A few days passed, in that time, we managed to secure the area to act as the base camp for future activities on the planet, this also meant bays to repair damaged units. I wished to assist with my knowledge on mechs, but I was told to not do that here considering I’m a noble, and it would tarnish my image to the nobles. It took restraint, considering the poor management of their mechs, but I knew my goal should be the elimination of beasts. There was one thing that was more annoying than anything, the nobles found me whenever I was taking a rest to inquire about my mechs, so I tried to hide wherever I could within the camp… to no success. No matter where I went, the nobles seemed to follow, even if I hid in areas I knew they wouldn’t find me in, they appeared like ninjas. I even had lunch inside my mech to avoid the chatter for at least one meal, yet the nobles all seemed to find me just after they finished their meal, which was beyond me to how they found me at every turn.
Today was no different, the nobles were once again inquiring about my mechs, and I was beginning to reach my breaking point with them. This was, at least, until one noble spoke up, “Gentlemen, please, let the boy rest. You’ve done nothing but ask him about something he likely wishes to keep quiet about for the time being for several days. Let him rest from his battles, he’s a child after all.” It seemed this noble carried some weight, because the nobles left me alone for the first time in three days, aside from sleep at least. I gave the noble a weak smile, “Thank you sir, I may have said something unbecoming if they continued to pester me as they had.” The man was tall, likely my father’s height, with short silver hair. His eyes had a similar silver glow as he extended his toned arm to me, hand opened, “My name is David Stella Drakon, I’m a count like your father, you can call me David.” I shook his hand, “Nice to meet you David, I’m-.” Before I could speak, I was cut off.
“There’s no need for introductions, you’re Aurelian Stella Flameheart, son to Count William. Your name has been spread among the camp since the day you shown your might with me as your support.” I chuckled, “Seems like I might have overstepped my boundaries, I apologize if I upset you with that formation.” David shook his head, “In war, it doesn’t matter who’s older or who has rank over another, if one should lead, they should be a confident leader. I came to shake the rust off my skills, so seeing someone like yourself maneuver such a plan on your first engagement, it brings me hope for the next generation of nobility.” He took a seat beside me, likely to ensure the nobles wouldn’t swarm me again as soon as he left, “I am curious, what gave you the idea for that plan?” I knew exactly what he was trying to do, he was seeing how my thought process worked, mostly to see how I saw problems.
I said, “Seeing the narrow path, I understood any land beast would have to go through the path to reach the camp. So, I sent our fastest units ahead to gather as much attention as possible, make them really angry and chase them at full speed. As the men ran in a way that didn’t get them stuck, the beasts would likely slow each other down as they hit the walls, allowing my men to return safely and prepare to fire upon the beasts as they approached. I waited to ensure no shot went to waste, then went into melee to ensure the bodies didn’t block the path for an unreasonable amount of time. It was how we managed to take the plains far faster than the other nobles; most had died in the narrow path.” David’s eyes grew wide as I explained my reasoning, maybe he was surprised to understand that a child managed to come up with such a plan with merely one look at the region they were assigned.
He asked, “Did the thought of injury or death not scare you?” I shook my head, “No, with the beasts on planet, it would take something the size of a ship or larger to cause me worry. The mechs are meant to withstand far more than the bite force of a beast, that I guarantee you. It’s why I made your men the range and support of the group, your mechs can’t handle what mine can, so it was safer overall.” David seemed to understand, “Interesting, you’re quite the odd child, but I can see much wisdom in not only your words, but your eyes. Not once do I feel as if you told a lie, that I like about you.” Before we could speak much more, a soldier ran up to us, “Count Drakon, Barron Flameheart, there’s something the nobles need to see immediately. Count Flameheart has requested you to board your mechs and meet him at the coordinates he’s sent.” I stood quickly, “Understood, tell father I’m on my way.” David stood up, “I hope this is merely a discovery and not a threat.”
~~~
When we arrived at the location the coordinates held, it seemed to be a lone set of six mountains, these sat within a heavily forested area. As I observed the mountain, I heard over the comms, “Aurelian, come here for a moment, I need your discerning eye.” Father called me over to a particular outcrop of something that jutted from a mountain. I came to him, his mech kneeling next to it, “I can’t for the life of me understand what this is, we didn’t bring sensors for metals, so we can’t determine what this is.” I understood his worry, some materials in the universe were volatile, thus a certain amount of tampering with the metal could cause them to explode. We needed to know the metal before we did anything, lest we risk an explosion. I got out of my mech, a wrench in hand, “Let me do a small test, it shouldn’t set off such a large deposit if it is volatile.”
When I approached the deposit, I noted it had a light orange color to it, not matching any dangerous metals I recalled, but I had to be sure. I put my ear to the metal and hit it with my wrench, the vibrations and sound it made sent a particular feeling through my body, excitement. I stood back, my heart pumping, “Father, what color is orichalcum?” Father was silent for a moment, but he was able to respond, “It’s an orange color, depends on where it’s found or how much light is shining on it.” I put my ear back to the metal and struck it harder, the vibrations and sound only solidified my observation, this metal was orichalcum, the most priceless metal a mech engineer could ever obtain. I shouted with glee, “It’s orichalcum! I can’t believe we struck orichalcum!” Father was surprised, “Are you sure about this son!? Is this truly orichalcum!?” I explained, “Only one metal has this kind of sound when hit, it’s orichalcum!”
The nobles seemed unsure, but this suddenly triggered a question in my head, why was there orichalcum on the surface when it was scarcely found, especially in such quantity? As I looked around, I couldn’t decern anything in this regard, and it left me worried. I couldn’t stop the nobles from looking around, but I wanted to examine the area to better confirm just why this deposit was jutting from the ground. I began to walk around the mountains, something one group had claimed was “suspiciously deserted of life” since they arrived. Animals, especially beasts, never let any area deserted for no reason. Either there was a natural reason for them to avoid this area, or there was something far more dangerous within the region, but I wasn’t so sure about either being the correct option.
As I walked for nearly an hour, I nearly passed by a spot of land that seemed off to me, enough so I only noticed the second one like it a certain distance away from the first. There were oddly shaped holes, ones that had smoothed as time passed, but they were visible enough for me to notice if I looked hard enough. The size of these holes, each separated in nearly the same way each time, were massive, enough an earth-sized aircraft carrier could fit in the holes with some wiggle room to spare. As I looked to the overhead view which acted like a map, I went though what I knew, “Deposits of a rare material, strange holes, lone mountain ranges… what does this mean?” I looked at the mountains, then I made out the odd way the mountains were lined up, one large mountain in the center, four spread out in a certain way, and one that was in a strange position compared to the others. I felt a chill run down my spine, one that replaced the excitement of finding orichalcum, “It can’t be…”
I ran to the other side of the mountain range, my speed made it happen in half an hour since I wasn’t examining the area as I ran, but my goal of the one out of place mountain was achieved. I looked carefully, concern was building in my mind, my hopes were that this wasn’t what I thought it was, at least not this type. After a bit of searching, I found a cave system that could fit a mech, albeit just barely, and took to carefully exploring the cave. The cave was dotted with metals and gemstones, not as rare as the orichalcum of course, but still a mighty find. This didn’t alleviate my woes, rather, it reinforced them. Eventually, I reached the end of the cave, and it seemed like my worries were unfounded. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, until the cave wall opened slowly. It wasn’t the wall of a cave when the wall moved, but they eye of a reptile, and it marked the moment my fears became reality. I remained stock still, both the mech and myself within the cockpit, as the thing seemed to slowly blink before returning to what I assumed was its slumber.
I quietly made my way out of the cave once I did, once out, I made a sprint back to where I believed everyone was. As I broke through the half way point, I heard someone say, “-detonate the charge, we’ll be rich!” I felt my stomach drop, if they detonated anything, controlled or not, this creature would see it as an attack, I had to warn them. I activated my long-range comms, hoping I wasn’t too late, “Don’t detonate the bomb! If you do, you’ll kill us all!” While it was possible to kill this thing, we’d be crushed before we got the chance to fight it. However, something must have interfered with my comms, because all I heard back was, “Alright, charges set, everyone get back.” I shouted, louder this time on open comms, hoping someone was able to hear, “Don’t detonate the bomb! It’s a behemoth!” I swore, in a split second, I heard David and someone else say in near tandem, “Wait!” and “Detonating!”
From my position, I heard the explosion, though it was quite faint, but that one blast caused the earth to rumble. I shouted into the comms, hoping David could hear me, “Get away from the area! It’s waking up!” I had to change course from running to the others to running in a straight line away from the behemoth, the mountains began to crumble as some rose. There was one thing we players used to call these things, “City Killers”. If one ever breached the surface of a developed planet, a city was usually destroyed as it began to shift, be it migrating, feeding, or fighting back against those that harmed it. I knew something about this was wrong, and my fears were right, this was the rare case that we found a recently settled City Killer that wasn’t buried far beneath the earth.
I called out to anyone who could hear, maximizing my range and risking my comms equipment to make the call, “All forces, emergency situation Beta!” I heard a bang rip through the cockpit, a burnt metallic smell seeped into my nose, “There goes the comms, in SGO, this weak of a comm system is a death sentence!” I shouted my hatred to the weak system, but without knowing the status of everyone, I was stuck running for my life until I made my way to the base camp. I was about to turn and rush towards the camp, at least until a shadow began to grow in the path I was about to take. When I looked up, I noticed that the mountain on the closest leg of the behemoth was coming down, not part of it, but the whole thing. I was too deep to run away, the mountain was right above me, there was no escape… until something grabbed onto my mech’s arm and yanked me into something, a door slamming shut before the mountain crashed into me.
Light began to flicker on, and I managed to regain my senses as I got to my feet, my eyes were quick to notice the walls that held a design that the empire didn’t use. When I looked away from the door, I noticed a fairly old mech, one that seemed rusted from years of disuse, it’s eyes were flickering with what seemed to be a little bit of power. I was about to move, but a voice spoke through its weakening state, “Follow the lights… bzzt You will find me…” With a few more bursts of static, the voice died out, and I couldn’t confirm what just happened, nor who spoke. I looked to the lights, some halls were dark, but the light illuminated my path. I sighed, “I have no choice, the mountain has likely blocked my exit.” Knowing I had no means back, I trekked forward, hoping I wasn’t about to die here.
~~~
It took me a bit, but I managed to reach the end of the lights, a place that seemed like an empty room with what seemed to be a massive bay, one that had a small room with a light blinking on the pad beside the door. I knelt my mech down and disembarked, grabbing a gun just in case the being within was hostile, and slid down the arm I extended to reach the ground safely. As I approached the screen, a familiar phrase was displayed, “For the sake of those who can fight, The Forge’s fire shall burn forever bright”. It was familiar to me for one reason, it was what I called my factory, since it was a forge of pure metals and powerful mechs. In a way, I like the quote, since it gave me that push to keep making mechs despite my illness sapping more of my energy as the days went by. I spoke quietly, “A coincidence, nothing more.” I hesitated for a moment, putting my hand to the handle of what seemed to act like a regular door, “One, two, three!”
I opened the door and aimed my gun, clearing the room like I was trained to do, but to my surprise, it was empty… at least I thought it was empty. The room lit to life, the machines present whirred to life, a familiar voice entered my ears, “Welcome, you’re the first of your kind to come here in many millennia, I nearly thought humanity had gone extinct.” The face on the screen was that of a wise looking man, one with gray hair and a decently sized beard, not to mention the nice suit that the image wore. I knew this A.I., in fact, I had a hand in its creation, “Merlin… is that you?” The A.I. shown a sign of squinting, a security camera that clearly seen better days turned to look at me, “I do not recognize you, yet you knew my name, did you find another facility before being rescued by the autonomous mech by the former entrance?” I chuckled, “Ah, those things, they were cool, but so expensive.” I shook my head, “Not the point, Merlin, do you still have access codes to refer to individuals?” Merlin’s face nodded on the screen, “Yes, why do you ask?”
I smiled, “Access code 396103357, password “Round Table’s Forge”. Does that ring a bell?” Merlin’s lavender eyes went wide, “Impossible, no human should know of my creator, he never kept any of that information within the base! Unless…” The camera zoomed in on my face, “My creator, were you reborn? Last I recall, you fell into a fit and never awoke again.” I shrugged, “My guess is as good as yours Merlin, I certainly reincarnated, but I’m not sure about the rest.” Merlin replied, machines creaked and groaned outside the room, “Creator identity reauthorized, I will ask for your name at a later date my Creator. For now, I’ll fix the communication issue and retrofit your machine with the last of the available materials on hand. It won’t ascend a tier, but it will allow you to potentially bring down the City Killer. My only request is that you take me with you somehow when you can.” I nodded, “Understood, make it quick, I don’t know how long the nobles can last from it.”
Merlin was quick, within minutes, my mech had been reinforced, along with a few changes to the magic add-on. Merlin said, “I put a connection with myself into the comms system, get out there Creator.” With haste, I boarded my mech and followed the lights to the exit Merlin lit up for me, and I was soon on the surface as the behemoth let out an ear ringing roar. The comms flared to life, “Aurelian’s signature is back, he’s alive!” I was quick to get into combat mode, we likely had one shot, “Every noble needs to fall back to base camp! If you can, get ships to lead it away from the camp so we can properly formulate a plan!” Shouts were quickly relayed, and I did my best to reach the behemoths hind legs, I formed mana around the mech’s fist and smashed it into the softest part of the leg I could find, sending a horrible feeling I knew the creature would hate. It screeched in annoyance and began to lift the very leg I just punched, my speed to vacate the area before my mech became my smooshed metal tomb.
As dust and earth flew up, I fired my mechs rifle into the side of the creature, likely the first bit of attack since the explosion that shook it before, “Look at me you big reptile!” The behemoth screeched as it begun to turn my way, I spoke with annoyance while forgetting my comms were still active, “This is why we don’t mess with things before we investigate the area.” It was merely me recalling one of the many rules of SGO, but maybe I should introduce the nobles to some of them to ensure this doesn’t happen again. The behemoth had turned it’s gaze to me, its reptilian eyes narrowed on me, it’s focus would likely remain on me until something stronger shot at it. I began to run away from it, “Where is that air support!? It may be big, but it’s still pretty fast!” The behemoth, despite its large body, was incredibly fast due to how long it’s legs were.
Each stomp had nearly crushed me, each second felt like minutes as I tried to be faster than the behemoth that could be considered akin to a dreadnaught in the second world war due to it’s sheer damage output. The behemoth screamed its annoyance as it failed to crush me, everything I had to dodge being crushed in the wake of its destruction. When the leg was about to come down again, blasts rang out from the beasts head, it’s gaze shifting to a group of corvettes that seemed to be preparing to launch another volley. I took the chance to break away from the behemoths path, rushing back to the base camp, a plan formulating in my head as I tired to remember the weaknesses of the behemoth, but all were too advanced for even my mech to attempt. I couldn’t waver, this was also a treasure trove I could make intensive use of, and I wasn’t going to waste it.
~~~
When I returned, father was quick to embrace me, “Aurelian, are you alright?! I feared you were crushed by the mountain!” I calmed him down, “I’m fine father, but I need the situation, how is everyone?” Father’s face seemed grim, “Count Drakon managed to get as many out as he could, but some men and one of the counts may be dead, we’re not sure.” I clicked my tongue, “Crap, then we need to act fast, give me a readout of the behemoth and the numbers we have, ship and mech, I might be able to formulate a plan.” Father seemed surprised, he whispered in my ear, “Son, you’re making waves, someone may learn you’re a reincarnate soon.” I replied in a whisper, “I know, but this could cost more lives I don’t want to lose. I might be able to kill this thing now, as long as I get a plan.” Father leaned back, “Understood, give me ten minutes to gather the information, grab something to eat before you head back out at least.
After a quick bite to eat, I sat at a table looking at all the information I could, we have very little crafts that were armed like the corvettes, but we had a plethora of mechs at our disposal. The issue was the specific behemoth we were fighting, our mechs were severely underprepared, and we’d lose out on the metals if we bombarded the creature just to kill it. I put a pen to my head as I looked to the scan of the creature, “Come on brain, think! We can’t let this thing run wild any more than it already has!” I began crossing off spots and plans I had for this situation, that was, until I noticed where the creature’s brain was, and it was much like a human brain. I stood up, my chair flying back and crashing into the wall behind me, “I got it!” I ran to where the nobles were gathered, minus the missing one, “I have a plan, but it’ll be risky for those who agree to it.”
I booted up the holographic map to explain, “The behemoth has one glaring weakness that not many know, its brain is much like a humans to an extent.” David asked, “It has human intelligence?!” He seemed surprised, but I was quick to lay that to bed, “No, it’s still a beast, what I mean is the way its brain is hardwired.” I shown a side profile of a human and the behemoth, circling the same areas on both, “Much like humans, the behemoth is akin to a turtle, so its eyes are connected to their brain. If, and it’s a big if, we manage to send a strong enough electrical current through the eye, along the connecting path, to the brain, we could fry the brain and kill it without spending more than the thing is worth. Only my mech can create such a charge, but I need a distraction to keep it from noticing me, not to mention a swift craft to carry my mech high enough for me to stab the eye with my sword and commit to the charge.”
David spoke, my father too shocked to say anything, “Aurelian, what you’re saying is near suicidal. One wrong move and you could end up dead, crushed under foot.” I shrugged, “Better than waiting for it to charge its mana blast.” I noticed every noble and soldier look to me, their eyes wide, father asking without any hint of noble class to his question, “It’s what?” I pointed to the core that resided within it, “It has a mana core, much like any beast, behemoths can usually make use of mana because of it. It’s something like certain beasts that are able to wield magic after surviving for some time, except I’m not sure if they can do it from birth or not.” This was common knowledge in SGO, most behemoths used magic to attack, they were a raid boss after all. Most players sought to kill them before they used magic, considering the sheer destructive force they wield, but very few could pull it off.
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David said, clearly distressed, “That’s even worse! If this does have the firepower you claim it has, we risk everyone’s lives!” I replied back, “If we don’t bring it down now, this planet remains unused, it’s mysteries untouched to rust and be forgotten. More than that, someone’s bound to try and inhabit this land and risk people’s lives. We either bring it down now or we pay the price for it who knows how many years later. We’re nobles, we lead our people by example, and we don’t let the risks like that remain to hurt people later. Either way, that behemoth dies now, even if I have to do it alone.” Silence overcame everyone, even the soldiers who were here awaiting their orders. The leader of my group of knights said, “My lord, you have our swords, we’ll do anything to ensure the safety of the future inhabitants of this world.” I smiled to him, glad my men were brave enough to volunteer for this, “Thank you commander, your bravery is appreciated.”
I turned to the nobles and their soldiers, “I won’t force anyone to risk their lives, if you wish to return to your family and not wish to fight, I respect that decision.” I made my way to my mech, I needed to rest for a moment and collect my thoughts, “I’ll be resting for around an hour, make your decision before then.” I didn’t wait for anyone to say anything, my stride carrying me to my mech to which I boarded, Merlin speaking, “I can assume by the hologram your plan Creator, do you wish for my assistance?” I replied, “No, this mech is the best we have, and if I can’t do it, this planet is a lost cause for the time being. By the way, my name is Aurelian Stella Flameheart, son to Count William Stella Flameheart. I’m currently a Baron under my father, best to get that out of the way before we discuss you later.” Merlin went silent for a moment, then replied, “Understood, I will refer to you as Master Aurelian in public from now on.”
I looked to the comms box, the technique used to repair it was clearly what I used to do for mechs, I just hadn’t been able to replicate it yet, “Merlin… what happened after I died?” Merlin spoke after a moment of silence, “Unknown, all data is heavily encrypted.” I was surprised, “Then decrypt it, my encryption should be the source.” Merlin was quick to reply this time, “Unable to do so, the information is labeled as too dangerous to know at present.” This gave way to a question, “Does this pertain to the crisis that was hinted at before my death?” Merlin replied, “Most likely, but I cannot be certain.” This set the mood to a low, but I suddenly realized something, “Merlin, this is the planet I used to run, correct?” Merlin nodded, “Yes, this is indeed the planet you once ran in your former life.” This set my knowledge into place, why everything was so similar to SGO, this was the very universe we once called a game.
“We… we lost, didn’t we?” I asked, my voice shaken. Merlin replied, “Based on the fact that a behemoth has laid claim to this world and many machines and locations are no longer responsive, I can assume so.” I felt disturbed by the fact, I needed father, I needed someone who knew of my reincarnation to try and understand this, “I’m going to get my father, he knows I’m a reincarnate, maybe he knows a little more of the universe.” Merlin replied, “A fair move, but it also has its fair share of risks.” I replied, “I know, but we have no choice right now.” I left my mech and went to find my father, who was standing near his own mech, looking up to it in deep thought. I said, “Father, I need you to come with me for a moment, I have something I need to speak with you about.” When he looked to me, he noticed something in my eyes, “It’s not about the behemoth, is it?” I shook my head, “No, it’s worse, and likely a heavy burden to carry.” He nodded, “Then lead the way.” I nodded, taking him back to my mech.
I boarded the cockpit, father seemed unsure, I said, “Take the seat, I made it big enough for me to put a seat for emergencies in here.” When he sat in the cockpit, and me to my emergency seat, I closed the cockpit, my voice solum, “Father, I know this planet, I know it from a time long dead.” He looked to me, his eyes shown concern, “What do you mean by that?” I sighed, “You remember how I told you I was a reincarnate, right?” He nodded, not dissuaded by my comment, I continued, “This planet was once a planet I ruled over, not as a noble, but as a player playing a virtual reality game… I found the A.I. I had a hand in creating within the earth, along with a section of my former forge.” Merlin spoke through the comms system, “Hello Sir William Stella Flameheart, you may call me Merlin, I am the A.I. that Aurelian has mentioned. I have compiled every possibility conceivable through my processor, and I can guarantee you he is telling the truth.”
Father looked to the comms, his voice suddenly understanding the situation, “Then… you know what happened to this planet?” Merlin replied, “Negative, the information has been heavily encrypted, I cannot tell Aurelian either due to the dangers just knowing this information possesses. He does, however, have a theory from what I can infer.” Father looked to me, my theory formed properly, and I spoke it, “In the game I once played, there was this crisis that was continuously eluded to by the developers of the game, however, I never made it to that point, as you can tell. However, I can tell by the remains of this planet that the crisis won, whatever it was. I made some of the best defenses, best mechs, best ships even. Looking to what remains… I can tell we lost. Something out there destroyed this universe so cleanly that people with extensive strategies, powerful technologies and magics, and the best naval forces in the universe fell to its power.”
Father slumped into the cockpit chair, his body went so lose I thought he passed out, at least until he spoke, “I see what you mean by “heavy burden” now, this truly feels heavy on my mind.” I asked, knowing he took this seriously, “I need you to help me gather as much information based on relic worlds, ships, magic, technology, and even A.I. from the past as possible. I need to figure out what happened… this is more than just our domains; this is a universal issue.” Father remained silent for a moment, his voice when he spoke seemed uncertain, “I’ll do what I can, but I need you to promise me that you’ll prepare us for anything that may come our way.” I replied, uncertain, “I’d need a factory to work on, and this planet can no longer house my forge, at least for the time being.” Father sat up and looked to me, “You’ll have my investment into your factory, and this world from here onwards belongs to you, since you technically still own it.” I shook my head, “I can’t do that! I’m not financially stable enough to work on colonization!”
Father put a firm, yet calm, hand on my shoulder, “Remember, you aren’t alone Aurelian. I’m your father, and I’ll do anything to keep you and your siblings safe. If I must use my entire fortune to do so, I’ll do it. Besides, I have far too much money that I could fund your factory for quite some time and not see a dent to my funds. Just let me get first choice at any mechs you produce, it’s about time I start properly preparing for an uncertain future.” I smiled a weak but still confident smile, “You can count on me, I wasn’t the best damn engineer in SGO for nothing!” We both decided to remain within my mech for a bit, we had drained ourselves with the talk of doom potentially in the future, but I knew we’d be safe for the time being. Once we were done, it seemed an hour had passed since my proclamation, so I returned to where we met before.
I spoke, my voice clear, “It’s time, make your decision, because once we begin, we have no time to rearrange.” Father was the first to speak up, “I plan to join in with my son’s plan, he’s correct in my mind, I’d rather earn the right to continue calling myself a noble than hide behind it.” Father’s commander spoke, “If our lord choses to fight, then we fight as well. No beast, behemoth or not, will escape our might.” Silence was quick to return afterwards, at least until David cut the silence like a knife, “I will join you; I wish to see how this plan of yours plays out, I’ll even let you use one of my transports for the cause. Don’t worry, my men have also agreed to the plan.” I looked to the other nobles, “Anyone else?” One noble, one who seemed to be wearing a rather gaudy set of clothes, and bandaged in some locations, said, “I don’t believe a child should lead this plan if I were to agree, I’d prefer Count Drakon or Count Flameheart to lead us instead.”
I looked to the noble, my gaze harsh, “Where did you get those injuries?” The man was silent, but David spoke, “He was one of the Counts who tried to mine the orichalcum with a bomb, his injuries came from that event.” I replied, “I’d rather you not volunteer, if I have someone questioning my leadership before the plan even begins, I’d hate to see what they’d do during the operation. Not to mention, you can’t mine orichalcum with explosives, if anything, you likely damaged a perfectly good cluster. I hope your plan with the other counts present was worth it.” I noticed his face begin to turn red, likely out of a mixture of embarrassment and rage, “How dare a child who hasn’t even been in a single battle dare lecture me about leadership! Count Flameheart, you better discipline your son, this is unacceptable.” I felt a weight settle on my shoulders; the injured Count seemed to feel it more as he slouched under an unseen pressure.
Father spoke, “Let me be clear with you, my son has said no falsehoods, and he was the only one who developed the plan to bring down that behemoth despite the fact that we’re outmatched. For you to tell me to discipline him for telling the truth about yourself and the other nobility present at the site that awoke the sleeping beast is deplorable. My son is correct, I’d rather not work with you in the operation.” The pressure lifted, and I managed to begin breathing again, something I hadn’t noticed I ceased while under the pressure. Father was quick to check on me, hand to my shoulder, “Are you alright Aurelian? I forgot that you have no basic protection against my pressure just yet.” I nodded, doing my best to remain professional at the moment, “Yes, I’m fine Father.” I refocused myself before saying, “Now, does anyone else wish to volunteer?” One noble said, “I cannot, my wife is pregnant, and I cannot lose my life here.” I nodded, “A valid reason, I don’t wish to tear you from your future.” As I looked around, no one else agreed to partake in the operation, but none backed out either.
I took the silence as their answer, “Alright, Father, David, bring your men with me, my men, form up, I’ll discuss the plans at my mech.” We made a quick shift, not wishing to let the other nobles know, just in case some had any bright ideas. I began, “Father, David, commander, you three will lead three groups to the creature. Some of you will carry ammunition for heavy weaponry to get the creature’s attention, others will use the weapon itself. All groups will lead the creature to this location, a moist swampland, hoping to get it stuck or at least slow it down. One group will lead first, using all available ammo to keep it on you. Once ammo is out, the next group will swap in and continue to lead it there, and the switch will go between the three groups until we reach the area mentioned. I’ll be on the transporter waiting for the most opportune time to land on it, stab it in the eye, and use my magic to fry its brain. Any questions?”
One of David’s soldiers said, “Wouldn’t this be the most dangerous for you young lord? What if you fail to pierce the eye?” I shook my head, “Eyes have to form in a certain way or else they fail to function as eyes, my blade will pierce it, so don’t worry about that. But I do have a chance that this all fails, I may not have the electrical charge, magically or not, to kill it. If that happens, all I can do is hope to at least incapacitate it for an easier kill.” David looked like he was about to suggest something, and I had a hunch I knew what it was, “No, I won’t jerry rig the mech to incorporate other sources of power, I’d completely destroy the thing and likely kill myself in the process.” I also remembered another factor, “Right, I also need to get thruster fuel, can’t forget the thruster fuel.” Of course, when mechs fight, one must also fight in space. While I couldn’t use it to its best planet side, it could get me the edge I may lack in speed. I got some stares, so I replied, “It’s according to plan, memorize the plan and discuss who’s going first, second, and third.” As they spoke, I made sure to run some checks on my mech as other engineers worked on the multitude of other mechs.
David spoke to me as I wrapped up my checks, “I can’t understand you Aurelian, every noble has their own agenda, yet I can’t find yours. What drives you, especially in a situation like this?” I looked to him, a smile on my face, “Well, you can say I’m pretty greedy. I want to make the best mechs and ships that I can, progress the technology for it, and to be unmatched in the world of mechs. To do that, I need a thriving domain and economy. Not only that, I want my people under my protection to be happy, my goals will help them, so why not go big, correct?” I gave David a grin, “I also need the mana core from the behemoth, I need it for a personal project I want to work on eventually.” David looked to me in silence for a moment before laughing, “I expected a somewhat silly answer, but not this!” After a bit more laughing, he stopped to speak honestly, “You are greedy, but a good kind of greedy, because what you seek will help others in ways you can’t see.”
David smiled as he began walking towards his own mech, “When we survive this, I plan to visit your domain, if you don’t mind.” I smiled, this man and I had similar wavelengths, and I wanted to know more about him, “I’d be glad to welcome you David, just let me know beforehand, I don’t wish to be unprepared.” David waved as he walked off, I took that as him understanding what I said, so I looked back to my mech. I spoke to it, as if it lived in some way, “We got a rough job ahead of us, but everyone’s counting on us, so we can’t fail here.” I noticed a glint in the eye of the mech, be it a trick of the light or not, I took it as a sign that it was ready for the battle head. After some time, I noticed everyone was boarding their mechs, so I boarded mine. Once everyone was moving, I rallied them, “Alright everyone, let’s show this behemoth who’s in charge!” With shouts coming through the comms, I knew everyone was ready to rumble.
~~~
It had been an hour since the battle began, and everything was going rather well. The groups had shuffled around a few times, transport ships remained close to resupply the mechs when they broke from the behemoth, and everything was moving smoothly. Father voiced his switch, “We’re out of ammo, switching!” As they shifted, David moved in and began firing at the behemoth, the attention swapped to him as father went to a transport to rearm for the possibility of continuing the switches. I looked to the swamp, we were close, once David switched with the commander of my forces, they’d enter the swamp and hopefully slow down the creature enough for my plan. Everything was going smoothly… too smoothly. I was keeping an eye on the area, both for beasts and human interference, but nothing seemed wrong from my current standing.
When I was to oversee the next switch, something smashed into the mountain that resided on the behemoths shell, part of it crumbling as it’s attention shifted. I looked up, a few dozen ships flew above the creature as they began to approach. I took the comms, “Unidentified ships, do not engage, I repeat, do not engage! There are people near the behemoth, one stray shot could catch them in the blast!” A voice entered my ears, one of the injured noble, “Be quiet you brat! Just sit back and watch how nobles handle the situation!” The ships were positioning themselves in a way that was detrimental to the lives on board, and I knew it, “Pull your ships back up! You’re at risk of death!” The noble shouted, “Quiet! I will not take orders from a child! Fire the cannons!” I watched the shells arc along their path and smash into the behemoth, some shells had flown off course and struck the ground near my soldiers.
I was about to make an order, but I noticed the magic within the behemoth begin to spike, we were too late, “All units fall back! It’s charging for an attack!” I watched as transports picked up the soldiers they could, my men chose to make a break for it since they were far enough away to make it. I felt the transport veer away from the behemoth, my concerns for the people involved. The behemoth opened it’s mouth, the veins on its body began to glow a fearsome orange, “It’s about to fire, brace for impact!” I had never seen this before, it usually shot magic from a certain organ on the body, but this wasn’t the game, this was real life. The power reached the behemoths mouth, and an orange blast of light flew forward towards the ships. Due to the shot, one ship was hit dead on, and other ships had entire sections melted. As the ship exploded, calls of mayday and panicked individuals flooded the comms. I realized I had to do something, we wouldn’t last long under this kind of firepower, “Get me as close as you can! Once I leap, get out of here!” I heard the pilot reply, “But young lord, the risks are too great now!” I shouted back, “Now that it’s using mana, it won’t stop, do it!”
I got no reply this time, but the pilot obliged and began pulling us closer. From the mountain, flames began to burn away the earth as it shot everywhere, the pilot had to begin evasive maneuvers. They shouted, “I can’t get closer, if I do, we go down!” I replied, “Understood, pull back!” As I said that, I leapt out the transport, my heart racing as time felt like it slowed down. Fireballs flew past me, screams blasted through the comms, my heartbeat shot through my ears as the screams began to be drowned out by it. Every thought ran through my head faster than I ever had, ‘I need enough fuel to last?’, ‘Can I make it the distance?’, ‘Do I have enough magic to at least knock it out?’, ‘Am I going to die here?’. As I watched the Behemoth blink, I shouted, knowing I had the best chance to hit it now, “Don’t think, just act!” I felt the thrusters kick on, everything began to rush as I charged forward, feeling the cockpit getting rocked with each fireball that connected, but I kept course. I drew my sword, the fuel being burned rapidly, “Get in there!” I watched my sword sink into the behemoth’s eye, quickly gaining a foothold as it shut it’s eye and screamed, my blade remained within.
I flipped a switch I had no intention to use before now, one that would overload the core and risk it becoming unusable, but I couldn’t waste the chance I had to kill it now, “Take this you overgrown reptile! Sword of Lightning!” The spell name wasn’t necessary to make it work, but I just wanted to shout something cool during the attack. Once the spell name was said, lightning coursed through the special connection to my sword and into the behemoth, the sheer electrical power was frying the mech’s systems, but I wasn’t going to relent here. I screamed, knowing this wouldn’t be enough as I tried to put as much as I could in, “Come on! Don’t stop here, give it all you got!” I felt the local mana spike around me, the lightning magic surged as well, causing a burning smell to begin seeping throughout the cockpit, but I didn’t let up the attack. I suddenly felt a descending feeling, and when I looked down, I realized I was rapidly beginning to reach the ground, the behemoth was at least unconscious.
I said, “Time to go!” But when I went to push off, I got no response. My heart sank, I tried to push off again and again, but I couldn’t move, “Well, what a way to die.” After a moment, I heard a voice shout, “Quick, grab his other arm!” It was father, David was with him, and they both had reached out to grab me, my men were holding on to them despite the size of the transport not really working out for this purpose. As their mechs grabbed my shoulders, it was as if fate said now I was free, and my mech detached from the side of the behemoth, my sword left behind as the connection broke to ash as it seemed to have burnt away. After a bit of shuffling around the transport, as well as the transport moving away, I watched as the behemoths head crashed into the ground, it remained still as the mana signature I sensed from it began to decrease at consistent pace.
As I managed to get the cockpit open manually, watching the dust fall from the collapse of the beast, I shouted, “Let’s go!” My cheer seemed to have everyone present realize that under one hundred men and machines managed to bring down a behemoth, and cheers of celebration burst from comms and man alike. After a moment, I recalled the ships were crashing down and quickly took control of the situation, I leapt to my commander’s mech, he understood and already grabbed me and opened the cockpit, I spoke into his comms, “Attention all forces, begin rescue operations immediately for the downed ships, I’ll take a select few to ensure the behemoths are dead, hurry!” Several transports began rushing to the downed ships, my eyes turned to the downed ships, knowing hundreds had likely died or were injured in that one blast alone. I spoke, my hopes weren’t high, “I hope we can save the one who survived, for we cannot revive the dead.”
~~~
The death toll was counted that night, the count and around 128 people died, 346 were injured, this wasn’t including the few that were missing, which was yet another count and five more dead, there were no injured among those missing souls. I looked to the dead, even the counts, as they were prepared for their transport back to their loved ones, “If I had noticed the fact it was a behemoth sooner, could they all have lived to see today’s end?” David rubbed my head, “Don’t blame yourself, everyone is at as much blame as they are, you merely told the truth, and they chose not to listen.” He looked to the ship that would transport the dead back, his voice showing the unease he had, “The transition for their heirs will be hard, but there’s nothing we can do.” He rubbed my head a little harder before letting me go, “This isn’t your fault Aurelian, just rest for today, I know the feeling of seeing death so early.”
As he walked off, I knew what he meant, due to the size of many empires, disputes over territory weren’t rare, maybe his domain had a territorial dispute when he was younger. I knew there was nothing I could do, yet I wished I could do something. Father said, “Their families will be compensated for their screw up, all the blame lies on us for not ensuring they didn’t make foolish choices. Maybe those of us who’ve lived longer have become complacent in our day to day.” He patted my back, “Don’t become complacent son, complacency and overconfidence are the greatest foes of mankind.” I watched the transport carrying the dead leave the atmosphere, my mind uncertain to everything I had experienced within the past day and a half.
Even as the expedition continued, I couldn’t participate for a week or so since I had to repair my mech, but even then, I couldn’t really tell what I was doing since I was on autopilot, trying to process everything I saw. I did get first choice of the spoils for a while, and the behemoth was mine in its entirety, but it didn’t matter to me right now. Merlin tried to assist me with processing my thoughts, but it was more than I could understand. I had an unknown universe, one seemingly running off the same systems that made up SGO, but none of it is the same as before. I had a list of potential things that could happen, but they might not happen at all, but one thing is certain, reality is never according to any game. For now, any event I become apart of will have to be played by ear, and I’ll have to move accordingly to ensure I can react for the sake of the people I swore to protect. Presently, I need to improve the economy and the well-being of my domain, for if my people thrive, so can I. When I thrive, I can prepare for every crisis that comes my way, for the sake of my domain and the empire.