CHAPTER 5: SPACE ANOMALY
Milky Way galaxy, Sauron Star System.
A supply carrier from an unknown faction was cruising along in deep space. It had all its shields online and was heading for the third planet in the system, Phelixia; a desert world that's about the same size as Mars.
However, unlike Mars, which was brimming with radiation, Phelixia had a thick atmosphere and a strong magnetic field. Water existed in large pockets, enough for its inhabitants to survive the harsh conditions.
The supply carrier boasted a commanding rectangular structure, adorned with hexagonal accents and substantial hangers flanking both sides. Towards the stern, a grandiose bridge provided the captain with an unobstructed 360-degree panorama of the surrounding space.
Positioned at the ship's rear were two formidable large thrusters accompanied by three smaller ionic counterparts, emanating a brilliant luminescence and palpable warmth as they propelled the cargo vessel forward.
At the forefront of the bridge, the deck unfolded, revealing four sizable horizontal hangar doors designed for seamless cargo handling. Furthermore, the deck harbored an array of both projectile and energy cannons strategically placed along the sides and underneath, fortifying the ship and its crew against unforeseen threats.
This vessel, of such substantial proportions, could comfortably accommodate up to 2,000 individuals. Within the bridge, the captain maintained close communication with their Chief Officer.
"Johnathan, inform the Chief Navigator to adjust our current course. There is a rank 4 space anomaly developing five Astronomical Units away from us."
"Yes, sir. Should we disable our shields and save them for later in case we may need to pass through it?"
"No, maintain combat readiness. Those bastard Xulu could be hiding anywhere. We need to make sure these supplies reach Base-3A as soon as possible or else they will run out of ammunition and supplies."
"Yes, sir!"
It was common for ships of this size to have only one Chief Navigator and one or two Assistant Navigators. Because of this, there would be times when the Chief Navigator is off duty or taking a short break elsewhere on the ship. Most unexpected situations can be safely corrected by Assistant Navigators, but the same doesn't apply to space anomalies.
These are random events that are generated when gravitational waves behave unexpectedly, which could form small unstable wormholes that bend the fabric of space in bizarre ways. Crazier effects are possible as well; those unlucky enough to be in its vicinity will experience a wide variety of disasters, from electromagnetic storms to being sent to another timeline. The luckiest ones who enter a space anomaly's range are those who are handed a quick death.
There is no pattern to them, however, the lower the rank, the more insanity-inducing the effects are. Only an experienced navigator can correct the course of a ship to avoid such disasters. It is unknown why such events occur, however, experienced pilots and navigators have formed a system to rank space anomalies on their gravitational readings.
The captain looked at the tablet in his hand. It listed information that his Chief Navigator compiled for him. Although he has crossed numerous star systems, the variety of effects a space anomaly can develop into can make them highly unpredictable. An encyclopedia is therefore needed to store data on each rank of space anomaly and their numerous past cases. The screen presented to him the different ranks of space anomalies known to mankind.
Rank 5: Very Formidable. Can destroy most light and heavy cruisers. Their range of destruction is only a couple of miles wide, but they can get as big as a few hundred miles. They will only last for a few minutes.
Rank 4: Dangerous. Most frigates and light cargo ships can never escape even if they put their thrusters to the max. Their range can be 1,000 miles to a few hundred thousand. They can last hours or weeks. It's impossible to predict.
Rank 3: Very Dangerous. Records from the past 450 years show multiple cases of Vanguard-class and even Pioneer-class military starships falling in and never being seen again. They can be as large as an Astronomical Unit and last up to a year.
Information regarding more dangerous ranks was not presented on his tablet. Rank 2 and 1 space anomalies are extremely rare. The entire human empire has only seen a single Rank 1 spatial anomaly throughout its entire existence; the details are kept secret to only those with the highest security clearance.
After the captain finished talking to the First Pilot, Second Pilot, and Chief Navigator who had just headed back into the bridge, he walked towards the elevator when suddenly an alarm went off! Seconds later, an enormous sound was heard.
-Boom!
The entire ship shook as both the Chief Officer and Gun Commander were sent flying.
"Status update! I want an update on all the ship's vitals immediately! Close the emergency doors to contain any breaches!"
An officer immediately answered: "Sir, a colossal explosion happened at Cargo Bay B! It's unknown what caused it!"
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Deploy the emergency drones to contain the fire. Contact all off-duty troops to head down and patrol the area! Make sure a few stages 3 Dimensional Eldritch are present to monitor the breached section in case there are any unexpected developments! All Stage 4 Dimensional Eldritch and above are to head to the bridge immediately! Elevate the threat level to red!"
-Boom!
Before the officer could reply, a large blast occurred on the elevator door and sent it flying into a few 3-meter tall computer terminals. Blood was splattered across the broken screens as the few unlucky officers that were in its path were squished between it and the large devices to death.
The Captain coughed due to the rise of smoke and looked at where the door was blasted from. Stepping out of the elevator was a tall creature covered in dark black fur. It was about 9 feet tall and had four arms, two on each side.
Its face resembled that of a beetle with a single slit in the middle, housing a vertical eye. In its hands were two swords, and the other two were empty. Captain Velkeria of the Horizon Hauler immediately recognized the enemy.
"Xulu..."
...
Hermes stepped into the vortex with anticipation and excitement, but also fear. He had no idea where it would take him and what he may encounter. After the rest of his body entered the vortex, the beam that was being shot out from the obelisk intensified and grew larger in radius. Hermes felt his body being transported inside the light beam as it quickly shot up into infinity.
In the distance, he could vaguely see another beam of light zig-zagging perpendicular to his direction. The beam of light he was traveling in, as well as the one in the distance, quickly merged as he headed off in a different direction from before. All around him, he could see asteroids and other debris shooting past him.
With his hyper cognitive abilities, he can roughly tell he was going around 10% of the speed of light in an unknown direction. After traveling in this way for two hours, he suddenly heard the soothing voice of a woman ringing in his ears:
["Activate me... Hurry..."]
It was as if someone was speaking to him telepathically. Confused, he tried to reply to it,
"Who are you?! why are you speaking in my head?"
["Foolish... Activate me at once... Or else the s̸̺̓͌p̸̜̀͑ả̷̙͠c̵̨͠é̴͕ ̷̻̖̓a̷̠̝̿͌n̶̢̦͊͝o̸̲͑m̵̥̾͠o̷͕̕l̵͉͛y̵̯̅ͅ..."], it was as if the voice channel had turned to static.
Hermes hesitated for a second and decided to comply. From his observations, he assumed two possible explanations. Either he had gone insane from not drinking any water in the past twelve or so hours and the stress was finally getting to him or the cube that's inside his body could communicate with him.
He leaned more towards the latter. This is because the person speaking inside his head indicated the desire to be "Activated" and the only object in his possession that needed that was the Staff he took from Kel'thus! He immediately said the Solari incantation:
"Activation."
The orbs of light burst from his body and formed the mysterious cube that spun randomly. It hovered to his right as he swam in the beam of light, sending him into the unknown. It suddenly spoke telepathically to Hermes,
["There is no time to explain. With your current abilities, you can use 'Blink' at a max distance of 15 meters away from you in any direction. When I say go, use it to blink in front of you with all your might. Do you follow?!"]
Hermes knew from the tone of the object's voice that it was worried. He quickly complied and said, "No problem!".
Suddenly, the mysterious cube started to count down: ["3... 2... 1, GO!"]
Hermes did not wait a second. He immediately activated 'Blink' and teleported 15 meters in front of him. Suddenly, a large explosion occurred behind him. Looking back, he can roughly see the flames radiating away as they quickly dissipate due to the beam of light. The cube let out a sigh.
["I applaud you for not arguing with my orders. If you hesitated for even a second, your body would have been turned into small chunks of burned meat and ash."]
Hermes quickly organized his thoughts and cast his gaze back onto the cube. As he continued traveling forward, he asked: "Back there... what just happened?".
The cube immediately answered. ["That was a rank 5 space anomaly. I detected its formation along the way. After a few rounds of calculations, I was able to estimate its range, size and its cosmic force event. With that, I immediately relayed the information to you."]
Seeing Hermes confused, she continued,
["Space anomalies are events where cosmic forces of different properties merge and create instability within their formation. Depending on the properties that are merged, different dangerous events could occur."]
["These can range from just bending space-time and sending you somewhere off-course to creating mini-black holes that rapidly collapse onto themselves. The one you just encountered caused an atom to be split. Luckily, we sped past it in time for it not to impact us..."]
Quickly digesting the information, Hermes decided to continue asking: "What is cosmic force?"
The cube continued to spin rapidly as it answered, ["It is a type of energy that is usually called the lifeblood of the universe itself."]
Hermes quickly remembered how tired he was after using the staff's abilities during his fight with Kel'thus.
'So I was using Cosmic Force back then without even realizing it...' Seeing that this was an opportunity to obtain knowledge, he continued to question the cube.
"This beam of light... What is it? Where is it sending me?"
The cube immediately let out a light chuckle and said, ["What you are traveling in right now is called an Astral Current. These are special areas in space-time where cosmic force coalesces into rivers that flow across space. Inside, the speed of light is not a limiter."]
["With enough cosmic force, you can travel hundreds of times the speed of light. Of course, for you, a puny insect relying on great old me can only go this slow..."]
'You didn't need to say that last sentence...' Before Hermes could find a way to refute 'her', she continued,
["As for your second question, I do not need to answer. We have already arrived."]
As soon as he wanted to question 'her', Hermes noticed the Astral Current ahead of him was split into two. Hermes' body automatically moved to the left stream as a planet rapidly outlined itself in front of him.
The beam of light was descending towards the planet and Hermes was heading along with it! The planet's features were reflected in his eyes: dark red-orange with large grooves streaking across its surface as if they were dried rivers of yore.
"Mars?!"
'I am having too many of these reactions lately...' He immediately voiced his concerns to the cube.
"Isn't Mars' atmosphere toxic to humans?! There is a lot of radiation, and the air itself is not breathable!"
["Are you still worried about such things when you just came from the Moon? Do not worry, the Mars you know is different from the one in the present."]
Noticing her unwillingness to fully explain why, he chose to shift the subject and inquire about something he had long been curious about.
"Miss Cube, who are you? How may I address you in the future?"
["You can call me Elgacia, The 'Kingdom' of Knowledge."]
End of Chapter