Chapter 110

Ajax

On the bridge Colonel Young stood looking over the holographic information display table currently set to show him the battle far below. The speed of violence the 3rd ACR delivered had surprised him. At this rate the enemy couldn't hope to hold out another handful of days.

"Colonel I'm picking up traffic on the Zulu frequency. The Genii commander wishes to surrender" stated the communications officer.

"You don't say? Relay that message to Colonel Stone and his men now. Also contact the control jumper and have them put out a warning order" instructed Young.

Entering the bridge was Ambassador Dorin, making his way swiftly to Young's side. The Ambassador's normally calm facial features seemed clouded by something. Looking intently at the Furling the Colonel knew what it was immediately; rage.

"Colonel, if possible I need a few moments of your time" began Dorin.

"You have my full and undivided attention Ambassador" replied Young.

"Time does not permit me to go into great detail but I have a number of requests for you and your people's forces" said Dorin.

"I am more than willing to do anything in my power to assist you Ambassador" replied Young warily.

"Withdraw your aircraft to a safe distance and transport any men you have on the ground within twenty miles of the capital back aboard this ship" requested Dorin.

"May I be so bold as to ask why" asked Young.

"If you don't do as I ask the civilians of Dagan could very well perish. As I stated I do not have time to explain in full. I ask you as your ally and as your friend to please withdraw your aircraft to a safe distance of not less than fifty miles from the capital and return any in close proximity to said city aboard this vessel" briskly stated Dorin.

"Communications please instruct all 302's in the air to maintain a minimum distance of fifty miles from the Daganian capital. Sensor officer please begin beaming any of our people up here that are near the city. Get a message to the fleet and tell them we're acting on request from the Furling Ambassador" stated Young.

"Thank you Everett. Do not fear, I will deal with what comes next" said Dorin.

Turning to respond to the Ambassador the Colonel began to answer when he noted that Dorin was no longer on the bridge.

Brotherhood of the Fifteen compound

In the open courtyard of the compound the lay the beating heart of the overall command structure of Genii forces. Since the Lantean's first major push with ground forces the situation had grown continually worse hour by hour. Large armored units pounced to the south, in the north small bands of infantry in unknown numbers launched vicious guerilla style attacks, and the never ending stream of attacks from the air intensified. Many thought but none verbalized the fact that at the current tempo of events Genii forces couldn't hope to last out the week.

Standing near the radio receivers Davos listened as frantic calls came in from units located on all points of the compass. With his reserves already committed little could be done except to order all units to hold out as long as they could. Earlier attempts to stage strategic retreats closer to the capital had ended in disaster thanks to Lantean air power. None of this is supposed to be happening like this thought Davos while running a hand through his hair.

"And how else did you think it would happen" asked Dorin.

Seeing an intruder in their midst Davos bolted upright, while drawing his pistol and leveling it at the man who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Quickly forming ranks and leveling their weapons alongside their commander was Davos's security team.

"Your first mistake in coming here was the thinking you would be allowed to live long enough to attempt escape" snarled Davos while firing twice at Dorin.

Firing twice at the intruder Davos smiled for a brief moment, until he realized the man was not only still standing but not wounded as well.

"It would behoove you to cease your foolish notion that weapons fire will in any way effect the outcome of this meeting" said Dorin with a wry grin.

"Fire you fools fire" yelled Davos.

On command his security team emptied their automatic weapons on the intruder. Instead of bringing their target to his knee's instead several staff members to his rear were cut down.

"Your weapons have no effect on me. If I were you I would not fire in my direction again or things will go very badly from here" warned Dorin.

Covering the five steps between himself and the intruder Davos leveled his pistol at Dorin's head and squeezed the trigger. The effect was not what Davos had hoped it would be. Instantly Dorin's face clouded with anger as his eyes began to burn intently with a cold and deadly rage.

"Very well, if it's badly you seek then badly you shall get" hissed Dorin.

At that moment hurricane force winds tore through the command tent, sending it flying across the courtyard. Men, women, and equipment were thrown about as if weightless. Dark angry cloud fronts converged in a handful of seconds over the courtyard and extended into the distance. Lightning ripped through the sky, with bolts crashing down in the courtyard followed by explosively loud bouts of thunder. Two funnel clouds swirled towards the compound but didn't touch down, instead hanging in the air menacingly.

"I require your immediate surrender" clearly stated Dorin.

"Surrender to you? Never! Who are you to think the Genii would ever bow to some unknown ingrate such as yourself? I demand to know who you are" yelled Davos in return.

Raising his hands several inch's above waist level Dorin smiled maliciously as Davos and the other members of the Genii command center found themselves lifted off the ground and suspended in mid air.

"You ridiculous little meat sack. In the scope of the universe you are nothing more than an insignificant speck. Who am I you ask? I transcend time and space. As it relates to your existence I am the alpha and the omega and I will be heard" snarled Dorin, the last few words echoing across the countryside.

"I would rather die than surrender to you" screamed Davos.

"If that is so then know I can arrange that for you. I can end your life in the most excruciating of ways over and over again only to return life to your body and repeat the process. So be very careful what you wish for or I will grant it. If you wish to purchase a small amount of goodwill then release the people of this world you currently hold prisoner" stated Dorin.

"Radio, I need my radio" came Davos's reply.

Setting Davos on the ground on his own footing Dorin slashed a finger through the air. In response Davos's hand held radio sailed through the air into the Genii commander's hand. Raising the radio to his mouth he looked intently at Dorin.

"Order their release, now" hissed Dorin.

"Davos to camp tava, Davos to camp tava" he said into the radio.

"Davos this is camp tava, go ahead" came the radio reply.

"The prisoners are fine yes" asked Davos.

"Yes commander, the prisoners are accounted for" came the reply.

"Kill them all" Davos wailed into the radio.

"You will pay greatly for that" whispered Dorin in a threatening tone.

Seconds later ten feet from Dorin appeared the guard force from camp tava. Looking shocked at their sudden appearance somewhere other than the camp the guards found themselves quickly stripped of weapons.

"For the crimes of unjust imprisonment of an innocent people, torture of said people, and murder I find all of you guilty. I sentence you the guards of camp tava individually to death. Sentence will be carried out immediately" bellowed Dorin.

Seconds later the gathering of bewildered men began to look around in a panic. Panic turned into screams of terror, which turned into screams of intense agony. Each of the men found themselves engulfed in intense flames seeming to burn from within their own bodies. In twenty seconds the gathering of men were reduced to nothing but ash. Defying the gale force winds the ash drifted lazily towards the face of Davos.

"Breathe it in Davos. A good commander in touch with his men" said Dorin with a voice filled with mirth.

Vomiting uncontrollably Davos lost all semblance of control. His emotions went wildly out of control, quickly followed by his bowels and bladder. Looking up Davos saw the sum total of all men under his command hanging in the air fifty feet above where he currently levitated. At the far edges of the floating group of thousands upon thousands of screaming men flashed into existence a wave of fire. This wave consuming everything in its path rushed towards the center directly above Davos's head. In seconds the entire army under his command was incinerated.

"May the ancestors curse you" screamed Davos.

"May the ancestors curse me? My dear man I am doing this with their blessing. You and those that share your beliefs are a blight upon this galaxy and mankind throughout the universe. Like the Wraith you rule through fear on those weaker than you. That ends here and now" crisply stated Dorin.

"Burn me to a cinder then and be done with it" wailed Davos.

"Burn you? Oh no, that was for the others. You don't get off so easy" promised Dorin with an evil grin.

Davos found himself gently lowered to the ground suddenly able to move his arms and legs once again. His instincts screamed at him to turn and run as fast as he possibly could. Giving in to the monumental power of his primal instincts the Genii commander quickly turned in the opposite direction, intending on running away. Instead he found himself face to face with a snarling Wraith figure. With a powerful yell the Wraith plunged his feeding hand into Davos's chest and began draining the life from his body. Black hair turned to grey, once smooth and taut skin turned to a surface mired with wrinkles, and the strength faded from the once athletic figure. Knowing that death was upon him Davos closed his eyes and whispered to the Wraith.

"Drain me, please end my pain" he begged.

In the background Dorin could be heard laughing heartily. Upon hearing this Davos realized that he was still alive. Opening his eyes he found himself standing where he had been when he closed his eyes, but no Wraith was present. Looking at his hands he saw that they were not the hands of an aged old man, but the powerful hands he had always had.

"What did you do with my executioner" demanded Davos.

"The Wraith are vermin, nothing more. But they are a vermin that doles out pain and suffering so that they may go on living. I cannot say the same for you. Goodbye Davos, I will give your best wishes to Ladon Radim when he returns to his rightful office as ruler of your people" said Dorin with a smirk.

"No! This wasn't my" Davos began to scream.

Before he could finish his sentence Davos's body was torn to pieces at the cellular level. Erupting like a geyser the once powerful man's body dissolved into nothing more than a quickly expanding flow of goo, depositing itself on the grassy soil below.

"Finally I have atoned for the sins of the past with the Aschen. Let this be the beginning of a new age for all ascended beings" Dorin said to himself solemnly.