Special thanks to Betareader "SOTS" from Fanfiction net, id=1474306

Wild thumps.

She opened her eyes. Other than the faint surfaces of the offline sensory station that surrounded her and the small number of illuminating keys, darkness and the dreaded noise of trembling equipment of the bridge surrounded her and filled her heart with fear. For the last seventeen hours had the rather adolescent girl been hearing endless cranking sounds from all sides ever since the vessel entered hyperspace. Her prayers were all she had but not even that could calm her wild heart. There were so many threatening sounds that she feared the ship would tear apart at any moment. Her mind repeated over and over what the navigator woman of the ship once said:
'It's all okay, it's all normal'...

Though her mind tried to sooth her fear, every impulse shaking and throwing the ship back and forth made the words of that woman ahead in the bridge hard to believe. Looking down upon her chest, Aira's hands embraced her necklace, a mystical symbol of an eye, as the ship rushed through the violent flows of hyperspace, praying this horrific voyage was to end soon...

Chapter 1 – Rally Point

- Emergence of the Vjel-Amaj -

The near-to-endless region of space was filled with a vast colorful dust cloud, outright dense for the bare eye. Suddenly, an energetic rift between time and space opens and begins to slide into a certain direction as a large vessel emerges its way back into normal space. With the quantum wavefront field collapsing behind, the vessel, a long, large and yet elegant ship, slowly drifts forward, having no signal-lights or any other emission.

= Outskirts of the M'randara Star System... =

Aira, whose hands still had the symbolic necklace tight within her grasp, felt the sudden calmness of the ship. This terrifying journey had thankfully, finally stopped. Aira opened her eyes again. She was still surrounded by darkness, being only able to distinguish the faint figures of very small glowing buttons and weak lights and people within the bridge that encircled her higher positioned station.

"We have safely cleared hyperspace. Is it me or are these jumps getting rougher? Auto-decoupling the hyperspace module from the conduit units to undergo cooldown", said Hailynn Delixa, navigator and Hiigaran officer of the Kiith-Amaj at the helm of the bridge. Her station was further ahead and below Aira's. Hailynn was both the navigating helmsman of the ship and second-in-command, a woman who was just a head and a half taller than Aira and possessed short black hair and blue eyes. It had only been three long months since Aira joined this in-her-eyes strange crew and Hailynn was the one assigned to take care of her ever since. Despite the woman keeping an eye on her, Aira had neither had a conversation nor a dialogue between them due to her bashfulness.

"Engage Condition Yellow. Power up all stations and standby for my commands", the 'Captain' said with a deep voice, a man whose full name still has not ever been mentioned ever to Aira. She only knew that this Hiigaran man possessed quite an interesting military record in the history of the war between Hiigara and the Vaygr, but never was she able to figure who this man was. Nonetheless, Aira neither knew why this mysterious man was commander-in-chief of this ship nor what his connection was to the Kiith-Amaj.

Various sounds of booting systems were heard from all sides and angles. At first, deep red auxiliary lighting flooded the bridge, before it slowly faded into the common artificial light allowing her to see naturally again. Aira heard voices among her surroundings along with a short rumble of the main reactor inducing its lifeblood into the power grid throughout the ship. The periodic humming sound of the power core once again flew through the ship.

The ship was slowly coming back to life.

"This is the Captain", the Captain's voice continued among all speakers throughout the ship as he stood up and then spoke into a handheld intercom device, his voice only slightly distorted by the quality of the radio systems, "To all stations, we have safely emerged from hyperspace into the M'randara System. Soon, we will be en route to rally point until our position in this sector is verified. I will now restate the reason of our presence in the system."

The Captain made a short pause and cleared his voice: "Only five days ago, the 'Naval High Command' of Hiigara received a distress transmission originating from this star system. Due to the fact that this transmission originated between Kiith-Amaji and the outer rim of Vaygr space, both 'High Command' and the 'Sajuuk' have requested the Kiith-Amaj to respond to the emergency call as the only kiith being available and closest. Albeit the Amaji Council's status of independence between the Hiigaran Navy and other Kiithid, word has been spread that people of Amaj are among distress as well and require evacuation from the mining corporation situated here in the M'randara System. We are that response. The Vjel-Amaj possesses both capability and the capacity necessary for fulfilling this task. Until we designate our relative position to the rally point for evacuation, we will soon engage Condition Red to be ready for any possible danger. Bridge, Over and Out. *klickklick*"

"Sensory, observatory and surveillance systems coming back online in three... two... one...", one engineer announced. Surprised by the sudden sound, Aira's station, the sensory station of ship, powered itself up as a blue holographic sphere enveloped her. It did not take long until she was able to see what others could see now and beyond.

Signal-lights among the exterior hull of the ship illuminated as the power grid supplied power to all decks as well as periodically flashing navigation lights.

Several screens including the main screen fuzzed garbled signals before they slowly revealed the live feed viewing of surroundings of the ship. Many within the bridge had heard of this fascinating star system, but never had they seen it with their own eyes.

The star system was indeed covered by a vast and dense colorful nebula with layers and wakes... and deep within it its green tainted jade star, situated countless of HUs away from their position. Myriad gaseous streams and surreal colors filled their eyes, some of these enormous still and quiet waves appeared to be trying to escape the sun's grip of gravity, only to helplessly be curved right back to its surface...

The endless streams of ruby, sapphire and jade colors sparkled beautifully in Aira's eyes. Just like her true homeworld... There were stories of how these very rare types of systems were born. Some were based upon scientific facts while others followed those of religious beliefs... and yet both tale and fact had had their roots in truth...

Awoken from her daydream, Hailynn's slightly distorted voice disturbed her thoughts through the intercom device on her shoulder, "Hey, wake up. He ordered you to verify our position so I can plot a course - pronto."

Huh?

Aira looked down and saw the Captain looking towards her, awaiting her action. The bridge crew itself was already in a hectic state. She was the only one who was lost in memories.

"Ah-ya-ya-yes ma'am - sir", Aira nervously said and laid her hands upon two orbs, each left and right upon her seat. Only needing to close her eyes shortly, this sophisticated system based on Bentusi technology allowed her to mentally uplink herself with the ships sensory system. It only required a brief moment until she opened her eyes again in astonishment.

Hailynn's main navigational screens immediately filled itself with several symbols and the typical navigation rings aligned to the systems sun and finally, the waypoint to the rally point. Noticing certain navigation rings missing, she called out, "Aira, I'm sure we'll want to perform a hasty retreat away from this system as soon as our objective is done, so... Why do I not have any designators for the hyperjump back to Hiigaran safe space?"

"I-I cannot allow clearance for hyperjumping from this position", the girl's shaky voice replied, "It is clearly... too dangerous. I am afraid I am unable to plot a... clean... hyperspace jump point away from this system. I fear the worst. A black hole is situated somewhere far away enough from this system, its event horizon however has a much greater reach within the hyperspace... A false angular attempt by a miscalculated or blind jump could result in entering the field of its event horizon", Aira replied with a soft voice, "the density in this region is far too high... I-I can barely see two – no – three stars for verifying a new far-jump point..."

"A way in, but no way out? In other words, we are trapped," Hailynn added.

"We would only need to leave the super-dense region sur-surrounding us in order for me to see more stars so I could designate a new path. However... Our emerge-point was near-to-perfect. The distance between our current position and the rally point is only 72 km away, but that is not all. I can just sense unidentified objects at the edge of our conventional sensory reach. They will be entering our sector shortly."

Aira tried to focus her mind but it was too weak.
Your mind, soul and body is young, child. Patience, an enigmatic voice hollowed within her memory.

"We have gathered sufficient information, thank you", the Captain said, "Commander Delixa. Engage a direct course to the rally point. We must reach that point as soon as possible."

"Yes sir, Engaging course nought-five-seven point four degrees, angle –31°, distance to rally point, 72.7 kilometers... Engaging cruise flight one-point-two", Hailynn announced as she settled both hands and feet upon the sophisticated navigational controls and pedals and started instinctively, smoothly manipulating them.

Settling himself upon his seat again, the Captain revealed one last order, "Ready the strike craft wings for defensive sorties. We will engage Condition Red shortly..."

The ship begins its flight towards the rally point, its crew anxious about the rendezvous...

= Rally Point – Outskirts of the M'randara System =

Nearly one hour later, the Vjel-Amaj cruiser reached the rally point. Alone and deep within a vast blue shrouds, the ship maintained its position, awaiting the small fleet to finally appear. The crew had been on full alert and albeit the threatening limited visibility range, anxiousness had slowly grown into absolute boredom.

Aira, who had kept her eyes closed ever since the ship made its way to the rally point, remained mentally connected to the ships sensory, mentally staring at the myriad gaseous streams throughout the system.
How much she missed her homeworld... One of the most violent regions in the galaxy and still, she called it home. Someday, she hoped she would -

Her eyes widened. A breath-taking discovery...

Aira's soft but unusual dialectical voice caught the attention of the bridge crew, "I-I am sensing a small object 90 kilometers away that is emerging from a high density cloud... The signal... It is Vaygr! Approaching our position at high speed..."

The main screen focused on what Aira detected so the whole crew could see her discovery.

"It must be a scout... or a fighter on the lead!", someone of the bridge crew speculated loudly.
"An ambush I suppose! The Vaygr for sure have detected our presence!", another one replied.
"W-Wait...", Aira said, "There is more. I sense... multiple vessels emerging from the same origin of the Vaygr fighter... Two... Three... Yes, three unidentified vessels, size frigate..."

"Captain! It has got to be an ambush! Those must be assault frigates", Hailynn's voice shouted, "Suggesting an immediate retreat from this system, sir! I don't think our people have survived. There is still enough time to - !".

The Captain stared upon the screen as he saw the groups of ships making their way directly to the rally point. Was it an ambush? Maybe the Vaygr in this system have intercepted the distress call or captured and interrogated those who tried to escape. Though having the Vjel-Amaj responding as the only hope, the distress call for sure needed several days before it was received by Hiigara. But something did not fit right into what he was seeing.

"- Negative, Commander Delixa", the Captain replied, interrupting her speech, "Not yet."

Hailynn dropped her shoulders, "... Are we to dispatch our fighters, sir?"

"A second group of frigates has emerged from same dense cloud region, count four... The Vaygr fighter has engaged a parallel course to one of the frigates of the second group now and has opened fire upon-", Aira added but was interrupted by someone else's speech.

"- Are those our units? They must be under attack!"

"Wait", Aira tried to keep calm, "That is not all – The Vaygr fighter is not firing upon any of the frigates... It is firing beyond... into the denser region. Several smaller objects are closing in upon frigates..."

Flashes and short-lived flares enlightened shortly.

"Identification confirmed... The frigates of the second group are friendly units – Our sensors have identified them by their hull-profile. They are under attack by... by missile objects, I presume they are torpedoes. One of the frigates already has suffered severe damage."

"Eh..." Hailynn said confused, "The Vaygr fighter is suppressing attacks upon the Hiigaran frigates?"

"Yes," Aira confirmed, "The first group seems to be Vaygr. At least that is what I can distinguish."

"That is enough. We do not know what the intentions of these Vaygr are, but we must contact the fleeing Hiigarans," the Captain claimed, "Deck Officer Orelis, dispatch our interceptor units, they must protect those frigates at all costs."

"Dispatching!"

Within a minute, Aira counted seven brief rumbles as the small group of mixed fighters disembarked from the Vjel-Amaj's fighter bays.

The adolescent girl anxiously stared at the incoming dangers and their approach to the Vjel-Amaj and the rally point. But wait... she began to hear a voice... A deep voice trying to contact the Vjel-Amaj. Just by the accent, it was clear that this voice was not Hiigaran...

""Hiigaran brrrr*cruiser – Higar*rrsssh*n bat*nmmmzzrz*cruiser! Respond immediately!"", this bass voice shouted, distorted by the distance and the rather incompatible transmission frequency.

"What?" her eyes erratically looked around.

The voice was originating from the Vaygr fighter. Hailynn fell slightly into her seat, surprised by the origin of this broadcast.

"- How...? This Vaygr fighter is broadcasting among specific Hiigaran frequencies," one of the female operatives asked and raised one of her eyebrows.

"Anybody could do that," one crewman snitched, "Heck, I'm sure I'm able to hack into Vay-"

Hailynn interrupted as she shook her head, "Negative. According to Kelsea's readings I am seeing here as well, he is broadcasting on our designated military sub frequency, the unique transmission code stated by 'Hiigaran High Command' that was to be used on this rescue mission. There is no way he could have known of this..."

"Listen," Aira suggested with a shy tone in her voice as she focused her mind on the signal, clarifying most of its interferences the best she could.
Remaining silent, the bridge crew carefully listened to the deep and double-toned voice of the Vaygr pilot calling:
"hrrrg-aaran battlecruiser! Our situation is critical! There is no time for explanations but under no circumstance should you fire upon the frigates. Both groups are *pause* under my lead and are being pursued by long-range torpedo attacks launched by hostile AI-controlled Vaygr units. I repeat, we require immediate assistance to protect the group from pursuing hostilities! Hiigaran battlecruiser, please respond!""

Puzzled faces...
"Battle-cruiser?" somebody asked, "Did he just say 'battlecruiser'?"
"This is either a very good plan made by the Vaygr or the most confusing evac mission we are ever to take on..." someone of the crew said with crossed arms.

"Captain. Commander," the fleet coordinator called out, "Our units are requesting orders on what to do upon visual contact. Squadleader Alpha One is not sure of their objective - and sir, she is a bit... annoyed -" he added, yanking the ear piece away as he heard the ferocious and dialectic voice of a woman complaining.

"- I will handle this, with your permission, Captain," Hailynn requested.
Silently confirmed by the nod of the Captain, she immediately reset her headsets for broadcasting:
""This is -"" coughing and her throat, the at first highly-pitched female voice suddenly sounded more firm, authentic and serious, ""- This is Commander Hailynn Delixa of the Vjel-Amaj responding. Vaygr fighter, we are aware of your intent of ambushing our position. We have detected the Vaygr assault frigates among your group. Do not try to blockade the Hiigaran units or we will-""

Abruptly, the Vaygr pilot's deep and annoyed voice interrupted her speech:

""Listen, 'Lady - Commander' or whoever you are! Are you blind, Hiigaran woman?! We are the ones being pursued. Those frigates are NOT military assault units! They are civilian freighters!""

"Wha-" Hailynn said, surprised, and turned herself around, looking up to Aira's station, "Hey Ai' -?!"
"Uh... I said frigate class, only, sir – m-ma'am – Commander... ", the shy girl replied over the intercom.

Hailynn looked around and observed the other faces of the crew. Even the Captain hid his face under his officer's cap... Needless to say that she made a mistake.
What an embarrassment...

"Freighters or not! What are we to do with -", she replied over the open channel with a hesitant voice.
"We don't have the time for this. I am here for the sake of the Hiigarans and my people!""
"- but –"
"I have enough trouble trying to keep these dreaded torpedoes off our backs. The last I need is you and your 'hounds' falling in on my back."

Aira sunk into her seat as she listened to argument going on between the two. She felt a bit responsible for the ongoing squabble between the two... obviously because of her not clearly stating what she discovered.

"- But, hey now -", Hailynn had no chance in interrupting the Vaygr pilot's speech.
"The fleeing freighters are transporting enslaved people – both Vaygr and Hiigaran. Refugees or slaves - put it the way you like, but their ships are incapable of any farjumping hyperspace transit. We have no time for explanations! They are as good as dead if you are not here to help us! You must allow them to board your ship and get out of here! Heavy Vaygr vessels will arrive for sure if we are to stay too long!"

"You can't be serious!", Hailynn argued back as she slammed her fist against the side of her seat and finally gaining the word in this argument, "A Vaygr afraid of Vaygr?! Why don't you just admit that you are leading your boarding party to us?!"

"That is enough", the Captain intervened her argument and linked his communication device into the commline:
"This is the Captain of the Vjel-Amaj. Vaygr fighter, against the suspicion of my Sub-Commander – whose concern I respect -, I order all units under my command to escort and support your intention of transferring the refugees to the Vjel-Amaj."
"Huh?", Hailynn could not believe what her Captain announced.
"We will require time for the freighters to transfer the people to our ship. Until then, we must ensure that no other torpedo attacks are launched upon us."

The Vaygr fighter pilot replied, "I was barely able to stop this wave of pursuing torpedoes. One of the freighters has suffered severe hits. It is still on course but is forced to maintain a lower cruise speed to avoid fluctuations to its internal gravity control. AI-controlled torpedo frigates have followed us to this sector. Their armaments are limited and if I am correct, the last wave of torpedoes will be within range shortly, in approximately 12 to 15 minutes. If your units would support us in time, our chance of survival would be much higher."

"Very well. But despite your intentions for the sake of the refugees, you must understand that we do not trust you fully, Vaygr. Any indication of foul play will result in your destruction. We will engage siege profile to support with high accuracy flak fire."
"You have my word. *Frrrschhh*" the Vaygr pilot responded.
The Captain did not seem pleased himself, but he knew that Vaygr never broke their word, no matter how insidious they were.

"F.C.O., have our units understood their new task?", the Captain asked, looking to his right side for a brief moment.

"Squadleader Alpha One confirms the new designated assignment, sir", the fleet coordination officer acknowledged, "She assures that she will keep three units and herself on guard just in case the Vaygr pilot might attempt any wrong or... suspicious moves."
There was a tone of annoyance in his voice as he spoke the last words.

"Marine teams shall relocate themselves to the docking bays as well."

"Sir, I have concerns considering our capability in detaining so many people. We will barely have space for them. Having so many... Vaygr... onboard is not what we have expected, sir. I suggest raising our security level to 'two'", a supervisory military security officer mentioned with a firm voice.

"We do not have much of a choice, Major. However, I am aware of your concerns", the Captain replied, "Your request for S.L.-Two is acknowledged. Hand out light firearms to all crewmembers. If any crewman is free at hand and available, you may add him or her to your security teams."
The Captain turned his head away from the Major and focused his view slightly to the left, "Commander Delixa?", he called out.

Hailynn, who already hidden herself, half-sunk into her seat in embarrassment, called, "Yes sir?"

"Set a new rally point intercept course to the freighters, we should be able to save valuable time this way."

"I understand. Plotting new course to the newly designated rally point." She sighed.

- The shade in the mist... -

Ten minutes later, the Vjel-Amaj is en route to the new rally point, piercing through colorful clouds and tenuous wisps of gas. As the ship approaches the rally point, the bridge crew listens closely to the ongoing reports of their fighters supporting the fleeing freighters. With the fighters able to defend the group from the last volley of torpedoes, the tension and anxiety seems to dissipate throughout the crew, albeit with minor concerns about the Vaygr 'refugees' they were soon to be having aboard the ship.

"Vjel-Amaj, this is Squadleader Alpha Two reportin'. Last wave of the torpedoes destroyed. No trouble with the Vaygr fighter. Over."

"Watchin' that Raygr- err, Vaygr, now!", another accented female voice notified over the same channel.

"Copy, Alpha Two… and One *sigh*" the fleet coordinator replied, "Engage escort with the slower freighter until you have reached the Vjel-Amaj. The first group of freighters will transfer to our ship now. To all civilian freighter units, do you all comply, over?"

Receiving several confirmations over the commline, more than a few security operatives entered the bridge. Feeling a hand shaking her side, one of the operatives distracted Aira gently.

"Um, yes, sir?" her shy voice asked.

"I have the order to hand out this to all crewmembers, ma'am. Please take it," he said.

Looking down upon his hands, she spotted an ammo clip belt and holster holding a cold black-tinted handgun waiting to be taken by her.

"- but – I don't know how to -"
"Just take it, it's only a security measure. Just keep it to your side at all times from now on. In case something should happen, ask somebody of the crew how to use it if things should go wrong. I don't think we will have any trouble, but we will maintain a steady awareness."
Rather shoving the handgun upon her hands, the man climbed down from her station and left her alone. She shivered as handgun laid upon her hands, but just before she about to drop it, she immediately picked it with two fingers and stowed it away inside a very small cabinet to her left side.
Feeling a rumble once again, she looked around, wondering what that was.

"Latching points locked. The first freighter has docked and is beginning the transfer of their remaining crew."

Lying back, Aira begins to think that this flight maybe is not all too dangerous as she first assumed. Still staring at the holographic sensor sphere around her, her mind once again wanders, wondering if she would ever return to her distant homeworld.

She knew that the time would come where the Vjel-Amaj would leave this system, abandoning all freighters and this gloomy place her soul merely claimed was a mirror for her desire. A depressing feeling, so cold that she curled herself slightly, embracing herself as her thoughts wandered beyond. That very moment the ship would leave this shrouded world would cause her homesickness to fill her soul even worse than before... for she would never see this mysterious beauty again.

Staring at the centric jade star of the system within her mind, the adolescent girl cowered as the endless deep of the wake remained illuminated by this unusual green star that was encircled by its maelstrom of colorful streams. Her mind sung an ancient and spiritual song...

Time flew by as she stared at the endless deep of colorful nebulas illuminated by the sun. Several rumbles had already occurred, already showing that several docking procedures have taken place. Once again, she closed her eyes, mentally seeing the vast depth of blue haze that surrounded them. Six of the freighters had been abandoned and only one was left, escorted by the fighters. She sighed. Not that she was bored, but the last ship was closing in on their position. This was probably her last chance to see this phenomenal world. She stared at the dense gaseous streams that were only sixty kilometers away, once again letting her mind wander off, dreaming.

Aira's imagination wandered off again as she stared upon the distant formations of the deep nebula and the vicinity of the ship...

Intense and wild they were... with an object moving itself... It did not seem to be an asteroid or any other type of debris... It seemed as a gigantic flat object with a stem, or a pillar, long, with the appearance of a reversed needle, just barely visible among the dense cloud of the nebula – Something was focusing itself at the center of the object, growing larger as it emitted more and more light...

Recognizing the object, her eyes widened as it became clear to her - It was not her imagination!

Aira just made a shocking discovery...