Rex
Hyades City, Exterior Ward
Spring Court
Hidden world, Terra
Gaea solar system
Milky way Galaxy
Neutral Free zone
March 7th 2019
A day earlier...
The faces would not let Rex sleep, their rotting faces creeping out of the shadow, their hands dragging him down, showing him how rotten his soul must be. He tried to fight them, to resist but he couldn't. Rex was brought down into the depths of the shadows and it was at this point that he would wake up from his nightmares. This was the fourth one in a while, and he couldn't go back to bed. Why should he? The words that the Captain of the Black Knight said were haunting Rex. He had finally shown his true color to Mallus and it was only a matter of time that the Masked man would want to deal with him. Rex was not afraid of the fact that his life was in danger. After he became a Paladin and part of the Yaeger corps, Rex had been in so many dangerous situations that he had lost count of them. The job of a hunting dog was to deal with the darkness of the Federation, the putrid corruption that was brewing at the heart of the government. That meant Rex had been forced to lie, steal, and kill. Of course, there were some things he wouldn't cross, some boundaries he had set for himself. Rex thought about why he had joined such a division of Starlight. It all started after Rex discovered the truth about his father. Something that had changed something within Rex. It was also the reason he had accepted the Admiral's task of infiltrating Sector Zero.
You and your father are a disgrace to the honor of the Pendragon bloodline. The Captain's words rang in Rex's ear but Rex gritted his fists. No. The Federation was what was wrong and a disgrace. There was a glow in Rex's eye as he got up from the bed. Now that he was done with Sector Zero, Rex had stayed with the Fallen Stars due to some unfinished business he still had. The disk he had procured from Sector Zero's base had been taken from him by Sophia Sinclair, and now he was waiting for her. Admiral Wilcock thought they could use the Fallen Stars to send a blow to the other political faction of the Federation. So Rex had no choice but to reveal his true allegiance to Lady Sophia. Revealing that he was a hunting dog from Starlight went as well as Rex expected. Titus wanted to kill him but Lady Sophia held him in place. She had listened to him, accepted the disk, and then placed him under arrest. Rex didn't fight it nor did he feel fear at the thought of becoming a prisoner. Everything had gone as one would expect. At least he wasn't in a jail or some dungeon. He was in a nice room with a single bed, a crystal lantern, and a desk. There was no window unfortunately due to the location of where they were. As Rex was thinking about what was going to happen, the door to his room slid open and Titus Weevil walked in. The man had a look of murderous intent on his face, the aura coming from him affected the two guards that were beside him. Rex just blinked and stood up from his bed.
"Her Lady will see you," Titus said. Rex couldn't help but grin as he grabbed his silver jacket from the desk. He wore it over the red shirt he was wearing. They left the room and into a white corridor, walking to the end of it where a lift was waiting for them. When they entered the lift, Rex walked to the glass at the back of the inside of the elevator which showed a wondrous view to Rex. Hyades City was a city inside a mountain within the Spring Court of the Hidden World. Legend said that the mountain had been carved opened by a god, and then gifted to the race of Dwarves. It was for this reason that Hyades was known as the City of Forge Craft. Beyond the glass, Rex laid his eyes on the yard of warships, some of them complete, some incomplete with some missing parts. Pieces of machinery were being used to work on the unfinished warships. As the lift carried them further away from the sight, Rex turned to Titus who was watching him.
"Looks like things are going well," Rex said. Whatever Fallen Stars were preparing for, they were well off. All those ships were brand new, the technology behind it similar to the one used by Advanced civilizations. While Terra was not as Advanced as other planets, there was no denying that the Hidden World was up to par with some other planets. It might not be at the level of the Major planets within the Federation, but given enough time, the place could grow.
"You should watch your mouth. If it were up to me, you would be dead, Pendragon. A dog like you should only speak when ordered to." Titus said. Rex raised an eyebrow at him. This bastard had always had an issue with him ever since he had joined the Fallen Stars.
"I guess it's a good thing you're not the one to order me," Rex said. Titus growled which only made Rex grin. "Tell me Titus, who would you rather kill, me or you know who," It took a while before Titus answered. Though what he said threw Rex off course.
"What is it that you want, Pendragon," Titus asked. "What would push a hunting dog like you to pretend to be a constellation and approach us? " Rex thought hard about the question, not knowing if he should reveal the truth to Titus or if it was worth it.
"Do you know what happened to Lamentias," Rex said.
"I heard there was a cleansing," Titus said.
"Ten million souls gone just like that," Rex said. 'Of course, what's a million souls compared to the hundreds of trillions of life across the Federation,"
"The Divine peace," Titus said bitterly. That was the tenet of the Divine Federation. The very foundation that pushed its Expansionist ideals throughout the universe. What a load of crap. "And they say we're terrorists."
"Even the Uprising didn't amount to that amount of loss," Rex said.
"The Uprising was merely a symbol of the removal of our shackles to the Federation," Titus said.
"I don't blame you for deserting your motherland," Rex said. "If I were you, I would have also done it. Alas, I'm a Pendragon. You asked me what I want. Well, it's quite simple actually. I want to make sure no one from the Federation has to ever make the same choice that you did." Titus was stunned upon hearing what Rex said. Also at the same time the elevator came to a stop. As the elevator doors opened, Titus nodded to the two guards and he and Rex left the elevator into a large circular room with a large glass table with sofas and a couch. Seated on the glass table, with plates of food placed around her, was Sophia Sinclair. The woman looked exactly like a mature version of Sam, beautiful, ethereal with long locks of emerald hair, olive skin and a sultry green dress that showed her feminine curves and features. She radiated power and sensuality.
"Ah, Xander you're here," She said taking a sip of the red wine. Her pale green eyes landed on Rex which made him feel uncomfortable. Rex was good at reading people. It was a skill he had developed over the years as a hunting dog. But Sophia Sinclair...He could not read her. Rex had no idea if it was because she was a Variant or not but the aura she radiated made it impossible for Rex to think straight when looking at her eyes. "I hope your rest was worth it,"
"Yes, it was nice to rest up," Rex said.
"Yes, I suppose a dog who serves more than one master can be a burden," Sophia said. Rex sighed as he realized one of the issues that had been bothering him when he had been put in confinement.
"You always knew didn't you," Rex said. He made sure to keep an eye on Titus as he asked that and from the way Titus's expression folded, he was sure that Sophia had been the only one to know the truth about him.
"The Herald knows all," Sophia said. The Herald. Rex had heard that name so many times. First from Admiral Wilcock, then from Mallus, and finally from his time in the Fallen Stars. Rex knew that there was more to the Fallen Stars than them just being some kind of Terrorist that did the Uprising nineteen years ago. He knew of the other power that existed in the Hidden World besides Golden Dawn and the Seasonal Court rulers. This power was likely the one behind the Fallen Star's strength. Still, Rex had been unable to get any information about this entity. No matter how many times he gave the Fallen Star information about Sector Zero, it was still not enough to grant Rex an audience with this being.
"Did they know that the Abominations would sabotage the experiment," Rex said. He didn't mean for it to sound like a jab at the Herald's foresight ability, he was genuinely curious but Titus took it as an insult.
"You dare, Brat," Titus began but Sophia raised a finger which made him reign in his rage. Rex couldn't help but grin at the flustered expression on Titus' face.
"Are you familiar with the concept of fate, Pendragon," Sophia said. Her demeanor had changed completely, the air became so suffocating that if Rex was not at the Sage rank, he would have gone out of breath.
"I'm familiar with it," Rex said. "What about it,"
"Though Fate is often thought of as immutable, it is often quite fickle," Sophia said. In other words, don't rely on the information that the skill of foresight provides. Rex was not one to be burdened by what may or may not happen, or the things that were outside his control. He was the type to focus on the things that he could influence and nothing more. That was the reason why he had no problem standing aside as the Fallen stars released the virus upon New York. Did he feel bad about it and lose some sleep over it? The answer was yes. But that was just it. He didn't fully regret his actions nor did he feel like he would change it if given a chance. No, the truth was that it was something that he would do again if given a chance. Of course, if he should find another way to achieve his goals, he would unfailingly take that chance. But as a hunting dog, Rex couldn't afford to risk his cover with Titus breathing so hard over his shoulder. So he did what he had to do. And now it turned out that the experiment had been tampered with.
"Blackearth virus," Rex said.
"What about it," Sophia asked.
"What's going to be done about it," Rex said.
"The Golden Dawns are on it," Sophia said simply. "Why, do you feel bad about us messing with the lives of Terrans? You're an Offworlder, why should you care about a couple of ants,"
"I don't," Rex said. "I just didn't think you would want to be responsible for an Infernal invasion. If I knew the Experiment was going to lead to Infernal energy leaking into this world, I wouldn't have stood by."
"Even with Titus keeping an eye on you," Sophia said. Rex laughed. In all honesty, Rex's trouble with the release of the virus in New York had nothing to do with the well-being of the Terrans. His guilt had nothing to do with him hurting innocent people. He was well aware of the success rate of Project Starseed from the information he had collected from both Sector Zero and the Fallen Stars. What had truly troubled Rex was the fact that he was arming the people of Terrans with something they shouldn't have. He was giving them something he felt would in the future turn back and hurt the Divine Federation. In other words, Rex felt like he was betraying his homeworld. That guilt was what kept him from enjoying his sleep. But the truth was that If Rex wanted to stop Titus, back then when Titus had released the Virus, he could have easily defeated the bald warrior. He thought about the black Knights that he had easily destroyed. Titus was stronger than the Captain had been, as he was an Ascendant, but he was still in the Master realm while Rex was in the Beginner stage of the Sage realm. But Rex hadn't done that. He had gone ahead and played his role perfectly. Had he felt like a traitor when he had done it? Rex couldn't deny a part of him did feel like one. But then again, as a hunting dog of the Yaeger Corp, Rex followed his mission to the latter. He had no idea why his mission was to work with the Fallen Star, but Rex knew there was something that he was missing. The fact that he had revealed himself to Sophia Sinclair and she was letting him live even made him suspicious.
"I would have killed him right there and then," Rex said. "Even if my mission as a hunting dog was to assist you in whatever scheme you're cooking, I wouldn't have given a damn about my mission. I don't mess with Infernal energy and I abhor Abominations with all my soul." Sophia blinked upon hearing it, seeing Rex in a new different light.
"You're truly a Paladin through and through," She said. Yes, at the end of the day, Rex was a Paladin of the Starlight order. Among the various duties that he possessed, the elimination of Abominations was at his core. That was why he felt like he had to do something about Cedar Lakes. The Beast Abomination faction had shown their hands, and now more than ever, Rex felt it was time to do something about a certain feline King. "Do not worry. For the information you have given us, it is enough for the Herald to want a meeting with your Admiral."
"Is that so," Rex said.
"Yes. We can arrange a time for our forces to meet," Sophia said. "That is, as long as the Admiral keeps his nose out of what we're doing,"
"What are you going to do with the information I gave you," Rex asked. "It would be better to deal with it as quickly as possible. We don't want to give him time to run off."
"I was hoping that before you officially leave, you might want to clean it up," Sophia said. "For letting you live," Rex stood up from his seat, a little smile on his face.
"Sure, but before that, I have some business of my own to clean up," Rex said.
"Very well," Sophia said as Rex walked over to the exit. He stopped by Titus, and then gently patted him on the shoulder. Titus growled which only made Rex chuckle as he stepped into the lift. "I hope you'll be more successful in dealing with Balial this time around,"