Song of the Void

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”Alright, whatever we do from here on, we need to confirm a few things. Which side initiated the…chrono trap was it?” Amaterasu confirmed the unfamiliar term.

“That one is easy. I can definitively state that the trap was used by the Ancients attacking the rift. Time is on the side of the Void beings and the situation is not improving for them with the current way things are going. They would not benefit from such a time out, while the other side very well could. I can also vaguely sense the Dhar AI in the middle of that mess. The AI is actually the one that deployed the trap, and the core programming of the AI would've stopped it from doing anything that benefits the Void. The AI is also the most likely source for the trap in the first place. I would not be too surprised if the trap was among the items recovered from the ruined Dhar colony. It would've been disabled due to it being in storage, and somewhat ironically the sheer weight of time pressing on it, but a Dhar AI should’ve been able to repair it again.” Nox stated with a confident voice. There were many unclear parts about the situation but this one she was quite confident in.

“So the next question is: why? Why use the trap? Were they losing?” Amaterasu moved on, accepting Nox’s answer for now.

"Plan B," Selendil replied. "I would wager that the attack on the rift was plan A, and they had a plan B in place just in case the rift was actually opened. The battle clearly started before the rift opened after all. The Void can deploy a lot of power through the rift in a short time, however. I would assume the Ancients were expecting reinforcements to show up. Reinforcements that never came for some reason.”

“As much as I’d like to know why, I think there’s no way for us to know at the moment. Can we determine what the situation in the battle is currently?” Amaterasu continued, having taken the role of the one driving the discussion forward.

“I’ve been analyzing the situation. It all comes down to how powerful the Void ships are and how effectively would they be able to take over the enemy ships with the Wraiths.” Xiaoli posed her evaluation of the situation. “Those defending the rift are heavily outnumbered if I’ve effectively recognized the two sides. It’s hard to say for sure since the two sides use so similar ships.”

Perhaps as expected, the beings they assumed to be the Ancients used ships very similar to CAS, as it seemed like the CAS had modeled their ships after those used by the Ancients. The difference was that the Ancients had much more advanced ships and they were covered in some sort of gold-colored metal. The handful of Void ships were both eerie and evil-looking, yet they also looked deceptively simple. They had a large cross-shaped aft section where their engine block was located, as well as a long and thick middle section that jutted straight out from the middle of the cross-shaped aft. The entire thing seemed to be covered in purple veins and spikes and it was bristling with weapons.

“Those are Void Battlecruisers. The shape hasn’t changed much since the last I saw them. We always theorized that time worked oddly in the Void. Anyway, they are effective enough to put up a fight against a standard Dhar Cruiser, which would make them significantly weaker than our ship by the way. Those aren’t the heavy hitters of the Void fleet though. As for the Wraiths, it seems these Ancients had at least some idea what they were doing. That golden metal on their hulls is a psionic defense against the Wraiths. It will only slow them down, but it will slow them down quite a bit. That was likely something the AI came up with as we used a similar method.” Selendil explained.

“So if we were to disable the trap, we could win the fight that would be let loose?” Amaterasu confirmed.

“Yes, though the end result would somewhat depend on whether more Void beings would come through the rift before I managed to close it. Do remember that it was the interference of the Keepers that ended the original war against the Void, so we’re especially potent against them. The real issue is whether I could stop some of the Void beings from escaping. They’ve already managed to open this tiny rift. I’d rather not give them the opportunity to open a larger one. Despite my power, I’m just a single Keeper, without a fleet to back me up.” Selendil replied.

“Something to note though. We are going to disable the trap. That much is certain. The question is what happens after.” Nox added. They would never leave an open rift alone.

“Can we go around the trap in order to try and figure out what’s going on in the rest of this…I’m assuming we’re in a galaxy somewhere?” Amaterasu questioned again.

“We could. Others would not be able to go around the trap to reach the wormhole though. Selendil can help us resist the effects of the trap. I don’t recommend leaving this situation alone though. Just our presence is affecting the trap already, and every second we spend here makes the trap weaker. We can study this place later, but we need to deal with this situation right now.” Nox replied.

“I have to agree on the wormhole part," Nochehuatl interjected. "I’ve been scanning the area and the wormhole is just barely outside the effect. I’m almost certain that the Ancients used their psionic abilities to protect the wormhole as they knew the results could be disastrous if they did not. Otherwise, this would be too coincidental."

“So what’s the plan?” Amaterasu asked.

“Well, no matter the reasons, the situation is as it is and we’ll have to deal with it accordingly. We have two main goals. First is to close the rift, and the second one is to make sure no Void beings escape. All other considerations are secondary. If we can manage to help some of the Ancients, then that would be great as I’d like some information from them, but I won’t compromise our primary goals for that. For that purpose, I propose the following. The ship will pull back to the other side of the wormhole to make sure no Void being can get across. Shoot down everything, and I do mean everything, that comes through with extreme prejudice. I have a way I can use to make sure no one escapes on this side, but I can’t secure the wormhole, hence why I need you to do it. Then I will disable the trap and close the rift. It will also allow me to fight without worrying about friendly fire.” Selendil outlined her plan.

“Wait, you’re going to make big booms this time? I though Keepers liked to fight with more finesse?” Xiaoli asked, eager to see the explosions.

"Sometimes bigger booms are necessary," Selendil said with a slightly displeased tone.

“That won’t leave many Ancients alive though.” Yrala pointed out, otherwise happy with the plan as it put her galaxy in a relatively safe position.

“Sometimes life isn’t fair. They managed to bungle the situation until this point. Now I’m fixing it. They don’t get to complain about the way I do it.” Selendil said coldly.

The others wanted to argue, but they understood there was another reason Selendil was sending them back through the wormhole. Even their ship was not immune to the Void Wraiths, and if any of them got possessed, then Selendil would have to take the Wraiths out by any means necessary, even if that left them dead.

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“So why did you really send the ship on the other side? You know there’s a good chance the wormhole will collapse and leave you stranded until you can create a new warp hub here. You’ve grown softer, but not soft enough to sacrifice yourself just to save a few crew members from a small chance of being possessed.” Nox asked after the ship vanished into the wormhole.

“I can sense something approaching. Something like me. That something has sensed my presence and is already closing in on this location as we speak. It won’t take more than a few hours for them to arrive.” Selendil replied silently.

“Something like you?” Nox questioned.

“Something similar to what I became after I completed the Great Song. I do not know what that means, but I know the being is a danger even to me, and those on the ship would only be a liability.” Selendil explained as much as she was able.

“That doesn’t sound promising.” Nox finally said.

"No, it doesn't. If this comes to a fight between entities of my power, then I'm almost certain the wormhole will not survive. And that might be better in the long run.” Selendil said with finality. Even so, she had a job to do. She would not allow the Void to get a foothold again.

She flew to the center of the chrono trap, unaffected by the temporal effects that tried to claw at her. Dhar had mastered such abilities long ago, and she was a Keeper. If the Dhar had mastered an ability, that meant so had she, and one of the first things you learned when dealing with such powers was how to avoid getting caught in your own traps. Unfortunately, just because some Dhar had learned that lesson, not all had. They were prone to making errors just like any other race after all.

The tails on the back of her head started to wave around as if getting caught in a strong wind, and suddenly the entire battlefield was inside an enormous halo. Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the halo seemed to split and another halo of the exact same size flipped into a perpendicular position with the first one. Both of the halos seemed to split again and now the battlefield was inside four halos that trapped everything within. Selendil knew that if anyone was stupid enough to try and escape the enclosed area, then the halos would automatically react and destroy the escapee. She didn’t use the halos as weapons all that often, but they had uses outside of being pretty.

She looked at the ship just below her. She could already sense the chrono trap that was inside the ship fraying with her presence. The trap was trying to exert control over her, and in failing to do so, it was also losing its hold on everything else. This was another problem with the traps. You either caught everyone, or you caught no one. With a thought, she moved to the area immediately in front of the rift. There was no need to waste the advantage of surprise.

Soon enough the trap was no longer able to maintain the effect and the battle resumed. The ships all began firing on each other, and the projectiles that had already been in flight arrived at their destinations, leaving many ships damaged or destroyed. As soon as the fight started though, it took a weird turn. There wasn’t a single being in the battle that didn’t notice the halos surrounding them, and anyone with even a speck of psionic talent could sense the bright star of psionic power right in the middle of the battle that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. They were too shocked to really react though.

Selendil pointed a finger at the rift. “As long as I live, your kind has no place here. You shall not pass.” She stated and suddenly a mental scream of agony sounded in the minds of everyone present. Selendil had realized that there were already more dangerous Void entities prepared to push through as they sensed the barrier that had been created by the time trap fraying, and she had struck at them. Every Void entity in her vicinity seemed to suddenly burst into flames as their own powers turned against them, and that included the handful of ships that had come through.

At the same time, the rift started closing, as if someone was stitching the space back together. As the rift was once again firmly closed, she turned around to face the ships still locked in battle. "As for the rest of you, don't think you will be able to run either.”

All the Void beings realized the sudden danger and made a mad dash to escape. They still remembered the last time they had faced something like Selendil. Some aimed towards the halos, while a few of them realized that the wormhole that was inside the halos might be a better option. If they could go through and collapse the wormhole behind them, then they might be able to survive. For some reason, a handful of the ships opened fire at her, while two of them decided to physically ram her. Selendil wasn’t sure if it was just meant as a distraction, but it certainly wouldn’t be too effective against her.

She didn't even bother looking at the ship as one of her tails pointed at the incoming vessel and made a sweeping motion, throwing it against the other vessel that had tried to ram her. The fact that both of them had been giant vessels the size of battleships made the whole thing even more surreal. “Time to clean this place up. It’s almost a shame Xiaoli isn’t here to see this.” She said mostly out of habit, before pointing at one of the hostile ships and snapping her fingers.

The entire vessel seemed to turn into pure energy and light that exploded outwards like a tiny star going nova. The explosion took many of the neighboring ships with it. Her tails whipped around, now all glowing with power, and anywhere they pointed, another vessel exploded in a similar release of energy. It was time to show those that dared consort with the Void beings what an angry Keeper could do.

-----

“We have incoming!” Nox reported, her biological body now on the bridge.

“The automated weapon platforms are also opening fire!” Nochehuatl shouted. “Apparently they’re not programmed to avoid firing on the ships belonging to the Ancients.”

“I’m not sure they planned on returning with that being the case. Open fire! Don't let them get too close. Nox, remember to tag them in case they try to jump away!" Amaterasu commanded.

Several ships had tried to come out of the wormhole at the same time. The shields on the ships held against the weapons used by the platforms, although they would not be able to hold for long under such heavy fire. The weapons of the Enduring Symphony punched straight through the shields though, and the first two ships went down in a shower of flames that quickly died in the cold and airless vacuum. Two of the surviving ships returned fire at the platforms.

“One of them is trying to run and the last one is trying to do something to the wormhole!” Nochehuatl reported.

“Focus fire on those ships!” Amaterasu commanded.

Their weapons fired at the two ships in question. The one trying to run took heavy damage and started to collapse just as the jump-window formed and whisked it away. The second ship was destroyed before it managed to do what it was trying to accomplish. The two ships that had decided to stand and fight were being overwhelmed by the platforms. Before they exploded, a single purple shape dashed out from one of the ships and flew straight towards the Enduring Symphony. The platforms tried to fire on the Wraith but the tiny target was able to dart around and move too quickly for them to get a hit.

“We’ve got one of the Wraiths trying to board us.” Nox reported.

“Prepare to give chase to the ship that escaped. The Wraith aboard that ship might have survived and we will not allow it to escape.” Amaterasu commanded. “Yrala, are you ready?”

“I am.” Yrala’s confident voice came over the comms.

"Take care of the incoming Wraith please, and prepare for the jump," Amaterasu told her.

“What if more come through while we give chase?” Xiaoli asked.

Amaterasu chewed on her lip for a moment. “We will have to risk it. One of them clearly escaped already and we can’t let that happen. The platforms can destroy lone ships that come through as they can focus their fire.” She decided.

“I’ll stick around and observe until you return. I have the best chance of being able to deal with any Wraiths that escape after all. I can at least tell you if a ship escaped." Yrala said over the comms as she dashed out in one of the Dhar mechs. As soon as she dashed out, she opened fire with one of the weapons mounted on the mech, engaging the Wraith in long-range combat.

"Do it," Amaterasu ordered. "Make the jump." She knew they would be able to return to this place even without warping now that they knew exactly where to make the jump.

The hyper-jump window surrounded them, and they found themselves close to one of the industrial worlds of the CAS. The escaped ship had not made the jump perfectly and was actually on the other side of the system from the inhabited world. It was also falling apart. "Finally some luck," Amaterasu muttered.

“Scanning for Void energy.” Nox reported. “Found a signature that’s faint. The Void being likely got injured in the destruction of the vessel. I recommend destroying it from a distance."

“That’s not going to look great. The ship still looks similar to those used by the CAS. Still, we do what we must. Open fire.” Amaterasu realized that this would require and explanation later on as the ship’s weapons performed their deadly work.

“Any survivors? We might want someone for questioning.” Lilly asked.

"I am detecting a survivor in one of the closed-off sections of the ship that is still pressurized. They are definitely injured, but alive. I'm not detecting any Void energy from them." Nox reported again.

"Good. Bring them aboard and have the Dashane watch over them while the doctor does his thing. Several Dashane, mind you. Use one of the nanite beams we use for mining. And make it quick. We still need to return to Yrala.” Amaterasu ordered. The nanite beam was not the gentlest way to do it, but it was the fastest.

-----

Yrala pushed her psionic lance through the chest of the Wraith. The damn thing had been a slippery one. It had been able to avoid all her longer range attacks and she had been forced into melee. The being had tried to get inside the mech to take her over, but luckily it was a Dhar mech. The inherent protections had managed to slow the Wraith down long enough for Yrala to kill it. Ironically, the reason she had been able to do so was because the Wraith had been forced to stop long enough for her to do so when it tried to possess her.

She looked towards the wormhole. Luckily no more ships had tried to come through. Either those on the other side had managed to stop any further attempts, or there was no longer anyone left to make the attempt. Knowing Selendil, the latter option was much more likely. Luckily whatever that one ship had tried to do to the wormhole had failed as the whole thing seemed to be becoming even more unstable. Clearly, everything that was happening was having a negative impact on the wormhole. It wouldn’t be able to exist much longer. The question was, did it have years or minutes left?