Chapter 10: Initiation Rites

There is a hustle and bustle of activity inside the function hall as a solemn ceremony is about to begin.

Everyone put on a light blue cloak with a woman wearing a Greek war helmet on her head, and an eagle perched on her shoulder painted at the back of the cloak.

The front side is plain, except for a badge with the emblem of a woman wearing a helmet in the front and a hawk at the back of the emblem, at the upper right side of the cloak.

The badges of the elite unit are purple, which signifies nobility.

"O Hermes, the god of space, grant us the power to appear from one place to another."

Everyone in the function hall chanted together.

A few minutes passed before they disappeared and reappeared at the auditorium, which was prepared in advance for the initiation and emergency meeting.

The auditorium is sound-proofed so no one from the outside can hear what's happening inside except for the members present.

The level of secrecy goes to such an extent that only the Order of Athena has the right to know what's going on inside.

Customized trackers are placed on the members' gadgets to ensure nothing leaks to the outside world.

What's inside the auditorium can be described as a luxury only the rich can afford.

Vanishing and self-rearranging leather chairs with armrests, headrests, and even a footrest rearranged themselves into rows and rows in front of a stage.

At the center of the stage is a lectern with a wireless microphone, and a wireless headset attached to the top of the lectern.

At the slanted top of the lectern are engraved these Latin words:

"Scientia, Honor, Nobilitas

Haec bona conserva si superstes est Ordo Athenarum.

-Athena"

Translation:

"Knowledge, Honor, Nobility

Preserve these values if the Order of Athena is to survive.

-Athena"

There are also seats on the side of the stage near the lectern.

Behind the seats is a purple throne.

Everyone except for the Premier, Denver, and the Entire Elite Unit took their seats and put on the wireless headsets placed on the leather seats.

The Premier, Denver, and the entire Elite Unit went up the stage.

The Elite Unit and the Premier took their seats while Denver stood up, ready to deliver a speech at the lectern.

Denver removed his ceremonial military cap, put it on the lectern, put on the wireless headset, and picked up the microphone.

"Ahem. The initiation rite is about to begin. Can I get all of your attention?"

The chattering immediately died down and all eyes focused on Denver.

"Good day everyone. I'm sure you already know the reason why all of us are here. Without further ado, let's proceed straight to the initiation rites."

The Premier motioned for all the members of the Elite Unit to stand in front of her.

"Hello everyone. I'll take the lead for the initiation rites for today. Let's start chanting."

Then everyone stood up, stayed where they are, and started chanting.

"O Athena, I present new initiates to the Order of Athena. Guide them to become effective, and high-value members to aid your cause."

"O Athena, the great goddess of wisdom, I beseech you to confer on these initiates the power to do what the Order of Athena expects from them and give them the strength and wisdom to defeat The Renegades."

"O Athena, grant us the strength to continue the Order of Athena, and we beseech you to assist us in the continuous success, strength, and safety of the Order."

After the chanting is finished, Denver switched places with the Premier at the lectern and motioned for the entire Secret Unit to kneel in front of him.

"Do you accept the invitation of the Order to join the ranks? Do you agree to honor the motto and objectives of the Order? Do you agree to respect the Order officials and your fellow members, as well as the general public? Do you agree to keep the existence and what you know about the Order hidden from the general public? Violation of your oath shall mean expulsion or worse, death."

" Yes, we agree to do all of what's mentioned, and do what we can to honor the Order."

The entire Secret Unit replied in unison.

He said to all 5 members of the Secret Unit one by one while tapping their right shoulder, left shoulder, and head with the blunt end of his ceremonial rapier.

"Arise. From now on, I dub you initiate to the Order of Athena, with the power vested in me as the Grand Master of the 77th Elorian Lodge. "

"You can now take off your masks. You were once blind, but now the truth shall be revealed to you."

He took off his masquerade mask.

Then the entire Secret Unit stood back up and took off their masquerade masks.

"The badge and apron bearing the insignia of the Order are placed already in your respective seats."

Then he pressed three middle fingers of his left hand against his lips and extended them to the Secret Unit.

"Welcome to the Order of Athena, initiates."

The rest of the audience automatically did the Mockingjay salute in the direction of the Premier.

"Down with The Renegades! All hail the opposition!"

The audience chanted in unison.

"This initiation rite is fi- "Denver got cut midsentence when he saw a light blue glow descend upon the purple throne.

A good-looking, sexy, and attractive young lady wearing a crop top and a mini-skirt that exposed her legs, and sneakers, with an unmistakable owl perched on her shoulder, came into existence.

She's seated cross-legged at the purple throne while flicking through her caduceus smartphone, and removing her Bluetooth headset.

The power of a goddess oozed out from her.

A hushed silence filled the auditorium.

They knew better than offend a goddess, who can wipe out her own Order with just a flick of her finger.

"This human form is way too uncomfortable for me. And damn that Aphrodite. This is what I get on her end of the deal. I'm getting way too much attention using this form than I'd have liked. I'll definitely exact payback by making her lovers stupid and dumb."

Athena grumbled under her breath.

"The technology of you mortals keeps getting more and more advanced. It's a wonder a few of you still know ancient magic. "

She remarked out loud and clear.

Athena surveyed the scene and walked up to the lectern.

Denver put down the headset, stepped aside for Athena, and asked her as she approached the lectern.

"Athena, why are you here?"

"If I remember it correctly, you're Denver Hineki, the current Grand Master of the 77th Elorian Lodge, right? You haven't changed since our past encounters. Still blunt and straight to the point."

"Well, Athena? You haven't answered my question. We're quite busy here."

Denver pointed out impatiently.

"You're still as impatient as ever, Denver. All right, I'll get straight to the point."

"I bestow on you my ancient strength and wisdom. I pledge upon my honor as the goddess of wisdom. May Zeus strike me down if break my pledge."

Athena approached the entire Secret Unit and uttered a blessing.

"To the members of the Order of Athena, this is your goddess Athena speaking. I have a hunch that a great battle looms over us on the horizon. I hope you've all done your preparations. I fear The Renegades are actively making their plans come true. They should be stopped at all costs, or it will mean the end of Lemuria as you know it. I'm busy, so I can't stay for long."

Her tone grew even more serious while addressing the audience.

"Athena, wait."

Denver managed to speak out.

But Athena already blinked off from existence right in the eyes of everyone.

"Where are we again? Ah yes, this initiation rite is now finished. The high-ranking Order of Athena members, please remain for a closed-door meeting. The entire Secret Unit, also please remain for the closed doors meeting. The rest can proceed and feast at the function hall. That's an order."

Then the rest of the Order of Athena members teleported back to the function hall to eat, drink, and be merry, while the senior members stayed behind, together with the Premier, Denver, and the Secret Unit.

"Without further ado, let's begin the meeting. The Premier here will begin the meeting."

Then he removed the headset, went back to his seat, and let the Premier officiate the meeting.

"Let's start this meeting straight away. It has come to light that since the Secret unit here has helped us foil, and uncover the plans of the Renegades at the Masquerade Ball, we don't have a definite plan of action yet. Here are what I suggest to be done."

It soon heated up into a debate with Denver and the entire Secret Unit sitting back, relaxing, and watching the debate. It went on for a few hours until they came up with a definite plan of action.

After the meeting is finished, everyone teleported back to the function hall.

It seems the rest of the Order of Athena members already left.

"Before we start this feast, let's raise a toast first to the new initiates, and the major role they'll carry."

Denver raised his wineglass filled with white wine and drank it in one shot.

"Cheers."

The rest raised their wine glasses towards the table where the Secret Unit sat, clinked glasses with those who sat at the same table as them, then downed the wine in one shot.

Everyone ate and drank with good appetites after that.

Inside the ELS Techno, everyone is on high alert as they braced for a battle with the privateer ship.

"Red alert. Homing missiles are incoming. Red alert. Homing missiles incoming." A female AI voice repeated while security alarms blared all over the ship.

"What's the status of the sentry turret?"

"Charging at fifteen percent, sir. "

"We need to deflect the underwater homing missiles. Launch the proton torpedoes." Kenji commanded.

"Proton torpedoes already launched, sir. Expected impact with the underwater homing missiles in 15 minutes."

"Good. Activate the shield barrier, while it's at one hundred percent."

"Shield barrier activated. Sir, the shield barrier is taking damage. Shield barrier down to ninety-nine percent. Turret-fire on our four o'clock. "

"Let's show those bastards what we got. Barrage fire with the gun-turret Delta."

A sharp barrage of return turret fire came from the ELS Techno, piercing through the shield of The Andromeda.

"Seaborne rockets incoming, sir. Estimated impact at 20 minutes. "

"Launch a volley of electron missiles. Intercept the rockets!"

"Sir, our shield is taking damage from our nine o'clock. The shield is down to eighty percent."

"Commence bombardment fire with the gun-turret Indigo."

Missiles and rockets whistled through the air and underwater from both ships before intercepting each other and exploding mid-air/underwater with sharp and deafening sounds.

A sharp staccato of turret and cannon fire can be heard as crews of both ships fought it out to the death, each trying their best to sink the other ship.

After an hour or so, the fighting got more intense, with the shields from both ships dropping, with both sides trying to find and exploit the weakness of the other in order to have an upper hand in the skirmish.

"Sir, we're about to take damage from all sides. The shield has dropped to twenty-nine percent. "

"Everyone, collective fire at The Andromeda. Fire at will."

"Junior Lieutenant Sana Yamamoto, what's the status of the sentry turret?'

"The sentry turret is at 99 percent, sir. Just hold on a little bit more."

The young lady said through her headpiece amidst the deafening din of missiles whistling and the gun turrets firing simultaneously.

Loud explosions and the sharp staccato of turret fire could be heard as both ships fought to stay afloat.

"Sir. The Andromeda is dis-engaging, and attempting to escape."

"Sir, the sentry turret is now charged at 100 percent. "

"Fire the sentry turret. Fire all the missiles we have left at The Andromeda."

The sentry turret of ELS Techno came to life and fired one plasma round after another at the fleeing privateer ship, which caused explosions to occur on the privateer ship.

Each of those rounds hit its target, followed by the last volley of missiles that made the privateer ship sink.

But at the same moment, the ELS Techno got rocked by explosions in the engine room.

At the last moment before sinking, Andromeda unleashed a final barrage of photon torpedoes, aiming for the ELS Techno's engine room.

"Everyone, abandon ship. This is an order. "

Everyone scrambled to get on the lifeboats and put on lifejackets.

Only a few of the crew managed to survive in the mad stampede for safety, including both Kenji and Sana.