Chapter - 01 : New World

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*RATTLE* *RATTLE*

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"Guh..."

The whole ship was shaking like an earthquake had began. Captain I-407 held onto his chair lest he wanted to fly. The rattling was coupled with alarming screeches like metal scraping on metal. Warning lights were going off like fireworks. The fact that the ship was still in one piece was a miracle im itself. Not to mention, it was still in warp. The captain must have used up all his Karma.

"...Host...detecting..severe turbulence in warp..field...."

Lapis' voice somehow reached his ears amidst all the chaos.

"...severe damage to tachyon amplifiers....units 5, 6, 9, and 10 have gone offline....unit 1, 3, 4 are heating up dangerously.... shutting them down... Units 2, 7, 8 unable to endure the load. Suggest immediate termination of warp...."

"...ugh...."

The captain gritted his teeth 7 of the ten tachyon amplifiers were out of service now. Using the remaining three would result in overloading and blow the ship up. There was no option but to shut them down. But then they wont be able to stay in warp anymore. And the super heated plasma discharge would burn them till nothing remained. The choice was his. Sit here and die, or take the risk and die. In the next second he made it.

"...Lapis shut down all remaining tachyon amplifiers and cut down all power to them. Keep an eye.....on the engines and thrusters....initiate Protocol 07 ill take charge now..."

"..Yes Host.."

He got up from his seat but as soon as he got up, he was forced onto his knees.The warp was a space between the spaces where the laws of space time themselves were twisted. And the turbulence in it had caused the artificial gravity inside the ship to have more than doubled. Still he somehow managed to crawl a few steps before trying to stand but a jerk threw him into a control unit and his forehead was cut. Red blood began seeping down his cheek but he didn't care. Within moments the wound sealed shut and blood stopped. In a few minutes the skin would be as good as new. A small perk of beinga genetically modified being.

He got up once again and somehow keeping his balance,reached another seat. As soon as he sat down metallic seat belts strapped him securely the console before him lit up. A pair of controls shaped like handles arrived before him, unfolding from the console. This was the manual steering for the ship. The captain had used it on very few occasions. He gripped them tightly and as Lapis left control of the ships steering, the captain took it maneuvering the titan with only his physical force and instinct.

"...ending warp in 5, 4..." Lapis began the countdown, "...3, 2, 1, Now...."

The Tachyon units shut down. The rattling of the ship reduced significantly. But....

"Eh?..."

The Captain gave out a stupid sound. He was so shocked that no other words came out. Even the AI Lapis had gone silent. A second passed. Ten seconds. A minute passed.

"....What is....what is going on ?.....Lapis aren't the Amplifiers shut down?"

"Yes host, there is no mistaking, the Tachyon amplifiers are all shut down...."

He looked at the displays in disbelief....

"Then how....how....are we still...in warp....?"

He sunk into the seat. Trying to keep the ship steady. The turbulence was getting worse.

"....Running diagnosis. Analysing sensor data. Scanning warp fields.....Standby.....Processing.....Possible explanation : The energy released by the supernova somehow interfered with the warp field causing extensive alteration in said field. Result unknown. Observation, continued warp. Time duration : 6 minutes 37 seconds...38...39...."

Hearing Lapis' explanation the captain narrowed his eyes. If she was even half correct then they were now trapped in an unknown phenomenon. Only one word came to his mind...

"A Wormhole..."

"...Yes host. That would be the most appropriate answer..."

He grit his teeth. It was good. Very good. They ran from a raging supernova and right into a freaking wormhole. How many scientists of the union had tried making this legend of science fiction, which would allow ships to travell instantly from one end of the universe to another. But they all had failed. The lucky ones just blew their cities at most. While the unlucky ones.....well lets say they dutifully erased all records of their very own existences. Yet here he was right in the middle of the said phenomenon and that by sheer luck. He must be blessed. The captain thought.

A few more minutes passed but it seemed like an eternity to him since he was solely concentrating on keeping the ship stable. The turbulence had worsened. Even more alarms began to go off. Some sections had been damaged and were leaking air. Luckily the bulkheads had already been sealed. And then after who knows how long....

"...Lapis is that what i am seeing or my eyes playing tricks on me....?"

He asked his trusted partner as he looked at a blinding white light which appeared before them. It was tremendously growing in size. It was a common occurence when exiting the warp.

"...No sir. It is exactly what it appears. It seems we are at the end of our journey. Exiting in 4, 3, 2, 1, 0..."

The vibrations of the ship kept on increasing. Even with his enhanced strength the captain wasn't able to keep the controls steady. The whole 5 km long vessel was shaking like crazy. His head began spinning but he desperately held on. For if he let go of the controls then who knows what would become of the ship. With all his strength he held on to the controls. The white light came nearer and nearer. And then his vision was filled with white.

"....Host..... we are...out of the warp...host.....host..."

Under Lapis' voice which surprisingly showed concern, he passed out as his world drowned in darkness.

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Amidst an utter darkness.

A figure bound in chains was present.

It was a petite figure. A girl. Her features hidden by the everlasting darkness and her long jet black hair. Long chains and shackles bound her legs, hands, neck and waist. Every once in a while strange markings would appear on the chains and then again disappear. The girl lay still. Like she had for eons. The place she was at, was also still. Like it had for eons. This was her prison. This was her punishment. Sealed in this everlasting darkness, where time and the elements would not be able to reach her. Her eyes remained closed.

In the beginning she had struggled. And every time she did, the chains would give her intense pain. She had howled in despair. Cried in anguish. Begged for help. But no one saved her. No one could save her. Her sin was being born, or so the ones who sealed her said. In this darkness she had nothing to accompany her. This was her fate. She who had lived the life of a Proud wolf would forever be trapped as a sow. But fate had other plans.

For when she was sealed, a melodious voice had reached her ears.

"Oh thee the cursed blade that slew gods and reaped their souls.

thee the poor soul who endured the most heinous of woes,

And nev'r sought for nigh worldy gains,

Fear not for thy sacrifice wilt not beest in vain,

For one day shalt arrive that gent who ends thy pains.

And alloweth on that fateful day, when all creation shalth know

The might of the Vorpal blade and still bow. "

Those words were her hope the. A hope that has now vanished. She had long since given up on escape for this is her eternal prison. Nor salvation nor death. To forever be trapped in this purgatory is her fate. She believed that. But then again, nothing is forever....

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The chains begin to glow. Ancient markings shine bright on them amidst the darkness. Her prison, her hell, slowly begins to crack. The shackles begin to break. Eyes which had been closed for an eternity now open. A pair of black pupils darker than the darkness, deeper than the abyss. They have no warmth of light, only death's coldness. She slowly looks around, watching her prison break apart. Her chains break apart and turn to dust. Her bindings, none remain. Streaks of light begins to fill the space. Pushing the darkness away. She looks in a daze, as this all happens, and finally the darkness vanishes and her vision is filled with light. A light she believed she would never see. And right before her world turns white, she hears that age old voice which gave her hope.

"On thee wend O child of darkness, for thy sins has't been redeemed.

has't thy freedom, oh thee pitiful child for thou has't hath paid its price.

findeth the one who hath setteth thee free,

For that gent is your's and your're his destiny."

She felt her body become light, as if an age old weight had been lifted. And then like a fuse that had been lift, all those eons passed without rest took their toll. Her eyes became heavy as her tired soul began drifting to sleep. But her heart silently asked....

Who are you that set me free....?

When and where will we meet...?

Will i recognise you and you, me...?

But no answer came to her.

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".......Host...........host.........host.........."

"...ugh...."

Abroad the Himmelreich, a young boy groggily opened his eyes. He could hear a familiar voice calling him. A voice he had heard thousands of times.

"..Lapis...?"

"...Yes host, it is me..."

The boy in question was of course the captain. He slowly loosened himself as the seat belts retracted freeing him. He looked around. The entire bridge was dyed in red due to the emergency lights. A code that hadn't changed since the very beginning of ships. He shakily stood up. The time spent in that intense turbulence had whacked his senses pretty good.

"...Lapis situation ?"

"...Host, it appears that we have safely exited the warp.....correction we have exited the warp mostly intact..."

"...Haa i thought that. Whats the damage status....? Report every detail..." He asked while fiddling with a screen.

" Reporting : Heavy damage sustained to tachyon amplifiers. As mentioned 7 units have been disabled and of them three units are beyond repair. Moderate damage to outer armour. At 176 places outer protective armour has been lost. Total outer armour integrity 70%. Two of the four main thrusters have been heavily damaged but can be repaired. 22 port and 17 starboard thrusters have been disabled. Repair possible. ultrastructure integrity : 90 % Hull integrity : 88%. All Archon generators still functioning. Minor damage to weapon systems. Life support systems on stand by, unharmed. 203 compartments sealed due to pressure leaks. 9% shield generators down. Communication systems on........."

The captain shook his head as a sigh escaped his lips. The total damage the ship had suffered was devastating. A heavy battle cruiser like the Himmelreich could take on hundreds of energy beams in the face and have but a few scratches. But now it was practically an immobile floating fortress. But then again the ship had faced a gama ray burst from a supernova, encountered sever warp turbulence, and gravitational as well as electromagnetic stress which it had never meant to face. So considering all these factors, the fact that the ship was still functional was a miracle in itself. And the damages? A bunch of repair bots, a lot of high quality metal, and some years of work would make the ship as good as new. The first and thrid requirements were not a problem. Even in this state the ship could support life for a few hundred years. And stasis for over a thousand years. The problem was the materials needed to repair the ship. To find proper metals and other materials would be a pain. But it had to be done.

"Lapis optimise energy efficiency. Activate Stasis mode. Keep all ship operations at the minimal. And map the surrounding space. I want to know where did we end up. Next..."

The Captain began issuing his orders. Soon the lighting returned to normal. The ships hangar doors opened and tens of drones began surveying the ships surroundings. At the same time Lapis activated an army of small spider like repair robots to repair what was possible was give detailed reports of the damages. The ship had a reserve stock of emergency repair materials. A battlecruiser always carried some, after all who would take the risk of being empty handed if a shell could t ear through the hull anytime ? The captain ensured that the vital systems were working properly. As he was busy in his work,

"Host, preliminary analysis has been completed..."

"Good report" he said and a large screen was projected before him. It showed the Himmelreich and her surroundings. Apparently she had ended up in a star system. About 15 light minutes away from them was a star more than twice the size of Earth's sun. Orbiting it were eleven planets big and small. Currently the ship was close to a particular planet. But looking at it closely the captain's eyes widened. Blue oceans filled its surface. Whereas brown green land was visible among the blue waters. The light from the sun of that planet falling om it giving it an ethereal beauty. A scene very familiar. A scene very nostalgic.

"Earth...?"

He blurted out. Though the Union had colonized various planets. None of them looked even close to earth. Most were barren with little to no water where humans stayed in domed cities while others were terraformed rocks where vegetation and water were barely enough to raise insects.

"...No host. Analysis shows aforesaid planet is not Host's home planet Earth. Current planet size estimated to 4 times that of Earth. Estimates show, however gravity is around two times Terran (Adjective denoting Earth) gravity. Surface consists of estimated 66% water cover and 44% landmass. Preliminary analysis suggests planet is very favourable for life. Estimated compatibility 50-70%. Requesting dispatch of survey drones to planet. Estimated distance to planet 10,000 kilometers...."

The captain contemplated his decision. The last time some human surveyed a life supporting planet all hell broke loose so naturally he was a bit sceptical but soon his inner self won over that doubt.

"..Understood. What is the status of the two fast battleships on board ?"

The Himmelreich was a five kilometre long vessel. To not have a few battleships on board would be quite a sorry scene. Thankfully two fast battleships Illiana and El-07 were on board. Each ship was around 400 metres long with a displacement of 50,000 long tons. The El-07 was more heavily armed and armoured good for support roles and missions with heavy crossfire. The Illiana on the other hand was less heavily armed and armoured faster and more agile perfect for quirky missions and emergency troop deployment and evacuation. Their over all appearance was similar to the Himmelreich but they were more slender and had three instead of four pairs of main thrusters and much less heavily armed. Luckily both the ships had suffered no damages being protected by the sturdy doors of the hangar bays.

"Alright. Prepare to send a survey mission down to the planet. We will use the battleship Illiana. Once ready be on standby until further orders."

A few hours later the ship illiana left towards the planet under the captain's command. It reached the planet soon owing to its ion propulsion and fast speed. Once it reached around 500 kms from the surface of the planet, it too a stationary orbit there. The ship was being remotely controlled by Lapis. Next she deployed tens of micro satellites which went into their respective orbits all around the planet. These included thermal imager, geographical satellites, planetary observation satellites, space telescopes, remote sensing, mineral and material scanning, magnetic, electromagnetic and gravitational field studying, weather studying, atmosphere studying and many more. Within an two hours all satellites were in their respective orbits and in another hour they began sending data.

At first the data was reason able. Like the atmosphere was 300-400 km thick. The composition consisted of common gases like N, O, C, H etc. Water was still H2O, global temperature was around 298 Kelvin and the likes. But then the next set of data made the captain doubt his eyes. He checked and re checked. Even asking Lapis to take more readings tens of times. But the results were the same. There was no mistake else that the entire group of satellites had gone nuts. The Captain was now sure. He sighed again.

"...Lapis...now might be a time to wake them up...."

"...Host are you sure...?" She asked with concern. The captain noticed this change in her usual tone. But he put that aside for now, since he had a bigger problem to handle.

"...A...yes... They need to wake sometime or another right ?" He smiled wryly

"...As you wish..."

He looked at the beautiful planet before him and narrowed his eyes.

"Just where in the space-time have we come.... What kind of place are you...?"

And then he went into the ship. He had preparations to do.

The screen left behind showed the following :

"Known elements discovered : 120

Unknown elements discovered : 50 and counting.

Unknown star maps discovered.

Unable to apply Universal standard data.

Unable to apply Universal standard constants.

Conclusion : 1. Currently in a system which dosen't obey the laws of the universe. Chances : 0.00000000001%

2. Currently in a different universe than home universe. Chances : 99.999 %

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