The ride up the lift, felt a little long for her liking. "Anyone in this universe ever hear of elevator music?" She joked, when nobody laughed she just took it contently to sitting there silently, when the doors sprung open. As they finally pressed into the bridge proper they found it cleared of enemies except the orange armored merc she had saw in the hangar, and what she could only assume was the commanding officer of the ship, how the merc could tell who was in charge with all these dull grey uniforms in the same room, Sarah would probably never know. Her ears perked up when they mentioned blowing out the window, and entering vacuum. Before she could even tell them to wait to prepare, one of the smaller creatures that came in with the alien, rushed forward setting an explosive on the window.

There was some shouting, and she was almost pushed off her feet by the larger armored mercenary. But somehow with about a second to spare Sarah managed to throw up a biotic dome around the room, the other two biotics with her adding into it. Not only did any shrapnel from the bridge bounce off of it, managing to make the dome flicker for a second, but it stabilized. O2 would be sealed in the dome, and as long as they weren't in it for long they had plenty of oxygen stored in it. She probably couldn't be heard over the sound of air escaping the bridge, so she mimed moving out of the window, and tried to mime her best for them to keep up with her as she stepped toward their exit hole, and into the inky blackness of space.

---

Despite the expectations and reactions of several of the others, the explosion quite a bit smaller than they seemed to be expecting. Or at least, the fact that it was a shaped breaching charge meant that the backblast into the room was minimal. So, it was quickly obvious that the bounty hunter's reaction to tackle the three of them was entirely unnecessary. Eri lifted up her head and snarled squarely at the mercenary, though honestly, she was more surprised at the fact that the mercenary had been able to tackle her at all. That suit must have done something to enhance her strength.

Regardless, there was the more pressing concern of dealing with this Imperial admiral, though as she stood back up to her feet, she was surprised to find that there was still an atmosphere around them. Again, some of the Humans from one of the other ships were creating this strange bubble of energy around them, but instead of blocking incoming weapons fire, it was holding in their air. Some of the technology these Humans were using seemed strangely advanced compared to their projectile weapons.

Thanks to the bubble of air, there was much less concern for the admiral's safety during the short jump to the phantom. Eri lifted and dragged him around effortlessly by his throat up to the breach, then pushed herself off from one of the edges of the breach carefully enough to send her at a calm pace towards the gravity lift. Although, while Eri did push the admiral into the lift ahead of her, she used the small anti-gravity thrusters on her armor to stop herself just alongside the gravity lift. Being that her armor was sealed, it did not matter if she was exposed to the vacuum, so she could wait and make sure that all of her team, and those from the other ships, made it into the phantom first. Eri herself was the last to enter the lift, which closed up underneath her as soon as she was in the phantom's passenger hold.

Eri took a moment to look around the phantom. The dropship could be quite cramped when at full capacity, though there was still space for more beyond what they had. She made sure there were no injuries, and that their prisoner was being restrained. Only then did she allow herself to stand over Jarraj, growling down at him. "Jarraj, I have told you before..."

"What? I do nothing wrong!" The Unggoy answered back incredulously. "You say make timer longer, I make timer longer. I make it ten seconds. That's TWICE as long as last time!"

DAEDALUS // UNKNOWN SPACE

"Sir, there is a trio of ships lining up in formation to combine their weapons fire to target us."

Caldwell shouted to no-one in particular, though the right people were always listening in these scenarios. "Full military thrust, rotate us along our axis in order to provide them with a smaller target profile." He watched on his screen as the Aegis took out one cluster of enemy vessels, bringing their total kill count to four. It became five as concentrated fire from a group of smaller vessels from the Resurgence took out another ship. They were halfway there however by no means was this battle over yet. He had seen what a combined beam had done to the Leviathan, he didn't particularly want a beam of that strength impacting the Daedalus.

There was little he could do about it, they couldn't beam a weapon aboard until they fired, where energy seemed to be directed from the shields to the weapon. Probably disruption from the beam itself and he couldn't risk even a fraction of the beam hitting the Daedalus. They couldn't beam onto three targets at once. "Sir, the ships are following us again. Still in formation."

That was the trick, the smaller frame of the Daedalus presented a faster target, they couldn't sit still long enough to obtain a firing solution as by the time they had it the Daedalus had already moved out of it. "Take us as close as possible to the Aegis. Evasive manoeuvres, and open a hail to their commander, let them know we need some assistance getting rid of our tail."

Caldwell turned to Erthos. "I appreciate you wanting to know how you got here, but it would take too long to explain. If you want, follow the group that just left and ask someone to take you to Engineering and we can return you to your ship the same way we got you here."

Jerus allowed the others to go ahead of him, including the team from the Glasgow. "Go ahead, I'll be fine, trust me." Though that gained him skeptical looks from the group, they obliged him, launching themselves ahead of him. As the barrier fell, he used the Force to fortify himself and reach out into the inky blackness that made up outer space. Finding one of the strange ships, he grasped the end of it's barrel and crushed it, hoping that next time it fired, it would blow itself up. Afterwards, he leap out towards the alien dropship and aimed for the light.

A second later, he arrived inside it just in time to hear the little alien state that ten seconds was twice as long as the time before. "Can I ask why you guys don't have some kind of SOP? For, like, twenty seconds?" The inside of the ship was more rounded than the inside of a LAA/T, but it was clear that it was good at it's job, so he didn't comment.

---

Jason opened his mouth to prod a little further before simply nodding, turning for the exit the others had taken. "I suppose that's for the best for now. Thank you for the save." It didn't take him long to catch up to his guards and Sheppard and once he had, he spoke. "Teleportation technology, huh? That never ends well in our universe."

---

"Hmph, if he kills himself, then he'll get what he deserves." Eri remarked before looking down and snarling at Jarraj. "As long as he only kills himself."

Eri was quick to return her attention to more important matters. "Our phantom should be cloaked by now, so we should have no resistance returning, no matter how many ships they might have out there."

---

---

Falul received the Daedalus' request, though before he had even received a word at all, he could see their ship on approach, presumably for support. Falul was, if nothing else, militarily adaptable, and more than willing to coordinate with these Humans.

As quickly as he could, Falul plotted out a flight path on his datapad which would bring the Daedalus close to the Aegis while still allowing them to remain evasive against their pursuers. He then had it sent to the Daedalus using the same data format as they had received from the Resurgence, since they were far more likely to be able to understand it than any format native to the Aegis.

"I am sending you a flight path, Shipmaster Caldwell. Follow it, and we will be able to target your pursuers more accurately." Falul recommended. It was, of course, more difficult to hit a fast-moving target than a stationary one, but if the Daedalus was moving along a pre-determined path, then their point-defense lasers would be able to charge and target ahead of time against the Imperial ships, allowing them to fire even more accurately and destroy them more quickly. Additionally, a wing of Seraphs fell in behind the Daedalus' pursuers, putting further pressure on them.

---

---

---

---

Location: Blathriin-Va - Bridge.
Silent. Everything was silent as the golden form of the Va slowly drifted alongside the underbelly of the much larger Venetor, whose engines they had disabled sometime earlier with a few well placed shots. Turning away from the viewport, Yiithren looked over at his first mate.

"Is everything ready?" He asked from over his shoulder.

She nods. "All systems green, Strevrols is ready and so is the crew. Awaiting your command."

"Good. Engage maneuvers on my mark." He began, returning his attention to the viewport. "Three... two... one... mark."

As soon as the word had left his mouth the ships engines roared to life with a deep thrum, sending the Va rocketing through one of the holes in the downed Venetor. Keeping their weapons silent till they reached its shields, the crew on the bridge watched as the three ships rotated their way and began charging up their beam weapons once more, most likely hoping to end the smaller craft in one shot as they had the Leviathan. But unfortunately for these primitives, the captain of the Va didn't intend on dying today. Standing motionless as the invisible shield before them slowly rippled and tore under the strain of their enemies combined beams, Yiithren nodded slightly to Kurqruik who sent a series of commands out over the Blathriin's intercom systems, those being evade and destroy.

"Punch through their shields with the Null Void Beam first, then follow up with our Matter Disintegrators." He said, as the Venetors failing shields finally gave out, the stress from the attack overloading its already weakened generator as the Empire ships gestalt beam raced towards them from the darkness. The beam was fast, but the crew of the Va had both size and skill on their side, letting them move out of its way just enough for it to graze their shields, wearing them down to 65% of their original strength.

"Aim directly for their guns. Even if we don't destroy the hull right off the bat, we can still remove their ability to fire." The captain of the Va continued as the purplish hue of the Null Void Beam lit up the darkness around them in rhythmic succession, leaving three jagged tears where invisible fields had once been, through which the acidic green bolts of high powered energy arced ramming into each of the three ships cannons respectively, sending large plumes of flame, which died out quickly from the lack of oxygen, and shrapnel spiraling out into the void. Ordering another volley be unleashed, Yiithren and Kurqruik watched as the rest of the ships hulls split into thousands of tiny pieces which then went flying off into the darkness as well, slowly fading from view.

"Report." Yiithren said, his voice echoing across the silent bridge.

"Shields at 65% and holding sir." Kurqruik said from somewhere off to his left. "Other than that all systems are optimal."

"Good." He remarked, turning away from the viewport. "And the other ship? The one we just left?"

"Ripped in half sir. The beam seems to have shot straight through it after we began our approach." She explained, looking up from a nearby console.

Yiithren nodded. "Excellent. Our allies should have no problem dealing with what's left." He said, turning away from the viewport, the captain of the Va strode to a slightly raised platform behind him and tapped a small circular symbol on the floor beneath him with a tentacle, causing a ornately curved chair to rise up. Settling his mass in the seat, Yiithren rested his head against the sea shell like back of the chair and closed his eyes as his crew carefully positioned the craft away from the main fight, opting instead to recharge their shields from the ambient dark energy as their captain returned to the waking world, his forced hibernation having ended, and began to study all the information they had received thus far.

With his bearings gained and the enemy ship left behind, Jerus looked at the others. "Well, if it's all the same to you, I need to take the admiral here back to the Resurgence for interrogation."

---

Following the Human's request, Eri approached Jerus with some suspicion, though her expression was hidden behind her helmet. "You wish to claim this prisoner for yourself, Human? Were it my choice, he would not be leaving my sight, but my orders were clear that negotiation with our...allies would fall to my commanders. Give me a moment."

Eri produced a datapad and stepped aside to contact her superiors. She spoke entirely in Sangheili to give her report on the situation and Jerus' request. After only a short delay, Eri had her instructions. Wordlessly, she approached Jerus and held the datapad up to him so that he could clearly see the semi-circular, holographic display. She opened a communications channel with the bridge of the Aegis, though since Falul himself was busy with the battle, it was his second, Uril, who appeared on the screen.

Uril gave no heed to formalities or introductions, instead getting straight to business. "Human, I have been told your vessel wishes to be the one to hold the prisoner we have taken together. An admiral, from my understanding. The Immaculate Aegis may be willing to support your request, but only on the condition that you allow one of our teams to remain on your vessel and actively join the interrogation."

---

---

---

---

Samus was solemnly relieved when she found out that they weren't flying out into the vacuum of space. Or as it turned out, it was mitigated by the appearance of another allied member, who'd threw an air-locked shield to stop them from doing so. However, despite what her heroic intentions, her knee-jerk reaction seemed more to be unintentionally in vain than she realized. The bounty hunter glanced over at her distraught allies, seeing Eri snarling at her in discontent.

"You're welcome." the bounty hunter mentally replied as she faced the giant hole in front of her.

There she could see their getaway ship just outside waiting for them to board with their precious cargo. She would be the second to last to board the Phantom, with the laser-sword wielding bounty hunter being the last person to get on. Still the bounty hunter couldn't help but to glare at the Unggoy, only being shielded by the green visor separating her emotions from reality. Samus considered scolding him for his reckless and oblivious behavior, but it looked like Eri had this taken care of.

She just hoped it was enough to prevent him from accidentally killing everyone again.

Now heading back to the Resurgence, Samus couldn't wait to tend to her ship, if it hadn't already been repaired yet that is.

Jerus watched the alien contact her superiors and waited to see what was said. Quickly enough, she approached him and he was faced with whom he could safely presume to be at least one of her superiors, if not her direct superior, but he wasn't entirely sure beyond that. The request was reasonable enough and he shrugged. "Sure, why not. Can't guarantee we'll learn anything useful, but maybe you guys have tricks we don't. Any other requests?"

---

Uril's answer was just as simple as Jerus'. "No requests. Eri, your team will stay aboard the Resurgence until the interrogation is complete. I will be sending a phantom with your supplies for an extended stay, once we have dealt with these last scraps of resistance. You will likely need to remain aboard their ship until the Immaculate Aegis can rejoin you at our destination."

"Of course. It will be done." Eri answered. After she closed her datapad, she contacted the pilot of their phantom through their comms channel. "Pilot, take us to the Resurgence."

Interacting with: N/A; Intro Post

"All crew report to muster stations, this is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill. Engineering, report to Core Engine Room and prepare diagnostic report. Cyro teams one through five, begin thaw procedures for pods one through eleven. All combat elements, remain on standby until further notice."

Issac's light yet professional voice rang throughout the cyro bay in a soft murmur that gradually turned into a loud, low drone as the pins from the cryo pod blew apart and raised the hatch of the casket. The main inside took a wet gasp, shot upright and began throwing up the medicinal fluid that had been accumulating in his lungs. Almost instantly by his side was a technician holding a bin under his head, going so far as to pat the man on the back to help him clear the shit out faster. After a few moments catching his breath, the man known as Marcus Oliver finally managed to lift his head to the Marine and give a nod of thanks. The man spoke up, his rasped, crackly voice surprising him as he uttered out hoarsely, "I'll be fine from here. As you were, son." The tech nodded, snapping the recovering Admiral a crisp salute before promptly heading over to attend to the others coming out of their pods. Ignoring the sounds of retching, Marcus wasted no time in going up to his quarters and getting his uniform on, clearing out the remaining fluid along the way. Already, he could tell there was a serious problem.

It wasn't long before the Admiral stepped past the bridge security and onto the bridge itself, where the several dozen men and women scattered across various stations awaited his arrival. "Admiral on deck!" A familiar white-colored hologram yelled out from the bridge's center console, making everyone stand up in unison to salute the Admiral. Returning the gesture, most of the crew returned to their positions, except Issac and the Chief Navigation Officer who stood by the center console. Marcus strode toward the duo, and gestured to the officer on the right. "Report." The Navigation XO, known as Artyom Artyomovich, spoke up with a distinctly heavy Slavic-English accent. "Admiral Oliver, we had to prematurely abandon our jump to Minab. The current destination solution we had suddenly.. vanished, Sir." The Admiral raised an eyebrow, turning an expectant gaze over to the white hologram. Issac looked just as perplexed as the Navigation Officer did, and spoke up to confirm Oliver's fears. "The Slipspace Drive malfunctioned and catapulted us into an anomalous region of space, Sir. I'm... still trying to figure out where we are. Nobody's reachable within Battle Net, and localization is all over the place. For lack of a better word, I think we're uh.. far from Home, Admiral."

Marcus took a deep breath, and exhaled through his mouth. "Right. Well, until we figure out just where we are, we better prepare for anything. I don't want people panicking, I want them combat ready and all systems operational. X-O, I want all sensors set on mapping out where we are- as far as you can go. Isaac, I'll need a report on the Drive to make sure we're still jump capable. I'll get to work on debriefing the rest of my crew." "Aye, Sir!" The two shouted in unison, Issac vanishing into the bridge terminal and Artyom running off to consult the rest of his section. Marcus, meanwhile, strode over toward the main window and gazed out into the vast, onyx void beyond; sprinkled with glittering stars. At any rate, he might as well offer some much-needed consolation to the entire ship's crew to calm their nerves. Striding over to the PA system, Marcus took a deep breath before depressing the transmitter, and speaking slowly into it.

"Attention, servicemembers and crew of the Unbroken Hope. This is Admiral Marcus Oliver with a... report, on the current situation. We have landed in an unknown anomaly of deep space due to a Slipspace Drive malfunction, and are currently stranded with no ETA on when or if we'll be able to return back home any time soon. Therefore, I am instructing all of you to remain calm, and prepare for anything. I apologize for the sudden gravity of the situation we currently face, but I can assure each and every one of you personally that I am determined to find out where we are, and find a way back home. This is Admiral Marcus Oliver, signing off." Releasing thr transmitter, it was a few seconds of silence before the bridge resumed activity as usual. Marcus knew he certainly wasn't the best at giving speeches, but he hoped at least some of the people under his command were put at ease.

"Admiral, I've forwarded the report from Engineering to Warrant Officer Clarke. You should be getting a-"

"Admiral, Sir! I have a report."

"-Right about now. Let me know if there's anything else I can do, Sir." Issac concluded, vanishing into the bridge as Marcus strode over to one of the consoles where a fairly fresh-looking Officer sat at his station. "This just came in- Slipspace Drive is offline and undergoing emergency maintenance; we were fortunate enough not to suffer a ship-wide EMP. Getting it back to proper functionality is estimated at a day. All things considered, we got really lucky." Marcus blew out a sigh, and nodded. "That's good; how do our systems look?" Clarke swiped through various systems displays, reading through them briefly before nodding in approval. "All systems are nominal, Admiral." Marcus flashed a grin, before continuing on. "With the drive offline, divert the additional power to the engines and subsystems. Unless something significant happens, we're going to be idling for a bit before we can plan our next step forward. I'll be over at my station."

"Aye, Sir." was all that Clarke said before the Admiral walked over to the other side of the bridge, near the front main window. Sitting down in the vacant chair, Oliver glanced out to the star-speckled void that lay in front of him. The 52 year old ran a stressed, cracking hand underneath his chin, scratching his lightly salt and peppered stubble in contemplation. God-willing, we wasn't about to die out here when there was a war back home for Christ's sake. Whatever the cost, his new mission mattered more about getting back home- and he was going to do whatever it took to ensure his people were safe.

DAEDALUS // UNKNOWN SPACE

The Daedalus followed the flight plan forwarded to them, as they flew as close to the Aegis as possible the cannons on the surface of the massive ship erupted in a flare of activity. Caldwell nodded to Marks who worked on beaming explosive devices on the ships as their shields weakened and faltered. Soon the battle was over, the rag-tag fleet existed in a debris field of two Venators, the Leviathan and a handful of the smaller ships. The final Venator drifted aimlessly through the void, as no doubt the remaining crew rushed to try and keep the ship from blowing up. Escape pods began to jettison from all over the ship.

Caldwell tapped the key on his console. "Daedalus to all ships in the fleet. I recommend we execute a hyperspace jump immediately to the discussed co-ordinates within the Transitory mists. I really don't want to stick around and wait to see what else these guys can throw at us."

DAEDALUS ENGINEERING // UNKNOWN SPACE

Sheppard smirked. "Well, since we're being all truthful and everything. It isn't even our technology too begin with, our allies gifted it to us-" The bulkhead opened to the engineering control room. Doctor Novak looked up briefly before returning to whatever diagnostic she was running beforehand. McKay excused himself and walked over to a console with due haste to assist, but also to pour over as much sensor data as possible. Hermiod raised his head as he looked at the group of people walking in. Sheppard, and a group of unknowns. Likely from one of these other vessels that were from other universes.

He had already been briefed on the situation and was already working on the sensor readings of what happened. Alternate Realities were something the Asgard had toyed within their infancy, however for millennia they had had no interest in the technology. There was little benefit to it other than pure curiosity and the Asgard had abandoned those pursuits long ago. Instead, they had sought answers in their own universe, to pick up after the Ancients disappearance in being a guiding hand for the Galaxy as the Nox became recluse and the Furlings vanished into obscurity. When the degradation became evident in their genetic template became obvious, that became a focus for many Asgard. As did the threat of the Replicators. Few cared for exploration anymore, but Hermiod had a curiosity within him. Which was why he was here with this infantile race. At Thors request aiding them in their continued, rapid, advancement onto the galactic stage.

Sheppard pointed towards the grey alien. "-This is Hermiod. He's the Asgard Technician aboard our ship, the race responsible for gifting us with beaming technology. However, you should probably head back to your ship. We'll probably be wanting to leabve this area of space."

Jason listened to Sheppard as they all moved into their engineering bay. So a gift from a more advanced race...The concept made the Supreme Commander wonder what lay hidden in the far reaches of both Wild Space and the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. Regardless, he bowed his head to the alien and returned his attention to Sheppard when the man suggested that he return to his ship to evac the area as fast as possible. "You're right, you're right. We'll likely be only a few hours behind you, as we'll have to manually fly ourselves through them. Until next time, Sheppard."

---

Compared to their day of arrival in this universe, Eri's stay aboard the Resurgence was much calmer. Aside from interrogating their prisoner, the first few days aboard the ship had been spent learning more about the Resurgence, its crew, as well as the other ships in their fleet. Not to mention, she took the chance to compile together information about the universe in which they now found themselves into a report for her superiors. For the most part, she focused on more detailed information that would not have already been included in the data Erthos had given to Falul, and the crews of the other vessels. She spent time learning more about the exact capabilities of their technology, and wrote up her own impressions of what might be the most threatening to the Aegis.

However, there was only so much information that Eri could gather without outright spying, and she had been given strict instructions not to do anything that might compromise their alliance. As such, she was left with little else to do after a few days. She often occupied her time by sparring with her own men, and while that was certainly helpful for their skills, it did not do too much more than just keep her own senses sharp. She started to wonder if there were others that she might test herself against. One of the Humans, who she had learned was named Jerus, had demonstrated strange abilities during the battle, and showed a preference for a blade. As well, there was the mercenary, Samus, who had cleared the ship's bridge seemingly by herself. Eri was not anticipating anyone that could best herself, but it might have been worthwhile to test herself against the warriors of these other universes.

For the moment, though, there was another concern that Eri found at the forefront of her mind. A few additional ships had arrived in the mists in seemingly the same manner that they had arrived in this universe. Or at least, they too were outsiders to this universe. Eri had already spoken to Erthos and got his report on the new ships to pass on to her Shipmaster, but as she was going over the information, specifically the sensor data on one of the new ships, she realized that it was familiar to her.

While Eri did not know exactly where Erthos was at the moment, she did know where Jerus tended to be, and so she sought him out immediately. She would prefer to speak about this in person. Representatives from all of the ships, including the new ones, would be meeting aboard the Resurgence soon enough, and what she had learned could affect that meeting. She was wearing most of her armor apart from her helmet, in order to at least have the appearance of not being battle-ready.

"Jerus!" Eri shouted moderately loudly the moment she saw him to grab his attention. "One of these new ships, the one called the Unbroken Hope. I recognize its pattern. It is a Human vessel from my universe." She announced. As usual, she tended to get directly to the point.

Jerus was in the sparring room, exchanging blows with Commander Hammer in hand-to-hand combat while waiting for the delegates from the ships that were there to arrive. The Aegis was still a day or so out, so Eri would be their delegate until it arrived. Units and crew members from the other ships regularly visited each other and several of the Clones had taken to gambling over on the Daedalus to kill the time since they'd arrived in the Mists, however, a call from the Clone Commander brought Jerus back to the current situation. "Stay on your toes, General!" Jerus caught the spinning hammer blow on his forearm and counter with a quick left jab aimed at the Clone's gut. The experienced commander dances back in response, but before he can deliver any kind of counter, the Sangheili, as they'd learned they were called, arrived and called out for the general. The pair bow to each other before Hammer heads for the showers, nodding to Eri as he passes her. Jerus retrieved a towel that had already seen vigorous use drying his sweat while she spoke. When she said she recognized the model of the Unbroken Hope, that drew a raised eyebrow.

"Really? That might actually help, unless it's a similar situation as what happened with those Terran and Zerg, where it seems they came from two different points in time." He hummed thoughtfully to himself. "Do what you can to pass along specs to engineering and we'll do what we can to accommodate them. Anything else you need from me?"

---

Eri let out a low, somewhat growl-like hum to herself as she took a moment to think. Unfortunately, she did fear there might be some parallels between now, and the conflict between the Terrans and the Zerg. "It is true, if they are indeed the Humans I am familiar with, then they will make for worthy allies to us by virtue of their ability. But, your fears may be correct. The Humans of Earth and the Swords of Sanghelios are close allies in my time, but the Sangheili were once a part of the Covenant. That Covenant was at war with them for decades, turning their planets to glass and destroying their fleets and populations alike by the wills of our prophets, in the name of our gods."

Even just speaking of the prophets inspired a small degree of anger within Eri. Their betrayal of her people had only made her more frustrated at the fact that she had never been given the chance to fight them. "With Truth's betrayal, our Arbiter led us against the Covenant and the folly of our former beliefs. We allied with the Humans, no longer bound to the religion that had kept our blades at their throats. But if these Humans come from before that time...they may only know the Sangheili as the heralds of their impending extinction. I am not familiar enough with their vessels to know from when this one comes. They used ships of a similar appearance both before and after the war."

---

---

---

---

Location: Blathriin-Va - Bridge/Transitory Mists.
While the crew of the Va had been in this new universe for several days, they had mostly kept to themselves, only emerging from their ship when it was necessary, such as to pay their income to the Hapan Coalition. The de facto rulers of the mists in which they now found themselves. Though not everyone onboard agreed with paying a tax to such... primitives, they all knew it was far better than potentially attracting an entire fleet of the bastards to their craft simply because they didn't pay their protection fee. And the raids they had to conduct in order to get the funds with which to pay the Hapan gave the crew of the Va something to do when not attending meetings aboard the Resurgence or keeping an eye on the new ships that had suddenly appeared in the mists alongside them, so that was something at least.

Though it still didn't give them a way back to where they had come from. Which is, ultimately, what the Cantharians wanted. Even Strevrols, who had suggested they spearhead an invasion of this universe back during their first meeting with the other craft. And, though he detested it, Yiithren knew that underneath the cold logic of his idea, there was a deeper, more understandable reason for his suggestion. That being his family back on Crideria. After all, their people were at war, and any sane male or female of any species would want to have both their mate and offspring by their side during times such as those. So naturally the captain of the Va could understand his engineers desire to bring their people here, but he couldn't allow it. Subjugating or purging an entire galaxy was not their way. Not anymore. Their distant ancestors may have brought the entire galaxy to heel, but they'd paid the price for it, just as their descendants were now, and Yiithren would die before seeing his people stoop to such tyranny again.