Chapter 1 - The End...

*Hiss*... The mechanical sound of an airlock opening was immediately followed by the hubbub of tens of people moving towards a singular exit.

A middle aged man in a sharp dressed grey uniform watched them go. He leaned easily on his chair at the front of the craft, his eyes passing over the departing passengers, not really seeing them.

Ships passing in the night... It was the 5th trip of the day... The amount of distance the cylindrical bus had made in the mere 8 hours time was unfathomable... From the Delta 2 system, to the Fallingstar 3 system, the trip was long... and costly...

Only the wealthy could afford such a trip across space time... and it was evident both in their clothes and the complete disregard for him as a person.

The fact he was human didn't make it any better...

He stared daggers into the back of a Gloglon in a purple suit. The businessman had pestered him more than a dozen times over the trip. "Speed up!"... "It's too stuffy in here!"... "do you want me to call the company and you lose your job??"

It wasn't the first asshole... and it certainly wouldn't be the last... He sighed in relief as he watched him exit the bus, sipping on a lukewarm cup of coffee.

It wasn't great... not the kind of greatness it would have been twenty minutes ago... when it was just the perfect amount of hot that it didn't singe your tongue, but heated your whole body..

He frowned...

He proceeded to shut down the bus mechanically, through sheer rote memory. He didn't have to think about it, the cleaning, all the button pushing and command saying.. locking up and turning off the lights...

It was simple work... honest work... point A to point B... he relished in it... in the not thinking...

Minutes later he was outside, standing on a space dock platform.

"Aye Ja-hon" someone called, he turned to see a familiar face next to a large, metallic building. "Come get a drink won't ya?"

He laughed and waved the man off. "Not today Havlo... I'm puckered out.. think I'll just turn in.."

"Aww man. The bar has specials right now. Two Ble-Do mixes and you get a third free"

"Maybe next time" he said again. The man eventually shrugged and walked off, his boots clinking on the metal platform as he went.

Ja-hon stood for a moment and breathed in deep. The air wasn't much better in the station, but it was better than the bus... he looked up, and out of the glass dome that encased the dock. He spotted the planet that it orbited overhead...

To anyone not used to a space station it would have been nauseating. The station spun on its axis so that the planet below and the sun and moon in the distance were always spinning in and out of view. The backdrop of thousands of stars swirling and swaying, as if they just couldn't make up their mind where they wanted to be at any given moment.

To Ja-hon it was comforting. No matter how much they colonized over time. No matter how many ships and stations they built, the stars remained the same...

He looked around, seeing his bus, hovering over the void, the bubble glass dome far below the only thing separating them from the cold grasps of space.

Metallic structures that loosely resembled buildings flanked the wide walkway of the dock. They were shoved together so tightly that there was no space between them. Shops, bars, restaurants, anything and everything you could need or want was on the strip.

Stations in general catered to the wealthy.. with a scant area for the workers of the station, with less impressive living spaces and shops... This is where Ja-hon headed towards..

He made sure to walk along the outer edge of the road, keeping as far away from the richly dressed aliens. Gloglons and Quare'k, Fe-ya and even a couple of Je'mogar.. The upper crust of society. For the other races were far superior to humankind, and they made sure they knew it too... Humans were delegated to the blue collar jobs for the most part..

He kept his eyes down and a short ten minutes of walking later he found himself standing before a rusty metallic door. It looked like it would fall off it's hinges.. if it had had any hinges to fall off of it might have. He reached his hand out and placed it on the cold metal. It slid open creakily, revealing a dimly lit studio apartment.

He moved to take a step inside but stopped, and frowned. He turned his head and spotted a figure approaching from behind.. The air seemed to electrify in the small hall as he stared at the person approaching him, a wariness present on his face.

"What do you want? Do you know who I am?" Ja-hon said. His voice was hard as steel... as domineering as a comet in flight...

The figure stopped, a little taken aback. He was a Quare'k.. It was evident by the one eye on the grey circular head, with two small tusks that jutted out from either side of it's head. Quare'k are small, the tallest of them just reaching 5 feet... this one was half that size, with ceremonious robes that spoke to a scholar.

It was odd for any race but humans to be in the slums, let alone a full scholar Quare'k... It wasn't hard for Ja-hon to guess why...

"I'm here for you.. rather, your story..." it said matter of factly.. it gestured to a massive book it held in its right hand. All three fingers of the Quare'k clung to it, as if it were the most precious object in existence... to the scholar perhaps it was...

Ja-hon sighed... the intensity in the air increased as thoughts ran through his head, "How did they find me?" ... "are there more on the way?".... "what should I do with this guy"...

He took a quick glance at the Quare'k, and the suffocating atmosphere dissipated a little. "Hmm... tell me one thing... what can you offer me for it?"

The Quare'k nodded, as if it were the most natural question in the world. Being of the most logical race they valued such exchanges... he knew that... useless questions of how he was found or what they wanted would not garner a decent response... if any...

"Immunity of course, and whatever wealth you desire for your words" it said.

"Tempting..." Ja-hon nodded. "But knowing me... and my history... what makes you think that I need your immunity.."

The Quare'k didn't seem in the least bit intimidated, it's dark eye showing no hint of emotion.. "Well... if not immunity then wealth perhaps? Anything else you desire?..."

"How about to be left alone..." Ja-hon countered. "To disappear and die in peace.."

"We could arrange that.." the Quare'k said matter of factly.

He looked at the alien for a long moment then sighed, and stepped to the side. He gestured towards the open door and said, "fine... come in..."

It nodded and took slow steps through the doorway. It stood inside and looked around, showing no hint of disgust or judgment that Ja-hon know doubts knew hid below the surface. A dingy sofa, a small cot, a simple kitchen and the tiniest of bathrooms. Simple metal flooring, walls, and ceiling.. undecorated..

Ja-hon walked past and into the kitchen. "Do you want anything?" He asked casually. He stood before a small appliance.. a replicator.. he pushed a few buttons on the outdated machine and a fresh cup of coffee and a plate of eggs and bacon appeared out of nowhere.

He picked them up and set them down on a small table as he turned to look at the Quare'k, who seemed perplexed by the question. He remembered the species he was talking to and made his question more to the point, "Aah.. I mean would you like anything to eat? To drink?"

The Quare'k nodded with understanding and said, "I do not."

"Well enough..." Ja-hon replied. He set down his work cap and sat at the small metal table, nestling in as he ate quickly and drank his coffee. The alien stood still, as if it didn't mind at all standing perfectly still in the middle of a dingy apartment while a man ate his food.

"Please.. sit down..." Ja-him gestured to the chair across from him. The scholar slowly sat, and set the massive book on top of the table. It smelled of old paper.. it was strange.. actual paper was a rare commodity. Archaic even for most of the races...

But the Quare'k valued such traditions, especially the scholars...

"We can talk after I finish" Ja-hon said sternly. If he was going to be forced to relive his past, he was going to do it on his own terms...

Minutes passed of him silently eating while the scholar sat, staring straight forward, patience itself... the light flickered in the small apartment, and the steady humming of machines was all that could be heard..

He set down his fork at long last and leaned back, picking up his cup of coffee.. "right.. first what is your name scholar?"

"Gra Vo'nae'k... You may call me Gra, if it is easier..." it said.

It was... The pronunciation of the Quare'k language was impossible for all but the Quare'k themselves. They adopted simple first names that anyone could pronounce in common for this very reason..

"Gra... tell me, how would you have me begin?... the story that is..."

"At the beginning, as all things are.." it said, a hint of questioning in it's voice, as if it thought 'how else does one begin a story???'

"No.. if you wish to tell my story you begin with the end: 'And he was found dead, on a remote moon in the Velsha solar system. His memoirs were found and they say thus:..." Ja-hon said, taking a sip of his cup of joe. It was a perfect dark roast, bitter as all hell.

"That is impossible. All stories by the Quare'k are factual... there are no lies in our archives..." it said.

Ja-hon leaned forward slightly and told him, "you can go then.. and never get my story... this is a simple request, and it will fulfill the agreement that I will be left alone... If it goes against the code of conduct for your archives..." he folded his arms and gave a long look at the scholar, "then leave this part out of your archives and simply release it as a statement to the media... they won't go fact checking your archives I assume?"

"None may enter the archives except the Quare'k.." Gra said.

"There you go... that is my request then, and the story begins with the end... now shall we return to the beginning?"

Gra seemed to think for a moment, as if his words were a math problem he had to calculate. "Of course... that is an agreeable proposition.."

Gra opened the large book with a thump on the metal table and turned to the middle, settling on a blank page. It produced a simple ink pen, another rarity Ja-hon had only seen a few times. He watched the scholar mechanically write: "The story of Ja-hon, star bane, empire destroyer, Heir of mana."

It's handwriting was spectacular. Simple but eloquent. All of the letters were precisely placed. It had been years since he had seen anything but typed out text. Handwritten things, let alone pen on paper was bizarre...

"Very well.. you may start.. from the beginning..."

Ja-him nodded, staring into his coffee. "Right... from the beginning..."