Moon D2404

  Daniel’s body was surrounded by a bright ivory light, which quickly fell away to reveal a new set of armor. It looked like the white and gold armor he wore with the Makiel Protocol, though slimmed down and more form-fitting. And, instead of having wing designs on the helmet or the greaves, it had gold wing designs on its belt. On his HUD, Daniel saw:

  System Power: 88.7%

  Status

  Strength: 325 (+400)

  Dexterity: 435 (+450)

  Constitution: 290 (+250)

  Adaptability: 344 (+750)

  Psyche: 496 (+750)

  Cornu Potestatis: Offline

  Oculus Mundi: Offline

  Gravitas Cingulum: Offline

  Subfunctions: Standard

  In his right hand, Daniel manifested a white and gold device that resembled a hollow animal horn with a mouthpiece at the tip. Daniel raised the horn to his mask, like he was about to blow into it, and activated the device.

  A great sound rippled outward, a deep note that seemed to echo from the very foundations of the world itself. If a normal Psionic ability’s activation was like the plucking of a cosmic string, this was the blare of a cosmic hum. The front line of the Pioneer warfighters began to glow white, their bodies suffused with an extraordinary surge of energy as they fought with renewed vigor. Their weapons smashed through the enemies more easily, drastically relieving the pressure they’d felt earlier. The tide of battle turned completely in favor of humanity in a single instant.

  The Cornu Potestatis was arguably the most powerful function the Archangel System possessed. It gave a significant stat boost to its targets in every category: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Adaptability, and even Psyche. Most full-body enhancement Capacities only focused on the physical stats. Even there, they fell short of what the Cornu could provide. The improvements that the tech could give would stack upon any other abilities or bonuses the men already had, and Daniel could adjust the number of targets or the potency of the bonus. He could activate it in any position, so long as he held it, but pretending to blow into it felt fitting. Even though he physically couldn’t do so, thanks to the helmet.

  That said, there were some downsides. The most obvious one was the cost. While there was no strict time limit, the buff would eventually begin to fade after initial activation. Daniel could reapply it indefinitely, but that would cost him more System charge. Keeping the ability constantly going at full strength was one of the most energy-hungry things the System could do. To make things worse, if he switched Protocols while it was active, or even dismissed the horn, the buff would disappear instantly.

  Fortunately, it didn’t look like Daniel would need to reapply the bonus this time. The boost had targeted the Captain and the Lieutenants as well, allowing them to cleave through the enemy at an even faster rate. The improvements to Adaptability and Psyche allowed all the Pioneers to more easily resist the Delta-class Xenomorphs’ Intimidate Capacity, meaning that even they now proved much less of a threat. All this meant that the Pioneers were rampaging through the enemy at a prolific rate, Xenos revival or not. By the time the buff began to fade, the fight was already mostly over.

  Once the last enemy was vanquished, the soldiers’ cheers shook the entire cavern. Daniel dismissed the Protocol, only to receive enough backslaps from the men around him to feel like his bones were breaking. A quick headcount revealed that the entire company hadn’t lost a single soldier in the face of that onslaught, a feat that would put even the fiercest group of Pioneers to shame. Captain Moravan was as boisterous as ever, his voice booming even over the din of the celebration as he rejoined his men, “Forget the 208th Division! We might just be the finest company in the entire damn force!”

  “That’s treason, captain! Everyone knows that the Emperor has designated the 1stDivision as the strongest. We’re not supposed to be better than them!” one of the men shouted out, the comment only half in jest. Starting with the first Akaadian Emperor, it had become tradition to stack the first 13 divisions with the best among the Pioneers. Not every division numbered 1-13 was always active, but whenever a division of that number was re-formed, it was considered a big deal and represented the best their military could provide. Stating you were better than them wasn’t formally treasonous, but it was likely to get you a slap on the wrist from a priggish superior officer. Moravan just laughed harder, “I’ll eat my words if any of those bastards can beat me while I’ve got one of Hardgrave’s buffs on me.”

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  In emphasis, he gave Daniel’s back another exuberant slap, before leaning in close to the man, “I’m grateful for the backup soldier, but it occurs to me now that I should get a full inventory of what you can do. I want to make sure we’re using your tech in the most effective way possible. Clear?”

  Daniel nodded before sending him a mostly complete schematic of what the Archangel System could do. For obvious reasons, he left out its ability to alter Codex records and encrypt transmissions, but he could see no reason to hold the rest back. Moravan looked pleased as he received it, smiling gratefully, “Thanks, Hardgrave. You’d have no idea how many snooty young aristocrats would refuse to hand this sort of thing over.”

  Daniel’s mind immediately flashed to the smug face of Marko Korta, before he responded, “Actually, I think I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

  The captain’s grin took on a wry flavor as he spoke, “Yeah, fair enough. In fact, that reminds me to tell you: If you ever need an advocate, like in a court martial, for example, don’t hesitate to call Ol’ Arthur Moravan. Haven’t known you for long, but anyone who sticks their neck out to save my men is a friend for life.”

  Daniel inclined his head affably as he made a wry comment of his own, “Don’t go fighting tomorrow’s battle before we’re done with today’s, cap. With any luck, we’ll both die right here, and we won’t have to worry about anything ever again.”

  Moravan’s prosthetic eye flashed, and he kept his smirk as he chuckled, “Heheh, you’ve got a dark sense of humor for a young man. But I suppose that’s appropriate, given the times we live in.”

  He patted Daniel on the back again, gently this time, “Don’t go dyin’ on me yet, boy. I’m sure you’ve got a nice lady waitin’ for you back home.”

  Daniel’s mind flashed to Lucy and Marie this time, “Not in the way you mean, but sort of, I guess.”

  “Relatives work too. My wife would be pissed at me if I got myself killed, but so would my mother.”

  Moraven looked off into the distance, and he muttered, “We can’t always keep our promises to come back safe, but we can always hold on to our will to live. To fight, no matter how tricky things get.”

  And with that, he strode off, leaving Daniel to his thoughts.

  …

  Rith Nakabit gnashed Its teeth viciously, barbed tail swishing irritably as It slunk through the moon’s tunnels. This escapade had been one disaster after another. Enemy resistance on this remote moon had proven far more potent than the Kharnidd could have predicted. Intelligence suggested that locations this far from the center of human civilization should have weak defenses, yet numerous enemies on this rock could match It directly. Some even outmatched It entirely, which was a problem. As a Greater Ravager, It was one of the most powerful members of this expedition. If It couldn’t overwhelm the enemy easily, then the Kharnidd were relegated to skulking around and nibbling around the edges of this human installation.

  The Terror that was leading this expedition had contacted their Tribe weeks ago and had received reassurance that help would be coming. No word had been forthcoming on when that help would be getting here, however, meaning that Rith had spent much of Its time on the moon in hiding. It was growing impatient, but there was little It could do but wait. It tried to ambush what weaker human groups It could find, but truly isolated enemies were few and far between.

  For instance, Rith sensed a group of enemies in the tunnel just ahead of It. It cast out Its senses, and sure enough, Rith noticed a Beta class human not too far away. Ambushing this group would attract that enemy’s attention, and so, Rith turned and left the humans unmolested. Some of the Skulkers had launched successful ambushes of their own, but they were often eliminated in the process. A minor inconvenience. Of much greater import was the sheer boredom involved in restraining Itself from making serious attacks, but Rith’s orders to stand by and refrain from taking risks were clear. It noticeably grimaced as It continued down this new hallway, eyes and Psionic senses constantly looking for something to assuage its boredom.

  Relief came in the form of a pulse of energy from Its dimensional storage. Stopping, Rith stood up on Its hind legs and withdrew Its Warp Orb. The device was outlined in a soft crimson, and it pulsed again as it emanated the Six-Eyed one’s voice, “The Tribe has acknowledged our plight. The Markon Itself is coming, flying under Its own power. We can anticipate even more reinforcements in the meantime. Leave your Orb in a strategic place and hunt freely.”

  The Ravager didn’t need to be told twice. It dumped the Orb to the side and rapidly began sniffing around for a worthy target.

  The significance of Its superior’s words was not lost on Rith. The Warp Orbs were fantastic for transportation, but they were not without their limits. Any given Orb could only transport so much Psionic ‘load’ over the course of its lifetime before it would be destroyed. A single Omega class Orb could only transport two Seven-Eyed ones before breaking, though of course it could summon hordes of Drones before being overly taxed. Furthermore, Orbs couldn’t be brought through portals, meaning that the Kharnidd couldn’t summon endless reinforcements through a piggyback method.

  The Kharnidd compensated for these weaknesses with their unique powers and some clever tactics. Powerful Kharnidd could slip through dimensions under their own power, achieving FTL travel speeds relative to their current dimension. This meant that the most capable amongst them would often ‘fly’ to unexplored planets and seed those locations with Warp Orbs they’d carried in their dimensional spaces. Based on what Rith had seen, the humans seemed to achieve a similar feat with the technology known as the ‘Horizon Drive’, though they did not seem to possess Warp Spheres.

  The downside of such techniques was that opposing technologies could detect and intercept them, mainly because even the most powerful Kharnidd could only remain in alternate dimensions for so long. The moment they re-emerged, they would be easy to destroy. Instead, perpetrating these surprise attacks had involved stowing away on human transports and allowing their enemies to take them where they needed to go. The Kharnidd were under no illusions that such tactics would continue to work so well in the future, but they had been highly successful in these opening salvos.

  With all that said, Rith’s strike team didn’t have the equipment to instantly bring a Seven-Eyed being to the moon. The Markon’s choice to intervene and come here on Its own power meant that it would likely be bringing reinforcements along with It as well. Rith didn’t know how the Six-Eyed Terror had gotten their superior to make this choice, but It didn’t care. The Higher Being’s intervention meant that this battle had become a formality. Furthermore, others would soon be pouring through the remaining Orbs their strike team possessed, bolstering their position in the meantime. All of this meant that Rith was now allowed to do as it pleased. Other Kharnidd might have remained cautious, but Rith lived for the hunt.

  It then sensed another human group nearby. The group was large, staffed with one Gamma class and numerous Deltas. Perfect for an appetizer.

  Blood roared in Rith’s ears as it raced down the passageway, no obstacle in sight.