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Main Ascended Command Post ten klicks away from the main battle lines
Planet Secto'xq controlled by Supa'is Ultris Conglomerate
Oberium'is System
Hel'lius Quadrant
Milky Way Galaxy
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"Bak'jo Terandak, stabilize the left flank along the western bank of the river!" Exclaimed Gala'ad Mak'du. The poignant whizz of the intercom apparatus worried the Gala'ad. Signs of distress lingered on his face. "If that flank falls, the whole corps will be pincered as the swarm punches through our lines in the center!"
"Acknowledged general, we are slowly getting pushed through! Relentless assaults of the swarm are constant and brutal, but we are holding!" Replied Terandak over muffled screams colliding with the hiss of the intercoms. The undoubted roars of several AP plasrifles and dampened cries of the 57th Division occupied the intercom podium.
The Jourdak infantry has engaged the swarm far along the western bank of the river. The thunderous short bursts of the artillery batteries of the Siegebreakers firing for full effect and the booming sounds of allied aircraft occupied the ambience outside the command tent. Even then, the swarm advanced daringly through the mustered firepower of the Ascended troops in the field. Even then, it was not enough to break their will.
"Do not let the swarm through that perimeter, Terandak!" Shouted the general. "Should they manage to break through the sector, the scraps of the 177th Shock reserve will reinforce your current location. They are all I can give you!" said Gala'ad Makdu. "Judicator fliers were dispatched to your position. Expect aerial support at any minute! Now you hold that line, or the battle is lost, do not falter, Terandak!" Finished the general, the scarred Gala'ad peeled his attention away from the hissing intercoms, his command tent full of allied officers and personnel working tirelessly to coordinate efforts against the swarm.
The lingering static and the deafened screams of the intercoms clouded his mind. As Gala'ad Makdu stepped away from the intercom podium, he noticed numerously allied units going dark at the holographic screen in the center of the tent.
"General! Multiple swarm units have breached the center of the defensive lines! The Armored Huyars, along with the remnants of the 38th Division have taken heavy casualties and are withdrawing from the battle lines!" Exclaimed an officer on the intercom podium, lost as he looked upon the general with clarity.
"General, the 8th Flotilla has responded to our hails. However, they cannot provide orbital support at this point! Admiral Falas'k and her flock are preoccupied with evacuating the planet! Grand Admiral Guroish and the 13th fleet are engaged with a massive swarm host within the system! They cannot provide any form of support, general!" The unnerved Gala'ad Makdu froze in his tracks, unable to comply with his officers in the tent. The shattering ambience of the battles drew closer to the back of the fight, towards the command post and logistics centers.
Nothing makes sense. I have been here before, said the general in his thoughts. He looked around, and everything was as vivid as that day, that damned day.
"General! The right flank of the far eastern bank of the river has collapsed, the remnants of allied forces in the battle lines are surrounded and requesting allied units to reinforce their position, or they will be annihilated!" Shouted another officer in the tent as more and more reports came in and more Ascended units visibly disappeared in the massive hologram of the battle map in the middle of the tent. The expectance of absolute clarity and orders dazed the Gala'ad. He went on his knees and hugged the stone-cold ground.
"General! General!" He kept hearing.
"General!" He kept hearing still. The general closed his eyes as he rattled his head and shook it with his four arms.
"Stop," he said. "Stop, stop, stop, stop, make it stop," he blabbered uncontrollably. The screams slowly became louder and more intangible. The unending growls of the swarm drew closer as multiple plas-rifle gunshots and artillery barrages were overwhelmed in the sea of the growls. Even as his eyes were closed, he felt a hand on his broad, carapaced shoulders. Cold and shot with blood-red spurts across the arm, the general took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He refused to look at the officer beside him. He saw multiple mutilated bodies scattered throughout the tent, all staring back at the Gala'ad with directionless, lifeless eyes.
"WHY DID YOU LEAVE US!?" The frightening screech echoed in the tent. He turned to see the officer beside him and a corpse staring back at him. The general screamed.
"STOP!" He screamed, and it stopped. The deafening silence returned, and he thought peace of mind would follow, but his perception changed as he looked down at the ground.
The scenery changed to a hell-scorched land. Something was not right. No other sound than the eerie quietness occupied the ambience. The general sighed and stood up from the ground. He mustered enough strength to look around his surroundings. Battered artillery pieces lay ahead of his vision with the mangled crews. Thousands of military personnel and civilians stacked in pyramid-like shapes built with their corpses occupied much of the desolated battlefield. Continuous statics of an intercom podium stand in the middle of the scape. The static continued as the general approached it with cautious yet curious intents.
"I had no choi—we had no choice..." ominous words escaped from the intercom podium. "Gala'ad Makdu, we have to—" it continued. The general muddled in the essence of the words spoken by the machine, and then it came to him all at once. "We have to evacuate the planet!" Said a softer voice. "The 8th Flotilla's transporters are full! There is no more room! We have to vacate the planet now, or everyone dies!" The intercoms continued, albeit with a much more hoarse tone. "Remember us, reme—" Like a melody from a song written from despair, the crescendo of the play bounced back and forth until it peaked. The hellscape slowly crumbled and revealed an ocean of millions of corpses flanking the general at all sides. Gala'ad Makdu's vision remained obscured by the dead millions. The lifeless faces stared back at the general, and with one final breath, they screamed in unison.
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"YOU LEFT US TO DIE!"
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"Gala'ad Makdu, are you alright?" Said a familiar voice on the far horizon of the battered plains. Makdu then looked at the distant horizon as it slowly tore itself apart from the fabrics of what he thought was real. The general whiffed a swift, relaxed breath as the contours of his surroundings gradually pieced themselves back to the council room of the Ascended. The Gala'ad of Va'yerning sat beside the general, looking for a response.
"Ye...yes..." said the Gala'ad as he snapped back to reality. The general was back in the council panel of the Ascended Council. For what seemed to be an eternity to the general, the unfazed Gala'ad Kal'jud stood on the platform leading to the podium in the middle, detailing the races that the nation of Gal'hia had uplifted.
"You look pale, general, is it from—mayhaps the ridiculous plans of Kal'jud?" said Gala'ad Le'quls. Her eyes scanned the general, riddled with scars and horrid expressions, scrutinizing its details as she waited for the reaction she wanted from the jest.
"I just remembered something Gala'ad Le'quls," answered the general softly as he straightened himself in his seat. As the general looked around, the grim memoirs of his vision were no longer seen, heard, or felt.
"You looked like you were out of it for a time, general," pressed Gala'ad Le'quls.
"I—it was nothing," replied the general, aloof in the middle of the council, staring into the dazzling hologram in the middle of the stage with Gala'ad Kal'jud walking gleefully in the center.
"It did not look like nothing to me, Gala'ad Makdu. If it is something that I can help with, you can ask me," replied the Yerningan.
"You do not want to know, Gala'ad Le'quls, the burdens of the past, my past, belongs to me and me only," followed the general. "I do not want anyone else to shoulder my tragedies, I should be dead," Gala'ad Makdu finished.
"What happened back then during the swarm's first invasions of the outer core worlds was not your fault Gala'ad Makdu. We as a council all share the same duties as you would yourself, we are all responsible for what happened, Gala'ad Makdu," Gala'ad Le'quls said.
"You don't understand Gala'ad Le'quls. I was there, and I left them all to die," said the general with a sombre tone. "I could have saved them all, but I did not."
"The struggle for Oberium'is was unavoidable. Five swarm hosts converged on the star system from three different lane points from adjacent star system networks. We mobilized and did what we could with the time we've had." rebutted the Yerningan. "You cannot save everyone, general. You have saved as many as you could and for that, a lot of families are still alive to this very day," finished Gala'ad Le'quls.
"I wish I had died there with them that moment, Gala'ad Le'quls. I had seen their faces, their tears falling to the ground, their lineages ending in one fell swoop. I see them and their children. They are all looking at me with quiet eyes.." replied the general,
"I cannot fathom the pain you are experiencing at this moment, general, nor could I console you with nothing but skewed wisdom. I do not hold such luxury." said the Yerningan as she placed her palms on the carapaced shoulder of the scarred Jourlian. "I am certain of one thing, general. The lives you, Grand Admiral Guroish and Admiral Falas'k saved that day, they would not be here if it were not for you."
"Thank you, Gala'ad Le'quls," said the general as he nodded, now calm and reaffirmed his eyes on the Gala'ad of Gal'hia. The seemingly chaotic chamber had dumbed down to the sounds of mutters by unconvinced Gala'ads, restoring order to the council.
"The emissaries of the Sol Directorate will arrive in a week, my fellow Gala'ads," said Gala'ad Kal'jud. "And with them, follows the envoys of the Valurian Commonwealth, the Fagaqrtas Monarchia, and the Brealoar Bastios," followed the Gal'hian. Murmurs stirred the already agitated atmosphere of the council room.
"All of the previously mentioned races and hundreds more are the boons of the uplifting program the nation of Gal'hia invested in, all suitable candidates. If you are still unconvinced of the program itself, I assure you, on my word that I will not fail you, for if I do, our families and younglings will drown in the sea of the skulls that will come out of this war," remarked Gala'ad Kal'jud vehemently.
"I know what I ask is not less of too much, my fellow Gala'ads, but I only ask one thing of you, help me save our people. I implore you to stand not for yourselves, but the future of your broods and younglings, for the future of your nations, and for the future of this galaxy, we have all come to adore," Gala'ad Kal'jud finished.
"I and several other Gala'ads who may agree with it on this regard, I ask of you to do the same Gala'ad Kal'jud, that no hidden malicious agenda on the behest of your nation may permeate your seat in this council." Gala'ad Le'quls stated as she held her gaze toward the slender Gal'hian. "If you can do that for us, our support will be yours truly, should you lie to us. We will make sure that the notable nation of Gal'hia Serenity denounced and promptly stripped of any allegiance to the Ascended Council," she finished.
"It is the only way to survive, Gala'ad Le'quls, you have my word," Gala'ad Kal'jud rebutted.
"I supported your act against the Habnui Rebellion, Gala'ad Kal'jud. But dropping anti-matter bombs on civilian populated installations, I do not condone. We are better than the savage warmongerers we fought. There is always another way. Should you continue on this path, then we will withdraw our support," said Gala'ad Oirug as he slowly stood.
"Until then, it is yours. The Conglomerate of Tarunar's larders and her riches are yours to bear, Gala'ad Kal'jud, do not fail us," Oirug finished.
"The Nertheian Ascendancy and its assets stand with you Gala'ad Kal'jud," followed Gala'ad Namir as she stood up, her frail body naught denied her potent resolve.
"I, Gala'ad Makdu and the Jourlian Dominion, stand with you Gala'ad Kal'jud," followed the general, towering over most of the individuals in the council room as he stood.
"The Va'yerning Theocratic Domain stands with you Gala'ad Kal'jud, may the goddess guide you," said Gala'ad Le'quls as she, like the others, stood up from her seat.
"Do not make me rue this Gala'ad Kal'jud, I merely desire what's best for my people. I hope you understand," said Gala'ad Iuryh with a mellower tone, subduing her outburst from earlier's debate. "The Quaxiras League and its people, stand with you Gala'ad Kal'jud," finished the Quaxiran.
Even in the sea of support, a lingering hint of disgust and disapproved faces still manifested in the Gala'ads of the outer rims. Most prevalent in the oldest races in the council that is shouldering most of the fighting in the fringe sectors of the Ascended.
"A wasteful summit, they squander time needlessly in their endless bickering and debates while our people at the far front suffer, this is insanity," said the Gala'ad Ormaor of the Bolsiou States. Quiet approvals from nearby seated Gala'ads of the outer rims surfaced.
"I agree Ormaor, they endlessly gloat about the luxury that they can sit here and wait until the swarm miraculously dissipates. Our people do not have the same circumstances as they die in droves to hold off the beasts..." followed Gala'ad Jurax of the Cliraxi'as Union.
"My most earnest of gratitude goes to you all Gala'ads. I solemnly swear on my life that I will do what I can to get us through these dark times," said the Gala'ad from the center podium. A roar of approval erupted in the council. Clasping of hands deafened the council grounds in its intensity.
The uproar was interrupted when the Gala'ad spoke stoically, surprising and silencing the chamber, "If I am truly wrong, then we are all doomed, the summit will renew once the delegates arrive." said Gala'ad Kal'jud as he walked away from the podium into the lavish hallways of the structure, disappearing into the darkened halls, only hearing his heavy footsteps as he progressed further away from the summit. He clung to the hope that he was right.