That's the Spirit

It briefly occurred to Doctor Crystal Waters that she was effectively standing in the fields of the dead.

Death always seemed to find its way to Dosk, she reflected. Even someone of her standing in the Imperium wasn't privy to all the details, but of what she understood, eleven years ago, the Codec had been kindled here, ending the lives of 2.15 billion human beings, and paving the way for the Bioweave to enslave billions more. Six months ago, an Imperium fleet had been decimated by the Spire, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Imperium personnel, including those of the Spire itself. Three months ago, General (sorry, Emperor) Vykar had initiated a purge of all levels of the Imperium, signing the death warrants of tens of thousands. And now, here she was, standing in the grassy plains of what had formerly been a dead world. Given a little life from the millions who had perished when their life energy had been transferred to this place. When the madman who now ran the Imperium had tapped into the Bioweave and transferred the energy of millions to sustain himself.

Somehow, he was still alive. Even the combined hatred of 711 billion human beings spread out over 800 worlds wasn't enough to overcome the power of the Ouraboros stations. Even as the so-called Zero Rebellion spread out across the stars, liberating one crucible moon after another, it still wasn't enough. Still, Emperor Rakshiff Vykar of the Fourth Imperium had found the time to send a survey team to Dosk, on what was officially a mission to salvage the same fleet he'd destroyed, and to gauge the planet's habitability. And what was unofficially a mission to examine the Codec. To see if its flame still burnt.

It hadn't, Crystal reflected, as she sat on the edge of the crater where the madness had all begun. If it had, she'd have to have initiated one of her backup plans to ensure that Vykar never got his hands on it again. In retrospect, it was kind of surprising that the emperor trusted anyone but himself to come back to Dosk. But then, considering how dangerous it was for him to leave Avalon, in a galaxy that wanted his blood…maybe it was understandable.

"Doctor Waters."

Or, given that Captain Del Rev of the Gaia was commanding the entire operation, maybe not so surprising after all.

"Doctor Waters?"

From what she'd heard, he'd once been allied with the same group of rebels now tearing down the Imperium. That he'd been sticking it to the Imperium for even longer than that. If so…

"Doctor Waters!"

She spun round, seeing the approaching figure. If Del Rev had once fought against the empire he once served, well, what of it? That was the power of the Ouraboros system. But luckily, the figure wasn't Captain Del Rev. Rather, it was Commander Agnello. Del Rev's second in command. And unlike the good captain, someone that she could trust.

"Commander Agnello."

Or at least confide in to some extent.

A silence lingered between them, one that not only the breeze could break. Dosk still had a breathable atmosphere. The seas of grass that now covered the world could thrive in that atmosphere, but Dosk was otherwise bereft of any animal life. Unless the Imperium intervened, it would never arise. The only animals on the planet were the men and women of the Imperium, half of whom were little better than mindless drones. And the other half of which knew that they could be reduced to such status with the push of a button.

"How's the investigation proceeding?"

"Investigation?" Crystal asked. "I didn't think there was anything left to investigate."

"That's what I told Captain Rev, but…"

"But he wanted to be sure?"

Agnello nodded.

Of course he wanted to be.

It was hard to imagine that someone like Del Rev had ever fought against the Imperium. She knew it was technically possible, but then, over the last six months, the question of what was possible had become so stretched, so torn, it defied any kind of sense. It should have been impossible for the Faculty to be destroyed. For the Bioweave to fall. For a thousand other things. And yet, here she stood, face to face with an officer of the Imperium.

"You know why we're really here don't you?" Agnello asked.

An officer that could see the world for what it was.

"The emperor isn't interested in Dosk, he's interested in the Codec."

Crystal turned away, sat back down on a rock, and looked down at the crater.

"And if it isn't here…"

"It means that he isn't going to suck the life force out of us again?"

"That." Agnello sat beside her. "And other things."

She looked at the commander. "If you're suggesting mutiny-"

"Rebellion."

"…then you're doing a terrible job of it."

"Am I?" He gestured towards the troopers and scientists all around them. "The Imperium wants something new. Humanity wants something new. The Faculty were able to exist for hundreds of years before the Bioweave because they at least offered something. Vykar? He can only offer fear."

"Fear can be quite effective."

"To a point. But if it's all stick and no carrot…"

"Some say that power is all about having the biggest stick." She gestured around herself. "Lots of grass here Commander. No sticks. So if you want to start hitting people with one, you're out of luck."

"For now," he murmured.

Silence returned to the two of them. It occurred to Crystal that this might be a trick, some kind of test of her loyalty. After all, Vykar had sent her here to see if the Codec remained. Vykar, having access to the Imperium's databases, had to have known her details. That she, and billions of others, had life energy extracted to feed his battle on this world. That she'd survived, while millions, mainly the very young and very old, hadn't. That as billions had screamed across the galaxy, millions had been left screaming when the extraction stopped. Not for themselves. But for those who had fallen beside them, and not got back up.

It wasn't a very pleasant feeling, waking up from a nightmare to find your son beside you, a withered husk.

"You know, the stories I've heard," Agnello said. "Vykar, like some kind of titan, fighting another in opposition. Where Vykar extracted the life energy of all across the galaxy…"it reminds me of a legend of my homeworld."

Crystal groaned inwardly. Myths. Legends. She'd had enough of that.

"There's the tale of the Dragon Warrior, who for all his might, could not defeat the Majin."

Primarily because there were whispers across the Imperium. Ships going missing in the black. Creatures emerging from the darkness.

"That as he fell, his world lay at the mercy of one who desired nothing but destruction."

The Dark Times, some people called it.

"But at the eleventh hour, the people of his world provided their spiritual energy."

Crystal blinked. She could see where this was going.

"Each of them were as nothing compared to the Dragon Warrior. Lesser still for the Majin. Yet they were billions, while the Majin was but one." He formed his hands like a sphere. "All that energy, in one perfect ball of life, and all that was good in the world…the Dragon Warrior destroyed the Majin, and for that, he was once again a hero. Yet all knew that without the people of his world offering themselves, there would have been no victory. The many triumphed over the one."

Crystal, after a pause, said "sounds like an abridged story."

"It is. There's more sagas to it than you'd believe, and a whole lot of filler where people just stand around talking about how powerful they are."

"Oh."

"But it makes you wonder, doesn't it? The story? Vykar stealing the energy of billions to fight his equal? Only…"

"Only in reality, no-one offered themselves willingly. That in this case, it was the monster who took the power of billions?"

Agnello nodded.

"And your point is…?"

"Oh, no point. Only it's interesting how reality can sometimes reflect the stories that came before. And…" He looked around, before whispering, "I think we can both agree that if nothing were to change in the Imperium, that would be a pretty dismal ending for the story wouldn't it?"

Crystal said nothing as Agnello got to his feet. "You don't have to say anything now, but…" He shrugged, and activated his suit's helmet feature. "Well, let's just say that I have eyes and ears."

Crystal remained silent. She had ears. She'd just used them to hear an old wives' story.

As for her eyes, she had once image burned into those. An image from six months ago. Seared into her mind. Her memory. Her very spirit.

That image could take her a long way.

A/N

This was written not too long after finishing season 1 of Prisoner Zero. And...god damn it, I'm still frustrated, because the finale is kind of a microcosm of the whole series. It looks great. The action's great. And it makes absolutely no sense if you stop and think about things for a second.

But that aside, is it just me, or is it kinda ripping of DBZ? As in, we have Zero and Vykar fighting DBZ style on a dead world (ala Goku and Frieza on Namek) while Vykar gets power from tapping into the 'life force' of billions - kinda like the people of Earth helping power Goku's spirit bomb against Majin Buu, only this time it's unwilling. And this is the person that's going to be head of the Imperium after nearly committing genocide? Why would the Faculty even bring him back to Avalon if they can't do anything to stop him killing them?! Gah!

Anyway, drabbled this up. Since it's unlikely that season 2 will ever be produced (which I wouldn't mind in spite of all my gripes), I guess I kinda have carte blanche post-series.