Dawn of the Epoch

Chapter XCIV - Investigating the Aftermath

Commander Ferrari was the first Allied General to arrive at the scene. His helicopter landed just inside the plant’s outer wall at the front entrance. As he disembarked, he saw the wreckage of three armored personnel carriers. Two had been shot up. A third had been blown up. Ghoul bodies were strewn about. Their armor was dented from the many bullet impacts. Their faces were crushed. The faces were contorted, unnatural, and disturbing to begin with. Most of them had a skeletal hole where a nose should be. Their leathery skin hung loose like a drape over their gaunt jowls.

Everything lay in its resting place. The soldiers had ensured that the ghouls would stay down, but had otherwise, left the scene undisturbed. They warily waited for orders. They mourned their fallen comrades. Many were being taken away in a flashing ambulance. The guard towers were obliterated. The pavement was streaked with electric burn marks. Craters were strewn throughout the courtyard, created by stray particle beams. Commander Ferrari walked gingerly through the wreckage, ignoring the soldiers and their emotionless eyes.

Ferrari inspected first the bullet-ridden vehicles, but found nothing new or interesting inside. Then, he began sifting through the wreckage of the exploded vehicle.

“Did these men have rockets?” He asked an aide.

The aide sprinted over to the huddled soldiers and security guards. Then, he sprinted back.

“No sir, none of them had rockets.”

“Hrm, must have been grenades.” Ferrari said absentmindedly.

He saw something glimmer in the sunlight. He bent his knees and lifted a large piece of shrapnel that used to be a door.

“What do we have here?” He said, smiling.

His aides said nothing.

Beneath the wreckage lay a suit of shining armor laced with gold. It would only have fit a giant. A golden ankh was emblazoned on the front. The heat from the explosion had warped the left shoulderguard. One of the spikes sticking out of the shoulderplate had the tip broken off. But the armor was otherwise intact. Ferrari ran his fingers over it.

“It’s heavy.” He said.

His aides stood by silently.

On closer inspection, he noticed carvings in the armor plates. There were patterns visible on the surface. They depicted scenes of war and worship. He flipped over one of the vambraces and found more carving on the inside. This carving was different. It was not done by an artist. It was etched in crudely. It looked like planets and a temple. He checked the inside of the other pieces and found nothing. Then he lifted the vambrace in both hands. It was very heavy.

“Get me a duffle bag.” He told an aide.

The aide sprinted back to the helicopter and returned with a bag. Ferrari bagged the vambrace first, and then masked it by filling the rest of the bag with wreckage.

“Take that to the copter. We’re taking it with us.”

As the aide ran off with the heavy duffle bag lashed to his back, Ferrari heard the whirl of another helicopter’s blades. It landed and General Seaberg stepped out.

“Ferrari! I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see that you beat everyone.” Came the grizzled voice of the old veteran.

“Seaberg.” Ferrari greeted him. “Come have a look at this, Ghaelvord’s armor.”

“Well, dip me in napalm. You think that old bastard was in there?”

“There’s no body, but just look at this vehicle.”