Aboard the UTC Bloodbearer, inside the main Bridge.

José Rodriguez, the last Terran, a Precursor from 100,000,000 years in the past, stands silently with his hands behind his back. He gazes through the armored windows on the Bridge at the motionless stars outside. All around him, more than a hundred holographic crew created by the ship's synthmind, Umi, sit in various control seats, plugging away at the different ship systems.

The Admiral wears a navy blue uniform, mixed with the blood-red and gold of the United Terran Coalition's flag colors. His nine-foot (almost three meters) stature makes him appear like a giant compared to not only the holographic crew around him, but more than three dozen Kessu standing idly within the thirty-feet of space nearest him. Each of the cat-like aliens barely reaches Admiral Rodriguez's knees, and those that do only manage the feat thanks to their cute little pointy ears.

The panda-colored Kessu closest to José, Elder Nyoor, stares ahead with a grave look on his face. "Great Precursor, how much longer until we arrive?"

The Terran smiles at the aged kitty-cat leaning on a cane. "Not long now, Nyoor. Two or three minutes."

"Mmm. I'm excited, but also terribly anxious," Elder Nyoor mutters, a downcast look in his eyes. The old cat sighs heavily, his frail and thin frame making him appear pitiful. "If Ruuki has perished, along with the rest of my village... this old one may faint from the heartache. I cannot bear the thought of burying my child before I die. It's not something any parent should ever have to do."

José nods. "You must believe in your child, Nyoor."

"Yes," Says Baaru, Nyoor's wife, a Kessu with beautiful red, fox-like fur. "The Little Machine God could not pierce the mountain with its all-seeing-eye when we rescued the other Kessu, but perhaps the Admiral's personal Machine God can. We must have faith!"

Despite having grown somewhat used to their days aboard the Bloodbearer and the Slipstream, none of the Kessu can quite break away from calling the different synthminds and ships 'machine gods.' However, in lieu of Umi and the Bloodbearer being far larger and more incredible than the Slipstream, they cannot help but refer to the 14th-Era stealth craft as the 'Little' Machine God.

"A 14th Era scanner, even on an advanced experimental craft like the Slipstream, can't penetrate more than half a kilometer into the planetary crust," José clarifies. "However, any average 50th Era ship, let alone one at the pinnacle of the 50th Era, would easily pierce more than 50 to 100 kilometers of dense planetary crust. This is thanks to advanced electromagnetic spectral imaging techniqu-... never mind. Just rest assured that it will be a simple matter."

With a light chuckle, José stops short of going into an advanced technical explanation of how the Bloodbearer's planetary scanners function. Given the adult Kessu's ignorance regarding technology, most of them couldn't understand it even if he spent 100 hours.

...Except for the white-haired female kitten sitting in the captain's chair behind José. Little Lele rolls her eyes but doesn't say anything, clearly annoyed that the other Kessu aren't capable of comprehending even the most basic elements of technology.

"Admiral Rodriguez," Umi chimes from above. "We will exit Inverted Space in one minute, thirty seconds."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Umi. All crew, ready yourselves for combat. There is a small possibility we may encounter Kraktol vessels above Tarus II's surface, so be on your guard and initiate subspace sweeps upon our arrival."

"Yes, Admiral," Says Penelope, a brown-haired 'female' holo-crewmember. "Admiral, I would like to mention that as of three days ago, we have successfully restored forty percent of the Bloodbearer's teleportation capacity."

José turns to look at the holo-entity. Penelope sits in the First Officer's position, managing much of the ship's needs when the Admiral isn't around. Her vaguely-defined face leaves barely any impression on most people, but for José, she and the other holo-crew are the only reminders of what other Terrans look like, aside from his reflection in the mirror. As for Penelope specifically, José can't get the image of the woman he loved out of his mind when he looks at her...

"Forty percent. What are our logistical limitations?"

Penelope blinks, her eye motions coordinated by an advanced simulation matrix capable of mimicking human facial tics. Even this simple movement still looks somewhat fake to the Admiral.

"Well, as of now, we can transport approximately ten individuals per activation. Our cooldown and recalibration time will require seventeen minutes after each round of teleportation, and if we factor in the Kessu population size of roughly 100,000 individuals-"

"I changed my mind a few days ago. We won't use the ship's transporters to bring the Kessu aboard," José interrupts. "The Kessu are already ignorant of technology. If ten of them start disappearing into thin air from their villages at a time, they're liable to suffer fear-induced heart-attacks. We'll use the Slipstream to bring them aboard, like before."

Penelope lowers her eyes to the computer control panel mounted beside her. "Yes, Admiral. I will make the adjustments at once."

Several seconds later, the Bridge door opens, and Soren walks in, followed by her sister, Megla. The reptilian Kraktol walk carefully to not bump into the holo-crew, as well as to avoid squishing the tiny Kessu at their feet.

"Sorry we're late," Megla says while yawning loudly. "It took me longer to wash up than I expected."

Soren glances at her sister wordlessly before continuing in José's direction. "My sincerest apologies, Admiral. What did we miss?"

"Not much," José answers. "Penelope just informed me that the transporters have come back online, so that's good news. We'll arrive over Tarus II in about a minute, so you actually picked the perfect time to show up."

Soren cocks her head. "What's this about a 'transporter'? I'm not familiar with that word."

"Me neither," Megla chimes in. "What is that?"

José momentarily blanks out. "Huh? You... you've never heard of a transporter; a teleportation device?"

Both Kraktol stop at the edges of the three dozen Kessu surrounding José and shake their heads wordlessly.

The Admiral frowns. "How is that possible? Humanity invented rudimentary transporters back before the 1st Era of interstellar colonization. Let alone a 50th Era vessel, even 5th and 10th Era spaceships should have sufficiently advanced long-range teleportation capabilities to transport to and from a planet's surface. Don't tell me this is a rare blind spot on your otherwise high knowledge-base, Soren?"

The red-scaled Kraktol slowly shakes her head. "Uh... I'm at a loss for words, Admiral. I've never heard of 'teleporters.' Based on your description, it sounds as if they... move things around? Like shuttles?"

Several seconds pass. José's entire face becomes warped with disbelief as he wrestles with the concept of a space-faring species that has never heard of as basic a concept as teleportation.

"...Umi. Check the records taken from the Kraktol fleet. Are there any mentions of transporters in their recovered data-files?"

"Negative, Admiral," comes Umi's immediate reply. "I am unable to find any mention of the term. Admiral, I must inform you that we will exit Inverted Space in fifteen seconds."

Nodding slowly, José's thoughts churn like a raging volcano.

What in the Divine Emperor's name? The degradation of technology over time is already unfortunate, but how is it possible that the Kraktol have become entirely unaware of the existence of teleportation? Are they merely less advanced than the rest of the galaxy? Might the Mallali possess it in secret? I don't understand!

His mystified expression causes both of the Kraktol sisters to look at one another. They shrug in unison, neither one understanding the Admiral's out-of-character reaction.

"Have you ever seen the Admiral this flustered?" Megla whispers.

"Never," Soren replies, her voice equally low. "Whatever a 'transporter' is, it must have been common before the Terrans fell."

José shakes his head in disbelief, then looks at Soren. "I'll explain it later. For now, let's focus on rescuing the Kessu."

"Ah! Yes, Admiral," Soren nods respectfully.

Several seconds later, the ship shudders slightly.

The stars instantly change their positions, jumping into seemingly random spots from their previous spots. All of a sudden, a giant ball of green, brown, and blue appears before the Bloodbearer, seemingly popping into existence out of nowhere.

The Kessu jump slightly, their hearts skipping a beat at Tarus II's abrupt appearance. They settle down within seconds, swallowing their adrenaline to look at José with hope-filled eyes.

"Initiating long-range scans," Umi intones emotionlessly. "Zero Kraktol vessels discovered on or around the planet of Tarus II. I cannot detect any ion trails newer than one month. Additionally, my scans of the planet indicate a rich ecosystem only lightly scarred by interstellar warfare. As Commander Orgon's orders indicated, none of the Kraktol stayed in orbit around Tarus II. All of them chased after the Slipstream."

Several sighs of relief go up from the Kessu. They breathe much easier knowing their planet is safe, unmolested by the invaders who once wished to conquer them.

Megla crosses her arms. "Humph. I respected Orgon, but his greed was insatiable. He would have sold his own spawn if it meant a promotion. Naturally, chasing after a 14th Era vessel would ignite every inch of that unquenchable greed."

"It's not that I doubted you," José clarifies, "but that one must always be cautious and never believe in the predictability of others. I have fought countless wars, and most of them ended due to one side slipping up tactically and pressing ahead on ground they assumed was within their grasp. What if the Thülvik thought to send a second fleet behind the first one? What if the Buzor or Mallali learned of your attack on Tarus II and decided to follow-up with ill intentions? Always assume the worst, and you'll live long, like this old fox."

Both of the Kraktol nod in unison, savoring the words of wisdom from the almighty Terran, a being who can seemingly perform miracles with his all but limitless knowledge. As the ship draws nearer to Tarus II, the two of them take over the Tactical and Exploration consoles to scan for Kessu cities.

"Admiral," Soren says, "I've located Elder Nyoor's village, as per Synthmind 4131's recorded coordinates. After scanning the nearby mountain range, I've detected roughly fifty Kessu survivors underground."

Soren turns her head to look at José. However, the Admiral doesn't reply.

Instead, the Terran stares ahead, a distant look in his eyes, as he gazes upon the blue-green orb swallowing up the Bloodbearer's windows.

"I came here often, you know," José says. "Tarus II, I mean. As I said before, this used to be a lush but deadly prison planet. Countless terrifying predator species roamed its forests. Unlike most prison worlds, this one was somewhat unique. We didn't confine the prisoners to underground cells, but merely dropped them here without any resources. The strong survived, while the weak perished."

He continues.

"To think that this planet, once home to the galaxy's most disgusting, horrific criminals, has now become the homeworld of cute little kitty-cats... it leaves me with an odd lump in my throat. I know that the galaxy has changed, and drastically at that, but still... seeing this world in particular makes me feel... nostalgic."

José falls silent. As the Kraktol gaze at him, his thoughts slowly revolve. He gives himself ample time to gaze at the scenery and think about the state of the galaxy.

"Tarus II has two super-continents, both of them separated by a wide ocean. However, looking at them now, they seem to have noticeably shifted due to continental drift. 100,000,000 years... it's unlikely much remains of the Terran strongholds, but I can't help my curiosity on this matter. Umi, perform a detailed scan of Tarus II's topography. Show me a manipulable map of its terrain; let me get a feel for its current situation."

As José speaks, he turns around and walks to the Admiral's chair, where Little Lele sits, careful not to step on the Kessu near his feet. The kitten stares at him with her sparkling brown eyes.

"Do you wanna sit here, Big Baldy?"

José smiles. "I do. Of course, cats sure have a way of stealing a humans' chair. Let's compromise."

He grabs the kitten by her sides, plops in the chair, and sets her on his lap. "Have you ever seen a holo-map before?"

Lele nods. "Mhm!"

The Admiral, expecting her to say no, blinks in surprise. "Err, you have? Where?"

"My aunt showed me," Lele says, as she casually licks her paw. "Aunt Lorrie has all kinds of neat stuff. I've gone to visit her every couple of weeks since I was born."

Lele's grandfather, Nyoor, walks over and bows politely. "Great Precursor, what my grand-kitten says is true. I have taken her to visit her aunt in the nearby city of Hadris many times. My niece, Lorrie, teaches kittens in the local school. Lele naturally takes after her, so she is just as smart as my sister."

A glint appears in José's eyes as he gently pets Lele's head. "Hmm. This 'Lorrie' must be quite intelligent, indeed, if she can turn Lele into a genius. I'll make sure to pay my respects when we rescue her."

Without giving the matter any additional thought, José falls silent and waits for Umi to finish a topographical scan. Eventually, a holographic, three-dimensional map materializes before José's face. The Admiral uses one hand to balance Lele on his leg, and the other to grab and the air and start twisting, spinning, and panning around the virtual atlas.

The Kessu stare at the hologram with sparkles in their eyes, clearly excited by the 'magic' José uses to gaze down upon their world like a lofty god. However, Lele and the Kraktol appear considerably less impressed.

As José examines the different continents, Lele points at a cluster of mountains. "There. That's where me and daddy live."

"A well-fortified location," José says, examining it with the eye of a military man. "A dense forest to the south, and mountains halfway encircling the village. It looks like this spot here must be the caves where your people fled?"

"Mhm," Lele answers without hesitation. "And over here, see this place? It's Hadris."

Lele points at a small city some 100 kilometers from her village. The size of it appears small and somewhat insignificant, but José still scrutinizes it.

"How interesting. Megla, Soren. Come look at this."

The Kraktol blink in confusion, but they follow José's orders and walk over to examine the map. "Yes, Admiral?"

José lazily spins his finger in a circle around the city of Hadris. "What do you see here?"

Clearly confused, both of the women shrug.

"Brick buildings?" Megla asks.

"Let me be more specific," José says, his voice containing a hint of mystery. "When you look at this Kessu city, is there anything about its architecture or layout that jumps out at you?"

Megla laughs. "Kyargh! It's primitive!"

"I suppose it's... orderly?" Soren adds, her voice raising an octave.

"That's a good observation," the Admiral says, praising Soren. "Orderly. The buildings in this city belong to a species that, for whatever reason, gave up space technology and travel, yet if you examine the layout of Hadris's streets, and pay attention to the uniformity of its building designs, you might notice it has a distinct sense of planning and design to its name. This, of course, bears witness to how the Kessu were once scientists and explorers, a species which focused on comprehending the chaos of the universe to bring out its order from within."

Megla appears just as mystified as ever, but Soren's eyes change slightly. "Admiral, we... we already know the Kessu used to be scientists and engineers. Why are you bringing up their architecture and city design all of a sudden?"

José chuckles wryly. "The fact you have to ask somewhat saddens me, but I suppose it's expected. Tell me, among all the Terran artifacts the modern archaeologists have uncovered, have any of them told the tale of the Volgrim?"

"No," Soren answers. "You've mentioned them before, but that was the first time I'd ever heard of them."

With all the Kessu and Kraktol gazing at him, José sighs melancholically. "I suppose it makes sense. The first and greatest enemy humanity defeated to ascend to the stars were the Volgrim, alien overlords who ruled the Milky Way. They controlled every planet, every sector, every rock on every moon. After we defeated them, their historical records ended up inside of museums and vaults, rarely seeing the light of day. However, there was one manual which became exceedingly prolific among every Terran military force. No matter who they were or what position they had in society, every cadet had to become intimately familiar with its words, memorize its contents, and treat it as their holy book."

He continues. "That manual was known as the 'Order to Chaos.' Its author was none other than the First Founder of the Volgrim, humanity's greatest enemy and the former undisputed ruler of the galaxy... Unarin."

Megla crosses her arms. She doesn't say anything, and neither does Soren. However, both of them appear at least somewhat interested in this tale of humanity's greatest enemy.

"Unarin was not a powerful combatant, not even compared to a mediocre Private like myself," José says, somewhat self-deprecatingly. "But within his mind lurked the wisdom of a thousand dragons. He was so frighteningly intelligent that he could see through any deception, any ploy, and any lie, no matter how great or insignificant... and he only needed to do one thing."

José gestures at the holographic map. "He would merely look at the order of something, the way a society constructed itself, and he would comprehend their very being. In this way, he could see through their intentions and predict their actions."

This time, Soren's expression becomes one of shock, while Megla's morphs to disbelief. "Do you expect us to believe that? Kyargh! It sounds like nonsense to me! What, so this 'Unarin' could look at a city and instantly figure out its people's thoughts? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Soren nods slowly. "It... it does sound improbable."

"I studied 'Order to Chaos' countless times. It became a sort of divine tome in my eyes," José says, a faint smile on his face. He gazes at the holographic map with a look of sadness. "But I never fully understood its meaning. I could understand much of Unarin's theories. I could force myself to comprehend some of his underlying assumptions... but the deeper intent behind his words always evaded me. Compared to the legends regarding how he could annihilate any combat formation within minutes, I've always felt rather... inadequate."

With a shake of his head, José continues. "In any case, due to Umi's memory degradation, I've since lost the 'Order to Chaos' manual. I memorized it thousands of years ago, so I'll write it down for you sometime. I just wanted to explain that there are certain things in this world you can't take for granted... even something as simple as the layout of a city."

A moment passes.

"I will await your completion of this scripture," Soren mutters, her expression somber. "If it's really as incredible as you say, I'd love to read it."

Megla waves her hand flippantly. "I'll pass. I hate reading, anyway. It always makes my head hurt."

"Suit yourself," José sighs. He returns to looking at the city layout and scrunches his forehead in concentration. "Looking at Hadris's layout, this building here seems different from the others. I'm willing to bet this is where the city's leader lives."

The Admiral points at one of the many square, three-story structures on the map. It looks no different from the others, but Lele pipes up, astonishment in her voice. "Yeah! That's my aunt Lorrie's house! How did you figure that out?"

"This city is indeed highly organized," José replies, "but among all the buildings, this one appears four meters taller. Given how the building's actual height is no different from the identically-shaped structures surrounding it, I glanced at its base and noticed someone had deliberately built it upon a small, earthen hill. Such a small lump of earth could have easily been dug out and set aside, so someone clearly intended for this structure to be a little taller than the others. Subtle, but this added loftiness gives its occupants a slight sense of distinction, making others subconsciously raise their heads when greeting them."

Concluding his examination, José shrugs. "My logical conclusion was that its occupant must have been the city's 'leader.' However, I can tell that, based upon the structure's relative normalcy among the buildings surrounding it, the leader must be one in status, but not in name. They are neither a monarch, nor a king, nor a sovereign. Instead, they are more like a respected elder; someone afforded their position because of their accomplishments, someone who worked hard to earn their prestige. I find those sorts of people to be the most admirable."

By now, even Megla realizes José's words must have some truth to them. "You... you can tell all of that... just by looking at the city?"

"Not quite," José laughs, embarrassment on his face. "I cheated a little. I'm already well-acquainted with the Kessu, and Lele's words have given me a few hints in this direction. For someone who truly comprehends the 'Order to Chaos,' they could deduce even more than me with a single glance. I'm actually quite shameful in comparison."

Soren's eyes contain a distant gaze. "...No. I think you're... remarkable, Admiral. I feel as if, once again, my eyes have opened into another world I never knew existed. Incredible. To pick up this much information without actually speaking to any of the people on the surface... and the most unbelievable thing is, when I listen to your words, they are both sound and logical. They are neither snap-judgments nor mere guesses."

Feeling not only embarrassed, but a little self-conscious, José waves his hand and disperses the holo-map. He stands up while holding Lele in his arm and blushes.

"Err, never mind all that. There's no need to praise me over something this trivial. Once you see the Order to Chaos manual yourself, I'm sure you'll make similar shallow observations as me. It's nothing to be proud of. In any case, let's get to work! We need to pick up the Kessu from Tarus II and bring them aboard."

As José pushes past the Kraktol, an evil smile plays on Megla's face. She watches as the Admiral walks toward the door and chuckles to herself.

"Hee-hee! So the Admiral can make a face like this too, eh? He's so cute when he's shy!"

Soren sighs. "Sister. Don't tease the Admiral."

"Aww, but why not? Kyargh! I've never seen him so self-conscious! We need to praise him more in the future so he keeps making those cute faces!"

"...You are a strange one," Soren mutters. She walks behind José, and her sister follows after. The Kessu stay on the bridge.

"Great Precursor!" Nyoor calls out. "Shall I come as well?"

José pauses just before walking outside. "No, Elder Nyoor, you can take a rest. I'll use Lele as my guide. The rest of you stay behind. Megla, you can come with me to the planet below. Soren, you stay here and keep an eye out from the Bridge."

Soren stops abruptly a few feet behind the Admiral. "Huh? You don't want me to come?"

"No," José says, his expression turning serious. "I need someone competent to stay aboard the Bloodbearer. I trust you will contact me if your people show up in space?"

Soren glances at Megla, disappointment in her eyes. "...Yes. I will stay. I'll tell you if any Kraktol vessels appear."

"Good!"

José beckons to Megla. "You come with me."

Hardly has the Admiral taken two steps before Nyoor's wife, Baaru, follows after him. "I'll come, too! Don't you worry about me, Great Precursor. This old woman still has plenty of spring in her step!"

"Err," José hesitates. "We really don't want to take too many people..."

"My little kitten, Ruuki, is down there!" Baaru protests. She stops a few feet from José's knees and gazes up at him defiantly. "I'm also the Matriarch of my village! The others will trust you more if I'm there to assure them."

To her surprise, José doesn't protest. "Ah, good point. I hadn't thought of that. Very well, I'll have to trouble you."

The party of four turns to leave. Baaru waves goodbye to Nyoor, and he waves back, not worried in the slightest about her health. "Prraw! You take care, my dear! Bring our son back, safe and sound!"

"I most certainly will," Baaru meows, assuming a dignified posture.

The group leaves, and the Bridge falls silent.

After a minute, Soren sighs and walks over to the Admiral's chair. Once she's plopped down, she glances at the ceiling. "Synthmind, can we follow their progress on the planet with your sensors?"

"Affirmative," Umi intones. "Given the readings I've taken for the Kessu inside the caves, all of them seem to be in relatively good health. A half-dozen of them appear malnourished, but the rest have plenty of energy left. With the Admiral going there in person, there's no chance any creature on the planet will be able to threaten the Kessu."

Soren frowns. "I know the Admiral is strong... far stronger than any Kraktol I've ever met... but sometimes I wonder what his limit is. Is he... invincible?"

Umi's reply is about as dry and bland as anyone could imagine.

"In this era, that is a distinct possibility."

Following Umi's reply, everyone on the Bridge quietly waits for the Admiral and his crew's departure.