6 – Fear and
Loathing in a Distant Galaxy
(New Praedones Prime – Royal
Palace – 23 January 2018, 0825)
Emperor Yalock the Fourth
stood on the balcony of his bedroom and watched the sunrise. ~Today is the
day.~ Yalock was a Xivolo, which meant he was a member of the race that had
created the Nakai, Ursini and Jynacko. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket
and looked at it. The paper contained drawings of several aliens species. It
had been made by his personal artist, based on readings taken when the Spera
had gone through the passage into the past. ~The Nakai and Ursini have not
changed all that much. And these beings made out of nanites look the same as
these Tau’ri.~ Well, at least on the outside. And with that, his eyes wandered
to the Tau’ri-slash-Humans.
They looked a lot like the
Xivolo. The only real difference was the color of the skin. Xivolo had orange
skins, with purple lines where the veins ran close to the surface. These were
unique for each Xivolo. As for Tau’ri hair, it came in the same colors as
Xivolo hair and turned gray in time. ~Just like mine has.~ Finally, there was
the matter of lifespan. It had taken a bit of calculating, but he had concluded
that Tau’ri lifespan was roughly eighty or ninety Earth years. Xivolo lifespans
were usually between one-hundred and-ten and one-hundred-and-twenty Earth
years. ~Enough staring.~
He put the paper away and
headed for the corridor. At age one-hundred-and-fifteen, it was slow going for
Yalock. ~Time to deal those blasted Senators a blow before I pass.~ Several
months ago, he had been visited by the Royal Physician. The man – a kind soul –
had tried to soft-sell him his condition, but he had known the truth. He was
dying and his remaining time was short. So he had gathered the few wise and
brave enough to defy the leadership of the Empire and waited for the right time
to strike against them. And then he had learned of Spera and the planned
assault against Earth.
~Time to show them that this
is indeed an Empire.~ Yalock thought as he walked out of his chambers.
~Arrogant fools.~ The Empire was ruled by a Senate of a hundred men, with the
Emperor merely being a figurehead. Well, that the official reading. In truth,
all the power what wielded by a mere seven senators. The rest were all puppets,
manipulated by this Inner Senate as they saw fit. In the past couple of hours,
the Inner Senate had identified and arrested all his supporters. And they were
about to be executed on the palace courtyard. ~Time to get this over with.~
When he arrived there, he
found the others tied to heavy wooden poles. There were soldiers readying their
weapons, while the Senate sat on a nearby stand. The Inner Senate was sitting
in the front row. And there were two more people here. The Emperor-Heir Axos,
his son, and his granddaughter Cinara. Axos was fifty years old, while Cinara
was twenty-seven.
The last thing of note in this
place was the Doorway to the Stars. The Doorway was a metal ring that could
create passages between worlds. Its workings had been deciphered by Yalock the
First, many years ago. He had also created a device that allowed the Xivolo to
operate the Doorway. Both the Doorway and the Operator Device were in the
courtyard, near the exit towards the capital city. But none of that mattered as
Senator Finrall stood up and began to speak.
“You have all been found
guilty of treason,” He began. “Now, before we execute you, tell me the name of
your leader.”
Yalock looked at his friends
and allies. It made his stomach turn and his heart cringe. ~I don’t deserve
such friends.~ He counted all twenty-seven of them. They were scientists,
officials, soldiers, journalists and many other occupations. It was clear that
they had been tortured. They had bruises, cuts, burns and other signs. ~The
Inner Senate didn’t even try to hide what they did.~ And he was done with
tolerating their cruelty. ~No more.~ He stepped forward as Finrall repeated his
question.
Then he reached into his
pocket. The Empire used a form of currency called the Hynar. One Hynar was
divided into a hundred Poyar. The smallest amount currently in was Five Poyar,
with One Poyar coins and notes having been phased out years ago. Every member
of his cell carried a One Poyar note with them. He took his note out,
approached Finrall and dropped it at the man’s feet. It was as good as a
confession. And he knew that he would be executed with his friends. ~But it
does not matter.~
“You !?” Finrall said.
“Yes, me,” Yalock said. For
the first time in years, his voice was full of venom. “So…” He turned to the
soldiers. “…I guess the question is where you loyalties lie. With me, or the
Inner Senate ?”
There was a moment of silence,
then all hell broke loose.
(Destiny – Cargo Bay – 24
January 2018, 1130)
Yarnok Zinar woke up with a
splitting headache. As he got to his feet, he realized that he was in a cargo
bay. His troops were all here and so was the Tau’ri team. They had been
stripped of their weapons and supplies. ~Great.~ This was just getting better
and better. On the bright side, his body was still in working order. And from
the looks of it, everybody was still alive and well. He studied the cargo bay
and realized that the ceiling of the room had a curve. ~Maybe we’re on one of
the upper decks.~
He made his way to the nearest
door and tried to open it. ~Offline.~ Whoever had thrown them in here, had
probably disabled the controls. As he headed back towards the center of the
room, he heard an ominous sound. Then he looked up and saw that roof was
retracting. And beyond was a star and a single planet. It was either a gas
giant or looked like one. There was a force field that was holding the atmosphere
in, but he suspected that would not be the case for long. Before he could shout
out a warning, the force field went down. ~Bastards !~ It was the last thought
he had before he was tossed into the darkness of space and died.
(New Praedones Prime – Royal Palace
– 23 January 2018, 0830)
Cinara had watched in horror
as the soldiers had vaporized Yalock and then the people tied to the wooden
poles. Finrall had smirked arrogantly, but that had not lasted. Her father Axos
had let out an agonized scream, before jumping the nearest soldier. He had
snapped the man’s neck with his bare hands, before grabbing his weapon and
opening fire. He had vaporized three soldiers before he had been killed. One of
the soldiers was now pointing his weapon at her. And it was at moment that the
Palace Guards opened fire at the soldiers.
Seeing her chance, Cinara
bolted away from where she had been standing. ~I have to get out of here.~ She
knew that there was nowhere on this planet she could hide, so she ran for the
Doorway. The Operator Device had the last couple of addresses its memory banks.
She would simply pick one of them and leave. ~Presuming I make it.~ Alas, her
chances were not looking good. The Palace Guards had slaughtered half of the
soldiers, but they were still losing the battle.
And then something happened
that nobody could predict. The Senators carried small particle weapons for
personal protection. Seeing a chance to get rid of their masters, the puppet
senators all drew their weapons and opened fire on the Inner Senate. All seven
of them were cut down instantly. As Cinara reached the Operator Device, they
turned on the soldiers. The soldiers cut them down swiftly, but not before they
lost several of their own. It was enough to tip the balance to the Palace Guards,
who then proceeded to wipe out the last of the soldiers. But there were only a
few Guards left.
~It’s only a matter of time
before more soldiers show up.~ The Doorway opened as she turned to the few
remaining guards. ~Only three of them left, it’s not an army. But it’s a
start.~
“The new Inner Senate will
brand you as traitors. And I refuse to be a figurehead. I…” She swallowed,
thinking of her father and grandfather. “….will carry my grandfather’s torch of
rebellion. Come with me.”
The three of them nodded in
understanding. ~Here we go.~ Then she took a deep breath and led them through
the Doorway.
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