Call of Sera
"I prayed the God Emperor to call for a 500kg bomb... He fockin gave me a entire wing to lobbed against the monsters." Unknown Guardsman, A week before the Operation Hollow Storm.
[Jacinto Imperial Church Headquarters]
It is a church that propped up centuries ago, and one of the standing religions that survive the cataclysmic war of both the pendulum and the emergence day.
Many question it's founding, but the reliance fo faith is what kept civilization from splintering.
Alexander was aboard a transport that is heading to Jacinto
After having his papers on leave accepted, Alexander walked towards the hall of the church.
He sighed as he looked outside and look at the cathedral in the distance that he "donated" for a good cause.
People flocked towards it despite the war was ongoing... Preachers stood upon vegetable crates and wore simple robes that preached to the masses. Soup kitchens flared out by the dozen as smoke and spices wafted.
"Citizens of Cog, The god emperor descend upon you!
He gave his herald to love among you.
He have promised you hope and victory upon the horizon!
Never falter your faith!
For in due time, you will enter the gates of heaven and be alongside with your loved ones!" One such preacher spoke to a group of Cog soldiers that is praying with the aquila, clumsily making the holy sign as they were the newly inducted. Incense and smoke filled the surroundings.
In a corner, several Cog soldiers and family simply prayed to a memorial of those that died during emergence day. Pastors spoke their deceased squad mates deeds as they copied the Cog Serial numbers of the fallen dog tags and engraved the ever increasing memorial names.
"So General, Where to now?" A voice spoke beside him.
He turned to look at a woman that wore Cog uniform.
She shrugged as she saluted.
Helena Stroud, mother of Anya Stroud that is Soon to be Marcus Fenix Girlfriend, waited beside Alexander. It was perhaps Prescott method of keeping tabs on Alexander.
"Helena... I'm just a Major, just like you. You here on business or confession?" Alexander joked.
"Never thought of you as a religious man. Besides you cared for the men during the battle of Aspho fields so I get a little bit of flak for following Prescott orders." Helena spoke as she witness the people chanted in Gregorian chants as they went for a sermon.
Alexander spoke with a fondness upon the people.
"Such dire times need a purpose, I know there are some that need COG of survive, but they needed a higher purpose in life.
A divine that keep their morality in check, Want to eat something before I do my business?"
"No thanks, I don't know why you still prefer to be major, you already contributed enough to reinstate your rank?"
Alexander looked in the distance as if contemplating his words
"I prefer fighting at the front, more skulls to crack."
As the they entered the cathedral , a archbishop spoke on the stage. Giving encouragement to the weary.
They listen as they waited for the mass ended.
"A spiritu dominatus,
Domine, libra nos,
From the lightning and the tempest,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From plague, temptation and war,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the scourge of the Depths,
Our Emperor, deliver us.
From the regrets of the Fallen,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the begetting of daemons that dwell within our souls,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
From the curse of the Locust that ruined us,
Our Emperor, deliver us,
A morte perpetua,
Domine, libra nos.
That thou wouldst bring them only death,
That thou shouldst spare none,
That thou shouldst pardon none
We beseech thee, destroy them."
As they finished the mass.
Helena reflected upon the sermon she just witness.
She didn't noticed Alexander slipped out of the crowd and met up with the Archbishop.
The man beckon him to follow in his quarters.
As the door closed behind the duo, the Archbishop spoke kindly.
"Well then, High Lord of Terra. What do you need of the flock of the faithful?" He spoke kindly.
He was just a man that Alexander grabbed on the slums, and make him undergo priesthood... And be his shadow puppet to man the church.
He had a grudge of him but seeing that countless people flocked to listen to his words and a symbol of fevor, he still realize that the man before him, can simply replaced the man.
And especially when he saw the halo floating above his head. That show his divinity.. he let go of his petty grudge because to fool a divine is a risk of death?
"Is the console readied?"
"Yes my liege, the local tech priest have already started the rites of awakening and awakening by your biometrics." He beckon to a futuristic screen that came to life.
Alexander walked towards it and scanned it.
It was replenish with sacred oils.
And he man the console.
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Alexander sighed as he closed the terminal.
He watched the archbishop that drank tea beside the console.
"Is it done my Lord?" He drank the tea as he palmed his cup as if this was a good choice.
To rally the faithful to fight against the locust.
"Yes... My faithful servant, It is just the beginning...." Alexander trailed off as he watched the faithful cheered for the message he sent.
"For a brighter tomorrow..."
Helena watched as the message that is sent out.
It was foreboding, as if it was a sign that things would not get worse.
She saw Alexander walked out with a gloomy face.
"Did you meet the head in that church?"
Alexander put on a face and glumly looked at her.
"Yes, he will use the military assets of the church to assist the Cog for one last operation. He never told me what he could provide."
(???)
In a location far away from civilization on a uncharted island.
A officer stood upon a group of pilots that waited for his arrival.
Behind them is enormous machines of war, priest in red robes drafted their incense and chanted binary to awaken the metal giants.
"Today is the day, Princeps! The High Lord call for your aid, this is what you have been trainin for. This is what you have been fighting for. While the world burns and government fall, humanity stood strong.
The aquila will never fall.
And I see warriors in all of you! Ready the Knights and ready for the teleportation to the mainland. Unleashed the arsenal granted by the holy emperor, Give the Locust the horors of war they wanted... On our own terms." The officer spoke.
There was a rush of wind that passed by and several planes with their bright blue trails of afterburners made a trail mark after them.
Each of the Princeps rushed to their machines and chains ladders dropped from the frame upon their arrival.
They clambered on as the ladder pulled them up.
As they sat upon the cockpit as wires entered into their base of their neck, choirs of angelic voices echoes in their mind...
Man and machine joined together as one as their vision and senses beginning to linked up.
A giant hand rose from the platform, and behind it was a giant eyes that glowed from a frenzy red, to a calming gold.
Several tech priest watched the screens of their god engines.
7 beams of light envelope the imperial knights. And they slowly dissipated to another location.
(Somewhere in UIR territory)
A group of soldiers heard the call.
They were the remnants of the twenty mechanized divisions that were sent to the hallows and survived , but upon escaping they felt their life is hopeless. The UIR already made them a dead men and had their existence removed from the roster.
But a preacher from the church of the Holy emperor approached them and gave them a purpose.
As they received aid in terms of food and fuel and they had done some reflection... Perhaps it was time their taint as a desserter would no longer etched upon their souls.
Their aged weapons taken from the armoury
Vehicle drivers manned their aged vehicles as they undergo maintenance.
They are not fighting for cog, not the UIR but for Humanity as a whole.
A winter storm erupted across their base as the vehicles disappeared into the cold winter storm.
"Get those supplies ready by 0500!" A logistics officer yelled. The crowd around him is in a frenzy at the spaceport of the planet. Crates of ammunition and MREs scattered about. Belts of .50 cal flowed like a endless roll. Artillery shells were packed like sardines, and industrial complex that Alexander scattered the cosmos, now worked as Intended. Plumes of white smoke and grinding of furnaces echoes like the wind.
Tanks being churned out by the hands of the people, and not the system as it made them had more skin in the game.
Regiments stood and readied as ship landed from the stars and loaded them to the distant planet.
Before them is ships that laid dormant for almost 300 years not activated their thrusters. Now thrumming to life as they exited their ancient docks to heed the call.
Cargo boxes were carried by the handful by mechs as all stood ready for the war they faced.
These men and women that lived in space were sera born, Alexander took them to the stars, they see their homeworld in the silence and now the call to arms have been emitted. They will do what they can to defend it.
They will arrived in due time.
(Cog Space station)
This was the station that Alexander made for the natural born Seranians. Many felt worried for the planet they fled. The distance of the planet was time diluted and they still had fragments of the emergence day etch upon their minds
Maria looked at the direction of the planet that her beloved was still fighting on... Praying that he would not die before he see her again.
She worked as a simple seamstress that stitch the soldiers and workers clothes for a living and a janitor when she had the time. Being free from the locust doesn't necessarily means that she can live without repercussions.
But what earnings was enough to keep her and her children fed. And if she earn enough she would try to contact Dominic.
"Mother look!" Benedicto spoke.
Her weary eyes watched from the reinforce glass that there was a enormous Armada that swept by the space station.
Ships, gigantic in shapes and sizes and filled with numerous guns akin to a floating fortresses, flying robots with monocular eyes swept by and one simply stopped by, inches away from the glass, Maria felt fear, but Benedicto tugged her uniform.
"Giant robots! How cool!" The simple minded child gained the attention of the giant mech before him. The giant eye stared directly at the boy that is waving at it.
The mech simply waved as it rushed past the station to meet up with the fleet.
One of the people realized something.
"Aren't they heading towards Sera!" He cried out and the people realized it.
A officer that is surrounded by the numerous space station guard spoke.
With news that shocked them to the core.
"People of Sera, I regret to inform you that Cog have now fallen.
Chairman Prescott have disappeared and made Cog become dysfunction.
Our Herald have managed to gathered the people and reforged the broken system to the Celestial Imperium, this fleet before you, is heading to sera, not to conquer, but to liberate the planet from the monsters from the depths. Rejoice, the God Emperor have answered and our pleas of salvation have been answered. I will find that you are now officially the civilians of our Imperium. And I hope that your accomodations is well fitted to your liking." The officer smiled.
The refugee from sera found their accomodations were more fitting than their stations.
They had better food and access to the news that is happening below.
Maria being a civilian of the Imperium, found her station is better, her wages is higher and she was tasked more better healthcare.
One of her packages was that she can freely call her husband instead of paying absurd amount of money to even call.
She stood outside of the communication hub, as there was a long line of people that wanted to know what happening down there.
Many wept as those that is closest were left behind died in the fires of war, others were screaming tears of joy as they found their relatives and family is still alive.
But each step, she got closer to the communication channel, her heart was racing.
"Is Dominic is dead?" she thought to herself.
Her mind rattling with anxiety as she approached the communication officer that manned the hub. He was typing the futuristic computer as he attended the person before him.
And as she approached he gave a smile.
"What's the person you are looking for?" The officer asked.
"I am looking for Dominic Santiago, He worked for the Coalition of Ordered Government."
"Military man, I presume?"
"Yes."
The officer tapped the console and looked at the screen.
"Let's see... Entering Cog database... Yes, Corporal Dominic Santiago... Yes Ma'am, he is still alive. Want to get a call?" Her eyes widen as she nodded.
"Take to communication booth 32, a call is waiting for you. Put the ticket into the booth slot." He gave her a ticket and she rushed to the booth that had a occupant.
As the occupant finished, she rushed in and placed the ticket slot.
And the a screen came to life.
It attempted to stabilize itself until a figure now appeared before her. He looked older and covered with dust. He got a bushy beard.
"Dom?" She asked.
"Maria...I am glad that you are safe..." Dominic smiled weakly.
"What happened to you?"
"Just... Had a lot to think about... I lost my brother." The meeting was placed on a sobering meeting.
"Alright, Dom, I will be taking our kids and heading down there soon!"
Dom visibly panicked, spoke to her.
"Don't Maria! I lost my brother and I almost lost you and the kids, and I can't take any more of this."
"Dom... I can't bear to see you hurt and alone... I am taking the next transport, just make sure you stay alive..."
"Yes, Maria.."
She heard that next month, the refugees is able to return to the planet. And she booked the earliest one and waited for their return...
Her heart pained as she thought of her husband... She hugged her children and told them that everything would be alright.
"Wait for me... Dom."
(A/n): Happy Saint George day.