《Silently We Dream》 Prologue-Questions Thanks for checking out my fiction (if that¡¯s what you''re here for ;) ) I am pretty new to this whole writing thing, so I would happily take any constructive criticism. I hope you guys can enjoy my story and give me feedback. I would also appreciate if you would wait for a few chapters before really picking it apart, but other than that enjoy! June 7, 7624 C.E. When we first left for the stars we knew what we were, and where we came from. Humanity; what we were in the beginning, would always look at the stars in wonder. We looked to the stars with a sense of purpose, sometimes it was our only anchor that kept us from facing the desolation that we caused in our small world. Maybe the thought of knowing what¡¯s out there presented a buffer. In the year 2646, humanity first started the tests that make what we are today. Cybernetic implants and genetic augmentation. We pushed our bodies to the limits with flesh and machine accomplishing what every biological organism dreams of. We prolonged our lives and could live for thousands of years death was a distant thing for us. Eventually, we melded with biotechnology and became something else entirely. We had no limits, nothing could contain us. We were better in every single way, every field advanced to unprecedented proportions. By the year of 3257, we had realized that our small world could no longer contain us. We had ravaged our planet through numerous scientific advancements and war, one that stands out the most would be the FTL drive. With the FTL drive, we were able to leave our small planet and expand into the vastness of space. We became the Mihr, the new and better humanity. We expanded to numerous planets and eventually we had the ability to colonize our entire galaxy. Everything was at our fingertips we had the capacity to do anything. But we were not alone in our galaxy, and being the selfish, arrogant and conceited beings that we are, we decided that we were the rightful rulers of our galaxy. Our entire being changed, we went from a peaceful race that put discovery and progress above everything else to Monsters, fueled by desires from millennia ago. We wiped out entire civilizations and species that resisted us. Spreading through the galaxy like a raging fire incinerating everything that resisted us. The plasma burns from orbital bombardment still exist on many planets to this day. I took part in it all as it continues to this day. And occasionally when I look to space I can almost hear the echoes of all that we destroyed. Illogical considering sound does not travel in space, and it is merely a manifestation of my...guilt is the word I believe. But enough of our downfall into madness, the current state of the galaxy is a bleak one in my personal opinion. Nearly all life similarly advanced as us that did not submit to us has been eradicated. Some interesting species did manage to escape from us, how...we do not know it is still a mystery. But all questions have answers we just haven¡¯t found it. We are en route with the Fleet of Silent Advance to the outer rim of the galaxy to eradicate a rebel species that has eluded us for many years. But there is only so far they can run because no one escapes death. Stolen novel; please report. My team¡¯s mission is to secure a rebel base and retrieve any useful information about the rest of their races whereabouts. We are to spare nothing. My name is H-1793 and my team''s leader, we are assigned numbers at birth as names are only given to those that mean because a name itself is meaning...purpose. I do not know my purpose, radical thoughts such as purpose are often purged from our minds at an early age. Alarms start to ring through our loadout area, the sound jostles me out of my thought and I jump in my seat knocking my Accelerator Rifle to the floor. Blue lights flash through the entire deck as we exit FTL, the light is baleful and not comforting in the slightest, I think to myself as I pick up my rifle. ¡°Team one, we have dropped out of FTL prepare for hot insertion¡± a monotonous gender neutral voice rings out. Maybe here at the edge of what we know, I will find some answers to my questions¡­ I look to my left and see my team is as jostled as I am. Our team is as follows, O-0014 who for lack of better term, is a friend that left training with me, He is tall for our age of 18 Cycles. He has the distinct characteristics of our people which are extremely pale skin and neon eyes. Characteristics that our species developed after large amounts of time in space. His are green in color and the majority of our people have white or black hair his particular color is white, but there are other color variations also results of natural and artificial changes. The rest of my team consists of P-1137 and E-2649 who are farther down on my left. We all stand-up and feel our combat skins conform to our bodies, following is a quick weapons check. We walk down the narrow corridor to the right of us with the bright blue lights flickering around us coupled with the ringing of the alarms in our ears. We near the end of the hallway and a few meters ahead of us is pressurized airlock that will be our exit point once our ship breaks atmosphere and gets close to our goal. Beyond the door, I know what I will find...what I will hear. It will be the same desperate faces that try time and time again to resist as they fight us with determination on their faces, but fear in their hearts. The screams of the dying and the lost will fill the air, adding to the emptiness of the vacuum when I look out the window into the void. ¡°Team one prepare for engagement we are thirty seconds out.¡± The same monotonous voice sounds through our comms. The blue lights that have been flickering for the past few minutes come to an abrupt stop and the alarms cease to ring. The momentary silence is appreciated I like having these moments to prepare myself for the carnage I soon face, the silence is a comfort that few enjoy. ¡°Team one you are clear for advance¡± the voice that still carries the same dull tone rings out in our heads. The airlock hisses and opens with a whooshing sound and the familiar sound of plasma artillery and explosions rings through me. As we run out into the carnage a thought occurs to me. Maybe I will find purpose soon enough, cause after all doesn¡¯t every question have an answer? Chapter 1-Mesmion June 7, 7624 Rebel Planet, Mesmion When I step out of the airlock I am blinded from a plasma shell that explodes nearby, I quickly recover and make an observation of the terrain. The sky is a blood red color with black clouds swirling. The ground is jagged and distorted burned black with glowing red spots peppering it, evidence of a recent bombardment. Our destination is still two kilometers ahead of us. I attempt to issue commands to my team over the massive explosions of the aerial battle taking place above. ¡°O-0014 take point P-1137 and E-2649 cover the flanks I¡¯ll take our six!¡± My team quickly enters a loose formation and sprints for an outcrop of rocks. I crouch with my shoulder leaning against a particularly large rock, my team taking defensive positions around me. Switching to Evaluation Mode on my visor I peer over my shoulder to view what we are up against. My visor highlights all enemy targets red, I can clearly see six tight formation ten-man units and two bipedal walkers armed with disintegration arrays. Behind them on a plateau is the bunker we need to reach, defended by an anti-air particle cannon. I turn back to my team and relay the information, they all nod their heads and prime their Accelerator rifles. I look to P-1137 on my right, ¡°There is a path leading to higher ground 58 meters ahead of us. I need you to disable the disintegration arrays on those walkers or they are going to tear us apart. We can deal with the particle cannon shortly¡± P-1137 nods his head in response and sprints to the path. ¡°H-1793 I would like to make a suggestion in regards to our plan¡± O-0014 asks from behind me. I turn around giving him confirmation to continue. ¡°I believe the best course of action would be for E-2649 and me to flank on the far left to pull the main units, allowing you a window to punch through from behind and deal with the walkers.¡± ¡°Are you positive that you can handle a force that size? There is minimal cover in that location¡± I reply confused to the direction of his plan. O-0014 nods his head and pulls out a sphere with glowing blue lines pointing to the enemy formation and continues his plan. ¡°Affirmative, we can disrupt their sensors with a Disruption grenade, they won¡¯t be able to locate us.¡± I look again at the enemy force having minimal doubts but it solves our problem. Now it all depends on if P-1137 can take out the walkers array systems. I hear a small and light beeping sound through my comm. system. The transmission is from P-1137, it seems he got into place without any issues. I lift my finger to the back of my helm and connect to the transmission. ¡°P-1137 reporting in, sir I have reached the location with no issues and have visual of the walkers¡± P-1137 sounds off with a confident and steady tone. ¡°Wait for my signal before engaging¡± I reply. P-1137 confirms the order, I then turn to E-2649 and O-0014 who seem ready for the complex fight ahead of them. ¡°Are you both ready P-1137 is in position and has a clear view of the walkers¡± I question turning to both of them? They both nod to me and activate their cloaking systems disappearing from sight, moving quickly and efficiently to their location. I re-engage the transmission to P-1137, ¡°We are ready to fire when you have a clear shot.¡± I do a quick sweep of my gear, my goal is to disable the walkers to do so I need to access the glass window or hatch on top of both walkers, killing the pilots to take them down. I have my rifle, an energy blade, and two Magnetic Implosion grenades. This is a difficult situation with no margin for error. I hear two rapid and loud sonic explosions from a Matter-Implosion rifle from P-1137s location. The two walkers stumble forward from the impact, with smoking blue holes gaping from the capacitor near the lower back. The enemy units are startled from the sudden explosion and look to the ridge where the sound came from, a few of them fire and energy beams destroy the rock face where P-1137 was sniping from. I quickly check his status and his icon is still green, his condition seems to be well luckily. Just as I finish inspecting P-1137s status I look up to find the enemy unit organized and moving to the cliff. Most likely expecting a large force engagement unfortunately for them, O-0014 and E-2649 are already in position and enact their part of the plan. I see two small glowing blue spheres flung over a small grouping of rocks heading directly for the enemy units. Each grenade splits into three separate seekers heading for an enemy unit of their own. The grenades explode directly over each formation heads causing a disruption pulse to enter every display and communication system. To them, it seems like there are enemies surrounding them and none of their communication systems work, allowing no way to organize the mass. Most of the soldiers start to fire energy rounds all around them, the result of confusion and disarray. Truly a marvelous grenade, perfect for small team operations giving us the upper hand of the situation. O-0014 and E-2649 proceed to fire wide orange energy beams into each formation, incinerating every individual they touch. Some aren¡¯t completely vaporized and have parts of their bodies fall to the ground, their wounds are instantly cauterized and no blood falls. Only the smell of charred flesh and burnt metal coupled with the screams of the dying fills the air. The units are in disarray and this is the perfect window for me to move in and disable the drones. I make a high jump over the rock I was leaning against, sprinting for the walkers. I need to act quickly the walkers will only be stunned awhile longer until the capacitors can stabilize themselves. Sliding my rifle on my back, I flip over the heads of several enemy individuals twisting my body through beams of energy barely avoiding serious injury. Simultaneously I disengage the two grenades on my thighs and priming them. Making an improvised landing I charge to the drones with the grenades in hand. The walkers have nearly recovered and are showing signs of movement and weapons activation. I throw one of the grenades at the leg of the walker directly in front of me, then throw the other grenade at the last walkers damaged capacitor. Two high-pitched and fast-paced beeping sounds go off and both grenades detonate. The first walker stumbles sideways crashing to the ground. The last one falls forward with the entire back blown open. I unclip and activate my energy blade nimbly jumping on the glass window of the first walker giving me a full view of the pilot. Looking through the glass I can see the pilot frantically attempting to regain control of the drone. When he sees me land on the glass he stops what he''s doing and makes eye contact with me. I hesitate for a moment as I look into his eyes, I see fear and despair staring back at me. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! I shake it off and stab my energy blade into the glass and slice it open, the pilot yelps and stumbles for a sidearm near his feet. I lunge forward and plunge the sword into his chest with a searing sound being released. The pilot stops and gasps from the pain, he looks into my eyes with anger and longing before the light of sentience fades from his eyes, leaving them dull and empty. An energy beam whizzes past my helmet slightly lowering my shields, I yank out my sword sideways leaving a sizzling wound in the first pilots chest cavity. Spinning around I look for the person who fired at me and I see the second pilot out of his walker, he is breathing heavily and has a serious plasma burn on his back disabling him greatly. He screams at me in rage and continues to fire blue energy beams at me, I sidestep every shot and close the distance between us rapidly. I appear in front of him in moments and pierce him with my sword, the gun falls from his hands but he makes no sounds of pain; what is a stab wound compared to your entire back being charred and exposed after all. I hold him upright and search his face looking for the same emotions, his is different it is pure rage and contempt. Death comes in many forms and takes on many faces in my opinion. He opens his cracked and chapped lips to whisper some words that I almost miss. ¡°Your entire race *cough* will burn for the pain you cause¡± his eyes still contain the same rage but it dissipates like the first. I slide my sword out of him and his body collapses to the ground, I contemplate his words with mild unease. Turning around I behold the battlefield before me. Bodies litter the ground and the smell of seared flesh fills the air. I look at the faces of a few corpses whose expression are twisted from the pain they experienced before they passed. I see a male and a female holding each other with a gaping hole still sizzling between both of them, it disturbs me how they look at peace but at the same time in so much pain. I step over the bodies and head towards my team''s radar pings when I feel something grab onto my foot. I look down curious as to how someone could still be alive. I see a male looking up at me gritting his teeth from the pain, distorting his blood caked face. His entire lower half is missing, I''m amazed at his determination to survive. ¡°I won¡¯t let you harm them..¡± he spits out a mouthful of blood and grits his teeth swallowing down the agony. ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU! YOU BASTARD¡± He screams! Before I can say anything I hear an Accelerator rifle discharge, the male disappears in a flash leaving behind only a shadow burned into the ground. I look up to see my three teammates running towards me and O-0014 rifle still smoking from the recent discharge. O-0014 and company stop in front of me and make a quick salute. ¡°Sir, all enemy units have been eliminated we are clear to proceed with the mission.¡± O-0014 reports in. ¡°At ease, everyone scale the rock face when we get to the top fire on the particle cannon''s energy flux. We need it down ASAP or else we can forget about getting out of here¡± I look to each of them as I say this. They all nod understanding the seriousness of this matter. I turn around looking to the top of the plateau, I can¡¯t see anything at the top but I know the particle cannon is situated on top of the bunker. I lower my body into a sprinting position and engage overdrive on my armor. I feel my muscles bulge and my sense sharpen, my combat skin expands and takes on a more domineering look. I can¡¯t stay in overdrive for long it takes a massive toll on the body, at maximum I can hold this for 5 minutes. The rest of the team does the same, feeling ready I sprint for the rock face leaving a small crater in my wake as I cover tens of meters with each bound. I near the plateau in seconds making a massive leap I soar into the air, latching onto the wall I dig my fingers into the rock shattering some parts of the wall with the impact. I nimbly climb up the wall my team avoiding the falling rocks caused in my wake. We acrobatically flip over the top and ready our rifles firing on the energy flux floating in a magnetic field at the center of the cannon. The field gives away to our relentless assault and the flux explodes, the cannon gives off hot plasma gas and multiple coolant cells explode. A blinding flash ensues and the main gun of the cannon falls to the base with a loud groaning sound. A few more minor explosions occur but we proceed to the bunker door regardless. The bunker door is a large crystalline metal door capable of withstanding immense heat and is sturdy on the molecular level. Faint green lines of energy pulse in a geometrical pattern throughout the door signifying that the lock is still holding strong, and results in a major pain for us. Our gear can¡¯t cut through this door at all, nothing short of an Anti-Matter warhead could rip through the shields and plating on this. Brute force definitely won¡¯t apply in this situation, I look at the door searching for a terminal and find one to the left of the door. I walk over to the terminal and look it over, not finding any opening that I can bypass. The door operates on an eye scanner not any eye will do I need to use one of the leading personnel eyes. I turn to my team frustrated with this ludicrous obstacle ¡°Search this area and bring me the lead personnel corpse.¡± They all fan out and search for any corpses in the immediate vicinity. I sit idly for a few minutes and stare at the large red sun in the distance. ¡°It really must have been beautiful..." I say to myself. The sun now only adds to the morbid atmosphere of the planet. I can see some of our destroyer class ships bringing themselves to a low orbit and start to blast away the cities peppering the land in the distance. I wonder how many lives were lost in these few seconds¡­ My thoughts are interrupted by the return of my team, E-2649 has the corpse of what seems to be the lead personnel with access to the door. He throws the corpse to my feet, I walk to it and grab the corpse by its neck. The back of the head is exposed blood and brain matter falls out when I lift it slightly. Dragging the corpse over to the door I pluck off his eyelids and push his head into the eye scanner. The terminal beeps and is followed by a hissing sound from the door, as the green lines dim and fade the door melts into a liquid and falls away. We proceed down the dark hallway, water drips from condensation formed on the ceiling. As the lights on our combat skins fade into the dark a thought occurs to me. The male who grabbed my foot. What did he mean by ¡°I won¡¯t let you harm them¡± we killed all the defenders already, didn¡¯t we? Chapter 2- The Bunker June 7, 7624 Mesmion, Bunker Facility Walking down the hallway all I can hear is the clinking of our metal boots against the floor, and the dripping of water. I look to my radar and we seem to be in the clear, no enemy personnel anywhere. Continuing on we finally exit the hallway after a few minutes or so and enter a large room. The room has minimal lighting and seems to have three separate hallways forking off in different directions. ¡°E-2649 which way is the data terminal¡± turning to him? E-2649 does a few scans attempting to pick up stray pings. ¡°Sir, the terminal seems to be on our left. Down the hallway, there is another small room which seems to be where they keep their hard coded data. I nod and we proceed down the left tunnel. In a few moments of walking, we enter into a smaller room than the previous, multiple databases line the room with a center console in the middle. My team does a quick check to see if anyone could be hiding and we find nothing. Confirming we are in the clear I head to the console to retrieve the data. The data console is slightly pulsing with warm streams of energy. The console is a biotechnology; meaning I need to directly integrate with it. On the top of the terminal is a slot for a hand, I insert my hand into the opening and feel me nerves integrate while a warm liquid surrounds my hand. Once I am connected to the terminal I feel data rushing to my brain, it comes extremely fast and I can¡¯t read all of it but I pick up bits and pieces of an item they have inside the bunker. From the data I can pull it has massive amounts of energy, enough to completely destroy this galaxy. I¡¯m completely shocked by this data my spine tingles in shock. We must retrieve this item at any costs it would mean the end of the Milky Way. I quickly disconnect from the terminal with our new primary objective insight. ¡°We need to move now! E-2649 search for any energy spikes locally we have a Tier 1 threat!¡± My team stiffens at my words, a Tier 1 threat is a galactic wide threat extremely serious and has never been encountered since the beginning of the empire. ¡°Sir, what''s the emergency? What are we looking for¡± E-2649 looks at me startled by my outburst? ¡°We have no time search now I will explain once we secure it¡± I explain! E-2649 starts scanning while the rest of us remain alert refusing to relax with this new threat at our doorstep. ¡°Sir, I have picked up some sort of energy signatures near the bottom of the complex¡± he pauses momentarily, ¡°But I''m also picking up... life signs?¡± ¡°Life signs? How many are they military? What are we up against? I ask confused by this new info. ¡°I''m not sure I can¡¯t pick up any energy signatures that relate to any known weapons, only the one strong signature near their location. There also seems to be around forty humanoids I can¡¯t get an exact count because they are clustered¡± he replies, just as puzzled as I am. ¡°Very well, let''s move we need to secure that area and identify the life signs. Let''s move double time!¡± I call out as we break into a sprint heading for the bottom levels. It doesn¡¯t take us long to reach the bottom levels with the rapid pace that we sustained. What we find is a door similar to the entrance of the bunker but isn¡¯t constructed of the same material, it''s something we can cut through easily enough with our energy blades. P-1137 gets to work on the door quickly slicing through the metal plating. In a few seconds the door falls down with a crash, I hear multiple cries of alarm from the interior of the room. Walking into the room what I find shocks me, I can¡¯t help but stare with wide eyes. They¡¯re all civilians. Numerous men, women, and children are clustered together staring at us with fear-stricken faces. I feel my gut churn knowing what we will most likely have to do. I don¡¯t wish to kill civilians that can¡¯t fight at all. This is wrong I don¡¯t want to execute these people¡­ They are DEFENSELESS! No, what we did from the beginning is wrong, but this¡­ This is something else entirely, I don¡¯t want all this blood to fall from my hands. ¡°E-2649 open up a channel to command I wish to request orders on how to deal with this¡± I whisper quietly to him. I must try to avoid killing these people, a moderated planet would be better than death. ¡°Sir the channel is open and I have transferred it to your skin¡± E-2649 informs me. I connect to the channel to ask for orders about our current situation. ¡°H-1793 of Team 1 requesting orders, we have found civilians near the objective. What should we do with them?¡± I ask, feeling cold sweat on my back guessing the answer I will receive. ¡°Terminate them. We have no resources to spare for a civilian evac¡± my commander replies back coldly, without a care for his words in the least. ¡°But sir the-¡± My commander cuts me off ¡°Are you questioning your orders? Execute the civilians and finish your mission or I will have you imprisoned.¡± he answers back in the same cold tone. I grit my teeth in frustration, terminating the transmission I look to the people who have still not moved whatsoever. Before I can relay the orders to my team I see one man walk towards me. His child a small female no more than fives cycles, crying in despair as he sets her down. The man steps in front of me and looks into my helmet searching for my eyes. If only he could see them... ¡°I can guess what you''re here to do¡± he whispers to me in a solemn tone, ¡°I would like to ask for last words for all of us, I know you people don¡¯t give a damn but-¡± he breaks into tears and looks back to the small female. ¡°My daughter is all I have *sob* please let me give her my love¡± He looks to me with a tear-streaked face and his body trembles as he desperately pleads. I feel my facial muscles twitch at his pleas. I feel myself getting sick, I know I''m not allowed to do this we are Mihr after all. But I don¡¯t give a damn about protocol at this point. I will let this man have his last words. ¡°You have two minutes hurry I shouldn¡¯t allow this in the first place, but I respect your determination,¡± I say to him in a clenched voice. He thanks me and runs to his daughter. Everyone seems to guess the situation and says there last goodbyes but I can¡¯t tear my eyes from the small scene in front of me. To me the whole world seems to be revolving around them, I can¡¯t help but listen closely to their conversation. The man is kneeling on the floor holding his daughter tightly in his arms, tears streaking down both of their faces. ¡°Baby, I will love you no matter what happens. Remember that daddy will always be with you¡± he holds his daughter tightly and slightly chokes his words. The little girl looks into his face with fear, confusion, and sadness. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Buh daddy *hic* wha happening?¡± the girl asks her parent between hiccuped sobs. The man smiles at his daughter and puts her small hands into his slightly rubbing them, for comfort I can assume. ¡°Baby they are going to send us to Mama,¡± he tells her trying to console her. But I can see his true emotions, he is no different than the girl. ¡°Mama,¡± she asks with a hiccup? ¡°Yes we are going to see Mama again, I''m sure she will be so proud of her brave little girl.¡± He cries to her. The time is up. I slowly raise my rifle my team following suit. My breathing is harsh and erratic and I can feel my fingers hesitating over the trigger. The sobs and screams intensify as we raise our weapons. I take one last look at the father-daughter pair to see them hugging each other tightly both sobbing. I steel myself and issue the command to fire. I can feel the warm energy coursing through my weapon as streaks of energy are fired into the mass of sobbing people. My heart wrenches as I see loved ones take shots for each other and the mothers covering their children only to pierce right through them, taking what they hold most dear¡­ I drop my rifle to the ground lifting my trembling hands to my face. I resist the urge to vomit from the atrocity I have committed. How can we do this, that man on the field was right we are nothing but monsters¡­ ¡°Move to the energy signal, I wish to stay in this grave no longer¡± I whisper to my team with a trembling voice. My team hesitates and looks at me they are just as sick as I am, we were born soldiers and indoctrinated to fight the enemies of the empire, but there are no enemies here just people that wanted to live. As we walk to a door where the signal strength intensifies, I take one last look at the pair of two innocent shells. The father is still holding his daughter tightly but there is a gaping plasma wound through both of their chests. I burn their faces into my mind never to forget their cries for life. Steeling myself we proceed through the door to the item. Entering through the door we enter a large cavern. It seems that this bunker was built around it, there are intricate patterns decorating the wall giving off an ancient feeling. At the center of the cavern, there is a single pillar standing only a meter high. On top of the pillar, there is an orb that gives off a warm pulse with the same runes decorating it. ¡°Sir this artifact seems to be the item that we are looking for¡± E-2649 reports to me. We proceed to the artifact and I am hesitant to pick it up. But from the readings I am getting the energy is contained inside and should pose no harm to me. Picking up the item I can feel a pulse similar to a heartbeat and the artifact glows slightly brighter for a second. I secure it to my lower back and we leave the cavern by a service elevator. When we reach the service we exit on what appears to be another smaller plateau behind the original bunker. I look again to the red sun that illuminates the world and I can see smoking craters still burning dotting the landscape. They must have finished the bombardment, I can¡¯t help but think of the father and his daughter and imagine the multitudes of similar scenes. I signal command and they dispatch a troop ship to our location. I set-up a laser beacon to notify the pilot of our location. They arrive shortly and we board the ship taking off into space. When we reach command I hand over the artifact to a team of researchers who run off with it to discover its secrets. We are told to head to the commander for a mission debrief before our return to Vadrion the Mihr capital world. Arriving at the bridge of our ship we pass through operations and head to the commander''s quarters for our debrief. Ours debrief finishes soon and I pass the data to our commander who in turn archives it for later review. ¡°Congratulations on a mission well done. We will be returning to Vadrion in a few days after we finish terraforming this world for a new settlement. When we arrive at Vadrion your team will escort the artifact to the council who will decide on its means. Until then I suggest you get some rest, it''s been a long day for all of us¡± finished with giving us our new orders he dismisses us. We leave the bridge and my team wishes to go and get something to eat, I decline and they go off on their way. Proceeding alone I return to my quarters, I feel too sick and disturbed to consume anything. My quarters are the average size standard issue for all combat personnel. I remove all my gear and take off my combat skin lastly and mount it inside my gear locker. I sit down on my bed in only my jumpsuit contemplating everything that has occurred in these few hours. I have had enough death and destruction for the rest of my life¡­ I put my head in my hands and can feel warm tears slightly trickle down my face. I lift up my face abruptly I have never cried before, I can¡¯t stop these tears no matter what it hurts too much thinking about the numerous scenes today. I look out my window and see the void staring back at me. As I look into the void the screams start to come back to me and fill my head. This always occurs to me after a mission but not to this degree. I have never executed defenseless people with my own hands, the events from today have only intensified the sounds. I can¡¯t erase the father and his daughter holding each other in their last moments. ¡°AHHHHHH!!!¡± I let out an anguished scream, standing up I throw a punch at my wall denting the metal. I fall back down on my bed and bury my head in my pillow attempting to silence the cries. ¡°I don¡¯t want this anymore..¡± I whisper to myself, ¡°I''m not a monster I don¡¯t want this life, I have no choice¡± I continue to mumble. The faces of the civilians start to fill my mind, their faces filled with despair and tears, their anguished cries permeating my mind. ¡°DON¡¯T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!!¡± I scream out. I scream a little while longer and I can feel myself starting to collapse mentally. I hate everything I don¡¯t wish for this life. Numerous others deserve life, I can never repay what I''ve done. I refuse to kill another, I think to the escort mission and a plan starts to form in my mind. I won¡¯t be able to restore the lives I have taken but the least I can do is prevent more from being lost. When we arrive at Vadrion I will stop this artifact from falling into the councils hands¡­ No matter the cost. Chapter 3-Decisions June 10, 7624 Vadrion I wake to the beeping of my alarm, sitting up in bed feeling extremely groggy from the events last night. I swing my legs out of bed to see the time is 0947 hours. I need to get ready quickly getting something quick to eat along the way. We should be at Vadrion, my team is the escort squad for the artifact. I head to my shower to decontaminate myself and suit up. I need to be completely geared for this in the case of intel leaks or the like. But I think it''s ironic considering how I''m the security but pose the biggest threat. If they indeed use the artifact as a weapon I will destroy it no matter what. Hopefully, they don¡¯t even know what it truly does, the only thing we should know so far is that the energy it contains could destroy this galaxy. I hope that''s not what its true purpose is. I finish with my shower and head to my gear locker to retrieve my gear. Opening up my locker I find that my old combat skin is missing and is replaced with a new one. I look to the door of the locker and find a note. ¡®For a mission well done, you and the members of your team will receive the new Monolith I gear. Your set of four is the only ones in existence, take care of them. PS: H-1793 your set if specifically modified take a look at your earliest convenience - Commander Ypse.¡¯ I crush the note in my hand''s rage burning in my eyes, the commander can burn in an energy storm for all I care. Job well was done; the killing of the unarmed is a job well done I don¡¯t believe this. The combat skin is not active sitting in the form of a cube. I put my jumpsuit on then pick up the cube, I place it against my chest and it activates conforming to my body. I feel much stronger in the Monolith I gear, I grip my hand making a fist, feeling power course up it. Looking into the mirror I can see the many cosmetic changes. ¡°Much more intimidating than my last set.,¡± I say out loud. The armor is black with parts of my jumpsuit showing underneath. There are lines going throughout the suit in an intricate pattern, silver energy fills them giving a stark contrast to the armor and jumpsuit. The helmet is the most interesting part by far, my eyes glow silver with what seems to be another pupil within that''s constantly shifting shape, a targeting tool I guess? From the eyes flows four lines which blend in with the rest of pattern. ¡°My hands are clawed as well? Interesting,¡± I say while inspecting my hands. I go to pick up my blade which also seems to be new. ¡°Too bad I liked my old one, never let me down.¡± I pick it up and rotate it in my hands a few times, looking it over. The hilt is slightly curved with the same energy lines coursing through. The bottom part of the hilt is disconnected and floating near the end of the blade. Turning it on it activates with a hissing sound burning the air that occupied its space. The color of the blade is the same silver hue with a white outline, I turn it off and lock it on the magnetic strip on my thigh. Turning to my rifle which is the only thing that''s not new, interestingly enough and clip it to my back. ¡°Alright, time to get a move on,¡± I firmly assert to myself. I turn around to give my room one last look before I seal the door. The door shuts with a hissing sound and I proceed down the hallway. Looking out through the window that goes the length of the hall I look at space, looking at the stars. ¡°You could¡¯ve been so beautiful... Worry not I will give you peace,¡± I say solemnly. I take the lift down to the research deck to retrieve the materials. Entering the research deck it is completely made of glass with crystalline metal as the support frame. I see the head officer wave at me from the analysis station. I head over getting small looks of attention to my gear, understandable considering no one has ever seen something like it. ¡°I see that the gear is operational, use it well and defeat all of our foes,¡± He says after giving me a quick one over. ¡°Now onto this artifact, It is ancient and does not originate from our galaxy. The elements that compose it have never been seen before and the energy it contains is unbelievable,¡± He says with a certain fascination. ¡°Is that all you understand about it? I included the energy it contains in my report?¡± I say puzzled. ¡°The energy is interesting enough, but what it''s capabilities are is the key. The artifact acts as a doorway, using it we can open space to a higher dimension. Allowing us to travel beyond the confines of our galaxy,¡± Awe filling his voice as he gazes at the artifact. ¡°It can also be re-programmed to be used as a weapon but that is insignificant compared to its true capability,¡± he continues. I feel dread fill my heart. The magnitude of this has increased a billion fold. Not even our fastest ship could leave the galaxy within a reasonable time. With this, our empire would spread throughout the universe, and the fact it can also be used as a weapon is even more insane. The researcher looks at me with an almost crazed look in his eye, fantasizing about its glory. ¡°Take this soldier, bring it to the council you will be the herald of a new age for our empire,¡± he forces the artifact into my hands. I tightly grip the artifact and look at it in dread. I should destroy it now but I must wait, when we bring it the council hopefully I can end them as well. No, I will end them I made a vow that I will uphold. I put the artifact in a case designed to hold it and mask its energy signature. With the artifact in tow, I go to get some food and locate my team. Our transport will be leaving in an hour taking us to the Citadel of the Council. I enter the lift my destination being the mess hall. When the doors of the lift open I enter the hall which is filled with personnel of different positions acquiring the daily meal. Food for our people is different from other species, we only require one meal a day that consists of all essentials. But it is laced with energy supplying the Genesis coursing through us. The Genesis is a self-replicating artificial particle that attaches to our DNA, developed thousands of years ago it allowed us to become what we are now. It eliminates genetic defects and purifies the sequence, it also allows for new adaptations and what we call Neo-evolution. Neo-evolution is when the Genesis adapts to new energies and changes allowing for us to adapt to anything. I grab my food ration which looks like a simple white bar. ¡°I wish they would add color, at least it would be interesting,¡± muttering to myself. My helmet retracts and I eat the small bar that has literally no taste, only texture. Finishing my bar I stand up to locate my team, I jump back startled when I find them behind me already information. ¡°You three should¡¯ve at least alerted me to your presence,¡± I say exasperated. They look at each other and shrug. Their gear looks similar to mine with different colors of energy coursing through it. O-0014 energy lines are red, P-1137 yellow, and E-2649 has orange energy. ¡°Sir, we are ready for deployment. May I ask the details of our mission?¡± O-0014 questions with a salute. ¡°We are to deliver the artifact to the council and protect it with our lives. This should be relatively easy and we have no room for error whatsoever,¡± I say with utmost importance. ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± they salute. ¡°Alright let''s move to Starboard Vehicle Bay our ship leaves in twenty minutes,¡± I call out. My team follows closely behind and we enter the lift to the transport. The Vehicle Bay is massive with troop transport ships, tanks, drones, walkers and multiple other machines of war. There are multiple depots but this is the largest, and sees the most action. Are transport ship is a Predator class speed ship, fastest troop transport in the galaxy. It has cloaking capabilities, high energy particle cannons, and phase shifting abilities. Truly one of our most versatile ships. Once we board the ship we are on our way to Vadrion in moments. Exiting the ship I look out the window as we zoom past the stars. Soon enough our home comes into view. Vadrion is located inside the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. The rest of the galaxy has no idea where our world is, most of them have no idea it''s possible to exist inside a black hole. We discovered many years ago, that a black hole is its own pocket dimension where almost anything can exist inside. Vadrion is the sole planet inside of the black hole and is akin to paradise. A light that shines in the dark. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.¡°It truly is our crown jewel,¡± I say to myself as we speed towards the white planet. We stop pass multiple Metus class battlecruisers to pass on our security codes. Our final checkpoint is the orbital defense platform, which is capable of destroying a star on its own. ¡°It really is futile to resist us, we don¡¯t even need to use weapons of mass destruction on other races. Instead, they defend one planet,¡± I sigh. Breaking through the atmosphere we pass through golden clouds floating on a white sky. I look down out the window to catch a glimpse of the ecumenopolis bellow, I was born and trained on another inner world, few soldiers are allowed to see or even set foot on Vadrion. ¡°Woah, it''s massive,¡± I hear E-2649 say next to me. E-2649 is right, the city is massive it spans the entire planet. Silver buildings touch the sky and spiral endlessly downwards. Strange beasts soar the sky and civilian transports dot the horizon. The most intriguing part is that it''s built into the planet, natural things such as forest and lakes are part of the design. Even the ocean is part of the city. ¡°It is beautiful,¡± I whisper to myself. But, just because a monster is beautiful doesn¡¯t change the fact that it''s still a monster. Our world is amazing in every definition of the word, but what about the others...What about the thousands of others that will never see life. Or the billions of lives annihilated by us. I can¡¯t help but clench my jaw in rage. ¡°We are nearing the Council¡¯s Citadel, prepare to disembark,¡± the pilot notifies us. We disengage our seatbelts and stand up facing the exit platform. The platform opens and wind flows around us slightly offsetting us. The citadel is a few hundred meters away and sits atop the mountain like a crown. It is made of a pure white stone, with golden windows framed in silver with an energy beam shooting throw the top, for what purpose I do not know. We land in the courtyard the leads directly to the Council Chambers. We disembark and our transport flies back to orbit with a sonic boom that echoes throughout the citadel. Turning back around I observe the garden that surrounds us. The plants all glow faintly and look like they''re made of molten metal. The petals on many look like jewels and they bring a strange sense of comfort to me. ¡°I see you appreciate the garden, seems you aren¡¯t completely mindless,¡± A figure clothed in white, with a golden face mask steps out from behind a silver tree. ¡°I am Israfil High Council member of the Mihr Empire,¡± announcing himself with a nod of his head. ¡°Lord I am H-1793, my comrades O-0014, P-1137, and E-2649 ready to serve,¡± We all get on one knee and lower our heads as he approaches. ¡°You may rise numbers, maybe you will earn yourselves names if we see fit,¡± He says quietly. ¡°Do you have the artifact?¡± he inquires. ¡°Lord this servant thanks you for your generosity, we have brought the artifact,¡± I say as I hand him the case containing the artifact. He opens it and the light of the artifact illuminates his face. I can guess the expression he is making under the mask. He closes the case and beckons us to follow. We follow him through the massive golden doors and to the Council Chambers. The hallway has veins of white energy running through the walls, illuminating the many paintings and sculptures. They show all of our achievements as a people chronologically. We reach a large silver door at the end of the hallway, with white energy forming a pattern decorating the door. Israfil places a pale hand against the door, and it deforms into a liquid flowing away. The council chambers are styled like that of a small amphitheater, with three thrones designated for the High Council, the remaining seats are for the remaining thirty council members. The members of the High Council both have golden masks similar to Israfil, and the thirty have masks of silver. ¡°Israfil why do you bring the Numbers? They are not worthy to walk these halls,¡± a female voice calls out from behind the left golden mask in disdain. ¡°I agree they are tools this serves no purpose,¡± a male voice from behind the right mask calls out. ¡°Anael, Elyon I deem them worthy because of their actions, if not for them how would we have found such a prize,¡± Israfil answers them. A pedestal rises at the center of the room, Israfil places the artifact on top of a silver cushion crowning the pedestal. He then proceeds to take his seat between Anael and Elyon. ¡°Numbers we thank you for your service, you have brought a new age unto the Mihr Empire, you will be remembered for generations for your service,¡± Israfil voice rings out majestically. ¡°For hundreds of years we of the High Council have searched for a way to expand, now the key has been brought to us. With this we will expand throughout the universe, guiding the lost and bestowing order upon them,¡± Israfil continues. ¡°This galaxy has been cleansed, it is our duty as a people to purify the universe, It is our responsibility, to guide all life onto the straight and narrow path. No more will they squalor in the darkness, for the light has been given to us,¡± Israfil proclaims for us all to hear. The council applauds his speech and I feel my heart fill with dread. ¡°It seems there is no other choice¡­¡± I whisper to myself. ¡°H-1793 what are you doing get back on your knees,¡± O-0014 says attempting to pull me back down. I shrug him off and walk towards the council. ¡°Number! How dare you rise, who do you think you are?¡± Anael commands me from above, rage permeating her voice. I continue to walk forward my gaze set on the artifact, the image of the father and his daughter flashes through my mind. I see them tightly gripping each other with tears wetting their faces, as plasma sears their flesh. I unclip my saber and it activates with a hiss. ¡°YOU WOULD DARE TO DRAW A WEAPON HERE!¡± Anael screams at me! ¡°AHHHHH!!¡± I scream out as I charge at the artifact. I won¡¯t let them rob the universe of beautiful souls any longer! I leap into the air and descend on the artifact my saber humming as I swing it downwards. ¡°NOOOOO!!¡± Israfil screams! My saber descends upon the artifact but, when it''s a few centimeters away a bright energy engulfs the artifact trapping my blade. I feel energy course up my arms and a bright flash explodes from the artifact, knocking everyone in their room to their backs. ¡°RAAHHHH!!¡± I scream out as pain sears my body. It is unbearable I feel like I''m being skinned alive by an energy saber. The light intensifies and I feel everything start to distort around me. In one final flash, I close my eyes and a whooshing sound fills my ears, I feel disoriented like I''m being thrown around in every direction. My vision clears in a few moments, and the sights before me make me forget about the pain. Thousands of stars are zooming past me, I fly by numerous stars, nebulae, planets. I see things moving in the dark, massive creatures of unholy proportions and things I can¡¯t even comprehend nor explain with words. ¡°Wha-¡± before I can say anything a planet comes into focus. Blue and green like a beautiful gem shining brightly in the night. In moments my body is being hurled through the atmosphere, fire surrounds me and the artifact. But the powerful shield provided by the artifact keeps it from harming me. A forest comes into view and I am hurtling towards it at unknown speeds. Dread fills my heart fearing the impact. I slam into the ground and my vision becomes white, my head is ringing and my body feels destroyed. ¡°Ugh. That was a terrible,¡± I mutter to myself. My vision clears up soon enough but my head is still ringing. The shield seems to have taken the brunt of the blow thankfully. My icon is still green confirming I have no injuries, But I feel like I¡¯ve been hit by a spaceship. I lay on my back and look up at the stars dotting the night sky of the strange planet. ¡°Ah..It seems you are truly so beautiful,¡± I whisper. I am on an unknown world seemingly far away from any Mihr space. I have upheld my vow to the stars, they won¡¯t escape the Milky Way anytime soon. ¡°H-1793 is dead¡­ I am no longer a number, I will make myself anew,¡± I declare. ¡°I am Amesis, the named. I won¡¯t let anyone feel the dark, I will be the light for those that have none. I will be HOPE! This I declare to the stars,¡± I take my solemn vow. My vision becomes cloudy and consciousness fades from me. I drift to sleep in an unknown world under an alien sky, not knowing what it has in store for me.