Multiverse 8 Snippet 4

 Here is a snippet from the story Rolling Tide of Darkness:

UO5-16 Destroyed Hyperbridge Star System, Upsilon Sector

 

The first Necron-Xeno alliance convoy arrived in the destroyed star system with the usual explosion of expended energy as they exited hyperspace.

There were twelve ships in the convoy; they immediately sent out four cruisers to scout ahead of them. The rest of the task force then reoriented and set sail for the neighboring star system. It would take a few hours to cross to a point where they could jump into hyperspace once more.

Hazel Irons III was awake upon their arrival. The second generation clone was eager to get started. She knew there was a ticking clock; she needed to prove herself to her queen before an ansible transport arrived and the link to the alliance was established.

She also needed to set her hooks into the sector quickly. She was aware that their partners would no doubt be sending their own expedition. After all, they had been the ones to send the first two Preserver ships and find the partial hyperbridge to the virgin sector.

Her lips quivered in a smirk. Well, virgin to her queen for the moment. But like many virgins facing invasion, it would not be a virgin for much longer.

Soon the rather small and mostly unpopulated sector would be conquered and added to the collective. It would become a place for the alliance to grow more ships and fighters for the war to consume the galaxy. It would be a new unknown front against the Federation forces in the Tau sector.

All of that had to wait, however. She had a mission to perform. To do that, she had to push and exercise her limited initiative to dig her hooks into the sector as quickly as possible.

Once the Necron and AI navigators were ready, the ships jumped into hyperspace once more.

~///*\\\~

UR34DP-17 Empty Star System -Necron Cryptorium Preserver II

 

Cerberus, the Guardian of Tomorrow, stomped through the hidden base’s alabaster and black marble corridors to the command center.

He didn’t need to move in haste but did so because of the urge to do something, even if it was little.

“Report,” he barked, red eyes glowing with anger and purpose.

“Ship arrival detected,” a Necron voice whispered.

“Multiple ships detected,” another voice stated.

“Passive sensors are too far out to get a definitive identity,” the first voice whispered.

The knight paused and turned to the Caretaker as she gently laid a hand on his arm as if to brush past him. She glided into the room and then paused.

“Defense is my domain,” he warned.

“So be it. If we are in need of defense, you will of course be in command. But for the moment, we continue to hide.”

“Agreed,” the knight commander growled.

~///*\\\~

Hazel noted that there was no attempt to contact them upon arrival. That was irritating. She had been warned that the base was hidden. “Olly olly in free,” she whispered.

She saw the Necron ship captain turned to her.

She shrugged. “Worth a shot,” she joked. He did not react to her attempt at levity.

“Tough crowd,” she said as she looked around the room. “Have we established that there is no one else in the star system?”

“Confirmed,” a Necron sensor tech reported.

She looked to the captain. “May I suggest we transmit our IFF and any codes to get the Cryptorium to report its presence?” she asked mildly.

The Necron ship captain went over to his throne and tapped in a command. After a moment, a pulse could be seen echoing out from the flagship in a wave. A second pulse of information followed a moment later.

Attempting to make contact with the Cyptorium was important in the grand scheme of things, Hazel noted. The question was would they reveal their presence?

~///*\\\~

The Caretaker was on hand when the signals came in. The first identified the ships as from the alliance; the second was a command to contact the ships. That would of course reveal their location within the star system. “It has been confirmed. They are friendly and are aware of our presence,” she said with a look to the knight.

The rest of the council had been woken from their stasis slumbers and were present.

“Do you concur that they are not a threat.”

“They are not a threat … for now,” the knight ground out, clearly unhappy with anyone knowing of their location.

~///*\\\~

The ruling council was wary of the order to reveal themselves. Instead, they bounced a signal off of several rocks to hide their location.

The bounces delayed the conversation. It was ultimately in their favor; other than the order to reveal themselves, the newcomers did not have any other codes or a message from the Gravemind or Guiding Intelligence.

~///*\\\~