Then, Threnosh World
Kynnro’s flames dissipated and revealed a scorched landscape with dozens of dead and dying cragants, burned, cooked in their armor. It was fortunate that all of the Threnosh on the wall wore helmets that filtered out the stench.
The rest of the cragants charged past their fallen brethren.
“Commence fire.”
The commander’s flat tone was followed by the soldiers and automated turrets resumption of projectile fire.
The cragants held their enormous shields up to absorb the brunt of them.
“Surprising,” Kynnro spoke into the team channel.
“Clarify,” Dralig said.
“The cragants seem to have soldiers dedicated to caring for their wounded.”
Kynnro watched with interest as individual cragants moved through the bodies of their fallen after the bulk of their forces had cleared the area of devastation that the Threnosh had wrought. Here and there, cragants were dragging bodies back. From what the Threnosh could see, though badly burned, those particular cragants yet lived.
“It is a different experience to face enemies that are sapient. Unlike the monsters we have faced,” Adjudicator said.
“True, yet do not forget that some of the bosses and secret bosses we have defeated were likely thinking beings,” Dralig said.
“Those did not care for their lesser brethren, as these cragants do,” Kynnro said.
The Threnosh projectile fire didn’t slow the cragant charge. The giant humanoids reached the wall in less than thirty seconds. Ladders made out of tree trunks went up and the cragants climbed.
The wall wasn’t quite twice as tall as the average cragant. They quickly reached high enough to take their weapons and sweep them across the top of the wall. Threnosh soldiers died by the handful.
“Kynnro, fall back,” Dralig said as they discarded their empty miniguns and equipped their spire-purchased sword and shield.
A cragant swept its sword at Dralig, while Kynnro ducked down the stairs.
Dralig blocked the blade with their shield.
The cragant’s eyes widened as its strike was stopped by the Threnosh half its size.
Dralig’s four-armed power armor featured superior physical strength through its artificial musculature. The Threnosh proved their strength was superior when they pushed the cragant’s blade away. Two hands on the shield, one hand on the sword.
Dralig pulled their recoilless rifle out with their free hand and sprayed the cragant in the face.
There were too many projectiles. A few were bound to slip past the thin slits of the giant humanoid’s helm.
The cragant roared in pain as it toppled off the makeshift ladder. Red tears streamed from its ruined eye sockets.
Dralig slammed their shield into the thick ladder. They pushed as hard as they could until it toppled off the wall.
Another cragant gained the top of the wall. It kicked a heavy soldier off and struck down at Dralig.
Dralig blocked the sword strike with their shield. They caught the blade in the U-shaped cutout in the upper lip of the shield. They twisted it to one side and dashed forward, thrusting their own blade into the cragant’s tree trunk-sized thigh.
Dralig’s spire-made blade proved stronger than the cragants skirt of steel mail. It sunk deep.
The cragant grimaced and thrust down with their sword.
Dralig batted it aside with their shield. The clash of metal rang across the wall.
The Threnosh twisted and withdrew their blade. They slammed their shield into the cragant’s legs and pushed as hard as they could until the giant humanoid toppled off the wall.
“Behind you.”
Dralig barely registered Adjudicator’s warning before they felt a heavy impact across their back. The next thing they knew they were weightless, flying. A prefabricated structure grew quickly in front of them. They pulled their shield in front of them and tucked their body as best as they could as they crashed through the structure and bounced through several more.
Adjudicator sent the tendril out of their left gauntlet to wrap around the cragant’s wrist.
The giant humanoid looked at the Threnosh with contempt as it yanked hard.
Adjudicator dug their boots into the wall walkway. Their bulky power armor was heavy and strong.
It was a stalemate. The cragant pulled with all its might as Adjudicator tightened their tendril. Neither moved the other.
Until Adjudicator triggered their ability to drain life energy.
The cragant jolted in pain. It threw its enormous shield at Adjudicator, who slapped it aside with ease. As the cragant’s very life essence flowed into Adjudicator’s power armor, their strength grew. And the cragant was strong and full of life. It wasn’t much weaker than a lower to mid level spawn zone boss.
The cragant dropped to one knee as Adjudicator continued to drain it. The giant humanoid switched its sword to its free hand and desperately hacked at the tendril that was slowly killing it.
Adjudicator sent the tendril in their right gauntlet to wrap around the cragant’s sword arm.
The cragant’s fate was sealed. Adjudicator drained it completely. Buoyed by the stolen strength they whipped the corpse across the wall and took out several ladders, along with the cragants that had almost gained the top.
Adjudicator scanned their surroundings and noted that they were alone for the moment. There were dozens of dead Threnosh soldiers on the wall walk, broken and crushed inside their power armors by the cragants’ terrible strength. They saw that further down the wall cragants were dropping down into the base camp.
As they watched a group was engulfed in a laser cloud. A thin beam of red light crisscrossed the group of cragants. Kynnro’s laser cut right through steel armor to score deep, burning cuts all the way to the giant humanoid’s skin.
And yet, it only slowed the cragants.
Adjudicator jumped down from the wall and landed with a thud. Their boots left a deep imprint in the ground.
“The wall is lost,” Adjudicator said into the comms.
“Fall back to next defensive position. I will wait for the cragants to gather in numbers just inside the wall before my last fire cloud attack,” Kynnro said.
“Acknowledged,” Dralig said.
Adjudicator echoed their teammate and made their way deeper into the base camp.
“The plan is in a precarious position,” Dralig said. “We failed to hold the wall long enough.”
“We are still within Caretaker’s projections,” Adjudicator said.
“They may be wrong,” Dralig said.
“Caretaker is never wrong.”
“Untrue. They have been mistaken before.”
“Clarify?” Adjudicator was confused. They didn’t recall any prior instances in the field.
“Dralig, refers to training scenarios that Honor was directly involved in,” Kynnro said.
“Correct.”
“Honor deliberately acts in an unpredictable manner. He does the wrong things on purpose to confuse Caretaker and their trueskin,” Kynnro said.
“I only bring up the possibility that these cragants may share a similar mindset to Honor’s kind,” Dralig said.
“We shall see,” Kynnro said. “Prepare to take cover. The cragants are massing near the wall. I will deploy my fire cloud.”
Adjudicator stopped to watch the giant, fiery explosion.
“Perhaps the enemy will be forced into caution due to fear of your attack, Kynnro?”
“That is the desired outcome,” Kynnro said. “However, we must be prepared for it to be otherwise.”
----------------------------------------
Caretaker monitored the tactical map in their faceplate. They listened to the chatter from both their team and the other Threnosh soldiers. They had laid out their plan to the senior commander and now all they could do was wait as the cragants quickly advanced through the defensive lines in front of them.
The giant humanoids had reached the fifth line, two remained. The Threnosh resistance had stiffened with the addition of the survivors from the first four lines.
“Actryarius, move faster,” Caretaker said into the comms.
“Acknowledged.”
“Shira, Malendrax and Blueballs may require your assistance at the command center.”
Shira pinged back a wordless response.
Caretaker switched to Shira’s view with concern. The black-clad Threnosh was engaged in frenzied combat with several cragants from the looks of it.
Caretaker had supreme confidence in their best melee fighter. They turned their attention to the southern wall. The wall was lost, but Kynnro’s flame cloud had made the cragants cautious. They slowed their advance to spread out as far from each other as possible. They had learned to avoid grouping too tightly. Little did they know that Kynnro was out of incendiary ash canisters.
The southern front was proceeding within Caretaker’s expectations.
The disaster unfolding in front of him was not.
The defensive line was about to be overwhelmed again.
A slight frown creased Caretaker’s smooth forehead.
“Primal, how many arrows do you have left?”
“One,” Primal said immediately into the comms.
“Loose it along this line.” Caretaker sent the trajectory over.
“Acknowledged.”
The arrow boomed over Caretaker’s head a second later. The backwash of wind in the arrow’s wake would’ve knocked Caretaker over had it not been for their improved exoskeleton.
The normal Threnosh soldiers weren’t quite as strong. They were flung aside in the wake of the arrow. Caretaker spared them little thought, their power armors would protect them from injury.
The cragants weren’t as lucky. Their much greater height meant that the arrow flew at their eye level.
Caretaker slowed down their perceptions with their predictive algorithm. They watched the arrow blow through seven cragants’ heads before it went right through the wall to do even more damage to the cragants on their way across the plains.
“Was that effective?” Primal’s voice came in on the comms.
“You may review the footage at a later time,” Caretaker said.
The cragant assault was momentarily halted by Primal’s arrow. Many of them along the arrow’s flight path had been blow aside as well. The problem was that the front lines stretched across most of the base camp. Only the center portion had been slowed.
“Actryarius, status?”
“I am almost finished with the last incendiary explosive.”
“You have twenty seconds after you finish to vacate.”
“Acknowledged… and I am done. Twenty seconds.”
Actryarius’ voice sounded unsettled, strained.
Caretaker counted to twenty-five before they triggered the explosives.
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White-hot explosions bloomed across the base camp. Cragants rushing through the already vacated areas were caught in the blasts. Prefabricated structures ignited and marred the area with choking clouds of thick, toxic smoke as they burned. The cragants would be dealing with the after effects for a long time.
“Your turn to burn,” Caretaker whispered. “Volkharion, status on the cloud?”
“It has receded further. It is contracting faster in the western portion of the city. I calculate that a landing zone in the northwest corner will be clear shortly.”
“Send the information to the command center.”
“Acknowledged,” Volkharion hesitated. “The enemy is drawing closer to our position. Shall I deploy my fighters?”
“Negative. Fall back and support Frequency and maintain surveillance over the city with your aerial drone. When the landing zone area is clear go in for a closer look. I expect that we will not be here much longer.”
As if on cue. A communication request appeared in Caretaker’s faceplate. It was the senior commander.
“Senior Commander?”
“We will proceed with your plan. The retreat will commence immediately.”
The senior commander ended the transmission.
Caretaker did the calculation quickly with the aid of their power armor’s internal processors. They lacked enough aerial transports to take all of the soldiers. Roughly fifty percent would have to be left behind.
Squads were already breaking off from the defensive lines and rushing back toward the landing zone.
Fifty percent would slow the enemy and be left to find their own way out. It wasn’t fair, but it was the Threnosh way. The good of the whole superseded the good of the individual. The soldiers left behind felt nothing. They simply did as they were ordered.
Caretaker watched as the cragants advanced quicker now that there were less Threnosh soldiers to get in the way.
“To all team members, retreat to our aerial transport.” Caretaker spoke into the comms.
A small group of cragants broke through the final defensive line of Threnosh soldiers. They came straight for Caretaker. Their greater height and size from the normal Threnosh stood out and marked them as a target of importance.
Caretaker calmly drew their newest purchase from the spires’ marketplace. The pistol’s barrel and frame had a thorny appearance, it was a dull, dark gray in color. There were red lights at the rear of the fat cylinder that contained the ammunition. The lights marked the fact that it was fully loaded.
Caretaker aimed along the targeting lines that their predictive algorithm provided to guide their shots. The viral pistol barked seven times in quick succession.
The cragants came forward several steps before, as one, they screamed and dropped their weapons as they flung of their helmets. They clawed at their faces while the flesh appeared to necrotize with impossible speed. One by one the cragants death throes ceased.
Their faces had practically melted off their skulls. The viral rounds had their first live combat test and they had passed. The recoil from the chemical combustion powered rounds, as Honor had called them, was something that Caretaker wasn’t used to. They hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to practice since the ammunition was only available directly from the marketplace and was expensive. The fabricators and engineers back at their home base had yet figure out how to duplicate them.
It wasn’t an insurmountable difficulty. Their exoskeleton provided more than enough strength to help keen their arm on target for multiple shots.
Caretaker leveled the viral pistol at the cragants rushing behind the fallen. As one they stopped and ducked behind their enormous shields. Barely any part of their immense bodies were visible, at least no bare flesh.
The Threnosh holstered their pistol at their right thigh. The unknown liquid contained in each bullet only worked on biological matter. The way it was designed to shatter on impact also made them terrible at penetrating any sort of armor. Even the thick padded cloth that the cragants wore beneath their steel armor would’ve provided enough protection provided that the necrotizing liquid didn’t splash on any bare skin. Just one drop was enough to eat through a good sized chunk of flesh.
“Pilot, status report on departure readiness.”
“We are ready for takeoff.” The pilot’s voice came back immediately on the comms.
“Proceed as planned,” Caretaker said. They turned and jogged toward the landing zone. They kept an eye on the cragants through the eyes of the overhead surveillance drones. The giant humanoids remained hidden behind their shields. They weren’t taking any chances.
At least Caretaker had been able to temporarily halt one avenue of the enemy’s advance. It was up to Frequency to slow the rest down enough to give the aerial transports time to load and depart.
Frequency watched the overhead tactical view provided by the surveillance drones as they walked toward the landing zone after Caretaker’s order to retreat.
“You are moving too slow,” Primal grumbled.
“I am controlling my mobile emitters. One mistake and the cragants will be able to reach us before we depart,” Frequency said.
“Let them, I will smash them.”
“You may be able to fight one, but we will be overwhelmed by their numbers,” Volkharion said.
“I fear no monster or enemy. I do not hide behind drones like you.”
“Enough, Primal,” Frequency said. “We have our orders.”
Frequency ignored the further bickering between her two teammates. It was expected of Primal. They were cantankerous as a matter of course with nearly everyone else. The rest of the team had learned to not put any stock to the smallest Threnosh’s ill-tempered jabs.
They needed their attention on their emitters. They sent sound waves at the cragants that destroyed their equilibrium or made them lose control of their digestive systems. The former proved more effective as the giant humanoids were disciplined soldiers. They didn’t let the biological waste in their pants do more than slow them down.
It took an impressive degree of multitasking for Frequency to control so many mobile emitters simultaneously, while herding the cragants away from the Threnosh avenues of retreat.
They had to move them out of the way of spears, arrows, bolts and giant grasping hands, while keeping the sound waves on the targets.
It was a tense few minutes for Frequency. They would’ve tripped or walked right into the prefabricated structures had it not been for Volkharion’s guiding hand.
“We have reached the landing zone,” Volkharion said.
Frequency took a moment to divert their attention back to what was in front of them.
Their team’s aerial transport loomed a short distance ahead. All around in the landing zone, other aerial transports were boarded by the Threnosh soldiers and taking off.
Shira’s black power armor stood out like dark blot in the bright daylight as they walked up the transport’s rear ramp. Kynnro, Dralig and Adjudicator hurried from the south. The latter two flanked the former. They kept their bodies between Kynnro and the approaching cragants that Frequency saw from the overhead view, which currently dominated their view.
Frequency was about to ask a question of Caretaker when their leader’s voice came in over the comms.
“Withdraw your mobile emitters.”
“Please repeat?” Frequency’s drones where the only things keeping the cragants from rushing the landing zone. They saw that although the bulk of the transports had already lifted off, there were still many in the process of boarding soldiers.
“Recall your emitters and board the transport,” Caretaker said. “The enemy will not reach the landing zone in time. All our forces that intend to depart will be able to do so.”
From the overhead tactical view Frequency saw that a good amount of the Threnosh forces were still scattered all over the base camp. They fought a losing battle as the giant humanoids continued to pour into the base.
“I will arrive shortly with two squads of soldiers. Please make room for them in our transport.” Caretaker spoke into the general channel. Those words reached more than just those in the immediate area listening in on the same channel. They were also transmitted and recorded for the leadership ranks all the way up to the Collective.
“Acknowledged.” Frequency sent the recall command to their mobile emitters. They relinquished total control. The emitters had programming that enabled them to take evasive maneuvers on their own.
Frequency waited at the transport’s ramp. Primal and Volkharion flanked them in a protective formation.
“You may board,” Frequency said.
“I am following Caretaker’s orders,” Primal said.
Volkharion gave a slight nod.
Frequency was pleased to note that they had only lost three emitters to the cragants. They had held the giant humanoids long enough to enable all of the transports, including their own to takeoff without difficulty.
Caretaker and the mixed squads of soldiers they had brought with them were the last to board. The T-Men’s transport was the last to leave.
The cragant army could only shoot arrows and bolts in vain as the fleet of transports flew to the west. Toward Cold Plains City.
The Threnosh had lost the battle, but the war for the city wasn’t over.
----------------------------------------
Now, Earth
Bennett skulked through the shadowed alleyways of San Francisco’s financial district. What he observed absolutely shocked him. The night was alive with lights and sounds as people were out and about enjoying the restaurants, bars and other nightlife hot spots. It was as if the spire apocalypse hadn’t happened, which obviously wasn’t the case as he could see the nearby spire as it loomed over the surrounding buildings.
The wealth of people walking around without apparent fear made gathering information simultaneously easier and more difficult. The former because he could listen in on dozens of conversations by hiding in the shadows. The latter because there was a greater risk of discovery with so many eyes and ears around the place.
For the hundredth time since his mad dash along the 80 west and across the Bay Bridge, he questioned his decision to volunteer for this mission. Quest, he had actually received the message from the spires. The first time that happened since that terrible Quest with Cal Cruces and the Midtown Mauler, who had turned out to be a poor girl.
He was reminded of that as he ran across the bridge at close to fifty miles per hour and noticed that Alcatraz was lit up like a beacon in the dark bay. The Quest had updated to add the former prison island as a place to investigate. Bennett had no idea how he was going to pull that off. He hoped that the main Quest didn’t require it and he could just ignore the island. He had no desire to spend more than the bare minimum amount of time in the city as possible.
His supernatural senses gave him the impression that there was something like a foul stench in the air. It reminded him of the few times that he had been to a fresh seafood market. It made him nauseous, which was alarming considering he was a Vampire and the smell of fresh blood was now the sweetest thing he knew.
Bennett shuddered. That was not something he was comfortable acknowledging even after all this time. Almost seven years had passed since he had received the class and he still couldn’t bring himself to fully embrace his nature. It was the fear of losing himself, his humanity, that kept his grip tight around that part of him that clung to normalcy.
Bennett picked the Italian restaurant as his first intelligence gathering target. It looked full and it was quite dark inside with only candle lights for the added romantic atmosphere.
The incongruity of it all struck him. He had barely dodged a wyvern diving down at him not a couple of hours ago and here he stood in an alley, staring across the street into the windows of a restaurant where many couples were in the middle of romantic dinners.
Bennett made sure the coast was clear then he dashed across the street. Old fashioned oil lanterns on poles cast flickering lights, but left him plenty of shadows to help conceal his full presence.
He dipped into the alley next to the restaurant and took a moment to refresh himself with a long pull from one of his flasks. The run along the freeway had shown him that he was in dire need of exercise and practice when it came to his abilities. The thought filled him with distaste, but he had a rational mind. He was a scholar and he couldn’t deny firsthand evidence when thrown in his face.
Bennett took several deep breaths before he slipped into the shadow on the wall. He emerged inside the restaurant. He stood with his back to the wall in a dark shadow with two tables on either side. The dinners were happily eating, drinking their wine and chatting.
The Vampire ignored the faint pull of the live blood that flowed through every person. He settled in to listen and attempted to glean useful information from the scattered conversations. He idly wished that he could take notes.
“This Carbonara is just as good as it’s always been.”
“The wine is amazing!”
“Hard to believe it automatically appears in their cellar every couple of weeks.”
“I had to save up a month’s wages to afford this dinner.”
“Got that job in the mayor’s office.”
“I’m so happy you’ve finally got some time off.”
“Yeah, they’ve been working us like crazy. Still won’t explain what we’re doing. Just keep digging away by the docks. Good overtime though.”
“Aren’t you glad I told you to apply for the opening?”
“Yeah, but I saw one of the scions at the orientation. Pretty scary, intense.”
“Golden Gate Park’s supposed to open in a few weeks. I can’t wait to take the kids.”
Bennett struggled with the scattered conversations. He did pick up on one the things he was supposed to find information on. The scions. He zeroed in on that table.
A young man and a pretty, middle-aged woman sat across each other at a table for two. Bennett didn’t get the impression that they were on a date. He guessed that it was more of a collegial thing. Then again, he hadn’t been an active participant of the dating scene all the way up to his PHD studies, which the spires’ appearance ruined. After that, well he was a scary vampire, not much in the way of opportunities for someone like that.
“Don’t worry too much about the scions. Like I told you. You can buy in as much as you want or as little,” the woman said.
“Yeah, I understand. It’s just a little cult-y. You know?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I’d say it’s more like a tech startup. Like Google in the early days. You’re lucky that you’re getting in pretty early. They’ve done a lot for us in the two years since they showed up.”
“Right, but isn’t that concerning?”
“Why? The paradigm changed with those spire things. Monsters are real, magic, special abilities. Another humanoid species isn’t that much of a stretch.”
The young man nodded. “The new apartment is definitely nice.”
“I know right! If you move up in the organization you can get set up in a house. More access to everything.” The woman spread her arms out wide. “You can eat like this every day.”
“It is nice to finally eat fresh-cooked food, instead of canned stuff.” The young man savored a bite of spaghetti. “Chef Boyardee has nothing on this.”
“How’s the new apartment?”
“Mostly empty, but I should earn enough in the next couple of months to get some furnishings. Even if I’m just sleeping on a mat it’s nice to have a place all to myself.”
“Studio? One bedroom?”
“One bedroom. Its got a balcony though. I’m just happy I don’t have to live in the dorms anymore. It’s nice not to have to share a room and common spaces. I did that in college. I had just gotten my own place a few months before everything changed too. Never really got to enjoy being an adult,” the young man said.
“Well… if you do your job in the mayor’s office and do it well, sky’s the limit. You get as much as you’re willing to put in.”
“I can’t thank you enough for getting me in the door.”
“Don’t mention it. Your dad did the same for me when I was starting out.”
The talk turned maudlin as both the young man and woman discussed the family that they had lost in the past several years. They had lost a lot. Bennett felt wrong for listening in.
When the young man excused himself to go to the bathroom Bennett followed in the shadows.
They were alone, so Bennett pounced.
He ensnared the young man with his hypnotic gaze.
“Is it true that you were in the presence of a scion?”
“Yes.” The young man’s voice was flat.
“Did the scion resemble a fishman?”
“Yes.”
“Does the mayor’s office work closely with the scions?”
“Yes.”
“Where do you live?”
Bennett scribbled down the young man’s address.
“What is your job with the mayor’s office?”
“General administrative work.”
“Thank you.”
Bennett slipped back into the shadows as he freed the young man from his vampiric hypnosis. He let out a sigh of relief. He had a few avenues for information. The young man in the mayor’s office and something about the docks. He needed to locate the guy who spoke about working at the docks. First he needed to step back out of the restaurant to drink more blood. He drained a lot by staying in the shadows for so long and hypnotizing the young man.
“I knew I smelled something weird.” A rough voice assaulted Bennett as soon as he stepped out of the shadows into the alley. “Shit… never seen anything like you before. You some kind of new monster?”
“Uh… there’s a monster!” Bennett pointed behind the large, shadowy silhouette at the mouth of the alley.
Bennett turned and ran the other way.