Methuselan

I’d been sitting in the dark for days. Not one ray of light from a seam in the wall or crack under the door illuminated the darkness. I’ve lived near three millennia, I’ve seen the stars fade and reignite through the sacrifice of my race. I’ve been counsel to the most powerful human leaders and now I sit in this dark dank prison, awaiting a fate that will befall my captors.

They’d found more of the dreaded artifacts. We’ve warned them against trying to exploit the power within them. They have ignored us, again. I find it difficult to concern myself with their affairs. Though I fear the ramifications of a new release of the flux energy at this juncture. We’d even go so far as to share improved and safer technologies to help reunite the empire. They were not satisfied.

The cold floor and walls pressed against my body. The sensations I felt were by choice. As centuries ground by I’d learned to focus on blocking out pain and discomfort. Which is a boon when you’d found yourself in a prison camp for two hundred years, while our alien conquerors systematically annihilated ninety percent of the human race. I envisioned the water vapor swirling through the darkness from by breath.

Focus.

I waited days more before the knock on the door finally came. The two men who spoke had such rudimentary dialects of the old confederation standard, I could barely understand them. I fear, this era of humanity was drained of civility and hardened by nine centuries of conquest over themselves.

They were right however. I would have liked to see a more enlightened era try to reactivate the cubes. They demanded our help in the use of the devices and other than myself, we’d refused. I was unfortunate enough to be on Ares when this new Imperium ordered our arrest. I’d made it to the Jamestown spaceport but this new totalitarian regime was better at internal security than I’d given them credit for.

The two men dragged me through a long corridor. Concrete, pipes, ceiling lights at regular intervals. I let the experience flow through me. I thought back to when the Conservators arrived on our outer colonies. We had just sacrificed our eldest to secure a reparation of the stars which had been fading since the time of my birth. Humanity had been pushed the the brink, with world after world freezing over as their suns died. On the eve of the rebirth, the first of their ships arrived.

It took centuries to discover their motive. They had observed our war with the Yill Maingess. The stellar decay had extended far beyond our quadrant of the galaxy. The Conservators had suffered greatly as well. They blamed us and our victory over the ‘old gods,’ which held the universe in check. I had heard from the elders that there were theories about the Yill Maingess. They were in fact fighting, something else, on another front since the beginning of our universe. After sending one hundred generations of humanity at them, with little to no more effect than feeding meat into a grinder. We’d finally broken through. Weapons of war that had been long lost, were found and employed during the final assault.

The Yill Maingess fed off gravitational energy and built their technology with exotic matter from an earlier universe. The core of their civilization swirled through the accretion disc of the supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way. ‘Sag A’ they’d called it. Stars swam within the accretion disc, giving us perfect targets for our weaponry. We were poised to crack open the stars and send their entire civilization tumbling into the crushing oblivion just beyond. As we let loose the wrath of our betters, the Yill Maingess swarmed outward and detonated the warheads prematurely, the majority of the human fleets, inner rim colonies and the Yill Maingess armada were gone.

Then, they fled. That was the official explanation in layman’s terms, so I understood. In reality, no one knew where they went. Their ships and vast platforms were difficult to track to begin with and what readings we did get began to reduce. The decay accelerated, faster and faster. Within days the Yill Maingess had disappeared. We’d celebrated our victory and then it began. One by one, the stars began to fade. Starting from the boundaries of the singularity, the habitable zones around our colonies' stars shrank. Planets once rich in life changed to frozen wastelands.

Civilization fled outward. Arm after arm, humanity leapfrogged to the Sagittarius and waited. This was the time of my birth. The majority of Methuselans had fled as well, to a place outside time and space. The early years are vague in my memories. This niche we’d carved out for ourselves was where we’d first discovered the cause of the stellar decay. For a thousand years we researched and pushed further into our realm. Searching further and further into the heart of the universe for answers. Humanity was on the brink and the elders went to them.

One last chance, at the cost of our most precious. Damn them. Humans were like children that never learned. They would place their hand upon the hot plate again and again, suffering a more severe burn each time. It seems that they’d numbed the hand to the heat by this point. Four thousand years before my birth, they had stumbled across the cubes in their dealings with the Lacir.

The eldest of the Methuselans had cracked the technology of the cubes nearly a thousand years before. The Methuselans were human then. Something we unleashed while tinkering with those infernal devices caused our incredulous life spans. We’ve prospered and suffered through the different ages of humanity. Under one dynasty, we were revered as elders and counsel, our vast knowledge and experience was invaluable. Others saw us as cursed monsters that should be jailed or destroyed.

It wasn’t long before the first of the Methuselans, that humanity had finished obliterating the many new species of humans that inhabited worlds, seeded by our progenitors. Under less than ideal conditions and little to no terraforming, evolution had split these colonies far from the expansionists’ view of what humanity should be. It was ironic that in our research into repairing the stars, we’d discovered that humans themselves were once of two distinct species.

The two men dragging me stopped before a heavy door. I heard multiple latches opening and sounds of scraping metal. I chuckled to myself. A thousand years after we’d scraped the last remnants of humanity from the brink of land dwelling extinction.  They’d been so hard pressed to subjugate themselves that they’d forgotten to build their house as well as their weapons.

The state of things was truly dismal. Humanity had been a space-fairing empire that lived in the squalor of their pre-industrial roots. All I could hope was that I’d see them returned to what they could be. Previous interventions and uses of the cubes had ushered in ages of prosperity. There was a growing concern amongst my people that things weren’t as simple this time. Those of us still living in our own realm had heard whisperings of a war. I didn’t fully understand the consequences of our enemy’s first move. Who the enemy was at this point and what he was prepared to do with my help, I did not comprehend.

I was lead into a room with a square table in the center. Upon the table lay one of the cubes. A variety of cables were affixed to the device and it was surrounded by scientific instruments I did not recognize. I sat down before the cube and set to work on interfacing it with their power source and computers. It would take some time for me to integrate this hardware. It was antiquated and dilapidated, by my standards at least.

To a Methuselan, humans are in fact, essentially alien. Their technology, ancient and ineffective in comparison to the technology we’d kept alive over the millennia. We had fled the mistakes of humanity time and time again. This time I held out hope for a better age. So I returned to offer council on rebuilding after the consolidation wars. They told me that I was to reactivate their cube. Many of the others had politely refused, I had been prepared to accept their request. The elders did not agree with my assessment and let me go with nothing but my knowledge of the devices.

When the others refused, the fledgling governments threatened to arrest us and force our service. We had decided to leave and observe humanity for a few more centuries. Many of us had escaped, I was not so lucky, even though I was prepared to help. It took weeks of work on the device and their computer systems. Now, I was poised to open the hub gate and reinitiate a new era of hub travel.

Focus.

The gate opened to what was supposed to be the hubspace. Instead we saw grass, low clouds, mountains and a fleck of sky in the distance. We should have seen little to nothing. A team was prepared to breach the gate. They were a mixture of scientists and soldiers, a few of the scientists looked eager. The rest looked very apprehensive. I released the barrier on the gate and a small ripple expanded from the orifice hovering before me.

The team went in and trudged through the grass beyond the gate. They fanned out into a wedge formation and moved in for ten minutes. They stopped and took their readings while the soldiers worked their way into a defensive perimeter. The scientists noted that the atmosphere of the realm they were in did not in fact contain breathable air, yet they were able to breathe it without their respirators. Clearly this new place was purpose created to sustain life of any kind.

Something shimmered near the group. The soldiers became jumpy and shrunk back to the group of scientists. The air began shimmering all around them. The group hurried back to the gate. Something began to take shape in the shimmering. Nothing recognizable as an animal, just eyes, teeth and... death. One solder fell, then another. The whole group was at a full sprint back to the gate at this point.

The shimmering continued and violent, gnashing, monstrosities lashed out at the retreating humans. More and more of them fell, body parts and blood flying through the air around them. By the time they reached the gate, only one soldier and two scientists were alive. The two scientists leapt through the gate and the soldier was not but one step behind, when he suddenly stopped. He looked me in the eyes and I could see a primal creeping fear in his, the shimmering swirled around his body. I saw teeth and movement as he was ripped apart before my eyes.

I closed the gate. The portal bulged outwards and a violent ripple spread into our existence. I looked around me and saw some of the humans fall down, some in violent throes of pain. I myself felt something twisting inside me. There was pain, immense pain. I allowed it to pass through my consciousness and flow out of me. Should I have shut the gate earlier? Would it have mattered? I’m not sure.

Everything changed that day, both flesh and inanimate matter. Our enemy had corrupted the energy of the hub and I had let it loose into our reality. I learned that there was a war going on, a war of the ancients and the divine. We had unfortunately just been caught in the middle. Another two and one half millennia past and mankind grew into a mighty power once again. The energy that had been unleashed upon them, caused a variety of changes in physical, mental and inexplicable ways. Things moved along as they always had. The humans did however join together, though still plagued by infighting, stronger than ever before.

It didn’t help however. The war rolled over our reality like in invisible storm. Nearly everything was obliterated in the maelstrom. It was as this time that I stopped referring to humans as ‘them.’ We were too few now to allow our differences to separate us in this twilight era. I met with the elders that remained, they had searched, but the divines had left the ‘High Seat.’ The universe was truly in a state of ruin with a hollow core. We were left to fend for ourselves. With the remnants of the biomechanical and etherial weapons that remained in the recesses of our reality.

It’s unfortunate now. I know I’ve lived somewhere in the vicinity of five thousand years. Though I can’t recall the exact date or even my name. I do however weep for the loss of everything so soon. I’d expected we’d go on for many more millennia. Now it would appear that we will be lucky to last another two centuries. The snow started falling in the summer a few years ago. I truly believe the stars are failing again.

So... cold.

Transcript of SSG Broadman, Andrew J. (Ret)

MH-132 'Puma'

CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

Internal DPSI reference document - OD tag A-01624

Transcript of SSG Broadman, Andrew J. (Ret)

Joint - ADAP/NBSOC (JADSOC) Nullification of Deitech Corporate Assests
April 14, 2379 PC

* * *

The information we’d been given was a bit sparse. We knew the Deitech corp. was under investigation by the DKDP for the past 13 years since the raid in 2366. We weren’t briefed on the exact details of the events surrounding that event. I knew what I’d heard on the news.

The Deitech corporation was officially under the jurisdiction of the DDFI. It was a special case, no other corporation was being overseen by anything but the DCA. Their products were being developed by infusing Flux energy into otherwise ordinary items. In more common products, it served as simply a power source. Their military hardware’s lethality was boosted by the Flux energy.

Deitech had been setting up unauthorized research and development centers in the CCS in 2363. For 3 years, they had refused inspections teams from Northern Bloc. The CCS government was shielding them politically, which added considerable tensions between the two countries. Ultimately, the DKDP pressured the CCS into allowing an inspection team in.

They didn’t show up with an inspection team however. The DKDP sent an Inquisitor assault team and the NBSOC sent a team of SRS troops. The raid was killed dozens of Deitech employees and they seized truckloads of equipment. The Inquisitors defended the raid, saying that Deitech had been creating “unholy machines of a nature that could only be seen as corrupting.” Deitech later released a statement, that they had done nothing to breach DDFI or DCA protocols and their research had been sanctioned by the CCS.

After the event, an embargo on Deitech products was enacted in Northern Bloc. This caused considerable stock losses. After which, Deitech had sold off it’s building in the Corporate Park in Calcinam. They did continue on as an independent research firm, which contributed to technology for various contractors. It was said that the DKDP adopted many of the Deitech weapons designs into their own models.

Today we had been briefed that there was an event at the Deitech research facility in Jamestown on the mainland. A number of the employees had been forced out of the building by their own security and they had sealed off the lobby. Reports were more than a little thin beyond that. Our counterparts in the Inquisition told us that Deitech had opened up a source of Flux energy, which was now flowing freely out of some kind of “breach.”

It’s difficult to understand exactly what the Inquisitors mean sometimes. They’re always speaking in some righteous rhetoric about evil and things the eye cannot see. Prelate-Inquisitor Marius was leading his team with us today. He had told us that this “den of evil was beyond redemption” and “we should trust our hearts before our eyes.” The Inquisition had always been at odds with society to a degree. They felt, even more so than the DKDP clergy, that we had fallen into decadent times and judgement would soon be at hand. “Even we could not stem the tide of evil in our world. Absolution be damned.” He’d once said.

We were getting a ride in style today, the rhythmic vibration of the MH-132’s rotors were lulling me into a half sleep as we approached our objective. It was a small compound on the outskirts of Jamestown, the 2nd largest city in Northern Bloc after the partial destruction of Highland 2300 years ago. Jamestown was the primary mainland port that served as a junction for most traffic to and from Aracosa Island. Northern Bloc had, in recent years, become more and more suspect of the other countries on Ares, particularly after a Flux weapon was detonated in a west coast city of the CCS in 2363. A year after that, the failed ‘Gentleman's Revolt’ had occurred across the core worlds.

Northern Bloc had set up a massive facility at Jamestown, which served as a port for both terrestrial and space-borne commerce. It included a customs and inspection holding area which took some time to get through, even as efficient as it was. Every piece of cargo and person had to pass screening before debarking onto the NB mainland or heading on to Aracosa Island.

The Puma’s crew chief announced “two minutes,” over our comms. RFC Groeden slid the door open. The warm air hit me, after spending the last hour in the air-conditioned troop compartment of the helicopter, it felt good. My muscles were getting stiff in the cold. I’d asked the crew chiefs a few times in the past, if they could keep it a little warmer in the back. They’d told me that it was for the avionics components in the ceiling, not for anyone’s comfort. I knew better than to argue with a crew chief. The last thing I needed was to have the pilots come back and explain the same thing, while I stood at parade rest.

I swung my feet out the side of the troop compartment, my legs dangling with nothing between them and the ground that swam past 30 feet below. “One minute,” called the crew chief over our comms. I raised my clenched hand with thumb extended and repeated the call. The rest of us did the same. I checked my equipment one last time, everything is secure, weapon, round chambered and on safe. I could see the outskirts the city coming into view, as well as the facility we were heading for.

Helicopters never wanted to be on the ground or even hover. Despite the considerable armor on the Puma, it was still thousands of delicate parts working together, any serious disruption and the aircraft could be forced to land. They were back in the air, moving into a orbit around the target building as we were running towards the side entrance. Chalk 1 was moving to the far side and chalk 3 was maneuvering towards the front of the building.

Within seconds, we’d stacked up near the side door. We’d expected the building security to at least have some presence outside, but there had been none. It was perhaps a smart move on their part considering we’d brought in gunships on top on ground troops. The MH-132 Puma had a veritable arsenal on board, a nose mounted 30mm rotary cannon, two door gunners with 12.7mm machine guns, 8-16 anti-tank missiles or 2-4 multipurpose rocket pods. More than anyone on the ground wanted coming at them as we approached. CPL Henderson attached a breaching charge to the handle of the door. I felt the bounce from Groeder behind me and I bounced again to let the CPL know that we were ready. Henderson yelled “breaching, breaching” into the squad comms. The others were shouting in unison on the platoon net.

The explosion was small but violent, the shattered pieces of the door’s locking mechanism was scattered both in and outside the door. Henderson pushed into the door and shouted, “hallway, door right.” We reacted accordingly and stacked up on the interior door. Henderson and I would provide security, while Groeder and Jenson would push through into the room. I looked back, Groeder moved in and turned right to secure his corner, Jenson was on his back and broke left in the room. “Negative contact, room secure, no exit,” shouted Groeder. They withdrew into the hallway behind us.

We moved from room to room as the other teams did the same. “Contact lobby!” I heard over the platoon net. Chalk 3 had encountered a pair of security guards, who had prepared to fire on the soldiers as they entered the lobby. I heard 6 distinct shots from our LS-64 assault rifles followed by a report of, “lobby clear!” Chalk 1 had encountered no resistance so far, our three squad were converging on the center of the building.

As we met near a group of elevators two men from each squad fanned out as rear security. I met with SSG Rodgers and SGT Gill once we’d been sure things were stable. Gill was the leader of chalk 3, he reported that the two guards had hidden behind some overturned furniture in the lobby. As they entered, they’d jumped up with weapons drawn. The two guards were shot before they had a chance to decide what to shoot at.

Prelate-Inquisitor Marius told us that we’d likely find our objective on the lower levels. We used the elevator override to lock them into position. We opened one door, the elevator was on the bottom floor, down 4 stories. Gill, hacked into the building’s fire systems and locked the fire exits, securing the stairs leading from the other levels. If we had time to clear those floors, it’d have to come later. I took the 4 Inquisitors and chalk 3 with mine as we descended down the elevator shaft to the maintenance crawlspace above the sub basement.

Gill’s team scouted ahead. He said the level was mostly empty, save for 5 security guards and a team of 7 scientist types. The guards on this level were armed with sub machine guns, unlike the pistol brandishing guards in the lobby. The rest of us moved into the crawlspace above the sub basement, taking up positions where we could simultaneously neutralize the remaining security.

We were ready to breach the ceiling and finish up out operation. It’d been a good day so far, no casualties on our side and minimal use of force. It did seem somewhat off to me that we’d brought along so much firepower for a small security detail in a sparsely populated building. I called out over the platoon net and we simultaneously fired 1 burst into each of the security guards, dropping down from our vantage points in the maintenance crawlspace.

We corralled the scientists quickly and they seemed to be in shock at the suddenness of our assault. Marius grabbed the senior scientist and pulled him into a side room to question him. None of us overheard the conversation, he returned from the room without the scientist. Groeder said he saw the man slumped motionless in an office chair. Marius readied his black rune-covered machine gun, trained the weapon at the remaining scientists and opened fire. They screamed for a moment, but they were all lying on the floor or slumped over office equipment before any of us registered what he was doing.

He’d turned to us and said that, “this evil was not to remain un-cleansed.” He pointed across the room at a large door sealed with a 10 digit keypad. “We must proceed into the heart of this abomination,” stated Marius. I told Gill to hack the keypad and get us inside. I looked back at the scientists, their blood now pooling on the floor of the room. The entry wounds caused by Marius’ weapon were still glowing red-orange from the Flux infused ammunition that the Inquisitors used. The other three Inquisitors seemed to be watching us carefully.

Gill called out that he’d bypassed the lock on the door. Marius led the Inquisitors to the door and flung it open. Before him stretched a catwalk, surrounded by counterrotating rings. The chamber was brightly lit, though partway through there was a brownish fog that dimmed the far side. Marius instructed that we follow his team closely. He stopped short of the far door leading out of the strange room. I felt a wash of dizziness wash over me as I entered the fog.

Marius said, “This is a ‘Dusk Construct,’ you will focus your attention upon that of which you can understand. What you cannot comprehend will be purged by us.” He pushed the far door open, the swirling rings around me were adding vertigo to the dizziness caused by the fog. I centered myself and focused on the door ahead of me. Gill commented on the platoon net, “What the fuck is this place sarnt?” I paused a moment, “I don’t know Gill, keep your head on a swivel and watch your six.”

The door at the far end opened into a space that looked like a typical lab, except the fog was everywhere here. I looked around and the everyday objects before my eyes seemed hazy, almost insubstantial. I reached out and touched the corner of a cubicle, I had half expected it to pass through, but my hand met a solid object. I pulled my hand back to the fore-grip of my weapon and continued scanning for anything out of place. Though, from what my eyes were showing me, something normal would have freaked me out more.

I cycled my EFD through night-vision and thermal. The night vision was completely blacked out, which made no sense, I could see just fine without it. Later Marius had mentioned that what we saw here was not natural light, he failed to adequately describe what it was though. The thermal was also dark blue and yet, it wasn’t cold in the room. I did see a glow in the far side of the room and pointed it our to Marius, he told us to be on guard.

Marius approached the “hot-spot” on the floor in the far corner of the room. When he got close, something... something, leapt “out” of the bright spot in the thermals. It was dark blue like the rest of the room and I switched off my optics. The motion tracker software in my helmet was tracking something, I strained my eyes. The Inquisitors were already beginning to fire on the thing. We followed suit, a staccato of gunfire echoed through the room, the thing that had come through the floor staggered and collapsed.

Marius flipped out the rune-inscribed bayonet on his weapon and thrust it into the thing’s neck and with a twist and quick jerk, decapitated it. I moved closer and it looked like a large, skinny dog, with black skin. The head was wide, with a large mouth and had no visible eyes or ears. “Do not trouble yourself with these lesser demons,” said Marius. “They require no magical practices to purge.” He turned and walked to the wall adjacent to the door we’d entered through.

He examined the wall for a less than a minute, pressed a spot near a seam in the material. The wall retracted and slid the the side to reveal another door much like the first. He opened the door and again there was a catwalk, I couldn’t see the walls of the chamber around it. The brown fog receded into a more rose-colored mist. I could see a door on the far end of the catwalk, but no more. Marius strode down the catwalk as if he were in a hurry to be somewhere. He opened the far door, I saw nothing but the mist beyond. He was nearly hidden from view by the mist himself.

He closed the door and said, “we are fortunate, the ‘Fold Construct’ is incomplete. It’s time to leave.” I looked back at the other Inquisitors who had been assembling something out of components they’d carried with them. “I’ve received word from the other operations of similar findings,” Marius said. “Deitech is finished as of today, their evil can no longer smite the people of the Imperium.” A strange choice of words, as we hadn’t officially used the term ‘Imperium’ referring to human occupied space for thousands of years. The last remnants of it’s use died out in archaic documents back in the ‘60’s.

The Inquisitors finished their device, which certainly looked to be some sort of explosive. They stood up and followed Marius back to the first catwalk, we followed after them, wary of anything else that might decide to hop through the floor. As we exited, Marius instructed us to leave the door to the lab at the far end of the catwalk open, but to close and lock the door in the sub basement.

We used the fire system override to activate one of the elevators and rode back up to the first floor. We found the rest of the platoon standing about casually as the ADAP were cordoning off the building and extracting the remaining personnel from the floors we’d ignored. Outside was a large tilt-rotor transport pained in the red and black motif of the Inquisition. The remaining scientists and security from the building was being herded into the transport. I didn’t want to think what fate awaited them after seeing Marius in action down below.

The Pumas were on the ground now, we ran back out to our respective helicopters and climbed back aboard. I felt a pull on my body as the pilots “pulled pitch” and lifted us back into the air. I watched Marius and the other Inquisitors hurry the ADAP officers and the other personnel away from the building. A few moments later, I saw a ripple flash across the ground and felt a strange impact inside me. As if I’d been hit with a concussive wave, but it didn’t affect me physically, almost like waking up from a dream of falling with a sudden jolt.

* * *

END EVENT - OD TAG A-01624
April 14, 2379

STATUS - CLOSED (SEALED)
DPSI Director - Hark, Jaekob T.

August 2368 PC

DKDP Inquisitor outside the Highland cathedral

High Inquisitor Says “Amerdus Threat Nearing End.”
August 22 2368

Calcinam - Inquisition strike teams purged a leading member in one of the largest underground groups of Amerdus, the 3rd Order and destroyed a large cache of ‘burnt blood’ in a victory for the High Inquisitor’s war on the ‘deep city.’

Inquisitors purged Meikal Skardona, on Thursday in an underground ‘vault’ area of the north-western ‘deep city’ beneath the ruins of Highland, an Inquisitor for the DKDP said.

Keikal Skardona and 13 other Amerdus purged with him were guarding over 3,000 liters of ‘burnt blood,’ the Inquisitor spokesperson said.

“These demons would have used this cache to infect dozens of people with their unholy taint,” Inquisitor Marius said.

DKDP Highland cathedral

Inquisitors say Keikal Skardona is a close lieutenant of Markus Obermann, one of the ‘deep cities’ most brazen Amerdus and the head of a team of engineers who build their machines.

The 3rd Order of Amerdus are in a bitter struggle with the DKDP Inquisitors, based out of the remains of the old Highland cathedral.

More than 2,500 3rd Order Amerdus have been purged last year, leading to high praise for the new push for ridding us of this evil.

~Viktor Rechler




Amerdus And Methuselans Are Among Us
August 30 2368

Coworker of "Demon?"

Calcinam - The local government has citizens worked up over fears of growing numbers of Amerdus and Methuselans. Police perform random checks of population.

"Amerdus are people like you and I, who were afflicted by by ‘tainted’ Flux energy during Hub travel or through use of unapproved Deitech corporation products," activist groups said.

Deitech has strongly denied any relation to Flux corruption through use of their products. TASCOM also spoke out reassuring the safety of Hub travel.

“The events that occurred over 2,000 years ago were the biggest contributors to Flux corruption,” said a DDFI official. “The Deitech corporation is under investigation for a number of issues surrounding their products, however, Hub travel has been commonplace for over a millennia. I will not concede to there being a connection there.”

So, how do you tell if someone is afflicted? A DKDP spokesperson said “The vile Amerdus move as if befouled by an ancient evil, their unholy gait does not share our graceful movement. They will also appear as if exhausted, they thrive off the Flux energy of their victims, the Inquisition has them constantly wary and often ‘hungry.’ As these demons are fleeing holy retribution, be keen upon those around you that are unsteady and nervous.”

Soldier or Flux stalker?

Overreactive government officials, religious zealots and defensive corporations. Reports come in all the time about Amerdus, Methuselans, terrorists and any number of dangerous people. I believe we’re living in an age of fear and intolerance.

The rumored 2nd Order of Amerdus are reported to have assimilated themselves back into society from the get go 2,000 years ago. So it may be incredibly difficult to actually stereotype one of these people. They could be your business partner or the soldier protecting you.

~Akimi Maris

(Real world note:  Yes, that's a Brotherhood Inquisitor, I know.  They were the inspiration for the ones in my world, so at least it kinda looks the way I want it to.  I did tweak the helmet and coloring a bit.)

Just this morning

I could hear something. I'm not sure what it is, I can't find it. Electronic and pulsing. Driving into my head, I feel at the edge of sanity. I'm searching my room now, but everything is off. There's, something, I can't quite put my finger on. I set my sights on my phone, I smash it, the noise continues. The TV, now it's destroyed, no avail.

I feel a rush, something pulling me in different directions. I can't tell where I am anymore. Everything is familiar, but I can't focus. I'm trying to see, but everything is slipping away. I'm starting to panic now. A pang in my stomach grows to a solid knot and I flail my arms. I grasp nothing. Where am I, what's happening.

Light, painful light, bursts into my eyes. That sound, it's back. I reached out and my hand found something familiar. Something I can grasp and recognize. This horror is almost over. Wait, awake now, I was dreaming. I looked and saw my hand on my alarm clock. Morale Spector's music was throbbing rhythmically into my mind as I slept. An aural assault on any unconscious thought process. My finger resting on the snooze button. I press down and feel the tactile response of the microswitch below the cheap plastic button. The music stops. "Snoozing for 10 minutes" the device reminds me.

I rolled on my back. Pain shot down the left side of my back. Hell, I must have slept badly again. Peering down I saw two humps at the end of the bed. One slightly above the other. My left foot was cocked off at an angle. I raised it up and stretched my toes back towards me. Another stab of pain in my left calf. Ok, so it's not that I slept wrong. As my consciousness creeps back to me, I remember yesterday. What a day that was.

Another sound caught my attention. This time a beeping and a hiss. The coffee maker is awake now too. I can smell bittersweet aroma of the Southern Territories’ blend. I forced my legs to the side and raised myself up. Swatting at the off switch on the alarm. The pain in my calf intensified as I pushed myself to my feet. It's almost enough to mask the pressure in my bladder. First things first I guess. Hobbling towards the bathroom, I flipped on the TV with the remote on the dresser.

I paused briefly at the mirror, stroking my hair back out of my face. My stubble had been unattended for 48 hours now and it was feeling a little rough. I rubbed my hand on my face and grimaced at the mirror to inspect my teeth. As I leaned towards the mirror, the pain in my back reared it's ugly head again. I sidestepped to the toilet to relieve myself. Pressing the touch sensitive flush switch a faint smell of citrus filled the room as the chemical agents removed my urine and disinfected the toilet at the same time.

As I made my way to the kitchen, I overheard some of the news on TV. Nothing interesting, except the weather. “High of twenty-three Celsius, mostly cloudy, eighty percent chance of afternoon drizzle. Current conditions, eighteen degrees and overcast.” Growing up in the plains of the Central Confed, I couldn't have asked for a better day. I'd only been here for six months and my deep tan was still present. Which throughout my day, adds a certain stigma. Most of the people on Aracosa Island are quite pale and a bit nationalistic about their fair complexions. They would never tell you that of course, but I see it as an outsider.

Coffee. Shit, it's getting cold already. I had forgotten to set the post brew temp back to a higher setting. Entering the kitchen, the smell of the coffee was warming enough to offset the cold of the tile beneath my feet. I opened the cupboard, reached inside and drew out my "I stab people on Mondays" mug. I'm not sure I'd ever follow through with that threat. The thought bemuses me, however.

I grabbed the coffee pot and poured a cup. Back into the bedroom, I sat down and gazed at the TV on the wall. Lieger Steinberg stocks were up after the military arms expo this weekend. The express delivery of death was a lucrative business in this day and age.

It wasn’t but last week when the “Freeworlders” decided to blow up a café in the corporate park. I had my doubts at the accusation of course. In my homeland, we’d been particularly tolerant of the “United Front,” as they were officially called. It had been ten years or more since the last terrorist action on Confed soil. Up here in the Northern Bloc, they were the ever popular, go-to scapegoat for terrorist events.

The government in the ‘Bloc was by definition, totalitarian. Yet, they allowed free press and a capitalistic society. I had heard rumors that they have entire agencies set aside to carefully filter the public’s “freedom.” I’m a bit skeptical that such a level of implied control, could truly function in such a large country.

I sipped the coffee. I am a master at one thing at least. The warm liquid struck a chord with my body as it slid down my throat. I was feeling better already.

Once I had finished with the coffee, I set about getting ready for work. I grabbed my keys and my phone and opened the front door. The grey green clouds were illuminated by a beautiful purple-orange sunrise. My nostril winced at the vague scent of sea air. The northerly wind was kicking up a bit. Likely the result of the low pressure from the coming storm.

I opened the door to my car and sat down, setting my phone on it’s cradle on the dash. I flipped up the navigation panel in front of me and dialed in “work.” I leaned back, turned on the stereo and tried to catch another half hour of sleep on the way in.

I awoke as the car was merging onto the corporate park expressway. The vibration changed as the tires bit into the higher quality surface materials. It was just enough to bring me back from the void I had been so blissfully enjoying.

There was never much to see on the expressway. It was part canal and part tunnel as it snaked its way through the middle of the corporate megaplex. The park itself was a massive mall, dotted with forest, lawns, walkways and shops. There was no way to avoid the corporate money machines around here. Trinket shops, food kiosks and cafés littered the otherwise natural beauty of the place.

The car veered off the expressway onto a side road, leading into the parkhaus below the Gennaren building. There were some areas of road that were not well lit. As physical vehicle control was entirely optional on-road, they didn’t always bother to ensure proper visibility. I sat for a few moments in darkness. The various gages and navi-panel illuminated my face in the rear view mirror.

I broke out of the darkness into the parkhaus. I car slowed to a halt at the back of a short line of cars at the elevators. I didn’t feel like waiting, so I opened the door and stepped out. Again, my calf and back reminded me that I wasn’t as young as I used to be. I walked up to the elevator lobby.

Now surrounded by a few dozen people waiting for the next car. I looked around and saw something out of place. Not saw, but felt. I couldn’t place it then and I can’t now. There was definitely something amiss in the crowd. I heard a bell sound as two cars arrived at the same time. The massive doors swung open and we all crowded inside.

A feeling of unease crept over me as we rode up to the office level. It was a feeling so strong, I could almost taste something in the air. I swallowed and felt momentary relief. The elevator car stopped and the doors slid aside. About ten people maneuvered out. I looked out past the shifting heads. The elevator had stopped at the upper concession level. I knew the ride had felt short. I couldn’t figure out why so many people had gotten off here. Usually the largest group departs on the main office level to take short-hop elevators to their individual floors.

At the main office level, another group of seven exited. I was headed for the management lobby on the eighty-fifth floor. I glanced around and saw that only two people were in the elevator with me now. One was a younger woman, probably in her mid twenties. She was a gorgeous dirty blonde with green eyes. Wearing a knee length black skirt and matching coat. Her feet were adorned with ninety millimeter pumps and she was carrying a leather bound briefcase. Beside her, rested a large black backpack. I glanced at her left hand, no ring. I’m not sure why I bothered, I was out of my league with her.

The other man in the elevator looked a bit like a security guard. Except he wasn’t building security. They wore dark blue uniforms with Gennaren patches on the sleeves. This man was wearing what looked like black military issue pants and boots with a utilitarian jacket. His face was obscured by a hat and dark glasses. Scruffy light brown hair protruded from under the cap, not something you usually see with security types. Despite his appearance, he also carried an expensive looking briefcase.

I no longer had the palpable sense of things out of place. Even though the pair before me seemed very much out of place. I mused that maybe they scared off the thing or things that were bothering me. We stopped at the management level. The pair made no motion towards the door. I pushed myself off the handrail and walked out.

The elevator didn’t stop again until the private office level. There was no one up there but department heads, personal assistants and the CEO. I decided to let it go, I always had too much on my mind. I walked past the receptionist, said my obligatory hello and good morning. The office layout was rather open. Lower managers worked in clusters with low dividing walls. Low enough that you still had a view of those around you. I walked further down to my office area. It was a similar layout, but had tinted glass walls surrounding my workspace. I took off my jacket and hung it on the coat rack, swiveled my chair around and sat down. I felt a release of tension in my back. Perhaps it would be a good day after all.

I almost didn’t notice it at first, with VTOL traffic flying between buildings fairly regularly. However seeing a military helicopter drifting slowly past the window was a truly unique sight. It lingered for a moment, then ascended out of sight. I shook my moment of kid like glee at seeing the helicopter. Flipped on my workstation and started checking my email. A chat bubble popped up on my screen “Sam, did you see that helicopter?”

Why?

I've always wanted to write a novel. I have made a few attempts over the years and gave up again and again. I did however end up with a series of short stories and setting pieces. I have many characters and scenarios in my head, but nothing that equates to a full length novel. So I've decided to use this blog to rewrite and display those ideas and stories.

The world of Imperium covers a vast array of past, present and future visions. Much of it lies in a science fiction setting on the planet Ares. The current home world of humanity.

These stories will encompass day to day life, action sequences, heroes, villains, aliens and the divine. There is little that isn't possible somewhere or at some time in the universe I present here. Some stories will be tied together, others standing alone. I do plan and anticipate recurring characters and events that will tie them together.

My first offering may be a bit dull, but it's going somewhere. I promise ; )