The Siege of Pax
Now little humans, I will tell you a tale of a mysterious race. Not only powerful, having mastered nuclear waste and fermium, but also a strange substance called promethium. They controlled a vast empire of monstrous ships named Serenities, for the word of peace, Celestia, for the heavens, and Astronomica for the stars. This was the holy trinity of the Paxian race, and all was well. Until one day, deep in space, a small planet launched its first test flight of a promethium powered ship. The ship flew into space and was an instant success. The people of the world, however, did not celebrate, for they did not know how to. Instead they built more of the dread machines, overrunning their small system's other planets with a growing stream of blood-red ships. They called themselves the Urqa, and this is where our story begins.
Pax Celestia ID 0475
Classification: Exploration Vessel to unknown special anomalies
3:49 Eastern Galactic Arm Time (EGAT)
"Sir, approaching coordinates of first recorded energy anomaly." The small newly recruited merchant looked proud of his speech, but, unfortunately, the commander was used to the military terms and found it quite ordinary. "Crew, set radars to maximum and foreshields to standby. I don't want to be caught by surprise by whatever this is." This order from the commander however, had much more impact and had many of the new recruits scuttling around on their three legs.
And then the ship was hit. Hard. The rear stabilizer fin was knocked off, and the ship was dead in space. Any thrusting would cause them to spin wildly without any chance of righting themselves. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because that's when the ship was hit again.
It would not return home.
Paxius Prime
3:56 EGAT
"Commander Zzyka, come in, come in." Of course they wouldn't get a reply. There was nothing to say. The ship had been hit by a massive heat missile. The families of the brave Paxians would have much reason to grieve tonight, General Gharya thought to himself.
This posed a problem. The Paxians has been the only intelligent race in the whole universe until now, and their merchant empire stretched from galactic arm to galactic arm. A ship being shot down was not only unexpected… it was a threat.
Gharya hated what he knew he had to say. What would put the galaxy on a teeter- totter of war and would send the cities into panic. But his duty called, and for the first time in millennia, he turned on the alarm PA system over every room in the empire.
"Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed Paxians of the Hryo Galaxy, listen closely. As of 3:52 EGAT, a Paxian exploration vessel was shot down while exploring special anomalies. And as of 4:35 EGAT, we are at war with this mystery foe. Please report any and all disturbances to the government immediately. Thank you for your time and DO NOT PANIC!"
That would keep them on the edge of their seats. Now to find this enemy and their weakness. But no searching would be required, for on his viewscreen came a face. A face unlike any he had seen before, it was blood- red with horns on the top and a nasty sneer somehow achieved with a beak. And miraculously, it spoke Paxian.
"Hello General Gharya, we've been watching you." It said.
"Who are you, explain your actions and origin." This seemed like something good to say since Gharya was making first contact with an alien species.
"I am Urqa' Qijoo, the leader of the Urqa race. We are one, we are all. We came from the hive mind of a mighty insect and grew, and developed intelligence. We have developed massively superior radars and have been watching you. And listening. We will destroy you. This universe is ours."
At that the viewscreen went blank, and the General had a lot to think about.
Paxian Militia Headquarters
Fighter Bay
6:09 EGAT
"MOVE LADIES MOVE!! THE URQA WAIT FOR NO MAN!!" The voice of the squadron was feared, but respected for his undeniable skill. As Squadron Leader Zobitan shouted orders, new recruits flooded into thousands of small Paximinuses, the only battle-ready ship in the Paxian fleet.
Then it came. The much- dreaded order to turn off the forcer field and look out the window. But there was no black of space, there was just red. Blood- red.
The nervous pilots were scared out of their minds but flew their ships out anyway. They realized this could decide the fate of Paxius to come. The first pilot made it out of the bay. In a split second his ship was annihilated by a massive beam coming somewhere from the mass of enemy ships. The rest of the Paximinuses were taken out this way also, except for one. Zobitan managed to turn his deflector shields on full, and when the fleet shot him, it took out a minor chunk of their forces. He darted in and out, using his modified heat laser, destroying waves of Uj' Qii, but a shield can only take so much. A newer, more powerful fleet was approaching that his laser couldn't dent. So he ran. And ran until he found Paxius Prime to tell them of their defeat. Obviously the government hadn't expected them to win anyway because they were building a massive bomb. A bomb not only to destroy all ships in a 100 light-year radius, but also to blow a hole in the space time continuum. Of course, they were going to leave the area 101 light years away, blow the bomb, and push their moving planet into the void. The planet itself was a miracle in design, they has planted charges in Paxius Prime's crust and blown it to where all that was left was a spiky blue ball. When they directed the core's heat to certain spikes, they could produce thrust, and if they powered the planet themselves, they put it through hyperspace. And that is what they did. The bomb wiped out more then half of the Urqa fleet, and they slipped into the Purgatory left behind.
System: Paxius in the Sol Universe
12:47 EGAT (even though the east galactic arm doesn't exist anymore.)
"Hello?" A faint cry echoed from the massive stations docking bay. The Paxians has hid there for some time now, and with the anomaly not closing and the threat of an Urqa army coming they were overjoyed.
"Hello brave adventurer, how can we, the humble people of Pax, assist you? Although we have lost our empire, our people, and our honor, maybe we can earn your trust. Can you please explore the Sol system of this galaxy? I hear it is the center of this human empire."
"UBER!!! Tell me what to do!" And Adum forged another successful relationship from a dying people, to save them from the armies of the Urqa.
Well, did you like it? And here I am, an old man… you would have never guessed I was a fighter pilot in my days. But here I am, just the old hoot Zobitan in his little hut. I have need of your assistance though. It seems the anomaly has gone the wrong way. We can now go back and forth through the Urqa galaxy. Watch out, for it has become a place very different than the light we left it as. Go, save the universe! Save the Paxian Empire! DOWN WITH THE URQA!!!!!!!!!!
