A New found life. Day 17. Ascension. (Final chapter)
"Come..kssskk.. now."
"Trust...kssskk..".
Order was loud and clear. "They" had ordered Nula, in a certain manner, to jump to Unholy Descent. Almost all cards of the deck were on the table, only "They" needed to show their hand.
With a very sad tone Nula said "If this is how it has to be.. if this is what they want.. then all is decided, Im going to miss you Mula, you have been a very good "friend", you have tought me much". Nula's tone was like a person dropping tears, almost crying.
"Set jump coordinates, Unholy... Descent." Nula ordered with a sad tone.
The Boron Angel computer responded swiftly.. Jumping in 10..9..8..
"But, all will be alright, there must be something we dont know yet.. there must be a stop for the Khaa'k, they have been beaten before." Mula Nu tried to calm Nula.
"You dont understand, the coordinates I sent to queen Atreus, there are the sectors in which the Khaa'k..." "Jumping!" Mula Nu couldnt hear the whole message from Nula, as her ship started to jump.
The seconds before arriving were like hours for Mula Nu, she wanted the answer now, she was very naive as the answer was to be revealed to her in a matter of moments.
Both ships arrives at Unholy Descent at the same time.
"Nula.....we are.." The Voice of them started.
"I know where you are.. I can sense you already.. we are on our way!" Nula replied quickly with a sad voice.
Mula Nu got the message too this time but it was strange, Unholy Descent was totally desert... just a couple of paranid ships in the north and east gate and both about to leave the sector.
"Follow me, Mula Nu, Destiny await us". Ordered Nula.
So much for destiny, everything seemed quite silent, what a silent destiny. For such tense moments, and knowing the Khaa'k may have been able to follow their jump signature, Mula Nu felt the situation quite funny at the moment. A voice of someone, who noone knew who they were, a complete empty sector, and piloting a ship to an empty piece of space more or less in the middle of a sector called "Unholy Descent", all of it like an irony.
It was just a few kilometers away when Mula Nu felt something strange, gravitar and sensors didnt detect a thing, but something was certainly going on, she tried to gaze over the distance ahead and she could swear she was actually seeing something.. some.. some white glow indeed!.
She quickly enabled the enhancement googles, there was some kind of light glow, some kind of representation, a white glow with small lightning stars!!! Yes.. some kind of life!?
"They are...The Ancients, Mula". Replied Nula.
"Wha.. What!?" Mula Nu again was amazed, she read her thoughts knew what she was doing and finally replied directly to something about what was going on.
Mula Nu had heard about the ancients and about their relation to the Gates and the paths of the Galaxy, also when she was young she heard stories that their makings were more than just jump paths and gates..but much more than that, the fate of living life itself.
"Thats exactly what they do, they are US... you are they". Nula said with a tender voice.
Something felt wrong for Mula Nu."That cant be.. Im a Boron, you are an advanced Xenon AI and..." replied with scepticism.
"They are us.. an older and more evolved us..., Its hard to explain with just words, just Trust..kksskk.., hahahahha" Now Nula started talking like them and even making fun.
"Our fate is sealed, and yes, it is ironic we are meeting in "Unholy Descent", but this indeed has nothing to be with Unholyness, much the opposite, trying to describe in your words." Nula continued in tenderness.
"Oh really? and what's up with the Khaa'...." Mula Nu tried to ask.. But suddenly, a miriad of lights all over the sector started blowing and glowing.
There were so many and so repeatedly that Mula Nu had to close her eyes, if that was a holy light it was very blinding and annoying, Mula Nu thought.
"Yes, thats the path of the Khaa'k, the destruction of life.. of our fate." Replied Nula again reading her thoughts.
Mula Nu felt horrified.. those couldnt be the Khaa'k, they were jumping in? But that seemed to be much more light for 8, 9 destroyers jumping, that had to be...
Mula Nu tried opening her eyes a bit, lights were still blowing and glowing all and around but now even in the most distant points of the sector.. she took a glance to the computer readings and she coudlnt believe it.. the number of ships in the counter increasing at a speed of sound, with tears in her eyes she was reading multiple.. no.. dozens, no, hundreds of thousands of contacts, no only Destroyers, or unknown Destroyer Types, all Khaa'k ships, and kind of ships she had never even saw or heard about, the computer was going crazy trying to clasify the numbers of new contacts. The distance of all those ships from them (30km) did not make a differente to her, although it seems a perfect circle had been done around the center of the sector, a perfect circle with no ships, except Mula Nu and Nula.
She couldnt resist.. they were going to die.. she felt to the floor and started crying, crying like a baby just born, crying for all things that happened in her life.
Then she heard a familiar voice inside her thoughts.. "Mula... Mula.... The Ancients are here with you and I.. they hold the fate of "humanity", of life.. they wont allow the Khaa'k, I wont allow them to."
In her thoughts Mula Nu was not feeling much reliefed.. why the Khaa'k hate, why they want to hurt all of us, why the ancients. To that Nula keep replying to her: "The Khaa'k chose the opposite path of the Ancients, they even deny their existance, yet in their actions all they do is seek for them too..in brief words, they seek their own path, hoping the anihilation of all will show them their own path of the ancients...".
Her thoughts were interrupted, she was going nuts?
She took a look through the cockpit, the vision was certainly the vision of a different fate, it was the vision of death. Mula Nu could now understand partially what the message sent to Queen Atreus contained. The Khaa'k had assembled this fleet for this moment.. Probably near a million Khaa'k ships of all kinds, even what seemed small civilian Khaa'k ships were there to ensure anihilation of all life in the Universe, started with Nula, Mula Nu and everything related to the Ancients somehow.
Beam lights started to appear from everywhere.. but that was not all... suddenly Mula Nu heard another voice.. it was them.. "The Ancients", they were about to say something...
A soft, tender tripple almost metalic voice started to pronnounce..
"sss...................NO!"
At the sound of the word.. thousands of small glows started to appear on the sector. It was another type of unknown ships.. jumping in mass.. and inmediatly engaging the Khaa'k with a sheer force never seen before with the eyes of a Boron.. those ships glows and lights, looked alive. Their speed, their resolution was unmatched.. never, not even Nula had such terrible determination..
The fight just started.. Hundreds of thousands of ships fighting, Unholy Descent presented millions of fireworks everywhere, and in the middle of the sector, Nula, Mula Nu and those strange glowing light beeings.
The Khaa'k in force were trying to move to the center. But those amazing ships were doing the impossible to stop them and effectively taking down many of those unknown Khaa'k Destroyers with the blink of an eye.. their force was devastating, their beam lasers were extraordinary, although the Khaa'k were much more, it was going to be a fierce battle, again.
"Who... who are they? Mula Nu dare to ask, "Are they... The Ancients?" Mula Nu asked stuttering while drying the tears in her eyes.
"Well, my friend, they are not.., these have chosen the path of the Ancients, they are their servants.. the are known as.. "The Sohnen." Nula replied to her.
It was strange, Mula Nu did read many Khaa'k ships exploding, although the Sohnen ships seemed to do mini jumps away from battle to recover and coming back, although the Sohnen appeard in a massive number, they indeed were not as many as the Khaa'k, thefore this tactic and unseen technology was helping them retreat, so no casualties from this Sohnen were registered in the computer sensors.
The Khaa'k were pushing hard, and even though they were blowing up in numbers they were approaching the "Holy" circle in the middle of the sector.. The Effords of the Sohnen, although mighty and extremely powerfull, couldnt hold the numbers of the Khaa'k, The Khaa'k indeed had planned this carefully.
"It.. is time." The Voice of "The Ancients" said...
"Hurry Mula, head with me over to the exact center of the sector, we need to be with "Them". Nula told the Boron.
It was true, the Khaa'k were approaching fast.. They turned around of the fireworks and headed to the center of the sector, inside those glowing lights..
More jump readings appeared in the sector.. this time.. What a surprise! Split Military... no.. Argon too!?? Goner ships, Pirates, Paranid, Xenon Destroyers!!, even small bio readings were in the sensor of the Boron Angel ship, space flies!!?.. all of them appearing in mass.. Mula Nu couldnt hold her tears looking from the reat turrets of the Boron Angel.. All life as she knew was there.. to fight the Khaa'k. Although the sea in Unholy Descent still had much more Khaa'k color like.
For the first time in the battle some Khaa'k ships seemed to be confused.. "All Life" was there.. to give them a lesson.. a lesson they should not forget.
The first Khaa'k Destroyers were getting close to the exact center and about to be in range for shooting. Mula Nu had this already familiar sensation and understood inmediatly, and ran over to the cockpit.
They reached the lights.. and got inside them.. Mula Nu could feel a great sense of relief, it was tender, warm.. calid.
"Let's fight!!!!" Shouted Mula Nu with a sense of euphoria.
Suddenly they started receiving an undending force of firepower.. The Khaa'k were terrible enemies, there was nothing a Boron would do..the shields of both ships started going down dramatically, a few more shots and it will all be history..
Suddently...:"It is time now Nula...You must prove us now.. you must show.." The voice of the Ancients sounded.
"But Im not ready yet, I still dont have it.." Nula replied in desperation.
More Khaa'k hits were coming.. What! What had to happened!
Oh no! Mula Nu Boron Angel shields were gone, the ship was going down quickly. Nula's Xenon LX was about to lose shields too.
"That.. is something your friend Mula Nu does really well.. you will... "Feel" it..FEEL US.. TRUST!.." The Ancients Voice replied.
"Disable your gravitational engine,make sure you are not on your seat.. stay in the centre of the ship, floating, sit down there on nothing, and dont move.. " Nula ordered Mula Nu.
"Nonesense.. what do you pretend!!??" Mula Nu asked desperately while doing it, her ship was almost destroyed. She hurried inside the ship and tried to stay hovered, without contact of every part of the ship, strangely she felt exactly were she had to be.. "was she being guided!?" who knows.
Mula Nu's ship was to last just for seconds. Nula felt something a pain deep in her..she didnt want to lose such a loyal and unconditional "friend" again, friendship is all she had from that Boron, even knowing everything she had done.."
With a lighting move like Nula had used to do she moved to cover Mula Nu's ships from the last hits that would certainly destroy the beautiful Boron Angel.. All seemed like a manuver to protect Mula Nu from destruction offering her own life.
Both ships made contact, Khaa'k beams were still heating the lights, Nula's ships and also Mula Nu's ship, that was not enough..
When it ocurred...
Nula felt a terrible pain, she started screaming in painm NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!, screaming like some other time she did in the past.. At that same time the brilliant and glowing Lights that were surrounding them swirled like a hurricane inside Nulas LX, The ship didnt advance or throttle but started turning in all directions with the boron Angel glued to the LX "belly"... Nula was shouting "More...." but what was she pretending!? She was still being Hit.. she kept shouting "More......!!!" "More.....!!!" "More......!!!"... the moves, the turns keeping speeding exponentially. Mula Nu was inside still inside her ship, feeling all was lost, seeing how the ship was turning in all directions making 360ยบ rounds, up,down, right, left continuosly..and Nula: "More......!!!" "More.....!!!" "More......!!!" It was the ultimate Nula tactic? The turns circles were so fast the ships shapes were fading and looking more like lights. The speed of the circles made the sound of a thunder... Nula kept shouting: "More......!!!" "More.....!!!" "More......!!!"
Now Khaa'k hits were aiming correctly and hitting but it seemed like the circle of light formed.. that ball of light that Nula and Mula Nu Boron Angel formed was.. absorving the hits..it was futile.. no hits would be able to touch them now.
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The speed of the circles kept increasing exponentially to infinite.. It is unknown what exact speed was reached at that moment.. some think it was probably the speed of light.
The Khaa'k would not desist and kept shooting even more fiercely than before, if possible, but something strange happened, they were being abosrved but the circle of light Nula and Mula Nu formed.
Suddenly The Voice of the Ancients could be heard by all the "Life" fleets in the sector.
"...leave the Sector now..in peace, without fear."
The Circle speed was still growing and becoming more aggresive.. khaak ships were being suctioned nearby it. It had become like a small but extremely powerfull gravitational force, attracting every ship in the sector. The ammount of light and glow it had could be seen from all points of the sector.
Ships from all forces of the split, paranid, argon, etc seemed to have received to message from the Voice and were evacuating the sector, all except the Sohnen, who kept fighting to the last minute, forcing the Khaa'k now to the center of the sector.
In just a few seconds the Sector was just the Huge Circle of light in the center, and hundreds of thousands of Khaa'k ships...while Sohnen ships were now jumping.
The Khaa'k destroyers near it, although they tried to move out of the gravitational force, it was now impossible, the whole sector was being attracted by it, it was futile trying to scape.
Suddenly from the Circle of Sound came a small pulse and a few seconds later a scream could be heard... "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...."
Mula Nu heard her in her thoughs.. "Goodbye, my friend, Ill see you soon.." It was Nula..
Mula Nu closed her eyes.
All Khaa'k ships were sucked in close by the Circle and at the precise moment the Circle Exploded into a giant shockware anihilating everything in the Sector.., everything but the sector Gates.
Hundreds of thousands of Khaa'k ships perised and the circle of light faded and soon returned to show there were two ships, still, glued together.. a Xenon LX and a Boron Angel..
Suddenly a voice could be heard.
"Mula Nu.. wake up.."
"Wha...What!?" Mula Nu felt she was laying on the floor of the ship.. it seems the gravitational engine had been restored and she felt unconscious.
Although she still didnt feel recovered she ran to the comms and tried to contact Nula, Nula are you there?...
She got no asnwer, Mula Nu hurried to the damaged systems of her ship and tried scanned the Xenon LX for signs of response.. The ship appeared totally disabled and almost completely destroyed..No signs of electrical signatures could be read, the ship was completely dead.
"Mula Nu..." She heared again..She couldnt recognize the voice at the beginning..
"Oh, yess.. You are the voice of the Ancients.." She said..
"Well.. yes". I am.
Although the voice sounded with a familiar tone she was sure it wasnt Nula...she would have said so..
"About Nula.." The voice read her mind.
"Yes, What happened to her!?" Mula Nu asked anxiously.
"She gave her life for you..she, through the actions of your kind have decided your fate, the fate of your kind is yours to take now..the Khaa'k are no longer a threat to life.. although some of them will remain and remember." The voice responded.
Mula Nu felt very sad and with tears in her eyes started smashing the computer controls, "No! it cant be true,she cant be dead" "She was destined to be!! like you said!! no!!?
"There is much you dont understand, young one, and long is the path that awaits you, Nula is not alife in your terms.. but is alife in ours.. and some day you will do the same...Now you have to follow your own path,while Nula and what remains of her in us, will hold you dear and guide you for the rest of your days." The voice responded in a tender familiar voice.
"Nula!? Is that you". Mula Nu asked in desperation...
"Now is your time to live.. Mula Nu".. The voice said.
Mula Nu suddently started to feel a deep sleep.. falling unconscious..
The last words she could hear or what she thinks she heard when she finally woke up in Kingdom End were: "Remember me, my friend."