The Deian War: Conquest

by Trehearn, Tom

“You must be Jestarr” she said. He nodded. “Presumably if she didn’t tell us herself she was here, she wanted it kept secret. Why did you tell us?”

  Jestarr looked at her blankly. “Experience suggests people don’t like to be surprised by her arrival, despite her power and…talents”.

  “It’s probably because of her talents, Commander” Oz replied sternly, but Jestarr’s expression didn’t change. Serving alongside Solitaire had created in him a barrier against challenge or correction from anyone. “Still, we are grateful for your message. She won’t be told of it”.

  The Harlequin Commander nodded and crossed his arms confidently. From a side entrance to the chamber, a new figure joined them. She was a little shorter than Jestarr, but her presence dwarfed his own. Her pink and black hair was short on the right side, but cascaded down her left shoulder until the tips lay across her chest armour. Her cheeks were rosy now, adding to the illusion of innocence that became her. She bore no weaponry, but her bright eyes and precise movements belied a need to.

  “Solitaire, it’s good to see you again” Novus smiled. The sentiment was genuine, though the grievance she held was still there. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”

  Almost ignoring the Harlequins, Solitaire walked briskly to Novus and threw her arms around her. “Novus!” Hugging her tightly, beaming with happiness, she laughed gently. “Good is not good enough! I have missed you terribly!” Solitaire replied, ignoring her sister’s question completely.

  Novus hugged her back, feeling an honest sense of familial bonds return to her. She chose not to ask Solitaire again, knowing that if she ignored something there was a good reason for it. They had grown together as Apostles on Noiran, a world bathed in shadow where only Phoenix and the light of her palace, its walls made of flame, stood in defiance of the darkness. They were as close as Calla and Raina, even though they did not share the same blood, so Novus could find it in herself to forgive the lack of proper communication that Solitaire showed.

  The reinforcement of their relationship broke through Novus’ trepidation and she felt herself laugh with joy as well. When Solitaire pulled away, she saw how closely Oz stood near Novus and cocked her head in understanding. Slowly her lips curled into a knowing smirk. When she last saw them, they hadn’t been this close. Now things were a little more obvious.

  “Am I replaced?” she asked him.

  “Never” he grinned. Over time he had gotten more attached to her as well, though he didn’t feel the same responsibility of care towards her as Novus did.

  Solitaire embraced him too and stepped away to be alongside her legionnaires. By now, Volanquis and Tacitus of the Dawntreaders had arrived. Each Apostle now had the main components of their legion’s command structure present, as well as various Commanders from the other legions under their join command. With a quick glance over to them, Oz was heartened to see most of the key legions represented; Lauria for the 18th, the 60th with Valens, Janus from the 99th, Decimus of the 403rd, Vergil of the 538th and, most interestingly, Eos from the 821st.

  The 821st had found them most recently, but unlike the other legions who were ready and willing to be taken under the umbrella of the two Apostles, the legion had its own agenda. Claiming that they had to find the Lion, under the direction of an Apostle they were honour-bound not to reveal, Eos pleaded for Oz and Novus to help her and the 821st reach the First. The whole thing seemed suspicious, however, and though both Volanquis and Akurei confirmed the identity of Eos and her legion, they cautioned the Apostles to wait.

  The 821st hadn’t been seen for a very long time, even during the Battle of Colossi they didn’t make a name for themselves, so it seemed strange that another Apostle would send them directly to the Lion with such urgency. Novus was protective of the First to the point of paranoia and she welcomed the two Commanders’ advice, insisting that they wait until they could understand the nature of Eos and her mission. Oz, on the other hand, wasn’t sure she would wait that long. He was surprised to see her here on the council, nevertheless still in the sector. She could have taken her legion and rushed away for help elsewhere by now, but she didn’t.

  Before he could dwell on the meaning behind that, it was time to begin the meeting. “Many things have come to pass” Novus began as the chamber fell silent and the Guardians gathered round the table. “There are many more that we may no longer be able to predict. It is why we are here now, gathered as rarity demands”. As she spoke, she matched the eyes of all her audience, Apostle and legionnaire alike.

  She focussed on Solitaire now. “First, we must understand the conflict we cannot see from the ground. Tell us sister, what fate awaits us above?”

  THE WAR COUNCIL was an unusual event. Since the defeat at Pheia two years ago, the Apostles had broken up into pairs or independent factions. Despite being close to Oz and Novus, even Solitaire was considered her own force. The Guardians that were now gathered with the three Apostles, a mixture of Commanders, Recon Masters and honoured legionnaires, dared not say anything unless directly prompted.

  Over the course of an hour, Solitaire explained the legions’ naval situation not only in the Orpheus Sector, but throughout the Empire. She shared her knowledge of the other Apostles’ fleet actions, the strength of ships she believed they wielded and the movement of the Phantoms.

  Novus and Oz already knew that she was struggling to prevent the Great Enemy from breaching her lines and getting through to the south-eastern part of the Empire, but they were surprised to hear that the Independent Worlds that were nestled between the Orpheus and Tempest Sectors were rallying together with the Guardians to repel the Phantom forces.

  “They volunteered to help? Can they handle warfare against the enemy?” Oz asked incredulously.

  Solitaire gave him a thoughtful look. She had been detailing the part that the Independent Worlds were playing for a while, noting with delight the success of their guerrilla strikes. Then, as if remembering where she was and what he had actually asked her, she nodded at him several times with a victorious smile. “They have become great friends of mine, Oz! They’re not scared like the other humans are. They’re…stronger”.

  Oz gave a questioning glance to Novus, who in return shrugged. “Why do you think that is?” he asked Solitaire.

  “They defy the bullies of the Empire’s Senate. They’re not scared of anyone anymore” she said. “And it’s a difficult place where they’ve made home. They’ve seen things, enough to break the shackles of naiveté that the rest of the Empire still has”.

  She went on to explain that her fleet had grown in size by triple its original strength. “More legions have flocked to me. Am I the only special one?” she asked them.

  Novus felt a twinge of guilt for the possible connotations of that word and how they all seemed to fit with Solitaire. “How many have come, sister?” she managed to reply without giving her inner thoughts away.

  Solitaire closed her eyes to think, as if shutting the outside world away would help her count. “Three infantry legions…five armoured…four naval”. She opened her eyes and said with a telling gravity in her voice, “Twelve…twelve legions. Huh, how remarkable. Is that enough?”

  Oz raised an eyebrow. “Enough? Enough for what?”

  “To win” Solitaire said bluntly, looking at him like he was stupid. The tone didn’t sound quite right coming from her.

  “We can win; we just need the right strategy. Might of arms alone will not ensure our victory over the Great Enemy” Novus answered.

  Solitaire nodded her agreement. “What about you two? Have any of our lost friends returned to you?”

  “A naval legion appeared two weeks ago, carrying both an infantry and artillery legion with them. We don’t know where they came from and, more confusingly, neither do they. Our own legions confirm their identity, though” said Oz.

  Solitaire was thoughtful. “Hmm…missing legions indeed” she muttered to herself.

  The Apostles shortly after came to the conclusion th
at at maximum, a third of the original one thousand legions had survived the Battle of Colossi. The rest had either been annihilated or were lost forever for unknown reasons. Whatever the case may be, the Twelve Chosen could ill afford to search for traces of them and simultaneously defend the Empire’s worlds. It was hard to imagine there were any left to discover now anyway and since the latest additions, there had been no news of any others. Even the recent arrivals admitted they had seen no-one else.

  “It’s a big galaxy” the Commander of the 18th, one of the new legions, had commented. Her name was Lauria and she had been glad to offer her support to Oz and Novus, but both were keen to discover more about her. The war on Kraxus had denied them that chance, however.

  The memory of that moment, spurred by the discussion they were now having with Solitaire, reminded Oz of someone else they thought missing. “Has anyone yet reported on Samael? Surely there must be news by now…”

  Solitaire shook her head sadly. “Maybe he got lost somewhere and just can’t find his way home…” she hoped aloud.

  Novus rubbed her chin. “We have sent scouts into every Sector of the Empire and their borders. Unless he is in enemy territory or dead, he doesn’t want to be found. In any case, his fate cannot be in good terms”.

  Oz disagreed. He would not be so pessimistic. “We can’t know that. For all we know, he could be fighting his way back to us even now. If he’s taken a leaf from my book, he’s doing it the slow, invisible way”.

  Solitaire burst out laughing. “Hah!”

  The inappropriate sound caught the attention of everyone in the room and under their demand, she was compelled to explain. “What part of the Dragon ever seemed invisible to you, big brother? He was always so…loud and angry”.

  “It hardly matters when we can’t predict the enemy any longer. Their movements at first seem sporadic and then they employ a strategy so beyond our expectations they wipe out our defences before we can react. Today we were fortunate…but it won’t be so easy to identify their commanders again. They’ll remain hidden now we know what they look like. We cannot hold the line forever against their numbers and combined military minds” Novus said.

  “But we must!” Solitaire insisted. She began to cry. “They are coming for this world, to take it all! If we let them have it…They’re coming…they’re coming with everything they have…” Her words were confused and stammered now. A sudden emotion had overcome her, an unexpected anxiety that matched her inconsistent nature. It scared both of her fellow Apostles to see the most brilliant military mind in the galaxy made afraid by the Phantoms after all this time.

  The only conclusion they could draw was that something had changed. “What’s coming, sister? How can it be everything when the enemy is spread out so far?” Novus asked, moving to Solitaire’s side so she could comfort her.

  Solitaire sniffed back another nervous tear. “I couldn’t stop them all, you have to believe me….You do, don’t you? Say you do, please!”

  Oz joined them on her other side. He laid a hand on her shoulder and tried to permeate an air of trust, but there was something in her eyes that refused to be beaten back. It both pained and unnerved him to see her so unsettled.

  Solitaire eventually answered. “I tried to stop them…If it was only one, I could have done it. I saved a human fleet from one, after all…but now it’s a fleet of them…carrying millions of creatures…monsters…things…” she said, but the other two were no closer to understanding her than before.

  “What, Solitaire? A fleet of what?” Oz urged.

  She looked at him, then Novus and back again. She was more timid than ever, but she made herself reply. She couldn’t hide it anymore. The secret had to be revealed. “I-I think…they’re…well, they must have been…” she tried, but the impact of the truth was still too raw for her. To her legion she could disguise herself and keep a veneer of stability, but when it came to her family, it felt impossible.

  “Solitaire, you can tell us…” Novus said gently.

  She looked down at her feet, like a child expecting to be in trouble for confessing to something. “P-P-Promethian ships…” she muttered.

  The answer struck Oz and Novus like a thunderbolt. They stared at each other in open dismay. “No…it can’t be” Oz whispered.

  Chapter 16

  LUPUS REMOVED HIS helm as the airlock closed behind them. The world was brighter and more interesting in colour now that he wasn’t looking through blue lenses. Calla and the legionnaires did the same, almost in unison. There was an audible hiss and series of clicks as the seals in their armour were broken. Some held the head-armour under their arms, whilst others attached it to their hips by the magnetic locks built into the Guardian plating. Lupus was one of them; he didn’t like to carry things unnecessarily, preferring to always have his hands free for when situations demanded action.

  The Admiral, waiting beyond the second door to the defence platform’s interior, gestured to the staff that accompanied him. Through the window slit in the hatch, Lupus saw them move in separate directions until they were out of sight, but shortly after there was a hissing sound as the door lifted and the sloping metal was pulled back into the roof. Now the only thing that was between them and the Admiral was the exchange of oxygen across the hallway and the airlock section.

  “Apostles and Black Guardians…welcome to The Shield” the Admiral said, his voice stony but proud.

  Lupus and Calla walked into the hallway and the legionnaires shouldered them. There was a visible twitch in the men that stood with the Admiral again. Lupus thought it was apprehension, but he realised it must have just been a reflex over the security of their commanding officer. The Guardians and the military of the Empire had rarely met, let alone over matters like this. Nobody seemed comfortable.

  The Admiral noticed the atmosphere as well. “Majors, please, at ease” he told the men guarding him. Lupus saw a change in their posture, but it didn’t seem very relaxed.

  “Thank you for the welcome, Admiral” said Lupus. He noticed the bay windows lining each wall of the hallway and walked over to the right side, admiring the powerful cannons and array of weaponry that the defence platform consisted of. “Impressive” he noted aloud.

  The Admiral joined his side and revelled in the sight as though it was the first time for him as well. “There isn’t a moment when I don’t feel proud for what we’ve accomplished” he admitted. “There has never been a greater line of defence made in the whole of history. This is where we will hold them, Apostle. This is where we show the Vorlans and Phantoms alike that they were wrong to underestimate us. Maybe we will even earn the respect of you and your allies”.

  Lupus looked at the Admiral’s blank face, trying to read the emotion that he attached to the last comment, but couldn’t identify what it was. Instead of affirming that he had always held mankind in high esteem and that he still considered himself to in fact still be a part of that race, he turned his gaze back to the platform outside.

  “Tell me, can anything survive out there? If something was to land on the deck unannounced, I mean?” he asked.

  The Admiral knew what he meant. “If you’re asking whether we have countermeasures for unwelcome guests, then yes we do. The Empire was forged from war; we know enough about it by now to seal up the flaws in anything we make. There are scores of sentry guns and manned positions, but as I’m sure you can understand…I mustn’t discuss them in detail”.

  Lupus nodded. “You say sentry guns…those are fully automatic?”

  “They are” the Admiral answered reluctantly, deciding that the type information was harmless.

  “Then even allied troops, intention aside, would be targeted without authorisation and clearance to be on the deck?”

  The Admiral shifted on his feet, unsure of where this was going. “Well, of course, but every member of the defence station knows the due process…You ask with such direction you make me wonder if you’d ever plan to come without notice”.

 
Lupus kept his poker face on and turned to the Admiral. “No, I wouldn’t do such a thing, but others might. I just like to understand everything about what interests me.”

  The Admiral seemed to buy it. “Well, we can’t see much more from here. There’s only so much you can tell by looking out those windows” he gestured. “I can take you to the Command Centre and show you everything you could possibly want to see from there”.

  Lupus looked at Calla and the legionnaires. They shared the same expression; everyone wanted to know more, not just him. It was impossible not to be more curious about The Shield now after what they had already learned.

  “Lead on, Admiral” he said.

  THE NETWORK OF halls that led to the Command Centre was bathed in fluorescent light. Lupus could tell that they were heading further into the middle of the defence station and gradually, the chances to view the outside world ran out as the corridors began to intertwine and pass over each other. On more than one occasion they passed through a junction room where four or more paths diverted away from the one they were on.

  He walked in silence, Calla at his side and the legionnaires behind them. The Admiral and his men took point and after a while, Lupus noticed that several more human soldiers had joined them at the rear. He was satisfied with that though. In truth, the Admiral and his men had every right to treat them with a security escort, whether through unnecessary protection or suspicion.

  After a short while, the group came to a bulkhead door. It looked just the same as every other they had passed by, but Lupus could tell there was a significant difference with this one. It was the way the Majors that shouldered the Admiral stood that suggested they had arrived somewhere important. When the latter put his code into a hidden access panel and the space beyond was revealed to them, Lupus had his assumption vindicated; they had arrived at the Command Centre.

  Lupus stepped inside after the Admiral and his men. Calla and the legionnaires followed closely behind and the remaining soldiers filtered in and went to what Lupus assumed were pre-assigned positions. The Command Centre was more complex than the bridge of a Blackstar, with a series of three ascending decks that began at the entrance. The furthermost edge of the room was surrounded by the same bay windows from the hall at the airlock and looking outside, Lupus felt a pang of familiarity.