The Kar Saga - Rise of Kaos

Rise of Kaos

Beyond the light of day
Beyond the brightest star
The Darkness holds sway
Look for the last of Kar
In whose hands Hope and Faith lay
Lest the Worlds should end that day

0.

Time.
Something that always seems abundant when life seems like a stroll on the beach with the person you love. But as soon as life has one of its little kinks, time is the one thing you seem to run out of.
For Liara it was one of those days that started out as a nice stroll, but it was about to end in a run for her dear life. Not that she had a clue on her part when she woke up. For Liara it was just another dark-red Karian sunrise. A flock of Haens greeted the sun with their song, a beautiful chorus of long and short kweehs in at least five different voices welcoming the sun into the world. Liara lingered in her bed for a few moments, soaking in the song. With a smile she swung her legs over the side of the not-quite-soft but not-too–hard mattress. She slipped into her blue silk trousers and even softer red shirt. Walking down the stairs of her small two story house, she entered the kitchen and turned on the flame under a pot of water. Humming the Haens' song, she waited for the water to boil. The unusually discorded beep of the message machine broke her smile for a second. With a sigh, she poured the water in her cup and watched the water turn a dark brown. She turned to the little blinking red light on the counter and heard the soft crackle of the speakers as the machine turned on.

"Commander? It's Farza, Commander."
Farza, the broad shouldered First Hand of the Royal Guard, was what Liara considered a good friend. He had been in the same year as her in the academy and was one of the few people she trusted with her life. She wondered why he'd call so early in the morning, albeit all of her men knew she woke at first light.
"Communications have intercepted a rather disturbing distress call from a Shoar'lan freighter. It is best you hear it first hand, Commander." His over-serious tone was disturbing enough, Liara thought. 
"The King and Queen have already been informed and are awaiting your arrival." A silence followed.
Liara, thinking the message had ended, raised her hand to turn of the machine. Her hand stopped as sudden as the silence as Farza's last words came through the machine.

"Hurry, Liara. Time is running out."

Liara bolted for the door, grabbing her vest on the way out. She banged open the door and ran the two-thousand meters to Military Command as fast as her legs would carry her. She ignored the pleasant sun on her face and the startled faces of those she nearly ran over. It were the last words of Farza that gave her wings. As long as she had known the First Hand, he had never called her by her first name. That and the tone of his voice made it clear that all was about to change. And it wasn't a change for good, that much she knew. Time is running out. Her legs were burning as she raced the last steps to the Command Center. She didn't stop outside the door to catch her breath, but flung open the door and entered the chaos. Her men were running around from post to post, yelling numbers and readings. In the center of all this chaos, Farza was standing there looking at the large monitor in front of him. It showed a map of the solar system with flashing, red numbers and symbols on them.

"Talk to me, Farza. What's going on?" Liara made her way to the big man.
"A Shoar'lan freighter pilot contacted us... thirty-five minutes ago. He said a large fleet is massing near Malos. No mistake they are coming for us, Commander. We are the only inhabited planet in our system. The Shoar'lan could not say who they were, but said that the fleet is composed of at least twenty heavy bomberships, fifteen fighter-carriers and supply ships. And he stated that there was one ship shaped oddly, resembling a large octopus." At these words, Farza turned towards her. "His words, Commander, not mine."
"An octopus? We have any eyes on those ships yet?"
"There is a steady stream of readings on them. The pilot wasn't lying. We count at least seventy-five ships, Commander. And they are heading our way." Farza stared at the screen again. "Visuals should be coming up any minute now, Commander."
"Alright, Farza. Have the Royals been informed yet?" Liara kept her gaze on the screen as well now.
"Yes, Commander. After calling you, the Royal family has been informed. I have my best men there now."