In the middle of the Second Akkadian war, a secret factory that manufactured stealth drives for the Akkadian empire ships which gave them unmatched warship superiority was discovered on the planet Triskelion.
Unlike the first war where they dominated the humans of Earth, the second war yielded more and more closely fought victories. In an effort to prevent the Humans of Earth from getting their hands on such valuable technology with the potential to tip the scales, an orbital bombardment was ordered to destroy the surface of the planet.
Unfortunately, the Akkadian ships sent to carry out the order were intercepted by United Nations of Earth ships before they could complete their task.
In the aftermath of the battle, a mystic and UNE spy known as Raider discovered a boy crying next to the corpses of his father, mother and sister. He was half Akkadian human and half something else. He was able to survive the bombardment but his parents weren't so lucky.
His name was Bora Shrie.
Bora was a sombre-looking boy with a large, strong face, neat, short brown hair, and cool blue eyes that lived with his human father and alien mother on Triskelion, running a small tavern. When Raider found him, he was stricken with grief and unable to flee.
Raider could sense the boy's potential so he adopted him and taught him the ways of the mystics including the use of anger to unlock and unleash power. Raider later realized that he had grossly underestimated the anger and hatred in the boy's heart. Maybe if he had helped the boy heal from the tragedy, he could've spared him future disaster.
But alas, Raider would be discovered two years later close to the end of the war by Akkadian counter-intelligence while on a mission on the planet Balderon which sat on the edge of known space and the chaos region.
He would not live to see the fate of Bora Shrie.
The boy would later be taken to an orphanage and later enroll in the UNE naval academy. He gave up his birth name of Bora Shrie and dedicated his life to wiping out all traces of the Akkadian Empire by any means necessary.
He adopted the new name of Herman Wrath.
Wrath would achieve mythical levels of success as a military officer and would rise to the height of Lord Commander of the entire UNE naval forces.
But at the peak of his success, Lord Wrath would be scapegoated by the UNE leadership but assassinated before he could be executed for war crimes.
Somehow Herman Wrath would return to the world as a dark-skinned alien called Taisen.
All of these thoughts swirled in Taisen's head as he reflected on how he got to this moment.
Two hours before, he had received a transmission from Earth recalling him from his mission and summoning him to Earth. The transmission contained very few details and one could surmise that it was that way, because they were trying to avoid interception by enemy intelligence.
An hour after the first, they received a transmission from Malkor, leader of the Reza Infinity (sometimes called Screamers). He asked for a peaceful meeting on the planet Balderon and the return of his captured ship.
"We should take both the Arctic and the captured ship to Earth for further study," Lyn's voice snapped Taisen out of his thoughts.
"They probably already want his head for the death of the Beluga and her crew," Alita said. "We should accept the offer from the Reza Screamers to meet at Balderon and return their ship. That way we're only facing the charges related to the Beluga."
"We?" Lyn said. "We're not all facing the prospect of a noose for causing the death of Admiral Usyk and the destruction of the Beluga. Only Taisen is."
"That's Commander Taisen," Alita reminded her.
"Well not for long," Lyn said. "It was a fun ride while it lasted."
"If we return the captured ship, they can't still try you in a military tribunal for an act of war," Alita said turning to address Taisen directly. "That's one less thing to worry about."
"There's no point in doing that," Lyn said. "Taisen is fucked either way. The only reason to recall a ship before it completes a mission is to seriously fuck over the commanding officer. The least we can do is return with a functioning alien ship to study."
Taisen switched his gaze between the pair before sighing. He couldn't believe this was happening again.
All those years ago, when he was summoned before a military judge for war crimes, he was also on a mission and the transmission they used was just as mild and inconspicuous as this one.
"I'm not taking the ship to Earth but I'm also not returning it to its murderous owners," he said. "There's a third option."
"Which is?" Lyn asked impatiently.
"I'm going to meet with Malkor on Triskelion, find unquestionable evidedence that he is the one that launched the attack on Earth and the Beluga then kill him."