The alarms ran deafeningly into my ears. I was in the radar room, hunkered over the panel that maintained Mercury controls and also the radar. As the alarm went off, my head snapped up from a dozy wilt .. Eyes snapping open. Those unusual eyes of mine seemed to focus--the pupil widening a moment before returning to its small state, the outer ring about the pupil reacting as well before returning to the normal. A large force had been drop-shipped in to the southeast. The radar had tallied up at least fifteen (15), but there appeared to be some vehicles being deployed. I frowned; the entire base around me was alive with activity as my paperwork slid to the floor. The pencil rolled away, making a symphony of soft clatters--so mundane, and drowned by the radar. I glanced at it. Just a glance. The alarms screamed in my soul, my ears and head--something was wrong. I could feel it. Something wasn’t right. Intuition had never let me down before, you know. Turning my head to investigate the map, the numbers of attackers had increased. More people, bred for battle, were filing out to the defense-line. The Praetorians were scrambling. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach, but I moved from the control podium and moved swiftly to look closer at what the radar had displayed. The numbers had increased. “Call for all available forces. I repeat, call for all available forces!” My voice almost cracked as I made the com call. When I was no longer broadcasting, I panted a bit--anxiety and adrenaline fueling my every move as I ran to make sure everyone was going by procedure. The distant sounds of gunfire started to grow as I jogged through the halls. I had to keep tabs on this. As more dedicated Ordo filed into the ranks, I smiled inside. It was so uplifting to see my brothers and sisters dedicated to the protection of the place we called home. It was hard to imagine that some of these people had nothing… I pulled up short when I came to one of the defense walls, squinting behind my glasses outward. The battle was heating up--Ordo and enemy alike had fallen so far. I winced before turning around to jog toward my office where I had my guns and things locked up. I wasn’t combat much anymore, not since I had gained rank from lower enlisted. It was fine, though--this was my calling; the desk. And now, I was struggling with my intuition so I could get my weapons. I wondered where Aryte was.. His presence was integral right now, I had thought. Nearly slipping on the stairs down to my office, I snagged an ornate column lining the stairwell and saved myself, panting softly. It was then that I was sent floorward.. Artillery? Oh god. Eyes lifted to stare upward before I threw myself forward, propelling myself toward the offices. I eventually got to my office, panting and heaving a bit. Grabbing my weapons, I made sure I was armed up properly before I headed back out. The alarms had changed..? Someone had gotten into the base?! I was frightened, but I didn’t let it show. I continued to run as the artillery hammered the world above, trying to look for signs of a break-in into the citadel. I threw myself into my run, mounting the steps in a rushed formation. The coms were alive with chatter… Someone *had* gotten into the base! Aryte was safe, right? I had to worry now; it was in my contract. Now, getting out my pair of side arms, I went on the defensive. The maze of the citadel was both frightening and comfortable now. I knew it more than the intruder, right? I had hoped. I really had hoped, unless they were well informed… I heard something to my right, so I went to investigate. Two officers lay face down.. I ran to them, calling their names. Neither of them responded, so I checked for a pulse. There was none. One of them, a female, had died with her eyes still open. I closed them and kissed her forehead before staggering to my feet and moving. Praetorians! I heard a couple of them battling something. Their sounds of determination were tear jerking as I looked around for signs of the intruder. There was some out of place things, which had helped me determine where he had gone. Toward the roof of the citadel? I wasn’t too comfortable with this. So, I looked around some more. Some injured Ordo, who I had also worked with closely, were asking for my aid--so I helped them. On the coms, I had asked for any reports. Very few answered… I moved swiftly toward the spiraling gothic stairs that led to the floors above as well as the roof; hopefully the intruder had not gotten lost in the mazelike configuration of the other floors. There was so much up there that could be used.. I wasn’t long before I had found the man who had snuck into our base. It was one of our own, holding Aryte hostage. A gun pressed to the Imperator’s head. I narrowed my eyes, my expression softened. “What is the meaning of this?” I asked, stepping forward.. “You don’t want to do this.” “ARE YOU SURE?!” He screamed--in a psychotic and unhinged fashion. “DO YOU REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH PAIN YOU’VE ALL PUT ME THROUGH?!” His gun prodded into the Imperator’s temple, causing me to wince. “..put him down..” I calmly spoke, attempting to keep the mood on an even keel. As I spoke, my eyes were glancing around--looking around. “PUT THE WEAPONS DOWN, YOU BITCH! PUT THEM DOWN OR I KILL HIM!” The man, who I had only worked with a few times, always seemed different. But others had vouched for him, which put my ill-feeling in the back of my mind. I set my pistols down on the ground and kicked them away. “You’d only make him out to be a martyr …” I said as I continued to look for an opening or anything that I could use to make this situation less one-sided. When I had formulated a battle plan, I seemed a bit less frightened and a little more confident. “You’d only make us stronger and more determined than ever…” “YOU SHUT UP. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. ALL OF YOURS.” He was gone, his mind a melted paste of self-doubt, wrath and envy. Such a terrible waste, I thought. I couldn’t find myself to pity him. Not with the Imperator like this. It broke my heart. Suddenly, I sprang into action--hoping that the Imperator would receive no injury .. Or maintain something that could be easily fixed. My movements were precise and thought-out. I grabbed the hidden pistol on my person. I fired a single shot into his forehead, which caused him to topple. I rushed then, catching the unconscious and dirtied Imperator in my arms. Behind me, the remaining Praetorian Guard had filtered in and begun to swarm the room that had once been considered a hallowed place. Now a room of a forming, terrible memory. I sat there, bent over Aryte. I didn’t realize it now, but I had been shot. The blood, which had cooled in places, now alerted me to its presence. “For the Imperator, I give my life. For Ordo, I shed the blood of heretics.” I murmured, looking up at the two Praetorians approaching me. I lifted Aryte up, offering the Imperator to his Guards before my hand pressed to the fatal wound--which weeped. In the darkness of the room, they had not seen the terrible damage. And through willpower, I stood and moved--a slow and laborious walk. “The battle rages?” I asked, in a clearly pained voice. “We’ve won.” The tallest Praetorian rumbled, which brought a smile to my face. I continued to move, into the stairwell. A bloodied hand slapped the wall, sending my blood raining against the stone. Using that hand, I guided myself down toward the radar room. Once there, I moved for the podium.. Staggering and stumbling. I made it to my pencil and paper .. My husband was somewhere around here, or so I had thought. But he could be dead. But nothing was going to stop him or me from serving Ordo and the Imperator. I slapped the paper on to the podium and began to write out a report on what I had done… I finally felt myself succumb to the injury I had sustained, slumping forward.. All around the podium, my blood had spilled. The report half written and smeared with blood. I sat at the podium base and finally passed away .. My husband found me, ironically, and called in the death. I ended up being buried with the Imperator’s Star. And there was a small monument, erected for my services to Ordo and the Imperator himself. Unfortunately, I never got to experience the joy and pride that came with such an honor…
