I wake up from a deep sleep. I... I am Ise'lya se Hathor. Where am I? I try to open my eyes, which I fail to do so. This worries me, but I do not panic. As a member of a Thi class Khasurn, more is expected of me. There should be some drones near me. I try to speak, but I fail again. I seem to be completely paralyzed. I focus on my inner self and instruct my body to speed up my metabolism. This works as it should. Before I can think further about my situation, a mechanical voice sounds, "Brain activity detected, administer restorative drugs to support the subject."

I slowly remember. I am in a cryo capsule under a stasis field. Both functions must have already been deactivated or I wouldn't be awake. I try to remember what happened before ...

After a few seconds I darkly remember shining energy beams in space, explosions and spaceships. I am on the bridge of a warship, which is in a space battle with other warships. A space battle that my side is losing. The enemy is advancing relentlessly, we can't stop them. In the holographic representations, I can see my home planet dying behind my spaceship. The once habitable planet is now only a radiation-contaminated desert, in which weapons of mass destruction from the enemy are still hitting. The former ecosystem is completely destroyed. Deep cracks run through the crust of the planet where the endless underground facilities once reached. The war in this solar system has gone on for too long. New warships continue to arrive on both sides, but with the demise of the planet, there is no reason to defend the solar system any longer.

The rest of the defense fleet is starting to withdraw, no new reinforcements are arriving. It will take some time for the faster-than-light engines to finish recharging and make it possible to leave this solar system. The enemy's disruption pylons can prevent our ships from jumping to safety at a short range, so a part of the fleet must be sacrificed to allow the others, like me, to escape. The enemy notices our efforts and concentrates its firepower on the flagship of the defense fleet, the ship I am on. The flagship's shields are particularly strong and have multiple layers. They withstand the bombardment and then we disappear from real space, the faster-than-light journey has begun. The fleet has moved together into another dimension, the Zerex. In the Zerex, different laws of nature apply than in real space, which makes FTL travel possible. The enemy can't follow us here, because they don't have the conditions to follow us into the Zerex.

My memory stops again at this point. That doesn't explain how I got into my current situation. My memories still seem to be a bit jumbled. I know this is not unusual after waking up from cryostasis. It should clear up with time. In the meantime some time has passed and I try to open my eyes again. This time I succeed and see the inside of my cryo capsule. I am connected to several tubes which supply me with nutrients and dispose of waste products of my body. In addition, there are contacts that stimulate my muscles via electrical impulses so that they do not degenerate during my hibernation. Inside the capsule, the temperature is still freezing, but it is getting warmer and warmer. This form of cryostasis only works for us Aelliri because we already have the predispositions for natural hibernation. The capsule optimizes the whole process and induces a much stronger hibernation than would be possible naturally. This alone makes it possible to bridge millennia. What worries me is the now deactivated stasis field that has been additionally active. Stasis field technology makes it possible to slow down the passage of time inside the field by a factor of 1000 with a great expenditure of energy. If this is combined with a cryogenic chamber, it is possible to preserve the living being inside for several million years. Good that I can remember this important fact, on the other hand it worries me quite a lot. How long was I in artificial hibernation?!?

I try to remember more, but it doesn't work. Instead, I try to move my fingers, which I succeed in doing after some effort. At the same time, I work on my facial muscles. The capsule's systems seem to be working well, so I try to ask a question of it, "What year is it?"

A mechanical voice answers me, "It is the year 91.257 of the Galactic Era." That sounds like a decent number. Then I remember that I forgot in which year I went into cryo sleep. I ask the system again, "What year did I go into cryo sleep?" The mechanical voice sounds again: "The capsule was entered and activated by the subject in the year 73.996 of the Galactic Era." That can't be right! Then I would have been in cryo sleep for over 17 millennia!

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I am shocked. After a few seconds, I pepper the capsule's system with questions: "We were in the middle of a war. What is the state of the war? What about my family? Are there others here in stasis? Why was I woken up right now? Am I in danger?"

The capsule's voice answers me, "The war was won in the year 74.195 of the Galactic Era. This capsule has no information about the Hathor Thi class Khasurn. According to the central A.I. system, there are one million stasis capsules in this installation. There was a critical malfunction in 281.419 capsules and the subjects in these are likely deceased. The condition of another 161.234 capsules is unknown, due to damage in the installation. The remaining 557.347 capsules are intact, as is this capsule. The stasis of this capsule, as well as 120 other capsules, has been interrupted due to an emergency situation that the central A.I. system is overwhelmed with. The subject of this capsule is not in any acute danger. Side effects from cryostasis should subside within a few days."

That's a lot of information for me to process. In a way, it's my own fault for asking so many questions at once. I guess things have changed since I was in that space battle. The capsule system said we won the war. I guess that's a good thing. But that doesn't explain why I was in stasis for so long. It's not uncommon to put yourself in stasis to conserve resources on long voyages. Our fastest ships, under optimal conditions, could reach speeds of eighty times the speed of light with their faster-than-light engines. More realistic, however, was closer to half that speed for most ships and voyages.

I should be more concerned with the current problems. I can always ask myself later how I got into my current situation. The pod has said that the central A.I. system of this installation is trying to solve a problem it is overwhelmed with. This is not good at all, because there are a lot more capsules in this installation that need to be protected. I continue to gain control of my limbs and ask a few more questions of the system: "What type does this installation have? Can you describe the distress by which I was awakened?"

The voice answers me as usual, "This installation is of the planetary colony type with an expansion level of IV. According to the central A.I. system, there are intruders in the installation who are currently trying to gain access to the installation's central computer. The central A.I. system has so far been able to thwart the intruders' efforts with its internal defense systems. The intruders do not fit the profile of the enemy and the central A.I. system has no mobile units capable of driving the intruders away. The awakened subjects are to act as mobile units to solve this problem."

That explains a few things. It's interesting that the invaders don't match the profile of the enemy. This opens up diplomatic options, which may be one reason why I was woken up. As a Aelliri leader class, I can direct the interaction with the invaders and develop an efficient course of action if we need to get rid of them by force. The other 120 capsules probably contain mostly soldier drones, which should ensure my safety and eliminate the intruders in case of conflict. I can work with that.

I can finally move my legs and arms fully. I instruct the capsule to open and with a hiss the cover of the capsule slides aside. I see before me an oval room with a closed door on the side opposite me. The light in the room is switched on and I can make out 6 more cryogenic chambers in the room. Instinctively, I reach out with my psionic senses and try to connect telepathically with the occupants. All Aelliri like me have psionic abilities, some have weak and some have stronger psionic powers. It occurs to me that I am someone with strong psionic gifts, in time I should remember how to use them.

My instinctive telepathic contact attempt succeeds and I sense the members of my personal Fiorell team in the capsules. Five Aelliri elite soldiers with excellent training, plus Larana, the female officer of my Fiorell team. Together they form my personal bodyguard. Through the telepathic link I can sense that they are as confused as I am, but also pleased to be back in direct psionic contact with their mistress. Much has changed, but Larana is still at my side. I straighten my upper body and try to step out of the capsule. This doesn't quite work as I had hoped and I slip. Before I hit the floor, however, I am caught by an energetic impact field, so that I slide gently to the floor. The other capsules in the room all open and my bodyguards look over at me in alarm. I telepathically reassure them that I'm fine and that they should take it slow so they don't fall down like I did.