Echo Alpha's Story

Silence remained Echo's prerogative for the moment. His eyes betrayed his discomfort, as subdued as it was. He did not understand the hostility towards this world, when it appeared to have committed no crimes. He just wanted to return to the ship he knew, where at least the crew acknowledged him beyond suspicious glares.

He did not want to be party to decisions that could end a world, since he could do nothing about them.

"The same people who put Jarrod Kane into power in the first place," Kianna replied dryly. "The only reason for this is because they didn't get what they wanted out of him."

She shook her head with disgust.

"Not a year ago you could think of nothing else but being rid of this, and you cursed these men that you say you trust. I won't play puppet for the Quorum."

As the Aschen ship pulled out of orbit, several flickers of light emanated out in the distance as another Aschen fleet jumped into the system.

The fleet was spearheaded by the command ship, the AHSC Absolution, with the Bloodied spirit not far behind.

One by one the rest of the fleet jumped into the system, several thousand ships strong. And they began to file into position.

Nagala turned to Kianna, and then back to Mollem. "It seems the fleet has arrived. I'll prepare to go to the planet and make contact with their government to facilitate their surrender." She said, inclining her head, as Mollem nodded, turning to Kianna. "They won't because I have a job for you."

He turned to face her, his expression darkening. "Those that disagree with my designs... kill them." He said, folding his arms in his robes. "And when I was rid of it, I knew how miserable it was to be hunted, to have no control. I don't want that anymore. I'm going to seize this Empire and make it strong." Mollem said, and Nagala nodded.

"I worship his shadow." She said, departing from the ship, while Mollem turned to the planet.

"This world... ignorant in their imminent demise. I will make slaves of them, and they will build statues of us." Mollem said. "So long as we direct our conquest away from the Coalition, we will be set loose on these savages with their blessing. In the name of National Security."

"I would like to personally oversee this invasion, actually... What do you say? For old times sake?"

Kianna remained silent for many minute as her anger roiled through her and she mulled the matter over.

Finally she folded her arms over her chest and spoke.

"These people are broken already. They live in fear of their own government. Break the government and the people will follow," Kianna said simply.

Kianna turned and swept away, leaving Mollem to the matters at hand. Even with their superior weaponry, it would likely be hours yet before they broke through the Isirian fleet to reach Arastel. Even when faced with insurmountable odds, it was oft in human nature to defy them anyways. It was a trait she could appreciate, though it would do these people little good.

The Reverence-S Blackbird slipped through space at high speeds, on track to return home after its mission in the Aurora. A mission that had ended very differently to how those aboard had expected. The fugitives they had expected to be taking into custody had instead been rescued from custody and declared the rulers of the now-Empire once again. Nobody seemed to want to mention it, though. It was probably better for their health that they pretended that had been their goal all along.

Echo had spent most of the journey thus far in solitude, thinking long and hard on what had transpired. It had been his first encounter with the man they had once, and now again called the Divine Shadow. Before now he had just been a name, first one spoken with reverence and then one spoken with disdain. He had been taught to worship the ground the man walked on, and then told that had all been a lie and that he was nothing more than a man who had plunged the nation into chaos for selfish gains.

And now, things were set to change all over again. It was more than he could keep up with.

Then there was the matter of the nation they had left behind. The one that the Divine Shadow had ordered destroyed. He gathered that plans had changed, and the people were instead to be subjugated, but he couldn't help but continue to question why. Was it simply petty revenge for his treatment at the hands of their due process? Why had he ordered the death of the police officers, when Echo could easily have disabled them instead?

But Echo had obeyed. He had killed for no more reason than that he was told. Was that loyalty, he wondered? Was that a quality to be admired?

With those thoughts and questions running through his mind, he found himself at the door of the Commander's quarters. He had not spoken much with Commander Adams, but in his observations of the man he had seemed wise, experienced. Perhaps he would have answers for some of Echo's questions.

The young golem raised his hand to the door and knocked.

The door slid open with a hiss as Adams ran a hand through his disheveled hair. From his rumpled uniform and groggy state it seemed likely that Echo had roused him from slumber.

He might have dismissed Echo outright, but something about the lads eyes told Derek this was more than a social call.

He stepped aside and waved Echo in as he shrugged off the fog of sleep.

"At ease," he told Echo.

The quarters Echo stepped into were rather militant in nature with little in the way of personal effects or color to brighten the room.

"Thank you sir." Echo said, relaxing his posture slightly as he moved inside. He took in the Commander's state and immediately regretted his timing, but thought it would be more impertinent to suggest he come back another time now, after he'd already woken him.

The golem hesitated, as though expecting to be questioned or prompted for why he was here, but after a few moments of silence he picked up on the unspoken expectation for an explanation. "Sorry to disturb you, sir. But ..." he glanced down at the floor thoughtfully as he considered his words carefully.

"How do you keep track of what is right, and what is wrong, when what was right yesterday is wrong today, and what was wrong yesterday is grounds for praise and commendation today?" he asked finally, lifting his gaze back to Derek.

Derek moved to a nearby cupboard and retrieved a pair of glasses from it. A bottle of liquor too was retrieved as he poured out a glass before looking to Echo.

"A drink?" he asked as he held the bottle of amber alcohol in hand.

At Echo's acceptance of the drink he filled the second glass and offered it to the lad. The kid's question was a valid one, and one that every Aschen soldier asks themselves at one point in their life. It was more or less a matter they all came to terms with in their own ways.

He took a sip of his drink before gesturing to the small viewing window that afforded them a view of Langara in the distance.

"The answer to that question lies there," Derek explained. "It's not our place to question the orders that come down from above. We serve a different purpose. When we put on these uniforms and swore our allegiance, it was to protect the people of the Aschen Co-" he paused. "The Aschen Empire," he corrected. "There are over forty-five billion people who call this place home, and all of them look to us for their survival, their way of life. Sometimes we do distasteful things in the name of security, but as long as you serve the people of this Empire, your conscience is clear."

"Were the people we found the Divine Shadow amongst threatening our security?" Echo asked. The tone of the golem's voice suggested that this was a genuine question, as opposed to a challenge to Derek's statement. He took a sip of the offered drink, and was briefly surprised at the taste of it before the warmth that followed. While Derek looked out over Langara, he gave the amber liquid a suspicious stare before he returned his attention to the window and Derek.

"Why do we sometimes kill when it is not necessary, when ultimately the deaths will be meaningless?"

"You have seen the damage done to Caprica City," Derek reminded Echo. "People who are not of the Aschen Empire will always pose a threat to our security. Millions of people died on that day, most of them civilians. Sometimes, fear is the only way to ensure that doesn't happen again."

He shook his head and downed the rest of the the amber liquid in his glass.

"By seizing Isiria we secure our assets, and bring their civilians under our protection. They will be citizens now, and afforded the same rights as any other Aschen citizen. Some will die, but those casualties will be worth the billions more that are spared."

"What makes them so different to us?" Echo asked, "Are we not the same to them as the ones who attacked us?" He knew little of the strike on Caprica, only conflicting rumours of it being a strike by UCON, Terra or any number of old enemies.

"Do you think they have the same conversations? The same thoughts of protecting their people? Why is it that people continue the cycle of mutual fear and hostility, when both nations want the same thing?"

The golems eyes fell again. "And on a personal level, too. When I was ordered to retrieve the Divine Shadow, he was in the custody of law enforcement officers. I had thought to disable them as I had those in the hall, but he ordered me to kill them. That was not necessary. Their deaths meant nothing, no gain could be garnered from them. There was no point to it."

Derek shook his head. "Had you left them alive, and one of them killed one of our men, those deaths would be on your conscience instead. In an ideal world such measures would not be necessary, but we don't live in an ideal world. If you don't kill, you will be killed and probably get others killed with you. We showed mercy in bringing Isiria into the Empire. They are bound under own laws now, and afforded all the rights of an Aschen citizen. When people are left to anarchy and heresy you end up with places like Terra. Their talk of freedom and independence sounds nice, but their subjecting millions of people to living in fear of crime and brutality is not lawful or just. Their personal and selfish ideals aren't worth the millions that suffer for it. We look to the bigger picture and do what it is necessary to spread Order."

"I could have rendered them as harmless as any of the hospital staff. Taken their weapons, rendered them unconscious. They were police officers, not soldiers. Would they have been so dangerous without their weapons that we could not afford them their lives?" Echo was reluctant to accept that the risk of the officers harming others justified his actions. "There were alternatives. Why were they not viable?"

Far from defiant, the golem simply seemed confused. He didn't know what he was missing in his assessment of the situation.

Derek frowned briefly as he set his glass back down.

"It is in human nature to not forget, nor to forgive," Derek replied.

Derek set his glass down on top of the cupboard.

"It is better to rule through fear and for a few to die to ensure the obedience of the rest than to forsake Order and reduce ourselves to the level of heretics and savages. We cannot hesitate nor question our actions in the execution of our duties. To do so is a betrayal of everything we stand for, and the people we stand to protect. It sows the seeds of discontent and anarchy and makes us no better than the Terrans."

"You're dismissed," he added with a gesture for the door.

"And Echo? It would be best if you put these thoughts from your mind. They will corrupt you as they have corrupted the Terrans. You're an Aschen soldier now, and you took an oath when you took that uniform."

"I... yes, sir." Echo set his glass - still practically full - down and gave a salute, before turning for the door. His eyes betrayed his continued - albeit lessened - uncertainty, but with no other answers to look to, Derek's would be the ones he took away from this. For now, at least, any discontent was quieted with reaffirmed certainties and restated truths.

Morality was a strange thing, Echo thought, that something could feel wrong when reason dictated it to be right.

Once back at Langara, the Divine Shadow found himself seated on his throne. Everything had been settled in and his agents were hard at work consolidating their power. With the rebellion foiled, and the Empire rightfully restored to power, the Divine Shadow could now work to maintain his status quo.

Silently he reviewed some footage brought to him by his Divine Confessors, courtesy of the Blackbird's AI. He was slowly tapping his chin before he leaned forward.

"Send Confessor Kesslee in here, along with this... Echo... Oh and be sure Commander Adams makes his way to my court within the next day." He said to a young servant, Whom quickly got on one knee.

"I worship his shadow." He said, before he turned to leave while Mollem leaned back.

It was a short time later that Echo was brought into the room, silent and expressionless. The young golem showed no signs of fear or worry, only a level of confusion as to the reason for his summoning. As he and the escorting officers approached the throne, he knelt down on one knee.

"I worship his shadow." he said, rising only after those with him did. Aside from that, no words passed his lips and his eyes remained lowered.

The Divine shadow waved his hand, and the escorting officers were dismissed, rising to their feet and quickly departing. Leaving the Divine Shadow, his Confessor, and the young golem.

Gesturing to a holographic screen, the contents of the conversation between Echo and Adams played out before them, and with another gesture of his hand, the screen stopped.

"Rise, my child." The Emperor said, gesturing for Echo to stand.

"I understand something is troubling you." He said, leaning back in his throne. "I will grant you the freedom to speak what troubles you, and to ask what questions you may of me."

Echo remained silent for several long moments after the Divine Shadow spoke, a small thoughtful frown on his face. "You ordered me to kill those police officers on Arastel. Their deaths were not necessary for your escape, merely their disabling. They could have been rendered harmless non-fatally. Why did they have to die?"

That specific question had remained unanswered in his conversation with Derek. Echo had remained unconvinced that their deaths had been necessary to prevent them causing further trouble or potential harm any more than any other civilian there that day.

The Emperor steepled his fingers under his chin as he settled more into his throne.

"Because I ordered them to die." He said calmly. "It is as simple as that. To question the Emperor is heresy." He said, as the Confessor slowly shifted in his spot.

"To question my order is to undermine the very foundations of this Empire. To undermine the foundations of this Empire is to commit Heresy. To Commit heresy is to destroy the very thing you swore to protect. There is no alternative, only the will of the Divine Shadow, my will."

"You question my right to order those men killed. You should understand however that you have no right to let them live."