Chapter 126: (Telkan) (1/2)

And I looked, and there before me was a gate standing open in the heavens. And the voice I first heard spoke to me like a trumpet and said, “Rise, and I will show you what is to come.”

At once I was in the buffer, and there before me was a space in the heavens with someone sitting on it.

And the one who sat there had the appearance of water and earth. A light that shone like a star fire encircled the throne.

Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four gestalts. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads.

From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of Man.

Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living weapons, and they were covered with spears, in front and in back.

The first was like a lion, the second was like a wolf, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying fish.

Each of the four living weapons had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Glory, Honor, and Power to Humanity and their allies, ’who was, and is, and is to come.”

Whenever the living weapons give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four gestalts fall down before they who sit on the throne and fear him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

“You are worthy, Humanity, to receive glory and honor and power, for you defeat all foes, and by your will they were reforged and have their being.”

Then I saw in the plains ofTELKANwho would be broken, a great beast of old and it was sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a mighty gestalt proclaim in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and defeat the beast they hold?”

But none of the Telkan or Metal or Armor could break a seal or even stand against the beast behind it.

I wept and wept because none was found who was worthy to break the seals or defeat the beast beyond.

Then one of the gestalt said to me, “Do not weep! See, the last Son of the tribe ofLOST TERRASOL*, the Wrath of Humanity, has triumphed! He is able to defeat the beast and break its seven seals.”*

I watched as the Son broke the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living weapons say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”

I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a gun, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a messenger bent on vengeance.

When the Son opened the second seal, I heard the second living weapon say, “Come!”

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the galaxy and to release the weapons of war. To him was given a great burning warsteel sword.

When the Son opened the third seal, I heard the third living weapon say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.

Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living weapons, saying, “Take from them what has been given, and release from them what is not owed, but do not damage the ones they have enslaved!”

When the Son opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living weapon say, “Come!”

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and great ships followed close behind him. They were given power over a great fleet to kill by sword and arrow, light and dark, and by the Enraged Ones.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those whom had been put to rest because of Universal Law and the sorrow they contained.

They called out in a loud voice, “How long, those whom we loved so dear, our oldest and most faithful friend, until you judge those who wronged us and avenge our blood?”

Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of enemy's deeds, their actions and inactions, were made known to all.

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. The whole of the Universe shook. The fires of peace and goodwill extinguished, and the sky turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs from the tree in a tempest.

The heavens tore open like a flesh beneath the jagged blade, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Then the enemies of old who were made ally, the speakers, the workers, the dreamers, the cloners, and everyone else, hid at the edges of space and time.

They called to the heavens and to the one on the throne, “Protect us for we are innocent. Fear they who sit upon the throne and spare us from the wrath of the Son!

For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

--Excerpt: Days of Loss & Glory, the Founding of the Forge Worlds of Telkan

Brentili'ik stared at the holotank as the battlefield suddenly altered. Around her tactical officers were yelling out the words ”STATUS CHANGE!” as everyone frantically tried to alter the war plans. General Tic-Tak merely stood stock still, looking at each holotank, his left hand extended and palm up, the glittering of a holo-display above it.

”PILE DRIVERS, PAVE THE ROAD!” came Trucker's bellow over the intercom, but Brentili'ik didn't notice, instead staring at what she was seeing.

First the human female, clad in sleek black armor hung with chains and adorned with spikes, threw back her head to voice a scream that was heard even without speakers: ”LET THIS WORLD SHAKE IN THE RAGE OF LOST TERRASOL!” Lightning came from the burning sky to her hands, wreathing her forearms, pouring over her as she lowered her arms to the side.

She then fired lightning from her hands at the nearby creatures, tearing at them, exploding them, tearing away massive strips of flesh as some of the creatures exploded as their innards boiled.

Brentili'ik saw movement around her and tore her eyes away from the holotank.

Every mantid in the command center had their bladearms unfolded and held up, their gripping hands held out in fists and standing up as high as they could.

”DAXIN THE UNFEELING, LIBERATOR, DEATHLESS, TYRANTBANE HAS COME!” they all shrieked in one voice. ”WOE AND LAMENTATIONS! OUR SAVIOR HAS ARRIVED!”

Brentili'ik felt the command center shudder, feedback screeched across the speakers, the lights flickered, and then everything went perfectly still. To her it seemed as if the entire universe had frozen.

Off in the distance she heard it, faint but still there.

warm podling safe podling sing podling sing the song of hope sing the song of love sing the song of warmth one and one make two two and two make four three and three make six warm podling brave podling smart podling

Even through tons of warsteel armor, levels of the building she was in, past the armor, past the integrity and sterilization fields, she could see that the sky had gone black, the clouds and the stars going out.

The blackness bulged, the heavens screamed, and two warsteel hands pushed through the blackness, tearing open the sky itself to reveal a massive figure in black warsteel armor, spikes on the shoulders each flying a banner that roared in rage with the promises of freedom or death, a human face stretched over a warsteel skull. Skeletal hands made of black nothingness, crafted from the entropic death of the universe, ripped the wound in the sky open further, leaking out profane and insane energy as the figure stepped from the wound in the sky, dropping to the surface, massive barbed chains of agony and madness attached to the armor pouring from the wound.

The figure hit the ground, knees flexing, going down on one knee, a first braced in the dirt, the other fist holding tight to a massive gun, that death mask slowly rising to stare at the sky as the figure stood up and the chains shattered into shards of night.

Beside the massive figure was a huge black quadraped that Brentili'ik suddenly, somehow, knew was a hound, blood red molten warsteel dripping from its fanged jaws.

The world came back in a rush to Brentili'ik's senses as she found herself staring again at the holotank.

”HE HAS COME!” the human female screamed, raising one hand to the sky. Lightning, purple and black, poured from the ugly burning clouds into her fist. She aimed her other hand, now holding a barbed and cruel black warsteel sword, at one of the massive bugs. Lightning poured from the blade, tearing and ripping at the massive kaiju's head as gunfire from the walls tore at it.

The creature convulsed once and exploded as the mantids cried out again.

”HE HAS COME!” they all screeched.

The massive figure had drawn itself fully upright, looking about it with burning eyes of fire, then waded into the battle. One hand holding a sword, the other wielding a heavy blocky gun that screamed as it fired, the slugs from it detonating when they hit in the bright ugly flashes of mass reactive shells. From the blade lashed out black fire and red lightning that tore and ripped at the creatures.

Another human, ancient beyond what Brentili'ik even knew humans could be, an old, gaunt man, thin stringy hair and wild eyes, clad in a black tattered robe that flowed impossibly about it, wreathed in red and purple flame. In his hands he held a bloodstained book bound in iron and leather in one hand and a staff of black iron capped with a sigil that hurt Brentili'ik's eyes just to look at. Bugs swarmed to strike him down and were wreathed in lightning before shivering into dust.

Brentili'ik turned to Colonel Harvey, knowing her fur was standing up over her spine.

”SINCE WHEN CAN HUMANS SHOOT LIGHTNING FROM THEIR HANDS?” she shrieked.

”We can't. Not any more,” Colonel Harvey said, and Brentili'ik realized his eyes were wide with fear or horror and sweat was on his forehead.

”Well they are!” Brentili'ik snapped back, pointing at the holotank.

”Those are the Enraged Ones! They're legend, myth, everyone knows they don't exist!” Harvey said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

”They sure as the Nine Hells think they exist!” Brentili'ik said. She turned to the holotank of Telkan-2 and found herself gaping as she stared.

On Telkan-2 the massive intelligence array could sense that victory was close despite the hammering of the Terran guns. Their lines were shrinking, their territory diminishing, and even their insanely accurate artillery and rockets had begun to strike less and less often.

It computed that within three planetary rotations it would all be over.

The sky went black, as if the clouds and stars had been wiped away.

A burning line of fire appeared in the sky. It expanded, opening, ripping the sky open to reveal fire.

The computing array felt as if the fire was looking for something, trying to find something, when it suddenly seemed to find what it was looking for.

The thinking array.

I SEE YOU

BENEATH THE EYE

YOU CANNOT HIDE