Escape From Redeem, Rise of an Emperor

Planet: Earth, Geneva

Smoke and ruin met Guy Kruger, as he made his way to the rendezvous with the large force of Elite Guard that waited within the city of Geneva. They would be like dogs fighting to get of the leash. Humanities best warriors had being forced to watch the slaughter from the safety of the city barracks. Those same barracks had been emptied of the local constabulary, who were now mostly dead at the hands of the ferocious alien aggressors. The planetary armed forces eventually arrived, and were at this very moment trying to launch a counter attack; so far to no avail.

As he entered the open barrack hall, he was approached by the albino Master Thion, who held a sword in each hand. Both had the engraving DS, which meant he had brought with him his finest weaponry, made by the once great sword smith Domonique Shabal.

The sword masters armour, like Dorn Bruce’s was a pale shade of white ivory, which was in complete contrast to Smits polished black plate. Both were without war helms so that the men could see confidence on the faces of their leaders.

‘Why have we been held back Captain? People are dying out there and we cannot help them here in reserve.’

The sword master had always enjoyed the protection of the President. That luxury was now over. Kruger would need him however in the short term; to help clear the aliens from his planet. After that he would eliminate the arrogant Master Thion.

‘I have held you all here, so we may learn the strengths and weaknesses of this unknown enemy. It is harsh, but I will not risk our best to be cannon fodder. Others less skilled have that honour.’

He raised his gravelly voice, so it carried out to the other elite fighters in the barracks. All looked restless and eager to take the fight back to the Green skinned monsters.

Thion sneered at this blatant disregard of human life.

‘So, may we now join the fight Captain?’

Kruger looked at the albino with his frosty blue eyes, and considered crushing him where he stood. The enhancements that Dr Slade had given him would make the Captain virtually unstoppable, even for the great Thion. But he needed to look in control of this situation; and it was time to launch the elite at the enemy.

‘Master Thion what have you learned in watching the way they kill?’

He answered with a question of his own. Thion looked like he wanted to say something sarcastic, but his love of combat analysis took over.

‘They are strong; very strong. They favour the sword but use projectiles and those energy guns they carry, with great efficiency.’

‘That would be my assessment as well. So what would you do to counter their strengths?’

‘I know what I would do, but you are our Captain.’

‘Yes, that is correct. But I am asking you what you would do.’

Kruger was an assassin at heart; and a good one at that. His skill in combat was outstanding. Battle strategies however, were what Thion dreamed about, so to not ask the Master of an attack plan was like going into a game, without the opinion of your star player.

The sword Master sheaved his swords and walked to a holographic table, which showed live aerial images of the battle being waged below. So far the drone taking the images had not been noticed by the aliens that were now massing around the wide city centre, where the Palace had once stood. He looked at the digital 3D map and made his assessment quickly.

‘I would summon the retreat of the regular soldiers Captain; to this point here.’

Thion zoomed the image to a point between two blocks of buildings, where the street was much narrower than the other parts of the city. The buildings he pointed to were part of the old part of the city.

‘If we set up battle drones here and here, at either side of the buildings there will be carnage within this natural bottle neck. We then form up the retreating men into rank fire, and lay down a hell storm at the chasing pack. Better take some heavy guns there as well; their armour seems quite strong.’

So far the aliens had weathered the gunfire from the soldier’s guns. The drones and heavy calibre weapons should now be brought to bear; he had to admit that the bottle neck was perfect, and nodded along to the genius of the albino.

‘Very good Master Thion, but you have missed out a crucial part of this plan?’

The sword Master raised an eyebrow in confusion.

‘Where will the Elite Guard be when this trap is sprung?’

‘Captain I would have thought that was obvious; we will be everywhere.’

***

Blood and gore was everywhere. Bagrak had not led his clan warriors against weaklings like this in a long time. The pink skinned worms, looked very much like the pointy eared Elfan, but they did not fight like them. If he was up against a similar number of Elfan then he would have suffered great losses for sure. However, he had only lost a few score to their feeble guns. Bagrak ran into a group of around five of the pink skins, and barged them of their feet powerfully.

He was big even for an Ork. He used this size to his advantage, as he severed two heads in one powerful swing. The other three tried to flee from his berserk rage, but he easily caught them and cut them down from behind, spraying his dented armour with more of their crimson blood.

A few rounds were fired at him from the cover of a vehicle, on the other side of the street. One of the rounds was powerful enough to pierce his armour and irritate him greatly. The projectile fired, failed to penetrate far into his body and he roared in anger at this cowardly way they fought against them.

Bagrak barked an order to the clan’s heavy gunner, who ran to the front of the advancing pack. He carried an energy weapon, that’s technology was stolen long ago from the Elfan. They used it now with lethal effect, and practically melted the vehicle the pink skins where sheltering behind.

He watched with pure joy, as the enemies armour was blown to pieces, leaving smoking limbs that should have been attached to torsos. That sight was too much for the enemy, who ran in great numbers down a street behind them. Bagrak ordered an advance from the open square to finish them off. They chased them hard; the prospect of more blood drove them all into a frenzied attack.

The pink skins stopped at the end of the narrow street, and turned; organising themselves into firing lines. Even Bagrak had to be impressed with this disciplined retreat.

Looking ahead he noticed, large autonomous guns at the corners of each side of the street, where the hunted prey now assembled. The smoke from the battle had hid this gun placement well. Perhaps they were not so dim witted after all.

At that thought the guns opened up in unison shredding his front ranks to pieces.

Bagrak was glad he had brought his storm shield, which he unslung from his back and ducked behind, just in the nick of time. Iron and hate hit its solid surface, almost knocking him to his knees. The other clan warriors around him were not so lucky and were gunned down in their hundreds, in a green bloody mess.

The pink skins would all pay for this. They were suffering loses, but the thousands behind him would take up the place of the fallen. They just had to endure the heavy fire from the gun emplacement. Other warriors were starting to come forward with their own storm shields now. Soon the lines of steel would meet, and he would be among the enemy once again. There would be tremendous glory to take from the deaths to come.

Suddenly the noise of gunfire stopped as quickly as it had started, and Bagrak stood tall above the shelter of his shield to see why they had stopped firing at them. Maybe the stupid species had run out of ammunition, in this futile attempt at a trap. They would now feel the rusty blades of the Orkra for their efforts.

His War plate had been struck several times before he could bring up his defensive shield. He reached down to a piece of it with a clawed hand, and ripped the useless part from his chest and threw it in the direction of the defenders with contempt. The missing piece of armour revealed an over developed muscular body that was built for war.

It was a sickly green colour, with short stubby black hair on a powerful chest.

A sound from the left made him look away from the now soundless gun emplacement. It was a haunting shriek from the buildings along the street. Another war cry came from the buildings on the other side. The attackers came in on mass and were lead on one side by a warrior in pale armour and on the other flank they were led by a warrior in polished black amour. This trap had more surprises it seemed.

***

Thion waited patiently in the building from where he would strike at the flank of this invader. Captain Kruger was in the building on the opposite side, with the other half of the Elite Guard. It was a risk to throw every guardsman in to the fray at the same time, but it was a risk worth taking. They had to strike back at this unstoppable foe, which now passed his position in their thousands.

He heard the guns open up into the advancing hoard, and watched with delight as the numbers were thinned out by the heavy fire. Some of the beasts had shields, and after the initial ambush they had the sense to come to the front and protect the others of their kind.

The guns then went silent, which mean it was time to attack. He wasted no time, and ran out of the building to take the fight to them directly. The sword Master ignited both swords by depressing energy studs on the hilts, they glowed with an instant heat that would cut though most war plate. There was a secret curiosity to how these aliens would fare against his swordsmanship and steel. The Sword master shrieked a war cry, like a banshee of legend and heard the call taken up by all of his men at his back, and on the other side of the street, where Kruger led the rest of the Guard in this elaborate trap.

He did not have to run far to meet his first foe who brought down a savage blow from his large blade, which Thion turned aside easily, with his Graphenatium forged swords. He spun as he passed, swinging one of the blades at the aliens back. He was gratified to see it cut though the armour like a hot knife through butter. The beast roared as he fell down.

The sword Master did not stop to finish the stricken monster; there were too many to glorify in a single kill. It was good to know that they were not as fearsome as they appeared. They were strong; there was no doubt about that. But there was no art or grace to their brutal attacks. In that first pass Thion, the trained master of the blade, knew he could beat them. Strength was just a very small part of sword play, and now he would give them a lesson in its many intricacies.

He danced around the clumsy beasts, cutting and thrusting as he moved. He was like a ghost that could not be touched by any foe. His men around him were well trained in his art, and their united efforts cut a bloody path through the hoard. Green blood was being spayed everywhere, as they reaped a toll of vengeance.

Thion parried two cuts with his swords, and dropped onto the floor taking a leg from both adversaries, who squealed in pain. The stumps jerked around spraying arterial blood over his pale armour. The sickly green gore had a metallic smell, he noted strangely. It was funny what your senses would register on the field of battle.

In the centre of the frenzy, stood a gargantuan alien who barked at the others like he was the leader. Thion and his warriors were like a wedge of death that gradually made a path to this monster, who tried to rally a counter attack.

Eventually Thion and his fellows were face to face with him. The beast’s retinue were cut down like vermin by the other guardsmen. Most were aspirant warriors, but there were many Masters and veterans who fought at his side this day; who all had exceptional skill.

The aliens eventually woke up from the sudden ambush, and were starting to organise themselves in some kind of shield wall. The Sword Master had to be quick, if he was to take out the leader before he was swallowed up by the protection of this horde.

They both struck hard, causing sparks to ignite from their blades. The alien snarled, exposing fangs that dripped with saliva, making him look satanic in his fury. Intimidation was lost on Master Thion. His face was at peace, as he weaved his twin blades in unnatural angles, making this enemy parry for his very life. The beast slipped on the gore of his fallen kin, and Thion took the opportunity driving one of his uniquely made swords through its armour, burying the steels searing point, through the beast’s muscled chest.

It did not die from the powerful thrust, and Thion was forced to let go of the hilt of the sword that was now stuck inside its torso. More of his kind swarmed around their stricken leader; forming a new shield wall to fend off the fearsome assault on their advance.

The defensive barrier halted the sword Master and his men in their tracks. The alien hoard began to advance onto his position, but before he took a step back, something disturbed the wall of steel from behind. Many of the green skins turned to see this new threat coming from their rear, only to be cut down by Thion’s ruthless and expert guardsmen.

Emerging from the carnage was a warrior clad in jet black polished armour. The helmetless form of Guy Kruger and the other half of the Elite Guard; systematically cut the large aliens to pieces. Thion watched how the Captain fought. He was momentarily stunned by the skill.

A green skinned warrior swung an axe like weapon at Kruger, but he did not even need to parry the lethal swing. He jumped above the foe, turning end over end in mid-air, bringing down his own dark blade, as he landed behind the confused adversary. His stroke cut down its head, splitting him from base to neck. Its two parts fell, like a blooming flower of horror.

Thion marvelled at this unexpected ability from his new Captain. He knew Kruger could fight; but what he was witnessing from his old rival, should have been beyond his capabilities. Kruger killed with ease, and the beasts began to fear his very presence, as they watched him executing them, like a reaper of death. Thion could not watch this display of martial strength for long. There were too many of the foul creatures to contend with. .

The beast’s numbers began to move back down the street, from whence they came. They were starting to lose the stomach from fighting the combined force of Thion and Kruger. The sword Master was ever the tactician, and had planned for the enemy to withdraw back into the open, from where they had begun there assault.

Some of Regiment 1; who was humanities shock and ore troopers, would be advancing on the rear of the aliens. Small detachments had been called back to Earth, for unknown reasons. Thion was sure he would make good use of the large warriors of the 1st that were at his disposal. He would make the aliens very sorry for coming to this world.

***

Planet: Redeem, High Orbit

The planet Redeem loomed into focus. Master Kam and Tristan had made it at last to the prison world, and powered down their engines so they would not be detected by the planets sensors.

‘Before we go down, I will try and reach out to Caleb with my mind. He may not even be alive.’ Master Kam told Tristen, who was bringing the craft behind one of the planets smaller moons. Kam left for a quiet space where he could concentrate on his task. He opened the door to his sleeping quarters, and knelt at his meditation matt that was already rolled out for him.

He began a chant that cast his mind into nothingness, and once at full peace, he reached out in search of his friend’s son. It did not take long to locate the bright mind of Caleb Bruce, who was like a beacon of power. Kam touched his mind and was rewarded by an instant response that relieved him beyond measure. He was alive. He only hoped that he was still intact. ‘Caleb! It is Kam; how do you fare my young friend?’

‘Master, is it truly you?’

‘It is I my young friend. We are here to set you free.’

‘Then you are too late Master, for I am already free. Are you close?’

How could this be? Redeem was a secret facility for humanities enemies. No one had ever escaped from its grip. ’I am behind the planets nearest moon. How have you escaped Caleb?

‘I did not escape; yet still I am free. I have much to tell you of my time here.’

He should not have been surprised by the son of Dorn’s achievement. It gladdened him to know that he had not come all this way in vain. ‘I too have news Caleb; but it would be best to tell it too you face to face.’

‘I will send you the landing coordinate’s now Master. Have you come alone?’

‘I have another with me. Tristan will be overjoyed to see you alive, as am I.’ Kam felt the euphoria from the mind of Caleb. Soon they would be reunited to begin their war. ‘What of the planets guards Caleb?’

‘They are no longer a problem Master.’

***

Earth: Presidential Palace, Geneva

President Black opened his eyes, but found only darkness. There were a few flames here and there. It took a moment for him to orientate, on what had actually happened.

Kruger had touched him with the poison that he could still feel flowing through his body. The numbness was ebbing now, to be replaced with a searing pain around his nervous system. He was gradually starting to feel pain everywhere, as his enhanced anatomy fought off the toxin.

His face and other exposed skin had charred from the explosion that followed him to his underground refuge. He did not see the damage, but felt the stinging agony that was increasing by the second. Black pushed off one of the elevator doors, which was now lying over his legs. Debris covered him from head to toe.

So many questions whirled through his mind. No pondering of what had happened would help him in his current predicament though. He stood and adjusted his eyes to the darkness. His superior eye augmentation, allowed him to navigate to where he needed to go. At this moment, his killers would think him dead. He would try to use this to his advantage. Until he had discovered what had actually happen above. The tunnel he was in gradually become less damaged by the violent explosion, and Black limped on to the door that he hoped was still intact.

It took him about ten minutes to reach it. He rejoiced to find it undamaged. This area had been kept secret for hundreds of years. None would know of it but its long dead workforce who had all agreed after its construction, to leave for a new found colony. They were all sworn to secrecy. Now long dead, the creators of the Presidential Palace left a labyrinth of escape routes for Black, who had hoped never to use the dusty passages in his lifetime. Fate it seemed had other ideas.

He opened the door to a passage that led to Mountains that were miles away from here. Under its lofty peaks, resided a secondary base that was fully equipped and furnished with all that he would need in a crisis such as this. He had not been to the facility for hundreds of years, and did not know if the dated technology within its walls would work.

He started his long walk anyway. He had little choice now. About halfway along the dark passage, was a lever that when pulled, would collapse the tunnel work behind him. This was designed to ensure that any pursuit. would be stopped in its tracks. He had a feeling there would be no pursuit. Not even his close friend Dr Slade had known about this passage. Nor even his old protector, Dorn Bruce. Secrecy was sometimes a necessity when you held as much power as he did.

He limped forwards and began the long and painful walk to his salvation.