Vesper did not know what to assume as she noticed all of her tips fail her one after the opposite. Pulling out all of the stops, she even used improvements that she swore ought to by no means see the sunshine of day as long as she held management over them. In the long run, nonetheless, it appeared as if it will all be for naught.

In any case, she had been defeated.

“N-No! Noooo….”

Her voice failed her as she felt her complete physique collapse as if she was a puppet whose strings had been ignobly lower earlier than she was prepared. Sprawling out on the chilly onerous floor of her ruined metropolis, she might barely make out the cheers of the bastards that introduced her low within the first place. That lady who had continually stopped her from reaching her full potential excitedly voice out her intentions of by no means going again to Marquee, and truthfully, Vesper was greater than effective with that. If even their finest wasn’t in a position to comprise them, then it was higher that they by no means returned right here within the first place.

‘Nonetheless… It is a catastrophe…’

At the same time as she lay unmoving on the bottom, the Head Mind nonetheless had her wits about her. Her thoughts was a hive of exercise, one additional helped by her nonetheless lively [Oversight] giving her a glimpse of the surface world round her. Certain, her vary had been considerably diminished as a result of her physique’s present state, nevertheless it was greater than sufficient for her to maintain herself awake in a useless try to not get herself killed.

Certain sufficient, she watched as the 2 went and left her to die, clearly considering that she had died in opposition to their mixed onslaught. Such hubris… She would’ve by no means given them this a lot of an opportunity if she had received.

‘Conceited fools… I am going to ensure that they will pay for bringing Marquee this low…’

Vesper watched and glared via her [Manifest] as she noticed the group of terrorists come again collectively. Recognizing the opposite group, she balked as she noticed somebody who was clearly a Marquean fraternizing with the enemy. She acknowledged the lady as Tutorial Lewis’s private venture; somebody that the person had clearly pegged as a prodigy within the making ought to he mood a few of her extra reckless tendencies. To assume that this lady would willingly betray her Motherland was each an affront and a private insult to the Head Mind.

‘What on the planet is she doing?! Is she that determined for information?!’

Such was the conclusion that Vesper got here to the extra she noticed the lady. Alset, she recalled this lady’s title was… The best way she checked out her personal incomplete innovation informed her that the lady did not care in regards to the penalties of her actions; that she did not care how she went about reaching her solutions, solely that she received to them within the first place.

Vesper watched as their group cheered and celebrated their supposed victory. Supposed, as a result of Vesper would by no means admit that they’d misplaced that badly. It had been a battle and nothing extra. This wasn’t struggle. Struggle was received when the phrases of give up had been hashed out. And even when she got here to some extent as little as she presently was proper now with the enemy shoving her their phrases of give up, she would by no means signal away Marquee’s sovereignty. She’d quite die than let that occur, and it will be her successor’s job to ensure that each inch of land taken away from them could be over the blood of 1000’s of their enemies.

‘What’re they doing… Are they going to depart?’

The Head Mind held her breath as she noticed the now reunited group. They had been clearly speaking about some issues that her [Oversight] was unable to choose up on. Though, judging by the appears of aid and resignation on their faces, they may be working over that one lady’s ideas of by no means going again to Marquee once more.

‘Good… Go away us alone to recuperate…’

Vesper let her thoughts run wild as she started fantasizing in regards to the varied issues she needed to do as soon as she had absolutely allowed Marquee to get better from this travesty. For one, she is going to full Challenge D and switch it instantly in opposition to her enemies. She did not care if she gave the impression of a warmonger. To protect peace, one have to be prepared to make use of energy to implement it into existence. And along with her innovation, she could have all the ability she wanted after which some to even energy your complete Deep if want be.

Subsequent, she is going to ensure that to uplift the 2 different so-called Nice Nations as much as the requirements that Marquee itself upholds. Certain, she might acknowledge that there have been some fields that her nation might enhance upon by its neighbors, however the overwhelming majority of each ethics and technological know-how got here from Marquee anyway. She would simply be reiterating upon established norms by additional ingratiating Kattleyna and Vestyge’s peoples into Marquee’s sphere of affect.

And lastly, she needed to interrupt out of this cave they referred to as the Shallow Deep itself. There was little doubt in her thoughts now that there was an exit from this perpetual darkness. The truth that her innovation even reached the [Stars] was greater than proof sufficient that exploring the Deep could be the longest manner potential to realize Dawn. If she might simply break via the sky, absolutely the sunshine will come pouring forth and bathe them in its heat embrace.

However after all, all of those had been simply mere fantasies for now. Nonetheless, Vesper could not assist however salivate on the prospect of a superior Marquee guiding the remainder of the world out into a brand new age of discovery. Gone could be the times of useful resource wars and the fixed struggle to maintain their setting lit to stave away the darkish. They might have the sunshine of her innovation, and if she was proper, even the sunshine of the very sky itself illuminating the darkish.

‘And it will be superb…’

Vesper shivered in her susceptible state, virtually forgetting about the truth that she was nonetheless watching over the bastards that ruined her house. Shaking away her fantasies, she went again to the duty at hand, and he or she noticed the younger lady that she had talked to earlier, a touch of pity blooming inside her chest as she noticed the ragged state of the poor lady. Certainly, she was with these monsters in opposition to her will, performing like some form of slave for her barbarian masters.

Simply excited about such a situation made her coronary heart pump even more durable. Slavery was unlawful in all the Deep aside from the Empire. And whereas she was additionally certain that the Republic additionally had slaves in all however title, Kattleyna’s blatant vanity of even displaying they’d pressured indentured servitude to literal kids was an affront to civilization as an entire. What sort of monster would willingly enslave their fellow brethren? Their very own folks?

‘I am going to prevent… I am going to prevent all… Even in case you may not deserve it…’

Instinctively, Vesper gritted her enamel ever so faintly, a little bit of her power returning to her simply because the terrorist Imperials left her vary. Once more, there could be no extra of this injustice as soon as her visions got here to fruition. Her improvements will uplift this world, and all of the hardships that got here with residing at nighttime could be no extra.

However first, she needed to get again as much as try to repair this mess within the first place.

Her fingers twitching, Vesper pressured her physique to maneuver, her toes wriggling beneath her ft as she slowly however absolutely dragged herself to security. Certain, she was nonetheless crawling, nevertheless it beat out not having the ability to transfer in any respect as she barely managed to prop her head up on a low-lying slab of stone. Wanting round, her coronary heart skipped in each exhaustion and anger as she assessed the carnage that wanted to be addressed. From burning buildings to ruined infrastructure, to all the useless our bodies that littered the huge crater, all the way down to the very innovation that had gone haywire and triggered this huge catastrophe within the first place.

And naturally, it was all these international Imperials’ fault.

Crawling as much as a extra appropriate vantage level as her physique might permit, her anger boiled inside her regardless of her throat failing to provide out even the faintest grumble of annoyance. Regardless of her finest efforts, her physique betrayed even her most stalwart orders to get itself to face again up. She did not know when or how she would transfer extra correctly to start out assessing her subsequent transfer, however one factor was for certain, she’ll ensure that this catastrophic incident won’t ever occur once more underneath her watch.

“Mark this present day, Kattleyna… Marquee can pay you again for this utter destruction of our land and residential…” she weakly swore, her fists barely going white with how onerous she was struggling to even transfer. “I will not let this be the tip… For each Marquean that died right here, I am going to ensure that to cost with curiosity!”

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