Knights of the cross - Part 1

(Earth - The year 2651)

(Laboratory 45FR3 - European dome)

"Chief! Chief!", a young lady's voice echoed throughout the hallway as she made her way to the lab.

"Hmm?", I heard her but it was faint so I didn't mind, I was just too damn sleepy.

"Chief! You have to see this!", the dark lady barged into my office, panting heavily. "Chief- Oh my", she paused after noticing my current state.

"Mm, what is it?", my eyes struggled desperately to stay awake.

"I-I'm so sorry for disturbing you", her tone reduced.

It took a while for my blurry vision to notice my favourite assistant standing before me, barely breathing. Most of her facial appearances were blocked by her braids as she held a few documents in her hands, her rosary shining brightly.

"Oh, Enny", my lazy body managed to walk up to her. "Haha, what did I tell you? I wouldn't get mad because of something like this."

She looked up, "U-Umm, you're the Chief Scientist. I have to show respect and formality."

"Enny", I sighed as I pushed her braids away and stared into her brown eyes. "I don't care, haha."

Her cheeks brightened, "Chief-"

"Francis, call me that", I interrupted.

"F-Francis, I don't really like it when you push my braids away", she stuttered.

"Hmm, why?"

"It's... embarrassing"

"Pfft, are you kidding?", I stared intently.

Her eyes shut tight, "Y-Yes, because you always end up looking at me with those blue eyes of yours."

I nodded slightly before letting her hair fall back, "Alright then, why were you looking for me?"

"Oh, right!", she clumsily searched through the documents she was holding, causing them to fly all over. "U-Uh, oh no"

A slight chuckle escaped my mouth, "Clumsy girl."

She flinched as she picked them all up, "Umm, something... an unidentified object crashed into the observatory last night."

My curiosity spiked, "Unidentified object?"

"Yes, no one has attempted to approach it because it had a powerful electromagnetic field around it", she properly arranged the papers. "But the field disappeared a few hours ago."

"Take me to it", I grabbed my white coat.

(Observatory - East wing)

(European dome)--------------------

"Incredible", I stared in awe as the object gleamed in the middle of the observatory.

It was a cross made of an unknown metal, almost the size of an average human being with strange runes glowing on its edges and a rather otherworldly design that instantly left me bewildered.

"Chief- I mean, Francis", Enny whispered. "It looks just like the cross on my rosary."

"Hmph", what she said was completely amusing. "Enny, you're the only Catholic in this entire dome. Just because it's a cross doesn't mean it's related to your beliefs."

She looked down, "There's this strange connection I'm feeling."

"This is probably an advanced item from the depths of space!", I looked up at the damage it caused to the roofing. "This might help us leave this degrading planet."

"Francis", Enny's voice seemed tired. "I suddenly feel dizzy."

I turned back, "You did a good job today Enny, go take a rest."

Her face lit up, "Thank you chie- Francis."

*Ping*

A notification popped up on my tablet after she had left.

[Dr. Edwin: Francis, have you discovered anything new?]

[Francis: This is something amazing, this thing proves that there may be a habitable planet out there or some kind of super-advanced civilization]

[Dr. Edwin: Perfect, I want you to study that object until you find out more about it]

[Francis: Yes Sir]

A smile formed on my face, "Time to get to work."

(Earth - The year 2656)

(Observatory - European dome)----------

"I've tried everything, but I still cannot get any information from the object", I shifted the papers off my desk and walked towards the cross. "I'm getting pissed off, haha"

"Umm, Francis", a feminine voice broke through the silence.

"Enny, you're here again?"

"I thought I'd get you a cup of tea", she smiled and for some reason, I felt good.

"Thanks", a slight smile cracked up at the corner of my lips as I took the tea from the tray.

"You still can't find anything useful from it?", Enny walked to the strange cross.

"Yeah, every single activity that this thing carried out came to a complete halt a few months ago", the tea's strawberry essence instantly wiped off all the stress. "No more electric discharges, heat or light, it's dead."

"Oh", Enny stared at it.

"How's the research going?", I placed the cup on my desk. "For the new compound that was discovered."

Excitement lit up on her face as she turned to look at me, "Amazing! Whenever we tried to separate the odd elements, some kind of particle cloud escapes and transforms any object it touches into an anti-matter source."

"Oho, seems like I've been in here too long", my eyes widened. "So now we have the chance to have anti-matter in larger volumes huh?"

"Mhm", she looked down. "We might even be able to control its intensity when it collides with normal matter."

This time, a confident smile came up on my face. "And it's thanks to you."

"W-What? No no", her cheeks flushed as she stared harder at the ground.

"You're the one who found out about all that, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes, how did you know? You've been in here for years"

"Mmm, I might have missed the news on the domes and general discoveries", I walked up to her. "But, I've been keeping a close eye on you."

"Ha... Haha", she zoomed back. "Too close."

I burst into laughter, "Sure."

(Earth - The year 2670)

(Laboratory 23Rdf4 - European dome)

(Enny's POV)-----------------------

"-ALERT! ALERT! ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO BOARD STARSHIPS!-"

"What's going on!?", the alarms suddenly went off during a major compound extraction.

"Enny! We need to leave the planet!", a colleague of mine warned as he rushed to the hangar.

"Why!?"

"The planet's core has undergone a huge chemical reaction! It's going to blow up!"

"What!?", I quickly rushed with him towards the hangar. "When did this happen-", a particular dome caught my eyes as it plummeted down into the exposed core.

"-ALL CONNECTIONS TO THE AFRICAN DOME HAS BEEN CUT OFF-"

My eyes widened in terror, "What do you... mean?"

"Enny! What the hell are you doing!? Let's go!!"

"No", I moved back. "I can't abandon my home."

"What the- Suit yourself!", without thinking twice, he rushed into one of the ships as I took a teleport device to the African dome.

(Central City - African dome)

"Thank God one of the portals were connected", I ran towards the dome's control sector. "Someone tampered with the dome's balance!"

*CRASH!!*

Shrieks of fear resounded throughout the city as the protective glass began to shatter and the dome began to shift to its side.

"H-How do I fix this!?", the controls were brutally destroyed. "If only-"

The entire structure tilted completely, causing me to fall out through the broken roof and kicking me out of the entire dome through the large holes in the broken glass shield.

"Huh?", my brain desperately took its time to process what had just happened as the image of my home's destruction was going to be the last thing I saw... That's what I thought until

*Zzt*

"I'm... not falling anymore", I muttered to myself as my trembling hands tried to feel the platform that had suddenly supported me. "It's, it's the cross!"

The heavenly object poured out white light as it shielded my body from the heat while keeping the entire dome above me balanced.

My hearts sank as I fully realized, "No, I'm floating!"

*Grooaaaaaar*

An ominous sound destroyed the little feeling of happiness in my chest as the magma beneath the earth began to mould into an enormous reptile-like creature.

"Why is all this suddenly happening?", the cross spun to my side. "What am I supposed to do?"

(Night view lobby - European dome)

(Francis' POV)----------------------

"Damn it!", at that point, the only thing I heard was my footsteps violently tapping the ground as I rushed outside to look at the chaos that suddenly arose.

*GROOOAAAR*

"What, What in the world have I done?", my eyes widened in terror as they befell a monster I had agreed to awaken. "Is that", my eyes narrowed.

Someone who seemed to mysteriously float in the air was somehow fending off the beast with the cross that had blasted out from the observatory.

That person looked familiar...

No, it couldn't be.

"E-Enny!!", the sounds of destruction were far too superior to my voice, she couldn't hear me. "Enny! Enyonam!! Get out of-"

A pure white light shone on her chest, was it from her rosary.

Noticing the piece of tech I had on me, I placed it over my ear and activated it. The amplifier boosted my hearing as Enyonam spoke to herself.

"I see, so that's why you landed on our planet", her eyes gleamed with determination. "Dear Lord, we won't take your decision for granted and I will make sure of it."

"What's she doing? Is she talking to the cross?", thoughts zipped through my mind.

*Slice!*

Enny sliced her arm with a knife and steadily poured her blood onto the cross, causing it to radiate a majestic red aura as it condensed an incredible amount of energy.

"I offer my body, blood and soul", she chanted, deepening the powerful energy. "With this sacrifice of blood, I seal the contract with the heavens!"

"Enny", seeing her so determined felt like I had no right to say anything at all.

*Zzt*

Charges swept across the atmosphere, finalizing her attack and forcefully blasting out a fully energized beam-based pulse that shot through the beast, turning it into particles of a million pieces.

The time she allowed was just enough for the dwellers of the African dome to escape with their ships but...

"Enny, ENNY!!", the resulting explosion had wiped out half of the sky along with her.

"Chief!", one of my subordinates pulled me back. "Let's hurry before we're wiped out!!"

Of course, I resisted, "NO!! I'D RATHER DIE-"

*BOOM!!*

A sphere-shaped energy field landed right in front of me, successfully protecting Enny from the full force of the impact.

She... She wasn't going to make it. Blood oozed from several burn wounds on her skin as she struggled to sit up, almost falling until I grabbed her.

"Enny!"

"Francis", she coughed. "Francis!!", her arms wrapped around my arm, pulling me closer to her.

"E-Enny, I'm right here-"

"Take my eggs!"

"What?", the desperate look in her eyes left me shivering. "What do you mean?"

"My soul, will soon rest in the cross, but calamity will surely strike again", the words struggled to climb out of her mouth. "Please, only someone with my blood can wield the cross' power."

"What are you- but there's no need for me to artificially create a baby! Your family can-"

"I have no family!!", blood spewed out from her mouth. "I only have you"

"Tch, I don't-"

She moved her body closer, sealing her soft lips with mine.

"It'll be our child", she smiled.

...

"Mm", my arms engulfed her body, " I understand."