The Broken Gates

[Macavity116]

Dear readers,

Today my third Stellaris story, The Stormbreakers, crossed 100,000 total views on the PDX forums since publication in 2019.

Over 78,000 of these views came after the final chapter was posted on September 11, 2020.

I am deeply humbled and cannot thank you enough for reading The Stormbreakers, for reading any of my stories, really. I never have any expectations for the stories I post. I'm just out here to share a story and have fun along the way.

Thank you for reading!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The roster was:

1. Arithmetician
   • Jedi Padawan Akkano – Stellaris Wars: A Clone Wars Ironman Saga
2. CBR JGWRR
   • Rivkah of Unity – Life 2.0 – An “Of Unity” Narrative
3. FamilyTreeEnthusiast/Massinissa the Wise
   • Himself
4. HistoryDude
   • Himself
5. Nikolai
   • The Watcher and Creature – Multiple AARs
6. Peter Ebbesen
   • Sverker – Born to Breed: House of the Prophets
7. The Kingmaker
   • Morgana Pendragon - Omentide
8. TheButterflyComposer
   • Ged – Ged’s Existential Nightmare
9. Von Acturus
   • Zoe Mosley – Shattered Glass

Akkano - yep, I can see why she'd come in handy.

@Massinissa the Wise and @HistoryDude again I can see how they'd fit.

Sverker would be hilarious as a distraction, Morgana is one of the characters who again I can definitely see how they'd come in handy, Ged... I'd need to read that AAR to assess, and while I have read Shattered Glass, it was a long time ago and I can barely remember.

But Rivkah?

What's your reasoning?

I mean, as one of the people who was thinking along these lines all through The Broken Gates so far, I was thinking of Vorosh as the main candidate I'd suggest, as Vorosh has a lot of flexibility that would suit a confrontation with Malum in whichever direction you wanted it to go.

Second choice would be Amothetet, because her vs Malum would tear general and special relativity to bits, and it would be interesting to see both of them going full on and everyone else trying to escape as Sweden is obliterated. Naomi - if convinced to forgive the Emily issue - would be able to glue Team Marisol together, and after the augmentation has the intellect and brawn to go for Malum if the others cover the psionic deficiency.

A few more I considered. Buri I discounted because the Emily issue would be much harder for him to forgive than it would be for Naomi, and he'd be more likely to cause Team Marisol to fracture. Grepp with his Prikkiki-Ti tech we've only seen the slightest hint of (the time he flicked Rivkah off) could be a real wildcard, but Grepp has no reason to aid Team Marisol beyond stopping Malum, and Grepp is a cloak and dagger operator who would assassinate Malum rather than fight him. HK-47b's interactions with Cali and Asimov could be really something, and his inspiration has previous for taking down Jedi for sure and almost certainly Sith too, so he certainly could be useful.

But I never considered Rivkah because... She would be a good team player and some A-tier traits, but she doesn't have any S-tier traits that would be needed to take on Malum.

 

[Macavity116]

Rivkah?

What's your reasoning? ... I never considered Rivkah because... She would be a good team player and some A-tier traits, but she doesn't have any S-tier traits that would be needed to take on Malum.

The same reason I selected Ged: I wanted more non-Gifted characters in the roster, bonus points if that non-Gifted character was easily recognized by readers who don't normally venture into Stellaris AARland. Rivkah has a Weekly AwAARd tied to her name, meaning lay readers would be able to wrap their heads around her quickly and easily. Vorosh and Amothetet were disqualified for the same reason as Jericho (The Stormbreakers) and the End of the Cycle (All Our Sins Remembered) they would beat Malum in a head-to-head.

Buri I discounted because the Emily issue would be much harder for him to forgive than it would be for Naomi, and he'd be more likely to cause Team Marisol to fracture.

There was a point where I was considering Buri as a last-second addition to Team Malum before the mega-crossover finale was dumped. I explored a possible fight scene between himself and Sebakhira, but it took too much focus away from the more important Trig vs Tenna fight, and I also wanted to back away from the idea of killing Sebakhira.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The same reason I selected Ged: I wanted more non-Gifted characters in the roster, bonus points if that non-Gifted character was easily recognized by readers who don't normally venture into Stellaris AARland. Rivkah has a Weekly AwAARd tied to her name, meaning lay readers would be able to wrap their heads around her quickly and easily. Vorosh and Amothetet were disqualified for the same reason as Jericho (The Stormbreakers) and the End of the Cycle (All Our Sins Remembered) they would beat Malum in a head-to-head.

Makes sense now.

Not sure Vorosh would; some of the tricks that Malum has could be really quite effective against Vorosh especially, and well, Vorosh is a pyromage. Malum has aleady shown a good amount of resistance to that. I see Vorosh vs Malum as favouring Malum, albeit not a one-sided fight.

There was a point where I was considering Buri as a last-second addition to Team Malum before the mega-crossover finale was dumped. I explored a possible fight scene between himself and Sebakhira, but it took too much focus away from the more important Trig vs Tenna fight, and I also wanted to back away from the idea of killing Sebakhira.

Buri siding with Malum? And fighting Sebakhira?

Why?

 

[Macavity116]

Buri siding with Malum? And fighting Sebakhira?

Why?

Tenna Annora and a Mind-Controlled Buri were originally going to be the ones defending the Broken Gate on Rotholmen Island when Team Marisol tries to seize it. The plan was to have Sebakhira snap Buri out of Malum's control, and then the two of them would break the Trig-Tenna stalemate.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Ah, a mind-controlled Buri, could be workable. Naomi would have tried to put mental defences in, but equally she doesn't know what she's defending against... They'd be able to help Sebakhira get him back. But getting a character who could follow Malum willingly would be a safer option for team Malum, as Buri's sole reason for not-killing Malum is he is someone else's Gaius Licenius...

Anyway, it is Trig and Tenna's opportunity to sort things out, and I definitely agree that Buri would get in the way of that on either side.

 

[Macavity116]

Naomi would have tried to put mental defences in, but equally she doesn't know what she's defending against...

Oh, man. I was only thinking of pulling a single character out of Life 2.0. The math would be so radically different if Rivkah had gotten to bring Naomi or Buri for the ride. The fight for PDX HQ probably would have been even more destructive.

Trig and Tenna's opportunity to sort things out,

Yup. Multiple Creations are going to have some emotional payoffs during the final conflict.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I had a fair sized list of candiates I thought could be really quite interesting cross-overs.

Are Trig and Tenna going to make up, or make splitting up rather more permanent?

 

[Macavity116]

Are Trig and Tenna going to make up, or make splitting up rather more permanent?

You'll have to read The Broken Gates to find out.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Well, funnily enough...

 

[Macavity116]

We are rapidly closing in on the final actions of The Broken Gates. But while I continue setting up the pieces for the upcoming finale, I do intend to continue writing these little moments where the characters criticize or poke fun at Blake/Me for various transgressions.

<=== Episode Eighteen: This is my story now, and I am the hero.

Episode Twenty: I'm starting to hate this plan. ===>​

The Broken Gates
Episode Nineteen: Today we kill the God of Ink!

---

Marisol
Creator.
Stockholm, Sweden


Aside from the deep rumble of jet engines, the airplane was silent. Herten held his cell phone in front of him, allowing the Creators and Creations to listen to the voice emitting from the speaker:

“We’ve barricaded ourselves in the civil defense bunker.” A man’s voice was saying. “But we don’t know how long we can hold out in here!”

Bella got out of her seat and used the flight attendant’s phone to call the cockpit.

“We’re, like, an hour away from Stockholm.” Bella reported.

Sebakhira, Cali, and Akira all turned to look at Blake.

“What?” He said.

“I seem to remember that you really enjoy writing those scenes where all of the protagonists get together and plan out the final battle.” Cali said. “It seems as though that moment has arrived.”

Trig laughed.

“Cali, did you actually read any of the final battles in Blake’s stories? The heroes plan, they get there, and then all hell breaks loose.” He said.

Marisol stood up, shaking her head.

“No, Trig. That’s just a common theme in Blake’s stories. The plans themselves are worthless, but the act of planning is indispensable.”

Now the group was turning its attention onto Marisol.

“So, what’s our play then?” Varian asked.

Marisol folded her arms in thought.

“What if we pull an After Everything?” Marisol suggested. “Force Malum to exhaust his powers?”

“That’s a tall order. He has three Gifted characters on his side.” Blake said. “We’d also have to exhaust Whetu, Tenna, and Cassandra.”

“Leave Tenna to me.” Trig said. “I’ve got a score to settle with her.”

“I’ll take Cassandra.” Varian said. “Maybe I can break her out of Malum’s control.”

A metaphorical lightbulb illuminated Marisol’s imagination.

“Hey, wait a second.” Marisol said.

She looked toward the back of the plane where Mina was sitting. Mina was handcuffed and sat between two members of Cali’s SWAT team.

“Hey, Akira… didn’t you say that you could break Malum’s power over Mina?”

Akira rose from her seat, about two rows behind Blake.

“Yes, I did. I’ll take care of Mina, and then I need to talk to Blake about something privately.”

While Akira moved to the back of the plane, Bella cut in:

“What’s all that about ‘exhausting’ Malum? What am I missing here?”

Marisol jerked her thumb at Blake.

“The… oh, what do you call it? The magic system in Blake’s universe is built on rules. One of the most important rules is that all power is finite. Any character can lose their powers if they’re overused. It’s happened to quite a few characters, actually.”

“Manaaki Ranginui, Ignatius Petoskey, Trurah Ponnico, and Mira Mihaka, just to name a few.” Blake added.

Herten folded his arms in thought.

“Any other Psionic tidbits we should know before we head into this fight, Robinson? Now’s the time.” He said.

Blake furrowed his brow.

“Unique powers.” Blake said. “Every Gifted person has one... and… HEY! Wait a minute… what the fuck!?”

Blake rose from his seat and turned to face Sebakhira. The lioness widened her eyes, trying to find out why Blake was glaring at her.

“You!” Blake said. “Your unique power is Clairvoyance! Have you not had any visions since this whole thing kicked off!?”

“You’re a fortune-teller?” Trig said, “I’ve got some questions if that’s the case.”

Sebakhira raised her forepaws into the “hands up” position.

“It’s true I sometimes have visions of the future…” Sebakhira said. “But I have had no such visions since arriving here in this world.”

“But… but why!?” Blake stammered.

“Yes, why?” Bella added. “Having someone on our side who can see the future is, like, an instant win!”

Marisol tapped Blake’s shoulder.

“Blake… Sebakhira hasn’t had any visions because you haven’t written any for her.”

Marisol’s words caused a second bout of stunned silence to take the plane. After a moment, Marisol continued:

“Remember Faith in Chaos? Sebakhira’s visions would happen at random… which is another way of saying they only happened when the author found it convenient. When you said it was okay for her to see the future.”

Blake kicked an empty seat and swore.

“Fuck, I wish I knew I’d be writing myself into a jam five years later.” Blake said. “Fuck!”

Herten tried to refocus the conversation.

“What about our enemies? Do they have these, uh, unique powers?”

Marisol jammed her eyes shut, thinking hard.

“Whetu can use Psionics to make herself super stealthy and Cassandra can turn herself into a giant green monster.”

“Emerald Avatar.” Varian said. “It’s called the Emerald Avatar, and since it’s the older version of Cassandra, she has a lot of control over it.”

“What about the Water Witch?” Cali asked.

“Uicse? Elasticity.” Blake said nonchalantly. “Ever see a movie called The Incredibles? Picture Elastigirl but with water. I’m not too sure how far she can go with that power, though, because she’s really underdeveloped as a character. Same goes for Aisling.”

Blake pointed at the fairy, who turned red and tried to hide her face.

“What’s Aisling’s special power?” Cali asked. “Is it the shapeshifting?”

“Weather control.” Blake and Marisol said together.

“Blake is right. It’s underdeveloped. The only one who knows how far she can take it is Aisling herself.” Marisol said.

“Me? Really?” Aisling squeaked.

“Yup.” Marisol said, giving Aisling a reassuring smile.

Herten frowned.

“What about the boy?” He said, pointing at Trig.

“Healing Aura.” Trig replied. “Doesn’t matter if it’s a physical or telepathic injury. I can patch you up.”

“The peacock. What’s her power?” Herten asked.

Kanti ruffled her feathers angrily.

“I am a peahen, and I have a name.” she grumbled.

“Kanti can telepathically force people to fall in love with her.” Blake said. “But it’s a watered down version of what Malum can do. For Kanti, she can only produce a strong sense of physical attraction or lust. Malum can force a deeper emotional attraction.”

Cali was looking discouraged.

“So, that just leaves Akira.”

“NO!” Marisol and Blake yelled together, causing everyone to startle.

A small voice dared to reply.

“So… Akira’s power isn’t whatever she just did to me?”

Mina Soban-Re was standing up near the back of the plane. One of Cali’s troopers was removing the handcuffs while Akira gently caressed the top of Mina’s head.

“I’m afraid not.” Akira replied.

Then Akira turned to face everyone else.

“She’s cured.” Akira reported. “It’s very strange. Malum is using a mixture of Domination and Solace to produce the infatuation effect. Normally, those two techniques can’t be mixed.”

“Domination is permanent Mind Control, while Solace is used to heal telepathic injuries.” Sebakhira explained to the group.

Mina put her head in her hands.

“I… I don’t know what to say. I feel so ashamed.” Mina said. “I fell in love with a creepy blue alien and I don’t know why. I just… I thought he was right about everything.”

Akira put one arm around Mina in a tight embrace.

“It’s okay. Being telepathically influenced like that for such a long time is traumatic. It’ll take time for you to get your wits back.”

“Never thought I would hear those words from the most skilled telepathic manipulator in the universe.” Blake remarked.

“Yeah, who are you and what have you done with Akira Robinson?” Varian added.

“Like I said… I’m not the same person as I was a few weeks back.” Akira replied. “Coming here to the real world has changed me. Changed all of us.”

“You should consider becoming a permanent resident.” Cali joked. “I need some company. Also… why can’t we use Akira’s unique power?”

Akira opened her mouth to speak, but both Blake and Marisol cut her off.

“Akira can basically create black holes.” Marisol said.

“She’s oversimplifying.” Blake said. “Akira can basically delete matter and energy whenever she damn well feels like it; but every time she does that, she inflicts permanent damage on the universe itself. That’s why there’s Astral Rifts everywhere in Song of the Solitaire. It’s the damage leftover from Akira using Abolish.”

“So what I’m hearing is that Akira can instantly kill Malum if she gets close enough to him?” Herten said in a helpful tone.

“Yeah, if you’re also comfortable with wiping out half of Sweden along the way.” Blake snarked. “Sorry Akira, but if you even think of using Abolish in the middle of Stockholm, I’ll kill you myself.”

Varian was staring slack-jawed at Akira. Then he (or she) looked at Blake.

“Does she ever use that power on me in my story?” Varian asked.

“Once, right before the final battle.” Blake replied. “She wiped the entire city of Orlando off the face of the Earth, killed about two million people.”

Akira’s face turned a little pale.

“I did that!?” She breathed.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

“Had a hunch you were an earlier version.” Blake said. “Are you from Faith in Chaos or The Stormbreakers?”

“Stormbreakers.” Akira replied. “I was locked up in the brig when Malum pulled me out of my story.”

“Somewhere around Chapter 10.” Marisol commented.

Blake let out a low whistle.

“Early version of Akira, with only one on-page atrocity under her belt. No wonder you had the potential to change. You’re still redeemable.”

Cali folded her arms.

“Any other surprises we should know about, Blake? Any other unique powers that could turn the tide?”

Blake furrowed his brow in thought, but Marisol found the answer first.

“Tenna!” Marisol gasped. “Holy shit, how did we forget about her power!?”

Blake looked at her, and then his eyes went wide. He looked at Cali.

“Aw, fuck! We forgot because we never wrote Tenna using it!” He said. “Cali, when was the last time you heard from Asimov?”



…

---

Tenna Annora
Creation
Paradox Interactive Headquarters, Stockholm


The invasion of Paradox HQ hit its first roadblock just beyond the atrium.

“We’ve got automated defenses ahead!” Dak yelled. “Stay behind this corner.”

Moka grabbed her older brother and pulled on his shoulder.

“Back up! Let the Technomage do her work!” Moka said.

Tenna activated her Celestial Gauntlets. Reaching out with her Psionic powers, she was able to sense the presence of a weapon hidden just around the corridor.

“I thought these people were video game developers!” Tenna said. “Why do they have a security droid!?”

After a moment of searching, Tenna found it. A small robot, equipped with a nearly-sapient AI, was patrolling the next corridor. It was augmented with several million nanobots and had a tight beam connection to an anti-Psionic weapon embedded in a nearby wall.

“You can’t hide from me.” Tenna said.

She sent a pulse of Telepathic energy through two walls and up the next hallway. The little robot Asimov let out a series of shrill beeps and whistles as it came under attack, only to fall silent moments later.

“I’ve got it!” Tenna announced.

She had placed Asimov under Mind Control. At her command, the little robot disabled the hidden anti-Psionic weapon, allowing Malum’s team to press deeper into Paradox HQ. Tenna trailed behind Malum, ordering Asimov to keep up.

Rounding a corner, Malum and his followers found themselves in a lounge, where two grey sofas faced each other on opposite sides of a pair of yellow coffee tables. The far wall was painted with a mural depicting a scene from Hearts of Iron 4. The likeness of General Douglas McArthur peered down on the scene through his sunglasses with a disapproving glare.

A group of Paradox executives stood shoulder-to-shoulder, hiding their fright behind expressions of determined defiance.

A 50-year-old man held the center of the group, his stubble, slicked-back hair, and stubborn frown making him look like a retired action hero. While his colleagues flinched at Malum’s approach he remained resolute.

“I know who you are.” Said the CEO of Paradox Interactive.

“Good, good. That will expedite things.” Malum replied. “There is much to do. Today we will kill the God of Ink! After that, we must commence our next work. There is much to be built, to be staged. I will need… I will need you to stop reaching into your pocket!”

Telekinetic energy wrapped itself around the CEO. He had jammed his right hand into his pocket and was attempting to grab something. Tenna felt her heartbeat quicken. The Paradox CEO was strong-willed, and therefore able to resist Psionic attack. Slowly, inexorably, the CEO started to withdraw a smartphone from his pocket.

“The Great Khan told you to stop moving!” Tenna snapped.

She too began to hit the Paradox leader with Telekinesis, trying to force him into submission. Moments later, Cassandra and Whetu joined in. Cassandra attempted to place the CEO under Mind Control, while Whetu used Mindfray to harm the man outright. To Tenna’s horror, the Paradox CEO was not totally immobilized. He slid his thumb across the phone screen to unlock it. An app appeared on the screen. Tenna could see a bright red button labelled “EMERGENCY PLAN A” on the screen.

“GET THE PHONE!” Tenna shouted.

Kiri, Dak, Moka, and Uisce all lunged forward, trying to seize the CEO’s phone, but the other Paradox executives took action. Like American football players, they ran interference, blocking and pushing back against Malum’s followers.

The Great Khan released the largest Psionic pulse yet, bathing the room and its occupants in telepathic power. Then, just as the chaotic skirmish reached peak intensity…

The power went out, and Paradox HQ was plunged into darkness.

<=== Episode Eighteen: This is my story now, and I am the hero.

Episode Twenty: I'm starting to hate this plan. ===>​

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Emergency Plan A. I'm guessing that is some kind of total lockdown state without any override from within PDX HQ?

Nice little conversational piece, although they probably should have had it earlier...

 

[Midnite Duke]

They should be on at least Emergency Plan D by now. Am I really supposed to be rooting against Moka? Thank you for the update.

 

[jak7139]

Why do I have the feeling that Akira's going to be forced to create a black hole come the end of this thing.

This chapter has a great title by the way!

 

[Macavity116]

Emergency Plan A. I'm guessing that is some kind of total lockdown state without any override from within PDX HQ?

The power outage is definitely intentional. What's the point of seizing control of a game company if they can't turn on their computers?

Nice little conversational piece, although they probably should have had it earlier...

Yeah, opportunities to have the characters discuss unique powers were sparse considering everything else that's happened.

They should be on at least Emergency Plan D by now. Am I really supposed to be rooting against Moka?

A little bit of Cali's explanation came back here. PDX was so plagued by indecision that only one Emergency Plan was ready.

Why do I have the feeling that Akira's going to be forced to create a black hole come the end of this thing.

I can just imagine Akira saying "Hold me back, Blake! I'm gonna do it! I'm gonna end the world!"

This chapter has a great title by the way!

Even the audience is calling for my blood now.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The power outage is definitely intentional. What's the point of seizing control of a game company if they can't turn on their computers?

Seizing the people...

 

[Chac1]

Sorry that I am late to this chapter for a variety of reasons.

PDX was so plagued by indecision that only one Emergency Plan was ready.

Too bad. I was thinking a good Emergency Plan B would be an EMP. No doubt, there are back up files in multiple locations, but that would fry Stockholm.

The power outage is definitely intentional. What's the point of seizing control of a game company if they can't turn on their computers?

Agreed. See above.

 

[The Kingmaker]

Looks like I’m late as well! By a whole month. I come back to finally post an Omentide chapter and I see I’m way behind. Work and life get busy and I start to miss out. :/

 

[Macavity116]

Sorry that I am late to this chapter for a variety of reasons.

Looks like I’m late as well!

No worries! The nice thing about these forums is that once the chapter is posted, it stays there until you've got the time to come back for it. No reader is ever truly "late."

Plus, you're both on time for this weekend's events. I was planning to put up one big special post for my birthday, but there's so much content planned that I've decided to break it up over three posts instead:

• June 29: Special post #1 - A preview of my next Stellaris story: Meet the main protagonist and main antagonist
• June 30: Special post #2 - Celebrating 100,000 views on The Stormbreakers: The Battle of Earth presented in Audiobook format
• July 1: Special post #3 - A new chapter of The Broken Gates: The final battle begins

I was thinking a good Emergency Plan B would be an EMP. No doubt, there are back up files in multiple locations, but that would fry Stockholm.

I wonder if an EMP would fry Cali and Cassandra, since both characters rely heavily on Nanobots.

I come back to finally post an Omentide chapter and I see I’m way behind. Work and life get busy and I start to miss out. :/

Oh, I've gotta check out Omentide again now!

Life has no mercy on any of us, so no worries in the slightest if reality gets in the way of reading/writing plans.

 

[Macavity116]

Happy Saturday, dear readers! I'm spending the weekend having some extra fun for my birthday. (tomorrow)

In the meantime, I've got two special weekend posts planned for you, mainly because I'm in a very celebratory mood. This is the first of said posts.

Please scroll down for an opportunity to meet the protagonist and antagonist of my next Stellaris story:

---

UNSUNG PARAGONS
Introduction to Ino and Araj


​

Main Protagonist: Ino Esperanta

Species and Species type: Human/Mammalian
Age: 24
Homeworld: Earth
Hometown/Country: Ushuaia, Argentine Republic
Military service/rank: Coalition Military Intelligence/Lieutenant Commander


Background: Ino is the eldest daughter of Rajano and Glorinda Esperanta, who are currently high ranking members of the Esperanto Movement. This political organization seeks to install Esperanto (a constructed auxiliary language) as the primary mode of communication for both the Earth and Coalition governments. She has a younger sister named Venka. The Esperanta family is afflicted by a severe case of “Golden Child syndrome.” Venka is, according to her parents, a perfect young woman who is incapable of doing wrong.

Ino is a very intelligent young woman, full of self-doubt sown by her parents. She was taught by her parents that she has constantly failed to measure up to Venka’s physical beauty and intellect. Ino grew to resent her family and left, seeking education and employment far from home. Ino graduated from the University of Buenos Aires and joined the Coalition Navy. After taking the Coalition Aptitude Exam, Ino was offered a post in Coalition Military Intelligence. She became a Tactical Officer.

Ino unexpectedly found fame right at the very beginning of her military service. She was selected to participate in the annual GALEX Exercise, a massive war game carried out by Coalition military forces. During the exercise, Ino was ordered to join the OPFOR, a group of soldiers who role-played the part of the enemy during a simulated battle. The goal of the simulated combat was to test the ability of Coalition super-capital ships to defend against smaller vessels, and OPFOR’s defeat was a foregone conclusion. Ino turned the situation on its head. She used unconventional tactics to create a situation where the Simulation Controller had no choice but to award Ino credit for singlehandedly destroying the UNS Excalibur, the newest and most advanced Battleship in the Coalition Navy. Ino became a minor celebrity on Earth, which put Ino back into unwanted contact with both her family and the political movement they represented. Ino’s fame spread outside of Coalition territory, as the idea of a massive Battleship being ambushed and destroyed by a tiny destroyer is very outrageous. The incident also drew the attention of the Coalition’s enemies, such as the Astral Fellowship.

Ino’s story: At the beginning of the story, Ino is serving as Tactical Officer aboard the Coalition Battleship Marathon during the final days of the Forgotten War. (a large-scale conflict between the Coalition and Fellowship) The Marathon and her escort fleet are travelling to Rally Point Gamma 4, where a strike group is being assembled for the next battle. The Marathon and her fleet travel through a Hyper Relay to shorten the journey. Unfortunately, the Hyper Relay was booby-trapped by the enemy. The Marathon and her escorts are crippled beyond the ability to move or fight. On the other side of the Hyper Relay, the Coalition fleet finds the wreckage of an allied fleet that flew into the same ambush.

Unfortunately, the debris field is located perilously close to the Hyper Relay gate, leaving no room for evasive maneuvers. The already-crippled Coalition fleet meets with disaster. The ships of the escort fleet are badly damaged or outright destroyed by collisions with shipwrecks, while the Marathon itself impacts the derelict hulk of her own sistership Sparta. The collision inflicts catastrophic damage on the Marathon, killing more than half of the crew, including all of the bridge officers, leaving the CIC staff to take command.

As the seniormost surviving Tactical Officer, Ino reluctantly assumes command of the Marathon. All of the surviving crew from the escort fleet abandon their own vessels and join the Marathon crew. Just before starting the long journey back to Coalition territory, Ino’s crew discovers a second group of survivors. Some of the Augments have survived the deadly Fellowship ambush and are attempting to resume their own mission: Augment Commander Rylan Quin has been ordered to escort Astrocreator Azaryn, the Legendary Paragon, out of the war zone and into the safety of Coalition space. He accepts Ino’s offer of aid, and the two crews make their way to Earth together.

Unfortunately, the enemy fleet responsible for the ambush is still nearby... and their commander is unlike any Ino has faced before. Ino has never met this man. She doesn’t even know who he is, but he knows Ino... and he will pose a deeply personal threat to her...


Main Antagonist: Araj Zilfallon

Species and Species type: Desstican/Necroid
Age: 47
Homeworld: Dekronia
Hometown/Country: Tulnui, Immeto Terrestrial Fellowship
Military service/rank: Voidwalkers/Captain


Backstory: Araj is the 116th child of Aramachus Zilfallon, the current Supreme Ruler of the Desstican Astral Fellowship. Growing up amidst the incredible wealth and power of the Zilfallon Dynasty, Araj has been the master of all around him since he was old enough to give orders. He was given an education in Astral Theology as mandated by his father. Like the rest of the ruling Dynasty, Araj became a religious extremist, ruling over the rest of the Desstican people through a hybrid apparatus that fuses organized religion and interstellar government into a single operation. Araj is a strong believer in the concepts of fate and predestination. He will justify his acts of cruelty and self-service as “the will of the cosmos.”

As a young man, Araj developed several “proclivities” that led to him being branded as a deviant by his innumerable siblings. Most notably, Araj became fascinated by the many alien species currently enslaved by the Astral Fellowship. (It is generally thought that the enslaved population outnumbers Desstican people on any given planet in Fellowship territory) Araj devoted himself to the study of non-Desstican lifeforms and the immense transformation they underwent when entering the Chamber of Elevation. (The place where enslaved aliens are forcefully and irrevocably transformed into Necroid lifeforms) Between the ages of 25 and 35, Araj purchased approximately two hundred alien slaves to satisfy his fascination. It is thought that at least fifteen of these enslaved people were Humans abducted from the Borderlands, a region of space where the Astral Fellowship and the Coalition share a disputed and poorly demarcated border.

When he was 42 years old, Araj caused a scandal on Dekronia. He was part of a diplomatic delegation sent to visit the Coalition Embassy in the Desstican capital city of Tulnui. The ceremony was to celebrate the arrival of Human Ambassador Maev Akers. After participating in the formal ceremony, Araj offended the Human delegation by expressing outrage and contempt at the news of a woman being named Humanity’s ambassador to Dekronia. (Women in Desstican society are non-citizens, little more than property of their fathers or husbands) Relations between the Coalition and the Astral Fellowship were already beginning to sour at this point, but the Supreme Ruler was neither ready nor willing to engage in hostilities just yet. Araj was reprimanded by his father and then ordered to commence a new career in the Voidwalkers. (The spaceborne military forces of the Astral Fellowship)

Araj was made an officer as soon as he joined the Voidwalkers. At his father’s insistence, Araj was given command of Coordinated Attack Group 29, a small flotilla of stealth ships roughly analogous to a wolfpack of Cloaked Frigates. Group 29 patrolled the Borderlands on a mission to conduct covert reconnaissance on the Coalition in preparation for an upcoming offensive war against the Coalition. Group 29 used their cloaking technology to penetrate Coalition space on multiple occasions during this time. It is believed that Group 29 facilitated the abduction of roughly 15,000 Coalition citizens during this time, most of whom were pressed into slavery by the Astral Fellowship while a select few were converted into Necroids at the Chamber of Elevation.

Two months before the Forgotten War began, Araj was aboard his flagship, the Cloaked Frigate Cordana, when he was ordered to conduct covert surveillance of the GALEX war game. Araj and his crew witnessed the highly improbable and now-famous victory of the destroyer Defiance over the Battleship Excalibur.

It is thought that this was the moment when Araj first became aware of Ino Esperanta... his now infamous obsession with her may have started at this point as well.

Araj’s story: At the beginning of the story, Araj is still the commander of Group 29, though he aspires to command a larger and more illustrious fleet. Group 29 lost only one vessel over the course of the war and has scored a number of victories, including the wholesale destruction of a transport fleet, which disrupted the Coalition’s efforts to liberate the Augment Homeworld. Araj was also instrumental in the abduction of nearly four million Augments, Humans, Lithoids, and Toxoids, all of whom were either enslaved on Desstican worlds or taken directly to the Chamber of Elevation. After the Voidwalker fleet was definitively defeated at the Battle of Trappist, Araj was ordered to wage a fighting retreat out of Augment territory and back into Fellowship space. He was also instructed to lay traps at Hyper Relays, to catch and destroy Coalition warships as they attempted FTL travel.

The booby traps laid by Group 29 caught two fleets at the Imogen Gate, a Hyper Relay located on the border of Augment-Fellowship space. First, an Augment fleet was attempting to escort Legendary Paragon Astrocreator Azaryn to safety. The fleet was mostly destroyed and Azaryn became stranded. A little less than two days later, a Coalition Battleship and her escorts fell into the same trap. To Araj’s delight, a Human who once captured his attention is aboard said Battleship, ready to become the target of his obsession once more...