Chapter 4, part 3
Surprise, surprise

The Trader Emergency Coalition

10 years ago, core worlds, military sector, central command

    "What do you mean we've lost Hali!"  Admiral Dumois shouted.
    The petite Vice Admiral quaked in her boots. "That's just it, sir. We've lost the planet. We've had no contact from it for several hours now, and no trade ships will go near it."
    "Did you ask any of the damn crews why?"
    "Yes, sir. They said ships appeared, and blew up the planet along with the orbital structures. They said only a few managed to escape."
    "Sons of fallen stars..."
    Dumois leaned back in his chair. Aliens. After hundreds of centuries in space, the terror of planet bound humans comes back to haunt them. Extraterrestrials.
    "Obviously, sir, many more survived than the crews indicated. You know how people like to talk."
    Dumois nodded. Spreading rumor was as natural as breathing.
    "From the last log transmissions from Hali, we estimate that around a hundred trade ships did not manage to escape. Hundreds more were able to jump in time."
    "Thank the stars for that."
    It took twenty men to crew a trade ship. A mere fraction of a fraction compared to what it took to crew colonizers, transports, and other such ships, but the death toll would still be incredible.
    "And of the planet?"
    "We assume...that no one made it off, sir."
    "Blanket the stars in darkness forever!" Dumois whispered. There was another twenty thousand there, at least.
    "Who else knows of this attack?" He demanded.
    "No one but me, sir, and the personnel monitoring the planet. They have signed documents insuring their silence, sir. As have I. We will not talk without express permission."
    "Permission denied." Dumois stood up and limped around his desk. His right leg did not work as well as the left. "I want no one to know of the attack until I am ready to present a foolproof plan of action to deal with them! Do I make myself clear?"
    "Crystal, sir."
    Dumois's shoulders slumped. He was not made for actual combat situations. The biggest thing he had had to deal with, or any Fleet Admiral for the last thousand years for that matter, was an occasional massing of pirates in a sector where they shouldn't be.
    "And Jessica?"
    "Yes, sir?"
    "Tell the Jackal I want to see him."
    Jessica's mouth twisted, mirroring the expression on his face. The Jackal was aptly named. "Right away, sir."

The Vasari

10 years ago, gravity well of planet code named OREGION

    "This is 2nd branch, reporting to VASAR high command. Come in, VASAR high command."
    Static crackled on the screen before the screen cleared and a face appeared.
    "We have you 2nd branch. What is you report?"
    "I have found a planet fulfilling the Fleet Admiral Commander's orders. Galactic position 411, 814. Send him this message. Response code mobilize. 2nd branch out."
    "We receive and copy, 2nd branch. Your response code is confirmed, your message will be carried on. VASAR high command out."
    Num'pol leaned back in his chair. That was done with. Now to check up on Esquian.
    "Command center, alter course to 1st branch's last known coordinates."
    "Sir?" This came from one of the technicians.
    "We have received no directive ordering us to remain at this planet once found, and they may have encountered some difficulty. Now send the ship to the last known coordinates!"
    "But sir..."
    "Devils take you! What did I just say!"
    "Sir! We have a message from the Tripoli!"
    Num'pol shook with rage. "Then tell me what it is!"
    The technician swallowed. "It's...it's on here, sir."
    He handed Num'pol a smooth silky orb, and scurried away. Num'pol looked at the orb curiously. What had Esquian sent to him that was so important as to require a memory orb? These were extremely rare.
    "Keep the course to 1st branch's coordinates. I'll be in my cabin."

The potential is unfathomable...

Wow, cool story. I am reding it and liking it.

You know, in the Advent story, it just says that females have a 'Natural Prowess' when it cane to Psionic abilities. It doesn't mean that men don't have the ability. It just means that the have to go through more hoops in order to match the abilities that females have. That is what is going to be reflected in my story.

+1 for a great story!

thats a really good idea, i nevr thought of it that way. send me a link to ur story once its up!

AND AGAIN WEV DONE IT

instead of that crappy teaser i made with free fraps, i now hav the official Sinners Chronicles video up! Check the top of this post for more updates on Sinners and Sinners Chronicles. It lookes like this, in case u skipped by it:

Sinners - SOASE story - now with video

short story based on Sins of a Solar Empire

Here is the link to my story. This is just the first chapter, I am still working on the rest of it. Nevertheless, it is what I currently have.

https://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/342653

Chapter 5, part 1
The Devil's Son Comes to Dance

The Vasari

10 years ago, phase space, traveling towards galactic position 305, 741

    "I pray you get this before you come to rescue us, Num'pol, as I know you will try to do eventually when we never report in. I can say with certainty that I and my fleet will die today. I have sent the bulk of 1st branch back to VASAR, as many as I could spare, but we who remain are prepared to sacrifice our lives for Vasari dominion of these creatures. I beg you Num'pol, make sure they are decimated. We will take a stand at position 305, 741. We have found the source of the radiation waves, and so foolishly I sent out scouts to discover where it led. We got a fragmented distress signal before losing all contact. We never saw them again. But we got glimpses from their exterior cameras before they were shut down. Num'pol, believe me when I say that we must strike down these invaders, and for that we must travel through the source of radiation. We will try to close the hole, but I fear we may not be enough. Please Num'pol, bring this memory orb back to VASAR and show it to the new Fleet Admiral Commander! He must organize a fleet to deal with any invaders that come through the hole! Tell him, Num'pol!"
    Num'pol had long ago committed the message to memory, but still he played it over and over again. What scared him was not the information---the Vasari had never lost a battle throughout their entire known history---but Esquian's voice...his voice had been full of fear. And that in turn scared Num'pol. Vasari were...hardened...from their never ending war against the Darkness that followed them, both mentally and physically. Their minds had evolved so nothing, absolutely nothing could cause them fear besides something relating to the Darkness. But Esquian's voice had shook as he relayed his message, yet he would have surely mentioned if he was combating the Darkness. He would not leave that out. Was he setting a trap?
    The Platinum rumbled and the lights above his head flickered dimly for a moment. Num'pol rose and crossed the room, opening the metallic door into the hallway. The ship had left phase space. They were at position 305, 741.

The Trader Emergency Coalition

10 years ago, core worlds, military sector, central command

    Dumois looked up at the knock on his door. "Enter."
    The door swung with hardly a squeak and in prowled the Jackal. Dumois grimaced at the sight of him. The Jackal truly looked spawned from hell, with midnight black hair cropped short, and dark eyes that looked like pits to eternity. Dumois felt that he could lose himself in those eyes, and that was not praise. He felt that those eyes would suck out his very soul.
    "Sit." It was best to be brief with the Jackal. He wasted no man's time, least of all his own.
    "What is it your Excellency requires of me?" The Jackal answered smoothly, sliding into a chair across from the desk at which Dumois was sitting. Stars alive, even the man's speech sounded like it had been triple coated in grease.
    "We have a situation, Jackal. I trust you will be able to aptly restrain yourself?"
    The Jackal's tone was half mocking. "Trust is difficult to accomplish, dear Admiral. But I will stick to the laws referenced to on my...temporary...release orders."
    Dumois frowned, trying to think of the exact words on the aforementioned release orders. If there was any sort of loophole, even the tiniest one, the Jackal would pick up on it and exploit it in a second.
    "We...we have an invasion on our hands, Jackal."
    No one knew the Jackal's real name. It was said even the man himself didn't know his true birth name.
    The Jackal's eyebrows rose. "An invasion? By whom?"
    "We don't know. They took a planet on the western frontier and we have lost several other planets, including asteroids, since then. To be honest..."
    "You have no idea what to do."
    Dumois frowned. "You will show respect to a superior officer! You will speak only when spoken to! And what makes you think I am out of my league!"
    The Jackal laughed softly, and the hairs on Dumois's neck rose. Did he really want to trust the future of the Trade Order to this man?
    "I am in no army, dear Admiral, and you will not order me. And why would you come to the simple Jackal if you had yourself your own master plan?"
    Dumois grimaced, but the Jackal spoke true. These events were out of his depth.
    "Perhaps you are right, and perhaps you are not. But what strategy can you give us to fend off these alien invaders?"
    The Jackal scoffed. "Just like that? You really do have no idea of the events that surround you, dear Admiral. Poor, poor Admiral. I cannot make a brilliant master plan without studying the behavior of these aliens, how they act, how they move, how they respond to military aggression, how they would react to a sudden disappearance of enemies they know are hunting them. All these and more I need to know before I can formulate a solution."
    "You don't have time! They are killing our people! They are ravaging our planets!" Dumois stuttered.
    The Jackal shrugged. "I cannot do this thing without data. But there is a way for me to create a resolution while you send out a fleet, dear Admiral..."
    "By the gods, Jackal, tell me!"
    "Send me with your fleet. Give me command of your ships. I will have time enough to devise a course of action on that flight. And upon reaching our destination I will be able to carry out my plans flawlessly." The Jackal grinned humorlessly. "No prey ever escapes the Jackal."
    Dumois started at the mention of the Jackal leading the defense force, and broke in angrily. "I will not have some psychotic grease ball just up and command my fleets! The people would explode in outrage!"
    The Jackal stood. "That is my one and only offer, dear Admiral. Consider it, and this. Sometimes it is necessary for the government to take necessary actions, although the public may denounce them. Sometimes leaders must lead."
    With that the Jackal left, leaving Admiral Dumois sitting dumbfounded in his neat swivel chair.

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

    Later that night the Jackal received a message from a runner. As the hooded figure stole off again into the night, the Jackal unrolled the message. It said simply, "The ships leave at first light."
    The Jackal grinned, and it was the smile of a wolf cornering its prey.

great story. keep it coming

nice!

Chapter 5, part 2
This Man's Army

The Trader Emergency Coalition

5 years ago, outer colonies, southern frontier, TEC recruitment base

    "And what makes you think you're ready for this man's army, civilian?" The recruitment officer shouted out.
    Archie stood with his back ramrod-straight, staring to the left and slightly up of the sergeant, at a small dark blot on the white-washed walls. It was better than looking at his eyes.
    "I want to fight the Vasari, sir!" Archie responded.
    The recruitment officer shook his head. "Not good enough!"
    "The home worlds need protection, as do the lives of the ones living there, and I would lay my life on the line for theirs!"
    The recruitment officer looked over to the sergeant, who shook his head, then said, "Are you kidding me? I want the truth, civilian!"
    Archie's shoulders dropped a bit, and spoke in a quiet tone. "My friend was hurt in the war, sirs, and I want revenge on those alien bastards."
    The recruitment officer looked over again at the sergeant, who was smiling. "Very good. Step to the desk to sign the articles of commission, and then Sergeant Willcocks here will escort you to your squad."
    Archie stepped lightly forward and signed his name with a flourish, all traces of soberness gone. Sergeant Willcocks eyed his actions intensely, although masking the action with casual indifference. This new boy was jaunty, although he had seen some things not meant for any his age. His eyes had a deep look to them, as if storing more knowledge of life than his age was accustomed to. The recruitment officer handed Willcocks the signed articles, and he briefly scanned the name scrawled along the bottom. Then he blinked and read it again.
    Archie Kol
    No it couldn't be...it couldn't be his son...Willcocks looked at the insolent youth again. He did seem to have the same face shape now that he studied it...
    "Form up, soldier."
    The boy's grin dropped for a moment, then slipped back as he slid in behind Willcocks. If he thought he would be getting any special treatment because he was related to the Chief Admiral of Spatial Operations (CASO), he was in for a surprise. If anything, Willcocks told himself as he led the boy down a hallway, he would be pushed harder than any of the other recruits. He would grind this boy into the dust if he had to, but he would not let himself be known as the man who failed to properly train Admiral Kol's son.

The Advent

5 years ago, galactic position ???, ???

    Haiti could have purred with pleasure. The front of his ship was bathed in the yellow-blue light of the wormhole. The whole of the Advent race stalled their ships behind him.
    Break up into your standard fists, Haiti thought, I will take my Atlantean squad through the wormhole. The other fists will take other routes from this sector towards the sinners' worlds. We will come upon them like a soaring wave a thousand hills high!
    The Unity responded to his thought with wild whoops and yells, which made Haiti grimace. They were not yet the solemn psionic super beings that he foresaw them as, and he wanted them to be perfect when he unleashed them upon the sinners' fleets and planets. They had to be perfect, anything less was unthinkable.
    A thought from one of his crew made him sit up.
    An unknown ship has just come out of the wormhole, High Coalescence.
    Haiti stood up and a 3D representation of the wormhole's gravity well appeared in front of him. An unknown ship had indeed come out of the wormhole, and was frantically trying to turn itself around as it noticed the Advent ships.
    It is an enemy. Freeze and destroy it.
    Thy will be done, High Coalescence.
    Haiti watched as his hangar belched forth swarms of small fighter ships. They soared forth at unimaginable speeds towards the enemy vessel. He knew they were being directed by men, as the hangar bays were the part of the ship easiest controlled with a minimal amount of psionic energy. Linked psionically but not actually in the little ships themselves, the men flew the fighters through space and open fired on the small enemy scout, as Haiti figured it was. No sane being would decide to hop through a wormhole for the first time without backup to insure their safety. And as they had seen no forms of life in the asteroid-strewn space behind them, Haiti had deduced that whoever running that ship had jumped here for the first time. What surprised him was that the ship was not from the Trade Order. The shape was all wrong, and the weapons Haiti could make out were much too sophisticated for Trade Order engineers to construct. Had some other race cleansed the Traders before they had reached them? Haiti ground his teeth in irritation. Only time would tell what had happened to the Trade Order. But whoever these heathens were, they would be punished as well, one way or the other. They had seen his fleets.
    Haiti drew his attention back to the holographic display as an explosion filled the control console's view screen. The fighters were returning to their hangars, the enemy ship was destroyed. Haiti looked at his own forces. Many of the Advent ships had left, and those who hadn't yet were formed up in their respective fists and knuckles on the edge of the gravity well, and were preparing to phase out. Only Haiti's Reemergence and the rest of his Atlantean squad remained near the wormhole.
    May memory speed your engines, Haiti thought to the Advent ships as they phased out, and they responded with the usual formal replies.
    May fate serve you well.
    May the heavens themselves part to guide you.
    May the Atlanteans never falter.
    Haiti turned back to the glowing wormhole in the center of the gravity well.
    "Women," he began out loud, startling the crew members around him. Almost no words were spoken on an Advent war ship. "Warm up the cannons. We will soon be confronting an enemy of unknown strength appearing from this wormhole."
    They looked at him curiously, trying to discern how he knew enemy ships were approaching, but he let no thought slip.
    Atlanteans will now deploy in these positions...
    Haiti outlined his assault plans.

The Vasari

10 years ago, galactic position 305, 741

    Esquian looked up slowly as the fragmented report from the Jikara Navigator came in. The passage through the wormhole in front of them was clear but...there was something wrong with the data coming in from the other side. There was something waiting for them, surely, Esquian hissed at that, but the log said the reports were coming to him from five years into the future! Had he discovered a wormhole that bended time as well as space! It was unthinkable! But he needed to concentrate on defeating the enemy before focusing on the unnatural space phenomenon in front of him. That these filthy creatures had amassed a fleet so quickly amazed him, but what truly caught his attention was the rapidity in which they destroyed the Jikara. They had more superior weapons than the Vasari had previously thought. Still, it was best to take precautions. Esquian gave a short list of orders to the officers in the command center, then returned to his room to craft a memory orb. Once his message was complete, he sent up a link to the Platinum and transmitted the orb. That done, he returned to the command center. If things ended poorly, then Num'pol was warned to stay away. If not, then Esquian himself could meet his fellow Elite Subjugator and...apologize. The word grated on his scaly tongue, yet it would have to be done if he survived. Yet that was still a big if.
    "Are all ships ready to move?" He asked his Senior Eliminator.
    "They are, Elite Subjugator," the senior eliminator said smoothly, touching finger to forehead and bowing slightly. "All who are still present know of our probable fate and wish to continue. Those who left will fall into our crossfire in five minutes."
    "Good..." mused Esquian, not really paying attention. Traitors and deserters would die, and those who were true to the Vasari would continue on and die anyway. But die in honor.
    "First branch advance!" Esquian barked. "The weak shall fall, and the strong shall fall, and the Vasari will remain triumphant!"
    As one the 100 remaining ships powered up and surged through the wormhole.

The Advent

5 years ago, galactic position ???, ???

    There was a small flash on the screen. Haiti rose and smiled. Just as he had predicted, the heathen ships had appeared from the wormhole, and were moving along cautiously, obviously triple checking their scanners. From their scout they knew that an enemy lurked nearby. But Haiti was betting on the fact that once their sensors turned up nothing they would assume the enemy had left the wormhole and traveled to another position in the sector, or with luck, had phased out at the sun. Haiti grinned, the wolf-like attitude of the Unity seeping into his emotions. They would pay for their folly.
    Just as he had predicted, the heathen ships formed back together and sped up towards the edge of the gravity well, no doubt hoping to discover something about their enemy at another position.
    Now?
    The Unity was restless.
    Now.
    Like a bird of prey, the Advent Atlantean squad, three thousand spatial miles above the the gravity well plane, turned the beautiful noses of their ships down and plunged at the heathen ships. The Reemergence's computers calculated the number of enemy ships, and Haiti grinned like a wildcat. One hundred ships to his twenty. It would be an even fight.

great. keep it coming

Chapter 5, part 3
Portents of Things to Come

The Advent

5 years ago, phase space

    "No! Not again! Light have mercy, not again!" Veronica screamed.
    Haiti backed away and looked at her impartially. "I need your power. You are bound to serve the Unity, and bound to me now, as well. Why do you continue to resist, dear sister?"
    "I am no sister of yours!" The exclamation was barked out. "What is it you are even doing to me? I feel myself...die...then I am breathing again and I am lying on the floor. What do you do? What have you done to me? What do you mean I am bound to you?"
    Haiti spoke cooly, yet calmly. "Your soul is bound to mine now. As for what I do..."
    He took a step forward and Veronica scuttled back. He grinned.
    "It is best if you do not know."
    "Tell me, or I will take my life."
    Haiti's eyebrows rose. He had obviously not considered she would take that path.
    "You would remove yourself from the Unity? Cut yourself off? Destine yourself to eternal damnation and suffering?"
    "I would do what I must." But Haiti noticed the bead of sweat on her brow, and knew he was winning. The Pits of Everlasting Fire were aptly named, and universally feared. He changed his voice to a soft, soothing tone.
    "Come, sister, do not fight it. The eternal sleep is bliss, let yourself enjoy it for a time."
    "Not...your sister..." But she was broken.
    Quick as a python, Haiti swooped in on her.
    And he kissed her.
    Veronica saw his eyes blaze brightly with power before darkness closed over her and she fell.
    Haiti exhaled slowly, feeling the power soar through him. For any other Advent, this much psionic energy would have incinerated them, leaving not a speck of dust behind. But he was Haiti, the strongest male Advent in the entire history of the Unity. Kartente and his Giterna should be commended; it was a shame they had had to die and their bodies thrown into the Pits of Everlasting Fire. But he had not stolen Veronica's soul, and with it her psionic power, to enjoy the power struggle underway in his mind. The power sought to consume him, to turn his flesh to something less than ash, while it was only his mind which kept it in check. And he had quite a mind. It was only when handling so much psionic energy that one felt the strain of the power; one who lived their lives without stealing the souls of others would never feel PsiTech actively trying to destroy them. Their mind put it down too easily. But with this much power...
    If he did not release it soon the power would consume him. It pushed to expand from the puny bodily confines that trapped it. He must concentrate...
    Portents of things to come.
    The power roared and Haiti gritted his teeth. Even with the combined psionic energy of the two strongest living Advent, he had barely enough for what he was trying to accomplish.
    Portents of things to come.
    Portents of things to come!
    PORTENS OF THINGS TO COME!
    QUIET.
    The power crooned and Haiti smiled, sweat drenching his face. He had almost burned himself up and his capital ship with him, but he had done it.
    WATCH.
    Images flickered across Haiti's vision, and he struggled to focus in on one. He saw a man wreathed in flames, burning alive, and he knew him to be one of the Sinners, yet how he knew he could not say. Behind the man was the jackal-headed Egyptian god Anubis (every Advent was drenched in as much Earth history as they could hold, as it was believed it was the Advent's destiny to discover the lost planet), and it kneeled to another deity, whom Haiti recognized as Osiris, king of the gods, and when Anubis kneeled to Osiris the burning man...changed. For one thing, the flames disappeared, yet Haiti knew there was something else different about him, but he could not see what it was. Behind the man the god-king took a step forward, and the man also stepped forward at the same time. Then the vision was gone and another took its place. It was a tall, scaly reptilian creature, and Haiti knew it had been on the ships that had appeared from the wormhole, and was named Vasari, just as he knew the man before had belonged to the TEC---TEC, what was that? What had happened to the Trade Order?---yet he could not say how he knew. It was just suddenly...there, in his mind. The Vasari held a glowing orb, and that disappeared, and then flames erupted around the scaly creature and it vanished into the flames even as it opened its mouth to scream. Haiti at once knew that he was viewing his enemy's perspective of their recent battle.
    The image flickered and was gone, and then again there was a new one. But this image was different. It was dark and murky, and Haiti had to squint to make out what he was seeing. Then suddenly a man rose out of the darkness, a man with cold, piercing blue eyes that raged with a burning fury behind them. He pointed a pistol at Haiti's head, and Haiti felt his brains explode.
    The visions burst and Haiti was blasted across the room and hit the wall with a loud smack, while Veronica groaned on the floor. She raised her head, and in seeing Haiti sprawled across the ground, she rushed up and slid out a small knife she had hidden in her boot, and struck out at him. Haiti put out an arm feebly to protect his face, and the knife scored deep into its flesh. Haiti cried out even as Veronica cried out, for on her own arm a wound was forming, exactly similar to the one on Haiti's. His eyes flickered as they opened and surveyed the scene.
    "Find us help...or you will die. I told you...we are bound...by souls..." He coughed and could not continue.
    Veronica sent out a rapid thought into the Unity, yet used a closed thought, as Advent in high positions were taught, so only those on her ship felt the thought and read it. In seconds the room Haiti and she were in was crowded with distressed Advent. Two of the Coalescence were wounded in the arm, and one of them the High Coalescence himself!
    Veronica looked down at her arm, and saw blood flowing from the wound. She fell again to the ground.

its so sad...i had picked out a really great font for the creepy psionic power voice part, and then remembered when I went to post it that Impulse could only use the fonts it provided. big, big bummer. so i had to opt for that bold one instead. such a shame.

usually copy/paste will keep the fonts and other formatting

i no, thats wat i always do, but some fonts dont stay. no idea why.