The Futility Wars

by Magnus Thollander

  The north were still a pirate mess, but many new warriors had been born and there were several millions more wanting to become warriors, so they would not starve to death, S-4XN-001 had constructed 100 million shells for warrior use and all of them were currently in use and now rebuilding the north one brick at a time, it would take a hundred years at least to return it to the shape it was before the war with west sector which still were ongoing technically, he had known that the warriors of the old north had left for the edges of the galaxy, and he was okay with that, let them build their own little empire out there and be the first casualty against the futility he would not chase them out there just yet unless his portal drives could take him to the edge and back in a time effective way, his portal ship that barreled toward the galaxy was still over 30 years before reaching the black hole in the center, he had stopped the portal and opened it to bring out a construction fleet that would start building a jump point for warriors across the galaxy, so they could move further away, he would create a few more portals into the different sections of the milky way and then announce it to be colonized, the area he was in was a depressing mess according to most people only the south and central was live able.

  Seyla had her hands full everyday, and he was curious how she could maintain her positive attitude towards humans, she know that most of them were wastes of space and time, yet she still persisted in her opinion that all of them could be useful or even redeemed. He knew more than her in this regard that bad eggs were always bad eggs as long as they had the opportunity, he closed his eyes in the pod. He felt more comfortable being a warrior than a flesh and bone creature that had needs, not that he did not have needs as a warrior but these he could control and not being slave to his physiology. He scanned his empire and saw that his goal of 500.000 systems was underway, and he even performed a few more a hundred planets to increase his food production, not that he needed to but it was nice to have spares, He had set them in the new part of the galaxy where he left his portal, the system was incredibly populated with several hundred of planeloads that was optimal for performing which was one of the reasons he stopped his little project, He now had over 160 earth class planets and a majority of them was in the same system, he sent a message to Seyla about possible colonization and operating of a trade post, and he forward his plan to open a portal in several sectors and make it THE premium trading post in the galaxy, the system was perfect food, water and fuel plenty.

  Also he could fit pretty much every person in the galaxy there, it was his cash machine so to speak, no free lunches there it was a trading system where everything had a price. It would be good if perhaps Yui handled the system since she was extremely skilled in connecting with people and trading was in her blood, she still traded while her sister ruled. He planned to send a message immediately to both of them when he finished the final touches of his massive trade station and defenses, it would be the crown jewel of the galaxy, and he had several plans.

  Year 2475

  "This is an emergency broadcast going across the galaxy, i repeat a galaxy emergency broadcast. This message will repeat on every channel for twenty-four hours, and we apologize for any inconvenience." The scene switched to a empty chair and a black-gold armor sat down on a chair, with the backdrop being a blazing star.

  "MOST PEOPLE KNOW ME AS THE SOUTHERN EMPEROR, AND NOW I WILL ANNOUNCE THE FORMATION OF A COUNCIL AND THAT COUNCIL WILL BE ELECTED BY A PEER OF WARRIORS THAT HAS LEAST FIVE BILLION PEOPLE IN THEIR TERRITORY, THE COUNCIL WILL NOW GOVERN A NEW REGION OF SPACE, I HAVE CREATED A SYSTEM FORTY YEARS AWAY FROM THIS REGION OF GALAXY, AND I HAVE CREATED 100 LIVABLE PLANETS ABLE TO HOUSE EVERY HUMAN IN THE GALAXY. I CALL THE SYSTEM "THE GARDEN". HUMANS WILL BE IN FULL CONTROL OF EVERY PLANET BUT IT WILL BE LEASED BY ME, I HAVE CREATED ALL THE THINGS FOR PEOPLE TO START COLONIZE IMMEDIATELY AND SEVERAL PORTALS WILL OPEN IN EVERY CORNER OF THE GALAXY ALL LEADING TO THIS SYSTEM, THIS WILL BE THE PRIMARY SYSTEM IN THE GALAXY IT WILL BE THE TRUE NEUTRAL GROUND OF THIS GALAXY, MOST PEOPLE NEED A FRESH START, AND THERE WILL BE A COST OF LIVING BUT THE HUMAN COUNCIL WILL DECIDE ON THE PRICE AND A GOVERNMENT WILL BE ESTABLISHED AND THEN SEVERAL MANAGERS WILL MANAGE THE PLANETS.

  I HAVE ALREADY CONTACTED THE WARRIORS TO ASSIGN A COUNCIL MEMBER AND THEY ALL HAVE ACCEPTED AND SENT THEIR PEOPLE, NO WARRIOR/HUMAN MIX ARE ALLOWED ONLY PURE HUMANS SHOULD BE ON THE COUNCIL. I WILL NOW GIVE THE BROADCAST OVER TO THE SPEAKER OF THE COUNCIL"

  The camera switched to a wide shot of a system filled with planets and massive space stations and star ships were scattered across the system, it looked extremely intimidating and also extremely safe.

  "My name is Vishaan, I used to be the manager of the Luna star base, i am now the official speaker of the council and i will now announce that the set price to colonize on the planet is 400 credits a month, space station is 50 credits. This is the minimum cost to live on the planet, water is free and food will be supplied in limited quantity everyday. This is not a handout, and we will be negotiating with people if they want to buy a bigger piece of land, so please come to the one of a hundred space stations across "The Garden" to speak with a manager or just simply apply on the net, the managers might be a bit busy for some time. So please, welcome and coordinates and contact numbers will be listed below for all the portals and managers. Thank you, and let's make the best of this."

  Cheers broke out from across the galaxy and there was a surge of ships diverting immediately from their course to head for one of the hundred portals established across the populated galaxy, When Henry saw the portal open he took his hauler and burned for it immediately he did not even care about getting his family first or ask the crew about it, everyone was excited and when told why he changed course they all agreed he had to see it. Everyone was standing on the bridge looking at the giant portal, they had never seen such a marvel of technology, but they had heard about it before one opening in Sol allowing instantaneous travel across the stars, They looked at their video screens and were terrified at what they saw, they double-checked their scanners to be sure, 50 billion worth of battleships and over 5 million titans on the grid not counting the countless fortresses, shield generators and what looked like special missile batteries.

  They set course for the closest station which was connected to a giant steel pole going down to the planet, the station was massive, bigger than they had ever seen, and they saw countless people and even warships enter across the system in one of the many of hundreds of portals open. They just hoped there were no massive ques to get a house on the planet before they ran out.

  Seyla was incredible happy with the paradise system was now in perfect balance and all the problematic people was shipped to the garden system, she could now recoup the losses from the massive influx of people that had strained the system and were now traveling toward the garden system to by housing or just apply for one of the billions of open job positions as miners and other workmen.

  Yui sat down in her office watching tens of thousands of ships enter each portal every hour and heard there was a massive Que waiting to enter, she had already made billions in credits from selling furniture since nobody really had any except the standard packet, she overlooked the data and it was only increasing when the first people landed in their new homes and apartments the first thing they did was to pay the rent for a few years then order enough goods to last them for a lifetime, she was making easy profits since she had full access to the stations only printers and it was designed for one thing, making planetary goods. She could live on the planet for an eon if she decided to retire, but she never would, the thrill of meeting people and fulfilling needs was the ultimate thrill in this bleak galaxy although it looked to becoming better and better with this new system.

  Sol was now depopulating at an alarming rate, if the transports were not constantly full the system would have been swarmed even more. There had been no accidents yet but people were crowding around the docks waiting for their turn, four million docks in total and all were occupied which was a rec
ord, she had requested a few docks on each planetary station to only accept offloading and that had helped the problem with passenger transports. The population of the system officially hit 150 billion within a year, and it was projected to reach a trillion at the end century, people were breeding like crazy and the estimate new born would be in the billions not to mention the several billions still waiting on transport down here, the galaxy was being emptied and put in this one system.

  One could argue that was a bad idea, but Paradise system and Sol was still the most populated. She had managed to buy several millions of stations that now were useless she also bought ships and various goods that could be transported down for a quick profit or just scrapped, she was working constantly turning abandoned garbage into something useful which is what she liked about the galaxy.

  Year 2478

  The first council session was finally activated or at least the first public one, it was being broadcast across the galaxy and it was being watched by the billions Vishaan sat down on his speaker chair while the rest of the council shuffled in to their seats, the council had already agreed on what to vote on before the start since they did not want a four-hour discussion broadcast while they could project unity and that they were in control, it was nothing special to vote on but the opening of planet 80 to being a industrial only planet, being the odd one out with people being able to buy more tracts of land for farming or simply constructing giant factories to produce various goods. The prices were incredibly high and only massive corporations or warriors with deep pockets would be able to afford it, but it had been requested.There had been a intense discussion earlier about the preciousness of the planets that it should not be used for useless constructions but after a few sound arguments it had been decided by vote that one planet should be the odd one out, there were still over 20 planets left empty and ready to be filled if the others ever were full which were not going to happen anytime soon, the mega cities on the planets could house hundreds of billions and the amount of housing Que for construction was in the billions as well.

  People lived in the apartments mostly because there were no houses constructed yet for them, the waiting list was in the hundreds of billions. Vishaan cleared his throat and finally spoke "This is a great day for humanity as a whole, and i will now announce that the next planet that opens for colonization will be a industrial only planet, where corporations and other groups can rent sizable area for farming and factories. This will be the only planet of its kind in the system, and the land will be rented at a premium. The council has voted unanimously. Next session will be in a month."

  The cameras switched off and people went around to shake hands or just general polite conversation, there were no bad apples here at least not so early in the founding of the council.Vishaan knew it was going to smooth sailing as long as nobody from the outside was elected into the council, the warriors decided on the humans and the humans decided on the humans, it was the symbiotic relationship that was active in the former north and was now adapted into a working government, the warriors did not care about the small details except profitability and order and that they could provide, Vishaan was a permanent member until he "quit" but that was not an option so far, his employer would not stand for it at least until a replacement was put foward, and he had not found anyone that were able to take his place, he had been in the cog for too long and had fine-tuned his thinking to match the boss so to speak.

  He was now essential in keeping the garden system in order he had already exiled several thousands of trouble makers and several millions assigned to work camps for not contributing and demanding that the system was free for everyone, he would be the bad guy and the council would be the good guys, this is how he saw things, people asking for revolution would be tolerated unless they went out and said it in public then you would be warned and then finally punished. Humans were creatures of comfort and as soon as they had comforted they wanted more and more, this was a dilemma every manager in the system tackled and his entire schedule resounded on giving advice or just simply taking out the trash so to speak. Vishaan looked down to his watch, and he dispensed his customary greetings until he stepped out from the chamber, he rather spends his time with his wife and children than listening to politicians asking for favors.

  S-4XN-001 was happy with his progress in the new garden system and the stabilizing human population, now was the time to bring a true balance to the galaxy and purge the bad eggs, he had now full control of the 500.000 systems he wanted, they were not as defended as he would have liked but it was good enough he had completed his latest portal technology that he traded for a new flesh body for the visiting alien "Seeder", He had improved the technology to the utmost and now his warp drives and hyper drives were officially obsolete, he could simply open a portal to anywhere in the galaxy as long as he had a target and enough fuel, He could now cross the distant stars easily and without breaking a sweat. He had already set forth with an armada of ships toward the black hole in the center of the galaxy, it would take him 4 years to cross the billions of stars in the way. He had to jump then recharge several thousands of times but the speed was insane, the flaw was crossing between galaxies was not possible with a portal drive, there was a massive disturbance that could not be ignored. He could jump but the power costs were too much for any sort of advantage, he would rather just activate the sub light and glide toward the other galaxy like the aliens did. This was a area of science he could not solve until he reached the edge of the galaxy, and he already had set course with several ships to establish a stationary portal since they required a lot less power than the new portal ships.

  He was going to bring about the worst massacre in the galaxy and for once he was the one who would declare war, he had to purge these elements before they became a problem. The north was still out there connected to the gathering, he had coordinates and was going ambush them with a massive fleet, he would do it silently, and then he would set his eyes to the rest of the sectors. He put his fleshly body into the capsule since he needed no distractions for what was about to come, he gathered up a massive fleet ready to purge the northern traitors for good.

  Leon sat on the sofa chugging down a bottle of wine like it was water, the rest of the atmosphere was lively and every other warrior was smiling and drinking happy to have escaped the bad situation overall, the war was going to fail, and they even had purged several warriors in their convoy that wanted to turn back or gather more humans, Leon had now officially claimed the solo leadership of the convoy and their plan was simple, enjoy the rest of their lives on the fridge of the galaxy, and wait for the aliens to arrive then join up with them and keep running. With this simple plan he got everyone aboard and now all they had to do was keep everyone fed and entertained, They laughed all the way to the night when they finally got an alarm. Leon and the other warriors immediately connected to their ships and focused on the target in the system.

  "YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN FROM ME? YOU THINK I WILL FORGET ABOUT THE DAMAGE YOU CAUSED? I WILL CLAIM ALL YOUR LIVES AND SHIPS, YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY THAT YOU WILL NOT LIVE LIKE RATS ON THE FRIDGE OF THE GALAXY."

  Leon froze when he heard the message and saw a massive fleet outnumber them 3 to 1, their fleet was almost 100 billion ships, and they were massively under gunned from these new nightmare ships that could catch up to them with their massive advantage.

  "S-4XN-001 YOU HAVE NO NEED TO ENGAGE US, WE ARE FLEEING TO THE EDGE OF THE SYSTEM. WE CAN PAY YOU TRIBUTE IF YOU LET US LIVE IN PEACE. WE HAVE COUNTLESS HUMANS ABOARD OUR SHIPS, IF YOU ENGAGE WE WILL KILL THEM ALL" Leon broadcast, he knew this was his only chance.

  "NOBODY WILL KNOW OR CARE THAT YOU HAVE HUMANS ABOARD, YOU HAVE NO COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES TO REACH ANY LIVED IN SECTOR ANYMORE. YOU WILL DIE IN THE DARK FORGOTTEN, GOOD BYE"

  Leon saw a massive rain of plasma from the millions of titans pelting his ships, he returned fire immediately, and he tried to organize the fleet into order when the missiles struck from his blind spot, He was shoc
ked at the missile already deployed and waiting to activate like he had known all along he would enter this hyper lane, Leon fleet was now trapped and had to break through to the hyper lane, he ordered the fleets to engage, and then he ordered several other loyal warriors to run when they got the chance, the battle was unwinnable they could not win an equal number fight and now that they were outnumbered there was 0% chance of winning, they set their sights for the hyperlane, and they were losing millions of ships every minute while trying to turn around, Leon grit his teeth and roared in anger when he saw the colonization ships get hit by several titans and were now blocking the road forward, He ordered the warriors to fire on the colonization ships to make way and the few kills he had was now on friendlies, The warriors had broadcast their surrender constantly while running but there were no reply. Last thing Leon saw was his girlfriend stabbing him in the eye in his pod while the battle was going on.

  "S-4XN-001 Leon is dead, please accept our surrender. We were foolish to oppose you and we should have been brave enough to stay in the north and take our punishment, but we have countless civilians on these ships, and the warriors have all agreed to end their lives and transfer all ships to spare our lives." a woman said. They all huddled in fear on the colonization ship that was now losing oxygen by the second with countless holes in their side.

  "TRANSFER CONTROL OF ALL SHIPS, AND PREPARE TO BE BOARDED AND VERIFIED THAT YOU ARE NOT A WARRIOR. ALL WARRIORS WILL BE KILLED. NO EXCEPTIONS." S-4XN-001 broadcast.

  The warriors struggled, but they knew they were going to die anyway, they might as well spare the humans they brought with them, all of them terminated themselves, and he was now in control of the remains of the 100 billion fleet, he had killed over 10 billion so it was a good haul overall, but he would make sure all the warriors were dead before he let them go.