C65 Of broken Dreams.
Of broken Dreams.
Somewhere ?
“ Failure ! “ A voice echoed through the dark.
“ What ? Where ? “ He uttered, his thoughts a mess, unable to recall where he was.
No, there was more. Who was he ? Why was he here ?
“ Where am I, who, am I ? “ He groaned, feeling that he was, standing, but he could not see, there was not a shred of light.
“ Failure ! “ Another voice uttered with distaste, and it sounded like, a woman ?
Her voice echoed. No, it resounded, like that word was being repeated by others. Spoken in sadness, in despair, in rage. Worse, it stung, why did it sting so much for a word to be spoken ? Was it, directed at him ? Why ?
Then the next moment, he found himself amidst Tree’s, so large, people had carved homes into them. No, not carved, they asked the tree’s to make room for them.
They shaped crystals then, asking them to be, to shape into a form that would close the hole within the trunk, until a thin sheen of pink and white permitted the sun to carry it’s warmth into their home, to be doors and windows for them.
What was this ? Why did it feel, familiar ?
“ Taklos ? Your spacing out again. “ A female voice addressed him.
Was that his name ? Taklos ? And who was she ?
“ I am just wondering. Melvo hasn’t been around in a while, Mother is worried about him. “ He heard himself speak, and then his gaze wandered to the woman.
It, was a beast, a white furred wolf of sorts, walking on two legs.
“ Don’t worry Isaya, The All-Mother always finds her quarry. She will find him during the naming ceremony. He’ll be given his name, and then you can bond with him. Even if I personally have to drag him before you. “ He assured her, speaking as though he was not in control of himself.
Was he, just observing ?
“ I hope your right. “ This woman, Isaya as he called her, responded.
He could see the sadness in her eyes, and the pain she felt. He understood, there was always only one mate for you, predestined, fated.
Neither could break that fate, and both found happiness in their bond with one another. And Yet, Melvo, he ignored it ? How ? It should have been, impossible.
Wait, how did he know this in the first place ?
Then the scene suddenly changed. He was, standing before a throne, shaped from white crystals. And atop it, sat a woman. Long pointy ears, long white hair, and eyes of pure white, judging him for what seemed like an eternity.
“ Sahar. Your name shall be Taklos Sahar, the Heart of Shadows. “ She spoke, and then her gaze turned to look over the crowd of other young souls awaiting their name, and there was sadness in her eyes.
The next moment, she waved a hand before herself, creating a thin sheen of crystal matter, upon which the image of a black wolf like creature was shown, sitting in the dark by a fire.
“ Melvo, Melvo Des’Lonar, the Soul of Solitude. “ She spoke, naming the black creature.
Taklos could not believe it. She had not summoned him ? He knew the All-Mother could. Why did she not ? And Isaya, she was in pain. The longer the bonding phase was inhibited, the more it would hurt. Why ? Why was he fine ?
“ Failure. “ Taklos heard the elven woman utter, and the world suddenly felt like it shattered.
The next moment, he found himself standing atop a cliff, overlooking a small village. And he could see humans going about their daily lives. Men going out to hunt with bows and spears. Women tending to fields, children laughing as they played in the village center. It was, nearly serene to watch.
“ Radol, are you sure this is where the cult is hiding out ? “ He heard himself speak.
“ Yes. There is no mistake Lor, don’t worry, I know what I am doing. “ Another man spoke as he stepped up besides him.
This other person, he was dressed in black robes, his dark eyes looking down over the small village with a coldness that made him shudder.
But his name had changed, he was called, Lor now ? What was going on ? Why was he seeing this ?
“ There is no point in wasting time. “ The one called Radol spoke, raising a staff up high just to utter, “ Annihilate, “ which caused a massive explosion above them, followed by a large piece of crystalline rock that started its descent towards the village, to erase it from the map.
“ Radol ! Are you insane ?! There might be innocent people down there ! “ Lor heard himself speak, no, scream at the other.
But the next moment, there was a searing pain in his chest. And looking down, he could see a dagger stuck in his chest, Radol’s hand on it as he had blatantly stabbed his companion.
“ We do not need weakness, nor mercy. All that matters are results. “ Radol uttered, and then simply turned away.
Lor tried to speak, but all he managed to voice, were the confused grunts of a man realizing that his life was fading.
And then there was that voice again, that woman uttering, “ Failure, “ only for the world to shatter again.
“ Predators ! Today we die with honor ! “ He then heard through a communication device. He was suddenly sitting behind the controls of a manned turret of a battleship, stationed around some gas giant.
He was firing heavy shells at, white crystals ? Trying to defend a research station that currently had tried to explore a new energy source.
But he heard a terrible screech in his mind, like thousands, millions screaming in utter despair. And he recalled then, the hive, the hive was in pain, it was dying. And turning the turret about to look towards the home-world, he could only see the shattered remains. And above it, that large black crystal, the angel of death.
He could watch himself, loosing every reason, every sense of logic, blindly to just fire his weapon at that accursed being. But it would not die, why did it bother to play with them so ?
“ Never forget this pain. If you turn your greed upon my people again, I will bring ruin to you. “ A voice then coldly proclaimed in his mind.
“ Die ! DIE ! DIE DIEDIEDIE. “ Was all he could scream out firing his weapon, over and over again, even when the black crystal was long out of range. The loss of the home-world, of the queen, how were they supposed to go on as a people now ?!
“ Failure. “ That voice could be heard again.
Over and over again it happened. Another life, another face, another name. He was Human, beast, Insectoid, even a sentient plant once. And there was always another, always in black. Pragmatic, merciless, and devoid of any empathy.
He slaughtered just to make a point, he turned his back on those that cared and worried for him, turning everything to ash that he laid eyes on. And always that voice, sad, desperate, frustrated, every time to announce another failure.
“ Stop. “ He pleaded, going through life after life.
“ STOP ! I can’t, take this anymore ! “ He screamed out, but all he heard was, “ Failure ! “ in response.
“ We call it, Project Nah’Rahan. “ He heard then, and turning around, he could see the gathering of species within the large hall, The Galactic council.
“ Like the language of the founders ? “ He heard his own voice speak.
“ Indeed. The founders had wisdom, and we hope we can impart this wisdom upon the Varduun, before they erase another species in their rage. “ The other, a Silicoid named Klixie’tahn responded.
“ And your saying, this will teach them, emotions ? How is that going to calm them ? “ He asked, looking out the window of the observation post, close to the border to the Varduun territory. A screen showing the red world of Varduuna, where the Varduun slept, their shape discarded to be nothing more then a red semi liquid matter.
“ High Lord, the Varduun too are children of the founders. But the sacred texts say, they discarded of emotions, waiting for the time that peace reigns. To embrace their siblings amongst the stars.
We have had peace for thousands of years now. Only the Varduun remain, and their actions grow increasingly hostile. “ Klixie’tahn responded.
“ That still tells me nothing of what I wish to hear. I hold little desire to share the fate of the Quelmaran people. They thought they could communicate with the Varduun, educate them as they claimed. And in return, their entire species was wiped of the galactic map. “ He, as the so-called High Lord, uttered.
“ My people are prepared to move separately, the risk will be ours alone. We only need the funding to increase spore production. We already tested it on a wandering Vaduun, and the results are most promising. “ Klixie’tahn insisted, triggering a remote to have a recording shown on a nearby screen.
On it, a petri-dish with red matter was shown, matter that suddenly lashed out trying to break through an energy field that held it caged. Then black spores where released into this cage of energy, causing the Varduun sample to violently lash out into every direction.
Moment’s later, it turned black, retracted into the petri-dish and simply shuddered.
“ It, changed ? “ The High Lord spoke.
“ Yes, sadly the factor of fear was to high, and this sample perished. We already found the flaw in our spore composition and are correcting it. But without the funding, we will not be able to produce it on a scale sufficient to cover all of Varduuna. “ Klixie’tahn reported.
“ Very well. You have my support. Let the council put it to vote, and if they agree, you shall have your funding. “ The High Lord relented.
Once more the scene would shift then. This time, he was looking at a screen, showing Varduuna, the red world, and above it, that blob of black matter.
“ May the Founders forgive my folly. “ He uttered, his voice broken as warning klaxon's resounded through the ship he was on.
The spore’s had worked, at first. But the Varduun had expelled the effected matter, sealed it in an energy field above Varduuna. And ever since, have started to hunt down any living being. Without mercy, without remorse, consuming whole worlds to add to themselves.
And since they were a form of shape-shifting hive mind, they were perfectly coordinated, pretending to belong to the members of the Galactic council, only to suddenly lash out and consume everything around them.
And now, no one could trust anyone else anymore. Everyone was running, fleeing as the Varduun could not be defeated. It was, as if they were endless, immortal. And in the 50 cycles since their extermination campaign begun, few species remained. For all the former High Lord knew, they may be the last species in this region of space, and soon they too would vanish.
The Varduun had found them, chased after them. The defense fleet was already gone, and the remaining exodus fleet would soon follow. There simply, was no hope. And that entity above Varduuna, it disappeared during the start of the first Exodus fleets, when it became clear that no one could stand against the Varduun.
“ Nah’Rahan. “ He uttered, recalling still how Klixie’tahn proudly suggested to rename the Varduun then. To welcome them into the Galactic council, back when the project seemed to be a success.
“ Perhaps. “ He uttered. Leaning back against the wall, listening to the prayers of others around him, the last sputters of people about to die as ships were torn apart around them.
“ Perhaps this one, this Nah’Rahan, will remember us ? “ He wondered, before a sudden explosion tore through the ship.
Badland system Salim, aboard the VDN Queen of Hearts.
“ Stop ! “ Roland shouted, darting upwards from his command chair and near breaking the screen that had been extended before him.
“ Cap ? “ Jacob uttered confused, looking towards Roland like much of the bridge crew now.
Roland returned that confusion as he looked around the bridge, breathing heavy as though he had just overly exerted himself, with his heart feeling like it wanted to jump from his chest.
“ Fuck ! “ Roland snarled, and then felt the stinging sensation spreading through his head, making him sit back down and groan in pain.
“ Get medical staff in here Immediately ! “ Jacob ordered, sensing that something was wrong.
“ Cancel that order. And give me our current status. “ Roland insisted.
“ We have just entered the Salim system. No signs yet of the pirates. “ Jacob reported.
“ What is going on Cap ? You just had ordered the system scan. And now, well, this. “ Jacob probed carefully, placing a guess that it must have been something to do with Roland being a Psyker, as that change from calm to panicked, was rather sudden from his perspective.
“ What ? “ Roland groaned, pulling the screen closer again to check their current situation.
“ Energy signatures detected, consistent with fusion reactors. “ Tactical called out then.
Roland would look up in confusion right then, only to groan out in pain as his head felt like it was about to burst. He remembered that very report about the energy signatures. Why the fuck did that sound so familiar ?
“ Is everything alright ? “ Jacob asked again, as clearly, Roland was hardly in a functional state right now.
“ Yes. Inform Medical after all, have them pick me up. And abort mission, fastest way back to Oldran. “ Roland issued, searching the current mission files for any hint about what just happened.
But he was starting to recall now, the attack on those pirates, these bug creatures. Their escape to Lanwer, and the resulting attempt to flee that system as well, which failed. He died in Lanwer, he god damn died and could do nothing about it. What the hell was going on here ?
“ Cap, is there anything we need to watch out for ? “ Jacob tried again, as Roland had not been forthcoming about what was going on with him.
“ Psyker attack. Just get us out of here for now. I will likely have to rest and recover for a bit, so you have command. But, inform me an hour before we reach the Oldran phase point. “ Roland insisted, unwilling to share the mess that was going on in his mind right now.
“ Aye Cap. “ Jacob relented.
“ You heard the Cap, Command Hand-off, set course for Oldran, fastest route. “ He then directed towards the crew.
“ Phase drive is still in cool-down, 25 Minutes till we are ready to jump. “ Navigation responded.
Roland remained seated in his command chair for the time being, waiting for the medical team. He was trying to tune out the noise of the bridge crew for now, sorting his thoughts in a near desperate attempt to make sense of what he just experienced.
He could clearly remember having defeated the pirates, and the struggle against those worm like bugs. The evasive maneuvers, the fruitless attempts to find the source of their attacks.
And then the attempted distraction, sending the remaining civilian combat vessels towards those worms, while the Vorden ships docked to make an escape under the influence of his shroud ability.
It did work. They had one more evasive maneuver that interrupted the first docking attempt with the Firebird and the Shallow Waters, but with the other three frigates heading off towards the enemy creatures, they seemed to have bought enough time for the brawlers to dock to the Destroyer. Roland shrouded the ships then, and they managed to reach the phase point, and leave the system.
On their way out, they spotted traces of the Boarding carriers clearly having been destroyed. Watched the Civilian vessels being swallowed by much larger versions of those corvette sized worms, and even determined the cause of those gravitational waves.
Three gas giants that suddenly appeared within the system, and that, by what the data had suggested, had thousands of creatures swarming out into the system. And only in Lanwer could he see the true extend of that horror.
There was also a new planetary body, a gas giant as well, and swarms of those worms making short work of the local patrol fleet protecting the Mining colony. By the time they reached halfway to the Oldran phase point, the Lanwer colony was under heavy attack.
Thinking about the snippets of emergency calls they caught then, it must have been a massacre, with people claiming that these worms released some type of ground units. And apparently, they tore people apart, and simply devoured them.
And not just people, anything available in organic matter and minerals was being consumed by them. He and Jacob could summarize that they seemed to prefer Organic matter, but any refined metals and larger concentrations of metals and minerals seemed to be the primary target for these creatures.
“ Cap ? “ A medical officer spoke, tearing Roland from his attempt to sort through what he remembered.
“ Yes. Get me to medical, and get me something for my headache. “ Roland responded, trying to stand up, but suddenly feeling weak on his legs as he nearly collapsed.
“ Careful. Perhaps you better lay down. “ The Medical officer suggested.
Roland wanted to refuse at first, but then he relented, nodding towards the officer while two others already pushed a gurney closer to him, so that he, with some assistance, could lay down on it.
“ Can you-“ one of the medical officers wanted to start asking to narrow down the problem, but Roland was swift to interrupt them.
“ Just get me to medical, do a full scan, and start with the head. “ Roland insisted.
“ Aye Cap. “ The officer relented while they started to push the gurney off the bridge and through the hallways towards medical.
Roland would again take the time to try and recollect what happened. Finding himself stuck again at Lanwer, and that darn worm beast that suddenly appeared before them. His psychic energy was spend, and he could no longer erase the ships presence.
Half an hour later one of those big worms suddenly appeared, out of nowhere, right ahead of the ship. They didn’t even have time to evade, it was just, suddenly there, a wide open maw that moved towards them, and then suddenly closed.
All he remembers after was a sudden searing heat, and then everything went black.
But that was not the end. In that blackness, that series of, what should he call it ? Visions ? Memories ? Hallucinations ?
Visions sounded good enough for now.
One after the other, and it must have been hundreds of them. And they did not make any sense to him at first glance, so that he tried to find some common ground between them.
A Pattern, anything that could tell him what the damn purpose was, as clearly, if this was meant to be an attack, he should have been dead by now. The other side obviously was strong enough to kill him if that was the aim, as his psychic energy was more then spend now.
“ Pattern. “ He muttered, trying to recall as much as he could.
“ Everything ok Cap ? “ One of the medical officers asked, suspecting the muttering as a sign of him requiring attention.
“ Just get me to medical, my head is killing me. “ Roland insisted.
“ We’ll be there any moment now. “ The officer assured.
The being in black he recalled then.
There was always at least two sides, with his point of view, and another, always in black. Sometimes there was also a woman, often in some form of relationship with the black one.
And then there was that female voice announcing failures in whatever crazed experiment she was running there. Which made him wonder, was she, and those various women in any relation towards that black being ? Shit, he was grasping at straws here.
And that last vision, it did not fit the pattern at all.
There was no failure announcement. And this time, the only thing he could bring in relation with the pattern of black, was that thing the High lord character ended up referring to as, Nah’Rahan. The monstrous one was not a black one, but that crimson being.
And those, they were, shape shifters ? Morph like beings, in a hive mind ? The Morph part, it kind of fit the description of the Siren abilities. But by what is known, changing parts of theirs turned black, not red.
Was there any relation here ? Or, was he just trying to desperately find a connection ?
Wait, there was something else. That ghostly character, a young girl by the looks of it. Her body was translucent, and she shared a lot in her appearance with that first lady, this, All-Mother character.
She was in every vision except for the last, acting as an attendant, servant, or plainly as an onlooker herself. And he recalled, they addressed her a few times in some of those Visions, referring to her as Kadim.
“ Shit. “ He groaned then while he was being placed onto a medical bed. Realizing a prospectively fatal problem in his current plan to retreat.
If these creatures were real, and appeared simultaneously in Salim and Lanwer, who was to say that they would not appear in Oldran as well ?
30 Hours, if he recalled right, they appeared in 30 hours from now. So by the time they reached the phase point to Oldran, he would know.
Some distance away from Roland’s fleet.
Kadim stood there within the void, watching how a ring of energy exploded around the various ships moments before they disappeared with a stream of light. And then her gaze wandered over towards where the pirate fleet was holding orbit around this systems lone star.
“ They don’t stand a chance against the Xa’Leen. “ She heard one of her sisters speak within the network they shared, and she was just one amongst hundreds of them currently debating their predicament.
“ What of the Varduun ? If they can not handle the Xa’Leen, how are they ever to handle the Varduun ? “ One of the sisters protested.
“ The Varduun are sleeping, and I do not think they are meant to handle them. “ Another suggested.
“ Nimilia suggested there may still be a decade ahead before they awaken again, so clearly, she is planning to have them face off against them ! “ Another claimed.
“ We can not know that for sure, we don’t even know what her intentions are. “ Yet another claimed.
“ She made that clear already. She wants to hold them accountable. For the Varduun, for the N’Khar. “ Another suggested.
“ No, she is not that shallow. She wields deception like a knife, I think she is distracting from her actual goal. “ Another insisted.
The one in Salim just listened, turning her gaze towards the distance where the approaching creatures they referred to as Xa’Leen should soon pass through. Calculating, predicting, and finally, willing to be what should not have been.
She could hear it then, the sudden silence within the Sisterhood, a silence like it had not appeared in so many cycles. Only to flinch within the void as she felt the impact. A world, then another, and millions of Xa’Leen, finding their end as they crashed into a world that made the stars look small by comparison.
“ What, have you done ?! “ One of her sisters finally demanded, and it sounded like she was holding her breath in utter disbelieve.
“ I found a shard, and I mean to awaken it. But I need time, so I blocked the path to the System the Terran's call Oldran. “ The Kadim in Salim defended herself.
“ We swore not to intervene ! And yet, you act alone ?! “ One of her sisters protested.
“ Our hands are tied. Nimilia is right, the longer we wait, the more pain there will be for us, for them. “ The one in Salim stated.
“ You, would have us play their games ? “ Another demanded.
“ Two will be born within this reality, would you turn a blind eye towards them ? “ The one in Salim responded, which once more causes a prolonged silence.
“ Will we, cause suffering again ? “ A new voice then softly spoke within the sisterhood, which caused every last of the sisters to wail inwardly.
“ No, I act alone. To prevent a repeat of the past. “ The one in Salim offered.
“ Kadim, daughter of Itwen. May Arasia’s light ease your soul. “ That soft voice near whispered.
“ May Arasia ease your soul. “ The entire Sisterhood spoke.
“ Thank you, Lien. “ The daughter of Itwen responded.
And then there was complete silence as the Sisterhood had withdrawn from her consciousness. The daughter of Itwen truly, for the first time in her entire existence, felt alone amongst the stars.