Chapter 1 – The Beginning of the End
(Author's Note: This is an original series that I had made up in the fourth grade! I started making comics and acting out scenes… Oh, just go ahead and read it.)
1200 Hrs.--Day 365--Year 99 of King Astro's Rule
On Planet Astroville, King Astro's Throne Room
CRASH! The 20-foot high oak doors swung open with a mighty heave. "Sir!" came the cry of one of King Astro's finest generals. His black cloak, complete with hood, draped on the floor and over his feet. The mage wore the symbol of the Republic on the upper right of his chest.
"What is it, General Jimmy?" he asked politely.
"Sir! We have an incoming message from the planet of Omega! It's Emperor Omega himself!" Jimmy cried, flustered by the seriousness of his message. Astro bowed his head and thought to himself. If Omega was sending a message to him, he must have some good news and bad news.
"The bad news is probably for us..." King Astro groaned. "Jimmy, put the message on."
"Yes sir!" he saluted. Jimmy walked to the middle of Astro's grand throne room. In the floor, there was an image projector, full-color and HD I might add, that could produce a 3D image of an environment and the person who was making the message. It was amazing what the Republic could do with their technology.
Jimmy put the start-up chip into the projector. It leapt to life with a whir of color and sound. The blue, five-pointed star of the Republic came out of the projector. Astro straightened his vertically split, half-blue and half-white cloak, for he didn't want to seem rude to the Chaos Emperor. Especially since their two factions hadn't talked to each other in 182 days, since the biannual Galactic Meeting of Leaders. Especially since Chaos and the Republic were sworn enemies, one the defender of good and the other the defender of evil.
"Planet Omega, Emperor Omega's Throne Room," King Astro spoke at the screen. Immediately the image shifted and blazed with all colors, vivid violets, ruby reds, brilliant blues, it could go on and on. The planet of Omega appeared into view. Omega, the planet, was shrouded in darkness. Only the occasional lightning storm lit up the inky black atmosphere. One lonely ring of ice circled the planet, an indicator of there was no friendliness in the Chaos mages at all.
The view suddenly descended, going warp speed past the atmosphere and into the streets of the capital. Citizens were scamming, wheeling and dealing, and everything else they had to do in order to make a living. THE only way to cash in was to join the Chaos Grand Army. Emperor Omega paid soldiers well because he valued military might over anything else. Even then, you had to survive one battle in order to get the big checks. Astro sighed, happy that the Republic wasn't an empire like Chaos. Everything seemed dark and gloomy in the air of Omega.
The holographic projector homed in on the Emperor's Palace, a beautiful building made of ruby and marble. "The only pretty about Chaos," Astro muttered. It flew the doors and the screen closed in on Emperor Omega.
"You have a call waiting," the projector chirped.
"Accept," Astro replied dryly. Emperor Omega's throne displayed on the view screen. The throne was made of rubies, the deepest and most vivid anybody had ever seen in the galaxy before. Omega himself was sitting on the chair. His cloak, all black, draped over his feet, was making him look like a reaper. His face was half hidden in his hood. He had a four lined scar on his left eye, one line was horizontal and one was vertical, and then two were diagonal, so it looked like an explosion or the red lines on the British flag. Chaos' emblem was displayed in a white circle in the center of his cloak. It consisted of three hills, the middle being taller than the left or right, with a firework like Omega's scar overlooking the middle hill. The emblem was red, signifying death. Omega's hand rested on the hilt of his red sword.
"Good afternoon, Astro," Omega nodded.
"Afternoon, Omega," Astro replied.
"I wish..." Omega began to monologue.
"Cut to the chase. What is it you want?" Astro interrupted rudely.
"Be nice Astro. I'm calling to give you some good news."
"Oh really?" Astro eyed the Emperor suspiciously.
"Yes. I'm pulling all Chaos troops out of Republic territory." The words hit Astro like stones in his heart. How could he proclaim something like that when Chaos had stationed troops inside Republican space since five years ago? Astro shook his head in disbelief. Jimmy's mouth dropped open into a perfect "O". Astro couldn't blame him.
"Why are you doing this? Have you gone mad?"
Omega laughed. "I thought you would be taking this with joy and happiness. I can leave them there if you would like, but I really need them."
"No, no. You can take them. Why would you do such a thing?"
Omega's face darkened. Astro knew it could only be one thing that would make Omega this mad: The Confederacy. "The Confederate scum have launched an attack on Planet Arro. I'm infuriated by the fact that they have the nerve to mass a full-scale invasion on one of my interior planets. I'm simply going to return the favor by reuniting the Chaos Grand Army." Astro's eyes widened in alarm. Omega had broken up the Grand Army into smaller planetary units in order to ensure better control of his planets. If he was reuniting the Army into one big force... Astro shivered.
"Do we have your word on your retreat?" Astro asked.
"You have my word. The Confederates shall die for their treason!" With that, Omega cut the connection. The room dimmed. Jimmy watched King Astro in silence. Astro's eyebrows furrowed. He knew that Omega usually always kept his word, so maybe he didn't have to worry about them. Then he thought back to something his mentor told him. He told him 'the time has almost come.'
"Jimmy, contact General AJ and tell him that we need to have all units primed and ready for battle."
"Not to be rude, but why?" Jimmy asked with a concerned look on his face.
"There's not much time until...you know. The event that will take place."
"Oh."
"What is the fastest way to get to Planet Gamma, the Confederate's capital planet?"
"That would be to capture Planet Buzzoy. If we do that, then we have a straight look at Gamma and the Confederates."
"I have a feeling Omega is going to attack General Gamma and his followers. That means they'll both end up on Gamma. If we can take Gamma, we'll have enough time to talk to both of them and get them ready for the event. Go Jimmy!" Astro ordered. Jimmy saluted and rushed out of the throne room.
"The end is near..." Astro muttered.
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1400 Hrs.--Day 365--Year 99 of King Astro's Rule
On Planet Gamma, General Gamma's Bunker
"Where is our nearest source of intel?" General Gamma barked. His hood was down, revealing his face and his eye patch that he wore over his right eye. Gamma's dark hair was matted down with sweat and water. His cloak, all black, was almost identical to Omega's, except for the symbol was different. It was a black "X" with one horizontal line on top of each point of the X. Triangles stood in the spaces between the lines, making it look real alien and foreign. The Confederacy wanted to take over the galaxy their way, and that meant no mercy.
"He's right here, sir!" a lieutenant shouted back. The bunker was full of computers and soldiers, with both making enough noise to tell anybody within 100 miles that they were here. A mage in a spy's cloak came up and bowed before the General.
"What's the report from inside Chaos?" Gamma asked eagerly.
The spy saluted and yelled, "Sir, Omega has ordered the reuniting of the Chaos Grand Army, sir!" Gamma scratched his chin and nodded. If Omega was ordering the return of the Grand Army, they were finally taking them seriously.
"Captain Jared? Are preparations being made for the defense of the planet?"
A big mage with an over-sized cloak shook his head. "No sir! We didn't know about Chaos until right now, sir!"
Gamma grabbed him by the chest and lifted him up, which made several soldiers shiver. If he could pick up a 500 pound mage by his chest with just one arm, they didn't want to think of what the General could do to them. "Are you being smart with me, Captain?" he mocked.
"No sir! I'm just stating the facts, sir!" Jared replied back without even blinking. He knew that Gamma wouldn't harm him, because he was part of the Reapers, an elite organization of assassins that took orders from no one except Gamma himself.
Gamma let him down. "You better be," he growled. "Now then, who's got the strategic plans for this war?"
"I do, sir!" Captain Oblivion replied. He was also part of the Reapers, which meant that no one looked up when he talked. They didn't want to offend an assassin that could pull a blade on them faster than they could say "Uh-oh."
"Well then, let's hear them!" Gamma shouted. Oblivion pulled out the blueprints and laid them on the war table. Several schematics for detailed plans were shown on the paper.
"Gamma, we believe that when Omega makes his assault, he will come from space and land his troops at the southern pole. He will then march in a straight line in order to the middle of the planet and make it to the capital before the next winter hits. In that case, we will set every asset we have in that line in order to ambush them and cut them off, making them either turn back or find another way. Once they try to navigate around us, we will surround them with Lt. General Beau's battalion and Lt. General Zac's. We, the main force, will then cut down the middle of enemy lines..."
"While they ambush from the sides..." Gamma caught on.
"And we slaughter them from the inside! Omega will never know what hit him!" Oblivion finished.
Gamma clapped, "Excellent."
"Wait a minute," a dark figure said, coming up from behind.
"Beau, you have thoughts on this?" Gamma eyed him suspiciously.
"Yeah, I do. What if Oblivion's wrong, and they land on the Eastern shores, near the water? They could have a naval invasion, air support, and land forces coming down to make the General their hunting trophy," Beau pointed out. Oblivion looked at him with annoyance.
"They won't. It's far easier to land at the south pole and work their way up instead of landing in the east where the cities are," Oblivion assured Gamma.
"How do you know? Omega might want to land there if he wants more death and destruction. And he is in a really bad mood after our attack on Arro," Beau countered.
"I never ordered any strike on Arro..." Gamma muttered.
"I believe you have the Captain to thank for that. Good day, General," Beau left through the solid metal door in the back of the bunker. Gamma tried to control his temper.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK WE COULD HAVE GAINED BY ATTACKING ARRO?" Gamma exploded.
"Uh, we got them to take us seriously?" Oblivion tried to respond. Gamma slammed his hand onto the table. Everyone in the bunker looked at them.
"Get Beau's operation up and running! You're going to oversee the first defenses, Captain," Gamma growled. Oblivion left without another word. Gamma sighed and kicked the table. He considered promoting a lieutenant to the Captain's position, but shrugged it off. For now, anyway. Gamma flopped onto his chair and closed his eyes.
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1800 Hrs.--Day 365--Year 99 of King Astro's Rule
Planet B1, Region B Command HQ
"Where is Sergeant Huwe?" Commander Ytara spat fiercely.
"He is on leave in the northern half of the galaxy. I believe he is vacationing on the Republic planet of Stariya," a first class private said shyly. Ytara groaned and cursed.
"Republic. Those idiot fools who love peace more than they love protecting what is rightfully theirs!"
Ytara straightened her cloak and sighed. Her black cloak went down to her ankles, a terrible violation of protocol in which the cloak should go past the feet at least. She also added a cape that flowed down her back with the symbol of Region B. It was three black, double sided arrows that were formed like an "X" and another arrow that split it in half, making six tips and three double-sided arrows. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and was hidden out of sight in her hood. Ytara's perfect face didn't give away any of her true emotions. The mere mention of the Republic and she felt like hurling her lunch back onto the floor.
Just then, a small figure entered the room. He clumsily knocked aside a technician and caused the computer to explode. Ytara calmed herself with an ancient lullaby that her mother used to sing to her. Then she opened her eyes and resumed her angry disposition. "You there! Mage who knocked over that technician! Get over here right now!" she ordered. The mage bowed and hurried over to the commander.
"My lady," he saluted.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Captain Web. You sent me off on a recon mission to Chaos and the surrounding factions several months ago."
"Oh? That's good. Tell me, Captain Web. Why aren't you at your post?"
"My lady, the balance of power is going to change over the course of the next year. Chaos is reforming the Grand Army, and is going to attack the Confederate forces at Gamma, the capital!"
"And...what would this have to do with us?"
"If we back Chaos, which could become a significant move over the course of the new war, and they win...well...that would mean we would be aligned with the most powerful military alliance in the galaxy! The Republic will be no more! Omega hates the Republic, you hate the Republic, what could be more promising!"
Ytara scratched her head and thought about the proposal. If Chaos won, which they probably would, then Region B could have a powerful ally to help bring the downfall of the Republic! On the other hand, if the Confederates held back the Chaos invasion...that would mean they could launch attacks anywhere in Chaos (and potentially Region B) territory, giving them a huge advantage in the galactic bid for power. Another point to look at was if they aligned with Chaos, she would have to send some of their own soldiers to the battlefields on Gamma, thereby weakening their own borders. Then the Republic could...she shivered.
"My lady, what do you have to lose? The only thing that could be lost is a few hundred or thousand soldiers. And we could become a vast empire that could exceed our small, three-planet boundaries!" the captain beamed. Ytara seemed convinced by the soldier's cunning. He was right. What did they have to lose?
"Alright. We're in. Contact Omega at 2200 hours and tell him of our proposition. Recall all vacationing soldiers and prepare everyone for combat!" The room went up in cheers. "I hope I know what I'm doing..." Ytara frowned.
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2000 Hrs.--Day 365--Year 99 of King Astro's Rule
Planet Skall, Black Thunder Headquarters
Beta frowned as he looked upon the trade agreement proposed by one of his comrades. He looked down at the Black Thunder logo absently. He admired the black thunderbolt with the black skull and crossbones off in the upper right-hand corner. Who knew who suggested the logo? Who cared? No one, as long as it meant money. His black cloak was outlined with intricate green patterns, indicating his enormous wealth in running Black Thunder. His motto was whatever could make money, they did it no matter what.
"So...you're saying that if we supply General Gamma and his Confederate Army with ammo, guns, and the works, they're saying that they can pay up big time?" Beta asked.
"Yeah. They said they'd be willing to pay us 100 billion Confederate credits in exchange for the supplies we need," First Class Lt. Gawers said.
"Lokie? I need a conversion, stat! How much is that in Republic credits? I hate anything other than Republic tokens. Everything else is based on faulty economies and bad government promises," Beta spat to the side.
Lokie pulled out a gadget from inside his cloak and started punching buttons on it. "Well sir, it seems that its only about 33 1/3 billion Republican tokens," he said flatly.
Beta growled and pulled his hood off in frustration. His short, golden hair lit up the room. "Dang it. How much would that take our empire to if we add the new deal?"
"Uh...4 trillion Republican tokens. That is about 1/100 of the Republic's total assets."
"Dang. We need faster income rates. Tell 'em 300 billion Confederate credits or no deal."
"Yes sir!" Lokie saluted. He scurried out of the room to place Beta's demand. Beta sat on his throne-like chair and sagged into it, relieved because of its comfort and security. Lt. Gawers stood on the side, eyes trained on the door, the only entrance into the sealed room.
"You can let your guard down for now, Gawers. Nothing is going to come through that door except Lokie when he comes back with my answer," Beta relaxed.
Gawers nodded. "Sorry sir. It's a habit," he apologized.
"Well, you need to learn to relax sometimes. When you're in league with one of the richest guys in the galaxy, there's no need to fear anything. You can afford to ease up, you know what I'm saying?"
"Sort of..."
Lokie came back into the room flustered. "General Gamma's on the hard-line. He wants to talk to you," he whispered timidly. Beta picked up the communicator and plugged it into his ear.
"This is Beta of Black Thunder," Beta started.
"Hello Beta. Do you know why I'm calling you?" Gamma's voice dripped with anger.
"To tell me that you're not going to give in to my demands?" Beta guessed.
"Yes. We give you a deal like that and you're going to triple my offer and expect me to accept? You had your chance."
Beta expected his reaction. "Are you going to go to someone else, General? You wouldn't have come to me with the offer unless you had no other alternative. Are you going to go to the Republic, who is one of the enemies that won't wait to slit your throats? Or maybe the Independents, who have all the moral garbage in the world and won't back anybody unless they know for sure that their ally will win? Or maybe Region B, who hates you because of what you did to them in helping the Republic capture planet Mayoni right out of their fingertips?" Gamma's breathing couldn't be heard.
"Beta, you're walking on very thin ice."
"And so are you, General. Without those supplies, you're not going to stand a chance against the Chaos Grand Army. I'm a man with simple tastes. I want money, and lots of it. You give me what I want and I'll give you what you want. And don't think you can blackmail me with your military might. You don't want two enemies breathing down your backs, now do you?" Beta concluded. "Oh, and if you do anything to rash, I'll call in our good friend, the Republic. That would be three powerful factions against your regime. How's that for a threat?" Beta finished his ultimatum.
Gamma was silent on the other end of the line. "Are you still there?" Beta mocked.
"Give me the goods and you'll get your money," Gamma sneered. The connection went dead. Beta sighed happily and grinned.
"It's good to be the man in charge," he smiled.
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2200 Hrs.--Day 365--Year 99 of King Astro's Rule
Planet Orbo, Independent Capitol Building
Commander Alpha sat down among the counsel members seated in the Independent Senate. There was murmur about today's meeting going all around him. He wished that people wouldn't gossip and hold predictions until after he'd started, but he knew that dream was impossible.
Alpha stared down at his cloak. It was longer than most mages' cloaks, with long billowing sleeves that went past his hands. His face was unmarked, unlike Omega's or Gamma's, and he wore the Independent logo proudly on his upper left-hand corner of his chest. It was a gray "U" with a small I hanging by two diagonal lines on the inside, upper corners of the "U". A black ring encircled the design, completing the logo.
Even though the official name for the faction was Universal Independents, it implied too much, like they were trying to break away from everything else in the galaxy, but that was not the case. They simply loved their freedom, so they broke away from the Republic to form a twelve-planet government located in the northern sectors of the galaxy. Alpha had risen up from the rank of lieutenant at the time of Year 50 of King Astro's Rule, to becoming head of the Independent faction. Although they had a Senate and must have had some semblance of democracy, Alpha preferred it to be a one-man government. But he sighed, knowing that wouldn't happen in his immortal lifetime.
"Now then! This emergency session of the Universal Independent Senate had come to order!" Alpha boomed above the noise with his hands held above his head. "Does anyone know why we are having this meeting?" he asked. The counsel silenced, unable to answer his question. He groaned and continued.
"We are having this because of what our recon soldiers are telling us. The Republic, our long-time ally thanks to my hard efforts, has just been informed by Omega himself that he is pulling all troops out of Republic airspace and is reforming the Chaos Grand Army, which hasn't happened since we broke away from the Republic."
"We also know that Chaos is planning an attack on planet Gamma, to end the Confederate treason once and for all."
"Region B is planning to back Chaos in the war, Black Thunder is selling arms to the Confederates, shall I go on?" Alpha questioned. Murmurs among the counsel ceased.
"Our galaxy is on the brink of a nightmare war, in which case we have at least 2 factions supporting each other and the outcome will cost millions of lives! The Republic, has offered us a solution! We stop the war by capturing the Confederate planet of Buzzoy!"
"How will that halt the war?" a random counselmember asked.
"If it doesn't get the Confederate attention and make our presence known, then we have a straight line to the capitol planet of Gamma, where we will take it for ourselves and show the galaxy the Independent might alongside the Republic!" The room went up in battle cries.
"Counsel, what say you?"
"AYE!" the crowd roared. There was thunderous applause and cries of 'The war shall be stopped!' and other sayings that pretty much overturned the Independent decree of peace. But then, most of them viewed the war as the only way to keep the peace.
"Captain Werth? Alert King Astro that we will stand by and back him in the attempt to neutralize the threat to our galaxy's stability," Alpha commanded.
"Yes sir!" he saluted and rushed of to the projector located in the conference room of the capitol building.
Alpha nodded in satisfaction and told one of his generals to prepare all troops for war.
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2400 Hrs.--Day 1--Year 100 of King Astro's Rule
Planet Astroville, King Astro's Throne Room
King Astro stood on the balcony of his throne room in the clear, midnight air, searching for answers in the starry sky. He calmed his nerves easily, like a commander before an epic battle. Astro heard footsteps enter his throne room. He let the mage come to him instead of going back inside. Astro didn't feel like dealing with anything else for a while, but he knew what was coming. He couldn't ignore it.
He recognized the footstep pattern of the mage that was coming. It was one of his most trusted advisers, and closest confident: Commander Jett, the White Mage. His pure white cloak with the matching hood identified him as such. No one else in the galaxy wore a pure, snow-white cloak like the one Jett wore. He had the Republic logo embroidered onto the end of his sleeves. The blue star was the only color among the vast expanse of white in the fabric.
Jett had chosen to put his hood down as he leaned over the balcony next to the king. His half bright yellow, half pitch black hair was an unusual sight, but it didn't disturb Astro. He welcomed individuality, even though he knew that his hair was that way from birth.
Astro sighed. "Rough day?" Jett asked.
"Yes. It was very much, a rough day," Astro grunted.
"Then I guess you don't want to hear all of our intelligence that we've picked up over the past twelve hours."
"No. Unless it's some good news. I haven't had some of that in a while," Astro smirked.
"Commander Alpha of the Independent faction called to say that he wished us his best, and that he would lend a helping hand to our efforts in putting down the Confederate-Chaos War. How's that for good news?"
"Eh, it's all right. It's not like Omega is going to put down his guns and make peace with his traitorous foes," Astro frowned.
"You've got to learn to cheer up! I mean, here we are, facing your 100th year of rule over the Republic. No one in the history of the galaxy has controlled a faction for that long, save the Black Mage and his early Chaos Empire," Jett remarked. Astro went back into his throne room. "What is it?"
"We've got to be ready to end the war. Prepare every single one of our troops and get them over to our station orbiting Confederate territory."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?" Jett grinned.
"Yes I am. This war will knock the stability of the galaxy to an all-time low. We need to keep that from happening. So as I said before, ready our armies!"
"That is what I'm talking about!" Jett rejoiced. He left the throne room, giving out the orders to anyone who came by him.
Astro sighed as he leaped onto his throne. He nodded and whispered, "This is the beginning of the end."
(Author's note: Thank you for reading! Review and ask questions if you were confused about anything mentioned in the chapter!)