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"For Centuries our people fought the Archenemy. For centuries we had been hopeless in our fight, driven back endlessly with only defeat and loss to show for it. The Archenemy comes again now, and this time we are not alone. Standing against the Archenemy are the descendents of those who we viewed as gods. The old ones will know fear as our progenitors and their vassals march to war."
-Leader of the Remnant of the Empire, on the eve of the Skillian Blitz.
The star system could have easily been considered barren; revolving around the generic main sequence star was a single lifeless planetoid no larger than three thousand kilometers in diameter.
The nameless planetoid had once been a vibrant garden world teeming with life, or at least it had been, until it had faced the fate of orbital bombardment from an unknown war tens of thousands of years ago. But that wasn't what made the system important.
For the first time in over fifty thousand years the system had visitors, a flotilla of ships in orbit of the planetoid. Eleven vessels held gyrosyconise orbit, of them six were dull grey tri-engine weaponless bulk vessels built for cargo and passengers, while the remaining five ships were armed and built for war. Four of these were no longer than a hundred and eighty meters, frigates built for screening duty. The last vessel, at two hundred and forty meters in length was the small groups flagship a heavy frigate and in the script of its builders was the name The Imperative along it hull.
The Imperative- Bridge
The heavy frigates bridge was in the center of the ship, as a means to, if only temporary protect those who crewed the most vital area of the ship. At the front sat a trio of occupied stations, the helmsman's the navigator's, and the weapons operators stations. Behind them and in the center was a raised dais for the ships commander, to the dais's left was the communications station, and to the right was the sensors. At the rear of the dim, cramped room was the only way in, a narrow hall way shaped to give the bridge crew a better defensive position all the while expose any intruder who tried to seize the chamber.
"Report" ordered a voice from the command throne that sat upon the bridges center dais.
"All ships reporting in and are standing ready, General" Replied the Generals executive officer, who stood to his superiors right and rear.
The General nodded shifting forward in his scarlet colored armor, listening to the quiet taping of his crew operating his personal flagship.
"How many?" asked the General?
"Each hauler holds a hundred warriors, and just as many of the servant caste, there are thirty warriors among each of the light frigates and another eighty on The Imperative." The Executive Officer reported lowering his data-pad to his side "Just over fifteen hundred in total, including naval crewmen. Sir"
The General frowned; he would have wanted the thirty thousand warriors, as was the original plan. That he told himself would be all that he would have needed for his mission, but he would have to make due with the eight hundred warriors within the flotilla.
The plan that his direct superior had formulated had been simple, he along with a large force of warriors would find a 'safe' world then they would dig, bury and thus create a underground facility to house the cryo-stasis pods that his force would be housed within and when the time came, emerge, conquer then lead the galaxy against the Archenemy.
It had been in progress until the plans flaw was exposed and then used by hostile forces. The flaw was that in order for the plan to succeed there would need to be a diversion, and that was where the Supreme Commander of the Zuras Resistance Force would lead every warship that could be amassed in short order to launch the newest of what would be a futile counter-attack. It had not been the first for that matter only one in the hundreds that had been launched in the passed decade. That was what the plan hinged upon. The enemy had been seemingly tied down, only for a strike force to attack the camp; those in his flotilla were the only survivors.
"Have all ships approach the following coordinates?" the General ordered activating his Omni-tool and proceed to send the relevant data to the navigators station.
"A relay-less region, old friend?" His second, a skilled engineer who stood slightly shorter than himself asked him dropping pretence that he had been holding.
"Are you doubting me, Jamaar?" Javik asked, his subordinate, the only survivor of his old crew, all those years ago
"Never, but there is a purpose as to why it called a dead zone"
"True, but it's the only region that Edre-Tyrene is suspected to be in" Javik said leaning back; Jamaar froze in stunned silence at the sound of the name.
"Is it truly?" Jamaar asked quietly, his voice wondrous.
Javik nodded he knew what his friend was thinking, it was the name their gods, those who they learned the Cosmic Imperative from, called their home world.
Their gods, all they knew of them was simple. In appearance they were humanoids standing on two legs with two arms, but they were just as varied to the extreme. It was the reason why they made the race of mono-gendered–humanoids on one world their inheritors. Government wise their gods were an empire that conquered or destroyed the weak, to the betterment of all races in the galaxy. But they had vanished sixty thousand years ago. Long before his peoples time, leaving only dysfunctional relics, and script that had taken centuries to decrypt behind.
"Communications, send the coordinates to all ships, Helms take us underway," Javik ordered and with the given order his crew rushed into action.
"All ships away, General" Replied his comms officer.
"Underway to systems edge, will be in FTL position in fifteen minutes" The Helmsman replied curtly.
Five minutes passed as the eleven ships gathered together, the cargo ships in the center the frigates surrounding them and The Imperative in the lead of the small formation.
"Multiple contacts on intercept course" The sensor operator barked out sharply.
"Report!" Ordered Javik as he cursed, they had waited too long in the system.
"One capital-ship class and three destroyer class ships on intercept course in eleven minutes' replied the crewman at the sensor station.
"Have all ships move to full speed?" Javik growled, they couldn't stay and fight nor could any ship stay behind to delay the enemy and buy time, his forces were too low as it was.
"I will head to engineering to see what I can assist with," Informed Jamaar as he stood to Javiks right.
"Understood" Respond Javik as a form of response, his friend had been the chief engineer of his old ship so it would be wise to release him to his post.
With the bridge reduced to eight individual the next few moments passed with silence as the moved to try and out run the Archenemy craft.
"We are away, all ships are away" Said the Navigator breaking the silence that had engulfed the bridge.
"How long until we reach to coordinates?" Asked Javik as he relaxed, there was nothing he could do now
"Our ETA is at five days," responded the navigator.
"That will leave our primary and secondary heat capacitors fried" Said Systems
"Noted" Javik replied as he looked at his crew, they like his warriors and himself; they wore the red armor of the empire. They were all fine troops but would they be enough to revive the empire he wondered.
Five Days later, unknown location
"All ships report" Ordered Javik as he stood by the communications station.
"Cargo one reporting," Said the first captain followed shortly by all other vessel captains of the Flotilla.
"Sensors, what have found?" Javik asked tensely, the passed five days of FTL had been uneventful but that didn't mean anything against an enemy that could reach a location before them; they had been in system for half an hour by that point discharging the static builds up that was the result of space travel.
"Six planetoids located, five planets, and one moon orbiting the second planet" Replied Sensors as he looked at the data from probes that had been dispatched minutes ago.
"Is it habitable?" Asked Javik as he moved to sit at his command chair.
There was a pause then "Affirmative it has proper atmospheric conditions." Responded Sensors as he looked at the data that had been sent by one of the probes.
"Helms head there, that will be our sanctuary." Responded Javik "Sensors, confirm no Archenemy ships in region"
Looking at the data from probes that had been sent to the edge of the system, the sensors operator looked to the General "N-No archenemy ships are here, nor is there any Element Zero emissions" responded the officer.
"Very well" replied Javik as he mused this would have to do then, and if they were found, then Cosmic Imperative would settle matters.
A/N: Well here's the prolog of my first story, next chapter will be introducing most of the rest of the main characters. If anyone wants to beta send me a PM. Read and tell me what you think.
