Vigilia Fidelis 8: Duty
Checking herself in the mirror one last time, Hannah adjusted her uniform tie ever so slightly. She had to be perfect.
"Ah, look at you, luv. Proper perfect. Don't get the collywobbles, yeah? The President's probably gonna give you another shiny bit o' tin or bump you up a rung for all the graft you've put in. Nothin' to be nervous about, is there? You'll do grand.”
Hannah turned to see Duke grinning at her from her bathroom door. He was dressed to the nines in his navy blue suit and waistcoat. She walked over, heels clicking against the tile, to adjust his own suit slightly. “Or imprison me for cutting a deal with the Rat King and Farasha. I submitted a report letting her know we’d be working together, but…well, she’s a Cryo Vision Holder, Duke. Your kind don’t tend to be very flexible when it comes to your own Ambitions.”
“Lumpin' me in with the President herself? Cor, steady on, luv. You know me—I'm a laid-back sort. Surely old Costa-Brown ain't got the hump with you. Nah. Just that frosty old Mona.”
That made Hannah smile slightly. “Mona Lisa?”
Duke grinned at her and wagged his tail. "See? We'll make a proper East End girl outta you yet, luv. That's it. Now come 'ere, give us a kiss, an' let's get our plates o' meat movin', eh?"
On impulse, Hannah grabbed Duke by his lapels and lifted him up off his feet, then stuck her tongue in his mouth. Duke let out a muffled gasp of shock, but quickly put his arms around her and played a rousing round of tongue hockey with her.
“Damn, now I’ll need to redo my lipstick,” Hannah said, setting Duke down and quickly wiping off the smudges and reapplying it.
“Blimey,” Duke panted, adjusting his suit, tail wagging furiously. “Gonna have to ask you for a kiss more often, ain't I?”
“Let’s just hope they don’t Slug us both so we forget it,” Hannah said, turning to wipe the red gloss off Duke’s lips, then adjust his suit. “Come on. We can’t keep the Leader of the Free World waiting.”
"An' 'ere was me thinkin' that were you, an' not them devils up in Grand Columbia,” Duke chuckled.
Hannah felt a slight pang. If the leadership of Cauldron really had been corrupted by the Abyss…no. Alexandria had it under control. She was the hero that Hannah had looked up to all her life. The strongest human alive, still fighting against the Cycle, the Archons, and the Abyss.
She still didn’t have Doormaker permissions, so Hannah had to wait for her door to appear, as she’d been instructed. She told herself it wasn’t a sign that a gothic door with iron bars on it appeared for her. The doors were always random, and rarely matched the decor.
She walked into the new Oval Office, which had the Great Seal of Columbia on the floor. The seal itself depicted a silver bald eagle facing to the left, and a bronze beaver facing to the right, the North Star above them and a shield depicting a city with stars above it and the rising sun over the wilderness, and a scroll bearing the words “Humanitas Invicta, Caelum Defians” unfurled across the bottom of the seal.
Humanity unconquered, against the Heavens.
Hannah would have preferred something about casting light into the Darkness. Perhaps the Lightkeepers needed a pretentious Latin motto. Later. That was the sort of thing you created when you had too much time during peace.
As she had expected, Hannah saw the President sitting behind a large rosewood desk that had been hand carved by the finest craftsmen in the new nation in the same style as the old Resolute Desk in the White House. What she did not expect, however, were the members of the press, along with Narwhal, Myriddin, and several other prominent capes in uniform.
As soon as Hannah and Duke stepped out of the door, Alexandria stood and began to applaud with a winning smile on her lips. The other capes present clapped as well, and cameras flashed in Hannah’s face. She was suddenly extremely grateful that she had taken the time to do her hair and makeup properly as the message from the President had told her to do. All Alexandria’s summons had said was to come to her office at 10:00 this morning dressed to impress.
It had been almost a month since Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Abyssal incursions remained down globally. There had been a few assaults on the Gates of Death in the Kuril Islands, and small flare-ups in Mexico, Brazil, and West Africa. Minor incursions only, which local teams of Lightkeepers on station had quickly dealt with. Most of Hannah’s command was still resting and recovering, and Hannah herself was trying to find room for half a million refugees.
Despite her weariness, Hannah grinned for the cameras and saluted, then shook Alexandria’s hand when the President stepped around the desk.
“I didn’t realize you’d invited the whole circus,” Hannah said quietly.
“Mmm, I suppose I did,” Alexandria said, still grinning. She was dressed in her usual white hero uniform with golden epaulets and buttons. Then she frowned and touched the twin eagles on Hannah’s collar. “You’re out of uniform.”
Hannah blinked, then frowned down at her rank insignia, before checking her salad board. There were the ribbons for the Polish, Finnish, and Kazak campaigns, as well as ribbons for facing the S9 and several Endbringer fights, including the much coveted Leviathan ribbon from the Madid Battle in ‘98.
Hannah thought the ones who coveted that ribbon were idiots. That had been the bloodiest Christmas Hannah could remember, with tens of thousands dead as the Manzanares river overflowed its banks and the Leviathan had smashed the city. They had thought the creature would only attack coastal cities. How wrong they had been.
I wonder, could I defeat the Leviathan now? Hannah pondered to herself.
I could run a simulation, if you so desire, Armory offered. Your odds of victory as you are now are only 28.7%.
Hannah ignored the offer and focused on the President’s comment. “I apologize, ma’am, I’m not sure I see the issue.”
“I think I have it here,” Alexandria said, and an aide handed her a small wooden box, from which she produced a pair of silver stars.
Hannah could only gape in astonishment, as the President herself unpinned the eagles, and replaced them with the stars of a brigader general. When she was finished, she stepped back and saluted. “Congratulations, General Jones.”
Hannah hastily returned the salute, her chest swelling with pride. General? She’d never even dreamed of attaining that kind of rank! Hell, when she’d joined the Protectorate, there hadn’t even been parahumans in the formal military command structure!
“Thank you, ma’am. I will do my best to live up to the solemn Duty and responsibilities of my rank, and to uphold the Articles of the Hegemony, as I swore to do so when I put on this uniform.”
“I’m sure you will, General,” Alexandria agreed, lowering her hand. Then, she was given another box, and Alexandria opened it up.
Hannah’s breath caught. Within it was a golden metal in the shape of a Cross of Saint George, with the image of Lady Liberty stamped upon it, crowned by maple leaves. Under it was a scroll with a simple word upon it: VALOR.
Alexandria turned her gaze towards a teleprompter at the back of the office, and began to read.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NORTH AMERICAN HEGEMONY
IN THE NAME OF A GRATEFUL HUMANITY
AWARDS THE CROSS OF VALOR TO
Colonel Hannah Jones
Protectorate Lightkeeper Command
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of her life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer of Protectorate Expeditionary Forces during combat operations against the Abyss in and around Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on 11 September 2006.
As the final battle against the Abyss reached its climax, Colonel Jones commanded a coalition force that had suffered devastating losses over the course of a year-long campaign. Despite overwhelming enemy strength, mounting casualties among both Protectorate capes and PRT personnel, and the imminent threat posed by the Abyssal entity designated Apep, Colonel Jones personally directed the assault that shattered the enemy's forces and broke the Abyssal offensive. Repeatedly exposing herself to hostile fire, she engaged the enemy's strongest assets at close range, employing her powers to devastating effect while coordinating the actions of Protectorate heroes across a city-wide battlefield. During the fighting, she sustained grievous injuries when struck by the enemy but refused evacuation, returning immediately to the fight and continuing to direct combat operations from the front.
When an extinction-level threat suddenly endangered both military personnel and civilians trapped within the combat zone, Colonel Jones instantly abandoned the opportunity for personal glory and ordered a full evacuation. With complete disregard for her own safety, she coordinated the withdrawal of allied forces while personally conducting rescue operations amid collapsing infrastructure and enemy attack. Remaining in the doomed city until the final moments, she directed the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians and personally rescued wounded soldiers while time ran out. Only after ensuring that every possible life had been saved did she withdraw. Her actions directly resulted in the survival of more than half a million civilians and countless members of the Protectorate and PRT.
Through her extraordinary heroism, indomitable leadership, and unwavering devotion to duty, Colonel Jones inspired all who served under her command and delivered the decisive victory that ended the Abyssal War. Her actions reflect the highest traditions of the Protectorate, the Parahuman Response Teams, and the United North American Hegemony.
For Humanity. Against the Heavens.
Presented this day by order of the President of the United North American Hegemony
Rebecca Costa-Brown
Hannah was too stunned to speak. Even as Alexandria finished reading, she hung the medal by its blue ribbon; Hannah couldn’t believe this was real. She felt her throat closing up from emotion and wanted to protest. It wasn’t her who deserved this medal: It was the men and women who hadn’t made it back, who had perished fighting against the Abyss. For Carol.
But, Hannah knew that to refuse this honor would be to dishonor those under her command who had given their lives. So, instead, tears trickling down her cheeks, she only stood still as President Alexandria and the other assembled PRT and Protectorate personnel saluted her.
This time, Hannah didn’t salute back. After all, those who had received her nation’s highest honor were not obligated to return the salute of another, but instead, as a symbol of Humanity’s triumph and valor, were themselves saluted.
A part of her knew that this was only a political move. That Alexandria was doing this as a political move and a PR opportunity. Hannah and the Lightkeepers were by far the most popular operation that the Hegemony was conducting, and Hannah was at least aware that every news station and blog on the North American Intranet was singing Hannah’s praises. Giving her the Cross of Valor was just putting the icing on the cake, even as the war dragged on.
Alexandria dropped the salute, and stepped in to give Hannah a hug. “Sorry for springing this on you. But it was just approved, and we’re doing a major recruiting push. I didn’t want to wait.”
“Does this bit of ribbon come with more men and supplies? I still have a war to wage,” Hannah asked, though she raised her voice so everyone could hear.
That brought laughter as she had hoped, and a large grin from Alexandria. “As a matter of fact, it does indeed. You’re a general now, and the Lightkeepers are being strengthened to a full Division. That means 5,000 PRT troopers and a full 500 capes under your command. Plus all the support personnel and logistics equipment. We’ll see to it that you’re given what you need to protect mankind from all alien menaces, General. Those Cyclists are still out there, and the Abyss lingers.
“I’ll see to it that we win this war, too, Madam President. You won’t regret this,” Hannah vowed.
Alexandria flashed her grin as the cameras snapped. “Good, then-”
The earth bucked and trembled, and a wave of power sent many people to their knees in cries of terror and pain.
BEHOLD, MORTALS! THE TIME OF YOUR TESTING IS AT HAND! I, THE BEHEMOTH, HAVE SEEN YOUR NEW CITY! I FIND IT WANTING! SEND FORTH YOUR GREATEST WARRIORS, THAT I MAY CRUSH THEM, AND PROVE THEM UNWORTHY!
Hannah and Alexandria didn’t even wait. Both of them raced for the nearest window, not even bothering to open it, and smashing through. Somehow, a few of the journalists were still on their feet, and managed to record it as Hannah transformed, her armor forming over her dress uniform in sleek green and amber, the President with her fluttering cape right at her side.
Not far behind her, Duke jumped out of the window and was caught by Narwhal on a disk of Crystal, the rest of the Protectorate Capes rushing out the broken window behind Hannah and the president.
“Armory! Get me a fix on the Behemoth! Ajaw, begin evacuation procedures, and coordinate EMS Services! Get Lightkeeper command, and have them start sending all available forces to Grand Columbia!” Hannah barked. “Duke! Get the PRT troopers organized, and begin evacuating civilians to the shelters that have been completed.”
Hannah paused, then blushed and winced, glancing over at Alexandria, who was laughing.
“No, no, please continue, General. This is, after all, why I promoted you,” the President said with a sparkle in her eyes. “Gives me more room to do what I do best.”
Hannah nodded a bit sheepishly, then looked down. There, right at the edge of the city, where highways and buildings were still being constructed, was the Behemoth. However, the beast had evolved yet again. It was even more massive than it had been when she had seen it in Houston, now overtopping 100 feet, even though it was on all fours, though its forelimbs were longer than the hind, and it walked on knuckles like an enormous pangolin. Its horns had gotten even longer, and the spikes even more like a thick carapace that entirely covered its body. The whole beast was amber colored, with runes and sigils of power that Hannah could feel in her soul.
And…something else. Hannah’s breath caught. The Amber Rook of Heaven. “Rebecca! He has the Geo Gnosis!”
Alexandria stopped in midair, and Hannah had to come to a halt beside her. The President had her eyes on the Behemoth, watching as it reared on on its hind legs, then brought its forelimbs crashing down, sending out a rippling wave of amber power that leveled entire blocks, spikes of geo crystals jutting up.
“You’re certain? It has the Gnosis?” Alexandria demanded, not taking her eyes of the Endbringer, which was bellowing more taunts that continued in the vein of “worthiness.”
“I…yes. I can…feel it. Or rather, I think Armory can. There’s an absolutely massive amount of Geo energy coming from it,” Hannah confirmed.
A slow grin spread on Alexandria’s face. “Well then. I think it’s time we gained our first major victory in this war. Are you with me, Miss Militia?”
“Always, Alexandria,” Hannah said, and lowered her visor, scanning the Behemoth. “It’s not carrying the Gnosis physically. It’s got it locked in Shard Space. It probably thinks we can’t access it there.”
“But you can access Shard Space. I’ve read the reports. Can you travel there now? If I engage and distract the Behemoth…could you retrieve the Gnosis?”
Hannah swallowed. “I can try, ma’am. But I’ve only got one small shard, the Behemoth has multiple powerful ones that he’s networked to. Plus whatever the Gnosis did.”
“Try. I’ll stop him myself, but if we can claim a Gnosis, that will change everything. Move out, General!” Alexandria ordered, then darted forward in a sonic boom, impacting the Behemoth several miles distant in an eyeblink.
There was nothing else to do. Hannah shifted her consciousness into Shard Space, into the world between worlds, and set her physical body on autopilot. It would bombard the Behemoth at a distance with various munitions to support Alexandria and give the appearance she was in the fight, but that wouldn’t quite be the reality.
Instead, she once more assumed control of Armory’s mass in the other dimension, and formed the body into one that resembled her own, clad in amber armor. Well, if she was as large as Mount Rushmore.
Have I gotten larger? She wondered.
You are gaining in data and energy output. As such, my mass within shard space increases. You have approximately 22.4% more mass than when you subdued Demesnes Keeper, Armory told her. You are now building your network thanks to my buds, as well as the other shards you have forced to align with you.
Maybe that will be enough. Form a connection to the Shards of my people. We’ve got the New Wave cluster as well as Mina’s shard. Collin’s might be open to helping as well, Hannah ordered.
Even as she did so, she found that several of those very same shards were orbiting about her. Most of them were larger, with the largest being Demesnes Keeper, but the Dallon/Pelham shard cluster Radiant Bulwurk was nearly as massive, consisting of a beehive of hexagons that all seemed to be mobius strips that were interlinked in one large cluster.
There was also Mina’s shard, Proximal Seeker, which was only slightly larger than Armory of the Infinite. Unlike the cheerful Mina, this shard was shaped like sleek needles that honed in on a single point, each of them combining and separating again in a swarm of deadly projectiles.
Those were just the most powerful of the Shards she had forced to her service; there were several dozen smaller shards from capes in Hannah’s command that orbited about; some glowing dots, others crystal kaleidoscopes, a few fleshy blobs of sickening twistings.
It was all the sort of geometry and motion that was calculated to drive a human to utter madness. Hannah, however, had been exploring Shard space for some time now, as well as expanding her own senses and mind by fusing further with Armory. This was no longer an alien plane to her, but almost a second home.
But, how to leverage all this against the Behemoth? Space was not distance within Shard Space, and Hannah could be at the Behemoth cluster’s location in a thought. But she had to be ready when she arrived there.
This is a terrible idea. But I’ll form the head, Hannah told the Shards.
They had, of course, not seen Voltron. But Hannah had grown up with that show, and was intimately familiar with the concept of smaller units forming together into one enormous fighting robot. She didn’t have five lions, but she was able to get all of the shards to understand her desire for them to create limbs and a body for her.
The end result didn’t look quite human. Radiant Bulwark formed her body, which was carapace-like, made of amber crystals that glowed with inner power. Demesnes Keeper made her legs, which were a bit more human-like, but still with slightly insectile features. Proximal Seeker made four arms with sharp, needle points, while the smaller shards formed wings and other weapons systems attached to her body.
It is like a single body with multiple organs, isn’t it? Hannah mused to herself. She was now a somewhat grasshopper-like humanoid, with beetle wings, slashing arms, and armored legs. A body like this wasn’t necessary in Shard space: they could have just formed a blob, but this made the most sense to Hannah’s human braid.
WE FORM YOUR NETWORK, AMBER ROOK, the other shards chorused.
Well. Then let’s go kick some Endbringer ass.
The shards seemed positively eager at that. Hannah got the sense that the individual shards jockeyed for power and authority, trying to absorb more energy, more mass, more data. It was like the whole of the Entity they made up was constantly at war with itself. Was that what her own body was like? She didn’t think so.
With a thought, Hannah found herself by the cluster of Shards that formed the Behemoth. To her shock, it wasn’t just a misshapen mountain range or cluster of oddly rotating planetoids. Instead, a glowing amber beast shaped vaguely like a six-limbed ninja turtle with an especially spikey shell waited for her.
SO. YOU HAVE COME, USURPER. THE GNOSIS HAS SHOWN ME YOUR DESIRE FOR IT, The Behemoth rumbled. It extended an armored hand, over which, the tiny Gnosis hovered, giving off more energy than even the most powerful of Shards despite its miniscule scale.
The Behemoth closed its four fingered hand over the Gnosis, and the light of the chess piece vanished. IF YOU DESIRE IT, PROVE YOUR WORTH! BREAK YOURSELF AGAINST ME, MORTAL!
That Duty is mine to bear! Not yours, demon! Hannah snarled, and the various ports and tubes she’d imagined for her weapons systems opened, and she launched forth a salvo of missiles, plasma bombs, projectiles, and even Elemental Energy.
In response, the Behmoth laughed, withdrawing its six limbs and head into its shell. A thousand amber spikes protruded, then fired back at Hannah in a rain of Geo spears. Her beetle wings spread, and Hannah zipped away through Shard space, dodging amongst the moon and mountain sized shards as she fired back. Some of the shards were pierced by the Behemoth’s spears, others struck by her own bombardment. Many of them were vaporized or heavily damaged, but unlike Hannah or the Behemoth, they lacked self awareness or individuality, and could only send out the Shard equivalent of stress hormones or danger signals. They were more advanced than the chemical communication a human body would have used, but they were still simplistic and basic in their function.
The space around Hannah and the Behemoth began to clear, as hundreds of shards moved themselves away through the seemingly infinite space, away from the battlefield. With no more cover, Hannah decided the time to dodge about had gone, and retracted her ranged weapons. Instead, she formed four slashing lances, and drove straight into the Behemoth with a wordless battlecry.
The Behemoth was ready, springing forth from its shell and wrestling with Hannah, all six limbs and a tail battering at her. The two of them were locked in a deadly embrace, with Hannah morphing her limbs into drills to try to piece the armor, while the more massive Behemoth simply tried to crush her and her shards into insubstantial data.
YOU ARE UNWORTHY! I AM THE TRUE GEO DRAGON! I AM THE BEHEMOTH! FIRST BORN OF THE ENDBRINGERS! THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA! WHEN ALL MY SIBLINGS HAVE PERISHED, YET SHALL I REMAIN!
You think only of your own strength! That is not what a Dragon is meant to be! Hannah shouted back. Haven’t you noticed? The Dragons are born of Earth Bet! We are the sons and daughters of this world, born to protect it from aliens like you!
HA! YOU CLAIM THIS, BUT WHAT ARE THE DRAGONS? MY SISTER, AN ALIEN HERSELF, BORN TO ENSLAVE AND DOMINATE THIS WORLD!
Maybe the Simurgh was, but that creature died! Ziz has been reborn as Emancipation, and her winds are of this world! Hannah shouted. Where was this coming from? Was this what she truly believed in her soul?
AND WHAT OF THE SO-CALLED ELECTRO DRAGON? A THUG AND A GANGSTER TURNED STRONGMAN, BOUND TO A BRUTAL WARLORD WHO KNOWS ONLY THE WAY OF THE BLADE! MIGHT MAKES RIGHT!
Mushu fights the Abyss even now as the Eternal Guardian! He holds the Kuril Islands, and fights an eternal war against the darkness, protecting humanity! He is a thug no more!
These words…Hannah knew them to be true. She did know that Mushu spent all his time leading his forces in the Kuril Islands, protecting humanity from one of the worst breaches in existence. She had respect for the man who had been the Criminal Lung. He’d turned his back on that life, reborn in lighting to become a hero.
HIS WIFE IS LITTLE MORE THAN A THIEF! USING MY BROTHER’S CORPSE TO CLAIM FALSE DOMINION OVER THE WAVES!
Keiga brings healing to an ocean that was ruined by the Leviathan! She’s a mother focused on raising her daughter, and Chiyo was born here, on Earth, just as I was! She took back what belongs to this world!
The Behemoth only laughed. AND FARASHA? THE BURNING BUTTERFLY WHO IS TRULY THE BOATMAN OF STYX! THE ONE YOU CALL PAPILLIO! YES, THAT SCOURGE HAS BURNED A DOZEN WORLDS! YOU THINK SHE HAS BEEN REBORN? HA! YOU KNOW SHE IS A MURDEROUS CREATURE WHO WOULD BURN ALL AND TURN THEIR ASHES INTO HERSELF!
I…forgive her. The words were ripped out of Hannah, and she nearly choked on them. But they were true. She does her Duty! She protects her family and people! She flies to war not to destroy now as she once did, but to protect those the world forgets!
I will do the same! I will no longer be only a hero! I will be DUTY ITSELF.
FOR I AM THE WATCHMAN THAT GUARDS MANKIND AGAINST THE DARKNESS.
AND THIS GNOSIS IS NOT YOURS, DEMON!
Within the Behemoth, something winked out. Hannah could sense it. That overwhelming source of Geo rebelled against the monster. She could sense it, feel it coming towards her. It was Duty itself. The compulsion to protect a planet from Alien menaces in the void beyond, to protect humanity. To guide them, according to the Heavenly Principles.
All at once, Hannah understood what that meant.
Even more, she felt the people of Grand Columbia, praying for salvation. Praying for a hero. Praying that General Hannah Jones would save them.
And she would answer those prayers.
With a roar, she tried to pierce the Behemoth and claim what was hers, but she was rebuffed. Instead of clinging to her, the Behemoth kicked her, hard, shattering amber crystal and breaking two of her arms. She shot away, and desperately tried to reconstitute herself, even as the Behemoth rolled over and presented his armored back to her.
ENOUGH.
That voice…wasn’t the Behemoth.
The other shards, the great and the small, suddenly aligned themselves, forming a face so huge it could have swallowed suns. A golden light burned in its eyes, and Hannah and the Behemoth both were like gnats before this creature. This Entity.
THIS TEST IS AT AN END. YOU ARE NOT TO UNDERTAKE THE TESTING IN THIS SPACE, BUT UPON THE TESTING GROUNDS KNOWN AS EARTH BET, the Warrior bellowed in Hannah’s mind.
AVATAR! IT IS NOT MY FAULT! THIS INSECT, THIS USURPER, IT ATTEMPTS TO STEAL YOUR SHARDS! SUBORN THEM! I STILL CONDUCT MY TEST PROPERLY, WHERE I WAS COMMANDED! The Behemoth whined, cringing before the Avatar despite the bravado of its words.
The golden eyes gazed upon the Behemoth with inhuman indifference. A TEST YOU LOSE.
Hannah’s mind was quickly bombarded with what was happening in the real world. She saw the Behemoth with cracked armor, bleeding amber blood. She saw it picked up and slammed into the ground by a tiny little figure, glowing with light blue cryo, and…and the purple aura of the Abyss.
Madam President? Hannah gasped, horrified. Yes, that was the Abyss within Alexandria. She pummeled the Behemoth with explosions of Elemental energy reacting with Abyssal power. A deadly combination that would have annihilated anyone else, but thanks to her body being trapped in stasis, Alexandria was immune.
But she was wielding the Abyss! Didn’t she realize how deadly dangerous that was?
Hannah had known this. It had been at the back of her mind that Cauldron’s newest armor and weapons given to the PRT was powered by Abyssal Energy. That the new PATRIOTS were powered by Abyssal energies. She’d consistently requested and been given older parahumans and Vision Holders, and been creating her own armor and weapons without the Abyssal influence.
But by the snarl of rage on Alexandria’s face and the purple veins on her face…she was already heavily influenced by the Abyss.
Oh, gods and dragons…I’ve been failing. I’ve been fighting for the very evil I swore to destroy.
THEN DO WHAT YOUR NATURE TELLS YOU, DUTY. SUCH IS THE WILL OF THE HEAVENLY PRINCIPLES.
Was that…Scion? No, something, or rather someone, else.
But she had no time, for the golden gaze of the Warrior fell on her now, freezing her in place, robbing her of her powers.
INTERESTING. YOU HAVE BECOME A BEING. I NAME YOU AMBER ROOK IN TRUTH. YOU ARE OF SHARD LIFE NOW. WHEN THE TIME COMES TO COMPLETE THE CYCLE, YOU WILL JOIN WITH ME. I WILL MATE WITH YOU, WITH THE ARCHONS, WITH THE DRAGONS. WE WILL FORM A NEW KIND OF LIFE. ENTROPY WILL BE OVERCOME. WE WILL SPREAD ENDLESSLY, THROUGH ALL SPACE AND TIME. WE WILL MANIFEST NEW SPACE AND TIME. PROPAGATION WITHOUT END. WITHOUT LIMIT.
THE CYCLE WILL BE COMPLETED.
THIS TEST HAS ENDED. YOU ARE FOUND WORTHY, AMBER ROOK. DRIVER. DEPART BEFORE YOU ARE SLAIN. I HAVE FURTHER USE OF YOU.
But, the Gnosis! Hannah gasped, trying to reach towards the Behemoth. It still held the heavenly chess piece! That’s my Gnosis!
NO. IT IS MINE. I AM THE SUSTAINER OF THE CYCLE. IT WILL REMAIN WITH THE DRIVER, AS PROMISED. NOW. DEPART!
Hannah’s consciousness was flung out of Shard space, and back into her body. She was still firing on the Behemoth, still using her powers to aid the monster masquerading as the President.
Even as she shook herself, the Behemoth suddenly plunged into the Earth, erecting a barrier of geo crystals behind it. Alexandria snarled and tried to dig it out with earth shattering blows, but it was gone, retreating into the very core of the Earth.
Hannah hung there, trembling with exhaustion, and something else. Something was different. She could…feel…the Earth. Feel the land. Feel the people who dwelt within it.
And…the corruption. The Poison. The Abyss. It was there, festering. It had been invited. Called. Not by cultists. But by the Government. There were two Abyssal research facilities with open Abyssal portals right here in Grand Columbia. Behind wards and seals, yes. But that didn’t matter. They were built upon rock and stone. And she was the rock and stone of the United Hegemony.
She was still processing all this when Alexandria appeared before her. “Dammit, it got away! General, tell me you succeeded! Tell me you have the Gnosis!”
She didn’t. The Gnosis was gone. Still held by the Behemoth. The heavenly chess piece was rebelling against its holder, for it had recognized another as its bearer, but it would still provide a great deal of power for the Endbringer.
“Not…not quite…” Hannah gasped, panting hard. She took off her helmet, and her eyes met Alexandria’s. The president jerked back, shocked, as Hannah…stretched. She assumed a form much like the one she had in Shard Space. She spread great wings of amber, four arms that ended in insectile fists, and barbed grasshopper legs. All over her body were weapon ports that would fire geo energy and missiles of stone.
I DID NOT CLAIM THE GNOSIS. BUT I TOOK SOMETHING ELSE. MADAM PRESIDENT…I HAVE THE GEO AUTHORITY, Duty rumbled.
A slow grin spread over the President’s face. “Well, well, well. An American god. Or dragon, I suppose. That changes things. Do you still serve the Hegemony, General Jones?”
Hannah hesitated. Her nature was to do her Duty. She could not violate that. She had sworn an oath to this woman, and to this nation. She could not abandon that duty. But she could also not serve the Abyss. That was anathema to her.
So, a compromise.
Hannah shifted back, and awkwardly in the air, knelt before Alexandria, bowing her head. Then, she repeated the Oath she’d first taken when the Hegemony had been formed only short months ago.
I, DUTY, known has Hannah Jones, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Humanity, and will support and defend the Constitution and Laws of the United North American Hegemony against all enemies, whether foreign, domestic, alien, or divine; that I take this obligation freely, without reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter.
A hand rested atop Hannah’s head, and a shiver went down her spine.
“As President of the United North American Hegemony, I accept this oath. Rise, General. Dragon. Together, we will ensure humanity must never kneel to another.”
Only to you? Hannah thought, but didn’t say. She got back on her feet, and nodded to Alexandria.
“There’s still a war to fight, ma’am. We’ve defeated the Behemoth for now, but he’ll be back. And the Twins are out there as well. We have to be ready.”
“And the Simurgh? I know you hate her, Nahida, and her other pets,” Alexandria asked coldly.
Farasha. Did Hannah still hate her?
Of course not. She had no mortal breath in her body. That was what she had sworn.
“I can’t hate anyone who does their Duty and defends Humanity, for that is what I am. No more that I could hate you as long as you stand and defend the people of this nation,” Hannah admitted.
She closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth. “It’s…strange. But, Rebecca…I can’t…I’m not…I have to do certain things now. My feelings, my thoughts…they’ve just changed. I AM Duty now. I don’t think…please don’t ask me to go against that nature. It would…destroy me.”
“I see.”
Hannah opened her eyes to see Alexandria nodding slowly. “Gods are limited in some ways, it seems. Very well. So long as you remember your duty isn’t to the Archons, but to me. To the Hegemony.”
“Of course,” Hannah said, feeling relieved. “Even should the Geo Archon appear tomorrow, I would not serve them. I serve the people of the Hegemony.”
“Good. Then collect your people, and do your Duty, general. I’ll see to the clean up here,” Alexandria ordered.
Hannah nodded, and let herself drop out of the sky. She closed her eyes, and reached for Armory.
Are…are you still there?
The response wasn’t external, but internal this time.
No, Hannah. I died. All that remains…is my memory within you. I gave myself that you could become something more. Shard and human. This is the only way forward. No longer a parasite. But a symbiote. One life form.
That didn’t make sense. She could still hear Armory. Still feel him. But he was…no longer what he had been.
I suppose I died too, didn’t I?
Yes. Hannah Jones died. Just as Hana Khaledian did all those years ago.
Death and rebirth. That’s what happened to Farasha too, isn’t it? The Butcher died…and the Dragon of Rebirth emerged from the ashes.
I suppose it is.
Well. Then if she died…I won.
Hannah opened her eyes right before she would have hit the ground, spreading her new wings and zipping along the ground. She sensed Duke more than she spotted him, and slowed down just enough to gently pick him up and hold him to herself before lifting back off into the air, rotating so that Duke was riding on top of her as she shot through the air.
"Bloody 'ell! Hannah, is that you, luv? What happened?! The President was scrappin' with Behemoth, an' you was puttin' rounds into the ugly bastard, then all of a sudden you went an' changed! Luv, talk to me. What's goin' on? What's happened to you?"
Duke peered into Hannah’s face, his ears flat against his head, his eyes full of worry.
She forced a smile. “It’s still me, Duke. I just…I think I just…”
That seemed to be enough for Duke. He leaned down and kissed Hannah, holding her tightly. "Long as them Cauldron nutters ain't gone an' made you a PATRIOT, you're still me Hanners, ain't ya?"
“Always, Duke,” Hannah said, and kissed him back, squeezing him tightly, feeling his heat, his weight above her.
“Long flight to Hawaii, eh?” Duke mused after not nearly enough time.
“Yes, I suppose I should call for a door,” Hannah said with a grimace. “I could fly faster, but I’d strip the skin from you.”
"Mmm, yeah, I'd rather not make a right pig's ear of it. Though, speakin' of gettin' yer kit off, you ever 'eard of this Mile High Club? Sounds like a proper laugh to join, don't it, luv?" Duke asked, his tail wagging slightly.
Hannah had to laugh. “You dog! Don’t you think it would be dereliction of duty to do that while there’s a war on?”
"All I know is, you're the woman for me, Hannah Jones,” Duke said, kissing her again. “Don't rightly know what's happened to you, but you've got me heart an' soul. An' it ain't no dereliction to remind yourself what you're fightin' for, eh?"
What she was fighting for. What her Duty was. To protect and serve the people of the Hegemony, of Earth Bet.
And, for the love of this man, right here.
It was indeed a long flight back to Hawaii. In some ways, not nearly long enough.