Merlin is on Cambridge right now. That's not possible.
you saw it too... do you doubt?
No. What I meant is that it should not be possible. How could Merlin possibly know their location? Let alone send something across all that distance...
indeed... he is quite strong... something must have triggered him... he did not exhibit such strength before
Perhaps the hour is later than we had thought. We need to move up our timetable. More than that, we need to make sure he is in the right place when he fully triggers...
The ancient and visibly antique Console lay dormant as the tall Ex-BAF Officer walked towards it. It was not until he reached for a switch that it arose from the dead, it's light gleaming and clear. Yet another surprise was not the best for the man's already tense heart, and he let out an audible yell as he stepped back, the Comm's static auto-tuning away. A few moments later, a soothing and charismatic voice rang through the room, a soft organ choir playing in the background.
"Greetings Young Ones. I trust you are doing well." A strong cough came through, and the mysterious stranger continued after clearing his throat. "Welcome To Initiation. You have gone through the Trials, and served your Sires honorably. Throughout your diligent work and service, You have seen the True Sirius, filled with it's Vices and Shadows, as well as it's Virtues and Graces. You have served under the most honorable of men, Fighting so that others do not Have to. Now, it is your time. You shall undertake the Sacred Oath, uphold our Code, and Fight to preserve the Morals of Civilization. A grave danger is upon us, and it shall be your duty to protect our Majestic Order, or else, all hope shall be lost. Now, Come Fort-"
The console let out a loud squeal, and returned to static. Another form had come up from below, hearing the ambiguous speech, and was smirking across the room to his close companion. "Sounds Interesting, No? The Plot Thickens Yet Again..."
He raised his brow as the static died off yet again, though now not entirely. The voice that rang through this time was not the same calming and energetic voice as before, but one of an elderly and ailing stranger, one who refuses to pass on from the realm of the living. "Hello Young Ones... My Name is Matthew Festing... We have Much to Discuss."
"The pen is mightier than the sword." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton. "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword never encountered automatic weapons." -General Douglas MacArthur
His right hand was still firmly clasped around the red switch handle and the PDA he was using now lied on the ground, shattered, returned to it's most basic elements.
Aleski's eyes were wide open. Pearls of sweat populated the young man's forehead. His legs tightly locked in position, chest compressed and body motionless.
He lied there for three minutes. The burn of a drop of sweat gliding on the surface of an eye brought him out of his statis. His legs failed immediately, sending the Ensign to the ground, falling on his rear. His hands flailed behind him as if to soften the fall, but his instinctive reflex failed lamentably, only dispersing dust and objects around him instead.
He muttered a few incomprehensible words in his native tongue, while trying to catch his breath at the same time. Deneth tried getting back on his feet, but slipped, still in a daze. He made it after a few more tries.
Just before making his way outside, he noticed his PDA, which was a brand new model he had purchased in a boutique on New London, now in numerous pieces. He let out a swear, then carried on.
"I... I got the electricity running again... does anyone have headache medicine?" He was yelling at the others.
"Why the hell do people insist on scaring me?" He muttered in a low tone, waving Rockwell over and grabbing for the communicator's microphone. "This is Commander..." He trailed off and sighed heavily remembering that he was a fugitive now, not a Commander of the Armed Forces, "Austin Goodman speaking. How the hell did you get this comm frequency and what the hell are you talking about?"
"Of course, if you care to explain anything to us then you just happen to know where we are. Which defies the point of hiding in the first place. It also negates anything else as you sound oddly Bretonian." He finally finished.
Austin was a bit annoyed, that was the second time in this week that someone had scared him, or something remotely close to scary has happened. What was also odd was that ever since he's became a fugitive, he's been a bit jumpy. More so than normal.
He shook his head, muting the microphone for a second, shouting for the Ensign, Aleski, who was still screwing around in the other room. "Ensign, stop screwing around and get in here. This is slightly important."
Rocky couldn't help but let out a chuckle, as his characteristic smirk came across his face. His mind was racing at this development, a Knighthood, and one still around by the sound of this old senior. "Spooked? I told you we'd be stumbling over some gems on this path."
"Hello Mr. Goodmen. I Take it you're still with Rockwell? You two make quite a Duo. I also heard you accrued a Third member as well, I'm sure anyone with your trust should be satisfactory. Although, Perhaps I should explain further. I'm not sure how far you got into the Archives before I managed to lock onto the signal, but I am Grandmaster Fester, of the Knights Luminarium." He allowed a pause before continuing. "However, there are only a few of my Knights still around, and those are tasked with the preservation of the Order. They have gone around to all of our abandoned outposts, searching for any hope of survival, but to no avail. They have therefore left the consoles rigged, ready to alert me if any should be interfaced. That was Three Years Past. I have been waiting all this time, and I fear I may not have much time left in me in this realm. Therefore I wish to test you..."
Rocky leaned against the wall, his mind deep in thought and in ignorance of the continuing speech, taking in this new information, and processing it carefully. He had been in a moral dilemma the past few weeks, but this latest adventure had somewhat numbed the pain. However, it could not be repressed forever, and now it was seeping up again. Why was there pain in the first place? Why are people made to suffer? Why are there people who wish to Cause suffering? Such insanity... Was that why he joined the BAF in the first place? Yes... It was... That was it. To End those who would cause Suffering, in those who cannot defend themselves! He shook off his thoughts, somewhat happy at the slight progress.
"-e in the near future. I will only accept the most Moral and Chivalrous of men, Otherwise the Order cannot survive. I wish to meet with you, if you'll allow such a request. However, my Test is not easily vanquished, and if you shall fail, your Honor is not the only thing you shall lose. You have until the morn. If you have any objections, please tell me them now, before I head out..." His cough punctuates the end of his speech, as the Comms lay open for the Trio.
"The pen is mightier than the sword." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton. "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword never encountered automatic weapons." -General Douglas MacArthur
Cassie and Izzy looked over the Athena. It was pokcetmarked with craters, two of its guns had been destroyed completely, the engines were a mess, and it leaked air like a bathtub. Izzy shook her head.
"Only thing that is flyable at the moment is my fighter. How long till this thing can fly again?"
"Cant say. Two, maybe three days?"
"damn."
"Sorry Iz. Unless Ellie gets here with a replacment or more parts, you're on your own."
"Great. Can you call Jeremy? Maybe he can stop by."
"I already did. He's busy. Major attack on Minor. It was repelled, but it could happen again."
"Frakk."
"Yeah."
The two shook thier heads as they watched thier ships repaired slowly.
Couple systems away, in Omicron Minor, the shell of the Ghost Eye was under construction. it's shield was now a normal Cruiser shield, it's bridge was together, but the engines and hyperdrive where not up to spec. Jeremy looked over the ship, wishing it was complete.
"Freaking supplies going God Knows where..."
Captain Solomon, Commander Ash Thomas, and Lt. Aqua nodded. They where his friends, and his main bridge crew.
"It'll get finished. If you stop taking it."
"What else do I have to go save my family?"
"You could jack the Neith."
"Kell would kill me."
The three laughed.
Izzy sipped her drink, wondering how the 3 Musketeers where doing.
"Screwing around... like he has any idea what the hell I just saw..." Austin's rather raw delivery irked the young Ensign, somewhat. He ran at a moderate pace towards the Commander's position. This heightened state of activity got his mind off his terrible headache temporarily.
Aleski applied the breaks upon sight of Rockwell and Goodmen, choosing to walk the remaining couple of meters. Just as he was going to ask what the hell was so urgent, Deneth's attention was captured by a voice coming from the console. Something about the Knights Luminarium.
As the voice went on about themes relatively foreign to the Rheinlander, his confusion only grew. Despite this, he chose to remain silent through the entire monologue. As the mysterious voice seemed to have finished saying what he had to say, he tilted forward towards Rockwell's right side and whispered to him, making sure whatever entity present couldn't hear him.
Rocky stroked his chin as his mind started to summarize the lecture. A few moments later, he relayed it to Deneth, speaking about the recorded message, and how it was interrupted, and then about how this unknown Grandmaster wants us to undertake his Trials in order to carry on the Knights Luminarium.
"I think it'll be fun." He smirked with a chuckle, letting himself come off as his usualy nonchalant self, while he was peculiarly serious about the subject. Yep... Loads of Fun. Perhaps this is what I'm destined to do after all. Bah, there I go on about Destiny again. He ended the thought there and returned to reality.
He began speaking again with a more serious tone, glancing out the triple-paned glass into the frozen tundra. "I'm looking forward to it. Finally something more than just Killing, Killing, Killing..." He sighed, muttering to himself, "I'm a bit tired of it frankly..."
Rockwell cracked his knuckles as he popped off of his metallic seat, glancing over to Goodmen as he got up. "Tell me... Do you think we should be doing this? Taking more detours and what not? After all, we Are supposed to be finding Ashley after all. Perhaps... We should finish our current quest before undertaking another." He smirked a bit, but quickly dropped it as he walked over to the window and stared out into the frozen wasteland, not too different from his own mind.
"The pen is mightier than the sword." -Edward Bulwer-Lytton. "Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword never encountered automatic weapons." -General Douglas MacArthur
Unknown to Rockwell, Izzy sat in her fighter. It had been repaired rather quickly byt the techs, who were happy they ahd something to do. She sighed as her BLACK Mode macro made her lights all black. The ligths on her fightered were made to look like the space behind her. Essentially, she was 'cloaked', for want of better term.
Back at the base, the Athena was six hours from being repaired. Cassie sighed as she adn her crew layed back and sipped sodas, playng poker and shooting the breeze.
"I honestly, don't know. Can't really say for once that I don't know because this time it's different. What if this chaps so called quest is part of ours?" He paused before continuing, "What if this lad knows we're looking for Taylor, and that's part of whatever the hell he wants us to do."
Austin sighed lightly and turned back towards the Communications terminal then pressed the generic talk button. "We're listening to whatever you have to propose." He let go of the button and pulled back an old metallic chair and slumped down in it.
Of course, He thought, This may only hinder our ability to search for Ashley, though right now it's a prudent decision for the sake of returning to Bretonia alive and without the risk of being arrested.
His gaze wandered around the room, waiting for the man or anyone to say something that was important. Though the look on his face told the others that he was well aware of his surroundings. He even felt as if he was being watched. Granted this strange man on the communications signal was one of those people that he felt was watching him. Though the thought couldn't stray from his mind that others were out there, waiting.
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