Chapter 1. Announcements.
Twilight deepened upon the Marble Gigapolis of Arkhamenta and the marvelous Trinitarian Nebula already could be seen in the darkening sky among scatterings of stars and blinking colorful signals of the space ships flying around the planet.
Imperial University, the highest building in the Gigapolis was a real masterpiece of engineering art. Its spires seemed to pierce the sky, and the mosaic of its spheres, tunnels and force fields were eye-catching and fascinating.
The University was situated between a densely populated district of the Gigapolis and an ancient Fertility Temple, left by some mysterious civilization which, apparently, inhabited this planet eons before human colonization.
In one of the rooms of University's Dormitory lay a young couple, cuddling and heavily breathing.
"You brought wine," a young woman said after a minute of silence, "but haven't offered it yet. Is there a special occasion for it?"
"Yes. I want to make an announcement," a young man replied and cleared his throat. "It is so… I don't know… unbelievable. But, anyway! I got a job offer at MightyTech!"
"Wow… Joren! Congratulations! I always knew that your obsession with weapons prototyping was worth noticing at such a level," a young woman said. "Congratulations!"
"Yeah.. I still can't imagine myself working there," Joren went on. "So many opportunities.. And the job itself, working with the brightest minds of the planet to defend the Empire against the Cybermen... It is so exciting! Oh, Krethana, I am so thankful to you for supporting me all the time, it really means a lot to me."
"You are always welcome," Krethana murmured.
Joren went on enthusiastically, "It's just brilliant! I promise I will organize an interstellar journey with you as long as I have a vacation. We can go almost everywhere. What about Blischarta? It is a wonderful world, which was isolated from humanity right after its colonization. They built a civilization from scratch, with slavery, pagan cults and religious wars. Before humans regained contact with it and restored imperial law. Or Kreggisville…"
Krethana half-rised, covering her body with the blanket.
"Okay, darling, this is where it gets complicated," she said with a slight coldness in her voice.
"Is anything wrong?" Joren asked.
Krethana replied, "Yep! I also have an announcement. It is a hard decision, but I think we should end our relationship."
"What? Why?" Joren opened his eyes widely and held a breath.
"Senator Gillytan asked me for a date," Krethana replied in an apologetic tone. "I am sorry. You are fantastic, and I always valued our relationships, but… The only true passion I have is is why I chose political science as my major. I just can't lose this opportunity."
"Okay.. well…" muttered Joren. "That is kind of unexpected."
Krethana said, "Sorry for spoiling your career triumph… Oh, God, such an inappropriate time to say that.. Sorry."
Joren did not respond.
"You would find out anyway. Via the media, most certainly. And I don't want to have a double life. So, I have to be honest with you and with him. I've made my choice."
.Joren kept silence.
"I think, I should go," Krethana said and stood up, starting to gather her clothes.
"Goodbye!" she said before leaving the room.
"Good luck," Joren replied nonchalantly.
"Good bye, miss Krethana!" said the fake head of the Cyberman above the door.
Joren sighed, filled a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp. He clicked his fingers and the holovisor made a projection of the news presenter.
"Seven standard days ago there was a huge battle between Imperial Forces and Cybermen in the Sector NB-3. Several important bases of Cybermen were destroyed and imperial control over the whole star cluster was regained."
"Analysts of the M&G Agency updated their report about probability of Cybermen invasion on Arkhamenta in the nearest decade. It is two hundredth percent. The battle front is in the opposite side of the galaxy and during the last two years it shifted farther away from our star cluster, that is why the prognosis is optimistic. Financial markets already responded to this update, raising the stock prices of the planetary assets."
Presenter went on, "MightyTech continues to supply Imperial Army with the newest weapons and opens several research centers. Senator Gillytan proposed to reduce the taxes for MightyTech due to its exclusive importance for Imperial Defense."
Joren spat and filled the glass once more.
"The video clip of the Ragged Prophet gains more and more popularity in the net", went on the presenter. "This strange man claims that the planet will be brought down by the Cybermen in several months. This ludicrous prognosis, he says, is from the future."
Presenter vanished and the recording of Prophet came up in the air. Scraggy old man with shaggy beard and straggly hair, clothed in dirty tatters hysterically cried, "I've seen them coming! They devastated the planet! Many people were dying, many others took silver. There will be diabolic dance of fire, silver and blood! I was there! I was hiding from these scavengers, I had nothing to eat and drink. And I was sent back in time by the angel made of stone. This angel chose me to give you a warning.. To warn all of you!"