Havok Bringer

The Facilitator, this title that had been earned, felt more like a burden to bear as of late. Karis El Aetos sat in his quarters silently. He watched the bots clean and sterilize the spot previously occupied by the corpse of the impetuous young one who had made the mistake of delivering unwelcome news. Karis found the mindless, repetitive actions of the cleaning bots therapeutic. He found himself envious of them—not of the bots in particular, but of the void of stress and responsibility that he felt.

Karis had been tasked with facilitating his people's re-emergence into the wider cosmos. It would not be easy, and the groundwork for this re-emergence had been laid thousands of years ago. His people were banished after losing a war. Banishment was bad enough, but they had been banished to an alternate dimension that acted as a prison for what remained of his entire species.

At first, his people, the proud Havokium people, were satisfied to just survive extermination at the hands of the Galactic Council. They decided they would rebuild and make the most of their situation, and at first, it worked. His people lived in the peace of knowing they were out of danger and would survive. They were happy for a time.

It took centuries for the feeling of being imprisoned to fully take hold. His people didn't age; they couldn't propagate. They were stuck in time and stuck in a dimension populated only by themselves. Over time, this became a torture that twisted the mind and empowered the wills of his people.

Once they began planning a re-emergence, it became increasingly clear that it would be easier than expected. The wider cosmos had mostly forgotten about them. Over time, the memory of the Havokium people became a legend, and the Coeus Collective was born. The Galactic Council was complicit in the creation of the Coeus Collective. The knowledge that the Havokium Empire had been banished was a closely guarded secret, and over the millennia, this secret was completely lost.

The Havokium people lived in seclusion, cut off from the outside world, for nearly ten thousand years before being contacted. While the Havokium people had never forgotten the people who had imprisoned them, the outside world had seemed to have forgotten them. So, when the first communications channel in ten millennia was opened, they took on the alias of the Coeus Collective. They would become an ally to the Galactic Council, a resource. The Galactic Council had no record of who they were, but understood that banished species were not to be reintroduced into the cosmos. Greed, however, outweighed good judgment.

The Galactic Council, upon discovering the Coeus had the technology to create pocket dimensions, employed them to be the architects of the Reaping trials. The Havokium people played to their greed and eventually became trusted allies. They were still not allowed to escape their prison, but they could establish communication avatars at specified locations. The Havokium people would use this to create the resources needed to facilitate the re-emergence.

The Pocket dimensions of the Reaper Trials allowed the Havokium to plant seeds and rumors. They would need allies if they were to execute this plan, after all. The ability to control the narrative was important, and as everyone seemed to have forgotten the sacrifice they made for the ancient races, it was necessary to create that narrative.

"Havokium Empire…" Karis clicked his tongue as he whispered the words, still lost in thought. "The Havokium Empire was weak; the Coeus will be the wave that cleanses this foul universe of lesser beings."

Karis was determined to leave the stain of defeat behind and fully embrace his people's new identity. First, however, he would need to deal with the summons and give the debrief that he was expected to provide to the Authority, under the watchful eyes of the Administrator. Karis stood up, straightened his robes, and walked to the lift chamber.

His foot squished as he stepped into the half-cleaned puddle of gore that was once the young one. Karis stopped; he curled his toes into the soft floor covering so he could better feel the remains of the life he had just taken. "Mmmm," he groaned as he reveled in the feeling.

Ding

Reminder- your presence in the Chamber of Authority is expected in 15 minutes.

Karis snarled at the automated message, which reminded him of his debrief and that he was not yet in a position to deny that request. It was only a matter of time, though; for now, he would comply.

The circular blade doors of the hyper-lift retracted with a metallic hiss, and Karis stepped through. The foyer of the Chamber of Authority was well-lit, with large windows extending from floor to ceiling on both sides of the long chamber. At the end of the chamber were two intricately carved wooden doors made of dark wood and carved with images of a Havokium holding the corpse of a giant serpent in the air. The serpent had 12 spikes protruding from and running along the length of its back. The spikes were meant to represent the 12 seats of the Council. Karis found the image comical as the Havokium Empire had been the ones to be beaten and banished. He kept his amusement to himself, though. Karis approached the large wooden doors as they slowly opened to allow him entry into the Chamber of Authority.

The Chamber was overly large and resembled an amphitheater in layout, aside from the fact that the room was enclosed, and the podium, which occupied the front center of the chamber, was elevated. Karis approached the Authority, walking with purpose along the red-carpeted pathway in the center of the room.

"Approach, Facilitator." The voice was polyphonous and unsettling.

"Authority," Karis bowed deeply as he approached the podium of Authority, cringing as he heard the voice behind him.

"Authority," the Administrator said, bowing deeply.

"Shall we get straight to the point then?" the Authority asked.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Of course, Authority. I have prepared a debrief of the re-emergence stratagem. I believe you will be pleased with the progress being made," Karis said.

Authority was a figure of great power and respect. Karis, however, could never grow accustomed to the creature's physical appearance. Karis believed it to be a perverted amalgamation of the elders of the original empire. The Authority's body was a twisted mass of limbs covered in a black, tattered robe. It had not one but five heads. These heads operated as a hive mind, speaking and reacting in unison.

The five elders of the Havokium Empire had made the decision to become the monstrosity after the shame of their individual failures drove them to seek a way to become more powerful. Karis had always felt uneasy when in the presence of the creature, but yearned for its approval, nonetheless.

Authority turned its heads in Karis' direction. "You have prepared a… debrief?"

"Yes, Authority. I can update you on the progress of the stratagem and the next steps. The plan is well underway, and we should expect to begin re-emergence in the near future," Karis said, head still bowed.

"Administrator, what do you say to this debrief?" Authority said, his heads snapping unnaturally to look in the administrator's direction.

"My lord, I believe that the Facilitator has been impeding the flow of relevant information in regard to the stratagem. I believe there are extenuating circumstances that might jeopardize the operation if not acted upon immediately," the Administrator replied as she turned her head toward Karis.

"Interesting. It appears that my two most senior agents find themselves at odds. I will hear your update, Facilitator."

"The Human Andrew Dawes, as you know, is in possession of the weapon," Karis said.

"I am aware of the Human; I am aware that he bonded with the weapon and the ship AI. Did we not assist him and his team in the Reaping trial? I believe we were able to strike a blow to the Galactic Council in the process. Why are you spewing old intel, Facilitator?"

"Forgive me, my lord, I only meant to be thorough. The Human has been transitioned to the pocket dimension that contains the Seed of Power. He, along with an ally of his choosing, is currently operating on the second level of the tower. The human is under the impression that the Seed will grant some great power to the inhabitants of the Galaxy and, as of yet, hasn't questioned his mission. He has proven himself capable, but has merely scratched the surface of the weapon and has no understanding of its true purpose. He assumes that the weapon is his and has only used its most basic capabilities as of yet."

"Do you not fear the human gaining a deeper understanding of the weapon? If he suspects he is being used, we may lose our only chance to activate the Seed. I don't need to explain what happens if the seed is not activated, Facilitator."

"No, My Lord, you do not. I am aware of the consequences of failure for both myself and our people."

"And once the seed is activated? What are the next steps?" Authority asked.

The seed will act as an anchor, blending natural and artificial realities. Essentially, all dimensions and artificially created pocket dimensions will merge into a new amalgamation of reality. We will destroy and rebuild reality in a matter of minutes. Once this blending of reality occurs, the chains of our people's bondage will be broken, and we will emerge into the cosmos to take our rightful place as rulers.

"What are the expected side effects of this blending of realities?" Authority asked.

"The biggest concern will be the rules of physical reality. The inhabitants of the natural universe cannot currently access the tools necessary to create the aetheric properties necessary to access individual powers. We grant access to participants of Reaping Rituals. Still, on a galactic scale, there are an insignificant number of Aether wielders, to the point of not even knowing the correct term or limits of the power they wield. That power is commonly referred to as being given by the system, and there have been few cases of a user progressing beyond the most basic power level. In short, it has not been a concern since all members of our race have been empowered and are capable Aether wielders."

"His plan will possibly give every inhabitant of the universe access to Aetherial power! This cannot be an acceptable outcome! The power is the divine right of our people; even allowing access to the number of people we already have is an outrage!" the Administrator hissed the words, pointing an accusatory finger in the direction of Karis

The heads of the authority shot in her direction at her outburst. All ten eyes glazed black as the Administrator floated off the ground. She began to tremble as Authority's power took hold violently. The finger she pointed in Karis' direction snapped and folded back on her hand. She tried to scream, but instead began foaming at the mouth.

"Decorum is oft forgotten. Let this be a lesson, Administrator. My chambers will not be a sanctum for your childish squabbles." Authority's words came in waves of power, "Continue, Facilitator."

"The weapon is the key. It is both the catalyst needed to activate the seed and the means by which we shall halt the proliferation of Aether wielders. A subroutine has been programmed into the weapon to bypass this particular side effect. I am confident in its success, My Lord," Karis deepened his bow before standing erect.

"Possible failure points?" Authority asked.

"The weapon has no AI. That was the point of providing such an advanced AI in the vessel we provided to the human. The human does not understand how to access the deeper functions of the weapon, and based on the technological inadequacy, I do not expect him to attempt it on his own. In short, the Human can't unlock the true potential of the weapon, and he has no AI in the weapon to teach him. He has bonded with both the weapon and the vessel AI more than expected, true, but I don't see that as a problem. We set the narrative, and as he grows more powerful, it feeds his desire to follow further instructions from us. He sees us as an ally and has acted accordingly. We have one other contingency if he strays from the path, but I prefer to keep that to myself for operational security purposes. I am fully confident in the plan so far, Authority."

"It shows great foresight that you didn't place a native AI into the weapon. If there had been one and it had bonded with the human, it could educate and empower him. I commend your actions to this point, Facilitator, and I will allow you to maintain the secrecy around your other contingency for now. You are approved to continue your work. You are both dismissed."

Karis turned to leave the chamber, sparing a glance for the Administrator who lay unconscious on the floor, foam still trickling from her mouth. Her finger would heal, but the lesson was learned; she would not be a problem for some time. Karis smiled, content with how the meeting had gone. Now it was time to return to his schemes.

I sat in a chair inside the safe room, talking to Kaj about the first floor and what he had experienced. "Yeah, so I guess Elvis installed this AI into my armor. It was a big help, even if he is a massive A-hole. His name is Sherlock."
Sherlock appeared, standing beside me. He was wearing what looked like a tweed suit and a deerstalker hat. He pulled a pipe from his mouth as he turned to Kaj.
"Pleasure, I'm sure," He said with disdain as he puffed his pipe.
"How are you here?" I asked, "I didn't know you could do that."
"There are things you don't know? I never would have guessed." Sherlock said with disdain.
"Let me just see if I can give Tiff a call…" I said.
"Oh, fine. Hi, nice to meet you and all that. Are you happy?" Sherlock asked before disappearing.
Kaj looked at me, confused, "What was that?"
"Oh, that? He has a thing for Tiff. I use what I got to keep him in line," I shrugged and went back to telling Kaj about the first floor.