Empire borders are endless

[34th Brigade]

̰͘"̥͂W̬͠hy d̹̒i̮̇d̜̈́ ̥̿t͗͢h̤̊e͐͢y͓͆ c̮͂ǫ̇me͚͌?̜͡"̱̾

...

...

The Daam-K'Vosh Empire are endless. Even if the Universe itself were to conquer them, they would be one step ahead. An indomitable force possessing everything it takes to dominate the visible and invisible worlds, it simply could not help but subjugate all existence, displaying marvels of technological progress in every conceivable and unimaginable aspect.

Their defense system was not the Nomads. The Nomads became a magnificent demonstration that life can be created, and the variety of forms created can be fantastically infinite. Like a father looking at his son, the Daam-K'Vosh, looking at the Nomads, saw a simple truth: their creation had a completely different path. And only creation can choose its own path. This was the first time the Empire's borders yielded to someone. The first and last time.

The Empire was vigilant. And when the Empire decided to disappear, it chose to maintain surveillance over its worlds, even in its own absence. Should anyone attempt to trespass on their wonders, a dead hand would pull the intruders from beneath the earth, drive them mad, tear them apart, and destroy every trace of those who dared to cross the threshold. The only heirs to their creations were their children. The rest were destined for the most terrible fate imaginable.

The structures they left behind formed the most powerful defense ever known. Incomprehensible, titanic, inexplicable, and inimitable, these structures guaranteed that no one would dare to trespass on the Empire or its remains. The structures waited for the children of their creators to step through the threshold and face the ordeal that would confirm their right to rule the Milky Way. Valhalla was to be only the beginning of the Nomads' great journey.

But the Daam-K'Vosh were too engrossed in playing gods. They believed they alone were destined to rule the inhabited universe. They forgot about the X-Factor in this world. That unfortunate accident that would ruin all plans and force this civilization to return to where it began: adaptation.

Their structures awaited the arrival of the Nomads. But humans arrived.

...

The people who came to Sirius sought a new life, far from the war for Sol. Fractured, tired, having seen nothing but the merciless fratricide of man against man, they wanted only one thing: peace. Landing on Manhattan, the founding fathers of Liberty vowed to build a better future for their children, so that they could only comprehend, create, and build, so that their greatest enemy would be the elements of the Universe, not another man. Liberty was a haven for the greatest minds, the greatest builders, and the greatest discoverers. Intelligence, strength, and determination - these are the main qualities of the people of the future. And they must use them for good.

But when they were destined to find the Empire's library in the mountains, they realized: war will always be everywhere. Man is not alone in the universe. They will not achieve peace. They must make up for lost time and acquire the knowledge of the masters of this structure, who could return at any moment. They began to dig, they began to comprehend. They began to approach the Truth.

No one knew this. Earhart didn't know this. The structures beyond Sirius didn't know this. The Great System suspected nothing, naively awaiting the arrival of the children of its creators. They had prepared a worthy test for them.

The wreck of a Liberty Space Exploration Council transport captained by Alicia Murphy. The Ordway was last sighted departing Manhattan orbit for the Crow Nebula in 60 AS. Scans reveal extremely primitive survey equipment remaining on-board, alongside depleted fuel tanks and life support systems.

Something is wrong...

...

Earhart gathered unfortunate ships around itself. They fell out of the general system. They did something that wasn't part of the Empire's plans. They were that very X-Factor. Something unexpected and unpleasant. When the system saw a person disrupting the order of things, it pulled them into the unknown.

These weren't Nomads. They were something else. Something wrong. Their ships were like their masters' ships. Their capabilities implied the presence of their masters' power, or something close to it. As if...

As if people knew something they shouldn't know. And with each passing year, the system discovered new ones. People were discovering something that could be dangerous for the structures, for the Nomads, for the borders of the boundless Empire. This was unacceptable, it was dangerous. But the system was vigilant and watching. The system eliminated witnesses and tore each intruder apart. What good are the insects' pathetic attempts to disrupt the order of things if one day the children of the Empire wake up and establish their own?

The Houses began looking for reasons for their ships disappearing in hyperspace. What if there was a reason, and the natural order of things depended on something else? The Liberty suspected the library wasn't the only miracle of the bygone Empire. When the Republic began sending drones into hyperspace, the other Houses followed suit. It was as if something on the other side was taking the ships for itself. Horror stories of missing ships and hyperspace space demons were nothing more than a subject of discussion in the circles of House scholars. Trying to peer into the void, the Republic discovered something there. And then they set to work.

When the system began to sense the Nomads' presence 800 years later, they realized: the children had awakened, the great harvest had begun, which would lead to the Empire's unconditional victory even in its absence.

But then everything went silent...

...and in 826 A.S. Earhart felt a tension in space unlike anything he'd ever felt before. It was as if the very fabric of reality had stretched so thin that a single action was all it took to destroy an entire sector. Humanity had lost many ships that year. The disappearances continued until 831 A.S. The system was working hard to capture every saboteur. But their numbers seemed to only increase. Something was allowing them to move, something was making them a threat.

Something is wrong...

Ŕ͈͉̒Ë̛͎̣́S̙͞T̞̟̲́̒̽Â̢͕̍R͍̠̲͌͐͞T̹͔̳̈́̃̎͢͝

...

The pulse, spreading throughout the Sirius sector, also affected the structures that had been dormant beyond its boundaries. A powerful system, encompassing hundreds of sectors, suddenly awakened and realized that something terrible had happened in Sirius.

"͔͞W̘͡ha̰̓t̻́ i̠̒s̯̀ thi̖̋s ̮̇sō͕nǵ̯ a̳͡b̞̕o̻̕u̥̓ț̋?͖̈́"

̅͟"̮̈Whō̲ ar̼̄e̘͌ ̩͊ț͒ḧ̙ey̋͟?͖̀"̛̜

̰͘"̥͂W̬͠hy d̹̒i̮̇d̜̈́ ̥̿t͗͢h̤̊e͐͢y͓͆ c̮͂ǫ̇me͚͌?̜͡"̱̾

͍̔"̞̽W̳͑ȩ̐ n̢̿ẽ͖e̥͌d t̜̊ō̱ ͙͑k̤͊no̱͑ẃ̩."̲̏

Communication was impossible. The pulse broadcast a song of infection, of a tumor growing around Sirius that threatened to expand and engulf the entire inhabited Galaxy, if not the Universe itself. The structures, awakened from their long slumber, began trying to find a stable passage into the sector. For two moons, they took control of the universe's instability and indifference to form a tunnel.

The infection would come to them. And then they would study them. And then they would send a cure.

In 833 A.S, the 34th Brigade stepped onto the threshold of the Abyss. The structures sensed the presence of negativity, the very thing that the songs of Earhart had screamed about. Now they had to get to work.

They did everything carefully. They introduced the parasites as deeply as possible, testing their abilities and thoroughly studying their minds. They needed someone who could even slightly approach the greatness of Daam-K'Vosh. He would be the cure for Sirius's human scourge. The unworthy went mad and killed others in their madness. The human brain couldn't withstand the Divine power. Except for Andry Scott.

When they penetrated his head, they did so carefully and discreetly. Having created a stable channel between their network and his brain, they gradually began to turn him into a walking time bomb. Scott's mind deteriorated for about six months. Memories were replaced, sensations dulled, he ascended faster than others to a completely different level, simultaneously capturing the minds of his comrades.

And then he brought fire. The parasites fled. But each of them was already connected to Andry Scott. And then the structures took him. He must be like God.

"Ḽ̒e̲̋ț̿ h̙̃i̲͘ḿ̥ t͓̿ḛ͛a͖͛ṛ̎ ̬͋h̼͗er ͈̉apa̲͋rt.̼̎"

"͕̋Let͎͐ ̛̬h͕͊im ̺͛e̝̾a͖̽t ̹̓h̜͐e̯͊r̪͊."

"L̗͒e̝̓t̜̊ ̩̄h̲̑i͍̕m ͔͂b̑͜ec̱̾o̱̍m̱̎e ̞̾ȯ̤n͕̾ě̡ ̞̉ŏ͕f ū̢s̱̆.̼́"

̅͟"̬̍L̼͗et̘͐ ̨̈́hi̤͘m̨̀ ̣̕r̻̓ej͚̇e͓̐c͙̈t̥̕ ̜̄th̗̿e̲͂m̲̏.͓̓"

"L̓͟ȇ̘t͓͊ h̦̄im̻̾ ̘̒s̺̏i̤̎ṇ̀g ou͉̕r̨͂ sö̭ngs̛͍.͎̐"

"̪͑L͓̽e̖̓t̲͘ hiṁ̙ ͗͜br̦̚ì͖n͐ͅg̉͢ ̼̿fi͉͛ṙ̻e͈̎ ̗̽ţ͂ôͅ ̥͊t̝͡hè͖ inf̱͊ec͚͗tion͎̈.̼̍"

...

The Daam-K'Vosh Empire are endless. Even if the Universe itself were to conquer them, they would be one step ahead.

Humanity has no right to claim what's theirs. Only the Slomon K'Hara can. The infection must be eradicated. They will help their children. They'll save whole Galaxy and Universe.

Andry Scott will do that.

He is the cure.