HOMEWORLD2: WRATH OF THE GODS
CHAPTER 34: ZUGZWANG
"This is your Destiny."
Final words of Bentus
Onboard the Iron Grip, Fields of Plaz:
Admiral Eefrit sat down on the command chair of the battlestation for the first time. He didn't know which was worse – the space battle or the fight to gain control of the Iron Grip. While space superiority had come at a heavy price – the loss of the Faal Corum with all hands onboard, the Imperial Taiidani guards had defended the Iron Grip with great rigour, bringing down no less than six frigates' worth of marines.
As for Yuno, she had retreated to the deepest sections of the Pride's computer systems. No number of hails could bring her back, so they had no choice but to get Kiir to go in for her.
That was 15 minutes ago, and according to Kiir's last update, he had yet to locate her.
"Admiral, we've cracked the computer security," a technician said, "We've got control of the Iron Grip now."
"Good job, now I need your team to gather whatever information there is on the Iron Grip and its capabilities. I want it done as quickly as possible," Eefrit ordered.
"No problem sir," replied the technician as he went back to work with his team.
Well, at least they had one big battlestation on their side now.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Fields of Plaz:
If there was one thing Kiir hated about the Pride right now, it was the fact that the new mothership's databanks were colossal in size as compared with the Legacy. This meant more data from interstellar encounters and battles could be stored. A side effect would be the near-impossible task of finding a piece of data with no ID.
Artificial consciousnesses fell under that category. There was no way for programmers to attach an ID to a consciousness without risk of corrupting the consciousness itself. The result was that in an unlikely scenario of the consciousness hiding itself, it would take considerable time and processing power to locate the consciousness by manual searching.
That theory didn't stop Kiir from summoning up an automatic search program to do the searching for him. As predicted by theory, the program could not comply due to the lack of a digital ID.
"Oh Yuno, you just have to make things so difficult for me," Kiir muttered under his breath, "So that's 870 terabytes down, and over a hundred exabytes to go…"
Kiir made his way into the battle reports section. This was probably the worst databank to be searching in. Featuring battle reports from every ship in the ship from every battle, there was so much information that Hiigaran Intelligence had only managed to analyse a tiny fraction of the lot so far.
Piles of datablocks assaulted his senses. The whole place resembled a megalith's hangar bay that hadn't been cleared out for decades. Nooks and crannies were abound in the place, so Yuno could be hiding anywhere amongst the mountains of data.
"That's just great," Kiir sighed, "Eefrit, this is going to take forever."
"Sorry Kiir, but you're the only person other than Karan who is able to achieve a complete virtual immersion. Besides, we can't let the Sajuuk be the flagship forever, the Pride was specifically designed for this purpose."
"All right, all right, just don't let me do this ever again," Kiir replied in a gruff tone. Eefrit took the hint and ended the conversation.
He picked one nice data pile that towered over him like a small house. He would start looking in that.
Onboard the Sajuuk, Fields of Plaz:
Karan kept thinking back to what Koshiir Ra had shown her. Whatever war they were facing now could not compare with the Battle of Karos the Progenitors had fought. But they both had similar outcomes.
It was either victory or total defeat.
She pondered Koshiir Ra's parting words, that Sajuuk was the key to their salvation, that the Three Cores possessed more power than anything else in Progenitor history. If she could somehow tap into that power like Sajuuk himself did…
Karan closed her eyes and saw a vision flash momentarily before her. It was a terrible vision, and it shook her to her very core.
Such visions were a side effect of being a Core user. Most of them were about insignificant events like whether she was going to break a vase or something. The only other time she had had such a bad vision was when she saw the unearthing of the Third Core and the approach of Makaan.
This time, it was definitely much worse.
She saw the Qwaar Jet and a massive fleet behind it, a fleet comprising of ships from many cultures, many races, many systems. The Alliance fleet stood before the Neo-Beast, determined to stop the madness once and for all…
… The Pride of Hiigara exploded under the attack, as did the fleet escorting it. They were badly outnumbered. Koshiir Ra's distortion field simply crumbled under the massive attack.
And then, the Sajuuk's energy shields failed, and the ship was taken. She felt the crimson plague sweep over her, tearing her mind and soul apart, assimilating her into the Neo-Beast neural network…
The vision ended, but Karan was on the verge of tears from the experience. It didn't matter whether the Grand Core was in the Koshiir Ra or not.
They were going to lose this war.
Koshiir Ra was right – the Guardian alone would not guarantee their victory. To defeat Qwaar Jet and the Neo-Beast, they would need to use both Sajuuk and Koshiir Ra to their fullest potential.
It was all up to her now.
Karan groaned as she felt the burden weigh down on her shoulders.
Onboard the Gatekeeper of Sajuuk, docked with the Shipyard Naabal:
"Well Soban, we did what we could, we've got the plasma turret up and running," Elohim said as he walked towards the bridge with the intrepid captain.
"How much more time before the Phased Cannon Array is repaired?" Soban asked, hoping for some good news.
"Well, our engineers report severe feedback damage to many key array mechanisms. Getting it online may take longer than expected," Elohim replied, "It could very well take much more than the initial one-week estimation."
"Elohim, can't you make some temporary repairs so that we can use the cannon for a few times?"
"Temporary? Soban, the Phased Cannon Array is a dangerous weapon to use even in the best of circumstances!" Elohim reminded, "Remember the first time it was used? Nearly the whole ship got fried when the Array overloaded."
"I know, but the Neo-Beast would more than justify the risk," Soban argued, "All we need is to be able to use the Array at least twice, no, make that three times."
"You know it goes against fleet safety protocols?"
"Elohim, please."
Elohim paused, considering his options. He had to agree with Soban – a single plasma turret wasn't going to be very helpful when you're up against a Sajuuk-class warship. Compromising the safety of an entire crew also seemed insignificant against the possibility of losing the war.
He quietly came to a decision, and knew he would be in deep trouble if they found out.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Fields of Plaz:
Kiir opened his eyes, completely fatigued from the experience. He had searched through no fewer than twenty data piles, each containing at least a few terabytes' worth of data. There were still many more to go, but he was too tired to maintain his consciousness in the virtual world.
Eefrit strode into the room worriedly, his face full of concern. Kiir had told him he couldn't take it any more, and he had rushed over in a shuttle as quickly as he possibly could. When he saw the haggard Kiir Sjet slumped down in a chair, Eefrit quickly rushed forward to help the exhausted Hiigaran up.
"By Sajuuk, you're really beat," Eefrit commented, "You'd better get some rest. We'll just have to wait till Yuno's ready to show herself."
"It was awful, really awful," Kiir complained, "How long has it been since they did a defrag on that section?"
"I don't believe there has been time for software maintenance," Eefrit replied apologetically, "When Karan got the Pride back, there was barely time to get the ship ready for the battle, much less a full software maintenance run."
"Well, next time I'm not going into any place that's more than 50 percentfragmented…" Kiir muttered, his eyes struggling to stay open.
Eefrit laughed, then helped Kiir into a bunk. The weary scientist was asleep even before he hit the pillow.
Onboard the Sajuuk:
Karan was about to disconnect when the ship's sensors intruded into her consciousness, informing her of a sudden change in circumstances. There was no need to consult her hyperspatial senses on this one.
"Priority alert, multiple hyperspace signatures detected on incoming vectors. Fleet, go to maximum alert," Karan sent the message out across all allied frequencies.
Klaxons wailed and the Sajuuk's interior was bathed in red light as the ship went to combat readiness. The same scene was repeated across every other ship in the Alliance fleet – pilots scrambling to their strike craft and captains preparing for battle.
The Alliance fleet moved into formation quickly, assembling in a spherical formation around the Iron Grip and the other command vessels. They were still recovering from the double blows of the Mythra attack and the capturing of the War Moon. Karan doubted they would survive if this was truly the final battle.
The windows of quantum energy opened before the gathered fleet. To Karan's relief, there was only one mothership class vessel among them. She knew they were friends.
Sure enough, the Nalthoran flagship Stargazer emerged from hyperspace, accompanied by the rest of the Nalthoran fleet. But to Karan's surprise, more quantum wavefronts of unknown signatures continued to open behind the Nalthoran fleet.
"They are being pursued!" Karan exclaimed, Karan to Fleet, open fire on the…
"No, Karan!" the voice of Queen Dosis cut in abruptly, "Hold your fire!"
"Queen Dosis?"
"Do not be unduly worried, Karan, they're on our side."
It was a queer gathering of ships emerging from hyperspace. Some were ancient vessels like the Qwaar Jet heavy cruiser and the Skaal Tel destroyer. Others were captured Hiigaran ships ranging from the Firelance frigate to the Archangel dreadnought. Many more were ships of never-before-seen configurations and designs, unique to the various galactic cultures that spawned them.
At last, the hyperspace exits ceased, leaving a newly gathered fleet that vastly outnumbered the Alliance.
"Queen Dosis," Karan began, transfixed by the sight, "This is…"
"There was no way we could just leave the Hiigaran Navy to fight off a threat as dangerous as the Neo-Beast," Queen Dosis replied, "So we decided to pull back from the T-MAT hypergate to assist you, regardless of whether our technology is up to the task."
"This is most astonishing," Karan spoke, "Perhaps it'd be best if we met up. A great deal has happened since your departure."
"Indeed. I will meet you on the Sajuuk within the hour."
Karan, clothed in her ceremonial robes, received the Nalthoran retinue warmly. So much had happened since Queen Dosis decided to take the Nalthoran fleet away from the danger. Now would be a good time to catch up. Gesturing to the conference table, Karan invited Dosis to take a seat.
"Thank you Karan, I see you are as vibrant as ever," Dosis commented as she made herself comfortable at the table.
"It's probably the Cores I guess," Karan replied, "I could open a cosmetics establishment and offer Hyperspace Core treatments. I'm sure it'd be all the rage!"
Both leaders laughed at the idea. Indeed, the Hyperspace Core possessed side effects other than its far jumping capabilities. Karan was more than a century old, yet she barely looked thirty.
"Alright then, we should get back to business," Karan started, "How is it that you managed to gather such a large fleet of allies?"
"It was purely accidental, I assure you," Dosis replied, "We were jumping back from the hypergate when we chanced upon some stray transmissions from the Middle Rim worlds. Word was going around that a new infection entity was invading the Galaxy. I knew immediately that the Neo-Beast had to be stopped, since it poses a threat far greater than that of the original Beast."
"While we were charging for a second jump, we intercepted more transmissions, and it was very disturbing. Apparently the Neo-Beast had found a way to simultaneously attack key planets throughout the Middle Rim. I guess it's no coincidence that a majority of those planets were homeworlds."
"There was a considerable fall in intragalactic communications after that. We guessed that many kingdoms, republics, nations… they all collapsed with the loss of their homeworlds and governments. Thankfully, there were some whose leaders escaped and survived, and they arranged for an emergency meeting at a top-secret rendezvous point."
"We managed to tap into their encrypted channels and deduce the meeting locale. I personally met up with them and we came up with this temporary alliance to ride out this storm. The plan was to dispatch scout fleets to sovereign territories throughout the Middle Rim and gather whatever stray forces that remained after the attack."
"Later on, word came from the side of the Empire that your fleet had moved right in with the intention of conquest. I guess it was not for that purpose?"
"We intruded into Imperial space in response to a distress call we received," Karan explained, "It was just a matter of time before we went in anyway, since we were considering an alliance with the Imperials."
"From the Imperial ships I see among your forces, I gather the discussions were fruitful," Dosis noted, "Anyway, we headed straight for Imperial space immediately afterwards. If it were not for the T-MAT's own hypergate network, we couldn't have gotten here so quickly."
"The T-MAT have a hypergate network?" Karan asked, incredulous.
"Far from the scale of the Eye of Aaraan, but it's adequate," Dosis replied.
"I see, so we will be expecting more ships to join our cause?" Karan enquired.
"I'm afraid that is not the case. Our scout fleets reported the worst."
"And that is…"
"What you see here with us is all that's left," Dosis sighed, "Everything else was either destroyed or subverted…"
"That's impossible!" Karan exclaimed in shock, knowing the implications of Dosis' words. The total number of ships and fleets in the Galaxy was definitely much more than the number Dosis had gathered here. If they were all destroyed, it'd be good for them. But if they were all subverted…
"As far as we know, the Neo-Beast have no means of far jumping! All the Far Jumpers there are in the Galaxy are in our possession!"
"I also thought that too, Karan, but it seems they found another way," Dosis responded, "Think, Karan, think, could you possibly have missed out anything?"
"No, Queen Dosis, there is no other means of far jumping in this Galaxy. Only the Eye…"
Karan paused, and her face twisted in horror. How could she have forgotten? The Eye of Aaraan…
"By the Gods, the Neo-Beast must have taken the Eye of Aaraan," Karan uttered, "How else could they have mounted such a coordinated assault on homeworlds hundreds of light years apart! The Eye network extends far and wide, it probably allowed the Neo-Beast to strike when they least expected them to…"
Karan halted again, her mind racing with this new revelation. She suddenly stood up from the table, alarming the Nalthoran Queen.
"I'm sorry, Queen Dosis, but there are some urgent matters I must attend to," Karan said apologetically, "I will return once those matters are settled."
"No problem, take your time," Dosis replied warmly, "I'll be waiting on the Stargazer."
"Thank you!" Karan gushed as she ran towards the door, her aides racing beside her.
"I need to get plugged in right away," Karan ordered, turning to one of her aides, "And get a message through to Eefrit. Tell him to use the Pride's long range sensors to check if there's an Eye gate anywhere near us!"
Onboard the Ascension, hyperspace transit:
"General, we will be arriving at the outskirts of the Hiigaran system in a minute's time," the NAV officer reported, "Your orders?"
"It would be much better if we could have stayed closer to the Galactic Core," General Tora muttered, "But who would've thought the Hiigaran system was THIS close to the Core?"
"General?"
"Just take us back to hyperspace the moment the drives are recharged. I don't want this fleet any more exposed than it has to be."
"Affirmative. Stand by for hyperspace exit."
General Tora watched as the blueness of hyperspace gave way to the vermillion surroundings of the Hiigaran system outskirts. Being so close to the Galactic Core, nearly the entire region had lost its inky blackness.
And the sensors started screaming alerts.
"General! There's a hostile fleet in front of us!" the sensors officer cried, "It's being led by a Keeper!"
"Damn it! Are they infected?"
"Every single one of them. We've been noticed, inhibitor field is enveloping us!"
"Looks like we can't get away from this one," Tora muttered, "Ascension to all ships, raise cloak and engage the enemy. Focus fire on the Progenitor Keeper!"
The order went through and the Tobari fleet disappeared from sight instantly. The infected ships responded by opening fire.
The Ascension shook as mass drivers and missiles impacted its hull. The ship's drives were already at full, pushing the flagship away from the line of fire. The flagship's cloak generators, designed to compensate for such impacts, displayed the same mass drivers and missiles passing through empty space.
Other ships weren't so lucky. Frigates were blown into pieces as their cloaking fields were disrupted by the attacks, exposing them to full view of the enemy. Destroyers were grazed when the shimmers in the cloaking fields revealed their positions to the infected fleet.
The Tobari fought back, firing their mass drivers and gravity weapons at only the Keeper. The Keeper sensed it was the target, and raised its energy shields to protect itself. As metal slugs and pulses of gravity pummelled at the yellow field, the Keeper began retreating from the battle.
"That's it, the Keeper's afraid now!" Tora roared, "All ships, continue to focus fire on the Keeper! Meanwhile, how much time before we can hyperspace?"
"Five more minutes before we have full charge."
"Once that Keeper's gone, we jump as soon as we're ready," Tora ordered, "If we are to survive this, we have to rendezvous with the Hiigarans. Those Progenitor ships of theirs will turn the tide."
"Sir? I thought we were supposed to invade the Galaxy…"
"Tell me how I'm supposed to do that when we've got techno-organic viruses running loose out there?" Tora yelled, "We ally first to get rid of this thing. Conquest can come later."
"But sir, pardon me for saying this, but, what if your resolve gets…"
"No doubts about my resolve, we will have our revenge soon enough!" Tora roared, "Now just concentrate on this battle!"
Tora watched anxiously as the Keeper continued to retreat further, pulling itself out of range of an increasing number of Tobari ships. The firestorm blasting away at the Keeper began to decline as it slowly but surely achieved its purpose. Tora swore.
"Looks like we have to use it! Weapons control, stand by to fire Gravity Array!"
"Sir, the Gravity Array hasn't even been tested! If it fails…"
"We won't survive if we can't jump our of here. Just fire the damn thing!" Tora yelled as he cut the channel. It was a rash decision, but things were looking very bad right now.
Already, Tobari ships were succumbing to the infection. Several "assault" ships had turned out to be ships purely dedicated to the task of infecting their victims. As the Tobari ships were hit by the crimson beams, the vessels detonated as their captains chose death over subversion.
The Ascension, looking more like an assault mothership than a defenceless flagship, manoeuvred into position. If not for its sharper outlines and the giant Tobari emblem on its side, one would have easily mistaken it for a Vaygr flagship with a giant cannon mounted on its belly.
"Charging Gravity Array now. Sir, how much power?"
"We can't risk pushing it too much, set the cannon for 40 percent," Tora responded, "And hurry up!"
"Got it. 40 seconds to firing Gravity Array. All friendlies, please clear the blast zone."
Light bent around the front of the cannon as a tremendous amount of gravitational disruption built up before it. The superstructure of the flagship began shaking, a testament to its horrible fate if the cannon were to misfire.
The Keeper was now almost out of the Tobari fleet's firing range. Only a few mass drivers and the occasional gravitic pulse slammed into its shields every now and then. However, the shields were recovering from the beating they had taken earlier on. In their weakened state, it was an excellent opportunity to finish the Keeper.
"Five seconds!"
"All hands brace for firing!" Tora cried as he crouched down on the floor, grabbing a chair with all his strength.
The Ascension shook wildly as the cannon fired, the ship flung backwards by the tremendous recoil. Anyone who wasn't holding onto something secure was promptly swung against the flagship's bulkheads.
The massive gravitational pulse, the size of a destroyer, pummelled any ship that stood before it. The Keeper sensed the danger and tried to phase out.
Too late. The shields crumpled under the massive attack and the Keeper buckled in on itself, crushed by the sheer gravitational stress it was subjected to. A brilliant flare of light marked the death of the Keeper.
The Tobari fleet saw the signal, and jumped into hyperspace immediately, abandoning the battle with the infected fleet.
Onboard the Pride of Hiigara, Fields of Plaz:
"Karan, you're not going to believe this," Eefrit spoke while staring at the sensors screen, "There's an Eye gate just four light years north of our position."
"We need to leave now, and fast," Karan replied, "The Neo-Beast have the advantage now. They can strike whenever they please, wherever they want."
"If so, then what's the point?" Eefrit countered, "If I put my finger on the Galactic map at random, what are the odds it'll be within jump range of a gate?"
"Well, the odds are…" Karan paused to think for a moment, before realising Eefrit was right. There was really no point in running.
"Well, we're going to have to face them sooner or later, so why not just let them come to us?" Eefrit suggested, "We have the advantage of stealth here in the nebula, so we could just set up an ambush for when they come through the gate."
"An ambush? But first we'd have to check for any other gates within range."
"There's another one just outside the Plaz Nebula, it's far enough to require two jumps on standard hyperspace module. The last one is of no threat to us – you'd need three jumps to get here."
"If that's the case, an ambush around the local gate sounds like an excellent idea," Karan agreed, "Eefrit, you'll take charge of the operation."
"No problem, I'll make sure every minelayer we have is out at that gate!" Eefrit grinned.
"Alright, just get that ambush ready as soon as you can. We don't know for sure when the Neo-Beast will strike, but it'll definitely be soon. Karan out."
Eefrit closed the channel and powered up the tactical screen. His other officers were busy coordinating communications with the rest of the fleet captains. Such was the trouble when there was no one in control of the mothership's computers.
Imagine his surprise when Yuno's holographic projector flickered slightly, then shimmered into life.
"Yuno, is that you?" Eefrit asked, "Please tell me that's you!"
"I'm sorry for the trouble I've given you, Eefrit," Yuno spoke apologetically as she flickered into view, "I truly am…"
"That was completely unprofessional, leaving your post in the middle of a crucial battle!" Eefrit scolded, "Do you know how many lives you put at risk when you just left?"
"I…" Yuno stuttered.
"Losing Faal Corum was bad enough as it is," Eefrit went on, "By going AWOL you could have jeopardised our entire battle against the Imperials!"
Yuno stood there silently, absorbing the harsh words Eefrit was throwing at her. He was right. She should not have just left. But back then, the emotions she felt, the guilt at leading an entire command ship to its grave…
"That's enough, Eefrit," Kiir interjected as he walked onto the bridge, "I'm sure Yuno's very sorry for her actions."
"But it was utterly inexcusable!" Eefrit continued, purple with rage, "In all my years as an Admiral…"
"I said that's enough, Eefrit," Kiir repeated, this time more loudly and with a mini display of telekinetic power that caused the air to sweep around him in a small vortex, "What's done is done."
Eefrit stared at Kiir, then shot Yuno another angry glare before storming out of the bridge. As the doors slid shut behind him, Kiir heaved a sigh of relief.
"I am so dead now, a show of defiance in front of a higher-ranking officer," Kiir moaned in despair. Yunochuckled at the pitiful sight of Kiir berating himself.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine, but Eefrit was right. I did wrong in leaving my post during an emergency."
"It's understandable. And don't blame yourself anymore, no one expected a traitor onboard the Merciless."
"I know, but still… one entire command ship… gone just like that…"
Yuno turned to look at the massive War Moon hanging beside them. It was definitely much larger than the original Nomad Moon, its diameter being equivalent to the length of the Sajuuk. The repulsor emitters alone were the size of heavy cruisers.
"This war has got to end."
"I agree. Everyone here, the Taiidani, the Nalthorans, especially the T-MAT… everyone's sacrificed so much for this war."
"You do know the final battle is near, Kiir? Yuno asked, I overheard the conversation between Karan and Eefrit just now."
"As did I, and I couldn't agree more with their decision. I mean, it's really time we stopped running and just faced off with the Neo-Beast once and for all."
"But do you think we are ready?" Yuno asked, her voice filled with doubt.
"I think we are. We've got two of the Gods, we've installed the Grand Core on the Koshiir Ra, we've got the Nalthorans and all these allies…"
"But will it be enough?"
Kiir kept quiet as he pondered their current situation. The Alliance fleet was badly battered by so many battles in so short a time span. Carriers and command ships were working overtime to restore fleet numbers, but there was definitely not enough time, especially if the Neo-Beast were set to attack at any time.
Sure, they had the Grand Core installed on the Koshiir Ra now, but the question remained as to whether it would be enough. Could it really stand up against the might of a singularity?
Sajuuk, under the control of Karan, had brought an end to the Planet Killers above Hiigara. Would its Phased Cannon Array be up to the task this time?
"Kiir?"
"I don't know what to say, Yuno," Kiir replied as he stared out at the stars, "But whether it's enough or not, we'll give them a fight they'll never forget."
Onboard the Qwaar Jet, the Eye of Aaraan:
Everything was going according to plan. The attacks on the homeworlds had been very successful, and many fleets had fallen under his control. Regretfully, some of them had managed to escape the subversion, but with the numbers he controlled now, he would mop up the last remnants of resistance to his reign in this Galaxy.
And once this Galaxy was dealt with, he would move on to other galaxies, and even more galaxies. He would not rest until he had successfully spread the crimson plague across the known Universe.
The last of the subverted ships entered realspace, and moved to align themselves around the Qwaar Jet. There were so many ships that the light from the Galactic Core was nearly completely blocked out.
The Eye before the fleet began to turn, shimmering as it prepared to catalyse the final battle.
Kaark formulated a single thought in his mind, sending it to every ship in his newly gathered fleet. In doing so, he ended the temporary peace he had had with the rebels.
Multitudes of ships poured into the Eye, warping into hyperspace towards their destination. The entire derelict gate core was lit up by the sheer number of ships entering hyperspace simultaneously. Frigate followed frigate, destroyer followed destroyer, cruiser followed cruiser. It was an almost endless queue.
At last, the Eye dimmed down as the bulk of the fleet successfully made the transition to hyperspace. Only the Qwaar Jet was left now, along with the rest of the original Progenitor fleet.
Kaark hoped they would enjoy the appetiser.