In the vast emptiness of interstellar space, on the far end of a wormhole cluster, there was a flash of light in the void. Space for miles suddenly rippled, the world river in the area going haywire.
Moments later, space was split a sunder, a pulse of violet energy shooting outward. The pulse expanded rapidly, forming a massive wormhole, its edges chaotically sparking.
Wreathed in purest darkness, a sleek black ship burst through the unstable wormhole. The violet energy around the edges of the wormhole sparked violently, gouging long gashes into the ship's thick armored plating.
Enormous bursts of violet energy rippled around the ship, a dense barrier sparking to life. Julian's aura billowed around him as he strained to keep the wormhole open for a few seconds longer.
Once the ship passed through the event horizon, he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air, even though he didn't need to. Forcibly redirecting a wormhole was far more taxing then he anticipated.
His danger sense suddenly blared in his mind, warning of an approaching threat.
The moment the ship appeared from the wormhole, a blinding attack immediately followed it.
A purple bolt of lightning, tens of meters wide, burst out. The bolt spanned hundreds of miles long, tearing through the split in reality, aiming right for the ship.
The wormhole roiled and cracked, its event horizon going haywire. The attack was coming far too quickly, and had a lot of power behind it. Julian coughed up blood as he tapped into his well.
Space fractured in its path, and the bolt of lightning suddenly bent off course. Instead of hitting the ship head-on, it gouged a massive rent along the length of the ship's hull.
Hundreds of armor panels shattered and were turned to dust by that bolt, the ship's defenses holding up, if only barely.
In a flash, the bolt of lighting disappeared into the distance, its very presence causing reality to buckle in its wake. It radiated an immense pressure, its power undeniable.
The Waivers Terror rocked from the near miss. Under immense strain, Julian immediately slumped, letting the wormhole collapse.
Redirecting that bolt was far more taxing than he wanted to admit. The rent in reality closed with a violent crash, space roiling chaotically in the area.
Julian was thrown violently to one side as a tsunami of energy suddenly rocked the ship. Wormholes were not meant to be directed from their normal pattern, and this was the price for that.
Space in this area was far to fragile to handle the massive strain. The ship was thrown around, tossing him around like he was a rag doll.
Julian groaned, pulling himself from a hole his body made in the twisted metal wall.
No time to worry about damaging the ship. He could pay Sendredie back later for the damage.
"Who the fuck was that?" He asked, his head throbbing from using up so much of his energy reserves first on the wormhole, and then to divert that attack.
"It was Caldas Thornhill," Sendredie said, through gritted teeth.
"Shit, how bad is it?" Julain asked, his eyes flitting up to the heads-up display, which was currently showing the extensive damage along the hull of the ship.
"It's bad. Give me a bit. I need to make sure we don't blow up," Sendredie said, sounding anxious. In the next moment, her aura rippled out as she reached up, tapping at the air furiously.
All the while, lines of energy snaked from her fingers, disappearing into the surrounding ship. She was like a puppet master, each tendril performing a separate function.
The tendrils of energy snaked about the ship, redirecting power, blocking holes in the ship plating, and retuning the ships reactors.
That was not easy, as the smallest mistake when repairing the reactors could turn them both to atoms. If it were anyone else, he would have immediately created a portal to the null and gotten out of there.
Sendredie was not just anyone however. She was a Peak C ranker, and knew her own capabilities. If she thought the ship would really blow up, she would have said so.
Sure she was a bit crazy, but he trusted her, well mostly. Her display of delicate energy control once again impressed him.
The ship rocked again, the hull groaning ominously. That reminded him of the spatial storm kicked up by the worm hole collapsing.
Instead of asking more pointless questions, he focused on what he could do.
Julian's aura was flared to its max, his senses picking up thousands of spatial tears in the surrounding area. He had really done a number on the area, his chaotic hijacking of the wormhole screwing up space for millions of miles..
He was tired, but no rest for the wicked. If he did nothing, the ship would run into more of those spatial tears and be torn apart.
Julian flared his power, wrapping the ship in a dense field of energy to protect them from the spatial ripples.
He didn't bother fixing the fabric of space in the area, simply smoothing the area in front of the ship. If any enemy ship tried to portal into, or out of the area, their ships would be violently torn apart. And for now that was a good thing, as it meant their pursuers couldn't follow.
Not even Julian could create another portal in this turbulent area, as space was truly messed up. He focused his attention on his barrier as the ship's momentum carried them forward.
The ship coasted through the highly unstable space for three days before they got to relative safety. Julian's chaotic hijacking of that wormhole, plus Caldas's attack, had made this area of space a truly dangerous place.
Sendredie let out a relieved sigh, as they finally left the storm of spatial tears. She turned to him and gave him a mischievous smile.
"Wasn't that exciting?" Sendredie asked.
Julian collapsed on his butt on the floor plating, shaking his head at her. "Only you would think sneaking past a blockade of thirty blood gorger warships is exciting," Julian said tiredly.
"Don't give me that look. It turned out fine. All we got was some paint scratches." Sendredie said.
"That bolt of lightning nearly tore the ship in half." Julian said, with a tired sigh..
Sendredie laughed, the relief and excitement clear on her face. "Who would have thought we would run into Caldas Thornhill?" She asked.
Julian couldn't help but smile. "I never thought we would run into that monster again," Julian said.
"Well, we are invading the blood gorgers' domain. It was only a matter of time before we ran into one of their big shots." Sendredie said.
Julian sighed. "I hoped we wouldn't, but I guess it can't be helped. I imagine the bugs are not too happy we are invading their territory." Julian said.
Sendredie laughed, her eyes glimmering with amusement. "I know, right? I can't wait to see who they throw at us next." Sendredie said.
"Please don't jinx us. We still need to stop and make repairs. Not to mention narrow down the search. I would prefer not to go on a tour of all the thousands of worlds in the blood gorgers domain." Julian said.
"Pfft. Just think of it like a vacation. I have never been this deep inside blood-gorger territory. Just think of all the enemies we get to fight and rob." Sendredie said with a manic grin..
Julian palmed his face, but he couldn't exactly chastise her. She may be a bit crazy, but that was why he contacted her to help him.
After all, she was the only one crazy enough to sneak into the heart of the blood gorgers' domain with him. He supposed he was a little crazy himself.
His actions would surely spark a full-scale war between the blood gorgers and the Lorocan empire. All of that to find and bring home his granddaughter, who might already be dead.
He was risking the wrath of the emperor by continuing down this path, but he could deal with that when he saved Zee.
He flinched internally, wondering if they should turn back and try to make reparations? It might not be to late to avoid a full scale war.
He shook his head, clenching his fists. Julian refused to loose another member of his family to those damned blood gorgers.
No, as long as there was a connection to the amulet, that mean Zee was still alive. Until the connection was severed, he would continue the course, consequences be damned.
Another war with those damned bugs was inevitable, he was just starting it a little sooner. Julian calmed his racing mind, firming his resolve..