Supreme Commander: Sword and Shield

Prologue: A History Lesson

Samuel pressed the open button on the HUD of his Armored Command Unit. The large, green and white Mech opened its head and allowed Samuel to exit. Samuel was a powerful young man, and he was in top physical condition. His hair was short and black, which was very rare among the Aeon Illuminate. He had deep blue eyes which had the look of fading over a long time.

Samuel climbed down the rope ladder that was used to climb out of the massive machine. He looked at his surroundings, at his work. The UEF village surrounding him was mostly destroyed, with only a few buildings standing. He ACU had already scanned for signs of life, and while there was some, there were not enough left alive to call the Avatar of the Way.

The United Earth Federation, Cybran Nation, and Aeon Illuminate had been at war for thousands of years. The conflict had resulted in the ruining of planets, and the deaths of billions. Samuel had contributed more than he could count to the ever growing numbers.

There had been peace, a long time ago. It all started when Quantum Gate technology had been invented. This system allowed for the fast and easy exploration of space. Humans began to colonize the Milky Way, and soon rebellion came.

The Earth was still covered in countries and states, and it didn’t take long before the Galaxy was at its breaking point. Skirmishes and raids all from different points all across the Galaxy made people realize that a new government needed to be installed; a powerful one, which could protect their species and continue their growth without hindrance.

From this need the Earth Empire arose. This dictatorship seemed that it would work well. Man entered a new Golden Age, where peace and prosperity was dominant. Many thought this happiness could last forever, but this was obviously not true. Humans can’t seem to stand peace. Someone will always do something to end it.

A large planet called Seraphim II was discovered in 2557, and the very promising planet was soon colonized. The EE had a lot of hopes for Seraphim II, it was habitable by humans, and it was five times the size of Earth. It could have become a powerful forward operations area, allowing the EE to expand its influence even more. However, this couldn’t happen because the colonists sent to the planet never made contact with the EE after they had landed.

About twenty years later, the Empire sent another expedition to the large planet. When the colonists didn’t contact the EE again, the planet was put on the “hazard” list. They knew they would have to investigate further soon, but the Hazard List was already extremely long and it would be a while before they could do anything about it. It wouldn’t be long before they would regret not investigating sooner.

The original colonists were successful in their attempts. They landed on planet and started a colony. Within the first week they had made contact with an alien species that they called the Seraphim.

The Seraphim were a kind people; a race all united under one religion, one banner. This religion was called The Way. The Way taught that harmony could be reached through honesty, meditation, and unity.

The Seraphim were also a technologically advanced race. Their weaponry was unlike anything the humans had ever seen. The Seraphim did not have need of it, however, and was only kept for the use of emergency. This emergency came, in the form of the humans.

At first, The Seraphim accepted the humans. They brought many people under their wing, teaching them the Way and giving much to them. Until the military commander sent with the colonists got scared. His xenophobia literally caused the Infinite War.

He created a virus, a powerful bioweapon that could only kill the Seraphim. He spread the virus through the air, and soon the entire Seraphim race was killed. Dr. Burke, the leading scientist on the planet, had become a follower of the Way. In her thirst for revenge, she killed the commander that had killed the alien species. This was the first human casualty of the Infinite War.

The second group of colonists arrived twenty years later. To their surprise they found a very prosperous human society, using the Seraphim technology to drastically improve their way of life. The new colonists were told this: Either join the Way, or suffer the consequences. Many of them saw the Way as something good, and were converted to this new religion. However, the majority saw it as something to fear. They were right to fear. The followers of this so called Way of peace captured and killed them all, the first Cleansing of the Infinite War.

For a time this new “faction” the Aeon Illuminate as they soon called themselves, lived in peace and harmony. Then they came to a realization. The Earth Empire would continue sending colonists and investigators to Seraphim II, and it wouldn’t be long before they discover them. The Empire would destroy them if they had the chance.

And it began. The Aeon made contact with the Empire, offering them peace if they would “join the Way.” Obviously the Earth Empire refused. The Empire was quick to send a military force to contain the Illuminate, and for a few months they thought that the new threat had been stopped. However, it didn’t take long before the Aeon rebelled against the containment force, and using the new Seraphim technology they were able to convert or Cleanse the entire battalion. In response, the EE disabled all Quantum Travel in the area, to stop the spread of the Illuminate.

Soon after the “Seraphim Incident” a great technological discovery was made. Dr. Gustaf Brackman had been researching Artificial Intelligence for a time, and had discovered a process that would allow the combination of a human brain and an AI unit. This would allow for unparalleled efficiency and intellect.

The Empire embraced this discovery, and soon there were many “Symbionts” working in Empire military and colonization bases. The Empire, in their paranoia, had forced Dr. Brackman to install a loyalty program into the AIs, to stop any rebellion or disloyalty.

The so called “rebellion” happened soon, as the Earth Empire began to be stretched out further than they could handle. Their nation was falling apart, and there was little they could do about it. The Symbionts didn’t want to be a part of this, and soon requested independence from the Earth Empire. The Empire refused, of course, and activated to loyalty program in their new slaves. Dr. Brackman was able to disable it in his closest Symbionts, and he and the small group left the EE to form the Cybran Nation.

The Empire wouldn’t let them leave peacefully, however, and soon attacked Procyon, their Headquarters at the time. The Cybrans were able to defeat the Empire’s forces by using stealth and guerilla tactics. Even now their powerful war machines focus on those two qualities.

Now facing that it was facing two foes, the Earth Empire was at the point of collapse. Soon many EE planets were abandoned, leaving them to be cleansed or converted by the Aeon. The Cybrans were able to gain a lot of ground during this time, and the EE knew something needed to be done.

Soon the United Earth Federation rose from the dying ashes of the Empire. The UEF soon recalled a large amount of colonies back closer to Earth. This would allow them to focus on their one, single goal. Unite the Galaxy under one banner, no matter the cost.

War continued, and it didn’t take long for tensions to break out between the Aeon and Cybran. The Aeon saw the cybernetic implants the Cybran people had gone through as abominable. The Cybrans feared the Aeon technology, as well as their wrath against them.

The war became very costly to the three nations. Soon, it was realized something had to be done to make the war more efficient. Too many lives were being lost on all sides.

From this, the UEF brought the Armored Command Unit into the war. Originally built to assist in the creation of colonies, the ACU could be sent to nearly anywhere in the Galaxy through Quantum Travel, and be able to build its own army in a very short amount of time.

The Aeon and Cybrans soon followed, and ACU pilots became the ultimate soldier. Planets would be conquered by one soldier, and that was much cheaper and more effective than any previous military strategy. It was so good, however, that it made the war last for over one thousand years.

Samuel reentered his ACU. A small dead body was lying near it, and Samuel couldn’t help but look back at it one last time…

Chapter One: Crusader Samuel Kuxlan

A small boy sat in his small UEF home on the planet Bravo IV. The home looked like an average home for a UEF colonist. The walls were white, the carpet was short and easy to clean, and there were just enough bedrooms for everyone. However, the boy’s mother, Regalia, had obviously taken time to decorate her home. Pictures of her two children, Samuel and Lucia, were hung all around the house. An entire section of wall was dedicated to her wedding day, when she married Colonel Randall Kuxlan.

Randall was an ACU pilot who was stationed to be the single defender of the small colony of Bravo IV. He met Regalia a few weeks after they arrived, and from that point their relationship was storybook. After three months the two were married, and she became pregnant soon after that. To their surprise, she gave birth to twins, one boy and one girl. Regalia had just recently found out that she was pregnant once again, and she and her husband couldn’t wait for a new member of the family.

Randall entered the room, looking at his son. Randall didn’t look like your average ACU pilot. He had brown hair, which even at his young age was a little thin. He was pale and very skinny. He was also short for his age, and because of this he was very mismatched from his wife.

Regalia couldn’t have been any more different from her husband. Her hair was long and black. She liked to keep it in many styles, but her favorite was simply brushing it and showing off her long locks of hair. Her skin was naturally tan, and she was in top shape. She was average height, but her physical features were far from average. The most striking part of her, however, was her deep blue eyes. Her emotions and passions were always in those eyes, and above all those eyes made her extremely beautiful.

Randall kneeled down next to his son.

Samuel looked up at his father, saying, “Daddy!”

“Goodbye son. I’ll be going to work now. Your sister and mommy are still sleeping, so give them my love!” He hugged Samuel and walked out of the door.

Samuel began to play with his toy car. It was red and thin, with a solar panel on the top. The wheels were large, and looked completely ugly when compared to Earth Empire-era vehicles. For a couple of hours Samuel was content with his toy, until his mother woke up. She called Samuel in for breakfast, oatmeal and orange juice. Samuel sat next to his sister and began to eat. Then, tragedy struck.

A massive flash of light, soon followed by a deafening noise was coming from somewhere far outside. Regalia turned much paler than most thought she could possible do.

“Get in the basement, now!”

Lucia was crying, and Samuel was simply stunned. Even at his young age he was very inquisitive. What had happened?

“NOW!”

Lucia began crying harder, and Samuel helped her out of her chair. He walked her to the basement as Regalia ran outside. Their basement was mostly used as storage for old things and useless things that their dad didn’t want to get rid of. It was dimly lit, and to a couple of small children, it was a little bit scary. Samuel and Lucia sat there for what felt like hours. Samuel continued to clutch his red car and he held his sister as she cried. It had been very scary, Samuel admitted, but he wasn’t one to cry, even as a little child.

After what felt like forever, the basement door was finally opened.

“Mom!” Samuel exclaimed, as he and his sister got up and ran up the stairs.

Instead, a man in green robes stood there. He was a young man, but very menacing looking. He had shoulder length silver hair, and a sharp chin. He had cold green eyes that looked almost snakish.

As he walked towards them, Lucia and Samuel screamed as they ran back to the basement. Lucia hid behind a few boxes of storage, while Samuel found a screwdriver that he hoped to defend himself with.

“Come children, I will take you to your mother.”

“NO!” yelled Samuel as he ran at the man with the tool in his hands.

The man grabbed Samuel by the wrist, and though Samuel struggled, the two year old boy stood no chance against the powerful man. He then searched for Lucia, and was quick to find her. He grabbed her as well, and took them through their home, and outside where a truck filled with people from their town, all in bound and trapped. The man forced the children into the vehicle, and then shut the door. In the same instance, Samuel had tried to get out, and the door hit him in the face. One of the men in the truck said that it was probably broken, but that he would be alright. He bled for the rest of the long drive, and he definitely didn’t fell alright.

Soon the vehicle stopped, the crying women and children moaned even louder. Men that were dressed like the man from the basement opened the backdoors to the truck and ordered them to get out. Samuel had been in the Bravo IV wilderness before. He remembered going there camping with his family, but the building he saw in front of him was not there before.

It was a massive green and white structure. While under different circumstances, most would describe it as beautiful, Samuel had a hard time appreciating the elegance and detail in the many pillars and walls. It looked like the building would have taken thousands of years to get that kind of detail in such a large building, but the camping trip had only been a month ago, and no such thing existed before.

Samuel and his sister continued with the rest of the UEF citizens into a large open area. The courtyard they were in was also very exquisite, with many fountains and statues, but all Samuel saw were the six thousand POWs that were inside.

Samuel and Lucia searched for their mother, but their calls were in vain. The commotion was too great, and the large number of people made it nearly impossible to single out their mother.

After another two hours, and more of Lucia’s tears, they were finally able to find their mother. She was circling around the courtyard just as they were, trying to find them. When they saw her the two ran up and hugged her legs. For a second she was surprised, but when she realized what was happening she kneeled down and hugged them back…

Samuel awoke with a cold sweat.

He had hardly remembered that day, and yet that dream had been so vivid…

Samuel stood sat up and looked around his new room. It was painted dark green, and there was only one decoration; an old UEF toy car. It was candy apple red and very ugly, but he had kept it his entire life. It was only memory he had left of his lost childhood.

He was exhausted. After the battle yesterday, Overlord Danov informed him that he would be transferred to the Aeon 1st Battalion and promoted to the position of Crusader. Samuel had objected, he didn’t want to work with others. He didn’t get along well with others…

Samuel quickly showered and dressed in the Crusader uniform. His shirt was dark green and made of some fancy material. It was very light and comfortable, but he would still wear his jumpsuit during combat. The pants were black and made from some sort of synthetic cloth. He didn’t really like his new uniform, but Samuel didn’t really like anything new.

As he exited the barracks, he still felt frustrated over his reassignment. He would be getting a “team” now, a group of Knights to work with. He had never worked with SCUs before, and he really didn’t want to now.

As he walked to his new office, he looked at the soldiers in the barracks. They were staring at him. He knew why. Samuel was a very famous ACU pilot. Many called him the “Sword of the Avatar,” a name that he agreed with. He hated the Avatar and his lackeys more than anything, but Samuel truly was his unwilling weapon.

The office’s doors automatically opened. Samuel walked inside and examined his new prison. It was very clean for a prison. The carpet was dark green, and the walls were an eggshell color. A ceiling fan hung above his desk, which was made of some sort of fake wood. On the desk were a few computer monitors, and he was sure that there was some fancy computer under the desk. Behind his desk was a large Illuminate symbol. The symbol was the same green as most of his things, and sort of looked like a smoothed out, sleeping bat. Maybe he only felt that way because he knew what it stood for.

Samuel hated the Illuminate. The Way was just a sick joke to him. His entire life all he had seen was corruption and lies. The Way was just a weapon now, wielded by the Avatar, just like Samuel.

Samuel sat down at his desk and turned on the computer. As it quickly loaded, Samuel customized a few features, and activated the voice recognition password. His password was Lucia. Lucia… His sister. He missed her so.

The computer’s satellite clock said that it was 0800. His new Knights should have been in there by now. As fifteen more minutes passed, Samuel got impatient. He got up to go check outside. However, before he could stand all the way, there was a light knock on the door.

“Enter.”

Four women entered his office. Samuel didn’t give them a half glance. They all stood in attention, hoping to be asked to sit. They received no such gesture.

Samuel stood up, now looking at them.

“You’re late.”

The women all looked at each other. There had to be some reason why they were late, but they weren’t going to tell. It didn’t really matter in the end. Samuel could easily read their body language to figure out what had happened. The first two girls, along with the fourth, looked the same; very serious, as if they had been trying to hide something. The third had a slight amount of sweat on her face, and her face was slightly redder than her hands. She had been late, and the three had waited for her. They wanted to take the blame together.

Samuel had never been part of a team before, but he understood the loyalty they had to each other. He wouldn’t reveal that he knew, but he would punish the group together.

“Alright, before we begin, I will take fifteen minutes of your time, in return for what you did for me. Go to the gym. We will be doing a bit of an exercise I like to call Suicides…”

“Sir, it was my fault,” said the third girl quickly.

Samuel was surprised at this development. He looked at the girl again. She was average height for a woman, six inches shorter than he was. She had auburn hair, which was all pulled back into a pony tail. From what Samuel could tell she did this so she could meet military standards, and still be able to have long hair when she was off duty. Her eyes were light brown, and while her skin color was tanner than the average Illuminate soldier, it would still be pale on UEF or Cybran standards. She seemed to be in excellent physical shape; Samuel figured that she spent a lot of time training. Samuel felt something odd about her, but he didn’t know what.

“Your fault?” he asked.

“Yes sir. I woke up late this morning. I stayed up late last night training.”

“Training?”

“Yes sir. I was in the gym weight lifting, and I didn’t get to bed until 0100.”

Samuel paused. He could tell she was being honest. She told her story without flinching and he could see it in her eyes. He knew that the standard military protocol was to punish any form of lateness; but Samuel knew that she had been trying to better herself, so against his better judgment he decided to let her off the hook.

“Good work. Just don’t let it happen again.”

“Y-yes sir,” she ended. She looked right into his eyes when she spoke. Samuel paused for a second to look back. Something was in those eyes.

Suddenly, Samuel broke the gaze. When he looked back her face seemed to be even redder, but Samuel decided to ignore this..

“Alright,” said Samuel, “beginning from my left, state you name, rank, and city of origin.”

“Knight Rhiza, from Yuzla,” stated the woman at his left. She looked like the prototypical Aeon ACU pilot. She had spiky, silver hair, which seemed to have a bit too much gel. She was only three inches shorter than him, at least it seemed that way. She carried herself as much taller than she was. Her skin was very pale, and her eyes were a pale green. She wore a green lipstick that seemed to shine. She was also in very excellent shape, like most Aeon women.

“Knight Gari, from Seraphim II,” said the second woman. Her hair was dark brown, and parted down the middle. Her locks were shoulder length, just at military standard. Her complexion was much darker than most of the women he had met, and her eyes were a deep and dark brown. Samuel guessed that she was descended from a convert, much like he was one. He could also tell by her posture that she was always trying to prove herself. He thought that it was possible that she could be the youngest of a big family.

“Knight Celene, f-from Seraphim II,” the auburn-haired woman said. She looked as if she had relaxed a bit since she had gotten here, but she still looked very tense.

“Knight Zaeva, and I’m from Orionis,” said the final woman with a smile. Her hair looked as if it was the exact length of military protocol, as if she had wanted it longer. He understood why too, because her hair was very beautiful. It was thick and light blonde, which also matched her pale skin tone. Her eyes were light blue, and seemed to be filled with excitement. Her teeth were all perfectly straight and white; she was an overall very attractive woman. Samuel didn’t really care though; to him she was just another soldier. He was just glad that there were no men in her team.

“Alright,” said Samuel, “if you haven’t been told, I am Crusader Kuxlan, your new C.O. Now, report to the gym. You may have escaped the suicides, but not the rest of your training.”

Chapter 2: Training

The remaining Kuxlans were shipped to Orionis, where they would begin the conversion process. Regalia was a complete wreck. Not only had she lost her husband, but the majority of her colony had been cleansed. The few UEF citizens that chose to join the Illuminate were people like her; single mothers, afraid for their children, and cowards afraid to die. Regalia was also pregnant, and she feared for her unborn child.

Samuel reacted differently than his mother and sister. Instead of being in constant tears, Samuel became withdrawn and quiet. He had for the most part stopped talking completely. He would only speak when he needed. For the rest of the time he was simply lost in thought.

Samuel and his family were sent to different classes to learn the Way, and the customs of the Aeon. They spent the majority of their time in these classes, and Samuel found them to be very boring. His mother had to take more difficult classes, and Samuel would often sneak into them and learn from the advanced teachers.

One day, while he was secretly observing a class on body language, he was found by a man slightly older than his mother.

“Hello there, little one,” said the man in military uniform, “shouldn’t you be in your class?”

The man had silver blonde hair that was cut very short. He was very muscular, but it was obvious that he had once been even stronger. He had an oddly round face that ended in a very sharp chin. His eyes were what Samuel found the most striking. Samuel always noticed what the eyes said about a person. This man’s eyes were hazel, and were mostly a light green color. Samuel saw evil in those eyes, despite the fake smile that the man wore.

Samuel looked up at him, saying nothing.

“Here, I’ll take you to the Nursery. This class isn’t for children.”

“You don’t like kids.”

”Excuse me?”

“You don’t like kids. You think we’re stupid.”

“Of course I don-“

“Yes you do. Don’t lie to me. I always know when people lie.”

“I… You are a very smart child. What is your name?”

“Samuel Kuxlan. Now leave me alone.”

Before Samuel looked back at the teacher, he saw something else in the man’s eyes. Opportunity.

Samuel woke up from another terrible night’s sleep.

Unlike the dream he had the night before, Samuel remembered that day perfectly. It was the day he had met the soon to be Overlord Danov. Danov had seen Samuel as a tool twenty two years ago, and now Samuel was that tool. A sword could not choose its master.

The previous day had been “fun” for him. He had the chance to physically evaluate his new Knights, and he worked them to the ground. He began his tests with a four mile run, which revealed quite a bit about all of his squadron. First of all, Celene was easily the most physically fit, but she wasn’t very disciplined, and wasted her energy. She began the race far in the front for the first two miles of the run, but as she ran out of breath Rhiza and Zaeva were able to catch up.

Rhiza was the most competitive of the four, and she was able to push herself to the limit. Zaeva had a balance of speed and discipline, and was able to get the best time. This surprised Samuel because he saw very little discipline in her eyes. It could have been possible that he had misread her.

As for Gari, Samuel was almost embarrassed for her. Not only was she easily the slowest of the four, but by the third mile she had all but given up. It took her an hour to run the four miles, an average of a light jog or power walk. Samuel could only hope that she would be more successful in the other tests.

Samuel’s hopes were misplaced.

The second test was heavily favored towards the physically fit Celene. The Knights were sent to the gym to show Samuel their physical strength. It was very simple. Their abilities in the bench press, squat, push-up, and sit-up exercises were measured. Celene dominated in every contest, while Rhiza nearly always in second place. Zaeva had a difficult time with the bench press and push-ups, and was unable to keep up. Once again, Gari was in last place, and after the bench press exercise she was unable to do any push ups.

The final test of the day was the endurance test. The four Knights were told to simply hang from a bar for as long as they could. Samuel had guessed that Rhiza would do the best this time, and he was right. Gari fell within two minutes, and Zaeva and Celene both fell within ten. Rhiza stayed up on the bar for thirty minutes before Samuel ordered her to come down.

Samuel felt that the day had been very successful. First of all, he was able to evaluate his soldier’s abilities, and he could tell that his Knights were bonding. Celene and Zaeva seemed to be especially close, but Rhiza and Gari obviously disliked each other. The two had gotten into a political argument after the strength testing, and the two had been tense for the rest of the day.

Samuel left the barracks that morning still contemplating the dream he had last night. He ended up in his desk without remembering how he got there. At 0800 the Knights reported to his office. They had learned the day before never to be late again.

“Alright, after yesterday, I decided to have us do something a little more… fun.”

The four women looked apprehensive. Samuel took pleasure in messing with them a bit.

“Today we are going to be running an ACU simulation.”

All of the girls smiled. Samuel wasn’t kidding, they really would be doing something fun.

“After we watch some replays.”

Their smiles disappeared quickly.

“Report to your simulation stations, we’ll be watching one of my previous battles”

“Yes sir!” answered the Knights, as they left his office.

Samuel turned his computer on, and began to load up his replay. Once all four of his Knights had signed in, he began the video.

Samuel’s ACU landed on Zeta-Canis. He remembered the mission well. He had been ordered to take down three Cybran ACUs within two hours. He did it in one and a half.

Samuel yawned as he watched his ACU build the initial economic structures. As his commander walked over to assist the building of a hydrocarbon, his eyes began to feel heavy. Once his second land factory was complete, Samuel fell asleep…

Samuel was holding his little brother Orion in the middle of the Chapel hall. Everyone around him was dressed in fine robes and dresses. His sister was carrying a basket of flowers, beaming as she walked down the white carpet. She was walking towards the man, the man that hated kids. Behind his little sister was his mother, dressed in a beautiful gown. She and that man were being married.

Samuel looked at his brother. He wasn’t a very cute baby; he had a little brown hair and pale skin. Orion was very skinny, which was very odd for a four month old. Samuel, even at the age of three, worried about his little brother. Samuel vowed to protect him from the man.

The man was smiling. Samuel hated that fake smile. He was evil, why couldn’t his mother see it? She was smiling too. He didn’t understand. He hated that man. And yet, soon that man would be his new father.

Once Regalia reached the altar, the priest began his speech.

“Today we will forever bond the Spirits of Regalia Kuxlan and Maxim Danov in the Way. The Seraphim once taught that…”

“Sir, are you alright?”

Samuel stirred.

“Sir?”

Samuel opened his eyes to see Celene above him. He was on the floor, and nearly in tears. He hadn’t cried since he was ten years old. She looked at him, worried. He closed his eyes and regained his composure.

“Yes Knight, I am fine.”

Celene offered Samuel her hand, but he got up on his own.

“Sir, should I call a Doctor?”

“No! Now back to your station!”

He didn’t know why he lashed at her like that. She was only trying to help. She turned around to leave, looking back one more time before she went back to her station.

Samuel sat back down at his desk. He was completely drained. Why was he reliving his past in his sleep? It was a problem he would need to deal with later, because Celene had just loaded up her simulator, and his Knights were ready to go.

Samuel pushed the communications button and said, “Alright, first we’ll begin with Gari and Rhiza. You’ll do the simulation on the map Finn’s Revenge. Go.”

“Yes sir!” said the two Knights.

The simulation’s loading screen looked similar to the In Transit screen that appeared on the HUD of an ACU while it is traveling through a Quantum Gate. Samuel figured that it was probably to set the mood for the soldiers that were simulating, but Samuel actually found it sort of humorous.

The battle began like most simulations, the two commanders built their first mass extractors and power generators, and then completing their first factory. Samuel had always found this quite boring and he had been sending requests to the Illuminate Weapons Division to put more mass storage into the ACU, which would allow for a factory to be built before the first two generators and extractors.

Rhiza was the first to finish her factory, and once she finished she marched her ACU up the eastern side of the island. Finn’s Revenge was an oval shaped island bordered by shallow water. In the middle of the island there was a large pool of water, which created two chokepoints on each side. However, because of the hover abilities on many of the Aeon land units, the center pond was almost pointless.

Gari decided to keep her ACU in her base, and because of it she let her defenses wane a bit. However, the ACU was also a powerful engineer, and Gari’s economy slowly became better than Rhiza’s.

Rhiza continued to push on the eastern side of the island with her ACU, leaving some point defense turrets and a long wall to defend the western side. Meanwhile, in her base she began to completely focus her build power on her Air Factory. Samuel made note of this, because he had never been very good with an offensive aerial attack, instead opting to use his planes as a defense. Rhiza quickly pumped out interceptors and Shimmer bombers. If Gari wasn’t prepared, Rhiza could have won in a single strike.

Gari was primarily building Auroras. The Aurora looked more like a work of art than a war machine. It was perfectly symmetrical, and was as smooth as glass. Gari’s forces consisted of about fifteen Auroras, three anti air tanks, and her ACU. She began to push against Rhiza’s ACU on the eastern side.

Rhiza wisely decided to fall back, sending her bombers to thin out Gari’s army. The Shimmer bomber had a homing device installed in them to allow for very accurate and deadly bombs. Gari sent her Conservator interceptors to take out Rhiza’s air fleet, but Rhiza was able to send her superior force of the same unit to take out Gari’s in one sweep of elegant lasers.

Gari began to produce land based anti-air, and soon the two reached a stalemate. Rhiza’s point defenses had all but stopped Gari’s land force, while Gari’s anti-air stopped Rhiza’s air fleet. Samuel noticed how stubborn Rhiza was for continuing to produce air units instead of adapting to her opponent’s strategy. However, Gari began to send her hovering Auroras over the water and out of Rhiza’s point defense range. Unfortunately for Gari, Rhiza’s bombers were able to quickly wipe out her attack force.

The match seemed like a stalemate until both commanders moved to Tech 2, which allowed for much more advanced and powerful war machines. Rhiza also upgraded her commander to allow it to have longer range, making it even more difficult for Gari to penetrate her defenses.

Rhiza was quick to begin the production of T2 Gunships, a powerful attack weapon, and difficult to defeat with only Tech 1 anti-air. Soon Rhiza was able to produce an attack force strong enough to destroy Gari’s primary resource farm, a mixture of Power Generators and Mass Fabricators. Gari was getting desperate, so she made a very gutsy move.

Gari began to focus all of her build power on a naval factory. Once it was finished, she began to upgrade its manufacturing capabilities. This became more and more difficult as Rhiza’s upgraded commander and T2 Gunships destroyed her resource facilities. However, Gari had a large amount of Resource storage, and once the naval yard’s upgrade was complete, Gari started the production of a T2 Infinity-class Cruiser. The massive boat would be able to destroy Rhiza’s air force before she knew what hit her.

Rhiza’s commander reached Gari’s base, and with the help of her Gunships it was quickly wiped out. Gari’s cruiser was at 90%, but she wasn’t sure if it would be completed in time.

At 95% completion, Rhiza’s Gunship reached the naval factory. Gari knew that she was safe from the Gunships, she was under the water and their attacks couldn’t get to her, however once the naval factory was destroyed she would die in the next attack of either submarines or T2 Torpedo Bombers.

At 99% the factory was nearly destroyed. Gari knew only luck and fate could allow her to win now.

Rhiza’s gunship fired one last shot, and was able to destroy the factory literally seconds before completion. The game was over, and everyone knew this. Samuel ended the game as Rhiza began to produce Torpedo Bombers.

Samuel’s Knights appeared on his computer screen. Gari was obviously angry, but said nothing.

“Glorious!” exclaimed Rhiza, who looked as if she just had… well you know.

“Great job Rhiza!” Celene complemented.

“Such a close game, nice try Gari!” exclaimed the smirking Zaeva.

“Good game, Rhiza,” said Gari with a grimace.

“Good game to you too Gari,” responded Rhiza with a tone that said the exact opposite.

“That was not a good game; you both did more mistakes than I could count.”

All of the smiles and the pats on the back stopped immediately. His Knights were quick to attention, Samuel liked that.

“Rhiza, once Gari produced all that anti-air, you should have begun building a navy, or a heavy land force. Gari wouldn’t have stood a chance from and assault by an Exodus.”

“Yes sir.”

“And Gari, what were you thinking by not going to an early Tech 2? T2 flak is much more effective than T1 anti-air, and Evensongs could have taken down Rhiza’s defenses easily!”

“Sorry sir.”

“And both of you, that ending was complete chance! If one more second had passed by, Gari’s Infinity would have been completed, and she could have shelled Rhiza’s base back to Tech 1!”

“Sorry Sir,” replied the two of them.

“Alright, now Celene and Zae…”

Someone knocked on Samuel’s door. He had no idea who it could be; all of his Knights were in their simulators…

“Just a second,” Samuel said to the Knights, “Enter.”

A guard from the barracks entered his office, wielding a standard issue Sonic Rifle. That particular gun was very effective for guard duty, because the weapon was non-lethal and was very accurate. Samuel had used it many times while he served in Special Forces.

“What do you need?” asked Samuel impatiently.

“Sir, Overlord Danov would like to see you in his office.”

Samuel hadn’t seen his stepfather since his previous mission, and he had been enjoying his absence. Samuel waived the guard away, and as he left, he seemed obviously irritated. Samuel looked back to his computer again.

“Alright Knights, Celene and Zaeva begin your simulation on Theta Passage. Once the sim is finished, report to the training gym. I’ll kibitz your replay later.”

“Yes sir!”

Samuel got up to leave, wishing he could watch their match live. He brushed it off and headed to the Devil’s lair.

********

Samuel finally entered Danov’s large entrance hall, wondering why he was in need of such a superfluous office. The entrance doors were twice Samuel’s height, and the waiting room was covered in intricate floor designs, and the walls surrounding him were painted in a mural showing the history of the Aeon.

Near the entrance door was painted a group of Aeon priests in blue shackles. Over them was a shadowy face holding the chains. As the mural went on, there was a depiction of a Seraph and Dr. Jane Burke, the founder of the Illuminate. Next was a depiction of the virus that killed the Seraphim race. On the wall opposite of the entrance doors Samuel saw a portrayal of a battle of UEF and Aeon ACUs, with the UEF falling back. Samuel found this picture quite accurate of now. The UEF had been waning in the past few years, and Samuel figured that this war very well could end soon.

Finally, on the wall furthest from Samuel was a picture of the Avatar of War wielding a sword and stabbing a UEF commander. Samuel looked at the Avatar. He had long gray hair and light green eyes. While the mural didn’t capture his appearance perfectly, Samuel could still see the coldness in those eyes.

The entrance to Danov’s office was opened, revealing a very pretty secretary.

“The Overlord will see you now.”

Samuel glared at her as he entered the secretary office, walking across another room, and finally entering Danov’s lair.

And there he was, the man from Samuel’s nightmares, the man who ruined his life. He was much older than he was in Samuel’s dreams. His hair was much shorter and it had gone gray years ago. Angry wrinkles appeared on his face, but he still wore that fake smile.

“Ah, welcome Samuel. Please sit.”

Samuel sat in the very big and squishy chair that was in front of Danov’s very big desk. Samuel examined his stepfather’s office. The floor was covered in an intricate rug, with dark and light green combining to make all sorts of shapes. The wall was painted white, but was covered in new printings, awards, and pictures of Danov and the Avatar. Behind the Overlord’s chair was a large Aeon emblem, just like most Illuminate officer’s had.

“What do you want?”

“Ah, Samuel. Always straight to the point. Do you like my new office building?”

“No, it is large and overdone. Now, I was in the middle of something and I need to get going,” said Samuel with a glare.

“You are not happy to see me. I did just promote you to Crusader.”

“Against my will. Now what do you want!?”

Danov’s smile disappeared. He wasn’t going to be playing anymore games. Samuel was glad that he was done, he just wanted to get this over with.

”Well Samuel, I am pleased to give you your first assignment as a Crusader.”

“What!? I haven’t been here for a week! I haven’t even been able to evaluate all of my Knights!”

“You have no choice. You depart in two day’s time. Now return to whatever it was you were doing.”

Samuel stormed out of the office, and completely ignored the secretary as she told him to have a nice day. As he began to open the massive doors of the exit, Samuel looked back at the depiction of the Avatar. The sword was covered in blood.

Chapter 3: A Dark Feeling

Samuel stood on the training mat in the base’s main gym, looking at his squadron. They seemed excited, knowing what was coming up. Samuel was going to have them spar.

Sparring was a traditional Aeon training exercise that had many uses. Not only did it test the fighters’ strength and abilities, but their intelligence and boldness as well. Samuel had been saving this evaluation test for last, simply because he enjoyed it the most. Samuel was an expert fighter; in fact, he hadn’t lost in a spar ever since his training.

“Alright Knights, as you can probably tell, we are going to have a sparring session. It will be an excellent training exercise, and it will allow me to evaluate you skills.”

All but Zaeva smiled. Samuel read her eyes, hoping to get a more accurate read. It seemed to him that she didn’t want to fight her teammates. She would have to get over that though, because Samuel would make her fight until she did.

“I assume you all know the rules, but I will quickly go over them. First, your blows should never have malicious intent. Never should you attempt to permanently injure or damage your opponent. Second, the spar can end in three ways. When one of the fighters calls it off, when I call it off, or one fighter is incapacitated. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes sir!” replied the four.

“Alright, we will begin with Zaeva and Celene.”

The two women silently walked onto the training mat, as Samuel backed off. Celene took a standard military fighting stance, one used by the Aeon and UEF. Samuel noticed how perfect her stance was, with her entire body defended. Her base was very strong, and her strategy was very readable. Allow the opponent to strike first, then attack.

Zaeva took a very unusual stance. It looked almost if he was doing some sort of standing meditation or yoga. With one foot place on the ground, and the other in the air at a ninety degree angle to her body, she stood with her arms outstretched to her sides. What could her strategy be?

“Go!”

Zaeva’s plan became very obvious very quick. Using her one leg she launched her self into the air and entered into a hook kick, laying a blow to Celene’s face. The blow was very strong, but Celene was able to throw Zaeva backwards as she fell, causing her to land off the mat and put her into what seemed like quite a bit of pain.

The two got up, circling each other. Celene was the first to attack this time, doing a sweep in order to knock Zaeva down, but Zaeva was ready and performed the most amazing Butterfly kick he had ever seen. She jumped and filled in the air, and used all of that momentum to strike Celene in the shoulder.

Zaeva hit Celene at a bad angle, and Celene’s flat out leg was pushed down further than it should go, resulting in what appeared to be a pulled hamstring. Celene cried in pain.

“Stop!” said Samuel quickly.

Zaeva backed off as Samuel ran to Celene. He had her lay straight on her back and raise her left leg, which was the one that appeared to be injured. Once it got high enough, she winced in pain. Samuel knew that there was no way she could walk, so he picked her up and carried her over to the bench.

After checking if she was okay, Samuel gave her some ice and walked back to the group. He was angry with himself again. He had misread Zaeva once more, and he didn’t understand why.

“Alright everyone, before Gari and Rhiza spar, I would like to spar with Zaeva.”

The three Knights looked perplexed. This was hardly protocol, but Samuel wanted to see if he could find out more by fighting her.

“Alright sir,” said Zaeva as she stepped back onto the mat.

“Take a second to get your breathe back.”

After a moment Zaeva nodded her head as if she was ready.

“Rhiza, you judge.”

“Yes sir.”

Samuel took his fighting stance, one that he had invented himself. Both of his feet were square to his shoulders, and his elbows rested on his knees as he bent them, making him nearly half his height. This stance allowed him to be a much smaller target for the initial blows, and let him use the power in his legs better.

Zaeva took a much more standard pose this time. Her feet were positioned with one far back from the other, with the back foot at a ninety degree angle. This allowed her to have much better balance. Both of her legs were bent slightly to give her a much better base.

“Go!”

Zaeva made the first move, stepping towards Samuel and sending an axe kick with her back leg. Samuel side-stepped the move, and then using all of the power in his legs and arms, hit her with a blow that sent he five feet away from him, and knocking her to the floor. He then proceeded to run towards her to try and throw her, but she rear backed and kicked him in the gut, nearly making him throw up.

Zaeva got up first and was able to use the extra speed to do a simple front kick to Samuel’s face. The blow hurt, but Samuel was okay, and when she made a second attempt, he was able to grab he leg and use her own strength to throw her over his shoulder.

Samuel then saw the most amazing sense of balance and athletic ability he had ever seen, and ever would see.

Zaeva extended her arms and did an amazing double back flip, leaving Samuel’s throw completely unharmed. Samuel was stunned. That simply wasn’t possible.

Zaeva used her opponent’s amazement to her advantage, running up to him and punching him in the kidney. Samuel took the hit hard, and she made two more blows to the face before he had punched her in the jaw, knocking a tooth out.

Zaeva backed off and the two began to circle each other. Neither wanted to make the first move, but Samuel went first. He sprinted towards her, head first, attempting to spear her, but she was able to move out of the way, tripping him, and sending him rolling off the mat.

Samuel got up and back onto the mat. He was getting frustrated. She was not using an Aeon fighting style; it was too brutal, and axe kicks were defiantly not taught by the Illuminate. However, he had seen fighting styles similar to this while he had been on the field. It looked more Cybran with some Aeon influence.

“Where did you learn to fight?”

“Basic training, like everyone else. I just practice a whole lot.”

“Hmm…”

Samuel didn’t bother reading her eyes, this was obviously a lie, but how could it be?

Zaeva attempted to make a quick blow while her opponent seemed distracted, but Samuel was ready. Her roundhouse could have been a finishing blow, if he hadn’t pushed up extremely hard on it, sending her crashing to the ground. Zaeva was quite dazed, and Samuel finished the spar by pinning her on the ground.

“Finished!” Rhiza called.

Samuel helped Zaeva up, and they shook hands. It had been quite the fight, but it had left Samuel with more questions than answers.

“Good one,” said Zaeva.

“Yes, quite an excellent spar.”

The two walked off the mat in opposite directions. Once Samuel got to the opposite end he turned around and saw Gari and Rhiza ready to fight. He knew this match would be very interesting. He had discerned that the two detested each other, but he hoped that the spar would help them bond a little.

Samuel’s hopes were misplaced.

As Samuel yelled go, the two women both jumped at each other, ending up in a driving position, like an American Football one on one. Rhiza was much more powerful than Gari, but Gari had gotten a little lower, and she was able to take down her rival. The two landed on the mat, and Gari attempted to put Rhiza into a pain compliance hold, bending Rhiza’s arm backwards in order to end the match quickly. However, Rhiza didn’t want it to end that way, and was able to use the momentum from the fall to spin her and Gari forward.

Rhiza then got near to a pin, but the hold put her shoulder very close to Gari’s face. As Gari’s head moved forward, Samuel’s eyes widened. She wouldn’t.

She did.

Rhiza yelled in pain as she jumped off of her opponent. Gari had bitten her.

Gari got back up, and both of their furies were greater than before. Rhiza did a round house kick towards Gari’s face, but Gari moved her head down and pushed Rhiza’s leg in the direction it was moving, making Rhiza lose her balance a little. Gari used this chance to lay a blow straight to Rhiza’s nose. The impact was loud and Rhiza’s nose was obviously broken.

Rhiza backed up a little, covering her face. When she removed her hand blood was pouring down her face, but Samuel figured that the adrenaline had pretty much stopped the pain. He towards at Zaeva and Celene; the two were wide eyed, and obviously frightened.

Rhiza made another move towards Gari, this time with her hands. However, her hand wasn’t in a fist, and as Rhiza swiped across Gari’s face, her fingernails made four slashes across the right side of Gari’s face. Gari howled in pain and rage, and kicked Rhiza directly in the shin. The two fell back in pain, and jumped at each other once again, knocking each other down. This time there was much more rolling, biting, scratching, and pulling of hair.

“STOP!”

The two continued their struggle, and they began to cover the mat with mostly Rhiza’s blood.

Zaeva and Samuel jumped onto the mat. Samuel grabbed Rhiza as Zaeva pulled Gari back. The two continued to thrash at each other, and Samuel waited to let go of Rhiza until she had relaxed. Once the two had submitted, Zaeva quickly got off the mat, trying to get out of the line of fire.

“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TWO DOING!?”

The two simply looked down. Rhiza’s face was covered in blood, and Gari’s clothes were slightly torn. A small amount of her hair was also in Rhiza’s hand.

“LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M TALKING!”

The two looked up, obviously scared.

“If that ever happens again, both of you will be discharged… Now everyone needs to get to the Healers. Once they are finished with you, you will report to the temple at 2900.”

“Yes sir!”

As the three left standing walked off, Samuel went to Celene and picked her up once more. She smiled at him, but Samuel felt very awkward carrying her. He put that thought in the back of his mind as he took her to the healer.

******

Samuel awaited his Knights in the entrance hall of the temple. The hall was about the size of Danov’s waiting room, but was even more intricate.

Holding up the ceiling were eight marble pillars, cut into a spiral design. Six-winged angels were carved coming out of the spiral, and each of them were completely unique. There was something about this temple, as if it had been completely hand carved. He had no idea how old it was, but most of the temples on Seraphim II had been there for a very long time.

Samuel heard the temple doors open. The four were each wearing their silver temple robes, but they didn't look like they belonged in a temple.

Zaeva seemed relatively fine, with only a few bruises. As she talked Samuel could see that the healer had replaced her knocked out tooth. Celene walked with a bit of a limp, but she seemed fine. The second pair seemed to be in much worse shape. Rhiza’s nose was in a cast, and her face had quite a few bandages on it. Gari was even more mangled, with one of Rhiza’s to her face so deep that it had to be stitched. Samuel had a feeling that they wouldn’t be forgiving each other any time soon.

When they reached Samuel they went into attention. Samuel waived them off.

“I don’t know how each of you will take this news, but in two days we are going to be deployed. I don’t know anything about the operation yet, not even a where or why. We will probably find out tomorrow or when we get to the deployment planet.”

Samuel examined their reactions. Rhiza showed signs of excitement, while her “friend” showed the opposite sign of fear. Samuel didn’t bother to read Zaeva’s reaction; he had lost confidence in reading her. However his initial read said that she had been anticipating this for quite some time. Celene looked almost confused; most squads have to wait at least a month before they are deployed. Samuel wanted to tell them why, but he couldn’t just tell them that it was simply because Danov wanted to test him and his new team.

“As long as we are a team, every evening we will be meditating in the temple at 2900. If you are late you will not be allowed entrance, and you will be punished the next day. If there aren’t any questions, you may enter the chamber.”

The four entered the women’s meditation room, which Samuel assumed looked like the men’s. It was full of sweet smelling aromas that came out of the vents. There were eight six by three pools filled with some sort silver liquid. The surrounding walls were a dark green, and the ground’s tiles were white with Illuminate symbols. Next to all of the pools were a bunch towel racks with clean light green towels.

Samuel removed his temple robes and entered the pool nearest him. As he got in he instantly felt very relaxed. The silver liquid was warm and seemed to form around his body. He began to think about the day’s events, but it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep…

Samuel stood in the living room of his large home. Despite his hatred towards his stepfather, living with him had its advantages. His home was very large, and Samuel was able to have his own room and computer. Samuel didn’t have many toys however, Danov didn’t approve of playing with them. The only toy he was able to keep was the little red car.

Samuel had grown a lot over the past seven years. He was a little tall for a ten year old, and he was quite lean. His hair was kept in a short bowl cut, and it was still as black as night. His blue eyes showed that he was actually happy for the first time in his life. He was the top of his class, and he had even made a friend, Ariel.

Samuel was quite bored, and so he decided to out outside. He liked being outdoors, being inside made him feel trapped. Samuel walked downstairs to the front door. He stopped once he saw what was going on; Danov was standing there talking to a man at the door. He couldn’t tell what they were saying, but he read the door-man’s eyes. Whatever had happened was bad.

The man left and Danov shut the door. He turned around, surprised to see Samuel.

“What happened?” asked the boy.

“Samuel, I need to tell you something…”

“What?”

“It’s your mother. She… she has become one with the Way.”

“No… no…”

“I’m sorry. It was on Orionis. There was a Cybran raid…”

Samuel looked into Danov’s eyes. He had been telling the truth, at least until his last sentence.

“You lie!”

“No. Your mother’s dead.”

Samuel fell silent. His life was in the hands of this monster, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Samuel woke up and let out a short cry.

His breathing was heavy, and he was extremely hot. That had been the worst day of his life, the day he had become a the Avatar’s weapon.

He got out of the meditation pool and wiped himself off with a towel that was nearby. He started walking towards the door before he realized that he hadn’t put on his robe. He quickly walked over to it and put it on. He checked himself quickly before he walked to the door.

He went into the entrance hall still breathing heavily. He had loved his mother, and she was the only person stopping Danov from getting to him. Once she had died, the Overlord had complete control over him.

Before he got to the exit of the temple, he heard the door of the meditation room open. He turned around and saw Celene exiting the women’s section. When she looked up at him she seemed to get a little tense, like she had been the first day. Samuel read her, and she had all the signs of fear. Samuel didn’t understand why, he had never been overly harsh on her, and the only time he had yelled was at the gym today. Maybe she simply knew how many he had killed, and detested it.

“Hello Celene.”

Celene smiled at Samuel as she walked towards him.

“How was your session?” asked Samuel.

“It was… revealing,” replied Celene as Samuel opened the door for her.

“How so?” Samuel asked as he followed her out the door.

“I thought about a lot of things, mostly about our upcoming battle.”

“And did you receive any inspiration?”

“A… dark feeling came over me. I fear for our squadron.”

Samuel stopped and looked at her. She was being completely honest, but her eyes seemed strange. He thought that if she was scared of him and the upcoming battle, it would cause the signs of fear to increase. Instead he saw calm. He was quite perplexed. Maybe his abilities weren’t as great as he had thought.

“Don’t worry Knight; as long as I’m here you will be safe.”

“Thank you, Crusader Kuxlan.”

They had reached the turn to the barracks, but Samuel still needed to go to his office.

“Sir, aren’t you returning to your quarters?”

”Not yet Celene, I still need to kibitz your replay.”

“Oh, alright. It was an excellent match, we…”

Samuel put his hand in the air, indicating that she should stop.

“Don’t spoil it for me,” said Samuel with a grin.

“Alright,” said Celene as she smiled back, “Good-good night sir.”

“Sleep well,” replied Samuel as he nodded at her.

The two parted, and as Samuel walked to his office, he realized that he hadn’t smiled in over ten years…

Chapter 4: Procyon

Samuel kicked his stepfather, trying to get him to let go. He was being pulled by Danov out of his home

“NO!” screamed Samuel.

As he continued to struggle, Samuel heard running from the hallway. His little brother, Orion, came bursting into the room.

“How’d you get out of there?” asked the Overlord.

Orion ran up to Danov and began to kick him in the shin repeatedly. There was little Danov could do about his attacker; both of his hands were occupied in trying to stop Samuel from getting away.

“TIBBS!” screamed Danov, and as if by magic a young night came running into the room.

“Sorry sir,” said Tibbs as he jogged over to grab Orion.

Orion thrashed in Tibb’s arms, kick and screaming. One of is kicks hit a certain sensitive spot, and Tibbs immediately dropped the child.

Orion began his attack on his stepfather, while Samuel assaulted Tibbs by kicking him repeatedly in the face.

“ENOUGH!” screamed the Overlord after a particularly hard kick from the angry Orion.

Danov used his left hand to continue to hold onto Samuel, while letting his right hand off. Samuel nearly got away, but Danov’s grip was too strong.

Danov turned to Orion, and without another word he used his free hand to strike Orion in the neck, knocking him immediately unconscious.

“NO!” screamed Samuel.

Tibbs finally got up, with only his pride permanently damages, and picked up Orion, taking him back to confinement.

“NO!”

“Samuel, you will thank me one day. One day, you will be great.”

And with that, Danov dragged the still screaming child outside.

Samuel woke up from another terrible nightmare.

Danov had put Samuel through eight years of hell after that day. He never saw Orion again, and he could only hope that he was okay. Danov would see justice one day, whether it was by Samuel’s hand or not.

Samuel looked up at his computer monitor. He had fallen sleep while he had been watching Celene and Zaeva’s replay.

It had been the most evenly match simulation Samuel had ever seen. His two Knights were now deep into the game, and the Experimental stage had been reached.

The map was Theta Passage, a very popular land-based map with a large mountain range going down the middle of it. There were three points that had to be defended, two canyons and the second half of the map that didn’t have any mountains. It was a very small map, which made Samuel surprised that the match had gone on for so long.

Each of their bases was essentially the same. Both were lined with Tech 2 Oblivion Cannons, leaving a no-man’s land in between their bases. Each base was also lined with T2 and T3 Anti-Air, making for two impenetrable fortresses. Each base was also lined with Mass Fabricators and T3 Power Generators. Overall, this match could have gone on for a very long time.

However, Celene had just finished an Experimental Galactic Colossus. The Colossus was a massive assault bot, with an awesome laser beam coming from its eyes and two gravity claws that could suck in enemy units and crush them instantly. Pack those with more armor than any war machine in existence, and you have something quite powerful. Samuel didn’t actually like the Colossus however; it was very expensive and extremely slow.

Celene’s assault bot began its march towards Zaeva’s base. While her defenses were powerful, there was little she could do to fight of a Galactic Colossus. The titan came into range of Zaeva’s base, but it only took a few seconds for it to wipe out her shields and defenses. It was only a matter of time before Zaeva’s ACU would be in Celene’s sights.

Zaeva didn’t want it to end that way, however. As the GC came into range of her ACU, it simply disappeared. Armored Command Units didn’t just disappear, unless it had a teleportation upgrade.

And it was upgraded. Samuel sent his camera to view Celene’s base, only to find her commander under attack. Zaeva’s ACU was upgraded with a rate of fire upgrade, making the killing of Celene’s ACU much faster. However, Celene was able to do enough damage to Zaeva that when Celene’s commander exploded in a brilliant purple explosion, she took out Zaeva as well. The match was a tie.

Samuel had never seen a teleportation upgrade in a sim before. Most matches ended much sooner than that. Samuel realized that he had a very excellent group of pilots under him, and that would be very helpful for the missions to come.

Samuel looked at the time. It was 3200. He knew that he needed to get to bed soon, his team was getting briefed tomorrow and he needed to be completely coherent when the Choir came.

***

Choir Chaz was sitting in one of the new chairs that Samuel had just put into his office. It seemed obvious to Samuel why Chaz had become a Choir. He was skinny and obviously physically weak. He had a mousy face and thin brown hair. His eyes showed fear, as if Samuel intimidated him.

Samuel’s Knights entered his office. Gari, Zaeva, and Rhiza took the three remaining chairs in the room, leaving Celene to standing. It was Aeon tradition, like the UEF, to allow women to sit while men stood, but Chaz continued to sit, looking as if he was in a day dream.

Samuel coughed lightly, “Choir?”

“Yesir?”

Samuel jolted his head to the right, towards Celene. Choir looked at her, and then back at Samuel, looking confused.

“Uh… Uh… Welcome Knights… I’m here to-“

“Celene, please take my seat,” said Samuel as he stood up.

“Thank you sir, but I don’t mind standing.”

“No, I insist.”

Celene took Samuel’s spot while Zaeva and Rhiza made irritated glances towards Chaz. Samuel leaned on the back corner of his office and began to introduce Chaz.

“Everyone, this is Choir Chaz. He is here to brief us on our upcoming mission.”

“Yes, thank you Crusader Kuxlan,”

Chaz pulled a small orb on Samuel’s desk. Samuel recognized it as a hologram projector. He was correct in that inference, and out from the orb appeared a map.

“This is Procyon,” said the Choir and he scratched his nose, “The planet is mostly a wasteland, but it is livable, not that the Aeon would ever set up a colony there.”

“Then why are you showing it to us?” the impatient Rhiza asked.

Chaz irritably looked over to Rhiza; he obviously didn’t like anyone who had the nerve to interrupt him, “Because, Knight, Procyon is in a highly strategic location, one that would allow for the Cybrans to land deep into Illuminate space, maybe even Seraphim II.”

“Well, why haven’t they?” asked Zaeva.

“Currently the Cybrans do have control of the planet, however Crusader Tibbs has been able to stop them from gating, and their ACUs are all focused on defending the colony on-planet.”

Crusader Tibbs… Samuel remembered him well. It was starting to look like he would be working with the basterd.

“However, the Avatars are beginning to become impatient. They want to make a final push to take control of the planet. Overlord Danov has recommended your squad to land and assist Crusader Tibbs in any way possible.”

“Is that it?” asked Samuel.

“No. The Avatar of the Way Rhys has ordered that you do not cleanse the Cybran population on planet.”

“But why?” asked Rhiza.

“Avatar Rhys gave no reason, but that it is top priority for you to not cleanse them.”

“Alright Choir, you are excused.”

“Thank you sir. The Overlord requested that you be at the Quantum Gate at 0900 tomorrow, so you can gate to Yuzla II and then to Procyon.”

Samuel nodded his head as the Choir left.

“Alright Knights, meet back here in three hours. We’ll go over our plan of attack then,” Samuel said as the door closed.

“Yes sir!”

*******

Samuel was a little old school when it came to his battle planning. He had built a video projector back when he was a Knight, in order to see the battlefield better. He wasn’t a big fan of holograms; the 3D confused him a little.

Samuel’s Knights were seated in his office, ready for him to begin. He was holding an ancient laser pointer that he used to show specific areas on the screen.

“Alright Knights, this will be our operational area for this mission.”

Samuel pointed all around the screen, just because he enjoyed using a laser pointer instead of a computer.

“Currently, there are five Aeon ACUs and four Cybran ACUs on planet. We will only be dealing with one.”

A picture appeared of a Cybran commander. The man was black and had a shaved head. He had the customary Cybran markings all over his face. While he was obviously a very big man, he didn’t look very intimidating.

“This is the Cybran pilot known as ‘Gore.’ This picture was taken on Hutle, where he completely annihilated four Aeon ACUs. From that battle and a few others we were able to find that he is a very excellent micromanager. However, the profile our analysts have on him show that he is a coward and that he will retreat from even the smallest of counterattacks.”

“Then he should be easy to take down,” said Zaeva.

“Well, no. His primary base is located very close to the civilian outpost. If we take down his ACU, the nuclear explosion will instantly kill all of the civilians.”

“Then what should we do?” asked Gari.

“We could draw his ACU outside of his base,” suggested Celene.

“Yes, but if he is a coward I don’t think that he would use his ACU aggressively unless desperate,” countered Gari.

“We could just take him out anyway, the Symbionts are abominations,” said Rhiza with a hint of spite.

Samuel looked at her, “No. We won’t kill civilians, especially if we are ordered not to.”

“But sir you have kil-“

“SILENCE!”

“Yes sir.”

The entire room went quiet for a while. Samuel had lost his cool and was completely red. He took a second to shake it off before he began again.

“No. However, Zaeva and Celene’s replay gave me an idea, but it will be risky…”

**

Samuel walked through the Quantum Gate on Yuzla, ready for the “Quantum Lurch” that he always felt before entering a gate. The “Quantum Lurch” was hard to describe, but the most accurate way to would be saying that it felt as if your small intestine switched places with your thyroid.

Samuel entered through Tibb’s gate, and quickly got out of the way; soon after his four Knights arrived on Procyon. The planet was one of the ugliest places Samuel had ever seen. It was completely featureless, with the exception of the occasional hill or mountain, and was covered in red sand and dust. If it didn’t have such a convenient location, nobody would even think of colonizing the planet.

“Hello Crusader Kuxlan, it has been a long time”

“Yes it has Tibbs. Not long enough. Now, where should we set up?”

Tibbs was obviously taken aback, but answered as calmly as he could, “To my north there is quite a bit of mass. I will use my gunships and interceptors to cover you.”

“Alright Knights, let’s move.”

Samuel and his for SCUs moved quickly to the north. Base setup didn’t take long with that amount of buildpower. Gore was quick to notice their expansion base, but Tibb’s air fleet was able to take down any opposing force. Within an hour Samuel had a base to be proud of. It had a very high economic output and many defenses.

“Crusader Kuxlan, my base is under attack. I would like to withdraw my air force. May I”

Samuel scoffed. How polite. It was typical for Aeon commanders to be courteous even under dire circumstances. Tibbs was under a heavy assault of Loyalists, and he was asking for permission.

“As much as I would like to see you die in a fiery explosion, I think you should probably do whatever you want with your units.”

Tibbs looked quite irritated, but put on a grimace, “Thank you.”

Samuel shook his head. How ridiculous.

“Alright Knights, begin your preparations.”

Zaeva was the first to act. She began to produce a large amount of Harbingers, a tripod assault bot with a very powerful weapon. Soon she had a force that could have easily taken down Gore.

“Crusader Tibbs, I am ready to attack. Have your air force and ACU escort me and my land army,” Zaeva said without a hint of respect. All four Knights seemed to be cold to Tibbs, and Samuel was quite… proud.

“But Knight, we can’t just kill the Cybran, it’ll-“

“Crusader Tibbs, don’t worry about it and do what she says,” said Samuel, irritated by his stupidity.

“Yes sir…”

Zaeva and Tibbs left the security of their bases to move towards the outside of Gore’s base. While they did, Samuel and Celene finished their preparations. Soon their plan would be enacted, and the battle would end with no blood spilled.

Zaeva and Tibbs headed south of Gore’s base, heading towards the civilian center. In only a few seconds, Gore’s forces began its counter attack, and Samuel saw that he was heavily micromanaging them. This was exactly what Samuel wanted.

Gore sent out a large force of Renegade gunships to stop the combined force. He had enough to threaten their command units, so they began their retreat. By then, it was too late for Gore.

Samuel opened contact with him.

“Hello Commander Gore. My name is Crusader Kuxlan.”

“What? Why have you contacted me, monster!”

“I am here to negotiate.”

“I will never make a deal with you! Wait… I know who you are! You… you killed my family!”

Samuel paused. He had killed so many people in the past, that he had little doubt that his accusation was true. So many…

“And I will… I will kill more if you don’t surrender.”

“I will stop you! You’ll never get to the colony!”

“Too late.”

Samuel deactivated the stealth generators in his new base. While Zaeva’s forces had kept him busy, Samuel and Celene had teleported into the Symbiont Colony, quickly building some Veil stealth generators. Following that the two built a large number of shields and defenses. Gore could do nothing.

“Have you and your subordinates leave the planet now, and I won’t kill the civilians.”

“No… No…”

“Do it fast.”

“NO! YOU’LL KILL THEM ALL!”

“… I assure you th-“

“NO!”

Samuel couldn’t have predicted what happened next. Gore sent out the remainder of his forces towards Zaeva and Tibbs, including his ACU. His army was able to quickly catch up to Zaeva, and it wouldn’t be long…

“No! Stop! Zaeva run!”

“I’LL TAKE YOU WITH ME!”

“Gore, stop!”

“Die you monsters!”

“I’m sorry sir,” Zaeva whispered.

Zaeva and Tibbs were caught up in Gore’s forces. Soon, the monstrous Cybran ACU was able to catch up to them. The chest of the beast opened, and its deadly laser fired upon Crusader Tibbs. The sky lit up with two massive explosions. Two massive explosions that Zaeva couldn’t have possibly survived.

“ZAEVA!” yelled Samuel.

There was no answer.

“ZAEVA!”

Celene broke out into tears. Rhiza looked to be in shock. Gari seemed to be frightened. Samuel knew that he had to go on.

“Rhiza, begin construction on four Czars. You can download the blueprints from me.”

Gore’s base self-destructed to prevent any enemy from stealing Cybran technology. Celene, still crying, built over his base, and was able to create a powerful defensive position around the civilian center. There was no escape for them.

Samuel’s ACU informed him that the remainder of the Cybrans had retreated before the first Czar could have finished. They knew there was no saving the civilians, and they obviously decided to cut their losses. Samuel knew that this development made the mission a success, and that now the battle was over, but Samuel didn’t want them to leave. He wanted revenge. He wanted to take out Gore’s subordinates. But he couldn’t.

Samuel deactivated the communications on his ACU, and he began to cry. He had been holding it in for too long. He hadn’t cried since the day Danov had dragged him away. It hadn’t been the Cybran’s fault. Samuel pushed him to do it. It was his fault. Zaeva was dead from his blunder.

Samuel composed himself again and contacted Gari, “Gari, please contact Avatar Rhys, and tell him… tell him that the mission is complete…”

“Y-yes sir.”

Samuel and his Knights entered the civilian outpost, and awaited the Avatar’s arrival. Once Rhys landed on planet they exited their ACUs to talk to him face to face.

Samuel saw the same man he had seen when he was two years old. His hair had remained silver and long, and his eyes were still as evil and snakish as ever. The only difference in his appearance was age and that his robes were much finer. Samuel hated him too. He had started it. He started Samuel’s pain.

“Hello Crusader Kuxlan, excellent work.”

Samuel nodded, “Why were we ordered to not cleanse the Symbionts?”

“Do not worry yourself Crusader, you may leave now.”

”But si-“

“Silence…”

“Yes sir…”

Samuel and his Knights began to enter their Command Units. As they did, Samuel noticed that the Cybran citizens were being put into transports, apparently they were going somewhere. Samuel saw a small boy, he was obviously injured. Samuel supposed that his and Celene’s teleportation had shook his home and caused something to fall onto him. He reminded Samuel of someone…

Samuel pressed the open button on the HUD of his Armored Command Unit. The large, green and white Mech opened its head and allowed Samuel to exit. Samuel was a powerful young man, and he was in top physical condition. His hair was short and black, which was very rare among the Aeon Illuminate. He had deep blue eyes which had the look of fading over a long time.

Samuel climbed down the rope ladder that was used to climb out of the massive machine. He looked at his surroundings, at his work. The UEF village surrounding him was mostly destroyed, with only a few buildings standing. He ACU had already scanned for signs of life, and while there was some, there were not enough left alive to call the Avatar of the Way.

Samuel entered the nearest building, in which one weak signature had been made. He drew out his weapon as he entered, the life could be dangerous, even if he was weakened. Samuel cleared out most of the rooms before he entered what appeared to be a bedroom.

On the floor in the room was a small UEF boy. A piece of debris from the ceiling had fallen on him, crushing his arm. There was also some head trauma, and the boy was coughing blood. Samuel had to get him to his ACU for treatment.

Samuel leaned over the boy to pick him up, and to his surprise, the child opened his eyes.

“Hi mister, can you please help me?”

“Of course I will,” said Samuel as he removed the debris,”Alright, tell me your name.”

“My name is Samuel…”

“Really? That is my name too!”

“Cool! We’re Samuel and Samuel.”

Samuel lifted the child into his arms and headed out of the building.

“Where are my parents?”

“Don’t worry Sam, I’m taking you to them.”

“I’m glad you’re here to save me.”

Samuel stopped. He definitely hadn’t helped him. In fact, he had probably killed him.

“You’ll be okay.”

“Thank you.”

Samuel carried the boy out towards his ACU. Sam looked up at the mech and began to scream.

“Calm down Sam, it wo-won’t hurt you.”

The child began to scream louder, but he was weakening by the second. He knew he wouldn’t last long.

As he set the child down to climb the ACU for his med kit, the screaming stopped. Samuel looked down. The limb body lay there, obviously dead. Samuel then knew something. He would never kill a civilian again. Ever.

Samuel reentered his ACU. Sam’s dead body was lying near it, and Samuel couldn’t help but look back at him one last time…

Chapter 5: Investigation

Samuel and his team were rushed off planet and sent to Yuzla for debrief. As he traveled from planet to planet, Samuel paid no attention. His mind had been replaying Samuel’s entire life this point. Danov and the Avatar had forged him carefully. They wanted their sword to be made of the most precious metals, have the sharpest of edges, and to be the greatest weapon of all time.

They were successful in their attempts. Samuel had only ever lost once, in an odd fluke against a Cybran pilot. He destroyed everything that Danov put in his path, and with Samuel’s success, the Avatar’s influence among the military and Aeon society increased. Anyone who paid attention could see it. The Princess and her Evaluators were slowly fading away, and the Avatars were slowly taking control.

The Avatar’s Sword had been willingly wielded for a very long time, but for no longer. Samuel had long been a combat sword, but soon it would be an executioner’s blade.

“Sir?”

Samuel looked up to see Choir Chaz once again. He was there to give Samuel and his team their final debrief.

Samuel cleared his throat, “Please excuse me, I was lost in thought.”

Samuel smirked a little. He hated the Aeon and their “courtesy,” and yet he used it often. Everyone was a hypocrite, and he was worse for knowing it.

“No problem sir,” said the high-voiced Chaz.

Samuel nodded and looked back at his team. Celene looked as if she had just quit crying, and she was now obviously embarrassed. Rhiza seemed relatively calm, and she sat there looking unfazed. Samuel saw a hint of remorse, and possibly self-blame. Gari looked to be in actual physical pain. Her hands her massaging the sided of her head as if she had a terrible headache.

“Alright Crusader Kuxlan, I am here to debrief you and your team.”

“Okay…,” said Samuel impatiently.

“Your mission was a total success, the Cybran commander was defeated and Procyon has been taken over.”

Samuel’s fists tightened.

“The Avatar of the Way sends his congratulations, and he also instructs that this mission should be kept… secret.”

As Samuel grew even angrier, he also became more confused.

“Secret? The Illuminate military never keeps secrets…” said Rhiza.

“Well ma’am, I’m sure the Avatar has his reasons.”

“I suppose so,” said Rhiza.

“Well, the debriefing is over if there are no more questions,” said Chaz, obviously anxious to leave.

“Over? That was hardly three sentences!” Rhiza proclaimed.

“Yes ma’am, but I wasn’t given much information.”

“What about the Symbionts?” asked Samuel.

“What about the Symbionts?” asked the Choir in a different tone, “Sir…”

“What happened to them, why were they not cleansed?”

“I was not briefed on the Cybrans.”

“What?”

“I was not briefed on the Cybrans, sir.”

Samuel lost it. Acting upon anger was forbidden by the Way, but Samuel simply exploded. In less than a second the Choir’s face was against the wall behind him as Samuel held his left arm behind his back, obviously causing him a lot of pain.

“If you’re not telling me something you know, then you probably won’t be saying telling anyone anything ever again…”

“I don’t know anything, I swear!”

”Anything?”

“All I know is that the Cybrans were transported off-planet, I don’t know where!”

Samuel let go of the obviously stunned Chaz. The Choir looked at Samuel and his Knights, and then quickly ran out of the room. The act would cause most to act, but Samuel’s team was so afraid that they didn’t dare say anything else.

“Relax,” said the Crusader.

They didn’t relax.

Samuel moved a chair so that it would be facing his team, and sat down in it casually. Each Knight did their best to stare straight forward and to not meet Samuel’s gaze. Samuel smirked as he rested his head in his hands.

“We lost a great team member today,” Samuel said, “and we will never forget her. She was an excellent pilot, and Celene’s great friend.”

Celene relaxed and was finally able to look at her commander. Her eyes began to be filled with tears again.

“But Zaeva would not want us to sit idle, mourning for her; she would want us to find out the reason for her death. She would want us to bring justice to those who are responsible.”

Samuel felt sick to his stomach. He was manipulating them, like how the Avatar did to him and so many others.

“Damn those Cybrans!” said Rhiza.

Samuel looked at her. She, like many others, felt an extreme hatred towards the Cybran Nation. Most of Aeon society saw the Symbionts as abominations that needed to be destroyed.

“The Cybran’s will regret their crime!” proclaimed Gari.

“The Cybrans committed no crime,” said Celene.

Everyone gave her their attention. Rhiza was quite irritated and Gari looked as if Celene had been blaspheming.

“What?” asked Rhiza.

“That ‘Gore’ man committed no crime. He was defending his colony.”

“He killed Zaeva! Your best friend!”

“And I would have killed him to defend a colony, he did nothing wrong.”

“How dare you?”

“Enough!” said Samuel.

Their “scared” position returned as the group stared forward.

“Celene is right, Gore committed no crime. The man responsible for Zaeva’s death is Avatar Rhys.”

Gari stood up, “Blaspheme!”

Samuel stood up as well, “Do you agree with his call to not cleanse the Cybrans?”

“The Avatar’s are inspired! Their word is law!”

“Are you truly so blind? If we could have cleansed the Cybrans, Zaeva would be alive right now.”

“A necessary loss!”

“You just hated her!” yelled Celene as she stood up as well, “You never liked Zaeva!”

“I like her fine!”

“You despised Zaeva!”

“ENOUGH!” roared the Crusader, “SIT!”

The two Knights quickly sat down. Samuel hadn’t been in a room with that much negative energy in his entire life. He had never felt so much anger in one day.

“Gari, today is the day. Where do your loyalties lie? I can’t work with someone that aligns herself with the Avatars.”

Gari stopped for a minute. Samuel knew she had always been loyal to the Way, but over time she had fallen towards the Avatars. He knew that this would be a difficult journey for her, but he would assist her.

“I… I am loyal to the Princess and her council…” said Gari. Samuel could tell that she wasn’t quite sure of her answer, but he decided to trust her. He needed her assistance.

“Good Gari; and you two?”

“My life is dedicated to bringing glory to the Princess.”

Celene paused; Samuel saw that she hadn’t thought about it before. Many in the Illuminate hadn’t, but Samuel felt that having something to fight for was very important in war.

“To you sir.”

The answer surprised Samuel, but she was being completely honest. Samuel had never worked closely with anyone, and loyalty was something very new to him. As he continued that thought Samuel soon realized he had left his body language and face completely open, and he quickly regained his posture.

“Th-thank you Celene,” he nodded.

So it would begin. Zaeva’s death would be avenged, and Samuel would be free.

**

“You are not to contact them,” said Danov in a harsh voice.

“I’d like to see you stop me,” replied his defiant stepson.

“You will not contact them, or there will be consequences.”

“What do you mean?” asked Samuel.

“Both of them are in the military, and I could send them into… battle.”

“What?”

Samuel was near the breaking point. He had been serving the Overlord for a very long time, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He was going to quit, and he was going to go see his family.

“They are both pilots, and I could have the two sent to a particular… hazardous mission.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I won’t. If you stay away from them.”

Samuel had been wanting to see his siblings for a very long time, but Danov had always stonewalled him, but he had never threatened them. Danov had finally crossed the line.

“You disgust me!” cried Samuel in his bed.

Danov had Samuel under his thumb. There was no way of rebelling against the Avatar’s regime without the possibility his siblings getting hurt, but Samuel knew that he had to fight back. He couldn’t kill more innocent civilians.

Samuel went through his plans for the day. He was to meet with Danov, and at 0800 he was going to begin his investigation.

Samuel quickly got dressed and headed to the Overlord’s office. Samuel prepared himself on the way; he was going to have to be very careful. He needed to extract as much information as possible without letting on what his plans were.

Samuel entered the waiting room of Overlord’s lair and his secretary was already waiting for him.

“The Overlord has been waiting, you’re late,” scolded the irritated secretary.

She was right, he was ten minutes late. He had gotten home from the battle late, and he had only gotten four hours of sleep. For people living on other planets that wouldn’t be much of a problem, but after living on Seraphim II for a while you get used to ten hours of sleep, especially after a difficult day.

Samuel walked passed her without responding. He knew she disliked him, but he didn’t care. She worked for the enemy.

Samuel burst through the Overlord’s room unannounced, and Danov was obviously not surprised. Samuel sat down in the chair opposite of him and opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re late,” said Danov quickly.

“Yes I am.”

Danov had known Samuel for a long time, but he still wasn’t used to his bluntness. Samuel smirked when Danov looked taken aback.

“You know, proper etiquette requires you too-“

“Enough Danov.”

Danov looked at his stepson coldly, “We have received a report that you had an… altercation with a Choir yesterday.”

“Yes, and your point?”

“I should punish you, but I won’t.”

“Why thank you my lord,” said Samuel in a sarcastic tone.

“You know Samuel; you often take it for granted all that I do for you.”

“I know, you’re just so generous towards me.”

“No more sarcasm”

“Fine,” said the defiant Samuel.

“The report said that you’re fight was over some intel…”

Samuel stared angrily towards the Overlord.

“Some intel about the whereabouts of the Cybran POWs.”

Samuel continued his gaze.

“You are not to worry about them, it is of no matter.”

“The fact that you called me down here for this means that it probably does.”

“The actions of Avatar of the Way’s mean nothing to you.”

“Come on Danov, I’m not some regular Crusader, following you blindly. I’ve seen my share of the terrors you and Marxon have committed. This can’t be that bad.”

“It is not your business,” said the Overlord quickly.

Samuel caught something open from his tone, “You don’t know.”

“What?”

“You don’t know where they are, or what the Avatar’s plans are.”

“Of course I-“

“No you don’t, and don’t pretend that you do.”

Danov hesitated. He had been caught.

“Alright, I don’t know, but it isn’t our matter.”

“They kept you out of the loop. You know, I find that quite funny.”

“They have their reasons.”

“What’s the matter? Are you not important anymore?”

“I do-“

“You are just a small fish, a tool, like me and my Knights.”

”OUT!” bellowed the normally calm Danov.

Samuel was taken aback. He had expected anger, but not an explosion. He quickly got up and left Danov’s office. As he hurried outside, he walked past the stunned secretary. He didn’t make eye contact as he left for his office.

Samuel had stumbled on something big. Not even the Overlord knew what was going on. Now he had to find out. If he could discredit Rhys and the Avatars, he would be one step closer to his family.

There was another issue however. Samuel was sure that Choir Chaz wouldn’t report their “incident.” He would be too afraid to. Samuel had a traitor in his midst.

Samuel got to his office to find his Knights waiting for him. He had never been tardy to the morning meeting, but his encounter with Danov caused him to be five minutes late.

Samuel opened the door for his Knights and offered them a seat. He then sat in his chair, and eyed his team. One of them had betrayed him. His suspicions automatically went to Gari, but he had no evidence against her. Besides, if he were to divide his team further it would make it hell for his next mission. No, he would hold his cards for now.

“Please excuse me for my lateness; I had an appointment with the Overlord. He has given us a new mission.”

“What is that, sir?” asked Gari.

“The Overlord is used to giving me non-combat missions. Often during my time as a Knight I acted as his eyes and ears. Your duties as soldiers go beyond your combat abilities. The Cybran colony we captured has gone under the books. We are to find exactly what happened to them.”

“What do you mean by under the books?” asked the annoyingly curious Gari.

“We don’t know what happened to them. The Overlord wants to.”

“Couldn’t he just ask?”

“Gari, your blindness amazes me once again. I have tried to show you that our military and the Avatars are not the saints you imagine them to be. There are secrets, there are sins.”

“But w-“

“No more Gari. We have our orders, and now we will carry them out.”

“I want you three to follow the trail of Quantum Gates that Rhys went through as he transported the colony. You may use the computers in the research building.”

The three looked back at him, and it was obvious that they wanted to know more.

“Go.”

The three quickly got up and left. Samuel would have his answers soon.

**

Samuel stood in the middle of a wasteland. He was completely conscious, this was no memory.

In front of him appeared the Aeon and Cybran symbols. The two were massive in size, and Samuel realized that he was having a vision.

“Where am I?” asked Samuel.

The two symbols shrank, and got close to each other. The symbol of the UEF appeared, much larger than the two. As it approached the Aeon and Cybran a shield fell from the sky, defending the two. The UEF symbol clashed against the shield, but it was unable to pass.

“Go to Jalcon,” said a soothing, female, voice.

“What?”

“You will find what you are looking for on Jalcon.”

“Sir?”

Samuel woke up from his vision to see Celene over him once more. This situation was happening too often.

“Celene?”

“Yes sir.”

Samuel looked at his Knight. The two had an odd relationship. She seemed completely sure of his goodness, despite the atrocities that he had committed. And yet, when he approached her, she displayed the common symptoms of fear. She seemed nervous, her heartbeat rose, and her body temperature increase. Samuel was quite confused.

Right now her face was bright red, and Samuel realized he was staring. He closed his eyes for a moment, a technique that he used to regain composure, and this time he accepted her offer to help him up.

“Are you alright sir, we’ve found you like this too often. You should see a-“

Samuel looked at her, and in the most sincere way possible he replied, “Do not worry Celene. I am fine.”

Celene nodded and rejoined the other Knights.

“Sit.”

The three sat as he did, and Samuel was quick to ask, “What did you find?”

The three looked a little anxious for a moment, but Rhiza finally spoke up.

“Nothing sir.”

“What?”

”Nothing, we were blocked from the server.”

“Blocked?”

Gari was quick to answer, “Sir, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

”These events have made me realize that I was wrong. If the Avatar is hiding something, it is probably something wrong.”

Samuel looked at her. She seemed to be telling the truth, but she was still hiding something.

“Thank you Gari, I appreciate your apology.”

Gari smiled as Samuel turned to the rest.

“Don’t worry about it team. I was sent a… message, about where we should go.”

“Where… sir?” asked Celene.

“Jalcon.”

Chapter 6: Jalcon’s Secret

Samuel looked around his new surrounding. He had just landed on Jalcon, and he saw absolutely no reason to be here.

Jalcon was a moon of Orionis, and it was the most barren wasteland Samuel had ever seen. There were almost no mass deposits on the surface, and according to his readings, the very thin atmosphere would easily kill a human.

Samuel began to construct a small base. He needed to get a Quantum Gate up quickly to allow his team to get on planet. SCUs weren’t equipped with the ability to Quantum travel without a receiver gate.

Jalcon had been difficult to get to. Samuel had to call in a few favors to be able to get here under the radar. He knew that Danov would be watching him very closely after their encounter.

After the construction of many mass fabricators, Samuel finally constructed a Quantum Gate. He sent the Gate Codes to his team and pretty soon one by one his three SCUs filed out of the gate.

“Thank you for coming. Now we must begin our search.”

“Search for what?” asked Gari, “Sir…” she quickly added.

“I don’t know. Anything.”

Gari opened her mouth to question him, but quickly decided to stop. After a few moments, Samuel began his instructions again.

“Alright, Rhiza is to search the moon with Tech 3 Air Scouts, while I want Gari to search mass deposits for any irregularities. “

“What about me sir?”

“Celene, I want you to build a radar network, that way if we can keep coverage of the moon.”

“Yes sir!”

The three went to work as Samuel continued the construction of their base. He intended on being ready for anything they found, and he knew that they would need a good economy and large army in order to fight back.

As Samuel’s ACU continued to construct mass fabricators and power generators, he monitored this Knight’s search. There had been little to no results so far. Rhiza had searched the entire surface, and Gari’s work was painstakingly slow. Celene had built many engineers and she had them building a network of radar, but it would be quite some time before she could finish.

Just as Samuel had given up hope, Gari’s face appeared on his screen.

“Sir, I’ve found something!”

With a very stunned expression he quickly replied, “Oh… We’ll be right there!”

Samuel qued up three T2 Transports and ordered them to pick up Rhiza, Celene, and himself. After a few moments, the “T” shaped carriers latched onto the three and carried them to Gari.

“Alright, what did you find Gari?”

“My readings are showing that there is a large amount of mass at this point; much more than your normal mass deposit.”

“Knights, begin digging.”

The ACU’s reclaiming beam was not designed to dig up anything, and that became quite clear to Samuel and his team. The ground was very slowly absorbed into their mass stores, but eventually they found something.

“It looks like some sort of doorway!” proclaimed Celene.

Her observation was quite correct. About thirty feet below the surface was a large green and white door. Samuel was quite happy that they had finally found something, he had worried that his dream had simply been from his own imagination. He wasn’t crazy after all.

“You three stay here, I’m going in.”

“No way!”

“Ya right!”

“Hmmph.”

“Fine, you three can come, but make sure that you put on your Suits on, the air is extremely poisonous.”

The suits that Samuel was referring to were very tight, seafoam green rubber suits. On the back of each was a large container with a nitrogen and oxygen mix. The tanks each had enough air to allow someone to breathe for three to five hours, depending on their level of activity. The four moved their way towards the underground door in these suits.

Samuel pulled out his stun pistol and slowly approached the door. The rest of his team followed suit, and as his Knights pointed their weapons towards the door as he opened it. The green and white door quickly slid open, to reveal a small room that only contained another door and a large amount of empty coat hangars.

Once the four had entered the room, the door closed behind them. The ventilation activated, and absorbed the poisonous air and refilled the room with precious oxygen. The four removed their suits, and entered the next room.

The main chamber was very plainly decorated. The entire room was white. White tiles, white walls, and white chairs. The only color was the large Aeon symbol on the far wall. On the sides of the room were desks and computers. Each computer had been taken apart, as if someone had hastily removed their hard drives.

“What happened here?” asked Celene.

“Obviously, something that they don’t want us to know,” replied Rhiza.

Samuel looked around the room again. There were two more doors on the far wall, one on each side of the Illuminate symbol.

“Rhiza and Gari, you go search the right side, while Celene and I search the left.”

Rhiza and Gari looked at each other. The two still obviously disliked each other, but Samuel knew that the only way they could learn to get along was to force the two to work together.

The two groups separated into the two sections of the building. Samuel kept his pistol drawn as he opened the next door. He and Celene entered a poorly lighted hallway that was lined with doors. Samuel let out a sigh. He knew that the search would take quite some time.

The two entered each room to find the same thing. Each door revealed a long metal table in the room that had chains that seemed to be for the used of holding a subject down. On the side of the room Samuel saw many metal tools. It wasn’t until they had searched at least twenty rooms before they found something.

“Sir, this building has a terrible energy,” said Celene as the two approached the next room.

“Yes. Something terrible has happened here.”

Samuel opened the next door, expecting to find the same tables and cleaned instruments that he had seen before. Instead he found something that would haunt him for many years to come.

The floor and walls were covered with blood spatter. Even the ceiling had some blood dripping from it. On the ground were two bloody knives, and the tools on the table were also dripping with the red liquid.

Samuel’s eyes finally met the long central table. Lying there was a small mangled body drenched in its own blood. The small child’s body wasn’t long enough to be held by the chains, and Samuel saw bruises on his wrists and ankles that had been used to hold him down. The most disturbing sight was what had been done to the child after he had been killed. The majority of the child’s head had been removed, leaving only the front of his face. It appeared that the boy’s spine had also been ripped out, leaving the child in a sickening position.

Samuel turned to Celene. She had become very pale, and she began to fall. Samuel caught her quickly, but as she recovered, she began to vomit in the corner of the room. Samuel went to go help her, and once he was sure she was okay, he turned his attention back to the child.

He walked towards the central table. He began to reposition the body into a resting position. As he finished, his legs failed him, and he began to kneel next to the body. Tears escaped him as he felt Celene come from behind him and embrace him. The two sat there for a while, until Samuel spoke.

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

The two continued sitting there until Samuel stood up. He had to continue the search.

“Let’s go…”

As Samuel exited the room, he heard a faint cry. He immediately knew that it was Gari.

“Gari!” cried Celene.

The two began to run down the hallway. Samuel was very fast, and Celene slowly fell behind him. Samuel was glad for that, because if there was trouble then she could have a chance to escape. Samuel burst through the door and quickly entered Rhiza and Gari’s half of the building.

While Samuel was only focused on getting to his team, he noticed the barred cells that lined the hallway. Samuel heard another cry, and soon he and Celene got to the end of the hallway.

Samuel burst through the door and saw Rhiza and Celene on their knees. He approached them when he heard a cold, metallic voice behind him.

“Freeze, or they both die.”

********

Samuel dodged a barrage of gunfire from a group of UEF soldiers. He pulled out his blade from his sheath, and ran towards his enemies. As they continued firing, Samuel soon found that he couldn’t continue avoiding the shots. Moments before his sword fell upon his opponents he was shot in the stomach. He dropped his weapon and clutched his wound. His strength became drained as he slowly drifted from consciousness.

Samuel awoke, only to be immediately attacked by the same UEF soldiers. Samuel decided to take a more conservative approach of moving by the wall and attempting to block bullets with his blade. The strategy worked, and he was able to kill three UEF soldiers before he was hit in the chest, dying instantly

Samuel found himself in the same position again, but as he turned, he was instantly shot in the head. He didn’t stand a chance.

Blackness surrounded the Crusader fell to the ground. Was this Hell? Was he sent here for his crimes? He thought he was alone until he heard a mystical voice…

“You need a shield.”

Samuel looked around. He saw nothing but the blackness.

“What?”

“My Crusader, you need a shield…”

“A shield?”

Samuel entered his earlier scenario, this time wielding a large ballistics shield. Unlike the UEF variety, the Aeon ballistic shields were a work of art. They were a faded green color with beautiful shades of green creating patterns along the edge. The shield was shaped like a medieval-style shield, and Samuel knew that with this tool, he could be victorious.

Samuel approached the opposing squad of UEF soldiers, this time using his shield to defend himself. His enemies couldn’t penetrate his defense, and he got to the first soldier and was able to knock him out with his shield. He grabbed his opponent’s weapon and quickly took out his opponents. He had won.

Blackness surrounded him again. He dropped his shield as he turned to see the Princess in her throne.

“Excellent job Samuel. You are a great warrior.”

“Thank you Princess… What am I doing here?”

”You are quick to the point Crusader. I have been sending you these visions through the past weeks to lead you here. The Avatar of the Way has committed terrible crimes, and only you can stop him.”

“But I have been captured. By a Cybran. Even now I am tied in a chair, waiting him to come and torture me.”

“Do not worry Samuel. You will be saved.”

“I don-“

“When you leave this planet, do not go back to Seraphim II. Instead, gate to Norza, where you will find Rhys and his new headquarters.”

“Y-yes Princess.”

“Good luck commander.”

”Thank you, glory to the Princess!”

Samuel awoke as the door in the cell opened. A man of medium stature entered the room. Samuel couldn’t describe any of the man’s other feature though, because he was in full Cybran body armor. The man was wielding a small knife and a pistol. Samuel didn’t know its make, or even if it was lethal. Samuel had never feared for his life before, and with the Princess’s reassurance he remained resolute. However, the man was very intimidating.

The Cybran circled Samuel’s chair for a few moments before he began to speak in the same cold voice.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you?” replied Samuel.

“That doesn’t matter,” said the man angrily, “what is your name?”

“Samuel Kuxlan, AKA the Sword of the Avatar, if you’ve heard of me.”

“You? You are the man who has killed millions of innocent Symbionts?”

“Yep!” said Samuel with an amount of enthusiasm that obviously surprised the man.

Samuel knew that if he was dishonest the Cybran could tell, and he wasn’t in the mood to be tortured. He would continue to throw off the Cybran until he could find a way out.

“Well, I have been waiting for this day for a long time…”

“If you let me go I could sign an autograph for you. I know that is a common Cybran practice when they meet they’re heroes. You could take it home and show your friends that you had met a mass murderer.”

“DAMN YOU!” cried the Cybran as he smacked Samuel’s face extremely hard. Samuel let out a small grunt, but he didn’t cry in pain.

“So, who should I make it out to?”

The Cybran grabbed Samuel by the neck and brought him towards his mask. Samuel couldn’t see his eyes, but he knew exactly what they would look like.

“You can call me Spear.”

Chapter 7: Escape

Spear left his prisoner's cell, leaving Samuel's face bruised and bleeding. Samuel knew that the Cybran had just started with him, but he was more worried about the safety of his captured team.

He and his Knights were in a terrible situation. They didn’t know anything. Spear had assume that he and his team were part of the clean up crew, here to erase any evidence of the massacre that had taken place here. Unless he could escape, there would be no way out of this mess.

Time went by slowly. Samuel stared blankly at the entrance door, waiting for his captor to return. He was securely tied to his chair, and the chair was bolted to the ground. To make things worse, there was a nail poking out of his seat, positioned perfectly to not allow Samuel to relax. If he sat back in his chair, he would feel immense pain, but his restraints wouldn’t allow him to lean forward.

As Samuel waited for the Cybran to return, he finally found a position that would allow him to rest, even if it was uncomfortably. He slowly leaned to his left, positioning himself extremely close to the nail, but far enough that it couldn’t hurt him. The hanging position was very uncomfortable, but it allowed Samuel to get some much needed rest.

Samuel stood to the left of Princess Miranda Burke’s throne. To his left were the six Avatar’s and twelve Overlords, and to the Princess’s right were the six Evaluators, and the twelve Bishops. The group was standing in the central stage of the Princess Hall.

The Princess Hall was the most extravagant building in the entire Illuminate. It had been built by an ACU near the beginning of the Illuminate’s history, but the painting and the design had been completely done by hand. The project had taken nearly four hundred years, but the time had been worth it.

The Hall could seat twelve million people, the largest capacity of any structure in human history. It was beautifully designed, with each pillar designed uniquely, depicting meditating women, anciently designed ACUs, and holy Seraphim priests. The Hall was colored green and white, like the majority of Illuminate buildings, but the mix of colors were much more extravagant. The building had six stories, each seating two million people. At the center of the building, on the bottom floor, was Samuel on the main stage. The stage was circular and the most well designed part of the Hall. It was built entirely out of emerald and it had seating for thirty seven people. In the center of the stage was a podium and a microphone, which sent the speaker’s voice to each of the floors. The building was also acoustically designed to stop most sound from reaching the stage; twelve million people clapping can be quite loud, and there wasn’t a big need for deaf Princesses.

The Hall, despite its amazing design and holding capacity, was only used annually; once a year the Princess would hold a meeting for the entire Illuminate, addressing the nation and assuring its safety. This year was more important than the rest, because Princess Miranda Burke was expected to retire and announce her successor.

There was a large amount of chatter in the Hall, but it ended almost immediately when Evaluator Toth stood up and walked to the podium. Toth was an old woman, in her late sixties, that had worked with at least two Princesses. It was rumored that she had chosen Princess Burke as the successor to the previous Princess, but it was not backed up by any sort of evidence.

Toth stood proudly at the center of the stage, and began to speak in her very calm manner, “Hello followers of the Way. Welcome to the Princess Address, glory to her and the Illuminate.”

The Hall was filled with cheers, but Samuel could hardly hear them. He looked around the Hall. His security measures were a work of perfection. There were six unseen snipers in various areas of the Hall, and there were armed guards disguised as attendees all over the Hall. Outside was even more security, and none of the entrances were left unwatched. There would be no attacks on the Princess today.

At a time in Illuminate history, the need for security was minimal. The entire political structure was wholly focused on the Princess and her commands. However, as time went on, political and religious groups began to deny the Princess’s right to rule and now Samuel couldn’t trust anyone on the stage.

When Samuel had been given the orders to be head of security for the Princess Address, Samuel had been quite confused. He was Overlord Danov’s right hand man, and the Avatar of War would have liked nothing more than to kill the Princess.

“Thank you for coming, my friends,” said the Evaluator,”the Princess is prepared to speak to you now, but first I would like to say a few words.”

Samuel once again examined the room. He had one sniper hidden on each floor, and he knew the exact position of each. They were strategically placed to allow them to take down any assassin. The Princess was quite safe.

“The Illuminate is very close to victory. The UEF and Cybran Nation will fall to our power very soon. Avatar Marxon has led our troops well, and our commanders have fought hard. Today, the Princess will make an announcement that will lead to our final victory.”

The cheering again ensued, and it sounded loud even to Samuel. This was going to be good.

“Glory to the Princess!” said Toth as she left the podium. The cheering grew even louder as the Princess stood up.

Princess Miranda Burke was a very beautiful woman. She was tall and fair, with stunning robes that only enhanced her splendor. However, she seemed a little off. Her walk was quite weak, and her skin looked paler than normal.

Princess Burke stood up at the podium and the entire Hall became silent.

“Welcome my beloved brothers and sisters!” said the Princess, “I am full of joy to see you all here today.”

The Hall began to cheer once again.

“But today, I am here to announce something that I am not happy to say,” said Burke as the crowd grew silent, “As of late, my health has been suffering. My body is beginning to fail me, and soon I will not be able to act as your leader.”

The audience fell into complete silence.

“But,” said the Princess with a legitimate smile, “there is also happy news; a new, more capable Princess, will take my place. I am here to announce my immediate successor. I would like for you all to meet my wonderful niece, Princess Rhianne Burke!”

The large entrance doors opened to reveal the new Princess. She began to gracefully walk towards the stage. She was even more beautiful than her aunt, and she seemed very young. She had to be at least two years younger than Samuel, but Samuel had no questions about her from the second he saw her. It was her eyes that sold her, within them Samuel saw perfection. She was calm, peaceful, and probably prophetic. When she returned his gaze it seemed that she had read his very soul. She would be a very worthy leader.

Samuel began to examine the Hall once more. His six snipers were in place, but something felt amiss. Samuel looked back towards Rhianne, she was about to get on stage. Samuel then saw it; the flash of a scope. Whoever was there was defiantly not one of Samuel’s snipers. Rhianne got onto the stage and Samuel ran towards her. That exact moment, there was a bang, perfectly audible even through the cheering. Samuel had gotten to Rhianne just in time. He brought her to the ground, and Samuel felt the bullet fly right past him.

Samuel looked at the Princess. She didn’t seem surprised, only thankful. Samuel quickly helped her up and rushed her out of the Hall, with all of the Illuminate leadership right behind him.

“Ouch!” cried Samuel as he woke up. He must have twitched during his sleep and hit the nail.

Samuel sat up straight again as his thoughts returned back to his dream. He remembered that day perfectly. After the assassination attempt, Samuel had been investigated thoroughly, despite the fact that he had saved the Princess’s life. Once he had been cleared, Avatar Rhys and Marxon were investigated. However, the sniper had been killed by one of Samuel’s men, and there was nothing to link him to either of the Avatars. However, Samuel had little doubt that Marxon was responsible.

Samuel’s mind traveled to his team once again. Who was Spear torturing now? He had to escape soon.

The door to his cell slid open to reveal someone who he had not expected. Celene entered the room with a finger to her lips, indicating that he should be quiet. Samuel smiled when she entered, revealing two missing teeth. His face was covered in blood, and Celene was a bit squeamish. However, she managed to free Samuel from his bindings using a high powered laser that most Illuminate soldiers carried.

“Thank you,” whispered Samuel as he wiped as much blood from his face as he could.

“No problem Samuel,” said Celene.

As they left the cell and searched for the rest of their team, Celene explained her situation. She had fallen behind Samuel because of the ankle injury she had suffered in the sparring they had done earlier in the week. She had limped to Samuel’s location, but she was able to overhear the Cybran. She hid in a cell for a time before she began her search. After some time she was able to find Samuel.

The two continued to creep through the facility’s hallways; they began to overhear two voices.

“Why were you here!?” asked the Cybran.

“I… I don’t know anything!” cried Gari, “I was tricked! I didn’t want to come!”

“Liar!”

“No! Ask Rhiza! Ask Samuel! Ask Celene!”

Samuel winced. He knew.

“What? There is one more!”

“Yes! Now let me go!”

“Damn it!”

Samuel and Celene hid behind the door, and as the Cybran exited, they tackled his together.

The Cybran was able to get out of their grasp, and he pushed the two away. The three quickly got up and assumed their fighting stances.

Samuel looked to Celene, “Get Gari and Rhiza, and get into the SCUs. I’ll meet you after I kill the Cybran.”

“But Samuel!”

“Go!”

Celene gave Samuel a defiant look before she headed into Gari’s cell. Moments later the two left, Celene looking angry and Gari quite embarrassed, to look for Rhiza.

Samuel and the Cybran stared each other down. Samuel examined his surroundings; the hallway was thin and would make for a difficult fight, especially for an Aeon fighting style. Most Illuminate soldiers used spins to gain momentum and power, while Cybrans were more likely to use sheer force and precise blows to defeat their opponents.

“So, a Sword and Spear will clash,” said the Cybran, “and now we see which wins…”

“So, Cybran, who do you belong to?”

“What?”

”I am the Sword of the Avatar, what are you the Spear of?”

”I am the Tip of Dr. Brackman’s Spear.”

Samuel began his attack in the middle of the Cybran’s sentence. He made a low lunge in an attempt to bring him down. The Cybran had been expecting this move, and he quickly parried the attack. Spear then grabbed at Samuel’s leg, causing him to fall. Samuel’s wind was knocked out, and Spear began an axe kick that would probably break Samuel’s spine.

Samuel, in immense pain, turned his body around and quickly caught his opponent’s finishing blow. He then reared back and simultaneously kicked the Tip of the Spear in the gut and launched himself upright. Spear backed up from the blow, but tripped because Samuel still had hold of his leg. Samuel ran up to Spear to finish the fight quickly, but Spear copied Samuel’s technique and kicked Samuel in the jaw.

The two were back to where they started, with the exception of them both being in more pain.

You need a shield.

Spear began his relentless attack once again, but this time Samuel focused on defending himself. He successfully did so, and soon Spear became more and more open to counter attacks.

Soon, Spear began to fight impatiently. He needed to get back to the surface before the rest of the Illuminate forces were informed of his presence. He began an axe kick that would easily finish Samuel off.

Samuel saw his chance. In the split second that Spear’s leg was raised, Samuel lunged towards the Cybran. He drove himself into a slightly awkward position in between Spear’s legs. However, the lunge was effective as Samuel turned and drove Spear into a wall. This caused the Cybran’s leg to overextend itself. Samuel continued to bend the Cybran’s leg until the Cybran’s thrashing and screams of pain were too much.

Samuel backed off and let Spear fall to the floor. The Cybran grasped his leg and continued to grunt in pain. It would be a while before he could walk. Samuel began to make his final blow when a voice entered him mind.

Do not kill him.

“What?” said Samuel; the Cybran looked up, bewildered.

Do not kill this man. He is essential to the survival of our species.

Samuel was angry. The Princess had gotten into his head, and was now giving him orders. Spear had tortured Samuel, Gari, and probably Rhiza, but Burke wanted to let him live. It made no sense.

Samuel leaned down and spoke to his enemy.

“I’ll let you live this time, Cybran, but next time the Sword will break the Spear.”

Samuel limped away, leaving a confused Cybran behind.

**

Samuel walked into the main entrance of the facility. He found his team awaiting him, faithfully believing that he would defeat Spear.

“Crusader Samuel!” said a battered and bruised Rhiza with a smile.

“Sir!” cried Gari.

“Thank goodness!” said Celene.

“Hello Knights,” said the exhausted Crusader.

The three approached him, and assisted him over to a chair. He sat down as he thanked each of them.

The rest of the team retrieved chairs scattered throughout the room and sat next to Samuel.

“What now?” asked Celene.

“First of all, what did you all tell Spear, if anything?”

“Nothing,” said Rhiza and Gari simultaneously.

“Do not lie to me Gari.”

Gari’s face turned red. She was obviously ashamed of herself.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I told him that the base had been abandoned, and we were searching for the Cybran colonists.”

“And?”

“I told him about Celene…”

Samuel looked at Gari angrily. She was hardly injured. Why had she given up so easily?

“Sir, why does it matter? The Cybran is dead,” stated Rhiza.

“Yes… yes he is…”

Samuel couldn’t tell Rhiza that Spear had survived. She would have left the room immediately and killed the Cybran. Samuel knew that couldn’t happen, even if he had wanted it so.

“So, now what?” asked Celene again.

“Well Celene, we head home.”

**

The four commanders stood near the Quantum Gate. Samuel looked at his keyboard. The Gate asked for the Gate codes of the planet they wanted to go to.

“Finally, we head home!” said the exhausted Gari.

“Yes Gari… home.”

Samuel entered in the gate keys. They were not the codes for Seraphim II.

Chapter 8: One Condition

Samuel got out of his small cot and looked at the prison bars in his cell. He had been trapped on Norza for three months now, living among the Cybran captives. As he and his team had left Jalcon, he had secretly transferred himself to Norza, while sending his team to Seraphim II. He had hidden his tracks well enough that there was no way his team could find him. He regretted that now.

Upon landing Samuel was immediately captured by Rhys' forces. They escorted him to the Cybran prison, similar to the one he had just been to, and made him a prisoner. Now he was stuck in a small cell on a very small planet.

The days had been hard. Once the prisoners had heard of an Aeon prisoner, he had been subject to a lot of torment. Samuel felt as if he had no right to fight back. It was his fault that the Cybran colony had been captured, and as he heard the screams of the most recently tortured Cybrans, Samuel felt more and more guilty.

It had become quite apparent as to why the Cybrans were being tortured. It seemed that Rhys was experimenting on them. He was trying to extract the Cybran AI from the poor Symbionts, and then hacking into them. Samuel had no idea what use this could be of, but it was also quite apparent that Rhys was completely insane.

Samuel looked at the cracked mirror on his left. His previously handsome face was now covered in the cuts and bruises from his most recent fight. Samuel knew that he could take on the Symbionts that were tormenting him, but he simply stood there and took the blows.

Samuel turned as he heard a loud buzzing noise. His cell door was making the noise. It was now unlocked and Samuel could go to breakfast. He would wait for a few minutes so the Cybrans could get to the cafeteria. He didn't want to get into another fight today.

As he waited his mind turned to his mission. The Princess had told him to come here to find Rhys. Yet, he had been captured and imprisoned. Samuel had seen Rhys from time to time, walking down the halls of the fortress, but Samuel had no way of getting to him. Had this all been a trick? Was the Princess just tying up some loose end, ending the only opposition to the Avatar's plan? No. Samuel knew that the Princess was against this. Maybe she was simply wrong.

Samuel exited his cell and turned right towards the cafeteria. He did his best to keep a low profile as he walked, and most of the Cybrans just ignored him or purposely bumped into him as he passed. Samuel looked at the left and right side of the hallway. Instead of prison guards, Rhys had elected to place turrets and cameras all over his prison. If anything got out of hand, the turrets would fire and kill any troublemakers.

Samuel entered the cafeteria and saw that most of the Cybran men had finished eating. Rhys had separated the Cybrans from their wives and children, which made them even angrier.

Samuel quickly grabbed his food and sat down at the farthest table from the rest of the prisoners. However it only took a few moments before three big, mean, and grumpy Cybrans approached him.

“Hey dirtbag!,” said the bulkiest of the three, “We're still hungry!”

Samuel simply stared at him. He would not lose control of his anger. He would never harm a Cybran prisoner.

“Do you ever talk?” asked the shortest of the group. His face was heavily tattooed and he was covered in scars. Despite his height, he was still intimidating.

Samuel continued his silence. He would not make it out of hear unscathed.

The big one grabbed Samuel's plate. As the three began to eat, Samuel got up to walk away. After two steps he was seized by the collar and lifted up.

Samuel was thrown to the floor. The third Cybran picked him back up again and held his arms from behind. He was obviously going to be receiving a pounding.

The big and short Cybrans began to pummel Samuel as he hang there, limp. He had little doubt that he was going to die here. The Cybrans' anger was very intense. However, just as he began to fade from consciousness, a buzzer rang and the sound of gunfire came from the ceiling. The prison turrets were going off.

As the Cybran that was holding him fell to the ground, Samuel jumped under a lunch table to take cover. As he hid for a few seconds, he could feel the blood spatter hit his leg. All three were no doubt dead.

The alarm stopped going off and Samuel exited his hiding place. The Cybrans were all lying on the floor, brutally covered in bullet holes. Blood covered a ten foot radius from the bodies, and Samuel's legs and shoes were drenched in the red liquid. He had seen many gruesome sights before, but he had rarely seen weapons that used bullets, not to mention so many on only three victims.

******

As the days passed the torment slowly stopped. The prison residents had begun to fear the deadly weaponry place on the prison walls, and soon they simply ignored their Aeon prison-mate. Samuel liked it better that way, but the fact that he was still rotting in Rhys' Hell made it not all that much better.

“Don't worry my friend, help is on the way,” said a familiar voice.

“Who? Who is coming?”

“The savior of not only you, but the entire colony.”

“Thank you Princess, thank you.”

“But do not forget your mission. You must defeat the Avatar of the Way...”

“Yes my Princess. I will.”

So the cavalry was on the way. Had his team finally figured out where he had gone?

*****

It was lunch time again, and Samuel stood in apprehension. He had laid his plan out perfectly. Once his team arrived, he would send all of the Cybrans into the cafeteria. Then he and his team would storm Rhys' office and take him down. The only problem was the brutal turret defense system. He could only hope that his team would take security down first.

As he ate his lunch, a large explosion was went off somewhere in the prison. The Cybrans looked around, wondering what was going on. Samuel heard gunfire and there was obviously some sort of fire fight going on in the entrance hall. Many of the Cybrans got up to leave, maybe to go assist what they assume to be the Cybran soldiers, but as the first group left, the turrets went off massacring them. Needless to say, the rest remained seated.

Samuel stared at the turrets, waiting for them to show some form of weakness. A second explosion went off somewhere deep inside the prison, and Samuel knew that the now motionless machines were now disabled.

Samuel quickly got up and sprinted out of the room. The turrets simply ignored him, and Samuel knew that his assumption was right. He ran down the hallway to go help his team rescue the Cybrans from this Hell.

As he entered the entrance hall, he was met with a bombardment of plasma fire. As he looked into the room, he didn't see his team, but a group of Cybrans and a few remaining Aeon guards. As a Cybran kicked a guard in the face, ending the firefight, Samuel immediately knew who his rescuer was.

Samuel walked out of the hallway with his arms in the air, “Spear?”

The leading Cybran looked at the now ragged Aeon prisoner. After a few seconds of looking passed the cuts and bruises, the Tip of the Spear finally recognized him. However, Samuel didn't exactly get a happy greeting as Spear raised his weapon.

“Kuxlan? I knew that you were part of this!”

“No! No! I'm a prisoner. I was captured while trying to take this place down.”

Samuel looked into where he assumed Spear's eyes were. He could tell that his heartbeat and body temperature were being measured for honesty.

Spear waited a few moments before lowering his weapon, “Where are the prisoners?”

“In the cafeteria, down the hall from where I just came.”

“And Rhys?”

“I'm not sure.”

Spear signaled for a few of his men to head down to the cafeteria. They would finally save their lost brethren.

Spear and two others began heading towards what appeared to be Rhys' office, but Samuel stepped towards them.

“Spear,” said Samuel as the Cybran turned around, “you worry about the prisoners. Give me a weapon and I'll take down the bastards that did this.”

Spear chuckled a little before he responded, “And why would I give you a weapon?”

“I let you live before, remember?”

Spear stared at him for a moment before he reached for his pistol holster. He pulled out one of his guns and tossed it to Samuel. The Illuminate prisoner caught it and made sure that he stood in a non-threatening stance.

“Good luck,” said the Symbiont.

“The same,” said Samuel.

The two headed in opposite directions, each with a different goal in mind.

*****

Samuel had finished clearing all of the rooms, except one. Rhys' office. As he entered the room, gun raised, he found it quite empty and lacking the Avatar of the Way. He had escaped.

The office looked exactly like any Aeon official's office, with a large Illuminate symbol behind the desk, and everything being made of sleek metal, with a soft green carpet to make the room more comfortable. However, Samuel saw one thing that made him smile. The Avatar's computer hadn't been ripped apart. The hard drive was still in there.

Samuel quickly jumped into the Rhys' chair. The computer booted up and Samuel began to scan through the files. He had to find out why Rhys was doing these mad experiments on the Symbionts.

He soon found his answer when he entered the Avatar's journal.

“We were forced to abandon the Jalcon Headquarters today. Overlord Danov's son has gotten too curious and we had to leave in haste. We quickly stripped the entire base of all information, leaving only the maimed Cybran child. He will pay for his insolence, and witnessing the grotesque result of my experiments will begin his payment.

So, we have now moved to Norza, a very small planet with few resources and far away from any population center. No one can find us here, not even the Kuxlan boy. Interestingly enough, it was I who was in charge of converting him and his family to the Way, and yet he has paid me little gratitude.

I have been doing these experiments for many years, and it has become very hard on me. Somehow, we have taken a step backward from where we were twenty years ago. At that time we were able to implant an AI into a small Aeon girl, I forget the name. Yet, since that time we haven't been able to reproduce the results. It could be possible that we simply got lucky, because all later experiments have died in the twining process. However I am confident that soon I will be able to perfect the Illuminate...”

Samuel couldn't read anymore. Rhys was insane, and Samuel hadn't been able to kill him. He had even been able to twine a young girl. He felt bad for the child, ne...

Zaeva.

It would only make sense. Samuel always knew there was something about that girl, something unique. Something so completely different. He could never read her nor could he understand her fighting technique. It only made sense now.

Samuel opened up the computer and removed its hard drive. He knew that the Princess would want to see it. He turned around and quickly walked back to the entrance hall.

When he arrived he saw the last of the Cybran prisoners being walked out. Spear turned to him when Samuel walked in.

“Did you find him?”

“No, he must have escaped in the chaos.”

“Damn!”

Samuel looked down. He had failed his mission.

Spear beckoned his men to leave the building, leaving only he and Samuel. Spear quickly grabbed Kuxlan's weapon from him.

“I am supposed to kill you now,” said the Tip of the Spear.

“Go ahead,” said the Sword of the Avatar.

Spear pause for a moment before responding, “You let me live back on Jalcon. I will return the favor.”

Spear shot Samuel in the thigh and walked away.

*****

Samuel closed his eyes. He had been lying there for three hours before he heard a noise.

“Samuel!” yelled the surprised and happy Celene as she ran into the ruined prison.

“Celene? What? How?”

Celene ran to Samuel and hugged him. He knew that it was quite inappropriate, but feeling someone hold him for a reason other than to maim him was a good feeling.

“There was a ton of Quantum activity on this planet, and we were sent to check it out,” said the joyous Celene.

“Who else is here?” asked the stunned Samuel.

“Gari and Rhiza are both outside,” said Celene as she began to treat his wound.

“Celene... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have abandoned you guys.”

“You were trying to protect us. We all understand.”

“Thank you...”

Celene helped Samuel up and the two exited the building. Samuel still clutched the hard drive from the Avatar's computer.

Celene walked Samuel into a transport, which quickly took them to their headquarters. They were immediately greeted by two massive Command Units.

Rhiza's face appears on the main screen in the transport, “Crusader Kuxlan? You're alive?”

“See, I told you he'd made it!” said Celene.

Gari's face appeared as the screen cut itself in half, “Crusader! I can't believe it!”

Samuel grinned and waved to his Knights. It was nice to see friendly faced again.

Samuel and Celene entered her SCU and Rhiza quickly loaded up the Gate. They were heading home.

*****

Samuel and his Knights stood at the temple door, awaiting the word to enter. Soon the massive doors began to open, and Samuel, still clutching the hard drive, entered the holy residence of the Princess.

“Good luck,” said his team simultaneously.

Samuel looked back as the doors closed, “Thank you.”

Samuel walked through the temple, meeting many security guards on the way. At each door he was checked for weapons of any sort. The Princess was kept under total safeguard.

Finally, he entered the throne room. When he saw the Princess on her emerald throne, he immediately bowed down.

“Please stand Crusader,” said Rhianne.

“Glory to the Princess,” said Samuel as he stood. He was still in his prison clothing, and he was still covered in many wounds. Getting up was also difficult because of his leg injury. He definitely looked like a soldier returning from war.

“I am sorry, Samuel,” said the Princess.

“Sorry for what, my Princess?”

“I have sent you into Hell and back. You have served me to your greatest capacity, and yet I will ask you for more.”

Samuel set the hard drive on the ground, “Anything to serve the Princess.”

“You are a very loyal subject. I trust you with my life.”

“Thank you, your highness.”

“So I want to give you a job offer. As the Captain of the Guard. I want you to be my Shield.”

Samuel looked at her, confused.

“The Avatar of War and his cohorts seek to destroy me. It is hard to know who to trust. I need a Shield. I need you.”

“I accept, your highness, on one condition.”

*****

Lucia sat on her couch, lying down. Today had been a hard day. Every day in the military was a hard day.

Lucia began to brush her long black hair. She looked exactly like her mother, with tanned skin and perfect shape. She was taller than most women, but that only made her more beautiful.

As she continued to brush her hair, a technique that she often used to relax herself, she heard a knock on her door. She wasn't expecting anyone, and it was quite rude to come to someone's house unannounced. She set down her brush and walked to the door.

She opened the door to see a dirty, beaten, and bruised man, who looked as if he had gone hungry for months. However, she smiled. She recognized him immediately.

“Samuel!”

Reserved

Reserved

I like this. I'll be watching for further developments.Until when ?

Thank you, this is my first real attempt at a long story.

Also, fixed I don't know how I managed that, I distinctly remember typing 0100.

Hmm, we don't get stories solely from the point of view of an Aeon person very often. Should be interesting.

Also, a planet fifty times bigger than Earth would be uninhabitable. The gravity would crush you, for one thing, and rocky planets don't get that big so it would be a gas giant like Neptune. So you'd be walking on hydrogen.

If the planet is 2 times the mass of Earth, that would be more acceptable, but still difficult to live on.

That would be a mistake on my part, I'll change it.

Nice start for a story. It's always good to see some new talent in Fan Fiction. There's not a lot to go on yet, but the stage seems set for an interesting read. Grammar, spelling, and syntax all seem pretty good. It makes for good readability.

The only comment I'll make is about this section:



This seems like a contradiction. Also, higher gravity might be a problem for humans on a world this massive. You'd have to run the equations to find out how much gravity you'd have to deal with. I'm not sure whether you meant twice the mass or twice the dimensions. Either one could cause a substantial change.

I enjoyed the story so far. I'm looking forward to more of your efforts.

Marc

/edit

I now see someone already brought up the mass issue. I think twice the size is really pushing it.

Alright, I went back and did some research. Apparently, Seraphim II being five times the size of Earth is SupCom cannon, so even if it isn't likly, I'll make it like that and keep it like that. (I must have typed fifty instead of five and then forgot about it)

If its just size, it could be really not dense for some unknown reason.

It is covered in mostly ice and water. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Good start! Keep it up. Also, I'd like to ask you to look at the thread in my sig.

On the gravity issue,

[nerdiness ON]

Gravity is determined by a planet's mass, however, a planet can still be larger and have the same mass as Earth. For example it can have a smaller iron core, or complete absence of one. This will create it's own set of problems, though. Without an iron core it's pretty much impossible for a planet to sustain life on it's surface (and therefore sustain a breathable atmosphere), as the magnetics that shield a planet from solar radiation would be absent.

If Seraphim II is five times larger than Earth in volume than it might have such a low density that it is close to Earth's gravity. If it is five times heavier than Earth it would be pretty unlikely that human beings (and probably Seraphim too) would ever want to live there. (For Humans it might well be impossible even, imagine feeling as if you weigh over 400 kilo's all the time) If the diameter is five times that of Earth you're going into gas giant territory.

However, since Seraphim II was populated by the technologically advanced Seraphim they might have built some sort of machines that allowed for life to develop (or be introduced during terraforming) despite the planet's low density. During the SupCom intro video Seraphim II it was shown to at least have plantlife.

So within SupCom cannon I'd say that a planet five times the VOLUME of Earth is entirely possible.

(Excuse any usage of wrong terms, my physics classes were not in English)

[Nerdiness OFF]

[EDIT] What a planet is covered in doesn't have much influence on it's mass. A planet is thousands of kilometres in diameter, and the top layer is maybe a few kilometres thick.

Supreme Commander: Sword and Shield- Chapter 2: Training is now out!

I hope you enjoy. I keep up the invitation for any constructive criticism or corrections. I tried my best to avoid any "Seraphim 2 Incidents" this time.

That was a quick update. I'll read it after dinner."destroyer" should be "cruiser" I think.

Good chapter overall.

Fixed, and thank you.

This chapter was a good buildup for the action to come. It also aquaints us a little better with the characters. For some reason, I smell a setup.

Keep up the good work,

Marc

A good chapter.

Supreme Commander: Sword and Shield- Chapter 3: A Dark Feeling is now out!

Thanks for all of your support and comments!

Holy **** these chapters are coming fast. I think I'll read it in the morning.

I'm really enjoying this. The story is fast paced and a lot is going on. I can't wait to see what happens on this upcoming mission.

Keep up the good work,

Marc

I wanna see someone try and act out one of those battles. Or links to replays like the described.

Another nice chapter. I want to see how long you can keep up this rate of production .

lol, sorry but the chapters will now probably be weekly or bi weekly, simply because of school and I haven't been feeling so hot.