Chapter 111

　　The transport shuttle bucked and shook as it climbed toward the safety of orbit. Behind it, the rapidly expanding white explosion of the Engine devoured the ground and sea surrounding it. The former resort town disappeared into its light.

　　"We`re going to make it. We`re going to make it. We`re going to make it!" Talha shouted from the cockpit, whether to reassure her passengers or herself, Kal didn`t know.

　　"We`re not going to make it." Kal whispered. Gripping the interior handhold, he stared out the window as the ball of fire neared them. As swiftly as they were travelling, it was faster.

　　The shaking grew worse, and the Shuttle violently dropped from the turbulent air created by the blast, dipping to the right sharply before levelling.

　　"Atlas-" Kal shouted, about to summon the Titan to assist when Mare clutched onto his arm.

　　"Wait, we`re going to make it!" Mare exclaimed, pointing out the window. The light sky of Terra was darkening, and the stars rapidly appeared. The shaking slowed as they left the atmosphere. The bucking stopped.

　　"We`re clear!" Talha shouted, and a cheer went up from the survivors. Tears were streaking down Micah`s face, and Cid buried her head in Ty`s chest, the injured man resting on the ground.

　　The cheers died quickly as they saw the devastation on the surface far below them. The white, devouring light wasn`t slowing. It engulfed the entire North American continent before it stopped. In its place, the sea waters rushed into the void, a cloud of steam rising quickly as the whole planet shook from the destruction.

　　The less than twenty survivors of the millions that once inhabited the resort town sat silently while the shuttle drifted through the void.

　　 Page Break

　　Aurelius felt the tremors in the ground from the explosion. It was as if the entire planet were crying out, screaming at the destruction being wrought. His terminal went silent. The screen blackened as the information feeding it stopped.

　　The missing variable was maddening, like a needle in his brain.

　　Terra was ruined, all his work to repair it over his lifetime, and that of his ancestors, undone in a moment. The people`s faith in him would be shaken. They would place their blame on his inability to protect Terra. He was the steward of humanity`s ancestral home, and it had been ravaged under his watch.

　　Where were his sons now?

　　Argyle and Augustus were still missing. No news on their whereabouts reached him. Now that he was isolated and alone, his connection to the Imperial Net and his Guard severed, he felt less shackled by his pursuit of knowledge than he had been in centuries.

　　Leaving his terminal behind, he walked slowly toward the door to his sanctum. His body was old and frail, unsteady and shaky from his time spent in the Sanctum staring at a screen. He was ready to lead his people to safety when the door opened of its own volition.

　　His son strode through, his steps lively and expression ecstatic. Not Argyle, who he needed in order to find the culprit behind this attack and lead his Guard, or Augustus, who his government required now more than ever for the rebuilding and reassurance of the public.

　　No, it was his youngest, Alexander. The forgotten. The broken. The neglected.

　　"Alex, what are you doing here? You should be in the bunker with your mother and sister." Aurelius stated, his face showing a rare moment of confusion. This was entirely out of character for his youngest. He was usually so compliant and content to let others lead him as long as it didn`t hamper his pursuit of sin and vice. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

　　His son appeared sober, cleanly dressed and oddly formal.

　　"But Father, the actors have completed their roles and delivered their lines. The curtain has closed, and it is time for me to receive my applause." Alexander responded, his face a mask of ecstasy at the look of confusion on his father`s face.

　　He had waited years for this moment, the culmination of everything he had strived to achieve.

　　Bliss.

　　"What are you talking about? Actors&.It was you? The variable!?" Aurelius exclaimed through a sharp intake of breath. It all came together in his mind, the calculations coalescing, the newly discovered piece of knowledge fitting into the puzzle, completing the picture.

　　"All this was you?" Aurelius repeated, making it seem both question and statement.

　　"All me." Alexander replied, giving his father an elegant bow, one arm thrown wide as if he were the director of a stage play bowing in appreciation to the audience.

　　"Do you recall when I was a boy, you gave me a piece of advice? It was likely inconsequential to you, a mere tidbit thrown to your youngest. You wanted me to excel, to motivate me to succeed. Do you know what you said, Father?" Alexander asked.

　　"I`ve& said many things, Alex. I cannot remember them all." Aurelius replied, the memory eluding him. It was something he hid, like his defective, single-tracked mind. A symptom of his advanced age, the loss of precious knowledge normally guarded so closely.

　　Alexander sighed deeply with regret, shaking his head sadly at the admittance.

　　"I wish I could have known you at your peak, Father. As beautiful as this experience has been, I would have liked to have defeated you before age slowed you down. A pity, but one that I will not allow to deter me. You told me that all the greatest people in history had a goal. An ambition to drive them to succeed."

　　"I thought about that for weeks, turning it over in my mind. What was my goal, my purpose? If I succeeded you as Emperor and continued your work, that would be your goal, not mine. If I met with the Envoys, becoming humanity`s chosen representative to their illustrious collective, would I not be aiding them in their ambitions? What was my goal!?" Alexander shouted, his happy face cracking to show the anger and madness beneath.

　　Aurelius studied him carefully, realizing he never knew his youngest. Perhaps Alexander had inherited the most of his traits of all his children. All his intelligence and guile, his near prescient abilities. But also his lunacy, his drive to accomplish his ambitions to the exclusion of all else.

　　The Empire will suffer for this.` Aurelius thought as Alexander calmed.

　　"And finally, the time for the Grand Reveal!` I have waited so long for this moment, Father. As my ambition, my life`s goal, I chose to best you. To tear down all you had accomplished, to undo your life`s work in secret, to work toward this very moment." Alexander laughed, giggling in insanity.

　　"After this day, there will be no safety in the Empire. Brother will fight brother, all for a throne made meaningless by my actions. The Empire will burn, and they will curse you as the flames consume them." Alexander confessed.

　　"Argyle? Augustus?" Aurelius asked, curious about the fate of his sons.

　　"In Starships on opposite ends of the Galaxy. I had them smuggled off of Terra before the show began, unconscious and unaware. They will awaken to the assumption that you were the reason they were spared.

　　"Argyle will think that Augustus launched a coup, using the forces that Argyle had assembled to kill Baron Caledon. While Augustus will believe this was Argyle`s plan all along when combined with a few theatrical embellishments on my part. You will be happy to know that Cousin Johnathan has been released from prison.

　　"You`re welcome. Another member of our bloodline to survive this slaughter."

　　"A brilliant maneuver, my son. I congratulate you. I was completely taken by surprise. But it`s not too late. We can right this together. I had not wanted to announce my successor as I believed that none of my children could lead Humanity through the difficult times approaching, but I was wrong. You will make a fine Emperor." Aurelius offered, trying to reach Alexander through his madness.

　　It was true, in a way. He had no intention of aiding any of his children in becoming Emperor. At worse, the Ducal Houses would choose his successor while he focused on more important matters. In hindsight, perhaps he shouldn`t have ignored the situation, but there were other things to occupy his thoughts&.

　　Aurelius thought of the looming threat and shuddered. A million destroyed Terra`s would not equal the calamity that approached them. He could even forgive Alexander his transgressions if it meant having another ally.

　　He was about to try again when he was interrupted.

　　"You don`t understand, Father. There will be no Emperor! The Grand Reveal was the closing of the curtain on my show, the final act that can never be repeated. There is no encore, no redemption or putting the pieces back together. What I have set in motion can not be halted. Not by you, myself, or even the Envoys whom you spend so much of your time attempting to appease."

　　Alexander walked closer to his father, studying his face carefully, etching it into his memory.

　　"Did you think that I would only place a single Engine on the surface of Terra? As the saying goes, happiness comes in pairs."

　　"I always wanted to end the show with a bang." Alexander whispered. His blue eyes stared into his father`s for a final time.

　　Alexander`s laughter echoed through the inner sanctum as a wave of white light enveloped everything around them.