Fiction:Great Cyrannus War/Year One/Something Wicked

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Deep in the unknown regions of the, a plot was unfolding, one that will have serious consequences for the future history of the galaxy. In his starship, famous bounty hunter contemplated his past missions for a mysterious benefactor, all of which were great successes that nonetheless left his involvement a complete mystery. While he knew little about the figure or indeed the reasons behind his various missions he was able to ascertain that he was an important and highly powerful individual with a great deal of intelligence. Suddenly, a light flashed on a nearby holoscreen indicating that someone was trying to contact his ship. Checking to ensure that the transmission couldn't be traced, Gauisa activated the display and a hologram of a dark, hooded figure appeared. Gauisa could make out what appeared to be a sinister smile on his face. As the hooded form spoke, his voice was calm, refined and as cold as the very depths of space.


 * Unknown: Excuse the interuption. I am in need of your services, bounty hunter.

The voice gave the bounty hunter the same feeling of unease that Gauisa always received when communicating with his unknown employer.


 * Gauisa: I'm listening. You know I will take any job. Assuming that the price is right.
 * Unknown: I am in need of information. You will go to the Library of Apailiana and retrieve it.
 * Gauisa: The Library of Apailiana? It's one of the most heavily guarded locations in Cyrannus. Retrieving anything from it would be suicide!

The slight smile on the unknown individual's face faded slightly.

When the hologram disappeared, Gauisa immediately set course for Apailiana, using his new cloaking device to penetrate the planetary shield and quickly bypass the Republic Defense Fleet in orbit. When he landed on the planet's surface, he quickly moved into the library, silently killing the armed guards and moving his way into the main chamber of the Great Library, using stealth to move past the more difficult enemies, such as the Republic's experimental new walker design, which remained oblivious to the bounty hunter's infiltration. After several minutes of searching the library for the ancient computer terminal that the unknown figure directed him to, he finally located the terminal which was clearly much older than the other devices in the library. In fact, it appeared that the entire library was built around this ancient repository of information. The flickering display of the console displayed a circular symbol, though Gauisa had never seen it before. Concentrating on the task at hand, Gauisa downloaded all of the console's information and planted several explosive charges on the ancient terminal, as per his employer's orders.
 * Unknown: Perhaps your reputation has been exaggerated.
 * Gauisa: I want military-grade technology, a cloaking device, the works. Not to mention my fee.
 * Unknown: Your price is of no concern.
 * Gauisa: In that case, I'll take twice my usual rate.
 * Unknown: I shall also provide the means for you to enter the library. Once you have downloaded the information, you will destroy the repository from which the knowledge was gleamed. I will contact you when the task has been completed.

On his way back to the ship, Gauisa narrowly missed the extra guards that were sent into the cave in order to apprehend the killer of the stationed troopers, however they failed to catch the crafty bounty hunter, who detonated the explosives as he jumped into his ship and sped up into the atmosphere. When he left the system, the flickering hologram of the hooded figure appeared yet again.


 * Unknown: It would seem that your mission was a success, bounty hunter.
 * Gauisa: Naturally enough. I'm sending the information to you now. By the way, care to explain what this means?

Using a device in his hand, a hologram of the circular symbol that Gauisa encountered in the Library appeared.


 * Gauisa: My mother was a symbologist and I've always found such things quite interest...

Suddenly, the hooded figure raised one of his holographic hands, lifting Gauisa into the air, telekinetically choking him from half way across the galaxy. As the bounty hunter's hands instinctively tried to free himself from the being's stranglehold, the unknown figure's words pierced through him with a calm, but malevolent menace in his tone.


 * Unknown: It is... dangerous to pry about such things.

The hologram suddenly deactivated, releasing Gauisa from his employer's grasp. Coughing painfully, the bounty hunter set course for a cantina on Eremus, hoping to himself that he would not be contacted again by his malevolent benefactor.

Meanwhile, on, received the information from Gauisa. With it in his possession, the story of his past would remain known only to himself and his followers. Clasping his hands together, Antediluvian watched the endless gleaming city below gain a slight crimson tint from the slowly setting sun on the horizon. While the result of his careful machinations raged across the galaxy, he knew that the people below stood at the precipice of a new era of peace and order under Oikoumene rule. His rule.

Everything is proceeding as planned.