The Battle For Crenel

By the Prison Planet in the 1st Dimension, a small distortion could be seen to anyone who happened to be looking by Crenel. That small distortion, like a heat mirage, suddenly expanded rapidly, until the planet sized Dreadnought, The Voyager, with its about 70,000,000 soldiers and army fit to fight all your universes gliding above Crenel.

In the command bridge, in the black throne, encrusted with blood-red rubies and a fifty foot tall back, sat the Dreadlord Verax, with a perfect view of surroundings. Lurinia had finished upgrading the interior from Archon's onslaught, so now it was composed of the same material as the outside armor. Indestructible, and powered by kinetic energy. Now they were perfectly safe, knowing that unless you could disable them without EMPs or hitting the ship, there was no stopping them. He had set up everything perfectly. By now, his little act with Caz and Archelaus would make them believe he had successfully regained control of Lurinia, who had in fact never betrayed him, and believed he was protect Tam for them.

They had spent years on this. Hundreds. Thousands. The time had come. For the Dreadlord....

The Pawns were cast aside......

The King was safe behind his army.....

The Knights, Bishops, Rooks, the Queen were ready for his move.....

For Verax.....


His opponents were just put in check in this game of Dimensional Chess.

(This topic is to stay locked until our group finishes the Into the Cave thread.)

(Also, please check out this guide if you're participating in a fleet battle for the first time.)

(We are not currently finished with Into the Cave, but upon Verax's request this thread is to be unlocked for a meeting between him and his generals.)

Lurinia was starring into the deep void of space... now empty and silent, but soon would be filled with fire and death. She rubbed her already swelling belly, the continuation of their race, as she listened to the meeting going on behind her.

Upon his black throne sat Verax.

Leaning up next to the door stood Vabin.

Sitting at the hovering silver table sat Captain Jones.

Flicking his tail from side to side anxiously stood Falcion.

Starring out the transparent metal viewing port too was Hilda.

It was time to begin.

"....Well? How were your tasks?" The Dreadlord asked, breaking the silence.

"The Plutonians are not disabled. But they will not be a problem." Falcion offered up. Verax turned to Jones.

"Well?"

Jones took a swig of rum, slammed the empty bottle on the table and sent glass flying across the room. "Aye, the lads right." Verax nodded, satisfied.

"Where is Krako-"

"Krakot issssss..... ocupied. Capturrred. The Stalkers are a force to be reckoned withhhhh m'lord." Everyone turned to Vabin when he spoke.

"So.... he failed, then?" The anger in Verax's voice was clear.

"Nooooo.... he crippled their might Marauder. Still... when you go after them, exercise caution to the extreme."

"Hmph. Okay then, well Vabin, as for you-"

"You will nottttt be able to fight Robless in a mental struggle. He has mental mastery, few Alteriians can even dream of coming close to matchiiiiing. Luckily, I trusssst Lurinia will be able to endow you with the saaaame skillsssss." Vabin interrupted. "Asssss for my mission...... They have the Lyikos. They will be heeeere soooon. I however, must go to the 10th. We must get Krakot back, and perhapsss get information on how I can enter the Interdimension."

Verax nodded again. Falcion broke out, "Haven't we failed then? Everything didn't go according to pla-"

"Lurinia, how many possible outcomes for my plan were there total?" Verax cut off, knowing the answer already.

"...... Over 5 million."

"And how many are now possible due to the progression and results so far?"

"...... About five-hundred."

"How many outcomes of failure were there originally?"

"....... Seven."

"And now how many are possible?"

"One."

"And the percent chance of that happening is?"

"One one millionth of a percent." Verax turned to Falcion, grinning.

"You see, even though you all failed, you all succeeded. You all helped further my goals. So even if we suffer a catastrophic loss, I will still have my victory."

"Checkmate." Vabin said.

"Indeed. Now, you all know what to do, get into Crenel now. Lurinia, prepare my Dragon Rider armor and Fluffy's space armor. Also, I need a weapon."

"May I interpret that to mean you want the Banisher?" She asked as the four general began to leave the room.

"Well... I was thinking something a bit..... you know..... more army razing."

"Then you seek the Omega Blade?"

"Yes, that'd be nice. My handheld sword, railgun, plasma gun, rocket launcher and Idoa catalyst all in one! Such a shame it rarely gets to spill blood."

"If you lose one of the Myrionith's most treasured artifacts, I'm going to let Fluffy eat you."

"I would let her, too."

"Then I'm off, get to the hanger, Verax. Prepare for war."

"I love those three words."

"Prepare for battle!"

The squad leader's voice rattled in the rear compartment of the Valkyrie gunship. His twelve men began running through combat diagnostics and multiple clicks resounded through the room as weapons were loaded and safeties turned to off. They put on their helmets and prepared themselves to wrestle with fate itself.

Outside, in the carrier's hangar, were several more flights of Valkyries, attached to their hanging clamps and ready to release into space. Catwalks crisscrossed the room, while the flight crews that walked them disconnected refueling cables and secured the doors of the heavy gunships.

-~-

Admiral Hale waited aboard his Marauder, upgraded and repaired by cannibalizing the destroyed ships floating in the wreckage of its last fight. He knew how futile of a chance they had of winning, but there was no reason to give up.

"Hundreds of years of war," Hale spoke his thoughts aloud. "And we're still here. What difference is this battle, or the next, or the one after that?"

He paced the deck again, waiting for the crews and soldiers of each ship to give their ready status. One of the crewmen on the bridge answered his rhetorical question.

"Less of them, that's the difference."

-~-

"Marauder Fleet One, ready to engage."

That one sentence set into motion one of the most formidable fleets in the dimensions. Ships began to lurch forward, away from the stations, into the familiar frontier of space. One by one, they blinked out, a wave rippling through the fleet as each of the ships disappeared, leaving a strange emptiness behind them.

The fleet synchronized their warp speeds to provide a well-coordinated exit which would shock the enemies and deny them the opening move. All in the space of a few seconds, they were together, and milliseconds away from emerging.

An ocean of ships emerged into the space outside Crenel. Silence filled the ears of the fleet's crew for a split-second. This was their cue.

"Fire."

The entire fleet fired their main arsenal at the same moment, creating a wall of firepower that would severely damage the initial enemy force, along with striking their main vessel, the Voyager. The vibration from the fleet's guns reverberated through each ship as their shells, missiles, and lasers traveled to the enemy.

-~-

Burning ships lit the horizon as the Leviathan slipped into the first dimension, stealth drives engaged. The battle raged, but they moved through it like a ghost; a spectator to the war around them. Flames erupted out of a nearby allied frigate as escape pods and debris launched into space from the burning ship. One of Verax's fighters spotted the Leviathan but was quickly intercepted by an Initiative fighter, spiraling and crashing into the wreckage of another vessel.

Crenel was the backdrop to this disturbing and destructive scene, and that was where the Leviathan was heading.

-~-

"I have the building plan of Crenel. Our best bet is to push our way to the control room, re-enable the power to give us access to the lifts, and fight through the defenses. Aurora will be here, in the primary containment cell."

Robless explained the current course of action to the other leaders and soldiers. The atmosphere was dark and tense in the ready room. A holographic display of the Crenel cube lit up the center of the room.

"I'll have the Leviathan blow us open an entrance, for easy access to the nearby security room, which should be able to connect to the inside network and start up the lift systems. The defenses have been tripped and the failsafe is already running, meaning that we now cannot shut them down without the documents that were lost when I broke out. That's my current plan. What do you guys think?"

[[YES!]]

"So they make the first move." Verax mused to himself.

Even from the command bridge, he could see the lights were flashing, he could hear sirens were whining, and he could feel soldiers and androids were scrambling to retaliate.

"A sound strategy.... merely.... irrelevant." He stood up from his throne, having decided to wait before entering the fight himself, and looked out into the battlefield. "But you see," He spoke to all the officers of the Initiative, through space and darkness, "He who moves first, strikes last."

Returning to his chair, he let out the called out to the seemingly empty room, "Lurinia, deploy a squad of Javelins to fire upon the Voyager's heavily armored areas." The AI complied, the reason obvious, while the Javelins would do no damage to The Voyager, the Voyager would continue to regain any lost power through it's shields, it's armor converting any and all blows kinetic energy into energy used to power the ship. "Also.... is our surprise ready?" He asked, an evil grin on his face.

"Ready to be deployed at a seconds notice." Came Lurinia's disembodied voice.

He laughed to himself, and put out the death sentence for his enemies. "Crush them." And his words were answered by a thunder of music. His favorite lullaby, with a main part of screams and tearing of metal, and the deep bass of exploding enemy vessels.

~~~~~~

Though in disarray, the forces of Verax quickly regrouped and struck back. While not as organized or as skilled as the Initiative, they were destructive, as ten ships shot through the wreckage of each one lost, and each one lost was more damage dealt to the enemy. Each and every one of Verax's ships were designed in such a way that each was a dormant grenade until destroyed, where the shrapnel would speed and shred through anything nearby.

The space became like a festival's sky, with fire and expertly crafted explosive displays, lighting up the darkness without any predictable order of location or timing.

The Voyager itself lit up, and within moments, a tsunami of fire rained down. The Voyager was a fortress planet, covered with weapons and surprises, and made for one thing and one thing only; complete annihilation of any foolish enough to oppose it.

~~~~~~

Krakot felt.... tense. For the first time since his reawakening, he was starting to feel more and more human, or, at least some other organic race. But now he felt tense, as he heard the fire and the screaming outside in the darkened room, looking at the hologram of the prison planet, until he felt a familiar, but horrifying feeling in the back of his head.

Luna? Is it- his thoughts began.

She replied in the negative, adding however, No, they can't lock on to our position, but... Lurinia did tell me something, she says Verax is on an open channel, trying to contact Robless.

"Commander Robless sir, sorry to interrupt but...." He tried his best to not sound nervous, as he couldn't look nervous, "Ahem, but apparently, Verax is trying to contact you over an open channel."

Robless was caught off guard by the strange request.

"I'm sorry, did I hear that right?"

He sent a message to communications to open up the channel directly through the room, setting it up so he could talk to him from the holo-projector in the meeting room they were in. Verax flickered to life and looked down at him from his position on the table.

"Dreadlord Verax. What do you want?"

"Commander Robless..... and here I thought we could have been- naw who am I kidding, we all probably hated each other from the moment we met!" He interlocked his fingers and rested his head on the backs of his hands. "Anyhow, this is a very impressive armada you have here. It'd be such a shame if something bad happened to it. SPEAKING of bad things-" He suddenly straightened, as if remembering why he had called in the first place.

"I'm here to demand your immediate and unconditional surrender. And before you close this conversation because of the futility of my demand, I will tell you something. Wouldn't it be.... bad.... if a certain, I dunno, giant cube were to... perhaps... be destroyed?" He quickly put his hands up, a gesture trying to convey that he didn't mean he was going to destroy Crenel.

"Look at how close the Voyager is to it! If your set on destroying the Voyager, now lets back up a minute and set something straight, I don't think unless you tried launching an asteroid belt at it that was intended to knock it into a black hole, it would be destroyed. It was built to withstand the destruction of my race, meaning the Voyager can survive a star going supernova."

"But I digress, IF you could destroy the Voyager, you would be sacrificing Crenel. Is that what you want? Now, before you answer my question, here's my ultimatum, you surrender, over an open channel, and recall all your forces, or....." He paused, leaned in closer, his eyes wide.

".... Something bad happens." He nodded feverishly. "That's right, something very very bad will happen." He sat back and turned left slightly and pretended to flail his arms in dismay, and in as girlish a voice as his deep voice would allow, " 'Oh no! Not something bad!" Then he turned back to the Commander.

"Isn't it terrifying? I will do something very, very very, bad."

Kenzeron now stood at total attention, ready to lead what was left of the Somnis military into battle as the front of the second wave. He made no preparations, nor issued any orders. His ships had been ready for hours now, and all there was left to do was to wait, and see what was going to happen, and be ready to jump straight into battle as soon as he and his men were needed.

---

The Protector looked dismayed.

"Please..." But no one was listening. No one understood. But... the Protector had hope that maybe they would not succeed anyways. That maybe Verax would prevent them from saving Eris-Tam.

Maybe.

(Er, is this my cue?)

Dreston stood silently in the background on the Leviathan- the battle raged outside and now there were threats and warnings. He knew all about Crenel's automated defenses, and as he stood there his mind formed a plan. He stepped forward slowly, and tapped Robless' shoulder with on thin mechanical finger. He could be what saved Eris-Tam, as he knew he could slip through Crenel, unnoticed by the other machines. If they could only get him to Crenel's surface, he would have no problem getting through to the point where he could hack into the defense grid and shut it down. If they could get him there without Verax noticing, he could get in while they kept the enemy ships at bay.

If the commander thought it could work, Dreston would do it willingly...

((If you have something to post, Archie, then I suppose it is. :DD))

(Meeeeh. I have an idea but I need to clear it with yalls' first.)

Archelaus watched as the highly precise and efficient crew of the Leviathan ate through Verax's tiny vessels, which were obviously no more than a distraction for the real danger, which was Verax himself and his Dragon.
An army of 70 million was rather pathetic, in actuality. The Alteriians had already had limited success against the massive waves of Fleshers, who numbered in the hundreds of billions at the least.
But the Fleshers didn't have a weapon the size of a moon...

These were not his thoughts. These were the thougths and ideas of those around him, who he was currently not concerned with.

It was all a distraction.... a distraction from the numbing battle raging inside of Archelaus' mind to protect Aurora at any costs.

The Alteriian commander actually smiled at Verax, even though Verax and everyone else had no way of knowing what he was doing, or what he was thinking.

For how terrible and chaotic Verax thought he was, he was nothing. His delights were nothing, his hopes: nothing. He sought power, but he was a tiny insignificant ant, trying to get in the way of the universe. He sought control through chaos. How does one control with chaos? It is at odds with itself.

Archelaus did not worry the slightest bit. A house divided and built on sand does not stand when the rains come. It is washed away. And that is all that Verax is. A grain of sand, struggling against a monsoon he thought he could control.

He pitied that grain of sand, and how lost it would become underneath the weight of an ocean.

Robless contemplated Verax's conditions, and then slammed his glove down on the table in frustration. The hologram flickered on and off before coming into complete focus again.

Verax was too good for them. He knew this would happen and planned accordingly. But how ready was he to execute such a plan? At this range, taking out Crenel would also wipe out him and his ship if he claimed to have the firepower that it would take. Then again, Verax always had more tricks up his sleeve. Yet on the off-chance that he didn't, they would succeed.

It was worth the chance of failure.

"I decline, Verax. You should know better by now that I am not one to give up."

-~-

Arch-General Verize watched this through the omni-screen that surrounded him. His face twisted into a scowl. Robless was a hopeless man. He shook his head at such a formidable commander making the pointless stand that he made.

Maybe he would have to end Verax here and now, while he was distracted. That would not win Robless' trust, but it would certainly wrap up a very dangerous opponent. He contemplated the thought. If action came to his mind, he would take it. If not, Verize would simply watch them all suffer.

-~-

Robless turned around to the peculiar machine that just tapped his shoulder. Before the text reached his communication device, Robless realized how great of an ally they had acquired back on Mars.

"Dreston, you brilliant thinker. It's certainly worth a try. If you could shut down those defenses, we might just get there in time to save Aurora."

Verax laughed. "I do know you, and because of you all, I've made it this far. Dispatching the 6th Fleet of the Alteriians led me to The Demigod, to Mars. Getting the Lyikos, and freeing Vabin of his shackles, and bringing your fleets straight to me. I have all of you to thank for making it thus far!" He laughed even louder.

"Lurinia, encrypt this channel, make only the Leviathan hear me. Now, deploy our surprise." He laughed maniacally, a laugh that filled all who heard with a sense of defeat, not because they had lost, but because they had done what he wanted them to do.

"Commander Robless... with this move, I call check." And then it was back to laughing as the Lurinia's voice was heard.

"Acknowledged, Marauder I, locked. Firing Decimation Beam in T-minus three, two.."

OFC (Wait, he killed the whole 6th fleet? OH SCHNAP!)

IC

Archelaus decided that enough was enough.

A grain of sand Verax may be, but the average grain of sand has 7 cutting edges, and Verax undoubtedly had more than 7. The Alteriian clicked a few buttons on his Omnimbus-Array, located strategically along his left fore-arm, which sent a message to the gathered and waiting fleet commanders, with their Flesher auxiliary allies.

Instantly, the massive combined armada of the Alteriians dropped out of warp.

400,000 Alteriian Vessels, and 300 Million Flesher units appeared in warp between Verax's military and Crenel. These Alteriian ships possesed the best shielding and technology of the entire Alteriian military, and these forces represented the bulk of the Alteriian forces, led by the aging war-hero Vindicator Tremarin.

Plied on the opposite side of Verax in a stunning flank maneuver dropped the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 12th fleets, the highly prized Cloak and Dagger Flotilla commanded by Fleet Admiral Gilgamorn, numbering slightly more than 300,000 vessels.

Last, but not least, slowly chugged the rest of the Combined Alteriian-Coaltion fleet directly beneath Verax's forces, the Coalition soldiers retrofitted for action by their new Alteriian allies. That meant the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th fleet of the Coalition flew with the majority of the rest of the Alteriian war effort, the 5th-10th fleets (minus the sixth), prized for their heavy hit-taking and heavy hit-dealing abilities. (Though they lacked the speed and stealth of the other two groups of warships).

The Coalition brought nearly 65,000 vessels to the fore, with another 275,000 vessels of Alteriian firepower behind them; led by newly promoted Commander Saer, Commander Raicheylla, and the Coalition forces led by the Avian Desidruis.

All together, not including support ships, the Alteriians were in control of more than 1 million vessels, plus the upgraded Controlled-Flesher units. It was a mighty force to behold, decades and centuries of Alteriian science, diplomacy, and strength from multiple different dimensions poured into one mighty conglomeration of power. One huge fleet.

Yet Verax had the Alteriians outnumbered 5 to 1.
Even with Robless' forces, the Plutonian army, and the rest of Somnis' fleet, they were ridiculously out-classed and out-gunned. Ship for ship, the allied forces were stronger, but that didn't matter when you included The Voyager, not to mention Verax's individual power, along with that of his dragon and lieutenants...

It was a grim sight to behold.

"No matter..." thought Archelaus... "He is but a grain of sand."

The light from the firing Decimation Beam lit up the Verax's figure, but the shadow on his face grew dark and his eyes blazed with fury. "A grain... of sand? Me.....? Archelaus.... you.... you dare?!" He stood, as the light of the laser that destroyed a moon engulfed the Initiative's dreadnought. "YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!?! YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO DARE TO LOOK DOWN UPON THE DREADLORD?!" It may have been a trick of the light, but for a brief moment, it seemed as if a faint black fire had engulfed Verax.

"Archelaus.... the traitor. You killed a subordinate, you killed Erav.... a crime which has gone unpunished.... but no longer." The light began to dim, and he began walking out of the view of the leaders. "Lurinia, adjust the display for their viewing pleasure." And once more Verax was seen, looking out the command bridge.

"You think me..... so.... petty? So low, as to be one of billions of grains of sand on a shore?!? Then let me show you why I was the last one after the tsunami strikes!" He slashed his hand through the air, and a massive tear in space sliced straight through an Alteriian battlecruiser. "I am above you! All of you! And yet you still try to defy me? Behold, now! I exist on a plane above you! Feel the wrath you have incurred!" He closed his hand into a fist and the rift he had created twisted and folded in on itself until when it vanished, it sent out a rippling shockwave, sending the two cleanly cut halves of the battle cruiser away from each other, a pulse that even Eris-Tam in the depths of Crenel felt.

"I gave you a chance! The Protector knows it too, now! For good or ill, you have just sealed your fates, and set in motion events that cannot be stopped, events that will determine the fate of your worlds!"

"Robless.... even if she did save your life.... is her life worth the hundreds and thousands you will lose?"

"Dreston..... you risk your life... heh... 'life' ... for a girl you've never met, from near extinct race that has done nothing for you? Why help them? What have these organics done for you?"

"Archelaus..... you have broken you Neiede once, and you know in doing so, while you saved her temporally, that even gave the parasite the tools to break your dear... sweet... Aurora. Why break her out of her peace? The Parasite already has her, and she is content, if forced."

"You.... Protector..... you surprise me. I thought you would have betrayed them by now, or at least, that's what Vabin told me to expect. Why help these who only seek to further imbalance the universe?"

"But enough! You have made your decisions... and so you will pay the price for your foolishness. You have doomed yourselves, but I will be merciful. You will all find eternal bliss, in an unending rest." Then the communication cut out.

Zyria sits in the room with the others, in the background, just waiting for them to start the extraction. She had tried to contact her army when they had begun, but all she had gotten was silence from Charon. Something's happened. I can't do anything so far away, though; I can only hope that whoever's been put in charge is strong enough.

Zyria's reached a sense of.....numbness. What she's learned about Neiedes, her most likely lost army, the battle to come, Zyria takes it full on. Slow and steady. Deal with one thing at a time. Tam is the most urgent thing at the moment. I know Caz would understand that. Then, I deal with the Neiedes, and try to help Caz. If I survive all of that, then I rebuild Pluto and its people.

There's so much talking, rushing around, Zyria merely sits there, hanging in the back of the group, ready to go, waiting for the group's move. She's missed so much that she now just waits, trying to see everything simply, so she isn't left behind. It's hard, with how complicated everything is, but she tries.

Besides, nothing is ever in black and white.

[Just a short ditty, so Zyria's intermingled with everyone]

Archelaus actually laughed out loud at Verax's sales pitch.
If Verax thought he was going to turn aside those with honest hearts with fear and a few words than he was sorely mistaken.

Archelaus re-opened his mental link with Verax, that had formed when they first met and sent him a message.

"That sounds exactly like you, Verax. Trying to teach people to look out for themselves instead of standing together. Trying to ply us for selfish reasons, because those are the only ones you understand. I wonder if you've ever had an ounce of mercy, pity, or love in you in your whole life. I doubt it.
When we give up one life for the sake of thousands, we have already lost, but when we stand together, then there is not a single thing in the universe you can do to stop us. You can hurt us, tempt us, attack us, but you can never defeat us.
That's the secret. A single match can light up an entire room. One sun can light up an entire dimension, and one righteous heart can defeat all the hordes of evil.

Prepare to meet your end, Verax. May you never find peace in the embrace of Narushah."

Archelaus could sense the massive mental counter-attack that Verax was about to cascade upon him, and indeed, Archelaus, while being one of the strongest Druids of the Alteriians, was no match for him head to head.
But Archelaus still had a trick up his sleeve... His connection with Aurora.
Verax tried to overpower him with chaos and anger, a burning molten river of terror and rage, but Archelaus had something far more powerful. Love.

Sickening, special, a fiend angelical, love. (OFC Romeo and Juliet quote there folks) (IC)
It formed a barrier inside of Archelaus, bubbling forth like the great rivers of the Alteriian home planet, drowning out the gaseous pain of Verax's attack. It expanded, untaintable, undefeatable, until there was nothing left in Archelaus' mind put pure love, which was something that Verax had no chance of defeating, no chance of subverting, and no chance of even understanding.
Archelaus broke off the connection after a few moments, as Verax's attacks subsided into a barely contained mixture of anger and awe.

The great Arch-Druid Archelaus rose up to his full height, his eyes blazing with light, his muscles gently quivering with intensity of battle, and his hands clenched, and the hearts of millions of Alteriians with him.

He issued a single command.
"Open fire."

Seconds later the first dimension exploded with light and fire, as if a giant living tidal wave had crashed down upon Verax's forces from three directions. Alteriian Rolxan masters clutching the mystical orbs that channeled their powers together ripped apart hundreds of Verax's pilots inside of their ships, their newly uncommanded vessels falling away from the battle in pieces. Paladin class heavy cruisers formed the famous defensive barrier of the Alteriians, while highly powered battleships and artillery cruisers pounded shot after deadly shot into Verax's fleets. Frigates in shield-connected wolf packs hunted down vulnerable enemy cruisers and fighters, as Alteriian carriers unleashed their deadly cargos of the most highly sophisticated and powerful drones in the universe upon enemy ships. Valkyrie class man hunters swarmed the space around the barriers, preventing Verax's nimble fighters from penetrating inside of the defensive line, and tearing apart enemy sheilding with well placed anti-molecular torpedoes. Interceptors sailed gracefully around from point to point during the battle, adding heavy carnage firepower to any weak area of the Alteriian line.

The stealth systems of the Alteriians were reengaged, and suddenly Verax's troops had very litle to shoot at as the enemies previously in their sights disappeared from visual and most sensory views. Often the only indicator of their presence was the discharge of their weapons, especially the attacks of the massive Alteriian command Dreadnought, the Mat'Harai.

And yet...

(OFC)

My posts are always so long that I end up deleting most of them an sending edited versions.

(Sigh)

((FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU--. JUST LOST A PAGE LONG POST. DAMMIT.))

The Protector looked down, but still did not fully accept Verax's words. It had warned them of what might come, but it had not truly aided them much. Besides, there was still time... but the Protector actually pushed that thought out of its mind.

As much as it wanted to restore the balance, it was still a being of light.

Here, standing on the Leviathan with these people, each and every one radiated what the Protector lived for- goodness, love, and light. It hadn't seen intentions this pure and unstained by selfishness in hundreds of years, and it was like a breath of fresh air after living in the stifling Cave of Shattered Suns for so long.

Pure light existed nowhere, but the Protector now truly believed that it was standing immersed in one of the purest lights that had ever graced the galaxy.

And being a creature of light... he was drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

---

General Kenzeron Redmond had not jumped his fleet into the battle. His lieutenants were beginning to get antsy, and were pushing him to enter the fight, but he was waiting, watching.

Kenzeron saw something that the others might not have- the chance to give the others in the battle time to rescue the Empress and possibly to get away safely, or at least be able to possibly work at destroying the Dreadlord's ships.

The Somnis ships were not the most structurally firm, but they were faster than almost any other ships in the battle for their size. They had an advantage.

Their ships could jump in close to the Voyager, keeping it busy and confused- it was a slow ship, after all, and they could easily block and distract its cannons from firing on the Allied fleets. Yes, it might have been a suicide mission, but it would give the rest of them a chance to carry out what was necessary, and it was a risk Kenzeron was willing to take if it meant saving his Empress.

Dreston nodded to Robless, and then thought for a moment about what Verax had said to him. Why was he helping these people? Maybe... because he wanted a purpose again, more than anything. Verax had taken away his Creator, his Master, his Father, and Dreston had felt empty and without any sort of direction since then. Well... until now. Now he was doing something, helping people, and it didn't matter if he was risking his life, because he hadn't had much of a life to begin with.

And... there was something else. The organics were... they were the Creators. They were the ones who gave life to machines like him, and so just in that he owed them all a great debt. The Kot'chey and all other machines were created to serve organics, and... Dreston had never resented that duty. Now, in fact... he cherished it.

>Commander, if you can get me to Crenel's surface I can easily slip through and shut it down. I believe... time is of the essence at the moment.

"....." Verax stood, utterly speechless. He had been denied again and again, by the same one person. "No more....." He began to whimper. "Not again.... not.... EVER.... AGAIN!!!" Lurinia watched in horror, knowing that while the High Druid's skill was great, he did fall for Verax's trap, letting his pride get the better of him Archelaus tried to throw Verax's attempt right back in his face, and in doing so, gave Verax the means to incomprehensible power.

"Lurinia, t-take.... the helm..." He was stuttering and shaking wildly, not from fear, but with fury so vast, even through their closed link, Archelaus felt the ambient heat a supernova of swirling rage, obliterating all that stood before it. He charged towards the command bridge, and as he did he yelled, "FLUFFY! TO ME!" and crashed out the transparent glass wall, that was quickly sealed with transparent metal.

His war helmet had already covered his head before diving out, and it's re breather already engaged, he fell through space, until he landed on his mile-long dragon. Fluffy, covered from head to toe in shinnying silver and purple armor, was converted from an already dangerous beast of war, to a panic causing engine of destruction. Neither side had ever seen Fluffy in combat, so while her large size gave a large target, her agility was as fast as a small fighter, there were almost no plans for how to deal with a target with this size and speed, considering it was widely accepted that Cassus Drugari had killed the last Cretorian Dragon.

"So it begins."

In anger driven action, Verax had taken to the field. On wings of the blackest night, the Dreadlord struck back. Speeding through his soldiers, he rallied them to strike back. He was nothing less than a monster, mercilessly shredding through wave after wave of ships. Fluffy was a terror to behold, chomping off entire sections of large ships and then leaving, to let the vacuum of space drag the rest of the crews into despair. This battle had no clear direction, for even though at first Verax had the upper hand, his numbers were dropping quickly. It had seemed the tide was about to turn yet again in their favor when-

In a sudden, blinding flash, the Mat'Harai fired a single, well placed shot. The light engulfed both Verax and Fluffy, and when it cleared, both could be seen floating aimlessly in empty space. Little did they know, Verax had survived... but.....

"....Fluffy?" Verax asked, not daring to hope the worst had come to pass. Fluffy groaned in response, a weak, final message to her beloved master. Then her eyes closed, and he heart stopped. In the midst of this battle.... he could feel the cheers that had erupted, 'The Dreadlord is dead!' they sang, the Alteriians felt that for the death of thousands, Verax's crimes had been finally punished. "....Fl-Fluffy......." In that single moment, Verax unleashed all the rage he had built up, in one mighty roar.

"YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ME!" Came the voice of the Dreadlord, even in space, his rage carried it, and all heard it. "YOU COWARDLY ALTERIIANS CANNOT HIDE IN THE DARKNESS, FOR THE DARKNESS IS WHAT SEEKS YOU!" To punctuate this, he thrust his hand forward, and from his palm a lightning bolt shot out and burned a hole straight through an Alteriian ship.

"YOU WILL ALL PAY!" And in the single greatest moment of his race's history, tore a rift in space so large, it swallowed the mighty Mat'Harai whole. "KNOW THE POWER YOU FACE!!!!" But for all his bravado, that one act nearly killed him, never had any Myrionith attempted such a feat, and succeeded. But the impossible was becoming possible, the drive to live pushed Verax beyond his already strained limits and gave him the strength to keep moving.

"Fleshers..... YOU ARE, ALL OF YOU ARE BENEATH ME!" And once more, Verax became enveloped in nothingness. This act which only Archelaus as Archon had witnessed, had instantly became alerted of this transformation in the massive influx of chaos it created.

"LET THE TRUE FIGHT BEGIN!"

(Forgive me if I'm giving Verax too much power, I'll try to edit and downgrade him if I have to, but I won't know I have to unless you all tell me I'm going too far.)

D'garar boarded his ship deep in the 30th Dimension. A cruiser large enough for a thousand men was the ship he was left. He could pilot it easily and took off. He opened up the transmitters and sent out an urgent broadcast on all frequencies.

"This is D'garar Und'gha'od. Repeat. This is D'garar Und'gha'od. War Chief of the Agorians. If anyone can hear me....I'm back."

With that he flipped on the warp drive and set coordinates for the last place he remembered: Dimension 4. Mars.