The Afterparty

[Mephistopheles]

Mephistopheles/Belial was waiting outside, hidden from any eyes except the eyes of the angel that was darting out the Ampoliros' fighterbay. But for that he had another ally - the sorrow of the angel herself.

The mixed emotions. The priorities. The tears, fogging her vision. The pain and the fear... Mariella felt that she went out in too much anger. Too hasty... It was too late to turn back now... if she did, that...

"... I could never..." Mariella didn't finish that thought...

A black fighter appeared out of nowhere, it's engines screaming death towards her...

"Angels fall first!" Belial spoke into her mind and opened fire taking her shields down...

Enraged, Mariella turned her ship to fight back not caring for the shields. A nova torpedo was shot from Belial's dual mount at point blank range. The Avenger never had a chance to evade it.

A nova exploded...

---

D`Evil..Mephistopheles (Soul Harvester) -- D`Evil..Belial (D`Evil.. doer)

[Nightfall]

Nightfall was already running towards his Sabre when the proximity alerts on the Ampoliros started their lament. The black Sabre was fast like a bat out of hell but still too slow...

A nova exploded...

"Angels Fall First!" said the intruder into Nightfall's mind and started laughing.
"Mariella!" Bernard screamed from the top of his lungs giving name to his pain.

The black intruder entered the range of Nightfall's nomad cannons. Lock n' load. Nightfall squeezed the trigger. Purple death started pouring from the gun nozzles...

Tears started fogging his eyesight...

It was already over for the intruder. Shieldless because of the proximity of the Nova torpedo explosion, he had no chance to survive the barrage. He was quickly pulverized by the quad Nomad Cannons and Outcast Wyrms...

"No!" Nightfall said to himself... his Sabre drifting now amidst the debris "NO! damned... me... and my lovestruck ramblings. I should have known better! I have betrayed her! Damned!"

Bernard was crushed... He pulled out his Cardamine mask...

"Ampoliros, this is Nightfall... a... coded comm... just arived... I have some urgent thing to attend to... at home... " he paused "Take that shipment to Rochester... rendez-vous at Malta, further orders will follow"

"I should be able to make it in time to the Sacred place in Alpha... the final home!" he thought and punched in the sequence for the Alaska jumpgate...

---

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor

[Mariella]

The last seconds were still a slow-motion..

She saw the nova exploding, the mass of energy surrounding her ship and the impact of each beam into the hull.

She heard the words "Angels fall first!"
But she couldn't follow them anylonger..

Mariella noticed Mephistopheles and all his dark power.. He had some creatures, guiding him..
Damian and Usha.. She knew them from a time, long ago.. and remembered the first battles..

She closed her eyes, full of fear, cause she knew, the next step would be painful.
Dividing the soul from the body always was a painful step..
In the moment, when the hull bursted, she was surrounded by the golden light, send from a place
she never really understood.

Then, it was done..


She heard the warm and lovely voice, again:
"Mariella, my Angel.. what have you done.. I have to tell you, the next existence is your last one.
You did way too much in your last lifes"
She was crying.. but it was said to be normal for a just died Angel.. dealing with the dirt of life..

"So.. my daughter.. where shall your last existence start? Your last angelic existence?"
"What will be then," Mariella asked the voice.
"It will be up to you, but.." the voice paused, "but it will be a hard and in the end mortal live with
no extra-powers.."
"Will we beat the DEvils.. ?
"I can't answer that, my dear.."

---

[Nightfall]

Bernard entered Omicron Delta. The black Sabre made a loop, it veered to port side and went straight towards the jumphole... it entered the inside of the Dyson sphere, another loop, veered a little to the starboard and hit the cruise... Nomads attacked... Nightfall just ignored them... a few minutes later he was entering the jumphole to the Alpha Unknown system...

---

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor

[Fellow Hoodlum]

Browning sank another anejo, it wasn't working though. It just tasted like alcohol with
none of the effects. She had dragged him back from the brink, and now she was gone.
His life would never be the same again. Touched by an Angel. There were few mortals
who would have that that chance in their lifetime.
Nightfall had left now ... No words spoken. He had stayed on the Ampoliros for the trip
to Rochester. It wasn't home now though, New York. Time to move on. Never was really,
just somewhere to lay his battered hat and body now and then ... Share times with Hoodlum
and the guys. Stupid drunk at the bar, favourite saying of theirs.
"I need another bl**dy ship I suppose". He spoke to no one in particular.
The rest of the crew had given him a wide berth for a while.
"Sorry Hood need a bit of cash for a little time ". He knew that would not be a problem, he always
managed to pay him back.
Trip out to the borders again and replace his beloved Raven. He would have to get a
ship to get him out there. Sure old Stone would be making a run down there soon with
something dodgy ... Always doing something outside the law, that boy. Managed to keep
all the factions sweet ... Never knew how he managed that. His own rep stank everywhere.
He always had to sneak in and out of Manhattan on a fake ID. Still that was his life ...
Always on the wrong side of justice. Bit of work for the Outcast first. Needed the
time killing again. Omicron Apha was beckoning.
There was something big coming, he could feel it in his whole being.

---

Some say he is a proud member of: "The most paranoid group of people in the Community."

[Nightfall]

The jumphole Bernard went through seemed to be reaching somewhere at a distant point of eternity's end. Whatever happens, who knows? Is there a future... after the Fall of an Angel? He knew his words were wrong. Not as meaning... they were wrong for the moment. His only wish is her and nothing else existed. The walls of the jumphole were closing in on him like the cold embrace of the death he was summoning instead of the Tempests and Thunderstorms for her to submerge into them willingly... He wanted to make her able to breathe under the fiery cataclysms of his passion while he would be lost in the depths of her soul giving beautifull colors to the shades of grey...

He spelled "Mariella" in his mind. He took a deep breath feeling the air fill his lungs... no Cardamine this time either... "Me" was the next word in his picture on the black background... the claustrophobic walls of the jumphole were not wisible, just the pitch-black of eternal oblivion - the nightfall - one of the possible meanings of his name. Next word that apeared was "kiss"... and he added "kill"... and the jumphole ended.

A nomad patrol started firing at him...

"Not this close, you won't!" Nightfall killed his engines and hit the burner. A nomad was picked up by the onboard computer as the closest and the black Sabre started the Dance of Death with it... a perfect position to fire a few cannonbals and quickly pulverize the fighter...

"No" Bernard thought "I may need them in the Afterlife... at least... some poor soul may need them more than I do now..." he fired the quad Nomad Cannons connecting perfectly with the nomad and making it a ball of fire and debris. He engaged the tractor...

"I need another ship" he heard Mr. Browning say...

"Useless action" he thought...

Another three similar dances and only the nomad gunboat leading the pack remained. A loop and a short burst of speed together with a slide to the right brought the Sabre behind the gunboat sitting in it's blind spot and pounding purple death into it's behind...

"Mariella" he spelled in his mind and added the words "me" and "kiss" finishing up with "kill"...

The gunboat changed into a shape of burning debris that were picked up by his tractor beam and safely stored into the cargo bay. "Nice loot for the lucky wreckhunter."

"One more night To bear this nightmare What more do I have to say
Crying for me was never worth a tear My lonely soul is only filled with fear"...
... were the words of a song...

Nightfall cruised into the jumphole to Omicron Alpha, the walls surrounding him... This was a different sensation, knowing, feeling that he is coming to the end of this journey, to a kind of resolution... it was warm and cosy in a way.

Emerging on the other side he positioned the black Sabre in the first circle around the jumphole facing it and shutting down all the systems including the life support. How much more time? Hours before he freezes to death?

A vision of Mr. Browning sinking in another Anejo at a bar... Was it from the past?
"Old boy, you are wrong... and hasty in your conclusions" said Mr. Browning...

Darkness engulfed him...

---

If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God? - from 'Nightfall' by I. Asimov
The Outcasts consider Siniestre Nube a sacred place for several reasons. Early explorers discovered a jumphole within the depths of the cloud that leads to a strange world of ringed stars and strange craft. All ships in the burrial ground are placed facing that hole to honor the Alien Spirits. - An Outcast rumor

[Usha]

Usha was running out of control..

"See, Meph, what we have !!"

Her face turned red..

"Suiciding Outcast, an old pilot, the alcohol doesn't work on and an Angel, having more lives, than you said !!!"

She stamped with her foot on the floor..

"These souls will not help us - we need strong ones"

Turning towards Meph, she said: "you are the worst DEvil.. I have ever seen - biggest fool under the sun"

She was as angry as could be and gave her angriest looks to him..

---

Demon-Princes, daughter of heaven and sister of the night. Her name means "dawn".

[Mephistopheles]

Mephistopheles/Belial turned towards her his eyes flashing thunders:

"I have a plan and all is coming to the development by my design! Go, take out the Outcast!"

---

D`Evil..Mephistopheles (Soul Harvester) -- D`Evil..Belial (D`Evil.. doer)

[Mariella]

"Will we beat the DEvils.. ?
"I can't answer that, my dear.."

A circle of green light approached her, but she wasn't ready for the step back to life..

"Wait.. you don't ask me, in what shape, I wanna go back ? You always asked me, before you send me away.."

"I thought, there was no other shape than the Angel.. You want to beat the DEvils.."
"Can we match that, when the third on is also a wight ?"

"Look in there, my sweetness" the voice said and a window opened in the middle of the hall..

She saw Browning, frustrated, cause the alc didn't work, and two friends were gone whitout a chance of saying good bye..
Tears were running over his face and he was wearing a smile that could have bring fear into the world..
"I need a new ship", she heard him say..
It broke her heart, to see him standing there, alone and full of pain..

Then the window changed its shape and color..
She saw a place within the green clouds of Omicron Alpha.. On the first sight, she only saw the wrecks of a few brave men, that lived times ago..
Then she noticed the black Sabre..
"No", she shouted.. "He's not allowed to do that.."

"He's already cold, darling" the voice answered.. "Choose the human shape, and you will be too late.."

"The Angel-shape. Quick!!" She closed her eyes and waited for the pain of rebirth as Mariella, again.
"This way or that way, Nightfall, we won't come together.."

With a flashing ray of light, she entered the world of the living, again..
She found herself in a black Avenger with golden tips on her wings.. the badge of her final existence.
**********
Nightfall was cold. His brain refused to work and the shadows of death were already surrounding him..
"Mariella.. Me.." she heard his thoughts.. "Kill.."
Suddenly, he felt a heat that was nearly barbarous.. "so that's, how the end feels.. aurevoir, Malta.. - keep my orange-fields"
**********
With an Outcast in her cargohold, he left the dimension and moved on the tracks apart..
She noticed a kind of scream - someone was angry - a DEvil.. just slipped out of her view..
Within seconds, she reached the Ampoliros.

"Ampoliros, this is Mariella.. get me Browning into the docking bay and give permission to land..
Your Boss is in my cargo hold and needs some Anejo, Browning knows, where it is.."
**********
Browning stood already in the bay, grinning, when the cockpit of the Avenger opened..
"I thought it might be a good idea to bring the complete chest with me" He was smiling from ear to ear
and took her in his arms. "Welcome back, honey, glad you made it back and brought the dumbass with you.."
He pointed with the opened bottle on her ship: Golden wing-tips on a black Avenger.. it suits you"

She sended the medic-staff away and said: "He needs a drink.. that's all.."

While Mendoza held the Anejo on Nightfalls mouth, Mariella took Brownings hand, leading him some steps away..

"I am again an Angel.. not a human being.."

He raised an eye-brow, took a sip and said: "good for us, honey.." he turned his head to Night, "but bad for him."
Covering her shoulders, he said: "Come with me.."

He gave her his blowrag - she urgently needed to dry her eyes..

---

[Fellow Hoodlum]

Well Mariella, Not much for me here now." ...
Brownings voice sounded a little low and cracked. The tequila burnt his throat.
"I got word of some employment in Rheinland , not my favourite place of all time.
Needs must and all that. Comes with a company ship and benefits." Going to give it a go.
Memories from so long ago flooded back to him, seemed like only yesterday.
"I have understood your position all the time, the love of a mortal is not good for us at
the moment. There is a fight coming our way."
He had no idea what forces were at work, he could feel the evil around him all the time.
Just the darkness.
If he needs to go back to Kaela, I will take him myself. We need him a little sharper
than he is right now. There has been to much sacrificing around here already for no
good reason. We will need all the strength and guile we can muster for this one."
He hated to state the obvious.
"Lets get back to Malta now, rest and sort the ships out for war. Then I need to get away
for a while, new craft and things to sort out, you know what the company ones are like.
No soul."
He felt the need to get into a Sabre and kick the sh*t out of it, to kill the numerous
bounty hunters who always tried to get to the home world. And the pay was always
useful. Company ship was not his style ... he would take the opt out with his own.
They would pay for it anyway.
He felt safe now ... The Angels touch would be with him wherever he was.
Three days later with a load of credits burning a hole in his pockets, he left as the sun
was coming up over the fields of orange. A battered Sabre loaded with new weapons
and armour transported him away to replace his Raven.
Been in one place to long again.
The note said ... You will always know were to find me. Just call when the need arises.
I'll be there ... That was all.
The hankerchief with her dried tears was still in his flight suit.

---

Some say he is a proud member of: "The most paranoid group of people in the Community."