S3E19: Deep Dark

The ground trembled beneath my feet as explosions ripped through the Puma Punku command center. Alarms blared, red lights flashed in warning. I could barely contain my fury at Enki’s audacity.

«How dare he assault my stronghold?! Good thing I had it all planned in advance…

Oh… his face while the secret iris door closed was glorious to watch.»

“My Lord, we must evacuate immediately!” Nergal urged, gripping my arm. “The self-destruct sequence has been triggered we must leave NOW.”

I shook off his hand with a snarl. “Gather the others. We leave now.”

We raced through collapsing tunnels, dodging falling debris. Enki’s troops were running for their lives too, their shouts echoing off the walls were delicious. I was calm, I knew these passages like the back of my hand. We had time to cherish the moment.

I couldn’t help but laugh at their pathetic efforts. “Run, little brother!” I shouted over my shoulder. “You’ve already lost!”

We burst out of a hidden exit onto a windswept beach. Our sleek underwater craft awaited, a black specter against the foaming surf. I quickly ushered Nergal and four of my most loyal soldiers aboard. The hatch sealed with a hiss behind us.

As we dived beneath the waves, a blinding flash illuminated the night. A stunning mushroom cloud bloomed over the island, a fiery shroud consuming everything. I watched with grim satisfaction as Puma Punku was obliterated. Whatever plans Enki had were now nothing but irradiated ash or pure confusion.

“Scanning for survivors,”

Nergal reported from the sensor array. His brow furrows in concentration.

“I’m detecting a spacecraft leaving the blast radius. It… it appears to be Enki’s ship.”

“Did they all make it out?” I demanded.

“Unclear. The radiation is obscuring – “

I silenced him with a slash of my hand. “No matter. If my dear brother still lives, all the better. It will make crushing him all the more satisfying.”

Nergal looked at me uncertainly.

“But my Lord, shouldn’t we – “

“You forget yourself, Nergal,” I growled. “I am in command here. We proceed as planned.”

I settled into my chair, fingers steepled as I contemplate the vast oceans scrolling by outside. Enki had no idea what I’d prepared. Let him enjoy this fleeting victory. It will make my ultimate triumph that much sweeter.

For hours we navigated the trackless deep, our underwater cloaked vessel slipping past sonar nets and patrol ships unseen. Enki will no doubt be scouring the globe for us. But he’ll never find our destination nor will that witch of a concubine of his. Even her mind probing will be useless to find us now.

A ping from the navigational computer draws me out of my musings.

“We’ve arrived, My Lord,”

Rising, I make my way to the fore viewport. An obsidian dome looms out of the frigid abyss, lights gleaming from portholes studding its surface. My greatest secret, a decade in the making. Known only to the mere 72 Anunnaki I have personally selected for the trials to come.

We docked in a cavernous hangar, banks of floodlights snapping on to illuminate rows of attack craft and weapons emplacements. Nergal lets out a low whistle at the impressive sight. I allow myself a moment of pride. All this, hidden from Enki and his lackeys.

As we disembarked, I addressed my 5 awestricken soldiers. “Behold, my brothers and sisters. Here, in the remotest reaches of this watery rock, we shall forge the future. A future where the Anunnaki reign supreme once more from behind the curtains. We will run the show!”

Calling them to attention, I paced before them, hands clasped behind my back. “Enki thinks he has won. That he can give this world to the humans, to squander as they please. He is a fool. Slowly, we shall scourge the traitors and their pets from the cosmos.”

Fists pounded against armored chests in salute. “We are yours to command, Lord Enlil!”

I nodded in grim approval. “Rest and prepare yourselves. Activate the Black Knight, I want all eyes on them. When the time comes, we shall strike without mercy. Enki, Marduk, Inanna…they will all pay for their betrayal.”

As my troops dispersed to their assigned posts, I lingered in the hangar, gazing out at the abyssal depths.

«Oh Enki…you sentimental old fool. Did you really think I would let you give away my playground? This world is mine now. It always has been. And those primitives you love so dearly? I will grind them to dust beneath my heel as slowly as we cook squall’s carcass.

Your concubine revealed her true colors as well, siding with the obsolete older races against her own kind. I will take great pleasure in teaching her the error of her ways. Perhaps I’ll even allow you to watch before I end your miserable life.

Savor your illusory triumph, little brother. Relish the accolades of your pet monkeys. For in the end, it is I who shall stand victorious. This is merely the opening move in a game millennia in the making. And when the final piece is played, all will kneel before Enlil…or perish.

So come, Enki. Gather your forces, marshal your armies. I await you in the darkness, a spider in his web, a serpent coiled to strike. The stage is set for our last clash.

In the deep dark abyss, Tiamat has settled. And it hungers for vengeance… sweet slow torturous vengeance!»