Once, Humanity conquered the Cosmos
Once, Man was akin to a God
Once, we were Gods ourselves
All that remains is to remember how…
"Book of Hope"
Verse VI
Ideals were forged for war. Our natural habitat was battle-ravaged worlds and mountains of corpses—mostly Alien, though it varied.
With humans, I might still have doubts, but with lyrdagi and their pets, it was simple: they all had to die, or I did. As long as one Ideal lived, the Aliens would flinch in their sleep, waking in the slimy muck that passed for their cold sweat.
The howling closed in. lyrdagi hounds were always loud—and hypersensitive to noise. Their main gigs were patrolling turf and flagging their masters. With luck, today I'd snag something juicier than brainless bio-alarm mutts.
The beasts charged the sound's source. I slammed the two-hander into another boulder to keep our paths aligned. My head ran a constant resource tally. I trusted my strength—just didn't like the pitiful reyz-energy (RE) absorption rate. That could complicate things.
A smooth step right. The two-hander rested on my shoulder. Legs tensed for a lunge.
Hass-Arss. The lyrdagi tongue was endlessly alien to humans, like everything else about them. But some names stuck—like these hounds.
I was halfway up the slope, just below the monsters. They always ran in fives—lived and birthed in fives. Even in packs of dozens, Hass-Arss split into five-unit squads, each with its own alpha.
The first enemy crested the rock scatter—spiked back, beefy legs, and a bare jaw unfit for eating but loaded with crooked fangs to inspire dread.
Three seconds to impact. The alpha was bigger, faster—way ahead of the pack, primed to start the fight. Take down the prey, let the rest pile on the helpless body.
Step… I thrust the blade with my full weight, bracing my left wrist on the hilt. The beast soared two meters in a high leap—hundred kilos, three meters long. Prime specimen.
Crunch… The four backups snapped their heads up, rasping howls mid-run. They didn't yet clock their alpha was toast.
The blade tore into the flying monster's gut. Space-grade steel knew no bounds. Thick scales—bulletproof—parted like warm butter.
I dove forward. Stinking blood and guts rained down, followed by the alpha's carcass. It didn't know it was dead yet—tried to stand, to gather its legs, but chest and belly muscles were done.
I finished my move, driving the sword through the throat of the eagerest hound, pinning it to the ground. Howls turned to gurgles. It clawed the rocks. One second, two… Now!
Energy reserve: 107/1000
Warning! Without full System deployment, reyz-energy absorption is limited.
Absorbed 15.953% of enemy reyz-energy.
Power-saving mode deactivated. Low-level internal energy forms now available.
The alpha croaked. The skewered beast twitched its last and went limp. The remaining three hit the dirt, convulsing.
Pack bonds were tight. Hass-Arss swapped info over distance, but everything had a price. The alpha's death sent a psychic shockwave, guaranteed to disorient the rest. lyrdagi offset that flaw with sheer numbers—more hounds wailed from the peak.
Energy reserve: 123/1000
Warning! Without full System deployment, reyz-energy absorption is limited.
Absorbed 12.673% of enemy reyz-energy.
I twisted the sword, severing the pinned monster's spine, then finished a stunned one. Bone spikes on its withers drooped; legs jerked a final time.
The RE percentage sucked. To seriously refill my tank, I'd need to wipe out every critter around this mountain. Fine by me.
Five meters off, scaly bodies stirred sluggishly in the dust cloud. The closest hound woke last—for a split second. Then its chunky head hit the ground, separate from its torso.
This ship-part-turned-blade was proving its worth—perfect timing too. With the Raiders' shoddy junk, I'd have struggled way more.
Dust coated my skin, gritted my teeth, stung my eyes. The survivors stood—no thought of retreat. Instant death of half the pack didn't faze them—Hass-Arss lacked the brains to reassess.
Step right. A beast's bulk hurtled past. I slashed its hind leg and sidestepped. Dark blood sprayed the second hound's face.
The foul sludge in Hass-Arss veins had a nasty trick—fast corrosion of unprotected organics. The beasts got mild burns; an average human could die from poisoning.
The blinded hound smashed full-speed into a boulder, thrashing its head. Its crippled kin crawled my way, leaving a wide black smear.
The second pack closed in—two fives, by the sound. Time to wrap up the first batch.
Energy reserve: 134/1000
Warning! Without full System deployment, reyz-energy absorption is limited.
Absorbed 12.973% of enemy reyz-energy.
I lopped the front legs—and part of the head—off the blind one, then faced the newcomers.
Energy reserve: 143/1000
Warning! Without full System deployment, reyz-energy absorption is limited.
Absorbed 12.973% of enemy reyz-energy.
The wounded beast fell meters short of its prize. I weighed a key choice—burn some stored energy or my time?
A big hound broke from the pack—alpha spikes venom-green. Decision made itself.
Acceleration
Energy reserve: 113/1000
"Acidic" hounds were rare—and always a surprise. Normal ones kept venom inside; these weaponized it. Even I shouldn't touch them—or their remains.
The alphas leapt in tandem. Under Acceleration, I handled both—one lost two legs, the acidic one its right skull half. The System pinged a reserve bump; I ignored it. Seconds mattered—no time to waste.
Three hounds dropped before the psychic hit. I finished two after, wounded one.
Six seconds of Acceleration—seven dead, one maimed. I'd really slipped since cryo…
Time to fix that. Disoriented Hass-Arss were easy pickings. I conserved energy, finishing them without matrices.
Energy reserve: 214/1000
Warning! Without full System deployment, reyz-energy absorption is limited.
Absorbed 12.973% of enemy reyz-energy.
My first real scrap with Aliens on this planet—a milestone. During the war, I'd started marking humanity's steps; I wasn't ditching that now.
Fifteen hounds would be the first sign of human law's return here. I beheaded them all, stacking the heads clear of blood. Onward.
Three kilometers to the peak. The BAS stayed quiet—no hints needed. Each Hass-Arss group patrolled a set zone—maybe smaller, but I assumed max size.
Three fives locked down this slope. More guards only made sense with surplus or a bio-replicator for repopulation.
I could bang around and wait, but the fight was long enough to draw every critter nearby. They heard kin louder than any racket. Maybe three or four groups on the far side—those could wait.
Climbing, a data-processing icon blinked more often. The BAS scanned, hunting relay network scraps. A Vortex leaked RE even disassembled—its silence nagged me.
If the BAS caught radiation, the source was close. If there was a source, signal strength should rise. If I was heading right…
Lost in thought, I hit the gentle summit and stopped, eyeing a decent-sized crater. At its heart gleamed a lattice "bone" of a complex building. The defensive perimeter was trashed; inner structures neatly dismantled into blocks, packed, and abandoned.
Warning! New data detected!
"Vortex-247-bis" complex module
Residual radiation: none
Status: structural modifications applied
"Radiation density change graph," I said, staring at the blocks under centuries of debris and brush.
A two-tone diagram popped up—distance and energy background. Peaks hit at the BAS's first activation, then dropped near zero. But the relay stood intact—I saw it clear as day.
Up close, the blocks weren't the only things left. Dust held skeletons in rotted tech uniforms.
I scoured the site—no lousy helmet, let alone decent weapons or armor. If gear was here, the attackers took it.
Humans—or something using human weapons. Some skeletons bore plasma and shrapnel scars—lyrdagi didn't roll that way. Their arsenal was acid and organic; fire spooked the lizards.
The main—and only—building's door was jammed. The dust-caked lock kicked on after ten tries.
Access level confirmation required
I lifted my chainmail sleeve, pressing the implant bulge to the scanner—universal Ideal clearance. Wartime let us override any human system, from planetary defenses to private yachts.
Access confirmed
Absolute Vyacheslav Voronov, Ideal-003, callsign Achilles
System unlock requires 100 RE units
Unlock complex? Yes/No
Back then, I'd have said yes without blinking. What's 100 RE with humanity's full System at your back? Who knew a measly hundred would one day be a steep price?
Energy reserve: 114/1000
Still, I agreed. Heavy locks whirred alive. Clicks sounded, and the thick door slid aside—two-thirds, then jammed hard.
A stench of decay and neglect wafted from the dark. Even emergency lights were dead. I could dump more RE to juice it, but I passed—red zone again wasn't worth it.
I stepped in cautiously, brushing my wrist against the wall. Right side, waist-high, should've been a backup RE module—standard on key human sites, military-only activation.
My hand hit bare wall. Fingers traced gouges from removal.
BAS: Data upload
First floors of critical structures had no windows. Light spilled from the door behind, but my eyes flipped to night mode—another Ideal perk. Human systems ran sharper, faster.
Darkness turned to thick dusk—enough to navigate without kissing corners. A layout of this building type unfurled in my mind.
Main hall—dead or missing auto-turrets in the walls. Staircase ahead. Second floor: control zone. First basement: core gear and backup control block.
I crossed the long, empty hall and paused at the stairs. Normally, nearing a relay, any RE-capable human would brim with energy. Now, a hollow ache tugged my chest—like something precious, mine alone, was draining drop by drop.
Upstairs felt pointless—I headed down. No backup system meant the control room's gear was long gone. The question was what useful scraps lingered below—not the relay itself.
Three flights down, a gaping hole replaced the thick armored door to the complex's heart. Where a ten-ton structure went, I couldn't guess—nor did it matter now.
The room beyond was sterile clean—no dust, mandatory in such places. Floor bore equipment ghosts—dark burn spots from generators, empty slots for reyz-batteries and amps.
I paced twice, feeding the BAS oddities, then stopped at the left wall. My hand found a faint ridge.
"Didn't find it," I smirked, rapping the wall with the sword hilt. A dull echo rolled through.
Two more hits, and a blinking red light cut the dark. I cleared debris by hand. A black-box-like data vault hid in a tiny niche—last-resort recorder for the Confederation Aerospace Forces to track personnel fate. Beside the diode, one button for an orbit-bound distress ping.
I touched the light. A choking male voice filled the room.
"Chief Engineer, Facility 74630012-Bravo-Red, Julius Sting. Final message. Personnel wiped out. We're holding the line, locked main building. If anyone hears, respond! We've got civilians—women, kids…"
A gunshot cut it off. I replayed twice. Pulse needler—distinct crackle at the end meant over a hundred needles hit Sting. Extreme hate—two would've done for most.
"What went down here?" I mused.
Breach the outer perimeter only after trashing the whole site—but it stood. Staff prepped for evac—dome likely shut off from inside. Betrayal? Among humans?
I eyed the distress button skeptically. If one Confederation sat hung in orbit, it'd relay the signal. The alert system was built to outlast its makers—probably did. Worth a shot.
I pressed till it clicked. A familiar hum of a one-shot signal generator buzzed deep in the wall. The BAS lit up.
Warning! New data detected!
"Vortex-247-bis" complex module
Residual radiation redirected
Status: structural modifications applied
Result: modifications enable activation of "Rradj-Sa-Ar" audio module. Pulse radius: 5 kilometers
A piercing screech slammed my ears—industrial-drill intensity, boring into my brain. My bones vibrated. Five seconds…
I shook it off and headed out. Signal sent—time to handle the fallout. Why a human distress system hooked up to the lyrdagi "Lure" module? That'd wait.