Chapter 3

“Home sweet home.”

A ship slowly closed in on Earth’s atmosphere. It’s metallic hull burning with the fiery crisp of atmospheric pressure crashing onto the blue nirvana. Steadfast in entry, the ship stabilised as it acclimated to Earth’s sky.

Ryan toggled his auto-pilot as his cabin seat turned around, facing a rather vibrant interior. He seemed younger. His face was clean of wrinkles and his hair was puffier. 

A stereo implanted below the central briefing screen played a catchy jazz tune, with Ajay playing a video game on his mobile device. He too appeared younger. A hair doused in blond highlights became his eye-catching appearance.

“Fuck you, Ajay. Where’s my boot!” An Australian accent, pitched slightly higher than usual, screamed across the hull. Kal barged in as he was bare feet in contact with the cold metallic floor of the room.

“I have a good idea. Go find it.” He continued, his eyes locked onto his phone.

“Mate, I will bash your head ope-“

“Anger issues, Kal. Hall said to control it!” Destoria, draped in tights, strolled past him as she interrupted him. She had an uptight hairstyle, deprived of the scars on her mouth and wounds beneath her eyes.

“Take care of your things though…” She replied calmly as she dug her hands into a bag of snacks. Her loud crunch slowly annoyed Kal, forcing him to leave the hull in his miraculous journey to find his shoe. In doing so, he marched past Ava who was entering the room.

“He seems…pissed.” Ava replied.

It would seem the trend continued with her. With sleeker hair, younger face with pulp cheeks and vibrant makeup, Ava appeared significantly younger.

“Yeah, dude lost a shoe and blamed me. Hilarious.” Ajay spun on his chair as he was lost in his video game.

Ava chuckled softly as she approached Ryan, who was at the cockpit.

“How’s the news back home?” She sat on the cockpit seat beside, stretching her legs on the front deck. She laid back as her eyes gazed into his.

“Well, besides the war report on Tuppavia and a likelihood of oil trade affecting the task force, I’d say-“

Ava chuckled, admiring the Head Operator.

“What?” He asked, slightly blushing in confusion.

“Nothing. Never thought someone would reply with politics to a simple question.” 

“Call me an overthinker.” He shrugged it off as he turned back to the front, admiring the crashing clouds on the glass windshield.

“Oh…Did I make you angry?” She continued.

Ryan turned back to her.

“You did. You really did.” He replied so sarcastically.

“Oh, I’m sorry babes. Maybe there’s something I can do to make you happy?” 

Before Ryan could even respond, the doors opened to reveal an unnecessarily loud debate bursting through.

“You know, if you actually let me fly a ship for once, I can actually handle a solo mission!” Athena came, raising her tone. Her voice sounded younger. She was smaller in build, almost seeming like a teenager.

“Like hell, I will. You can’t even drive a car. What happened about that by the way?” A young man replied to her. A mesomorphic build with armour platings over lined robes tainted black, Orion was by her side walking in.

“I’m working on it? Ashe isn’t a really good driving instructor.” 

“She used to train for NASCAR. Have faith, kid.” 

“What? She didn’t even compete! And stop calling me kid! You’re like, 5 years older than me!” Athena continued.

“7. Get it right.” Orion crossed his arms as he turned over to the other Head Operators.

“You sound like siblings whose mother didn’t give a shit about controlling.” Ava turned her seat over to the two who entered.

“Are you seriously wearing makeup? Trying to seduce the enemies now huh?” Orion commented calmly.

His comment was followed by a hysterical laughter from Ryan, who was slapped on the shoulder by Ava in an utter response.

“Orion made a joke? Mark that shit on the bingo!” Ajay yelled over to Athena, who giggled at his intrusion.

Destoria slowly strolled over to Orion. She looked over to his body, then his eyes, before greeting him with a deep punch to his abdomen.

“That was mean.”

Orion grunted back, acting injured by the sudden punch.

“Doing good with the intern?” She asked. Orion waited for the moment to reply as Athena joined Ava and Ryan at the cockpit. He rubbed the back of his head as he gave a slight response.

“Going well, I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, Des. I just felt that ensuring her safety is my responsibility. Finding her in that way reminded me of how I was saved all those years ago.” He looked over to Athena.

“Never actually trained someone under my wing before. Haven’t even completed training myself.”

“You’ll be fine. Besides, you’re probably the most suited person to train her.” She’d hug him calmly.

“I hope so.”

“Also, HQ wanted us to report to the US embassy in Singapore. Something about snuffing out the mole.” She continued as she rested her head on his chest.

“Yeah…about time.”

The time of damnation. The time of darkness. The time of suffering. The crueling moment that crushed him. The moment that lingered in his mind from years past to this day. To his moment as Supreme Leader. To his moment as King.

~ 

Monarch calmly swayed away his waistcoat, allowing room for his leg to walk as he marched down the primary bridge of the Colossal. He was greeted by the Regents as they surrounded him in a vulture-esque stance.

“I have never seen someone meditate in solace for days on end…Even with such preparations at bay for an intervention.” Azalea commented, vaguely suggesting an erratic behaviour emitted from Monarch. To which, the Supreme Leader had a remark.

“Perhaps that may be the reason your mind remains clouded in doubt, and why I am superior.”

The silence that followed reinstated Monarch as leader of the vessel. It’s overseer. It’s ruler. A silence that broke when a man in a militaristic trench coat marched down the bridge behind the dark wielders.

“Salutations, Supreme Leader. It has been quite a complicated journey.”

A familiar voice called to him.

He turned, seeing a familiar figure draped in a fashion that screamed…

Admiral.

“Admiral Eclion…You survived.”

“Your order allowed me to prolong the life of the Liberation Front to an extent to see your return. May I correct you?” He asked, seeming favourably pleasant in his tone.

“You may.” He replied, turning back to the front.

“The Emperor crafted a new rank for me on behalf of the Regents’ reinstatement of the Front…High Admiral.” He calmly stated his new rank.

“I suppose it would be fine under your rule.” Eclion continued.

“It is. An inevitable title for a man of your talent.” 

The reunion of the Supreme Leader and his most trusted comrade paved a new era for the Front. An era of dominion.

“The plan orchestrated by the Emperor is in bay. Radiation levels suggest that the Head Operator, Ajay Shrader, will commence reinstallation of the Rift Obelisk.”

Monarch was stunned by the update. It would seem that he was behind on information. Seemingly told the plan, but lacked the details of execution.

“Rift Obelisk?” He asked.

“A device that allows the Dominion to transport ships across the widespread Universe.”

“I suppose the Emperor plans to construct this device to bring ships to Earth?” He questioned.

“Yes…and no. There is already another Obelisk on Earth. One far larger and operates at an astronomical capacity. It will be able to transport the fleet to Earth’s sector. With the Colossal to fuel the Obelisk, we will be the key to win this war.”

Monarch paused for a moment. A chance to win. A chance that seemed certain.

This is the end. 

The end of everything.

The end of Earth as he knew it to be. 

To commence forthwith the Emperor’s plan is to execute the rebellious head of the New Allegiance. 

It will wipe out his threats. 

A victory. 

Though, it would seem that he was uncertain of his decision. An uncertainty that was oddly apparent in his demeanour. One that was visible to the Regents and the High Admiral.

“Is there something wrong, sir?” Eclion asked, rather curious to his abnormal behaviour.

A slight pause plummeted the bridge into silence. A silence that spoke volumes.

“Nothing.”

He turned to Eclion, his visor glowing evermore bright.

“Commence the siege when the Obelisk activates.”

He felt an odd burning sensation in his chest. It devoured his control over himself as he stood motionless, though in a moment of conflict within him. He appeared normal, though he was morally discontent. His body was shivering at the thought of the possibility of regret.

A moment where for once in his career as Supreme Leader, he felt regret.

Nothing scared him more than the touch of sanity. 

A distraught feeling of being human. 

A moment of clarity.

It was that slight moment where the monstrous power within him faded. The stoic man who sought to be a vawzen figure was vanquished.

It was that slight moment where he felt a heartbeat in his chest.