Ekological Chimera

Chapter 36 - More War

Ashwood put down his binoculars, clicking his tongue. He stood fully armoured atop a mountain plateau, above the Serpent’s pass and the besieged fortress. Jane and Grimsson stood with him, along with five soldiers who guarded the shuttle behind them.

The assault didn’t go as badly as it could have, but nowhere near as well either.

Chapter 35 - Serpent's Pass

In a long mountain pass named for its serpentine nature, a mighty fortress stood. Built-in one of the narrowest points of the pass, the fortification’s high stone walls blocked the passage entirely. No interloper could enter the Sarak Archduchy without the say-so of the local commander and so it has been for hundreds of years.

In that ti...

Chapter 34 - Explosive Retaliation

Sitting cross-legged on top of her tower, the Custodian had to admit that she had perhaps underestimated the Terrans a tad. The aliens had proved decisive in their response, resulting in a steady stream of projectiles hammering the sky above the First Temple, each strike strong enough to level the building and the hill it stood on.

It was ...

Chapter 33 - Interlude IV: Onwards

Serana was having a great time. The experience of seeing Eigos from the outside was truly magical.

Poor Edward had died some time ago, but she didn’t actually need him. The pendants were, first and foremost, conduits. Since she couldn’t exactly split her mind thirty ways, she just pushed Eternity’s power through when the chosen knigh...

Chapter 32 - I am not locked in here with you

The blazing silver eyes were not what Ashwood had wanted to see.

“Interesting,” an eerie voice spoke as the prisoner sat up, breaking his restraints.

“What the fuck,” Ashwood took a step back, reaching for his sidearm.

The captive's head turned towards him, “You. William, yes?”

Befor...

Chapter 31 - Prisoner

Ashwood sat on a chair in the strategy room of the Kirslev family’s palace, pretending to read a map in his armour while some local ‘general’ rambled on about the virtues of envelopments. In reality, he was going through spreadsheets through his implants while doing his best to suppress a grimace.

The plan to ally with the locals had...

Chapter 30 - Prelude

Order Master Keres disembarked the ship while displaying more confidence than he felt. In truth, he felt like a fraud. He had seen his fair share of combat in his younger years, but bandits and brigands weren’t exactly challenging opponents. Often, they did not even try to fight, fleeing straight away. Those years were long behind him in any c...

Chapter 29 - Bait

The Custodian sat on a rock on a lake shore, her head tilted towards the night sky. Usually, Agnu’s blue glow and size made seeing anything else quite difficult, but the gas giant was especially dim tonight, letting even ordinary people see the stars.

However, the stars were not her focus. A few hours ago, some of the Terran starships le...

Chapter 28 - Diplomacy II

“Let’s talk specifics then,” Ashwood responded after some uncomfortable silence.

There was clearly something the old King wasn’t telling him, but he wasn’t sure how much he should care either. He doubted it was something that would stop the Kerania kingdom from becoming the Republic’s proxy on Eigos and so it probably didn’t ...

Chapter 27 - Diplomacy

“Now announcing, his excellency Colonel William Ashwood of the mighty Terran Republic!”

The voice of the… announcer person loudly proclaimed beyond the large doors before which Ashwood stood. He was quite sure the position had some sort of a title. It definitely wasn’t announcer. Greeter? That was even worse.

Before he could ...

Chapter 26 - Friendly chat

The Custodian sat on a chair, reading through a newly made dictionary, the only illumination provided by a lit torch set attached to the dungeon’s wall. Her chair sat in the middle of one of the underground corridors that ran through the Temple’s dungeon, facing a reinforced door. A dishevelled, but healthy-looking man stared at her through ...

Chapter 25 - Not Diplomacy, yet

It was, not, in fact, time for Ashwood to practice diplomacy again. Not yet, at least.

The Colonel was led along with his entourage to the guest wing of the palace, where a few servants helped them settle. They would meet with the king in the evening, much more quickly than the first time around. No guesses as to why.

Ashwood had to ...

Chapter 24 - I, for one, welcome our new robot overlord

As a shuttle once again descended towards the surface of Eigos, the Colonel bemoaned his bad fortune in silence.

His prediction turned out accurate. With Ashwood being the only expert on Eigosian culture, the Admiral spared no time in assigning him his next mission and kicking him off the Bastion.

Annoyingly, the old man did...

Chapter 23 - No Boom Boom?

Ashwood was not pouting. He was a grown, battle-scared man, and those did not pout. No, he was carefully evaluating his chances of requisitioning the dreadnought and coming to unfavourable conclusions.

Apparently, Admiral Renard did not trust him. How hurtful.

The Colonel was currently being escorted by six armoured soldiers...

Chapter 22 - Interlude III: Kingdom of trouble

Far to the south, beyond the Teilen mountain range, stood the prosperous city of Latis, the capital of the Kerania kingdom. In its very center, behind no less than three nigh-impenetrable walls, was a grand palace. In that palace was a large, heavily decorated throne room. It overflowed with expensive decorations in a manner many found gaudy, ye...

Chapter 21 - Old people troubles

Serana stood in her living room, looking at a small portrait of a smiling black-haired woman in contemplative silence, having paused her work.

A drop of paint fell on the floor from the brush the Custodian held, bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked at the portrait once more, before continuing to paint the canvas in front of her onc...

Chapter 20 - Taskforce Erinyes

Colonel Ashwood sat in one of the grounded shuttles present in the makeshift Terran camp, brooding. His only company was one of the pilots moonlighting as a communications officer, his entire job being to stare at an empty screen, waiting for a message. The rest of his people were mostly treating the entire thing like a vacation, since they coul...

Chapter 19 - Miracles 101

“Remember, we are but receptacles for her power,” Serana explained to the thirty-three knights arrayed in front of her in the Temple’s courtyard.

Five of the original thirty-seven had failed to form even a simple shield and were reassigned, leaving just the men in front of her. The thirty-third was, of course, Aisac. The Custodian wa...

Chapter 18 - Rebellion

“The Kerania, Accad and Faras kingdoms are in open rebellion, Lady Custodian,” Aisac announced while beginning his daily report and rousing Serana from her thoughts.

The two of them stood on top of her tower, her in plain white robes and him in armour, helmetless. The rubble was now fully cleared, leaving the space open, barring the th...

Chapter 17 - Interlude II

Admiral Renard frowned as space reasserted itself. A moment later after Bastion, the dreadnought-class battleship exited the warp, the rest of the task force arrived, announced by dozens of dots appearing on Bastion’s sensors.

He straightened out his black uniform, before clasping his hands behind his back again, listening as the warship...

Chapter 16 - Alea iacta est 2

The Custodian stood in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by the screams of the wounded and dying.

Despite the bloodshed in which she participated, her robes were unmarred. In her hands she held a long Terran weapon, examining it.

The best comparison she could make was to a crossbow. A very powerful, rapid firing one. Of cours...

Chapter 15 - Alea iacta est

Ashwood waited with bated breath, his EM rifle propped up on the edge of the trench, pointing towards the general direction of the dots currently descending from the sky.

His soldiers waited with him. No one moved a finger.

Suddenly, his comm came to life, startling the Colonel slightly. A grim voice of one of the pilots currently mo...

Chapter 14 - But Afraid of Men

“Why is she staring at the sky?” Asked Ashwood, putting the binoculars down.

Minutes after their pitiful sensors detected the approaching aircraft, Lieutenant Jane noticed movement in the Eigosian ranks.

Now the Custodian, still sitting on that massive horse of hers, stared up at the sky.

Right in the direction of the incom...

Chapter 13 - Not Afraid of God

The Colonel gaped at the laughing Custodian in disbelief, before schooling his expression. Hopefully quickly enough that the unsettling woman did not notice.

He had no idea what had set the possible lunatic off.

Ashwood could admit that it scared him. The tall priestess had a presence about her. The height helped of course, but what ...

Chapter 12 - Terran jokes

The city below lay quite close to the First Temple, though it still took a bit of time to reach, their journey prolonged by the precariousness of the path that led down the mountain.

Nevertheless, the Custodian and her guard made good time. All of them were experienced riders and their horses had plenty of training.

Though the mounta...

Chapter 11 - Like a candle

The Custodian stood alone on top of her ruined tower, watching the remaining flying transports land on a nearby hill. Less than ten of the metal machines remained, over half lost to Terran infighting.

Her face looked serene, yet inside she felt a little disturbed. Or perhaps excited.

The Terran star ships might actually pose a threat...

Chapter 10 - Shoot faster

As hundreds of thousands of rounds saturated the sky, Colonel Ashwood, sitting in one of the many shuttles performing emergency manoeuvres, cursed Song and her entire ancestry.

She had proven to be the more ruthless of the two.

Minutes after the couple dozen shuttles began their descent, Alcyone opened fire, vaporizing seven of the t...

Chapter 9 - Machines, descending from the sky

“You aren’t human, are you?” The pilgrim said in strangely accented Sirnesian. It sounded almost identical to the way the Terran officer spoke, down to the mistakes.

The Custodian stared expressionlessly at the diminutive woman, “I suppose that would depend on your definition.”

She had to wonder what had prompted the pilgri...

Chapter 8 - Talking Star

The Custodian stood in one of the Temple’s courtyards, watching the thirty-seven silent knights in front of her. She wore her customary white robe and held an intricate silver pendant in her hand. The silver formed an eye, with an embedded blue sapphire serving as a pupil, glimmering in the sun. Her eyes shined with a gentle silver glow as she...

Chapter 7 - Reinforcements

Ashwood startled awake as an alarm blared inside his head. He instinctively reached for his gun on the nightstand while looking around the tiny room. The cabin held only a bed, a work desk along with a chair and a small bathroom. The walls were made of steel and the cabin held sparse decorations. Finding no one else, he let go of the gun before ...