Wow... This is certainly a nice feeling. For once, I am the one who can tell the story. I want to try something out first.

In the beginning, all creation steemed from Ether. It was there that everyone could live in merriment over flavors of wine, the Elixir of the Gods. More specifically, red wine because obviously, that was the best.

"Who the hell are you even talking to?" Soran shouted. "Just get on with telling us what happened."

Fine... Geez... Ruin my fun, why don't you?

Eight days ago, we'd just arrived in the Praxis Galaxy, and unfortunately, our welcome was less than warm. By the time we came out of orbit, a nasty fleet of ships was nearby.

Eight Days ago, Asterism. March 13th 4000.

I'd been on the Asterism's bridge as we entered the Praxis Galaxy. It was still another hour until we reached our destination in Warp space. As I enjoyed some nice ginseng tea that Minerva brewed for me, I'd been approached Soran.

"You know, if you're gonna be on the bridge, you could at least help," he said.

"I am helping. I asked Minerva to brew a nice aroma of tea that would relax the crew. It's not my fault no one wanted a cup."

"That's because the lot of us are on the clock. Much like you're supposed to be."

"Relax, Soran," said Alice. "There really isn't much to do other than to be patient."

Soran crossed his arms as his frustration built up within him. "How can I relax? We just went from fighting an army invading our planet a couple of weeks ago to just sitting around doing nothing."

"I get that you're a restless child... But patience improves character. Now sit and join me for tea."

Reaching for the pot, I poured the poor boy a cup. I was sure not to give him too much, given what happened last time. As Soran sat down, he took the cup with his prosthetic hand and began to drink. It was still amazing to see that the boy could drink boiling tea without so much as a cough.

"Lieutenant Commander Galatea," I called out. Could you please provide your commander with a status report? Preferably before he goes stir crazy,"

Minerva stood from the captain's seat, unhooking her Animus from the apparatus. As she cleared her throat, she said, "At our current heading, we should reach our destination in the next few hours. From there, we're to move toward Planet Valerion VI through our transport ships."

"I get that, but we're traveling at light speed," said Soran. "But how in the world is it taking us this long to know... Get there at light speed?"

I checked around the room to see the other crew members giggling or putting their faces in their palms.

"It's because the Prime Galaxy is far from the Praxis Galaxy," Alice answered. "We're traveling faster than light, not teleporting."

"You'd be aware of that dear cousin if you paid attention in class," Minerva said.

More giggling began to erupt throughout the bridge.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, guys," said Soran

It was at this moment that the bridge doors opened and the lovely Claudia Bordeaux came striding in with the swagger of a CEO or someone of high command. In her hand, she held a datapad and appeared to be playing with her hair.

"Sgt Bordeaux. What a lovely surprise."

"Please, Edwin, I'm in no mood for pleasantries," Claudia snarled.

"Frown lines are the enemy of beauty. May I ask what has created them?"

Taking a seat with Soran and I, she showed us the contents of her device. Some abnormalities were appearing in the Praxis Galaxy. Abnormalities that couldn't be accurately measured while in Warp-Space.

"We just got this a few hours ago. I've been having Xain and X-Ion monitoring this activity since. Satomi has been running overtime to try and scramble through the mess of code this data has."

"Do you think we could be flying into a storm?" Soran asked.

"No... If this were a storm of sorts, we'd have already picked it up by now."

An Optima approached us, coming from the control console near the front of the bridge. It was one of the few Optima I'd seen with an actual mouth. The red-armored fellow appeared nervous like standing in that exact spot had been the last thing he wanted to do.

"Yes, X-Ion, what is it?" spoke Claudia.

"Well... Ma'am... Ms. Shiranui has sent over her data report. It's best if you read it yourself."

X-Ion quickly transferred the data to Claudia and then quickly skittered back to his station. Just in the nick of time as well considering Claudia's expression began to contort into forms of anger I hadn't seen since my days in the Arcadian Empire. She began pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried calming herself down, but it would be to no avail.

"Something wrong?" Soran asked.

"I don't like this," stated Claudia. "We have no idea what it is we're walking into."

"Those who worry about a future that has not arrived will undoubtedly be ill-prepared to face it when it becomes the present," I pointed out.

"Quoting philosophy at a time like this?" Claudia

"I liked you when you were calm. Here... Let me see the data again."

As she handed me the data, I began to examine its contents thoroughly. As I carefully scanned every minute detail, I noticed something strange. At our arrival point, there had been a faint signal that could not be picked up by our equipment. The signal wasn't faint due to some anomaly in space or some accidental scrambling of the data, but rather concealment had been... deliberate. A memory appeared in my mind. It'd been before the War of Sorrows. Lucian and I were attempting to pacify a rebellion in the Hades Alpha Galaxy, and a rebel ship was traveling through Warp-Space. Lucian had a particular plan, one that secured our victory at that time. That's when I realized it.

Dropping my cup of tea, I rushed over to Xain as quickly as I could. Hearing the small cup shatter brought a slight bit of pain to my heart, but it wasn't as important as what was to come.

"Stop the ship..." I ordered.

"Uh... Dude, I don't know what's going on, but I can't just

"Stop the ship, or everyone will die."

Xain tensed up as he looked at me. Then, the entire room began to flash red while an alarm blared over the ship's intercom.

"WARNING... WARNING... OBSTRUCTION DETECTED AT EXIT POINT"

I'd almost forgotten what hysteria looked like until now. The sudden shift in the atmosphere could've been a record holder if it hadn't been for my time in Galantria with Kyla, Solomon, and Seraph. We never did find out who had the nova grenade. Anyways, as we came out of Warp Space, we'd come face to face with three ships, which included the Damocles, my brother's personal ship.

An incoming transmission forced its way through our communication line, and a second later, we'd come face-to-face with Lucian.

"Soran Xenthos... You've finally arrived. I was beginning to believe that you would never make it."

"Lucian... How'd you even know we were coming?"

"You forget that the other Majors must gather in order for Arcanum to be forged. Meaning that there is no way you wouldn't seek out the Major in this galaxy. But I am willing to negotiate. Surrender yourself and tell me who is supposed to wield Arcanum, and I will spare your crew. Even the non-essentials."

It'd been likely that Lucian just meant those who possessed a marker, meaning if what was likely going to happen did occur, then everyone's lives were in immediate danger. So, to act in accordance against said danger, I began working my magic, putting up an invisible barrier around the ship. The Damocles' weaponry was far too advanced for the Asterism's normal shields to withstand entirely.

"Sorry Lucian," said Soran, "As I told you back then, I will never join you. Do you worse!"

Lucian sighed, "So be it... En garde." The feed cut, then everyone began to scatter like ants.

"Prepare for combat!" Soran shouted, "Xain began evasive maneuvers!"

A red light began to shine from the bow of all three ships as everyone braced for impact. As the beams fired from the three ships, they struck the barrier I'd placed. The ship suffered no damage, but now that my little trick was out in the open, there was no way I could use it twice. I rushed over to Soran's side, grabbing his arm. "Come now, boy. We'd best disable those ships before they have the opportunity to fire again."

Soran nodded, and as he joined me, he turned to Alice and Minerva. "Do whatever you've gotta do to keep us from biting it. Edwin, Haumea, and I will fend off any invaders."

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"Roger!" said the girls, then they began barking a series of orders.

The two of us departed for the bridge heading directly for the Eidolon hangar bay. We'd be joined by both Andrew and Seraph, who had already changed into their pilot suits.

"You two look like you're gonna do some damage," said Andrew, "We'll be right behind you."

Soran shook his head, "Nah man, I need you to stay here. Protect the Asterism."

"Come now, dear brother," Seraph scoffed. "You expect us to stay here and play defenders when you get to have all the fun."

"I don't know if you both haven't noticed, but Lucian himself has graced us with his presence," I stated. "The many times we have faced him directly have been utter failures."

Stating that seemed to shake all three of them up. Considering the last time we'd fought Lucian directly, their friend Clarke perished that day.

"It's alright, guys," Soran said to break the small silence, "Edwin is right. We can't get too hot-headed when Lucian is involved. Play it safe this time."

Andrew crossed his arms as he looked at the two of us, and as Seraph appeared to start protesting the decision, the former pulled her back. "They're right, Seraph. Doesn't matter what we do if we wind up dead. Lucian isn't like that idiot Arjun."

"Y-Yes... But... Fine," Seraph finally said. "But reserve some of the honor in the battle for my esteemed self. A warrior cannot earn glory for their lord without even trying."

Seraph stormed off toward the hanger entrance, and Andrew followed behind her. As Soran and I finished getting dressed, I took a moment to examine the young fellow. He seemed to be a bit skittish, almost like he'd been experiencing some kind of shock. But I could understand why that might be the case. Out of everyone on this vessel, Soran has been the only one to face Lucian directly in combat. Not even I have faced my brother in true combat. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he tensed up.

"It's alright, Soran. You're a completely different person from back then."

This wasn't going to be everything he needed to calm his nerves, but it was certainly a start.

"All we're doing is defending the Asterism. Nothing more, Haumea, and I will back you up. Besides, you've got your little girlfriend's death machine."

"Ugh... Shut it, old geezer," Soran said as his face turned beet red. Thankfully, that worked. There never was a man who couldn't think of the woman behind him to snap him out of his funk.

As we finished gearing up, we entered the Hanger, something crashed against the ship, making the vessel quake violently. It was probably a good thing we'd just entered zero gravity. As we made our way to the Eidolon Bay, we'd be met by Talia and Haumea, who was working on the latter's machine.

"Yo! Soran, what's going on?" Haumea shouted.

"We're getting attacked by Lucian," Soran answered. "How soon can you be combat-ready."

Talia climbed out of the Kali, holding her hammer Sozdanyie. "I was just finished tuning Haumea's machine. I just need an extra five minutes."

"Sorry, Talia... We don't have five minutes," said Soran.

She pouted until something else collided with the ship, causing another quake. "Fine, but ya owe me. Ragnarok is all prepped and ready for ya hun," She pushed off from the Kali and flew straight into Soran's arms. As she kissed his cheek, she twirled them both around, letting herself be flung toward the floor. "Got get'em, babe!"

Soran could only manage an awkward smile as he waved Talia off.

"Come now, young lad, is this really the time to be flirting?"

"Shut it, gramps," Soran said.

"It's not like I don't understand. I was once a young lad in love once."

"If you're both done, get your asses moving," Haumea scolded.

Right back to the more pressing issue at hand. I made my way to Rudra and climbed inside. Unlike the other's machines, my Rudra was still purely an animus. Though I got used to the new term, it was referred to as. It also wasn't like little miss maestro, Talia didn't make a few of her upgrades here and there as well.

"Good morning, Sir Edwin..." Rudra's A.I. spoke. "How may I assist you?"

"Our brother is here, Rudra. Let's give him a proper welcome."

"Very well sir... Eidolon Rudra... Beginning activation sequence... All Systems Green... Beginning Normal Operation..."

The Ether core began to hum as the Rudra came to life. I placed my helmet over my head and then sat back. As I linked with the Animus system I began to feel my nerves and senses synch up with Rudra. Standing from the machine's locking mechanism, Rudra was unhooked from its restraints. As I stepped onto the loading platform, Rudra and I would be taken to the nearest catapult deck. It would be there, I'd be joined by Ragnarok and Kali. As the platform reached its destination I began to push on the pedals, giving the thrusters some time to warm up.

The catapult deck's entrance opened, revealing the vastness of space along with some streaks of light passing by. The fight must've been escalating.

"Eidolon Rudra, you are cleared for launch," said an operator over the intercom.

"Eidolon Rudra... Edwin Newton Deathwright... Beginning launch!"

The catapult launcher began to slingshot the Rudra into outer space. Yet before I could get outside, there'd been an enemy Ghost that suddenly appeared at the catapult's exit.

"Wrong choice, my friend."

Activating Rudra's beam claw, I pushed down on the pedals as hard as I could, increasing the speed of our launch. Plunging the claw straight into the enemy's torso. As I'd gotten some ways away from the catapult deck I tossed the destroyed machine away into the far reaches of space. The battle outside the Asterism hadn't been as large as I originally thought our own forces were doing well to repel the invaders.

"Alright... We need to take down one of the ships in front of us to get an opening," said Soran. "Try to avoid the Damocles."

A sound order but one that wouldn't go as planned with Lucian being present. Soran went out first heading towards the ship on the right. The other two ships flanking the Damocles were of the ilk of the Erebea Collective and the Dreg Empire. The Erebea's being of a more angular design resembling that of the human's ancient pyramids. While its design wasn't as barbaric and crude looking as the Dreg Empire's more bulky, and weapon-filled craft they didn't irritate me as much as the pale imitations of our ships from the empire days. So as such, I selected that as my first target.

As I approached more machines approached my craft. Coming to a full stop I extended Rudra's arms and pieces of its shoulder armor began to open revealing two large emitters hidden away. The approaching enemy were Icons, machines that were commonly known as infantry among the Collective. They had a rather unappealing skeletal appearance to promote some kind of fear in species with similar structures.

"Be reduced to ashes..."

The cannons charged and two beams of crimson light fired enveloping the enemy machines in a wave of harsh light. Each of them glowed a bright red before exploding. "Rudra... Begin Null Shift..."

"Negative shift engage," Rudra said.

In an instant between spaces of reality, Rudra and I traveled directly to the Collective's ship. Our precise location had been the bridge.

"Woah! Edwin you've gone too far," warned Soran.

"Worry not..." I placed a hand on the ship and then re-engaged the Negative shift. Teleporting the entire vessel some ways behind the Asterism. It was there I aimed both cannons at the ship's bridge and fired into it. The shielding managed to hold off my attack for just a few moments, but eventually, it was overwhelmed, and the beams pierced through the ship. Moments before the explosion, I shifted back on top of the Asterism.

"There that's one problem dealt with... Alice begins moving -"

Before I could say more, something slammed against the Rudra with so much force it knocked us away from the ship. By the time I'd been able to align myself properly, I'd noticed that Asterism had taken a hit on its starboard side. But from where? Where in the world could that have been possible? Soran and Haumea were dealing with the Dreg ship. When I looked again, there'd been more ships now beyond the two that we'd seen. We'd been completely surrounded.

"Ragnarok to Asterism," I heard over our channel, "get as far away from the combat zone as you can. Do not attempt to retaliate! I repeat, do not retaliate.!

The main Dreg ship began to have the armored plating shift around at its bow. A large grey barrel poked out from underneath and began to glow a frightening shade of orange. I tried preparing another barrier, but these barbarians had better tech than I thought. Their weapon fired, leaving the only choice I had regarding the matter was to toss up a quick shield or be atomized. In spite of my immortality, it still wasn't much of a choice to make.

As I generated the barrier the beam collided against it like a mallet to a gong. The beam bounced off and split causing smaller beams to strike the surface of the Asterism. Unfortunately for us, one if those beams hit one of the central propulsion units.

"We're hit!" Minerva shrieked over the com line. "Everyone begin evacuation procedures!"

The Asterism had been thrown balance and had been accidentally caught in the gravity well of Valerion VI via explosion. There was no saving the ship now at this point meaning we'd have to do everything in our power to ensure that no one followed. Negative shifting my way to the Damocles I'd rested one of Rudra's hands on the vessel. I began concentrating an enormous amount of power for another Negative shift but this time I wouldn't be the one disappearing.

"Come now brother," said Lucian who'd intruded on my com line. "Why not convince the boy to surrender? The deaths of his friends could've been avoided."

"Sorry Lu, I've grown rather fond of the boy and his friends. The curse of being one of us is something I do not wish for the rest of the universe. It's bad enough Solomon put those poor children through that. Goodbye for now..."

"Negative shift engage," said Rudra. The Damocles began to disappear from my line of sight. I wished I could say that I'd done a decent job at repelling our enemies but I'd be mistaken after what I'd seen.

After the ship disappeared a warning indicator began ringing in my ears. Looking up I found another machine with clawed feet dropping from above. The claws sunk deep into Rudra's shoulder armor disabling my machine's cannons.

"Oh My~ What a naughty old man," I heard over the open channel. "Allow me to repay your rudeness."

"Dammit... Laufey..."

Seeing her machine above me it looked nearly brand new. It shared its appearance with those Mummies we faced back in the battle of Neo Arcadia. Though it had two sword-like appendages for manipulators and a more beak-like helm design for a head.

"Edwin!" Soran and Haumea shouted as they both headed for me to alleviate this parasite that latched itself onto me.

"Oh no, we can't have that..." Laufey mused. From the skirt armor of her machine, two large spears ejected themselves and then began to emit a green field. Suddenly all of Rudra's systems shut down immediately and the outside feed had been cut. An Ether Inhibitor? Very likely a stronger version than before.

Since I couldn't see I didn't know how Laufey would attack. Meaning I'd have to do something before I'd become beholden to the prison known as space. Using the last of my power would put me out for a few days but it was worth not suffocating for all eternity. I spread my hands as far out as I could now enacting my own Negative shift. With the inhibitor up I couldn't pinpoint an exact location but I could at least get us out of there. In one instant I could feel being shaken by a killer mech with an annoying woman as its pilot. The next was the shaking and heat of possibly falling to a planet. Since I knew the Eidolons could withstand reentry to a planet I decided to wait.

"And well... The rest is your imagination."

"I see..." Soran said. "So basically we got ambushed and beat. Now we're probably millions of miles away with no way to actually reach the others."

"Wait... What of your Negative shift?" Haumea asked. "Couldn't you just shift us to Valerion?"

"I may be powerful... But to shift an entire ship, myself a few times, then all of us in that last moment. It's quite physically draining... The distance is way too considerable to even begin to calculate and I'd still be teleporting three people. It's better if we had a ship with warp capabilities."

The three of us stayed silent for a moment. Hopefully, our oh-so-fearless leader would be coming up with a plan. I was more confident in pigs flying than I was of that. But then again I have actually seen that before so I could've been wrong.

"W-Well... When I woke up... Sheila did mention something about another signal," Soran mentioned.

I leaned forward as I attempted to grasp what the boy was saying.

"But how?" Haumea asked. "Edwin searched for a signal too. The only ones he found were yours and mine."

"Well... Maybe it's due to proximity. This place is a ways from where Ragnarok is. So I bet if we could find that signal we'd be able to find out who's here."

"And what if it is an enemy?" I asked.

"Then we'll have to play it smart. By your account, Lucian was a way larger force than we could've anticipated. His forces must be hunting us. But if there's a chance that the signal is someone native to this galaxy. We could potentially have a way off this planet. Maybe even a way to Valerion."

It was a sound plan, though it had a flaw or two. But it was more concrete than anything I could think of. None of our machines are capable of warp travel so it would take far too long to reach our allies.

"Then it's settled. I will have the Mimics recover your machine. Go on and get some rest. I will have you both freed in the morning."

Standing up I dusted off my suit and left their cell. Despite being "King of the Slime people" as Soran rudely put it they were not easy to negotiate with. But I might have an advantage due to the one that mimicked Soran.

I just hoped that the others were alright...