Xenogears: New Gospel
Chapter VI, Section 3
The greeting procession walked through the crowd, which was
making enough noise to make conversation near impossible. Remus
glanced around, looking at all of the visitors. Most of them
seemed to be the heavy, muscular types that would look just as
well in a collection agency as in a security detail, but there
were a few exceptions. That Garr fellow seemed to emanate a
strange, tightly controlled aura of calm and control, and the
medical officer was attempting to talk with the captain of the
scout ship over the noise. Remus sighed, and looked down at his
notepad. He hadn't expected that he would have been introduced,
so he wasn't that disappointed. But this was just another sign
that some of his friends didn't take him as seriously as he
wished.
Billy dropped back a bit from the main crowd, and stopped besides
Remus. The Etone turned and gave his younger friend a reassuring
smile, and raked his hair out of his eyes. He said a few words,
but in the din of the crowd, Remus couldn't make them out.
"What did you say?" he shouted back.
Billy waited until the noise had died down slightly... not
because the crowd was making any less noise, but because the
procession had moved a good distance in front of the crowd.
"Well, you seem to be a bit distracted... I'm sorry that we
didn't get to introduce you. If we'd had more time, I think that
Elly would have. You're going to be working as much with the
offworlders as we are."
Remus shrugged. "It doesn't bother me that much. I'll be
able to talk to some of them at the dinner later tonight."
Remus turned, and shot a glance at the science officer, Garr. For
a moment, he felt an irrational surge of anger... what right did
that man have to flirt with Mistress Elhaym like that??? A moment
later, he managed to squash that thought. It was quite possible
that it was simply a typical greeting from the officer's culture,
or even common practice in the Federation, or where ever they
came from.
Billy gave him a speculative glance. "What's wrong? Not
feeling well?"
Remus shook his head, and tapped his chest. "Just a pain,
that's all."
"Sure." Billy quickened his pace, catching up to the
main portion of the group. Remus grimaced, and clutched his
notebook to his chest. This was just unreasonable. Mistress
Elhaym would be horrified if he continued to act like this.
But despite how much he tried, he couldn't shake the feeling.
...
Shitan glanced back into the crowd, and wondered just WHY
everyone was so excited about these visitors. Certainly it was an
unusual, even unprecedented, even in the history of Ingias, but
there wasn't any real reason for this type of celebration.
Another glance into the crowd, and Shitan slowed slightly as he
saw his wife Yui, and his daughter Midori, in the crowd. Perhaps
there is a good reason for such a celebration... in the past two
years, there had been few reasons to celebrate, and more than
enough reasons to mourn.
Shitan turned to see the young man that the captain had
introduced as William Garr walking up to him. "Um, excuse
me, Doctor Uzuki?" he stammered, and looked around. "I
had a couple questions I'd like to ask you about."
Shitan put on his most patient expression and smiled. "Well,
what can I help you with then?"
Garr pulled out a small, electronic device and pressed several
buttons. "Alright, the big thing I wanted to find out is
what is shielding this area? When we tried to scan the town from
orbit, we have had a 'blank screen' the entire time."
Shitan looked at him, and wondered if Garr was trying to obtain
information about the Barrier, or if he was simply curious about
this malfunction with their 'scanners'. "I believe that the
problem you are experiencing is due to one of the ancient devices
that we are utilizing here in Nisan. I am not exactly sure which
device it is... perhaps we can investigate this mystery
together?"
That caused the man to brighten considerable. "I would
appreciate that, Doctor Uzuki. You have no idea how much this
planet could mean to us, really no idea..." With those
words, Garr fell back to talk to the medical officer from the
ship.
Shitan looked back, somewhat puzzled by the young mans statement.
Surely they had technology far in advance of the ancient
artifacts that had been recovered by Nisan... so why was this
young man so anxious to look over their devices. Shitan quickened
his pace, rolling that question over in his mind. A few moments
later, he arrived at the head of the procession next to Elly.
"I must say, Remus's idea about duplicating the costume
Mother Sophia wore was an excellent one. You must admit, you look
very regal in that garb." Shitan smiled at Elly, who
grimaced.
"True, but I think he missed on a few of the sizes."
she replied, rolling her head. "This collar is much to
tight."
Shitan smiled, and looked ahead to the cathedral.
"Considering that he probably had to guess, I'd say he did a
pretty good job. That is, unless you allowed him to measure
you." Elly blushed slightly, and gave Shitan a mock punch in
the arm.
"Doctor Uzuki, where has your mind gone in your old
age?" She said, smiling gently to take the sting out of the
remark. "So tell me, what is it that is really concerning
you?"
"I think that we may have problems securing the parts we
require for the Barrier. I talked to Garr, their science officer,
and he seemed to have no idea that the Barrier could disrupt
sensors and some communications. This disturbs me. Shouldn't
their technology be far more advanced than the artifacts we have
managed to recover?" Shitan glanced around, taking a quick
peek at their 'guests' behind them. Was it possible that they
were here simply to take back some of the technology that they
had lost, or were they truly attempting to establish contact with
a lost branch of humanity? A quick glance back towards Elly
revealed that she was also pondering this.
"I trust these people, Shitan, I really do. The captain has
given me some information that will prove to be helpful in the
future, and I don't think that he or his crew intends us any
harm." Elly turned to corner, waving to the street full of
people, who broke into applause and cheers. A smile managed to
raise that jubilance to almost unbearable levels. Elly looked
back and smiled to the captain, who gazed appreciatively at her.
Shitan shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Well,
you certainly have learned to play the crowds Elly. I don't think
you could have evoked such a reaction before, when we were
fighting Solaris."
Elly's gaze drew distant for a moment, and she smiled a rather
dreamy smile. "But those times were different... I didn't
have to be Lady Elhaym, or Mother Sophia... I was just Elly, and
Fei was there to support me."
Shitan cast a worried gaze at her. "You miss him, don't
you?"
"Who wouldn't? He gave my life meaning, and as long as I was
at his side, I felt that I had a place. Now, with him gone, I
have to find my own place." She sighed, and looked at the
ground. "Shitan, do you think that he will ever
return?"
"Of course he will." Shitan reassured her. "Fei
has always come for you, always pulled through, no matter what
the odds. When it comes to you, I don't think failure even enters
his vocabulary."
"Yes..."
...
"...Captain?"
Captain Antonof turned to Garr, and looked him over. "So,
William, what have you managed to discover?"
Garr looked over his data pad, and grimaced. "No much sir.
Apparently, at least one of our hosts is aware that something is
blocking our scanners, but he doesn't know what it is. Other than
that, I wasn't able to get much information."
Antonof sat down in the plush chair, situated by the window of
his apartment in one of Nisan's better inns, and sighed.
"Well, this trip has gone well so far. Lady Elhaym has
proven to be a most generous hostess, and it appears that her
subordinates are competent." Antonof glanced at the ceiling,
and rubbed his thumb along his chin. "That should take care
of any attempts by the Federation to fold this planet in due to
'misgovernment'."
"Amen." Garr replied, bowing his head slightly. History
taught that the Federation never occupied a colony or planet
unless there was a demonstrable amount of abuses of power, or
lack of concern for human rights or lives. Of course, his own
people, the Etherones, had been accused of such acts, but it was
unofficial knowledge that the Federation had simply occupied
Proxima Centuari Prime in order to acquire the Etherones powers
for their own use. "Lady Elhaym also seems to command a
large base of popular support, which is rather unusual on any
planet. Considering the size of the town, and the number of
people we saw in the procession, I think that more than the
population of this town is here at this moment. And she seemed to
have them all in the palm of her hand."
Antonof grunted, and looked out the window, still listening to
Garr. "I would assume that she is probably from a royal
house on this planet, considering that she has a title. That
would also explain why she is so good at handling the crowd...
most monarchies in the Federation's experience are adept at
handling people."
"So you think that Lady Elhaym is a pampered young noble
woman?"
"The evidence strongly suggests that. I doubt she's seem any
type of warfare or combat directly, considering the number of
people with obvious military experience that she named as her top
advisors." Garr smiled a bit, and his gaze seemed to go
distant. "Probably a bonfide blue blood... we don't see
those too often..." he said, trailing off.
Antonof looked at Garr, standing there in the corner, gazing into
nothing, and dropped his head into his hand. "Garr...
Garr... GARR!!!" The science officer jumped, and glanced
around guiltily. "Get your head out of the clouds. We've a
dinner reception in a few hours, and I don't want you making a
fool of yourself, do you understand me?"
"Yes Captain!"
"Good. Now get back to your room, and get any equipment you
want to bring along together. Just be discrete in your
selections." Antonof turned, and looked out the window. Garr
exited a moment later, shutting the door gently behind him. Ivan
sighed, and pulled a small locket out from inside his jacket. He
flipped it open, and stared out into the noon day sky.
"Tatania, your should have been able to see this... I
haven't seen such a beautiful city for a very long time..."
...
"Shitan, are you almost ready?" Shitan tugged on the
collar of his shirt several times, making sure that it still fit
correctly. The suit that he was wearing was from his old Solaris
Elements uniform, and he hadn't worn that outfit in a long time.
He was glad he mentioned it to Yui, and that she had resized it.
"Just about, dear. Have you managed to get a hold of someone
to watch over Midori?"
Yui gave an exasperated sigh. "No, I haven't. And I'm really
not sure if we can take her with us to this reception." She
tossed her hair back, and sat on the bed. "But it looks like
we'll have to take her."
Shitan shrugged. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Has Remus dropped
by yet?"
"Remus? What is he dropping by for?" Yui glanced over
at him, an interested expression on her face. Shitan shrugged.
"Probably with some message from Elly." he replied,
checking himself in the mirror. Yui walked up behind him, and
tugged on his collar.
"Does this fit alright?" she said, kissing him lightly
on the cheek.
"A wonderful job as always, Yui." Shitan turned, and
was about to say something else, when a knock sounded at the
door.
...
Remus watched as Shitan opened to door, and gestured for him to
come in. The young Ethos scholar glanced behind him, and waved.
"He was also wandering over here, so I figured I'd bring him
along." Shitan glanced over Remus's shoulder to see Dan
walking up the path.
"Dan! What brings you out here?" Shitan exclaimed,
grinning. Dan had not been seen very often after Fei disappeared,
and Shitan had not seen him at all for several months.
The young man waved, and stepped in the door. "Hello Doc.
The teacher at the school is looking after all of the children
tonight, and she remembered that your usual sitter was out in
that mess..." this was accompanied by a wave of Dan's hand
out towards the crowd of festive people out in the streets.
"...so she asked me if you wanted her to look after
Midori."
"Thank you Dan." Shitan replied, and gestured in the
direction of Midori's room. "I'm sure Midori will be
overjoyed to see you again."
Dan gave him a strange look. "Its not like I didn't see her
yesterday."
Before Shitan could comment, Dan ran up the stairs. Shitan
sighed, and turned back to Remus. "Well, young one, what
brings you to our dwelling? Some urgent news, or is this just a
social call?"
Remus actually grinned, and sat down in one of the living room
chairs. "Believe it or not, I actually am NOT here on
business for Mistress Elhaym." Remus glanced about the room,
and grinned slightly. "Actually, I forgot what time this
reception tonight was, and I haven't seen Mistress Elhaym all
day. So I was hoping you and Yui could..." and he made a
vague gesture with his hand.
Shitan actually laughed aloud. "Very well... Yui and I were
about to leave, and you can just travel with us. The reception is
down at the town hall, and we're about to leave ourselves."
Remus shook his head weakly. "No, Doctor Uzuki, I would want
to trouble you..."
Shitan turned as Yui entered the room, and placed a hand on
Remus's shoulder. "Its no trouble, Remus. We would enjoy the
company."
...
Elly walked into the town hall of Nisan, nodding to Shitan, Yui,
and Remus as she walked by them. The hall had been decorated,
abet in more passive colors than the festive streets outside.
Elly glanced over herself, and grimaced. She'd been wearing more
dresses in the past few days than she had in the last four years
of her life.
Finally arriving in the main reception area, Elly stopped to
simply look around and listen. There were several musicians
playing in the corner, and on one side of the room there was a
counter where food and drinks were being served. She stood there,
moving to the side to allow the press of people to move past her.
"Excuse me, Lady Elhaym?" A voice said behind her. Elly
turned to see one of the security guards, Guido, standing behind
her. "I would like a word with you, if I may."
Elly turned, nodding to Shitan to greet the captain. "Yes,
what is it?"
Guido looked around the room, and focused an intense stare on
her. "Madam, I have several concerns that I wish to address.
One of them is the fact that we can not communicate with our
ship... while I normally wouldn't be worried, this loss doesn't
seem to be temporary. I was wondering if I could attempt to find
an area where the Captain would be able to reach the
Einhander."
Elly looked around, thinking for a moment. She would have to talk
with Captain Antonof about the barrier soon, but for now it
wouldn't hurt to spare a few people to get the guard to a place
where he could communicate. "Of course, I don't think that
it would be a problem. Let me speak to Reverend Black, and he
should be able to arrange transport for you in the morning."
Guido nodded gratefully. "Thank you Madam." He said,
before turning and vanishing into the swirl of the crowd. Elly
shrugged, and walked over towards the crowd surrounding Shitan
and the Captain.
"Captain Antonof, I trust that you have found your
accommodations... acceptable?" She said, stopping by Shitan.
The captain nodded, bowing his head slightly. "Lady Elhaym,
your generosity knows no bounds." He replied, in his
clipped, Russian accent. "I would like to express the
gratitude of both myself and my crew on the most excellent
treatment that you have given us on our visit. I hope that
whatever bonds we can form now will assist us in forming a strong
alliance between the Federation and your world." Elly
nodded, and several members of the Einhander crew and guests of
the party broke out into quiet applause.
"Very well Captain. This party is being hosted in both you
and your crews honor... please enjoy it." With that, Elly
turned and walked back into the crowd. Several of the guests
moved in, and soon Captain Antonof and his men were engaged in
conversation with several of the town elders, as well as some of
the more prominent craftsmen and merchants who had been invited.
Elly weaved through the crowd, nodding in response to the
greetings she received. Her path eventually led her by Billy and
Remus, where she paused for a moment.
"You two are looking well." She commented, looking them
both over. Billy was dressed in a slightly more formal version of
his Etone robes, while Remus was dressed in a similar, but less
decorative, cut of clothing. "Are you enjoying
yourselves?"
Remus looked at the ground, stammering something to the effect of
'Yes, Mistress Elhaym, of course, Mistress Elhaym.' while Billy
chuckled. "I must admit, these guests are something
different. I don't think I've seen such a lively group in a long
time."
"True." Elly replied, glancing at the crowd.
"There hasn't been much reason to celebrate over the last
three years. Everyone here needs some time to unwind and
relax."
Billy grinned, taking another sip of his drink. "Perhaps you
should follow your own advice, Elly. You've been working yourself
to the bone."
Elly grinned at him, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I know I should try, but there's simply too much that needs
to be done. Thank you for the thought Billy. By the way, one of
Captain Antonof's men needs a ride to outside the barrier
tomorrow. Do you think you can make the necessary
arrangements?"
Billy nodded. "I'll have Maria take him."
"Thanks." Elly nodded, and with that turned and walked
back into the crowd. Elly managed to claim a seat at one of the
tables, and watched as a portion of the floor was cleared away
for a dance area. The band struck up a romantic tune, and several
dancers moved onto the floor. Elly sighed, and watched. Shitan
and Yui danced, spinning past Billy and one of the young ladies
from the town. Elly watched as Remus sat in the corner, staring
across the room. Every so often, he stole a glance at her or
someone else near her.
A figure in an orange cloak brushed past her, and Margie walked
across the dance floor, dodging the few dancers that threatened
to hit her. Elly watched in interest as she walked over to Remus,
and spoke a few words to him. Remus shook his head, and waved a
denial... only to have a startled expression cross his face as
Margie hauled him to his feet and dragged him out into the dance
floor. Elly giggled, and heard someone echoing her behind her.
She turned, and saw the science officer from the Einhander
sitting across the table from her. He smiled, and passed a drink
to her. "Is that young man your aid?" He asked, taking
a glass for himself.
She smiled, and nodded. "Yes, he is. How did you know
that?"
The man smiled, and made a vague gesture. "He waits upon
your every word, but you don't seem to treat him as a servant. So
I figured that he was probably some sort of aid."
Elly sipped her glass, racking her brain for his name. "I'm
sorry, but I've forgotten you name, Mr...?"
"Garr. William Garr." He reached across the table, and
shook her hand. "I must say, you look very ravishing Lady
Elhaym." He grinned, and finished off his drink. "I do
have some questions for you, if you don't mind."
"Not at all." Elly replied, setting her glass on the
table.
"Alright." Garr grinned at her, and looked around the
room. "I suppose that Gudio told you about our problem
communicating... and that we seem to have no way around it. I've
checked through our records... and the only system that can
account for both our sensors not working and a lack of
communications that use subspace bandwidths is a Phase Barrier
Shield."
Elly blinked, and felt her stomach turn over... the sensation
that accompanied the retrieval of some of the data she had
absorbed from Deus. "Yes... I do remember that the Barrier
we are using has some of the properties of a Phase Barrier
Shield. Why do you ask?" She finished, glancing up at him.
Garr barely kept his mouth from hanging open. First of all was
the fact that there was an intact shield on this planet. Second
of all was the fact that she even knew what it was, or how it
operated. "A Barrier shield? You actually have a Barrier
shield here?"
Elly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Over the
years, she had observed two types of excited... the type where a
suprise is a welcome, but expected thing, and the type where
someone is utterly amazed by what they've found. With that
thought in her mind, she ventured a question. "Why are you
so suprised? Aren't these types of shields very common in the
Federation?"
"Heavens no! The methods used for constructing barrier
shields were lost to us many years ago. This is simply
amazing." Garr pulled out a small device, and started
calculating some numbers into it. A moment later he seemed to
remember that there was someone else at the table, and he put the
device away. "I'm terribly sorry... My friends have always
said that I was too easily excited about things, and that I let
them go to my head."
"It's quite alright." Elly replied. "So you have
no knowledge of this type of shield? Perhaps I could arrange for
you and the captain to be taken on a tour tomorrow."
Gar nodded. "That would be appreciated. I'm certain that the
captain will be thrilled by this news." He paused for a
moment, turning an idea over in his head. Finally, he seemed to
make a decision. "Lady Elhaym, could I have the honor of a
dance?"
Elly simply stopped for a moment, the question catching her
completely by suprise. She turned an interested gaze to Garr,
wondering why he was asking. Garr watched as she seemed to be
grasping for something to say, and smiled patiently.
Elly extended her hand, which he took gently. "Well, I see
no reason why not." Elly replied as Garr escorted her to the
dance floor. "I must warn you that I'm not the best dancer
in the world."
...
Garr sat down at the bar, and glanced back to see Elly escorting
Shitan to the dance floor. The science officer shook his head,
and turned to the bartender. "Something... strong."
The bartender nodded, and poured Garr something out of a green
tinged bottle. The young man drank it down, and gestured for
another. The pattern continued for several minutes, until someone
sat down next to Garr.
Nuzio, the chief of security for the Einhander, looked over Garr
and snorted. "What the hell are you doing to yourself
William?" he asked as the science officer downed another
glass of whatever he had been drinking.
"It looks like I'm attempting to get horribly drunk."
he replied, and finished off the glass he was holding. "You
realize how difficult it is for one of my people to get
drunk?"
Nuzio nodded, and watched as the bartender poured him another
glass. "Yeah, I learned a long time ago not to get into a
drinking contest with an Etherone. Now WHY are you attempting to
get drunk?"
Garr smiled, and downed another glass. "It's her. I just
can't explain it, but she is undoubtedly the most talented,
beautiful, intelligent person I've ever known..."
The security chief briefly considered throttling Garr to death,
but decided against it. "Garr, who are you talking
about?"
"Lady Elhaym..."
If Nuzio could have facefaulted, he would have. But considering
that he was sitting on a barstool, he had to make do with letting
his jaw drop open, and starting at Garr with an utterly
unbelieving expression. "Garr, are you NUTS??? You...
you..." Nuzio sputtered into silence, still staring at the
science officer. Finally, Nuzaio turned and whispered to the
barkeep.
Garr was still staring off into space, when Nuzio thrust a drink
into his hand. "Here, drink this." Nuzio said, in his
best 'no-nonsense' tone. Gar complied, and drank the entire glass
down.
"As I was saying..." Garr started, and then Nuzio
watched as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. The big
security guard gently caught the young man, and lowered him to
the table. Nuzio hoped to whatever deity was out there that he
hadn't proposed to Lady Elhaym or anything crazy like that. But
then again Garr was a bragger, and would have mentioned anything
like that. Nuzio grimaced. He hoped he would have mentioned
anything like that. And this was completely unlike the quiet,
demure man that Nuzio remembered from the Einhander.
Nuzio carefully helped Garr to his feet, holding him so it
appeared that he was standing on his own, and simply had his arm
around Nuzio's shoulders. "William, you and I are going to
have a nice, long talk later..."
...
The touring party came to a halt in front of the Barrier
generator, a monstrous affair of wires, strange spinning
turbines, and other unidentifiable parts. Elly walked in the
front of the group, talking to Captain Antonof about how they had
discovered the generator, while Garr chatted with Shitan. Billy
walked a good distance behind the group, speaking with the
occasional guard, while Remus ran to catch up after dropping
everything he was carrying.
"Yes, I do see what your problem is, Lady Elhaym."
Captain Antonof commented, as he glanced over the Barrier
generator. "Getting parts that consist of either
artificially produced substances, or substances alien to this
planet is extremely difficult. I may be able to supply some of
the parts that you need, but as my science officer has told you,
this technology is alien even to us."
Elly nodded, brushing a wrinkle out of her dress. "I must
say, that is unfortunate. But, as your Federation is lack the
technology, perhaps your crew as well as our Ethos can benefit
from studying this generator."
"Perhaps so, Lady Elhaym."
Remus dropped back, so that he was walking by Billy. "What
is going on? Mistress Elhaym hasn't talked to any of them since
the reception last night... so how did they know about the
Barrier?"
Billy shrugged, glancing around the area. "I'm not sure. But
Elly has her ways... never doubt that."
Remus shrugged, when Billy suddenly stopped, pulling his hand
over his ear.
"Billy, what's wrong?"
"SSSHHHH!!!" Billy hissed, listening intently to his
earbug.
...
"Lord Captain, we have dispatched the Ssarzs."
"Excellent. Has our agent on the surface placed the
necessary tools at their disposal?"
"Yes. We estimate that the Ssarzs will reach the generator
is less than fifteen minutes."
...
"...Maria, I can barely make you out. We're receiving some
type of interference..."
Maria swore an oath that made Guido's hair stand on end, stabbing
the comm button again. "Billy, there's a huge group of Wels
moving towards Nisan. They tore apart the guards, and they're
moving fast."
"...Wels? Why would Wels be attac..."
Maria pulled her flight goggles off her eyes and looked through a
pair of field glasses, counting carefully. "Listen up...
there's some type of new Wel out of there... these things look
REALLY nasty. You need to warn the guards... Oh hell, Billy,
there's a couple of Seraphs out there." The radio signal was
breaking up, but Maria kept talking, hoping that Billy was
hearing this. "I've got to take them out. Billy, I won't be
able to get to the battle sight with my gear. You're going to
have to do this alone... Billy, you hear me? Get the area
cleared, your going to have a fight on your hands."
"...Ok...ful...Mari..."
And the radio dissolved in a screech of static.
...
Billy swore. And watching Billy swear was an experience that made
Remus's neck hairs curl. He didn't even know that Billy KNEW
those types of words. And some of them Remus didn't even know...
and if he had to take a guess, they were in foreign languages.
"Um, Billy? What wrong?" Remus started to say, but then
Billy's voice split the air.
"EVERYONE, WE HAVE AN ATTACK INCOMMING!!!" Billy
shouted, and most of the guards jumped. Elly's head snapped
around, and she and her group ran over to Billy.
"Billy, what's going on?" she demanded. Garr and
Antonof followed close behind her. "What's this about an
attack."
Billy grimaced, and gestured for one of the guards. "Listen,
get to General Cheff. Tell him we have Wels less than fifteen
minutes outside the city. And tell him that we need him to
hurry."
"Wels? What are Wels?" Captain Antonof asked, glancing
around at the now serious group. Shitan nodded his head towards
Elly, who turned to the captain.
"Wels are humans that have been altered on the genetic level
into monsters. They need to feed on the blood of humans to
survive... they live a life of constant torment." Elly
looked at the horizon. "They haven't attacked us in a long
time... its strange that they should do it now."
"In any case, its going to take our man at least five
minutes to get to the nearest radio that can reach General Cheff,
ten minutes if he has to run back to Nisan. That means that its
going to take fifteen to twenty minutes for our ready troops to
reach us." Billy looked around. "We've got twenty
guards, and we have to hold off an unknown number of Wels, and
some new type. This has got to be my lucky day."
...
Remus looked over the horizon, watching the dust cloud get
closer. Billy stood by his side, his hands placed gently over the
twin revolvers he wore at his hips. "We're in trouble,
aren't we Billy?" Remus asked softly.
Billy frowned, and sighed. "I can't say for sure. We've got
Shitan, Elly, and myself... that should count for something.
You've apparently had some training, and I doubt I could get you
to leave even if I threatened your life. And we've twenty guards.
Hopefully we can make it."
Remus continued to watch the approaching dust cloud. "Why do
you think they're attacking the generator?" he wondered,
glancing over at Billy.
Billy shrugged, still keeping his eyes on the horizon.
"Probably to destroy the Barrier. That's the only thing
keeping the largest Seraphs out of Nisan's territory. And if we
lose the Barrier, General Cheff's going to have to secure the
area."
Remus turned, leaving Billy to watch the approaching hoard, and
walked back towards the group. As he approached, he heard the
sounds of an argument.
"Lady Elhaym, you can't remain here!" Captain Antonof
replied in an anxious tone. "You heard what you security
chief said. Those creatures will be here soon."
Elly nodded, as if agreeing with the captain. "I understand
perfectly what Billy said. Those Wels will be here in a moment,
and we are vastly outnumbered." The captain nodded, his
shoulder sagging with relief, until Elly's next statement took
him off guard. "That's exactly why I'm staying. Every person
will count in this type of battle."
"Lady Elhaym, you are the head of state for Nisan..."
Garr began, "...you can't be expected to risk yourself in
such a manner!"
Remus arrived, and glanced about. "Mistress Elhaym, is there
anything I can help you with?"
Elly glanced at him, and suddenly started walking away from the
group, towards Billy. With an oath, she grabbed one of her
dress's elaborately flowing sleeves along the seam, and started
ripping it off. Remus raised an eyebrow, and kept walking along
side of her. "Mistress, if I may be so bold, why are you
doing that to your dress?"
Elly finished with that sleeve, and tossed the elaborately laced
piece of clothing, one that had probably taken a seamstress a
month to create, to one side. As she responded to Remus, she
started on the other one. "I can't fight very well in this
dress... so I'll have to do something about it. And for once,
Remus, please call me Elly. Billy!"
The Etone turned, and a shadow of a smile crossed his face.
"Nice to see you back to your old self Elly." She shook
her head, and reached into a fold of fabric in the small of her
back. A moment later, she pulled out a small, cylindrical rod
that snapped out to nearly a full meter long with a quick
movement of her wrist. Captain Antonof and Garr ran up behind
her.
"Your serious about this, are you not Lady Elhaym?" The
captain said with an interested look on his face.
"Yes I'm serious, Captain. And call me Elly." she
replied, and turned to Remus. "Do you still have that knife
on you?" Remus reached into his belt pack, and pulled out a
large hunting knife, flipping it over in his hand before
presenting it hilt first to Elly. "Thanks." she said,
and started ripping a slit along the side of her skirt. She
continued until she had ripped it all the way to her hip on both
sides, and tossed the knife back to Remus.
"Alright, they should be here any minute. Everyone, get
ready!"
...
Garr got his first look at the Wels when the crossed over the
ridge, all of them in a swirling, horrible mass that defied
description. When Lady Elyh... no, Elly, had told them that the
Wels were once human, she had failed to mention the depth of
their change. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had not
lied to them yet, Garr would have been sorely tempted to believe
that she was now.
Most of them were vaguely humanoid, crossed over with at least
one or two animals for form a horrible monster of fangs, claws,
and burning red eyes. Others were so horribly disfigured that no
amount of examination could reveal that there was ever a human
under that mass of mutated flesh. Garr stepped forward, examining
the approaching hoard from he and the captain's perch on top of
one of the Barrier Generators catwalks. A moment later, the horde
crashed into the ranks of the defenders.
Garr watched, looking for the defenders that he had met over the
last few days. Almost immediately, Remus was swallowed in the
mass of seething Wels, but an occasional flash of a blond head or
a snatch of his robes revealed that he was still alive in the
thick of the fighting. Shitan danced amongst the monsters,
dispensing havoc like a master martial artist... if there was
anyone on this planet that deserved that titles, this was
probably the man. Garr wondered where a simple scholar and
tinkerer could have picked up fighting skills like that. One
moment he launched a fierce punch into one Wel, only to move
aside almost instantaneously to strike another that was attacking
him.
Billy waded through the fray, and Garr could see his lips moving
as he prayed... often punctuating his prayer with a point blank
blast from his shotgun he carried across his back. And Lady
Elhaym...
Lady Elhaym served as a rallying point for the beleaguered
defenders... her very presence seemed to heighten morale. When a
wedge of Wels hurled themselves into the five men who seemed to
have appointed themselves as her bodyguards, they fought with
ferocity that Garr had not seen since he had visited New Scotland
and witnessed the berserkers firsthand. Many attempts to reach
Lady Elhaym were made, but not one Wel managed to lay a claw on
her. But the defenders were still being pushed back, as if an
awesome presence were driving the Wels onwards...
And then he saw them, scuttling across the ground on their six,
insect like limbs. They were a blood red in color, and resembled
a cross between a spider, a cockroach, and a mass of whirling
blades. Garr hissed through his teeth, and he turned to the
captain. "Captain, do you see them?"
Captain Antonof nodded. "Da, I see them William. Revers. But
what the hell are they doing here?"
The Revers launched themselves over the Wels, landing amidst the
defenders. Several men died in the first few seconds, and slowly
the tide was turning, the creatures ripping into the defenders in
whirlwinds of slicing, razor sharp chitinous limbs. One of the
Revers leapt into the air, aiming for Shitan. Garr swore. Shitan
couldn't see it coming, and its was going to kill him...
...Everything stopped. Garr felt the bottom drop out of this
stomach, and the local air pressure seemed to change. 'What?' was
the only thought that crossed his mind... the amplification was
too great... someone was building up a massive Ether charge...
The heavens were bisected by a massive thunderbolt, that reached
from the sky to smite the Rever that descended upon Doctor Uzuki.
Garr's hair would have stood on end, due to the static impact, if
it were not for the fact that the simply collection of that much
power had done the job already. He glanced around, and reached
into his side pouch, pulling out a small device, which he fitted
over his ear. He then cast about, trying to find the source of
that power.
He didn't need the scanner.
Elly stood in the center of her bodyguard, the aftereffects of
her strike still dancing around her. Her eyes blazed with an
eldrich fire, and she regarded the charred Rever that had landed
nearby with some interest. Garr's eyes widened, and he felt his
legs go limp underneath him. "No... its impossible... even
if she were an Etherone... she can't draw that much power from
the prime reactor..."
...
Elly lowered her hand, and watched the effect that killing that
'thing' had on the rest of the Wels. Interesting. Several of the
Wels in the group were starting act as if they were awakening
from a deep sleep, and were withdrawing from battle. Elly stared
at them for a moment. "Shitan! I think those things may be
controlling the Wels! Try to kill them first!"
Shitan nodded, and crouched down, watching another of the
'things' approach. The roared it emitted was a combination of
howl and banshee scream, and it hurtled across the field towards
him. Shitan narrowed his eyes... waiting, watching... The thing
leapt into the air, hurtling down atop the doctor...
Only to find that he was no longer there. A series of punches
exploded into the Rever's back, and it screamed as its armored
plating shattered under the onslaught. Shitan landed a few feet
away, turning about to gauge the effects of the creature's death.
Several more Wels were turning and walking away from the
battlefield, shaking their heads as if waking from a deep sleep.
The scene was repeated. Without the advantage of surpise, the
Revers were unable to stand up to the defenders, and as more of
them died, more of their Wel support melted away. Elly smiled,
realizing that they could win this fight with a minimal of
casualties. She'd long lost track of Billy and Remus in the
fighting, and Shitan was attempting to take out several more of
those 'things'.
There were only five left on the battlefield, and they had
decided that their plan of attack was failing. They all gathered
together, crouched in the center of the battlefield, conversing
in some strange, clicking language. A moment later, all of the
noise stopped. The battlefield fell silent for a moment, barring
the moans of pain from the injured and dying. The few remaining
Wels stirred restlessly, and the creatures crouched in place,
immobile.
And then they charged. For they had decided that if they were to
die, they would take the enemy's leader with them.
Shitan caught one of them, bringing it to the ground with such a
powerful kick that the sound of its spine breaking echoed across
the battlefield, along with its keening death howl. But the other
four kept coming, leaping across any of the defenders that got in
their way. Most of her bodyguards managed to drag one to the
ground, hacking it to pieces, but there were still three left.
Elly raised one of her hands, summoning forth a ball of elemental
fire. She launched it as the first of the creatures cleared the
small rise she stood on, catching the leader in the flaming
sphere. It screamed and fell to the ground, thrashing in pain and
rolling to try to extinguish the flames.
To Elly, everything was moving in slow motion. Both of the
surviving creatures bounced around their fallen cohort, and
resumed their charge. Elly snapped out her baton, and lunged for
the one to the left. She felt the other creature's taloned claw
nick several of the hairs from her head, but she was already past
it. The other creature raised all of its arms, intending to slice
her apart. Elly lunged. The creature struck...
The thing screamed at Elly hammered her baton strait through it,
and it reared backwards, tearing her weapon from her hand. It
fell backwards off of the rise, already mortally wounded, it's
death cry rattling off the valley walls, but the other one had
managed to regain its balance. There was no one between her and
it, and she had just run out of weapons. The thing let out an
earsplitting howl of triumph, and charged towards her, intending
to take all of its frustration and anger out on her corpse...
A high pitched wine split the air. The thing's razor sharp claw
rose. Elly glanced around desperately, looking for an avenue of
escape. She might be able to dodge the first attack, but this
thing had eight of those claws at its disposal... The first claw
started to descend as the second rose...
There was a thunderclap as a massive bolt of Ki energy slammed
into the creature, sending it flying from the rise. It screamed,
but that scream was cut short as a second, and then a third bolt
of energy followed it.
Time resumed its normal speed.
The creature struck the ground, its limbs tightening in death.
Elly stared at it, and then whirled towards the direction that
the blasts had come from. A blast of cold wind swept through the
valley, causing her hair to stream out to her side.
On a knoll, half a mile away, stood a lone figure, its unbound
hair streaming out to its side. It slowly lowered its hand, and
turned to the side beginning to walk down the hill. The man's
profile caught her eye, and Elly heart skipped a beat, even as he
vanished over the hill. Her mouth gaped, as she tried to force
one word out, a word that seemed to be stuck in her throat...
...
Shitan found her there a moment later, kneeling on the ground,
her mouth moving as if she were trying to say something. He knelt
down next to her, trying to see if she had been hurt, or if the
blasts of energy had hit her as well. Elly raised one arm weakly,
her hand stretched towards the direction that the energy attack
had come from. Shitan put a hand on her shoulder, and was shocked
to feel that she was trembling violently.
"Elly, Elly, are you alright? Elly, speak to me? What
happened? Elly??" Shitan put his hands on her shoulders,
becoming desperate as she refused to respond to him. She just
stared out into space, her hand raised towards the horizon.
And before she collapsed into his arms, she sobbed out one word.
"Fei."
...