash of metal drummed ears, but he struggled to fully turn as she clung to him, grabbing his arm.

    Attempting to apprehend.

    ¡°Who the hell are they!? Where were you!?¡±

    He is restrained momentarily in front of them, her voice is booming through the open and broken helmet, and they can hear her voice, see her eyes¡­.

    The preacher asks Aleph amidst the startled crowds huddling together, backing away ¡°Is this Your wife?¡±

    They both pause at this question¡­.and Saiyah struggles to hide the expression that creeps up at that assumption¡­

    Aleph immediately corrects ¡°Hang on! I will explain everything!¡±

    -

    So, he did¡­

    The rest of the people were in the other places in the mall, whilst Aleph and Saiyah were in a department store..

    they, the humans and the preacher scavenged elsewhere safely

    Aleph deeply divulged of his time underground up to the now of this present moment

    It was a story that gave a reaction of Saiyah letting out a big deep sigh as he went on about the humans¡­Her interest waning but the joy of seeing him growing evermore by how he babbled on¡­

    Both of them sitting on the floor next to an old shelf

    ¡°So you in that skyscraper, you¡­what did you see? You said you gained info? Is it on the tower? Or just¡­¡±

    ¡°I was in the hivemind briefly.¡± And that had Saiyah¡¯s eyes blown open wide, recalling in the past when he interfaced technology¡­

    ¡°You¡¯ve been reading these machines for awhile but¡­doing that, did they just have an access panel?¡±

    ¡°I broke in with my mind¡­¡± A sentence weakly uttered and for good reason Saiyah¡¯s mood lightened as she almost laughed, weak belief in her heart ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yes and that¡¯s why I understand why this city was built the way it was, why they had shields around this place, why it¡¯s so fortified¡­why this planet is so important and why we are here potentially¡­.¡±

    Saiyah gave a nod ¡°Yeah, we were dumped on the planet, presumably with no orders until you just magically gained them, has me half-way believing such inane nonsense is true.¡±

    ¡°I found out what they¡¯re doing Saiyah, all that religious iconography¡­these people down here are considered unbelievers, they¡¯re Christians.¡±

    ¡°Like your father?¡±

    ¡°Yes like my¨C¡° Aleph pauses and rapidly shakes his head.

    ¡®How does she know that¨C¡®

    He counts that into a mental folder to question her about should they live long enough to survive Fracturia and escape¡­his mind was working like a computer now complimentary of this deviation in his mind¡­this ability he has¡­..this¨C¨C Quantum Connection?

    He shakes his head and answers first before she can speak.

    ¡°I was in the hivemind I was able to read their plans their purpose here and they¡¯re¡­. going to do something that¡¯s fairly catastrophic....It¡¯s why they have a cult obviously on the surface, why some have implants and some don¡¯t.¡± he spoke and opened up and Saiyah just listened nodding along, mouth agape.

    Aleph openly divulged his heart ¡°These ones with plain appearance, are half-human, these machines¡­they worship humans¡­.but these ones down here, they worship them too but I learned being down here they buried them and their homes under here¡­.¡± He spoke up¡­

    ¡°. These humans I want to save, have been refusing they havnen¡¯t been going along with it, so the humans that are¡­are killing them because of it¨C¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can see they¡¯re not the freaky humans we¡¯d feasted on in th e surface, these ones look non-deluded, starved and beaten, but how does that matter?¡±

    Aleph frowns at her,

    Saiyah shakes her head in reply having heard the  <u>¡°sob story¡± </u> She remarked it was about these humans

    this had him frown under his helmet, glaring at her¡­. The light and monoeye to his helmet off but face obscured.

    Her own countenance was one of disbelief a sarcastic look at everything he¡¯s erratically divulged like a mad man who had seen something true but spoke it like a maniac..

    ¡°Look these machines, they¡¯re doing something in that pyramid tower, it¡¯s an experiment¡­.¡± He picked up an old battery beside him off the floor of this abandoned mall.

    ¡°Pretend this is a human¡­¡± He held it up

    ¡°A battery!?¡± She laughed

    Aleph grew tired of her mocking and snapped his fingers as she began to start speaking

    Saiyah shook her head ¡°Okay, I don¡¯t need you to¨C ¡°

    The battery in hand arced with electricity strangely, or so it appeared until the fusion battery between his fingers spun up and accelerated into premature fuel-death, popping in his hand¡­

    She jolted surprised ¡°How did you do that!?¡°

    ¡°With the method I¡¯ve been using to aid us in assaulting these machines with how I disabled the tower, we need to stop these machines¡­.they¡¯re worshipping them¡­they want to re-ascend man to some deluded idea of ¡®godhood¡¯ but it¡¯s not going to work¡­.¡±

    ¡°What!? Shouldn¡¯t they y¡¯know not do that!? Why would a machine believe in god or gods!? Aren¡¯t they smart? Worst of all¡­I thought these bloodbags had this worship thing the other way around here!?¡±

    He wants to speak and starts attempting to but she cuts him off baffled at what he suggested

    ¡°Even if this is the case, they¡¯re far greater than what we¡¯ve been told as kids, they smashed our fleets, smashed the fleet carrying us here¡­¡± She intones and Aleph gives a slow nod understanding where she is coming from

    ¡°it¡¯s a wonder not even one of us had died in two months¡­you think they don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing and are lost trying to make a god!?¡±

    ¡°They are doing it and they do have no idea they¡¯re lost but don¡¯t know it¡­¡­. They think their error will be a success; they¡¯re going to turn these humans into something terrible¡­something like them¡­A ¡°god¡± in the image of machine, war stop them.¡±

    She gives a slow nod ¡°Well dealing with them planetside has always been our objective¡­.¡± She thinks to herself

    ¡°Say if this is true¡­.is that why?¨C¡° She thinks to herself and snaps her fingers with plated purple gauntlets

    ¡°So! that is why they sent us with no intel?¡­you¡¯re like¡­built for this¡­Like in training, like now, you¡¯re like a weapon against machines¡­technology, Aleph you¡¯re thinking¨C¡°

    ¡°Like a machine.¡± He answers and nods, ¡°And my body is working like a machine too internally a fault one¡­ but it¡¯s the cost of this ability I¡¯ve gained¡­for it to work at all is antithesis to my state, Saiyah my existence as a¨C¡°He doesn¡¯t finish the words hesitating

    ¡°As a Vampire.¡± She finished for him so smoothly he thought he¡¯d said it and didn¡¯t draw attention to her words seeing it as an opportunity to continue but stopped sensing her about to speak¡­. ¡°But I think you were anti-thesis to that before, maybe it is why you work so well, why your heart beats a few times¡­¡±

    ¡°You all felt that!?¡± Aleph¡¯s voice broke¡­ ¡°Of course we¡¯re predators, we sense prey¡­¡± She thinks about what she¡¯s said, and Aleph already raises a brow.

    ¡°Well, no not like that!¡± She sighs and rolls her eyes ¡°I¡¯d eat you first. ~¡± She teases flashing fangs as her head tilts down staring deep into his eyes through that helmet¡­

    and Aleph feels the mood crack, a light in the darkness... He¡¯s quiet for a second causing her grey-toned flesh, her cheeks to become light in darkness, and a faint glow to her red irises¡­

    He pauses a bit blankly, staring at her.

    ¡°Aleph.¡± Her voice catches him and breaks him from his unbreaking gaze as, turning her odd joke into something with the awkward repercussion of his strange reaction that has her visibly concerned... Made worse his face remains obscured by his helmet.

    Awkwardly fidgeting her neck as her eyes scrape the ground idly¡­

    He sees that love he saw in these humans¡­maybe he¡¯s rubbed off on those around him¡­or maybe this concept of humanity is too universal...

    ¡°My heart beating was how I began to realize this ability¡­¡±

    ¡°Ability? Is that why you¡¯ve been so erratic¡­lost? Is it what we encountered in training when we almost died?¡±

    ¡°The doors?¡± he scarcely remembered vivid visions of his time nearly dead on someone''s shoulder, and nodded ¡°Yes it¡­it¨Cbrings me alive each time, it must be why my pain tolerance was so low, It is akin to a human¡¯s and twice as high¡­¡±

    ¡°Does that mean when we fitted armor¡­. ¨CIs that why you¡¯re so different now¡­I hardly recognize you.¡±

    Aleph remembered that pain, he blanked out, his mind cut, and he grew used to pain then, now he thinks about it¡­He hardly recognizes himself and if he looks back, he sees who he used to be, that being closer to the humanity he¡¯s finding again still in that elevator, watching it all go

    Arianne¡­.

    ¡°Aleph.¡± Her voice catches him and breaks him from his grievous thoughts ¡°You¡¯re spacing out again.¡± She clarifies here, seeing how this usage of his ability has now broken him it appears¡­

    Awkwardly fidgeting her neck as her eyes scrape the ground idly¡­

    ¡°This all doesn¡¯t explain how these people came so close to you. Why you are intertwined with humans, you¡¯re still a vampire as human as you appear outwardly...¡± She accused

    Aleph bit his tongue hearing her say that¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ve been here, paralyzed for some time they were the first to find me, it was only recently maybe a day ago I was able to stand? ¨C¡°

    ¡°You repaired your armor that fast with local materials?¡± She gazes upon the ramshackle but very professional re-welded pieces of his armor,

    Saiyah could see it either required the best welder in the galaxy or an incredibly advanced welding tool to piece their armor back together, especially at its melting point¡­.

    bits of scrap that don¡¯t fit in like stray purple plating¡¯s akin to something the Vis-stasi wore, like wreckages they left behind plastered around to piece things back together¡­

    the hyper-personalized utilitarian molds welded and added to his armor suited him nicely¡­.

    ¡°No one of them did this...¡± And her eyes perk up, considering how broken her armor is¡­¨C

    ¡°I see you¡¯re taking these humans back, so if we survive we have servants, like some of the others back on Persia?¡± Her mind immediately shoots to utility for the humans, rationalizing¡­Her voice upbeat.

    Aleph doesn¡¯t answer and she just stares blankly at that..

    She goes to speak but he cuts her off

    ¡°We¡¯re going to assault the tower and stop their plans, rally these people find a way off this planet and go back to New Persia.¡± He readdresses

    Saiyah shakes her head ¡°We¡¯d be abandoning the mission?¡±

    ¡°The entire planet should¡¯ve swarmed us the hour we invaded this town it¡¯s a simulated capital by nature of what¡¯s stationed here¡­.¡± Aleph speaks aloud as if realizing himself

    ¡°They have, before I arrived here, I was looking, for you.¡± She starts and then stops ¡°The others are dealing with armies, swarming in, we collapsed buildings with weapons charges it appears, but that¡¯s just not enough has to be millions of them attacking flanks into the city¡­¡± Saiyah answers

    ¡°No.¡± Aleph starts, ¡°I mean artillery, orbital weapons, strikes and air-support.¡± Aleph finishes clarifying sharply.

    ¡°Oh, and why do you think that is they haven¡¯t? We aren¡¯t worthy enough?¡± Saiyah casually remarks leaning back¡­tilting her off to the side

    ¡°If we weren¡¯t lost, knew our objective earlier we would¡¯ve crashed the tower earlier, especially if you struck the defenses yourself Saiyah and came back.¡±

    ¡°.The issue is that the humans in there are too valuable and the Empire itself doesn¡¯t know..they were relying on us¡­¡±

    Saiyah¡¯s head straightens and so does her torso, realizing how his erratic theory or really his revelation makes sense how it¡¯s true¡­.

    she presses her lips together... ¡°I think I believe you now, it¡¯s so obvious¡­¡± She shakes her head ¡°The way we deployed, our lack of connection to an enclave, limited equipment¡­Aleph..-¡°

    Aleph realizes it too but not earlier than her, but here and now and he states it, bringing his palm up and slamming a closed fist into it ¡°We¡¯re a last hope of learning whatever it is they¡¯re doing here, they dropped us here as a final hope¡­Saiyah¡±

    ¡°They sent us here to uncover their plans and stop them.¡± Saiyah falsely realized, then mimicked his action slamming a fist into a palm ¡°Or die trying¡­¡± She answered

    Aleph furiously shook his head at her¡­

    ¡°No, they can¡¯t afford something like that, the Empress¡­Eternia must¡¯ve known I could figure it out.. that¡¯s why she arrived, why our training hasn¡¯t sounded like anything other shocktroopers have had, we¡¯re meant to brute force this, survive¡­and discover whatever they¡¯re doing¡­.¡±

    They calculated it correctly. Truly the Empire hadn¡¯t been aware this was in desperation to be sent here...

    ¡°Aleph¡­are you suggesting, they knew about what you could do in training? That it was preparation or this!?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t just know¡­. they calculated it, planned on it¡­. like we¡¯re in a simulation¡­they ran the numbers, too bad for me they¡¯re right¡­¡±

    He was a tool of the strangeness of his caste, that inherent humanity crafted to bring this about¡­. a being like him...,

    ¡°How can we manage then?¡± Saiyah doubted clenching a fist ¡°Outnumbered, outgunned even if we escape as you said, you sound like you can only delay them¡­

    ¡°. What makes you so sure this can work? Is there something to this inherent connection to humanity you have?¡±

    ¡°Neither that nor my vampirism, Saiyah I¡¯m neither of those things, I¡¯m born for this¡­I¡¯m not human or undead, I¡¯m a weapon and that¡¯s how I know we¡¯re going to win.¡± He speaks with confidence and not pride.

    he is assured he can stop the Mechra and win

    -

    Yet the mechra were elsewhere busying themselves¡­with sending the angels to fight.

    \\ THE TOWER //

    Joan was preparing to leave, she felt intensified pressure, here was where many refugees were, the pyramid tower was massive it housed many people, most of them from the city others hadn¡¯t made it but enough had made it¡­she thinks to herself¡­.

    In her hands the powerful helmet, having dotted cybernetic eyes a downstream hand-me-down of the oculary-organ technology in some of the Mechras power vessels and caste-types, here she was utilizing the apex of this technology.

    She was weaker than the machines, even if she could now bend steel¡­.It had her on edge.

    Her foot impatiently tapped across the ground sat upon one of the small crates in an antechamber leading outside, Miriam and Hera weren¡¯t here yet they were busy getting equipped, they could do it quickly, but Joan could do it quicker and she wasn¡¯t going to babysit them¡­

    She wasn¡¯t even sure if they¡¯d survive as much as protocol demanded she do that and more before taking herself to a preparation site¡­.

    It was leading outside, the main exit, she could see faded alien writing on walls of the facility and bowed her head into her hands¡­Not caring to pay attention to the sound of a door opening behind her

    The sliding door of the ante-chamber went open and Joan¡¯s head snapped upwards, as smooth metal hissed¡­. repelling each other, one sliding left and the other right into a wall

    This is it¡­

    ¡°Joan?.. How is your condition servant?¡± The voice broke matter-of-factly, stern and motherly, creases in the dimples of a smiling face betraying the alterations to provide eternal youth, hiding the decay¡­.

    Joan twisted her gaze away from the woman, her reverence gone placed with doubt¡­.

    Not a woman a goddess¡­ Joan corrected herself, faith lost at the sight of the bodies¡­she held cloth talismans in her right hand with stains of wax each with a number

    ¡°You appear troubled, you¡¯ve neglected ensuring the readiness of your unit, of your fellow warrior she-nephilm¡­Joan what troubles you? You¡¯ve been silent¡­¡± She inquired suddenly, or more like interrogated.

    Joan was silent for a while not answering¨C

    ¡®I look troubled. Hmph¡­¡¯ She thought hard ¡®How can gods die?¡¯, Joan breathed as if figuring out what vexed her so.

    And for some strange reason the woman, Astaria highest of them all tilted her head¡­

    Joan herself hadn¡¯t realized she had asked the question aloud¡­her hands clasped her mouth upon reading Astaria¡¯s face¡­

    ¡°Hmph¨CA worry I know all too well¡­let me still grant you blessing before you leave little faith.¡± The woman, adorned like a synthetic priest, gracefully toward Joan with forward steps taking a knee to bind her ankles in written talismans, three on each leg, the number of a man on each talisman.

    Joan recognized her as one of the highest, Astaria she was a tall woman in lithe frame, she was wrapped in a fine synthetic blackened-navy blue bodice.

    The metallic walls reflected the extruded mechanical spinal column of her tech suit. She had a form Joan coveted at times: womanly, gracious, and gifted in figure, beautiful yet powerful in stature¡­

    And she was going to ¡°bless¡± Joan¡­...

    She doubted it, but something renewed her faith as that woman came closer. Astaria wasn¡¯t speaking more¡­..

    ¡°I sense your faith, is weak.¡± She gazed over Joan seeing the girl¡¯s countenance broken.

    Joan gave a hesitant nod and folded her hands together¡­.. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but¡­these monsters took so many of you¡­The Mechra have taught us¨C¡­¡± Joan hiccuped hands clenching into fearful fists¡­ Her gaze down not daring to read Astaria¡¯s reaction as she sees her fingers flinch.

    ¡°The Mechra revealed to us.¡± Joan corrected herself

    ¡°the godhood of man the mastery of this love a being warlike malevolent but dazzling, that is what you are¡­but you are so fragile¡­I saw so many¡­¨C¡°

    Joan doesn¡¯t finish.

    ¡°It¡¯s because we are not as we are, not as we should be¡­..but there is a time in which we split the atom, built a tower to reach the heavens, we have pierced the heavens, touched the stars¡­.that man will come back to us soon enough, we will be gods, generals again soon enough.¡±

    ¡°Should our faithful angels shepard their sickened gods, Joan, should you all bring us to victory.¡± She held her shoulders.

    ¡°It is no coincidence you are like a prophecy of a great savior, a warrior flesh and machine come to save us all Joan you are¡­. A savior of¨C¡°

    ¡°Broken gods¡±

    Joan didn¡¯t let her finish she was invigorated her faith faltered but now it was on a pedestal, kept on life support¡­Joan clenched a fist near her chest

    ¡°She could do this.¡±

    But the cause of her weakened faith remained all around, her and her squad saw that¡­

    She pondered if she would make it¡­. But faith drove her forwards even if it was misplaced

 Vengeance Rising: Peak Reunions.

    They entered the city taking key-note of all the bodies, piles high mountains of them to be precise

    It was exactly. All that filled their eyes returning to the city¡­as the three shadows passed the streets, her ¡° broken gods¡±

    old and young all the same in a state she recognized¡­rotted, seeing corruption

    Died running having been lost in the streets during or after initial fighting and later in crossfire¡­always in the crossfire or worse, these demons seemed to be feeding off the life of her people, polarie or not¡­

    What happens if these beasts drink enough human blood? Will they steal abilities like her god? Shall they become her devil?...

    he lingering embers caused by energy rounds missed or pierced through targets had turned some to bone.

    Every so often they found dozens of piles of the many machines, their enemy was vicious they had been invaded by vampires before the Mechra came but these ones were different, they were more powerful than ever imagined, these vampires couldn¡¯t just rend machines into wrecks but rip apart a town¡­there¡¯s a 144¡¯000 of them¡­

    If they really wanted to, they could¡¯ve crushed us all at the tower, why¡¯d they stop¡­they hit the turrets, hit our patrol¡­I was still refitting, getting ready they would¡¯ve had us¡­Something made them stop¡­whoever they were hunting must be the cause, must be a leader¡­.

    The She-Nephilms that hadn¡¯t been able to retreat were amongst destroyed machines buried, brutal tears in the neck monstrous canines had dug into flesh,

    Dried coppery of stains like circled where the bodies had laid, bits of grime covering rotted bone and flesh covered around burnt servos and cybernetics, bloodied exposed bone¡­

    Joan shuddered in witness of it, it was a sight that had her worried, they were engaging an enemy they knew nothing about save for the Mechra,

    The three girls laid to cover seeing the scorch marks lining any wall still standing, even bits of a skyscraper had collapsed from the fighting, the skies soared with lights of ships- lighter than a space vessel, dropships that continuously poured in reinforcements.

    Most of the planet was involved in holding all of the invaders back, there was approximately 144,000 of them, an irregularly small unit concentrated in one location, they would be evading the enemy,

    save for one underground, their target.

    makeshift guerilla weapons was¡­disturbing to say the least in her eyes.

    The three of them surfaced from bits of rubble bouncing around cover to cover.

    The only thing illuminating the city from the lack of sky was the helmeted flames with plumes of smoke covering, the white marble straits stained in blood, dust and wreckage littering the space.

    Fires arrayed in colors God hadn¡¯t designed them to be put in,

    purple and hellish dark crimson rose in the rubble, dancing across the carcasses of the blessed machines and the gods slaughtered by these beasts, their burning bodies pale with grievous wounds on their necks

    It was something thermal that Joan could sense.

    She was a Mark V Nephilm, designed to protect humanity. She was inferior to the Mechra that was obvious but that wasn¡¯t in consideration now that she would be utilized to head into the underground.

    Miriam looked over ¡°Do we creep around? Should we engage at least some? ¨Cone of them?¡±

    ¡°Negative save ammo, stamina for target!¡± Joan bit quickly, and thundering forwards as her rifle came off her back

    worried of what they may encounter should things go wrong, and they not make it in time. She knew animals like this could work fast,

    even a lion returns to hunting after grievous but recoverable wounding, or at the revival of divine intervention¡­.

    Are what she considers in her thoughts as on cue her two sisters in the faith unholstered battle rifles as well.

    Tightening fingers as armored fingers dig and squeeze into the grip of her rifle until she her aim shakes and she hears a crack of polymer handle, receiver struggling to resist her tension¡­.

    Squeezing until her knuckles whitened as she thought on the target, they keep moving but Miriam notices Joan¡¯s tension¡­

    ¡°You ever wonder if the machines are a bit faulty? Are screws loose? Why don¡¯t they just use this themselves? The Saturn¡¯s damn fine too¡­. heck at the very least send more than three of us..¡± Miriam kids.

    It has Joan remembering ¡°We both know it¡¯s too expensive, and it¡¯s no better than if they fought with plasma, this is akin to a hyper individual assassination weapon. Maybe if it was regular vampires, but these are no normal vampires¡­¡± She sighs.

    ¡°Yeah but the average vampire could throw a car door like a discus, and lop a man¡¯s torso off, I remember seeing many people die in the past like that.¡± Hera huffs breaking into conversation, knocking over some things as they continue

    Ducking and diving around¡­

    Joan looks back to her rifleThis story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Strumming her thumb along the side, feeling the heat through her padded armored gauntlet, over the heated and polarized large rectangular glass windows with just barely visible bright orange energetic orbs humming, the rifle has the angular aerial shape

    This weapon expected to avenge the blood of her gods by poisoning the blood and marrow of their killers

    Before she had gone ¡°This is one thing they have no cure¡­.this is made by their own hands, we are hardly able to readily contain it except in these rifles, you are chosen to carry Excalibur Joan.¡± She had been told these words¡­

    Hardly understood by her she still managed to learn key maintenance details of the weapon to know what she could or could not repair,\

    It utilized an electromagnetic coil to propel with plasma in an electro-thermal-chemical weapon projectile system with velocity a bundle of nanites none of them bigger than a  baby aphid but balled together they are in the shape of a bullet.

    The group of them moved from cover to cover.

    Their bodies and figures were lithe, fit even in their armor linked to implants two of them dashed past the remains of a gradeschool, bounded into the air over the walls like weightless dolls of cloth.

    They heavy wall meant to stop escapes, they cleared it and the barbed wire about twenty feet, struck the ground and kept running.

    They were moving to the location.

    They were hardly Polarie even..they were the intermingling of gods and mankind they were the true nephilm¡­It gave Joan pride now¡­that she was stronger¡­she remembered the past to linger on what changed her

    [¡­]

    The cybernetic eyewear projected an internal reading of their temperature, condition of several other augmentation, state of their surface and subdermal plating and internal weaponry.

    Each of the SHE-NEPHILM was a weapon..

    They were being result of chemical, gene and cybernetic emplacements, each one treated like a defensive barrier to any weapon they might face or any enemy that may try to power through¡­

    [=]Internally placed was rigorous wiring through the underneath portion of their body, some of it became lightly surface exposed wiring, segmented between their beautiful immaculate pearlscent white skin was long deep groves abyssal black in color contrasting, inbetween occasional glow emanating as their organic and cybernetics mingled.

    Their bodies had been forever changed, their skeleton became as hard as titanium, and the metal of it had been strengthened, through a mixture of utilization of something passingly mentioned, their bones became quantum-entangled, a Decoherence relating them to a state in which they may have been smaller this allowed the power of a faux-smaller bone structure to be doubly strengthened.

    Inside of their bodies was retinal displays implanted into cybernetic eyes long since replacing their hue¡¯d often common baby-blues, it gave a read-out display of any weapon, object or device into their hands.

    They had a wiring network in their skull to link to technology, a shifting corded drive that could be ripped out from their skull and attached to any opening, and an implant slotted into the back and base of her skull for delivering onboard-Mechra ai..the servants of her gods had even considered traveling in her mind¡­She had to be blessed.

    Implanted throughout their body was flexible sub-dermal and surface plated armor, grafted above into key portions of their body to provide heavier armor, in training

    measuring to take on small-arms and in best they glanced even some of the strongest in energy weapons and kinetic weapons available, a coilgun with 660 Grains traveling at 3,600 Feet per second damaged armor in enough time but was eventually stopped by subdermal plating

    in their brains was an elastic fluid that steadily supplemented standard brain-fluid protecting the brain more heavily from standard impacts as well as providing enhanced value supercharging brain proteins and accelerating their drive,

    a pen could drop five feet off the ground, and she could hear it touch the ground before it landed¡­

    That fluid was supercharging them and the more they used their cybernetics the more the currents and latent energy source within expended it

    it kept them from incurring brain damage from overextension of the mind linked to so many internal cybernetics and acted as a blanket shield from any sort of cybernetic-induced psychosis or traumatic episode,

    Albeit it was powerful and resource-hungry to use and to make, it required a reactivation and charge of this fluid every ten years to keep its from losing its effect and fading away¡­

    Joan had even had much of her redundant organs replaced with fortified, elastic replacements shipped from off-world and built-in zero-gravity facilities for delicate nature.

    The entire chamber she¡¯d been augmented in was like this, an artificial gravity chamber in that gigantic pyramidic tower, she was hoisted upon many cylinders in between them, segmented by ten inches apart covering her entire body''s circumference.

    Mechanical claws cut into her body, stripping her flesh, mind and even her psyche from the pain but she grew stronger, she was nearly ready to be martyred should they fail in the procedure, but they had not.

    She awoke with not just the augmentations but greater augmentations.

    Joan was now leaping bounds when she left, she was restless for a time¡­but now..

    [..]

    ¡°Twenty-three feet.. Contact, two-thiry-one centimeter hostile.¡±

    ¡°Is it him!?¡± Hera assessed with her own eyes as that was tall for any of the Shocktroopers they encountered thus far and ran by¡­and there he was¡­

    Dozens of heads with him as he walked from the depths Jacobs leader had been climbed back up toward the surface of the second heaven¡­.

    Their minds moved much faster than any panic, confusion and wash of failure that was starting in their chest.

    They were swift¡­

    Yet not Fast enough, before he reached the surface¡­. it took them time to reach the subway entrance, broken up by forced evasion halting from potential encounters with his better halfs,

    when they reached the ¡°emergency exit¡± which was ¡°an entrance¡± fifteen feet tall and thiry feet wide often used to banished unbelievers and heretics to Unity¡­ named ¡®Jacobs Ladder¡¯

    They were witnessing him leave it, their target was already out and that was quicker than they were briefed, he was right there!

    -

    In their sight they lined up, the three of them dashed away and watched him, they were watching and were worried..they heard the twitch of tongue as this beastly figure emerged in battered armor, he had that mobility pack they all had but it wasn¡¯t working¡­or he couldn¡¯t use it.

    Scores of people emerged behind him¡­

    The hunters become their prey; eyes trained like hawks, as they sally around one of the main buildings, repositioning on their flank as they watch them exit the subway,

    In the ruins of a caf¨¦-a shop with iconography of a pastry inside and out they duck down behind tables which are held up even with their weight and metal cybernetics that make all three girls heavy due to rubble and rocks around them.

    The wall is missing and they¡¯re together against three strangely perfectly lined up tables, it has Joan questioning the strangeness of that¡­

    Joan nods to

    Aleph leads a group of them one-twenty¨C¨Cno it¡¯s¨C¨Cone-forty-four, people in general, tattered broken¡­worst of among them¡­

    It¡¯s not just him¡­ the sight of another Shocktrooper doesn¡¯t phase her but worst of all¡­

    It¡¯s one she knelt before, that human with the one who took her family..

    ¡°That treacherous evil broken god¡­¡± She utters under breath

    The preacher

    Will he die like man, and fall like the princes that surround and invade her city¡­when she shoots him?

 Vengeance Rising: Kruelty

    [ROUGHLY FIVE HOURS BEFORE ALEPH ENGAGES JOAN]

    Five ships were each soaring through a blanketed abyssal sea of stars, sub-light speed in the great expanse of the void of space.

    Each engines flame was a low saturated purplish hue

    The shape each engine was attached to each ship was strictly angular, spherical with a noticeable point in direction, circling down the thicker part which would lead to the base, holds in that point where thrusters lie.

    Each ship was colored purple, with segmented plating, miles upon miles of deep groves where hundreds of lights shone. Sensors, cameras, periscopes, and lights of variety faced and pointed all around.

    Derelict guns untouched with lingering frost occasionally broken by occasional rotation.

    A fleet with an interior thermal signature that bordered on non-existent, the only heat provided was that of the reactor, a manufactured Vecta-Reflux deep within the ship, bordering a room next to its own containment chamber, where a stabilization anchor was relayed, locked into a perfect surface, a weak point, an aft where a portion of the ship opened by hinges so these anchors could be replaced or installed whenever necessary.

    The Stabilization anchor had cameras, and monitoring, and the visual feed relayed to a bridge on each ship.

    The interior of the one ship bridge was the same as any other, twin sans for one where the Kommandant held himself in a chamber flooded from his view the tiny glass window peering in was to them a very large room to which they peered out into darkness.

    A catwalk ten feet off the ground room control floor is where Krul stood, a circular portion with railing and control panel was in front of him, an input to intake Q-Disks, square floppy disks containing vast amounts of data for processing.

    From the perspective of a man they were like monsters, the ship held its own gravity, large enough priority sections were partially in disconnection, and a powerful rotation revolved them, yet all this was amongst the ceiling.

    Krul looks around those below his catwalk, a powerful dose akin to nicotine in between his fingertips, as a vaguely man-shaped mask slips from atop his lips, and he pursues his own around the cigarette between fingertips.

    His eyes look to those beneath him whilst he eagerly confides in his decision to feel something anything, the heat of the cigarette allowing him to focus on those in the dark with him¡­

    Those with him in darkness, friends within pregnant silence and occasional click, or beep of machinery and controls.

    The dark coffin-like sterile interior gave no smell save for whatever Krul burned between his lips, and there was not a breath formed in this cold air safe for the one smoking.

    They hardly moved, they hadn¡¯t breathed for what was possibly days or a month in their time.

    Not a soul twitched or fidgeted more than necessary. The hovering panels projecting LED screens were displayed in front of every man or woman.

    Figures suited in their armor sat or stood

    Helmets worn with a view of their red iris flashing in a beady dotted glow through blackened visor if they wore helmets at all, facing tall, outstretched screens with long mechanical necks, and terminals.

    Before them each screen was blank, the readout analog and archaic compared to what the Empire should be able to provide post-scarcity,

    the font and lettering were angular cubic, and shapes and symbols were blocky and  rough geometric shapes, there was nothing else on each terminal save for gnobs, levers, and switches, each with corded v-phones slotted onto the top right if they were overseer of row or section within the massive bridge interior

    digital images on screens of various non-complex shapes without sacrifice of unique identification, asteroids, wreckage, destination, fleet.

    They were heading straight for Fracturia.

    He sighs as his eyes roll, glancing over the tubing lightly illuminated by the heat of his cigarette.

    His eyes glanced at the tubing that piped blood through the glass¡­

    And after thinking of divining himself on that thoughtfully provided blood from the banks in New Persia, he instead focused hard on managing the fleet.

    He leaned forwards over the railing and termina, the screen was displayed in square sections, routinely updated by several of the ¡°crew¡± below, the vallschrimjagers, good replacements for the crew, handy in a pinch but he¡¯d need to multitask to get full effectiveness just out of his command ship let alone managing all five other ships.

    It was just five destroys at worst, and at best their only job in a fleet was dealing out damage, so he knew how to use a pure hard aggressive but vulnerable and weak composition¡­

    ¡°Your reading says we are on a steady approach to low-medium-range, in the next few minutes sub-light movement will cease, and we¡¯ll be within 144,000 Kilometers.¡±

    he saw the readout and 144,000 Kilometers was bordering out of the range in which medium-range itself ended. It was on purpose.

    After a thought of how risky it was giving him an idea, Krul focused on doubling down.

    ¡°Yes sir I know you wanted close with confirmation we had from drones of hostile fleets still in orbit-¡°

    ¡°Cut it we¡¯re going into close-range, squeeze us in, adjust all readout on my terminal, we are going to maintain 32,000 kilometers,¡± Krul commanded curtly

    ¡°Aye.¡± The Vallschrimjager currently in charge of navigation spoke a woman very tall like the rest of them still in her purplish knightly shaped armor, and reached over, the metal of her armor shifting, a sound of occasional clattering like plates hitting together,

    Krul wasn¡¯t going to argue against that. Mechra boarded often enough for that to often be a rare feeling in his heart.

    Fear.

    -

    He¡¯d seen many KKV¡¯s rip through hulls, awful things, they are small man-sized spiders albeit since he exited New Persia word around is that got larger variants, with drills at bottom..dreadful¡­.

    -

    He waved his fingers and pointed to the off-hand at darkness yet his gaze pierced the darkness, born of it¡­allowing him to point to someone made his own XO of this mission.

    ¡°John how is the status of weapons across our detachment?¡±

    John shook his head ¡°Green but doubtful we should continue this we in this singular ship have enough firepower to manage in your desired range, but if went as far as closer.¡± John waved his hand after he spoke

    ¡°Relatively about 22,000, from what I understand knife-fighting range? Or near it¡­¨Cwe¡¯d be vaporized, the last fleet ahead of us was two times larger and I know that¨C¡°

    ¡°That what? They died? Range, and numbers mean nothing to me¡­a machine is a machine, I am no longer a man, but I still carry the image of God, what is a machine to the dead, what is that which is soul compared to that which lacks soul?¡±

    Krul suddenly snapped and John¡¯s head uptilted taken aback at his sudden rant as He clipped at John sharply.

    ¡°Now give me the damn status I requested to hear¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re all green, ammunition, omni-cannons are going to be our primary method of dealing damage, but the last drones sent this way into the system were unable to observe any method relativistic projectiles being able to reach that unknown vessel,¡± John stated

    ¡°Status of our countermeasures, Directed energy weapons and other??¡± Krul asked

    ¡°Sir I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be using missiles, you said to me years ago, but yes they¨C¡°

    ¡°They will, I said newer, newer models wont, but even that which is new will be furnished with it John.¡± He focused his eyes narrowing into the stars

    ¡°I know we¡¯ve fought them together for years but I want you to understand¨C¡°

    ¡°The machines are adaptable; we¡¯ve had a similar conversation before.¡± John started and looked in pause from under his helmet to see Krul clenched his fist at being interrupted

    ¡°No¡­they¡¯re not wasteful, if they have enough of something they¡¯ll use it until its depleted¡­or worse they learn to improve what remains of them.¡± Krul spat at David

    Krul waved John off ¡°But it Doesn¡¯t matter weapons are prepared and I¡¯m at the helm today, no young lion is leading you to death.¡± Krul started to them, and looked around, as this got some heads to turn and listen

    to the ship slowing, forward thrusters emerging from silos and burning, killing velocity fast!

    The stars slowed to a crawl no longer racing in window view as Krul began to speak

    ¡°Have some faith, I know you¡¯ve seen all the young predators those too fat on human blood have been extinguished, and as a result now I only have you soldiers to crew five ships.¡± Krul started but laughed

    ¡°But do not worry¡­¡± Krul was about to finish smiling with pride, his expression hidden under a vast plated helmet.

    John began to smile at the rousing speech

    ¡°An old worn-out hammer is going to strike just as hard the day it was forged let me teach you children how we fight against the odds in my generation,¡± Krul stated simply

    Krul accessed the terminal ¡°I¡¯ll be manning the helm, I want all of you to adjust to my actions, John, contact Ada and have teams ready to overload the reactor, push it past the threshold, and evacuate the room.¡±

    John gave a startling wonder at what exactly Krul was going to do, but the ship was launching, they were exiting at sub-light speed.

    Suddenly! Their feet snapped to plating beneath, all safe for Krul¡¯s who called upon that natural predatory nature as a vampire to remain grounded, fangs bared as he bit the cigarette down as it turned to ash in his mouth, letting it drift onto the catwalk, stamping the residue of it.

    They got into the range, their screens lit up, it was short notice, and in mere moments they exited sub-light and entered the desired range, they were thirty-two thousand kilometers out from the targets.

    After they were targeted immediately, surges of radiation indicating lock on, immediate waves washing over electronics indicated a variety of radiation-based detection techniques that activated albeit late but relative to the delay caused by distance instantaneously

    More massive surges of electromagnetic radiation appeared on terminals instant indicating lock-on from barbaric conventional kinetic missiles.

    [TERMINAL READOUT OF HOSTILE FLEET COMPOSITION, FIVE LARGE VESSELS, FIVE MEDIUM SIZED VESSELS, TEN HOSTILES UNKNOWN CLASS *NEW*]

    ¡°Kommandant Krul¨C¡± One Vallschrim started but was unable to finish

    Krul swept his hand fiercely at the air ¡°Focus on Projectile defense, maintain strafe without breaking current range, no further than 32,000 Kilometers, no closer than 29,000 Exactly!¡± He screamed out to them.

    It is all or nothing, they¡¯re outnumbered and outgunned, they play aggressively, stay mobile, Strike monstrously, enough distance to evade enough yet still! distance to hit should the Vallschrimagers impress!

    The Vallschrimager turned her head, she was in awe at his response to the question she hadn¡¯t been able to t¡­he was fast, even predicting what his crew would ask of him¡­

    he had guessed what order and clarification was to be asked of him on a dime, this allowed her to quickly channel his words into terminal communication between ships in an instant and snap the order

    Alarms began to blare and finally, the darkness was filled with magnificent red lights indicating danger

    The mecha acted too fast, unnaturally fast and to think this is their outdated waves from how long it takes their more updated units to reach Triangulum.

    Time for hell- Is all the thought Krul can spare for himself, Krul took the helm from his place, the controls were archaic, it provided them protection¡­ from what?

    Screens flickered and the ship was unnaturally barraged with distorted screens ¡°My terminal just went out!¡±

    ¡°I lost control of the radar; it¡¯s zoomed in on the wrong sector!¡±

    The mechra was now defying reason with how they seemed even to return too swiftly to perform countermeasures on the archaic design, even with automation they still found a way to hamper technology itself

    They could see dots rapidly appear, thousands of them, sourced from far away targets, massive signatures with energy readings consistent with that of a star.

    It made it hard to differentiate from the star already in the system if it weren¡¯t for that object''s distance, the analog devices clicked as they kept up reading on hostile projectiles.

    ¡°FIFTEEN WAVES FIFTEEN HUNDRED MISSILES FAST-MOVERS!¡±

    ¡°Prepare countermeasures, and counterstrike with two waves of our own ASM¡¯S, priority dump left flank of their formation!¡±

    Yet as he gave that command There were plumes of lights far different than the stars or the glowing enemy ships, he could see something from the direction of enemy ships¡­ The enemy missiles shouldn¡¯t move that fast¡­but they were! ¨C

    --

    He may not have been able to see but these were different in design than the ones he had encountered in the past few years they were of different design,

    Each one was no longer the size of a car but the size of a small light cargo vessel, designed to impact with tremendous speed and then explode, sharp like a pointed arrow.

    After the tailed first wave exited the silo, the secondary wave was reloaded and fired in an instant, ejecting more than could be measured or sighted, the ships charged so much energy they were utilizing excess as the primary charge for their main weapons batteries aligned along the hull.

    streams of energy poured out from batteries, striking through most of the projectiles sent by the vampiric ships that headed for them, neutralizing them and in addition taking no damage themselves

    Each battery itself was protected due to the design simply being skeletal exposed emitters covered in dense metal plates that folded and unfolded over them

    These monolithic Mechra ships were as tall as they were wide, albeit very much shaped like a monolith, with finger-like protrusions out the side, each with arced cannons where the overcharge of energy was poured into each tower-shaped end that glowed brightly, forming a near hexagonal line together.

    Each of the protrusions was littered in silos mechanically flung outwards, bursting the ice grown over it. The Surface Radiators on key points of the vessel were already growing as bright as a star

    Yet near one of these radiators, as the silo opened, it was not a missile that emerged.

    Legs clicked, servos whirred, and a tall triangular body sharp attached to four limbs with a drill at the bottom of its body arose.

    A KKV (Kinetic Kill Vehicle)¡­different from the definition usage and style of how vampires and humans had imagined it¡­they were very different

    They approached nearly silently propelled without the plume of fire each of the massive missiles emerged with, trailing behind them with tremendous speed alongside the standard fleet of missiles they¡­. they were mistaken for the rest of the-¡­

    --

    ¡°Anti-Ship-Missiles!¡± The woman startled spoke and remembered herself ¡°ASMS!! Too many,

    ¡°They¡¯re closing in at terminal velocity! Evasion capability lost! Fleet is engaging countermeasures!¡±

    Krul gave the point ¡°DOWN THEM!¡± He screamed.

    He could see in peripheral the boxes that were displaced, by support structures, box-like armor extruding up from newly made shafts, angular rectangle turrets on swivels, that spun up.

    He noticed their ship had a lighter load compared to others.

    I recognize this tactic! Krul¡¯s subconscious screamedThe narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    He switched to John ¡°Command Ship Alpha to divert half countermeasures, blind sweep our nose!¡± He screamed amongst the sporadic silence and voices in the ship.

    John hesitated then quickly called it, worrying for the ship¨C

    It was a good decision, it was moments and Krul saw what looked like a massive spider come into view, it was with the many sightings of missiles they could see like misshapen white splotches, but some were gray.

    Kill-Vehicles, terrible dreadful things that moved with missiles, they would hook and latch to a ship, each was the size of a small dropship. But they were thankfully swept before they reached.

    Suddenly! A column of purplish-hued light extended through the dark and diced them, the metal around each bubbled possibly for nanoseconds, sections vaporized and split up, broken mass bodies

    Turning them into half shapes, each had four legs that now drifted with them as their broken forms continued toward the ship and harmlessly bounced off the hull.

    Mighty crashes heard as they did, and likely sparks at the sheer velocity they impacted.

    ¡°Those weren¡¯t missiles what were they¨C¡° John went to speak but was tuned out by Krul, as his eyes went back to his terminal..

    ¡®That was short thinking I didn¡¯t even know for sure they would do ¡®that¡¯! Again¡­but they¡¯re targeting me, do they know I¡¯m the command ship!?..¡¯

    The first wave made it, they were projectiles that

    ¡°John, relay Coordination command with the fleet! Adjust! Strafe Right until we circle in 90¡¯degree arc and reposition to a 3-3-5 Bearing relative to their position around the planet!¡± he shouted to him. John gave a nod and began to shout.

    -

    [EXTERNAL VIEW]

    The ships began to move, and adjust as Krul seemed to give another order relayed by John, their twin batteries each on every destroyer raised up, and began to open as they strafed,

    Each batteries arrangement was a Vhatin Cannon, Vampiric Plasma kinetically propelled at 14.5% the speed of light.

    Each Vhatin Cannon had a coaxial laser on the angled top of it, barrel allowing it to engage fighters should primary anti-missile-anti-fighter countermeasures be too hassled.

    The lasers shot out like tracers in short bursts, bolts of light slung into the air at stray missiles still lingering as each ship strafed.

    In in depth, and put into a more digestible view, the terminal screens of each ship read the view in simulated overhead display.

    The vampiric ships were incrementally adjusting above and low, lowering and raising whenever possible.

    Krul dexterously commanded this fleet, their directional cannon on more fine tuned demand covered the bridge, from top or bottom as they randomly changed on what could be measured a z axis, raising or lowering.

    In tandem the hostile ships lowered or raised with them, the lack of pure direction in space allowing this dizzying evasion, targeting, evasion.. the range between both fleets allowed slim evasion with their slower weapons and with some prediction of targeting.

    But the Mechra ships predicted all the better.

    [Internal]

    The readout on one of the screens quickly identified another wave¨C

    ¡°SECOND WAVE ON APPROACH INTERCEPTION WINDOW OPENING IN TWO MINUTES!¡± A females shrill cry sounded as she steadily worked hard to get her systems back on at full 100%

    Slamming a fist into the analog screen that was on a dizzy, until it flashed back to normal, doing that to a Vallschrimjager nearby her.

    Krul sighed Even they know the interception window.

    Mechra missiles were unlike anything ever seen, they have a long delay before they hit terminal, relativistic speed but before that, they all have a variety of RCS thrusters on sides to change course and evade countermeasures.

    ¡®Damn machines hardly have a worry on being economical they¡¯d dismantle so of our damned worlds already.¡¯¡­.

    ¡°FIFTEEN ENERGY SURGES, HOSTILE BATTERIES! AIMED FOR BETA AND CHARLIE¡± One of the vallschrim yelled his voice adding as the other meant to monitor was busy helping others fix the electronic disruptions with her fist

    ¡°John Fleet collective power status!?¡± Krul shouted frantically to John, they had barely a second before a beam came at light speed faster than they can react

    ¡°Green!¡± Johnr replied quickly ¡°They were waiting on when they would utiliz¨C¡°

    ¡°Order them to dump all power, focus on directional shielding!¡± Krul Commanded sharply.

    ¡°Sir we had these cannons prepared, by your order! They¡¯d be limited in ability for critical offensive option!¡±

    ¡°Irrelevant!¡± Krul clipped at John and waved his hand at him.

    It was painful he could visibly see whatever respect John had for him in past encounters leave that helmet, but this was so much more important, he hated to admit it, but this was a key operation, he¡¯d have to in short time likely kill any honor he had here¡­and sacrifice it like he may have to sacrifice them

    John reluctantly gave the command and order through that corded telephone device to the other ships

    His eyes set upon the glass window into a blank abyss, see unnatural stars among the natural stars.

    One of the women ahead yelled out ¡°FIFTEEN MORE WAVES OF TWENTY-FIVE MISSILES, HOSTILES ARRANGING IN LINE FORMATION.¡±

    She was shouting over John as he was informing his XO on the other ship

    Krul watched over John as he took deep gulps of breath the few even allowed on these ships so they could bother speaking to one another.

    John snatched a corded communication device and barked orders over it, the brick-like phone humming back a garbled voice came out as if traveling through the trail of crumpled cording.

    Krul set his eyes forward on the howling dark and mechanical beasts slinging attacks within, his countenance holding no expression other than disdain

    They learned fast, he could see them working like a machine, but now the projectiles were coming in fast, faster than they were learning, these were dummy projectiles.

    The Mechra were never wasteful even keeping many outdated weapons, why their ships even on the readout he was given on his terminal showed what he self-determined to be frigates as massive,

    Otherwise, they long ago stopped using missiles as a weapon but more as a countermeasure and tactical feint save for

    times like this to overwhelm point defenses, if even they weren¡¯t using them to in priority cause damages, he knew many a crew and captains ignoring a barrage of them often witnessed this more situationally effective weapon turn the tide

    clenching his jaw at that tense feeling of impending doom

    Accompanying anxiety was the sight of more missiles than any report given had told him

    Sacrifice is required, they are damaging all our systems, the dummy projectiles are heading for them, and they¡¯re sending something else to me¡­ Krul inhales deeply, and it all begins to slow as danger closes in¡­

    ¡®Will we win with all five?¡¯ He thinks¡­

    his head and considers it for a moment, time for himself albeit not a caste known for speed, and reaction seems to slow.

    He considers the weapon of this ship, the omni-cannon that releases positively charged energy, In the last few years Mechra has indeed been using standard charged weapons, pure beams of energy enough to nearly glass half a star system with just one.

    Knowing a ship was important. And in this moment...He recalled all he learned, dissected how he was there when ships of this kind were built albeit an outdated variant¡­This destroyer''s omni-cannon was a varied weapon switching from projectile to energy¡­.

    The energy of the omni-cannon was negative as anything powered by VCE was¡­. inherent.

    The First few missiles entered within 10¡¯000 Kilometers

    They were like dotted spears scattered across the expanse, arrows that cut through the darkness, that slipped through the night of the void.

    They were white-arrows solid with fiery tails, and on the terminal, they looked sized to dropships due to it mistaking them for such and some for boarding-pods.

    The bastards are huge! Krul can think to himself, each new wave of machines got stronger, got bigger they have none of the issues they had, they have no accommodation for life aboard vessels only weapons, only armor, only progress¡­

    We¡¯ll adjust then¡­sacrifices be damned... Krul¡¯s mind immediately was recalculating in the subconscious

    Amidst rising temperatures, the more the undead in the room began to speak, murmur, and feedback data.

    The repetitive sounds of their work at stations become very frequent.

    Yet the repetitious sounds hadn¡¯t driven Krul insane, in what may have been a few moments the hostile missiles were yet to strike

    He was simply letting it fade like the wind; it became ambiance like rain¡­ but it became slurred sounds became drawn out¡­ slowed significantly and then¡­ there was just the hum¡­

    The Reactor he had set to turn on was for a plan

    And after, it was in that moment thinking of what he planned Krul entered a cruel deaf to frantic communication of his own fleet.

    He could see out the windows cannons of light turn¡­Each quickly engaging, but there was so many, each ship was undoubtedly covering for itself¡­

    That made him think.

    Of course, they obviously know what the command ship is¡­..They¡¯re isolating! Krul¡¯s mind snapped

    It was in that moment he undoubtedly made his damning play decision in suddenly without warning, it was afterall Krul was often called ¡®Cruel¡¯¡­his thoughts¡­.were evidence¡­

    ¡®That¡¯s it¡­. We¡¯ll make it with one ship, four sacrificed for 144,000¡­ It¡¯s a gamble but if their weapon utilizes positive energy, if it is like a particle beam, not only would it likely deflect I can neutralize the powered lances that are directed for us.¡¯

    As he deduced the arrangement and timing of deaths necessary for them to break through¡­to Reach Fracturia in one piece. Everything came back.

    And the sound exploded in his ears all at once, yet his voice rose above it all, shouting, terminals, alarms, the vibrations of weapons

    ¡°NEW COMMAND ALL SHIPS PRIORITIZE MY DEFENSE;¡± Krul shouted drew many heads at the audacity of what he commanded

    ¡°YOU ARE NOT PRIORITY TARGET LET THE MISSILE WAVES STRIKE FOCUS ON MY DEFENSE!¡±

    Krul was smart enough to know that wasn¡¯t going to be the only waves of KKV¡¯s if they were sending them they wanted to breach They wanted whoever was in a ship to not be vaporized¡­they wanted intel, flight records¡­anything..

    John relay my order Again! And again!¡± He shouted at John ¡°All ships prioritize defense of ours!¡± He emphasized turning his head in a glance toward John ¡°My ship, no question.¡± He curtly started.

    He knew of the four excluding himself that needed to die in this order for this planning to work.

    ALPHA

    BETA

    CHARLIE

    DELTA

    Krul saw something disgusting in John the moment he gave that order humanity..

    John shouted ¡°Sir we¡¯re asking them to take waves of damage from a missile barrage! That¡¯s inadvisable even from my lack of¨C ¡°

    ¡°Irrelevant execute order!!¡± Krul stated almost robotically¡­

    John¡¯s disgust was palpable his hand almost hesitated, and the idea of killing Krul came to mind¡­something, this was all something Krul knew was going on to a long-time subordinate friend¡¯s mind, but it was worth it¡­they were going to clear the enemy¡­

    Only humans are so weak to fear sacrifice¡­Sacrifice is everything! Krul clenched his fists¡­

    ¡®Albeit we are damned to have to lose so many in the gamble for those stupid bastards planetside!¡¯

    that were intercepted, all that went for him. Well¡­ he could see flashes in the corner of his vision and when he bothered to listen again, he heard screams over broadcast, it was unlike a vampire to scream when they¡¯re dying, but a heat death was a heat death¡­.

    He could hear the thumping of his own ships coaxial-laser guns channeling immense amounts of power with a hum before flinging it through space, hitting another excess wave of missiles, all the ships were focusing on them.

    Krul quickly predicted they were going to overwhelm his ship with KKV¡¯s and he was right but when they did the other ships point-defenses that would¡¯ve been too busied with their own defense kept charge and covered his, taking out far more of them than would¡¯ve been possible but..¨C

    ¡°Ships are reporting considerable damage, half the crew was struck, they were devastated¡­...¡± John paused and Krul waved his hand aggressively as the rest of the crew frantically tried to respond to further attacks.

    ¡°But we received zero damage.¡±

    ¡°Then fire the main cannon, straight ahead¨C ¡°Krul went to point immediately ¡°At nothing sir!?¡± The man operating the main gun spat out, beside John looking over in confusion.

    ¡°Straight ahead, they were counting on the other ships being overwhelmed for what comes next¡­.¡± Krul narrowed his eyes.

    Krul gave a startled jump as he heard a sound from outside the ship ¡°Damn!¨C¡°

    FWOOM

    There was indeed a sound he wasn¡¯t hallucinating cause the crew reacted¡­they shouldn¡¯t of heard it but they did¡­ Unnaturally the weapons of the Mechra were reaching a critical point they were mastering terrorspace¡­and with it, were at a point where they defiled the very stars.

    It was like space altered itself, energies swirling, and in a piercing moment, they saw a piercing blue sky then¡­darkness¡­.

    The cloud of blood drifted in place of Bravo evidence of a horrific loss, in the form of a bright darkish column¡­. stripping the ship, it was too far away to properly see, each of them spaced 11,000 Kilometers apart.

    But he could just vaguely sight¨C¡°

    John announced dead weight in his voice ¡°Bravo gone, that was the vessel containing all of our vehicles¡­¡±

    Krul announced ¡°They¡¯re going to fire in approximately ten seconds.¡± Ignoring that significant loss, this put a wrench in his plans, a sacrifice, and it was a blow that almost had Krul wince, as if the mechra knew taking out a key part of his plan planned to die later would hurt.

    ¡®It does hurt..I¡¯ve lost them..¡¯ Is all Krul can feel as he pockets his hands, stomping his foot on the metal plating

    His gut twisted until it bled¡­ at the pain of such a loss for nothing¡­.

    He couldn¡¯t dare to look but was made to by his curiosity of his failure¡­

    And he could see that vague dark cloud appear near the completely vaporized distant light that was all that was left of Bravo¡­.

    He failed them, they weren¡¯t meant to die so worthlessly..

    Ten¡­.

    Externally they all knew what it was, all the blood stored within the ship to feed them¡­gone¡­. drifting in a massive dark cloud¡­

    Seven¡­.

    Krul lanced his right arm forward, pointing ¡°Four¡­¡±

    ¡°Fire early!¡± Krul shouted

    John didn¡¯t question Krul this remaining time and the overloaded omni-cannon fired a straight beam, cursed energy emerging.

    The Vecta-Reflux within the ship was pushed to the brink but was now stable¡­

    [Reactor.]

    Ada had been exposed to something emitting enough radiation to kill ten-thousand men, a bright hued light, her regeneration was pushed to an absolute brink managing this tight source of power¡­

    And worst of all it just unnaturally stabilized¡­

    They fired¡­

    [¡­.]

    Krul¡¯s plan worked, and in a short moment, the beam of his weapon fired in just enough time to catch the powerful charged beams aforementioned of the mechra ships, in the massive array of space and darkness, white and purple emerged, around the base of the column of purple light, a blank abyssal black sandwiched between whitish color as the beam went at light-speed.

    As did the other pure energy fired at it, yet they were all poised to hit the command ship as the others were unable to provide support.

    All aimed for the bridge but with the placement of the omni-cannon above the frontal deck of the ship, it was pointed at its targets¡­projecting the beam that intersected...

    The negative energy hadn¡¯t obliterated the mechras beams but caused them to fully reflect, the powerful emitters on the mechra ships seemed to in a moment rather than simply overload, due to the overcharged shot that nearly melted the internals of the omni-cannon firing, had a devastating reflect.

    A danger resonation occurred that caused the mechra ships aligned in formation to have their main cannons not only disabled but full damage occurring internally¡­

    Krul saw that it worked, what he just did required timing inhuman and relied too much on his own heart, but now he felt excited¡­.

    ¡°Sir. I¡¯ve never seen that happen when beams collided shouldn¡¯t they have neutralized eacho-¡°

    ¡°Relay this!¡± Krul shouted to John ¡°Charlie-Delta, utilize batteries! Aim for their primary cannons!¡±

    ¡®We¡¯re going to win but it¡¯s going to be costly! The usual!¡¯ Krul faintly thought within himself

    All this for some children I hate but this is different¡­than Delara or Yervandal¡­I may as well have raised the bastards¡­.so I¡¯m coming for them¡­

    Krul almost laughed thinking on it, and the sacrifice Bravo made for his pride.

    [EXTERNAL]

    The batteries of his fleet began to open and struck true, one of the mechra ships already heavily weakened by a one-time attack was struck.

    [The chances of the counter-lance maneuver and shot Krul pulled off had been read within the machine mind as approximately 0.000001% of ever being encountered, it was a chance always present with the way their ways of projecting energy as a weapon differed¡­Yet it has happened for the first time...¡­The Mechra take this loss reasonably]

    The mechra ships which had reflected energy thrown back into them not only were scrambled by the devastating counter, but their internals were nearly fried entirely, their silos locked up and couldn¡¯t reopen, and some mechanisms.

    ocular organs within the vessels were burnt out providing damaged visual.

    They didn¡¯t competently avoid battery fire from several heavy batteries.

    Energies enough to melt through a moon albeit projected through a small beam struck the metal, it struggled to beat the mechras incredible ability to disperse heat, the beam''s weight on the Vecta Reflux reactor could be measured in the radial meters.

    [1.35 million Gigajoules of energy at maximum output efficiency]

    In itself it was just a light strain on the reactor but in itself it struggled to get through the armor without concentration.

    but several of these shots were met with additional battery fire from Krul¡¯s vessel itself

    It struck thermal points, Krul coordinated with the interior crew to see points with the highest read, these points were targeted, weakened and now struck by those already utilizing batteries to melt through into hostile ships with less capability to avoid.

    Krul quickly concluded.

    They scored three kills, whilst his primary intention was to reflect, the beam he shot did eventually reach a target, scoring and a shot on an already overloaded target, the second was killed by concentrated fire but all ships. Yet the third was still in action despite being split in half, the dots of repair drones vaguely reported on the reestablished radar.

    Among all Mechra ships was still the massive vessel that dwarfed the moon.

    That will be our final target! Krul thought.

    Aleph below was unaware of the help that was coming, and the sacrifices being made¡­.

    [EXTERNAL]

    Command ship Despina remained, and with it there was.

    Alpha-Heavily damaged.

    Bravo-Destroyed

    Charlie-Remaining, heavily damaged near critical.

    Delta- Heavy damage, superficial, critical crew lost in pierced shot, slow repairs.

    -

    They fought like monsters, Krul changed up the command, he knew the Mechra were a machine and a machine was literal, they were adaptive, he wasn¡¯t totally ignorant the mechra though itself nearly alive, they held human forms and even now despite having some practicality their ship appearances were more ceremonial¡­.

    But Krul believed a machine could only imitate the ingenuity of a living being so far, and that the image of a creator is far more inventive even in undeath than the cold-steel pretending to ¡®live¡¯ ahead of them¡­

    [EXTERNAL]

    Yet he is to prove that right¡­..

    The ships adjusted, Krul adjusted the command, Alpha moved out of formation and closed in, making itself a juicy target with less evasion, it wasn¡¯t targeted, it was obvious feint.

    Krul got a bit wicked and ordered Alpha to keep closing the gap, it was a gamble on whether the machines would realize the feint or not.

    The Mechra forgot to calculate the rashness of unliving or living beings, the feint powered up in this time its main omni-cannon.

    And fired.

    Of course the Mechra were slightly prepared to adjust if needed but that directed full attention to obliterating Ship-Alpha.

    [INTERNAL]

    ¡°Alpha has been lost¡­¡± Was the only cold words spoken by John he didn¡¯t need to say it, the light flashing upon them of it being vaporized before it could make off a shot was obvious

    The light of its destruction shewn upon them, and the crew had heads turned if possible, toward Krul with disdain and disgust at what they saw as just a completely barbaric moronic tactical decision¡­

    Krul knows the one thing a machine can¡¯t do, the one thing nothing in the universe can do ¡®is read a mind¡¯.

    [EXTERNAL]

    The Mechra quickly deduced desperation as a reasonable cause, they neglected to put forth full effort to hit the extremely vulnerable and even smaller and split hostile arrangement.

    Instead focusing on Alpha who they believed was a twice multiplied trick to get them to ignore a trojan horse bait that seemed to obvious but really was going to be a key target

    They held half fire on the other ships, melting the light plating surrounding the other ships, but still bloodied Alpha badly with focused fire..

    Two ships had to immediately respond to the lead ship, but by the time they gave heed, they intercepted 25 of 50 of the weapons launched by Despina.

    The weapons damaged the enemies batteries, disallowing counter-battery fire, Krul helmed Despina and with quick suddenness sent the fleet sans Charlie into sublight speed charge and close of distance

    with the two other remaining ships Charlie and Delta.

    Charlie split off, and maintained support, now they were about to be entering melee distance, the sublight speed allowed them to dangerously close a gap.

    There was little room for evasion as they got closer.

    Charlie remained further back and with constant strafe evaded the the targeted columns of light and batteries that fired toward it, twisting itself, it twisted onto its side and overloaded several of its

    own batteries to land hits on two different ships at once which would¡¯ve focused on Alpha and Despina.

    The mechanisms that allowed the weapons on Charlie to cool burst as they were pushed to complete destruction almost just leaving it with its primary armament.

    Despina closed in on the two ships, focusing directional fire of batteries, Krul charging what appeared to be the ship furthest in the hostile formation for his plan on using the main gun.

    The gamble that will be everything we dream of!

    taking glancing strikes which stripped armor, and spalled the metal, as it bubbled up, several sections penetrated entirely

    But as Despina took hits, it dished them out considerably enough to weaken one.

    With a quick charge, the omni-cannons primary arrangement switched to the singular projectile, and emitted a charge.

    Sparks ejected around the place it was shot from and a projectile exited as they were now 10,000 KM in knife-fighting range.

    With no opportunity to evade the targeting and for a clear shot to be made on the heaviest point of mass, it struck through the hostile vessel, and into a second based on the spacing of the hostile wedged formation and the immense size of vessels, already some points melted and weakened for the piercing blow¡­

    Charlie further back utilized its main cannon with a swift turn and engaged heavily, its main cannon and additional weapons pelting hostiles with everything they had facing minimal resistance from the collective strike.

    Delta scored two critical hits with Kruls adjustments to their engagement methods over communication.

    They scored seven kills but by then even Charlie had nearly been wasted, almost a drifting melted wreckage¡­It couldn¡¯t make landfall like this¡­.

    But the enemy ship dwarfing the moon made no moves¡­it was a ground game now¡­because it wasn¡¯t a military ship¡­it was opening¡­.

    It appeared to be some sort of massive habitat¡­that doubled as a supercarrier¡­

    as millions of dots and signatures poured out of its opening maw¡­ and what looks to be a massive habitat inside is opened and revealed inside¡­

 Vengeance Rising:Conclusions.

    [THREE HOURS BEFORE JOAN AND ALEPH ENGAGE]

    \\ NEW GREECIA UPSTREET //

    That faint image blurred on screen, it was the same as the ones initially projected an exploded misshapen diagram formed from dead pixels and distortions on the loosely hanging screen of a skyscraper, prior maybe sometime earlier after Aleph when missing, those appeared, now they were faint and only replaying as if designed that way.

    [Asaph..]

    He glanced up from the great crater, the broken building with wires sparking and dangling freely,

    Although these wires were intact and loosely powering and entangling one of the ten-meter display screens that¡¯d been knocked down in the fighting,

    A strange visual distortion occurred on its LED-like surface as it flashed between corrupted recorded broadcasts, each time bits of one randomly popping broadcast exploded into a still,

    Aleph¡¯s ghost messages¡­. Asaph groaned internally

    diagram built of hijacked transmissions giving a loose image of weak points and how some of these stranger machines encountered worked, they¡¯d seen them all before it was no longer useful or inspiring.

    ¡®At first when they appeared it was hoping Aleph was alive but they stopped appearing on new screens conventionally as they passed on patrol or to counter-attack¡­not it just lingered. As if he lived long enough to send them but just¡­well..perished¡­¡¯ Asaph recounted

    Anna looked at Asaph seeing the expression he had when Aleph was verifiably missing for two days, his face just shifted, it was bordering on a lack of expression entirely, he appeared uncanny like a mannequin and his mouth moving was now an oddity he was more silent now.

    She wanted him to speak¡­cause they had no idea where Saiyah had run off to¡­.

    ¡°Huh, think¡¯is ghost is with us?¡± Anna slurred her words a bit trying to find topic, her feet were propped up on bits of rock and rubble.

    Asaph was leaning on his own couch of rubble and kicked his foot up, pushing past an armored corpse trapped beneath it, dislodging it, and letting it hit the ground with a thunk.

    Asaph looked at the screen, and shook his head ¡°I doubt he¡¯s dead, but if he was I¡¯d hit him as hard as I could ghost or not¡­if we can even become ghosts.¡± Asaph shrugged.

    Anna answered, ¡°What so¨C?¡± She pondered his answer, lingering too much on his indecisiveness on topic.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think anything happens after we go?¡± Anna inquired as if she wanted to take her mind off the droning bombardment, it was loose sounds of sporadic combat...

    They both sat here with space for one more, and occasional expectant gaze toward an opening in this crater of rubble

    He shook his head ¡°It does seem like it but it also seems like we don¡¯t at the same time, I mean¡­we die and get buried.¡±

    Anna shrugged ¡°You¡¯re just like me I don¡¯t really believe in anything.¡± She couched her rifle to her chest and looked down.

    --

    The ground shakes yet neither of them diverts attention from one another, Asaph continues to stare down as a burning smell, smoldering burning material filling his nostrils of the broken helmet, and Anna staring toward him as faint embers flow around him.

    It¡¯s warm¡­.

    After¡­

    When his eyes do leave he sees it

    The screen changes and it¡¯s not the same anymore¡­it¡¯s something different..a garbled mess of lettering, of font¡­Is he alive? What this one hasn¡¯t been seen before, this isn¡¯t warning of a new enemy this is¨C

    ¡°That one is new.¡± Anna intrudes on his thoughts. And Asaph growls at her his helmet more broken than before she can see his fangs as he opens his mouth at her

    She chuckles uncharacteristically.¡± I see you looking at the sign¡­¡± Anna speaks defensively¡­

    Anna¡¯s recent newfound sense of humor and ironically ¡®life¡¯ in her voice came with a need to pick at Asaph, and that latter part was pissing him off¡­

    Asaph¡¯s head tilts up at her, ¡°Why watch my eyes?¡±

    ¡°Cause I hope so too, that he¡¯s alive¡­not that he¡¯s effective, no I still doubt him, but if we don¡¯t count him, I¡¯m sure all one-forty-four-thousand of us are still here..he¡¯s damn good at keeping people alive¡­even with no intel and worse odds.¡±

    Asaph rolled his eyes¡­¡± Yeah, what¡¯s good is we¡¯re alive and still can¡¯t assault that tower, he¡¯s fast, he figured out a target with nothing¡­but it means nothing if that intuition comes to late.¡± Asaph went on sharp tirade.

    Anna¡¯s eyes just widened she couldn¡¯t help but smirk ¡°Jealous?¡±

    Asaph retorted a curse at himself¨C¨CThen shook his head

    ¡°No, I¡¯m seeing what is expected, my non-blood little brother got used like a tool and dumped here with expectations far outweighing his real capability.¡±

    ¡°But you still care. ¨C¡± Anna started knowing she wasn¡¯t going to finish and letting Asaph cut in.

    ¡°Yes I care!¨C¡± He stopped then growled realizing she invited him to interrupt rather than be interrupted

    He pauses briefly refocusing thoughts from anger and somber ¡°Because¨C¡­¡±he pauses again seeing the way her eyes narrow at him,

    ¡®she knows what he I¡¯m about to say¡­¡¯

    he doesn¡¯t want to finish¡­.

    But they both say it in unison ¡°Because his humanity rubbed off¨C¡° Asaph pauses grinding his teeth but¨C

    ¡°Rubbed off on you?¡± Anna laughs finishing without pause or hitch¡­

    ¡°Can¡¯t say the sames occurred with me even though he impressed me, but you and Saiyah are a bit of the talk of the others. Nothing really good¡­.attached intensely, it¡¯s enough to be monstrous but just enough of a vulnerability to be human.¡±

    Asaph truly considered ¡°Is it truly so human to care¡­.is that a part of Alephs weakness of being raised by humans, Anna?¡± He waves off the air

    ¡°I can¡¯t relate, I know you all care deeply about your parents, I share one thing with Aleph, mine were murdered.¡± Anna just states. And Asaph didn¡¯t seem to have a reply, she waved it off so robotically.

    He¡¯s sure that humanity within Aleph had rubbed off on him and was showing even amid a warzone to have hearing her wave off the death of her parents, biting his chest as it did¡­

    To A shocktrooper family should be deep! The only cause for a cry or sorrow, It should be closer because they were immortal and unlike any other caste they were close!, you¡¯d know your grandfather, down to some of the original stock of shocktrooper sourced from Earth and the milky way¡­..yet, it was waved off so easily¡­.

    ¡°Yeah we¡¯re vampires¡­but we¡¯re not like the others¡­not because of strength but because¨C¨C..¡±Asaph struggles to finish and Anna wasn¡¯t inquiring this time her head was elsewhere but her attention was on him through ear.

    Even she felt interested in what his conclusion was..

    But he didn¡¯t speak it¡­because he knew it was a dreadful revelation¡­maybe it¡¯s why they¡¯re hated..

    That little thing they all cared for family but not like them..was it that¨C

    ¡®we have more¨C¡® Asaph is about to finish recounting a thought he doesn¡¯t want to reread in mind again..¨C

    But Suddenly! Like two wolves they sniff the air, nearly about to lick their canines¡­..A heavy laden presence¡­¨CIt¡¯s something that is incredibly close¡­letting them know they are about to be in deep trouble or¨C

    ¡°Saiya¨C¡°

    They didn¡¯t seem to confirm that I twas Saiyah, before the two of them could take a look at who seemed to drop in the crater they were on them, the moment a shadow leapt inside¡­.

    ¡°I told you she wasn¡¯t the only one good enough!¡± The voice irked out with an ease and casualness that confirmed it was friendly.

    Asaph gave a laugh, in time he was helping Juno and the other sergeants command with Anna the two of them were considered good enough to take up Aleph¡¯s position together¡­.but that wasn¡¯t point here¨C

    Like them stood a shocktrooper, a quick one he was helpful scouting and is the only competition Saiyah has in the stealth department if albeit he is inferior by some estimations still he had one thing she didn¡¯t have, a juxtaposition

    ¡°So did you get her yet?¡± Asaph asked simply, and the shocktrooper shook his head ¡°No I found her.¡±

    ¡®He doesn¡¯t have Saiyahs ability to stealth albeit he reminds us of her whenever he sneaks around even able to evade sense of other vampires, Vico has one stark advantage, he¡¯s more of a tracker than any vampire has any right to be even on other vampires¡­.¡¯ Asaph weirdly though in his head.

    ¡°I tracked her couldn¡¯t grab her, she was fast, disappeared several times into thin air¡­.¡± He droned in complaint Vico shrugging, he was under Juno it was clear by the scratches under his helmet, conversation wasn¡¯t tolerated like she had with Aleph and his command squad (Saiyah, Anna, Asaph.)

    ¡®She seemed to hate when they talked too much and would slug her fellows¡­damn strong enough for it to work in getting the message across.¡¯

    ¡°Asaph!¡± Anna exclaimed tearing him from thoughts!

    Asaph shook his head looking to Vico directly at that visor¡­

    Vico awkwardly waited for Asaphs reply and just stood visor, that monoeye with a strike-through line shifted, and the

    She just watched him with a smile.

    Asaph gave a nod ¡°Her last location?¡±

    ¡°Downtown, the signs that point toward Fifth Street, she went into a tunnel, didn¡¯t follow her we had other things to do, some strange units is sneaking around¡­..I think we should close in¡­because She seemed to know where she was going..¡±

    Asaph and Anna both rose a brow at that.

    The Shocktrooper spoke to his fellows¡¯ think they found him..he might be alive¡­she seemed¡­determined..¡±

    From that it was clear Aleph was alive If she felt it there was sure as hell no doubt in their minds.

    ¡®Where the hell were you¡­..¡¯ Crossed thoughts of all three¡­.

    Albeit Pondering on that didn¡¯t make them slow one bit as they kept pace with their racing thoughts.

    After it was confirmed, they moved out of the crater, seeing the skeletal remains of wrecked skyscrapers first thing they got out, only the shortest of buildings out of the way of their fall when the charges were activated were safe.

    Aleph commanded them to pre-emptively prepare armored attacks, Asaph didn¡¯t question Aleph on that wasn¡¯t what a trained soldier was to do, but a thought comes to mind even though he doubted they¡¯d have lost to the tanks.

    ¡®Some things shouldn¡¯t be done just because you can.¡¯ Asaph told himself that he could likely pummel a tank''s tracks and turret.

    those attacks did come and they didn¡¯t have to deal with them, roads were destroyed and blocked, and the skyscrapers were massive structures so when it came down destroyed it eviscerated the with shockwaves as it crushed the ground roads entirely.

    -

    They ran on uneven ground with Vico ahead

    ¡°She better damn well be there!¡± Asaph huffed stern and Vico flinched ¡°What was this tunnel you saw her go into!? A subway?¡± Asaph spoke almost catching embers in his throat.

    They didn¡¯t lag they were racing down wide streets in a blur, Vico being outpaced quickly forcing him to throw his all, a car the size of a pebble grew in size, Vico didn¡¯t even slow down a centimeter when he dove over it, and sprinted the moment the tip of his armored boots struck the ground.

    But his superiors were still far ahead of him¡­

    The embers that were through the air only grew stronger now as time passed, they were in a run, banking and winding a street¡­and it kept growing

    ¡°What are these embers? Did they finally decide to use artillery?¡±

    ¡°No I don¡¯t know either it just started appearing¡­same with those flashes in the sky!¡±

    There was a practical nuclear winter over them, the barrier this city had gone, the only light was the lingering remnants of battle and fires that were reignited or began to rage again¡­

    The embers grew monotonous and were coming from above rapidly, but it wasn¡¯t just embers it was small drifting heat¡­.and it intensified nearing ground¡­they looked up¡­.

    ¡­.

    ¡°Is that a ship!?¡± Anna cut through the silence of their sprint aloud first and the others picked up their eyes seeing bits of debris gliding down.

    ¡®What the hell...¡¯

    ¡®Things just got worse someone came to help¡­and they sure as hell didn¡¯t win¡­cause that ship that¡¯s falling¡­it¡¯s purple!¡¯

    -

    [PRESENT]

    \\ New Greecia downtown //

    That¡¯s where they cleverly watched.

    Three of them, Hera, Miriam, and most of all Joan keeping a close eye on the target as they were preparing to walk away, they could see the people from the underground marked for death those who had refused their worthy place, now chosen as unworthy to live even by others¡­.

    And worst of all one Joan might remember, no she could remember, as a child¡­that preacher, she recognized him from then, it burned into the readout of his form in her synthetic eyes, a twist of the mechanical retina as an orb swam spinning ridiculously before adjusting.

    Her eyes became like binoculars, she didn¡¯t need to use the large bulky and additionally white integrated scope of her rifle, she was lining up a shot¡­..

    Her enemy had such a strong bulky helmet.. Would it even pierce? No point wasting the chance with ammunition to kill, take out her primary target¡­the one who killed her mother and brother with a swift shot to the neck, hit some people first. Let them and the preacher freeze up, ensure he stays still then strike his skull. These were the thoughts Joan and with some omissions and dedication to the tactical aspect, Hera was thinking too.

    They watched and observed.

    Towering monsters, the nearby  abandoned cars served to highlight how massive the two were compared to the rest, they stood far above them¡­clearly they couldn¡¯t use them..

    ¡°Can a beast like that feasting on blood, can a vampire just sense us anyway?¡± Hera spoke barely above a whisper, asking something so undeniable. The tension in Joan and Miriams face grew into deep expression of inner anxiety even hesitation realizing stress of the battle had them forgetting something so deeply ingrained.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    They sense our blood. Is the thought in unison?

    Too focused, they struggled to think about anything else but that intense worry as they kept watch, up from the abandoned automobiles halfway there in the street, up past the carcasses of Polaries and their human ¡°gods¡± the immense bodies in sight, then the clear wrecks of machines, even that entrance to the underground had two wrecked heavy turrets on it, it was clear they were for heavy anti-armor usage yet were just¡­broken¡­..

    Bits of rubble around the feet of those two shocktroopers as they initially didn¡¯t move out from the open, so comfortable in their positions¡­..

    ¡°I¡¯m going to take the first shot, Hera and Miriam open up when I fire, hit anyone leading the group, but that man there.¡± She pointed ahead toward the Preacher and Aleph ¡°They¡¯re mine¡­¡±

    -

    [Joan]

    From twenty-three meters away in the rubble of a building

    There was a moment Joan considered failure what she might do if something went wrong¡­

    She settled on anticipating telling Hera and Miriam to retreat and then charging suicidally at him, at all of them, two shocktroopers in her sight¡­one of them was troubling to look at as if her eyes were catching up on the ability to look at them¡­the other one was her target¡­.She knew it, that visor was the same color..

    ¡®It¡¯s come down to this..¡¯

    Is all she can think as she inhales deeply, Miriam and Hera awaiting her shot.

    On exhale her finger raises as she mouths ¡°Strike!¡±

    Suddenly! her finger lances downward curved on the trigger

    The plasma propellant ignites the projectile, it heats up and the nanites endure catastrophic overload, most of them burning out and dying but others living despite the velocity they exit.

    Eight-ninety-nine million meters per second was what she hurled at her first target bracing to hit the second....

    From her position she¡¯s above and the round had exited¡­

    a projectile carrying nanites emerges, it¡¯s part ionized bolt of plasma at the head with a pure payload meant to kill any vampire¡­.

    To think it wasn¡¯t them that had invented it didn¡¯t have her second-guessing the nature of this weapon¡­

    All she questioned was the speed of her mind as she read the shot coming out leaving her barrel and how it traveled¡­

    , orange particles of clustered nanites swarm, and the ionized bolt thunders through air immediately on approach! Joan could barely read her shot, it¡¯s nearly totally a blur, and only through pure adrenaline did time slow enough with her augmented mind to just barely see it before it approached her target, it had its own heat and scorched ground underneath it,

    ¡®four-percent the speed of light, no margin for error¨C!¡¯ Joan¡¯s finished thought could¡¯ve been but¨C

    The two shocktroopers guiding the group from the tunnel with them seem to notice almost immediately¡­..

    Theres a palpable tension, and even from her earlier command Hera and Miriam don¡¯t fire¡­

    He caught it¡­

    As the round had barely left its barrel traveled his head tweaked in half second, his arm swept through the air in a wide arc and it struck his hand, the cloud of nanites that came afterwards meant to linger in the air after hitting the target to cause additional damage in an area of affect seemed to neutralize at tightening of his fist.

    The crowd was terrified and that second shocktrooper seemed to fade out of sight¡­

    But he stood¡­

    Joan saw him and they both locked eyes¡­. ¡®why wouldn¡¯t he be able to sniff her out before she¡¯d have fired, he wasn¡¯t human¡­but even most prey can kill a predator with chance¡­¡¯

    -

    ¡°Lay low, engage the fallen-gods,.¡±

    Joan quickly points ¡°The Vamps¡¯are mine!¡± Joan bundled up her fear and cloaked it with rage¡­Her eyes consider the deaths she witnessed, what she lost and it didn¡¯t hold her back, it had her leaping from the rubble.

    Twenty-three meters apart¡­

    She killed distance to ten meters in about maybe moments, Joan watched with a grimace under her helmet and pain in her eyes as she saw beams carve overhead, the first it struck was a woman with child, her stomach bulged under a ragged dress.

    It carved through her like a knife into a cake, rather than melt it went straight through and into a man, the screams that erupted almost had her close her eyes for too long.

    As the woman¡¯s face flopped into two pieces, bits of fragmented bone scattering across the ground, her augmented senses made it clear which bit of flesh, viscera, and bone hit the ground first and how it exploded from the center of where her head

    ¡®A faint gurgle¡­¡¯ Haunts Joan¡¯s thoughts as she skids, in the middle of the street counting the steps it would take for her main target to clear distance.

    He was stationary at first but now he leaned forwards¡­

    And then! Dashed at her, he was like lightning, but she moved like thunder,

    ¡®DEATH!¡¯ Her training like a second mind drummed in her ears

    Her senses and training acted faster than her mind, the supercharge of fluid surrounding her brain had her rolling out of the way of the fist that unholstered from his side,

    It shot forward sailing into a miss and upward arc, then came back from the side without missing a beat in this deadly rhythm she narrowly evaded his second hit

    He seemed personally angered he didn¡¯t have that tiger¡¯s gait, now he suddenly jumped into a mindless angry dash like a blind lion, from a crouched position he cleared ten meters in less time than it took her to clear the twenty.

    Disallowing her opportunity to fire off several more times and limit his window to evade or deflect!

    She didn¡¯t halt raising her rifle even as the window was closed by his sheer speed and simply went to prepare to dodge whilst keeping it to her hip; in the moments it all slowed again. Yet she was brought to further horror to see he moved in real speed despite her advanced overcharged adrenaline, that same adrenaline which made the surrounding massacre of those people a lifetime¡­

    She wasn¡¯t amazed, it had her bewitched and stark thought.

    ¡®Should mankind not be god but, the God if that preacher is true why would he deny me vengeance for what I¡¯ve lost¡­why should this evil prevail!!¡¯ Screamed her head as it bounded left and down, evading a hit.

    She wasn¡¯t going to consider sending a strike, if the palm of his gauntlet could take the impact of her rifle''s projectile so could he, but it was still in her hands, though she felt confident in what she did next.

    Her palms and wrists screamed at her as she evaded narrowly another strike, feeling the wind of it through her helmet like a speeding freight train had just stopped instantly ahead of her the moment it missed, yet as he followed through, she kept leaning backward in evasion.

    Landing on her palms, letting her rifle cling to her chest, gathering all her strength.

    She could hear the hiss of her cybernetic muscles tweak under her false skin, and her eyes adjust, a nano-second calculation as her legs came up in the air and she wrung through a kick with a twist of her hips from her position.

    Her foot screamed and she could hear the bones in it shatter audibly, the metal skeleton in her left ankle and foot exploding, blood oozed out the tight lock of her armored boot but his helmet was struck so hard the rocks nearby them both bounced off the ground.

    She could hear the rattling of distant intact windows, and his helmet had been knocked so hard it twisted unnaturally to the left¨CNo! It was his entire neck, she could hear the faint crack..

    ¡®If you were human, that neck snap should¡¯ve killed you!¡¯ She laughed to herself almost wishing she was fighting a human like she was fighting to get her leg back to herself to strike again.

    It was a grim mistake to press close-quarters advantage...¡­ That helmets monoeye visibly activated flashing red!

    Her leg was grabbed! She could see the moment that shots happened directed to him, as the automobile nearby him shook again! But this time from the moment he wrestled her by grip of her left ankle and flung her half-haphazardly like an animal into the automobile.

    The door of it dented inwards, and she could hear the shattering of glass, and the alarm kick up!

    And she fought hard going to kick with the other leg but was simply wrestled and launched by one handed grip as if his vision hadn¡¯t been obstructed by the twisted helm¡­..

    She soared through the air and saw the second story of a ruined building and concrete wall her body screamed, had he simply hit her himself she was sure she¡¯d have been out, but he opted to throw her.

    His mistake!

    She was in pain but was still up, her armor shielded her enough from such a hit¡­her mind immediately assessed she was launched back ten meters away into the building¡­

    get very large in very little time!

    She launched with velocity, her rapid approach had her heart hammering as she flailed helplessly and crashed into the concrete building¡­.her vision swam, yet she was half-way to her feet when!

    As she scrambled back up that ambient alarm of the car seemed to chase her¡­.

    ¡®How is it?....¡¯ It got even louder and sounded more akin to a train¡¯s horn!

    Something huge shadowed over her for maybe moments, she threw her body further onto its back, kicked her legs up and toward her face! back-flipping up and away!

    SLAM

    The Car landed inside, the doors exploding off of it as it hit the interior part of the building, the ground underneath her rumbling from impact, one of the doors that flung off the crash¡¯s car came at her with a whistle and smoke,

    and with pure adrenaline, her arm shot up and she backhanded it. Yet in these same moments¡­

    It happened again!

    A second one came in and she just narrowly heard metal being crunched, a car-alarm sound, and then it takes off in her direction loudly.

    It came through the hall of the building again and it had her tucking and rolling immediately.

    She then bolted into a sprint, the sounds of weapons fire adjusted, her rifle latched to her stomach as it seemed like one after another was coming in from behind her.

    Her helmet rumbled with voices.

    [¡°JOAN, THE SECOND ONE ISN¡¯T AS FAST BUT THEY¡¯RE SOMEHOW JUST FADING IN AND OUT LIKELY STEALTH, WE HAVE THEM HANDLED, WE¡¯LL GET BACK TO Y¨C!¡±]

    Her heart was hammering harder than ever as they cut out

    After still in the midst of dodging launched automobiles again, another car came, she was in the midst of a hall of gods-only know where, and angled her rifle, she aimed through the window at her target in the few times she could see.

    Utilizing pure speed to evade incoming projectile cars thrown¡­..evading one after another until he merely begins to approach the building in a sprint.

    Counter-charge!

    The aggression let her know her enemy wasn¡¯t as composed as before.

    ¡®I have a chance!¡¯

    In the heat of the moment even as her foot screams at her, she reaches a point of the wall with no window, and thrusts herself toward it, she has little space to move yet she dashed toward it, and she¡¯s through the wall.

    Concrete explodes around her in a dizzying area, and she stands on a chunk of it knocked down as her augmented muscles hiss and pulse...

    Metal rebar scratching her armor as she lances out like a spear out of the building.

    Halfway through the air she can target him, just barely and take a shot.

    Her beam strikes a joint!

    Got him!

    He was erratic as if angered, and it seemed to have heightened the moment she had those people fired upon¡­.

    ¡¯Good!¡¯ It is all she can think as she hurtled toward the ground, tucking and rolling into dirt as this shocktrooper held his neck,

    She was in the middle of the street as she faced him down alone¡­. In distance, Hera and Miriam stopped firing at those humans who were now in cover all around screaming and crying, no they were fighting the other one still¡­

    ¡®Please make it¡¯ She silently prayed to man¡­

    She can hear the fire and the hiss of rounds as she aims, firing a consistent barrage pinpointing each joint if possible.

    ¡°AM I REMEMBERED!?¡± Her heart cries in pride lacking true confidence as she expects him to hear her voice over the bark of her nanite-projecting rifle.

    Each impact that strikes him, sparks against the armor, and he¡¯s clearly taking more hits than projected¡­likely whatever latent ability he has, but she knows it¡¯s working.

    When he goes to charge, he¡¯s slower¡­but she unloads fast!

    Until

    ¡®Click!¡¯

    He had been standing there taking the hits¡­. why?..

    He doesn¡¯t speak¡­

    She emptied more than half of a hundred shots into him, and he just stared silently.

    ¡°You got nothing to say!? You mass-murdering demon!¡± She screamed like an angry zealot her voice laced with the pain that had fostered into a rage.

    He doesn¡¯t speak, and she instinctively charges¡­she realizes it..

    ¡®I know he¡¯s weakened by what I did even if I can neutralize it but he has to be slower, why he stopped he¡¯s goading me to strike close¡­he doesn¡¯t think I can do it¡­or maybe¡­!¡¯

    ¡¯Hera! Miriam!¡¯ Joan feels as her life flashes before her eyes at the sudden realization of what might be happening, of what might have just occurred¡­.did Hera and Miriam die?¨C¨CThe second one!

    She could feel the wind curve around her but it never touches her due to her awareness, she ducked dodging something she couldn¡¯t see, she couldn¡¯t feel, and her cybernetics don¡¯t even give her awareness of, her eyes shot from left to right, Yet saw nothing!

    Joan gets halfway closer to him¡­. She glances into the purple visor and plants her foot into the ground launching into the air, her heart is hammering she can almost hear it inside of her sealed armor as she leaped over

    Landing in a tuck and roll as she slides and goes to reload, taking out a strange tubing from a slot in her armor¡­glancing at two of them!

    One with a red visor, a female-ish appearance, a detail mostly noticed the moment her eyes work hard, and still her main target with purple visor¡­.

    Neither of them speaks, and one holds a blade in her grip...

    That almost killed her¡­

    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t remember me, pleasure to be the one to see you again.¡± Joan speaks curtly with boiling rage ¡®If only to kill you Bastards! ¡¯..

    The woman charges ahead¡­This shocktrooper wasn¡¯t as quick albeit that was still faster than Joan was.

    Yet she spoke¡­that voice was haunting it was sweet, womanly, yet crude.

    ¡°Pleasures all mine wench!¡± and then swung for Joan, bits of her helmet caught in the blade were sparated like a kitchen-knife separates inedible fruit sections.

    Joan flipped backwards but was quickly caught up by the much slower due to weakening primary target.

    ¡®His rage is his weakness, he¡¯s aggressive, getting in her way¡­I don¡¯t know why he cares about the humans that greatly but that¡¯s my advantage!¡¯

    And to the outside view, the battle between the three is a blur, the wind picks up around them,

    a tornado of punches flings at Joan blurs of purples as the arms throw calculated strikes each for her head and each missing, Joan is just barely able to evade, each missed strikes

    as she backs up and evades puts her farther and farther. They¡¯re next to a car and Joan is sure if any hit lands against her helmeted head it¡¯ll kill her, the sheer velocity has cars going up a bit

    and then crashing down., most unable to get to max effectiveness as it appears the lead shocktrooper barrages punch toward her getting in the way.

    Yet it¡¯s still in some form of co-operation.

    ¡®Two minutes and I have an opening.¡¯ Joan calculates, and so she lasts.

    Her body is burning, her foot is screaming at her.

    After when things don¡¯t appear viable, she considers ¡®I have to take two hits!¡¯ She takes them from Aleph, in his weakened state she can feel organs rupture the moment his fists collide with her armor, but it didn¡¯t kill her as it should have.

    She¡¯s close enough to see leaking blood pouring from underneath the seams of his helmets, the nanites in his body doing work¡­

    Joan¡¯s blood explodes from the broken opening of her helmet¡­.Just as she planned!

    The stronger one pulls off as if thinking he can finish it, and that¡¯s her damned mistake.

    Joan considers all the times lost, that could¡¯ve been continued how she could¡¯ve taught her brother to properly worship man, maybe had a better chance to bring her mother to the truth, that¡¯s gone now, but that doesn¡¯t matter, she¡¯s got vengeance for them.

    ¡®This is for you little brother, mama!¡¯

    She hips the rifle as the tornado of fists slows into dodge-able powered strikes each blow that could finish her, She dodges one of Aleph¡¯s critical strikes for her neck¡­.enduring a tornado of punches and having taken two that nearly killed her, feeling the internal bleeding from her replaced augmented organs, she fires twice to the throat of one that peeled off.

    It was a surprise that caught them off-guard, and with it they stumbled back, as if the nanites acted quicker with where they landed and landed with a thud.

    A sudden pause, as Aleph stared at Joan¡­

    Joan laughed.

    ¡°You angry?¡± She spoke with blood, and her helmet seemed to release an augmented hiss, as she reached up and ripped it off...

    ¡°You don¡¯t get what it takes anymore but I¡¯m still inviting you to try!¡± She raised her rifle again.

    And braced for the final stretch! She¡¯d have her revenge doubly so!

    For Hera and Miriam!

    For her mother and brother!

    For her ¡°gods¡±!

    For Mankind!

    S2N2

    He doesn¡¯t make any action immediately in her view and for a moment it seems as if he¡¯s paused

    ¡°You¡¯ve done enough to make me consider my last words but also enough to disgust me, God willing should I win I won¡¯t make your death quick¡­¡±

    It was the only words he spoke, Joan frowned as her helmet was off and blood trickled from her lip, her face dirtied, armored battered.

    She felt one thing in the moment he spoke those simple words¡­FEAR

    But what was fear to a She-Nephilm, but a driving force to win

    He made the first move!

    When he moved at her, it was at her speed, at her capability, it was the greatest advantage she had in this fight¡­She could see it, she was nearly equal with him¡­She had pride..He had to fight at her level!

    Yet After the first few punches came her way she had only one thought!

    ¡®Damn he¡¯s good!¡¯

    She took them with grace, she didn¡¯t note the pain or the way a tooth flew out her open mouth from the sheer kinetic impact against her chestplate transferring to body¡­.she¡¯d have had twelve concussions had that fluid not been around her brain..

    She retaliated and he seemed to let Joan go all in on him, sending a barrage of punches his way, each hit arcing left, to right, yet his head deftly moved, his footwork became tight and he pressed into the ground weaving each hit like a trained boxer.

    His feet shuffled, and he spun in a kick that had her reeling, she just barely blocked it with her arms and quickly went to load her rifle knowing he was slower he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge.

    Yet he kept up aggression, with a charge he had a hand on the barrel, and socked it out of her hands, her fingers fractured and she ached in pain, unable to form a tight fist even the cyberized portions of her hands were bent out of proper state.

    ¡°I know what human pain is.¡± He spoke as if that was explanation¡­but to her it was.

    ¡®What¡­.is that why he¡¯s suddenly so good at evasion!?...¡¯

    And it must¡¯ve been, she had to rely on her feet, she had her own tight-footwork, she had limited martial arts compared to a shocktroopers martial-arts it provided her some ability to dodge.

    She let him serve five more punches, evading,  even someone at her own level could damage her now,s he was decently injured and the few hits he had landed nearly broke her armor down.

    She was running on fumes and even worse, she was having to fight at the peak of injury, all she could feel was pain, he should¡¯ve been weaker by now, but he was still putting his all into this.

    She needed to land a critical headshot! That had to kill him!

    She used her feet, sacrificing the left of the hardened metal skeleton in her left leg, and with it she kicked him hard, pure fumes yet still so strong, the impact whipped the area around them with shockwave and with it.

    Thunk!

    The helmet came off, and she saw his face¡­pale¡­his eyes had purple iris, his mouth poured with blood¡­.and his expression had one simple thing..

    Rage the detail of his face was irrelevant the nanites were working part of his face had melted, and fought against whatever regeneration he had¡­

    She stared at the partially enraged look of a now cheekless skeletal face that hurled punches toward her head, each she evaded, she rolled and pummeled her hands into the ground to fix her right-hand crying out in a rage as she leaned onto her back as he came to stomp her whilst she was low.

    His foot was missing as it impacted the heavy concrete denting inwards into the ground.

    Her own hands grabbed the rifle knocked it away, and soon she landed the hit.

    The fight ended once he limply slumped forward, even this powerful vampire who had taken gods-knows-how-many-hits slumped and hit the ground when the nanites shot out and impacted his skull¡­

    Yet even then he faintly twitched¡­¡­

    Joan¡¯s vision was dimming¡­it was growing dark¡­.

    But she must¡¯ve won¡­right?

    [Asaph prior to and after the final blow given to Aleph]

    Asaph, Anna and Vito were quick to approach, they smelt blood and even worse had that foul sense that something was up, there was hordes of human bodies up ahead more than should be gathered, yet it fluxuated,

    Their Vampiric senses even in the midst of a full sprint outpacing any car that may have even dare speed on these winding roads was still In prime, like hunters they could sense incredibly well still

    they could accurately red from past the many concrete ruins and intact residential buildings maybe a few hundred and then it cut down incredibly, yet the presence of blood grew and didn¡¯t shrink it pooled around nearby them¡­

    ¡°It has to be her all that killing, but that¡¯s unusual like she just went wild¨C¡°Asaph pondered on it.

    ¡°Fifteen dead in a moment, heart palpitations of the crowd should be consistent with gunfire, I was reading these people when we first attacked, it¡¯s the same...but that¡¯s not us!¡±

    Asaph leaned his head in low and heard the low sounds¡­.

    Energy weapon¡­. far quieter than kinetics but still produce enough noise to be heard even from a distance.

    When they arrived in minutes it was nearly not enough time for him to save either of the two by the time they got there whatever intense fight they had heard basically was over in barely thirty minutes, he saw a crowd of people around their bodies nearly to engulf them, many bloodied corpses, leagues of people, trails of blood that led to the mob murmuring amongst themselves, in an instant he picked out the leader from subtle movements.

    He was coming from the street possibly thirty meters away, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered to count how long it took him to be grasping the arm of whoever this man was, wrenching the grip into his ironclad fingers until he saw the pressure of his grip turn the limb red.

    The man cried and the crowd grew terrified¡­.

    They¡¯re humans¡­.

    Asaph was quick, he would¡¯ve been quick to ice them all¡­but something looked different.

    They all looked like vagrants

    Asaph narrowed his eyes, seeing the two on the ground¡­.

    He didn¡¯t have it in him to spare or pity anyone but he did, when faintly a hand from the floor grasped his foot¡­

    He¡¯s still alive!