The blackness ripped aside for a brief moment as the Void fleet entered Realspace. Unlike previous times this was clearly more than a recon force. The Void had something in mind.
Approaching the Regensburg the huge weapons arrays ripped apart the battleship without pause, causing people to be pulled into the cold wastes of Munichs dead space.
Transmissions between the three warships were short and brief, each one cataloguing the life in the system. One ship went toward the Augsburg facility, its intent clear. Destruction of the sentients aboard, the other two including one of a configuration not seen before set out for Nuremburg. The new vessel was conical in shape, jet black, like the others but with three large prongs emanating from about halfway up its body. These stopped about 100 metres from the edge of the ship. Already energies were swirling about the points vapourising what little matter was present in the space around it.
Augsburg was a flurry of activity. Folks began to panic as the vessel approached and could be seen with the naked eye from the view ports on the station. In response to the threat from the vessel the colony launched its entire complement of fighters. Too few to save the day, however the fighters died as all had before. The colony was now on its own. This state of affairs did not last long. When the ship was finally in range, it unleashed a volley of fire causing the station to all but disintegrate. The smaller ships cleaned up the remaining mess.
Nuremburg orbit was now filled with ships, various affiliations present in a vain attempt to save themselves, they could not know what was to come, yet they stood and waited to defend the planet or die trying. The Void could not understand this mentality, sentient life was doomed to perish why they would stand against the inevitable bemused the Void. However they would do what must be done. The carrier vessel launched its supplementary vessels and set to wrok wiping out the defenders, however the fight did not go entirely according to the usual standards. One of the smaller ships was destroyed causing the Void to pause for a moment in their attack. This allowed a Zoner escort to flee towards the Sigma 17 jumphole, none of the Void attempted to stop it.
The conical ship came to within 5k of Nuremburg and began to charge the energies need to perform its purpose. Smaller ships swarmed around it defending it from any potential threats. The conical vessel fired a huge stream of plasma into the planet, causing its crust to rupture and fragment, when the energies collided with the planets core, Nuremburg exploded. The damage to the larger vessels was minimal although many of the smaller ships were destroyed outright, others caught by flying chunks of rock.
With the work completed the vessels slid back into Jumpspace. The only trace of their existence being the new asteroid field floating in space.
Interlude:
She sits in her office looking at the latest reports, something is clearly amiss and nobody is saying anything about it, tight lips and stupid screens of secrecy. Planets, bases these things take more resources than any House can reasonably throw, without finding themselves struggling to rebuild. No, another force is at work here. Perhaps the Nomads, determined to complete the task they originally set. But this doesnt have their fingerprint, Nomads are powerful, but this lacks subtlety, lacks the finesse of the Nomads. Brute force and ignorance isnt their style. But whose style is it? More investigation, time to use the Bretonian Intelligence Division for its intended purpose. They will find answers and Garibaldi will know what in hell is going on here.
Admiral Hiltraud Kaiser listened to the alarms screaming throughout the command centre. Nuremburg had gone, gone. Whatever had managed it had also taken out the Regensburg and the Augsburg Colony, which was why Hiltraud was having issues with hearing anything else right now. Compact of form and fairly pretty of face Hiltrauds stern reputation came from many years of active military service, recruits and commanders alike had learned to listen when she spoke.
Admiral, maam. Report coming in, one survivor. A Zoner from Freeport 9. Captured this footage.
Play it. Cold almost emotionless Hiltraud watched as the black ships destroyed nearly 6 billion people.
She turned the klaxons off.
Send this to every House intelligence service, every underground contact we have. There is a new player in the game, and they do not come bearing gifts.
Activity was immediate, scurrying to and fro as the Admiral considered her options. Whatever this new demon was it contained the power to obliterate systems.
She made the symbol of the Gottkanzler
Gottkanzler preserve us, all of us.
Deputy Director Dillon awaited the arrival of the Bretonian ambassador, he was neither nervous nor expectant only waiting. The Bretonians had demanded this meeting claiming urgent news, but Dillon already knew what it was, hed known about this news before it had even arrived, the Valhalla Project had seen to that, visions of the future lay before him, not meant for his eyes, but that had never stopped the LSF before and it would not stop Dillon now.
The ambassador entered the chamber and Dillon made a show of being surprised as the news was delivered to him, as the ambassador searched for a word to describe the new threat, Dillon merely said
Void
I beg your pardon, sir?
The Void, come let me show you something, it is something that all will need to know about when the time comes, for you that time is now.
Dillon led the ambassador into a side chamber and pulled out a file from his personal bureau.
Ambassador this is a data log of an ancient race that once inhabited Sirius, but its wars with another galactic entity forced it out of our sector, however not all they built was taken with them. Certain artefacts were left behind, and only through chance did these fall into our hands.
These logs record the war between this ancient race and an even older race of beings that were dubbed the Void. The Void seem to seek out sentient life and destroy it, purging intelligence from the universe as if it were a disease. The Void were defeated although little information was left behind as to how. I have agents looking for the source of this defeat right now but it seems unlikely I will find out. One race may have information but approaching them will be dangerous.
Which race, sir The ambassador looked perplexed.
I would have thought that obvious, my dear fellow. The Slomon KHara, those we better know as Nomads.
Interlude:
That, there, is a Nomad, no denying it, big blue and scary and sitting right next to the Train. Russell wonders what it really wants, apparently it wants aid, but that could simply be a ruse to infest the crew, but that is unlikely. It does, however want to dock with the Train and Russell has no idea whether that’s a good idea or not. It has saved them from bitchface and her outcast minions, but that means nothing to Russell. Right now he’s scared, and so is his crew. His XO makes the decision, hitting the dock button accidentally as she steps back. It is all the invite the Nomad needs.
The sound of claws scraping on the ground made the Rheinlander turn, seeing nothing he attributed it to feral dogs or somesuch. He, along with his partner, had beeen led to this location by an anonymous tip off. Instead of waiting for back-up however they'd gone in, hoping to bag the serial killer known as Syn. Gun drawn the officer felt ready for anything.
Turning the corner he retched involuntarily. Vomit streamed out of his mouth. There, eviscerated and displayed, was his partner. His eyballs gouged out, cut from neck to groin and his internal organs placed beside him in pools of blood. His tongue had been sliced off but the officer could not find it anywhere. He felt a cold chill and a presence behind him. He turned around to see nothing.
He grabbed his radio. "Control: This is patrol 4-9 we have encountered the monster. Hrr Zwimmer is dead, repeat dead." It was only then he noticed the scrawl on the wall, as always "SYN" written in blood. Zwimmer's tongue lying on the floor in front of the wall. Syn had used it like a quill, painting each section of the letters.
The officer turned looking for any sign of movement in the dark alley. Something, anything. Only at the last did he look up to see the maw of Syn grinning down at him. He raised his gun only to drop it as his back was pierced by the beast's long pointed tale.
Less than twenty minutes later the back-up arrived, four squad cars each loaded with four officers. All heavily armed. A fith car arrived and Inspektuer Klaus Waechter steeped out.
"What have we got?"
An ober-lieutenant stepped out of the alley. "Two dead officers, Herr Inspekteur. One disembowelled the other dismembered. It would seem the hearts of both are missing however."
Waechter stood there. "Dammit, why the hell didn't they wait?"
"I suspect a false display of bravado, a belief they could take him own alone."
"Well it lead to their deaths. I'll make sure that no-one attempts to take this bastard alone. Anyone that tries and survives will be issuing parking tickets for the rest of his days in the force."
Waechter returned to his car, the only thing left know was to process the scene. That would take some time, no doubt.
DK moved as quietly as his massive frame allowed. His armaments had been detached and placed in a holdall, apart form his size he looked about as harmless as de-militarized RI could look, which is to say, not very harmless at all. He had headed for Dogtown in Manhattan's slums. Probably the best place in the LPI's database for purchasing a ticket offworld, at least a ticket that wouldn't get him sent back to to LPI headquarters for investigation.
DK didn't know why he was doing this, only that he must, as if some unseen force was driving him onwards to whatever fate or destiny had in store for him. His emergence into consciousness was still a surreal dream, fractures of what sparked his ability to reason came to him when he stopped for any length of time. Like quicksuilver they darted from his mental grasp. Clearly some things needed to come in their own time.
DK walked amid the fearful glances and hushed whipsers of the local denizens, they had seen him before, or at least somethings that looked like him. The DK units were often patrolled in slums like these, perfect urban pacification weapons. A fact the DK himself was now regretting. Stooping to enter one of Manhattan's illicit gambling dens he was stopped by the bouncer.
"What are you doing here, no coppers. Not even metal ones."
"I assure you I am not here for any punitive or municipal reasons. I have...resigned my commision on that score. Besides, the question is surely whether or not you can complete your task without multiple compound fractures and possibly bleeding to death. I am, after all, a military specification sentient AI."
The bouncer stood still for a moment, as if pondering DK's words.
"Alright in you go, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Your concern is noted, however ill placed."
DK walked into the den and looked around his sensors automatically adjusting to the dim smokey light. Tables were placed around the room in a non-orderly fashion and a bar ran around two walls. The clientele was exactly as DK assumed it would be, unshaven, unwashed, criminals and low-lifes in the main. DK would not be surprised if this was another front for the Rogues. But that was not his chosen path at this time.
He walked to the bar, constantly stopped to allow his frame to fit under the low ceiling. Approaching the bar he looked directly into the barman's eyes.
"What I want is simple. A person who can provide me with passage offworld. It matters not who does the piloting. I am no longer in law enforcement."
The barman smiled.
"Right you are sir, I'd say take a seat but our chairs aren't built for the mechanical persuasion. I'll just see what I can do."
Interlude:
The stench of death is high in the air. This room, covered as it is by a foul smelling ichor and the blood of something not at all human, lacks ventilation and even one such as Glock cannot stand too long after the task has been completed. However information has been gleaned, Void ships had destroyed Nuremburg, that much had already been gathered. But knowledge was power and knowing more about the Void than could be gleaned from the limited C' tan technology could never be underestimated.
The Void are dangerous, even to the Phantoms. Glock pionders the problems all this sector now faces. A time will come when a decison needs to be made, and Glock hopes the Revenant will chose the right path.
Russell had never seen a Nomad in the flesh as it were and was truly beginning to wish he never would again, but with his XO's minor snafu he had no choice but to actually meet this thing and see what it wanted. The nomad had agreed to remain in the cargo bay, Russell didn't trust it not even a little bit.
As he stepped up to the control panel that would open the connecting door between the main ship and the hold, Russell experienced a moment of trepidation.
'What the hell am I doing. This is way bigger than I am, way too much for me to handle. But here I am, hunted by Arienne and harbouring a Nomad in my hold. Christ on a bike.'
He punched the button and was immediately surprised at what he saw, the ship was there but it looked different somehow, something he couldn't properly perceive like it was just on the edge of his peripheral vision and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get it into focus. What was obvious was the almost aqueous alien standing before it.
Russell was assaulted by visions, the Nomad's attempt to communicate was totally overwhelming and Russell collapsed to the deck.
"Don't do that!" He managed to shout between short gasps for air. " Damn it. Fracking hurts like a Cretan moonshine hangover."
The next images Russell received were less painful and Russell got the idea the Nomad was trying to communicate.
"You want us to help you find something? Why?"
What Russell bore witness to next he made a personal oath to tell no-one, but it was enough to ensure that the Nomad would be trusted for now. Even if he wouldn't be allowed out of the hold for the foreseeable future.
That much energy loosed on one world was enough for the Void Planet Killer to require re-charging, the Void scouts though, continued to look for other potential targets.
Exiting into Frankfurt space they detected a number of stations and other ships, clearly the sentient infection was greater than had first appeared, excising would take more than the resources available to date. The lead scout prepared a message to send to the host mind, but discovered it could not reach out, it was cut off. Falling back into preprogrammed subroutines it began to cast out for the source of the jamming.
Five blue shapes appeared out of the nothingness, and headed for the scouts on what was clearly an attack vector. The scouts ran. Trying to get out of the range of the jamming, to send word to the fleet that the Enemy had made a first move. They never made it, blue lances of energy cut the first scout in half, its silent scream filling the minds of the alien creatures attacking it. The effect was minimal as another scout died to the Nomad weaponry. The fight was short and brutal, the nomad vessels vanished as swiftly as they'd arrived. All that remained was the floating remains of the scouts, with barely any testimony as to what had happened.