Cyberknight: One Path

⁕ Athena (part 1)

"Yet you did have a point. "

It started subtly, with her men serving her not out of fear, but out of respect. Unlike Valentine, who had his fleet revere him as a God, Athena was treated as a figurehead and a source of inspiration. All the interactions didn't feel cold or forced, as they all felt human and warm.

During the war, the Falling Spartans had an amazing record in combat, yet didn't lose as many men as the other fleets. As an example, during the battle of Vladivostok, several fleets were committed to the fight against one of the largest Chinese counterattacks of the war. Inside the city, though besieged by the drop pods of three Imperial fleets, the respective marines and soldiers of each fleet were slaughtered by the thousands. Amidst the snowstorm, visibility was extremely low as only the plasma shots from the capital ships could be seen in the white hellscape.

By this point, the Imperial High Command was tired of the siege, as it deployed both the Blitz Marines and the Falling Spartans to finish off the defenders. As per usual, bombardment commenced first with Valentine's fifth fleet getting as close as possible to the drop zone and devastating the ground with plasma cannons strikes. The red pillars of plasma descended from the skies and swept through the city, which reduced entire city blocks to nothingness. Explosions and firestorms then evoked enough smoke to turn the blizzard into a grey storm of snow of ashes.

Then, alongside the Falling Spartans, the Blitz Marines were sent onto the field directly into the enemy's center to sow chaos. What ensued was a slaughterfest as the Blitz Marines tore through the enemy ranks with their reinforced armour and heavy weapons. However, despite their best effort, the defenders were still shredding through the Blitz Marines like they were butter with their weapons. Though casualties were mounting, just like the marshals of other fleets, Valentine simply watched from his bridge, preferring to hear reports and propose tactics instead.

However, Athena wasn't the same. Upon hearing how five fleets weren't able to break the defenders on the ground, she immediately knew she had to act before her own soldiers were fed to the meatgrinder for nothing. On the ground, the Spartan marines also struggled with the enemy as they fought to a standstill, unable to strike down the enemy defenders even with direct hits. Then, as the Russian and Chinese defenders struck back, all hell broke loose with many heavily armoured Spartan marines succumbing to the sheer volume of enemy bullets.

Suddenly, with a bolt of lightning trailing behind her, Athena descended onto the battlefield amidst her men like the incarnation of Zeus himself. Landing in the middle of an empty street, her Marines stood up with hope in their heart as they witnessed the golden ray of Athena's angelic armour amidst the storm.

[Athena] - "Guilt Extension: Champion of The Titanomachy! "

Yelled Athena as bolts of electricity spewed out of her eyes and mouth.

In an instant, thousands of electric arrows appeared out of thin air before striking down the enemy formations. As Athena advanced, a rain of electric arrows would follow, zapping anyone who opposed her into submission. Finally, as she breached the enemy's command center, she came across the Chinese's answer to the cyberknights, their dragon soldier, also armed with crystals and possessing abilities. Crystals glowing and channelling his power in a deep state of meditation, it was clearly he who was responsible for making the defenders so unbreakable with his ability.

Athena gritted her teeth in anger. All this time, if any of the fleet had sent down their martial knights or even taken account of the situation on the ground, all the extra death and destruction could've been avoided. Instead, the fleets' leadership's pride or cowardice was paid with the blood of civilians and soldiers on both sides of the conflict.