“Round up everyone associated with this and burn them all.”

- Lord Wells, Imperial Duke of the Holy Phoenix Empire, after surviving an assassination attempt.

The trip from Alexander’s house to the Obsidian High Command took Alexander and Katie a while. One thing that made Alexander very uncomfortable was how quiet and empty the street was even as they ventured further away from the city. Sure, this was late at night, but this particular part of the road was one of the busiest parts of Valoria. Instead, the pair couldn’t find a single person on the way, nor any vehicle or flyer to commandeer.

The Serpent Sentinel certainly wasn't behind this. So...perhaps rogue elements of the CSF have been clearing the streets? Alexander wondered how deep treason had dug into the CSF and how many had decided to betray their Lord.

It didn't take the young man too long to see that the situation might somehow be even worse than he feared. From time to time, Agony would disappear from behind him. she would reappear a few moments later, cleaning the blood off some sort of blade. Where did the blood come from? The answer was clear.

Agony disappeared once again with another whooshing sound, and Alexander bit his lips. A significant portion of the City of Valoria was completely compromised by hostile forces. The fact that the CSF wasn’t aware of this meant it was either completely compromised, or a significant portion of them had turned and the rest were dead. He didn't like either possibility.

At the same time, Countess Valentine and her co-conspirators were ridiculously cautious. There was no way they could’ve known that he, or anyone for the matter, could’ve survived the betrayal and the slaughter. But that didn't stop them from posting rogue forces outside of the mansion walls and setting up ambush points along the city to make sure if anyone did get out of the mansion, they wouldn’t get very far.

Without Agony by his side, Alexander never could’ve survived all this. The Essence of Agony he wasn’t at all familiar with couldn’t save him if his entire head was removed by a gauss sniper rifle.

Finally, as Agony returned to his side once again, Alexander finally reached his destination. The Obsidian High Command.

When Alexander saw the familiar form of the Obsidian High Command Center, he was relieved. In fact, he was almost in tears. The Obsidian High Command Center housed the majority of the command structure of Battlefleet Obsidian, the grand fleet that took the resources of an entire star system to construct. The building itself was protected behind layers of bunkers, trenches, walls, sensors, and other automated defenses. Unlike the Wolf mansion, which only held a few squads of Wolf Guards, the High Command was protected by at least an entire Marine Regiment on a daily basis. No amount of infiltrators could get behind its defenses.

At long last, vengeance was at hand, and it would just be a matter of time before he could get back at all those traitors.

Alexander turned back to Agony. For the first time in a while, he had a vague grin on his face.

“There. That is where I wanted to go.” He pointed at the building and the legions of sentries and patrols surrounding it. All of these men wore pitch black body armor with the sigil of an obsidian stone on their shoulders. Obsidian Marines. “Do you want to join me? We will talk to Admiral Lamb and lock down the planet and mobilize the Battlefleet.”

Agony tossed the High Command Center one brief glance before turning back to Alexander. Her tone was a little off, as if she had sensed something abnormal.

“Are you sure you can trust this Lamb guy? I mean...didn't you say he was the second-in-command of your father’s precious battlefleet? With your father gone…” She shrugged at the young man. “How do you know he’s not in on this? That he’s not working with the traitors.”

Alexander stood there for a moment, deep in thoughts. He didn't have enough experience to even consider this possibility. What Katie said made him think, but in the end, the young man had a reply.

“Admiral Lamb is loyal to my father, that I know for sure. My father told me about one time when the Republic forces captured Lamb, who was serving as my father’s second in command in a local fleet. They tortured him for weeks before he found a chance to escape, and Lamb never gave away anything. He knew my father for 12 years...my father always said if there is one person he can trust outside of his family, it is Lamb. The man has proven himself way too many times.”

His decision was clear, and Agony merely nodded at his response.

“In that case, I wish you the best of luck.” She shrugged and patted Alexander on the shoulder. “Since you are not going to die abruptly soon...I am going to leave this world now. Again, you know how to find me. And, ahh...good hunting.”

Before Alexander could say anything else, Agony was no longer standing in front of him. She left as subtly and quietly as she came. There was no sudden energy blast, nor any lightning or thunder. One moment she was in this world. The next moment she wasn’t.

Alexander’s mouth hang open in surprise. To be fair, even without the pact, he was growing quite attached to the woman he just met less than an hour ago. After all, when most people he ever knew were dead or did the killing, it was this entity known as Agony that stepped in and saved him from certain death. It was she who gave him a chance of retaliation. An option of being something other than a burnt, charred corpse. When legions of traitors went for his head, she disposed of them without breaking a sweat. He would never forget all she had done for him, and when she needed his help one day, he would gladly give his life.

Tossing that idea behind him, he finally started moving toward the sentries.

Obsidian High Command Center.

Five minutes later, Alexander Wolf found himself sitting in the primary command center in the compound. Eight Obsidian Marines stood guard around the large room. A young female officer walked up to Alexander and offered him a cup of warm water. Alexander nodded and thanked her, but he never drank from the cup. As far as he knew, the water could be poisoned.

There were dozens of other officers in the command center, monitoring what was happening across the planet. Alexander wasn’t exactly paying attention to them. Instead, he was waiting for the arrival of someone who, unlike him, knew what to do.

The thick steel blast door of the command center snapped open, and Alexander watched as a familiar figure walked into the room. Admiral Lamb, Vice Commander of Battlefleet Obsidian and trusted second-in-command of his father. The Admiral was in his forties, dressed in a crisp military uniform. For 12 years, he served Lord Gerard Wolf with utter dedication and loyalty. Through fire and blood, he remained loyal. Alexander had his doubts, but he trusted the Admiral would do the right thing.

The Admiral scanned the room, found Alexander, and walked up to him and saluted.

“My Lord.” He spoke in a deep voice, his head lowering in submission.

“Admiral, I…”

“My Lord, I have heard about what happened. This is not the place to talk.” Admiral Lamb gestured at all the officers in the room, and Alexander, unfortunately, was all too aware of his concern. The man tilted his head at the door. “If you want, my Lord, we should go to my office. I have instructed the recall of all available ships and personnel from Battlefleet Obsidian back to Valorian. All the local fleets and planetary security forces in the system have been put on high alert. Our Marines are moving to lockdown Valoria as we speak and search for Valentine. But first, we need to go somewhere private.”

Alexander nodded to himself. Indeed, it was this level of caution that differentiated Admiral Lamb from amateurs like him. Well...one of the features. He quickly followed the Admiral out of the room. Four Marines followed them as security. As Alexander walked, he keenly noticed that there were more guards around the halls than before. Good. Great, in fact.

The group moved quickly, and before long, they arrived at Admiral Lamb’s office, which was positioned even deeper into the core of the High Command. Unlike Gerard Wolf, who got overconfident thinking no one could hurt him on his own capital planet, Admiral Lamb was cautious even when he had everything under control.

Crossing the multiple checkpoints took a while, but finally, the two had a chance to talk in private.

As the Admiral sent the guards to wait outside of the door, he finally sat down in front of his desk. Alexander sat down in front of him and he immediately started talking.

“I am already moving all armed forces available. I have sent a message to blockade the planet. If Valentine hadn't left the city already, she would never make it out.” The Vice-Commander reassured Alexander. “Now, please, my Lord. Tell me what happened. I want to know everything about who we’re up against. An operation like this...there are traitors among us. Lots of them.”

“I see.” Alexander nodded. He was still anxious and traumatized, but he was a lot calmer than before. What the Admiral said and did go a long way to reassure him. “From what I heard, Valentine’s guards all of a sudden opened fire on my father’s Wolf Guards. The Wolf Guards fought, but they were completely caught by surprise. They jammed our communication devices...my sister and I hid, but they somehow knew where our safe house was. They broke into the safehouse, executed the guards, and...”

Alexander proceeded to explain to the Admiral everything that happened. As excruciating as it was, he went into every detail he could remember. Of course, he avoided mentioning how he was healed by Agony and how she escorted him all the way here. The Admiral didn't need to know about that...at least not yet. Perhaps he would tell him about his new identity as a Lord of Agony in the future.

By the time Alexander finished, Admiral Lamb was, as expected, far from happy. His brows tightened as he thought about what Alexander said. Finally, he spoke up.

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