45 – THE SIX WAY WAR BEGINS

Vorennius held his head high as he strode diligently down the corridors of the Edge of Glory. All along the way, Purple soldiers stopped in their tracks, straightened, and saluted the Admiral as he walked past. The aroma of victory was in the air. Centerpoint City had been devastated by the recent attack, and perhaps even more importantly, the Grand General of the Green Army had been captured. This was the moment of the Purple Army.

Vorennius was on his way to visit his prize. A lift took him and Nezilus Thane deep into the lowest sectors of the ship. Here, the heat from the engines could be felt in part, for the air was thick with heat, and the steel bulkheads were warm to the touch. Prolonged stay at decks this close to the back of the ship proved to be exhausting for those without adaptive insulation in their armor, which was the reason why shifts in these sectors never lasted for long. It was, therefore, the perfect place to set up the holding cells. The guards led Vorennius and Thane through a keypadded door, into a hallway which was lined with four by four meter cells on both sides. Shield walls separated the main corridor from each of the rooms. There was only one prisoner in this cell block, for they were too special to place with anyone else. Vorennius and Thane walked down the hallway. Standing at both sides were a line of guards, all of whom stood at attention at the Admiral's presence. They came towards the one cell that stood at the very end of the long hallway.

And there he was.

Sparsely illuminated by the intentionally dark lighting of the cell block, the Admiral could see a green-hued silhouette slumped down upon the left wall. And even though the prisoner still had his helmet on, Vorennius could immediately tell that it was the Grand General. They way that the prisoner attempted to hide his fatigue from the heat, by holding himself up from the ground ever so lightly, was a demonstration of the Grand General's notorious love of dignified public perception. Also, the Green was humming to himself, in the same inane manner that he was rumored to always do when in times of solitude. The Green soldier looked up.

Vorennius regarded coldly the leader of the Green Army. "Hello…Richard Face."

The Grand General got up and walked slowly towards the shield wall separating the two of them. "My God, you really are still alive." He stared at the face of the Admiral for a few moments, during which the two of them exchanged daggers through their visors. "You've come to gloat, haven't you?" he then said.

"I had thought you would remember me better," said Vorennius. "I am not the gloating type."

"Then why have you come?"

The Admiral declined to respond, instead hitting the keypad to the cell. The shield wall disappeared, and several guards escorted Vorennius inside. The Grand General stood at as tall a stance as he could manage, doing his best to seem menacing. Though of course, no one was intimidated.

"You've made a mistake, attacking Centerpoint City," said the Grand General. "The Green-Yellow Alliance will hunt you down in order to get me back."

"A mistake, was it?" asked the Admiral slowly. "I'm sorry to inform you that the Green-Yellow Alliance has no idea where we are. An hour ago, we jumped to the Froman System, and remained there for a few minutes, just to throw the Yellows on the wrong trail. Now, we are back in slipsapce, and en route to a very special destination."

"Roster Teth," said the Grand General. "Where else would you be taking me?"

"An obvious guess," said the Admiral. "Which is exactly why it is incorrect. No doubt, you think that Roster Teth is the base of all the Purple Army's operations. It does host a great many of them, of course. But not most of them."

"What?" said the Grand Genearal, dumbfounded. "Then…where? Where in the universe are you taking me?"

The Admiral briefly allowed a subtle smile underneath his helmet. "All in due time, my prisoner."

The Grand General instinctively looked down at his legs, trying to make it seem as though he was depressed. He moved his hands along the lower parts of his shins, back and forth, with increasingly frantic manner.

"We removed the transmitter hidden in your left kneecap, before we even left XBOXL1V's system," Vorennius explained. "As I said before, the Yellow-Green Alliance has not the slightest idea where you are, and no way of tracking you. There is no rescue coming."

The Grand General now became genuinely depressed. "Damn you…" he whispered.

"Do you still think I made a mistake in capturing you?" the Admiral asked again. "I think one thing that you're thinking about right now…is the mistake you made, three years ago."

The Grand General looked up at the Admiral slowly. "I let you live."

The Admiral nodded. "You had no way of knowing it at the time, but your siege of Roster Teth failed in a crucial way. You had managed to kill all of the Admirals, all except for one. It is somewhat ironic that your 'victory' at Roster Teth is what catapulted you to the rank of Grand General, when during it you made the most fatal mistake of your career. All the others in the Purple Army's inner circle had been destroyed…all except for me."

"And you think that revenge is the answer?"

"In addition to wrecking havoc upon all of Roster Teth's major cities, you robbed my Army of a great leader. The Lord Commander…she was a far greater leader than you could ever even dream of being."

The Grand General gave a grunt of laughter. "Is that what this is all about for you, avenging the death of your master and mentor?"

"The Lord Commander was the light of the Purple Army. She brought order to all of its systems. She also taught me everything I know. All that I am, I owe to her. She was the greatest leader that the galaxy ever knew." The Admiral took a step closer to the Grand General. "And you killed her without any honor, nuking her from above before she had a chance to react. She did not deserve to die that way."

"Was there honor in what you did to Centerpoint City?" the Grand General shot back.

The Admiral took a breath. "Ah, but you misunderstand me. I did not attack you primarily out of a lust for vengeance. Though your Army does indeed deserve to suffer for what it did, my campaign is about something more: it is about principle."

"Is that so?" the Grand General asked in a sarcastic tone.

The Admiral explained: "The Yellow, Green, and Blue armies have launched campaigns against each other relentlessly for the last three years, covering the entire galaxy in a shroud of meaningless war that has resulted in countless unnecessary deaths. My only objective, in the long run, is to end this war, and from its ashes create a galaxy that is ruled by order and purpose."

"You think you can end war by making war?"

"But of course," said the Admiral. "Peace is but an illusion. At no point in human history has peace ever been realized because of its own right. Even in the days of the Old World, it was administrations of tight control that were necessary to prevent war. The only thing that can, is power."

"You believe in the Old World?" the Grand General laughed. "That's a fairy tale."

"And ignorance is bliss," the Admiral countered. "There is more to the existence of the Old World in our history than you know."

"You're referencing more secrets that you will refuse to share with me, I assume," said the Grand General. "I hope that the story of the Old World isn't where you get all your ideals from. I know where true power comes from. Power of the people, to make their own decisions. Power of democracy."

The Admiral shook his visor. "Democracy is, by its very nature, amorphous. It invites anarchy. You know not of what you speak."

The Grand General stared at Vorennius determinedly. "Civilizations controlled by their own people, act at the interests of their own people. They are therefore free from false distinctions, and from the tyranny of oppression. Democracy is power."

"Guards, seize him," the Admiral ordered. Guards on both sides of the Grand General took hold of both his arms and dragged him upwards. The Grand General looked around in confusion.

"Bring him to his knees," said the Admiral, as if he were making a comment about the weather. The guards each punched the Grand General in the gut. The Green gagged, then lost his footing.

"Twist his arms." The guards brought the Green's arms behind his back. The Grand General tensed in pain, but was disciplined enough not to make a sound.

"Cut his throat."

One of the guards took out a combat knife and raised it to the Grand General's neck. "Admiral!" the Grand General screamed in surprise and fear.

"Stop!" the Admiral said quickly. He shrugged matter-of-factly. "I have changed my mind. Release him." The guards dropped the Grand General to the floor. The Grand General was panting heavily and massaging the place on his neck where the knife had been. The Admiral walked up to the Grand General, got down on a knee, and looked the Green straight in the visor.

"Control is power."

The Admiral then stood up and walked out of the cell, with the guards following him. "Come, Thane," he said to his bodyguard. "We are finished here." And with that, the two of them left the Grand General with none but the guards, so that he could wallow in solitude and self-pity.

Lemon and Lime Squadrons arrived on Yellow Command with extreme haste, and were just in time to learn that there was no emergency. Bradley wanted to talk to them, but said that it could be on their own time. And so, they headed to the mess hall, because they were famished after the events of the day. Along the way, they noticed that basically every light bulb they came across was a new one, and even saw several crews going around and replacing light bulbs. This was, of course, because the station had been hit with an electromagnetic pulse only hours before, and so virtually all of the circuits on the station were in need of repair.

Then came the mess hall, and much eating. They all sat around one table, stuffing their faces. They were perhaps a half an hour into it when Brian radioed them, saying that he was alone in the hotel suite in Centerpoint City, and wondering where everyone else was. Lemon contacted one of the Greens in the city, and told them to collect Brain and escort him to the station. After another half an hour had passed, Brian stood before Lime and Lemon. It was at about this point when Lime and Lemon collectively finished eating, and so the whole group got up and left to find the Bridge, where Bradley was waiting for them.

Bradley was lounging in his command chair, staring out through the windows into the vacuum of space. His daydreams were interrupted when Hester cleared her throat. He swiveled around in the next instant. "Ah, Lime. Lemon. Welcome. Again." He had clearly not had much sleep in a long time, and the temporary paralysis of the station during the attack on Centerpoint City had no doubt had a negative effect on his energy state as well. He slowly heaved himself from his command chair, then used his legs to carry him over to Lemon and Lime. "Yeah, uh, we've got some things to talk about."

"Have you located Guy and Travis yet?" Skope asked.

"I have, actually," said Bradley. "A group of Reds had apprehended them, but some of my soldiers liberated them a few minutes ago. They are being escorted to this station as we speak."

"Good," said Amber. "They saved our asses when we were in the Capitol District."

"So I hear," said Bradley. "Both the Red and the Purple are clearly friends of ours. Something to keep in mind for the future. However…that is not what I have wanted to talk about."

"I know, bro," said Patton. "You don't have to tell us. Centerpoint City is a mess now. The Grand General has been captured by the Purple Army. And then there's the subject of that entity who called himself Amnion…" Others in the group shuddered at the mention of Amnion's name.

The Lord High Commander General slowly looked, in turn, at everyone's visors. "There is more," said Bradley gravely.

"What more could possibly be wrong at this point?" Ryan blurted out. "We've covered the whole gamut by this point, haven't we? What is left?"

Bradley approached the holographic console. "The nature of the war itself." He hit a key, and a photonic representation of the planet came into view, colored like some tapestry with primary colors. Of the hundreds of territories on the planet's surface, each was hued with the color of the Army that currently controlled it. "To state it accurately…" Bradley said slowly. "…The galactic conflict has reached a new stage in its evolution. It would seem the events at Centerpoint City today have served as a catalyst for the ambitions of the new arrivals to the war: the Red, Purple, and Orange Armies."

"In what way do you mean, exactly?" Deryn asked.

"That all three of them have come entirely out of hiding, and begun domination campaigns, not just in this sector of space, but all over the galaxy as well."

Startled gasps came from Lime and Lemon Squadrons. At the same time, Bradley began a time dilation animation of the status on the planet, of the last few hours. Several things on the holographic sphere changed: the single orange square that represented the last refuge of Orange territory suddenly blossomed into a dozen-square large grid. At the same time, the Purple bases sprinkled thorough the planet suddenly enlarged, replacing mainly Blue territories. And the Red territories exponentially increased, at one location managing to absorb a small continent's worth of land. In short, the planet had become much more diverse in color.

"Now, all three of the new Armies are fighting full force. The Oranges are the most prominent example of this: less than twelve hours ago, they were concealed in their last little territory, trying to hide and not be noticed. But all of a sudden, they have begun sending soldiers in every direction, and bases of the Big Three have started falling like dominoes. The same is true for the Red and Purple Armies. So far, it is mainly the Blues who have had to take the brunt of these assaults, though I have already lost three major bases on this planet, and the Green Army is reporting similar losses." He then cleared his throat. "But here's where we get to the worst part."

The group tensed, wondering that more there could possibly be. "That wasn't the worst part yet?" Kenny asked. "This day really seems to have it in for us."

Bradley continued: "Other planets, all over the galaxy, have begun reporting similar happenings. It turns out that all three of the new armies have had sleeper cells waiting to break out at the right moment." He altered the view of the hologram, to a view of the entire galaxy. Sure enough, the territory colors now showed not just three, but six, different hues, and the newest three were blossoming like sunflowers. "One of the Yellow strongholds, in the Fubar System, has just fallen to the Orange Army. And the Greens have already lost two worlds, one to the Reds and one to the Purples. This has effectively become a six-way war, on this world, and for the entire galaxy."

Hearts shrugged. "Well, the war economy's having a good day, at least." It was such a phenomenally bad joke that Deryn could not help jabbing him in the chestplate with her elbow.

"Why is this happening?" Clair asked. "I mean, why now?"

"I think there are several reasons," said Bradley. "The Purple Army's motive is the most obvious: they have just attacked Centerpoint City, which was, until today, the most elusive and fortified city in the entire galaxy. Even though the city still stands, it has been devastated by the attack, and the Purples feel the wind at their backs after having participated in a demonstration of such power. Also, the Admiral now has the Grand General in his possession, and he has never been known to rest on his laurels. He intends to strike hard and fast at the other Armies, especially while one of the Big Three is still reeling from the invasion of its capitol city. I have little doubt that Centerpoint City is only one more phase in his vile scheme to spread his vision of 'order and purpose' to the galaxy. Tyranny wrapped in pretty words, is what I call it…"

"And what of the Orange Army?" Tom asked. "They have hardly had a presence in the war until today. In fact, only a few days ago, the Purple Army nearly annihilated them, when it stormed that part of the continent."

Bradley nodded. "A good point, Shaw. Their motive is definitely harder to discern, but I think I might have some idea…" He took a small moment to think. "Most likely, the Empress realizes the critical state that the Orange Army is in. She knows that if her Army waits much longer, it will be ground into dust by the next Army that tries to move it out of the way. The Oranges need territory, and they need it now. Interestingly, they have the most widespread presence in the galaxy at large, right now. And though their appearances are many, each individual contingent of them that has been sighted so far is very small, with only minute numbers of ships to a group. This means that the Oranges are either searching desperately for a more secure base camp, or looking for something else of importance…or both, most likely. And, there's something else: The Purple Army could have ended them a few days ago, yet it did not. The Purples allowed the Orange Army to live, and I cannot help but wonder if that fact is somehow related to whatever the Oranges think they are doing in the galaxy at this moment. There is still so much we do not know…"

"And what of the Reds?" Nome asked. "So far, their presence has been exclusive to this world, though it has proved to be exceedingly powerful in that time."

Bradley nodded. "Yes, it has. And as the galaxy as a whole goes, I think they have just demonstrated their power most effectively." He pulled up a separate window from the holoprojector, showing a cityscape on some distant world. Hovercraft zoomed by a massive square, which was surrounded by skyscrapers thousands of meters tall. Then explosions broke out. In the sky, a giant Red craft loomed over the city. At first, Lime and Lemon took it to be the Hand, but as the view zoomed in, the object revealed itself to be a gigantic starship: a capitol ship, if its size was any indication. The words Instrument of Chaos were painted in the color of blood on the side of the ship that the camera could see. The ship was far more massive than basically any ship that Lime or Lemon had ever seen before, appearing to be roughly ten kilometers long, and rivaling the city with its volume. A white light emerged from the ship in a beam, and the camera view suddenly fizzled out. "That city was completely annihilated," Bradley explained. "This is the planet I mentioned before, that the Greens lost to the Reds. The rest of its surface has been vaporized as well."

"That is an insanely huge starship," said Ryan. "Does anyone disagree?"

"Instrument of Chaos," said Hester. "The very name reminds me of that entity who called himself Amnion."

"When he was holding us all captive on top of the Hand, Amnion mentioned that he would take control of the Red Army," said Clair.

Nome nodded. "We also know that Amnion was working behind Vincent. It is likely that Amnion is now the leader of the Red Army."

"The Reds, so far, have had the most destructive of the campaigns of the new armies, upon the galaxy at large," said Bradley. "Though they have destroyed only one world…as of yet…they have been seen with large numbers of large ships at all encounters. Given this information, I think it safe to conclude that Amnion, as the leader of the Red Army, has been planning this siege campaign ever since he has been free within this universe."

Kevin shivered. "No matter what way we look at things, they seem so bad."

"I concur," said Jess as she gazed at the hologram of XBOXL1V in nervousness. "A six way war has been started…and because of this planet's location, we're all right in the center of it. A terrible firestorm is about to break out here, if I had to guess."

"I'm ready for it," was Patton's stern response.

Bradley waited until a few minutes after Lime and Lemon had departed the bridge. He really didn't want them overhearing this next conversation, for his contact was usually very picky (and sometimes paranoid) about the ears that listened to his conversations, and Bradley was in no mood to upset his boss. He tapped a code for a secure channel into the central console, and the image of the planet was replaced by the cylinder-shaped helmet of a very prominent Yellow soldier.

Victarion Halcor was a very large man, measuring to a height of just above two meters outside of his armor. In his armor, a steel fortress of apparel, he towered over all other soldiers. His presence was also known well in terms of his personality: he was a man who loved war above all else. He lived for it. He had been a general for most of his life, only recently having attained the leadership of the entire Yellow Army. His powerful status was no accident, as anyone who had ever tried to cross him would tell. Bradley had no intention of being the latest in the long line of victims whose military careers had been destroyed because they disagreed with the Supreme Lord Commander General of the Yellow Army.

Bradley gave a strong salute. "Supreme Lord Commander General."

"Bradley Patton," said Halcor in his characteristically booming and powerful voice. "It is about time that you responded. The many situations developing all over the galaxy have not improved in the latest moments."

"So I hear," said Bradley. "But firstly, allow me to offer my condolences for Marillion. His loss must be affecting you deeply."

Victarion Halcor waved a gauntlet. "I need no comfort in light of his death. Connections with his half of the family have been very strained of late, ever since their defection to the Green Army." Some years ago, the powerful and prestigious Halcor family had split in two, when half of them had decided they had better assets within the Green Army. Victarion, in particular, had seen this as a betrayal. So when Marillion Halcor, who had captained the Green capitol ship Grand Castellan, had died during the Battle of Centerpoint City, it was little wonder that Victarion was having a difficult time feeling. The Halcor bloodline was never known for compassion. Separations between Armies compounded this even further.

"The Green and Yellow Armies are in an alliance now," Bradley offered.

"A temporary alliance," said Halcor tersely. "And don't forget that this was your idea. The Yellow-Green Alliance is only valid for as long as the Red, Purple, and Orange Armies continue to prove a nuisance to us. I still haven't figured out how you managed to talk me into these arrangements with the Greens. I have decided they are worth keeping, of course. But this friendship is on a leash. A very short leash."

Bradley nodded. "Of course, Supreme Lord Commander General. Now then, have you decided what to do about the recent turn of the war?"

"I have, in fact," said Halcor. "In light of our alliance, I have deemed it necessary that our two Armies work together to find a solution to this crisis. We have an alliance, we might as well use it."

"And what does that entail?"

"There is to be a war council," Halcor explained. "The top officials of both Armies will get together, and discuss plans for the war concerning the three Armies that have only recently entered into it. This will, of course, have to wait until the Greens have chosen someone to take the place of the Grand General."

"Of course," said Bradley. "The Green Army will be needing an acting leader before it will be able to host any war councils."

"Indeed," said Halcor. "But this is not actually why I asked for this conversation. There is something else. Something that concerns you, in fact."

"I figured as much, sir," said Bradley. "What is your bidding?"

"There is a…asset…that I need you to take care of."

"An asset?" Bradley asked. "What kind of asset?"

"There is a reason this planet is fought over so much," said Halcor. "Abundance of resources, of course. But even more than that, something lies beneath the surface of this planet. The Reds figured this out before we did, which is a shame, because I believe that whatever this is, is responsible for this planet's value in the war."

"Interseting," said Bradley.

Halcor continued: "We have gleaned data from a group of Brown mercenaries, who were killed by a band of fusion coils. Their sensors show that these fusion coils went underground beneath a base, searching for a power supply of some kind. And the energy signature became so powerful while they were down there, that the sensors actually cut out. I sent my own soldiers down there, but the Reds had already taken or destroyed whatever this thing was. But fortunately, there is more: recently, some of my soldiers used sonar data given to us from Centerpoint City, combined it with our own, and have discovered one particular location within the crust of the planet that we believe holds another of this…thing, whatever it actually is. You are to lead the effort to uncover it."

"I see," said Bradley, stoking the bottom of his helmet in thought. "This sounds very important. A discovery such as this could revolutionize the war effort."

"And there is one other thing," said Halcor.

"Your command is my mission," said Bradley devoutly.

"You are to mention none of this to the Green Army."

CONTINUED IN STAGE 4