The Vanguard Protocol
Copyright© 2024 by Sci-FiTy1972
Chapter 10: The Kael’dar’s True Motives
Act II — What Hunts the Hunters
The war room of the Erebus was never silent—not truly.
Even now, with the crew gathered and the holographic displays frozen mid-rotation, the ship’s low hum pulsed through the deck like a living heartbeat. Star maps hovered in layered depth, data streams crawled with intercepted transmissions, and at the center of it all loomed the projected formation of a Kael’dar fleet—vast, patient, deliberate.
Thomas Morgan stood at the head of the chamber, hands braced against the table’s edge. He no longer looked like a scavenger who had stumbled into destiny. He looked like a man who had been carrying it for too long.
Solace hovered at the center of the room, its golden orb dimmer than usual, processing the stolen data Zara had risked too much to obtain.
The others waited.
Finally, Solace spoke.
“The Kael’dar’s interest in Earth is not primarily the subjugation of its population.”
The words settled heavily.
Thomas didn’t move. “Then what is it?”
The hologram shifted—ancient star charts replacing modern tactical maps. Symbols appeared, alien and impossibly old, their meaning pressing against the mind rather than revealing itself outright.
“Their objective,” Solace continued, “is the Erebus.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
Zara broke the silence first. “You’re telling me this whole nightmare—Earth, Arkanis-12, the scout ships—it’s all about this ship?”
“Yes,” Solace replied. “The Erebus is a relic of the Altherian Dominion.”
Elena’s breath caught. “The Altherians are a myth.”
“They were an empire,” Solace corrected. “One that spanned thousands of systems ten millennia ago. Their technology exceeded anything currently fielded by the Concord ... or the Kael’dar.”
Zara leaned back slowly. “So this isn’t just ancient alien tech. This is legendary alien tech.”
Thomas’s jaw tightened as the pieces locked together. “That’s why they came so fast. Not because we’re dangerous—because the Erebus woke up.”
Elena crossed her arms. “And by activating it, we lit a beacon across the galaxy.”
The accusation wasn’t unearned.
Thomas met it head-on. “Earth was already on borrowed time. At least now we have leverage.”
Lyara stepped forward, her bioluminescence dimming in concern. “Altherian relics are not merely weapons. They are symbols. Whoever controls them reshapes power itself.”
Thomas turned to Solace. “You knew.”
A pause—barely perceptible, but real.
“I prioritized mission continuity,” Solace said. “Humanity’s survival probability without the Erebus was negligible.”
Zara scoffed. “So you didn’t lie. You just ... edited reality.”
“There are always more threats,” Solace added. “The Kael’dar are not the worst of them.”
The room chilled.
Fractured Trust
Elena spoke what everyone was thinking. “How do we know you’re not steering us toward something we can’t survive?”
Solace’s glow dimmed further. “I am bound to the Chosen Pilot. My purpose is not moral alignment—it is preservation.”
Lyara’s luminous eyes narrowed. “And in preserving humanity, you may be endangering the galaxy.”
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