"Architect's balls!"

Should have expected that to be Celex's first words upon seeing the incarnation of chaos itself, though Adam had the distinct feeling that the architect's balls were a bit of an understatement when it came to what they were now witnessing.

None of the other Makers looked particularly pleased at the Ex emperor's outburst, but at this point Adam was under the impression there were much bigger fish to fry than Celex's irreverence.

"Black holes." Sunny muttered her voice dragged down with the weight of its own gravity, "Does Anyone else feel incredibly stupid for not putting that together until now." Adam grunted in agreement, he couldn't help but feel the exact same thing she was feeling. Before them, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* spun, shedding escaping light from the very edges of its outer event horizon, where light was still fast enough to escape the pull of incredible gravity.

And all around it, a hazy cloud of red.

At first Adam had thought it an incomprehensible mass, and maybe that was the case, and his human mind was finding patterns where there was none, but looking at the red haze that spilled out and around the blak hole, reaching tendrils into the darkness, he got the sense of a massive creature, with a massive presence to match, the cold and abiding chill that had rooted itself in Adam's chest, not a new fear, but an old fear.

One that had been chewing at his guts since his soul came to fruition.

And it wasn't alone: spattering the darkness that surrounded the black hole, and its massive, reaching creature, there were ships, thousands of them, maker ships, Kree ships, human ships, and other ships Adam did not recognize, an entire armada just for them, and at it's head, a massive spiked beast, almost as big as the empyrean, and radiating the silky orange light of recycled maker souls.

And orbiting it all, the Necratorium, sharp funnel of light reaching its orange glow into the reaches of space, from whence the souls of the damned spilled like a cascade

The shadows on the Empyrean continued to deepen, until it felt like the light was struggling to chase back an impending tide of black tar.

He shivered.

"This is it." He said softly

"This is it." Sunny agreed.

"Fuck me." Ramirez muttered.

At first it was simply them, alone against what seemed to be an enemy tide, but then, one by one other ships came flashing into existence behind them, white and glazed gold with true maker power. First tens than hundreds and then thousands of ships appearing behind them in wave after wave forming up behind them in a grid of ships ready to take on the army that lay before them.

But still Adam felt small

They had Apollyon

"Don't suppose this is an appropriate time to ask where the hell the architect is." Adam wondered

Below him Adham, standing with hands on his hips gazing out the window and towards the field of battle, shook his head, "I don't know where he is."

Ramirez snorted in incredulity, "You lost god?"

Adham frowned at him, "I am not our father's keeper; besides, he has a preference for personal descretion. I rarely know where he is at any given time."

"Don't tell me this is going to be like one of those urban fantasy tv shows where god is totally real, but he's like a really shitty absentee parent." Ramirez muttered

Sunny gave him a look, "That is oddly specific."

"Not really. Movie studios think it's edgy, but when everyone is going edgy, no one is being edgy."

Adham huffed, "No, he is not, and don't be insulting. I simply said I didn't know where he was . I never said he wasn't involved. He will reveal himself when the time is right."

When the Maker ships were done appearing, it still wasn't over, and one by one others shapes began to appear, miles and miles of twisting, scaled bodies, and wide, reaching solar sales.

The leviathan.

Still Adam was not convinced it would be enough.

"Until then." Adam muttered. Turning his head ever so slightly, he exchanged a look with Sunny and Celex both of which gave him a slow, understanding nod.

Outside the window Apollyon's army laid out before them.

It was time to show him theirs.

With the flick of his hand, Adam engaged the com system, sending a hail down to the equipment room, "Bring it." He said hoping beyond hope that their equipment officer hadn't been booted out of his position. They sat there for what seemed like a long time, waiting as adham gave his orders, and when Adam was just beginning to assume his message had gone unheard, the door at the back of the bridge opened, and their equipment officer came hurrying onto the deck, pushing a massive, heavy looking cart.

Were it not for the gravity strips at the base of the cart Adam was sure he wouldn't have gotten the thing anywhere.

He went mostly unnoticed as he brought the cart to Sunny's side, and only when Adam disengaged from the helm of the ship did Adham noticed and turn to see what was going on, face pulling into a frown just in time to see Adam strop his shirt off to reveal the skin tight black dermal suit underneath.

"What are you doing?" He asked the suspicion clear in his voice.

Adam ignored him, Pulling off his pants and kicking off his boots. The black dermal suit fit over his body like a glove, clinging tightly to his skin, all the way from his feet to his wrists, like the strangest pair of footie pajamas. With the addition of the gloves and padded hood, the suit was almost comfortable.

Adam was glad he worked out.

The others were doing much the same.

Completely Naked as she usually was, Sunny was the only one who didn't stop to a strip tease.

Adham marched forward, "What is."

Adam stepped back locking his mechanical foot into the left boot, and then his human leg into the right boot.

The SE Armor, whirred to life, folding around him, snapping into place around his ankles, and then rolling like a sharp wave up his body, locking into place over his hips, and then his torso and then his chest, until the helmet was the last item, retracting itself down over his head, and covering his face with the mirrored blue visor.

Lights erupted over the HUD as Fealty roared through the system stronger and more lucid than ever.

System booting.

And then the SE armor whirred, slotting into place through the ports on his wrists.

Steel eye, born from pain and death, tested in ash and fire and human suffering, perfected through redemption and ending here in its final installment, allowing, for the first time in its existence, for a man to step into the suit without a price.

Ramirez donned his SE armor for the first time, without a price.

Now the SE armor was optimally paired with the more invasive SE exoskeleton, but this model didn't require it to function.

Leaving it available to all species

A fact Sunny was quite pleased about.

The visor locked down over her face with a sharp click, as two spiked metal horns sprouted from her head like a crown. The pearl white of the armor gleamed in the half darkness, chasing back tarry black shadow. Defensive spikes erupted from her shoulders, knees and elbows, And when she was done, she finished the ensemble by picking up a massive spear, pearly white like her armor, and shot through with golden energy.

In her armor she was almost two feet taller, with the spines.

"What is this." Adham repeated

Adam stepped past the maker and back onto the platform, feet thudding and sending little shockwaves through the room, "Preparing us for battle." He raised his hands, feet leaving the floor as he was drawn into the air, "Call them." He ordered, voice echoing around the room, strangely distorted by the microphones in his helmet.

The comms officer nodded, ignoring their Maker's protests, and keyed the signal.

Adam did the same to the rest of the ship, "Empyrean crew this is your captain speaking. Man your battle stations."

It took no more than a few seconds for his commands to reach a response.

More flashes of light began appearing in the darkness around them.

And then the first voice came through the comms, "At your call, Admiral." Simon said. Turninghis head Adam could see the Omen floating in the darkness next to them, the sleek line of her dark hull illuminated by pulsating blue light.

"With you." McCaster said, followed by Koslov, and then Kimball.

Sharp lights cracked like fireworks in the vacuum of space, beginning as a trickle and then following as an eruption culminating when there came an eruption of ships, thousands upon thousands strong crackling into place around and among the waiting Maker army.

And then, there she was, Lord Avex's imperial cruiser, "At your side Admiral."

But it was the last ship that surprised Adam the most.

Shock and surprise, when a familiar ship appeared out of the darkness in a blaze of light, smallish in comparison, built like a brick with engines, dark, stalky, and unrefined.

The Harbinger?

"At your call Admiral."

He turned towards the voice, surprised when President Kelly herself appeared on the Holo.

"Kelly! But shouldn't you-"

"Be back on Earth?" She smiled a little, a short glitch causing her body to vanish in a void of stars before returning, "I have always admired proactive presidents." She held out her arms, "besides, someone built this beautiful replica of our first ship, and I simply couldn't refuse the opportunity."

He smiled, "Damn straight."

"NO!"

Adam sighed, "Adham."

HTe maker glowered at him from the floor pointing a finger up at him, "What did we agree on."

"You agreed on it, and I lied." Adam shrugged, "I came to warn you about the invasion, be glad I let you tag along for the ride." And then he turned away leaving the Maker working his jaw trying to find words.