[IC] Eternal Galaxy: Shards of Starlight - Part I

[Koishi]

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"Well, from those fragmented memories that resurfaced, I think i'm from somewhere called..Earth, I think." Mima pondered.

---

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

The Reaper was curious, but not too curious. It stayed where it was, but it went into the ship's cameras again, searching through them, to see if this so called 'girl' was around. It searched with one hand, while it kept the other stocked with kunai, and looked down the corridor out of the corner of the helmet's viewports.

[Cucoo5]

Venturia
Celestora System
NGO Patrol Ship

The man with the red eyes walked towards the officer leading the boarding crew. The officer suddenly realized who was walking towards him and hurriedly went to rigid attention. "L-L-Lieutenant R-Revere! Sir! We-We were not aware of your arrival!"
Revere looked at the man with an emotionless face. "Call back our men and let the Freighter go on its way. Now." He proceeded to walk past him and went to the bridge of the ship.
The officer was almost frozen with fear. He had heard the stories of Revere's ruthless tactics and how he had betrayed the Strike Fighters before becoming the right-hand man of Roderick, the current commander of the NGO Fleet. To meet the man behind the stories...was more than nerve-racking.
"All hands, return to your positions and allow the freighter to head on its way!"

***

Revere walked onto the bridge, the Commanding officer of the ship paid him no mind. Revere merely stared calmly at the man at the helm of the ship. Eventually the CO turned and merely replied "What do you want, treacherous fool?"
Dead silence reigned on the bridge. Everyone watched in shock as the CO made such a comment to Lieutenant Revere.
"I am here to relieve you of command of this ship." Revere replied as he walked up the steps to the helm. He towered over the officer.
"You will do no such thing."
"Perhaps you didn't hear me? I said: I am...here...to relieve you...of command...of this ship."
"Over my dead body." The officer sneered.
Another moment of silence. Revere smiled wryly and turned and took two steps away.
"That's right, run alon-"
Before the officer could finish his statement, Revere had whipped around. The officer fell to the ground, his spine severed by the edge of Revere's Ether Sabre. The red of blood matched the red hue of the energy blade and seemed to blend in with the black metal components of the one edged sabre. With a quick flourish, he sheathed the blade again and walked over the dead man to the helm. "Prepare the Starboard guns. Aim for the engines of the Freighter that is about to leave. Wait for it to be evacuated and then completely destroy it. Leave nothing of it left."

-----------------

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Earth?? You mean New Earth, right? Duon?" Aion looked at Mima with a serious face, thinking through what she just said.
"Aye, can't be Old Earth, cause that was destroyed a few hundred billion years ago." Joe pointed out.

-------------------

Celestora System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

There was nothing out of the ordinary, except a small glowing device down the hall...it seemed unimportant but the glow about it seemed to bear a sort of melancholy to it.

[Koishi]

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"There was no 'New' in it, just Earth. I am, or was apparently something called a youkai." Mima explained.

---

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

"An odd device." The Reaper disconnected and carefully went down the hall, reaching the device in question, scanning it, and the area behind and in front of it.

[S121]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus

High above Nexus, in the planet's orbit, a flash of light appeared in the sky and a portal opened up, revealing a large, black ship. If that wasn't strange enough, the occupants were unlike anything seen before. Inside the ship was a cryofrozen, heavily armored, energy shielded, and heavily modified super-soldier named John, along with a highly advanced blue AI named Cortana, standing on a holodeck.

"...Chief..."

"...Chief..."

"...Chief, wake up..."

John opened his eyes and slowly looked around the Cryopod, still suffering from the effects of cryosleep.

"Why did you wake me?", John weakly asked as he located the cryopod's release handle.

"Because of that.", Cortana said as she pointed at the ship's windshield and at the planet below.

John turned his head and looked over to where Cortana was pointing and stopped whatever he was doing. The planet was not any planet that he could recognize. In fact, it looked more like a mess of gas. John pulled the release lever and quickly exited the pod. John walked over to the windshield and took a better look at the nebulous planet. Down below was something truly unusual. There were floating buildings, floating cities dotting the mass of gas. The only time John had ever seen floating buildings was when he encountered the forerunner structures. Was this another Forerunner planet, maybe a spaceport?

"Cortana? Where are we?", John asked in confusion, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Scans indicate that the planet's structures down below down below are not Covenant or Forerunner. The architecture doesn't match. The planet is unlike anything we have encountered before.", Cortana said as she pulled up a holographic screen and tried to pinpoint their exact location.

John continued to stare down at the planet, thinking about the last time something like this happened. The last time this happened was on the planet Requiem, when a rogue Covenant patrol boarded the "Forward Unto Dawn". John destroyed some of the Covenant ships with a MAC Cannon, but they were soon sucked into the shield-world. John was about to recollect what had happened on Requiem, but his train of thought was soon interrupted by Cortana when she spoke.

"Uh, Chief?", Cortana said in a nervous tone, prompting John to turn his gaze over to Cortana.

"Scans show that not only is this a different planet and star system, this is an entirely different galaxy... We're not in Kansas anymore, Chief.", Cortana said.

Upon hearing this, John's eyes widened and he took a shallow breath in. How could it be that they were in a different galaxy? How could they be transported across such a distance? It had only been a three hour flight.

"H-how did this happen? How do we get back?", John said in a slightly nervous tone as many scenarios of being lost forever ran through his head.

"That's the thing. The Slipspace drive malfunctioned and we somehow tore a hole through the Slipstream. We just.. disappeared. I don't really know how to get back safely. Our only option would be to repeat the process, but there's no telling what could happen. We could be transported into another galaxy, or be erased.", Cortana explained in a tone of slight worry.

[Cucoo5]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus

A patrol loyal to Lady Avonna saw the ship suddenly appear through the portal. "What the...?" One of the pilots looked at the scene in disbelief.
"Don't see that everyday...Well time to figure out who decided to drop in on Nexus Airspace." The patrol of two fighters flew towards the mysterious ship. "Is it me or does that not seem to be of any design here?"
"Might be some kid got creative and built it to some whim."
"Maybe...Can ya get any readings on it?"
"Not much...one life form. No...no Aura energy?"
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know..."
The other pilot sat back and pondered the situation. Mysterious ship that doesn't use Aura energy comes through a portal. "Looks like we have visitors from outside the Galaxy."
"Well they're well traveled then. Let's see if they're awake."
"Right." The one pilot then tried to open a communication channel with the ship. "This is Nexus Patrol Squadron H-77 to Unidentified ship. Do you copy?"

-----------------

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Nero remained silent as Mima spoke. Aion tilted his head. "Youkai? Never heard of such a thing..." He then turned to Kiara. "Where's the archives here on the ship? I think we'll be needing them."
"Oh right this way." Kiara gestured towards a corridor and started to head in that direction.
"The way your talking, I would assume you're an amnesiac? Maybe we can help find out a few things for ya. C'mon." Aion, Joe, and Terrisa followed Kiara. Nero stayed with Mima a moment longer.
"Might be a good start for getting your memories back..." He finally said. "The Archives has information dating back to since the creation of Old Earth. We'll find something. Just...don't mention how you got here until they specifically ask."

--------------------

Celestora System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

The device slowly stopped glowing as he scanned it, and then it opened, revealing a picture faded with time. It seemed to be of an old mansion with a knight in silver armor, a girl with blonde hair with black streaked through it, another knight on the opposite side of the picture in black armor, and then an blank space running for the rest of the picture.

[S121]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus


Before John and Cortana could continue their conversation, Cortana caught a signal from a nearby ship. It was trying to contact them.

"This is Nexus Patrol Squadron H-77 to Unidentified ship. Do you copy?", a voice crackled out onto the ship's com system.

John darted his head over to the communication system, then over to Cortana.

"Does Nexus sound familiar to you?", John asked Cortana.

"No. It appears that they're not hostile, so it couldn't hurt to reply.", Cortana said.

John nodded at Cortana, then walked over to the com system. Once there, John opened up the channel and spoke into the communicator.

"This is UNSC Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117.", John replied, hoping they were non-hostile, or maybe that they would know who the UNSC was.

[Cucoo5]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus

The one pilot blinked a few times and switched to the channel to his partner. "Sounds like a military man."
"Yeah...though never heard of any of the things he just mentioned. Must be from another galaxy."
"Agreed." The pilot that made contact then switched back to the other channel. "We happened to see the portal, mind telling us your name, where you're from, and what brings you to the Nexion system?" The two fighters fell into formation on either side of the ship.

[Koishi]

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"That's what I was planning anyways, you baka." Mima then followed the others to the Archives.

---

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

The Reaper picked up the picture, eyeing the people in it.

"One of them is unjust. Though, they have probably already been punished." The Reaper said to itself.

[S121]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus

As soon as the cruisers got into a formation around the ship, Cortana spoke out.

"Chief, they're flanking the ship."

"Ready the guns, just in case.", John said to Cortana.

John then spoke into the communicator, explaining what had happened.

"I am UNSC Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117, a Spartan-II. We are from the Milky Way Galaxy, from a planet called Earth. We arrived here because our Slipspace Drive malfunctioned and tore a hole through the Slipstream. As a precaution, we have our defenses up, but won't fire unless you do.", John calmly said.

Soon after speaking, the ship's 110mm Rotary cannons, 120mm Ventral guns, and ASGM-10 Missiles were all online and ready for battle, while the ship formed what appeared to be a thick, blue energy shield.

[Cucoo5]

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Baka...doesn't that mean..." Nero thought aloud to himself. Then it dawned on him and a thought crossed his mind. "When a girl calls ya an idiot, doesn't that mean she likes ya?" he was asking himself as Mima was out of earshot. "Oh what am I saying...she's sayin I'm an idiot because she's sayin I'm an idiot." And then when he realized he was being left behind he ran off after the others.

***

Kiara led the group down a winding path of corridors. They passed by an enclosed catwalk that spanned a large cavity within the chip that seemed to be a sort of factory making various Drone fighters and weapons along with armor suits.
"Geez, this is bigger than the books give credit!" Joe looked up in awe.
"That was my reaction as well when I first saw it. To think this entire cruiser is capable of sustaining itself and its crew for eons..." Kiara reminisced.
They then exited that area and walked into the central area of the cruiser which looked like a section of a planet, with trees, grass, flowers, animals, and even a city in the distance. "Like we didn't even leave home..." Aion commented this time.
Getting into a small transporter they went over to the other side and walked through to the Archives, which was a massive library with rows of what appeared to be towering bookshelves but were actually servers that contained a history so expansive that one could study almost the history of the universe here. "We're here." Kiara then led the group to a central terminal in the dimly lit room where the only source of light was a large holographic orb of blue light.

-------------------

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Orbiting Nexus

"Don't worry, we're here to help guide you to the Capitol City of Nexus." The two pilots then moved their fighters to the forward end of either side of the black ship. "If you would follow us, sir." They then began to head to the Great City in the Sky.

---------------

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

"Do you want to play with me too?" The voice of the little girl was behind the Reaper. She stood there hugging her angel doll.

[S121]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Entering Nexus Atmosphere

"Understood.", John said to the pilots as he followed them deeper into the planet's nebulous atmosphere.

[Koishi]

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

The Reaper turned around.

"The wolf in sheep's skin wants to play. Amusing." The Reaper said in it's two voices.

---

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"An impressive collection." Mima said. "Now, where in here can we find the info we need?"

[Kristia]

Venturia
Celestora System
NGO Patrol Ship

Getting of the frieghter and patrol ships, the bioroid hoped that the little one was ok, she knew that the girl had strange powers, but even strong beings had their limits "She will be fine, the little one caused some ruckus just by looking at things so she will be ok" Mara said to herself while tracing the route to the closestr planet in Celestora system

[Cucoo5]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

As they went through what seemed to be a cloud, the Great City in the Sky could be seen, with the Palace in the center. The architecture looked like clusters of towers connected by crisscrossing bridges made of glass and columns of pale orange stone, when in reality it was a metal that had the same rough texture as stone. Ornate arches and flying buttresses accented the towers. They flew to the base of the Palace in the center and landed in an elegant landing bay. Royal Guards with extravagant armor, shields, and energy lances stood along the wide open passages with arches and columns that made the bridge to the central tower seem like a cathedral. When the black ship landed, the two fighters left and continued their patrol. A small group of Guards approached the ship, having been informed of its arrival, and stood across the front of it in line.

------------------

Venturia
Celestora System
NGO Patrol Ship

As Mara left, the guns of the Beta class hit the engines of the Freighter she just left. Then after everyone evacuated the freighter, and no signs of life were left on it, Revere gave the signal and the freighter was annihilated.
"It's for a greater good." Revere whispered to himself. "What seems pointless now serves a purpose later." He then turned to an officer nearby. "Who was the next in command?"
A young man stood up. "I was, sir."
"Good. You are now the Commanding officer of this vessel." Revere then turned and left for the hangar bay. "And one last thing: Learn from the mistakes of your predecessors. Never question me."

***
Back in the hangar, Revere walked over to his fighter. Blade X-01, codenamed Lunar Blade, was a pitch black fighter with silver ornate markings on it. It had a silhouette similar to Aion's fighter. He climbed into it and took off, heading for Alcyon and its warp gate.

------------------

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Right here." Kiara walked over to the central console under the orb of light and tapped it, causing multiple holographic screens to appear. She then typed in the term "YOUKAI" and "EARTH" and clicked a button to begin the through the entire archives. "This should just take a minute. It starts with the current time and goes backwards through billions of years in a matter of seconds." Kiara explained to Mima.
A few seconds more and the result came up. "Ah here we go...Mima, if you could come here and see if this is the correct entry." Kiara stepped out of the way for Mima.

--------------------

Celestora System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

Anankerisa giggled. "Aren't you clever." Then a handful of skeletons walked through the corridor behind the Reaper, wielding either swords and shields, large axes, or spears all made of a mysterious black substance, which looked almost liquid. The skeletons were held together by what looked like a few red stings running along their bones. "Let's play a game. You're the bad guy, and I'm the good guy. And the bad guys always lose, right? Teehee~ Shall we begin?" Then the skeletons charged at the reaper.

[S121]

Venturia
Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

John looked out the window, then at Cortana.

"You ready?", John asked Cortana in his usual calm tone.

"Yep. Time to go.", Cortana said as John approached the Holodeck and pulled out Cortana's Data Crystal Chip.

John then took the chip and inserted it into the back of his helmet, integrating Cortana into the suit. John then grabbed his M6D Magnum Pistol, placed it on one of his magnetic holsters, and exited the ship. John was greeted by the sight of soldiers all lined up near the front of the ship. It had to be quite a strange sight for the guards; a 7-foot-tall green giant towering over everyone around him. John simply stood there, thinking that someone would be there to greet him and possibly guide him to where he was expected to go.