HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 15: QUEST
During the Frontier Era, the Progenitors unlocked the secrets of hyperspace and forged the Three Cores. With that, the mighty Great Maker Sajuuk was built to ferry ships across galaxies and to fulfil its one other purpose.
It was also during this great age of discovery that the Progenitors went one step further to develop some of their most powerful creations in history. Research into the fields of quantum energy manipulation formed the foundations on which the future Grand Core's power supply would be built. With the advent of quantum energy tappers, the Progenitors were finally capable of building ships without the need to power them with Hyperspace Cores.
The first ship was considered to be their greatest mistake, for the Progenitors could never resist the temptation of building a ship of war. The Qwaar Jet was unveiled in high orbit over the homeworld to much cheering and celebration. It was only during the test firings of the Torturer that the people realised the horror they had built. Entire worlds were crushed under the might of the Qwaar Jet's cannon, and countless more stars extinguished. Completely repentant, the Elders ordered the Qwaar Jet to be abandoned in a remote location, to keep it out of hands that would use it for evil.
The second ship reflected the Progenitors' remorsefulness, for they sought to this time create one with the ability to protect. Using their past experiences, the Progenitors built the Koshiir Ra, the Guardian. This ship was constructed with the essence of their knowledge on quantum distortion fields, and was used many a time to save worlds and systems from destructive supernova phenomena.
When the Rebellion came, the Progenitors used the Koshiir Ra to handle the initial onslaught. Unfortunately, the limitations of the ship's power systems meant that it could not be used for defence indefinitely. Considered to be a liability, the Guardian was abandoned. This was another big mistake, for the Elders didn't count on the rebels to come up with their World Crusher ship, which almost definitely was based on the technologies of the Qwaar Jet. In fact, rumours were strife that the World Crusher was the Qwaar Jet, but they could never be confirmed.
Such is the story of the Three Gods – the Great Maker, the Torturer, and the Guardian.
Onboard the Exile, high orbit over Hiigara:
Commander Hyll stared at the battlefield amidst flickering lights and sparking consoles. The other bridge officers continued to work on despite the situation.
"Battlecruiser Vengeance reporting hull breaches and engine failure!"
"The Paktu fleet has lost their rear guard, they're being swarmed by assault craft!"
"Commander, we've just lost the Sjet carrier Knowledge!"
Hyll opened his mouth to respond, but the ship shook violently as heavy missiles impacted its side. The structure groaned and the lights went out, replaced seconds later by the dim glow of emergency lighting. Shaking his head, Commander Hyll pulled himself to his feet and was greeted by the sight of his officers all lying dead or wounded on the floor and consoles.
He tried to move through the thick smoke to a computer console, but suddenly collapsed as the strength went from his legs. Hyll felt his forehead with his right hand, and saw it come away smeared with crimson red blood.
A bright flash in a nearby viewscreen signified the end of the Second Scaffold, succumbing under the Trinity cannons of three Vaygr battlecruisers. Moments before losing consciousness, the smoke cleared partially, and Hyll saw the nose of a Vaygr battlecruiser aimed directly at the bridge.
"Damn… you… Vaygr…" he muttered.
And the Exile was no more.
Onboard the Legacy of Kharak, Karos Graveyard:
"NOOO!" Kiir Sjet screamed as he awoke abruptly from his coma, alarming the doctor who was observing his vital signs. He now sat upright in his bunk, panting heavily and sweating profusely.
"Kiir… you're awake! Now, just stay still, you need more rest…"
"Doctor… doctor…" Kiir panted, "You have to tell them… Hiigara…"
"Now now, hallucinations are common upon waking from a coma."
"No, you don't understand… Hiigara…"
"Kiir, you have to calm down, this is not good for your health…"
"JUST LISTEN TO ME!" Kiir yelled in annoyance, sending shudders through the room. The doctor was shocked by the mysterious force that had just reverberated through the place.
"I'm sorry… it's just… you have to tell them. Hiigara…"
"What, Kiir? What do you want me to tell them?" the doctor now sat down beside the distraught Kiir.
"… Hiigara… it seemed so real… the Vaygr…"
As the details all came pouring out, the doctor sat in stunned silence as he experienced it first hand in his mind.
"… So Kiir Sjet told you that?" Yuno asked.
"It's not really tell… he sort of transmitted directly into my mind. I saw what he saw, the explosions, the flames, the Six Fleets crumbling under the Vaygr attacks…"
"I understand. Doctor, you'd better get some rest. Telepathic communication is exhausting. You'd best tell that to Kiir too."
"Why, yes. Of course. Infirmary out."
Eefrit listened grimly, then gave a sigh as he turned to Yuno's solemn hologram.
"If what Kiir said was true, then what do we do now?"
"I regret to say this, but we can do nothing. Without the Sajuuk, there is no way we'd stand a chance against all the Vaygr. You know this, Eefrit."
"So, it seems you're determined to find that Progenitor ship no matter the cost?"
"As things stand right now, the Koshiir Ra, whatever it is, will probably be Hiigara's only hope."
"Alright then. But I should ask you this, Yuno. Where do we even begin to look? The Galaxy's a big place, you know."
"The data repair has made considerable progress, I will be analysing it shortly…"
Yuno was interrupted by a comm channel that had suddenly come to life. It was crackling badly with interference, but still vaguely audible.
"This is Captain Elohim… Need help… Shipyard just escaped… Somewhere near Gozan…"
Yuno tried to reply, but the connection vaporised and was replaced with static. Eefrit was already giving orders to the crew.
"Yuno to Fleet, stand by for emergency transit to the Gozan System. Far jump coordinates locked in!"
Onboard Infected Imperial Base Epsilon V, Kadiir Nebula:
Luca Paktu rested in his chair as he absorbed information from the Epsilon V's computer systems. His memories as a Hiigaran were almost all gone, as his mind and individuality were slowly merged with the entity.
He remembered his first flight aboard the Acolyte II prototype, the sights of Hiigara from space, and the massive Mothership emerging from hyperspace right beside him. The memory slowly faded away into the dark horizon.
Luca was running through this darkness, yelling at the top of his voice. But no one heard him. There was only darkness in the distance, and it seemed to stretch to infinity in every direction. He was trapped.
All this while, there was a dark sinister voice that sounded like many chorusing in unison. It kept tempting him to give up and merge whatever remained of his individuality with it. All this while, he had resisted by running.
But he was getting tired. It just wasn't encouraging to run into a dark distance that went on forever with no end in sight.
Luca continued running.
Onboard the Divina, Bridge of Sighs:
The high priest watched the tattered remnants of his fleet regroup and rebuild. He was enraged that they had actually been forced to retreat from the Unclean. Their losses had been heavy, and now they were left with five needleships.
If things continued the way they went, extinction of their race would be guaranteed.
The high priest was also remorseful that they failed to accomplish the task Kadesh had set out for them – to eliminate the Hiigarans. He hoped that Kadesh would not be hard on their failure.
"Your holiness, our long range sensors report that the Unclean planet Hiigara has fallen."
"Fallen? Why that would be interesting. Details?"
"It appears that the Hiigarans were attacked by another Unclean race, the Vaygr. Their defence fleets have fallen, and the Vaygr have taken possession of the planet."
"I see. We are in no state to purify this system. Set a course for the nearby Sarum System. We shall hide in the dust clouds there and reinforce our forces for a decisive strike at the Unclean."
High orbit over Gozan IV, Gozan System:
The Shipyard Naabal crept slowly away from the main battle as the defending battlecruisers and frigates threw themselves at the oncoming Indigo Crusade. While the Vaygr capital ships engaged the Hiigaran vessels, the assault craft and bombers ignored them completely and went straight for the fleeing shipyard.
The mothership-class vessel was smouldering from the injuries it had received in Hiigaran orbit. It threw up a few squadrons of Acolyte IIs in a bid to defend itself, and the fighters clashed in a chaotic battle. Still, the bombers went on and unleashed their plasma weaponry on the shipyard's engines.
Onboard the pursued vessel, Commander Elohim yelled in annoyance as they lost all drive power and came to a stop. When the Indigo Crusade began punching through their capital ship defences, he and his crews braced themselves for the worst.
It was then that Hiigaran ships began dropping out of hyperspace like gifts from the heavens. Five mothership-class vessels were among them. Elohim gave a sigh of relief.
The Exodus Fleet had arrived.
Onboard the Legacy of Kharak, high orbit over Gozan IV:
"All ships, move to provide cover for the Shipyard Naabal. Do not approach the main Vaygr fleet, it's too late for the shipyard's defenders. Stay clear of the main Vaygr fleet!" Eefrit hollered.
Acolyte IIs and pulsar gunships swarmed out of their docking bays and poured into the clouds of Vaygr strike craft surrounding the shipyard. Flak frigates rushed forward to support the fighters, accompanied by several Somtaaw multibeam frigates. Now the surrounding space was lit up by dazzling explosions as both Hiigaran and Vaygr ships fell to each other's firepower.
Meanwhile, the last of the shipyard's defence fleets were erased from existence, allowing the Indigo Crusade to advance on the shipyard and Exodus Fleet's positions. It wasn't a pretty sight – Six battlecruisers and ten destroyers now moved to bring their Trinity Cannons and missiles to bear on the Hiigaran forces. But Eefrit was unafraid.
"General Qwaar! You are clear to proceed, repeat, you are clear to proceed!"
"Roger! Paaura, Kuun Lan and Faal Corum, fire Siege Cannons now!"
Three tremendous dull thuds signified the release of compressed plasma from the Somtaaw command ships. The spheres of glittering light sped towards the Vaygr fleet, which now turned to flee. But there was no escaping this at such close distance.
The spheres ignited, releasing their payload of plasma and energy in a blinding flash of light. The Indigo Crusade was rocked by a triple onslaught of lethal shockwaves that tore frigates to pieces and crippled their super capital vessels. When the blast had dissipated, only two of the battlecruisers remained, of which one was crippled beyond any form of fighting. The only other surviving ships were some lucky frigates which managed to retreat far enough, along with a heavily damaged destroyer. The seven carriers turned around to flee in the same direction as the Crusade's command shipyard, which was already powering up hyperdrives in an attempt to escape.
Sure enough, the green hyperspace windows opened before the shipyard and the carriers, enveloping them as they disappeared from normal space. Moments later, the ships dropped back out of hyperspace. The Legacy had activated her gravity well generators!
"Eefrit, I have powered up the gravity well generators to the max. We cannot allow the carriers and shipyard to escape, or they will warn the Vaygr to our presence!"
"Agreed. All ships, focus fire on the carriers and shipyard! We must not let the Indigo Crusade threaten Hiigara again!"
The tables turned on them, the Vaygr forces had no choice but to put up a last ditch defence. The carriers brought their point defence systems to bear on the advancing Hiigaran strike craft while launching emergency squads of assault craft, lance fighters and bombers. The shipyard tried to hide by cloaking itself, but was quickly rediscovered by Yuno's timely launch of proximity sensors. In time, the Indigo Crusade was completely annihilated.
As the fleet celebrated their victory in destroying one of the seven Vaygr crusades, Yuno excused herself from the bridge to check on the data analysis' progress.
The services of Koshiir Ra were most invaluable in the protection of many systems during the rebellion. The Defiants and their weapons were clearly useless the moment the ship brought its Quantum Distortion Array online.
It was thus with great regret that we were forced to abandon the Koshiir Ra during the height of the rebellion. Her power systems were inadequate to meet the needs of full-blown battle. The Elders feared that if we were to lose Koshiir Ra to the rebels, we would face certain defeat.
In hindsight, the construction of the Grand Core may have provided an alternative source of energy to replace the unreliable systems of the Koshiir Ra. We were most astounded to see that the Grand Core would take the Koshiir Ra's capabilities to greater heights. Unfortunately, the Elders would have none of it. Fearful to let both Grand Core and Koshiir Ra fall into enemy hands, they gave orders to seal the Grand Core in an anomalous system in the same galaxy as the Sajuuk
As for the Koshiir Ra, it was locked in a place inaccessible to all, not even with the Grand Core. Unless of course, they could program the Core with the algorithms needed to access what is by far the most complex quantum anomaly ever discovered in our history. Until then, only the power of Aaraan, the Traveller, can reveal the Guardian.
Progenitor historian's account
Yuno shook her head at the new information. It was not exactly as helpful as she wanted it to be, but it would have to do. The task ahead was daunting – now they would have to go out and manually check every single gate in the Eye of Aaraan network for traces of the godly ship.
The rest of the data had been checked umpteen times, all with the same result: corrupted beyond repair.
Yuno sighed. Surely there was some other way of finding more information. She sat in cyberspace, pondering over her options, oblivious to the data shunts going past her.
Kiir Sjet walked slowly down the corridors of the Mothership. The place as far bigger than the Exile, and he was prone to getting lost as a result. Thankfully, the doctor was kind enough to pass him a small schematic of the Legacy's interior, which he now held in his hand as a guide.
Kiir moved out onto a suspended section of corridor that hung over one of the halls in the vessel. It was somewhat noisy here. Looking down, he saw the production lines of the Mothership for the first time in his life. Multiple assembly lines were working to produce the various parts and components that would eventually be combined into ships. Seeing the distinct shape of an Acolyte taking place, he gathered that this area was in charge of fighter production.
Leaving the noise behind him, Kiir walked out of the hall and into another of those metallic corridors. Checking his map, he estimated that he would be somewhere near the cryogenic subsections. After some walking, he made a turn and gasped at the sight before him.
Thousands upon thousands of cryo pods suspended in insulating liquid by wiring and metal frames, stretching far into the distance. Kiir walked through the transparent glass corridor that snaked through the liquid, observing the cryogenic systems busily working to sustain the frozen colonists.
He could almost feel the urgency of Karan Sjet over a century ago.
"Those trays contain all that remain of our people. Without them, we will become extinct."
Kiir sighed. Now their situation was not very different from the Kharakian days. Hiigara had fallen, and everyone automatically assumed that the Vaygr would bomb the planet clean of any life. The only difference was that they had a Guidestone to spur them on in the past. Now, they were just fleeing through space with no particular destination in mind.
He left the cryogenic subsections, deciding to return to the infirmary. He had walked enough, and he needed to rest as the doctor had insisted. Referring to the map, he began scratching his head in confusion. Muttering an expletive at his navigational woes, he picked a corridor at random and began walking down it.
Kiir walked past several Mothership engineers, who regarded him with strange looks, as though he wasn't supposed to be here. Undaunted, he continued walking on into unknown territory, hoping to reach familiar grounds soon. Ten minutes later, he gave up and decided to ask someone for directions.
It was then that he noticed a door at the end of a corridor. It was different in design from the other doors he had come across. Naturally, his curiosity took over and his hand reached for the door console. Kiir hesitated for a while, wondering if what he was doing was permissible. He then gave a nonchalant shrug and hit the necessary keys.
The door groaned and slid open slowly, as though it hadn't been used in decades. Kiir peered into the darkness beyond. He fumbled for the light switch and pressed it, expecting the lights to flicker on as they usually did. Only this time, they didn't.
Instead, some dim lighting faded on, slowly revealing the shapes of the objects in the room. Kiir squinted to get a better look, and found rows of computer consoles and electronic systems distributed throughout the room in a radial formation. Right in the centre of the apparatus was a circular disc suspended in the air by space titanium cables. It appeared to be part of some sort of electronic cubicle.
Puzzled, Kiir went forward for a closer look, running his hands over the device. When he came to a hanging plug wire, he grasped it to pull it in for examination.
He didn't get an electric shock, but he got the ride of his life.
Yuno perked up at the sudden change, momentarily distracted from the results of the data analysis. There was a presence in the system, and it was definitely not one of the automated AI processes. Neither was it a remnant of the rogue Progenitor Keeper AI. With a mental thought, Yuno zapped instantaneously to the presence.
When she saw the presence for the first time, she was very surprised.
"Kiir! What in Kharak's name are you doing in here, how did you get in!"
"Huh? This voice… Yuno!"
Now Kiir looked towards the direction of Yuno's voice and saw her persona for the first time. He still couldn't figure out what was going on, though.
"Yuno? What's happened to me? Where am I?"
"I have no idea how you did this, Kiir, but you're in the Legacy of Kharak's computer system."
"I'm in the what!"
"Now it's my turn for the questions," Yuno asserted, "I heard you have telepathy, telekinesis… now will you tell me how you got in here?"
"I don't know myself. I just touched a plug wire, and here I was."
"You can't get in here simply by just touching random wires, Kiir."
"Well, the plug was in this room. Pretty weird that place was, full of computer consoles, amost like a disused bridge. And in the centre…"
"Wait, you just stepped into the Control Core room?"
"The Control Core?"
"It was the place from which Karan controlled the Mothership during the journey from Kharak. It's the only place other than the bridge and Core Containment Sections that has a direct link to the Mothership computers."
"But, didn't Karan access the ship because she was plugged in?"
"Yes, which makes me wonder how you managed to do the same just by touching," replied Yuno, rolling her eyes in amazement, "Is there anything else you can't do?"
"Yeah, and that's getting back."
"Oh."
The medics surrounded Kiir's stiff body, which was still holding onto the plug wire with its right hand. This was the first time they had encountered a real out-of-body experience, and they had no idea how to deal with it.
"We could separate Kiir from the plug wire…"
"… And risk killing him by depriving his mind of the link with his body?"
"Would anaesthesia work? No… getting him unconscious in the virtual world would be unwise…"
"I think Yuno can handle that."
"But she has matters to attend to, and a fleet to manage. We can't waste her time in doing such mundane stuff."
And the medics continued their arguments and discussion with little progress taking place. Fifteen minutes later, they turned to the concerned Admiral Eefrit and the hologram of Yuno.
"Well, people?" Eefrit asked impatiently, "Can it be done?"
To that, the medics shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders. They had not the slightest clue. Eefrit sighed and turned to the dismayed Yuno.
"At least reroute the link from his hand to something more stable, like a neurohelmet or something. We'll think of what to do next from there." Yuno suggested.
The medics quickly set to work, making the necessary preparations to mount a neurohelmet on Kiir's head. They would not plug him in physically, but instead do so by connecting his brainwaves to the computer by means of complex brainwave analysis hardware.
Assaam Kiith'sid, Hiigaran Capital City:
The once busy urban landscape was now completely deserted. Streets were completely empty and devoid of any sign of life. The skies were silent except for the occasional whir of a police hovership patrolling the area for unevacuated civilians. Everyone had been sent to the safety of the bomb shelters.
The only problem was that the shelters could not protect from what was coming next.
A dull thud resonated across the barren city landscape, signifying the hypersonic approach of something from orbit. The pilot of the patrol ship looked up, manoeuvring his vehicle to get a better view of the thing.
He saw something plunging down from the heavens, burning brightly like a falling star. The pilot regarded it with awe as it came closer and closer. A quick check with the ship's sensors predicted the impact zone to be roughly a dozen kilometres north of the city outskirts.
The falling thing vanished behind the cover of a mountain, and the distant roar of its violent descent was abruptly cut off. Suddenly, the area behind the mountain lit up in a brilliant flare of light. Instantly, the mountain was reduced to dust as the explosion and shockwave spread farther.
The pilot knew instantly what it was, and instinctively brought up his hovership magnetic shielding to the maximum. But he knew that nothing could withstand the full force of an atmosphere deprivation weapon.
Several seconds later, the shockwave sliced through the city, demolishing all in its path. The hovership was caught by a terrible gust of wind that sent it spiralling out of control, then the flames consumed both Hiigaran and his ship.
Assaam Kiith'sid was wiped off the face of the planet, but that was not the end. Even as the initial explosion spread further, more of the burning stars began their descent from the skies above.