Faux Realm Ch. 16

Fleet Admiral Anna seeing his honest apology relaxed and turned to watch the TV screen.

The pilots were talking between themselves on the proper way of engaging their unseen enemy. One of them wanted to go gung ho and just throw all planning into the water, but in the end everyone agreed on some sort of a plan implemented by the squad leader.

"Live ammo hot and ready." The pilot instructed.

"Now wait a moment -- "Fleet Admiral begun.

General Andrew argued, "It was his idea."

"Trying to prove a point. I need you to use everything in your arsenal for that point to be made." Lucian explained.

"Now wait just a moment. What makes you an expert?" Fleet admiral berated.

Lucian simply smiled and lifted his left limb. Anna's eyes went wide with shock.

"Is that -?" She began asking, but was interrupted by Lucian.

"Completely functional. Took me some time to get used to the strange feeling, but this here is one hundred percent real." He moved his hand in all direction in front of her disbelieving eyes.

Anna eventually relaxed, "Alright, but don't cry to us later. I'm not about to feel responsible for any causalities on your side."

"I thank you for your understanding, Fleet Admiral." Lucian smiled.

The woman snorted and continued watching the giant screen.

The screen suddenly went black. The room went quiet for few tense moments. People manning their station tried to reestablish the connection. Moments passed without anything happening. The only noise coming from the TV was silent static.

"What just happened?" Anna asked.

The man on a nearby station shook his head, "Not sure ma'am. We lost connection."

"Can you get them back?" General asked.

"We're trying. Everything is silent." Officer said.

"How many is that?" Lucian grimly asked.

General swallowed, "Five people."

Lucian turned towards the general, his hand now grasping his shoulder, "I suggest using everything on this one."

Andrew looked towards Fleet Admiral Anna. She briefly nodded as both of them started barking orders to their people. Next few minutes Lucian saw how effective their chain of command was, the commanders planning their attack while the people around them executed their orders.

"Are you just going to ignore the fact that he killed five people?!" A voice behind their backs started yelling.

"Guards, get him. NOW!" The voice ordered.

Before Lucian could identify who the voice belonged to he was surrounded by numerous agents and soldiers with drawn weapons. He watched as the general and Fleet admiral barked orders to get the situation back on track.

"Monster!" The voice growled.

A strange noise filled the room. Finally, he was able to see the newest battle ship in combat.

He smiled as the massive structure started to rise from the water. It's shape slowly changing to fit the modus of its new operation. As minutes passed the ship finally looked something close to what could stop Lucian's team.

The sharp corners now could easily break any waves, the cannons looked menacing, molded together, even more so after their abrupt change. They were wider and longer. Now pointed towards the sky.

After brief silence - they started firing.

HOOOOOOOOOO!

HOOOOOOOOOO!

The cannons screamed twice. The air around the bridge shook from the ferocity of the attack. Lucian grabbed his ears to prevent the noise from hurting him, however, soon the sound completely vanished. The only thing to show the cannons were firing was the light emanating from their barrels. Bright orange glow streaked across the sky, disappearing towards the unknown. Lucian was sure that they were firing towards their ship.

"What is that?" Lucian asked in awe.

"Plasma particle weapons. Pride and joy of our arsenal." General stated.

"It was really loud, but now I can't hear anything." Lucian swiped his hand over his ears, checking for any damage.

Fleet Admiral smiled, "We've never used the weapon. This was their maiden voyage."

"Fleet Admiral we're hitting the target." Officer said.

"Soon we're going to see this farce to an end. I suggest your people surrender sooner -- I'd want to avoid unnecessary damage." The Fleet Admiral stated proudly.

"You lot drop down your weapons." The General barked towards the soldiers surrounding Lucian.

Lucian just smiled.

Officer coughed, "Ma'am, we're hitting the target, yet we don't see any damage."

"Are you sure?" General asked.

Officer nodded, "Yes, Sir. We're using long rage cameras. Sensors are adjusted to track the shots. However, the shots are bouncing of its structure. It's like we aren't doing anything to it."

"Sir, I'm detecting the object is starting to do something. It's fired something towards us." Another officer interrupted.

"A missile?" A nearby captain asked.

The officer shook his head, "Negative sir. We're not detecting any explosives with our sensors."

"Oh! They are using it right of the bat." Lucian admired.

The general glanced towards Lucian watching his smug smile, "What?" he asked.

"What did you do?!" The voice behind him screamed.

Lucian shook his head, "Nothing." He had a vague idea who the voice might belong to.

"Can you put it on screen?" Fleet Admiral Anna asked.

"Negative. We're tracking it with our sensors, but our cameras aren't able to lock on."

"It's coming our way!!!" Another officer yelled across the floor.

The reaction was immediate. Everyone started scrambling in their posts and barking things - which Lucian didn't bother to follow. His knowing grin enraging the people in the room.

A young woman shakily said, "I've did it. Tracking it. The impact area is -- our ship."

The reaction was immediate. Men, who stood along the walls, moved fast and quickly pointed their weapons towards Lucian. The lightning fast reflexes of the guards impressed Lucian as in mere seconds every gun and rifle was pointed towards his face.

"You've killed us all." The general silently said.

Lucian shook his head, "Relax. They wouldn't kill me."

"Are you sure?" Fleet Admiral didn't believe his words.

He smiled, "Of course. I love them, they love me. I wouldn't be here if I didn't trust them and their ability to protect me."

Lucian heard someone rustling behind him, "Kill him now." As the voice said those words he stood in front of him.

For the first time he saw the face of his attacker. The man who called him 'alien fucker'. Now pointing his own gun towards Lucian. He could now clearly see the barrel of the gun. However he just smiled and waited.

"Tell them to stop that. Or by all that's holy I'll shoot you dead right here." The man spat.

As he was saying those words, something mangled through the steel ceiling. Foam, wires and metal parts flew across the room as the object penetrated the hull with ease. Screams of fear filled the air as stunned people tried to shield themselves from debris getting ejected across the room.

People dove for cover. Several officers were hiding behind their posts hoping to avoid any unnecessary damage. The chaos was brief. Eventually stopping as every person waited with baited breath.

The air suddenly fell quiet as every face, one by one, emerged from their respective cover. They watched the point where it landed. Dust still in the air. Lucian could smell metallic bits being burned by the intensity of the impact. Several men moved quickly from pointing their guns at Lucian, to standing side by side in front of general Andrew and Fleet Admiral. Their guns at the ready.

Mechanic buzzing noises suddenly filled the silence.

A soft mechanical voice echoed, "Drop -- your -- weapons."

The instruction -- demand was ignored.

Lucian felt something whizz across the air. Bouncing of the walls and deploying tiny explosive charges.

Behind them a light was suddenly broken and everyone in the room faced the broken glass. The reaction resulted in an odd shape moving faster than Lucian could even see. He blinked. Before he opened his eyes everything was over.

In front of him was a mechanical being its -- her hand molded into a weapon pointed towards Fleet Admiral Anna and General Andrew.

The two guards rendered helpless. Their weapons thrown on the floor. Mangled beyond repair. The men watched in terror as their arms were now holding nothing but air. The speed with which that was done terrified them. Beneath her foot was the head of the man that had his weapon drawn at Lucian. Spittle coming out of his mouth.

"What -- What is THAT?" General Andrew gasped.

Lucian smiled, "Rude."

Fleet Admiral flinched, "Apologies." She quickly corrected his verbal faux pas.

For the rest of the people inside the room it was evident what just happened. Fear and trepidation written across their faces.

"What just happened?" A voice asked quietly.

The question was on all of their minds. The guns were all over the floor. Bits and pieces of mangled metal occasionally dropped from the ceiling. Sunlight softly basked the interior as the mechanical being pointed her molded hand towards the two highest ranking officers in the room.

Lucian smiled. "I want you to meet our Guardian, Siri."

He approached the metallic being and grasped one of her shoulders, "We saved her from a salvage vessel few weeks back, and I guess this was her first voyage into the unknown."

"Thank you, Master." Siri's mechanical voice echoed.

Lucian pouted, "I've told you; call me Lucian."

Everyone in the room watched in utter terror, "Is it -- she going to hurt us?" Kanata broke the unnerving silence.

Lucian saw her shaking in fear, "Of course not." He began, "She might fight, but her high moral compass is on par with some humans. Sure she is capable, however her violence is calculated."

"Thank you, Master." Siri slightly bowed.

"No, it's Lucian" He gently corrected.

"Now listen. All of this was to show you what you're dealing with." Lucian explained.

"We just have one ship that's not even a state of the art. Very few weapons. Do you think you could dissect Siri here?" Lucian pointed.

"Sorry dear." He softly apologized to Siri.

"No need. Master, I confirm your intentions were to show them how primitive they actually are." Siri spoke.

First to wake from their stupor was General Andrew, "Is she actually robotic?"

"I think they are referred to as Automaton's. Though I have heard Ericha call Siri here, a Bio Form." Lucian added.

"Correct. My formal designation is S1R1. Or Siri. My first model was created 200 years ago. First iteration was limited to picking waste, eventually, government saw how good we were, integrating us into military Covert operations. Focusing mainly on assassinations. Though intelligence gathering was my secondary objective. Through hard work it's possible for us to achieve freedom."

"Thank you Siri." Lucian smiled.

"What government?" He heard someone ask.

Ignoring the question Fleet Admiral slowly approached Siri and started to cautiously touch her exposed metallic parts, "She is really a being made out of metal."

Lucian softly smiled while watching the woman's admiration, "You sound like you just discovered fire. You can do this, though not as advanced as her. Either way, I never wanted to showboat our weapons. I just wanted you to realize that fighting is not always the answer."

General watched Lucian as he gave his grand answer, "I think you're just lucky to get all of this. If we had something we could do so much. Think how much our society would change. Just how much our offensive capabilities would improve."

Lucian shook his head, "You had your chance. I think you could do so much with the technology here and you decided to spend it all on military upgrades. What about helping the people? Our history is built on war, can you honestly say anything would change if you suddenly invest in war effort again."

Lucian could see General was not about to be persuaded, "Let me ask you, could you find anyone without my help?"

After not getting any answer he sat on a nearby chair, "Can you even imagine what you would be against? Not one ship. But hundreds, thousands. Every one of their guns, cannons and beam weapons would be aimed towards you."

Lucian watched as every man and woman in the room contemplated their future, he took a deep breath, "Your past enemies were nothing, mere ants. You would challenge gods. Movies don't do it justice."

Kanata looked crestfallen, "So you're saying our people are lost."

Lucian softly smiled, "Not at all. They could still be tracked. My counter question is; what do you want me to do?"

He stood up and walked up to a post with a computer, "You talked about me being a hero. Your own words. What do you want from me?"

Kanata's pleading voice responded, "We need you to find our people. Our and your people that were taken from us. Please."

"It'll not be easy." He sighed.

The dust from the explosion had finally settled forming a fine layer on top of the station. He used his finger and ran a straight line from one end to the other.

"I'll need to see their files." While he said that he started to pluck away at a nearby keyboard.

"Hey." He heard a voice object.

Ignoring it he relentlessly weaved through their cyber defenses like they weren't even there. Finally arriving at the section 51. Red light letters appeared across the screen.

"Omega clearance. Really?!" He shook his head.

The people in the room stared in awe as this strange man opened their online gates without much effort, "This is why people shouldn't use simple passwords. What happened to your firewall? Gone."

"This isn't fun." He shook his head in disgust.

Lucian turned towards his audience, "I feel like I'm picking on you. I downloaded everything I needed from the site and used my time to improve some of your cyber defenses. Trust me, your firewall at least is ancient. Focus on something other than fighting power. Right now you need to improve everything. Your military might is nothing if you have communities without proper plumbing and toilets. I've seen how desperate you really are. I'll ask for aid to be sent to your planet. Hopefully it's approved. Either way I'll keep in contact."

"How do you know where they are?" Kanata finally snapped out of her tranced state.

Lucian shook his head, "I don't know. However I'll use the data to ask the Republic I'm working with to provide me with some clues. I'm not promising anything."

A random man approached, "Is there no hope?!"

Lucian watched for few moments before speaking, "I wouldn't say so. I escaped. If I could do it, so can others."

The man looked crestfallen, but the glimmer of hope lifted his spirits, "I'll hope for the best. There's too much negativity in the world now days."

***

The bullets whizzed past her head as she ran for her life. Her shackles dug deep into her skin. Blood slowly poured out of her open wounds. Her wrists and ankles were always in so much pain. Yet she ran. Every step was excruciating.

Sun moss illuminated the path before her. The voices were hissing. Shackles weighed her heavily. Her pursuers chasing her for miles and miles. Her feet a bloodied mess as she traversed over sharp rocks.

"SSSSSSSS!" She jumped at the noise behind her.

She was being closely chased by her reptilian pursuers.

The snake like creatures slithered behind her. Their pitch black eyes scanning the surroundings, the forked tongues flicking in the air. Smelling her fear. The reptile closest to her opened his maw in a wide grin.

She could see their large bodies were dragging behind them while slithering up the hillside. They were everywhere.

Several of them were still pouring out the mammoth citadel. Its walls so high they touched the sky. She could clearly see some of them so big they had trouble exiting the massive structure. Tiny doors obstructing them in their way.

The occasional shot would echo across the empty valley. Whizzing past her head. Lodging somewhere in the mountain side.

Snipers nest was tucked somewhere on top of those massive walls. The chase was waking something primal in them. Their sneers were sending shivers down her back. Whenever she turned to observe the location of her pursuers she could see it on their faces.

She couldn't hear anything being said. Yet she knew they were conversing.

She had to run away. Anywhere but here. Anywhere was better.

She found a bush to provide some cover from the sniper and in doing so she scouted the valley for information. Every fiber of her being wanted to run, yet she needed to see where her pursuers were. An escape plan was forming in her head while she watched several of her reptilian captors slither into a cave. Probably searching for her.

Couple of the reptiles quickly returned holding a piece of cloth in their scaly fingers. Much larger individual, who appeared to be the leader of the bunch, grimaced; his forked tongue flicking in the air.

She saw her opportunity to run. She took her chance and started sprinting towards a ledge across the hill. What was beneath it didn't matter. The only thing what she wanted was to get away. She had to.

She stopped.

Wide black chasm was beneath her. Air currents were holding her back from jumping immediately.

Something deep inside didn't allow her to go that one step further. That one step needed to jump. She dropped down to her knees and waited. The reptilian overlords not far behind. She waited with baited breath.

"Get her!" She heard a strong hiss.

Again she shivered, "Please! Let me go!" She pleaded.

One of them sneered as he took her by the torso. The act disfiguring its face, "Squirm, more!!" He hissed.

She felt as a doll being played by a child. A terrifying one at that.

The woman always had a primal fear of snakes. A terror that rendered her body useless in most cases. She shivered seeing his features, snake like eyes, forked tongue and array of sharp and pointy teeth. Simple holes on the side of this one's head, acting as ears. This one looked like a giant version of a snake.

The woman went limp in his arms.

"Bah, no fun!" he spat while holding her limp body.

He was approached by another of his brethren, "We need to report this."

He threw her tiny body to one of the waiting members, "No need, we managed somehow. Thanks to this." In his hands he was holding a cloth the men found.

"But -- the guidelines strictly states..." The hissing voice urged.

The bigger male barred his teeth, "Bah -- guidelines. Do what you're told!"

The reptiles started to go back one by one.

The smaller one shivered, "What about the prisoner?"

"Send her to salt mines," he sneered. "Several months there will curb her of any escaping dreams she might have."

The smaller male swallowed, fear evident on his features, "Are you sure? Mines are still infested."

"Yes. A month or two in those will suffice." He started to slither back towards the citadel.

The rest of the guards followed behind the big male. They slithered in a line back to where they came from. All wildlife around them noticeably keeping their distance from them.

One of the grazing animals was too absorbed to notice them coming closer. The grass was just too delicious.

One of the reptiles snapped. He lunged at the gazing animal. His body moving fast. Enveloping the animal with his long body. A sharp scaly ridge running down his back towards the end of his tail digging deep into the flesh of his victim.

The animal was tied into his death grip within moments. With each beat of the animal's heart his body would constrict more and more. The scaly ridges dug deep into its victims flesh. Its squirms making the bony ridges dig deeper into its flesh. Eventually the bones begun to snap.

As he was about to release his jaw to swallow his prey whole he was interrupted, "You can do that later. We need to get back. They are coming soon."