Thank you very much for the shout-out to Avon. Avon will not only find a home for you but allow you to honor a friend or a relative with a role. Is the Custodian office seeing a changing of the guard from an aging great to a newer more dynamic leader in the face of a universal crisis? Thank you for the update
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There are two Paradox-spawn?
How did the Shrike - who sounded like human supremacists - become mercenaries? I can get not approving of the experimentation - even human supremacists have to have standards - but why mercenaries?
Honestly, the fate of the Native Americans is tragic...
Actually, how does experimenting on aliens help Akira's plan? I thought she wanted to restore psionics... specifically for herself... and humans in general, but, if she succeeds in aliens, they're going to be pissed at her and be psionic? Does she want more powerful enemies?
Actually, why can't Akira use Mira's strategy of hyperspace relays to warn her past self? Fear of paradoxes?
Well, Inez is cooperating with Scarlett (aka probably Akira). I don't think she's lost. Redemption arc?
Nice to see the character named after me get involved in the action! Even if he is mind raped...
I feel like things will go terribly wrong with the Akhenaten. The pharaoh it was named after was the guy who tried to make Egypt monotheistic... and failed miserably. It's like naming a ship Icarus, in a way.
Nice to see Blake's campaign is still on track. Hopefully he wins and forces Akira's hand. Shame about Himawari, though.
How did the Shrike - who sounded like human supremacists - become mercenaries? I can get not approving of the experimentation - even human supremacists have to have standards - but why mercenaries?
Honestly, the fate of the Native Americans is tragic...
Actually, how does experimenting on aliens help Akira's plan? I thought she wanted to restore psionics... specifically for herself... and humans in general, but, if she succeeds in aliens, they're going to be pissed at her and be psionic? Does she want more powerful enemies?
Actually, why can't Akira use Mira's strategy of hyperspace relays to warn her past self? Fear of paradoxes?
Well, Inez is cooperating with Scarlett (aka probably Akira). I don't think she's lost. Redemption arc?
Nice to see the character named after me get involved in the action! Even if he is mind raped...
I feel like things will go terribly wrong with the Akhenaten. The pharaoh it was named after was the guy who tried to make Egypt monotheistic... and failed miserably. It's like naming a ship Icarus, in a way.
Nice to see Blake's campaign is still on track. Hopefully he wins and forces Akira's hand. Shame about Himawari, though.
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You're welcome! Your AAR has been a blast!
In a sense, yes. You'll get to see the new Custodian in the next chapter.
Two that we know about.
In fact, If I remember your comments correctly, you saw this twist coming pretty far in advance. All the way back in Crossroads of Past and Future, I warned everyone this was going to happen:
Nearly all of Shrike's membership consists of former members of XCOM and AFUNE. (the Human military) In general, the group strongly opposed the idea of allowing aliens to remain on Earth post-war and often sought to violently remove extraterrestrials from Human cities. When they were first founded in 2040 (just a few years after the events of The Stombreakers) Shrike was a militant Human supremacist group and later changed into a mercenary group as their objectives changed. During the years after the Second Hyperspace War, Shrike functioned as a private security company, usually hired by local governments to act as police and security forces where none existed. Shrike's contracts with government entities dried up as AFUNE was developed into a true interstellar military.
As hinted at in a previous chapter, Shrike is preparing for something... something big. They are stockpiling weapons and ammo, digging tunnel networks on Earth, and generally acting like Doomsday Preppers. They bankroll their own preparations by continuing to offer their services as mercenaries to this day.
Dear readers, if you want to know what has got Shrike spooked, keep an eye on Guest Character Eerabik. (visiting this story from @Arithmetician's AAR) She'll be re-appearing in future chapters and she'll have a connection to whatever Shrike is prepping for.
Agreed. Smaller people groups suffered greatly during the alien occupation of Earth. (2015-2035) Those who survived were left in even worse shape.
Based on what we've seen so far, The UN wants to exploit the Gift in much the same way EXALT was trying to exploit Akira back in All Our Sins Remembered, just on a much larger scale...
Larger scale as in: Let's see what happens if Psionic Armies and Slave Armies are combined into a single unit! (Stellaris devs, please... that's all I want. Let me use Psionics to instantly enslave whole alien planets!)
Theoretically, Akira could have exploited Hyperwave relays to send messages to both her past and future self as well. She's been around the timeline enough to know it's possible. This potentially could explain a few things:
- Why it took almost 50 years for anyone to notice Akira survived the War in Heaven.
- How she's managed to evade the New Stormbreakers, the Shadow Man and the entire Galaxy all trying to hunt her down.
- How her offspring went undetected until now.
**Smacks myself in the face**
Damn! Now that you say something, Inez really should have re-named the ship Icarus instead of Solaris. It would have been more fitting considering what I've got planned.
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Chapter 17: Erin Hyatt
Oh snap! Off-schedule chapter incoming!
The military is demanding my attention on short notice, which means I won't be able to post a new chapter on Saturday like usual. Buckle up, folks, Chapter 17 is here almost a week early!
As you read this chapter, keep your eyes open for a few references to my favorite AARs:
Chapter 17
Erin Hyatt
May 5, 2086
The Galactic City, Angel Moon
“My fellow sentients. Our strength as a community has been tested for the past two years. Tested sorely. But the departure of my predecessor Degra Kessick, whom we thank for his service, has given us the opportunity to reclaim our future from the one who sought to steal it away. Many fought for us to get here. We have lost brothers and sisters, husbands, wives, children. We wept for neighbors and friends who will grace ourselves with their presence no more. We, as a civilized society of spacefaring peoples, would be justified in seeking vengeance. It may even bring some sense of satisfaction.
“But instead, we will exercise restraint. This is not the Hyperspace War of fifty years ago. We are not fighting a senseless extragalactic monster this time. The enemy forces arrayed against us are of the same species that once delivered our Galaxy from an existential threat like no other. The Humans are friends and comrades and brothers and allies. We cannot forget that we have been forced into this war, in which we fought and killed our own allies and friends. A single woman forced this war against a cooperative and brotherly species upon us. She is Akira Robinson, the Paradox; she will be found and then held responsible.
“Until such a time, we cannot blindly peruse the destruction of the Human species, not even to satisfy the righteous anger borne from crimes committed against ourselves. The atrocities Earth committed against the Galaxy were done under threat and duress; and a dangerous woman holds an entire species hostage and forces the Galaxy to bend to her will. As Galactic Custodian, I will not sacrifice the people of Earth just to bring about the destruction of one individual.
“As your Custodian, I will seek out elements of Humanity that are known to be friendly to us. We shall enlist the aid of those Humans who are still true friends of the Galaxy and break the Paradox’s hold over her own species. And when she is alone and friendless, abandoned by her followers… then the Paradox will understand, in the moments before her death, that her time has come and gone.”
…
Directly in front of the Galactic Custodian’s desk, the camera operator, a young Scyldari, gave a positive hand signal and said:
“Excellent, Madam Custodian. Are you ready for a second take?”
The new Galactic Custodian stood up from her desk and looked at the clock on the wall.
“Second take? What are you on about. Get out and tell the press corps to do their fucking job, I’ve got work to do!”
The cameraman packed up his equipment and withdrew. As he exited, a very large Reptilian entered the office. This alien was much, much bigger than the Galactic Custodian. He had a long scaly snout and a set of leathery wings that made a rustling sound as he walked.
“Madam Custodian.” The reptilian said. “Do you have a moment?”
“WHAT!?” the new Custodian roared, her voice full of anger. The Advisor quailed, but delivered his report.
“The Hiigaran Empire has followed through with their threat, ma’am. The government in Assam Kiith’sid has downgraded Hiigara’s membership in the Galactic Council and withdrawn all Hiigaran military units from the Galactic Defense Force.”
“This is a nightmare.” The Galactic Custodian said, shaking her head.
“We’ve lost fifteen Motherships, nearly two-hundred Super-Capital ships as well as some four thousand smaller vessels. The number of officer, crew, and soldiers we’ve lost is still being counted. Going forward, Hiigara is no longer participating in the war. They’ve dedicated themselves to fortifying their Inner Rim borders.” The Advisor concluded.
“Preparing for war against Aoraki, I’m sure.” The new Custodian grumbled. “Any other bad news?”
“No, ma’am,” The Advisor said. “But you should know, the Emerald Institute has just allowed us to make contact with the paramilitary group you requested.”
“Which one?” Asked the Custodian as she brushed her long grey hair out of her eyes.
“The individuals who showed up in the Senate chamber.” Replied the reptilian. “The ones who have enough money to hire the services of the Emerald Institute. Claim to be Stormbreakers and told me they ‘have friends in the Galactic Defense Force.’”
The Galactic Custodian’s head snapped upward and her eyes widened.
“Excellent!” she said. “Send them straight to the SCC. I’ll meet them there.”
…
Deep inside the bowels of the Taiidani Imperial Palace and very far underground was the wreckage of a starship. The vessel itself was nearly ten-thousand years old, but nobody could remember exactly when the ship’s interior was restored. It was possible to move directly from the Palace above to the ship below, where a modern military command center was hidden in what had once been the starship’s bridge.
The vessel itself was called Sajuuk’s Wrath. Ten thousand years ago, it was the flagship of the Hiigaran Empire. When the Taiidani conquered Hiigara, they built their Imperial Palace over the site of their own victory. At some point, the Taiidan Emperor converted Sajuuk’s Wrath into the headquarters of the Taiidan military. And now, this place had become the Strategic Coordination Center, the very core of the Galactic Defense Force.
Military officers worked intensely to make sense of battle data coming in from across the Galaxy. Each time a Human warship was sighted or engaged, the data was processed here, allowing the GDF to formulate a plan of action and then execute it.
All six Stormbreakers were escorted into the Strategic Coordination Center, they followed closely behind their guides. The first guide was Eerabik, the avian who had spoken to them on the day Kessick was unseated. The other guide was a gruff-looking member of the Taiidani species, bald Humanoids with thick grey skin. This was the Director of the Emerald Institute, a powerful organization that was friendly to both the Stormbreakers and the Galactic Defense Force.
“Now, this is the control center of the war room.” Eerabik was saying. “This is where the Custodian manages the Galactic Order of Battle.”
Varian was talking to the Taiidani man.
“We appreciate everything the Emerald Institute has done for us.” Varian said. “I honestly don’t know how we would keep the Niagara flying without your technicians.”
“And I think none of us are willing to answer that.” Replied the Institute Director. “
The Institute Director showed the Stormbreakers to a large holographic projector in the center of the war room.
“Please bring up the report from Shipyard Naabal.” The Director said.
Shimmering in blueish-white light, a three-dimensional hologram of the spaceplane Niagara appeared above the Stormbreakers and their allies.
“Emerald Institute technicians have started installing the upgrades you requested for your ship.” The Director said. “Mister Ririnui, we analyzed the weapon schematics you took from the UN Blacksite, and there is a danger.”
“It’s a railgun, of course there’s going to be risk.” Maui said. “What’s got you so worried?”
“Well.” The Director replied. “The Niagara is a small vessel. Too small to be called a genuine frigate but too large to be classed as a corvette. Spinal-mounted railguns are generally meant for, well… frigates that are actually frigate-sized. Our technicians do have the ability to install a railgun on your ship… but there won’t be enough space to store ammunition. Not without radically rebuilding the hull. At best, you’ll only be able to carry ten slugs. That’s not a lot of firepower.”
Kingi gave Maui a reassuring look and then spoke to the Director:
“True, but we are not planning to go toe-to-toe with a battleship. We just need an anti-capital ship weapon to facilitate our own escape, if we ever run afoul of one. Score a few devastating blows and then flee before the enemy gets their wind back.”
The Emerald Institute Director nodded.
“Very well, we’ll carry on with the weapon installation.”
…
While all of this was going on, Ninu grabbed Eerabik and pulled her aside for a private conversation.
“How is it possible for either one of us to be Gifted?” he demanded. “I thought Jericho destroyed the Gift fifty years ago!”
“You and I are not Gifted.” Eerabik clarified. “We cannot manipulate minds or make Soulfire, but you and I are genetically predisposed to sense the presence of Psionics. And the way you looked at me in the Senate chamber… I do think that if the Gift still existed, you would have burned me with Soulfire in that moment. No doubts at all. I saw something in you, little Kelt.”
Ninu folded his arms in thought. He was frustrated
“No… you must be mistaken.” He said. “I’m just a translator, I can’t fight, I can’t even fly the Niagara. I’m small and quiet… nothing special…”
Ninu trailed off, his doubts getting the best of him. Eerabik turned to look at the other five Stormbreakers, who were deep in conversation with the leading members of the Galactic Defense Force.
“Nothing special?” Eerabik repeated. “You stand on the shoulders of giants, Ninu Dokunle. I sense great potential in you.”
She rustled her feathers and gave Ninu a gentle pat on the head.
“More potential than those five.” She concluded. “Because you have taken a step into a much larger world, and when the time comes, I think you’ll bring about something for all of us to sing about.”
…
Ten minutes after the Stormbreakers arrived in the Strategic Coordination Center, a very overworked-looking reptilian barged into the room and demanded everyone’s attention. Varian’s jaw dropped at the sight.
“Is that a dragon!?” Varian gasped, pointing at the newcomer. “Someone please tell me that’s a talking dragon!”
The dragon-like alien cleared his throat.
“Human Stormbreaker, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m told you are Varian Robinson, the leader of the group, yes?”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Varian replied. “Who are you?”
“I apologize.” Replied the dragon-ish creature. “My name is long and nearly unpronounceable in your mammalian language. Suffice to say that I am the Advisor to the Galactic Custodian, and I am here to announce her arrival.”
Then the Advisor puffed out his chest and raised his voice for everyone in the room to hear:
“Presenting by the Grace of the Sacred Mountain, the legitimate elected successor to Whetu Kealoha, most watchful guardian of the Unnamed Mountain, Governor of the Commonwealth Academy of Science, Overlord of Hakihea, heir to the legacy of Toa Wahine Mami Tamihana, patron of the Reformed Church of the Mountain, President-for-Life of the Triple Alliance, and Galactic Custodian: Marka Ranginui, Queen over the Commonwealth of Partogans and Levakians.”
To a round of applause, the new Galactic Custodian entered the war room. This was Marka Ranginui. Like Maui, she was a member of the Partogan race, a diaspora of Humans who were descended from the Maori people of New Zealand. However, Marka was not any ordinary Partogan: She was their Queen. Her official badge of office was a beautiful green gemstone, the Whetu Kārerarera, the centerpiece of a broach that held together a cloak made from colorful bird feathers.
Marka herself was a young woman in her early thirties. Like the vast majority of Partogans, she had dark skin, purple eyes, and grey hair. Early in her reign, Marka had decided to emulate the famed warrior Queen Mami Tamihana, and was modeling her own appearance after that of Toa Mami. She was very muscular and had the build of a rough-and-tumble fighter, and she also had a traditional te moko tattoo on the lower half of her face, staining her lips a deep black.
As Marka entered, Maui lowered his head in a respectful bow. The Partogan Queen recognized one of her own subjects and stopped to greet Maui before introducing herself to the rest of the Stormbreakers.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Marka said. “My military advisors told me the Stormbreakers were back in action. It bodes well for the future. And Robinson, you are from the same family as Blake himself, correct? Do you have any contact with him?”
“I’m afraid not.” Varian replied. “I’m trying to keep my family away so the UN doesn’t target them. We’ve all had to keep our families at a distance.”
As Ninu rejoined the group, Varian said:
“Congratulations on becoming Galactic Custodian, your Majesty, but I still don’t know why you called us here.”
Marka clapped her hands and summoned the Advisor to her.
“Tell the General we’re ready to see him now.”
The Advisor stepped out of the war room and came back a few seconds later, followed by a military officer. This individual was a member of the lion-like Levakian species. Corder flattened her ears and swished her tail. She was half-Human, meaning her own Levakian traits paled in comparison to the massive lion before her. The Levakian officer was very tall and thin, with a highly domed head and vicious-looking eyes that were sunken in. He seemed to move in a snakelike fashion, swaying his head from side to side as he surveyed the war room. The Levakian officer was the most brightly colored person In the room, as his fur came in vivid patterns of orange, white, and black. The officer rendered a salute and introduced himself.
“General Macavity, Galactic Defense Force.”
“We’ve met before.” Maui said. “Back when this whole mess was first starting out.”
“Yes, I remember that too.” Eerabik cut in. “The General would not stop praising the ‘unique design’ of your starship.”
“Interestingly enough, that’s the reason I’ve called you here today.” Queen Marka said. “General Macavity told me about your ship’s ability to disguise itself.”
“Holograms.” Maui explained. “The Niagara has a set of external holographic emitters that can fool light-based sensors. We can slip past some of the UN Navy, provided their sensors are old or their crews are a little lax.”
“Do you need us to infiltrate something?” Corder asked.
“We do.” Marka replied. She gestured to Macavity, who spoke:
“We’ve been reviewing the intel you gathered while you were on Earth and found something alarming that requires immediate investigation.” Macavity said. “Specifically, it was your claim that ISO Director Scarlett Freeman was reported dead.”
“We heard it from her daughter.” Varian said. “And Nezzie heard it from Freeman’s husband. I think that’s pretty definitive, sir.”
Macavity, the Advisor, and Eerabik all looked at one another. Finally, Eerabik broke the bad news:
“Well, you see. We have our own intelligence that says Scarlett Freeman is alive.”
“And she’s on the move.” Macavity added.
All six of the Stormbreakers dropped their jaws. Ninu swore.
“You’ve got to be joking!” Kingi growled. “Freeman is still alive? How do you know!?”
General Macavity flattened his ears and used the hologram generator in the middle of the war room to illustrate his story:
“Micore spy drones on Altair intercepted a Hyperwave call. Scarlett Freeman contacted the leadership of the Cult of Jericho, demanding a face-to-face meeting with the Sorceress Erin Hyatt. It was a matter of some great urgency. But this is the most important detail, Director Freeman was so anxious to arrange this meeting, she implied that the friendship between the Cult of Jericho and the United Nations was in jeopardy. The meeting between Freeman and Hyatt has now been scheduled for the end of this month.”
“Do you know where this meeting will happen?” Maui asked. His eyes were darting back and forth as he attempted to log all of this data into his smart glasses.
“That’s the part that alarmed us, and caused us to reach out to you.” Queen Marka explained. “You see, this meeting between Hyatt and Freeman is supposed to happen in a place called Arcadia Bay. The location raised several alarm bells for us.”
Corder, Ninu, Maui, Cetla, and Kingi all looked at Varian, who was the only member of the team to know the name Arcadia Bay. Varian had gasped at its mention.
“I’ve heard of that town!” Varian said. “Birthplace of Maxine Caulfield, one of the very first Gifted Humans. The whole city was destroyed in some freak supernatural event almost a hundred years ago!”
The Advisor pulled up a holographic map of Arcadia Bay. The wrecked town lay on the picturesque Oregon coastline.
“So you won’t be surprised to hear that the UN has a massive military presence in the city right now?” The Advisor asked.
As the Stormbreakers watched, the Advisor pointed out several locations around the region on the hologram, showing that the Human military had built several outposts around Arcadia Bay.
“I understand you suspected Hyatt of being the Paradox.” Macavity said.
“No, we ruled her out.” Corder clarified. “But the Cult and the Progeny are still doing a lot to help the UN against us. Why don’t we just bomb the whole site from orbit? Kill Hyatt and make sure Freeman stays dead this time?”
“I wanted to.” Grumbled Macavity.
The Advisor gave him a very stern look.
“General, with all due respect, we can’t get much intel from a pile of charred corpses!” The Advisor protested, flapping his wings in frustration. “We must observe that meeting, not stop it! Anything those two Humans say could be used against the UN military.”
“The Advisor is right.” Queen Marka said. “But there is one other reason we wanted to send the Stormbreakers on this particular mission.”
Queen Marka pointed at Ninu.
“Eerabik told me about you, interpreter.” Marka said. “She is confident that you are like her, sensitive to Psionic energy.”
The other five Stormbreakers all looked down at Ninu.
“Wait, really? Corder said. “Ninu, that’s amazing!
Ninu turned pale and looked at the floor.
“Nothing special, really.” He muttered.
“On the contrary.” Eerabik said. “You should let the Custodian finish.”
Marka nodded and then pointed to the holographic representation of Arcadia Bay again.
“The location is significant for another reason.” She continued. “Yes, Freeman and Hyatt are going to meet here, but more important are these scans, taken by a cloaked Hiigaran vessel during a recon mission.”
The hologram lit up in shades of purple and blue, illuminating the town in strange relief. Maui saw this and gasped.
“No way.” He said.
“What?” The other Stormbreakers asked. “What do you see?”
Maui pulled off his smart glasses and took a closer look at the hologram.
“That’s… that’s…” his voice was full of disbelief. “Psionic energy. The town’s full of it!”
Queen Marka nodded.
“Arcadia Bay is flooding with Psionic energy, and the source is nearby.”
Controlling the hologram with a tablet computer, General Macavity zoomed the image out to reveal a map of the Oregon region. The Stormbreakers were greeted with a very strange sensor reading. Psionic energy seemed to be spilling out of a very specific point in the Klamath Mountain Range, and spreading out across the rest of Oregon like a cloud.
“Holy mother of Jericho!” Varian breathed. “What the hell is happening in Oregon!?”
“We would like to know” Queen Marka replied.
“And we also want to know if this can be used to help the war effort in any way.” Macavity added.
“That’s where Ninu comes in.” Eerabik said.
As Eerabik continued, everybody looked at Ninu, who was now quaking in terror.
“When you look at any map of the Oregon region, you’ll see it is very mountainous and covered in forest. There will be very few places to land a starship. Ninu Dokunle, you must use your sensitivity to follow the Psionic energy to its source, and then report the identity of the source to us.”
Ninu gulped.
“Well, I uh,” he sounded very unsure of himself. “I mean, I guess I can do that. It’ll be like taking a long hike through nature, right?”
“That’s one way to put it.” The Advisor said with a chuckle. “The Progeny and UN will be too busy to fight you anyway, as there are local rebel forces to the north and south of this area to keep them occupied.”
Varian gave Ninu a pat on the head.
“There you go, buddy. Easy mission. Walk around the mountains for a few days and hunt for, oh, I dunno… Psionic ghosts or something.”
Corder addressed the Galactic Custodian and her cabinet.
“As soon as we get our ship back from the Emerald Institute, we’ll be on our way back to Earth. Count on it.”
…
May 29, 2086
Newport, Oregon
Erin Hyatt, a self-proclaimed Sorceress and leader of the Cult of Jericho, picked her way across the remains of a battlefield. She was on the beach of the Oregon Coastline, about two day’s journey from Arcadia Bay. Earlier today, this beach had been the scene of a furious skirmish between the Progeny and the Americans. After almost four hours of fighting, the Cultist forces had won, driving the Americans away or crushing them here in the bloody sand.
Erin was an older woman, but she had aged gracefully. She was a veteran of the Second Hyperspace War, having seen combat at the Battle of Neptune. During the legendary conflict, a nuclear explosion left Erin blind. Sometime later, Erin was visited in her hospital bed by Jericho, the Girl Who Became a God.
Jericho restored Erin’s vision, and the rest was history. Erin built the Cult of Jericho and its Progeny, and now she was leading Jericho’s faithful in a war that would decide the future of Humankind once and for all.
As she stepped over a fallen Progeny fighter, Erin thought over the past two years of conflict.
The war was not going well. Despite being the largest religious movement in the United Nations, the Progeny was much smaller than the cult itself, and each battle, like this one, depleted strength that was not easily restored. Before the outbreak of violence, the Progeny would expand its membership by kidnapping alien children and indoctrinating them. Thralls made up the bulk of Progeny forces, and now they were making up the majority of dead fighters on this beach.
A group of Acolytes and Sorceresses came to join Erin on the beach. These Human members of the Progeny served the same function as officers in a professional military. Erin listened as they delivered a report on how the day’s battle had gone. Her eyes fell when the Acolytes explained that the Americans had started to withdraw as soon as they started to take casualties. The Sorceresses gave Erin a list of fatalities, showing that over half of the Progeny Thralls on the field had been killed today. Erin compared this list against other lists from other battlefields.
She felt a sense of rising anger. Before the war, the Progeny could have replaced these dead Thralls by abducting children from nearby alien worlds like Hakihea, Amadiio, or Sabak. But now Scarlett Freeman was demanding that all of these children be turned over to the ISO, leaving none for the Progeny to use. If the war kept going like this, it would be impossible for the Progeny to sustain itself.
Erin crumpled up the casualty list in her hand and said:
“If we have a few more victories like this, we’ll be undone.”
One of the Sorceresses tried to reassure Erin.
“There won’t be so many battles in our future, your Holiness.” She said. “We are on the cusp of a greater spiritual victory.”
“Quite right.” Erin said. “We must persevere. We must press on. Jericho wills it!”
Bloodied and shaken by the day’s action, the surviving Progeny militants gathered around their leader and continued to march south. Nothing would stop them from reaching Arcadia Bay.
The military is demanding my attention on short notice, which means I won't be able to post a new chapter on Saturday like usual. Buckle up, folks, Chapter 17 is here almost a week early!
As you read this chapter, keep your eyes open for a few references to my favorite AARs:
- Blessed Sithrandir Confederacy and Discoveries of the Hydari Imperiumby @Nikolai
- The famed Advisor will appear as a member of the new Galactic Custodian's cabinet. For all of you @Nikolai fans out there, we will be seeing the Hydari version of the Advisor today.
- Avon Las Observesby @Midnite Duke
- The Director of the Emerald Institute for Time Travel makes an appearance in this chapter. Apologies to @Midnite Duke: I was actually planning to name the character today, but Uncle Sam shot all of my plans and I need to rush this chapter out the door while I still can.
- Stellaris Wars: A Nemesis Ironman Sagaby @Arithmetician
- Eerabik is back for another round! The new Galactic Custodian is keeping her close.
Chapter 17
Erin Hyatt
The Galactic City, Angel Moon
“My fellow sentients. Our strength as a community has been tested for the past two years. Tested sorely. But the departure of my predecessor Degra Kessick, whom we thank for his service, has given us the opportunity to reclaim our future from the one who sought to steal it away. Many fought for us to get here. We have lost brothers and sisters, husbands, wives, children. We wept for neighbors and friends who will grace ourselves with their presence no more. We, as a civilized society of spacefaring peoples, would be justified in seeking vengeance. It may even bring some sense of satisfaction.
“But instead, we will exercise restraint. This is not the Hyperspace War of fifty years ago. We are not fighting a senseless extragalactic monster this time. The enemy forces arrayed against us are of the same species that once delivered our Galaxy from an existential threat like no other. The Humans are friends and comrades and brothers and allies. We cannot forget that we have been forced into this war, in which we fought and killed our own allies and friends. A single woman forced this war against a cooperative and brotherly species upon us. She is Akira Robinson, the Paradox; she will be found and then held responsible.
“Until such a time, we cannot blindly peruse the destruction of the Human species, not even to satisfy the righteous anger borne from crimes committed against ourselves. The atrocities Earth committed against the Galaxy were done under threat and duress; and a dangerous woman holds an entire species hostage and forces the Galaxy to bend to her will. As Galactic Custodian, I will not sacrifice the people of Earth just to bring about the destruction of one individual.
“As your Custodian, I will seek out elements of Humanity that are known to be friendly to us. We shall enlist the aid of those Humans who are still true friends of the Galaxy and break the Paradox’s hold over her own species. And when she is alone and friendless, abandoned by her followers… then the Paradox will understand, in the moments before her death, that her time has come and gone.”
…
Directly in front of the Galactic Custodian’s desk, the camera operator, a young Scyldari, gave a positive hand signal and said:
“Excellent, Madam Custodian. Are you ready for a second take?”
The new Galactic Custodian stood up from her desk and looked at the clock on the wall.
“Second take? What are you on about. Get out and tell the press corps to do their fucking job, I’ve got work to do!”
The cameraman packed up his equipment and withdrew. As he exited, a very large Reptilian entered the office. This alien was much, much bigger than the Galactic Custodian. He had a long scaly snout and a set of leathery wings that made a rustling sound as he walked.
“Madam Custodian.” The reptilian said. “Do you have a moment?”
“WHAT!?” the new Custodian roared, her voice full of anger. The Advisor quailed, but delivered his report.
“The Hiigaran Empire has followed through with their threat, ma’am. The government in Assam Kiith’sid has downgraded Hiigara’s membership in the Galactic Council and withdrawn all Hiigaran military units from the Galactic Defense Force.”
“This is a nightmare.” The Galactic Custodian said, shaking her head.
“We’ve lost fifteen Motherships, nearly two-hundred Super-Capital ships as well as some four thousand smaller vessels. The number of officer, crew, and soldiers we’ve lost is still being counted. Going forward, Hiigara is no longer participating in the war. They’ve dedicated themselves to fortifying their Inner Rim borders.” The Advisor concluded.
“Preparing for war against Aoraki, I’m sure.” The new Custodian grumbled. “Any other bad news?”
“No, ma’am,” The Advisor said. “But you should know, the Emerald Institute has just allowed us to make contact with the paramilitary group you requested.”
“Which one?” Asked the Custodian as she brushed her long grey hair out of her eyes.
“The individuals who showed up in the Senate chamber.” Replied the reptilian. “The ones who have enough money to hire the services of the Emerald Institute. Claim to be Stormbreakers and told me they ‘have friends in the Galactic Defense Force.’”
The Galactic Custodian’s head snapped upward and her eyes widened.
“Excellent!” she said. “Send them straight to the SCC. I’ll meet them there.”
…
Deep inside the bowels of the Taiidani Imperial Palace and very far underground was the wreckage of a starship. The vessel itself was nearly ten-thousand years old, but nobody could remember exactly when the ship’s interior was restored. It was possible to move directly from the Palace above to the ship below, where a modern military command center was hidden in what had once been the starship’s bridge.
The vessel itself was called Sajuuk’s Wrath. Ten thousand years ago, it was the flagship of the Hiigaran Empire. When the Taiidani conquered Hiigara, they built their Imperial Palace over the site of their own victory. At some point, the Taiidan Emperor converted Sajuuk’s Wrath into the headquarters of the Taiidan military. And now, this place had become the Strategic Coordination Center, the very core of the Galactic Defense Force.
Military officers worked intensely to make sense of battle data coming in from across the Galaxy. Each time a Human warship was sighted or engaged, the data was processed here, allowing the GDF to formulate a plan of action and then execute it.
All six Stormbreakers were escorted into the Strategic Coordination Center, they followed closely behind their guides. The first guide was Eerabik, the avian who had spoken to them on the day Kessick was unseated. The other guide was a gruff-looking member of the Taiidani species, bald Humanoids with thick grey skin. This was the Director of the Emerald Institute, a powerful organization that was friendly to both the Stormbreakers and the Galactic Defense Force.
“Now, this is the control center of the war room.” Eerabik was saying. “This is where the Custodian manages the Galactic Order of Battle.”
Varian was talking to the Taiidani man.
“We appreciate everything the Emerald Institute has done for us.” Varian said. “I honestly don’t know how we would keep the Niagara flying without your technicians.”
“And I think none of us are willing to answer that.” Replied the Institute Director. “
The Institute Director showed the Stormbreakers to a large holographic projector in the center of the war room.
“Please bring up the report from Shipyard Naabal.” The Director said.
Shimmering in blueish-white light, a three-dimensional hologram of the spaceplane Niagara appeared above the Stormbreakers and their allies.
“Emerald Institute technicians have started installing the upgrades you requested for your ship.” The Director said. “Mister Ririnui, we analyzed the weapon schematics you took from the UN Blacksite, and there is a danger.”
“It’s a railgun, of course there’s going to be risk.” Maui said. “What’s got you so worried?”
“Well.” The Director replied. “The Niagara is a small vessel. Too small to be called a genuine frigate but too large to be classed as a corvette. Spinal-mounted railguns are generally meant for, well… frigates that are actually frigate-sized. Our technicians do have the ability to install a railgun on your ship… but there won’t be enough space to store ammunition. Not without radically rebuilding the hull. At best, you’ll only be able to carry ten slugs. That’s not a lot of firepower.”
Kingi gave Maui a reassuring look and then spoke to the Director:
“True, but we are not planning to go toe-to-toe with a battleship. We just need an anti-capital ship weapon to facilitate our own escape, if we ever run afoul of one. Score a few devastating blows and then flee before the enemy gets their wind back.”
The Emerald Institute Director nodded.
“Very well, we’ll carry on with the weapon installation.”
…
While all of this was going on, Ninu grabbed Eerabik and pulled her aside for a private conversation.
“How is it possible for either one of us to be Gifted?” he demanded. “I thought Jericho destroyed the Gift fifty years ago!”
“You and I are not Gifted.” Eerabik clarified. “We cannot manipulate minds or make Soulfire, but you and I are genetically predisposed to sense the presence of Psionics. And the way you looked at me in the Senate chamber… I do think that if the Gift still existed, you would have burned me with Soulfire in that moment. No doubts at all. I saw something in you, little Kelt.”
Ninu folded his arms in thought. He was frustrated
“No… you must be mistaken.” He said. “I’m just a translator, I can’t fight, I can’t even fly the Niagara. I’m small and quiet… nothing special…”
Ninu trailed off, his doubts getting the best of him. Eerabik turned to look at the other five Stormbreakers, who were deep in conversation with the leading members of the Galactic Defense Force.
“Nothing special?” Eerabik repeated. “You stand on the shoulders of giants, Ninu Dokunle. I sense great potential in you.”
She rustled her feathers and gave Ninu a gentle pat on the head.
“More potential than those five.” She concluded. “Because you have taken a step into a much larger world, and when the time comes, I think you’ll bring about something for all of us to sing about.”
…
Ten minutes after the Stormbreakers arrived in the Strategic Coordination Center, a very overworked-looking reptilian barged into the room and demanded everyone’s attention. Varian’s jaw dropped at the sight.
“Is that a dragon!?” Varian gasped, pointing at the newcomer. “Someone please tell me that’s a talking dragon!”
The dragon-like alien cleared his throat.
“Human Stormbreaker, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m told you are Varian Robinson, the leader of the group, yes?”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Varian replied. “Who are you?”
“I apologize.” Replied the dragon-ish creature. “My name is long and nearly unpronounceable in your mammalian language. Suffice to say that I am the Advisor to the Galactic Custodian, and I am here to announce her arrival.”
Then the Advisor puffed out his chest and raised his voice for everyone in the room to hear:
“Presenting by the Grace of the Sacred Mountain, the legitimate elected successor to Whetu Kealoha, most watchful guardian of the Unnamed Mountain, Governor of the Commonwealth Academy of Science, Overlord of Hakihea, heir to the legacy of Toa Wahine Mami Tamihana, patron of the Reformed Church of the Mountain, President-for-Life of the Triple Alliance, and Galactic Custodian: Marka Ranginui, Queen over the Commonwealth of Partogans and Levakians.”
To a round of applause, the new Galactic Custodian entered the war room. This was Marka Ranginui. Like Maui, she was a member of the Partogan race, a diaspora of Humans who were descended from the Maori people of New Zealand. However, Marka was not any ordinary Partogan: She was their Queen. Her official badge of office was a beautiful green gemstone, the Whetu Kārerarera, the centerpiece of a broach that held together a cloak made from colorful bird feathers.
Marka herself was a young woman in her early thirties. Like the vast majority of Partogans, she had dark skin, purple eyes, and grey hair. Early in her reign, Marka had decided to emulate the famed warrior Queen Mami Tamihana, and was modeling her own appearance after that of Toa Mami. She was very muscular and had the build of a rough-and-tumble fighter, and she also had a traditional te moko tattoo on the lower half of her face, staining her lips a deep black.
As Marka entered, Maui lowered his head in a respectful bow. The Partogan Queen recognized one of her own subjects and stopped to greet Maui before introducing herself to the rest of the Stormbreakers.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you,” Marka said. “My military advisors told me the Stormbreakers were back in action. It bodes well for the future. And Robinson, you are from the same family as Blake himself, correct? Do you have any contact with him?”
“I’m afraid not.” Varian replied. “I’m trying to keep my family away so the UN doesn’t target them. We’ve all had to keep our families at a distance.”
As Ninu rejoined the group, Varian said:
“Congratulations on becoming Galactic Custodian, your Majesty, but I still don’t know why you called us here.”
Marka clapped her hands and summoned the Advisor to her.
“Tell the General we’re ready to see him now.”
The Advisor stepped out of the war room and came back a few seconds later, followed by a military officer. This individual was a member of the lion-like Levakian species. Corder flattened her ears and swished her tail. She was half-Human, meaning her own Levakian traits paled in comparison to the massive lion before her. The Levakian officer was very tall and thin, with a highly domed head and vicious-looking eyes that were sunken in. He seemed to move in a snakelike fashion, swaying his head from side to side as he surveyed the war room. The Levakian officer was the most brightly colored person In the room, as his fur came in vivid patterns of orange, white, and black. The officer rendered a salute and introduced himself.
“General Macavity, Galactic Defense Force.”
“We’ve met before.” Maui said. “Back when this whole mess was first starting out.”
“Yes, I remember that too.” Eerabik cut in. “The General would not stop praising the ‘unique design’ of your starship.”
“Interestingly enough, that’s the reason I’ve called you here today.” Queen Marka said. “General Macavity told me about your ship’s ability to disguise itself.”
“Holograms.” Maui explained. “The Niagara has a set of external holographic emitters that can fool light-based sensors. We can slip past some of the UN Navy, provided their sensors are old or their crews are a little lax.”
“Do you need us to infiltrate something?” Corder asked.
“We do.” Marka replied. She gestured to Macavity, who spoke:
“We’ve been reviewing the intel you gathered while you were on Earth and found something alarming that requires immediate investigation.” Macavity said. “Specifically, it was your claim that ISO Director Scarlett Freeman was reported dead.”
“We heard it from her daughter.” Varian said. “And Nezzie heard it from Freeman’s husband. I think that’s pretty definitive, sir.”
Macavity, the Advisor, and Eerabik all looked at one another. Finally, Eerabik broke the bad news:
“Well, you see. We have our own intelligence that says Scarlett Freeman is alive.”
“And she’s on the move.” Macavity added.
All six of the Stormbreakers dropped their jaws. Ninu swore.
“You’ve got to be joking!” Kingi growled. “Freeman is still alive? How do you know!?”
General Macavity flattened his ears and used the hologram generator in the middle of the war room to illustrate his story:
“Micore spy drones on Altair intercepted a Hyperwave call. Scarlett Freeman contacted the leadership of the Cult of Jericho, demanding a face-to-face meeting with the Sorceress Erin Hyatt. It was a matter of some great urgency. But this is the most important detail, Director Freeman was so anxious to arrange this meeting, she implied that the friendship between the Cult of Jericho and the United Nations was in jeopardy. The meeting between Freeman and Hyatt has now been scheduled for the end of this month.”
“Do you know where this meeting will happen?” Maui asked. His eyes were darting back and forth as he attempted to log all of this data into his smart glasses.
“That’s the part that alarmed us, and caused us to reach out to you.” Queen Marka explained. “You see, this meeting between Hyatt and Freeman is supposed to happen in a place called Arcadia Bay. The location raised several alarm bells for us.”
Corder, Ninu, Maui, Cetla, and Kingi all looked at Varian, who was the only member of the team to know the name Arcadia Bay. Varian had gasped at its mention.
“I’ve heard of that town!” Varian said. “Birthplace of Maxine Caulfield, one of the very first Gifted Humans. The whole city was destroyed in some freak supernatural event almost a hundred years ago!”
The Advisor pulled up a holographic map of Arcadia Bay. The wrecked town lay on the picturesque Oregon coastline.
“So you won’t be surprised to hear that the UN has a massive military presence in the city right now?” The Advisor asked.
As the Stormbreakers watched, the Advisor pointed out several locations around the region on the hologram, showing that the Human military had built several outposts around Arcadia Bay.
“I understand you suspected Hyatt of being the Paradox.” Macavity said.
“No, we ruled her out.” Corder clarified. “But the Cult and the Progeny are still doing a lot to help the UN against us. Why don’t we just bomb the whole site from orbit? Kill Hyatt and make sure Freeman stays dead this time?”
“I wanted to.” Grumbled Macavity.
The Advisor gave him a very stern look.
“General, with all due respect, we can’t get much intel from a pile of charred corpses!” The Advisor protested, flapping his wings in frustration. “We must observe that meeting, not stop it! Anything those two Humans say could be used against the UN military.”
“The Advisor is right.” Queen Marka said. “But there is one other reason we wanted to send the Stormbreakers on this particular mission.”
Queen Marka pointed at Ninu.
“Eerabik told me about you, interpreter.” Marka said. “She is confident that you are like her, sensitive to Psionic energy.”
The other five Stormbreakers all looked down at Ninu.
“Wait, really? Corder said. “Ninu, that’s amazing!
Ninu turned pale and looked at the floor.
“Nothing special, really.” He muttered.
“On the contrary.” Eerabik said. “You should let the Custodian finish.”
Marka nodded and then pointed to the holographic representation of Arcadia Bay again.
“The location is significant for another reason.” She continued. “Yes, Freeman and Hyatt are going to meet here, but more important are these scans, taken by a cloaked Hiigaran vessel during a recon mission.”
The hologram lit up in shades of purple and blue, illuminating the town in strange relief. Maui saw this and gasped.
“No way.” He said.
“What?” The other Stormbreakers asked. “What do you see?”
Maui pulled off his smart glasses and took a closer look at the hologram.
“That’s… that’s…” his voice was full of disbelief. “Psionic energy. The town’s full of it!”
Queen Marka nodded.
“Arcadia Bay is flooding with Psionic energy, and the source is nearby.”
Controlling the hologram with a tablet computer, General Macavity zoomed the image out to reveal a map of the Oregon region. The Stormbreakers were greeted with a very strange sensor reading. Psionic energy seemed to be spilling out of a very specific point in the Klamath Mountain Range, and spreading out across the rest of Oregon like a cloud.
“Holy mother of Jericho!” Varian breathed. “What the hell is happening in Oregon!?”
“We would like to know” Queen Marka replied.
“And we also want to know if this can be used to help the war effort in any way.” Macavity added.
“That’s where Ninu comes in.” Eerabik said.
As Eerabik continued, everybody looked at Ninu, who was now quaking in terror.
“When you look at any map of the Oregon region, you’ll see it is very mountainous and covered in forest. There will be very few places to land a starship. Ninu Dokunle, you must use your sensitivity to follow the Psionic energy to its source, and then report the identity of the source to us.”
Ninu gulped.
“Well, I uh,” he sounded very unsure of himself. “I mean, I guess I can do that. It’ll be like taking a long hike through nature, right?”
“That’s one way to put it.” The Advisor said with a chuckle. “The Progeny and UN will be too busy to fight you anyway, as there are local rebel forces to the north and south of this area to keep them occupied.”
Varian gave Ninu a pat on the head.
“There you go, buddy. Easy mission. Walk around the mountains for a few days and hunt for, oh, I dunno… Psionic ghosts or something.”
Corder addressed the Galactic Custodian and her cabinet.
“As soon as we get our ship back from the Emerald Institute, we’ll be on our way back to Earth. Count on it.”
…
May 29, 2086
Newport, Oregon
Erin Hyatt, a self-proclaimed Sorceress and leader of the Cult of Jericho, picked her way across the remains of a battlefield. She was on the beach of the Oregon Coastline, about two day’s journey from Arcadia Bay. Earlier today, this beach had been the scene of a furious skirmish between the Progeny and the Americans. After almost four hours of fighting, the Cultist forces had won, driving the Americans away or crushing them here in the bloody sand.
Erin was an older woman, but she had aged gracefully. She was a veteran of the Second Hyperspace War, having seen combat at the Battle of Neptune. During the legendary conflict, a nuclear explosion left Erin blind. Sometime later, Erin was visited in her hospital bed by Jericho, the Girl Who Became a God.
Jericho restored Erin’s vision, and the rest was history. Erin built the Cult of Jericho and its Progeny, and now she was leading Jericho’s faithful in a war that would decide the future of Humankind once and for all.
As she stepped over a fallen Progeny fighter, Erin thought over the past two years of conflict.
The war was not going well. Despite being the largest religious movement in the United Nations, the Progeny was much smaller than the cult itself, and each battle, like this one, depleted strength that was not easily restored. Before the outbreak of violence, the Progeny would expand its membership by kidnapping alien children and indoctrinating them. Thralls made up the bulk of Progeny forces, and now they were making up the majority of dead fighters on this beach.
A group of Acolytes and Sorceresses came to join Erin on the beach. These Human members of the Progeny served the same function as officers in a professional military. Erin listened as they delivered a report on how the day’s battle had gone. Her eyes fell when the Acolytes explained that the Americans had started to withdraw as soon as they started to take casualties. The Sorceresses gave Erin a list of fatalities, showing that over half of the Progeny Thralls on the field had been killed today. Erin compared this list against other lists from other battlefields.
She felt a sense of rising anger. Before the war, the Progeny could have replaced these dead Thralls by abducting children from nearby alien worlds like Hakihea, Amadiio, or Sabak. But now Scarlett Freeman was demanding that all of these children be turned over to the ISO, leaving none for the Progeny to use. If the war kept going like this, it would be impossible for the Progeny to sustain itself.
Erin crumpled up the casualty list in her hand and said:
“If we have a few more victories like this, we’ll be undone.”
One of the Sorceresses tried to reassure Erin.
“There won’t be so many battles in our future, your Holiness.” She said. “We are on the cusp of a greater spiritual victory.”
“Quite right.” Erin said. “We must persevere. We must press on. Jericho wills it!”
Bloodied and shaken by the day’s action, the surviving Progeny militants gathered around their leader and continued to march south. Nothing would stop them from reaching Arcadia Bay.
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Ah so now the Partogans lead the way... I would have thought the galaxy would not choose all but a species descended from the same original genetic stock as the humans... And now Partoga is probably the first power of the galaxy, with it's own fleet plus the Triple Alliance's and the Galactic Defense Force. Clearly a force to be reckoned with!
Eerabik keeps on her long game (in proper sith fashion), which involves the wholy unaware Ninu. I'm eager to discover her final goal (oh who am I kidding... Unlimited poweeeer!! of course!).
And a meeting of two of the most repulsive human criminals: the Spymaster and the Cult Leader (who seems quite out of her depth, certainly not the false Jericho!) . I certainly sympathhize with the general's solution of carpet bombing that nest of vipers!
Eerabik keeps on her long game (in proper sith fashion), which involves the wholy unaware Ninu. I'm eager to discover her final goal (oh who am I kidding... Unlimited poweeeer!! of course!).
And a meeting of two of the most repulsive human criminals: the Spymaster and the Cult Leader (who seems quite out of her depth, certainly not the false Jericho!) . I certainly sympathhize with the general's solution of carpet bombing that nest of vipers
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Cool trivia, the only alternative candidate to Queen Marka was the Central AI Core of the Micore Empire, a Rogue Servitor.
"Kessick should have declared the Imperium while he had the chance." said my Dad, a new Stellaris player who just figured out how to become the Senate a few weeks ago.
Damn, I have to let Eerabik be in the Act 3 finale now, don't I? XD
I've got a fun story arc planned out for the Stormbreakers in Act Two. They're going to spend a lot of time in the Arcadia Bay area and the Hyatt-Freeman meeting is just the tip of the iceberg. Once I get back from Drill, we'll get down to business.And a meeting of two of the most repulsive human criminals: the Spymaster and the Cult Leader (who seems quite out of her depth, certainly not the false Jericho!) . I certainly sympathhize with the general's solution of carpet bombing that nest of vipers
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No new chapter tomorrow, folks. The National Guard's got me for a couple more days. Check back with me on the 16th for the next part of the story!
While you wait for the next chapter, why not show some love and support for the other AAR Writers on the forums?
Here are some great writers on the Stellaris forums for you to check out, who knows, maybe they'll earn your vote.
Oh, and if you're still here, check out this cool digital painting of Jericho (the real one) created by Reddit user u/fornaciart (ArtStation)
While you wait for the next chapter, why not show some love and support for the other AAR Writers on the forums?
Q1 2022 ACAs
Somehow, we got to April already! :o It is time: Vote for the best AARs of Q1 2022, now folks! The ACAs are as before hosted under the supervision of me, your friendly AAR fan Nikolai. This time around you can vote for any AAR that had an...forum.paradoxplaza.com
Here are some great writers on the Stellaris forums for you to check out, who knows, maybe they'll earn your vote.
- Songs of the Saiiban- A Poetic AAR by @Chilango2
- Chronicles of the Polish Empire Reaching the Stars - A CK3/EU4/Victoria2 to Stellaris Megacampaign AAR by @Nikolai
- The Sea Beyond The Sky - An Aquatic AAR by @RossN
- Consuming Knowledge - A Newbie's Stellaris AAR by @Aquasparky
Oh, and if you're still here, check out this cool digital painting of Jericho (the real one) created by Reddit user u/fornaciart (ArtStation)
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Scarlett Freeman is the Cult of Jericho's biggest enemy. Thank you for the update.
Hey now! Stop reading ahead!
I'm back readers! Expect a new Chapter this weekend, and to make up for the unexpected extended absence, Chapter 18 will be slightly longer than usual, as I've added an extra scene involving guest character Eerabik, who seems to have found a couple extra fans in this thread.
I was actually planning for Eerabik's next appearance to be over a month from now, in Chapter 25: The Battle of Polaris. But moving her scene into Chapter 18 turned out to be easy.
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Apologies for disrupting the thread.
Was thinking about the taste of the words while reading (and re-reading, as it is almost an obsession, and a self-curse, being a slow reader), as still being in the aura of the entire story. There is an excess of usage for exclamation marks, but that is irrelevant, and besides, they show the enthusiasm in the writing.
Anyways, while jumping from one point of space to another moment of the series, err... no, this AAR-universe, inadvertently the old bulbs in the desolate space of the mind turned on, brought back a memory. It may also be interesting for you, too.
Naturally, apologies in advance if it is already known.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, 銀河英雄伝説, novel series, p. 1982-1987, by Tanaka Yoshiki田中 芳樹. The main body of the work was adapted as the anime series with the same name (1988-1997), whereas it has a couple more of stand-alone films. New adaptations were done also around 2000s, but not on par with the original series in quality, despite polished animations. Its political concept is absurdly childish, and outright unacceptable, yet the space-opera quality is immense, the quantity of characterisations is remarkable, the main-architecture of the story-flow is fluid, considering the age it was created.
Not certain why this did not occur to own mind before, as it is needless to say, yet LotGH comes around the forum-discussions from time-to-time, due to the obviously similar concept-background, a space-opera, and as the game apparently already has a couple of easter-egg-references to the series. Battle of Marr-Adetta. Battle of Amlitzer, or actually, Battle of Amritsar.
The anime-series was very effective in creating the cult-interest around itself albeit its deficiencies in its fiction by the points mentioned above. But there is also one other aspect that supported it to reach the legendary status, and that was, the music.
One of the episodes was extraordinarily powerful in terms of production quality, originally aired in 1989. From the given examples above; The Battle of Amlitzer Starzone (Amritsar, japanese language does not have the letter -l). The space-battle sequence was depicted with Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178, IV, Allegro con fuoco, composer Antonín Dvořák; in Ep. 15 of the OVA series.
And it is now 2022. Of course there are Stellaris-LotGH mods. And videos.
That is the name of the taste that emerges while reading your work. Ever-powerful.
Kudos, for writing infinite stories to awaken infinite more dreams, new and old, in the minds of your readAARs.
Edit: Replaced the video with its original that was published first by another creator than the previous one provided in the post. Corrected typographical mistakes. Corrected paragraph spacing.
Was thinking about the taste of the words while reading (and re-reading, as it is almost an obsession, and a self-curse, being a slow reader), as still being in the aura of the entire story. There is an excess of usage for exclamation marks, but that is irrelevant, and besides, they show the enthusiasm in the writing.
Anyways, while jumping from one point of space to another moment of the series, err... no, this AAR-universe, inadvertently the old bulbs in the desolate space of the mind turned on, brought back a memory. It may also be interesting for you, too.
Naturally, apologies in advance if it is already known.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes, 銀河英雄伝説, novel series, p. 1982-1987, by Tanaka Yoshiki田中 芳樹. The main body of the work was adapted as the anime series with the same name (1988-1997), whereas it has a couple more of stand-alone films. New adaptations were done also around 2000s, but not on par with the original series in quality, despite polished animations. Its political concept is absurdly childish, and outright unacceptable, yet the space-opera quality is immense, the quantity of characterisations is remarkable, the main-architecture of the story-flow is fluid, considering the age it was created.
Not certain why this did not occur to own mind before, as it is needless to say, yet LotGH comes around the forum-discussions from time-to-time, due to the obviously similar concept-background, a space-opera, and as the game apparently already has a couple of easter-egg-references to the series. Battle of Marr-Adetta. Battle of Amlitzer, or actually, Battle of Amritsar.
The anime-series was very effective in creating the cult-interest around itself albeit its deficiencies in its fiction by the points mentioned above. But there is also one other aspect that supported it to reach the legendary status, and that was, the music.
One of the episodes was extraordinarily powerful in terms of production quality, originally aired in 1989. From the given examples above; The Battle of Amlitzer Starzone (Amritsar, japanese language does not have the letter -l). The space-battle sequence was depicted with Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178, IV, Allegro con fuoco, composer Antonín Dvořák; in Ep. 15 of the OVA series.
And it is now 2022. Of course there are Stellaris-LotGH mods. And videos.
That is the name of the taste that emerges while reading your work. Ever-powerful.
Kudos, for writing infinite stories to awaken infinite more dreams, new and old, in the minds of your readAARs.
Edit: Replaced the video with its original that was published first by another creator than the previous one provided in the post. Corrected typographical mistakes. Corrected paragraph spacing.
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*Someone recommends an Anime to me: And just like that, my morning is gone and I've made it to lunch without any food.
I've never heard of this series before, so obviously I had to dive into additional Youtube videos and open up my Crunchyroll account for the first time in years to watch a few episodes.
WOW. That's all I've got. I can't believe I missed the original show, but it looks like the modern-day remake is still running. A new episode was just released last week.
I knew the space battles in the Stormbreaker Universe were very small-scale in comparison to other sci-fi franchises out there, but HOLY JERICHO! Hundreds of thousands of ships in a single engagement, and they did this multiple times!? I drove myself insane trying to do that just once!
Seriously, dear readers: The War in Heaven and The Battle of Neptune are the only massive, epic-scale space battles in the Stormbreaker Universe. (Heck, they happened within days of each other in the same star system, so you could argue they are just two halves of the same battle) The Battles of Aoraki, Aiowa, Barnard's Star, Chapel Perilous, and Partoga are all on the same scale as the fight over Endor in Return of the Jedi.
Ah, I can tell you're deep in the original trilogy then. After Everything, Faith in Chaos, and The Stormbreakers were all written long before an extremely helpful comment from @Pyoro, who gave me advice on the proper usage of exclamation marks. I guarantee The Legend of Whetu Kealoha, Crossroads of Past and Future, My Father's War, All Our Sins Remembered, and The Last Heroes will be much easier to read because I've significantly eased off on the unnecessary punctuation since then.
I am planning to go back an edit the original trilogy to eliminate the bad punctuation, but I did the math and realized this would require purging nearly seven thousand exclamation points from all three stories. So I'm going to wait until after I finish The Last Heroes, then I'll embark on that epic mission.
Thanks! I always find it interesting when people find a way to link my stories to works of fiction I'm not familiar with. In general, my biggest influence when writing these tales is the Star Wars franchise, along with an old TV show called Star Trek: Enterprise. Although recently I've started taking a lot of inspiration from The Expanse, yet another sci-fi TV show.
Back in the days of Faith in Chaos, someone said my stories had an "Ender's Game" vibe, and I ended up reading through that book and enjoying it. Now I have to add Legend of the Galactic Heroes to my watchlist.
That video... I weep for the player's computer. They claimed to have nearly 4000 ships in that battle across both sides. FOUR THOUSAND! My mind is blown.
For reference, go back to The Stormbreakers and check out my screenshots of The War in Heaven. (Chapters 45, 46 and 47) Across both sides there are 1,628 ships on-screen, this includes the 400 Unbidden ships I force-spawned to represent the Great Resurrection. (console cheats)
My computer struggled to play through that battle crashed more times than I care to count. I did try to record a video of the War in Heaven, but my rig crashed harder than a fighter jet without a pilot. In the end, I resorted to just mashing the screenshot button while the battle chugged along at only two or three frames per second. I captured roughly 220 screenshots of the War in Heaven, and in the end only 8 of them were actually used in the AAR.
Eight. Out of two-twenty.
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When did Aoraki become independent from Partoga-Levakia? Or are the Hiigarans planning to attack the Commonwealth while Paradox is still at large?
Seems like Erin is but a dupe for Paradox.
The Gift is definitively not destroyed... Paradox's dreams live on.
Wait, what's wrong with repairing the Time Core? Paradox already rules Earth, and the Core was in Earth's possession after the Second Hyperspace War.
Actually, why didn't Paradox just prevent the Shroud shenanigans back in the 115th Cycle and encourage humanity to take over the galaxy. What's wrong with using the Partogans or genetically-engineered (for sapience) animals as the people to be raided? For her goals, the 115th Cycle was better than this one...
Seems like Erin is but a dupe for Paradox.
The Gift is definitively not destroyed... Paradox's dreams live on.
Wait, what's wrong with repairing the Time Core? Paradox already rules Earth, and the Core was in Earth's possession after the Second Hyperspace War.
Actually, why didn't Paradox just prevent the Shroud shenanigans back in the 115th Cycle and encourage humanity to take over the galaxy. What's wrong with using the Partogans or genetically-engineered (for sapience) animals as the people to be raided? For her goals, the 115th Cycle was better than this one...
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It hasn't. Aoraki is still the capital system of the Commonwealth. Just like in real life, when discussing Galactic politics, the characters will sometimes refer to a star-nation by the name of its Homeworld or Capital Planet. Aoraki is much easier to say than the full name of the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth.
Interesting you ask that... because YES. Yes they are.
It will be easier for Hiigara to recover the Three Hyperspace Cores while the Commonwealth military is busy fighting Earth... but the Hiigarans may not be the only ones planning such a heist.
(See Chapter 22: The Woes of Queen Marka when it comes out next month for more about this.)Three weeks from now you'll get a good idea of just how badly she's been duped.
The Time Core was (almost certainly) vaporized when the Trinity exploded during the War in Heaven at the end of The Stormbreakers.
Based on what we know from the end of that story, it makes sense to assume the Time Core was annihilated, as this is the most likely outcome. However, we do know that both Jericho and Akira survived the destruction of the Trinity, so you are right in accepting the possibility the Time Core might have survived as well.
And if the Time Core really is gone... Akira could definitely make another one. There are three more Hyperspace Cores loose in the Galaxy during this story... and they're all on Aoraki.
Simple answer is: she wasn't around to explore this option.
During Interlude #3 of Faith in Chaos Akira complained at length about her failed attempt to stop the Levakian Conclave from warning the future about herself. Even though it was never explicitly stated, you can use Akira's dialogue in Chapter 10 of The Stormbreakers to figure out what happened:
During Cycle 115, the Levakian Conclave successfully managed to send a warning 100 years into the future, leading to Blake Robinson and the Stormbreakers being fully aware of the Paradox before she arrived in that portion of the timeline. Blake and the rest of the team became hostile and attacked her on sight. If she stayed and attempted to interfere with War in Heaven #115 and its aftermath, Akira knew there was a very strong chance she would be hunted down by the Stormbreakers. So she skipped over the War in Heaven and bypassed the American War era completely, pausing only to murder the Robinson family out of spite before leaving the Cycle. (The Stormbreakers, Chapter 9)
Now that the Gift is coming back into this story after a long absence, I am planning an explanatory conversation for a future chapter about this.
Partogan kids are being kidnapped for the Prometheus Project, but in much smaller numbers. A grand total of two Partogan victims have been seen in this story so far. Avians and Reptilians, such as the Vanians and Kelt, are being prioritized for capture by the UN for two reasons:
- Vanian and Kelt youngsters are extremely vulnerable to abduction (eggs are kept in nests or incubators, young regularly left alone by parents.)
- Both of the above species demonstrated a lot of Psionic aptitude before Jericho attempted to destroy the Gift.
- The entire Vanian species was Gifted, and Gifted Kelt used to be commonplace. Both races lost the Gift after the War in Heaven.
- If the Partogans did not suppress them during the run-up to the Levakian Uprising, the UN would have targeted Levakians as well. (Many members of their species were Psionic)
As for genetically-engineered animals, nearly all gene-tailoring facilities in the UNE are geared towards Human use. (Pascal Etienne re-opened the ADVENT Gene Therapy clinics)
Uplifting (in the way Stellaris players know it) is not currently practiced in the Stormbreaker Universe... HOWEVER: that technology and corresponding knowledge does exist. (or rather, it did) Uplifting tech was pioneered by the Progenitors when they ruled the Galaxy one million years ago, it was how they seeded intelligent life across the Galaxy in the first place.
Tragically, the knowledge and technology required to Uplift a pre-sapient species was lost when the Progenitors abruptly vanished 10,000 years ago.
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Aaaannnd we're back!
To make up for my extended absence, tomorrow's chapter will be a little longer than usual. Now, before you dust off your @Nikolai-style complaints about how long my chapters can be, let me sweeten the deal:
Tomorrow's chapter will include my first Space Battle since the final chapter of The Legend of Whetu Kealoha, which was published almost a year and a half ago. (Yes, it's really been that long!) In case you can't tell, I am really jazzed about including some space combat in my stories again. There will be more ship-to-ship battles in upcoming chapters, and I hope you all enjoy these action scenes as much as I do.
See you tomorrow at 12noon Eastern Daylight Time!
To make up for my extended absence, tomorrow's chapter will be a little longer than usual. Now, before you dust off your @Nikolai-style complaints about how long my chapters can be, let me sweeten the deal:
Tomorrow's chapter will include my first Space Battle since the final chapter of The Legend of Whetu Kealoha, which was published almost a year and a half ago. (Yes, it's really been that long!) In case you can't tell, I am really jazzed about including some space combat in my stories again.
There will be more ship-to-ship battles in upcoming chapters, and I hope you all enjoy these action scenes as much as I do.See you tomorrow at 12noon Eastern Daylight Time!
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Chapter 18: Shadow Broker
Today's chapter includes guest appearances by @Chilango2's custom empire: the Saiiban Confederation. And we'll get to see @Arithmetician's character Eerabik as well.
Chapter 18
Shadow Broker
May 30, 2086
Rotorua City, Hokianga
Located in the very center of the constellation Sagittarius, about fifty-thousand Lightyears from the Galactic Core, there is a beautiful region of space called the Shining Hinterlands. The Shining Hinterlands is an Emission Nebula, a swirling cloud of hot gas energized by ultraviolet radiation, causing the nebula to glow with neon light. This particular type of nebula was amongst the most visually stunning in the Galaxy.
Deep within the Shining Hinterlands, the spaceplane Ark Angel emerged from Hyperspace above a green and blue planet, shrouded in fluffy white clouds. In the cockpit, Himawari, Chris, and Amako pressed their faces against the windows in awe while Randall steered the ship towards the surface.
“Amako!” Himawari signed. “You never told us Hokianga was a Gaia World!”
There are many types planet in the Galaxy, too many to count, even. But Gaia-class planets stand out from the rest. One hundred thousand years ago, the Galaxy was ruled by the Progenitors, a race of extragalactic beings who possessed knowledge and technology beyond all possible comprehension. Gaia Worlds were created by the Progenitors, perhaps as an artistic statement or maybe for reasons that are more practical. Regardless, these planets existed in a state of perfection, able to sustain any and all forms of life. Mammals, lithoids, aquatics, reptilians, it did not matter. Everyone could live here in comfort. Even the Voidborne races like the Vaygr, Kadeshi, and Tiyanki could eke out a comfortable life at the higher altitudes.
As the Ark Angel descended upon the perfect planet of Hokianga, a single city came into view. Rotorua was a sparkling metropolis stretched out for hundreds of miles in each direction. Part of the city was even built underwater to accommodate an extensive population of aquatics and molluscoids.
Amako steered the spaceplane in a way that told Himawari he’d been here before.
“I think Ruunhan will be waiting for us at the dock.” He said. “Just remember to back a travel bag with some clothes, because her people will want to move the ship for us.”
“Her people?” Randall repeated.
Amako raised an eyebrow.
“Remember when I said Ruunhan was in the criminal underworld?” Amako said. “I meant it. She’s a blackmailer. Ruunhan’s got a whole damn information network that she uses to get dirt on people. Then she’ll say ‘you do whatever I tell you or I’ll send this info to people who wanna hurt you.’ And it works every time.”
“And you were her friend!?” Himawari signed. “Really!?”
“I was… different when I was younger.” Amako replied. “Back then I kept the same type of friends who hung out with Ruunhan. And when Ruunhan married one of them, there just wasn’t room for me anymore.”
Chris looked at Amako.
“Wait a minute, dude.” Chris said. “What type of friends does Ruunhan keep?
Amako pointed out the starboard window.
“Her friends are the type of people who fly that thing.”
Chris, Himawari, and Randall all gasped as they spotted a starship the size of a battlecruiser lurking in the planet’s terminator, the golden line between day and night. It was a beautiful vessel shaped a little like a crescent moon; with a curved hull that wrapped around the vessel, leaving a deep crevasse in the front that led to the center of the vessel, where the bridge and command deck was secure in the very core of the warship.
“That’s an Archangel-class dreadnaught!” Chris breathed. “Those ships are legendary!”
The Hiigaran Archangel dreadnaught had a reputation, one that everybody on the Ark Angel knew about. But before the group could question Amako any further, another starship came into view. A second Hiigaran dreadnaught, emerged from Hyperspace above the Ark Angel. Then the ship’s radio sounded:
“Attention Earth ship JSDF ARK ANGEL, registration number HML-015. This is the Kiith Somtaaw warship Kapisi. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
Amako quickly replied.
“Kapisi, this is Ark Angel. We are trying to reach Ruunhan Priya Somtaaw-Sa. We are unarmed and have been in communication with the Somtaaw Kiith-Sa.”
There was a pause. Chris let his jaw drop.
“Damn, Amako.” Chris spoke aloud, forgetting to sign. “You just used her family name! Those are supposed to be secret! How close were you and Ruunhan?”
Himawari waved her hands, demanding the last few moments be translated so she could understand what was being said. However, things were moving along. Amako’s use of Ruunhan’s family name must have worked on the Somtaaw Captain, because the Hiigaran Dreadnaught replied with the following message:
“Ark Angel, you have been issued clearance to land at the Arahu Ranginui Memorial Spaceport. Land on Runway 90 Left. People will be waiting for you on the ground. Do not deviate from your present course.”
Amako let out a sigh of relief.
“See?” he said. “It’s all good. We’re going to be just fine.”
…
The Ark Angel glided to a smooth landing on the runway of a spaceport on the outskirts of the city. On the way down, Himawari pulled up the planetary data on the ship’s computer and brought everyone up to speed on the surface conditions:
“The gravity on Hokianga is .91 gee, so we’ll have a spring in our step.” She reported. “Also, the atmosphere is a nitrogen-oxygen mix like Earth, but the air pressure is lower than what we’re used to, so we’re gonna feel lightheaded for the first few hours or so. Just roll with it.”
Himawari was a veteran space traveler, and had plenty of experience acclimating to alien climates. Once the spaceplane landed, she undid her seatbelt and started bouncing around on the balls of her feet, getting a feel for the local gravity.
“And here comes our escorts.” Amako said, pointing out the window.
A group of spaceport workers approached the Ark Angel, 5 Hiigarans and one Saiiban. With a loud hissing of hydraulics, the boarding ramp lowered into place and the team came aboard. The Saiiban was dressed similarly to its Hiigaran counterparts, or as closely as an Avian's outfit could match a Humanoid. Himawari noticed the emblem of Kiith Somtaaw was sewn onto the outfit of all six people.
“Welcome to Rotorua.” Said one of the Hiigarans. “Lady Ruunhan asked us to take care of your ship while you go to see her. Garan insisted on meeting you personally.”
The Hiigaran gestured to the alien next to him, a Saiiban with flashy green feathers and a bright yellow bill. Amako and the Saiiban named Garan both jumped at the sight of one another. Himawari instantly knew that these two were familiar with each other. Amako opened his arms, smiled and said:
“How are you? Long time, no see!”
Garan shook his head, which made his downy feathers rustle. Then he spoke… except, he didn’t really speak. Like all members of the Saiiban species, Garan communicated by singing. Chris struggled to translate Garan’s tune into Sign Language, which allowed Himawari to keep up with the conversation.
“It has not been long enough since the Wedding Incident.” Garan addressed Amako. “You’ve got some nerve coming back here after what you did.”
Amako and Garan stared at each other for a tense moment. Then Garan burst out laughing and wrapped his wings around Amako, greeting him in a much more jovial way:
“How are you, you old pirate? You finally managed get off the Human world?”
“I escaped.” Amako replied. “I’ve got my wife and two friends with me. We need to talk to Ruunhan about hiding somewhere safe until this all blows over.”
Garan rolled his eyes.
“That makes sense.” The Saiiban replied. “The Somtaaw Kiith-Sa called us on the Hyperwave and Ruunhan went pale. You’d have thought the third Hyperspace War was starting or something. She was trembling when she told us you were coming. Follow me and I’ll take you right to her.”
Himawari and her friends disembarked, leaving the Ark Angel in the care of the Somtaaw dockworkers. In front of them, the city of Rotorua opened up before them in all of its grandeur.
Rotorua was divided into ten distinct districts, and they were visible at a glance, as each portion of the city was designed to accommodate the many different species who lived here. Mammilians, Reptilians, Avians, Arthropoids, Molluscoids, Fungoids, Plantoids, Lithoids, Aquatics, and Jericho-knows-what other kinds of lifeforms all hustled and bustled about their busy lives in the street. Blorg entrepreneurs flashed holographic advertisements on the corner while Vanian and Amadii couriers fluttered from one rooftop to the next. Curious water-dwelling people looked up from the canal as Himawari waved to them.
She had been to many planets in her life, but had never seen so many different types of aliens together in one place. Himawari spent so much time looking around at the fascinating cityscape that her husband Amako had to grab her by the hand and pull her along.
“You said your name was Garan.” Randall asked the Saiiban guide. “I thought that was a Hiigaran name.”
“It is.” Replied Garan. “I was adopted by a Somtaaw family when I was young. My full name is Garan Somtaaw-Re. It is a probationary title for those who seek to join Kiith Somtaaw.”
“Huh.” Randall commented. “I didn’t realize Kiith Somtaaw was accepting non-Hiigaran members.”
“Anyone who is descended from a Beastslayer has an easier time getting into Kiith Somtaaw. Regardless of species.” Garan said. “If she asked, we probably would have made Jericho a Kiith-Sa.”
Garan threw out a wing to stop Himawari from crossing the street.
“No, we are staying on this road.” He said. “Look there. That’s where we are heading.”
Himawari, Chris, Amako, and Randall looked down the street to see a very colorful building wedged in between two trapezoid-shaped buildings. Or rather, it was four buildings, all shaped like gigantic tombstones, lined up in a row. In fact, on closer inspection, the buildings on either side appeared to be connected to the tombstone-shaped structures, one at each end. Himawari gasped and did a little dance on her toes as she realized what it was.
“It’s a Hiigaran Shrine!” Himawari declared. “I excavated one back when I first started studying archeology!”
Chris let out a low whistle.
“Yeah, I remember when you and I built a scale model of one back at Yamamoto University. Those were the days, weren’t they?” he said.
Chris and Himawari put one arm around each other in a quick side hug as they reminisced about their college days. While the group walked to towards the Shrine, Garan provided an explanation for Randall, who was the only person who did not know its significance.
“At Shrines like this one, we gather to devote ourselves to Sajuuk, the Creator-God whose hand shapes what is.” Garan said. “Before the Beast War, Kiith Somtaaw was responsible for maintaining the Shimmering Path, a collection of thirty-three temples that lined a route of holy pilgrimage.”
Himawari tapped Garan on the shoulder to get his attention and then started speaking in Sign Language. Amako quickly translated:
“She says ‘this temple looks a lot like Coor-Lan, the Temple of the Exalted Flame, the fifteenth stop on the Shimmering Path.’ Do you see the resemblance?”
Garan laughed,
“My dear… this is Coor-Lan! Recovered from the ruins of Kharak after the Genocide, transported here, and expertly restored. This is one of only two Shimmering Path temples to be saved from the Burning of Kharak, the other being Clee-San, the Silent Wayfarer.”
Himawari’s eyes went wide, like a child who had just spotted a candy store. Amako knew his wife was about to indulge in her favorite hobby: learning about alien cultures. When she signed a request for a history lesson about the Coor-Lan, Amako translated it (very slowly) into a more general compliment, making sure to keep talking until the group stepped over the threshold and into the temple grounds.
Himawari looked around and instantly knew that very few houses of worship on Earth that could hold a candle to the Temple of Coor-Lan. There were no walls on any side of the building. Instead, hundreds of statues and sculptures were stacked and welded and fused into each other, creating a colorful collage of statuary that supported the roof above. Himawari tried to pull away from Amako to take a closer look at the statues, and she saw dozens upon hundreds of different variations of the likeness of Sajuuk the Creator.
She found herself lost in curiosity and started thinking about her college history lessons: Before Jericho rose to fame fifty years ago, nearly all spacefaring civilizations worshipped the Creator Sajuuk, who was eventually proven to be a member of the long-extinct Progenitors, a race of aliens who ruled the Galaxy almost a million years ago. Himawari remembered that Sajuuk (the person, not the god) was the one who first understood Hyperspace and invented Faster-Than-Light travel.
She wanted to dive even deeper into the history of interstellar spiritualism, but a tugging on her arm forced her back into the present.
Garan swept his wings in a grand gesture, ordering two Somtaaw temple pages to open a door at the far end of the courtyard. With a reverent bow, Garan escorted Himawari and her friends into the Inner Sanctum.
Here, in the very core of the temple, a gentle light filtered into the Sanctum from a hole in the ceiling. The floor, on the other hand, was not visible. The floor of the Sanctum was covered in about two inches of fine sand, while a ring of torches illuminated six beautiful coffins in the center of the room. Each wooden coffin was different, with a series of religious carvings engraved in the top and sides.
“These sacred sarcophagi used to contain six Martyrs of Kharak.” Garan said. “Murdered by the Taiidani in their Genocide against the Hiigaran people. Slowly, over the past century, these martyrs were allowed to return to the sand. Sajuuk has taken these people into the next cycle of creation… and they will, in some form or another, be created again by him.”
In the center of the Sanctum, two women rose from the sand. They had been kneeling in silent prayer for so long that Himawari, Amako, Chris, and Randall had all failed to notice them before. The first woman was a Partogan with incredibly long silver hair that descended beyond her waist, while her companion was a Hiigaran with narrow amber eyes and reddish-brown hair that covered her right eye. The Hiigaran wore a bulky cloak that suggested she was armed.
“Speak your names and declare your loyalties.” The Hiigaran commanded. “You are citizens of a hostile nation, and I must make peace with you before I greet you as the friends of my friend.”
Realizing that she was talking about the trio of Humans, Randall stepped forward and spoke:
“My name is Randall Murphy of the planet Earth. I’m a ffriend of the Stormbreaker Blake Robinson and loyal follower of the true Jericho, who does not command her followers to make war on her allies. This is Christopher Wright, from the planet Terra Nova. He is a historian and has been Blake’s friend longer than I have. And this is Himawari Robinson, daughter of Blake Robinson and Chihiro Tachibana. She and I are.. uh… we are friends. Himawari is deaf, so I help her communicate.”
The Hiigaran raised her eyebrows and put a hand on the Partogan’s shoulder.
“You see, love?” The Hiigaran said. “It’s just like I said. Mostly truthful, but they occasionally omit the truth, especially when it embarrasses them.”
“I… Uh…” Randall stammered.
“You and Himawari are divorced.” The Hiigaran said. “You have custody of the daughter she gave you, but Sophie Murphy has gone rouge and thrown herself into the same camp as our common enemies.”
The Hiigaran raised a hand and pointed towards Amako.
“Your ex-wife is married to a man I used to call my best friend. You neglected to mention that too.” She said.
The Partogan woman clenched her fists.
“We should expel them.” The Partogan said. “Send them away with their ship.”
“That’s enough, love.” She said. “Your people might be at war with Earth, but mine are not anymore. And the Kiith-Sa have already spoken.”
Himawari felt that steam could have risen from the Partogan’s ears. Finally, the two alien women introduced themselves:
“My name is Ruunhan Somtaaw-Sa.” The Hiigaran said. “And the charming young lady next to me is my wife, Hahli Mihaka.”
Randall startled.
“Hahli Mihaka!” He repeated. “I’ve heard of her!”
Hahli raised her eyebrows while Ruunhan rolled her eyes.
“Of course.” Ruunhan grumbled. “You get all the publicity.”
“That’s because I take credit for my work, love.” Hahli said. “Well, I know you’re dying to say it, Human. Go ahead.”
Randall rounded on his friends, his face flush with excitement.
“She’s a pirate! A real, bonafide space pirate! She’s got her own fleet and everything and… wait, why aren’t you surprised?”
Himawari, Chris, and Amako were all looking unmoved by this revelation.
“Hahli’s piracy isn’t exactly a secret.” Amako said.
“She tends to announce herself wherever she goes.” Himawari added. “I think she likes the fame.”
Amako translated this final part aloud, causing Hahli to laugh.
“I like the deaf one.” Hahli said. “You have to teach me to do those hand signals.”
“So, we can stay?” Amako asked.
“Yes, you can stay here in the temple.” Ruunhan nodded. “It should be easy to keep you safe now that the war situation has changed so much.”
…
A few hours later, Amako and Himawari were moved into a residential room in the monestary portion of the temple. Chris occupied the room next door, while Randall found himself living in a room on the far side of the cloister, a long walk away from the others. Amako and Himawari asked why he was so far from the group, and one of the Temple workers informed them that divorce held a different kind of significance in Hiigaran culture.
“It would be incredibly inappropriate for him to be allowed near you, as you have rejected his Kiith pledged and your loyalty to another.” The Hiigarans explained.
While Amako, Himawari, and Randall haggled over living space, Chris Wright went back into the main temple. He had a burning question to ask.
Chris found Hahli and Ruunhan standing outside of the temple entrance. They were sitting beneath a statue of Sajuuk and watching the countless residents of Rotorua going about their business. A traffic jam was forming on the street as local cops struggled to escort a chaotic tangle of Morbuzakh. (a large sentient plant composed of many vines and leaves)
“I don’t mean to bother you.” Chris said, announcing his presence. “But there’s something I need to know.”
Hahli scoffed.
“Don’t ask me.” She said. “My wife is the one who has eyes and ears on every street corner.”
As she spoke, Ruunhan withdrew a tablet computer from her pocket. The Hiigaran used her own pointed ears to hold her hair back as she looked at Chris.
“Just so you know, I normally charge a fee for my services.” Ruunhan said, “And Historians like you don’t have very large bank accounts.”
“What I want to know is apparently common knowledge to everyone except the crew of the Angel.” Chris said. “So I think I can afford it.”
Chris sat down beneath the statue of Sajuuk. The golden image of the Progenitor god looked as though it was going to bring its fist down on them at any moment.
“Ever since this crisis started,” Chris began, “There’s been a media blackout on all Human planets. We haven’t had any news from the rest of the Galaxy for almost two years now, and whatever does trickle through is always bad. My friends and I need to know… what’s going on? What happened at the Galactic Council that’s got everyone on edge?”
Ruunhan took a deep breath, then she told Chris everything:
Earth was at war with almost the entire Galaxy.
Ever since Pascal Etienne became Secretary-General, the Human government had taken on a Human Supremacist policy called Sol Invictus. Humanity slowly became hostile towards all of the species who had once been their allies. Human colonists aggressively pursued unclaimed worlds, expanding their borders and sometimes appropriating planets that belonged to someone else. Progenitor relics and artifacts were stolen and spirited away to Human planets; but things only got worse as time went on.
About ten years ago, a Partogan expedition had stumbled upon the grave of Whetu Kealoha, the very first Partogan Queen. A starship was dispatched to recover her body and transport her to an honorable burial, but it was ambushed by a Human battlecruiser. Whetu’s body was stolen, never to be seen again.
After that, the Progeny became active.
The militant arm of the Cult of Jericho started abducting children from planets all across the Galaxy, taking them back to Earth. Each time the Progeny attacked, the United Nations would refuse to do anything. The Etienne government would neither condemn the Progeny, nor would they take any action to prevent future attacks. Small scale conflicts would continue as the Progeny grew stronger and stronger with each passing year. A diplomatic crisis erupted as the many nations of the Galaxy disagreed on how to handle the Human Crisis.
The Partogans started to rebuild the Triple Alliance, a military bloc from the Second Hyperspace War. However, in the face of a growing Human threat, the alliance rapidly expanded in side to become a massive Coalition that contained most of the Galaxy’s spacefaring peoples.
The Hiigarans and their traditional allies, the Taiidan Republic, did consider Humanity a threat, but they were unwilling to join the new coalition. The Hiigarans were still demanding the return of three Progenitor Hyperspace Cores, ancient and powerful technology that was seized by the Partogans during the Second Hyperspace War. These cores allowed the user to travel to any point in the Galaxy instantaneously, something that no other Hyperdrive was capable of. These cores had belonged to the Hiigarans for thousands of years, but a single moment of battle left all three Cores free for the taking.
The tensions continued to rise until just two years ago… when everything changed. The Human space fleet staged a surprise attack that nearly wiped out the Partogan Navy in one fell swoop. Before anyone could realize what had happened, the Galaxy was plunged into its first major conflict since the Second Hyperspace War. Officially, the Human government gave a statement saying that they were attempting to pre-empt an attack against Earth by the Partogans, but no one believed this lie. Human forces soon undid the story anyway. UN warships and soldiers soon invaded every star nation in reach. Hiigara, Amadiio, the Saiiban Taiidan, Partogans, Levakians, and the Vaygr all found themselves under attack.
The Galactic Community reacted quickly, establishing the Galactic Defense Force, allowing the rest of the Galaxy to mount a united defense against the Human onslaught. So far, a year and a half into the new war, no worlds had actually fallen to the Humans, but the situation was tense. The Hiigarans and Partogans were the most powerful civilizations in the Galaxy, meaning they were the leaders of the Coalition. The two nations disagreed on nearly everything, with the biggest sticking point being Jericho and her friends the Stormbreakers. Hiigara wanted to consider them enemies while Aoraki felt that Jericho, Blake Robinson, and the others could still be counted as allies.
Just a week ago, however, things finally reached a tipping point. In a special session of the Galactic Council, the Galactic Custodian was deposed. Originally, Kessick was chosen for the job because he was neither Hiigaran nor Partogan. He was a neutral party that could mediate between the Superpowers and keep their weapons pointed at Earth instead of each other.
During the negotiations for Kessick’s replacement, the Partogan/Hiigaran alliance completely broke down.
“And now…” Ruunhan finished. “A Partogan has been elected Galactic Custodian, while my people have shown their anger by quitting the war. And I don’t think it’ll stop there.”
Chris folded his arms in thought.
“You think others will quit the Coalition?” He asked.
Ruunhan and Hahli both nodded.
“All of Hiigara’s traditional allies will probably leave the war.” Hahli said. “The Taiidani are definitely out, and the Vaygr might leave as well.”
“The Kadeshi and Tobari will leave as well.” Ruunhan said. “I’m worried the Coalition may collapse.”
“And turn this conflict into a three-way war.” Chris mused. “Sounds horrible.”
“It could be.” Ruunhan admitted. “We can only hope it won’t happen.”
Chris thanked Ruunhan for the update, although it felt more like a history lesson. Then he went back inside the temple to tell Himawari, Amako, and Randall what he had learned.
…
June 1, 2086
The Anvil, Saiiban Confederation
The Anvil Nebula is a chaotic region of space that marked the point where the borders of three interstellar empires met. A signal bouy hovered around one edge of the nebula, transmitting a song of welcome as travelers entered the Saiiban Confederation. About half a light-year away, deep inside the Anvil Nebula, a series of Hyperspace inhibitors and automated missile launchers marked the beginning of the Tobari Star Empire. Finally, a lone starbase orbiting a neutron star marked the outer boundaries of the United Nations of Earth.
Suddenly, this peaceful Nebula was disturbed when two objects suddenly started moving at high speed. A starship fired up its engines and raced away from the scene as fast as it could, while a second vessel started to give chase!
The fleeing vessel was a Human spy ship. The frigate-sized vessel was bristling with dozens of antenna, radar domes, radio dishes, and other electronic warfare equipment. The pursuing vessel, on the other hand, was the Frenzied Claw, a combat frigate of the Galactic Defense Force. Painted onto its side were the flags of four nations who jointly operated the warship: the Saiiban, Amadii, Vanians, and Ozkox.
On the bridge of the Frenzied Claw, the crew was made up entirely of avians. The commanding officer (a member of the flightless Amadii race) cursed loudly as the Human spy ship fired up its engines and attempted to escape.
“Damnit! They saw us!” he yelled. “Helm! Don’t lose the bastards!”
“Everyone brace!” Cried out the helmsman as he throttled the engines to full power.
The Frenzied Claw let out a deep, guttural roar from her engine room and the frigate pelted after its prey like a hawk diving to the ground!
The crew of the Frenzied Claw gripped their talons onto their perches for dear life as the ship chased its query into the depths of the Anvil Nebula. The fleeing Human ship was getting very far away, reaching the limits of the Claw’s sensors.
“Weapons, target-lock the Earth ship and charge the Ion Cannon!” The commander ordered.
But before he could say anything else, he was countermanded by an Ozkox woman with a yellow-ish grey bill who was dressed in a very official looking uniform.
“Belay that order!” Eerabik shrieked. “Do not fire!”
“We have to knock out their drive!” The Amadii Captain responded.
“No!” Eerabrik shouted. “Tell your crew to hold their fire; we have to take that ship intact! Our mission is to get aboard, we can’t scrap them!”
“They’re running, the mission is scrubbed!” The Captain hollered over the noise of his ship’s engines.
Eerabik spread her wings and tail feathers wide, all the better make herself look genuinely terrifying. Even her eyes seemed to glow with a nightmare-inducing kind of fury.
“The Galactic Custodian gave me authority over this ship!” Eerabik shouted. “And this mission is scrubbed WHEN I SAY IT IS!! Now pull us alongside and dispatch the boarding teams!”
The bridge crew all swore loudly as they recommitted themselves to the chase. The Human spy ship was doing everything in its power to escape from the Frenzied Claw. They cut off their engines, allowing the GDF vessel to get close, only to fire up and flee again.
“Son of a Kinloka, they’re trying to burn us up in their engine plume!” The helmsman called out. “Our armor is melting!”
“Pull alongside!” The Captain ordered. “And tell the Marines to brace for a high-gee landing!”
The Human spy ship entered into a sharp turn, banking hard as it went. The Frenzied Claw turned and kept pace with the enemy. Down in the Claw’s hold, six breaching pods shuddered in their launch clamps, waiting for the go-signal. Each one contained four members of the Galactic Defense Forces, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight.
Then, for just a short moment, the Human spy ship seemed to run out of moves. After one fatal moment of hesitation, the breaching pods separated from the Frenzied Claw and crossed the short distance to the enemy vessel. All six latched onto the side of the hull, and the Frenzied Claw throttled down her engines, staying closeby.
A minute later, the pursuit was over. The Human warship cut off its engines and started drifting through the nebula. A short burst of radio transmissions crossed the void and reached the pursuers.
“Attention Frenzied Claw. This is Talons of Cyan, Saiiban Space Marines. The crew of the Human warship Dmitry Medvedev would like to negotiate the terms of their surrender. I believe it has something to do with the fact that they have two minutes of air left.”
The Frenzied Claw drew level with the disabled starship and finally managed to identify the enemy vessel. This ship was not part of the UN Military. Instead, it belonged to Shrike.
A docking clamp extended away from the Frenzied Claw and latched onto one of the Medvedev’s external hatches, and just a few minutes later, clean breathable air was being pumped into the stricken ship while captured Humans were removed from it.
GDF soldiers started clearing the enemy ship, searching for any valuable intel or technology that could be used for the war effort. An unexpected guest joined the troops shortly after they got started.
Once it was certain that the Dmitry Medvedev was cleared of hostile combatants, Eerabik boarded the ship. Unlike the GDF, she was looking for something highly specific.
“Show me their Electronic Warfare terminal.” Eerabik ordered.
The Saiiban Marines guided Eerabik to a computer terminal the Human crew used to carry out their spy operation. From this chamber, a series of computers connected to the massive number of antennas and dishes on the hull. Eerabik guessed that this one ship was able to eavesdrop on FTL communications for thousands of Light Years in any direction. Eerabik smiled. Now she would make a big step forward in her own personal investigation.
She turned to one of the GDF troopers and said:
“Re-activate the listening post.”
With many presses of buttons and flipping of levers, the eavesdropping array came back to life, and the captured spy ship was doing what it was designed to do. Looking around at the many screens, Eerabik realized this machine was quite possibly the most advanced surveillance system the Humans had ever developed.
“There’s no way a mercenary group like Shrike could afford to build this thing.” Eerabik said to herself. Then she addressed the Marine. “Do you agree?”
“Ma’am, I’m just a soldier.” The Marine replied. “No one would trust me to run complicated tech like this. No way. Shrike was just the muscle.”
“I think you’re right.” Eerabik told the Marine. “Go down below, check and see if any escape pods have been launched.”
The soldier enthusiastically complied, no doubt thinking Eerabik was onto something. As soon as she was alone in the Electronic Warfare suite, Eerabik got to work. She connected her personal tablet computer to the comm array and activated the voice command feature.
“Computer, open 'Special Project Ghost Signal.'” She said.
The tablet computer activated and the data of Eerabik’s special project was uploaded to the EW suite. Across both her tablet screen and the primary monitor of the EW suite, the waveform of a mysterious signal was displayed. The strange signal was very faint, barely louder than the background noise of FTL communications. But now Eerabik had an advanced eavesdropping suite to play with.
In the moments she was alone with it, Eerabik fine-tuned the antenna rig and locked onto the Ghost Signal. With a little gasp of joy, Eerabik saw her patience pay off.
There was a clatter of noise from the hallway, Eerabik closed and locked her tablet just before the Saiiban soldier returned.
After a short discussion with the other GDF officers, Eerabik returned to her quarters aboard the Frenzied Claw. As soon as she got into her room, Eerabik brought up a holographic map of the Galaxy. It filled her room with constellations and clusters of stars. Eerabik looked around at her three-dimensional starchart. Then she spoke:
“Computer, show me the sources of the Ghost Signal.”
Five regions of space turned red. They were scattered all across the Galaxy.
The first source of the Ghost Signal was located in the Gulf Sector of the Outer Rim, within the uninhabited reaches of the Tobari Star Empire. This region of space was unexplored, but scientists working in the Levakian Sensor Array had claimed, on multiple occasions, that an uncontacted civilization lived in this region.
The second source was in the Great Wastelands, a region near the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth, not too far from the dead world of Kharak. The Great Wastelands was known to be a haven for space pirates, including the infamous Turanic Raiders.
The third source was on the edge of Human territory, in an asteroid field called Ghenna. This place was famous for being home to a Progenitor relic simply known as “The Oracle”, which could be used to find other such relics.
The fourth source was located in the Karos Graveyard, a massive debris field hundreds of light-years across that contained shipwrecks from every era of Galactic history. This place contained dozens of Progenitor relics, including the Great Forge: the place where Creator God Sajuuk built the three Hyperspace Cores.
And as for the fifth and final source…
Eerabik saw the flashing red star system on her map. She knew her tracking program was infallible, there was no way this could be a mistake. Yet the implications were horrifying…
“No…” Eerabik breathed. “Oh, no… no, no... Hiigara!”
Chapter 18
Shadow Broker
May 30, 2086
Rotorua City, Hokianga
Located in the very center of the constellation Sagittarius, about fifty-thousand Lightyears from the Galactic Core, there is a beautiful region of space called the Shining Hinterlands. The Shining Hinterlands is an Emission Nebula, a swirling cloud of hot gas energized by ultraviolet radiation, causing the nebula to glow with neon light. This particular type of nebula was amongst the most visually stunning in the Galaxy.
Deep within the Shining Hinterlands, the spaceplane Ark Angel emerged from Hyperspace above a green and blue planet, shrouded in fluffy white clouds. In the cockpit, Himawari, Chris, and Amako pressed their faces against the windows in awe while Randall steered the ship towards the surface.
“Amako!” Himawari signed. “You never told us Hokianga was a Gaia World!”
There are many types planet in the Galaxy, too many to count, even. But Gaia-class planets stand out from the rest. One hundred thousand years ago, the Galaxy was ruled by the Progenitors, a race of extragalactic beings who possessed knowledge and technology beyond all possible comprehension. Gaia Worlds were created by the Progenitors, perhaps as an artistic statement or maybe for reasons that are more practical. Regardless, these planets existed in a state of perfection, able to sustain any and all forms of life. Mammals, lithoids, aquatics, reptilians, it did not matter. Everyone could live here in comfort. Even the Voidborne races like the Vaygr, Kadeshi, and Tiyanki could eke out a comfortable life at the higher altitudes.
As the Ark Angel descended upon the perfect planet of Hokianga, a single city came into view. Rotorua was a sparkling metropolis stretched out for hundreds of miles in each direction. Part of the city was even built underwater to accommodate an extensive population of aquatics and molluscoids.
Amako steered the spaceplane in a way that told Himawari he’d been here before.
“I think Ruunhan will be waiting for us at the dock.” He said. “Just remember to back a travel bag with some clothes, because her people will want to move the ship for us.”
“Her people?” Randall repeated.
Amako raised an eyebrow.
“Remember when I said Ruunhan was in the criminal underworld?” Amako said. “I meant it. She’s a blackmailer. Ruunhan’s got a whole damn information network that she uses to get dirt on people. Then she’ll say ‘you do whatever I tell you or I’ll send this info to people who wanna hurt you.’ And it works every time.”
“And you were her friend!?” Himawari signed. “Really!?”
“I was… different when I was younger.” Amako replied. “Back then I kept the same type of friends who hung out with Ruunhan. And when Ruunhan married one of them, there just wasn’t room for me anymore.”
Chris looked at Amako.
“Wait a minute, dude.” Chris said. “What type of friends does Ruunhan keep?
Amako pointed out the starboard window.
“Her friends are the type of people who fly that thing.”
Chris, Himawari, and Randall all gasped as they spotted a starship the size of a battlecruiser lurking in the planet’s terminator, the golden line between day and night. It was a beautiful vessel shaped a little like a crescent moon; with a curved hull that wrapped around the vessel, leaving a deep crevasse in the front that led to the center of the vessel, where the bridge and command deck was secure in the very core of the warship.
“That’s an Archangel-class dreadnaught!” Chris breathed. “Those ships are legendary!”
The Hiigaran Archangel dreadnaught had a reputation, one that everybody on the Ark Angel knew about. But before the group could question Amako any further, another starship came into view. A second Hiigaran dreadnaught, emerged from Hyperspace above the Ark Angel. Then the ship’s radio sounded:
“Attention Earth ship JSDF ARK ANGEL, registration number HML-015. This is the Kiith Somtaaw warship Kapisi. Stand down and prepare to be boarded.”
Amako quickly replied.
“Kapisi, this is Ark Angel. We are trying to reach Ruunhan Priya Somtaaw-Sa. We are unarmed and have been in communication with the Somtaaw Kiith-Sa.”
There was a pause. Chris let his jaw drop.
“Damn, Amako.” Chris spoke aloud, forgetting to sign. “You just used her family name! Those are supposed to be secret! How close were you and Ruunhan?”
Himawari waved her hands, demanding the last few moments be translated so she could understand what was being said. However, things were moving along. Amako’s use of Ruunhan’s family name must have worked on the Somtaaw Captain, because the Hiigaran Dreadnaught replied with the following message:
“Ark Angel, you have been issued clearance to land at the Arahu Ranginui Memorial Spaceport. Land on Runway 90 Left. People will be waiting for you on the ground. Do not deviate from your present course.”
Amako let out a sigh of relief.
“See?” he said. “It’s all good. We’re going to be just fine.”
…
The Ark Angel glided to a smooth landing on the runway of a spaceport on the outskirts of the city. On the way down, Himawari pulled up the planetary data on the ship’s computer and brought everyone up to speed on the surface conditions:
“The gravity on Hokianga is .91 gee, so we’ll have a spring in our step.” She reported. “Also, the atmosphere is a nitrogen-oxygen mix like Earth, but the air pressure is lower than what we’re used to, so we’re gonna feel lightheaded for the first few hours or so. Just roll with it.”
Himawari was a veteran space traveler, and had plenty of experience acclimating to alien climates. Once the spaceplane landed, she undid her seatbelt and started bouncing around on the balls of her feet, getting a feel for the local gravity.
“And here comes our escorts.” Amako said, pointing out the window.
A group of spaceport workers approached the Ark Angel, 5 Hiigarans and one Saiiban. With a loud hissing of hydraulics, the boarding ramp lowered into place and the team came aboard. The Saiiban was dressed similarly to its Hiigaran counterparts, or as closely as an Avian's outfit could match a Humanoid. Himawari noticed the emblem of Kiith Somtaaw was sewn onto the outfit of all six people.
“Welcome to Rotorua.” Said one of the Hiigarans. “Lady Ruunhan asked us to take care of your ship while you go to see her. Garan insisted on meeting you personally.”
The Hiigaran gestured to the alien next to him, a Saiiban with flashy green feathers and a bright yellow bill. Amako and the Saiiban named Garan both jumped at the sight of one another. Himawari instantly knew that these two were familiar with each other. Amako opened his arms, smiled and said:
“How are you? Long time, no see!”
Garan shook his head, which made his downy feathers rustle. Then he spoke… except, he didn’t really speak. Like all members of the Saiiban species, Garan communicated by singing. Chris struggled to translate Garan’s tune into Sign Language, which allowed Himawari to keep up with the conversation.
“It has not been long enough since the Wedding Incident.” Garan addressed Amako. “You’ve got some nerve coming back here after what you did.”
Amako and Garan stared at each other for a tense moment. Then Garan burst out laughing and wrapped his wings around Amako, greeting him in a much more jovial way:
“How are you, you old pirate? You finally managed get off the Human world?”
“I escaped.” Amako replied. “I’ve got my wife and two friends with me. We need to talk to Ruunhan about hiding somewhere safe until this all blows over.”
Garan rolled his eyes.
“That makes sense.” The Saiiban replied. “The Somtaaw Kiith-Sa called us on the Hyperwave and Ruunhan went pale. You’d have thought the third Hyperspace War was starting or something. She was trembling when she told us you were coming. Follow me and I’ll take you right to her.”
Himawari and her friends disembarked, leaving the Ark Angel in the care of the Somtaaw dockworkers. In front of them, the city of Rotorua opened up before them in all of its grandeur.
Rotorua was divided into ten distinct districts, and they were visible at a glance, as each portion of the city was designed to accommodate the many different species who lived here. Mammilians, Reptilians, Avians, Arthropoids, Molluscoids, Fungoids, Plantoids, Lithoids, Aquatics, and Jericho-knows-what other kinds of lifeforms all hustled and bustled about their busy lives in the street. Blorg entrepreneurs flashed holographic advertisements on the corner while Vanian and Amadii couriers fluttered from one rooftop to the next. Curious water-dwelling people looked up from the canal as Himawari waved to them.
She had been to many planets in her life, but had never seen so many different types of aliens together in one place. Himawari spent so much time looking around at the fascinating cityscape that her husband Amako had to grab her by the hand and pull her along.
“You said your name was Garan.” Randall asked the Saiiban guide. “I thought that was a Hiigaran name.”
“It is.” Replied Garan. “I was adopted by a Somtaaw family when I was young. My full name is Garan Somtaaw-Re. It is a probationary title for those who seek to join Kiith Somtaaw.”
“Huh.” Randall commented. “I didn’t realize Kiith Somtaaw was accepting non-Hiigaran members.”
“Anyone who is descended from a Beastslayer has an easier time getting into Kiith Somtaaw. Regardless of species.” Garan said. “If she asked, we probably would have made Jericho a Kiith-Sa.”
Garan threw out a wing to stop Himawari from crossing the street.
“No, we are staying on this road.” He said. “Look there. That’s where we are heading.”
Himawari, Chris, Amako, and Randall looked down the street to see a very colorful building wedged in between two trapezoid-shaped buildings. Or rather, it was four buildings, all shaped like gigantic tombstones, lined up in a row. In fact, on closer inspection, the buildings on either side appeared to be connected to the tombstone-shaped structures, one at each end. Himawari gasped and did a little dance on her toes as she realized what it was.
“It’s a Hiigaran Shrine!” Himawari declared. “I excavated one back when I first started studying archeology!”
Chris let out a low whistle.
“Yeah, I remember when you and I built a scale model of one back at Yamamoto University. Those were the days, weren’t they?” he said.
Chris and Himawari put one arm around each other in a quick side hug as they reminisced about their college days. While the group walked to towards the Shrine, Garan provided an explanation for Randall, who was the only person who did not know its significance.
“At Shrines like this one, we gather to devote ourselves to Sajuuk, the Creator-God whose hand shapes what is.” Garan said. “Before the Beast War, Kiith Somtaaw was responsible for maintaining the Shimmering Path, a collection of thirty-three temples that lined a route of holy pilgrimage.”
Himawari tapped Garan on the shoulder to get his attention and then started speaking in Sign Language. Amako quickly translated:
“She says ‘this temple looks a lot like Coor-Lan, the Temple of the Exalted Flame, the fifteenth stop on the Shimmering Path.’ Do you see the resemblance?”
Garan laughed,
“My dear… this is Coor-Lan! Recovered from the ruins of Kharak after the Genocide, transported here, and expertly restored. This is one of only two Shimmering Path temples to be saved from the Burning of Kharak, the other being Clee-San, the Silent Wayfarer.”
Himawari’s eyes went wide, like a child who had just spotted a candy store. Amako knew his wife was about to indulge in her favorite hobby: learning about alien cultures. When she signed a request for a history lesson about the Coor-Lan, Amako translated it (very slowly) into a more general compliment, making sure to keep talking until the group stepped over the threshold and into the temple grounds.
Himawari looked around and instantly knew that very few houses of worship on Earth that could hold a candle to the Temple of Coor-Lan. There were no walls on any side of the building. Instead, hundreds of statues and sculptures were stacked and welded and fused into each other, creating a colorful collage of statuary that supported the roof above. Himawari tried to pull away from Amako to take a closer look at the statues, and she saw dozens upon hundreds of different variations of the likeness of Sajuuk the Creator.
She found herself lost in curiosity and started thinking about her college history lessons: Before Jericho rose to fame fifty years ago, nearly all spacefaring civilizations worshipped the Creator Sajuuk, who was eventually proven to be a member of the long-extinct Progenitors, a race of aliens who ruled the Galaxy almost a million years ago. Himawari remembered that Sajuuk (the person, not the god) was the one who first understood Hyperspace and invented Faster-Than-Light travel.
She wanted to dive even deeper into the history of interstellar spiritualism, but a tugging on her arm forced her back into the present.
Garan swept his wings in a grand gesture, ordering two Somtaaw temple pages to open a door at the far end of the courtyard. With a reverent bow, Garan escorted Himawari and her friends into the Inner Sanctum.
Here, in the very core of the temple, a gentle light filtered into the Sanctum from a hole in the ceiling. The floor, on the other hand, was not visible. The floor of the Sanctum was covered in about two inches of fine sand, while a ring of torches illuminated six beautiful coffins in the center of the room. Each wooden coffin was different, with a series of religious carvings engraved in the top and sides.
“These sacred sarcophagi used to contain six Martyrs of Kharak.” Garan said. “Murdered by the Taiidani in their Genocide against the Hiigaran people. Slowly, over the past century, these martyrs were allowed to return to the sand. Sajuuk has taken these people into the next cycle of creation… and they will, in some form or another, be created again by him.”
In the center of the Sanctum, two women rose from the sand. They had been kneeling in silent prayer for so long that Himawari, Amako, Chris, and Randall had all failed to notice them before. The first woman was a Partogan with incredibly long silver hair that descended beyond her waist, while her companion was a Hiigaran with narrow amber eyes and reddish-brown hair that covered her right eye. The Hiigaran wore a bulky cloak that suggested she was armed.
“Speak your names and declare your loyalties.” The Hiigaran commanded. “You are citizens of a hostile nation, and I must make peace with you before I greet you as the friends of my friend.”
Realizing that she was talking about the trio of Humans, Randall stepped forward and spoke:
“My name is Randall Murphy of the planet Earth. I’m a ffriend of the Stormbreaker Blake Robinson and loyal follower of the true Jericho, who does not command her followers to make war on her allies. This is Christopher Wright, from the planet Terra Nova. He is a historian and has been Blake’s friend longer than I have. And this is Himawari Robinson, daughter of Blake Robinson and Chihiro Tachibana. She and I are.. uh… we are friends. Himawari is deaf, so I help her communicate.”
The Hiigaran raised her eyebrows and put a hand on the Partogan’s shoulder.
“You see, love?” The Hiigaran said. “It’s just like I said. Mostly truthful, but they occasionally omit the truth, especially when it embarrasses them.”
“I… Uh…” Randall stammered.
“You and Himawari are divorced.” The Hiigaran said. “You have custody of the daughter she gave you, but Sophie Murphy has gone rouge and thrown herself into the same camp as our common enemies.”
The Hiigaran raised a hand and pointed towards Amako.
“Your ex-wife is married to a man I used to call my best friend. You neglected to mention that too.” She said.
The Partogan woman clenched her fists.
“We should expel them.” The Partogan said. “Send them away with their ship.”
“That’s enough, love.” She said. “Your people might be at war with Earth, but mine are not anymore. And the Kiith-Sa have already spoken.”
Himawari felt that steam could have risen from the Partogan’s ears. Finally, the two alien women introduced themselves:
“My name is Ruunhan Somtaaw-Sa.” The Hiigaran said. “And the charming young lady next to me is my wife, Hahli Mihaka.”
Randall startled.
“Hahli Mihaka!” He repeated. “I’ve heard of her!”
Hahli raised her eyebrows while Ruunhan rolled her eyes.
“Of course.” Ruunhan grumbled. “You get all the publicity.”
“That’s because I take credit for my work, love.” Hahli said. “Well, I know you’re dying to say it, Human. Go ahead.”
Randall rounded on his friends, his face flush with excitement.
“She’s a pirate! A real, bonafide space pirate! She’s got her own fleet and everything and… wait, why aren’t you surprised?”
Himawari, Chris, and Amako were all looking unmoved by this revelation.
“Hahli’s piracy isn’t exactly a secret.” Amako said.
“She tends to announce herself wherever she goes.” Himawari added. “I think she likes the fame.”
Amako translated this final part aloud, causing Hahli to laugh.
“I like the deaf one.” Hahli said. “You have to teach me to do those hand signals.”
“So, we can stay?” Amako asked.
“Yes, you can stay here in the temple.” Ruunhan nodded. “It should be easy to keep you safe now that the war situation has changed so much.”
…
A few hours later, Amako and Himawari were moved into a residential room in the monestary portion of the temple. Chris occupied the room next door, while Randall found himself living in a room on the far side of the cloister, a long walk away from the others. Amako and Himawari asked why he was so far from the group, and one of the Temple workers informed them that divorce held a different kind of significance in Hiigaran culture.
“It would be incredibly inappropriate for him to be allowed near you, as you have rejected his Kiith pledged and your loyalty to another.” The Hiigarans explained.
While Amako, Himawari, and Randall haggled over living space, Chris Wright went back into the main temple. He had a burning question to ask.
Chris found Hahli and Ruunhan standing outside of the temple entrance. They were sitting beneath a statue of Sajuuk and watching the countless residents of Rotorua going about their business. A traffic jam was forming on the street as local cops struggled to escort a chaotic tangle of Morbuzakh. (a large sentient plant composed of many vines and leaves)
“I don’t mean to bother you.” Chris said, announcing his presence. “But there’s something I need to know.”
Hahli scoffed.
“Don’t ask me.” She said. “My wife is the one who has eyes and ears on every street corner.”
As she spoke, Ruunhan withdrew a tablet computer from her pocket. The Hiigaran used her own pointed ears to hold her hair back as she looked at Chris.
“Just so you know, I normally charge a fee for my services.” Ruunhan said, “And Historians like you don’t have very large bank accounts.”
“What I want to know is apparently common knowledge to everyone except the crew of the Angel.” Chris said. “So I think I can afford it.”
Chris sat down beneath the statue of Sajuuk. The golden image of the Progenitor god looked as though it was going to bring its fist down on them at any moment.
“Ever since this crisis started,” Chris began, “There’s been a media blackout on all Human planets. We haven’t had any news from the rest of the Galaxy for almost two years now, and whatever does trickle through is always bad. My friends and I need to know… what’s going on? What happened at the Galactic Council that’s got everyone on edge?”
Ruunhan took a deep breath, then she told Chris everything:
Earth was at war with almost the entire Galaxy.
Ever since Pascal Etienne became Secretary-General, the Human government had taken on a Human Supremacist policy called Sol Invictus. Humanity slowly became hostile towards all of the species who had once been their allies. Human colonists aggressively pursued unclaimed worlds, expanding their borders and sometimes appropriating planets that belonged to someone else. Progenitor relics and artifacts were stolen and spirited away to Human planets; but things only got worse as time went on.
About ten years ago, a Partogan expedition had stumbled upon the grave of Whetu Kealoha, the very first Partogan Queen. A starship was dispatched to recover her body and transport her to an honorable burial, but it was ambushed by a Human battlecruiser. Whetu’s body was stolen, never to be seen again.
After that, the Progeny became active.
The militant arm of the Cult of Jericho started abducting children from planets all across the Galaxy, taking them back to Earth. Each time the Progeny attacked, the United Nations would refuse to do anything. The Etienne government would neither condemn the Progeny, nor would they take any action to prevent future attacks. Small scale conflicts would continue as the Progeny grew stronger and stronger with each passing year. A diplomatic crisis erupted as the many nations of the Galaxy disagreed on how to handle the Human Crisis.
The Partogans started to rebuild the Triple Alliance, a military bloc from the Second Hyperspace War. However, in the face of a growing Human threat, the alliance rapidly expanded in side to become a massive Coalition that contained most of the Galaxy’s spacefaring peoples.
The Hiigarans and their traditional allies, the Taiidan Republic, did consider Humanity a threat, but they were unwilling to join the new coalition. The Hiigarans were still demanding the return of three Progenitor Hyperspace Cores, ancient and powerful technology that was seized by the Partogans during the Second Hyperspace War. These cores allowed the user to travel to any point in the Galaxy instantaneously, something that no other Hyperdrive was capable of. These cores had belonged to the Hiigarans for thousands of years, but a single moment of battle left all three Cores free for the taking.
The tensions continued to rise until just two years ago… when everything changed. The Human space fleet staged a surprise attack that nearly wiped out the Partogan Navy in one fell swoop. Before anyone could realize what had happened, the Galaxy was plunged into its first major conflict since the Second Hyperspace War. Officially, the Human government gave a statement saying that they were attempting to pre-empt an attack against Earth by the Partogans, but no one believed this lie. Human forces soon undid the story anyway. UN warships and soldiers soon invaded every star nation in reach. Hiigara, Amadiio, the Saiiban Taiidan, Partogans, Levakians, and the Vaygr all found themselves under attack.
The Galactic Community reacted quickly, establishing the Galactic Defense Force, allowing the rest of the Galaxy to mount a united defense against the Human onslaught. So far, a year and a half into the new war, no worlds had actually fallen to the Humans, but the situation was tense. The Hiigarans and Partogans were the most powerful civilizations in the Galaxy, meaning they were the leaders of the Coalition. The two nations disagreed on nearly everything, with the biggest sticking point being Jericho and her friends the Stormbreakers. Hiigara wanted to consider them enemies while Aoraki felt that Jericho, Blake Robinson, and the others could still be counted as allies.
Just a week ago, however, things finally reached a tipping point. In a special session of the Galactic Council, the Galactic Custodian was deposed. Originally, Kessick was chosen for the job because he was neither Hiigaran nor Partogan. He was a neutral party that could mediate between the Superpowers and keep their weapons pointed at Earth instead of each other.
During the negotiations for Kessick’s replacement, the Partogan/Hiigaran alliance completely broke down.
“And now…” Ruunhan finished. “A Partogan has been elected Galactic Custodian, while my people have shown their anger by quitting the war. And I don’t think it’ll stop there.”
Chris folded his arms in thought.
“You think others will quit the Coalition?” He asked.
Ruunhan and Hahli both nodded.
“All of Hiigara’s traditional allies will probably leave the war.” Hahli said. “The Taiidani are definitely out, and the Vaygr might leave as well.”
“The Kadeshi and Tobari will leave as well.” Ruunhan said. “I’m worried the Coalition may collapse.”
“And turn this conflict into a three-way war.” Chris mused. “Sounds horrible.”
“It could be.” Ruunhan admitted. “We can only hope it won’t happen.”
Chris thanked Ruunhan for the update, although it felt more like a history lesson. Then he went back inside the temple to tell Himawari, Amako, and Randall what he had learned.
…
June 1, 2086
The Anvil, Saiiban Confederation
The Anvil Nebula is a chaotic region of space that marked the point where the borders of three interstellar empires met. A signal bouy hovered around one edge of the nebula, transmitting a song of welcome as travelers entered the Saiiban Confederation. About half a light-year away, deep inside the Anvil Nebula, a series of Hyperspace inhibitors and automated missile launchers marked the beginning of the Tobari Star Empire. Finally, a lone starbase orbiting a neutron star marked the outer boundaries of the United Nations of Earth.
Suddenly, this peaceful Nebula was disturbed when two objects suddenly started moving at high speed. A starship fired up its engines and raced away from the scene as fast as it could, while a second vessel started to give chase!
The fleeing vessel was a Human spy ship. The frigate-sized vessel was bristling with dozens of antenna, radar domes, radio dishes, and other electronic warfare equipment. The pursuing vessel, on the other hand, was the Frenzied Claw, a combat frigate of the Galactic Defense Force. Painted onto its side were the flags of four nations who jointly operated the warship: the Saiiban, Amadii, Vanians, and Ozkox.
On the bridge of the Frenzied Claw, the crew was made up entirely of avians. The commanding officer (a member of the flightless Amadii race) cursed loudly as the Human spy ship fired up its engines and attempted to escape.
“Damnit! They saw us!” he yelled. “Helm! Don’t lose the bastards!”
“Everyone brace!” Cried out the helmsman as he throttled the engines to full power.
The Frenzied Claw let out a deep, guttural roar from her engine room and the frigate pelted after its prey like a hawk diving to the ground!
The crew of the Frenzied Claw gripped their talons onto their perches for dear life as the ship chased its query into the depths of the Anvil Nebula. The fleeing Human ship was getting very far away, reaching the limits of the Claw’s sensors.
“Weapons, target-lock the Earth ship and charge the Ion Cannon!” The commander ordered.
But before he could say anything else, he was countermanded by an Ozkox woman with a yellow-ish grey bill who was dressed in a very official looking uniform.
“Belay that order!” Eerabik shrieked. “Do not fire!”
“We have to knock out their drive!” The Amadii Captain responded.
“No!” Eerabrik shouted. “Tell your crew to hold their fire; we have to take that ship intact! Our mission is to get aboard, we can’t scrap them!”
“They’re running, the mission is scrubbed!” The Captain hollered over the noise of his ship’s engines.
Eerabik spread her wings and tail feathers wide, all the better make herself look genuinely terrifying. Even her eyes seemed to glow with a nightmare-inducing kind of fury.
“The Galactic Custodian gave me authority over this ship!” Eerabik shouted. “And this mission is scrubbed WHEN I SAY IT IS!! Now pull us alongside and dispatch the boarding teams!”
The bridge crew all swore loudly as they recommitted themselves to the chase. The Human spy ship was doing everything in its power to escape from the Frenzied Claw. They cut off their engines, allowing the GDF vessel to get close, only to fire up and flee again.
“Son of a Kinloka, they’re trying to burn us up in their engine plume!” The helmsman called out. “Our armor is melting!”
“Pull alongside!” The Captain ordered. “And tell the Marines to brace for a high-gee landing!”
The Human spy ship entered into a sharp turn, banking hard as it went. The Frenzied Claw turned and kept pace with the enemy. Down in the Claw’s hold, six breaching pods shuddered in their launch clamps, waiting for the go-signal. Each one contained four members of the Galactic Defense Forces, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight.
Then, for just a short moment, the Human spy ship seemed to run out of moves. After one fatal moment of hesitation, the breaching pods separated from the Frenzied Claw and crossed the short distance to the enemy vessel. All six latched onto the side of the hull, and the Frenzied Claw throttled down her engines, staying closeby.
A minute later, the pursuit was over. The Human warship cut off its engines and started drifting through the nebula. A short burst of radio transmissions crossed the void and reached the pursuers.
“Attention Frenzied Claw. This is Talons of Cyan, Saiiban Space Marines. The crew of the Human warship Dmitry Medvedev would like to negotiate the terms of their surrender. I believe it has something to do with the fact that they have two minutes of air left.”
The Frenzied Claw drew level with the disabled starship and finally managed to identify the enemy vessel. This ship was not part of the UN Military. Instead, it belonged to Shrike.
A docking clamp extended away from the Frenzied Claw and latched onto one of the Medvedev’s external hatches, and just a few minutes later, clean breathable air was being pumped into the stricken ship while captured Humans were removed from it.
GDF soldiers started clearing the enemy ship, searching for any valuable intel or technology that could be used for the war effort. An unexpected guest joined the troops shortly after they got started.
Once it was certain that the Dmitry Medvedev was cleared of hostile combatants, Eerabik boarded the ship. Unlike the GDF, she was looking for something highly specific.
“Show me their Electronic Warfare terminal.” Eerabik ordered.
The Saiiban Marines guided Eerabik to a computer terminal the Human crew used to carry out their spy operation. From this chamber, a series of computers connected to the massive number of antennas and dishes on the hull. Eerabik guessed that this one ship was able to eavesdrop on FTL communications for thousands of Light Years in any direction. Eerabik smiled. Now she would make a big step forward in her own personal investigation.
She turned to one of the GDF troopers and said:
“Re-activate the listening post.”
With many presses of buttons and flipping of levers, the eavesdropping array came back to life, and the captured spy ship was doing what it was designed to do. Looking around at the many screens, Eerabik realized this machine was quite possibly the most advanced surveillance system the Humans had ever developed.
“There’s no way a mercenary group like Shrike could afford to build this thing.” Eerabik said to herself. Then she addressed the Marine. “Do you agree?”
“Ma’am, I’m just a soldier.” The Marine replied. “No one would trust me to run complicated tech like this. No way. Shrike was just the muscle.”
“I think you’re right.” Eerabik told the Marine. “Go down below, check and see if any escape pods have been launched.”
The soldier enthusiastically complied, no doubt thinking Eerabik was onto something. As soon as she was alone in the Electronic Warfare suite, Eerabik got to work. She connected her personal tablet computer to the comm array and activated the voice command feature.
“Computer, open 'Special Project Ghost Signal.'” She said.
The tablet computer activated and the data of Eerabik’s special project was uploaded to the EW suite. Across both her tablet screen and the primary monitor of the EW suite, the waveform of a mysterious signal was displayed. The strange signal was very faint, barely louder than the background noise of FTL communications. But now Eerabik had an advanced eavesdropping suite to play with.
In the moments she was alone with it, Eerabik fine-tuned the antenna rig and locked onto the Ghost Signal. With a little gasp of joy, Eerabik saw her patience pay off.
There was a clatter of noise from the hallway, Eerabik closed and locked her tablet just before the Saiiban soldier returned.
After a short discussion with the other GDF officers, Eerabik returned to her quarters aboard the Frenzied Claw. As soon as she got into her room, Eerabik brought up a holographic map of the Galaxy. It filled her room with constellations and clusters of stars. Eerabik looked around at her three-dimensional starchart. Then she spoke:
“Computer, show me the sources of the Ghost Signal.”
Five regions of space turned red. They were scattered all across the Galaxy.
The first source of the Ghost Signal was located in the Gulf Sector of the Outer Rim, within the uninhabited reaches of the Tobari Star Empire. This region of space was unexplored, but scientists working in the Levakian Sensor Array had claimed, on multiple occasions, that an uncontacted civilization lived in this region.
The second source was in the Great Wastelands, a region near the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth, not too far from the dead world of Kharak. The Great Wastelands was known to be a haven for space pirates, including the infamous Turanic Raiders.
The third source was on the edge of Human territory, in an asteroid field called Ghenna. This place was famous for being home to a Progenitor relic simply known as “The Oracle”, which could be used to find other such relics.
The fourth source was located in the Karos Graveyard, a massive debris field hundreds of light-years across that contained shipwrecks from every era of Galactic history. This place contained dozens of Progenitor relics, including the Great Forge: the place where Creator God Sajuuk built the three Hyperspace Cores.
And as for the fifth and final source…
Eerabik saw the flashing red star system on her map. She knew her tracking program was infallible, there was no way this could be a mistake. Yet the implications were horrifying…
“No…” Eerabik breathed. “Oh, no… no, no... Hiigara!”
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Well... she only knows about the Ghost Signal itself. (and now she knows the general location of the Sterilization Hubs) She doesn't know the identity of whoever is broadcasting it, due to the fact that in this Galaxy, there are no known machine empires.* So like everyone else, she has a lot of trouble comprehending the idea of a machine civilization being able to exist without an organic population to support it. And according to Stellaris lore, the Contingency's creation probably overlaps with the reign of the Progenitor Empire hundreds of thousands of years ago.
*The Micore Empire is a Rogue Servitor with a very high population of organic pops, so I don't really count them as a genuine machine empire.
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It seems that, in terms of galactic politics, Akira can maintain her hands off approach. Her enemies are fully capable of backstabbing each other without needing encouragement!
And Eerabik's plan gets even more nebulous. What does she know about the Contigency itself? And is it an obstacle or a tool? We'll see...
And Eerabik's plan gets even more nebulous. What does she know about the Contigency itself? And is it an obstacle or a tool? We'll see...
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I can't help but imagine that when she thinks about the way Galactic politics shook out in this era, Akira might say: "This wouldn't have worked out better if I had actually planned it."
It is my version of the Sword of Damocles. Back in The Stormbreakers, I explained in a comment how to re-create the Galaxy of The Last Heroes in Stellaris. And when I went into detail about the Galaxy Settings, I mentioned that the Endgame Crisis was locked in at "Contingency" with the other two turned off.
In-game, many years pass between the first appearance of the Ghost Signal and the conflict actually kicking off. But as I've hinted at, I might have messed with the lore a little bit.
There does appear to be some kind of connection between the Contingency and the now-extinct Progenitors.- 1
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