Vier ********** Space Palace Deuteronomy. The genius prototypical invention of the Mu Civilization and the glorious realization of the current era. It was a gigantic, titanic structure hovering in orbit of Planet Rehoboam, overlooking the northern hemisphere from a tremendous height in space. Known to be a building of around 1.4x3.1x5.7 miles in size and more than 7.6 billion tonnes in weight, armoured with layers upon layers of protective barricades, machine gun/energy cannons and a Hyper Lambda Effect Power Shield Generator (HLEPSG); Deuteronomy was seen as one of the strongest and most well defended fortresses in the known sphere of influence. But there was a lot more to it than just that. Deuteronomy was a possession of the Ministry. But it had not been designed by the Ministry itself. The innovative plans for the original Deuteronomy had been theorized by the great minds of the Mu Civilization, more then 2000 years ago. Of course, they did not have the technology or manpower necessary to lift something of Deuteronomy's size into the atmosphere of the planet. And more importantly, there were issues with gravity. No one back then had a method of keeping Deuteronomy in balance with the gravitational pull of Planet Rehoboam. Too much weight would mean descent. And a lack of it would provoke gradual drifting. But such problems were nothing to the scientific minds of this time. The Ministry's current completion of the Space Palace with proof enough of it. And many improvements had been made on the original schematics. Deuteronomy was equipped with a giant C-Gear component. That had the effect of masking the Saviours from it. And unlike the portable C-Gears that members of the Rehoboam Regular Military carried, this was able to hide from the sight of the Cherubim-types as well. The original plans for Deuteronomy also had been updated a rather potent propulsion system. This allowed it to move from place to place, but at a slow rate, no more than 2mph. This was a more precautionary addition, because after the Space Palace had been lifted into orbit of the planet, no one had expected it to be moved about like a game piece. However; the most significant addition had to be the primary weapon of the structure. The Longinus Cannon. The current scheme for measuring energy output was the Erhks System (so named after its founder, David Erhk). The majority of energy cannons in this universe measured out with an output of no more than 200 Erhks as an absolute maximum. And that amount was the equivalent of around 32003 hertz. The Longinus Cannon dwarfed that amount with a level of 8000 Erhks. Even a single blast from Deuteronomy's Longinus Cannon could demolish practically half of any city. At full power, there was no telling the kind of damage it could do. At first people were fearful of arming Deuteronomy with such a weapon. And they wouldn't have been to blame for thinking that way. It took more than three years worth of diplomatic debate for the Ministry to construction the Longinus Cannon. In the end it was approved by the government after it became obvious that strong weapons had to be in this world to combat the Saviours. But of course there were still restrictions. Any and all use of the Longinus Cannon could not be approved until clearance was given by the Tsar himself. But in spite of that, Space Palace Deuteronomy was one of the most awe-inspiring productions of the current era. It commanded both fear and respect. And it was a distinctive symbol of the sheer power of the Ministry. A ship approached the large underside of the Space Palace. That ship was the Charlemagne The helmsmen of the starship made visual contact with the technicians in the Control Room of Deuteronomy to begin docking procedures. Moments later two large metal underside doors, those that led into Deuteronomy's hanger ports, opened for the Charlemagne. It ascended the long and technologically advanced docking shaft in slow movement. Once the Charlemagne had entered the palace, the doors underneath them closed up again under the command of the Control Room technicians The Charlemagne rose up the shaft until it reached the hanger about 200m above Again the technicians in the Control Room went about preparing things for the landing of Dianus' private ship and opened the doors into the hanger. And once the Charlemagne was hovering above ground level those doors closed underneath it. The Charlemagne then finalized its landing and came upon the inner surface of that expansive hanger. A few minutes after the flight systems of the starship had been disengaged, two people were beamed down from the innards of the ship to the teleportation pad beneath it. Those two were Dianus and Isabelle. Then the large steel doors to the rear of the Charlemagne started to open as well. A troop of fifteen sluggard-like workers marched out from the Charlemagne with the Zophim's steel coffin on top of their shoulders like a hearse While those men stomped into the hanger with the sleeping Zophim, Dianus and Isabelle were greeted by two others who happened to be in the hanger waiting for them. One of the two was a tall fair-skinned man, dressed in a long white lab coat. The other was a beautiful young black woman dressed just the same, but unlike the male, she looked to be about eighteen rather than early forties. The male scientist stepped forward and nodded to Dianus. "Greetings," He said, "You must be Dianus Maximus. It is an honour." Dianus' lifted an eyebrow. "And you would be?" "I am Doctor Allen Kuhnen," He told her, "You know my sister-in-law, I believe. And this one beside me is my assistant, Nina Tu'vette. We head the Saviour research department of Deuteronomy." Dianus bobbed her head. "Now I remember. You are the younger brother of Gaius Kuhnen, the one heading the development of the Zarathustra and its four systems. But I thought that the brunt of that research and advancement was being conducted in Agnus Dei." "Yes, well, there are reasons for that. If you will follow me, please?" Allen started walking in the opposite direction to the Charlemagne and the Zophim casket Nina followed behind him quickly. Then Dianus and Isabelle did the same. Neither of them knew their way around the space palace anyway, they would have needed someone to guide them. Allen, Nina, Dianus and Isabelle walked across the sprawling hanger towards one of the twenty eight doors dotted around the room. While they did this, Allen started speaking again, saying, "You see I have come into difficulty with the Ghazali Project." "Haven't you found two people suitable for the Genotype and Phenotype roles?" Asked Dianus. Allen sighed. "I have. Unfortunately, they are not the issue. It is the systems of the Zarathustra themselves. The Naphtali System is complete and fully-functional. However the Asher, Judah and Zibeon Systems have proven to be far more troublesome." "No one has created formulae or algorithms for either Id or Qi," Dianus said, "and Aether goes without saying But wasn't the Ghazali Project started to ease those problems?" The group came to one of the side doors. Allen took out a key card from the lab coat he was wearing and slid it through the control panel to the door's right. The steel doors opened up for him. And the group marched into the joint corridor. When the electronic doors closed behind them, Allen replied to Dianus, "That is true. And while the Zarathustra is not a critical part of the Master Plan, I made a resolve to discover the reason. As yet I have not come up with anything to justify the problems we are experiencing with the Zarathustra So I turned to my Saviour research to aid its original intention." "You're hoping to discover a weak point, is that it?" Questioned the conductor. Nina replied to that one. "Yes, Ma'am. Sheer power is not going to be the Zarathustra's strong point if we were to proceed without discovering the nature of and solution to its fundamental problems So rather than simply overwhelm Saviours... it will have to focus on a specific aspect of their bodily components. That is why we have come to Deuteronomy. The majority of Saviour research conducted by the Ministry is taking place here. Doctor Kuhnen and I are hoping that we find something of that nature" Dianus smirked. "I wish you luck. But I would be lying to you if I said I was expecting a clear cut result." "Well, on a lighter note," Allen started off, "we have the boy who carries the Anti-Lambda Effect data." And that was something Dianus wanted to hear. "The Sorel boy? You have him?" The group strode down the steel corridor together. Once they came to the end, Allen took out his key card once more and flicked it through the control panel beside the doors at the end of that corridor. They opened for him and all of them walked inside what was now revealed as a lift. Nina pressed a certain button combination to take them to a particular floor and the doors closed in front of them. Allen thereafter continued in the conversation. "Yes. Two days ago, while the military was having him transported to Crux Cartha, he attempted to escape with a soldier. Ironically, that soldier happens to be the youngest son of the late doctors Gestalt. But when the Archangels were informed of this they put a stop to it. One of them captured the sample and the soldier was taken into custody. The sample was delivered to Deuteronomy no more than a day ago." "That was fast," Dianus admitted, "he got here before I did." Allen crossed his arms. "Still. The one who brought him here was the elder son of the doctors Gestalt. You might know him. Zanaan Gestalt -- codename Remiel." "I know of him." "I don't like him," Allen said honestly, "he has an insane air about him. And he has access to some of the highest levels of information in the Esdraelon Conglomerate. It seems a bit much for a mere bodyguard of Michael Bardia. I don't deny that he does good work, but..." Dianus pressed her hand into her thigh. "It matters not. He's only a pawn after all. If he gets out of hand then we will destroy him. Bardia has too much riding on all of this to question the act should it ever come to that. So for now just focus on the Zarathustra. With the Zophim completed, the Mahalah sample isolated and the Anti-Lambda Effect data virtually in our hands, the last aspect of the Master Plan depends on your work." ********** The Paracelsus had docked in Crux Cartha at least a day ago. Repairs were being made to the wall of the hull, from which the Constantine had blown through. However the ship would not be taking off after those repairs were completed. The Paracelsus and the Darshana Division were confined to the city of Crux Cartha by Galactic Confederacy law until further notice. The actions of Ash were having rippling effects throughout the military. It had been two days ago since Ash had absconded with Rain in a desperate bid to keep him out of the clutches of the Ministry. But that plan had failed. Once the Archangels had discovered what was going on from Eldiah, they used their supernatural powers to bring a stop to it. Zanaan had crashed the Constantine and stopped Ash and Rain dead in their tracks. Then he claimed Rain and took him away into the Ministry's possession. No one knew where he was now other than the big-wigs of the scenario. Ash on the other hand, everyone knew what his fate was. There were no cover-ups in that respect. Half an hour after Rain's capture, Ash was caught and arrested beside the remains of the dropship Constantine in the north forests of Timber County. He had offered no resistance to his arrest but that wasn't any big reflection of remorse. And it wouldn't change the fact that charges would be brought against him. The primary one was 'theft of property' as it were. And until he was brought to trial, which would take only a day or so, the Darshana Division was forced to remain on standby in Crux Cartha. Yoko and Cream sat together on opposing sides of a table in the Paracelsus' cafeteria. A few other operatives of the Darshana were their with them. But the entire eating hall had been overtaken by silence. Everyone was deep in thought about Ash. Some people were angry at him for what he did and what it led to. But most were just weighing their feelings about his actions. They knew it was wrong but they couldn't disagree with what he had done. They probably would have done the same if they were in his position. It was a rift that hung in the air but one that nobody felt they should address. Yoko and Cream were definitely feeling that for themselves. The redhead had a carton of apple juice in her hands She sipped on it from time to time, just really killing time. Yoko nibbled on a selection of rice cakes idly. They spoke lightly to each other as time passed. "This is morbid," Yoko commented, "I think it's the first time this cafeteria has ever been quiet" Cream sighed. "It's weird. But I understand it... I guess." "Thinking of him?" "Of both of them," She replied, "Ash is my best friend, but I really liked Rain too. They were so perfect for each other and then... the Ministry came along and wrecked everything" Yoko shook her head. "He knew from the beginning that Rain was property of the Ministry. He might not have known that Rain was the one who he was going to save, but... that doesn't change the fact that Ash broke the law." "But he did it for love. Don't you think that's noble?" Cream asked. "Noble or stupid?" Cream frowned. "What's that mean?" "I don't have to explain it. You already know. There was no way he could have gotten away with what he planned to do. Even if he escaped from the Darshana Division, his DNA code would have been tracked down by one of the IGPs anyway. It was a stupid plan cooked up at the spur of the moment. He didn't even think it through. And that's how he'll always be. A reckless idiot who leaps before he thinks" Cream angrily dropped her apple juice carton and banged her fists against the table. "I don't care what you say! Ash didn't do the logical thing! He did the right thing!" Yoko blinked, and from the corner of her eyes, noticed that people from other tables had noticed Cream's loud outburst. "...Will you keep your voice down?" "No!" Cream yelled, "I'm not gonna shut up for you or anyone else! Ash fell in love with someone wonderful and he tried to start a life with him! What's wrong with that?! I just hate it that the Ministry thinks it has ownership over people like Rain! People don't own other people! It's not fair! No one has that kind of right!" Yoko frowned at this. "Look, I understand that he's your friend-" "No you don't! You don't even have friends! So how could you understand what I'm going through right now!? You know, Ash was right about you all along! You don't think about anyone but yourself, Yoko! I wish I hadn't fallen in love with someone as heartless as you are!" Yoko and the 22 other people in the cafeteria fell silent at the sound of Cream's angry declaration. The Asiatic gun wielder looked up shocked at a red-faced, angered Cream. And Yoko realized that this was more than just Cream's anger at her for being so harsh about Ash. This was about the same thing that sparked her sadness in Ladeny. But no one was prepared to question her Least of all Yoko. Cream sneered at the rest of them and barked, "You guys think he did the wrong thing too, don't you!? Well I would have done the SAME thing in his position! So I guess you'll just have to hate me as well!" The redhead them stomped off angrily to the revolving doors out of the cafeteria. Everyone else just watched her leave. Then their eyes turned to Yoko. She looked back at them and sneered. Obviously they expected her to chase after the girl and say something But Yoko wasn't going to do that and she wasn't going to pretend to be inclined to do so, either. She simply leaned back on her chair and kept snacking on her bag of rice cakes, glaring at the Cream's apple juice carton. Things were silent again as everybody returned to eating. But the resonance of Cream's outburst had not been forgotten. Least of all by Yoko, strangely enough. While they went about forgetting what had transpired, Cream was not as prepared to do so. She marched down the corridor that the doors to the Cafeteria had been attached to. She stomped past the glass doors to the left of her and then stopped. Those doors led to Weapons Bay. "They might be prepared to give up on Ash," Cream stared through the windows of the Weapons Bay and saw the Sophia-PRO8000 bow waiting for her, "but I'm not...!" ********** There were approximately sixty two cells inside Space Palace Deuteronomy. They existed on the lower levels of the fortress and were completely ordinary by Rehoboam standards Each cell had a steel sink, a wooden bed and a marble lavatory. There were no windows in any of them. The closest thing to such was the little slit in the middle of the steel door. But that too could be locked. It only existed as a makeshift means of observing what the prisoner inside did when the surveillance cameras were out of order. One of those sixty two cells was throbbing with sound of crying. That cell belonged to Rain Sorel. The effeminate boy wept without hesitation into the pillow of his bed, hugging it for all his worth. His tears were dampening it even further each second. There was nothing he could do to control his sadness. Everything had gone wrong. And yet Rain barely understood why. He and Ash had attempted to escape from the Darshana Division and the Ministry in the Constantine dropship But it had been shot down during their flight over Timber County. The last thing that Rain remembered was crashing through the forest inside the ship. Then everything went black. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in this cell. And Rain had been crying ever since. No one had come to inform him of what had happened so far But Rain could piece together little bits. From everything that happened by now, it was obvious that Rain had been re-captured after the fall. And the most glaring fact of all was that Ash was no longer with him. There would have been no reason for the Ministry to spare his life. Rain could only come to the semi-logical conclusion that he had been killed. That was what provoked his unending stream of tears. And that was what caused him to blame all of this on himself. "This is all my fault," Rain said between sobs, harshly, "I should have... surrendered myself... oh Ash, I'm so, so sorry..." Rain buried his head into his pillow again and resumed crying. It was all that he could bring himself to do. That was until he heard the chime of an electronic lock being opened Rain swallowed the lump in his throat and looked up from the pillow, his eyes puffy and red, his face covered with tear tracks. Standing in the doorway was none other than Zanaan. Rain's damp eyes widened with surprise and fear. "...Z-Zanaan...?" The older youth smirked. "Still crying over my cowardly little brother, are we?" "What are you... doing here...? Where...?" "Where are we?" Zanaan widened his smile, "this is Space Palace Deuteronomy. An orbital fortress of Planet Rehoboam I was the one who brought you here. Nostalgic, no? This is the second time I've been ordered to kidnap you." Rain leaned up from the bed with the pillow between his arms. "You were the one who... attacked our ship?" "Of course. I couldn't let the two of you get away that easily. Those fools in the Darshana Division might not know how to handle the two of you; but I have a lot more in the way of knowledge in that respect. Now all is falling into place. And once Ash gets here it will all begin." A glimmer of hope returned to Rain's eyes. "Ash? You mean he's... alive?" "Yes," Zanaan replied, "I still have a use for him... in spite of everything." Rain smiled as more tears dropped from his eyes. "Thank God... thank God..." "Don't get too excited, boy," Zanaan remarked, stepping towards the younger one, "your beloved has been arrested. He's due to be on trial for theft of property and desertion as we speak. But he will come to me. Don't you doubt it for a minute. His hatred will cause him to follow me into the Gates of Hell." Rain edged back in his bed as Zanaan moved closer to him. "W-why are you doing this?! He's your brother! Y-you should love him...!" "Love, eh?" Zanaan leered over the bed, "Was it love that caused him to stand back and watch as I murdered our parents? Was it love that made him run to the military for a fake strength? I think not. It's bizarre human weaknesses like love that blind people to the true fact of life. We are built to suffer. Through suffering we gain an acceptance of ourselves. Because the subsequent pain is proof of God's abandonment of us. And to attain ascent we must accept the reality of descent. Do you know what that means?" Rain shied away when Zanaan moved closer. "...No..." "If you ever want to become more than you are... then you have no choice but to accept everything around you. The reality of the minute gap between happiness and sorrow; the reliance one has upon living and the very in-taking of breath. Love is a delusion created by our own minds to seek solace in the misery of life outside of Eden. Yet there are those who can transcend such aberration and embrace the truth. I am one of those people. I am the reality of life. We exist in this world only to suffer!" "...Get... away from me..." Rain shrunk as Zanaan stood over him. "You both seek to blind yourselves," Remarked the Archangel, "Ash runs away from his pain. While you struggle aimlessly to ignore it. Such actions will earn you nothing but damnation and THAT is the bitterest song of all. Souls who cannot except the fact that pain exists for a reason. So blessed are the soulless, and to all those that nourish ignorance -- a great ill be done..." "Get away from me!" Rain yelled. There was a sudden struggle as Zanaan stepped onto the bed and mounted Rain from the hips The emerald-eyed teen dropped the pillow and attempted to writhe away, but before he could do so, Zanaan grabbed Rain's small wrists in both hands and pinned them to either side of his head. Rain squinted his eyes closed and tried to thrash his legs to get away, but it was no use. Zanaan outclassed him in strength a thousand-fold. The dark angel grinned at a whimpering Rain. "Do you want to know the truth behind my power? And that of my little brother? Years ago the Ministry theorized a plan of epic scale. My parents; Wilhelm and Maria Gestalt, and your father, Heinrich Sorel, grew fearful of it. And so they fled from the Ministry. To defend themselves from the Saviours and from the Ministry, they set up the Gestalt Research Facility and countless other measures of resistance. The biggest and most daring of all being the ASEPP -- Anti-Saviour Eugenic Paramilitary Plan. My Father sought to create an army of human weapons who could battle and destroy the Saviours on an equal footing." Rain's throat quivered. "...Dr. Gestalt performed... genetic engineering...?" "Correct. But there was no way he could have manufactured a race of such beings in secret. So he resolved to install the tremendous powers he theorized, Aquakinesis and Pyrokinesis; inside his two sons. Zanaan and Ashriel." "You and... Ash...?" "And once again, you are correct," Zanaan lowered his face so close to Rain's that they could feel each other's breathing on their lips, "we were the ones selected for that mission. To bare ultimate power. But I was deemed a 'failure'... while my little brother, no more than five at the time... was a success. I lacked a certain 'component'. One that has come to be quite important to the Ministry. But he did not. And so I left. And I didn't come back until I mastered the power I had been given. And I proceeded to reap glorious revenge upon the sinners who had dared to run from the reality of life. Yet despite the vehement power that boiled at his fingertips, he watched me massacre them... Ashriel cowered like the child he is and watched as I slew dear Maria and Wilhelm. How proud you must be of your lover. To know that he is no more than a coward who lives content to run from his pain rather than embrace it? How does it feel to know that my little brother seeks only to nourish himself in the bosom of fear and self-doubt...?" Rain trembled "He's... not a coward... he-" The chestnut-haired teen silenced himself when Zanaan grabbed him by the jaw, pinning his wrists with only one powerful hand. His chin was jerked hard to one side. And Rain could only whimper and retch when Zanaan dragged his hot, damp tongue up his freckled cheek, still bruised from the crash of the Constantine two days ago. Zanaan continued afterward, staring at the trail of saliva over the horrified Rain's cheek. "You're so intent on doting on Ashriel. But know this. Once he has served his purpose I will kill him, because he has a deeper power than just magic; that 'component' that I lack. It sleeps within him. And it is the key to the realization of my dreams So sit tight and wait for what is to come shortly. You will all receive the judgement owed to you..." And Rain gasped when Zanaan glared down at him, boasting an evil in his eye that far excelled anything he had seen in another living soul. "Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; their men will die of hunger and their masses will be parched with thirst. Therefore the grave enlarges its appetite and opens its mouth without limit; into it will descend their nobles and masses with all their brawlers and revellers. So man will be brought low and mankind humbled, the eyes of the arrogant humbled. But the LORD Almighty will be exalted by his justice, and the holy God will show himself holy by his righteousness. Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich. Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, 'Let God hurry, let him hasten his work so that we may see it. Let it approach, let the plan of the Holy One of Israel come, so that we may know it'." By the time Zanaan had finished, Rain was absolutely terrified. With his eyes tightly shut he could only squirm and snivel. But there was a shift of weight. The Archangel stood up off the bed and released him, then walked to the door. Rain opened his eyes and caught the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in, only to hear Zanaan leave. Rain slumped back into his pillow and started crying again. He was in mortal danger and Ash had never felt so far away in his life. ********** "This inquisition will be brief and clean. It is not our intention to prolong the sentencing of your fate. But you will be made fully aware of your crimes before this deposition is adjourned. Do you understand what that means, Lieutenant Ashriel Gestalt of the Rehoboam Regular Military's Darshana Division?" Ash stood silently in the middle of pure darkness. Handcuffs had been slapped around his wrists. His body was bruised from the beatings he had taken from the guards of his cell. Five in count, after all. His clothing, the remains of his military gold and green uniform, had been torn in places throughout all of it. But despite all of that Ash was still standing proud. One of his eyebrows was closed and he stood with his shackled hands in front of him, but he was still standing. The room he was in was dark. From the distance he could hear the voices of the three magistrates that would conducting this 'trial'. Each one came from a different direction. One from the north, one from the southeast and the other from the southwest of his body. He had been blindfolded and herded into this room by a bunch of guards earlier. So he had no idea where he was. But he did know that he was in the Esdraelon Conglomerate HQ. The Paracelsus had been confined here as well. Ash had no idea how the others were faring in all this; his crimes were likely to have effects of the Darshana too and that was something he regretted; but he showed no regret for what he did with Rain. There was no turning back now. Magistrate #2, a middle-aged woman (judging by the voice) called to him. "Is that not you're name? Why do you not respond, Mr. Gestalt?" "...I understand." Ash seethed dryly. "Good," Said Magistrate #1, "we would rather not do this with one who is not able to answer our questions. So we shall begin. You have been issued with three charges. One; disobeying orders - the example of which, your recent absconding with the son of the late Doctor Heinrich Sorel -- Rain Sorel. The second charge is of desertion. The example of that being your flight from the starship Paracelsus to which you had been assigned And finally is the charge of theft of property -- your attempted kidnapping of Rain Sorel. These are all criminal offences under Rehoboam Law." Ash glared into the darkness. "Rehoboam Law? You're charging me... under that? When he came with me... willingly?" "You will speak only when asked to do so. Is that clear?" Said Magistrate #3. A spark of defiance lit in him. "And if I... refuse...?" It now appeared that it was dark in this room for a reason. One of the Magistrates made a confirming grunt. And Ash was forcefully punched in the stomach. He lurched forward and coughed up a shot of blood, which splattered over the chest of what was obviously one of the guards. Not only were his hands shackled and his eyes weak, but this darkness was here to conceal the guards that had led him here. There was no way he could have defended himself from an assault. When Ash coughed again, the first Magistrate resumed the inquisition. "We will not tolerate any form of disobedience from anyone in this court You will do as you are told. Do you understand that, Mr. Gestalt?" "...Yes..." "Then we shall continue the inquest," Declared Magistrate #2, "You shall explain the reason behind each of your crimes The first being your disobeyed orders to remain stationary until the landing of the Paracelsus. You will explain yourself briefly and with respect to the court you are in." Ash blinked his open eyelid. "I disobeyed orders... to protect Rain from the Ministry..." Magistrate #3 snorted. "The second of your charges -- desertion. Explain your reason for that. And you are ordered to do so briefly and with respect to the court you are in." "I deserted the Darshana... to leave with Rain..." Ash told him. "And the last of your crimes -- theft of property," Magistrate #1 spoke, "Elucidate your motive for that. And you are again reminded to do this briefly and with the utmost deference to this court." Ash grit his teeth before answering. "I... took Rain... with me... because I wanted to protect him And show him the world beyond the cage that those bastards in the Ministry made for him..." "You stole the property of others for that?" Magistrate #2 suggested, "that boy is now under the ownership of the Ministry. What they do with their puppets and commodities is none of your business If they should happen to break laws then it will be our prerogative to bring justice to light. What made you think you had that right unto yourself?" "I didn't think that... I had that right..." "Then how do you excuse your actions?" Asked the second of the Magistrates. Ash stared into the darkness. "My... love for him." The three magistrates remained quiet after that one. But only for a few moments. Ash took the time to catch his breath fully from the punch he had taken earlier, only for one of judges around him to speak again, the second one, "Love does not excuse the breaking of the law. We are a society that needs both liberty and law. Without one and only the other, society will crumble into chaos. The balance must be maintained and those who take the role of the adjudicator must remain neutral in all aspects of this." "That is correct," Said Magistrate #3, "if human emotion were enough to excuse you then this inquest would not be happening. Unfortunately for you this is not a matter of debate. Laws are the backbone of every great nation or civilization. The more un-orderly the regime the higher the risk of self-destruction. Do you not see that?" Ash's anger returned to him. "...Gah! You sons of bitches couldn't sound more banal if you tried! I'm not justifying myself to a bunch of pen-pushing yes-men who're happy to just sit there like whores and kiss the ass of that goddamned Ministry! Those guys are playing YOU and everyone else! And yet you only sit there and judge me for protecting someone I care about from exploitation because it suits you?! Tell me, is Tsar Urkan that backwards?! Is this what Rehoboam, the greatest civilization in the Augusta Star System, is based on?! If it is, then you can have it, damn you!" Ash was prevented from saying anymore. Two of the guards standing around him in the darkness started battering him to keep that from occurring. Ash groaned and yelped as he was knocked to and fro by a series of well-coordinated punches to the face, stomach and waist. One final punch from the guard to his left and he was down on the ground, bleeding from the lips and cheek. Ash just lay there in the dark room, unmoving, coughing and gasping for breath while his beads of sweat and blood dripped upon the cold, dirty ground that was underneath him. Magistrate #2 started talking again. "Your refusal to show remorse for your crimes and your insults of this court have caused us to forgo any leniency we may have been inclined to show you as a result of your good years of service to the Rehoboam Regular Military. Therefore you will be informed of the full extent of your punishment now. On the charges of disobeying orders, desertion, and theft of property; you have been found unanimously guilty. The verdict for each has been settled around two unanimous sentences. Execution -- by lethal injection. And a subsequent posthumous discharge from the Rehoboam Regular Military." Ash groaned on the floor. "...God... damn... you... all..." "Take him away." Magistrate #1 said to the guards They both nodded and hauled the tired Ash up to his feet. Ash let his head droop and his feet be dragged off as the guards began carrying him away to his cell. Ash was still conscious however. Conscious enough to note the sound of energy in the background It was gradual one. Like something was advancing near here at an increasing rate Then they all felt what he had heard. There was a loud explosion on the right side of the wall mere seconds after Ash had detected the sound. He and the two guards dragging him off were thrown off their feet and hurled to the ground by the force of it. The darkness that infested the room beforehand was gone when they all looked to the smoking hole that had been carved into the right wall. Ash's eyes widened when he saw what has caused it. Through the hole could the city of Crux Cartha be seen. And the things that were descending towards it with nothing but slaughter on their minds. Guard #2 scowled behind the visor of his black helmet. "Saviours!" "...A... Saviour... attack...?" Ash mumbled. Now that the darkness was gone, the three magistrates had been revealed. Ash watched the woman one, no.2, wave her hand commandingly at the two guards holding him. "Take him to back to the cells and mount our building's defences! At once!" The two armoured guards nodded with a 'yes, Ma'am' to that and grabbed Ash once more, standing up. They went about dragging him through the doors and back out the trial room. The three Magistrates who had conducted the tribunal then evacuated the room also. Crux Cartha was under attack. ********** There was no warning. One moment the city of Crux Cartha was in complete harmony. Everything had been normal. The cars drove down the roads and the people did their jobs. The kids were leaving for school and the hover trains carved their way around the layout of the city to take those without cars to their intended destinations. Everything had been normal for a normal day in a normal Rehoboam city. That was until they arrived. The first of the swarm of initial explosions tore open the roofs of several of the inner city skyscrapers and business towers. And then a platoon of that savage alien army materialized in the sky. A swarm of Saviours were descending on Crux Cartha At least thirty Behemoth-types floated in the air above the city. And thousands of Slave-types and Cherubim-types descended from their fleshy, starship-like innards to land in the streets. Cars halted to a stop and men, women and children ran for their lives as a new invasion began. The Saviours tore through whatever they saw in their path, ripping down buildings, stalls, walls, gas-lamps, skips, cars, data poles, trees, statues, everything. The Slave-types charged around and struck down anyone they could find with bloody intent. They then began feasting off the flesh of their victims, gnawing at the bloody taste of cold human tissue. And while wave after wave of Slave-types and Cherubim-types jumped from their fins, the large flying Behemoth-types opened up their dripping biometallic mouths and released powerful crimson beams of energy. Those beams were aimed at the buildings of the city and they were VERY potent. Scores of innocent people were incinerated with fire and smoke as their work places were blown to smithereens. A trail of ruined buildings and what was left of them were formed in the centre of the city from the attacks of the Behemoth-types energy blasts. The siren warning suddenly came on a city-wide scale from Crux Cartha's main IGP, Zuriel. It signified to the surrounding districts that a Saviour attack was taking place in the centre of the city. Automatically, those who were in a position to evacuate did just that There were a huge network of underground shelters beneath the streets of Crux Cartha. A tract of around three miles, hidden 340m underneath the surface. Frightened men, women and children scrambled for the elevators that would take them. In the half-hour since the very beginning of the Saviour attack, the 400 public elevators to the shelters were already backlogged with hundreds of people. As the Behemoths and the Slaves ruined what the inner city once was, the sky above it started turning red from flames and smoke. And it was then that the military started to take action The 3200 units of five-men Anti-Saviour specialized soldiers started to mobilize themselves from the twenty Rehoboam Regular Military bases across the expanse of the city. They mounted jeeps, tanks, cars, motorcycles, hovercycles, trucks; anything nearby that would get them into the heartland of Crux Cartha with any kind of speed And while they converged together towards the centre of the city, some of the other military personnel began to personally handle the evacuation process. Even the Darshana Division, which had been on standby since Ash's arrest two days ago, were petitioned to led aid to the people of Crux Cartha in combating the Saviours. Commander Eldiah informed his people and instantly started to order them to move out and help the rest of the military in staving off the Saviour's attacks. The standard foot soldiers of the Darshana Division (even though they did not have the same level of skill as Ash, Cream and Yoko) armed themselves for the fight and left the Paracelsus from the docking bay aligned with the Esdraelon Conglomerate HQ. Once they had what they needed they left the ship and joined the rest of the army stationed here for combat in any way they could. But one soldier of the Darshana Division did not follow them. That one was Cream. The girl was fully decked out in her combat armour. Slung over her shoulder was her Sophia-PRO8000 bow and her quiver of speciality arrows. Her C-Gear had been activated as well. The redhead ran across the wide inner hanger to which the Paracelsus had been confined. A few other ships, like the Hadrian and the Caligula had been left here. But Cream ignored all that and what it meant. The only thing she could think of was setting what had been wrong back to right again. She dashed across the hanger floor and made a point not to be seen by any of the cameras around She knew full well that people were still monitoring the activities of the Darshana Division, despite current Saviour attacks. In time she covered the dark steel grounds of the hanger and came to one of the surrounding lift doors. She pressed a button on the control panel next to it and those metal doors opened for her. She entered and pressed a few more keys to have her taken to a higher level than this in the Esdraelon building. The lift followed the command and ascended to that floor. Floor 8 of the 27 level tower. When the doors opened up for her she ran out into a carpeted hallway, adorned with many doors along its thin walls that led to personal offices of the Esdraelon HQ personnel. Cream ran down that corridor and turned left at a fork, only to skid to a stop when she saw two guards waiting. Or rather those two guards saw her. Cream clutched her fists. "Damn..." "You there!" Yelled Guard #2, "no military personnel are allow above level 3 of the Esdraelon Conglomerate building! Either join the rest of the troops in the city or get back down to your assigned ship!" Cream didn't move an inch. Guard #1 piped up. "Did you hear him!? Do it now!" There was no choice. If she wanted to move forward she would have to fight. But Cream couldn't bring herself to kill these guys when they were just doing their duty. So she drew back her fists and ran forward at them. Both Guards became alert but Cream's action was far too swift for them to counter. She rushed ahead with amazing soldier speed and rotated her hips at the first of her adversaries. She extended her leg and with an almost brutal precision she kicked him cross the face, mid-run. Guard #1 was knocked hard into the wall from the force of the kick. While Cream turned her rapid attentions to the second security worker. She thrust her fist into his padded armour. But did nothing to protect him from the shockwaves of the punch. Then Cream grabbed both sides of his helmet and brought his head down whilst thrusting her knee up. The cracking of bone and glass was heard when her knee kick and the visor of the Guard's helmet collided. The older man reeled back with a gasp, his visor cracked open and his nose gushing up blood. He toppled over and fell backward into the ground. Cream landed and caught her breath. "Man," She said between gasps, "I had no idea that hand-to-hand combat training was ever gonna come in handy for me. But whatever. I can't stand here. I've got work to do!" She gathered herself together and dashed down the rest of that particular corridor. Cream came to the door at the end of it and opened it, leading into a stairwell. She knew from her data briefing of this building's layout that she couldn't get to the floor she wanted via the lift. This was the best shot. The redheaded soldier now descended the long flight of iron steps, moving down as they spiralled around that long shaft. It took the better part of twenty minutes to get down to the floor she wanted. Sub-level 3. But she got there in the end. Cream bolted across the railing of those stairs and leapt to the frontal double doors of sub-level 3. She pushed them open and charged down the following, less furnished corridor. Three more guards were waiting for her there. Before they gave her any trouble, Cream hauled off and struck them down with the same military combat arts she had used on the ones above. By the time she was finished they were all bloodied and gasping on the cold floor. Cream caught her breath again and turned her attentions to the far door that was blocking her way. There was a key panel beside it. But on the little LCD display -- it clearly said 'LOCKED'. The sensible thing to do at that point would have probably been to search the armour of the guards she had just knocked out. But in choosing this path, Cream had tossed logical sense out the window. She reached behind her back and unhinged her bow from her uniform. She held it before her with one hand and then used the other to pull an arrow from her quiver. A lightning-tip arrow. Cream placed the arrow against her bow and positioned its tail at the rigid yet elasticised metal string. She pulled back both the string and the arrow-tail, taking aim at the key panel. Then she fired. She shoot the arrow with pin-point accuracy into the panel, dead on. It staked the LCD screen and the subsequent electrical charge short-circuited the panel. It crackled with energy and released a puff of smoke. And the metal doors it locked in place were opened. Cream attached her bow to her back again and ran through the door into a new section of the building One with a far more grim look to them. It was a square room with about twenty doors, five in each of its four walls. Cream ran into the centre of that room. "These must be the holding cells." She said. Cream took out her bow once again and drew out another lightning-tip arrow. She aligned the arrow with her bow and took aim at one of the doors. Then she turned around, step by step, checking the key panels against each of those doors. Her eyes narrowed when she saw what she wanted. A particular name on the LCD screen of the twelfth door. The LCD screen on that particular door's key panel read 'ASHRIEL GESTALT'. Cream fired the arrow into the key panel and it short-circuited the thing in the same way as the one before it. The door opened for Cream and she put her bow away, reattaching it to her back. She ran to the open door yelling, "Ash!" When she entered, she saw the boy; bruised, battered, and tired, huddled up against the back wall of the cell. He opened his eyes with effort and saw that Cream was standing there in the doorway, half-happy and half-concerned. "...C-Cream...?" "Ash!" The girl bounded over to him as he slinked up the wall, and threw her arms around him cheerfully, giggling, "Oh thank God! I got so worried about you!" Ash groaned "Ugh... what are... you...?" "I came here to rescue you! The Saviours are attacking the city above and I know I should be out helping the people but I also knew that this was my best chance to save you, Ash! I just had to do it!" Ash looked down dejectedly. "You... shouldn't have... helped me..." "Huh?" Cream was genuinely taken aback by that, "...but...?" "You... don't get it. I'm... up for... execution. If they... find out... that you've been helping me... they'll do the same to you, too. Cream. You... have to forget about me..." "I can't do that! We're best friends!" She argued. Ash shook his head miserably. "There's... no hope anymore..." Cream was going to bark angrily at that. But someone behind the two of them did that job for her. "So you'll just sit there and give up while the one you're supposedly in love with is held against his will by groups like the Ministry and Esdraelon?" Both Ash and Cream were caught off guard when their heard a third voice. They both looked behind them and saw a woman standing in the doorway, just as Cream had done seconds ago. That woman just happened to be Yoko Daitokuji. Across her shoulder was a large sack and in her hand was one of her twin pistols. Ash blinked "...Y-Yoko...?" Cream felt the smile returning to her. "You followed me..." "You're not a quitter," Yoko said to Ash, hand at her hip, "We may not like each other very much but that's one thing I've always respected about you. That you don't quit. So what now? Are you just going to throw away the one hope you have of getting Rain back into your life? Or are you going to stand up and fight?" Ash still looked addled. Then Cream peeled herself off him and stared hard into his eyes. "Rain is still alive somewhere, Ash. And he needs you. You can't give up now. Not now. You've got him back in your life but you have to fight for him. Can you do that, Ash? Can you still fight?" The blonde one stared blankly at Cream for a second. Then at Yoko. And suddenly his defiant grin returned to him. "...Yeah. You better damn believe it..." Both Cream and Yoko smiled at that. And then they went about helping him. Cream wrapped her arms around Ash's body to help him up into a standing position Then Yoko heaved the sack off her shoulder and tossed it to his feet, declaring, "After I saw Cream flee the Paracelsus I knew she was coming for you. So I got your stuff together. Use it as you will." "Thanks for this, Yoko," Cream said with a smile; one that faded when she remembered the argument they had in the cafeteria of the Paracelsus earlier, "and I'm sorry about..." Yoko shook her head. "Forget it. I have. Now both of you hurry up. We need to get out of this place before security find out something's wrong and send reinforcements down here." Ash took that onboard and went to work. Inside the sack was his Darshana Division battle armour, his C-Gear, his Sigmund-PRO8000 broadsword, as well as his identification card and PM. Yoko had considered everything important. Ash re-dressed himself in his battle armour and slotted both the C-Gear and the PM into his pockets. He then slung the Sigmund-PRO8000 and its scabbard over his shoulder and fastened it with the harness. Cream took his arm over her shoulder and them helped him walk out of the cell with Yoko taking up the front of the party. "How are we going to get out of Crux Cartha?" Ash asked, leaning on Cream, "It's not like... we can go back to the Paracelsus, is it?" Yoko shook her head at that. "I took care of that before I left the ship Just follow me." And the three of them huddled their way out of the holding cell chamber, past the guards that Cream had knocked unconscious. They went back through the adjoining corridor and re-entered the stairwell. They then ascended the metal stairwell and climbed their way back up to the higher levels of the building. First through sub-levels 2 and 1. Then from ground level through floors 2, 3, 4, 5 and finally up to floor 6. Once they got back to it they marched through the corridors to the elevator that awaited them on the other side. Yoko keyed in the intended destination, the roof, and it took them the rest of the way, right up there. When the doors opened again, the three Darshana Division soldiers ambled into the wide presence of the roof of the Esdraelon Conglomerate. Standing in the middle of it was a small dropship-sized vessel and a tall man standing beside it. While Cream helped him walk there, Ash turned his attentions to the view of the city that he got from here. And he discovered that Cream had been right about the Saviour attack. In the distance he could see that most of the inner districts of the city were in flames. A black layer of smoke wafted above those buildings. The Behemoth-types were large enough to be seen from the distance, so he could see them blasting the inner city with more of their mouth energy blasts. And more of the Behemoths were arriving by the very minute. By this time there were at least 140 Behemoths in the air. It had been months since he had seen that many in one place. And with each of them came thousands more Slave and Cherubim-types. At this rate they would overrun the city in a few days. But he knew that at this point, the Regular Military would be able to handle it. And when he realized that Cream had stopped walking him to the small ship, he found himself standing before a familiar face. Commander Donovan Eldiah. "Look sharp, Lieutenant Gestalt. You can't reach your dreams like that." "Commander?" Ash was stunned, "But...?" Eldiah smiled and pressed his palm into the youth's shoulder. "Yoko informed me on my PM, of what Cream was planning on doing here. At first I was considering reporting it. But then I realized that she was right. You do not deserve death for protecting someone you care about. Rules be damned. The only way things are ever going to change is if more people do what they can for those they love. Saviours are not our greatest enemy. I think you understand that more than ever now." "But what about you, sir?" Cream wondered with concern, "Once the government finds out that you've helped Ash escape from custody, then..." "I am your commanding officer. I will take full responsibility for your actions as well as my own. I should have done that from the beginning. And for that I am sorry. But I will make amends for it now. I managed to get a ship ready for the three of you and informed Yoko of it after she left to catch up with you This is the Arayashiki. And with it you can go get Rain." "But where is he?" Ash asked. Eldiah crossed his arms. "He is in Space Palace Deuteronomy, held by the Ministry and Esdraelon. I have had my suspicions about both groups but I can tell that there is more to all this than we know of. Consider it a chance to stop their plans -- whatever they might be. Just trust yourselves and keep moving forward." Ash smiled at the black man. "Thanks, sir." "It's fine," He replied, "now the three of you must be going. Though it will be dealing with a lot considering the Saviours, there is no assurance that you will not be detected by the Zuriel. You should go now." "But what about YOU, Commander?!" Cream argued. Eldiah smiled at her. "I have made my choice. I'd like for you to respect it, Lieutenant Stenzel. Just as I have come to respect yours. Now all of you, get moving! Go! That's an order!" Yoko nodded to him and dashed to the opened boarding stairway of the Arayashiki. Cream was still hesitant to leave but knew that she had no choice in the matter. They had selected their path. The time had come to follow through on it. Cream walked with Ash over to the Arayashiki and climbed its metal steps. Eldiah stood by and watched as they boarded the little ship from below. And he could not mistake how proud he was of those three. They had their differences but they were at last acting as a coordinated unit. And he could not doubt the irony he felt for that when he realized that that unity was brought about once fighting for one they cared about, rather than for the military. Moments after, Eldiah stepped away from the launch pad of the roof that the Arayashiki. Soon its engines were ignited and it rose up from the roof, jetting into the distance of the skies. Eldiah watched it climb up. Then turned his eyes back to the city. The central part of Crux Cartha was completely engulfed in flame. The Behemoths were moving onto other areas of the metropolis More and more of the Slave-types were jumping down from them. And the Cherubim-types were leading their packs. Eldiah crossed his arms and sighed. "Hmm. 'They aren't are greatest enemy'," He repeated, "All of this destruction. All of this terror. And yet I feel it pales in comparison to what is about to befall the world. Ash. Cream. Yoko. I need the three of you to stay strong and unravel the truth behind the Ministry. The absolute truth. In this world and way... you might be our only hope."
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