In the cold vastness of space, there exists a world of iron, grit, and blood, forever turning on its axis in defiance of the stillness of the universe. In a forgotten age, it had once been known as Gaia, Natura, and as Mother Earth, such days have been forsaken for the ambitions of Terra, the center of the known universe. History may have once spoken of the rise and fall of many Empires, yet now there has only ever existed the One Empire of Sol. In this star-dawned age, humanity, in its fear of corruption and decadence, traded liberty for unity, and forsook the lessons of history to conquer the stars. All of Sol now rests in the grasp of humanity, and now, by the will of a single man, the gaze of an entire species now stares greedily upon the endless horizons.

On Terra’s surface, in the heart of Imperial power, ensconced within the Capitol, the Director of Imperial Intelligence sat in his office and reviewed a report that had the potential to change the power dynamic of Sol forever. The office held little in the way of ornamentation. It wasn’t the Director’s style to display the lavish wealth of his position. Instead, the room was entirely functional. On every wall, dozens of holoscreens displayed ever-changing lines of data and projections. Each screen held a summary of a single colonized planet.

Communications were collected through various networks and screened by advanced artificial intelligence. Only the relevant data was separated and then added to the advanced threat metrics on display in the office. The metrics were continuously updated by agent reports, communication records, and open-sourced intelligence. At any point in time, the director could walk up to a screen and refresh himself on the particulars of the planet.

Cossus Sita sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. The irony was that it wasn’t any of the planets on his wall that caused the report. It was a world that had yet to be discovered by the Empire. It was a world that Triplex Corp had discovered two centuries ago and now their plan was coming home to roost.

Ever since the Empire had forcibly integrated Triplex Corp over two hundred years ago, the corporation had been a thorn in its side. Cossus had been a young intelligence officer in his twenties then and had been assigned to the pacification of Jupiter. He had never seen the conflict on Titan and Enceladus, but he had heard stories from his fellows.

“What do you know of Triplex Corp?” He asked the only other person present in the room.

The woman frowned and the expression combined with the harsh cerulean light of the holoscreens deepened the sharp angles of her face.

“Not much,” she answered slowly. “They were a pre-Empire company that focused on genetic research and development. I believe their research was instrumental in creating the first batch of gene-enhanced Marines.”

“Quite right,” Cossus affirmed. He had grown to like the ambitious woman who the Emperor had assigned to him. Aelia was intelligent, ruthless, and utterly loyal to the Empire. When Cossus eventually retired or resigned at the behest of the Emperor, she would make an adequate replacement.

Though, he didn’t think that time would be anytime soon. He was one of the rare members that had served the empire before it had expanded its ambitions outside Mars. Few remembered the time before the Empire had claimed Earth and renamed it, Terra.

He would know, it was the misinformation campaigns he had designed that ensured that every scrap of history had been rewritten and all records of a time before the Empire had been swept behind a screen of security clearances and a need-to-know.

Out of the Imperial aristocracy, only those who had been there from the beginning and had their lifespans artificially enhanced remembered those days. The times before the Empire were better forgotten for the good of the people. Terra was the home of the Empire and the Empire was all that the citizens needed to remember.

Still, there were artifacts from the past that cropped up to cause problems for Imperial Intelligence and the report Cossus was reading was a great example. He expanded on Aelia’s definition.

“Originally,” he took the tone of a lecturer. “Triplex had been a joint venture from the pre-imperial Nordic countries. They had successfully colonized and terraformed the moons orbiting Saturn. Titan and Enceladus had both been remade to fit their utopian ideals. They had wanted to create the perfect humans to colonize space and reinforced that goal with strict eugenics and epigenetic pogroms.”

Aelia nodded. “It was good then that the Empire disabused them of their utopian ideas.” She spoke like the loyalist she was. “Such fantasies never work and history has shown they cause incalculable suffering before they ever elevate the human experience.”

“That’s true,” Cossus agreed. “It was a blessing when the Empire conquered their homes.”

He drummed his fingers on his desk, deep in thought. “Although, Triplex never saw it that way.” He continued.

“They turned inward, more focused on advancing their genetic programs than they were with the colonization of the stars. They fractured into squabbling factions within a broken technocracy.”

Cossus tapped a finger against his desk for emphasis. “They had neither the will nor the ability to achieve humanity’s true ambition and reach beyond the stars.”

“Instead, he lectured. “they were folded into the young empire and their scientific endeavors were put to better use.”

He sent a signal from his Personal Control Device to the terminal embedded in his desk. The holoemitter within displayed a projection of a rotating human body with annotated notes that highlighted themselves as he spoke.

“Their technology allowed them to create the best fighting force the Sol system had ever known. On top of that, it was their research that allowed people, such as you and I, to increase our lifespans to that degree that the immortality of the old myths is just in reach.”

Aelia’s gray eyes focused on his own. “Why are you telling me this?” She asked.

Instead of answering immediately, Cossus used a finger to page through the report on the vidscreen in his hands. The use of a handheld vidscreen was an old habit of his. He could’ve used the I-Net to read the report with a thought, but old touches like a vidscreen kept him grounded to reality. He refused to be among the pathetic individuals who let themselves get wrapped up in the virtual world to the detriment of the real one.

“I’m telling you this because it looks like we didn’t go far enough in our pacification of Triplex and all of its holdings.” He stated finally.

Aleia cocked her head in confusion. “We’ve pacified Titan at least twice. I think Enceladus has been crushed under the Imperial boot a dozen times or more.”

I need to bring this to the Emperor, he thought.

“That’s enough for today, Aelia. I need to visit the Emperor. In the meantime, return to your desk and start looking up information on the Alfrodull system. Important events are happening as we speak, and I want you with me when they come to fruition.”

The woman nodded. “As you wish, Director.”

She stood up, gathered her things, and departed from his office with confident, precise strides. When the door to his office sealed behind her, Cossus turned back to the report. With a thought, he forwarded it to the Emperor’s Chief of Staff with an Onyx-level encryption protocol. The level of classification meant that Canus would read it immediately and summon him for a meeting with the Emperor.

The ruler of all mankind deigned to address Onyx-level subjects himself because they represented a threat to the Empire as a whole or a threat to him personally.

Having taken the initial step, Cossus rose from his nano-fabric seat and got up from his desk. He pressed a button on his PCD and the dozens of holoscreens on the wall flickered away. The room itself was a national secret and if some janitor were to accidentally see information they shouldn’t, then they would have to disappear. It wasn’t a problem for Cossus, but it would be an unfortunate waste of resources.

With the screens gone, his office was small for one who was at the highest levels of imperial power, but that’s the way he preferred it. The black titanium alloy walls were bare of any ornamentation besides the gold imperial eagle clutching a shield in its claws. The shield had an eye etched on to it. It was a symbol of the intelligence department’s duty to the empire. They were both watcher and defender, spy and operative.

Some who had held the position before him had decked the walls in all manner of awards and personal achievements but Cossus did no such thing. He served at the pleasure of the emperor for the good of the empire. He wasn’t important in the grand scheme of things, he was merely the instrument by which imperial will was asserted in the solar system. He liked to think his humility was the reason he had held the position of Director of Imperial Intelligence longer than anyone else.

With a touch on his Omni-tool, a 3-D representation of himself projected into the center of the room from hidden holo-emitters in the ceiling. He looked himself over carefully. His rejuvenation treatments and advanced genetics had served him well. Although he was pushing two hundred and thirty years old, he looked no older than fifty standard years of age. His short-cropped white hair was a personal decision rather than a mark of time. For citizens of the empire, white hair was a sign of prestige. It wasn’t a law, but a social convention held that only individuals older than two centuries wore their hair the way he did.

The rest of his features were nothing to comment on. Ancient silvered scars criss crossed his tanned face from battles long past. He could have had them removed, but kept them as a reminder of hard-fought victories and old mistakes. Like the vidscreen, they were necessary ties to the real world.

His sapphire-colored eyes were bright and sparked with the intelligence of someone much younger than one of his advanced age. Those eyes had seen the fall of nations and they reflected the dangerous knowledge of the mind behind.

He checked his uniform for any imperfections. He didn’t want the emperor to see him in anything but his best. He wore a black long-sleeved tunic edged in gold with piping that ran across his chest and down his arms. There it ended with five gold bands at the end of his sleeve.

His black trousers had a large gold stripe down their length, another indication of his rank. They were slightly wrinkled and he frowned at the slight discrepancy in his appearance. At least his boots were glossy and shined to perfection as was the service pistol holstered on his thigh.

Over one arm his PCD perched. It was a useful bracer-like device that linked with his biosuit and could hardwire into any system. The omni-tool software that lied within could be used for everything from projecting a nanite-based shield to splicing into foreign information systems. He hadn’t used it for that purpose in more than fifty years, but it was a comforting companion all the same.

His rank, an imperial starburst, was picked out in gold upon the collar circling his throat. Such displays were unnecessary, anyone with an I-Net link would know who he was and to get out of his way.

Similarly, he had enough medals and awards to fill his entire chest, but not a single one was displayed upon his breast. That wasn’t the way of intelligence. They were subtle and dignified. They didn’t need to resort to the displays of prestige that fleet and ground officers were prone to.

With a mental command to his PCD, the wrinkles and slight imperfections in his uniform disappeared as the smart cloth responded. His uniform looked like it had been freshly laundered and pressed. The conveniences of smart-cloth couldn’t be denied.

Satisfied with his appearance, he disabled the holo projection of himself and left his office. He made his way toward the private landing pad that held his personal X11 Dorceus Class ship. He had already issued commands over the TACNET to his guards and pilots. They would be running through the preflight subroutines already. By the time he arrived at his ship, he expected to receive a summons from the Emperor and the IIS Watchful Eye ready to fly.

As he expected, both were true when he exited the Imperial Intelligence Headquarters. His four-man team of Imperial Guardsmen was waiting by the ramp to craft and the telltale rumble of its gravity drives was apparent. When Cossus neared his guards, they performed a weapon salute by holding their rifles in parallel as if to present them for inspection. Cossus returned the salute by placing his right fist over his heart and then extending the arm until it was parallel with his palm down and fingers pressed together. In unison, the Director and his guards cut the salute and he entered the bowel of his craft.

Every time he saw his ship, he felt a thrum of pleasure. It was the premier of Imperial design. Blocky and square, like the rest of the Empire’s ships, this one was designed to enter places undetected and gather as much information as possible. To that end, it looked like an elongated arrowhead with camouflaged black paint. Even if it were unpowered it would be impossible to spot against the darkness of space.

The inside of the Watchful Eye was nothing like the military craft of its same class. Instead of panels of diagnostics and information, there was a plush interior reminiscent of a pleasure yacht. The entire interior was decked in the crimson and gold colors of the Empire.

Cossus took a seat and allowed himself to relax into the nano-fabric that conformed to every contour of his body. In times of turbulence during FTL travel, the chair would insulate him from the rocking of the ship.

He looked over his shoulder and watched as the Imperial Guards took their places within the craft. They nodded to him through their helmets and he heard them signal the pilots through the T-NET.

The security was annoying to Cossus, he missed being in the field, but he understood the necessity of their actions. There were plenty of factions within the Empire that would want to do him harm. Some were the normal political maneuvering of the highest echelons of the Empire, and others were the criminal or rebellious elements that would like nothing more than the Eye of the Emperor to be blinded.

As his ship lifted off on gravitic engines, Cossus looked down on the city below. Rising metal skyscrapers pierced the air like the spines of a porcupine. Brightly colored holograms festooned each building to advertise their purpose or wares. Gargantuan holographic fish swam through the city while giant projections of men and women saluted in their imperial uniforms. The only building that didn’t have holograms adorning it was the inky black silhouette of intelligence headquarters. The absence of light and color made the building look dark and intimidating.

The trip to the Emperor’s palace complex was short. Intelligence headquarters wasn’t far by design. The palace complex itself dominated the skyline. Its basic appearance was that of a silver and gold pyramid. Shuttles and starships landed and took off like bees visiting a hive. It was at the palace that the business of the Empire was conducted.

The Watchful Eye dropped into the swarm of traffic and after ten minutes of maneuvering in which other spacecraft and shuttles were shunted aside by his, he had arrived at the designated landing pad.

His guard followed him down the ramp and took places guarding his ship. At the end of the landing pad, two members of the Pale Guard waited. His guards would not be allowed inside the interior of the complex but it was no matter. The Pale Guard were the elite forces of the Emperor himself. They wore gleaming white Mk V powered Praetorian armor which turned them into unstoppable forces of destruction. The amount of tech stuffed into a single suit of their armor could bankrupt an entire colony. Their faceless, solid helmets seemed to study Cossus’ arrival analytically. There was nothing to indicate whether they considered him friend or foe. It was an intimidating trait of the Guard to those who had not experienced it before.

As it stood, Cossus had been to see the Emperor many times. He wasn’t afraid of them, but he treated them with the same respect that one would give a trained war hound secured only by the leash of their master. Cossus took one glance at them before removing the pistol from his magnetic holster and handed it to one of his men. Despite the amount of trust the emperor placed in him, he wouldn’t be able to bring it with him.

After relieving himself of his weapon, Cossus strode to the waiting Pale Guards They didn’t bother saluting, and neither did he. They weren’t known to do anything that might affect their combat readiness. Instead one raised a hand and the Omni-tool within her PCD scanned Cossus’ own and verified his identity. The AI that monitored his Intranet link warned him of an intrusion attempt before being completely overpowered. Cossus wasn’t alarmed, the AI had one of the highest levels of encryption in the Empire. It was one of the highest, but it wasn’t the highest. The Pale Guard’s electronic defenses were a class above his own. The scanning was standard protocol and one that Cossus had gone through many times before.

When the Pale Guard lowered her hand, Cossus continued walking down the wide boulevard that led to the Emperor’s throne room. His escort followed behind him with their rifles casually pointed at his back.

He crossed no less than five checkpoints on his way to the throne room. There was even a group of psionics that checked that he had no ill will in his thoughts toward the emperor. Even with his advanced patience, Cossus was reminded why he never enjoyed visiting the emperor.

Finally, he reached a set of colossal double doors that led to the throne room proper. When they opened at his arrival, he quickly entered. Calling the massive chamber at the crown of the pyramid a room was something of a stretch. Instead, it was a structure so tall that the ceiling was swathed in darkness. Likewise, the boulevard that Cossus walked down had trenches on either side that dived even further. More than one troublesome penitent had been thrown into the abyss for not being sufficiently respectful.

As he strode down the white and gold path, large columns spaced the room on either side of him. On platforms around each column, more of the Pale Guard observed his progress with no outward sign to indicate that they were more than perfect marble statues. Cossus knew that was anything but the truth. At the slightest provocation, energy bridges would connect their platforms to the path he was striding upon and he would be quickly detained or killed. Typically, the Guard dealt with the latter rather than the former.

It took longer to reach the elevated platform in the center of the room than it did to get through the outer layers of security due to the sheer scale and size of the throne room. As always he was awestruck by the emperor on his golden throne.

The throne itself was on a platform set apart from the colonnade that approached it. It was raised high enough that any supplicant would have to raise their head to look into the Emperor’s face. Enormous white and gold shards extended from behind the throne and framed him in an imperial starburst. The entire display was a not-so-subtle reminder of the power that the emperor held. Every aspect of the room was designed to marginalize and terrify anyone who dared approach. The emperor himself was no less impressive.

He was a heavily built man with perfect ebony skin that glowed in the light of the chamber. He wore no helmet, so the light shined upon his bald head and gave him an aura akin to an ancient deity. Cossus had seen more than one person approach the Emperor’s throne and been struck dumb into submission from his appearance alone.

As the Emperor of Mankind watched Cossus approach, his eyes emitted an intimidating crimson glow. Just like most of his body, the orbs were artificially made with the most advanced technology in the known universe. Outside of the synthetic light, they were indistinguishable from normal eyes.

At this point, the Emperor was ancient, truly ancient by human standards, yet he still looked younger than Cossus did. No one knew exactly how old the man was, but through a combination of powerful psionics and advanced technology, he was effectively immortal.

His crystalline white armor was trimmed in gold and would hurt the eyes of any unenhanced human that looked at it. It resembled the pale guards in form and function but at a scale that was hard to believe. The emperor was two and a half meters tall and even his massive throne looked small beneath his considerable bulk.

Cossus felt the mind of the Emperor settle into his own. It was akin to staring down a colossal predator. As the most powerful psionic user in the Empire, he had to restrain himself or render his subjects into raving lunatics as their minds were shattered by his presence.

Cossus took a deep breath and bowed low in an attempt to control his turbulent thoughts. Although he had been in front of the Emperor many times, this occasion felt no different than the first.

[BE AT PEACE, DIRECTOR]

The words thundered into his mind painfully. When they passed he felt a calm spread throughout his being. His heartbeat lowered and he took another breath to settle himself. The Director appreciated the gesture even if it was a sign that the Emperor was a psionic mighty enough to control his emotions and the physiological responses in his body.

When he straightened from his bow, he replied in kind.

[Thank you, my Emperor, I bring you grave news.]

Cossus thought he saw a smile form on the Emperor’s face but it was hard to tell from the distance between them.

[YES, CANUS WAS KIND ENOUGH TO FORWARD YOUR REPORT TO ME. IT SEEMS THAT TRIPLEX HAS BECOME A DAGGER IN MY KIDNEY ONCE MORE.]

Cossus coughed lightly. [I don’t think it’s progressed quite that far yet, Your Imperial Majesty]

The emperor raised one arm to rub his chin pensively. [IS THAT SO? WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?]

[We already have a contingent of Marines in Kepler. They’re protecting the Stellar Gate still under construction. We can have them investigate the planet in question and determine if any Triplex experiments are on the loose.]

The emperor nodded to indicate his approval of the idea [TRIPLEX HAS CREATED THINGS THAT WERE BETTER LEFT FORGOTTEN. WHAT’S TO PREVENT US FROM SIMPLY CRACKING THE PLANET AND LEAVING IT AS CLOUD OF STARDUST IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM?]

Cossus had already considered that approach and dismissed it, a conclusion that the Emperor had doubtlessly come to long ago. This was a game his Majesty played to probe the sharpness of those around him. A test, nothing more.

[Your Imperial Majesty, the system in question has multiple planets in the Goldilocks zone. It’s why we chose to build the first stellar gate outside of Sol in the first place. If we destroy the planet, we will be giving up an important resource for the Empire.]

Cossus paused to see if the Emperor would interject, but when no response was forthcoming, he continued. [Further, Triplex is the reason that we enjoy our lengthened lifespan and have the best soldiers in the system. These experiments were designed to be super-soldiers. They were Triplex’s last hope at resisting Imperial rule.]

Cossus’ mental speech took on a pensive tone. [If they survived, which is likely considering their tenacity, then we should assess their capabilities, and look for ways to improve our most loyal warriors. When we purged Titan and Enceladus there was priceless research that was lost. We estimate that we lost one hundred years of progress in the genetic field. Even with what we were able to claim, it revolutionized our fighting forces. The potential of these experiments are too great to pass up.]

That was the real reason that the information found on Titan by one of his agents was considered worthy of an Onyx-level classification. This find had the potential to change the entire Empire. Either they could claim the technology for themselves and be better prepared when it came time to expand beyond the Sol system, or it was a threat that had been nurtured for two hundred years. In either case, it needed to be investigated, exploited, and if necessary. Destroyed.

[I AGREE WITH YOUR ASSESSMENT, DIRECTOR. BRING ME THOSE EXPERIMENTS.] The Emperor’s command vibrated through Cossus’ heart and mind and he bowed once more.

[By your command.]