HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 25: DESPAIR AND HOPE
"There will come a time in the Age of Sjet where old conflicts shall pale and a new horror shall arise."
"It is during this time that homes shall be lost and the Exiles stretched to their limits."
"But this concerns not the Exiles alone."
"There are only two outcomes: Victory or Utter Defeat."
Last words in Bentusi Prophecy salvaged from the Bentusi Ruins
Onboard the Sajuuk, the Great Wastelands:
Karan Sjet opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a crowded command room. A silence gripped the place as the officers and commanders wondered what it was that Karan was going to tell them.
The escape from Nalthora had been a hasty one. Most fleet jumps required tremendous coordination involving hyperspace module synchronisation and complex ship positioning. In this case, the entire process had been driven by the urgency of three civilisations' survival and a touch of panic. Captains had been ordered to stand down in the midst of chaotic firefights, praying that they entered hyperspace before their ships succumbed to the enemy attacks.
As such the hyperspace exit in the Great Wastelands was totally disorganised. It took the fleet nearly an hour to account for missing pilots and ships. As soon as the counting was done, Karan had issued the urgent order to meet every officer of authority in the fleet for a briefing.
"It is good to be back onboard the Sajuuk," Karan began, choosing to speak rather than broadcast through the computer system, "And it is a tremendous relief to see that much of the fleet has remained intact."
At that, every officer in the room rose up in applause to briefly celebrate Karan's safe return. Now the Exodus Fleet was finally complete. Karan nodded slightly and signalled for silence. The clapping died down quickly and she continued.
"I thank you all for your concern. However, I must warn you about what I am about to reveal, for this information will probably be the worst since the Burning of Kharak."
Karan paused to take a breath, the command room now eerily silent except for the soft murmurs of computer interfaces. Sighing, she dimmed the room lights and brought the crowd's attention to a holographic projector with the wave of a hand. As the projector flickered to life with the image of Hiigara, Karan turned away and closed her eyes. She was not prepared to go through this again.
The video played on and the silence remained unbroken. Occasionally a stifled gasp would erupt from the audience, but what they were seeing was beyond any form of emotional expression.
The painful seconds passed by and the projector concluded its presentation at long last. Karan restored the lighting to their original brightness, but it failed to overcome the gloom and darkness that now shrouded the room.
"I understand that it is an emotional tragedy for all of us here in the Exodus Fleet, but I must ask you to be strong and relate this to those under you in as tactful a way as possible. While there will be a time for us to mourn the loved ones we've lost, we must keep morale up in the current crisis we are facing."
With that, Karan waved her hand and ended the briefing. It took a while before the stunned officers could gather themselves sufficiently to get up and leave the room. Eventually, the command room was empty save for Admiral Eefrit, Captain Soban and General Qwaar.
"How are the Nalthorans taking it?" Karan enquired, "The loss of a home planet will surely be devastating to royalty and commoners alike."
"Their morale is pretty low but it'll pass," Soban mumbled, "I'm guessing that they'll be wanting revenge soon enough."
"I see. General Qwaar, how will your Kiith respond to the news? You understand that the Somtaaw's mining services will be crucial to the…"
"…They'll just feel a sense of loss, but nothing else," Qwaar Somtaaw replied, "We Somtaaw have always regarded our command ships as our true homes ever since the Landfall. To us, the stars are our place. Hiigara is widely regarded as just our place of origin."
"That is good to hear. Admiral Eefrit, how is Kiir Sjet? I believe he had secretly hacked into Nalthoran Fleet Command's databanks back then and discovered the news before this meeting."
"Last I saw him, he was back onboard the Legacy analysing the data beamed back by his test Core. He seems alright." Eefrit responded.
"Test Core? Kiir surely shows a lot of promise. He will bring great things for all of us," Karan commented, "You all look tired. Please get some rest while there is time."
The trio bowed solemnly and walked off.
Onboard the Legacy of Kharak, the Great Wastelands:
For the previous few minutes, Yuno had been accessing video feeds and internal sensors across the Mothership in an attempt to find Kiir. In the end, she found him where she least expected him to be – his hyperspace research laboratory. While the rest of the crew were in their quarters mourning the loss of Hiigara, Kiir was busily working on his hyperspace project.
"Kiir, what are you doing?" Yuno asked gently, treading carefully.
"I just got the data back, the jump worked," Kiir muttered, "I'm just sending the self-destruct command so that the Tobari don't get hold of the test Core."
"You know, you don't need to act as though nothing happened. The loss of our home is reason enough for an emotional breakdown you know…"
"I'm fine." Kiir snapped, his attention completely focused on the screen of data before him.
"Kiir Sjet, it's not good to hold it all in," Yuno continued, "When you need to let it out, you should do so without worry."
There was an uneasy silence, which was later broken by the sound of Kiir kicking the console angrily. He buried his face in his hands, trying to contain the emotions surging within him.
"Those monsters… they actually went and killed off entire planets just like that…" Kiir stammered in rage, "They showed absolutely no regard for life whatsoever… they just went and fired that beam…"
"Take it easy Kiir, for now we can't handle them because…"
"I won't let them off… in the name of Hiigara and Nalthora I WILL NOT LET THEM OFF!" Kiir yelled as his anger hit its peak, sending telekinetic shockwaves reverberating through the room. Yuno was alarmed when internal sensors began registering a dangerously high energy spike in the laboratory.
"Kiir! Get a grip! You're going to destroy the ship if this keeps up!" Yuno nearly screamed, watching the energy levels go higher and higher. Then, the spike vanished as abruptly as it had come.
Kiir was still huddled at his desk, shivering with anger, but his rage soon subsided and he composed himself. When Yuno saw him return calmly to his work, she heaved a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to return to her task of managing the ship, Kiir suddenly spoke again.
"You know, Yuno, that we can't touch the Neo-Beast now because of their superior technology and weapons. Even with the aid of the Nalthorans and the T-MAT we will still be unable to deal with their infection beams and the Qwaar Jet."
"Yes Kiir, but that can be easily overcome. We are considering forging an alliance with the Imperial-Turanic Raider Alliance for additional firepower…"
"That won't be necessary," Kiir interrupted, gesturing to the module of unknown design that he had built in the Southern Fringe, "This will be the means to our salvation."
"That module? Yuno asked, intrigued by the mystery surrounding it, What is it?"
"It combines the principles of hyperspace and phasing technology. For that reason, I call it the Hyperphase Drive. It will revolutionise faster-than-light travel and also the way we carry out our battles. Given the success of my test Core, it means that the equations used in the Hyperphase Drive will be correct. As such I am already building a scaled up replica for full testing."
"A replica?" It took Yuno a few seconds of checking through the computer systems before she saw what Kiir was driving at, "By Kharak, you've designed a battlecruiser!"
"That's not all," Kiir smiled, gazing at the stunned look on Yuno's face. Yuno took that as a hint and checked the ship records again, gasping when she found it. Somehow Kiir had managed to sneak an illegal ship construction request to the Shipyard Naabal back when they were in the Southern Fringe. A battlecruiser was now taking shape in the construction bays of the shipyard and scheduled for launch in the next 20 hours.
"Kiir, you know that what you just did was illegal," Yuno reminded, "But since it's for a greater cause… anyway these specifications, I've never seen them before! Take for instance the power system, do you mean to say that you've reverse-engineered the Grand Core's Quantum Tappers?"
"That was easy compared with replicating a Far Jumper," Kiir replied coolly, "I'll brief all of you with more details once the ship launches. Now shoo! I have work to do."
"Very well then. I look forward to the ship's launch. Yuno out."
The hologram shimmered out of view as Kiir turned back to his desk, scribbling another series of equations on scraps of paper.
"They will pay for what they've done…" he muttered under his breath.
Onboard the Merciless, Northern Outer Rim:
"What's the status on the Frontier Guard?" Admiral Ecron asked.
"They are reporting heavy losses to the infection entity," replied the communications officer, "Analysis of defeated enemy vessels has revealed that the entity is a more highly evolved version of the Beast."
"Can they hold the line?"
"If the enemy doesn't hyper in reinforcements, they are confident of pushing those scum back beyond the Frontier… wait we are picking up an incoming transmission from the inhibitor outpost Gamma VII. Patching it through…"
The speakers crackled with static as the computers began compensating. Moments later, a voice came through.
"Gamma VII to any fleet in range… Beast ships have emerged from hyperspace and are attempting to disable the hyperspace inhibitors… they are trying to punch an open path through to New Taiidan… we cannot hold them, require immediate assistance… repeat require BZZZKT!"
As the transmission ended, Admiral Ecron was already barking orders for the fleet to jump to hyperspace. It was then that the hyperspace NAV systems began warning that an inhibitor field was enveloping them. As the crews scrambled to deal with the sudden threat, sensor screens started to display an infected fleet emerging from hyperspace.
"Battlestations!" Ecron roared, "Let's show these slimy scum what we're made of!"
The Merciless began launching Imperial heavy interceptors and Raider missile corvettes. The heavy interceptor had been designed by combining the best attributes of the Raider interceptor and the Triikor fighter, resulting in a space superiority craft that equalled the Hiigaran Interceptor's abilities at a much lower cost. It was equipped with dual rapid-fire heavy gauss cannons as well as an electromagnetic blast cannon. The EMB, as Imperial scientists had put it, was not only capable of disabling the target's electronics, but also possessed enough energy to punch through armor and melt whatever was in the way.
The Raider missile corvette's design had changed little since the Homeworld War, the only difference being that it had been upgraded with newer drives and deadlier missiles. The slower warheads had been replaced by reverse-engineered Vaygr Swarmer-type missiles that packed less firepower but tracked more quickly and efficiently.
The strike craft swarmed forward to meet the Neo-Beast's equivalents as they tried to buy time for the Imperial capital ships to get into position. The new Taiidani battle frigates, recent successors to the old assault frigates and ion frigates, formed a wall before the flagship and let loose their weapons on the infected fleet. Ion beams leapt forth to scorch the incoming capital ships while fast-tracking heavy mass drivers finished off strike craft in single shots.
The battlefield erupted as ships from both sides met their doom. Fighters blazed out of control, careening into nearby ships with devastating effect, while the infected ships continued to fire off their queer mixture of weapons. Some were Nalthoran craft, some were Hiigaran, but a majority were unknown ships claimed from the lesser-known races in the Galaxy.
Sensors began warbling as Keepers approached the capital ship formations. Wasting no time, Eefrit ordered the destroyers and battlecruisers to fire their energy burst weapons. The energy beams lanced into the Keepers, some destroying their targets while others were absorbed silently by the machines' energy shields.
The Keepers came within range despite the capital ships' best attempts and they fired off their infectious payload. As the infection spread rapidly, commanders and captains hurried in their attempts to vent drive plasma into the affected areas while maintaining fire on the seemingly invincible vessels.
The Merciless was in the rear, yet the battle was quickly approaching it.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" muttered the admiral.
Onboard the Qwaar Jet, hyperspace transit:
Kaark was shaken by the encounter at Nalthora. What had at first been a simple expedition to capture the Sajuuk and subvert the Nalthorans had escalated into a frantic battle that had nearly ended his existence
He didn't count on Koshiir Ra appearing out of nowhere and protecting the planet with its majestic shields. That was definitely not part of the plan.
The Qwaar Jet was still recovering from the wounds inflicted by the Sajuuk and its accompanying Dreadnaught. He would also be unable to use the Quantum Pulse Cannon until the energy banks were fully recharged again. That singularity event had taken almost all of the ship's power to create.
That was why he had moved on to Plan B. With the eastward invasion halted by the Hiigarans and their new-found allies, he would now push up north to subvert the Imperials there and strengthen his forces. Once the north was conquered, it would not take long for him to consolidate enough power to crush the last remnants of the Hiigaran resistance – Sajuuk, Koshiir Ra and all.
There was one other concern he had. When the Hiigarans had jumped the entire allied force out, he had picked up a massive energy surge from the Legacy of Kharak mothership. The energy signature definitely equalled, if not exceeded, the power of the Three Cores. Either the Hiigarans had managed to reverse-engineer Far Jumpers, which he doubted, or they were in possession of another Progenitor artefact.
Kaark took his mind off these matters when the ship exited hyperspace. A few more jumps and they would reach that stricken inhibitor outpost.
Onboard the Stargazer, the Great Wastelands:
Queen Dosis sat down in the royal room. She had been at a loss ever since the destruction of Nalthora. Now, they were alongside the Hiigarans and the T-MAT in a madcap quest through space with nowhere to go.
The only good news was that the majority of the Nalthoran fleet had managed to escape intact, along with three million colonists in cryosleep onboard the colony ships.
Like the Hiigarans, Nalthoran morale was also at an all-time low. Not only had they been humiliated by the sheer might of a superior fleet, but they had been helpless in the face of their homeworld's destruction.
The Exchange Unit beside her began beeping, signifying an incoming message from the T-MAT. Dosis dried her tears and accepted the connection.
"Greetings Queen Dosis, we trust that you and your people are well."
"What is there to talk about," Dosis replied sadly, "We have lost everything that we stood for."
"Not when you are currently in the care and protection of the Hiigarans. You are not the only ones who have lost ties. Many of our brethren have perished in the infection attacks, suffering fates worse than death. Make no comparison to the misery that we Unbound have faced."
"Alright, can we get straight to the point here? I'm not in the mood for lengthy conversation…"
"And you shall have it. We are transmitting to you coordinates of the hyperspace gate we have established. It is beyond the Tanis Ruins and deep in unexplored territory. It would be wise that you send your colonists there in the event of the inevitable."
"The gate? You want us to run?"
"As you have seen in the past battle, your technology is not up to the standards of the Hiigarans or the Neo-Beast. If the Hiigarans are incapable of stopping the Qwaar Jet even with the assistance of Sajuuk and Koshiir Ra, then your presence will make little difference in the final outcome."
Dosis absorbed the news silently. There was no doubt about it – their battle technology was probably a generation behind that of the Hiigarans. The only technological advantage they possessed was of their internal ship systems and superior sensors. Was there really nothing they could do to help?
"Believe us, Queen Dosis. Taking part in this war will mean needless sacrifice on your civilisation's part. If you will flee now, we are confident that the Hiigarans shall understand."
Queen Dosis gave the matter some thought, then closed the connection abruptly. The T-MAT were not annoyed for they understood her desire for time.
She sighed and looked at a viewscreen, only to see the Hiigaran shipyard give birth to a totally unique ship.
Onboard the Shipyard Naabal, the Great Wastelands:
Commander Elohim watched as the monolithic battlecruiser-class vessel left the docks of the shipyard. Whatever he had been asked to build was completely unprecedented. It still resembled the original Hiigaran battlecruiser in many ways, but it was what lay inside and the guns it possessed that made the difference.
Kiir was standing behind him, showing his latest creation to Eefrit, Soban and even Karan, who had disconnected for the event.
"Thanks for taking time off to see this," Kiir grinned broadly, "I know it's way off since I was supposed to work with Super Acolytes, but I couldn't resist implementing the technologies as such."
"I am sure it will be just as amazing Kiir," Karan noted, "We have been trying to find a better ship for the super capital class."
"Then you won't be disappointed," Kiir declared, "The Horizon is more than capable of replacing the current battlecruiser series. As soon as they've loaded on the crews, we'll get onboard and we could have an official demonstration."
"Until then, I'd like a brief introduction to what the ship can do," Eefrit spoke, "What is it about the Horizon that makes it different?"
Kiir nodded, then pressed a button on the console beside him. Immediately, the room dimmed and a holographic projector lit up to show the blueprints and chassis of the Horizon.
"After analysing the fusion drives onboard the Progenitor ships we've found, I came to the conclusion that our current drive technology is painfully inefficient. As such I managed to make adaptations to the Progenitor drive systems for use onboard the Horizon. The new drives will be at least 35 more efficient than our own drives of the same class. Naturally, this will also provide more power, but that is not the primary power source anyway."
Kiir pointed to a spot on the blueprint and it automatically magnified. One glance and Eefrit recognised what it was.
"Those structures… it's very similar to the Quantum Tappers found on the Grand Core."
"Yep, it took a bit of work, but reverse engineering those was really easy compared with the Far Jumper problem," Kiir explained, "It's my first attempt, so it's rather crude. Its power output is nowhere near that of the original tappers, but it will provide at least 215 more power than our current power system technology."
"That is interesting, but from the tone in your voice I gather it's not the star of the show," Karan commented, smiling at what Kiir had already shown them, "I guess you can cut to the chase about the ship."
"You're sharp, Karan. Turns out there's no hiding anything from you," Kiir conceded excitedly as he pushed a few more buttons. Within moments, details on his ultimate creation flashed into view. While Eefrit, Soban and Elohim couldn't recognise anything, Karan gasped after scanning the blueprints.
"People, I call it the Hyperphase Drive," announced Kiir proudly, "It was a pet project that I've been designing for years, but never managed to get funding for it. Not that it would matter if I did, since I could never solve those dimensional equations back then."
"Now that you've confirmed it's a drive, I seem to be getting an impression of something… it's almost as if I've seen part of the design somewhere before…" Karan muttered, studying the design more closely, "It resembles the Naggarok's Inertialess Drive in some way if I'm not mistaken."
"Whoa, you were the top mind on Kharak and you still are now," Kiir boggled, "You're right. I came across the Inertialess Drive research when I was browsing the Somtaaw databanks. While the data was not enough to let me construct a new drive, it did help me with the current drive design once I understood the secret to Far Jumpers."
Kiir moved quickly to the next stage of the show. Now the projection switched to a wireframe view of the dimension of realspace and how hyperspace was being used in this case.
"The problem with current hyperspace technology, even that of the Progenitor Far Jumpers, is of the difficulty with gravity wells. For both Progenitor and galactic race designs, hyperspace modules work by generating the quantum wavefront before the ship and pulling it into hyperspace. Once in hyperspace, gravitic manipulation at the quantum level allows the ship to accelerate to faster-than-light speeds."
"Now the problem with gravity wells is that they affect anything that belongs to the realspace dimension, namely the ship. When we jump through the gravity well, gravity starts to pull on the ship and this increases the energy needed to keep the ship in hyperspace. Naturally, the strain is too great most of the time for current hyperspace technology, and we get pulled back into realspace. Progenitor jump drives solved the problem by diverting higher amounts of energy to their Hyperspace Cores, which was all too easy with the power technology they had."
"The Hyperphase Drive works by pulling hyperspace around the ship, rather than the other way round. Once the field has been set up, it uses the same principle of manipulating quantum gravities to accelerate to faster-than-light while in realspace. While it can't reach the speeds offered by even galactic hyperspace technology, the drive requires much less energy than a hyperspace module and can jump through the strongest of gravity wells with only minor navigational fluctuations."
"I ask out of interest," Soban interjected, "How fast is that new drive really?"
"Standard hyperspace modules operate at speeds from 170 000 to 200 000 c. The Hyperphase Drive is projected to reach a max of 10 000 c. Think a slower FTL drive, but for much less power and the purpose of getting you far enough from a gravity well to engage proper hyperspace."
"What about that new revolution in the way we battle?" the intercom buzzed into life suddenly, marking the arrival of Yuno, "So far everything's been sounding like a dream."
"Hi there Yuno, and yes I'm about to get to that part," Kiir paused to take a breath before moving into the climax, "When operating at minimum power, it is possible to project a sustained hyperspace field around the ship to negate a lot of inertia and promote better acceleration and manoeuvrability. It's an Inertialess Drive without those problems of not being able to manoeuvre in transit - it'll let the Horizon speed like a corvette and steer like a frigate. The best thing is that it takes only 70 percentmore power than standard fusion drive."
Kiir had just finished his speech when Elohim answered a call on his wrist communicator. He nodded and turned to Kiir.
"Horizon is manned and ready." Elohim reported.
"Good then, let's take her for a spin!" Kiir exclaimed, unable to contain himself any longer.