Memoirs of a Madman
#1 of Stories Of Sirus
**This is a prologe of a story designed to get the reader up to speed with the main character and his Rise and fall from glory. It will be long and there will be more to it then just this.
The following was recorded from a long range listening station deep in Dredj space.
***Begin log entry***
"It was abnormally hot out when it all started, though of course I didn't notice. Being in the vacuum of space often had that effect. Of course it also makes it difficult to tell what day it is. Time seems to have blended together and it's difficult to sift through the details and find how long it took to get here. The world left behind was calm, peaceful, and utterly boring. The inhabitants there were completely lost in their narrow vision worshiping a god that had either died or left them to their fates long ago. When the Solstice came early again I realized our universe was collapsing. It was a difficult matter to have the viceroy inform the king of this development and still have him think it was his idea but this was accomplished. Of course the king asked his son's what to do about this new problem that faced our world. Aon, the fool, had no suggestions of his own. Casually I spoke up suggesting that we create a fleet, now, with the technology we possessed and strive to find the cause for this problem."
"At the time little was actually known about the gods' creations. Ships capable of transporting life from one planet to the next, requiring almost no maintenance and almost no fuel. For centuries we had used these devices that were given to the people of the chosen and never once looked at them twice. It wasn't until some had started to fail that we even started learning to repair them. Though Aon and I both had more knowledge of them then anyone alive... after all, we built them. I recall that thought amusing me; I seemed to remember our heritage while Aon did not. Our sister, however, seemed to remember much of it as well. The devices had been built thousands of years before, along with the construction of the planet. We all had a hand in it though then we were not divided... I shared the same body as that wretched fool. The world was created; the technology given to these 'chosen' and then the body went to sleep. We emerged from the temple where the sleeping god laid opening eyes to the first light we had ever seen. Red glowing and heating the grassy field that we stood in, three children naked and lost. A monk -- who had come to worship at the Parthenon found us, took us to the king and there we were raised as his son and daughter. The old man seemed to take an immediate liking to Aon, though why it escapes me. His fool-hearty ways, careless nature, incessant good cheer and blind kindness baffles me to this day. We were not ever meant to be 'good' we were the spawn of evil; a creation of guilt was the planet from the universe's most powerful force of chaos and evil. Though Aon seemed content to play the jester and seemed never the wiser."
"Aon was, surprisingly adept with machinery. More so, in some ways then I admit. Once convinced that the universe outside ours contained the answers we set to work on creation of a ship, one that would penetrate the dimensional barrier and take us beyond to the universe proper. He drafted the blue-prints, and, it was only a matter of leverage to obtain a copy of them. We began construction on the ships simultaneously, or as simultaneous as we could. His was a construction for the people of the chosen. It was made in public view and over the skies above the home planet of Anon prime. He made certain to announce it and declare all that he could about what it was and what it was for. This ship was to be designed as an all-in-one space ship, capable of supporting colonies in space and acting as a transport ship. The design was rather impressive, though it lacked muscle. It certainly had enough weaponry to do the job however I felt that it lacked a certain amount of security and precision. That would not do on my ship. So I let him build his 'wonder ship' and waited for the reprobates hiding in the smugglers moon to sabotage the project. I made certain to keep my eye on them, providing them clues that the project would be used to cease their insurrection. All to keep them form noticing my project. While no where near as public as the with a few added bonuses, things to make the ship stronger, better able to police the planets in our little kingdom when the need arise. Its construction was hidden well in the nebula near the large asteroid field. Smugglers often used this location to avoid the local patrol ships, and thus I needed to ensure they didn't need to use this 'suicide alley' I had to make certain there was a place for them to go, that, and something for them to watch. Aon's little experiment seemed the best choice."
"After completing his designs and beginning construction in the hope project Aon was to take the rite of succession, which is to say, he was sent into the mystic crystal forest were he was to find a sword, converse with the spirits of nature and then arrive at the crystal cathedral. Of course anyone could perform the rite but only one royal family member was allowed to be chosen. None have ever removed the sword from its hiding place though the kings and queens of Avalon have always found it to find that it was waiting for its owner. I believe some think it odd to hear that a sword can talk and while they make not physical noise they are still quite capable of coherent communication. I myself discovered this when I found the sword created for me, and bound to my soul. This being said it seemed quite un-heard of when Aon emerged from the forest with the sword in hand. I would have given most anything to see the startled look on Aon's face when the deadly blasts of energy rained from the sky shattering the crystal cathedral and killing him in the process. The smugglers were lead to believe that by killing Aon the hope project would end and they would then have their applicant emerge from the wood to complete the succession. However none of the other applicants found their way through the forest, some did however give up in the first day and return to the starting location. The others were never seen, presumably dead. Despite all my planning there was still a flaw... something I hadn't calculated happened. When Aon emerged from the woods he brought with him of course his sword, and a woman. Unlike the rest of us this woman was nothing like us, long pointed ears, unusually thin and very pale skin. Her long blond hair slid all the way down to her back, her eyes blue as the lake on a cold winter day and they carried with them an innocence that I hadn't seen in any before...
...and yet I had. I knew I recognized her though nothing in my memory could ever place where and when. I would stare at her, sleeping in her chambers so peacefully, and just focus on who or what she was. She didn't speak a word of our language and my constant presence clearly frightened her. It was something I did not wish to do and that again confused me. Generally I find fear to be a useful tool to persuade those into action and force the results I wish though in her it seemed unnatural and something I wished never to inspire in her. I tried several times to ask her how she survived the explosion but as with most times she simply looked at me with a blank stare that reminded me of several animals startled and staring into the bright lights of a transport unable to move. I was forced to give up any further communication attempts with her and leave her in the hands of Alexia, my sister to care for her as my project neared its completion and required more and more of my attention."
"Finally the day arrived; I was standing on the bridge overlooking the gaseous nebula. Despite its many difficulties the Alexandria was launching at the same time my Nighthawk was. I had planned to wait for the Alexandria to launch then move to the locations that it was not. Thus keeping the populace off guard and unable to move against the royal family, and myself, until I wished them to. This would not be what happened though. During our initial launch we activated the engines that would break us free of our little pocket dimension and something went wrong. It was almost as if we hit something --though physically that was impossible seeing as we didn't exactly have matter to hit anything-and the pain that accompanied it was perhaps the truest and most exquisite pain I have ever perceived. Had it not been happening to me I might have truly admired it. When I woke time had no meaning, where I was synonymous with when I was. The ship was damaged, battered and bruised. I emerged on the bridge noting with dissatisfaction the apparent chaos. Consoles smashed, people yelling over the general background noise in some attempt to communicate and coordinate the repair and apparent war efforts. Of course I was about to say something when I noted the Major taking command and then it hit me...
...this was not my ship. My appearance to them was just as shocking as theirs to mine as quickly the bridge obtained order and offered the appropriate respect for one of the royal house."
"Red lights were flashing and alarm sirens blaring as I approached the Major. We were quickly able to silence the noise for a moment for him to report the situation. I remember as he spoke I was paying little attention, nothing seemed to make any since and I was struggling to find a cause and reason for the catastrophe that occurred to me and my ship. I found that some of the others of my ship had appeared here much as I had though most were MIA. The proximity alarm ruined the relative silence I had found and immediately I knew I had found what I was looking for. It was a large, dark mass floating, more drifting in space seeming to the entire universe to be a dead hulk of metal. Of course, I knew better. Something told me what I was looking at was not dead. Just sleeping, waiting for its owner to come claim it. I smiled with an evil joy, I found my ship, and it found me. How I had gotten off it didn't matter anymore, not as much as getting back onto her. The world around me seemed a flurry of activity as I made my way to the hanger. I was going back and nothing was going to stop me. It is here an now that I am recounting how I got off my ship, and what lead up to it but none of that matters right this second. Now is time to find what still works and what is left of my ship..."
***End of log entry***