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"I have nothing else to offer you," the Lord Primarch said. "Any physical interaction with the surface will trigger enormous consequences. I could have someone leave you a message in the waking world, but you could just as easily dismiss that as more subterfuge. I'm sorry to say, but you must take a leap of faith on this matter."

"You're asking me to betray my home," Paul quietly countered. "If you betray me, I'll lose everything."

"If you do not fulfill your side of the bargain, you will have written your death in stone," The giant said, waving his hand over the frozen massacre. "And deprive your wife of her husband, and your children of their father. I cannot force you to believe the truth. That is a choice you must make." As he spoke, the scene around them seemed to dissolve. The colours faded as shapes became more indistinct. Darkness settled into the absence as the scene disappeared.

"And decide soon."

No more updates? I really like this story.

[Sorry, was doing editing for Brotherhood of the Lost. It's finished for now, so I have time to post here again.]

Ch. 9: A New Coat of Paint

First Lieutenant Murfy was bored out of her mind. She pushed back a strand of golden hair as she received the latest fleet reports. Precious little had changed in the last three days. The first day was mildly interesting as various ships reported progress on repairs after the fleet engagement with the natives. But those patches were soon made and the reports all became a bland mix of readiness. It could be worse, she supposed. She didn't know why, but some captains had this peculiar idea that as the communication officer of the Elpis, she could magically answer all of their questions. Several officers and captains had asked, and a rare couple had demanded, to know what was the next step in operations.

As of this moment, the 35th Expeditionary Fleet was in orbit above the planet's capital city with neither void shields or weapons powered. The Elpis formed the center of a sphere of warships as they languidly traveled through space, keeping pace with the planet's rotation. The reason for this state of being sat behind her. Her purple eyes snuck a peak.

Lord Alexandros Darshan VonSalim sat in his command throne, eyes closed. For three entire days, the Primarch had sat there, never moving after giving out his last orders. A running bet had emerged on day two among the armsmen when the Emperor's Son would finally move and actually conquer the system.

Before she could turn back to her station, VonSalim's eyes snapped open. Then, to her mortification, his eyes swiveled to her. "First lieutenant, I have orders to give."

Wonderful. So we get some more action now.

It was only through trained reflex that Murfy answered, "Yes, my lord?"

Alexandros reached up to the sling holding his right arm, and, with a few precise movements, undid it. Leaving it on his throne, Alexandros stood as he stretched the limb, never wincing to the pain that flared through him. Thankfully, it was a shadow of what he felt days ago. His eyes never left Murfy as he spoke. "Would you be so kind to summon Lord Ruel? He is to come to the command deck at once."

~~~

Irvin Ruel rested within his quarters. As the second-highest ranking officer of the Storm Riders, he enjoyed a cabin worthy of his rank. Unlike some mortal commanders, it was not a sign of indulgence as the room was filled with tools of war. Ruel's personal armoury alone occupied half of the cabin, while his cot was only large enough to hold his considerable bulk.

The sound of a beeping electronic immediately roused the Space Marine. Ruel got off the cot as he reached over to the vox-unit embedded in the wall. As he activated the unit, he said, "Ruel."

"My lord, Lord VonSalim has ordered you to come to the command deck immediately."

"Acknowledged, Ruel out." Turning to his armour, Ruel muttered under his breath, "finally."

In a few minutes, Irvin Ruel marched onto the command deck, his focus singular. He strode toward his Primarch's command throne, but soon felt an absence. "My lord?" He asked as he rounded to the throne's side. The throne sat empty, save for a medical sling. His attention twisted toward the nearest mortal: Captain Hierax standing next to his smaller throne a ways forward. "Where is the Primarch?"

Before the captain could answer, the comms officer announced, "Drop pod launch."

Irvin Ruel whirled toward the young woman. "Who gave the order? The Primarch's command that all forces hold until new orders were issued."

To her credit, the first lieutenant didn't flinch from his biting tone. Instead, she simply said, "My lord, the Primarch is in that drop pod."

Ruel froze.

What?

~~~

Chukhay's head snapped up as Captain Dumas hurried into the room. Saluting, the stately officer stated, "Unknown object approaching from the enemy fleet, Directors."

Director Kravchuk hissed as he jumped to his feet. "Is it a weapon?"

~~~

Anasya fought the urge to sprint to the doors after the guards had finally let her into the Directorate. She knew that would probably give her away, but she so desperately wanted to escape their probing eyes. She was half-convinced that they were already onto her. They were probably radioing the Nightwatch right now. She should just leave right now.

Except that would also look very suspicious. So, she forced herself to keep to a steady walk as she neared the main building. Once inside, she headed to her supervisor's station to sign in for the day, doing everything she could to not look like a traitor. After all, she had heard the rumors of what happened to traitors. Nothing good and everything bad. They were rumors that the Nightwatch did everything they could to ensure traitors died screaming and screaming and screaming...

"Anasya?"

She flinched and realized she was at the station. Sam was staring at her, concerned and wary. "Oh, sorry, yes?"

"A little distracted, are we?" Sam said and then laughed that nervous laugh of his, which only made Anasya feel worse. So, she just nodded before signing in. Once she was done, Sam handed her the keys to the janitorial closests throughout the complex. "Well, lot to think about, right? Still living under an alien invasion and now we're not hearing anything from the nearby cities. Talk about stressful," he said, speaking faster the longer he spoke.

Well that escalated. At least now we get some action with what he has been seeding into the various individuals.

Anasya meekly nodded before she shuffled away. She took two steps away and then froze. A Nightwatchman was nearly sprinting towards her, flanked by two guards. Terror spiked through her. Before she could scream, they were upon her.

Then, they pushed past her. As her heart raced, she remembered to breath.

Easy, easy, a gentle, familiar voice soothed. They're not onto you and will not come for you. I now have their attention.

~~~

Paul stood in his tank's cupola at the rear of the formation, trying to ignore an itch on his scalp. In front of him were five APCs with Commander Naro's tank at the front of the line. Naro had chosen Paul's platoon to patrol through the city, reminding the citizens that chaos and riots would not be tolerated. While, thankfully, no citizen had given them reason to, the weapons were loaded and prepared to fire. Paul scanned the people as they passed them by. Most of them looked afraid. Others sneaked angry glares. Some did their best to ignore the military convoy.

Paul wasn't sure how he felt. His emotions were a mixture of confusion. The reason was obvious. Soon, everything would change. And he would be at the center of that change. He imagined if he were some idealistic hero, he'd stare at destiny and grab ahold of it with both hands, confident and sure.

All he wanted to do right now was run home and hold his family.

His train of thought broke as his radio came alive. "PLATOON!" Naro's voice came in. "We have an unidentified flying object entering the atmosphere. Command estimates the UFO will land near our location, and we are being ordered to investigate and to potentially contain the threat. Move out!"

Paul's heart quailed as he glanced toward the heavens.

Apparently, destiny was done waiting.

~~~

Mat felt a presence and looked skyward. He wasn't sure if he saw it or imagined it, but it seemed to him that a red dot was approaching the city. "Guys, we need to get moving."

Sal followed his gaze, frowned, and looked back at Mat. "What's going on?"

There was a brief moment of internal debate. Mat had never explained to his friends what was going on in his dreams. He wasn't sure if he believed what was happening himself. After the moment, he said, "I think I might have a job that pays. C'mon, let's go check it out."

"A job?"

Mat ignored the question as he took off at a brisk walk, his friends following a moment later.

It was a struggle not to just stare at the sky as Mat kept walking. Within, a rising sense of anxiety and hope churned as he walked. Something big was about to happen. And he was going to be right at the center of it.

He didn't know how he knew, but standing at a four-way intersection, he stopped. His friends stopped behind him. "What's going on?" He heard one of them ask. Mat simply looked up.

There was definitely an object there now. His friends started murmuring questions that he didn't hear. It looked like a comet, streaking straight down. It wasn't long before other people started noticing. At the edge of his awareness, Mat saw people freeze, others point. Gradually, the buzz of the city died down as the object screamed closer.

Moments before it landed, flame erupted from beneath the object, slowing its meteoric descent. Seconds passed. The intersection cleared. The object landed dead center of the intersection, the heat melting the pavement beneath it. Its journey completed, the flames died, and silence reigned.

The object looked like an enormous metal tent to Mat, except with more sides. With a hiss of atmosphere and a mechanical whine, three of the tent's walls broke away as they opened the inside for all to see. It was mostly hollow with only a single person sitting calmly in the center: Alex.

Compared to the dreams, Alex looked exactly the same with only one difference. He was huge! Even sitting cross-legged, Mat still had to look up to meet Alex's eyes. Hushed whispers slithered through the crowds as they saw the red-headed, purple-robed giant. Alex simply smiled as his eyes laid upon Mat. Standing up, Alex took two paces before he stood before Mat and his band of friends.

As he approached, Mat realized something else was different from the dreams. In the dreams, Alex had demonstrated great power but nothing more. Here in the flesh, Mat could feel Alex's power as an almost living thing. Just being in front of Alex was to feel its subtle currents as it emitted from the powerful being. It reminded Mat of fire. Not the blazing inferno that Mat sometimes wrestled with. It was more like a fireplace fire. Warm, comforting, inviting. Mat felt like he could finally relax and be free of his cares if he would simply surrender.

Mat fought against the urge. He didn't know if Alex would live up to his promises yet.

As if hearing his thoughts, Alex chuckled as he kneeled before Mat. "It's good to finally you face-to-face, Mat." Alex undid a strap, and it was only now did Mat realize that he had a kind of backpack on. "And here's the first payment." Setting the metallic backpack next to him, Alex pressed a button before pulling two doors opened.

Mat's stomach quivered as the tastiest smells washed over him. Inside the backpack were various dishes, prepared and ready to be eaten. It didn't matter that he couldn't recognize half of them. It did matter that he could feel the heat roiling off them which only increased his hunger.

"My friends," Alex said as his arm swept over the food. "Please, help yourselves. Our transport won't be here for another few minutes."

~~~

Even with advanced warning, it still took Paul's mechanised platoon twenty minutes to reach the objective. Traffic couldn't clear fast enough to allow the convoy maximum speed. The time in transit was spent in demanding status reports from each squad, double-checking weapons, and verbally rehearsing disembarkation protocols.

"Watters!" Naro's voice barked over the comms. "We have hovercraft on site and have confirmed the alien's location at a four-way intersection. We'll surround it. My tank and yours will deploy on this road, I want the tanks standing between the enemy and the Directorate. The rest of the APCs will form up on the other streets, two APCs per entrance. Understood?"

"Affirmative," Paul answered as the convoy approached the objective.

~~~

"Directors," Captain Dumas began from the other side of the glass. "We have confirmed the enemy presence. It is the enemy commander as identified by the broadcast three days ago."

Kravchuk ground his teeth before asking, "What weapons is he carrying? Why is he alone?"

"No weapons have been identified, though we can't be confident he is not carrying any weapons. We are also unable to confirm why he is devoid of any bodyguards or a military presence."

Director Chukhay stepped in, "What of the enemy fleet?"

"Remains unchanged from current positions."

Kravchuk tapped the table with a single finger. "He comes alone, apparently weaponless, and with his forces doing nothing? What trick is this?"

With a shrug, Captain Dumas said, "I'm afraid it's unknown at this time. We are neither noting any movement from the rebels. If anything, the most unusual report is that all rebel and secessionist groups appear to have temporarily halted all operations at the same time."

Such coordination, Chukhay thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Kravchuk's frown deepened. "Approach the enemy with extreme caution, but if he can be captured, I want him brought to the Directorate in chains!"

~~~

"I have visual confirmation!" Naro's voice shouted over the comms.

Paul's heart raced as his platoon surrounded the enemy warlord. At the end of the formation, Paul would wait the longest as the convoy slowed while the forward vehicles began circling the intersection. There was an additional delay as a crowd was gathering to see the being who commanded the warships above them.

Finally, his tank pulled up besides Naro's, and Paul took a long, hard look at the situation.

An open pod stood in the absolute center of the intersection but was devoid of weapons and was no threat to his soldiers. The being that had visited his dreams for the last three days was a few feet away, closer to Paul's portion of the intersection. Alexandros stood between the two tanks aiming at him and a small group of local teenagers. As he absorbed more details, Paul noticed that most of them were eating before he recognised a food containment unit next to them.

Paul was incredulous. He begins a planetary invasion with feeding the homeless?

To the shock of everyone, Alexandros threw back his head and released a peal of laughter.

Well, I suppose when you put it that way. Although Paul could hear the thought in his head, Alexandros directed his attention to Naro. "Greetings."

Naro's response was quick and fierce. "If you want to live through the next six seconds, you will drop to your knees and put your hands on your head!"

"I'm afraid I will not comply," Alexandros replied with cheerful casualness as he gestured to the kids around him. "I require transport to the Directorate for myself and my escort. I have an appointment with the Directors and have no desire to be late. So, if you would be so kind as to give us a lift, we will be on our way."

Paul had never seen his superior officer turned to such a deep shade of red. "The invader has refused to surrender peacefully." Naro's head whipped toward Paul. "Lieutenant Commander, I order you to open fire, for the defense of Balov!"

Paul hated Naro for thrusting the decision onto him instead of pulling the damn trigger himself. He faced his target. Alexandros matched his gaze, a confident smile upon his face. The homeless bunch had shuffled a few steps away, except for one who remained next to the red-haired giant. For a moment, only the sounds of the city filled the intersection.

"I gave you an order, Watters!" Naro roared.

Gritting his teeth, Paul recalled the second dream he had. "You can promise me that Liz won't hate me?"

"WATTERS!"

"The changes that are coming will frighten, frustrate, and worry her," Alexandros admitted, "but she will be happy to have her husband come home alive."

Paul sighed.

Then, activating his headset, he said, "Platoon, stand down."

"TREASON!" Naro shouted as his eyes blazed.

"Commander Naro," Alexandros cheerfully interrupted. "I couldn't help but notice that you haven't been getting enough sleep these past few days. Let me help with that." Raising a hand, Alexandros snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Paul watched his tall superior shudder, his eyes going wide. Then Naro slunk in his tank's turret as his eyes shut.

Paul didn't know whether to be encouraged that he would not be forced to execute Naro, frustrated by the missed opportunity to finally get vengeance, or disturbed by Alexandros' power. The giant himself paid little mind to Naro after he had fallen asleep as he asked his young companion, "Mat, have you ever wanted to ride a tank?"

~~~

Anasya. The old janitor froze as the voice made itself known in her mind. For a moment, she wondered if she needed to say anything, and then she wondered how insane it would look if she started talking to the air. It's time.

After a moment, and checking to see if anyone was around, she awkwardly nodded to the space. The voice didn't say anything else. So, she quickly finished sweeping this part of the hallway before she headed back to the custodians' station to get a mop and a bucket.

~~~

Chukhay watched the display, unsure if it was suspicious that he didn't appear surprised. On the video feed, they watched as the enemy commander stood on a tank, a Balovian tank. Behind the tank were several APCs, all following the lead tank down the main highway that led to the Directorate.

There were no signs of chains.

Next to him, Kravchuk fumed. "Are there no loyal sons of Balov!?"

"Traffic is clearing for them," Dumas reported, his face looking more lined than usual. "They will reach the Directorate in twenty minutes at present speed."

"Do we have no other units defending the capital!?"

Dumas appeared to be more tired than usual to Chukhay's eyes. "We have sent mobilisation orders to deploy at the Directorate. Although all units assigned to Ovlast have been kept in a state of readiness, none of them will reach the Directorate before the enemy commander does other than the Directorate Guard. We were simply unprepared for the enemy to make this swift of an advance."

"He'll never set foot here!" Kravchuk declared! "The defence network alone will prevent this, this alien from entering!"

~~~

Anasya shuffled into the elegant bathroom, pushing the mop bucket in with her. She paused as she gathered her willpower for her next action. Hand shaking, she slowly closed the door behind her. Then locked it.

She turned around and stared at the false wall at the other end of the bathroom. She paused. Technically, she had yet to do anything that was truly treasonous. She could unlock the door and go back to work, no one the wiser at what she had planned to do. No Nightwatch pursuing her.

Unbidden, she thought of her granddaughter. Poor, little Sasha had been sick for three weeks now. Unable to afford good medicine, Anasya's daughter and son-in-law were forced to rely solely on loving care and hope. Would Anasya throw away her best chance at helping Sasha?

Then she wondered if that thought was really hers. Was it the alien's thought masked like hers? Could she tell the difference?

Although very confused, Anasya gathered her resolve before walking over to the tiled wall. She recalled the dream and opened one of the white tiles. A black keypad awaited input.

She frowned as she tried to recall the code. Before a moment passed, the voice came to her. 9-3-7-4-2-6-1. Carefully following the directions, she inputted the code, fearful that one wrong digit would activate an alarm. Instead, the wall next to the keypad silently slid open. Taking a deep breath, she took a hesitant step into the secret hallway.

~~~

Mat still had trouble believing that all this was really happening.

He was sitting on a pair of feet that were larger than his chest. Towering above him was Alex, who seemed to be enjoying himself from what Mat could tell. The pair of them were riding on top of a tank speeding down the highway, heading straight for the heart of Ovlast. In front of him was the tank's top where the soldier sat in. Every now and then, the soldier would glance back and up at Alex, a look of vague confusion and awe on his face.

Mat didn't blame him. Putting Alex on top of the tank only made him seem bigger. The soldier had suggested that Alex sit behind him, but the giant was simply too big. And it wasn't just the size of him that made things weird. Despite keeping his feet close together, the bumps and bounces never disturbed Alex's balance.

Mat and the soldier weren't the only ones who couldn't resist gawking either. The opposite going traffic had become a complete standstill. The first few drivers had come to a stop, freezing all movement on that side. Horns honked ahead, until people saw what had caused the traffic jam. It was different on their side of the highway. The cars on this side simply parted before the tank, never once slowing down their speed. Again, Mat guessed it was Alex's doing.

The soldier in front of Mat shifted as he looked through a pair of binoculars. After a moment, he put them down and turned around. Cupping one hand around his mouth, he shouted, "I have visual on the Directorate!"

When Alex spoke, it sounded like he was right next to Mat, his voice simply cutting through the wind. "Excellent, continue at full speed."

Mat saw the soldier pause, glancing at Mat with barely-concealed worry. "The Directorate will be heavily defended!"

"Don't worry. I have an agent on the inside," Alex answered with a grin.

~~~

The elevator silently opened into the control room.

Anasya peered into the room. Three members of the Nightwatch occupied the room. Two of them slumped in their seats, while a third lay sprawled across the floor. She immediately assumed the worst as her heart beat faster.

It's okay, Anasya. They are not dead, though I would avoid their drinks. They've been laced with strong sleeping pills.

"Oh," she mumbled as she took a few timid steps, careful to step over the man sleeping on the floor. Sleeping pills or not, she would not take any chances with Balov's secret police.

Do you remember what you need to do?

"I think so," Anasya said as she wandered over to the room-sized console. 

Good, before you do anything I want you to press this button.

Anasya wasn't sure how it was happening, but one of the buttons in front of one of the sleeping agents began to glow. Gingerly, she pressed it. Behind her, there was a mechanical whir as a thick, metal wall closed over the door. "Am I trapped?" she whispered, eyes wide.

You are safe, the voice corrected. Now, no one will be able to attack you, until everything is over. Neither will these Nightwatchmen wake before the danger has passed. 

"Oh." Movement in the cameras caught her eyes. She saw soldiers and vehicles gathering at the Directorate's bridge. "Something's happening."

I've almost arrived. Could you please shut down the defence systems?

Anasya flushed as she remembered why she was here. "Yes, yes, of course."

~~~

"I'm going."

Kravchuk fixed a suspicious stare at Chukhay. "What did you say?"

Hefting his weight from his chair, Chukhay repeated himself. "I'm going to the Hall and remain there."

"Why are you leaving the safety of this bunker?"

Even Captain Dumas looked unsure, though the old officer made no effort to speak.

Chukhay was acutely aware of how vulnerable he was. A lifetime of political intrigue and danger had given him more than enough experience to master his emotions. But his compatriot was an inherently paranoid individual, making this next step twice as difficult. Already, Chukhay could see the thoughts churning in those owlish eyes, murder lurking within that brilliant yet poisoned mind. "The alien comes alone. If he, by some miracle, pierces the defenses of the Directorate, I will face him behind my desk with the Directorate Guard. I will not surrender to Ovlast or Balov to this unarmed stranger." He paused before adding in a weary voice, "I have sacrificed too much to lose it now."

The drop of self-interest was enough to sell the lie to Kravchuk. At least, enough to prevent the other Director from ordering his death. Instead, Kravchuk turned to Dumas through the bulletproof glass. "I want the Hall filled with the best of the Directorate Guard and the Nightwatch. No trick of this alien can protect him if he dares to come in."

~~~

Paul's heart was hammering in his chest. They were about to enter the weapon ranges of the Directorate itself.