Faith in Chaos - A Stellaris Story

[HistoryDude]

How will Queen Kendra and Tantomile react to Whetu Kealoha (aka Queen Miranda the Great,don't yell at me I didn't call you that) impersonating Aku?Or just being on Paradox's team in general?
So,Sebakhira's in denial?
The Snowskins aren't extinct, or a species.You know that Partogans are the same species as Snowskins,you've mentioned it before.

 

[Macavity116]

How will Queen Kendra and Tantomile react to Whetu Kealoha (aka Queen Miranda the Great,don't yell at me I didn't call you that) impersonating Aku?Or just being on Paradox's team in general?

Kendra needs to keep her promise and capture Aku/Whetu alive first. (See Chapter 4.8)

​

So,Sebakhira's in denial?
The Snowskins aren't extinct, or a species.You know that Partogans are the same species as Snowskins,you've mentioned it before.

You, the readers, know this because you read through The Abridged History of Partoga and Levakia. None of the characters know about Snowskins and Partogans being the same species. In fact, no one on Partoga knows about this at all. If Akira can be taken alive, then she could single-handedly prove Snowskins and Partogans are one and the same. (Remember, she's half-Japanese and half-American) Her mixed physical heritage could be viewed as proof of Partogan/Snowskin interbreeding. Most Partogan people would accept this explanation, it's very plausible.

 

[Macavity116]

<== Previous Chapter (The Battle of Whakaari)

Next Chapter (Ally to None, Enemy of All) ==>​

Chapter 4.7
Kill the Messenger ​

December 2, 1928 A.D.
Airspace above the Boron Desert, Kingdom of The Mangaia, Partogan Homeworld


As the late morning sun illuminated the Partogan Continent, a Vako Nui-class Corvette rocketed away from Fort Miranda, ascended high into the atmosphere before starting the long decent towards The Mangaia, which from the top of the atmosphere, looked like a grey stain along the southern coastline.

Aboard the ship were ten Partogans: Nya Ririnui sat in the pilot seat while Toa Nanui Ehau occupied the copilot’s seat, but he didn’t touch the controls. Instead, he just gripped the armrests tightly and prayed silently while Nya gently lifted the Vako Nui-class Corvette up and away from Fort Miranda. He didn’t like to fly. In the back of the Corvette were eight heavily armed and armored members of the Green Guard. They were ready to clear a path through The Mangaia for Nya and Toa Nanui, allowing the pair to deliver the Queen’s hard drive and letter to Empress Tantomile. The first half of the flight was largely uneventful, but as Nya nosed the ship down and flew over the northern edge of the Boron Desert (as part of a detour around the Unnamed Mountain) she and Toa Nanui saw something terrifying on the ground below:

An army of Levakians, nearly two hundred thousand strong, was marching North towards Visonia. Vehicles, both armored and otherwise, towed huge artillery pieces behind them though the rocky terrain.

“They’re going to Fort Miranda!” Toa Nanui gasped.

“Yeah.” Nya agreed, “Can you call it in? I’m gonna hug the Mountain so they can’t see us.”

While Nya adjusted their flightpath, Toa Nanui pushed the “talk” button on the radio. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and pushed the “talk” button again. He pressed it a third time and said:

“Something’s wrong. I can’t get a connection.”

Nya twitched the control column, annoyed.

“See what you can do.” she said calmly. “I’m a little busy with the whole ‘flying’ thing.”

Behind her, Nya could hear Toa Nanui shuffling about the back of the cockpit, troubleshooting the radio. Surprisingly, the sound of tinkering reminded her of home... not that she’d spent much time there:

Nya had been born and raised in a little village in Tauranga, a Principality on the Levakian Continent. Being the oldest of three children, Nya spent most of her time in a warehouse with her father, repairing and maintaining his ship in between smuggling runs. Nya would lose count of how many days she spent elbow-deep in machinery or fuel tanks, keeping that little blockade runner going. Illegal exports of raw minerals to the Micore Empire was the only source of income for the Ririnui family, so when Nya’s father was caught and arrested, all of his debts had caught up to his wife and children practically overnight.

For nearly a year, Nya’s home was visited by Debt Collectors, who acted with greater intensity each visit. Her mother and father owed money for the spaceship, the house, and the land it was sitting on. Debt Collectors stripped everything of value from the house and sold those items to recoup some of the money. Then they seized her father’s ship, but it still wasn’t enough. Nya’s mother couldn’t buy clothes or food for her children; the Debt Collectors seized her paychecks. Rather than watch her brothers starve to death because their father was rotting in jail, Nya had gone to the Church of the Mountain and volunteered herself for Absolution.

Nya’s brothers and mother were far better off now. They weren’t rich by any means but Nya had definitely given them a second chance at life, and they had used it well, living happily in downtown Tauranga and making honest wages for once. Nya was just starting to wonder how this war was affecting her brothers when Toa Nanui’s voice caused her to come back to the present:

“Uh, I think I just found out why the radio’s not working.”

“Okay,” Nya said, keeping an eye on the Unnamed Mountain just off the Starboard bow. “What’s wrong? Is there anything we can do about it?”

Pause.

“Toa Nanui!” Nya raised her voice. “What’s going on!?”

“That ship is jamming us.”

Nya took one hand off the control column and reflexively brought up the sensors manager. In the center of the screen was a lone green dot. It represented her ship. Trailing behind this green dot and getting closer every second was a solitary red dot.

“SHIT!” Nya screamed, “HANG ON!”

She banked the Vako Nui hard to port and dove, screaming towards the red sands of the Boron Desert below! The bandit turned and dove as well, picking up speed and closing once more.

“No chance!” Nya shouted, “We gotta fight! Toa Nanui, you ever fired a Mass Driver before!?”

Toa Nanui was thrown back in his seat as Nya performed another evasive maneuver.

“No!” he yelled, “I’m a prison warden, not a solider!!”

“Today’s the day to learn!” Nya shouted, “Get into the gunner seat! It’s on my right!”

Toa Nanui unstrapped himself from the copilot seat and started pulling himself across the cockpit, fighting the intense G-Forces of Nya’s evasive maneuvers all the way.

“Who the hell is this guy!?” Nya groaned as she pulled the Vako Nui into a steep climb, launching anti-missile flares the whole way. “He’s flying like a damn ace!”

On her right, Toa Nanui finally clambered into the gunner seat and strapped himself in.

“Grab those joysticks!” Nya instructed. “Left hand one is the port turrets, right hand one is the Starboard turrets!”

“How can I tell-” Toa Nanui started to ask,

“Yellow number at the top of the screen!” Nya interrupted. “Use the two buttons above it to switch ammo types if you’re low on one.”

“Which one should I use?” Toa Nanui asked, “Armor Piercing rounds or High ex-”

“I DON’T CARE!!” Nya screamed as Mass Driver rounds flew past the ship’s nose and embedded themselves in the desert floor. “JUST SHOOT!”

The Vako Nui’s turrets spun as far back as they could, and the targeting computer gave Nya and Toa Nanui their first view of the ship that was attacking them.

The JSDF Ark Angel flies across the Boron Desert. One of her dorsal Mass Driver Cannons is visible just behind the cockpit.

Nya and Toa Nanui were both dumbfounded by what they saw.

“What is that thing!?” said Toa Nanui. “It looks like a Gunship!”

“No,” Nya shook her head, “Can’t be. It’s an airbreather!”

“Airbreathers don’t have cannons or missile launchers!” Toa Nanui countered.

The vessel giving chase was some kind of freakish mix of a gunship and a fixed-wing passenger airliner. Airbreathing ramjet engines propelled the ship through the skies, but it had the armor and weapons of a Corvette. Mass Driver turrets flashed as the strange ship sent rounds towards the Vako Nui, and a lone missile hung from a pylon beneath the starboard wing. The ship seemed to have a great big scar running along the side of the fuselage. Black letters adorned the hull, but Nya would never know what those words said because that section of the hull was badly damaged, and the words were no longer legible.

The armed spaceplane completed its turn and brought its Mass Drivers to bear against the Vako Nui again, forced the Corvette into another dive. Toa Nanui tried to line up a shot against the perusing spaceplane, but he missed over and over again. The reddish dirt and rock of the desert floor leapt up in great plumes every time Toa Nanui took aim and missed.

“These guns aren’t supposed to face backwards!” Nya said, “Hang on, lemme get you a real shot!”

Nya pulled back on the control column, hard. The Vako Nui began to climb up and away from the desert, rising higher and higher into the sky. The armed spaceplane began to climb as well, firing Mass Driver rounds the whole way.

“Come on!” Nya shouted, “Come get me!”

Soon, the Unnamed Mountain and surrounding landscape was laid out beneath the two dogfighting ships. The smoke-filled cityscape of Partoga lay to the Southwest, the red wastes of Boron to the East, yellow farmlands of Visionia and blue waters of Lake Naho to the North, and the lush green Rahkshian Jungle to the south. Nya knew that The Mangaia was on the far side of the Rahkshian Jungle, so when she cut the engines and pushed the nose down, she made sure the Vako Nui faced South. In just a few seconds, the Vaku Nui was diving towards the ground, screaming head-on towards the attacking spaceplane, and Toa Nanui brought all four of the Mass Driver turrets to bear!

“YEAH! GET SOME!” he yelled, “COME GET SOME YOU SON OF A BITCH!!”

The two spacecraft rocketed past one another, and Toa Nanui scored nearly thirty hits against the armed spaceplane as it screamed past! The armed spaceplane rocked its wings dangerously as its fuselage was peppered with Mass Driver rounds! White smoke poured out of the enemy ship while Nya’s Vako Nui carried on towards The Mangaia.

“YES!” Nya shouted, “Goodbye! Enjoy the ride!”

The armed spaceplane reached the apex of its climb and began to fall back down to the surface, turning its nose down before firing up both of its engines again.

“What the hell!? He’s coming back!” Toa Nanui yelled, “That should have killed him!”

“Can we take another shot?” Nya asked,

Toa Nanui didn’t answer. The intense G-Forces of the decent had caused him to pass out.

“Amateur.”

The Vako Nui hurtled towards the ground, and the intense force of the decent pressed Nya back into her seat! Wrenching the controls, Nya leveled the decent and began flying as low over the jungle as possible, clipping treetops as she went. She scanned the horizon desperately, looking for the Mangaia skyline while Toa Nanui woke up next to her.

“Did we lose’em?” he asked.

In answer... the Control Column began to vibrate in Nya’s hands, and the Radar Warning System made a loud buzzing noise.

“MISSILE LOCK!” Nya shouted.

She wrenched the Vako Nui into a hard turn to Port, launching both flares and chaff into the sky. As soon as she completed the turn, Nya threw down the afterburners and took the ship to Supersonic speed! Far behind her ship, the incoming missile’s warhead detonated! A thermonuclear fireball lit up the sky like a second sun! The shockwave hit the jungle below and flattened a huge swath of trees before rolling across the terrain towards Nya’s ship!

Nya knew the shockwave was coming about a second before it hit! The Corvette tumbled through the air, end over end! Nya and Toa Nanui took their hands off the controls and held onto their harnesses for dear life! From somewhere in the back of the ship, Nya could just barely hear the panicked screams and shouts of the Green Guard soldiers who were far less prepared for this disaster. Even for Nya, the Corvette was spinning too fast through the air for her to stay aware of her surroundings! Panicked, she started to hyperventilate...

Nya passed out before the Corvette hit the jungle floor.

…

“Wake up! Come on, Acolyte, you’ve gotta wake up!”

Nya’s eyes were watering before she opened them. She didn’t think she’d been crying, but the answer became clear as soon as she sat up and looked around.

For starters, the Vako Nui had landed upside down. Nya herself had fallen out of the seat and was laying on her side... on the ceiling. The more important detail, though, was that the cockpit was slowly filling with dirty brown water. Toa Nanui and a single Green Guard soldier pulled her up.

“We splashed down in a swamp.” Toa Nanui said. “Pakatua’s got your hard drive. The data’s safe.”

Pakatua handed the portable hard drive and Kendra’s letter back to Nya and said:

“I only lost one of my soldiers. We did a little wayfinding and it looks like we’re about fifty Kios short of The Mangaia. We can make it on foot.”

“What are we standing around here for?” Nya said, “Let’s get moving.”

By pure good luck, the Vako Nui had crashed near the southern shore of the swamp. Behind them, to the north, a huge white mushroom cloud rose into the stratosphere, looking slightly comical because the bottom of the cloud didn’t reach the ground. The nuclear airburst had been sufficient to knock the Corvette out of the sky, but had left the jungle below relatively untouched, aside from one large swath of trees that had been flattened by the shockwave. Forunately, all of this damage lay to the North. Nya wanted to go South.

It was rough going, moving through the forest. Nya wanted to run at her own pace (which was very fast) but she had to walk more slowly so the Green Guard soldiers could do their jobs. They insisted on moving ahead of her, checking the way ahead for dangerous wildlife. Here in the Rahkshian Jungle, there was no such thing as “level ground.” The trees grew painfully close together and the forest floor was strewn with centuries’ worth of dead trees, rocks, and smaller plantlife. Pitfalls and steep hills were everywhere. Tripping hazards appeared more often than they did not, and even Nya fell onto her face once or twice, while Toa Nanui hit the ground a little more often than her.

Then there was the wildlife. Giant Muaka cats prowled the treetops, causing Nya’s escorts to become a little paranoid. Hoto bugs bit Nya’s bare legs and crawled into her shoes, and a huge Lohrok (a kind of winged snake) stalked the party for Kios and Kios.

Just when the feeling of being watched was getting to be too much for Nya to bear, a loud roar of airbreathing engines sounded just over their heads! Nya and Toa Nanui looked up to see what was causing the noise, and they both groaned.

The armed spaceplane had just flown overhead.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Toa Nanui groaned. “They must be looking for our ship.”

“Trying to make sure we’re actually dead.” Pakatua commented. “It’s what I'd do, anyway.”

For a few more Kios, Nya’s party pressed on through the forest, keeping hidden beneath the dense treetops and listening to the sound of ramjets as the armed spaceplane continued to fly in great big circles over the jungle. Every time the ship flew over their heads, Nya and her escorts would hide in low ground, then move on as the sound of the engines faded away. Sometime around the beginning of the afternoon, though, the situation changed.

The sound of engines stopped changing pitch. Instead it became a constant drone for a few minutes before winding down and stopping entirely.

“They landed.” Toa Nanui gasped. “There must be open ground nearby.”

“It’s also a good bet they know we’re here.” Pakatua added. “We should dig in for a fight.”

“No.” Nya said. “It’s too important for us to get this data to Tantomile. We have to keep moving.”

“We’ll be fighting on their terms, you know.” Toa Nanui told her.

“I know.” Nya replied. “That’s just a risk we have to take right now.”

The group pressed on, weapons at the ready. One of the Green Guards unholstered his sidearm and passed it to Toa Nanui. Now that they were worried about an ambush, the local wildlife wasn’t so distracting to Nya’s party. Ears were strained, listening for that potentially lethal crack of a sniper’s rifle. Nya kept near the center of the group, tucking the hard drive as far into the shallow pocket of her tunic as possible. Stepping carefully across tree trunks and boulders, Nya was mindful of every step, ready to burst out into a dead sprint at a moment’s notice.

Then the moment came.

Pakatua held up a closed fist and signaled the group to stop. Then he gave a two-fingered hand signal that Nya didn’t understand. The other soldiers must have understood, though, because at once, all seven of the Green Guards pointed their weapons into one very specific patch of trees and opened fire!

Nya and Toa Nanui threw themselves to the ground! Deadly projectiles snapped and popped over their heads and sent wood splinters clattering to the ground below! The high-pitched buzzzz of a Magnetic Cannon tore through the air, cutting down two of the trees behind Nya and sending them crashing to the ground! As the air filled with leaves and bullets, Toa Nanui grabbed Nya by the shoulder and yelled:

“RUN!”

Nya slid down the hillside and hit the ground on all fours! Pausing only for a brief moment to check and see if she still had her cargo, Nya took off through the jungle at a run! The sounds of gunfire and yelling intensified behind her, and Nya opened her stride as best she could, running as fast as she could.

“I'm behind you!” Toa Nanui’s voice echoed off the forest canopy, just barely louder than the distant gunfire, “Just keep running!”

Bullets cracked in midair, but Nya kept her head up, taking in great big gasps of air and converting them into extra-long strides. Thorns and branches scraped and cut Nya’s legs, blood mixed with sweat, and the stinging sensation kept her alert. Focusing on the distant reflections of light, Nya saw the river before she actually ran into it and brought herself to a stop.

The Koka River originated at the Sacred Crater Lake of the Unnamed Mountain, but it never had the same power and fury that allowed the Rakinui River to create Archer’s Canyon. By the time it wormed and snaked its way into the Rahkshian Jungle, the Koka River was so shallow and gentle Nya could walk across it without ever getting her knees wet. That wasn’t the problem, though...

The Koka River was wide. Wider than two Kohlii Pitches placed end to end. It would take Nya several minutes to cross. Nya knew that if someone (like the crew of the armed spaceplane) was looking for her and her precious cargo... she’d become the easiest target on the planet while trying to cross the Koka.

“You’ve gotta cross.” Toa Nanui had caught up with Nya. She glanced back at him.

“I know. What happened to the other soldiers?”

“Gunfire stopped a couple of minutes ago.” Toa Nanui said. “I’ve got no idea, but we can’t afford to take chances. We have to cross, now. Why’d you stop?”

Nya raised a finger a pointed.

“Because I just saw that.”

The armed spaceplane was sitting in the middle of the river. It had come to rest on a sandbar, water churning gently around its landing gear. Its engines were off and the dorsal Mass Driver turrets hung low, unused. The spaceplane was facing upriver, away from Nya and Toa Nanui. All they could see of it was the engines and tail section. The ship was either uncrewed or simply had its guard down. If Nya was going to cross... it was now or never.

“Hey, Nanui.” Nya said, her voice shaking. “If I go down, the Queen’s stuff is in my right pocket, okay?”

“Got it. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“On my go... three... two... one!”

Nya and Toa Nanui charged across the river at full speed, kicking up water behind them as they ran! Nya lengthened her stride as best she could and went into a dead sprint, leaving Toa Nanui far behind her. Halfway across the river, Nya started to hear the sounds of yelling from the riverbank she’d just left behind.

Crack!

A lone bullet soared high over Nya’s head! The next one splashed into the water just to her left! She was almost there! The opposite shore was just fifty Bios away!

CRACK!

The third bullet missed Nya’s left ear by an inch! Her ears began to ring painfully as she stumbled forward, determined to make it the last few Bios to the shoreline. Right as Nya’s wet shoes made contact with dry ground, she looked up at the riverbank, trying to find the quickest way back into the forest. Nya started to scramble up the hillside towards higher ground when a bush to her right suddenly began to move violently!

Nya had no time to respond! First a pair of hands, then a head and torso, then finally a whole Partgoan emerged from the shrubbery and attacked! Nya felt two hands grabbing at her chest, then the stranger seized the front of Nya’s tunic with one hand, immobilizing her! The other hand pulled back, formed a fist, and surged forward! Nya didn’t feel the stranger’s fist striking her face, she just fell backwards and hit the sand, laying spread-eagled on the ground! Pain wracked Nya’s whole body as the stranger proceeded to kick her in the stomach and began to rifle through her pockets.

“No!” Nya kicked out and dislodged her attacker, at the same moment, Toa Nanui reached the riverbank joined the scuffle!

He swung his pistol-hand and hit the stranger’s head! The attacker keeled over sideways, but they were already starting to get up again before she’d even hit the ground. Nya got a good look at her now: The attacker was a teenage girl... not that much older than Nya herself, with long grey hair. She looked at Toa Nanui and an expression of recognition dawned on her face. The teenage attacker stepped away from Toa Nanui and said:

“What the hell, Lee!? It’s me! She’s the one!” The stranger pointed at Nya. “Shoot her! Kill her!!”

Toa Nanui clearly didn’t know what the woman was talking about. He put both hands on the Gauss Pistol and raised it again, taking aim at the stranger. She lunged forward and tried to pull it out of his hands, just as a second stranger reached the riverbank. Nya saw the second stranger and froze, caught between confusion and terror.

A Hiigaran man with sandy-brown hair, dark brown eyes, and badly burned face dropped a Magnetic Cannon into the river and joined the fight, yelling:

“Lee, stop! It’s us!”

Toa Nanui broke free of both strangers and raised his pistol again, determined to keep them both at bay. The Hiigaran’s sleeve was torn, revealing the bright red tattoos of Kiith Soban, a warrior clan who served as the greatest soldiers Hiigara had to offer. Before Toa Nanui or Nya could process what they were seeing, the teenage girl grabbed the front of Nya’s tunic and said loudly:

“Come on, it can’t be this easy! Where’s your Gift, Ririnui!?”

The girl threw Nya to the ground while the Hiigaran and Toa Nanui looked on. The teenager held her arms out wide in a self-assured “come at me” pose and yelled,

“You gonna fight me or what, Nya!?” the girl sounded impatient. “Where’s that rematch you promised me!? I’m letting you make the first move this time, so come on! Mindfray me! Throw some Soulfire! Put me in Stasis! DO SOMETHING!”

Nya had no idea what was going on. Her fear was starting to cloud her ability to think.

“I don’t even know who you are!” the Acolyte yelled,

Nya scrambled to her feet and tried to run into the cover and concealment of the trees nearby, but the strange girl grabbed Nya by the hair and threw her to the ground!

“Bullshit!” the girl yelled. “Yes, you do!”

Nya rolled over, trying desperately to get away.

“No!” she pleaded, “I swear, I don’t know you!”

The Hiigaran took a step forward, but the girl raised a hand and commanded him to stop.

“Akira...” the Hiigaran said cautiously. “She seems pretty sincere. I think she just can’t see through your disguise... which means...”

“Which means...” the girl called Akira finished. “...You’re not Gifted this time around. That’s perfect!”

Akira looked at Nya and a smile curled around her mouth, it was a psychotic smile that caused Nya to become completely terrified. The Hiigaran and Toa Nanui both lowered their weapons and looked at Akira with very uneasy looks. Akira looked at a wristwatch on her left arm, then tilted her head sideways and shot a genuinely evil grin at the Hiigaran.

“Looks like things are going my way after all.” Akira said softly, more to herself than anyone else. “Which means I don’t need you anymore, so...”

And then, a bolt of purple light descended from the sky like lightning! It struck and enveloped the entire scene! Nya, Toa Nanui, and Arioch were all blinded and deafened for a few seconds. Nya kicked and screamed at the thin air, determined to resist and survive whatever was happening right now! In the midst of it all, Nya felt a cold hand forcefully grab her head!

...

Nya didn’t feel the stranger’s fist striking her face, she just fell backwards and hit the sand, laying spread-eagled on the ground! Pain wracked Nya’s whole body as the stranger proceeded to kick her in the stomach and began to rifle through her pockets.

“No!” Nya kicked out and dislodged her attacker, at the same moment, Toa Nanui reached the riverbank joined the scuffle!

He swung his pistol-hand and hit the stranger’s head! The attacker keeled over sideways, but they were already starting to get up again before she’d even hit the ground. Nya got a good look at her now: The attacker was a middle-aged Partogan woman... not that much older than Princess Aku Mihaka, with long grey dreadlocks. She looked at Toa Nanui and an expression of recognition dawned on her face. The teenage attacker stepped away from Toa Nanui and said:

“Lee! Stop! It’s us!” The stranger pointed at Nya. “Kill Nya before she Mindfrays us!”

Toa Nanui clearly didn’t know what the woman was talking about. He put both hands on the Gauss Pistol and raised it again, taking aim at the stranger. She lunged forward and tried to pull it out of his hands, just as a second stranger reached the riverbank. Nya saw the second stranger and froze, caught between confusion and terror.

A Hiigaran man with sandy-brown hair, dark brown eyes, and badly burned face dropped a Magnetic Cannon into the river and joined the fight, yelling:

“Lee, stop! It’s us!”

Toa Nanui broke free of both strangers and raised his pistol again, determined to keep them both at bay. The Hiigaran’s sleeve was torn, revealing the bright red tattoos of Kiith Soban, a warrior clan who served as the greatest soldiers Hiigara had to offer. Before Toa Nanui or Nya could process what they were seeing, the middle-aged woman shouted at Toa Nanui:

“Get outta the way, Lee! Can’t you see its us? Arioch and Anika! What the hell do you think you’re doing!? And where’s Tamihana? I thought he was supposed to be with you!”

Toa Nanui was now shifted his feet, placing himself directly between Nya and the Hiigaran man called Arioch, blocking his line of fire. Every time either of the strangers tried to attack Nya, Toa Nanui would get in their way.

“I don’t know who you people are.” Toa Nanui said, “But I’ll kill you all the same if you don’t stop threatening this poor Acolyte. You’re undermining the war effort; I could kill you just for that and it would be justified. Now lower your weapons.”

A look of understanding suddenly dawned on the faces of both strangers.

“Oh, no.” said Arioch. “You’re the real Toa Nanui, aren’t you?”

“And that...” said the woman called Anika, “Is why we always kill the originals.”

Raising her knife high, Anika moved to attack Toa Nanui! Simultaneously, Arioch started to pull the trigger of his Gauss Pistol, keeping the barrel aimed directly at Toa Nanui’s chest!

“NO!” Nya screamed,

“STOP!” a new voice roared... quite literally.

Nya suddenly found herself cast into shadow as something HUGE jumped right over her head! A Levakian huntress thundered across the sand and collided head-on with Anika, knocking the Partogan off her feet sending her to the ground. Then the lioness turned on Arioch, who never got the chance to turn his weapon on her. The huntress closed her jaws around the Hiigaran’s already-mangled arm, and the sounds of breaking bone were too loud to miss! Arioch screamed loudly and dropped his gun! Behind everyone, Anika had fished her knife out of the water and was closing on the lioness!

“She’s coming!” Nya screamed.

Toa Nanui raised his Gauss Pistol and fired once! Anika’s chest made a graphic jerking motion, her eyes went wide... and she collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from the exit wound in her back! The lioness wrenched Arioch off his feet and threw him to the ground! He tried to resist, to hit her head or punch her throat, but it was too late. Pressing her full weight down on his body, the lioness wrapped her jaws around his neck and...

Nya couldn’t watch.

She curled up into the fetal position, putting her face in her hands... and waited.

When it was over, Nya felt the lioness’ hot breath on the back of her neck. Overcome with fear, Nya burst into tears!

“Don’t kill me!” Nya sobbed. “Oh, please don’t!”

“Now that’s a silly thing to say...” The lioness said softly. “Why would I ever kill the servant of my sister’s best friend?”

Nya opened her eyes and looked up at the lioness. A warm, furry smile looked back at her.

“I’m Princess Coricopat.” The lioness introduced herself. “I know who you are, Acolyte Nya Ririnui. Queen Kendra told me to keep an eye out for you.”

“Sh-she did?” Nya asked, getting back to her feet.

“She called me the same time you left with this guy.” Coricopat gestured at Toa Nanui, “Actually, she called about twenty or thirty different Levakians until she found someone who could connect her with me. She said I should keep a lookout for anyone trying to intercept you, and... wow! She must have known that was coming.”

That sentence caused the adrenaline to start pumping through Nya again!

“The ship!” Nya gasped,

She turned in place and pointed to the river, but Toa Nanui seemed to be on it already. He had walked partway out into the river and was shooting at the armed spaceplane with his little Gauss Pistol. Nya couldn’t hear the gunshots because the spaceplane’s engines were roaring to life. As she and Coricopat watched, the spaceplane thundered down the shallow riverbed before lifting off and ascending into the sky.

“They got away.” Nya moaned.

“Not for long.” Coricopat said. “You didn’t think I’m out here alone, did you? I’ve got a Pride of Thralls combing the forest right now. We were all searching for you, you know; but I can’t keep them out here for much longer. I’m supposed to be helping my sister take over The Mangaia.”

“Tantomile!” Nya remembered.

She pushed her hands into her pockets frantically, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found both the Queen’s letter and the portable hard drive were still there.

“Forget chasing that ship down!” Nya said to Coricopat. “Queen Kendra wants me to deliver these to Tantomile as soon as possible! They’re crucial!”

Coricopat stood up.

“Let’s get moving then.” she said. “I’ll call my people, and we’ll get out of here.”

Coricopat took in a deep breath and ROARED! The deep thunderous sound reverberated across the jungle and was soon answered by several more roars as Coricopat’s lions began to respond.


December 2, 1928 A.D.
The Mangaia, Kingdom of The Mangaia, Partogan Homeworld


The sun was starting to set when Nya, Toa Nanui, Coricopat, and a hunting party of some thirty lions and lionesses finally emerged from the jungle and entered The Mangaia. The city itself hugged the jungle, separated from the treeline only by a tall concrete wall. Or rather, it would have been. The wall had been blasted apart in multiple places, and now soldiers filtered into and out of the city at will. Coricopat’s party had to move slowly because two of her huntresses were carrying the dead bodies of the two people that had ambushed Nya. They also had to creep along because the city was still a live battlefield.

“Ever since the fighting started,” Coricopat explained, “Neither side has had full control of The Mangaia. There was a huge segment of the population that was still loyal to Queen Kendra and the Partogans, so as soon as the Confederate Council tried to take over, everyone started putting up a fight. My sister, the new Empress, landed in Pro-Partogan territory early this morning. She’s using their turf as a base of fire to fight the Confederates.”

“Is that where we’re going?” Nya asked.

“No.” Coricopat answered. “Tantomile’s gonna meet us halfway, and from there, we’re going to launch an assault on the Imperial Palace.”

Coricopat made a noise that was halfway between a growl and a purr.

“The Confederates have been trying to trick us all into thinking Tantomile’s on their side, and that she supports the rebellion. They’re about to get one helluva wake-up call.”

…

About two Kios to the south of the Imperial Palace, there was a Spaceport that had once been home to Tantomile’s ship, the Shieldbreaker. Now it was home to several dozen corpses. Levakians and Partogans alike lay strewn about in the terminal, left where they had fallen. When Coricopat and her companions entered the building, Nya and Toa Nanui stayed close behind her, while two lionesses brought in the corpses of Anika and Arioch.

Empress Tantomile was in a conference room at the back of the terminal. She had disposed of her old Shieldbreaker flightsuit and was now wearing the green and red uniform of the Partogan Royal Army. A Slugthrower rifle hung from a strap across her shoulders. The Empress wasn’t alone. She was accompanied by many lions and Partogans. Together, they all poured over a map of the Levakian Imperial Palace, planning an assault.

As she came into the room, Nya recognized Eteka Mihaka on sight.

“...My fireteam can take over the Hyperwave Relay room.” Eteka was saying. “When we get in there, who do you want us to contact?”

Tantomile passed him a slip of paper with several Hyperwave contacts written on it.

“These are some of the ships in the Mercenary Fleets Coricopat and I hired a few months ago.” Tantomile said. “I want those ships back in orbit immediately. Tell them I’ll pay them whatever they want. Just get them back here.”

Eteka left the conference room, taking four other Partogans will him. Former Queen Candidate Amaya Maori gave Nya a friendly smile as she walked past. Then Nya followed Coricopat into the room.

Tantomile and Coricopat gave one another the most feline greeting possible: the sisters touched noses and then brushed their faces against each other’s bodies. Then Tantomile, the younger sibling, lowered her head and allowed Coricopat to lick her ears.

“Glad to see you again.” Tantomile said. “Did you find the Acolyte Kendra was calling us about?”

Coricopat stood aside and allowed Toa Nanui and Nya to approach the Empress. The Toa bent his back a little in a simple bow, while Nya retrieved the Queen’s letter and hard drive from her pocket and held them out for Tantomile to take.

“There’s a serious emergency going on.” Nya said. “The Paradox forced our Planet-Killers to attack Levakian worlds. Her Majesty wanted me to give you these. She said you could use them to destroy the Planet-Killers if they get past Hakihea.”

Tantomile took the items and read the letter.

“Hakihea?” the Empress repeated, “What’s that? A star system?”

“Uh...”

Nya didn’t know the answer. Luckily, there was someone standing just outside the room who did. One of the four Partogans who was with Eteka re-entered the room and spoke up.

“Excuse me, Your Highness.” said a Partogan woman with a full-face Tuakiri Tattoo. “Can I help? My name’s Toa Kopaki, by the way.”

Tantomile narrowed her eyes at Toa Kopaki and showed her the note.

“What do you know about this?” the Empress asked.

“Hakihea is a star system about two weeks away via the Hyperspace Network.” Toa Kopaki said, “Its a rally point for the Planet-Killers. All six of them will meet up at Hakihea before pressing on to their targets. Your Highness, if you want to stop the Planet-Killers from attacking your worlds, Hakihea is your best chance to catch all of them at once.”

Tantomile nodded, looking at the Queen’s note in one paw and the hard drive in the other.

“Detailed schematics of the Planet-Killers with exploitable weaknesses highlighted.” Tantomile read aloud. “Kendra... I think I love you.”

Toa Nanui stepped forward cautiously.

“Your Highness... there is one other thing.”

Tantomile looked up.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Kendra was right.” Coricopat said. “The entity she called ‘the Paradox’ ambushed Nya and Nanui while they were on the way here.”

Tantomile suddenly became very animated and excited.

“You saw the Paradox!?” Tantomile said, “Tell me everything! Now!”

“They don’t have to tell you.” said one of Coricopat’s huntresses. “You can just look.”

Everyone stood aside, giving Tantomile an unobstructed view of the two corpses lying on the hallway floor. The Empress got down on all fours and began to sniff the bodies. Nya knew that Levakians had a very powerful sense of smell, and Tantomile was probably gleaning a great deal of information off the bodies.

“Neither of them are the Paradox.” Tantomile said, “But they have the Paradox’s scent on their bodies. They were close enough to touch her sometime over the past day.”

She stood up and looked around at her comrades.

“One of my friends is locked up in the Imperial Palace.” she said, “She’s Gifted, and she’s a lot better than me at dealing with other Gifted people. Let’s get Sebakhira out of the Palace and get her to help us sniff the Paradox out.”

Coricopat swished her tail.

“What makes you think she’ll agree to help us?” she asked.

Tantomile licked her own paw and rubbed it against her head.

“Let’s just say I already know what she’s gonna think about this.”

It is six minutes to midnight.

<== Previous Chapter (The Battle of Whakaari)

Next Chapter (Ally to None, Enemy of All) ==>​

 

[Vilhelm]

-Gets home from a morning college class
-Crashes in front of the computer between classes
-Checks Paradox forums
-Finds and excitedly reads new chapter of Faith in Chaos
-Realizes it was posted only four minutes before logging on

Also, I'd read earlier how the Paradox's team would have loyalty issues in the next chapter. I didn't imagine it would be them literally killing each other.

 

[HistoryDude]

While that’s one cliffhanger that I want resolved.
Is the next update Monday or Tuesday?

Six minutes to midnight,eh?I predict that it eventually will reach midnight in Chapter 6.

 

[HistoryDude]

Also,Hakara underestimated Akira’s confidence. She’s now outright killing her teammates.

Also,@Tantomile,what do you think about the whole “can survive direct hits” thing with Paradox’s starship?Also,are you calling Sebakhira via psionic link?

I still think it’ll be Paradox’s fault that the link is broken...

@QueenKendra any news on that hunting of Aku and Kaio? I still want to see your reaction to Aku being Queen Miranda the Great (erm,sorry,Whetu Kealoha).

@Eteka What’s your opinion on this whole affair? Especially given that your family was targeted…

 

[Macavity116]

Is the next update Monday or Tuesday?

Wednesday. 4.8 will be the only chapter I post next week. Interlude #4 will go up the following Wednesday (two weeks from now) Final exams take precedent, and I've adjusted my schedule accordingly. Once school is over, I can launch Chapter Five with a vengeance.

Six minutes to midnight,eh?I predict that it eventually will reach midnight in Chapter 6.

By my math, the countdown will end with Chapter 5.5.

Also,Hakara underestimated Akira’s confidence. She’s now outright killing her teammates.

Its kinda like they're starting to outlive their usefulness or something like that.

Also,@Tantomile,what do you think about the whole “can survive direct hits” thing with Paradox’s starship?Also,are you calling Sebakhira via psionic link?

I think the knowledge that the Paradox has a starship at all is more interesting than the fact that it can take a few hits. I just wish the Acolyte's Corvette had survived the attack. We could have pulled the targeting computer's data and gotten a proper look at the Paradox's ship instead of relying on Nya's description of what it looked like. "Spaceplane with guns" is just not enough info to work with.

@QueenKendra any news on that hunting of Aku and Kaio?

It's slow going here. The vanguard of a Confederate Levakian army is approaching Fort Miranda from the South. I've had to take cover in a bunker most of the day because our positions are being shelled by enemy mortars and artillery. If Aku and Kaio are still inside the fortress, they're going to be trapped in here with me for a while. Fort Miranda has enough supplies and ammunition to withstand a yearlong siege, and there's only so many buildings for those two to hide in.

-Queen Kendra

@Eteka What’s your opinion on this whole affair?

On the one hand, I'm glad to see Nya's alive. She and Toa Nanui (the real one, thank Miranda) gave us a lot of intel about the Paradox and her teammates to work with. Her Majesty said that there were five Snowskin infiltrators. Three of them are definitely dead now. Including the Paradox herself, there's two more out there to worry about. Toa Kopaki, Arahu, Ango, Amaya and I are going straight back to Fort Miranda as soon as Tantomile's back in the Palace. Kendra's going to need all the help she can get.

On the other hand, we haven't warned Kendra about that Levakian army heading towards Fort Miranda yet. Tantomile wants to prioritize the assault on the Imperial Palace. Amaya volunteered to fly her ship back to Fort Miranda to warn Kendra about the attack, but Toa Kopaki hasn't given her an answer yet. Fingers crossed.

-Eteka

...Especially given that your family was targeted…

Hold up! Eteka doesn't know this yet! He left Fort Miranda before that shoe dropped. Try again during Chapter Five. (Preferably between 5.1 and 5.2)

 

[HistoryDude]

Fine,I'll ask again later.
The delay is understandable,so Chapter 5.1 goes up on 3 Mondays from now?
@Tantomile I thought you already knew that Paradox had a starship?
Midnight approaches...although the main characters are technically in a better situation with the Doomsday Clock than the world beyond the Fourth Wall (we're at 2 minutes to midnight,as of last year).
I'm assuming Aku/Whetu is getting out via her unique psionic power,right?That will make it harder for Kendra to find her.
Also,why didn't Akira's team kill the original Toa Nanui??

 

[Macavity116]

Chapter 5.1 goes up on 3 Mondays from now?

Roughly, yes.

@Tantomile I thought you already knew that Paradox had a starship?

I had to go back and re-check all previous chapters. (speed reading for the win!) None of the protagonists were aware of the Ark Angel until it ambushed Nya in Chapter 4.7. This was its first appearance in the main story.

(See @HistoryDude's response below this one.)
​

I'm assuming Aku/Whetu is getting out via her unique psionic power,right?That will make it harder for Kendra to find her.

Aku/Whetu can escape using her Unique Power, yes. But that would require her to abandon Kaio/Soo.

Also,why didn't Akira's team kill the original Toa Nanui??

There are two possibilities: (1) someone made a huge mistake or (2) Akira deliberately allowed him to survive.

See Chapter Six to find out which option is the true one.

 

[HistoryDude]

In Tantomile’s opinion, the single most important piece of data to preserve was a file containing nearly 300 photographs of a little spaceship that definitely belonged to the Paradox herself. Taken over the past 4000 years of Galactic history, the Paradox’s spaceship was barely bigger than a Hiigaran Gunship and had a very curious configuration:

It was a spaceplane.

The unusual size, shape, and weapons compliment of the Paradox’s ship suggested that it had been built by a Pre-FTL species who was nowhere near developing Hyperspace Technology. The spaceplane had two sets of engines: a pair of airbreathing ramjets that would only work inside of an atmosphere, and a pair of closed-cycle chemical rockets for space travel. Nearly half of the ship’s fuselage appeared to have been turned into a crude Hyperspace Module. There no other ships like this one in the Galaxy. This would work to Tantomile’s advantage. During the long flight back to Partoga, Tantomile would teach the Shieldbreaker’s gunnery crew to recognize the Paradox’s ship on sight.

Roughly, yes.

I had to go back and re-check all previous chapters. (speed reading for the win!) None of the protagonists were aware of the Ark Angel until it ambushed Nya in Chapter 4.7. This was its first appearance in the main story. ​

You sure about that (the higher quote's from Chapter 3.8).

 

[Macavity116]

Yup. You're right. That's my mistake. I was hyperfocused on Chapter 3.2.

Of course, this raises another problem: The Shieldbreaker itself has been severely damaged and the majority of its crew killed. The vessel itself is still inside the hangar bay of the HMS Queen Lucy, which is no longer in the Trecta system and is unaccounted for. All of Tantomile's data on the Paradox is gone. She'll have to go back to Asalele to recover all of that information about the Ark Angel.

Luckily for her, there's a Planet-Killer on the way there right now. Maybe she could hitch a ride?

 

[stnylan]

Things are not proceeding entirely in a fashion most condusive to beings of a relaxed nature who mislike a certain disorderliness in their affairs

 

[Macavity116]

Things are not proceeding entirely in a fashion most condusive to beings of a relaxed nature who mislike a certain disorderliness in their affairs

Now I'm thinking about Vogons.

 

[HistoryDude]

I honestly can't wait for Chapter 4.8...

@Tantomile Why didn't you claw the faces of those dead people you captured?Just to make sure that they're actually Snowskins.

Also,about Chapter 5,are you doing 2 updates a week or every other day,ignore weekends exist?

Well,midnight approaches...I wonder what form it will take... (*grumble,grumble*still two minutes to midnight on the real life Doomsday Clock,hoping it doesn't hit (it's tied for the closest to midnight ever,so...) *grumble,grumble*)

Also,Paradox, "foolish is he,who for the world would change a faithful friend".

 

[Macavity116]

@Tantomile Why didn't you claw the faces of those dead people you captured?Just to make sure that they're actually Snowskins.

Honestly, it didn't cross my mind. The Planet-Killers Nya warned me about are a really big distraction. For now, I'm going to follow on my priorities: Save my people first, chase the Paradox later.

Also,about Chapter 5,are you doing 2 updates a week or every other day,ignore weekends exist?

I haven't decided at this point. Chapter 4.8 is the last chapter I finished before its intended release date, (still Wednesday) meaning the AAR has caught up with the story at long last. For me, the school year is over on Wednesday, and I'll be going to work full time again, so I'll have less time to work on the story going forward. Right now, I'm thinking about going back to the One-Per-Week-If-Ready schedule I used for After Everything. It takes me about a week to write a new chapter from scratch, so that would be my slowest possible pace.

 

[Macavity116]

I want to thank everyone for reading this far. I never thought sharing a story could be so much fun. Again, thank each and every one of your for reading my story. I hope you'll stick around and continue to read this story as it marches onward towards the final 6 chapters.
==========

<== Previous Chapter (Kill the Messenger)

Next Chapter (Interlude 4) ==>​

Chapter 4.8
Ally to None, Enemy of All​

December 3, 1928 A.D.
Fort Miranda, Southern Ridge of Archer’s Canyon, Kingdom of Partoga


The shelling started about an hour after Nya left. Kuhina Nui Rakato Mihaka and Queen Kendra took shelter in a reinforced bunker just below the command center while the first explosions happened outside. While everyone took shelter, Green Guard and Royal Army soldiers gave their Queen a look of respect when they saw her holding a Gauss Pistol.

Kendra was a Queen on a mission today. She was determined to hunt down the two remaining Snowskins who had forced her to launch the Planet-Killers yesterday. Aku Mihaka (if that was even her real name) had been shot in the arm by Nya, and had left a trail of blood throughout the Command Center’s hallway that had stopped very abruptly without leading anywhere. While she sat and waited in the bomb shelter, Kendra used a tablet computer to study the security footage of the gun battle in the Mission Control room.

That was how she found out Aku was using a false name.

“Whetu.” Rakato repeated softly. “It’s a beautiful name... but it’s also a Partogan one.”

“Maybe that’s how they’ve been hiding amongst us for so long.” Kendra replied. “They learn our language, take our names, copy our culture. They’re perfect sleeper agents.”

“Not perfect.” Rakato said, “The one called ‘Hakara’ fell out with the other three, hard.”

“Can’t believe I trusted that creep.” Kendra muttered. “That there was a Snowskin so close to me the whole time.”

“It doesn’t help.” Rakato added, “That the infiltrators are using such common names. Lots of mothers call their daughters ‘Whetu.’ A little optimism, I guess.”

“Hakara’s a pretty popular name, too.” Kendra mused. “Hell, my dad was named Hakara, too. It’ll take too long for us to line up and investigate every person on-post named ‘Hakara’ and ‘Whetu.’ The ones we’re looking for might get away.”

“And go where?” Rakato asked, “There’s a Levakian army covering all of the exits, and that last dropship took a couple of hits before it landed.”

Kendra perked up when he said this.

“If I were in Whetu’s place, I wouldn’t let a damaged dropship stop me from escaping. We should check the landing pads, see if she’s there.”

Rakato nodded.

“By the way, Your Majesty,” he added, “Judging from what we saw in those security tapes, it’s a very real possibility that either Aku or Kaio is Gifted. I got you this...”

Rakato offered the Queen an informational pamphlet. It bore the insignia of the Partogan Green Guard and the title said:

Fighting the Gift: How to Resist Telepathic Attack

“General Oku Ranginui had them printed up when the crisis was first getting started.” Rakato explained. “He was worried the Levakians would augment their armies with Gifted Lions.”

Kendra opened the pamphlet and passed the time by reading about willpower, mental resiliency, change detection, spiritual discipline, and other ways to defend the mind against invasion. After about an hour, the sound of incoming artillery was replaced by much closer cannon blasts. The bunker shook whenever Partogan artillery gave its answer to the Levakian attackers. Finally, the door to the bunker slammed open, and a young man wearing a Navy uniform came in to deliver good news.

“Levakian guns are quiet for now. It’s safe to come up.”

Outside, Fort Miranda was abuzz with activity. Soldiers were putting out fires, moving vehicles to cover, running ammunition to the cannons, and doing a wide variety of other siege-related activities. Amidst all of this, Holy Father Whiro Ranginui was moving towards her with a kind of determination and anger she’d never seen before. He was being escorted by nearly a dozen Green Guards, all of whom were armed and pointing their weapons at Rakato.

“YOU!!” Whiro yelled. The new Kuhina Nui clenched his fists defiantly.

“I should have known.” Whiro growled. “I did know! You Mihakas have no limit! No depths to which you won’t sink! You fiends... YOU TRAITORS!!”

“I am not Tapu, nor did he act on behalf of my family.” Rakato retorted. “The same goes for Aku and Kaio. They’ve made their beds, and I’ll make sure they lay in them.”

Whiro turned to face Kendra.

“Your Majesty, do you really believe this man? Even now, when his whole family has fallen in line with the Levakians?”

Kendra folded her arms. She was not in the mood to play the Mihaka-versus-Ranginui game right now.

“I don’t have any reason not to trust Rakato.” she said. “His family doesn’t speak for him. Actions do that.”

“So it seems.” Whiro said through gritted teeth. “But I wonder, would you be so quick to defend Mihaka if you weren’t sleeping with his son!?”

That was over the line.

Anger welled up in Kendra, carried her forward semi-autonomously, and she slapped the Church Patriarch in the face! All of his Green Guard escorts looked back and forth between their Patriarch and their Queen. Whiro looked shocked and furious. He opened his mouth to say something, but froze when he noticed Kendra had reached into her pocket and started to withdraw her Green Guard Command Card, the same one he had given her on Election Day.

For a moment, Whiro looked like he was seriously considering the idea of snatching the card out of Kendra’s hand and ordering his troops to shoot her. Then his eyes flickered around the surrounding area... no doubt counting potential witnesses. There must have been too many, because the Patriarch backed down.

“My apologies, Majesty.” Whiro said gruffly. “I was... overcome... distracted.”

“By what?” Rakato asked, “This had better be some excuse.”

Whiro looked from Kendra to Rakato and back again.

“Before the last bombardment, a transport ship from Partoga City landed in the Staging Area. My great-niece Irirangi was on board... but we’ve lost all radio contact with the Staging Area. No one knows what’s going on over there. We think they might have gotten hit.”

Kendra felt her blood turn cold. A dark realization had just swept over her. Hadn’t Rakato mentioned a damaged dropship back in the bunker?

“Wait a second.” she said. “Was that the same transport ship that got shot up on its way in earlier today?”

The two rivals stopped glaring at one another and looked at their Queen.

“Aku might be headed that way!” Rakato said. "She'll use that ship to escape!"

Whiro snatched a radio away from one of his soldiers.

“Send an Assault Squad to the Staging Area!” he said, “Make sure they know we're dealing with a Gifted enemy!”

Kendra, Rakato, and Whiro followed the Green Guard soldiers across the compound, stopping only to take shelter from incoming enemy artillery.

“Why the hell did Irirangi wait so long to get out of Partoga City!?” Kendra asked Whiro, talking loudly to be heard over the sound of dirt raining down from above.

“She wanted to wait for someone!” Whiro replied, “She was travelling with someone who was badly injured, and she stayed behind while that person received medical treatment.”

“Huh.” Kendra said to herself. “Surprisingly grown-up thing for Irirangi to do.”

The Staging Area was, for lack of a better term, the biggest concrete parking lot on the planet. A wide array of military vehicles were parked here: Battle tanks, Armored Personnel Carriers, Self-Propelled Artillery, Armored Bridgelayers, Vako-class air/space superiority fighters, Vako Nui-class Corvettes, army troop dropships, and even a whole Assault Frigate.

When Kendra and her companions arrived, some fifty Green Guards had established a wide perimeter around one particular dropship that was peppered with Mass Driver impact marks. The ship itself was sealed up, all of the hatches closed and the windows covered up with curtains, seat cushions, and other obstructions.

A Green Guard soldier broke off the cordon and reported to the Queen.

“Master Sergeant Amako Eketone.” The soldier introduced himself. “Your Majesty, we have a rapidly developing situation here, I need you to stand back for your own safety.”

“What’s going on here?” Kendra asked.

“We’re still figuring that out ourselves.” Amako replied. “Princess Aku Mihaka and her daughter just forced their way onto that ship and barricaded themselves inside. There’s still half a dozen passengers onboard. They’re all trapped in there with them.”

“Have they tried to take off?” Rakato asked.

“No, sir.” Amako answered. “They can’t do that anyway. The ship is tethered to the ground at multiple anchor points. It’s a standard safety procedure we do whenever Fort Miranda comes under attack. They can’t fly away.”

“So what are they doing then?” Kendra asked, “If they can’t fly, why get in the ship?”

“That’s the interesting part, Your Majesty.” Amako replied. “They’ve taken control of the ship’s radio, and have been trying to call someone for the past four hours.”

“Call someone?” Rakato repeated, “Who do you mean?”

“I mean that they’ve been calling one very specific ship over and over again, and that ship is refusing to answer them.” Amako explained. “I don’t know if the ‘Ark Angel’ is a Levakian or a Partogan ship. Hell, I’ve never even heard of it. But I do know that if the Ark Angel is around, it’s ignoring the Princess.”

Kendra cast a quick look at Kuhina Nui Rakato, then she said:

“I really want to talk to Princess Aku. Right now. Storm the ship and bring her out here. Nonlethal force.”

To her left, Kendra heard Holy Father Whiro breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m grateful, Your Majesty.” he said. “Irirangi will appreciate your restraint.”

“Maybe not.” Kendra said softly. “She’s never been Thunderflashed before. She’s not going to enjoy this.”

In front of them, about twenty Green Guards took shelter behind a tall boarding ramp, unlocked its wheels, and started to quickly roll it across the concrete. Hidden behind the metal framework of the ramp, anyone looking out from the commandeered ship would have thought the ramp had been caught by the wind and was rolling out of control.

At the last second, the soldiers turned the boarding ramp hard, skidding the wheels over the pavement and converting the ramp into an impromptu battering ram! The top of the ramp collided with the rear hatch of the dropship and two soldiers ran up it! One man forced the door open with both hands while the other man pulled the pin on a Thunderflash Bomb and tossed it inside the ship!

For a brief moment, Kendra could hear Irirangi’s high-pitched scream before the stun grenade detonated! Then the Green Guards stormed the dropship! The sound of gunfire was deadened by the dropship’s hull and lasted only a few seconds. To Kendra’s right, she heard the loud “CRACK” of a sniper rifle and saw the cockpit window splinter and crack! Then, just as quickly as it started, the raid was over.

Six Partogans were pulled out of the passenger compartment. Four men and one young girl emerged with their hands held up above their heads. A fully-grown woman was carried out on the shoulders of a soldier. Kendra felt a lurch of fear when she realized the unconscious woman was her mother, Angiangi. The Queen’s mother was moved out of the Staging Area and loaded onto an armored truck that would carry her to the hospital.

Princess Aku Mihaka was carried out of the dropship by two soldiers, each of her arms wrapped around the shoulders of a Green Guard. Her right arm (injured by Nya earlier) was wrapped up tightly in bandages, but blood was dripping from a fresh wound in her abdomen. Then Kaio was brought out. Even though Kendra was standing nearly two hundred Bios away from the scene, she could plainly see that Kaio Mihaka was dead. A Green Guard soldier carried her draped across his shoulders, blood dripped from Kaio’s face and stained his sleeves.

As the rescued civilians were moved to safety, Holy Father Whiro broke away from Kendra and Rakato. He ran across the pavement and swept Irirangi up in a tight hug. The former Queen Candidate screamed with fright before realizing who exactly was holding her.

“I thought I was going to lose you!” Whiro choked back tears. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that!”

Irirangi cupped one hand to her ear and said:

“What did you say!? It’s too loud! I can’t hear you!”

Whiro looked confused. He cast a desperate look around at both Kendra and Rakato. The Queen stepped forward and offered an explanation.

“She got Thunderflashed!” Kendra said, “The bomb must’ve gone off right next to her head! Those things can sometimes cause permanent hearing loss if they’re too close to your ears.”

A look of panic dawned on Whiro’s face.

“You mean... my girl... she might...!?”

Kendra shook her head vigorously.

“I said ‘sometimes!’” she repeated. “I've been Thunderflashed a few times and my hearing is fine. Give Irirangi some bedrest, water, and pain medicine and she should be fine.”

Irirangi herself was now cupping both hands to her ears.

“Guys!” Irirangi yelled, “You gotta speak up! Those engines are really loud!”

Whiro took Irirangi away, saying he was going to take her to Fort Miranda’s hospital. Master Sergeant Amako Eketone came back.

“Your Majesty,” he started. “Princess Aku is alive, but she’s been shot in the stomach. We can’t interrogate her until she’s received proper medical treatment.”

“Okay.” Kendra said, “We’ll climb that mountain when we get to it. What about Kaio? How’d that happen?”

"Kaio tried to fight us.” Amako said simply. “She raised a gun and took aim at one of my soldiers, so the sniper let her have it. Lucky for us, Aku used her Gift in a way we could exploit: When Kaio was shot, the Princess began to exhibit the same behavior we observed in Levakians who experience the breaking of a Psionic Link. Aku and Kaio were almost certainly Linked, and Kaio’s death appears to have incapacitated Aku. We don’t know how long it’ll last.”

“We’ll take advantage of every second we can get.” Kendra said, “Track down Maui Patariki, that guy Aku called ‘Hakara,’ and let me know when you’ve got him. Make sure Aku stays under observation at all times until I come back for her.”

“What about you?” Amako asked. “What will you do?”

Kendra pointed her thumb in the general direction of the hospital.

“I’m going to see my mom.”


December 3, 1928 A.D.
Enoka Ihaka Memorial Hospital, Fort Miranda, Kingdom of Partoga


The On-Post Hospital was overcrowded. Hundreds of soldiers and their families had been injured by the Levakian bombardment, and the number of patients had grown to such a point that gurneys and cots were left in the hallway and lifesaving operations were being conducted in every available room. Things were so hectic that when Queen Kendra arrived at the Hospital, no one was able to tell her were to find her mother.

“Her name is Angiangi Tamihana!” Kendra repeated to an overworked secretary for the umpteenth time. “She’s tall, her voice is kinda scratchy, and her hair’s always tied in knots! She just came in a few minutes ago from the Staging Grounds!”

The secretary, desperate to be accommodating, flipped through the sheets on his clipboard again.

“I’m think...” He said again. “You’re talking about the woman from the last dropship out of Partoga City. She passed out before she could finish telling us her name: ‘Ang’ or something like that.”

“That’s her!” Kendra said loudly. “Where is she!?”

“Trauma Ward, room fifteen.” The secretary answered. He tried to add: “Your Majesty, I should tell you-“

But it was too late. Queen Kendra had departed for the Trauma Ward so quickly that her bodyguards had a little trouble keeping up with her.

The hallway that led towards the Trauma Ward was one of the most unpleasant sights of the hospital. Soldiers, both living and dead, sat on the floor with their backs against the wall while medics moved from one casualty to the next. Blood ran across the floor and caused Kendra’s shoes to slip, but she was already watching where she was going. A pair of lines cut a trail over the bloody floor, marking the place where a medical gurney had recently been pushed through the hallway. Kendra followed this trail until it terminated with a closed door.

An army medic stood outside of the room, talking with a surgeon. When Queen Kendra grabbed him by the arm, all of the color seemed to drain out of his face.

“My mother.” Kendra said simply. “Angiangi Tamihana. She was one of the hostages on that transport that got raided by the Green Guard. I want to see her.”

The Medic told his comrade to leave, then he did something Kendra wasn’t ready for:

The man bent his knee, not going down in a bow, but rather squatting down just enough to put his own eyes on the same level as Kendra’s face. Her one eye stared into both of his. Somehow, as the army medic put one of his hands on the Queen’s shoulder, Kendra knew that he was about to deliver the worst possible news…

“Your Majesty.” The Medic began, “Your mother has suffered serious internal injuries. She was buried beneath the rubble of the Royal Palace after the Levakian’s nuclear attack. It took a day to dig her out, but in that time, her injuries were made worse by a large acute dose of ionizing nuclear radiation. Make no mistake, Miss Ranginui did a heroic thing by helping dig your mother out of the wreckage. Unfortunately, Angiangi’s body has been subjected to intense punishment for days and never had a chance to recover. Buried beneath rubble, nuclear radiation, caught in a gunfight…”

A dull ringing started to build up in Kendra’s ears, a subconscious attempt at denial. She didn’t want to hear this! Kendra couldn’t accept this! It was as though she’d stepped headfirst into a nightmare! Kendra’s ears started to ring louder and her vision fogged. Kendra’s whole head seemed to go numb as a million thoughts raced through it, each more terrible than the last. Even though she knew what was coming next, Kendra felt her body begin to shake with apprehension… No. No. No! No!! Oh, please… NO! DON’T SAY IT!! Not her! Not Angiangi!! She doesn’t deserve this!!

“Your mother was bleeding internally,” The Medic continued. “It seems the bleeding continued for a day and a half before stopping, but the radiation... I’m sorry, Your Majesty… If we’d gotten to her sooner, perhaps…”

“NO!” Kendra screamed. “Get out of my way!”

The Queen shoved the army medic aside and barged her way into the room.

There were four beds, all occupied. Two of the beds were occupied by people Kendra had never met before, who wavered back and forth between pain-ridden consciousness and blissful sleep. Ahead and to Kendra’s right, Irirangi Ranginui sat upright in her bed. She sobbed uncontrollably while gently pulling at her hair. With the lightest tug, Irirangi’s luxurious silver hair broke and fell away in clumps, leaving unsightly bald patches on the former Queen Candidates’ head.

Across from Irirangi was another occupied bed… and two people who looked terrible.

Angiangi Tamihana didn’t seem to be conscious, but her chest rose and fell with weak wheezing noises. Her right arm was in a sling, her nose was broken, and her skin was covered in many large bruises. Like Irirangi, Angiangi had bald patches on her scalp where her hair had started to fall out. Every inch of her clothing was stained with either mud or blood, and smeared with filthy water, showing where someone had wiped away a layer of concrete dust with a wet cloth.

Kneeling next to the bed and grasping her left hand in both of his, Vice Admiral Maui Patariki somehow looked just as bad. He had leaned in close to Angiangi’s face and was whispering softly into her ear. Tears streamed down the Admiral’s face and the right shoulder of his uniform was stained with copious amounts of dried blood. A bullet hole in his uniform jacket granted Kendra an uncomfortable view of the wound itself. Since the fight with Aku in the Mission Control room yesterday, Maui’s wound had gone untreated and was starting to show the earliest signs of infection. Not that Kendra cared…

She only had eyes for her mother.

Maui quickly let go of Angiangi’s hand and stood back as Kendra reached out to grab any part of her mother she could find. Kendra wanted to hug Angiangi, but there was too much medical equipment in the way. I.V. drips, EKG machines, and the supports for Angiangi’s broken arm all obstructed Kendra’s reach. All she could do was take her mother’s battered, broken hand in her own and stroke it gently before breaking down completely.

“No!" Kendra cried. “Mom, I’m here. It’s gonna be okay. You’re going to be fine now.”

A soft rasp… just barely audible… reached the Queen’s ears.

“Mmaahhmmeeee.” Angiangi’s voice was broken, her mouth and chest barely moved.

“Mom!” Kendra’s own voice cracked as she spoke. The door swung open and three medics peered inside.

Angiangi’s eyes were open… not all the way, but just enough to show that she was, in fact, conscious and aware of her surroundings. She had locked both eyes on her daughter and gripped Kendra’s hand very tightly with her own.

“Mami…” Angiangi groaned, “My… great… Toa.”

As those final words left her mouth, Mami saw something starting to fade in her mother’s eyes, something that was about to be lost forever. Above her head, the EKG machine began to blare an alarm as Angiangi’s heart rate and blood pressure began to drop.

“HELP!!” Kendra and Maui yelled together!

Half a dozen medics, doctors, and nurses crashed into the room! Maui was shoved out of the way almost at once, and one of the nurses tried to get Queen Kendra to release her grip on Angiangi’s hand but Kendra refused! She grasped desperately to her mother’s hand, squeezing as tightly as she could, hoping and praying that her mother’s pulse wasn’t really gone! No! Angiangi was going to be fine! This can’t be it!

No!

NO!

NO!!

Using an incredible amount of force, one of the nurses finally forced Kendra to let go of Angiangi’s hand. The Queen staggered backwards until she hit the bedside cart next to Irirangi. Hyperventilating, panicking, there was nothing she could do now….

A doctor injected Angiangi with a syringe and pumped some kind of stimulant into her body, but her heart rate continued to slow.

A nurse applied a breathing mask to Angiangi’s face and began pumping the diaphragm by hand, but Kendra’s mother did not inhale.

A pair of defibrillator pads were applied to Angiangi’s chest and her heart was shocked, but it still surrendered to the inevitable.

Angiangi’s arm became limp, falling down and hanging off the side of the bed. Her eyes finally lost focus and broke their lock on her daughter’s face, and Angiangi’s head fell backwards, coming to its final rest.

For nearly ten minutes, the doctors continued trying to resuscitate Angiangi. More drugs, more air, and more shocks. Kendra’s whole body felt numb, she couldn’t feel anything. It was as though she too had just died…

A soft hand clasped around hers. Irirangi gripped Kendra’s hand tightly and the Queen looked down at her. Irirangi had her eyes closed and was softly whispering a Karakia prayer:

“Mauruuru nui koe.” Irirangi recited, “Te mauruuru nei matou no te horo'a ta oe i horo'a mai ia matou. Ua riro oia ei metua vahine. Kāore te ora i ngaro.”

Irirangi’s recitation was perfect. She pronounced every word correctly and spoke the prayer clearly, something Kendra wouldn’t have been able to do at the moment… and the Queen was deeply grateful to Irirangi. Kendra knew from her childhood visits to the Church of the Mountain on Aoraki that the Unnamed Mountain would bestow its favor on devotees who offered up perfect prayers, and unleash its wrath on anyone who couldn’t recite the holy words correctly. Irirangi had just done Kendra a huge favor by praying on her behalf, and doing the job so perfectly.

“That’s it guys.” One of the doctors said, “Let’s call it. Time of death is 35:55 hours, on the Third day of Hakihea.”

The past two days, let alone the past week, had been the most traumatic of Kendra’s life; but here in this moment, she was finally overwhelmed. For the first time, she was lost for both words and thoughts. Kendra had no plans, no ambitions, and no next step. She wanted to forget about being Queen, the war, everything. She just wanted to sit here, next to her mother… in this cold, dark room.

One by one, the doctors, medics, and nurses left, leaving Kendra, Irirangi, and Maui alone with Angiangi’s body. Outside the building, the rolling boom boom boom of artillery sounded like a distant thunderstorm, but Kendra couldn’t have cared less. She stayed by her mother’s side past midnight. Irirangi coughed up some blood and a little more of her hair fell out, then she fell into an uneasy sleep, leaving Kendra and Maui alone together.

After what felt like several mournful hours, Kendra felt Admiral Patariki gently place his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m so, so sorry.” He told her. “This was never supposed to happen.”

Kendra pulled herself away from his grip.

“What the hell were you doing here?” she said coldly. “How did you know her?”

“It’s a long story.” Maui replied thoughtfully. “We knew each other… a long time ago, before you were even born, really.”

If he was trying to give her a hint, it wasn’t working. Kendra was just a little too traumatized for higher-level reasoning right now. Maui sighed and tried to explain himself again.

“You already know I came here with the Paradox, right?” he said. “Do you know what the Paradox is? What she really is?”

Vaguely, as if from some distant corner of her memory, Kendra remembered yesterday’s confrontation between Maui and Aku in the Mission Control room. Aku had called him “Hakara.” She had known one other person with that name…

“Who are you, Maui?” Kendra asked slowly. “What are you… really?”

The Vice Admiral took a deep breath…

“I’ve made a lifetime’s worth of mistakes.” He said. “Gone places I shouldn’t have. Seen things and met people I would have been better off avoiding, I’ve done terrible things and justified them afterward as the ends to a greater means… and…”

Maui choked up.

“I broke the promise…” he half-sobbed. “that promise I made to my wife and child so long ago…”

Very slowly, the pieces began to fit together in Kendra’s mind. A sneaking suspicion had existed in the back of her head ever since Aku had used the name “Hakara,” but Kendra had suppressed it, refusing to consider the possibility. Now, there were no more alternative possibilities to hide behind. Kendra stood up and looked Vice Admiral Patariki all over, checking every last one of his features. Each time Kendra saw something familiar about him, her doubts were eroded further and further.

Like his daughter, Hakara Tamihana was unusually tall for his age. He had straight white hair that refused to remain neat and tidy, and it was equally as messy and unkempt as Kendra’s hair.

“You’re dead.” Kendra spat out, barely keeping herself from screaming. “Dimensional Shift anomaly… ten years ago.”

Hakara pressed a hand to the wound on his shoulder.

“I’m not dead yet.” He said. “I’m sorry, Mami. I’m so-”

Queen Kendra surged forward and punched her father in the chest!

“No!” she screamed, “You don’t get to call me that!”

Kendra punctuated every word with a punch, determined to make her father understand just how terrible she felt in that moment, but each blow lost its power and intensity as she started to cry. Before long, Kendra’s strikes became slow, harmless taps.

“You never died! You abandoned us! You left me for half of my life! Then you fall in with the fucking Paradox, come back here and undermine me!! What the fuck is wrong with you!?”

Kendra’s fists finally came to rest on Hakara’s shoulders, and he wrapped his one good arm around her in a gentle embrace.

“I’m sorry.” Hakara repeated. “I’m so, so sorry.”


December 4, 1928 A.D.
Archer’s Canyon, Kingdom of Partoga


Traditionally, the Tangihanga (a Partogan funeral) is a three day long process with many important rites and rituals that needed to be observed. The pressure of the attack on Fort Miranda, however, had forced the process to be highly compressed. The only Tangihanga rite Kendra could give her mother was the Tuku Wairua, a ceremony that would allow Angiangi’s spirit to leave her body in peace.

Holy Father Whiro Ranginui took personal responsibility for the Tuku Wairua. Someone had told him about his great niece Irirangi risking her life to try and save Angiangi, so he treated the remains of Kendra’s mother with additional reverence. Keeping with tradition, Angiangi’s body would never be left alone until it was buried. Whiro tasked two people, a Church Priest and an Acolyte, to guard Angiangi’s body as it was moved out of the Hospital to its final resting place.

Angiangi’s Tuku Wairua was going to be a simple and quiet affair, attended by only a few. Queen Kendra, Whiro, Rakato, and Irirangi, who was just barely strong enough to walk. Hakara Tamihana was not there, he was receiving medical treatment (under guard) back at the hospital. Together, they boarded a military dropship and waited for a signal that it was safe to take off.

At the right moment, nearly a hundred Partogan artillery pieces opened fire on the nearby Levakian army, silencing their anti-aircraft weaponry. The dropship lifted off from the Staging Area, flew north...

And dove into Archer’s Canyon.

For half a Kio to the right or left, red rock walls raced past the window and became a blur to Kendra’s eye. The ship traveled Northwest, towards the termination of the Raki Nui River and the coastline. The powerful Raki Nui raced below the ship at the bottom of the canyon, continuing to carve the land apart, leaving treacherous rapids and steep waterfalls every hundred Bios or so. After flying for nearly a hundred Kios, though, the river began to lose power. The towering walls of the canyon, taller than the highest mountains on the planet, began to lose height. The Raki Nui became narrower and shallower, the rapids vanished, and the waters below grew calm.

After an hour of flight, the canyon walls had shrunk to only skyscraper height, and the once-mighty river reduced to a stream, until finally, the dropship arrived at the Raki Ita Valley.

The terrain of the Raki Ita Valley is nearly identical to the Tomb World of Aoraki. In turn, Death Valley in the United States bears a striking resemblance to both Raki Ita and Aoraki.

I took this picture of Death Valley myself in January 2019. I was standing just south of Dante's View and looking north towards Furnace Creek. Badwater Basin and the Panamint Mountains are on the left.

No, I did not just use my AAR as an excuse to show off a cool vacation photo.

Raki Ita was a desert, sitting nearly two hundred Bios below sea level. The Raki Nui River dried up and ceased to exist about two Kios before reaching the valley. Archer’s Canyon grew smaller and narrower until it too finally ended, opening up into the wide valley. On the far side of the desert rose the Seawall, a range of small Mountains that separated the valley from the Silver Sea.

Queen Kendra had chosen this place to be her mother’s burial ground because it bore an incredible resemblance to her homeworld: Aoraki.

The dropship came down to a smooth landing in the desert, and everyone disembarked. Two Church Acolytes carried a wooden coffin behind them. Holy Father Whiro set a large bowl of water on the ground and started the Tuku Wairua by washing his hands. One by one, everyone else followed suit. Then, Whiro began to recite a series of prayers and incantations that would allow Angiangi’s spirit to leave her body and travel to the Ancestral Homeland.

Rakato dipped his fingers into the bowl of water and sprinkled some onto the ground where Angiangi was to be buried, sanctifying it. Then he stood by and waited while the two Acolytes produced shovels and went to work. While they waited for the grave to be dug, Rakato and Irirangi quietly spoke to Kendra. Rakato told Kendra about the friendship he had made with Angiangi after meeting her during Kendra and Eteka’s Rite of Passage. Irirangi told the story of how she had found Angiangi in the rubble beneath the Royal Palace and dug her out.

“She kept asking for you.” Irirangi said, “She didn’t care about what would happen to her as long as you were alright. When I told her you got away, she just got all peaceful and happy.”

Kendra sniffed, holding back tears, but didn’t say anything. During Partogan funerals, it is customary for immediate family members to remain silent until the Tuku Wairua is over.

Clasping his hands together tightly. Whiro invoked the blessings of the Unnamed Mountain one last time, and instructed Angiangi’s spirit on how to find the Ancestral Homeland. With the Tuku Wairua completed, Rakato, Whiro, and the two Acolytes lifted the coffin into the freshly dug grave. While the men buried the coffin with dirt, Irirangi and Kendra picked up the bowl of water and sprinkled water over the site until the coffin was no longer visible.

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes more.

“Your Majesty,” Whiro said, “I’m sorry we couldn’t follow all of the appropriate traditions-”

“It’s enough.” Kendra said. “I know she’s happy, at least. Let’s go back to Miranda. There are a few people I need to talk to.”


December 4, 1928 A.D.
Fort Miranda, Southern Ridge of Archer’s Canyon, Kingdom of Partoga


Hakara woke up from his surgery about fifteen minutes before Queen Kendra arrived to see him. Rakato and Whiro had insisted on interrogating him first, or at least being in the room with the Queen while she confronted him, but she had shot down any idea of being accompanied. All Kendra wanted to know was if anything had been found on Hakara’s person after the Royal Army had taken him into custody.

As it turned out, there was. Hakara was found to have been carrying a small object roughly the size and shape of the stock and trigger section of a rifle. The curious detail about this thing was that a strange technologically advanced machine was found inside of the trigger assembly. Whatever it was must have generated a great deal of energy, because a large heat sink rose up from the top of the device.

Partogan scientists had already started to take the device apart and were trying to reverse-engineer it when Kendra entered the room where Hakara was being held. The man who had impersonated Vice Admiral Patariki was secured to his bed with handcuffs, and two Royal Army soldiers stood watch over the door and window. Kendra instructed them both to wait outside, leaving her alone with Hakara.

“Let’s get something straight.” Kendra started. “If you try to talk down to me because of …what you are… I’ll bring the troops back in here and we’ll do things their way. You answer my questions the first time I ask. That’s all.”

Hakara licked his lips nervously.

“I’ll try my best.” He said, “But the situation is both fluid and complicated. I can’t guarantee any straightforward answers.”

“That’s not my problem.” Kendra said coldly. “It’s yours. What the hell are you doing here? Who are those people you’re working with?”

“And into a complicated one right away.” Hakara complained. “Okay, I’m going to lay some heavy concepts down, you need to just bear with me, alright? I’m part of a team of… well, I guess you’ve got to call us time travelers.”

Kendra swooned in place as this knowledge hit her. After thinking it over for a few seconds, she said:

“Past or future?”

“Mix of both.” Said Hakara. “Me specifically, I’m from the very distant past, even farther back in time than you can comprehend. But Mami, where and when I’m from isn’t important.”

Kendra clenched her fists.

“You lost the right to call me ‘Mami’ when you left and never came back.” She said harshly. “Don’t do it again.”

Hakara took the rejection in stride and continued explaining.

“I came here with a group of people, they’re from all over space and time, but they have one goal: Destroy Asalele.”

Kendra was so caught off-guard by this, that she uncrossed her arms and tilted her head.

“What?”

“The leader of our group,” Hakara explained, “Is a hu- oh, wait. You wouldn’t know. She’s an alien named ‘Akira.’ She spun us all a lie about building a ‘perfect future’ where the whole Galaxy could live in peace and happiness. We all bought her story. Akira told us that we simply had to change history in a few important places and the future would be bright for everyone.”

“So you disguised yourselves and infiltrated my Kingdom?” Kendra asked, “To change the future?”

“That’s what we thought at first.” Hakara said. “Then the plan went wrong, everything went wrong. So, we started preparing to try again… but before we could get started… someone… something… came out and and tried to warn me, warn us all… that Akira was going to betray us. Most of the team laughed it off. They were too loyal to Akira to even consider the possibility of her turning against them. But I saw differently. I knew what Akira was capable of, and so did one other member of the team. She and I had talked about deserting the team, just getting up and leaving, but…”

“Simultaneous betrayals.” Kendra commented quietly. “Leaves everyone dead.”

Hakara nodded.

“In hindsight, I think Akira was onto me.” He said, “I think she knew I was about to walk and she arranged to let me get caught or killed by you and your forces… but the plan’s gone wrong. Everything’s gone wrong again. That device.”

Hakara motioned to his pocket where the strange gun-shaped object had been found.

“Normally, that thing is supposed to return the user to Akira’s spaceship, but mine didn’t work. Same for the other three. All of our Return Beacons were sabotaged.”

Kendra’s mind worked at high speed to keep all of this information straight while asking more questions.

“You said this… ‘Akira’… was an alien. Is everyone on the team an alien or just her?”

“We’re a mixed group.” Hakara answered. “Half of us are Partogans, the other half are aliens, but I think you’ve been calling them ‘Snowskins.’ Oh, and there’s one Hiigaran. There’s nine of us total.”

“Six” Kendra said. “Two of your comrades are dead. Tapu and Kaio.”

“Tapu was a Partogan named Manaaki.” Hakara said. “Kaio was a Snowskin called Soo… also, there are just five of us left. Your friend Eteka killed Lee Chong-Il, that’s another Snowskin, at Whakaari.”

“Just five left?” Kendra asked. “That’s good for us. Your team might not be as dangerous if it’s at half strength.”

“Not my team.” Hakara corrected. “Didn’t you just hear me say I wanted to quit? Besides, it won’t be a team for much longer. Akira’s going to betray all of them. I don’t know if she’s gonna kill the rest or just leave them stranded in this time period, but for the rest of us, the road stops here.”

Kendra considered this for a moment.

“You said there’s five people left. Where’s the rest of your… uh, I mean, the rest of the team?”

Hakara leaned back in thought.

“Well, for starters, you've already captured Whetu, but you aren’t going to get much out of her. Did you already find out she’s Gifted?”

“The hard way.” Kendra commented.

“Whetu’s no slouch.” Hakara said, “She’ll hold out against interrogation so long that you’ll find Akira and the others before she cracks. Just make sure all of your soldiers are watching each other. Let me see, after that, there’s Mira. She’s the other one who suspected Akira was planning to screw us in advance. She’s pretending to be General Kopunui, the woman with the lazy eye. She’s gonna do Akira’s dirty work and blow up Asalele, then Akira’s gonna leave her there to get caught. Anika, Arioch and Akira herself will all be aboard the Ark Angel. That’s our ship. Your friend Tantomile knows what it looks like, and maybe Nya does too, if she survived her trip down South… which reminds me… Is Nya Gifted?”

This question was very bizarre. The idea of a Gifted Partogan was so absurd that Kendra wanted to laugh.

“Of course not!” the Queen answered.

Hakara bit his lip nervously.

“That could be… really bad.” He said. “Nya was the reason we failed to destroy Asalele the last time around. Ma- uh, Kendra… I hate to say this, but I think Nya’s already dead. If she’s really not Gifted, then Akira definitely killed her before she got to The Mangaia.”

Kendra winced.

“Shit.” She said, “You sure?”

Hakara nodded.

“Kendra,” he said. “You really cannot comprehend how much Akira has played us all. Destroying Asalele, wiping out her own team, all of this tampering with history… they’re all means to an end, an end that’s so far in the future that you can’t even begin to imagine it.”

Kendra folded her arms and leaned forward.

“What about history did she change? Tell me.”

Hakara gave her a confused look. The Queen elaborated.

“In the past week, I’ve been nuked, betrayed by people I thought I could trust, telepathically attacked, and thrown into the biggest crisis in the Kingdom’s history. You can’t surprise me right now. Tell me what she changed.”

Hakara took a deep breath.

“I’m serious.” He warned Kendra. “Akira has turned you, me, and most of the Kingdom into her pawns. She’s re-written so much history, mine and yours.”

“I’m serious too.” Said Kendra. “Tell me. I need to know.”

Hakara clearly did not want to answer. The look in his face communicated this to Kendra, and she said in a quiet, threatening voice.

“You promised not to lie to me, dad. Did that promise die when you abandoned me and my mom?”

Finally, Hakara relented.

“Well… for one: we, that is to say, Akira and the team, we tampered with your Royal Election. We got you elected.”

“Color me shocked.” Kendra replied in a deadpan voice, looking right into Hakara’s eyes. “What else did you do?”

“We agitated the Levakians, pushed some of them towards rebelling against you.”

“Saw that coming.” Kendra replied. “The second you mentioned ‘time travel’ I started to wonder about that. What else?”

“Akira saved your life.”

Kendra was taken aback. She didn’t know what to say to that. Hakara gave Kendra a sad look.

“History was supposed to take a very different course.” He said, “You died at the Battle of Aiowa, and the Levakian Uprising has a very different ending from the one we’re hurtling towards now.”

Kendra felt her body starting to shake again.

“Wait a minute…” she breathed. “I died at Aiowa!? How!?”

Hakara closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

“Shot in the back. Accidental friendly fire. Akira realized that the ‘Perfect Future’ can’t happen if you’re dead, so she planted herself on your ship and at the right moment…”

“She tackled Kewhena.” Kendra finished.

The Queen fell silent. She didn’t want to admit it, but this revelation had actually surprised her. Hakara seemed to have realized this, though, because he carried on:

“Akira has a plan to create a perfect future for herself. Hundreds of historical events had to change so the timeline will proceed exactly as Akira wants it to. Kendra… you are at the center of one of those events. The Levakian Uprising is crucial to what Akira wants to do: Destroy Asalele. Akira’s vision of the Perfect Future depends on that planet being annihilated.”

“Why?” Kendra asked. “Why Asalele?”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Kendra remembered: Back before the Royal Election, Tantomile had gone to Asalele! She had met with a conclave of Gifted Lions who were supposed to be tracking the Paradox… Akira… throughout all of history!

“The Asalele library!” Kendra gasped,

Hakara nodded.

“Kaiako and the other lions on Asalele are hot on Akira’s trail. She wants to destroy them before they blow her cover.”

Kendra was thinking fast. This revelation was of paramount importance!

“What happens if Asalele survives?”

“They’ll transmit a warning about Akira to a distant planet that won’t be discovered for another one-hundred years.” He said. “The people of that planet will use their warning to stop Akira’s plans. We came back here and try to stop that warning from ever going out, and that’s when I figured out Akira was planning to betray us… and here we are now.”

Both Kendra and Hakara fell silent. Kendra was thinking so hard that her head was actually starting to hurt. Finally, she said:

“You know I can’t let her destroy Asalele.”

Hakara smiled.

“I had a hunch.” He said. “Akira was hoping you’d be a ruthless ruler, comfortable with the idea of blowing up planets. She was wrong about you… and her plan is falling apart because of that. Whetu, Manaaki, and Soo weren’t expecting to have to reveal themselves and force a Planet-Killer launch. We… uh… they were hoping you’d do it yourself.”

“Fat chance of that.” Said Kendra. “I wanted a peaceful solution. I still do.”

Hakara sighed.

“I’m sorry, Kendra. Sorry that you’re in this position. The only way you can get a peaceful end to this war is by fighting Akira head-on. She wants this conflict to end in a bloodbath. Hell, she pretty much needs it to, or her plan for a ‘Perfect Future’ won’t work.”

Kendra considered this.

“You said she saved my life once already?” Kendra said, “Does she still think she needs me alive?”

Hakara frowned in thought.

“Last time I was on the Ark Angel, that’s what she said. “You need to be alive and in power as Partoga’s Queen for Akira’s ‘Perfect Future’ to happen. You’re not seriously thinking about fighting her, are you?”

“I am.”

Now Hakara was the one looking surprised and frightened.

“Mam- uh, Kendra. You know Akira’s Gifted, right? You cannot comprehend how incredibly dangerous she is! This woman isn't your run-of-the-mill Psionic. She's a Godkiller. If you try to take her alone-”

“I do.” Kendra replied, “But I didn’t say I’d be going alone. I’ve made some friends since you walked out of my life, dad.”

When she said that last part, Kendra’s voice was tainted with pure hatred. Hakara hung his head in shame.

“Of course.” He said quietly. “I didn’t mean to say…”

Hakara looked at the floor. After a moment, Kendra asked one last question:

“Where should I go? To find Akira, I mean.”

Hakara looked up. Kendra watched his face carefully as he read the serious expression on her own. Finally, he said:

“Aoraki. A Levakian fleet is going to try and intercept the Planet-Killers there before they cross into their space. Akira’s going to be there, helping Task Force Kraahkan fight the Levakians. If even one of the Planet-Killers breaks through, Akira wins.”

Kendra nodded. In that brief moment, she had made up her mind on what to do. Hakara saw the dawning look of determination in Kendra’s eyes and said:

“Can I ask one thing?”

Kendra folded her arms and scowled at him.

“What?”

“Let me fight with you.” He said. “I’ve come this far, and since Akira already intended to betray me, there’s no harm in my returning the favor. Put me on a ship, a boarding party, it doesn’t matter where. Just give me a chance to do something good for good reasons for once.”

Kendra stared at her father for nearly a minute.

“Fine. But don’t think for a second that I’ve forgiven you. I’ll talk to the guards, and we’ll leave tomorrow morning. Aoraki’s a two-week flight away.”

Getting up to leave, Kendra almost had her hand on the doorknob when Hakara called her back.

“There’s one last thing you need to know.”

“About what?”

“Whetu.”

…

Whetu, the woman who had pretended to be Princess Aku Mihaka, was locked up in an upper floor room of the command center. Guards had been posted around her, like Hakara, but they had all turned and were watching each other. This was a standard anti-Mind Control tactic. Anyone who fell under telepathic control could be immediately spotted and neutralized this way.

“She’s refused all medical treatment.” one of the guards said. “I think she’s just trying to let herself die. We were getting ready to sedate her and stitch up her wounds before you got here.”

“Well, let me talk to her first. Alone, preferably.” Kendra replied.

One of the guards started to protest right away, but Kendra cut him off.

“Look, soldier, the second you think anything suspicious or untoward is happening, you’ve got my permission to barge in and do what needs to be done, but not a second earlier than that. Am I clear?”

When Kendra entered the room, the guards locked the door behind her. Whetu’s left wrist was chained to a pipe running along the wall, and she was sitting in a chair, looking out the window and taking in the view of Fort Miranda. She ignored Kendra until she pulled up another chair and sat down next to her.

“Why?” Kendra said.

Whetu didn’t answer. She continued starting out the window, her right hand applying pressure to the bloody injury on her midriff.

“Answer me.” Kendra commanded. “Or I’ll start calling you ‘Miranda.’”

“Tamihana told you, huh?” Whetu replied. “Bastard.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Kendra said. “Why would a Queen of Partoga join in with Akira?”

Whetu sighed and leaned forward, pressing her head against the glass window.

“We had a deal.” Whetu Kealoha answered. “She said she’d help me defeat King Inari and save everyone, but then I’d have to come with her and help her on her mission. I didn’t know what I was getting into, but once I did, I was fully committed anyway. Not like I could go back.”

Whetu fell silent for a moment.

“Damnit.” She said quietly. “Hakara was right. Akira abandoned us here. He was right and I fucking shot him!”

Whetu looked at Kendra, tears in her eyes.

“What kind of friend does that? What kind of Queen? What would Taki and Enoka say if they knew I did that!?”

Toa Wahine Taki and Toa Enoka Ihaka were two of Whetu’s closest companions during the Wars of the Famine. Kendra remembered that from her history classes.

“I won’t mince words with you, Whetu.” Kendra said. “When I leave here, I’m going to Aoraki. I’ll probably have to face Akira and fight her. Is there anything I should know before that? Can you tell me anything?”

Whetu leaned back in her chair and sighed.

“You’re really gonna fight Akira, huh?”

The two Queens were silent for another moment. Then Whetu said,

“You know, I just noticed something we’ve got in common. We’re both soldiers who got elected Queen, we both made friends with Levakians, and we both got into fights with powerful Gifted people… but I think Akira’s going to be a harder target than King Inari. Akira's one of the most powerful beings in the Galaxy, Kendra. She's killed at least one god that I know about.”

Whetu gave Kendra a very serious look.

“You want my serious advice?” Whetu said, “Well here’s a lesson, from one Queen to another: A great Queen will defend her people at all costs. When I say ‘all costs’ I really mean it. Nothing is off the table. That's doubly true whenever Akira's involved. Do you understand?”

Kendra nodded.

“Thanks, I think.” She said.

Whetu winced and grabbed at her stomach again. Blood seeped between her fingers.

“Why won’t you let our doctors look at that?” Kendra asked, “You might bleed to death.”

Whetu shook her head.

“I just found out I abandoned my old friends and my old life to be an expendable pawn for someone else.” She said. “Right now, I just wanna go back to Taki and Enoka… and this… this isn’t a bad way to go. I can just… slip away, quietly. I’ll be happy with that. Look down there.”

Whetu pointed out of the window. Kendra followed Whetu’s finger and saw the arsenal, a building where weapons and ammunition were stored. The arsenal had a different appearance to the buildings around it. It had a steep angular roof and narrow windows, the hallmarks of Snowskin architecture.

“That…” Whetu said. “Used to be King Inari’s castle. It’s where my army met his for the last time. I should have died there, on those walls so long ago. But here is close enough.”

Whetu looked back at Kendra.

“Don’t give me that look, Kendra.” She said. “It feels like it’s my time, and I’m ready to check out. I miss my friends, and I’m pretty sure they’re all at the Ancestral Homeland by now.”

Whetu leaned back in her chair, stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth, and bit down on it gently. She looked like she was trying very hard to remember something. After a minute, her eyes lit up.

“Hey, Kendra. If you’re serious about fighting Akira, then there’s something I want you to have. My sword’s in the Cantonment Area, in the apartment I took out in Aku’s name.”

“You mean the Royal Saber?” Kendra asked, “I’ve got it. They gave it to me on Election Day.”

“That one’s a copy. And a really bad one at that.” Whetu waved her hand dismissively. “If you want to fight Akira, you need my sword: Soulkeeper. Toa Taki’s father made it. It’s specifically designed to kill Gifted people. A razor-sharp blade of Crystalline Protodermis wrapped around an Elerium core. Soulkeeper is pretty lightweight and easy to use. There’s something about Protodermis-Elerium alloys that just causes problems for Gifted people, you see. If someone tries to hit you with a Psionic attack while you’re holding Soulkeeper, they’ll have a full-blown Neural Feedback. Basically the sword will throw their attacks right back at them.”

Kendra scratched her head.

“Doesn’t that mean-“

“Yup.” Whetu answered. “I can’t use my own powers and hold Soulkeeper at the same time. Always had to do one or the other.”

Whetu went back to looking out the window. When she noticed Kendra was still standing there, she said:

“I’m serious. The sword’s yours now. I’ve got nothing else for you, Kendra. Go give Akira a black eye for me. Show her what happens when you betray a Queen of Partoga… and avenge Soo for me. She didn’t need to die.”

Whetu put her free hand over her wound again and settled into her chair, shifting her gaze to the distant Unnamed Mountain. She began to cry, and refused to say anything else to Kendra.

…

It took Kendra about an hour to reach the Cantonment Area of Fort Miranda. Going on a one-woman search of the area Kendra found the apartment house where Whetu had been living under Aku’s name. She contacted a squad of Green Guard soldiers and ordered them to break into the building and search it. Within minutes, Soulkeeper was in Kendra’s hands. Just like Whetu had said, the crystal sword was lighter than Kendra’s Royal Saber, and the semitransparent blade glittered in the afternoon sunlight, allowing Kendra to see the bluish-green core of solid Elerium running the length of the blade. The handle of the sword was made from an Elerium-Protosteel alloy, and embedded in the crossguard was the Whetu Kārerarera, or rather, the one that had belonged to Whetu.

Kendra returned the sword to its sheath and tied it to her belt. She was about to leave when she was struck by an idea. She called the Green Guard soldiers back to her and instructed them to find one very specific person.

…

After about four hours of searching, the soldiers found the person Kendra was looking for. (Much to her own surprise) After that, Kendra and her newfound companion travelled to the Command Center. The person Kendra had found was told to wait outside the Mission Control room while Kendra stepped inside to meet with Kuhina Nui Rakato and Holy Father Whiro.

“Hakara, the man who was pretending to be Vice Admiral Patariki, has turned.” said Kendra, “He’s on our side now. I also got some important information out of Whetu, the woman who impersonated Aku.”

“Excellent!” Rakato said. “What should we do now?”

“We act.” Replied Kendra, “And we need to move as quickly as possible, so here’s what I need you two to do.”

Rakato and Whiro huddled up with the Queen.

“I’m going to take command of Task Force Ussal, and lead the fleet to Aoraki.” Kendra explained. “Hakara’s tipped me off that there’s going to be a serious fight there in a couple of weeks. I’m going to tip the balance.”

Whiro protested right away.

“Your Majesty, this isn’t the Wars of the Famine! The Queen can’t just lead troops into battle like the old days!”

“She already is.” Kendra said. “That’s where you two come into play. I need the two of you to run what might be the biggest deception in the history of Partogan warfare.”

Whiro and Rakato looked at one another nervously. Kendra rapped her knuckles on the hallway door and said:

“You can come in now!”

Whiro and Rakato both gasped.

Enutanga, the biggest rock star in the Outer Rim, looked pretty beaten up. She’d been in Partoga City during the Orbital Bombardment a week ago, and since then had neglected her own makeup and hair treatments. She no longer looked like a picturesque model of Partogan beauty and now could have blended in perfectly with the thousands of refugees now living in Fort Miranda.

“Gentlemen,” Kendra announced, “Meet the ‘Thirteenth-and-a-half Queen of Partoga.’ Also known as my new body double: Enutanga.”

Enutanga’s curly hair had grown so out-of-control, that when she leaned her head forward in a bow, it looked as though she had a great big pom-pom glued to the top of her head that bobbed and swayed dangerously.

“Wait a minute,” Rakato said. “I see what’s going on here. Do you really want us to trick the Levakians into thinking you’re still here at Miranda?”

Kendra smiled. Rakato had gotten close to the truth, but he was just a little off. Kendra really wanted to trick the Paradox into thinking she was still at Fort Miranda, but she decided a little deception within a greater deception was called for today.

“Precisely.” Kendra said. “Enutanga and I talked it over, and she’s ready to play her part.”

“One of my makeup artists survived the attack on Partoga City and they’re here at the fort with me.” Enutanga explained. “She’s pretty confident she can turn me into a convincing copy of Her Majesty.”

“I want you to keep Enutanga at your side at all times.” Kendra said. “Make it look like she’s really commanding the defense of Fort Miranda. I want the whole damn Galaxy to think I’m running the war from here.”

“While secretly, you lead our troops and carry out a critical strike that might just end this war.” Whiro said in a low but excited voice. “Your Majesty, I might just love this plan. When will you leave?”

“Tomorrow.” Kendra said. “I want you both to put out a message to the ships of Task Force Ussal. Tell them to gather in high orbit above Partoga and await the arrival of a ship from Fort Miranda. Don’t tell them about me. We’ve gotta keep this under wraps for as long as possible.”

Whiro nodded.

“I’ll take care of that now.”

As he left, Rakato said:

“And the rest of today? Your Majesty, you’ve got a look in your eye that says you’re planning to do something else before you leave.”

“You’re right.” Kendra said. “I’ve got a Hyperwave call to make. Wait here.”

While Enutanga and Kuhina Nui Rakato stood in the back of the Mission Control room, Kendra punched a Hyperwave address into the computer terminal at the front of the room.

Sys/ hyperwave communication system online... please select FTL comms target...
Cmd usr/ ---> target Tantomile – Levakian Imperial Palace (Hotline)
Sys/ searching the Hyperwave Network... Partoga-Mangaia Hotline activated…
Sys/ negotiating with receiver... Faster-Than-Light communications established.

The big screen on the wall flickered for a moment, and then the words “Please Stand By” appeared. For the next two minutes, Kendra just waited. Finally, the screen lit up and eight familiar faces appeared, along with three unfamiliar ones.

Eteka, Arahu, Ango, Toa Kopaki, Amaya, Tantomile, Nya, and Toa Nanui all cheered and yelled happily when they saw Kendra! They all looked a little worse for wear, as though they’d just come through a major battle. (Which they had) Arahu, Toa Nanui, and Amaya were all sporting bloodstains on their clothes, while Tantomile’s mouth and neck were covered in blood, as though she’d recently killed someone with her jaws. (she had) Behind her, a very old white lioness twitched her ears and a brown lioness waved hello, while King Admetus sheepishly bowed his head towards Queen Kendra.

Behind her, Kendra heard Rakato and Enutanga exclaim with joy as well. Kendra saw her Acolyte in the image and said:

“Nya! You’re alive!”

“It was a close one, but yeah, I’m still here.” Nya answered. “We weren’t hearing any news from Fort Miranda, so we were about to send Amaya up North to you!”

Kendra sighed.

“The Paradox’s friends took a run at me up here. We took some hits, but I’m okay.”

“You too, huh?” Tantomile growled. “We ran into three of the Paradox’s friends down here. Killed all of ‘em too. How did you do?”

“There were four of them up here, disguised as members of my government.” Kendra said. “Eteka, I hate to say it, but your cousin Kaio got bodysnatched by one of the Paradox’s friends. The impersonator is dead, but I don’t know where your cousin is.”

Eteka winced. He seemed to have been deeply hurt by this revelation. Kendra carried on.

“Anyway, we killed two of the Paradox’s teammates and captured two more. We got some important information out of them.”

“Like what?” Toa Kopaki asked.

“Like this, for starters.” Kendra drew Soulkeeper and held it up for her friends to see.

There were oohs and ahs as everyone crowded the screen to get a better look at Kendra’s new sword.

“It looks so strange.” Said Ango. “What kind of sword is that?”

“The Paradox-killing kind.” Kendra answered. She sheathed the sword and continued. “I found out her real name, the name of her ship, and where she’s going.”

“We saw her ship!” Toa Nanui interjected, “It was here in The Mangaia! It intercepted me and Nya and had a go at us, then it left when we killed two of the crew!”

“It’s going to Aoraki.” Kendra said. “The Ark Angel is going to Aoraki.”

Tantomile tilted her head.

“What’s at Aoraki?” she asked

“Nothing right now.” Kendra replied, “But in about two and a half weeks, Task Force Kraahkan, six Planet-Killers, and a fleet of Levakian ships are all going to be there.”

Everyone looked shocked. Tantomile’s eyes went wide.

“Oh, holy Miranda.” Tantomile breathed. “What do we do?”

“I’m going up there.” Kendra answered. “The Planet-Killers are still ignoring my abort orders, refusing to turn around. The Paradox is the one pushing them onwards towards Levakian space. I’m going to take my fleet to Aoraki and put myself right in front of them. Tantomile, you’ve got to call up the Confederate Fleet and tell them I’m going to try and help them fight the Planet-Killers.”

“Call them!?” Tantomile repeated. “Hell, we’ve got a couple of ships on the way here to meet us. I’ll join you and we’ll go together.”

“I like that idea.” Toa Kopaki said. “We’ll stand a better chance if we combine our forces.”

“We’ll meet you in high orbit, Kendra, then go to Aoraki together.” Tantomile said. “I’ll call up the Confederate Fleet and order them to start redeploying to Aoraki.”

“Hey,” Nya interrupted. “If the Partogan and Levakian fleets are going to be working together, does this mean the war’s over?”

“Almost.” Said Kendra. “Tantomile, I’ll call off my armies if you do the same for yours.”

“I’m already on it.” Tantomile answered. “Most of the Confederate Levakian army groups were infiltrated by Pro-Partogan resistance cells. A lot of commanders have been killed and replaced with lions who are friendly to you and me. That army group advancing on Fort Miranda is under the command of King Emerdon himself, though. They won’t stop fighting unless we put some pressure on him.”

“I’ll sortie the Green Guard to deal with Emerdon.” Kendra said. “Can you close off his supply lines?”

“Consider it done.” Said King Admetus. “Emerdon’s army is already far enough away from The Mangaia that we can shut off his supply route without him knowing we did it.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tantomile said. “Listen, Kendra. I’m trying to rebuild my Mercenary Fleet in orbit right now. Do you have a fleet of your own?”

“Task Force Ussal is on the way.” Kendra answered. “Speaking of which, Eteka, Ango, Toa Kopaki, Nya, Arahu, Amaya and Toa Nanui: I want you to split into two groups. Half of you stay with Tantomile, and the rest are gonna fly on my ship. Does anyone else have any questions?”

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.” Said the old white lioness. “My name is Sebakhira. You said you found the Paradox’s real name. What is it?”

“Akira.”


END OF CHAPTER FOUR

It is five minutes to midnight.

<== Previous Chapter (Kill the Messenger)

Next Chapter (Interlude 4) ==>​

 

[HistoryDude]

Well,the betrayals are awesome!

Also,I figure Mira found out about the whole mind-wiping thing?

Looks like Paradox has some problems... wouldn’t bet against her winning,though.She is a Godkiller (or a Shroud-Being killer anyway).

Also,I think Paradox might have originally had a plan that made a happy future for everyone,but,to quote Nietzche,”he who fights with monsters might take care lest he become a monster.When you gaze long into an abyss,the abyss gazes also into you”.

The Battle of Armageddon approaches…and it will be the end.

The End of the Cycle’s also going to show up at Aoraki,isn’t it?

And you should totally use the line:”all of this has happened an infinite amount of times before,and it will happen an infinite amount of times again…”

Will the Doomsday Clock be mentioned in story?

 

[HistoryDude]

Also,Mira and Paradox are the last loyalists standing...and Mira is on the betrayal path…Looks like Akira will have to fight this last battle alone.

 

[Macavity116]

Well,the betrayals are awesome!

Why thank you! I needed to raise the stakes now that the story is rapidly approaching its end.

Also,I figure Mira found out about the whole mind-wiping thing?

Question is, how did she find out?

The End of the Cycle’s also going to show up at Aoraki,isn’t it?

See Interlude #4.

Will the Doomsday Clock be mentioned in story?

No. The Doomsday clock is serving the same purpose as the Warscore screenshots in Chapter Four of After Everything. They're helping to build tension and give the reader a countdown until the story's climax. The final chapter of After Everything contained that story's climax. This time around, the climax of Faith in Chaos can be found in Chapter 5.5.

 

[HistoryDude]

Also,since Whetu can prevent people from perceiving her presence,why doesn’t she get healing and then use that power at Aoraki in case anything goes wrong?And if things do go wrong, she can stab Akira in the back (literally).