Maya wasn't sure what to do. Things had certainly taken in unexpected turn. With Araym's help they managed to secure passage to Shell Seven, only to be shot down on Shell Six. Not by pirates either, but by some unknown creatures.
Perhaps Doskias's meddling unleashed them, or maybe this was because of that unknown force on Shell One. The idea that Shell One was being invaded had soothe Corgan but upset Selina. So, when Araym joined Corgan kept his mouth shut and Selina didn't run off. But still, the ship they were on was overwhelmed and forced down.
As things stood, they were effectively stranded. Araym mentioned a buddy who had a ship, but he was hiding out in a swamp. After a few hours, they found Lobo, a Jinnam cyborg who was set free and turned pirate. He agreed to help if they could rescue his crew.
Lobo's crew was being held by the local pirate boss, Conner. Of finding him was easy, the real problem would be getting into his base. Mostly because it was currently under siege. Any ship that tries to enter or leave gets blown out of the sky. So, the big bad pirate boss was trapped in his own base.
Through luck, Maya managed to locate a secret entrance.
Unfortunately, those unknown creatures had really put the screws to this place. She found many of Connor's pirates torn to pieces. After some searching, she found Lobo's crew as well as some civilians that Connor had captured. As they made their way-out Maya couldn't help but be nervous. She could hear the sounds of combat and the screams of the dying. However, she has yet to see anything, and that had her nervous more than anything else she had to deal with.
...
Deep in Connor's throne room his automated turrets are firing without pause. These creatures had infiltrated a few hours ago, but what was truly annoying Connor was the fact that his escape route had been cut off rather early on. Now most of those worthless pirates were dead, and his turrets would be overwhelmed eventually.
With that in mind, Connor had been trying to create an alternative means to escape. He was currently rigging a few makeshift bombs that could blow sizable hole into the walls. Then the silence of the guns caught his attention. He turned to find the guns were gone, not destroyed or malfunctioning, but just gone.
Suddenly several spikes had pierced his armor. The numbing pain told him they these spikes were poisonous. He immediately reached for his bombs, if he was going to die it would be on his terms. Unfortunately, he never got the chance. Several rolling green bugs charged at him and exploded.
The acid they unleashed was eating away everything. Connor wanted to scream, but nothing came out. Acid was eating him very quickly, but every second felt like a year. Connor wanted nothing more than to just die at the moment, but it was dragging out even as he witnessed his own bones be exposed.
Then finally everything started to fade away and Connor was no more.
...
Maya was standing on the bridge of Lobo's ship. Things had improved, but only slightly. The truth of the matter was that the mysterious army that tore through the Chosen was already working on Shell Four. Not that the place could offer any resistance. Their strongest military force was a bunch of bounty hunters.
Then there were the other unknown creatures surging from below. Shell Six had fallen. Maya's hometown, Oasis, was occupied. The mayor was dead, not that his death actually meant anything, and Maya was relieved to find everyone else was alive.
But Corgan was devastated to learn that what was left of the Holy Guard was wiped out and Layla was missing.
With Led's help they managed to find her father, General Campbell. Once both sides realized that this conflict was false, they immediately stopped their fighting. The problem was both armies were pushed to the brink, and neither were capable of resisting either of the invading forces.
Lobo's ship had proven instrumental in going between the shells, but unfortunately, they were running out of room to maneuver. That was when the unimaginable happened. Chosen ships showed up and opened fire on them.
Lobo and his crew did what they could but, their ship was being forced to land. Minutes after touching ground, large men in heavy red armor stormed in. Corgan without even thinking charged in, sword drawn. One of the armored men drew a sword. His sword glowed as if it was on fire. With a single swing, both Corgan and his sword were cut in two.
Maya, not wanting to lose anyone else, dropped her weapon and everyone else followed suit. Then a woman walked in, she might have been a few years older than herself, but those sharp blue eyes showed military experience, someone who fought on the front lines of war.
She gave everyone a glance, then she told her soldiers that they would be taking Maya and her associates prisoner. As Maya was being escorted away, she couldn't help but wonder how they knew her name.
...
General Campbell was beyond nervous, but his military experience prevented it from being obvious. The unknown military that decimated the upper shells had met them full force. Even if they had combined what was left of their fleet, neither Ankara nor Jinnam would've survived. So, it had been a slight relief when the enemy accepted their surrender.
However, now was the time to negotiate those terms. The reason Campbell was nervous was because he was chosen as Shell Five representative, and they were not negotiating from a position of strength.
Campbell was currently standing in some kind of waiting room. The thought had crossed his mind several times that they might try to kill him, but so far, nothing. Then the door opened, a floating skull with fancy decorations entered.
It spoke saying it was to escort him to the meeting location. As they walked it apologized for the delay stating that things were hectic. Campbell wanted to know more, but he knew not to push, he simply accepted the apology and they continued.
As Campbell entered the room, he caught a glimpse of someone else leaving. Not many details to observe, only that the man had prosthetic arms, and maybe he was walking with someone else. Hard to tell, because Campbell had more pressing matters.
The skull floated towards a man who looked like he was pouring over documents. The Skull said, "Presenting General Campbell, the chosen representative of Shell Five's Ankara and Jinnam." The man looked up, hid posture was relaxed, but for some reason, Campbell felt that this man was extremely dangerous.
The man spoke and said, "I'm called Khan, Khan Dovak. Both Ankara and Jinnam have surrendered to me, and you have the daunting task of minimizing the pain of such an act. Unfortunately, things are going to be changing soon, and I don't know how this world will be affected. So here is how it will go. If Ankara and Jinnam's mining operations are still available when the changes are done, then ten percent of the yearly haul of core minerals from both countries will be paid to me. Understood."
Campbell was left with many questions, like what Khan meant when he said that the world would soon be changing, but the fact that he is only demanding ten percent of both Ankara and Jinnam's yearly mineral intake was a small and manageable amount. Of course, there would be some politician who would try to steal from that ten percent, and then...
It struck Campbell like lightning, at some point one of their politicians would sure to get greedy and steal from Khan. He could use that as an excuse to punish the guilty party and demand a larger cut. People always assume they're smarter than the guy that failed, and eventually somebody would be dumb enough to try again.
By playing the distracted fool, Khan was giving their leaders just enough rope to hang themselves. Then again, he might be giving Khan to much credit. With a resolute stance, Campbell said, "I understand, I'll tell my superiors back at the capital."
With that he was dismissed, hopefully the fear that Ankara and Jinnam's leaders would screw up and try to steal from Khan was unfounded. Campbell decided he wouldn't mention it in his report, after all, tell someone not to do something, and they're more likely to do it.
...
Khan was standing in his temporary office, this place like the others would disappear once the merging began. He discarded the pile of papers he was holding. Since their purpose was full filled. General Campbell had held up better than expected, but that might be because he is yet to be aware that his daughter Led is currently being held.
Still, it was impressive that Campbell, for a brief moment anyway, managed to figure out his end game for Ankara and Jinnam.
Khan looked outside, he had the entirety of Septerra under his thrall, whether they realized it or not. So, he could end it right now, but that would still leave Maya, Selina, and Led unaccounted for. Maya wasn't saving the world, so Araym and Lobo weren't as dedicated as they would've been. Grubb unfortunately didn't take the deal, so he was killed by his own creation, Runner. The look of betrayal on Grubb's face was amusing.
Now Khan had to decide what to do with the remaining three. Selina used to be a streetwalker, so she has issues, the kind he could exploit. Led is subconscious about her robotic legs, so there's the in. Then there was Maya, she cares about everyone else, especially those in Oasis. Threatening then was an option, of course he could do the opposite, promise her people would be protected in exchange for her devotion.
That would mess her up, if nothing else. Khan thought about his options, no matter what this promised to be amusing for him.
...
Maya was sitting in her holding cell, Grubb, Araym, and Lobo have all been taken, none have returned. Maya wondered what happened to them, public execution, trial by combat, or maybe they were given a chance of freedom at her expense. She hated that her mind kept going to the worst possible scenarios.
The door opened; it was someone else's turn. Another cell opened; Selina stepped out. Selina tried to maintain an air of dignity, but Maya could tell that she was scared. Maya wanted to offer comfort, but since they don't know what's happening, there is not much she could do.
Every time she asked what was happening, all she ever got in response was, "You'll find out soon enough." As the door closed, Maya couldn't help but be reminded of the helplessness she felt when she found her mother's body. At this point she would do almost anything to save her friends.