INITIUM FINIS

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

Tyler Moore Shephard, Commander of the Fourth Cohort of the 5th Legion of the G.R.E. knew otherwise.

Tyler found himself stationed on the fourth moon of the planet Vashtar ten cycles ago. Time lost its meaning in the bleak half-light on the surface of this gods-forsaken moon.

Their oxygen supply was running low, and Tyler knew that unless things changed soon, he and his men would die.

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. He’d thought that once, too. Until he’d heard it himself.

It was not a scream the way you might imagine one. What Tyler heard was more like the quivering of the universe.

Sound is all about vibrations, thought Tyler. You can’t hear anything in space because there is no atmosphere to vibrate.

But, that was wrong thinking. There is still gravity in space. The farther away from celestial bodies you get, the weaker gravity becomes. But, it's still there even at the farthest reaches of the void.

The sound echoed out like a hammer blow, sending waves of force all throughout the galaxy.

It was unlikely, Tyler mused, that ANYONE had missed it.

Which is what led Tyler and his Cohort to their current mission.

G.R.E. Scientists tracked the anomaly to this system. Tyler and his men went to investigate and report back on their findings.

They already explored the three other moons surrounding the planet Vashtar. It was on arrival to the fourth moon that Tyler and his men’s luck had run dry.

That horrid, wretched sound. The pulsing ring of gravity that had drawn them there in the first place, rang out once more.

Their shuttle, destroyed in the ensuing quakes – their gear, ravaged. Tyler and his 1000 man unit were lucky to maintain their lives through the experience.

And Tyler knew whatever it was that had made that sound was angry.

A scattered and stuttering signal came through his communications link. “Si… Sir, do you… copy?”

Tyler flicked his fingers with practiced ease. A holo-monitor expanded in front of him. He toggled through his sensor array to locate what malfunction interrupted his signal.

He found it soon enough. After digging through his pack he fished out a replacement antenna. With deft movements, Tyler attached it to the exterior of his helm.

The signal came through strong after that – and a clear voice spoke in his ears.

“Sir, do you copy? Can you hear us?” said the voice.

“I do. Report.”

“Copy that. Sir, we’ve found something. It’s hard to describe, it’s best if you see it for yourself.”

“Location?”

“Two clicks to the west of your present coordinates, Sir. Be advised, the anomaly has made things… unstable. We’re holding it together as best we can, Sir, but it’s going to collapse soon.”

“Understood, document what you can, I’ll be there.”

“Roger that.”

Tyler strode over to a downed twin-cycle aerial-surface exploration bike. They call it a bike, but beyond its general shape it bore little resemblance to a bike from back home.

With a grunt, and a heave, the bike was in the right position, and Tyler flipped it through its ignition cycle.

With a grin, Tyler launched into the air, skimming right over the surface of the planet at high speeds. The onboard AI assisted in navigating the rocky terrain.

It was a logical leap from the self-driving vehicles of old earth.

Tyler soared across the vast reaches of the moon, and arrived at his destination within a few minutes.

Tyler dismounted outside the now scattered remains of his cohorts basecamp. One of his Lieutenants rushed over to escort him to the site of their discovery.

“Sir, the excavation crew has managed to stabilize the area. They’ve sent in drones to scan the environment for our records, but you’ve got to see it to believe it. We’ve found what looks like a pictorial history from the beginning of time drawn on the walls of a cave.”

Tyler stopped short. “Lieutenant, why would I care about this kind of discovery? How are cave drawings relevant to our current objective?”

The Lieutenant nodded his head. “Sir, that’s what I’m getting at – these drawings weren’t made by people, as far as we can tell. Not human, or alien, as far as we know. And there’s something else…”

Tyler was beginning to grow impatient. “Well?”

“Sir, the drawings are self-updating. The last drawing I saw before running to meet you shows… Well, you. Entering the cave. With me.”

Tyler stared at the Lieutenant with a stony gaze. “If this is an attempt at humor, Lieutenant, I have to tell you, I don’t find it funny.”

The Lieutenant paled, “It’s no joke, Sir. Look for yourself, the cave is ahead.”

With a frown, Tyler faced the cave. The entrance of the cave was unremarkable, but still Tyler shivered while looking at it. Something about it was unnerving.

With determined steps, Tyler entered the cave followed by the Lieutenant.

Every step into the cave revealed more of the caverns within. The walls, covered in so many drawings it was almost impossible to tell where they began or ended.

Tyler supposed that was sort of the point. Who did know when time began or ended?

Still, Tyler found the starting image near the entrance. An image of what appeared to be three great lions, each with two tails and six legs stared back at him.

The Lieutenant continued past him as he stood, transfixed by the image of the lions. What great beings were these supposed to be? Tyler felt he could almost recognize them, but for some reason, couldn’t. As though it was a truth staring him straight in the face, but he could not understand it.

“Sir?” Called the Lieutenant.

Tyler snapped out of his reverie and looked back at his subordinate. “The drawings of us… they’re over here.”

Tyler marched over. Sure enough – there he was, depicted on the wall next to a white-faced Lieutenant.

There was more drawings after this – but not of the Lieutenant and Tyler. This was worrisome – were they meant to die here after all?

Tyler guessed that not every event to ever have occurred in the cosmos could be on record in this cave. Only the most significant events.

If that was the case, what was so significant of their arrival at this place to warrant it’s presence on the wall?

Above the drawing was an inscription. Tiny, near illegible, but becoming darker and darker. As though ink was gathering into it, to cement itself into the wall.

It was Latin. Tyler would recognize it anywhere. One did not grow up in the military districts of the Galactic Roman Empire without exposure to Latin.

It read, “INITIUM FINIS”. The beginning of the end.