Faria Prime
Kepler-62 - 989 light years from Earth
Office of the First Prime, Kingdom of Faria
The First Prime stared at the black screen for what felt like an eternity, wishing he had never involved Skarl in the secret plot. This might be one of the last times he ever saw his lifelong companion again, and he hated that Skarl’s face was filled with fear and worry.
He missed the usual jovial smile and laughing eyes that he had known since they were hatchlings together, and he deeply regretted that he was the reason why Skarl lost his spark for life.
Forgive me for doing this to you, Skarl; I wish I could take this back and spare you.
The chime of the comm relay startled him, and he looked to see who it was from. His stomach clenched with dread as he saw it was the main agent, and he panicked, wondering if he had said something during his conversation with Skarl that could be misconstrued as treason against the Masters.
Forcing his face into a bland expression, he breathed deeply several times before accepting the comm request. A Farian appeared on the screen and smiled broadly at him, though there was no joy in the eyes that stared at him as if he was the lowest form of life.
“First Prime, you will inform me of your discussion with the Ambassador.”
Terror gripped its hands around his throat, and panicked thoughts whirled in his mind as he wondered again if they said something that would be considered disloyal. The agent continued to smile lifelessly at him, and he calmed down somewhat seeing that.
If the agent was displeased with him, it would have already set off more of the viral bombs as punishment instead of demanding he report on the conversation with the ambassador.
“The Ambassador has informed me of the current state of the talks, and I have instructed him to continue his efforts to create dissension and form an opposing bloc to derail the attempts.
If that fails, I ordered him to take the catalyst and execute the secondary plan. He will enact it in such a way as to ensure they eliminate as many of the delegates and leaders as possible, thus severely hampering their ability to create a unified alliance in time for the arrival of the Masters and their holy warriors.”
The changed agent’s smile widened, but the dead eyes did not change at all as it responded to him.
“Excellent. I see the jewels your scientist created are working flawlessly, and the impure did not detect it. This is good, though you will refrain from calling the Bal’Ri’Kan beasts or any other negatory term. They are the holy crusaders of the Masters, and as such, purer than any other filth in this galaxy, including your disgusting, amphibious species.
The Masters will remember your loyalty and ensure your ascension as the client servant controlling Faria when they arrive. You will be blessed as one of the Chosen; perhaps the only such selected in this quadrant when it has been purged of its filth.”
The smile remained, but the dead eyes changed somehow without really changing. Now, they were filled with malice and a promise of suffering that froze his soul in terror as he belatedly picked up on the mention of him controlling Faria. What of the King he served?
“Forgive me, but I did not ask to control Faria for the Masters. I only agreed to participate if the king’s life was spared, even if only as a symbol for us with no real power. Look into the memories of the life before, and you will know what I say is true.
We need a King to remain a united species, or the old ways will return, and we will collapse into the endless strife that plagued our ancestors. I am sure the Masters would not like that and prefer that the Farians remain a united people to ensure we are better able to serve them properly as blessed Chosen.”
A glint of anger and malevolence entered the dead eyes, and the agent’s false smile turned into a snarl as it answered him in a menacing tone.
“There shall be no kings, potentates, or other titles of power allowed when the Masters claim what is rightfully theirs. There can only be one master, and we cannot trust any who would willingly serve two masters. Your King will be spared as a mercy to the Chosen, but he will be a servant, and you will control your people for the Masters in his stead.”
The snarl was replaced with the disturbing smile that meant nothing, and it continued to speak, its eyes still glowing with promises of retribution and suffering if he failed.
“Fail the Masters, and they will ensure you remain alive to witness the end of your kind. You will be broken by the time we have finished, and they will keep you alive even after, the last of your kind and the final witness to the power of the ones who are meant to rule the galaxy.”
Holding his hands out with palms up, he hoped the agent would remember it was a gesture of supplication and a sign of his acceptance of the Masters as the new gods of the Farians before fearfully making a vow of obeisance and loyalty.
“I serve the Masters; I only wish to enact their will in this quadrant and ensure the survival of my people as one of the blessed Chosen. We will do whatever is required to please the Masters and fulfill our end of the bargain. I am grateful we have been spared.”
The changed Farian’s eyes reverted to the usual lifeless stare, and it spoke again, not caring to hide the arrogance and disgust in his voice.
“Excellent. Do not force me to seek information from you again. You will inform me immediately the next time you speak with the ambassador. I trust we will not have a repeat of the failed attempt to disable the viral bombs. If it happens again, it will mean you are also a betrayer, and I will set them all off. This is your last warning and your last chance to prove your loyalty to the Masters.”
The screen went dark, and the First Prime stared at the now black screen, his whole body starting to tremble from the fear response chemicals that had been flooding through him.
If only he had known, he would have ordered the exploration ship to be reduced to its constituent atoms before allowing them to return to the Kingdom.
What should have been a happy event had turned into the worst thing to ever befall the Farian people, and his part in all of it crushed him heavily as he tried to do his best to prevent the calamitous fate in store for them if he failed.
A long-ranged exploration vessel had been sent out over two cycles ago to search for new worlds to exploit and find markets for Farian goods beyond the quadrant, and the heavily damaged ship finally returned four solar months ago, limping into the system with destroyed null drives.
It was a momentous event for the Kingdom, despite only half of the 600-strong crew returning alive, the others having fallen victim to a viral infection on a planet they were scouting before it finally burned itself out, according to the operator that owned the ship.
The unusual virus apparently created weeping sores and damaged their joints and tendons during infection. The survivors were covered in terrible scars all over their bodies, and they all moved like very old Farians, despite none of them being past half life in age.
They warned approaching ships of the infection, and medical professionals with bio-suits boarded the vessel to check them out. Surprisingly, there were no signs of the virus within them, and they were allowed to return home after repeated testing and confirmation by the medical experts.
In another stroke of terrible luck, they had been caught in a gravitational eddy that severely damaged their ship and destroyed their communications relays as well as the weapons systems. Despite all this, they still made it home, and the First Prime saw them as heroes.
He remembered honoring the survivors with medals and financial rewards for their bravery and suffering, and the excitement he felt as they told of a vast region of unclaimed space full of pristine worlds brimming with resources for them to extract.
After all the celebrations and functions had been done, the crew was released to return to their lives as heroes of the Kingdom of Faria, and he soon forgot about them as his duties and responsibilities of being the First Prime took up all his time and efforts.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Such as it was until six solar weeks ago when the operator of the exploration vessel requested a private audience with him, with promises of unrevealed information that would greatly benefit the Kingdom.
He granted it, salivating at the prospect of enriching the coffers of the Kingdom, and his own as well, with the supposed secret information that would benefit all Farians. When the operator came to his office, he detected a change that he couldn’t quite identify.
He attributed it to the operator having a hard time readjusting to normal life and dealing with the troubles of having lost many of his crew, and he chose to ignore it even as he began to suspect that the operator might be slightly mentally damaged.
As he served the traditional host tea and properly observed all the ceremonial aspects of it, his feeling of something being off increased steadily as the operator continued to behave very strangely considering the circumstances.
The operator pulled out a datapad and gave it to him, and it took him a long time to understand what he was looking at, his confusion growing as he saw all the hatcheries and their current populations being listed.
It was only after the operator began to speak as if possessed when he truly realized that something terribly wrong was happening while the operator claimed to have the ability to destroy the hatcheries if he did not listen and obey.
Speaking of the Masters that were coming to claim what belonged to them, the changed Farian began to explain the confusing information on the datapad and the terrible consequences that would befall the Kingdom if he did not do what the Masters wanted.
He realized the operator had lost his mind after all, and he was about to have the guards come and remove him when he received an emergency comm call from the Hatchery Director from Northern Sector 4-G.
The distraught director was barely comprehensible as he wept with grief, but he was eventually able to glean the terrible news from the director and his equally devastated staff.
All 47,000,000 eggs and hatchlings had died suddenly from an unknown contagion, and they were instituting emergency quarantine procedures to prevent its spread. They could not understand how this occurred, as all hatcheries were isolated and closely monitored by medical staff to prevent such an occurrence from happening.
He himself regurgitated several times as the images and videos were sent to him, the millions of ruptured eggs and lifeless hatchlings floating on the surface too much for him to handle. All the while, the operator just sat there, smiling as if nothing was amiss.
He remembered staring at the changed operator smiling its evil smile with the empty eyes as it commanded him to look at the datapad again or another hatchery would be targeted and destroyed.
He did as he was ordered, and the understanding belatedly dawned on him as he grasped the true scope of the terrible evil being perpetrated on the Kingdom.
Every hatchery on the home world had been sabotaged with the same devices that had just destroyed Northern Sector 4-G, and if he failed to listen and comply, they would all be immediately set off at the same time.
Now a hostage himself, he listened to the changed operator as it began to explain what had truly happened to the ship and the crew and how they had been blessed by the Masters who were coming.
Near the end of their expedition, their ship had flashed out of null space to scout a promising system, only to find themselves in the middle of a large fleet of thousands of unknown ships that surrounded them before ensnaring the ship with grapplers.
The operator had the engineering and bridge crew destroy the null space drives and other sensitive technologies as dozens of shuttles emerged from the ships and headed towards them, following protocols put in place to prevent Farian tech from being stolen and copied.
They received no response to their first contact packet or communication attempts, and one of the ships fired on their communication arrays, destroying all of them as well as the point defense systems lining their hull as the shuttles neared them.
Seeing the thousands of warships around them, he also had the databanks purged to prevent them from figuring out where they had come from, since only an aggressive, expanding power would have so many ships.
By his order, they did not resist the boarding, hoping to be able to work out an agreement for their release with the unknown aggressors, thinking they accidentally violated their territory and could potentially resolve the mistake if they did not resist.
They regretted their decision immediately when the boarders quickly breached the ship from multiple points and began to slaughter and eat the crew closest to the breach points while they were still alive, their blood-chilling screams shrieking from the speakers as they begged for help before going silent.
He belatedly ordered the crew to defend themselves, and they retreated to the center of the ship, the invaders following and cutting through the emergency bulkheads as the crew locked down the ship and sealed off the corridors behind them while they retreated.
Within an hour of boarding, the reptilian beasts had devoured almost half the crew when they suddenly stopped attacking. He did not know what was happening or why they stopped until he saw the gas coming from the air recycler vents.
Surprisingly, it did not kill them, but it did render them into a stupor that prevented them from continuing to fight. The beast came soon after and forced them into the cargo bays, cramming the survivors into the too small space like livestock.
The operator was returned to the bridge to control the ship, and they were towed into a massive vessel that dwarfed all the others. Once inside, the survivors were forced out of the ship and into the cavernous landing bay of the vessel, the reptilian beast beating them to near death with shock clubs and whips lined with glass shards and hooks.
After being dragged deep into the vessel, they were corralled into a large pen near many others that were filled with dozens of species that were being butchered and fed on like livestock with a brutally evil industrial efficiency.
The Farians were not butchered and fed on; instead, they suffered relentless torture, drugging, and unspeakable violations for many weeks. It was not this that broke them; it was hearing the screams and seeing the other species being butchered and fed on while still alive that truly broke their minds and spirits.
Once that happened, they were let out of the pen and brought to a large chamber with a hovering device in the center that revealed itself to be the abode of the Masters, the Gel’Sha’Nac.
One by one, they were brought to the device and pulled into a black vortex by biomechanical tentacles that tore the flesh from their bones as they were pulled in.
None remembered what happened while they were in the presence of the Masters, or for how long they were there, but when they were returned, they knew they were now the blessed of the Masters whom they loved with all their hearts.
They were no longer Farians. They were now instruments of the Masters, and they were charged with the holy task of preparing the way for the eventual arrival of the Masters to their region of space.
They were gifted with holy devices and instructed to return to their own space and fulfill their mission for the Masters. Their ship had been repaired while they were receiving the blessing of the Masters, and their destroyed null drive was replaced with a modified version used by the Bal’Ri’Kan .
They were commanded to destroy it when they arrived in their own space to prevent the secrets of the Masters from being discovered by the inferiors, and they were instructed on what they were to do to ensure their species would become one of the Chosen.
When they finally returned home, they reverted to their prior states and spoke the falsehoods as instructed by the Masters, and when they were released to return to their former lives, they did so.
Once sufficient time had passed, the operator returned to his ship to get his personal effects, along with the rest of the surviving crew. Among the personal effects were many curiosities they accrued during their long journey, as well as special gift blessings they received from their Masters.
Afterwards, the three hundred agents separated to carry out their special missions, some of them releasing the blessings of the Masters into the waters at locations near the hatcheries. The blessings were microbots capable of extracting resources from the environment and assembling themselves into larger constructs.
Inside each microbot were multiple types of viruses created by the Masters for the sacred mission, and within two weeks of their release, every hatchery on the planet had dozens of viral bombs waiting to be activated.
Others of the crews had more specialized missions, such as releasing self-aware programs within the planet-wide civilian and government networks, the undetected spying programs infiltrating every system, and keeping a careful watch on all aspects of the government, but especially the First Prime.
Once he realized how hopeless the situation was, the agent of the Masters allowed him to gather up to ten trusted conspirators to enact the plan to convert the Farians into the Chosen, including Skarl. The security director, as well as five others, had been killed, and now there were only four still alive, himself included.
Once the agents discovered the invitation sent to the Kingdom of Faria by the other major powers to form an alliance against the Masters, they instructed the First Prime to sabotage the efforts by any means necessary, even sacrificing the Ambassador and his staff to kill the others if need be.
Now, the river was nearing the sea, and the First Prime felt himself being borne away by currents beyond his ability to swim. He had no choice but to do as commanded, no way to call for help or to warn the others without the changed finding out about his betrayal and killing all the eggs and hatchlings.
And that was not the only hold they had over the Farians. The same insidious programs that spied on them also had infiltrated vital planetary systems, such as water, power, and the fisheries that comprised most of their diet.
There were three times when he mildly displeased the agent by balking at something it wanted him to do, and it taught him very quickly to obey.
The first time, it had a water purification plant dump poison into the water supply of a small city, killing almost half a million Farians and severely sickening many more. The second time, it sabotaged the power system of the central region, blacking out power for over five days and causing severe unrest and tens of thousands of deaths.
The third time, it sabotaged twelve fisheries and killed billions of the fish and squid they eat, causing severe food shortages and inciting large-scale riots that almost collapsed governmental control over several critical regions before the army was forced to brutally suppress it.
He quickly learned his lesson and fully cooperated after that. They were always watching him closely, and he felt so alone and impotent, unable to do anything but what the changed wanted of him.
If only he could get a message out to the other powers and warn them, but he could not; all the communications were being spied on and controlled by the infernal programs of the Masters, and everything he said, wrote, or typed was closely monitored as well.
Only his thoughts were truly his, and he got up out of the seat and headed over to his workstation. The Kingdom still needed him, and he would still watch over them as well as he could. His job was to lead and protect them for the king, and that is what he would do, for as long as he was able to or until the Masters decided he was no longer needed.
