Ein ********** 3960 AB (Absolute Biblical) - 39 years ago. ********** Golgotha. The seventh planet of the Augusta Star System. And forever seen as a forbidden domain. Even in the greatest case, this planet was only recognized under the sphere of the Galactic Confederacy's influence because of its tremendous size with comparison to the other planets of the system. Beyond its size it was seen as nothing more than a cursed sphere. Golgotha was completely covered over with ice. Because of its distance from the mother sun of Augustine space, Calpernia, the atmosphere was thick with nitrogen. The only reason it was even possible to breathe on the planet was because of the nanomachine fields constructed for each planet of the 'outer' areas of the Augusta Star System. For this reason Golgotha was held to be no more than an oversized research laboratory. It was possessed of no more than two large continents; one to the south of the equator (Aragaia) and one to the north of it (Metagaia). A certain operation was being conducted on the northern most tip of Aragaia. The frosty fields of pure ice and rock were as much and as far as the eye could see. Snow dropped down from the dark skies above, illuminated only by the light of Golgotha's nine moons and the aurora trails that adorned those same skies. No animals nor plants were able to grow here. But there were signs of life Life that had come from another planet of which human life was a given. Suddenly in the distance blazed two lights. Along with the echoing sound of exhaust. The cause of the noise and light made themselves known mere moments later on. Two bipedal humanoid mechanisms, zooming through the chilled Golgotha sky, sleek and powerful, framed in white and blue descended towards a certain patch of the ice fields. Across the chest plates of the mechas were the branding of a certain symbol. That of a golden crucifix, emblazoned with the letter 'M' at its centre. Machines such as these were called Magi Armours. These types were known as the Kishar. There were not military grade, so spoken by the lack of weaponry other than a mere set of shoulder-concealed sub rifle barrels The Kishar-types were made for one purpose only. Excavation. They were the product of years upon years of ground-breaking work in the field of archaeological technology Now two of those machines would be put to use. The pilot of Kishar #1 grunted from inside the cockpit of his Kishar, and opening up communications with his partner by tapping a few buttons on the control panel before him. A holographic display suddenly popped up over that panel to display that secondary pilot. "Hey," Pilot #1 spoke, "You getting tired, boy?" "A little. It's been pretty hard since we left for Golgotha," Pilot #2 replied, "We've been up all night getting here remember? And it took me days to configure my preferred settings to the specs of this thing." Pilot #1 chuckled. "You kids today. A little hard work can refresh the soul. Or so I'm told." "So what are we here for again?" "Don't be dense. You've been given the data. After the scrolls were found our entire department was in sheer uproar. I can't understand the need for something as old as this... but... we can only follow the Ministry's orders like we always do. I'm not saying I understand the panic... it's not as if they were the Dead Sea Scrolls themselves, but... that's how it is." Pilot #2 sighed. "I had heard that the brunt of this operation was financed by Esdraelon Conglomerate. Do you think that there's some truth to that?" "If it is true... then it would explain why the hardliners of the Ministry pushed up the excavation schedule. You know those suit-wearing bastards don't care anything for science. They only want money But I don't think we'll have to wait too long for a result. I've heard that President Bardia himself has become quite sickly in recent months." "Heh, heh, heh," Pilot #2 laughed at that, "begging your pardon, but don't be cocky, sir Apparently his son is quite the little apprentice. He may just take over his Father's empire once the old man croaks. And I doubt that it would make a difference in the long run. Now that the Galactic Confederacy has come to rely on the Esdraelon Conglomerate financially... the Ministry can't help but cooperate with them." Pilot #1 shook his head. "That may be so... but this is a secret operation, correct? How exactly would this be seen as a collective venture when the Galactic Confederacy knows absolutely nothing about it?" "You sound sceptical." "Is there any reason I shouldn't be?" Pilot 1# said, "don't for a second question my loyalty to the Ministry, but... even the planning and design of Deuteronomy and the Zarathustra haven't been hidden from the eyes of the Tsar and the other leaders of the Galactic Confederacy I know for a fact that the leaders received the memo about them. And the Ministry haven't done much in concealing the scrolls, either. Don't you find it odd that this of all things is being held top secret?" "I suppose so..." Trailed Pilot #2. The older one smiled again. "Perhaps this is all just the ramblings of a veteran archaeologist. Forget about it." The pilot of the second Kishar nodded and shut off the visual link between the two of them It was time to do what they had come here for anyway. The two Magi Armours flew down towards a specific set of coordinates that had been marked on there visual screens. Below them on the icy ground, surrounded by snow of sub-Kelvin temperatures, was something that just didn't seem to fit in with the rest of this planet. It was clearly a man-made structure. It was a long paving of stone which had been fixed into the side of an ice hillock. The stone frame was carved with many intricate and curved symbols and extended beyond a length of twenty metres across and seven meters upwards. They might have made a normal human seem small in comparison, but the Kishar-types towered over it at heights of more than eighty metres. Both MAs landed on the cold hoarfrost before the stone tablet fixed into the ice hillock. Pilot #2 addressed his superior with sound-only communication. "Is this it? Is this the site?" "So it is," Pilot #1 replied, "the recon team finally got off their asses and did something right for a change. There is absolutely no doubting it. This edifice is nothing like the fake tombs we've seen on the other side of Golgotha. These carvings are of genuine Mu Civilization production. I can vouch for that myself." "I see. So we've found it," Pilot #2 confirmed, "the Tomb of Mahalah..." ********** 3999 AB - Present day ********** "Lieutenant Gestalt. It is time to wake up." Ash moaned tiredly to himself at the irritating sound of a robotic female voice calling at him. The youngster sighed and rolled over in his bed, grabbing the pillow and placing it above his head. A metallic hand came down and grabbed the pillow from him; causing another groan of irritation. It looked like it was going to be impossible to prevent himself from getting more sleep. Ash let off a final groan and rubbed the matter from his eyes. Moments later he turned around in the bed and leaned upwards, revealing his lean and muscled upper body from the folds of his bedspread. He was fairly well built for someone only seventeen years of age. "Goddamn," Ash muttered, "You're pretty handy as an alarm clock, Cinnamon." Standing beside Ash's bed was a certain android of feminine proportions She was a model of the old 300-Xi series that had been mass-produced on planet Shem years ago. But she had been remodelled quite a bit from her peers. Her whole body had been covered over with plastics to give off the impression of skin, although it was quite clear that she was a purely mechanical creation, given her robotic voice. Cinnamon adjusted the folds over her dark green military uniform and addressed Ash, saying, "Good Morning, Lieutenant Gestalt. Did you sleep well?" "I was, until you came along," Ash eyed the android, "And would you stop calling me that when we're in private, goddamnit? It's Ash, remember? I told you to start thinking of me as a friend." Cinnamon shook her head. "That is not possible. You are Lieutenant Ashriel Gestalt of the Darshana Division of the Rehoboam Regular Military -- aligned to the starship Paracelsus and existing specifically for the purpose of Anti-Saviour operations in Augustine Space. I am required to provide for you as a superior and the prime field combatant of the Darshana Division. I am not programmed to impart you with friendship." Ash chuckled at that. "Heh. That's pretty cold. Dah well. I suppose I can't bend the will of the maker, right? If anything you might as well just give me the 411. Are we at Protea, yet?" "Negative," Replied Cinnamon, "the Paracelsus is currently heading for the city of Protea at a speed of 2.6 Giga Thrust. However Commander Eldiah has ordered you; along with Lieutenants Stenzel and Daitokuji, to meet him in the conference room of the ship. The mission briefing has been supplied to us from headquarters. You are required to leave for the conference room as soon as possible for the briefing." "Finally!" The Germanic teenager jumped out of bed in nothing more than his boxers and stepped down onto the comfortable, carpeted floor of his dorm room, "General Schwartz has been making us dangle all this time, I was half worried that he was going to recall us to Crux Cartha. Finally I'll get myself some action." Thereafter Ash wasted no time and marched over to the right of his dorm, past the plastic sound-proof window of the side wall. It gave a wonderful view of the snowy-ridden grass fields of Rehoboam, the sixth planet of the Augusta Star System. The boy marched into the side compartment which was actually a kind of bathroom. He stepped behind a glass panel and commanded 'hot shower - on'. When he closed the panel door behind him a stream of warm water poured from the overhead nozzle in rivets. Warm water began pouring down the ridges of muscle that framed his chest and abdomen, dampening his dark sand blonde hair. While Ash reached for a bottle of shampoo on the side he called out to Cinnamon and said; "That'll be all for now! You can go call on Cream and Yoko." Cinnamon shook her head. "They are already awake." "...Oh. Then... you might as well go to the conference room and wait for me with the others. Okay?" "Very well." Replied the android. Cinnamon excused herself and exited through the automatic door of Ash's private dorm. The blonde man spent the next twenty minutes enjoying his shower after that. He hadn't seen much action in recent weeks but he was pumped for it now. This unholy war with the Saviours had been sucking up a lot of the Galactic Confederacy's attention recently. But that was to be expected. After all, before 3982 AB, not a single person had even known of their existence. In that year, the planet Rehoboam, which happened to be the chief planet of the Galactic Confederacy, had been overcome with an event that was to go down in history as the Saviour Invasion. They were a group of biotechnological alien forces which attacked the three major cities (Agnus Dei, Crux Cartha, and Ladeny) of Rehoboam one by one. They have the power to understand and replicate human speech, but even now at a time more than seventeen years after their first attack, no one knew just what their intentions were. They seemed to attack randomly nowadays. And those attacks were no longer centred on just Rehoboam. Other planets in Augustine space, like Alvastian and Shem, were beginning to suffer their evil. The Darshana Division, the section of the military to which Ash belonged, was one of many new platoons being created specifically to deal with the Saviour Invasion. After spending as much time as he possibly could in the shower, Ash called for the water to be switched off. Then stepped out of it and wrapped his naked flesh in a towel. He stepped back out of the side compartment and got himself dressed in the dark green and gold military uniform. With that the young man exited from his dorm and walked out into the corridor that linked up all the dorm rooms on the Paracelsus. There were 300 in all. The ship could hold an absolute maximum of about 900 people. But the actual number of crew members on board now was around 57. That might have seemed like a small number for a starship so big, but the Darshana Division was still in its fledgling stages. Time had to be given for it to grow. Ash yawned and strode down the length corridor, on occasion looking out to the snowy fields of Rehoboam through the elongated windows. But he continued to the north of the passage and stood before a lift. Ash tapped a button on the control panel beside it on the wall and the steel doors opened for him. He walked in an pressed another button on the inside to take him to the second floor of the ship. The one below the Bridge deck but above the dorms When the doors opened again he stepped out into the main corridor of the second level. Ash marched down this one, greeting some of the odd Darshana operatives he happened to come across along the way, until he reached a door marked 'conference room'. The automatic doors of the room opened form him and he walked in. A large room with a long oval-shaped table in its centre. Waiting for him there, as per Cinnamon's statements, were his two field partners as well as Cinnamon herself. Kathleen 'Cream' Stenzel and Yoko Daitokuji. Kathleen (or 'Cream' as everyone called her) was an eager young recruit from Shem, the merchant planet. Ash actually liked her a lot. She was very bubbly and vibrant, often improving the tone of a grim situation with her unfailing (and some might say blind) optimism. And to her right was Yoko Daitokuji. A woman of twenty years and the complete opposite of Cream. Someone that Ash found it hard to tolerate, let alone work with. Though Yoko was born on Rehoboam just like Ash was, she was of Asiatic descent, clearly of a bloodline stemming from Planet Noh, a far off orb located in the Aradia Star System. Unlike most of the crew of the Paracelsus, her reason for being here was purely for sentimental purposes. As cold and distant as Yoko acted, she had a terrible hatred for the Saviours for reasons she had not yet explained. It was hard to find two people so very different from each other. But that little detail didn't matter to Cream. The sixteen-year-old redhead stared hopelessly at Asiatic descendant as they sat together around the conference table, a little blush sprinkled over her cute cheeks. The crush she had on Yoko was pretty much common knowledge. So much so that Ash wasn't a bit surprised to see Cream so starry-eyed when he arrived. Yet Yoko was complete devoid of any leaning towards them. It kind of made Ash dislike her even more. Cream didn't pay attention to the fact that Ash had arrived until Yoko acknowledged him. "You're late." "Gee, what was your first guess?" Ash muttered sarcastically, taking a seat by the table, "Cinnamon woke me up, alright? I don't need any of your lectures today." Yoko leaned her cheek on her fist. "Have you always been so undisciplined? I heard you were one of the top graduates of the Rehoboam Martial Facility. I always expected more than this." "Heh," Ash smirked defiantly at her, "I'd expected you to be less of a bitch, but you work with the hand you're dealt with, right?" Cream intervened when Yoko and Ash started exchanging nasty glances with each other. "Hey, hey now guys, lets not fight, okay?" Another voice called out to the group after that. "Lieutenant Stenzel is quite right. Pipe down." Ash, Yoko, Cream and Cinnamon straightened out in recognition of the authority of that voice When a second set of automatic doors opened on the other side of the room, they all saluted the man who walked through them. A black man in his late forties, dressed in a tunic variation of the green and gold uniforms that the others wore. This man was Commander Donovan Eldiah -- the leader of the Darshana Division and the captain of the Paracelsus. The strident military leader stopped before the head of the conference table and pressed his gloved palms onto its metal. "Good morning, Commander!" Cream said cheerfully. Commander Eldiah shook his head with a frown. "This is unbelievable. We finally receive new orders from General Schwartz and two of my best soldiers spend their priorities on childish bickering. Is this the force you wish to take into war? Cat fighting between allies?" Yoko sneered at Ash. "Tell that to the hothead -- assuming he can stay awake long enough to hear you." "Oh yeah? Well I've got some choice words for YOU to hear, Yoko!" Commander Eldiah's eyebrow ticked. "I said knock it off!" Ash, Cream and Yoko all winced and silenced themselves as their leader's voice picked up. Eldiah took a moment to compose himself once again and crossed his arms, parting his lips to speak. "...Thank you. As I told you before, we have new orders from General Schwartz. Our current status has been stationary since the Saviour insurgency to the south. Now the rumours we heard before have been proven correct. The city of Protea has been completely overrun by the Saviours." Cream gasped. "Are you serious, sir?" "Quite." Yoko narrowed her eyes. "I don't understand. I thought that Protea was one of the first cities to be equipped with the Lambda Effect Shield Generators for the purpose of resisting enemy attacks." Commander Eldiah nodded. "Yes, that's true. The Lambda Effect, wave production to seal off and centralize particular areas of space, was incorporated into the Shield Generators of many cities on Rehoboam after the first few years of the Saviour Invasion. But it seems that their resistance is weakening. The Saviours and their weaponry are growing stronger. In the old days... a standard blast from one of their 'battleship cannons' would not have been enough to dent a shield of that calibre. But the times have changed... and the Saviours are beginning to adapt to our artillery and defences. Protea was not a major city... less than 4.7 million were living there at the time... but its loss to the Saviours is regrettable none the less." "So why are we going there?" Ash asked, "Rescue mission for the survivors?" Eldiah shook his head for a no. "Not quite. That's up to the Regular Forces stationed in Crux Cartha. Our mission is a lot more clandestine than that. And the orders have been given to us through General Schwartz by High Magistrate Dianus." The ditzy Cream blinked. "High Magistrate Dianus? Isn't she a member of the Ministry?" "Correct," Commander Eldiah affirmed, "they are the chief scientific team of Rehoboam Society and the sway they hold with the Galactic Confederacy shins through even into the military. I am sure the General would rather not have us reduced to this, but his hands are obviously tied. We have no choice." Ash sneered at this. He hated scientists. He had done ever since he was a kid. His parents were scientists too, both of them. Of course the two details were related. None the less, Ash leaned back and spoke. "So what are the orders, Commander?" The tall leader of the Darshana uncrossed his arms and pressed a button on a small computer panel on the table. A holographic image appeared just above it. Ash, Cream, and Yoko stared at it. It was the schematics of a diminutive but significant-looking laboratory compound. The commander soon re-crossed his arms and explained. "This is the Protea Research Facility. It is located three miles southwest of the northern control tower of the city, placing it in the heartland of Protea. The facility is currently surrounded by the Saviours that have taken over Protea. That is our new destination." "What does the Ministry want with it?" Yoko questioned "Apparently... a test subject of their experiments is trapped inside," The commander stated, "this person is obviously pretty important to them. The Ministry have requested that a covert division of the Rehoboam Regular Military are levied for the rescue of that individual before the Saviours kill him and the rest of the faculty of the research station." Yoko tapped her fingernails on the table. "It seems a bit excessive to deploy an entire division for the saving of one person." "We only need to think about following orders, Lieutenant," Eldiah said, "the reasons behind those orders are not our concern." Cream placed her hands together with a smile. "Okay! It's sad that the city has been overrun, but this is our chance to help someone out, right? This is our chance! How long 'til we reach Protea, Commander?" Eldiah pressed one of his hands into his hip. "Three and a half hours The Paracelsus will fly into the city under cover of our Space-Time Illusion Fields You three will all be dropped into the city with some C-Gears for good measure, then it will be your duty to enter the research facility to retrieve that test subject. Do you all understand?" The three all nodded and saluted Commander Eldiah with unified shouts of 'yes, sir'. Eldiah nodded back and then marched off, with Cinnamon taking up his rear. When they exited from the conference room from the rear doors, the small visual display projecting the diagram of the Protea Research Facility switched itself off. Ash stood up after that. "I guess this means we'll have to get prepped up for the mission. I'm gonna go tell the engineering team to modify my sword for the job. I'll catch you guys later, okay?" Cream nodded to him. "See you later, Ash!" The blonde man nodded back, avoiding eye contact with Yoko. He left through the metal automatic doors, back out into the main corridor of the second floor. When the shifting sound of the doors re-closing ended, Yoko herself stood upright. Cream did the same whilst staring at her. "Yoko?" "I am going to the training bay," Said the raven-haired soldier, "Your bow, my guns and Ash's sword have all been completely repaired. I want to get some practice out of them before we go to Protea. If the commander or anyone else asks about it then tell them that that's where I'll be." She stalked off seconds later, through the doors. Cream picked herself up and followed after Yoko, going through those doors and out into the main corridor. Yoko slowed down a tad when she realized that Cream was following her, but didn't stop. "What is it?" Cream flushed a deeper shade of red, trailing behind. "Um... Yoko...?" "Yes?" "I was wondering... if... maybe..." Yoko stopped walking without looking back. "Either come out with it or go away." "Well, I um..." Cream lowered her head and struggled to get it out, "after we complete the mission in Protea, do you think we could... maybe... go out on a... date or something?" It was then that Yoko looked back, if not only partially. She cast one of her powerful black eyes over her shoulder and stared at the bashful redhead blankly. During her schooldays, Yoko had often been told that the people of the Old Planet Earth had been very particular about relationships. Dating between two people of the same sex or different races/religions could cause controversy. But in this era, 3999 AB, nearly 4000 years since the destruction of Earth and the transmigration of its last remaining human people to other planets, such things were not frowned upon. At least not in enlightened places. Alien races were particularly ruthless towards inter-religious mingling. A prime example being the cat-humanoid Effirans And while Yoko had grown in a society that did not share such views, the cold expression upon her face would have suggested otherwise. "A date? With me?" Cream nodded brightly. "Uh huh!" "...Don't you have more pressing concerns?" Yoko said, looking away once more, "instead of flirting with me you should be out perfecting your technique with the bow. I have no time for such things." Cream's subsequent sigh was more of defeat than it was disappointment "...Um... okay..." The two of them stood together in silence for a moment. Until Yoko produced a scowl and strode off down the corridor towards the lift. Cream's shoulders sagged as she was left to stand alone and remain. Or at least she thought that she was alone. She couldn't see that Ash was leaning cross-armed against the wall. "Why bother?" He said. Cream looked up with a start, and saw Ash across from her against the wall of the corridor She forced a smile onto her face and tried to perk up for his sake. "You saw all that...?" Ash frowned "I just don't get it, Cream. You're so sweet and pretty. What in God's name do you see in a bitch like that Yoko? You really think she's good enough for you?" "I know you don't like her, Ash... and I know she can be... hard sometimes. But I can't help it. I feel so great inside when I see her. Even if she doesn't notice me. I can't ignore her. I just wanna be with her. Have you ever felt like that?" The boy of Germanic descent closed his sapphire blue eyes and smiled grudgingly. He actually had felt like that about someone in the past. But those days were over. Even if Ash couldn't bring himself to go past them. He opened his eyes again and smiled at her, wrapping his arm around the younger girl's shoulder. "I guess I can't make this any... better for you... but I can try. Feel like an ice cream before the mission? My treat." Cream's face brightened. "I'd love one! Thanks, Ash!" ********** It was a dark room. A chamber that was covered in shadow and darkness. Twelve spotlights descended from an unknown ceiling and surrounded specific sections of a circular and ring-shaped table in the middle of that dark room. In each spotlight was a certain person sitting beside the table, each of them aged and fully knowledgeable in things the likes of which any commoner would have trouble simply contemplating. They were the twelve head operatives of the scientific world on Rehoboam; Ezra, Nehemiah, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and Malachi. Those were the ones known as the Ministry. In the centre of the ring table and therefore the darkness was another spotlight. And inside that spotlight was a certain woman. Dressed in only a grey formal business suit. That woman was known as Dianus. And she was the 'leader' of the Ministry. Dianus pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and smiled. "I see all of us have been assembled here today. That is a rare occurrence if ever there was one. It must be living proof that that time is at hand." "That is not certain," Malachi said, "there is much work still left to be done. The Saviours have begun their attacking of the other planets. They are clearly beginning a more thorough sweep of Augustine space. We can no longer afford to waste time!" Nehemiah responded with, "That is correct. Power must be shifted to its right course." "The Will of God?" Dianus suggested. "Correct," Claimed Isaiah, "that is our desire. We seek no more than that. Which is why, High Magistrate Dianus, you must hasten our plans. We can afford to procrastinate no longer." Dianus crossed her arms femininely. "Procrastination? Nothing has been slowed down for any reason. All of our endeavours are running together smoothly The Zophim is done and needs only activation, something that I will see to myself Two subjects have been located for the Ghazali Project and therefore the hastening of the Zarathustra's completion will take place. The SIGMA Project, which, as you all know, I am heading personally, is less than 3.2% behind schedule. What matters now is recovering the Anti-Lambda Effect data from the boy. The tests run on him years ago were inconclusive, but... there is little chance of it being stored elsewhere. In light of that... I have made preparations for the Rehoboam Regular Military to do the work for us." "You are calling in favours for something you are not even sure of?" Job wondered. "There is no one else," Dianus told him, "Dr. Sorel was a genius... but even geniuses are powerless against the constraints of time. Our current call for haste should be proof enough of that much." Ezekiel frowned. "Be that as it may... it was because of his insurrection to our plans, as well as that of Wilhelm and Maria Gestalt, that the Master Plan has been put back as far as this. He would have done nothing to make our intentions any easier to grasp." "Of course not," Dianus replied, "but until the Anti-Lambda Effect data is obtained, the Baruva Cannon will not be completed to a degree that will suit our purposes for the Master Plan. And more important than that... we will never be able to deactivate the Elzabad Mechanism. That means we cannot enter into Zone Bethlehem and discover the true nature of Dr. Sorel's research." Ezra's eyes narrowed. "Let me remind you, High Magistrate Dianus, that that is NOT part of the Master Plan. The composition of Dr. Sorel's research is no longer of any concern to us. And neither is Zone Bethlehem. What in the name of God is the use of a fake heaven?" "It's a personal interest," Dianus replied, "Indulge me." "We have greater issues at hand, Dianus." Uttered Obadiah. Dianus chuckled lightly at that. "You needn't remind me. I am fully aware. But let us also not forget that we have a certain businessman's appetite to satiate." "Are you referring to Bardia?" Asked Ezra. "Of course I am," The brown-haired woman said, "let us not forget that he and his Esdraelon Conglomerate supply us with more than 67% of our annual finances. Without the Anti-Lambda Effect data, we cannot complete the Baruva Cannon. Therefore his installation into our cause will vanish. Such an action could bring about the end of the Ministry if we let it happen." Jonah snorted. "It disgusts me that we have to rely on such a capitalist organization to do God's work. But to accomplish that... we need the pecuniary power of the Esdraelon Conglomerate. Michael Bardia might not be the same man as his Father, but... he must not become aware of the Master Plan. And his investments into the Baruva Cannon must be supplemented with success." Dianus nodded. "Exactly. This is why I have made sure that the Rehoboam Regular Military regain the boy. I am convinced that the data is within him. Once we obtain him, I will have the data extracted and we will move on with phase one of the Master Plan. The BAS-Series androids have already been finished and all the Zophim needs is the commencement of initiation. Very soon the Zarathustra, the Baruva Cannon and the SIGMA Project will be completed. And then..." "Very well," Said Amos, "you seem to have everything in hand, Dianus. Proceed as planned if you belief we have the time. But do not forget your anointed role. God's true child shall be born as spoken by our will. If you choose to distract yourself by concentrating on unimportant details like Zone Bethlehem... we will be forced to reconsider your place as conductor of the Master Plan. Is that understood?" Dianus nodded to him. "Yes sir. Understood." ********** Protea was one of the first cities to undergo huge scientific development on Rehoboam. The Lambda Effect Shield Generators was not the beginning of it. Thousands of years ago, Protea had been little more than a trading outpost between the larger city of Crux Cartha and the shoreline. But when the scientific discovery boom took over on this planet, Protea was one of the first cities to undergo major reconstruction The old brick and stones homes were torn down for steel and plastics, finished with special chemicals to prevent rusting and metal rot. The present Protea was the result. A city that was truly of the future. Neon lights gave perfect display and layout of a wide mass of rising metal roads which were crossed over by state-of-the-art wheel-less hover cars. Computers dominated the running of everything Each major city of Rehoboam was fitted with a centralized super-computer known as a IGP (Interrelated Grid Processor) which controlled all major functions of that city, such as the warmth produced by the underground heating systems or the rate of oxygen poured into the city via the atmospheric nanomachines in the air. Together they formed a set called the Rehoboam Chief Municipality Lattice (RCML). They all acted as a circuit. So when one was acting up in one city, the rest would know about it before long. Hours after the Saviour attack on Protea, one of the other computers in the RCML detected irregularities in Protea's IGP (known as Arphaxad) before a huge systems shutdown. It was obvious that Saviours had attacked it. Which meant that the millions of people still trapped inside the city were in greater danger than they already were. If Arphaxad didn't reboot soon, the supply of oxygen given by the nanomachines were likely to cease for at least three weeks. While the planet itself had a very stable oxygen supply, it was a known fact that Saviours dwelled within places lacking the substance more often than that. Which meant that there was a huge possibility of a Saviour settlement. And considering that many natural resource mines existed around Protea, they would have a great deal of reasons to stay. The risk of a Saviour settlement was huge; people often said that if such a thing were to happen then they would start spreading from that point. And since their kind reproduced more than 300 times a year, a settlement in Protea was more or less a ticket to kiss the city goodbye. Which was why it was all the more important for the Rehoboam Regular Military to help stop that possibility. One division had gotten here from it. But not for that purpose. By now it was the late morning. The sun was, as always, a distant thing in the skies of this planet. What could been seen about was the clouds and the snow that fell from them. The Paracelsus was now hovering over Protea with its Space-Time Illusion Fields in place. It would keep the ship from being detected by the Saviour forces that had overrun the city. And to say that they had was not an overestimation. The city itself was in ruins. Hundreds of buildings had been demolished in the Saviour's onslaught. Flames flickered over the streets and sky roads Many cars had been overturned and the windows of all the homes and buildings were smashed. The damage was worse in some areas than others but almost all parts of the city had been effected in some way. And the creatures that had committed these acts stalked through the ghostly streets of their new conquest like maggots writhing their way around a corpse. Saviours were an unusual alien race. Their bodies consisted of a material that no one as yet had been able to analyse or know of. The best way to describe it was as an unusual mixture between aluminium and a very particular kind of carbon-based animal flesh. They differed somewhat as well in terms of looks, but only so much so that they fell into three special kinds of groups. The lowest form on the hierarchy of the Saviours were the Slave-types. These were bipedal humanoid Saviours with large hulking bodies and hindmost legs which bent forwards at the knee and then backwards, like the hind legs of a four-legged animal. Like humans who have lighter shades of skin under their feet and in their palms, the Slave-type Saviours had purely biological layers of flesh in those places. They were built for war, as regular bullets and low-level energy blasts could not pierce their hides. They also carried weapons about their person. The standard type of weapon that the Slave-type Saviours carried were long pike-shaped rifles which they used for gun battles and hand-to-hand combat. But they also possessed natural weapons in their bodies Slave-type Saviours could spit corrosive acids from the gills under their necks and they were nearly twice as strong as a full grown human male. Their primary role seemed to be as foot soldiers and they were predominantly 'female'. The next part of the Saviour hierarchy were the Behemoth-types. These beasts were gigantic. Over 260 metres in length. They hovered in the air like floating whales with side fins and two dual-thrashing tails behind them It was not known how the Behemoth-types floated in the air as they did -- but most Saviour researchers knew that the Behemoth's were used as living vessels to transport the armies from place to place. The third type and highest type were the Cherubim-types. These were slightly larger and more agile versions of the Slaves-types and were an equal mix of female and male in stock The Cherubim-types were differentiated from the rest because they were smaller in number and had roles as 'commanders' of the small 14-man sects that the Saviours divided themselves into. And they were referred to as Cherubim because each one had a slack layer of metallic flesh trailing down from their left shoulder blade which was shaped like a wing. They could not fly on it (they didn't even seem to have any muscle control over them) but probably left them up as banners of war. Most researchers assumed that there were more types of Saviours in their own Star System, Cartesia, but it was impossible to find out. A barrier that ran on the same principle as the Lambda Effect surrounded the Cartesian Star System; one that only Saviours could pass through. Therefore no one could know just where they were coming from or how many there really were. The Paracelsus hovered over the broken expanse of Protea, while the Behemoth-types scoured the air below and the Slave and Cherubim-types stalked the roads. And the three soldiers that the Darshana Division had deployed to carry out the mission were down there with them. Ash, Yoko and Cream stood together in an alleyway between a former bakery and a chemist. All three were dressed in the white and blue combat suits of field fighting that all specialized divisions of the Rehoboam Regular Military were required to wear. Each of them had armed themselves with their respective weapons. Ash had his giant, 1.75 metre-long Zweihander broadsword; the Sigmund-PRO8000. It was made with a special alloy that had been sharpened with lasers and acids to produce an edge slightly thicker than three molecules. That meant that its was technically sharp enough to cut through anything. It had been designed specifically to kill Saviours; just as Yoko and Cream's weapons were. Yoko possessed a pair of Sankhya-PRO8000 handguns that ran on special cartridges of laser energy, and the pair were called Yin and Yang. Cream's weapon was far more diverse. A technological bow (called Sophia-PRO8000) made of special elasticised metals. Over her shoulder was a quiver which contained more than 40 arrows for the bow, each one armed with a particular charge in the arrowhead to produce certain effects. Right now Cream had four types of arrows. Fire, Ice, Thunder and Light. They served her well. The three soldiers stood together beside the wall and watched as Slave-types marched across the streets like mindless automatons. Dozens of broken and bloody corpses were littering the ground out there. Protea's citizens were in mortal danger. "Damnit!" Ash cursed in whisper, "The Saviours really have infested this city!" Cream blinked. "Isn't there something we can do to help the survivors?" "That is not our mission," Ling told the redhead, "our mission is to retrieve the human sample at the behest of the Ministry and General Schwartz." "But I wanna help!" Cream argued. Yoko sighed irritably. "Recall what Commander Eldiah said. More divisions of the Regular Military will be launched for that purpose. The survivors will be helped soon enough when they get here. But for now we have to concentrate on doing our own part. We have to get to the Protea Research Facility." "Well it's not too far from here if Cinnamon's map's to be believed," Ash said, looking at the parchment in his right hand, "but are you sure we won't be seen? There's a lot of them out there." Yoko nodded seriously. "We will be fine. The sight of the Slave-type and Behemoth-type Saviours are purely motion-based and heat-based. But the C-Gears that are programmed into our battle-suits can scramble our warmth signatures as well as mask our presence from the biological motion-detection sensors they have The Space-Time Illusion Fields of the Paracelsus have that same ability. But the charge for the C-Gears will only last half an hour so we must move quickly." Ash and Cream nodded to her. Though the Darshana Division was still in the early stages of development, a team leader had been selected for the mission conducted under its name. That was Yoko. The long-haired woman moved ahead of Ash and searched the streets outside. The snow-covered steel breadth of the road was beleaguered with the corpses and flames. The Slave-types were poised around them, wrecking whatever they could find, seemingly for no other purpose than total destruction. Thankfully there were no Cherubim-types around this area. Unlike the Slaves and the Behemoths, they could not be fooled by the C-Gears. They would have to move fast before one came their way and alerted the Slaves to their presence. Yoko nodded hard and ran out into the street right away. Ash and Cream followed after her in that instant The three of them jogged across the wrecked street, past the six or so Saviours standing by. They really were masked by the C-Gears. In no time at all they got across the wide street and found themselves on the borderline of a new district The buildings from her on in were much larger and taller than those behind. It meant that they were getting deeper into the city. Ash, Yoko and Cream strode through the roads of the area as fast as they could without making too much noise. Though they probably couldn't be heard because of all the noise in the background (women screaming, flames crackling, buildings crumbling, wind howling etc) the hearing of the Saviours was something they could not mask themselves from. They kept going until they reached the place that Cinnamon had marked out. A tall office-like structure that stood within a grassy courtyard of the city. It was the Protea Research Facility. Though it had a business skyscraper feel to it, the actual research took place underground, below the building itself. The upper levels were no more than administrative offices. Cream looked up at it. "That's the place? A bit swanky for a research station of the Ministry, isn't it?" "Lets just keep moving, alright?" Yoko requested. She started moving ahead. Ash shrugged and followed after her. Cream did the same. The three of them slowly inched their way towards the grass courtyard that surrounded the building. More of the Slave-types were standing around it, picking at the flesh of some of the corpses of the citizens. Saviours were known only to eat meat. Their preference seemed to be red meat, but they also had a taste for human meat. Apparently it offered more in the way of sustenance and less in the way of fat, despite the bad taste. Cream wretched when she saw that, one of the Slaves ripping out the liver and kidneys of a elderly woman and devouring them whole with its now bloodied hands. But she kept up the slow walk with the others. They got into the courtyard and paced down the steel path that had been built between the patches of artificial grass. Again they passed by more of the Saviours but they made it to the glass doors that stood before the entrance into the building. Cream stepped up and looked through them. She could see some of the staff members inside. Two women were huddled together behind the reception desk inside. Ash looked in as well. "Survivors?" "These buildings," Yoko began, "those belonging to the Ministry, use a large form of the C-Gear to conceal the life inside from being detected by Saviours in emergency situations. They are currently working on a C-Gear large enough to conceal entire cities from Saviours, but... there has been no success so far." Cream shook her head. "Who cares? Let's just help them out." "Come on then, guys." Ash took up the lead and pressed his shoulder into the frame of the glass door. Since Arphaxad had suffered a complete shutdown, even the smallest things it controlled, like the automatic doors, were out of commission. But it would alert the Saviours if he simply broke that glass to get in. So he just pushed it. After a quick struggle the glass and metal door parted from the doorway and entered. Cream and Yoko followed behind him. They closed the doors back behind them, being careful not to make too much noise lest any nearby Saviours hear it. Once they came through, the two receptionists slowly turned and looked up in fear. But their expressions mellowed when they saw the emblem of the Rehoboam Regular Military inscribed across the chests of their battle-suits. "Oh thank God!" One woman said, "The Military!" Cream placed a finger to her pink lips. "Shush! Don't make too much noise or move around too much! Or else the Saviours might catch on!" "Um... Cream... Yoko said that this building has a C-Gear System." Said Ash. "...Oh..." The redhead crossed her arms, nodding, "Okay then. That's cool" Yoko sneered with irritation and walked forwards. "Listen to me. We are not here as a rescue team. There are far too many Saviours around for that. You will have to wait here for now until the rest of the Military get here. We came for one reason only. A human test sample is here that we have been ordered to collect, so-" All of a sudden there was a crash at the other side of the room. Yoko, Ash, Cream and the two receptionists jerked around when they heard something smash through glass and metal. It just happened to be a Slave-type Saviour, driving its ten-foot high body through the frame of the front of the office. The being ambled into the building slowly, while the others quickly reacted. Yoko withdrew her pair of laser handguns into either hand and took aim at the creature. Ash withdraw his giant broadsword into a two-handed grip while Cream poised her Sophia-PRO8000 bow before her and withdrew an arrow from her quiver. A flame-tip. Ash scowled "Oh this is rich! I thought you said that this building was built with a C-Gear System!" "That was what I was told!" Yoko replied back, "But it looks like no more than a searcher drone used for reconnaissance missions! Ash, keep going ahead and retrieve the sample! Cream and I will deal with this!" Ash nodded grudgingly and turned his back. He looked to the receptionist, hearing the vibrant sonic screech of the Saviour from behind him. "Where's the test sample?!" "S-sub-level eight!" The second woman stammered, "but A-Arphaxad is offline, so... y-you'll have to u-use the stairs to get there..." "Right!" The blonde boy nodded and sheathed Sigmund-PRO8000 once again. He then made a break for the left. On that side of the room was the doorway that led to the stairwell. Ash dashed over their and kicked the door open in his stride, only stopping to spare a glance at Cream and Yoko. It was just as drone they were facing but they were going to fight it by the book. Yoko crossed her guns over each other and watched for her moment while the Saviour brooded around the front part of the reception area. It shuffled with its small metallic feet to the side a little, as though it were searching for something. Then she acted. Yoko pulled the triggers of both guns and started firing at its feet. The Slave-type Saviour screeched loudly at the blasts of blue light and shuffled itself to one side. It was not Yoko's intention to hit it, but rather herd it into a certain area and... "Cream!" She yelled, "Aim for the head!" The younger woman nodded and crossed her flame-tip arrow over the centre of the bow and against the middle of the string. Cream pulled back both the string and the tail of the arrow and took aim at the cranium of the Slave while Yoko marched it around under the dirge of her gunplay. Then she released the arrow. It went zooming straight for the head of the Saviour and nailed it dead on. The beast screeched loudly as green blood burst from the wound. Then seconds later the flame charge in the arrowhead took place. A powerful combustion of flames burst open the biomechanical skull of Slave, splattering the sallow green innards and blood across the far wall. Its now headless body dropped to the ground lifelessly. While Cream and Yoko lowered their weapons with exhaling breaths, Ash was charging down the long metal stairwell built underneath ground level of the Protea Research Facility It was quite a ways down. Which was to be expected. After all they didn't want just anyone coming down here. Eventually Ash made it down to sub-level eight. It was not the lowest floor of the complex but it was obviously one of the more significant. He strode out of the stairwell and into the compartment which housed the door to that level. A huge metal door stood in his way. One that obviously used computerized locks. But since Arphaxad was out of commission, so too was the lock. Ash curled his fingers into the slight gap between the two slabs of metal and pushed them apart with all the strength he could muster, gritting his teeth. He was able to part it enough create a small indentation to slip through It was more than enough. Ash got into sub-level eight and took a look around him It was a laboratory alright. Dozens of white tables were around the room. Each of them covered over with papers, chemical jars, computer disks, books, schematics, etc. Across from him was a large cylinder filled to the brim with oxygenated liquids The silhouette of a human was seen from it. There was someone inside it. And despite that person's feminine figure, Ash could tell that that person was a boy. Even so that was not what was bothering him. It was something else. Corpses were in this room. At least ten people were laying dead between the tables and chairs of this level. All of them were scientists dressed in white lab coats. And although he couldn't stand these kinds of people, it made him wonder just what could have done this. He reached behind his back to the hilt of his Sigmund-PRO8000, thinking of a possible Saviour incursion. But than that didn't make sense either. There was no damage done to the room itself, which contradicted the Saviour's normal smash-and-crash approach. So there had to be more to it than this. But then... another called to him. "You're late." Ash turned around swiftly and blinked. He stepped back when he saw someone else standing at the doorway to sub-level eight. A man (judging by the timbre of his voice). He stood taller than Ash with his body fully concealed inside a long and hooded amethyst cloak that pooled around his feet. The shadows of the hood prevented Ash from seeing his face. But all the same... he couldn't mistake this odd sense of... nostalgia, when he heard that voice "Who are you?" The hooded man chuckled. "I can't believe it. It's only been three years since that time... yet you don't remember me. I'm disappointed. But none the less... haven't you grown...?" "Ugh," Ash shook his head, "Look, I don't know how you know me, and I'm pretty sure that I don't know who you are. But I'm Lieutenant Ashriel Gestalt of the Darshana Division of the Rehoboam Regular Military. This area is swarming with Saviours so you'd best escape to an upper level. You'll be trapped if you stay down here." "Heh, heh, heh," The older one chuckled once more with that slow, sundering voice of his, "What makes you believe... that I am in danger?" Ash narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?" "I work for the Esdraelon Conglomerate. I'm a member of the Archangels. Is that enough?" The blonde soldier thought about that. The Esdraelon Conglomerate. They were one of the biggest financial corporations in the Augusta Star System. Their annual revenue was equal to that of any small scale planet. It was hard to imagine that such a company could rise to power so quickly, but the Esdraelon Conglomerate had only been forged 200 years ago. Since the death of the previous owner, his son, Michael Bardia, had taken over the empire. They were heavily involved in political affairs and existed primarily as a supply group. They sold everything from meats, grains and vegetables, to Magi Armours and high-tech motherboards. They had grown to such a level that Michael Bardia himself, the chief executive of the group, had a personal guard about him at all times. They were known as the Archangels. Their role was primarily the guardianship of the leader of the conglomerate at all times. But suspicions had been running high about them recently. Many people thought that the Archangels were also some kind of secret agents; spying on the Esdraelon's rivals and taking care of them if need be. And this man claimed to be one of them. "Hmm," Ash mused about it, "But what would an Archangel be doing out here? The headquarters of the Esdraelon Conglomerate is in Crux Cartha." The cloaked man lifted his head up a little with another of those derisive chuckles. That lessened the shadows over his face for a moment. Ash looked hard and saw his eyes. They were the bloodiest shade of red he had ever seen. "You want to know... what I'm doing here? You couldn't possibly know that now. There is still more for me to do... and the time is not quite right. But it will be here soon. The time when your power will be on the grandest stage of them all." "My power?" Ash looked over his shoulder, "It's just a sword." Though Ash could not see the man's face, he could tell that it had just become serious. "I'm not talking about that piece of tin foil. I'm talking about the power that flows through your veins as it does with my own. The power of Mana... one of the three energies of destruction. Willed upon us by those who sought to play God but feared God's judgement... and so they ran from it." "What are you talking about?" Ash questioned. "Have you forgotten that as well?" The mysterious one supposed, "You who was supposedly the shining hope of the ASEPP?" "ASEPP?" "The Anti-Saviour Eugenic Paramilitary Plan," He confirmed, "has it been so long for you? That you have forgotten the powers you were endowed with? You had no problems in using them before... that Kabbalah magic of yours. I suppose sand really doesn't travel up the hourglass." Now Ash was deathly aware, so telling by the furious expression of shock on his face. "It can't be. How in the hell would you know about that?!" The humour in the older one's voice returned. "Heh, heh, heh. So now you remember. Your Mother and Father, Wilhelm and Maria Gestalt, the Ministry's insurrectionists... now you can recall their legacy. And so it begins. I came here only to remind you of those times... so that you will be ready for our next meeting. Well can take our time then... and reminisce about the good old days... first hand." The cloak-enswathed one turned his back and laughed lightly once more. Ash still didn't understand who he was or what he was getting about. How did this guy know his parents? And why did he sound as if he and Ash had previous connection? "Who are you?" "You're not ready to know," Replied the other one, "but you shall be soon enough. For now you need only know this. The boy in that test tube will be the focus of many. All will seek him. But never forget... your own significance. Never forget... that you are the one who matters... you... or at least that which is inside you... is the substance to which the rhythm of the universe bends. You... Ashriel Gestalt..." It was clear that Ash wanted to know more, but we would not get the chance to question this man about it. A column of magical energy, cast in the form of water, rose up his body like an ascending turret. It swallowed him whole and gushed its contents over the floor. When the water subsided the man was gone. Ash growled and grit his teeth. It was a water teleportation. A skill of Kabbalah magic. And when he looked back at the dead bodies of the scientists at work here, it occurred to him that the Saviours had not been the ones to kill them. It was obviously that guy But who was he? His thoughts were cut short when Yoko and Cream slid through the doors into sub-level eight. Yoko looked around. "Have you found the one yet?" "Uh yeah..." He pointed over his shoulder at the test tube, "over there." The older woman walked over to the glass cylinder to check it out. While Cream just moved up and stared curiously at the stunned expression on her friend's face. "Ash? Is everything okay?" When he realized that he was worrying Cream with his own troubled thoughts and sudden memories of the past, Ash shook his head as if to work off a brain freeze. He bobbed his head with small smile and turned to advance on the test tube like Yoko had done Cream just shrugged and followed him. They came to glass container It was still warm even though the heating systems of the building were not working. A boy floated nude inside it. Someone looking to be Cream's own age, no more than sixteen or so. "Is this it?" Cream wondered, "Is he the boy?" Yoko crossed her arms. "The receptionist above told us there is only one person used as a test subject here. There is no doubt that he is the one." "Well then lets do this thing." Cream uttered. She stepped forwards slightly and moved her hand across the glass of the cylinder, wiping away of the condensation on it, caused by the clash of the cold temperature of the climate and the warmth of the container. This gave a clear view of the face of the one inside. But when he saw that face, those baby-soft cheek so lightly sprinkled with freckles, Ash was thrown for six. A haunted look passed through his eyes. "It can't be!" "What is it?" Yoko questioned. Cream looked at him. "What's wrong, Ash?" "There's no way! But I thought... that he was... is it really... could it really be...?" Ash looked at the test tube again, "...Rain...?" ********** Agnus Dei was quite frankly the greatest city of the modern era. For years now and (so people assumed) for years in the future it was to stand as the best and most frank example of human advancement. Agnus Dei was the capital of Rehoboam and the seat of its leader, Tsar Urkan III. This was where the scientific boom started. This was where the Ministry truly held power. Agnus Dei was the largest city of the planet covering a total distance of more than 3,000 miles of land. Its people numbered at more than 38.9 million. Though the birth rate had been slipping in recent years (perhaps a sentiment intended by the government and the Tsar) it had the largest number of people in a single city in the Augusta Star System. The city was a hub of... everything. The arts, culture, science, knowledge, wealth, military training, living standards, health care, human and android rights, etc. Many people regarded this thriving metropolis as some kind of utopia. It was perfect in many ways. And it was (as yet) the only city on Rehoboam to successfully resist the Saviours. For quite some time the highest and most powerful technologies were created here. It was the first ever 'super-city'. A nation within a nation. In one of the central districts of the city, one of the 62 districts, stood a building overlooking the many wharfs of the Jungian River, running through the centre of the city. It was called the Ministerial Bastion. It was the major headquarters of the Ministry's ownership. An elevated steel tower skyscraper looming above all others in the district. In one of the upper levels of the building was a large office. That office belonged to Dianus Maximus, the appointed leader and orator of the Ministry. She sat behind her desk with her hands locked together while a certain girl sat next to her desk on her own chair. A woman who happened to have a startling resemblance to the one known as Cream. The two of them sat before another in that office. A dark-haired young businessman dressed in a grey suit and tie. He was one of the richest men in the known sphere of influence. He was Michael Bardia. Dianus smiled at him. "I had been expecting you to come for something like this. Are you doubting what the Ministry is capable of, Mister Bardia?" Bardia pressed his hand against his hip. "Don't get uppity. You can't honestly expect me to let this go. I spent a lot of money in funding the research of the Ministry for that weapon. If you don't even have the data to get it running then what's the goddamned point?" "I will have it soon," Dianus told him, "as I have told the High Council members. The Rehoboam Military will do its work for us. That's what they are good for, right?" "I have doubts about involving them in this." Bardia told her. Dianus shook her head. "Something they also expressed. But there is no need to fear. They do not know the true nature of our intentions. And the Tsar has decreed personal anonymity to requests made by the Ministry on the military, depending on their size. As far as anyone knows we are only recapturing a pricey experiment before the Saviours destroy it." "None the less," Bardia said, "I had one of my Archangels oversee everything." "...Who?" Bardia spoke simply. "Zanaan." The expression on Dianus' face grew concerned. "Do you really think that to be a wise move? He was the one to originally capture the sample, was he not? And are you forgetting that he was the son of-" "I know," Bardia said haltingly, "but he is the best of my group. No one is stronger than he is. And I don't question his loyalty for a second. You on the other hand, I have doubts about you. I was told that the Baruva Cannon would be completed by now. So then why then is it that the project is more than three months behind schedule?" Dianus leaned her face on her fist. "You know why. The Anti-Lambda Effect data has not been extracted yet. Until then I cannot proceed with completion But it will not be long now. The military will do its work and I will personally go about continuing the production of the Baruva Cannon myself. But until then, I have something else to show you." The older woman looked to her right. The twentysomething businessman across from her followed that gaze. And they both laid eyes upon the redheaded beauty sitting next to Dianus' desk. She had been dressed in a very exquisite black satin dress that cut off around her thighs. A black strap necklace was attached to her neck with a silver crucifix dangling from it. Her elongated locks of strawberry-blonde hair danced all the way down to the small of her back. And her piercing jade eyes looked forwards with a stare that was disturbingly blank. "And she is?" Bardia said with a shrug. Dianus looked to the girl and commanded, "Introduce yourself." Though she was a purely biological entity, the redhead one spoke with a mechanized albeit feminine voice. "I am Isabelle Maximus." Bardia stared at the beautiful girl. "Is this...?" "No," Dianus corrected, "she is not my daughter. She is my secretary. And she is also the first of BAS Series." The leader of the Esdraelon Conglomerate blinked with surprise. "Wait a minute? BAS? As in Biological Android Series? You have one of those with you?" "Why does that surprise you?" She asked him, "I was one of the ones behind the production of the BAS Series. And the Esdraelon Conglomerate was the group that supplied the Ministry with both the machinery and the data necessary to conduct the brainwave reprogramming, was it not? Surely you are aware of that?" "Those plans were made years ago," Bardia informed, "during my Father's time." Dianus smiled. "Naturally. It is only now that we have been able to complete the series. The problems we had with the brainwave reprogramming were eventually overcome by the research findings of the Ladeny branch of the Ministry This girl, Isabelle, is the first of the final production models of the BAS Series While I am not greatly pleased with the length of time it took to complete them... it does present us with a very wonderful opportunity." "To do what? What are you-" Bardia stopped himself when he realized, "Hold on. You're not suggesting that we actually use THEM for the core of the Seraphim Duplicates, are you?" Dianus stood up from her desk with another smirk, then walked around to the chair that Isabelle was sitting on. She wrapped her arms around the younger one and sighed, smelling the faint scent of chestnuts and cherries that adhered to the girl's hair. Isabelle looked on with vacant, almost lifeless eyes. Bardia watched this as Dianus spoke again, saying, "You consider yourself to be a mortal god, right? Mustn't a god have his messengers?" Bardia scowled while Dianus fawned over Isabelle lustily. "Have you lost your mind?! They might be your creations but all humanoid life other than that of the Saviours is protected under new Rehoboam law! Even that of the mechanical androids!" "Which is why I had mass production started on Shem," Dianus said, "it is a planet not bound by the same laws as Rehoboam or Alvastian." "That makes no difference! What good will they be if we can't use them here?! All they'd have to do is run a few tests, find the source, and then the Tsar, the Government and the rest of the Galactic Confederacy will be onto us!" "We will be able to use them here. Once the flesh of my BAS Series merges with the steel armour of the Seraphim Duplicate titanium vessels, they will become as one. The transmigration of souls to produce a unit of the same stock as the Saviours. It wasn't always the Ministry's intention... but it will happen. And when it does it will be impossible for anyone to correctly deduce the nature of them. There is no problem" "But still!" Bardia argued. "You said that you wanted a weapon, didn't you? A weapon for use against the Saviours? One which you could sell to the military to make yourself even richer? While the Baruva Cannon is still that weapon, it will not be completed until the current data for the Anti-Lambda Effect is taken by us. So now you have another weapon to please yourself with. One that shall soon be an army..." Bardia remained silent and watched mesmerized as Dianus ran her hands up and down Isabelle's unmoving body, caressing her breasts and stroking her thighs "Look at her. She's nothing more than a doll. A collection of intricate DNA strands woven together to form a replication of humankind. She is beautiful... and fully capable of doing things that real humans are, given the right programming. But she had no soul. No will to live and no will to make progression. Souls are gifts from God blessed upon us from birth. They are the source of free will and that is what separates us from machines and animals. Should a marionette like this be afforded the same rights as a human? Even when she has no soul of her own? How could using her be unjust when she lacks the one thing necessary to contemplate the very meaning of justice?" "That's crap," Bardia said sternly, "neither you nor I make the rules. And it's not even my call. The Galactic Confederacy will not stand for this. If you went through with this and they discovered the truth, I could lose everything!" Dianus stared at Bardia while her cheek was pressed up against Isabelle's. "You worry too much, Michael. I know for a fact that you have performed acts that compromised Rehoboam law in the past. This time will be no different. Until the Baruva Cannon is ready you can amuse yourself with my Seraphim Replicates. Models 1-25 are already operational and are ready to be transported from the Shemite city of Aggadah to Rehoboam by next week. Are you satisfied with that?" "Do I have a choice?" Questioned the younger man. "I imagine that you don't." Bardia growled and stomped off towards the door out of Dianus' office He slammed the door behind him when he left. The main member of the Ministry chuckled and peeled herself off of Isabelle. She then sat down over the front of the desk, saying, "Poor deluded soul. He sees the future as shaped only by money. Little does he know that money will provide no protection in what is to come. Such is the fate of the capitalist. But enough of Bardia. Isabelle... come to me." The redheaded bioandroid stood from her seat like she was commanded and then moved before Dianus Her eyes were still as devoid of emotion as ever. Just like the monotone pitch of her voice. "Yes, Madam?" "You may please me." Isabelle bobbed her head slowly in acknowledgment. "Yes, Madam." Dianus looked on with a small smile as Isabelle lowered herself onto her black stocking covered knees. She positioned herself before her mistress. She then reached out with her thin fingers and slipped them up the grey material of Dianus' skirt. Her hands reached in and she hooked the tips of her thumbs under the elastic of the older woman's underwear. Dianus watched intently while Isabelle pulled her black lace panties out into the light of day. They were drenched in premature wetness, reeking of that half-musky, half-medical scent. Dianus spoke again when Isabelle pulled them about halfway down her thighs "Pull them down the rest of the way with your teeth." Isabelle nodded. "Yes, Madam." The bioandroid carefully bit at the damp black panties with her pearly white teeth and pulled them down as gently as possible. Dianus made the job easier and lifted both legs slightly. Isabelle gently tugged them down the length of Dianus' legs down to her ankles and off her midnight black high heel pumps. When she was done, the redhead only sat there, with Dianus' panties dangling from her mouth, awaiting further orders. Dianus smirked. "Good. Drop them. And please me." "Yes, Madam." She answered, releasing her mistress' panties from between her teeth. Isabelle moved back against the desk in her kneeling position and gradually lowered her head into the gap between Dianus' thighs, her skirt hiked up to do so. Dianus watched as this happened, but shut her eyes in breathless bliss when she felt her creation run her tongue up the folds of her dampened labia. Isabelle proceeded to lick at the sensitive flesh, knowing through mental programming and conditioning the points at which Dianus best liked to be touched. Her pink tongue moved up and down in a slow and rhythmic pattern, lapping at it. Of her own accord she reached up with one hand and used her index and middle fingers to part the woman's lower lips. And a second later she inserted her tongue fully into that crevice. Dianus' gasped with wide eyes and groaned pleasurably at the feeling. Her tight vaginal tract contorted and clenched around Isabelle's tongue, spreading more of her fragrant wetness into the girl's lips. And it continued. Dianus' moans grew hoarse and disjointed throughout it. Isabelle's head bobbed in and out of her mistress' fleshy orifice. The smell of her discharge grew around the office. Dianus began humping herself on Isabelle's mouth over and over and over again. Until she reached her peak. The committee leader of the Ministry tilted her head back and cried out effeminately, gaining attainment of her desired orgasm. Dianus reached around Isabelle's head and kept the girl's head buried there. Isabelle did not stop the thrusting of her tongue. And she would not do so until Dianus commanded her to. "...That's right, Isabelle," Dianus muttered breathlessly, "my dearly beloved puppet..."
Back to Archetype Biblical Star Empire Index - Back to Original Fiction Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction