Frontline

As part of the Empire’s policy on ensuring the safety of its colonies and member worlds, the Empire deploys a large number of fleets to patrol Imperial systems. These fleets protect Imperial citizens from pirates and hostile aliens, and render aid to worlds in need. During times of open war, patrol fleets from safer and more stable systems may be pulled for use on the frontlines.

-Excerpt from The Newcomer’s Guide to the Empire

The endless expanse of space was broken by a black and purple void that existed just long enough to eject a damaged silvery white craft before fading into oblivion. The ship sat in space, its lights flickering and smoke and debris streaming out behind it.

Things were little better inside the ship. The interior lights flickered on and off, while the emergency lights waited to activate once the main ones went out. Smoke seeped out from the door that led to the compartment that housed the Z-engine.

Ansaria rubbed her head from where she sat in the central chair. Their rocky flight hadn’t done her ribs any favors, and now she had a pounding headache to boot.

“Sound off, everyone, make sure I know whose alive.”

She heard grumbles of life and groans of pain from all her crew, so she decided to move on.

“Slog, status report. An accurate one, this time.”

The pilot groaned and rubbed the back of his neck before he began accessing the ships computer. As he worked to discern the ship’s status, Ansaria turned to look back at Alvara. The semi humanoid had been knocked from her seat in the sudden expulsion back into normal space, but a quick thumbs up at her sergeant attested to her condition.

“Well sarge, I’ve got bad news, worse news, and good news,” said Slog.

“Alright, what’s the bad news?”

“That surprise jump we took into Z-space, along with the damage the engine took when it was hit, has fried our Z-engine, and according to the computer, we have no means aboard of fixing it.”

That was bad news indeed. Without a Z-engine, they were stuck traveling through normal space, and there was no way they could reach the rendezvous on time with their regular engines. They couldn’t risk an SOS either, as the only way that would reach someone in time was if they broadcasted it over the IIN, and that was out of the question.

“What’s the worse news?”

Slog used his TIG to project an astromap depicting Imperial space.

“The ship has figured out our new position….and it looks like the jump took us in the wrong direction.

A glowing red point appeared on the map, the stellar location of their former colony. A glowing blue dot appeared, indicating their destination, lying to the ‘east’ of their starting point. Now the red point disappeared and reappeared to the ‘northwest’, nearly doubling the distance between the two.

Ansaria collapsed back in her chair. Now their situation was even more impossible. How on Xenlong were they supposed to get out of this?

“Slog, if the only good news you have is ‘the air is still on’, then I’m going to strap a rocket pack to you and make you tow us the whole way.”

“Save your fuel, sarge. The good news is that we landed near an Imperial colony.”

Slog taped is TIG and a yellow dot appeared next to the red one. The map zoomed in and the yellow dot appeared in a nearby system, easily reached by the regular engines.

“Now that’s what I like to hear, Slog. Remind me to recommend you for a promotion when this is over,” said Ansaria.

“Sure, assuming we don’t all get thrown in the brig for this,” grumbled Slog.

“Actually, Slog, I believe at this point our crimes would be grounds for execution, though, I suppose the Emperor could be fair and grant us both,” said Tread.

“A promotion and an execution in the same day? Sounds exhausting,” said Alvara.

“You guys are real good at putting a fellow’s mind at ease,” said Slog.

The trip to the colony had been time consuming, but uneventful. Still, to Ansaria, who held the fate of the Empire (quite literally) in her hands, each slowly passing moment felt like it was bringing her whole world closer and closer to destruction.

The colony (or Myrthal, according to the ship’s database), was a blue-gray planet, arid and mountains, with very little surface water. As they approached the planet, a beeping filled the cabin.

“Incoming message from ground control, sergeant,” said Tread.

“I’ll take it on my TIG,” said Ansaria.

The beeping stopped, and a light began flashing on Ansaria’s unit before she activated it.

“This is Myrthal Central Space Control. I’m sorry, but our planet has strict visitation rules, and I cannot allow you to land.”

Well, thought Ansaria, it appeared that they hadn’t flagged the ship as stolen, nor had they suggested that they hold in orbit, which would allow them to be caught in an ambush in their present condition. It seemed that the squad’s reputation had not preceded them.

“This is Sergeant Ansaria of the Imperial Military. My squad and I are on a mission for His Majesty, Emperor Xandarius, and are ship has been drastically damaged. We request immediate permission to land.”

The voice on the other end was silent; silent long enough for Ansaria to feel the rest of the crew beginning to get nervous. Before anyone could say something, the voice spoke.

“Permission granted. Landing coordinates being transmitted.”

The line went dead after that.

“Not the most welcoming place is it?” said Alvara.

As the ship entered the atmosphere and broke through the clouds, the crew could see just how mountainous the planet was. The ground beneath them bristled with mountains towards every horizon. The mountainous terrain was pockmarked with valleys, bowls and craters; numerous indents that broke up the never-ending feature of mountains. It was toward one of these bowls that the ship headed.

As they got closer, they could make out the settlement that had been built. The town still mostly hugged the bottom of the mountain, with a number of individual structures spattered throughout the rest of the flatland. The ship was being directed to one of the installations outside the settlement, but still close by.

The landing site consisted of a landing pad and a single, large building that looked like a warehouse. The ship landed with a shudder and the crew made their way towards the hatch.

“OK everyone, weapons out, but at ease. We don’t want to look like an invasion force, just like we’re ready for trouble,” Said Ansaria.

The crew nodded, tried their best to look semi-threatening, and exited the ship. A trio of Myrthalians awaited them outside. The three were humanoid, with slightly enlarged and completely smooth heads. Their skin was dark gray and they wore blue uniforms. Ansaria briefly wondered if all the Myrthalians matched their environment.

The three were stony faced (which was something that Ansaria had to try not to laugh at), and waited for the whole crew to exit the ship. When they had, the lead envoy spoke.

“Please follow us.”

And with that, he turned and headed toward the building, with the other two close at his heels and the squad trailing along.

They entered the building, and, just as Ansaria thought, it was a warehouse, though one that was currently empty. Machinery and equipment for loading and unloading materials sat cold and unmoving along the back wall. The trio was leading them toward a room directly ahead of the entrance. Inside was a simple, white-walled office, with a single occupant: a Myrthalian who looked exactly like the others, though he had a green band on the arm of his uniform. The Myrthalian waited for the squad to file in and their envoy to leave the room before speaking.

“My name is Joyus, and I am the administrator of this facility. It is my job to assist you in repairing your ship so that you may leave our world as soon as possible.”

“We appreciate your aid, Administrator Joyus. My name is Sergeant Ansaria, and this is my squad. I was wondering--”

Ansaria was cut off as Joyus raised his hand.

“Your repair needs, please.”

Ansaria turned slightly to look at Alvara, who could only raise an eyebrow in response. Ansaria keyed her TIG and displayed their ship’s damage report. A moment later, the image appeared over Joyus’ TIG. He studied the list before turning off the image.

“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but we do not have the materials necessary to repair your ship at this facility,” said Joyus.

“Oh,” said Ansaria. “Is there another facility in town that does have what we need? Or another colonial outpost on the planet?”

“Myrth is the only inhabited area on Myrthal, and it does not have the materials you need,” said Joyus, never once changing his expression or tone.

Critter suddenly spoke up.

“He’s right, how is it that an Imperial colony, in Imperial space, doesn’t have the means to fix a standard Z-engine?” said Slog, whose tone reflected the frustration the whole squad was feeling.

Joyus did not immediately answer, and when he did, his voice carried it’s own tension and anger.

“The materials you require are strictly controlled by order of the Imperial-appointed governor,” he almost seemed to spit the last part out. “He is the only one who can supply you with what you need.”

Finally, progress.

“Then may we please speak with him so that we can get our ship fixed and be on our way?” asked Ansaria.

For the first time, Joyus stood up.

“I shall contact the governor’s residence and inform him of your situation. However, given the governor’s….busy schedule, it may be a little while before he responds.”

Joyus walked over to the office door and held it open.

“In the meantime, I invite you to visit Myrth and enjoy yourselves. So few Imperials ever find their way here.”

Ansaria stood unmoving for a few moments before she nodded her head and she led her squad out the door. As she passed Joyus, Ansaria gave him a quick glance. Though his face remained relatively blank, she could see the anger in his eyes, and she wasn’t sure just who that anger was for.

The door closed behind the squad with a snap, and they made their way across the warehouse and out the door. The lead envoy was waiting for them outside.

“The administrator has asked me to provide transport for you to Myrth.”

As he said this, a hover vehicle rounded the corner, driven by one of the other two envoys. The vehicle consisted of a single, two-seater cabin with a large, open flatbed.

The vehicle came to a stop and the driver climbed out. Before anyone could say anything, he began walking back towards the warehouse, followed at a brisk pace by the leader. The squad studied the vehicle in silence for a few moments.

“I call passenger seat,” said Alvara.

“Good thing I’m the team driver,” said Slog, who began walking towards the craft.

“On second thought, Slog, I think I’ll handle this one. Don’t want to get rusty behind the wheel, you know?” said Ansaria.

Slog grumbled something under his breath.

“What was that, private?” said Ansaria.

“Nothing, sarge, just wishing you a good drive.”

“That’s what I thought you said, now pile in, everybody.”

Ansaria and Alvara climbed into the cabin, while Slog and Tread clambered into the back. Critter was riding in the front, to spare him the wind chill. Ansaria powered up her craft, and they raced towards the settlement of Myrth.

All the buildings were made of a concrete substance that seemed to be made locally, since they had the same bluish-gray color that permeated the landscape. The town wasn’t very large, and most of the buildings were devoid of advertisements of decorations, just business names and address numbers. The population on the street was overwhelmingly Myrthalian, though a smattering of other races gave testament to the colonies Imperial connections. Everyone they passed watched the vehicle as hovered down the street

After passing what appeared to be another drab block, Ansaria’s TIG suddenly pinged. It was Slog.

“What is it, Slog?”

“We just passed a good place to hole up for a bit, sarge. Two blocks back on the corner.”

Ansaria slowly wheeled the vehicle around back in the direction they came. As they approached the building, the sign identified it as Delight’s Bar. The parked the hover truck and piled out.

Inside was dimly lit and moderately spacious, with only four beings inside. A pair of Myrthalians were playing a tabletop game while a Myrthalian bartender refilled the glass of an icthyian humanoid with a liquid-filled breathing contraption around his neck. All the occupants turned to stare at the squad as they entered, and never took their eyes of them as they made their way towards the bar.

Ansaria sat down first, a couple seats away from the icthyian humanoid, followed by Alvara, Slog and Tread. Alvara sat Critter down and plopped on the bar. Ansaria looked pointedly at the barkeeper, waiting for him to come over to them. However, the Myrthalians continued to stare at them, while the aquatic customer had turned back to his drink.

“What do you have on tap for some of the Empire’s finest?” asked Ansaria.

It was apparently the wrong thing to say, as the Myrthalians, who had all looked tense since they got there, now looked positively angry.

It was that look that made Ansaria decide that she had had enough. Ever since they got here, here squad had been treated with nothing but hostility and dismissive contempt. She didn’t know what the problem was, but she was going to find out. She stood up, towering over everyone else in the bar.

“All right, there’s obviously some issue we aren’t aware of. Would one of you kind and welcoming locals care to fill us in on your problem with us?”

This was apparently all the excuse the barman was waiting for.

“Our problem,” he said, in a growling voice through clenched teeth. “Is that you Imperial bastards talk a big talk about protecting the little guy and ensuring peace and freedom for all, then, you go and leave a madman in charge of our planet for the last two years! We’ve been held hostage, with no way to call for help, because your useless Emperor withdrew the fleet from this sector to fight his war with the Goldies!”

Ansaria didn’t know what to say. She certainly hadn’t expected a story like that to explain their treatment. Before she could say anything, her TIG chimed.

“Administrator Joyus?”

“Yes, I’ve just finished speaking with the Governor--” At the sound of that word, all the planet natives grimaced and anger flared across their faces. “and he would like your squad to join him at his private facility in the mountains. The transportation we provided you will make the trip. Sending coordinates.”

Ansaria pulled up a map. They showed a winding road that led from Myrth into the mountains. She dismissed the map and addressed her squad.

“Looks like happy hour will have to wait, troops, we’re back on the clock. Fall out.”

The squad made their way to the door (with no small grumbling from Slog). Before she left, Ansaria turned to address the bar patrons one last time.

“I’m not sure exactly what is going on on this planet, but I promise you, I am going to get to the bottom of this, and I’m going to help you.”

She left the bar, with the occupant’s faces now a little less angry and a little more uncertain.

It was a quick drive through town before they reached the pathway that led into the mountains. As they parked in front of it, Ansaria checked her TIG again.

“It should take us about an hour to get there in this vehicle,” she said. “The path does some twists and turns, but otherwise it’s a pretty straight shot.”

“I’m more worried about what will happen when we get there,” said Slog over the comm. “Call me crazy, but I’m not too thrilled about driving to the secluded mountain home of a local psycho.”

“I’ve gotta agree with Slog on this one, Sarge,” said Alvara. “Something stinks about all of this, and I don’t like the idea of us driving in blind.”

“I understand everybody is uneasy with the situation,” said Ansaria. “But we have a mission to fulfill, for the good of the Empire. Besides, we seem to be the only ones on this planet capable of dealing with whatever it is that’s going on here. We have to go, for our mission and for this world.”

When no one spoke up, Ansaria took it as agreement, and she accelerated on to the beginning of the path. A few moments later, she said:

“Plus, it’s not like this is a social visit. If I don’t like what I hear, we’ll beat the slime out of him and squeeze him until we get what we need.”

The tip of Alvara’s tail flickered a couple times.

“Now your speaking my language, Sarge.”

Not long after the squad began driving along the mountain path, Administrator Joyus was contacted by the Central Space Control for the second time that day; an unheard of occurrence.

“This is Joyus, Control. Go ahead.”

“Administrator, we’ve detected another craft approaching the planet. Its transponder is active, but it’s ignoring all hails.”

Another surprise visitor, though this one without the Imperial dog’s courtesy. They had no means to shoot the craft down, and Joyus didn’t want to contact the Governor again. Another interruption and he might wind up as the next experimental subject.

“Plot its trajectory and give me a landing sight. I’ll deploy the security forces.”

“At once, sir.”

As he awaited the information, Joyus leaned back in his seat.

This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them.

Joyus’ TIG chimed and he observed the info. The landing site was a dry basin, not to far from the settlement. He contacted Captain X’Tasy.

“Captain, we have another unexpected visitor, this one ignoring our warnings. We have his landing site marked, and I want you to load up the Skybuzzers with a full compliment and arrest the intruders. Afterwards, you’ll bring them to me.”

“Understood, sir!” came the captain’s brisk reply.

Joyus cut the signal.

Today just gets stranger and stranger.

The Skybuzzers droned through the air, the oblong shaped VTOL craft zipping towards their destination. Each one was filled with eight security members, all lightly armored and armed. This was their first real action since the ‘isolation’ had been imposed, and there was a mixture of nervousness and excitement for whatever they might find.

The craft arrived before the incoming ship did, and the security members took up positions through out the basin. After their cargo was unloaded, the Skybuzzers lifted into the air again to provide air cover. Soon, they could make out the approaching ship above them as an incoming fireball.

Captain X’Tasy awaited the craft in the open, flanked by two of her best agents. As the ship got closer and closer, she tightened her grip on her Handheld Repeating Beam Pistol.

As the craft reached them, the crater was buffeted by the ship’s engines. Captain X’Tasy wobbled on her legs in the strong wind, while behind the security agents flanking her hunched over to avoid it. Eventually, the craft landed and came to a rest, the engines whining down and the hull slowly cooling.

X’Tasy studied the brown craft and the markings on the side before she keyed her voice amplifier on her TIG and addressed the ship.

“Attention, Twin Suns Mechanical and Robotics Trade craft, this is Captain X’Tasy of the Myrthal Security Forces! You are trespassing on our world! Exit your ship with your hands up and prepare to be taken in to custody! You have thirty seconds to comply!”

For a few moments, the ship sat silent, it’s occupants still refusing to reply. Then, a mechanical grinding sound filled the area. However, Captain X’Tasy was puzzled when she could not see a landing ramp being lowered. Her TIG beeped.

“Captain, the top of the craft is opening!” said one of the Skybuzzer pilots.

After the top finished opening, another, higher sound began. A few seconds later, a ship suddenly emerged from inside the craft. The craft was sleek and blade-like, with a pair of wings near the rear. It hovered in place for a few moments, as though getting it’s bearings, before suddenly rocketing away into the mountains.

Captain X’Tasy stood stunned. The craft was too fast for her Skybuzzers to catch, even without the surprise head start it now had. She ordered her troops to search the craft for clues while she contacted Joyus.

“Administrator, sir, I’m afraid I have some bad news…”

They were only a third of the way into the drive when Ansaria received a ping on her TIG.

“Go ahead, Tread.”

“Sergeant, I have detected an incoming craft originating from the southwest. It appears to be on intercept trajectory.”

The southwest? That wasn’t too far from Mirth. What was going on? Had the locals animosity towards the Empire erupted into a need for blood? Had Joyus dispatched his forces to eliminate them, or had this mysterious (and apparently insane) Governor drawn them into the mountains to kill them out of site of the townspeople?

“Can you contact them?”

Ansaria was so focused on waiting for Tread’s response that she almost forgot she was driving.

“No response, sergeant, and the craft appears to have increased speed.”

That was bad. They needed to take cover. The bend ahead appeared to be the crest of a hill. Ansaria turned the craft so that it filled the road horizontally. They would use it for cover, along with the rocks lining the edge of the road, serving as either a natural or artificial guardrail.

“Everyone out! Defensive formation!”

The squad sprang from the car, Ansaria and Slog putting their backs to the rock while Alvara and Tread hunkered down by the truck.

A loud whine filled the air as the ship reached its targets. On its first pass, it quickly strafed the ground, peppering the rocks with laser blasts.

As it flew overhead, the squad opened up on it. Slog was only able to get one shot off with his shotgun, while Ansaria and Alvara were able to keep a bead on it. Tread unleashed a barrage from his Ion Rifle before calling out to Ansaria.

“Sergeant! The craft is shielded from my ion blasts! I can’t bring it down!”

“Switch up! Remote Rocket!”

The craft came to a near stop, now hovering through the air to get a better bead on the troops. It fired its cannons again and the squad was forced to take cover as the area filled with searing hot laser blasts and pieces of rocky shrapnel. The cockpit of the truck was shattered and burst into flames.

Slog popped up and unloaded with his weapon, forcing the craft to retreat for a moment. Tread then sat up and fired his own weapon after it. The craft pulled a shear stop and spun around 180°, firing it’s lasers and destroying the incoming rocket. It then turned back toward the pinned soldiers.

“Tread, reload and fire on my signal!”

The craft raced forward, its guns once again blazing and eating away at their cover. Ansaria signaled Tread and he fired another remote rocket. The craft turned to fire on it as it did the last tone.

“Fire!” cried Ansaria.

The squad popped up and fired everything they had at the craft. At first, its shields and armor was able to withstand the barrage, but it finally crumpled and exploded at the midsection after one more rocket from Tread.

As the craft began spinning through the air and dropping into the valley bellow, the cockpit opened and the occupant ejected into the sky. A moment later, the pilot came back down, landing on the road with a loud crash.

The crater the impact had caused prevented the squad from seeing exactly what it was, until it rose out of it, hulking metal body unfazed from the sudden landing.

It was Reno. Its massive body was now covered in black plates, apparently a new adaptation upgrade.The machine raised an arm an fired one of its finger beams that sliced through the remainder of the hover-truck. It climbed out of the crater and made its way towards them.

None of Ansaria or Alvara’s blasts seemed to be doing anything to the giant robot. Slog’s shotgun seemed to slow him down by the sheer force of the blasts, but nothing else was fazing him.

“Slog, grenade!” cried Ansaria as she primed her own.

The two threw their explosives. Reno caught one of them in its hand while the other bounced off its chest. A moment later, the killing machine was obscured by a pair of explosions. As Reno emerged from the smoke and fire, Tread popped up, his Zapper attachment fully charged and primed.

The electrical bolt struck Reno, and the machine seized up from the immense current. Ansaria vaulted over the remains of the truck and moved to close the distance between the two. When she was a few yards away, she stopped, while Reno began to recover from the effects of the shock.

Before the machine could move, Ansaria once again summoned her telekinetic powers and directed them at Reno. The stunned mechanism was struck by an invisible force, and it was sent tumbling end over end off the cliff.

Silence filled the mountains for the first time since the craft had shown up. Now, the only sound that could be heard was the fiery wreck of the truck.

Ansaria, more tired than she could remember being in quite a while, slowly made her way back to her squad. Nobody seemed to be injured, aside from a few cuts and burns.

“All right squad, take five, than get ready to move out. We’ve still got a house call to make.”

“Sarge, do you know how many planets there are in the Empire?” asked Slog.

The team had been walking for most of the day and the sun was touching the top of the mountains.

“No, Slog, I do not know.”

“Well, let’s ask someone who does. Tread, how many worlds are in the Empire?”

“There are three-hundred and twenty-five worlds in the Empire; one-hundred and thirty-seven member worlds, one-hundred and eighty-eight colony worlds. One more member world was assimilated before we began our mission.”

“Ah, well, there you go: there are over three-hundred worlds in this glorious Empire.”

“Do you have a point, Slog?”

“What I’d just like to know, is how come, in all those worlds in Imperial space, we had to land on a frigid mountain planet, run by an insane recluse in his mountain fortress that we can only approach on foot?”

“I’m sure I don’t know, Slog. Got any bad deeds catching up to you?”

“Worst I’ve ever been in was a bar fight. Until the whole ‘act of treason and destruction of Imperial property’ thing happened.”

“Then maybe we’re suffering now so things are easier later.”

“That’s awfully spiritual of you, Sarge.”

“Hey, when things are bleak…”

Ansaria, who until then had been leading the march, slowed her pace to match Alvara, who was bringing up the rear. The cold air wasn’t doing the semi-reptilian woman any favors. She had quickly fallen to the rear during the trek, and had required an extra thermal cloak from Ansaria.

“How ya doin’, M?” she asked quietly.

“I’m not gonna lie, Sarge, I actually miss our old base. Well, the warm sunlight at least. You can keep the boredom.”

Ansaria laughed.

“Yeah, it has been a pretty thrilling adventure so far, huh? If you’d had told me last week that I’d be marching through the mountains on another world after fighting a killer robot for the third time, I’dve said ‘in what simulation?’”

Alvara laughed at that, and Tread called out from the front.

“Sergeant, destination sighted.”

They had reached another bend. When Ansaria joined Tread, she was able to see the remainder of the road laid out before them, terminating in a large facility that was comprised of a large square building with three blocky buildings adjacent to it.

“Double time, squad. I believe our esteemed governor owes us dinner.”

The mountain road end at a flight of steps that the squad tiredly climbed. As they reached the top, the large, black doors of the facility swung open revealing an empty atrium with another set of doors along the far wall beneath a second level connected by stairs along the left-hand wall.

As the squad approached the next set of doors, they raised their weapons in an alert stance. After all the strangeness and hostility on this planet, they were prepared for anything.

When they reached the door, a red-lensed camera activated and peered down at the squad. Ansaria steeped forward to address it.

“Governor of Myrthal, by the authority of His Majesty, Emperor Xandarius, I demand that you present yourself and explain the state of your colony.”

The camera deactivated the next set of doors opened. Despite the smaller doors, this room was just as large as the atrium, its high ceiling dominated by a massive cone shaped device that hung down from the ceiling. At the far end of the room was a stretch of windows that offered a beautiful panoramic view of the mountains. However, the view was slightly obscured by a pod that was set before the windows, which was attached to various pieces of equipment and monitors. A massive computer dominated the left hand wall, while the right side had a row of seven, two-meter tall crates stacked next to each other.

As they entered the doors behind them closed and a humming sound filled the air. The room seemed to be permeated with a blue glow. From somewhere, a deep, almost, fatherly voice filled the room.

“Ah, yes, Sergeant Ansaria. Your irritation is understandable. But welcome, we have much to discuss. I am Governor Solemn.”

“Forgive my lack of manners, governor, but I’m in no mood to deal with a voice. Where are you?”

The blue light that filled the room pulsated.

“I am here, sergeant, just in more ways than one.”

Ansaria was quickly losing her temper. She and her squad were hungry, cold, exhausted and wounded. Now, they were being toyed with by some jerk who either really was crazy or had a thing for riddles. Probably both.

“No more games! Show yourself!”

From the back of the room, the pod hissed and rose slightly off the ground. The squad slowly approached it, and when they were close enough, the seal split and the inside of the device was revealed.

Inside was an emaciated Myrthalian, wearing nothing but a body glove and with countless tubes and wires attached to and going into him. The squad raised their weapons again.

“I said no more games! What is going on here!?”

The blue light grew stronger the room began to hum and vibrate.

“What you are looking at is the last vestige of my mortal form. Over the last two years, I have worked to achieve a lifelong dream of mine: the transformation of myself from a being of matter, to one of pure thought and consciousness. I am now a free floating entity, bound to my physical body by only the tiniest lingering thread of consciousness within my body.”

Ansaria was having a hard time taking this all in.

“So…that’s your body, but your mind is, what, here in the room?”

The blue light grew stronger again briefly

“Correct.”

Ansaria opened her mouth, closed it, and then tried again.

“Ok, I’m going to need you to explain, A LOT of things.”

Solemn chuckled and the air thrummed with the sound.

“That is to be expected, my dear. As I said, my lifelong dream has been the transformation of myself from matter to consciousness. I have spent my life studying, experimenting and improving whatever mind enhancing technology I could get my hands on. I studied telepathic species and their biology. Eventually, I was able to combine various pieces of technology and medical procedures that would expand my consciousness to the point where it could sustain itself indefinitely free of its mortal shell.

“Once I had the plans for my device, the next step was procuring a means of getting it built. It would require large amounts of funds and materials, and I was nowhere near wealthy or connected enough to afford it myself. I racked my brain, but the solution eluded me. Outside-the-box thinking was required. I was asked by a former pupil of mine, Keen to visit him in his lab here on Myrthal. This lab, in fact. During my stay, I eventually confided in him my ambition, and he immediately became fascinated by the prospect. Eventually, he came up with a plan to get us what we needed.

“Keen informed me that the former governor of this world was skimming off the top of his Imperial payments. He had friends in the governor’s office that could provide evidence, for their own payment. Keen also used his friends to find dirt on the Civil Council, the ones responsible for choosing the governors, with the Emperor’s approval. After everything was ready, Keen notified Xenlong, who informed the Emperor. The system fleet promptly arrived and arrested the governor for extradition back to Xenlong. Thanks to Keen, the council nominated him as the colony’s governor, with me as his lieutenant-governor. The Emperor saw no reason to object and approved the appointment.”

“Apparently, this whole mess had caused the Emperor to reevaluate this sector as a low threat level, because, the last thing he announced was that the system fleet would be redeployed to….some war some where. Naturally, we weren’t going to turn down this boon to our plans; one less pack of noses to poke into our work. After assuring the Emperor we had things in hand, Keen and I became the most powerful people on the planet, and set to work. We had to order parts from across the Empire to build my device. Once we had everything we needed, including an adequate amount of backups and reserves, we decided it was time to prepare for the next phase. We announced that the planet had been selected for use in an Imperial-sanctioned experiment in conjunction with the governor’s office. Given the nature of the experiment, it would require planetary isolation for the duration of the experiment. Therefore, all means of long distance communication was disconnected and dismantled, except for the transmitter n this facility. We also impounded and disabled the few long range ships that were on were world at the time. Last but not least, we issued strict orders on how to handle approaching ships. Once we had our sterile environment, we proceeded to phase three: testing.”

Ansaria’s stomach tightened. She had a bad feeling she knew what was coming next.

“Your apprehension is palpable, but unnecessary, Sergeant. All of our test subjects were volunteers. We encouraged citizens to help in order to speed up the experiment to end the planetary isolation. Unfortunately, we were dealing with unimagined new science, and many of our volunteers did not survive, including Keen. He insisted on using himself in an experiment, and when it wrong, the mantel of leadership passed to me.”

“So you still killed them. You experimented on them and they died because of it,” said Ansaria.

“All the volunteers were warned that death was a possible result of their participation, and their families were well compensated for their loss. Nevertheless, after successfully testing our theories, I was able to begin phase four: application. I hooked myself into the pod and began the slow process of freeing my consciousness. Over these long months, I have managed to free 99% of my mind from my body. It is the remaining 1% that is the problem. You see, the component that I required was still in the testing phase when my experiment began, and as such, I was unable to procure one until it was finished. Which it has, but there in lies the problem.

“You see, the facility that was producing the item I need is being produced on a nearby world, Brakka. Twenty-one days ago, I was contacted by the scientist there that their work was complete. Three days later, I was informed that the device would be flown to me within two days. And that was the last I heard from them. For the last eighteen days, I have been unable to contact Brakka, and therefore have been unable to fulfill my dream. While I admit I was extremely upset at this development, I was not prepared to give up. Surly, this blackout was only temporary, and I would simply need to be patient until a solution presented itself. And, to my great fortune, you have arrived. A squad of trained Imperial soldiers in need of a ship, I with the only Z-engine equipped ship on the planet, but with my life’s work unfinished and doomed to a purgatory of my own making. The universe has a sense of humor, does it not?”

“Let me get this straight, you want us to go to another planet, pick up some gadget and deliver it to you, so you can become a being of pure thought?”

“Correct, sergeant.”

“This day just gets weirder and weirder. All right, Solemn, we’ll bite. How do we get there?”

“I have a ship at my disposal that will get you to Brakka and back.”

Ansaria mulled this over.

“No offense, but what’s to stop us from taking the ship and leaving?”

“This ship is a real space capable only ship; if I understand correctly, that was the reason you were forced to land here to begin with, was it not?”

“Ok, then, the obvious question: what’s to stop us just tearing this place apart, taking the other ship, and leaving?”

Solemn was silent for a few moments before answering.

“You may have noticed that I am speaking to you with a speaker system. That is because I have found that forcing my consciousness upon others is a…uncomfortable experience. However, I will not be opposed to overlooking my distaste for it if you force me too.”

Now Ansaria was silent. The whole situation was screwy, no doubt about it. It looked like the only way out of this was to accept Solemn’s deal. She sighed.

“All right, when do we leave?”

The room thrummed again.

“Excellent, I’m glad you saw reason, Sergeant. You should all rejoice! Thanks to your assistance, you be able to witness history in the making!”

Ansaria waved aside his narrow focus.

“Yeah, yeah, miracle of science and all that, when do we leave?’

“Very well, we shall depart after I am ready.”

“Whoa, you’re coming with us? I thought you couldn’t leave this room cause of your body? Deal or not, I am not carting that coffin around with us.”

The room began to thrum and vibrate, the blue light pulsating in time with the reverberations.

“Patience, sergeant.”

The thrumming grew louder until it filled Ansaria’s ears and made her jaw itch. She tried to shout over the sound and address Solemn, but the thrumming was all that could be heard. Suddenly, the tip of the electronic cone descending from the ceiling glowed with the blue intensity before it leapt out into one of the white containers. The light covered the box before it seeped into it and the thrumming began to subside.

Everything was still for a moment before the container opened and out stepped a simple, white android, only simply more advanced than one of the models Critter would use. The blue glow suffused the portions of the machine that wasn’t covered in white material. Its face was blank except for a pair of glowing blue eyes.

“As a matter of trust, sergeant, I shall be accompanying you on this mission, to ensure the safe arrival of my package.”

“How can you come with us? I thought your mind was stuck here with your body?” said Ansaria.

“I can separate a portion of my consciousness that is able to travel outside my current range. Since I still require a receptacle to hold my conscious, I had these bots delivered for me to use should the need arrive.”

“This isn’t going to cause any problems, is it? You’re not suddenly gonna lose your connection and develop a murderous split personality, are you?” said Ansaria.

“Do not worry sergeant, I have tested this method before and all my calculations agree that my consciousness clarity will only degrade with every three squared parsecs. Thankfully, are destination is well within range, and there should not be any means of disrupting my connection.”

“Hold on,” said Alvara. “If you can deploy these bots over more than a parsec, why do you need us?”

“These bots are not indestructible, soldier, nor am I trained to handle combat situations. I do not know what is awaiting us on Brakka, and I did not want to send a portion of my mind into a potentially dangerous situation. Now that I have you all to accompany me, though, I am confident we shall proceed.”

A thought nagged at Ansaria, but she wasn’t sure what it was.

“Shall we depart, sergeant?” said Solemn.

“Yes, lead the wa-, oh!” She had just figured what was bothering her. “That thing doesn’t have a remote network uplink, does it?”

The question set the squad on edge. They stated at Solemn, who seemed more confused by the question than anything.

“No, I didn’t see why the droid would need it, since it would merely serve as a vessel for me. Why, will I need one for the task ahead?”

“No, no, you won’t. Just, let me know if you start to feel funny or anything, ok?”

“Very well, sergeant. Now, let us leave, my destiny awaits!”