The Empyrean was on their side, were that not the case, Adam and his makers would have taken the ship back over in a matter of minutes, but instead they found the empyrean unresponsive to their commands while simultaneously eager to follow along with her more human crew.
The bridge stations had stopped working, unless the construct running it made a decision.Down around the rest of the ship, the makers were unable to access the weapons systems or the equipment. One thing after another kept going wrong for Adham, who now stood in the middle of the mess with a look of incredulity slowly growing into permanency on his face.
Out the bridge doors, down the short hall and into the main atrium of the ship, the SE soldiers now gathered, geared up in their new model SE armor, waiting for instructions. I'm the Ship's hangers, pilots were setting about preparing their fighters for battle, but looking out the front viewscreen, Adam noted, among the corrupted Void ships, plenty of regular vessels as well, running on warp energy rather than recycled void energy.
It seemed as if the constructs would be on both sides of this conflict.
Adam turned to look at Adham, where he stood floundering and ineffectual on the bridge floor. He floated a little lower, releasing control of the Empyrean to her own devices for the moment being.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but you were being unreasonable and I wasn't about to sit back on the sidelines and watch. I want us to work together, I really do, but I need you to understand that I am not yours to order around. I am not your child, I am not your responsibility. Any actions I take here are my own, and as well informed as they can be. I realize I may not have had a few million years to think about it, but to me a few years is time enough to decide that there is no power in this universe that can stop me from protecting my children, do you understand that."
The two men stood at odds.
The first man, and just some guy.
Adham was the perfect representation of what the architect had wanted when he built a human construct. Ageless, placeless, and entirely ambiguous in all ways, Adham looked at Adam, and with a long, deep sigh, he stepped back, "This is an argument i will not win."
"No."
"But I maintain my control over my men." He glanced around at the ship, "I defer to your piloting skills as the Empyrean seems to trust you."
A little spark of warmth spilled through Adam's chest.
Having the Empyrean was like going to a friend's party with a bunch of other people, but the dog still chooses to come sit with you. It was that feeling but about a million more times potent.
He was glad that the Empyrean trusted him because in return he planned to trust her.
It wasn't an agreement they could entirely hash out in the moment as, just then, the comms specialist rose to her feet and turned to look at Adam, "Sir, we have an incoming communication from the central enemy ship."
Adam squinted out the window at the large mass of black metal and jutting edges. Orange light flared along the seams in her body. When the orange light burned iit burned dirty, and had they been in atmosphere, Adam might have imagined thick black smoke billowing out from the engines.
"Sir, It's kazna."
Adam felt the line of his mouth twitch in distaste, but he motioned sunny forward.
She nodded, stepping up the ramp and onto the command platform with him. If he was going to verbally toe to toe with the black general, than he was going to use his greatest weapons as an advantage.
The Saint of Anin, who knew Kazna almost better than anyone else in the universe.
"Patch her through."
The holo blinked once and then went dim. At first he thought they were still waiting for it to load, until his vision readjusted and he realized that the room they looked onto was just incredibly dark. It was the general's eyes he saw first, glowing and golden peering out from the black dimness as shadows swirled around her.
It had been some time since he had seen her in person. In fact, the last time he had seen her, she had been busy running a spear through his chest, but it seemed that, since then, her power had only grown. The shadows were deeper, blacker, but also thicker as they rolled over and around her body like so much sentient curling smoke.
Adam retracted the helmet of his SE armor back into his suit. He wanted her to be able to see the disdain on his face while he spoke to her. Maybe it was petty perhaps, but either way it certainly made him feel better to know that she could see how muh he hated her.
"Human" She said by way of greeting not bothering to lift the disdain from her voice.
He raised his chin, "Drev."
If she was going to play that game, than so was he.
"You have entered the territory of Apollyon. Leave now, and this does not have to break into conflict. Our business here is none of your concern."
Adam snorted, raising an eyebrow in incredulity, "You plan to blow up the universe, kill everything in it, and unmake our souls, forgive me if I have a hard time trying to figure out how that isn't my business."
Kazna crossed her arms, beside her, her massive three pronged trident glittered in the half dark.
"You could return home, to your family, spend what time you have left with them instead of embarking on this fruitless adventure."
He shook his head, "That's not how this works Kazna. Given the option between going home right now and spending the next few days with my kids before they never exist again, and beating your ass, getting rid of apollyon and then returning home to my kids to watch them grow old, fall in love, have kids of their own before I eventually die and become one of the Makers..... Well to me there really isn't much of a choice."
The general sighed and shook her head slowly.
She was silent for a long moment before turning to look at Sunny who floated, quietly bristling next to Adam, Do you let thai human speak for you? Or has he finally succeeded in turning you into his obedient breeder." Adam bristled, fists clenching, Immediately ready to reach through the holo and strangle Kazna, but Sunny raised a hand.
"I stand beside my battle partner of my own free will, and with all the power of my soul.... Can you say the same,"
As it seemed, that little barb struck a nerve, and Kazna snarled, her golden eyes flaring in the half dark, 'I would be perfectly content in allowing thai conversation to end here, and to begin the battle that lies ahead, but Apollyon is more reasonable than I and he wishes to discuss terms on neutral ground."
Adam crossed his arms, "How does a creature that exists outside of time and space understand the customs of a truce."
Kazna raised her hands, "it's simple, this filthy universe has forced him to take on a shape and a coherent consciousness. He has watched your kind for long enough to understand. He wishes to send a delegation to meet with the architect's emissaries to discuss terms, see if we can't come to a decision that is beneficial to us all.
Adham laughed, finally putting aside his annoyance at Adam and coming to join them, "Apollyon doesn't make compromises, he will look to bully us into his position and make it seem like it was our idea."
Kazna shrugged, "I do not yet know his offer, but you will never know unless you accept the invitation."
"He must agree to come under the flag of truce or no deal." Adham said white robes billowing lightly around him as he spoke.
"Those terms are acceptable."
"How many." Adam asked, "How many delegates can we bring."
"You get enough to fit in your small shuttle and we shall do the same. There is a derelict ship that lies in no man's land between our two armies. It used to be a black hole research facility....."
Adam felt his skin go a little cold, slightly clammy despite the moisture wicking suit that he wore, That couldn't be the same research station he was thinking of. He had been there before some time back, and the station had been home to thousands of human researchers and military members supporting research for the black hole.
Kazna saw the look on his face, and hummed with a tone of black amusement, "yes, it is one and the same.""
"How did.... How did we not know?" How had they not heard about the loss of an entire space station, and the thousands of people on board. Shouldn't someone have said something, if not the families of those who had been stationed there.
How could they have missed it?
Kazna chuckling grew, "The station was taken over during hunt's presidency towards the end during the invasion of earth. All support for the research stations around the galaxy were cut off, and then subsequently lost in the bureaucratic shuffle. WIth no one in charge of taking care of them, there was no one for the families to go to to ask about their missing loved ones." She tilted her head back the other way, unnervingly slow, like a cat contemplating an injured bird, "Apollyon enjoyed toying with their minds, perfecting the art."
If Adam had the ability to ask a genie for a superpower in that moment, he would have wished to be able to kill someone telepathically, but even so all of his efforts were fruitless.
"We will meet on the derelict."
"How do we know you're not springing a trap there." Adam shot back, "Seems hardly like neutral ground, a dead space station on apollyon controlled territory. Perhaps it isn't a derelict, and everyone there is simply a zombie, and the moment we step on you will turn them on us."
Kazna rolled the haft of her spear between her hands, "Oh I assure you, no one is alive, and I am sure your ships bio scans will detect the same thing."
"Traps then."
Kazna shook her head, "There are no traps, he really does wish to speak."
"Funny how I don't believe you."
"Funny how you have no other options if you want to have this conversation." She said
Behind her orange light pulsed dimly with anticipation, casting her face into silhouette.."
"Will you accept these terms?"
Adam thought about it for a moment and then took a deep breath, "Fine, but if you try any funny business, I am going to have lord Avex blast that place to Kingdom Come, The little bastard is bloodthirsty, he won't even feel bad."
"I would expect nothing less."
And then the comms went dead.