Something sounded in the dark behind him, probably a dripping stalactite. He was alone here beneath the palace.
“Goodbye Cleebians. Goodbye Mitsugawa,” he spat at the mention of their name. Yoji had been intolerably law-abiding, and his son was little better. Sophiathena showed promise, but chose the wrong side. Thanks to the bioscanners in Revenant Tower he now had them in his sights. “Goodbye—”
The sound again; it was a kind of gurgling, like a viscous liquid bubbling up.
With a frown he turned around and cast his eyes down on the cracked basin in the floor. Three-meters deep, it stretched out into the darkness of the cavern for twenty meters. He was quite certain from his research that it once held the Cephalon nanomachines that gave the Savorchans their power, but by the time Zalor gave him access to this secret subterranean temple all of the nanofluid was gone. It was no matter, he had plenty taken from Elmorus to make more Siren.
The sound again—it was definitely coming from the basin.
His eyes narrowed. In the dim light it was tough to see, but in order for that sound to be coming from the basin there had to be some kind of fluid flowing in it—or perhaps beneath it? Was it trying to bubble up through the long, jagged cracks in the floor?
He shook his head. It was no matter. Zalor was waiting, and it was unwise to upset that pompous asshole any more than his natural disposition inclined him to do.
Rega moved back toward his control console. He got three steps and stopped. A different sound, a slithering noise, now reached his ears. He turned around once again and moved to the edge of the basin.
Yes, there it was, something seeping in through the cracks. It was thick, perhaps some kind of slime or—
“What in the Void?” he whispered. The fluid was glowing faintly green. He would have missed it had the work lights been on, but he wanted no chance that any sign of his presence would make its way under the secret door leading into the palace. It was bad enough that woman followed him from the restaurant. He didn’t need any curious guard or—
The seepage became a flood before his eyes. It was stacking on top of itself, growing taller by the second.
Rega turned and half-ran to his console. He grabbed his hand sensor and aimed it at the rising, wriggling, wet mass.
He gasped when he saw the readout on the small box, then gasped again when he realized the mass was taking on a humanoid shape. In all of his years he’d never seen Cephalon nanomachines spontaneously come together like this, nor start to behave as they were. It was fantastic, perhaps some hitherto unknown property. Was it his equipment causing the anomaly?
The mass stopped flowing upward and pushed one of his pseudopod-like legs forward. Rega trembled with equal parts fear and ecstasy. He glanced down to make sure his scanner was recording every second of this behavior. He would analyze the results later. It could have many applications, perhaps—
The thing moved up under the lip of the basin and vanished from view.
The wet, slithering sound stopped.
Rega looked down at his scanner. In the readout it appeared that the mass solidified into a distinctly humanoid shape, but with something ballooning out behind it like a head-to-toe frill. With his heart racing, Rega peered over the edge of the basin.
His whole body went numb and he stumbled back, dropping the hand scanner to the ground with a clatter. His body followed as she rose out of the basin propelled by the long mass of her flowing, black hair.
His eyes went wide, taking in the tattoos covering her pale body, and the glowing, angry eyes.
“Hello, father.” His daughter’s hair placed her on the lip of the basin. “Did you miss me? Did you mourn for me like you did my mother? Did you even care I was dead?”
Rega’s mouth worked without speech.
Kiertah’s eyes flashed. Her long, black locks whipped around her body, reaching out for him, closing in on both sides. His mind told him to move, get up, run, but the message never made it to his muscles.
The ends of her black locks pointed at him like tens of thousands of needles and plunged forward.
He gasped as they penetrated his skin, tore into his flesh, and rent his organs asunder. Her hair secreted Cephalon nanomachines into his body. He felt them burning inside him, devouring him even as the green flames erupted from his pours.
He screamed.
Somewhere behind him someone called out.
“Doctor Rega? Suman?”
The last thing he saw as the fire consumed him was his daughter walking toward the secret passage that lead out to the city, with smooth, confident steps.
OS.EXIT
Appendixes
Cast of Characters
The Great Houses of the Confederation
House Altair
Baroness Brudah Altair
House Cronus
Baroness Hephestia Cronus
Heir-Representative Aurora Cronus
Baroness Sophiathena Cronus
House Dorsky
Premier Caspian Dorsky
House Keltan
Baron Cylus Keltan
Ben -Artificial Manservant to Baron Keltan
House LeRoux
Baron Hugon LeRoux
Baroness Delphine LeRoux
Heir Enéas LeRoux
Heiress Europa LeRoux
House Mitsugawa
Heir Mitsugawa Ichiro “Sable”
Mamiya Ryouichi –House Mitsugawa’s top retainer
Mizushima Kaito –Taisa (Colonel) & C/O TSS Musashi
Hamasaki Akira –Chūsa (Lt. Col.) & X/O TSS Musashi
Tanaka Kenji - Chief of Special Projects, Commander of Seika Zōsensho
Daldon-Fukui Reika- Captain of the Fukurō-maru
House Olivaar
Baroness Helena Olivaar (Revenant)
Heiress Pasqualina Olivaar
House Revenant
Baron Zalor Revenant
Doctor Suman Rega -Expert in the Cephalon civilization, xeno-archeologist & xeno-technologist working for Baron Revenant
House Vargas
Heiress Anica Vargas
House Xitar (Cleebian)
Baron Shisharav Xitar
Xarxshi Saeneiz –Baron Xitar’s personal bodyguard
House Zháo
Baroness Zháo
Non-House Affiliated Characters
Investigators
Praetor Nero Graves
Agent Sorina Khepria -Confederate Space Authority
Eckortaan Setha a.k.a. Kiertah Rega -Daughter of Suman Rega, adopted daughter of Chief Irin of the Savorchans
Captain Kaeden Faen
Rune Faen
The Nyangari Protectorate
Ambassador Rugor Shef
Guror Shkur Ithros
Reporters for the Spur Herald News Feed
Cygni Lau-Aragón
Ax’xoa Iai –Chief Editor of the Spur Herald
Ex-Star Corps
Lieutenant Androdameia “Meia” Roshani Ironstar
a.k.a. Meia Starblood
Iapetus
Abyssian Order
Daedalus
Praetor Prime Augusta
Praetor Modulus
Non-Affiliated Characters
Commander Val Armstrong -Armstrong’s Reivers
Sanul Mondu
Boadicea Euphrati
Biren Euphrati
Giselle Tauthe
Aratiach’Ila’Anaeriae
Glossary of Terms in the 25th Century Orion Spur
Term
Definition
Abyssian Praetor
Member of the Abyssian Order, a cyborg servant of Daedalus.
Aegis Field
Term for a series of energy fields designed to serve as a barrier, either permeable, semi-permeable, or completely repulsive in nature. Most typically they are comprised of overlapping dark energy and electromagnetic fields.
Anilon
Home world of House Keltan
Anti-matter
Grenade
Ākuha Blade
These blades are extremely sharp, low friction, and DLC (diamond-like carbon) coated. They have a carbon-nanotube edge that continuously sharpens itself using arc-welding style technology, either built into the blade itself or built into the scabbard. They are in wide use in the Taiumikai colonies and take their name from the Japanese for arc-welded blade.
AlCas Drive
System of Faster than Light travel involving the warping of space-time around a ship. It is much slower than neutronium powered FTL drive but does not require a planetary mass to function. Has limited use in the Confederation but is very popular in the Sagittarian Republics.
Arcology
A self-contained, self-sustainable, floating fortress and home environment favored by the barons of the Tri-Terra Republic. They are now considered status symbols, but largely archaic and out of production.
Armacorium
A form of cybernetic armor implanted in the skin with morphic and chameleon-like abilities.
Artificial
Short for “artificial person” or “artificial soldier” etc. -A synthetic being built from silicon-based cells to resemble a living being (e.g. an android). They typically have polymer skeletons beneath the silicon flesh, and a substance called “Silocar” flowing through their veins (see Silocar). They are ubiquitous in Confederate society.
Athenaeum Crystal
Form of solid-state storage for data using the molecular structure of a specialized crystal.
AU
Astronomical Unit – the distance between the Earth and its star, Sol
Automadoc
Short for Automaton Doctor (artificially intelligent doctor robot)
Autosub
Short for Autonomous Subway – a popular form of mass-transit in the Confederation of Sovereign Systems
Barons &
Baronesses
Title for the CEO of a major company or corporate entity. Barons also get automatic membership in the Barony (see Barony), and function as part of the government.
The Barony
1/3 of the Confederate legislature. It shares power (in theory) with the Sovereign Council and the Office of the Premier, but its total control of the Confederate Treasury makes it the primary government entity.
Bani Tree
Tree native to Isinar. Has a peppermint smell and emits pheromones many animal species find soothing.
‘Bot
Slang for robot
Breather
Membrane
Adhesive membrane that fits over the repertory organs of the host organism and either filters or recycles the air in harsh environments.
Broghite War
War started in 36:7 CST with the deaths of the ambassadors to the Broghite Commonwealth from the Confederation- the Keltan family.
C-37
An aerospace light cargo vessel with memory-polymer wings. It is the most ubiquitous aerospace ship in the Confederation, with both civilian and military models.
Cephalon Sphere
Moon-sized neutronium spheres made by the ancient “Cephalon” species capable of transporting matter across large distances instantaneously
Cerberai
Genetically engineered canine organisms. They are about as intelligent as an average teenager. They come in many varieties.
Cerebral
Computer
a.k.a. CC
A silicon-cell, neural-fiber computer that sits between the meninges of the brain, or directly on the central-nervous system, with neural-fiber links into the central nervous system of the host organism. They provide cognitive enhancement and link the host to external systems able to receive its electromagnetic signal.
Chonmage
Traditional Samurai-style hair, including a topknot style queue
Cleebians
Dominant species of the Greater Cleebian Prosperity Sphere noted for their mathematical abilities and lack of empathy for other sentient life. They have a capitalist economy, like the Tri-Terra Republic. They are considered an elder space-faring species who has had an interstellar empire for a thousand years.
Confederate Space
Authority
a.k.a. CSA
The CSA is the federal law enforcement branch of the Confederate government. Answerable to the Office of the Premier, it monitors citizens, prosecutes crimes, and serves as an interstellar intelligence agency in both the Spur and in the Cyberweb. It has various divisions, like the Cybercrimes & Forensics division, that carry out specific functions.
Confederate Time a.k.a. Space Years
Confederate time is a timekeeping system developed to be the same regardless of local timekeeping customs. It was developed by the Solans and the Cleebians after the Quae-Sol War. It has standardized units and its own calendar. The year consists of 500 30-hour days (hours are the same as Earth hours) divided into 10 months of 5 weeks each. It is primarily used by Spacers and on official documents.
Confederate
Star Corps
Name for the military machine of the Confederation. It is sub-divided into various branches, among them the Star Jumpers and the Confederate Star Force.
Confederation
of
Sovereign
Systems
Conglomeration of five sovereign star-nations; The Tri-Terra Republic (Solan/human, VoQuana), The Cleebian Greater Prosperity Sphere (Cleebian, Achinoi), The Galaenean Unity (Galaenean), The Relaen League (Relaen), The Isinari Equalitarian Republic (Isinari) and unofficially The Savorchan Tribal Sovereignty which has no governing powers at this time (Savorchan).
ConSov
Short for Confederate Sovereign, the official unit of currency in the Confederation of Sovereign Systems.
Cyber-Evolved Lifeform a.k.a. CEL
A being that has been so altered by cybernetic technology that it can be considered a cybernetic sub-category of its parent species. They are illegal in the Confederation.
Cyberweb
A term for the Confederate digital environment network—the Internet of the 25th century. It can be linked with in a variety of ways and supports virtual environments as well as very high-speed communication. Due to the limits of interstellar communication, each system has its own Cyberweb, as does every planet, every ship, and certain pieces of technology. Confederate citizens rely on the Cyberweb for nearly every life activity they engage in.
Cyberweb Protocol Address a.k.a. CPAd
A way of identifying locations, individuals, and devices in the Cyberweb. A digital address.
Delgrix
Species of six-limb quadrupeds (4 legs, 2 arms) from the Sagittarian side of the Confederation.
Democratic Labor
Party (DLP)
The DLP is the political party of the working people of the Confederation. It enjoys support from the majority of the populace living in big cities and settlements, and from a select group of barons. It is the chief rival of the Mercantile Party.
Digital Incarnation
One’s representation in cyberspace
Dorgar
Home world of House Olivaar
DS-109 Combat Drone
Humanoid robotic combat platform in widespread use by the Confederate Star Corps for ground operations. Considered a support unit for biological troops, it has a quadruped mode that can be used for transportation.
Eagle
Military slang for a member of the Confederate Star Corps’ space navy. So named for the symbol of said division: an eagle clutching a five-pointed star
Environmental
Suits a.k.a. E-Suits
Typically, skin-tight or nearly skin-tight suits made of insulated, shielded smart-fiber polymers to allow the wearer to survive in harsh condit
ions, including vacuum. They have a hood component with a built-in breather membrane and a 6-hour air supply in a low-profile air tank.
Exit Zone
Area around a star where it is considered minimally safe for a neutronium-antimatter powered FTL drive to exit an Einstein-Rosen Bridge
Fastcrete
A very quick-drying concrete-like substance used in modern Confederate architecture
Farber Tree a.k.a. Anilonian Farber Tree
Tree native to the planet Anilon. It has extremely dense wood and makes for an excellent construction material.
Feast of
Paraximos
A celebratory holiday held on Anilon.
Fleshrider
One who uses the Cyberweb and cerebral computer technology to electronically inhabit the body of another sentient being. The practice is illegal in the Confederation.
Gaianism
Religious order broken into two main sects, the Naturalists and the Evolutionaries. They share a belief in the sacred nature of life and the spiritual nature of the universe around them. Naturalists believe in keeping the body and environments pure, Evolutionaries believe in controlling nature and their own evolution through technological manipulation.
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