The Paragon of Eden

Vence wasn’t sure what to do now that he and his friends had obtained those strange Crystals. They weren’t sure what they were.

They did know what to do with those pirate heads, though. The UPOA kept a good track on who had gone fugitive and who hadn’t. They knew who everybody was, but they couldn’t control everything. That was what too long of a time in a cold war had done to a people. Well, humanity would flourish anyway, wouldn’t it?

Squashing out more pirate scum always did the trick. It was hard to keep a good level of faith in humanity, especially in the line of work bounty-hunting brought with it. That was what it was for, really. Returning some justice to the world when the greatest organizations couldn’t do their job. That, and money.

“Vence,” Fira called. “Dinner is ready.”

Vence marched out of the room and into the kitchen. Their ship was pretty big, though it was not very rich. They had to make do with the small housing spaces it provided. It made him feel like he was living with a family on some planet somewhere.

There was stew on the table. Home-made. By Fira. He smiled, and he looked at her and said, “Thanks.”

“I’m gonna need more than a ‘thanks’ once I figure out what to do with those things.”

“I told you I’ve been thinking about it.”

“Well, then, tell me what you thought of?”

Vence looked at her. She could read his mind sometimes. Did she know how he felt about her?

“We can’t sell them to the UPOA. We don’t know how valuable these are. And with what we heard from the pirates?”

“I know that much.”

“Good. I was just making sure.”

“And I know we can’t give them to the Empire, either.”

“Have you ever met any of them, Vence?”

“No.”

“Not even a pirate?”

“If I had, then that wouldn’t have made them any better. And no, I haven’t. Empire rats don’t become pirates. Too well controlled.”

“Don’t you at least feel bad for them?”

“It’s the same ones who are doing the controlling, Firra. They can barely be called human.”

“So, have you met any?”

“I don’t need to. In fact, I think it’s testament enough that I haven’t. You’d think I had, with how long I’ve been doing this for, but I haven’t. Haven’t even gotten close. Doesn’t that at least sound weird?”

“It does… but you could give it a few more years. See how long it takes to meet one.”

“Firra, I was planning… I don’t want to do this stuff forever.”

“You’re leaving us?”

“No! I was hoping that we… Damn it!” He couldn’t tell her yet. Did she even want to settle down? Let alone with him? “I need a minute,” he said.

He walked down the hall and into the balcony. The DA was active, letting them live out in the open on the surface of their freight ship. The air here was recycled, but it was better than the stuffy rooms he was usually confined to. He needed some time to think about his future. His heart was pounding. Was it finally time? When else could he ask her? He had a good team of bounty hunters, and they stood the test of time in Ookon, but there was never an absolute certainty that they would live past the next hunt. This needed to end with a quiet life before it ended in death.

He was going to tell her.

Vence turned around and walked back into the ship’s halls. He saw blood, and it came from the kitchen. He stormed in, and the sight he saw was almost too much. Firra was dead, a bullet through her head. Why now? He was so close…

He always expected it to be pirates or other mercenaries. It would have been unlikely for government forces to show up. What, then, would cause the highest dispatchable team of elites from the UPOA to come right here to this little ship? Why did Firra have to die? What were those Crystals?

“—Seen too much. There was no resistance. We have one over here now. He won’t take it well. Better for him to die.”

That man in the suit. He spoke into the earpiece. He killed Firra. Vence unsheathed his pistol and aimed.

He was shot and killed before his emotions of anger left him.

...

They had battle-hardened veterans standing guard here. Were they better off serving on the battlefield? Piloting the new Warback models?

The higher-ups had said no. The whole government had gone on lockdown thanks to this new thing they were protecting. They had really said no. Hopefully, that meant that there was an end to all the warfare in sight. Maybe this was something that could give them the upper hand if they gave it the right amount of attention.

And maybe it was just the thing that would end the UPOA as it was right now. That would mean the death of all the military members involved. Ardo would never see his family again.

He was fine with it. He had to be. It was part of the job.

He kept a length of photos in his right breast pocket. He was not fine with it. It drove him insane to sit here, high on the drugs they used to stay alert for such a long time, thoughts racing at what it was they were guarding. He had two theories: A Crystal or something to do with Void Energy.

Both of those were said to be potential keys of victory in this whole mess. There was propaganda being spread all around the citizens in all the occupied worlds and constructs, saying how it was not only possible for the UPOA to defeat the Empire but also likely. This was not true. The Empire was more powerful, more advanced, and simply better. The only upper hand the UPOA had was in making unconventional advancements.

But was that what you called a gift from the heavens? They were even called the Genesis Crystals. Why were they called that? Those aristocrats in the ruling class did like to be dramatic, but they weren’t the ones naming everything. And even if they were, they usually had ulterior motives for practically everything they did. Why the Genesis Crystals?

The rumors were fitting into place. They were gifts. Strange visitors would arrive, words of “Angels,” being spread. These visitors had no record or integration into UPOA society. Ardo knew that much from the extensive research he personally conducted into the subject. He didn’t have clearance to know, but they had given him the skills and teaching to find out himself. And they always arrived to make check-ups with the Crystal they were keeping at that high-end facility in the middle of nowhere. And, of course, Ardo knew of the fact that more “Gensis Crystals” had been mentioned. And just one of them was apparently enough to win the war.

It was ironic. The religious fanatics of the Empire of Dawn were up against foes who had help from the actual heavens. Those beasts were terrible enough that God himself turned against them. The UPOA was not deserving of it. They were not religiously aligned at all. People did whatever they wanted here. And then again, there was the Void Energy. It was said to be destructive enough that it might make even that Genesis Crystal useless.

Perhaps that’s what the “Angels” wanted to prevent. Void energy was blasphemous. Research into it would be stopped if the Crystals were easy enough to access. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to control what scientists at the UPOA researched. It was mostly based on how much funding each department received, but there were always so many departments that even a little bit of help did eventually lead to something in some field. The Empire supposedly didn’t have that. They were policed inhumanely, it was said.

They were guarding the great tank that housed the holy grail in groups. They weren’t supposed to do much talking, but Ardo wasn’t about to die mute. And it wasn’t his fault he had to run on drugs that psyched his mind.

“Know what it is?” he asked his partner.

“Yea.”

“You do?”

The other man was shorter than Ardo. He stood as if he were much taller, though. He commanded power. And he was young. It made sense that he was only in this position because he hadn’t been given the time to have a much higher job. “Yea,” he said again. “About as much as you do.”

“Which isn’t much,” Ardo said.

“You could say that. What all do you think there is to know about it?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking. It’s either those Genesis Crystals or the Void Energy.”

“You think they could be storing Void Energy? You mean the technology for it? They haven’t advanced that far.” This guy knew a good amount. Maybe he was better than Ardo at this.

“Oh, yea. That’s what I meant. But, which do you think it is.”

“Genesis Crystals.”

So they were common knowledge among this job. “Any leads?” Ardo asked.

“Well, for one, if it was the Void Energy technology, you wouldn’t think they’d be keeping us all on lockdown like this. That stuff is kept secret, but here they have a giant sign pointing here saying ‘we found something.’ That only works when that thing is ready to be defended. And what would they be using to defend it if they had to fend off all of the Empire?”

“What?”

“Not Void Energy. They would have to know how to use it. It’s the Crystals. Apparently, they weren’t far from figuring out how to use those things to their full power.”

“So we can both agree that there’s multiple.”

“Yea. And each of them is powerful enough to wipe the Empire out on its own.”

“That seems excessive. Why would the Angels want to give us that much power? I thought—Sorry, you do know what those are, right?”

“What?”

“The Angels.”

“Yea, the Angels of Dusk. They Gave them the Crystals.”

“But why all of them.”

“Not on purpose.”

“What?”

“I said it wasn’t on purpose. They weren’t planning for this to happen. One should have been enough to take the minds of the UPOA off of void energy. That stuff doesn’t really appeal to them.”

“How do you know all that?”

“The Void Energy is bad, you know? It can be used to create pocket dimensions and as a massive energy source. Even the Angels use it to some extent. Or, at least, they used to. The thing is, it has the potential to accidentally wipe all life and the potential for there to be any life at all if it isn’t used correctly. Ever wonder what happens when a pocket dimension fails?”

“No…”

“It’s not good. Anyways, the Crystals were supposed to be the better alternative, and the Angels were going to ease the UPOA into that instead because the UPOA was going to either win the arms race with those or Void Energy.”

“Seriously, how do you know--.”

The other guard pulled out a knife and killed Ardo.

The others had been dead a long time ago. It was easy. Their killer took off his tall hat and threw it on the ground. His long, flowing hair poured out, and he walked over his victims and contemplated on what a good job he had done. All had gone according to plan. The Crystals were no longer where he couldn’t reach them, guarded by Neem and his Judas.

Now, all Hau needed to do was get out of here. That wasn’t going to be hard. Nothing was going to be hard anymore. He had all the Genesis Crystals with him. It was finally time.