Traitor's Legacy: The Claughter Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Long March

            “So, Iblisan sent his men to their deaths just to steal gadgets needed to build that Warp Gate? Well, as crafty as he is, he’s also the epitome of waste and apathy.” Zian said as he paced back forth inside the war room. As he walked past Asura, he placed a hand on her shoulder and complimented, “Good job identifying that Warp Gate. Otherwise, we’d probably be overwhelmed.”

            Asura looked down at the hand, the smirk still on her face, before shoving it away. “Well, you ought to remember that I won’t be directly involved in the final battle. Don’t always rely on a woman like me.”

            “Noted.” Zian said with a nod. “Alright, though we took heavy losses, this is the best time for us to begin marching towards Dissidia. Everyone, gather your people and prepare yourselves for a long trip to the hive of the swarm...except for the sirens of course.”

            “Before you ask, my sirens are already ready to assist.” Asura said.

            “Good. We’ll let you know when we need help.” Zian told her. He turned to Jaden and asked, “Anything to add, fearless leader?”

            Jaden was facing down, thinking about the alien who died in front of her. She remembered his blood spurting out of his neck when she could have stopped his death by acting faster. She also thought about the dark angel who attempted to kill her while she was attacking the Warp Gate. She believed that was the closest she even got to death and she knew that there were many who died from such an attack. The horrors of the battle were still in her head, though she knew that it was just the beginning. As Zian repeated his question, Jaden looked up at him, not realizing he was referring to her.

            Jaden looked around, noticing that the other leaders, except for Asura, were looking at her with seeming awe, wondering why she was not being attentive. “Is there something wrong Ms. Highland?” the dragonite, Zavron, asked.

            Jaden turned to him and shook her head. “No…I’m just…thinking.”

            Zian stared at the young human, his smile forming into a frown. With his eyes still fixed on her, he said, “Everyone, go now and get yourselves prepared, except for you Jaden. I want to talk to you.” Complying with him, the leaders left the room, walking past a distraught Jaden Highland. When they all left, Zian approached Jaden while she stared at him.

            “You know Jaden, ever since I first saw you, you were one of the most vocal humans I ever met. You talked down Vael and Iblisan, you talked with the leaders a lot in the past weeks and you kept my human wife company for so long, she felt like she’s back at her Qurrentine home. But today, I did a lot of the ordering while you, the actual leader, remained silent. Whatever happened to the true leader of the Liberator Alliance?” Zian questioned.

            Zian reached out gripped Jaden’s shoulders. “Is something wrong Jaden? Tell me. I know you’re thinking about something.”

            Jaden looked into his black eyes, her eyebrows lowered as her sadness came in. She knew that he was genuinely worried about her and thus, admitted, “Sorry Zian. Seems like fighting in a massive battle isn’t something I’m going to get used to anytime soon.”

            “You’ve seen a lot of things during the battle?”

            Jaden nodded as tears began to form in her eyes. She replied, “An ally dying when he’s close enough for me to help, a dark angel cracking my ship’s windscreen in the middle of the black void and the countless number of corpses I’ve seen.” She attempted to wipe her tears but realized that it soaked her blindfold. “I’ve killed many people, faced many life threatening situations and seen my own share of corpses but…”

            “You never get used to death, is that right?” Zian continued. “You remind me of myself when I was younger. I still remembered the first rebel I killed during a civil war a long time ago. I felt mighty guilty when the battle ended. As I looked at her lifeless corpse, I pulled out a gun and was about to shoot myself. I couldn’t handle the thought of being responsible for the death of a fellow alien but my commanding officer took the gun and confiscated it.”

            “Confiscated it?”

            “She told me that she had seen a lot of soldiers like me, conscripts who never killed a person before signing up for the war. She somewhat expected me to try and commit suicide, saying that she had seen a lot of suicidal attempts during battles after first kills. Some she managed to stop. Others she failed to. I asked her how she lived through all her kills and her answer was, ‘I find comfort in the knowledge that each time I kill someone, their suffering ends. Not everyone signed up for this willingly.’ ”

            Jaden nodded, noting that many of the Liberator Alliance soldiers were probably dragged into the war unwillingly. “Hmph, I sometimes try to tell myself that. Each time I kill a cultist, I told myself that I have freed him or her from a life of servitude.”

            “Jaden, it is alright for you to feel guilty over a kill, even if your victims are your enemies. That proves that you still have some good in you. But, do not lose track of who you are. You’re the founder and leader of the Liberator Alliance. Many of your followers, especially the humans, will look up to you. You must show them that you can bring them to a bright future rather than submitting to despair so quickly. If you want to feel sad, do it when others can’t see you.”

            Jaden nodded once again, agreeing with his words and understanding the wisdom behind it.

            “Of course, as you probably have seen, I am more than capable of taking over for you if you’re ever unable to lead. I’ve had a lot of experience leading armies in previous civil wars. Just let me know if you need me.”

            “Thanks. I mean it.” Jaden replied.

            “So, anything else you wish to talk about?” Zian asked. Jaden shook her head and answered, “No, thanks. I feel better already.”

            Zian nodded with a smile and pulled back his hands. He walked out the room while Jaden remained, watching him as he leaves. She heaved a heavy sigh before saying, “It’s no wonder why you’re popular with your people. You were a soldier. If only our former kings and queens were like you…”

*     *     *

            Jaden walked down the hallway leading to the living quarters. Her conversation with Zian was still fresh in her thoughts and she now held a newfound respect for the alien king. She knew now that there was at least one ally whom she can count on times of need or desperation. She could not help but credit his human wife for his friendliness with humans. She met her on occasions in the past and the woman almost reminded Jaden of her deceased mother, Glacier Highland, both in appearance and personality. For a while, she smiled at the thought.

            Once she reached the living quarters, she saw the Goddess of Life and Death, Asura, lounging on one of the sofas while adjusting her hat. She was all alone and, unlike the other leaders, very relaxed. Remembering Theresa, Jaden approached her, thinking that that was an opportunity to ask Asura about Theresa. As she neared her, Asura noticed her and waved at her with a wide smile.

            “Well look who it is. What are you doing here you pretty little badass?” Asura asked.

            “I want to ask you something. It is a bit personal.” Jaden replied.

            “Personal huh? I’m not exactly a person but sure. I’ll play along.”

            Jaden sat on a couch near Asura and queried, “Asura, do you know who Theresa is?”

            “Theresa? Yeah I know her! She and I go way back. She’s the only thing keeping me company aside from the occasional spirits crossing over to Spiritus. What about her?” Asura answered.

            “She and I…met about a month ago. She claimed to want to help me in defeating Iblisan.”

            “Ah she spoke about that. She told me recently that she has spoken to you again. So, did she tell you that little secret yet?”

            “No. She said I wasn’t ready.”

            “Can’t help but agree with her.”

            “Who exactly is she? Is she a spirit, or something else?”

            Asura looked at her while adjusting her hat again. Her right brow rose as she glared at Jaden, appearing surprised by her question. “Actually…I don’t know.”

            “What? You don’t know who she is exactly?”

            “From what I can sense when I first saw her, which was many years ago, she’s a spirit but a very powerful one. According to what I can get from her through nonstop questioning, her death was…unusual.”

            “How so?”

            “While most people die from old age, from murder, from whatever fantastic causes, she died…hmph…to put it simply…she died from spiritual separation.”

            “Huh? I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

            “You see Jaden, the body and the spirit are one and the same, though the former is corporeal while the latter is ethereal. One cannot exist without the other. If someone dies, their thoughtless but still emotional spirit remains trapped in their own bodies until it decomposes or gets disintegrated somehow, either through cremation or melting or something like that. With the body destroyed, the spirit is free to roam but cannot remain in the mortal realm for long without a physical body. Eventually, the spirit will be absorbed into the realm of Spiritus, though most spirits usually go there voluntarily.”

            “But you once mentioned that some spirits still linger.”

            “Those spirits either died a very horrible death or died unsatisfied with their life. Most of them died young. These unhappy spirits will build up hatred, driven by jealousy over the living, while they still possessed their lifeless bodies. Once freed, their anger was great enough for them to resist the absorption into Spiritus and thus they lingered, haunting anyone who treaded too close.  Some of them are able to materialize, gaining back their corporeal body.”

            “And Theresa?”

            “The thing is that Theresa’s body is actually still alive and in existence, even though she’s already dead. It was like as if her spirit was forcefully removed while her body was taken over by another. Because of this, her appearance reflects the aging body. She first appeared as an infant but now, she’s a fully grown adult. Her death is unusual and she’s also very powerful, able to retain her corporeal body very early. She also retains her Magical Energies, which is normally destroyed along with the body.”

            “Wow. I never heard of such a thing. Could it be that her infant body was stolen by another?”

            “I’ve seen a lot of psychos in this world so I guess it is possible.”

            “But…why does she refer to herself in plural?”

            “Hmph, maybe it is because her body has been taken over by two spirits so far. Maybe she’s referring to both herself and the other spirit who stole her body. Or maybe she may not be just one spirit after all. Anyway, that’s a mystery to me too. I may be a goddess but at least I’m willing to admit that I don’t know everything like that God of Creation.”

            Jaden sighed, disappointed to know that Asura may be just as clueless as she is on Theresa’s origins. Regardless, she now knew that Theresa is a spirit and that her body has been taken over by another. She decided to bring that up the next time she see her.

            “Well, thanks for telling me everything you know. The next time I see her, I’ll probably ask her about her origins again.”

            “Do tell her that I said hi. She’s been very busy lately.” Asura retorted. “Anyway, good luck in any battle you may end up in Jaden. I’ll be on this soft sofa, directing my sirens from here while communicating with any spirits willing to cross over to Spiritus.”

            Jaden nodded and replied, “You have fun Asura. You may see me as a spirit if I fail.”

            “Don’t you dare fail. You’re far too pretty to die and I have plans for someone gorgeous like you.”

            “Right…I’ll be getting my crew ready for the long march.” Jaden replied with seeming awkwardness before turning around and leaving the area. She made a beeline for the guest quarters to find her crew and prepare them for the long-awaited assault on Dissidia.

*     *     *

            “Where’s Tareshah? She wasn’t in the previous battle, was she?” Jaden asked when she noticed that her crew was one member short. Assembled outside the Crimson Spinner within the landing bay, the crew was prepared to leave but could not proceed without Tareshah.

            “She hasn’t come out of her room ever since we returned. She’s still getting her paces around her adult body. She’ll be here but I doubt anyone will be used to her grownup look.” Kida replied.

            “Why? Is she ugly?” Reed retorted. “If she is, I can always imagine her as a man.” Shocked by his words, Jaden punched his shoulder.

            “Reed!” she exclaimed.

            “What?” he asked. “Some women actually look better when they appear manly.”

            “What did I miss?” a female voice sounded, coming from the loading bay entrance. The crew turned to see an unusually familiar looking woman, dressed in the traditional Salvager-purple military garb and armed with an assault rifle. The woman, who appeared pretty to Jaden’s eyes, had long brunette hair which stretched down to her chest and fare, slightly tanned skin. She also possessed a pair of large silver eyes and small, sharp nose. Jaden narrowed her sight, looking closely at the woman and trying to recall the last time she saw her.

            “I knew all of you could barely recognize her. That’s Tareshah.” Kida said while giggling.

            “What? Are you serious?” Gavin reacted with seeming surprise.

            “She’s pretty. It’s no wonder why she misses her adult body.” Xiara commented.

            “Suddenly I feel bad making fun of her appearance ever since we first saw her.” Reed muttered.

            Tareshah slung her rifle onto her shoulder and approached her crew members with a smirk.

            “Well lads and lasses, for once, this rifle doesn’t feel heavy. I’m grateful for that at least.” she commented. She turned her eyes to Kida and said, “And I guess I owe you a thanks for giving me back my old self lass.”

            “Hmph, you were with Jaden when I got back my old self so we’re even now.”

            “Hehe, fall in Tareshah. We’re leaving with the rest of the Alliance fleet.” Jaden said, gesturing to her to come. Smiling unlike her old grumpy self, Tareshah nodded and walked into the group, stopping right next to Reed who did not take his eyes off her.

            “Not only you look better but you smell better too.” Reed complimented. “I’m gonna blame Jaden for not telling me how good-looking you were when she scanned your memories. Maybe we should just forget all the crap I said to you in the past and…”

            “Reed, I hate to break it to you but unlike before, she’s too old for you now.” Lucas interrupted. Markus and Jaina nodded, the latter adding, “Too bad. I bet you feel just as useless as I am.” Reed scoffed and turned his attention away. Tareshah chuckled and told him, “Now that you’re the small little lad, maybe you ought to listen to me even more. In time, I would probably remind you of your mother.”

            “My mother’s dead so good luck with that.” Reed retorted.

            Jaden began clapping, trying to regain the attention of her crew before saying, “Guys, listen up. The Alliance fleet will be leaving soon so, there’s little time to talk. Now, we’ve all been away from the Crimson Spinner for some time so I need to talk about a few changes the aliens made to this ship. I bet Jaina and Reed would’ve noticed the change when they flew the ship in the last battle.”

            “She’s right. Listen up. You might like it.” Reed added.

            “First thing’s first. The ship’s armor plating has been improved. They used some kind of metal that can only be found here on Marsara. Now, only prolonged firing or direct melee attacks could damage the ship. The ship also has improved storage. We can keep more supplies in there. The med bay is restocked and improved…and the toilet too.”

            “Finally! I cannot get used to a toilet that smells like nature.” Markus complained.

            “Jaina, if you still insist on staying in the cargo hold, the area now has air-conditioning. The aliens looked into the ship cameras and noticed that you lived there. They found it odd that you’re staying there so that’s why the addition.”

            “Oh cool! No more unnecessary sweating then.” Jaina reacted.

            “It’s still a cargo hold. If you still want to make friends with the crates there, be my guest.” Reed retorted.

            “The weapons were also improved. Now the cannons are capable of homing onto enemy ships and a new laser weaponry is included to deal with enemies with rip or force fields.” Jaden continued. “And by far the biggest change is to the hyperdrive generator. I should let Reed explain.”

            “The ship’s hyperdrive generator has been replaced with an FTL generator, Faster-Than-Light by the way. Now the ship can almost instantaneously warp from planet to planet without the generator losing energy and being forced to cool down after each use. That means, no more waiting for days just to reach a planet far into the distance!” Reed exclaimed with seeming joy.

            “Sounds too fucking good to be true. Is there a catch?” Kida asked.

            “Actually, there is. The ship can only warp to places with an FTL node deployed in space and since we Salvagers were hostile with the aliens, there is no FTL node near Dissidia. That means we can’t just jump directly to Dissidia. Instead, we will jump to a planet nearest to Dissidia that has a node and fly to Dissidia from there, which would probably take a while. Still better than the old hyperdrive generator.”

            “Do the non-alien ships have it?” Gavin asked.

            “Yes. The generator has a universal design so almost any ship can be installed with one. The aliens installed the FTL generator on all available ships during the one month wait. So, we could all jump to the node as one.” Jaden answered.

            “Right, like that wouldn’t bite them back in the ass if any wars were started with them once this is over.” Kida jested. “Well, at least they’re dedicated to this alliance at least.”

            “Alright, that’s all. Come on guys. Let’s get into the Crimson Spinner and join the fleet.” Jaden said, turning to the ship and walking in while gesturing at the rest to follow. Walking up the ramp, the crew were welcomed with the old sight of the ship’s interior, which remained the same despite the changes made to the ship. Jaden told her crew to get back to their usual quarters while she and Reed went to the cockpit.

            Jaina made a beeline for the cargo hold, where she usually resided during her time in the Crimson Spinner. Opening the door, she was greeted by the cold winds of the new air-conditioning, the cold making her feel at home as the snowy side of Mannihilate was nearly as cold. She approached a nearby crate and was about to sit on it until she saw a bushy object poking out from another stack of crates. For some reason, it resembled a tail to her. She approached it and realized that her assumption was correct.

            “Jaden, what’s your horse doing in my cargo hold?” Jaina asked through the intercom. Jaden chuckled and replied, “Lucky’s a big animal Jaina and the cargo has some extra space. I can’t leave him on Marsara because he’s my pet now. Besides, you could use the company.”

            “But I can’t look after him!” Jaina exclaimed.

            “I know. I’ll come down and see to him every once in a while. This trip will take a while so I should have time to come and brush or feed him. You will handle the social part of his caring, which shouldn’t be hard. You just stay there and look pretty in front of him.”

            “Fine. Just don’t leave me alone when he defecates in here!” she bellowed before cutting the transmission.

            “I’m sure she’ll enjoy that big piece of meat walking around in there.” Reed commented as he prepped the ship for lift off. Turning on the ship’s thrusters, he steadily brought the ship off the ground and directed it towards the exit. Pulling back the steering handle, he piloted it into space.

            Flying through all the layers of the planet’s atmosphere, the ship entered the void of space and was greeted with the sight of the rest of the fleet, forming up in one massive group.

            “Wow. That’s one big army we got. Iblisan’s got a hell of a surprise waiting for him.” Reed commented while Jaden’s nodded with awe in her face. She observed the fleet and noted many different ships, small and big with differing designs, coming together and assembling into formation. A warm smile formed on her face as a calming sense of satisfaction swept through her body, glad to see the different races working together and that she had a hand in the formation of this alliance.

            Reed flew the ship straight towards the fleet and positioned it between a pair of large dreadnaughts, recognizing them as the flagships of King Zian and Mistress Sierra. A dragon flew past the ship and Jaden immediately recognized it as King Zavron’s dragon form. Not too far from them were other flagships, holding the individual racial leaders.

            “This is The Dynasty to the Crimson Spinner. You guys ready?” the voice of Zian sounded on the ship’s speakers. Jaden replied, “We’ve been waiting a long time for this so yes. Let’s do this.”

            “Noted. All Liberator Alliance ships, prepare for a mass FTL jump to the Vulpes FTL node. That planet is the closest planet to Dissidia with an FTL node so we head there and begin our march. Let’s move!” Zian ordered.

            Complying with him, Reed powered up the ship’s FTL generator and set the destination to the planet Vulpes. The rest of the fleet followed and one by one, their engines began lighting up a brilliant blue glow.

            “On the bright side, the ship would only vibrate a little during the jump.” Reed commented.

            “Everyone, activate an FTL warp jump on my mark.” Zian said.

            Reed placed a hand on the jump button and waited in anticipation for Zian’s signal. Jaden watched his hand and waiting, her heart throbbing from the anticipation. She held on to a nearby chair, fearful of being tossed around during the jump despite Reed’s assurance that nothing bad will happen.

            Seconds flew and Zian exclaimed, “Mark!”

            Reed slammed the controls and in an instant, the ship accelerated forward at a massive speed. Jaden held to the chair with all her strength, although she was only barely shoved backward by the force. The ship vibrated with the magnitude of an earthquake and it was accelerating so quickly that the surrounding areas appeared distorted to Jaden’s eyes. The ship lighting flickered on and off, the energy output too massive for the ship to maintain.

            “This…is…awesome!” Reed managed through the intense vibration. His hands never left the controls, though the vibration may be stopping him from moving.

            Seconds later, the ship reached the planet Vulpes and came to stop almost instantly. Jaden and Reed were pushed forward by the sudden stop but were barely lifted off the floor.

            “Is everyone alright?” Jaden spoke through the intercome.

            “I heard no one screaming so everyone’s fine.” Lucas answered.

            “Vader?” Jaden asked.

            “Our systems did not suffer any damage from the jump. This unit is unharmed.” Vader replied.

            “Jaden, I could use some help here.” Jaina requested. “The jump caused your horse to lose balance. He toppled on top of me and now, he wouldn’t get off me!”

            Jaden chuckled and replied, “Just tickle his belly. He usually stands up after that.” Seconds later, Jaina answered back, “Hey that worked.”

            Suddenly, a loud, thunderous noise was heard, which was followed by several other similar noises. Jaden looked out through the windscreen and saw the rest of the fleet, appearing one after another from their FTL jumps. The noise that followed as the ships appeared was so loud that she felt like a storm was coming. It ceased once the last ship arrived.

            “Everyone, turn to Dissidia and let’s get this show on the road!” Zian ordered. Reed turned the ship towards Dissidia and flew forward with the rest of the fleet following behind.

            “Well, it’s time Jaden. We’re on our way to face the gates of hell. Let’s hope this trip is just as smooth as the jump.”

            “Me too Reed.” Jaden said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ve been through a lot together. Let’s make it count.”

*     *     *

            Hours have come and pass. The Alliance fleet was about halfway through their journey to Dissidia, yet they have not encountered any cultist fleets or dark angel flocks. Jaden was seated next to Reed in the cockpit and stared into the dark void, waiting patiently for anything exciting to happen.

            “Unless Iblisan has finally grown a brain and realized we’re too good to be stopped, I’m amazed he hasn’t sent anyone to intercept us.” Reed said out of the blue.

            “I suspect an ambush coming ahead. Iblisan is known for being aggressive so this amount of silence has ambush written all over it.”

            “Or maybe he decided to dedicate the rest of his fleet to Dissidia’s defense. They may be waiting for us there rather than attacking us directly.”

            “Maybe. Sitting here making assumptions won’t do much though.”

            Suddenly, a massive superheated slug appeared from out of nowhere and flew straight towards the Crimson Spinner. Reed, shocked by the sight, panicked and quickly tilted the ship, dodging the slug which hit the alien flagship’s shields.

            “What the hell?” Reed exclaimed. He looked back at where the slug came from and saw more of them flying towards the fleet. Trying to save the ship, Reed retreated back into the fleet, finding cover behind the alien fleet’s shields.

            “What’s going on? These slugs are coming out of thin air!” Elder Darkcaller, Vael’Luas, shouted through the speakers.

            “The enemy is using cloaking technology!” Zian replied.

            “What? Where in the hell do they get such technology?” Vael queried.

            “No time to find out. Open fire!” Zian shouted. Hearing his orders, the fleet began firing towards the source of the slugs. Tareshah, who was stationed at the Crimson Spinner’s guns, fired blindly into space where the slugs were coming from. Most of the fleet’s shots missed but several hit cloaked ships, which ignited and exploded. However, long before anymore damage could be done, the alien fleet’s shields began to fail and several slugs penetrated it, destroying ships from the Alliance.

            “We can’t keep shooting at them blindly like this! We need something to disable their cloaking field!” Grand Shaman, Yoren Windcaller, suggested.

            “Only an EMP blast could do it and we’re lacking it!” Zian replied.

            Jaden remained at her seat, worried about the situation the fleet was in. “Reed, we have to do something! The enemy is starting to tear us apart!”

            “I can’t! I don’t have any EMP weapons!”

            “Jaden Highland. Jaden Highland.” Vader spoke through the intercom.

            “What is it Vader?”

            “We have reinforcements approaching.”

            Jaden remained silent, unsure on what he meant. Suddenly, a massive bolt of electrical energy flew towards the invisible enemy fleet and exploded, creating a massive electrical field which short-circuited the enemy cloaking field. The enemy fleet was revealed and the blast disabled their weapons, halting their fire. Several more EMP blasts moved in, revealing the rest of the fleet.

            “Who’s doing that?” Zian asked.

            “I think I know.” Jaden replied. She stared at the source of the EMP blasts and noticed a huge fleet of white ships in the distance, closing in and revealing their design to be similar to the robots that piloted them.

            “This is Rex of the VX Synthetic. We are here to assist the Liberator Alliance.”

            “Holy crap! Did I just hear that? The VX Synthetics are helping us?” Vael asked.

            “You heard right Vael. The VX Synthetics are throwing their lot with us.” Jaden answered.

            The EMP blast did not disable the enemy fleet for long, however, and seconds later, the enemy renewed their assault upon both the Alliance and VX Synthetic fleets. Enemy fighters and dark angels began advancing towards both fleets, no longer hidden under the now defunct cloaking field generator.

             “All batteries unload!”

            “All AI units, attack the enemy!”

            “For the Herd!”

            “Fire in Ariel’s name!”

            “For Marsara!”

            Joining in the bellowing, Jaden shouted her own orders, “For the Alliance! Fire all!”

            The fleets discharged and a massive number of projectiles with a brilliant combination of colors flew between the cultist, the VX Synthetics and the Alliance fleets. Fighters moved in to combat their enemies and the dark angel collided with the dragons in melee and magic combat. Tareshah shot down several dark angels and enemy fighters, enjoying the seemingly endless shooting range she was in. The chaos was overwhelming and Jaden could not help but feel an adrenaline rush within her that kept her excited.

            An alarm sounded and Reed checked the emergency cameras. Through it, he saw a winged humanoid, armed with a sword, emerging from a hole in the ship and walking within the ship.

            “Guys! We’ve got a hull breach! A dark angel is in my ship!”

            Noting his words, Jaden ran out of the cockpit while unsheathing her katana. Unbeknown to her, the dark angel was right outside and stopped herself in time to block an attack attempted by the dark angel. The duo exchanged sword slashes before the dark angel pushed her into a wall with Kinetic Energies. Before he could finish her off, bullets flew past him and he turned to see Jaina and Vader shooting at him.

            His wings, which seemed be hardened by some kind of Magical Energy, blocked the shots and he used the same Kinetic spell to push them back. Before he could turn back to Jaden, he felt several soft tentacles wrapping his neck and strangling him. Jaden, who maintained the casting of Dark Tentacles, tightened the grip while blocking attacks from the struggling dark angel. Eventually, his movements weakened and not long later, he dropped to the ground, dead.

            Just when she thought it was over, she looked up to see two more dark angels, charging at her. Jaina and Vader assembled next to her and prepared themselves for combat. They fired at the dark angels while Jaden charged in with her sword enchanted with Dark Energies. She traded shots with both dark angels and was able to cut the arm of one of them before he was viciously shot down by Vader and Jaina.

            During the scuffle, Kida, who complained about the noise, arrived in time to see Jaden locked in combat with the dark angel. She summoned forth A’trus Hathgrave, who slashed his axe across the dark angel’s exposed back before Jaden electrocuted him, killing him after prolonged electrocution.

            Before they had a chance to rest, another dark angel charged in. Jaden brought up her sword, prepared for him. However, the dark angel stopped in his tracks while screaming in pain. He fell onto the floor, revealing his killer who was standing behind him.

            “Is that a siren?” Kida asked.

            “Reed Robinson sent a telepathic call for help to my goddess, Asura. I am here to help ward off the dark angel assailants.” the siren explained.

            “I didn’t know Reed was still capable of telepathy.” Jaina commented.

            “Well, he still has his Omega Energies.” Kida replied.

            A few loud roars came from behind the siren and she turned in time to see three dark angels charging at her. She retreated back to Jaden’s side and readied her spear.

            “Let us do battle!” the siren exclaimed.

            The dark angels clashed with the siren and her crew. During the exchange, Lucas, Markus and Gavin joined in and the numbers, quickly overwhelming the invading dark angels.

            “Hey Jaden! Get back in here! Your buddy Rex needs to talk to you!” Reed shouted from the cockpit. She acknowledged it and ran back in.

            “Jaden Highland, the enemy fleet is almost done repairing their cloaking field generator and will reactivate it once they’re done.”

            “Can’t you just EMP the hell out of them again?”

            “Our EMP cannons use a substantial amount of energy and should we fire again, our ship systems will be disabled. Our sensors indicate that the enemy has more than one cloaking field generator and these must be destroyed.

            “How do we know which ship has it?” Reed asked.

            “The big ones that has ‘shoot at me!’ written all over it.” Rex answered. Jaden looked back at the enemy fleet and saw three massive dreadnaughts that dwarfed other big ships.

            “Why not just tell Reed to shoot them?” Jaden questioned.

            “I haven’t finished yet. Those ships have an advanced form of force field which can stop even laser shots. Reed will need to fly in while you use your Magical Energies to mentally assault the humans in charge of the cloaking field generator.”

            “You seriously want me to fly in, avoid thousands of slugs, plunging into the ranks of the fleet, kill the generator operator and come back out alive?” Reed retorted.

            “You’re the best pilot in the world, are you not?” Rex asked.

            Reed nodded and replied, “You’re right. Come on Jaden! Let’s kill some of these bastards!” He activated the Crimson Spinner’s boosters and accelerated straight towards the enemy fleet.

            Reed steered the ship at seeming random directions, dodging slugs and missiles and ramming dark angels that attempted to intercept him. Jaden remain seated with her seatbelt on, aware that the trip will get bumpy.

            “Lad, what are you doing? Why are we far from the rest of the fleet?” Tareshah complained through the intercom.

            “We’re moving out of the frying pan and into the fire!” Reed jested.

            “You’re crazy but I like this! I’ve never had so much fun in my life! Keep moving! I don’t mind dying with a smile in my face!”

            “Oh you have a pretty smile so that’s a good thing.”

            Once Reed was closing in on one of the massive ships, he told Jaden, “You can start anytime now Jaden.”

            Jaden closed his eyes and struggled against the noise and the shaking to shut off her senses. She relaxed herself, ignoring the chaos around her, and slowing down her breaths. Reed looked back and forth between her and the windscreen, noticing that she was struggling with her transition to a meditative trance. Eventually, she succeeded and the first thing she heard was the swift heartbeats and frantic thoughts of everyone around the Crimson Spinner.

            Directing her mind reading to the nearby massive ships, Jaden read through the crew’s mind, trying to single out the person in charge of activating the cloaking field generator.

            “…those guys better get these generators activated or we’re screwed…” she heard a human saying in his mind. She lashed out a telepathic assault upon his mind, causing him to suffer from an excruciatingly painful headache.

            “Destroy the cloaking field generator.” Jaden telepath the cultist.

            “No! Why should I?” he resisted. Jaden renewed her attack and the cultist gave in, taking out a grenade and pulling the safety pin, much to the shock of his fellows who ran and find cover. The resulting explosion killed the cultist and destroyed the cloaking field generator.

            “This generator’s destroyed.” Jaden telepath Reed.

            “Good. Two more to go.” he replied.

            Reed flew the Crimson Spinner to the other two ships and repeated the process, forcing the cultists to destroy their cloaking field generators through mental lashing. Reed then pulled the ship out of the enemy fleet, dodging slugs fired at them in the process.

            “The cloaking field generators are destroyed! We must retreat!” Jaden heard a cultist said in his thoughts. Indeed, the enemy ships began to pull back, some of them warp jumping out of the area.

            “The enemy is retreating! We are victorious!” Zian announced to the rest of the fleet. Muffled cheers followed his announcement before the transmission was cut.

            Reed cheered, “We kick ass Jaden! Dissidia is next!” as he tapped Jaden’s shoulder just as she was about to phase out of her meditative trance.

            “That was a glorious battle!”

            “If that’s all they got, Iblisan is in trouble!”

            “No one can stand against us united!”

            “Nothing can stop us now!”

            Cheers were heard from the ship’s intercom and Jaden’s crew, who chased away several invading dark angels, began cheering in victory.

            “I can’t believe we made it. I thought flying straight into the enemy fleet is suicide!” Jaden commented while struggling to breath.

            “Have faith Jaden! You’ve got the best pilot in the world flying this old baby!” Reed jested. Jaden turned to him with a smile and gripped his hands. “You sir are really something.” she told him.

            “Jaden Highland.” Vader said as he marched into the cockpit. “My apologies for cutting your celebration short but I have important information for you.”

            “Spit it out Vader.”

            “I have completed a massive scan of the biosignatures of the enemies within the fleet. From the results, I have concluded that one of the fighter pilots was a cultist who accompanied Dark Viper when he killed your family. The pilot is breaking off from the main fleet and according to the direction in which the ship is moving, it is heading straight to the planet, Ravencrest.”

            “Wait, Ravencrest? Viper’s hideout is there.” Reed said.

            “What? Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jaden questioned him.

            “I know his hideout is somewhere in that planet but after all this time, I totally forget where exactly is it. We ought to follow that fighter pilot, who’s probably retreating back to his master’s lair. We can deal with Viper right there!”

            “This unit agrees. This is a good time for us to eliminate Dark Viper.” Vader added.

            “Wait!” Jaden exclaimed, remembering Dementius’s vision that requires Viper’s survival. However, she knew that neither Reed nor Vader was aware of the vision. “We can’t attack him yet! What if he’s expecting us to come?” Jaden said, trying to find an excuse not to follow the cultist.

            “Aww come on Jaden. That sucker has been hunting us a lot. Now’s the time to give him a taste of his own medicine!” Reed protested. Vader nodded, agreeing with him.

            “What about the rest of the fleet?”

            “I’ll handle it.” Reed reassured her. He proceeded to send a transmission to the rest of the leaders and told them, “Hey fellas, we spotted a cultist affiliated with Dark Viper who’s retreating back to his master. You guys can go ahead and advance towards Dissidia. We’ll follow that pilot and deal with Viper.”

            “Are you sure you do not need any assistance?” Zian asked.

            “Hey, we got Jaden with us. Why should we need any more help?” Reed replied.

            “Alright. Good luck Crimson Spinner. We’ll regroup at Dissidia. Do us a favor and make sure Dark Viper’s death is as painful as all the suffering he has caused.”

            “You can trust Jaden with that.” Reed reassured him. Vader then updated the ship with the coordinates of the cultist’s fighter and Reed, without hesitation, steered the ship towards it. Though the fighter was too far to be seen, the fighter’s coordinates helped in guiding Reed towards it.

            While Reed followed the fighter, Jaden send a telepathic message to Blake Mason, who was leading the Veraslag and bounty hunter ships. “Mason, you getting what Reed was saying?”

            “Yeah. You and your crew are going to assault Dark Viper.”

            “What should I do? Viper isn’t supposed to die first right?”

            “Listen Jaden, just go along with it. Once you encounter Dark Viper, try to capture him rather than kill him. And don’t worry. I doubt anyone but you could kill him.”

            “Alright Mason. Wish me luck.”

            “Already did.”

*     *     *

            About an hour later, the Crimson Spinner arrived at the grey planet of Ravencrest. With the fighter in sight, Reed followed it as it landed on the planet’s barren lands. Trying to avoid being spotted, Reed landed the ship in an opening within a nearby forest. While lowering the ship, he caught a glimpse of the pilot, who left his fighter, took out his rifle and approached the Crimson Spinner.

            “Damn! He spotted us. We may need to capture and interrogate him. Or scan his memories if you’re willing to do it Jaden.” Reed told her. “Wait, scratch that. He’s under Viper. He should’ve been trained to resist memory scanning. I should know.”

            “Well then, let’s head out and get him to tell us then.” Jaden said.

            Once the ship landed, Reed walked out of the cockpit, claiming that he kept his rifle somewhere else in the ship. Jaden, thinking that she should wait for Reed outside, walked past Vader, stopping when she heard a loud beep coming from him.

            “Vader, what was that?” she asked. However, Vader remained silent. She nudged him and asked, “Vader, are you alright?” noticing that he was not moving at all. Jaden moved to his front and noticed that his flashlight eyes were lighting green rather than his usual white.

            “Vader?” she asked.

            Suddenly, a mechanical, distorted voice sounded, coming from Vader.

            “It’s time!”

            Vader reached out and gripped Jaden’s neck, strangling her. She held his metallic arm, too startled to react.

            “Vader…what are you…doing?” she managed while choking. However, Vader did not react and he continued to strangle her.

            Attempting to defend herself, she shocked Vader with a burst of Dark Lightning but ceased her casting when he released her, unwilling to hurt her friend.

            “Vader! What do you think you’re…” before she could finish, Vader charged his hand with electricity and pinched her neck, stunning her with a small amount of electricity. She screamed from the pain, unable to react while being electrocuted. He then released her seconds later, causing her to drop onto her knees. A long line of wires extended out of his hands and he began tying Jaden’s wrists and ankles together with it.

            “Jaden! What’s wrong? Why are you screaming?” Markus asked as he and Lucas ran into the cockpit.

            Jaden looked up at them as they watched Vader tying her up.

            “Guys…don’t just stand there…stop him!” Jaden managed. However, the duo did not react and they merely looked at her.

            “Vader…is it time?” Lucas asked.

            “Yes. This unit requires assistance restraining Jaden Highland. Our master expects her soon.” Vader replied. Acknowledging him, Markus held Jaden down while Lucas proceeded to tie Jaden’s ankles.

            “Markus? Lucas?” Jaden asked, shocked to learn that she was betrayed. Reinvigorated from the anger of such a dark revelation, Jaden began struggling, head butting Markus and kicking Lucas. She then fought against her wrist restraints, kicking Vader in the process but before she could free herself, Markus electrocuted her with a brief burst of Dark Lightning, weakening her once again.

            “What is with all that fucking noise?” Kida screamed from her quarters. “Is something wrong Jaden? I’m coming.”

            “Markus, Vader and I will deal with this. You keep the others away from us. The fighter pilot should arrive soon.” Lucas ordered.

            Markus nodded and walked out of the cockpit, approaching Kida who just arrived.

            “Markus?” Kida asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

            With a smirk, Markus began charging his hands with electrical Dark Energies. Confused by his seeming hostility, Kida backed away before hearing a scream coming from the cockpit.

            “Kida! Help!”