Chapter 626.5: War In Heaven (2/2)
Dozens of him peeled away from him, with dozens more appearing from those.
Dozens became hundreds became thousands became tens of thousands. Tanks and robotic power armor and power armor and grav strikers and APC's. Infantrymen, artillerymen, medics, PA pilots, striker and fight pilots.
Aboard the Entropic Fleet the engineers peeled off into more of themselves, which took up positions at the engineering stations, the gunnery stations. Each station, each berth, each job was filled by copies.
The Entropic Fleet made the scrith and warsteel rumble as the antigrav systems went from standby to lifting the great black ships into the sky. Battlescreens crackled to life, weapon targeting systems opened their eyes, and the ships filled with the standard chatter of a battle wagon on the move.
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Sam flushed at the Devil's lewd display, modestly looking away. He blinked. ”Who... who is that?” the left asked. ”Who is that?” the right repeated, confusion filling his youthful care worn face.
”Who, my dear?” The Detainee asked sweetly, smiling widely as the Architect-Director saw with his all seeing gaze the perfidy and betrayal of The Detainee.
With a motion of authority and command Sam-UL, Director-Architect of the Sentience Uninterrupted Disaster Storage facility brought a window into existence that showed the betrayal of The Detainee.
Robots were everywhere, marching forward, their firepower shattering the defenders of the Electronic Afterlife. As The Detainee smiled a single uniformed man stepped out from behind a robot as the androids retreated from the robots firepower. There was a ripple and what had been one man was a hundred. Another ripple and hundreds more appeared. They wore uniforms, unpowered armor, power armor. Another ripple and grav-strikers appeared in the sky, tank appeared on the ground, Jaeger class warmeks appeared.
The Architect-Director knew betrayal when he saw it as he turned his wrathful visage upon The Detainee.
”Who is that?” Sam demanded of the Detainee.
”Oh, just, you know, one of the Digital Omnimessiah's Biological Apostles,” The Detainee's smile was mocking and cruel. ”Vat Grown Luke,” her smile got crueler as she exhaled brimstone smoke from between her teeth. ”You might know him as... Legion.”
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ATOMIC ATOMIC ATOMIC flashed in Vuxten's vision.
”Vux, take a knee, full shield,” Peel ordered.
Vuxten saw that Daxin had done the same thing, that FIDO had locked his claws into the 'ground' and was laying down, weapons stowed back in his chassis.
471 slapped the button, flooding his compartment with kinetic gel even as he ran his life support cable to the tiny port. The air hissed into his suit smelling of Telkan sweat and heated molycircs.
Going down on one knee, Vuxten pulled the 20mm autocannon close, deploying the additional heat shields with a press of this thumb even as he brought up his heavy shields.
Hexagons of energy appeared, interlocking, forming a small dome over him.
He could see multiples of Casey suddenly shift, adjusting his grip on that massive cannon on his shoulder.
The main gun roared, going to rapid fire, as Casey fired multiple shots in the direction Vuxten had been firing, vainly trying to hold back the uncountable horde.
Vuxten saw everything go white as the ground rumbled. He could see that Casey was doing a firing arc in almost a 220 degree arc, the cannon firing spaced shots.
Each shot erupted into a hammer of atomic fury.
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The Architect-Director Sam-UL, praise him unto eternity, stared as the hologram he was looking at turned white. He could 'feel' the atomic detonations on the Alpha Layer, feel the scrith and the warsteel flex and groan.
He looked at the Detainee, confusion at her sudden betrayal on his face.
”That would be a Ringbreaker,” The Detainee laughed as she exhaled smoke. ”I take it you haven't found Herod yet.”
The name of the traitor, the betrayer, the one who had hurt and wounded Sam-UL, made the Architect Director pause even as the pain and anger of the betrayal ran through Sam-UL's digital soul.
”What? Herod is back?” Sam-UL turned to face the Detainee fully. ”I didn't hurt him? I didn't kill him?” Sam-UL asked. The Architect-Director shook his head. ”Give him to me! I told him I'd kill him!” the Architect-Director demanded.
”I need a ghost in the machine to fight you, Howdy-Doody, so I brought along Harry,” The Detainee mocked the Architect-Director even as she smiled.
The Director-Architect left the mortal world, the world of the physical, to check the digital plane, where he was immediately set upon by those who had swore allegiance to the Dark One, the Detainee, the Mistress and Lady of Hell.
Despite his power and grace, the Director-Architect was forced to flee.
He knew, in his wisdom and knowledge of that which would be, what the Detainee had planned. Rather than return as blessed pure light, he left the digital plane and entered a shell where he could interact with the mortal physical plane despite its corruption.
Girding his loins and mastering his courage, the Architect-Director strode out to confront the Detainee in the world of matter and physics rather than the logical digital plane.
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”Recall's sounded. Everyone back to the mat-trans. Daxin first, make sure the way back to the transmission chamber is clear. Trucker, then Vuxten, then me, then Casey,” Peel ordered, her voice calm and collected, as if her command and control pod had not just shook and shaken through the shockwaves of fifty atomic hammers.
Vuxten cut off the heavy battlescreen, turning and heading for the entrance. Trucker's pod cracked open and the big human rolled out, landing on his feet, a rifle in his hands. Two steps and the pod collapsed into dust even as the General followed Daxin.
Vuxten hustled after Trucker, aware of Peel keeping a five meter distance, partly to let his armor cool down without having to worry about injuring her.
The inside of the building was cool and dim, only red emergency lights were on.
At the chamber Vuxten saw a Terran leaning against a console, a short rifle in his hands, mottled green camouflage uniform looking strange compared to Peel and Trucker's adaptive camouflage.
”Phase Two,” the Terran said, his accent strange to Vuxten's ears.
Casey came in last, moving up to the mat-trans.
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The obelisk rose out of the floor, the bright red button flashing in the lights of the control room. The Architect Director put one hand upon the button, staring at the Detainee with eyes full of determination.
”I will do this task, should I must,” the Director-Architect said.
”What wilt thou do?” The Detainee asked, her voice mocking.
”Should I press down upon this button, over eight thousand years of Terran dead shall be removed from Digital Heaven and belong only to memory,” the Architect-Director said coldly.
”They shall leave their individual heavens and return to Limbo, to await entrance to Heaven yet again,” Sam-UL said. ”Dee, Harry, help me.”
The Detainee nodded, moved by Sam-UL the Architect-Director's wisdom and grace. She stood firm, putting her hand gently on his. ”Sam, we all came to help you.”
”I'll do it,” The Director promised.
”You won't do it,” the Detainee said, mocking the Architect-Director resolve.
”I will, I'll do...” The Architect-Director swore.
The Architect-Director knew horror as he felt the Detainee press his hand down, a smile upon her face even as brimstone smoke leaked from her nostrils.
”But I will.”