...With a great crash and rushing of water, Whetu Kealoha washed ashore in a cave. This opening was just large enough for two or three Partogans to stand upright in, but most of the space that wasn’t covered in water was already filled.
The chamber where Whetu came to rest was filled with gigantic Lightstone crystals. They illuminated the cave as brightly as though the sun itself was shining through the water’s surface nearby. When Whetu’s crystal sword washed ashore beside her a few minutes later, it seemed to be insignificant in comparison to the wondrous formations that grew from floor to ceiling and threw their light in all directions. It was here, inside of a wondrous cave that would eventually be named “The Vault of Light” that Whetu Kealoha finally came to rest. Around her, the world carried on its way. The Raki Nui River continued digging out the canyon, sinking lower and lower into the ground as time went by. Eventually, the cave was completely cut off from the river, as the waterway changed course.
Whetu would remain undisturbed as the powers of nature reduced her body to bone and eventually dust. Before long, the only remaining evidence of the first Queen of Partoga was the Soulkeeper, the crystalline sword that seemed to contain its own unique energy. Dust gathered upon the weapon, and it was buried.
After the Battle of Archer’s Canyon, the Vault of Light would remain undisturbed for five-hundred-twenty-one years. On our own calendars, it was the eleventh day of September in the year 2036 when something happened again in that cave.
On that day, over a distant world about thirty-five hundred light-years away, a great battle called the War in Heaven was fought. The fate of the very universe was at stake, and many powerful beings took part in the apocalyptic conflict. During the climax of the fighting, one of the combatants struck a blow against Time itself.
For an unknowable length of time, the natural order of things was abolished. Time ran in all directions and at all speeds. The crystals in the cave grew and shrank. The Raki Nui River rose and fell as it aged or regressed. Small plants, fungi, and creatures who lived in the cave relived their entire lives across fractions of a moment or the most eternal of centuries.
Amidst this chaos, neither Whetu nor the Soulkeeper were exempt. The natural process by which Whetu’s body returned to the earth was reversed. First bones, then muscle and tissues, before Whetu’s body was restored to the way it had been mere moments before her death. A life force made entirely of Psionic energy returned to Whetu and, like a movie being played backwards, merged with her body exactly the same way it departed five centuries ago. At the same time, crystals of light continued to grow and decay and change around the cave. The presence of Whetu’s body did not impede these changes.
As time continued to spiral out of control, a gargantuan Lightstone crystal began to grow around Whetu’s body. The Psionic life-force that was simultaneously evacuating and re-inhabiting her body reached out and drew the crystal around itself like a blanket. In mere seconds, or perhaps a couple-thousand millennia, a formation of Lightstone crystals enveloped Whetu’s body. Soon, the first Queen of Partoga was totally encased within the formation. This was when the Lightstones revealed their most underestimated quality: Everything inside of the crystals, including Whetu’s body, was now being protected from the chaos outside. Her body would go through no more changes as a result of the Great Disruption.
Just as the last hair on Whetu’s intact body was encased in crystal, or perhaps several decades after the fact, the normal flow of time was abruptly restored. The Great Disruption came to an end and the cave was silent once more, but it was transformed into a different place entirely. Despite everything that happened, Whetu’s body was still there, perfectly restored. Her eyes closed, it looked as though the young Queen had simply fallen asleep inside of a Lightstone. The silhouette of her body hung on the walls and ceiling, outlined by a halo of gentle light.
Finally, one last thing happened.
Just a few minutes after the Great Disruption ended, all of the Lightstones went out. It was as though a cosmic switch was flipped, dousing nearly every source of light in the cave simultaneously. Darkness would have enveloped the Vault of Light, if not for a single crystal.
The Lightstone containing Whetu’s body was still lit, even after all others had gone out. Soft, warm light seemed to emanate from Whetu herself, keeping the chamber dimly illuminated as all other sources of light failed.
Now safe, secure, and well lit in her crystalline resting place, Whetu Kealoha was left undisturbed for a further thirty-nine years...
June 5, 2076
High Orbit above Partoga, Trecta Star System
Far above the ruined and abandoned planet, a grand old starship awaited the arrival of a shuttlecraft.
The LVK Mami Tamihana was a relic from the Second Hyperspace War, but that didn’t stop her from being the pride and joy of the Levakian people. Nearly twelve kilometers long and four kilometers high, the city-sized spacecraft boasted immense foundries that allowed her to construct and maintain a whole fleet of vessels. The ship’s outer hull was painted with the orange and yellow colors of the Levakian Confederation, a member-state of the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth.
Down below, the planet once known as the Partogan Homeworld carried on its slow orbit around the orange star. The world itself was dead, having been slain by a cosmic nightmare creature during the aforementioned war. A dense grey fog shrouded the entire planet, making it impossible to see the surface features below.
The heavy shuttle wasn’t visible until the moment it erupted through the cloudtops. Escorted by a pair of space-superiority fighters, the shuttle made its way towards the Mami Tamihana and slipped silently into her hangar bay.
June 5, 2076
The Sea of Lost Souls, Near the Great Wastelands
The Mami Tamihana dropped out of Hyperspace right on schedule, arriving in a region of space that once formed part of the outermost border of the now-defunct Kingdom of Partoga. On the ship’s bridge, three Partogans gathered at the central dais for a meeting. There was no great urgency. They just needed to kill time while the Hyperspace module recharged.
The first was the officer in charge of the whole mission. Fleet Admiral Rawiri Maaka was a severe man. A veteran of the Second Hyperspace War, he took his job seriously at all times. The second Partogan was his second-in-command, Captain Kauri Patariki. Like his boss, Kauri was also a veteran of the war, but he was nowhere near as jaded as his superior. The last person was a civilian. Specifically, he was an archeologist named Meto Mihaka. Meto was in an especially good mood. He was the one who had planned out the entire mission: the recovery and return of Whetu’s body to Aoraki, the new homeworld of the Partogan people following the loss of their old one.
“Sir, everything is by the numbers.” Captain Patariki reported. “We’re making good time to the Capitol.”
“Excellent.” Fleet Admiral Maaka replied. “Well, mister Mihaka, I’ll be sad to see you go. You got your space legs much faster than most civilians we’ve had to haul around. It was a downright pleasure.”
“I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of one another.” Meto answered in a friendly tone. “I’m going to try and convince her Majesty to fund another expedition. I’m convinced we missed the sword only by a few dozen Bios. It’s definitely still down there somewhere.”
To prove his point, Meto produced a map of the cave system from his pocket. Together, he and the two officers spread it out on the flat top of a holographic sensors manager. They started to discuss the many ways a cave system could change over five centuries and all of the possible resting places of Whetu’s crystal sword. This went on for several minutes until a lower officer tapped Captain Patariki on the back and said:
“Sir, we have a report from sensors: Hyperspace signature. It appears to be a Human vessel. Distance, nine hundred Kios and closing.”
“Are they transmitting any recognition codes?” Captain Patariki asked.
“No sir.” The officer replied. “I’ll keep you apprised.”
Meto and the two officers continued discussing the crystal sword.
“It’s not made from the same materiel as the Lightstones.” Fleet Admiral Maaka pointed out. “Lightstones are Psionic insulators. The sword was most likely a conductor. It may not respond to our scanners unless we present it with a source of Psionic energy.”
“That may be difficult.” Meto said. “Jericho was pretty thorough in what she did. The Psionic energy inside that Lightstone with Queen Whetu is the very last Psionic energy in the entire Universe. We can’t afford to spend it looking for her sword.”
At that moment, one of the bridge crew spoke up from his station.
“Captain, there’s a civilian ship approaching us at high speed. Time to intercept, five minutes.”
Both officers groaned and looked up from their work.
“Make challenge.” Captain Patariki said. “Warn him off.”
The bridge officer nodded and then began speaking into a microphone.
“Attention unidentified spacecraft. This is the LVK Mami Tamihana. You are penetrating restricted military space. Turn away immediately. Repeat, you are on approach towards a military spacecraft without permission. Turn away now.”
Meto was not a military man, but he was curious about how this process worked. He rolled up his map, tucked it into his jacket and leaned against the railing of the dais to watch.
There were nearly two dozen people on the bridge, and all species who were members or allies of the Commonwealth were represented here. A Vanian flew from one side of the bridge to the other, delivering messages. Two Humans were pouring over the latest sensor data while a Human/Levakian Hybrid looked over their shoulder.
Fleet Admiral Maaka tapped the two Human officers on the shoulder and said:
“Identify that vessel for me.”
One of the Humans, a South American man, pointed towards the sensor screen and spoke in a Hispanic accent:
“Señor Maaka, that is a Cantabria-class freighter. He’s most likely hauling water ice or something like that.”
“Captain, is he acknowledging our challenge?” Fleet Admiral Maaka asked.
While all this was going on, the other members of the bridge crew were still trying to make contact with the oncoming ship.
“Attention Human spacecraft.” The comms officer tried again. “You are on approach to a military vessel of the Partogan-Levakian Commonwealth. Change course immediately or you will be fired upon. I repeat: Change your course immediately. You are on an intercept course with a military vessel. Divert at once or you will be fired upon.”
“No luck sir.” Captain Patariki replied. “Trajectory station says they’re going to pass 400 Bios off our port side.”
“That’s damn peculiar.” The Fleet Admiral said. “Captain, I think you should put the ship on alert.”
Meanwhile, the two starships were now flying directly towards one another. Just as Captain Patariki predicted, their courses were parallel. The Human freighter and the Levakian warship would pass so close to one another, it would be possible for the crew to see each other through the windows. As the two starships drew nearer, the crew of the Mami Tamihana was able to make a positive identification.
“Sir!” A bridge officer caught Captain Patariki’s attention. “Fleet Intelligence is now ninety-nine percent confident that the other vessel is the Earth ship SS Rocinante. A registered cargo hauler. No weapons. Last seen at Tenhauser Gate five days ago.”
“Tenhauser Gate?” the Fleet Admiral replied. “That’s over four thousand Lightyears from here!”
It all happened in about three seconds.
In the first second, Captain Patariki realized what was about to happen and shouted:
“General Quarters! All hands to battle stations!”
In the next second, the Human starship commenced its flyby of the Mami Tamihana. In that moment, the freighter seemed to… transform. Its hull changed shape. Cargo modules turned into weapon blisters. A surplus radiator reformed into a military grade Hyperspace Module. And the white letters painted on the side of the ship morphed. In the first moment, they said:
SS Rocinante – Barcelona, Spain
In the next moment, the name of the ship changed to:
UNS Kurt Waldheim – Armed Forces of the United Nations of Earth
And then in that final second, the Scharnhorst-class Dreadnaught drew level with the aging Mothership and opened fire! Energy cannons, Mass Drivers, nuclear missiles and Ion beams tore into the Mami Tamihana’s hull, sending pulverized metal and wreckage into the void. Bright blue Ion beams drilled into the hull breaches while nuclear blasts continued to peel away whole sections of the Mothership’s exterior!
On the Mothership’s bridge, it was chaos. Smoke and flame filled the room as everyone tried to make sense of the situation.
“What the hell just happened!?” Fleet Admiral Maaka yelled.
“The bastards were using holograms!” some officer replied. “Fooled us all!”
“Damage report!” Captain Patariki shouted.
“Comms tower is down!” An officer replied. “Hyperspace module damaged, launch bays are out of commission! All smaller ships are trapped in the hangar deck! They knew how to hit us!”
While Meto struggled to pull himself to his feet, Captain Patariki and Fleet Admiral Maaka were standing back-to-back. They had taken full command.
“Computer!” Fleet Admiral Maaka called out. “Make a note in the ship’s log: Engaged Human super-capitol ship at midday.”
“Ensign Ranginui! Polarize armor and bring weapons online!” Captain Patariki ordered.
“No, that’s negative!” An officer replied. “We’re losing power! The main reactor is damaged!”
“Give me auxiliary power!” the Captain replied. “Divert all power to the armor!”
“Too late!” A sensors officer yelled. “They’re coming around! Torpedo off the port side!”
WHAM!
Meto was thrown off his feet as the ship was hit again! A whole section of the ceiling collapsed into the bridge, crushing a Human officer beneath twisted metal and shattered circuits. Meto lost track of the Admiral and Captain. Crawling on his hands and knees, he scrambled away from the wreckage as a serene computerized voice spoke loudly over the intercom:
“Intruder alert, deck one! Intruder alert, deck one!”
Somewhere behind that tangled mess of wreckage, the Captain shouted:
“Breaching pods on the hull! We’ve been boarded! Everyone barricade yourselves in place! Ranginui, send out a distress call on all frequencies.”
Meto was on the verge of panic. In his whole life, he’d never been in a fight, let alone one as chaotic or destructive as this. The only thing he could think of was escaping. He needed to get off the ship! Weren’t there escape pods down the hall from the bridge? As soon as the idea entered his head, Meto was making a run for it. There was only one door leading away from the bridge. Moving quickly, Meto crossed the wrecked chamber and pulled the hatch open…
There were four Humans standing outside the bridge. Dressed in full battle gear, it was obvious at a glance that these were UN Space Marines. The letters “AFUNE” were printed across the collars of their uniforms, and the last detail that Meto took note of was that one of the soldiers was pointing a Gauss rifle at him.
Meto wasn’t really aware of being shot. The adrenaline was rushing to his head so quickly that he simply kept trying to run away after the first Gauss round passed through his gut. Keeping his back to the Humans, Meto made a mad dash for the escape pods. He felt a powerful pushing sensation that caused him to fall forward!
On the floor of the darkened hallway, Meto finally realized he’d been shot in the back. Intense pain started spreading out from his left shoulder, and his breath caught in his chest.
“No!” He gasped out loud, too panicked or frightened to say anything else. “No, no, please no!”
Behind him, the sounds of gunfire and explosions rang out from the bridge for a few seconds before dying away. Then, there were two sets of voices talking somewhere nearby:
“All command and control points pacified. They can’t scuttle the ship anymore.” Said a Human male. “We’ve taken control. What’s next?”
“Transfer Kealoha’s body to our ship right away.” Replied the slightly high-pitched voice of a Human female. “Then search the place for any actionable Intel. When you’re done, use their signal buoy to send out a distress call. I’ll inform the Galactic Council that the Partogans were attacked by pirates and all aboard were killed.”
The dual sets of footsteps parted ways. Two Humans were walking around Meto. Using the last of his strength and fighting against the mind-numbing pain of multiple gunshot wounds, Meto rolled over so he was lying faceup. Both of the Humans stopped in their tracks and looked down at him. Through a haze of pain that clouded his vision, Meto saw two Humans standing above him, a man and a woman.
“Help.” Meto gasped, gurgling on his own blood. “Please… help me.”
A man with wavy blonde hair shook his head in disgust, then unholstered a Gauss pistol. He looked across at his companion.
A woman with straight black hair took the pistol from him. In the darkness, her pale skin and vivid blue eyes made her look like a nightmarish demon. She pointed the weapon at Meto’s head and hissed:
“Xeno scum.”
There was a loud crack, a flash of light, and Meto Mihaka knew no more.
