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Starbound: A Space Odyssey

As red tentacles burst from the ground, the whole planet trembled and fell into chaos. It was the beginning....the beginning of the end. Earth was destroyed with the attack of the mysterious creature. The Terrene Protectorate, the defenders of the universe, were left in shambles after the attack on Earth. Only a few people were able to flee from the planet before its complete destruction. John Connor, an 18 years old fresh graduate Protector, was one of those lucky enough to survive and escape. Armed only with his dubious expertise and a few tools, he will have to avoid the dangers the universe without the Terrene Protectorate can offer, repair his ship, restore the symbol of a defunct organisation and carry the burdens of the fate of the world that lies on his shoulders. Surviving in this turbulent era won't be easy for our inexperienced John Connor. With the end of the Terrene Protectorate, numerous factions that were once dormant, will rise and start to fight for power. Outlaws, fanatics, greedy corporations, and governments, the conflict of interests of those groups and factions will lead to an incredible amount of deaths. Follow John Connor as he explores the wonders of the endless universe, and discover how harsh and unforgiving reality can be. --------------- Chapters will be about 1000 to 1500 words. (Except for some special chapters.) ------------------ * YOU CAN READ THIS WITHOUT EVER PLAYING THE GAME OR KNOWING THE LORE! EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINED THROUGHOUT THE CHAPTERS, AND EVEN HAVE SOME AUXILIARY CHAPTERS WITH MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION. I also had to change a lot about the lore of the game to fit in the format of a novel, I really mean a lot, since the game itself doesn't give a lot about its lore and neither have detailed storytelling, since the focus of the game was in exploration and doing whatever the player wants. ------------------- Disclaimer: This Novel is based on the videogame Starbound by Chuckle Fish. The image is from the artist LemanRush; I downloaded it from the site DeviantArt. Also, sorry about my English, it isn't my primary language. Enjoy... :D

ArthurHFSS · Sci-fi
Not enough ratings
185 Chs

Changes in the Black Star Syndicate (3)

"Oh, dad, I forgot about you." Jason said, apologetically. "Now, back to business."

"Why are you doing this?" Travis forced himself to ask with his hoarse voice.

"Because I remember, dad." Jason inclined his head until their faces were almost touching. "I'm doing this because I know what you, and your wife, did to my mother and myself." His smile got a lot colder, and his eyes glinted with complete hatred and madness.

"No wonder..." Travis suddenly came to an understanding and glared at Jason. "You were behind my wife's death, weren't you?"

"Yes. I did it all. It was me who planted the bomb that destroyed her spacecraft when she has just left the planet."

"Bastard..." Travis cursed Jason in a low voice. "I should have killed you. A son born from that whore...I should have expected he would be of the same kind, treacherous, and evil."

"You're not mistaken about myself." Jason was calm this time when he heard the curses that Travis uttered. "But my mother...she was an angel, a perfect person. Her only mistake was falling in love with someone like you, a monster."

Travis tried to move, but Jason acted swiftly and gripped Travis's hand that wasn't pinned down by the pen.

"She was innocent. You corrupted her. You destroyed her. And when you were done with her, you just threw her away, like a broken toy." Jason's eyes became filled with rage as his grip slowly got stronger, making Travis's bones let out cracking noises.

"She tried to kill me! I acted in self-defense!" Travis tried to explain himself.

"Did you even tried to understand why she tried to kill you?" Jason walked up to Travis and asked by his ear, "I tried to tell you a lot of times that there was someone making plans behind the scenes to kill you, but you never listened to me. The person who released the well-hidden secret that you committed adultery and even had a son with my mother when I was 5 years old. When I was 6 years old, this same person took me as a hostage and gave the order for my mother to kill you, or they would kill me. After what you, and your wife, did to her throughout years old constant abuse, it comes to no surprise why would she rather choose to save her child and try to kill you. You might be wondering... who wanted you dead?"

Jason smiled at the constant changes in Travis's expression. Jason turned his head and locked his eyes at the old man's body on the ground, "It was him, Travis. It was Opert. He wanted you dead the most. Your most loyal aide turns out to be the traitor you always wanted to find after those incidents with my mother, your wife, and those assassination attempts."

Travis's face twisted in anger and disbelief, "You are lying..." He said in a low voice, almost whispering, "LIARRR!!!" he shouted at Jason.

"Why would I lie? I don't have any reason to lie at this stage? After all, you are going to die today." Jason calmly said with a chilling tone.

"You can't kill me." Travis said while turning his blue eyes from Jason to the high officers. "They would never follow you."

"I would not place your hopes on them," Jason spoke as his eyes went through everyone in the room until it stopped by the eight people that were left sitting. "I already have my subordinates, loyal ones."

"Yes, sir!" The eight that were previously in their chairs immediately stood up and saluted Jason without batting an eye at Travis.

"As for these..." Jason's cold eyes went to the twelve that stood up, and we're questioning him. They instantly shuddered and lowered their heads. "They aren't that big of a threat. I already made countermeasures if any of them decide to do something. If they betray me, I just need to use my backup to take control of their factions."

Travis's face becomes uglier as his eyes showed despair.

"Father..." Jason lowered his eyes to look at Travis that had fallen in despair. He smiled at the sight and savored every moment of it. Unfortunately, he knew that he couldn't stay this way forever, so he reached out his hand and gripped Travis's throat.

Travis was surprised by Jason's move and tried to struggle, but Jason used his other hand and locked up Travis in his grip.

"...I'm done with you..." Jason's face was expressionless as he said those words, and the grip on Travis's neck tightened. "... goodbye."

*Crack*

Jason effortlessly snapped Travis's neck, and thus Travis Silverhand was killed.

His expression was still of despair and unwillingness in the face of death. He always knew there was the possibility of Jason betraying him. He always suspected his son.

That's why he never gave him any power. However, he never thought that despite his efforts, Jason was still able to grow his force inside the Syndicate. Those 8 that unquestionably followed Jason's order showed how capable Jason really was.

He looked down too much at Jason, thinking he was just boy. Still, Jason already had killed Travis's wife, together with Travis's son that was 7 years old, in an "accident" when he was just 9 years old.

Jason had already started his plans to destroy his father ever since Travis killed his mother.

Travis underestimated Jason, and this is what led to his inevitable downfall.

"Ah, that was exhausting." Jason relaxedly fell on the chair and gave a long sigh of relief before looking at the guards and saying, "Clean this up. The room is reeking blood."

"Yes, big boss." Two soldiers saluted before going toward the two bodies and carrying them away from the room.

"Now..." Jason's cold and emotionless eyes swept over the remaining 19 members that were left on the seats.

They didn't dare to meet Jason eye to eye and just lowered their head.

Jason smiled, satisfied at the effect that he was able to achieve by doing what he did.

"How about we go back to our original conversation. Let's have a peaceful, democratic vote to elect the new big boss of the Black Star Syndicate. No pressure~ just do what you think is right~" Jason tapped his finger on the table. He continued speaking when he saw everyone nodding, "Who is in favor of me, Jason Silverhand, taking over the Syndicate?"

Some members hesitated for a second. Still, after remembering Opert and Travis's fate, their hearts grew cold, and they didn't hesitate to raise their hands.

"Good." Jason grinned in great satisfaction when he saw the unanimity of the votes. "From this day onwards, I, Jason Silverhand, will lead the Black Star Syndicate to its glory. This is a promise from me to all of you. If you don't betray me, you will have riches for all your life, but if you betray me... well... your fate is going to be a lot worse than my father and Opert's."

"Yes, Big Boss!"

The members stood up and saluted their new boss, whatever it was going to be something good or bad, only the future would answer it for them.

At least they were alive.

They could rejoice for this fact.

For now...