by Rick Graham
As War exited his dying Hunter, Captain Theid thought he had a chance to take War down. He was wrong. Sensing the threat War’s axe appeared just in time for him to spin around decapitating the foolish mercenary.
Blood ran down Horo’s head as he finally became aware that he had lost consciousness temporarily from the fall. His main screen showed War killing the last remaining Hopper and he knew he was in trouble. “Frick!” he howled as he fumbled with his protective straps to release him.
War now turned his attention to the Juggernaut and began to slowly walk towards it.
Horo tumbled out of the cockpit and landed very hard on his shoulder. He groaned in pain but managed to get back up to his feet. He moved as fast as he could down an alley. “I need a pickup!” he said as he screamed in fear into his headset.
The mercenary looked behind him but didn’t see War following. He did however stop in his tracks as he heard something big land in front of him. In trembling fear he slowly looked to see War ever so slowly walk towards him. Each step filled Horo with more and more terror. He backed up into a large trash bin.
War stopped a few steps out, axe in his left hand. The Keeper sniffed the air as if he could taste the fear Horo emitted.
The Keeper extended his right hand at Horo and it began to glow bright red. Suddenly the mercenary’s mind felt like it was on fire. Blood began to drip from his nose as he gripped his head tighter than he ever had before.
“Who sent you?” War barked.
“I…wa…aaaaaah” the mercenary began to scream in pain as his body was in inconceivable pain. Blood began to drip from his eyes and ears.
“Who sent you?” the Keeper shouted again.
“It…it was Tyrone Acteon…on Crypt.”
War squeezed his glowing hand shut and instantly all the blood within Horo’s body sprayed out and colored the alley’s walls.
As the merc’s body crumbled on the ground War let out a deep and terrifying roar.
He breathed deeply for a moment before he said, “Guess it is time to visit Crypt again.”
“The Prefect Major prefers to spend his time drinking and being with women over ruling the Republic. I don’t think he will ever amount to much, and honestly, I’m glad.”
- Prefect Haines from the Siimon Prefecture 431 ANE
The Shadow Of War
Cycle: 432 ANE
Prefecture: Core
Planet: Prime, Corre Republic space
Location: The Prefect Major’s mansion in the capital
An outpost on the edge of explored space drifts along slowly. A long shaft extends away from the bulk of the outpost’s hull and is covered by transmission dishes pointing in all sorts of directions. The crew of the outpost go about their daily duties as they do every day.
Nearby a purple-ish fog with the occasional flash of space lightning glides in the emptiness of space. Suddenly a massive ship pushes through the fog aiming for the drifting construct.
The large ship is covered in turrets, yet it doesn’t aim them at the outpost. Instead, it just continued its track. Seeing the impending threat, the crew of the drifting outpost frantically run to their stations and attempt to move clear of the approaching ship. One of the crew sprints away from the bridge and dives into the escape pod. He closed the door and boosted away from the outpost. As the escape pod distanced itself from the drifting construct the lone escapee watched in horror as the massive vessel’s red energy shields flash as the outpost was smashed into chunks.
Without warning, one of the turrets take aim at the escape pod and fire. A brilliant green laser slices through the small target as it is consumed in a fast explosion. As the flames puff away in the vacuum of space, large doors on both sides of the invading ship slide open. Hundreds of black and metal fighters race out on streams of green energy.
From the depths of the fog more and more massive ships begin to appear. First two. Then five. Then ten. Then twenty. While the tremendous army continued its path toward a nearby world the focus of the scene zoomed out to look above the purple mist to see a pair of massive green eyes illuminate the cosmos.
Back on the planet Prime, Prefect Major Quintus Caedis of the Corre Republic shot up in bed. His heart beat like a drum in his bare chest. Quintus ran a hand through his hair realizing his body was covered in sweat. He propped himself up with his free hand. To his right lay a beautiful brunette woman. She laid curled up in the luxurious white sheets from the planet Paradiso that the Prefect Major favored so much. Looking to his left he saw the other woman he had drawn to his chambers the night before. Even though her naked back was open to the chilly air of the bed chamber she did not seem to notice.
Quintus still breathed heavily from his terrifying dream. He moved to the edge of the bed and felt a cold shock shoot up his legs as his feet touched the marble floors. He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. The nightmare had happened again. It had become more and more vibrant. And more frequent. He shook his head to clear his mind. The Prefect Major, the most powerful man in the Corre Republic should not have such problems with simple dreams. Yet here he was. Cowering in fear of a fabrication in his own mind.
A tender warm hand caressed Quintus’ shoulder. “Come back to bed…” implored the brunette.
Disdainfully, Quintus swatted her hand away and stood up. The woman slumped back in bed and passed out.
He walked over to a chair and took the crimson colored robe that had been carelessly tossed on it during last night’s activities. Quintus tied the waist closed tight so no one could see he was naked, even though just about every servant that served in the tremendously large mansion had seen him nude at one time or another while partying. It was well known that the Prefect Major was a partier since his younger cycles. He didn’t bother to adjust the top portion to properly cover his chest. Typically, the young Prefect Major enjoyed showing off his muscular form, but right now his mind was preoccupied and nowhere near him attempting to impress a new girl that he could entice.
With the robe in place Quintus walked to the large double doors that opened to his bed chamber. Both doors were adorned with incredible designs made from the purest yellow gold. The right door creaked as he pulled it open. He didn’t bother closing it behind him.
“Your excellency!” excitedly shouted a male servant down the hallway. He rushed over but was careful not to drop the tray he was carrying or spill the drink on top of it. “I did not expect you to be up so early this morning. Is something the matter?”
Quintus shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”
The servant lifted off the glass and extended it towards the Prefect Major. “Here is your morning glass of wine sire. I hope it helps to alleviate any head pain from last night.”
“Oh, uh, I do not want any wine this morning Claud.”
The male servant looked very confused. “Is there something else I could get for you my lord?”
Quintus’ hungover eyes squinted slightly as the daylight peaked through the curtains of one of the windows in the hallway. “Yes, I would like some juice or something. And some maybe some pain medicine.”
Claud smiled and bowed. “Right away sire” he before he rushed off back down the hallway leaving the slightly dazed Prefect Major behind.
Quintus shuffled down the hallway not really heading anywhere in particular. His mind was full of thoughts of his reoccurring nightmare and why it kept happening. “There must be a reason for it…” he thought to himself. “Stress? No. My diet? No that can’t be it. I’m in peak physical condition. Whatever it is, I need answers. But who could I ask?”
As the Prefect Major continued the conversation in his head he wandered past a number of servants that performed various daily tasks such as replaced old flowers in various vases, dusted the walls, swept the floors and all sorts of other tasks. The Prefect Major’s mansion was rebuilt in a special district outside of the capital of Prime after the war with the Synthetics lead by The Collector, a very powerful artificial intelligence bent on exte
rminating all of humanity over 400 cycles ago.
In strange demonstration of never desiring the past to occur again, the Prefect Major’s mansion was staffed by dozens of servants and refused to incorporate many mechanical and robotic advancements. While it wasn’t much, it was decided that it would help remind the ruling Prefect Major of the importance of utilizing human strength and not relying on technological advancements that could result in another AI uprising.
Down one of the many hallways a new female servant had the unfortunate job of hand washing vomit from the previous night’s celebration. Quintus looked at her as she remained clueless to the Prefect Major’s presence. She was an attractive woman and normally Quintus would have made a mental note to entice her to join him in his bed, but this time he just looked at her with a mind preoccupied with thoughts.
Still in his daze, Quintus glanced past the maid and saw the door for his father’s old office. He moved around the servant girl who jumped when she realized he was there. She stood up quickly and held a bow. Quintus did not respond to her gesture as he shuffled his tired feet up to the old wooden door. He began to reach out for the door handle but pulled his hand back hesitating to enter.
His father, Thadius Caedis, was the previous Prefect Major. He was a strong, confident, inspiring man determined to strengthen the Corre Republic. All attributes that had skipped right on passed the younger Caedis. Quintus always looked up to his father for the rock-solid leadership that he exhibited regardless of the struggles facing the Republic.
Finding some inner drive, Quintus reached out and twisted the golden doorknob. The door creaked loudly as it was pushed open. For a brief moment he thought about closing the door and going back to bed. However, something urged him to enter, but he continued to resist. Eventually, he succumbed to the drive and entered the dusty room.
While Quintus had done an excellent job of putting on a face over the previous cycles hiding how much his father’s death impacted him, truthfully though, the loss shook him to his core. He had not even so much as looked at the door of the office since the funeral, much less even think about walking inside of it.
The office itself was quite large. It was currently only being illuminated from a small stream of light that poked out behind the curtain of the only window in the room and from the light bleeding in from the open door behind him. The wall to his left and the wall forming the back of the office was lined with all sorts of images from all over the Republic. Two massive bookcases filled with old texts took up the right wall. The contents ranged from ancient history books, rare copies of worlds famous poets and other artists, to more modern books on how to be a good leader. A large wooden desk sat at the middle of the room. Quintus delicately swiped two fingers on the edge of the furniture leaving streaks in the dust covered film that had settled on top of it.
The top of the desk, which clearly was organized with a structured mess, was covered with papers, holotablets and other datapads left in place after the sudden death of Thadius. Quintus had barred anyone from entering the office, leaving the room frozen in time. If his father was on Prime, he would spend much of his time here. Public policies, treaties, and declarations of war had all been conducted in this very room. Of all the rooms in the tremendous mansion, this room was the only one that Quintus revered.
The Prefect Major hesitatingly walked to the other side of the desk to see what the office looked like from his father’s perspective. He wouldn’t dare sit in the old leather chair, but he did inspect the only two framed pictures sitting to the right of the stacks of papers and other organized chaos on the desk. The first image was of a young Quintus hoisted up on top of his father’s shoulders. Both of them smiled widely. The second image was of Quintus’ older siblings, Alexander and Cara as young children. Alexander had died a long time ago when he was a teenager. His death had apparently shaken Thadius very hard and he grieved for months. Cycles later, once Thadius was already an old man, Quintus was born from one of his father’s concubines. Quintus had never met his birth mother, but was raised by Meera Caedis, Thadius’ wife, and was for all intents and purposes his mother.
As his mind continued to go through memory after memory he nearly jumped out of his skin when the office door powerfully slammed shut.
“Hello Quintus” whispered a voice from behind the Prefect Major. Terrified, Quintus spun around to his right searching for the origin of the voice. But he saw no one.
His eyes went back and forth checking the room for anyone. Several of the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and his arms began to tingle. He couldn’t see anyone anywhere in the room, but he could definitely feel that someone was there.
A dark figure took a step out of the left corner of the room but remained in the shadows. Quintus squinted to try and see some sort of identifier of who it was but he couldn’t tell.
Grabbing hold of every bit of courage he could muster, the Prefect Major said, “Who are you? How dare you startle your excellency!”
The mysterious being cackled in a way that sounded like more than one person laughed at once. It rested its head on its right shoulder. “You have no authority over me young Quintus.” The dark figure smiled a disgusting smirk that the man could see its teeth were deformed and sharpened. He couldn’t quite tell, but he thought the lips were blistered and peeled.
Suddenly Quintus was even more petrified than he already was.
The being took in a deep breath as if it could taste Quintus’ fear in the air. “I know the nightmares you’ve been having” it whispered. “I have come to warn you.”
“Warn me?” Quintus asked terrified. While on normal circumstances the Prefect Major would have expressed that he was not a religious person, right now though he could feel in his “soul” that this thing was evil.
“Your dreams are a warning. The Syn Armada is returning” the being whispered, its arms strangely remained straight along the sides of its body.
Quintus’ eyes grew ever wider. “No, that’s not possible. They have been gone for over 400 cycles. Our scouts have never found where they went.”
“I assure you young lord, they are coming.”
Everything in Quintus’ body told him that he needed to end this conversation and to run out of the room, but he felt compelled to know if this creature, this thing, if it truly knew the truth to his continuous nightmares.
“When?” the Prefect Major asked.
“I can’t tell you that” said the thing.
Feeling hopeless, Quintus asked, “What can we possibly do to stop them?”
Even though it remained in the shadows, Quintus could see the creature rest its head on its other shoulder. “The only hope that you have for your precious Republic is to unite all of the human worlds back together. That is your only chance of survival.”
While still being consumed with shaking fear, the Prefect Major clenched his right fist in despair. “That is impossible. The other nations will never agree to fight for the Republic again. How would I possibly be able to bring them together?”
The being chuckled. “With war…” it said as it smiled widely.
Gathering all of the courage he possibly could muster, Quintus asked, “What are you?”
Again, the being laughed with the voices of several. The door opened, and the Prefect Major spun around to see what was happening. When he turned back to the corner the being was gone.
Suddenly Quintus felt very cold. Was he before? He wasn’t quite sure. Was this all some kind of strange dream?
As he exited the office Quintus made sure the door was closed tight. The loud noise made the servant girl jump and knock over her bucket of nasty water.
The Prefect Major awkwardly knelt down unsure of how he could help. A wave of nausea swept over him as he smelled the nasty water’s odor. He stood back up careful not to step in the mess as he left the room.
“My lord!” Claud cried out as he quickly made his way down the hall carrying his master’s drink. “I am so sorry for not finding you s
ooner.”
“That’s quite alright Claud” Quintus said as he was trying to hide the confusion and fear from his recent conversation in the old office. He accepted the green fruit juice, then the medicine in other hand. After he placed the tiny tablet on his tongue he took a large gulp of the juice and swallowed hard.
“Is there anything else I can get for you your excellency?” the male servant asked as he placed his hands behind his back.
Quintus thought for a brief moment. “Actually, I believe so. Could you tell me where Jakarus is?”
Claud looked down to avoid eye contact with the Prefect Major. “Your servant is in the throne room presiding over the… daily tasks.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Claud” Quintus said as he headed for Jakarus. The male servant bowed.
In the throne room a dirty and tattered man stood on a circular designed tile floor. “My lord, I implore you, I am not guilty.”
“I have multiple reports that eye witnesses watched as you ate a typa fruit right off of one of the Prefect Major’s trees on your farm” Jakarus said as he sat slumped atop the large golden throne.
As the personal advisor to the Prefect Major, Jakarus was adorned with layers of incredibly valuable clothes, jewels and rings. Quintus and Jakarus had been friends for an incredibly long time, even though Jakarus had been one of the mansions young male servants. When Quintus became Prefect Major he was finally able to reward his friend for his cycles of service and commitment.
While Quintus became more and more enamored with women and partying, Jakarus was given more and more responsibility as a stand in for the Prefect Major and his daily tasks. The prefects of the ten prefectures that made up the sectors of the Corre Republic’s domains and the senators were not pleased to have to work with a man from such lowly upbringing. Knowing this, Jakarus often would toy them in various ways for they knew who was in charge. While the Republic would tell you that anyone could work their way up the political entanglement that made up the two main political factions, the truth was, that unless you had a tremendous abundance of money or highly influential friends you would not get very far.
