Chapter Seventeen: The Trail of Blood

Year 4400 of the Kala Calendar – Border of the Star Spirit Empire – Border Patrol Fleet – Fleet Core – Mothership Bridge.

Phoenix stood at the bridge window as he often did, gazing out into the expanse. Even before his mentor, Arton, ascended, he and his closest friend had already earned the admiration of the military. Now, he had risen from an ordinary soldier to a distinguished fleet executor.

“Executor, we have detected a strange unidentified flying object rapidly approaching our position,” came the adjutant’s report through the Kala. Phoenix’s brow furrowed. This region had long since been incorporated into the Star Spirit Empire’s territory, and no signs of intelligent life had ever been found in the surrounding vastness. The appearance of an unidentified craft was far from ordinary.

Phoenix entered the command chamber and studied the detection screen. The sensors reported the object was closing in at faster-than-light speed. “Fire a stasis beam. Intercept it,” Phoenix ordered, his alertness heightened by the anomaly. Though the craft’s intentions were unclear, caution was paramount for the fleet’s safety.

“Yes, Executor. Stasis beam initiated.” At the operator’s command, a blue beam lanced across the black void, enveloping the rapidly approaching vessel.

“Have the sensors determined if there are any lifeforms aboard?” Phoenix inquired.

“One moment, please,” the operator responded, boosting the sensor’s power. Soon, the results appeared before them.

“Protoss lifeform detected. Warning! Unknown energy signature detected! Analyzing data... Warning! Dark energy detected!” Red alerts blared throughout the mothership. It was the first time in the Empire’s long history that dark energy had been encountered.

“Dark energy? A lifeform? Could it be the Fanged King?” Phoenix was astonished, but quickly regained his composure and issued orders, “Send word to the Council of Light and Shadow at once. Report that traces of the Fanged King have been found at the border. Engage the tractor beam and bring the ship aboard. It seems we must return to Aiur.”

“Executor, what if something goes wrong?” the adjutant asked nervously.

Phoenix waved dismissively, “Don’t worry. If that ship is emanating dark energy, even if it’s not the Fanged King himself, it must be one of his allies, or at the very least, someone with useful information. We’ve searched for the Fanged King for over four millennia. Now, at last, we have a lead. The Council will be overjoyed.”

“Tractor beam engaged, Executor. Should we place the lifeform in stasis confinement?” The operator deftly brought the frozen vessel into the mothership, awaiting further instructions.

“Yes. Confine him to stasis. We need to thoroughly examine his condition before the High Council arrives.” Phoenix turned and proceeded toward the stasis chamber. The mothership housed two types of stasis pods: one for crew, and one for prisoners.

With the brilliance of the warp matrix, Phoenix and his party arrived at the lower deck’s stasis bay. The ship was so vast that every section was connected by a warp network to facilitate quick travel.

The lifeform had already been secured in stasis. Upon entering the interrogation room, Phoenix found the being still unconscious.

“What’s going on? Why is he in stasis? Weren’t we meant to question him?” Phoenix gestured at the figure in the pod. Stasis pods in the Star Spirit Empire served two chief functions: to suspend a person outside the flow of time, and to act as an unbreakable temporal prison. The current setting was the former—mere temporal suspension.

“Executor, after transferring him to the stasis pod, we discovered he was gravely wounded. All his injuries are infused with dark energy. Not knowing the nature of this power, we placed him in temporal stasis,” explained the supervising engineer.

Phoenix frowned. “Wounds tainted by dark energy? Perhaps he’s not a subordinate of the Fanged King, but a victim. But then, where did that ship come from?” If the man was merely a victim, their gain would be far less significant.

Noticing Phoenix’s disappointment, the engineer, well aware of the Fanged King’s importance to the Empire, quickly added, “That may not be the whole story, Executor. Though his wounds were caused by dark energy, our sensors also detected a significant amount of dark psionic energy within him. I believe he may yet provide valuable information.”

“In that case, ensure his safety. I’ll relay this information to the High Council at once. We should be heading for Eidion soon—there, we’ll get our answers.” Phoenix nodded and ordered the messenger to send the news back to Aiur.

Aiur – Kosaka – Council Hall

“Executor Phoenix reports that a vessel piloted by someone bearing dark energy was found at the Empire’s border. Both the ship and its pilot are now secured aboard his mothership,” Madonis informed the gathered elders.

“Again at the border? It seems we ought to expand our territory. I always suspected the Fanged King was hiding in some dark corner,” one elder remarked, first lamenting the trouble at the borders, then asking, “Has the presence of dark energy been confirmed? Can Executor Phoenix guarantee this is one of the Fanged King’s allies?”

Madonis shook his head slightly. “The sensors confirm it with over ninety percent accuracy.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Have Phoenix bring his fleet to Eidion immediately. The Academy must analyze this discovery,” another elder urged.

Madonis was about to reply when he paused, brow furrowing. “New information: the individual was injured by dark energy, and carries it within himself. The engineers dare not attempt treatment for now.”

“It seems our long wait may soon be over,” said a bald elder—one of the Nerazim—who was participating in a council decision for the first time.

“Excellent. Since we are all agreed, send word to Executor Phoenix. He is to proceed to Eidion.” Madonis looked around at the visibly excited elders, a smile on his lips.

Soon, the decision reached Phoenix.

“Well, it seems the Council and I are of one mind,” Phoenix remarked with a knowing smile. “Navigator, set course for Eidion. Another will take over patrol duties here.”

Through a blue tunnel in space-time, Phoenix and his party arrived above Eidion. Within the range of the psionic matrix, the Empire’s ships could quickly reach any destination, though in peacetime, they would avoid tearing through space and instead used time-space tunnels—a journey of about sixty seconds.

Upon arrival, Phoenix escorted the stasis pod directly to the Sepiros, powered by the solar crystal, to ensure the best chance of treating the injured man. Dark psionics could conflict with order psionics, so it was safest to use the Sepiros’s advanced facilities.

There, he was greeted by Purifier Corolarion and the director of the Empire’s Psionics Institute, Wilmot. After brief formalities, they proceeded to the laboratory.

This was the most advanced lab aboard the Sepiros, ensuring the greatest likelihood of success.

“Lord Phoenix, how did you find him?” Corolarion was curious, for even in his campaigns, the rebels he suppressed were mere fanatics—not true subordinates of the Fanged King, who had vanished from the Empire’s sight for over four thousand years. Capturing an ally now was a stroke of luck.

“Honored Purifier Corolarion, I was simply patrolling the border when my subordinate informed me of an unidentified ship rapidly approaching. The rest you know,” Phoenix replied, still marveling at their good fortune.

While they waited, they conversed in the lab, Corolarion occasionally sharing his combat experience, for he admired the younger officer.

“Strong reaction to order psionics; cease order psionic input. Introduce void psionics for testing,” Wilmot instructed, overseeing the experiment and recording results.

“The reaction diminishes, but there is a rejection response. Increasing void energy may damage the subject. Suspend energy infusion for now and begin wound treatment.”

...

Caryle awakened from his coma. The long sleep had left his mind clouded, but a cooling sensation soon cleared it, and he became alert.

“Where am I? Who are you?” Caryle eyed the three before him warily, attempting to summon his strength, only to find his body weak and powerless.

“This is the Star Spirit Empire’s research facility. We are its researchers and executors. What is your name? Where are you from? Are you a follower of the Fanged King? Why did you enter our territory?” Wilmot fired off his questions in rapid succession. He was not only leading the experiment but also conducting the interrogation, skilled at reading emotions and discerning truth from lies.

“The Star Spirit Empire? I... I’ve finally escaped? Oh, thank the stars...” Caryle’s emotions overwhelmed him at the news, leaving the three present perplexed.

“That’s enough—answer my questions. If you refuse, I’ll have no choice but to extract your memories directly,” Wilmot interrupted coldly. Forced memory extraction often led to confusion and was considered inhumane, reserved only as a last resort.

“All right,” Caryle replied, wiping his tears and steadying himself. “My name is Caryle. I am a member of the Blood Tribe. I rebelled against the Fanged King.”