Chapter 0 : Prologue

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"It has been over four centuries since mankind had leapt into space. They started with a little ball and slowly but steadily etched their way into the grand universe. For over a thousand years, humanity had the peace and leisure of fighting among themselves in the name of religions, nations and whatever they could find. But it all changed when they truly stepped into space. The discovery of 'Warp Drive' a way to bend the Space-Time fabric and create a shortcut in time itself, was the pillar of what mankind has become today.

As time passed technology progressed at a rapid pace. Humans began exploring space, channeled by their primal curiosity. We colonised planets. Build the mighty fleets, scanned star systems. But then Karma hit them hard. In their senseless development and consumption of resources, they had left Earth bereft of anything. Our mother who had birthed us, who had nurtured us with her blood throughout the ages was now in her final moments. She had nothing left to give us. So humans did what they were best at they threw aside their home world and took their entire civilization into space. Humongous colonial ships sailed to the depths of the solar system to find habitable planets. Still some people were a bit different. Call them 'fools' if you will. They used all their resources and rallied support for our home. And after a long painful struggle they won. A huge project was initiated, to control and cleanse the pollution on the planet thousands of purifying facilities were built. They cleaned the air, purified the water and collected all contaminants which were later thrown into depths of space. The husk which our crust had become after mining was slowly filled with rocks and dirt brought from asteroids. And after working for five centuries we had some how repaired our home. But that was all we could do. We left the planet to its fate and bade her fare well. Luckily when a long time later a few research vessels surveyed earth, they found that life had once again taken a strong hold on a small part of the planet. And soon the familiar blue and green world came back again. Yet humans didn't return. They had 'advanced' a lot so they didn't care to go back.

Also the colonial ships soon fond habitable planets. Though none were near perfect as Earth, a few thousand of Terraforming towers and some tempering with the planet would solve it. And on planets which did not have any scope of life, we mined the planets till they were but empty husks. Hundreds of planets became home to the humans. A few millennia passed. Not having encountered any other intelligent life form in the entire Milky Way, humans thought that they now had absolute authority in this universe.

But then Murphy's Law hit. And hit hard. While exploring a neighbouring galaxy, humans for the first time since their appearance, encountered a sentient species other than themselves. The question "Are we alone ?" Had now been answered. But, it wasn't answered in the good sense. We exactly don't know who blew the fuse but soon the two sentient races, found themselves at a war which engulfed both galaxies. The 'Aliens' had better technologies. In the beginning humans were hopelessly out gunned. We lost fleet after fleet, planet after planet. The doom of Homo sapiens was at door. But the 'Aliens' under estimated the human tenacity to live. They didn't know what we would do just to survive. Humans would swim through crap, devour rotten insects and even kill and eat their own kin just to live. So how could they give in to a bunch of 'Evil' aliens ?

As they say, "Necessity is the mother of invention". It was in their darkest hours that humans found their brightest light. Using the most advanced biological techniques and playing gods we created the 'Neo Humans' or 'Homo sapiens neo'. The perfect creation. Their bodies modified to perfection. Age was no longer a limit to them. Once they reached a certain age, they would stop aging. It was at that moment, that humans beat the limit of their lifespans forever. Their minds developed to limits, their emotions nulled. Programmed to do only one thing. Kill. Humans were no longer born. They were grown.

Technology also grew with them. The Neo humans had excellent minds but among them too some had exceptional. They became renowned scientists and researchers. Developing new weapons, ships, machines and what not.

The Neo humans were deployed in numbers of hundreds of thousands. They had no fear. They had no hesitation. They followed orders. Coupled with the ever advancing technology, they soon became killing machines. A war which had continued for a millennia came to an end just a 100 years after the Neo humans were first deployed. They completely exterminated the Aliens and hence now controlled another galaxy. However they too payed a huge price. Over 90% of human colonies were wiped out. Around 7 % of their armed forces remained. They had lost a lot. But slowly they began rebuilding their homes from the ashes. The golden age of Humanity had began.

- - - - -

Solar Year : 2470 fifty years since the war

In the far reaches of space, amidst the vast darkness of nothingness illuminated only by scanty photons from stars which have long since extinguished, a titan moved on. Its size putting even the skyscrapers to shame. It was A 'Starship', over 5,000 metres in length and over 1000 metres in width and height. Its shape was streamlined with the bow and stern slightly wider and taller than the fuselage (main body). The bow had a unique appearance with a slope, the decks looked as if steps had been cut into the ship. And right in the central deck was the bridge. The ship was propelled by two types of thrusters. The main being four humongous pairs of ion thrusters which were located on the stern in four corners of an imaginary X. Each pair had two thrusters which were around 200 metres in length and 50 metres in width. And supporting them were a hundred similar but smaller thrusters half their size spread across the port and starboard sides. These thrusters were powered by ten pairs of Archon generators, the most advanced of the present times while another ten pairs lay dormant as a reserve. They used Super dense matter as cores and once fueled to the full, would function for atleast a thousand years. The upper decks had two large flight bays on each side, used to launch spacecrafts. All over the ship along its length two rows of paired cannons were present. On the bow and stern were rail guns whose range was A 500 kilometres. While the central part had energy beam cannons whose range was a hundred kilometres but they were much deadlier. And then the most deadly defence system. Ai-lCBM. Short for Artificially Intelligent - Integrated Compound ballistic Missile. This system consisted of two types of warheads ; type-1 and type-2. A hundred metres in length and ten metres in diameter. The type-1 had special explosives to penetrate through thick armour and shields. While the second, type-2 had extremely high explosive power. Their range was over 5000 Kilometres. Although now they had become quite outdated yet in their time they had been among the most effective weapons against the aliens. But even these paled before the strongest weapon on board. A bomb so powerful that even the aliens feared it. The SO-TEW. Super Ordnance Thermobaric Explosive warhead. Aka the 'Blind Lady'. The name was justified, once it was used it didn't distinguish between friend and foe, obliterating anything and everything in its damage radius. These ladies put thermonuclear warheads and even fusion bombs to shame. Each one had the power of 500 mega tons of TNT. It may be enough to bring a country to kingdom come but against the advanced armoured shields and elctro magnetic force fields these were necessary. In the final years of war hundreds of such bombs were dropped on a planet which was an important base for the aliens. The planet is now but a broken charred rock. Well the ship only had seven such warheads. Their production had been stopped since the Human-Alien war had ended. They were now but relics of an by gone era. Aside from them, the lower decks and hull had many smaller cannons, railguns, ballistic missiles etc for extra firepower.The over all appearance wasn't like a box at all. A ship the first and last of its class. One of the largest and strongest Heavy cruiser ever built during the war. The ship was a marvel of engineering. It was a piece of art. And its name is 'Himmelreich'.

- - - - -

*Pat*

On the bridge of the Himmelreich, the sound of a book being closed echoed. The book was titled "The Journey of Humanity". Its faded red leather cover which on a glance told that it was too old, was surprisingly quite intact save the occasional wear and tear. Taking a closer look at the reader, one would see a young boy not even in his twenties, sitting on what was supposed to be the captain's chair. His features were sharp. White jade like skin which was quite pale yet gave off a healthy vibe. Silky black hair, that reached till his neck, while loose bangs complimented his fine face which appeared to be sculpted. Calling him a pretty boy would not be wrong. But his most beautiful feature would be his heterochromic eyes. Right one blue and left one red. A slight genetic mutation, neutral. Yet these eyes were cold. The boy was wearing a loose white shirt with a pair of slightly narrow black trousers and a black jacket which had a name tag on it saying 'Captain I-407' which was his code. He closed the antique looking book which he was reading while wearing gloves. He had to, after all the book he was reading was well over two thousand years old. Printing on paper had long since been stopped. Too much wastage and energy inefficient they said. Now any and all sort of documents are made on digital boards and transfered as data. Nice right ?

Yet the boy....the captain had obtained it somehow. Putting the book in a cushioned case, lest he damaged the age old antique, he took out something from his trouser pocket. Surprisingly it was a spring operated pocket watch. Silver coloured with beautiful cursive markings. The engraving in old classic English read. 'Liverpool', 'Made in Britain'. Only these words remind of an once mighty empire where the sun never set. It too like many before it has now been lost in the passage of time. A silver chain attached to his trousers kept it safe from any accidental fall. Another antique even older than the book he just kept. In an era when time could be displayed on transparent projections on about anything, keeping such an old item would be useless. Yet like he had done thousands of times till now, he smiled lightly and gently wound the spring of the clock a few times and opened it. Inside the ever so familiar dial with is constant and slow 'tick tock tick tock.....' could be heard. But in the silence of the bridge, this small sound echoed rhythmically. The captain felt a calm whenever he heard this sound. It reminded him of an era long gone. An era when 'people' could actually be called people. An era when things like love, hate, care, and the like guided humans. An era he will never see again.

"Fuuu..."

He took a small sigh. Looking at his watch. It was time. Placing it back in his pocket, he began fiddling with the console on his chair's arm-rest. Soon many panels of transparent projection appeared around him. The bridge was a large room over fifty metres in length and width and five in height. But it still appeared small due to the various controls and box like computers filling it up. Numerous projectors had been had put on the walls which aided the captain by presenting him screens. He laid back into his chair as he surveyed through the screes swiping them with his slender fingers. Though the screens were smart enough to read eye movements and follow them, he still liked using his hands. He had hands so why not use them ?

"Lapis prepare ship wide schedule scan. Also give a report on life support, fuel status, journey status, and any other important matter of concern."

"Yes host.."

A somewhat mechanical, female voice lacking intonation answered him back making the Captain smile. Lapis Lazuli the AI who helped him operate this huge ship, her name he had given her, as to why such a name thats a story for the future. Without her he would need weeks if not months to check the entire ship and still he may miss some problems. He smiled wryly. Even though he, was a Neo-Human, still he was only 'human' after all. They day when humans became perfect in the very sense of the word, well they'll be gods to say the least. A few minutes later her voice once again echoed.

"Reporting to host. Schedule scan complete. No problems detected.

Engine room normal

Hull integrity 100%

Weapon system 100% operational

Life support system at Optimal output

Communication and Ranging Norma

All mechanical units Normal"

"Good. Now report the journey status"

"Yes. Currently on prescribed Journey route. ETA : 2 days to Scheduled stop at Taikon Daroga relay station ; Suggested : Initiate Warp to Taikon Daroga relay Station. ETA using warp 5 hours 45 minutes."

The Captain looked at the charts and reports. They showed everything normal. The Himmelreich was currently enroute to a planet on the outer edges of milky way. She was carrying loads of war-time equipment and ordnance which were to be de-commissioned and dismantled, the ship herself as well. Useless as they were now, they could not be thrown around just anywhere. The Relay station was the last stop before their destination. They had to report to the station or else a fleet would be dispatched to look for them which would be a pain. Lapis had never given him wrong suggestions so he nodded.

"Understood. Be on standby. Prepare to warp on my command"

"..Yes host"

He dismissed all the floating screens and stood up. Pulling down a radio from a console he began announcing....

"Ahem....This is the captain speaking...all personnel prepare for warp. I repeat all personal prepare for warp...."

Then he sat back down. He knew well that there was no one who would be listening to him but he still did it. It was more 'Captain-like' or so he thought.

"Prepare for warp in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Zero"

The archon generators roared and the engines went at full drive reaching one tenth the speed of light in less than a second. At the same time, tachyon pulsators activated sending ripples through the space around the ship and within a second the hulking battleship was gone.

The Captain once again sunk into his chair reminiscing the days he had spent abroad this ship. He had spent almost all of his life on this ship as its captain. And now in a few days this ship would be history. It was his home but soon he would loose it. He had tried to reason with the higher ups practically begging them to spare this ship but they had other plans. The materials used in this ship were high class. A good supply to make new and better ships they said. He sighed once again. The thought to run away with the ship had appeared in his mind quite a number of times but even though he had a huge battleship fully loaded to send any world to hell, he was still a mere ant in terms of total power of The Union. Thats what humans called themselves, now that there were no countries. He quietly got up instructing Lapis to keep an eye on everything while he began walking the halls and passages of the ship, as if trying to ingrain each and every detail of it in his mind one last time. He would not miss a single spot.

Walking past the living quarters he smiled. He thought of entering there but then decided against it. It was better that he didn't.

- - - - -

After a few hours He returned. He had toured quite a part of the ship and he would do the rest afterwards. Soon the ship came out of warp. Before them about a 100 kilometres away was a small moon orbiting a barren planet. On this moon was the relay station. Sensing an unknown vessel approach the defence systems aimed at the ship and were on standby should the visitor have some funny ideas

"Lapis patch me through to STC (space traffic control) Taikon Daroga."

"Yes host."

After a few minutes of statice the silence was broken by a crackling voice. The signal was probably being affected by the moon's strong magnetic minerals.

"....This is Relay Station Taikon Daroga.....Unknown...vessel.... please...identify..."

"...Affirmative Station, this is Captain I-407 of the Himmelreich reporting as scheduled for mission code 0348AKW9434 and requesting passage, over." The captain replied.

After a few seconds of silence them same voice replied.

"Affirmative Captain I-407. You are clear to pass. Please note that our satellites in the region have recorded some strange electromagnetic data from a system which lies in your path. Probably just a small neutron star there. Still, command suggest all vessels in the vicinity to avoid that area..."

"...Affirmative station. Thanks for the warning. Over and out..."

".... Be careful out there.."

The captain once again sunk into his chair. On his next order Lapis made the ship warp again. This time they made a slight change to their path so as to avoid the neutron star. The captain having nothing to do resumed his tour of the ship.

- - - - -

Suddenly the ship came out of warp and red lights began to be turned on throughout the ship.

*Sounds of siren*

"What the ?

The captain was just leisurely touring when the sirens began rumbling all across the ship. He immediately began running towards the bridge. At first he thought that it was probably a malfunction. But he knew Lapis wont let a malfunctioning siren blow for so long. Something was wrong.

"Whats the situation ?"

Arriving on the bridge he asked.

"Host, sensors detect massive electromagnetic deviations in vicinity. Advise : Change course and escape immediately"

He was shocked. What happened that even Lapis who knew how to cope with any situation was telling him to escape.

"Run all available data through the databases and find a possible source..."

"I already did host. Its a---"

Before she could complete her analysis the captain's eyes widened as he saw what caused this mess.

"Thats no neutron star. Thats a very real....... supernova...."

Before him some 100 light years away was a super massive star with its two poles emitting two jets of gamma rays and photons like a fountain sending them hundreds of light years away. The huge burning ball of gases was now collapsing due to its own gravity. When the gravitational force due to increased mass becomes more than the coulombic repulsions, the very atoms collapse and an astronomical explosion called the super nova occurs. Nothing in its wake will survive.

"...Host estimated time to explosion 5 minutes 27 seconds, too late to turn back now. Too late to evacuate..."

The captains back was drenched in cold sweat. Even if he was in an impregnable battleship so what. He was not even dust before this astronomical abberation. In a few moments not even dust would remain of him or his ship. It was too late to turn around. Its too late to evacuate. Then..

"..then we can only go through. Lapis initiate warp sequence. Appy all energy shields. Seal of all compartments. I want every last hatch sealed shut. Deactivate all weapons. All engines full ahead i want full power!..."

"...Host i calculate less than 0.1 percent chances of survival. We wont make it in time. Please..."

"...as long as there is hope we must hold on Lapis....do it as i said!"

He shouted as he sunk into his chair. Thick shutters sealed of all the few windows of the ship. Each bulkhead and air lock was secured. Life support systems were on standby and all weapons were deactivated.

The captain put his hand in his shirt and took out an old silver-golden t-cross which hung from his neck through a chain. He had learnt that this resembled the faith of a religion in their god. He was an atheist but still it didn't hurt to try. He grasped the cross in his fist and closed his eyes preparing for the worst.

At best would be vaporised in an instant. At worst it would be a slow death as the ship slowly breaks apart.

"...---Initiating warp in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3,....."

*RRRRUUUUMMMMBBBBBLEEEEEE....* The star exploded

"....2, 1, 0."

And the ship was never seen again.

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