As the communication ended, Apophis's mind was already racing at full speed.
Was Azerof telling the truth? Did he really have Antanria?!
Moreover, did he really want to convince Apophis to work for him again, or did he simply consider Apophis to be an enemy too dangerous to be left free.
Was this simply a trap meant to put Apophis in a prison he could never escape? What should he do now?
But no matter how much he tried to think strategically, one question kept repeating over and over in Apophis's head: what if Antanria was already dead?!
Apophis turned towards the command deck's exit. "I'm leaving now."
Grand Admiral Oskiol responded sharply, "We're not done here, Colonel!"
Apophis spun toward him and hissed, "Well, I'm done with you! So either you order Gezol to kill me and deal with the consequences, or you let me finish my mission!"
Oskiol considered all the new information he'd just learned. The events surrounding Apophis were certainly mysterious… but there was no positive evidence that Apophis was a traitor.
Moreover, the communication which had just taken place was good evidence that Apophis was no longer loyal to the traitor Azerof, if he ever had been in the past. So Oskiol said, "You're free to go, Colonel. On one condition: that Colonel Gezol places a ~Mark~ on you before you leave."
"~Mark~" was a Rare skill that was common to every class's Talent Tree, though difficult to access and requiring a high Intelligence score.
It was a kind of interstellar tracker which recorded everything the user did, as well as allowing the Skill's user to track the target anywhere in the universe.
For obvious reasons, the Skill was very popular with bounty hunters and law enforcement, but it had a fairly basic limitation: if the target's Energy ever surpassed that of the user, the ~Mark~ would break.
System: Colonel Gezol wishes to place a ~Mark~ on you. Do you accept?
Apophis accepted.
Though Apophis longed to kill Gezol for this humiliation, he decided that the best course of action was to maintain the appearance of allegiance to the Federation. Since Azerof was undoubtedly preparing a trap, Apophis needed all the help he could get.
After accepting the ~Mark~, there was nothing to do but rejoin the waiting squadron and leave for Azerof's capital ship.
***
As Apophis entered the small hangar once more, he found Chocolate and White laughing together. Since Chocolate had hung back previously while the rest of them landed in the ship's port, Apophis was relieved to see that she'd arrived safely. Perhaps she'd even managed to repair some of the damage she'd sustained in the skirmish.
Apophis walked up to Chocolate. "Is everything OK? Did you make it here without complications?"
Chocolate nodded. "Yes, the reactor had only suffered superficial damage. I'm glad I was cautious, but it could have been much worse. We're all ready to resume the mission now."
Apophis turned to address everyone in a loud voice. "Well, then! I'll explain the news. Emperor Azerof claims he has captured Antanria and has invited me to board and retrieve her. It's most likely a trap, of course, and so we're going to separate here.
"Hulk, you'll lead the mission of finding and rallying the Eclipse members on Terra. On my side, I'll try to recover Antanria."
Hulk seemed uncertain. "Are you sure you want to do this? Seems obviously like a suicide mission to me."
Apophis replied, "If this is the only way to get Antanria back, then we have no choice. If Azerof knew Antanria's identity, then he's probably not bluffing, since that was a pretty well-kept secret. Any other questions? No? Well, let's get moving. Good luck to you all!"
***
It wasn't long before the four Eclipse corvettes took off from the hangar under the eyes of Colonel Gezol and Grand Admiral Oskiol.
Oskiol turned to his bodyguard. "I think we made a mistake, Colonel. We should have questioned him about the real truth of the events on Cronos I before allowing him to leave."
Colonel Gezol's expression didn't change as he stared rigidly at the accelerating corvettes. "I respectfully disagree, Grand Admiral. Letting him go was, without a doubt, the wisest decision you could have made."
Grand Admiral Oskiol raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Colonel Gezol's response was devoid of all emotion. "Because he would have fought rather than give us the truth… and he would have undoubtedly defeated me."
Oskiol gave Gezol a peculiar look, but his trust in the Colonel was so great that he accepted this answer and pondered it for a long time.
***
Before long, the Eclipse squadron split to pursue their separate missions. The MK.3, MK.4, and MK.5 headed for Terra, while the MK.1 sped on its own towards Azerof's capital ship. Behind them, Oskiol's own flagship escaped into hyperspace, marking the completion of the Federation retreat.
The MK.1 passed between the now-passive behemoths of the Imperial fleet like a fly through a herd of elephants. It had been a long time since he'd been in the heart of such an important fleet of warships, and the immense power all around him created a sensation of claustrophobia.
He could see the violent results of the space battle all around him. Thousands of wrecked ships hung in space, cut in two or even pulverized, with the dead remnants of their crews drifting in space around them.
This was the hard life of a Rank F NPC who lacked the power of Ascension. For them, a simple shot from a laser gun was enough to end their existence.
Apophis's ship finally came within close range of Azerof's Imperial heavy dreadnought. The ship was much smaller than Oskiol's, but still one of the largest warship models produced by the old Federation.
Apophis made a broadcast on a public frequency. "This is Colonel Apophis aboard the MK.1 requesting permission to board."
Three fighters quickly appeared to escort him to the capital ship's hangar.
Apophis landed and disembarked, feeling extremely tense. He looked to the right, then to the left, but saw nobody. The hangar was totally empty.
Then his vision started to blur, and he fell to the ground. The last thing Apophis saw was a woman walking towards him.
***
Hulk, piloting the MK.4, was now the Eclipse squadron leader on their mission to Terra.
Thankfully, the retreating Federation fleet had drawn all the Imperium's firepower, allowing the squadron to sneak past without issue. However, Hulk knew that there was probably a welcoming part awaiting them below!
The three corvettes entered the atmosphere at high speed, causing their hulls to glow from the friction of entry.
Then came the sounds of detonations as the planetary anti-aircraft batteries opened fire!
Hulk quickly pressed the radio broadcast button. "Disperse!"
But it was too late. The MK.5 immediately exploded, as all its shielding was focused on protecting the hull during entry.
Hulk cursed. "Chocolate, no! Get out of there, White! Quickly!"
Now only White's MK.3 and Hulk's MK.4 were left. The loss of one more ship would mean early failure, since they wouldn't have the space for all the respawned Eclipse crew members on one ship.
Both corvettes began evasive maneuvers, but it was exponentially harder as they drew closer to the planet's surface. Not only did their speed increase, but the anti-air battery fire became even more furious.
Hulk had been a former military man, and this descent filled his body with familiar glee. The stress of the maneuvering reminded him of his experiences alongside his brothers in arms and made him feel like he was once more fighting in the great war.
His crew, who were all younger, were terrified.
Hulk was so gleeful he felt nearly at the point of orgasm. "Shit!" he laughed to his crew. "Isn't this the funniest thing in the world?!"
Finally, the corvettes were close enough that the first skyscrapers of Terra were visible. At this range, the atmospheric-focused anti-aircraft batteries couldn't keep firing without risking the cityscape itself, so they stopped firing.
But even though they were no longer being fired upon, it was all the two corvettes could do to reduce their speed. Their top acceleration speed had been about 600 kilometers per hour, and it was very difficult to decelerate safely, even with the compensators built into the corvettes to keep the crew from dying to sudden changes in velocity.
The corvettes had been designed for use in the vacuum of space, after all, and they were less suited to atmospheric control than regular fighter jets.
Hulk tried with all his strength to pull back on the control stick, but the variables were just too intense between the speed and the atmospheric friction. The two ships were completely uncontrollable...
At the last moment, the corvettes stabilized, and the mission was saved!
The MK.3 and MK.4 finally landed near a building that had collapsed during the civil war. Hopefully, it would give them good cover.
Hulk, White, and their ten crew members disembarked… then immediately noticed a very strange phenomenon.
The streets were deserted, with not a single person in sight.
For a planet-scale city with over a trillion inhabitants, this was completely unheard of.
White looked around cautiously. "Where are the NPCs?"
Hulk said, "Yeah, and the flying vehicles! It's a fucking capital planet, but it's as empty as a desert!"
But none of them could come with an answer. Eventually, White asked, "Where do you want us to start, Hulk?"
Hulk answered, "See if the communication blocker is still preventing us from DMing our allies, I suppose."
So Hulk sent a whispered message to ThreeDog over the chat system. "This is Hulk from Eclipse. How are you guys doing?"
After a few seconds, an answer came back. "Hulk?! What the hell are you doing?!"
Hulk was confused. "What do you mean?"
ThreeDog said, "We've been stuck on this planet for over a week!"
Hulk replied, "Sorry. We've been trying to get through. We're here for you guys now. In case you hadn't noticed, there was a bit of a blockade in the atmosphere until a few minutes ago. Now, what's your mission status? Did you find Antanria?"
ThreeDog said, "Yes, we're here with her."
Hulk muttered, "Damn it..."
Without responding to ThreeDog, Hulk immediately wrote a short message to Apophis, hoping against hope that the communication blockers wouldn't prevent it.
System: Sorry, the player with the name "Apophis" is unreachable.
Hulk snarled, "Shit!"
White asked, "What's going on?"
Hulk said, "Apophis's team succeeded in their mission. They've found Antanria… but I don't think they're on Azerof's ship, since I can reach them. I think they're here on the planet."
White frowned. "Then she isn't on the Imperial flagship, where Apophis is now heading."
Hulk nodded. "It's a trap for sure, but I can't reach him by message."
White let out several curses. "We have to go get him! Right now!"
Hulk shook his head. "No! Apophis gave us the mission to retrieve his team and Antanria. We will continue on our mission, then consider our options afterwards."
White snapped, "Shut up! Apophis has priority. Don't you understand? He's our real guild leader. If he's captured and we can't free him, then it's over for all of us!"
Hulk's voice became low and harsh. "That's enough, White. Apophis made me leader of this mission, and we'll do as I say!"
White laughed. "I didn't join the guild to be ordered around by a little shit like you. I joined because of Apophis! I joined to do something great!"
Hulk realized she might very well leave, and that it would be impossible for him to complete the mission without her. He shifted his strategy. "Calm down, White. Look, this is exactly what Apophis himself would do. Remember Cronos I? He focused on his mission even when all his team was eliminated. That's why he always wins, because he stays focused!
White thought about this for a few seconds. "Yes, you're right. Sorry. I'll follow your lead on this."
Hulk didn't let his relief show. "No apologies needed. Only focus. Let's hurry up and find Antanria, so we can help Apophis as soon as possible. White, your team's task is to find and disable the anti-air battery. If not, we have no hope of escape after we complete the mission."
White nodded. "Alright!"
Everything was finally falling into place.
