A/N: I've decided to once again change the description of the Tho Yen. They now resemble two 3-sided pyramids joined at their bases, without the three Star Destroyer shaped bits.
Golden Emperor
The Golden Emperor loomed ever larger in the view port of the Lambda-class shuttle. It was quite an impressive sight. It didn't look like a ship. It resembled two pyramids stuck end to end. The lower half was a bit squat, while the upper half was a bit taller. Both ends came to a sort of needle. Each of the Tho Yor's faces had a large circle near the center.
As instructed, the pilot brought the shuttle toward the nearest side of the Tho Yor's, slightly sunk-in equator. A long sliver of light appeared at the bottom middle, and grew into a rectangle as what must have been a hangar door lifted upward.
Moff Drikl Lecersen felt a sense of slightly nervous anticipation as the pilot brought the shuttle through the magcon field. The Sith would not be happy about this... betrayal. He shuddered to think what Plagueis or Krayt would do to him.
"Are you alright, sir?" asked the ever observant Nevlin Yage.
"The Celestials will need to protect... us from the Sith," Lecersen explained.
Yage frowned. "It seems to me, they have more pressing issues at this moment."
Lecersen nodded. "Perhaps," he allowed. "But Darth Krayt did sneak aboard the Minotaur last year."
"True," Yage agreed. "I suppose one can't be too sure what those red sticks will try to do."
Lecersen was also slightly nervous because he didn't quite trust the Celestials. Those Aether missiles had been a devastating weapon, and he was still a bit shaken by what he'd felt. How in space had he felt it, anyway? Void, everyone had felt it!
And the Celestials might not trust someone who'd betrayed his old alliance. They might not put it past him to betray them if he found it convenient. But Lecersen couldn't go back to the Sith now.
The Moff declined to reply, his attention going to the interior of the hangar. The floor and walls were matte silver in color. Scores of soldiers in primitive looking armor, which Lecersen knew to be anything but, walked about attending to various duties like wookiee sized stormtroopers. And dozens of golden Tho Yads seemed to be suspended from the ceiling via some sort of gantry. It was all very Imperial.
The shuttle gently landed on the flight deck, and its wings folded up like those of a giant, mechanized butterfly. Lecersen and Yage stood up, and took their place within a square of stormtroopers. It really was a useless effort; what could four stormtroopers possibly do against even one armed and armored Celestial?
One of the Celestials, a bald man, in full armor save for his helmet, walked toward him. His eyes were a very pale hazel color, and he had a mustache with long ends. "Moff Drikl Lecersen," he greeted, placing his palms together, and bowing his head slightly. "Welcome aboard the Golden Emperor."
"Thank you, Supreme Warmaster Shotel Za," Lecersen said, returning Za's greeting. He gestured to the younger man beside him. "This is my chief tactical officer, Nevlin Yage." The officer exchanged a quick greeting with the Warmaster.
"I'm pleased that you chose to come over to our side," Za commented.
"A tactical decision, to be honest," Lecersen admitted. "Yage agreed that your forces would win the battle." Za was a Force user, even if by artificial means, so there was no point in trying to lie to the man.
"I appreciate your candor," Za responded. "Something worries you."
Lecersen nodded. "There is a chance the Sith will try to kill me..."
"And you would like protection," Za finished for him.
"Yes," the Moff responded.
"Consider it done. You should be rewarded for joining the right side." A thoughtful expression crossed Za's face. "It was never our intent to have two warring orders of Force users. There was originally just one order, the Je'daii. They were created to bring enlightenment, and protect the galaxy. The effort failed utterly. And now we have a galactic society that is destroying itself. It seems my people are the only ones capable of saving it. We must clean up the mess we've made; the end of the Jedi and the Sith is at hand."
Lecersen nodded. "You plan to destroy them."
"Indeed. They have caused nothing but trouble for this galaxy, so they must be eliminated. Like the Sith, my people are willing to do what is necessary to maintain order. But the Sith are barbarians; they tend to be a bit... heavy handed. Tyranny inspires rebellion, and the people of Nibiru want a cooperative populace. The Jedi are the opposite. They are civilized, but too weak to do what is necessary. The Jedi and the Sith are terribly unbalanced, each leaning too heavily in their respective directions. The Nibu'i are balanced between both sides of the Force, and will keep the galaxy balanced."
"If you want something done right, do it yourself," Lecersen translated.
Za smiled broadly. "Well said." There was something peculiar about his smile, something very subtle. The Moff found it just a little disturbing, but couldn't begin to put his finger on it.
"There was something I was hoping you could explain," Lecersen said.
"You felt the use of the Aether," Za stated.
The Moff nodded, mildly annoyed at how easily and casually the other was reading him. Trying to lie to Warmaster Za would certainly be a mistake. The Celestial man seemed to direct an almost imperceptible nod Lecersen's way. "As far as I know, I'm not a Force user."
"No," Za agreed. "But you do exist in the Force. You sensed the Aether because it is foreign to you. In the same way the Nephilim, since they exist in the Aether, would sense the use of the Force."
"It's not a move I'd have made," Lecersen confessed, "and not just because of my former alliance with the Sith."
Za smiled again. "It showed us who our true allies are. We don't want the weak minded interfering with us bringing order to this galaxy."
"My apologies," Lecersen said. "I hadn't thought of it that way."
Za shrugged. "It wasn't your plan, so why would you have?" He was silent a moment, perhaps to allow Lecersen a chance to comment. "Perhaps you may have some insight as to where our enemy is headed."
"My best guess would be Fondor," Lecersen mused. "The defending fleet at Kuat is quite small, and your vessels would easily reach there before Bwua'tu's."
"Indeed," Za agreed.
"Chief of State Scaur recently contracted Fondor to produce and sell Imperial Mark III-class Star Destroyers to Corellian Diktat Victor Tarkin," Lecersen went on. "Scaur's been covering fifteen percent of the cost for Tarkin. It's Scaur's way of apologizing for all the ships he lost helping the Alliance fight the Nephilim. The world is, thus, well defended. There are a number of Golan IV Defense Platforms, and long range ground based turbolaser batteries."
Shotel Za's expression turned curious. "And how would an Imperial Moff know all this?"
"It started during the Nephilim crisis. The Nephs were leaving civilian ships unharmed so that the Alliance military would waste resources protecting them. Scaur contacted former Imperial Admiral Natasi Daala, and asked her if she could do something about the ships."
"And that was shortly before the battle at Kuat where Krayt crashed those refugee ships into the Nephilim ships," Za assumed.
Lecersen nodded. "Krayt would have done it anyway, but now Scaur can be implicated. Daala apparently gave a recording of her conversation with him to the Sith. They've been using the recording to blackmail Scaur into giving them classified information, which they'd been passing on to me."
Za gave another eerie smile. "I sense no deception in you."
"Why would I try to lie to someone who can practically read my mind?"
Za chuckled. "Why indeed? Myself and Warmaster Karu will take a fleet to Fondor. Do you expect the Diktat to come to our enemy's aid?"
"Not if he is adequately dissuaded," Lecersen answered. He turned to Yage.
"I'd be more than happy to explain the tactical situation to him," the younger man said. He brought his attention to Za. "We could use Interdictor cruisers to keep the Sith fleet at bay, unless you intend to deal with them at Fondor."
"I'll have to think on that," Warmaster Za said, thoughtfully. "A wounded animal is still dangerous. Regardless, it is time to end this conflict."
Lecersen smiled. "I couldn't agree more, Supreme Warmaster."
"'Warmaster' will suffice. You should remain here at Nibiru. High Warmaster Atlatl would like to meet with you aboard the Minotaur." To get a read on the Moff's crew, clearly.
"Of course."
Tharsis
Eta Carinae instinctively closed her red eyes against the bright flash of light interrupting the gray swirl of hyperspace. Through her eyelids the Grand Admiral could see the light rapidly diminish. "Target in sight," her tactical officer said. She opened her eyes and glanced at the visual display. Floating not far away, looking identical to the Mortis Monolith which had brought the Celestials, was one of the many hyperspace disruptors created to slow down anyone or anything trying to enter the Skyriver galaxy.
Acceleration pushed Eta Carinae back in her seat, as the Tharsis blasted toward the onyx colored monolith. The sensors showed the sixteen other cruisers were following suit. The war cruisers broke into pairs, with a vessel to either to either side of the Tharsis. A swarm of Lightningbirds split to cover each group of war cruisers.
"Five Tho Yors and eight Tho Yens are approaching with several Tho Yad squadrons," the tactical officer warned.
"They can't stop us with that," Eta Carinae said. "Be on the lookout for more Celestial ships."
Peculiar shape-shifting objects tumbled peacefully through space. No, they weren't actually changing shape; Eta Carinae knew better than that. Her mind was simply trying to make sense of shapes that had four spatial dimensions. It was akin to a three dimensional object casting a two dimensional shadow. These were merely asteroids.
Far more interesting were the group of golden creatures, somewhat resembling giant pine cones, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. But it certainly was not 'nowhere'. Being four dimensional, and living in a four dimensional environment, these beings, known as the Waru, could move in ways a being such as Eta Carinae couldn't fully perceive. The Grand Admiral wondered if the Waru had come to investigate the newly arrive Terran ships.
The real reason for their emergence became apparent when a swarm of animals, resembling orbs of energy that looked almost fuzzy, ranging from blue to green, zipped through space. The Waru launched honey-colored ichor from their bodies in long streamers, which each shot out their own secondary streamers, at these glowing creatures known as bogies. Several of the animals were caught in the golden 'nets', and the Waru began to reel them in. The Waru seemed to melt where their prey touched them. Those areas quickly solidified as the predators absorbed their prey.
"Ten more Tho Yors and seven more Tho Yens inbound," the tactical officer announced. The war cruisers moved into a staggered line, allowing more batteries to be used. Eta Carinae felt her chair vibrate, a minute or later, as one of the displays showed a trio of Tho Yors raining sunbeam fire down on the Tharsis and its two escorts. "Returning fire," the tactical officer said. Crimson energy beams pumped out of the ruby-like weapons batteries, almost making the war cruisers appear to have cilia.
Several squadrons of Tho Yads, with their forward-swept wings, rocketed toward the confrontation. The Lightningbirds met them in small analogues of the larger conflict. Eta Carinae could see, and feel, that the Terran fighter pilots were gradually being overwhelmed. Glancing at a few other displays showed the same was happening to the other war cruisers. Something drastic had to be done.
The Tharsis slammed its bow into the rear of the leftward war cruiser, throwing up brilliant cascade of sparks as the deflector shields met. At the same instant that war cruiser's sapphire colored engines flared brightly. The ship turned sharply to the right, and fired its beam weapon at one of the Tho Yors. The massive red beam dragged across the Celestial vessel's shield as the war cruiser continued its turn. The war cruiser blasted toward the Tho Yor. It slammed a wing into the Celestial ship. The impact tore a large hole in the side of the Celestial vessel, and ripped the Terran war cruiser's wing off.
The Tharsis and its other escort focused all available and relevant batteries on the impact, while the .third war cruiser pulled ahead toward the disruptor. The Tho Yor began to rotate to protect its injury. Lightningbirds, despite their dwindling numbers and the Tho Yads on their tails, followed the wound. Some pilots, with fatally damaged 'birds, crashed into or even through the shield. A number of Lightningbirds snuck under the shield intact, and began destroying shield generators. The Terran fighters then blasted away, allowing the two war cruisers to finish it off.
Meanwhile, one of the Tho Yors from another group opened fire and broke off to chase the Terran war cruiser headed for the disruptor, along with four Tho Yens. The slower Tho Yor put up covering fire, while the faster Tho Yens began to catch up and gradually surround the war cruiser. The cruiser didn't return fire, with the excess energy going into propulsion and the deflector shield. Flowers of flames bloomed from the Terran vessel, while the shield began to flex and flicker.
The deflector shield nearly gave out as the Terran war cruiser fired its beam weapon. The disruptor's own shield pulsed under the assault. The shield flared as the war cruiser crashed into it, and began to buckle. Enormous fissures spread out from the collision, and the monolith started fracturing and breaking apart. A great plume of fire and a shower of bits of crystal accompanied the destruction.
Some distance away, another cruiser had turned to block a pair of Tho Yors, allowing its partner to attack another of the disruptors. A great red needle of light stabbed into the disruptor's shield. Sparks exploded off into space, but the shield seemed otherwise stable.
The war cruiser blocking the pair of Tho Yors began to disintegrate. The Tho Yors plunged through the fiery remains and opened fire on the other war cruiser. The Terran vessel shot forward, and tried to crash one of its wings into the disruptor. But someone had miscalculated. The cruiser began to break apart as part of its side crashed into the monolith. The more intact rear of the cruiser continued onward, obliterating both itself and the disruptor.
Eta Carinae felt her hands clenching as a war cruiser was destroyed before it could reach its target. If this mission failed, so many Terrans would have died for nothing.
Another war cruiser made it to its target disruptor and rammed one of its wings into it. Huge cracks appeared in the monolith, as the wing was sheared off and exploded. The disruptor remained mostly intact, but the sparks issuing forth were a good sign. The cruiser was turning toward another monolith as a pair of Tho Yors, several Tho Yens, and a swarm of Tho Yads began firing on its stern in hopes of disabling the engines. The Terran war cruiser's beam weapon came to life even before it was pointing toward its new target. Savage sparks erupted from the rear shields.
Its beam weapon blazing, the war cruiser sped toward the monolith as the Celestial ship gained on it. A massive explosion from the engines left the cruiser hurtling toward the disruptor, but at too low a speed to do enough damage. The cruiser's systems, however, were dangerously overloaded. The resulting detonation threw debris and fire against the disruptor's shield, and punched through. The monolith exploded in a shower of onyx colored stone and red-orange fire.
Eta Carinae was both excited and horrified. She knew full well what she was letting in, who she was letting in. Her loyalists knew. But they'd been given no choice. Not with an enemy who wanted nothing short of their extinction. Her chair stopped vibrating. The Celestials had ceased fire, as they too knew a great abomination was coming. "Cease fire," Eta Carinae ordered the remains of her small fleet. The Celestials would need the Terrans now.
Soul Eater
Consciousness flooded back to a mind that had been a nearly empty void for millennia. Yet there were no electrical or chemical signals exchanged between the brain's neurons. For the presence of a consciousness did not necessitate that the owner be living.
A pair of fiery green eyes pried themselves open, to stare into the darkness. Faint red-orange light flickered to an unliving mockery of life, illuminating a cavern of sorts. Gently curving along the middle of the ceiling was a great spinal column. Ribs ran from its sides, disappearing into the floor. Situated roughly at the center of this floor was a throne made of bone. A lesser spinal column. The ribs at the sides had been broken, and then had healed splayed out. The reason for this, covered in horns and spikes, shifted a long stilled corpse.
Something was no longer as it had once been. The veil still existed, but it had been rent. The arm which had held the Soul Eater, and many others, at bay had been weakened. The time had finally come. By the power of the Aether, the Great Punisher, I shall sanctify the nether galaxy unto the sting of Death!
In the emptiness between stars swam a great horde. As with their master, the beasts were covered with spikes and horns. They stretched before snapping back in on themselves, and then vanished in dull, lifeless flashes of something that was not quite light. Hell itself had been set loose.