Daren Wake's Story

Daren finally ascended to the appropriate floor and busted through the stairwell entry coming into a room closed off by another foyer. This one was much more secure with cameras in the corners of the room, and one secure door flanked by transparent but fogged ballistic glass both for security and aesthetics. Daren stepped in still getting an entire feed of his surroundings from the sonar pulses reaching well beyond his position.

In a single motion he punched through the security door activating a silent alarm that would be responded by no one and a barely noticeable yet annoying 'beeping' sound signalling the actual alarm that the R&D facility had been compromised via force. Ignoring all of this and the cameras now following his move he jogged around the R&D center looking for anything worth while. Much as he expected, computers has been physically destroyed, documents shredded and incinerated with efficient document disposal units that were plentiful around the center. "I know they must've missed something." He kept searching.

Making his way to an elevated level in what appeared to be a series of offices for more higher level employees he received a transmission. "Attention native mercenary force; if you can read me, I am Lieutenant Kalfas of the Aschen Empires SOLCOM task force, I'm in need of your services and you will be compensated handsomely, proceed immediately to the roof for assignment." Daren listened to the message on repeat 3 more times until he stumbled on a lone box that appeared to be dropped and forgotten. It sat in the doorway to a large conference room with a large window view of the back side of the OmniCorp facility. He knelt down and picked up several folders and a square piece of glass that came to life once it was handled showing the last point it was at before being interrupted.

"Fortune favors the bold... Finance projections, investment stocks, possible choices for mid to high level employee hires- not exactly what I was looking for. But the suits would love this. Julius, scan and immediately store this data into a hard drive space. We'll transmit it when we got time." "Affirmative- scanning now." Just then a rumble shook the building, making the mercenary hold on to the wall for stability. He flipped through the papers faster, needing only a moment for his visor to scan the paper before he moved to the next one. As for the glass tablet he would have to carry that manually.

"To the lieutenant that broadcasted-" More rumbling ensued around him with increased intensity. "The frequency and intensity of these tremors suggest that the support structures for the OmniCorp building are being compromised. Recommend immediate egress." "Any idea why?" "Unkown, perhaps the large extraterrestrial being has been turned to attack the facility as a last resort effort to disallow any other factions from utilizing this facility. A known tactic of invading occupied territory." "Well that's fuckin great now isn't it-" He broke from the current conversation to transmit to whoever was listening. "Whoever the fuck you Aschen people are, you've got a limited amount of time. So talk fast, this building is going down."

Daren attached his KAR rifle to his back magnetically and punched through the floor of the raised level and sprinted towards the stairs rushing up. Breaking through barriers was extremely easy for him in this armor. Clutching the tablet in his left hand he rushed up towards the roof from the 16th floor unsure if he'd make it in time but this high up he at least would need a ride.

The storms conjured by the broken arrow seals served little more than to provide a dramatic backdrop for the Aschen war adepts. Inside the main foyer of the Omnicorp building, what few Aschen marines that were left were trying to drag their wounded to safety, while others dropped their weapons and took off, their shattered morale evident as they threw down their weapons and deserted.

The Adepts on the other hand seemed to lavish in the carnage of battle. They enjoyed the melee aspect even more. The Warriors moved into Melee range, trying to pry the weapons from the Adepts with varying success. The armor of the Adepts hissed, hot nuclear vents spilled superheated air from their backs as their armor kicked into overdrive. Servos and hydraulics whirred, as the Adepts wrestled with the alien warriors. The Warriors would quickly find that these power armored Adepts were quickly matching them in sheer strength, speed, stamina, and tenacity. Each blow first impacted the shields, which flared brilliantly along the fists of the Warriors, energy surging out in every direction. Punching into these shields likely felt as if one was punching corn starch, the energy of the blows being dissipated across the entire surface of the barrier. Once the fist impacted the helmet, if they managed to get through the Adept's arms as he matched and blocked incoming blows, sending their own blows at the Warriors. Kanvium reinforced piston driven fists swung hard, impacting with the force of a speeding freight train. Other adepts favored bladed weapons as they got into Melee combat, with some drawing their carbide-ceramic blades, and would strike for whatever weak point they could find within their enemies.

Amidst the brawl, some Adepts tried to physically overpower their adversaries, one going so far as to reach out and attempt to tear the warrior's head clean from it's shoulders.

The Adepts fought brutally, lusting in the din of battle.

"Purge the alien!" One of them called out, before he charged at the closest warrior, Jump jets cracking to life and sending the Adept careening towards the nearest warrior, all 1,800 pounds coming at the warrior like an out of control automobile.

"Adept Squad leader, this is Actual, I've got reason to believe that the Xenos are trying to bring the building down; do not allow the building to.." The radio signal faded out as the building shuddered under the Golem's attacks. "oome down.. Stop whatever it is at all costs."

The Adept captain nodded, and keyed his response as an axe impacted his shields and armor, the shields flared angrily and the armor seemed to ripple with the impact. Alarms flared inside the Heads-up Display for the Adept captain.

The man growled, and spun around, grabbing his chainsword and revving it, before bringing a wide swing across with the intention to cleave the warrior in two.

Whether or not the attempt was successful, the Adept suddenly disappeared in a flash of light, and a pop before re-appearing not a few feet away from the towering Golem.

He engaged his jump jets and bore his heavy magnetron outwards, gritting his teeth and pulling the trigger. He fired several slugs at the Golem's center mass, the Heavy Magnetron barked it's report before the Adept released it, the massive weapon clattering to the floor with an audible clack, as the Adept attempted to collide into the Golem, and grab the magical creature by the head, swinging around to come standing on it's shoulders.

The Adept screamed, as his armor whirred in protest. The Adept was attempting to grab the Golem's head, and secure his footing on the Golem's shoulders. Hoping to keep it distracted. He promptly followed up by grabbing his Snub-nosed heavy magnetron pistol, he moved to try and cram the barrel of the weapon into the gap between the Golem's chin and chest, before firing several times, as many times as he could until either the Golem tossed him off, or he managed to kill the massive creature.

Several other Adepts regrouped, from their melee battle with the Fyrnskains, flashing out and closer to the Golem with the Adept riding it like a rodeo star.

Grabbing their weapons, those that hadn't been disarmed in the melee combat; they once again began to concentrate their fire, stopping only when a second Adept charged at the Golem's legs, aiming the collide low, knocking legs out from under it and hoping to bring the towering magical monstrosity crashing down.

----

The building continued to list as the Marine lieutenant shook his head.

"This place is going to come crashing down any minute, How far out are Tech Con's Condors?" The Lieutenant called out. The Radio corporal shook his head, before keying in messages across the Aschen Datalink, while the Lieutenant listened to the response.

"Whoever these aliens are, we're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to secure the city. I have evac coming to the roof, if they can get here before this building comes down." The Lieutenant replied on the radio before he looked out to the horizon.

"This diversion damn better work, I'm losing a lot of good men down there." The Lieutenant said as he turned to the Tech Con quarter, a single Condor VTOL sailing through the air towards the building.

The Fyrnskain continued their assault on the adepts, the combat quickly driving them into a berserker rage. Mortal injuries were ignored, broken bones were disregarded, all that mattered to the battle crazed Warriors was the combat. They charged and assaulted the Adepts without pause or rest, relentlessly striking and grasping, heaving. One warrior would go so far as to physically lift an Adept into the area before slamming him into the ground, shattering the earth with the force of an avalanche. The Adept who charged into a warrior found his momentum met in equal by the Fyrnskain, who bellowed a battle cry. Those Legion Warriors who remained were driven into a battle rage by the warcries of the Fyrnskain, and they attacked with renewed vigor, likewise ignoring harm. Each and every warrior who fell, be they of Legion of Fyrnskain, would ignite into iridescent chromatic flames that would peal off and be absorbed into the wings of the paladins.

The Adept who sought to slay a fyrnskain with his chainsword had not seemed to notice the blood lust in his opponents eyes, as the mighty war captain grabbed the weapon and shattered it in his grip. When the Adept vanished from sight, the fyrnskain peered around seeking his prey. He failed to find it however, and immediately returned to assaulting the other adepts.

The Golem gave no notice nor thought to the adept who now rode his head. The weapon the soldier used richocheted from the golems body, cracking the surface and causing bell like tones to issue throughout the lobby. The focused fire of the other adepts continued to crack the Golem's starsteel body, even going so far as to break small chunks of the material off of it. The Adept who charged it would feel as though they had slammed into a mountain, for the Golem's legs gave as much or less ground than an ancient peak of stone. The Golem continued it's work of breaking the support structure, it's single minded drive focused upon the task without exception.

The Archers chose that moment to break from their cover, firing a volley of red arrows at the supply station on the roof. Each arrow would sail through the air and erupt, a few feet from it's target, into an expulsion of molten rock and metal. This was intended to destroy supplies and devastate forces. The Archer captain, recongnizable via a blue sash that crossed his chest, called out to his three remaining subordinates "Get to that portal, we need to know whats on the other side. All else matters little!" His voice was musical and his language unknown to those not of the Legion Warriors.

As the archers on the roof sought to break cover, their arrows sailed through the air towards the seemingly defenseless personnel on the roof.

The arrows would have come in for the kill had they not inexplicably veered off course, the condor banked around hard towards the roof, while a figure emerged from its back hatch.

If the Isaltri forces were as ancient as they claimed, they would recognize the armor as the legendary Alteran Z-187 powered exoskeleton. The Mysterious figure leapt from the Condor before sailing towards the ground.

"Imperial forces this is Bishop, I'll handle the walking mountain, make sure I'm paid on time." The voice said as it echoed over the radio.

The strange figure landed on the concrete in front of Omnicorp with an audible thunk; the din of battle going on all around him. He watched the Fyrnskains and the Adepts do battle, with the Adepts holding the slight upper hand, but their zeal was visibly wavering as they were starting to incur wounds, their armor showing the scars of the intense battle they were fighting.

Bishop watched as an Adept was slammed into the ground, his armor groaning in protest as he struggled back to his feet, to regain the upper hand.

If a legion warrior approached bishop, Bishops mind would snap like a rubber band, the incoming attack would be stopped by a seemingly unseen force unlike anything encountered before, before Bishop envisioned the Warriors neck snapping like a twig, his vision aimed at becoming a reality as his mind influenced the events around him.

He stepped through the chaos of battle, moving to use his power to end anyone's life that got too close, his eyes on the Golem.

He focused his mind and extended his hand, a bubble of seemingly impermeable energy erupting around the figure, protecting him from the onslaught of the surrounding alien warriors.

He exerted his will on the Golem, and he made his hand into a fist, gesturing in a sudden sweeping motion. The same unseen force aiming to throw the golem away from the pillar. This unseen force was capable of moving even the mightiest mountain with effortless ease. Bishop then clenched an open hand into a fist and exerted the pressures equivalent of the event horizon of a black hole on the golem.

The very fabric of reality bent a knee and Bishop used his perception to isolate and aim at the very life core of the Golem, his mind attempting to bypass the starsteel armor and rend the golem's very heart into a thousand pieces.

The archer managed to get lucky as he made his attempt into the Bifrost vortex. If one considered the fate that awaited him on the other side as lucky, as the archer would emerge aboard a Reverence II somewhere between Terra and the Aschen Empire.

Daren kept on climbing his armor giving the mere human the [physicality of quickly ascending each flight of stairs with minimal fatigue. But climbing upwards of 40 levels did add up and even in his armor Daren was beginning to feel a burn in his thighs. With grunts and concentrated effort he kept up the pace as the entire building shook and rattled around him during his ascension.

When he finally made it through the top. Daren didn't even bother with the door busting through it by simply running through the metal. The scene on top was a firefight, although much smaller in scope to the one happening down on the ground. The exchanged were those green bolts of energy, with arrows flying from the opposite direction then exploding in red. He was facing the Aschen troops with the troop of archers behind him blocked by the stair well structure he had just enter from. He had been noticed by this time, making the Aschen marines adjust positions to the new possible threat. His

His armor assessed the battle environment before him, causing his armor to visibly change configuration plating and hardening itself to better withstand super-concentrated heat blasts. Trophy system defenses were online and had begun 'pinging' with it's own internal sonar system getting a lay of all hard bodied targets with a 50 meter range. Extremely high tech for it's time on Earth, but low-to-mid level protection in Aschen terms. The armor was still quite an accomplishment for being able to provide such protection on it's own and with it's own internal power supply.

Daren drew his pistol from the magnetic holster hardwired to his right thigh, and held it in a high ready position getting into an athletic stance. Not knowing who was friend or foe, he was ready to dash and fire at who or whatever aimed at him first. Any hard projectiles or explosives would be made inert and deflected from the Trophy defense system. "Kind of a fucked up Mexican shoot off we got here."

One of the warriors did charge the bishop, though it was one of the youngest ones that did so. The others knew well enough to avoid the being who had dropped into their midst. They were not afraid of him, they simply knew that they were not equipped to handle him. The only one who was had been directed to a different front, and would simply not be able to reach them in time.

The warrior that made the effort of charging, normally, would have been protected from the psionics of the Bishop, normally, if an Antimana grenade salvo hadn't stripped his armor of all it's magical defenses and wards. So the breaking of his neck insured that, when he was reborn, he would not make that mistake again. His body, like all the rest, burned away in Chromatic flame.

The Paladins took this time to evacuate the area. The battle was all but lost, and they were of no further use in this theater. They would regroup in the Business District before redeploying to other fronts.

The Golem was made to charge without cease into the very gates of hell itself, but even the earth can be moved with enough force. To say it was thrown from the pillar would not be accurate, as it's weight and size gave it significant resistance. Still, try as it might the Golem could no longer stop itself from being forced away from it's target. Furthermore, the intruding influence of the Bishop, though it would take a significantly greater effort, was eking it's way into the constructs body, towards it's core. The simple and one track mind of the Golem did the math and came to the conclusion.

It threw both of it's hands up into the air before slamming them back into the ground, anchoring itself in place, so that not even the Bishop would be able to move the Construct. Then it's body began to glow brightly, getting even brighter with every second. A humming sound filled the air, along with teh taste of iron, as energy crackled from the starsteel Golem. It was inciting it's body, a process that would turn the entirety of it's mass into an explosive energy. The spears had undergone this same process and had detonated like Grenades. The Golem would explode with the force of an erupting mountain, the magnitude of a nuclear bomb.

The archers continued their fire into into the enemies numbers, no longer concerned with their own lives, they continued to fire one after the other, until their arrows were all spent. Once they no longer had ammo each Archer would charge recklessly to breach through the portal.

Reaching the other side is all that mattered to them. What awaited them was irrelevant, as after they had reached the other side they would quickly take in every sight they could before their enemy slew them. What the Aschen could not know was that the Archers bodies, after being burned away by their innate nature, would be reborn at the nearest Soulstone. Once they had, they would be free to recount all they had seen. As they were, first and foremost, the scouts of the legion Warriors, this method of gathering information was a least sacrifice in their eyes.

A blinding light erupted across the sky, and as that light touched the golden armored warriors, they all dissolved into pure white feathers radiating a soft white glow of warmth and joy. The feathers faded as the light did, and the invasion came to an end