Chapter 1
I watched a clump of dust drift across the cracked ground. My eyes followed it on its journey as it danced across the scorched earth until finally, it got stuck in a clump of sticky, purple blood. The violet dollop of alien blood grasped the dust tightly and slowly absorbed it under its surface, and then it quickly dried up thanks to the heat from the fires that raged over the rest of the planet. Ash fell from the sky like rain, and the smell of burning wood and flesh filled the air like some kind of disgusting, inescapable gas. The fumes were so nasty that I relied on my breathing tube to filter most of it out, although the potent stench still managed to creep in around the edges.
I turned to Rayne beside me, who had her own mask on over her nose and mouth. Ash landed on the hood of her cape and got caught in the blonde strands of her hair that floated around her face in the soft breeze. Her bright green eyes seemed to glow in the overcast light and stood out in the midst of the horrific scene of destruction in front of us like emerald beacons of hope.
Only, her eyes were filled with despair as she looked around at the devastation in front of us. I saw her face fall as she took in the broken pillars, the collapsed roofs, and the shards of glass from the stasis tubes that lay all over the ground. The only thing still standing was the fountain in the center of the square. No water spurted out of it, though, and no pleasant trickling sounds came from it.
All that was in the bottom pool was blood. It had dispersed into whatever water had been left behind, which wasn’t much as the AIs that had been running the place had no need for pleasant aesthetics. So, all that was in there was purple blood, which had spilled out over the sides onto the dead bodies surrounding it. The bodies were very pale, and I was able to see some of the purple veins through their skin. They had oval-shaped heads, long bodies with seemingly no obvious indicators as to which gender they were, if they even had them, and most of them were naked, since they had been in stasis.
Lilacron, which Francine had informed us had once been a beautiful planet full of incredible natural sights, and where nature and the local species that lived there existed in harmony, was now a rubble-filled, flattened, burning wasteland. The Lilacrons, who were the species that had created my AI companion, had been in stasis, for the most part, which meant that only the AI had been left to defend the planet from the Karaak.
I thought about the evil race that wanted nothing more than to wipe out whole civilizations, as they had just done here, and silently vowed that they wouldn’t get away with these heinous acts anymore. Bodies lay all around the place, ejected from their smashed stasis tubes and murdered before they even got a chance to open their eyes. AI bots were piled high all around, broken and unmendable. And the buildings and any hint of civilization had been reduced to ash and piles of rock. All I could hear was the wind blowing and the occasional crack as a tree fell in the distance as the fires ate it. Apart from that, there was silence.
One of the main parts of our mission was to get here, to learn from Francine’s creators, and to join them in the fight against the Karaak. But it looked like we were too late. The Lilacrons were dead, and so were the AIs that had been in charge of taking care of them.
From the debris around us and the pieces of the fighter spacecraft we had passed on the flight down onto the planet, I could tell that there had been one hell of a fight here. But in the end, the Lilacrons’ AIs, even with all their knowledge and technology, hadn’t been enough to beat the beings who were slowly culling most of the species in the galaxy.
And that worried me. From what Francine had told me, Lilacron was very technologically advanced, and yet they had been wiped out, and fairly recently by the look of it. If Lilacron could be taken down by the Karaak, then there was no way that other less developed planets, like Earth, even stood a chance.
Francine said nothing for a while, and neither did Rayne or I. We simply stood still and tried to process what was in front of us. Bob, my little robot sidekick, remained in the cockpit of my spaceship behind us. He stayed quiet, too, and laid down in the doorway.
When Francine spoke to me, I was the only person who could hear the AI’s voice, as a sliver over the AI’s shell was inserted into the chestplate of my protective suit at all times, and she was linked to me with the nanobots that coursed through my veins to keep my body healthy. However, I had never heard Francine so silent. I couldn’t remember the last time my head had felt this quiet. Even when Francine wasn’t speaking, it was as though I could feel another presence in my head at least ninety percent of the time. But right now, I could only hear the sound of my own breathing and nothing more.
Rayne walked over to one of the broken AI bots on the ground near us. She picked it up and then started to study it. She had been a scavenger back on her home planet, so she could easily tell if something was salvageable, or at least worth taking for parts. She turned the device over in her hands, looked over at me, and shook her head. I sighed, but I tried to keep any displays of emotion to a minimum, for Francine’s sake. I knew the AI was just that, an AI, but Francine had always spoken so fondly of her creators and had been eager to get back to them. What we had found was the opposite of what we had expected, much to my, but predominantly Francine’s, dismay.
“Francine…” I said. “I’m sorry.”
“It is… unexpected,” the AI replied.
“It’s awful,” I said. “I can’t believe this. It must’ve only just happened.”
“Yes, it is… unexpected,” Francine said again like she couldn’t come up with the words to describe how she felt.
“You mentioned that,” I replied. “It’s okay for you to be upset.”
“I am not upset,” the AI replied. “An AI does not get upset. I am just attempting to formulate a plan moving forward.”
“Right,” I whispered. “Of course you are. What’re your thoughts?”
“I…” Francine began. “I am currently unsure.”
“That’s okay,” I replied. “How about we start by seeing if there are any survivors?”
“Look around, Will,” Rayne whispered. “Do you really think there will be survivors?”
“I think we need to make sure,” I replied.
“Agreed,” Francine said.
“Francine agrees,” I told Rayne.
“Alright, then I’m in,” Rayne said. “Where do we start?”
“A lot of the stasis tubes were stored in the building opposite you,” Francine said. “Can you see which one I am referring to?”
I looked across the square, beyond the fountain, at the building beyond. I could tell that once it had been huge, probably around four stories. The roof had fallen in and most of the floors had been knocked down as well, although some of it was still upright, and it seemed like the one building that was least likely to come down on our heads the moment we set foot inside it.
“Yeah, it’s the biggest building in the area,” I said with a nod. “And it’s the only one that has at least some of its walls still standing.”
“Yes, that is the one,” Francine replied. “That is the primary citadel where a large quantity of the Lilacron species is kept in stasis. Many of them are important figures within the community.”
I repeated what Francine told me to Rayne, whose brow furrowed.
“And yet they opted to be in stasis rather than awake?” Rayne said.
“It was not necessary for them to remain awake if they did not wish to,” Francine said. “All of them elected to exist in stasis, and they left the AI behind to protect them.”
“They all chose to be in stasis,” I said to Rayne.
“I can’t imagine choosing to live in a tube over walking around on my own two feet,” Rayne said.
“Rayne,” I said.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be insensitive,” she said. “I just don’t think I could ever make a choice like that.”
“I understand Rayne’s opinion,” Francine said. “But that is what happened on Lilacron. The prospect of eternal life is compelling to organic lifeforms.”
“Okay, well, we should head over there,” I said in order to remove myself from being the middleman. “You never know, we could find someone alive.”
Rayne glanced at me with a look that said a thousand words, and then we began to walk across the square toward the citadel. It had been an immense building, and had probably only been in this state for a matter of hours. The walls of the bottom floor were still holding strong, but most of the building had collapsed in on itself.
A lot of bricks were strewn all over the ground, and the dust around the building was thick enough that it felt like we were walking across a sandy beach. Whatever had hit the citadel to leave it in this state had been extraordinarily powerful, and it was obvious that the same kind of weapon had mowed down the rest of the planet as well.
Even though I was trying to remain positive for Francine’s sake, my gut was telling me that there was no way in hell that anyone had survived this. The Lilacrons had been a peaceful people, and they obviously hadn’t been expecting this attack so soon. I doubted there were bomb shelters or safe havens anywhere on the planet, and while the AIs had done their best to fulfill their programming to keep the people of Lilacron safe, they hadn’t stood a chance against the Karaak.
We reached the doorway of the citadel, which was now just a large hole in the facade of the building. I looked down at some of the rubble beside the door and saw the remains of a flower basket. The flowers were beautiful, although they were very squished. They were bright pink, with curved petals and tiny, spiral leaves coming from the stems.
“My creators requested that we keep the planet just how they left it, so that it would be ready for them should they wish to come out of stasis,” Francine said. “We kept it exactly how they liked it.”
“I’m sure they appreciated it,” I replied.
“I suppose,” Francine said. “Although, they will never get to see any of it again now.”
“Come on,” I said. “Let’s go inside.”
I led the way through the doorway into the main hall. Most of it was filled with rubble, but right beside the doorway, I was able to see the decorative orange and red tiles that had been on the floor before the attack. Most of the interior walls had fallen in, so we clambered over the piles of bricks and mortar into the center of the building.
I could tell that it had been a very grand entrance hall. I could see broken Roman-style pillars all over the place, a shattered chandelier on the floor, and several doorways that led off to the different parts of the building. A grand staircase had been in the center of the room and had led up to the different levels, but now the top half had been snapped in half and lay on top of the rubble, while the bottom half was still attached to the floor, but only led up about ten steps before the rest disappeared. Some more AI bots were scattered around in the rubble, but other than that, I wasn’t able to see any signs of life.
“Where now, Frankie?” I asked.
“There is a doorway on the left,” the AI replied. “The passage behind it is still stable and will take you to some of the tubes.”
“The tubes?” I said as we carefully made our way across the rubble.
“That was our name for the stasis cylinders,” Francine said.
“I see,” I said. “Well, let’s hope that at least some of the tubes are still intact.”
Rayne looked over at me again, but said nothing.
We passed through the doorway into the hall beyond, which had no ceiling and a worrying amount of cracks along the walls. Still, we pressed on toward the tubes, which were stored somewhere at the end of this hallway. I was surprised at the lack of security around their precious Lilacrons, but then again, almost all of them had been in stasis, and I couldn’t imagine that Lilacron got many visitors. At least it made it easier for me because I didn’t have to find a way through any thick security doors or try to bypass some security measure.
We reached the end of the hall and found three open doorways, one straight ahead, one to the right, and one to the left.
“Which way, Francine?” I asked.
“Straight ahead,” the AI replied.
I looked beyond the doorway in front of me and saw a short hall in a similar, rubble-filled state as the rest of the building. But I also could see that there were a couple of steps leading down and around a corner. I led the way down the steps, which crumbled under my feet with every step, and I silently prayed that they didn’t give way underneath me.
We went around the corner, and as soon as we did, we emerged into a huge room. The walls were two stories tall, but the roof had fallen all the way in, so the room was filled with natural light. Ash floated down inside the room and settled like gray, deathly snow on top of the brick and stone on the ground.
Rayne and I both let out a long sigh when we saw the state the room had been left in after the Karaak’s attack. There were alcoves all along the walls where I could tell that the stasis tubes had been stored. Wires covered the walls like artificial vines and snaked their way into all of the different alcoves. Some wires hung down since they had been cut or broken on impact, and a sea load of syrup-like liquid had leaked all over the stones.
However, the worst part was the sight of all the stasis tubes tossed onto the floor. Tubes littered the floor from where they had fallen out of their alcoves, and bodies were strewn all over the place. All of them were maimed, contorted, dismembered, and dead, and their pale skin stuck out through the rubble and seemed to glow in the muted daylight. There was more purple blood everywhere, and inside the alcoves, I could see that most of them had collapsed down on the tubes and crushed whatever was inside.
There was no way that any of them were alive, but I needed to do my due diligence. I started to check the alcoves that were closest to me, but the sight of all of the burst flesh and crushed heads inside them made me feel sick to my stomach.
“I’m so sorry, Francine,” I said.
“Thank you,” the AI replied.
“I just can’t believe this,” Rayne said. “They’ve all been wiped out. It’s like the Karaak just decided to delete an entire civilization.”
I looked at Rayne with an expression that said ‘Way to rub it in’.
“Sorry…” she said. “I’m just gonna keep looking for any signs of life.”
“Okay,” I replied.
Rayne moved off ahead of me along the right side of the room, while I checked each of the alcoves that were still intact and continued to search for any signs of movement or life that I could find. I pushed bricks off of bodies, felt for any body heat, and kept my eyes peeled for even a twitch of a finger. But, there was none to be found.
“It’s awful,” I said.
“Yes,” Francine said. “It is unfathomable to think that they are all gone.”
“I never thought I’d see anything like this,” I said. “And now I’m wondering what Earth is gonna look like when they get there.”
“If everything goes to plan, they will not get there,” Francine said.
“Right,” I said as I took a beat to relax my racing mind.
“We were too late to get to Lilacron, although we did not know that my homeworld was in danger,” the AI continued. “But we will not be too late again.”
“Damn right we won’t,” I said as I held my hand against one of the pale bodies on the floor and tried to feel for a pulse of some kind through the cold, translucent skin.
“It is strange,” Francine said. “This room is so quiet.”
“What’s it normally like?” I asked.
“There is always noise in here,” the AI said. “Other AI bots walking or flying around and making sure the tubes were working at full capacity. The whirring of the machinery to keep their bodies alive and to keep their muscles from atrophying. We would also play some soft music in the background. We did not think they could hear it, but just in case one of them came to a more conscious state, even for a moment, our purpose was to make them feel calm and safe.”
“I see,” I said. “And they trusted the AI they made to keep them safe while they were in stasis?”
“Yes,” Francine said. “While in stasis, they experience a different life, one that is only positive and beautiful. Meanwhile, we were left behind to keep the planet habitable until they decided to wake.”
“So, while they’re in stasis, they know their world isn’t real?” I asked.
“To some extent,” Francine said. “We also have ways of communicating with them even while they are in stasis, similar to how you and I communicate.”
“Interesting,” I replied. “Was there ever a time where you actually spoke to them in person?”
“When I was built, around thirty percent of the Lilacron population was still awake,” Francine said. “I was part of one of the fighter ships used to protect the citadel, and I became very familiar with the three pilots that flew my ship on rotation, although I did nearly all of the flying myself.”
“So, you were close with them?” I asked. “Like we are?”
“As close as a piece of artificial intelligence can be with its creator,” Francine replied.
“Damn,” I said. “Then I’m really sorry for your loss.”
“It is okay, Will,” Francine replied. “Life comes to an end. It is, as you say on Earth, the circle of life.”
“How very wise of you,” I said with a smile.
“I try my best,” Francine replied. “The Lilacrons were good, peaceful people. But, they were advanced enough to invent AI like me, and soon, they were not needed to keep the planet running. Instead of fighting that fact, they decided that another way of life was possible for them. But now… that life has been cut short for all of them. It is very sad to see such good people in this way.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Do you think anyone survived?”
“Not anyone that was on the planet, AI included,” Francine said. “But, Lilacron did have colonies in different parts of the galaxy. Lilacron’s main resource is corn, similar to what you have on Earth. That syrup-like liquid that is leaking out of the wires was used to feed the Lilacrons while they slept, and with so many to feed, more farms were created off-world. It is possible that some may have escaped before the Karaak arrived, but I am not aware of any protocol as to a safe haven, so I would imagine that the AI made the decision as to which colony to go to in the heat of the moment.”
“I see,” I said. “So, you’re saying it’s possible there may still be some Lilacrons that are alive out there?”
“It is possible,” Francine said. “But I cannot imagine that the Karaak will allow them to live freely much longer. One thing about them is that they are thorough with their genocide.”
“Still…” I said. “There’s a little bit of hope.”
“There is indeed,” Francine said, and the AI’s voice sounded a little brighter as it considered the idea that some of its creators could still be alive.
“Hey, Will?” Rayne called out from where she was up ahead.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“Come and take a look at this,” she said, and I noticed how her voice quivered slightly.
“What is it?” I asked as I clambered over to her.
“I…” she said. “I think it’s…”
“What?” I asked as I had almost reached her.
“It’s…” she said and pointed to something in front of her, which I only saw once I passed one of the larger lumps of rock in front of it.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed. “Is that?”
“I think so,” she said.
“One of the Karaak,” I said as I took a closer look.
In front of us was a body, but not one that was like any of the Lilacron corpses that we had come across so far.
This one was much taller, for one thing. Its feet were covered in a pair of thick boots made out of what looked like some other creature’s skin. Its legs were thick and muscular, and the parts of its body that were exposed were covered with a layer of coarse burgundy hair that protruded from it. It wore a tight-fitting suit that didn’t look all that different from mine.
Its arms were stretched out beside it like it was some kind of crucified deity, only its appearance was less than holy. It looked like it had been incredibly strong, based on its large torso and arms, and I could imagine it ripping a creature’s head off with its bare hands.
Its head lay on top of a flatter rock and was covered with a black helmet, so I climbed up the mound of rocks slightly to get a better look at it. The helmet covered most of its face, but I was still able to see its eyes below it. They were bright orange, as though there was a permanent fire raging inside of them, and they looked as though an expression of remorse or guilt had never touched them before.
I moved away from the head and had a look at its chest. It had landed on a bunch of metal rods, which had impaled it and cut through its flesh like some horrific hole punch. The rods stuck out from its front and a black, tar-like liquid had coated them completely. It was its blood, only it looked somewhat similar to the oil that I used to put in my car back on Earth.
I ripped some of its suit off its front to take a better look at the wounds, and Rayne and I both gasped when we saw what was underneath.
The creature’s body was a mess. It was scarred all over, and it was a combination of organic matter and mechanisms. It appeared that parts of its body had been swapped out with machinery, but whoever had done it definitely hadn’t taken the aesthetics of it into consideration. There were wires that had been inserted into its chest, plates of metal that had been sealed into its body by its own skin growing over it, and I could imagine the rest of its body was much the same.
“Gross,” Rayne said.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “Shit, these guys look pretty unstoppable.”
“Well, this one was stopped,” Rayne replied.
“It probably fell out of its ship and landed here,” I said as I looked up at the lack of a ceiling above us.
“Is it definitely dead?” Rayne asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “Because I’ve been taken by surprise before--”
“Rayne,” I interjected. “It’s one hundred percent de--”
Suddenly, the creature’s legs jolted, and Rayne and I leaped away from it.