"Damn." Jace cursed under his breath as he removed his armor. His armor was going to need a complete overhaul. Or he might even just have to completely replace it.

    After Nina came to relieve him of his protection duty he came straight to the Anvil. Leaving the rest of his squad to protect that room. The ''mannequin'' was unexpected but it did not change what they had to do. That room on the other hand was a whole headache that would delay them for a bit.

    Jace''s armor came off in a few seconds to reveal his sweaty second skin suit that was underneath it. He walked out of the changing room with his boots and gloves still on. The engineers that were helping him were cursing and telling him to come back as he quickly marched to the main room where they were watching the helmet footage. He had his armor''s footage along with the recording he took of the room on a drive he was holding.

    The door opened to reveal several of Captain Hammers subordinates along with Vana standing around looking at some star charts. Hammers began frowning when he walked in. "Spectre Jace, I do not know why you-"

    "Requiem Protocol." Jace stared the captain in the eyes and watched as his eyes suddenly widened and then he bowed. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    "Everyone, leave the room. I apologize, Vana, that includes you." Captain Hammers began quickly rushing everyone out of the room and then stepped out himself. A moment later the lights in the room turned red and there was a buzz of noise as the room scanned for unauthorized recording devices.

    Once it was done the central console pulled up a digital keypad. Jace quickly plugged in a set of numbers he had memorized and then pressed enter. There was a ringing a few seconds later as the channel was attempting to connect.

    Jace stood at attention while he waited. One minute. Three minutes. Five minutes, was she busy? Ten minutes. Then not even a second later it stopped as a very loosely dressed Director Fenrir appeared with a scowl on her face.

    "Spectre Jace, this had better be important." Director Fenrir growled as her glare made him flinch through the holographic communication channel.

    "I apologize, Director." Jace slightly bowed. "We found what appears to be a record room in the Labyrinth. It appears that Lord Hoodwink has been studying it for a long time."

    Director Fenrir''s face changed from angry to surprise then it switched just as quickly to annoyed. "Ah, but it is in a foreign country. Normally the plan would be to immediately turn it over to the Woltar since it is not ours to claim. But for you to suddenly ask for a meeting…"

    Jace nodded his head. "I have found Requiem writing. Which was not not odd. I even found the pedestal in the center room that acted as a shorthand dictionary between Requiem''s language and two other languages. But the other two languages in the room were not anything I have seen before and were both added at the same time as the Requiem writing."

    "Well that is disturbing." A man walked into the hologram image beside the Director. He loosely wore a robe. "Can you tell us anything about these other writings that you have seen?" The man asked.

    Rather than immediately answer, Jace looked at Director Fenrir. His action seemed to cause Director Fenrir a great deal of amusement. While the man flinched and made a frustrated expression.

    "You can answer Spectre Jace. Only myself and the Emperor are in this room, I would say we are quite qualified." Director Fenrir told him with amusement while sticking her tongue out at the Emperor.

    "Your Spectres are far too loyal to you." The Emperor grumbled in annoyance.

    "That is their job honey." Director Fenrir answered.

    Jace waited an extra moment to make sure they were done speaking before. Then he cleared his throat. "I have never seen them before but the way they were both written was unique. The images that went along with them were both reminiscent of something but I could not conclusively identify them. The first language which was to the left of the Requiem writing was set up in circles going counterclockwise that spun in a circle going from outside to the inside. Then the second language-"

    "Hold up, what? The words were written in circles and going counter clockwise? How could you tell that?" The Emperor asked in surprise as he crossed his arms over his chest.

    Jace blinked for a moment before shrugging. "Capitalisation and punctuation." He then waved his hand. "Can I continue?" The Emperor sighed before waving at him to continue. Director Fenrir next to him was hiding a chuckle with her hand.

    "The second language I saw was written out like poems or songs. I have to do some research to confirm the specific format. Those things were never really in my area of interest. I have not yet begun translating the language but I can with your permission."

    "Was that all?" The Emperor asked.

    "No, it was not. What did the Requiem writing say?" Director Fenrir jumped in.

    Jace took a deep breath of air. "For those it concerns. Our mighty civilization of science and exploration has fallen. We were passive people and never concerned ourselves with the prospect of war. Until they came. Our galactic neighbors came and wiped us out. They brought war and violence to an otherwise peaceful galaxy. Our science made us a dangerous foe, so dangerous they could not use conventional weapons."

    Jace took a moment before he continued. "They did not care about the young or elderly. They did not discriminate against the other races we had been watching over or had created. All sentient creatures were things to be disposed of. This record room is here so you can understand them. Both are basic pieces of knowledge that have all characters of their respective languages. They were written in the normal format they write their languages. I would wish you luck in communicating with them for a peaceful resolution. But I hope you avenge us and stop these bloodthirsty things from destroying the galaxy again."

    "That''s…" The Emperor frowned. "This only further confirms our suspicions. We need to keep hold of that asteroid." He then looked to Director Fenrir. "You should personally go and negotiate. I am already going to be busy as it is."

    "I agree completely. Ha…" Director Fenrir brought a hand up and rubbed the back of her head. "Keep it secure. You have permission to secure the sight from all Woltar and anyone else that comes snooping around. Make sure to keep your contact quiet. If this gets out there will be trouble."

    Jace nodded, "understood. When should we expect you?"

    "Hmm… two days. I have to organize and then bring the appropriate amount of people. Keep guard until then. Was that the only piece of Requiem stuff or do you have an update about your mission?" Director Fenrir answered.

    "The facility is called the Labyrinth. It is an interesting design that could be used for training. We have found evidence that Lord Hoodwink has been in operation for years. He had a subordinate, Daedalus, running the facility and taking care of his failed experiments. Most of which appear to be clockwork abominations. Unfortunately a new version that we have never seen before killed Daedalus and then disappeared. I will continue to follow leads." Jace gave a long winded answer.

    "Hm? Good then- ah…" Director suddenly moaned as the Emperor began trailing kisses up her neck. "Hold on, I am not done. Just- ah… stop you- Prick!" Director Fenrir suddenly spun around and smacked him on the head. "Wait until I end the call!"

    "Well hurry up. It is not like we have forever. If you are going to organize an occupation in two days then we have only a few more hours together before we are both too busy again." The Emperor backed away after being hit until he was out of the hologram.

    Jace kept a straight face as Director Fenrir turned her attention to him. "As I was saying before. I have your next assignment in mind already. I will hand off the orders when I come to relieve you of your protection duties."

    "Understood Director!" Jace suddenly saluted and then the hologram was deactivated. He stood for a moment longer before scratching the back of his neck. The room''s lights switched to its normal color after a moment and the door opened up. Captain Hammers and Vana both immediately spilled into the room. Jace sighed as he looked at them.

    "What are our orders?" Captain Hammers asked while Vana looked between them with suspicion and confusion since she did not know what was going on.

    "We are to wait here and continue protecting the Labyrinth. Send a full search party and then dock once you determine it is safe enough. I am going back in, apprise me of any ships that are coming near us." Jace then walked past them. "Keep Vana from communicating with her superiors for the time being."