Villain
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VILLAIN
RISE OF THE EMPIRE SERIES
BY IVAN KAL
Copyright © 2019 by Ivan Kal
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Timeline
PROLOGUE I
PROLOGUE II
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
EPILOGUE I
EPILOGUE II
Glossary
Timeline
November 2103 – A faction of humanity—Olympus—leaves to colonize a planet in a star system 600 light years from Earth.
February 2159 – An alien race called the Ra’a’zani conquers Earth.
May 2164 – Olympus arrives at their destination; they name the planet Sanctuary. They get involved in a conflict against an alien race called the Sowir. Ally themselves with the Nel of Nuva.
March 2170 – Resistance from Earth contacts Olympus on Sanctuary, asking for aid.
December 2171 – Olympus and Sowir Dominion make a pact of non-aggression.
January 2172 – Olympus fleet arrives in the Sol system, engaging Ra’a’zani forces. The battle for Earth results in narrow human victory, but the cost is Earth. The Ra’a’zani weapon makes the planet uninhabitable.
March 2172, Year 1 of the Empire – Tomas Klein, leader of Olympus, creates the Empire.
December, Year 30 of the Empire – Sowir attack Nelus system, homeworld of the Nel. Empire breaks the non-aggression pact with Sowir by simultaneously sending aid to Nelus and invading the Sowir territory. Clan Leader Adrian Farkas overuses the Watchtower command interface, and falls into a coma.
January-March, Year 31 of the Empire – Adrian Farkas wakes up and hears the telepathic beacon from the sphere left by the originator of the human and Nel races, unlocking all the knowledge and technology contained inside.
March Year 36 of the Empire – The Empire wins the war against the Sowir.
Years 36-54 of the Empire – The Empire is at peace, focusing on exploring, developing technologies from the sphere of the People, and expanding their borders to reclaim Sol.
June, Year 54 of the Empire – The Empire meets an alien star-nation called the Erasi.
July, Year 54 of the Empire – Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas meets Dai Sha Anessa of the Shara Daim, the third race created by Axull Darr. Anessa attempts to capture Adrian; the fight ends in narrow victory for Adrian and his people. They take the Dai Sha prisoner.
January, Year 55 of the Empire – Shara Daim Elders recall all of their forces for an attack on the Empire, seeking the device left by Axull Darr.
June, Year 55 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel releases Dai Sha Anessa.
August, Year 55 of the Empire – The Empire defeats the Ra’a’zani, leaving their people abandoned on their worlds with no way of getting back into space.
September, Year 55 of the Empire – Three Shara Daim Legions attack Sol. The Lord Sentinel defends and defeats the invading forces, allowing Dai Sha Anessa and her remaining forces to leave Sol.
December, Year 55 of the Empire – The Erasi invade Shara Daim territory.
September, Year 56 of the Empire – After finding out about a conspiracy by the Elders of the Shara Daim, Dai Sha Anessa removes them from power, taking the rule of the Shara Daim for herself, claiming the title Kar Daim.
March, Year 57 of the Empire – The Shara Daim reach out to the Empire, inviting the Lord Sentinel to their homeworld Shara Radum for diplomatic talks.
June, Year 57 of the Empire – Empire diplomatic task force is ambushed by the Erasi on their way to Shara Daim homeworld. One battleship is destroyed, but the rest of the taskforce manages to escape.
July, Year 57 of the Empire – The Empire’s diplomatic task force and the Shara Daim reach an agreement, forming an alliance. The Empire becomes obligated to help the Shara Daim against the Erasi invasion.
November, Year 57 of the Empire – A large Erasi force is detected at the border of the Shara Daim; more than one hundred fleets move to reinforce the Erasi invasion.
July, Year 58 of the Empire – The Erasi attack the Empire embassy on Tarabat.
September, Year 58 of the Empire – The Shara Daim begin operations to retake their territory back from the Erasi. An Erasi stealth taskforce infiltrates Empire territory.
November, Year 58 of the Empire – The Shara Daim, the Empire, and the Erasi meet on neutral ground for negotiations. The Erasi break the truce and attempt to assassinate the Kar Daim and the Lord Sentinel. As a result, the Empire joins the conflict fully on the side of the Shara Daim. At the same time, the Erasi taskforce in the Empire’s territory executes an attack on Sanctuary, killing millions of civilians and damaging the Hades Yards. The Star-Guard station used for the first time, destroying the Erasi fleet.
December, Year 58 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel of the Empire executes an advanced attack on the massive Erasi force, hoping to reduce their numbers before their invasion of Kaleras. The attack is successful, but not enough. The Erasi force moves against Kaleras with overwhelming numbers. The defending Shara Daim and Empire forces fight a losing defensive battle. After days under siege, help from the Empire arrives in the form of the World-ship Enduring, the personal ship of Axull Darr. Adrian pilots the ship and destroys the Erasi force.
January, Year 59 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel of the Empire uses the threat of the Enduring to force the Erasi out of the Orion Spur. The Erasi agree to the truce under those terms and abandon all of their territory in the Orion Spur, ceding control to the Shara Daim and the Empire.
Years 59-563 of the Empire – A period of peace and advancement; the alliance between the Shara Daim and the Empire grows stronger, and both increase the sizes of their territories.
May, Year 563 of the Empire – One of the Enlightened, Aranis, arrives in the Empire and assumes the i
dentity of one of its citizens.
November, Year 563 of the Empire – A joint attack by the Hand of the Empire and the Fleet on a pirate base suspected of colluding with the Erasi is carried out. Plans for the invasion of the alliance are discovered. On the rim, Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas makes contact with an enigmatic and powerful race called the Krashinar.
February, Year 564 of the Empire – A preemptive attack on the Erasi is executed by the Shara Daim, the Empire, and the Krashinar. The invasion of the Erasi territories begins.
January, Year 565 of the Empire – The war with the Erasi grinds to a halt in the Erasi outer systems. The Empire and the Shara Daim struggle to break through to the Erasi core worlds.
March, Year 565 of the Empire – A task force is formed and sent into the Erasi core with the task of destroying their military infrastructure, led by Sentinel Ryaana, daughter of Adrian and Anessa.
February, Year 566 of the Empire – Valanaru, Weaver of the Erasi, deploys a secret weapon, the Crescent, backed by a large Erasi force, against the task force. The resulting fight forces the Enlightened Aranis to act. Aranis destroys both forces and kills everyone on both sides who could identify him, saving only Ryaana, who was unconscious at the time.
December, Year 566 of the Empire – Valanaru, enraged by the loss of the Crescent, accuses O’fa Vorash of betrayal, triggering a civil war.
January, Year 567 of the Empire – Vorash arrives in the alliance staging system via an access point, and reveals that he and Adrian had been working together in order to change the Erasi from within. Vorash asks for help against Valanaru.
February, Year 567 of the Empire – The combined forces of the alliance and the Erasi loyal to Vorash invade the capital system of the Erasi. Adrian uses his Sovereign to punch a hole in the Erasi planet’s planetary shields and drops an elite team to the ground to deal with Valanaru, led by Ryaana and Lurker of the Depths. In the fighting Lurker of the Depths kills Valanaru, and Vorash gains control of both the system and the Erasi.
April, Year 567 of the Empire – A peace treaty between the alliance and the Erasi is signed.
March, Year 598 of the Empire – Adrian and the Old Scar awaken a new breed of great beasts. Adrian names the newborn Moirai.
September, Year 621 of the Empire – The Custodian AI learns about the planned summit of the galactic powers. It bends its programming and begins operations to interfere with the gathering.
January, Year 708 of the Empire – The Nomad Fleet is completed.
March, Year 708 of the Empire – The Suvri, a core power, agree to host the summit of the galaxy’s star nations at the urging of High Matriarch Levisomaerni.
October, Year 713 of the Empire – The Rimward Alliance arrives in the Suvri system hosting the summit. The Nomad Fleet is left on the edge of Suvri territory. The talks begin and are immediately stalled by the Josanti League, who are not interested in any alliance against the black ships or the Enlightened. Before the summit’s end, the system is invaded by the AI’s black ships. The combat is fierce as the Suvri and some of the escort fleets join in the battle against the overwhelmingly more numerous foe. However, more than half of the attendees refuse to help in the defense. Those who fight manage to hold off the enemy ships for several hours until the Nomad Fleet and Suvri reinforcements arrive. As victory seems more and more possible, more star nations join in the fight, and the AI’s forces are defeated.
November, Year 713 of the Empire – The summit continues, and the discord between the many star nations is apparent. One of the greatest core powers, the Tar’ferat, agree to the alliance, while the Josanti League refuses. The summit concludes with the forming of the galactic alliance, but far fewer nations agreed to join than had been expected: less than a third of the attendees.
February, Year 715 of the Empire – The Enlightened forces are rampaging across the galaxy, attacking seemingly random systems.
August, Year 716 of the Empire – The Great Alliance is formed, and a Grand Fleet assembled, with the task of invading the Josanti League system taken by the Enlightened.
July, Year 718 of the Empire – The Grand Fleet arrives in their target system. They are met by the forces of the Enlightened Doranis. The battle rages for days, before the Enlightened Loranis arrives with reinforcements. The Grand Fleet is lost with immense casualties.
August, Year 718 of the Empire – Adrian and his Krashinar allies attack the Custodian AI. Their force is victorious and his personal AI Iris takes over the Custodian AI’s core. The threat of the AI is neutralized and Iris gains control over its assets. From the fragments of the Custodian’s deleted memory, she learns some of the plans of the Enlightened.
PROLOGUE I
A long time from now
The man sat in his sanctum and remembered a time when he had little understanding of the Universe he lived in. A time when things appeared to be far simpler than they truly were. Many called him evil, and in many ways they were right, but they did not really understand him. They thought him heartless, but he had more heart than any of them. What he did then—what he had done since then—all was for a single purpose: to safeguard life, and the potential that all living things had within themselves. But mortal beings were small, their minds focused on their small lives and ruled by their emotions and concepts of morality that did not really exist. They couldn’t understand, and they couldn’t forgive.
Their words hurt him, even now after all this time. Not because he felt that they were true, but because they were so small that they couldn’t see beyond their own small lives. They did not see the bigger picture. They could not see.
A failing that most life had.
But inside of them was a thing that was most precious to him—a thing that he was trying so hard to safeguard, to nourish and foster. It was one of two reasons for his existence, the hope that some of them would see beyond as he had. That some would strive to reach for the same height that he had reached, that some would claw their way to the top and join him here, where it was so lonely.
But his task was not to dwell on such things. He was searching deep inside of his mind, looking at the specific memories surrounding a single event that had changed everything. A moment when he had glimpsed everything, and had no way of comprehending it all. He hoped that now, after centuries of growth and experience, he could glean something new from what he had been shown, from the moment he touched what his old teacher had called the song of the Universe, but was so much more.
His memories played out inside of his head. The moment would come soon enough.
PROLOGUE II
Galactic Core
Aranis sat on his Living-ship Foundation and looked through the viewing screens at the sight around him. The system, or perhaps something akin to a super system, he was in was huge. The supermassive black hole that was the center of the galaxy loomed over everything; the stars orbited it slowly, and the planets moved in the delicate balance between them and the hole, losing ground always. Eventually they would all fall into the black hole, as some already had. Stars leaving trails of gaseous material which was being pulled into the black hole left glowing lines across the tapestry filled with darkness. Broken planets and massive asteroid fields roamed, smashing into one another in explosive and beautiful displays of light. But a few planets, against all odds, were stable. Some even had life on them, simple life, just emerged. The planets were often bathed in so much radiation that it killed everything on the planet from time to time. Yet somehow, always, life found a way to come back.
The system was filled with Enlightened forces—half of all the ships that they had available. They had to protect this place, as it was the most vulnerable part of their plan. Aranis hoped that the others could keep their enemies occupied, that they could prevent them from finding this place, but already they had encountered problems. The AI was gone, defeated. Before it went down, it had managed to send one last transmission through the access points. It closed the systems of its scout ships, preventing them from b
eing taken down with it, as well as making them follow the instructions of the Enlightened. That allowed them to still use access points, which was a blessing.
They did not know exactly what had happened, only that the AI was no longer sending updates. Aranis and the others suspected that it had been destroyed. They hadn’t believed that that was possible, not with all of its power and that of its swarm. Any fleet that came up against the AI would have had to face incredible difficulty in combating its forces. Even if their enemies could have amassed a fleet large enough to battle its machine fleets and the swarm, the AI had incredibly sophisticated Cyber Warfare systems: any ships facing it would have to contend with losing control of their ships or being infiltrated, and that was not even accounting for its vast processing abilities. It could see and plan several steps ahead of even the brightest military minds.
The People had barely defeated it last time, and this iteration had been in many ways better, designed for war instead of the support of a civilization.
But the truth did not change because they thought it unlikely. Now they did not know if their plan was revealed, if they should expect an attack, so they could only act assuming the worst. Loranis had suggested that they use the amplifier to scout out the galaxy, to extend their range and see what was happening, but both Doranis and Aranis had argued against him. There were people as strong as them in the galaxy now—they could not look without being discovered, and the amplifier was with Aranis, at the one location that they had to protect at all costs. They could not risk showing their hand.
Aranis glanced at the planet below his Living-ship. The massive rock had atmosphere, enough that it could sustain life, but there was little life here. Most had been consumed by his Created and used as building material for the foundation of their project. The entire planet was crisscrossed with long and thick lines that could be seen from space: tubes that connected thousands of energy-gathering stations to the amplifier that stuck out of the ground of the planet, as a massive tower reaching for the stars. It was the largest construct ever built in the galaxy, and it had been in construction since they decided on this plan. It had never been supposed to be the only plan, however; it was an insurance policy, in case their other plans didn’t come to fruition. In the end, it remained the only viable solution.