Arrival of Ambassadors - Xalion [Semi Open/IC]

"I have no damn idea. There was nothing like this in the official reports of the Underground incident. We have to leave, and we have to do it fast.", the Feldwebel replied. One of the volunteers used the back of his rifle to break the wooden gate, and they all entered the building, closing the gate behind them. To all of those at least vaguely familiar to how Earth and the early human colonies used to look like, this was clearly a metro station. What once had been carrying people from one corner of the planet to the other, was now their only way to get out of this damned place.

For some reason, the station was considerably colder than the outside. Its once elegant hallways were now old and scorched, remains of a once glorious past. But even so, there were some signs of modernity in there, and that's what the group of Colonials and foreigners followed. Even so, the walls were filled with various old propaganda posters, most likely belonging to the hold Human Colonial Alliance. Join the Second Jump to Triangulum! Fight the Keltakens! Report any enemies of the System at your closest Administrator! The trail of signs eventually lead to the S-Line. Reaching the iron door blocking it, the volunteers placed a charge on it, blowing it up, before entering the hall.

The place was rather large, with multiple tracks in there. Back in the past, it was probably not directly connected to the civilian metro, having been converted a a certain point, the iron door proving it. But what was really weird in it, compared to the rest of the Underground, was that it was literally filled with skeletons. Rather recent ones. Workers and soldiers, all wearing the military uniforms that the Federated Colonies used before and during the First Intergalactic War. All dead, on the ground. It seemed that they had found what happened to the teams that were sent here back before the Battle of Drathia, when the Federal Government was trying to turn this into a museum.. before the incident, and before all of this was covered up.

Clearly scared, the Colonials stopped, and tried to avoid stepping on the bones, but it was clearly impossible to do so. They were everywhere. Even the Feldwebel stopped.. but then, the fear of what was coming after them defeated the fear of what was in front of them, and they all advanced. In the middle of the hall, on the first line, an old train was simply standing there. Their way out. A skeleton was gripping the handle to one of the doors, and something not so fun was scratched on it. They are here. But.. the question was, who were they?

As the volunteers removed the skeleton and opened the door, the Feldwebel turned towards the delegations. "This should be our way out. It should eventually lead to the main metro system, even if we will have to break a few containment gates on our way out. But well.."


The officer didn't manage to finish his words. as the gates they had closed beneath them suddenly exploded, and something that looked like a dark, foggy substance started to enter the hall. A volunteer nearby tired to fire at it, before he also dropped dead. They had to run, and they had to run now. With no more time to explain anything, the Freikorps soldiers pushed the delegations into the train, and slowly but surely, the old engine of the train started, the doors closed.. and they left the station just in time. But they still had to break something... the large containment gates blocking the tunnel.

"Brace for impact!"


And then darkness.

But behind them, they left a broken gate. And through it, shadows and fog started to slowly expand..

---

Eventually, the Colonials and the delegations would wake up, more or less dizzy. The hit had managed to knock most of them unconscious, except for the lucky few which had armors on them, but even those would have needed some time to recover. The train had somehow managed to break through, with the price of the frontal side of it being crushed, but they were now leaving the Underworld behind, heading for safety. The Feldwebel slowly stood up, taking his helmet down, and touching the cut he had on his forehead, from which blood was dripping. They had been lucky. Even if nearly half of those who had entered died there..they had escaped. And now, after seeing it for himself, the old man was sure that all those stories about what was down below where true. He had to warn the Central High Command about it, and that as soon as possible. Not before long, they left the lower levels, heading for the Federal District.


As the train stopped, in the relative artificial light of the planet, it was clear that the Federal District had managed to survive the earthquake a little bit better than the rest. The damage was minimal. And they soon noticed the objective of their journey. The Hegemonic Palace. Less of a palace, at least compared to the traditional human definition of the word, and more of a fort. The building was huge, of course, compared to the usual buildings, but it was still much smaller than the Dome, as an example. I had the form of a star fort, with its walls, but looked much more modern, and pretty much fit the military role of the Hegemon. The train had seemingly stopped right next to its walls, while the plaza around them was relatively empty. But there was someone waiting for them.

It was a group of Axiom Knights, at least from the looks of it. But more important, was the person in front of them. A young girl, by the looks of it, with a long, neat, silver-white hair, wearing a long and somewhat frilly white with black dress, in the same color scheme as the uniform of the Knights. Her silver eyes, although not looking like it, were clearly blind, not only because of the way she seemed to be looking at the train, but also clearly supported by the blind cane she was holding in her hands. Cardinal.

The group left the train, stopping in front of the group of Axiom Knights. Most of the Colonials seemed to be relieved.. they had finally escaped that place. Now everything was going to be fine. Cardinal smiled. And the knights opened fire.

Precise shots hit each of the Freikorps soldiers. In a few mere seconds, they were massacred, dead, bloody bodies falling all around the members of the delegations. The Feldwebel tried to make a few steps forward after a bullet pierced his chest, only to fall on his back. The few volunteers who tried to fire back were quickly exterminated. The Oberleutenant fell to his knees, as a red stain of blood quickly expanded on his pike-gray coat, his chest pierced. The young boy tried to take out his pistol, and to fire at Cardinal... but he fell on the ground in a pool of his own blood before he could do it. And then, there was only silence.

"Well, I'm sorry that you had to witness this. It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome, to Xalion.", Cardinal said, smirking.

The groups were soon joined by another group of Axiom Knights coming from the direction of the Palace, stopping and saluting Cardinal. Looking in their direction, the silver haired girl smiled. "Get rid of the bodies. We shouldn't let them out too long, there is always a chance that they will catch the virus and rise.", the girl ordered, with the knights quickly complying. The knights were clearly enjoying this, spitting on the bodies of their rivals, and throwing them rather unceremoniously in a nearby armored car. When the white coated men came to the body of the Obersleutenant and raised him from the ground, one of them noticed something. "Hey, this guy is still breathing.", the knight said to his commanding officer, another knight. "And who cares? Throw him with the others, he won't survive for long anyway." And with that, the wounded volunteer was thrown brutally in the car among the dead bodies.

Looking back in the direction of the delegations, Cardinal smiled again. "Xalion is indeed an interesting place.. but you have come at a bad time... if you know what I mean. Because of that, I hope that you understand that all of you here are under arrest.". the blind girl continued, with the knights behind her pointing their rifles and swords at the foreigners. "My deepest apologies, but we can't possibly allow you to interfere with our business. You will be released once everything is over." Cardinal smirked. "But the Federation will fall tonight."

The Commonwealth entourage were still recovering from the crash, and now they have to witness such a grisly massacre as this. Disgusting. So this is what the holier-than-thou knights of the Axiom Church do when disasters like these strike. Perhaps they were the ones who planned all of this from the beginning. What a shameful act on their part.

"Well...", muttered the Ambassador. "Seems that we can't really do anything, do we?" With that, he motioned to the 6 remaining Pryzniki to put their weapons down. Well... only their obvious weapons actually. They have retractable blades and pistols inside their suits if they needed them. But with their rifles no longer in their possession, they can't really put much of a fight against the numerically superior Axiom Knights. They are long range specialists after all.

The one remaining Tesla Trooper merely deactivated his energy pack, and powered down his tesla coils. He can't take his ENTIRE suit off, especially with the toxic atmosphere around.

"But I trust that we will not be harmed as long we don't do anything funny, ehem?"

Xalion

On the balcony, George swore loudly inside his soundproofed helmet.  Right before him, a massacre was unfolding.  And this, like so many other things tonight, he was powerless to stop.  As gunshots and heavy thuds rang through the air, he tried to start estimating the body count.  By the size of the square, he suspected it was at least in the thousands.  Perhaps the tens of thousands.  

For Carter, everything Jack said earlier had been proven correct.  The Axiom Church was a menace, and they were an evil entity that would hurt anyone they had the chance to.  Once he had left Xalion, the agent decided he would be working against them.  The rhetoric of the Cardinal about government corruption and leaders being out of touch with reality was all very familiar.  He'd heard it all the time from members of the Enemies Of Humanity.  In time, the Axiom Church too would be answered.  But now was not the time.  Now was the time to mourn, for all of the doomed souls below.  

As for Bethany, sobs wracked her body as tears cascaded down her face.  She watched as one by one, everyone below was murdered.  When the Ambassador could speak, she exclaimed in a tone of real fury, "I dont care if I'm a diplomat!  I'm not masking my feelings any longer!  If the Abyssals were here, they'd be laughing at you.  You've done their work for them.  Delivered a death blow to the Federated Colonies, and slaughtered its people.  Even as Confederate soldiers die by the millions on Terra Nova to save the people of the Colonies.  You keep talking about the human race, but you lost your humanity ages ago.  So the Federated Colonies were weak, out of touch with reality in your words.  So you removed them.  But there's no way you can justify the evil act of indiscriminate mass murder you've just committed.  Jack was right about you.  I'm sure that his opinion of the Axiom Church was reported."  When she had finished, Bethany's gaze settled solely on the Cardinal.  

Triangulum, Confederate Space, Karsopolis

In the Confederacy, Governor Karson Sharp Of Karsopolis was deeply concerned by the footage being broadcast.  Something evil was rising in the place of the Federated Colonies.  And so it had all been in vain.  He turned away from the holoscreen, and began to exit the room.  

He considered who to leave it all to, and the answer came almost immediately.  Eventually, he reached a communications room, and chose the frequency for Confederate Research and Development.  Once there was an answer, Sharp said in an even tone, "Activate Project Super Sapien.  And do your best to go quickly.  The Confederacy hasn't been in this much danger since its Founding."  

He then activated another frequency, this one going directly to Marcus, the Head Of Confederate Logistics.  He said in the same tone, "The factories must run again.  Full production.  I'll explain more later.  And please, call a press conference."  

With this, the Confederate ruler closed both frequencies, and began the journey to the conference.  Soon, there would be major changes.  

Xalion, Square

"Go!  I'll deal with the Knight!" Midshipman Oliver Banks shouted to a young Colonial boy.  As the boy ran off, the commando was grazed by a bullet from the Knight's gun.  Fortunately, it had only been a graze, and only a small amount of blood trickled out of the wound.  It was quickly cauterised, just as Banks fired a white laser bolt from his CI-56.  The bolt found its mark, passing right through the Knight's heart.  Then the insurgent fell to the ground dead.  

In the brief respite, he paused to recall what all had happened once Ambassador Rhodes had descended into the Underground.  They had heard shouts and gunshots coming from close by, and had gone to investigate.  There had been twenty of them, and Banks, second in command of Vertigo Team, had led them to the square.  They had found an ongoing massacre.  Fortunately, the Colonial soldiers were grouped in a way that was easy to disrupt.  Especially as distracted as they were by killing the protesters.  

At first, they hadn't even noticed the Confederate soldiers that had wandered into the bloodbath.  But then one had shouted something in Colonial Standard, and the soldiers had counterattacked.  Now the Vertigo soldiers were on the defensive and slowly being killed one by one.  From the corner of his eye, Banks spotted a Colonial sniper.  He dove to the ground as a bullet raced towards him, rolled to the side as a Knight's blade tried to decapitate him.  Another Vertigo soldier shot the sniper, but was overwhelmed moments later by Colonials.  

As for Banks, he noticed the group of soldiers around him getting thicker.  They had swords raised, and he knew he wouldn't be able to take them all at once.  Or at least, not in a fair fight.  Switches in his gauntlets flipped downwards, and thick streams of white flame leapt from narrow metal tubes.  Several were immolated instantly, others managed to avoid the blaze.  Amidst the screams of the soldiers, the screams of the protesters continued, and Banks prayed that a decent number managed to escape with the distraction his men had provided.  He looked on his HUD, and noticed that his was the last lifesign for the whole squad.  He was alone now, and alone with the Colonial soldiers, who seemed to be multiplying.  He raised his rifle, and opened fire into the Colonial soldiers.  One of them hurled a concussion grenade.  Its blast knocked Banks backwards, where he finally landed on the steps of the Dome.  And before he could do anything else, a Knight's blade had lodged in his neck, between the neck and collarbone.  

On the balcony, George wanted nothing more than to shout that those were his men saving lives at the cost of their own.  But it would help nothing.  And he knew that they had made their decision.  They had probably removed Confederate insignia before their failed rescue attempt.  Now they were truly in the hands of the Cardinal, and all the Confederate delegation could do was wait.  

"You're alive,Oberlieutenant," George observed. Without his armour, his visage could be seen clearly. His eyes were grey like a block of granite, and his hair was the gentle brown of an autumn leaf. His armour had been taken, but the commandos had been allowed to wear the jumpsuit-like fatigues that went under the main equipment. Carter hadn't been so lucky. He wore a prisoner's uniform.

All of the escorts had been relieved of their equipment. Only Bethany remained relatively unmolested. She still wore the white outfit she had worn onto Xalion, although her jewellery had been taken. "Good to see you again, Oberleutenant, " she said truthfully. "And if you have a plan of escape, all of us are interested."

As for Carter, he was surprised the Knights had allowed the volunteer to live. They had shown no mercy to anyone else. He said evenly, "I'm sorry I misread your pulse earlier. They took my equipment, but I can still set any broken bones you may have." He then added, "I just hope Director Silva didn't see what just happened. If she did, I promise she'll try to start a war."

George suddenly said, "It seems once again, we're at your command. Most of my men are dead in the square, when they tried to stop the massacre. So it seems that as of now, we are your forces. Three veteran commandos who feel naked without armour, a veteran Intelligence agent, and the lovely Ambassador. An escape means a dangerous,high stakes game where you will need all of us. Since you're the King, how will you move these chess pieces?"

"Well... this is indeed relieving...", said the Kirdoni Ambassador, who no longer had his rifle in his possession. "I'd want to get good ol' Lucretia back in my hands. All I want know is to bust some skulls."

"Easy, Ambassador..", nudged the Tesla Trooper. HE still had his power armour on, for it was actually impossible to remove(Tesla troopers are bound to their armor for life). But the knights removed the power generator, so now he can't shoot any blasts of electricity.

"Anyway, my good King...", said the Ambassador once again. "You have a no-longer-lightning shooting Tesla Trooper that needs to get his power generator back, a trio of riflemen with no rifles, and an Ambassador that would love blowing heads open with clean holes. Luckily, the Pryzniki have somehow hidden some of their flash grenades..."