"Enough sighing!" Kleon exclaimed, barely able to contain his agitation. "Do something, my Lord Fortress Commander!"
Creed remained unmoved, masking his astonishment and doubt with a deep draw from his cigar.
Kleon stared at Creed in disbelief. How could the Supreme Fortress Commander, in Cadia's hour of dire need, merely utter a resigned "What a hellish sight"?
Creed was never one to display emotion on his face, leaving him with an air of detachment, as though he were merely an observer. His demeanor even seemed to influence Sergeant Kael, who stood nearby, equally unfazed.
"Four battleships, six heavy cruisers…" Creed's voice dripped with gravitas as he relayed the intelligence he had reviewed. "Seven cruiser squadrons. Fifteen escort squadrons. This is the enemy's current naval presence in the system, and from what I've gathered, more warships continue to pour through the rift near the Mandaville Point."
With a penetrating gaze, Creed asked, "What exactly do you want me to do?"
Stunned by the question, Kleon hesitated, then ventured, "Mobilize the garrison…"
"Defense plans were drafted and implemented a week ago. Six hundred regiments across the fortress world are defending each bastion," Creed replied steadily.
"Then… what about the orbital defense platforms…?"
"They've likely been vaporized by now."
"Then… what else… well, there's nothing more we can do, is there?"
Kleon paused, realizing Creed had done all he could.
More enemy ships were mysteriously appearing within the system, and with each passing minute, another Imperial vessel was obliterated. The majority of Cadia's fleet was not stationed here but was instead scattered across the defensive perimeter of the Cadian Gate. They had been engaged in skirmishes with enemy ships—but no one had foreseen the enemy mobilizing this massive fleet here.
The army on the fortress world had long been stationed at every bastion.
With the forces so vastly outnumbered, Creed was unable to shift the strategic balance. Yet, as Kleon pondered, another idea emerged—something Creed could indeed act upon.
"Your safety!" Kleon pointed to the map, specifically at Cadia's Supreme Command, located in the Mirrak Bastion. "Assemble forces here to defend it with priority. If you fall, all is lost!"
At this suggestion, Sergeant Kael looked uneasy. Creed fixed a complicated gaze on Kleon, then, after organizing his thoughts, replied, "You were once a Colonel in the Talon Army… Surely you know that our forces on Cadia cannot teleport from the planet's north pole to the south in an instant. If I were to issue such an order, by the time they arrived here, the enemy would likely already be upon us."
Kleon paused, bewildered.
"You're too tense, Kleon. Take a breath and clear your mind before offering counsel." Creed gestured to Kael, who fetched a chair for Kleon, indicating that he should sit and compose himself.
Still, Kleon couldn't shake his bafflement. "Why… how is it that the enemy appeared in this system so suddenly…? How is it even possible?"
Creed ignored Kleon's muttering, instead meticulously drafting a document. Occasionally, a runner would enter the office, delivering dire reports without pause. The urgency allowed little time for anyone to fully document events.
"Our fleet in the system has been annihilated. They defended Cadia to the very end."
"The Tech-Priest overseeing the planetary shield assures us he will keep it operational as long as he can."
"Two eight-pointed Void Constructs have emerged from the rift."
"They obliterated an entire planet!"
"Our orbital defense platforms are down; we've lost all visual on the Void…"
One officer after another entered to convey grim news, leaving swiftly afterward.
Creed finished the document in silence, passing it along with a quill to Kleon. Examining it, Kleon found it was an official plea for aid.
In his capacity as Supreme Fortress Commander of Cadia, Creed was now calling upon the entire Empire for assistance.
The Empire had already dispatched fleets and armies en route to Cadia, though they were still far off. The only domain capable of a swift response was Talon, on the Empire's northernmost frontier.
Creed had arranged a pact with Qin Mo long ago, back when Talon had yet to be unified. The agreement stood, but Creed still needed to follow protocol.
Kleon, as the appointed liaison, had to sign the request as part of that protocol.
"Your merchant vessel is no longer in the system. Are you still able to send a message to Talon?" Creed asked.
"Yes, I just need to reach my ship via communicator." Kleon nodded, signing his name.
As the quill's tip met paper, Creed suddenly pressed his hand over Kleon's, grave words escaping his lips. "Think carefully. Consider whether your people truly wish to be drawn into this war. This isn't your conflict…"
Without a moment's hesitation, Kleon continued his signature, handing the document back to Creed. "I'm here by order, not by choice."
Creed accepted the document, sealing it in a gilded box with an intricate lock. "Then relay this one message: Cadia calls for aid."
Kleon nodded, promptly activating his communicator to relay the request to his merchant ship, which would, in turn, pass it to the communications station. Since the ship was not in the system, the signal would take an hour to reach it through the vastness of space.
As Kleon transmitted the message, Creed rose and approached the window, gazing at Cadia's violet sky.
A blue ripple appeared above the Mirrak Bastion, expanding until it encompassed the entire fortress world.
The planetary shield had been activated, signaling the enemy had unleashed weapons powerful enough to destroy a world. Soon the shield was under direct assault, protecting the bastion world from annihilation but causing the entire planet to quake.
"Eight-pointed Void Constructs…" Creed recalled the report. This attack was likely the doing of those two world-shattering constructs.
But as long as the shield held, the bastion world would remain intact.
Creed's eyes began to strain as he gazed skyward, blood vessels spidering across his sclera, his mind reeling with a crushing pressure as if something were squeezing his brain.
"Damn rift," he muttered darkly.