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-> Yes, this is it. I know I said that SRE: 10 would be the last, but I
left so much open, I just had to conclude everything. This _is_ the last
SRE story I will _ever_ write, so have no fear. We are now fifteen years
into the future, to give you some background. On to the story! <-
->]*: Prologue
->]*: 1
The musicians were solemn. The logo of the Cyberian Group was lowered
upon the casket, and then the insignia of the Cyberian Armada was placed
on top. Five Armada officers clutched the casket and prepared to place
it inside the Gateway. The casket slid inside the entryway easily, and
then a small subspace doorway opened up. The casket was jettisoned
inside, destined to remain in subspace level one. The first frontier of
interstellar travel had been subspace. Now that subspace level one had
been abandoned for subspace level six, the universe's most noble people
were being buried inside the Gateway. As the ceremony drew to a close, a
proclamation, signed by the leadersof the UEA, the Admiralty, and the
leaders of other Galaxies was read. It officially named the Universe
after the two leaders that guided it through the most difficult period
of history it had ever gone through. The announcement of the Amokrael
Universe seemed to lighten the somber mood of the ceremony.
The Cyberian Group, after losing it's best leader, was up in arms. The
tradition of the Admiralty appointing a new Director was now being
challenged. It seemed a sure thing that Full Admiral Jehai would be
ushered in as the new Director by the Admiralty. With such famous
members as Dwool, Alrus, Bol, and Fren Omank Das, the Admiralty was a
respected institution. But it was no longer sovereign.
->]*: 2
->]*: 3
Five command ships, each recently built at the Kharq Construction Yards,
were destined to the Trios Galaxy. They had been purchased by the United
Empire Association's chapter at Trios. As the command ships hurtled
through subspace level six, a subspace scanner began beeping. The
scanning chief checked the readings, and to his surprise there was a
vessel approaching the fleet.
The single behemoth ship roared through the fleet. The command ships
tried to veer out of its path, as they were caught off guard by its
unorthodox maneuver. The vessel exuded a soliton wave, and the command
ships exploded in succession.
Elite sat at his desk, reviewing crop production for this month at the
alpha colony. Throughout the day, his advisor and friend, Sorax, had
ushered in more reports for him to read. Sorax was an energetic fellow.
He reminded Elite of his old friend Ultra. Except that Elite had been
Ultra's advisor. Running a system of colonies was not easy work. Indeed,
Elite was in contemplation of a serious problem: half the planets in the
alpha colony were undergoing severe droughts or plagues. The food supply
was subaverage at best. The other colonies were self-sufficient, but so
far there hadn't been enough of a surplus for Elite to risk sending to
the alpha colony.
->]*: 4
The UEA Parliamentary meeting was officially convened. Rucius had been
promoted from UEA Representative to UEA Prime Minister, with the recent
restructure of the chain of command. "Emperors and Empresses, I am
pleased to give you your United Empire Association Thunder Defense
Force!" he announced in a booming voice. Applause arose throughout the
massive Coliseum. Rucius motioned to a single man standing off to the
side. The man stepped forward and took a slight bow towards the
audience. "And this is the Chief-of-Operations! Forces Commander Lakas!"
he proclaimed. More applause was given to this, the new leader of the
UEA's new armada. "I am happy to be given such a job. As a former member
of the Cyberian Armada and the Feqhican Navy, I am proud to bring my
experience to your new defense force," he said. Silence filled the
Coliseum as crimson light poured out of a dark sphere. The phenomena
faded away, leaving a lone man. He stepped forward. "Good work, Minister
Rucius! I wonder why Director Jehai was not invited to this meeting," he
said. With a snap of his fingers, another obsedion sphere permeated the
room. As the effect dissipated, Cyberian Group Director Admiral Jehai
remained. "I see an old era falling away, and a new beginning. But I
also see you two vying for power. Perhaps I can help," the man said. He
hurled two wands at Jehai and Rucius. Each caught a wand and whirled to
face the man. "Who ARE you?" demanded Rucius. "I," he replied, "am Relf
Miga, leader of the Feqh-Netur."
"These slim, handheld wands are more than they appear. Twist their
bases," he ordered. Jehai glanced at Rucius, who nodded back. The two
simultaneously twisted the bases of their wands. Each instantly
responded. A shimmer of light extended out of the wands, and then
materialized into a fireblade, an old weapon from the Ti Galaxy. "Now
each of you has a fireblade. We can duel inside this Coliseum, or
perhaps we could go somewhere else..." said Miga. "No, no, no. We
certainly aren't about to duel," replied Rucius. "Ah, but you are! If
not with fireblades, then in another manner. But you two WILL be
fighting each other, I guarantee. And neither of your organizations or
defense forces or what-have-yous will survive much longer," said Miga.
He snapped his fingers, and the fireblades disappeared. Then Miga waved
his arm in a circular motion, and whacked his own leg. A small touchpad
was depressed, and Relf Miga mass transported to a destination
unbeknownst to anyone in the Coliseum.
->]*: 5
The UEA Thunder Defense Force had established squadrons throughout the
Universe. Under its jurisdiction lay Sree Galaxy, Tau Galaxy, Galaxy
deCeti, Trios Galaxy, and the Ti Galaxy. Lakas, as Forces Commander, was
busy deploying units, establishing chains of command, and drawing up
policy. This was a fantastic oppurtunity to overcome problems
encountered by traditional militaries, starting from scratch. The UEA
Thunder Defense Force had decided to utilize fighter units, backed up
with light-armed carriers. Carriers from Sree (The Galaxy most military
supplies were manufactured at) did not typically come armed. The Defense
Force was also going to make use of light cruisers, scaled-down versions
of the heavy cruiser. Light cruisers were armed with particle
scatterbeams, and plasma impact cannons. Light cruisers could establish
their own subspace jump field, but light cruiser units were going to
need more than that. So a special new ship had been developed: the
portable jumpfield array. The PJA was hauled along with every light
cruiser unit, enabling them to all use the same subspace jump field. The
Defense Force had ordered a few heavy cruisers, for defense perimeters
only. There was one command ship, stationed at Sree, the home Galaxy of
the UEA.
Inside the Tejas Galaxy, home to the Cyberian Group and the Petros
Station, lay a vast network of defense and observation outposts. Usually
they lay tranquil, operated by computer or by drones. When a behemoth
starvessel became visible and began plowing through space at sublight
speeds, there was little cause for alarm. But when the ship sped right
through the defense stations, knocking them out by colliding with them,
signals were frantically sent to Petros. The behemoth vessel entered
subspace level six, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
T'hoj had boarded the Feqhican Naval Port, not anticipating anything
unusual. But when she was rudely pulled aside, ideas began to sprout. To
her relief, she discovered her captor was not anyone to worry about. "My
name is Iseylon. I understand you came here in search of the Feqh-Netur.
Perhaps I can help you... I was once the leader. But Relf Miga forced me
out, along with Lakas and Rufregi. He covered my departure with a fake
murder, and so, I am presumed dead. But that is not so. I am willing to
help you uncover the Feqh-Netur and bring Miga to his knees," she said.
T'hoj considered for a moment and then nodded.
->]*: 6
Admiral Fren Omank Das was in uproar. "Like hell they'll fight us. Obey
Jehai's orders to the letter, but I also want a dispatch sent to Elite's
colonies. I want his permission to set up a base in his galaxy, from
which we could launch a major offensive if the time ever came."
Apprentices were scurrying about, trying to make the appropriate
contacts. The room quaked violently, as if hit by enemy fire.
Relf Miga sat inside the imperial destroyer chuckling at all that was
going on. The entire universe seemed too predictable to him. He was
about to force more events to take place by planting a Cyberian Armada
heavy cruiser inside UEA territory. This would have the immediate result
of war. It was such a bore to be the head of the most powerful group in
existence, but somehow Relf managed to enjoy it.
->]*: 7
"Doomsday is here," said Lakas. With this, the latest border violation,
he mobilized his units. He was going to try and capture part of the
Tejas Galaxy by force and bring the Cyberian Group to its knees.
Dark Doom phalanx division had penetrated the UEA territory. The UEA's
famed Coliseum was up ahead. The command ship broke off from the rest of
the ships, and immediately began carving gigantic ruptures in the
magnificent edifice. The heavy cruisers and fighters wiped out defense
outposts and spacedocks. After a few hours work, they had captured and
fortified the UEA's capitol. But the success didn't last long, as a
giant behemoth vessel screamed through the sector, plowing through the
Dark Doom phalanx, shearing seventy ships into pieces. The solition beam
took out several key positions, suddenly making the newly conquered
territory open for recapture by the UEA Thunder Defense Force.
With a snap of his fingers, Relf Miga found himself directly behind
T'hoj and Iseylon. "Ladies, ladies! I heard that you were looking for
me," he said. "By jove, I'm going to kill you, you slimy, blithering..."
began Iseylon. Relf shook his head and clapped his hands. T'hoj rolled
her eyes. "And what magic did THAT do?" she asked. Relf touched Iseylon,
and T'hoj watched as Iseylon was slowly electrocuted. T'hoj knocked Miga
over, thus ending Iseylon's electrocution, and then proceeded to rip off
the various instrument panels he had all over his uniform. Miga slapped
T'hoj right on the face and stood up promptly. "Don't you know how to
treat a man?" He opened his palm, revealing a small emitter of some
kind. He twisted a knob, and sonic burst followed. He took the moment of
diversion to flee through his mass transport void.
"Full Admiral Jehai! The UEA Thunder Defense Force has penetrated the
Galaxy!" reported the scanning chief. "War has begun once again,
unfortunately. Defensive grids up, invisibility on, and bring
heat-solition emitters online," he ordered.
"War in the Amokrael Universe... Hot damn, who would've thought?" mused
Elite. Seated around him were the various representatives of the
colonies. "We can't help them, I'm afraid. I have chosen to take the
Shoralm colonies down a different path. The great experiment, the
Empirial System, is a failure. At face value, it sounds great. reas of
space divided up by who wants to live where. And each empire gets an
emperor, and all the empires live independently, without a single
government over them all. But some of the empires have chosen to become
governed by the UEA, and they are fighting for it. Unfortunately for
them, we will have no part in it. We are forging a new system. These
colonies have started small, but as they grow, they will find their own
way, and it will not be the Empirial System. We are not part of their
Universe or their society anymore. We are our own people," he announced.
->]*: 8
Hours into the seige, Petros has remained invisible, but the Thunder
Defense Force has discovered its location and continues to batter it.
The Tejas interception fleets have been dispatched and continue to
battle the UEA's light cruisers and fighters.
"The Feqhican Naval Port surrenders command to the Cyberian Group," said
Nimav. T'hoj brushed her aside and spoke into the AudCom. "This is the
Feqhican Naval Port, calling Cyberian Feqh Reserves," she said. "This is
Reserves, Port. What's the matter?" came the reply. "This is Inspector
T'hoj; I am sure you know me. I am ordering the Cyberian Feqh Reserve
Fleet to board the Port immediately. Nimav has surrendered it to us, and
we are raising the Cyberian flag right now," she said. "Holy smokes,
Inspector, what did you do over there?" asked the Reserve Com chief.
"Relf Miga has been spotted here, and according to scanners, there is no
possible way he could've left, invisibility or no invisibility. He must
be here. The Feqh Government has admitted to cooperation with the
Feqh-Netur and has surrendered to us. If you dispatch a squadron, we
will have ownership of all the pilots and space vessels in the Feqhican
Navy."
"What the hell is going on?" yelled Fren Omank Das. All around him in
the Operations center, walls were collapsing and sparks showered.
"Support columns have completely collapsed. We are being pulled into the
asteroid, but our antigravity fields and retrothrusters are causing the
Station to be pulled in three different directions," answered the damage
reporter. In a hail of debris, the bulkhead ruptured, and all the men
were pulled into space.
The antigravity fields switched off, and Petros plowed into the
asteroid, grinding itself on the bottom. Like an accordion, the lower
levels crumpled into themselves, and countless ruptures, breaches, and
explosions resulted. The blowout from the crash swept across the sector
quickly, colliding with several UEA ships. Petros continued to dig into
the asteroid, carried by momentum, and after a few minutes, huge chunks
of the asteroid began to fly off in all directions. Slowly, the movement
came to a halt, and Petros remained.
->]*: 9
Crimson light bathed the room a deep red. Elite looked behind him to see
a small man wearing a strange uniform with control panels all over it.
"Who are you?" he demanded. The man smiled his impish smile at Elite. "I
am Relf Miga, leader of the Feqh-Netur, and deliverer of destiny," he
said, laughing at his little joke. Elite didn't look amused; he looked
annoyed. "Miga! I know who you are. What the hell are you doing in my
Galaxy?" he shouted. "Calm down, my friend. I have good news for you!
You are about to become lord of the Multiverse! How does that sound?
Supreme Dictator of the Multiverse... Kind of a nice ring, hm?" replied
the effervescent Miga. "Miga, your immature spouting is really getting
on my nerves. Hop back to your mothership, which I know is probably
orbiting this planet right now," he said. "Ah, ah, ah! You really ARE
about to become lord. The Feqh-Netur has been planning this moment for
years. The Kazik War, the X Incident, your time-travelling. Everything.
We have been planning to institute YOUR idea of reality. When this war
is over, neither the UEA, nor the Cyberian Group will win. Empires will
be fractured and scattered throughout the Amokrael Universe, causing
them to lose their unity. They will develop independently, with an
instinct for survival. And you will lead them," he said. Elite wagged
his finger. "No, Relf. That utopian future you envision will be all for
naught when the Kazik take the oppurtunity to invade the Amokrael
Universe," he said. "Nice try, Elite. That's why we picked you. But when
we trigger a natural plasma wave in their Universe and kill seventy-two
percent of their population by crushing their Praetorial Palace, they
will be in no position to dominate you. The Shoralm colonies will be the
supreme force to be reckoned with! You, Elite, you will be the most
powerful man in the Multiverse."
The UEA convoy moved into to storm what remained of Petros Station. As
they came closer, space became illuminated. Multiple filaments of light
pierced the incoming vessels. Petros' heat-soliton emitter had remained
unscathed through the crash. The Omicron squadron was destroyed in
minutes.
->]*: 9
"The Feqh-Netur are not as powerful as they think they are. They have
supreme technology, but they are not orchestrating events the way they
say they are. The whole episode with X and the time-travelling was pure
accident. Everything else has just fallen together for them. Miga
himself is a piece of technology, materializing wherever he wishes and
making it look like he is some sort of wizard. He merely has superior
technology," said Voclar. Tecouk shook his hand firmly. "Thank you, sir.
If you and Iseylon would be so kind, we could get back to Cyberian space
and take care of this once and for all," she said.
UEA and Cyberian Armada forces had clashed in six different Galaxies,
with varying results. Neither seemed able to gain a clear advantage.
->]*: 10
Admiral Jehai was seated in the battered military conference room inside
Petros. With him were the other members of the Admiralty. "I don't think
we have any choice. We will have to detonate Doomsday," he said. Admiral
Bol shook his head sadly. "I have to agree. If we are to preserve the
dignity of this Universe, we must put an end to the UEA's rebellion.
Doomsday is the only answer," he said. "So the UEA has no rights? The
empires can't establish their own government?" asked Admiral Alrus. "No,
it's not that. They purposely violated our borders, and they attempted
to kill me at the Coliseum. We must put an end to them... I consider
them an Underground dissident force. They must be dissolved, and now,"
Jehai replied. Admirals Dwool and Alrus stood in protest, but Jehai
waved them off. "It is done, friends," he simply said. Jehai called in a
courier and gave one ominous order: "Activate Doomsday."
Etano recieved the order and proceeded to carry it out. The Doomsday
control device was in the Main Lab. He walked briskly, knowing that his
actions would go down in history. He, Etano, would unleash the most
sinister, but gruesomely effective, weapon known to his people.
The plasma wave slammed into the Praetorial Palace with herculean
strength. Many Kazik had escaped in planetpods, after being forewarned
of the impending doom. Others chose to remain. Whatever the individuals
had done, the plasma wave had left a wake of ionization, and the Palace
was not exempt. The entire edifice was consumed by the wave, which
dissipated after encountering the massive structure.
"One quarter of the Universe has been destroyed. The aftereffects of the
explosion are slowling down significantly. It would appear that although
not immediate, eventually the entire Universe WILL be destroyed by the
union of subspace and normal space," reported the chief science officer.
Lakas looked on in disgust. "The UEA has little to fight for. Hell, what
am I saying? There is almost no UEA anymore. Was any UEA territory left
unscathed?" he demanded. The scientist shook his head. Lakas' body
quaked with rage. "Order the Thunder Defense Force to invade Tejas full
strength. All private vessels are ordered to plunder and rape Cyberian
Group-protected worlds."
->]*: 11
Three kamikaze ships careened into Petros Station. The intense battering
of the Thunder Defense Force was causing it to fall. Already, Petros ahd
been boarded by UEA guerillas. Jehai was on his hands and knees,
crawling away from the command center. Up ahead, he saw troopers
approaching. He weakly tried to pull out a vastator, but to no avail. A
guerilla spotted him and pulled out a blaster. Jehai watched as slowly,
the man pulled back on the trigger. Jehai closed his eyes, forcefully,
refusing to watch himself be killed. And all in an instant....
Jehai found himself in a cold grey room. Around him, T'hoj, Iseylon,
Lakas, Voclar, Elite, and Relf Miga. "It happened just as I thought it
would," said Miga happily. Voclar rose. "Not quite, Relf. My name is
Voclar, leader of Sei Clandenstine Operations. Nothing has happened the
way you thought it would. The Multiverse is destroying itself, and you
had little to do with it." Lakas lunged for Director-Admiral Jehai, only
to be stopped by Elite. "I used to be with the Feqh-Netur. You aren't as
powerful as you think you are," seethed Lakas. Iseylon looked at Miga in
contempt. "I know that for a fact," she said. Miga sat happily, enjoying
the hatred in the room. Voclar snapped his fingers, and the room
lurched. "What was that? The mothership shouldn't be moving," he yelled.
Voclar smiled grimly. "That would be true only if you were all-powerful.
Unfortunately, my agency knows what is going to happen in two minutes. I
control your vessel," he said. "Release us!" demanded Jehai. "Yes, you
can't hold us here! We must finish the war!" agreed Lakas. "Ha! You two
are both finished," said Miga. "No, you cannot fight anymore. This war
is useless," said Voclar. He snapped his fingers, causing T'hoj and
Elite to disappear. Then, he procured two fireblades, which he handed to
Jehai and Lakas. Iseylon immediately pounced on Relf Miga, and the two
engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Lakas and Jehai circled each other,
swashaying with their fireblades. Voclar sneered. "You all are so petty!
T'hoj and Elite... THEY are visionaries! But you insist on fighting!
Haven't you learned? Throughout history, you have been purged yourselves
of evil through war. But this time, your own personal wars have found
YOU evil. The Universe will go on," he said. The four stopped what they
were doing and absorbed his words. "Too late. There's no time to
apologize. Goodbye!" he said. Instantly, the Feqh-Netur mothership was
sheared apart by the space-subspace reaction.
->]*: Finale
The Multiverse continues to degenerate. The War, the Plasma Wave, and
the detonation of Doomsday each caused severe ravages. Scattered
throughout the Mutliverse were isolated peoples, each struggling to
survive. As Relf Miga had predicted, they were not united. But it had
not been the Feqh-Netur's doing. No, the Multiverse had done it to
itself.
And so, I've ended the SRE Text Series. I thoroughly enjoyed writing
these stories, and I hope you enjoyed reading them. Thanks goes to many
people for these works... Without them, Ultra, Elite, Vafan, Bounty,
Mace, Zelus, Amoko, Cyber, Krael, Rytek, Tecouk, Vedet, and Relf Miga
would not have been created. So, thanks to: Michael Robinson (Mikal
R'binsn), Justin Renaud, Paul Quisenberry, Fire Escape, and Tricky.