In the depths of space, ancient machines whir to life. A signal has been received, written in a language of code that only the Gateways know, that says: Come back. And they do. From one end of the Galaxy to the other, overlooking worlds of deep ocean or alien jungle, they come back. First with a spark, a wavering in space- and then a flash of blinding light and heat, a storm in the void, a celestial crescendo like a sun being born. And then only a steady light. Billions of lifeforms witness it. They wonder for a moment, perhaps, but then they go back to their lives, not knowing that over their heads now sits a portal to countless other worlds.



There is a new star in the sky, and only one man cannot see it.

That man is a revelator and, though he is a priest, he is practical. His temple is made of hard white stone, which stands out starkly in the half-darkness of this part of Acerbus, close enough to the Night that the stars shine overhead faintly. It’s a large, rich temple, politically important- he cares about that more than he does spiritual matters.

He is performing a ritual, the Third Birthing Remembrance, an overcomplicated affair which supposedly represents mankind’s journey from Earth to Acerbus. Revelator Andrea does his job dutifully, but internally he scoffs at it. His theology is the same as his mindset: grounded, skeptical, a religion with all of the fluff taken out of it.

Unlike the stereotypical revelator, Andrea is not a man of the supernatural or other flights of fancy. He scorns the sacrosanct myths the others hold to so strongly as “only metaphors,” and delights in the scandalized reactions of his fellow clergy when he tells them so. He did not choose to be a priest, he was raised in it. He would doubt the existence of Earth itself if the evidence for it wasn't so great. Everything about that old story of humans blazing across the cosmos in the wake of a dying world sounds like the kind of tale a storyteller would come up with three smokes in. He supposes it must be true, but with a suspicion that it’s all been rewritten by his more myth-minded peers.

This is ridiculous, a voice in the back of his mind complains, as he carries out the ritual. First he was burning incense and letting the smoke smudge up the open stone courtyard, now he is lifting his hands and scattering dirt on the ground. He does it all mechanically, routinely- he has done it countless times before and it is mandatory, but this time in particular he starts to sense something… off. It is a few moments, in which he stands with his hands held high, before he notices: the worshippers aren’t looking at him. This is both strange and a little upsetting. They’re leaning over to each other and whispering, they’re staring up into the sky with slack jaws and looks of awe- they’re not looking at him. He raises his arms a little higher. But the congregation does not notice, their gaze is at something over his head, in that faintly starred sky.

When he turns to look, it takes him no time at all to see it.

There’s a new light in the sky, outshining the stars. It sits right above the peak of the temple, bright and burning and reminiscent of the stories about-

“The Gateway!” someone behind him cries out, completing the thought, and the light of someone else’s device invades the holy space. “Look,” they say, fast and overexcited. “People think it’s- the Gate, the portal thing, from the stories!” It has only been a few minutes, yet the Acerbian people are already connecting the dots. But Andrea isn’t. He is staring, slack-jawed as one of the worshippers, at the burning light in the sky. And the story is flashing through his head with a weight it’s never had before. Could it be?

“Revelator! Do you know?” one of them is asking now, pulling at his shoulder. He does not answer; the words may as well be coming from a trillion miles away, from across the cosmos. “Revelator,” they say again, and now they’re saying “Revelator, are you alright?”

With a rumple of fabric and a thud on the stone, Revelator Andrea falls to his knees.



The Gateway is open, and only one man cannot see it.

That man is Oscaro, and he is not a priest. This is the second most important fact about him, and he has to tell it to everyone he meets. It’s because he looks like one: usually dressed in ceremonial robes, with an apparent air of spirituality and sophistication about him. He is indeed a part of the clergy, but his role is as a fidel: a specialized monk of a particular deity, who serves under the revelators, but only when that revelator’s duties connect to the fidel’s chosen deity. When they are not aiding the revelators, they live lives of contemplation, study, and service to their fellow believers.

The first most important fact about him is that he’s blind.

Completely blind, from birth. His particular condition could be cured with Acerbian medicine, and that is precisely what Oscaro’s parents wanted for him. But he refused. The law was that a child could not be “healed” of blindness until they were old enough to make that choice for themselves, and as soon as Oscaro was of age to understand his own disability and what it meant for him, he knew he wanted to remain blind his entire life. His mother, crying about it, begged him to change his mind.

But she never asked him why. She didn’t need to.

“Hallowed Oscaro,” says a woman’s voice over intercom, “the captain wishes you to know that we are approaching the Gateway. Departure in estimated nine hours. He…” the voice hesitates. “He suggests you should get some rest before we reach Earth.” In his private quarters aboard the battleship, Oscaro chuckled. She’d only hesitated because he was titled Hallowed. Even military types couldn’t get over Oscaro’s special place in the clergy. Especially military types, in fact. Many times he’d noticed with amusement that they were less nervous around actual revelators.

Oscaro comms back: “Understood. They’re sure I’m the only one qualified to be our first diplomat?”

The answer came back in the affirmative, of course. Fidels, like priests, are social creatures, but they are further educated. In times past, when Acerbian technology wasn’t so reclaimed and the education system not so developed, they served as the early Temple’s only true scholars. Oscaro is more educated in history and language and politics than anyone else on this battleship, where he’s been serving as a spiritual guide only because no true priest is willing to work on a ship patrolling so far out from Acerbus.

It was the closest vessel when the Gateway opened. As such, it is the one first entering the Gateway, and Oscaro is now the one who must play diplomat if anything is still alive on the other side of it. He wonders about that. And about the other colonies, if the stories about them are true. And about- many things, so many that it sets him to repeating holy poems for peace. His goddess is the Swallower, who it is said is better worshipped by the blind than by any other humans, being called Hallowed once they embrace her, and who it is said offers the peace of oblivion to those who understand her.

He falls asleep at his desk reciting poems about her. When he awakes, the Acerbian battleship has passed through the Gateway. They have arrived safely in Sol, not far from the Moon, not far at all from Earth. Earth! The long abandoned womb of humanity. The crew is excitable, amazed, ecstatic, all the words. They are in shock. They are gazing at the viewscreens and speaking longingly about their long-lost homeworld, however gray and ruined and empty they say it looks now. Oscaro cannot see it. But he smiles.

The Tale of the Khaganate of Tengri Begins Now:

---

---

A Star Is Born

A shaman experiences the Universe's splendour.
Featuring: Zenith Shamanka

---

Zenith's chest heaved as she finished the steps she had been carefully practicing for three long months now. Bands of brightly coloured fabric fluttered about her arms and legs, and she could feel her sweat soaking in to the heavy underclothes donned for the occasion. Her head spun - it had already been light from fasting and now exacerbated by the exercise... But there was one more step left before she was ready to properly step into her role as shamanka of Uzay.

She must experience Its majesty for herself, once properly acclimatised to see the spirits.

Her mentor approached now, holding a bowl of murky brown liquid that even at a distance nearly caused her eyes to water. Seer's Broth: tincture of hashish and poppy, ayahuasca brew, shaman's sage and a metabolic reactant to speed the absorbtion of the mixture. Reaching out, hands shaky, Zenith grasped the bowl with both hands, locked eyes with her mentor, then brought the plastic to her lips, gulping the foul smelling and worse tasting concotion down quickly so as to minimise the amount of time it spent on her tongue. She could feel its passage down into her stomach - scorching her throat and immediately throwing her body to alarm. Bile began to rise and it took every ounce of her self-control to not project the mixture back up and all across the floor of the airlock... But she managed it, just about, returning the bowl to her mentor's hands and affixing the air intake she'd require for an hour-long EVA over her mouth.

There was a soft clink as her mentor affixed the tether she'd require to her harness, and then with a bow he departed, airlock doors slamming shut behind him. Already she could feel a strange numbness begin to spread across her body, a warm flush rising to her cheeks as she exhaled fully and braced herself for the moment of jettison.

But no amount of bracing could possibly prepare her for what the feeling was actually like. Her only warning was a brief flash of red and the opening blare of a klaxon before a collossal gust of wind blew her off her feet and sent her careening out of the warm embrace of the vessel and out into the void. She spun wildly for a few moments, lost in total and utter free-fall until with a bang the tether jerked her to a halt, body too numb and limbs too slow to really process the pain that she no doubt would have been in under normal circumstances.

Her secondary eyelids shaded her eyes as she cautiously opened them, and despite having seen the sight of the system stretching out before her thousands of times, she could only gasp at what she now percieved. The stars twinkled before her, each one haloed by colours that had no right being there. Light squirmed and flowed around her like liquid, rushing past her deadened body in rivers that streamed out from the system's lonely star, a solar gale that swept across every body that orbited the burning core, binding them tight in the star's embrace. She felt herself extend an arm out before her and was dully surprised to see her hand now covered in crimson spirals, highlighted fingers piercing the wind that buffeted her body but left the fabric swirling around her to spill out in every direction.

The stars and colours before her swam. Her mind began to slowly close in on itself, darkness seeping in from the edges of her consciousness. She should have been terrified but she seemed incapable of such an emotion right now, mouth agape inside the breathing apparatus as the edges pressed in, deeper and deeper, further and further...

The winds before her began to coalesce together. Brightly coloured sparks flared to life before her eyes, exploding outwards into infinitely tesselating sets of fractals, none of which could seem to stay still for a single moment, so filled with life and energy were they. The sparks flickered, slow at first, and then firing in patterns, the wind drawn to this single inexorable spot in otherwise empty space in which what was left of her entire mind, no her very spirit was fixated upon.

She held her breath without realising it, eyes perceiving but brain numb as she witnessed the patterns begin to pulse and the wind rushed back past her, towards the star from which they had came. She stared unblinking as the patterns finally shattered and an incomprehensible brightness filled space, blasting the darkness from every crevice and recess of her mind, the image searing itself into her brain.

A great, shining kaleidescopic vortex had been birthed before her, a new center for the universe to revolve around, and the tiny spark of her mind was nothing in comparison to its glory. Zenith - no not Zenith, because the figure suspended alone in Uzay's embrace was no longer confined to the single body in which it had found itself for almost exactly eighteen years, was finally, truly conscious of the truth.

Everything - not every person, not every planet, not every star or animal or rock or plant but everything, the whole universe itself, was a single tapestry, woven from an ever-expanding thread that had burst into life so long ago. There was no difference between the iron that carried oxygen through one's veins and that which floated through space, no difference betwixt the gases tightly compressed into planets on the Far System and that which the vessel that had borne the form that she identified with was even now steadily exhaling to stabilise its position.

The human form was the universe, was Uzay, and contained within it was the universe. Carbon from those that had come before, to be shared with those that came after. All of it was the same.

Zenith's consciousness slowly contracted back into her body, and never before had the shamanka felt so small, yet at the same time part of something so incomprehensibly large. As sensation slowly returned to her fingers and her eyes began to refocus, she jolted a little, startled to see that the explosion of colour and light, the kalaidescope which she had thought was merely a particularly vivid hallucination remained steadfast before her, even as the winds that were still pulled into it faded from view. Gripping her tether, she turned about, confirming that yes, her vessel was still there... and yes, when she turned back, that strange portal was also still there, defiantly resisting even her new understanding of her place in the universe.

Perhaps her mentor might know. Her pressure gauge informed her she only had another five or ten minutes of non-reserve air and the freezing sensation that had crept into her fingers only further confirmed that she'd been out here for a while, even if it hadn't felt that long at all. Giving her tether three firm tugs, she was relieved when she felt the reassuring vibrations of the winch at the other end reeling her back in, still staring at the portal, at the...

Gateway

---

Hail to the Khagan

The Great Khagan sets forth the most important decree of his reign.
Featuring: Ögedei II Khagan

---

It had been less than twenty minutes since Ögedei was awoken with news that one of the most momentous events in his people's history had occured in the hour and a half since his head had hit his pillow. While most people would have grumbled at this, there was no time for him to be lax in his duty, and instead he'd hurried to don clothes suitable enough for him to make an appearance on the bridge of the Bai-Ülgen. Now, his footfalls sounded heavy even on the carpeted floor, while behind him tromped two Kheshigs, stiff plumes quivering with each movement they made.

He emerged out onto the bridge to a scene of absolute chaos. The High Shaman was bickering with the chief navigator, his Cherbi and Grand General were stood before a rapidly blinking holographic display, frantically gesturing at icons of vessels and diagrams of horde structures, one of his wives was trying to corral her daughter away from all the chaos... But all of it was dwarfed by the display out of the Bai-Ülgen's main screen.

It sat just outside of the middle asteroid belt, a glowing... disc of swirling light and colour that none living on the system had ever seen, yet all knew exactly what it meant. For a moment, even the Khagan was caught up in the wonder of the situation, only for one of the two Kheshigs trailing him to bellow out an introduction.

"HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, GREAT KHAGAN OF TENGRI AND THE ENDLESS BLACK SKY, ÖGEDEI, SECOND OF HIS NAME, IS ON THE BRIDGE."

Instantly, a hush descended across the crowded court. Squabbling figures disentangled themselves from one another, the various kheshigs and soldiers snapped to attention aiming crisp salutes towards their liege, while his daughter clapped loudly, golden eyes glittering in the artificial light.

"Initial report please, beyond the blatantly obvious." He gestured towards the view before them, raising an eyebrow. Immediately a long-fingered shinjar had scurried forwards, nervously clearing his throat.

"T-the Gateway opened itself approximately t-thirty five minutes ago, sire, and immediately began interfacing with the flagship's systems." The man took another deep breath before continuing. "We have a full list of systems that correspond with what little was preserved from the original databanks, while reports from other members of the Golden Horde suggest that their navigational computers are also able to interface with it."

Ögedei tugged at the end of his moustache and contemplated his immediate moves. He hadn't formalised his power enough over the Colour-Hordes, and there was no way he could stop all his siblings from deciding to take their fleets where they wished... So it was best to direct their energy into places where it could do the most good for the Khaganate. Shuddering a little, he pointed to his chief communicator and strode forward towards his command throne, the bridge crew that had been left standing around when he entered now scurrying to their places.

"The Obsidian and Silver Hordes are to keep an eye on the Gateway at all times. Anyone, anything that comes through needs to be immediately relayed to this ship as soon as possible. Halt any intruders, but do so without killing them unless absolutely necessary. We cannot afford to re-enter the galaxy with blood on ours hands." As soon as the words were said, they were already being relayed across to the other flagships dotted throughout the system, his scribe's fingers flying across the screen of a datapad to record everything as soon as it left his lips. "The Steel Horde will need to increase production of warships to allow us to maintain our watch properly. The Golden Horde will cover the cost, ship them enough Altun to get them to agree. We'll extract some of the value back one way or another." He sighed deeply.

"The Khaantus should be as informed as I am about all of these goings on. Any report regarding the Gateways that comes to me also goes to her. Make sure the news is dispersed, safely, through the populace. We can't hide this, and any attempt to do so would be folly. I'll leave the exact hows to her best judgement, she knows the people of Itügen better than I."

"As for my siblings... The Red Horde should take detachemnt fleets as required and venture to Sol. Khulan will be responsible for negotiation with any other branches of humanity that make their way to our home, and needs to be prepared for a long stay there. Double her detachment of Kheshigs and reinforce with House Guards if required... Actually, scratch 'detachment fleets.' Send the Tömör Chadal through with her, and make sure she knows that such a thing is not negotiable. The rest of the Colour-Hordes need to communicate with each other before they set off. I do not want to hear of any squabbling between them over scraps of prestige." The Cherbi began barking out orders once the Khagan finished, and Ögedei knew that within the hour the detachment of soldiers aboard the Bai-Ülgen would drop significantly. It didn't exactly please him to do such a thing, especially since there was no doubt the system would come under the kind of pressure it had never experienced before, but it would be far worse to lose Khulan and her loyalists.

"I expect constant communication from all of them as soon as they leave Tengri. Any sustained lapse or failure to report in should be met with the highest suspicion." More salutes and called out orders followed, until at last his chief navigator turned and asked the question that no doubt all aboard the Bai-Ülgen were waiting for:

"And what of us, Great Khagan?"

"What of us? We remain here. The Golden Horde is the bedrock of the Khaganate. The Bai-Ülgen is her lynchpin. If the way is made clear by Khulan, we may forge ahead to Sol ourselves, but otherwise we hold here - our power is needed at home."

"Of course Emperor." A floor-scrapingly deep bow followed, and Ögedei finally allowed himself the small privalige of slumping down in his throne.

All he could do now was wait.

Wait, and pray.

---

Red Horde over Paradise

The Crimson Khatun leads her people home
Featuring: Khulan Khatun-Khuu

A true armada had assembled at the Gateway over the course of almost half a week, all spearheaded by the Konrul Ülzii - The flagship of the Red Horde and personal throne of Khulan Khatun. Assembled around it were representatives of the other Hordes joining the expedition to Sol - the Tömör Chadal of the Iron Horde, the personal trade-fleet of a Sapphire Horde Khan and a seemingly endless number of smaller clan-ship, jostling for a more prestigious position closer to the wormhole itself. With the last few stragglers having finally arrived, Khulan Khatun could take up her position in the command throne of her flagship, transmission lines opened wide so all could hear her words.

"Glory to the Great Khagan of Tengri, and greetings to all those that have asssembled upon his decrees. We have been given a chance to not only serve our sovereign and our clan, but to do what none before us, not even the great Chinggis Khagan himself, have. Almighty Uzay, its reach beyond knowing, its designs beyond reproach, has given our spirits an opportunity we must not cast aside." The High Shaman offered her an approving nod as she pressed on.

"We have been chosen, by the universe and by the Emperor, to be the vanguard of our people. To walk, as our ancestors did, across the grand vastness that is Uzay, to feel the strength of our ancestor's star across our faces, and to walk upon hallowed ground once thought lost forevermore." A quick glance across the bridge told her that the words were having their intended effect. Her brother had always been the stern, practical kind; deft with administration, confident in a war-room and efficient in business... But she had always been the orator, ever since they were young.

Perhaps that was another one of Ögedai's strengths: Strong delegation skills.

A wry smile crossed her face as she continued her speech.

"To those who join us from other Hordes, know that you serve among equals beneath the Khagan. It is through all of our skills and knowledge that we will chart this path for our people. To our soldiers, know that it will be your blades and your bows, sheathed or drawn, which will ensure our safety and prosperity in the times to come. To those who serve in my Horde, know that your Khatun is with you. Carry the Konrul high, and know that whenever one of you prospers, so do we all. Let my brothers scatter themselves among the stars to reap an unknown bounty. We will serve in the Cradle of Mankind, and we will show that them the Red Horde's glory." A small cheer went up among the bridge staff, and she had the faintest suspicion that a similar scene would be playing itself out across the armada.

"Let Uzay's wisdom guide our steps as we pass through our finest creation. I will see you all, blessed subjects, on the other side of the galaxy."

She chopped her hand forwards to punctuate her final sentence to her staff, and before she had even had a chance to let it fall the bridge staff began to brace themselves as the Konrul Ülzii's colossal engines fired. A collection of the court's spiritual leaders made slow circles around the holographic command table that dominated the majority of the bridge, voices undulating over the sonorous rhythm of ceremonial drums and the soft jingles of bells and clappers attached to their uniforms. One of their number - a dervish, no doubt, was perhaps the most eye-catching of all the priests. He had no drum and no bells, yet with each twist and turn of their form, great ribbons of brightly-coloured synth silk whirled about, colours bleeding across them with each gust of movement to create a prismatic halo of movement.

The Gateway was now the only thing visible from the bridge display. The holographic display flickered through options incomprehensibly fast, the chief navigator's hands a blur as they acquainted themselves with the greatest of Earth's technological marvels... But it wasn't hard to find what they were looking for.

Eight planets, four of them giant. A single G-type main-sequence star... And there, third from the star was a blue marble, streams of text from a language long since left behind on Tengri swirling around it. Humanity's home. Their home. Once, at least.

The Gateway enveloped the flagship and vanished from sight. The hairs on the back of Khulan's neck shot up, the display flickered, the ceremony's momentum faltered for a moment and it seemed even her Cherbi had felt something in that briefest of seconds... But then the feed resumed, and as the voices and drums reached their climax a gasp slowly went up from across the bridge. Now, instead of the portal, there was instead a large, airless... Moon? It had to be a moon, for close to it, far too close for it to not have been ensnared, was a planet, the third from its star.

And it was dead.

---

The sound of engines cranking, gears spinning, and the reactor's heartbeat could be heard through the heat of the space station orbiting Vusary's second moon of Spiragîr. Walking through the cramped hallways, Aseni read a console given to her by a trade ship as she walked. She stopped for a moment and quickly groaned upon seeing the data as she soon began to walk through the hallways of the station, Aseni was a woman who looked in her early twenties she had sapphire-like eyes and long white hair, her face was plain and rather pale with a crooked nose, but rather well tight and well groomed compared with extremely expensive maid like clothes while having a collar around her neck made out of metal. Music could be heard as she entered the social areas where guards, soldiers, and some workers operated. Filled with shops illuminated by neon and industrial lights. As she walked, she overheard a conversation between workers, one saying. "Me and the boys in a ship tried to go asteroid mining, and guess what?" "What?" One of the workers replied. "Some fuckers from warlord Varke came out of nowhere and put a tax on us for mining in his area!" "Are you kidding me? Are they now gonna start taxing anyone if you cross into their lands?" One of the guards replied. "I don't know it is getting harder now thanks to the rivalry between Varke and Boss..." the man replied with another worker saying. "Maybe try to open a shop for the pilgrims or a stop? My cousins have been doing well for them since they want to see the ancient gate." "Ye… like that is cheap." The man replied to the others, Aseni soon could not hear them as she walked away from the conversation.

Heading through the industrial hallway, she saw the docks of the space station as their blast doors were being repaired together with the secure areas; some houses were even being built into the walls being adapted to the hangar. "The population was growing." she thought seeing the buildings as she once again entered the confines of another hallway. She pulled a chain hanging from the ceiling that headed up. She soon dragged up before being stopped on a floor, and stepping down a guard standing by saluted her as she passed down remarking, with few words. "Fix this damn elevator for once..." Walking through the hallway she soon noticed another opening. She froze and bowed before the statue of Lukary before saying. "Be well Your Majesty." She then finally noticed the other descendants of Lukarians that she ignored due to her hurry; the four men and two women gave light bows to her in solidarity saying together. “Cousin…” After giving a small bow of respect to the others she continued on her way.

Picking another elevator she soon began to go down rather fast seeing sections of industry and air controls an area of recreation and many others as she finally stopped at a more luxurious hallway decorated by bluish plants and carpets partially tattered with a sigil of a star being devoured by a Gnax, at the end of the small hallway was a flank of two guards walking softly they saluted her as the door opened and closed behind her looking at room that was a frank mess of books laid about and different papers the walls made out of reinforced steel and as she looked around she heard a man singing.

“Oh stars, Oh stars, sing with me”
“Oh stars, Oh stars, sing with me”

Aseni hearing it soon saw Vinaae she soon began to approach slowly while hearing the song. Vinaae seemed to have reclined on a chair while holding a half-empty glass of Nek.

“The Night that comes into the dawn”
“From Dalenndar, to Normagar”
“Where fire burns, and the bullets fly”
“Where man of steel march to die”

Aseni soon saw Vinaae. His hair was dark, his eyes were closed, his face bore many healed scars and he seemed to stay young despite being 34 she soon began to lean into him while she heard him sing.

“Oh stars, Oh stars, sing with us tonight”
“For today we shall march to fight”
“Against the heart of the beast we shall fight”
“and death and glory to be us to…”

“Nice song.” Aseni whispered to Vinaae's ear with him snapped out with a scream, his eyes flaring open revealing the sulfur glow as he quickly fell out of his chair beginning to groan in pain looking to see Aseni he soon pointed at her saying. “Sister…” He soon began to adjust himself. “You Bitch!” Asenie chuckled at the display saying. “really an old war song?” “You know me, not a fan of modern stuff… Changing Topics! WHAT THE FUCK!” He shouted as she gave a light shrug he soon said. “I said more than once to knock!” “This is also my room. I will let you know.” She replied with him groaning, rising up completely and stretching his back he then said. “What is it? I hope it's important” he soon pressed a button as the metal lifted revealing a window to space as he looked on. “Well, remember Varke brother?” He rolled his eyes as he poured a glass of Nek. “Ah yes, the perpetual pain in my ass as he constantly threatens to attack. What about him?” “Well, he just declared any ship going through his territory to us banned.” She replied stopping, raising the glass to his lips and putting it on the table again he then shouted. “What! Can he do that?!” “Technically, it's his territory and I doubt the council nor the crimson eye would step in for such a petty thing” She said with Vinaae growing concerned as he sat on a chair. “This is the worst… now we have to contend with losing 50% of our mineral production.” he said. “Could be worse…” She replied to him continuing. “Remember what father always said? Always be ready for the unexpected because sometimes the good and bad can come both ways.” “Oh please, what good can come of this? I mean, think about it we rely heavily on the…” Aseni smiled, refocusing her eyes into the window for a moment. She felt like work was gonna be thrown at her. Instead, her worries drew to something else outside the gate came into view as the station rotated, and it seemed to begin to glow her eyes widened seeing it. “Brother…” she said with a tone of fear. “We already are in some high levels of debt due to the navy expenditure and…” He continued with her saying. “Brother…” She soon began to move slowly backwards with him sighing. “What?” “The gate to Gael…” She replied, sounding scared as the room was suddenly illuminated by a blue light turning around Vinaae looked towards it and shouted. “WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE KINGS!”

The light soon glowed like a new star in the heavens across all of the star system. A new star appeared in the sky near a newly made pilgrim station. For some in Vusary the planet of old, it seemed like a curiosity. Maybe someone accidentally exploded an old ship's reactor or a major nuclear attack. For others who knew of the star maps the gate towards old Gael glowed and it awoke.

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Vinaae coughed into an intercom to call attention before saying. “Right to all workers please get away from blast areas before we launch the probe. All workers remove yourselves from the danger zone” He soon cut comms looking back he soon saw an enormous crowd of people from all clans watching he whispered to his sister. “Is it an impression or are there more people onboard?” “Ah yes more came from abroad as the gate opened.” she replied with a light annoyance. “Ah great… now the entire system knows what is going on here.” Soon the radio fliered up with a static voice saying. “Sir this is Noxi-1 I am ready” Typing into the console he soon picked up the transmission. “Good work Noxi-1 once you think you are ready to launch give a heads up and fear not in any complication, any family member shall be richly compensated for your volunteer work” Vinaae soon turned off comms for a moment. “What are the chances he dies?” “High...” she replied. “Do we really need to pay if he dies?” he said with her turning her head to him looking rather disapprovingly he sighed, taking a moment before turning on the radio again. “Are you ready?” “Yes sir” The sound of a deep breath could be heard with Vinaae smiling pressing the intercom button. “Right, everyone! We are initiating the first launch.” Putting his hand on the console watching as the pilot readied to launch his hands shook for a moment saying. “The Old kings were said to go to Old Gael and that one day they would return to bring judgment right?” “That is how the old stories go…” She said equally, sounding nervous. “We have every cannon aimed at the gate right?” he asked with her replying. “Yes, roughly all cannons and missiles we could muster.”

As both calmly talked soon the pilot of the small craft seemed to launch the procedure as the entire station could see the small craft fly from the hangar towards the gate the cable attached to it being extended from the station and pass the blue glow of the gate seeing the transition Vinaae awaited the maximum time was one hour or so he thought to himself why they did not just attempt to experiment to see if communications would work through the gate but it seemed like a safer option seeing how they didn’t know much of how the machine operated so it was best to do a simple test first. After a moment of silence, the metal cord soon began to be pulled back with the automated system Vinaae, Aseni looked on with curiosity together with the entire station also watching passing through the blue light came the small craft came back as they looked on as communication came in from the. “Everything is fine” There is a collective sigh of relief around the station but also of concern and debate Vinaae soon said. “Right, let me see what the cameras picked up.” He soon picked a console selecting the recordings of the ship to begin to be transferred over. Selecting the video, he soon saw space with Aseni whispering. “Gael?” “seems to be close to it.” He pointed to a dot in space saying. “A moon orbiting a grey dot.” “Are you sure it's Gael and not another star system?” Aseni asked him, and he replied to her saying. “There is a small chance we don’t know how old Gael looked. Mom did say Gael had 3 moons?” Aseni replied with a dry tone. “Mine said it was two…” Vinaae looked annoyed, giving the console to her and returning to stare at the gate. “Marvelous…” He pondered for a while while standing on the balcony overlooking the hangar and seeing through a window thinking for a while before saying. “Well, I wonder how this thing works and if it can change the place to send.”

Down below the pilot was removed from the exploration craft while chatter continued. Both siblings meanwhile continued some small chatter about the gate until they were interrupted by a guard knocking at the door. “Come in” Vinaae said as the doors opened a guard then said. “Ah Lord Vinaae someone wants to talk to you;” “I’m busy.” Vinaae replied with anger the guard looked a bit worried but he continued. “He's a fleet captain of ten ships, his name is Teenizorii.” Vinaae seemed to think for a moment before saying. “Let him in.” As he picked the console off the hands of Aseni searching the man’s name as the guard left. Aseni then said as both were alone again. “What is it now?” “Just seeing what this guy wants before I send him away. Docked two weeks ago to refuel, stayed after the gate to Gael opened, interesting guy.” The door soon opened again and both saw a man in his 50’s his eyes were blood red and he seemed addoned with several dozen scars he then said. “Lord Vinaae I believe correct?” “Yes that is me what you need sir…” he gestured for his name the man replied. “Teenizorii, fleet warlord.” “Ah… well pleasure to meet a Nikorian how i can help?” VInaae replied with a smile. Teenizorii remained expressionless looking at the window, he said. “The gate has opened has it not?” “ah yes…” Vinaae replied confused Teenizorii soon continued. “...and this station and the ring are considered your domain. I would like permission to take my fleet and myself through it.”

Vinaae and Aseni looked at each other with Vinaae staying curious. “You want to take your fleet to the other side of that portal?” “It's old Gael, ancestor mother who would not seek to see once again the old mother?” Teenizorii said Vinaae then said. “Well… there is a small chance that eight people may be waiting there you know…” “I don’t think they will judge us nor do I think they are there.” he replied to Vinaae sounding confident Vinaae thought for a moment before dropping the curiosity he soon turned into a wide smile saying. “Sure! why not just be careful and don’t rush into something you don’t know okay?” He gave a nod leaving Aseni soon said as he left the room. “What is your plan?” “A free scout is a free scout now we wait and study how to use this thing.” he gestured to the gate. Aseni rolled her eyes before saying. “If you say so… also it seems the attempt at information containment failed.” “How?” He asked, growing more worried. “Well, it's kind of hard to hide a giant glowing portal, glowing for days and also a few ships that left at the same time. ” “Marvelous… I wonder what is going on thanks to that” Vinaae commented with Aseni looking to the side thinking ‘riots in some places’ before returning focus to him bringing back to the topic she then said. “Right we better go back to work;” “Yes better…” he quickly replied as both left the observation area of the hangar.

As the fleet of Teenizorii arranged itself into position, his cruiser was at the head of the fleet aiming at the gate Teenizorii sat in the commanding chair. The bridge had screens showing the outside and tactical info he soon said to the bridge crew. “To old Gael, we go” He readied himself as the ships began to ready themselves and soon moved into the blue light. The fleet soon crossed the barrier into old Sol, already incredibly different; the sun seemed weaker than their own star in illumination as the ships entered Sol. Being able to see the glow of a pale moon and the shine of a grey world.