“The wee lass asked me once, “what should I do?” So, I asked if she were little or big spoon. The look on ‘er face was bloody priceless, but before she could answer I told ‘er, “it doesn’t matter what ye say lass cos in a world of spoons; ye need to be a knife. Hone yerself an be the best knife ya can be, ya know? Even calm waters lurk monsters of the deep.” Ferret for the lass cos she became a better knife than me.” – Response to Sister's question, “How does it feel to be the last of your kind?” Answered by Sigurd Ericsson, last known CoU Berserker, Year 2394 Sol.
Exhausted did not amount to the raging fire that burned behind Morrigan’s eyes. After barely being able to sleep before having to spend over a day and a half journeying and fighting, she was far beyond tired. However, she had expected the Federation to act ever since she had made her show of power at Mars, to start lashing out at the outer fringes, before turning towards the Eskarii and Marmuro’k once they had finished off the CoU. For the Federation to so boldly show up with three ships at Tik’Taq’To’s doorstep was a level of arrogance that infuriated her beyond her exhaustion.
Admiral Shepard reported a Federation “exploratory” Cruiser, accompanied by a Frigate and Destroyer, had entered deep into Marmuro’k territory guns at the ready. Morrigan knew there was no such thing as exploratory when it came to the Federation; they only developed and researched new methods to destroy.
The Federation contributed to very little of Earth’s advancements. The CoU were the main producers of nearly everything for all Terran worlds; medicine, food, and household goods to large industrial or planetary equipment like atmospheric generators. The only thing Federation truly developed aside from the minimal necessities were weapons and war machines which was why the Federation’s military presence was such a massive threat. Terrans were at mercy that the CoU also had a sizable military force though inferior in comparison.
Morrigan ground her teeth as she considered the situation, watching Marmuro’k scramble from the coliseum just moments after her resounding victory. She noticed the glares from the populace that held reservation against her being recognized as Marmuro’k, as well as the mentioned idea that she had also become the chieftain of a new clan though Morrigan had not stopped to consider if her new title was a statement of fact or just superficial acceptance. At the moment, Morrigan did not care now that she had a target for her ire as she followed Xitzocl through the crowded dust coated street.
“Hey babe? I know you’re all angry and such but do you have a plan?” Nora asked her.
Morrigan glanced at Nora, her morally ambiguous, ex-pirate, ice mage girlfriend, seeing her piercing blue gaze upon her filled with a contradictory blend of excitement and concern.
Morrigan’s lip twitched in an effort to keep the surfacing sadistic smile from revealing itself.
“Depends on how this goes but yes, I have a plan hun,” she stated firmly, letting the corners of her mouth break her stoic demeanor with a held back smile.
“What are you to do?” Xitzocl demanded as she forced her way past the Marmuro’k ahead of her, many of which became armed within minutes of the alarm sounding throughout the entirety of the sacred city of Tikal. The female Marmuro’k chieftain shifted her head to look back at Morrigan.
Her body arced in crimson primordial energy as she grinned, watching Xitzocl’s eye go wide in worry before answering the question. “If you can get me on that Cruiser, I intend to wreak as much havoc as I can.”
Nora clapped and giggled excitedly while Xitzocl stopped in the center of the intersection kitty corner from the tower Morrigan met the chieftains in and turned to face her. Xitzocl even saw the aggressive reptilian smile on Xol-Clarke’s face as she focused on her new ally.
“The Fang of Tik’Taq’To will be engaging with the enemy ships. They have no chance to defeat our mighty warship.”
Morrigan did not stop though as she grabbed Xitzocl’s wrist and dragged Xitzocl along forcefully only to stop, realizing she had no idea where to go. Morrigan shook her head and crossed her arms as she turned to her new friend, “No, have your ship take care of the smaller two. My ship has a weapon to disable the command ship and I have a few nasty questions to ask the commanding admiral. I just need to get on the ship from here. So, can you help or not? Otherwise, I have to get back to my shuttle as fast as possible.”
Xitzocl grunted as she considered the very pointed request before some of the Fire and Earth clan rushed by in a hurry. “Fine, follow me,” she bit out, obviously displeased by the situation and followed after the determined group of Marmuro’k at a brisk pace.
What Morrigan did not realize was how humiliatingly little glory there was for the Fang of Tik’Taq’To to be ordered to hunt weaker prey, at least to the Marmuro’k, not that it made any difference to her. She may have been new to the Marmuro’k life, to the social customs and expectations one was supposed to follow but that meant nothing if she went back on her word to the citizens of Tik’Taq’To. If she was to be the sword and shield to her allies like she had claimed, then she had to take charge, customs be damned, and make sure the Federation did not escape; let alone survive long enough to harm any of the Marmuro’k.
Morrigan soon heard the commotion of preparation as they followed Xitzocl down a sloping path that led out of the city. As the sounds of the city fell away, the sounds of alien shouting and energy buildup began filling the air. The slope traveled on led to a steep drop above an open field that began to crack open. The resonating sound of mechanized motors churning was nothing compared to watching the massive field open up into a hidden airfield filled with small space craft and dozens upon dozens of Marmuro’k preparing for an assault.
Morrigan eyed both Xol and Xitzocl, Xol of which nodded in response before Xitzocl pointed to the airfield. “That one there, it will be large enough for your clan. I will relay your orders to the Fang of Tik’Taq’To as well as give the pilot their orders to take you to the enemy ship…” Xitzocl stated reluctantly. Morrigan followed her long finger towards one of the ships more designed to be a drop ship than a fighter which certainly fit the bill.
Morrigan watched as several Marmuro’k barreled past her group, sliding down the hill with expert finesse weapons in hand which answered her question and turned to Xitzocl. “Perfect, thank you.”
Before Morrigan could move Xitzocl grabbed her arm at the risk of retaliation, “Do not make me regret this Red Death, the chieftains will be furious, more so if you fail…” Xitzocl said expressing her concerns.
Before Morrigan could say anything Xol clasped the chieftain on the shoulder, “We won’t. I have seen the warrior Red Death is, the Trial of Fire was only a tiny claw in comparison.” Morrigan’s heart would have filled with disappointment remembering that Xol had seen her at her worst, even if it was the reason he was so fiercely loyal to her but given the situation they were in, her heart was ready to unleash her fury.
Someone is a big softy on you, isn’t he? Apollyon mused in the back of her mind as Xitzocl released her, allowing Morrigan and her team to make their way down the hill.
“Weren’t you the one who said that's how loyalty works?” she asked in her mind sarcastically.
Listen, I paid for tickets to whole sale slaughter, not this touchy feely shit. That little tussle at the coliseum was nothing but a sorbet to cleanse the pallet so get a move on it little girl cuz daddy’s hard for some carnage! Apollyon cackled with overt enthusiasm like the mad being it was. Morrigan could not help but snort and crack an amused smile despite how grossed out that Apollyon had just called itself “daddy”.
A lot of the spacecraft Morrigan’s party had passed as they stormed across the airfield was overly simplified. Most of which were blocky and cubical though given the Marmuro’k’s penchant for excessive force, she was sure packed a serious punch while being able to take a significant amount of punishment. Something else Morrigan noticed was that most of the pilots for the fighters were Kêzi’kân and S’randin with only a handful of Timse’h she could see jumping into pilot seats. Being the largest of the Marmuro’k, it was almost comical to see one fit within one of the smaller starships.
She also noticed the dropship they approached was by far the most cubical in design. Rectangular in shape with the corners shaved off at perfect 45-degree angles with a large viewing window in the front and a simple hatch in the back, she only hoped it did not lack in speed given its design.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Standing next to the ship was a Kêzi’kân who waved them down as starships began taking off at speed. Morrigan paused for a second to watch as the starships made barely any sound as they took off, as if they had no engines yet managed to break the sound barrier mid atmosphere, the distant popping being what drew her attention.
“Chieftain Red Death, it is an honor to guide you into battle today! I am Szz’rkal-Ra’kesh’kato. Let us be on our way!” the Kêzi’kân greeted her drawing her attention back to watch him salute her with a fist over his heart before stepping into the ship.
Morrigan and her team except for Yekku, who had stayed behind at the coliseum, wasted no time with formalities seeing as Xitzocl made good on her word of alerting the pilot and boarded the dropship. The ship interior was just as bleak and non-descript as the exterior except for intricate lines that spider webbed along the flat, dull grey walls began glowing brightly with a blue hue as the pilot readied for take off. The lack of seating except for the pilots chair, which was the only thing the took up space, was a testament to how the Marmuro’k thought.
Once the hatch sealed behind Skoll who whined, emanating discomfort, Morrigan watched their dropship shift and take off at what would have been alarming speeds. Morrigan brushed her hand through Skoll’s fur mindlessly as her brain tried to cope with the disorienting effect of neither hearing or feeling anything in regards to their flight, only watching the world go by at break neck speed.
“Mori, enemy soldiers have boarded the Archangel,” Sister chimed loudly in her ear.
The A.I.’s loud voice was enough to break her focus on the flight and sent a wave of nausea through her stomach. Morrigan shook her head and touched the comm-bead, “Patch me through to the bridge Sister.” A moment later, Admiral Shepard’s voice came over the line.
“Sister has updated you on the situation? There are three Federation ships and we have several boarding vessels attached to our hull with the enemy assaulting the Archangel,” the old woman stated.
“Yeah, just have Sigurd deal with them. Listen, I am on a Marmuro’k dropship enroute to the Federation Cruiser. Gunnar, I need you to prep the Javelin and target the primary generator of the ship. Avery, put the Archangel into a safe firing position. Sister, I need you to track my signal and order Gunnar to fire when we’re within 200 meters of the Cruiser. The Marmuro’k will handle the other two ships. Is that understood?” Morrigan asked.
Gunnar was first to respond, “why the generator? Shouldn’t I target the drive core or the bridge?”
Shepard followed up with her own question, “Inquisitor, do you really want to have a Berserker tearing through our ship?” She asked incredulously.
Morrigan growled in irritation as she watched the dropship break through Tik’Taq’To’s atmosphere, revealing the black Inquisitorial ship engaging with the enemy Destroyer and Frigate while the Cruiser held back and fired long distance barrages at her ship. Aside from only seeing the Marmuro’k fighters engaging with Federation fighters, that left the question of where the Marmuro’k warship was?
“No, me and their admiral are going to have a nice long chat and Sigurd is far more competent than he seems, besides I have his damned controller!” Morrigan sniped as she saw how bad the situation was at the moment. Without the Marmuro’k warship, the fighters and the Archangel were in serious danger however, if the Archangel could take out the generator of the Cruiser, that would cut off most of the ship's offensive and defensive capabilities, balancing the scale.
“Aw, ye say such sweet things lass,” Sigurd mused over the comm as his metal feet clang against the bridge floor.
“Behave yourself Sigurd, that’s an order. Same for the rest of you, move into a safe position and follow my instructions, the Marmuro’k should be able to cover you while you recover from the Javelin,” Morrigan’s tone did not hide the realization of the danger and the worry of leaving the Archangel vulnerable.
As devastating of a weapon the Javelin was, it truly was not designed for a ship smaller than a Cruiser. The energy draw was too strong for smaller ships and that was what made the Archangel such a dangerous ship was its ability to have it built into it’s hull despite being a Light Cruiser. Though, using it came with the drawback of being vulnerable for several minutes as the drive core and generator rebuilt the powerbase used for anything besides life support and bare minimum shielding.
Shepard responded stoically to her orders though, as if she had not batted an eye at the danger they would be in, “Understood Mori. Gunnar, prep the Javelin. Sister, alert the crew of impending Javelin launch and skip. Avery, inform Gene and prepare to skip into position. Sarilla, plot a safe firing position and Sigurd… take a team with you and try not to break anything,” the admiral ordered tersely that left no argument to be had.
“Aye don’t ye worry that wrinkled head of yers, an lass? Do everythin’ I would do,” Sigurd responded before the communication line went dead which made Morrigan start laughing.
Nora tilted her head to the side in curiosity as she watched her lover laugh, “What’s so funny?”
Morrigan watched as energy crackled briefly around the Archangel before it flashed brightly and vanished from sight. She sighed wistfully, having needed a good laugh. “Sigurd says to do everything he would do… which frankly is an open invitation to do just about anything, then he told Shepard she had a wrinkly head. I could only imagine the punishment he’ll get for that.”
Nora watched the pilot jump as Skoll let out his usual high-pitched cackle of amusement out of the corner of her eye causing her to snicker with a sly smile before she looked out the viewing window at the fast-approaching Federation Cruiser. “So, what’s the plan love?” she asked.
Morrigan glanced at Nora, who leaned against the inner hull with her arms raised behind her head and hips on full display in a sultry pose. Morrigan could not help but absorb the woman's lithe and well toned frame, letting her thoughts run wild before Skoll interrupted her ill-timed fantasies with a large wet tongue to the face.
“Oh! Buddy, that was rude,” she muttered quietly, eyeing the giant alien canine who panted happily in her face before looking back to find a wide grin on Nora’s face. Morrigan’s cheeks flushed as she chewed her lip at the realization that she had been caught red handed and let out a defeated sigh before running her hand across Skoll’s face. “Right, it’s time for retribution, not dirty thoughts…” she muttered to herself in a dejected tone.
Morrigan looked to Xol who waited with impatient expectation though, he would never demand she rush which only deepened her embarrassment for losing focus. “Right, sorry. Anyways, the plan is simple; Gunnar will take out the generator allowing us to land in one of the hanger bays. Without the generator, the sub systems should keep life support stable while allowing us to pass though the anti-void reflection field as well as limit the amount of anti-starship defenses,” she stated before shifting over next to the pilot and glared at the approaching ship.
Her resentment came back in full force at the sight of the Federation. “All this time… everything I’ve gone through… it was meant for this moment,” she thought to herself.
You’re right kiddo. Keep your eyes on the prize and unleash every level of hell upon them, Apollyon interjected into her thoughts with a sadistic wisdom.
Morrigan looked back at her companions; Xol, Skoll, Nora and the ever-silent Hî’tet. Even her silent comrade saw the glint of determination in her eyes that caused him to stand at the ready.
“Once we board the enemy ship, Skoll and Hî’tet will commit as much chaos as possible. Given the opportunity, we may come across other Marmuro’k that wished to join in the action when their defenses go down so Skoll, please don’t hurt any Marmuro’k,” she said looking pointedly at the wily creature. Skoll grumbled to itself looking away from here as if being obstinate, except Morrigan could feel the acceptance of her wish.
She continued looking at Xol and Nora, “Nora, I need you to disable the drive core. So, do what you do best hun but don’t rig it to explode or anything, I intend on gifting the ship to the Marmuro’k once this is all set and done. Xol, I need you to protect Nora while she does her thing and once she’s done, you two join Skoll and Hî’tet in the fun.”
Nora clapped giddily at the prospect of using her skills as well as being unleashed to do her thing. Morrigan knew it had been a long time since Nora had been allowed to play the deviant she was at heart. Xol however, was less than thrilled by the idea as he dropped his mace into both his hands and gave Morrigan and argumentative look.
“I am to protect Mirina Sor, not her mate,” he growled defensively.
The look on Morrigan’s face was that of pure annoyance as she inhaled deeply and let out a steady breath, “Xol, we are a clan now. Your responsibility is to everyone, not just me,” she stated calmly. Despite being the one to point out her new chieftain status, Xol still looked at his new chieftain in surprise before bowing his head respectfully after reflecting on her words.
“My apologies. Clan-hood is still fresh and my soul looked to the past, not the present,” he gruffed out in embarrassment. His manner was endearing despite his incessant need to protect her drove Morrigan crazy sometimes, but she understood where Xol’s mentality was.
“I understand Xol, but don’t forget we are also family. Everyone must protect the clan. Now watch,” she said pointing just as the Archangel warped from one position to a much farther position away from the Federation ships. What followed next was the monument to technological genius.
As the Archangel reappeared, the Javelin dropped from beneath the prow of the ship and three flat, thin rails extended the entire length of the blade shaped prow. Energy began to charge and intensify as the buildup bled across the entire hull of the Inquisitorial ship, white-blue arcs of energy highlighting the Gothic architecture of the Light Cruiser. The same energy bounced and arced across the electromagnetic rails forming a segmented barrel of pure power as the ship began to glow dimly in the void of space, Morrigan’s crimson sigil along the port side of the command bridge for all to see. If someone did not know of the Archangel’s capabilities, the power accumulation would look like a drive core having a critical meltdown. The next second, all of the energy was discharged through the Javelin, and a semi-truck sized bullet was fired at impossible speeds, only traceable to the naked eye by the energy trail left behind as everyone aboard the dropship watched the Federation Cruiser take damage near instantly, it’s guns and shields shutting off as they lost power, as well as the Archangel's.
That reminded Morrigan to venture to the Javelin’s deck in the future, reading a blueprint just did not do it justice after seeing the weapon in action. “Alright, head towards the enemy ship and get us inside,” she ordered the pilot.