Chapter 8
Luck, Accuracy, Swiftness
“They say a switch gets flicked on in a War Maiden’s mind when they encounter a Behemoth and survive. I have to tell you, they aren’t wrong.” – A Soldier’s Recounting of the First Federation War
The Past
<5 Years Ago, a 13-year-old Arla>
Pop.
Pop-op-pop.
Arla moved and fired her weapon rhythmically, just as Marcon had trained. Her shots, the groupings, everything was perfect.
She moved slowly.
How Marcon had found such an out of the way backwater planet to practice fighting against Harbingers, Arla never knew, though she did have her suspicions.
There were too many old tells just laying around.
Amongst the roaming packs of Harbingers that looked to be sucking the planet dry, and slowly killing off every ecosystem the planet had, there were signs of the life that once lived here.
Rustle.
To the left the sounds of monsters moving could be heard.
On instinct, Arla already began moving her blaster left and aiming straight towards the sound of the movement. Of course, it wasn’t a regular blaster, as her blaster had been modified with Cerusian runes.
That was why when the first of the four legged and two armed serpentine creatures raced around the corner of an abandoned Germano-Federo building, Arla took almost no time to aim her weapon and fire.
Pop-op.
Two swift rounds shot out, the first striking the beast upper left of its chest, and the second going straight into its brain.
Slide.
Instantly the shots had their intended effect on the lead monster, as it collapsed into a heap almost immediately. This served as a buffer, for Arla now had a moment to focus on the second pursuer, and quickly take aim.
Unfortunately, the second attack, a similar if slightly larger variant of the four-legged two-armed serpent fighter, had its body in profile to Arla. This meant that Arla either had to wait, or go for a double penetration shot to the chest to make sure a round found the heart of the beast.
With her choices in her mind, Arla didn’t hesitate.
Pop-op-pop.
Another three round burst, two back to back at the same spot in the chest, with the last to the head.
Arla’s movements were so quick and precise that she found her senses relaxing slightly as she quickly checked the surroundings for any other signs of life. A notion that was supported by the sounds and actions that happened next.
Skitter-slide.
This time just like last time, the body of the Harbinger dropped and slid next to the body of its fellow brethren.
Silence.
There was nothing, no signs of life, and especially no signs of Marcon.
Occasionally, Arla wondered if Marcon was in fact here with her, but he would often show up when things got too stressful. But only as a last resort.
Realizing the coast was clear, Arla walked over and found herself emptying five more high energy rounds into the beasts. Normally, most people would focus on ammo conservation, but Arla’s Secondary Power, Spirit Infusion, made the idea of conservation of ammo pointless.
Once Arla was certain that the two beasts below her were dead and there was no chance for them to regenerate and come back to life, Arla decided to move on. That was the thing about the larger and more powerful Sextappendicula Serpentis, the unofficial name for the six appendaged monsters that can regenerate when you leave either the brain or heart alive and undamaged.
Arla looked, and paused, seeing the odd reddish energy of the monsters slowly fade away. Once they were dead, Arla nodded to herself, and prepared to move on.
Click, click, click.
However, before she could move, Marcon made his presence known, by sounding the official end mission sound. While she still had to keep her eyes open for any last-minute attacks, the sounds indicated that Marcon and his surveillance equipment could not detect any nearby enemies, be they Harbingers, or humanoids. The sound also indicated that Marcon was on his way, and should not be shot at, he did get angry when he was targeted by friendly fire.
When Marcon noted that friendly fire was the most accurate, Arla received further rebuke by noting this was a given, since she was the one providing said fire. Her runes all but ensuring the accuracy and precision of each shot, had it not been for Marcon’s secondary power, one that effectively made it so he could shrug off any form of attack, Arla would have been worried about the man.
Instead, all she did was stand around, looking at the now cleared Harbinger controlled city on a planet whose ecosystems would take generations to get back to a livable level.
Shuffle-step.
As Marcon approached from the rear, he made sure to announce his arrival with a slow boot grinding shuffle that almost seemed to echo off the dirt that covered the once pristinely maintained city roads. Roads that now led to more of nothing, and only showed glimpses of what would be left in the wake of Harbingers.
Arla waited, continuing to scan her surroundings, while also watching Marcon. Occasionally he tried to pose as the mind-influenced teammate who had to be taken care of.
Fortunately, Marcon either saw the glare and remembered the way she fully unloaded on him last time he tried such a stunt, or that was not a lesson to be learned this week.
“So, what did you learn?” Marcon asked, this was the way he always began these After-Action Reports AARs with Arla. At first Arla had been hard pressed to come up with answers, but now she had an observation that had been bothering her for quite some time.
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“I learned that they can notice me, and that they are attracted to me, for some odd reason.” Arla noted this was part of her new ability, to look back and not change the future, but change what was said, her reactions to different events. This would never impact her current timeline, but did help her gain a deeper understanding of things that she only now recognized as important.
Marcon just tightened his jaw, the gesture small, but there. To most people who didn’t know Marcon and spend most of their time watching the man daily, they might miss the tell. But to Arla, that tell, that small gesture was as close to him admitting that he knew something and was currently debating whether he should tell. Seeing the gesture, Arla pushed.
“I also noticed, that I can spot them, almost sense them,” Arla concluded, wondering if that would be enough of a push.
“You can do that?” Marcon asked, awe and confusion mixing in equal measure on his face.
Arla just nodded.
Biting his lip, Marcon debated for a moment before nodding to himself. The war of whether to tell too much alleviated for a moment.
“That is part of why the Federation now tries to distance themselves from Cerusians. Apparently the more powerful of a Cerusian you become, the more desirable you are to the Harbingers, all variations of them,” he explained vacantly, as his eyes seemed to stare off into a past memory that was still too close and personal to be ignored.
Arla was just about to push, as that was good to know, but still didn’t explain anything.
“There is more to it, we can build this talent of yours up, help you to notice the monsters sooner, but there will be a consequence,” Marcon noted.
Hearing that, Arla was intrigued, for she never knew that Marcon was aware of such techniques. Still there was a question, of whether these could apply to her current timeframe.
***
The Present
Arla moved, her mounted twin barrel plasma launchers feeling weightless in the recesses of space. As she moved, she felt her mind reaching out and finding the biggest threats, the Harbingers that were the most destructive.
Fip-fip-fip-fip.
Pop-op-pop.
While both mounted barrels were the same vintage and caliber, Arla used both in different ways. With her left, she went about providing a clean sweeping motion with the barrel going into overdrive to strike out at each monster in her immediate presence.
Simultaneously, she used her right hand to guide and focus at the leaders and more powerful monsters in the back of the formation. These were the plasma sprayers for the Harbingers.
These were the space variants of the Harbingers, the ones whose exoskeletons were able to withstand the pressures of space. The good thing about these versions, was that they had a harder time regenerating, once their exoskeletons were pierced. This was why there wasn’t as much of a need for Arla to double tap each space Harbinger, instead she just focused on creating as large of a hole in their bodies as possible.
The backline plasma hurlers were no different, as they were not yet prepared to shift to defense, which was great for Arla, as she used this time to strike down the more powerful hurlers first.
Just as she had practiced with Marcon, her movements were crisp and fluid, seamlessly transitioning from one attack vector to the next.
Arla also used this time to once again regain agency over her own destiny.
Right now, she, like the other two Fortunas, were stuck in the middle of space, while their ship had been seemingly driven into a Harbinger blocked warp channel.
Why an allegedly powerful ‘Cog would purposefully steer their vessel into such an ambush was beyond her.
There were arguments to be made that ‘Cogs could not predict futures that involved Harbingers, but that seemed to not be the case here. Or not exactly the case, for it was clear that Mr. Fortuna had clearly expected something, given the protective measures taken, but still seemed to be off by the way things were currently unfolding. The look of shock on his face, particularly when the outside viewing of the chamber was interrupted clearly concerned him. It was as if he had felt okay to view everything before then, but the moment he got hit a little, he began to panic.
That was when Arla began to move.
Not just to get out, but based on the fact that it was clear that Mr. Golden eyes was unable to predict what would happen.
The first thing Arla did was clear out the enemies on the back side of the cube.
Then using the walls and protective outer coating of the nearly indestructible safety pod as a shield, Arla began moving and flowing seamlessly.
Mental tingle.
Though as she moved, she felt something beginning to come to life within her mind.
Almost like a new set of eyes, or she was suddenly able to see the world in a new color pattern. Suddenly the world around her began to lighten up.
Immediately next to her, she saw the glowing red trails of energy flowing from the bodies she just mowed down.
Then moving to clear one corner of the cube, one that would give her a direct line of sight on the invading horde and their ship that they used to ram into the hull of the transport vessel. The same transport vessel that had up until a few moments ago been directed by Mr. Fortuna to deliver the protective cube to the Military Academy in Maralla.
Of course, that was only if Arla believed everything that Mr. Fortuna said, which she was currently of the persuasion that she wouldn’t believe they were in space, if it wasn’t for the fact that she could see the vastness of space caused by many of the various ripples in the hull of their vehicle. Nor could she deny the weightlessness of gravity on her body that let her move about freely, with only her magnetized boots helping her keep any form of connection to the hull of the broken transport vessel.
There was also the smell, or maybe it was a certain lightness that she felt while in space, a certain feeling of home, that she could only truly feel while out in space. It was a sensation that was hard to describe, for she often felt that there was a smell that could only be experienced while in space. Some water rich planets had it, or could mirror the effects of this smell with the crisp morning air smell that came after a nice warm rain. That scent, that was the smell that Arla now experienced and felt as she deftly made her way over and around the cube, only to stop a foot away from clearing the corner.
Normally, training dictated that she surge past and continuously fire as she moved around an enemy occupied corner. But she halted this time, for something in her told her to stop, to step back.
Following her instincts, she did just that, and found herself backing up, just in time to see the largest Harbinger she had ever seen, angrily stomp forward, right to where Arla had just been standing a moment ago.
The monster was huge, easily twenty feet tall, bipedal with thick ancient tree trunk like limbs that were all char black, like space. Added to this were the veins of the monstrous creature that seemed to pump and distribute glowing red energy streams of energy.
Arla had only seen these twice before, the first time she and Marcon had to run. At the time Marcon gave her a direction and a rally point, where Marcon broke off, gained the beast’s attention and distracted it away from her.
The second time, a time after Marcon’s second power was activated, Marcon just smiled brightly as he finally got his chance at a rematch. At least that was what he said at the end, when Arla asked why they hadn’t run. Well Marcon hadn’t run, even though Arla had been told to retreat back to a safe position where she could watch, without Marcon worrying about hitting her with friendly fire.
This time though, things had changed.
Seeing the beast, Arla thought about running, but then out of the corner of her eyes she saw the translucent wall of the cube, where not one but two of her awakened resided.
Being so close, Arla paused, realizing that she too had fantasized about taking down one of these Behemoth class monsters. To make things even more enticing was the fact that this one was still young, likely trying to prove itself through combat, which explained the weaker war party.
If left alone, the Behemoth class monster would likely leave and likely come back twice as strong for the next time it chased her down, and it would chase her down. She knew it, for she felt something click within her mind and soul. Something that forever tied her to this monster, as she felt something erupt from deep within her mind, body, and soul.
Deep within her body, she felt an odd protective rune crumbled to dust just beneath her skin. Seeing the rune come to life she felt she could read the complex rune. Or at least a majority of the rune, Deep Hiding.
Seeing the rune, a myriad of images came to Arla’s mind. For a moment she remembered strange hands touching her as a small baby. Then just as quickly that memory was immediately dissipated, as her mind told her to focus on the present.
That’s when something deep and ancient within her body came to life.
Dormant Cerusian Superpredator Identified
Warning: You have been marked by a Superpredator, you will forever be stalked by your ancient enemy.
Cerusian Quest Class Originated: Kill the Cerusian Superpreadtor (Youth): You must kill the Superpredator before it becomes too powerful and hunts you down from the depths of the universe and beyond. Rewards: Awakened Cerusian System.
Seeing the message, Arla felt that she was right where she needed to be, at this exact moment in time.
Smiling at the announcement, Arla finished replenishing the two distinct power cells for her modified long barrel turrets and prepared to become the true hunter.
***
The Future
<6+ Years from Now, a 24-Year-old Arla>
“Right this way, I will be showing you to your assigned station, Lieutenant Proma,” the Staff Sergeant, McMichals, who clearly looked out of his depth while talking to Arla.
Currently she was in her form fitting suit, which clearly showed off her curves and definition, a fact that the young and apparently lonely Staff Sergeant quickly picked up on.
This was something she and all the women had to be briefed on, particularly those going to a remote planetary system like this.
The training went something like, for the case of wanting to get pulled back from a rim protection post, don’t even think about it. All females are required to take birth protection, while any males who don’t similarly take contraceptive methods will be met with sever punishments, up to and including time in the brig, and mandatory extended sentences out on the aforementioned rim bases.
“Well, I guess I should give you the highlights, of being here. We are currently on a minor moon of Galbindust VI, a gamma rich gas giant. Our base is on the dark side of the moon, facing away from the planet due our base’s positioning at the pole of the planet. This is done to both help out our Polarity, and Magnetically focused fighters, while also providing limited protection against radiations from the planet. Also, a little known fact, due to our location here, and the way the enriched gamma rays spiral past us into space, we are actually afforded an extra level of protection against most known scanning measures used to track units,” Staff Sergeant McMichals continued.
Hearing that Arla could only nod her head, as the Staff Sergeant was in full explanation mode making it so Arla could not get a word in edgewise.
“In fact, we are so protected out here, that despite having spotted a number of Harbinger flight paths and routes overhead, we have not been spotted by the enemy,” Staff Sergeant McMichals continued.
Hearing that, Arla almost wanted to facepalm at the claim, particularly as she felt a very distinctive tingling sensation beginning to form on her neck. Pausing for a moment, Arla stopped her following of the Staff Sergeant who took two steps forward, before realizing that Arla, the person he was escorting was now staring up into the sky with a note of intensity.
Seeing her, he involuntarily took in a deep breath, as he saw her ice blue eyes seem to glow for a moment, as she stared up into the night sky.
The sheer sight of her eyes glowing like that, sparked memories of the war witches that would burn down entire planets to take out enemies.
Seeing her tense up, Staff Seargeant McMichals found his voice catch in his throat as he just stared at the person who was clearly a monster wearing their uniform.
Still, Staff Sergeant McMichals was always a professional, which was why he was able to finally regain control of his thoughts and tongue by asking the more neutral of questions, “everything all right, Lieutenant?”
Hearing his question, Arla turned her gaze from the stars back to the Staff Sergeant, when she spoke words that he would later regret ever hearing.
“I think you are about to see history being made,” she stated.