The Futility Wars

by Magnus Thollander

  The soldier then saluted and left, and after a few minutes a room of eight individual were left, Ricardo included. S-4XN-001 swiped their faces, and motioned them to follow and the commanders were looking at them walking down the hallway toward the docks, Ricardo spotted a very overt fleet hanging around the planet he had not been alarmed about, he would have raged at his defense crew, but they had been given the secret codes which were impossible to hack to keep quiet.

  They stepped into the transport which then immediately docked with the massive ship he recognized as a dreadnought, the ship immediately set course for somewhere unknown but after a few minutes he spotted Liam in his empire getup climbing aboard surrounded by a heap of drones, "Commander" he saluted, "My mission is ruined and i was about to-"

  It took Liam a second to recognize the situation at hand when he spotted the shell standing next to Redmond, He saluted again and just shut up and stood still. S-4XN-001 set course for the gathering place of individuals he knew, he had a few had to "take" with force to bring to the milky way galaxy but this was more important than anything, especially after the hive was taken and the data inside.

  Qasqaer shook in horror when the armada simply pulled his ship inside and basically forced him into a room with several other Ortha, they mentally connected, and they had no idea why the powerful warrior had taken them. He would not protest or demand anything for he knew there was no fighting back against the warrior that had single handley kicked their empire to the curb and futility as well.

  The situation was constant across the galaxy several alien members were kidnapped from their home system and the only race that protest were the old caravan that entered milky way so long ago to teach them how to become warriors, their culture had finally some semblance of peace and prosperity with the futility gone from their corner of the galaxy and guarded by the powerful warrior that solved their problems with his powerful ships.

  They seemed to more united than ever considering the outcry at a few individuals being taken without their permission, but he had to inform everyone at once and gather their thoughts about the whole situation.

  Finally a cluster of aliens is herded into a giant hall where humans were already waiting and confused as well, Qasqaer calmed down when he spotted the warriors children already sitting in a seat of "honor" as he called it, humans were sitting either on their sides or behind him in respect. Qasqaer were officially an exile but these individuals knew of his sacrifice, and he was accepted in the position of honor in his metallic shell which towered over 5 meters, he had gained some mass in his solitude.

  Daniel was more confused than ever and his father even found out the truth about his son Oscar which were the reason they had kept out of loop with the communication blackout, He would have guessed Marcus or Kenny had read his mind but that was impossible considering he could not do it, and he was more powerful than them, which he hid well.

  Lana squeezed his hand and Oscar was only five years old, incredibly intelligent and well-behaved considering his age but Seyla had taking a liking to Oscar, and he was behaving very well in her company being coddled with sweets.

  The guest of honor arrived and Daniel's eyes widened when he saw his father in his human form again, he would rub his eyes and never believe what he was seeing after their last meeting he seemed so normal comparing to himself, but he knew either he held back or he had another breakthrough in his psychic energy.

  "Everyone, of different races and humans. Friends and enemies, partners and loved ones.I have discovered a terrible truth of the futility and i will now try to explain to it the best of my abilities, which i cannot still understand but is... the truth." S-4XN-001 said with a heavy heart and his aura was pulsing constantly setting the Ortha especially in fear considering their weakness to psychic energy.

  A hologram appeared in middle of the room. "This is a list of names, most of you are on it but there is over 200 i cannot find and names i do not recognize from any alien races i met, I'm assuming they are deeper into the core of the universe or at the fringe, i have begun an immediate search to find them, which is paramount." he said, and the room were scanning the list they were shown before to find any person in their races empires.

  "The truth is, a new futility life form shouted out this list at my daughter Yua which is here today, and after the capture of the hive the proof is irrefutable, the futility knows more than they should be possible able to learn, and my only conclusion is... They are from the future or can read the future. This sounds ridiculous, but i know after seeing my son Daniel and his girlfriends unborn child in her which confirmed my suspicions, the name is on the list which they already named four months ago." S-4XN-001 said.

  And the room was in a uproar, "QUIET!" everyone stopped speaking and looked at the Ortha in the room, "I NEED TO THINK, ABOUT THE NAMES IN SILENCE. PLEASE."

  Everyone got quiet and after a minute the Ortha spoke loudly and in horror, you could feel his psychic energy about to break him down and the others were being affected, "THIS NAME, CHEDDU. I KNOW OF THIS ORTHA WHICH EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW, HE WAS THE PREVIOUS MILITARY COMMANDER OF OUR GALAXY THAT FOUGHT THE FUTILITY MOST FIERCELY, HE WAS AMBUSHED AND KILLED BY THE ONLY TACTICAL MANEUVER THE FUTILITY EVER DID IN OUR GALAXY, THEY WOULD FIGHT IN SWARM TACTICS BUT NOW THAT I THINK CLOSELY, HE WAS TARGETED DELIBERATELY." Qasqaer said, and the Ortha were trembling inside their shells and the energy was going around the room.

  "Good, Now we know another name on the list itself, and i believe the futility are targeting us for a real good reason. Which is either we are a threat or about to become a threat towards them, after looking into the hives data banks there are alot of blanks, but i know at least of the Ortha galaxy fate, and their plans were." S-4XN-001 said.

  Qasqaer and the other Ortha stopped and opened their sensory organs to the maximum, they needed to hear why the futility came to their galaxy. "The answer was simple if you think about it, especially Qasqaer. Think back, about the whole picture. What were the moment that impacted you and your people the most." he said.

  Qasqaer lowered his head which was rare in Ortha cultured, and he kept rambling memories to himself loudly and the others followed, and he froze, What would the futility attempt to accomplish by killing him and the few Ortha in this room, especially Cheddu and it hit him instantly, "THEY ATTACKED US SWIFTLY, AND THE REASON IS OBVIOUS WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT. THEY ATTACKED US TO STOP YOU, TO STALL YOU. THEY WERE NEVER CARING ABOUT US, AND THE NAMES ON THE LIST MAKE SENSE, CHEDDU WAS THE ONE THAT COULD STALL THEM, AND WE ARE THE NEXT IN COMMAND FOR THE MILITARY, THIS WAS NEVER ABOUT WIPING OUT THE ORTHA, IT WAS ABOUT DENYING YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT." Qasqaer said.

  And Matthias nodded "Yes, I believe what they wanted to deny was my ability to unlock psychic energy from studying the Ortha, I only really advanced after i hacked your databases and got several samples of studies of your biology, Which is another problem when you think about the whole picture, I am dying, the futility had played me as a fool since the beginning by attacking the Dre'n'ja, Rienka and the other races in the caravan. I belive they already knew the problems i was about to face by being a warrior and human at the same time." Seyla lowered her head and stroked Oscar, the rest of his children and the vanguard commanders were shocked at his confession of his impending death.

  "Hope is not lost for me, i can stall this process for many years while i try to find the solution, but i am losing a human body every day due to decay, my powers advanced too far and i cannot contain it, there is something called a soul which travels freely between my bodies that encompasses my powers, and brings me to the peak after a day. And another day to kill me from this problem, I am on a endless loop of death and life. I believe there is a solution to all our problems within this list of names, and i want your ideas about the whole situation" Matthias said.

  The Dre'n'ja known as Seeder to the milky way stood up "Humans and aliens alike used to call me Seeder, Which has stuck even now. But i know the warrior upgrade was not a trap by the futi
lity to ensnare you,S-4XN-001. Else they would have never engaged us and ignored our part of the galaxy. No i believe we were going to do something else more important than turning you into a warrior. Our people had plans to travel the galaxy before the Rienka first engaged the futility at all, and the truth is obvious when i think of it."

  Everyone was waiting for him to speak, but they could not help drift their thoughts about their own race and how they were impacting the futility as a whole their thought were interrupted when he finally spoke.

  "There is one thing we have that are always given to visitors of our society, lost in lore and time and i believe this is what you would have gotten if you ever left the milky way, which i assumed you would have. Even in your feeble condition in unless they were able to effect as well. Which makes them unstoppable." he looked around the room.

  "There is a plant on our home world that were called, Lun. Our home planet is a crater, but we have grown this plant in our colony ships and i believe this is what they were targeting, This is the only thing i can think of." Seeder spoke, and Rienka thought about the whole situation as well. What were they before the became warriors, and how or if the futility affected their progress how did they do it? He slowly scratched his bark and his powerful cybernetics that were hooked up to him suddenly clicked.

  He roared in anger, "Futility! You! You attacked us to deny us to deny our dreams of spreading our seeds across the universe! This is how we would have gotten the Lun to the milky way! We had discovered galaxy travel before they attacked and the only reason they would attack us is to try to steer us away from the Dre'n'ja! When i think about the fated day they attacked, they came from the direction of the Dre'n'ja, but our commander which is on the list. Thought they would slowly drift past the futility in what humans call dead space, it was a brilliant move that kept us alive and also hooked us up to the other alien races. We were attacked to stop going to the Dre'n'ja." The powerful Rienka would have laughed if he had the vocal cords to do it, he simply hunched over and shook his branches.

  Matthias had already collected several samples of the Lun plant which was ordinary beyond doubt, you just simply cooked in water for a few minutes then drank the blue water as a tea to symbolize friendship, he knew there had to be something more than that.

  Juliet stood up and spoke "Father, This plant is not for you. This for the plants in the temple, you know the sentient one we paid no attention to with the psychic gift. They have no names, but they are soaked in psychic energy. Futility knows we would not eat and harvest them, but maybe we would have. If we introduced the Lun to them, think about it. The data on the plant i can see right now from a glance, It's made for grafting."

  Matthias calculated and experiment instantly while still standing in the chamber, and her projection was spot on, "You are right, Juliet. This is solving the problem of the plants turning sentient and not being farm able, the Lun grafted with their seeds removes this problem, but what is so special about the plant itself even if not sentient and edible for every human, which i assumed was the goal."

  Juliet shook her head and before she could speak Daniel stood up, "Father, I know what the plant is supposed to be, It's to not to be farmed or grafted, It's to an eternal friendship with the Dre'n'ja, Think about it. A brew of friendship for everyone that is a guest in their home, The Dre'n'ja has something else that is a threat to the futility not the plant itself. Something you would need or get help with if you ever came there in your human form, which i would assume have with your psychic powers intact."

  Seeder closed his four eyes and thought about it, his ears perked, and he listened to his heartbeats while thinking, what would he been offered if he ever entered their galaxy and visited their home planet, what would the Dre'n'ja offer a visitor from beyond the stars? He thought long and hard about it, but there was nothing in the old customs about any other gift than the tea.

  "Mommie! Sleepy!" Oscar cried out, Lana face was red, and she took Oscar into her arms while whispering in his ears to be quiet. "Ah! The Gardens! He would get to visit the Gardens of Tranquility! Of course! But it was destroyed only a fraction of it have been restored while being transplanted from our arks, but there might be something of value there?"

  The room was quiet and Matthias thought about it, "I think we should go back for today and think about the situation at a whole, Seeder we will visit this garden of tranquility immediately while i still have the strength before going for a new body."

  Seeder nodded and Matthias family followed him to the ship, they were gonna visit this garden as well. The ship was state of the art, and they all immediately went from the milky way to the Dre'n'ja galaxy which were named the same as the race, they could probably name it something else but what's the point, they were the only sentient race in that galaxy.

  Matthias entered the home world and after a few frantic calls of calm from Seeder they got docking permissions to land on the planet, not like they could stop the warrior that kept the futility at bay, if he ever pulled his ships from the edges they were vulnerable again. They unlocked a tiny transport and set course immediately for the garden bypassing all the infrastructure in the way.

  "S-4XN-001 please, obey custom. You can dock in front of the gardens and not in middle of it, please." Seeder said, Matthias frowned thinking it was a waste of time, but he could at least waste a few minute walking there, so he docked at the edge and stepped out of the ship under guard by the nearby soldiers and onlookers that were curious.

  Matthias walked in large strides while Seyla followed behind slowly, Daniel and Lana were more curious about the aliens than the trees, but they followed as well and a large gathering of Dre'n'ja and humans walked down the dusty road. Matthias surveyed the area with his psychic senses and walked down the road, he felt nothing and there was nothing really here for him to think was interesting.

  He spotted what looked like the "tree" that symbolized the garden, it was massive at least 400 meters tall, and he was impressed at the waste of space to take this tree with them into their arks, but he guessed it was really important to the Dre'n'ja as a whole, to him it was just scenery or heat in winter.

  "So, What do you do here Seeder?" Matthias asked, and Seeder laughed "You sleep next to the tree, it is the highest honor to have your back to the bark itself usually shirtless."

  Matthias pulled off his shirt, and he heard gasps behind him, he looked down and saw the black veins pulsing and the swollen red areas on his body, half his body was already dead or about to collapse, it was a miracle he could walk but his willpower was incredible.

  Seyla had tears in her eyes and Yua and Juliet tried to comfort her.

  Matthias laid his back on the bark and closed his eyes, and tried to "dream" which was rare for him these days, he probably did dream whenever he slept, but he never recalled them. He felt a tugging on his consciousness, and he fell asleep instantly for once, he assumed the bark contained pathogens that put people in a sleepy state.

  Seyla and the rest watched for a few minutes until Matthias opened his eyes, "Daniel, Marcus,Kenny, Juliet,Yua... even little Oscar, I am happy i was the cause of bringing so many lives into the galaxy, Seyla... I- I need to go, I have already informed the Cyr to take up the duties, I will return eventually. I know what i have to do." Matthias said while his chest were going up and down slowly, and he was struggling to find his breath and his face was blue.

  "Matthias! What are you planning! Tell me!" Seyla yelled with tears in her eyes,"I know now why i would have gone here, and it was to die. I know the soul exists and travels across my bodies, and that's the problem. I need to find or become something that can host it, my powers are killing me while trapped in a mortal shell, i need to find the solution in the other world, not in this world. I cannot research something i cannot remember, feel or see. I know it exists but i cannot touch it. I know this is the only way by coming here, i promise you i will return." Matthias said while taking his last breath.

  His head slumped down and Seyla
wanted to run forward but Daniel grabbed her,"Let go! I can save him!" Seyla screamed, Daniel still held her still until she calmed down. He frowned and watched his father pass away, and he knew not what the future would be or if this was the trap futility wanted for his father, but he needed to believe in him like he would in them.

  While everyone were feeling sad and watched in shock little Oscar ran up and pushed Matthias to the ground under the sight of everyone, Lana was about to yell but gasped instead, and so did everyone else. They saw a huge stream of black light stream into the sky and disappear, they looked up and when they glanced at the ground Matthias was still there dead, but they could visibly see the dark veins turn normal, Marcus and Kenny summoned a ship to take the body away, they would keep it in cryo if the need rose for their fathers return.

  The Cyr were frantic at the message given to their race to take up all his duties until his return or even if he would never return, Dragon had been the one to take up the share of the duties and even he was humbled by the amount of work needed to be done, Cyr now had the most powerful fleet and army in the universe second to the futility, or at least that was the data they received, but nobody thought about vengeance for the races that attacked and hunted them down previously, no. Now they are a goal to strive and work for the warrior that brought them peace and a purpose in this universe.

  Dragon immediately took full control of all the fleets fighting the futility, and he directed the other Cyr to handle the massive production and other projects, only a lone mind without interruption could handle the massive scale of warfare going on constantly and hidden from the other races, the futility were being engaged in over 30 galaxies alone and nobody had a clue about the loss of ships and carnage going on at every minute.