Acusiont
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| Joined: 17 Oct 2009 |
| Total Posts: 33414 |
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| 15 Mar 2014 11:58 PM |
Chapter VI The Obscured
“We are all pawns in the Game of Chess.”
I stood on top of the cliff, watching as my vast armies moved in to capture a city that had not bowed before Siatia. My velvet cape flapped in the wind, wrapping itself around me. I had one leg up on a rock, examining the battlefield unfolding beneath me. The sounds of war brought an unnerving peace to my mind, to my soul. Explosions roared behind me. The artillery, I thought. The skyscrapers of the city started to crumble. Missiles dropped on them, crushing them. Fire shot out in all directions from the points of impact. “Danger close” was a fool’s warning. Dust spread out among the landscape as the giant buildings hit the ground. The screams were carried to me through the wind, now going fairly strong. A faint smile touched the corners of my lips as the screams were cut short by bursts of gunfire. I welcomed the smell of Death openly. Death was no enemy of mine. We welcomed each other with open arms, greeted each other like old friends. In fact, that is exactly what we were, old friends. It seemed as though Death had just let out a breath on the city as it filled with the dense, dark smoke of fire, the buildings destroyed, burning, being purged. This was just one of the many cities on the large number of planets which had failed to surrender to Siatia. Now it was facing the consequences. The Siatian Soldiers rolled over it, pulling citizens out of houses, rounding them up as prisoners.
Hours passed as I stood there, gazing upon the scene below. The city seemed to have a thick blanket be thrown over it as the Army moved out of it, marching all of the prisoners to prison ships which would take them to the Camps. In these camps, each prisoner was put to harsh work, be it in agriculture or the wood industry. I backed up a foot, straightening up. My work here was done. It was time to move on to the next planet which had failed to listen to the Siatian Parliament’s demands.
Footsteps approached from behind me. As I moved to turn, a hand fell on my shoulder. It was Ardus.
“Nice of you to finally join us, Ardus,” I said. “Too bad you missed all of the fun.”
“Well, you know me,” he said, grinning, “I was never one for fun.”
“That may be true,” I started, lowering my voice, “but what will the soldiers start to think when their Acusiont always shows up after a battle? If it were me, I would think of him as a weak leader, one who does not have the skill nor courage to join my soldiers in the line of battle.”
“What would you know about fighting? You always watch from an overlooking mountain, standing there. I have yet to see you join them on the battlefront.”
“That is different. I lead these soldiers. I live in the same conditions as them for months on end, leading campaigns to purge the enemy from our universe. I rally them, raise their morale. I plan out every operation that takes place within this Army, while you sit back and watch, sipping your tea. What would you know about war?”
“I know that it ravages our lives, yet we continue to practice it, taking over these people who have tried to remain independent, enslaving their people, demolishing their cities, ruining their lives. I know that it tears families apart, sending children barely out of school to foreign planets, the possibility of death looming overhead at all times, yet we continue to practice it. I know that it is the worst thing that can happen to the universe, destroying planets, solar systems, and entire galaxies, yet we continue to practice yet. Now what do you know about war? You know that you conquer these defenseless citizens homes, destroying their world as they knew it, just because I give you the order. But it’s not my choice. It’s not my choice to do this. This is so much bigger than all of us, yet the soldiers don’t know it, you don’t know it. If you knew what I knew, you would not be standing there like that currently. You would be shocked at the horrors a few men can unleash just by giving the word. We are but pawns in this game of chess. The Intergalactic Game of Chess." With that, he walked away, not letting me utter another sound.
With the destruction of this city, who’s name we hadn’t the slightest clue, we moved on to the next planet. This one I did not feel up to the task of invading the planet. I ordered the troops to stand down. I sent a message down to the planet, specifically saying that they had one more chance to surrender or they would face immediate destruction. I gave them twenty four hours. After the time passed, they sent a message back, assuming we were bluffing, saying that they would not surrender their independence to terrorists. Sighing, I ordered one of the shells that the Siatian scientists had developed to be shot at the planet. This shell was the size of a submarine torpedo and supposed to be able to cover a planet in fire, killing everyone and everything on it. However, it was untested. This would be the perfect time to test it. Loading it took four people hauling it into the missile bay. Once in, an all clear was given to fire it. I had the honor of doing so, shooting it with the hit of a red button. We caught a single glimpse of it on its way to the planet. After a few minutes of waiting, a small spark could be see on the planet. Slowly, it began it spread its way around the planet. Indeed, it was burning the planet to a crisp. A scientist nearby started writing furiously what he was observing the effect the weapon had on the planet. After he nodded to me that he was done taking notes, I ordered the fleet to turn around and head back to Siatia to refuel and rearm.
On the way home after months of conquest, I pondered over what Ardus had told me. Someone above him, pulling the strings? How could that even be remotely possible? Ardus always seemed to be in control of everything. Just the fact that there was a chance someone was telling him what to do frightened me. Maybe sleeping on it might shed some light on the situation.
I woke up to explosions. The fleet was ordered by Ardus to stop at this random planet, far off the route to Siatia. I threw on my Admiral robes, rushing to the bridge. As the door to my quarters was about to close, I remembered my saber. I turned around quickly, stopping the door with my hand. I swung it open and quickly made two strides across the room to the opposite side, where my decorative sword, which was extremely tenacious, was held on the wall. I exited once more, stopping by the armory to grab a rifle. Soldiers had already begun to pour in and out of the armory doors, arming themselves. The rooms and halls were bathed in red light. I grabbed a rifle from the cabinet on the wall, only two left after I took mine. I checked my side hostler for my officer pistol, making sure it was loaded and ready. Once I had rifle in hand, I moved to the bridge, where smoke was pouring out of many consoles. I put my rifle to my side, quickly moving from station to station, attempting to figure out what was going on.
An ensign walked up to me and said “Sir, the Bolivians are attacking us. They are attempting to establish themselves as a dominant force against our Federation.”
“Let them try,” I replied, “None have been able to withstand the brute force and strategic attacks that we have led on numerous planets throughout the Universe. The Bolivians are weak opponents. They have tried this hundreds of times already. They are no challenge to us.”
“But, sir, someone has supplied them with weaponry. They are using technology that is almost as great as ours on us. We have no idea where they got them.”
“So? That makes no difference. Do what we do best; destroy.”
“Yes, sir.” The ensign walked away, returning to his station.
I took my seat at the helm of the bridge, calling orders out to all of the crew. We were completely surrounded by the enemy. We had three destroyers, a frigate, a carrier, and a Capital ship, the one I was currently on, left. I saw the debris of the rest of the fleet scattered around the battlefield. The enemy consisted of ten destroyers, five frigates, and seven carriers. The enemy was swarming us, aiming for vital areas of the ships. A buzz came from the communications center. It was a message from the commander of the Bolivian fleet.
“What? Do you expect me to surrender?” I said as I answered the message. “You and I both know that I would never surrender and my crew will stand by me to the death.”
“Ah, I’m not here to force your surrender, nor your death. I am here to deliver a message. It goes something like this. Ardus Kaine is a traitor to the Siatian people. He purposefully led your men into a deathtrap, my deathtrap. He is unfit to be a leader, expecting that you would try to usurp the crown from him. He has been draining power away from the Parliament for months, giving it all to himself, giving himself sole authority of Siatia. He-”
“Before you continue any further, do you have any substantial evidence to back up this claim? Ardus is one of the most trustworthy people I know. Why would he suddenly turn on his own people?”
“You have no idea who the people who are above him are. There are very few of them, but those who are are the most influential people in the universe.”
With that, the communication ended with a buzz. The Bolivian fleet started to withdraw, satisfied with delivering the message. I took a long look at the planet. Sighing, I walked closer to the viewport, hands behind my back. I walked slowly, full of grace. This is the second time someone has told me that there are people above Ardus. I still found it hard to believe. I knew the fleet would barely last any longer in its current condition. I immediately called for engineers to assess the damages. I sent out scavenging vessels to see what could be salvaged from the wreckage. In the meantime, I had the fleet land on the apparently uninhabited planet. Once the engineers assessed the damages, I set them to repairing the ships.
The planet was covered in an icy climate, being billions of kilometers away from the lone star. Somehow, it still had a breathable atmosphere and we set up a large camp with many fires burning brightly. A harsh blizzard left our visibility low enough for us to barely be able to see the ships from the few meters away we were. The camp lay silent, save the quiet chatter among the crew. I stood in my Admiral robes, them blowing in the high winds. This must make an amazing portrait, I thought to myself, smiling slightly. The winds blowing my robes against me, the snow surrounding me. The engineers finished repairs within hours of our landing. We were ready to take off back into orbit. I marked this planet on my starmap, thinking that it might make a good place for an outpost in a year or two. I shouted orders to the crew, cutting through the blizzard with ease, to load up. We put out the fires, then loaded all of our gear back into the ships. I took my position back at the helm of the bridge. We took off, shooting into the atmosphere. As we exited the atmosphere, enemy ship signatures appeared. Hundreds of ships were waiting for us outside the planet. Our scavenger vessels were nowhere to be found.
I sent a message to the commanders of the other ships. “Commanders Irev, Gefik, Selid, Firet and Astrie, full speed ahead. As soon as you are clear, hyperspace to Siatia. Stop for nothing. I’ll stall them.”
Then to my own crew, I said over the intercom, “Soldiers, it has been a pleasure serving with you. You have truly been the most loyal soldiers, the most trained soldiers, I have ever fought with. Divert all power to the weapons systems. Load up the Kinetic Rods.”
All of the Kinetic Rods were loading into the missile bays. These were the weapons that had burnt the planet, essentially destroying it. As the last was loaded, one of the missile loaders gave me the all clear. The other ships in my fleet began to shoot ahead of me. I increased speed.
“Commanders, divert high amounts of power to forward shields. It might get bumpy.”
I flipped open the shield covering on the red button. My finger shook as I lowered it, just barely placing it on the button. I pushed it. All of the Rods launched at once, scattering out over the enemy fleet, who was now firing upon me. Everywhere on the ship, the hull was falling off from the onslaught. The missiles hit, exploding with deadly power on impact. Fire shot out in all directions from each missile, destroying most of the ships. The fire engulfed my capital ship, melting the hull that was not taken off by the enemy’s attack. Immediately, I shot us into hyperspace for Siatia. The ship began to rattle, barely able to stay intact from the attack and the fire.
You can’t kill me... I thought as we made our escape. The jump to hyperspace had used up the rest of the power, with the attack I launched taking up most of it. We were running out of power fast and we still had a long way to go. I got up from my position at the helm of the bridge. I walked slowly to my quarters, planning on getting some rest before having to move on to the next target after refueling and rearming on Siatia. The fleet had taken a major blow in a couple hours, barely making it out alive. As I got to my quarters, I opened the door. I took off my Admiral robes, getting into my nightwear. I got into my bed, falling asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow. I woke up a few hours later when a knock hit my door. I got up, putting on my formal robes, reserved for ceremonies and important occasions. I put on the medals and awards I had gotten in the few months that I had been a part of the Siatian Military. I opened the door. An officer was waiting. He saluted as I opened it.
“Sir, the construction master is awaiting your commands to begin rebuilding.”
“Tell him I’ll be right down.”
“Yes sir.”
I moved to the ship construction yard, where the laborers were hard at work, trying to rebuild the fleet. The construction master waved me over, and I went to where he was. “Sir, how many ships do you want me to build?”
“As many as you can. Thousands of frigates. Hundreds of destroyers. Dozens of Capital Ships. Tens of thousands of fighters. You have full authorization from me to withdraw any and all money you need to build this fleet from the Federation Treasury. If anyone attempts to stop you, tell them to talk to me about it.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll get to work on it right away. They should be done in less than a year with enough workers.”
“Fine by me. Send me a message when you finish.” The workers immediately got to work, making my tremendous order of a fleet to put all others to shame. The ships would feature the best technology that the Siatian scientists could develop with the trillions of crowns in the budget to manufacture the strongest weapons.
While these ships were under construction, I got to digging for information on these people who were supposedly above Ardus himself. I traveled through the capital to the National Archives, hoping that there was something there that was hidden in plain sight. I was granted access to almost all files in the archives with my Levion status. I dug through the thousands for filing cabinets, along with the files stored in the database of the computer systems, for hours. The total number of files I had searched was approaching a million and I had yet to find a shred of evidence that pointed in the direction that someone was above Ardus. I grunted in frustration as file after file yielded no answers. It had been twenty hours since I had entered the Archive and hundreds of people are come and gone, yet I had not found anything I was looking for.
After another hour of searching, I gave up on the search. I replaced all the files and shutdown all the computers I had accessed. This search was proving to be considerably more arduous than I had previously anticipated. These people, if they even existed, had removed themselves from all records. Their existence is unknown except to those who they have worked with. I needed to go right to the source to figure out who they are.
I proceeded to the Royal Palace, just over a mile away from the National Archives. The palace was exquisitely decorated with the most elegant works of art, from statues to paintings. Each piece of art was worth billions of crowns. The guards saluted me as I walked up the stairs to the grand door, covered in diamonds and gold. I opened it easily, even under its tremendous weight.
Inside, a buzz of activity hit me. Hundreds of senators conversed around the room, moving from group to group, trying to decide on bills to submit to the Acusiont in hopes of being passed. The conversations died down as I walked down the magnificent hallway to the other end, where the Acusiont sat all day, running the Federation. They stared as I opened the door without even knocking, walked through, then slammed it shut behind me. The talking recommenced with the closed door. “Who are they?” I said before Ardus had time to react to my presence. “I found no files on them in the database and National Archives. Who are they and how are they completely unknown?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Ardus replied. “Guards, please escort the Levion out of this room.” The guards moved to restrain me and take me out of the room. I threw a knife into both of their chests, never taking my eyes off Ardus. The knives burrowed into their chests, knocking them backwards to the ground. They hit the ground at the same time, dying instantly.
“Tell me who they are,” I said, walking towards him slowly.
“They call themselves The Axiom. They have been the only people successful in erasing themselves in history. There are three main members of it. They are referred to as Gamma, Beta, and Alpha. There are many more by many other names, but they do not have nearly the influence of these three. To get into this organization, you must give up your past entirely, burning, removing, destroying, all evidence of you having existed.”
“Where can I find them?”
“You can find them by searching where the end began,” Ardus said in a riddle.
“‘Where the end began’? What the hell kind of game are you playing, Ardus?”
“I told you before. We are all pawns in the Intergalactic Game of chess,” he said, pressing a button on his desk, opening a chute beneath him. He was gone, and I only had a riddle to go off to find The Axiom.
I walked out, the conversations had gone completely out as they saw the look of frustration on my face. I had left the door open and the two guard bodies were visible from the ground. They stared at me as I walked away, not knowing what to do. I exited the palace, thinking hard on what Ardus had said. You can find them by searching where the end began... What the hell could that possibly mean? Where the end began. The end...
I stopped dead in my tracks. The end! Of course! I knew the one place I would search first to find them.
I took command of a single transport, then took it out of the atmosphere, shooting into hyperspace instantly. I had put in the coordinates for my home planet, Stariek. It had been devastated by the Arcadian forces just one and a half short years ago. I had not seen it since then, and I never thought I would be coming back. This is where the end truly began. If not here, I have two other places to search. After five hours of continuous travel, I came out of hyperspace. The planet had become overgrown in wildlife in the almost two years that humanoids had been eradicated from the planet.
I entered the atmosphere at a high velocity. Fire spread out among the hull of my ship as the air in front of it compressed quickly, creating an extreme amount of heat. I did not worry about the fire. The hull had been reinforced to withstand even the hottest temperatures. I flew low over the planet as I got closer to the ground. My first stop would be to visit Mornage. If there were a secret organization, that is where they would build, even if it were more or less destroyed.
As I flew to where I had last seen it, I got worried that The Axiom might not be there at all. I crested over the last mountain, followed by a gleaming from a newer looking building were Mornage once stood. It must have been over a thousand meters high. The building looked as if it had just been finished. It was clean from the foundation to the highest point. As I flew towards it, missile launched from a window, straight at me. I dodged them, speeding up and going around the building to the bottom. I landed, quickly getting out and going to the door. Guards burst out the door. Five of them at once, then another six. They surrounded me, guns in the air. Their armors was a darker grey, with the same color masks and helmets.. They looked like mercenaries. A twelfth person came out. This one had no mask or helmet. Just a simple military officer cap displaying three stars in the front. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the General said. I just realized my hand was slowly grabbing the pistol at my side. “You wouldn’t even be able to get one shot off before our bullets tear through you, killing you instantly.” I relaxed my arms, putting them to my side. I slowly unclipped my gun belt, held it in the air, then dropped it to the ground. Once it hit the ground, I kicked it towards the general, who picked it up.
“Now, what are you doing here?” he said.
“I’m here to see The Axiom.”
“You’re kidding, right? You want to see the people who we were paid extravagantly to protect? Are you crazy or just stupid?”
“Actually, I’m not as stupid, nor crazy, as you think. I could prove to be a very valuable asset to them, as well as you.”
“They’ll be very displeased of us bringing in an outsider without reason...”
“Then capture me,” I said, holding out my hands, “Tell them you took me prisoner, then leave me with them. I’ll do the rest.”
The general seemed to be debating it. “Fine,” he said after a minute of silence, “but if I get in any kind of trouble for this, it’s your head.”
They brought me up a series of elevators. We seemed to be going to the top floor. After an hour of continuous upward travel on an elevator, it slowed to a grinding halt. The elevator door opened quickly. The general pushed me forward, closing the door without coming out. I looked around. It was pitch dark across from me. An whisper echoed across the room.
“Who’s there?” it said.
Fires lit up up and down the room, lighting it up. Three figures sat in hooded robes at the far end of the room, at an elevated position in stone thrones. I slowly walked towards them.
“My name is Xaleyp Vah’Aris. The last surviving member of the Vah’Aris Royal Family, the previous rulers of this planet. I am a Levion of Siatia. I have led Siatia to intergalactic domination under the command of Ardus Kaine, who is the one who has led me to you three. I assume you are Alpha, Beta and Gamma?”
“We are,” they replied to unison. The middle one stood up, apparently the eldest of the three. “Come closer...” he whispered. I could tell that he was probably nearing the end of his life. “Let me get a better look at you...” I did so, going as close as I could and still be able to see him.
“You look like a hardened soldier... One who has seen the death of many men...” he said. “You do not look like the young mercenaries guarding this facility, who have seen no real combat.”
“I have executed two of the most prominent leaders of the universe. I have destroyed entire worlds. I’ve directly and indirectly killed billions of people. I led the Siatian Fleet to domination across the universe. You could say I’ve been around.”
“Why is it that you are here, young one?”
“Ardus had told me that you three are the main members of The Axiom. That you three are the ones who have truly led the Siatian Federation.” Another one of the three stood up.
“We have indirectly influenced Ardus to make choices that benefit us,” it was a woman. Her hood draped over her head, shading her eyes. Her voice sounded like a choir of angels singing. Her face that I could see was beautiful. “Is that a terrible deed? We are doing what we see best to lead the universe one step closer to peace. We are doing what we see best to prevent deaths from military conflicts.”
“I never questioned your purposes of doing it. I just came here to say... I want to join you.”
“It is not simple to join us, boy” the older one began. “You must give up your past life entirely. You must remove any and all evidence that you were even born. Once done, you have to remove all connections you have to people outside the order. We have been able to maintain secrecy for hundreds of generations. We do not want an outsider ruining that for us.”
“Trust me, it would be very beneficial for me to be in the order. I can bring the military power needed to maintain peace in the universe, which is what you want after all, isn’t it?”
“Our goal is not to force the universe to peace. It is to influence it to peace. Military force is unneeded to shape the future. However, we will let you join. You have a week to remove any and all records of your existence. Good luck.”
My heart began to race. I turned around to the elevator, hitting the button. It came to me, and I climbed in. It felt as if the cord suspending it had broken as it plunged to the bottom floor of the massive building.
The same mercenaries escorted me out of the building, leading me back to my ship. They practically pushed me into it, sending me on my way. I shot out of the atmosphere into the empty space, slowing to a stop. I drifted through space, the female Axiom stuck on my mind.
[-The Truth-] [-Epsilon-] |
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