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Crab Key Nebula

Five hours after the start of ghosts’ sightings and reliving of history, the Federation had issued an alert to the galaxy, warning them of the immediate danger of history reliving itself. Some shrugged it off, thinking that the colony planet they were in was as barren as it was when they first settled there, while some colonists in other planets were greatly terrified when they knew how ancient artifacts they found on their planet pointed out major battles. So far, there was no major damage in colony planets. It couldn’t be said the same with main planets, which had seen its share of wars since the start of their respective civilizations.

Due to this knowledge and personal pursue of knowledge and lost history, Atho had tried in vain in trying to find the lost technologies Rendloks had in what they called it the ‘Void Age’ due to most of their knowledge during this age was mysteriously not recorded. While there were sightings everywhere, complete with his interactions with his forefathers back in the desert planet where he started, he couldn’t find anything older than that. Even the existence of the civilizations that first used the Black Creatures as weapons wasn’t even apparent aside from the memories of the red crystal he saw with Dairyu 15 years prior, and he had found quite fond with it, researching it when he wasn’t required for official Federation business.

On the treacherous planet, he met with his brethren, guarding ancient ruins left over by an older civilization long gone. They were ecstatic when he saw him. It wasn’t apparent with Atho’s escorts due to their insect faces didn’t seem to express happiness, but the translator gave the best impression of it. (note: Rendloks are still new within the Federation and they still had a tendency to talk through mind instead of talking with their pincer mouth, resulting in minimal database).

The insect people invited Atho’s escort for a feast, which they accepted, partly due to the ambassador’s insistence. The feast wasn’t that big and quite simple, but it was still quite okay with the escorts, partly due to the not-so-bizarre food given to them (which was a giant roasted antlion).

While they were feasting, though, Atho came to his elder, where they talked for a while, slowly getting into serious matter.

“Elder,” said Atho with his own voice. “Do you need any assistance in living in this desert?”

“No, my child, and to answer your question asking us to go back to our main planet, I must decline. I appreciate your effort in trying to give the Federation funding for our well-beings and technological research, but, my heritage is on this planet, and I am not old enough to witness the first colonists on this planet. That knowledge are still lost to us.”

“Yes, elder, but we can’t live in a closed relationship with our planet.”

“Give your help to those who needs it most, Atho,” said the Elder stern. “You can help us with tools, technologies, and information, but you still have to help our dying main planet and its lost histories. We are scattered throughout the galaxy with a reason, and it is still your job, as a representative to save the knowledge.”

Atho then stayed silent, pondering on the elder’s decision. Seeing that it was appropriate to ask the elder a pressing information, he returned to the discussion.

“Elder, what can actually be the cause of the sightings of our ancestors?”

The elder was quite surprised by the question, but he just shook his head and said, “I can’t say it for sure. Whatever happens is not even from our world.”

“Do you have any idea?”

“I am sorry, Atho. If there is now, I will definitely share it with you. I can hear your escorts have finished with their meal. It’s time for you to resume your duty.”

Atho gave his respect to his elder and went out through the veil behind him, where his escorts had been waiting for him. On their way to the shuttle, one of them, an Aquros, said, “Ambassador, we have a message for you waiting in the shuttle.”

As they boarded the shuttle, Atho opened a panel in front of him, which made a holographic image of Alan’s head.

“Atho, this is a pre-recorded message through the relay. We have determined the start of the ghost sightings to be within Crab Key Nebula. As you’re currently on a trip to your planet, I suggest you go there and see the place for yourself and report back to us.”

The message abruptly ended. Atho knew his job wasn’t just to address the problem of his race, and he was curious to find out what caused the outbreak. He asked his escort to get him to sector Z, and they recommended a bigger ship, which the Rendlok approved of.

Using an FTL relay, they quickly reached the nearest system to the nebula, where it needed 2 more hours to reach the nebula, 10 light years from the farthest planet in that system. During the way, Atho’s mind suddenly drifted towards the Black Creature host under Alan’s custody and how it could think by itself. He knew Black Creatures couldn’t think by itself if the Master was dead, yet this one apparently fed on the brainwave of its host and took over while it was still alive. Yet, Black Creatures took on long dead bodies or those with no brainwaves. It was either the werewolf that had become its host willingly submitted himself to the Black Creature, or the Black Creature had evolved in a short time.

“We’ve arrived at Crab Key Nebula, ambassador. You…might want to see this.”

Atho opened the side window and saw what actually happened to the station. There were many ships around the nebula, mostly quick action officers, trying to find survivors. While there were less survivors than they hoped to find, it was fortunate that some people managed to evacuate moments before the shockwave from a supernova destroyed the station. Nevertheless, over one million people died, and it was a painful sight to watch.

Yet what made Atho felt weird was the station remains, even if there were any remains. The station broke apart after the shockwave, which was true, but beyond that, no considerable debris around the remains of the station, which was cut in half and lost its hull integrity. The shockwave didn’t cause the destruction; something else did. It was called a shockwave for a reason, which of course, was not a blade-wave.

The Rendlok asked his escorts to go to a temporary station, a Galatia-class spaceship many times bigger than a destroyer cruiser, which could take 500 people in it. It was one of many ships commissioned for a frontier mission, which was an attempt to go beyond the galaxy’s outer rim. Atho knew one of the Federation’s flagship, Pineapple Express, had been travelling to the Ioda Galaxy and had been for 5 years now, with no indication if they could ever do a return journey.

The ship’s shape was a cross between a fighter ship and a propulsion-type ship. The engine was under the hull section, and between them, was a place used for extra passengers, with the top of the ship as the main section of the ship used for command center and most of the crew’s works. The name of the ship was seen on top and below the saucer; it was called the Saint Vincent, registration number 590, and was a marvel at that, and the joint effort of all the Federation members, incorporating systems from distinct ship designs.

Their small shuttle was hailed by the Saint Vincent. One of Atho’s escort received it and requesting permission to dock on the ship, which was granted. They quickly went in from one of the exterior shuttle receiver, where Atho’s appearance made some of them felt his appearance looked very much a predator alien (despite of the presence of so many predator species). Nevertheless, his status as an ambassador required them to be polite, sincere or otherwise.

“Welcome to the Saint, ambassador,” said a draconian. “What inquiry do you need to know?”

“How many people you managed to save?” said Atho through his mind, which surprised the draconian for a moment, requiring the Rendlok to explain to the draconian of his main method of communication. The draconian nodded nervously, somehow knowing that with a mind-reader within vicinity, he didn’t want to think bad things and caused a misunderstanding.

“Don’t worry. Being hated is also part of an ambassador’s job,” said Atho through his mind. The draconian was relieved somewhat. He then directed Atho to a nearby corridor. The insectoid saw how many people was being treated. It was so much that the corridors were also full, in addition to the room use. Atho’s mind was almost overwhelmed by so many cries for help and agony, pain of losing loved one, and panicking voices, but he managed to close his mind before it actually happened.

“We managed to save 2000 people…out of a million,” said the draconian with grim tone. “The total of all the saved people are less than a hundred thousand and…most of them are…”

“I have known their agony, draconian,” said Atho. “What I’m curious about was how there is no bodies in the space. A million different races cannot just stay in that station, right?”

“That’s something that we are trying to think about. The captain of the ship knows more. He can give you more information you need to know. Let me escort you to a guest room.”

While Atho was wondering on how a starship designed for a very long continuous journey could have a guest room, he took notice on the draconian’s appearance and saw it as something he never had seen before. The draconian had a stark red scale color, and unlike most draconians he had ever met, this one looked so lean. What appeared to be making the draconian a sudden difference was how it had antlers instead of horns, colored in dark brown. He also had a ginger-colored hair/fur covering most of his head and extending down following his spine until it ended on a bushy tail end. Due to its long hair, its ears weren’t visible, unlike a certain draconian he knew.

“Are you an Orient?” said Atho through his mind.

“The hair gives me off, huh? I’m quite surprised you know about my subrace. Most others call me a draconian.”

“I have a friend who has the same appearance as you. But his scales are black.”

“Oh, so you have a neo-warrior friend?”

“I’ve never seen an Orient aside from black scaled, that’s all. I thought you’re from a different sub-race.”

“I chose not to be a neo-Warrior,” said the draconian. “Though I know of a promise of becoming a strong warrior like Dairyu Tsukasa, I prefer not to be. The time of war is over and there’s no need for strong people. The reason why they still want to be a neo-Warrior is beyond my understanding. It’s their choice, and I can’t tell them what is right and what is wrong. That is selfish.”

“So you don’t actually disagree with them?”

“You can read minds. You have known the answer. It is their choice. Except if there is a risk involved, I would try not to let them do that. The guest room is through this door, ambassador.”

After getting comfortable enough inside the room, Atho wondered if Dairyu or any of his friends are okay. Since Dairyu went off with the Azure, they went separate ways, all doing what they did the best for these past 15 years. He only met Capisa once, 5 years ago, when he saved his ambassador from being assassinated. They didn’t directly meet, but an eye contact was enough to give Capisa an idea of what Atho had become. He wasn’t thinking the same, though. When he saw Capisa kill the assassin, he knew the method was not something that even an As’karan would’ve done. He went up close and personal, stabbing the assassin through the neck and let him bleed to death. In the midst of the chaos, Atho could see Capisa’s eyes when he turned towards the podium. It was the eyes of a shark tasting blood from its prey. He knew Terran sharks were like that, and the Aquros wasn’t any different from that aquatic predator.

“What world have you gone to, Capisa?” thought Atho in regard of that memory. “You were as innocent as me in a world full of corruption and dark secrets. Why become what you’re now? What will Dairyu say to you?”

His trail of thoughts was interrupted when he heard a hissing noise from an opened door, where a human came in and offered his hand. Atho used one of his right hands to return the offer, then they both sit down.

“I understand the dire situation of this station, but ambassador, you don’t need to actually go here. The situation is…grim, and the last thing we ever need is a widespread panic. My ship is not equipped with crowd control and I am not in any way got the heart to do it.”

He then offered Atho something, but the Rendlok declined. The human then said, “My name is Pritchard Belford. This is my second year as the captain of Saint Vincent. The Orient that escorted you is Lunera Tsukihara. Ambassador, we really need your help, now that you’re here. Saint Vincent is very big, comparable to the exploration flagship Pineapple Express. But, we don’t have a big crew, and this hospital ship cannot contain everyone.”

“What do you implying? I though this ship has…”

“A capacity of 500 people. Yes, I am aware of that, and we have both the Diamond Ice and Piccadilly Circus to assist us. Yet, we snagged a problem. We may be equipped to save thousands of people, but we realized that there are still survivors inside the station only surviving from a sealed room with only hours of air left.”

This statement intrigued Atho, where he said, “How much?”

“Our sensors indicated around 5000 individuals are still alive inside the station. Since the supernova, we cannot contact base and cannot move while overloaded. Both the Diamond and the Circus are in worse state than ours since they are both Scorpio-type ships, two types smaller than us. Will you help us?”

“Before that, do you know of any mention of ghost sightings or the bodies that is in space?”

“So you’ve noticed? I may give a very grim and dark comment, but the station’s remains are too clean. The station was cut in half, it lost its hull integrity, but it stays intact. Hundred thousands of casualties just…didn’t float out to the space. In fact, we didn’t find any bodies at all, but our sensors indicated that many of them had died while inside the ship. No shields are up and only those 5000 people are still alive.”

“How about the ghosts?”

“Ambassador, before I continue, let me tell you that this is a relatively new ship and no one had died in this ship. The only ghosts I saw are those who had succumbed to their injuries, but they are well-aware of us, as if resurrected.”

Then a random thought came through Atho, where he relayed it to Pritchard.

“Is there any major battles in this sector?”

“Not that I remembered of. Sector Z is an outer rim sector with the Veldana system being the farthest from the center of the galaxy, so to say that there is a major battle here is not very helpful since it’s a relatively new sector. But, archeological research suggested that there were major battles here, but it’s more than 10000 years ago. It can even be…”

Their conversation was interrupted when Pritchard’s comm took his attention. He immediately answered it.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Sir, you need to get to the bridge now.”

“Is there something wrong, Tsukihara?”

“It’s easier to explain if you see it for yourself. Tsukihara out.”

Pritchard was left with unexplained answer, which Atho could hear through the brainwave. The Rendlok then said, “Whatever is up there, you have to take me with you. I need to see it too so I can make sure of everything around here.”

The captain didn’t hesitate; he took Atho to a nearby lift that quickly took him to the starship’s bridge level, where it was a spacious room where most of the ship’s controls are being taken into consideration. It had a very wide window directly in front of a seat that was for the captain, given its position and importance. There was also a holographic galaxy map in front of the seat, used for charting coordinates throughout the galaxy and the sector. There were people doing their own operations and their stations were below the Bridgeway for the captain on either side, monitoring both the ship and space. The amount of the bridge officers was to indicate the complex system of command on a hospital ship, where lives matters more.

Yet, the whole bridge was concentrating their view to a particular scenery by the scenery promenade windows, where they saw an army of 5 battle ready starships directly in front of them. But from the look of it, the starships weren’t even from this era, being many years early with some ancient technology powering it up.

“What in blazes is happening? Tsukihara what the hell is going on?”

“I don’t know, sir, but they suddenly appeared after exiting FTL. They stopped directly in front of us. Their ships are not of any type from any know species, but it’s marking looks like…”

“Saurians,” said Pritchard. His comment made some of the crews with reptilian visage turned to him and hissed. He then looked to one and said, “Do you have any ships like that, recruit?”

“They are ships from an era long gone,” said the Saurian with shrill reptilian voice. “It is impossible to even exist. We only know the general shape because of ancient schematics.”

“You have the schematics?”

“No, sir, it’s partially complete and not space-worthy, so there is no way to recreate all func…”

“Pritchard, raise your shields and initiate evasive maneuver!” said Atho in an urgent tone.

“What?”

“Now, Pritchard, or they’ll hit you with an energy blast!”

Lunera sensed it first and commanded evasive maneuver, but the ship wasn’t light enough to make a sharp turn. Just as Atho predicted, one of the ships shot a direct energy beam that would destroy the ship if it didn’t move out of the way. Despite of that, the ship was still hit and sustained damage.

“Report!”

“Shield down to 8 percent! There’s a hull breach by the starboard side of the ship! It is being evacuated!”

“Sir, our weapon systems are ready and await your command!”

Pritchard didn’t waste any time. He quickly said, “Fire laser salvo!” There were lasers shooting the assailant, but due to a very strong shield, they couldn’t give a scratch to it.

“Careful! They are preparing for another shot!” Atho then approached the captain. “Captain, unless we get away from this place, we won’t be able to save the survivors!”

“But there are still…”

“Consider them as ghosts and activate your FTL! Do it, now!”

Pritchard was still hesitating, but Atho’s sincere remarks forced him to issue the FTL command. He also relayed it to the other hospital ships. They managed to achieve FTL just as the energy beam was shot, grazing the ship, but otherwise made it.

They travelled for 50 light years before they lost the fusion fuel, stopping in a system in sector W9. The other ships could go further, seeing that their ships weren’t substantially damaged.

The whole bridge was stunned from the turn of event. The hasty FTL caused injuries to those not preparing themselves, but at least, no one was killed during it. Pritchard exhaled in both relief and surprise, but what he was more surprised was how Atho was able to assess the situation quicker than him.

“Did you ever serve in a spaceship before, ambassador?” said Pritchard.

“I was a part of a crew of people I respected my entire life. Maybe the captain of that ship rubbed some of his decisions off for me.”

“Whoever that is, you’re lucky to have ever serve under him. Your action saved thousands of life, ambassador…”

“Atho. My name is Atho.”

“Ambassador Atho. Send a distress signal to station Wolfram Alpha.”

While they were waiting, Pritchard invited Atho into his own quarters, where there was a reception room, complete with a desk, sofa, coffee machine, and a window showing the stars outside. Lunera also came inside and locked the door behind him.

“I volunteered to be with your investigation team,” said Pritchard, which surprised Atho. The Rendlok was more surprised when Lunera suddenly also wished to volunteer.

“But this is your ship, right? Not to mention it’s a hospital ship!”

“We are well aware of the ship’s status, but as stated in Federation Law Section A Paragraph 4, in a state of emergency that requires cautionary attention and deep investigation, the Federation has the authority to convert a civilian and/or service flagship into a battleship, with any upgrades onboard.”

“But we haven’t even get any proof that those ancient Saurian ships will pose a threat! If we get this wrong, both of you will be court-martialed!”

“If it’s going to be like that, we have hundreds of witnesses from the other ships. They will do the same thing as I do right now if they have a flagship. St. Vincent is the sister ship of Pineapple Express. We may not be greatly equipped like her, but the Saint has a capable FTL speed.”

Atho couldn’t object more, seeing that he could read the human’s honest mind. Lunera was also thinking about Atho’s decision. Yet, the Rendlok was reluctant, seeing how dangerous the mission would be if it happened. He couldn’t do anything and really wished that Dairyu or Amhyr was here instead of him.

Lunera somehow noticed Atho’s reluctance, so he stepped in front of the insect alien and said, “We know about Dairyu’s crewmates. Despite of your apparent lack of popularity, you were once his ally based on the data we requested to the Federation. Also, it seems Dairyu is out of retirement.”

“Eh? You mean…”

“He was sighted in Vitania and was leaving their spaceport to Adonis I. If he’s out of retirement, then he knows something’s wrong. We understand how you want to try not to involve civilians, so we’ll change the register of this ship and drop off survivors, before resupplying and manning the crew to standard exploration type spaceship. We are more capable than a destroyer cruiser, so Dairyu might get the help he needs.”

Despite of still being reluctant, Atho was convinced that both Pritchard and Lunera were sincere, and he finally relented on their demands. He demanded to be brought to a communication device. He then connected to the Federation and tell them of his intention. Due to his status as an acting ambassador, he was granted permission and a command for St. Vincent to return to Terran space station for refitting and personnel recruitment. Both Pritchard and his first officer seemed glad about it.

Thus, the St. Vincent started its journey to find the truth, where they will go to places unknown, solving the biggest mystery the universe has to offer.