Chaos in the Starless Nights (In A Universe Without Stars book 1.5)

by McCarthy,J Alex

  Jaylen kept moving forward, sensing the guard following as he turned down the final hallway. The door he needed was at the end, and between him and his goal were twenty guards, all with their weapons out and an archangel leading them. They had short blades, as projectiles were dangerous in such a space. More guards blocked his exit.

  “I guess this is it.” His hands misted, his eyes erupted into a blue hellfire as fog spewed from his jaws. His hands became a blur as men fell.

  …

  Jaylen burst through the door, in front of him stood a console with a wall-sized display. Behind him was a hall filled with blue dust. He ran to the console and inserted the memory card. He reformed his eyes. He could now see the display better. This console isn’t just for the Avalour, it’s linked to the Citadel’s central database. With this we can reveal the lies of the Avalour, Raisa said in his head.

  “What did they lie about?” You’ll see soon, first delete the file and replace it with the new one.

  Jaylen clicked through the console, the folders were shown on the display, he located the file, it was under private investigation with do not upload in red.

  He clicked the file but only a name was shown. ‘Jour trails – Skysplitter experiment’

  “What is that?” Delete it, Raisa commanded.

  He did as ordered and then uploaded the file he had.

  “What if an Avalourian is the first to see it, couldn’t they delete it?” The central database is run by machines, it will be on everyone’s devices in a matter of seconds. One of these consoles is the only place you can do it.

  Jaylen pressed upload. The display quickly ran to one hundred percent. Jaylen scanned the files as they uploaded.

  “God…” They’d broken the one ultimate rule of Jahum. The rule that Jahum destroyed entire civilizations to uphold. Jaylen, you have to leave now!

  Jaylen grabbed the memory card and crushed it. He ran out and down the hall. As he exited into another hall, guards rushed him from the right. He sprinted to the left, he had to escape. He jerked right into another hallway and stopped in his tracks.

  Raisa stood right in front of him, ten armed Jour behind her, and Anu.

  “Raisa!” Before he could utter another word, his eyes exploded out, his breathing stopped, his skin ripped from his very being.

  Raisa removed her hand from his chest. “No loose ends,” she muttered.

  As he fell, he could only hear Anu’s cries as she stood behind Raisa.

  “I’m sorry,” came from her tear-slicked face. As what was left of Jaylen landed on the ground, the Avalourain guards turned the corner. They were all dead before they knew what happened, energy rounds tore through them.

  Raisa and her guards turned and left as Anu gave one final goodbye before following. As Jaylen’s senses faded, his last thought was that he could finally swim the eternal seas forever.

  Part 4 – Fiel, the omnipotent leader

  Fiel’s eyes opened, his advisor stood in front of his transport ship as he exited. “Welcome home,” she said.

  “It’s been a long time,” he replied as he stepped into the Citadel docking bay.

  “Twenty-six years to be exact, not that long, sir.”

  They made their way along the halls of the Citadel. Every soldier they passed saluted them.

  “And yet, Keti, it was long enough for Ical to surrender, to be murdered, and for the Citadel to be on the brink of another million year war,” Fiel stated. They made it to the main hall. “Schedule update.”

  A display appeared in Keti’s hand. She pulled and stretched it until it was readable. She physically held it and swiped through it like a tablet.

  “You have meetings until noon and an emergency council meeting that is to be set at your command. It will be about this morning’s incident.”

  Raisa approached Fiel, “I hope you had a pleasant journey,” Raisa said. She walked with him.

  “Pleasant enough, any updates on this morning’s situation? What exactly was let out?”

  “The Avalour have created multiple civilizations of intelligent life.”

  Fiel stopped in his tracks. “They broke the one rule, the idiots.”

  “The council is waiting on your order before our forces make a move,” Raisa said.

  “They broke the one rule and you haven’t arrested them yet?”

  “There are many rules, Fiel we—“

  “It is the only one punishable by death and instant banishment without trial. Just because Jahum left, doesn’t mean we will abandon his rules.”

  “My apologies. They know their secret is out, we have seized their ships and points of escape. Most of the high ranking Avalour are staying in their quarters.”

  “Arrest the councilman, his advisers, those closest to him and any Avalour politicians,” Fiel commanded.

  “Will you oversee the operation?” Raisa asked.

  “No, I have other matters to attend.”

  “We should put any Avalour on lock down as well.”

  “No. Do you know who released the files?”

  “No, but it might have to do with the death of Ical, your adviser has the information, she can brief you on it. Now if you excuse me, I have an operation to run.” Raisa left.

  Keti turned to Fiel, “Are you sure it is wise to not lock down the Avalour on the Citadel? There are thousands of them.”

  “The sins of one isn’t the sin of many, until we understand more about the situation, we shouldn’t act hastily. Now take me to Ical’s room.”

  …

  Fiel stood over a blue blot in the carpet. The place Ical was murdered, his remains were mostly cleaned up but investigators left the scene mostly untouched since the his cause of death was a mystery.

  Keti and the head of Serephin security on the Citadel, General Nigelus, stood behind Fiel. Fiel bent over and studied the mark.

  Keti spoke, “It’s the same method of operation as the person who infiltrated the data center. When our forces arrived afterward, the remains of the guards who were killed were in the same state: piles of sparkling blue dust.”

  “And there was no surveillance footage?” Fiel asked.

  “None. The nanomachines were gone.”

  “So, an inside job.”

  “I came to that conclusion myself.”

  He rubbed his hand over it and looked at the blue dust. He’d never seen anything like this before. The dust was a uniform blue, it sparkled in the light. Millions of years of life and he couldn’t think of the source of Ical’s death.

  He didn’t know why he’d come, perhaps he wanted reassurance that Ical was really dead or that just being in the room would tell him what Ical had wanted to say. But it was useless, Fiel didn’t have an inkling of understanding; he had as much insight of the future as a fish.

  But he had the power to rip apart reality, to extinguish time itself. As he was the most powerful being in the universe besides Jahum.

  That was why people feared him, why he was elected head of the council when Jahum left. His brother, Leif, had the unlimited power to see into the millions of paths of the future, to understand a thing just by looking at it. He would have solved this mystery. But Fiel had none of it.

  He was not going to rest until he found Ical’s killer. There was a thought in the back of his head telling him that if he could understand, maybe he could have prevented Ical’s death.

  “Keti, what could you see in the remains?”

  “Nothing sir. I’m not sure even Leif himself could see something in a pile of dust.” Fiel glanced at her, she shrugged.

  “General Nigelus, you are relieved of duty. Pack up your things because your duties will be needed elsewhere.”

  “Yes, sir.” The general turned and left.

  Keti tapped on his display. “Where do you want him to be stationed?”

  “I don’t care, use your best judgment.”

  “He was with us for over five-hundred years, are you sure you want to get rid of him?”

  �
��The death of a high valued prisoner cannot go unpunished. No matter how high his prestige, skill, or tenure. Three innocents are dead because of him.”

  “I was in command while you were gone. Will I be punished and banished?” Keti asked.

  Fiel smirked. “On your time off go run around the Citadel twice.”

  “You don’t give me any time off.”

  “Well, I guess you’re good then.”

  “Thank you, sir,” she said with a smile.

  An explosion rocked the room.

  “What was that?” Fiel yelled. Keti tapped furiously on her tablet. A voice came on in Fiel’s head.

  “Warning, the main hall and ship bay are in lock down, an attack is in progress. Level two security is activated. Please stay in your rooms or find a designated place of safety,” the message said.

  Another voice came on, “Fiel, Keti, the Avalour are escaping!” The voice was Raisa’s.

  “Meet me in the main hall,” Fiel said. He ran out of the room. “Keti, where are the Avalour going?”

  She tapped on her display. “They’re in the ship bay, their soldiers are holding off Citadel troops in the main hall.”

  “Let’s go.”

  …

  Fiel and Keti stood in front of an air lock shutter. Keti stated, “The hall must have been breached.”

  “Wait here,” Fiel said.

  He raised his hand. The reality in front of him split in half and into a circle, the screams and the terrors of the main hall screeched out. He stepped through the hole.

  Debris and bodies littered the floor. Innocents hid behind pillars and in the various shops. The ones who tried to run were shot down.

  Shots rang in the air. Citadel soldiers were attempting to fix the breach in the main hall window. The glass was in a disarray, multiple fissures and fractures littered the window. All welded back together. The air was still as they fixed it. A blinding blue light shot through the air to where the soldiers were repairing the glass.

  Another explosion rocked the hall as another hole was ripped into the crystal-like glass. A woman and a child screamed as they were sucked out into the vacuum of space, there were countless bodies floating outside of the Citadel.

  The attack must have been sudden, the only ones left were the ascended who weren’t fighters, cowering behind pillars.

  The Citadel was supposed to be a place of safety.

  Fiel was indifferent to the vacuum of space, it would take more than that to move him. An energy round whizzed past his head.

  Twenty Avalour archangels were in formation in front of the entrance of the ship bay halls, taking shots at anyone who came close.

  He needed to end it fast. With simply a thought, a blue force field expanded into the holes in the window. People came crashing down into the ground. They were hurt but not dead.

  He stretched out his hand toward the archangels.

  A force field encased them. Smart. But it would be their own undoing. The force field shook. Suddenly one of the men lifted into the air as Fiel lifted his hand.

  The man screamed as his orange wings erupted out of his back. They flared up, shinning brighter and brighter. The man started turning white as if he was about to go nuclear.

  As Fiel closed his fist, the man exploded in a bright white light. The force field exploded out in a bang, but the majority of the blast was contained.

  As the smoke cleared, only the scorched bodies of the Avalourian soldiers remained. All of them dead except one, hiding under the remnants of his comrades.

  The man was lifted in the sky, Fiel held him up. The man screamed as yellow energy wings erupted from his back. His body glowed bright enough to light the hall.

  This time, the man summoned his power on his own instead of Fiel pulling it out of him.

  “You’re going to need a lot more than that.”

  The man screams died down as he extinguished his energy, his little light show was useless. Six pillars of serpents surrounded him as Fiel lowered him to the ground.

  Raisa appeared next to Fiel. “The councilman and the Avalour have escaped, you could have stopped them.”

  Sporadic gun shots were heard as Citadel soldiers took care of the remaining Avalour soldiers.

  “The safety of the people of the Citadel comes first.”

  “Do you wish to pursue?”

  “No, work on the cleanup and getting intel from him.”

  Fiel pointed to the passed out Avalour on the ground.

  …

  Fiel stood at the tallest pedestal in the throne room, the highest and most prestigious of the five to the sides of him. All but one of them were occupied. All of the council members were present except for the Avalour.

  Only the sun lit the large room, its orange glow peering through the colossal glass window behind the pedestals. The working of the glass dimmed the sun so the Citadel could bathe in its glory.

  The captured Avalour sat on his knees in front of them, unchained. Pillars of serpents surrounded him, draining him of his power. There was nothing he could do.

  “What are the charges against this man?” Fiel asked.

  Raisa stood at the second most forward pedestal.

  “The charges are the murder of 306 innocents, treason, breaking intergalactic law, breaking out of imprisonment, and other charges. By our findings, he is guilty of all charges and shall be sentenced.”

  The Avalourian looked Fiel in his eyes. Fiel stared right back.

  “What is the suggested punishment?”

  “Death. By separation from the source.”

  The Avalour’s eyes widened. “What? Don’t you need to question me? I have intel you need! In exchange for—“

  Raisa cut him off, “For what? You gravely underestimated our intelligence officers, we have all the information we need.”

  “Wait!” he pleaded.

  “All for death by separation from the source?” Fiel asked.

  “Aye,” the council members answered.

  “No! Please!”

  “Fiel will handle the punishment as he can handle the object of execution,” Raise finished.

  Fiel stepped down toward the Avalour.

  “I’ll do anything, please!”

  “Then die,” Fiel said.

  His attendant handed him a long crystal chalice. Inside it was a sharpened piece of a pillar of serpents. The chalice split in half and Fiel grabbed the pillar.

  It felt weird every time he held the object. His hand would go numb and cold, but with his level of power he could still move his hand, even if he couldn’t feel it, and it never came close to sapping him of his power.

  “No, no,” the man continued to plead.

  “For your crimes against the Citadel and the universe, I sentence you to death.”

  The man let out a final scream and Fiel pierced the pillar into his chest. Light exploded from the Avalour, his eyes and mouth lit up like a star, the light screeching. Then after a few moments, the light died down and the Avalour let out a breath, his eyes wide with shock.

  The power of the stars was gone from his body. The man started to cough as cries came from his mouth.

  As an archangel, he was tens of thousands years old, but without the power to prolong his life, his body was long past the biological Avalourian limit of 225 years old.

  His skin crinkled and tightened, his hair turned white and limp and fell out. His whimpers muffled as his tongue dried. His eyes bulged as the skin around them squeezed. His skin turned gray and then black as the life left out of him. There was one final whimper as his husk fell to the ground and turned into dust.

  Fiel stepped back to avoid it. He stared and shook his head. So many people took advantage of the stars and this was where it got them.

  He placed the pillar back into the crystal chalice and someone carried it off.

  “Council dismissed.”

  The council left and the pedestals disappeared. All that was left was his adviser, Keti, and a crystal throne. As he sat on t
he throne, three displays appeared in front of him.

  All showed Citadel business, Keti stood next to him as he went through the day, taking care of it all.

  “How’s the cleanup effort?” Fiel asked.

  “The repairs to the main hall are almost complete.”

  “Final number of casualties?”

  “Three hundred thirty-seven, the final body has just been found heading toward Terra sir.”

  Fiel sighed. He opened a file labeled “Leif defeated by human.”

  “Human? A single being defeated Leif’s forces?” Fiel asked.

  “Sources said Jahum gave multiple humans his power, and a human named Cole, a person of interest, because of his involvement with Jahum, turned into an archangel when he defeated Leif. He only had the power for two days.”

  “Impossible! Two days? It takes millennia for anyone to reach that level. In fact, their bodies shouldn’t be able to take Jahum’s power, nobody can.”

  “That’s what our sources say.”

  “Jahum broke his own rules when coming in contact with an underdeveloped species... send them a welcoming message.”

  “They were just attacked, I don’t think they’ll be welcoming of us.”

  “Do it anyways, if they reply then more the better. They were forced into our galactic politics. We need to see why they can take to the power of the stars faster than others. It looks like Jahum has found something special, I don’t like that.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Humans. Another species that look similar to us. With a universe this large, you would think there would be more variety in intelligent design. Jahum isn’t telling us something.”

  “Jahum has a lot of secrets.”

  Fiel grunted in agreement.

  Keti tapped on her display. “You have an encrypted line attempting to contact you, it’s coming from Avalour space.”

  “Open the line to the council members and let it through.”

  A large display appeared in front of Fiel, the Avalourian councilman, Bedivere, showed up, standing in front of a large white house.