GATE: Tiberium Eschaton (Self-Insert)

[Gideon020]

Prologue:

"Delivery of Seed Unit 2321/Alpha-14 proceeding on schedule. Analysis of target world indicates minimal native resistance to Ichor Seeding, and pacification efforts are a non-requirement." The Mothership AI's report was one of numerous reports that Foreman 117 had been receiving since the target for Ichor Seeding, a world in the Frontier considered to have significant resource presence, was scouted remotely. And as was always the case with such a world, the process for Seeding, followed by the long wait before Reclamation while the Ichor matured and evolved, was going to be another boring but satisfying wait.

With any luck, there wouldn't even be a need to awaken the Traveler and Reaper cults that had predictably attached themselves to 117's seeding/mining operation with the hopes of engaging any surviving natives, combat against natives and especially hardy natives was always messy.

"Seed Unit has struck target meteroid." The Mothership reported, "Orbit has shifted. Impact will occur upon fleet arrival at stasis point."

'And there it is.' Foreman 117 thought, 'Another job well done. More Ichor for the Ichor Hub, and all without a fight if the remote scouts have provided sufficient and suitable data about their tech progression.'

While it was possible that some forgotten corner of the world the meteroid was approaching would have more advanced tech, and perhaps there was, Foreman 117 was largely unperturbed since the Ichor would present either an irresistible trap or equally tempting prize that the natives would spread and try to take advantage of, and likely become mutated and warped by the Ichor's touch. 117 had a feeling that the Reaper and Traveler with him would likely be investigating any and all new lifeforms that resulted from contact with the Ichor in its raw form, but hopefully the planet would result in sufficient material profit to keep his Supervisor happy with the investiture of purified Ichor being used for the seeding.

The mining fleet and attendant security and support vessels had been in transit to a suitable hibernation location in orbit over the system's third planet for a number of long-count time units according to the Mothership's systems, but even so Foreman 117 considered himself lucky to have made such good time to the system since the Supervisor wasn't currently berating him for the time taken to arrive as 117 gave the order for the fleet to enter a hibernation orbit and prepared to speak with the Supervisor, "Foreman 117 reporting that Seeding is now commencing and fleet has arrived to enter hibernation orbit."

The holographic image of the Supervisor appeared before 117 instantly, "Message received Foreman 117, your arrival is logged as being marginally ahead of schedule. Commendable, but not impressive. Estimated local timeframe for full conversion and likely Ichor-LQ detonation?"

117 quickly checked several calculations before answering, "Estimating some twenty to thirty local years before Ichor concentration reaches critical mass, at which point all local sentients and wildlife will be pacified by conversion or eliminated by means of radiation exposure and atmopheric contamination." 117 went over several other datapoints as he continued, "Of note during remote scouting is the presence of individuals able to manipulate unknown quantum energies; Reaper-216 and Traveler-187 have both expressed a wish to investigate and combat such entities for study and personal entertainment before their hibernation."

"Denied." The Supervisor stated, "Engaging with the locals using operational security forces is an unnecessary Ichor expenditure; it is a luxury that cannot be afforded, thusly you are to keep the Reaper and Traveler cultists in stasis until further notice." An image of the world, particularly of a large continent with two smaller continents, appeared, "This location will be suitable for initial seeding and remote observation using automated systems. Once critical mass is reached on this continent, you may initiate secondary seedings at the same time as the initiation of harvesting and processing. It is unlikely that with atmospheric contamination and Ion storms that any pacification will be required if your remote scout data is correct."

"All data was put through multiple redundancy and error checks," 117 replied, "There will be no meaningful resistance even if security forces are authorized. At most, security forces will be put to use defending against hostile wildlife."

"Satisfactory." The Supervisor replied, "Ensure that things go smoothly, and there may be further opportunities for advancement." The Supervisor's image shifted, "I do not have to inform you of the consequences for failure should you be unable to not only ensure proper harvesting operations, but have also failed to take into account sudden technological shifts."

"No, Supervisor." Foreman 117 replied, "I fully understand what has to be accomplished and this operation will progress on schedule." As 117 finished, the Supervisor ended communications as the Mothership AI spoke up.

"The Supervisor is displaying paranoid behavior. Monitoring of future communications recommended."

117 ignored suggestion, "Mothership, prepare the fleet for hibernation and maintain remote monitoring of the planet."

"Order confirmed," The Mothership responded, "Circumstances for emergency awakening?"

Foreman 117 considered the question, before stating simply, "If the natives find a way to destroy Ichor." It was a good, solid criterion when one thought about it since it covered a single, possible, situation that far outweighed the seriousness of other scenarios. Because if the natives could destroy Ichor without leaving a trace of it, then that meant that the seeding could be slowed or stopped.

And Foreman 117 had no intention of failing at seeding a world when the natives were clearly primitive and often involved in internecine warfare at a level that was laughable in all threat assessments against the Anti-Infantry Bladeswarms that were the benchmark for the tests. Leather and steel armor, steel blades, and rare individuals capable of manipulating novel forms of energy fields, all fell before the most basic combat unit, thus largely negating the need for any worry in regards to pacification.

Watching the rapidly-shrinking meteroid as it continued towards the target world on a precisely calculated path that would have it landing on a north-eastern continental spar of the large continent chosen as the initial seeding site, Foreman 117 felt a strange feeling of foreboding, as though when they woke next either for harvesting or security operations, nothing was going to be simple or easy in the slightest.

Ignoring it as a meaningless neuro-physical reaction to the impending hibernation cycles, Foreman 117 began the appropriate procedures to hand off all observational and decision-making authority to the Mothership since the emergency criterion had now been set. Seeing no other pressing tasks, Foreman 117 decided to enact a personal decision, "Mothership, please also ensure that all non-critical communications from the Overseer are properly dealt with."

"Understood Foreman. Beginning hibernation cycles of all resource gathering and security form-systems now. Initiating Foreman hibernation sequence."

Foreman 117 hoped that annoying tendency to dream didn't happen again this time as he felt himself begin to enter the hibernation shutdown state and everything went black.

******​

It was a clear night with a full moon glowing brightly in the sky as the legions of The Empire readied themselves for the campaign ahead; the need for slaves to work the mines, the fields, the forges, all of the industries of war and commerce, continued to be the deciding and voracious appetite of the Empire, but it was another appetite that had generals ordering officers who in turn ordered Imperial Legionnaires, Demi-human vassal and slave-soldiers, and mercenaries from other, nominally-allied, kingdoms to march.

Tonight would be the night that the Empire invaded the unexplored grassland territory of the so-called 'Warrior Bunnies', the rabbit-like demi-humans said to be cannibals and unbeatable in a one-on-one fight, and above all famed for their universal beauty. The stories of their beauty had spread like wildfire among the troops, and rewards were promised once these scattered tribes were brought low by the Empire's might.

"Remember! These creatures are nothing in the face of the spears of the Empire!" A Centurion shouted as he inspected the line atop his horse, "Alone they may be invincible, but that only means that facing a united front, these barbarians will only meet a bitter end while you brave men will surely be granted the highest honors for your heroism!" A cheer rang out as the Centurion smiled broadly in the light of the torches, horn calls signalling the beginning of the march before a cry rang out in the back of the ranks that was quickly and rapidly echoed.

"The sky! Look at the sky!"

All eyes who heard the cries turned their gaze skywards, and a wave of shocked curses and other calls rippled across the Imperial war camp. The Centurion was one of those staring with wide eyes at the event taking place; on that moonlit night the sky was lightening as though dawn was arriving, but it was not the sun rising.

Instead, a star was falling, glowing with a blinding green radiance as it streaked across the sky, so large that it seemed as though the fireball was only just over their heads as it streaked across the sky, leaving a sickly-green trail that shimmered and glowed in the still night air, no-one willing to say a word in case it was some kind of magical trick, a ruse sent forth by barbarian witches.

Finally, the Centurion wet his dry lips and shouted, "Enough gawking! Reform your ranks and-" The sky turned from the depths of midnight to a dawn as green as jade and emerald, soldiers covering their eyes from the blinding radiance coming from the north-east, a sound like thunder and avalanches rumbling into their ears and their feet vibrated with the shaking earth before the light faded and the night quickly returned to reclaim the sky that had been stolen by the jade and emerald light.

Silence reigned for several long moments, only broken by handlers trying to calm frightened pack animals, or the whispered and muttered prayers to the Gods while those who clutched weapons tried to stop their hands from shaking, or else collapsed to the ground as their nerves and legs gave out, quickly followed by other soldiers as well as the panicked vassals, slaves and disturbed mercenaries.

Seeing that there was no way for the army to be motivated to move, the Centurion sighed and thanked the Gods that his horse was too stubborn to panic in the face of strange events and rode off to give his report to the Generals about the state of his assigned forces.

Across the Empire and indeed across the continent of Falmart, people prayed or hid as the falling star tore across the sky, bathing everywhere it went in a blinding green radiance. The glowing trails left behind would persist for hours and when the morning came some would find glittering green crystals lying on the ground or in the fields, while some were swept away by river currents to sea.

But while the Empire and those other kingdoms who saw the falling star recovered from what many came to accept as a shocking celestial event, one kingdom far to the north-east did not fare so well.

What others saw as a false dawn in the middle of the night, was in fact the funeral pyre of this kingdom. The moment the Ichor-laden rock hit the targeted impact site, coincidentally right on top of the palace in the center of that kingdom's capital city, it spelled the end as Ichor underwent fusion and detonated, spraying shards as large as houses, carts and men across the land and into the sea, a thick plume of glittering crystal spreading on high-altitude air currents to spread a glowing shroud over the kingdom and its southern neighbors.

Those who survived would be forever scarred by the massive radiation pulse, while those who saw the shroud covering their skies had no idea of the enormity of the impending apocalypse that had been cast at them by alien intelligences who regarded their existences on the same level as insects, if they even acknowledged their existence at all, in their eternal pursuit for the lifeblood of their species.

On the night that was supposed to be the start of the Empire's invasion and conquest of the Warrior Bunny tribes, the Emerald Star instead delayed the invasion by three months as priests and oracles were consulted on the portent of this event. In the underworld, a goddess noted the sudden deaths and the source, "Tch, this will be annoying."

It was the Imperial Calendar Year 684, and those who would survive the events to come, those would learn about the coming of the Emerald Star and the forces it heralded, they would call it the beginning of The Eschaton.​

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 1:

The cockerel crying heralded another day of work for the farmer who grumbled slightly as he dragged himself from the warm confines of his bed, shivering slightly as his feet hit the cold wooden floor of the upper level of his farmhouse, "Damn falling star, nights aren't supposed to be this cold." A half-hearted glare at the window revealed the reason for his annoyance; the sky held a sickly greenish tinge, as did the clouds, and not even the dawn light could dispel the haze and dust that choked the skies for as far and wide as the farmer could see.

Ever since the Emerald Star fell four months ago, the farmer, his wife, and their children all found themselves with a new working task added onto their usual routine; the glittering haze in the sky that darkened the land and weakened the sun's light would often rain down crystals the size of a man's finger, and it was now a chore to clear the fields of the crystals alongside the weeds and stones in preparation for the coming harvest, but in every new hardship there was a chance for some extra silver as the crystals that rained down from the sky were apparently starting to become valuable.

The Empire was always hungry for new luxuries, and it seemed that some of the green crystals had gone as far as those squabbling kingdoms to the South-West across the sea, trading the crystals as jewels for gold to fund their mercenaries. At least, that was what those merchants were saying in their drunken revelry; that and they'd pay a fortune in silver Denarus for any crystals of good quality gathered by locals.

The farmer coughed, hacking up a wad of green phlegm that felt prickly in this throat, spitting it into the drainage ditch heading back to the river. That was the problem with handling the crystals, they tended to be covered in dust and the farmer had felt strangely drained whenever he got close to the large buckets that the crystals were being gathered in to be sold at the market in town where there were surely going to be a number of Imperial merchants looking to pay good silver for the chance to feed the extravagant tastes of distant nobles.

Idly, the farmer wondered what the crystals would be used for. He knew that jewelry was the obvious answer but sometimes he considered the rumors of other, stranger uses, that came up in conversation while he was having drinks with the others at the tavern after a hard day of working in the fields. He remembered Dorse's opinion that the Imperials had arrowheads made so that they could use the jewels in hunting, while Marcus was of the opinion that the Imperials used them to make all manner of gaudy and useless trinkets, and Lono thought that they used them instead of gold or silver as money, to show off how rich they were.

He had won the contest by saying that the Imperials wanted the crystals so that he could eat them, earning laughter from all sides except for a group of merchants who glanced at one another. The farmer chuckled; that had been the first night before the crystals landed in his fields and now his family were gathering so many he was tempted to see if he actually could eat them! Every day for four months of darkened, green-tinged skies, his family were picking up crystals, and then they'd rain down during the night or come in the afternoon and they were at it all over again.

"There'd better be a buyer for these things..." The farmer muttered as he left the house to inspect the fields, half-expecting to find more crystals lying in his fields, but to his surprise as he walked through the rows of long stalks there was not that many to pick up, only the strangely-glittering dust that often came with the crystals, but that would wash away in the increasing bouts of rain caused by the Emerald Star falling to the north. Picking up a particularly large, fist-sized from appearances, crystal, the farmer shrugged at the lack of green glow in his field, "Less work today then, praise the gods."

Turning and heading back to the homestead, the farmer diverted from approaching the house to head towards the woodshed where a couple of battered baskets sat, opening one to reveal crystals in shades of red, purple, blue and yellow but predominantly green, he tossed in the blue crystal and turned away, missing the slight sparks that sprung from the crystal as it struck another blue crystal. A glance at the sky told the farmer that the harvest was looking more and more unlikely; the haze that came after the Emerald Star fell had only gotten thicker, the sun seemed to be nothing more than a sickly green circle in the sky.

But even so, in the sickly light, didn't the stalks of his crops seem to have a glow to them? The farmer dismissed it as a trick of the light as he went to hitch up the horse and cart so he could take one of the baskets into town and sell it off to those greedy Imperial merchants and purchase supplies in case the harvest failed from this haze darkening the skies.

His grimace deepened as he looked at his horse he owned, a tough draft animal he had inherited from his late father. The animal was looking a little under the weather, but he judged her to still be healthy enough for pulling the cart. He slipped a rope halter around her neck and lead her to the cart. As he harnessed her in place he heard the sound of distant thunder, and looking up to see lightning flashing in the distance. Despite the possibility of a storm coming, the farmer smiled, perhaps some rain was all that was needed to keep his harvest from failing as he continued hitching his horse to the cart.

With the horse hitched up, and a basket of the crystals loaded up, the farmer bade his wife and children farewell, starting the hours-long journey to the fortified town of Alwart to sell his crystals, hoping to get a good price before anyone else got the idea of selling the crystals in bulk, and not handfuls at a time. In the distance, a bolt of lightning flashed and the farmer swore that he saw the lightning and clouds flash green or blue, but ignored it, "Just my eyes playing tricks on me. Green lightning, that's just silly."

But as fascinated as he was by the lightning playing in the distance, the farmer's eyes were wary and suspicious; while not a busy road at the best of times, the traffic usually picked up the closer one got to the main road leading to Alwart, in fact he had been expecting to see the presence of at least someone; traders, soldiers, even travelers to other towns or cities, but the road was empty of anyone, and the fields were empty of other farmers as he walked past, fields growing wild with weeds and illuminated in patches by the crystals that had fallen in them.

Looking around the road, still leading the horse along, the farmer clutched his head as a throbbing pain developed, shaking his head to clear it as he continued, "Something isn't right." He paused, urging the horse to stop as well, looking around the empty road and surrounding fields, "There should be people here...where is everyone?" Scanning his surroundings, the farmer suddenly heard something strange, and it sounded like...

"Music?" The farmer muttered as he walked around to the basket at the back of his cart, the strange music getting louder as he approached the basket, before he lifted the lid and froze, eyes wide, as the basket's lid fell from limp fingers. The basket's contents seemed to glow in the dim light penetrating the glittering haze mixing with storm clouds, the light pulsing in hypnotic and soothing rhythms as the farmer listened to the music the crystals were making, feeling as though there was something more to the strange, alien tune.

"Are..." He licked his lips, "Are you trying to speak with me? Are you spirits?" The crystals continued to sing, only the music seemed to change subtly, as if confirming his words, and the farmer's eyes widened, "Spirits! I've been gathering Spirits!" He picked up the lid, looking around in a panic, "What do I do? What do I do? If you're offended-"

The music, the music that the farmer only faintly realised was being heard inside his mind, changed to a more soothing tone, and the farmer relaxed, "Oh, you wanted to be gathered...Yes, I was going to sell you to the Imperials...I should scatter the green ones? Really? So you can grow?" The farmer cocked his head quizzically, "How would you be able to-"

A thumping ended the one-sided conversation as a spray of heavy .50-caliber bullets punched through the farmer's body, head and limbs, the horse whinnying before the thumping sounded again, pummeling the animal as the bullets shredded organs, pulverised bones, and sent fountains of blood and viscera flying as the corpse collapsed, the gunshots echoing in the still air mixed with the alarm calls of nearby crows.

Driving out of the woods, a dark-yellow vehicle parked in front of the corpses and cart, doors opening to let three soldiers wearing sealed, dark-yellow combat armour and fatigues exit and approach the cart. One of the soldiers inspected the basket before taking the lid and replacing it on top of the crystals before hefting it easily, carrying it towards the back of the vehicle and securing it with straps while the other two soldiers inspected the corpses, one of them kneeling to pull out a knife and slice open a section of the horse's back to reveal several long, faintly-glowing spines underneath the skin, while the other soldier traced hard lumps, cutting the skin to reveal small crystalline growths.

Cleaning their knives, the soldiers returned to the vehicle, which started up and began heading down the road, roaring down the stones uncaring if it would be spotted as the farmer's home came into view, the vehicle turning and approaching the house before parking to let the soldiers out once more before circling around to the back, the remote weapon station on top scanning the area.

The three soldiers moved to the house, one of them lifting their rifle and aiming it around the corner, a camera feed showing up in their helmet's Heads-Up Display to show the family seemingly eating breakfast, uncaring or unnoticing of the sound of a vehicle engine behind the house. Seeing that they were undetected, the lead soldier motioned to one of the remaining two and they moved to either side of the door as the third readied a tear-gas grenade.

At the leader's nod, the grenade was tossed through the window, gas filling the room the instant the device hit the ground as the impact-sensitive trigger engaged, the door kicked in seconds later before all three soldiers opened fire, filling the room with 7.62mm bullets for several seconds. Stopping their barrage, the three soldiers peered around the door and window as thermal imaging systems engaged, scanning the room as the tear-gas leaked through gaps in the walls and roof, three lifeless shapes appearing in view.

Then a voice came over the soldier's radios, "There's supposed to be two more. The elder children. Find them and eliminate them, this infection is spreading too quickly as it is." The soldiers glanced at one another; the leader indicated the fields, and the remaining two nodded before turning and heading to search the fields as the leader entered the gas-filled house and began searching, pulling up hand-made rugs to see if there was a hidden trapdoor or crawlspace, climbing up the ladder to look over the sleeping areas, before climbing down to exit the house.

Outside, the soldier spotted their two subordinates searching the fields, the voice returning, "Sitrep."

The soldier tapped a command on their wearable computer to send a burst-transmission of the current situation report, receiving a sigh in reply, "I really should have set you to verbose mode. Never mind I'm going to be talking with freaking Dolls, at least I'd get a conversation once in a while. Continue searching the property, they can't have gone far."

The soldier turned and began heading to the storehouse where the family's store of grain and salted, cured meat would be kept, pulling open the door to the meat storage, the voice's disgust evident as they commented, "Ew. This is worse than I thought. The dust-form Tiberium has been in their food stores for months, which means it'll be the same across the entire fucking area of contamination. Wonderful, as if the fucking glowing crater of Tib-goo filling with seawater wasn't enough of a pants-wetting thought, now it's the possibility that a Tiberium-mutated airborne contagion is going to turn into crystal-worshipping mutants."

The soldier stepped inside and pushed aside meat tinged with hard emerald scales, checking the corners for any sign of their quarry, as the voice sighed, "If there's a hiding spot in here, it's a good one. Fuck it, I'm marking this and the house for napalm bombing alongside the fields. Check elsewhere." The soldier stepped outside, passing the door for the grain storage only to spin as the door burst open, a teenage boy armed with an axe bounding out.

"AAAAAAAH!" The boy screamed as he clumsily lashed out with the axe as the soldier blocked the blow, the blade skidding along composite armor while the soldier's other hand lifted the rifle and squeezed the trigger, filling the air with a chattering burst of gunfire as bullets riddled the boy's body and he collapsed.

"Well, there's one." The voice commented, "Empty the magazine into the building." The soldier complied, turning and opening fire on the storage building, shredding wood as armor-piercing bullets were swept methodically across the building as the vehicle returned from its search of the nearby grassland and opened fire with the .50-cal, shattering the wooden walls and beams as the soldier stopped firing and reloaded.

After several seconds of sustained fire, the building collapsed in a dusty heap as the voice sighed, "Guess the little bastard isn't here. Get the other two back and secure the rest of the Tiberium. Might as well get some supplies out of this." The soldier slung their rifle over their shoulder and turned to head to where four more baskets had been sitting, likely filled with more Tiberium shards that would be of necessity to the soldiers as the two out in the fields also returned, having found no signs or trace of the remaining family member.

Save for the noticeable blank spot where the baskets were sitting, a clear sign that someone had taken a basket without the soldiers noticing, "Shit. Pack up the rest, and head back to base. This fish has gone out into open water."

As the soldiers gathered the rest of the baskets for delivery, the owner of the voice leaned back in their chair inside a mobile headquarters vehicle rumbling through a Tiberium-tainted forest, "I really wish I had gone for NOD. At least that way I could actually have a use for Tib-Muties." Spinning his chair to regard another set of screens, the shadowed figure looked over a stream of reports from a Tiberium harvesting base further north, in the rapidly-mutating region that according to all of the data wasn't turning into an Ion Storm-scarred hellscape covered in Tiberium glacier, but was turning into a truly alien landscape.

"Something isn't right here...is this an AU?" The figure muttered as light from the screens reflected off their glasses, "At least this means the situation is more manageable then. Having the rock be a terraformer is a better option than trying to my hands on a Tacitus to build a TCN system." They shuddered, "Ugh, why did I ever play that game?"

Shaking their head, the figure checked an updated report on Tiberium spread rates, "Dammit, at this rate nothing I'm going to do is going to slow this shit down. EVA, status on the translation program?"

"Linguistic analysis at eighty-two percent completion. Excluding regional slang terms, local language patterns possess little diversity, indicating enforced homogeneity on the part of The Empire."

The figure sighed, "About right. Inform me when you have full translation status. I'll get the Rifle Infantry to open contact with the intended target after some interrogation of the local bandits."

"Understood Commander."

Leaning back in the chair once more, the figure sighed as they stared at the slow, steady spread of Tiberium underneath the massive cloud of dust tossed into the stratosphere, stubbornly remaining in place likely through ionic disruption. So far, the spread was slow underneath the dust clouds covering the region and an island nation further south-west, but the it was only a matter of time before the Tiberium spread into the massive plains across the mountain ranges.

Cracking his knuckles, the shadowed figure resumed what he hoped would not be a hopeless fight.

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 2:

Sage Seyla La Merin prided herself as perhaps the finest expert in the world when it came to studying jewels, crystals and and metals. Better than any Imperial scholar, renowned to the point where people took months-long journies to consult her if she didn't use the wealth she gained to travel to those lands.

Seyla therefore often was not one to be considered a boaster or arrogant when it came to her preferred field of study and focus for magic. She could back up any claim with both her skill, power and extensive knowledge, and while she was not entirely willing to sell or teach her knowledge due to hearing rumors of how those who spread knowledge were treated, Seyla was always willing to learn.

Which is why, hacking up blood after crawling out of her laboratory under her cottage home, Seyla La Merin was all but certain that whatever the crystal that came with the Emerald Star, or perhaps was the Emerald Star, was made out of, it was toxic, it took root anywhere it could feed, and with how voraciously and insidiously it twisted the land and anyone unlucky enough to be near it on a constant basis?

As she drank the rest of the purification potion in order to violently and bloodily purge her body of the crystal's infection attempt, Seyla knew without a doubt that this crystal was evil.

Towair was gone, Seyla had traveled through land where the ground had twisted and sprouted plants that dripped liquid poison, grass melting into a sticky, tugging moss as trees inhaled like creatures before wetly exhaling clouds of crystals around fields of green and blue.

Fields of green and blue death, snaked through with veins of red and yellow, crowned by patches of deep purple. The alien beauty of the land almost made Seyla miss the bones, of people, of animals and birds, the crystal-choked skeletons of peasant houses, the stone bones of noble manors, border forts and even entire cities.

The alien beauty hid mass graves.

"Hu...Hurghk!" Seyla shuddered; bile, blood, and most distressingly, small crystals, poured out of her mouth with each heavy heave of her body. After several minutes, Seyla shifted as her body calmed down, breathing in deeply to calm her heart and nerves, Seyla looked up.

The pair of boots in her field was, in her opinion, a perfectly good reason to scramble with a shriek, "Awaaaah!" As she scrambled back, luckily missing an earlier patch of bloody vomit, Seyla saw the owner of the boots fully as one of the mysterious soldiers in golden armor knelt, a gloved hand picking up one of the clumps of crystal.

"Wa...haugh...Wait!" Seyla managed to choke out, "The crystal is-"

"Inert." The soldier replied with a woman's voice at odds with the intimidating masked armor, "Whatever you did, the crystal is useless, and that's just what we need." The soldier approached, stepping across the vomit without a care as three more stood back near a yellow vehicle, "Seyla La Merin, our Commander would like to speak with you, it concerns your current field of research."

Seyla swallowed nervously; despite her constant research, the Sage heard the stories and rumors of lights in the depths of the forests, of villages and even several towns vanishing in the course of a night, of open graves full of scorched bones.

"Y-you're the-hck!" Seyla hiccuped as the soldier knelt and reached into a pocket to pull out a strange object, "Eh?"

"Will you let me?" The soldier gently asked, prompting Seyla to look at the strange device connected to a long cord further attached to a black box with a long spine on one edge. Various thoughts about the object flitted through Seyla's mind.

'Is it going to control my mind? Will it extract everything I know before they burn my home down? Will it cause me to sleep so that I think this is all a dream?'

Seyla was shaking so hard that her head jerked up and down, and before she could react the soldier said, "Please bear with it." And slipped the device into her ear.

The beeping noise in her ear caused Seyla to shriek like a little girl of twelve who had gotten a nest of spiders dropping on her head as the beeping stopped.

After several seconds of keeping her eyes shut tightly, shivering like a leaf, Seyla La Merin heard a male voice ask, "Can you hear me?" She said nothing as the voice spoke up again, "Hey, are you Seyla La Merin? The Gem Sage Seyla La Merin?"

Seyla nodded jerkily, but the voice spoke up again, "I can't see you, you know, so you better not be nodding to thin air. Speak up."

Swallowing heavily, Seyla managed to croak out, "Ye-" She coughed, inhaled, and slapped her cheeks before her voice firmed, "Yes, I am Sage Seyla."

"Good." The voice growled pleasantly, "My name is Gideon, Commander of the GDI, and I've been observing you for the last few weeks, watching you investigate the spread of the Tiberium."

"Tiberium? Is that the name of the crystals?" Seyla couldn't hold back her curiosity, "Is it named for the Emperor Tiber from the Empire's second dynasty?"

"That's not too important. What's important is this question. If you knew that the world as you know it was going to die, twisted into an alien hellscape, your friends and family, enemies and rivals, complete strangers turned into creatures that defy imagination or dying in various vile forms...would you fight against such a fate?"

Seyla was no fool, "Are you talking about..."

"The crater is codenamed 'The Genesis Pit' by me. It used to be a meteor, but it was transformed into an asteroid by the beings that seeded this world. You saw the contents, saw what breeds and evolves in that chaos, and I know...I know that your soul recoiled from that sight."

Seyla swallowed, "It...how can anyone fight such madness?"

"You managed to develop a medical treatment. This is more valuable than you know." The voice replied.

"But how can a potion help?" Seyla asked, getting to her feet with a hand from the strange soldier.

"For one, it drastically cuts down the number of villages I will have to turn into mass graves." The voice replied heatedly, "You may have heard rumors but the truth is that when the Tiberium hit, it released a massive energy pulse. This pulse mutated the spores of a fairly common parasitic fungus, and caused it to attach to dust-form Tiberium."

Seyla blinked, connecting the clues to the implications of the statement, "Singing Crystal Disease."

"It's the most visible sign I have for identifying someone in an advanced state of either an explosive cascade failure of the body, or a rapidly-progressing case of Tiberium-induced mutation." The voice explained, as the soldier lead her to the vehicle and Seyla found herself looking at seats like it was some kind of carriage before she found herself sandwiched between two of the soldiers, secured with a heavy strap, as the other two boarded just as a loud rumble started, causing the Sage to jerk as the vehicle reversed by unknown means, turning to head down the road that lead to her home.

"W-wait! I have samples of the crystal in the basement of my house! If it's as dangerous as you-"

"There anything of actual value in there? Books, scrolls, personal items, heirlooms?"

Seyla blinked, "Ah, the tomes in the upstairs study are the most valuable..." She trailed off as three more of the strange vehicles roared past, twisting in her seated position to see them skid to a halt as more of the soldiers exited and rushed inside, "What are you doing!?"

"You said the books were valuable, so we're packing up the books." The voice, Gideon, replied bluntly, "After that, it's too much of a risk to have anything related to Tiberium lying around, no matter how well-stored..."

"What are you saying?" Seyla asked, before she jerked as a heavy thumping sounded, one of the soldiers, undoing a flap where she had thought glass would be in this strange vehicle, before lifting a long weapon and aiming out the window.

Seyla shrieked again as she clapped her hands over her ears at the loud chattering as something hot bounced off her forehead, landing in her lap. Gingerly opening her eyes, Seyla stared at the strange piece of metal as wisps of smoke rose out of the open end as the chattering continued before it suddenly stopped, the soldier pulling off a large, boxy protrusion and tossing it to the floor, pulling another from a rack of them on the roof that Seyla hadn't noticed in the confusion, the soldier speaking up, "Cultists in the wood! Have a visual on at least fifty foot-mobile targets!"

"Understood. Air support is inbound, maintain extraction. Get the sage to the extraction zone; no detours, no distractions, no excuses. I'm not losing the closest thing this world has to a Tiberium expert to these cultists!"

"Cultists?!" Seyla squeaked moments before she heard the sound of a spear impacting metal as the thumping started up again, another soldier lowering a window flap to open fire with their weapon, filling the air with the sharp chattering of two weapons.

"We have cavalry!" Seyla heard one shout, replacing the box on their weapon.

"Why are they chasing us?" Seyla shouted over the noise as the chattering resumed.

"Your reputation. We interrogated local bandits and they've given us information implying that the cultists want to infect you, using the 'Singing Crystal Disease' as you've called it, so that you will use your skills in service to them."

The reply from Gideon sent a shiver up Seyla's spine, the woman looking up to see the vehicle crash through the underbrush and through a mudpit, sending muddy water flying as a soldier shouted, "They're breaking off!"

"Air support has your position. Maintain your current course." Gideon replied, "A Charlie is arriving at the extraction point with Orca escort, you're on schedule."

"Roger." A soldier seated up front replied as the vehicle smashed out into an open field, "All right! Everyone out and protect the VIP! Charlie's inbound in two!"

The doors were shoved open, the soldiers bounding out in smooth motions, but Seyla realised that no-one had released her from the straps keeping her to the seat and she immediately started struggling.

"Stay in the Humvee," Gideon ordered, "Magic or not, I need you intact and alive."

"But your soldiers-" Seyla started.

"This is what they were trained to do." Gideon cut in curtly, "Stay in the vehicle."

Seyla growled frustratedly as she stopped trying to undo the straps, settling for listening to the chattering of the soldier's weapons as what was probably the weapon on top of this bizarre vehicle thumped again.

"Charlie has you in sight. Standby for airstrike in three...two...one..."

Something, or rather several somethings from the roaring, rattled Seyla's ears before several distant explosions sounded as Gideon's voice returned, smugly-dark satisfaction in his voice, "Burn, you freaks."

Seyla shuddered, catching on that whatever this 'air support' was, it had set the forest behind her alight, 'If they were slower, if I hadn't taken that potion, that could have been me...'

A dark shape, shadowed by the noon sun penetrating the glittering haze shrouding the skies, roared into view past the glass at the front of the vehicle, kicking up a fierce wind as the shape resolved itself into a bizarre, fat-bellied machine that turned to reveal its backside as it landed.

As Seyla watched, a ramp lowered where she thought was only bare metal, revealing a hollow interior, dimly lit by the windows before Seyla jerked backwards as the vehicle she was in began to move by itself!

Gripping the back of one of the front seats, Seyla's face turned bug-eyed at the sight of the controls moving by themselves, twisting and shifting without any direction from someone else, "Are...Are there spirits bound in your machine?"

"Nope, it's more technically-involved." Gideon replied, "All right. Press the button on the latch for the seatbelt and leave the humvee."

Seyla checked the latch and some prodding revealed a section that released the 'seatbelt' with a harsh click. Some further poking around allowed Seyla to figure out how to open the door so she exit into the vibrating, loud interior.

Closing the door behind her, Seyla at hearing a whining noise to see the ramp dropping again, just in time for the vehicle, the...humvy?...to start its engine.

'Humvy? Is that right?' Seyla thought right before the vehicle suddenly rolled backwards and out through the opening in the back, the Sage rushing forward to see the vehicle hit the ground, bounce once, twice, and then race off in a different direction as the ramp rose, forcing Seyla back before it shut with a metal-on-metal clunk.

"All right, just unfold some seats and get some rest," Gideon advised, the floor starting to tilt slightly, "We're on our way to Eden-One, the primary research facility for my, and now your, counter-Tiberium efforts."

"Is there any hope of winning?" Seyla asked, "The crater...the Genesis Pit...it seems as if any hope will just be a cruel joke."

"So long as there's hope, hard work will cover the rest." Gideon replied, "The treatment you created for yourself will be invaluable to curing others of the infection running rampant which will hamper cult numbers."

Seyla pursed her lips; the potion she had developed was something that could be easily replicated, but doubt still gnawed at her, "This is all too much..."

"It's only going to get worse."

The thrumming of the vehicle, the adrenaline draining out of her, and the dim light all finally reached through to Seyla as she unfolded seats that were somewhat comfortable despite the hardness.

After a day of nearly dying, being bundled roughly through a forest, mind reeling from the revelations put before her, Seyla La Merin fell asleep.

Far behind her, as flashes of gunfire flickered through thick smoke, the fires from numerous napalm strikes incinerating her home, the forest and the nearby town, the war she had been recruited into continued to rage.

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 3:

The thump of the flying machine landing was the first sign to Seyla La Meyrin that she had arrived at the place that was called 'Eden One', though her realisation only came after she found herself bouncing off the seats she had been lying on top of, landing on the metal deck with a thump, "Ooowwwww..."

Picking herself up from the deck, Seyla saw the ramp lowering to reveal that night had fallen as an indicator of how much time she had spent inside the belly of the metal beast as another group of soldiers stood waiting in front of the entrance, at least until the ramp finished lowering.

As soon as the ramp finished lowering with a heavy clanking of metal on stone, the soldiers boarded, one of them hefting a massive case marked with a white circle and a red cross, who approached Seyla upon spotting her.

'Is it some kind of religious symbol?' Seyla wondered as the one holding the case calmly checked her over, murmuring soft but firm instructions to turn her head, count fingers, and then shone a light in Seyla's eyes.

"She's okay, probably just bruised her pride more than anything," The soldier, speaking in a female voice that Seyla realised was identical to all the other soldiers, reported seemingly to thin air before Gideon replied.

"Give her a filter mask." The soldier nodded, opening the large case and pulling out a strange mask with an array of straps, before holding it out before Seyla, "Let the medic put the mask on you, I'll show you how to put it on yourself later."

Seyla nodded, "Right." The soldier moved, shifting the cord connected to the device in her ear, and Seyla tried to remember the sensations as the mask was firmly placed on her face, the straps shifting behind her head before they were pulled close to the mask and secured with four sharp clicks, the soldier drawing away to leave Seyla wearing her new accoutrement as she inhaled, "Ugh, it's...it's a little difficult to breath in this." Her voice came out muffled as she focused on trying to breath properly.

"Deep breaths. The filter system will make sure no dust-form Tiberium gets into your lungs, potion or no, but your lungs are going to be getting a workout while you're wearing it outside. And you will be wearing it outside, no excuses and no exceptions."

"What do you mean?" Seyla asked as she started to leave the vehicle, the soldiers not exiting with her even as more arrived, "Where is...this...place..." Her eyes went wide like saucers, jaw dropping, as Seyla La Merin stared at the sight before her eyes. Buildings of slate-grey and sun-yellow paint, some lined with windows while others were studded with strange components that she had nothing to compare to. Rows of 'Humvys', strange armored machines that looked like elephants with their long noses, straight-winged machines that clearly flew as she saw some of their brethren coming into land on a long, empty stretch of land, while ones with diamond-shaped wings took off.

There were some that looked like boxes, others that had boxes on hinges, Humvys with small huts on the back, or marked with the white circle and red cross on the side of their over-sized bodies, Seyla's head spun with the sight of the strange machines, "Wh-where am I?"

"Welcome to Eden One, approximately two day's travel by air away from the Genesis Pit. The primary base I established for combating the Tiberium scourge." Gideon spoke, "The main lab here will be your new workplace and this base your new home. I'm sorry, but with everything going on I'm afraid that you've been conscripted. The stakes are too high to allow for refusal."

"I understand. After what I've seen, I can understand your decision." Seyla replied as she walked across the hard, perfectly-flat stone that covered the ground, watching as the various machines, because they had to be machines, moved to larger and more impressive flying machines as she continued, "I only saw the Genesis Pit from the South. Can you tell me what happened to the northern reaches of Towair?"

"They fell first. Avalanches had buried any land routes they had in the north for getting through to the grasslands across the mountains. With the radiation, the dust, the crystals, they didn't have a chance. By the time I was able to airlift in infantry to search, the survivors were already heavily-mutated cultists." There was a pause as Seyla watched more fat-bellied flying machines take off after they had taken on more infantry, flying in formation to parts unknown.

"After that, it's been a war of extermination. The Cultists can't really hurt my forces, none of them are flesh and blood, and as long as there is Tiberium, I can replace losses much more easily than them. But they've been infecting travellers on the road and bandit groups, infiltrating trade caravans or starting their own trade caravans in order to spread the crystals...when they aren't turning entire villages and towns into their own nests."

Seyla shuddered, "You make them sound like vermin."

"You haven't seen what they do." Gideon replied simply, "Vermin is a kind term for what the cultists degenerate into, what the crystal transforms them into. And that isn't even counting the mages."

"Mages?" Seyla paused in front of a massive machine, the two long tubes looking like horns to her imagination, "What happens to mages infected by this Tiberium?" If mages could fall victim to the infection that was creating the Singing Crystal Cult...

"...Get someone to take you to the Research Center. It's better if you see this in person."

Seyla started at the grim tone in Gideon's voice, before walking over to a soldier on patrol, "Excuse me, can you take me to the Research Center?" The soldier nodded and turned away, waving for Seyla to follow them, taking the Sage past rows of machines while formations of infantry jogged on patrol routes, past various buildings before stopping at a sprawling complex, the soldier directing Seyla towards the glass doors before walking away. Looking up at the structure, Seyla took in a deep breath and walked inside.

As the doors opened, Seyla was struck by how clean the interior was, pristine white walls marked only by coloured lines painted on to likely serve as guides if she didn't miss her guess, while soldiers in lighter, more revealing armor were positioned in front of doors; Seyla could see female faces, partially hidden by their helmets or with scarves, holding smaller weapons than the soldiers patrolling outside. The Sage carefully looked around before she asked quietly, "Where are you?"

"Right corridor, door marked 'Autopsy Lab Zero-2', keep the mask on." Gideon replied and the Sage quickly moved down the appropriate corridor, finding the door marked 'Autopsy Lab 02' after a few seconds of walking down the corridor, Seyla squeaking as the door opened as soon as she got close. After a couple of seconds she stepped through into a room illuminated by an eerie blue light, a glance showing that her clothing was glowing strange colours as her skin appeared dark, "Umm..."

"It's not harmful." A voice jerked Seyla out of her introspection to spot a man standing in front of a large table, "It helps illuminate things that might be missed." The man waved Seyla towards him, "Come on, you need to see this." Seyla carefully approached the table as the man turned slightly, face obscured by a mask that covered it entirely, "Nice to meet you, I'm Gideon." He shook Seyla's hand briskly, an action that had the Sage glancing at her hand in puzzlement at the greeting.

"So what was it that you needed to me toAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Sage screamed as she turned and spotted the demon laid out on the slab underneath the blue lights, displaying a twisted creature with too-long limbs, splayed wings sprouting from the back, claws where fingers and toes would be, animalistic face twisted in an enraged deathmask as Seyla stared up at it from where she had landed on her rump from the shock.

"Hell of a sight, huh?" Gideon remarked, "As far as I can tell, these things are what happens if a Mage is infected by the Singing Crystal Disease." He lifted a wing, regarding it with a distinctly-cold interest, "Something about the physiology of a mage interacts with the Tiberium in causing a rapid, and possibly painful mutation." He waved a hand, Seyla watching as she stood up, and metal arms ending in various strange and gruesome-looking tools lowered from the ceiling, one of them humming as it began cutting into the flesh of the creature.

"Th-this was a mage?" Seyla whispered numbly as she watched the arms slice into flesh, peeling apart muscle and skin to reveal organs studded with glowing crystals, liquids glowing obscene colors under the ghoulish lights, fingers as fine as silk thread pulling away webs of glowing, wet threads, "Is...is this what I could have turned into?"

"Yes." Gideon replied simply, bluntly, a tone so utterly devoid of anything resembling sympathy that Seyla shuddered, "This is what awaits you, and all your fellow mages and sages, if you are infected. Which is why people have to be informed with you as the messenger."

He turned as the arms removed organs and began placing them in jars that were deposited in alcoves, vanishing by means that Seyla couldn't spot as he continued speaking, "I need you because you are recognisable, because you have a reputation. You need to tell the other sages, however you can, about the danger represented by Tiberium, of the Singing Crystal Disease and the cults that worship them."

"You also want me to spread the treatment I developed as well, yes?" Seyla picked up on what Gideon had planned, "You need people who can fight against this, and can be treated so you can reduce the numbers you have to burn."

"Just so," Gideon confirmed with a nod, "Without treatment options, death is the only cure. There are no halfway points, no compromises. Either we cure them, or the burnings continue."

He motioned to the corpse, "This creature killed at least fifty of my troops, along with eleven Humvees, eight APCs, and six tanks. It took five gun-runs by my A-10s along with a lot of Napalm to finally bring this abomination low." He stared at Seyla, who had paled; while she had no idea of the true extant of what had been described to her, she was able to understand the implication.

If a mage was transformed by this crystal, they could potentially lay waste to armies.

"Oh gods...the Apostles..." Seyla realised with growing horror, "The Apostles of Emroy, Hardy, and Palapon! They are all warriors attracted to death and suffering! If they are infected in battle against these creatures, or somehow come into contact with the raw crystal...!" She was about to say more, but stopped as she looked at Gideon.

"Emroy? Hardy?" Gideon muttered as he stared at Seyla, before turning to look at the corpse as it was being now sectioned into the limbs, torso and head, "Is that so..." He turned away, "I'll have someone take you to your quarters. You'll be living here and will have a security escort that will act as guides to anywhere in the base..."

He glanced back at Seyla, "There will be protocols that must be observed. A translated handbook will be given to you along with some important items you'll need to keep on you at all times. Again, you will be informed on their usage after you've had a meal and some sleep."

Seyla blinked as she suddenly felt a bone-deep weariness set in, "Ye..." She coughed, "Yes, and perhaps a doctor to make sure that I'm..."

"Yes, I'll give the orders." Gideon replied, clearly distracted, "I'm sorry, but it seems there's some information I need to confirm...I'll have someone escort you from here. Just follow their instructions but don't be afraid to ask questions, they'll answer you."

Seyla nodded as the masked man left the room, hand tapping at his masked chin in clear agitation, leaving her alone, "He recognised the gods." She muttered, blinking in surprise, "But not as a worshiper. Who is he?"

The door opened again to reveal two soldiers, one of them speaking up, "Sage Merin? We're your escorts and guides."

Slapping her cheeks to keep awake and banish the dark thoughts swirling in her mind, Seyla nodded, "Right! First off, I need some food! Show me your feasting hall!"

The soldiers glanced at each other, before one shrugged and the other nodded, "Officer's Dining Room it is."

******
​

"So, I have confirmation at least." Gideon muttered as he pulled off the filter-mask, replacing his glasses, and sat at his command desk, "EVA, put priority for our LRRP units to find out the exact location of Alnus Hill."

"Confirmed." The AI replied, before a beeping sounded, "Alert, aerial scanning has detected a significant concentration of seed-Tiberium being stockpiled for loading onto a trading ship at the southern port city."

"Nearest strike unit?" Gideon queried as he pulled up a list of aircraft rigged to take out a ship.

"No strike units in the vicinity. Recommending an airstrike." EVA replied, "Instability of seed-Tiberium will ensure minimal contamination."

"Indeed." Gideon muttered as he found the aircraft he was looking for, "Hammer 5-1, redirect to the port city of Abus and bomb the following location." He pressed a key and began uploading the information EVA had gathered from the F/A-23 Black Widow fitted with specialised scanning pods to detect Tiberium concentrations and types.

Leaning back and watching the flight of A-10 Thunderbolts head towards the port city with a full load of rockets and napalm, Gideon brought up a security camera and watched as an entranced Seyla La Merin was shown images of various dishes in the Officer's Dining Room, before switching to a map showing the continuing spread of Tiberium, "This isn't good. The grasslands across the mountains will soon experience infestation despite the harvesting efforts. Did they spread into a cave system?"

"Unable to identify subterranean infestation due to lack of satellite detection capability." EVA replied, "Patrol Group Epsilon-14 has reported recovery of beached sea-life and aquatic demi-human species. Gunboat Delta Four reports encounter and destruction of a mutated whale."

"Great, so we should expect Thorn and Algae formations, and the possibility of even more mutated sea-life either washing up dead, or attacking local shipping soon." Gideon groused as he checked several reports, "Good thing I ordered the gunboats to be outfitted with torpedoes, the tomahawks wouldn't have cut it against a fucking mutant whale."

The picture was grim, and only getting grimmer; harvesting and sonic destruction efforts were being circumvented and the grasslands where the Warrior Bunnies ranged would soon become infected, and with the rate of spread that meant that infections would occur during the height of the current war with the Empire.

"I want MCV's deployed ahead of the current spreads." Gideon ordered, "We need to slow down the rate of expansion and keep the supplies of sonic destruction lances in the green." He checked another report, upgrades for the sonic devices that were designed to shatter and destroy Tiberium not just at the surface but at the roots as well, "And what's the status of the potion replication?"

"Progress is at fifty-eight percent." EVA reported, "Live test subjects are required for analysis of injected and aerosol variants."

With oral ingestion the standard, having an injected version for the resistant and a high-strength version to spray on cultists only made sense to Gideon, "Pass the order on. We should be able to secure some cultists for further testing pretty easily."

Turning to another screen, Gideon regarded the information with a grimace, "So, the Empire is on the move."

He leaned back in his seat, "Have a Sniper Team shadow whoever the Empire is sending. We can't risk the possibility of Imperial Nobility being infected by the Cultists or a unlucky gust of wind."

"Affirmative."
​

******​

Princess Pina Co Lada grimaced as the ship finally arrived at the main trade harbour in the Kingdom of Lantal, the only port that the ship captain was willing to travel to, "Grey, Hamilton, how are the others?"

Hamilton Uno Ror and Grey Co Aldo turned from their positions on either side of Pina, Hamilton smiling slightly, "The rest of the Rose Knights are comfortable, as much as their first time at sea. I think they'll all be glad to have boots on solid ground."

"Our supplies are in good shape, so we shouldn't have too many troubles if the rumors-" Grey's words were cut short by the ship captain approaching.

"No rumors. The food from the farms and hunting grounds is tainted." The man grunted, "Every day there's more stories of the mermaids fleeing their ancestral waters, corpses of fish washing up with crystals bloating their guts, refugees fleeing monstrous cults, and horrific beasts stalking the land."

"I find it hard to believe that." Pina stated simply with a scowl, "Commoners always blame monsters and abominations for every famine or war. Whatever is happening in Towair and Messen, the main culprit is obviously this Sage Merin."

"Yer words are worth less than shit!" The Captain spat, "Sage Merin and the Golden Army have been fighting since the start o' summer to stop the cults and the Demon Crystal! You Empire scuts ain't gonna be lasting long when you cross into Messen, mark my words!"

Princess Pina's lip curled, "Yes, this Golden Army that all the tales speak of. Such a convenient hero." She turned away with a huff, "This baseless propaganda will be proven for the rebellious lie it truly is and when it is proven Captain-"

"Land Ho!" The lookout roared from above, "There's ships burning! I see the Gold Albatross' in the air and the glow of the Demon Crystal!"

"To arms!" The Captain drew his sword, "The Cultist dogs are in the city, prepare to make port and defend the city!"

A distant explosion sent a plume of flames and smoke into the air, fires burning in other areas as the ship approached the harbor, choked with fleeing ships and the wreckage of others, sunk by means that Pina couldn't quite figure out, moments before one ship was suddenly pummeled by an invisible force, masts and decking shredding like parchment as giant holes opened in the sails without any sign of arrows. As the ship floundered, a sound like tearing sackcloth but as loud as thunder echoed, moments before a golden, stiff-winged shape roared overhead and quickly vanished into the smoke clouding the city.

Lips pursed with sudden apprehension, Pina stated at the carnage before a cough caught her attention as Grey nodded at her reassuringly, "Your orders Princess?"

Pina blinked, before her expression hardened, "Have everyone ready themselves for combat." She looked back out at the burning city, gripping the railing hard.

"Time to find out the truth of this matter!"

 

[Gideon020]

The following image is a basic map showing the extent of Tiberium Infestation by Early Winter, Imperial Calendar Year 684 on the Falmart Continent, nine months after impact as of Chapter 3.

Spoiler: Falmart Infestation Map

The Black Circle marks the Genesis Pit, the impact site of the Scrin Seeding Meteroid that conglomerated into an asteroid.

Blue lines on the image roughly mark the path of expansion for Tiberium Fields, Tiberium Fauna mutation and Tiberium Flora growth.

The Green Haze marks the Tiberium Dust Shroud that was kicked into the atmosphere by the Seed.

The Bright Green near the black circle marks regions of the world that have been fully terraformed by Tiberium.​

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 4:

The city was in a state of chaos, that was the only way that Princess Pina Co Lada could comprehend the way people were running down one street or fleeing through another, peasant families boarding boats under the eyes of nervous guards who clutched swords tightly in quivering hands, and more boats fleeing out into the open ocean even as some fell prey to the thundering tearing of cloth.

Those who weren't fleeing were hauling buckets of water towards buildings burning in the distance, before a screaming sound heralded a rain of what looked like burning spears that slammed into a distant portion of the city, rocking the ground with the shockwaves of deafening explosions rattling windows and teeth as Pina looked around, trying to get her bearings in the chaos before a local soldier ran up to her, "Are you here to help?"

Pina blinked, "What?"

"ARE YOU HERE TO HELP?" The soldier shouted, "We need every sword we can get! They're breaking past the Golden Army troops and getting into the streets! We think they're trying to capture the ships!" He turned as a mob of people clad in concealing rags suddenly appeared from a street, eliciting screams as soldiers ran to confront them, "Gods!" He turned back to Pina, "Get to the Market District, that's where we're holding them back! The rest of city is lost, don't try to head in unless you want the Golden Army to attack you as well, the crystal is taking root there!"

"WE NEED HELP HERE! THE FIRES'RE SPREADING!" Someone shouted off in the distance and the soldier winced.

"Look, just help kill the cultists! We can't let anyone infected get onto the boats, the Gold Albatross' are destroying too many as it is!" He turned and ran off, drawing his sword and striking at a rag-clad figure armed with a club embedded with glowing crystals, cutting open their throat to spray dark blood across the cobblestones.

"Princess, what are your orders?" Hamilton spoke up as the mob of rag-clad people was cut down by soldiers, moments before another, louder explosion drowned out the noise of people fleeing for their lives onto any boat that could take them. The other Rose Knights, resplendent in their white armor, kept a wary eye on the chaos as the ship captain organised for a stream of the fleeing peasants to board while his men jostled with other crews to loot the warehouses of food and water for a possible journey to another kingdom.

Biting her lower lip, Pina came to a decision, "We'll head to the Market District and lend our aid! Our mission can resume after we save this city! Rose Knights! To Arms!" She drew her sword and the other knights cheered as they drew their weapons and followed after the Princess into the chaos of a city in flames as more deafening explosions rocked the streets, the knights passing fleeing groups of peasants pointed them down streets to reveal mobs of rag-clad attackers, stabbing glowing green crystals into their victims while some had lashed the crystals to clubs, rusted swords and other makeshift weapons.

"Try and capture one alive for questioning!" Pina ordered as she charged, the rest of the knights smoothly shifting into formation to block the mob from passing them, the princess shouting, "I am Princess Pina Co Lada! In the name of the Empire, I demand your surrender!"

"Kill the heretics!" One of the rag-clad bandits screamed in a voice that sounded like they had been gargling mud, but their comrades charged forward as Pina scoffed and struck out, her longsword easily sliding through rags to pass through flesh and bone with a sickening crunch, the bandit's head flying in a spray of black blood as the body collapsed, Pina already advancing to engage more bandits as her knights started their own slaughter as the bandits started to be pushed back, clubs bashing against armor as crystals shattered, moments before sword blades cut through flesh, wood and cloth.

"Push them back!" Pina ordered as her sword plunged into the guts of another bandit, "Do not let any of these scum past you!"

"Heretics! You deny the Song! The Song brings salvation, it brings immortality! We are slaves to this world and its gods no longer! We shall ascend to become gods of distant skies!" The leader of the mob screamed, waving an axe as they pointed at Pina, "Vile! Vile! We must liberate you! There must be a liberation!" As Pina charged, the leader jumped, bounding into the air as if gravity no longer affected him to the Princess' stunned eyes, before landing on a rooftop and running off with his cry echoing behind him, "You shall see! You shall see the gifts that are waiting you when you accept the liberation of your soul!"

"Princess!" Pina Co Lada turned to see her knights along with Grey and Hamilton approaching her, their armour marked with black blood in places, roughly scrubbed away with cloaks, before Grey approached her, "What was that? Magic?"

Pina turned to where she had seen the mob leader leap away onto the rooftops, "That was no mage. Quickly, we have to reach the Market District and find out the extent of this madness for ourselves." She started marching down the street as the knights smoothly fell into line behind her as she continued speaking, "Hamilton, any injuries?"

"None, this was an easy fight." Hamilton replied as Grey checked his two-handed sword.

"Easy, but they've got numbers. Expect this to drag on if more mobs come to attack us with that leader at the head of it." The veteran soldier commented as he studied the streets, noting the smoke coming from numerous fires, but all of it was coming largely from the area of the city the Imperial party was approaching at a rapid clip, armor-clad boots clanking noisily against the stone pathways and roads, but steadily drowned out by the sounds of blades clashing, shouted orders, roars, screams and more explosions along with a strange mix of chattering and thumping sounds.

"What in the name of the Gods are those noises?" Pina heard Bozes say as the Knights, swords in hand, rounded the corner that would allow them to enter the Market District. And all sixteen knights stopped dead in their tracks, jaws dropping at the sight before them before Grey shouted a warning, "Move!" Training kicking in, the knights scattered as a massive boulder crashed behind them in the spot they were just standing.

"What was that?!" Pina shouted as she looked around, trying to spot the source of the boulder that had flown towards them, but to no avail in the smoke that covered the battlefield from the numerous smoldering and burning ruins of what used to be houses, expensive storefronts and other buildings whose purpose was now obscured by the ruins and smoke when groups of soldiers and rag-clad bandits...except now that Pina was able to witness the bandits in action, she could see that that these were not normal bandits, not normal by any consideration or measure.

Where there weren't rag-clad forms clashing against sword, shield and spear, hulking brutes seemingly made of muscle, crystal and bone grabbed rubble in meaty hands to hurl at shield walls, opening the way for dashing figures who slashed at the recovering soldiers with claws made of glowing crystals that carved flesh and armor.

As Pina watched the fighting, arrows peppered these new threats, archers forming up to deal with the clawed creatures, moments before several fell with cries, charging black creatures covered in glowing crystals that rippled with the flexing of powerful muscles.

A gust of wind went past Pina, the princess's eyes widening as her head turned to see a razor-sharp shard embedded firmly in a stone brick.

Grey instantly moved into action, "Someone pick up the Princess! Move in fours and shore up the holes in the line, we'll-"

Explosions engulfed the hordes, shockwaves knocking the defenders back as body parts and gore went flying as a chattering sound tore through the air, flashes appearing in the smoke along with the sounds of a harsh thumping and a guttural hissing that followed longer flares of light in the smoke.

"Reinforcements!" A soldier shouted, "It's the Golden Army! They've sealed the breach!" Just as the words ended, an ear-splitting shrieking sound ripped through Pina's ears as a bulky, golden shape blew away the smoke clouds, fire leaping from its nose like a dragon to tear through flesh, crystal and shoddy rags.

Behind the strange flying beast, Pina watched as a company of soldiers in golden armor, clutching strange two-handed wands that felled whatever they chattered at, steadily marched out of the smoke, strange boxes following after them that spat fire at the living and dead both.

Grey's hand on her shoulder finally brought Pina to her senses and she looked at her knights to see that while they too had been shaken by the unnatural battle happening before them, they recovered their composure quickly and were ready for action.

Pina cleared her throat, "Forward! There's still work to be done!"

******​

Watching the reports flowing in, Gideon breathed a sigh of relief; even with civilian losses from destroying ships carrying cultist infiltrators, the evacuations that had been progressing for the last five months were finally complete.

"Alert. The Governor has requested to speak with you." Leaning back with a sigh, Gideon picked up a headset and tapped at a keyboard, displaying an audio window.

"This is the Commander."

"Commander! May the Gods bless you for your actions! Our people are out to sea, and hopefully will find new lives elsewhere. I cannot thank you enough."

"Governor, what I need most from you are your assurances that you will ensure that the news spreads." Gideon replied, "People must be warned; the cults have moved ahead of you, likely festering in the Empire and other kingdoms."

"Yes, of course." The Governor gushed, "I have connections within the Imperial Senate and in other kingdoms, I'll see to it that-"

"Now see here!" Gideon raised an eyebrow at the imperious female voice that had probably taken the handset off the Governor, "I am not going to be ignored a moment longer. Where is Sage Seyla La Merin?"

Gideon raised an eyebrow at the demand, "And just who the hell are you?"

"Princess Pina Co Lada of The Empire! If you know where Sage Merin is located then you are to inform me so that I can bring her before the Senate to be judged."

"For what crime?" Gideon inquired with a frown, noting through combat cameras on his Doll's helmets that the various soldiers and armed citizenry who had stayed to keep fighting had all reacted poorly to the statements made.

Turning the camera's owner to look at the fiery-haired princess, Gideon took note of the distinctly European full-plate that looked out of place in a mass of Byzantine-style scale and leather.

The swords were contemporary, same with the crossbows and bows, but otherwise everything was late Roman Empire, before Gideon shook his head.

"Denied." He replied bluntly, "Sage Merin is engaged in important research into a possible magical solution to the ongoing infestation. We have to get results before the summer, while the winter conditions slow the spread, which means I have no time to waste on Imperial arrogance."

Gideon heard muffled cheers and jeering, the combat cameras showing the locals in clear agreement with his words while the flustered princess was clearly not expecting to be so bluntly refused.

"Then, you are a collaborator?" Pina Co Lada speculated.

"I am the one who recruited her to fight the Crystal." Gideon coolly stated, "As the only Sage in the region who could even stand a prayer against the Crystal, Seyla La Merin has no time to cater to the Empire so long as she works for me."

More nods, hostile looks, and an increasingly flustered princess convinced Gideon to relent slightly, "However," He watched the girl look at the radio, "I am willing to let you meet with her and receive in writing any and all evidence you require. If you prove yourselves willing to fight for all peoples."

"What are you asking?" The princess asked suspiciously.

"Those who remain here, whether human or demihuman, are here because they are the only ones willing to continue the fight." Gideon explained, "They have agreed to be trained and equipped to take the fight directly into the heart of cult territory in order to prevent them from breeding out of control and spreading."

"Breeding?" Gideon grimly smiled at the confusion in Pina's voice.

"You'll see soon enough. If you are going to stay and fight, the extra swords will be appreciated. Otherwise, I'll arrange to transport you to Imperial territory beyond the Shroud."

Gideon smiled; now that he had confirmation, he had a lever. The Princess was a head-strong bleeding heart but she was also a realist, once she saw what would be coming, she'd bring back word that would be taken seriously.

"W-Wha?! How dare you! If you think-"

"Shut up!" Gideon snapped, "Don't think for a second that just because you have better-quality armour and weaponry that you'll be able to march into the land outside that city without a care."

He huffed as he checked over a report that a platoon of five Mammoth Tanks were now besieging a cultist fort, "You. Will. Die. That is not a threat, it is blunt certainty. If you agree to stay, you will never be safe, not even while you sleep. The enemy is one that is linked to a demonic twisting and warping of the world, and even the bravest and strongest will lose something in facing this."

"The Rose Knights are not so craven as to run from the strange." Gideon noted that Pina had recovered her composure, "Our mission stands and it is an affront to our duty and honor to abandon it!"

Gideon sighed lightly, "I hope you understand what you're saying."

"We are not leaving until we get answers to present to the Imperial Senate."

"Fine." Gideon replied, "Governor, run the Imperials through the protective gear provided and be ready to leave the city once my forces are finished sweeping for holdouts, any civilians that missed the evacuation and secure what untainted supplies remain."

With that, Gideon closed the channel and switched to a new channel and a new camera view, watching as through the cameras, a set of rabbit ears appeared from the long grass and rose to reveal one of the infamous Warrior Bunnies of Falmart.

"I trust that Queen Tyuule has a response to my proposal?"

******​

Pina Co Lada knew that she had stepped into a steaming pile of horseshit thanks to her temper, and one look at the uneasy expressions of her knights tood her their opinions.

It had been five days since the Rose Knight Order had arrived in the North-East and thanks to her anger at the brusque, insolent even, tone of the one that was only known as 'The Commander' she was now marching through an increasingly-twisted landscape alongside the soldiers of a motley coalition that had joined them when they crossed the border into the Messen Kingdom.

"It's as if we stepped through the Gate," Hamilton said, the heavy mask that had been given to everyone in the ruins of the port city of Altin by the soldiers clad in yellow armor who moved ahead in a loose formation.

"That was my thought as well," Pina grimaced at hearing Grey speaking up on her other side, "Though I hope we reach this transportation that was promised. Not all here are trained to endure long marches."

The two turned to Pina as Hamilton spoke up, "What do you think Princess?"

"...breathe."

The two glanced at each other as Pina shook before she suddenly shouted, "How can anyone breath in this! Is this a mask or a muzzle!"

"Shut the fuck up back there!" A yellow-clad soldier yelled from the front formation, causing the others in the rag-tag group to snicker as Pina flushed.

Undaunted, she sped up to approach the yellow-clad soldier, "Who are you to speak-"

A crack like a whip sounded as something zipped past Pina's head to strike flesh with a pained shriek as something with leathery wings hit the ground in front of Pina before another soldier drew his sword and plunged it into the creature as it flapped and screeched.

"Wyvern flock!" One of the yellow-clad soldiers shouted, "Eyes on the sky! No-one speak unless its critical!"

"ETA?" Another yelled as swords were drawn and bows strung, as those not wielding the strange two-handed wands or wearing yellow armor looked around and up in the air as the already dim light of the late afternoon started to become a deeper gloom.

"We've been bumped up the priority list! Charlies inbound in three minutes!"

As the yellow-clad soldiers moved into new positions, Pina immediately sprung into action, "Defensive positions! Shields in support of archers and long spears! We only have to hold them off!"

As she gave the word, Pina heard a sound on the wind as a breeze kicked swirling clouds of glowing green dust.

The sound of many, many wings, followed by the bone-chilling shrillness of ear-piercing shrieks as a black cloud loomed, flashing green from long, wicked claws in the deepening gloom like miniature lightning bolts.

As she prepared herself and shouted orders, Princess Pina Co Lada had an idle thought pass through her mind.

'These look nothing like wyverns.'

And then the swarm was upon them.

 

[ericshaofangwang]

(After the last chapter about the cultists running ahead of the refugees, I was inspired to write a piece for it. I used OCs for this bit since the port cities (like Proptor) aren't elaborated upon in the main Gate canon and there aren't any characters from the original canon from the port city. Hope you enjoy!)

Carrier

Scratch

Scratch

The quill of a pen danced across the paper.

Scratch-

Snap

The tip of the quill snapped.

Octavian sighed. He stood up from his chair and stretched. Thick limbs creaked as he stood, and he ran his hand down his brown hair, rough as it was from many a sleepless night.

The room he stood in was bare, and musky. Dust marked the floor where furniture once stood, having been sold as his business began to fail.

Octavian paced in thought.

His business as a jeweller was not going well. Proptor was a prosperous and busy port city, and by all rights he should be doing well. It was a prominent one in the Empire, a city filled with traders and all manner of wares, but the nobles and wealthy merchants had been scrambling for a single commodity, the new green gems that recently popped up.

If only he could get access to these gems. Countless hours spent trying to sell his wares to uninterested customers and unwilling buyers had left him ragged; he was losing possessions and profits by the day. Things needed to be done about-

"Papa!"

Octavian shook his head as he was brought out of his thoughts. His daughter ran up to him with a cheerful expression on her face.

"Papa, Uncle Ambrosius has come home!"

"Alright Adria, I'll be coming down shortly!"

Adria stood in hall of the family's home, smiling cheerfully. She stood on tiptoes, a thin arm waving to him over a table. Her expression was cheerful and hearty, standing out from her thin frame. A smile was exchanged, and Adria followed her father.

Octavian walked over to his front door, the wood creaking open in protest.

A wiry man faced Octavian. Octavian's smiling expression dropped, and he noticed the unnatural pallor of his brother's skin.

"Ambrosius, you have been well, I hope?"

Octavian inquired, concern tinging his voice.

"Brother, I've had never felt better!"

"You are quite pale, Ambrosius, what happened?"

"Just working a tad more than normal, brother. And my work has borne fruit! A wandering merchant has sold me prime wares, so we can get your business back in order again!"

Ambrosius moved with seeming vigour, gesturing to a cart piled with wooden crates. He strode towards the cart, Octavian following along. Ambrosius pointed to a small crate, and both brothers heaved the box onto the ground. Adria tilted her head curiously before scurrying to the box.

Octavian lifted the lid from the crate, and he smiled.

Adria peeked into the box, her eyes captured by the treasure within.

A pile of green crystals greeted their eyes, and the brothers rubbed their hands together.

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 5:

One moment there was a young man, still a boy in Bozes' eyes, standing in armour that was too big for his lanky body and clutching a sword so tightly that his knuckles were white.

The next moment the sword went flying from an impact that broke the tight grip from the shock of impact, claws hooked into leather or bypassed it entirely to dig into flesh, and with a scream the boy was gone.

Bozes wondered if the boy had been a mirage, a waking dream, but his screams and the spray of blood on the ground dispelled any further belief in that.

The claws slamming against her shield and sliding along her thrusting sword with a shower of sparks snapped Bozes back to reality as she plunged the blade into a throat and pulled out to swing, cleaving through wings, necks and bodies.

Screaming forms were all around them, both men and the beasts, and Bozes could also hear the deafening chatter of the 'Soldiers In Yellow', flashes of light penetrating the darkness, chaos surrounded her.

Through it all Bozes could hear Princess Pina shouting commands, catch a glimpse of red hair streaking through the furious darkness. Red hair and white armour, to Bozes it was a lighthouse that told her that she could not break here.

Then a talon as long as her index finger plunged into her eye and someone screamed as Bozes stabbed the shrieking flying demon with her dagger, spraying steaming-hot blood across her face. The talon snapped off in her eye as the distant screaming continued but Bozes was already snatching up her fallen sword and swing as she was trained.

A distant, rhythmic whump whump whump hammered on Bozes hearing as the wind washed over her insensate form. It sounded familiar, and the sound of cloth tearing was mixed with shrieks and screams but it didn't matter; the swarm was on top of her, burying her under black forms like a suffocating blanket, more wounds gouged into her face.

The screaming was still in Bozes ears as golden craft roared overhead bringing a wind that scattered the black bodies, something zipping past her eye and a screeching black form exploded into a cloud of gore.

Who was screaming?

Then, light poured down from on high, a blinding radiance that engulfed her, the black forms bursting into flames and burning blood that spattered and hissed on her armor. Golden armor entered her vision as the graven image of an eagle diving dominated her sight.

"She's going into shock! Kelotrine-250 and Mycosin-170, stat!"

Something was pressed against her neck before with a hiss Bozes jerked, gasping at the fire running through her body.

"Stabilizing. The eye secure?"

"Wire is tight."

"Wash and wrap the eye and prepare the stretcher." Bozes didn't quite understand what the gold-armored soldiers were saying when she writhed in agony as one of them poured a dark liquid onto her face.

The screaming had started again, but Bozes couldn't see who was screaming, wasn't anyone trying to help them? She tried to rise, to find the source of the screams, when hands suddenly held her down.

"Hold her. Hold her!"

"Applying wrappings now." The screaming continued as what felt like damp cloth was wrapped around her head and over one of her eyes as the screaming faded again, "Mycosin is kicking in."

"About damn time...okay, she's ready for the stretcher." Hands picked her up by the shoulders and knees to shift her onto something before she was picked up again. Her body was barely able to obey her, but Bozes was able to turn her head as the rest of her body was turned towards a strong wind.

There, her braid flapping like a banner, Bozes saw Princess Pina standing amidst a pile of black corpses whose blood stained the ground a green-streaked scarlet as it dried to a sooty-black on her armor and the dagger in her hand. Looking around, Bozes spotted Pina's sword impaled in one of the creatures, this one far larger than the rest but the arming sword had spit the creature from head to tail.

Bozes tried to call out but her voice wouldn't cooperate as the wind picked up strength and she felt her body tilt slightly, and then the Princess was blocked by metal that prompted Bozes to look around at what seemed to her hazy mind to look like a small cave.

As she was set on the ground, Bozes saw the other soldiers and militia who had been fighting alongside the Rose Knights.

Or rather...what was left of them. Missing limbs, faces covered in vicious bites or else with gouged-out eyes and stumps where there used to be hands, feet, holes where ears and eyes once were, covered in bloodstained bandages. There were no other Rose Knights present.

Bozes tried speaking but her tongue felt like a lead weight as she continued looking around, noting the gold-armored soldiers were securing the moaning, shifting bodies with heavy straps, steadily working their way down until they reached Bozes.

"We securing this one?"

"Same as the others. Kelotrine and Mycosin hit her hard, but I want a dose of Telzine to stop her screaming again."

"Got it." There was a pressure against her neck and a hiss, the world starting to fade as the voice echoed in her ears, "Okay, she sleeping now. Let's get this bird in the air."

Bozes tried to speak but nothing left her lips as darkness encroached. Exhausted, unable to struggle against the bonds holding her, sleep fitfully claimed Bozes.

As the ramp rose and locked, allowing her scarlet hair to fall loose and limp across her shoulders, the CH-46C transport helicopter took off with its cargo of wounded warriors, followed by the remaining transports loaded with reinforcement soldiers, leaving Princess Co Lada with only the memories of the corpses staring up at the sky with the glassy, distant gaze of the dead.

Feeling the floor rock as the strange craft began to turn and fall into a rough formation from the sight outside the window, Pina shook away the distracting memories of the sight left by countless motionless bodies strewn on the ground, sitting down on a bench, staring at nothing as the helicopter took off.

Only the fact that the beasts outnumbered the men gave Pina comfort, cold as it was.

"Commander, we have the survivors on board." The masked soldier seated across from Pina was wearing a hat of sorts instead of a helmet, a large and unidentifiable weapon sitting across their lap, but as Pina sat in the bench, she felt increasingly weary.

"Yes, the Rose Knights took casualties. No fatalities but several will require surgery on arrival at Fortress Moses." Pina felt her eyes growing heavy as she continued listening to the conversation.

"No infections. The subjects are clean. Yes, no abnormalities...No, she is unharmed. Combat footage showed that she was in the thickest of the swarm, no wounds anywhere on her."

Pina felt her eyes droop closed as she heard the soldier's last words before she fell asleep.

"Understood sir. It will be done."

******​

The helicopters continued to press through the storm as exhausted survivors fell into fitful, uncomfortable sleep, rain hammering the aircraft in such thick sheets that the only means of navigation the aircraft could use were high-resolution radar units fitted to the helicopters, displaying the terrain below for markers that would guide them towards their destinations.

Inside the aircraft she had been strapped inside of, Bozes jerked awake as a deafening thunderclap boomed, the others in the helicopters moaning and crying out as the gold-armored soldiers began moving between the survivors to calm them.

Bozes stared at the flashes of lightning that came through the window, lighting the interior with bright light, the Rose Knight looking around as the strange transport rocked and swayed, more flashes coming through the windows.

"Fucking dammit. We can't dose them too much, might risk a crash."

"Just make sure the straps are secure. If they get loose they'll injure the other patients. Make sure the Rose Knight doesn't have access to a blade." One of the soldiers carefully stepped over bound bodies to approach Bozes, gloved hands carefully searching her body before pulling her dagger from her belt and withdrawing as the thunderclaps continued over the pounding drumbeat of the rain.

"Attention all aircraft this is Moses Tower. Inbound Cultist and Mutant assault, all aircraft are to avoid northern landing approach. Repeat, avoid Northern Approach."

Bozes didn't understand what she was hearing through the haze. But whatever was controlling this thing apparently did as it banked sharply, eliciting shocked cries before the floor leveled out again, dark shapes moving past the windows.

The floor bounced underneath Bozes, the soldiers moving to remove the straps as a cold wind blew into the chamber.

"Okay, get the slickers out!" A soldier shouted behind or above Bozes head, "Make sure the filters are over their faces."

"Roger." The other soldier responded as something crinkled and flexed before Bozes noticed that more soldiers were rushing inside, picking up the wounded laying on contraptions that looked like battlefield litters, covered in a strange clear film, and rushing back out into the chilling wind.

"Last one for Priority Surgery." The film suddenly fell over Bozes, blurring her vision, "Ready...Go!" Feeling her body lifting up, Bozes tried to look around through the film just as she was carried outside into a howling storm.

A deafening, wailing scream filled the air, blinding flashes of lightning illuminating the black skies as rain pounded against the film covering Bozes, her blurred vision streaked with water running across her vision in miniature rivers.

But she could see enough as Bozes looked around; groups of soldiers running across rain-slicked stone, large shapes moving in the distance, flashes of fire beyond even those shapes.

Bozes tried to speak again, her voice coming out as a whisper that couldn't reach her own ears, "w...wh...wher..."

No-one heard her as they passed by more soldiers carrying litters bearing the mismatched soldiers of these lands, and then she saw the distinct white plate of the Rose Knights being carried in a separate contingent as the groups approached a massive structure, light shining from the windows.

Before she knew it, Bozes passed out of the storm and into a brightly-lit hallway, so swiftly that if wasn't for the gold-armored soldiers standing guard, she would have believed she had perished after all.

The pair carrying her stopped as something clattered alongside her and Bozes felt her body being lifted onto something soft, the litter being slid out from beneath her, and the two soldiers who had been carrying her leaving as she turned her head.

With a soft clattering sound now filling the background, Bozes continued on her journey through the bright corridors as she tried to understand with her drug-addled mind what was going on.

The clattering stopped as the...bed perhaps? The bed stopped next to a metal table and hands grasped her shoulders and legs once more to transfer her to the table as several women dressed in white arrived.

"Alright, let's put this one under. Set dosage to two percent, and start stripping off the armor and clothes."

Quick, efficient hands immediately set to work in undoing straps and buckles, pulling away steel plate to reveal her sweat-soaked clothing and underclothes, a shiver from the cold air running through her body.

"Put the temperature up so she doesn't freeze."

As the air turned warmer, Bozes looked up to see the grimly-smiling face of a woman looking down at her, "You'll be alright. Just breathe deeply and relax," As the woman spoke, a mask was placed over her face and Bozes tried to follow the instructions.

As she inhaled and exhaled, Bozes felt the world slowly fade, words becoming incoherent as sound washed into muddled noise that lulled her again into sleep.

As the Rose Knight fell into a dreamless sleep, the surgical Doll calmly removed the bandages to reveal the ruin of her left eye as surgical tool were arrayed around her, "Beginning surgery now."

******​

Pina Co Lada blinked. The bed she was lying on was soft, far softer than even her quarters and her body (a check confirming that she had indeed been stripped, bathed and changed) was lying underneath sheets that were also of the same unreal quality.

Looking around, Pina could see that she was in some manner of bedroom, a gentle dawn glow coming from small orbs set in equally-small ceiling recesses, and while luxurious the room was smaller than her quarters back in Sadera.

Carefully leaving the covers anticipating a chill, Pina found that the air was pleasantly warm, a faint aroma in the air of flowers coming from all sides. Feeling much more confident, Pina quickly padded across the thick carpet towards the windows, yanking them open expecting to see daylight.

The screaming storm outside, lightning flashing as it struck massive towers, although silenced by the thick glass, ended any thoughts of it all being a dream.

Backing away from the window, Pina looked towards the door as she considered whether she should try summoning a servant to dress her before deciding that she couldn't be too trustworthy and walked over to what seemed to be a wardrobe.

The contents brought a twitch to Pina's eye as she regarded the unadorned, yellow, utilitarian, commoner clothing within. There was nothing like the flowing dresses she was used to, and while the sensible part of her accepted that this was normal, the rest of her still pouted at the lack of fashion.

Grabbing a set of the clothing that looked to be suitably functional, Pina also located a set of plain underclothes and got to work dressing herself, wincing every so often at some of the deeper aches and pains that had not completely recovered, along with some lingering stiffness.

Still, the princess managed to struggle into and secure her clothing into a presentable state, padding barefoot to a mirror to inspect herself.

She cut a strange figure, dressed in a dark yellow outfit patterned with darker splotches as if a scribe had splashed ink on it in a fit of madness, her unclad feet prompting Pina to look around before finding a set of buckled sandals that she quickly slipped into.

As she adjusted the sandals however, a sudden chiming sound from one of the doors of the room as a female voice spoke, "Princess Pina Co Lada? I am here to escort you to breakfast."

A soft rumble passed through Pina's stomach as she rubbed her belly thoughtfully, considering requesting for it to be brought to her over actually going.

A thought came to her that someone likely sent this servant on their behalf. Thus, it was possible that she would be able to get some answers. Cheered by the thought, Pina approached the door, opening it to reveal in a strange dress that looked similar to what Pina was wearing but in a lighter yellow.

"Please follow me Princess." The woman turned, clearly expecting to be followed, and Pina fell in behind her promising to have words with whoever was in charge.

After a few minutes of walking however, Pina was a great deal more appreciative for a guide through the maze of identical corridors in stark-white paint marked only by coloured lines. Corridors that were bustling with activity; soldiers jogged past in small groups, women wearing strange white uniforms clustered together talking incomprehensible nonsense from a few snippets, what looked like workers inspecting some bizarre cluster of tubes behind a metal panel, and beeping boxes on wheels dragging small carts behind them.

All of it awash with shouted orders, conversations running into each other and incessant beeping, a miasma of sound that prevented Pina from questioning her guide on what was going on as they navigated the corridors.

When they reached a series of strange doors at a dead end, Pina hoped that was the end of it, only to blink as one of the doors opened to a small room as her guide stepped and waved for her to follow.

Looking suspiciously at the tiny chamber, Pina stepped inside and turned as the doors slid shut. Her guide placed a finger to a panel and before Pina could react she felt the floor shift.

"What is going on here?" Pina demanded as she felt as though a pair of hands were pressing firmly against her shoulders and it was not a pleasant sensation as the princess grabbed the strange woman, "I order you to explain what exactly-"

A soft chime interrupted her and the doors slid open to reveal a softly-lit hallway as the woman spoke, "Please follow me to the Officer's dining room."

Growling in annoyance, Pina followed the woman down the corridor lined with a plush red carpet, lit by soft yellow lights, and lined with doors that on an experimental push were apparently locked going by the angry red light above the handles.

Frowning slightly, Pina moved to drift after her guide, eventually arriving at a set of double doors as the woman bowed, "Breakfast is being served. The Commander will answer your questions."

'Finally,' Pina groused to herself as she pushed the doors open. As she stepped through, Pina studied her surroundings, looking over soft lights and windows with curtains raised, allowing a view of the maelstrom outside.

Her eyes eventually fell on a man; slightly portly, wearing a strange device over his eyes, dressed in a slightly-more ornate version of the uniform she had found.

Her stomach grumbled as it prodded her to approach the plates that were being laid out by a trio of women as the man silently waved her forward.

Glancing around for surprise assassins (mentally berating herself moments later on how stupid that sounded), Pina accepted the offered seat and regarded the plates.

The largest plate held a mix of the familiar: sausages, eggs served on top of fried ham further placed on some kind of sliced bun with a light-yellow sauce, bacon cooked to crispness along with some grilled tomato. But the unfamiliar addition caught her eye as she skeptically regarded a small stack of four light, flat cakes coated in a dark syrup with some butter on top.

Next to the larger plate, a smaller one had several rolls that at first touch had flaky, crisp skin before Pina pulled one apart to feel the soft, slightly oily interior as the man across from her simply continued eating.

The small bowl of sliced and cubed fruit with cream looked practically out of place in how familiar it was, and with her inspection done Pina finally elected to obey her rebelling stomach.

Thankfully the knife, spoon and fork were familiar to the Princess as another uniformed woman poured water and then a dark juice into a pair of perfectly-smooth glasses.

A tentative marked the juice as being grape juice while the water held a subtle hint of lemon before she noticed that both glasses had pieces of ice floating in the contents.

'Might there be mages here as well?' Pina considered the possibility as she started eating, etiquette keeping her pace steady as she started on the main plate.

It took all of her willpower not to moan out loud at the first proper meal she had in months of sailing to this godsforsaken region of the world in order to bypass that idiotic war against the warrior bunny savages.

Even as her mind swooned at how well-cooked this utterly succulent sausage was, outwardly the princess kept a perfectly calm face as she tried the eggs, recognizing the way they had been cooked, 'Poached? The cook must be exceptionally skilled, poaching eggs is a luxury even in the palace.'

The first piece also had a piece of the fried ham and the sliced bun as she chanced a light dip in the sauce coating the dish.

This time, Pina couldn't suppress a soft moan before she flushed and glanced at the man across from her. To her relief, he seemed more concerned with studying a strange tablet as he chewed thoughtfully on one of the flaky rolls.

Returning to her meal, Pina found the Tomato pieces lightly spiced before being slightly grilled, and an experimental taste of the strange flat cakes brought a pleased sound from the princess as she continued eating with disciplined gusto.

Before she knew it, Pina found herself staring mournfully at an empty bowl that had contained fruit and cream as the man finally spoke, "Good to see you have an appetite."

Pina blinked and looked up at the man, who tapped at his face, "You have some on your face, use the towel." Pina blinked again as a small tray with an equally-small, rolled towel that steamed with heat carrying a floral scent was offered.

Carefully scrubbing her face with the hot towel and returning it to the tray, Pina spoke with a respectful nod, "Thank you. Are you…?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you in person this time." The man replied, confirming her suspicions, "My name is Gideon."

******​

A storm was raging over the Imperial capital of Sadera, a deluge not seen in centuries, as sheets of rain cloaked the streets in a watery haze.

It made the perfect camouflage as a group of people charged through the storm on horseback towards a mansion in the Noble's Quarter, a flash of lightning revealing the party to be a quartet of soldiers and a bag-laden man who had a torch thrust into his face by another guard.

A nod and a call to the gatehouse, "Open up, it's the apothecary!" Iron slid upwards as the horses were urged through to the stables, their riders already rushing towards a side entrance and into the mansion proper.

The lord of the house was already waiting as the apothecary entered with his cloak drying on a rack, "Thank you for coming so promptly." Turning, he lead the apothecary down the halls of the mansion, "To think that my wife would fall victim to this curse."

"My lord, I am confident that my experimental new treatment will purge this curse from your wife." The apothecary affected a sympathetic expression on his face, "The Delirium Curse that has been spreading across the senate and nobility truly is a vicious attack on the pillars of the Empire."

"Have you found a cause? The rumors flying around are like a cacophony; it came from the gods as a curse against the war, it's a curse from those rabbits have unleashed with their tribal magics, or even some unknown party's action."

The Apothecary shook his head, "Unfortunately the cause eludes us, but I received word of a treatment that I improved upon since the original caused those treated to throw up, an unsightly effect."

The lord of the house nodded, "Yes, appearances must be kept up, but you're certain of your cure?" The pair turned down a corridor to approach a staircase, "Nothing has worked, and my wife slips away with every passing hour."

"My lord I assure you that with this treatment your wife will be saved." The apothecary assured the lord of the house with a reassuring smile, "I do however ask that you place your trust in my work."

The pair reached a set of ornate doors, guards nervously standing in front as a maid exited with a haunted look on her face, stumbling as she fled the area.

The lord of the mansion waved at the guards who opened the bedroom door to admit the pair.

"Remus...my love...is it you?" The bubbling, wet breathing caused the apothecary to pause as the light from the lamps illuminated the noble's woman.

Only his remembering that he was in the home of a prominent senator stopped the apothecary from making a sound as he gaped, jaw falling open in horrified shock at the sight before him.

He had heard that his client's wife was a beauty but now there was little that could even charitably called plain as he stared at a body that was bloated, crystals poking out of oozing sores, the flesh rippling in unnatural ways-

"What are you standing around for? Get to work!" Jerking in surprise, the apothecary quickly moved to set up his equipment, removing liquids, powders, phials and metal frames as he began mixing the ingredients in the bedroom.

"Remus?" The ruined woman on the bed gurgled as the noble came to her side.

"Persephone...do not worry. I have scoured the city for the finest apothecary to heal you of this curse." The noble soothed as he stroked jelly-like flesh, "Just hold on for a little bit longer, everything will be all right."

With half an eye on the scene, the apothecary didn't notice his hand adding too much of a certain powder into the mix as he swirled the concoction before putting a stopper on the phial and shaking briskly before approaching the couple.

"The treatment is ready." The apothecary declared as he moved closer with the phial, "I'll need to have your wife drink this-"

As soon as he drew close, and the phial came into view of the noblewoman, the bloated woman shrieked, "NO! STAY AWAY! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

The apothecary jumped backwards, stumbling but keeping his grip on the phial as the guards rushed in, swords drawn.

"Hold! Put those away!" The nobleman ordered before turning to his wailing wife, "Persephone! Calm down! There is nothing to fear! The apothecary-"

"MURDERER! A KILLER! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME! HELP! HELP!" The woman was flailing wildly, eyes frantic as her flesh roiled and rippled as she tried to grab a statuette and weakly throw it at the apothecary.

"My lord, please! I can't treat your wife like this!" The apothecary cried out as the guards looked uneasily between the screaming, flailing woman and her husband who seemed lost before he made a decision.

"Men! Help me hold her down! Prompted into action, the guards rushed forwards to grab the noblewoman's shoulders and legs while the nobleman clutched the woman's face as he called, "Quickly! The treatment!"

Nodding as he un-stoppered the phial, the apothecary charged in and forced it into the noblewoman's mouth, pinching her nose to force the woman to swallow.

The woman's body shuddered, spasming violently as her flesh seemed to shift in color as gritty sweat started to collect on her body, before she slumped bonelessly like a puppet with cut strings, eyes fluttering closed.

After a few long moments, the apothecary relaxed as he sighed in relief while removing his hands from the woman's slick face, "It seems that the treatment is working. Your wife should be-"

"Ah! M-my hands!" One of the guards exclaimed as eyes turned to the man's hands.

And the snaking, wiggling tendrils travelling up them as the flesh started to melt into the noblewoman's arm. Then the other guard and nobleman looked down at their arms as snaking tendrils forced their way up.

Then the noblewoman's body exploded.

Throughout the manor, the hellish, unearthly wail that echoed through the halls sparked something primal in the servants and other guards. Servants fled to their quarters alongside the weaker-willed guards, the more experienced guards grabbed their weapons.

A crash met the ears of the guards moments before they smashed open the doors.

A gaping hole covered in fluid met the guards eyes, the storm raging outside concealing the escape of whatever had gone through the windows and wall.

"What in the name of the gods?" The lead guard muttered as the others moved around the room, before the leader spotted the apothecary shivering in a corner, "Oi, what happened?"

The man only whimpered, shivering as he rocked back and forth, his hood falling off.

"Gods above!" A guard exclaimed, eyes wide as he stared at the eyeless, melted face blindly staring back at them.

It would be a phrase repeated many more times before the storm passed.

 

[Gideon020]

Chapter 6:

"Princess!" Pina started at the voice, whirling to spot Grey and Hamilton rushing over to her, both of them bandaged from the wounds they had taken in that battle, but that was inconsequential to the feeling of relief that flooded Pina as she moved towards them and clasped hands with the pair.

"Grey! Hamilton!" Pina exclaimed with a broad smile, "You're all right?! Where are the rest of the knights?" Hamilton had tears in her eyes while Grey's smile was relieved as he bowed to Pina while taking up the report.

"The rest of the knights are in fine form, Princess. Light to moderate wounds and our benefactors have stated that they are fit to move around this fortress, within reason of course." Pina nodded at the clarification, aware of the uniformed soldiers watching them from their positions arrayed throughout the wide hallway, as well as the sidelong glances being sent by the various women passing by.

'Making sure we don't suddenly turn on their leader?' Pina glanced back at the man waiting patiently to continue the tour of the fortress that would appear to be their home for the foreseeable future; the storms that had started up were predicted to dissipate after two months, a ludicrous amount of time anywhere else in the Empire, but seeing the raging deluge outside, Pina could accept a two-month-long storm in this nightmare land.

"However…" Grey's expression fell, "Bozes was seriously wounded during the final moments of the attack, and has been kept in what they call the 'Intensive Care Wing' for observation in case she has been infected by the crystals that plague this land." Pina's face paled at the news and she immediately turned to one of the soldiers before Grey placed a hand on Pina's shoulder, "We are going to go see her now, Princess. Let's not lose our composure so quickly in what is still unknown territory."

Pina nodded and straightened her shoulders as she looked around, "Grey, Hamilton, you seem to know where to go. So please, lead the way." The two nodded and turned to lead the way while Pina spared another glance at the man who simply followed after with a bored expression on his face, utterly uncaring about this change to his plans. For a moment, Pina wondered if anything could disturb that apathetic face before she focused on following her friends and subordinates down the corridors to an area with a name written in script that she did not recognise.

"How do you two know where to go?" Pina inquired curiously as the trio turned corners to head down a new corridor, one where apparent apothecaries and healers spoke in hushed tones and the soldiers wore strange, bulky armour that completely covered their bodies, looking more like oversized, walking sacks of grain with arms and legs, but the weapons in their hands looked just as deadly as the ones back in the earlier parts of the building.

"We asked one of the healers and they directed us this way, and so far they have been quite honest with us Princess," Grey explained as they approached a set of doors under guard with a desk nearby overseen by another white-clad woman, Hamilton approaching the woman and speaking with her as Grey continued, "We've heard that the storm currently hitting this fortress will be raging for two months."

"Yes, their leader said as much himself," Pina answered, "And I have a feeling that they will be working even under such horrific storms."

Grey nodded, "The troops here appear to be quite tireless. I have yet to see any guards be relieved to rest, or any of these others go to rest quarters to sleep." He shrugged, "Of course, they all tend to look alike after a while so for all we know they're being relieved and resting whenever we aren't looking."

"Well, first we shall go visit Bozes," Pina declared, "After which we shall all three receive a guided tour of this entire fortress by its lord." Hamilton returned as Pina finished her statement, "Well?"

"Bozes is apparently fit for receiving visitors." Hamilton replied, "Apparently they have just finished a final check up as well as examining to see if she can receive a fake eye." She motioned down a hallway, "This way Princess."

"Lead the way Hamilton," Pina nodded and with a short bow, Hamilton took position at the front while Grey positioned himself at the rear and the group began walking down the corridor towards a door that slid open to allow a group of white-clad healers with a single soldier as escort to walk down a different direction. Pina strained her ears to catch any snippet of conversation as they drew closer, but the language they were speaking was completely foreign to her.

Hamilton knocked on the door and entered at a tired call, "Lady Bozes, how are you?"

"I'm doing well Hamilton," Bozes Co Palesti replied, "Happier now that I know I will soon receive an artificial eye instead of suffering the indignity of an eyepatch." She motioned to the simple white patch covering her eye, signs of a scar peeking out from the edges.

"They may still give you one, Bozes." Pina replied as she walked into the room, to which Bozes started to move, forcing Pina to hold up a hand to stop her, "Stop it Bozes, you're still injured."

"The only injury I have is to my eye, Princess!" Bozes snapped back, "They insist on keeping me confined to bed instead of letting me move about, and I am tired of that." She flung back the blanket covering her and swung her legs over the edge, "Not to mention this absolutely scandalous set of clothing they've forced upon me. It feels like I'm wearing sackcloth's lighter, itchier cousin!"

Pina winced, "Well, I'll accept that you're hale and hearty if you can stand and walk to me without stumbling or falling." With the challenge made, Pina walked over to a nearby chair and sat down to see what would happen.

"Hmph, I'll show you Princess!" Bozes met the challenge with a smirk as she placed her bare feet on the tiled floor and triumphantly raised herself upright, posing as she did so to Grey and Hamilton's applause while Pina waited with one hand raised to beckon Bozes forward. Biting her lip thoughtfully, Bozes put one foot forward and began slowly walking towards Pina, her strides slowly gaining in confidence until she was walking apparently-normally towards Pina and stood in front of the Princess, "Well, satisfied?"

"Quite." Pina noted, "Now let's see about getting you some proper clothing. The lord of this fortress has offered me a tour and I might as well have a proper entourage for the tour." She looked around, "In fact, I could have sworn he was following us."

Outside the ICU entryway, Gideon was looking over reports coming in from the Warrior Bunny front, "Have I mentioned lately that Warrior Bunny is a stupid name to give your people?"

"Several times sir," Adjutant replied, "I believe your last mention of it was to mock the lack of imagination in a culture that practices ritual sacrifice of defeated enemies in having 'a name so bland that it might as well be a crude direct translation of something far nobler and likely forgotten', before you decided to have the fish for dinner."

"How are our attempts to prevent oceanic infestation?" Gideon asked as he looked over requests for more semi-automatic rifles; it seemed that the enhanced strength of the average Warrior Bunny could easily handle full-sized seven-six-two NATO ammunition like that used in AR-70 Cobretti's his Dolls employed, and from the casualty reports provided by drone, the Bunnies were putting those rifles to work.

Bringing up the specs, Gideon considered what changes to make to the design for the next production run, before deciding that enough work had been done; the clip-fed 20-round rifle was actually a heavily-modified M-14 firing what he liked to call 'Enhanced' ammunition which packed more powerful Tiberium-based propellant in exchange for a kick that would break his shoulder if he tried to fire the rifle, which had been redesigned with a removable 4-chamber 'spade' muzzlebrake to allow for a suppressor to be used, a bayonet kit that the Bunnies used with relish, and heavily-reinforced internal workings so that the gun didn't break apart from extended firing stress.

Even the barrel was made from a newly-discovered Tiberium-based composite that was much sturdier than the original steel-alloy barrels used, with reports that the composite's original Depleted Tiberium source would likely find use in providing armour-piercing ammunition for the A-10's, Abrams and Mammoths since the material could not fuse with live Tiberium. All in all, it was clear that Tiberium-heavy resource dependence was going to be an issue once the Scrin showed up...once it came to leave this world altogether.

"Anything from the launch facilities?" Gideon changed topics as he checked on long-range drone reports coming from Sarderas, and they weren't looking good. In another year or two, the Capital was going to be heavily-infested and when that happened it would be a waiting game until the Gate was opened and they'd get themselves into the main invasion to start infesting Earth.

And there was essentially nothing he could do about that until the Ion Cannon was online and he could destroy Sarderas quickly and cleanly. On the other hand, this was a good opportunity to get the Commando Section some proper experience…

"Adjutant, get the Commandos ready to go to Sarderas." Gideon ordered, "Their orders are to search and destroy any Cultist infestation in the Imperial Capital and to interdict any incoming Tiberium shipments. Locating the sources is also advised so we can send cleanup crews to test the Elixir." Sage Merin had been looking for a more low-intensity testing environment to help perfect the Elixir's medical effects on application to an infected individual. Hunting down cultists and doing tests on them would be perfect in Gideon's opinion.

"At once sir," And just like that, Gideon knew that fourteen Commandos would be ordered to get ready for an extended stay in a foreign land, learning the terrain and hunting down the infestation in a region he was planning to conquer anyway for when he inevitably would have to pull out or expand out of in order to continue the containment and clean-up efforts.

Still, the work being done here was significant; newer models of Tiberium Fusion reactor that would hopefully become powerful enough to use in starships and operate the one device he knew was not from any GDI, NOD or Scrin techbase, better weapons technology in the form of laser and railgun technology, improved armour for the vehicles and infantry, more effective ammunition, the beginnings of the X-O Manowar project that would lead to more powerful mech suit designs, most importantly a possible way to destroy Tiberium without resorting to resource and power hungry sonic systems.

"...which means we should be on schedule for the Gate opening in two years time." Adjutant concluded as Gideon finished his own thoughts, nodding at her words.

"Keep up the good work Adjutant," He replied, before stretching to see Pina and the rest of her group, now with one extra, approaching, "All's well, Princess?"

"Yes, thank you." Pina replied stiffly, "I would like that tour now, please."

"Hm, sure." Gideon replied, "You've just gotten a good look at the hospital, so let's move on to the Labs so you can meet Sage Merin and learn just what we're up against." Turning, he motioned the group to follow, "In order to get to the secure labs we'll be taking a…"

Pina tuned out most of what the man was saying, understanding plainly enough that the Sage they had been sent to capture and bring back for heresy against the gods was working in an isolated area in order to prevent possible incidents from occurring. Turning a corner, the group entering a massive chamber where all manner of contraptions and groups of soldiers were jogging out into the rain outside, Pina was relieved to see that they wouldn't be going into one of those bizarre, hollow metal drakes in the driving rain but instead there was what looked like an armored carriage, at least the basic shape of one; four wheels, completely enclosed, and the doors were obvious enough but there were no horses to pull it so it was likely some form of heretical magic as a soldier clad in a heavy cloak to ward off the water opened a door for both the fortress' lord and for her group.

It was somewhat of a tight squeeze, and Pina congratulated herself on not wearing any armour while the lord of the fortress, Gideon she remembered, secured himself to his seat with a strange strap before turning to the soldier seating next to him, "Secure Labs, Isolation Sector." Pina was about to speak when a low, coughing growl started and then the carriage began moving with a sudden jerk, speeding out into the rain, making a hard turn that sent Pina pressing against Hamilton who in turn pressed into Bozes with all three pressed into Grey who sighed the sigh of faithfully-married men in the close presence of attractive young women.

Pina decided that if they got out of this alive to inform the Lady Grey and observe the fireworks later as the carriage made another hard turn and now the group was on top of her, and despite her very best efforts, Pina couldn't help but grumble as the group straightened themselves out, glancing at the lord of this fortress to see if he was amused by all of this. But to her surprise, he was busy speaking quietly into a slim, black piece of strangeness, like a crystal of some kind, before he noticed Pina staring and muttered something, a farewell perhaps? Placing the unidentifiable thing in a pocket, he turned to Pina, "Sage Merin has been alerted and will be meeting us for the tour."

Pina nodded, "Understandable." Then she decided to press a little further, "You do realise that I cannot leave this land without Sage Merin in custody for her crimes against the Gods, do you not?"

"Bold words to speak when your little group of knights can be executed with a word, are all Imperials this stupidly prideful?" The lord retorted with a mocking, smug smile, "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, Sage Merin will soon be heading into Imperial territory as part of my plans."

"Your plans?" Grey spoke up, "Is that really something you should be telling to potential enemies?"

"And...just how would you foil them?" The lord replied easily, "You are deep within a perverted, ruined land, where there is no food, no potable water, and the very land itself will try to consume you in your sleep. You are within a fortress that you have no forces to take; your soldiers are nothing compared to mine for all of their bravery, your weapons are pitiful, your armour is like paper, and you had no mages in your company, so even their minimal threat is of no concern to me."

He waved a hand lazily, "If you try to take me hostage, you will die, for my troops are willing to take the risk of my injury or death to kill you, and should I die in your captivity, the empire you love will be crushed beneath their boots." His tone hardened, "So no, I don't particularly care if I reveal this to you."

He focused his gaze ahead, continuing to speak, "Someone has been smuggling the source of Singing Crystal Disease, the malady that has sparked these murderous cults that are harbingers of the corruption I fight against, and it has spread into Sarderas. Into the very heart of your imperial capital." The sharp intake of breath brought a flicker of a grin to his face, unseen by the group, as he continued, "It may soon be necessary to take military action against Sarderas to prevent this corruption from spreading."

"Invade the Empire!?" Pina's shocked voice burst out from her lips, "You're insane! The Imperial Army numbers in the thousands, hundreds of thousands, and our vassal states are just as well-equipped even if they are smaller! Your forces would be decimated!" Even with the ongoing war against the barbarian bunny-women in the northern part of the continent, Pina knew that there would be no question of the Emperor sending the full might of the Imperial Army against this one warlord once she made her report, the Emperor Molt Augustus would brook no foreign power saying they were greater than the Empire.

"I look forward to it," Was the dismissive reply, "Certainly, their performance against the Warrior Bunnies was initially quite impressive...until I evened the odds." Pina blinked, and then she remembered. Her brother was leading the conquest of the Warrior Bunnies and the last report she had access to before departing was that new weapons were showing up in the savage's hands.

"What?" Pina questioned out loud, "What do you mean by that?"

Gideon turned his head to face Pina as the Humvee entered the parking garage of the Secure Labs, "I've been giving the Warrior Bunnies my weapons and the aid of my elite soldiers in exchange for their help in combating the cults and spreading crystals. Last report I got, the Imperial Army is being kept at bay, and with the proven effectiveness of my weaponry and troops, I have no doubt that Queen Tyule will soon be requesting further military aid in removing the imperial presence, in exchange for the Warrior Bunnies aiding me in fighting the crystal."

As the vehicle came to a stop and Gideon undid his seatbelt, he exited the vehicle with one last parting statement, "Pity though, my sniper only blew off Zorzal's left arm, and the coward hasn't peeked his head out since."

Imperial Camp, Royal Tent, Warrior Bunny Territory

"Prince Zorzal, the Generals are assembled." The words of his advisor brought the Imperial Prince out of his musings of the snow falling outside his tent, and the sudden burst of phantom pain from the stump of his left arm...the arm he lost to some cowardly barbarian mage. At least the healers had done a good job of healing the stump since the rest of his arm had been reduced to a cloud of gore by that invisible spell, a spell that had penetrated the protections he had been promised were invincible.

The crucifixion of the mage who had made that promise had at least soothed his spirits somewhat, and the memory of his screams was still good and fresh, helping lift the maimed prince's spirits further as he stepped out, flanked by his bodyguards, all holding heavy tower shields of thick steel to protect him from that mysterious barbarian mage that had maimed him. Looking out at the Imperial camp, Zorzal watched as his troops prepared for another push against the Warrior Bunnies, and his smile grew; soon, this latest push would break the main line of fortification that the Warrior Bunnies had established with the aid of mysterious mercenaries and were beating back his troops.

Once that line was broken, Zorzal was going to take a great deal of pleasure in breaking the leader of these barbarian women, and if there were some women among the mercenaries? Well, that revenge would make victory taste all the sweeter. Smiling as his mood lightened, Zorzal swept the flap of the strategy tent open with his remaining arm, where his Generals were clustered around the map, the men turning and bowing at his entrance.

"Generals!" Zorzal greeted the men warmly, "Today is the day that we finally force our way into the heartlands of these barbarians and show them exactly what the Empire thinks of their resistance so far!"

"If the coming winter storm doesn't stop us." One of the Generals replied grimly, "The mages report that a massive stormfront is approaching us, soon to be on us in a matter of days, if not hours at the speed it has attained. If it hits, our army will be unable to make any advances until the first thaw comes."

"Snowfall has been picking up for most of last night as well, likely pushed in by that coming storm," Another General noted, "The engineers are ready, as are the mages, but this will be an all or nothing effort Prince Zorzal. Should by some pagan miracle the barbarians hold the line, and hold it long enough for that snowstorm to hit, they won't need to launch any more raids against us, the snow will do the job for them while they remain hidden inside that fortress they built."

"How in Hardy's hell did these subhuman garbage actually manage to build such a fortress?!" One of the Generals growled, "Nine months of fighting roving bands who come in at night and cut our men's throats while they sleep and now they find the spine to not just make a stand, but build a fortress? It's impossible!"

"And it is impossible," Zorzal replied smoothly, "What you see as a fortress is nothing more than an oversized mud hut, likely much like how they live; whatever sturdiness it has is nothing more than some lucky stone reinforcement in places, and the thickness of their filthy wallow is the only explanation for how it resists our catapults. In fact," Zorzal turned to open the tent flap and give everyone a look at the enemy line, rows of ditches covered in stakes in front of a looming hill that was like a tumor on an otherwise flat plain, "I would wager that this is some kind of village, or communal shelter and these bitches are hiding their weak, wounded and children within. Once we break it, word should spread of our might and how none of them are safe, and that will break their morale in turn."

Zorzal's confidence brought small grins to the faces of the Generals as one picked up on the cue, "Of course, Prince Zorzal! These setbacks are nothing to the Empire. Rest assured, that we will have turned this mere mud hut into a proper fortress upon your return from Sarderas." He was about say something else when there was a ear-splitting crack, like thunder, and in the space of a reflexive blink, the Generals were splashed with blood as the General's legs collapsed to the ground, moments before what remained of his upper body slammed into the table, the sound of the furniture being struck by a pile of meat sparking the bodyguards into action, surrounding Prince Zorzal in a wall of metal and wood.

"Protect the prince! He has to leave! Now!" The soldiers grabbed Zorzal, who seemed to have frozen with the sound of the thunderclap as the remaining Generals quickly regained their own composure and started barking orders and calling soldiers to begin attacking the Warrior Bunny lines. Indeed, even as the Prince ran under the protection of the bodyguard's shields, word had quickly spread and as Zorzal ran back deeper into the camp towards where the horses were being reading, soldiers ranging from Imperial Legionaries to the slave-soldiers they sent out in the first ranks were being mustered, catapults and ballista firing on the fortress.

K-KOM!

Another thunderclap and Zorzal felt more blood splash on him as a bodyguard screamed, "By the Gods!" Daring to look back, he saw one of his bodyguard's number on the ground, raggedly bisected as if from the Apostle of Hardy's scythe or the Apostle of Emroy's halberd, his shield collapse in as if struck by a catapult stone, but a fist-sized hole in it denied that possibility. At the sight of the ragged corpse cut in two, and the shield that had a hole in it but no sign of an arrow or spear, Zorzal's eyes snapped up to the distant barbarian fortress.

A flash of light, like the sparking of flint.

K-KOM!

Another shout of fear, more blood hitting Zorzal in the face, hot and metallic as some spilled into his mouth, and then he knew what he had to do, and that was to-

"RUN!" One of his men screamed, dropping his shield, "Shields are useless against that killing curse!" He made to flee another way when the sound ripped through the air again and this time there was nothing of the soldier's upper half but lumps of gore and metal as his guts and legs spilled to the ground. But his words spread through Zorzal and the rest like an evil spirit and before long the other bodyguards had all cast aside their shields, but as one did, the thunderclap sounded and something ricocheted off the shield and into the soldier's body, but the shield despite a shallow dent was intact, and in a moment of desperate brilliance, Zorzal dove under the shield, using his one good arm to hold the shield at what he hoped was the correct angle and he began crawling, using his stump to gain purchase as the thunderclap sounded and he waited for his death.

CLANG!

Zorzal felt the shield shudder as if a horse had kicked it, but that was it, nothing else happened, he wasn't awaiting judgement from Hardy, he was still alive.

K-KOM!

CLANG!

K-KOM!

CLANG!

With each thunderclap, the shield buckled but held, and Zorzal laughed, cackling as he dragged himself through the muddy ground towards the horses.

Watching the Imperial Prince dragging himself through the mud under the protection of an increasingly-battered steel shield, a pair of woman in camouflage-pattern cloaks watched as one spat, "Fucking rapist cunt. I thought the Commander said this shiteater was easy pickings? A complete retard, he said." The one speaking adjusted her aim with the massive twenty-millimeter 'Hawkeye-II' Ramjet Rifle and fired again, sending a ramjet round screaming and grimacing as it bounced off the shield, tearing through a nearby soldier, "Yellow as piss but he can't even have the dignity to just fucking die."

"Even a retard can have a moment of sensibility, and idiots can be brilliant." Her spotter remarked calmly, "Empty the magazine and kill the Generals, we need their major leadership crippled more than one maimed prince dead. Winter and the Cottontail Plan will do the rest."

The sniper spat again, sending a gobbet of chewing tobacco to the ground, before firing four more shots in rapid succession, "Done. Let's bug out." Standing up, the sniper team stretched before turning to leave, the Spotter glancing back at the lump of tobacco on the ground.

"How can your taste reception systems stand that stuff?"

"Better than the cigars that the Commander smokes. Top-shelf medical nanites in his system and he goes for fucking cigars?" The Sniper retorted, "Weak."

"Don't let the Command Circuit find that out, DZ-892," The Spotter warned, "That's the kind of talk that gets a Commando yanked and put back on The Line." The Sniper grumbled as The Spotter continued, "Besides, I heard the labs are experimenting with a local Cannabis-analogue, so I'd say the Commander's looking to try his hand at smoking something other than cigars."

"Heh, now that's a Commander I can respect." The Sniper grinned.

The Spotter rolled her eyes, "You respect anyone who's willing to get drugged up '92. Anyway, call it in, the Imperials are making their attack on the fort." The Sniper nodded as she sent off an info-packet to a network of orbiting stratospheric relays, and as they crested a hill to watch the Imperial forces cross over the empty trenches and into the fortress itself, and The Sniper chuckled, prompting a glance, "Something funny?"

"Just enjoying how happy these monkeys look that they won so easily, almost makes the fact we've buried several tonnes of explosives underneath them seem slightly cruel." The Spotter scoffed at The Sniper's words.

"Cruel? The Commander was quite clear, these are barbarians, slaving animals that need to be shown that they are no longer the dominant force. Killing this rabble will make our future efforts easier without the needless distraction of having to protect these tribals." She looked out towards the plains, "What is the Command Circuit thinking, agreeing with this plan to protect debauched cannibals?"

"The Commander enjoys hot lapine tits?" The Sniper postulated, "Either that, or maybe he wants them for ops that require a specialist touch but doesn't want to waste Commandos on? I mean, I'm all for that. I can only hope those girls sent into Sarderas don't start the party too early, there's still so much to be done to stabilise the situation before we march in and conquer everything."

"The Commander operates to his own timeline," The Spotter replied, taking a seat on a fallen tree, "We'll find out about it when and if the Command Circuit finds it necessary for the Commando Corp to know." She was about to say something when a message came through the network to the pair, "New tasking."

"Yup," The Sniper grinned wide, "Our glorious Commander wants his best sniper-commando team to go Dragon hunting. This oughta be fucking aces!"

The Spotter snorted, "According to the Commander's memory, the Dragon is only harmed by anti-tank weaponry. We're going to be issued Depleted Tiberium-based anti-tank rounds for this operation, the new Red Rings designed for the Hawkeye-II."

The Sniper whistled, "HS-Grade Ramjets instead of the Mach Fours we've been using? Sweet. Always wanted something that could go at Mach 12 when fired out of my baby." She rubbed the massive bullpup rifle lovingly, "They want it dead?"

"If at all possible. Otherwise, we are to mark the target for engagement by hypersonic cruise missiles." The Spotter explained, "The Commander has personally expressed a hope that his best sniper-commando team can bring it down so that he can satisfy his curiosity about the beast."

"Like how to eat it." The Sniper cackled as she transmitted footage of the Imperial troops moving into the fortress, bringing in supplies, equipment and the wounded from previous battles attempting to take the fort, smiling as tents were put up closer to the fort, and their own engineers got to work making the trenched into living spaces for the slave soldiers who seemed happy about not dying this time.

"The Commander is something of a connoisseur of exotic culinary creations, but even so, to want to eat a dragon?" The Spotter's lips quirked in confusion, "That just seems...strange."

"Meh, I like this Commander, he's got a soft touch on the Commando Corp, doesn't question how we get the job done." The Sniper replied, checking her internal clock, "Okay, it's time. Call it in."

The Spotter nodded and sent the signal as the pair stood up and began moving down the slope of the forested patch of hill while the fort that they had been supporting with sniper fire, several kilometers away, had a banner raised on the roof.

Moments later, with a roar worthy of an avalanche, several tonnes of explosives detonated underneath the fort and surrounding trenchworks, the plume visible for kilometers in every direction as Warrior Bunnies on patrol and other Imperial army groups that had been detached from the main body watched the plume rising and felt rather than heard the explosion.

The news of the main force's destruction, the one under the command of the Prince who had long since fled back to the rearguard forces and was now on his way to Sarderas, would spread quickly. The deaths of several Generals had also served to paralyse the command structure; without their leadership, command fell to the Centurions and their subordinate officers who quickly fell back onto their training and began to dig in for the coming winter storms that were sweeping the land, messengers being sent back to the Imperial capital for new orders and requests for reinforcements and supplies, though many fell prey to roving bands of Warrior Bunnies that had skirted around the positions of the Imperial Army to raid the rearguard fortifications and steal supplies.

On paper, as cold statistics and strategic assessments, it lacked a certain impact, which was why Gideon was watching it play out via combat footage and drone surveillance films.

"How many were caught in the blast?" Gideon asked as he watched the footage of the fort being destroyed by the buried mines, glancing to check that Princess Pina wasn't distracting Sage Merin from her work on the treatment for the Tiberium-mutated parasite infection.

"We estimate two-thirds of the Imperial forces that were attacking the Warrior Bunny territory were caught in the blast, eight-thousand in total. Overhead imaging shows no survivors." Adjutant reported, her voice emotionless in reporting the vaporisation of thousands of people, "With the remaining four-thousand currently digging in at strategic points due to the loss of leadership, and with Prince Zorzal fleeing for his life back to Sarderas, there should be a stalemate period where we can help Queen Tyule's people in weathering the winter and equipping them for operations in the spring."

"It's time to show our hand more fully." Gideon decided out loud, "I want a full mechanised battalion out there, along with an air-cavalry QRF," He dismissed the footage from his tablet, "Round the clock air support, deploy an MCV to establish a forward air base in the region for Orcas and A-10's. I want the Warrior Bunnies liberated and our presence felt before the GATE is opened in two years time."

"Underway sir," Adjutant responded instantly, "Do you intend to begin open operations against the Empire?"

"Limited." Gideon cautioned, "Limited. We need to focus on the Genesis Pit and neutralise that before the Scrin arrives in force. We're lucky that whatever systems are likely monitoring us consider our efforts either inconsequential, or are unaware of our final objective." He looked up from the tablet to meet his Adjutant's electronic eyes, "Killing these primitives is a last resort Adjutant, the Scrin are the real enemy. Better that we can cow them into submission rather than kill them off entirely."

"As you say, Commander." Adjutant nodded before turning her head slightly, "It seems that Sage Merin is done with her lecture." Gideon turned to see the Gem Sage waving to him from behind the window separating him from the group inside the secure lab. Waving back, Gideon glanced at Adjutant, who nodded, "Rest assured Commander, the Empire will be informed quite clearly of our power difference."

Gideon nodded, turning back to enter the lab, satisfied his rather vague orders would be fulfilled in a suitable manner as the lab door opened and he focused his thoughts on the topic at hand, "Well Princess? Satisfied?" At his words, Princess Pina shifted with a grimace as Sage Merin packed up her equipment, experiments done for the day.

"I am...convinced that there is a major threat to the Empire that exists in the form of this 'Tiberium' substance as you call it. However, it changes nothing in my mission; you must understand that this call to have the Sage answer for her actions is as much the will of the Gods as it is that of the Emperor, I cannot return empty handed."

"That is not my problem, and it will soon be a non-issue in about two years time." Gideon replied evenly, "Regardless, I don't have any further time to waste on this; your group volunteered to help the locals fight, so that's what you're going to do, Princess, you and your knights will be involved in the necessary patrols and chemical spraydown operations until the weather clears sufficiently for long-range travel back to your lands."

As Gideon explained the responsibilities that her presence now required, Pina felt a crawling sense of dread at the fact that by all accounts, she and her knights were going to be stuck with glorified scut work until the storm season passed, and as Gideon smiled at her, the dread only increased.

"All right then Princess, time to get to work."