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ALKAPHIRA: Chapter One

Rise of a Solar Empire

By Adam DrydenPublished 7 years ago 8 min read
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Mankind had long chased the dream of reaching immortality. It was the promised ultimatum of a galaxy controlled by the Divine Solar Emperor. He was god-like, technologically superior to the point of holding a messianic status above the entire galactic market. Engineers and developers alike revered him, naturists and libertarians despised him. Regardless of the controversy, over a millennia of progress stood splayed across over half of the Milky Way galaxy by means of a Neuro-electric Transit (NeT) system. Facilitating trade, logistics, and warfare, the NeT was a virtual universe built upon the reverse-engineered technology of a hyper-sentient race called the Alkaphirans.

Although the NeT gave way to a golden age in interstellar travel, it came at a cost. It required worship of Alkaphiran gods, and the sacrifice of personal divinity by defying the nature of man. The Empire was not a free one to belong to: the vast majority of Solar peoples were peons, plebs that conducted a singular directive for most of their lives. It was a world of machines, with little room for imperfections and resistance was met with swift, brutal extermination. The Imperial Gardens were fertilized with the spare parts and composted remains of those who refused to comply. The Emperor took great pride in his garden, where he developed superfruits to aid in the preservation of the small portions of human body he possessed. It's true, even the Divine Emperor was not completely human; as stated, the NeT came at a cost. Ironically enough, the Emperor had given pieces of his own 1,000-year-old body to the gods in pursuit of eternity. Rumors already circulated throughout the stars that the real Emperor had transcended into the NeT permanently long ago, but very few dared to challenge his legitimacy.

He walked in slow-but-steady strides as his bare feet paced the steel floor of SOLAR ONE: an artificial planet designed to implode into NeTspace in the event of an attack. It was roughly the size of Pluto, but held over 500 million members of the indisputably eugenic Divine Solar Dynasty. The Emperor and all of his relatives (some artificially manufactured or cloned) resided comfortably within SOLAR ONE as the rest of the Empire forged the energy of countless stars to maintain it.

"I want you to bring me this vessel. If it really contains what you proclaim it to, we have a major threat to our hold on the market," the Emperor said to his much younger and fit cousin, Lukas Vandelle. Lukas and the Vandelle Syndicate oversaw the Solar Union: the Empire's militant mech-manufacturing right hand. Lukas nodded, his right eye patched from an endless bloody war with the Liberty Alliance.

"Greene and the Pariahs will succumb to our will, or they will be crushed by our might." Lukas had an assertive and assuring tone.

"Just get me Greene in one piece," the Emperor's tone much softer and raspy than his brother's, still able to command entire fleets on a whim. He sat upon his cybernetic throne, which preserved him indefinitely. His head was bald, for hair no longer grew upon his body. With the flick of a finger he opened the door as Lukas began to swiftly exit the room.

Lukas' shoulders were broad, he was a notorious enforcer of Imperial rule. Unlike the Emperor, he was a doer in contrast to a delegator. If something were to be done, he saw to it personally. Grabbing his duffle bag full of next-generation weaponry and physics-defying explosives, Lukas hoisted himself onto the deck of the Vandelle flagship named after his daughter; Lucette.

Greene cringed as he spat crimson blood upon the cold, rusted metal floor of the ship. He didn't know where he was, besides the fact that in the distance some type of reactor was humming loudly as if about to burn itself out. The entire situation was dire, even despite the lumbering brute of a captain consistently interrogating and violently smacking him around.

"Now I'm gonna ask you one more time," the captain was getting notably anxious by the minute. Sweat poured down the corners of his scarred face. Lacerations were filled in with wiring that sizzled each time he tensed up. "where do you come from, and how did you get here?"

The doctor continued staring at the floor in disbelief. The last thing he could remember was driving home before a bright light had descended upon his car from the sky. He shook his swollen aching head slowly. His nose had never itched worse, naturally at this juncture, his hands were tied together behind his back. "I've told you everything you need to know. I'm not saying another word until I get something to eat."

A tray of some type of ground protein was slid in front of him. His server, a googly-eyed vagrant that had clearly been beaten senseless too many times gave a nearly-toothless lazy-eyed grin and said, "Roach meat. Good for you, eat up!"

Repulsed by not only the vagrant's filthy appearance but his commentary on the dish, Greene picked up his spoon, and tasted the goopy slop. His furrowed silver brow danced on his freckled tan forehead as he chewed. It wasn't the worst thing he had ever eaten, with the taste of dog food and the consistency of soggy grape nuts.

As he chewed, James contemplated escape. Although the ship was obviously crawling with thugs that had very little regard for most life, there had to be somewhere they were going. He hadn't let on his biggest secret yet, so he hopefully had a chance of getting back home. Looking around the room, he noticed a lot of boxes marked with strange symbols. They must've been keeping him in the cargo bay. Large thuds descended the stairwell. The captain was returning.

"Now that you've eaten, we need you to explain to us how you got here," the captain was now more sincere and almost sympathetic in his approach.

"I was driving along the road,"

A perplexed look swept across the captain's face, but Dr. Greene was too into his thoughts to notice.

"-and this bright light had shone through the clouds. Like a falling star, almost." he paused, looking up to find the puzzled captain staring back at him. "Anyway, it followed me for a good three to five miles before it... took me."

"From your vehicle, directly?"

The memory was foggy.

"All I can recall is a blinding light, then winding up here."

The captain frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the doctor's answer but this time more reserved in his anxiety.

"We're taking you to Vand. The Empire has a need for you, so you're gonna be ransomed. Your best bet is getting with GAIA. They have a knack for these things."

The doctor made a distorted, distressed and confused face.

"Until it's confirmed where you're from, we have to find out your worth." The captain lit up a cigar, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

"What assurance do I have that where I'm from will be safe?" James looked up, meeting the captain's brutal eyes with sincerity and desperation.

"What assurance do you have that it still even exists?" the captain replied with swift frankness. James recoiled, and said as he bowed his head, "I'm from—"

A sudden explosion outside the ship rocked the hull. Alarms began to ring as steam and smoke plumed across the bay. The captain ran to the bridge.

Jim sat and observed his environment. He thought to himself, generating a hypothesis for each scenario. He began wriggling his hands, attempting to pull them loose... They were tied taut to the back of the chair. He swung his arms back and forth, but they barely budged. The scientific method was failing him until he saw it—

What looked like a box blade lied inches away from him, opened and ready for use. With all of his power, he slowly hopped the chair over to the blade. Now to get ahold—

The captain returned, grabbed the blade and cut him loose. Shoving him into an elevator, the captain yelled "Get to the bridge!" and as the doors closed, the zipping sound of lasers grew. Jim's heart began to race. He arrived at the bridge, and red spots began to glow on the elevator doors. One beam flashed through as the doors began to open. A plethora of colored beams sprayed across the bridge. How none of it caused a breach was beyond Jim.

The crew was getting decimated by what looked like a rival criminal group. Their rivals were noticeably more sophisticated, but equally brutal in their executions.

"Doctor!" a young girl came sprinting from adjacent cover. Her hair was neon red, matching her ruby lips that rested below her hazel eyes. She was unlike anything Dr. Greene had ever seen. How did she know who he was?

"Greene," they shook hands, "I'm Ivy. I can't believe it's actually you. I've read all about you in the Mass Codex!"

James' first fan from the stars... He was speechless.

"Come with me. Stay close, don't get grilled!" she darted for a dismantled ventilation duct. He followed as close as he could, but a beam had cut through his shoulder. It was so precise and hot that the wound cauterized, but began to blister. He gritted his teeth as the two crawled into the duct.

"If you find another open grate, it's our ride out of here," she explained, having an obvious grip on the situation.

"What is going on? I don't understand any of this!" the doctor exclaimed, frustrated.

She shook her head. "Everything has its time, Doctor."

They had arrived at the next open grate. Leaping down, Ivy grabbed the handle to the vault-like door of an escape pod. "Let's go!" she shouted as Dr. Greene cautiously inched out of and finally fell from the ceiling duct. She giggled as he limped tocthe pod. The engines burst to life as they swirled away from the vibrant crossfire of two pirate ships engaged in heated combat among the beautiful starscape. The flashing battle shrank rapidly in the single porthole of the pod. The doctor's palms were shaking sweat with white knuckles from the shock.

"...Can you take me to Earth?"

"Everything has its time, Doctor."

The Imperial Flag

science fictionspace
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About the Creator

Adam Dryden

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