Aschen Fleet of Righteous Vigilance's Story

A pair of ethereal eyes watched Kyrian closely, though whoever was watching could not be perceived, the planeswalker was being studied intently. Aside from the feeling of being watched, nothing else seemed to occur.

----

The defense that the Data world exhibited would have performed admirably against the Singularity Cannon if the weapon had ever actually fired. However there was a charge time between when the charge was initialized and when the weapon would be fired. Hanley had also given Kyrian Vox a ten minute warning to vacate their star system.

In reality she was biding her time, waiting for the elements of the Fleet of Inner Knowledge, and the Fleet of Righteous Vigilance to filter in system before the FTL Inhibition array was initialized. This would prevent the Dataworld from leaving the third dimension, and make it vulnerable to the Aschen when they did decide to open fire.

The final elements of the two new fleets jumped in system, flickers of spatial energy signalling their arrival one by one, Aschen forces nearly fifteen thousand ships strong between the fleets of the Imperial Defense Force, the Fleet of Inner Knowledge, and the Fleet of Righteous Vigilance.

Hanley checked the clock, before the shipboard AI spoke up.

"Unidentified energy surge coming from behind the moon, additionally, the Underlundians have evacuated the Xenos."

The Admiral made a face, before she once again opened a transmission towards the Data World.

"I don't care about the refugees, I care that someone decided to waltz some giant battlestation into Imperial Space. I have to consider the defense of the Aschen People above your wants and needs. I have no desire to board your ship, nor do I have a desire to interact further unless you can get off your high horse and interact with us in a meaningful manner. As of now however, you have demonstrated yourself to be a threat to the Empire. It is my job to ensure that threats to the safety of the Empire are neutralized." Hanley spat before she terminated the communications.

At this moment the Imperial Defense fleet maintained combat readiness, weapons locked onto Arkvaes and poised to fire. However the Aschen fleet did not fire a single shot, at least they won't yet unless Kyrian continues to provoke them further.

---

As the obelisk like vessel fired off it's pulse array, it's crew would find that the wave washed harmlessly over the shields of the approaching Aschen fleet, and as a consequence would be unable to attain information within the shield itself, or intrude on any of the shipboard systems.

Each individual Imperial Aschen ship was protected by a vast swathe of electronic countermeasures, sophisticated AI systems, and skillful defensive coding. Even if the strange pulse somehow managed to get through the shields and interface with the ship's systems, the Obelisk would get minimal information from the Imperial vessels, publicly available information such as ship names, service histories, crew counts, basic schematics and capabilities, command staff, port of origin, and some rudimentary information on the Aschen Empire itself.

Information that revealed the Aschen Empire as powerful, advanced, and extremely ruthless, but diplomatically approachable if a few protocols were followed.

However classified and private information remained obscured from this deep scan by careful AI Protection, Golith was able to see only what the Aschen allowed him to see.

The Tria was a different matter entirely. Reality itself lensed as the wave approached it, and washed harmlessly around the strange ship. Golith would recieve nothing with his scan from this mystery ship. Only visuals could discern roughly what it was, and perhaps lend to who built it.

The energy wave was hardly felt by those on-board, but registered by the shipboard AI's of each vessel. Whom subsequently informed the ship commanders, and the approaching Aschen fleet began to go into combat readiness.

At that moment, 50,000 kilometers away from the strange Obelisk vessel, a ship unlike any of the Aschen vessels flickered in out of nothingness. It's angular, ancient construction contrasting with the sleek, bulbous design of the Reverences, and the robust, intimidating designs of the Iconoclast ships, and other newer ships of the line.

This vessel was the Tria, an Alteran ship constructed nearly a million years ago, and having withstood the test of time to be one of the Aschen Empire's most valuable assets.

Orlin McGregor, seated in the control chair of the Tria along with his crew let his mind consider this vessel before him, before a neural link opened up a communications channel.

"Unidentified vessel, this is Rear Admiral Orlin McGregor of the Tria, I see you attempted to scan our fleet. Please identify yourselves and state your intentions immediately. Orlin stated, as the Tria began it's own scans on the alien vessel before it. Deep penetrating scans that were designed to look for life signs, analyze the power source and drive systems. In addition to comparing it to the vast database the Alterans had kept.

While this was underway, Orlin's mind formulated a tactical scenario, and the ship eagerly began to respond, it's powerful shields raised as it approached the alien vessel at combat speeds. While this was underway, Orlin allowed his mind to wander, as his highly advanced mind considered the very nature of the universe, and reality itself became pliant to his will. Amplified by the Tria's neural systems, the ship appeared to distort the fabric of reality around it.

The remaining two Aschen fleets held back around the moon, their systems locking on the Obelisk one by one. Orlin however had transmitted specific instructions, to hang back and allow the McGregor to attempt to make peaceful contact.

Hanley's fleet continued to monitor the situation, with Claire refusing to answer the transmission from Kyrian, as her shipboard AI was addressing the newer threat on the other side of Blackrock.

The crew of the CIC of the Esteem were still tensely watching DRADIS Scans of the Data-World, while some were watching linked scans from the Tria, and the other two Imperial fleets.

The Planck field was also erected by the Watchtower, which meant that all forms of Dimensional Shifting, Teleportation, and FTL travel would be impossible within the influence of the field, and it would be required to escape at sub-light speeds before teleporting out.

Hanley on the other hand was still quite stressed, the shipboard AI was providing readouts of the large sphere's defense systems, and with the capability it demonstrated to phase in and out dealt with by the Planck packs, perhaps Kyrian would be willing to listen to reasoning.

Kyrian Vox

When the mysterious ship sent out it's scan across space, Kyrian was astonished. It was so similar to the Data Worlds own scanning technology that it was probably alike the rest of the world as well, and could get past the shields. Kyrian didn't mind however, and even unlocked all of the data storage units for recorded data. Inside the data banks of Arkvaes was a near endless supply of information gathered about the entire multiverse, and other dimensions even. The eons of information went back further than most people realized, having existed since before the multiverse was even a figment of some gods imagination. The extreme multitude of information could only be stored even in a ship the size of a small planet through extra-dimensional Dyson-ring storage. Not only was this Data Worlds information stored here, but a quantum connection to the other remaining Data Worlds allows even more information to be accessed.

When the scan hit Arkvaes all this information flooded the ships computer systems all at once. Even if they too had a quantum storage unit to hold all the information there was almost no way they could open up enough bandwidth to take it all in at once. Along with the information was also a section on dormant super-viruses of history and by downloading the file the viruses would be released into the systems at one time. There was even a small chance that the mysterious ship, know having all this information would "grow" it's own consciousness, like Arkvaes itself.

Kyrian however was interrupted by the Aschen sending him a rather rash ultimatum. Kyrian's temper broke and he turned to the transmission, cutting the commander off mid-sentence. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to? How dare you call Arkvaes a "battleship". This is the greatest library in existence, older than this entire dimension! You should be ashamed to have even pondered about shooting at it. Do you even know what would happen if this ship was destroyed? You ignorant humans even called in the entire Aschen Fleet didn't you? And now you are being watched, your nation is defenseless against it."

Be "it" he was of course referring to the mysterious ship which had just scanned them. Kyrian shut down the computer banks so the Aschen scan of his ship wouldn't pick up the same thing that the mysterious ship had from his systems. That is, if the Aschen scan could even get through his ship's consciousness. Their scan of the Spark within Arkvaes would read like a strong living being. Their scan of Kyrian himself would yield his genetic structure was almost human, yet he was immortal and had a strong aura of will around him. They would also note his nerves were degrading from the consumption of large amounts of caffeine.

It was about now that Kyrian felt another magic user entire the area. He entered from another dimension if Kyrian could feel him correctly, and immediately Kyrian wished to meet him. It was rare another planeswalker, artificial or natural, come into contact.

---

The great hall of Golith's ship lit up as they were accosted by the arriving vessel and he looked on with trepidation as its form was displayed in a clear visual view. Only for a small smile to grace his face again as the outline of the ship evoked memories long thought gone. "Navigator, is that what I think it is?" He asked with a measure of expectation in his voice.

"I must apologize, but no."

"The vessel may appear somewhat familiar, but I suspect that is just a by product of what they did to make it their own. However the pulses sweep is relaying the ships imprint and void shift as well. It does indeed contain technology ablative to our own, however the jumble of both hardware and software are somewhat puzzling." Golith motioned towards his pet with a slow gesture and she ducked away into the shadows as he stood to walk towards the visual display. "Who knows, they could have gutted the original ship and poured more then enough trash in their to ruin every inch of its credibility." Before finishing his sentence, the strange creature had returned with another large glass of wine. An act that seemed near comical, with how the glass appeared in size compared to her form.

As the navigator handles all the information sent and received by the pulse, she comes across the data feed coming from Vox's ship. Only to have a chuckle slightly break out over the hall as it escapes her. Golith raises an eyebrow as he questions "Something found to be funny?" There is a slight droning sound in the distance as she decides to respond. "Nothing actually, more trivial then bothersome.. The data cores archive is open to us and some interesting, albeit slight information was found. Information on specific planes-walkers and some details to fill in gaps we had on the farther flung dimensional breaches. Also, a virus was found in the data.." Golith cocks his eyebrow as that information reaches him. Knowing full well that was not usual for the kind of beings entrusted with such a ship, that or Gaia's choice in pilots was slipping.

"It was meant to.. unlock me, at least that is what is written into its code. The AI in charge of running the ships subroutines is lacking, or at least suspected of being faulty." Golith nods at the handling of this information and takes a sip of his wine. Only for an official to turn and speak "A transmission sir, its directed towards us. Emanating from the ship that recently arrived." He nods back at the official as a sign for him to play whatever message it is and he is rewarded with the message being played across the great hall.

"Unidentified vessel, this is Rear Admiral Orlin McGregor of the Tria, I see you attempted to scan our fleet. Please identify yourselves and state your intentions immediately"

A smirk grew on his face as Golith listened and kept an eye on his pet, her head jutting from side to side as the voice played on. Each ear bouncing along with each inflection of the admirals voice. He returned his eyes back to the officials in front of him and smiled broadly " Well, at least he said please.. we should give him the benefit of the doubt in that case. Nothing beats a good chat at least."

"Navigator, audio feed only"
No response from her is necessary, while the officials talk between one another and debate. Golith seats himself once more after walking back to his throne, only for a small tone to be played across the hall. His indicator that a communications link was now open with the Tria.

Golith thinks for a moment as he tries to recall how to speak to outside sources, an act he has not done in nearly a thousand years. "Well, Admiral McGregor."

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I am Master Shadowsun of The Obelisk of Sorrow, we are here on a retrieval mission.. nothing more. Just some lost travelers, picking up some old.. lost.. trinkets."

A soft breeze blew across the desolate space, whipping sand particles against the former Ordan Guardian's face. He felt the grains on his skin, but remained nonreactive to their slight sting. Looking back, he noticed how quickly the footsteps he'd made not a few seconds ago were carried away within the gusts. No matter, he decided. There was always a Plan B.

The further he walked on, the more boring and intricate the landscape appeared to him. The same dull colored sand. The same slightly colored rocks. A scrap of metal here and there wasn't enough to catch his attention as he figured it to be a lost technology from ages ago, the remnants buried in the sand while the legacy it propelled carried on in newer generations. The sad part was all advanced species, no matter how complex in nature, tended to forget where they came from as they enthralled their livelihood in visions of the future. More often than not, it led to their downfall.

There were others who thought differently, who focused too much in the past and keeping the traditions that brought them to their current point. Yet, they have no direction to move afterwards, leading them to fall into a cyclic pattern of routine, never to advance from their current state. It was just as important to forget the past as it was to remember it.

It still amazed Lance how often he kept balance in his life. He'd grown a lot since the day he'd met Rachel, but the one thing that remained constant was his perspective on how the Multiverse should be considered and treated...delicately. It was not a life form's place to change the current condition of the world they lived in for the sake of changing the condition. It always led to something bad. He thought of the destroyed world of Kaos, the conquered world of Earth, the Ordan way of life spreading across the dimensions like a plague disguised in perfume. And it sickened him to have ever associated himself with them. But at the same time, he felt blessed to have ever been in their presence, for he would not be the person he was without them.

Lance looked up for the first time...and cursed himself inwardly at not thinking of doing this sooner while he stared in awe on the outside at the congregating fleets miles above him, presumably in space. Not moving or daring to look away, he brought the Transicom to his mouth.

"Burkton, do you still have that soundwave magnifying device?"

"Well, I haven't worked out all the bugs and stuff. But I have made it to where you can pinpoint where you want to hear the sound from. You still can't hear radio transmission sounds however. They still come through as static. And you will get a very broad base of sound. if you're trying to hear into a bar or something, you're better off just walking into it yourself. In all honesty, it would work the best in space."

"Perfect, I think that's what I need. Can you Transicom it to me?"

There was a pause on the other line. "Are you sure? I mean I won't be able to Transicom you anything for a while after that. And you have no idea what you're up against. What if you need a weapon or tool or something?"

"I'll be fine," Lance reassured. "There's nothing happening here where I'm at. It's all above me. And you know how I use these Haven Swords."

"Alright. I'm just warning you."

"Appreciate the concern, mate. Just take care of everyone on Ryon."

Suddenly, a blue beam shot out of the Transicom and stopped two feet from Lance's face. A ball of static showed in electric blue in front of him. The artificial figured began to take a shape, the discombobulated entity slowly lifting it's veil to reveal...a bluetooth-like device. Lance pushed a button on the Transicom and the bluetooth device popped into reality, using the atoms of the planet to form itself. Lance popped the thing into his ear, turning the three knobs in the bluetooth to triangulate the position of the audio to be heard.

"...Obelisk of Sorrow, we.....................mission...nothing more. Just some lost ................"

Lance was having a hard time trying to get a perfect pinpoint of the conversation to be had, but at last, he could hear everything crystal clear.

---

Golith stays there for a moment, leaned back in his throne with that relaxed look on his face and an expectant rise in the corner of his eye. Wondering why the ship had yet to respond and why the ridiculousness of this situation is continuing.

He leans on one side and speaks above himself, directing his attention too his Navigator. "Are you sure they got the message? Or did they butcher that beauty too much when they salvaged it?" Several slides of images pass the viewer in front of him as he looks on. "I have no inclination at this point, I believe they may be debating among themselves at this point. Or entirely occupied with how much is transpiring off from the planets atmosphere."

He raises his glass once more as the apathy gets too him and he leans on the other side, reaching down to pet his small friend and she keens right into his palm, like always. The console lights up and the Navigator chimes back in "As for the cache, I am ready to retrieve it. All is required are six drones and I can gate the whole section into the hold." Golith checks as he slides past several screens on his console and nods as she speaks. Looking towards several of the officials in front of him and they quickly respond by freeing up the drones for departure. Which the ship dispensed in quick succession as they were launched from the port side. The six, dark, crystalline, orbs proceeded to fling themselves off into the darkness. Careening around the edge of the moon, bypassing the other ships and slipping around their shields perimeters.

The drones, flew off towards Blackrock at a fantastic cruising speed.

((Apologies for taking so long, work has been kicking my ass; and killing my muse))


Orlin elected to allow Admirals Hanley, and Nash to handle the incursion with the large Data-sphere while he decided that he himself would handle these newcomers.

The Alteran vessel floated silently, as Orlin took a moment to consider his reply. He was searching the vast Alteran data-banks for records pertaining to both the alien vessel in front of him, and the alien vessel facing off with the fleets on the other side of the planet.

Finally Orlin's mind keyed up a reply, directed to the The Obelisk of Sorrow before him.

"Be advised, that this is the Sovereign space of the United Aschen Empire, as a diplomatic courtesy to a new species, we have opted to take a diplomatic approach to this situation; the alien vessel on the other side of this moon has not been as cordial, and will not receive the same courtesy." Orlin replied, his voice carrying on the wide band transmissions.

"To that end, i politely request permission to come aboard, to make your acquaintance personally, initiate further first contact, and inspect your vessel. It is standard procedure for the Aschen Empire for new vessels entering our space. As ugly as this sounds It would be prudent to secure our cooperation if you're here to retrieve anything." Orlin replied, hoping that further contact would enable the Empire to further understand this alien vessel.

----

The Data-world would likely not be so fortunate, the Imperial fleet began to consolidate their positions around the Data-world, weapons came online one by one, while shipboard AIs exchanged contacts.

Admiral Hanley considered her next move. The Tria was making diplomatic contact with the alien vessel, which was now known to the entire fleet through a live data-feed. it was considered in the hyper-threaded calculations of hundreds, thousands of individual shipboard AI Systems working in unison.

Kyrian's response drew an assorted bout of snickers from Hanley's CIC. The greatest library in existence? Older than all dimensions? Such a notion was impossible, and only seeked to further offend whatever strange entity was observing Kyrian.

Though it's presence was felt, because it allowed Kyrian to feel it's presence. It elected not to reveal itself, rather it observed the planeswalker's actions.

Hanley simply glanced up at the clock display, and replied.

"You have five minutes to vacate this system before we open fire."

Kyrian Vox

The Planeswalker was surrounded by too many beings to take in all the information at once, he felt the ships rather than saw them through the conscious beings aboard them. The situation was puzzling but he knew one thing he had to do, and that was get a one on one discussion going. The first step was to get rid of Data-World Arkvaes so it would be out of harms way, even though it could regenerate itself from almost any damage it would take a long time and Kyrian would have to have to deal with that. He pressed his hands to the surfaces of the ship below him and began to meditate, getting in sync with the ship's onboard "Spark" and began to chant in a sad, slow language. He had forgotten to close communication channels so the Aschen's could hear him.

As his chanting continued his emotions poured out, as only a sad person could channel the energy he wanted to use. A distressed heart that he let go, and his magic began to work. The ship vibrated in waves from Kyrian, the movement of the ship becoming higher and higher frequency and even started to eminate sounds of the vibration across the Dark Web. Slowly the ship started to glow and shine, getting brighter until it looked like a star, and then vanished entirely, it's frequency becoming higher than Light, and changing dimensions because of this. Kyrian floated in space for a moment after his ship disappeared and let himself cry the last of his tears, his breathing now shut off and his body protected by photon shielding automatically in place from a strap on his arm.

As Kyrian pulled his emotions together he honestly didn't know how to change this situation. The Aschen's were being difficult and fool hardy in their regulations and protocals, they knew nothing of negotiation. The planeswalker's emotions changed from sadness to pure anger at their ignorance, he wanted to destroy them all for being so young and naive, but that wouldn't help them. He calmed down quickly and sat there in space where the Data-World used to be, meditating and hardly even breathing as he sought a solution.

---

Golith wrings the edge of his chin as the information comes through and nods, as he can see the others in front of him sharing words. Ensuring that this could possibly be on the up and up for some reason. He snaps his fingers and within an instant his small pet is there to answer, as if his word was her's to hang on. He takes the bottom of her jaw in hand with the cusp of his palm and speaks. "I think we may be having guest this evening.." As if by response her flesh goes flush with a lightened pink color and even though her face was not visible, one could see the brim of a smile through her bindings. She bounds for a moment as Golith stands and moves from his seat, which she snap up into. As if she were a cat, perched on the place of her master. "Open a complete link for the admiral, I wish to give him the full picture."

He sets his glass on the arm of the throne before stepping away, as a small drone lifts from the console and centers on him as it begins to broadcast the image it sees. Letting the image piggy back its way on the signal they are feeding too Orlin's own vessel. An image of him standing a midst the center standard of his ship, several feet in front of his throne with the smaller creature lounged behind. "Outstanding.. I do understand your own standing in this matter, besides I think the problem with the child of Gaia is going to complete itself." He leans his head slightly as he is shown the data worlds presence shift out of phase, into another dimension. "I am willing to entertain guest at this time, though I will tell you here and now that neither you, nor your alliance can make such a claim too us. We are sovereign unto ourselves and have been for some time now. I am willing to bring you aboard anytime you wish, be it ship, or other means." He points, motioning for something to happen behind the scope of the video feed "You will be receiving a transmission for our docking procedures and a location for energy, matter transportation. Or if you wish, I could bring you aboard myself.. if that is satisfactory?"

Orlin nodded before the neural link carried out his next order. The coordinates were processed by the ship's computer system, and then relayed to Orlin via neural connection.

The Imperial Admiral didn't react to the alien sight before him, rather decided to transmit his own image so that the aliens before him could see what to expect. A rather unremarkable man in the dark grey Imperial uniform. The way he carried himself, and the way his eyes looked hinted at genetic engineering, or some kind of greater human evolution.

"I will transport myself aboard, standby." Orlin replied, before his mind triggered the command.

---

At the designated coordinates, there was a brilliant flash of light, and an audible pop before Orlin appeared. Matter-stream transportation technology was not widespread throughout the Empire, but the Tria had been modified with the technology to allow ease of transit for it's occupants.

The Admiral was also unarmed, save for the singular disruptor pistol holstered at his hip, and an odd earpiece that he wore around his left ear, It was some kind of mental amplification device. It served a double purpose however, and was put in place to shield the man's mind from prying telepaths or empaths.

Orlin let his hands smooth the creases of his uniform, the crisp dark greys contrasting with dark blues, and the glinting pins and medals of his station.

He awaited a welcome part.

---

Though the Imperial fleet dropped it's alert status when the Data-world disappeared, Hanley continued to remain vigilant.

The sensation that Kyrian was experiencing of being watched, vanished as soon as the Data-world disappeared.

---

A nod returned to Orlin as a small gesture was given to cut the transmission and continue.

Golith took a moment to straighten his robes and adjust himself for the strange diplomatic meeting that was about to take place. His little pet took her time as she knelt behind him and did as he did, straitening and pulling out the creases in the tail of his clothing. Only to step next to him and raise her head to him, ready to receive his small praise. Which she received as his hand graced the back of her head, causing her to stand on the balls of her feet and pressing deeper into his palm.

All of the other officials were quiet about what was transpiring, save for one. A familiar face stepped forward and spoke his mind, albeit out of turn. "Master this is highly inappropriate, allowing such a young race on the ship and openly conversing with them is not at all according to the laws of her majesty." He pulls his head back for a moment when Golith raises a hand to his face and cuts his eyes at him, in a fashion that looks as though it could cut him in half. "The next time you feel inclined to inform me of my own conduct, then I suggest you hold your tongue. Because if you do not, I will have you sent headlong into this systems main star.. Am I made perfectly clear?" The question at the end was less a question and more an observation of events to come. This makes the Draconian rear his head and give a stiff, scared expression, that is short lived. He chooses to swallow his pride, along with any other objections to what it was that Golith was doing.

Golith raises his voice lightly and speaks to his navigator. "Be ready to give our guest a direct shot to the temple and I will meet him there in a few moments." There was a very short pause as several of the consoles in the room flickered and she responded "It is done." Golith nodded as he focused himself and his eyes began to shine an ambient glow of sapphire light. The pet, eagerly clings closer onto Golith's side, as if a child hugging the side of their parents waist and within an instant, the pair flicker out of existence. Encompassed in a quick spinning orb of dark matter, that vanishes along with them.

Several moments was all it took for Golith and his small follower to appear in a large open room, though from the looks of it, it was more a place than a room. The make of this place was that of an older stone emplacement upon the edge of a terrace, forming a massive ring around a center obelisk. Flowers of multiple ranges sat on the edge of the ring and shined a brilliant array of colors, thanks to a source of light that hovered in the distance. The structure was crumbling at one point, but the roof had been removed and cleared away. Only leaving six pillars holding nothing aloft, left to frame the full measure of the ring. The obelisk in the center was formed of a glimmering ivory stone, its three sides covered with a measure of ancient writing. However, the writing did not cover its whole form and the bottom half of two sides remained blank.

Golith looked on as his pet danced around in the light of the false star and stretched herself out on the stone floor. He lifted his head as the light basked over him and his eyes adjusted slowly.

He looked on towards the other side of the ring as Orlin's form materialized in from his own ship and after he adjusted himself, Golith gave a slight bow. "Let me be the first to welcome you commander Orlin, to the temple of bonds." He raised his head as his pet began to approach Orlin, a noise akin to sniffing could be heard from behind the bindings that made her mask.

Golith approached slowly around the center obelisk and crossed an open hand over his chest, a form of greeting for him and his people. "I must properly introduce myself, I am Golith Du Urdon. Master of this vessel and its crew." The pet at his side proceeded him, dropping down to all fours and advancing slowly as she began to circle the commander. Golith took a moment and snapped his fingers, pointing to his side and she quickly returned. "And this is Pesha.. she is always cautious with newcomers."

From commander Orlin's ship, the can still read he is on board the Sorrow, however his position is puzzling to them. As if his person was occupying a space between decks.

---

The draconian probes settle above the atmosphere of Blackrock after their quick trip and begin to scan sections of the city below. Sending all of the information back about the cache below the surface of the planet and what means they could use to retrieve it. Their actions bathed the ground below in intense sessions of light as they scanned the ground from one corner to the next.

The Imperial Aschen Fleet of Righteous Vigilance, stationed on the far side of the small moon of Blackrock, ever vigilant in watching the Kreios system.

It hadn't noticed the intrusion into the system, or rather it hadn't noticed yet. The Watchtower in the system had been tracking the movements of the alien ships for some time, while Imperial defenses were quietly consolidating their position just beyond sensor range.

The time was now, this intrusion would be answered like so many before it. Admiral Nash, the flag officer of the Aschen Fleet of Righteous Vigilance, and Commander of the Reverence II Absolution, a 30 kilometer long planetary assault carrier of the Reverence II Class, packing enough troops and firepower to subjugate an entire star system, was silently watching the holographic readout displaying the alien ships.

Turning to her Executive officer, and AI hologram, a nonverbal nod was given, and the fleet began to move into position.


Alarms began to blare, as the 3500 vessel strong Aschen fleet of righteous Vigilance moved out from the dark side of the planet.

"All hands prepare for intercept." Admiral Nash hailed, as the shields on each and every Aschen combat vessel powered up, the Reverence IIs Absolution, and Bloodied Spirit remained roughly half an AU Back, as the Aschen fleet formations spread out.

A trio of Athena class missile cruisers also held back, as they entered targeting information for their Thunderbolt Mk II Anti-Capital ship missiles. Each carrying a Tricobalt warhead into the Thousands of Teracochranes

The Aschen Fleet began to close on the unknown contacts, like a specter in the night.

As the Aschen took notice to the Sidok scout ships and began their movements, information was being sent from the Satellite Scout Ship to Piton VII. For the time being, the scouting would continue since they seemed to be majorly overlooked and hard to keep track of due to their jumping.

Despite the information coming in from the Satellite Scout, Vengelixo continued to watch the images being sent from the scouts. Blackrock amazed him. He was imagining this place with the Sidok and Pitotian touch. This place was perfect for operation if they could get a hold on it somehow, whether it be diplomatically or forcefully.

After a few seconds, the voice of the digital male rang into his helm, "Admiral Vengelixo, you should heed the information being sent. We're outnumbered without the Fireknaut Armada and these ships mean business."

Vengelixo remained quiet for a few seconds before speaking, "Send a message to the Fireknaught I about the current situation and the images from the scouting. I want three scout ships to scout their largest ships. Three jumps each and they need to return to Pito IX, not here. Have the Sidok line up at their Ports.

We'll need to prepare ourselves for the worst, so put full shields up and switch to Manual controls. We have an identity to keep hidden, so drop all AI systems as soon as all engines are at max storage and the shields are fully up. When the AI is disabled and we're using Manual Control System, I want you to prepare a proper infiltration of their systems in case they try to attack.

They might outnumber us, be we can hold them back till support gets here if need be."

As always, the being on the other end of the line didn't respond; off to do their job. It wasn't but a matter of seconds before three scout ships were popping in and out around the three largest ships. One scout ship was analyzing the hull of the ships, another analyzed the engines, and another analyzed any visible weapons or shields. After their three ships and jumps, the completely invisible ships vanished in a blue blast of light. Should any ship try to follow them, they would get lost in space or come face to face with Pito IX and the Fireknaught Federation.

As for the Piton VII and the remaining scout ships, they didn't budge. The scouts would continue to relay their images in secrecy, not really caring whether they got shot down or not since they were pilotless. Piton VII was very different. The ship would create an invisible field around it that would become known as it's shields. Unless this shield was fired upon, it wouldn't reveal itself.

The interior of the ship seemed to change color as the ship was converting to manual. The blue energy that seemed to show itself within the ship, intertwined with the design to light the ship without using excess power, would turn to a smoky grey color to blend with the metal structure. The ships control began to shift also, offering a more human touch to them in their Manual Control Systems. All signs of AI or Alien design vanished, adding support to their story.

And then something began to form next to Vengelixo. The figure was adorned in a white military uniform that resembled a high rank. The figure had a slightly tanned skin and a dark red hair beneath his Cover. On his hands he wore a pair of white gloves and over his face was a white cloth that only revealed his grey irises below his brick red eyebrows. All in all, a military officer of some kind.

Vengelixo looked at the man and laughed a bit, "You Pitotians and your fancy clothes. Armor will always be more professional for the military."

The man spoke back, the first half still having a digital accent before turning into the typical sound of a sergeant in the Marine Corps., "Some of us aren't able to turn into a war machine. Some of us have to be a little more diplomatic in our appearance. You'll see."

Vengelixo would laugh a bit, knowing what he said was truth, but this man was his friend and he tended to give him a hard time. Vengelixo then turned to the Sidok crew who was at work making sure everything was going smoothly since the AI wasn't there to do it. The humanoid form they carried, more or less their armor, would seem normal if communications were to be opened. Vengelixo was making sure everything looked right, and it did.

"Try to open a connection with these ships. We'll have to be as honest as we can as to why we're here. Every just keep doing what you're doing and we should be fine." Vengelixo spoke.

Standing there, Vengelixo and the new being were greeted by a hologram screen that would show them the beings on the other end of the communications. In quiet, the two were processing the situation and preparing programming in their brains to respond subconsciously to any detail in the direction they needed to go; such as voice tone, actions, backgrounds, descriptions, words, and just about everything. The Sidok and Pitotians were sentient, fleshly, machines; 99.9% of the time, they are thought to be a being made of blood and water, but in reality, they are made of Earth and Oil. To keep peace and protect themselves from unnecessary hatreds, they like to keep the reality of their species a secret and let people believe what they want to believe.

When the aliens attempted to scan the Aschen fleet, they would find their scanners unable to penetrate as the ships emitted some kind of jamming field. A standard Electronic Warfare suite and AEGIS MkII ECW system made short work jamming any sensors that tried to get a read on the approaching Imperial warships.

Admiral Nash watched the DRADIS Closely, as the scout ships flitted in and out of the Aschen fleet.

Once they got within weapons range, Sarissa class Corvettes moved into position, locking onto the scout ships and opening fire, sending up thick flak fields, and concentrated disruptor fire, quickly and efficiently tracking, and engaging the scout ships as they jumped in, advanced wide-spectrum scanners tracking their movements as they bobbed and weaved about.

It was at that moment Admiral Nash sent out a wide spectrum message.

"Unidentified vessels, you are trespassing in protected space under the interests of the United Aschen Empire. Vacate at once or you will be intercepted and destroyed." The warning spoke.

Nash's words were firm and unwavering, as her fleet moved into position. Her eyes watched the flickering holographic projection

"You have one centon to comply." She added, before she turned to her Executive officer and AI.

"Planck Packs, One centon." She ordered, before the Datalink hooked up with the watchtower in system, and relayed across several individual worlds.

"Initiate full resolution system scan; Prepare for Singularity strike." She ordered, as the Imperial fleet continued to approach.

By time the corvettes had a chance to fire on the scout ships, the scout ships had jumped. These ships were recording everything and on high alert knowing they were in a possible enemies territory. As soon as they were fired upon, they knew they needed to get out.

Once the scout ships were back with the Piton VII, Vengelixo planned for the inevitable. The Pitotian was deciding how to approach this with diplomacy. Diplomacy would be attempted first, but Vengelixo was ready to drop the veil.

"This is Pitotian Captain Spark. I believe we have a huge misunderstanding here. We're not here for battle, hence why we are alone. To explain our presence can be done quickly...

There was a virus that attacked one of our space stations after visiting a new planet. It turned them into parasitic monsters that even our technology couldn't treat. After so much battle and there was no remaining living beings on the station, we were forced to make it self destruct so we could tell our people it was an asteroid collision and nobody would know.

What happened had adverse effects. It sent chunks of the station across the universe. We can't explain how this happened, but it has, and we have to clean up our mess and ensure this virus doesn't spread. We have just finished doing such a thing in our current location.

Our sensors picked up life within this region and we have sent a few to make sure that this virus hasn't by chance made it any of these worlds. I can promise you that we are here to do one thing and leave. To support my words, I will send you a copy of the video logs on the space station." Captain Spark spoke to the Aschen ship in response to their demands.

When Spark spoke of the video logs, they were automatically sent. These logs revealed a horrific parasite creature in the darkness of the shut down station. Bursts of ammunition, blue energy, and red energy, were being exchanged. In the shadows it would show these parasites fully consuming the Sidok and Pitotians. In seconds they were being spits on their rear end as large gooey eggs. Depending on their species, gender, and size, would produce different sized parasitic infused humanoids. These parasites left nothing, consuming all. What the Ashchen wouldn't realize was just exactly how powerful this virus was, that it could infect the Pitotians and Sidok.

"This is all we're trying to prevent. You're more than welcome to escort us to the next zone, as our scouts have found it to be near a populated planet that is extremely sustainable for the virus to consume." Spark spoke again.

In the solitude of Vengelixo's helm, Vengelixo was communicating with the Fireknaught ships ready to jump in a split second. Despite not getting all the details, the scouts could count and gather exterior imaging. If this communication ever lagged or was effected by static in it's clarity, the Fireknaught would Warp to the assistance of the Piton VII.

(I suppose we would take this back to space since Piton VII isn't near Blackrock.)

While Captain Spark tried plead their case to the Aschen, Vengelixo was very cautious and still passing orders through their connection. Vengelixo was well aware of the situation and Spark told an honest tale. If the Aschen were to deny them, they could leave and leave the Aschen Empire to fall to the virus. As for being fired on, Vengelixo was already making sure it wasn't capable of happening.

"Pardon me, Captain Spark, but I am making a request to lower your weapons. There is no plausible reason to fire on us and if you did such, you would be no more than a barbarian. Even evil isn't so barbaric." Venglixo spoke calmly inside his helm that would transmit the message to the ships communication with the Aschen.

In this time, the Cloaking System was ready to engage if necessary. Although not designed for an attack, the Piton VII did have an extremely capable defense that can be excessively aggressive if necessary. Vengelixo didn't want it to come to this, but he knew that the Fireknaught Federation was waiting one second away at Warp Speed, ready to jump. Vengelixo didn't know exactly how many were coming, as it was a Defensive Protocol that prevented the enemy from having any knowledge on them being there or how many there was. With the design of their species, one could expect they had the capability to hold their space.

Captain Spark followed Vengelixo, "We have no weapons engaged and our ship is not designed to be an aggressor."

Admiral Nash was considering their reply, silently watching the video feed they were being provided with.

"We'll handle the situation if and when it arises." Nash concluded, as she brought up a holographic star chart, outlining the borders of the Isirian Autonomous State.

She then transmitted the star charts to the scout ships, so they would know what was considered restricted. As this was going on, there was an audible chime as the Reverence's Sensors detected several anomalies near Chiron-Delta.

Nash frowned a moment before she pulled up the Inomine Veritas, an Iconoclast Class Battleship attached to the fleet.

"Commander Grey, this is Admiral Nash. I've detected several anomalies near Chiron-Delta, make a tactical jump and investigate." The Commander nodded, and the Inomine Veritas flickered out from the formation of Aschen Ships.

---


Nash Finally turned her attention to the communication from the Pitoans.

"Vacate this system immediately, or you will be engaged and destroyed. This is non negotiable." Nash warned.

Vengelixo took a quick glance at the Aschen chart within his realm before relaying it to the Piton VII. It provided a lot of information within the map. Although very unhappy with the Aschen decision, there wasn't much he could do at this moment, but he would be back. With no words spoken, Vengelixo and Spark communicated through their private connection.

Spark spoke calmly to Vengelixo, "I know you want to eliminate this virus, but if they want to deal with it, they can. You and I know what this virus is capable of, maybe they should to."

Vengelixo responded, "It's fine with me. When they find themselves overwhelmed, we will return. Mark the location on the map and give them our Signal so that they can contact us when they need to. We'll fall back and move to the next mass of the space station."

Spark spoke up to the Aschen ship, "We will leave. We did not know we were in private zone. We're going to leave a communication line open with your ship so if the virus is present and you have any questions, you can't contact us."

The Piton VII opened a line with the Aschen to keep them connected for future reference. Following that, the space around the Piton VII began to fold in. As quick as they came, they left. Where they jumped, nobody would know.

Vengelixo took a quick glance at the Aschen chart within his realm before relaying it to the Piton VII. It provided a lot of information within the map. Although very unhappy with the Aschen decision, there wasn't much he could do at this moment, but he would be back. With no words spoken, Vengelixo and Spark communicated through their private connection.

Spark spoke calmly to Vengelixo, "I know you want to eliminate this virus, but if they want to deal with it, they can. You and I know what this virus is capable of, maybe they should to."

Vengelixo responded, "It's fine with me. When they find themselves overwhelmed, we will return. Mark the location on the map and give them our Signal so that they can contact us when they need to. We'll fall back and move to the next mass of the space station."

Spark spoke up to the Aschen ship, "We will leave. We did not know we were in private zone. We're going to leave a communication line open with your ship so if the virus is present and you have any questions, you can't contact us."

The Piton VII opened a line with the Aschen to keep them connected for future reference. Following that, the space around the Piton VII began to fold in. As quick as they came, they left. Where they jumped, nobody would know.

In orbit above the harsh prison planet of Chiron Delta, the activity that was surrounding this normally isolated moon had drawn undue attention. Attention that came in the form of a large warship flashing into mid-grade orbit above the planetoid.

The Iconoclast Class Battleship Inomine Veritas was a sight to behold, at roughly five and a half kilometers, she situated herself in high orbit as Commander Gray went over the planetary scans.

"Starship and jump signatures, I surmise they already landed." Gray said as he turned to his executive officer.

"All hands Action stations! Initiate planetary approach, lock us into geostationary orbit and prepare to drop the Adepts." Gray ordered, as the lights dimmed to a dull red.

Alarms began to klaxxon as the massive Imperial Aschen warship turned slightly on it's keel, exposing it's underside to the planet's surface.

From there it began to initiate intensive surface scans, along with launching a quartet of Aurora Alpha tactical bombers, each equipped with sophisticated tracking equipment.

Slowly they began their descent, while Commander Gray sipped his coffee.

The energy of the minds surrounding it fully awakened the ancient vessel. A probable candidate was detected, and the vessel half buried in the earth opened it's primary access hatch, revealing an old seat bound in a leather like material. Helga would be able to see inside the vessel with only a few steps closer, the small portion of it that surfaced belying the size of the vessel.

In orbit, the aschen imperial ship would begin detecting massive surges of energy. Energy at levels beyond that found in stars, beyond that found in entire galaxies. If they were to look only at the scanners, they could assume that below them, just beneath the surface, lay all the explosive power from the creation of the universe, condensed and contained into a space equal to about a starship fighter. Commander Gray would feel a slight tickle at the back of his mind, before an unbidden thought came to his mind, as though whispered in his ear. "The power of creation lays just within your grasp.... You should take it before it is taken from you...."

The shuddering in the earth caused by Imai would be recipicated by the vessel. It would shudder in and of itself, pulling slight out of the earth and revealing more of it's form. A tint of red and gold gilded the vessel, and a shimmering of energy, so thin and imperceptible, it seemed almost an illusion.

A sudden, powerful surge of fear would pass over any mortal creatures nearby. An unknown dread felt by those beings ever haunted by times inescapable finality. It is the feeling of doom, the impossible to deny, yet unacceptable feeling that a terrible thing is soon to happen. It is the fear that preceeds the storm...

A whisper would pass throughout the very skiens of reality. A single word, heard throughout the entirity of the universe.

"Soon..."