Temporal Investigations II... where we left off
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The Iconians came without warning. There were no temporal incursions reported, no sensor contacts.. just the fleet of 3 Iconian world ships. Everyone had heard of them, whispers in the dark of the lost civilization. They vanished one day without a trace. No one had known where they had gone or what had become of them; their highly advanced technology left behind but seen by few. Now we know where they had gone and they have returned. Once we thought they were a peaceful race.. boy were we wrong.
They came like a silent breeze back into our galaxy, determined to reclaim the empire they had left behind. By the time we knew what they wanted it had transformed into a hurricane. Fleets of starships encountered them and were wiped away. Countless lives were lost in the defense of their worlds that had once been claimed by the old Iconian Empire. They cared not what had grown in their place since their departure. All that mattered now was their ultimate goal of re-domination. They ripped through the Milky Way determined to control all they could conquer. When they ran across us we believed we could hide. We believed that we could bide our time and find a way to stop them. Time was something we had grown to take for granted. Our belief that we had control over time and therefore were untouchable proved our largest mistake.
As we sat in our base reviewing plans and simulations attempting to uncover a weakness to exploit, in they crept. They penetrated the Moriya Nebulae and no one even knew they were coming. It was not until they had breached the time bubble that we were aware of the incursion. As we scrambled our ships to defend the starbase the realization hit us. There was little hope for the survival of the Temporal Investigations fleet.
Though out gunned by their technology we refused to go down without a fight. As the world ships converged on Starbase Chapman the fleet fought with every tooth in their arsenal. Regardless the Iconians pushed forward barely scratched. Our first sign that we would not survive came as the Mossimo was disabled. Then the order came from the Chapman. The fleet was ordered back away from the world ships. There was no time, ironically, to launch even one escape pod. In a brilliant flash of light the starbase created a cascade reaction. Deep within her core came a powerful blast which caught even the Iconians off guard. Without a moment to react the Iconian world ships were engulfed by the destruction of our base. Even all their advanced technology could not withstand the force created by the Chapman. The Iconians erupted into a ball of fire which would end the march of terror.
For a brief second we thought it was over. The Iconians were destroyed and the entire galaxy safe. Then we saw it.. created in the aftermath of the Starbase's eruption; a tear in space ripping through the fabric of time. A temporal rift had been created in the wake of destruction.
There was little time to react as the gravitational forces pulled the fleet towards it. The Mossimo was helpless as it was drug disabled into the event horizon. Commander Jonas knew there would be no pulling out; it was up to him to close the rift. Onboard the Vernes, Captain Murski knew what was to happen. Both ships converged on the anomaly determined to close the tear before it could grow further. From a distance away we could only watch as both the Vernes and Mossimo detonated their temporal drives. A bright blue/green starburst erupted from the rift and within moments brought the tear in on itself. It had been safely sealed back into normal time and space.. but at what cost.
It is hard to believe that was three years ago. In those three years we have been unable to carry out our mandate of policing the timeline. We can only guess at what has been occurring in our absence.
Though it has taken us this long to regroup, we are finally ready to continue in our mission. A new base, a new fleet, but nothing can replace those we have lost. Many times I have wondered if I will ever break my own rules and attempt to correct the nightmare we endured. It is not why we are here though. We cannot compromise our own accords just to return our family. Instead we must live out our mission in their name and honor.
We are the masters and enforces of time. We are the shadow that watches over your shoulder. We are the ones to ensure you have a past and a future.
The adventure in time returns.
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