HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 4: ISOLATED PAWN
Many millennia ago, the Progenitors forged the Great Hyperspace Cores. Containing all their knowledge of hyperspace up to that point in time, the Cores became some of the first devices in the Universe to achieve far jumping capabilities. In the beginning, the Progenitors expanded their influence rapidly, using the combined power of the Three Cores to propel their mighty vessels across entire galaxies.
Unfortunately, the temptation of such power soon corrupted the Progenitors. Many argued that the power of the Three Cores, if used for war, would allow them to conquer the Universe. While an ambitious goal, the immense jump range of the Three combined made it a theoretical possibility.
The Progenitor Elders declared this thought an atrocity, and barred their entire civilisation from further discussion, on pain of death. Dissatisfied with this outcome, a great number of Progenitors splintered off to form an opposing force with the goal of capturing Sajuuk and her Three Cores. The Elders were outraged, and ordered an all-out war against the rebels.
The battle raged on without end, decimating the Progenitor homeworld along with millions of planets across many galaxies. The end of the war came at the Battle of Karos, where the last remnants of the Progenitors clashed. However, the rebels could not stand up to the awesome power of Sajuuk, which gave them a ghost of a chance at capturing the Three Cores. Completely shattered, the rebel survivors fled.
To prevent the Three Cores from falling into the rebels' hands, the Elders ordered for the Cores to be scattered through the galaxy while the Sajuuk was sealed in the safety of Balcora. Having lost the power of the Three Cores, the Progenitors faded from memory.
Onboard the Second Scaffold, high orbit over Hiigara:
Luca Paktu walked out of his shower cubicle dripping wet. He towelled himself dry vigorously, rippling the muscles in his upper arms. Minutes later, he was dressed smartly in his military uniform, ready for the flight testing.
Luca was no ordinary pilot. He was one of the veteran warriors who had flown bravely into the thick of battle, risking it all to save millions of lives on Hiigara. Though his strike craft had been crippled by a squadron of Vaygr fighters, he had pushed on in spite of having little control of his ship, shredding several Atmospheric Deprivation missile to pieces.
He was a Saviour, a title given to the living and dead pilots who had shot down the missiles of death targeting Hiigara. They were looked upon highly, and given many privileges. While many of the Saviours had chosen to retire peacefully in the green pastures of the Hiigaran countryside, Luca was one of the few who instead wished to continue fighting for Hiigara. This was partly due to his parents' tragic deaths when one of the missiles got through. Luca didn't want any other Hiigaran to experience his pain.
Because of his title, Hiigaran Fleet Command had wasted no time designating Luca as the official test pilot for another project to replace the Interceptor. Having proven itself countless times in battle, Hiigaran engineers had taken the Somtaaw Acolyte design and spent years overhauling it for the new needs of the Navy. The result was the Acolyte II, a more fighter with almost as much armor as the original Acolyte Composite Vehicle. Equipped with updated dual rapid-fire mass drivers, they had taken out the missile launchers and instead replaced them with heavy pulse cannons, the updated version of the old energy cannons. This gave the Acolyte II astounding anti-fighter capabilities and enough firepower to rival even Bombers in the anti-capital ship role.
However, the engineers had promised Luca that there would be a "surprise" for him. As the seasoned pilot slid into his cockpit, he wondered what amazement they had installed on this already outstanding design. With a few flicks and jiggling of the control stick, the fighter soared out of the docking bay, bringing the beautiful sight of Hiigara into full view.
Luca fell in love with the Acolyte II instantly. It was very responsive, and the ship endured his high speed runs silently without a single complaint. Now he approached his mission area – a tiny region three kilometres in diameter.
"Requesting permission to open fire on target drones."
"Permission granted. Take them out, Luca."
He pulled the trigger with his perfect aim, and the drones exploded consecutively. Twirling the controls, the fighter darted around and sped off in the opposite direction. Now, he opened fire with the pulse cannons. The fully-armoured frigate succumbed after a dozen salvos. Indeed, the Acolyte II fought much harder for its size.
His test completed, Luca turned the fighter around and headed for home. Suddenly, collision warnings wailed from his onboard computer as the space in front of him shimmered and opened into a blue window. Alarmed, he growled and swerved sharply away, narrowly missing the monolithic Mothership emerging from hyperspace. Luca set the fighter to auto-dock, then sat back and watched the massive ship lumber slowly back to the Second Scaffold.
The Legacy of Kharak was going to be his home for the next few months.
Onboard the Exile, the Great Beyond:
"Commander, close range scans confirm the Bentusi origins of this debris."
"This is a remarkable find. Begin scanning for anything we can salvage, this could solve our technological woes for decades to come!"
While Commander Hyll busied himself over the astonishing discovery, Kiir watched the viewscreens gravely. The scarcity of the debris and the severity of the damage indicated that the Bentusi had been severely outmatched in both numbers and technology. As he studied the damage more closely, Kiir realised that the scorch marks were made by something that transcended all current ion beam technology.
"Kiir, what do you think?" asked the Commander, interrupting his train of thought.
"In my opinion, we should not be so concerned over the value of the find. Rather, we ought to worry about the thing that made this mess."
"You noticed the strange damage too? I find the damage very disturbing. The Bentusi are well-known for their advanced space technology, and Bentusi armor ranks among the toughest in the known Galaxy. Yet, it looks as if they were torn apart by something extremely powerful, like a…"
"… a Phased Cannon Array weapon?"
"Hmm… your guess is very plausible, but we must continue our scans for something more concrete…"
"Sir! Scans have picked up techno-organic signatures on some pieces of the wreckage!"
"Techno-organic? Are they Beast?"
"We are registering some similarities in organic structure, but it's radically different, as thought it's a more highly-evolved strain."
"Commander Hyll, I believe such a viral strain would be a cause for concern. We should return to Hiigara immediately and report our findings." Kiir spoke in an urgent voice.
"Why, of course Scientist Kiir. As soon as we complete a detailed scan of the debris field…"
"Commander! The gate's quantum wavefront is collapsing!"
"What? All ships abandon mission operatives and prepare for emergency hyperspace jump!"
But Kiir knew that it was already too late. He watched silently as the hyperspace portal shrunk, finally vaporising in a flash of light. Now, the gate was closed, as was their only way back. He turned around to face the flustered commander.
"Given the circumstances, it would be good to get our resourcing ops up and running. We're going to be stuck out here for a very long time."
Before the commander could respond, the Exile's hyperspace sensors began bleeping wildly. They weren't going to remain alone for much longer.
Onboard the Gatekeeper of Sajuuk, Coruc-Tel System
The derelict object slowly came into view, and everyone on the bridge squinted their eyes at it. There was no mistaking it, the derelict was definitely Progenitor in origin, and a Hyperspace Core at that. Those with doubts were quickly convinced when close range scans confirmed the identity of the derelict.
Captain Soban began recording everything he saw in his electronic log. For such a find to go unrecorded would be a tragedy in the Galaxy's history. Now the remaining problem was with the retrieval of the Core. The Gatekeeper was designed for war, not salvaging.
"Engineering, can you suggest any method we could use to retrieve the Core?"
"Well, we're not sure. We could try attaching the Core to the exterior of the ship, but towing it into hyperspace with us would be a different story."
"Try to think of something. There's no way we can inform Hiigara of the find given all the interference in the area."
"We'll do what we can, Captain. Engineering out."
Captain Soban sat down once more, fatigued by the sudden turn in events. First, they encountered a Raider attack force that manipulated the Beast to their own ends. Next, they were dragged into hyperspace and emerged in this bizarre region that somehow existed in the Coruc-Tel System. Now, they had found the Fourth Core.
"This is too much for one day," he muttered under his breath.
"Sir, we're picking up multiple hyperspace signatures!"
"Here we go again… how many are there?"
"Sensors indicate at least seven destroyer-class vessels… Sajuuk protect us, they're Keepers!"
No sooner had the Sensors Officer said that did a loud mechanical voice start booming across all comm channels.
"We are the Keepers of Coruc-Tel. We are the guardians of the Grand Core."
"The Grand Core?"
"Termination sequence activated."
With that, the Keepers opened fire with their ion beams, which were deflected harmlessly by the Gatekeeper's energy shielding. Leaping into action, Captain Soban gave orders to fire at will while trying to use the Phased Cannon Array on the attacking ships. The Dreadnaught's plasma turret opened fire, spraying the shielded Keepers with blue bolts of energy. Meanwhile, the nanite cannons powered up and unleashed their destructive beam energies on any Keeper within range.
"Captain, our plasma turret and nanite cannons are having minimal effect on the Keepers' shielding!"
"Sensors Officer! Try to get a lock on the Keepers' shield frequencies! Weapons Control, stand by to synchronise weapon signatures with their shield frequencies!"
It was a frightful sight. The Dreadnaught was hopelessly outnumbered, and far too slow to aim its Phased Cannon Array at the Keepers. It soon became clear that the ship's energy shields would not last forever against the ion onslaught of the mechanical guardians. They needed more than just a few lucky breaks to get out of this one.
"Engineering, shield report!"
"Not looking good, Captain. Shield power 94.3 and falling, we're still maintaining 100 shield integrity."
"Sir, we have a lock on their shield frequencies as well as their drive signatures! Transferring data now!"
"Great! Weapons Control, recalibrate weapons for maximum effect! Engineering, what's the status on hyperdrive repairs?"
Four of the twelve plasma conduits have been replaced. Not enough for a hyperspace jump, but adequate for basic quantum waveform generation.
"Alright, here's the plan. Concentrate fire on the Keepers until they phase out!"
Her weapons fully recalibrated for the kill, the Gatekeeper opened fire on the nearest Keeper ship. Now, the plasma bolts and nanite beams penetrated the shields as though they weren't there, piercing the hull of the mechanical protector. Sure enough, the Keeper phased out to avoid critical damage.
"Keeper has phased out, Captain! Sensors are locked on and tracking it!"
"Maintain lock on the Keeper's status. Engineering, stand by to initiate quantum waveform reversal on my mark."
"Keeper exiting hyperspace!"
"This is Engineering, quantum waveform generation initiated!"
The Keeper's hyperspace window opened, only to close quickly as the quantum energies cancelled each other out. Now the ship was trapped in hyperspace with no hope of exit! Relieved that their strategy had worked, Captain Soban ordered for the same tactic to be repeated on every remaining Keeper. In time, three more Keepers were sealed in hyperspace.
"Captain, the hyperspace module is hitting its limit! We can't keep this up forever!"
"No problem. Engineering, release one of the Keepers back into realspace the moment we have our PCA targeted!"
With that, the Gatekeeper slowly aimed its great cannon at a particular point in space – the exit coordinates of a Keeper. As the Phased Cannon Array charged up with its lethal energy, the Keeper was released from its dimensional prison. It detected the danger instantly and tried to phase out of danger, but it was engulfed by the blast. The ship shattered immediately, exploding with tremendous force.
"We've done it! All crews, stand by to repeat the procedure!"
"Captain! Sensors have detected massive gravitational anomalies in the area, ambient temperatures soaring fast!"
"What do you mean?"
"Unless the sensors are malfunctioning or something… this means that Tel is headed straight for us!"
Captain Soban whipped to the right viewscreen and peered through anxiously. Sure enough, the fiery doom of Tel was approaching them quickly, trying to consume the battlefield with its tendrils of plasma. He knew that they would need to act quickly.
"Engineering! Can we make an emergency hyperspace jump?"
"Using so few plasma conduits? It's nigh impossible Captain!"
"Just do what you can to keep things intact there! Helm, set course for… anywhere out of here! Engage immediately!"
"Sir, the Keepers are emitting inhibitor fields – there's no way to escape via hyperspace!"
Soban smashed his fist down on his chair console, causing a few sparks to fly. They had come this far in one of the most powerful ships in the Galaxy, and now they were going to face inevitable death!
"Captain, I'll still try to initiate hyperspace jump nonetheless… Everyone, here goes!"
Naturally, nothing happened. However, an ancient undiscovered system deep within the Dreadnaught activated, sending a pulsed signal in every direction from the ship. The next thing the crew of the Gatekeeper knew was that they were suddenly making a jump into hyperspace. As their jump window closed behind them, they caught a last glimpse of the Keepers being consumed entirely by the massive star.
Onboard the Exile, the Great Beyond:
Things were not looking good for the stranded carrier fleet. Now they were fighting for their lives against a horde of infected Bentusi vessels. Super Acolytes swept in and out, shredding frigates to pieces while the larger tradeships made short work of the Destroyers. The Exile had survived this far only by virtue of its cloaking field, which let it escape silently from the main battle on conventional drives. The decision had been difficult, but necessary. The rest of the fleet had told Commander Hyll to make an escape while they distracted the attackers. As the last Destroyer valiantly went down fighting, the commander saluted their sacrifice with teary eyes.
The Helm officer saw their chance, and the Exile leapt into hyperspace along with the few frigates it could salvage from the battle.