Chapter Text
York Supreme, May 28, 09:30 EDT
Down in the mega city below, York Supreme burned. No matter how much he wanted it not to be the case, Democracy Officer Ike Amadi knew that this mega city would soon fall. As he looked through the glass windows of the bridge of the SES Forerunner of Liberty, a Class 6 Series Crewed Interplanetary Combat Vessel, better known as a Super Destroyer, the invaluable tool of a Helldiver, it was one of the last Super Destroyers that hovered above the besieged land. And there were few other Super Destroyers quite like the Forerunner of Liberty, for it was a Category 30 Super Destroyer, nothing like those Category 0 vessels fresh out of the space docks and with a crew who were still wet behind the ears. No, this mighty vessel was old and storied, having deployed Helldivers across the galaxy and raining Freedom and Democracy down on the foes of Super Earth.
‘Liberty, how long has it been now?’ Officer Amadi thought to himself. ‘Eight days? Eight days of constant resistance against the Illuminate menace that threatens the heart of democracy and freedom? And two days of constant deployment over York Supreme specifically.’
And how it burned him that all of the lives spent, both Helldivers, SEAF and civilians, would result in this. York Supreme was the holiest site of the Faith of Liberty where the statue of Lady Liberty herself once stood proud, holding aloft her Torch of Truth with one hand and the Declaration of Democracy in the other. Of course, the statue of Super Earth’s patron goddess no longer stood, valiantly standing firm against the Illuminite terror even as they bombarded her, reducing her statue to rubble.
And the fact that the Illuminate would dare defile this mega city with their treacherous presence was all the more insulting when one considered the history of the mega city. In the chaos of the Last Great War, as nation fought nation with nuclear fire, the Great York Conundrum began. No one was certain how or why it started, but soon violence broke out between the thirty-five different York cities, each claiming they were the original and greatest, while the rest were pretenders that deserved death. York Supreme, formally known as New York, rose above the rest, pledging to hold its hand over all other Yorks, ensuring that no more blood be spilt between them.
And yet, blood continued to spill.
“Helldiver K.I.A.,” the mission control officer reported, the technicians who worked at their screens beside the bridge hard at work. “Reinforcement budget depleted. Deploying final Helldiver to combat zone.”
Officer Amadi only allowed his anger to be shown with a clenched fist. Yet another martyred Helldiver, bravely giving their life to grant Super Earth just a few more seconds of precious time. He looked down at the mission table, the holographic image before him laying out the progress of the lone Helldiver, quite possibly the last in the city.
The mission was simple; take down one of the Illuminate Overships that dared to loom in Humanity’s skies. They were the command-and-control nexus for the Illuminate forces in this sector of the mega city, and all knew that its oppressive presence had to be destroyed.
Officer Amadi watched as the digital symbol of the Hellpod landed amongst the mass of degenerate forces, watching with righteous satisfaction as the red blips of Illuminate and their Voteless slaves winked out, one by one.
The mission was close at hand. The hard disk with the access codes to the Planetary Defense Cannon had been located and inserted, activating the defence platform from underneath the children’s playground that stored it. The codes had been manually selected by the previous Helldiver, however an inquisitive Watcher, a spy for the Illuminate, had spotted the Helldiver, summoning reinforcements to its position. The last of those undemocratic foes now coated the ground blue with their blood, this last and final Helldiver avenging his fallen comrade. Officer Amadi watched as the silo bunker locks were disengaged by hand, one by one, allowing the Planetary Defence Cannon to rise gloriously from the ground. He glanced at the timer, knowing that the Helldiver was running low before they would be forced back into orbit, but he knew there was nothing he could do. He watched the seconds tick down as the cannon was readied and aimed at the Overship in the distance, hope filling his heart as the five second countdown for the firing began. The bridge crew was silent, each of them praying in their hearts for the glorious munition to be guided true, striking deep into the bowels of the totalitarian craft. And strike true it did, for with a thunderous roar, Officer Amadi watched as the Overship died, collapsing into the ruins of York Supreme.
“You have been a stalwart line of Freedom,” Officer Amadi praised the triumphant Helldiver, tuning out the cheers from the bridge crew. “Extract when ready.”
And yet despite completing the mission he had been sent down to perform, the Helldiver didn’t move towards the extraction site, but instead inserted a stratagem command.
“Sending down support package,” the mission control officer stated.
“Why is he ordering a resupply?” one of the technicians asked aloud.
“He’s out of stims, only got two magazines between three weapons, and a single grenade,” her neighbour answered. “He needs all the help we can give him to get to extraction.”
It was then that the strangest thing occurred, something that Officer Amadi in over a year serving in the Second Galactic War hadn’t experienced; the Helldiver radioed to him during the mission.
“Democracy Officer,” the Helldiver broadcasted. “Do I have permission to speak cordially?”
“Granted, Helldiver,” Officer Amadi responded, granting the glorious champion of liberty this freedom for his service.
“Sir, please be honest with me,” the Helldiver asked. “We’ve received orders to reinforce the other megacities, haven’t we? Is York Supreme lost?”
“It is,” Officer Amadi solemnly stated. “The order came in minutes ago. You are the last Helldiver alive in York Supreme.”
The line was silent for a moment, only interrupted by the sounds of weapons being reloaded and a sigh from the Helldiver as a stim was administered, quickly healing his broken leg.
“I won’t be heading to extraction then, sir,” the Helldiver stated. “The mission is complete; I’m sure Equality on Sea needs the Forerunner of Liberty more than this fallen city.”
“You don’t have authority to shirk your duty, Helldiver,” Officer Amadi sternly warned. “You swore an oath to do your duty, to resist the enemies of Managed Democracy, Super Earth, and Humanity, no matter the cost.”
“And I intend to do so, sir,” the Helldiver explained. “But, well, this is my home. This sector is where I grew up; I know these streets and back alleys like the back of my hand, sir, so I’m gonna bleed these autocratic bastards dry as much as I can. I figure with this resupply you kindly sent my way, I can hold out for a few hours, draw their attention to me as much as possible and link up with any nearby SEAF forces; I’m sure we’ll make one glorious last stand.”
Officer Amadi knew what protocol stated, that every Helldiver was meant to extract if possible, but the hours of operating over this city in particular made him sympathise with the Helldiver.
“Sometimes the price of victory is the blood of heroes,” Officer Amadi mused to himself. “Go, delay the Illuminate forces as much as you can, and may Lady Liberty’s light shine upon you. Glory to Super Earth.”
“Glory to Super Earth, and long live Managed Democracy,” the Helldiver replied. “Helldiver Robbie Daymond, signing off.”
No more words were exchanged between the member of the Ministry of Truth and the member of the Ministry of Defence, the onboard audioreceptors carrying only the Helldiver’s steady breathing as he made his way through the ruins of the mega city.
“Ship Master Wong, you have command of this vessel,” Officer Amadi stated, turning his head to face the uniformed woman who walked towards him.
“Of course, Officer Amadi,” she nodded before turning to face her crew. “Bring us up into orbit and engage boosters to arrive at Equality on Sea; let’s drive these bastards back into the singularity they came from.”
Unfortunately, the enemies of democracy and freedom were always eager to enact their cruel machinations.
“Ma’am, there’s an Illuminate Overship heading straight for us!” a technician called out in a panicked voice.
“Bring up a feed,” Ship Master Wong ordered, the holographic display of the battlefield replaced with the live footage of the outside of the ship. Just as the technician had claimed, the undemocratic form of the Illuminate capital ship was bearing towards them, its thin tentacle limbs that made up the bottom of the vessel stretching out wide.
“Sweet liberty, look at the size of that thing,” one technician gasped with audible disgust.
“And it’s coming right for us!” another worriedly noted.
“Of course the cowardly Illuminate would attack us where our defences aren’t,” Ship Master Wong raged. “Are our engines ready yet?”
“They are ma’am, but they aren’t the problem,” a technician relayed. “We’re too low in Super Earth’s atmosphere for rapid movement; if we tried to arrive at Equality on Sea, the friction of the movement would turn the Super Destroyer into an oven, and us the Super Bread.”
“Liberty damn it,” Ship Master Wong swore. “And to get to the right altitude, we’d have to get within range of the Overship.”
Office Amadi watched as Ship Master Wong made calculations and plans within her mind before her head snapped up, her decision made.
“Angle the Forerunner of Liberty upwards by 47 degrees and power up engines to 37%; that should allow us to move as fast as possible without killing ourselves, and more importantly, destroying this Super Destroyer.”
“At your command, ma’am,” the crewwoman replied, relaying the orders to her subordinates, making a fine example of the chain of command.
However, despite how efficiently the orders were carried out, the Illuminate scum seemed hellbent on denying the last vessel of Super Earth to depart from York Supreme. The valiant Super Destroyer moved upwards through the atmosphere as fast as it could, but the Overship was larger and faster, its arms encircling the smaller vessel.
“Perform an emergency warp!” Ship Master Wong cried out when the tips of the vile tentacles could be seen through the top of the bridge windows.
“That could risk destroying the ship, ma’am!” one technician protested.
“And if it does, we’ll take these squid bastards down with us,” Ship Master Wong grinned. “Spool the Alcubierre Drive!”
“Yes, ma’am,” a technician replied, causing a flurry of action within the bridge. Beneath his feet, Officer Amadi could feel the familiar thrum of the space bending engine powering up, but he knew this time was different. Emergency jumps were always unreliable and risky, only to be used in the most dire of circumstances. But once they got away from the Illuminate menace, they’d have the breathing room to warp right back to Super Earth to continue the fight.
It was these thoughts that ran through Office Amadi’s mind as the SES Forerunner of Liberty folded space not only around it, but also the Illuminate Overship that had wrapped its shields around the Super Destroyer. And as the Alcubierre Drive struggled with the sheer mass it wasn’t used to moving, it sparked, crackled, and finally malfunctioned, bending not only space around the two enemy vessels, but also time, with the two winking out of reality, never to be seen again by Super Earth.
-]l[-
New York City, May 28, 09:38 EDT
Detective Jim Daniels sighed as he walked along the walkway that ran along the Lower Bay of New York City. The detective from the NYPD’s 12th Precinct had been up late last night trying to figure out an unsolved homicide, only allowing himself to sleep in the early hours of the morning. As it was, he was only functioning thanks to the coffee pumping through his veins and the few hours of sleep he’d managed to get.
“Maybe I’ll head home early,” he yawned, his eyes involuntarily closing as he held a hand over his gaping mouth. “Chief probably doesn’t want my lack of sleep affecting work.”
Still though, his regular walk to work did him wonders. The short journey was flat and easy, no tedious uphill climbs, and it got his blood pumping. And with spring almost at an end and summer right around the corner, it was the perfect temperature in the morning; not so cold he had to put on layers upon layers, but not so hot that his undershirt would be soaked through by the time he got to his seat.
“What a nice day,” he mused to himself, pausing for a moment to simply take in the cool, comforting sea breeze on his face, only to look up at what sounded like the rumble of thunder, despite the clear blue sky overhead. It was as he looked in the sky that he noticed a distortion in the sky over the ocean, and only a second later what could only be described as two space ships snapped into existence, like an elastic band being let loose.
While some of the nearby civilians let out screams of panic and confusion at these sudden visitors in New York’s skies, Detective Daniels was made of sterner stuff, on account of having worked with and investigated superhumans in the past. The two starships were vastly different, one of them long and rectangular with a grey and yellow colour scheme while the other was round and curved with a white and blue hull, and what looked like tentacles reaching down from its head like a jellyfish.
The sizes were also different; the first ship looked to be about five hundred feet in length, though that was only an estimate, while the second ship was much larger, having a width twice the size of the first ship's length and the tentacles six times as long. Said tentacles appeared to be in the process of trying to wrap around the smaller ship, only for the more nimble vessel to change its trajectory and plunge down towards the ocean, escaping the ensnaring tentacles.
It rolled on its axis, bringing about the seven weapon platforms attached to the underside of the ship’s nose. At once, each battery lit up, with artillery shots, missiles, rotary rounds and what looked to be a damn laser slamming into the side of the jellyfish ship. It had little effect, however, as a blue, translucent field appeared around the ship, protecting it from the damage. The ship let out a groan, almost like that of an aggrieved animal, before its tentacles brought themselves together into a point at the bottom as the ship accelerated downwards towards the water. The smaller ship continued its barrage, rotating to ensure all of their weapons remained fixed on the fleeing vessel, the larger ship’s shield turning from blue to purple, and then from purple to pink. But Detective Daniels wasn’t able to find out what colour came next, as it was at that moment that the jellyfish-like ship’s tentacles plunged into the ocean, being quickly followed by the rest of it. The sheer mass of the bulbous top of the vessel displaced massive amounts of water, sending large waves rippling out, some of them crashing into the breakers that lined the water's edge that Daniels stood next to, lightly spraying him with ocean water.
Even though its target had submerged itself beneath the waves, the smaller ship continued to fire into the water, explosions sending columns of sea water shooting up into the air as the large laser scoured through the water. But no debris appeared on the water’s surface, and after a moment more of sustained fire, the smaller ship’s assault ceased, thruster angling it upwards and sending it roaring into the sky on trails of fire.
While the civilians nearby who hadn’t run away in terror pointed at it as it disappeared from sight and excitedly talked amongst themselves, Detective Daniels numbly pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing his office’s number without even having to look at the keypad.
“Hey, Chief?” he blankly said, the shock of what he’d witnessed still processing in his mind. “Be aware, we’re about to receive a bunch of calls from worried civilians. I think some extraterrestrial dogfight just happened in front of me. Yes, I…no I’m not drunk!”
-]l[-
Ship Master Michelle Wong seethed in anger. The Illuminate menace had dared to return to the galaxy that rightfully belonged to Super Earth, Managed Democracy and Humanity; they dared to attack Super Earth’s colonies and Super Earth itself; they dared to attack the ship she was responsible for, the SES Forerunner of Liberty, from above where they couldn’t fight back. But worst of all, once they had managed to turn the tables and exact their righteous counterattack on the squids, they fled before their shields were broken.
“Those Liberty-forsaken, spineless, cowardly, autocratic squids!” she roared, startling a few technicians at their computers nearby. “Damn them! Damn them all to Hell!”
“I-I’m sorry, ma’am,” a nearby member of her crew nervously stated. “We’ve lost all trace of them; the signal’s gone dark.”
“Nothing we haven’t encountered before,” Democracy Officer Amadi frowned. “The Illuminate are well known to have advanced cloaking technology, hiding their trace as they skulk about, wary of Democracy’s light smiting their totalitarian flesh. You made the right decision to return the ship to orbit, Ship Master Wong.”
“Thank you, Officer Amadi,” Michelle acknowledged, her hands tight at her side. “If you’d join me, I have something I feel needs to be discussed in private. Perhaps you could help answer my questions with the guidance of Managed Democracy.”
“Of course,” he pleasantly smiled. “As a member of the Ministry of Truth, it is my duty to clear the doubts of the loyal citizens of Super Earth, wherever they are found.”
She gave him a firm nod, leading the way to her private quarters. While the rest of the menial crew slept in bunks, her position as a Ship Master granted her certain luxuries, no different to the private spa available for Officer Amadi’s private and exclusive use.
“What seems to be the issue, Ship Master Wong?” Officer Amadi asked once the door to her quarters was closed, taking an offered seat in front of her desk.
“Please, feel free to call me Wong when we are in private,” she insisted. “It will speed up our conversation since there’s no need for my title while we aren’t in front of my crew.”
“Very well, Wong, then you may call me Amadi,” he returned, nodding his head. “But back to the matter at hand, what required this conversation to be in private in the first place?”
Michelle pursed her lips, gathering her thoughts and running through the ideas and theories she’d created.
“Something went wrong with our jump,” she began. “Not only did we appear within orbit, but the Illuminate terror travelled with us.”
“Yes, that is an unusual occurrence, one I have never heard of, and to my knowledge, the Ministry of Truth as well,” Offic-no, Amadi thought, his single eye looking down at her desk.
“Then there is the issue of where we appeared,” Michelle continued, pressing a button on her console. Immediately, a holographic image of the sector they had last been deployed over appeared before them.
“This is the sector of York Supreme we were in minutes ago, and this,” she said, pressing another button causing the hologram to change, “is a rudimentary scan of where we appeared just now. Do you see the issue?”
“They are almost the same,” Amadi realised, his eye widening slightly. “The buildings are different, and there is no devastation, but the coastline is the exact same.”
“Precisely,” Michelle nodded, glad that the peerless observation of the Ministry of Truth was consistent. “Somehow, we have found ourselves over a less developed York Supreme, that much is unquestionable. The question is what this means. Is it possible we appeared during the restoration efforts of the mega city?”
“No, not possible,” Amadi dismissed immediately. “These buildings are less developed than they should be, something that shouldn’t happen unless many corners have been cut, which I doubt the Ministry of Expansion would allow.”
“But there’s no way the Alcubierre Drive failed,” Michelle voiced. “York Supreme was in flames and ruin, the blood of martyrs flowing through the streets. How could it have all been washed away in minutes?”
“Uh, Ship Master Wong?” a nervous voice called out over the ship’s comms. “You’ll want to see this!”
“Perhaps we’ll receive our answer sooner than expected,” Amadi grimly said, rising from his seat and exiting her room, Michelle hot on his heels. It was as they returned to the bridge that Michelle first noticed that the blackness of space dominated the windows, showing they were finally in orbit.
“Report.”
“Ma’am,” a technician saluted, rising from her desk. “We are currently performing scans of the Super Destroyer to ensure that the Illuminate monsters hadn’t damaged any components, but we had a closer look at Super Earth.”
“And what seems to be the issue?” Michelle asked.
“Well, um,” the technician stammered, suddenly clamming up. “Well, we tested out the orbital thrusters, which work perfectly fine, thank Liberty, but it was when we came to a stop on the night side of Super Earth that we looked down, and, well, see for yourself.”
Intrigued, Michelle and Amadi both walked over to the viewing platform at the end of the bridge, gazing down at Super Earth as it hung beneath them. Sector 2, her home sector, as well as Sector 1, plus some eastern parts of Sectors 3 and 5, were bathed in night, the lights of Liberty-filled Democratic cities twinkling from north to south, like stars in the-
…wait a second.
“Officer Amadi?” Michelle voiced, slight concern entering her mind. “Do my eyes deceive me, or do you also see lights within the Wasteland Zones of Sector 2?”
“I do,” he answered, and Michelle could have sworn that the unflappable and unflinching Democracy Officer almost sounded uncertain. “But no one should be able to survive in that wasteland, no matter how Democratic or faithful to Super Earth they are, such is the ruin brought about by the Last Great War.”
“Technician Abigail, do we have confirmation that there is civilization there?” Michelle demanded.
“Yes, ma’am, we have verified readings that there are multiple cities living in what we know as the Northern Wasteland Zones,” the technician reported, reading off her screen. “We also aren’t able to detect any radiation that would be expected.”
“What in Liberty’s name is going on?” Michelle wondered aloud, talking to herself as she gazed down at the familiar yet alien world. She was drawn out of her contemplation as a chime sounded from a console.
“Scans of the Forerunner of Liberty are complete, Ship Master,” a different technician called out.
“Read them out,” Michelle tiredly ordered.
“Yes, ma’am. Orbital thrusters are working as intended, though we guessed that was the case already, and the same with all weapons platforms. However, there are some, uh, issues we’ve discovered. For starters, the Alcubierre Drive is critically damaged.”
That immediately sent warning signs through Michelle’s mind. “How badly damaged is it?”
“Totally,” the technician glumly stated. “It’s most likely due to the Illuminate Overship sabotaging it with its mass, but the system is completely inoperable, and we don’t have the required parts to completely restore it.”
“Damn,” Michelle grimaced, pacing back and forth. “We’d likely be able to jury-rig some parts with the onboard supplies, but others would need to be more precise else the damage could be exasperated.”
Michelle turned to face the technician, opening her mouth to speak before pausing, taking in the reluctant and downcast expression. “Does it get worse?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he almost whimpered. “The scans gave a breakdown of all systems of components within the ship. Most things were undamaged, thank Liberty, but, well, we found the reason why. All of the discharged energy from the Alcubierre Drive failing was funneled in one place; the Helldiver Cryostasis Chambers.”
“What is the status of the Helldivers?!” Michelle practically yelled, her hands gripping the railing in worry. But despite the tone of her voice or its volume, the technician didn’t answer, his throat bobbing as he swallowed a mouthful of nervous saliva. Beside him, one of his fellows reached out an arm, comfortingly rubbing his back, grimacing as he too looked at the screen.
“Technician Liam, you will declare the status of the Helldivers this instant, or so help me I will have you court martialed for cowardice and ignoring a superior’s orders!”
“Dead!” he cried out, a few stray tears trickling down his face. “They’re all dead, ma’am, all but one of them! Democracy save them, and Democracy curse those cowardly squids!”
Michelle felt the ground give way beneath her, held up only by the iron grip she held on the railing. All but one of the Helldivers aboard the vessel were dead, killed by the electricity that coursed through their pods rather than being allowed to give their lives for Super Earth. Was there no end to the vile cruelty of the Illuminate?
“The Helldiver who still lives,” she slowly questioned. “How did he survive?”
“He was recently put back into cryostasis, ma’am,” Technician Liam explained, wiping away his tears with his sleeve. “He operated unending for eight hours, and per regulation was put back into cryostasis for rest and recuperation as a reward for his diligent service. It was because he was at the end of the queue of Helldivers that the energy surge didn’t reach him.”
“And how old is this Helldiver?”
“S-Sixteen, ma’am,” Technician Liam stammered. “He was granted the rank of Helldiver earlier this month.”
What could Michelle do in this situation but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.
‘Democracy save us. Stranded above a pale imitation of Super Earth, no warp capabilities, an Illuminate Overship hiding in the oceans, and a single Helldiver fresh out of training, no matter how lucky he is. May Lady Liberty guide us, because I can’t see a way out of this. How could this day get any worse?’
Alright, here’s a new story of mine. I decided to post this first chapter to put out some feelers, see how it’s received. Pretty self explanatory, a max level Super Destroyer arrives in the Young Justice verse about a month before the start of the series, so late May. The Illuminate arrived as well, so they’ll be an issue down the line. Initially this was kind of a random idea I had, but then I started thinking about it and a Helldiver would absolutely classify as a meta human in the DC verse, given their superhuman strength and near-limitless stamina. Of course the Justice League would place a ban on this lone Helldiver using lethal weapons, but fortunately there are some that could be a work around, such as the Halt as well as the Stun Lance. Of course, given when the SES Forerunner of Liberty was separated from Super Earth, they have access to all gear and equipment up until the Masters of Ceremony Warbond, the most recent when the invasion of Super Earth occurred.
Let me know if you’d love to see a continuation of this, I have some ideas, but future chapters would need to be plotted out first. And for the moment, I don’t have any plans for the other Helldiver factions to show up.
Yeah, that’s all. See y’all later (maybe)...
- Jevm