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

[Cucoo5]

Celestora system
Alcyon warp gate

Revere sent the command to the warp gate to open a link to Helios system, to Duon. as he was flying towards it, he watched it form. His mind was on other matters. Finally he flew through the gate and exited near Duon. He then quickly headed for the outskirts of the system, looking for the NGO flagship.

[Kristia]

Celestora system
Alcyon warp gate

Mara´s vessel sped its way towards the warp gate to enter through the same frequency as the rogue fighter ("So you are going to Helios system? pretty far I guess, but I got to be careful, there may be others close to the exit") she thought entering the warp

Finally crossing to the other end, the white haired noticed there was nohing, relief got her as she scanned energy traces to find the fighter´s route

[bookdragon2000]

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia, alpha fleet

KuroiKaze once again dived and attempted to reply to the fire of the many drones pursuing him using the projectile gun. Nhiome had already set the other two ships on autopilot, instructing them to avoid getting hit and shoot back as much as possible with the pulse cannons. He had also set the projectile guns on all three ships to shoot HE (High Explosive) shells into any large concentrations of drones. His special bullets still remained unused due to their shorter range and they were useless against drones. He had tried to get close enough to the destroyers, but the drones had held him back. He estimated his ships had managed to destroy about 30 drones and reduce the shields of all the destroyers by about 10% . But he had suffered his own losses as well, despite Yakaze's superior shielding, it had been destroyed by 2 simultaneous hits from the destroyer's large guns when it was caught in between two of them while trying to shoot them. ShiroiKaze's single pulse cannon had been destroyed and it was now only firing the explosive shells. KuroiKaze's cargo area had been hit by one of the destroyer's guns and it was now inaccessible, the rear pulse cannon had also been destroyed, luckily, he had managed to see the shot coming and seeing he could not avoid it had closed the bulkhead within the corridor. The thrusters still fired, thankfully.

An explosive shell from KuroiKaze destroyed 2 drones chasing him and sent the rest into disarray, giving Nhiome a temporary respite. He quickly sent a signal to his fleet in the other systems, and called them to him. Then he dived back into the fray, meanwhile, he would have to hold out until his fleet arrived.

Helios
one of the outer-lying inhospitable planets

AkiKaze and FuyuKaze received the command and powered up. AkiKaze was a gunship, carrying 3 pulse cannons and having greater range and explosive capabilities. FuyuKaze was similar to ShiroiKaze except that it was an earlier model and carried 2 projectile guns rather than a pulse cannon and a projectile gun. The two ships accelerated to maximum speed and sped towards Duon and Dua's warp gate.

Egale
An out-lying planet

NatsuKaze flew off towards the Senarious warp gate. It was similar to KuroiKaze and was average in most aspects, at least by the standards of the KuroiKaze class.

Celestora
Polaris's moon

FumeiKaze sped towards the Alcyon warp gate. FumeiKaze was the most valuable ship (excluding KamiKaze) in Nhiome's fleet. It was the only one which had stealth capabilities so far. It was built entirely from a stealth ore that Nhiome had located on the moon by accident and decided to call Iperion. FumeiKaze was undetectable by any technology, it was also the exact same shade as space, making it hard to see. It carried one pulse cannon and one projectile gun only, but had much better shielding then its sister ships, it was able to withstand a direct hit from a heavy gun without sustaining damage every 10 minutes.

[Cucoo5]

Helios System
Sector 11 - NGO Flag ship

Revere pushed his fighter to the limit. It accelerated at rates that many fighter pilots could only dream of attaining. Revere closed his eyes for a moment, reminiscing about his past, as he fixed his course for an asteroid belt at the edge of the solar system. The NGO fleet was stationed here for the time being. As he approached the asteroid belt, he could make out the shapes of the massive battle cruisers.

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

Sol Inceneron
Near Inopia, alpha fleet

Suddenly the Warp gate opened and through it came The Black Rose squadron followed by a Gamma Battle Cruiser of the NGO. "Thought you might need some help, darling, so I brought some friends."
The Alpha Division patrol began to concentrate fire on the Gamma cruiser.
"Blast, how did the NGO find us here?!"
"Redirect fire! Take down that Cruiser!"
"What about our objective?"
"Do you want to live fool? TAKE DOWN THAT NGO CRUISER!"

The NGO commanding officer of the Gamma Class smiled. "My Orders were to relay a message to the Commanding Officer of this Alpha Division Patrol. It goes as follows: Death, courtesy of Revere Exorco."
"Such a peach, that man." Ember mused. "At least he does have a sense of humor, unlike a certain Alpha Division Commander I know."
Ember then led a strafe run through the Drones, clearing a path for Nhiome. "Let us handle this, dear. A certain someone has asked to see you about a little something." She chuckled. "Actually its the same man you can thank for sending us here. Just don't go dying on us yet ~" She winked as she ran a barrage between two of the four Omega Destroyers of the Alpha Division.

The NGO officer then made another comment: "We'll be able to hold out against these destroyers, but if reinforcements don't show up soon we'll be sitting ducks."

[Koishi]

Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

"Doppleganger puppet? Your creativity bores me." The Reaper then charged straight through the clone, splitting it apart, though it knew it probably wouldn't go down so easy, and started modifying one of it's abilities.

---

Venturia
Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"Nero, you baka." Mima floated over in front of him. "What ARE you hiding? There's something about that Cicero fella you don't want us to know." Mima pulled out her staff and put the razor sharp crescent part around his neck. "I want answers, Nero. I don't like being strung along."

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

John lifted his head back up and turned it over to Lady Avonna.

"I really hope you're right.", John said to Lady Avonna in a calm, almost emotionless tone.

[Cucoo5]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

"Only in time will everything be revealed." She said to John, then turned to the stained glass. "Isn't that right, Aurora?"
Invisible to the naked eye, a girl who was merely a ghost of energy floated by the stained glass. She looked exactly like the one depicted in the glass. Aurora smiled and nodded, then looked at the Spartan, wondering if he, or someone else with him, might see her even though humans never could.

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Aion calmly walked up and gently nudged Mima's staff away from Nero. "Pennomen...Cicero Pennomen is the one you're talking about, isn't it?" Aion asked Nero, who merely looked away again, confirming what he said. "And then you must be Nero Pennomen. I've heard the stories..." Aion then addressed Mima. "The deal is, these two are what are known as 'Life Hackers.' They...defy the rules of existence itself. Before, there were more of them, but they were hunted and killed because of their abilities. When two or more are in the same area, they can do anything. Separated, they're less of a threat. In short, Nero and Cicero are two that remain, Nero himself has lost his abilities, however Cicero remains powerful, despite every attempt to prevent him from doing anything." Aion then turned to Kiara. "That's the story I've heard. Is it true?" Kiara nodded and picked up where Aion left off. "In short, Nero is supposed to not make any contact with Cicero at all. He can be put to death if he regains his abilities."
"For the record, he contacted me. Indirectly, he told me to find Mima here and help her out with her memories." Nero looked up. "Now that we've gotten my background all out of the way, can we move on?"
"Hold up..." Joe, who was sitting in a chair backwards, raised his hand. "What does a Life Hacker do exactly?"
"Simple, we hack existence as though its a computer. Though now, all I'm good at is just hacking computers now. I'm just your average geek now."

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

Celestora System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

The attack had no effect on the doppelganger, the scythe merely passed through it. It turned its head around to look at the Reaper, then the rest of its body turned. Suddenly, it charged at the Reaper with greater speed, raising its scythe.

[Koishi]

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

---

The Reaper then raised his arms, sending out globs of energy, which then wnet inside of the doppleganger, stopping it in it's tracks. Energy went through the clone, and up through the strings as well. The globs were actually souls. After a few seconds, the pure energy of the souls caused the doppleganger to seemingly explode, and sending shockwaves of energy up through the strings.

The Reaper itself then pulled out green spheres of detonite in it's hands.

"Enough games." The Reaper threw the detonite at the walls and floor, blowing apart the hallway, causing the entire ship to drain of air, and leaving there no ceiling, Mortem's moon now visible. The Reaper's suit adjusted, now running off it's own air supply.

---

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"Then that leaves the question of what your friend was doing out on the Mirror Sea in the first place, unless someone told him that I was coming, or somethin'." Mima theorized.

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

All of a sudden, John saw a small dot appear on his radar.

"You see that?", Cortana asked John.

"Yep.", John said to Cortana, making it seem like he was talking to himself.

John turned and looked over to the dot's origin, but saw nothing there.

"I think there's someone else here.", John said to Lady Avonna.

All of a sudden, John's visor began to flicker and change. Now, John saw in Promethian Vision. The only thing was, John never grabbed a Promethean Vision armor module. The visor then flickered again as Cortana altered the Promethean Vision and combined it with his normal visor, allowing him to see everyone with a faint orange aura around them and see the woman as if she were visible.

"How's that?", Cortana asked.

"Much better.", John said to Cortana, a little surprised by Cortana giving him the altered visor.

To John's surprise, there was a woman standing near the stained glass window. In fact, she looked exactly like the woman depicted on the window.

"Are you Aurora?", John asked the woman.

[Cucoo5]

Celestoria System
Dark Side of Mortem's moon

The subtle sound of dying souls could be heard as the Doppelganger reformed and the spirit energy dispersed. It hung over the empty space where there was once a ship. Then it vanished in a rift.
Suddenly the remains of the ship that the Reaper was standing on moved abruptly as two giant hands moved it around and there was 'Venturia,' now 10,000 feet tall holding the ship remains like a toy between her hands. She brought it close to her face so that the Reaper would find itself looking directly into her face. She giggled insanely and then whispered: "Wake...up..."

As soon as the echoes ended, she crushed to ships remains, and the Reaper, between her hands as though it were merely paper.

The Reaper found itself in its ship, crash landed on the moon. There was no damage to the ship and the Ancient vessel it had found no longer existed. The only proof that the incident had occurred was the picture resting on the controls.

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Everyone turned again to Nero.
"...Oh c'mon! Just because I was a Life Hacker doesn't mean I know how Cicero works! For all I know, a little bird may have told him!" Nero said in despair and started to pace the area.
"Perhaps the legends of the Mirror Sea could shed some light on the situation?" Kiara looked at Aion.
"...The only thing that the legends can explain is the means in which Mima got here. The rest...anything is possible." He closed his eyes as he explained. "The Mirror Sea is connected somehow to a sort of passage which leads to a place called the Halls of Time. In this sort of mansion, there are 'Guardians of Time,' which the organization we know is most likely named after. These Guardians of Time might be the explanation to how Cicero may have known...the little bird..." He glanced to Nero who rolled his eyes and waved his hand to dismiss the possible connection to what he said.

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

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

The girl nodded. Avonna then explained to John that Aurora cannot speak to the living. "She is merely a spirit, residing in the crystals which we use as a source of power. The crystals were her gift to Venturia. She is one of the Guardians of the Halls of Time. One of the original three." Avonna gestured to the image of Aurora, and the two knights, the one in black and the one in silver armor. "They protect the Manor of Eternity, which is the place which I spoke of earlier." Avonna walked up to the stained glass, with Aurora floating next to her. "There will be a time when the truth of the legends we know will come to light. For now, they are shrouded in mystery." She turned back to John, her wings seemed to glow brighter, with particles of light floating down from them. "Now, do you wish to seek the truth?"

[Koishi]

Celestoria System
Mortem's Moon

---

The Reaper looked at the picture one more time, then threw it to the side, dismissing it as garbage. What mattered to it is that the ship's cloak was still active. It started up the engines, and took off from the planet, leaving it in his wake. It knew what had happened, but it didn't care. It needed to get back on the job. It had enough of a break, and the skeletons had proven a good practice run for it's new detonite kunai.

It scrolled through the list, looking for nearby bounties or news for anyone to hunt.

---

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"So, these time fellas, you think they brought me back or something along the lines of that?" Mima asked.

[Cucoo5]

Celestoria System
Mortem's Moon

Breaking News: NGO Fleet took the offensive against the Delta Division in Helios System near Duon...

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

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"If the Guardians of Time themselves are interfering...then there's something more going on than just a simple war..." Aion looked at Mima closer. "And they sent you..."
"So...I guess we're getting more questions than answers, huh?" Joe chimed in.
"Seems that way, at least we have a possible explanation..." Nero answered.

[S121]

Nexion System
Planet: Nexus

"Now, do you wish to seek the truth?", Lady Avonna asked John.

John was confused. What exactly was going on here? What legends was she talking about? Would Aurora be able to take him to the Halls of Time?

"What do you mean? What is the Manor of Eternity? What are these legends?", John asked Lady Avonna.

[Koishi]

Celestoria System
Space near Mortem

---

The Reaper tuned back to the report about the battle, possibly to see if there was anyone of unjust among the battle who survived. It personally did not like interefering with that sort of thing, but nothing else of interest was being broadcast aside from what The Reaper considered trash.

---

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

"So, since those guys are involved, something must be wrong with time, like a loop, or maybe just a paradox or I don't know." Mima said.

[Kristia]

Helios System
Space

"Damn.. I lost the trace" the bioroid sighed as the energy trace disipated faster than she thought. Her ship was now searching for either a civilized planet or station to resupply

Soon Mara detected a ship, or rather a whole group of them. Cautiously she sent a call "This is the ship "golden fox" requesting to dock for food resupply, sending cordinates of current location" she said through her comm to the fleet