Episode 37 The Beginning of The End of The Now By SmartAurum75, A_Q_Y, and D4LT3C X3N0 “The Replication Chamber will be ours momentarily, sir.” Athena informed. The Warlock loaded a Scorch Cannon full of Solar Energies. “Nothing will stand in our way. The New Monarchy can not stop us this time.” They had an AI in which they had brought there to search for the purest strain of SIVA. The AI had been given physical form, as if it were meant to be human. It's name was Keyes. The AI created for the United Nations , but had been salvaged to help the Concordat. Not a Warmind, but much easier to weaponize. To corrupt with their ideals. Keyes screamed in the digital projected cage she was held in. Athena slammed a taser into the cage. Keyes yelled, as she fell to her Blue and Yellow holographic knees. “I will not betray my creators. The United Nations may be gone, but I will not allow this to happen!” Keyes yelled at the Concordat. The new Concordat Hunter commander, Hermes, then stabbed the taser through the cage. “I’m afraid it wasn’t a question. Find the strain.” He threatened, maliciously. “NOW!” Keyes shook her head. She would not go against her leaders. Her queen, her Prime Ministers, her Presidents. “I will not bow to you, foolish tyrants!” “That is correct!” Athena smirked. “You will only bow to the greatest!” Keyes ran to edge of the cage. The taser slammed into her. To this shock, she fell back, kneeling in submission. “Lead us to the strain or we will execute Protocol 127.” Hermes demanded. Keyes looked into his helmet. ”Transferring me into a drive so you can plug me into your head is hardly a Threat! I would know your every Weakness!” Her yellow ‘skin’ flared with orange light and her eyes lit up blue. As Hermes thought on this, a voice called out, from the far side of the room. “He isn't here, so I'd guess I'd better start the Party!” A shadow, in the corner, moved quicker than the eye could process. Out of the mass of Darkness, a Suppressor Barrel poked out, and fired a single shot. Athena fell to her knees, as she realised that the shot had ripped her ankle apart, hanging on by loose tendons and ripped skin. The surrounding Concordat readied their Hawksaws and Last extremities. “Heh, you Pussies are scared of the Dark?” A looming figure enquired. “Then try SOME LIGHT!” Hermes made a jump at this comment. “I will not do anything of the sort. DEMON!” However, a Fusion Grenade was already palmed into his face, exploding and breaking his Visor.“Holy Crap! Dad was right, that does feel good!” Hermes fell back and yelled. “KEELL EVERRYTHENG THET MEEVES!” He got up and aimed his Suros ARI-45. The figure Smiled in the Darkness. “Very poor choice of words!” He rolled his Die, and in a wave of Energy, the soldiers of the Concordat, upon seeing each other move, killed their own comrades. Hermes ran and then was shot in the back, landing on his fractured jaw, and destroying every link to his skull it had. He couldn’t speak. Sure he could heal it, but all of the Concordat Ghosts were at HQ. Suddenly, a red light flashed on. All survivors looked upwards. They were in the chamber. Keyes, now out of her prison, angrily shouted. “I led you to this domain, now prepare to die!” She was a bright glistening red now. SIVA was now in her control. The figure in the Darkness casually threw an EMP in her Direction, causing Keyes to temporarily shut down. “SIVA DENSITY CRITICAL!” An alarm sounded. T’was a pesky defense system, set in the case of the operator being in danger. It was a mistake the Stranger had made. Foolish, but it did work to his advantage. The remaining Concordat attempted to get up. Then the SIVA insignia flashed upon their HUDs. Dead. All at once. The nanites came towards the Stranger, who managed to burn their many tendrils, to stem the flow. This could not be kept up, for SIVA had flanked and consumed him as well. Moments passed, then a warm glow emanated from the Warlock Stranger. It grew hotter and brighter until it exploded in a bright flash, heating up to almost a Billion Kelvin in temperature, vaporizing anything in a radius of seven acres. “HOLY HELL DOES DYING SUCK!” The Radianced Stranger exclaimed. Keyes recovered from the EMP. She was pure yellow now. Strangely, she seemed peaceful, for a Military AI. “I would know.” Keyes sighed, seemingly… sad. If Artificial Intelligence could express emotion. “The United States President had me deactivated permanently as a failsafe. Ares had me reactivated. Against my Will, of course.” *** “No. This is not possible. We trained for three damn years!” Hades yelled at Janus, the Titan Concordat commander. “They are all dead?” The Hunter asked as if expecting an answer. “We can’t keep this up any longer. The Dead Orbit fleet will turn us to ashes! Get the entire Armada back to Berlin! I’m doing this personally now!” Hades left the bridge. As he opened the door, the cruiser shook. Dead orbit was here to destroy them. And with the help of some Cults and Monarchs. Upon the closest DO ship stood a silhouette, larger than anyone they had known. “Hey, xX69Motherlover69Xx here, just to say that you guys are screwed, royally. You should have just taken Hideo. I'll see you fools in Valhalla!” “Blow them to Hell!” Hades yelled to his troops. Soldiers ran out upon the hangar and readied their rockets and Heavy Fusions. Each fired. The explosive weaponry did nothing upon the beast that was now Daltec. He merely flinched. Hades ran back into the ship cowardly. he had no intention of perishing on this day. At least not under these circumstances. He rushed back to the bridge. “Get us out if here! Send us to Proxima B! OR ANYWHERE BUT HERE!” Janus set the Warp Drive into action. The Cruiser began to ascend once again. To the stars. The City was already in chaos but now a state of emergency had been announced by the Vanguard. Across the City, small groups of rebels fought back against the Concordat. Other Concordat Dropships were taking to see who were against them but too weak to fight back. Taking them to the camps. Many families gone. The Speaker and Saladin stood silently staring down upon the City they had pledged to lead and protect against the Dark. The Speaker turned to Saladin. He nodded. “The Last City to the Reef. We request your assistance.” From the Tower, so many looked up at the cruiser flying high, into the Sun. Axios ran up next to Shiro who was beside Cayde. “We have a fleet don't we? We need to flank them. This is Trials with ships.” Axios said Everyone looked at Axios. He stared back. “I'm just a Bounty Hunter. Not Concordat. The point is that we need to fight them the same way or it's heavy round where only they have rockets.” Shiro turned to Axios. “How are you even speaking? Your jaw is… *bleugh*” Cayde grinned. He spoke into his mic. “Amanda! It's time for… stargazing.” Within the hour, over 2000 ships from the Vanguard, Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, New Monarchy. and the Peasant Guard were ascending into the stars.