Chapter 53: Purge

All three teams reappeared inside the hangar. Along with them were the gathered remains of Bravo team and Artorius' corpse. Steele stood around the entrance of the hangar while making some calls and reading the datapad in front of him. When the others appeared, he quickly ended his call and rushed over.

"What in holy hell is that?" he said while he pointed at Artorius' corpse.

"Artorius' remains," Tom answered.

"Wha- You know what, just... Just start from the very beginning."

"Yes, sir," Tom replied.

Both Tom and Garza retold the events that occurred on their mission; from the initial ambush, to the duel with Artorius, the loss of Bravo team, and finally the transformation of Artorius into a Dragon and his defeat.

"It is tragic that we lost Bravo," Steele sadly sighed. "They will be given a proper burial and recognition for their sacrifice."

"Sir, to ensure their sacrifice was not in vain, we need to press our advantage," Garza said as respectfully as she could. "We need to arrest every member of Umbra before they learn of Artorius' death."

"That is where we have a problem," Steele said. "While you were all on the mission, I thoroughly went over the member list. People from high-ranking positions all over the world are on this list. Even leaders of some countries are on this list. I've already detained several members of the UNDF because of their relation to Umbra, but to do a worldwide arrest would make things... complicated."

"Maybe," Tom said. "But we were given a job by the world. It's irrelevant who these people are or what their social status is. They worked with an organization that undermined Humanity's safety. They have to answer for their actions."

"I know," Steele said. "Believe me, I know. I'm concerned over how to implement this global arrest. If we screw this up, the public and the governments of the world will turn on the UNDF."

"An idea, sir," Garza said.

"Yes?"

"We involve whoever is the cleanest, highest authority in each country to assist us. The data pack that Tep provided us proves each of their involvement with Umbra. We share the responsibility so we avoid the public and political perception of UNDF overreach."

Steele nodded his head. "I like it. It works. I'll put the word out through our network. Our people will work with whoever is clean so we can bring these people in. We'll announce to the public, after the arrests, the reason for their arrests."

"What about Wendigo, sir?" Tom asked.

"Yes... Wendigo. He is priority. Hawke turning out to be a magical shape-shifting demon does explain some things."

"Oh?" Sylmae muttered.

"You all weren't around at the time, but the first Presidential debate happened a couple days ago. It was a disaster for the Democratic and Republican candidates. They looked like they haven't slept in days while Hawke had energy and charisma. He also developing an almost cult-like following."

"Magic," Tala said under her breath. "Mind manipulating magic, maybe?"

"Tom, I want your team to rest up and come back in twelve hours."

"Twelve hours?" Tom spat out.

"You just came back from a mission where you fought a dragon on Earth and the Moon," Steele reminded. "I want you at your best if we want to take down Wendigo. We also want to create an opportunity for an ambush. Right now he is doing a town hall meeting. We need to remove the possibility of collateral damage. Until then, I want you all to remain incognito. Your presence could alert all Umbra members."

"I'm willing to make the sacrifice to go back to those sandy beaches of our safe house," Vivian said.

"Vi..." Sylmae said in a cautionary tone. "The point of a safe house is that no one has any idea where it is."

"I only mentioned beaches. That could be anywhere."

"Still a good idea to keep your new home hidden, even from us," Steele said.

"We'll be sure to rest up, Commander," Reia said. "That battle did take a lot out of us."

"I used a lot of Mana in that fight," Tala added. "Had the battle gone on any longer I would have suffered from recoil."

Quest:Charybdis AgainDifficultySSGiverKaraTime LimitNoneAnother Charybdis has appeared in the Pacific Ocean. Location is 294 kilometers northwest from the last one. I'm guessing you won't kill this one as well so no experience since this thing is nigh impossible to capture.Reward20000 EXP

5 Platinum

2000 fameConsequence For FailureConstant Stationary Threat in the Ocean

Quest:Tentacles From The DeepDifficultySGiverKaraTime LimitNoneA Kraken has entered the Atlantic Ocean. Location roughly 28°55'59"N 72°52'09"W. Capture or kill.Reward5000 EXP

1 Platinum

700 fameConsequence For FailureConstant Threat in the Ocean

All ocean-faring ships in the Atlantic will be under constant threat

"Oh, Jesus fucking Christ," Tom cursed.

"What?" Sam asked.

"We got bad news and worse news. Bad news is that I got two more missions and one of them gives us another Charybdis in the Pacific. Location is two-hundred ninety-four kilometers northwest of the last one."

"We'll send a fleet to secure the area," Steele said. "What's the worse news?"

"The other quest has a Kraken in the Atlantic. Judging by the coordinates, somewhere southwest of Bermuda. This is one of the worse creatures we could have had transferred to our world this early."

"I'm aware that a Kraken is a sea monster of sorts but my memory of the bestiary is a little fuzzy. There were a lot of creatures in it. Can we get a refresher?"

"The Kraken is one of the worst ocean predators on Xoth," Tala explained. She shivered. "Even the name is enough to send chills down the spine of anyone. It's similar to Earth's Giant Squid or Colossal Squid. It is around a hundred sixty meters in length, this monster has ten tentacles. Two which are feeder tentacles. The suction cups on the outer half of the tentacles all have a hook inside of them to grab prey more easily. The inner half of the tentacles are regular suction cups to hold the prey as it feeds. This creature is responsible for many deaths in Xoth's oceans. Most of the world is dependent on Bohalen's magical devices to protect our ships from them."

"Without those devices, every ship and ocean-based structure is threatened by the Kraken," Sylmae added.

"Shit," Steele cursed. "We'll issue a temporary cessation of Atlantic travel and a closure of all offshore Atlantic oil rigs until we can figure out how to deal with it. Anything else?"

There were other creatures that transferred over, but none of them are a major threat so no quest for them.

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"Thanks for the heads up, Kara," Tom muttered. "Kara also said that more creatures transferred over, but they are relatively harmless so there is no quest available."

"I've been wondering," Chris mused. "Why doesn't Kara give you a quest for everything that transfers over to grant you as much experience as possible?"

"Hmm," Tom hummed. "Kara is there a reason why every creature doesn't come with a capture or kill quest?"

Because creating quests and rewards uses a lot of my energy. Allowing those UNDF soldiers to join you on your mission already uses more of my energy than I would like.

While Tom can't hear Kara's voice through the blue screens, but he could gauge her tone of voice by what she writes. Her reply reeked of sass.

"Because it uses a lot of energy to create quests and rewards," Tom explained to the others. "Energy that she is in short supply of."

Also, you lost another three days.

"And the good news keeps pouring in," Tom said sarcastically. "We lost another three days to our complete merger. Thank you for everything, Kara."

Anytime, Thomas.

"We need to take care of Umbra ASAP. After we have to stop what ever Mordiggian is doing to speed up the merger. We need every second possible."

"I'll take over from here," Steele declared. "I want you all to rest up. Hopefully in twelve hours we will have every Umbra member under arrest and discover a time frame to attack Wendigo."

VVVVVV

President Forest sat on one of the two couches in the Oval Office with his VP, Kodi Amster, and Chief of Staff sitting across from him on the other couch. The meeting concerned over the Xothicans that were loose in their country.

"Since we know that Everett lived in southern Ontario, it's likely that the Xothicans will try to make a beeline for the New York-Ontario border," the Chief explained. "We have boats on the lake, drones and helicopters in the sky, and border agents checking every car that crosses over."

"What if they don't try heading towards the Ontario border?" Forest asked.

"By now they would have likely learned of the attack on Everett's home," Amster reasoned. "They will try to get there as fast as possible. Anyway... They have no where else to go."

"I see... Has there been any new developments in the investigation of the attack site?"

"Nothing yet," the Chief said. "The area was thoroughly bombarded making investigation of the site difficult. We're hoping that with the forest fire finally out, we can get more people in to help with the investigation."

"Mister President, I think we need to consider the likely possibility that Everett died in the attack," Amster said. "With him gone, the Xothicans need to be placed in protected custody."

"If he is dead, then, yes, I agree," Forest said.

"To be truthful, Mister President... I was going to recommend this course of action before current tragic events."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's be realistic. Everett managed to pull off the impossible and angered every possible demographic. His polyamorous relationship with the Xothicans has been a public relations disaster for the UNDF and for every world leader. There was no way we could have allowed this to go on."

Forest's hands balled into fists. "Everett has asked very little of us and it isn't our business who he loves. Especially when those he loves, love him back. Regardless, Humanity might as well get used to this kind of relationship considering that they are the majority on Xoth. Also this 'anger' you are talking about is mostly from advocate groups. The public in general don't really care about it and remain supportive of them."

Before Amster could counter Forest's comments, the phone on Forest's desk rung. Forest got up from the couch and walked over to his desk and sat down. He picked up the phone.

"Hello? Uh, huh. Okay, I'll take it in the conference room. Thank you." Forest hung up the phone and looked to his VP and Chief of Staff. "Stay here. I have to take a call from Commander Steele."

The President pressed a button and a section of the floor lowered into stairs. He walked down them into the conference room and sat down in his chair and brought up the communication line to Steele. The holoscreen of of Steele appeared.

"Are you alone?" Steele immediately asked.

"In the conference room, yes," Forest replied. "My Chief of Staff and VP are above me in the Oval Office."

A notable scowl briefly appeared across Steele's face when Forest mentioned his VP.

"I'll have to make this quick then. Thomas Everett is alive and well. Both the Xothicans and he are with us."

"Oh, thank god," Forest muttered.

"We don't have much time," Steele said. "I have several soldiers on their way to the White House. Amster is wanted for his connection to an organization that has been manipulating Human history and was responsible for Everett's attempted murder and attempted kidnapping of the Xothicans. Here's the files we have on the organization."

A flashing light lit up on Forest's side panel. He pressed the button and the data appeared before him on a small holoscreen. Forest immediately started shifting through the data before him.

"Amster was responsible for leaking Tom's identity to this Umbra organization," Steele explained. "Just hours ago, we eliminated the organization's leader, Lucas Draig. His real name was Lucius Artorius Castus. Also known as Arthur Pendragon. This man actually teleported to Xoth hundreds of years ago and used their magic to keep alive all this time. This organization has known about Xoth for centuries and has been using that knowledge for their own benefits."

Forest located the main chunk of data that was relevant. He sped read through the section about Draig and about Amster. Forest soon saw the list of all the members of Umbra. "This data implicates thousands around the world. I recognize these names. CEOs, politcal leaders, scientists, and so many more. Where did you get this data from?"

"From the second-in-commander of Umbra. Tep. He was an Elf that worked alongside Draig for centuries. He was responsible for warning us about the Phoenix attack on the Russian facility and even saved Everett's life by warning him of the incoming attack on his home."

"This Tep. Where is he right now?"

"Tom felt like he owed Tep for what he had done for him and the Xothicans, so he let him go. While regrettable that we were unable to interview him, the information he has provided is invaluable to find every member of Umbra and have them charged."

"Commander. Thank you for this information. I can take over from here."

"It's been good talking to you old friend," Steele said. "I just wished our recent conversations don't center around world changing events."

"Likewise."

"One last thing."

"Oh?"

"Samuel Hawke died during the attack on his convoy. The man we see now isn't him. It is Hastur's son who has been on Earth for centuries. It's name is Ithaqua. Or Wendigo as it seems to prefer to be called now. The information is in the data packet I sent. The UNDF wishes to eliminate him before he can make his escape."

"Jesus... I'll look over the data and get back to you. Goodbye."

Forest tapped a button on his side panel and the holoscreen of Steele vanished. He got up from his chair and pressed his datapad to the chair's console panel. The data, that Steele gave him, transferred over to it.

Forest went up the stairs and kept his composure as he returned to the Oval Office. He gave Amster one last look before he returned to his desk. The man that he entrusted to act as his VP glanced at him once before continuing his conversation with the Chief of Staff. Forest walked over to his desk and immediately summoned the Secret Service. Two agents burst in through the doorway with their weapons in hand. They quickly scanned the room for a threat, but when they only saw the President, VP and Chief of Staff, their shoulders relaxed a little.

"You called for us, Mister President?" one of the agents asked.

"Take the Vice-President into custody," Forest ordered.

The two agents accosted Amster and grabbed his arms.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amster yelled.

"I just talked to Commander Steele. We know about Umbra. You released classified Intelligence to an organization that manipulated Humanity."

The two agents started to drag the VP as they put away their pistols.

"No!" Amster yelled.

Amster reached into his blazer pocket and placed an item onto his hand. The magical device resembled marble brass knuckles. Amster aimed his equipped hand towards one of the agents. A shockwave came forth from his hand which sent the agent into the wall of the office and he crumbled to the ground in a heap.

"A gift from our leader," Amster said.

The other agent tried to get his pistol, but Amster launched a shockwave towards him. The agent, like the one before, flew into the wall and was knocked out. Amster turned his hand towards the President and the Chief of Staff.

"What the hell are you doing, Vice-President?" the Chief of Staff roared.

"I know the extent of my crimes and I won't be going down for them."

Amster walked towards the President with his hand raised. He went behind the President and wrapped his free arm around him.

"You may know of Umbra, but you do not know of the power we hold. I'm leaving and will return to the shadows. You can never take us down."

Not wanting to give away Intel that the UNDF uncovered, the President remained quiet while Amster reveled in his false victory. The Chief of Staff stood in front of Amster and the President to act as a temporary obstacle.

"Let the President go, Amster," the Chief demanded. "You're only making things worse for you."

"Stay out of my way," Amster ordered. He aimed his hand at the Chief. "I'm leaving here. I will not be tried a traitor."

Forest sighed. "Two problems with your plan, Kodi." He swung his cane upwards and hit Amster in the face and broke his nose.

Amster groaned in pain and held his face as blood poured out of his nose. Without an arm around him, Forest spun in place, grabbed Amster's armed hand and in two quick moves, removed the magical device from Amster's hand and then flipped him to the ground.

"One, I was in the Marines and know my way out of a hostage situation," Forest said as he stood over Amster. "And two." He held up his cane. "While my personal Physician makes me use it, I don't actually need this cane." Forest swung his cane downwards on Amster's head and knocked him out.

Several more Secret Service agents entered the Oval Office with their weapons drawn. The President assumed that his Secretary called more Secret Service agents after hearing a large scuffle in the Oval Office after the original agents entered.

"Are you alright, Mister President?" one of them asked.

"I'm fine. Check Amster's pockets for anything, and then take him away. He's wanted for sharing classified Intelligence. Also call in medical support for the other two agents here."

"Right away, Mister President."

Forest watched as the agents made their calls to the White House medical staff while they searched Amster's pockets. All they could find was his wallet, cellphone and a pack of mints. After making sure he held no more threats, they dragged his bloodied body out of the Oval Office.

Forest sat at his desk with a look of satisfaction on his face. He looked to the Chief of Staff and said, "Thank you for your assistance, Chuck."

"Just doing my duty, sir."

Forest looked at his cane which still had Amster's blood on it. "Been wanting to do this to Amster for years now. I owe Everett in more ways than one."