Chapter 6 : Concentrated Chaos
December 24th, 3241, 1535 hours
UNSC Ontario
En route to EUS-1840

Miles put down the cup that was in his hand. The whiskey that the Captain broke out for the occasion slipped down his throat, causing him to momentarily feel tension in his neck muscles. He was not a heavy drinker at all. Even though he had indulged in the few occasions over the past year, the alcohol now was stronger than any that he had before. He looked at the remains in the cup, a small ring wrapped around the plastic bottom.

Norwegian vodka, straight from the reserves on the fjords. Captain Ekdal was busy mingling with his crewmates. Miles turned and saw him in the middle of a joke. Ekdal was waving his hands around, angling his head, and clearly was miming out the delivery. Then he threw the punchline out there. The trio of crewmen threw their heads back and laughed heartily. If it was one thing that Tails could appreciate of the captain, it was that he thought himself as part of the crew and not above it.

A clear breach of protocol to be sure. That was in the OCS test that they gave him on Luna. A formality for him when looked at in hindsight. He tried to look for Johnson, but he couldn't see him. Ryan was chatting with Jolee near one of the tables at the far end of the galley. Before he knew it, Ekdal strode across the deck and placed a hand on the Mobian's shoulder.

"Ah, Merry Christmas, Lieutenant." He had a fresh drink in his hand, but he seemed stone cold sober. Even his speech was unbroken. If Ekdal was drunk, he was doing a damn fine job of pretending not to be. "The festivities may seem out of place on this assignment, but I want you to know that I have the best of intentions for my people. Their needs are just as important." He looked at the glass. "What's the matter, you don't like it?"

"Huh?" Tails asked. "Oh, the drink. Sorry, I'm just not much of a drinker yet."

Ekdal walked around the table where Miles was sitting. He pulled the chair on the opposite side out and sat down. Ekdal took his cap off and scratched at his scalp, placing the drink in his hand on the table. "My great-grandfather liked to say that he got to be 250 through nothing but drinking a glass of fine brandy once a day. I'll never know if it was true or not, but in the end, he made it to that and then some. He died fishing; no joke. 274 years of age after catching one of the biggest fish he ever got. My great grandmother liked to say he died of joy.

"Humans can live that long?" Miles asked, impressed.

"Mister Prower, I think you of all of us can believe that there are things that push us beyond our boundaries. The world is changing, and we change with it. Like the current of a stream. But while the current carries us, we can use it to our advantage. Sorry, I have my mind on sailing." He chuckled, and then drank some of his alcohol.

"Sir, does something seem wrong to you?" Miles asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked after clearing his throat.

Miles leaned in closer to Ekdal. "It's been three days since we've entered the stream. We should have been deposited in 1840 nearly as soon as we crossed that gate."

Ekdal nodded. "What you say is true of course. It has been quite a while. Augustus believes that there is some… unusual activity with this particular jump."

Tails looked back to the reveling crew. "Is it… something we need to tell them about?"

"We'll do no such thing." Ekdal said with a serious tone of voice. "The last thing we need right now is any indication that things are proceeding unusually. Besides, let's not dance around it: 95% of the crew has no idea how we're actually going from one universe to another."

Miles had to admit that yes, a common person would see this as pure magic. He was inclined to agree with the Captain to keep his mouth shut. So he changed the subject. "What about Weyland's people? What's going to happen when we make contact?"

"We ignore them." Ekdal said. "Our business isn't with them, assuming we end up around their operations. Remember, we don't have a jumpgate set up on the other side. We're essentially eye-balling it in terms of our calculations."

It was potentially dangerous, but what else could they do?

"Speaking of crossing over," Miles suddenly said with a thought forming in his mind, "did we figure out how we're supposed to bring whatever we find back? Redby and Andsworth believe that this object or power exists here, but what if it's a superweapon? What if it's bigger than this whole ship?"

Ekdal chuckled and took another sip. "Well son, I hadn't thought of that myself either. I assumed we were looking for Chaos Emeralds all over again or the rough equivalent…" he took a sip from his cup. "But you may be right; I don't know if the Admiralty's considered that little tidbit but..." Ekdal was about to take another drink, but something caught his eye beyond the galley's window.

Miles' ear twitched as he gazed at Ekdal. The man's face seemed to turn a shade whiter. "Captain?" he asked for a second when Ekdal had not blinked. "Captain, is something wrong?"

Ekdal averted his gaze from what was outside the window. "Ah, uh, sorry son. I just could have sworn that… I saw something out there."

Miles flipped around and looked out from the galley's port window where they stood. It was a small but superbly armored piece of transparent metal. Out towards the stern, the young man could see the port drive nacelle somewhat lit by the interior lights. Much of the superstructure was in shadow as the eternal blackness of Slipspace covered whatever the artificial means of illumination could not.

Tails looked long and hard. Try as he might, he could not see anything out in that void.

"Sir, I don't see anything out there."

"I know, but..." he muttered something in Norwegian. Ekdal took a pace toward the window and leaned on the wall brace. The material was cold to his touch. Slipspace technically had no temperature, but it was still chill to have his fingers on the 'glass' of the viewport. "… maybe it could have been a comet that plowed into the stream somehow..."

"We would have noticed it when we initiated crossover." Miles shook his head. "Besides, a comet that close to Earth would have a tail and would set off a hundred different alarms."

"Ejected trash maybe?" He nodded. "Most likely."

Miles nodded in agreement. He truthfully wasn't in the mood to discuss what Captain Ekdal may or may not have seen out there in Slipspace, but the longer that he spoke about it to the man, the more uncomfortable he was about it. It had been several days since crossover was initiated, and the possibility of 'seeing something' made his hairs stand on end.

But then, his eyes went wide. Tails leaped from his seat and stood at the window. Small streaks of starfire had appeared at what seemed far in the distance. They were eternally far but at the same time so close he felt he could reach out and touch them. The streaks continued to increase in intensity and size.

"Captain!" Miles shouted.

Heads were up and drinks were forgotten. Marines and Navy ran to where they were to get a look at what was out there. The Captain's face was oddly smooth. Miles looked him in the eye. Gregers Ekdal wasn't smiling now.

"Mister Prower, with me to the bridge! Now!" he added quickly. "Everyone gets back to their bunkrooms and nobody moves until I give the all-clear! Is that understood?!"

A small chorus of 'aye-ayes' from the men.

"What are you waiting for?! Get moving!" the Captain shouted. The crowd dispersed in seconds. "Sergeant Johnson, take your men and vacate this area!"

"Understood." Johnson nodded. He waved his head and OMEGA such as it was followed the crewmen out of the galley.

Ekdal began to quickly jog for the door that led to the main elevator. Before he reached the lift, he found a COM station and quickly keyed in a command override. He held the receiver to his ear and said into the hand-held, "Attention attention! Crew of the Ontario stand by for situation report. We are at Condition Yellow. I say again, stand by for situation report. All non-essential personnel are advised to return to bunking. That is all for now."

Soft pulsing lights started to run on the roof of the corridor. Ekdal waved him along and continued down the pathway, taking a left at the first intersection, heading towards the central thuroughfare passageway of the ship. There were lifts spaced several places through this. However, he looked for a special command access lift that could only be used by bridge crew and those with authorization.

"Any theories, Mr. Prower?"

"None, sir." Miles said quickly. "All crossovers have gone pretty smoothly but this is different!"

"Evidently." Ekdal breathed. "Ah, here we are. You're riding with me son. I want you on the bridge so we can figure out what's going on."

"Captain Ekdal." DeSoto's voice said crackling over the radio in the command lift. "This light show's getting a bit weird now!"

"Please explain!" Ekdal said, trying not to look like this was freaking him out.

"For lack of better term reality seems to be imploding." the second voice was that of Augustus. "If you haven't arrived on the bridge, I advise you do so quickly. Also, I recommend that we elevate the threat level to Red."

"Why?" Ekdal asked.

"… I think that it would be best if you saw what we're heading into, sir."

"I hate it when he leaves me guessing." Ekdal said under his breath to Miles.

The command lift rocketed up the shaft, clearing all of the other decks and bypassing directly to the bridge. Ekdal fit through the door when there was enough room. Miles was right behind him, making sure his tails were not caught in the closing door. The bridge was bathed in pulsing yellow lights. Augustus was standing just above his holo-tank with helmet tucked under his one hand and the other resting on the hilt of his gladius. Augustus made eye contact with Ekdal as he approached the viewport. The AI took a quick glance out the viewport, looked back at Ekdal, and made a look that could be described with the word 'yeesh'.

The viewport was a kaleidoscope of color and shapes. The streaks from down below were still there, but spheres were whipping past the ship. They appeared to be planets, but they were moving far too quickly to be put into great detail. There were also hundreds of them.

Then lightning appeared.

"Yeah, Condition Red." Ekdal said. "Go to Condition Red."

The bridge crew got to work. Commander DeSoto broadcast a warning to the crew to stay in their quarters and that the threat has escalated.

"Mister Prower, I believe I read once that the crew of the Indomitable once experienced visual phenomena much like this on their first crossover to Mobius in '34?"

"The Phoenix as well." Miles shook his head as he recalled Captain Allen Perry and the crew of that ship that never made it home. "But they were nothing like this."

The lightning strike increased in intensity. The mood was of near panic. Only the training of the bridge staff kept them calm, though they had no idea what was awaiting them here. The apparent planets zipped past the Ontario at an increasing rate of speed.

De Soto punched at her command console. "Captain, I'm getting COM signatures coming from... I don't even know what we're in anymore!"

"Where are they coming from?" Ekdal demanded, now jogging across the bridge looking at any screen he could find.

"No fixed position! Bearing zero-nine... no it changed position! One-six-five... there it goes again! It's coming from everywhere at once!" She started to sweat and pulled at the collar of her uniform. "COMs, what's the status of our detection arrays?"

"Radar, Lidar, and Subspace are reporting all normal!" the COMs officer said. She was a Mobian cervine in her twenties with her OCS training now starting to tear at the seams. Her cap felt so tight around her head that she could feel every pulsation of her rapidly beating heart. The young woman ripped it from her head, allowing some air to reach her scalp. Her ears were on edge as numerous reports suddenly began to stream through her console.

"Captain, I'm getting reports of... something happening... on all decks!"

"What is it, Sneijder?!" Ekdal asked.

"Engineering is reporting... sir, they're screaming down there." her voice trailed off. She couldn't believe she read it. Sneijder stared at Ekdal with those big eyes of hers. They were wide with fear.

Ekdal looked at Miles, who was now swallowing quickly. Prower saw Ekdal's gaze, but didn't offer a response. Miles was actually terrified in this moment, as he had no idea what was waiting for them out here. This could be how they would die. He waited on the Captain.

"Patch it through." he told the Mobian.

"Aye-aye, sir... patching Engineering in now." Sneijder took a deep breath and tapped the bridge COMs and then opened the channel to Engineering.

A shrill noise came through the bridge speakers that was instantly recognizable as the sounds of Human anguish. The sounds of crying and screaming were loud in the background. A sane voice tried to fight through the horrors. It sounded like a young man.

"Captain! Please tell me you're receiving!"

Ekdal ran over to COM station and stood just over Sneijder's shoulder. The cervine had placed the cap back on her head and tucked her ears just under the side panels. She tried to keep the signal steady as something was starting to interfere with the signal.

"I'm here son! What's going on down there?" Ekdal's voice was quick and clipped. His accent was stronger now and he had to repeat himself.

"This is Crewman Jeffery Korwin! Sir, they're killing each other down here!"

Ekdal's nails dug into the back of Sneijder's chair. "Where's Chief Gatti?"

"Chief Gatti's... he's just in the middle of him! They're just screaming... no... no they're not anymore. It sounds... sir, I think it sounds like they're chanting!"

"Can you get Security?"

"They're trying to get in through the door! They're trying to cut in, sir!"

"Stand by!" Ekdal said, reaching in and tapping several controls on Sneijder's console. He quickly found the security team of sailors trying to get into Engineering. The camera feed from outside of the compartment showed several petty officers with plasma torches cutting at the metal door. Sparks jumped all over the hallway bouncing off of walls and security personnel. Two were armed with shotguns. Green-tinged shells on a holder indicated beanbag rounds were loaded.

"Bridge to Security Team 12, respond." Ekdal said over the COM. The one in charge backed away and tapped his earpiece.

"Security Team 12, go ahead, Bridge."

"What's going on down there, Chief?"

"We're trying to get into Engineering now. Door's locked and our overrides aren't working."

"Augustus, can you get it open?" Ekdal said calling to the AI.

"Yes, I can." the Roman Centurion responded. "Just give me a second to get in there and force it open."

"Mister Prower, get down to Engineering and try to get us to drop out of Slipspace... or... whatever this is..." Ekdal glared out the window.

Miles stood somewhat frightened by the prospect of the chanting which still came through the COM panel. Even sealed behind the door, somehow it was audible. But the Captain had given him an order and he had to do something. He knew how to actually override the engines and drop them out of the Slipstream without destroying the ship in the process. He was surprised nobody had done this yet, but the fact that it hadn't been done meant that either the engineers were out of commission, or were part of this circus.

"Mister Prower?"

Miles stopped before he found the executive lift. He stared back at Ekdal, whose face was grim.

"Go armed."

Miles nodded and went into the elevator.

Many of the areas were under lockdown. When he got off the elevator, he was met by a security officer. The Petty Officer Third Class immediately told him to get back his bunk.

"I need to get to Engineering!" Tails said. "Captain's orders!"

"Why would he need to send you there?" The officer said. The look in her eye said she didn't buy it at all.

"Are you questioning my orders, Petty Officer?" Miles suddenly asked in a low, but even voice.

The woman's eyes slipped to his shoulders. She saw a single white bar on both sides, and her jaw dropped slightly. She backed off and said, "My apologies, sir." she said this last word with a bit of effort. Miles was almost ten years younger than her. "What can I do to help?"

The hull gave a terrific groan. The stressing of metal echoed down the hallway. For a moment, Miles was afraid that the ship was going to break in two. When the creaking and rolling of the metal subsided, he said to the Petty Officer, "Can you get me through the bulkheads?"

"Yes." She said.

"I need a gun. Captain's orders." he said. "Could I have your belt?"

"Why on Earth..."

"You want to see what's going on in Engineering?"

As if on cue, distant screaming started to echo through piping and the lights went out. The entire hallway was plunged into darkness. The emergency lighting flickered on, momentarily bathing the hallway in a blood red glow.

"Come on!" the security officer said. "You can't have my gun, but we'll stop at the deck's security office!"

Just as they began to move, the emergency lighting failed. In the dark, soft pulsing alarms were the only thing to keep them company. Miles' eyes adjusted to the darkness before the officer's. What little light there was from even more rudimentary sources revealed doorways.

"Follow me." he told the woman. He grabbed her hand and they moved through the ship, compartment by compartment. Horrible noises came through the intercom that didn't seem to come from anything Human. Miles was afraid. No sound came from the engines at all anymore. There was only silence except for the alarms, air flowing through the vents, as well as the creaking of metal.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the security station. It was indicated by a curved wall with a curved window. A letter S was painted on the wall, though it was barely visible in the dark.

"We're here." he announced.

"I'll unlock the door. I think there's still power." she sounded unsure, but went to the keypad. Miles kept watch. The room they were in was large, easily thirty feet across. Multiple hallways met here, and a lift was situated against the stern wall. Miles had only passed through here once or twice going to his bunkroom. For starship standards, it was massive. However, now it was dark. Hallways that branched away faded into nothingness.

He was alone and unarmed. He needed to get his hand on a weapon. He didn't like this at all, and the longer that he was cut off, the more frightened he got.

"Shit!" The officer cried. "Door's jammed. I can get the manual override to get it open."

She reached around until she found a latch at the side of the door.

"I thought you said there was power!" Miles hissed, looking around. His heart was pounding quickly.

"There is power, but the door just won't... got it!" She pulled on the manual release latch and the door slid apart far enough for her to pull it apart with her hands. Inside, two computers sat along the back wall. They were on, but nothing readable was on the screen. Chairs were tossed about, as if someone was inside before them. A weapon locker was quickly located.

"What do you want, Lieutenant?" the petty officer asked.

"Something big." Miles said.

"M110 Automatic Shotgun." she said, lifting the gun out of its holder on the wall. "35-shell drum mag. You want the beanbags or the manstoppers?" she handed the gun to the Mobian who held it tightly.

"Give me the lethals." Miles said quietly. "I don't want to use them though."

The officer nodded and passed him three drums of 12-gauge shells. Miles slipped one into the receiver of the shotgun he was given. In the light of the computer screen, he could see the red hull of the triple-ought buckshot as it sat in the open chamber. Miles flicked the slide release. The gun made a sharp clack as the shell was slid into the chamber by the bolt, making it ready to fire.

Prower clicked the safety on and held his right forefinger carefully off the guard. He grabbed webbing from the petty officer and slung it over his shoulders and around his waist. He placed the other magazines on it. He was ready to go now.

"Do you think you need all of this?" the officer asked.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." he responded, not really answering her question. Tails heard something shift behind, then it made a sound, almost like laughter. Miles' heart froze. He turned around and saw something in the doorway. It was large, easily as large as the door, making it almost seven feet high. It had four arms and a mouth far too large for it.

Miles' eyes went wide. He couldn't even speak. Words died in his throat, but his jaw went slack. He tried to back away from it, but it took steps towards him as quickly as he could backpedal. Soon he was up against the wall of the computer panel and light from the screen illuminated the unknowable horror that was in front of him, lighting its light pink skin and pupiless golden eyes. The thing looked at him, sniffed once, grinned with hundreds of sharp pointed teeth that dripped with venom, and then it screamed.

Sneijder clapped her hands around the side of her head and began to scream wildly, unable to control herself. It caught Ekdal immediately by surprise as he jumped and hit his head off the top of her station.

"Argh! Ditt eple!" he growled, ripping his cap off and grabbing his scalp.

Sneijder didn't stop though. The bridge was suddenly on its feet. Security personnel began to run towards her as she twisted around in her seat, screaming on and on seemingly without even drawing breath.

"Someone get a hold of her!" De Soto shouted from the command chair. "Get her out of here!"

A security officer came towards Sneijder. The bulky looking Petty Officer Second Class looked uncomfortable stepping up to the screaming cervine. Sneijder's thin arms bent in ways that didn't seem to be possible. Her large eyes were open as if someone had held her limbs as far as they would stretch. Her pupils were the size of pinpricks, and her whole body shuddered.

"Now!" De Soto urged, slamming her hand into the arm rest.

The officer placed a hand on Sneijder's shoulder. The woman moved far too quick. Sneijder grabbed the officer's right wrist with her right hand, and with her left, slammed her fist down. The woman's closed fist hit the officer square on his radius, splintering the upper arm bone. Sneijder's fist kept on going, forcing the bone underneath, the ulna, to bend and fracture. In a split second, the officer's right hand was out of commission. The man cried out in pain and retracted, cradling his broken wrist.

Half the bridge was on their feet at once. Ensigns and Lieutenants began to shout, and some started to grab at Sneijder.

"Hanna, what the fuck!" the helmsman shouted.

The other two security officers pulled out batons, but Ekdal shouted for them to stand down.

"Everyone back away now!" he shouted. "Stand down, Miss Sneijder!"

Hanna's back arced as far as her spine would allow her. Her slender body hung in her chair as if pulled at by strings. Suddenly, she stopped and slumped. Her rear slid off the rest of the chair and she fell partially onto her knees. The crew waited for a second. A massive explosion of light went off outside of the ship far in the distance like a supernova and grabbed their attention. Twisted clouds of what was thought to be gas and dust spiraled around the viewscreeen, and what was more, there were small black dots keeping up with the ship, keeping pace with the vessel that was speeding through this hell.

There were living things out there.

Nobody paid attention to the computers. Everyone on the bridge looked towards the doe as she slowly started to move again. Had anybody been watching the security feeds, they would have noticed that strange things began to appear in Engineering. Creatures standing taller than men with odd colors to them.

"Hanna?" the helmsman asked again.

Sneijder got to her feet. A trickle of blood came out of her nostril and dripped onto the floor. Her body moved with an ethereal grace to it. She found her feet and stood there with eyes closed, not moving and not speaking. Her cap had fallen off, and her tight dirty blond bun of hair had unfurled close to her shoulders. Her ears drooped slightly, and her face looked as if she were asleep, without the pain she had just experienced.

"Hanna!" The TAC officer said.

Her eyes opened. There was a shine of light that came from them like spotlights. They radiated brightness. She showed no fear, and the voice that came from her was vaguely hers.

"My Lord has felt your touch; your spirit. He is confused and surprised."

"Miss Sneijder, I am ordering you to stand down and enter custody!" Ekdal said, ignoring the sound that came from the doe. "Security will escort you to a holding cell!"

"This is unexpected." the voice continued. "But developments can be accounted for. Your speech I ripped from her mind, her thoughts are not well guarded. She is here, but I am in control."

Ekdal felt a lump form in his throat. "Who are you?"

Hanna smiled, but it was this new presence that controlled the muscles in her face. "I am an envoy of my Lord, and he knows all that was and all that shall be, but you are new - alien to my Lord and his reach. Yet... you do not bear the touch of the Anathema. My Lord has... 'quarantined' you here." Sneijder snarled. "This language has no music - it disgusts me to speak it. You will explain your presence."

"Why?" Ekdal asked.

"You must ask?" the voice said. "This vessel means nothing to my Lord. It can be wiped from very existence, or will traipse the Warp for His pleasure for all eternity, yet you may be useful yet. I, Xiarghreb of the Third House, command this of you!" The voice amplified, and a ringing was felt in every eardrum of the bridge crew.

"What the hell's going on down in Engineering?" De Soto asked, and looked at the console. The Engineers were still in a circle around the center of the compartment, but two headed creatures stood at the perimeter of the group. Symbols appeared over the ground and strange lights danced all over the room.

"We have already exacted payment for this conversation."

"What payment?!" Ekdal said at once.

"Why, tribute." the voice said, and Sneijder shrugged. "Answer, or this vessel and the lives aboard it are forfeit, and you will be given over to the Vile, rival to my Lord."

"Captain, just tell... it... why we're here." De Soto said seriously. "I don't like the sound of this... Vile... thing."

Ekdal was at a complete loss, but he played along with this Xiarghreb thing. He wanted whatever was in Sneijder's body to get out. This thing could read his mind though and knew his thoughts. Xiaghreb judged this creature as he thought, his processes were alien to this tiny powerless thing. He had very little potential to play into the great plans that were to unfold. In truth, Xiaghreb needed amusement and planned to smite this vessel in any case regardless of answer.

"We are here to seek a weapon to fight one known as The Prisoner."

Sneijder blinked twice. "What?" the voice said, clearly confused.

"We're looking for a weapon to fight an ancient being known..."

"I know it." Xiaghreb cut him off. "The one of us but not of us. How came by you this knowledge? The great Princes have spoken little since the dawn of creation, even my Lord has not considered it since before the War in Heaven."

"How do you know what it is?" Ekdal asked, eyebrow raised.

"You will not ask of us to answer your questions. We are not to be badgered by your kind. I would kill you where you stand."

"Yet you won't." the Captain said.

"And my Lord would like nothing better than the continued torment of your kind for His pleasure. I must convene with my Lord."

The lights from the doe's eyes vanished, leaving dazed and nearly entirely dilated pupils. A breath escaped Sneijder as she dropped to the ground, She hit the ground limp and unresponsive. The security officers without damaged limbs tried to move on her.

"Don't you dare touch her." Ekdal said. "Move her, and we die."

The officers backed off. The bridge crew was still on their feet. Nobody was at their station. Ekdal rubbed the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply, thinking about what was going to happen.

"How do we know she's not dead if we can't examine her?" De Soto asked.

"Augustus." Ekdal said, thinking of something. "Can you isolate respiration rates here on the bridge?"

The hologram of the centurion nodded. "Within 92% certainty."

"Is she dead?" Ekdal asked, not wanting to hear the answer. Hanna Sneijder was a good COM officer and had served on his bridge for two years. She was a kind girl who took her coffee black, liked to hum songs while she wrote reports, and always made sure to say 'good morning' with actual well-wishing when he came on the bridge. Ekdal couldn't stand to think about losing any one of his people.

"She's alive." Augustus declared. "She's breathing, but very little. I've also got a weak heartbeat, maybe twenty beats a minute. I can't do a brainwave scan, but if that thing was telling the truth and her consciousness was... shunted, I suppose, she can't have been feeling good."

Hanna lay there with eyes wide open and with a blank look on her face. She didn't blink, and her eyes did not twitch. She was unconscious and was not dreaming, if she was in there at all.

"How do we know she's not a shell? That her consciousness was destroyed?"

"I don't know." Augustus said. "We're playing with rules very different than our own. Miss Sneijder was just possessed by something."

A great gasp escaped the cervine's mouth. Sneijder was lifted off the ground from some unknown source, floating briefly in the air. Her eyes began to glow once more. A strange aura formed around her that was not there the first time.

"My Lord has declared you are wanted alive and well. You are now a factor."

Ekdal stepped forward. "Why doesn't your 'Lord' come here and tell us that himself?"

"That would not end well for you. You do not possess the vision that He has and His magnificence would destroy your very soul. He is willing to make a proposition."

Ekdal had a funny feeling that refusing this deal would mean the annihilation of the ship and crew.

"I'm listening."

"I knew you would be open to this." the possessed body of Sneijder said. "That which you call the Prisoner must be stopped. Chaos bounds the world. Chaos manifests in all reaches of life, and the Prisoner was made manifest through this Chaos. It is born out of chance and uncertainty, which my Lord thrives in. Chaos cannot be superseded. The Prisoner wishes to become a new force of change in Existence. The Lords of Chaos do not contend against this manifestation. It would be an annoyance if it came to power."

"An annoyance?" Ekdal said. "That thing is poised to destroy our galaxy and every galaxy like it in existence!"

Hanna's body set down on its feet and began to walk around the bridge. nervous crewmen backed away from her, giving the possessed doe a wide berth. The presence, Xiaghreb, Ekdal guessed, began to touch parts of the ship, looking things over with bright eyes. "Not this one. It has been claimed. However, over time, the Prisoner may grow stronger in its other realms, and if you found a way here, my Lord believes the Prisoner from these other realities may come here too, only banded together as an army."

"How do you know that?" De Soto asked.

"Why, it told us when the Lords of Chaos destroyed it. My Lord controls this world."

"So, why don't your Lords help us destroy the Prisoner outright."

Sneijder's eyes flashed. "Were it not if my Lord wanted you for His amusement, you would be dead for that utterance and your soul His. You do not make requests of Chaos, you do well to remember that. The next time you blaspheme in His name, He will change His plan for you." She pointed a threatening finger towards De Soto, then smiled.

"So, that's it then?" Ekdal said. "Stop the Prisoner so he doesn't wreck your little plaything?"

"Oh, you make it sound so simple. Even by the standards of the folk of the Anathema, your knowledge is limited, and your minds cannot grasp the minds of the Great Powers. My true form has broken stronger minds."

Ekdal suspected that the creature was conning them, that this creature was just making their lives difficult, but then he saw a flash of something horrifying where Hanna once stood, but only for a half-second. It was large, irregularly shaped, and had many eyes and just as many arms.

Ekdal turned pale.

"And you see." Xiaghreb said. "You're agreement to this task has been determined. No mark will be placed upon you as a servant of destiny. There are those... that think differently to us. What you seek is in the unknown regions of this place - something old and buried."

Hanna made her way to the helmsman seat and placed herself down in it.

"To see the Warp through your diminished eyes." she smirked. "It has a certain beauty to it."

Something flew across the viewport. It had wings and was colored blood red. Xiaghreb, through Hanna, laughed.

"You know not where you truly are. This is where dreams are born and where nightmares are sired. Where wonders exist and where terrors are. There is no trace of the Warp in you. You play a dangerous game, Humans."

"Why?" De Soto asked.

"You will see. I know you will agree with us."

"Not like we have a choice." Ekdal said, turning his back to Xiaghreb and pacing to the holographic table where Augustus was. The AI didn't dare speak, but watched. "Fine. I agree to your demand. We will stop the Prisoner and make things... convenient to you."

"As I knew you would. The Prisoner cannot be allowed to bring destruction here. My Lord would prefer it if things remained as they are. I leave you now. You may have her back."

Xiaghreb climbed out of the helmsman's seat. He stood just in front of the command chair with a look of satisfaction and knowing in front on Sneijder's face. "Any more questions?"

"Just one." Ekdal asked, struck by curiosity. "Is the Prisoner of your race? Is it one of many?"

"I dare not blaspheme against my Lord. I know not how far His gaze goes."

Xiaghreb spoke no more. Hanna's eyes flashed even brighter than before, and her body dropped to the deck with a dull thud. The computers started to pulse once more, and at once, the hellscape outside of the ship vanished at once, only replaced by deep fields of stars. They were expelled from the Warp at once, like a child let go by a chastising parent. They were free.

In one of the bunkrooms below, Percy, Johnson, and Jolee simply stared at the ten foot tall humanoid that was in their bunkroom. the creature was clad in thick deep blue armor. Its head was nearly hidden by a massive collar. Two horns curved from its helmet. The only sign of a living creature within was two glowing eyes. It said nothing to them in the near half hour that it had appeared in their room. It had just stared at them, breathing deeply.

"Don't talk to him." Jolee said. "I don't think he's a talker."

It exhaled, making the men flinch.

"By off chance, do you think he's friendly?" Ryan whispered. "Maybe he's lost his way or something?"

Johnson took one look at the massive rifle that was in its hands. It was big and boxy. Part of the magazine wall had been stripped away, and gigantic bullets shone through. Johnson had never seen a gun like that in his life, and the way that this massive thing held it made it seem like he wasn't afraid to use it.

He had suddenly just appeared in their room. There were no weapons to fight him off with, and in any case, it seemed light fighting was out of the question anyway. Then at once, the creature just disappeared. There was no indication of it even transitioning. One second it was there, and the next it was gone.

They all jumped at that. "Jolee, do you feel anything?" Johnson asked.

"Nah." the old man said. "He's gone. Actually, they're all gone."

"What do you mean, they're all gone?" Ryan asked.

"You don't want to know." Bindo responded.

Sneijder's eyes sprang open and she began to gasp. There was no trace of Xiaghreb in her mind. She looked around the bridge, seeing people staring at her. She began to breathe quicker and quicker before breaking down and starting to cry. She huddled on the floor, not moving except for the heaving of her sobs.

"Hanna." Ekdal said. "Is it you?"

The Mobian made eye contact with Ekdal. Tears were streaming down her face, and her lip quivered. She wasn't sure if Ekdal was real.

"Captain?" She said, after wiping her eyes.

"Hanna, it's alright." Ekdal said, crouching down and extending a hand to her. "On your feet, Lieutenant."

Sneijder grabbed Ekdal's hand and was helped up. She looked around her at the people she knew. They stared at her, not sure how to respond. The doe began to cry again, sobbing into Ekdal's shoulder. She was shivering to the touch.

"What did it do to you?" Ekdal whispered into her ear. "Where did it take you?"

Hanna lost her voice for a moment. Her mouth moved but nothing came out. When she found her voice, all she could say was "Horrible! It was horrible! Everyone was sick and crying for help! Their skins were melting and their voices were...! Then He saw me...!"

"Who's 'He'?" Ekdal asked. "Xiaghreb's Lord?"

"No!" she said.

"The Prisoner?!"

"No!"

"Who was it?!" Ekdal asked.

"Please don't make me remember!" Hanna backed off. "I don't want to remember!" She stumbled. Ekdal caught her by the arm before she fell over.

"Get her to medbay. You're off-duty, Lieutenant."

One of the security officers came up and helped her to the elevator. The petty officer with the wounded wrist was inside the car. He stayed far away from Sneijder despite the assurance that she was indeed back in her own body."

"What happened?" she asked him.

"You." the guard responded. Then the doors closed, and they were gone.

Ekdal looked at all of the bridge crew just standing around and looking at him. "What's everyone slacking around for? Back to your stations!" He commanded. The bridge crew got back to work assessing the damage to the ship and crew. Ekdal just stood with his hands pressed on the holo-table. Augustus looked seriously at the Captain.

"Can you tell us where we are?" Ekdal asked Augustus.

"It will take some time, sir." the AI responded. "I'm picking up some familiar pulsars, but they're in different locations. I believe we are in a version of the Milky Way though. I can detect the Small and Large Magelannic Clouds where they should be, but with stellar drift, we could be anywhere between ten thousand or a hundred thousand years displaced between our galaxy and this one."

"Please just orient us." Ekdal said.

"Aye-aye." Augustus said, disappearing from view as he did his work.

"Captain, Lieutenant Prower has arrived at Engineering." De Soto said. "He's saying that the chanting has stopped, but about fourteen engineers are missing."

Ekdal felt like slamming his fist into the table. He restrained himself, and made his way back towards his chair. The son of a bitch took them. Payment indeed. Ekdal thought of the shivering and crying Hanna and didn't want to contemplate what was going to happen to those poor souls that were just stolen from them. Gregers had a funny feeling they wouldn't be coming back.

TAC reported in. A dark skinned young man said, "Captain, I've got positive readings on the Bastogne and the Colorado."

The two ships were spat back into normal space. They seemed no worse for wear. He wondered if they too had been visited by creatures like Xiaghreb offering a proposition. He wondered if these creatures also exacted payment.

"Open a channel to both ships." he ordered De Soto.

"Open, Captain." she said. "Go ahead."

Ekdal cleared his throat and tried to wipe the image of what he saw out of his mind. For the time being, he was successful. "This is Ontario. Bastogne and Colorado, are you reading me?"

"This is Bastogne." the first ship said. "We're operational. Ontario, something just happened to us. Something... bad."

"I know." Ekdal said. "It happened to us too. Colorado, are you there?"

"Colorado's receiving." the second ship said. "Captain, we need to talk about what just happened. One of our crewmembers was just... I think they were possessed by something!"

"We'll talk more about this. For right now, let's get into formation and from there we'll exchange reports. I want you on board Ontario within twenty four hours. As for now, let's exhale. At least we won't have to deal with that anymore."