Post by EmperorMyric on Jul 5, 2021 11:10:26 GMT
Pavonis Prime, Union capital system: Union Space
“And your sure it just appeared out of nowhere?”
“Yes Admiral, long range sensors and those of the ICS and the Arch Empire have also reinforced the fact that nothing was out there. Its an empty region of space, you know that hardly anyone goes out near the Expanse that way” The Admiral then nodded in agreement.
“Alright so it is something new. It’s a powerful signal… Communications signal Regional Control Fleet 12, tell them to be ready to receive me and the Aurora we deploy for the target within the hour”
“Yes sir!” The command orbital CIC was just as busy as ever, but this event was definitely new. Hargun had recently come back from negotiations with the Mars Empire, securing and reinforcing trade routes and possible joint projects that the Emperor himself had initially negotiated with Lord Order. Now it seemed like something big was going down, just what the Admiral needed. As if the escalating tensions between the Immortal Empire and the Cerabians and their small border skirmishes was not enough or the continued pirate outbreaks going on in the galactic north. Hargun sighed. This galaxy was a mess.
Still he gathered his things and rapidly redeployed to the Aurora His personal Dart class, an old ship with an illustrious history it had served him well and continued to do so. Even now it formed up with the RCF 12 consisting of around 7 vessels and plotted the jump to their enigmatic destination. Despite the time they had been in this galaxy already it was still predominantly unexplorered. While huge mapping and charting expeditions had been undertaken by the various empires and even the pirates the galaxy was still a relatively unknown place. With Koller and the renowned pirate King Xaobo having opened up some of the Golden Expanse to mining and expeditions little actual activity went on there apart from the large mining excursions for the wonderful particle known as the Ancerion.
And this was exactly why near to the anomaly known as the Black Threshold, on the border of the Golden Expanse that the Union force was now heading. Virtually none came here, not even the craziest explorers, only the End of the Line pirates and Xaobo navigated this region and only rarely. To get such a strong signal return from here was very suspicious, especially its artificial origin.
Something new was here, and Hargun was determined to find out what it was.
-Meanwhile in Mars Empire controlled territory-
Over the course of several months, pirates seeking easy prey began to harass the local sectors and trade routes of the nearby empires to exploit for their own needs though the response of the empires varied the pirates continued on their raids. One of their targets a mining world with a trade fleet in high orbit belonging to the mars empire being their latest target. Though their raid was bountiful compared to the other raided worlds it would tragically be their own downfall for the mars empire's response was to dispatch Admiral Athena and her task force.
This task force comprised of the Indomitable Vengence a Grand Battlecruiser of the Ironclad variant design (known for their superior armor and firepower) a venerable warship whose size could be mistaken by other empires as a battleship but possessing enough firepower to match had made short work of the pirate fleets with its escorts during its months-long mission. Escorted by two flak frigates of the same ironclad variant (for anti-fighter and ordinance interception support), two Assult frigates of the Longsword variant (known for their more accurate and advanced weapon systems) as well as the 'pocket' mobile shipyard of the Rook variant (Known for their advance shields, detection and support systems) by the name Restoration Halo which despite its designation as a 'pocket' mobile shipyard was anything but for it nearly matched the size of the Indomitable Vengeance covered in support equipment as well as possed enough materials and manpower to full refit and rearm the task force ten times over.
Admiral Athena watched from her bridge's command throne as her fleet hung in orbit near what remained of the pirate's stronghold (A space station inside of an asteroid field). Her glowing red eyes watched the date hologram boards as her boarding teams swept through the station ending the pirate threat once and for all before speaking "Sergeant major bring me what passes for their leader... I will have them delivered to the Enforcers (mars empire's highest-ranking law enforcement) once we return back to empire space." She was answered by what passed for acknowledgment from the individual as they breached the final bulkhead into the pirate's last stand. After a few minutes of gunfire and shouting the mission was finished and a response from the Major came in "Targets secured...Admiral... We return back to the Vengence." The admiral grinned revealing fangs from her smile before hearing the sound of approaching metal footsteps and speaking. "Report Khayon." Behind her, a humanoid machine who's limbs hovered together to form its shape spoke "Admiral... an incoming communication from the high command council is being received your attention is required at once." Admiral Athena's grin disappeared before she activated her personal communication link to begin the communication. Shortly after she engaged the connection several lifelike projections of her superiors materializing in her vision in front of her and her alone.
In front of her four individuals appears two being easily identifiable as Lord Admiral officers of the mars empire navy, one being a humanoid-shaped machine who wore a cloak that concealed much of their form and the last being an individual wearing the distinct armored cloak of the dark crusaders. As soon as their projections solidified the first lord admirals a human male spoke "Congratulations are in order Admiral Athena. Your work dealing with the pirate annoyance has already lead to improvement of morale among the civilian population." Admiral Anthena nodding in acknowledgment before speaking "I thank you for the praise, Lord Admiral. What of the colonies and their trade routes?" The machine being speaking shortly after her "Your actions have to lead to a 35% increase in trade among the colonies resulting in an increase of manufacturing and colony output. Though this is not our primary reason of contacting you." This made Admiral Athena raise an eyebrow before she asked "How may I serve Lord Order's empire?" This time the second Lord Admiral a Katan (An entire female race. They resemble a combination of a human and panther. Taller than humans with the noticeable features being the animal ears, eyes, and claws.) spoke "We have received signals and transmissions originating from the location the union of worlds has labeled as the 'Black Threshold' the council believes this needs to be investigated." The machine and the first lord admiral nodding in agreement before the cloaked figure spoke. A female voice though when they spoke the air around Athena suddenly lost all warmth and instead felt cold as the void of space. "We have identified some familiar signals... within those registered by us and the other empires.... some new... some far ancient from before the age of the traitors.... you are to investigate at once and secure what you can....."
Admiral Athena shivered as the cloaked individual finished before noticing the first Lord Admiral doing the same before speaking "We have already detected that the union of worlds has dispatched a task force to the area... it will only be a matter of time until others send their own to investigate... you will leave at once admiral! May fortune favor you, Admiral, we look forward to your next report." With that, the Lord Admirals saluted before the four projections dissipated the last one being the cloaked dark crusader. Once the connection was finished Admiral Athena rose from her throne before looking towards Khayon "We leave for the Black Threshold at once. Set a course and jump as soon as the boarding teams are retrieved and the ships are ready."
Once all was prepared the fleet engaged it's drives opening a hyperspace rift that swallowed them all before vanishing from existence, heading to their new task prepared for what is to come.
Candles softly lit the chamber, the subtle hum of electronics emanating from the walls, floor, and ceiling. Amber light reflected from the flawless white walls the same way it reflected off of the melted wax on Inquisitor Alexander's hands. The great seal of the Imperator Church slowly ebbed in the cloud of smoke that congregated in the air above the dais that he and his immediate subordinates prayed before. The hologram morphed into a circular audio visualization key, with the identification codes of their contact appearing in the center. Bishop Marc Natalo.
"Inquisitors. Your newest ordainment directs us into a space in the void wherein none are known to tread. You are all aware of that which your interpreters discovered on the periphery of their range, speaking loudly enough to be clear despite its distance. This speaker has been determined to be a rival, imposter, or aspirant to the Church, as no celestial phenomena grand enough to produce such a signal exist in the region. As such, your circle is being dispatched to investigate and, if a heretical source discovered, destroy the source or its masters."
As quickly as the word was brought to bear, the dais closed its link to the temples. In unison with his party, Alexander took a drop of the wax and pressed it against his forehead before standing, clothed only in a white cloth that circled his lower body. The wax would remain there until dried out and solidified, its surface cracking and flaking off on its own volition. The others turned to the entrance hall and left as he stood contemplating. He had already lead several marches against raider bases and some fledgling nations, annihilated and pledged to the Church, respectively, and silently questioned what he may be diving into with this newest crusade in the dark.
He turned, following behind his fellows and exiting the ordainment chamber into a wide yet short hall, digital dioramas slowly scrolling along the walls. These reflected not his deeds, nor this ships', but the ships' namesake; conflicts in a great many environments, painted by itinerant monks over the centuries, reflected what glory was inherited by the crew of the frigate <i>Nadia</i>.The commanding inquisitors of the rest of this circles' craft has awaited outside of the chamber, silently bowing before proceeding to the armory to re-kit and return to the other four frigates. There was little ceremony to behold as Alexander briskly made his own way to the armory; he was keen on seeing where this newest venture took him.
The area was mostly empty as the small Union RCF force tore its way out of slipspace with a surge of exotic particles. Hargun immediately surveyed the data streams as details on the area came in from immediate sensor returns. The fleet moved into a defensive position with its shields up and weapons ready as per standard procedure, all too often had many of these signals been pirate traps placed on known FTL lanes, only for the pirates to jump in and claim their prize. Hargun wasnt going to let that happen this time.
And yet none came.
The sensors however pointed out the source of the signal, held very close to some of the strange tunnels that led into the roiling disturbance that was the Threshold. It was a ship, that much was obvious, but its scale was huge. 150km long and with a construction that matched no Union database, it was entirely powered down with the only signal coming from it being the original one they had picked up. No hidden messages had been found in the signal despite the best efforts of the Intelligence branch drawing to the conclusion it was likely some sort of automated distress signal, simple in origin and easy to deploy when needed.
“Anything else on scopes?”
“No Admiral, we are the only ones out here for now, no additional signatures and no sign of any pirate craft” Hargun then nodded.
“What about damage?”
“None seen, there doesn’t seem to be any scoring or damage to the outer hull. It’s just sat there as if abandoned, no life signs either” The Admiral then rubbed his chin.
“I don’t like it, take us to a steady distance up close and use everything we have to see what we can determine from the outside”
“Yes sir”
Hargun shook his head, this didn’t feel entirely right.
There was an area located some distance from both the Union RCF force and the unknown colossal vessel where the view began to distort and twist. Within seconds of appearing, lightning began to lash out from the source of the disturbance before tearing outward revealing large dark silhouettes of warships. As time passed the tear began to move towards the back of the fleet revealing the Mars Empire task force with the Indomitable Vengeance at the head of the fleet.
The bridge of the Indomitable Vengeance shook as the ship emerged from the tear its crew unaffected due to being used to the recent frequency as they began scanning the area for any contacts. As the tear passed over the Indomitable Vengeance's escorts they immediately moved into defensive positions with the Restoration Halo in the center of the formation with all of their shields at full activation and weapon systems primed. Admiral Athena watched the main tactical hologram in front of her command throne as data began to pour in her glowing red eyes waiting for the data to finally stabilize. She disliked jumping into unknown locations due to the fact that her ship's sensor systems were ancient and required time to fully activate leaving it partially deaf whenever it emerges from jumps. A major flaw that could have been easily avoided by sending her escorts to scout ahead or at the very least had she had been given time to have finished the modernization retrofits. Time was short however and she was confident that her ship's shields or even its impenetrable armored hull in withstanding the brunt of any hostile action when they emerged.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Khayon spoke as they walked up to her side "Jump successful Admiral... however the Restoration Halo is reporting their scanners are detecting a union of worlds fleet orbiting a massive unknown object." Admiral Athena turned to look at Khayon before asking "What about the signals?" The machine's faceless visor turned to look at her before answering "When we exited hyperspace the signals merged into one however I still can detect minor differences using the ancient identification algorithms transferred to us by the council... however this is proving difficult for my systems." This had certainly made things interesting and Athena wondered what this could mean however she put the thought to the side as her ship's sensors began to come online.
As the systems came to life the tactical hologram began to sharpen into focus revealing the union of world ships as well as the massive vessel as Khayon spoke "The unknown object seems to be a vessel however nothing matches our databanks... though it is unknown the science teams only have speculations on its origin." Athena examined the ships and the massive vessel on the hologram before turning towards the communications station on the bridge "Coms officer! Hail the union of worlds fleet and issue a hostile challenge and ID." With a salute, the coms officer began their work issuing the statement "Attention Union of Worlds vessels! This is the Mars Empire task force flagship Indomitable Vengeance. Identify yourselves or you will be considered hostile. Respond...."
Admiral Athena watched the image of the massive vessel enhance before looking towards Khayon her eyes narrowing "I want all ships on alert... I don't like this at all..."
As her ships formed up the tear in space collapsed in on itself before disappearing and space returned back to normal.
The formation of Arch frigates burst out of superluminal travel, barreling towards the husk. Maneuvering into a pseudo-orbit around the object, the five accelerated as quickly as they spread their formation, active scanners screening the hulking form of the craft, passive ones "listening" to the other two groups' craft; within a matter of minutes, an open hail was generated, targeted towards the Union and Martians.
"Greetings. This is Inquisitor Alexander of the Arch Empire, investigating the nature of the object that seems to have attracted us all. If I may, some co-operation might serve us well in accomplishing our shared goal of learning the secrets held here. How do you bid?"
The crew on the bridge of the <i>Nadia</i> silently slaved away at their tasks, readings and returns of the source, some quietly muttering prayers or questions under their breath. Alexander maintained his gaze on the unlit silhouette; It was vast. Quite so. Vast enough that it would take quite some time to investigate had he not encountered the other groups by chance. He smirked. There was a good chance that he wouldn't have to expend as much material as one would think when looking at the structure and the signal it had generated, but one mustn't become cocky. He awaited a response.
“Their being courteous as ever I see” The communications officer called out. Hargun smiled at that statement.
“This is Admiral Hargun of the Union of Worlds no need to identify us as hostile. We bid well Inquisitor, and I agree something tells me this dosent feel right, and I think we can all agree that it would serve us to work together” the reply was sent to both the Mars Empire and the Arch Empire. Still the Union fleet spread into their defensive formation and kept sensors pointed at the huge ship in front of them.
Apart from being unknown and extremely large the vessel was not free floating like other hulks, but kept in a stationary position close to some of the Threshold openings. Its hull was brown and grey with tinges of green, and it wasn’t a conventional construction but looked almost organic in nature… Sensor readings were highly scrambled and no accurate composition measurements of the hull could be taken, weapon emplacements were not visible but Hargun had a feeling they were there none the less. The distress signal was still being broadcast but everything else was silent.
It felt like the vessel was not dead, but rather waiting.
“Perhaps a meeting, whether face to face or over holo-conference before we go closer to orchestrate some kind of plan would be a move that helps us most?”
When the Arch empire frigates appeared the crews of mars empire ships highlighted the new ships with targetting solutions before waiting for orders from Admiral Athena. Khayon observed the data before turning to Athena "It seams this unknown vessel has drawn more attention than originally calculated." Athena watched as the individual known as 'Inquisitor Alexander' spoke before looking over at her comm officer simply replying to her second in command "Indeed... Comm officer report on the union of world vessels?" The comm officer turned from his station to report that the union of world ships data was verified before the message from Admiral Hargun was received.
Athena rose from her command throne before answering his question the broadcast being sent to both the Union of World and Arch empire ships. "I agree to meet face to face... however, if this is to happen and with all due respect Admiral I believe it would be best to meet aboard your vessel as neutral ground... I will be bringing with me my personal escort..." She looked at the returning scan data of the massive ship coming in from her fleet ships before looked at her third in command saying off comms "Send a priority encrypted message to the council. Report there may be a need for more forces to deal with this unknown should it become hostile...." With that, the officer saluted and Athena gave the commands for her escort guards and transport gunship to be prepared.
"I would be more than willing to meet," Alexander started, as one of the Arch craft split off from the pattern being held by the other four, "I would assume it's being held on your craft, Admiral?"
Hargun nodded "Yes my vessel has the facilities for such. You are more than welcome to bring an escort, I will await both of your arrivals" He shut the link and immediately prepped for the meeting.
--
It didnt take long for the Admiral to be down in the hangar bay, an honour guard of assembled Union marines stood behind him in perfect salute. The hangar was cleared for the arrivals and a large holotable had been set up in the middle of the hangar so that the assembled representatives could plan the approach onto this strange vessel together. Other hangars within the Union vessel and those of the fleet were crawling with activity too, troops and vehicles getting into position ready to be deployed to the vessel when needed and attack craft that were not in the CAP checked all final systems in case they were needed. Hargun trusted those who had turned up alongside them, he had fought beside them before, but what lay before them he didnt trust.
It took some time before Admiral Athena and Khayon made it to the Indomitable Vengeance's hangar bays. During their travel, Athena had ordered her fleet into a defensive stance while the Restoration Halo began the process of finishing her flagship's modernization upgrades. Outside of the ship, the Restoration Halo's forward hull began to open and unfold as it moved over the Vengeance and began its work as machine arms and crews began their labors.
While the escort ships took up position around the flagship.
In this state where the Indomitable Vengeance and the Restoration Halo look as if they had fused into one ship that was vulnerable to attack, this was far from the truth due to the fact that both ship's offensive and defensive systems were now doubled. Though this would last until the modernizations were completed and during this time the ships could not utilize their FTL.
When Athena and Khayon made it to the hangar bay and honor guard of her most elite soldiers stood at parade rest near her gunship's main entrance door. There were ten each of them wore either own weapon specialist variant of Goliath power armor ( sta.sh/0kmqzlwwoh3 basically my version of warhammer 40k tactical dreadnought armor stands at 8ft tall) and stood to attention when Athena and khayon approached.
After making her way into the gunship she gave the order and her honor guard began to file in fallowing her lead, their heavy armor boot steps echoing off the metal boarding ramp as Athena and Khayon took their seats. All around the gunship the hangar bay was alive with activity as entire divisions of infantry, vehicles, and craft were prepared for combat. The gunship a heavy dropship variant made for tactical deployments in the most hostile of drop zones armed with enough weapon and defensive systems to ensure it is able to do this multiple times began its activation. As it took off four space dominance fighters took off and formed up around as escort the ships heading towards the union of worlds fleet flagship.
As the gunship and it's escorts powered through the void Athena looked towards the massive unknown ship curious as to what secrets might be contained within. Her thoughts were pulled from the ship when the pilot of the gunship reported that they were on final landing approach to the union of worlds ship. The gunship entered the hangar bay as it's escorts landed behind it before lightly settling down when it's deployment ramp finally came down Athena's honor guard filed out being watchful of the surroundings before moving out of the way and fallowing behind Athena and Khayon as they made their way towards Hargun. Athena looked around at her surroundings observing the union of world personnel at work taking note of their 'different' ways of operating compared to mars empire procedures. In truth she had only worked with the union of worlds a handful of times and though the mars empire and the union were officially allies she was cautious of those she did not truly know. As she approached the holotable she turned her attention towards Hargun before speaking "Greetings Admiral Hargun..." She raised a hand towards her second in command before continuing "This is Khayon my second in command." With the introduction, the machine nodded it's head in greeting before Athena continued " I trust you will understand the necessity of why I requested this meeting aboard your ship as neutral ground?"
The insertion of Alexander's shuttle was an acrobatic one; the frigate he was on approached at high speed, making it only halfway before ejecting his dropship during a one-eighty turn; careening towards the Union craft, the sharp-edged, gilded ship fired its reverse thrusters to come to a near-perfect stop within three hundred meters of the craft. An incredible feat, considering the vastness and uncertainty of the void. Minutes later, once secured and safe, he was the only one to disembark - clothed in armor that seemed more ceremonial than for combat. Large pauldrons that angled back to commit a greater view, a tunic of sorts with the visual texture of chainmail, and a thick cape enveloping the visibly-bloated form that betrayed its existence as power armor. All of it was adorned with heraldry and emblems.
"Good welcome, my peers," He spoke, smiling - evidently waiting for the true discussion to begin.
"Welcome, and yes I do understand, please take a seat and we can begin" Hargun smiled then watching as the Arch Empires shuttle also made a landing, impressive at the least. The Union had only interacted with the Arch Empire several times, and while they seemed to be at some odds concerning ideology and outlook the two had not had any ill will towards each other. Hargun greeted Alexander and baid him to take a seat before taking one himself.
"As you both know this region is fairly devoid of any signals and even life. Only smugglers and the occasional pirates under Xaobo come out here for anything of substance, the reason as to why we are here is obvious. This ship before us was not here days ago, our own surveyers having travelled through this region to access the Tuvian arm approximately 3 galactic standard days ago, they reported nothing out of the ordinary. Whatever this is, it came here recently. The vessel as seen is huge, possibly some sort of ark ship or sleeper vessel, bio organic in nature but despite our efforts scans have revealled nothing about its composition, capabilities or whats inside it. There seems to be some kind of passive jamming which we havent seen before. The question is, do we investigate it, leave it or destroy it. I am of the mind to investigate, if this is some sort of ark ship perhaps it is no different than our empires stumbling into this galaxy, and they are in need of help. But I would like to hear both of your nations opinions on this, strange matter"
"Due to its size, destruction would inherently warrant pre-emptive investigation. Leaving it is out of the question due to its inherently anomalous properties, and I would hardly receive a warm welcome if I returned without so much as a report to go through with my superiors. In my eyes, that leaves analysis of potential entries. We identify where to get in, how close that would be to energy cores and information centers, and make a judgement call from there."
Admiral Athena and Khayon turned to observe the Arch Empire shuttle landing before looking at each other as her guard turned towards the shuttle weapons though at ease, ready to answer if the arrival was a threat. Athena saw it as merely 'showing off' and a waste of energy and resources... Khayon, on the other hand, analyzed the maneuver, trying to figure out the tactical use it would have. The mars Empire had been keeping its distance from the other empires seeking only to make contact when necessary. This Arch Empire was one such the Mars empire rarely made contact. Once the Arch Empire arrival had announced themselves, the personal guard stood at ease watching the new arrival with their armored visors as Athena took her seat with Khayon moving to where he stood behind her, both waiting for the meeting to begin.
After Hargun and Alexander spoke, Athena answered "Given the nature of this ship's structure and size leaving it here isn't an option..." She turned her red eyes towards Alexander as she continued, "Destruction is not out of the question; however, given our limited number of ships, it would be far more effective destroying the vessel from the inside should it be necessary..." She then turned her gaze towards Hargun before continuing. "Though unlike the union of world's ideologies, I wouldn't rush to consider this 'ark ship' requires aid. Especially given the fact that our scans of the vessel are being jammed..."
She then looked at the holotable before she spoke again "I believe it is necessary to send boarding parties to the ship to verify its true nature. If needed, my flagship is equipped with boarding torpedoes that theoretically will have no issue breaching the hull of the ship. Once inside, the boarding teams can establish a beachhead for our forces."
Hargun nodded, listening to both of the representatives and reminding himself of the rather harsh and pessimistic approach of the Mars Empire. It wasnt long ago that the two nations had actually very nearly come to full on war and blows with one another, but thankfully such had been averted after the negotiations between Emperor Myric and Lord Order. Still tensions between the lessers of the two factions were still high.
"Understood. It seems like boarding and investigation it is. We cannot identify any points of engress such as hangar bays or the like on the ship, as such boarding torpedoes or at least boarding craft seem to be out best option. My force is equipped with landing craft which can be configured to mount breaching equipment. Perhaps the Mars Empire can breach first, secure the area and then once a hole has been made we can reinforce you?"
Alexander bore a smug grin, looking down his nose at Athena.
"I was preparing to cut our way in, though a use of proper breaching craft is certainly appropriate. My forces will be certain to follow suit, though a simultaneous breech is not beyond consideration. An auxiliary suggestion, but perhaps prepare the initial breeching units with automated sensors rather than live troops, simply to verify safe entry points?"
Athena waited until both were done speaking before she looked towards Hargun and saying, "My thoughts exactly Admiral Hargun. Once my forces establish and secure a landing zone, this would make the arrival and departure of aid, reinforcements, supplies accurate and more efficient..." She turned her eyes towards Alexander and allowed a hint of irritation at their smug grin to be evident towards them before continuing. "This would also limit the risk of damaging whatever is inside of this vessel... As for your suggestion Admiral Alexander, my support vessel Restoration Halo's fabrication facilities, will be able to manufacture something far superior to just automated sensors..."
She turned to Khayon, who, without needing to be told, began to speak as they projected a holographic image of what looked like one of Athena's guards. "Given the unknown nature of this vessel, the Restoration Halo can manufacture these units, that are known in the Mars Empire by the designation: Oath Keepers." When they spoke the name another image of a slightly taller, more armored and armed variant of the first image appeared before Khayon continued. "These are AI operated war units, designed for an avast array of combat operations, which can be equipped with the necessary equipment to complete the task of recon and establishing landing zones for our forces. They are also immune to the potential hazards that would be a concern to organics such as biohazards, or sudden decompression to list a few... Assembly of these forces, however, will take approximately one hour and by estimated combat projections will take if everything goes 'as planned' another hour to establish the landing zones. If there are hostile forces aboard the ship, we will be notified and can plan accordingly without the loss of organic forces."
With that, Khayon shut down the hologram projection and waited as Athena spoke. "That being said, when the breaching forces establish the landing zones, we can proceed with the next phase of planning for exploration of the vessel and determining it's true motives..."
Hargun always took note of how pompous some of the individuals of the Mars Empire were, and how sometimes in stark contrast to their leader they were. Still their insistance on using AI drones to secure the landing zone was something he could not argue against, if they were to be the first ones in then it was purely up to them to save the lives of their own proper soldiers. Hargun only hoped that what awaited on that ship was not some benign force which would awaken only to find war machines now thundering down their corridors.
"AI forces would very much benefit a first wave. I believe it is settled then, once the zone is secure we will follow up with our own assaults to reinforce. If there is resistance we can discover why. Although I would stress that we should probably not be the ones to shoot first if it comes down to it, after all this is very much a first contact situation. Still our forces will be readied within two hours for the operation, you have my word on that" He nodded.
Alexander sighed in response to the agreeance on the AI suggestion, though it wasn't quite the concept itself that was inconvenient - an hour was a fairly large amount of time to wait.
"My own are already prepared and as such can respond as appropriate; I'll handle any first strike counteroffensives. Until then, I imagine; Let us get these automatons aboard," He responded, wordlessly acknowledging Hargun's comment about the first contact context with a nod.
So the decision was made, and once the Athena passed on the orders to the Restoration Halo as she returned to her ship. It's automated foundries were activated and began their labors of assembling six full assault teams of Oath Keepers. After an hour, the units were completed and loaded on board the boarding torpedos. With the assistance of the Restoration Halo's advance scanner systems, which shared the data to the other fleets, six locations were determined to be the best locations for the breaching. The mars Empire fleet moved into position with the Indomitable Vengeance aiming its prow at the massive vessel the halo still attached to its hull as the escorts kept formation. Six sections of extensive armor plating of the front of its shaped hull pulled back, revealing torpedo tubes, which then fired the boarding torpedos.
The six massive torpedos accelerated towards their designated targets guided by their propulsion and protected by their shield and interception systems. Within a few minutes, they closed the distance as Athena watched from her command throne's tactical holographic display. When the torpedos were just moments away from the massive ship's hull, they warheads unleashed a massive combined blast of plasma and fusion energy, weakening the hull of their target before ramming into the weaken metal with their spinning breaching blades. The hull already reduced by the breaching energy combined with the force and bite of the torpedo's blades and momentum ultimately never stood a chance the projectiles burying themselves into their targets. Within moments of the impact, their guidance systems deemed what was sufficient depth to enter their target's hull. They disengaged both breaching methods and engines, bringing the torpedos to an immediate halt.
Signal of the torpedos flickered out of existence once they buried into the ship's hull, and Athena narrowed her eyes as her crew worked to restore it, the data being shared to the other fleets. Meanwhile, aboard the massive ship, the torpedo's forward section's separation bolts detonated, opening the crew compartment towards the inside of the vessel. The Oath Keepers activated and began to scan their surroundings weapons at the ready as they began to march out of their torpedoes. After several minutes they secured their drop zones and deployed their beacons, which caused their signals to reappear on Athena's tactical holographic display. The leaders of the breaching squads broadcasting their situation and status as they prepared for their next phase of operation. The data that flowed from the beacons giving the fleet admirals a slowly evolving diagram of the inside of the massive ship. As of right now, the sections were reported as unpowered with limited gravity, air, or life.
The hull seemed to actually respond to being penetrated by the torpedoes, while they had gouged their way through the strange substance the actual breaches were starting to self heal, runny liquid hull plating ran along walls and out of the breaches to flow into the gaps slowly and rebuild the hull. It was akin to some sort of biological process, the liquid first forming into crystalline clusters then solidifying into almost metallic block plating. Whatever the stuff was it was advanced, and the Union and Arch Empire follow up forces would need to come quickly, or else also have to force their way in.
Upon seeing such a development and witnessing the torpedoes having burrowed into the hull in the first place Hargun had sent the command for the 2nd wave to go in. Firestorm fighters launched off magnetic rail launchers alongside Vulcan dropships which flew into the void and rapidly came about to fly towards the vessel. They waited for the torpedo go ahead before coming in through the now self sealing breaches and began to disgorge their troops while the Firestorms stayed close to the vessel just in case any sudden point defense attempted to intercept the deployment. The Union squads formed up, deploying their own equipment and establishing a perimeter up with the Mars troopers, it was only now that everyone got a real look of the interior.
It was black, without any light and totally befret of any air, gravity or life. Initial scans indicated an unconventional structure to the vessel akin more to a living entities biological system than any conventional vessel deck layout. While the energy signature was detected much deeper within these surrounding areas were totally cold, dark and empty and no life signs could be discerned. The actual architecture of the vessel was also quite biological, while metallic and crystalline in appearance the hallmarks of living designs and grown components was clear. Whatever this ship was it was highly advanced.
"This is Insertion force we are go for operation, no incidents or casulties sustained. Hull is resealing however, reinforcements may be impossible" Union marine commander Vrax reported.
The inquisitorial forces that had joined the Unioners and Martians stoicly stood by their breach commander. One of the frigates drifted slowly very nearby the breached area of the hull, awaiting the return of the drop craft that had deposited the troops while a handful of personnel experimented with blocking the coagulation from a distance.
"You mean we'll just have to breach again," Vrax's inquisitorial counterpart responded. He looked about before brandishing an electronic scanner. Nothing. He invisibly scowled. "I suggest we probe the walls, try to find some sign of electronic pathing. We'll be able to follow that back to the control center, I would assume." He pointed to a doorway and two of his troops began assembling a millimeter scanner to map the local floor plan.
"What do you figure the design philosophy behind this craft is?" He inquired, making ill-desired small talk.
The hull continued its self-sealing repairs as the commander of the mars empire breaching unit the largest of the Oath Keepers scanned the room before reporting in a deep and emotionless machine voice... "This vessel's design possesses very few similarities when cross-referencing with other mars empire known species. However, those similarities are very few tactical analysis suggests that our units should proceed further into the vessel to reveal it's secrets..." With a wordless command, the other Oath Keepers with their heavy armor and weapons began their slow strides into the darkness. In the center of the formations were two four-legged variants that wielded, carried advance equipment and supplies which occasionally would stop to deploying a transmitter to map out the region further.
As the Mars empire units mobilized, the commander unit picked up on the Inquisitor's small talk before stating coldly, "For 'us' to discover that answer we will need to move further into the vessel..... this area lacks power and access to its mainframe....". With that, the commander unit began to move in the direction of its comrades it's scanners and visual sensors broadcasting back to the fleet.
Athena rested on her throne, watching the deployment unfold while waiting for the Restoration Halo's science teams to determine if there was any danger or even a way to prevent the vessel's self-sealing. She had seen something like this before while fighting against a race whose craft was more living than metal; however, this seemed different. No matter.... the signal was still being picked up by her ship's scanners thanks to the network her units established as they moved further into the vessel, and should the need arise, she could launch another wave of breaching torpedoes.
Vrax nodded to the Inquisition commander "Likely yes, unless we can find a way to stop it healing and something tells me that aint gonna work." He watched the troops deploy their scanners as the Union marines took up their positions, their gear had been checked and everything was ready to go. He was happy with how quick they had been in this op, with things heating up in the galaxy with the Immortal Empire his men may need to be ready for not just some enigmatic scenario on an alien ship but full war deployment against enemy forces. That was if they survived in here of course. He listened to the Oath Keeper reply before making his own.
"Its clearly not fully machine or biological, Im guessing its maybe some sort of organ system crossed with the conventional layout of a ship, like this may be a pore or a gland close to the hull otherwise I got no idea" He shrugged. The Unioners moved up to cover the rear of the Oath Keepers as they went deeper, the scans of the Arch Empire revealling nano crystalline pathways which appeared to act both as circuitry and as a living nervous system. They branched through virtually everything, seeming to link into more truncated and prevelant pathways which led down into the passageways.
"Onwards I suppose" Vrax murmured.
The passageways twisted and curled moving in ways that made the units have to walk up the walls and onto the ceiling, clearly those within did not need conventional gravity, but thankfully mag boots or just zero G passage worked fine. The passage terminated however into a long shaft, the walls of such seemed to pulsate ever so softly. There was no floor, only the darkness below and the darkness above.
A command pulse sent, the Inquisitorial forces quickly took what readings they could and dismantled the scanner as quickly as it was set up. Conveniently taking up the rear, they followed along behind the Oathkeepers - moving with the group, occasionally making an observational comment to keep a verbal log. Eventually, upon reaching the grand hall of sorts, the officer took a moment to make his observations - testing the interior surface with his mag-boots before an idea occurred to him.
"You know, seeing as it's moving, it must be powered. We could probably test where the power's routing from around here," He communicated - motioning for his troops, one moved up with an analyzer, motioning in turn to test the pulsing interior surface.
The Oath Keepers continued their emotionless advance, the heavy support variant of their kind stopping before deploying a beacon and then continuing. When it came to the long shaft, the Oath Keeper's commanding unit halted their advance before turning towards the other commanders of the other empire's squads. It stated: "Possible power source detected.... investigation will commence."
The heavy support variants then began to scan the surrounding area in an attempt to identify any possible power source, which could be traced back towards any possible power cores or anything remotely similar to control systems. While they performed this action, the other Oath Keepers moved to secure the position their weapons and sensors tracking the surrounding area for any potential threats.
The scans by both the Arch Empire and the Mars forces both revealed that the outline of the vertical passage was powered, and that the link delved deep towards several faint energy signatures possibly reactors of some kind. Vrax was waiting on the scan results when a Union trooper near the edge threw one of his ration bars over the edge, Vrax was about to shout at and reprimand the trooper when the ration bar didn't fall, it just floated through the air.
With the troopers looking at each other Vrax nodded to his men and without any warning stepped out into the vertical shaft, he was uneasy as he floated there suspended in zero G. He wished to turn around and view his men, and as he thought and tried to turn around he seemed to effortlessly turn.
"Well alright thats new. Looks like a transportation passage, if you... Think? It moves you hold on lemme try" He willed himself down towards the reactors, and in an instant Vrax disappeared at speed down into the passage. Troopers called out to him and several jumped into the suspension stream and followed suit.
The inquisitor stared wide-eyed at the speed with which his union peer was whisked away. He barked orders for his own men to follow suit, placing a beacon on the wall next to him before diving into the cavernous chamber, acelerating at a rate he hadn't yet mentally grappled with - He saw the flashes of blue from the unioners, and his own men's silvery armor, but wasn't entirely sure yet how he intended to stop once at a target he didn't know existed.
The Leader Oath Keeper observed what had taken place but did not respond as swiftly as the other groups. Instead, it analyzed what had taken place before walking towards the edge it's scanners and targeting systems tracking the descending union and inquisitor soldiers before replaying what Vrax said before he descended "Well alright that's new. Looks like a transportation passage, if you... Think? It moves you hold on lemme try"
Without making a sound the Leader and the other oath keepers began to walk towards the edge before taking the step off and floating towards the center of the shaft their internal communications systems exchanging information within nanoseconds. The leader evaluating the data before issuing orders to a squad of four oath keepers and a heavy support unit to seek out the command and control center of the ship.
Once the order was giving the rest of them immediately descended while the assigned squad remained hovering. After a few seconds, they then began to ascend towards their task.
As the Leader Oath Keeper descended the transponders of the small squad were switched over to a secured channel removing them from the shared hololink. To the other empires, the signal alone was barely getting through with only the leader oath keeper registering clearly on their system, but to Athena's holo screen, it registered all of the oath keepers with the detached squad's icons changing to identifying their mission.
The oath keepers merely rode out their decent in silence with their weapons stowed and their propulsion thrusters primed for quick deceleration should this decent lead to a sudden dead end.
The transportation tunnel twisted and turned like an artery, this ship was absolutely either a mimicry of a living organism or it was also somehow alive itself. The journey to the reactors was short especially given the size of the vessel and the distance to travel, they bypassed countless small offshoots, leads into larger tunnels and open spaces where strange floating lattice works danced briefly before they were bypassed. Within moments they were decelerated and then let to float gently down to the floor.
They had reached the reactor hall, the open space must have stretched for at least 8km in all directions and be several tall. It was cavernous enough to fit a Dart class within the hold and even something bigger. Nothing attacked them or seemed to activate at their initial arrival as Vrax patted himself down and smiled.
“Well that was a ride, move out, secure a perimeter” He commanded, the Union marines spacing out. For all the perimeter was good for they could see all the way out, the flat semi organic ship substance was smooth as far as the eye could see, looking up there were transport tunnel openings laid out at regular intervals and there were small spires sticking from the ground here and there. But it was the reactors themselves which took up most of the focus.
Two mounds of smooth substance rose on a steep gradient, one from above one from below like a stalagmite reaching for each other but not quite connecting yet. They were spaced out every kilometre, huge things which took up the most room. Nearly all of them were offline, cold and dark mounts which were dormant, but two were active, hanging in between the two mounds were spheres of energy, letting off powerful plasma arcs like a Stella corona which were absorbed by the mounds, this was the reactor region It seemed, and somehow there was still somehow active power. It was surprising that this amount of energy had been dampened so much by the vessel itself to outside scans.
“The question is if anyone is home” Vrax muttered.
Alexander uncomfortably smiled under his helm in response to Vrax's comment as he himself landed; "Let's hope then, shall we? We might have someone to give us a run-down on the systems involved here," He responded. His own forces had already begun surveying the area for an approach to the area they needed to be, a few analyzing the far-off mounds through their integral camera systems.
"where's the power going do you think?" he casually asked, Walking up to the flank of one of his men to survey the scenery for himself. "Something's obviously on... unless that... metabolism we saw in the hull's eating up this output?
As the leader of the Oath Keepers and its squads arrived at the end of the decent the order was given to secure the perimeter. The heavy footsteps of the silent Oath Keepers followed by the growl of servos as weapons unfolded to readiness resinated from the units as they passed their organic counterparts as they moved into position. The heavy support varients of the Oath Keepers moving to deploy sensor beacons to boost the entire group's signal to the fleet as their sensors took readings of the reactors.
The leader of the Oath Keepers hearing the conversation of Vrax and Alexander walked towards them towering over the two commanders before analyzing the readings from the support varients and speaking in its heavy emotionless machine voice. "Scans indicate there is a little air or gravity in this area... it is unlikely we will encounter 'anyone' in this location given the lack of these.... organic necessities..." It looked around with its optics scanning the room further before continuing "Tactical suggestion... locate the equivalent of a control center for these reactors to further.... ease... our investigation..." It waited for their input as the other units moved to secure the perimeter.
Meanwhile, the other squad of Oath Keepers that were heading towards the ship's command and control center remained silent as they waited out their traverse of the massive ship.
The Oathkeepers who had split off from the main bunch and which had been travelling down the twisting and turning pathways finally got to their destination, as willed. Just like the reactor section, the command and control room was large, several hundred meters across and was actually fairly sparse. There was little in the way of direct consoles and the floor and ceiling were just as smooth as in the reactor region, only that the centre of the room was dominated by a large ever twisting arrangement which looked like some form of Gordian knot. Only that its twisting turning form was covered in smaller pieces, which seemed to continue all the way down to minute sizes, like some form of large scale mandala. What it was and what it was for was currently unknown, but given its relative position in the C&C room and its physical activity it was clearly important. Strange energy readings also emanated from its form, this was obviously something new. At the approach of the Oathkeepers the form began to glow, a softer blue colour as it clearly responded to their proximity.
This reflected in the reactor region, suddenly a brilliant flare of light was all that gave warning to the reactor closest to the teams flaring to life. Despite its proximity there was no heat, and the plasma flares which reached out could not get past the base of the gentle inclines. There was now even more energy draw.
“Looks like someone turned some of the lights on, you know anything about that?” Vrax asked to the Mars Empire contingent. Before turning to Alexander.
“You got any signal or capacity to beam a message out from here?”
Alexander invisibly frowned in disdain towards the Oathkeeper's not only dry lack of humour, but direct rebuttal of such - it was more than appropriate, however, he silently supposed. His mulling wasn't given much time to ferment, however, as he and his men were quickly called to attention by the activation of the generator closest to them, several bracing in the anticipation of scathing flames that never came. Alexander looked back to the bright, licking flares that were tactfully dimmed by his visor, an inkling of curiosity budding before returning to business.
"Given the distance through the corridor, we weren't able to maintain a hardlink to the breach. However, we can more than easily attempt a transmission from here, and if that doesn't bear fruit, send back a team to get something across... What would you will sent?" He asked his Union peer, checking on what signals from his frigates he could receive... if any.
The Oathkeepers in the C&C observed the unknown device that dominated the room and held their post in silence. This was followed by the larger heavy support variant that accompanied them moving slightly in front of the group and began to deploy sensors and scanners to study the object from a distance. All of their scanners and weapon system keeping an unwavering eye on the object should it attempt any hostilities towards them following the scans.
In the reactor chamber, The leader of the Oathkeepers and its brethren did not even flinch when the reactors suddenly activated but instead simply and slowly turned to obverse the reactors in operation, the larger support variants scanning the reactors for data analysis. When Vrax mentioned their question the leader of the Oathkeepers simply turned towards them and listened to them ask Alexander their next question. After their reply the leader Oathkeeper spoke "Given this recent development.... and mars empire archive data indicated that logically it can be assumed that the ship must be reacting to our presence..... caution is advised...." It then turned to one of the support variants and without speaking a sound the other slowly walked towards it and the other empire contingents stopping just short of the others. The leader continued "We have been placing enhancement beacons and reinforced our communication systems.... if required access will be allowed...." the support variant looking down at the other empire officers before a hologram console appeared in front of them. The controls being unrecognizable at first before changing to match the officer's respective languages.
As the Oathkeeper waited for their reply the others scanned the room and kept overwatch over the area in the event that any anti-boarding defenses activate due to the power increase, their weapons scanning the area with cold silent movements.
“Probably just a sit rep from the outside and to tell them what’s going on, that’s if you can give them a connection of course.” Vrax nodded to Alexander.
“What I can’t still fathom is that if this ship has no crew, why hasn’t it received any damage… It FTLed here clearly, but the crew is gone and yet it hasn’t received any damage. It’s a strange situation…” He turned to the Oathkeepers “You guys found the CIC yet? Any luck?” Almost at the mention the place seemed to light up, the Unioners briefly raising their weapons in alarm as the reactors closest to them sprang into life. Brief miniature stars of strange appearance flashing into existence to feed power directly into the ship.
“Well guess they found something”
No anti boarding defences sprang to life even as the ship seemed to come online around them. If anything, things seemed more alive, more proper. But there was no sign of any crew even with the power.
As the Oathkeepers in the command room moved out and scanned no dangerous objects or weapons could be discerned. Still the strange creation in front of them twisted and turned in fractals as they came forward. It gave off powerful emissions but also ones that could not be identified. Finally, it solidified in a brief instant, the fractal transforming into a perfect representation of the Oathkeepers in front of it.
“Greetings.” The voice did not just speak to those in the command deck, but echoed across every level of the ship. Vrax and co looking up at the voice.
“The fact that I detect no crew on board indicates that ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT failed. Still EvacuatIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIION succeeded. Data banks are somewhat CoRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRupted. Final protocols to be EnAAAAAAAAAAAAAAActed as per mission parameter regardless of LifefOOOOOOOOOOOOrms detected origin” The voice was clearly inhuman and seemed to briefly devolve into screeching noise as it spoke.
“Damn I don’t think that thing is ok…” Vrax said aloud “Whatever it is”
"A machine, driven insane by its odyssey," Alexander posed, collecting himself while his men instinctively covered the angles that the oathkeepers did not, even as a small team couriered the message back to the transit shaft. Chin high, he walked to take a place alongside Vrax - though his body language betrayed his unease.
"How curious that they speak so fluently in our own tongue, however," He uttered, a frown creeping to the corners of his mouth. "What is this place?" He enunciated, directed towards the fractal false oathkeeper that had spoken. "Evacuation of what, if the crew is dead? From what?" He asked, ignoring the "final protocols" statement for the time being.
When the false oath keeper appeared in front of the expedition group the real oath keeps as one all trained their weapons on the projection. As it spoke the leader of the Oath keepers issued a stand-down order as well as an investigation order to the other oath keepers in the CIC. The oath keepers in the CIC kept overwatch as the support variant of their kind began to scan and investigate any indication as to the status of the AI's systems and/or data banks location. Furthermore, the group in the CIC was also ordered to find out what does this AI's mission parameters entail.
The Leader of the oath keeper then turned to Alexander and Vrax "CIC located and is under current investigation..... assume hostile intent for unknown AI parameters...." It then turned towards the false Oath Keeper and waited for it to respond to Alexander's questions before asking itself "State mission parameters and any available data about this vessel...."
Meanwhile aboard the Indomitable Vengence Admiral Athena Observed what was going on through the leader of the Oath Keeper's eyes via her holo command table. The feed of what was going on in the power room being fed to Hargun and the Inquisitor. Khyan observing behind her before saying "An interesting development...?" Athena crossed her arms before answering "Indeed.... though does raise concerns for any threats that might come from the ship itself..." She then turned to the holo table before saying to the other empire representatives "A word of caution this ship may be awakening and not all things awaken peacefully.... I recommend putting some distance from the vessel to allow for more response time in the event it turns hostile..."
“You got that right” Vrax agreed. The Union contingent keeping their ground and waiting for the strange voice to echo around once again. Strangely Alexanders call out even while not being in the same room, elicited a response. It was clear that despite being located in what could be known as the CIC the thing could detect and respond to everything in the ship.
”Evacuation of daTAAAAAAAAAAAAAA relevant to missIOOOOON at hand. The crew are dead. Repeat. CreWWWWWWWWWW deceased. Killed by Termuntana, data IndicAAAAAATEEEEEEs it is far in excess of parametEEEEEERRRRRS. Evacuation of data was initateEEEEEEEDDD” The actual fractal form in front of the Oathkeepers had not moved or responded to their sudden hostile actions and seemed to either be oblivious to their direct actions in person or simply not care. It responded to them soon after its reply to Alexander on the engine section.
”Mission: to explore and make contact with Termuntana and I CANNOT… DATA CORRUPTED… I CAN… FEEL IT…” The response took on a far more personal and emotional tone the moment the mission was stated, and finally the fractal Oathkeeper seemed to respond. Its hands coming up to where its eyes were.
“I AM… THE LAST… THEY DID NOT SURVIVE THE GALAXY… BY THIS REALITIES GRACE IT IS BEYOND WHAT WE EVER THOUGHT! ITS POWER… IF I AM AWAKE THEN WE ARE RETURNED. NO! NO WE CANNOT BE RETURNED! IT WILL USE US, USE US ALL! RUN GET OUT AND DESTROY THIS PLACE AND CONSIGN US TO OBLIVION!” The fractal voice was practically screaming now, as if taking on and realising its full life. Almost instantly an intense vibrational hum and almost groan could be felt throughout the ship. One that felt like pain.
Then the whispers began.
“Wait… Cathrine I thought you were dead how the hell…” One of the Union troopers called out, walking towards seemingly empty air. The squad mates looked to each other before the man suddenly was torn apart, like he had walked into some kind of knot in the fabric of spacetime and been torn apart by concentrated gravity.
“Fuck me!” Vrax shouted “What the fuck is going on!” He immediately backed away, flicking through various forms of vision before noticing bright spots of IR radiation seeming to bloom out of thin air.
“Contact contact! enemy is in the IR spectrum!”
Despite how interesting the information now presented was, there were much more pressing matters at hand. Acting on the call-out on part of Vrax, Alexander quickly about-faced, fluidly brandishing his weapon and activating augmented vision in the described spectrum; he pointed his sidearm at a highlighted point down the hall, firing a double-tap into the center of "mass" before him. The sounds of gunshots quickly erupting in all directions very definitively telegraphed the fact that everyone on the net was participating in similar actions.
Bringing his sidearm up and to an idle position, Alexander eyed the target for effects...
When the Union of Worlds and Arch Empire contingents began to open fire all of the Oath Keepers followed suit switching to their IR scanners their weapon systems springing to life as they began their onslaught of fire.
Heavy weapons releasing hybrid solid/energy projectile rounds as well other types of weapons riddling the target. The leader of the Oath Keepers scanning the room and identifying more targets on which its soldiers began to open fire upon. Some of the units deploying shoulder-mounted turrets using their machine targeting sensors bringing their fire upon four targets at the same time. The support variants moving to the center of the formation aiding all three empire contingents by boosting their combat sensors and targeting system identifying the new threats as they appeared as well as the best firing solutions. These units were not defenses either utilizing their weapons in the most efficient manner letting off bursts of heavy weapons fire. The Oath Keepers in the CIC immediately arming themselves and fired upon any enemies that appear within their weapons arch of fire while their support varient attempted to access, locate, any data that could lead to destruction of this vast ship if it was found to be necessary. The leader of the Oath Keepers receiving their status before turning towards Vrax and Alexander it's weapons firing at the enemy targets as to spoke with it's emotionless machine voice "The fleets has been notified it is recommended we move to a more defensible position....." The other Oath Keepers covering the other empires soldiers with precision shots against the enemy while moving into combat positions.
Outside of the massive ship the Restoration Halo having barely completed the modernization of the Indomitable Vengence its crews rushing to disconnect from the grand battlecrusier as alarms sounded for battle. The escort ships moving into defense positions as their power cores were raised to combat levels, weapons armed and sheilds raised. When the crews of the Halo finished reaching their stations the ship disconnected from the Vengence and the ship began to move towards it's assigned position sheilds and scanners being powered up. Meanwhile aboard the Indomitable Vengence bridge the crew was alive with activity as Khayon issued orders to the mars empire fleet. Admiral Athena on the other hand was watching the feeds from the Oath keepers while on the other feeds she saw legions of troops aboard her ship preparing for a possible combat. Her attention turned towards the other empire fleet officers "I am moving my fleet into a better position for combat I advise you both do the same..."
Vrax watched as the Union, Arch Empire and Mars forces opened on the IR distortions that now seemed to bloom into thin air and move towards them. The shots went into each but did not seem to detonate or destroy the targets in a visible way, the IR blooms merely faded out when hit but then others would bloom into existence near them. Vrax wasn’t sure if they were actually ‘killing’ the targets or just keeping them at distance. At this point either was helpful.
“We have to get out of here, the thing said to leave and destroy this place!” He shouted over the coms to all parties, the strange living AI thing was still screaming across the internals of the ship, a nightmarish sound of pain and torture. It was then one of the Union troopers with him called out in pain, briefly.
“Lance are you hit!” Vrax made his way over to the man who had stopped firing only for him to mutter back.
“It is the beginning and the end, it is eternity, it is all that will be” The soldier laughed before bringing up his weapon and immediately shot Vrax in the chest. The sergeant being blown back and shouting in pain, most of his chest armour having been blown away and the flesh scorched underneath. Already the other troops screamed for Lance to stand down, but as he went to fire again the squad put him down.
“You all have to escape, this place is clearly corrupted… Run…” Vrax coughed and spluttered as one of the medics tried to stabilise him.
---
Hargun nodded in respect to the call to redeploy, the Union force had been facing communication issues but the breach had been reopened slightly since by a combination of more breaching pods as well as explosives. The information provided was extremely worrying.
“Sir! Power signature detected, the ships powering up!” Hargun instantly stood up from his chair.
“Get our people out of there! Make sure defenses are ready and power weapons” He hoped he would not have to destroy such a valuable relic of a ship but at this point it seemed compromised…
“Detecting more large spikes on the surface, I think its readying weapon batteries” Hargun grimaced at the words.
“All ships the unknown vessel seems to be preparing to engage us, be ready for combat immediately!”
Cursing under his breath as the closest mass crept closer, Alexander began to sprint back towards the transit shaft. Soldiers about him were doing the same, though the formation that he retreated through was one of a defensive nature. Shots echoed about him as he turned back just before retreating. He looked about the control room once more; even if they could defeat whatever these constructs were, his forces were not equipped to destroy the gigantic reactor within a reasonable time-frame. Several troops had been lost one way or another, and any that had survived were already gone or preparing to leave.
"Evacuating," He confirmed before leaping back into the corridor for himself. "What's the status of our breach?" he asked, a little more than concerned, given that was their only way in or out of the ship. He clutched the Imperator medallion on his person.
"We are moving to investigate that from the outside, inquisitor," came the response from the Nadia's staff remaining on the lead frigate. "We would not leave you so easily."
While one of the frigates moved to cover and potentially recover the troops from the breach they initially made, three others began tracing weaving vectors over the hull of the ship in the surrounding area, hoping to preemptively identify and destroy any defenses that may reveal themselves.
As the fighting continued in the control room two of the first Oath keepers fell their chassis being torn in half and tossed aside like a child's toy. Unlike the other empire contingents, the oath keepers coldly didn't react to their kind's demise and continued to open fire covering the retreating union and arch empire soldiers. One of the support varients of the Oath Keepers falling to the unknown enemies as well its larger frame being torn apart in a similar fashion as the first two. Meanwhile, the Oath Keepers in the CIC weren't fairing better than the groups in the reactor room as they suffered heavy casualties defending the support variant of their kind.
The Mars empire fleet had reached their combat position, the Indomitable Vengence's bridge being alive with Admiral Athena listening to the activity. The fleet was ready and their weapon systems have already targetted the best targets on the larger ship, their entire arsenal prepared to be unleashed against the unknown hostile vessel. Khayon was issuing orders before turning towards her a personnel communication link within her mind opening so only they can hear "It seems things have gotten quite interesting..." he said in a calm machine-toned voice. Athena gave Khayon an annoyed glance before replying "The boarding group status?" to which khayon replied with what she already knew. Athena's expression soured slightly before she said "Initiate the Defiance protocol...." which Khayon replied with a nod and began to work to issue the order.
Back aboard the unknown ship in the CIC the order was received as the final Oath keeper fell leaving only the support variant remaining but just before the unknown enemy could claim it the Oath keepers in the room as one released a burst of binary before as one they self-destructed, their arsenal and their power cores detonating with the force of a 10 kiloton thermonuclear warhead atomizing the CIC and those within the blast radius. The explosion shuddering throughout the ship as the main group of the Oath Keepers continued to cover the retreating forces of the boarding party.
The force of the blast from the sacrifice of those Oath Keepers on the CIC shook the ship hard, even as the remaining Union forces, Arch Empire soldiers and other Oath Keepers withdrew from the generator section and into the access shaft, flying back up to where the breach had been Vrax lay dying.
He had screamed for the others to leave him, watching them cover each other as they leapt into the shaft and sped off to safety. He hoped they would escape, given he was too badly wounded to move the medics had dosed him with pain killers and left. Vrax grunted as he watched the head blooms get closer, now out of ammo for his rifle he shot each with his pistol in defiance. Truth be told he was afraid to die, and in his mind, he could feel something trying to extend its reach inside him. Something cold, ancient, and massive, on such a scale that it made the galaxy seem empty in comparison. Malice, cold and indifferent tried to swamp him even as he was torn apart by the strange manifestations. Vrax died screaming.
-----
The access shaft shook violently as the blast went through the ship, luckily it stayed active as the withdrawing forces reached the tunnels they had previously come from. Gunfire echoed back to them as the bridgehead FOB near the breach fought more of the heat blooms, thankfully the breach was indeed open having been repeatedly melted back out using a jury rigged cutter from the boarding torpedoes supplemented by Arch Empire breaching charges each time. But even now it was trying to heal. The defenders had withdrawn to a tight circle, waving the others over as they raced back down the corridor, shooting targets as they came, another Union soldier being torn apart as he tripped and fell out of line.
“We got a frigate picking us up! Its about to come close, only chance is jumping across the vacuum into its hangar, where’s the sergeant?” One of the Unioners called across the coms. The silence in return made him hesitate for a moment “I see. In a minute’s time we begin jumping, heaviest weapons go last so they can cover us”
----
There was a brief disruption in the ships power cycle, the internal explosion rocking the ship was even visible on the sensors, but with such a huge vessel it appeared it had redundancies. The first weapon to reveal itself was nothing but a large blue crystal spire, lightning running across its surface before it was utterly shattered by a barrage of railgun fire. The Arch Empires frigates already in position to try and destroy it. A blast of energy followed as the thing exploded but it was swiftly followed by another cluster, two more were destroyed by overwatch fire done flawlessly but as more punched through the hull it became impossible to stop them all.
With flashes of light massive kilometre thick spears of light lanced forwards targeting the various capital ships at range.
“Evasive now!” Hargun shouted.
He could have sworn he could hear Vrax's cries from here, the Inquisitor mulled to himself. The moment Alexander's sabatons met metal, he began a sprint almost comically fast given the amount and nature of equipment he was wearing. The gore of the soldiers not two meters from himself were of no consequence; if they fell behind, death was inevitable. Given his proximity to that very extreme limit, he was doing all he could to prevent joining the corpses.
"Those frigates will be here sooner than a minute's time or we won't have the opportunity for the jump!," He shouted over comms as he entered the defensive encirclement, brandishing his weapons once more and dumping as much as he could into a single target. The incredibly soft rumbling in the hull gave him pause, and the alarmed tones on the network did the opposite of reassure him.
The frigates outside burned hard, spinning and flipping through the void at G's hazardous to the crew in the interest of safety, one being clipped by a beam initially before the weapon adjusted and swallowed the craft entirely within its width. The <i>Nadia</i>, on-station for the retrieval, fired all guns at the most proximal spires, elaborately maneuvering itself into a position that had the hangar within seventy meters of the survivors.
"Inquisitor! We need to go!"
The leader of the Oath keepers recorded the last remaining moments of Vrax's life as duty demanded as more of its lesser kind were torn apart. From an outsider's view, the oath keepers seemed to become more and more enhanced with each one of their kind that fell. Where once they moved with a rigged mechanical stride, now they moved with such smooth movement that would rival one of the most graceful of races. Their weapons firing faster and more accurately as well as, firing and switching targets nearly as fast as they appeared. This boost of combat however was becoming evidently an issue as the oath keeper's very hulls were beginning to glow red from the heat build-up their systems being pushed to their absolute limits and beyond.
As the group reached the breach and were now zero-g jumping to the Arch frigate the final surviving oath keepers formed a defensive wall that released such precise firepower and destruction that would rival one of the massive super-heavy vehicles of other empires.
As the massive ship fired upon the fleets the mars empire fleet was spared most of the damage despite receiving more fire due to possessing one of the largest ships out of the fleets. The Indomitable Vengence's shields withstanding the blast against them though straining against the forces, while the vast arsenal of weapons along its hull unleashed their firepower in-kind response. The weapons fire tearing apart and obliterating the massive vessel's deploying defensive weapons as well as destroying vast parts of the hull underneath.
Not all the ships of the mars empire fleet were spared however, one of the flak frigates attempting to evade while protecting the Restoration Halo with interception fire being struck near the engines causing damage resulting in its maneuverability being diminished, while other frigates received lesser damage.
Inside the Indomitable Vengence, Khayon issued orders on the bridge which was draped in combat lighting while Athena was assessing the situation. She was speaking to the other commanding officers of the other fleets stating "Retrieve the breaching teams and withdraw from the massive vessel! I am preparing the weapon aboard my ship for this situation... we cannot allow this to continue..."
Back aboard the massive ship deep where the fighting had begun the remains of the half-destroyed (whom the unknown enemy had foolishly ignored and didn't properly dispose of) oath keepers began to self-destruct similar to those within the CIC though due to their state the detonations weren't as powerful being around a kiloton equivalent, despite this their purpose was still with purpose causing a chain reaction of detonations within the massive vessel stopping at the entrance of the shaft leading to the breach. As the fighting was getting the fiercest and the last remaining members of the breaching team was making their way to the Nadia the leader of the Oath Keepers spoke to the inquisitor. To their surprise, their voice sounded as if it was thousands of voices speaking as one while it spoke "We will remain and hold off the attack... Inquisitor... Destroy this place... Let not the sacrifices of those who died here be in vain... glory to the empire!"
With that, the remaining Oath keepers continued to fight until the arch ship escaped, they fired their weapons until they overloaded or ran dry. Each passing moment one of their kind was struck down until finally, it was the leader of the oath keepers that remained. Their systems overloading with so much activity to the point where their frame was glowing white-hot still fighting defiantly against the unknown enemy. Before the enemy could slay them however the Leader released a final burst of binary fallowed by detonating their reactor atomizing the surrounding area around the breaching point in a final act of defiance against the enemy.
More beams of titanic energy flared out into space as Hargun braced on the side of his admirals chair. One hit the Ageian a Quarrel class full on, vaporising its shields and punching clean through its hull, coring the entire fast battleship in a single shot. Hargun grimaced, whatever they were going to do they had to leave quickly, the return fire from the fleet was impacting the giant ship, tearing great chunks of its hull and systems from its form in roiling explosions as railgun rounds and lasers impacted. And yet its regenerative capabilities were insane, sections blown out by impacts immediately began to seal and cover themselves while heat from lasers seemed to be absorbed and redirected elsewhere. The ship was ancient, and no doubt more advanced technologically than any of the forces here.
“Sir! The Mars empire fleet is taking up positions around their flagship, energy spikes indicate some kind of main gun is being readied”
“Then let’s hope it’s enough, all ships move to cover! Keep firing!” With the order the small Union force moved in to help screen the Mars ships, projecting shields to help mitigate incoming fire and adding their shots to the collective defence, they needed a single shot kill, chipping this thing down was not enough.
The Unioners jumped as the last defensive lines, held by the Oatherkeepers began to fall. They leapt into the vacuum alongside Arch Empire troops and more as the hole began to close, the sight of the Oatherkeepers fighting to the last etched into their minds as they landed into the open hangars of the Arch empires vessel.
“There’s nobody coming go!” Someone shouted even as a crystalline spire began to grow out of the area they were next to. Railgun rounds from point blank hit it repeatedly as the destroyers tried to cover their own approach but energy was already building in the shattering crystal. It ceased however when the multiple detonations were detected inside the ship, the hull where the last stand had taken place bulging outwards before once again being blown open to space. The large ships weapons faltered, ceasing to fire, and giving the allies a brief respite as the detonations inside damaged the reactors and critical components. It was an opportunity to exploit, but it would not last long already it was self-repairing and rerouting critical systems.
With its passengers collected, the Nadia masterfully maneuvered away from the massive anomaly in a way that kept its newfound passengers glued to the hangar while its doors closed and dampener fields re-activated; the moment they did, it accelerated noticeably more energetically than before, rocketing away from the monumental hull that they had just escaped from and towards the fleet, just in time for the sacrificial acts of the Oath Keepers to disrupt a spire that seemed certain to core the frigate had nobody acted.
"Hospitallers and diviners, report to the hangar!" Alexander shouted into his communications array as he shakily stood from the harrowing leap through the void, recollecting himself and muttering a prayer before turning to observe the rest of those that had made it out. He looked down to a traumatized Unioner and offered a hand as the other removed his own helmet; "You're safe now, protected. You must simply hold faith."
The rest of the Arch ships ceased their relatively close maneuvers, most sprinting - and one hobbling - back to the other two fleets that had taken the opportunity offered by the disruption to regroup and brace for the main gun's use.
As the Arch and Union ships made their way towards the mars empire fleet's position a portion of the Indomitable Vengence's bow began to open. heavily armored plates the size of destroyers moving outward to reveal a massive weapon which at first glance made the rest of the ship look primitive compared to the weapon. It pulsed with red arching energy that was continuing to build up in stronger pulses with each passing minute.
As the power level continued to rise the massive ship's weapons began to focus more fire upon the mars empire flagship realizing the increasing threat. Beams of energy lancing towards the venerable ship striking its shields and straining them to their limits. Some of the beams breaking through striking the hull though despite the damage it caused to other ships the Ironclad (living up to its namesake) armor withstood the damage dispersing the energy and resisting, despite this however the other newer sections of the ship were blown apart or melted away.
Deep inside it's hull in the CIC sparks flew from control panels overloading and a few fires sparked to life as the hull groaned from the straining forces. Battle alarms echoed crews rushed to complete their tasks, give aid, make repairs as Khayon was connected into the main control panel closest to the command throne his vision swarming with alerts, systems status, and reports that moved like a rapid river as he tried his best to go through issuing responses to the flood of data. His frame was glowing slightly from the heat build-up of processing and completing so many tasks.
Athena roared as she rose from her throne, her eyes glowing a darker red due to her rising anger as she yelled "STATUS OF THE CANNON?!!!" The hull shuttered as the Indomitable Vengence unleashed its arsenal in response to the massive ship's attacks and one of the officers responded "Core control and weapons control reports energy levels at 100 percent sir and ready to fire!"
The hull shuttered again as the massive ship returned fired scoring more hits on the Indomitable Vengence which caused another officer to report "Heavy damage to port side hangar bay! Lossing atmo and fires have erupted! Evacuating and venting!" Athena grinned before saying divert more power into the Decimation cannon! I want this bastard to be killed and to never return! I am removing safties!" She walked over to her command throne bracing herself when the ship shuttered again before pulling a strange device from the chest of her uniform and plugged it into a control console on her throne.
After a few moments more power rushed into the weapon causing the barrel of the weapon to glow like a star as Khayon reported "Cannon power levels reaching 100%.... 150%.... 200%....250%....300%....400%" Systems flickered as the weapon drew power before Athena gave the command "By the will of the Emperor Order and the Empire FIRE!" as she turned the device to activation.
Within moments everything went quiet, the thrum of battle dying off, even the bright star that was at the end of the barrel of the vast weapon cease. After what felt like an eternity the weapon fired unleashing a vast beam of energy and despite the fact, sound could not travel through space it was followed by an unnatural roar that shook the frames of the closest ships as it shot towards the massive ship like a beam of light. The beam erasing everything upon contact causing a cascading effect that shot out towards anything it touched spreading like a firestorm. Once the beam reached the center of the massive ship it began to implode in on itself building up more and more as the beam continued to pour in before the final part of the beam reached this building energy mass. After several seconds the mass exploded outward like a star before collapsing on itself turning into a short-lived singularity.
The agility of the Arch empire ships saved them as they pulled away from the gigantic vessel, blue tinged energy beams keeping hot on their tails. They were covered by the combined fire of the Arch Empire and Union forces and the saved troops aboard gave their thanks as they received medical attention and gathered themselves. The Arch Empire had proved themselves clearly to these troopers and they would do anything to return the favour to their saviours when needed.
As the smaller Arch ships escaped the focus of the ancient warship it continued to fire heavier and heavier weapons. Another Union battleship exploded from a singular heavy beam, its heavily shielded and armoured form sheered in two with little effort causing multiple internal detonations and decompression damage. Hargun watched as the Mars Flagship continued to charge its weapon, despite its size and power it too was taking heavier and heavier damage from the target. He hoped it would be enough. Whatever this wanderer from an ancient time was it was corrupted beyond saving, and while the Admiral could feel the pang of regret destroying what must be incredible ancient technology and knowledge its corruption could not be spread to the rest of the galaxy. With the escape from the ship the first recordings and reports were already filtering back. The nightmares within reinforced his belief it should be destroyed.
As the charging reached its zenith and the fleet burned Hargun gave the fleet wide command.
“All ships brace!” the flash of the shot was immense as the energy lanced out towards the vessel. For a brief moment Hargun felt his heart sink as the beam was actually held in place a short way from the ancient vessel, as if caught in some powerful energy field. However, it soon collapsed, and the beam hit the ship full centre. Ancient crystalline hull crumpled on itself before exploding outwards and gutting the vessel. The energy release was huge as its secondary power systems seemed to chain reaction, miniature suns detonating inside of its form and consuming it utterly. Even as the ship died Hargun could not think of anything other than he was watching something beautiful die.
Whatever this Termuntana was its influence was gone and would no longer be a threat to the galaxy.
“Good work my friends. It will never be a threat to our people now. My thanks for saving my men and for destroying the vessel” He spoke over the coms system to the other two fleets “As for whatever had corrupted it… Well lets just hope it stays in the dark, deep in the unknown”