Lecca found herself trying to blink away the white light that was burned into her eyes. A central beam of daylight shone from above and she raised her hand to block the source. Her jaw clenched and she tried to fight off the disorienting feeling that racked her brain. The last thing she could remember was how the man she had now fought twice, both in the Frontier and on the plane, had somehow brought her back to the one place she did want to be in, the Void.
Her current situation could have been worse. The man that was her spitting image could have killed her without a second thought, and it seemed that he was impervious to any physical harm. Bullets did nothing to him, so why should she assume that any other weapon would make the difference? The place she had landed in was like that of her last trip, a large section of the desert void that was only occupied by sprawling fields of golden-green grass that went about thigh height for a woman of her stature. The only thing she still had with her that could survive such an environment was the battle-tested pistol she had inherited, and a small flask of whiskey tucked away in her black blazer. Appearances aside, her attire wasn’t the prime clothes she wanted to wear in such an environment. Now she wished for nothing more than her combat garbs or the military uniform she was given for her time within Diamond Squadron. Right now, she was dressed in style, to stand out. Amongst the grass she stood out like a bull in a haystack; behind the only thing that remotely could blend into the environment was her handgun and some could argue her brown eyes. Though she put much value in appearance, it was her job to protect the president and any other surviving government officials, not walk down in a promenade.
Where is the President? Without a second though Lecca withdrew her handgun. She held it tightly as she scanned the surrounding field. “President Harding! David! This is Agent Araish speaking!” Her voice was sharp as she waited for something to respond.
“I’m here!” David groaned out from nearby. Slowly rising from the ground, he brushed dirt from his blazer and slacks. “Are you okay?”
Lecca thought about telling him about the small headache she had, but she held her tongue. “Combat operational, sir. We need to get you out of here,” she said removing the magazine from her pistol, inspecting the bullets, then slamming it back in.
David’s eyebrows went up. “How?”
“Based on previous experiences there are certain qualifications needed to be completed.”
He let out a thoughtful hum as he withdrew his own handgun, “Then let’s walk. That’ll be out start.”
David was no doubt a man of action and pure will. To the outsider, the President appeared quiet and humble, but anyone who paid attention to details would realize that he stood at six-foot-two, and his average looking suit concealed the trained and war-tested body that had stayed on a constant routine of exercise and dieting. His narrow blue eyes alone were enough to convey the years he had spent as a Marine in the Federation Empire. Years of combat had drained any will he had for luxury or the chance to be a celebrity amongst his people. His life was forged through the trials of war, and he had suffered along with his people—often more times than the average man. His job at the President was to give his people a chance to survive in this horrible world, and he backed his words with the intellect, strength, and capacity to carry out such a mission. Zivaland was practically independent and isolated, the ruins of the old empire would no longer hold back his people and there was little doubt in his mind that they wouldn’t be able to lose against any adversary. For now, he focused on stabilizing his nation piece-by-piece, the precipice of power would wait, it always could.
Lecca respected a man like him. He reminded her of Mike—the Ranger as of late had turned away from his hot-blooded talent as a soldier and instead focused on analyzation of all things combat related. She needed both traits from David and Mike if she were to be a successful monarch. Strong enough to deter any aggression, but also the strength to be kind to those that dared stand against her.
Everyone she came across had blood on their hands. And the burdens they carried would last a lifetime.
“What is this place anyways? By the looks of it, I can’t say were in town on a busy weekend.”
“Some just call it the void.”
“Does it mean anything?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Mother Juna never spoke of such a place.”
“Well, let’s hope she can provide some answers.”
A small smile formed on Lecca’s lips, “There are even some things she won’t answer.”
“It’s a shame she can’t help us,” David was a man of faith. Lecca could gather that much the way he went around addressing Mother Juna.
“Either way, sir, priority is to get you out of here. If we are here, then there is a chance that the attackers could be present in the void,” she tried to refocus on the current mission to get President Harding out of the open and return him to the safety of the Federation. “Soon enough they’ll be all over us, and we don’t have enough ammunition to spare in a prolonged fight. Worse comes to worse, sir, I’ll stay behind to buy you enough time to get out.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, princess.” This wasn’t the first time David had encountered someone in his circle that proclaimed they would die for him. Those few times he met those types, they ended up dead before a grand sacrifice. “I’d rather not have another person die today.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t get to make that decision, sir.” Lecca chimed sarcastically making the older man chuckle.
“Nothing wrong with having the ability to save people.”
David wasn’t wrong. They both held the responsibility as leaders of their nation to shoulder the people’s burden and prevent their lives from being extinguished. But what was her own responsibility to herself? Lecca did not know the answer and found herself pondering an answer as they walked in silence. She had all the time in the world; time was nothing more than a figment of imagination within the void, and she would take advantage of it.
The void; a place full of wonder and terror. It was beautiful. The forever burning light above along with the forever stretching fields was soon complemented by old ruins that were older than perhaps the planet she lived on. In the cover of shadow, the president and princess rested against the walls. Like any good Marine, David took a moment to scan the environment looking for possible threats. Lecca did much the same, but her attention was drawn to the interior of one of the buildings. She had been watching it for some time, and her curiosity grew just as rapidly as her dehydrating body.
Pressing her hand against the wall, the princess intended to sit down, yet her ears picked up on a small noise that sounded familiar to that of someone breathing. Running her finger over the wall as she held her breath, it was clear that the breaths were not coming from the president, and that the wall she rested against was thin and hollow.
“The enemies we’ve encountered in this place are those that can access the Void, and internal defense systems.”
“But there’s always a chance for something natural, right?” David surmised as he raised his pistol at the doorway. He too had heard the abnormal panting. “We should probe and see if this building will work as a temporary shelter or a shooting gallery.”
“I have lead.”
Moving in tandem with the princess, David kicked himself into gear as they entered the darkened, near pitch-black interior of the building they once rested beside. Their movements were crisp and narrowed down to a science as they kept their pistols armed into the darkness ahead. The breaths that the princess heard earlier were louder and echoed throughout the empty environment. Both shooters remained in place just in front of the door as this was the only exit, they could identify and escape through.
“Where are you?” Keeping the sights of his pistol aligned towards the sounds of the panting, David narrowed his eyes as a burning sensation crept up his arm.
Someone stepped forward. It sounded like that of a large animal stomping the ground.
“Mr. President?” Lecca questioned. She felt the vibrations of the following steps through her entire body.
“We have contact. A big one.”
From the doorway, a single shred of light touched the arm of the beasts approaching the two. Lecca’s finger decompressed the trigger as she counted four hostiles total. “Engage!” She barked committing to the trigger pull letting out a resounding thunder. One-by-one, the two rotated firing bullets towards the beasts that revealed themselves in the small amount of light. Standing at seven feet tall and comprised of horrific skin that was melted away revealing muscles and bone, the hulking beasts looked upon the two with widened eyes.
With the first monster stepping clearly in front of both Lecca and David, his skin was pelted with bullet wounds, yet he seemed unaffected. “Fall back!” Without relenting, David provided cover for the princess as she sprinted out of the building. The monster grew uncontrollable as the president fired all his remaining ammunition into the center of the being’s chest. The metallic bullets chipped away at the skin and bone. Blood spurted form the wounds as the monster raised its right arm slowly aiming to swing and kill the president.
Spotting a glint of red, David lowered his pistol and bolted to the left of the monster. The clawed hand impacted and burst through the thin wall sending shrapnel into the forgotten alleyway. Though the material used to construct the building was thin, it was more than enough to cut off chunks of flesh from the monster’s hand and send a large shower of blood onto the ground.
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“Shoot at the center! Give me time to reload!”
Emerging from the alleyway, Lecca rose her pistol towards the center of the monster’s torso as the other three hostiles grew furious and began to hastily walk towards President Harding. Obeying his orders, the princess kept her gun steady as she fired all the five bullets remaining in her firearm.
The onslaught of lead was enough to pierce the monster’s torso, and what came next was something she could never have expected to happen: a pulse of energy erupted from the inside of the monster and the skin visible began to bulge out and steam.
Within three seconds the large expansion caused by the rapid head grew almost five times as large as the normal size of the monster. Seconds afterwards the skin erupted and exploded separating the upper body from the legs. Intestines, blood, bone, muscles, and still intact parts of the body shot out in a large radius. A shower of blood landed on the princess and died her silver hair a deep crimson, and the stench of iron reeked from her clothing. The force was powerful enough to embed the shrapnel from the body into the nearby walls and cut open a wound on her leg. The still standing corpse of the monster swayed as gravity took hold. The remaining intensities that had landed inside of the wound slipped out and splattered onto the ground as the blood coated spine remained standing. The monster’s knees eventually gave out and the remaining parts collapsed to the ground.
“What—” The princess slumped on her knees. Steam emanated from the chunks of body matter and from her clothing. Her eyes were stuck as wide as they could muster. She winced at the pain emerging from her leg. “President Harding!” Lecca screamed, her voice breaking as she searched the darkness looking for David. If he is hit by the shrapnel…
“Over here!”
“President—”
“Breach! Breach!”
As the radio within Lecca’s coat buzzed to life as a signal reached the receptor, on the other side of the building, a large warehouse door opened, and eight armed unknowns entered the room instantly was filled with screams, lead, and muzzle flashes. In an almost comedic fashion, President Harding was sprinting across the room with the three monsters jogging after him. The first team moved to intercept the president and secure him. The others were focused on neutralizing the monsters.
“Friend or Foe confirmed, you are clear to engage!”
“Princess Lecca is on the ground, watch your shots!”
It was almost impossible to believe that a fighting force had gained access to the Void. Lecca had only been forced here by someone summoning her and those around her. Never had she had the chance to breach into the unknown world. Raising her head, her brown eyes followed a light that shined brightly. A pair of mirror-shined black boots stormed towards her, and though she was still disoriented by the death of the unknown monsters, a small smile grew on her lips. She was saved just like before.
As her focus slipped away from her grasp, she put forth all the effort she could muster to stay conscious; For the haziness that followed, she still could feel the warmth of her skin and the disgusting coat of blood, sweat, and grime covering her skin. She could smell the iron, and the gunpowder coating her face. The single ray of light extending from the forever hell above touched her lips, and her eyes snapped wide. Slamming her foot into the ground, the princess slowly rose from the ground. Her body screamed in agony as three explosive sounds erupted. Four masked men rushed ahead chasing the bullets that had long torn the last monster into shredded cheese. One-by-one, each set of mirror-shined boots set up a defensive position around Lecca. “Room secured!” One of the men boomed. His metallic rifle slowly lowered as he turned and looked to his left. Escorted by the remaining men, David let out a heartly laugh as he slowly jogged to Lecca.
Loosening his tie and taking the moment he had to brush off his hands from dirt, the president stood tall over the princess as he gently brought her into a firm hug. Lecca never saw it coming as she stood completely still. However, the barrier that remained between the two national leaders shattered as she slowly brought up her hands grasping his large back. It was overwhelming.
“Second breach halted. Moving into security detail. Time elapsed, 0113.” The 2nd fireteam leader said.
“0113. Time limit of five remaining. Lieutenant, move your team into overwatch as we move the VIPs to the extraction point.” Without another word, the armed and faceless men separated from the formation, only the squadron and his second remained in place. “Mr. President, ma’am, it’s time to move.” Was all he said. He himself raised his rifle as he dragged the president by the shoulder making him groan in pain.
Lecca smiled as she was assisted by the second in command, “You really are something else, David. Not everyone can pull a trick like that.”
He let out a hearty laugh as he slapped his hands together cleaning himself of some of the grime that coated his hands, “Say’s the one that can use nullification.”
“I’m not special. I didn’t even use it here.”
“There’s more to you than magic, princess. The staff sergeant knows.” David smiled, “He’s an administrative agent now, isn’t he?” David was reminded of a similar story in his younger years.
Silence fell between the leaders as they moved to the destroyed wall. As soon as they crossed the threshold to the outside void, a protective diamond was formed around them by their saviors. Each of the men were silent warriors, the best of the best. The best that attempted to silence Lecca and her Reclaimers within Ignis. They all were the President’s shadow. And everything they did was for David alone. No other president, nor member of government held control of such a secretive unit. It didn’t even appear if the unit was grandfathered from a powerful individual. It was seemingly just created during the Harding administration.
Then again, what could she say? She was an assassin under the king of Yondel. And now she served as an agent of the OMFS, one that acted as a senior agent.
However, the men walking beside her were nothing more than hunters, vicious ones. During their first encounter within Ignis she made the haphazard assumption that they were former Federation Marines taken into Navy custody, yet from the way they moved, to the gunplay they displayed, it was clear that even with the knowledge she had, everything she had learned was just in passing. Such men were then bested by mere SOF capable combatants. But to be with them? The men walking beside her had other objectives that night, and they had other objectives besides getting her home.
“Mr. President, our capability to track you beyond Sector 5 was diminished by the sudden destruction of the Appala relay. In addition to your sudden disappearance, we had no other choice but to abandon the mission in Sector 4. If the kingdom gains access to that site, it could be a game changer that will turn this war around. We’ll be on the losing side.” The squadron leader said as he forced his two VIPs ahead at a rapid pace.
“We’ll be caught in a three-way fight if we allow the kingdom to manifest their desires in this place.” Harding grumbled stowing away his pistol.
“We will do what we can Mr. President. All we need you to do is ensure that the Senate doesn’t jump ahead with their plan to initiate a war with Yondel.”
David sighed, “If only they listened to me for once.”
Closing into a single file line, the group marched steadily through the ever flowing, faded strands of golden grass. The skies above held no color, held no life. And, looking high above, the princess could only wonder what awaited ahead of them, where their extraction waited to be exploited. Each rifleman that made up the hunters were tugging the gear that surrounded their bodies; body armor, helmets, specialized equipment, medical pouches, each man had something he brought to the table, and that alone made the difference between the average soldier and these expert warfighters.
Falling back to the center of the column, the leader, the army captain spoke unprompted, “We’ve been operating in and studying this place for over five years. One of the old expeditions into Yondel over 20 years ago spotted this on an M-Crystal conduit. We never got access until the M-1334-B001 was created. Only as of late did the Commandant Committee allow us to do our jobs here.” He took a short breath as he let his concealed gaze wander to the distant fields beyond his reach, “It’s amazing what this place can do. HIGHCOM wants a piece of this place, but something tells me we should leave it alone.” No one dared to speak to what the captain said as they slowed their course and came to a crawling halt in the middle of the golden land. His hunters slowly spread out into an acute triangle and remained silent as they observed everything around them. His eyes flickered to the black strap watch on his wrist. And with a quick whistle, his men took a knee waiting for the moment to leave the void. For now, they had to sit tight and count the seconds till the breach would be reopened by Two-Charlie-Delta, the support group assisting in recovering the wreckage of plane two-sixteen.
Standing under the burning light, Lecca was once more reminded that she was here to fight a war. This world, one separated, had found itself constantly under siege and in its wake protectors—monsters—had been born. This void was no different than her home or Earth. There were no pleasantries, no peace for the future. Just war. What are we fighting for? She asked herself to try finding the reality that her men wished to change. How can we stop the war? She brushed aside her silver locks as a sharp wind emerged from the thunderous breach forming just at the tip of the triangle, they were in.
These were no different than the Holy Lands of both her own world and Earth. This was a crossroads that every nation would soon wish to set their claws upon—now nothing could stop them as the Federation proved that there was a way for artificial entry. If there was to be another great war, it would last for more than 200 years. Those that swore to die another day would soon find themselves breathless against the rising storm of death. She grew bitter at such a thought. Mike’s insistence on finding an end to this conflict seared into her heart, she no longer wanted to fight her brothers.
President Harding had slowly grown cynical about his response to Yondel. The attack of Ignis was just the spark that would set off his plan to burn the kingdom to the ground; he had effectively abandoned all hope for peace. Still, even with his acceptance of war, the Senate, his people aimed to remove him from power. Death was approaching him, and he had just narrowly escaped the latest attempt on his life.
With the president’s plan, and Mike’s please, Lecca found herself at a new crossroad. She had to choose what would be best for humanity. And one of the options laid before her was to kill Harding, then be brutally executed by the hunters protecting her.
A tinge of mana fluttered through her right hand.
Time after time she was faced with such a choice. However, she was beyond the walls of her kingdom this time.
Closing her eyes once more, she gently rubbed her thumb and fingers together. Upon letting her eyes see the light once more, her thoughts drifted far away to the other side. All she wanted, all she yearned for, was to be held by her beloved. Was it technically fraternization? Yes. Such a thought made her chuckle and fight the urge to slam her head into her pistol. Still, as she gently rested her forehead against the slide, she couldn’t help but feel the same hopelessness and pain that tore at her heart when she watched him slump to the ground, motionless during the hunt for the hero. She wondered if he was feeling the same fatigue, the same agony that she felt that day.
Her wish was to return home, one that was neither on Earth nor in the kingdom.
“Breach set! Moving into standby! Lieutenant, take charge!”
“Take charge, aye!”
Like a thunderous storm, the portal grew large enough to brew vapor and sparks of purple light. Lecca could feel the mana radiating from the portal, and with a sharp eye she could just make out the silhouette of armed men on the other side. They waited for her, waited for their president.
“Godspeed. Cross the boundary!” One of the men shouted from the other side. He raised a single thumb high into the air giving the signal to move.
One-by-one the hunter walked through the portal without fear. Then it was finally the princess’s turn.
Placing her heel forward, a gust of wind snapped across her body pushing her silver hair back and her blazer fluttering. She marched ahead without regret, without a second thought. The world around her grew dark the moment she touched the threshold of the portal, and her eyes clamped shut as she felt the force of the device pulling her through the water-like gate. A chill ran down her spine as she opened her eyes and found herself in a distorted reality.
Only for that same second she was pulled to the other side.
She came face to face with a junior sailor, one that looked frightened.
Publicly Available Information: Distant Voices:
Little is known about those that inhabit or work for the Void. Many suspect it was created by the Architects, yet no official records exist.