HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 17: PIONEERS
Since the discovery of the Great Hyperspace Core in the First Time, the Galaxy has opened up in the wake of hyperspace technology. Many regions once thought to be inaccessible were conveniently reached by various civilisations using normal jump modules, while other areas were charted by the Bentusi in their explorations with the First Core.
However, one region remained closed to all sentient races in the Galaxy. The legacy of a cataclysmic collision between galaxies in an ancient era far beyond the First Time, the Southern Fringe is laced with many dying supergiant stars and black holes. Second only to the inhospitable Balcora region, even the Bentusi's Far Jumper was stopped dead in its tracks.
Of course, the Galaxy's civilisations still stubbornly sent ambitious expeditions in attempts to conquer what was called the Final Frontier. Ships jumped into hyperspace and tried to enter the Southern Fringe from nearly every angle of entry possible, with disastrous results. Entire convoys perished when their hyperdrives gave out and left them stranded several light years inside the influence of the gravity wells. Effectively trapped, many died of slow and agonising starvation.
Protected by such an insurmountable obstacle, the Southern Fringe was quickly forgotten. Only when the Eye of Aaraan provided a gateway into the region did the possibility of exploration come up once more.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Eye of Aaraan Gate 34C:
Kiir Sjet finally reached the Advanced Research Module, and it was certainly quite a sight. The place swarmed with the best scientists Hiigara had to offer, with equally advanced analysis and research equipment. It definitely lived up to its name of being the ultimate off-world Hiigaran research centre.
As Kiir walked to his designated laboratory section, a scientist in a lab coat rushed over excitedly.
"Kiir Sjet! I didn't expect to meet you here!"
"Huh? You are…?"
"Don't you remember? The Institute of Space Sciences?"
At the mention of his alma mater, Kiir stared hard at the new face. Moments later, something sparked in his mind.
"Surely you can't be Kro?"
"Time flies doesn't it?" the Manaan beamed cheerily.
"Where the hell did you end up? I thought I had lost contact with you for good!" Kiir exclaimed, slapping the back of his long-lost friend.
"While you went on to revolutionise hyperspace physics, I got assigned to the Pride of Hiigara. Basically, I was kinda freaked out when they had me board the Crew Transport, escorted by nothing but a couple of interceptor squadrons…"
"You were in the Vaygr War!"
"That's why you couldn't find me. Karan was hopping us all over the Galaxy to save Hiigara's sorry butt! In the end, they took me to Sajuuk when they abandoned the mothership in Balcora. I've been reassigned from ship to ship ever since. It was very harrowing…"
"Hey, I didn't have it easy either. The rest of us were hiding in bomb shelters praying that Makaan wouldn't start dropping those atmosphere deprivation things onto the planet!"
"I see. Well, it's good to see you again anyway, Kiir! By the way, what brings you to the Pride?"
"I was granted permission to continue the Light Sword Project. They didn't have space back on the Legacy, so they transferred me over."
"Light Sword? Wow, you're building Super Acolytes?"
"I've got new data from deep scans of Bentusi vessels. I'm pretty sure I'll make it work this time. Now, what exactly are you doing around here now?"
"Well, they got me to do research on samples of Progenitor armor. Now I'm trying to devise a hybrid version for use on our ships."
"Sounds good. See you around then!"
"Yeah, nice to have you back!"
Kiir waved Kro Manaan off and moved into the lab. As the doors slid shut behind him, he quickly put down his belongings and looked around. Clearly, this place was notches ahead of the old lab he worked in at Tanis Base. There were computer terminals powered by the latest processors that Hiigaran sciences could offer, as well as various storage keys containing archives of research data.
After a few moments of staring in awe, Kiir snapped himself back to reality. Sitting down at a computer terminal, he plugged in his storage key and loaded all his data into the system. Now he could begin his work.
Onboard the Oblivion, the Eye of Aaraan:
"So this is the Eye of Aaraan itself… it certainly is an incredible project," commented the rebellion leader, observing the minute technical details of the massive gate, "And Karan escaped through this?"
"Yes my lord, and it appears that she has locked the system using the Sajuuk's encryption codes. Trying to crack it using our current hacking methods would take years to achieve."
"Then did you infidels manage to get a lock on her hyperspace trajectory when she escaped?" demanded the leader, bringing his fist down hard on the console before him.
"Erm, I'm afraid it wasn't possible. There is no way of tracking ships jumping through the gate system. The gate system propels them to a different level of hyperspace…"
"I do not care for these pathetic excuses, YOU WILL FIND THE SAJUUK WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, IS THAT CLEAR?"
"…Yes, my lord. It shall be done," the officer stuttered as he stumbled back to his terminal in fear.
"In the meantime, plot a course for Hiigara. The fact that the cruisers were defeated by a technologically inferior race is disturbing enough to warrant an investigation."
"At once, your Greatness. All ships, stand by for hyperspace entry!"
Onboard a Progenitor Keeper, the Eye of Aaraan:
The crews readied themselves for the hyperspace jump as the computers made their preparations. Engineers moved to the various safety zones to strap in, abandoning sections of the ship.
A terrible procedure, for the infection containment unit began to beep angrily, trying to warn someone of the imminent containment field breach.
But no one knew of the danger, since the computers were concentrating fully on fine tuning algorithms for the next jump. And so the entity within sapped the last remnants of the energy field, breaking out to subvert the containment unit and all else beyond.
Onboard the Legacy of Kharak, Eye of Aaraan Gate 34C:
She didn't notice it at first, but soon the quantum distortion became too prominent to ignore. Yuno brought a few sensors to bear on the gate and studied the distortion. It behaved like a hyperspace exit, yet was too chaotic to actually jump anything through.
The sensors warned her of anomalous energy readings. Yuno quickly ran a check on the quantum energy present in the distortion, finding it to be perfectly normal. It was then that the communications arrays started picking up abnormal amounts of static. She was really confused now by the strange data, something she had received for the first time in her life. It was almost as if someone was pinging them through the distortion…
Of course, that was it! The idea had hit Yuno suddenly, and now she quickly sent alerts through the fleet.
"Emergency alert, we have been pinged. All ships, stand by for possible contact with enemy fleet! Eefrit, dock at the nearest carrier, this could get dangerous!"
"I already am here," he commented as he entered the bridge. Eefrit caught a glimpse of the sensors manager and groaned, "Crap, it's happening already!"
Yuno returned her attention to the hypergate. Sure enough, the distortion had disappeared and was now replaced by hyperspace signatures as the gate powered up to deliver its cargo. In response, the resource collectors and workers fled to the safety of the carriers while the capital ships moved in with their weapons aimed at the gate.
The hyperspace gate activated in a flash of blue light, releasing ships from hyperspace transit. They were shaped like asteroids and were crystalline in nature. A quick consultation with the fleet archives confirmed them to be T-MAT ships.
Yuno didn't know what to do next. The only time she had seen a T-MAT vessel was during a history lesson in her adolescence. Even then, they were so enigmatic that the Hiigaran databanks' only possessed a single photograph of a megaship. That dated back to the defeat of the Taiidan emperor, when the Bentusi had come to declare the war over. As megaships, cruisers, destroyers and frigates continued warping in, Eefrit was unnerved.
"This isn't looking good, Yuno. At the rate they're coming in, they could outnumber us in a matter of minutes!"
"Please be patient. Perhaps they do not have hostile intentions, surely they are a reasonable people. I am picking up a large hyperspace signature!"
All eyes turned to the viewscreens as the gate began to deliver something extraordinarily large. Moments later, the T-MAT mothership flickered into objective being. Built on the same scale as the Bentus, it was like a megaship on steroids. The gate then fell silent as quickly as it had awakened.
The gathered T-MAT fleet equalled the Exodus Fleet in numbers, but Yuno knew that they had the edge in technology. Aggravating them would not be wise, so she summoned up her courage and began to speak.
"Greetings, T-MAT fleet. I am Yuno Manaan of the Hiigaran Exodus Fleet. May we enquire about your sudden presence here?"
Yuno paused, expecting a reply, but there was only silence.
"I don't think this is going to work. We should hyperspace away while we still can." Eefrit shook his head solemnly, arms crossed. Undaunted, Yuno tried again.
"Attention T-MAT fleet, we mean you no harm whatsoever. Please respond!"
There was another uneasy silence, but this time the T-MAT's collective voice flickered in on all frequencies after several moments.
"Hiigarans, do you not see the folly of your actions after all these calamities?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"It was all wrong from the start. A Bound race such as yours should never have found the Second Core in the first place. What followed were eras of never-ending bloodshed and violence."
"By locating the Second Core, the so-called "peace" our Bentusi kin sought came to an end. You decimated the Taiidani homeworld, and caused your own Exile. And your race simply refused to accept it, choosing to return 4000 years later. By doing so, you threw the entire galaxy into upheaval, ruining the Taiidan Empire and causing interstellar civil wars. Were it not for the intervention of the Bentusi, we would have exterminated your race to stop any more debacles from happening."
"What you did in return was absolutely horrific. You unleashed the horror that was the Beast on the Galaxy, extinguishing so many songs and promising civilisations."
"But, our unleashing the Beast was entirely an accident! You know that we didn't mean to do it intentionally…" Yuno replied.
"Silence! If it were not for your endless political bickering, the Somtaaw would never have to unlock the probe containing the Beast material. So you see, many of the Galaxy's ills can be traced to your cursed race's presence."
"But you can't make that sort of generalisation!" Yuno gasped, enraged by what the T-MAT was saying, "We unleashed the Beast but stopped it in the end…"
"But the damage had already been done. You doomed the Bentusi by having them split their existence between this galaxy and another. Yes, you may have defeated Makaan and stopped the Vaygr assaults in the End Time, but you did so at the cost of the Bentusi themselves! As if that was not enough, you had the audacity to open the Eye of Aaraan, blinded by the sense of power granted by the Great Maker!"
"… But that's why we're now on a journey to stop the Progenitors. We must find the…"
"Koshiir Ra? We should have guessed. Predictable Hiigarans, always finding yet another ancient ship to stop the ancient horrors they unlock…"
"If we can't find the Koshiir Ra, then this Galaxy will really be doomed!" yelled Yuno, unable to keep her feelings in check any longer, "And when that happens, your race will meet the same fate as ours, along with every civilisation in the Galaxy!"
"True, but look at all the historical records. Your quest to find the Sajuuk activated Keepers throughout the Void. While you fight "valiantly" to stop the Progenitors and the Vaygr, many more civilisations fracture under the attacks of the Keepers. What makes you so sure that the Koshiir Ra will not be the catalyst of another catastrophe such as this?"
"We…" Yuno stuttered, but she had nothing to say. The T-MAT's logic had completely stumped her. She looked to Eefrit for advice, but he had none to offer.
"Speechless at last, are you not?" gloated the T-MAT, "Too long have we stood back and done nothing. It is time to end your accursed existence."
The T-MAT ended their transmissions abruptly, taking Yuno and Eefrit entirely by surprise. Almost instantly, the T-MAT began launching fighters and started moving to fire on the Exodus Fleet.
"Holy Sajuuk, the T-MAT are attacking! Eefrit to all ships, fire at will! Yuno, begin charging up for an emergency jump… Yuno!"
The bridge rocked violently as three megaships swept in, raking the Legacy with their rapid-fire ion cannons. The rest of the Hiigaran fleet tried to draw fire away from the mothership, firing back on the T-MAT ships. But the T-MAT fleet simply ignored everything else and focused their fire on the Legacy of Kharak.
The mothership shuddered as hulls gave way and sections collapsed. There was no way it could survive this kind of firepower.
Onboard the Gatekeeper of Sajuuk, Eye of Aaraan Gate 34C:
Captain Soban saw the mothership reel from the withering fire. At first, he stared in shock at the unbelievable power of the T-MAT ships, then quickly remembered the colonists in cold sleep onboard the Legacy.
"Scramble alert! Weapons Control, target the PCA at the T-MAT mothership! Engineering, full power to shields! Helm, take us towards the Legacy, hopefully we can block some of the fire physically!"
The crew responded and started keying commands into the temporary controls. The computers had not been completely restored yet, and they hoped for a miracle. To their relief, the main drives kicked in and pushed the Dreadnaught to the front of the mothership, blocking some of the ion cannon fire discharging from the T-MAT fleet.
The Gatekeeper whined as it struggled to bring its weapon to bear on the T-MAT mothership under all that firepower. The shields crackled under the stress, allowing several stray ion beams to pierce through and scorch the hull.
Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet saw their futile attempts at drawing fire away and quickly changed strategies. Now they activated their Quantum Distortion Algorithms, forming walls of quantum anomalies around the Legacy. Immediately, the T-MAT firepower was rendered useless as ion beams and energy blasts were deflected away into space. The smouldering Legacy turned to flee, severely damaged but still breathing.
Captain Soban felt his ship shudder as it let loose its Phased Cannon Array at the T-MAT mothership. The bright yellow beam lanced into the mothership's hull, dissolving armor and ripping through bulkheads. Taken entirely by surprise, the T-MAT mothership wasted no time trying to get itself out of the line of fire.
Responding to the change in situation, the T-MAT fleet now moved to cover their mothership and fire on the Dreadnaught and the rest of the Hiigaran fleet. Their fighters swarmed in to meet the Hiigaran Acolyte IIs, and explosions lit the region around the gate.
"Captain! We can't take any more of this! The shields are barely holding!" Engineering protested as the shield generators threatened to overload.
"We've done what we could. Phase us out!" roared Captain Soban as he started thinking about the next course of action to take.
The Gatekeeper vanished in a flash of light, reappearing at the safe rear of the Exodus Fleet.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Eye of Aaraan Gate 34C:
Kiir Sjet saw the situation unfolding on his computer viewscreen. Wasting no time, he stopped what he was doing and placed both his hands on the console keyboard.
"Come on, come on, let me in…" he muttered anxiously as more Hiigaran ships met their fiery doom. The Somtaaw fleets had moved in to provide fire support, but they too were being ripped to shreds.
Whatever had happened to Yuno, he thought, it had definitely come at the wrong time. He concentrated fiercely, forcing himself to do this. He knew he could, it was just a matter of practice.
"COME ON!" Kiir yelled as he saw the T-MAT turn to pick off their battlecruisers one by one. And then, he lost consciousness.
Finding himself in the virtual world of the Pride of Hiigara, Kiir wasted no time heading for the communications relay. Seconds later, he had jumped over into the Legacy of Kharak. What lay within was utter chaos. Ionic energy from the T-MAT assault had spilled through compromised sections of hull plating and armor, causing data crashes and erroneous shunts everywhere.
Kiir moved quickly to dodge the various surges of data spiralling uncontrollably through the operating systems. The situation was getting worse by the minute, and the last thing he wanted was death by corruption.
He spotted Yuno some distance away, who was also trying to avoid getting erased. Kiir deftly manoeuvred his way through the chaos and finally reached her side.
"Kiir! What are you doing here? How in Kharak did you get in again!" Yuno gaped, astounded by his sudden appearance.
"Things looked pretty bad, so I thought I'd just drop by," he replied casually, ducking to avoid another data surge, "The Mothership's in very bad shape, why aren't you hyperspacing out?"
"We would if we could. Right now, the computers are too messed up to execute anything more complex than life support. Eefrit and the rest of the bridge crew are working to switch the hyperdrive systems to manual. As soon as they achieve that, we'll be getting outta here."
"But you can still activate the Grand Core from here, can't you?" Kiir responded, observing that computer access to the Grand Core control systems was still available.
"With all this chaos, I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm already having a hard time just staying alive here, I doubt I'd be able to make it to the Grand Core…" Yuno paused as she swerved to evade a spiralling chunk of data, "… in one piece."
Kiir watched the path to the Grand Core controls, then studied the trajectories of the chaotic data for a few moments. Then, to Yuno's horrified surprise, he dashed into the corrupted mess of data.
It was like something from a Hiigaran Marine combat simulation, except the difficulty setting was probably along the lines of "Sajuuk." Projectiles of corrupted data hurled themselves at Kiir from every possible angle and direction, and he was barely able to dodge them all. If not for the fact that he was not restrained by physical limits in this virtual world, he would have been dead long ago.
After what seemed an eternity of evading bullets of data, Kiir finally reached the Grand Core control systems. Wasting no time, he immersed himself in it. A big mistake, for he had utterly no idea what would happen next.
Kiir suddenly snapped into a strange new dimension. He was drifting in space, and various symbols floated around him. Some represented friendly frigates, others indicated hostile vessels. Unsure of what to do next, he saw a T-MAT symbol breaking through a loophole in the protective quantum distortions, displayed as wireframe walls around himself.
He yelped and instinctively pushed out his hands to stop the symbol from impaling him. What happened next took him totally by surprise. The T-MAT symbol vanished, and more figures popped up to indicate coordinate data.
"What in Kharak's name?" Eefrit exclaimed as he tried to come to terms with what had just happened. Earlier, a T-MAT destroyer had manoeuvred around the quantum distortions on a collision course with the Legacy. In their current state, such an impact would prove fatal.
But just before it had impaled the flaming Mothership, the ship was suddenly engulfed by a dazzling hyperspace window. As the window closed, the destroyer was no longer there.
"Does someone have a reading on that hyperspatial anomaly?" Eefrit yelled over the din of crackling circuits and buzzing speakers. It was then that a massive shudder reverberated through the Legacy as the main drives cut off, leaving the Mothership drifting helplessly through space. Eefrit held on for dear life, as did the rest of his crew.
"Sir, it seems that the T-MAT vessel was pulled into hyperspace not on its own will," replied an officer who had quickly punched up some data on a barely working terminal, "Given our limited sensor data, I can't confirm this, but the source of the anomaly appears to be the Grand Core."
"What the heck is going on… Yuno, if you can hear me, say something!" Eefrit shouted into his communications strap. But there was no reply.
It had quickly dawned on Kiir as to what he had done. Wasting no time, he proceeded to grab every T-MAT vessel he could see and fling them all into hyperspace. As ship after ship vanished from view, spirited away to random locations throughout the Galaxy, he saw the rest of the T-MAT fleet gathering into a defensive formation around their mothership. Clearly, they were at a loss as to what to do next.
Kiir took advantage of his chance and reached out both his hands to grab the sphere of symbols. As he did so, he felt extreme fatigue from the sudden exertion. With a mighty effort, he pushed the fleet away with whatever strength he could master. Just as he completed the task, he warped out of the system abruptly.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Eye of Aaraan Gate 34C:
As Kiir came to groggily, he saw the concerned face of Kro bending over him.
"… Kro? What… how did you get in here?" Kiir mumbled as he tried to shake off the disorientation.
"What the hell are you doing sleeping at a time like this, we've been boarded!"
"What?" he now sprang fully awake at the news, "What do you mean?"
"Before the T-MAT fleet warped out, a frigate began launching crystal pods at the ship. Point defences shot down most of them, but one is lodged in the west side of this module. They're evacuating everyone to the hangar bays even as I speak."
"You mean, something's come aboard?"
"We're not sure what, but they say it's some sort of crystalline robot. Come on, we've no time to lose!" urged Kro.
Sure enough, the Advanced Research Module was in chaos. Scientists and non-military personnel were leaving the place in droves, while Marines swept in quickly. Kro gestured towards the exit, and the both of them began to run.
Suddenly, a heavy door blew open, revealing the T-MAT boarders. The waist-high legged robots scurried towards the defensive line of Marines, who began opening fire with their pulse rifles and energy pistols. Depleted uranium slugs barely chipped at the crystal armor while the energy bolts were dissipated almost instantly.
The robots smashed into the Marines and began tearing into the fear-stricken Hiigarans. It was a horrific sight – sharp crystalline limbs impaled flesh and bone, then withdrew as crystal particles stayed behind to grow into the surrounding tissue and kill the victims slowly. The Marines were paralysed by agony as crystals grew within their bodies and limbs, spreading rapidly and exploding out in bursts of blood and bone.
Kiir and Kro had leapt through the closing doors of the exit, coming to a rolling halt on the floor. The robots threw themselves at the obstacle, and the heavy steel door began to buckle. Marines stepped forward to pull both men to their feet, shoving them off down the corridor urgently. Another Marine began keying in a series of digits into a control panel – they were scuttling the module.
Just before the sequence could be activated, the door blew open and the robots swarmed forth. The Marines shrieked as they suffered their agonising fates. The other scientists and personnel stared in shock, then resumed running. Gunshots echoed through the place as the Marines tried to stop the invasion, but it was in vain. As the shooting died down, Kiir quickly thought up a plan and turned to Kro, who was running beside him.
"Kro, do you know how to activate the module's destruct sequence?"
"Well, yes, but I can only do that from the panel back there…"
Kiir nodded in understanding then stopped to turn around. Kro thought that his friend had gone mad, and rushed to drag him away from the incoming robots. It was then that Kiir took a deep breath and raised both his hands at the boarders. Miraculously, they were halted by some kind of invisible wall.
"By Sajuuk, how the hell did you do that Kiir?" Kro stared in amazement.
"It's a long story. I'll hold them off and you'll start the destruct sequence, alright?"
"No problem."
"Then, GO!"
Kiir pushed forward with all his might, and his barrier shifted. The invaders were perplexed by this invisible obstacle and tried their best to break through, but to no avail. Soon enough, Kiir had managed to push them all the way back into the Advanced Research Module. Kro went up to the panel and began to punch the numbers in fervently.
"Advanced Research Module destruction sequence activated. Please withdraw to safe distance in 10 seconds." warbled the computer panel.
Kro quickly gestured to Kiir, who yelled an expletive and thrust the robots backwards with everything he had. The crystalline fiends were sent hurtling, crashing into several pieces of furniture. With no time left to spare, Kiir quickly dived under the closing bulkhead door along with Kro.
"Destruction sequence activated."
There was a tremendous roar as the Advanced Research Module detonated, blowing itself to pieces away from the Pride of Hiigara. The bulkhead door buckled slightly and threatened to give, but it held.
As the two scientists pulled themselves to their feet, many thoughts began running through Kiir's mind. For some reason, his abilities didn't fatigue him severely like it did the previous time on the Sajuuk. Perhaps it got easier with practice, he reasoned.
Kiir then realised that the evacuated scientists and personnel were looking at him with a sense of awe and respect. One by one, they began to clap until the entire corridor was filled with unending applause. Kiir felt uneasy – the last thing he wanted was to become a worshipped idol like Karan had become.
Thankfully, the applause was quickly interrupted by a broadcast from the Legacy. It was Yuno.
"Attention fleet, we have restored far jump capabilities. It has been determined that the hyperspace measures taken against the T-MAT are merely temporary, and they will return soon enough. However, we cannot use the gate for it is certain that the T-MAT's hacking of the gate's software will compromise our safety for the journey."
"Therefore, we will be making a jump into the Southern Fringe using the Grand Core. Regarding the lack of navigational data, this will be a risk that we have to take. The only information we have is a string of unknown variables extracted from the Gatekeeper of Sajuuk."
"We will be executing the jump immediately so as to avoid another strike by the T-MAT fleet. Since we have yet to gain a fuller understanding of the Grand Core's workings, I ask for you all not to be alarmed by any anomalous sensor data. Yuno out."
As the announcement ended, the corridor erupted in excited discussion, and Kiir was momentarily forgotten. He took the chance to sneak away unnoticed along with Kro.
Onboard the Legacy of Kharak:
Yuno ran a check through the systems of the Mothership, which was now in a barebones operating mode. The colonists were still safe, as they had been protected by layer upon layer of armor and anti-ionic shielding.
She could not say the same of the Legacy, for smoke and flames still poured from its many wounds. Hull integrity was barely holding at 35 percent, while structural integrity was at a shaky 50 percent. But they were all still within the minimum hyperspace safety parameters.
"Alright. Yuno, you sure about this?" Eefrit asked, worried about this next step.
"I don't see what other route we have now, she sighed, We can only go forward."
"If so, let's go then. May Sajuuk watch over us." Eefrit commented, taking a deep breath.
"Very well. Yuno to fleet, far jump coordinates locked in!"
The Grand Core processed the data and powered up, only this time it wasn't any ordinary far jump. With a loud hum, it opened up hyperspace windows in front of every ship in the fleet. The windows, unlike the normal shimmering blue ones, dazzled with all the colours in the visible spectrum.
With a bright flash, the windows engulfed the Exodus Fleet and closed as quickly as they had opened.