Colony Drop Pt II

“Oh, gods. Oh gods, no,” Sayane gasped as the audible story of slaughter played out for all to hear.

“Erosc! Save who you can!” Attis commanded.

A snarl of adrenaline pulled through Erosc’s fangs as he hoisted his enormous battle axe.

“All ships! To the colony! Save everyone you can!!” Erosc roared as he braced along the lead ship’s forward railing.

With that, the gathered storm was unleashed. Unholy screams from unshackled shards sent screeches into the sky as propulsion systems instantly activated. Before the sound had fully developed, the nearly fifty airships were hurling through the glinting sunset and mining vapors.

Light descended from the heavens, and the fleet dove.

Green rotations spun from the colony’s stabilization carriage as the engines stuttered. Within the colony control hall, cruel gunfire slaughtered every gathered worker, then turned on the controls themselves. Beams tore through panels and dials with ease, guaranteeing that no one would stop the freefall that was beginning.

Sayane, Azag, and Attis listened in horror as the Silence voice carrier continued projecting the screaming, while the Revolutionary voice carrier relayed Erosc’s commands.

“PLEASE HELP US WE-”

“NO PLEASE NO DON’T DO-”

“MOTHER! MOTHER! I WANT MY-”

Cries were cut short as the blaster fire rose into a chorus of violence.

From the dropship, Erosc watched the colony shake as its systems shut down. It tilted to its side and began its free fall. Trails of glowing, unrefined ether drains streamed upwards in scorching geysers that no craft dared to touch. Revolution pilots jammed the guidance shards as far into their containment gyroscopes as possible, doing everything they could to gain on the massive structure.

Then the defensive bombardment began.

Glowing red cyclones gathered along the outer walls.

“Break formation!!” Erosc commanded.

Just as the skiffs and dropships split apart, pillars of light exploded upwards from the colony’s fortified towers. Murderous beams tore the heavens into chunks as their paths cut through stone and steel with ease. Still, the fleet descended.

Sayane forgot to breathe. All she could do was stare at the voice carriers. This was her fault. He said it. This was her fault. All of those horrified screams. They were all her fault. She hadn’t wanted this.

More Revolution pilots cried out in horror as the geometry of death tore them to pieces.

“Only fire on the cannons! Do not harm civilians!” Attis shouted.

By now, the colony was in absolute freefall. Unprepared workers clung to railing and scaffolding for security, but more and more were being ripped from their tethers by the uncaring winds. Erosc watched as a family screamed by his descending ship as they desperately tried to hold onto one another in the calamity of the open sky that was now consuming them.

Uncontrolled collapse sent the colony spiraling. As it rotated, its defensive beams spun like a city-sized saw. Still, Erosc had his orders and his conscience. They would not retreat. His pilot vomited from strain as the entire ship threatened to snap, but they continued to drop. Streaks of light joined with thundering booms as more Revolution ships were hit. Fragments of burning metal and disintegrating crystal fell like rain from the rose and azure clouds.

But they were close. Close enough.

“Prepare to board!” Erosc shouted.

Every dropper let out a frantic cheer as they harnessed themselves to the invasion cannons.

“Xentros, with me! Slaughter all who raise a weapon towards you, but no one else!”

The titanic beast let out a roar of delight as his remaining hand tore its claws across his face, sending deep purple streams into the air.

“All pilots, after the invasion drop, get beneath the colony. Use your stabilization currents. Fire them upwards to slow the descent!” Azag ordered.

Warning sirens cried out as dropbay doors opened to reveal a sky ablaze. Every fighter jumped into the waiting cannon chambers. Glowing bands covered them, then flung them into the terror. Erosc and Xentros climbed in last and were immediately ejected towards their target.

The ribbons of light uncoiled as the invasion party shot straight towards the higher ridges of the colony. Defensive detonations bloomed and spun, striking the droppers that could not roll fast enough. All of those who remained did their best to evade the radiant death that was still spinning before them. There was a moment when the sky itself seemed to fracture.

Light spun.

They were near.

Light burned.

Sayane wanted this to be over.

Light destroyed.

Bodies disappeared into its fury and did not escape.

Erosc wanted to scream as he felt his stomach rising into his throat, but he held his tongue and braced for impact.

There was an opening.

Light missed them, and the majority survived.

The invasion cabling severed within the light, unable to stop their descent. All of them struck the ground far faster than they meant, and Erosc felt his ankle snap. But they were alive. He let out a roar of defiance as he forced himself onto his hooves. Agony could wait.

Xentros landed in front of him with a thud that bent the flooring. A handful of ill-prepared guards were caught in his arrival, and before they could raise their weapons, the titan was swinging a greatsword through their chests and spines as he laughed aloud. Lifeforce sprayed walls around Erosc, and he tried to drown out the horrified gags as souls departed from mutilated bodies.

Beneath the chaos, the remaining ships were following Azag’s command. They reached the base of the colony, and engineers immediately redirected as many of their propulsors as they could. Waves of green flooded upwards and struck the structure, instantly slowing its drop.

But the sea was close.

They’d taken too long.

“Sir, you have less than a minute. We are too close!” a voice said.

“Erosc!!” Sayane cried out.

Doors were blown open, and death greeted the Revolution. Hundreds were already dead. The great hall was full of bodies that had been rounded up in the quiet pause while the Silencers had waited for Sayane, Azag, and Attis. Now, all of those who were gathered were being executed by the zealots who remained alive.

Erosc could see that some were trying to fight. Some were trying to flee. Some were simply holding on for dear life. To his shock, none of the Silencers turned their weapons to the invaders. Every trigger pull was going to be used to make sure oblivion was all the empire knew that day.

“Xentros!! Now!!” Erosc shouted as he and the others began to grab whoever they could.

“FOLLOW ME! SILENCE CITIZENS FOLLOW ME!!” Erosc cried at the top of his lungs.

The crowd turned to him and rushed from their hands and knees, but more firing rang out, and dozens dropped as wounds seared their backs. Then Xentros was upon the zealots, greatsword raised.

“Behold the splendor of the light you rejected!” he bellowed as he cleaved through wave after wave.

Revolution pilots did what they could to buy time. Definition became visible in the waves. They were almost in the water. Only seconds remained before all of them would be consumed by the sea.

“Sir, we have to depart!” the voice screamed.

Defeated realization washed over Erosc when he realized the sea of bodies rushing towards him would not survive. All he could do was grab a small being beside him and turn to the opening.

“No! NO! Put me down!!” the being cried.

“Please! Take him!” another being nearby wept.

“Mother, no! I won’t leave you!”

Claws dug into Erosc’s hand and fangs sunk into his shoulder, but he pushed on.

“Go!!” the mother commanded.

By now, most were realizing there weren’t enough spots for them all to be saved. Panicked parents and desperate elders shoved all those worthy of living to the forefront. Revolution members grabbed who they could. Xentros ripped the spine from the last zealot. Sayane closed her eyes.

Time was up.

“SIR!!!”

Erosc raised his axe and shattered the remaining control panel. Beams evaporated and color returned to the sky.

“All ships to the ridgeline! Prepare to receive us!” he gasped.

Dropships pivoted from their positions beneath the colony and rolled to the reception zone. Revolution droppers were waiting, arms full of survivors. Behind them, a horde of horrified workers was rushing forward, intent on seizing their own survival no matter the cost.

Glowing bands fired out and locked into tensed lines that anchored in the ridge. Waves were waiting. Death was upon them. All of those who could make it jumped to the bands and immediately hurled back to the dropships. Xentros lifted Erosc in his arm and jumped as the child screamed for his mother. Cries sounded out from the mouths of those left behind.

Erosc soared into the dropship as the sounds of the child weeping burned into his ears.

The colony struck the water seconds later, and a concussion of pure white almost consumed the fleet as they pushed into the clouds.

The last thing the imperial voice carrier played out were the begs and screams of the remaining workers echoing out as the colony collapsed onto them before detonating. Sayane gagged in horror as the line went silent.

It was over.

Nothingness echoed louder than anything else that had come before, and Sayane could only listen. Azag’s hand found hers, and Attis finally spoke.

“Erosc?” he asked.

“...We are still here. We… saved who we could.”

Sayane sighed and bit down hard on the back of her bottom lip as she tried to calm herself.

“As of today, the Empire of The Silence is over. Every stronghold is cleared, and all colonies are claimed,” Erosc murmured.

It should have sounded like elation, but there in the darkened chamber of The Ethereum, his words sounded like defeat. No one wanted to clap. No one wanted to speak. Sayane wiped her eyes and shook the panic from her shoulders.

“T-T-Thank you, Erosc,” she softly replied.

“...We will make our way to Haven immediately…” he said.

With that, the voice carrier dimmed.

Sayane glanced at Azag, who was also still processing everything.

“All those people…” Azag whispered.

“Thousands… Gone… They killed them all instead of surrendering. Oh, gods. Did we cause this?” Sayane sniveled.

"Sayane, no, you cannot think that way. This horror rests on those Silencers," Attis challenged.

Then Kol stepped into the light.

“We could have helped. Maybe even stopped the fall.”

Sayane looked up at them. Their eyes were unreadable once again, and their hands were behind their back. But their voice was sincere. Sayane doubted they had any desire to save those people out of kindness, but in that moment, they did seem to believe they could have helped.

“If the Ether had been awakened and mages had our strength, we might have been able to stop this tragedy. It is time, Sayane.”

The declaration pushed the gravity of the moment directly onto Sayane’s shoulders. She didn’t want to feel this burden again. Ever since she’d found her voice in that waterfall, she’d done everything she could to feel like she had some manner of control in what was happening. Listening to the terror unfold while being unable to stop it had unsettled her far more than she’d wanted.

“Sayane?” Azag asked.

Kol never looked away. Sayane’s mind resolved itself, and she sneered as she stood to face them. Even if she didn’t feel strong yet and she didn’t know the full scope of what she was agreeing to, she didn’t care. Helplessness and uncertainty were not feelings she wanted to entertain any longer.

“Tomorrow, then,” she replied.

Faint muscle flickers hinted at a smile. Kol bowed slightly.

“Are you sure?” Attis asked.

This time, Sayane didn’t look away from Kol.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Tomorrow morning, we’ll fully awaken the Ether. Tomorrow, I’ll help the mages get their power back.”