~Thames~
The woman formerly known as Maria Balthasar ascended to the deck and joined her captain overlooking the night sky.
“We were wondering where you’d gotten off to,” Maria said.
“Hmm? Oh, just admirin’ the night sky is all.”
“Anything in particular?”
“Aye. Look at the moon, Rhea,” he said, using the name she’d decided was hers when she arrived. “That orange tint?”
“Isn’t that just a myth?” she countered.
The Captain chuckled. “Maybe, Rhea, Maybe. But I got a feeling somethin’ good’s due to happen soon.”
----------------------------
~Ethos’ Kislev Embassy~
Rico marched on, following the lead of Hammer’s contact, who had named himself Billy Lee Black of the Ethos Society.
And was summarily confused when Billy led them directly to the front door of the Ethos’ Kislev Embassy.
“Can’t say I was expecting this,” Rico grunted. “Cleaning house, then?”
Billy grimaced. “That is the idea. I have reason to believe that the Ethos’ society is a Solarian front being used to indirectly manipulate the lives of the surface dwellers like us.”
“Seems they’ve moved past that,” Rico remarked.
“I agree. Reprehensible, and you have my apologies, for what that is worth.”
“It ain’t worth shit. Let’s go.”
Inside, the center of operations for the Kislev’ branch of the Ethos society was less ornate than what Rico had expected. They soon found themselves in a series of winding hallways, culminating at a central office at the end of the largest.
“Are we ready?” Billy said to both Rico and Hammer, although Rico was sure the words were meant more for him.
Rico nodded.
Billy pushed the door open.
Inside, an aging man with hair pulled back into a ponytail saw them, and smiled warmly at Billy. “Billy! Now this is a surprise.”
“Bishop Stone,” Billy said, and although he was obviously trying to look casual, Rico could suddenly see the facade of indifference starting to crack on Billy’s face.
“What can I do for you, my boy?” said Stone, smile plastered on his face.
Billy steeled himself. “I’ve come to turn you over to the Kislev Government.”
The smile faded slightly, but not fully. “And why would you do something like that?”
“
Crimes against humanity
,” said Billy, raising his voice. “Building a private army of, well, whatever those abominations are. Using the Ethos’ as a tool to fulfill your own sadistic desires.
“
Killing my mother.
”.
Now Stone was serious, although his body language still read passive. “Your father must be so proud of you,” Stone remarked without emotion.
Billy said nothing.
“You, of course, see the problem here, do you not, Billy?” said Stone, rising from his chair and pacing back and forth. “I control the
Wels[/i]. If not for that, do you know what they would do to the city?”
And suddenly, Rico had a pretty good idea of why he was here.
“So you’ll what?” asked Billy. “Hold the city for ransom?”
“If the Kaiser remains unreasonable, yes.”
“We’ll deal with that when we get to Nortune.” Billy decided. “We’re moving. Rico, you’ve got point. One false move, Stone--”
“Oh, Billy, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere.”
And with that, the bookcase behind Stone swung open.
Rico braced himself, but the attack never came. Instead, a hideous mass of flesh, blood, and bone tumbled out and crumpled to the floor, unmoving.
And behind him, an old man with Billy’s face carrying a high caliber rifle, pointed at Stone, emerged.
“You [/i]will
answer for your crimes, Stone.” said Jesiah Black, and he jammed the butt of the gun into the side of Stone’s head.
Rico immediately turned to Billy. “Didn’t you say--?”
“--Yes. Have hammer lug Stone out. We’ve got incoming!”
-----------------------------------
~Zeboim Ruins~
Emeralda could not bring herself to flee as she watched Kahran Ramsus face off against Miang.
Miang had continued to taunt Ramsus, and to the man’s credit, he had not uttered a single word since. And they seemed evenly matched on the surface - Ramsus having the bigger build, but Miang was more nimble, just as good with her smaller rapier, and able to use Ether to shield, misdirect, and attack.
Yet Ramsus seemed to have something else in mind. It may have gone lost on someone who was caught up in the moment, but Ramsus was using his superior strength to force Miang to retreat in a consistent direction. And Emeralda had been following, but it wasn’t until Ramsus ducked into a nearby building that Emeralda knew she’d been right.
Because this building, unlike all of the others, had working lights on it.
Miang had climbed through a nearby window after telekinetically shattering the glass to pursue, and Emeralda sneaked in behind.
“Are we done, Kahr?” said Miang after they had squared off again. “Have they told you what I truly am? Why this is all a waste of time?”
Kahr said nothing, but charged at her, feinting with his sword and instead kicking her in the midsection.
Miang tumbled back into the center of the room.
“Dominia!” Ramsus called out.
A force field winked into place around Miang, and a response came back over a comlink that Emeralda could see Ramsus retrieve from his belt. “Got her, commander!
Miang returned to her feet, and her eyes glowed as she attempted to penetrate the field. It shimmered a bit, but died down. “Hmph. You know this won’t hold me forever. What are you playing at, Kahr?”
“I very much disagree with that premise, Miang,” said Ramsus and he walked to the side of the room, which was adorned with panels and buttons.
He pressed a few, and returned to her. “You’ve reincarnated yourself in the bodies of countless women throughout the ages, stealing their lives and using them to birth your twisted mockery of a god.”
“I cannot help what I am. The cycle will continue until Deus is reborn, after which I will cease to exist.”
Ramsus smiled. “Not this time, Miang.” A metal casing started to rise up from the floor.
And for the first time, Miang’s composure truly broke. “What are you doing?”
“Putting you on ice for a while, during which time we’ll find Deus’s shell, wherever it sleeps, and destroy it.”
“You can’t--!”
The metal contraption locked shut around her, and Miang’s cryogenic sleep began.
-----------------------------------
~Nortune, D Block~
“All townspeople evacuated that we could find,” Tolone reported from the comm. "But there are still creatures pouring out of the sewers. They seem to be moving indiscrimately."
“All right.” Sigurd acknowledged. “Seraphita?”
“Ready to kick ass. Last to twenty kills buys dinner?”
“...Not a sound investment on your part. Agreed.”
“We’ve got incoming behind us. Humans and demi-humans, one fairly massive. They match Kelvena’s contacts.”
“You mean her
boyfriend!
”
Sigurd could picture Tolone rolling her eyes. "Yes, it's Billy and his hired help. I'm routing them to the port where we've got the naval blockade."
Sigurd could see the small figures in the distance of two men with guns, a demi-human carrying an unconscious man, and a huge green demi-human. All but the latter broke off toward the Northern port, but the green man charged in their general direction and began to engage the creatures in hand to hand combat.
"Wow. He's pretty good!" Seraphita swooned.
"...Right. Then let us join the fray," Sigurd announced.
The battle to retake Kislev had begun.
------------------------------------
~Epilogue: Shevat~
At Margie's insistance, Bart had joined the delegation to the Sky City of Shevat to meet with Queen Zephyr.
The battle at Kislev against the enraged Wels, created by Solaris and controlled by Bishop Isaac Stone of the Ethos Soceity, had been won, and Kislev had pledged itself fully to the Alliance cause. Stone would face justice in Kislev.
Bledavik was again free, and Shakhan was nowhere to be found. Bart hoped the coward lived the rest of his life afraid of what Bart would do if he ever found him.
Their new allies in the former Jugend Elements: Dominia, Kelvena, Seraphita, and Tolone, along with their leader, Kahran Ramsus, had proven themselves both able and loyal, eliminating the influence of the being called Miang. They had left on a new mission: to find the sleeping giant, Deus, of whom Cain had spoken, and destroy it, so that humanity could never again be sacrificed for its rebirth.
Dr. Citan Uzuki and his young friend, Fei Fong Wong, were due to return to Lahan and rebuild after the war to retake Aveh had ravaged it so. Fei's father, Khan Wong, left again suddenly, but promised to return in six months after he dealt with, as he had put, some "inner demons."
And Marguerite Fatima, who smiled at Bart as he caught her attention, was about to end this war once and for all.
"You're live," one of the techs said.
"This is Marguerite Fatima, Holy Mother of the State of Nisan and representing the Nisan Alliance, broadcasting on all known Solarian channels.
"If you are hearing this, know first that we simply want an end to all hostilities between our peoples. To that end, we have taken measures to protect what is ours, while not seeking to deprive your people of its freedoms.
"However, your encroachment will no longer be tolerated. We have removed your influence from our governments. We have dismantled the Ethos Society. We have depleted your military reserves.
"And it is with those facts in mind, that I am hereby demanding your complete and unconditional surrender to the Alliance."
