DIVINITY – BOOK ONE: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 3: DISCOVERY
It is not always easy to perceive the size of the Galaxy due to its sheer massiveness. Considering that the distance between Kharak, beyond the Great Wastelands, and Hiigara, an Inner Rim world, is at least thirty-five thousand light years, it is easy to understand the irrelevance of the fastest fusion drives. They are, after all, conventional drives.
With such stellar distances in mind, one can definitely see the importance of hyperspace – the only known means of efficient travel across the Galaxy. Hyperspace came to the known Galaxy only in the First Time, with the Bentusi's discovery of the First Core. Using the vast powers granted by the First Core, the Outer Limb Trade Routes were established, uniting the Galaxy in peace. While various hyperspace modules were developed as a result of the Bentusi's technological hand downs, no other sentient race was able to develop a similar hyperdrive with the capabilities of the First Core.
It did not take long for the various races to realise the value of hyperspace in combat. The Hiigarans first took advantage of this in their terrible war for domination. Corrupted by the power of the Second Core, they were quick to use its far jumping capabilities in their mad conquest. Thankfully, they were stopped by the enigmatic Bentusi.
While hyperspace's importance remained during later times, especially during the Hiigaran race's Homecoming, there is no doubt that the End Time saw the most vicious use of far jumping hypertechnology. With the Third Core came great bloodshed and tragedy, bringing much of the known Galaxy to its knees.
The Galaxy's understanding of hyperspace has come a long way since the First Time, and ships now sport hyperspace modules with ever-increasing jump ranges. Yet, some mysteries remain.
What secret lies behind the immense power of the Hyperspace Cores, that allow them to propel entire fleets across mind-numbing distances in a single jump? What causes the bizarre hyperspatial anomalies in various regions of space?
Most importantly, was hyperspace travel developed as an instrument of discovery, or a tool of war?
As the Legacy of Kharak flickered into objective being on the outskirts of the Hiigaran system, Yuno prepared to inform Eefrit of the hyperdrive test's success. A quick glance through a concealed surveillance camera relieved her – for the admiral seemed to have recovered from the nasty emotional shock and was going through his work at his station on the bridge.
This must've been what it was like when I died, the computerized scientist mused, Except this time there is no coming back.
She shimmered into plain view before the admiral, so engrossed in his work that he didn't think to look up.
"Ahem," Yuno began, "Sir, the hyperdrive test was successful and extrapolated sensor readings indicate that the hyperspace module is functioning at one hundred percent efficiency. We should have no trouble achieving the projected maximum jump range of two thousand light years."
"Mmhmm," came the disinterested reply.
"You do remember that you are required to personally contact Lady Sjet over this success?" Yuno reminded gently.
"Oh. I'll get round to it later. You may go now."
"But sir…"
"Enough already!" Eefrit yelled angrily, slamming his fists down on his console as he did so, "Have you any idea what I'm going through now?"
"I'm sorry for your loss…"
"Sorry? SORRY?" the admiral continued to shout at Yuno's hologram, "You wouldn't understand – no, you couldn't! You're DEAD!"
Eefrit stopped there, shocked by his own choice of vocabulary and the fact that he had just let those words out of his mouth. For a few silent moments he could only gape bewilderedly at the stunned look on the hologram's face.
"… you speak truth, sir," Yuno broke the awkward silence at last, "I am technically dead…"
"No no!" Eefrit countered quickly, "I… I can't believe I actually said such a thing… I mean…"
"It's alright admiral sir. I've long since gotten over that bit of my life… or should I say, afterlife?" Yuno chuckled slightly in a bid to lighten the mood.
"Enough of that – I owe you an apology for that outburst," came the admiral's reply, "Don't know what got into me. It's just that… Soban and I… we go back a long time…"
"Since the Dust Wars, or so I've heard…" the scientist's hologram nodded in acknowledgement, "… they said it was a hyperspace rift. Perhaps they'll simply re-emerge somewhere else?"
"Thank you Yuno," Eefrit smiled weakly, "But you and I both know the true nature of Coruc-Tel. No ship lost there has ever returned. Now, you were going to inform me regarding?"
"I concede I nearly forgot," Yuno admitted as she took the admiral's cue to change the subject, "After you inform Lady Sjet of our hyperdrive test results, we are to return immediately to Hiigara for final retrofitting."
"I see. Is there anything else?"
"This just came in during the last couple of minutes," Yuno continued, "The retrofit is to be completed within twenty hours, after which we will be required to launch officially for our first mission."
"So they decided to cancel the post-launch tests after all," Eefrit noted as he thought back to his various conversations with High Command some weeks earlier, his arguments that Hiigara didn't have the luxury of time for such an extensive suite of tests, "Mission details?"
"We are to make an immediate hyperjump to the Coruc-Tel system to assist the Sabre against the Raider incursion, assuming the fleet still remains," the scientist explained, "Not long after informing us of the Dreadnaught's loss the Sabre suffered in-system jamming and communications were lost. Fleet Command is apparently not willing to risk losing another carrier to the Raiders' weaponised Beast variant and has decided to opt for a full-fledged Mothership assault force."
"To be sure it doesn't spread beyond Coruc-Tel," Eefrit reasoned, "Leaving us with too little time again, as usual."
"I will begin pre-jump preparations at once," Yuno bowed slightly as she took her leave, shimmering out of sight and leaving the admiral to his thoughts on the otherwise empty bridge.
Powering up the viewscreen in his quarters, Kiir was greeted by the eerie blue streaks of hypergate transit. An hour had passed since they entered 112A's jump horizon, and there was still no end in sight.
It's another galaxy entirely, he thought, It's supposed to be far.
A tap of a button returned him to the notes and equations that formed the foundation of his theory on Far Jumping. Years of mental efforts and research had only yielded one success – the Sync Jump Algorithm that let ships merge their quantum waveforms so as to achieve greater strategic jump ranges. Many gaps still remained in his overall theory however – gaps that refused to be filled despite him throwing considerable mental efforts at the problems.
"… while the loss in Hiigaran life, especially that of war veteran Captain Soban, is indeed tragic, perhaps more catastrophic is the loss of research possibilities on board the Progenitor Dreadnaught…"
The words that made up Hiigaran Fleet Command's official response continued to echo in the researcher's mind. News of the Gatekeeper's tragic loss at Coruc-Tel had reached them before the gate jump. While the fact that the Turanic Raiders had found a way to weaponise the Beast for their own insidious ends was greatly disturbing, he was affected more by the factual, even casual response of Hiigaran Fleet Command.
So deaths conveniently become unfortunate statistics in the name of the sciences. I wonder if Karan would agree.
Not that her Divine Word would matter – she was simply too far away now. Last he heard, Karan had taken the Sajuuk on yet another expedition through another extension of the Eye of Aaraan, believing it to be a path to the mysterious and impenetrable Southern Galactic Fringe.
"Attention all crews," Commander Hyll's voice boomed suddenly across the broadcast system, "Sensors indicate that we will be reverting to normal space in approximately one minute. Report to your positions and stand by for hyperspace exit. Kiir Sjet, I request your presence on the bridge as soon as is conveniently possible. Thank you."
The Dreadnaught's bridge shuddered with an urgent violence as the vessel was hauled unceremoniously into the depths of hyperspace. While alarmed by the sudden turn of events, it was all Soban could do while awaiting an informed analysis from Sora.
"NAV reports we are rushing through hyperspace to an indeterminate location," the Paktu finally answered, straining his voice to be heard over the din of the ship's groaning superstructure, "I've gotten word to Engineering – Idus should have a solution in due time!"
"He'd better have," Soban replied in as calm a voice he could muster, knowing full well the fate of other Hiigaran vessels that had been ensnared by the fingers of Coruc-Tel, "If we're going to get out of this alive…"
"… ahead of you on that sir," the Somtaaw's voice crackled over the intercom with a welcome suddenness, "We've reconfigured the hyperdrives to generate a reversed quantum waveform. In theory it should get us back to normal space…"
"Then what in Qwaar's name are we waiting for – Sora!"
The shuddering increased in intensity as the hyperspace systems came online, their distant strained whine clearly audible to all on the Gatekeeper's bridge. A colourful curse escaped from Sora's lips as the Hyperspace NAV decided to give up the ghost and shatter from the power surges coursing through its system, filling the bridge with the acrid smell of fried circuitry.
"We've lost HyperNAV!"
"Registering system shorts occurring in nearly all of our internal systems," Aalcor added to the grim news, "Main power is fluctuating, and there is some sort of energy feedback building in the phased cannon array."
"Heard that Idus?" Soban hollered at the intercom so as to be heard over the racket.
"We're doing everything we can here," the hapless Somtaaw answered, "Shunting all available power to hyperdrives!"
As the ship jolted sharply once more, the swirls of hyperspace outside the ship began slowing down to reveal a window of realspace before them. Another deafening groan reverberated through the Dreadnaught's superstructure, the marvel of Progenitor engineering threatening to tear apart as the Gatekeeper finally dropped back into the relative safety of normal space.
"Quite a ride," the captain muttered as he waited for life support to clear the considerable veil of smoke from the bridge's atmosphere. As visibility improved, he was relieved to see that the bridge crew had gotten away with just a few bruises and grazes.
"So… what's still working here?"
"Not the HyperNAV," came the ship helm's reply, "So all we can do is blind jump till it's fixed."
"Not that easy I'm afraid," the Somtaaw engineer chimed in again, "Hyperdrive plasma conduits are a complete mess, as is the rest of Engineering – there's lots of work to be done here before we get hyperdrives back."
"Do you have a nice ETA then?"
"We have an ETA but it's not nice captain – at least forty-eight hours before we get micro-jump capability, and another seventy-two before the thing'll jump normally."
"Well," Soban had to raise a palm to his face at the news, "Aalcor – please tell me we're still good tactically."
"Outer armor is not compromised, as is the hull," the Manaani answered, "Point defence systems and the plasma turret remain functional as well – but I would hesitate to recommend use of the PCA until a full diagnostic can be conducted."
"Take all the time you want. Eliir?"
"Sensors are still confused by our sudden transit to normal space – it will take some time for them to recalibrate. But based on visual data alone…" the Sjet trailed off.
"Sounds like you need to revisit those starcharts Eliir," Soban chuckled as he took his first proper look at the main viewscreen since the hyperspace craziness – only to realize that it was not ignorance on Eliir's part.
Wherever they now were, streaks of starlight seemed to scatter and stretch randomly in all directions – as though they were still in hyperspace.
The Hell? Is the bloody Universe bending in around us or…
It was then that Soban noticed the two stars situated at the extreme ends of the viewscreen. Their colour, size and brilliance were unmistakably recognizable.
"Coruc and Tel," Soban uttered, "So we're still in-system at least, yet…"
"Sensors recalibrated," Eliir interrupted the puzzled captain, "None of our starcharts match our present location however, and I'm picking up some distant traces of a quantum anomaly. Perhaps this is some kind of a parallel universe?"
"Possibly – but who knows?" Soban shrugged at his sensor officer's suggestion, "Quantum physics wasn't one of my academic strengths. Keep scanning the region for anything we might recognize."
"I am, and I think I've found something," came the reply, "Derelict object thirty-nine kilometres from our current position. Magnifying visual data…"
And then the unmistakable design of a Far Jumper flickered into plain view for all to see.
Kiir Sjet stepped onto the bridge just as the ship emerged from hyperspace, the blue streaks surrounding the carrier splitting open to reveal the blackness of space beyond. Moments later, the Exile passed the threshold along with its escort fleet of frigates and destroyers.
"A pleasant end to a pleasant journey if I might say," Hyll remarked.
"While I wish not to spoil the mood, I can only hope it stays that way," Kiir replied cautiously, "We are, after all, in uncharted territory."
"You worry unduly – this fleet is fully equipped to handle anything short of a mothership assault force," came the commander's confident reply, "Besides, if anything were to go wrong it is a simple matter to return whence…
"… I apologise for the interruption sirs," the Exile's sensor officer spoke up suddenly, "But long range scanners have picked up a large debris field thirteen kilometres from our position."
"There is always a debris field isn't it," Hyll sighed at the news, "Details?"
"Running preliminary scans now – we should have results in…" the officer paused as the readings popped up before him, causing his eyes to widen in stunned surprise.
"Well?"
"… Bentusi origins," the officer managed to say, "Those are Bentusi ruins out there."
The bridge fell silent at the sudden revelation, everyone stunned at the fact that the Bentusi should be found even in such a distant place as this.
But it's not possible, Kiir was racing through all the possibilities now, Bentus was the last of the Bentusi, and the rest of their fleet wiped out by the Crusades. Unless…
"The fleet is to micro-jump to those coordinates immediately," Hyll ordered upon recovering from the initial shock, "And Kiir – if you have any theories whatsoever…"
"I think I already have," the researcher answered as it all fell into place, "This was where they fled to so many years ago, during the Beast conflict."