IroFath Chpt 9

==Iron Father - Chapter 9 -==
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Turbline System, Periphery3117
A week had past. People still mulled about at a great loss and a great victory. They didn't know what to think or feel. Deback left his bed side for the first time and made his way to the Preta. The last transmission told him to look to it. He got in the cockpit like the few times he had and looked around at the councils. He still did not know how to fully read, but he had looked at the dials, read outs, and buttons. He tried to recall the lessons that Corden told him when they were both working on the 'mech. Then he saw a blinking light that had never blinked before. He hit the lone button that was next to it and a small monitor lit up. Corden appeared on it.
>>"At time of this recording, Deback, you have just been wounded and resting. I am about to head out the cave and seal it. It also means I am gone if you are seeing this. I hope my death accomplished what I set out for, but that means you are now alone. I am sorry for that, but warriors die in wars. We Manei Domini were made to do the unthinkable and do what others can't do. I have told this to you time and time again. But now you are a part of this brotherhood. I instantly knew that when you tried to stop Kendricke. You fought with faith and to save another of the order. Since The Master is long dead and my bruden you now carry the mantle. Though you have not been blessed by technology or had the sin cut from you... you have already sacrificed your eye and arm. That is proof of your devotion."<<
>>"Now comes a leap of faith and this is for your ears only. The Master had a plan for us after the jihad. We had fall back positions once the 3rd transfer had been completed. We were to head to these certain points then fall back to the five hidden worlds. There in the afterlife we would watch and wait to determine if the inner sphere ever needed us again. As of now I know that three were discovered and are no longer safe due to the information on Kendricke's wreck. There are two left. The closest one that could be made is Obeedah. I do not know what you will find there at this point in time. Fourty seven years have passed and I don't know what The Word of Blake is doing. After I was done here and the repairs on my JumpShip complete. I was going to head there and take you with me. Alpha Deback, even after the nuke was set off there still will be other night haunts. There will be a need to seek out our brothers to fully cleanse this planet. Ramus the guide thinks it might be possible to jump into this system without the damaging effects that have plagued the last three JumpShips. How I do not understand. Now you have that chance. You can go there and Blake willing they are there. You can tell them of this world, that The Word of Blake lives on here, that our brothers and sisters need saved. Look in the side compartment under the seat. Take what you find there to my brothers. There is also a piece of paper and a device. Seek out the guide known as Ramus and show him the note. He is a savant when it comes to KF Drive technology and will know what it is. Whatever you do. DO NOT tell Kendicke of this info."<<
>>"In my final weeks, Deback, I have seen visions or ghosts. Which I do not know. The Master himself has appeared to me. Guiding me it seemed. Never speaking but pointing the way. I have mentioned to you about the VDNI side effects that were hitting me. But never confessed what I was truly seeing. This is that confession. I do not know what to believe at this point. I have always believed in Blake's and The Master's visions, but to be in the miasma of vision or hallucination weighed heavy on me. I carried this burden and now am free of it."<<
>>"Beyond that, I have a feeling that the masses will be lost without me. I had become a symbol to them as The Iron Father. Go to them brother, preach the Word of Blake. Bring hope to the masses. You are my right hand Alpha Deback! You are Manei Domini! Blake's will be done!"<<
The screen shut off and went black. Deback broke down in the cockpit and cried for a very long time. When he came out of it he found he was clutching the pendant he was given the first day he met Corden. The edges had dug into his hand and was bleeding. Conviction filled him. Hope filled him. Purpose came to him. He reached down under the seat and found the compartment. There he found a data chip, a device, and a note. He couldn't read what was on it except for some numbers. He pocketed them and found something else. Corden's personal copy of the Word of Blake. Deback knew what he had to do from this point. He stood up from the cockpit and looked down. People were moving about in zombie like stares going about their lives. No direction.
"Behold citizens of Turbline! I am Phantom Adept Alpha Deback, Manei Domini, Right hand of The Iron Father! I have listened, learned, and witnessed the Iron Father! His sacrifice is not in vain! He sacrificed his life for all of us! Do not mill around! Do not despair! Live and rejoice! We are all now free to choose our destiny! I say it is Blake's guiding light! His hand has been here ever since Corden landed! I have seen what the Word has done and I rejoice!!!"
Deback went on for hours standing atop the Preta. He attempted to lift spirits and hearts. Bring hope to them all. He would travel the twelve towns and preach the word and the sacrifice of the Iron Father. By Blake he swore this!
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Months had past. Kendricke remained in chains in the dungeons left over from the nobles. He remembered feeling the nuke go off and the dirt fall from the ceiling. He had not been beaten, tortured, interrogated, or mistreated the entire time to his surprise. This world was fully Blakist and he had no more doubts about that. Then a day came when the ground shook again. A dropship was landing but it was more intense than normal. Did they actually get some of the DropShips from his wreck? That would mean they now had his mechs and materials. Days later the cell door opened.
Light flooded the room and Kendricke was blinded being in absolute darkness for the entire time. A man came in dragging a wooden stool, placed it down, and sat on it. He patiently awaited for Kendricke to get use to the light. Kendricke saw that the man wore red robes. Corden had finally come for him.
"You aren't going to convert me, Corden. I have seen the evils that you have bore..."
"I am not Corden Kendricke." Deback said.
"I want to speak to Corden. I have much to talk about."
"The Iron Father now walks with Blake, paladin. I am now here instead."
"What do you mean?"
Deback produced a electronic recorder. He pushed the button and Corden's last transmission played. The last voice on the recording haunted him as he recognized who it might be. The impossibility of it, but he said nothing.
>>"The guides have returned. They have repaired your JumpShip as best they could. You and the non-faithful will be returned to Terra cousin."<<
"Cousin? Are you mad!"
"No, I am not. I heard the conversation you and Kendricke had. Believe it or not. The republic is a child of the Word due to the third transfer. I am of the Word now, but after the fact. Cousin is more fitting rather than brother between you and me." He smiled.
"Goto hell, Deback."
"It is Phantom Adept Alpha Deback. Manei Domini. Right hand of The Iron Father,Paladin. For the attempted murder of Corden and myself. By his and my decree I exile you from my sight and from this world. You are now to be boarded and sent to your JumpShip. From there the unfaithful will be sent back to Terra. All material, mechs, and anything of value is to be seized. The Republic is not to set foot into this system. As you know, any JumpShip coming here is scrap anyways. So stay away. Peace of Blake be with you."
Deback got up and picked up the stool and made his way out.
"Deback, wait! Deback waiiiitttt!!!"
Guards appeared as Deback left the room. They forcefully picked him up and dragged him to one of the Dropships. As he was outside for the first time he saw the town had radically changed. More Blakist iconography existed. Murals of Corden had been place here and there. The area around the Preta had stones now setting around it. As they made their way out of the walls, he saw four dropshops. Oh my god he thought. They got all of his dropships. Outside those Dropships, equipment and mechs were being unloaded. They were herky and jerky in their movements. Amateurs trying to pilot what they had never touched. One though seemed to move more smoothly. It was probably Aaron, but he never found out. He was forced aboard and chained in place in one of the smaller quarters. A copy of the Word of Blake was sitting on a desk. Kendricke screamed.
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Deback went down into the caves seeking out Ramus. He asked him to put up on a wall KF Drive and hyper space equations. The man dived into his work, stenciling out the formulas and math. Deback had no idea what they meant. Just numbers and letters and symbols. He recognized the basic arithmetic, but the rest was completely alien. Finished, Ramus turned to him and simply bowed. Then Deback showed him the piece of paper.
"My Word. This is revolutionary! The expanded equations are magnificent!"
Ramus modified the equations working furiously. He stepped back a few times then erased some work and redid it. When he was done he turned to Deback.
"The information here is possible, but it would take two JumpShips to accomplish it. Both cores would be burned out in the end, but it is theoretically possible."
"There exists a way to do this Ramus, it is called lithium fusion batteries and Corden's JumpShip has them or have you forgotten?"
Ramus turned to the equations. He then made more modifications and spent time starring at the wall. Two equations came from the original. One the known super jump that Deback had on the piece of paper. The other, an improved efficient one that would make a JumpShip go a bit more than the standard 30 light year max. Then Ramus kept adding more and more to the equations. Different ways to do different things. Then he set the chalk down.
"This here is the original formula on the piece of paper. With that I am able to extrapolate the better efficient one here. Now this one here. If one strategic places germanium here and here. They modify the hyperspace bubble by controlling the sub hyperspace bubble that I think shows up when entering this system. In other words, I think I found a way back into this system if we were to leave. I have been thinking about how it happens and why it happens. The conclusion me and Corden came to is the high quantities of germanium in this system mess up jumps into the system. The super jump formula works by creating a sub hyperspace bubble within a hyperspace bubble. Threading a needle within a threaded needle. This is simply astounding."
"Aaron told me that you guys also repaired Corden's JumpShip. When Kendricke jumps out of system you and me leave this system. You of all people have the knowledge and know how to accomplish this. If we are successful and you are right. My brethren can return and finally remove the night haunt menace. We will be completely be free at last. I know you don't believe in the word, but will you do this for all of us, Ramus?"
"Yes." He didn't even hesitate in the response.
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Jump PointTurbline System, Periphery
Two dropships had attached themselves to Kendricke's JumpShip. Many people had wanted to leave Turbline that were non-believers. They wanted to see mankind's home planet and thus it was happening. The rest of the populace remained behind. Believer or none believer alike. They worked together to defend their home from whatever night haunts were left. They weren't simply eradicated as one would have hoped but their numbers had been significantly reduced. In the coming years it would be observed that the constant changing forms declined considerably. Whatever Corden had destroyed had given Turbline the chance to expand the towns and better defend themselves. The mechs from Kendricke's force would be kept on Turbline and a few people would attempt to use them. The guides would figure it out.
In a flash Kendricke's JumpShip left the system. Only then did Deback and Ramus talk to the populace on the next step of the plan. They revealed they would be on a journey to another system known as Obeedah. They would attempt to seek out Corden's brethren and bring them here. When and if that happened, Turbline would truly be freed from the night haunt menace.
A week later, the two remaining dropships took to the sky. Five days later one of the dropships attached to Corden's then transferred the pilot back to the accompanying escort. Afterwards Ramus and Deback began the process of switching over the systms to do a super jump. In this case Ramus the master and Deback the helper. With all the settings done the two week process of charging up the KF core and lithium fusion batteries begun. The solar sail hadn't been fixed so the fusion power plant had to be utilized. After the chargings, Deback pulled out a device that Corden had left behind. It had three VDNI connections and three input screens. He attached the device to the main jump console and entered Vapula's ID code, Cordens code, and finally Adept Naamah's. They both looked at each other, hit the red button, then waited. The onboard HPG began to cycle and called into the existing HPG network. There the system took the codes and searched for buried encrypted information left by the Word. There the coordinates were unlocked for Obeedah and relayed to the computer. The ten minute count down began.
Deback and Ramus made for the Dropship as fast as they could. They made it in time to seal the hatch and make for the bridge. The final klaxon came on the minute they got there and ten seconds later the jump initiated.
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What seemed like five minutes passed, then they were ejected into real space. Warning lights and sounds flared as the JumpShip died its final death. The Dropship creaked and groaned. Inner bulk head bulked but held. Damage to the DropShip rendered it unmaneuverable. After the assessment they consigned themselves to fate. Deback prayed and Ramus joined him too.
Two days later noise could be heard coming from the JumpShip airlock. Deback got into the Tengu armor and simply waited for what was to come. Someone was alive on the ship and they would be coming to the bridge. Ramus opted not to get in the djinn armor. He would meet them as he was. Then the bridge door opened and battle armored Asuras came thru into the room in a clearing formation. They pointed their multiple machine guns at the occupants and dead silence hung in the air for a moment. They had the symbol of the Word of Blake on their armor. Deback finally spoke.
"I am Phantom Adept Alpha Deback. Right hand of the Iron Father of Turbline. I seek out my brethren and I am not disappointed."
Minutes passed before a response came.
"We have no records of you, Deback. You speak like us but yet have not shown your face."
"You are correct. I was elevated by the Iron Father himself to Manei Domini. At the time, he was unsure any of us were yet alive and I am not blessed with technology. But..."
He opened the hatch of the Tengu. Revealing his crippled visage. He was missing an eye and the left side his face was an utter mess. There was no reaction from what was likely the leader of the asura squad.
"The Iron Father said I paid the price when I showed true devotion to the Word."
"Who is this Iron Father you speak of?"
"Phantom Adept Tau Corden, Iron Father of Turbline, Manei Domini out of time. His identification is PTC37819038918A99001..."
Deback went thru the memorized code of 256 characters that only those blessed with technology could access to verify authenticity. The fact he knew it by heart was astounding, but he had time to have memorized it from the paper he had. Half way thru the reading the aura lowered their weapons and simply waited for him to complete the code. Minutes passed after he had finished before anyone said anything.
"You have much more explaining to do, Adept Alpha Deback. Come with us. The way back is exposed to the void. What about him." The Asura pointed to Ramus.
"That is Ramus the guide. He is a KF Drive savant. You would be a fool to kill or harm him. It would be utter blasphemy to hurt this frail. Ramus enter the djinn so we can get off this wreck."
They floated thru JumpShip and entered a new docked dropship. From there they detached and began a four day journey till they landed on the planet. During this time they were assigned quarters they were to stay in. During this time Ramus helped Deback learn more how to read and they used the Word of Blake book to do so. When they landed they were transported in a wheeled APC to a complex. There they waited.
"Adept Alpha Deback, Precentor Obeedah will now see you." Deback entered a room...
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Inside a man sat and simply gestured to Deback to sit.
"Adept Alpha Deback, I am Spector Precentor Mot, Manei Domini, keeper of the Afterlife. You have a lot of explaining to do. For now I will humor you with your name as you relayed Corden's ident code verbatum. To have extrated or got that could would have resulted Corden initiating his suicide charges. Then there is the other two codes and the device that was found on the JumpShip."
"He gave me that code after his death freeing the planet Turbline, the other two codes were extrated from a Republic of the Sphere dropship, and he gave me this."
Deback reached into his robe and produced a memory chip. He put it on the table and slid it over. Mot picked it up and looked it over. It was old and in fact original. He pulled up a terminal and plugged it in.
"Aegaeon, access this files and analyze for authenticity."
The computer AI ploughed thru the files on it and took time going over the data. Then a holographic image of Corden appeared on a projecter and spoke.
<<"I am Phantom Adept Tau Corden, Manei Domini, Iron Father of Turbline. I trust that Phantom Adept Alpha Deback, Manei Domini, right hand of The Iron Father has successfully reached some kind of brethren of ours on Obeedah. There is a tale that must be told before you render judgement on Deback or anyone else that accompanied him. Some of it will appear extraordinary. Some of it almost impossible. I am not alive due to my actions to free a world and one that is on the road to embracing Blake. It all started...">>
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City of Geneva, TerraSol System, Republic of the Sphere
Kendricke stood before Devlin Stone. Both his arms had been replaced by cybernetics. His jaw had been repaired and metallic teeth implanted. The hostility towards him from anyone that didn't know him was evident due to his looks. Even Stone winced looking upon Kendricke. The brush with the Blakist would last physically forever.
"The report is most disturbing, Kendricke. The loss of men, machines, and the destruction of the JumpShip coming back to Terra is heavy. On top of that, not being able to return to that system to get the germanium is a complete loss. Then there is your actions that ruined our attempts to get Corden alive. That is pretty damning, Paladin.
"Sir, I acted out of mental trauma from the Jihad. I..."
"Don't lecture me on mental trauma damn it! I can't remember who I was before I entered one of those Blakest reform camps. Effective immediately you are to cease all command of any divisions and units. You are now the liason for the refuge situation. You created it, you get to deal with it. I have no bloody idea what to do with them. They can't be allowed to talk to any citizens of the Republic without starting rampant rumors of The Word being alive."
"Sir, they earned their freedom to come here. Despite what transpired there, whatever the Blakists did, I believe they deserve to walk on Terra."
"There are a few islands that they could be allocated to them. Maybe a few places in Australia. We would have to vet them and filter out any Blakist infiltrators."
"Sir, these aren't the Blakists from the Jihad. They aren't suicidal cyborgs nor fanatical death cultists. If anyone is amongst them, it is misguided fools."
"Noted. For now that is all I have, dismissed." Stone ordered
Kendricke left Devlin Stone's office. The physical parts of him were easy to deal with. It was the mental images and problems he was having. He dared not express what he thought or he would be labeled as a sympathizer. The actions of Corden up till the very end of his sacrifice had shaken his opinion of The Word of Blake. The Manei Domini were humans for sure, monsters, but Corden had fought for Turbline's populace and sacrificed himself to give them a chance against the night haunts. He never came and talked him after he tried to kill him. He only had learned when Deback saw him in person. Then the book. That damned book. What it contained and what it said to him. The note from Corden to him...
Then there was that damned recorded final transmission where it sounded like The Master had spoke at the end. Kendricke would be haunted for the rest of his life with inner turmoil. As a Paladin and a possible Word of Blake convert that would never have resolution in what to truly believe...
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<<"Phantom Omega Taust, escort Adept Alpha Deback out.">>
The heavily modified Manei Domini took Deback and they headed towards an infirmary where he would likely be blessed with a new arm and eye. Precentor Mot turned to the a computer council and a holographic image of Apolyon showed up.
"What do you think, Aegaeon?" The computer AI image looked at Precentor Mot.
"The information that Adept Alpha Deback is most stunning. His passion and conviction are off all the psychological charts. What he has told us is 99.99% true per psychological analysis. All data indicates that all events are scientifically possible. The report by Adept Tau Corden. The misjumps, future jump, the system appearing cursed. All of it is possible with in the realm of hypothetical calculations. I have spent considerable cpu cycles simulating and replicating what has been presented to us. In fact the data being provided by Ramus the guide is ground breaking. The implications of what could be accomplished for JumpShip travel could change things forever."
"Put all that aside for now, what about sound recording index TM34134. Put some effort into that one."
The AI computer switched over to the directive. A few minutes passed before...
"Blake's will be done!", "Blake's will be done!", "Blake's will be done!", "Blake's will be done!"....
"Aegaeon, initiate subroutine 'cancel'."
The computer knocked itself out of a causal continuous loop.
"Results, Aegaeon?"
"Data analysis of the final transmission recording of Corden puts in a matching voice modulation to The Master at 96%. However, due to radiation spike, nuclear detonation, and the like, the percentage drops down to..."
"Enough. Append the file to percentage... Faith. The brotherhood will have to debate and decide on this. However, it is not the sign."
"Agreed. It is not the sign of the promise. It is something else."
"Yes, I whole heartened agree. I call it an opportunity and a calling. We will initiate Corden's last will and memory based on your findings. It will take years to prepare and test the JumpShip changes, but we will do it"
The holographic image of Aegaeon switched over to another figure. The Master.
"Blake's will be done."
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Ten years had past with no sign of Corden's right hand. The populace had done its best to defend itself. Mechs had broken down in time due to improper maintenance. The technology mostly beyond the guides but they fought to keep them running. The towns had expanded and the main travel routes had walls following them. The newer towns had been abandoned that didn't have the caves and the older towns had expanded outward. In silence, the Preta stood in a stone structure that had been built to protect it from the elements. It had served everyone well. It charged batteries for all the laser weapons, kept some power for Baltmare, and kept the battle armors left over some what running. There was the vigilance order, created to check the Preta cockpit for transmissions every so often. During those ten years nothing came. Then one day something came thru. Static appeared that indicated a JumpShip had entered the system. Then the radio came alive.
"This is Phantom Adept Tau Deback of Turbline, Right Hand of the Iron Father. I have returned and Blake's blessing is upon you! No more despair, no more want of hoping, no more suffering and waiting!. Your brethren are here and the night shall be alight!"
Five days later five Dropships hovered over the planet. Two were of the Interdictor class. Armed with sub capital weapons, they would bombard the planet where it was needed to rid any infestations on other continents. The other three contained celestial mechs and spectral aerospace fighters. They were preparing to drop in on the planet.
Deback was in his Archangel Luminos. He had taken on the 'mech in Corden's honor and memory. The design had suited him well. Over his buffered VDNI he issued the command to pre-launch everyone. The drop pod would do fine until they hit the atmosphere and then he would descend to the planet on the mechs own wings of fire. He looked at his reflection in the cockpit glass. His true left eye glowed red. Then he looked at his left true arm and then made a fist. He nodded to himself and with a few simple words he started the drop sequence.
"Brothers and sisters it is time. Let Corden's memory fill your hearts as we go. Blake's will be done. Corden's last will be DONE!"
His Archangel and others were released from the Dropships. A new beginning of an era on Turbline began as they entered the atmosphere over the towns...
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The End?
*; Note from the Author : Thus ends Iron Father. Some rework is needed from what others have pointed out. Currently the story in its form could be cannon due to it being slightly removed in a different system working behind the scenes. Since we don't have much on the WoB other from The Ghosts of Obeedah, this makes things dicey of what comes next. Since finishing the story, I also learned there are only a number of Paladins that exist. Kendricke could be some form of hidden or Ghost Paladin.In any case stay tuned for the second installment when I get around to it and most importantly. FINISH it. No stop gap measures or half published something that just abruptly ends. The way Iron Father ends works great, but what more could happen....His Right Hand
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Chapter 9