Proteus - Dark Empire (Book Five)

By Alexander Nassau

"Our friends are licking their wounds after the events of Dark Universe, the Apeyron having inflicted a price on everyone with Saya heavily damaged and Loren and Lunar in critical condition. They need to know who these Apeyron are and where they came from and with them threatening to return to our Galaxy to reclaim their dark empire, they must find a way to stop them.
As everyone on Beletrix fights to try and save Lunar and Loren's lives and they are losing their battle. With Miras and Koli searching the galaxy for more information on the Apeyron, there is a story to tell as we step back a year to when the youngest of the Proteus ships arrived by accident and learn about the cheeky and playful Lunar and her difficult start in life.
As the teams find little information on the Apeyron, hope is fading until the team at the Dystopian Detective Agency back on Earth reveal a shocking revelation. Hidden amongst the human population are eternal dark creatures called Aemon and they are not from Earth, and perhaps more pertinent they know of the Apeyron. Worse is the fact they believe that Earth and their home world of Aemus may very well be part of the Apeyron's Empire. Zenni and Saya depart to try and find the lost world of Aemus with their new demon allies, the solution to their problem lies in a dark religious site where they believe a derelict Apeyron warship may hold the answers they seek.
Time is running out though and with the Apeyron's return to our galaxy getting closer, will they manage to save Lunar and Loren and will Zenni be successful in learning more about this dark enemy on Aemus and stop the Dark Empire from reclaiming what they believe is rightfully theirs?"

This second major instalment in the Proteus Endless Saga sees our heroes struggling to learn more about the Dark Empire that is threatening everything they know as the scour the galaxy trying to gather leads. Crossing over with Pentalore - Awakening, Dark Empire is an emotional rollercoaster and as the end draws closer, things may never be the same again.
Dark Empire is now in its Second Extended Edition with over 30,000 words of new content, heavily reworked and revised. Taking the original story of Dark Empire this reworked edition paints a far more vivid picture as you follow the cast of Proteus dealing with the impending threat of the Apeyron to everything they hold dear and the tragic consequences of their first encounter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexander Nassau
• Release date: Jul 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370656189

Alexander Nassau

November News: I know it has been a while and this is probably a surprise, but I have finally released a new book. Alphius Prime - Of Beasts and Monsters is an epic fantasy style book set on the world of Alphius Prime more familiar with my fans for being in Symbiotica and Proteus. Set in a medieval world you follow the epic journey of Echo Sana and her rather unusual family she was adopted by... unusual in that they are Kinar Beasts. There is a free preview to be had, so take a look and I hope you enjoy! I am pleased to see that I am currently rated as a 4.5 out of 5.0 Author on Good Reads. Thank you to those who took the time! It is really good to see the appreciation my fans have and that does spur me on to do even better for you! If you have any questions I am on Good Reads so throw me your thoughts and I will be happy to answer! Thanks for reading! _________________________ Finally, I am very pleased to say I actually produced a proper website and blog. Covering all my titles, with artwork, sneak peaks and so much more, it is the best place to find out exactly what I am up to and what books are coming soon. Like me on facebook now too! The link is easy enough to find on the page. Enjoy your reads! Alexander Nassau is an established science fiction author and artist with many well known mainstream works to his name, best known for his detailed and strong character driven stories. With a keen scientific mind and a strong attention to detail, he also is a commercial artist with a strong creative drive. Living in the UK, he spends his down time with his family and has something of a passion for classic Volkswagens.

Book preview

Proteus: Dark Empire (Extended Edition)

The Second book in the Endless Saga

(Crossover with Pentalore - Awakening)

Second Extended Edition

Copyright © 2017 / 2018 Alexander Nassau

Published by Alexander Nassau at Smashwords

ISBN: 9781370656189

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

"Dedicated to all those who lost their lives in Manchester Terrorist Attack.

I woke up to a message to tell me that my daughter was okay. She went to have a fun night out and to see one of her favourite artists perform live. She left having been caught up in those dreadful events and I can only say I am thankful she is alive. It does not stop me feeling broken that innocent children will not be returning home, their night of enjoyment ending in heart break and tragedy."

See More from the Author on my Blog

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Previously

Prologue

Chapter One - The Unexpected Gift

Chapter Two - Students and Learners

Chapter Three - Partnerships

Interlude - Blood and Truth

Chapter Four - The Sands of Time

Chapter Five - Unexpected Allies

Chapter Six - Strange Lands

Chapter Seven - Life and Death

Interlude - Sea of Stars

Chapter Eight - Dark Ruins

Chapter Nine - Lost in the Dark

Chapter Ten - The Cold Night

Epilogue

Catch up on what you missed

Continue the Adventure preview

More Books from the Author

Authors Retrospective - Life and Art

About the Author

PREVIOUSLY

Look up in to the night sky, there is more out there than you could imagine, worlds of creatures so familiar and so strange it would leave you in awe and wonder. Stranger still is that our own world is secretly part of that community, even if most of the population are oblivious to the fact.

On one particular world called Beletrix lives a race of creatures hard to understand. They are a joined race, a partnership of a host and a symbiote. Where life gets more unusual is that the hosts are not all the same species. While their native hosts are a race of nine feet tall aliens called Usha, there are some who have bonded to humans.

Beletrix while being their home world is not where they came from. That world was Alphius Prime, a world where the native life faced the terrible fate to burn in fire. It was this reason the population tried to escape building great ships to flee the demise of their home.

These were not ships like any you could imagine. They were living creatures designed to save their people. While each ship is an individual life in its own right, they share the family name, the classification given to them by their creators.

They are the Proteus class of starship, but things did not go as planned.

It was believed that only the eldest sister and the smallest of the fleet, a quirky ship called Koli managed to escape and searched the stars for three hundred years until she found Earth, a world where a small number of the indigenous intelligent life was capable of bonding with the ten survivors.

The truth was though that Terrik, the flagship of the main evacuation fleet, Terrik barely survived, limping to safe harbour where she stayed for three hundred years, damaged and dying until her sister returned for her, answering her distress call and rescuing the survivors.

The survivors planned to build Terrik a new body, an improved version of her original design, but as usual things never go to plan. They ended up with twins.

With these two new ships, relationships on Earth deteriorating, they revisited a world Koli's crew had settled on only to realise their automated construction drones had been rather busy after they left.

That world was Beletrix, and they arrived home to find the ghost city of Verlon.

At this point you are probably thinking they did a lot, and you would be right. You could easily write several whole books on the subject, if not more.

However, there was one major point missing. What happened to the lost Titan and in a way that is where this story started, on a dark world far distant.

Unexpectedly the survivors on Earth found themselves with a shocking revelation as an utterly unknown ship arrived, a young second generation Proteus class vessel called Saya, carrying a familiar crew and her pilot, Zenni Quinett.

The former pilot of the Titan class Miras had returned on a mission to rescue the crew of Terrik, even if she was a little late, however she brought the news of the fate of Miras and the twelve thousand survivors she carried and a desperate plea for help.

The surprises didn't stop there as she tells the story of Neo Alphius, a world they had settled on only to fall victims to a parasitic plague that afflicted their people reducing them to creatures they had called Necrotites, monsters that were their own people, trapped in a living hell. Perhaps the greatest revelation of all was Saya's origins. She was a naturally conceived and born, a life far surpassing the artificially created Proteus ships.

A rescue plan was formulated to not only cure those afflicted by the plague, but also rescue Saya's mother, Miras. Cutting this quite long story short, they succeeded making new friends along the way and having breathed life back in to Verlon city on Beletrix, Zenni, Miras and Saya finally got the opportunity to rest in the safety of their new home.

Which brings us to this story...

It should have been a day to celebrate for Zenni and her team as both Saya and Miras were destined to return to their mission of exploring the galaxy, but when Lunar, the youngest of the fleet, suffers what seems to be a horrific accident, mother and daughter are rushed in to service to rescue Miras's little sister and her crew. There are however problems in that Lunar is stranded in the dark and unforgiving Universe known as subspace, a strange realm where the laws of physics do not apply.

A plan is formulated and things appear to be going as well as could be expected as Saya reaches Lunar to find her in a terrible condition, both Lunar and Loren comatose suffering from the effects of a bizarre energy discharge that is threatening their lives. Zenni and Saya are on a knife edge, this strange lifeless Universe disorientating and unnerving everyone however when a powerful warship approaches them with the offer of help, Zenni is forced for Lunar's safety to take their offer of assistance while not in the slightest trusting this dark and menacing alien race.

Together they form a strategy that Saya will distract these Apeyrons returning with them to their home world while the crew aboard Lunar will attempt to limp her to safety, returning to their entry point where Miras is waiting to open a jump window.

Arriving at the Apeyron's home world they find almost all the planet to be a giant and astonishing city stretching across the surface of the world, hundreds of war ships in orbit guarding this dark planet. However Saya and Talishia have analysed their new friend's ships and have learnt something disturbing. Lunar critical injuries were not an accident, but the result of being fire on by these Apeyrons. Confronting Tath, the Apeyron's Ambassador they are encircled by five war ships and forced to land on the planet's surface, incapable of defending themselves against these monsters.

Landing on Apeyra, Zenni and Talishia are abducted and come face to face with the General Razon, a dark and sadistic warrior however Talishia is in awe of the facility they are in as she realises the Apeyrons did not originate in this dark universe. They learn that the Apeyrons in an effort to save their people from a passing black hole jumped their entire planet in to subspace, finding a safe port, but in the process the staff manning their Great Machine were killed by the exotic particles the machine generated during the jump, leaving only the Guardians of Apeyra, their warrior cast as caretakers of their people. They do not know how to operate the Great Machine to return them back to their place in our Galaxy and reclaim their great empire.

Razon threatens to destroy Saya and her friends so Zenni must work with Talishia to comply with the General's orders however it is also giving Saya and Nessa enough time to analyse the limited sensor readings and create countermeasures against the Apeyrons devastating weapons systems. Zenni knows considering the violent and elitist views of these Apeyrons they cannot be allowed to return as they will threaten all life they encounter so with Talishia they formulate a daring plan.

Talishia tricks them in to believing she is returning them to the place in the stars, activating the Great Machine however it is a ruse designed to give them enough time to escape their captors. With Saya having already worked out how to protect herself from the Apeyrons weapons they put the plan in to action, the Apeyrons attempting to stop Saya however with her antimatter fuelled Null Core reactor and her new ability to protect herself from their weaponry they are safe from the Apeyron as they race to rescue Zenni and Talishia.

Everything seems to be going as expected until at the last moment as they scramble in to Saya, Talisha is shot in the back, falling to the ground leaving Zenni with a terrible decision. To escape or to return for her however considering the superior forces they are facing she has no choice but to leave her behind and protect Saya and her crew.

In a daring escape from the Apeyron's home world, Zenni and Saya race back through this unforgiving space hoping that Lunar has managed to make it back however with Lunar still attempting to traverse the nightmarish space and with the General flagship and another warship in pursuit, their prospects are getting bleaker by the moment.

Reaching Lunar, Saya has no choice but to draw the Apeyron fire, taking a beating and just when things are at their darkest with all hope exhausted, Saya's reactor core overheating and on the verge of failure, Lunar's twin sister Terrik jumps in to subspace and buys them time by taking on the Apeyron in an all out fight, the Proteus battleship taking her revenge for her twin sister.

They escape but at a cost to them all. Saya is seriously injured, Lunar and Loren are in critical condition and Terrik under reprimand for her unexpected and violent behaviour having destroyed one of the Apeyron warships and crippled the Generals flagship to the point it is beyond repair.

Zenni and her team are faced with the impossible. They have made a dark new enemy who have captured Talishia Betar, one of their leading scientists and it will only be a matter of time before the Apeyrons return to our Universe and reclaim their dark empire and take their revenge.

Outnumbered and facing an enemy with technology far beyond their own, the Alphians are no match for the Apeyrons. It is up to Zenni and her friends to learn as much as they can about this dark force that is returning to their universe.

Meanwhile back on Earth at the Dystopian Detective Agency, Ella seems to have made some new and unexpected friends with an ancient race that seems to have been living on Earth for thousands of years. After their first real case they return back to the Forge in Manchester with their new demonic allies, Ella is shocked to find Sabine and Aeon, learning of Sabine's experiences and serious injuries at the hands of the Apeyron and the threat to her people.

However perhaps more of a surprise is the Aemon know of the Apeyrons from their own world's past and this shocking revelation may be the first real lead in the Apeyron mystery.

There is a dark cost to this knowledge though as they realise that both Earth and Aemus may well be part of the Apeyron's Dark Empire and with their return, it will spell the end of Human and Aemon civilisation as these monsters reclaim what they believe is rightfully theirs.

Read the full stories in

Proteus - Dark Universe

Dystopian Detective - The Ancient Girl

Pentalore - Darkseed

PROLOGUE

He watched as blood dripped from the General fist and again, he felt it once again like a cold blade.

It was the feeling of the most horrible disgust and shame watching the unjust and brutal actions of his superior.

These were feelings his superior did not seem to even understand as he towered over this broken woman who could only laugh at him. It simply did not seem possible. Three days of the worst kind of torture and yet she did not break. In fact she healed so quickly it frightened him.

These Alphians were made of far stronger stuff than any of them had imagined. They were extremely intelligent, proud and noble creatures of high moral standing and principles. While she had tricked them in a most devious way, they were not malicious acts. In fact her only concern was to escape, not to cause harm. Her ruse had been most intelligent, but at the same time it held life with regard. What she had done had put their world in grave danger, except as he had learnt, they were never in any danger. She had fooled them, sent them in to a blind panic, but ensured nothing could happen.

As the General rubbed his knuckle, he could see some of the blood was his own as he flinched ever so slightly. He may have been injuring her, but he was injuring himself as well. This woman was protecting herself, her own biology adapting to a defensive posture, bone armour now covering her skin with sharp blades of bone projecting from the plates designed to give as good as they took.

Razor kept underestimating them, over and over again. Each time he did, his anger grew and he was starting to lose his composure if one could have ever called it that in the first place.

Heal her injuries, feed her and restore her health Tath, the General ordered in a deep growl before turning to walk out of the room leaving him with this woman as she continued to laugh in the General's face however as the door closed she finally fell silent.

He went over to the side, opening a ration pack up, adding a little water to it as it soaked itself.

As he approached her, she glared up at him, the bruises around her eye already healing to his surprise as she struggled to her feet resting herself against the table as she wiped blood from her mouth.

Typical warrior, she sighed staring hard at him.

I do my part to protect the Empire, he replied regretfully as to his surprise she laughed at him.

No you moron, Razon is a typical warrior. You on the other hand, are not, she wheezed rubbing her side, Razon is utterly absorbed and devoted to his mission however I feel something darker from him, ambition and ruthless desire for power. You though are different. I can see the physical difference, sense the curiosity within you and see the empathy you feel watching your great leader have his way with me.

I am a Guardian of Apeyra and I serve our people with honour, he growled back staring her down before turning and bringing the plate over to her, offering her meagre food, even if it was the best they had. In fact it was the best he had, as they were his own rations.

Good for you Tath. Just keep telling yourself that and you will be fine, she quipped with a laugh, frowning at the food as she pushed it away. Here I was thinking that was the last dried food I had to put up with.

Why do you not just give General what he wants? he asked feeling rather offended.

Give a ruthless psychopath what he wants? A man who attacked an innocent ship mid jump crippling her and killing a number of her crew and then captured us and threatened to kill Saya and everyone aboard. A man who held us to ransom and when we showed him where to go decided to take great pleasure in torturing me? Is that the way of your people Tath? Is that what the great Apeyron Empire calls civility, harmony and peace?

He didn't reply as he looked away from her, the shame within him building again. It was not their way and never had been.

That Tath is why I don't believe you were ever destined to be a Guardian of Apeyra, she sighed looking over to him kindly as he looked in to her eyes. I have been learning about your species, the General feeding me the snippets of information I needed. The Guardians of Apeyra were never meant to be in control. Your world is not a military dictatorship. It was a balanced society of leaders, scholars and warriors all working in harmony, until the day the few remaining leaders and scholars ended up dead thanks to the Great Machine leaving only the military to continue their mission, but without the guidance of your leaders, they blindly continued using only the methods they knew. You are not like them though, are you?

My origins are not your concern Talishia, he replied sadly, looking at her, What matters is restoring the Empire and bringing our world back to life.

Yes, that is the goal isn't it? Bring your world back from its slumber and restore your Empire to its greatness once more. I saw no farming, agriculture or infrastructure when we arrived on your world, so I would assume your outposts, the other worlds within your empire were there to support this great world and its people. The first job the General will order is for you to reclaim your worlds, bringing food for your people once more. Let me pose a simple question for you. What would happen if intelligent life during your long absence has arisen on those worlds? The General showed no regard for our kind. Would he show restraint and empathy for any intelligent life he came across, or would the mission be more important? Finally, ask yourself this. When he eventually wakes your people, his mission completed, how will they see the potential genocide he has committed against innocent species whose only crime was to have evolved on the worlds of your Empire?

He considered her words, their logic more brutal that this dark space he called home and while he had questioned Razon before, he had never considered the true scope of this mission, the ramification of the task ahead.

I am a Guardian of Apeyra, he said, his tone breaking, I will do what is asked of me and follow the orders of my superiors.

I would not expect anything less Tath. You are loyal and honest however I hope when that day comes, when the Guardians of Apeyra are known throughout the galaxy of the murderers of innocents and you wake your leaders and scholar from their sleep, that they will see you as loyal and honest and forgive you for what you have done. Maybe, if you have a library on your world you should take a little time to investigate the history of the worlds of your Empire. Just in case.

As they looked each other in the eye he could not reason what she was saying. He had been raised to follow orders, brought up by the Guardians to be a loyal and honourable warrior yet her words told him a cold truth. Razon's actions were not honourable, his singular focus on completing his mission blinding him from the horrors he had committed.

The more frightening thought was what she was proposing though. This path they were on was their sacred mission, what they had strove to achieve for thousands of years, to protect their world and those that slept and ensure one day they would step in to the light once more.

What if this road they were travelling did not lead to the light, but in to darkness?

Would those who slept forgive them?

CHAPTER ONE

The Unexpected Gift

Looking out of the window at the reddish planet before them she could feel Aliss's awe of this spectacle. Aliss had never imagined they would end up in such an intimate relationship with Miras, being her pilot and so much more, but feeling the jumble of emotions from her partner it was almost amusing.

Aliss had grown up on Neo Alphius only ever knowing a hard and unforgiving life, simply trying to survive and help those around her. Since they had escaped Neo Alphius, Aliss had almost felt like she was in a dream, living a hard yet rewarding life on Beletrix. It was a