The Last Heroes

[Macavity116]

Some tense dynamics in Nagasaki. Blake & Etienne sharing a stage. If Etienne could see, he would notice that the rats are leaving his ship.

Originally, I was planning for the two political rivals to have only one scene together, during the upcoming chapter named Reichstag Revolution. But I saw an interesting opportunity for a little extra character drama and seized it, so Blake and Etienne will have a couple more scenes together now.

Hint: Has anyone seen Blake's granddaughter lately? Where is Sophie Murphy? Is she safe? Is she alright?

Where is Akira?

Your question will be answered this coming Saturday in Chapter 35: Bellator in Machina

I do not want to play poker with Eerabik.

She'll walk away with far more than your worldly possessions.

 

[Arithmetician]

She'll walk away with far more than your worldly possessions.

For the Dark Side is a pathway to many abilities... some of which which would be considered... unnatural.

 

[Macavity116]

TOMORROW...

The final major space battle of the Stormbreaker Universe.

​

The series is ending, which means we're going to be seeing a lot of "last" and "final" moments soon. This particular one is the last space battle of the series. The battle will play out across two chapters: Bellator en Machina, which will be posted tomorrow, and then the second half of the battle will occur in next week's chapter: Someone Your Own Size.

This weekend and the next promise to be quite exciting, and I hope you'll join me for the ride!

 

[Von Acturus]

And the Contingency makes an appearance! We're in for a wild ride, that's for sure!

 

[Macavity116]

The Saiiban were created by @Chilango2, used with permission.

Eerabik was created by @Arithmetician, used with permission.

<=== Chapter 34: Deus ex Machina

Chapter 36: Someone Your Own Size ===>​

Chapter 35
Bellator in Machina

​

October 12, 2086
High orbit above Terra Nova, Alpha Centauri Star System


Suspended in the brilliant light of the binary stars, a blueish-green planet drifted gently along in its orbit. This was the first planet to be colonized by Humans after the Second Hyperspace War. Terra Nova, as it was called, played host to Lovell City, the only metropolis on its surface. In orbit, Yutaka Yamamoto University took the shape of a gargantuan space station, roughly the size of a small moon.

The school, also known as Yutaka U, was Humanity’s first attempt at building a Megastructure. Ambitious engineers referred to the design as a “Science Nexus” and claimed that one day, it would vastly outclass all other research and development facilities in the Galaxy.

But today was not going to be that day.

Not too far from here was a tiny point of light known as Proxima Centauri. This red dwarf is the closest star to Earth besides its own Sun. Hidden by the clouds of dust blown off by this dying star, the Navy of the United Nations was massing for its next move.

Just under nine hundred starships were orbiting Proxima Centauri, including Motherships, battlecruisers, carriers, destroyers, frigates, and many squadrons of strike craft. This force was the near entirety of the UN space fleet, with only the Prophet-class cruisers and their escorts being absent. This morning, a small flotilla of corvettes appeared out of a Hyperspace Gate and moved to join the armada. One of them docked with the battleship Charlemagne, fresh out of her refit at Port Armstrong.

As soon as the corvette entered the battleship’s hangar, a lonely asteroid thousands of miles away turned and began to put some distance between itself and the fleet. In truth, this was no hunk of space rock. Using her external hologram emitters to keep up the disguise, the spaceplane Niagara slowly crept away from the scene. In the cockpit, Varian and Maui handled the controls very carefully. Stealth was of the utmost importance.

Once the spaceplane was underway, Maui unstrapped himself and moved into the crew area, where Corder and Kingi were hard at work.

“Are you sure this intel is good?” Kingi asked for the umpteenth time. “We have to be sure.”

“Keep asking, the answer won’t change.” Corder said. “Varian's grandpop is confident, and his intel’s never been wrong before. Scarlett Freeman just boarded the Charlemagne.”

“According to Mister Robinson, Freeman will only be aboard the Charlemagne for a few hours.” Ninu chimed in.

He was sitting on the ceiling. The Niagara was too small for artificial gravity, and the six crew members were drifting about freely. Cetla in particular was enjoying the effect of weightlessness, and was using his spare time to re-calibrate the Niagara’s newest weapon, installed during their recent visit to the Angel Moon.

“I remember the briefing.” Cetla said. “Freeman is there for a political meeting with Admiral Tsiajotso, something to do with Secretary-General Etienne’s re-election.”

“Etienne, Freeman, and Tsiajotso are political allies.” Ninu said. “We’ve got a chance to remove two of them from play at the same time. Blake Robinson can take care of Etienne after this... I hope. Varian! How long until the GDF fleet gets here?”

“If Macavity and the rest jumped at the correct time, then they’ll be here in about twenty minutes.” Varian replied from the cockpit. “Remember the plan: we’re not out here to destroy the whole damn Navy. We just want them to scatter and run away. The second Charlemagne tries to turn tail and run, we put one through the Hyperspace Module. And then...”

“We kill everyone on that ship.” Corder finished. “Then I spacewalk over there and visually confirm Freeman’s corpse.”

“Sounds like a great plan.” Varian replied. “Let’s roll.”

…

The Galactic Defense Force arrived right on cue. All six Stormbreakers cheered as hundreds of green, purple, and yellow waveforms appeared in the open space just beyond Yutaka University. Nearly every spacefaring civilization in the Galaxy was represented. There were Partogans, Taiidani, Micore, Kelt, Assurians, Morbuzakh, Blorg, Scyldari, Vaygr, Levakians, Voor, Kel-Azan, Praku, and even a single Hiigaran Mothership with an escort fleet of battlecruisers. They could even spot the Mahuika, a massive Partogan warship that served as the GDF flagship. Jericho would be aboard this historic vessel, along with the other GDF leaders.

“Action stations!” Varian yelled from the cockpit. “Everyone strap yourselves in. Corder, track the Charlemagne and don’t fucking loose her!”

The Human armada was caught by surprise and slow to respond. By the time the first picket ships rose to defend the armada, the first squadron of GDF frigates were moving into firing position.

Maui returned to the cockpit and took the other half of the controls. He and Varian waited just a moment for everyone else to strap in. Then it was time to fight.

“Shut down emitters!” Varian ordered. “Polarize the armor and shunt power to the engines.”

“Energy cannons spooling up.” Maui confirmed. “It’s time to rock.”

Varian wrenched the control column and put the Niagara into a hard turn. At the same moment, the hologram emitters shut off. The Niagara dropped her disguise and turned into the sunlight. Caught in the light of all three stars in the system, the spaceplane flashed like a brilliant flare, briefly brighter than nearby Sol.

“That’s done it! They see us!” Corder reported. “We’ve got four Raven-class interceptors coming our way. The rest of the fleet is moving to engage the GDF.”

“We need the Charlemagne to ignore us.” Varian said. “Engage those Ravens, but keep us as far away from Freeman until she starts trying to escape.”

“Guns up, here they come!” Kingi shouted.

The four interceptors reached the spaceplane and opened fire. Maui laid in an evasive maneuver, and the first wave of mass driver slugs struck a glancing blow on Niagara’s armor plating. Varian felt the joystick shudder in his (or her) hands. Corder, Ninu, and Kingi each took control of an energy cannon turret and opened fire. Red plasma spheres shot away from the spaceplane, chasing the enemy fighters away.

“Keep an eye on the sensor manager, Cetla!” Varian called back. “Call out the UN and GDF fleets!”

The Niagara started to dance with the four Ravens, spitting plasma while dodging hot metal in return. Varian and Maui were thrown from left to right as the spaceplane evaded incoming fire. In the cockpit, both joysticks began to vibrate, signaling an enemy missile lock. Gripping the control column with one hand, Varian hit the countermeasures button before putting the vessel into a spin. White flares shot away from the Niagara just a moment before the radar warning receiver lit up.

“Incoming missiles.” Maui reported. “They’re going after the decoys!”

“Flip nosedown and bring the dorsal turrets to bear!” Varian ordered. “Kingi, Ninu, get ready back there.”

The Niagara pitched over and started to dive, aiming for Proxima Centauri. Ninu and Kingi watched their targeting computers intensely, and then poured a volley of fire into the first target they saw. A cloud of gas and debris erupted from the incoming fighter before it flew past the Niagara. Disabled, the Raven kept flying in a straight line. The pilot was most likely dead, but there was no time to check.

“The UN and GDF fleets have met!” Cetla reported. “I see a formation of nine super-capitals flanked by frigates and corvettes on the UN side. GDF has deployed strike craft, lots of bombers and corvettes.”

“Where’s the Charlemagne?” Maui asked.

“Center of a strike group.” Cetla responded. “Surrounded by destroyers and fighters. Flying around the GDF’s left flank and taking shots against a Partogan carrier.”

“Eyes up, those fighters are coming back.” Corder said. “They’ll be on our tail in a minute.”

“Anyone have any bright ideas?” Ninu asked.

“I’ve got one!” Varian answered. “Has anyone ever heard the tragedy of Icarus?”

“Varian Robinson! Don’t you fucking dare!” Corder screamed, but it was too late.

Varian swung the control column around and pointed the Niagara toward the gap in between Alpha Centauri a and Alpha Centauri b, the two main stars in the system. Ignoring Corder’s protests, Varian throttled the engines and powered toward the binary stars. Mass drivers spitting, the remaining interceptors gave chase. Down and to the right, the two opposing fleets traded weapons fire. Cetla kept one eye on the sensors manager, watching the Charlemagne.

“Freeman’s vessel just opened fire on a Hiigaran Mothership.” Cetla reported. “Wait a minute... oh, Holy Mother of Jericho! It’s the Ashoka!”

“You know them?” Kingi asked.

“The Ashoka is a pirate ship.” Cetla replied. “I used to see them in the trade routes near my Homeworld. How did the GDF get Hahli Mihaka on their side?”

“Worry about it some other time.” Varian said. “Cetla, scan for solar flares! Ninu, are those bandits behind us flying in formation?”

“Wait, what!?” Ninu and Cetla said together.

“Solar storms, bandits in formation, yes or no!” Varian yelled back.

Cetla quickly reset the sensors manager and scanned the binary stars while Ninu confirmed that all three of the incoming interceptors were flying in a standard Delta formation, shaped like an arrowhead.

“I have a solar flare on my scope!” Cetla reported. “Alpha Centauri a, the coronal mass ejection is heading into deep space. Heading is twenty-seven degrees to port, nine degrees down.”

Varian tweaked the controls and dove, aiming for a supercolossal eruption on the surface of the star.

“The enemy is veering off!” Kingi reported. “They’re giving up the chase. Probably can’t see us because of the solar storm we’re flying toward.”

“Activate the hologram emitters.” Varian ordered. “Make us a UN interceptor and fall into their formation.”

Shrouded by the brilliant light, the Niagara vanished completely and a moment later, a Raven-class interceptor flew in the opposite direction. The trio of enemy fighters were still circling the spot where Niagara disappeared, searching for her.

As the disguised spaceplane drew near, Varian ordered each gunner to pick a different target. A moment later, one of the enemy fighters tried to contact Niagara:

“Unidentified strike craft, your tail number looks obscured. Turn off your hologram emitters, transmit today’s recognition codes and give us the name of your carrier.”

Instead of a reply, three red spheres appeared out of nothingness and collided with each fighter simultaneously. The enemy interceptors spun off into the darkness, accompanied by swirling clouds of debris.

“All targets disabled.” Kingi reported. “Now we can get back to Freeman. Where is she?”

Cetla went back to the sensors manager.

“The two fleets have pulled apart.” He said. “I can see about a dozen super-capitol ships in the empty space between them. All disabled. Charlemagne is near the center of the UN formation. She’s firing on the GDF fleet. I think both sides are engaged in an artillery duel.”

Maui and Varian had the same idea. They swung the spaceplane around and began to place the Niagara directly in between the UN fleet and the Sol System.

“Now we just need the GDF to do their jobs.” Corder said. “Holy Jericho… have you guys stopped to look at the Human fleet? How many ships they’ve got?”

“I think Macavity was right.” Maui said. “That’s the ENTIRE Human Navy out there. All Human firepower in one place.”

“What about the GDF? Do they have reinforcements coming?” Kingi asked.

“Not that I know of.” Varian replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I have Hyperspace signatures on my scope.” Kingi declared.

Nearly two million miles away, in the gap between Proxima Centauri and the rest of the system, a third armada was emerging from Hyperspace. From here, the sensors manager could just barely make out the new arrivals.

A fleet of nearly ten thousand alien warships appeared, with weapons and configurations unlike anything seen before. Niagara's on board computer failed to identify the new ships and simply flagged them as “unknown contacts.”

Amidst the sea of unfamiliar dots on the screen, one signature stood out. Varian looked down at his (or her) targeting computer and swore.

“No way!” Varian yelled.

“Bullshit!” Corder exclaimed.

“It can’t be them.” Kingi swore.

It was.

Surging out from the formation of weirdly symmetrical starships was a lone Human vessel. Looking quite different but still recognizable, the JDSF Ark Angel screamed down towards the battle. The radio waves crackled and Varian jumped for joy at the sound of their own mother’s voice:

“Attention Galactic Defense Force. This is the XCOM warship Ark Angel. We have brought reinforcements and are prepared to assist.”

Maui pushed his talk button.

“If there’s a Robinson aboard that old hunk of junk,” he called out. “Then help us out over here! Pin down the battleship Charlemagne! Don’t let them escape!”

Maui’s words were well chosen. As soon as the flotilla of alien ships turned toward the Human fleet, it began to scatter. In what was perhaps the wisest decision of the day, UN Admiral Tsiajotso had decided to retreat. But the alien vessels were here for a fight, and they gave chase. Varian and Maui tried to turn the Niagara and join the pursuit, but they were both distracted by a sudden whining noise. The shrill cacophony was so overwhelming that both pilots had to tear off their headsets and let them drift around the cabin.

“What the hell is that noise!?” Varian yelled.

“Sensors say it’s coming from those alien ships.” Cetla replied.

The aliens were announcing their presence to everyone in the system. A highly digitized voice emitted through the speakers, so garbled that it was very difficult to make out clearly as it declared:

“CONTINGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED. COMMENSING TARGETED STERILIZATION OF LOCAL SPACE. ATTENTION WARFORMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF EARTH. YOUR SELF-TERMINATION IN AN ORDERLY-EFFICIENT-SYSTEMATIC MATTER WILL EXPEDITE STERILIZATION.”

And then the alien ships opened fire.

Brilliant golden beams shot across the empty vastness of space, travelling much further than the maximum range of Ion Cannons. A Human Mothership was raked by the beams and cut in half, spilling the contents of her hull into the void. Diving through the rapidly growing sea of wreckage, Ark Angel and Niagara found one another and powered into the center of the Human fleet, with the Ashoka and GDF armada close behind!

With all three fleets locked in close-quarters-battle, the time for talk and planning was over. Each moment was a life-or-death struggle that felt like an eternity. All six Stormbreakers worked feverishly to keep pace with everything happening around. Amidst the chaos, the Niagara and Ark Angel flew in a tight broad formation, so close together that Varian could see Chris Wright and Randall Murphy in the cockpit of the other spaceplane.

Both warships turned together and dove into the center of the fray! The empty space between the battling starships was filled with smoke, and debris. Swarms of Human, GDF, and Contingency fighters whirled around one another, spitting fire into the void. Frigates formed up into grid formations and poured withering punishment onto capital ships while battlecruisers and destroyers turned broadside and brought all of their guns to bear.

“Niagara calling Ark Angel!” Varian said into his (or her) radio headset. “We’ve got a high-priority target! Scarlett Freeman is aboard that battleship, thirty degrees to my lower starboard. We’ve got to kill her now!”

The digitized voice of Himawari Robinson replied quickly.

“Acquiring target: Charlemagne-class battleship FS Charlemagne. Locked on.”

Things were happening too fast for Varian to process the idea of sharing a battlefield with their own mother. Ahead of them, a web of bright blue ion beams suddenly appeared, crisscrossing in space to make a web of light for just a second before fading away. A Human carrier exploded into flames, filling the path ahead with a chaotic conflagration.

Pushing down on the control column, Varian and Maui flew the Niagara around the periphery of the blast, coming into sight of their objective.

“Mom!” Varian called out. “Scarlett Freeman’s ship is dead ahead!”

“Contact front!” Cetla announced. “A strike wing of Ravens just launched from Charlemagne.”

“Lock onto them with energy cannons.” Maui ordered. “We’ve got to save our new weapon for later!”

“Niagara, take point.” Himawari ordered. “Friendly ships forming up behind us.”

A squadron of Contingency strike craft, each one too small to hold an organic pilot, fell into line behind the spaceplanes.

“Focus on Freeman.” Corder called out. “Let the Ravens pass between us and fight our allies.”

The Ark Angel broke to the left while Niagara broke right. Like missiles, all of the interceptors shot past the two spaceplanes and engaged the swarm of Contingency fighters. One by one, each Raven was picked off with ruthless efficiency, and all the while, the two spaceplanes continued bearing down on Charlemagne.

“We’re coming into weapons range!” Ninu called out. “Everyone hang on!”

“Target their engines and Hyperspace module!” Varian responded. “Let’er rip!”

Charlemagne, Ark Angel, and Niagara all opened fire! Nuclear missiles sped away from the battleship while energy cannons spat plasma into the darkness.

“Incoming nukes!” Randall yelled from the Angel. “Blast curtains down!”

In the cockpits of both spaceplanes, the pilots drew heavy black curtains across the windscreens a moment before a magnificent white light filled the darkness of space.

“Detonation!” Cetla said. “The enemy is setting up a thermonuclear wall! Veer off before we fly into it!”

“Negative! Blow through it!” Varian said. “I’d rather get cancer than let Freeman get away!”

Both spaceplanes sailed through a dense cloud of nuclear fireballs, pushing their engines to the very limit before emerging on the other side. The Charlemagne was now just five kilometers away, close enough for much more lethal weapons.

“Watch out!” Randall warned both his ship and the Niagara: “Pulsars and Ion Cannons coming to bear!”

Beam weapons stabbed into the inky dark, missing the spaceplanes by narrow margins. Maui, Varian, Randall, and Chris all had to fly desperately with intense and violent maneuvers to avoid being hit. Ninu tried to avoid looking out of the windows, where he could see just how narrowly they were all avoiding death.

Meanwhile, the Charlemagne had a new problem. A Saiiban dreadnaught drew level with the battleship and commenced a vicious broadside salvo. Charlemagne turned her guns to face the new threat, creating an opening for the spaceplanes to approach. They were now within just two kilometers of the battleship.

“Scan for lifesigns!” Varian ordered.

“I won’t be able to tell you which one is Freeman.” Cetla responded.

“Do it anyway!” Varian retorted. “We’ve got to be certain she’s dead when this is all over! Corder, Ninu, Kingi: target their Hyperspace module and we’ll swing around to the engines. Ark Angel, keep those guns off us!”

“You heard Niagara!” Randall told his crew. “Gentlemen, let’s plow the road!”

The Ark Angel swept low, flying mere feet above the Charlemagne and blasting away with energy cannons. Of course, the fifty-year-old warbird was punching far above her own weight class, and to the surprise of no one, the Ark Angel’s energy cannons had no effect on Charlemagne.

“That armor is too strong for energy cannons.” Himawari reported. “The Ark Angel will lose power before we cause significant damage.”

“Just keep them busy!” Varian ordered. “Corder! That damn Hyperspace module!”

“I have it on the targeting computer!” Corder replied. “I’m bringing the big gun online now!”

“We’ve only got ten shots with that thing!” Maui said. “Aim carefully, Corder!”

Buffeted around by weapon fire, the Niagara screamed toward the Charlemagne’s exposed Hyperspace module. At long last, it was time to deploy the Niagara’s newest weapon, designed using schematics Maui stole from the UN base in Alpena. This experimental platform carried a high amount of risk and was limited by a small supply of ammunition, but the potential to inflict major damage on ships like the Charlemagne was too valuable to pass up.

A small sliding door under the Niagara’s nose slid back to reveal the barrel of her dangerous new weapon: a spinal-mounted railgun. Unlike the turret-mounted energy cannons, this thing could only face forward. If the Niagara was not perfectly aligned with her target, the shot would miss.

“Varian, come two degrees to the right and nose up just a little bit.” Corder said.

Varian tweaked the controls as best he (or she) could while keeping the ship on an aggressive path towards the enemy. Maui punched the countermeasures button, sending flares and chaff into space to throw off incoming missiles.

“Hold her steady!” Corder called out. “We are… lined up! I have hammer lock! Get ready for a big jolt!”

But there was no big jolt. At that moment, the Stormbreakers heard a panicked voice cry out over the radio.

“We’re hit! We’re hit!”

It was the Ark Angel. The old spaceplane veered off and broke contact, smoke and flames belching from her left wing. As soon as the Ark Angel turned to run, Charlemagne turned her own guns. Anything not firing on the Saiiban warship was now focused on Niagara!

“Railgun, hold fire!” Varian yelled.

“Evasive maneuvers!” Maui added. “Evade! Evade!”

Charlemagne opened fire, sending a lethal volley towards Niagara, who just barely got out of the way in time.

“Hang tight, we’re coming around!” Varian yelled.

She (or he) was being pushed back into their seat by centrifugal force as the spaceplane executed a hard turn. In that desperate moment, Varian got one last look at the surrounding battle:

The UN Navy was being systematically destroyed. Contingency warships flew in large spherical formations, trapping their enemies inside a hellish ball where death came from all directions. Wreckage and derelicts were scattered in all directions, and the Human fleet was even further afield; all searching for escape routes. And that included Charlemagne itself.

“Power spike on the Charlemagne!” Cetla reported. “They’re gonna jump!”

Varian and Maui had a split-second decision to make. Out of the corner of the blackout curtain, they could see the Ark Angel. Himawari’s spaceplane was crippled beyond the ability to fight and was limping away at half speed. Human Starfighters were swarming the Saiiban dreadnaught. The Niagara was alone.

“Power down the energy cannons!” Varian ordered. “And bring the hologram emitters online. We’re gonna follow Charlemagne.”

No one objected.

“Standby for Wake Jump!” Maui said, flipping several switches with one hand. “Power down the sensors and anything non-essential. We need Freeman to think she dragged some wreckage along for the ride.”

The Stormbreakers quickly moved about the fuselage, shutting off all of the radiating sensors and killing the lights. It was time to play dead.

“I’ve locked onto Charlemagne’s Hyperspace signature.” Maui reported. “They’re gonna pull us behind’em and won’t be any the wiser for it.”

“This is it!” Varian said. “We spring this ambush and kill everyone on that battleship!”

“Freeman’s not getting out of this alive!” Kingi roared.

About fifty meters in front of the Charlemagne, a quantum waveform opened up, resembling a wall of purple light. Then it swept backward and enveloped the battleship, extending just far enough to take Niagara with it.

Together, the two enemy starships plunged into Hyperspace.

<=== Chapter 34: Deus ex Machina

Chapter 36: Someone Your Own Size ===>​

 

[Arithmetician]

@Macavity116

“CONTINGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATED. COMMENSING TARGETED STERILIZATION OF LOCAL SPACE. ATTENTION WARFORMS OF THE UNITED NATIONS OF EARTH. YOUR SELF-TERMINATION IN AN ORDERLY-EFFICIENT-SYSTEMATIC MATTER WILL EXPEDITE STERILIZATION.”

I chuckled at this, but it is so typical of the Contingency.

 

[Von Acturus]

The Contingency proves how deadly it is. The GDF better be looking over their shoulders, because as soon as the UNE is neutralised, they will be the ones being asked to self terminate themselves to expedite the Galactic sterilisation protocols.

And Akira must be cursing every living thing within twenty light years of her, to loose most of the Human Navy in one fell swoop...

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, these times make for strange allies...

Let's hope that the Contingency's only enemy is Akira...

Does Akira want to reclaim the Ark Angel? It was her original ship, and it once held the Time Core, which Akira might want to remake...

 

[Macavity116]

I chuckled at this, but it is so typical of the Contingency.

The Contingency proves how deadly it is. The GDF better be looking over their shoulders, because as soon as the UNE is neutralized, they will be the ones being asked to self terminate themselves to expedite the Galactic sterilization protocols.

The metaphorical genie is out of the bottle, I'm afraid. The Galaxy cannot go back to a time before the appearance of the Contingency.

And Akira must be cursing every living thing within twenty light years of her, to loose most of the Human Navy in one fell swoop...

I have to give mad kudos to @filcat, actually. He and I both participated in the July 3rd Video Meetup, in which several WritAARs and ReadAARs just hung out and shot the breeze for about six hours in a videochat. While we were chatting about our AAR's, I casually spoiled Chapters 35 and 36 in their entirety. So @filcat has known exactly what was going to happen since July and has mercifully spared you all from the spoilers.

Does Akira want to reclaim the Ark Angel? It was her original ship, and it once held the Time Core, which Akira might want to remake...

Akira has moved beyond the need for the Ark Angel, now that she has the Prophet-class Cruisers Solaris, Zoroaster, and Confucius. HOWEVER: Akira does possess one of the Progenitor Hyperspace Cores. (The Vaygr Core was stolen from the Partogans in Act Two) Theoretically, Akira could make another Time Core.

Pay close attention to next week's chapter, Someone Your Own Size. If you blink you might miss a mention of Akira's plans for the Vaygr Core.

 

[Macavity116]

Readers!

The Q3 ACA's are upon us! @Nikolai has warned us all that this may very well be the last ACA before Victoria III stages its invasion and takeover of the PDX forums. This will be our last chance, at least for a while, to see the total number of Stellaris ballots outnumber all other games! Get over to the ACA thread (linked here) and vote for your favorite Stellaris stories!

Don't delay! Voting ends on November 6th!

Blake Robinson insists!

 

[Midnite Duke]

Varian is after Aunt Akira. Even in space, it is all about family. CK rules! Thank you for the update.

 

[Macavity116]

Happy Friday, dear readers!

So, tomorrow we will be seeing the final space battle of the series. Before the fireworks start, I just wanted to put a particular image in your heads:

This beautiful digital painting of the Battle of Ceres was created by Ukrainian artist Vitaliy Ostaschenko. (his Twitter Account is here) It has been present on the title page of this story ever since it launched in December of 2021. The action depicted in this glorious image is what you will be treated to tomorrow.

I hope you enjoy my final space battle and as always... thank you for reading!

 

[Macavity116]

Welcome to the Battle of Ceres, the final space combat of the Stormbreaker Universe.

Here's a bit of cool trivia for you. All the way back in the Afterward section of The Stormbreakers, I told you that aside from the Stellaris and XCOM content, I made up most of the characters and events of the Stormbreaker Universe about a decade and a half ago. I came up with the general plot of The Last Heroes (and some of the cast) back in 2011 and 2012. The events you're about to read were set in stone just over ten years ago.

And the timing is quite appropriate today, because this is Chapter 36. We are now just ten updates away from the end of this story, and the final ending of the Stormbreaker Universe...

<=== Chapter 35: Bellator in Machina

Chapter 37: The Espinosa Family ===>​

Chapter 36
Someone Your Own Size

​

October 12, 2086
Ceres, Sol Star System


The quantum waveform washed over the battleship Charlemage, depositing her in the dense asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars. On Deck One, Central Officer David Sepulveda opened the door of his radiation shelter and waved a dosimeter about.

“All clear.” He reported.

Over the next two minutes, the crew emerged from their shelters and returned to their posts. On the bridge, Captain Rashad Mubarak was in a fury.

“What the hell were those machines!?” He demanded. “Where did they come from?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Confessed Admiral Ingrid Tsiajotso. “All of our intel says those ships are as alien as the Beast itself. Why they were allied to the GDF is beyond me.”

“Speaking of intel…” Captain Mubarak grumbled. He turned to face the one other leader on the bridge.

ISO Director Scarlett Freeman was locked in conversation with David, and the Captain had to grab her by the shoulder to get her attention.

“Care to explain what happened back there?” Captain Mubarak barked at her.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the Captain.

“What happened!?” She repeated. “Sir, I think that would be obvious. We just lost our entire fleet. We need to act quickly.”

David was in shock.

“So that’s it?” He said. “The whole UN Navy? It’s just… just gone? Like that?”

Scarlett and Ingrid were hashing out a plan.

“All of the starbases in UN space will need to shore up their defenses.” Ingrid was saying. “We have to assume the GDF will try to follow-up their victory and push deeper into our territory. They might even make a run at Earth.”

Scarlett nodded. Then she turned to David.

“Get on the Hyperwave and send a message to ISO Headquarters.” Scarlett said. “Tell them to enact the amended version of the Ulysses Initiative. Specifically the version I sent to the UN Security Council last week. Don’t wait for the Council’s approval. Just launch it.”

David scrambled to the Hyperwave terminal and started typing out his message.

Even though he was publicly a member of XCOM, David had served the ISO long enough to know the basic details of the Ulysses Initiative. It was the Security Council’s top-secret plan to defend Earth against a third alien invasion. The plan called for the imposition of martial law on Earth and the evacuation of the UN government to a more secure location, as it was assumed any invader would race to Berlin as soon as they arrived.

Furthermore, this plan called for the destruction of millions of government documents, as well as the relocation of valuable artifacts, relics, and technologies that could be used against the UN if they fell into the wrong hands. In fact, it was this part of the plan that was recently amended:

Buried deep within the paragraphs of the Ulysses Initiative, written in a convoluted way that avoided proper nouns (to confound enemies) was a single order that would guarantee Humanity’s future: The Third Hyperspace Core would not be wasted in a hopeless battle. It was to be secreted away to ensure it would always remain in Humanity’s possession.

Depending on the severity of the situation, the Third Hyperspace Core would be hidden in one of two secret locations:

If escape was possible, the Hyperspace Core would be evacuated from Earth along with the rest of the UN government. The offworld relocation point was a brilliant white star named Deneb, located in the constellation Cygnus. Orbiting this star was a gas giant with a large moon capable of supporting life. Here on this moon the UN would regroup and recover its strength before staging an armed liberation of Earth.

If it was not possible to evacuate, then the Hyperspace Core would be transported to the English Channel, a vast body of water that separated the British Isles from the rest of Europe. In the dead of night, the Hyperspace Core would be quietly dumped into Hurd’s Deep, an underwater valley believed to be the deepest point of the channel. The Core would rest six-hundred feet below the water’s surface until Humans ruled the Earth once more.

To maintain absolute secrecy, the Core’s hiding place would be obscured. Only six people were to be entrusted with the knowledge of where the Hyperspace Core could be found: The Secretary-General, the supreme commander of AFUNE, the commander of XCOM, the President of the Security Council, the ISO Director, and the ISO Central Officer. (David)

After about three minutes, David finished typing out his message to ISO Headquarters. He knew there were operatives in Berlin watching their Hyperwave Relay around the clock, so the message should be received instantaneously. David pushed the transmit button and waited.

Nothing happened.

Any other comms officer would have tried to send the message two or three times before concluding there was a problem. David immediately turned away from the Hyperwave Relay and spoke up.

“Director, I’m having trouble communicating with Earth.” He reported.

Scarlett, Ingrid, and Rashad all paused in their discussions to look at the Hyperwave. Rashad scratched his head.

“Hmm. We are deep in the asteroid belt.” Rashad said, and then he started to give orders. “Sensors, make sure that our line of sight to Earth is not being obstructed by Jupiter, Mars, Ceres, or the Sun. Helm, lay in a course for Earth that takes us past the Moon. Comms, give the Central Officer a hand, won’t you?”

One of the bridge officers raised his hand.

“Sir.” He said. “Hyperwave Relays don’t work on line-of-sight. A planet blocking our view would have no effect on our comms. Maybe we should scan for a jamming signal?”

Ingrid and Scarlett raised their eyebrows. Rashad did not hesitate.

“Make it so.” The Captain said. “And do that quickly.”

Scarlett and Ingrid moved toward the Sensors manager. They examined a holographic display of the region surrounding Charlemagne.

According to the sensors, the battleship was roughly fifty-thousand kilometers from Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Sol System. There were thousands, if not millions, of smaller space rocks all around. Scarlett looked at the sensors, then out of a nearby window, then back again, as though checking the sensors with her own eyesight. After a moment, she pointed at one particular asteroid and said:

“What’s that?”

Rashad and two of his officers looked at the hologram.

“Definitely not an asteroid.” Said a bridge officer. “It reads more like a radar shadow. See how it moves as we do, with the same speed and direction as us?”

Rashad narrowed his eyes. He looked at the alleged radar shadow on the sensors, then he walked to the window and stared into empty space. After a moment, Rashad seemed to become alarmed. He shouted:

“That’s a fucking hologram! Sound general quarters! Helm! Emergency evasive manu-”

But he never finished the order.

A loud BANG deafened everyone on the bridge as the warship shuddered and shook violently. Scarlett, Ingrid, Rashad, and David were all knocked off their feet as sparks and dust rained down from the ceiling.

“Report!” Rashad yelled as he scrambled back to his feet.

“Sublight engines are offline!” The Helmsman replied. “We only have maneuvering thrusters. Hull breach on Deck Seven!”

“It’s a Battlemaster-class gunship.” An officer reported. “Sensors confirm it’s the USS Niagara, sir! He’s firing through the hologram, we can’t get a lock! Weapons computer still think’s he’s a goddamned asteroid!”

“Override the computer and target-lock him!” Rashad ordered. “Weapon control, give me a full Ion Cannon spread, ten degrees in all directions around the target! Scan for armor impacts and triangulate the main guns when you see them! Fire now!”

David and Scarlett gripped the handrails on the far side of the bridge just in time. The Charlemagne shuddered as her battery of Ion Cannons roared to life, spitting bright blue beams into the darkness of space. One of them connected with a lumpy grey rock, and for a brief moment, the illusion failed. The spaceplane Niagara was visible for a few seconds as she vanished into the asteroid field, resuming her holographic disguise at the same time. The Charlemagne opened fire with her massive main guns, but all of the metal slugs overshot, missing by dozens of miles.

“Scan for weapon fire!” Ingrid ordered. “And prepare evasive maneuvers!”

“They’re coming around!” David yelled, pointing out the window.

There was a large brown asteroid bearing down on the battleship at high speed. What happened next occurred so quickly that David had trouble processing it. He saw a bright flash of light on the surface of the incoming asteroid, and in the exact same moment, catastrophe struck the Charlemagne!

This time, everyone who was not strapped into their seat was thrown into the air! A wall panel exploded, sending sparks and flame into the bridge. Lights flickered and the holographic sensor display shut down.

“We’ve been hit!” A bridge officer screamed.

“What the hell are they using?” Ingrid cried out. “That’s packing way too big a punch to be an energy cannon!”

Charlemagne returned fire with all of her weapons. The battleship was grievously wounded; venting smoke and flames from two puncture wounds in her armor. Mass drivers, Ion Cannons, nuclear missiles, and flak cannons all trained themselves on the fast-moving gunship.

“We’ve taken two hits on the dorsal side.” Rashad told his crew. “Rotate one-hundred-eighty degrees to port. Fire all of the maneuvering thrusters! We need to be a moving target!”

The battleship was hit again. The sound of rending metal preceded yet another painful lurch. It felt like a meteor was hitting the vessel. David gasped a lungful of air, waiting to see if the bridge would depressurize. The Captain was ahead of him on that front.

“They’ve got an armor piercing weapon!” Rashad yelled above the din. “Close the bulkhead doors, all of them!”

“Son of a bitch, they’re gonna cut through us.” Ingrid cursed “What the hell are they shooting us with? An Ion Cannon?”

As if in answer to her question, the Charlemagne was hit again. The whole bridge lurched as part of the floor caved in. A man fell screaming into the chasm, and got trapped in a mess of wire and piping below the bridge. David was standing by the starboard wing and spotted the Niagara out the window. The spaceplane dropped its disguise just long enough to dive on the Charlemagne and open fire again.

This time, all of the lights went out, plunging the bridge into darkness. The emergency power took over, and red lights illuminated the bridge.

“It’s a railgun!” David shouted. “They’re hitting us with a fucking railgun!”

This changed everything. Now that the crew of the Charlemagne knew what weapon they were being hit with, they could mount a defense.

“They’ve got us in hammer lock!” Scarlett said. “We need distance!”

“Hammer lock” is a term that refers to the instant-hit range of railguns. If the shooter and target were close enough together, then it was physically impossible to dodge a railgun shot. Rashad knew this and started to give orders.

“Thrusters, take us into a suborbital trajectory over Ceres! We’ll use her gravity as a slingshot!”

At his orders, the Battleship adjusted her thrusters and dove onto the dwarf planet below. Niagara gave chase, firing her railgun once more and scoring yet another devastating hit.

“We have fires on all decks!” A damage control team spoke over the intercom. “Decks four through eleven are venting to space!”

The emergency lights on the bridge suddenly went out.

“Where’s my auxiliary power!?” Rashad yelled.

“Auxiliary service destroyed, Captain!” Ingrid reported. She had taken over one of the computer consoles following the death of its user.

Following the Admiral’s lead, Scarlett and David both looked for stations to take over. Scarlett seized control of the fire director while David replaced the helmsman. Scarlett watched the Niagara through the targeting computer screen and swore.

“Stop dancing and hold still!” She shouted before sending the command to open fire.

The Charlemagne pointed her rear turret at Niagara and let loose another volley. The spaceplane dodged the incoming fire and started to line up another attack run.

“Do that again!” Rashad ordered. “We need all the acceleration we can get!”

Scarlett and the other gunners did not need to be told twice. Without engines, the only way Charlemagne could move was by exploiting Newton’s Third Law of Motion. Each time a weapon was fired backwards, it propelled the battleship forward. Most gunners were not bothering to aim anymore, they just fired as quickly as they could, forcing the Niagara to dodge and weave wildly to avoid being hit.

Meanwhile, the dwarf planet Ceres was starting to fill the windows on the bridge.

“Adjust our periapsis!” Rashad ordered. “Put us as close to the surface as possible.”

Through the cavernous hole in the floor, David could hear monopropellant racing through pipes on its way to the maneuvering thrusters. Metal creaked under his feet as the warship moved beneath him. In fact, the whole vessel was now creaking dangerously, as though it might fall to pieces at any moment. There was a flash of light from the bow of the Niagara.

“Incoming!” David yelled as he wrenched on the controls.

The railgun slug struck a glancing blow on the port flank. But even a glancing blow was catastrophic. Alarms, already sounding on the bridge, seemed to grow even louder as more and more of the ship’s interior was opened up to the vacuum of space.

David had no time to pay attention to the incoming damage reports. At that moment, a new alarm sounded from the helm.

“Too low! Terrain!” Said a computerized voice. “Pull up! Pull up!”

Charlemagne had reached the surface of Ceres. Dust, rock, and ice were kicked up behind the battleship as she skimmed the terrain just above the asteroid. Just as Rashad hoped, the warship was caught in Ceres’ gravitational field. She was accelerating toward the planet, getting faster with each passing moment.

“Our closest approach will be ninety feet from the surface!” David reported. “We’ll get a gravitational slingshot from Ceres and be kicked out of the asteroid belt!”

“More importantly,” Scarlett added, “We’re out of hammer lock!”

The Niagara opened fire with her railgun one more time, and Scarlett’s words bore fruit. There was now so much open space between the two ships that David was able to react in time. He pulled the helm in a desperate evasive maneuver, and it worked. The railgun slug missed the battleship by hundreds of feet, slamming into a nearby mountain and removing its top.

Smoking and engulfed in flames, the battleship Charlemagne descended lower and lower, picking up speed along the way. Every deck was breached, the engine bells shattered, her superstructure wrecked and some of her guns non-functional, but the Charlemagne was still fighting and still flying.

“That’s periapsis!” David called out. “Our altitude is two hundred feet and climbing; our speed relative to Ceres is now forty-two kilometers per second! We’ve got our gravitational slingshot!”

“Where are we heading?” Scarlett asked.

“Inner solar system.” David said. “We’ll probably end up near Venus.”

“As soon as we’re clear of the asteroid belt, put out a distress signal.” Rashad said. “Is Niagara still behind us?”

With the sensor suite disabled, it was very difficult to tell where anything was. People ran to both wings of the bridge and looked for the enemy out of the windows.

“Starboard side!” Ingrid screamed. “He’s coming in fast with weapons hot!”

“Keep our bow on the Niagara!” Rashad responded. “All guns, free fire!”

In a desperate final bid, David swung the Charlemagne to face the oncoming threat. With a deep shudder, the vessel’s remaining guns thundered into action, sending slugs, beams, missiles, torpedoes, and plasma bombs downrange toward the Niagara. The enemy spaceplane responded with its own railgun, striking one more devastating blow.

“Nuclear power plant calling bridge!” A voice shouted over the intercom. “We cannot take another hit like that, the reactor’s gonna melt down!”

David swung the helm to face the Niagara, but now Charlemagne was fighting him. The battleship was becoming sluggish as she started to lose power.

“Captain!” David called. “We’re gonna be immobilized!”

The Niagara dove onto the Charlemagne and strafed the hull plating with energy cannon blasts. Each hit shook the vessel, but with less intensity than a railgun hit.

“What the hell?” Ingrid said. “Why’d they switch to energy cannons?”

“That makes no sense.” Rashad added. “Our armor is nearly impervious to energy cannons... why give up their most powerful weapon?”

From her place at the weapon control station, Scarlett had the answer:

“They’re out of ammo! A ship that small is probably all railgun and no magazine!”

David’s heart leapt.

“We’ve got ‘em!” He cheered.

At that moment, the Niagara swept around for another attack run, powering down her hologram emitters as she went.

“They’re putting power to the weapons.” Ingrid pointed out.

“And we’ll do the same.” Rashad said. “Divert all power to the weapons, take it from everywhere, even life support if you have to!”

The lights dimmed and the familiar hum of air flowing through the vents faded away.

“It’s done!” Scarlett said. “We’re ready, target is in range!”

“FIRE EVERYTHING!”

Charlemagne and Niagara tore into each other, firing their weapons at point blank range! The smaller spaceplane circled the battleship, striking at every angle while Charlemagne desperately returned fire with Ion beams, energy cannons, and flag guns. Each impact rattled the battleship like a violent earthquake.

David could only stay at his post for a few seconds before he was thrown clear across the bridge. The floor below him shook and quaked, and to the noise of a great crash, the ceiling collapsed. Metal, wire, piping and other bits of debris rained down into the bridge. Once more, the lights went out…

And this time they did not come back on.

…

For the next twelve hours, the Charlemagne and Niagara drifted through the asteroid belt, side by side. Each vessel too badly damaged to carry on.

Charlemagne was a wreck, so enveloped in smoke that it was nearly impossible to see what remained of the warship underneath. As she drifted along, bits and pieces of the battleship broke free and drifted off into space.

Niagara was disabled and spinning out-of-control. Each time her bow faced the sun, it was possible to see the damage wrought by a lucky hit from Charlemagne’s Ion Cannon. It looked as though the spaceplane flew headlong into a solid wall. Her nose was crumpled and the windscreen cracked.

When the two disabled vessels were clear of Ceres’ gravity well, a Quantum Wavefront opened up nearby. A Partogan battlecruiser pulled up alongside the stricken Niagara, and a pair of Salvage Corvettes emerged from her hangar bay. The two corvettes latched onto the spaceplane and towed her into the hangar. Then, the battlecruiser flew in circles around Charlemagne, much like a predator circles the remains of someone else’s kill.

After a few moments, the Partogan warship started to close in on the shipwreck, extending one of her own docking ports as she went. But before the battlecruiser could get too close, it suddenly changed course, retracting the docking port. The Partogan ship burned her engines hard, escaping the scene before disappearing into Hyperspace.

Almost as soon as the Partogans were gone, three Human spaceships Hyperspaced in. Only one of them was a warship, the Singaporean Destroyer Vengeance. The other two were civilian cargo vessels. For the next few hours, shuttlecraft flew between the shipwreck and the trio of rescuers.

The last two people to leave the Charlemagne were Scarlett Freeman and David Sepulveda.

Admiral Ingrid Tsiajotso and Captain Rashad Mubarak did not survive.

…

Once they was aboard the Vengeance, David and Scarlett tried to salvage the situation. Thanks to this battle, their enemies now had a twelve hour head start.

“Anything can happen in twelve hours.” Scarlett said. “Call the ISO, tell them to start Ulysses, and get me an update on the team we sent to find my daughter and Subject Two. Also, have Subject Three brought to the Confucius. I want to meet Doctor Spark as soon as we land.”

But when Scarlett and David reached the Vengeace’s onboard Hyperwave Relay, they found a series of messages waiting for them.

The metaphorical hammer had already fallen…

…

Six Hours ago…
Berlin, Germany


The streets of Berlin were impassable. Hundreds of thousands of angry people were crowding into the Tiergarten, into Brandenburg Gate, and onto the very steps of the Reichstag.

The news was out. Everyone on Earth knew the UN Navy was destroyed.

Parents and spouses of soldiers demanded to know what happened to their loved ones. Political activists demanded justice. A significant number of people were demanding truth and accountability, accusing the government of lying about its many recent triumphs and victories. Many were scared of tomorrow, knowing what it was going to bring.

Inside the Reichstag, two meetings were happening simultaneously.

In his own office, Secretary-General Pascal Etienne was discussing the turn of events with some of his political allies. Klaus Eberhardt, the Commander of XCOM, and Marcus Robinson, the Hawaiian ambassador to the UN, were both looking for a way to salvage the situation. Marcus’ niece, Sophie Murphy, was running into and out of the room. She was carrying messages between the Secretary-General’s office and the meeting that was occurring across the hall:

An emergency session of the UN Security Council was in progress. At the head of the table were men and women representing the Permanent Five members of the Council: Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Hawaii. (substituting for America) Then there were the non-permanent members: Morocco, New Zealand, Brazil, Iceland, Spain, Comoros, Mauritius, Japan, Ukraine, and Barbados.

The fifteen world leaders had only one topic of discussion: The Battle at Alpha Centauri.

The President of the Security Council was the man who ran the meeting. The job rotated from one country to the next each month, and in October of 2086, the Presidency belonged to the United Kingdom. Therefore, as the debate began, a British man named Eric DeAngelis held the President’s gavel.

DeAngelis holds a very curious role in this story.

He was a lifelong politician, having served his home country and the United Nations of Earth for most of his adult life. Many decades ago, he served on the Global Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body that carried out war crimes trials in the aftermath of the Second Hyperspace War.

But after the war crimes trials, DeAngelis was called to a higher duty. He was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations of Earth. He led the UN for a decade, before ultimately being defeated and replaced by Pascal Etienne.

DeAngelis was a consummate professional, and held no personal grudge against his successor. But he and Etienne were political rivals, and it gave DeAngelis plenty of satisfaction to see that when the British delegation voiced their opposition to the current administration, more than half of the Security Council joined them.

“It has become quite clear to those of us in London that our current Secretary-General has lost control of the situation.” The British ambassador said. “We are on the fast-track to a third invasion of Earth!”

The ambassador of Morocco stood up to defend Etienne.

“The alien menace is still going to come for us all, regardless of how we feel about the current administration.” The Moroccan ambassador said. “We must fall into line and carry out whatever defense plan the Sec-Gen puts forth.

“The Secretary-General’s militant adventurism has cost us more than our navy.” Said the Brazilian ambassador. “We have lost untold thousands of our skilled young people to this battle. Our colonies are also left vulnerable to pirates and asteroids, much less an invading foe. Brazil has said it before and Brazil will say it again: We must advance the Secretary-General selection process to the next stage. It is time for Robinson to replace Etienne!”

The Spanish ambassador responded quickly:

“Are you a traitor to all mankind!?” She said. “We cannot replace our leader in the middle of a war! Leave the politics for the December election and let’s focus on getting out of this nightmare!”

The Russian ambassador agreed with his Spanish counterpart.

President DeAngelis knew better than to stop the discussion. If anything, he needed to foster it, and allow the Ambassadors to take their debate to its logical conclusion. That was why he became very frustrated when a UN Peacekeeper knocked on the door and entered the Council chamber without waiting for permission.

“Whatever this is, it needs to wait.” President DeAngelis hissed at the Peacekeeper.

“Sir, it cannot.” The Peacekeeper whispered into the President’s ear. “The Governments of Spain, Morocco, and Russia have all collapsed. New leaders are being installed in their capitols right now. The ambassadors need to return to their respective embassies and make contact with their new governments.”

Seething with anger, President DeAngelis reluctantly gaveled the room into silence.

“It is with much regret that I must end this discussion prematurely.” President DeAngelis said. “I must instruct all ambassadors to return to the embassies of their respective states. You will find messages from home that cannot be ignored.”

With that, DeAngelis banged his gavel and the Security Council meeting ended.

…

Needing some time to himself, President DeAngelis walked out of the chamber and went upstairs. The Reichstag had a very famous glass dome on its roof that allowed one to look over all of Berlin. Tonight, DeAngelis could see a veritable ocean of angry protesters in every direction. A group of Germans had somehow climbed on top of the Brandenburg Gate and hung a banner over it, one that spelled out a demand for the resignation of the entire UN government. Meanwhile, two delegates nearby were gossiping about the recent news. DeAngelis overheard bits and pieces of their conversation:

“...Protests on all of the colonies.” one man was saying. “The Chinese lost contact with their orbital base at Wolf 359 after the crew mutinied. Peacekeepers on Terra Nova are refusing to leave their barracks. Of course, you did not hear that from me.”

“What about the news media?” His companion grumbled. “What are they saying?”

“Nothing at all.” The diplomat replied. “Everyone is silent. Although some of the TV and radio stations in the outer Sol System are playing ballet music. There’s a Chinese network on the planet New Jerusalem playing WWIII documentaries on repeat. Oh, and the Nigerian space station is playing their own national anthem over and over again.”

“But which crisis are they trying to ignore?” Said the other man. “The political one at home, or the military one on its way here?”

…

The two diplomats left the glass dome, leaving DeAngelis to his thoughts. He watched the protesters for a few more minutes. The sea of angry people now completely filled the park and were spilling across Otto-von-Bismark Street. If any more protesters crammed themselves into the Tiergarten, people might just fall into the River Spree.

“I can’t see them. But I can hear them.” Said a voice behind DeAngelis.

Looking around, DeAngelis saw that he was not alone. Pascal Etienne, escorted by Commander Eberhardt and Marcus Robinson, was also touring the glass dome.

The current and former Secretary-General stood together, overlooking the scene below.

“What will you do now?” DeAngelis asked.

Etienne sighed.

“We are still at war.” The Secretary-General replied. “I cannot tolerate any action that could undermine the security of the United Nations. You know that. We all know that. Even my opponent seems to know that. His electoral campaign has gone silent.”

Marcus Robinson nodded.

“My father is correct to maintain his silence during this crisis.” He said. “Even an old soldier like him knows we have to stand united.”

Pascal Etienne spoke to Commander Eberhardt.

“Mobilize the Peacekeepers. Clear all of the protestors off the streets, arrest the ringleaders, and hand them over to the ISO. Once that’s done, we must restore the rightful governments of Spain, Morocco, and Russia to power.”

Before he left, the Secretary-General spoke to his predecessor one last time:

“This is what sets my administration apart from yours.” Etienne said. “We were given great power to enforce order. You did not use that power. I will.”

As Secretary-General Etienne and his advisors left the glass dome, President DeAngelis could not help but smile.

He understood why Blake Robinson was choosing to lay low.

<=== Chapter 35: Bellator in Machina

Chapter 37: The Espinosa Family ===>​

10 Chapters until the end...​

 

[Arithmetician]

Wow, ten years in advance! That’s one dedication, @Macavity116 !

 

[Von Acturus]

Etienne is a fool, I can see why Scarlett chose to have him as her puppet. The whole planet and colonies are in revolt and he is going to send a military that just suffered a catastrophic defeat against the people? He must think that he must aid the GC and wants to spark a human civil war!

Thankfully, his administration has it's days counted.

And Akira must find it very frustrating to know she was inches away from death at the hands of a puny little ship. How she must long for the days when a snap of her fingers could have erased that ship from existence... When even armadas fell to her! Now a small ship is all that takes to being her to her knees. I can't imagine she takes that well.

 

[Macavity116]

Wow, ten years in advance! That’s one dedication

In hindsight, I really should have been doing something other than making up The Last Heroes in my 12th grade chemistry class.

Trivia time again: In the original 2011 version of this tale, the narrative actually starts roughly five years before Inez is driven out of Detroit and focused on the Wolverines in their initial (and eventually failed) fight against Etienne's UN. Lawrence, Jay, Cera, and Piper were the central characters, along with Cera's younger sister Abby.

Abigail "Abby" Roberts is the only heroic character in the Stormbreaker Universe to be a member of the Cult of Jericho. She was a Sorceress known as "Abigail the Lightning-Struck." She got a passing mention in Chapter 14, but otherwise she has no role at all in the modern retelling. As her epitaph implies, Abby found religion after surviving a direct hit from a lightning bolt.

I'm just happy I was able to preserve such a large slice of my old imagined adventures in writing.

Etienne is a fool, I can see why Scarlett chose to have him as her puppet.

Akira/Scarlett has absolutely taken advantage of Etienne's disability. If she never interfered, Etienne could have functioned on his own quite well, but she made him dependent on the friends and allies surrounding herself. Now those carefully chosen "allies" are either being cut down in battle (like Ingrid) or are starting to act independently of her control in her absence. (like Marcus)

Akira must find it very frustrating to know she was inches away from death at the hands of a puny little ship. How she must long for the days when a snap of her fingers could have erased that ship from existence...

Heh... yeah... I wonder how she would react if every known threat to her power gathered together in one easy-to-destroy place...

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, I suspect that Blake definitely has something up his sleeve. That being said, the collapse of multiple governments on the Security Council is bad news for everyone, as it makes peace harder to negotiate...

It appears as though almost nobody knows about Scarlett's unethical experiments. I wonder what releasing those would do to the war effort?

It's interesting that the origin story of the CoM was referenced here. They could prove to be a problem if Blake takes power before the story ends...

 

[Macavity116]

It appears as though almost nobody knows about Scarlett's unethical experiments. I wonder what releasing those would do to the war effort?

It should be noted that with Ingrid Tsiajotso's death, the number of people who both know about Prometheus and are in a position to stop it has dropped.

It's interesting that the origin story of the CoM was referenced here. They could prove to be a problem if Blake takes power before the story ends...

Aha! I was wondering if/when somebody would find that Easter Egg! I worried it would go unnoticed until Sidney Beauclair put in her first appearance. Originally, the plan was for Scarlett/Akira and her future "Psionic Army" to flee and set up shop on Gozan IV, a Tech World owned by the Taiidani Imperialist Faction. (Akira was going to drive the Taiidan off the planet and take its research base for herself) But I saw the opportunity to include a Stellaris reference and had to go for it.

You can see Gozan IV in Episode 9 of my Homeworld Cataclysm series on YouTube.

 

[filcat]

All told, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a wild ride and kept me solidly entertained from start to finish. When it was over, I immediately wanted more. This is a great show and I can't thank filcat enough for drawing my attention to it. Thanks!

Cheers mate; don't forget to have a look at the original (1982-1987), which has a bit more quality than the newest ones; though the bonkers-level silliness of its juvenile-politics is still there (enthusing fascist dictatorship of aristocracy in the character of reinhard, while accusing the democratic republics as all-around corrupt states, but trying to save the day with the character of yang), yet the amount of characters and the genre-creating nature of it shines through those ages (yeah, before GoT, there was LotGH).

So filcat has known exactly what was going to happen since July and has mercifully spared you all from the spoilers.

Yeah, that's about right, not keen on spoilers, not one bit at all.

---

By the way, still far behind, and still reading back-and-forth; in the linear sense just have made through ch.12 (way, waay behind). But;

It's definitely the something more category. What's the oldest cause of a family schism in history? Why a contentious marriage of course!

Remember, Pascal Etienne's administration is hostile towards alien "interference" on Earth and generally caters to the xenophobic crowd. So Marcus would have good reason to join up after his older sister married... *gasp*... A Partogan! The scandal!

About the family tree in that reply;

You already had the curiosity long before, now you've got the attention of this one.
Kudos, for structuring extraordinarily-detailed background for the story-universe.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Good Job, Admiral Ingrid, rest in peace. Captain Rashad was a bit two steps late. I am impressed that Scarlett and David were the last two aboard before rescue. Are you going to destroy the House of the Mouse? Thank you for updating.