The Wanderings of the Seiryuu

[Krumai]

829 AS, somewhere in deep space

The Seiryuu drifted across the voids. No one could remember how much time had passed since they left familiarity. After having lost contact with the rest of the Aoi Iseijin, its crew, still serving the primary Mindshare, slowly felt their connection fading away. It seemed like darkness would take over, just like the husk it once was, before the light took it over. They had to face the inevitable, as their connection to the Mindshare became increasingly isolated as they wandered far from the nests of light.

Yet, as the outside view faded into empty space, far from any nearby star, the Seiryuu's crew still harbored the light within them. That is, metaphorically speaking, there is still light in darkness, as many Sirians would say. And even the crew would count on that saying, quietly as they rose out of their hibernation.

"Captain, it seems that our engines have began to fail. Within ten months, the Seiryuu will be left drifting into cold space, unless we somehow find a way out of this."

One of the crewmembers stood up to the captain, informing him of the news. They were stranded in deep space, with very little chance of returning. The only way they could find salvation was by encountering a stray jumphole, but this was not even guaranteed to take them back into friendly territory.

"Put all non-essential components off. We can only rely now on the light, as the situation we are in is bleak."

With that, the Seiryuu continued its journey into the darkness. For the next few months, all they could see is emptiness, besides the occasional interstellar clouds of gas that held nothing of importance. The crew had already accepted their fate when they hibernated again.

829 AS, uncharted system

"Attention. Gravitational anomaly detected. Please maneuver the ship to a safe destination."

Around nine months have passed. The crew have long since hibernated, until the ship's artificial intelligence notified them of an unknown object. It had streaks of white light encircling the object, and a bright ring encircled its equator. Immediately, the crew awoke to the sight of the object, with the captain muttering:

"It seems we have ended up near a black hole. Scans have shown nothing besides the black hole and the ring itself."

"For now, fate has decided. Let's see what we have now in store."

The Seiryuu's engines were not powerful enough to avoid the black hole's event horizon. As the space around them began to distort, they noticed that the black hole was slowly rotating. Suddenly, they could feel a powerful burst of energy drive the ship.

They had unknowingly stumbled across a jump hole. The pulsating streaks of energy rocked the ship for several minutes, until they emerged out into empty space as the energy immediately dissipated.

"Captain, do a scan on the following area. See if we are near the nests."

Suddenly, another crew member ran up to the captain, surprising him.

"Look! We can see the nebula!"

The captain arose from his chair and presented the results to the crew.

"Scans have indicated we are a few light years from the Trinity. It seems the light had guided us. Prepare to hibernate once more."

The Seiryuu had ended up within five light years of the trinity voids, somewhere in the asteroid fields of a nearby system. With only a month to spare, the crew went back to hibernation, knowing that their gamble has paid off. But in the months that have passed, their surroundings were not the same from when they had departed, and they would need to make another journey to one of the voids.