The rank of Marshal knight is a title granted only to an individual who served both as a marshal in the Empire's military and as a member of the cyberknight order. As for Athena Alkiviadis, one of only two Marshal knights of the Empire, she obtained her position at the age of 21 for her command of the 9th Imperial fleet, the Falling Spartans. Out of the 21 official fleets of the Imperial Navy, the 9th was one of the most fearsome fleets, not because its marines and soldiers were as brutal as the Blitz Marines of the 5th or as surgical as the Crimson Marines of the 10th, but because they had a leader who cared.
Unlike other martial knights, cyberknights employed in the military, Athena proved herself to be a compassionate warrior who'd rather use her abilities to aid her men and protect the helpless. She wasn't just a faceless commander to her men, nor was she a merciless leader who conquered in Sniper's name. Like Mike, she believed in the virtuous teachings of the Empire and fought to bring justice to a corrupted world.
No matter where she stood, whether it be her standing above the hill overlooking the land she had liberated from the enemy, or her holding the hand of one of her soldiers in the field as he succumbed to his injuries, Athena never forgot her roots and her core values as a cyberknight. No matter how hopeless the situation, no matter how tired you are, no matter how the darkness of the night seemed to never fade, she would rely on the shine of her cyberknight runes to refill her faith.
As the shiny golden light of the cyberknight symbol glinted over Mike's helmet, Athena, now newly graduated as a knight of the order, presented herself before him and knelt down on one knee. Below her, it was an altar decorated with the golden shine of embedded cyberknight symbols which surrounded her. With a ceremonial sword in hand, Mike began the ceremony to Athena's ascension into knighthood by placing the tip of the blade against her chest.
[Mike] - "By the will of the Emperor, the first knight of our great order, you are being judged through the compass of your soul today for your right to ascend to knighthood within our sacred order. Athena Alkiviadis, are you prepared to bear the responsibility of the divine on your shoulders for as long as your services are required by this world? "
Said Mike as the ceiling above Athena suddenly opened.
In an instant, Athena was bathed in a shower of light from above, casting her entire body in a shade of pure white shine. Despite the sword being dangerously pressed against her chest, Athena showed no fear, nor hesitation as she raised her eyes and looked at the Grand Knight.
[Athena] - "The responsibilities entrusted to me by you or the will of the emperor will be my reason to live. I, Athena Alkiviadis, will pledge myself to the eternal servitude of the Empire until the day I draw my last breath. "
Said Athena as her voice echoed across the room.
As soon as she uttered her phrase, engineers and mechanics of the cyberknight order began to approach her with pieces of armour. One piece after another, a full set of cyberknight gear began to materialize around her higher torso. However, none of them has yet the cyberknight rune yet with only blank markings and decorations without any significance.
[Mike] - "What is your duty? "
[Athena] - "To serve the will of the Empire and to crush all those who defile our values. "
[Mike] - "What are our values? "
[Athena] - "The ascension of those who desire to fight, the application of justice, the uphold of virtue, and the selfless sacrifice of our own vices for the greater good of all. "
By this point, the armour was complete, as two engineers in golden armour presented to Athena, on their knees, with the two diamond-shaped crystals that were meant for her two arms. With a nod of gratitude, Athena accepted the offering as the men gently lowered the crystals into the sockets of her forearms.
The moment the crystals became illuminated with power and Athena's will, the room flashed violently as if the universe embraced her soul. As the small clouds of smoke cleared from her crystals, Athena witnessed the shackling of her destiny to that of a deity who was tasked with the protection and ascension of humanity. The crystals were both wings and a pair of chains, which allowed her to fly as high as she desired, but never beyond the bounds of her duty.
[Mike] - "What is your fear? "
[Athena] - "The failure to accomplish my duties. "
At the same time as Athena responded, she activated her crystals and began to lift the cyberknight symbols out of the altar around her. Delicately, without breaking any of the runes or the altar itself, Athena eventually raised most of the symbols from the altar for a total of 22 symbols of different sizes.
[Mike] - "Where is your faith? "
[Athena] - "My faith in the absolution of yours and the Emperor's will, where I shall not fail as long as my task is sanctioned by my only two lords! "
Said Athena with a determined look in her eyes.
After carefully inspecting each symbol for damage or imperfection, the engineers promptly fuzed all 22 cyberknight runes onto different parts of Athena's armour, with three going to her helmet from an altar on the side.
[Mike] - "What is your weapon? "
[Athena] - "My compassion, my logic, my humanity. Never are my abilities considered only weapons, but tools which serve to fulfill my destiny. "
With Athena's last sentence, her helmet was slowly lowered above her head. However, unlike Mike's helmet, which covered his head in its entirety, Athena's helmet exposed her mouth and cheeks.
[Mike] - "For the purity of intention in your heart, I, with my authority as Grand Knight, second only to the Emperor himself, grant you the rank of Marshal Knight of the order. From today onward, I will be your superior only in name, but equal in identity as a servant of the greater good. Arise, knight Athena, Goddess of war of the 9th fleet! "
Said Mike as he withdrew his sword from Athena's chest.
[Athena] - "Thank you, my lord! "
Said Athena humbly as she stood up.
Later, as the engineers and witnesses left the room, Athena took off her helmet and stared at its strange design for the exposed mouth part.
[Mike] - "I made a few little modifications before the ceremony. I hoped you didn't mind it. "
Said Mike as he surprised Athena with a shoulder tap.
[Athena] - "Why did you remove the mouth part? I wanted it to resemble your helmet. "
Said Athena, puzzled.
[Mike] - "Most helmet designs have an enclosed design. Yet, I find that it lacked the human factor. To the normal people, they wonder what's behind that mask? Perhaps aliens, lizard people or... even Gods? With you, your soldiers would know you are just human like the rest of us. Besides, you love lollipops, so this design will be quite comfortable for you compared to an enclosed one. "
Said Mike with a friendly elbow nudge to Athena.
[Athena] - "I suppose you have a point. "
Said Athena as she put her helmet back on.
In a swift motion, Athena pulled a lollipop out of her pocket and shoved it in her mouth. Back then, she didn't understand the full intention of Mike's action, but her perspective changed during the cleansing crusade of three years.
"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.
[Athena] - "Your ability killed so many of my men! Pay with your life, you cowardly bastard! "
Yelled Athena as she charged up a bolt of lightning in her hands.
As the ground shook inside the city with Athena's attack, the defenders were suddenly falling to the combined firepower of the five imperial fleet and their marines. In a matter of minutes, the defenders were wiped out inside the city.
In the aftermath of the battle, while other commanders celebrated with parties on their ships, Athena spent the time roaming the shattered city. Inside a medical camp, Athena helped carry a wounded man on a stretcher to his bed. Then, with a sorry look on her face, she kneeled beside the bed of a dying marine and held his hand in hers.
[Spartan Marine] - "I don't want to die... "
Said the marine in a weak voice.
[Athena] - "I'm sorry... But I am no Goddess. If I were one, I could've saved you. "
Said Athena in a sorrowful voice.
[Spartan Marine] - "I know you aren't, lord Athena. We can see your face from your helmet; you are human, like the rest of us. Unlike actual Gods who have no concern for the suffering of a mortal man, only a human cares enough to comfort another in his final moments. "
Said the marines in a reassuring voice.
At that moment, the reason why Mike cut apart the lower half of the helmet struck Athena in her heart. The connection to one's own humanity is how you are reminded of your mission as a cyberknight. Every breath she took was the same, unfiltered, ash-filled air her fellow men breathed. Every word she uttered was from her own mouth and not through the robotic voice of the helmet speaker. And each sensation on her flesh is the same, unprotected sensation as that of the common mortal man. It was this humbling design which allowed Athena to never forget what she is fighting for. Silently, Athena stayed beside the dying marine until he drew his last breath.
[Officer] - "Lord Athena, official battle order from the high command. We are to divert our forces to the Sea of Japan for a possible counterattack. What are your orders? "
Said the officers as he saluted Athena.
At this point, Athena was beyond tired after a day of fighting and saving lives. She looked at the marine in front of her, whose body was already draped over by a white cloth, and stood up with renewed determination. If a mortal man like him, who knew he could die at any minute on the field, decided to fight and die for the Imperial cause, then what excuse does Athena have not to fight harder?
[Athena] - "We strike at sunrise, where our bronze will be their only light. "
As Athena exited the medical tent, rows of her men rallied to cheer in her name, with even the wounded showing up in their wheelchairs or walking sticks to see her.
"Lord Athena, the Goddess of War of the 9th fleet, the Guardian Angel of the worthy! Glory to you and the National Empire! We, the men of the 9th, will always follow your lead to hell and back! "
Screamed the crowd in unison.
Suddenly, the men under Athena saluted her with some even bowing down out of respect. However, instead of standing proud without a word, Athena reacted by saluting her men back before taking off her helmet to reveal her real face to her men for the first time.
[Athena] - "Men, today has been a tough battle for all of you. Let us have a moment of silence for those who have fallen. As your commander, I promise you today's tragedy will not be repeated again in our future conflicts. "
Said Athena as she kneeled on one knee and paid respect to the dead.
There, at that moment, Athena cemented herself as the commander her men will follow to their graves. Not a single person reacted to the fact that she was just a young woman because they could all see she was a great warrior at heart. Thus, the 9th fleet fought hard in the Cleansing Crusade under Athena's leadership, scoring many great victories while also being the most humane. Out of the 21 fleets, the 9th was the only one that cared about the civilians and the preservation of lives in the war.
As the war somewhat ended with the conquest of Russia, Athena was left with an opportunity to reconnect with her more personal life as well. Maybe, just maybe, she thought, she could rekindle her relationship with Mike and even move to being more than just friends? After all, the war had drained her energy to the point where she was mentally exhausted and yearning for some kind of break from administrative duties.
As Athena put on a nice dress and snacked on the first lollipop she had opened since the start of the war, she presented herself in front of Mike's office with a big smile. However, surprisingly, when the door opened, it wasn't Mike, but instead a gorgeous, tall blonde woman who greeted Athena.
[Athena] - "Who the fuck are you? "
Said Athena, shocked.
[Kadyn] - "I should be the one asking who the bloody hell are you? "
[Athena] - "Stupid KD-series assassin! What the hell are you doing in Mike's office? Who sent you to kill him, you snake? "
Yelled Athena as she pushed Kadyn back and stormed into the office.
[Kadyn] - "Oh please, don't tell me you came here to try and seduce my husband, shortie. "
Said Kadyn as she eyed Athena from the bottom up.
[Athena] - "Who the fuck are you calling a shortie, you dumb bimbo! Do you know who I am and what I can do to you if I so snapped my fingers together? "
Yelled Athena in frustration as electricity leaked out of her eyes.
[Kadyn] - "You wouldn't dare do shit to me, smurfette. If I'm tough enough to marry Mike, you sure ain't gonna scare me anytime soon. "
Said Kadyn with a smug grin.
Athena took a long breath to calm herself down, but her nose suddenly picked up a scent she recognized from a while ago.
[Athena] - "Lavender perfume... *Sniff* There is no way! "
Said Athena with shocked eyes as she backed off from Kadyn.
[Athena] - "You... You were with my master since I was training with him! I thought he just liked shampoo with this perfume, but it was you! "
Said Athena as she pointed her finger at Kadyn.
[Kadyn] - "That's right, Athena, I was there all along! "
Said Kadyn with a smirk of victory.
[Athena] - "Gosh, you are really one toxic bitch with that chemical warfare. I wonder what Mike saw in such "random Japanese woman number 1501" right here. If you put your basic ass in Japan, Mike would lose sight of you immediately in a sea of your look-alike. "
Said Athena casually as she collapsed against the couch carelessly.
[Kadyn] - "No wonder he didn't even pay attention to your flirting. Humans are obviously not attracted to gnomes, considered short and ugly even by their own kind. "
Said Kadyn while flipping the middle finger to Athena.
[Athena] - "Talk all you want, poor man's Alita battle angel. Korea must be your favourite country because of how many plastic surgeries you needed to become a zesty terminator in a wig. "
Said Athena nonchalantly while also flipping off Kadyn.
[Kadyn] - "Bitch don't hate me because I'm beatiful unlike you. With a body that thin, no wonder you survived the bloody war. Hell, I wouldn't have shot a cancer patient on the battlefield. Not to mention how dry your scalp is. Did your mother get third-degree carpet burn while giving birth to you? Also, with that cheap dress of yours, your person can be summed up as a credit card with five years of overdue debt. "
Unable to hold her laughter anymore, Athena burst out laughing, before Kadyn also followed suit. After a long moment of uncontrolled laughter, Athena extended her hand toward Kadyn with a friendly smile on her face.
[Athena] - "This is exactly how Mike acts when he shows hostility, and it seems like we both learned after this trait of his. For real though, I respect the heck out of you, miss. "
With a bit of hesitation, Kadyn took Athena's hand and shook it.
[Kadyn] - "Why? What did I do to earn your respect? "
Asked Kadyn, confused.
[Athena] - "First, you aren't afraid of me even when knowing what I can do. Instead, you chose to talk to me as if I'm just another random girl. I can respect that, but most importantly, you aren't fearful of Mike, speaking of him as just another dude. Hey, I had to admit it, even I can't see him as anything less than my superior. For this level of bravery, I truly respect you for it, miss... "
Said Athena before pausing to await Kadyn's response.
[Kadyn] - "Miss Kadyn. It was nice knowing you personally, Athena. "
Said Kadyn as she warmed up Athena's friendliness.
As both sat back down on their respective side of the living room table, Athena suddenly switched to a more serious look.
[Athena] - "Kadyn, I suppose Mike's heart is already where it should be... I'm glad. However, please, promise me to take good care of him. I mean it. He is a great man who has taught me so many valuable lessons. Anything short of perfect, heart-warming happiness won't do him justice for all he has done. "
Said Athena in a sincere tone.
[Kadyn] - "I will. I promise you that I will make him the happiest man on Earth. "
[Athena] - "Yeah, I think you will. Well, it is time for me to leave now that I have nothing to do here anymore. "
Said Athena while trying to pretend she was not about to cry out of heartbreak.
With her tears dangling from her eyes, Athena shielded her eyes with her arm as she got up and walked toward the exit. However, Kadyn placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and prevented her from walking away.
[Kadyn] - "I know you had feelings for him for a long time. However, just know that I won't prevent you from coming to see us from time to time. After all, he was your master, and you two had a strong friendship. "
Said Kadyn in a comforting voice.
[Athena] - "Thank you for... understanding. You are a good... person. "
Said Athena while trying to hide her sobs.
Unexpectedly, Kadyn hugged Athena in her arms to comfort her, to which Athena gladly accepted.
[Athena] - "Just saying, since you are now an extension of Mike, if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know. "
[Kadyn] - "Mhm. "
It was a bittersweet moment, as Athena returned to her quarters that day not with pain but a strange sense of relief. It was simply not the time yet for her to put down her helmet for such personal pursuits. However, Athena would never get the chance to visit Mike and Kadyn as Mike soon died fighting Sniper, while Kadyn disappeared without a trace after her escape. As for Athena, the biggest challenge of her life will occur with the fall of the National Empire.
To be continued...