The Hunters

[thisDerius]

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Year 820 A.S. – Omega-41

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The neutron star churned, its blinding radiance bathing the bridge of the Alexandria in a ghostly glow. The ship’s reinforced plating groaned against the constant radiation bombardment, but Joker barely noticed. He stood at the center of the command deck, hands clasped behind his back, shoulders rigid.

There was something about staring into an unstoppable force of nature that put things into perspective. He had seen men who thought themselves gods. He had seen creatures that defied logic, beings that had no right to exist yet did anyway. But none of them compared to the cold, indifferent rage of the universe itself.

Behind him, heavy boots approached.

"Have you found it, Tia?"

He didn’t turn. He didn’t have to. He already knew who it was.

Tia Stormclaw, his second-in-command, was a woman who left an impression wherever she went. She carried herself with the same raw intensity as a storm, her presence unmistakable, her approach heralded by a rhythm of deliberate, calculated steps.

"No," she said, her voice steady. "But we have more pressing matters."

That was enough to pull Joker from his thoughts. He turned, his sharp green eyes meeting hers.

"There’s activity in Bretonia—Dublin," she continued. "A sighting. Our contacts say the BAF are trying to cover it up, but they won’t be able to for long."

Joker's jaw tightened. He didn’t ask what kind of sighting. He already knew.

"Put the ship on red alert," he ordered, his voice cutting through the dimly lit bridge like a blade. "We’re jumping to Dublin. Get your team ready."

Tia nodded once and turned on her heel, already opening a comm line as she made her way toward the lower decks.

"Derius, Z., Ella, Nikolai—get to your ships. We’re taking the fight to the Nomads."

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Dublin System – A Warzone Awakens

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The Alexandria tore through the void, its arrival marked by a violent distortion in space. The moment its systems stabilized, all hell broke loose.

Alarms screamed as warning indicators flared across the bridge. Joker barely had time to register the battlefield before the ship lurched violently, caught in the gravitational ripples of a nearby explosion.

"By the gods…" one of the crew whispered.

The battle was already well underway.

Nomad vessels swarmed like locusts, twisting through space in a coordinated, predatory dance. Bretonian warships fought desperately to hold the line, their turrets lighting up the blackness with streaks of golden plasma. Fires burned across broken hulls, debris floated like scattered bones, and in the distance—looming like a dark omen—was something far worse.

A Nomad Supergate.

A vast, pulsating construct, its surface shifting and shimmering like it was alive. Energy crackled along its spine, warping reality itself as more alien ships began to pour through.

Joker gritted his teeth. "For gods’ sake, get us out of here!"

But it was already too late. A sudden shockwave rocked the Alexandria as another Bretonian vessel exploded nearby, its hull collapsing in on itself before vanishing into nothing. They were caught in the crossfire.

Tia’s voice cut through the chaos. "Joker, that gate is the problem. If we don’t shut it down, this fight never ends."

Joker's grip on his seat tightened. "We will deal with the gate, you deal with the Nomads. No mercy."

The hangar doors yawned open, and one by one, the Alexandria’s elite pilots launched into the fray. Tia’s fighter shot forward like a spearhead. "Pick them off one by one and don’t take unnecessary risks," she commanded.

Her team responded in their usual way:

Z. flipped through the chaos, his ship dancing between incoming fire as he stole kills from his teammates, cackling over the comms. Ella screamed obscenities at him while still managing to pull off a perfect three-kill streak. Derius lured a group of Nomads into his trap, his minefield detonating in a spectacular chain reaction that left nothing but space dust.
The battle should have been exhilarating. It should have felt like a game, the kind they were built to win. But against the Nomads, victory was never certain.

More ships emerged from the gate. Too many.

Tia’s voice sharpened. "Derius, Z., get to the Alexandria. We need to bring that gate down!"

The Alexandria pushed forward, its reinforced hull shrugging off the Nomads’ attempts to stop it. Inside the weapons bay, Yousei was already priming the heavy mortars. "Joker, something’s powering that gate. If we destroy it, we might be able to pull something useful from the wreckage."

Joker barely had time to process that before the ship shuddered under enemy fire. The Nomads knew. They were coming for them. All of them. Z. and Derius swooped in, clearing a path with brutal efficiency.

"Derius, keep them off us!" Joker barked.

"On it!" Derius pulled his fighter into a tight roll, his guns flaring to life as he ripped through the incoming enemies.

"Yousei, fire the damn mortars!"

The Alexandria’s weapons sang. A deafening barrage of heavy mortars slammed into the gate. The construct shuddered. Cracked. Screamed.

And then—it collapsed. The explosion rippled outward, sending a shockwave that obliterated any Nomad vessel too close. And from the wreckage, a small, glowing object drifted into the Alexandria’s tractor beam.

Joker narrowed his eyes. That… was important.

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A Sudden Escape

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Tia’s voice snapped over the comms. "Joker, the BAF are scrambling. They’re coming for us." Joker clenched his jaw. Of course they were. "Fireteam, return to the ship. Now."

As the last fighter docked, Joker wasted no time.

"Helm, emergency jump. Get us the hell out of Bretonia."

Engines roared as the Alexandria's FTL drive spun up, its systems already calculating a blind jump.

"Three seconds to breach—"

The BAF fleet locked weapons.

"Two seconds—"

Their warning transmissions started to come through.

"One—"

The Alexandria vanished. One moment, it was there. The next, it was gone. The Bretonians were left staring at empty space.

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Year 820 A.S. – Omicron Minor (A Day After the Battle)

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Inside the Alexandria’s research bay, Derius held the artifact in his hands. It pulsed dimly, as if alive.

"What the hell is it?" Z. asked, frowning. Derius turned it over, scanning the readings. "Some kind of power core. But how they used it to stabilize a gate? No clue."

Joker stood alone on the bridge, staring into the void once more. His comms chimed.

A deep, distorted voice spoke. "Report." Joker exhaled slowly. "The threat in Bretonia was successfully eliminated."

"Did you find anything of interest?" Joker’s gaze flickered toward the artifact. And then, he lied.

"No."

With a flick of his wrist, he cut the transmission. Some things were better left buried.