Casene swore. "What the HELL?"
The message had been received by her fleet, that the Prylak had come to the Milky Way. Casene was lost for words. The Prylak were the scourges of the galaxy, and Casene had hoped they would never find their way to threaten the races here. She had a decision to make.
To fight the Azdgari, a race who had destroyed the Earth in fair combat, or to fight the Prylak, a race who had killed trillions heartlessly, a race who would torture in the blink of an eye. The Prylak were more evil than anyone could ever believe, and Casene personally did not believe that Ross 154 covered their entire empire.
Casene had been one of the main officers on the Garland back in those days. She was annoyed that Lance outranked her, having the rank of Fleet Commander over her Masters Tactical Officer aboard the Garland.
Casene had planned out raids against the Zeno, who were now another victim of the Prylak. It was Casene that had given the Terrans their cloaking technology, when it came down to it. Her quick mind had worked out what to do. Paladin was clever, but no leader can work on their own.
She had seen Ross 154 in many forms, while the Prylak moved around, creating the largest bloodbath she and any other human had ever seen. She had not only heard rumours of the Haorn, but the Garland had actually fought an unindentified Haorn vessel. The outcome was on the Garland's side, and not just due to size. The Haorn didn't have it, not compared to the Prylak.
Not compared to the reign of...the reign of chaos, that the Prylak created.
Casene's eyes were drawn, and after a moment she opened a wide wave message, that would be received even by the Azdgari, but not by the Prylak invaders, who were too far away.
"People of the Milky Way, I am Casene, a follower of Paladin. We have fought the Prylak, if not entirely successfully, and we recognise this galaxy's peril. Never underestimate them, they are the greatest foes you'll ever come across. The universe is threatened by their evil."
"My fleet is small, but it is all I have to aid you. I came with orders of a much different kind, orders I must disobey. For a mediocre fleet commander cannot understand how dangerous the Prylak are. They are more important than revenge, more important than hatred, more important than anything. Cast aside your former beliefs, for we go into battle. Together."
She was still frowning. This galaxy would never be the same again.
The Terran fleet began moving, heading towards the Zidagar system. A beacon signal followed them, so every nearby race knew where they were heading. A beacon and a short message.
"Come, my friends, and we shall discuss terms of this war."
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Lance's Supernova leapt into the Azdgari system, almost undetected, where the Zachit were waiting for the Azdgari to realise the Zachit prisoners, where the Alliance Flagship was being produced.
Undetected, totally unseen, the beautifully deadly vessel swept forward, a snail's pace, towards the moon Dames. So slow did it move that not even the tiniest ripple was created in even the closest scout patrols.
An Azdara whipped past, almost coming close enough to finding it, but not quite. The Supernova continued, like a dog closing in on it's prey.
The Mercenary Alliance ships in the system was nothing Lance noticed - so intent was he on exacting revenge, that he missed it completely. Perhaps he didn't care. The dog was on the loose, and it was violent.
Metre by metre, metre by metre...
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Background Developments
Eta Cassiopea - The History
Eta Cassiopea, a galaxy nestled beyond both the Milky Way and Ross 154, was once the home of a race known as the Senn. A race so powerful even the Prylak invasion fleet that attempted to defeat them - a fleet tens of thousands strong - was never seen again. The Senn defenders destroyed them, and the Senn records did not even show a battle occuring. As the Senn elder put it, "the battle was no threat to us, it need not be recorded".
To understand just what this means, you must first view the Prylak.
Ross 154 was a galaxy where millions of predators roamed. There was no balance of nature, anywhere. It was all war, fighting, fighting to survive. And when such a thing goes on so long, you get two things. One, several top predators.
And two, following the first, the Leech Races.
Nine races, the top predators in Ross 154, came up, and of course, to even exist they needed not just strong bodies, and strong minds, but slaves. They leech off the less violent races, using them to become strong, and use billions of slaves to do their bidding.
The Leech Races; the Odine, the Haorn, the Cazma, the Horrien, the Zeno, the Kalak, the Weir, the De'shou, and the Prylak, the prime of them all.
The Prylak outshadowed the others by far. As the Odine advanced socially, putting aside slavery to become an independant nation, the Haorn worked on finding the balance of the universe and molding it into weaponry, the Cazma and Horrien built temples to serve their One God, the Zeno went into serious research into hiding from their enemies, the Kalak and Weir worked on their own private projects, two races went aside from them, to prove they were real predators.
The De'shou and the Prylak, from the beginnings of their coming to power, continued fighting on, and on, and on.
The Prylak annexed the Kalak, the De'shou incinerated the Weir, the Prylak chased off the Odine, and meanwhile the De'shou took the Cazma out of the picture. Then came the showdown, between the two races.
The battle was long, lasting three years in total - one battle, one place, but no one ship went in from the start and came out at the end. At the end of it, the De'shou were annihilated.
And then the Prylak went on.
Meanwhile, the Garland and Savior, a human and a Zidagar vessel, accompanied by a small fleet, entered Ross 154 the same way the Odine had escaped.
Through all the disorder, they gathered many technologies from the Horrien and especially the Zeno, masters of deception, just before the Prylak destroyed them. Because of this, the Garland's technologies were in all sense unique, as it was a combination of Zeno and Horrien specialities.
By the time the Garland "returned", the Prylak had only one opponent left.
The Haorn.
It was the only fight they'd ever regret fighting.
Hidden inside the Wolf's Nebula, the Haorn could not be touched, yet from the time the Prylak attacked them, the Haorn fought back viciously like a cornered wolf - ironically, indeed - causing much pain to the Prylak.
The Prylak turned to other areas, to other galaxies. What happened there is mainly unknown, whether they succeeded or not no-one knows. However, when they entered Eta Cassiopea, we know they suffered one of their greatest failures.
Tens of thousands of Prylak ships, destroyed by the Senn defenders, who numbered only half a dozen, at most.
The Prylak, a race whose power seemed unstoppable, had found a race who outstripped from a thousand times over, a million, more.
However, the Senn's legend ended abruptly. The Senn, deep thinkers and psychic melders, did something spectacular. They transcended, to another plane of existance.
Or at least, so they think. Whether they really transcended or if they simply all commited suicide, none know.
Needless to say, the Prylak never dared enter Eta Cassiopea again.
The Senn are thus gone forever.
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OOC: Now, now, how would everyone feel if I brought in the fact that the Prylak control 6 galaxies? Hey, hey! Put the crowbars down! I won't!
Probably.
SilverDragon
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Metaphorically speaking, I'm metabolically challenged.
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