Chapter 1:

Chapter 1:

So where do I even begin? Here I am standing completely nude with water running down me, in fact all souls around me were in the same state. No one spoke a word as two sides were staring off at each other across the room.

Silence hung over the room expect for the sound of rushing water splashing the ground and trailing down my skin. If you haven't gotten the idea of where I'm at it's the showers. Or rather it's the shower room of the building that I'm in right now, and I'm currently staring at a bunch of half-naked dudes in front of the door way. I mean that was natural I guess since this is the shower room and all. It would be natural that there would be naked dudes around cause it's the showers after all.

However, it is a different if it's a bunch of half-naked dudes holding swords. They looked human enough I guess, though it was so bluntly obvious giving their alien appearance, that they weren't human. I mean they have the same natural appearance of normal humans, but that's where the similarly ends. The main difference that they have no distinctive characteristic to their appearance, no specific nationality but instead seem to have all characteristic of all nationality. Though some among tier numbers characteristic being more noticeable compared to the rest.

Also spread out along the surface of their bodies I can see an array of different bright different colorations of tattoos. Symbols, texts and pictures all jumbled up together to form the patterns. Another notable feature that I noticed, the one that stuck out the most to me, is that their eye pupil is inhumanly slanted like a four-point star. Which also seems to glow with a bright with the color of their iris.

How and where did these people come from, well let's rewind time a little bit shall we.

The name's Jiahao and I'm just your average 18-year-old teenager, well mildly normal teen if you count being in a military academy normal for you. It was a Monday morning typical first day of the week not the best day to look forward to. It was a regular day we woke up early today and we about our usual drill training early at five in the morning.

Beep-beep~! The annoying familiar sound of my alarm clock that I've set up. Begrudging annoying as it was, I knew I had to get out of bed and so I did. The bed shifted and creaked under my weight as I got off and processed to move to my restroom. Not really caring if my roommates could hear me or not since they should also be awake by now as well. If I'm awake so, should they, that's how it goes.

Where are we at, we're currently attending a military academy called Battle School Fong yeah-yeah real ordinary naming senses aside, it's a pretty unique school I can assure you. I mean come on; what other school would ever allow you to teach you how to use a weapon let alone give you the chance to touch them? I mean other than the fact of having to do mandatory drills early in the morning and other physical activities, its like any other school. Albeit being paid a salary during the process, I mean seriously one can really complain I mean who else other than athletes are paid to stay physical fit? However, that's beside the point.

By the time I was out of the latrine my roommates were up and about putting on their gym uniforms. One of whom was already heading out the door of our room his features illuminated only for the briefest second, before the door close and the room was engulfed in darkness again. I just nonchalantly went to my closet to get my own set uniforms before long I too headed out the door. In the brightly lit hallway there too were other souls walking down all of whom were heading down the same direction.

"Hey bro." "what's up." "Morning." The typical chatter echoed all around me across the hall. I merely went along my way amidst the crowd keeping to myself till something bumped against my shoulder. I found myself letting out a slight grunt turning my head to the one person who bumped me.

"Hey Jiahao how you feeling this morning?" then came the awfully cheerful voice of my childhood friend who came with me to the same school. I simply continued on walking as I addressed him. "Hey Johnny, still got that much energy in you so early in the morning huh~, don't you ever get tired?"

"Ha-ha, no way dude not when I'm having the time of my life here!" Johnny laughed out with all his being.

"Sigh~, only you could say something as ridicules as that at five in the freaking morning."

We chat a bit more as we walked soon, we come upon a large hallway pathway with a massive observation gallery on the other side of the hall opening the view into the outside world. It's a great place that I admit I like for some alone time. I mean even though there are emergence shutters in case the ultra-dense carbon glass fibers, but still, one would be dangerously close to the edge. Who would want to go there? Theoretical, anyway.

Oh, did I forget to mention we're not on earth but in space. In be exact we're or actually our school is located within a space orbital megastructure known as a Dyson Sphere. Yeah, you heard right space baby, it's the year 2345 of the 24th century mankind has long spread out throughout the solar system. No longer bundle together on that tiny rock of a home world, not trying to say its bad or anything as its has become better than it ever was before in the late 21 century. Transforming from a depleted, polluted wasteland due to the unification wars that formed the world superpower of today back to a lush, verdant utopian paradise.

It's mostly inhibitable by some of the most powerful and richest people in the system, aside from the original folks that choose to stay on the planet mostly because they didn't have the means to leave in the first place. As of right now, over 80% of the human race now live on the other planets of the solar system and other habitable areas following the development of space cities. This Dyson Sphere being one of the space colonies that were built located at near L1 Lagrange Point between the Earth and the Moon.

Genesis Ark; one of the first space colonies built, we stood upon Module 666 where this Battle School of New Phoenix is located. The Dyson Sphere is a massive spherical structure roughly 2 to 3 hundred kilometers in diameter with an artificial sun in the center. Following after the most basic design, the surface of a Genesis Ark is a honeycomb structure of hexagonal Modules that all have a dome approximately 10 kilometers in diameter on their sun-ward sides. Spaceships can enter a module's waterway directly and be docked within as a seafaring vessel.

Those unfortunately was not visible from my current position. "Come on we're going to be late let's pick up the pace." Seeing our colleagues around us starting to jog I said to my childhood friend as I started to jog after the crowd. Not needing to look behind to hear Johnny jogging after me as we follow the current of bodies to where we were heading towards.

"Gather up lads hurry up waiting on you~!" the barking roar of our drill sergeant echoed loudly in my ear as if he was standing right next to me, I quickly picked myself up from the ground and stood. Drawing whatever strength that I could muster from my shaking limbs, I made it to my drill sergeant's formation.

I am not ashamed to admitted that I was already dozing off before my drill sergeant had even begun his speech. I only managed to catch the last parts of his speech before I heard his voice call out to me.

"Private Jiahao tell me why are you here soldier?!" Drill Sergeant Mattews called out to me I quickly got out of my stupor at his voice.

"The function of a soldier and a citizen are one! We serve so that others may live Drill Sergeant~!" I responded to my drill sergeant, the typical mantra of the imperial army.

"Good response private~! Now—" Then the horns came blaring over the net speakers as I could also make out the flag being hoist up on top of the top of the main building of the school grounds.

"Privates' attention~!" Drill Sergeant Mattews roared out as he spun on his heels into the position of attention before crying out in in the same booming voice "Salute~!" and so we did.

The flag of the United States Empire is vastly different compare to its predecessor, the flag of the empire now, consists of a blue field with 50 white stars of alternating numbers of six and five per horizontal row along the blue surface. With a double head eagle situated at the center with red highlight on its edge, the edges of the flag were white in color, but if one were to look closely the white line was divide further down into thirteen individual stripes.

Yes, you've heard it right empire. The United States have long ceased being a nation but has become the sole dominate power of earth. The United States Empire; originally known in the past as the United States of America, back in the late 21th century during the period now known as the Fall. Many nations fell during the chaos, but The United States with its robust economy it alone had managed to accumulate enough power to dominate and overwhelm the other countries of Earth. After a long and brutal global conflict, the United States was successful in uniting the planet's many nations and peoples under one government. This new singular world government was called the United States Empire.

However, there was no celebration as the war only added to one of the many issues that the now ravaged earth had to face. The many issues that the newly formed empire had to resolved at its birth. One being the planet becoming uninhabitable caused by heavy pollutions and depletion of resources, ravaged by years of war and exploitation, and a sorely overpopulated society that wouldn't survive in a matter of months. Thus, the Interstellar Settlement program was established. All resources once devoted to war was broken down and repurposed for the project, all in hopes of a desperate attempt to alleviate Earth's overpopulation problem and find new resources. So, the newly birth empire had to undertake the massive task of having the populations of whole national regions embark on a massive interstellar colonization effort, migrating to other planets in the solar system.

Leaving the main governing body of the United States Empire, along with a minor populace of scientist and other necessary technicians, in hopes of restoring the earth. The outworld exploders who dared to traverse into the unknown, as expected plunged into a cataclysmic era of planetary rebirth. Many efforts of early colonization efforts were unsuccessful, often being arduous and deadly endeavors, resulting only in decades of natural disasters, famine, and plagues mercilessly purged the world from millennia of damage and abuse- killing untold billions. Despite the various efforts made by The United States Empire's administrative and military to keep the remaining population safe, they were unsuccessful.

However, that all soon changed only through use of the most extreme measures and implementation of radical new technologies. Many lives were lost still but when the era of near-apocalyptic crisis was over, utopia emerged. It was through this mass sacrifice of life there have been major technological advancements in every manner of science available, also because of the harsh environment the surviving populace had to endure, humanity had evolved- physically, mentally, and genetically. This resulted in new, stronger breed of humanity was able to use its new technology to restore Earth from a depleted, polluted wasteland into the lush, verdant utopian paradise of today.

Once stabilized, the Prosperity and Expansion of the United States Empire began, as more colonies were established, the Dyson Sphere we inhabit being one of the space colonies built in that time. Humanity thus spread out throughout the system with Earth being the sole authority over all the colonies. They in turn recognized Earth as the prime governing world on which the United States Imperial capital would be based, and the colonies themselves forming parts of the interstellar administrative regions on which Earth would manage their affairs.

With the military force being responsible for protecting and paving the way for settlers, colonial efforts became easier and safer than ever, not including the events that transpired to ensure the peace and safety. To achieve this, most if not all citizens of the empire mostly all of its male citizens, has a mandatory requirement of a minimum five years of military service. After that has been completed citizens have the option to stay in the military or retire back to become a fully blooded citizen of the Empire.

Once the blaring horns and the musical anthem had ceased, we resumed back to our training, which pasted like a blur been through it so many times I don't really feel it. The next time I'm fully aware of my surrounding I along with my peers were walking back to our dorm's barracks. We all were heading to the same area within the building, the showers of course.

After trading through the same corridors that I've passed through over the years, the sound of heavy footsteps echoing all around me but was long use to it. We came upon the same corridor of the massive carbon glass fiber windows showing the outside void of space. Typically, they are supposed to show a pattern mimicking Terran skies such as morning sun rises and falls, the night the panels just fade away revealing the pitch void. Around this time, it should be imitating the morning sun rise via the artificial sun in the center of the Dyson Sphere. That was suppose to be the case but there might have been a slight timing malfunction of the fiber glass screens that surround the Module, a fact that I must admit I find grateful for at the moment.

Why you might ask? It's because of the view, looking into the great beyond past the fake atmospheric sky, past the unending void of space, to the clear blue sphere far off into the known distance. That blue world is earth; the birthplace of humanity. To be able to see the home world with my very own eyes is a gift of untold value, how many people would give life or limb just to even see that beautiful blue. I see it so many times and I never bored of it, it was honestly the only redeeming factor of my decision to remain in the service. Long after the mandatory requirement years of military service. However, I'm living with it, attending a well-known battle school has its perks.

Genesis Ark was built at Lagrange point 1 which is between earth and the moon. At a precision, angel and position between the two bodies where the moon won't slow it down or accelerate it, nor will the extra orbiting body affect the grivation pull on earth. Some of my school mates broke off from the massive herd, and into different directions, I knew where they were going back to their dorm rooms to acquire a fresh set of uniforms. Me I just didn't care like some of my peers and headed straight to the showers.

Right so where were we again ah yes, and right now, I'm looking across the room with a dumbfounded expression on my face. Of course, I can't see my own expression but if anyone saw me right now, I'm sure that is what they would see and say as well.

What the fucking hell.

Like what more can I say at this point I don't even know how to explain it, after I made it to the showers, I put my sweaty PT uniform into one of the basket racks and went into the showers I remembered the first stages of the shower's mechanism, first High-pitched sonic pulses then, the cold sensation of the sonic pulse vibrations. Cold but relaxing soothing my aching muscles nonetheless, then came the warming soothing jet streams of heated water from above. No more than a few moments when the water came a bright flashing light blind me, deafening my senses, if I could listen, I think I could have heard the outbursts of my peers in the showers with me.

Untold minutes or probably only seconds may have pasted, I can't tell you an exact number though. When it all settled and subsided and my senses of sight and hearing came back to me, I found this weird people in front of me, and that honestly putting it lightly I mean, their literally half-naked dudes of whatever ethics I can't tell wielding swords. We stood facing one another for untold seconds no one from either side saying a word to one another.

Then it all erupted as sudden as the situation had occurred. One of the new comers raised a warcry and took a step forward as if trying to initiate a running motion. Which resulted in the person rushing forward face first into the wet ground. The sound of cracking skull bone kicked everything into place. I rushed forward more like sliding forward using the water still running around us to the nearest intruder, I smacked his sword hand away smashed managing to knock the sword out of his hand in the process. Then with a swipe of my leg he was airborne, not relenting I grabbed his head and smashed his head into the beautiful Chromium sheet metal panels that made up the floor. I felt his skull crack underneath my palm, the sensation was sickening I wanted to recoil, but only for the slightest second as my peers joined me in the assault against the uninviting guests.

Grunts and cries of pain resounded around me, fists meeting cheekbones and bodies dropping to the ground with wet splats. Blood was begun to pour along the ground by this point, I could see Matt and Jake grabbling one to the ground the intruder's spine contorted into an impossible angle, all three of their limbs intertwined with one another. Another intruder was sailing through the air at waist height being before crashing into the wall with a sick crunch. Ivan being slashed across his chest from his foe before I saw Alex ram a blade that he most likely stole from an opponent that he felled through the attacker's chest. Jo and Kai fighting hard in tandem with one another, their lithe form half-lost in a blur of motion, and not just from the steam clouds formed around us by the hot water.

These newcomers were not going down easily, but we outnumbered them nearly ten to one, so the fight was already decided. I tossed the blade of the foe that I felled to my peer named Ryan and jumped onto the next foe who had their sword through a boy named Leo's gut. In a fit of rage, I smashed my fist into the foe's face the initial feeling of fear that I had of finally killing someone had long faded by the scene that I just saw. What more, more of our number came through the doorway of the storage room now the intruders were caught in a twenty-two they were not getting away. So, I pummeled my victim face again and again blood was flowing and I didn't care, as soon as I was done, I joined in the attack of another on.

When the last of them finally lay motionless on the ground did everything seemed clammer. Many of us were injured having only minor cuts and slash on our bodies. We left the shower room and went into the storage room to get fresh dry towel to bind the wounds. Sadly however, we had lost one; Leo who had a blade rammed through his sword breathe out his last the moment we dragged him out of the showers.

But there was no time to grieve.

"What the hell is going on here?" I couldn't help but ask out loud, not towards anyone in particular, not even to myself. It didn't take a genius to know that no one knew what was going on at this point.

"Has the Grand Duchy launched a preemptive strike against the empire?" A boy I remember to be Carter gave out a theory.

"This deep within the empire's territory, and bypassing the imperial fleet no way and besides, these guys don't look like anyone from the Grand Duchy, this isn't their uniform. I mean can we even call this a uniform what the heck is this guy even wearing anyway?" The one who responded was Thomas who was kneeling against one of the dead intruders' still corpse. However even the slightest moment of rest was lost to us as the school alarm came out the speakers in the storage room. This was no fire alarm signal nor a training drill.

"We're really under attack huh." Cole beside me remarked letting out a grunt.

"No shit sherlock you just noticed." This voice came from George, this rough deep voice could only be him. I don't need to look his way to know that he was the one to speak.

We can't delay any further.

"We need to reach the arms room that has our equipment, even if it is just training gear, it's better to have a weapon than none." I called out to my peers around me as I reached to the basket where I placed my belongings but only retrieved two items from it. "We can even get some medical supplies there as well then, we can find someone who can tell us what the hell's going on." I say while putting on my boxer on not caring about drying my still soaked form, once I finished others were doing the same. I then saw a certain display and immediately headed towards it, Others retrieved similar items to mine, while the few grabbed the swords from the intruders. I meanwhile was pulling out a fire axe after smashing the glass screen.

I already had what I needed so I tossed it toward George who caught it one handed. He played with it a little before he nodded to himself, satisfied with it.

"Alright let's go-" my words were cut off with a light boom. It was an explosion but not close by somewhere from outside the dorm building. Another one even further out, but that was not the sound that caught us off guard as there was another. Something all together that was much closer to us that the explosion outside, the slight tapping of boots on the ground heading their way. Yes, footsteps not the rushing footsteps that they would have expected from their other peers these were softer, slower.

But they were approaching these footsteps, not so much slow as languid, almost bored. They echoed from outside the door to the hallway outside the storage room, as a shadow appeared over the glass screen blurred by the steam clinging onto the glass from the showers. Then came the silence no one made a noise nor move. Everyone stood still waiting, just waiting for something to occur. Nothing did, at this point Dexter shifted slowly step by step he inched closer towards the door. Still nothing, turning his head back towards us locking eyes with him for the briefest second, I nodded to him, he then moved his head at an angel to the door placing one side of his face to the cold metal frame.

When sudden as soon as he did, his eyes widen and he jointed back up. Then came the flashing light that once again deafened us again. I only got the slimmest glance of out through the blaring light of what happened to Dexter, his body or what was left of it flew backward in all sorts of directions. Splattering the room in a tide of crimson and gore. Letting out a roar of rage and frustration I grabbed the nearest object I could get, and threw it into the light. Other objects were flung towards it as well.

A futile effort but an instinctive one we've developed over the years of training. By the point the light was faded and there was a flash of movement, all the objects thrown were knocked out of the air. Through the smoke cloud came the shadow of a figure approaching, once through I honestly can say despite the adrenaline spike in my veins, I felt my arms slacken. Seeing the intruder's face, I don't even know how to explain it. The person was a male, I would assume seeing the rippling muscles of his exposed body. Though he was more clothed than the people behind him, he still was exposing a lot of skin. Wearing only what seems to be half a harness suit, donning a large red cape with large white fur over his back, blue-to-silver pauldrons hung on his shoulders. The left was more ornate than the right, with an unfamiliar emblem placed near the left side of his chest. Along with a set of matching armored greaves and boots.

But that was not what stole my breath away but his face. He was beautiful. So very, very beautiful. The person was the definition of beauty, if it were not for the vile cruelty dancing in his eyes which only intensified that fact of a fearsome predator, and not some delicate flower.

"Greetings! And goodbye to you Barbarians!" The beautiful death grinned, unsheathing a long-silvered rapier. "Rejoice and feel honored, for this noble me shall be murdering every last one of you!"