Moving on
The ruins of Moscow
Major General Tanya Rex
I walk past soldiers unloading and loading different equipment. My soldiers are packing light so we can move fast. We are leaving most of our gear here not that there’s much left we used most of it even with the supplies from orbit dropping down.
I descend into the bunker beneath the city. From what I’ve been told it held up almost perfectly. Small cracks here and there from the thousands of artillery shells getting tossed around. I know ours probably rattled them hard.
A short while later I arrived in the hospital rooms set aside for our soldiers. There are others but they are full of the locals. I’m hoping Barbosa is down here too so he can officially say I don’t need my bandages. My helmet is cramped with them.
A doctor tries to stop me but one of the guards stops him instead and I glide by into the target room. I’m technically not allowed in a certain room after I broke a chair on the guy that shot me but I haven’t even thought about going in there since.
“How many torn muscles Griff” he stops his conversation with the guys from Zombie Bate “The acceptable amount and none torn off” I nod and grab a clipboard and flip through it. Surprisingly nothing too bad. The other guys will make a full recovery.
“I expect you all in formation than before we bang out, you're not allowed to get carried out of this hell hole” they all reply with a yes mam. I nod “Good now then Griffin can I have a word”
He looks confused for a moment “Sure but the docs might disagree with your assessment” I’m honestly surprised Barbosa isn’t here. “Parks send me a medic or two to the hospital whoever is slacking” I just wave Griffin to follow.
He grunts and gets up and we go to a somewhat secluded hallway. I keep the entrance in my peripheral vision. “I’d like your thoughts or opinion on something if you don’t mind” he shrugs “Go ahead”
I decided to just jump in. “Alright so this is going to sound a little crazy but I wanted to have a prayer before we all leave maybe something small like the majors”
I watch gears turn instead of his head “You actually died when you got shot didn’t you. I mean I always thought you were a little crazy maybe even religious but” he trails off. “Hey I know what everyone thinks but everyone in the 104th has a screw loose”
He laughs and I watch a doctor the same one that tried to stop me approaching so I wave him away. “I guess what I’m asking Griff is, is that crossing a line of personal boundaries if I include you all” The doctor keeps coming so I wave him off again with more emphasis.
Griffin rubs his beard “I see… you do a good job faking regular people emotions” he says with a snicker “but if it’s crossing personal boundaries just have it be optional… what would the content be”
The doctor isn’t getting the hint so I draw my side arm and wave it at him getting a smile out of Griffin “That’s actually the craziest part” he chuckles again “crazier than you getting brought back to life” I nod so he gestures to continue as the doctor runs away.
“Alright so what I was told while I was dead is there are pillars that hold up reality seven to be exact” he nods “They have vessels of a sort I can tell you more about that later if you want” he holds up a hand I must have been talking to fast.
He puts a hand on my shoulder “Tanya how about this extend the invitation and give a brief explanation why once we’re all there then you can explain to everyone there since you seem at least somewhat comfortable speaking about it then whoever doesn’t walk out you can have listen or join in for a prayer sound good… hell I can toss out the invitation if you’d like”
I know my mouth is hanging open but I ignore it for a second. I knew coming to him for advice was the right choice. “You're really the best friend anyone could ask for” he chuckles “Just put in a good word for the big guy that brought you back yeah” he playfully tries to give my head a ruffle but is foiled by my helmet.
We walk back to the patient room as several medics walk in. “Perfect time take this damn thing off” I pull off my helmet and point at the bandage.
About two or so hours later I officially have just an eyepatch now and am with all the majors. I got the official stuff out of the way like the route then told them they could leave now if they’d like. I then explained what I learned without name-dropping anyone just the principle.
Griffin was silent the entire time. Everyone actually listened and at least pretended to pay attention. Parks breaks the silence “So you're telling us that yes you died but these pillars brought you back”
I simply nod. Willy speaks next “I’m going to ask the obvious questions. Why don’t they help us if they are on our side… aside from your miracle I mean” I think for a moment and come to the conclusion that they all seem to follow Spero and what Spero seems to believe. “The pillars help those who help themselves. Think of why we don’t have any programs to help the homeless”
O’Neil answers for me “I get it so we don’t become dependent on them” Parks and Willy nod having it click in their minds. Surprisingly Griffin asks the next question “So why haven’t they done anything until now”
I think back to one of my conversations with Nyx while I was sleeping during our siege. “They have actually. The other pillars have founded other nations throughout history then let go of the reigns unfortunately they all later collapsed”
Leonids ever the history buff asks for examples “the Ottoman Empire the Roman Empire Germany and even America and can you guess what the most recent is”
Griffin answers “The republic I bet I can guess which pillar founded it as well” I gesture for him to continue “the pillar of humanity” which creates a wave of murmurs. Parks speaks next “That brings up two points Tanya. The republic was recently founded which means the pillar might still be leading it. Second, all those nations before lasted hundreds of years before collapsing. Again we were just founded and we nearly have control of Earth” she trails off.
Everyone misses the second half and latches onto the first half. Willy is the first to actually say it though “That would mean… lord Spero” Griffin nods “It would explain why everyone just seems to love him”
Parks breaks in “I mean to be fair he is doing a pretty good job people on the mainland and in Africa have been barely affected by everything” Everyone nods in agreement.
I check the time and silently curse. “Well seems we’re out of time I didn’t think we’d talk about this for so long so we better wrap up unless we want to be late to our own formation.
Everyone laughs and I hear a few comments about how they can just wait for us. “Let’s end with a prayer and a promise. I won’t bury our men here. Many have families. We’ll take them all back with us. Those without a family to return to we’ll cremate and press their ashes into a gem to adorn our trophy room as a reminder of the cost”
Everyone agrees. “Now then” I don’t close my eye or bow my head instead I place my hands on the shoulders of whoever is next to me. Everyone does the same and I notice a few curious looks.
With a deep breath, I begin “Though we stand on the shoulders of giants, led forward by beings whom have fought against horrors beyond our comprehension. We stand together. United in our indomitable will, pillars grant us your blessings to protect each other and those who stand behind us”
I bring it closed. Slightly embarrassed but what can I say I never made a prayer before let alone one with nothing to base it on. Of well.
The next few hours are a whirlwind as we load everyone up and depart. We leave any damaged vehicles basically we just leave with whatever works and all our fellows. I decided to ride in a Puma and the only one with space was griffins. Jed is driving and Rabbit Wraith and Griffin are riding in the back.
I offered to ride back there so one of them could ride shotgun but they all declined. The gentle rocking of the vehicle lulls me asleep.
I’m sitting at the table already set with coffee and snacks. Surprisingly it’s just Casper here this time. “How are you feeling” he asks. After the first meeting, I haven’t really seen him.
I indulge in the confectionery set before me “Still getting used to the lack of sight on that side but otherwise great” he smiles an… interesting thing to behold. “You must be wondering where Nyx is. He had some business to attend to”
I nod in understanding “Do you mind if I pick your brain then” his smile widens “By all means one shouldn’t quench the flame of knowledge but instead fuel it whenever possible”
I smirk “Quite philosophical. Alright then, I have a modest understanding of what each of the pillars represents and what you all do… except the Helios one” he nods sagely “It is indeed as enigmatic as the one who created it”
I sip the greatest coffee in existence and raise my eyebrows for him to continue “Before we had to leave the old universe people's religions given enough followers would become real. It’s why we refer to ourselves as pillars, not gods. I also like to believe it’s actually more humble as it comes with much more responsibility”
He pauses for a moment then continues “Those gods well most of them ironically despised humans. Spero took offense to this. With my help as I was the closest thing to a pillar at that time, made him immortal. We traveled the lands for centuries helping people when we could but one day he came as close to breaking as I’ve ever seen”
He shudders at the memory “The rage boiled off of him and he tried to fight an archangel to save a city but it killed him… he got better but our goal shifted or maybe we finally saw it for what it was. We began to kill entire pantheons each time he’d absorbed the sum of their divinity but it quickly began to take its toll on his body”
He stared at the table and suddenly I saw playing out on the table a fight. It was a figure in plate mail with two swords fighting Lovecraftian creatures. One swiped at him cleaving off part of the armor and revealing the skin beneath and I saw it had glowingly cracks in it with parts just disappearing into dust.
“That looks beyond painful” is all I said. “He described it like each atom had a nerve ending and he could feel as each broke off. He later found a city besieged and rushed to help. This is where he actually met the brave people who’d become the sentinels of humanity. He also began to feel something was watching him”
He sighed “I’ll tell you that story another time but it was years later in that same spot though it was now a nearly bottomless pit, where he came up with the idea to split his soul for lack of a better term, and bind it with the sun. Out of reach of anything and so long as he lived so would the sun meaning humanity would live meaning he would live”
He chuckled a bit “Quite ingenious and honestly kind of cheating. So that is Helios an endless well of pure power that Spero can draw on when he feels like it so I guess technically it’s a part of him”
It takes me a second to fully process it all. “I see… so none of you were originally pillars” I take some time to gather my thoughts and just enjoy the scenery and drinks. “So Ori burnt your old universe and you all came here… what about humanity”
He strokes his beak for a moment “An interesting development actually. After the burning we eventually found this universe with humanity having yet to be evolved so we set aside a large swath of r'hyla for volunteers to return to primitivism and after a few generations he opened a rift sending them here”
He pauses to think “Then history basically goes as you know it although we did have a slight hand in it mostly because they all got bored and made a bet on who’d make the civilization to unite the world… turns out it was Spero so I won. He did play a few pranks throughout history though like posing as the messiah and rising from the dead”
He shakes his head “he actually regrets that but anyway those originally from Elysium are also from R'hyla, they are a more pure strain of humanity you may have noticed several differences such as a wider range of natural hair color or eye color or having an extra set of canine teeth”
He lets it hang in the air. I change the topic and we simply just chat for a while and before I know it I’m back in the puma. I stretch and to no surprise, we are still in an ash cloud. I check the map and we are nearly at the rondevu point.
I enjoy the ride and listen to various squad's banter but hang up and listen in to Griffin, Willy, and Oarks all talking together. Of course, it’s about our previous conversation.
Parks is saying “All alright let’s say it is all real then could others be correct as well I mean Jesus was crucified and came back” Griffin snorts “Let’s ask the expert I watched her wake up I have twenty she’s listening right now” he looks right at me as I glance back and he innocently waves.
I shrug and unmute and I unhide myself “So you guys want to hear a funny story” Griffin interrupts saying we owe him but I continue “It was actually Spero he got bored and it got out of hand” Griffin burst out laughing as Parks stutters and has a existential crisis. A short while later we roll up on a beach.
Waiting for us are dozens of landing craft and a few men in pristine uniforms and masks. I have Jed drop me in front of them. “Looks like we didn’t miss our ride” Due to our location we don’t salute one another instead just shake hands. “Looks like you had fun here general”
I spare a glance at all my wounded and fallen men getting loaded up. “You should see the other guy. Permission to come aboard admiral” he laughs “Usually one waits until they are at the boat regardless permission granted”
I think we made the right choice on our permanent taxi driver “Admiral do you have your next orders yet” he holds out a hand for his XO who hands him a tablet. He takes a few minutes to look it over. “Hmmm I see… well if that’s the case please disregard rank between us seeing as we are permanently joined now”
I nod “That’s fine by me cole, last I heard we are taking you, your command staff, and half your fleets crew with us” he looks slightly troubled “My orders just say we are now joined not for what reason Tanya can you elaborate we do have a few days voyage after all”
I nod “Of course you're going to be the first admiral of the first fleet in space, we should have a month in port before we transfer to the new ships” I watch his eyes light up behind his mask.
Moving on
The ruins of Moscow
Major General Tanya Rex
I walk past soldiers unloading and loading different equipment. My soldiers are packing light so we can move fast. We are leaving most of our gear here not that there’s much left we used most of it even with the supplies from orbit dropping down.
I descend into the bunker beneath the city. From what I’ve been told it held up almost perfectly. Small cracks here and there from the thousands of artillery shells getting tossed around. I know ours probably rattled them hard.
A short while later I arrived in the hospital rooms set aside for our soldiers. There are others but they are full of the locals. I’m hoping Barbosa is down here too so he can officially say I don’t need my bandages. My helmet is cramped with them.
A doctor tries to stop me but one of the guards stops him instead and I glide by into the target room. I’m technically not allowed in a certain room after I broke a chair on the guy that shot me but I haven’t even thought about going in there since.
“How many torn muscles Griff” he stops his conversation with the guys from Zombie Bate “The acceptable amount and none torn off” I nod and grab a clipboard and flip through it. Surprisingly nothing too bad. The other guys will make a full recovery.
“I expect you all in formation than before we bang out, you're not allowed to get carried out of this hell hole” they all reply with a yes mam. I nod “Good now then Griffin can I have a word”
He looks confused for a moment “Sure but the docs might disagree with your assessment” I’m honestly surprised Barbosa isn’t here. “Parks send me a medic or two to the hospital whoever is slacking” I just wave Griffin to follow.
He grunts and gets up and we go to a somewhat secluded hallway. I keep the entrance in my peripheral vision. “I’d like your thoughts or opinion on something if you don’t mind” he shrugs “Go ahead”
I decided to just jump in. “Alright so this is going to sound a little crazy but I wanted to have a prayer before we all leave maybe something small like the majors”
I watch gears turn instead of his head “You actually died when you got shot didn’t you. I mean I always thought you were a little crazy maybe even religious but” he trails off. “Hey I know what everyone thinks but everyone in the 104th has a screw loose”
He laughs and I watch a doctor the same one that tried to stop me approaching so I wave him away. “I guess what I’m asking Griff is, is that crossing a line of personal boundaries if I include you all” The doctor keeps coming so I wave him off again with more emphasis.
Griffin rubs his beard “I see… you do a good job faking regular people emotions” he says with a snicker “but if it’s crossing personal boundaries just have it be optional… what would the content be”
The doctor isn’t getting the hint so I draw my side arm and wave it at him getting a smile out of Griffin “That’s actually the craziest part” he chuckles again “crazier than you getting brought back to life” I nod so he gestures to continue as the doctor runs away.
“Alright so what I was told while I was dead is there are pillars that hold up reality seven to be exact” he nods “They have vessels of a sort I can tell you more about that later if you want” he holds up a hand I must have been talking to fast.
He puts a hand on my shoulder “Tanya how about this extend the invitation and give a brief explanation why once we’re all there then you can explain to everyone there since you seem at least somewhat comfortable speaking about it then whoever doesn’t walk out you can have listen or join in for a prayer sound good… hell I can toss out the invitation if you’d like”
I know my mouth is hanging open but I ignore it for a second. I knew coming to him for advice was the right choice. “You're really the best friend anyone could ask for” he chuckles “Just put in a good word for the big guy that brought you back yeah” he playfully tries to give my head a ruffle but is foiled by my helmet.
We walk back to the patient room as several medics walk in. “Perfect time take this damn thing off” I pull off my helmet and point at the bandage.
About two or so hours later I officially have just an eyepatch now and am with all the majors. I got the official stuff out of the way like the route then told them they could leave now if they’d like. I then explained what I learned without name-dropping anyone just the principle.
Griffin was silent the entire time. Everyone actually listened and at least pretended to pay attention. Parks breaks the silence “So you're telling us that yes you died but these pillars brought you back”
I simply nod. Willy speaks next “I’m going to ask the obvious questions. Why don’t they help us if they are on our side… aside from your miracle I mean” I think for a moment and come to the conclusion that they all seem to follow Spero and what Spero seems to believe. “The pillars help those who help themselves. Think of why we don’t have any programs to help the homeless”
O’Neil answers for me “I get it so we don’t become dependent on them” Parks and Willy nod having it click in their minds. Surprisingly Griffin asks the next question “So why haven’t they done anything until now”
I think back to one of my conversations with Nyx while I was sleeping during our siege. “They have actually. The other pillars have founded other nations throughout history then let go of the reigns unfortunately they all later collapsed”
Leonids ever the history buff asks for examples “the Ottoman Empire the Roman Empire Germany and even America and can you guess what the most recent is”
Griffin answers “The republic I bet I can guess which pillar founded it as well” I gesture for him to continue “the pillar of humanity” which creates a wave of murmurs. Parks speaks next “That brings up two points Tanya. The republic was recently founded which means the pillar might still be leading it. Second, all those nations before lasted hundreds of years before collapsing. Again we were just founded and we nearly have control of Earth” she trails off.
Everyone misses the second half and latches onto the first half. Willy is the first to actually say it though “That would mean… lord Spero” Griffin nods “It would explain why everyone just seems to love him”
Parks breaks in “I mean to be fair he is doing a pretty good job people on the mainland and in Africa have been barely affected by everything” Everyone nods in agreement.
I check the time and silently curse. “Well seems we’re out of time I didn’t think we’d talk about this for so long so we better wrap up unless we want to be late to our own formation.
Everyone laughs and I hear a few comments about how they can just wait for us. “Let’s end with a prayer and a promise. I won’t bury our men here. Many have families. We’ll take them all back with us. Those without a family to return to we’ll cremate and press their ashes into a gem to adorn our trophy room as a reminder of the cost”
Everyone agrees. “Now then” I don’t close my eye or bow my head instead I place my hands on the shoulders of whoever is next to me. Everyone does the same and I notice a few curious looks.
With a deep breath, I begin “Though we stand on the shoulders of giants, led forward by beings whom have fought against horrors beyond our comprehension. We stand together. United in our indomitable will, pillars grant us your blessings to protect each other and those who stand behind us”
I bring it closed. Slightly embarrassed but what can I say I never made a prayer before let alone one with nothing to base it on. Of well.
The next few hours are a whirlwind as we load everyone up and depart. We leave any damaged vehicles basically we just leave with whatever works and all our fellows. I decided to ride in a Puma and the only one with space was griffins. Jed is driving and Rabbit Wraith and Griffin are riding in the back.
I offered to ride back there so one of them could ride shotgun but they all declined. The gentle rocking of the vehicle lulls me asleep.
I’m sitting at the table already set with coffee and snacks. Surprisingly it’s just Casper here this time. “How are you feeling” he asks. After the first meeting, I haven’t really seen him.
I indulge in the confectionery set before me “Still getting used to the lack of sight on that side but otherwise great” he smiles an… interesting thing to behold. “You must be wondering where Nyx is. He had some business to attend to”
I nod in understanding “Do you mind if I pick your brain then” his smile widens “By all means one shouldn’t quench the flame of knowledge but instead fuel it whenever possible”
I smirk “Quite philosophical. Alright then, I have a modest understanding of what each of the pillars represents and what you all do… except the Helios one” he nods sagely “It is indeed as enigmatic as the one who created it”
I sip the greatest coffee in existence and raise my eyebrows for him to continue “Before we had to leave the old universe people's religions given enough followers would become real. It’s why we refer to ourselves as pillars, not gods. I also like to believe it’s actually more humble as it comes with much more responsibility”
He pauses for a moment then continues “Those gods well most of them ironically despised humans. Spero took offense to this. With my help as I was the closest thing to a pillar at that time, made him immortal. We traveled the lands for centuries helping people when we could but one day he came as close to breaking as I’ve ever seen”
He shudders at the memory “The rage boiled off of him and he tried to fight an archangel to save a city but it killed him… he got better but our goal shifted or maybe we finally saw it for what it was. We began to kill entire pantheons each time he’d absorbed the sum of their divinity but it quickly began to take its toll on his body”
He stared at the table and suddenly I saw playing out on the table a fight. It was a figure in plate mail with two swords fighting Lovecraftian creatures. One swiped at him cleaving off part of the armor and revealing the skin beneath and I saw it had glowingly cracks in it with parts just disappearing into dust.
“That looks beyond painful” is all I said. “He described it like each atom had a nerve ending and he could feel as each broke off. He later found a city besieged and rushed to help. This is where he actually met the brave people who’d become the sentinels of humanity. He also began to feel something was watching him”
He sighed “I’ll tell you that story another time but it was years later in that same spot though it was now a nearly bottomless pit, where he came up with the idea to split his soul for lack of a better term, and bind it with the sun. Out of reach of anything and so long as he lived so would the sun meaning humanity would live meaning he would live”
He chuckled a bit “Quite ingenious and honestly kind of cheating. So that is Helios an endless well of pure power that Spero can draw on when he feels like it so I guess technically it’s a part of him”
It takes me a second to fully process it all. “I see… so none of you were originally pillars” I take some time to gather my thoughts and just enjoy the scenery and drinks. “So Ori burnt your old universe and you all came here… what about humanity”
He strokes his beak for a moment “An interesting development actually. After the burning we eventually found this universe with humanity having yet to be evolved so we set aside a large swath of r'hyla for volunteers to return to primitivism and after a few generations he opened a rift sending them here”
He pauses to think “Then history basically goes as you know it although we did have a slight hand in it mostly because they all got bored and made a bet on who’d make the civilization to unite the world… turns out it was Spero so I won. He did play a few pranks throughout history though like posing as the messiah and rising from the dead”
He shakes his head “he actually regrets that but anyway those originally from Elysium are also from R'hyla, they are a more pure strain of humanity you may have noticed several differences such as a wider range of natural hair color or eye color or having an extra set of canine teeth”
He lets it hang in the air. I change the topic and we simply just chat for a while and before I know it I’m back in the puma. I stretch and to no surprise, we are still in an ash cloud. I check the map and we are nearly at the rondevu point.
I enjoy the ride and listen to various squad's banter but hang up and listen in to Griffin, Willy, and Oarks all talking together. Of course, it’s about our previous conversation.
Parks is saying “All alright let’s say it is all real then could others be correct as well I mean Jesus was crucified and came back” Griffin snorts “Let’s ask the expert I watched her wake up I have twenty she’s listening right now” he looks right at me as I glance back and he innocently waves.
I shrug and unmute and I unhide myself “So you guys want to hear a funny story” Griffin interrupts saying we owe him but I continue “It was actually Spero he got bored and it got out of hand” Griffin burst out laughing as Parks stutters and has a existential crisis. A short while later we roll up on a beach.
Waiting for us are dozens of landing craft and a few men in pristine uniforms and masks. I have Jed drop me in front of them. “Looks like we didn’t miss our ride” Due to our location we don’t salute one another instead just shake hands. “Looks like you had fun here general”
I spare a glance at all my wounded and fallen men getting loaded up. “You should see the other guy. Permission to come aboard admiral” he laughs “Usually one waits until they are at the boat regardless permission granted”
I think we made the right choice on our permanent taxi driver “Admiral do you have your next orders yet” he holds out a hand for his XO who hands him a tablet. He takes a few minutes to look it over. “Hmmm I see… well if that’s the case please disregard rank between us seeing as we are permanently joined now”
I nod “That’s fine by me cole, last I heard we are taking you, your command staff, and half your fleets crew with us” he looks slightly troubled “My orders just say we are now joined not for what reason Tanya can you elaborate we do have a few days voyage after all”
I nod “Of course you're going to be the first admiral of the first fleet in space, we should have a month in port before we transfer to the new ships” I watch his eyes light up behind his mask.
