Sigma/Star

Chapter 101: The Emperor

Christian examined his gloves as his shuttle floated through the air, marvelling at the intricate weaving in the material. They hadn't been cheap but Christian cared very little for his expenses; anything was worth it for the emperor. There wasn't much left of the rest of his belongings though; nearly everything he had ever acquired had been destroyed. It was all part of a greater plan though. There would be no need for possessions in the new world, no need for ownership of anything.

There was only one thing that the emperor had brought with him. It was the only thing his plan really needed, the only key to his dreams. The rest had already fallen into place, setting up all around the northern mountains. It would be there that he would strike, would make his presence known, and would change the shape of the world forever. All these years of research, of dedication and preparation, were propelling him to this one moment. And all it came down to was a switch in his hand.

The shuttle dipped a bit, beginning a descent towards the battlefield. He would have to avoid the detection of most of the warships, tagging his shuttle as an Enian vessel. With his connections, he could have the ship register as anything he wanted and none would be the wiser. It was incredible, really, that when all countries were at war, none of them bothered to contact each other to find out who was truly on their side. A double agent, a triple agent, you could play every side and never be discovered. In Christian's case, he had been able to manufacture a fifth group, an exterior organization that had functioned under the guise of every country at once, selling creations to both the Enians and Artisans that neither side could ever hope to completely understand.

It had been more of a challenge to draw out the Jahari, or to convince the Enians to commit to the Jahari as a viable resource. Persuading the Kaiser to attempt to ally himself with the Jahari had been tricky, though it had helped that Christian had been able to establish contact with the elusive race to begin with. Proving that they were not a myth was his greatest challenge, and it had taken him most of his lifetime just finding them. But it would be worth it once all of this paid off.

The ship broke through the clouds that formed rings around the mountains. The scene of death and destruction unfolded in front of Christian's eyes as he drew closer, and he marvelled in the killing potential of the Bahari. There were waves upon waves of the monstrous creatures that poured themselves onto the Goliaths, their attacks unrelenting as they pushed forwards, winning with sheer numbers and nothing else. There was no skill involved, no planning. There was only the mind and the commands and the death that accompanied thousands of soldiers. This was what Christian had been seeking, what he had always wanted, and it was finally time.

The emperor noticed Brigadier General Cross Marian staggering in the midst of the war zone, in an area where the Enians and Artisans were pushing back. He stood at odds with a tiny speck, one the computers on the shuttle recognized as Sigma. Right on schedule, he thought, steering the craft to land close to the android, his android. He had always had a particular loathing for Marian and his beliefs, for his traditionalist views and his strategies and he would certainly love for the general to be the first to see the dawn of the new world.

* * * * *

Sigma watched the black chi evaporate above him. He had downloaded all the information in every database around the world to try and understand the anomaly, to discover its weaknesses and its secrets. It seemed the only known way to beat it was to kill the original source, but this would mark a different occasion. Sigma could detect Porter within the confines of The Warlord, and he understood what must have happened. He had noticed the connection before between the students of the academy, and Shotuku had elaborated on a number of details as well.

A drop-ship was approaching, a singular vehicle trying to navigate through the mountains to land nearby. It passed over The Warlord, descending towards Sigma. He went through a number of options in his mind, his brain processing all potential outcomes in milliseconds. The ship was registered to the Enian Federation, though it carried only a single occupant, and no records of any ships were held by the Enians indicating where it was heading or what its mission was. For a moment, Sigma wished to shoot it out of the sky, a strange sense shooting through his body, but he knew he couldn't risk such an action if the ship was not hostile. He wasn't here to kill people.