Congress Chamber
Congress Tower,
Kelito city
Agartha, Anu Solar system
Divine Federation
Karkinos 3rd Y-1909
In a dimly lit chamber, standing at two hundred meters high, filled with over two thousand and sixty-four hover pads, and seated on it were various delegations representing the numerous planets within the Divine Federation. The chamber was shaped like a funnel, the walls slightly slopped, with the hover pads lined up in a concentric circle pattern from the floor to the ceiling. In the center of the massive chamber was a podium where the President of the Divine Federation, the Vice President, and the Senior Administrative aides, including the Speaker of the House of Congress, dominate and preside over the session. In one of the many hover pads within the chamber, seated in a pad reserved for those outside the legislature body, Admiral Wilcock and Julia Haravok watched the procedure with grim expressions. The atmosphere of the chamber was volatile, arguments tore through the space as the Senators, divided by the factions they belonged to, bore down on each other. All this was caused by the events that had happened in Lamentias.
Lamentias was once a colony planet in the Colony regions, beyond the outer rims of the Divine Federation. It was classified as a Tier 1 Planet due to the Low Concentration of World energy. The planet supported life, but its path of evolution for any race born on the planet was not up to par with top-tier worlds like those in the Divine Federation. As such it wasn't a surprise that the world had fallen when the Divine Federation set it's sight upon it ten centuries ago. Now one might wonder why an advanced civilization like the Divine Federation would be interested in a low world like Lamentias, but the truth was that even low worlds had resources that could be vital to civilizations like the Divine Federation. Lamentias was known for its Gallium crystals, an important ore known for its semiconductor quality, and used for the production of advanced AI and quantum computing applications. Every advanced computing device that requires CPU and GPU needs the semiconductor quality that Gallium crystals possess and as such, Lamentias had drawn the attention of so many advanced civilizations. Unlike its closest neighbor in the galaxy region, Litvain, Lamentias bore no World deity that could protect the inhabitants, as such the galaxy had become the battlefield of so many worlds that wanted Lamentias resources for itself. Civilizations such as the Ganymede Empire, the Asterion Empire, and the Murim Alliance force had set their sights on the world and as a result, a great conflict had played out for over two centuries. Now for the humans of Terrans, two centuries might seem like a long time for empires to fight over resources that might be found in other words, but the purity of the Gallium crystal was something that couldn't be found anywhere else especially since Lamentias was a low-level world. One could imagine the war that had taken place for such a precious resource, a bloody war that had seen billions of lives lost. The three forces had made sure to keep as much devastation from the planet as possible, but in the end, even the war had reached Lamentias. The local inhabitants, Lamentian humans, had suffered from the destruction that had been brought to their world, the suffering and sorrow, a common occurrence that could still be seen in areas around the Neutral Free zone to this current day. With such war occurring, there was a chance for it to spread beyond just Lamentias Galaxy. This forced the hands of the Divine Federation, the physical homeworld of the Divine Emperor who ruled the gods, to intervene. Under the decree of the Divine Peace of the Anunnaki religion, Starlight had been sent to stop the conflict and bring Lamentias into its fold as part of the colony program. To other civilizations, it was just an excuse for the mighty Pleiadians of the Federation to spread their might, but truthfully, had the Federation not acted, who knew how far the Ganymede Empire, the Asterion Empire, and the Murim Alliance forces would have gone. Even a poor ignorant world like Terra could have gotten involved. With just the action of one of the Twelve Divine Saints, the war was settled and Lamentias was added as the first colony of the Federation. Since then the Divine Federation has gone up to acquire one hundred and forty colony planets under its belt. Though there had been pushback against their advancement, it was only eight centuries from the present time that the Federation had stopped their advancement. Since then, the Federation had a mighty presence on Lamentias. The lands that contained the Gallium crystals had been bought by corporations in the Divine Federation, the economy of the planet was ruled by those who had power, and as such the upper class was ruled by the Pleiadians, the race with the most power in the Universe. The local inhabitants had become nothing more than a labor force that the elites could use and dump depending on their whims. They were forced to take the scraps that the Divine Federation gave to them. And there was nothing they could do about it. Though the planet of Lamentias grew in strength due to the intervention of the Divine Federation, the local inhabitants could not grow alongside their planet, due to the lack of resources that could have helped them gain power. There was no reason for crime, as the Sentinels dealt with it, there was no reason to fight those who walk on the dark paths, as Starlight dealt with it, there was no reason to practice even combat arts because there was no need for it. The planet was peaceful, the people became supplicant to the upper class who felt it was their duty to provide for the lower class, even if it was the minimum necessity. As a result of this, the evolutionary path of the Lamentians had stagnated. And it did not just stop there. This was the situation for every Colony under the Divine Federation, something that would continue until the Uprising twenty years ago by the Fallen Stars. The Fallen Stars even after their failed rebellion against the Divine Federation would go on and spread their agendas to the colonies and no one reacted more to these changes than Lamentias. With the help of Fallen stars, the people of Lamentias who were forced to swallow their pride and take on the spit of the upper class, were finally given the chance to throw up all the indignation they had. They finally started fighting back. It started with little things like the people becoming Mystics and forming Martial sects where one could learn to cultivate, and then it moved on to practicing Magic and becoming a Wizard. And then finally the demand for resources that could help them grow in cultivation. This caused them to begin to clash with the Awakened Pleiadians. And before long it turned to fighting for the lands that belonged to their ancestors. One could imagine the shock of other colonies, learning about what Lamentias was doing. And soon other colonies began to do the same. Of course not all of them were successful as the Corporations from the Divine Federation acted quickly, tightening their grip on the worlds, by providing fairer terms to the inhabitants, giving some of them a reason to not want to even become a Mystic, content with the life that they got to live under the Divine peace. Lamentias continued the fight, to the point that Sector Zero- an organization responsible for the national security of the Divine Federation's interest and safety across the Universe- got involved. And it was that very involvement that was causing a storm within Congress.
Above the podium where the President of the Divine Federation sat, was a Hovercam, a projection device that was projecting a video of what was once Lamentias. Lamentias, once a beautiful world filled with sixty-nine percent water, and thirty-one percent land mass. Mountains that reached the sky with forests made up of silver-white crystal leaves were the very resources that made it well known. The abundance of sea avian creatures that lived both in the sky and sea. All of this was gone. Replaced by a dead World that was still undergoing its decomposition. The sea was dried up, the Mountains had been razed to the point that all the piles of earth were scorched, leaving behind nothing but a sea of magma that covered the entire surface of the planet. The sky was filled with the broken atmosphere of spatial storms, black bolts of lightning that could tear apart anything that tried to enter the surface of the planet. Nothing could live on this planet, no lifeform including even the Automatons, could survive in this world. In the deep core of the planet, traces of impurity could be found to be forming, an impurity that was similar to the miasma that had infected Cedar Lake on Terra. But this time, this Miasma would spread to the World seed-the core of the Planet. Once the World seed was infected, the planet would become a Forsaken- the Infernal version of what became a planet that fell under depravity. An Abomination planet that would gain a perverted consciousness and spread its filth across the cosmos by devouring planets. A planet eater. That was what Lamentias was becoming. But it would not be given such a chance, for beyond its atmosphere, in the far reaches of the space that surrounded Lamentias, was an arkship. This ship was massive, shaped by four concentric rings that were attached to a long cylinder. At the surface was a large cannon, and gathering around the tip of the cannon was a white mass of Cosmic energy- the ambient Od that existed within outer space and Celestial bodies. But even this cosmic energy was no ordinary Od, for this Od was blessed by the will of the Divine Emperor. After the cannon had gathered as much Od as possible, it converted the ambient energy into one of the most potent mana ever. The quality and quantity of the energy went beyond that which even a planet could produce. Then the arkship fired upon the planet of Lamentias. The shot had been precise and deadly, moving at the speed of light beyond even what the newborn Forsaken could perceive, before it could set up its defense, the blast pierced through the scorched lands to the depths of the planet where the World seed could be found, and then the white light expanded, the energy cleansing the planet of the Infernal energy that was being formed. The White light expanded till it reached every corner of the planet, the light going beyond even the planet's surface that the Projection could barely show anything for the delegations to watch. After a couple of seconds, Lamentias was no more, the planet was gone like it never existed in the first place. Even its moon had been cleansed from the universe too. Admiral Wilcock watched all this, squeezing his fist as he felt a burning anger at the actions of Sector Zero and the purist factions that had authorized this abomination. One might wonder, why would Admiral Wilcock be angered at the loss of a planet. Didn't Sector Zero allow the citizens of the Divine Federation to leave the planet before it became forsaken? Didn't King Adonis intervene and save as many Lamentians with the spaceship that was now carrying them across the stars? But all this had come at a price. Millions had died just from the beginning of the Infernal conversion, and thousands of lives had fallen to depravity. And then there was the planet itself. What many did not know was that a planet was also a living being. It was an astronomical sentient organism that allowed for the survival of microorganisms within itself. Each of them living in a symbiotic relationship. And now Lamentias, a fledging world that had grown splendidly under the watch of the Divine Federation, that would have broken through its mortal phase and awakened to becoming a high-tier world like Agartha, was no more. Such a massive waste of life to remind the colonies of the downside to rebelling against the Divine Federation. To go against the Divine peace of the Divine Emperor. And to remind the other powers within the universe of the power of the Divine Federation. Admiral Wilcock felt the taste of blood in his mouth. He had ground his teeth to the point that he had started bleeding. He felt it heal in an instant but then it would begin to bleed again because of how he was still grinding his teeth in anger. Julia noticed it but said nothing. Her expression was that of an icy glance, her eyes looked like she could freeze anything that came upon her path. She had seen the events of Lamentias coming from a mile away. As a seer, one who could see the future, nothing could surprise Julia, but still seeing what Sector Zero had done left a deep pile of bile within her chest. If her late husband was alive... if Jonathan Haravok was still here, the Divine Federation would have never gone on this path. The purist that held some kind of sway on Congress would have never decided upon this. He would have personally gone and purified the planet himself, making it possible for the planet to survive being forsaken. That was how powerful Jonathan Haravok, the Lion Admiral and former Patriarch of the Haravok family was. But Jonathan was gone, and even Admiral Wilcock himself, a fellow Immortal like Jonathan couldn't do anything. His position as Admiral had forced his hand, the bureaucracy policy making it impossible for even him to do anything. The least he could do was let King Adonis save as many Lamentians as possible. After a while the projection turned off and there was silence within the chamber. And then it all exploded.
"THIS IS AN ATROCITY ON A LEVEL NEVER BEFORE SEEN," A Senator from the planet of Decimus screamed.
"SECTOR ZERO MUST BE BOUGHT IN TO ANSWER FOR SUCH CRIMES," A Senator from Tir Na Org followed up. Many Senators nodded their heads in agreement. These were all Senators from the progressive factions, those who supported the cause of giving back the independence of the colonies, returning the Federation to a time when they did not force their values and will upon lower worlds, but instead traversed the outermost reaches of the universe, providing aid and resources to worlds that were ready to step on the path of godhood like them. They would offer these worlds the chance to convert to their religion, to be blessed by the living gods of their Ancestors.
"SHUT UP! WHAT ATROCITY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" Another Senator said. He was from the planet of Olympia. "DID YOU NOT SEE THAT ABOMINATION. THAT THING WOULD HAVE GROWN TO FEED ON GODS KNOW HOW MANY PLANETS BEFORE IT CAME FOR US."
"SECTOR ZERO ONLY DID IT'S JOB! PROTECTING THE FEDERATION'S INTEREST AND SAFETY," Another Senator called out. He was a Senator from the planet of Kanis Major. "WHERE WAS STARLIGHT IN ALL OF THIS,"
"YES, WHERE WERE THEY? STARLIGHT IS SUPPOSED TO BE OUR GUIDING SHIELD AGAINST SUCH ATROCITY AND THEY LET SUCH A THING HAPPEN," A Senator from Agartha spoke out. The Conservatives wanted nothing more than to uphold the power that the Federation had accumulated over the centuries. They cared only for the Federation's continuing growth and were not happy with the stagnation they had reached since they stopped their expansions. And they were not happy that the Progressive factions had lots of support from their citizens.
"NEVER HAS A FORSAKEN APPEARED SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THE DIVINE FEDERATION," A Senator said. "NOT SINCE THE BLACKSTAR INCIDENT MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO," The Blackstar incident was the appearance of the first Forsaken, a Celestial Abomination of such Infernal power that twelve planets had to come together, just to deal with it. After dealing with it, the alliance between the twelve planets became what was the Divine Federation. Starlight, the military might of Agartha became the sword and shield of the Divine Federation in battling the Infernal forces that tried to invade the physical planes. Over the years the military order of Starlight had kept itself from the politics and games of the Divine Federation, only focusing on the fight against the Abominations. But the Religious order had deteriorated, their pride and smugness forcing them to look down on the other eight races, especially on the humans and Automatons. They interpreted the will of the Divine Emperor however they liked, believing that the free will that was granted to them made them above the other races. The Purists were the ones with such beliefs and they were hidden among both the Progressive factions and Conservatives factions. They were the ones who supported Mallus from within the shadows. They were the ones who were hunted by the Yaeger Corps under the leadership of Admiral Wilcock.
"WHAT WERE STARLIGHTS DOING WHILE SUCH ATROCITY WAS ABOUT TO BEFALL US," Another Senator spoke out.
"SETTLE DOWN!" The President called out. President Jae Dallae, the President of the Divine Federation, and a member of the progressive factions knew damn well that this incident was no ordinary matter. He knew that the planet didn't just become a Forsaken without the intervention of an outside party such as Sector Zero. They had been so close, so close to amending the bill that gave the Divine Federation the right to occupy foreign planets, and then they would have given Lamentias the independence that they craved and even invited them to become part of the Federation if they wanted. If they didn't they would leave them alone with the resources that they had invested into the planet, but some refused to let such a thing happen. Now the meeting which should have been about the voting on the amendment of the bill had changed into this screaming match between both Factions. He sighed feeling a splitting headache. Even as an Awakened, to be able to feel such a thing should show you how much the situation was very volatile. President Jae had to be careful in the way that he should deal with the situation. Even though he knew that Sector Zero was behind the corruption of Lamentias, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't just allow the notion of foul play to come into being like the progressive wanted to do. That would lead to so many problems that President Jae did not want to walk on. One might think, well aren't you the President of this great civilization, and don't you hold so much power as the President, but the truth was not as simple as one would think. Even Jae, in his ignorance and arrogance, believed that he could bring about change, that he could bring the Federation upon the right path. But he had been a fool. Becoming the president had shown Jae the truth that not many would think when they thought about the Divine Federation, especially when the truth was staring them right in the face. No, if Jae wanted to bring the changes he believed in, he had to do so following the hidden games that were being played. That was why he had allowed the formation of the Yaeger Corps, a tool by which he could get rid of the Purists that were hidden among them. The true enemies that must be defeated.
"THERE WAS NO WAY TO KNOW THAT LAMENTIAS WOULD BECOME A FALLEN BEING," A Senator said. "INSTEAD OF BLAMING STARLIGHT, WE SHOULD FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT. THE PALADINS ARE SPREAD THIN HANDLING THE CONFLICTS BEYOND THE OUTER RIMS. THE GANYMEDE EMPIRE IS SHOWING SIGNS OF MAKING MOVES. TENSIONS WITHIN OUR BORDERS ARE INCREASING. NOT ONLY THAT, THERE IS ALSO THE LAND OF WA."
"YES! THAT PLANET BELIEVES US WEAK AND THEY MEAN..." While all the Senators argued back and forth, Admiral Wilcock got up and left the chambers, followed by Julia. Admiral Wilcock couldn't bear to keep staying there unless he wanted to grind his teeth to dust. When they left the Congress Chamber, they went straight to the President's office, were they waited for the President to be done with the Meeting. After waiting for like two hours, the door to the large lavender-colored office barged open, and President Jae Dallae strode in. There were circles underneath his eyes like he had lost many nights of sleep, and his azure-colored hair looked unkempt. If one knew the president, one would notice that the immaculate shine that his hair once had was gone. This was a man stressed to his very bones. He slumped on his throne-like chair before his oval-shaped desk.
"Please tell me, there's good news," President Jae said. "My donors want to know what we can do to contain the chaos that would happen once word reaches the other colonies of what has happened."
"The situation is not looking good," Admiral Wilcock said. "Sector Zero has just prevented what would have become a galaxy-spanning incident before it had even reached such a phase, and now those who were on the fence against the actions of Mallus would come to his side."
"A planet was just killed," President Jae said. "A planet that was filled with so much treasure, and now it's gone. We could have purified the planet, surely there was an option to purify the lands and make it pure again."
"It doesn't matter," Julia said. "Lamentias was just one planet. Against the thousands of planets that are within the Federation, what is one planetary life worth."
"You of all people know that there's nothing we can do," Admiral Wilcock said. "Mallus has won this round, the preservation of the Divine peace is all that matters. In the end, the Divine Emperor does not care how we mortals decide to protect the peace. What matters is how we use the free will he has given us to maintain the peace." The Divine Emperor was a deity who desired peace above all things. Conflicts, War, and fighting were something the Divine Emperor could not stand, for unity was something he craved during his reign. At least that was what the Anunnaki taught. It also taught that the Divine Emperor had granted them the right to free will and how they use their freedom to preserve the peace was up to those who worshipped him. If conquering the entire physical plane was the way to preserve peace, then one should walk such a path with the blessing of the Divine Emperor. If being an Isolationist was the way, then they were free to do so. This very tenet of Anunnaki, the freedom to do what they want, was the very cause of why there was a divide among the political parties of the Divine Federation. One side wanted nothing to do with those who did not belong to them, caring only for themselves, another wanted to spread their might across the universe as it was the only way to keep the peace, and another wanted to bring peace the right way. At least the way they believe to be just and honorable. Both sides believe themselves to be on the right path. As such, no matter how much they cried to the gods that such a thing had happened, their pleas would reach an impartial ear. This was why Admiral Wilcock was prepared to side with the Fallen Stars.
"Which is why the events happening in Litvain are very important," Julia said. "If we want to strengthen ourselves to be able to pass the bill, Meridien's effort will be essential."
"What's the situation in Litvain," President Jae inquired. Admiral Wilcock and Julia stared at each other before a smile formed on their lips.