Remus was on guard duty today, in charge of monitoring all extraterrestrial data that arrived here, all data first gets filtered out. Any known old communications and species trying sending out radio waves is immediately filtered out along with anything else that is non essential. What is left over is just a slight soothing crackling from the speakers. The constant sound made this room the perfect place to catch some Z

Logan had searched the entire complex within a few hours. He was frustrated when he found that there was nothing here save a few old dusty computers. Nothing here would help him leave the planet. Suddenly, the dim green lights flickered and he was thrown into darkness.

In the far corner, breaking the darkness flickered a screen. Curious, he slowly walked over to it and read the few sentences on the screen.

"Offspring of the represser of the Bringer of Darkness survives. End line.
Chariot of the leader of the Armies of the survivors rebuilt. End line.
Path lain out between the stars, journey to be made alone. Paragraph reset."

Logan looked at the words slightly confused but his face dawned with realisation. He assumed that it meant that his family once alive and his ship had been ressurected and he was going to find the survivors. Then his face fell as he remembered that the planet had been leveled and nothing was left. But as that thought occured, he felt a deep rumbling beneath his feet. The screens shuddered slightly then it all stopped as quickly as it began.

The screen in front of him flickered and the lights turned back on and he could see that the screen was blank and dusty as though nothing had ever happened. Shaking off the feeling of confusion, he walked towards the area he had fallen through. He looked up the small hole he had fallen through and saw that the planet had stopped the spinning and it was now night, although he couldn't see any stars. He looked around at the pile of debris and saw a way up.

He climbed up and stood on the edge of the small crater he had made and his mouth dropped.

He looked up and saw a massive stretch of black metal spanning further than he could see. It covered the horizon and he couldn't see the red sky. As he roved the edge of his sight he saw that there was a distortion in the distance. It looked like something had stretched from the ground and had clung to the under side of the metal thing.

He made off for the thing and he neared it quicker then he thought he would, and he saw that it was a ramp that led into the thing. He took on step onto the cold black metal ramp and when his second foot had hit the metal and he had properly stabalised himself the ramp retracted upward.

Logan looked up and saw a bright blue-white light. As he got closer to it, it started to fade and the ramp had retracted fully. He looked around in recognition, not allowing himself to believe what his senses were telling him.

He took a familiar path and he stepped out onto the second level of a duel levelled command bridge. He saw below him a circle of computer consoles surrounding a swivelling command chair with a computer on the left hand rest. A second circle of consoles surrounded the first on the second level which he was standing on. He took the lift to the lower level and walked reverently to the command chair.

It hadn't changed since he left it all those years ago as it burned up in the planets atmosphere. He pictured the way it had jumped through the empty plane and caught fire, and how it crashed into the planet of Blacken.

Slowly and with care he lowered himself into the command chair. The computer closed over him and he had a full readout of the Heleriya's systems and all of the data it consisted. With his mouth dry he began a test power up of the engines.

The stone table was the most prominent feature of the sanctuary, a secluded clearing in the middle of an endless forest. Around it, nine chairs were set. One chair was for the old man himself, another was for his advisor and longtime friend, another was for the warden of the sanctuary, and the six others were for the six other members of the Table, a closely-knit group of seven knights of which the old man was leader.

"News from the mortal plane," one of the knights informed the old man.

"What news?" the old man asked.

Another knight took up the thread of conversation. "Your old friend is corporeal again."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "The same?"

The knight nodded. "The same. His ship as well."

"This is an unexpected turn of events." The old man thought for a second. "Well, an agreement is an agreement. If he has chosen to return at this point, then so must I. My people will need me."

"You are so hasty in your decision-making, Carl," the advisor admonished him.

The old man smiled. "Wasn't I always, Julius?"

"Still," the advisor commented, "maybe it is best to consider carefully the situation. After all, you know the rules. If you fail, you can never come back."

The old man rose, grasping his staff. "I won't."

The keeper of the sanctuary, a beautiful long-haired lady in flowing white robes, rose as well. "Kronalus, you are sure of what you are doing?"

The old man nodded. "Of course."

The keeper smiled. "Take this, then. It may help you." From nowhere, she produced a long mahogany box that floated gently in the air. The box opened, revealing an ornate rod.

"The Rod of Divine Might," the old man breathed.

The keeper gestured to the rod. "For serving well with your Table and representing the highest ideals of Lord Galahad's order, we reward you now. Take it. It is yours."

The old man grasped the rod uncertainly and lifted it from its box. As he did, he felt strength surge through his body.

"Go forth, Kronalus. Make us proud."

The old man could not suppress a smile.

He was a ship.

He had not asked to be resurrected as a ship!

He quickly surveyed his own systems. With a shudder of realization, he realized exactly what he was.

I am the Chariot Rebuilt. I am the Heleriya.

"Every thing in life, no matter how strange, has a purpose," he heard the sanctuary's keeper say. "Your form as a ship is twofold. Your people are in danger. The captain onboard your ship must seek to find your people."

"Why a ship?" he could not help asking.

The sanctuary's keeper shook her head, smiling. "Not a ship. You are the Machine Spirit."

He understood better now. The legends were true. So every machine did have a spirit after all.

As his engines warmed up, he turned his attention to the captain, a very familiar face that he recognized without trying. The captain had sensed his presence and was now smiling.

"It's good to see you again, Logan," Carl Reddington's spirit greeted Admiral-General Logan Grimnar.

As the engines began to power up, he felt the same presence return. He knew who it was instantly.

"It's good to see you again, Logan," He said. Logan looked around and realised that the voice came from within the ship, and seemed be spoken in his head.

"Carl Reddington," Logan said slowly. The name seemed to came out with difficulty. He hadn't spoken it for an age. "It has been too long."

"That it has, my old friend, that it has. I'm glad that you are here now. Events have started that now cannot be undone." Carl said.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked, the smile dropping from his face.

"The survivors of Blacken are again troubled by a foe far too powerful." Carl said. Memories flowed through Logans' head.

"Tell me of what happened here on this planet. I meant to return earlier but I was delayed." Logan said.

"I will." Carl said. As he began the story, the Heleriya lifted effortlessly from the baron ground and sailed through the sky into the vastness of space.

When everything checked out Robert was assigned a small home while his ship remained in custody of the government for the moment. He was given the same basic needs as anyone else.
What seemed to be a month had passed and Robert got mail from officials to attend to an interview. As a good citizen he showed up to what he thought was just friendly Q&A, probably no big deal. What he got was confinement to a very small cell and rigorous interrogation. Every few hours the doors would slide open and he would see a clearly outlined path to another room where he was met with a bright light, a menacing tone and a highly uncomfortable stool
"ACCORDING TO ANY RECORD EVER MADE, YOUR SHIP WAS NEVER COMMISSIONED!"
"I don't know what to say please, I bought it off a merchant, please."
"WHAT'S EVEN MORE DISTURBING IS THAT WE FOUND TECHNOLOGIES THAT SHOULD NOT BE IN THE HANDS OF CIVILIANS, ALL YOUR COMMS RECORDS ARE ALSO GONE, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?"

Time blurred for Robert as it did on his ship out in space. He retreated to his own space in his mind where he felt at ease as they used drugs to force their way into his mind.
Then suddenly he was taken out, a shower and clean clothes awaited him outside.
After that a clear shot to military headquarters in a small planetary ship.

Yet Roberts mind was still dulled. He realized he was outside but his mind could no longer feel it. As he was when he was rescued. "Major Miles Devian, special ops. Pleased to meet you." An hand came between Roberts view of the floor. "Is he okay?" Major Miles inquired to the two guards holding him up. They shrugged and put him in chair before promptly leaving.

"I'm sorry for how they treated you. We've been isolated for a while now and your arrival made some people suspicious, and when other records didn't show up...It took me a while to get you released.. but me get to the point" The major said as he sat on the edge of a desk that was clearly not his." , you heard comm chatter from our previous home sector did you not? We want to know what's going on. I was tasked with this mission but you might hold the intel I've been searching for...." Major Devian moved towards Robert and touched Roberts shoulder in the hopes of getting a reaction.

Robert stood up, Major Devian took a few steps back, putting his hand on his side-arm. "Mind taking a seat?" He queried. Robert simply looked up into the majors eyes, his own emitting a wierd glow. Roberts words became slightly dull higher pitched: "Tell me of the universe." it echoed in Devian's mind.

"This feels familiar," Devian said "what are you?" he continued.
"No matter then, give me your access codes, the ones you hide from me."
"NO!" Devian tried to yell but was unable to.
"FINE!" Robert held out his hand and for the briefest of moments was covered in an dark glow as if a shadow emanated from all sides of his body.
Robert then entered the codes into the terminal at the desk.

"You are Cy'Tan aren't you." Devian felt it's grip around his neck tighten but continued neverteless. "I have felt this once before when visiting them." He said, his voice distorted.
"I am not one of THEM!" Devians mind started to hurt. "We have long forsaken that name when we were exiled."
Robert touched with his hand onto the display and in one smooth motion his hand entered it. "And because of that, we became much more then they ever will." Robert grinned from ear to ear.

By now, Carl had found a form that suited him much better than the hull of the Heleriya; he now existed as a glowing image of his former self.

"Much has happened since my absence," Logan noted. "These Seraphim, you call them... it still remains incredible we, in all our years, neither detected nor suspected their existence before."

"Our extradimensional research was concentrated mainly on and around the Bridge," Carl explained. "The Seraphim came from beyond the Bridge, from an area we never probed - but nevertheless disturbed through the use of Black Sun."

Logan was quiet for some time. "Why is this sector of space so empty, then?" he asked.

Carl smiled. "Because of you."

"Me?" Logan was taken aback.

"Your sacrifice in the defense of Blacken placed a powerful ward on this entire region of space," Carl explained. "Destroying a God, you see, is no small feat, and would have ripple effects throughout the rest of reality. The ward interfered with Seraphim minds, causing them great pain whenever they ventured near this planet - and rather than attempt to cope and colonize, they simply glassed the system and left it alone."

A ping from the Heleriya's computer. Carl closed his eyes. "We're here. This is Reddington One, the first base I ever built in this galaxy. I'm scanning the surface now..."

Around Logan, the monitors on the bridge came to life, as if manned by invisible crewmen; data flashed across them like waves across a coastline.

"Intact, and remarkably so," Carl commented, "which wouldn't make sense were it not for the fact that the base is entirely unremarkable from a military standpoint. It poses no military threat or value whatsoever, so it is plausible the Seraphim overlooked it in their zeal for conquest."

"So why are we here?" Logan asked.

"Simple," Carl explained, and as he did, a golden beam connected the Heleriya with a massive dish telescope on the surface, while another golden beam seemed to connect the entire planet with something very distant indeed. "We're here to look for clues... footsteps, if you will... things the Seraphim cannot perceive, yet are still there for those who know them. The first thing we need to find is my old ship..."

More data rolled across the many consoles of the bridge, accompanied by a symphony of beeps and mechanical noises.

"...There it is," Carl said finally. "Alexandra followed my instructions well... they will be safe. Now, Elliot and Amanda..."

A golden beam swept across the sky as the entire Heleriya seemed to tilt, aiming outside charted space, outside the galaxy itself.

"...There, with the starship Unification and our friend James. They're in trouble... beset by cubes on one front... and by the Seraphim on the other."

Carl and Logan exchanged significant looks.

"My family will be safe," Carl explained. "Your family needs you. Our people need us."

Blessed by power above the universe itself, the Heleriya sliced through the very fabric of reality. In moments, it was rushing full blast through the edge of a warzone...

They crouched behind sandbags, weapons at the ready; around them, sparks flew from exposed wall panels, the pieces of metal covering them having been blown off by gunfire.

It had been mere hours since the first cubeship had shown up, and already the invaders had established a solid beachhead within the ship. Their drones were slow and clumsy, but bristling with armor and weaponry; they were slowly expanding from the sector they had managed to breach. Somehow the invaders had broken into the ship's communications network; most of the Unification's defensive technology was inoperative, or Sergeant Robert Orkin would have summoned a throng of Widowmakers by now.

One of his squadmates was carrying a portable scanner device; it was now beeping. "Proximity alert," someone said. "They're incoming."

"Weapons at the ready," the Sergeant ordered.

They all prepared their weapons: assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns. They couldn't use their energy weapons, as the invaders proved to be immune; energy shots were intercepted by an invisible forcefield that encased each drone completely.

They heard the clanking noise that signified an incoming column of drones just around the corner. A cold mechanical voice, a single voice echoed by many, declared, "We are The Collective."

As the first drone rounded the corner, the UEF soldiers holding the checkpoint opened fire.

Bullets, rockets, and other projectiles flew in both directions as the drones charged. A hailstorm of bullets hit the lead drone, which kept on marching, firing its own weapon at the humans as it went.

A soldier was caught squarely in the head by a blast of green plasma; he was instantly vaporized, without even time to scream.

A rocket slammed into the lead drone; it faltered, the light in its many mechanical implants fading away as it crumpled to the floor. The drone behind it simply stepped over the body and fired its weapon into the crowd guarding the checkpoint.

The sandbag line protecting the soldiers exploded, sending three soldiers flying.

A soldier manning a stationary twenty-millimeter autocannon opened fire; three shots killed the second drone, but a third took its place, a fourth, a fifth, there were too many and they were getting closer each second...

"Fall back!" Sergeant Orkin ordered, knowing the effort was hopeless. "Regroup at the next checkpoint!"

As the Sergeant's men heeded his word, laying down cover fire to defend their retreat, the Sergeant himself manned the autocannon, rather like an oversized machine gun, ready to fight to the death. He fired away, taking down one drone after another, but soon enough one of them got close enough and grabbed him.

He suddenly felt himself lose all strength. What were they injecting into him? His blood vessels were abruptly filled with intense, excruciating pain, a sort of stabbing from the inside.

Rapidly, he felt himself losing his sense of identity; memories were washed away, rewritten by the laws and directives of the Collective.

He no longer had the capacity to comprehend anything. He did not notice the man in a UEF field uniform that had appeared nearby in a flash of divine light. He barely noticed the fact that he was being fired on, and when his vision went black for the last time, he could not appreciate the fact that he was now free forever.

"Main systems are back online. What the hell?"

Matt looked up. "Wait, what?"

"Main systems are back online. Internal communications are operational, internal defenses are back up."

A miracle, Matt thought. "Get the Widowmakers down there and seal the area. Let's push these cyborgs out."

"Yes, sir. Holy hell..."

"What?" Matt snapped.

The officer's face turned white. "Seraphim fleet to starboard."

Matt rose from his chair. "What!?"

"Seraphim fleet to starboard. They're powering weapons."

"Get the shields up now!" Matt roared.

"Sir, the shields haven't been working since... wait a moment... okay, shields are up. What the hell is going on?"

"Never you mind," Matt snapped back. "Scramble all fighters!"

"Scrambling fighters... done." Matt could read the question in the officer's face.

"Something bugging you, Lieutenant?" Matt asked sharply.

"Sir, if our best engineers couldn't get the ship working again, then why is everything working now?"

Matt shook his head. "I choose not to question that. At this point, we'll take what we can get."

The swarm of fighters poured forth from the sides of the Unification. Without the requirement to carry life support, these forty thousand drone fighters each carried several times the ordnance of the old interceptors and bombers.

Forty thousand spacecraft rushed like avenging ravens toward the Seraphim fleet.

When the Seraphim fired their nuclear missiles at the Unification, part of the swarm broke off and tore them apart, aided by the Unification's point-defense lasers.

When the Seraphim fired their particle-beam cannons, the swarm dispersed to minimize casualties.

As soon as the swarm closed the distance, they fired volley after volley of weapons at the Seraphim fleet; ship after ship exploded in a spectacular cloud of fireworks. It was a beautiful sight.

But the Seraphim kept coming.

It was only then that they noticed the golden-glowing Heleriya.

Robert stepped away from the terminal. Looked around the office. And what to Devian might seem like a sterile room, Robert saw bright colours and disgusting bacteria creeping around.

"What do you want to know?" The voice echoed.
"Where are you from?"

"We come from outside this star system, banished there by the Cy'Tan, we live in the void. Travelling to andromeda to pick up solar systems for consumption.

"Consumption?"

"We break down what we can from the rocks and suns for harvest before using it."

Devian, unable to grasp how one could 'pick up' systems, or how to even break down a star decided it be best to keep asking questions. "How many are there of you?"

"I have no clue. We are separated into several different fragments, some keep a more strict mating procedure. Others let loose their instincts. We are a pretty diverse people to keep count of it all."

Robert heard a slight wizzing sound comming from the window. Not knowing what it was he chose to read Devian's mind to inquire about it.
"ROPES, SPECIAL OPS! I"m SAVED."

Robert sprung into action taking cover behind Devian as men fully clothed in some kind of black armour came flying through the windows in unison.

"LET HIM GO!, LET HIM GO!"
"Step away!"

"Alpha here, if you get him to turn a little bit more towards the door we'll have a shot."

"LET HIM GO." The men shouted to Robert. But he held the gun firm on Devians throat.

"Alpha here, we have the shot. Taking it."

The bullet sped through the air at neckbreaking speed. From the heights of one building to the next. Entry had been banned in the area and wind was monitored constantly to get the perfect shot.
In the fraction of a second it took the bullet to traverse the distance the sniper had realized who he had in his scope. It wasn't the target, it was one of the special ops. His body fell with a thud. Team members awestruck, trying to keep their aim steady while wonderering what the [moo] just happened.

"Alpha here, I don't know what the [moo] happened, one secone I have him in my scope, the next..."

"He's a telepath! Everyone not wearing armour get the [moo]out of the area."

The door is opened and 8 security guards step in, covering Robert. Out of themselves, they aim at the special ops team.

"Clearance to shoot? COMMAND, I NEED CLEARANCE, NOW."

"Shoot order confirmed, take them all out before more casualties occour."

"Roger that."
9 shots are heard before everything is silent. Guns smoking, the special ops commander puts the edge of his gun to Roberts head. Now bleeding profusely on the floor.
"We got you, scum."
Robert manages to smile. Because he knows.

He knows that he has a ship in orbit. Made out of organic materials, designed to let light pass and absorb any other signal known to be emanating from the planet. Suddenly it activates and alteres course from it's low orbit into the cityscape.
Within a matter of seconds it was fired upon. By lasers, missiles, cannons. Anything you could image. Lasers simply passed through it leaving an opening. Missiles punched through without harming. Cannons left a small hole on the small ship.

It's first objective was complete when it got within 50 meters of the target and released an energy pulse. /'Robert smiled"/ It vaporised anything from it's abdomen to 100 meters below it, left a gaping hole until parts of the building started  crumbling on it, then vehicle then dove into the closing gap and exploded.

"Sir, unidentified object to port, broadcasting Earth command codes. Holy hell... it looks like the Heleriya."

Matt stood up. "What?"

"Sir, whatever that thing is looks remarkably like the Heleriya. And it's broadcasting the Heleriya's codes as well."

"Get me a visual," Matt ordered.

The two-story viewscreen blinked to show an image of the familiar ship, thought lost at Blacken Prime, now glowing with a golden aura and soaking up massive amounts of Seraphim fire.

"Scan that vessel," Matt ordered.

The science officer shook his head. "I can't get a sensor lock. Wait..." He paused for a second.

"What is it?"

Panic. "Abnormal energy emissions from the Heleriya. It looks like it's charging weapons."

"Remember why we're here, Logan," Carl said suddenly.

Logan stopped, then nodded. "We're not here to destroy the Seraphim. We're here to save my family." He turned to Carl - or at least, his avatar, sitting patiently in one of the bridge chairs. "What if destroying the Seraphim would serve the same purpose?" he asked aggressively.

"The capabilities of this ship do not enable it to engage an entire fleet indefinitely," Carl said sharply. "If we are to attack the Seraphim, we will need the support of the fleet. And if we do engage, the human ships will be primaried. Thousands - perhaps millions - of lives will be lost, and your family may end up being among them."

"You could break the rules," Logan suggested. "WE could break the rules. Who says we need to act within our bounds anyway?"

"That's an immutable rule. Breaking it -" Carl froze suddenly. "What is that?"

"What?" Logan asked.

Carl rotated the entire Heleriya so that it was facing the vortex-like thing that had just manifested. "That."

Carl and Logan watched with horrified fascination as hundreds and hundreds of splashes in spacetime revealed a fleet unlike anything they had ever seen before. Ten giant mushroom-shaped starships, each mounting what looked like gigantic coaxial laser cannons, were surrounded by what looked like a wing of carriers, heavily armored battleships, and hundreds of support ships.

Carl directed his thoughts to communicating with the lead ship. As a communication link opened, Carl made his avatar stand up and face the screen.

"This is General Carl Reddington, military commander of the United Earth Federation," Carl declared boldly to the hooded, monk-like figure he was facing. "You have entered a warzone. State your purpose in this sector."

Carl knew enough Russian to understand the harsh reply. "This system belongs to us. You will burn."

Carl's frustration broke through. <This isn't right,> he exploded, despite not being able to move an inch. <This isn't how we work.>

~And why shouldn't it be how it works?~ A new voice had joined the conversation. ~Isn't that how the Curb Stomp War was won? If you have superior leverage, use it. There's no need to be fair.~

Sensing Carl's continued indignance, Katherine Bloodmoon continued. ~That was how I died, after all. The Aeon struck with superior might at the UEF colony where I was stationed. They had the bigger stick, and they used it. Now you have the bigger stick, and you have something to be using it for. This isn't the time for contemplating ethical or moral dilemmas. Do I resent the Aeon for using the bigger stick? Only a little, but seeing things from their angle it was the right thing to do.~

<And how the hell is reversing time the right thing to do?>

~Look at it this way. The way the timeline is going right now, humanity is going to fight a war with the Seraphim and win utterly, and they are going to fight a war with the Amarr Empire and win utterly, and they are going to fight a war with a million other powers and win utterly, and then what? Once they're out of targets - or even before then - they're going to turn inward and destroy each other. Your gods have already recognized this fact, and they've abandoned your people to their fate. Don't you know it took a whole month for them to decide that the last five minutes were worth their time?~

Carl was silent.

~Your real gods don't care anymore, and your other gods cannot touch you. Why shouldn't you turn back time? Maybe things will go a lot differently for you the second time around. Maybe you can concentrate on your real problems this time - instead of the Seraphim tearing apart your galaxy, maybe you can take care of the Star-gods, the right way this time. Maybe you can take care of the Wraith this time, or any number of other things - my point is maybe you should let the universe have a second chance.~

<And then what?>

~Then your gods might take interest again and make awesome things happen.~

<Like what?> Carl was interested now, if only reluctantly.

~For starters, there's the invasion of Hell.~

Carl's eyes gleamed suddenly. <And then?>

~Then there's the invasion of Heaven.~

Carl grinned, even though he still couldn't move an inch. <I'm there.> He willed himself free and turned about, joining Logan as the time stream continued to flood in reverse.

The time stream ran backwards faster and faster as the UEF's colonies on Terra Prime shrank, then flew up to space into the mouth of a waiting supercarrier; as fleets of ships hurled backwards into hyperspace; as a Talus insurgency disassembled itself before an entire civilization packed up and levitated into a bunch of freighters and other starships before too hurling backwards into hyperspace.

The defenses of Blacken Prime coalesced from so much dust as the Seraphim ships now pulling energy bolts from them drifted, then catapulted backwards through an interdimensional rift that sealed itself neatly like a zipper.

The Heleriya, reborn in a sheath of flame, backed gingerly out of Blacken Prime's atmosphere before hurtling off backwards into the unknown.

The clouds of purple that had engulfed Kalnoky Prime shrunk into nothingness as Matthias Bloodmoon's men levered themselves up from the ground and retreated from a courtyard filled with the Emperor's best.

Behind the thirteenth ship of a twelve-ship Imperialist Talus flotilla, the Terranova zoomed backwards into oblivion without being seen.

Logan and Robert Grimnar flew upwards through the sky as Kallum gunships yielded to them, vacuuming in their weapons fire.

Carl stepped backwards from a checkpoint closing off the Talus Embassy as the embassy building magically repaired itself and a group of Civil Defense personnel retreated from the front door.

Before they knew it, Carl was sitting down to dinner again with his family, and Logan's family was still missing among the stars.

"That can't be right. I think we've taken it a bit too far."

"Really?" Carl asked.

Logan nodded affirmatively. "Really."

Carl shrugged. "You tell me where you wanted to go back. You're the boss here."