Dark Fate, Chapter 84 (Patreon)

Chapter 84 – Questions

“Very well,” Agent Ward said, “It is clear that you know a great deal about the System, from your posts on the forums. While it is possible that you gained that knowledge from the System Shop, as you’ve suggested before, that leads to some other questions, since the System Shop does not volunteer information.”

“I’m not hearing a question in there, my dear.”

The agent flushed as I smiled at her, and said, “Uhm, yes. Well, the question is how did you learn so much about the System? This ‘Merchant’ character clearly knows what he knows due to being bound to the System as the proprietor of the System Shops, but that also means he is unable to volunteer information about subjects people aren’t already familiar with. You, on the other hand, do not seem to be bound by the System. So, where did you get your knowledge?”

I smiled, and said, “That is an interesting question, and one I would be happy to answer. However, I would want some assurances from you that this information would not be spread, even within your own agencies, with a binding, preferably. You see, some secrets are best untold, and some knowledge is better left unknown.”

“What does that mean, exactly?”

I stood, slowly. As I did so, I allowed myself to change into my true form. Then I began to speak, every word laced with magic. Hellfire sprung up from my shadow armor, descending down it like a mantle, and circling my head like a crown. It was a careful bit of [Hellfire Control], keeping it from burning anything, but I’d been practicing for the times where I would need to make an impression. Times like now.

“It means that there are things I can tell you that would blow your mind. I know secrets that, if shared with the public, would cause mass panic in the streets. I am the keeper of truths that would cause the world to burn, if they fell into the wrong hands. So, think carefully before you answer, for once you know the things I know, there is no going back.”

All three agents took a step back, their eyes wide. I could see it in their faces when Lilith transformed, as well. They had been expecting someone human, it seemed, since the APD had been kind enough to keep my true nature out of the files from the System Task Force. And no one outside of my inner circle knew about Lilith’s true nature, until now.

The Air Force officer stood there, open-mouthed, trying to speak. The FBI agents weren’t much better, either. Still, it was the military assassin that pulled it together first. “Who, no, what are you?”

“I am Zayn Greene, formerly the Black Knight, General of the Army of the Light, betrayed hero cast down into darkness. Through my will, I have remade myself as you see, building my power so that, one day, I can take my revenge against those who betrayed me. But, before then, I have taken it upon myself to ensure that the dregs of a hostile galaxy do not come sweeping down upon the world before it can be made ready. This is just the merest glimpse of the things I know, the dark and terrible truths that I have been witness to. Do you still wish to know these things? Or wouldst you rather return home, and sleep soundly in blissful ignorance?”

Agent Cooper shook his head slowly, trying to clear his thoughts. He took a deep breath, and then another. “All right then. You are some kind of demon, but not always. A fallen angel or something like that? But my ability is telling me that you hold the answers we’re seeking.”

That answer caused the other two to take deep breaths, and nod their heads. They clearly knew about Cooper’s Seeker ability, and knew enough about it to trust it. And, while I could smell the fear and desire wafting off of them, they were mastering themselves. Admirable.

It was Walker that spoke first. “Then, yes. I would like to know the answers to our questions.”

With a wave of my hand, the hellfire vanished into nothingness, and the magic left my voice. I retained my true form, however, because I was enjoying the way the girls were looking at me. “Very well,” I said, “then consider yourselves warned. In my current form, I am a Greater Incubus, a literal sex demon, as you might say. However, I was not always such. Before the System came online, I was a human, and in my first life I became a Lesser Angel, before I was cursed into becoming the Black Knight.”

Ward frowned. “Your first life? Are you talking about reincarnation? Or is there some kind of ‘respawn’ mechanic in the System that we haven’t discovered yet?”

I nodded at her. “Good question. In point of fact, it was neither. I was dying, betrayed by my allies, and so I unleashed the power of two artifacts, hoping to create an explosion that would at least take them with me. Well, it did, in a way. We were all sent back, into the past, inhabiting the bodies of our former selves, mere hours before the Apocalypse began.”

I motioned to Lilith by my side. “Lilith, here, is my daughter from that second timeline. She came back herself, after humanity had been dispersed amongst the stars, and set in motion plans to help guide us to a more perfect timeline. In case you’re wondering, she hasn’t been born yet in this timeline, and the way she came back was slightly different.”

Cooper frowned. “Why come back, though? I understand your first one being accidental, but Miss Lilith here? And what was that about being the general of some army?”

I glanced at Lilith, and she motioned for me to tell the story. “Well, you see, our reintroduction to the System was sent to the entire galaxy. The closest groups to us were pirates, who simply saw an unclaimed world full of slaves and resources for the taking. After the first pirate ship returned with the coordinates for the faster mode of FTL they use, a horde descended upon Earth, as different warlords tried to stake their claims.

“It was chaos. All the governments fell, and people like me became warlords in return, gathering fighters to my side. I destroyed the self-proclaimed demon lord of Georgia just before I was betrayed.”

I took a breath. “So, we’re trying to keep that from happening, and we’ve already had some success. That first ship? We captured it this time, and made sure they didn’t get any communications off. The ‘classified research materials’ you mentioned were nothing of the sort, but a fully functioning alien ship, which the good folks at Boeing are working to reverse-engineer.”

Walker nodded. “Then what about the objects out by Ceres? Long range telescopes have detected at least two installations out there.”

“Well, an unexpected side effect of coming back in time was that it glitched out the System. My ‘bank account’ with the System came back with me, though much of the items I’d kept in there for safekeeping were converted to coin instead. I instantly became rather obscenely wealthy. So, I used some of that wealth to buy some infrastructure and place it in the asteroid belt. Ceres itself is now my domain, as my base is already inhabited.”

“Your base?” Ward frowned. “And you can’t just own Ceres! There’s treaties and stuff!”

“Treaties I never signed, Agent Ward. Treaties not recognized by the System. I assure you, the System recognizes my sole ownership of Ceres, those installations, the mining vessels currently gathering resources in the asteroid belt, and the defensive vessels I currently have in place.”

Specialist Walker bolted upright. “Are you saying you have warshipsin the asteroid belt?”

I shrugged. “Only one true warship. There are a few of what I like to call ‘torpedo boats’ and some fighter craft, however. Perfect for defense against some pirates, but nothing that could seriously threaten a nation on Earth, unless someone did something stupid to turn it into a match of trading WMDs.”

The assassin paled slightly. “Your ships are armed with WMDs? Nukes, I assume?”

“Well, antimatter, actually, but the idea’s the same. Simple guns and missiles are of limited use in space, you see, due to the distances involved. Plus, as a wise man once said, Isaac Newton is the most dangerous man in the universe. You go spitting lead downrange in space, and it is going to keep going until it hits something.”

I paused, so they could get the implications. “You would not like to be on the receiving end of a twenty-five-kilogram slug of titanium traveling at three hundred thousand meters per second. That’s like getting close to two hundred and seventy tons of TNT dropped on your head. That is also what qualifies as normal ‘anti-asteroid’ defensive weapons according to the System. In comparison, energy weapons disperse after a certain range, making them safer.”

Cooper was the first to respond. “Well, that is officially well past my pay grade. I’ll let Washington decide what to do with that information. What about the people that attended the meeting with you in Atlanta? What has happened to them?”

I smiled. “They are all gainfully employed as part of Dark Lord Industries, registered with the highest legal authorities of Ceres, where the company is based. As both the owner of the company, and the highest legal authority of Ceres, I can assure you they are transitioning well to their new careers.”

“New careers? What would you want a bunch of gamers to do for you?”

“Quite simply, because they are the best pilots this world has to offer for three-dimensional space physics, outside of perhaps the military. These were not just gamers, understand. Most of them were flight combat simulation tournament winners. And, given the technological disparity between the pre- and post-Apocalypse worlds, they had less ‘unlearning’ to do to become familiar with space combat.”

“They’re kids! You can’t be putting them in harm’s way like that!”

I raised an eyebrow. “They are all over 18. The age when they could all legally join the military and, despite being told that they could pick their assignment, hoping to be at a nice base in southern California where they could enjoy the weather all year round, get shipped off to a war zone on the other side of the planet, with no clear exit strategy or goals, all because of some nebulous policy of a War on Terrorism. For a military famous for using up soldiers and then giving them crap care when they get out. I, on the other hand, was up front with them about what was happening, and what the stakes were. And I promised that they would get to fly in space, for real.”

Cooper folded in on himself a bit, not liking the implications. Fortunately for him, Walker picked up the conversation. “So, you’re saying that, what, you are using these gamers as pilots to fly a strike force? But that’s not enough people for the objects that have been spotted.”

“Well, I never said that humans, or former humans, were the only people I had in my service, did I? If you look through the System, you will find not just the ability to buy warships, but also arrange for some staffing concerns, if you aren’t too picky about where they come from. I acquired some aliens to work at my design center, in the mining ships, at my shipyards, and on my colony.”

Ward frowned, and said, “These ‘staffing concerns’ wouldn’t have anything to do with the so-called Minion Market run by the System, would it?”

I simply smiled, and said, “I can only say that I have complied with all the requirements of the System, and that Dark Lord Industries follows all legal codes and restrictions put in place by the legal authorities of Ceres. If you would like to know the inner workings of the corporation, I’m afraid you would need a warrant. Also, I should note that this residence, and another property I have nearby, are registered by the System as embassies of the Kingdom of Ceres.”

All three of them bristled at that, and the implications of what I’d just said, but, before they could speak, a door opened, and in walked Shiva, one of my maids. “Pardon me, Master, but there is word from the early warning systems. Another bow wake has been detected, and it is much larger than the last one.”