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  BLACK SWARM

  RISE OF THE EMPIRE SERIES

  BY IVAN KAL

  Copyright © 2019 by Ivan Kal

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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  Timeline

  November 2103 – A faction of humanity—Olympus—leaves to colonize a planet in a star system 600 light years from Earth.

  February 2159 – An alien race called the Ra’a’zani conquers Earth.

  May 2164 – Olympus arrives at their destination; they name the planet Sanctuary. They get involved in a conflict against an alien race called the Sowir. Ally themselves with the Nel of Nuva.

  March 2170 – Resistance from Earth contacts Olympus on Sanctuary, asking for aid.

  December 2171 – Olympus and Sowir Dominion make a pact of non-aggression.

  January 2172 – Olympus fleet arrives in the Sol system, engaging Ra’a’zani forces. The battle for Earth results in narrow human victory, but the cost is Earth. The Ra’a’zani weapon makes the planet uninhabitable.

  March 2172, Year 1 of the Empire – Tomas Klein, leader of Olympus, creates the Empire.

  December, Year 30 of the Empire – Sowir attack Nelus system, homeworld of the Nel. Empire breaks the non-aggression pact with Sowir by simultaneously sending aid to Nelus and invading the Sowir territory. Clan Leader Adrian Farkas overuses the Watchtower command interface, and falls into a coma.

  January-March, Year 31 of the Empire – Adrian Farkas wakes up and hears the telepathic beacon from the sphere left by the originator of the human and Nel races, unlocking all the knowledge and technology contained inside.

  March Year 36 of the Empire – The Empire wins the war against the Sowir.

  Years 36-54 of the Empire – The Empire is at peace, focusing on exploring, developing technologies from the sphere of the People, and expanding their borders to reclaim Sol.

  June, Year 54 of the Empire – The Empire meets an alien star-nation called the Erasi.

  July, Year 54 of the Empire – Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas meets Dai Sha Anessa of the Shara Daim, the third race created by Axull Darr. Anessa attempts to capture Adrian; the fight ends in narrow victory for Adrian and his people. They take the Dai Sha prisoner.

  January, Year 55 of the Empire – Shara Daim Elders recall all of their forces for an attack on the Empire, seeking the device left by Axull Darr.

  June, Year 55 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel releases Dai Sha Anessa.

  August, Year 55 of the Empire – The Empire defeats the Ra’a’zani, leaving their people abandoned on their worlds with no way of getting back into space.

  September, Year 55 of the Empire – Three Shara Daim Legions attack Sol. The Lord Sentinel defends and defeats the invading forces, allowing Dai Sha Anessa and her remaining forces to leave Sol.

  December, Year 55 of the Empire – The Erasi invade Shara Daim territory.

  September, Year 56 of the Empire – After finding out about a conspiracy by the Elders of the Shara Daim, Dai Sha Anessa removes them from power, taking the rule of the Shara Daim for herself, claiming the title Kar Daim.

  March, Year 57 of the Empire – The Shara Daim reach out to the Empire, inviting the Lord Sentinel to their homeworld Shara Radum for diplomatic talks.

  June, Year 57 of the Empire – Empire diplomatic task force is ambushed by the Erasi on their way to Shara Daim homeworld. One battleship is destroyed, but the rest of the taskforce manages to escape.

  July, Year 57 of the Empire – The Empire’s diplomatic task force and the Shara Daim reach an agreement, forming an alliance. The Empire becomes obligated to help the Shara Daim against the Erasi invasion.

  November, Year 57 of the Empire – A large Erasi force is detected at the border of the Shara Daim; more than one hundred fleets move to reinforce the Erasi invasion.

  July, Year 58 of the Empire – The Erasi attack the Empire embassy on Tarabat.

  September, Year 58 of the Empire – The Shara Daim begin operations to retake their territory back from the Erasi. An Erasi stealth taskforce infiltrates Empire territory.

  November, Year 58 of the Empire – The Shara Daim, the Empire, and the Erasi meet on neutral ground for negotiations. The Erasi break the truce and attempt to assassinate the Kar Daim and the Lord Sentinel. As a result, the Empire joins the conflict fully on the side of the Shara Daim. At the same time, the Erasi taskforce in the Empire’s territory executes an attack on Sanctuary, killing millions of civilians and damaging the Hades Yards. The Star-Guard station used for the first time, destroying the Erasi fleet.

  December, Year 58 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel of the Empire executes an advanced attack on the massive Erasi force, hoping to reduce their numbers before their invasion of Kaleras. The attack is successful, but not enough. The Erasi force moves against Kaleras with overwhelming numbers. The defending Shara Daim and Empire forces fight a losing defensive battle. After days under siege, help from the Empire arrives in the form of the World-ship Enduring, the personal ship of Axull Darr. Adrian pilots the ship and destroys the Erasi force.

  January, Year 59 of the Empire – The Lord Sentinel of the Empire uses the threat of the Enduring to force the Erasi out of the Orion Spur. The Erasi agree to the truce under those terms and abandon all of their territory in the Orion Spur, ceding control to the Shara Daim and the Empire.

  Years 59-563 of the Empire – A period of peace and advancement; the alliance between the Shara Daim and the Empire grows stronger, and both increase the sizes of their territories.

  May, Year 563 of the Empire – One of the Enlightened, Aranis, arrives in the Empire and assumes the identity of one of its citizens.

  November, Year 563 of the Empire – A joint attack by the Hand of the Empire and the Fleet on a pirate base suspected of colluding with the Erasi is carried out. Plans for the invasion of the alliance are discovered. On the rim, Lord Sentinel Adrian Farkas makes contact with an enigmatic and powerful race called the Krashinar.

  February, Year 564 of the Empire – A preemptive attack on the Erasi is executed by the Shara Daim, the Empire, and the Krashinar. The invasion of the Erasi territories begins.

  January, Year 565 of the Empire – The war with the Erasi grinds to a halt in the Erasi outer systems. The Empire and the Shara Daim struggle to break through to the Erasi core worlds.

  March, Year 565 of the Empire – A task force is formed and sent into the Erasi core with the task of destroying their military infrastructure, led by Sentinel Ryaana, daughter of Adrian and Anessa.

  February, Year 566 of the Empire – Valanaru, Weaver of the Erasi, deploys a secret weapon, the Crescent, backed by a large Erasi force, against the task force. The resulting fight forces the Enlightened Aranis to act. Aranis destroys both forces and kills everyone on both sides who could identify him, saving only Ryaana, who was unconscious at the time.

  December,
Year 566 of the Empire – Valanaru, enraged by the loss of the Crescent, accuses O’fa Vorash of betrayal, triggering a civil war.

  January, Year 567 of the Empire – Vorash arrives in the alliance staging system via an access point, and reveals that he and Adrian had been working together in order to change the Erasi from within. Vorash asks for help against Valanaru.

  February, Year 567 of the Empire – The combined forces of the alliance and the Erasi loyal to Vorash invade the capital system of the Erasi. Adrian uses his Sovereign to punch a hole in the Erasi planet’s planetary shields and drops an elite team to the ground to deal with Valanaru, led by Ryaana and Lurker of the Depths. In the fighting Lurker of the Depths kills Valanaru, and Vorash gains control of both the system and the Erasi.

  April, Year 567 of the Empire – A peace treaty between the alliance and the Erasi is signed.

  March, Year 598 of the Empire – Adrian and the Old Scar awaken a new breed of great beasts. Adrian names the newborn Moirai.

  September, Year 621 of the Empire – The Custodian AI learns about the planned summit of the galactic powers. It bends its programming and begins operations to interfere with the gathering.

  January, Year 708 of the Empire – The Nomad Fleet is completed.

  March, Year 708 of the Empire – The Suvri, a core power, agree to host the summit of the galaxy’s star nations at the urging of High Matriarch Levisomaerni.

  October, Year 713 of the Empire – The Rimward Alliance arrives in the Suvri system hosting the summit. The Nomad Fleet is left on the edge of Suvri territory. The talks begin and are immediately stalled by the Josanti League, who are not interested in any alliance against the black ships or the Enlightened. Before the summit’s end, the system is invaded by the AI’s black ships. The combat is fierce as the Suvri and some of the escort fleets join in the battle against the overwhelmingly more numerous foe. However, more than half of the attendees refuse to help in the defense. Those who fight manage to hold off the enemy ships for several hours until the Nomad Fleet and Suvri reinforcements arrive. As victory seems possible. More star nations join in the fight, and the AI’s forces are defeated.

  November, Year 713 of the Empire – The summit continues, and the discord between the many star nations is apparent. One of the greatest core powers, the Tar’ferat, agree to the alliance, while the Josanti League refuses. The summit concludes with the forming of the galactic alliance, but far less nations agreed to join than had been expected. Less than a third of the attendees join.

  March, Year 714 of the Empire – A joint force of the galactic alliance’s most prominent members sets off on an expedition toward the Enlightened containment zone, led by the Nomad Fleet.

  September, Year 714 of the Empire – The force arrives in the containment and contacts the machine ships. It is then directed to another system to meet with Ullax Darr.

  October, Year 714 of the Empire – The force enters the control system, and Adrian, alongside the android holding Axull Darr’s core, leave to meet with Ullax Darr. They speak with the dying Ullax Darr and learn that the AI had acted on its own. Ullax Darr puts the AI in standby mode and Adrian leaves the complex in order to warn the fleet of the AI’s danger. Meanwhile, Vas—or rather Aranis—joins Axull Darr and his sister’s reunion. Ullax Darr dies, and Aranis kills Axull Darr. Adrian and Aranis engage in combat as Doranis arrives in system and engages the joint force. Ullax Darr’s death frees the AI, and it joins the combat on the Enlightened’s side. Adrian, alongside Moirai, manages to fight off Aranis and then return to the fleet. Fighting a losing battle, the force manages to escape the system through an access point in the system’s star.

  January, Year 715 of the Empire – Loranis of the Enlightened receives word from her brothers that they are beginning to enact their plan. Loranis gathers her forces and the finished Conduit and leaves the system deep in the containment zone.

  PROLOGUE I

  A long time from now

  The man sat with his legs crossed deep within a planet, on a raised platform surrounded by smooth rock walls striped with wide glowing and pulsing bands of deep green. He was sifting through his memories of times long since passed, until he came upon a single moment. There the man paused and focused on the memory, allowing it to play out inside his mind.

  He saw the moment his once great fleet left and began its journey across the galaxy to find the truth, hoping to learn the plans of the Enlightened. The man felt sadness for his former self, knowing where he would ultimately end up. The man did not regret his actions—the past was the past—and even with all the knowledge and power he now possessed, he was certain that time was the one law that could never be broken, nor would he ever want to try and do so. The things he had done were necessary. No matter how much others despised him and cursed his name, he would do the same all over again.

  But he knew that for the man he used to be, the man whose memory he now watched—for that man, it would be different. At that time he still struggled with his nature, no matter how much he tried to trick himself and believe otherwise.

  The memory that drew his attention was the beginning, the first act of the end. It was ironic in a way, that that time was when he had thought himself the happiest. Surrounded by loved ones and friends, chasing after a goal with freedom to do as he wished. The worries his former self had were so small that they made his current self almost laugh. It was before he knew how to appreciate those simple things.

  Still, the man could not help but feel nostalgic toward those simpler times, when the massive fleets traveled the stars. A part of him missed it dearly, but another knew that he would not be where he was now if he hadn’t made the choices he had. Long ago, the man he used to be had learned a lesson: life was precious, yet fragile and insignificant at the same time. A contradiction that he had yet to find the answer for…but he was certain that he would. One day.

  PROLOGUE II

  Year 715 of the Empire — Scutum Centaurus galaxy arm — galactic rim

  Sub-commander Uvo of the Kingdom of Garaf sat in the commander’s chair on board the monitoring station orbiting the system’s sun.

  He was bored, very much so. This posting was not really sought after; it was a posting where the Fleet sent those who did not have strong enough connections to move up. Uvo had always been aware of his lack of connections, but he remembered well the naivety of his youth. Once he had believed that, if he excelled, his talent and ability would be noticed. And they had been—the problem was that it didn’t matter in the slightest. Being born as a commoner on an insignificant world meant that he would never rise much above beyond his humble beginnings. No amount of talent and skill would change that, not unless he found a powerful patron; but for all of Uvo’s talents, charm was not one of them. He did not know how to start friendships that would allow him a chance at cultivating the kind of relationships he needed in order to advance in his career.

  And so, Uvo found himself on a posting all considered irrelevant. The station and the small garrison of ships kept silent watch over the star, and the ancient object hidden inside it. The massive ring and the shield that protected it had been finds of the century when they had been discovered about a hundred years ago, but since then the impact had disappeared. Garaf scientists had no idea how to interact with the object, and its make made it impossible for them to even damage it, let alone truly study it. The fact that it was inside the sun already made it extremely hard for them to reach it.

  Garaf were the most advanced species in their stellar neighborhood, and still they had been baffled by the object, something that had not changed in the last hundred years of advancement and technological improvement. But still, the scientists had managed to establish one thing: the object was a transportation device. That revelation had come once they had learned that the exact same device existed in the territory of their closest neighbor, the Falleri. Garaf intelligence officers had of course stolen all the data their neighbors had on it, but they did not have much more than the
Garaf themselves. Still, the realization of the object’s nature made one thing clear: the Garaf could not leave it unattended, even if whoever made it had long since died. There were other races in the galaxy far more advanced than they, and some of them might have the knowledge to operate the object, making it a threat.

  Still, the assignment was considered somewhat of a career killer. The military preached about it being an important and prestigious assignment, but the truth was that it was nothing more than a comfortable, if ostensibly important, position. Uvo used to be resentful of that, but after serving for six years on this station, he had finally convinced himself to abandon his anger, there was no point in it. The world was as it was, and he could not change it.

  Which was why he was sitting in his command chair reading the latest news in silence. The only other person in the command room was the sensor officer on the watch. It was night, and most of the crew was asleep.

  Uvo scrolled and reached the next piece of news, and he started reading. It was an article about the recent galactic summit in the galactic core. Uvo had been aware of something like this occurring, but he had not really paid it much attention. The Garaf had been invited, and he knew that the King had decided to send a Representative. From what Uvo knew about the core nations, they were the most powerful and the most advanced nations in the galaxy, far above the Garaf. The news articles surrounding the time of the invitations had never failed to point out what an honor that was for the Garaf, which Uvo guessed was at least partially true. Still, it did not impact him much, so he did not particularly care aside from keeping himself loosely informed.

  Now, however, the news was not so good. The summit had been attacked, and if the information was correct the attack had been carried out by fleets controlled by an AI. The Garaf knew well the dangers of AI; one of their neighbors had created the constructs, and then they had subsequently been wiped out by their creations. Thankfully two other races had allied together and dealt with the AI threat before it could grow too strong. But if what he was reading was true, the AI fleet that had attacked the summit was far more powerful than anything the Garaf or their neighbors could even imagine.