A special sneak-peak at Chapter 41 of Sinners entitled Endgame will become available in the next 48 hours. Get excited, cause this is something you don't want to miss.

Sneak Peak at Chapter 41:
Endgame

The Trader Emergency Coalition

6 hours from Endgame, starbase Olympus

    "I don't have time for your bullshit today, Flankx!" Kol bellowed as he backhanded the Vasari and sent him sprawling.
    Flankx picked himself up and spit purple blood out of his mouth. He hissed menacingly but did not respond. The reaction seemed to snap something inside of Kol. He lunged forward, grabbing the holocuffs that kept Flankx bound, and threw him bodily into a bank of computers. Kol grabbed Flankx's conical head and held it up until Flankx was facing the monitors.
    "Do you see these?" Spit flew from Kol's mouth. "These are all flashing reports of your friends, headed straight towards the Central Worlds! If you don't tell me what I want to know right now so help me I will skin you alive and then bash your alien brains into this floor!"
    Flankx saw the madness in Kol's eyes, reflected through the sheen of the computer banks. He also saw what was flashing on the screens. His eyes widened.
    "These are not my friends," Flankx spoke in a whispered hiss. "What is coming here...what is headed towards all of us...it is death incarnate."
    "What do you mean, death incarnate?" Kol flipped Flankx around so that they were facing each other.
    Flankx's momentary talkativeness faded. His face returned to its stoic woodiness, and he turned his head away from Kol.
    Kol screamed and slammed his fist into the side of Flankx's head. Pain bloomed and white light burst in front of Flankx's eyes. He fell unconscious under the relentless onslaught of Alexander Kol, Admiral of the Trader Emergency Coalition, Prime Chancellor of the Trade Order, and the Phoenix Reborn of the Brotherhood of Marksmen.

---------------------

    Kol breathed heavily through his nose as he washed the slimy, purple blood off his knuckles. The blood was always a pain to wash off; it had a tendency to stick to whatever surface it spilled out on. Rear Admiral Judman stuck his head through the door.
    "The Advent emissaries have arrived, sir."
    Kol acknowledged this with a nod through the mirror. "I will meet them at landing dock D1. I want a heavy but unseen guard stationed around the landing site. Do I make myself clear?"
    Judman unconsciously touched the mark on his shoulder where Kol had once stabbed him.
    "Right away, Admiral."
    Judman bowed and left the room. Kol dried his hands off and squinted into the mirror, checking to make sure he was presentable. He flattened a few hairs that had gotten out of place when he was beating the Vasari and smoothed his fresh uniform down. The other had too much blood on it. He put a hand on the door knob, but then rested his head against the steel frame. What was he doing? Was meeting with these people really the right way to combat this threat? He had already seen how the meeting with Flankx had turned out. The Vasari, trapped and shackled in a deserted corridor of the starbase Olympus, was fed twice a day and interrogated by Kol no less than four times a day. How would the meeting with the Advent's leader turn out? Well, there was only one way to find out. What happens, happens. Kol had learned the truth of that many times over. Kol exhaled through his nostrils, calming his running nerves. Kol reached for the knob once more and slid open the door.
    Eight Marksmen fell into position around Kol as he exited his rooms--two on each side. Kol had given up trying to tell them to leave. Their duty was to protect their leader, and as that leader Kol had to be understanding. Although with the Marksmen, understanding usually got you killed. It was a demanding position, and one that Kol reveled in owning. It had only been with the weight of the Marksmen behind him that Kol had received Jason Kantoon's late position of Prime Chancellor of the Trade Order. If you could call what Kol and his Marksmen had done to the Chairmen to get them to accept the proposal as simply "weight." Nevertheless, Kol put his life in the hands of these eight Marksmen, and they had yet to let him down. They knew that if they did, and Kol died, then Kol would make it his life's mission to hunt them down and rip them apart. And as the Phoenix who had already been Reborn once, Kol knew it was no empty threat.
    "Sir?" The man formerly known as Crusader Scott came trembling forward. Scott was a changed man. Once Kol had finished severely punishing Scott for capturing him, Scott had renounced his barbaric life as a pirate and joined the TEC as part of Kol's personal staff. Now he was Kol's chief of security, and was actually quite adept at it. The sight of Kol, however, always scared the living daylights out of Scott. He never, ever recounted what Kol had done to him, but it was obviously still foremost in his mind. No one really knew what Scott's rank was now that he had joined with Kol, so everyone just called him Scott. No one had the guts to go up to the man and ask him.
    "What is it, Scott?" Kol's deadpan tone still managed to convey a sense of harshness behind it. Scott quivered.
    "The...the Advent leader has arrived, sir. She is waiting by her ship in landing dock D1."
    "No one else has left her ship?"
    "...No, sir."
    "Good. Keep an eye on it."
    "...Yes, sir."
    Scott gave the Marksmen surrounding Kol an evil glare, as if to remind them that he wasn't at all intimidated by them. Kol and the Marksmen pushed past Scott as if he wasn't there.
    Kol and his guard came to the D1 landing gate, where Judman was waiting for them.
    "She's inside, Admiral." Judman wiped a sweaty forehead.
    Kol nodded and stood in front of the double doors. He seemed to brace himself, then strode purposely through.
    "Hello, Alexander Kol."
    The woman's voice was like the sound of tinkling bells. After hearing of some of her exploits, the contrast surprised him.
    "My pleasure...Coalescence."
    The Advent moved forward, and Kol stared into her deep, blood red eyes.
    "Please Alexander, it is customary among my people to refer to their friends by their first name. We are friends, correct?"
    Kol bowed deeply. "Of course we are friends, Alfr'eda."
    Alfr'eda smiled, but at the same time her eyes seemed to grow cold.
    "Sadly, we are not here to exchange pleasantries all day. You said you had something urgent that endangered both our species. Normally I would discount such matters, but it seems as if the Vasari's leader has gone missing. I assume that if you are so desperate as to attempt to kidnap a Vasari, let alone their leader, you are indeed in a spot of trouble." Alfr'eda smiled again, showing her glistening teeth. "So, what is it you wish for us to discuss?"
    Kol straightened. His false amenity dissolved like the cloak that it was.
    "Come with me then, Alfr'eda, and you will know everything that I know of this danger. I would welcome your insight."
    "I'm sure you would, but I will not be coming with you alone. I am not as stupid as that Vasari."
    Kol waved his hand towards the Advent diplomatic shuttle. "By all means, bring whomever you wish."
    "Oh, you misunderstand me. I do not wish to bring along one of my people. They betrayed me long ago. I do believe that you have a Zeke Disher in chains on this station, however. I would like him brought up."
    Kol frowned, and made a signal behind his back. Up in the overhang, Kol knew that Scott would see the signal, and go to investigate Disher's history. Particularly any interaction with the Advent.
    "And who is this Zeke Disher to you?" He asked, buying time.
    "Do not play with me, Alexander. Either accept my terms or decline them, at your peril. You will give me an answer now."
    "Fine," Kol snapped, "Disher will accompany us. Now, will you follow me? Time is very short."
    Alfr'eda only inclined her head in agreement and smiled.

3 hours from Endgame, starbase Olympus

    Scott met Kol at the doors and they had a hurried, whispered conversation.
    "No, ah, records of any Advent involvement in Disher's past, sir. He used to be a big shot movie star before he fell on hard times. Dropped off the grid for a bit, which probably meant he was doing something illegal to earn cash. He got into a fight with one of our officers when we were last dirt-side. He's...been in our brig for the last couple of weeks."
    "Ok, bring him up to Operations Room 1. I'll be inside with the Advent."
    "You're...you're taking her to the War Room?"
    "Time is short. We're on a very tight schedule, and any delay means the end of all of us. I'm showing her everything."
    Scott looked uneasy as he fell back into the flow of personnel following Kol and Alfr'eda. But then, Scott was always uneasy around Kol.
    Kol turned his head towards Alfr'eda. "Let me fill you in on what we know so far. At 02:14 this morning, a strange anomaly was detected in our farthest western sectors. A couple of planets had fallen off the grid, which either meant their communications were down, or that the Vasari had begun a massive operation and those planets were lost. We sent scouts to investigate the matter." Kol paused. "We never heard from them again. At 6:39, we found a large phase disruption that, after an hour of observation, we discovered was heading straight for the Central Worlds. The estimated first contact is here, at the starbase Olympus. We requested an emergency meeting with the Vasari, but it turned out that their leader, Flankx, was already nearby. He and his small fleet were the last remnants of the Vasari, or the last known remnants. How he infiltrated so far into TEC space is anyone's guess, but we discovered him only four hours from this very starbase. He was heading in a completely different direction, of course, but we had a quick skirmish and his capital ship quickly signaled a surrender. When we brought him in, he refused to speak a word. We learned that they were the only known surviving Vasari from others aboard the ship. They were more...susceptible to our methods of persuasion. Even they wouldn't tell us what was coming towards us though......most fainted from the shock. I've never seen a Vasari faint before. It was....disturbing.
    "Today, Flankx admitted that what was coming was no friend of the Vasari. That we had pretty much gathered by the fact that there is no longer any Vasari alive in the universe except for the ones we have captured here!"
    "Calm yourself," Alfr'eda said smoothly, "soon we will make things right. Is this it?"
    "Yes, we've reached the War Room."
    Kol and Alfr'eda stepped into Operations Room 1. Many of the TEC personnel following them tried to go in too, including Kol's Marksmen guards, but Kol firmly keyed in the code to shut the door.
    "The only person to come in here better be this Disher," Kol growled at his staff before the door slid shut.
    Alfr'eda was gazing at the monitors with the unreadable expression that was characteristic of the Advent.
    "This is the anomaly?" Alfr'eda asked, pointing to a large purple mass on the largest monitor.
    "Yes, we are tracking it through phase space." Kol punched a couple of keys. "What is troubling us is the fact that this mass, whatever it is, is traversing phase space through no known tunnel or lane."
    "It's not using the Vasari's phase tunneling device?"
    "No, that isn't possible. To establish a temporary phase tunnel, the Vasari need one of their buildings on each end, and there are no Vasari structures anywhere near the Central Worlds."
    "Are you positive? Maybe that's what Flankx was doing..."
    "We're sure. Trust me, my people have been frantic. We have less than four hours before whatever this thing is gets here, and we are not ready. That's why I called you here. If you can help us in any way, the TEC would be deeply in your debt."
    "Really? How...deep would this debt be?"
    "We would....be very open to discussion. Helping us would get you closer than your people have ever been in getting what you came here for."
    "I have heard you, and we will deliberate....but for now I will help. Where is Zeke Disher?"
    "He's on his way. Why is it so important for him to be here?"
    "Not important, vital. Without Zeke here, the Advent cannot help you."
    "You won't help us unless Disher is in the room?"
    "We cannot help you unless Zeke is here with us. Zeke Disher may be the only hope we have of stopping what is in that phase disturbance."
    "You know what it is?"
    "I pray I am wrong."
    Scott stuck his head through the door. "I...have Disher with me, sir."
    "Bring him in," ordered Kol.
    A scruffy, yet dignified young man with shockingly white hair stumbled into the room. This was not what Kol had been expecting of a former movie star who had just spent two weeks in a starbase prison. Disher's white hair had an unnatural quality to it; he must have died it, for hair did not grow that white naturally. His eyes, Kol noticed when Disher looked up, were a misty gray outlined very faintly in blue. They were quite fascinating, Kol admitted to himself.
    Alfr'eda fell to the floor at Zeke Disher's feet.
    "High One," she intoned, "I seek your knowledge and guidance against the Darkness that is approaching."
    Zeke stared impassively at the kneeling Advent. Kol was too surprised for words. High One? What the hell was going on?
    "Rise, Alfr'eda, and comfort the startled Silent One."
    The deep, powerful voice seemed to come from Disher, but Zeke's mouth did not move. Alfr'eda immediately rose and stood beside Kol.
    "This is the High One," she muttered by way of explanation, "he has the power of Psion."
    "Psion?" Scoffed Kol, "that glowing purple rock thing? Let me show this "High One" just how grateful I am for his presence here..."
    Kol thought that he had rushed at Disher, or what he thought was Disher, but Kol blinked and found that he was actually sitting in a chair at the far end of the room. He stood, shaking his head to clear his dizziness.
    "That is the power of Psion. Do not challenge us Alexander. You cannot win."
    "Peace, Silent One. Time is too short to quarrel among ourselves. A greater enemy looms over us."
    "I don't know who the hell you think you are," said Kol through gritted teeth, "but--"
    "I am the High One, one of the four great Spirits that govern the Universe. It has been a long time since I have done that, however. But now is not the time for an extended explanation. You must trust me when I tell you that this is a battle that you cannot win."
    "Cannot win? What do you mean! She said that you were our only hope!"
    "Alfr'eda knew that if anyone could save this starbase from the Darkness, it would be me. But I am telling you that I cannot stop it. Starbase Olympus will fall, along with the Central Worlds. You must accept this and plan your own survival. You are known as the Phoenix, what I am saying must be making sense to you."
    "I will not just abandon the Central Worlds to whatever this Darkness is supposed to be! I am the TEC's first and last hope against this thing!"
    "If you do not flee, you will die. The Universe will fall to the Darkness."
    "I will not abandon my people, nor my duty."
    "Then all is lost."

{skip to the end, this is only a sneak peek after all!}

30 seconds to Endgame, starbase Olympus

    Kol watched in mute horror as a Darkness amassed itself at the edges of the gravity well. Behind him, either Flankx or Alfr'eda whimpered. The other let out a small sob. The Darkness rushed towards the starbase, obliterating everything within its menacing cloud. Kol stumbled backwards, realizing for the first time how truly pitiful his life had actually been. If only...it was too late for that.
    The Darkness consumed the starbase, and the windows in front of Kol imploded. Kol was thrown backwards and knocked unconscious.

    When he awoke, it was to complete darkness.

If you are unaware of what the "Darkness" is and what these mysterious, all-powerful Spirits are, and where I'm getting them from, then you missed out on the awesome thread known as the Sinner's Mind Game. Still, HERE'S the link to what I call the History of the Spirits. It's a short story depicting the creation of the universe (Sinners' style).

Sinners to be discontinued

I'm not going to post any new chapters, on here or on the Sinners blog. I will probably pick this story up again after I finish the book I'm writing, but I'm going to make the story my own (get rid of all the SOASE references and add my own). Suffice to say, this thread will no longer continue.