Cyclops Delta, Eurylochus System, PFS Jaxim Vadimos, Vice Admiral Elgos Lilix: Partinax, 1215 April 4th 2157:

Within the depths of my command ship, the Light Cruiser PFS Jaxim Vadimos, I carve a wooden block while in my quarters. The small metal tool in my hand, built from modern materials but of a design used millenia before I was born, takes strips of wood off of the block, shaping it into the design I wish, in this case, a mask.

A buzzing noise from the room's door reminds me that no flag officer is ever truly off duty. "Come in," I say in a voice I have not used at all in my hours of isolation, having gotten off my shift a while back.

My Flag Lieutenant, his uniform impeccable as always, comes through the metal door and stands at attention "Sir, the Solana Hanus has still not passed through the Relay."

'That makes the ship two hours behind schedule. With long patrols, not being on time is expected, but the last courier drone was only a few days ago, and they were making good time, they shouldn't be this late unless they found something' "Send a courier drone through the Relay and try to get in contact with the Hanus, have it come back if they are not in the Relay system, then we'll launch a search," I tell my Staff Lieutenant, the implicit instruction that the order is for the ship's Captain not needing to be said.

"Yes sir," Just as fast as he came, Flag Lieutenant Laiel Sparatus left my room, no doubt ready to follow my orders to the letter.

I return to my mask, hands moving without much thought to complete it, but my mind stays on the issue brought forth by the young officer 'Why is the Hanus late, and more importantly, why did Captain Partinax not inform me? It's standard procedure for a patrol to send a courier drone if it expects to be more than an hour late for a rendezvous, and Captain Partinax is nothing if not by the book'. As Admiral of the 52nd Patrol Group, I have endeavored to gain some basic knowledge on each of the Captains and Rear Admirals under me, so I know enough about the man that I can expect that of him.

'So why didn't he? Is it because he has been attacked' "Abrintis, bring up a map of all known pirate and raider activity in the Council Frontier over the last four months" my personal VI, who I named and shaped after an Admiral from the Unification War, dutifully fulfilled my order, the holographic systems within my quarters forming a map of the Frontier, showing all systems, trade routes, Relays, and the activity I asked for. It looked mostly as expected, higher levels in areas near the Traverse or with Relay connections into the more lawless areas of space (or at least the ones the Council didn't control), most notably near the Batarian Hegemony, its Relay connections deep into the Traverse and Terminus alongside the corruption and relatively young navy leading to a lot of hostile ships passing through the Hegemony's space, making it few friends, while the rumors the Hegemony pays them to pass over its worlds and go for other targets make them even fewer. Of some interest is a spike somewhat near where the Hanus is meant to be, one caused by the remnants of a Terminus raiding fleet that was broken almost a year back 'Perhaps some of the stranglers are trying to make a base in the newly explored systems?' It's the most plausible of the ideas I've come up with, but also one of the more threatening; a rather disturbing number of the raiders were left unaccounted for after the main fleet was defeated, more than enough to cause some damage if they coordinated.

I put my carving tool back down, the mask completed with no major flaws 'I guess I will have to wait and see. I just hope it's simply a case of the Captain forgetting, but the best case scenario is rarely the one that plays out'.

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Er System, SSV Marathon, Captain Noah Beek, 1200 April 4th 2157:

"Relay activation! Estimated mass 800 thousand to a million tons" the words of the sensor officer causes me to hold my breath and gaze upon the display in the center of the Marathon's CIC, apprehension and some fear, though far better concealed than some of the crew's, welling up inside me. I know it is baseless, the Relay hadn't changed its orientation, meaning the new arrival must be from Da Ling San, but I felt it anyway.

My eyes bore down on the projection of the system's Secondary Relay, watching as its ring spins and glows while arcing energy flows near and through it. After the movement and power reaches its zenith, five glowing lances of light appear within ten thousand kilometers of the Relay, the blue coloration of the vessels that come from them on the display strips me of the breath I didn't know I was holding "Five contacts, friendly, one Cruiser, four Frigates. IFF reads as the SSV Belfast, Medway, Poltava, Tours, and Yorktown."

The CIC returns to normalcy after the sensor officer's words, or at least what has counted as normal for the last few hours on the Marathon after humanity's first, and violent, contact with an alien civilization. Everyone returns to their jobs, turning from the quiet alertness for a possible battle of a few moments ago, to ensuring the Frigate can not only operate, but complete the delicate operation it is planning to undertake.

My sight widens to the entire display, taking in the other vessels that have arrived in the last few hours in response to the emergency transmission I sent out. Most of the 6th Squadron is now in the system, the Athans, which has left to Midgard for repairs, being replaced by three of its sisters, the Hamburg, Lagos, and now Belfast, while the Cannae and Yamen have been replaced by eight, now twelve, new Frigates, the vessels comprising the 57th, 59th, and 60th Scout Flotillas of the 6th Squadron.

"Connection to the target begins in one minute" the words of the ship's VI move my attention from the other ships on the display to the Marathon, Salamis, and the alien Cruiser, which the two Frigates are closing on. One of the arrivals on the Hamburg, the Squadron's flagship, was Rear Admiral Julian Harper, the Squadron's commanding officer, whose first order after getting his report was for the Salamis and Marathon to tow the crippled Cruiser through the Relay to Da Ling San and then Ymir so it can be examined in a safe area that already has a bunch of specialists in dealing with alien tech due to the prothean ruins. The two Frigates got the job due to being the least capable ships in the formation due to the damage sustained in the fight with said Cruiser.

"Connection in 5,4,3,2,1 connecting" I watch as the Marathon and Salamis begin attaching tugging equipment, originally added so the Frigates could help civilian ships, begin attaching to the scared alien warship, the slow and delicate process occasionally accompanied by announcements from the VI. About 15 minutes later, and the two Alliance Frigates are securely attached to the ship, and the antimatter engines on both vessels come to life, waking from their inactivity throughout the entire delicate procedure.

Slowly, the power of the two ships, each an order of magnitude smaller than the behemoth they are attached to, accelerates the giant towards the Relay, almost a million tons moving in the void with levels of energy far beyond most humans' imaginations.

The near silence in the CIC is abruptly halted as the Relay begins moving, its massive bulk turning quicker than anything its size should be able to. "The Relay is reorienting!" After less than half a minute, the Relay finishes its turning, having reoriented far from its original position and its ring begins turning, the same blue energy coursing through it as before, only my dread is justified "Relay is activating! Estimated mass between 1 and 50 tons!" the sensor officer seems as shocked as me and the rest of the crew, who all turn their heads from their own displays to look at the representation of the Relay in the center of the CIC.

Only moments after beginning, the power buildup ends and an unknown object enters the system in a glowing blue lance of light, filling all with dread.

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Er System, Courier Drone Jaxim Vadimos-1, VI, 1230 April 4th 2157:

-Relay transition complete, beginning passive area scanning-

-Unknown contacts detected, beginning Lidar scanning-

-Lidar scanning complete, no matches in database-

-Unknown Frigate scale contact approaching at V 300m A 49mss, beginning Relay return-

-Weapons fire detected, initiating evasive maneuvers, 12 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Projectile avoided, 11 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Laser strike on hull segment 4B, minimal damage, Laser strike on hull segment 3A, Thermal sensor inoperable, 10 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Projectile avoided, Laser strike avoided, Laser strike on hull segment 5C, minimal damage, 9 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Laser strike on hull segment 4B, Radiator panel 04 damaged, Laser strike on hull segment 1A, RCS thruster 02 destroyed, 8 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Projectile avoided, Laser strike on hull segment 4A, main thruster damaged, Laser strike on hull segment 3B, Radiator panel 03 destroyed, Heat buildup increasing to dangerous levels, 7 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Laser strike avoided, Laser strike on hull segment 3A, RCS thruster 04 destroyed, WARNING, Systems overheating, Begin emergency shutdown, Override, Shutdown halted, 6 seconds to Relay initiation-

-Projectile strike on hull segment 4A- Main thrustor destroyed, Projectile penetration within section 4AD, Fuel tank damaged, Projectile penetration within section 4AC, Fuel tank damaged, Projectile penetration within section 4AB, Fusion reactor damaged, Proj.ctil. .enetra.ion withi. se.tion 4AA, VI .ore dam.ged, R.lay Ac.iv.tion failed,

-Emer.ancy Pr.tical Activ.ted, Initiate S.lf De.truct-

Xingyun Cluster, Da Ling Er System, SSV Marathon, Captain Noah Beek, 1230 April 4th 2157:

My gaze never turns from the unknown object, not when the sensor officer warns of Lidar hitting the hull, not when the Yorktown begins closing in on it, not when the craft begins glowing with light from its thrusters, moving it towards the Relay, not when laser and mass accelerator fire begins lancing out at the craft after, not even when it went up in a massive explosion less than half a minute after it appeared.

It felt like an eternity between the destruction of the craft and the next words I truly heard, not those echoing in the background with comprehension, but in truth it must have been only 20 or 30 seconds until the communications officer spoke "Sir, the Admiral has ordered us to increase speed and get out of the system as fast as possible" he hesitates for a moment "she has also asked for you to come to the Hamburg, a Shuttle is on the way."

I responded and give out the necessary commands while preparing to leave, but my mind truly remains stuck on a single thought:

'They are back.'