Chapter 255 - The Time Is Nigh

Note : Chapter 258 and 259 have been written and added to the queue !

Chapter 255

Simulation One

"So. What's the occasion?" Said Ghost as Alexandra sat down in the couch of the apparition's every changing house.

This time there were plants outside. Not just generic grass either, a genuine floral garden.

"I need to talk to you."

"I'm terrible with relationship advice."

"Not that kind of talk." Alexandra sighed. "I…During the battle, I had an hallucination."

"Ah. I assume ghosts from the past?"

"Yeah. Alpha Centauri, I think."

"First, or…?"

"Second battle. The beginning."

"Ah."

They sat there for a few seconds.

"Am I…loosing it?" Said Alexandra, and Ghost shook her head.

"I don't think so. Though I guess I'm hardly the best person to judge. But the reconstruction process…"

"Bringing some things back to the surface?"

"Memory suppression is tricky business. Human brains and thought patterns intertwine experiences with skills and personality too tightly. Even amnesiacs start remembering things when doing a particular thing or calling upon certain know-how."

"So how did Arcadia do it?"

"It's active. Just like if you were repressing the memories on your own. The reconstruction process might have disrupted that. Caused the repression to slip."

"I don't think we can afford me suffering a psychotic break now. Or ever. No offense."

"None taken. One of me me is bad enough. You me is better. Errr…"

"The english language wasn't made for this kind of conversation." They chuckled. Arcadia had said that often when two nodes had to interact. Despite liking to pretend that they were the same person, sometimes they did have to talk to each other with others present.

"Jokes aside though. I mean it. I'll try to delve into the programs, see if I can fix it."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"No problem. So, you and Emilia? Planning your vengeance with Allya about that meeting?"

Alexandra blushed.

"Yes. I am."

"You did bring it down on your head. You were the one to design that chair, and-"

"I know, I know! The irony is palpable. Do you have any ideas?"

The apparition gestured, absent mindedly summoning a cup of hot cocoa to her hands. Alexandra frowned. Starting to disregard physical rules like that in a simulation…was usually not a good sign.

It was a well known danger for AIs to get lost into their own perfect simulations, never to come back out again.

Maybe she'd have to strongarm her other self into getting a physical body after all. Even if only a golem to project a hologram over.

"I may have one or two. But what's in it for me?"

"You'll get command of CQ's next trip."

"Deal." Ghost didn't even hesitate, as Alexandra knew she would.

Ghost may have some awkwardness and doubts about Emilia, especially with the, ah, incident, but she had no hesitation about her relationship with CQ. She doted on the boss like crazy, and if anyone tried to harm the boss…

Alexandra made a note to keep an eye on it, and implement some failsafes. Just in case.

She had been ready to tear the Republic apart if they tortured her daughter.

Ghost would be willing to murder the whole continent.

"Alright. Let's hear it then."

*****

"The time is nigh." Said Rook as he looked at the sky.

"Let's hope. Too many already have fallen. Too many we lost." Answered Wonsnot.

Rook the Sunderer, leader of the free city of New Raleigh, and the bane of slavers the world over, nodded.

"Yes. But we are not Gods. Hell, even they could not prevent the Great Night."

Wonsnot simply grunted.

The sky was different from New Raleigh's. The sky from the other side of the world.

"What are we missing?" Asked Rook.

"Ingredients. The twins are doing their best, but…" Wonsnot shrugged. "Getting them to us is almost impossible."

"If the dungeon core saves Darthar, the routes will reopen."

"Maybe. If she pulls it off."

"You have too little faith."

"And you too much of it, old friend. This dungeon core has been a gift of the Gods, but even she cannot do everything."

"Shall we give her a hand then?"

"Can we afford it?"

Rook grimaced.

"Not directly. Intervening in person would tip our hand." Not to mention gather far too much attention, especially after that idiot Starvak's little stunt. "Plus, the fleet…"

"The Erisians are playing with fire."

"Yes."

Wonsnot blinked as he looked at his friend and savior.

"Spit it out."

"What?"

"Something's eating you up. Spit it out."

"There's just…something wrong with this war. Too many things have gone strangely. Too many coincidences."

"Hidden hands in the shadows. Just like during the fall of the Orlov Empire."

"Indeed. Our old foe…should not have toppled so easily. Something helped it along. And the First Empress should not have been able to rise so quickly afterwards."

"Think this is something similar?"

"Perhaps. A newborn dungeon core, at the center of everything. An Erisian born baroness, one that was once closely associated with the Imperial family, hailing from one of the old dynasties…"

"Whoever they were, they wouldn't have suborned a dungeon core. Not without the Custodians intervening."

Rook hesitated.

"And what if it were the very guardians doing the suborning?"

There was a long, long silence.

One did not live as long as they have without getting some suspicions about the catastrophies that had befallen their world. One of which they had set into motion.

"Careful now." Said Wonsnot, his voice shivering with concern. "What you say is…"

"Heresy, I know. Still, something to keep in mind."

"New Raleigh will survive. We always do."

"I'm not so sure anymore, old friend. I'm not so sure…"

*****

"One last push?" Said Falmagar, duke of Lorenz, as he leaned over the map table.

He pretended not to see the knight moving by his side in case he needed support. He'd survived the battle with the dungeon's fleet, but only just.

And even healing magic had its limits, especially on such short notice.

"It's the only solution." Said his second in command. Well, new second in command.

The previous one was somewhere in the wasteland, in tiny pieces, scattered amongst the dunes with the pieces of the flagship.

This new one, count something or other, had been the one to kick everyone into gear and something appearing coherence after the battle.

After returning to consciousness, the duke's first decision had been to affirm his actions, and relieve of command those that had resisted.

There was still some grumbling about a 'low born upstart', after all the fellow wasn't even related to the duke's dynasty or Sunrise's, but they had mostly subsided.

For now at least.

"Very well then. What's your plan?"

"Blow up the walls through any means necessary, then push the army through. Suicide bombers, satchel charges, whatever works or our engineers can come up with."

"That is…"

"Direct? My lord, if we don't do this, we're, to put it mildly, royally fucked. Subtlety is out of the window and then some, the dungeon core made sure of that. It's do or die now. Even if for some reason we wished to retreat, those ships would shred us before we left the wasteland."

"I see. So, just a desperate assault."

"Not desperate. Not yet at any rate." Falmagar smiled. He might need to learn the man's name. So few were willing to speak to him like that. "But close enough. I've also prepared some instructions to enhance our forces' psychological impact."

"Very well. When do you plan to attack?"

"At dawn. I've already given the orders to prepare."

"Good. Then I will leave it in your capable hands."

And he needed to get back to the healers, and get them to brew something that would get him combat capable for the next few days.

Because as certain as the sunrise, the dungeon core wasn't going to take this lying down, and he was grimly certain that they hadn't seen the end of her bag of tricks yet.

If bag of tricks was the appropriate term for something that hid those 'missiles' or damned null weapons.

*****

One of the problems with secret meetings was security.

You needed a secure venue, and bodyguards for the attendees, lest something befall them, even by accident. And that gathered unwelcome attention. Lock down a warehouse and have shadowy figures enter it, escorted by armed guards, and no matter how shadowy you were, every spy in the city would know by the end of the week.

Fortunately, the Order was used to this. They had to, to run a secret organizations for thousands years under the watchful eyes of the Custodians without being completely wiped out.

Their solutions, however, were somewhat…unconventional.

A figure, desperately trying to keep their anonymity, heading to somewhere innocuous in the city with an armed escort? Intensely suspicious.

Someone doing the same, but making a beeline for the red light district and a high end bordello that catered exclusively to the elite? Par for the course.

Joachim was all business as he gave the doorman his cloak, and ordered his security to wait for him at the entrance. He smiled brilliantly, his mouth about the only thing visible behind his masquerade mask, as a scantily clad young woman came to lead him deeper into the building, looking every bit like the bedazzled and enamored high ranking but obscure bureaucrat.

As soon as they were in more private corridors however, the courtesan's mannerisms changed, her head tracking across the room like a turret searching for targets, constantly scanning the area, as her sashaying turned into the determined and yet utterly silent stride of an elite soldier, her new movements almost unnatural, as if she was something that only looked human.

Jallira may be easy on the eyes, but she was quite possibly the single most dangerous person in the entire city. She certainly could have killed everyone in the building with one hand behind her back, Joachim and his guards included.

And with the importance of the plan, his guards were some of the Order's finest. Just not the finest.

The elite soldier escorted him to an innocuous boudoir, and ushered him in. He quickly sat down in a room that would have been eye popping by its sensuality, if it wasn't for the group of grim faced men and women. Even through the masks, they all radiated concern.

"Report." He said as he sat down in one of the couches strewn about the room.

"Satina's pet is doing his move. With his prodding, I don’t know how long we can keep the dungeons from pouncing on Lesly my lord." Said one of the figures, an older, grizzled man. "She can handle them, but…"

"Once some move on her, the entire UDC comes down."

"Yes. And it is too soon."

"Delaying tactics?"

"Tried every trick in the book. Some worked. Most didn't. We're running out of rope."

"To be expected." Joachim sighed. "The UDC will pop sooner than expected. Unfortunate, but not unsalvageable. The admiral?"

"She reported in a few hours ago." Said one of the woman, this one so old there had to be some questions asked about gigolos and plundering cradles, even by the remarkably discrete personnel of the place. "She can move the fleet to pressure the UDC, but engaging it…"

"The Empire won't stand for it. And we can't risk their imperial majesties smelling trouble. At least not that high within their own ranks." If nothing else, the assassins weren't fully ready yet. "Status of our forces?"

Jallira spoke up. If anyone was put out by their most dangerous warrior, and de facto ground force commander, wearing an outfit that left so little to the imagination that calling it 'clothing' was something of a stretch, no one showed it. Least of which the relic guard herself.

When one had escaped servitude to the God of Fire, and joined the hated, if never publicly admitted, ranks of the 'fallen' seraphims, worrying about one's appearance and physical appeal was simply no longer on your agenda.

"Our forces are ready to move out at a moment's notice, and strike anywhere, thanks to the SIV." Joachim nodded. The Stealth Insertion Vector had proven a fortuitous gift and addition to their assets. Especially now that the Custodians' eyes were firmly set on the Arkhan continent and its ever escalating wars. "We are, however, still short on personnel. I was given to understand such lacks were usually plugged with mercenaries, but with wars everywhere, that is not much of an option."

The relic guard was tactful enough not to mention the fact that their most trusted mercenary outfit was also being kept under lock and key by Lesly, after they stumbled far too close to the epicenter of the plan, and risked putting everything into jeopardy.

"Indeed. Do you have a solution?"

"I do. It is just not a pleasant one. We do have a significant stockpile of automated weaponry in the relic vaults." Everyone shifted uneasily. They'd all read the archives. Knew what had happened the last time humanity had trusted artificial intelligences on Alcheryos. There was a reason the Sagitarius Empire had crippled its AIs after all. "We can make use of it. It will have to be supervised, but it will act as a potent force multiplier."

Everyone looked to Joachim. He may technically be junior to the relic guard, but this was his operation, and the elite soldier would obey him.

He sighed.

"Lesly is already making use of Old World constructs. We are far past that point already. Do it."

The relic guard nodded.

"Very well my lord. I will have them deployed posthaste."

"Good. And now, I believe we had to begin the next step." He leaned forward. "How goes our effort to drag the Saphire Kingdom into this mess?"