Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Homeworld - Tales of the Vjel-Amaj: Aira's Quest - Part I ❯ Chapter 10 – Following the song... ( Chapter 10 )

Aira opened her eyes, finding herself holding and being gently pulled by the hand of the enigmatic being whose name was Shodanii. So many thoughts and feelings flew threw her... Where they were going, she did not know exactly. However, the kadeshi girl became worried, as she was not able to sense the reality. Her physical body was still symbiotically connected to the interface, although it was common that the whole ship would seize all activity during such dangerous flights. Countless wakes, cloud formations and vast shrouds of dense gases only colored in black and white dashed past them at blinding speed as both beings were being pulled into a certain direction.

Despite their advancing flight moving faster than the speed of light, Aira began to feel the heat radiation at first becoming stronger upon her skin. At the very moment she looked to the side, the sun that frequently changed colors as they flew by was soon to be covered, its warmth vanishing with it. With every moment that passed by, they were soon to be totally consumed by a very dense region filled of gas. But as the two were pulled ahead, Aira discovered something, something far different and more unusual than before. Despite her being unease considering where this being was leading her, her deepest fear was hardly present - It was still there, but it did not totally consume her soul as usual. For the first time, the flay noise of hyperspace was not the only thing that filled her ears. Just for this brief moment, Aira sensed harmony among them. Her mind was not able to comprehend it totally, therefore was it too young. That what she heard was beautiful. Never had she heard of such harmony before...


Chapter 10 - Following the song...

As the rumbling and noise suddenly stopped, everybody noticed that the ship had stopped being shaken. Sounds of discharge were heard as the ship quieted down. Startled and surprised by the sudden calmness, everybody within the bridge looked around as the ship automatically charged power and lighting to all systems, shunts and stations. Something was not right...

“Umm...”, Orelis insisted to say and rubbed his forehead, “We've... dropped from hyperspace - already?”
“No frakking way... ”, Hailynn cursed.
“Either somebody stopped us... or that was the most shortest flight to Amaji space...”

“Calm down, you two. All stations, immediate situation report. Are we in danger? Why have we emerged from hyperspace so early?”, the Captain requested with a commanding voice over the two.

Responding to the Captain's request, several voices from different stations gave their report one by one.

“We've got a problem for now - now that we've dropped from hyperspace so sudden...”, Technical Engineer Zann reported, “As foreseen, engineering reports that the hyperspace module is overstrained and currently beyond the capability of generating a stable wavefront for the next... few days. If we had flown continuously, we would have emerged within Amaji space almost 24 hours later - however, we have only flown not even ten minutes, sir.”

“Few days... You can't be serious!”, the female commander shook her head as she remarked her anger in words, “And how come few days?!”

“Ma'am, you must understand that the hyperdrive module and its conduits are very sensitive systems”, Zann continued, speaking a bit too fast with his techno-babble, “Setting the conduits to enforce a grav-strain beyond their maximum efficiency as you demanded was a reckless decision. The whole system was set for the one-way longjump trip... We are actually lucky the conduits have not breached!”

Kenta spoke right after one of the other operatives ended their speech, “As far as I can see, Captain, we are clear of the comet... but...”


A painful and annoying pulsing was felt in Hailynn's head. She simply could not believe it. Angrily detaching herself from her seat, she immediately raised herself, interrupting all speeches that wanted to report to the Captain. She was reacting in a very tempered manor - so angry that she insulted every person who gave his or her report by blaming each one of them for the mess-up she argued about. Making hasted movements, Hailynn frantically opened her stained uniform and collar in order to vent herself, revealing the black vest beneath. She was burning mad.

“- What the frakk is going on with you people?!”, she shouted throughout the bridge and immediately walked ahead to the helm, soon to be behind Fenna, who anxiously cowered as her superior officer screamed next to her, “Don't give me that crap that we are STILL in this frakking system!”

“I-I'm sorry, ma'am”, Kenta stuttered, “I cannot really say where we are... but... we are for sure still within the M'randara System... Position: Unknown. Obs is incapable of designating anything... Our overall sensors readings are greatly reduced by the dense gas that is surrounding us. We require some to for recalibration... I am sorry but -”

“Commander - it is not her fault -”, Zann added, trying to cover Kenta from the verbal attacks of Hailynn. Zann discovered the cause for the ending of their hyperspace flight.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”, Hailynn voice thundered throughout the deck, “What the frell pulled us out of hyperspace then?! What is now, huh?! Let me guess: Probably some frakking Kadeshi Mothership lurking out there with its inhibitor field - or the whole frakking Vaygr crusade?! What - WHAT?!”

Apparently, Hailynn was fed up from all the events that kept happening. All she wanted was to get out of this star system for good, but all of hopes failed as she discovered that they were still stuck within this system. However, her harsh tone and aggressive speech to others was very unusual.

“Ha-Hailey - calm- calm down -!”, Orelis said, but was not able to finish his sentence.

“Frell with calming down, Orelis! All what I wanted was to have my plan followed - but obviously everybody always had to screw it up!”, she shouted back at him , ”Our only frakking job was to get in, get everybody, and get out! But instead we still end up flying in frakking circles! Enough is frakking enough - I've had it with these frakking problems within this frakking system!” Hailynn was shouting and cursing even more than Fenna before.

“Commander! Please - listen - It was not caused by an outer source or danger...!”, Zann shouted at her, trying to make her aware of what he wanted to say before.

Orelis, who could not believe how Hailynn was behaving, threw his view upon the Captain. Just as Orelis was about to intervene the argument, the Captain surprisingly gave him the subtle sign to stay out of this situation. Why was the Captain not reacting to all of this? For sure, he was not a sadist, but he did seem to observe this - as if he wanted to see the outcome of this argument. But all in all, Orelis did indeed feel disturbed by the Captain's manner of command and his executive distribution. Ever since this operation began had he left practically all decisions up to Hailynn. Orelis was not able to come to the conclusion why he let all of this happen.

“- Oh what - WHAT made us fall out of hyperspace - WHAT?!”, Hailynn shouted, slamming her fist against one of the consoles next to the helm.

“Our emerge was not caused by an artificial or natural gravity field! Not by our systems malfunctioning either...! It was caused...!”

“By WHAT?!”

Zann calmed his voice, “- by our intention. The collapse of the quantum wavefront was caused because this point - our current position - was programmed as our... destination...”

“As our destination...Huh, but who... ?”

While many were surprised, it was the drop of Hailynn's shoulders that showed how amazingly astonished she was. Cursing one more time, her view turned upwards to a certain person positioned at higher spot of the bridge.

Kenta decided to end her report, “Ma'am, Captain. I am afraid this is true. Not only are we still within this densely shrouded region of the star system, I am able... to c-confirm that this position was set precisely - partially through observatory and primarily by... sensory...”

“Our emerge-point is... near-to-perfect... *gulp*”, Fenna added as last, but immediately shut her mouth as she looked at Hailynn from behind, who curled both of her hands into a fist as she stared up upon a certain station.

Hailynn felt betrayed, fooled by all of her hopes that rested upon the hands of that certain person. After a short moment, Hailynn made a step ahead to the center of the bridge as she fiercely yelled the name of that person who was responsible for the cause:
“AIRAAAAAAAA!”


- When souls shatter... -

Outright scared by the shouting voice, Aira's heart immediately jumped as she heard her name being shouted throughout the whole bridge. Due to the sudden reaction, the appearance of Shodanii immediately disappeared. Her soul cried not to leave her, but it was too late. Becoming aware of her surroundings, the kadeshi girl discovered that all eyes were focused at her - but one angry pair practically nailed upon her. Signaled by Hailynn to come down at once, Aira disconnected herself from the belts upon her body and arose from the sensory station to climb down. Every part of her was shivering as she climbed down the integrated ladder. Unfortunately, the girl did not know what was going on and why everybody was staring at her, obviously was she too distracted by the causes within the interface.

Hailynn rubbed her face with the side of her hand as the girl stood before her. Though Aira was at first surprised by her name being shout, she looked up upon Hailynn and gave her a gentle smile... obviously, she really had no idea what was going on.

“Aira...”, Hailynn sighed rubbed her strained eyes one more time, “Tell me... Tell me why we are still in this system...”

Responding to her caretaker's request, the kadeshi girl took a short breath before she began to explain, “Ever since we were chased by the vaygr ship to Kadesha's Tear... ah - I mean, fr-frozen comet, my soul was hailed by a distant being. I am not sure, but, my naji, she is in need of help! ”
“Hailed? By a `being' - woman?”
“Y-Yes - but not any woman, my naji, s-she is a gifted being - She is unbound!”, Aira's voice pronounced with a sort of happiness, “You must understand that I did not have much of a choice and -”

All the sudden, Hailynn shook her head and began to push the girl back slightly. The woman could not believe her ears.

“M-My naji. I tried to find a way back to our... I mean... y-your homeworld, but I was not capable - Our pa-path was corrupted... It was tainted...”

“Tainted, yeah right - Don't give me that bullshit, girl! How could you bring us to such a place?! We could be on our way BACK HOME just now!”

As the dialog took place, both Quan and Kenta looked at each other. They did not need to say a word to each other for they both thought the same. What did the girl mean? Both immediately focused themselves on researching. Aira was not a liar, they knew this - There had to be reason for all of this.

Aira flinched at first. Though slightly shocked by Hailynn's aggressive reactions, she did hope that Hailynn's innermost sanity would understand and sooth her anger - which Aira greatly underestimated.
The naive kadeshi girl approached Hailynn as she explained further, her words spoken fast and unstable, “My naji, please! P-Please, listen... The unbound being, her name is Shodanii... She is an enslaved being - I do not know why - but her soul is true and good-hearted! Sh-She is willing to support us and sanctify our needs...”, the girl was blinded by her own well-meant notions and she was misunderstanding every single behavior of her caretaker as well, “It is the Amaji nature for us to... embrace those in need, or, my naji?”. Aira smiled shortly and nervously spoke further, “Sh-Shodanii has what we seek and need... She knows of my seek for Rahji, our seek for returning to your homeworld... if we are therefore to give her serenity. What Shodanii seeks as serenity, I do not know what she truly wishes, but she pleas us to help her, my naji! I... I decided to follow her song instead of following the path back to your homeworld. I-I just... had to...”

The systems of the bridge hummed as everybody eavesdropped. The kadeshi girl sounded so determined. She looked down to the floor. There was a feeling of guilt in her heart as she calmed down.
Making one more step ahead, Aira did not look up to Hailynn as she slowly touched and gently lifted Hailynn's left hand, “My naji, never was I to ever think of being so close to the truth of Rahji, of the whereabouts of his divine sanctuary... or ever to be embraced by an unbound...”, Aira paused as her cheek met Hailynn's palm and as her cheek rubbed Hailynn's rather pulsing hot hand, Aira closed her eyes as she slowly spoke further, “I have prayed... and the gods of Kadesh answered my prayers - though my soul is so far away... My naji, I heard the song of hyperspace and the song of Shodanii... Never have I heard of such... harmony...”

Many within the bridge were shocked as they saw an alarming movement by Hailynn's right hand. Some of them lifted themselves but were simply too shocked of what was about to happen... least expected by the naive kadeshi girl whose eyes remained closed, not even sensing what was about to happen. As Hailynn bit her teeth together, she harshly slipped her left hand away from Aira's cheek... soon to be followed by a dreadful action...


The violent sound struck throughout the bridge... followed by Aira's short-lived but painful cry.
Not aware of anything and greatly underestimating Hailynn's emotions, Aira was somewhat brutally smacked upon the side of her face. As Hailynn's hand reached the end of its swing, the weak kadeshi girl was knocked to the left side as the brute force of her caretaker's innermost anger viciously slapped her face. What just took place within a second was breathtaking for many viewers, stunned by the sudden event. Hailynn breathed loudly, the pain in her head pulsing even more than before, her anger taking full control of her.

Aira's side painfully met the cold hard floor. Lost in her pain and awe, Aira tried to curl away but paralyzed as she looked up upon Hailynn, who angrily stared down upon her. Due to the soft and vulnerable skin of the girl, her cheek and the other side of her head and shoulder immediately bruised as tears shot from eyes.

“COMMANDER DELIXA! -”, the Captain suddenly yelled towards his commander and stood up, but was immediately interrupted by Hailynn's uncontrolled reply...
“SHUT-UP!”

Amazed by her mindless insult, everybody did not believe their ears as Hailynn verbally offended the Captain, her superior officer, to shut-up. She looked back down at the weak kadeshi girl whose trembling hand touched her red-swollen cheek...

The pure hatred was written in Hailynn's eyes, “You... betrayed me!”, she viciously said and squeezed her fist so tightly that she did not even feel her nails actually piercing the skin.

“DELIXA - That's is enough! I am relieving you of duty!”

“Frakk you - Frakk the kadeshi and their stupid beliefs - Frakk all you and this frakking operation!”, she yelled at everybody.

Aira immediately tried to get up, but with the pain emitting among the side of her head, she slightly fell back to the floor due to her disorientation. It took several tries before she managed to fearfully crawl and run away from Hailynn. Bypassing everybody, the frightened girl ran off, leaving the bridge and the madness of her caretaker behind.

“Damn it, Hailynn - A-Are you insane?!”, Orelis shouted and made a sudden approach.

“Frakk you!”, the woman shouted back at him and intentionally wanted to grab her sidearm.

The situation was getting more and more out of control by the second - but as Hailynn wanted to grab her gun, Fenna surprisingly interfered by pushing and embracing her right arm, forcing it away from the weapon the best she could. Being the second nearest person to intervene and able to react immediately, Orelis charged ahead in order to help out. Others wanted to support. Many were still buckled up, but those who already stood took cover as Hailynn's aim swung around.

“Get OFF me, you frakking traitor *nnngh*!!!”, Hailynn shouted,

“H-Hailey- You're out of y-your mind! C-Calm - *OOUF*!”, Fenna shouted, but suddenly felt her breath escaping her lungs. Unfortunately, Hailynn did not come to her senses at all - instead, she felt being attacked from all sides. With her heart racing and her anger urging her to escape from being arm-locked by the two, her enraged mind unleashed only a bit of her close-combat knowledge upon Fenna, forcefully bashing her elbow into Fenna's solar plexus, followed by a painfully knee-kick upon Orelis as well. Able to free herself, Hailynn swayed away from the two and suddenly pulled her sidearm. Fenna coughed several times as she tried to breath while Orelis turned himself towards Hailynn, who at first aimed at him, then at others who dared to move!


At the same time, a frightened being is running among the long hallway. Tears of the girl were spread among her face. Several times had she bumped into people among the corridors and tripped. But with the last stumbling, she suddenly fainted.


“Traitors - All of you -!”, she shouted hysterically and swayed her arm among several groups. Slowly slipping further among the edge of the bridge, Hailynn felt more and more cornered, “Why are ALL of you against me! Why - WHY is everybody attacking me! WHY - WHY!”

For the next few moments, Hailynn mindlessly shouted and argued at the crew. Her face was red and some were even able to detect veins appearing upon the side of her forehead. Aiming the handgun at one of the operatives, her gibberish arguing suddenly starting to slow down...

“Never is anybody on my side! Never... err...”, her speech suddenly slurred.

With her field of view starting to become blurry, Hailynn unexpectedly swayed backwards until her back met the side of the bridge. She was loosing balance. Throwing her left hand upon the side of her forehead, she felt the pain nailing her head. Feeling a provoking urge of her body, she used her free but shaking hand to grab the small cartridge containing the drugs and inhibitor pills.... but before she could open it, the cartridge fell upon the floor. Unable to breath correctly, the once gone-mad woman slowly slid downwards, just as she discovered nosebleed with her left hand. Looking up upon the others that stared at her, Hailynn was lost in mind, disorientated and stunned... As the result, the handgun slipped from hand.

“Wha-... what's going on... what have I... done -*nghhh*” With the last words slurring from her mouth, Hailynn collapsed among the eyes of the others, soon to begin shaking - She was suffering under sort of seizure!

Finally recovering from the recent hit, Orelis pulled himself upwards, barely managing to grab his comm-unit, “Security *cough* and medics to the bridge! ASAP!”

The Captain sat down upon his seat again. He was indeed angered by the recent events. With others disassembling their seat harnesses, both they and Orelis immediately made their way to Hailynn. One of the operatives kicked the gun aside that was soon picked up by Orelis. Examining it, he shook his head several times, “Damn... Hailey... You wanted to kill us?”, he quietly remarked as he disarmed and secured it.

*Cough-cough-choke*

Making a short look at Fenna, he swiftly made his way to her as she managed to lean her back upon the backside of the seat of the navigation station, “-Frell, Fenna - Are you okay - you alright?”, he asked several times and laid his hand upon her shoulder. The young ensign shook her head as she coughed several times.

“No no - don't breath too fast, slow down - slow down...”

Though it was painful and strenuous, Fenna began to do as Orelis advised her to do.

“*Pant* I thought - I thought I was going to die...”

“That was a nasty blow Hailey gave you, Fen...”, he said back to her as he saw the other people picking Hailynn up, “I totally forgot that one rule...”

“Huh - *cough-pant*”

“- Never mess with a marine, especially ex-marines...”, he said, revealing that he greatly underestimated Hailynn's abilities and shook his head.

Not a moment too soon, a group of marines and one pair of medics entered the rear bridge section. With the other operatives pointing them where to go, the marines immediately dashed ahead, weapons aimed first as they moved ahead, followed by the medics. As they reached the Captain from behind, he raised his hand towards them and remarked, “Stand-down weapons.”

“Sir? What happened?!”, the supervisory marine hasted to ask as he signaled his men to lower their weapons.

“A situation has developed but cleared itself before you appeared, men. Medics, Take Commander Delixa immediately to sickbay and have her under custody. I want guards to be posted among the sickbay area. Do not let her leave the bay until further notice.”

“By your command, Captain - but, I do not understand. It is Commander Delixa, sir.”

“You have your orders.”

“- Yes sir.”

“”*Veep* Petty Officer Gallant to bridge. I have discovered the kadeshi operative who seemed to have collapsed right here at executive deck, corridor... F-7... She doesn't look well, bridge. I-I need - Err - Requesting immediate medical support to this section!””

Focusing his view at Orelis, the Captain gave him the signal to respond.

“”This is bridge, P-O. Medics will help you out asap. But until then, please carry the girl over to sickbay or the nearest medical team. Keep the commline open as we coordinate the team to your location.””

“”Yeah - Alright -””
Giving the orders to the others, Orelis demanded the task to be coordinated by one of the operatives of the bridge. One of the medics wanted to check him and Fenna up, but both denied and said that they were recovering. Spotting the marines picking the unconscious and slightly blood-smeared commander from the floor, Orelis discovered the cartridge on the floor. Shaking and opening it, he found several differently colored pills within. For sure, he recognized the inhibitor pill - that one dreaded pill he never insisted to take on duty again - and threw it back into the cartridge.

“Hey - hey”, he said behind the group that made their way out. With one of the medics turning around, Orelis gently tossed the cartridge over to the man, “Hey, you better check that stuff. I don't know but I think she was about to take one of those...”

“Alright. Will do.”

“Thanks...”

Meanwhile, both observatory operatives continued their research. Although both of them were shocked by the recent events, they did seem worried of what the kadeshi girl mentioned before she was physically `harassed'. If that what the girl said happened to be true, then she really did not have much of a choice at all. For now, they both did not care who was the being that led her and the `Vjel-Amaj' to this position. Maintaining the research, both operated their consoles with swiftness. While Quan checked the telemetry data, Kenta began to see something disturbing as she examined the observatory scan protocols. Observing separate images, she was not sure if they were all equal. Each image revealed the patch of stars from different time intervals, specifically those when they first discovered the patch and the hours beyond. But what actually confused her was the image that Aira programmed at first, followed by several other ones that could not be complied by navigation. Kenta needed professional help, somebody who had more knowledge over astronomy.

Raising herself slightly away from the console, she grabbed her comm-unit and called, “Kenta to Dr.Pethera.*click*”

Making a surprised look, Quan turned his view upon her, “- Err, why you calling her?”

“Not quite sure about something, but we need help - Here, check these for -”

Responding to Kenta's call, Pethera's voice recalled over the comm-line, “”Dr.Pethera S'Jet here. What is it?””
“Ehm, yes, Kenta here. Dr.Pethera, we are in need of your professional knowledge, ma'am. We have discovered something upon the scan and telemetry data protocols, but are not sure what it is.”

“”I understand. But I deny coming to the bridge, Ms.Kenta. Not with that Delixa woman wanting to do her duty.””, there was a tone of annoyance and disgust as the voice replied.

“Ma'am. We've have a situation up here that required her to be... removed and from duty arrested until further notice. I assure you that she will not be around during your presence.”

“”I am actually compromised - but now that you have mentioned Delixa not being around, I'd like to know why. I would drop everything what I am doing right now if you were to tell me what `exactly' happened to her once I get to you.””

Quan made a strange look at Kenta, who shook her head. They needed to say that Pethera hated Hailynn deeply. Obviously, she wanted to know every detail of Hailynn's embarrassing misfortune.

“A-As you wish, Dr.Pethera...”

““That is a deal. See you soon. Pethera, over and out.””

“Man, that woman is crazy...”, Quan remarked and turned himself away.

“You bet...”

Just as things were calming down, Quan suddenly discovered something upon the screen of his console, soon to be noticed by Kenta as well. Kelsea, one of the communication operatives, began to detect something as well.

“Captain, I am picking up a contact... No wait - It's a... signal?”
“Strange”, Kelsea added, “I am hearing something as well.”

“Aww man”, Orelis silently sighed, “Will this madness ever end? Feel like we're in some cheap novel...”

”Please explain.”, the Captain demanded.
“Yes, sir - but I am not really able to tell what this signal is. Without any detailed information fed through sensory, I am not capable to offer much to explain.”

Quan took over as she ended her speech, “The density outside is too high for our common observatory sensors to penetrate. The recalibration for conventional surveillance is still underway in order to raise our visibility range - but other than that, we are still blind.”
“Huh - what...?”, Kelsea said, as she eavesdropped into her headset, “-S-Sir. There is a... voice... speaking, but its quality is miserable.”

“So we drop out of hyperspace and soon have somebody calling out for us? This is strange, if you ask me, Captain - Maybe there is some truth to Aira's words after all?”, Orelis remarked, giving his opinion.
“I do not assume this is some vaygr trap either, sir”, Quan mentioned, “Operative Aira did mention that she had spoken to some... unbounded being or something. I do not know what she meant but she said it was some woman who... brought us here...”

“I am actually getting a better focus on the signal”, Kenta said as she pressed several keys upon her sophisticated console. Aligning her instruments and the receiver systems to the signal's bandwidth, she began to understand what the signal truly was - to her surprise. She hesitated several times as she spoke, “It's not just any small signal, sir... It's some kind of... beacon emitting a... guidance signal to our position... if I am understanding this right...”

The operatives who gave their report paused shortly. They were slightly confused of this discovery. Furthermore, they were a lost in what to say next since they did not receive any superior sensorial data from Aira's station. One could of course man that station but he or she would be greatly limited considering the capability to detect anything beyond the conventional sensor reach, due to fact that nobody else was able to mentally connect to the interface like Aira.

“Guidance signal? What a minute. Are you saying this some kind of guideline? One of those used to guide ships for... docking?”, Orelis concluded, “Are you sure?”

“Yes... sir.”

“Captain, this is going too fast! With all needed respect, but I think even Hailynn would take this for a trap, sir. I suggest to not follow that signal - We have fallen for too many surprises ever since our first emerge into this system. This is too much of a mystery”, the deck officer said to his captain and crossed his arms.

“This may sound irrational to all of you”, the Captain explained, “However, I am willing to investigate this signal. Operative Aira brought us here with the intention to help us further in our task. She may be a young and naive girl, but I do trust her. If it is true what she said before, then we should not avoid this signal. With our ship's FTL status of being crippled until our engineers manage to recover the issue of the hyperdrive, we are actually in need of support and a safe haven.”

“But Captain - Our ship is concealed by the shroud or field we are in. I do not intend to deny your decision, sir, but I do have concerns if this is safe... To be honest, there were some things true about what Commander Hailynn said and -”

“Officer Orelis. Please ignore and do not mention Commander Delixa's words. Your concerns are known to me, but insist the ship to investigate.”

“But - yes, sir.”

Hearing another signal coming in, both of the commanding officers turned their view over to to communication operative Kelsea Amaj, who again eavesdropped into her headset.

“Report.”, the Captain demanded again.

“Aye, sir. It's another comm-signal - but it is not originating from the beacon signal, sir. It's a ...communication request originating our ship.”

“Our ship? Details.”

“It's coming from one of our... cargo bays?”, the woman said and made a startled face.

“Whoever it is, patch the signal through to us, Kelsea”, Orelis commanded.

“Aye - patching through”, she said and did as told. Fulfilling her task by setting the comm-line upon all speakers, she called, “Attention... unidentified signal - This is the bridge of the `Vjel-Amaj'...”

Within the next moment, a very familiar deep voice replied, “”*veep* This is vaygr fighter - Callsign... `Ray'. I apologize for breaking silence, Amaji Command, but my fighter is still maintained within the junction between your cargo decks. Are there any further orders? Over.””

Kelsea slapped the side of her forehead as she threw her back upon the seat and blushed, “Oh my gods, I-I... I totally forgot about him. Captain, I apologize - but I f-fu-forgot to maintain his transfer to the cargo deck... It all happened so sudden with the hyperjump that I -”

“It is alright. It is to him you need to apologize, but you may do this later. I think we should dispatch our vaygr ally one more time.”

“Sir?”, Orelis insisted to ask, “I do not understand.”

“Remember, officer, the vaygr's fighter possesses better surveillance and sensors than we currently can offer due to the absence of our sensory operative...”

“As a scout I assume. Well, since you order was to investigate the signal, we might as well have this...`Ray'... on the lead.”

“Exactly. Operative Kelsea. Please forward my orders to him and have his comm-line remained open. Please explain our situation and ask him if he is willing to support our intentions.”

“Ah - Y-Yes, Captain. *clears voice* - `Ray', this is bridge. Umm, yes, vaygr fighter, we do require your support one more time. The Captain would like to know if you are willing to be dispatched once more. Our ship has emerged within a dense shroud and are incapable of surveying our surroundings and heading and would require your guidance to a beacon signal emitting from a certain angle.”

“”Confirmed, Amaji Command.””, the deep voice accepted.

“Kelsea, what is his status - Is he alright? That was a tough fight they had to put with... you know...”

She nodded and added, “Vaygr. What is your status? Are you in the condition to be dispatched? Over.”

“”I am undamaged.””

“But - do you - need to rest? Are you exhausted, hungry - a-anything I can... do for you?”

“”I am vaygr, hiigaran woman. I am not in the need of.. anything. Command, I am ready to be dispatched. Opening the upper gateway would allow my fighter to be dispatched.””

Kelsea sighed. She felt very guilty for forgetting this man in the darkness.

“Commence the dispatch of the vaygr fighter”, the Captain said and looked over to only helmsman available at the fore section of the bridge.

“Ensign Fenna?”, he called to the young navigator woman, “I apologize, but I am afraid I cannot relieve you from duty. You are currently the only person capable of navigating the ship to our destination.”

With the Captain calling her from far behind, Fenna rubbed her chest several times. It still ached from that elbow attack. Though she still suffered from its pain and felt nervous, she turned around and said, “I'm alright - sir. I understand and will man my station...”

“Thank you, Ensign. Your efforts are registered.”

Climbing back into the seat of the sophisticated navigation station, Fenna settled herself and pressed the key that caused the seat to automatically move back closer to all controls and consoles. Though she was exhausted for being so long on duty, she knew she was needed - here and now. Again, Fenna rubbed her aching chest as she thought of Hailynn...

“N-Navigation - online”, she stuttered.

Feeling a short rumble, Kelsea shortly reported, “Vaygr fi- I mean, `Ray', has been dispatched.”

Checking all possible survey methods, all screens showing all frontal arcs revealed a thick wall of gas. Soon, she discovered movement among the frontal region of the ship along with a green circle appearing and disappearing frequently.

“Vaygr fighter”, Kenta called out, “Are you able to detect the guidance signal?”

“”Affirmative. My sensors are not fully capable to penetrate but they are sensitive enough to detect the origination of the signal you seek.””

“Vaygr fighter”, Fenna now transmitted, “I have locked navigation to your fighter. Maintain a steady distance around 300 meters so the ship can follow you. Please try to stay as best visible as possible.”

“Engage engines”, the Captain commanded.



- Relict of the past -

During the next forty minutes, the `Vjel-Amaj' carefully followed the small vaygr fighter as it led the way to the mysterious signal. Slowly piercing through the thick cloud, the vessel, whose hull still possessed chucks of ice, cruised ahead. Many among the bridge's crew were worried due to the events that occurred a long while ago. Breaking the silence, Ray's deep voice suddenly spoke, gaining the attention of everybody, “”Hiigaran cruiser. Please stop your advance.””

“Disengage all engines - Full stop.”, the Captain demanded. Doing as ordered, Fenna pulled both grip controls to a certain level, causing the ship to automatically slow down.

“”Kelsea here. What is wrong, `Ray'?””

“”Hiigarans. I have - visual contact - with the origination of the signal. The density of this region is a lot lower. The border is approximately 200 meters away from your position.””, Ray's slightly distorted voice recalled over the comm-line, “”Amaji Command. This vessel appears to be something beyond our expectations.””

“”Please explain.””

“”I am unable to identify the origins of this ship. However, it appears to be a gigantic vessel - Not far from this position. But that is not all, hiigaran cruiser. My sensors are detecting many more ships surrounding the largest vessel - The minor ships do not seem to be active. Command, I suggest to move your ship to my position in order to see all of this.””

Shocked by his words, many threw their view ahead to the main screen as they heard his visual reporting.

“Ensign Fenna”, the Captain called out to her, “'Steady as she goes'.”

Doing as he commanded, Fenna caused the whole ship to retain a slow approach to the desired position. With each meter, nearly every crewmember of the bridge began to become anxious. Needless to say, Fenna herself was very nervous as the nose of the ship slowly pierced through the layer of dense gas. As the last cloud of gas spread away from their way, they finally could see ahead with their own eyes. Excluding the Captain, the rest of the crew reacted with astonishment. Able to see further their eyes discovered the gigantic vessel. Its size was so vast, that the `Vjel-Amaj' itself was rather a minority, just alike the ships that silently floated next to it. Taking a sharper look, it seemed that these ships were engulfed in a less denser sphere, a less cloudy bubble as some would describe, having the gigantic vessel as its center point. There were so many things and objects floating among the area, but the `Vjel-Amaj' was still too far away to identify them.

“By the gods of Kharak...”, Orelis said as he approached the main screen, then turned around to the others, “Where... are we?”

Lifting himself up as well, the Captain began to approach the main screen as well. His eyes focused on the gigantic vessel and one of the many other ships.

“C-Captain? Is something wrong? You look like you are seeing a... ghost, sir...”

“Not quiet, Officer Orelis. I must concur - I am surprised. But that vessel we can see ahead... is a Mothership-Class vessel - but not just any Mothership...”, he said and moved further ahead.

“Sir?”

Everybody focused their view upon their superior officer, who turned himself around to the majority of them, anxiously waiting for what he wanted to say. They all stared upon him, many of them not reacting to internal communication speeches...

"Fellow hiigarans - vaygr fighter. This discovery is unbelievable - We have stumbled upon something of the past. I recognize that mothership vessel... The ship we can see here is of... Imperial Taiidani origin..."