Estelar

Like a tremendous tidal wave of fire and blood, the stars screamed. The screams of billions were being extinguished from this life, moving on to the next. They are coming; the betrayer of fire and blood is coming, and no one will escape it.

The Zahkir, Chapter 100:3, written by the “Zahhak.”

Nilus knew little about lush green landscapes. Back on his home planet, much of what you saw was mountains, water, and the gray film that covered the planet. Despite his emotionless demeanor, a slight tinge of excitement came over him that he dared not reveal. With each step, his expectations grew higher and higher.

He arrived at the last floor of the ship, went out the door, and saw something he never knew even existed. The landscape expanded with gray buildings that were symmetrical in shape and stretched for miles. It felt endless. Mixed with this was the plant life that overtook these buildings, effectively making it part of the structural system.

The people themselves were crowded, like a homogeneity of different colors moving together in various shapes. Many crossing the street had places to go, some talking to each other in their little bubbles. Nilus had never seen so many people in one place before. This was then countered by the beggars who suddenly approached the ship, asking those exiting for money.

A child caught his eye. He was dirty, but his eyes looked as clean as day as they stared into his soul. The guards instantly came out on cue. Pushing all the beggars away. The child disappeared as soon as that happened.

At first, he was perplexed. Nilus was soon distracted by the odd mix of technological structure and nature slowly taking over. Just for a moment, Nilus marveled at it. A beep called to him in the distance. A woman in black clothing stood beside a hover vehicle with a driver beside it. She had a scar on her right eye. Nilus was visibly disappointed. In spite of this, she fit the description he was looking for.

With guarded footsteps, he approached them, “Lady Loida?” Nilus inquired. She bowed, putting her hands on her chest. “The one and only,” she replied. She grabbed his hand and smiled, “Come, place your bag in the back; there is much to discuss.” Nilus felt disturbed by her warmth but did as he was told and placed his things in the back of the vehicle.

As he entered the car, he was struck by its wealth. Bottles held strange liquids, white lined the insides of the hover vehicle, and the soft seats contrasted with those from the ships he had left. Even a strange, sweet scent lingered in the air.

Loida entered the vehicle, sitting in front of him. She looked at him analytically, eyeing him up and down like prey. Loida gave a small laugh.

“Why do you laugh?” Nilus wondered.

“Because you stood out there like a gawking child,” Loida replied, leaning her head to the side.

Nilus looked away, somewhat embarrassed by that observation. Loida grabbed one of the strange bottles and filled two glasses with it, stretching her arms to Nilus with one of the glasses.

“An alcoholic beverage common here, it’s known to have no burn, so be careful of how much you drink. It’s called Hesperides.”

Nilus hesitated at first, but Loida looked at him with reassurance. He relented and grabbed the drink. He smelled it, and it gave off the sweet scent of milk. Likewise, he then took a slight sip. ‘She was right,’ Nilus noted. There was barely an alcoholic taste in it; instead, it was milky and creamy. He put the drink down, knowing it would be trouble if he kept on indulging.

Loida, still observing Nilus, found him curious. “I hope your trip was not too eventful,” she said.

Nilus looked at her, remembering what had happened on the transport ship. “You can say that.”

Nilus looked out the window, finally seeing what the inner city looked like, and witnessed Niobe. Every 2-3 seconds, Nilus could spot a person in need on the street, and the plants, once green, became darker and more dead. The buildings even became older and frail, becoming blacker and more sinister. It felt as though he was entering a dark forest.

Something was inscribed on the wall caught Nilus’ eye. What made him curious was that blood sprays were below the inscription. In Niobian, it said, “Tha’atos stion Imperio!” In Imperio language, it translates to “Death to the Empire!”

“I don’t think I have to tell you what’s happening here, no?” Loida says.

Nilus darted back at her.

“No, I did my research,” he replied.

“Good. I’m not fond of it when people don’t prepare beforehand, but it’s quite funny. There are only two types of people here,” she says while sipping her drink.

“And who are those?” Nilus asked.

Lady Loida, still smiling, replied, “The damned and the architects of damnation.”

Nilus laughed a little. He knew she wasn’t wrong. On every level, literally and figuratively, that is happening to the Niobe people.

“It seems you know much about that, don’t you?” Nilus said.

“More than you would know, I did much to get where I am. I also assume the same thing will happen to you here, too,” Loida said, looking out the window.

Nilus knew she was right. He knew that nothing would stop him if he were here with the mission at hand. As an Auxilium, you usually don’t think much about moving up the social hierarchy. You would only need to eat, sleep, die, and fight. That was all that was required from you. That was all you would ever know.

Contrary to many other Auxilliums, Nilus was born naturally. Not that it is much of a good thing, as he was born a bastard. All he knew was that his father was a prince and his mother was a Niobe woman. He never got to know both. He has his uncle to thank for sending him to the Auxillium. To his uncle’s dismay, when he asked for me, Nilus had not died yet,

What he hated most was that he wasn’t a true Auxilium soldier. He never graduated. He always wanted to become an Auxilium and attain that privilege. He cursed his bastard status. Nilus never graduated just because his father slept with some woman out of wedlock. He recalled one of the times he was reminded of this; he was around ten.

The worst part about Auxilium training was cleaning the relieving quarters. We had technology to do that for us. Despite it, the Auxilium soldiers decided that “Cleaning the crap will get you used to being in any situation.” They mostly gave it to the younger recruits. One would have to clean the whole of their own platoons barracks per week. It was a hazing

This was hard work for a 10-year-old. The Auxilium trainers forced you to wear no masks while taking out the mounds of crap. They would also have to haul loads of it away with no help. It sounded like an easy task until you realized that you would have to clean up 20–30 people’s excrement. It was the worst job, but it hardened Nilus to the more undesirable parts of the war.

He remembered shoveling up the feces and placing it in buckets. He held his breath for dear life like it was the last thing he could ever do. Sometimes, he would fail, and hell on earth would enter his nose. He did his best to keep himself from gagging. But that would fail, too.

He then heard the barrack doors open behind him. Three boys, significantly bigger and older than him, entered wearing masks. Despite being ten, he knew what this was, and they didn’t have to do anything; they just had their eyes to talk. They revealed a sense of disgust and mercy in their eyes. They looked at me like I was a cripple but also a leper.

It didn’t help that I broke their leader’s nose the week before. He wondered how he would fare against three.

They quickly rushed him all at once. With the wooden end of Nilus’ stick, Nilus swung and smashed one of them in the head. That would only give him a few seconds before the other two approached Nilus. He dodged and weaved, getting a few good hits in. He hit one of them directly on the nose, which resulted in their mask flying off. The smell, of course, hit him like a ton of bricks, and Nilus kicked him in the groin. Nilus watched him collapse.

Before he could react, the man Nilus hit with the shovel grabbed him from the back and pushed Nilus into the excrement. A 10-year-old could only do so much with three attackers. At that moment of being beaten, he saw the fragment of the shovel, and it was just within arms reach, sharp enough to impale any one of them. He almost reached out but stopped himself. Instead, he let it happen. The beating was a lesson for himself. For this was what a bastard was tantamount to.

Nilus usually felt sick with that memory. But that seething rage for what was they thought of him could never go away.

He wished all he could think about was the mission. Instead, he would always dream of standing over the flag of House Bernardino—not out of vengeance but because he had the power and authority to do so. The dream was as sweet as the scent in this vehicle, but just like that, it was only a dream. He will succeed in this mission to prove himself—at any cost.

They finally arrived at his assigned home. It was a small building in an inconspicuous part of the city, covered with the same filthy vines as before. With Loida behind him, Nilus stood out of the vehicle, getting his things.

“Welcome to your new home,” Loida said like she was giving me a gift.

Nilus looked at her and replied, “Much better than what I would have used to sleep in.”

“I bet it seems like a luxury to you,” Loida said with a cheap smirk.

Going inside the home, Nilus saw it was much cleaner than the outside. He saw two people in the lobby lounging around. One had the feature of melted wax, while the other had a long, bony face. The inside itself smelled like old mold and aging furniture. It was a delightful smell for Nilus. Better than the dark, damp rooms where he would usually stay.

Nilus and Loida walked to the third floor, where she pressed her finger on the key opener.

“Press on it so that it can get your fingerprint,” Loida instructed.

Nilus then pressed on the same key opener, and a delightful ding played as the door opened. He entered the small room. Its size was the two of him with his arms outstretched. The walls were gray and crumbled, and the kitchen was in the same room as the bedroom. Luckily, the bathroom was separate, but the toilet was in the same place as the shower.

He felt grateful. Back home, he would have had to sleep with 20 other people in the barracks. Nilus looked behind him to see Loida leaning on the side of the door, smiling at him.

Loida says, “You look just like your father.”

A chill went down Nilus’ spine.

“You know my father?” He said as he looked away, trying not to show that what she said hit a nerve.

“No, not very much. I only saw your father a couple of times before he never stepped foot on this planet again,” Loida replied.

His blood went cold upon hearing that statement. He already knew that. Loida suddenly disappeared before he turned back to ask if she knew anything about his mother.

It was a strange sight, but he found it appropriate for someone as sly as her. Nilus softly threw his bag on his bed and sat beside it, placing his hand on it and covering his face. He thought about what had happened on the ship and simmered.

Before landing, Nilus felt the ship tremble like a shaky breath as they entered the atmosphere. He sighed at the fact that the transport ships did not have windows; he could at least get an early assessment if the vessel could privilege themselves with some. Despite this, Imperio public transport ships felt like a luxury compared to the vessel he rode back in Nueva Olympia.

Auxilium ships were made, for one thing. To transport.

Comfort did not matter if it could fit as many people as possible. On Auxilium ships, you were shoulder to shoulder. You were so close to each other that you could sometimes smell the beading sweat on someone’s forehead. Fortunately, ships like these provided ample space for people to breathe.

The ship was long and large enough to house maybe twenty to thirty people per level, with 2 or 3 levels to house even more. Nilus was at the topmost level, a long journey down to the ship’s exit. ‘Not ideal,’ Nilus thought. But it’s no worry either way. All types of people sat in ships like these, especially those going to Niobe.

Niobe.

Before Nilus ever went on this ship, he researched the Archon libraries on planet Niobe. They were green with life, lush even, to the point where they were called the ‘Emerald Jewel’ of the Imperio. That jewel would eventually be tarnished. How suddenly things can fall apart sometimes.

He looked at the surrounding people on the ship. Some people looked excited as if they were going to the zoo. Some people probably did think that the Niobe people were animals. Nilus thought about how some of them had probably never held a weapon in their lives before. ‘That was for the best,’ he thought to himself.

A few days here will open their eyes to the reality of things. If they think that someone will protect them when the guns and bombs drop, they are wrong. Fire and bombs are indiscriminate. They will realize this in due time.

In the seat behind him, a baby started to cry. Its screeches reminded him of nails scratching on plates. He looked at the reflective mirror on the ceiling to see a Niobe woman. He instantly knew it was not because of her light brown skin, distinct tattoos or her tattered clothes. No, it was her purple eyes. Despite the annoyance, he could handle such things. The problem was that it caught someone else’s attention.

Imperio guard uniforms were eye-catching. You couldn’t miss them, even hundreds of miles away. It was most likely due to the fact that the armor was lined in gold and white, symbolizing the Imperio flag. Some may think it was an inconvenience, but if your job is to inspire order and fear, it does the job well. The guard approached. His feet stomped, each step causing the woman to shake and stutter. She tried to form a response before he arrived.

She stood with her child, but the guard’s thunderous hand struck her face before she could. She fell back to the seat, stunned, almost dropping her child.

“Shut that thing’s mouth before I do it for you.”

She quickly covered the child’s mouth. The child himself tried to push his mother’s hand away, struggling. Quiet muffles from loud cries filled the row. Excited eyes became silent watchers. Nilus observed, taking it all in. He won’t do a single thing. He watched and realized that soon, this would be his new living.

The guard slowly went back, keeping his eyes on the woman. Nilus could tell that she was good at keeping her tears. Almost anyone in this situation would break. If this went any longer, she would crumble eventually. Yet Nilus knew he had the authority to do something about this. He decided to keep silent. ‘I can’t get anyone’s attention, not right now anyways,’ Nilus thought as he heard the muffled cries.

This ship had no time on any of the walls. The quiet muffles filled the room and settled in like a monster we didn’t want to acknowledge. Nilus could tell she was trying to be soft, but her shaking hands could no longer distinguish between a solid or gentle grip. It did not help that whenever she tried to soften her grip, his cries would be unveiled, and the guard would strike her a look again.

Niobians could usually get jobs from the system as servants or maids if lucky. It wasn’t a kind job; you would often be used and exploited for purposes too diabolical to say. But being anywhere off the planet was better than being on it. Nilus saw circular marks on her wrist, usually indicating cuffs being used. He remembered when cuffs were used on him for the first time.

Auxiliums used cuffs in practice duels in which, whenever you got hit, a strong shock would go through your wrists. It was an odd feeling. Your muscles tense like metal coils, your body heats up like an oven, and you’re helpless to the destruction of your own body. You felt no pain, but you knew your body was dying. Servant owners would also use cuffs for servants. Getting those marks meant continuous use.

To distract himself, Nilus checked his small bag once again. It revealed some sets of clothes, a pouch with money, and a standard communicator. This was all Nilus needed to survive here.

The quiet muffles became softer and softer, and the woman broke down even more as tears drove down her face. She was suffocating the child. Despite what Nilus’ mind was saying, his heart was screaming at him. Any longer, Nilus would have cracked under the pressure and done something about this. Alas, the ship groaned to a halt and officially landed on the planet.

The woman finally let go of her child’s mouth. The baby coughed with cries mixed in from her mother, who was hugging the child. Nilus stood from his seat and passed by her, giving the guard one last look.

He stared back at Nilus, “What are you looking at?”

He shrugged and walked down the stairs, blending in with the crowd.

His thoughts came back to the present. Nilus looked out the window and saw the people marching around, the poor sleeping on the street, the rich in their vehicles laughing life away, and the Imperio guards holding a beaten man and pulling him to some unknown place.

‘Welcome to Niobe,’ he said to himself.