Phantom Regency

Tactical Officer: …appears to be flying directly out of the Star.

Captain: What is its trajectory?

Tactical Officer: Direct intercept course.

Captain: Phantom field 100%. Load all weapons.

Weapons Officer: Aye, captain.

Director-General arrives on bridge.

Director-General: What is the situation?

Captain: We have detected an unidentified object. It seems to have flown out of the star

and is heading directly toward us. We should have a visual momentarily.

Director-General: Is it a ship or is it natural?

Captain: The odds of a natural phenomena heading precisely toward us would be a

fantastic coincidence.

Director-General: So, you think its…

Tactical Officer: The object is decelerating, captain.

Captain: There is our answer. Get me a visual as soon as possible.

Director-General: Could it be one of ours?

Captain: Possible, but it would be treason for a captain to be out here in the Inferno.

Weapons Officer: I have a visual, and we are in range for missile fire.

Captain: Hold fire. Let’s see it.

(Several seconds of silence)

Director-General: No one in this room is to repeat any knowledge of this without my

permission. The crew must know as little as possible. Understood?

Captain: Yes, sir.

Tactical Officer: I am picking up a transmission.

-Partial transcript from the bridge of the Huntress, a SERPENT Armada destroyer, 351 GE. Note: Director-General is Maxxus Vlademor

“Do not think that you will not be held accountable for allowing the captain to escape,” the Authority CEO was saying. He was addressing the young Regent, Xim Vlademor.

“My men have swept the station a dozen times. I don’t see how…” Xim responded.

“And what of that old man, your acolyte. Have you considered how he could have aided our runaway?”

Xim laughed. “That old fool. What could he have done?”

Voldruss replied, “That old fool, as you call him, is clearly a powerful enemy of our program.”

“Powerful??” Xim exclaimed.

Voldruss ignored him. “He has power over energy, as evidenced by the disarmed guards. Only that rogue alien, the Sky Man, can give him such power. And, he evidently has intimate knowledge of this station. Why you have allowed him to continue to serve in your court goes beyond all reason.”

“I can’t get rid of him. Not without a political nightmare. You don’t understand my position here,” Xim replied petulantly. “The old way must be preserved. Too many people…”

Voldruss interrupted, “My young Regent, please remember your true position. Your dear, departed father and all his forebears understood the weight of this position. The fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. The Thaxians survive and the Watchers pose a grave threat. We cannot afford any weakness. We must all do our parts. The Great Dragon commands it.” He spoke as if he were scolding a small child.

“You don’t have to remind me. My father raised me well. If the traitor remains on this station we will find him, dead or alive. And maybe it is time to deal with old Zangor.” Xim talked with more bravado than he felt. He did not want to be seen as weak or incapable.

“Good. All will be well. If the captain happens to escape, it matters little. No one will believe him and soon our intentions will be public. By then it will be too late to stop us. Do you understand the new orders?”

“Yes, the fleet tax I will impose will prod the Evanthan Dominion into declaring independence before the Authority will.”

“Excellent. The galactic destabilization will begin soon. Remember, you cannot be rid of the bureaucracy and fully control the Nexus until the Regency crumbles. Out of its ashes a great empire will emerge.”

“How poetic,” Xim mumbled to himself.

“The final war is at hand. How many cylinders do you have ready for us?” Voldruss asked.

“Forty-three are currently stockpiled. My father had tagged them as in need of further testing. The Grand Council has not questioned the validity of that claim so far, although my uncle is suspicious. Once the war starts I will make sure they wind up in your hands.”

“Very good. Remember, when we succeed, you and your progeny will sit on the throne of the galactic empire for all time. The Great Dragon has promised it. I must return to my ship. Keep me updated on the search.” Baldarr Voldruss rose, shook hands with the Regent and left.

Xim Vlademor watched him rise and leave. He did not like the CEO at all. For such a flowery talker, the fat old man had a formidable personality. He eased himself back into his desk chair and sighed.

He spent several minutes in his private office pondering the events of the last two days. He knew Voldruss had spoken to the dragons and the Authority had its part to play. And yet, the older man had breezed in like he was going to be the emperor, like he was the gifted one. And you just let him. Xim thought to himself. He had always been a weak-willed child. His father had pushed him to be strong and pushed him to live up to his destiny. Young Xim secretly resented his life and all that was required of him, but certainly did not refuse all the riches and power that were at his fingertips.

His holo-phone lit up. It was his secretary. “Kaelin is here to see you.”

“Send her in,” he said.

Kaelin sauntered into the room and perched on the corner of his desk. “Hey, little brother,” she teased.

“Hey yourself. Get off my desk.”

“Sooo sorry,” she replied sarcastically, “What’s got you so grumpy?”

“Nothing,” he lied. He resented his sister. She was taller with a thicker build and voluptuous curves. Her personality was stronger, much more like their father’s. When he was young he had adored her and followed her around like a puppy. Their father had put a wedge between them in his teen years when he was “grooming” him to be the Regent. Now that their father had died, she was starting to assert herself more and more. Xim valued her counsel in some ways. She had a greater focus on the big picture. Xim tended to be more scattered. He was artistic and emotional; she was cold and logical. Had she been a boy, she would have made a better Regent than Xim.

“Hello, I asked you a question!” Kaelin scolded.

Xim had been lost in his own thoughts. “What?”

“I asked if you let that toad, Voldruss, get to you?”

“I don’t know. He has a strong will for such a weasel of a man. I feel like father is talking,” he complained. “Can you believe it? His captain ran away and he’s trying to blame me and make me find him? What a…”

“Just have the M.S.P. find him,” she interrupted, “Anyway, little brother, don’t you worry about a thing. Voldruss is just a pawn. The dragons have promised…”

“What do you know about dragons?” Xim interrupted.

“Let me finish.” Kaelin got a twinkle in her eye. “The last few years while you and father were playing politics, I have been studying our mysterious benefactors. Would you be interested to know that they can be contacted directly, from anywhere in the galaxy?”

“I thought we had to travel to the Inferno or the rim to make holo contact.”

“No, that’s child’s play. Leave that to the petty toad. We can tap into their dimension from here. You see, they exist not in another place, but another dimension altogether. The Inferno does seem to be a location where the two universes touch in a tangible way.” She was talking rapidly and excitedly.

“Now, hold on. How do you know all this? Why didn’t father know?”

“I actually took a tip from old Zangor.” She held up a hand to stifle his protest. “No, I am not in league with him, not at all. But he does seem to tap into some power beyond this universe. So, I researched all the old Thaxian books and rituals. Most of them have to do with the Sky Man. The dragons, surprisingly, are rarely mentioned. But then I happened upon an old book, not a holo-read, but an actual paper manuscript. The fourth Regent, Abson Thaxius, wrote it way back in the first century. He tells of his encounters with numerous so-called ‘spiritual’ powers and ‘spiritual’ beings that he communed with. They can even become visible to the naked eye. Apparently, with an open mind and a heart devoted to the next dimension, a pathway can be opened to the other side. I think phantom technology just scratches the surface of the power that is available. Its fullness comes from within. Isn’t it exciting?”

“Sorry Sis, you kind of lost me there,” he said, rising and yawning. Xim was quite unnerved and wanted the conversation to end. Making her mad seemed to be the expedient way to get her to leave. “I have grown up matters to attend to.”

“Grown up?!!” she seethed. She hated being called ‘Sis.’ “We’ll see who the grown up is.” She turned to leave. “And by the way, Uncle Balton has been trying to reach you. Have fun dealing with him.”

She stomped out the door with a flourish. Xim exhaled and sunk back in his chair. Kaelin was crazy. Did she really believe all that stuff? Xim had always believed that the dragons were aliens from another galaxy and that the Sky Man was a myth, or at least nothing more than another alien.

And then there was Uncle Balton. What a pain. Balton Avenor had been born Baldarr Vlademor, his father’s little brother. He had turned his back on the family many years ago. Xim had never heard the real story. He only knew that Balton was a traitor and had changed his name. To top it all off, three years ago, he was appointed Sky Marshall by the STARegency Grand Council of Worlds. As commander of the entire Regency Skyforce, Uncle Balton was a force to be reckoned with.

Xim took a few deep breaths. Just do what you must, when you must. His father’s mantra came to his thoughts. He started compiling a mental list of what he must do. Number one, talk to Uncle Balton and try to pacify him, or just put him in his place. Number two; he had some work to do at the Nexus that couldn’t be put off much longer. Kaelin’s suggestion that he involve the M.S.P. in finding the captain was a distasteful idea, but they never failed. So, number three, contact Minister Sleeth.

Last of all, he needed to meet the dragons himself. Kaelin may think Voldruss a pawn, but Xim wanted to be sure that their benefactors still looked upon the line of Vlademor with great favor. This would involve a secret and dangerous trip to the galactic core, the Inferno. He had been there many times with his father. Now he would go alone.

A beep on his console interrupted his train of thought. He looked down. What? A memo from Zangor? This was unusual; they were not exactly on speaking terms. Xim read the message, “The Sky beyond the sky is a place of refuge. It can encourage us not only when in shift, but also in our innermost being. Peace, joy and hope are gifts readily available if we would only believe. –The Phantom Rites 6:22.” Tears welled up involuntarily in his eyes. Why did this move him so? He was strong. He didn’t believe those hokey legends of the Sky Man. He violently slammed his desk console shut. He started to rise but slumped back in his chair. He pulled his knees to his chest and stared vacantly at the far wall.

The memo from Zangor evoked similar feelings as Kaelin’s rant. Was there more to this universe than he had ever believed? Was there some unseen realm of power peopled by dragon aliens and who knows what? Father and Voldruss and the like believed in aliens and took a utilitarian view of the situation; if the dragons give us power, we will befriend them.

But every day Xim himself interacted with this mysterious phantom energy source, which the more religious Regents had called spirit energy. It was beyond the understanding of history’s finest scientific minds. Xim had heard that in the early years of the Regency, many teams of scientists tried to enter the Nexus to discover its workings. None survived the attempt. Like all the previous Regents he had the gift and the intuitive knowledge to operate the vast, powerful, mysterious Nexus. He could see the patterns of energy and manipulate them and feel the energy coursing through his body. It was difficult to chalk it up to a strictly scientific phenomenon.

He found himself wrestling with the idea that all of it – the Nexus, phantom energy, the dragons – was of another reality altogether. He was uncomfortable with the thought. He understood how it would be easy to simply be pragmatic about it all like father. But he felt. He mused. He could not be cold no matter how hard he tried.

He arose and walked to his private chamber. He washed his face and hands then looked at himself in the mirror. His body was short and thin with a slight droop to his shoulders. His clothes were rich, but understated. He did not like the more flamboyant robes of state preferred by most of his predecessors. His eyes were sunken and hollow, giving his face a perpetually tired and stressed look. His small face was not ugly. The features were proportionate and balanced. He smiled. His smile was quite bright but he almost never smiled these days. Who are you? He asked himself.

It was quite a while later before he emerged into his office and began his day’s work. He went to his desk and entered the M.S.P. code in his console. The Ministry of Security and Purity took its orders in person so that no record of communication could exist. The enigmatic agency had been started by the religious Regents of the old line to eliminate heretics. The Vlademors kept them around to secure their power in the galaxy. A secret door behind his desk opened once the code was entered. He had seen his father use it once. He walked down a winding corridor in and among the machinery of the station.

“I am here,” came a raspy voice out of the shadows behind him.

Xim jumped and let out a little yell. He turned and saw a figure in deep purple. His face was masked in black from his neck to his eyes. He was bald with disfigured skin that looked like at had been burned. Xim was terribly frightened but tried not to show it.

“I have a target for you,” Xim said.

“The good of the Regency is our command, young Vlademor. I am Minister Sleeth.”

“Pleased to meet you,” Xim replied awkwardly, “The target is a SERPENT Authority captain. He was privy to secrets of the Regency and the Authority. He may try to flee to the exiles.”

“Name.”

“Talon Vasloch. Here is the file.” He handed the dark figure a memory cube.

“It will be done.”

Xim turned to leave.

“Sir,” The raspy voice spoke. Xim halted. Sleeth continued, “There is another issue. A contact of mine with the Dread pirates has found the true heir of the Thaxians.”

Xim gasped. “Wasn’t the last heir eliminated a few years ago?”

“He had a son. He was rescued by the pirates and joined them. Recently on Sky’s End, he left the Dread Knights and will likely seek the Watchers.”

“This… this is terrible.” Xim was shaken. “No heir of the old line can escape us. You must deal with him as well.”

“The good of the Regency is our command. Eamor Thaxius will not live another week.”

“No, take him alive. I want to see him,” replied Xim. He wanted to satisfy his own curiosity about this other ‘gifted one’.

“It will be done. And what of the captain?”

“Kill him. Send his body to Voldruss.”

Later that day, Balton Avenor was piloting his skyboat toward the Nexus. This young brat of a Regent would have to face the facts. Now that the Authority ships had left, he could corner Xim alone.

He docked at the interface station and walked in. He was met by a young robed acolyte, who led him to the control room. Balton walked with precise military steps, his footfalls resounding down the corridor.

He entered the small, ancient control room. Xim and three acolytes were at various controls.

“It’s emerging. I can feel it,” Xim was saying. His body was rigid as if he was in a trance.

“The tender drone is in position,” an acolyte said.

“Tag it one-seven-six-three dash eight-one-zero. Route it to experimental,” Another acolyte added.

Balton watched on an ancient circular view screen as a phantom cylinder emerged from the Nexus. It was grabbed by a large robotic craft and pulled away.

“Well done, begin the purge,” Xim ordered. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

The young acolyte accompanying Balton spoke up. “My Lord Vlademor, there is a visitor here for you.”

“Hello, uncle,” he said, turning his chair to face the door.

“Sir, I must have a word with you.”

Xim dismissed the acolytes. ’What’s on your mind?” He tried to put on a casual air.

“It’s about the Authority. They breeze in here like they own the place. We don’t need them. They should just do their job, which is providing the galaxy with ore. And let us do our job, which is to bring order to the galaxy. Their fleet is now bigger than ours. Why do we let others have ships and arms while our fleet dwindles? Your father withheld phantom cylinders from the Skyforce and now you have refused the Grand Council’s request to release them. Why don’t we…”

“We?! There is no ‘we’. I am the Regent!” Xim screamed, surprised by his own vehemence. He composed himself and continued, “My dear uncle, please remember your place. The council has appointed you to command the Skyforce, a job you do most satisfactorily. Leave matters of policy to the politicians. I would hate for such petty things to endanger your position.”

His thinly veiled threat halted Balton. He knew that the much of the council was made up of boot lickers. With a word, Xim could make his life miserable. Balton had not yet secured a strong enough power base in the bureaucracy. A power play would have to wait.

He changed his tone. “Sir, I am only trying to voice my concerns. Do you not want to command a strong Regency? Do you not want to return the Authority to its place in subjection to the Regency? Do you not…”

“Don’t patronize me! Must you always provoke me when we meet? You are the one who left this family. You could be in my court and rich beyond your dreams. Instead you choose to play soldier. Go! This audience is over.” His father had taught him how to deal with upstarts.

“Fine. Just know that I serve the Regency, not Voldruss, not dragons and not your whims!” His anger was getting the best of him. “You need to decide if you really want to be a Regent when you grow up! And I do not intend to disappear as your father’s rivals did!”

With that he turned and stalked down the corridor.

Don’t tempt me. Xim thought. His uncle was right, though. He was not going to be ruled by Voldruss or dragons. He was the true Regent.