Post by EmperorMyric on Mar 22, 2021 16:57:49 GMT
The Tradex Nebula has been slowly encroaching on the territory of the U.E.E., sending plenty of the house of Valour into frenzied curiosity. What was this strange anomaly they’d been warned about.
A particular figure, a certain Aseric Vrothshal of the house of Valour, volunteered to lead an exploratory fleet into the Tradex Nebula.
A small fleet of one WarSword destroyer and three Warblade Frigates were assembled and, with the blessings of the U.E.E., set off to explore their nearest portion of unexplored space.
It was a strange place indeed. And they hadn't even gotten into the nebula yet.
The Tradex had always been known as a place of absolute danger, anyone who entered simply disappeared and the systems that surrounded the pulsating almost alive place were dark and foreboding. Made of Dark stars and barren planets which gave off little light and seemed to bathe in the red glow of the Tradex itself. These systems were well known for strange sightings and turning those who entered them mad, and with the strange distortions that increased around the Tradex zone the only stable routes towards the Nebula took most would be explorers through such regions.
As the Echo scout force made its way through FTL towards the Tradex itself increasing buffeting and destabilization forced them to drop out several times of FTL travel forcing them to re-charge then re enter FTL only to be dropped out again unless they seemed to travel in pre determined paths.
It was during the one of these drop outs that the force was deposited into real-space, in the centre of one of the systems inhabited by the Dark Stars.
It was quiet, lifeless and lit by the pulsating red form of the monstrous Tradex before them. They were not yet in the Nebula but this system was along such path, three barren worlds of various sizes orbited a lifeless form of a Dark Star. Its pitch black colour was surrounded by a halo of red, the dark matter fusion at its heart giving it a tiny fraction of warmth. There was no sign of anything at all, no signals or motion, the Echoes were alone here while they waited for their drives to recharge.
Echotian macrys nodes ejected out into the void, scanning the nearby system while the ship readied itself for another jump.
Aseric gazed out into the space before them, almost entranced by the dark star. It was interesting for sure, but oddly unsettling.
“Put weapons on standby, this place doesn’t sit right with me.”
“By your orders, Vo’shel.”
The system was truly barren. Worlds were devoid of even the most basic building blocks of life, blasted wastelands of rock and ice illuminated in the red glow of the evil nebula and bathed in the non-existent glow of the Dark Star they all orbited. Nothing was gained from this worlds, they were dead and if they had been anything but before hand deeper searches would be needed, but doing so was to linger here.
The Dark star itself was a seething mass of dark matter, congealed into some physical form it fused such matter within its core giving off the most tiny emissions of heat and red light to everything around it.
Nothing moved as the Echo drives kept charging. But they were right, something did seem off here like the system was unnatural and that the place where they now sat and waited simply should not exist.
The ship’s FTL drives neared completion as the small fleet pulled in closer together.
Aseric watched, eyes scanning meticulously, as her macrys nodes reported more unnerving results.
“I want us out of here, now.”
She set about marking their location on the macrys holo-map as ‘Avoid’, and made the command to jump to FTL.
There was a burst of static. Just above one of the barren planets. It briefly appeared for a moment, like a ghost before disappearing.
Maybe there was something out there after all. It came again, a quick burst of static definitely from a com channel, but it was immensely weak and hard to pin point. Something was alive in this system for sure, or at least there was an automatic beacon, but the the bursts were not rhythmic and seemed to be by hand.
It came again finally, and could be somehow made out.
"Plea......Help...... Trappe..... 4......Cycl......" It was very choppy, laced with static and barely picked up. But it was a message and it could be triangulated from one of the barren worlds.
The Echos aboard the various vessels hesitated. This wasn’t possible, not with the current state of the system.
Life scans had come up short, so unless this message was purely artificial in nature, like the Striders, there shouldn’t— couldn’t be anyone broadcasting.
Aseric signaled for one of her warblades to make the jump to FTL and return to Estanix. A more detailed and robust fleet was needed to continue work here, but for now they would do without.
The rest of the fleet continued onward, cautiously seeking out the signal of the transmission in hopes of locating the sender.
The vessel would be able to jump away from the system unhindered, there to make the rough journey back through the turbulent regions that the fleet had come through in the first place.
As the fleet continued to move closer and deeper into the system the message kept coming, changing now and again clearly indicating some form of sentient life behind it. It wasnt until they got close to one of the barren worlds that they discovered the source.
The wreck of a vessel lay shattered on the world below small in size likely a few crewmember explorer vessel that they had taken here to try find out the Tradex secrets. No weapons fire was discernible on the hull whatever had happened wasn't combat it seemed. The scanners also now detected a single life-sign, feint but alive. The planet had obscured such when they had scanned from distance the first time, and the messages now sent were far more clear.
"Please Help Trap....ed Here for .... Cycles running out of .... plies" It was still choppy and the signal was still very weak but it was audible. They seemed to match human identification and the hull, or what was left of it, didn't seem to contain any identifiable markings.
Aseric thought for a moment, believing everything to be something to be avoided, before deciding that the risk of exposing a few Echos to the planet was less than the worth of the life below.
“Send a Warpack. I want that signal identified and brought back. I want the rest of the fleet ready to jump if anything goes awry.”
——////—————-
Within minutes a prepped Warpack descended onto the planets surface, giving the downed vessel several hundred meters breathing room.
Four echos in full Warmail exited the Warpack through the assault ramp, leaving two in the pilots courters in case they had to leave in a hurry.
Weapons up, they approached the wreckage; ever eager to find whatever was speaking to the fleet above.
Space was still quiet, apart from the broadcast and the residual energy emissions from the wrecked ship on the surface, nothing was out of the ordinary.
That was until several small energy spikes registered close to the Dark Star, it wasn't anything major and could even be fluctuations in the strange celestial bodies dark corona but something had given those emissions away.
The vessel was clearly human made, probably some exploration vessel sold at one of the many neutral territories across the galaxy, no weapons adorned it and no special technology lay within. Most of it was scattered about the surface as the Echoes surveyed the wreckage, likely some random explorer had decided to buy a standard explorer and go make a name for himself by exploring the Tradex. Fat lot of good that had done him.
As they approached someone came out from an airlock, he held his hands up and was clearly encased within a spacesuit. His helmet was see through however, definitely human. His face was lean and very well cut, eyes like a hawk and with dark black long hair that was set behind his head as much as it could be in the helmet.
"Thank you for coming to save me, you are the Echoes yes? It is an honour to meet your species" He said over coms channel to the party below.
The fleet above the planet noticed the strange emissions, though at this point they were already as on edge as they could be. All weapons pointed in all directions and all macrys scanners continued to scrutinize every inch of the system.
—-////———
“Identify yourself.”
The voice from the nearest Echo was almost robotic, altered through the Warhelm to mask their identity.
The four Echos fanned out flanking the individual as to not give any consistent shooting gallery. Should one of them fall, the other three would have time to react.
Despite the sudden bursts of energy nothing seemed to move or act. That was until another set of bursts appeared near to the star, then another. All were roughly in the same energy signature and in differing patterns. Either the star was getting restless, or there was something out there for sure.
It was then that small glitches in the sensors began occurring, random ghost images, potential coms traffic, sensor readings from different locations. Something was extending its strange tendril out to touch the Echos fleet.
--
"Me? Oh my names Dib, its a pleasure. My ship is called the Caltram, I got stranded here when my vessel crashed from some sort of system malfunction. I survived the crash and have been trying to broadcast for help over the past 8 days its rare to see anyone out in the Dark Stars. Why are you here?" He asked.
Aseric noticed the glitches through her macrys feed. Several different stations aboard the bridge reported unregistered data that didn’t coincide with others. Her own station seemed to react subtly to some unseen force.
She wasn’t having it.
“Raise shields, hail the ground forces, then dampen all macrys links. Something is trying to mess with our systems.”
“What should we tell the landing party?” One of the bridge crew asked quickly.
“Deal with the survivor. Return to the ship”
———///——-//——
There seemed to be a brief pause from the Echos on the ground as three of them lowered weapons and started moving towards the Warpack.
The last to leave simply stated, “No time for talk, come with us or die here.”
It was clearly some kind of subtle probing. Sensors were toyed with, system access points in cyberspace were all tested with subtle attacks and all areas where there were access to the ships systems found themselves under a subtle sort of cyber attack, nothing major at all but almost like something was probing them from all directions. Something was in this system, the Echoes were not alone.
---
"Of course" Dib moved quickly with the ground force, keeping close to them as they neared the vessel on the ground. "What are you all doing here anyway? Exploring like myself?" He asked intrigued.
Aseric was not having any of it. She quickly summoned several of the ships designated WarStriders, A.I. with mind’s strong enough to manage piloting their massive chassis’s, and filled them in on their situation.
“Protect us! Take this fight to them!”
—-////-////——-/-
As the Striders finished uploading their collective consciousness into the ships main macrys system, it was re-opened allowing whatever was probing them to have access to their systems, but also allowing the intellect of the WarStriders to actively combat it.
—-///—-//——
The Echo herding Dib did not say anything at first, instead choosing to snarl at the creature indeed.
“Keep your mouth shut until we are back on our ship. I don’t know what’s going on up there but I’m not taking chances with you.”
The cyberspace around the Echo fleet was filled with what appeared to be a titanic leviathan of purple and darkness, with tendrils lightly brushing the Echo fleet. It became immediately apparent to the WarStriders that whatever was probing their systems was vast, immensely powerful and highly advanced. With the opening of the system the Unnamed set about their work. Tendrils of inky darkness instantly assaulted several in links seeking to break into the direct systems of the ship, self replicating code sought to gain a foothold as firewalls were tested with an ever shifting attack that gave almost no chance to analyse the incoming code. It was a light attack made to test the defenses of the Macry systems.
---
Dib merely nodded as he boarded the vessel and strapped in where he was told to. He would have asked to get some of his belongings from his crashed vessel but he guessed the Echoes wouldn't really have cared for such, and it would only have made them angrier. Clearly something was happening to their fleet.
Macrys systems, as if reacting instinctively to the incoming attack, began clotting off systems in the way of the onslaught.
Aseric finally realized what was happening as her own macrys began shutting itself out of the major systems, rapidly began commanding those under her command to begin expunging the macrys systems.
“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! SWITCH TO MANUAL SYSTEMS! GET US OUT OF HERE!”
——///—————-
The macrys systems aboard the Warpack suddenly limited their range of use, and completely went dark around the fleet.
Those in the Warpack began loading weapons, checking their swords, and speaking to one another in greater echotian.
“You know what this is?”
Said the Echo across from Dib.
The Echo fleet was almost instantly covered in an interdiction field, the cyber attack continued. The Unnamed happily letting the Echoes shut off their systems to manual to put themselves at disadvantages, still they did not attack. The cyber attack and the interdiction was all that came for now, it was like an observation seeing what the Echoes would do in such a situation. This was their domain and anything that wandered into the dark stars was theirs to toy with.
---
Dib noticed the Echoes suddenly start checking their weapons and the ships systems shifting slightly, almost like something was trying to break in. Dib turned to the Echo who had asked the question.
"I don't, no, however the same thing happened when I entered the system. My ships electronics failed for some reason and I couldn't escape the gravity well of the planet that I crashed on. Im guessing that the same predicament is occurring to your ship?"
Aseric’s heart sank as the field was detected. She had failed. This would be the end of them if she did not act quickly.
A macrys signal was sent from her own, broadcasting to the void around the star.
-/-We Surrender.-/-
The ships systems that could still function properly fought to keep the shields up. A.I. and Echo alike worked relentlessly, making whatever was in their systems fight for everything they took.
-/-We surrender-/-
Again no firepower came from the Unnamed.
But no reply came to the message either. The cyber attack continued to try harass the Echoes systems, but with no direct goal it seemed. Either the Unnamed did not quite know what they wanted, or they were merely toying with their prey.
---
"What is going on?" Dib asked "Where are you taking me anyway, back to your ship?"
Unable to fight back effectively, the Echo ships continued to resist the invading tendrils. Until whatever was attacking them did something else however, they were essentially just readying any escape pods they had access to.
This fight was looking bleak and the morale aboard was breaking down slowly.
—-///——-
The Warpack veered off from its original trajectory, straying from its original destination of the fleet towards the end of the interdiction field.
Warpack lacked FTL generators, but they did possess small jump batteries for just such occasions.
As they moved, they slowly increased the antimatter drives until they were moving at a decent speed to exit the interdiction field at a reasonable time.
The Echo across from Dib leaned back, placing his head against the wall with a small clink as metal met metal.
“You would’ve rather stayed on the dead world?”
Dib sighed, he felt the ship turn away from the main fleet. He then took his helmet off, revealing a lean cut face and dark flowing hair, his eyes were also heavily tattooed.
"Not particularly but I was hoping to go to your main fleet and talk to your main commander personally. You see, they dont like people probing around in their space, my associates tell me that they have a proposal for you. One that may even mean your fleet can survive, they don't make many deals like this, take me to your fleet commander or get me a link to him and I will explain" He stood up, totally unfazed by the large Echoes in front of him.
"Oh and don't try to kill me, do that and you all die in quite inventive ways. Seriously I am trying to help, your species is interesting I haven't encountered them personally before, don't make me regret my decision"
The Echos aboard the Warpack exchanged looks though disguised by their warhelms. The Echo across from Dib stood and removed his own helm revealing a heavily scarred face and duel-set eyes.
“We don’t have much choice do we? Either we leave the fleet to their deaths, or we die from the probable trap you’re directing us back into.”
His eyes searched Dibs before he sighed and re-donned his helm.
-/-Pilot, take us back.-/-
-/-Yes I’m serious, don’t question me again.-/-
The Warpack began to bank as thrusters on the hill directed it back towards their fleet.
“I’m putting what little faith I have in you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
"Faith is an outdated concept. Whether you survive this is entirely dependent on your lords decision to my deal" Dib smiled.
As the shuttle went back towards the fleet they were untouched, their systems not attacked like those of the fleet and not strikes came for any of them. The Ghosts of the Tradex were clearly sitting and watching, eager to see the Echoes decision to Dibs deal, it wasn't often they got such a unique opportunity, normally anyone who ventured into this region simple disappeared.
At least the Echoes now knew where they went, the rumors were certainly true.
Venax, the Echo who has been speaking up until now, suddenly found himself agreeing with the humanoid. While his expression had been just that, he felt that faith was far outpaced by reality.
“Following your lead then. Aseric will be eager to accept you, that much I am sure.”
Venax had to wait until they were practically on top of the fleet before he could contact them properly, however once he made contact again it was quickly arranged for them to board the ship.
—/-///—————-
The hangar was filled with Wolfpacks readying themselves for combat when the Warpack finally arrived. Venax stepped out first, leading Dib out and into the already present gaze of Aseric. The Valour stood, arms positioned behind her back.
Venax stopped before her, gave a quick nod, and stepped out of Dibs way.
“May I introduce the House of Valour’s exploration Knight, Aseric Vrothshal.”
Dib bowed, showing surprising respect especially seeing how he now controlled the situation. The deal he was to relay was one that would shake the Echoes to the core, but it was a deal none the less.
One the Unnamed were rare to grant, a chance to live.
"It is an honour to meet you in person. I am merely known as Dib. I am sorry that I had to deceive you in order to come aboard but I doubt you would have merely taken me aboard otherwise. My associates do not like others coming into their territory, anyone who usually does is killed, but in this instance they are intrigued"
Aseric’s face was desperately calm. She had been trying to muster up her own courage to come down here not too long before, so for someone like this to be speaking to her now was unnerving.
Her dreadlocks were tied back into a single long braid in order to mask how they had been disturbed in a fight prior. As she spoke, it gently waved from side to side.
“Our nation sits on the nebula’s ever expanding border. If we have caused you offence we greatly ask for your associates forgiveness.”
Dib smiled and pulled out a small flask from his space suit and took a sip, a fine cocktail that he always carried around on him. He then began to speak.
"This deal will be the closest you can get. The first option you have available is to go down fighting, your fleet will be wiped out and your names lost to history as those who never came home... The second option is that you leave here, however your fleet will be infected with quantum bio weapons. Yourselves will be fine, forever untouched by them but anyone you meet until the day you die will be violently infected, reducing you a exiles who cause death to whoever you meet. The third option is rather... Exquisite." Dib breathed.
"You will be infected by dormant bio weapons like before, but they will not harm you or anyone else, call them... Insurance. You will leave here unharmed and return to your people, in return you will deliver 20,000 Echo children of varying ages into our embrace at this very location, upon doing so the kill code will be made and the bio weapons will die, leaving you and your people in perfect health. And we shall not bother you again unless you encroach upon the nebula again. Those are your options, choose wisely"
He smiled.
Aseric almost smiled. This creature must jest if it thought for a moment that several hundred Echotian lives were worth the lives of their future.
She almost called for war then, already visualizing her blade plunging into this smug figure’s torso. Sure they’d probably all die, but going down fighting is what Echo’s live for.
No she intended to make the best of this.
“We will take the second.”
"I see. A shame my associates were looking forward to studying your physiology. However your self sacrifice is a noble one..." Dib nodded his head in approval.
Across the Echo fleet, a tingling sensation would be felt by all, as quantum bio weapons were beamed into their ships. They themselves would be fine, never harmed by what inhabited their own flesh, but for others it would always be a death sentence. Dib however rubbed his chin.
"I like your kind a lot, you interest me. While you may be exiles for a while I have a proposition, work for me as my agents. If you do so well I will try to convince my associates to remove those bio weapons, maybe in time you can return to your own people. I make no promises but it may be your only way home" He smiled placing his hands behind his back.
Aseric’s head raised as she felt the sensation wash over her. Hands clenched into fists as the weight of her decision settled on her.
No. She had made the right choice.
“What kind of work... are you offering us?”
"That depends, errand runs, maybe help taking care of individuals who have outweighed their usefulness. You will know when I have the exact task set out for you. It is your choice however, at the end of the day its whether you wish to see your families again"
Dib took another small sip of his flask, he was going beyond his remitt here but his associates would allow it. This time.
“No. We are not hired killers. This is an exploration fleet, and will continue to be an exploration fleet. I will not be the lapdog of some unknown force.”
Aseric’s helm folded up around her face as she bit back more words.
“If you are done here, I would ask you to leave now. We will not be returning again.”
Dib nodded his head slightly, he was sad that the Echoes did not take his offer. It was truly the only help he could offer them, still they had made their choice and he would let them have that. While he could easily turn them into his agents he preferred it when they worked out of free will, out of unmanipulated choice. He respect that.
"As you wish. Perhaps in the future we shall meet again. You are free to leave this system." He paused.
"Never return"
Dib seemed to fade, his glowing purple eyes all that remained for a moment as they faded out too. Almost instantly the interdiction was gone, the system attacks had stopped and the Macry systems and other electronics were in fine shape. The Unnamed had left them to leave.
The stories of the Tradex were true.
A particular figure, a certain Aseric Vrothshal of the house of Valour, volunteered to lead an exploratory fleet into the Tradex Nebula.
A small fleet of one WarSword destroyer and three Warblade Frigates were assembled and, with the blessings of the U.E.E., set off to explore their nearest portion of unexplored space.
It was a strange place indeed. And they hadn't even gotten into the nebula yet.
The Tradex had always been known as a place of absolute danger, anyone who entered simply disappeared and the systems that surrounded the pulsating almost alive place were dark and foreboding. Made of Dark stars and barren planets which gave off little light and seemed to bathe in the red glow of the Tradex itself. These systems were well known for strange sightings and turning those who entered them mad, and with the strange distortions that increased around the Tradex zone the only stable routes towards the Nebula took most would be explorers through such regions.
As the Echo scout force made its way through FTL towards the Tradex itself increasing buffeting and destabilization forced them to drop out several times of FTL travel forcing them to re-charge then re enter FTL only to be dropped out again unless they seemed to travel in pre determined paths.
It was during the one of these drop outs that the force was deposited into real-space, in the centre of one of the systems inhabited by the Dark Stars.
It was quiet, lifeless and lit by the pulsating red form of the monstrous Tradex before them. They were not yet in the Nebula but this system was along such path, three barren worlds of various sizes orbited a lifeless form of a Dark Star. Its pitch black colour was surrounded by a halo of red, the dark matter fusion at its heart giving it a tiny fraction of warmth. There was no sign of anything at all, no signals or motion, the Echoes were alone here while they waited for their drives to recharge.
Echotian macrys nodes ejected out into the void, scanning the nearby system while the ship readied itself for another jump.
Aseric gazed out into the space before them, almost entranced by the dark star. It was interesting for sure, but oddly unsettling.
“Put weapons on standby, this place doesn’t sit right with me.”
“By your orders, Vo’shel.”
The system was truly barren. Worlds were devoid of even the most basic building blocks of life, blasted wastelands of rock and ice illuminated in the red glow of the evil nebula and bathed in the non-existent glow of the Dark Star they all orbited. Nothing was gained from this worlds, they were dead and if they had been anything but before hand deeper searches would be needed, but doing so was to linger here.
The Dark star itself was a seething mass of dark matter, congealed into some physical form it fused such matter within its core giving off the most tiny emissions of heat and red light to everything around it.
Nothing moved as the Echo drives kept charging. But they were right, something did seem off here like the system was unnatural and that the place where they now sat and waited simply should not exist.
The ship’s FTL drives neared completion as the small fleet pulled in closer together.
Aseric watched, eyes scanning meticulously, as her macrys nodes reported more unnerving results.
“I want us out of here, now.”
She set about marking their location on the macrys holo-map as ‘Avoid’, and made the command to jump to FTL.
There was a burst of static. Just above one of the barren planets. It briefly appeared for a moment, like a ghost before disappearing.
Maybe there was something out there after all. It came again, a quick burst of static definitely from a com channel, but it was immensely weak and hard to pin point. Something was alive in this system for sure, or at least there was an automatic beacon, but the the bursts were not rhythmic and seemed to be by hand.
It came again finally, and could be somehow made out.
"Plea......Help...... Trappe..... 4......Cycl......" It was very choppy, laced with static and barely picked up. But it was a message and it could be triangulated from one of the barren worlds.
The Echos aboard the various vessels hesitated. This wasn’t possible, not with the current state of the system.
Life scans had come up short, so unless this message was purely artificial in nature, like the Striders, there shouldn’t— couldn’t be anyone broadcasting.
Aseric signaled for one of her warblades to make the jump to FTL and return to Estanix. A more detailed and robust fleet was needed to continue work here, but for now they would do without.
The rest of the fleet continued onward, cautiously seeking out the signal of the transmission in hopes of locating the sender.
The vessel would be able to jump away from the system unhindered, there to make the rough journey back through the turbulent regions that the fleet had come through in the first place.
As the fleet continued to move closer and deeper into the system the message kept coming, changing now and again clearly indicating some form of sentient life behind it. It wasnt until they got close to one of the barren worlds that they discovered the source.
The wreck of a vessel lay shattered on the world below small in size likely a few crewmember explorer vessel that they had taken here to try find out the Tradex secrets. No weapons fire was discernible on the hull whatever had happened wasn't combat it seemed. The scanners also now detected a single life-sign, feint but alive. The planet had obscured such when they had scanned from distance the first time, and the messages now sent were far more clear.
"Please Help Trap....ed Here for .... Cycles running out of .... plies" It was still choppy and the signal was still very weak but it was audible. They seemed to match human identification and the hull, or what was left of it, didn't seem to contain any identifiable markings.
Aseric thought for a moment, believing everything to be something to be avoided, before deciding that the risk of exposing a few Echos to the planet was less than the worth of the life below.
“Send a Warpack. I want that signal identified and brought back. I want the rest of the fleet ready to jump if anything goes awry.”
——////—————-
Within minutes a prepped Warpack descended onto the planets surface, giving the downed vessel several hundred meters breathing room.
Four echos in full Warmail exited the Warpack through the assault ramp, leaving two in the pilots courters in case they had to leave in a hurry.
Weapons up, they approached the wreckage; ever eager to find whatever was speaking to the fleet above.
Space was still quiet, apart from the broadcast and the residual energy emissions from the wrecked ship on the surface, nothing was out of the ordinary.
That was until several small energy spikes registered close to the Dark Star, it wasn't anything major and could even be fluctuations in the strange celestial bodies dark corona but something had given those emissions away.
The vessel was clearly human made, probably some exploration vessel sold at one of the many neutral territories across the galaxy, no weapons adorned it and no special technology lay within. Most of it was scattered about the surface as the Echoes surveyed the wreckage, likely some random explorer had decided to buy a standard explorer and go make a name for himself by exploring the Tradex. Fat lot of good that had done him.
As they approached someone came out from an airlock, he held his hands up and was clearly encased within a spacesuit. His helmet was see through however, definitely human. His face was lean and very well cut, eyes like a hawk and with dark black long hair that was set behind his head as much as it could be in the helmet.
"Thank you for coming to save me, you are the Echoes yes? It is an honour to meet your species" He said over coms channel to the party below.
The fleet above the planet noticed the strange emissions, though at this point they were already as on edge as they could be. All weapons pointed in all directions and all macrys scanners continued to scrutinize every inch of the system.
—-////———
“Identify yourself.”
The voice from the nearest Echo was almost robotic, altered through the Warhelm to mask their identity.
The four Echos fanned out flanking the individual as to not give any consistent shooting gallery. Should one of them fall, the other three would have time to react.
Despite the sudden bursts of energy nothing seemed to move or act. That was until another set of bursts appeared near to the star, then another. All were roughly in the same energy signature and in differing patterns. Either the star was getting restless, or there was something out there for sure.
It was then that small glitches in the sensors began occurring, random ghost images, potential coms traffic, sensor readings from different locations. Something was extending its strange tendril out to touch the Echos fleet.
--
"Me? Oh my names Dib, its a pleasure. My ship is called the Caltram, I got stranded here when my vessel crashed from some sort of system malfunction. I survived the crash and have been trying to broadcast for help over the past 8 days its rare to see anyone out in the Dark Stars. Why are you here?" He asked.
Aseric noticed the glitches through her macrys feed. Several different stations aboard the bridge reported unregistered data that didn’t coincide with others. Her own station seemed to react subtly to some unseen force.
She wasn’t having it.
“Raise shields, hail the ground forces, then dampen all macrys links. Something is trying to mess with our systems.”
“What should we tell the landing party?” One of the bridge crew asked quickly.
“Deal with the survivor. Return to the ship”
———///——-//——
There seemed to be a brief pause from the Echos on the ground as three of them lowered weapons and started moving towards the Warpack.
The last to leave simply stated, “No time for talk, come with us or die here.”
It was clearly some kind of subtle probing. Sensors were toyed with, system access points in cyberspace were all tested with subtle attacks and all areas where there were access to the ships systems found themselves under a subtle sort of cyber attack, nothing major at all but almost like something was probing them from all directions. Something was in this system, the Echoes were not alone.
---
"Of course" Dib moved quickly with the ground force, keeping close to them as they neared the vessel on the ground. "What are you all doing here anyway? Exploring like myself?" He asked intrigued.
Aseric was not having any of it. She quickly summoned several of the ships designated WarStriders, A.I. with mind’s strong enough to manage piloting their massive chassis’s, and filled them in on their situation.
“Protect us! Take this fight to them!”
—-////-////——-/-
As the Striders finished uploading their collective consciousness into the ships main macrys system, it was re-opened allowing whatever was probing them to have access to their systems, but also allowing the intellect of the WarStriders to actively combat it.
—-///—-//——
The Echo herding Dib did not say anything at first, instead choosing to snarl at the creature indeed.
“Keep your mouth shut until we are back on our ship. I don’t know what’s going on up there but I’m not taking chances with you.”
The cyberspace around the Echo fleet was filled with what appeared to be a titanic leviathan of purple and darkness, with tendrils lightly brushing the Echo fleet. It became immediately apparent to the WarStriders that whatever was probing their systems was vast, immensely powerful and highly advanced. With the opening of the system the Unnamed set about their work. Tendrils of inky darkness instantly assaulted several in links seeking to break into the direct systems of the ship, self replicating code sought to gain a foothold as firewalls were tested with an ever shifting attack that gave almost no chance to analyse the incoming code. It was a light attack made to test the defenses of the Macry systems.
---
Dib merely nodded as he boarded the vessel and strapped in where he was told to. He would have asked to get some of his belongings from his crashed vessel but he guessed the Echoes wouldn't really have cared for such, and it would only have made them angrier. Clearly something was happening to their fleet.
Macrys systems, as if reacting instinctively to the incoming attack, began clotting off systems in the way of the onslaught.
Aseric finally realized what was happening as her own macrys began shutting itself out of the major systems, rapidly began commanding those under her command to begin expunging the macrys systems.
“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK! SWITCH TO MANUAL SYSTEMS! GET US OUT OF HERE!”
——///—————-
The macrys systems aboard the Warpack suddenly limited their range of use, and completely went dark around the fleet.
Those in the Warpack began loading weapons, checking their swords, and speaking to one another in greater echotian.
“You know what this is?”
Said the Echo across from Dib.
The Echo fleet was almost instantly covered in an interdiction field, the cyber attack continued. The Unnamed happily letting the Echoes shut off their systems to manual to put themselves at disadvantages, still they did not attack. The cyber attack and the interdiction was all that came for now, it was like an observation seeing what the Echoes would do in such a situation. This was their domain and anything that wandered into the dark stars was theirs to toy with.
---
Dib noticed the Echoes suddenly start checking their weapons and the ships systems shifting slightly, almost like something was trying to break in. Dib turned to the Echo who had asked the question.
"I don't, no, however the same thing happened when I entered the system. My ships electronics failed for some reason and I couldn't escape the gravity well of the planet that I crashed on. Im guessing that the same predicament is occurring to your ship?"
Aseric’s heart sank as the field was detected. She had failed. This would be the end of them if she did not act quickly.
A macrys signal was sent from her own, broadcasting to the void around the star.
-/-We Surrender.-/-
The ships systems that could still function properly fought to keep the shields up. A.I. and Echo alike worked relentlessly, making whatever was in their systems fight for everything they took.
-/-We surrender-/-
Again no firepower came from the Unnamed.
But no reply came to the message either. The cyber attack continued to try harass the Echoes systems, but with no direct goal it seemed. Either the Unnamed did not quite know what they wanted, or they were merely toying with their prey.
---
"What is going on?" Dib asked "Where are you taking me anyway, back to your ship?"
Unable to fight back effectively, the Echo ships continued to resist the invading tendrils. Until whatever was attacking them did something else however, they were essentially just readying any escape pods they had access to.
This fight was looking bleak and the morale aboard was breaking down slowly.
—-///——-
The Warpack veered off from its original trajectory, straying from its original destination of the fleet towards the end of the interdiction field.
Warpack lacked FTL generators, but they did possess small jump batteries for just such occasions.
As they moved, they slowly increased the antimatter drives until they were moving at a decent speed to exit the interdiction field at a reasonable time.
The Echo across from Dib leaned back, placing his head against the wall with a small clink as metal met metal.
“You would’ve rather stayed on the dead world?”
Dib sighed, he felt the ship turn away from the main fleet. He then took his helmet off, revealing a lean cut face and dark flowing hair, his eyes were also heavily tattooed.
"Not particularly but I was hoping to go to your main fleet and talk to your main commander personally. You see, they dont like people probing around in their space, my associates tell me that they have a proposal for you. One that may even mean your fleet can survive, they don't make many deals like this, take me to your fleet commander or get me a link to him and I will explain" He stood up, totally unfazed by the large Echoes in front of him.
"Oh and don't try to kill me, do that and you all die in quite inventive ways. Seriously I am trying to help, your species is interesting I haven't encountered them personally before, don't make me regret my decision"
The Echos aboard the Warpack exchanged looks though disguised by their warhelms. The Echo across from Dib stood and removed his own helm revealing a heavily scarred face and duel-set eyes.
“We don’t have much choice do we? Either we leave the fleet to their deaths, or we die from the probable trap you’re directing us back into.”
His eyes searched Dibs before he sighed and re-donned his helm.
-/-Pilot, take us back.-/-
-/-Yes I’m serious, don’t question me again.-/-
The Warpack began to bank as thrusters on the hill directed it back towards their fleet.
“I’m putting what little faith I have in you. Don’t make me regret my decision.”
"Faith is an outdated concept. Whether you survive this is entirely dependent on your lords decision to my deal" Dib smiled.
As the shuttle went back towards the fleet they were untouched, their systems not attacked like those of the fleet and not strikes came for any of them. The Ghosts of the Tradex were clearly sitting and watching, eager to see the Echoes decision to Dibs deal, it wasn't often they got such a unique opportunity, normally anyone who ventured into this region simple disappeared.
At least the Echoes now knew where they went, the rumors were certainly true.
Venax, the Echo who has been speaking up until now, suddenly found himself agreeing with the humanoid. While his expression had been just that, he felt that faith was far outpaced by reality.
“Following your lead then. Aseric will be eager to accept you, that much I am sure.”
Venax had to wait until they were practically on top of the fleet before he could contact them properly, however once he made contact again it was quickly arranged for them to board the ship.
—/-///—————-
The hangar was filled with Wolfpacks readying themselves for combat when the Warpack finally arrived. Venax stepped out first, leading Dib out and into the already present gaze of Aseric. The Valour stood, arms positioned behind her back.
Venax stopped before her, gave a quick nod, and stepped out of Dibs way.
“May I introduce the House of Valour’s exploration Knight, Aseric Vrothshal.”
Dib bowed, showing surprising respect especially seeing how he now controlled the situation. The deal he was to relay was one that would shake the Echoes to the core, but it was a deal none the less.
One the Unnamed were rare to grant, a chance to live.
"It is an honour to meet you in person. I am merely known as Dib. I am sorry that I had to deceive you in order to come aboard but I doubt you would have merely taken me aboard otherwise. My associates do not like others coming into their territory, anyone who usually does is killed, but in this instance they are intrigued"
Aseric’s face was desperately calm. She had been trying to muster up her own courage to come down here not too long before, so for someone like this to be speaking to her now was unnerving.
Her dreadlocks were tied back into a single long braid in order to mask how they had been disturbed in a fight prior. As she spoke, it gently waved from side to side.
“Our nation sits on the nebula’s ever expanding border. If we have caused you offence we greatly ask for your associates forgiveness.”
Dib smiled and pulled out a small flask from his space suit and took a sip, a fine cocktail that he always carried around on him. He then began to speak.
"This deal will be the closest you can get. The first option you have available is to go down fighting, your fleet will be wiped out and your names lost to history as those who never came home... The second option is that you leave here, however your fleet will be infected with quantum bio weapons. Yourselves will be fine, forever untouched by them but anyone you meet until the day you die will be violently infected, reducing you a exiles who cause death to whoever you meet. The third option is rather... Exquisite." Dib breathed.
"You will be infected by dormant bio weapons like before, but they will not harm you or anyone else, call them... Insurance. You will leave here unharmed and return to your people, in return you will deliver 20,000 Echo children of varying ages into our embrace at this very location, upon doing so the kill code will be made and the bio weapons will die, leaving you and your people in perfect health. And we shall not bother you again unless you encroach upon the nebula again. Those are your options, choose wisely"
He smiled.
Aseric almost smiled. This creature must jest if it thought for a moment that several hundred Echotian lives were worth the lives of their future.
She almost called for war then, already visualizing her blade plunging into this smug figure’s torso. Sure they’d probably all die, but going down fighting is what Echo’s live for.
No she intended to make the best of this.
“We will take the second.”
"I see. A shame my associates were looking forward to studying your physiology. However your self sacrifice is a noble one..." Dib nodded his head in approval.
Across the Echo fleet, a tingling sensation would be felt by all, as quantum bio weapons were beamed into their ships. They themselves would be fine, never harmed by what inhabited their own flesh, but for others it would always be a death sentence. Dib however rubbed his chin.
"I like your kind a lot, you interest me. While you may be exiles for a while I have a proposition, work for me as my agents. If you do so well I will try to convince my associates to remove those bio weapons, maybe in time you can return to your own people. I make no promises but it may be your only way home" He smiled placing his hands behind his back.
Aseric’s head raised as she felt the sensation wash over her. Hands clenched into fists as the weight of her decision settled on her.
No. She had made the right choice.
“What kind of work... are you offering us?”
"That depends, errand runs, maybe help taking care of individuals who have outweighed their usefulness. You will know when I have the exact task set out for you. It is your choice however, at the end of the day its whether you wish to see your families again"
Dib took another small sip of his flask, he was going beyond his remitt here but his associates would allow it. This time.
“No. We are not hired killers. This is an exploration fleet, and will continue to be an exploration fleet. I will not be the lapdog of some unknown force.”
Aseric’s helm folded up around her face as she bit back more words.
“If you are done here, I would ask you to leave now. We will not be returning again.”
Dib nodded his head slightly, he was sad that the Echoes did not take his offer. It was truly the only help he could offer them, still they had made their choice and he would let them have that. While he could easily turn them into his agents he preferred it when they worked out of free will, out of unmanipulated choice. He respect that.
"As you wish. Perhaps in the future we shall meet again. You are free to leave this system." He paused.
"Never return"
Dib seemed to fade, his glowing purple eyes all that remained for a moment as they faded out too. Almost instantly the interdiction was gone, the system attacks had stopped and the Macry systems and other electronics were in fine shape. The Unnamed had left them to leave.
The stories of the Tradex were true.