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

[S121]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Or so it was thought?", John asked, hoping that Aion would have more to say.

Cortana had been listening this entire time and was curious about the Blood Tome, but she was going to ask about it after Aion finished his explanation. Cortana stood by and patiently waited.

[Cucoo5]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Aion was smiling as though he was about to prove the galaxy wrong. "This emblem...this is the same as the Blood Tome which is a part of the Tales of the Manor of Eternity, also known as the Halls of Time." He then placed the blade back on the table. "So what is the crest of the Halls of Time doing on something that is of the Legend of the Shards of Starlight? Aye...that is the question."
"So everything..." Joe looked long and hard at the crest, toying with a train of thought. "So it is all interconnected...but aside from being sacred artifacts, what do they do that would help with the war, aside from possibly being the ultimate end-all items?"
"There's a portion of a legend that speaks of this..."

Upon the revolving cogs of fate does our lives hang. The threads golden with the hue of eternity. The clock turns and the hour hand points to a new time, a new era. Yet we live on, ignorant of the tick of the clock of fate. Nay, our lives are not defined by the clock, rather the events that doth unfold forth from it. As the new age dawns, threads will be cut. Lives will plummet into the abyss of history, forgotten. As they fall, war rises and ravages the hanging threads like a tempest most ferocious. Many lives, many of the golden threads are battered by the onslaught, helpless to change it. War defined their fate. War was the plague that the clock hands brought to help define the new era. But as war storms and thunders and starts the inferno that consumes all that it touches and reduces all to mere ashes...those with a will to change cruel fate stand up from the smoldering embers. With hope and strength of the heart, they force the clock of fate to change again, to move on to a new time, to bring new fortune. And so it does. The war ends and the hands bring peace.

"This is tied to the Tales of the Manor of Eternity, and gives an explanation of things that...fits our current situation."
"So your saying that the War of Eternity is tied to the Legends? That's...." Kiara stopped mid phrase and changed what she was about to say. "...something I would have said was absurd, but..." She smiled, "I guess at this point everything can be considered absurd."

"Hey!" Terrisa ran up to the group. "I made a new friend!"
"Oh?" Joe looked over in the direction Terrisa had just came and saw Nova approaching. "Her?"
"Mhm!"
Joe smiled and turned to Nova. "Hey, welcome to the party!"

***
Nero saw the cheese and seemed to be hypnotized by it for a moment before snapping himself out of the trance right when he noticed himself starting to drool. "Ah...ha ha... well that's some...fine cheese....AHEM- anyway, food aside, so what you want to do now? Keep going through your stash of stuff or go and figure out how you got here?"

***
"Sir, there's a lone ship on long range scanners that seems to be drifting..."
Commander Sullivan shook his head. "Another ship? Seems there's been quite a number today...Send a patrol over and see what's going on."
"Yes sir. Dispatching Drone Squadron 894-X."

---

Sol Inceneron
Inopia-Temple of the Lost

"Unfortunately, I don't have an Aura Crystal big enough to power a ship. Perhaps we can find one here?" Dalia said while turning to face a corridor that still seemed to be cast in shadow. "That way...over there....it seems like it's been traveled recently. C'mon, let's check it out."

[S121]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Cortana now saw her chance to ask what the Blood tome was. Seizing her opportunity, Cortana asked Aion about it.

"What is the Blood Tome?", Cortana asked Aion.



John was deep in thought about the entire legend. John was a soldier, but he was also intelligent. He could tell that something was missing from the story, but the question was what. The current age was an age of war, but John knew that wars don't just simply happen. There had to be a catalyst, something that sparked the age. Joe said that the catalyst was forgotten long ago, but without that, it was going to be difficult to figure out the answer. John soon tucked those thoughts away when he heard Joe greet a new person.

John turned his head over to the stranger and simply looked at her.

[NeoFox]

Helios System
X's ship | Drifting in space between New Genesis and Duon/Dua


After X's ship ran a quick search for any nearby ships text appeared on the ship's main screen
NEARBY SHIP HAS BEEN DETECTED. SHIP APPEARS TO BE HEADED STRAIGHT FOR US. The text explained as X stood up. "System's shut down. Go into standby mode." Said X as his ship's light, and almost everything was shut off. The only thing keep X alive right now was his suit. Thanks to the oxygen generator and the heat it can produce, he was able to survive in this empty space ship without any oxygen.

[Koishi]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

---

Mima noticed his reaction with the cheese, along with the drooling. Her lips curled into an almost sadistic smile.

"We can worry about that later." Mima grabbed another piece of cheese and dangled it in front of Nero's face, before bringing it back to her own. "I stil have this delicious..succulent..fresh piece of swiss cheese right here. Maybe it's the last frsh bit of authentic stuff too, not that replicated stuff. Don't you want a little taste of it...?" Mima again dangled the cheese in front of his nose.

---

"I'm not a fan of parties, really. Never had one that didn't end in bloodshed...and a cake thrown in the person who started it's face, then death." Nova said casually.

[bookdragon2000]

Sol Inceneron
Inopia-Temple of the Lost

Nhiome sighed, well he didn't really expect her to have one in the first place. "traveled recently...How do you know that, it looks the same to me as every other one. And shouldn't this place been hidden for a long time...So I guess "recently" is a relative term?"

[Kristia]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

So a powerful tome and shards of entities that can be either the saviours of the galaxy or the end of everything, I can imagine the factions using it for their military power though" Mara said with a calm tone after hearing the whole speech

[Cucoo5]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"The Blood Tome, as the legend says, was a book of secrets for the two Guardians of Time, Sol and Luna. The secrets it contains is supposed to be that of the entire universe. If someone learned the secrets, they would become the master of the entire universe, and possibly dimensions. So, as you said Mara, There's a book of powerful secrets and a physical representation of divine power. Of course there's one thing that won't happen: most would not bother looking for the Shards as according to the laws of Aura Crystals, something that could create or destroy a galaxy would have to be as big as a few solar systems, so one shard according to science would be as big as about two solar systems. And so the conclusion is, after all these years, something that big would have been found by now. But the legends make them seem to be small enough to be hidden on a planet, inside a temple of sorts."

Joe chuckled and spoke in a sarcastic tone, "So you've been to the fun kind, eh?" smiling he continued in a more natural tone. "Don't worry, the only parties we have are the kind that involve good food and good friends. Anyway, ya a part of the Strike Fighters?"
"Nope, she's just a traveler." Terrisa answered for Nova.
"Is that so? What brings ya to this part of the galaxy then?"

***

Two drone pilots sat at their terminals and controlled their fighters in Sector 11. "Hey, do you see that ship yet?" said one of the pilots.
"Not yet...wait, no, there it is. Seems abandoned." the other confirmed.
"Huh...let's go in closer and scan for vitals."
"Right. Scanning now."
"...anything?"
"Affirmative. There's a life form on it."
"Alright let's bring it in. Either side of it now, let's tow her back. Manipulate shields to latch onto it."
"Roger. Adjusting shields."

And so the two unmanned drone fighters maneuvered into position to tow X's ship back to the Delta Division Fleet.

***
"What are you...do...ing..." Nero tried to ask but wound up focusing on the cheese again. "....uhm....ah...." He felt his mind drift slightly. "....maybe....a little bit...just a nibble..."

---

Sol Inceneron
Inopia-Temple of the Lost

"....call it... a gut feeling..." Dalia seemed transfixed by that one corridor. As she stared, she thought she something move in the darkness. "...there's someone...or something...living here." She started to walk towards the corridor, Arke drawn and held at the ready.

[S121]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"Maybe that's because they are that small. Remember that the technology behind the Shards of Starlight could be many times more advanced than anything possible today. As for the Blood Tome, if the Shards of Starlight can't get us home, then maybe the tome can.", Cortansa said to Aion.


John continued to look at Nova with his peripherals. Her armor was somewhat unusual to John, but then again, there were possibly hundreds of armor designs in this time line. After covertly looking over Nova's suit, John turned his head back to it's normal position and listened to Cortana, Mara, and Aion.

[Cucoo5]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"It's dangerous. As the book is dangerous in of itself. It's said to be cursed. That man that opened the book that vanished...he lived on the same planet I call home, Alcyon."
"Kiara...?" Aion looked surprised at this sudden revelation by the black-haired human girl.
"...the puddle of blood...everything about the existence of the former Grimoire is true from what I've seen. The book does exist."

[NeoFox]

Helios System
X's ship | Proceeding to the Delta Division Fleet

As X's ship began to be towed toward the Delta Division Fleet X waited patiently. The red glow of his x shaped visor glowed brightly within his dark ship as it was towed towards the fleet.

X was prepared for anything that would happen once his ship reaches it's destination.

[S121]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

"I already know that. You said so in the legends.", Cortana said to Kiara.

"I have a way to unlock the tome's secrets without risking anyone's life. I could easily create a basic copy of myself and program it to study the tome. If the copy is destroyed, then nothing is lost. If the copy survives, I can assimilate the copy and retrieve the information it gathered. My advantege is that I am not made of flesh and blood, which means that I might not even be affected at all by the tome's detrimental effects.", Cortana explained to Kiara.

[bookdragon2000]

Sol Inceneron
Inopia-Temple of the Lost

Nhiome hadn't seen nor heard anything, but he supposed her senses would be sharper than his wondering around in this type of place. He drew his pistol as well as the welder, turning on the latter and aiming the light towards the corridor. He held his pistol in the other hand, setting it to automatic and then clicking off the safety. He then followed behind Dalia, straining to see or hear anything.

[Cucoo5]

Sol Inceneron
Inopia-Temple of the Lost

Dalia and Nhiome went into the maw of the corridor which was were the light that illuminated the main hall ended and the darkness began. The glow of Dalia's sword and Nhiome's welding torch being the only source of light, casing shadows of light on the walls. Rubble from the ceiling littered the floor and the walls in this part of the temple were more noticeably cracked with age. More murals and long strings of ancient text detailed the walls.
"...strange..." Dalia looked up at the text for a moment. "I don't recognize this language...It looks similar to that of the Ancients...but it's different." She continued walking along when she suddenly saw a phrase written in blood on the walls. it was dried and of another language from the rest of the temple. Below the message, was a skeleton of a Vatian. Slight differences to the normal human skeleton were evident, along with many parts damaged from something large. "...I hope those fractures are from rocks..."

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

Kiara shook her head. "You would still need to find it and open the book. Ever since that man found it and opened it...I shudder to think what it really is capable of..."
Aion thought for a moment. "Nonetheless, it's a piece of the puzzle..." He then considered something else, "... you said that you know where the man lives? Perhaps the trail starts there..."
"Aion! Are...you thinking about finding the Blood Tome?!" Kiara appeared distressed by the concept.
Joe looked over to his friend. "Treasure hunters, now are we? What's got you thinking, matey?"
"Something that I thought I'd never say...Revere is right, there is something going on here that's greater than the war itself, and it's time to find out what. We'll hunt down the Blood Tome, and hopefully it can shed some light on the situation. And if we find Revere..." Aion smiled almost sadistically, "I'll make sure to ask him a few questions..." As he said this, his hands tightened their grip on Mercurius. "So, who's with me on this?"
"Do you really need to ask?" Joe chuckled. "If that's the path you've chosen, then I'm with ya all the way."
"You guys are crazy..." Kiara smiled. "I guess you'll need me then to make sure you don't go killing yourselves."
"We're going on an adventure! Yay!" Terrisa skipped around the group, causing Aion, Joe, and Kiara to laugh.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------~~Chapter 4 | END~~---------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------~~Chapter 5 | Fragments of Life~~---------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Begin -

[S121]

Helios System
Delta Division Flagship | Excalibur

John looked over to Aion and spoke.

"I'm going.", John said in an emotionless tone.

"And it's pretty obvious that I'm coming with you.", Cortana said to Aion and John.