I. Discovery and Desperation
Deep beneath the surface of Akaris V, in the war-forged command chamber of the subterranean Mahasimu stronghold, General Kizito stood before a massive obsidian table displaying a real-time projection of the Uli system. Holograms of the Shadowscourge deployments pulsed across multiple worlds, and the outlines of Zelith territories hovered like prey waiting to be broken.
"General," Vice-General Tano called out from the array console. "An unauthorized vessel is breaking surface from Quadrant Delta—coordinates place it near Vault Access Point 19." Kizito's expression darkened. "Are we being watched?"
"It's a stealth-class design," Admiral Kia added, stepping beside him. "Zelith architecture. Possibly Thalor."
A tense silence fell.
"Recall the planetary fleet's command personnel," Kizito ordered sharply. "I'll take this from the Virex Dominatus. Ready my departure immediately."
II. Ascension to Power
The war chamber's walls shuddered as magnetic locks disengaged. Kizito's black-clad honor guards surrounded him as he turned and made his way to the upper corridors. Towering elevators sealed in shadowsteel carried them upward through the deep core of the Akaris base.
They emerged in a fortress hangar carved into the mountain's edge—there, his personal shuttle waited: a long, fang-shaped transport lined in crimson lights, bearing the crest of the Shadowscourge elite.
With a hiss of depressurization, the shuttle launched vertically, cloaked in particle shields as it tore through the atmosphere.
In orbit above Akaris V, the Virex Dominatus awaited like a slumbering god of war. The dreadnought was a colossal dagger of black alloy and shadow crystal, its hull bristling with gravitational weapons, psionic disruptors, and interstellar breach batteries.
Kizito's shuttle docked amid a field of escorts. As he stepped onto the dreadnought's command bridge, the lights dimmed and the crew saluted in unison. "Status," he barked.
"Target vessel launched from the surface seven minutes ago," Kia relayed. "They're climbing fast." "Intercept them," Kizito ordered. "Do not destroy—disable."
III. The Wounded Veil
The Veilborn streaked skyward in an arc of smoke and ion burst. Inside, Serath Vahn, Kael Rix, and the rest of the infiltration team fought to keep systems stable.
"They're locking on!" Zhenira called out, bracing herself as alarms flared.
Kizito's voice echoed across the bridge of the Dominatus: "Fire disruptors. Focus on the engines."
From the dreadnought's flanks, two precise crimson beams sliced across space and struck the Veilborn's engine banks. The warp core faltered—then pulsed. The ship lurched.
"They've clipped us—our warp guidance is unstable!" Serath shouted.
"Push the drive! Better lost in the void than in their hands!" Kael roared.
A wild warp discharge erupted from the core, launching the ship into the unknown—deep into the Uli system, far from tracking range, the stars fracturing around them.
IV. The Hunt Begins
Back on the Virex Dominatus, the bridge calmed. "They escaped—but not cleanly," Tano muttered "Where did they go?" Kizito demanded.
"Beyond our tracking net," Kia admitted. "But they were damaged. Warp energy was erratic—they couldn't have gone far. Likely somewhere in the Verdant Hollows, perhaps the ghost ring near Tey'var Drift."
"Send reconnaissance drones. Mobilize fast-runners. And Kia…"
"Yes, General?"
"Find them. Or I'll have their corpses flayed and stretched across the stars."
V. Dark Thrones on Gharar
Meanwhile, light-years away, Queen Suama's royal dreadnought, the Giza Mtuji, pierced through Gharar's poisonous clouds. Gharar loomed beneath like a rotting titan—its terrain a mix of ash spires, obsidian wastelands, and black mountains crowned with torture spires.
At her side marched her Royal Guard—Roko, Jalia, Omari, Amani—cold and composed.
At the gates stood Overseer Xal'taroth, draped in ancient bone-plate armor, flanked by shrieking servitors of the Flesh Re-Forge.
"Your presence blackens the world with honor, my Queen," he rasped.
"Bring me to the traitors," she said, without pause.
Deep within the bowels of Gharar, Thalia was held in a soul-scarred cell, where psionic echoes of her crimes played endlessly. She wept, not from sorrow—but from the mind-shattering repetition.
Further in, Princess Safi stood restrained, yet defiant, her rage burning through containment fields.
As Suama entered, the room darkened. A holo-fire rose—and the spectral visage of the Ancient Queen emerged.
"Safi," the mother whispered, "your betrayal has stained bloodlines. And now, I will speak. Not to punish you—but to teach you obedience."
Safi glared. "I would rather die."
"You won't," the Ancient Queen replied, voice cold. "But you will wish to."
VI. Silent Ruin in Motion
Back in orbit of Akaris V, the Mahasimu dreadnoughts realigned. War prepped itself in silence.
Below the surface, Shadowscourge legions continued to mobilize, unaware that the very spark to ignite the war had escaped their grasp—and drifted, injured and wild, into the shadows of the Uli system.