Chapter 37
"Your serious… turns out wherever we go we can't escape…
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be… okay well its gonna take some time for us to contact the other settlements so, your welcome to stay in my house."
"Thank you."
"We should change those bandages, come on."
Barkly changes Isaac's bandages covering Isaac's bite marks.
"Fuck those things bite hard."
"Yes, they do I'm gonna also give you another dose of antivenom just to be safe sometimes remnants can linger and slowly poison you overtime." [Injects Isaac]
"Cheery thought."
"You should get some more sleep, I'll wake you if I get any news."
"Alright."
Meanwhile the Avalon continues its repairs while also trying to locate their missing shuttle.
"Captain there still no signal from the shuttle's beacon."
"Keep scanning the planet… and have we gotten the long-range scanners back up yet?"
"Aye sir scanners reactivating now, so far nothing out of the ordinary."
Right then a large blip sounds off on the scopes.
"Um… captain the scans are detecting something big out there it looks like a ship… a very big one."
"God damn it did the marker heads follow us here?"
"Yes, they did it's a Martyr Class dreadnought with escorts Crusader Class cruisers looks like they're patrolling the sector."
"Fuck… double time on the repairs I want our shields and weapons back online ASAP."
"They're working as fast as they can sir."
Hours later Isaac wakes up with a fever as a side affect from the antivenom, he walks out of the hut to a balcony over looking a cliff side.
"Sleep well?"
"Best sleep I've had in a while."
"Good I have news, apparently the southern settlements found wreckage of a shuttle they found people unconscious but alive."
"Thank god, how far is the southern settlement?"
"About a day's ride we should wait till dawn to go, the desert isn't safe at night as you learned yesterday."
"Agreed I rather not do that again."
"Barkley!" [Shouted one of the villagers]
"What is it?"
"We got word from two of our neighboring villages they said their observatory spotted a ship in orbit."
Hands him a data pad depicting the ship, Isaac also looks at the image.
"Is this familiar Isaac?"
"No that's not the Avalon nor does it look like a unitologist ship."
"Who else can be out here?" [Said Barkley]
"We're in another galaxy so maybe…"
"Aliens…?"
"Trust me I've seen some alien tech and ruins they're real."
"Well we better hope they come in peace otherwise we're in trouble."
Back again on the USM Avalon.
"Sir there appears to be a third party present my scopes detect a large ship on the far side of the planet its doesn't match any known unitology ship profiles."
"Then who are they?"
"Oh, shit the dreadnought has spotted us the ships are moving into attack formation!"
"Captain repairs to the weapons systems are complete, shields will be online soon!" [Shouted another crewman]
"Good, all hands man your battle stations!"
The dreadnought continues advancing towards the Avalon arming its weapons and the cruisers launching their fighters. Just as their systems were fully restored another shockwave identical to the one that disabled them earlier speeded towards them.
"Oh no no no, not again!" [Shouted the captain]
The shockwave hits the Avalon disabling it again leaving drifting helplessly, the unitologist hasten their approach realizing their state.
"Are our fighters operational!?" [Shouted the captain]
"Aye sir!"
"Then launch them!"
"All pilots to the hanger!"
Fighters are scrambled, and a space battle ensues, TEDA's fighters clash with the unitologits. The dreadnought fires its many capital cannons, as the Avalon falls under fire the cruisers also start firing. The Avalon sustains heavy damage as their fighters struggle to defend it as they're outgunned. Suddenly the unitologist fighters were routed by other fighters sent by the unidentified ship spotted earlier and powerful beam weapons from it carve through and destroys one of the cruisers. The dreadnought breaks off its attack on the Avalon and starts shooting at the intervening craft but is easily destroyed without support, the dreadnought violently explodes the last cruiser retreats and escapes into shockspace not before being heavily damaged.
"What the hell?"
"Captain the ships approaching us and… we're being hailed." [He stated befuddled]
"… Open a channel."
"Attention this is Admiral Derek Varclasi of the Third fleet of the Stark Empire, you are trespassing in galactic imperial territory identify yourselves immediately."
"I'm Captain Neo Miller of EarthGov's Fifth fleet." [Surprised to hear them speaking English]
"Prepare to be boarded."
"Captain?"
"We'll comply."
"But sir…"
"We're in no position to oppose, we've taken losses and our ship is all but disabled besides these guys took out the marker heads there's no way that this faction is in league with them."
A large troop transport docks in the Avalon's hanger a few of the crewman and the captain wait to meet the transport, as it opens armored soldiers rush out aiming their weapons. Last to come out is Admiral Varclasi who unlike the soldiers is dressed in a black naval-like uniform complete with a greatcoat of the same color and a helmet. The admiral removes his helmet revealing himself to be Caucasian human having short dark blonde hair and brown eyes.
"Your human?"
"You thought we were alien?"
"Stark Empire?"
"Yes, we are the ruling power of this end of Andromeda."
"Right… how did you get here?"
"You mean how can there be humans in Andromeda, I suppose we have EarthGov to thank for that 200 years ago, now what exactly are the conniving and corrupt world government of Earth looking for here light years away from the Milky Way?" [The admiral questioned]
"I don't think that any of your business."
"The presence of the government that banished our ancestors to deep space to die is our concern as much as these rock worshipping fanatics… you're not only outsiders here in our territory."
"That do you mean?"
"Apparently people from the Milky Way have been living here for decades without us knowing we've only just noticed them, we assumed them to be likely independent pioneers can't say I blame them if their reason for leaving were because of EarthGov or the Unitologists."
[Turns around looking into space]
"By the state of your ship I assume you've encountered the strange phenomenon here in this sector?"
"It disabled us twice."
"Did the same to us but we developed countermeasures this strange energy phenomenon is why we're patrolling this sector we first detected it weeks ago and are trying discern its nature."
"We think it may be…" [Hesitates]
"May be what?"
"Related to the Marker that's why we came here."
"The marker, the artifact discovered by Altman?"
"Its somewhere in this sector."
"And how did it end up here when it was originally dug up on Earth?"
"Some time in the past the black marker was relocated here in this galaxy."
"That explains why they followed you here… but it doesn't explain why you require it."
"This is difficult to explain, humanity in the Milky Way is on the run and fighting for its survival."
"Fighting what?"
"Beings… very large planet sized monsters called Brethren Moons."
"I don't understand… what of Earth?"
"Earth is gone, destroyed."
I have to report this to Stark high command."
[Orders his men to board the transport]
"Just like that your us letting us go?"
"His majesty instructed us to report any findings and the fact that these zealots are following you here there is a threat to our people, more so if these Moons… you should find this marker and then go back home."
[The transport begins to take off]
"Look our forces back home are holding as much as they can but the reality is that we're losing this war we could use your peoples help."
"EarthGov as I can speak for many of my people today is not welcomed here and they likely won't shed any tears for Earth… I sympathize for the people in the Milky Way, but… I will take the matter to high command, but I can't promise they'll even listen when they realize who you are… good hunting."
The admiral board the transport and leaves the Avalon's hanger.