Changing your memory

Subspace | "Dominus Imperium"

I stretched out on the throne, boredly looking up information on T'Soni as the ship hurtled through space towards its destination. The hologram showed a smiling girl with blue skin who seemed to be looking at me.

- You found a lot about her. - I scrolled through the lines of data in my mind. - How did you get it?

- Tessia's administrative network was hacked, and the target data was extracted. At the same time, special programmes were put in place to prevent a second hack if necessary.

- Well done, we'll need them later. - I stared at the screen again. - How much longer do we have to fly?

- We'll be out of subspace in 30 minutes, Master. - my doomed groan echoed through the room.

- Alright, I'll go to the armoury and prepare my group. Let me know when we are out of the breach. You'll go invisible and head for the planet.

- Copy that, Overlord. - The door slammed shut behind me.

Halfway through the landing bays and armoury, an interesting idea suddenly appeared. I looked down the corridor leading to one of the side sections and headed towards it after a few minutes of thinking. Soon the corridor led me into a long hall filled with materials and tools. There were high-tech assembly lines and the usual conveyor belts with mechanical manipulators for making things in large batches. But it was to the former that I headed.

As I approached the largest of them, I gently touched the snow-white alpha plastic that made up the mechanism. The material was very expensive and only used for the most precise devices. Strangely enough, its special feature was its physical variability and ability to be controlled by a psi link via the brain. It could be used to perform operations at the molecular level, but to produce even the smallest amount of it required a simply colossal amount of energy, about as much as it would take to produce a cohort of colossi, so that's about it. But this plastic made it possible to make beautiful things.

When I waved my hand over it, a table of available resources appeared in front of me, a list of a few hundred thousand lines. As I clicked on a few dozen items, I watched as the drones dragged the items towards me. There were the usual minerals and ingots, as well as ultra-modern knock-offs. After waiting for everything to be delivered, I set to work.

Half an hour passed unnoticed, only to confirm Achilles' message, and only when I had finished my work did I allow myself to return to my destination. We were already orbiting the planet in stealth, and by this time, the AI was scanning it and waiting for me. Satisfied, I looked at my brainchild on the table and disappeared out the door.

- Report, Achilles. - I walked briskly through the corridors towards the armoury.

- Master, I've finished scanning the planet. The ruins of the Ancient race have been rediscovered. There are also signals from an archaeological camp and several signatures of enemy machines near the camp.

Of the camp.

- Machines? - I was standing in the middle of the corridor." Weren't they disabled after the Battle of Termas?

- According to the Mechanicus theory, they should have been. But it's possible that the Ancient machine somehow managed to get a foothold in them, even after its death.

- That's not good. We're going to have to wipe out the entire group. Will it work from orbit?

- Negative. Too close to the camp might destroy the archaeologists.

- Very well, then prepare the landing shuttles. Load up the first and second cohorts and the stormtroopers. Drop us off five kilometres from the ruins. We'll take it from there.

- Copy that. Stand by in ten. - The AI went silent, and I sped towards the hangars.

When I got there, I found only the last rows of bots hiding in the cargo holds of the transports. But it wasn't them I needed to go to. I went to another corner of the hangar, where my personal fighter, which I had flown to Kaelir, was located. Climbing into the cockpit, I quickly ran tests and systems and waited for the heavy transports to come out of the hangar. As soon as the last one emerged, I pulled the throttle, and the ship roared off into the blackness of space.

Our small squadron was soon ready to land. My ship was the first to land, scanning the terrain and feeding information to the turrets of the transports. Soon they, too, were lowered enough to drop the infantry. Steel infantrymen began to leap out of the side corridors, and soon the carcass of an assault vehicle came crashing down behind them. It was different from the infantry, by the way. If all the other bots were at least slightly beautiful, the Stormtrooper was the complete opposite. It was a five-metre-long hunk of metal loaded with armour plates and weapons to fight all sorts of enemies. The thing could accelerate and burst into the middle of a battle without taking any damage, destroying the enemy in the process. Scary stuff. While the troops unloaded, I exited the cockpit and approached the fighter. I placed my hand on it and stepped into the virtual world.

A large translucent figure with a single glowing eye appeared before me.

- Commander, I will go to the archaeologists' camp while you lead the troops to the enemy vehicles. You must miss them once I have finished. Then we'll blow them out of orbit.

- Acknowledged, Overlord. We will destroy the traitors. - I stepped out of the merge and saw the massive machine begin to coordinate the troops and gallop towards the enemy. And I turned and ran towards the camp.

Half an hour later.

I soon reached it. I lay down on one of the hills and started to look around the camp. A few Azari technicians were working with the equipment, and there were more scientists and guards. They didn't seem to be aware of Geth's presence, as they were very nonchalant. I didn't see any ship, so they couldn't get out of there too quickly if they wanted to. So where's my target?

After about twenty minutes, I spotted her. She talked to one of the scientists and occasionally went down to the excavation site. Looks like she didn't fall into the trap this time.

"Our forces have made contact with the enemy. Resistance is negligible."

- How fast can you destroy them?

"-About an hour. Then we will return to the Dominus."

- Acknowledged. I don't need your help; just keep it quiet out there. We don't want anyone to know about us.

With these words, I hurried towards the camp.

I slammed my shoulder into the wall. I don't have been spotted, so I have to think about what to do with the rest of the staff. They play no part in my plans and won't get in the way. But with them, it will be difficult to capture Liara and impossible to evacuate. And the loss of the matriarch's daughter could seriously trouble Azari. Benezia, on the other hand, has returned to her homeland and has no evidence or accusations against her, so she's quite the matriarch. She will turn everyone upside down for the sake of her daughter. So I'm sorry, but you're out of luck.

Waiting for one of the technicians to pass my hiding place, I grabbed her sharply and put my hand on her forehead, clamping down on her mouth. She tried to kick and looked frightened into my eyes, but only cold indifference was in them. Soon there was a flash, and the body slipped unconsciously down the wall, and from behind it, the technician emerged and made his way back to the camp.

The last Azari fell to the ground with a hole in his neck. No one even had time to scream. Some managed to react and had to be killed, but there were only two of them. Liara was the only one left in the ruins at the moment. I picked up scrapes, scratches and wounds from my overalls and limped into the mine.

- Mistress T'soni! Mistress!" one of the technicians ran panting down the shaft. Almost there, the girl stumbled to the floor.

- Oh Goddess! - The scientist ran to her, "Riya, what happened?! - The girl's clothes were covered in blood.

- They... they... are... up there..." The girl tried to catch her breath, but she could not.

- Who?! - Liara was on the verge of hysteria.

- They..." The girl reached her hand towards the scientist's face. When only a few centimetres were left to touch, the hand suddenly grabbed Liara's forehead, and a bright flash flashed across the room. The unconscious body then collapsed right into the hands of the former technician. On the way out, however, a massive figure with a corpse in its arms was already looking up at the sky, where the transport ships were hurtling towards the ground.

One day later | the ship's laboratories

I checked everything one last time. Azari lay on the table, several wires attached to her head. I checked the bonds and connectors again, pressed the button, and began the process. The body began to twitch occasionally, but the clamps held it too tightly. Charts began to appear on the display, symbolising the pumping process into the central vault. It promised to be a long process, but there was no hurry, so I patiently waited for the loading beam to fill completely. When it did, the spasms stopped, and the Azari calmed down.

I checked the integrity of the data, discarding those I didn't need. The volume was reduced slightly as much of it could be replaced with what I needed. All this took a long time, but I won't tell you about it. Soon all the data was in optimum condition, and I gave permission to transfer the data to my creation. After waiting for another loading bar and a signal to indicate the end of the process, I leaned over my creation. A beautiful Terran girl lay naked on the table. Her skin was so milky pink that such beauty seemed unreal. I won't say anything about the hair, the proportions and everything else. My finest creation, the finest fusion of technology and biology.

- Achilles, take her to the bedrooms; I don't use them anyway, and keep an eye on her. As soon as she wakes up, take care of her and report to me.

- My Lord, allow me to ask you a question. Why do you need her? - A hologram appeared beside me and began to look at the girl as well.

- A good specialist. I will give her to the Awareness or keep her. It would be a pity to lose her as well.

- Pity?

- It's personal; you wouldn't understand her role in history.

- As you say, my lord. - The servant bots entered the room, took the girl in their arms, and carried her to their chambers. - What about the original?

I turned in the doorway and looked at the former Liara, breathing peacefully in her sleep.

- Take her back to camp and hide her somewhere. Fake a Geth attack and signal their ship for help. It should arrive within a day. When you're done, start breaking through to Terra. - With those words, I disappeared out the door.

- Put me through to the Legate of the Sons of the Lion, Achilles. - I sat back down on my throne and waited for the connection. Soon, the figure of a huge warrior appeared before me, and I immediately knelt down.

- My lord.

- Alexander, is your legion ready? And what of the fleet? - I had a special mission for him.

- Five thousand brothers are fully prepared. There are also nearly 20,000 squires and supporters fighting alongside them. The fleet is also fully operational. The battleship Indestructible, my flagship, was recently launched.

- Excellent. I have decided that your legion must be baptised by fire, Alexander. You and your warriors must go to the galaxy's centre and take the ancient fortress of Xeno. They are strong, but you are the strongest warriors of mankind, so I believe in your victory. - The Legate's face lit up at my words.

- My Lord! I am proud to do your bidding! We will return in triumph or not at all. Alexander, out. - The warrior's hologram quickly disappeared, and I leaned back on my throne, staring at the stars through the huge window...

Augusta Cassius | "Kaars"

- What are your orders, Captain? - Titus looked at me from his seat.

We had been in the asteroid belt for days, fleeing from Imperial patrols that roamed the border, destroying pirates and searching for other ships. So the attack on the planet was very unexpected. Everyone had forgotten the power of the Empire, and it reminded them of themselves. Returning to Friih was madness; the place was crawling with Legionnaires.

- We have to get out of here. - A wave of jubilation swept through the crew. - We're going to the Aterno system, to the trading stations.

- Trading stations? Will the trading stations let us get there? - Freriks was as suspicious as ever, but others wouldn't survive in his shoes.

- Yes, I have a contact there, and we can find a good place to hide or even get out into space. And they probably won't find us there. - The crew relaxed at my words and began to disperse to their posts, and soon the ship shook, which meant that the marching engines had started. Soon we will be in the Aterno system, and I hope my brother will help me...