Chapter 19: Homebase

Luurat’s troops had stormed the old Estrella compound, but could not prevent its destruction. The explosion that destroyed the hastily installed foreign technology. Luurat wasted no time thinking about the Tomradi troops lost.

That old set of buildings provided him with a convenient field post, where he had placed himself on the undamaged throne of the emperor.

The Tomradi had a close connection to Avondur for many thousand years. This world was unique. The Ancient Gate Network focused on this world. No less than thirty-six gates could be found within one light-year of this system. Each gate the starting point of long strings of gate connections linking millions of galaxies in every celestial direction. Including of course the many galaxies under Tomradi control.

Every living being of those galaxies knew about the vicious nature of these bio shell clad brutes. Everyone knowing the Tomradi feared them and knew of their single-issue focus on finding the shards that when assembled became the Key Cosmic.

That legendary device was able to point to the Vault of the Imperials’ location and unlock all the secrets of the First Empire.

It was accepted knowledge that the Tomradi developed out of an ancient faction that remained after the Fiest Empire had ceased to exist.

When Invictus Rex suddenly vanished and the mighty Empire fell to warring factions. The Imperial Elders gathered all Imperial technology, which had gained the highest possible tech level in a vault and sealed it with a key. They then shattered the key into shards and spread them across the cosmos. Whoever was able to gather all shards and restore that key was made aware of the location of the vault and as its new owner able to open it. Gaining unrestricted access to tech without distinction between magic and technology.

Technological knowledge to create new galaxies and life itself.

For millions of years, it was the Tomradi who considered themselves the only legitimate inheritors of that legacy. Scouring the heavens for the shards and pursuing any and all leads that might lead them to complete their quest.

This quest had transcended all that defined the Tomradi. Religion, society, and culture focused on this alone.

That Avondur, with all its rifts and multi spatial connections on and around the planet, was central to this quest had always been clear to the Tomradi.

Countless expeditions had been sent through every known gate and connection to gather any information. Every sentient society encountered by these Gatherers was to be questioned, dragged back to Avondur if possible so they could be questioned by the Tomradi. If such a society did not know the shards or the First Empire, they were to be kept as samples to be studied for eventual submission by the Tomradi and their recreation of a universe-spanning new Empire.

Many thousands of these Gatherers never returned, others did come back with scores of captured samples of societies and cultures from all across the universe.

Since the original Imperials were humans or humanoids the focus was on humanoid societies.

The scores of captives eventually formed the core of the Avondur society.

Not even Luraat knew which part of this story was a legend and what was true. He also was not able to ascertain if there had been a presence of natives on Avondur before Tomradi focused much of their attention on this world.

He, like all the Tomradi leaders before him, acknowledged the special status of the Circle of Seven. Why this was significant had been lost to Tomradi lore.

It was quite recently when the Tomradi envoy to Avondur had been dismissed like a speck of insignificance from the court of the Red Knight, a self-righteous individual named Crimsor.

That haughty dismissal of the Tomradi envoy was the main reason for Luraat to come himself to Avondur.

Luurat had marched into the halls of the Red Knight and confronted that arrogant bastard and demanded answers.

Crimsor remained defiant and dismissed the Tomradi, despite the tremendous core fleet Luurat had brought along.

The Red Knight suggested that the Tomradi ask all questions to the newcomers that had purchased and reinforced an old collection of buildings located at the Eastern exit of the City of Sandakaar.

It was there where he killed Fetherars, the representative of the Circle of Seven and the chairholder of the Sandakaar Council. Where his advance was halted by a technology that could not overcome as easily as all tech the Tomradi encountered before.

The Tomradi then encountered representatives of the Seven Circles. Chief among them, the Yellow Robes.

Luurat did not know how the Yellow Wizard did this tremendous feat of unprecedented power as the apparently simple man pushed hundreds of Tomradi Battle Discs out of orbit. The gesture demonstrated control unknown to the Tomradi but did not damage or harm the ships.

Then suddenly all changed. The Yellow Wizard disappeared first, then a fight of great intensity begun in the Eastern mountains, where he suspected several so-called Nexus points to exist and add to the many trans spatial connections of this world.

More and more of the demonic hordes of Sata and Crimsor drawn to that fight.

The entity claiming to be the reborn Invictus breaking out of the Estrella Compound shortly thereafter with the apparent goal to join that fight clashed with Tomradi troops.

In short, the situation was anything but clear.

Luurat decided to take control and ordered all his troops to make planetfall and secure the world for the glory and purpose of the Tomradi.

No Yellow Wizard feature stopped the advance this time, yet the reports of victorious conquest did not reach him.

The Newcomers had been defeated. The Black Robes eradicated, but the one calling himself Invictus had not been captured.

Crimsors hordes had vanished, the Citadel of the Red Knights rendered into a pile of rubble just moments ago and the report of Crimsor’s demise by the hands of a sword-wielding human female added to the many reports of chaos and confusion all across this world.

Mere moments ago he was told the Sentinel of the Rifts had been found hacked to pieces just outside the Gateway Oasis, the same voices reported the collapse of rifts and passages all across Avondur system.

The ships and envoys of Old Gods simply vanished. Those individuals who were able to slide and traverse from realm to realm; no longer able to do so withered away, as evident in the dying remains of Balkus.

Luurat was not an entity, but he and his kind had kept a close watch on Avondur. Something had occurred that changed everything.

One of his scout troop leaders returned from the mountains in the West. The Stronghold of the Yellow Robes was to be found between its peaks.

The scout only found the ruins of a once-formidable fortress and the remains of many hundreds of Yellow Robes, hacked and slashed to death. Among the dead reportedly the Yellow Wizard himself with a broken neck.

Whatever governed this world for eons had been rendered impotent. All those who governed Avondur had been killed, destroyed or rendered to insignificance.

Yet the reports of victory against whoever his troops faced in the East remained forthcoming. Instead, he was told of the fiercest resistance his kind ever encountered, even more intense than the battles the Tomradi fought against the Forbidden Factions. Tomradi, that did not follow Tomradi doctrine and was therefore forbidden to be mentioned.

And now his troops had overrun the caves. There was nothing and no one. The Nexus point destroyed.

--””—

In one instant they had fought with everything they had, and in the next moment they all found themselves back on N’Ger.

The crew of the Tigershark and the Steel Gauntlet were back in their respective ships and the core group that set out to journey to Avondur was back at the rooftop terrace of a small hotel overlooking one of the entrance alleys to the centrally located landing field of the Glaring Desert of Profit.

The transition was abrupt and sudden. Yet every wound, every blister and even the most minute damage to armor and equipment was gone.

Nothing but their collective memories told them that they had left at all.

Har-Hi blinked surprised as he slowly put his swords away. “Was it all a dream?”

Admiral Stahl rubbed his eyes and tried to remember where he just had been, he knew he had witnessed the Decision and was there when the Rule was restored, but his mind refused to yield anything but vague out of focus memories. He did notice the hand of the Narth Supreme on his shoulder. The mysterious leader spoke in his mind. “You have been there indeed. One has been there before and even for all that is Narth, the Plane of Eternity is a place that eludes the mind and senses of all but the true entities that exist beyond all understanding. One will offer you friendship and counsel even as the senses of Narth are equally inadequate.”

Shea was perhaps the first of the group recognizing Eric standing among them. He appeared just as he had during their gathering at Richter Base before he decided to become Erica. No, she corrected her observation, Eric had aged just as they all had. He looked an extremely handsome young man wearing the uniform of a Union Fleet officer with the rank of a Captain.

Gone was the artificial, inhuman looking body. Gone was the obscuring shroud.

He smiled at them all. “There was no reason for any of us to remain on Avondur. There was no need for you to fight and jeopardize your lives. The reason for me to seek that the world has been fulfilled and all parts that needed to be played have been played.”