Fiction:Tzhrhokia/Part3

"The whole Multiverse shall be mine... MINE!"

- POOTIS

Prologue
Date: 05/00/411 KRE

"A mysterious force has claimed billions of lives in 20 worlds, and the casualties keep rising, however, the future Tahars have defended some colonies with grace, including the capitals, Terkom and Horehronie..."

One day earlier

"We're under attack!"

"NOT THIS AGAIN, ISN'T THE DCP ENHOUGH!?"

On the 4th of Aninaar of 411 Kraw Era Calendar, Horehronie was attacked by a strange force of utility fog ships, constantly shapeshifting as they approached the planet. Horehronie had been bruised before - however they had no intention of actually destroying it. The ships were led by the Prime Overlord of the Iteok's Systems, or POOTIS an AI that unveiled himself after a successful gank by the Tahar Collective Commander and his allies on the Glory Emperor.

They came ever closer. People were waving flags of surrender, red in color. It seemed like the end of the world. Why Horehronie and no other worlds? POOTIS wanted to take out capitals first. Weak ones even. Horehronie would be a target to glass and then rebuild in POOTIS's image. However, a series of Cyan ships appeared and fought valiantly against the dark grey ships of the enemy forces. Hit after hit, both sides took damage, but one blast at the main ship and the others vanished, leaving no trace of the utility fog code of the fleet.

TC Kraw - "Got the Horehronie fleet, #1, how's the Terkom fleet?" TCC - "Defeated. Did you renember to take out the main ship first?" TC Kraw - "I forgot, it was the 30th ship to be destroyed." TCC - "You could have finished the job faster." TC Kraw - "Sorry, emperor." TCC - "One thing, #340, don't tell the people of the past about my real name, my history, or the fact that I'm the emperor of the Tahar Collective. You shall adress me as #1 and nothing more. I'm waiting for the right time to tell him about myself..." TC Kraw - "Got it. Where to next?" TCC - "A fleet is heading to Galdesh, homeworld of the Kanux. Let's go there." TC Kraw - "Yes. One more thing..." TCC - "Yes?" TC Kraw - "Once this is over, do you think the Kraw Galaxy will be patched up and good to go after we leave?" TCC - "I'll still need some time. But the Kraw Galaxy will be safe. I have another idea, but now let's save a few worlds." TC Kraw - "Yes." TCC - "We don't know which is the main fleet of this entire invasion, but if you take it out you discoordinate the others. So let's do this."

And so the Collective was fighting a war, that is no longer just at the Kraw Galaxy, but the universe as well. The Universe's hope rests in finding the Prime fleet, indistinguishable from all the others, but critical to the AI.

The Collective Defensive
Retrak VI, 05/00/411KRE

"Get those Antimatter containers set up safely! If they activate now we'll lose half the planet and the entire plan will collapse!" The commotion was almost unbearable, hundreds of Eranians frantically scurrying about the bunker, trying to set up the trap that was being laid. Everybody knew of the recent invasion of Eranian territory by an unknown foe, which has systematically been taking dozens of worlds all across the southern rim. Each planet had simply stopped responding to any attempts at contact, and any ships sent to investigate did so also. Nothing so far had even been able to scratch the enemy invaders, much less identify them.

This new foe was attacking using a pattern, however. Taking worlds in a very systematic way, so that even a child could predict where they would strike next. Based on this, a plan was formed to stop this threat, or at least destroy the main assault force of whatever was causing it. Now, that plan was being put into action, but that action was proving incredibly hectic."No! Don't stretch the wire connecting the bipolar magnet and the biometric degrader! If you trip you'll turn it on and it'll take too long to properly reconfigure!" Oran Iklas had not been in actual command of a mission for years, and so far, this one was proving exhausting.

As Oran ran from place to place, he could not help but admire the effeciency in which the bunker he was organising had been constructed. It was made a full decade ago, yet showed no signs of disrepair or decay. Too bad that the craftsmanship was irrelivant, he thought. All that effort gone to waste, after all, it'll be gone in a few hours.

"All set up, sir! And all of the other bunkers are set of similarly!" A young new recruit to the CETIC informed Oran. He seemed almost afraid of Oran, perhaps worried he would see some minute flaw in his attitude and be harsly punished for it. Perhaps he had been a bit too perfectionist with his plan, but it this did not go perfectly, it could prove the destruction of the entire southern rim of Eranian space, or even the entire Collective. Oran did his best to make his voice sound kind, and replied "Thank you Recruit. Get to the Evacuation shuttles, We had best leave. If we're here when the enemy arrives we'll die with them, and that wouldn't be very beneficial would it?".

In space, Orbiting Retrak V's moon, same date

The sole ship in the system, a concealed Ghost class Eranian stealthship, hid in wait. Its five crew watched the monitors with great intensity, completely focused on observing what was about to occur. They were hidden just behind the third moon of Retrak V with cloaking shields up, the perfect place to observe the doomed planet of Retrak VI without detection by most scanners which could pierce cloaks. The silence was almost total, broken only by the breathing of the crew, and the regular, contant beep of the scanners.

A loud beep broke the silence, "Unidentified ships teleported in" yelled almost all of the crew in unison. "No, identified now. It's them". "Don't come out of orbit, let's see if they take the bait" ordered the captain sternly. The ships they were observing converged with eerie, almost malicious uniformity of movement upon the planet of Retrak VI, exactly as planned. "The ships are landing... Don't they have teleporters? Why not just use that to transport any cargo down?" asked one of the crew, a seasoned veteran who only scored one point away from being an economist on her deciding aptitude test. The plan was going exactly as predicted. Of course it was, none of the Eranians present doubted it would. It was made by those best capable, after all.

Something was not right. The trap should have sprung by now, it had been several hours, more than long enough to break into one of the bunkers. As soon as a living being or Hyperspatial entity entered the bunker, the half-ton of antimatter should have been released, destroying most of the planet, and any ships in orbit. But nothing was happening. The plan had failed. Suddenly the monitors beeped yet again. Something was being teleported off the planet. "What's being teleported?" asked the captain, panicing, just thinking what it could be. The veteran's face went grim, as though resigned to some unknown fate. "The bunker, sir. More specifically, the antimatter". Before the veteran was even finished speaking, the crew were blinded by an intense light. Then they knew oblivion.

Teros, 07/00/411KRE

The noise from the conference room could be heard throught the building. The council of Those Best Capable had convened for the second time in a week to discuss the new threat to their territory, and were engaged less in debait, and more in a conversational struggle to have their views acted upon. Domestic advisor Ferros lars, a tall, lean Eranian with sharp facial features and a brilliant, if one-track mind, was furiously attempting to get Oran removed for failing to stop the threat before it reached majorly populated worlds while Irtas Leeran, high embassador, attempted to calm him. Serrta perar, the chief economist, and Erania Kurot were more calmly arguing over whether or not to evacuate the worlds in the path of the destruction, and only Jervas hyde, he whom is best capable, remained silent, watching calmly and contemplating the best way to proceed.