"Alert." "C.I.C. to Khara-22." "Prepare for combat." "Moving target spotted, bearing 07-02, 200 markes." "Assumed to be a Briga cruiser." "Colm 201 squadron, move to confirm." "Colm 201 Alpha, copy." "Kiakra C.I.C., pursuing target." "Request permission to engage." "Permission granted." "Colm 201, sending Colm 202 and 203 for reinforcement." "Commander, unidentified vessel confirmed as a Briga escape shuttle." "Why would a Briga pursue another Briga?" "Capture the shuttle." "Top priority." "Colm 201 Alpha, Briga escape shuttle priority." "Colm 201 Alpha, copy." "Kiakra C.I.C., Khara-22 hit." "Airframe damaged." "Copy that, Khara-22." "Activate auto-return mode." "Auto-return mode activated." "Khara-22, killed in action." "Body can be renovated." "Let's consolidate casualty data and begin transfer." "Around its blue parent planet," "Gaia circles Annwn, a world at war." "Once this world was controlled by eight tribes called the Garm..." "Briga, Wurm, Basse, Seta," "Borzoi, Zenen, Kumtak, and Columba." "Each tribe had its own form and language based on its function, and they served the god who created them." "However, Danaan, the Creator, left this world one day, and these tribes who were left behind began to fight each other for supremacy." "After a long period of conflict, the atmosphere has been contaminated and the surface left covered in ruins." "Of the eight tribes, only three, the Briga, Columba, and Kumtak, now remained." "And even the Druids, said to convey the word of God, have died out." "The Briga have established dominance of the surface with their military might." "The Columba rule the skies by deploying mechanized units." "The Kumtak have barely managed to survive by offering their superior information technology to Briga." "The Briga and Columba, the two great tribes of land and air, were about to begin battle of dominance over Annwn." "Data consolidation complete." "Thank you for your brave service to the Kiakra, Khara-22." "New identification code for the squadron is Khara-23." "Type, Kumtak." "I.D. code unknown." "Accessing auxiliary brain." "Infiltrating memory hive." "Function, system analysis and interrogation, also information management." "Consistent with the Kumtak information officers serving the Briga." "Scan the Garm terminal access log." "Last access, minus-3716 sen." "His breach was minus-2517 sen." "You're telling me he's been off the Garm network for over a thousand sens." "He must be operating as a stand-alone." "What about that other individual?" "Type, unknown." "Function, unknown." "There's a powerful firewall in the subject's auxiliary brain." "Could be a trap." "Auxiliary brain manipulation is a Kumtak specialty." "Try the Kumtak's memory nest again." "See what he knows about the other subject." "Scanning." "Extracting." "Type, Druid." "I.D. code unknown." "A Druid?" "A Druid?" "Impossible." "A Druid?" "For the sake of argument, let's say it is a Druid." "The more important question is not one of existence, but of action." "What would drive a Kumtak to flee the Briga?" "If the terminal access logs are correct, he's been on the run for some time." "We've no choice but to interrogate them directly if we're to learn anything of substance." "Wait." "Trace data detected in the type-Druid's headgear and secondary buffer." "Extracting." "Is that..." "Danaan?" "Are you the Columba pilot that died trying to save us?" "What if I am?" "Thank you." "I was just following orders." "Maybe so, but it seems like someone else would like to thank you." "You seem entitled to receive a blessing, although that would be for a Gula to decide." "Garm in this ship restrict a Gula's movement?" "To be touched by a Gula is to receive a blessing of great fortune and protection." "To the best of my knowledge," "Nascien is the only one the Gula's ever blessed." "Would you care to try?" "Where is the Gula?" "A Gula is always searching for someone or something." "How did you get down here?" "Gula!" "Interrogation will commence." "Kumtak, who is that individual you fled the Briga with?" "My dear interrogator, you are aware of the existence of the Sage of the Trees, those who convey all the words of our creator, Danaan?" "If by the Sage of the Trees, you mean Druids, then yes." "We are familiar with both their existence and extinction." "Yes, along with the Wurm, the Basse, the Seta, the Borzoi, and the Zenen, all extinct after years and years of war." "Now with the Kumtak near extinction, only the Columba and the Briga remain in any significant numbers." "Your point, Kumtak?" "Every Garm knows this." "These are keystone memories of our collective database." "Yes, but just because you commit something to memory does not make it a fact." "In our collective memory, the last of the Druids were killed off long ago, but the truth is, one survives." "Druids are said to have access to tremendous power, and if that power could be harnessed, then total systems dominance could be achieved." "That, at least, was the thinking of the Briga." "The Briga tried to use the power of the Druids?" "That sounds like something they would think of." "There are stories that a Kumtak once tried to use Druids to gain the power of Danaan and challenge the Briga." "But that Kumtak's ambitions brought great shame to his pack, and he was ousted from the clan as a heretic." "Surely there's no need to follow in the footsteps of that Kumtak who played with systems beyond his comprehension and ended up a pariah." "No matter how much the Columba boast of their speed and mobility, the Brigas' mighty warships and armored forces remain as great a threat as ever." "Would you not call attacking a powerful enemy the very height of foolishness?" "So why have you come to us?" "The Briga and the Kumtak have been united for countless cycles." "Enslaved, not united." "So you've come to offer us the power of the Druids against the Briga in exchange for your tribe's freedom?" "If that is what you want, then, yes, that is what I'm offering." "Gula." "Gotcha." "Kumtak... you say that by combining our power with that of the Druid, we can destroy the Briga." "How do we know that what you say is true?" "If you allow me access to this ship's information core," "I will combine it with the Druid's, and you will see firsthand the true power of the Druid." "Don't be ridiculous, Kumtak." "You'll trigger an overflow and destroy the braincase." "Sir, you aren't seriously considering giving him access, are you?" "The Kumtak are notorious for their skills at manipulating data." "How do we know what this Kumtak says is true, that it's not all some elaborate trap by the Briga, sir?" "Give the Kumtak access to the Kiakra's main core." "Sir!" "There is a Druid standing before you, a Druid." "Don't you understand what this means?" "Give the Kumtak access now." "Yes, sir." "Port opened in the staging area firewall." "Thy right hand shall teach them to fear thee." "See for yourself the power of the Druids." "Danaan, you make yourselves known to us only in visions." "We only speak to you in dreams." "Stop it!" "Cut her off!" "Cut her off!" "Behold the power of the Druids!" "All right, listen up." "Our primary objective is to take back the Kumtak and the Druid alive." "Ignore the Gula." "Any Columba, you kill on sight." "Team one, take care of the sleep hive." "Team two, hit the hangar and ground as many Six-Wings as you can." "Now the rest of you, follow me." "Illegal access into the ship's information core detected from the Kiakra." "Air-traffic control section isolated from system, connected directly to information core." "Fire-control section isolated, too!" "Shipboard security systems offline." "Navigation and control systems integrated with information core..." "Set the C.I.C. to autistic mode now!" "Share combat information center." "The system merges all of the main building." "Colm 301 to Kiakra C.I.C. Come in." "Air patrol to Kiakra C.I.C." "Multiple Briga warships approaching." "Kiakra C.I.C." "Air-to-ship combat alert." "Prepare to launch aircraft." "I was wondering how I was gonna get this thing open." "Don't even try, Kumtak." "We're taking you and your little doll back to Briga command." "Contact the Rosmerta." "Objective secure." "Now let's move." "Six-Wing closing behind us." "Lose them!" "They're coming in too fast." "Kumtak!" "Is this some kind of joke?" "The Torc Sea, where the corrupted land of the Garm ends and the sacred land of the Druids begin." "You said this was the way back to Briga command." "I have no intention of returning to the Briga." "Kumtak, get this Gula out of the way." "Even an obstinate Briga like him knows it's a grave sin to kill one who's been blessed by Gula." "You used manna." "It makes you faster, stronger, allows you to heal more rapidly than if you were in your sleep hive." "But there's a price to pay." "If you use too much at once, your body will destroy itself from within, accelerating your metabolism, aging you, wearing you out." "You talk like you know more about the Garm than they know about themselves, like you've forgotten you're one of us." "Have you ever wondered what it truly means to be a Garm?" "Our core memories are so limited." "Think." "Your weapons, the Columba carriers, the Briga cruisers, the systems that operate them all, nothing was created by the Garm." "How long have they existed?" "No matter how hard we trace our memories or how we trace the records, the answer's the same." "Nothing is created by the Garm." "They've existed from the very beginning." "The Garm don't create." "We maintain." "If we don't know where we came from, how would we know where we're going?" "Heresy." "What you're saying is heresy." "A Garm fulfills his mission." "That's all." "Is it?" "Do you know where you are?" "Do you know what that is?" "The Torc Sea." "Danaan, our creator, made it to separate the Garm from the lands of the Druids." "Those lands are forbidden to Garm like us." "Only there can I follow the memories of Danaan, who vanished from these lands." "Danaan?" "Don't you?" "Don't you want to know why our creator left us?" "Once we cross the Torc Sea," "Nascien will lead me to Dual Grund, where I can gain access to the upper-level systems of the Druids." "That is where the truth behind Danaan's absence lies." "And what about me?" "And the Briga?" "You just expect us to follow you?" "Cut off from your packs," "Garm like you will die wandering in the wasteland." "Your memories will not be downloaded." "You will not reawaken in your sleep hive cells." "But in Dual Grund, you may find another fate waiting for you." "What, I cannot say." "But cut off from your pack as you are, the choice is yours." "The tide is rising." "Are you coming or not?" "Where do you think you're going, Kumtak?" "Across the Torc Sea to Dual Grund." "You're not going anywhere." "My mission's to take you back to Briga command." "You can die now or later on your own out in the wasteland, but we're going to Dual Grund." "You're not gonna make it across on foot." "Get on." "Why should I trust you, Briga?" "'Cause if I could kill a Garm blessed by a Gula, you'd already be dead." "I've come too far to let this crazy Kumtak just walk away." "You wanna go to Dual Grund?" "I'll take you." "Once your business there is finished," "I'm gonna take this crazy Kumtak and the Druid back to Briga command, and the Gula could do as the Gula pleases." "Deal." "So you do have some sense, Columba." "It's Khara, Khara-23." "You're telling me your generation code?" "That information's only shared within a pack." "I am Wydd, Wydd-256." "The Druid is Nascien-666." "You're kidding me." "I'm Skellig..." "Skellig-58." "These people who have all lost their packs miraculously meet and begin their pilgrim's journey to the holy land in search of the memories of the Garm." "Not bad." "Funny." "A Gula can live where birds are, but we can't." "How much manna do we have left?" "Three selmas, if we're strict with rationing." "And there'd be even less if the Druid didn't seem to be surviving off her... connection with these stones." "Even if we make it to Dual Grund, if there's no manna there, we're finished." "You're regretting your decision?" "A Briga never regrets his actions." "You remember that." "I came to relieve you." "I'm fine." "Go back to sleep." "I can't sleep when Wydd sleeps so soundly." "What does he know that we don't?" "I thought you trusted him." "Hardly." "I can't shake the feeling that he had something to do with the disaster that brought down the Kiakra." "Well, if you can't trust him, what makes you think you could trust a Briga like me?" "We have a deal." "Unbelievable." "If you're a code 23, that means you have a long service record as a warrior." "A Garm without a pack tends to throw caution to the wind." "If that's true, I'm not the only one." "It's not the same thing." "I have my mission." "You made a choice." "Out here, is there really a difference?" "Go get some rest." "If I need relief, I'll..." "I'll come and wake you." "I told you I'm not tired." "Do you, um..." "What did it feel like, to be touched by a Gula?" "Do you feel..." "Do you feel any different?" "It's just..." "I don't know how to explain it." "She drools a lot." "Is it, um..." "Was it sticky?" "I felt something warm and soft when she touched me... not on the outside, but on the inside, if that makes any sense." "And her scent..." "I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before." "I don't know." "Your Briga pack didn't have any Gulas?" "We used to." "I never saw one, no." "Gulas are short-lived, and clones are forbidden." "Skellig, what's your first memory?" "Target practice maybe?" "Mission briefing?" "No, back further." "What's the first thing that you can recall ever experiencing?" "For me, I think... the first thing that I ever saw was light coming in when my sleep hive cell opened up." "Your first memory isn't something similar to that?" "So what if it is?" "We're Garm." "We fight." "We die." "We download." "Being around the Druid's going to your head, Columba." ""What is your first memory?"" "Why is it any more important than your third or your tenth or your last?" "Skellig, why are there no young Garm?" "Gulas give birth to pups." "Even birds at the Torc Sea lay..." "Raise chicks from eggs." "Why is it just the Garm that have no young?" "Danaan created us that way." "Why would Danaan create the Garm to be like that?" "What was the point?" "Is that why you wanna go to Dual Grund?" "What, to... to find answers?" "I don't know." "You asked if something changed when Gula touched me, and something did." "I don't know what, but something inside of me changed, and if going to Dual Grund tells me what that something is, then so be it." "You should go." "Go." "Visibility's shot!" "I can't see anything, just this fog." "It's too dangerous to keep going." "We're stuck." "Wait." "I think the fog's thinning out." "Skellig, there on the left." "Distance, 390 nortes." "What is that, a hill?" "I've heard the birds can travel from this world to the other using their wings." "The place where the world ends and the world begins." "Dual Grund." "This is the place, the exact vision that Nascien projected in my sleep." "In your sleep?" "You mean you dream?" "I thought only the Gula were blessed with the ability to dream until I met Nascien." "I've never doubted or regretted my decisions, and yet... coming to the holy land, it could bring disaster to the Briga." "There's no turning back now, not for us, nor for the world." "If we are the harbinger of things to come, what lies ahead?" "If that was not the case, then why would a heretic like me and Nascien have turned up?" "And you can't say that Khara willingly left her pack." "Neither did I, I suppose." "Perhaps we'll have a more different future if Danaan's curse is lifted." "The future." "That's such an absurd concept." "Briga, all we have is the future." "Kumtak." "Guess there's no turning back now." "Cold feet, Skellig?" "Only way forward's on foot." "Someone's gotta be backup, and I'm the only one that knows how to work this thing." "You keep your com channel open." "You run into trouble, just say the word." "Khara..." "What?" "It's the first time..." "It's the first time you called me by name." "What about you?" "I, um..." "I don't need as much manna as you." "Besides, I got my pal here if anything goes wrong." "You said there was something you wanted to find out at Dual Grund." "Go find out." "Go find out if there's a future waiting for us, for the Garm, something that's different than this." "Go." "Skellig, there's something in here." "80 markes ahead." "Do you see it?" "I see it." "I'm picking up two more on your left and right as well." "Look out." "They're moving." "I'm going in for a closer look." "Be careful, Khara." "Whatever's out there, it's big." "Skellig, it's a Giant!" "It's moving!" "Wydd, stay low, and stay out of the way." "Skellig, fire!" "Keep firing!" "Don't worry about him." "Worry about the other two on your flank!" "Got it." "Something must have been triggered when Nascien accessed the system." "Anything else you forgot to tell us?" "These Giants have a weakness." "They're not like us." "They require physical connection to the... to their network in order to identify and attack an intruder." "Cut the connection, and that should stop those Giants." "Skellig, did you get that?" "Loud and clear." "Cut the cable, kill the Giants." "Skellig, you keep them distracted." "I'll find the cables." "Anytime now, Khara!" "Found it!" "That's one down, Khara." "Be a decoy, and flank the Giant!" "Nice shooting, Skellig." "Khara, can you hear me?" "Wydd, go ahead." "We found an access point." "Nascien's going to try to disable the defense system, but it will take time." "Can you keep the remaining Giants distracted?" "Just hurry, Wydd." "I'll take the big one." "You take the little one." "Big one?" "Little one?" "What happened to "the big one"?" "They're all big ones." "Skellig!" "Skellig, run." "Skellig!" "We've disengaged the system." "We're safe now." "Khara, do you read me?" "We've located the position of the central terminal, the core of Dual Grund." "Nascien will show you the path." "We have to help Skellig." "Forget Skellig." "Nothing could've survived that explosion." "Khara, if you want to know the truth, forget Skellig, and follow the path that Nascien reveals." "You have served me well, Kumtak." "Nascien." "I am Malakh, messenger of the Gods." "Nascien is only the shell I wear when I walk in your world." "Garm type, Druid, you call it." "I have come to this place so I may fulfill my lord's bidding." "I found you." "I protected you." "I killed for you." "For what?" "Tell me." "Tell me, what have I done?" "Malakh." "Speak not my name." "Listen well, Kumtak." "My name is Wydd," "Wydd-256." "Time had stood still for the Garm, but by your coming here, it has begun to flow once more." "The time of the Garms' extinction has begun." "Your body will still prove useful to me." "The braincase of a Kumtak will be able to freely access the central Garm network." "I shall make free use of it." "However, all other central memories will be deleted from it." "I am Wydd," "Wydd... 256." "I am Wydd," "Wydd... 2-5..." "How peculiar." "It would appear that the few thoughts remaining in this body's braincase do not wish its memories of you to be deleted." "I have placed here a flaming sword, which turns every direction to guard the way to the Tree of Life." "Give it up." "There's no way out." "You're trapped in there." "My name is Khara-23." "Now tell me, why do we fight?" "What meaning does the Garms' endless fighting have?" "Answer me." "The owner of this body already appears to know the answer." "Then tell me." "What was is and ever shall be." "I form the light and create darkness." "When this world was not yet formed," "They came from far, far away." "Then They divided this world into heaven and earth and filled the space between with living things." "Finally They created the Garm and bequeathed unto them a portion of their technology that allowed the Garm to control this world." "The Garm were separated into tribes according to their abilities." "Eventually they named themselves..." "Briga, Columba, Kumtak." "And they named the individuals that formed the tribe and went on to name every living thing that filled this world." "To name something is to show dominance over it." "And when They were named by the Garm," "They abandoned the Garm and left this world." "They forbade the Garm the power to create new life, for They feared the Garm and their reckless desire to conquer all that was in their world." "And since that time, the Garm have had no future, only a present." "And now the Giants will rise and burn Annwn to ash." "What was is and ever shall be." "I form the light and create darkness." "Wait." "What do you mean, "Ever shall be"?" "Who are "They," and where have They gone?" "They've already begun their next experiment in the place closest to this world." "That's why this world must be destroyed." "You keep saying, "They."" "Why don't you say their name?" "Even now, you ask their name." "They call themselves..." "It means "jealous,"" "for They are a jealous God." "07-01... 36..." "Message from early warning craft." "Two echelons Danaan from bearing 01-09..." "06-03..." "04-07..." "Three echelons..." "02-07... 03-02..." "Prepare to launch..." "Two echelons..." "Number increasing." "Task force 11 in battle array, ready to deploy." "Task force 12 ready to deploy." "Third formation, bearing 02-07." "Fifth assault ship force ready." "Strike force 103 ready." "Formation 08-05." "The invasion by the reawakened Giants marks the end of the so-called Old Cycle and the dawn of a new era on planet Annwn, an era of heavy warfare between Garm and Malakh."