Salvation

by voroshilov

Prophecy

“The Rift is stretching,” Ablazed Glory mumbled, “I can hear it straining.”

They had entered the Rift an hour earlier, their destination set to the planet from the Glow Sisters’ nightmare. Rift journeys of ten minutes were considered long, so when they had hit the half an hour mark Penumbra had gotten worried.

“Gravitational wave density one-third percent over base.” Astrid was manning the instruments, passing pieces of information Penumbra presumed were important to Ablazed Glory. “Gamma radiation density nine percent over base.”

Ablazed Glory sat up slightly. “Tell me when it’s fifteen or more.”

There was a three second silence before Astrid spoke again. “Fifteen percent over base.”

The flaming alicorn straightened fully. “Alright everyone, we’re going to be exiting the Rift shortly, get ready.”

Penumbra was concerned about what they would find when they arrived. Whatever they would be facing had made the Dauxite Assembly worried, as well as somehow greatly extending their journey through the Rift. Hopefully whatever it was would not be the first thing they encountered.

Exiting the Rift, they beheld a world visibly unchanged. It was the same old featureless grey rock, floating silently in space, orbiting a red star - little more than a dot in the distance.

“Now where to?” Ablazed Glory asked, looking out into the mesmerising emptiness of the Great Void.

Penumbra thought for a moment, recalling the vision the Glow Sisters had shared with them. “Can you find out where we landed last time?”

Ablazed Glory snapped her gaze to Penumbra. “I think so,” she said, with a shrug, “why?”

Penumbra nodded. “Take us about a kilometre out from that village. I have a feeling that’s where we’ll find our target.”

“You planning on starting a fight?”

“You not?”

Ablazed Glory chuckled. “Well, get ready then. Let’s give this a go.”

At Penumbra’s insistence, the Retaliator entered the atmosphere slowly, obscured by clouds and the horizon from the village they had visited days previously. From there, they proceeded slowly, close to the ground and with engines venting steadily. Once they were a little over a kilometre from their initial landing point, they came to a stop, their landing expedited by their low velocity.

Internally, Penumbra debated leaving the Glow Sisters behind. They were just ordinary unicorns, ones that didn’t appear to have any experience fighting no less. Although, it wasn’t like they’d be able to defend themselves aboard the Retaliator if it came to it.

Their armour, which they equipped for the first time, didn’t suit them. They also had no weapons, with Penumbra simply assuming that the rest of the group would do the fighting for them. She planned to keep them at the back of the group, probably shielded by either Astrid or Cain - with the WarSynth probably being the better bet, given Astrid wielded a sword.

Penumbra informed her comrades that magical sight wouldn’t help at their distance, something was blocking her out, like a fog covering the entire planet. With resounding conviction, the group advanced, arranged to protect the Glow Sisters. They walked for little more than a minute before Cain spoke up.

“I am detecting life signs,” it said, “several are not of the planet’s original inhabitants. I believe there are hostiles.”

That was enough to get the group into battle mode. Ablazed Glory and Penumbra formed the vanguard, with Astrid following close behind. The Archon did not unsheath her sword, though kept her left palm on its pommel as she ran. Penumbra, meanwhile, drew and activated her weapon, suspending it ahead of her with her magic.

Crossing the ridgeline, they came across the village they had visited previously. Its buildings were intact, though at least half of its population lay dead in the streets, with the remaining half formed into two neat rows, seemingly enraptured by something Penumbra couldn’t see. Scattered around them were bipedal creatures, cloaked all in black, their distinguishing features concealed.

Their leader was obvious. It was an odd creature, without any legs to speak of, but with a thick, muscular torso and heavyset arms. It too was cloaked, though its cloak was smaller, covering the head entirely, leaving only four small white dots for eyes visible, as well as most of the torso, but with its arms and hands free to grasp its ebony black scythe. In the place of legs, it had a shimmering field of purple energy, allowing it to apparently float.

“A Herald,” the Glow Sisters chorused in a whisper, “a Herald of THE END.”

“Is it hostile?” Penumbra asked, more than ready to charge it.

“Ghosts that leave only ghosts.”

Astrid clarified for them, “yes, definitely.”

That was all she needed to hear.

With a roar, Ablazed Glory jumped from their minor cover on the ridge, haloed by flaming magical needles. Penumbra followed suit, sword and magical shield at the ready. In their place stepped Cain, its Assembly rifle taking only a second to fire off a withering hail of energetic red bolts. Astrid kept the Glow Sisters close, her psionic senses taking precedence over her material eyes.

All but one of the fully cloaked figures lay dead before Ablazed Glory and Penumbra could reach them, their crumpled bodies faintly smoking, with holes driven clean through their chests. The final survivor was impaled by a dozen of Ablazed Glory’s needles, their cloak catching alight in an instant. They collapsed into a flaming heap, all life instantly extinguished.

The Herald of THE END, however, seemed unharmed. A trio of Cain’s bolts came close to impacting it, but seemed to simply vanish just before they could do so. It let out a high-pitched growl, shifting itself to face Penumbra, who charged it with sword and shield.

Its scythe impacted her shield, cracking the magical implement slightly. Had that point of impact been her body, it might have incapacitated her. Apparently, its brawn was not just for show.

It also did not take precedence over brains either, as it spun its scythe around in its fingers to catch a strike from her sword, which would have opened Penumbra to a dangerous parry had she been wielding the weapon in her claws.

The Herald would be a tough opponent, but Penumbra had the advantage of numbers and likely the advantage of overall power. Both herself and her opponent were new to each other, she knew nothing about its fighting style just as it knew nothing about hers. Fortunately for Penumbra, she was a quick thinker, able to adapt her style and build a good mental picture of her opponent’s within moments.

She predicted it would strike out with its scythe again, this time focusing on her sword. Sure enough, it did just so, arcing the scythe upwards, aiming for the handle of her sword. Seemingly, it did not know the difference between a telekinetic field and an actual hand.

Rather than let her sword be damaged unnecessarily, she launched her shield against the top of the scythe’s hilt. With the lightning speed available to her magic, she threw the Herald’s attack off course before it could hit its mark. Her sword already well positioned, with the Herald’s torso right below it, she pressed the advantage, plunging the glowing blue blade into the creature.

With a hiss, a plume of what appeared to be steam rose from the wound. The creature twitched slightly, as if in pain, but did not seem to weaken. It spun itself, attempting to pry the sword from Penumbra’s grip - but again failed to make the distinction between telekinesis and flesh. Before it could finish its turn, Penumbra struck at its face, using her shield like a discus.

The impact staggered the Herald, eliciting another high-pitched growl. Rather than press the advantage, Penumbra held back, waiting to see the Herald’s next move.

It remained staggered for another ten seconds, though it was clear from how it moved it was attempting to bait her into attacking. Penumbra nearly chuckled, the creature was pretty smart.

Eventually, it realised its tactic wouldn’t work. Yet, its next move still came as a momentary shock to Penumbra: with a sudden burst of speed, it launched both itself and its scythe towards her. Only her enhanced senses, coupled with the distance at which she kept her weapons in a guard, saved her from being flung backwards like a ragdoll.

A hole about the diameter of her leg was punched through the centre of her shield on the impact. Fortunately, the magic held it in place, cushioning much of the Herald’s blow. Its moment of static was exploited by Ablazed Glory, who launched a wall of flaming needles into its back. As it contorted to try and face her comrade, Penumbra struck again, driving her sword through the lower back of its head.

With a shriek, the creature spasmed and tried to escape downwards, only for Penumbra’s sword to carve clean through the rest of its head. To its credit, the Herald kept moving, freeing itself from Penumbra’s sword and impacting the ground. Once down, it attempted to scuttle away, though its lack of head made it simply spin wildly for a moment. With another shriek, it contorted violently once more, before curling up into a ball - dead.

“Well,” Ablazed Glory said, throwing a final needle like a dart into the creature’s cloaked heap of a corpse, “that wasn’t too hard.”

Penumbra snorted. “Easy for you to say,” she said, melting down her magical shield and returning it to her body, “you weren’t the one it was going for.”

Astrid and the Glow Sisters crested the ridge line, the Archon’s head still bowed and eyes still closed. The Glow Sisters were casting worried glances to the dead Herald, whilst Astrid looked to be in a trance, random patches of her skin shifting from its usual marble white to red and blue.

“There is one alive,” Cain called out, gesturing with its rifle to one of the local tribespeople, who was seizing on the ground.

“What the hell?” Ablazed Glory kept her distance but still observed the creature closely. “What’s the matter with them?”

Cain got closer, grasping the side of the tribesperson’s head with its left hand, long, thin fingers trapping them like a cage. “The Herald of THE END appears to have maintained a hold on their mind. They will die in seconds. I will download their memory.”

An almost invisible blue wire emerged from Cain’s hand. It wormed its way inside the tribesperson’s ear, making Ablazed Glory gag at the imagery. Barely a few seconds later, it emerged, the tribesperson silent and still.

Cain rose and took a few steps towards Penumbra, who was still partially observing the Herald of THE END. “The inhabitants of this village were mind-controlled. Along with many more from fifteen other planets. Half were killed as sacrifice, whilst the other half would be taken for sacrifice elsewhere. This cult is highly organised - they coordinate very much like a professional military force.”

“Do we know where that elsewhere is?” Penumbra asked, her eyes still on the cloaked heap in front of her.

“Affirmative, the connection with the Herald has allowed access to much of its own memory. The cultists’ current base is on a planet they identify as Mordam, located two parsecs from our current location. Using the information provided, I have acquired the planet’s coordinates.”

“Well then,” Penumbra said, prying herself from the Herald’s body, “let’s get going.”

Astrid’s eyes opened and her skin ceased shifting. “The Herald,” she said, “it felt unusual.”

Penumbra was suddenly curious. “How so?”

“Part of it was alive,” Astrid said, “part of it was not. I believe they were living creatures that have been somehow reanimated.”

“Zombies?” Ablazed Glory questioned.

Astrid chuckled and shook her head. “No. They’re not living anymore. Imagine a corpse providing the chassis for a robot. The biotic part gives the material and the abiotic part gives the movement and control.”

“Space zombies.” Ablazed Glory threw another needle at the Herald’s corpse. “Of course they’re space zombies.”