“Your blasphemous journey ends here, heretic!” the lone occupant sneered at him. “You have entered that which you shall never leave.”
Aen smiled beneath his helmet, his adversary had no clue what he was facing. He had procured an old and beat up suit of Ifierin armor and donned it so as not to be discovered. Anonymity was the key here, and thus far it had worked perfectly. Taking a moment to size up his opponent, Aen gave the illusion of respect for the assassin though he had none. The Forgotten was a firecracker and Aen was an atom bomb; the mismatch was apparent despite the assassin’s bravery.
“Before you die,” the assassin continued, “I demand to know what it is that brought you on this journey. What is it you hoped to accomplish by invading our haven? Why have you declared war on the holy Forgotten?”
Lifting his right hand, Aen used his power once more to levitate his opposition and render him no more of a threat than an insect. His heart began to surge in his chest; this one he would truly enjoy killing!
“You and your fellow killers are nothing to me, it is your master I seek to flush from the darkness. What prize is catching the puppet when the puppeteer still remains behind the curtain?” Aen replied to his helpless foe.
Quickly, Aen let loose a blast of superheated energy and directed it towards the assassin caught in the air. Layer by layer his flesh, muscle, and then bone peeled away as it screamed in agony. In just a few seconds, nothing but ash remained suspended in the air where a sentient being once was. Aen was now alone precisely where he wanted to be, and wasted no more time to get ready for the next phase.
From his back, he slung down the portable holo-link and set it up as quickly as possible. He then produced a portable fusion generator - an octagon shaped device about eight inches in diameter - and linked it to the device. This would give him a few hours of power to work with without linking to the Guild system which was on the fritz from the EMP. It would also keep him untraceable as the second he went live he would become the most sought after man in the Empire. Then he produced an AI core, which was contained in a small power matrix of its own and clicked the activation button to engage its services. Instantly, the orange sphere appeared and began to survey its surroundings.
“Whatever has happened and why are we in the Guild temple?” it asked immediately.
“You are called Caretaker, are you not?” he asked the machine. His voice heavily disguised by the helmet’s electronic filters.
“I am, and who may I ask are you and how did you acquire my core matrix from the Empress?”
“Check your newly uploaded directives; you will find that for the time being you are to do exactly what I ask of you. Iana has ‘loaned’ you to me for the moment and we have little time for further discussions.”
Caretaker went quiet as it did a file search. Once it found the new files it read them, then read them three more times in disbelief that they were real. Afterwards it ran authentication programs to make sure the files were not faked, which they were not. All this was done in a few seconds and it let out a sigh of disbelief.
“What are your orders?” it asked with a drone of annoyance.
“Link this holo-device to the network and dial in under the preloaded prefix. I need the shading to be in red; distort the real time settings and bounce any trace programs to be run on the signal across the network in its entirety. Then, set up a live feed from one of the satellites above to show live images of the temple and play them on my mark. Do not question any of the words I say during the transmission and do not attempt to disrupt the signal once it is live.”
Aen began to search the room and found what he sought; a hooded robe to further conceal himself and also add to the dramatic effect he was after. He watched as the AI went to work and wondered how often he had watched this same thing; he had read the files extensively about the time spent with the construct but still remembered nothing. In fact, he knew everything he could about his former self but none of it came from within. Most of it came from the detailed files of this AI.
“We are live and on mute with the Council session.” It chimed in. “I find it odd and somewhat astonishing that it is the feed channel used by the Prophets. How did you acquire this device?”
“They gave it to me.” Aen replied as he donned the robe and pulled the hood over his helmet.
“And might it be too much to ask what it is you hope to accomplish?” it asked.
“If everything goes well, I will be declaring war on the Empire.”
—
Lyarran Vessel: Dark Light; Imperial Shipyards of Thsin
This meeting was unlike any of the others she had attended; everything about it felt off. From the absence of Bryx to the general feeling of the room and now the holo-link from the Prophets being active, Lyxia felt totally off kilter with everything. It wasn’t uncommon for the Prophets to ‘dial in’ and listen to the proceedings, but the view was usually of the ocean lapping at the shore on an unknown beach in the cosmos. But this was a room she didn’t recognize and the images were all in red; something was wrong, yet no one paid it much attention.
Then her attention returned to the proceedings, and the room began to fuss about some goings on with Terra Sol. Lyxia perked up and leaned in to hear more. She watched as Council Sara Foster shared a viewpoint she was watching and played it for all to see on the overhead screens. As if to replay a moment from five years ago, the entire room gasped in fear as they looked upon the fearsome sight of a Husk ship on an inbound vector to the human planet!
This one was much smaller the marauder that pummelled Terra Sol not so long ago, but the only one in the room without a look of panic or fear was the Terra Sol Councillor. Last meeting, she had gone on record about the defense network that slowed visitors to the picturesque world. She fielded complaints, but was adamant on the fact that this was the way it would be. There were no apologies from Terra Sol, just a promise that what had happened five years ago would never happen again!
Then it came to her; the humans were about to demonstrate their might! Lyxia knew that Terra Sol had taken a beating politically for some of the concessions they had been granted in their inclusion in the Empire and that many other worlds envied the abundance of riches held by them. Jealousy and greed had shown their faces as there had been requests to share the riches or sell the rights to them; all of which had been answered with a stern no. Council Sara must have felt a show of force was necessary and Lyxia for one, was glad this time had come. She stood silent and watched as the scene unfolded.
—
Geneva, Switzerland; Earth Council Headquarters
“Witness what we are seeing right now!” Sara spoke loudly as she showed the live images for all watching to see. “The ship arrived in system a half hour ago and has not responded to our requests for it to stand down. It was conveniently missed by the Imperial watchdog out on the perimeter, but our early warning scouts detected it shortly after it arrived. You are looking at live images from one of those scouts which has taken up a synchronous flight path so you all may watch.”
The image then split to show a camera angle looking up at a massive white PA cannon. Many recognized them as the same that held a defensive perimeter around a multiple of the Imperial worlds, but these ones looked different.
“What you are now seeing is the Jovian defensive ring - the first ring of our modified PA Cannons - that protect our planet and all the assets we control. These cannons have an increased range from the standard issue and will reach out to the ice fields that surround the Sol System.” Sara continued.
The room watched as the cannon came to life and began to search for its new target. There were a few clicks of radio interruption as another voice joined the transmission from the weapons control.
“Earth Control this is Jupiter Command,” the voice crackled over the airways. “Tracking target nearing Neptune space and closing at a hundred kilometers per second.”
“Jupiter Command this is Council Foster, please advise when you h
ave target lock.”
“Yes sir, Councillor!” was the reply. There was a quiet, few seconds before it spoke again. “Target acquired; awaiting orders.”
Sara hit the link to mute her connection and turned her attention back to the Council.
“Five years ago a ship like this made us cower in fear. From what I have read in the logs, it did much the same for all of you as well. Now, we fear little; as I promised my people that what the Husk did to us would never be repeated and today I will show you why Terra Sol will not tolerate any threats.” She said standing tall and proud. She tapped the comm line with the weapons command to regain communication.
“Jupiter Command you may fire at will! Send those bastards to hell!”
“With pleasure sir!”
The base of the cannon began to spin; accelerating in a blur until it looked stationary once more. Then with a flash of blinding white light it belched out a massive plasma round that flew out of frame in a blink of an eye. The screen then shifted to full view once more of the Husk ship, which begun to turn in an attempt to evade the oncoming assault, but it was far too late. From weapon fire to impact it had taken fifteen seconds and the plasma charge struck the bow of the Husk ship just off to the right of center. The energy shields buckled in a fraction of a second and the round gutted the ship from stem to stern. Not even the heralded defence cannons of the Lyarran system had this capability; the whole room stood in silent awe at what had been witnessed.
Sara stood back with a smug look on her face. She had shown those who had threatened, ever so subtly, that Earth was no one’s doormat. After this demonstration, she also knew that those same worlds may become adversaries but it was a risk that needed to be taken and a statement that needed to be made. She ended the video feed as the cheers from Jupiter Command were the only sound echoing in the Grand Council and reverted the room into an uneasy silence.
—
Lyarran Throne World Havyiin; Grand Council Chamber
Iana was initially scared when she saw the image of the Husk vessel; her heart sank as she feared Terra Sol would be doomed to a repeat of the tragedy five years ago. With no Aen and no Lyarran intervention she feared the worse. But when the weapon fired and the vessel was all but obliterated, she felt vindicated in her saving the humans. It was their ingenuity that had advanced the Lyarran defence technology to further its effectiveness.
But as the silence remained in the room, she remembered the plan and how even with this unexpected interruption, that it needed to be followed. She had seen the link of the Prophets activate, and as others dismissed it as nothing abnormal she noticed that the background was indeed different than usual. Now that Terra Sol had made their point, it was time for her to give her performance.
Before she was able to say a word, the transmission from the Prophets let out a squeal and a few clicks, one after another, that seemed to echo louder and louder. The feed seemed to be broadcasting across the Empire as a whole; her friend was truly pushing the limits of his plan.
—
Temple of the Divine Light; Guild World Ryas
Aen was impressed by the human’s show of force as it would further accentuate what he was about to say. To add to the effect, before he went live he had the AI make the feed go live across the entire stretch of the Empire. He remembered a saying from an Earth text: ‘go big or go home’ and he decided to do just that. He let the microphone squeal as he opened his helmet mic too close to that of the holo-link and the sound of the feed being uploaded everywhere began to echo repeatedly. It was now or never!
With his hood cowl hanging over to mask any semblance of the Ifierin armor, he stood before the projector and let it load his image. Within a few seconds, all eyes in the Empire were looking at him and he was sure to give them a show.
“It is you I seek,” he began as the growly voice was distorted by the helmet’s electronics to both add effect and disguise his identity. The words rattled off every wall and staggered back more than a few listeners in a beginning of a speech that would be remembered in Imperial lore for all time.
—
Lyarran Throne World Havyiin; Grand Council Chamber
“It is you I seek,” the figure began in the image, “But as you cower in the shadows I cannot see you. For some time I have been aware of you; your plans were not as secretive as you imagined. But I was where I wanted to be; alone with only the whispers of the Dark God himself to keep me company. I was happy being isolated, for the first time in my life I was at peace.”
“I had turned a blind eye to the darkness you created; to the madness you sought to bring to this life as none of it affected me in the slightest. Despite your careful planning, you then made your first mistake. You sent your elite to kill me; a move of stupid ignorance as you knew not what they would face, but you sent them none the less. Your bringers of a silent death, fell quickly for I am far beyond what they could have ever prepared for. My home had been violated and disturbed, so in retribution I decided to join your little game.”
All the Councillors began to look around the room, searching for the one who this message was meant for. Even Iana squinted her eyes and looked around frantically, but whoever was the intended recipient of the message was not giving themselves away so easily. There was a feeling of mild panic in the room; no one had experienced this type of directed terror before.
“So now that you have made your move, I shall make mine. I will take from you your feeling of safety; steal from your very hands that which gives you comfort. From this moment on you will know how close I am to seeing your face and you shall look behind you every moment of every day. Every footstep you hear will strike terror in your heart, for you shall never know who or what I truly am.”
At this point, even Iana was truly terrified at the threatening broadcast; unsure if this was part of the act or something truly real. Looking around the room, she saw that the most hardened resolved of the strongest willed women she knew had been crushed under the weight of this new threat. Some of the Councillors even had tears of fear in their eyes; the level of anxiety in the room had hit a fever pitch!
“Then I will take from you what you covet most,” the message continued, “I will deprive you of your precious prize that you have worked so hard for. There are no prayers that can stop me; no sage advice from your wise Prophets. All have left these shores for a safer time as the ships of chaos have landed upon you now and watch as anarchy reigns upon your world of lies!”
The image shifted to an overhead view of the Temple of the Divine Light on Ryas; the home of the Guild. It was a building on an unparalleled scale in size and height; much like the Aztec pyramids in the Amazon in shape and design but near to the size of Olympus Mons on Mars. Its towering spires reached high into the upper atmosphere of the Guild planet as it was a symbol of peace and wisdom across the Empire. As the murmurs began to rise in the room, they were quickly silenced by an explosion that tore through the ancient structure. Emanating from the core of the temple, the blast sent flames shooting out from the windows on the level that reached outwards several hundred feet. The only thing that saved the structure from collapse was its construction of heavy rock and usage of titanium, yet one could only imagine the devastation left behind by the detonation.
Cries of anguish rose in the Council as the very symbol of the Empire’s religious foundation burned in the afternoon light. From their podiums, they watched survivors run, limp and crawl from the temple’s exits; some of them burned horribly and clothes still smoking. The transmission of the unknown assailant ended, but was immediately replaced by planetary news feeds; it was the known terrorist attack in the long history of the Empire, and it was an exclamation point of the dysfunction in the Council of recent times.
Within moments of the blast, an Ifierin security team rushed in to the chambers and secured the Empress before rushing her out to safety. The whereabouts of the terrorist threat was unknown, and the first priority was Iana’s safety. Other Ifierin began to secure t
he building for those that had attended the Council in person and those linked, had their holo-links terminated. As the mad rush to vacate the building began, the chaos the creature had promised was immediately visible.
An unmarked shuttle tore away from the building’s depot; the Empress of Lyarra was being whisked away by the Ifierin to the safest place possible; her ship the Lyarra’s Fire that circled above. Moments after the shuttle docked, the golden ship pulled away from Havyiin and set up station away from the planetary orbits along with a guard force of two warships. A tense twenty minutes after the blast on Ryas, the Empress was declared safe and secure! Now there was only the business of picking up the pieces and figuring out who or what had dared to wage war with the Empire.
THREE
Orbit of the Guild World Ryas
Once she had been skirted away from the Council and reunited with her assassin guards, she was ushered to her personal shuttle that would take her back home to Ryas. The temple - or what remained of it after the attack - was now compromised as she struggled to wrap her head around what had just transpired. It had taken every ounce of her will to stay put at her station, even though all her senses screamed for her to run. Never before in her long life had she been that scared, and now that that part was over she was left with more questions than answers.
She thought she had all the answers; knew all the players in the game before she played her hand. But now there was a late joiner and he was the wild card in all of this. Could it be she had overlooked a simple detail? Could she have made a mistake after so long of being careful?
No; everything had been planned to perfection! Her entire life was dedicated to this task and every step had been painstakingly planned before being taken. Nothing had been missed, if anything the coming of the Harbinger had done little but aide her cause. She had rolled with the new development and even used the epic sacrifice to further her means. A weapon of enormous proportions had been lost to the darkness of space and with it she had been able to place the blame for it squarely on the Empress. Up until a few minutes ago she had been in total control; enjoying the last few torturous moments of her adversary’s reign as her grip on the throne spiralled away further and further. But now, there was this new development and it threatened her directly.
Ghosts of Lyarra Page 6
