Chapter 3: The Horrors of the Galaxy
Councillor Abdullah Shalafi
At his office, he is currently looking at the window to see the bustling city outside of his office. He could see tall, towering building and some are even as high as the sky itself. Improvements in technologies allowed humans to create buildings that stretched towards outer space. No such building is seen on this planet. This is a border planet and instead of magnificent buildings, magnificent fortresses littered this place. Armies upon armies of the United Nations of Earth were stationed here and most inhabitants of this planet is most likely a soldier's family or a relative.
A sigh came from him as he focused upon his reflection. An extremely old man was seen on the glass mirror. The old man has an almost bald head, wrinkly face and a hunched body. The muscles are almost non-existent and wrinkled skin and a heap of bones is what you can describe of him. That is him. He is turning 152 this year and everyone who knows of him are telling him how lucky for him to reach that age. It was difficult for humans to increase the average lifespan the whole mankind and the average lifespan of today is 120. But humans wee born as a short-lived creature and their behaviours is still the of behaviour of a short-lived species. Most humans who exceeded the current day average lifespan are nothing but truly retired humans waiting for death to knock on their doorsteps and he was no exception.
The reflection on the glass window made him remember the past. He was born on a backwater mining planet as the sole son of a family of miners. Though they were not poor, they are not rich either. The current society's standards are exceptionally high and a diploma from a well-known university won't mean that you can find a high-end job. He wanted to give his parents a better life and to give himself a future. He was full of ambitions back then but he knew that his talent in all areas is almost non-existent. In the end, he joined the military.
The military of this day consist of only two branches: the navy and the army. Hundreds of years ago, it was three branches but the emergence of space capable military hips forced the navy and airforce to merge. Navy has the most influence in politics and the influence the army wielded is limited. But the army receives a higher salary than the navy and they receive more benefits. That is because the horrors of the galaxy is stronger than them. Every battle that they underwent means countless family mourning for the bodies that was sent back at their home.
The horrors caused the military to be the most highest paying job, yet the most dangerous. When joining the military, those with diplomas or with talents are thrown at the navy. The rest is dumped at the army. He was one of them. The day that he brought the enlistment papers to his parents is also the day that they cried the hardest. The horrors of the galaxy is so widely spread that his promises of staying alive to them held no meaning. He knew well that with its horrible reputation, every promise that he made would not help him in stopping the tears of his parents. That day when he roamed the neighbourhood, everyone gave him a strange gaze. The gaze that one gives towards a corpse. His neighbours gave him flowers, food and other items. Some joked with him, the rest just stayed far away. He remembered back then that his best friend gave him an expensive bottle of wine while holding another bottle on his hands, telling him that he would save it for him in the future.
Through his career, he fought with countless horrors. He was first stationed at another unknown backwater planet. The Council assigned numerous armies on that planet. He thought that it was just paranoia from the Council. He was proven wrong. That was the most bitter battle of his career. They were almost wiped out. That battle reminded humanity that in front of sheer brute strength, technology is meaningless. A horde of titanic organisms attacked the colonies on that planet. There were numerous casualties and their armies fought an extremely dire battle. It is also the true start of his career. That battle was dubbed as the Battle of Brute Strength. There were few survivors back then, and he fortunate that he was one of the.
From then on, he received a promotion and he worked his way up the ladder while fighting other horrors that plagued mankind. It wasn't until he was 54 that he served the local government unit. After years of climbing the ladder once again, he was 86 when he became a governor. He was sent to a border planet, after all, a governor who was once in the military is a rare commodity for mankind.
He received no further promotions back then. The ambitions that he harboured in his youth was extinguished by the years he was on the military. He became someone from the older generation back then. With his status, he went back to his parents and brought them to the planet he was assigned to. He also married a beautiful woman back then she gave him two adorable children. They were his pride and joy and he would often tell them his stories when he was still in the military.
Prosperity brought his wealth to new heights. His children lived a wealthy life and they grew up healthy, free with no worries. His parents would often play with his sons. It wasn't until they gave him their enlistment papers that he truly felt that what it meant to be a father. Regret filled his mind back then as he regretted telling his children his heroic feats back in the day. As a former soldier, he knew first-hand what horrors the galaxy hold. His wife had a look that tells him that she was expecting their children's decision. His parents gave him a bitter smile as he was left with no words to tell them.
Luck did not went with his two sons. It was a joyous occasion back then. They were celebrating a planet-wide event and everyone is joining the festivity. A bunch of men from the military gave him a visit back then. He thought that they were there to join the banquet with him. It was the highest point of festivity back then as he remembered the scene that played. He offered an expensive bottle of wine to them but they declined and told him that he himself is going to need the wine itself. They gave him two letters as a bad premonition struck him.
Grief. Pain. And tears flooded him as he read the letters. Both of his son was dead. The joyous occasion back then was stopped as every official attending the banquet witnessed the grief of a father who learned the news of death of his children. He went home in tears, his clothes tattered. His wife was shocked back then when he went home. After his wife learned about the death of their children, she followed them five years later and he was truly alone starting from that day.
That day was the day that he vowed his everything to end all horrors of the galaxy.
He once again climbed the ranks as he gained fame and reputation. He joined the pro-war faction of humanity and soon enough, he became their leader. He became a Councillor, one of the highest ranking positions of the United Nations of Earth. Under his leadership, they implemented various laws and expanded their military. They funded various campaigns and organised the extermination of any and all horrors that they could exterminate. After years of hard work, they managed to erase all immediate threat to mankind. He was also extremely old back then.
After years of campaigning and years of politics, he went back to the same border planet that he used to govern before he became a councillor. He once became a governor and he managed the planet once again. His life became simple from that day onwards. Dealing with the day to day affairs of the planet and using his connections to aid his old friends in the political circle. He led the simple life of a politician back then.
And now, a fire burned in his heart once again. The horrors of the galaxy is back. The War In Heaven, as the other spacefaring empires called it, is threatening humanity. He must once again wield the banner of war, to stop the horrors from destroying mankind. To stop the horrors from destroying families. And to stop the horrors from bringing terror to humanity.