HOMEWORLD2: INTERSTELLAR ODYSSEY
CHAPTER 12: CRISIS POINT
The super dreadnaught Sajuuk now drifted majestically in high Hiigaran orbit. Once an awe-inspiring warship with the ability to create or destroy entire worlds, Sajuuk was now nothing more than a dead derelict, suited more to the role of a space-based memorial. The three mighty Hyperspace Cores, once uncanny tools with the power to far jump across the Galaxy, were now nothing more than chunks of burned out circuitry.
Despite the horrible state of the warship, a small group of Hiigarans remained onboard as a skeleton crew. While the Sajuuk was now considered to be effectively neutralised, the New Daiamid had acknowledged the dangers of letting it fall into enemy hands. Derelict or not, the Progenitor technology onboard Sajuuk was just far too advanced and dangerous to be abandoned.
For the Hiigaran marines on the vessel, life had gone on virtually unchanged since the end of the war five years ago. They would patrol the internals of the Sajuuk every few hours, making sure that everything was in order and that there were no Hiigaran enemies trying to steal the ship. So monotonous was their job that the marines actually prayed for an anomaly to occur.
It was quite a pity, because the hostile takeover event they had been dreaming of was actually happening right under their noses.
…
Internal sensors online.
Running systems diagnostics…
Hyperspace capabilities offline.
Weapons systems offline.
Life support at ninety-four percent.
Initiating basic repairs…
Engaging emergency backup protocols.
Scanning quantum entanglement databanks…
Scan complete. One consciousness located.
Loading consciousness…
"The hell's going on?" the Sjet engineer cursed when the computers suddenly ceased to run the inputted Sjet programs. Instead, lines upon lines of random characters flooded the screens as the Sajuuk's main computer core inexplicably booted up on its own.
"Damn it, did you do something?" another Sjet asked as he tried to comprehend the situation, "According to my screens here, the nanite repair system's starting up."
"It's not my fault! The whole thing just began booting up on its own!" the engineer responded in a panic, "Should we contact Sajuuk Khar?"
"If the higher levels get word of this, our careers are finished," the programmer replied, trying to keep his calm, "I'll try to shut down the boot sequence from here. Meanwhile, you can try and see if you can cut off main power."
"Got it."
"Crap, the bulkheads are sealing!" the marine exclaimed as he saw the doors slowly but steadily sliding shut in the orange glow of the backup lights.
"C'mon people, we've got to get back to the bridge!" the sergeant yelled, "Sajuuk damn it. What the hell are they doing up there?"
The security patrol broke out into a dash as the soldiers tried desperately to reach the bridge before the bulkheads were completely sealed. However, they knew they were not going to make it. With the bridge at least five sections away and the bulkheads' doors already half-closed, they would only come within two sections of the bridge at best speed.
None of them had any clue as to what was going on.
…Basic repairs at five percent.
Hyperspace capabilities restored to zero point three five percent.
Accessing navigational databanks… complete.
Coordinates locked in.
Engaging hyperspace.
The Hiigaran fleet was already panicking over the sudden hijacking and departure of the Koshiir Ra, and the mysterious disappearance of Yuno Manaan only made matters worse. Without Yuno overseeing the bulk of the fleet's operations, proper mobilisation had to wait until the Pride of Hiigara had been successfully crewed with an emergency complement of personnel for the situation.
As the last crew transport pulled away from the Pride, the already overtaxed Hiigaran Fleet Command received other undesirable news.
The Sajuuk, dead and derelict for the past five years, had suddenly revived its basic systems for no apparent reason.
This sudden development threw the high command into chaos. Commanders and tacticians argued over the next course of action and debated the appropriate response to both situations. As the chaos grew, the Sajuuk casually opened a quantum wavefront and slipped silently into hyperspace.
Onboard the Eidolon, the Shining Hinterlands:
General Soban dashed through the bridge doors and gestured at Taruur, who immediately moved away from the primary command station. Walking right up to his rightful position, Soban quickly gave his orders.
"Lock all weapons on the Koshiir Ra and fire at will," he barked, "We must protect the Tiamat and the Redemption at all costs!"
"Affirmative," Aalcor acknowledged as he went about keying in the necessary firing commands, "By the way sir, where is the Hiigara'sa?"
"He's had to see to… other issues at this point in time," Soban quickly responded, "In the meantime, we need to get into effective firing range. Sora, take us up close to the Koshiir Ra, maximum evasive."
The Eidolon's helmsman nodded and gripped the ship controls tightly. A slight groan could be heard as thrusters pushed the dreadnaught away from the Tiamat, turning the ship to face the rogue God before them. Another series of shudders reverberated through the Eidolon as it fired off a salvo of sixteen fusion torpedoes, sending the objects of mass destruction at the Koshiir Ra up ahead.
Meanwhile, the T-MAT and Nalthoran fleets had brought their weapons to bear on the Progenitor vessel, firing off every single weapon in their arsenal. Explosions lit up the surrounding space as ion beams and plasma bolts slammed into the Guardian's distortion field, creating a dazzling light show that did no damage to the ship itself.
And then the Eidolon's fusion torpedoes impacted. Carrying nuclear fusion payloads rather than standard super-dense explosives, the specially-made torpedoes easily outdamaged every other Nalthoran missile in use. Light blossomed from the impact points as the torpedoes detonated.
At this point, the Eidolon swept in with secondary weapons blazing. Turbopulsars and heavy ion cannons spat their firepower at the Koshiir Ra, slashing lines of pure energy across the protective distortion field, which shook off the assault like it was nothing more than an insect bite.
"Sensors indicate no effect to the distortion field," Eliir reported, "The field has been reconfigured for maximum defence against our weapons."
"Then we maintain pressure on the field," Soban ordered, "Aalcor, sustain fire on a localised area of the field…"
"Alert, energy spike detected in the distortion field," Eliir exclaimed, "Distortion field attack imminent!"
Before Soban could even yell "Brace," the Koshiir Ra sent a dagger-shaped distortion field slamming into the dreadnaught with maximum force. The primary distortion field of the Eidolon collapsed instantly, unable to withstand the sheer pressure of the superior field, while the secondary energy shields flared and overloaded under the attack. As the shield generators overloaded, power surges swept through the dreadnaught, causing a few of the bridge consoles to spark and explode.
Needless to say, the bridge was seemingly gripped by a terrible quake as the Eidolon's gyros were overwhelmed. The dreadnaught spiralled helplessly away from the Guardian, the hull and armour barely holding under the stress.
Sprinklers proceeded to drench the bridge as the smoke reached the emergency detectors. Amidst the sudden chaos, Soban managed to regain his balance and get back on his feet.
"Primary shields offline, secondary shields holding at nineteen percent," Aalcor reported grimly, "We've lost power to the fusion torpedo bays."
"Primary sensors are offline as well," Eliir yelled from her barely-functioning console, "We still have auxiliary sensors though."
"Take us around for another salvo," Soban muttered, "Ready the phased energy cannon."
Warning klaxons sounded as Aalcor keyed in the firing commands. Meanwhile, the dreadnaught turned around to face the Koshiir Ra once more, its main weapon glowing with increasing intensity. Seconds later, the lights on the bridge dimmed slightly as the phased energy cannon fired at maximum power, connecting the Eidolon and the Guardian's distortion field with a vermillion beam of light.
But not even the incredible power of the phased energy cannon was able to breach the field. The vermillion phased energy simply flowed outwards from the point of impact, sizzling and crackling over the distortion field but failing to break through.
And then more phased energy blasts leapt through the vacuum of space, the beams blasting into various locations on the field.
"The Vaygr forces have come within effective firing range," Eliir announced, "Their capital ships are opening fire."
"I think I'm starting to trust that lot of Vaygr," Soban commented, "Let's keep up the pressure!"
With that, the Eidolon's heavy ion cannons and turbopulsars swivelled to target the Koshiir Ra and fired, adding to the fireworks display that was dancing brilliantly on the outskirts of the distortion field.
"Sir, the distortion field is starting to destabilise!" Eliir cried, "If we can get all the ships to focus fire on a single spot in the next salvo, we might be able to break through!"
"Got it, open a channel to all ships in range and tell them what to do," Soban answered, "Aalcor, do we have torpedoes yet?"
"Fifteen more seconds to repair completion," came the reply.
"Captain, the allied forces are moving into formation," Eliir updated, "They'll be firing in thirty seconds!"
"Get ready to fire everything we've got on my mark," Soban ordered as he focused his attention on the main viewscreen.
Onboard the Koshiir Ra, the Shining Hinterlands:
"Look at them now, look at them executing their last-ditch assault plan," the voice laughed, "Look at your allies gathering their ships into a tight formation. What would happen if we were to wrap a field around them now and compress it rapidly? Hmm?"
"No! Stop it!" Yuno screamed, banging her tiny fists against the unyielding walls of her prison, "You underhanded scum!"
"Oh, but this is the best part you know," the voice continued, oblivious to her cries, "This is the part where the baddies are supposed to fall. But no. This time, it's the other way round. This time, you lose."
Onboard the Eidolon:
"Mark!" Soban yelled.
And the Eidolon let loose a flurry of destruction, its fusion torpedoes, ion beams, pulsar lances, phased energy beam – all of which joined the focused Alliance assault against the Koshiir Ra.
Every single ounce of the fleets' firepower converged on a single point on the Guardian's distortion field, creating a mighty blast of monstrous proportions that reverberated outwards on the shimmering distortion field. The field seemed to waver for a moment, as if it was finally failing under the combined assault.
"Distortion field's losing power, we're going to break…" Eliir reported in a relieved voice until her eyes caught the next set of sensor readings, which sent her into a panic, "By Sajuuk, power output is increasing exponentially!"
"Heavens, the Koshiir Ra wasn't using a full strength field…" Soban managed to utter as the realisation sank in.
"A distortion field is forming right around us, it's going to seal us in!" Eliir almost screamed when the sensors showed the massive field forming around the gathered forces of the T-MAT, the Nalthorans, and the Vaygr.
"Sora, full reverse!" Soban bellowed as his helmsman swerved the ship around so violently that the inertial dampers were unable to compensate, sending the bridge into a bumpy spin, "Take us to hyperspeed now!"
The stars on the viewscreens seemed to bend and stretch as the Eidolon's hyperphase drive went to maximum power, taking them from sublight to faster-than-light velocities in a mere moment. The dreadnaught blinked from view and reappeared a good distance from the fleets, which were now fully encased in a separate distortion field. Everyone watched the viewscreens helplessly as the waited for the inevitable crushing of the gathered fleets…
When Soban opened his eyes a few seconds later, there was no crushed debris floating in space, or dense radiation clouds from the simultaneous breach of so many fusion reactors in such a small volume of space.
Instead, the fleets remained, with the distortion fields holding in place.
Onboard the Koshiir Ra:
"…What is this? What is happening?" the voice asked with panic and anger, "What have you done, woman?"
"I… I…" Yuno managed to stutter as the walls of her prison faded away, allowing her to sense the presence of another being many times greater than herself, the innate artificial intelligence of the Koshiir Ra itself.
"What is going on? Why am I…"
"Silence, infidel," boomed an even greater voice than the intruder's, "To think that you dared to defile the names of the Gods."
And an ear-piercing scream pounded Yuno's ears as the intruder was wrenched unceremoniously from his control of the Progenitor ship. The scream became louder and louder, reaching a maximum that Yuno could barely bear, and then faded away as quickly as it had come.
Onboard the Eidolon:
"By the Gods, thank goodness it's all over now," Soban uttered in sheer relief, "What the hell took you so long, Yuno?"
"It wasn't me, it was Koshiir Ra itself," Yuno explained, "Though I didn't know such an innate AI even existed."
"There're many mysteries about them Progenitors, we can't expect to decipher them all at once," Soban reminded, "In the meantime, have you located the intruder?"
"Security personnel have found the spy – he turned out to be an android sent by the Mythra," Yuno replied, "When they found it, they discovered that its electronic brain was completely fried. Heaven knows what Koshiir Ra did to it…"
"Security countermeasures, I suppose," Soban muttered, "In the light of this incident, we'll need to up all computerised defences to prevent a repeat."
"Indeed, I have tripled firewall security and reset all personnel access passcodes," Yuno answered, "By the way, where is Kiir?"
"Oh, he's… he's alright I assure you," Soban responded nervously as he gestured to Eliir to scramble the communication, "Wait, you're breaking up… damned array must have taken some damage… we'll talk another time…"
As Yuno's further questions were lost amongst the static, Soban sat back and heaved a sigh of relief – at least until Eliir gestured for him to come over to her console.
"What's wrong now?" Soban asked in a somewhat relaxed tone.
"I've just received word from Hiigaran Fleet Command," Eliir whispered, "They've lost the Sajuuk."
"What?!"
Onboard the Veer Rak II, the Gate of Hara:
"We need to get back and warn the Alliance somehow," Eefrit commented as he bowed his head in thought.
"You're stating the obvious," Faruun replied as he took a break from staring at the sensors screen, "But with the ship like this?"
"We'll need to get either the hyperspace module or the hyperspace communications array repaired then," Eefrit said as he looked back at the Mythra contacts on the sensors.
"We don't have enough resources to rebuild another hyperspace module, and we can't set up a resourcing operation because of the Mythra's close proximity," Faruun reminded, "So we'll need to focus on the communications array."
"But even if we do get the array repaired, we'll need to figure out a way to send a transmission without being picked up by the Mythra," Eefrit muttered, "By the way, do you have any information as to why the debris field is hiding us from their sensors?"
"I have no idea, but a detailed sensor sweep should give us more data," the commander replied.
"Then I think it'd be best that someone else takes over the job. What you need now is some rest," Eefrit suggested as he gestured to one of the uninjured officers to take over.
"I'll take my leave then," Faruun said as he got up and limped towards the door, "If there's anything, I'll be in sickbay."
Eefrit nodded and waved the commander off as he walked over to what remained of the main command console. He pushed at a few buttons and was surprised to see the main viewscreen flicker to life, projecting a slightly fuzzy image of the debris outside. Straining his eyes, he managed to make out the silhouette of the massive hyperspace gate in the distance, and the shadows of the many Spheres gathered around it.
Five years ago, it had taken the combined effort of the entire Alliance fleet to beat just one Sphere fleet. While technological improvements to Galactic weaponry and tactical analysis of the enemy would allow them to retaliate better than during that first contact, Eefrit was unsure as to whether the current Alliance could fight off several, much less a few dozen of the Spheres and their accompanying fleet. Even with the Koshiir Ra…
It was then that the Gate of Hara flared with a light so brilliant it looked like a small star shining in the distance. As the light became brighter, a massive shadow began to emerge from the light, partially eclipsing the brilliance of the gate portal.
A ship was coming through, and it was definitely much bigger than the Spheres themselves.
As more of the ship's structure jutted out from the hyperspatial portal, Eefrit slowly began to realise the size and mass of the ship at hand. The frontal section, which resembled a massive blade that narrowed down to a thinner axle-like fuselage, was nearly too wide to pass through the Gate of Hara, whose diameter alone could have accommodated three Qwaar Jets placed end to end without trouble. And it was so long that the ship didn't fully emerge until about a few minutes later, when the light of the gate died away.
The first thought that came to mind was a hunting spear of ancient times with long metallic fins running down its entire length, combined with the sleekness of a Kadeshi Needleship.
Only this ship was brimming with horrible-looking turrets that were easily visible even with the distance between the Gate and the Veer Rak II.
Before Eefrit was able to recover from the shock of seeing an actual working megalith, the Gate of Hara lit up once again.
And another began to come through.
All he could do was watch the viewscreen, completely frozen by terror.
Onboard the Sajuuk, hyperspace transit:
"Approaching target destination."
"Standing by to disengage hyperspace."
"Consciousness loading complete, initiating consciousness."
…
The Sjets on the bridge were terrified to find that their attempts to override automatic control were in vain. No matter what they did, or what override protocols they used, the Sajuuk continued on its course through hyperspace without regard for their commands. Even more alarming was that the Sajuuk's computers had locked down all communications systems, completely disabling the distress call systems.
The two Hiigarans closed their eyes, ready to resign to their fates, when the voice of a young woman echoed strongly through the bridge, bringing warmth where there was none before.
"Fleet Command, online."