To Everlasting Ebb

[Locksmith]

Near Saverne Base, Cologne System —> Omega Systems
02.01.836 AS

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With each passing day since her last visit to Earhart with an agent of the Order, Crimson Veil felt a slowly growing sense of unease. Humanity's overwhelming dependence on technologies they didn't fully understand was concerning enough in itself; however, when the pylons in Earhart suddenly opened fire on Melusine, despite her remaining at a safe distance, it was yet another reminder of the precarious foundation upon which most human civilizations in Sirius had been built.

Overcoming this pernicious dependence required a departure from the established course. The newly opened route to Deep Omegas held the promise of immense potential; a prize humanity needed to seize, piece by piece. Crimson Veil had journeyed there repeatedly, accompanied by other representatives of the Platform, as well as Chevalier. Because these areas were a hotspot for many factions, some of whom were openly hostile to the Bundschuh, they usually didn't get very far; the only exception was a recent flight, during which they managed to reach the planet Timbuktu, traversing a deadly labyrinth. However, a combination of adverse environmental factors and the desperate resistance of Wilde forces forced Crimson Veil to retreat.

In her place, she dispatched one of the figures connected to her past — a Rogue named Sorcha, possessed of near-suicidal courage and a bomber with immense firepower. Crimson Veil's gamble paid off: Sorcha, cursing her benefactor for such a task, managed to break through Wilde's forces. Unfortunately, her bomber was severely damaged in the process, and only the arrival of Bustard with the some of the compassionate members of the Rogue community, to whom she had sent a signal, were able to extract her from this place. And yet, she succeeded: upon returning, Sorcha handed over to Crimson Veil a unique piece of technology bearing the imprint of Deep Omegas. The weapon called RUPTURER. Information on such technology was scarce, and reproducing it seemed impossible... However, the mere existence of this fundamentally different type of technology intrigued Crimson Veil far more than the potential production of this particular weapon. Moreover, Sorcha stumbled upon a path to a black hole lying beyond the deadly labyrinth... This unique object, immediately after its mention, became the object of obsessive thoughts and strange dreams. Crimson Veil's "inner voice", awakened within her after her brother's contact with the alien mind, became especially active, urging her to embark on this dangerous journey.

Seeing this as another step toward humanity's sustainable independence, Crimson Veil once again asked Chevalier to accompany her. This time, however, she has ensured the support of another ally, one capable of bringing a unique perspective. Still distraught and feeling the influence of the "voice", Crimson Veil couldn't even properly express her joy at meeting Chevalier. Although the latter's ship would certainly prove a valuable asset on their journey: the Oder gunboat, bearing the mark of Gallic technology, offered an excellent combination of firepower and mobility.

For the first part of the journey, however, everything proceeded calmly. Even the mapped Omegas were surprisingly devoid of conflict this time.

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[Locksmith]

Omega-55 —> Omega-43 —> Omega-2
02.01.836 AS

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Crimson Veil had kept the identity of the third participant in this venture a secret until now. Partly to avoid unnecessary controversy, and partly... simply out of curiosity about how Chevalier would react. Considering the question of whether she should be jealous, she hardly expected their companion to be an AI who had been in contact with the Platform for some time. And indeed, it seems this managed to surprise Chevalier slightly, much to Crimson Veil's delight. Novak didn't keep them waiting long at the cloud of fiery rocks blocking the way to Deep Omegas. The AI ​​still didn't understand why Crimson Veil needed its presence, but that would soon be revealed.

For now, their path lay through something that threatened to melt the hulls of their ships if delayed. Having overcome this (relatively small compared to what was ahead) obstacle and jumped to the near edge of the unmapped regions, the group was almost immediately attacked by ships with an unknown signature. The attack was swift and desperate: the alien thralls attacked with truly suicidal persistence, using their entire arsenal. Whatever lay in these systems, it was important... And yet, Crimson Veil wasn't here for their secrets.

Their flight took the group through two systems that were as beautiful as they were dangerous. Along the way, in addition to the unidentified ships, they encountered Corsairs — the greed of the unrecognized Empire was as great as its reach. Fortunately, uncoordinated attacks were barely enough to overcome the firepower of a gunboat escorted by two fighters.

The road, however, led to a far more dangerous place, where the very space around them would try to kill them.

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[Locksmith]

Omega-2 —> Omega-97
02.01.836 AS

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Even before the group continued on to Omega-97, Chevalier shared a disturbing revelation. When they discovered the dangerous anomalies on their previous visit, Crimson Veil had noticed something... singing. Now Chevalier knew the reason for this singing: the presence of the creators was evident. The albino girl had little doubt as to which "creators" Chevalier was referring to. These were the beings who had shaped the Sirius sector long before the arrival of humans; it was thanks to this mysterious race that humanity now had the ability to accomplish interstellar travel in a matter of hours... assuming, of course, they weren't blocked by anyone. These same beings were also responsible for the hostile Nomad race, encounters with whom had been increasing in frequency lately. After Crimson Veil visited Earhart a few days earlier, especially.

Upon entering Omega-97, the group found themselves in the darkness of a radioactive cloud. The radiation from the dimly glowing stones suspended in space was particularly damaging as they approached, so they needed to find a clear path. Sensors were practically useless here, as the radiation simply blocked their systems. Navigating was a matter of their own personal judgment.

After some focused navigation, they found themselves facing the first of the anomalies. Capable of destroying any approaching ship, it truly "sang" like a siren from ancient myth, beckoning unwary travelers. It was precisely because of this potentially hypnotic effect that Crimson Veil had invited Novak. The AI ​​undoubtedly had a much better chance of resisting these tricks. Or rather, as Crimson Veil hoped, he shouldn't react at all: the Gammunian nature made him completely immune to psionic influences. With all the pros and cons that entailed.

This meant that Crimson Veil and Chevalier could focus and follow him to find a way... And in a pinch, he could potentially pull them out.

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[Locksmith]

Omega-97 —> Fischer
02.01.836 AS

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Fortunately for everyone who embarked on this expedition, they were all able to navigate the small areas affected by anomalies without obsessive thoughts or the suicidal urge to fly closer. Still, having insurance in form of fully immune AI was... reassuring.

Time passed slowly in the dark labyrinth. It was quiet here — too quiet. After the "warm welcome" they'd received in the first two systems of this frontier, this silence seemed unnatural and ominous. But it was coming to an end.

After traversing a couple more anomalies, they finally found themselves before the transition point. This was it.

The first thing Crimson Veil saw upon entering the new system was... Hunger. An endless, absolute hunger, consuming everything around it. For a few seconds, she remained frozen, simply gazing at this both majestic and terrifying sight. Her Anubis fighter, in many ways an extension of herself, began to drift slowly toward the cosmic maw. Toward the endless ebb.

She shuddered, waking from her fleeting trance as Chevalier and Novak appeared in the system.

The albino needed to focus. There were numerous objects here that would be an excellent undertaking to study, including the alien structure Novak had spotted dangerously close to the cosmic maw. But Crimson Veil was here for a purpose, and it had to be achieved.

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[Locksmith]

Fischer
02.01.836 AS

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The object of her interest was in sight. A dead world, slowly being devoured by a cosmic maw. Who knew what it had been like before fate hadn't sent it to this cruel doom? It was hard to imagine now. A hunk of lifeless rock was gradually losing its shape, succumbing to a boundless hunger. Approaching it, Crimson Veil asked the others (among them Falke, Chevalier's sister, who had hidden in the cargo bay earlier, heedless of any risks) to keep their distance: partly because of the unnecessary risk of approaching an unstable object, and partly... because of what she might find there.

It was impossible not to notice how the pull of the cosmic maw was increasing. Even though the impulse engines were still able to cope with it, the effect of the inexorable approach of death was... incomparable. As if the claws of someone's evil will were gradually squeezing the girl's throat, making it difficult to breathe.

When Crimson Veil finally circled the dead planet, its exposed, burning core met her gaze. This was the place that had experienced the full devastation of the everlasting ebb's hunger. The albino's slender fingers quickly launched a scan; it took her a few seconds to balance the thrust of her engines against the gravity of the black hole. In those moments, the conversations of her team seemed to fade into the background... It was as if she hadn't heard them. In addition to the damage data on this world, Crimson Veil detected another interesting and unusual signal. Approaching the core a little closer, she beheld before her... A container. Who had left it here? Why did they? How had it remained undamaged? Why hadn't it been sucked into the cosmic maw?

After a brief pause, Crimson Veil lifted the container into the cargo bay. Initial scans revealed similarities between the contents of this container and the mysterious "singing" anomalies in Omega-97. It seemed the albino woman could hear that light, barely perceptible voice even from here.



Entranced, Crimson Veil only came to herself a few seconds later, hearing her beloved's anxious voice. Having completed her scan, Crimson Veil immediately aimed her fighter toward the Chevalier gunship. The Oder's engines, facing away from the cosmic maw, were operating at reduced efficiency. Insufficient to overcome the everlasting ebb.

Handling a surge of panic, Crimson Veil mustered all the calmness she could and asked what she needed to do. She was prepared to take the escape pods into her cargo bay, but the Chevalier and her sister Falke seemed to be actively attempting to fix the malfunction. Albino and Novak could only watch. And hope.

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[Locksmith]

Fischer —> Omega-97 —> Fischer
02.01.836 AS

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The wait. It was excruciating, unbearable, suffocating. Every second of Chevalier's gunship approach to the cosmic maw was torture. When someone so vitally important to your existence is in mortal danger... Simply waiting and remaining calm was the hardest thing Crimson Veil could imagine. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Chevalier and Falke stabilized the engines. The group could move on. But this episode was definitely etched in the albino's memory, and she would certainly have to talk about it with her fiancée when the time comes.

Now that Crimson Veil had what they had come for, they had time to take a little look around. After flying through this beautiful and terrible system, the group soon discovered another jump point. After a brief discussion, it was decided to carefully continue through it.

The jump hole led back to the Omega-97 system. However, in a completely different area than the labyrinth. The group found themselves in a relatively open space... But there were numerous anomalies all around. Carefully moving forward, the group discovered the rather interesting wreckage of a ship that had vanished nearby. Furthermore, they could feel the growing psionic pressure... Crimson Veil, who had been struggling under the intense psionic influence, found herself coughing up her own blood a few seconds later. Staining her face, hands, and clothes with it, she still couldn't stop. They needed to complete their exploration and leave this place as quickly as possible.

Before the group had even gotten close to the wreckage, one of the anomalies released a massive amount of energy at them. Having nearly lost some parts of their ships, the group was forced to hastily retreat back to Fischer.

Moving once more through the system belonging to the everlasting ebb, Falke's attention was focused on unexplored alien structure near the cosmic maw. Approaching it would have been madness, but Falke seemed strangely interested in it... and said that "they" promise not to harm us.

It was over faster than Crimson Veil could even get scared: Chevalier neutralized Falke with a stun gun. Perhaps albino should have gotten one of those too. Lethal force wasn't always optimal.

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[Locksmith]

Fischer —> Omega-97 —> Omega-2 —> Omega-43 —> ?
02.01.836 AS

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After everything that had happened today, Crimson Veil could practically describe the journey back as uneventful.

Of course, there was still the sensor-jamming labyrinth, deadly anomalies, the Corsairs and Wilde forces awaiting them... But all of this seemed incredibly insignificant compared to the eternal hunger of the cosmic maw. Something that only distance saved them from.

This expedition hadn't been long, but it had yielded an extraordinary amount. It will take some time to analyze the data obtained during this journey, not to mention the main prize Crimson Veil had brought back in cargo hold of her fighter.

But the truly important thing was that they were all alive.

Having avoided significant clashes with enemy forces, the group successfully left the Deep Omega systems. Their paths with Novak diverged here—Crimson Veil would take this AI's willingness to cooperate into account. This was good confirmation that not all of the Order's directives were optimal for alien intelligence. Some of them could coexist with humanity.

She had to believe it. For Chevalier's sake.

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