*Veridian IV. Drazaak is on a cliff, looking up as the Sun above is waning. Ryan runs up behind him, hand glowing blue.*
Ryan: Drazaak!
Drazaak: It's too late, Guardian! The collapse can not be stopped! Only accelerated!
*Drazaak slams the sword into the ground again, managing to start a small burst before Ryan blasts him off the cliff.
Drazaak lands violently, his face cracked slightly, glaring up at Ryan.*
Your lineage has been a thorn in my side since the beginning!
*Drazaak then sends up a blast of red energy, hitting the cliff face below Ryan and causing the cliff to collapse under him. Ryan quickly stops his fall with a brief port to the ground before letting off a beam at Drazaak, meeting Drazaak's own in the middle. The two beams are unable to advance on their targets.
White cracks of energy can be seen in Ryan's otherwise blue beam.*
Impressive...
No Guardian has ever been able to match my focused power.
Ryan: My honour to be the first!
*Ryan gains the upper hand, quickly blasting Drazaak back. However, Drazaak also manages to let off a blast at Ryan, smashing into him and sending him flying several dozen feet back into the cliff. Ryan's skin is now cracked, blue energy seeping out.*
Drazaak: Only Siraga has ever been able to best me in combat, Terran.
Ryan: And Siraga taught me everything I know, Shadow.
*Ryan's hands glow bright blue as he lets out another barrage.
Meanwhile, Arthur, S'dan, Sinclaire and Siraga are grouped together fighting Drazaak's army. S'dan lets out an uncontrolled black blast to take out a large group in front of him before creating an orange shield of energy to shield himself and Sinclaire from Shadow blasts. Arthur is cutting down Shadows around him, slicing through their energy blasts with Excalibur before they hit him.*
Siraga: Arthur!
*Arthur turns to see a Shadow get blasted apart by one of Siraga's blasts before it could kill him.*
Watch your back!
*The two go back to taking down Shadows, Siraga using his staff to propel blue blasts of twilight energy at his foes, also using it as a melee weapon when they come to close. After taking down two more Shadows, Arthur turns to him.*
Arthur: Just like old times, eh, Merlin?
Siraga: As I recall, we had an army of our own then!
Arthur: Only for the last several years, my friend! What about the times before that?!
Siraga: You mean the times spent keeping you from getting yourself killed?!
Arthur: You have a selective memory, Merlin!
*The two continue battling their foes when Arthur gets hit by a Shadow blast, sending him back several meters and onto his back. The blast hit his armour, but he soon finds himself confronted with 3 Shadows in front of him, ready to make the final strike, when S'dan lands in front of him, taking all three out with an orange sword of energy.
S'dan then turns and helps Arthur up.*
S'dan: You fight well...
*He then hands Arthur Excalibur.*
For a human.
*Arthur nods as the group finishes clearing that wave of Shadows. The remaining ones start to pull back.*
The cowards flee!
Arthur: Misleading. They are regrouping.
Siraga: And they'll be better prepared for us when they do.
I suggest we prepare ourselves. If I know Ryan, he is already battling Drazaak.
*Ryan and Drazaak are still battling, blasts flashing between the two as the dodge each other's attacks. They continue this for several moments before Drazaak successfully hits Ryan, knocking him down.*
Drazaak: Fool! Don't you realise how hopeless this is?! Nothing can stop what I have put in motion! NOTHING!
Any minute now, the star will go nova, and in its wake, my armada shall give this Galaxy the reckoning we gave our own all those aeons ago! Starting with Earth!
Unfortunately, you will not live to see that glorious day.
*Drazaak raises his hand, a red blast forming within it, aimed at Ryan. Suddenly, Drazaak feels his body pierce, his energy flooding out. He looks down to see a white blade dug into his chest. He lets out a small laugh.*
Drazaak: This changes nothing.
Sam: Shut up.
*Sam disperses the blade, dropping Drazaak to the floor as the others gather around them. Siraga aims his staff at Drazaak's head.*
Siraga: It is over, Drazaak. No one else needs to die today.
Drazaak *fading*: No...
You are fools...
Nothing can stop the star from collapsing. The nova will happen any minute now. It is no longer a matter of if my people will come, or when.
*Sam looks up at the star, her irises flashing white. Ryan looks at her and nods.*
As soon as the nova passes, my armada will arrive! You cannot stop it! It will happen precisely as the star explodes!
You are doomed! Even if I do perish, you cannot escape that!
Siraga: If we are doomed, then we will die taking as many of your kind with us as we can.
*He turns to the others.*
We need to leave. The star will collapse any second. We need to get everyone prepared for the battle to come.
S'dan: What about the Veridians?
Siraga: Drazaak has already doomed them. There is nothing more we can do.
Sinclaire : and before you say I'm crazy would any of us do otherwise. We have to try. And I can probably control a conduit better then anyone here. It won't destroy the shadow fleet but it will set them back long enough to give the powers now a chance to prepare this is bigger then any of us.
He hands sdan his blade.
Sinclaire: if it works we won't have to worry about them. If not well I can at the very least even the odds.
" Now the gate has been unlatched headstones pushed aside; corpses shift and offer room ,a fate you must abide."
Harper (tired) : alright people this is it. Prep all weapons and all fighters and mechs prep for launch. As soon as they appear we will hit them on two sides us and the federation fleet. Let's hope admiral dorman is ready to.
Officer: aye sir( into com ) all fighters scramble and prepare to launch. You are cleared to use all payloads.
Harper: have battle group E fall back behind the fleet. We will save them for a reserve
Office: aye sir
" Now the gate has been unlatched headstones pushed aside; corpses shift and offer room ,a fate you must abide."
Sinclaire : and before you say I'm crazy would any of us do otherwise. We have to try. And I can probably control a conduit better then anyone here. It won't destroy the shadow fleet but it will set them back long enough to give the powers now a chance to prepare this is bigger then any of us.
He hands sdan his blade.
Sinclaire: if it works we won't have to worry about them. If not well I can at the very least even the odds.
Siraga: Sinclaire, the sun will go nova in seconds! We can't get ANYONE off this planet save ourselves!
And you may be a master of Veil portals, but you cannot control the Forge!
I hate the idea of leaving these people here to perishe, but we can't do anything for them. Drazaak has already killed them.
*OOC: Trust me, you really can't do anything.*
We need to leave NOW, or the younger races will stand no chance when that armada arrives!
OOC: I hate to cut Allen out of getting a chance to chime in on the endgame's resolution, but I'm afraid if we wait much longer it'll break the flow of the story.
That and I really need to be getting to bed. I'd rather be able to do the time skip tomorrow (assuming we finish wrapping up this generation first).
OOC: Okay, I hate to do this when Allen isn't on, but I've got to put this up now before I go to bed.
*The Guardians begin to evacuate through portals. Before stepping through, Ryan turns back to Sam.*
Ryan: Are you coming?
Sam: One minute.
*Sam walks over and kneels down next to Drazaak.*
You think you've one, don't you?
Drazaak *fading*: This is my victory...
And I could not have done it without you...
Sam: No, you couldn't.
But I won't let this be a victory for you.
*She looks at the sun, and her hands glow white.*
Drazaak *fading*: Not even you have the power to reverse what I have done, Sam...
Sam: No.
*She looks back at him.*
But you said that your armada was timing their arrival perfectly to coincide with the nova. They're going to open a portal from the Forge just as the nova passes, aren't they?
Drazaak *Fading*: I don't... see your point...
Sam: What would happen if the nova were to be delayed by even a few seconds?
*Drazaak remains silent.*
Don't want to answer that, do you?
It would go something like this, wouldn't it? Your forces, instead of opening a portal behind the Nova, will open it in front of it. The wave will enter the void and wipe out every Shadow inside it. Your people will cease to be a threat to our Galaxy and to the Andromedans.
Stop me if I'm wrong.
Drazaak *Fading*: Not even YOU could--!
Sam: That's the second thing you're wrong about, Drazaak. I CAN do that. I HAVE done that!
And, the other thing you were wrong about? We are NOTHING alike!
*They look up, as the star finally collapses.
In space, a large Shadow portal opens near the star, literally the size of a planet. Several Shadow warships begin to come through.
Then, suddenly, the star finally erupts, exploding outwards as the wave of heat totally atomises everything in its path, travelling through the portal and into the Forge as well.
Drazaak feels the deaths of his people. He feels the final defeat.*
Drazaak *fading*: No...
NO!
*Sam looks up as the nova can be seen travelling towards them. She sees the nova hit the portal, shown as a gap in the nova's wave before it passes.*
Sam: You'll never hurt anyone again.
*She stands up and walks towards the portal.*
Drazaak *fading*: You can't... do this to me...
Sam: I don't have to kill you, Drazaak.
*She starts stepping into the portal.*
But that doesn't mean I have to save you.
*She and Ryan step through the portal as it closes.
The nova closes in on Veridian IV, all the Shadows now stranded on the planet. Drazaak looks up as the light burns him.*
Drazaak *fading*: Fire...
The flames of Ragnarok...
*The planet is ripped apart by the nova, the Shadows destroyed, once and for all. The last Shadow War is over, but at a high price; the Billions of lives lost on New Arcadia, Pacifica, Caspian IV, Dalos Alpha IV, and Veridian IV, as well as the millions of Starfleet, Klingon, Iconian, Republic and UNSC Officers who gave their lives in the valiant defence of the Galaxy.
In the Veil, Arthur, Ryan, Sam, Siraga, S'dan and Tokra all watch.*
Siraga: It's finally over.
Tokra: Removed, the Shadow threat is.
S'dan: But the cost...
Ryan: Won't there be more of them?
Siraga: Yes, scattered among the stars. But, without the Forge, they are stranded where they are.
The Shadows are effectively wiped out.
Arthur: Is everyone forgetting the fact that Samantha just committed an act of genocide against an entire race?
Siraga: The Shadows have wiped out millions of races. This is minuscule in comparison.
The Vulcans have a saying; "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".
Mor'bid himself said something 700,000 years ago, which became construed by his successors. The Shadows said "all must be sacrificed, if some are to be saved". What Mor'bid actually said was; "SOME must be sacrificed if ALL are to be saved".
Mor'bid taught me much. Even though we disagreed on almost everything else, that was one of the few things we did agree on.
Sam has saved the entire Galaxy from the Shadows when we couldn't. We almost failed in our mission because we believed the threat was gone a century ago. She defeated it again. Not just for now, but forever.
S'dan: And all her revelation cost was the lives of billions on Pacifica, Caspian IV and Dalos Alpha IV.
Siraga: But she has made those deaths mean something. They did not die in vain.
Jacob walks up behind Sinclaire on the observation Deck.
Jacob: so what's next.
Sinclaire: I suspect the galaxy will go back to normal.
Jacob: I meant you.
Sinclaire: I have yet to decide. I will probably simply watch as the galaxy rebuilds. But I will always be there if you need. You know how to reach me. Good by my friend. Until we meet again.
Sinclaire opens a conduit and arrives at the veil.
" Now the gate has been unlatched headstones pushed aside; corpses shift and offer room ,a fate you must abide."
Dorman: I guess you too don't like showing up here. But let me say this. The cycle of life and nature is just that. Renewal. It is a cycle, its interruption is what brings dire consequences. I told you will lose, and you have.
Dorman: I guess you too don't like showing up here. But let me say this. The cycle of life and nature is just that. Renewal. It is a cycle, its interruption is what brings dire consequences. I told you would lose, and you have.
OOC: This conversation occurs before he loses the war (i.e. 1 year ago).
And yeah, after the conversation, if you want to kick off the time skip... I don't know if you want to finish off the Fali arc.
Dorman: I guess you too don't like showing up here. But let me say this. The cycle of life and nature is just that. Renewal. It is a cycle, its interruption is what brings dire consequences. I told you will lose, and you have.
Drazaak: What we are doing is a part of the cycle. Civilisations rise, become decadent and fall.
When a limb is infected, you amputate the limb to save the rest of the body. What we do is no different.
Drazaak: What we are doing is a part of the cycle. Civilisations rise, become decadent and fall.
When a limb is infected, you amputate the limb to save the rest of the body. What we do is no different.
Dorman: I think you are so dilluded that you cannot see that your part of us as well, there have been others like you and they have also made such claims. But your not nature, Your one evil man that wants to end things his way. Like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. I know this now because I have been educated in such things now since killing your Master.
Comments
Ryan: Drazaak!
Drazaak: It's too late, Guardian! The collapse can not be stopped! Only accelerated!
*Drazaak slams the sword into the ground again, managing to start a small burst before Ryan blasts him off the cliff.
Drazaak lands violently, his face cracked slightly, glaring up at Ryan.*
Your lineage has been a thorn in my side since the beginning!
*Drazaak then sends up a blast of red energy, hitting the cliff face below Ryan and causing the cliff to collapse under him. Ryan quickly stops his fall with a brief port to the ground before letting off a beam at Drazaak, meeting Drazaak's own in the middle. The two beams are unable to advance on their targets.
White cracks of energy can be seen in Ryan's otherwise blue beam.*
Impressive...
No Guardian has ever been able to match my focused power.
Ryan: My honour to be the first!
*Ryan gains the upper hand, quickly blasting Drazaak back. However, Drazaak also manages to let off a blast at Ryan, smashing into him and sending him flying several dozen feet back into the cliff. Ryan's skin is now cracked, blue energy seeping out.*
Drazaak: Only Siraga has ever been able to best me in combat, Terran.
Ryan: And Siraga taught me everything I know, Shadow.
*Ryan's hands glow bright blue as he lets out another barrage.
Meanwhile, Arthur, S'dan, Sinclaire and Siraga are grouped together fighting Drazaak's army. S'dan lets out an uncontrolled black blast to take out a large group in front of him before creating an orange shield of energy to shield himself and Sinclaire from Shadow blasts. Arthur is cutting down Shadows around him, slicing through their energy blasts with Excalibur before they hit him.*
Siraga: Arthur!
*Arthur turns to see a Shadow get blasted apart by one of Siraga's blasts before it could kill him.*
Watch your back!
*The two go back to taking down Shadows, Siraga using his staff to propel blue blasts of twilight energy at his foes, also using it as a melee weapon when they come to close. After taking down two more Shadows, Arthur turns to him.*
Arthur: Just like old times, eh, Merlin?
Siraga: As I recall, we had an army of our own then!
Arthur: Only for the last several years, my friend! What about the times before that?!
Siraga: You mean the times spent keeping you from getting yourself killed?!
Arthur: You have a selective memory, Merlin!
*The two continue battling their foes when Arthur gets hit by a Shadow blast, sending him back several meters and onto his back. The blast hit his armour, but he soon finds himself confronted with 3 Shadows in front of him, ready to make the final strike, when S'dan lands in front of him, taking all three out with an orange sword of energy.
S'dan then turns and helps Arthur up.*
S'dan: You fight well...
*He then hands Arthur Excalibur.*
For a human.
*Arthur nods as the group finishes clearing that wave of Shadows. The remaining ones start to pull back.*
The cowards flee!
Arthur: Misleading. They are regrouping.
Siraga: And they'll be better prepared for us when they do.
I suggest we prepare ourselves. If I know Ryan, he is already battling Drazaak.
Arthur: He may need help. I shall--
S'dan: One moment.
Where is the girl?
*They look around, unable to find Sam.*
Arthur: She was here a few minutes ago.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
He draws out both blades causing them to glow as they prepare for the next attack.
Sinclaire: let's hope she doesn't do anything to foolish and that ryan is alright.
Officer: the suns nova process was just accelerated.
Harped: how long.
Officer: not long
Harper: I want all battle group to form up in omega gamma formation prep all fighters and all mantis.
Officer: aye sir.
Sinclaire: we must have faith Sam does what is right
Drazaak: Fool! Don't you realise how hopeless this is?! Nothing can stop what I have put in motion! NOTHING!
Any minute now, the star will go nova, and in its wake, my armada shall give this Galaxy the reckoning we gave our own all those aeons ago! Starting with Earth!
Unfortunately, you will not live to see that glorious day.
*Drazaak raises his hand, a red blast forming within it, aimed at Ryan. Suddenly, Drazaak feels his body pierce, his energy flooding out. He looks down to see a white blade dug into his chest. He lets out a small laugh.*
Drazaak: This changes nothing.
Sam: Shut up.
*Sam disperses the blade, dropping Drazaak to the floor as the others gather around them. Siraga aims his staff at Drazaak's head.*
Siraga: It is over, Drazaak. No one else needs to die today.
Drazaak *fading*: No...
You are fools...
Nothing can stop the star from collapsing. The nova will happen any minute now. It is no longer a matter of if my people will come, or when.
*Sam looks up at the star, her irises flashing white. Ryan looks at her and nods.*
As soon as the nova passes, my armada will arrive! You cannot stop it! It will happen precisely as the star explodes!
You are doomed! Even if I do perish, you cannot escape that!
Siraga: If we are doomed, then we will die taking as many of your kind with us as we can.
*He turns to the others.*
We need to leave. The star will collapse any second. We need to get everyone prepared for the battle to come.
S'dan: What about the Veridians?
Siraga: Drazaak has already doomed them. There is nothing more we can do.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Sinclaire: can you get as many people to safety as possible. I will deal with nova and try to move his fleet away.
He hands sdan his blade.
Sinclaire: if it works we won't have to worry about them. If not well I can at the very least even the odds.
Officer: sir the sun is going nova now.
Harper (tired) : alright people this is it. Prep all weapons and all fighters and mechs prep for launch. As soon as they appear we will hit them on two sides us and the federation fleet. Let's hope admiral dorman is ready to.
Officer: aye sir( into com ) all fighters scramble and prepare to launch. You are cleared to use all payloads.
Harper: have battle group E fall back behind the fleet. We will save them for a reserve
Office: aye sir
Siraga: Sinclaire, the sun will go nova in seconds! We can't get ANYONE off this planet save ourselves!
And you may be a master of Veil portals, but you cannot control the Forge!
I hate the idea of leaving these people here to perishe, but we can't do anything for them. Drazaak has already killed them.
*OOC: Trust me, you really can't do anything.*
We need to leave NOW, or the younger races will stand no chance when that armada arrives!
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Harper: how many.
Sinclaire: I honestly don't know.
Harper: we will do what we can here. Lets hope its enough.
That and I really need to be getting to bed. I'd rather be able to do the time skip tomorrow (assuming we finish wrapping up this generation first).
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
*The Guardians begin to evacuate through portals. Before stepping through, Ryan turns back to Sam.*
Ryan: Are you coming?
Sam: One minute.
*Sam walks over and kneels down next to Drazaak.*
You think you've one, don't you?
Drazaak *fading*: This is my victory...
And I could not have done it without you...
Sam: No, you couldn't.
But I won't let this be a victory for you.
*She looks at the sun, and her hands glow white.*
Drazaak *fading*: Not even you have the power to reverse what I have done, Sam...
Sam: No.
*She looks back at him.*
But you said that your armada was timing their arrival perfectly to coincide with the nova. They're going to open a portal from the Forge just as the nova passes, aren't they?
Drazaak *Fading*: I don't... see your point...
Sam: What would happen if the nova were to be delayed by even a few seconds?
*Drazaak remains silent.*
Don't want to answer that, do you?
It would go something like this, wouldn't it? Your forces, instead of opening a portal behind the Nova, will open it in front of it. The wave will enter the void and wipe out every Shadow inside it. Your people will cease to be a threat to our Galaxy and to the Andromedans.
Stop me if I'm wrong.
Drazaak *Fading*: Not even YOU could--!
Sam: That's the second thing you're wrong about, Drazaak. I CAN do that. I HAVE done that!
And, the other thing you were wrong about? We are NOTHING alike!
*They look up, as the star finally collapses.
In space, a large Shadow portal opens near the star, literally the size of a planet. Several Shadow warships begin to come through.
Then, suddenly, the star finally erupts, exploding outwards as the wave of heat totally atomises everything in its path, travelling through the portal and into the Forge as well.
Drazaak feels the deaths of his people. He feels the final defeat.*
Drazaak *fading*: No...
NO!
*Sam looks up as the nova can be seen travelling towards them. She sees the nova hit the portal, shown as a gap in the nova's wave before it passes.*
Sam: You'll never hurt anyone again.
*She stands up and walks towards the portal.*
Drazaak *fading*: You can't... do this to me...
Sam: I don't have to kill you, Drazaak.
*She starts stepping into the portal.*
But that doesn't mean I have to save you.
*She and Ryan step through the portal as it closes.
The nova closes in on Veridian IV, all the Shadows now stranded on the planet. Drazaak looks up as the light burns him.*
Drazaak *fading*: Fire...
The flames of Ragnarok...
*The planet is ripped apart by the nova, the Shadows destroyed, once and for all. The last Shadow War is over, but at a high price; the Billions of lives lost on New Arcadia, Pacifica, Caspian IV, Dalos Alpha IV, and Veridian IV, as well as the millions of Starfleet, Klingon, Iconian, Republic and UNSC Officers who gave their lives in the valiant defence of the Galaxy.
In the Veil, Arthur, Ryan, Sam, Siraga, S'dan and Tokra all watch.*
Siraga: It's finally over.
Tokra: Removed, the Shadow threat is.
S'dan: But the cost...
Ryan: Won't there be more of them?
Siraga: Yes, scattered among the stars. But, without the Forge, they are stranded where they are.
The Shadows are effectively wiped out.
Arthur: Is everyone forgetting the fact that Samantha just committed an act of genocide against an entire race?
Siraga: The Shadows have wiped out millions of races. This is minuscule in comparison.
The Vulcans have a saying; "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".
Mor'bid himself said something 700,000 years ago, which became construed by his successors. The Shadows said "all must be sacrificed, if some are to be saved". What Mor'bid actually said was; "SOME must be sacrificed if ALL are to be saved".
Mor'bid taught me much. Even though we disagreed on almost everything else, that was one of the few things we did agree on.
Sam has saved the entire Galaxy from the Shadows when we couldn't. We almost failed in our mission because we believed the threat was gone a century ago. She defeated it again. Not just for now, but forever.
S'dan: And all her revelation cost was the lives of billions on Pacifica, Caspian IV and Dalos Alpha IV.
Siraga: But she has made those deaths mean something. They did not die in vain.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Sinclaire: well it looks they did it.
*Crowd cheering*
Officer: aye sir.
Moments later in his ready room.
Harper: sir its over. They are wiped out.
Granz: very good captain. Bring the fleet home its time everyone got some rest. We still have a lot to rebuild here.
Jacob: so what's next.
Sinclaire: I suspect the galaxy will go back to normal.
Jacob: I meant you.
Sinclaire: I have yet to decide. I will probably simply watch as the galaxy rebuilds. But I will always be there if you need. You know how to reach me. Good by my friend. Until we meet again.
Sinclaire opens a conduit and arrives at the veil.
Sheesh.
OOC: Sorry man. Wasn't accusing you of anything. Just couldn't really drag the story on any further.
Anyway, since you did ask me to let Dorman call Drazaak out on something...
*One year earlier. Dorman is in his office on the Citadel when he hears a gush of wind behind him.*
Drazaak: Admiral Dorman.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Dorman: Drazaak.. For what do I owe the misbegotten pleasure...
*OOC: I understand that bit just wow.. Bad time to have one of those.. I would have jumped on but eh...
R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy
*OOC: Trust me I gotta adjust now that I missed a day and have to get all this in.. But its easy to follow *
OOC: This conversation occurs before he loses the war (i.e. 1 year ago).
And yeah, after the conversation, if you want to kick off the time skip... I don't know if you want to finish off the Fali arc.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
*OOC: Okay I will close that one up..*
Fali: We need to go to this UGC then not that it would matter much with Waff still on the loose.
Drazaak: What we are doing is a part of the cycle. Civilisations rise, become decadent and fall.
When a limb is infected, you amputate the limb to save the rest of the body. What we do is no different.
Trials of Blood and Fire
Moving On Parts 1-3 - Part 4
In Cold Blood
Dorman: I think you are so dilluded that you cannot see that your part of us as well, there have been others like you and they have also made such claims. But your not nature, Your one evil man that wants to end things his way. Like a petulant child throwing a temper tantrum. I know this now because I have been educated in such things now since killing your Master.