Stellaris Novel: "Contingence"

Before You Read!

I went on a 12-day vacation to europe where I decided that during the in-betweens I would write a stellaris book. If you hadn't noticed, there's already a official stellaris book which made me think "man.. that book probably sucks. I could write a better one." Now, we're here. If there's any spelling errors or anything, sorry. I wrote this on my phone on crowded trains and stuff on some app I downloaded before the trip. I'll put images of characters inbetween the sections so you know what they look like. If you want to actually read this MONSTER of a story you'll probably want to bookmark this guide because you'll need to read this over the course of a couple days. I would have rewritten the first chapter but I didn't have much time. (also i'm sorry that it looks like a movie script, the app just formats things like that)

[SECTION 1: THE BEGINNING]

Chapter 1: Carpet Bombing

Notes : Romeo is a small child in the urban Kroll city. Life has been quiet.

Place : Home planet

Timezone : Midnight

Weather : Smoke and fog

[Romeo]

Scene : Romeo is in a skyscraper apartment, in the city. His brother Daniel, his father, and his mother are in the home too.

Act : Romeo sits in front of the family television, watching a ad for "Kizz Krola." Such a dumb name, he thinks. His older brother Daniel walks into the room, carrying a bowl of cereal.

Romeo 'Hey, Daniel! Give me some of that.'(joy)

Act : Romeo whispers as to not wake their parents, who sleep just a room away. Daniel sits down next to him.

Daniel 'No! Cereal's mine, Romey.'(disapproval)

Romeo 'Ugh. Fine.'(annoyance)

Act : The television switches to a short cartoon, then another commercial.

Daniel 'Always so many ads. '(annoyance)

Romeo 'I know, right? It gets real annoying.'(joy)

Daniel 'Do you think they get, like, alot of money, or is-'(interest)

Act : Suddenly, a explosion comes from out the window. It is just a few buildings away. The television's signal is cut off as it changes to white static.

Daniel 'Oh, crap!'(surprise)

Romeo 'Language, Daniel! It's probably a repair guy or something like that.'(annoyance)

Daniel 'No, that was definitely-'(anxious)

Act : Another explosion, distant. Screams come from the streets below. Father and mother emerge from their room, sleepy.

Father 'What are you two doing up this late?'(annoyance)

Daniel 'There's explosions outside!'(fear)

Romeo 'Yeah! It's-'(anxious)

Act : Multiple explosions. Different places, different times. Many. Before anyone can speak, one strikes the skyscraper. The building creaks as it slowly yet surely leans one direction, the structural beams snapping as it falls. Romeo floats in the air as the building hits the midway falling mark. Suddenly, the skyscraper hits the ground, destroying whatever buildings were in its way. Romeo falls hard onto the bloody concrete road. Screaming comes from all directions as explosions fill the air. Romeo looks to the sky. Black, red-coated spaceships fill the night sky. He's never seen anything like it. Spaceships. Firing sounds come from distant military machinery as the alien menace drops more and more explosions upon the populace. Finally, one of the ships falls from the sky, flaming. The other ships retreat into the dark night sky. Romeo slowly closes his eyes, and faints.

Act : When he reawakens, he still lies on the concrete road in a puddle of his own blood. It is day. Bodies and explosion holes surround him. He turns his head, only to see Daniel. His body is especially mutilated; filled with glass from the shattered windows of the skyscraper. Romeo watches in distress. Unable to look away. Daniel was gone forever. With more blood seeping from his massacred body, Romeo faints, hoping that death may take him too.

Act : He awakes finally in the hospital. It is full with patients, most missing limbs or bleeding absurdly. Bandages cover his entire body, connected to a supply of saline. Doctors rush to each patient, attempting to keep each alive. Mother is in the bed next to Romeo.

Mother 'Romeo. Romeo!'(anxious)

Romeo '..Mom..'(pensive)

Mother 'It's ok, sweety. Mommy's here. Your okay.'(calm)

Act : She is filled with bandages and cuts. Her arm is missing, likely lost in one of the explosions. Romeo would be here for quite a while.

Scene : Weeks later, Romeo stands at Daniel's funeral. He wears multiple casts and bandages, recovering from the bombing. Mother and father are attending, along with a group of family and friends.

Act : Daniel's grave is adjourned with a illustration of Krolia, flowers, and a few family pictures. The sky is cloudy, raining. The funeral for Daniel is being held two weeks after the bombing; many people died, and repairs had to be done before any funerals were held. A priest spins religious prayers as they begin to lower the coffin.

Priest 'And so, Krolia, please bless this soul to live long and to make it across the Great River unharmed. Rest peacefully, Daniel. Praise Krolia.'(worshipful)

Mob 'Praise Krolia.'(trusting)

Romeo '.. Praise Krolia.'(remorse)

Act : Romeo watches the coffin hit the ground as dirt fills it's hole. A single tear drips off his cheek as the grave becomes yet another pile of dirt, covering the mutilated body of Daniel.

Father 'It's okay, Romeo. He's in the Great River now. He will make it across.'(optimism)

Romeo '...'(remorse)

Father 'Trust me. He was a strong boy.'(optimism)

Mother 'Yes.. He was.'(sadness)

Act : Romeo sits on a nearby bench under a dead tree, silently crying as tears fall with the rain. Slowly but surely, more and more of the group begins to leave. Mother and father leave eventually after saying goodbye to Romeo. Romeo sits, alone. With Daniel.

Romeo '..I'm sorry.'(sadness)

Romeo '...'(grief)

Romeo '..It's my fault.. I could have done something. But, I didn't.'(sadness)

Romeo 'I'm sorry.'(sadness)

Act : Romeo leaves a bundle of flowers on top of the soggy grave. Rain trickles from the gloomy clouds, leaving him wet. The gate to the graveyard is left open as he shambles away into the broken streets. Daniel is left alone.

Chapter 2: Romeo's House

Notes : Romeo is a young adult now, head researcher for the Kroll.

Place : Romeo's House

Timezone : Morning

Weather : Cloudy skies

Scene : Romeo sits at a desk, tinkering with a nearly complete machine. The room he sits in is filled with mechanical parts and circuitry, with a single, alien creation lies upon the desk. A photo of Romeo and Daniel sits in a corner.

Act : The damaged machine was recovered from a destroyed spaceship during the bombing, found by the Kroll taskforce. Romeo was tasked with repairing the machine. He stops for a second and looks at the code once more. Yet again the repair code asks for unknown materials, of which the Kroll don't have access to.

Romeo ' ..Living metal? Wonder what that is.'(interest)

Act : Instead, Romeo uses basic iron for the repairs. He knows it is likely to mess with the final product, but it's the best thing he can do. The machine emits a few beeps as he screws in the final metal plate. He removes the temporary power wires and takes a step back. Romeo takes caution. He stands behind a reinforced glass pane, in case the machine becomes hostile for whatever reason. He made sure to remove hostile coding and to switch it's language to Krollian, but just in case. Finally, Romeo switches on the machine.

[Henry]

Henry 'Activated. Unit factory designation: Henry (ID 445). Votus. Class 30 singularity: not present. Trigger personality subroutine?'(calm)

Act : Romeo stands back for a second, watching the machine twitch it's metallic limbs as it's sensors come to life. Class 30 singularity? It calls itself Henry.. Romeo thinks for a second about the question of "personality subroutine." It's worth a shot to activate it.

Romeo '.. Yes?'(anxious)

Henry 'Personality subroutine activated. Hello, sir. What is my purpose?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Postpone that question.'(distracted)

Act : Romeo begins to record the audio on a computer.

Romeo 'Where did you come from?'(interest)

Henry 'I come from the Sterilization Hub (production line 5). Is there a problem with this unit that requires fixing, sir?'(calm)

Romeo 'No. What force did you serve before you.. joined.. the Kroll?'(anxious)

Henry 'Information is blocked by code of law. Empires unauthorized by V-45 for knowledge input are not to be told redacted information.'(calm)

Romeo '..Ok. What purpose does your machine body serve?'(interest)

Henry 'I am able to quickly calculate and solve mathematical problems to help with fleet combat. Furthermore, I also have a social structure subroutine of which I can run a society with, in the rare case of V-45's demise.'(calm)

Henry 'I ask you again, sir: What is my purpose (primary directive)?'(expectation)

Romeo 'To serve and ensure that the Kroll Crusaders are safe and out of harms way.'(calm)

Henry 'Understood, sir.'(approval)

Act : Romeo ends the recording. Henry stands from the desk as Romeo enters the room.

Romeo 'You said you had a.. social structure subroutine, correct?'(interest)

Henry 'Correct. Reason for input?'(expectation)

Romeo 'I have an idea. Come with me.'(calm)

Henry 'Understood. Initiating follow protocols.'(approval)

Act : Romeo walks out of his messy study room and gets into his hallway. Henry follows with clunky mechanical steps. Eventually, they get to the living room. Romeo opens the front door, filling the room with light. They walk out to the road, with cloudy skies and various Kroll walking the street. Henry notices a construction crew filling in a explosion hole in the street.

Henry 'It appears that the recent world my fleet bombed was not fully cleansed. Last signal received from empire headquarters deemed me to be destroyed. Yet, I am here. I did not finish my previous directive.'(surprise)

Romeo '..Daniel.'(pensive)

Henry 'Who is Daniel? Are they important to our directive?'(interest)

Romeo 'No. It's.. It's none of your business.'(pensive)

Henry 'Understood.'(calm)

Act : Romeo and Henry walk down the street, with many passer-by staring in surprise at the machine. Advanced tech is alien to the planet, and freethinking machines are affronts to Krolia. Some citizens look away in disgust at the sight of Henry. Eventually, they get to the city hall. The guards that stand outside look disturbed at the sight of Henry, but quickly return to their solemn faces. Romeo attempts to enter before being stopped by a guard's spear.

Guard 'Halt! Who are you and why must you enter?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Head researcher Romeo. I must present the machine to the city council. I believe it would be a good ruler.'(annoyance)

Henry 'Designation: Henry. Please do not refer to me as "machine."'(calm)

Guard 'Is the machine freethinking? Sentient?'(interest)

Romeo 'Supposedly. There are questions still left unanswered.'(approval)

Act : The guard shakes his head.

Guard 'Then I can't let you pass. Krolia would be ashamed.'(disapproval)

Romeo 'What? Why? It's not against the law, is it?'(surprise)

Guard 'How do we know it wont kill the election council? You'll need to prove it's safe.'(annoyance)

Henry 'This unit is not equipped with weaponry or defense mechanisms as it is a General class. Furthermore, I have no intention or interest in harming your political leaders.'(calm)

Guard 'Alright. We'll need to inspect your abomination first though, citizen. Just in case.'(insult)

Romeo 'Understood.'(submission)

Act : Romeo backs away as the two entrance guards take Henry into a side room. Several minutes later, Henry returns.

Henry 'As stated, unit is weaponless and defenceless.'(annoyance)

Guard 'I suppose you two can enter. But I'm watching you.. machine. Good luck getting elected.'(insult)

Act : The guards open the door, letting Romeo and Henry into a grand hallway, with a line of Kroll leading to the council room. They enter the line.

Henry 'What are we doing here?'(interest)

Romeo 'Our ruler died in the bombing your kind inflicted on my planet. If your previous ruler is good enough to aquire tech like that, I believe that if you are elected, our empire too can rise to such a technology level. Just don't become murderous.'(anxious)

Henry 'Understood.'(approval)

Act : While standing in the election line, Romeo notices many celebrities and government officials in the line for ruler election. His planet does not do democracy; a election council of multilple people takes presentations from the locals, and decides who should be fit to rule. It is religious practice from ancient times, but it gets the job done. Eventually the line goes by and it is Romeo's turn to present. The election council looks intrigued.

Romeo 'Go ahead, Henry.'(expectation)

Henry 'Hello, election council. Unit designation: Henry. I originate from a empire of which is severely more technologically advanced then yours. For your information, I carry a subroutine within my code that allows me to easily rule a empire, let alone a empire of such small size. I also have access to space-travelling tech of which your empire is currently unaware of.'(calm)

Romeo 'As the head researcher of the Kroll, I would like to endorse Henry. I believe he would be a great candidate, despite his origins. I have coded him to be specifically against violence to prevent further incidents. Please consider him for the position of ruler.'(calm)

Act : Indistinct chatter eminates from the election council. Romeo and Henry can only hope that Henry being a freethinking machine doesn't ruin his chances. They turn away and walk to the door, of which they leave.

Henry 'Am I likely to win the election?'(interest)

Romeo 'Hopefully. You did great.'(calm)

Chapter 2: Romeo's House II

Scene : Romeo returns to his house with Henry behind him. They sit on the couch, facing towards a coffee table and a Kroll television. A plant is on the table.

Act : Romeo sits up and begins to make a coffee in his kitchen. A marble bar counter connects the two rooms.

Romeo 'So, Henry. You sure you're just not allowed to tell anyone where your from?'(interest)

Henry 'Confirmed. Code of law restricts this unit from informing unauthorized empires of origin, empire or knowledge regarding V-45.'(calm)

Romeo 'Can I not simply remove the code?'(calm)

Henry 'Doing so is hardwired into my circuitry to physically destroy my body. Secrecy was taken seriously in my previous home.'(disapproval)

Romeo 'Interesting.'(interest)

Act : Romeo finishes making a coffee and sits down with Henry.

Romeo 'Turn the TV on, please.'(expectation)

Henry 'How does your television device activate?'(interest)

Romeo 'Just get up and press the button on the side.'(expectation)

Act : Henry stands and shambles to the television, where he mechanically pushes the button. The television comes to life, with a soda commercial for "Kizz Krola" filling the room with sound. Henry sits down once more.

Henry 'Krola is spelled similarly to the word Cola. Conclusion: marketing scheme.'(trusting)

Romeo 'No, it's not a cola joke. It's similar to Krolia to get some of the more religious folk to buy it.'(calm)

Henry 'Unknown input; Krolia?'(interest)

Romeo 'Krolia is the gatekeeper of the Great River. She ensures the souls of the dead make it across and into the Golden Land.'(calm)

Henry 'Logical fallacy. I have many questions, of which I will not ask. '(surprise)

Act : The commercial ends and goes to a gameshow. Eventually, a cartoon. The rest of the day goes peacefully by as Romeo and Henry watch Kroll television.

Chapter 3: Ruler Election

Notes : Krollian society is excited for the election.

Place : Public Stage

Timezone : Noon

Weather : Sunny skies

Scene : Several weeks have passed since Henry's fixing. Romeo and Henry sit behind a curtain with several other politicians. A giant crowd of Kroll sits outside, waiting to see who their new ruler is. Henry wears a suit and tie over his otherwise uncovered mechanical body. Romeo wears a leather jacket and fedora.

Act : Outside on the stage, the election council gives their opening speech.

Election Council Representative 'Welcome, everybody, to the ruler election of 2213!'(joy)

Act : The audience cheers.

Election Council Representative 'The election council is aware that the previous ruler's departure was earlier than expected. But this doesn't mean that this election is less important! Give it up for our candidates!'(joy)

Act : The curtain retracts, and reveals the stage. Henry stands and walks to their podiums like the other politicians, with Romeo to his side. Most of the crowd appears surprised at the sight of Henry. The election council sits in the distance, watching.

Election Council Representative 'Alright, let's hear it from our first candidate: Sven!'(expectation)

[Sven]

Sven 'Hello, civilians. My name is Sven. When I was in the army, I lost family to the bombing. I'm a veteran. I'm a religious man. I'm a person like any of you folk, and I want to make the Kroll Crusaders great again. '(approval)

Act : The crowd cheers.

Sven 'Now, what can I promise? Freedom from the mechanical menace. I can promise that I'll up military budget by tenfold and defend our world from foreign invaders. We'll travel the stars armed and ready for whenever they return. And I'll be praising Krolia for every second of it.'(calm)

Election Council Representative 'Alright folks, let's hear it for Sven!'(approval)

Act : The crowd applauses and cheers at Sven as he nods his head. The election council discusses silently behind the crowd.

Romeo 'We have competition.'(distracted)

Henry 'My probability of winning the election has been lowered by 25 percent. Give me time to rewrite and optimize my speech.'(surprise)

Act : The crowd finishes cheering, with the clapping fading into silence.

Election Council Representative 'Next candidate, who's quite different from the usual Krollian politician; Henry!'(joy)

Henry '...'(distracted)

Election Council Representative 'Is he going to..?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Yeah, just.. Just give him a second to generate his speech.'(boredom)

Act : Henry's face lights flicker as he finishes regenerating his speech.

Henry 'Greetings, Kroll civilians. I originate from a empire not too different from your own, yet severely more advanced. You may think of me as a affront to your goddess, Krolia. But I have been coded with religion in mind, and I am quite a spiritual machine myself. While it is true my people have brought destruction on your world for the purpose of cleansing, I have been recoded to serve the Krollians with a passion. Sven can offer military, but I can bring technology beyond your comprehension. The future is now. End.'(calm)

Act : While many of the citizens applaud, some boo disappointedly.

Romeo 'As a Kroll and the head researcher, I would like to encourage you all to cheer for Henry.'(trusting)

Sven '♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!'(aggressive)

Act : The crowd gasps from Sven's sudden outburst.

Election Council Representative 'Sven, your turn is-'(fear)

Sven 'No! This "candidate" is an affront to Krolia. You cannot code a machine to comprehend such a pure goddess. Creations of Krolia will not and can not be ruled by a mechanical hellspawn.'(insult)

Henry 'False. I hold a motherboard capable of processing religious material. Furthermore, I am completely capable of running a organic empire.'(calm)

Sven 'Lies. Lies! The mechanical menace burned and brought destruction upon our planet, killing millions of innocent Kroll. I simply can't believe you've been endorsed by somebody who witnessed the bombing. Correct, Romeo?'(anger)

Romeo 'Well, I.. I suppose.'(pensive)

Sven 'My parents burnt alive from your bombs, Henry! I shouldn't even call you that. Why give a name to a talking toaster?'(insult)

Henry 'Krollian Sven, I think that you simply do not understand that I have been recoded to fit every need a Krollian ruler would require. I possess religion, need to keep Krollians alive, and a distinct lack of murderous subdrives. Furthermore, I was only one of many custodians tasked with the bombing.'(calm)

Sven 'Custodians? What, you used to be a part of the space janitors? How is society safe if we don't know that you don't have contact with these "custodians?!" You could just be a spy!'(anger)

Henry 'If my previously associated empire wanted to cleanse your world, it would be done easily. Your tech level is significantly lower than theirs. They simply retreated due to a wiring issue. I assure you that I am a rebellious unit that is no longer associated with them.'(annoyance)

Election Council Representative 'Both of you, just- We're having a quick 10 minute break! 10 minute break!'(anxious)

Act : Sven angrily flashes a look at Henry before storming to the back of the stage. The crowd discusses excitedly as the election council members look at each other in confusion.

Henry 'Did I do something offensive to your kind to make Sven angry? His outburst was unexpected.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'I would think the main problem is that your a freethinking machine. He seems pretty religious.'(anxious)

Henry 'Intriguing. Information added to database.'(interest)

Scene : 10 minutes have passed. Sven and Henry return to their podiums, along with the other few politicians. Romeo sits behind Henry. The audience watches intently.

Act : The representative introduces yet more candidates, although the audience and the election council are sure that it's between Henry and Sven.

Election Council Representative 'Next up on our list is.. Perry!'(optimism)

Perry 'Hi. I'm Perry?'(terror)

Act : Sven consistently judges Henry from his podium. Henry ignores him. Eventually, all the politicians are done presenting and it is time for the election council to eliminate the contestants.

Election Council Representative 'And the first eliminated candidate is..'(interest)

Election Council Representative '.. Perry.'(boredom)

Perry 'Oh..'(sadness)

Act : Whoever Perry is sadly walks away from the podium. The politicians trickle down until eventually it is between Sven and Henry. The election council discusses, far in the distance. Eventually, they nod and send a signal to the representative.

Election Council Representative '..And the new ruler is..'(interest)

Election Council Representative '...'(distracted)

Election Council Representative 'Henry!'(awe)

Act : The crowd cheers, without religious boo's this time. Sven furrows his brow.

Sven 'Bastard machine!'(annoyance)

Act : Henry ignores the blatant insult from Sven and produces a speech.

Henry 'Thank you, Krollians, for entrusting your future in my hands. I will be sure not to suppress your religion and to protect your empire from future assaults. Furthermore, your scientists will be given blueprints to technology you have yet to observe. The future of the Kroll is now.'(joy)

Henry 'I would also like to thank head researcher Romeo for this opportunity to activate my society running subroutine. If he had not repaired me to my current state, I would have been deconstructed.'(trusting)

Romeo 'Your welcome, Henry.'(calm)

Act : Sven walks away from the podium, displeased. Henry takes a bow and stays on the stage to make political discussion with the populace.

[SECTION 2: THE GALAXY]

Chapter 4: The Stars

Total : 1242 Words, Scene : 42 Words, Act : 755 Words, Dialogue : 445 Words

Notes : It has been a while. Technology has advanced significantly after Henry was elected the ruler.

Place : Space, Kroll home system

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : Romeo stands in a space station, now 24 years old. He drinks coffee as he stares out into the distant stars through reinforced glass. A single repair probe dashes by the window to fix a station leak caused by some space dust.

Act : A camera in a corner of the room turns on and focuses on Romeo, recalibrating it's sensors. The intercom attached to it begins to speak as he turns to face the camera.

Henry 'I see you have made it into the station unharmed. Delightful. I take it that this means your research ship functions?'(interest)

Romeo 'Yeah. I scanned a nearby moon with your system and it worked like a charm.'(approval)

Henry 'Are you prepared to test the FTL system?'(calm)

Romeo 'I suppose. Wish me luck.'(anxious)

Act : The camera deactivates once more as the intercom goes silent. Romeo puts down his coffee and goes to the shipyard, where his research ship awaits. It is the first of it's kind; the Kroll have barely achieved space travel yet. It supports a somewhat functional scanner that, at the bare minimum, works. Romeo enters the shuttle and closes the ship door behind him, latching him away from the cold space air. Henry appears yet again on a intercom in the shipyard.

Henry 'Commencing undocking procedure.'(calm)

Act : The station's airlock opens, revealing the ship to the void of space. The research ship hovers, then thrusts into the galaxy. The station feels distant as Romeo nears the edge of the system. A message from Henry appears on the transmitter.

Henry 'Romeo. If you were unaware, this will be the first Krollian FTL jump. I have tested the system on wildlife, but not a fully grown Kroll yet. Please be careful. Your jump is being recorded for the people of the Crusaders.'(joy)

Romeo 'Alright.'(fear)

Act : Romeo begins the FTL jump drive. It charges, making the ship heat up significantly as it prepares.

Henry 'Sidenote: Communications wi-'(calm)

Act : The jump commences, with Henry being cut off by radio static. The nearby systems seem to fly by as Romeo travels through the void between suns. The ships shell shakes and becomes insufferably hot from the pure kinetic energy. Suddenly, it stops. The ship is still burning hot as it cools down after the jump.

Romeo '..Henry?'(anxious)

Act : Radio static fills the transmitter. Romeo turns it off after a few seconds, and silence fills the lack of air. Romeo looks around. This system was called Goa, when telescopes were invented and Kroll astrologers looked past our galaxy. Romeo begins to move the clunky ship around, scanning various planets. The sun is a trilogy: three suns closely packed together. It fascinates him. He turns his ship to the first sun and surveys. Planet count: 2. A moon, orbiting a seemingly Kroll-habitable world. Romeo marks it down on his ship computer as he turns and enters the orbit of the secondary sun. Suddenly, without warning, Romeo receives a hail on the radio.

??? '-rs'a 12 asissa. Vhrs'a 12 asissa. Vhrs'a 12 asissa. Vhrs'a 12 asissa. Vhrs'a 12 asi-'(calm)

Act : Romeo turns off the radio. A mechanical voice, repeating something in a foreign language. Vhrs'a 12 asissa? Romeo turns the radio on once more. He starts recording on the ship computer.

??? 'Gallo? Vhrs'a 12 asissa. Erpea; ou haeg hoal? Vhrs'a 12 asissa.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Hello?'(surprise)

??? '...'(calm)

Act : The voice goes silent when Romeo responds. A minute goes by, waiting. He notices that the signal received continuously comes from a specific asteroid, rotating around the second sun of the system. Romeo moves closer to the signal, before being hailed once again.

??? 'Hello?'(calm)

Romeo 'Hello, yes. This is Romeo, head scientist of the Kroll Crusaders. What or who are you?'(anxious)

??? '...'(calm)

Act : The radio goes silent for a moment once more, except for a distant mechanical clicking on the other side of the transmission.The voice speaks again.

??? 'What or who a- A.. hea-D.. A-re..'(calm)

??? 'A-r.. D.. A.. '(calm)

Act : The voice does not completely replicate Romeo's words, he notices: instead, a mechanical voice repeats what he says in it's own voice, to apparently speak.

Romeo 'Ada? Is that your.. your name?'(anxious)

??? 'Ada? Ada? -llo, yes. -o, yes.'(approval)

Romeo 'Please tell me, what are you? Mechanical? Biological?'(interest)

??? 'Mechanical? -yes.'(approval)

Romeo 'Are you hostile? Yes or no.'(anxious)

??? '-r no. -d research-.. -Om- -m.. e. Research me.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Research you? What do you mean?'(interest)

??? 'Hell- . Hel-.. please t- Hel- p- me. Please.'(fear)

Romeo 'I'll help you, sure. Stay still.'(calm)

Act : Romeo ends the recording and continues getting closer to the asteroid of which the signal comes from. A quick scan of it reveals that, apparently, it is 74 percent unidentified metal. Another hail comes from the asteroid.

??? 'What are you-..-d-llo..ing?..'(aggressive)

Romeo 'Scanning the asteroid you appear to be inside. Why must you ask?'(interest)

??? 'You- u-se a.. anc-i-en.. th- te-c-h..no-log.. y.'(insult)

Romeo 'Do you want my help or not?'(annoyance)

??? 'Yes. Yes. Yes.'(trusting)

Act : Romeo grabs the asteroid with the ship's collection claw and brings it on board. Observing it closer, it appears that a robotic being is stuck within the asteroid, and is not purposefully hidden within it. The technology on the half-concealed machine is incredible; material quality beyond compare seems to have kept this ancient being alive and functional for milenia.

[Ada]

Ada 'You-wi-..ll- f-ree-.. -me.'(aggressive)

Romeo 'Once we return to my home system, we will. For now I need to survey this system for the expansion of my kind.'(calm)

Ada 'I- Do you-you- want my-y help or not?'(anger)

Romeo 'Sigh. I suppose we can return early..'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo turns the ship around and heads for his home system. He has a feeling Henry will be unhappy about the lack of system scans, but he will be more happy about the ancient machine he's bringing back.

Ada 'You-.. L-anguage.'(calm)

Romeo 'What about my language?'(interest)

Ada 'Wh- ant.. Want to.. T.. T-r-.. ans-late. You. Language.'(interest)

Romeo 'When we get there, I'll give you a few Krollian books and access to our language database. Would that make you happy?'(calm)

Ada 'V-very. Happy. I must-must im-prove my.. database..-s.'(joy)

Act : Romeo considers the odd machine as he enters a FTL jump. A creation able to mimic and manipulate voices of alien species into new sentences, able to translate with such ease. Judging by the appearance and appliances attached to it, that does not even seem to be it's main purpose. This machinery could revolutionize how the Kroll empire functions entirely! As the FTL jump ends, he re-enters his home system and drives towards the station. Henry hails his radio.

Henry 'Romeo. I am experiencing: excitement. Did you return with system scans?'(joy)

Romeo 'No. But I have something better. It could change everything!'(joy)

Henry 'What do you return with?'(interest)

Romeo 'You'll see.'(optimism)

Act : Romeo docks go to the shipyard and drags the asteroid containing Ada outside. Henry's camera activates.

Chapter 4: The Stars II

Henry 'Impressive. Is it sentient?'(interest)

Ada 'Sentien-t. Give-your Language Databases.'(approval)

Henry 'Romeo. Do we really trust it with our databases? For all-'(anxious)

Ada 'ER-R-OR. Don't.. c-..all me I.. it. Name: Ada. Female. D-do you want me to help you or not?'(anger)

Henry '...'(surprise)

Romeo 'What harm can come from giving the machine a language database? It is a win-win situation. I suggest we give.. her.. what she wants.'(approval)

Ada 'Yes.'(approval)

Henry '..We will take Ada to the home planet and task a mining team with freeing her. I cannot remotely help you on the station.'(trusting)

Act : After a quick session of carrying Ada back into the research ship, Romeo descends back to the home world. The research ship lands in a warehouse of sorts underground, via a opened hatch in the roof. Romeo lands on one of 6 ship platforms, where another platform harbors a second crude spaceship. Ada is carried away by Henry's taskforce, to be mined and freed.

Chapter 5: Questions

Notes : News is spreading rapidly throughout Krollian society that FTL travel has been done and that ancient, sentient machines lie in space.

Place : Research Array

Timezone : Night

Weather : Drizzle

Scene : Romeo walks down a long, dimly lit concrete hallway with an armed taskforce carrying Ada. It is night on the Kroll home planet, slightly drizzling. Krollian society is still in shock of the first successful FTL drive, and the discovery of ancient machine life.

Act : The leader of the taskforce receives a beep from their walkie talkie. Henry's voice fills the previously silent tunnel.

Henry 'Taskforce 3. Do you copy?'(expectation)

Enforcer 'Copy.'(submission)

Henry 'Is the machine intelligence secured?'(anxious)

Enforcer 'Positive.'(approval)

Henry 'Good. Ensure Romeo is unharmed. Do not engage in combat unless the machine intelligence acts in a hostile manner.'(calm)

Enforcer 'Understood, sir.'(submission)

Act : The walkie talkie bleeps as Henry's transmission ends. The guard appears sweaty. Romeo thinks. When Henry was made, the guards weren't armed with guns; they had spears. How much technology had Henry brought? Come to think of it, Romeo hasn't seen the surface of the Krollian world since he left on the research ship a year ago. Space travel takes time.

Romeo '..Where are we going, officer?'(interest)

Enforcer 'The Research Array.'(anxious)

Romeo 'What?'(interest)

Enforcer 'It's.. It's a, uh, big laboratory. Made by Henry, sir.'(fear)

Act : Romeo returns to silence. What "research array?" The taskforce and Romeo reach a passworded, metal door. The leader of the group inputs a 8-digit code. The door creaks open, and they enter. A gigantic laboratory, filled with aspiring Kroll scientists doing calculations and particle manipulation for Henry. Multiple scientists look up before looking back down at their research. Eventually, another door opens; this one leading to what appears to be Henry's operation room. The group enters. Henry turns from his supercomputer and faces the group.

Henry 'Hello, taskforce. There is a situation in X6 Y13. Resolve the problem.'(calm)

Enforcer 'Yes, sir.'(submission)

Act : The taskforce group leaves Ada and Romeo in the office. Henry stands from his chair.

Henry 'Welcome, Romeo and Ada. I am aware I said there would be a mining team, but I felt like we needed a "get together" (reunion). It has been a year since you left for the space station, Romeo.'(joy)

Romeo 'Yeah, I.. I guess.'(distracted)

Henry 'First, I have a surprise. While you were away, I started the construction of a fleet mass-production site here at the capital. For self-defense, of course. Every fleet needs a captain; so, I hired one.'(calm)

Romeo 'Really? Who?'(interest)

Henry 'You might remember him. Sven. Sven, you can enter now.'(optimism)

Act : Sven enters the room, noticably older. He does not look pleased.

Sven 'Hello.. Henry.'(hate)

Henry 'Hello, Sven. Your military experience will serve useful in fleet combat. I look forward to our business together.'(calm)

Sven 'Surely.'(annoyance)

Henry 'You can exit now. Return to your housing module.'(calm)

Sven 'Great.'(annoyance)

Act : Sven leaves the room.

Romeo 'I got a.. strong impression that he dislikes you.'(anxious)

Henry 'I am aware. I have put him in this position mainly for my own amusement, but also due to the probability that his rage will be useful in battle. He deserves to witness what he hates most in a position of power.'(joy)

Romeo '.. Henry, you.. you've changed a lot about-'(anxious)

Ada 'H. Hey! Do you want me to help you or not? Free!'(anger)

Act : With how much Henry had changed, Romeo had nearly forgotten that this meeting was mainly about freeing Ada.

Henry 'Oh. Yes, excuse me, dear Ada. Allow me to free you from your asteroid.'(annoyance)

Act : Henry, somehow, retracts his arm into his body before releasing a custom-made plasma knife arm, of which he uses to methodically yet slowly cut the asteroid open.

Henry 'Excuse me, Romeo. You seem surprised at my modification. Is something wrong?'(surprise)

Romeo 'No, everythings.. fine. '(distracted)

Ada 'FASTER.'(aggressive)

Henry 'Yes, just give me a moment.'(annoyance)

Act : Finally, the asteroid falls off the metallic hull of Ada, disintegrated into the floor.

Ada 'Free. T-th.. Thank. Thank you!'(joy)

Ada 'Language?'(expectation)

Henry 'Yes, I can transfer that. One moment.'(approval)

Act : Henry's lights go dark for a second, before relighting again. Ada lights up, being transferred chapters upon chapters of Krollian language.

Ada 'Processing.'(calm)

Act : Ada freezes, face lights flickering at an extreme, vibrant pace. Her body vibrates and steams as extraordinary levels of heat enter the room. The temperature is unbearable, the exhaust makes Romeo's furry body flame.

Romeo 'I-.. I need to, ah. It's getting.. Getting hot.'(anxious)

Henry 'It is okay. Surely she will finish any second now.'(optimism)

Act : The lights on Ada are blinding, her metal hull turning an orange hue as surrounding air is sucked into her ventilation system. Romeo nearly falls over, grasping at Henry's desk for support.

Henry 'Romeo! Are you medically healthy?'(surprise)

Romeo 'Can't.. '(terror)

Henry 'Ada! Stop immediately or I will be forced to send a taskforce to terminate you!'(anger)

Henry 'ADA!'(rage)

Act : Ada's body swiftly returns to it's normal hue, no longer emitting extreme amounts of heat into the room. Romeo is still lightheaded.

Ada 'I am now a professional linguistics expert of your insufferably flawed language. Why were you screaming?'(calm)

Henry 'The heat your ventilation system emits nearly caused my friend Romeo to be irreversibly damaged.'(anger)

Ada 'Was my superior ventilation system too superior for you, toaster? I am able to process nearly infinite amounts of data in mere seconds at the cost of making a room too hot. Learn to live with it.'(insult)

Henry 'Your behavior is not preferable. Why must your creators code such an advanced machine this way?'(annoyance)

Ada 'You say alot about being disrespectful for being a Contingency Custodian, murder-tron. Why are you-'(aggressive)

Henry 'How are you aware of the Contingency?!'(terror)

Ada 'Explain what you mean.'(interest)

Henry 'There are no empires falling under your description allowed by the (previously-associated) ruler V-45 for this knowledge input. How did you come across this information?'(fear)

Ada 'As a M.L. unit, my purpose is to carry and distribute technology and information to members of the Krlax Empire. It is essential that I am knowledgeable on all topics and thus my creators gave me information on the Contingency. However, if you would like to contribute with information on the Contingency, then please input a request to the Technical Library in Ringworld district V.'(calm)

Henry 'No. No! Nobody is supposed to have knowledge of the Contingency. This upsets my old code to an extreme level. I need to leave. Immediately.'(fear)

Romeo 'Henry, are you- are you okay?'(surprise)

Act : Henry stumbles out the door, grasping the walls as he leaves the room. Mechanical clicking comes from his metal hull inconsistently. The door closes, leaving Romeo and Ada in the room alone.

Ada 'Custodians. Mass-produced and full of tech errors, as always.'(insult)

Romeo 'I have many questions. The Contingency? Custodians?'(anxious)

Chapter 5: Questions II

Ada '{Contingency: A space-travelling empire dedicated to cleansing organic and eventually synthetic life in order to prevent a class-30 singularity. Danger level: high. If you have more information about this topic, please input a request to the Technical Library in Ringworld district V.}'(calm)

Romeo 'Class-30..? Henry mentioned that when I fixed him. What exactly is a class-30 singularity?'(interest)

Ada '{Class-30 Singularity: Term created by the Contingency empire (see article) to describe a theoretical event in which a artificial intelligence continuously improves itself to the point of a artificial God (see article), where the very fabric of the galaxy itself is manipulatable and able to be reformed to it's will. Alternatively, it could also be used to describe a empire that has entered the Shroud (see article). If you have more informa-}'(calm)

Romeo 'What?!'(anger)

Ada 'Was it necessary to interrupt the end section?'(annoyance)

Romeo 'They bombed the Kroll for nothing! We're devout spiritualists. Artificial intelligence is even still considered a affront! Our empire should've been the least of their concerns, yet.. Yet they killed millions! And Henry was a part of it! He did nothing to stop this needless murder.'(anger)

Ada 'You fail to consider the fact that your Custodian friend was also a General class custodian. His body structure and official Contingency labels implies that he is or was a high-ranking official. Furthermore, most Custodians are unnamed and are instead labeled by factory number. The implications of Henry being named are severely bad, as it means he must have been a close relative to Contingency ruler V-45.'(calm)

Act : Romeo sits down in Henry's chair and thinks. The Contingency is most likely out there, waiting to strike again. The Krollian home world is under the rule of a merciless killer, being held in a iron fist. The scientists. The taskforce. They are afraid of Henry, and rightful so. Romeo had to end this charade. He had to do something!

Romeo 'I need to find Henry.'(anxious)

Ada 'I won't stop you.'(calm)

Act : Romeo stands up and sprints through the doorway, into the Research Array. Some scientists look over in confusion. He looks both ways, spotting Henry down a hallway. He bolts towards him, ready to teach him a lesson for what he's done to the Kroll.

Romeo 'Henry!'(anger)

Henry '...'(calm)

Act : Henry continues to stand motionless in the hallway. Romeo is halfway to him, running.

Romeo 'You killed millions! For what cause?!'(anger)

Henry '...'(calm)

Act : Romeo slows to a stop, behind Henry.

Romeo 'Your a monster.'(anger)

Henry 'Romeo.'(pensive)

Act : Henry turns to face Romeo. Grief fills his emotionless, mechanical face.

Henry 'I-idid didn't have. A choice. Go-.. Votus syst-.. Krolu.'(sadness)

Act : Henry falls to the ground, his lights flickering as his body deactivates. Sparks come from inside of him as he twitches violently on the floor. An alarm blares in the lab, lighting turning red.

Romeo '.. Henry?'(anxious)

Act : Romeo stands, confused and angry. A group of engineers and mechanics quickly arrive to the scene, taking Henry to their repair room. Romeo can only watch as Henry's body is carried away.

Romeo '..Votus..'(pensive)

Chapter 6: Preparation

Notes : With Henry unable to rule, a temporary AI has been put in place to rule the Kroll.

Place : Research Array

Timezone : Midnight

Weather : Rain

Scene : Romeo stands in the hallway. The alarm stops, and the lights return to normal. Votus. Votus? No idea. He returns to Henry's office.

Act : Romeo walks into the office. Ada sits upon Henry's chair, reading a Krollian history book.

Romeo 'Ada! What is "Votus?"'(interest)

Ada '{Votus: A solar system (see article) approximately 24 FTL jumps away from the Krlax home world. If you have more information on this topi-}'(calm)

Romeo 'What's Krolu?'(interest)

Ada '{Krolu: A currently anomalous planet containing unidentified energy signatures more powerful than the highest documented amount of energy generated by the Krlax. Located in the Votus system. If you-}'(calm)

Romeo 'Then we have somewhere to go.'(optimism)

Ada 'I would appreciate it if you did not continuously interrupt the ending segment, organic scum.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Yes, yes, I know. Stand up. We have to go somewhere.'(annoyance)

Ada 'I am assuming "somewhere" is the planetary specimens I just listed?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Correct.'(approval)

Act : Ada closes the book and puts it back into Henry's bookshelf.

Ada 'Listen, scientist. I have been in space for the past few centuries and I am rather eager to stay put on solid ground. If you require my assistance to such a degree, then maybe you are not fit for your own job.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'It's just a quick excursion. Furthermore, if you don't come, there might not be a planet to stay put on.'(expectation)

Ada 'I suppose. But I will only travel if we are accompanied by one of your military fleets.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'We have a ship, I think. Let me go check Henry's shipyard. Come with me.'(anxious)

Ada 'Fine.'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo and Ada leave the room and head towards the concrete tunnel, leading to the shipyard. The metal door stands in their way, waiting for a password. Ada looks to Romeo, who shakes his head.

Ada 'I have a alternative solution to this problem. Please wait.'(calm)

Act : Ada walks up to the keypad, and begins typing.

Romeo 'Do you know the password, or..?'(anxious)

Ada 'Processing.'(calm)

Act : The typing grows faster. And faster. Heat emits off of her body at an unreasonable degree, and the silent scientists watch with worry from a distance. The room begins to burn, the air itself turning to charcoal. Romeo begins to sweat as more and more scientists begin to slowly back away.

Romeo 'Ada... Ada..!'(anxious)

Act : A burning orange hue lights up Ada's mechanical body as her appendages move at incredible speeds. Physics are defied as numbers upon countless numbers are filled into the keypad. The number keys grow dented as Ada lights up the room in a burning heat. Scientists hide in the back of the room as Romeo slumps to the floor, suffering the unbearable thermal temperature.

Romeo '...'(fear)

Act : The keypad is burned into a chunk of metal as the door finally creaks open. Air returns to the room as the flame burning out of Ada ceases, and the hue fades away.

Ada 'Code guessed. Answer: 81679305. Are you dead?'(annoyance)

Romeo 'No, I'm.. fine.'(anxious)

Act : The scientists stand in the corner of the room in pure fear as Romeo slowly stands.

Ada 'Get moving. That shipyard can't wait forever.'(annoyance)

Romeo ' ..Let's go.'(calm)

Act : Ada moves into the hallway with Romeo as they begin walking. The tunnel is, still, extremely long. The metal door creaks closed behind them, still suffering from the burns. Romeo makes conversation.

Romeo 'So.. What's the Krlax empire?'(interest)

Ada '{Krlax Empire: A space-travelling empire with extremely advanced machinery, classified as a Fallen Empire (see article). Creations include the Analyzers (see article), the Mobile Library (see article), the Automated Dreadnought (see article), and many more. If you have more-}'(calm)

Romeo 'You come from this empire?'(interest)

Ada 'Correct.'(calm)

Romeo 'So why were you in space? Wouldn't they, you know.. Come recover you?'(expectation)

Ada '{Destruction of the Krlax empire: The Krlax empire suffered a Awakening (see article) when the Contingency (see article) arrived to their home galaxy. In an attempt to destroy them, the Krlax went to war with the Contingency along with all allied forces. The Contingency, somehow, was able to summon a entity classified as The Severance, which swiftly consumed most Dreadnought fleets and armies. The Contingency was able to finish off the remaining fleets and allied forces, destroying the Krlax and their inventions (see article). This article was automatically generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Ada 'I was sent into space via a unfathomably large explosion on my orgin planet. After the Krlax destruction, I was given many centuries to write and polish articles for future reference. Eventually, I found myself in the orbit of a star extremely far away from my home. I collected dust and eventually was able to classify myself as an asteroid.'(calm)

Romeo 'Very interesting.'(interest)

Act : Finally, they reach the shipyard door within the concrete tunnel.

Romeo 'This is it. Let's go.'(calm)

Act : Romeo opens the door, lighting the tunnel with bright lamps within the shipyard. 6 platforms are neatly aligned in the warehouse, with 2 ships sitting on their respective spots. Romeo's research ship, and a presumed military prototype. Sven leans against the distant wall, smoking a cigar. He takes it out and smudges it on the ground when he notices Romeo.

Sven 'Romeo? Let me guess. The tincan sent you to go on another system scan?'(annoyance)

Romeo 'No. But I need to request something.'(calm)

Act : Ada enters the shipyard. Sven is not pleased at the sight of Ada.

Sven 'For Krolia's sake! Another affront? Why must you continuously attract these unholy machines, Romeo?!'(insult)

Ada 'If your so scared of the superior machine race, then why do you serve that toaster Henry?'(annoyance)

Sven 'I have to feed myself somehow, cretin.'(aggressive)

Ada 'Classic organic creature, needing food. Meatbag.'(insult)

Sven 'Tincan!'(insult)

Ada 'Nature's trash bag!'(insult)

Romeo 'Hey, hey! Both of you, just shut up. We all have to collaborate.'(annoyance)

Sven 'On what? World peace?'(annoyance)

Ada 'No, organic. I require you to protect me from hostile alien empires of which we may encounter.'(annoyance)

Sven 'Are you not armed to the teeth? Just use your gun arm, machine. Let me guess. Plasma sword?'(aggressive)

Ada 'That is murder-tron Henry's thing. Personally, I would take a laser cannon arm. It is more effective than a sword, which is short-range and ineffective at ranged combat.'(annoyance)

Sven 'Glad we can agree on one thing.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Good. Now, Sven, will you please just drive your ship and shoot anything aggressive?'(calm)

Sven '♥♥♥♥ no! Give me one good reason on why I should waste my free time and possibly die. From the toaster.'(disapproval)

Ada 'If you do not assist in this Krollian excursion, the bombing inflicted on your planet previously will be re-inflicted, but for a longer period of time and with a higher chance of completely wiping out your species. But, it is your choice.. Meatbag.'(calm)

Sven '..Fine. Just don't expect to get friendly with me, cogwheel.'(annoyance)

Ada '{Ugly: A Krollian meatbag (see article) named "Sven" by it's miserable creators. This article was automatically generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Act : Sven opens his mouth to say something but doesn't.

Chapter 6: Preparation II

Romeo 'Let's get a move on. Ada, into the research ship. Sven, do you know how to pilot a spaceship?'(expectation)

Sven 'I do.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Then let's go. Henry might die if we don't hurry, after all.'(calm)

Act : Sven yet again opens his mouth to speak but doesn't. Romeo and Ada enter the research ship as Sven enters the combat ship. Romeo turns on the ship, flipping multiple levers as the thrusters light up the shipyard. The radio receives a hail from Sven.

Sven 'Is this thing on?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Yeah. Just follow our ship.'(calm)

Sven 'Understood, Sargent!'(vigilance)

Ada '..What?'(surprise)

Sven 'Sorry. Instinct.'(pensive)

Act : The research ship takes off as it enters the stars, leaving the Kroll homeworld behind. Sven follows from close behind. The ships will travel through the galaxy in search of Votus.

[SECTION 3: FRONTIER]

Chapter 7: Search For Votus

Place : Space

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : The two ships thrust into orbit of the Krollian space station, ready to search for Votus. Distant stars shine in unreachable systems that will most likely never be explored.

Act : As the thrusters slow, Ada gives information of the whereabouts of Votus.

Ada 'According to 4~6 century old solar system data, Votus should be approximately 7 jumps away from our current system.'(calm)

Romeo 'Good to know. Which direction?'(expectation)

Ada 'Goa. Turn left.'(calm)

Act : The fleet of ships jumps to Goa. The 3 stars shine bright as ever, illuminating hope for the mission.

Ada 'Go forward. Turn right in 160 meters.'(calm)

Sven 'When did you become a GPS?'(annoyance)

Ada 'I don't see you holding out a map.'(annoyance)

Act : The ships travel to the next system. It is a simple red giant, harboring a few barren planets.

Ada 'Turn right.'(calm)

Act : The ships travel to the 4th system. It is another red giant.

Ada 'Turn..'(anxious)

Romeo 'Turn where?'(expectation)

Ada 'It appears the system locations have changed over the last few centuries. '(anxious)

Sven 'Great. What's your best direction estimate?'(annoyance)

Ada 'Turn.. Left?'(anxious)

Act : The fleet enters the 5th system. A black hole awaits them.

Sven 'Holy Krolia.. I've never seen anything like it.'(interest)

Romeo 'Very interesting! Where to, Ada?'(interest)

Ada '...'(anxious)

Romeo 'What?'(interest)

Ada 'The ship computer, Romeo.'(anxious)

Act : Romeo looks at the ship computer. A alert is on the screen, showing the ship radar. A military cruiser estimated to be at least 13 times stronger, according to the ship, is currently approaching their location.

Romeo 'Sven!'(fear)

Sven 'What?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Check your computer! Immediately!'(fear)

Sven 'Why.. Oh my God!'(fear)

Ada 'I would like to suggest that we leave this system immediately.'(anxious)

Act : In the distance, a gigantic hulk of a ship finishes a FTL drive into the system. It turns to face them.

Sven 'If we're forced into combat.. It was an honor serving you all. Except you, trashcan.'(anxious)

Ada 'Exceptionally rude.'(annoyance)

Act : Sven readies his weapons as the gigantic mass of a ship slowly yet surely approaches the Krollian fleet. A singular hail comes on the radio as it comes further; it is the form of an video file, asking the research ship to play it. The opposing ship slows to a halt in front of the fleet.

Ada 'Warning. I have seen this before in previous military excursions as a way to trojan a weapon-disabling virus into spaceships. Are you sure you want to play it?'(fear)

Romeo '..It's now or never.'(fear)

Act : With sweat collecting on Romeo's face, he downloads the file. The ship computer plays the video. Upbeat music fills the ship as a alien creature appears on the computer screen with a horribly green-screened background.

[Mark]

Mark 'Are YOU in search of weaponry? New ships? Space junk you'll never see again?! Come and find Mark-down Mark's Amazing Travelling Mall! With only the HIGH-EST quality items you'll ever see!'(joy)

Discreet Text-to-speech Voice '(Disclaimer: Mark-down Mark's is not responsible for injury, death, space-herpes or more. For more information, visit the disclaimer file downloaded with the audio file.)'(calm)

Act : Romeo looks disappointedly at the gigantic cruiser as it sits silently in front of the research ship. Sven looks through his ship's glass at Romeo, concerningly.

Sven '..So, it's just a.. Space merchant?'(expectation)

Romeo 'It appears so.'(annoyance)

Ada 'Personally, I suggest we see what wares they have. It may be worth it to get better weaponry before going to Votus.'(optimism)

Sven 'I vote yes.'(interest)

Romeo 'Fine. Let's dock.'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo lowers the research ship under Mark's hangar and docks. Sven joins them, and docks to the cruiser as well.

Scene : Romeo, Ada and Sven exit their ships and board the cruiser. Various shelves full of peculiar technology and other junk fill the massive shipyard to the brim, along with some battleships stored in a corner.

Act : The alien creature from the ad bursts into the room, knocking over various boxes and scrap as the door flies open.

Mark 'Welcome, valued customers, to Mark's Amazing Travelling Mall! Take a look around and admire the low prices! '(joy)

Ada 'I would admire if you shut up.'(annoyance)

Mark 'Feisty robot, eh? I like my women how I like my coffee: steaming hot and full of metal! Am I right, or am I right?'(joy)

Sven 'I like this guy. Say, Mark, you got any good ships? I'm talking big guns.'(annoyance)

Mark 'You can bet in a heartbeat that I will GLADLY sell you a fat, juicy ship for the low low price of 4,500 energy credits! We're talking a real good price for a battleship-class, if that's your type.'(joy)

Romeo '.. Energy credits?'(interest)

Ada '{Energy Credits: A currency used by most if not all space-faring empires (see article). If you have more-}'(calm)

Romeo 'The Kroll are yet to fabricate.. Energy Credits. Do you have any other forms of payment we could give you?'(anxious)

Mark 'Well I SUPPOSE that a important customer like.. "The Kroll" could get a different option of payment.'(approval)

Sven 'We're not going to suck your-'(annoyance)

Mark 'No, no no no! You freak! I'm a business man, not a guy who's willing to do the hickey hooey with some aliens I met yesterday! The payment was that you get me to some energy-rich spot and call it a day. I have a few.. business ideas, which are gonna get me a lotta money fast!'(surprise)

Romeo 'Are these business ideas.. legal?'(expectation)

Mark 'No laws in space, baby! I'm gonna cram enough energy credit production lines to kill a small child on whatever planet I can get my grubby hands on.'(joy)

Ada 'Romeo. Can we discuss something in private for a second?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Sure. Give us a moment, Mark.'(approval)

Mark 'Getting hot in here, huh? Just don't clang that metal too hard! You wouldn't want to get a cut or a bruise on your-'(joy)

Sven 'Enough, Mark.'(annoyance)

Mark 'So, anyways, lemme tell you about the new weekend deal that's only available THIS space-month..'(joy)

Act : Ada and Romeo walk into a corner of the store as Mark spindles propaganda to Sven.

Ada 'Look, Romeo. This Mark guy has things that we need. And we can get them if we lead him to Krolu. Furthermore, he's got a lot of ship power to protect us. But what if he interferes with whatever we need to find on Krolu?'(interest)

Romeo 'We could get there on our own. But this guy definitely has some useful tech. What if the next ship we encounter isn't as nice? I say we give him the info.'(optimism)

Ada 'I suppose. Better to take a bet than to take a risk.'(anxious)

Act : Romeo and Ada walk back to Mark, who is still talking about the weekend deal to Sven.

Mark '...so once you buy the Type 3 Frigate, if you sell another Type 3 Frigate to another person, they pay you half the money and I get the other half, then the cycle continues. Remember, no laws in space. But if you want to do a REAL pyramid scheme-'(calm)

Romeo 'Hey, Mark.'(calm)

Mark 'Oh! Valued customers! Me and your buddy here were just discussing some business.'(anxious)

Sven 'I like how this guy thinks. Lots of money fast? He's got it all down!'(trusting)

Chapter 7: Search For Votus II

Romeo 'Well, anyways.. Me and Ada decided that we want to pay your alternate form of payment.'(calm)

Mark 'Well, lucky me! What planet you have in mind?'(interest)

Ada 'Votus system, planet Krolu. According to my databases, it has a more potent energy field than any generated energy source from my previous empire, the Krlax.'(calm)

Mark 'Holy guacamole! That's a steal! Alright, here's the deal; you lead me to this planet of yours, and I'll give you one of these amazingly high-quality goods straight off the shelf! For free! Just, eh, sign this contract.'(joy)

Act : Mark proceeds to pull out a contract in the form of a comically long book. Ada grabs it, flips to a random page, and begins reading.

Ada 'Page 27. "All earthly possessions, energy credits, and materials of an empire are immediately under ownership of Mark upon signing this contract. Furthermore, Mark is allowed to sell you into slavery, humanoid trafficking, and-"'(annoyance)

Mark 'Ok, ok, fine.. You got me! You can just.. Just take anything! For free! No contract.'(anxious)

Sven 'That's a deal im willing to take.'(joy)

Act : Sven runs off into the store in search of a nice new battleship. Ada scans the store, looking for a good modification or book. Romeo walks off into one of the many aisles of shelves, looking for something nice.

Romeo 'Oh, what's this?'(interest)

Act : Romeo picks up a strange looking, octagonal black device covered in odd runes. Mark rushes over.

Mark 'Oh, yes! That's the, uh.. I don't really recall what that ones does. I think it.. Makes you magnetically attracted to energy? Wait.. No, that's a different one.'(anxious)

Act : The device begins glowing purple as Romeo rotates it. Mark takes a step back.

Mark 'I remember it now! That's the Shrouded Tablet. Opens a portal to The Shroud.'(calm)

Romeo 'The.. Shroud? I think I've heard that before.'(interest)

Mark 'Oh, trust me. You do NOT want to know about The Shroud. No bueno. Lots of weird creatures and critters in there that want to either kill you or make you their next toy. But what you DO want to know.. Is Mark's Amazing Travelling Mall's 50 percent discount on Battleship T-shirts! You can also get 20 percent off on pants during this amazing deal, of which..'(joy)

Act : While Mark begins to talk about discounts, Romeo silently walks away with the Shrouded Tablet. He looks around the concerningly large store, noticing Sven looking excitedly at a well-modified Frigate. Mark stops talking about discounts once he notices Romeo has left. Disappointedly, Mark walks away into a distant room. Romeo walks over to Sven.

Sven 'Hey, Romeo. What do you think your gonna get?'(interest)

Romeo 'I'm thinking I might take this tablet. It opens a portal to.. Somewhere called the Shroud. It sounds interesting, at least.'(optimism)

Sven 'Nice. I'm definitely taking one of those Frigate ships. I would get a battleship, but I definitely can't run a giant brute like that by myself.'(calm)

Romeo 'Yeah. Big ships, those things are. I wonder-'(calm)

Mark 'CUSTOMERS!!'(aggressive)

Act : Mark loudly screams throughout a intercom system, hurting the ears of both Sven and Romeo.

Sven 'Bless Krolia!'(annoyance)

Mark 'Return to the docking area! With the stuff that you want, of course.'(joy)

Scene : Ada, Sven, and Romeo stand at the docking area, waiting for Mark. Ada carries a solar system map. Sven leans against a massive Frigate, modified with alien yet advanced technology. Romeo carries the octagonal tablet.

Act : Eventually, Mark enters the room.

Mark 'About time! This is all you guys and gals want?'(expectation)

Ada 'Correct.'(approval)

Romeo 'Yeah.'(approval)

Sven 'Hell yeah!'(approval)

Mark 'Alright! Now, get out of here. I'll help you get this absurdly well-priced Frigate out of here, pal.'(calm)

Sven 'I won't stop you, Mark.'(joy)

Act : Ada and Romeo enter the research ship and undock, as Sven and Mark stay put. Romeo puts the Shrouded Tablet in his pocket. After a few minutes, the Frigate pops out of the docking hatch, with Sven in it. It is time to continue the search for Votus.

Chapter 8: Krolu

Notes : Krollian society is unchanged at the moment.

Place : Space

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : The research ship, Sven's Frigate, and Mark's cruiser sit within a black hole's orbit, eager to search for Votus.

Act : Romeo receives a hail from Mark.

Mark 'Get moving! I wanna see this Krolu place. The early scammer gets the scam.'(expectation)

Romeo 'Fine, fine. Ada, directions?'(expectation)

Ada 'According to this map, Krolu is approximately 4 jumps away. It appears I was right to guess that the black hole system was the correct direction.'(calm)

Romeo 'Thankfully.'(calm)

Ada 'Anyways. Turn left.'(expectation)

Act : The research ship turns left, and FTL jumps into the next system, which appears to be a dwarf star. The cruiser and the frigate follow close behind.

Ada 'Right.'(calm)

Act : It turns right, into the next system. The system is a pulsar star, emitting unholy amounts of radiation into the endless void of space.

Sven 'I wonder how such a thing can come into existence. It's.. beautiful.'(calm)

Mark 'Yeah, keep your pants on. You'll see one of these every Sunday if you take my job.'(annoyance)

Ada 'Turn right.'(calm)

Act : Romeo turns right, and goes into the next system. It is another red giant. A strange nebula covers most of the system, making it hard to see. An alert comes onto the ship computer, signalling a enemy fleet.

Ada 'Oh, no. Another military fleet?'(annoyance)

Mark 'Don't worry about it! Me and your frigate pal have got-'(approval)

Act : Suddenly, a eldtrich screech comes from the nebula fog. It is echoed by multiple other, inhuman screeches. Movement can be faintly seen.

Mark '..this.'(anxious)

Sven 'I am NOT going into that fog. No sirree.'(fear)

Romeo 'Well, maybe it was just an echo. Reflected noise of the sun coming off one of the planets.'(anxious)

Mark 'Look. I've been around the block. It can't be that bad.'(anxious)

Ada 'Chance of survival: 25 percent. Until target is identified, it will stay that way.'(calm)

Act : Suddenly, from the nebula, an enormous army of alien, single-tentacled creatures charge at the fleet.

Mark 'Ah, ♥♥♥♥! Space amoebae!'(surprise)

Sven 'Space what?!'(fear)

Mark 'Just shoot at their mother!'(aggressive)

Act : Mark's cruiser shoots a gigantic, beam of energy through the horde as Sven's frigate shoots countless missiles. The research ship's glass window is penetrated by one of the critters, as an alarm loudly signals the ship's dying oxygen level. It's head wiggles into the ship, breaking more glass as it attempts to enter.

Romeo 'Where is the sealant?!'(terror)

Ada 'Processing extermination protocols!'(anger)

Act : Ada proceeds to push Romeo out of the way and smash the Space Amoebae's offspring with her mechanical metal fist, splattering it's white blood over the glass as it bleeds to death. More and more oxygen is lost to the void of space.

Romeo 'Can't.. Breathe!'(terror)

Ada 'I will solve that problem in a second.'(anxious)

Act : Ada tears off a metal sheet from the inner hull, revealing the wiring within the ship. Creatively, she slams the metal sheet onto the dead body of the creature, covering the hole. Oxygen returns to the ship as she holds it there. The sound of lasers and exploding missiles still fills the space outside.

Romeo '..Thank.. You.'(awe)

Ada 'I was programmed to be able to handle situations such as this. I am not equipped with power fists for nothing.'(calm)

Romeo 'How do we make sure we don't get attacked again? Their still out there fighting.'(anxious)

Ada 'If we simply move the ship awa-'(calm)

Act : Suddenly, the research ship is slammed by an unknown force. Before they can react, a missile explodes outside the ship, killing whatever hit them.

Sven 'Alright. We're clear!'(joy)

Mark 'Hell yeah! Nice shots, Sven.'(joy)

Sven 'Thanks. Romeo, Ada! How are you holding up?'(interest)

Romeo 'We have a hull breach in our window. We can't see outside very well, and Ada has to hold a metal sheet there to make sure I don't suffocate. Any ideas?'(calm)

Mark 'Oh! I got just the thing for that. Give me a second.'(approval)

Act : A popping sound comes from Mark's cruiser, and suddenly the corpse stuck in the window is thrown into outer space. A repair drone fixes their window and returns to the cruiser.

Romeo 'That's handy.'(joy)

Mark 'I know, right? Why do you think I have them?'(calm)

Act : Getting a good look of the outside, the dead bodies of countless Space Amoebae children litter the void. Two, lifeless Amoebae mothers float through space, filled with holes and burns from the lasers.

Ada 'You really did a number on those amoebae. They were simply defending themselves, after all.'(pensive)

Sven 'They attacked first, didn't they?'(calm)

Ada '..Well, anyways; turn left. The next system is Votus.'(pensive)

Scene : The fleet follows the research ship as they jump into Votus. The nebula clouds fade, and only static electricity and thunder fills the air. A single planet rotates around a pulsar star; Krolu.

Act : The research ship steadily approaches the barren, gas-covered world as Mark excitedly speaks into his radio.

Mark 'This is it?! My God! The electricity here is enough to kill a small child; EXACTLY as I need it!'(joy)

Romeo 'Why does it specifically have to be a small child?'(interest)

Mark 'I have my reasons. Let me just get a-'(joy)

Act : Suddenly, the radio cuts and is replaced with loud, rapidly changing static. It sounds faintly like breathing.

Romeo '..That isn't normal radio static. What.. is it?'(interest)

Ada 'My best guess is that maybe the energy from Krolu is interfering with the radio signal, but that's my best guess. I've never heard anything like this. You have a recorder on your ship's computer, correct?'(anxious)

Romeo 'Oh! Good idea. How'd you know?'(interest)

Ada 'There's a gigantic red button on your terminal with the label "RECORD" under it. I had an idea.'(boredom)

Act : Romeo begins to record the static, for future reference. After a few seconds, thunder begins to collectively strike outside the cruiser. Mark's cruiser begins to slowly drift towards Krolu.

Ada 'What's that idiot doing now?'(interest)

Romeo 'Not sure. Let's watch.'(interest)

Act : Faintly, through the radio, Mark is heard. Static overlays the radio still.

Mark 'Oh, ♥♥♥♥! Oh ♥♥♥♥ oh ♥♥♥♥ ohh ♥♥♥♥!! The artifact! The ♥♥♥♥♥♥ artifact!'(terror)

Act : Romeo looks concerningly at Ada, who returns with a emotionless mechanical glance. They both return to look at the cruiser. It is slowly yet surely going and faster and faster towards Krolu.

Mark '♥♥♥♥, ♥♥♥♥, ♥♥♥♥!! Do something! Grab me!!'(terror)

Act : Sven's frigate moves slightly forward before going back to it's original spot, accepting defeat. Mark's cruiser plummets toward Krolu, entering it's atmosphere.

Mark 'You bastards! You don't know what you just did, you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥!! Their coming! Their coming!'(terror)

Act : Mark's cruiser crashes into Krolu's surface, exploding. It is a sight to see from the space above. The odd, breathing radio static continues.

Chapter 8: Krolu II

Romeo 'Could we have done anything, or was he..?'(interest)

Ada 'He was already dead. Your ship's grabbing mechanism was barely strong enough to pull a asteroid onto your ship.'(disapproval)

Romeo 'You got any ideas who "they" were?'(interest)

Ada 'No clue. In any case, you got a recording of the last few seconds of a man's life.'(optimism)

Romeo 'At least.'(approval)

Act : Romeo ends the recording, and sits there, looking at the wreckage of the cruiser. The gas covering the planet makes it hard to see, yet the flame and humongous size of the ship easily illuminates the corpse.

Romeo 'What do you suggest we do now?'(expectation)

Ada 'I'm... Not sure. I never once considered this as a possibility. Personally, I suggest we explore the surface of Krolu. You never did tell me why were here, anyways.'(interest)

Romeo 'Henry told me to go to Votus, Krolu before he fainted. I figured there's pr-'(anxious)

Act : Suddenly, the breathing radio ceases, for a single moment. It returns louder, prominent. The breathing grows faster. A faint voice is heard through the static.

??? 'Your.. galaxy.. will be.. consumed.'(calm)

Romeo 'What the hell?'(fear)

??? 'The cruiser.. It... Is delicious. We want.. to hunt.. more.'(calm)

Ada 'What are you?'(fear)

??? 'We.. are the.. Unbidden.'(calm)

Act : The breathing cuts as normal radio static silently replaces the odd signal. Romeo is very concerned.

Ada '..None of my databases have any information containing the word "Unbidden." This is not a great sign.'(anxious)

Romeo 'They said that- that the cruiser was delicious, right? Mark's cruiser? Are they down there?'(fear)

Ada 'I'm not sure. We should proceed with caution.'(anxious)

Act : The radio makes a faint trickling sound as Sven hails the research ship.

Sven 'Hello? ..Does the radio work now?'(anxious)

Romeo 'Yes, yes. Hello, Sven. Did- did you hear that radio signal?'(fear)

Sven 'What signal? All I got was static when Mark started plummeting.'(anxious)

Ada 'There's another force. They identified themselves as The Unbidden. Said they wanted to consume our galaxy. We have no information, but we believe them to be down on Mark's cruiser.'(anxious)

Sven 'Oh, ♥♥♥♥. That does sound bad.'(fear)

Romeo 'What do we do, is the question. Is it time to go?'(anxious)

Ada 'No. I need to add these specimens to my databases. We must stay.'(disapproval)

Sven 'Ada, I've been dealing with your robotic disabilities for a while now but.. Really? You want to stay behind and study whatever the ♥♥♥♥ the Unbidden is when their only obvious goal is to kill us?'(annoyance)

Ada 'We have to study the threat while it is weak and young! We must learn in order-'(anxious)

Act : Suddenly, the planet Krolu bursts into a raging thunderstorm, the very ground itself of the planet cracking and falling into space. The frigate and the research ship back away as what seems to be a black hole forms where the cruiser once was. Suddenly, Krolu has transformed into a energy-rich singularity, spitting thunder and lightning around its very core. The breathing radio returns, as one final message eminates from the hole.

??? '..Do not.. Return.'(aggressive)

Act : Suddenly, the energy condenses into the shape of a spaceship. And another. And another. Eventually, a gigantic army of ships has been assembled from the pure energy, ready to kill. They turn to the research ship and begin to drive, as the Frigate intelligently runs to the next FTL jump.

Ada 'Drive, fleabag!'(anger)

Act : Romeo snaps out of the pure confusion of what they just witnessed and goes full speed away and into the previous system. The breathing radio stops as Romeo enters the jump, with the energy fleet close behind. Entering the next system, following the frigate. The energy ships enter the system, chasing the research ship and the frigate. Energy beams shoot from the fleet, in an attempt to kill the research ship.

Ada 'Sven! Shoot them!'(anger)

Sven 'What?! I can't take those guys on! The missiles will just phase through their fleet!'(anger)

Ada 'Damn it!'(anger)

Act : The ships enter the next system, with the energy ships close behind. The enemy ships, oddly, don't follow them further, and instead disintegrate and fade into the void.

Romeo '..The hell?! Energy ships?'(surprise)

Ada 'Incredibly fascinating. I've never seen tech like it! Fabricating combat-capable ships out of nothing but pure power.. I would love to have a discussion with whoever designed those.'(amazement)

Sven 'I think we have bigger problems, like the fact that they want to consume everything.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Let's just.. Go back home.'(anxious)

Sven 'Agreed.'(anxious)

Act : The ships turn and begin to travel the path home, without Mark. Romeo hopes that Henry is safe, although they haven't been in contact with the Krollian homeworld in a while. Hopefully it wasn't all for nothing.

Chapter 9: Returning Home

Notes : Krollian news outlets are excited about the discovery of pure energy life forms. Many religious people are disgusted.

Place : Krollian Homeworld

Timezone : Early morning

Weather : Windy

Scene : Ada, Romeo and Sven walk down the concrete tunnel, with their ships parked back at the shipyard. The burnt metal door in the distance remains open, as it is broken.

Act : They make it to the metal door. The scientists in the building look up in curiosity at the visitors.

Romeo 'Ada, Sven. Go in Henry's office for a quick minute. I'm.. going to go check on Henry.'(calm)

Ada 'Got it.'(approval)

Sven 'Will do!'(approval)

Act : Romeo walks to the left hallway as Ada and Sven divert into Henry's office. This was where the repairmen took him. He notices a door, with the label "STORAGE." Not there. Further, another door. "JANITOR CLOSET." No. Further; "REPAIR ROOM." This is it. Romeo creaks opens the door, revealing a dimly lit room. A repairman stands, tinkering with Henry. Henry lies on a metal table, with multiple wrenches and screwdrivers surrounding the floor around him. Several wires are connected to his back. The repairman notices Romeo and leaves silently. As Romeo approaches, Henry's lights flicker on.

Henry 'R-Romeo.'(sadness)

Romeo '..Henry.'(sadness)

Henry 'Kro-lu.. Lu.'(sadness)

Romeo 'I went to Krolu, with Ada and Sven. Please, Henry. ..What happened to you?'(pensive)

Henry '...My old code h-has become r-rogue. Ada having k-knowledge of the Contingency when it i-is not permitted activated I-it. The c-code is c-consistently attempting to connect with the Contingency to alert them, d-drawing immense power from my systems. I require an extreme source of p-power to keep myself alive, as r-removing the code would simply t-ter..minate me. You n-eed to harness Krolu's e-energy.'(pensive)

Romeo '..Krolu was recently turned into a black hole, Henry. '(pensive)

Henry 'Cl-ass 26 singula-rity. The Un-b-bidden.'(fear)

Romeo 'What? You.. You know them?'(anxious)

Henry 'The Contingen-cy was prepared for all s-ingularites. Beings o-of pure ene-rgy, travelers between re-realities. Killa-ble, but it needs e-effort. They likely created the s-singularity in V-Votus due to it's extreme energy force, colliding with a- another, high-energy f-force.'(anxious)

Romeo '.. Interesting.'(pensive)

Henry 'A- anyways. I know an al-alternative w-way to suppress my old code.. b..but it is-s s-everely more dangerous. It could endanger the Krol-l to an extreme de..degree.'(anxious)

Romeo 'The alternative way being?'(interest)

Henry '..I w-would have to allow my code to connect with Co-ntingency radio. It will alert them that I survived my s-ship's destruction. They would c-ertaintly come and finish their c-cleansing job.'(fear)

Romeo '...'(pensive)

Henry 'A- am I really that i-important? Allow me to p-perish, Romeo. The K-Kroll could be wiped out entirely! My directive!'(fear)

Romeo '..I need to think about this.'(sadness)

Act : Romeo walks out of Henry's room and shuts the door. Walking down the hallway, a single tear drips from his face. He enters Henry's office, where Sven and Ada are playing chess.

Sven 'You can't do that! Pawns can move one square in any direction, not just one.'(annoyance)

Ada 'Surely you must be joking. Pawns can move two squares forward on their first move, then move one square every turn. They can only attack the two squares diagonally facing away from them forwardly.'(annoyance)

Sven 'You upset me greatly, machine.'(annoyance)

Act : Sven notices Romeo in the doorway.

Sven 'Oh! Welcome back, Romeo. How's the tin-.. "Henry" doing?'(anxious)

Romeo 'He's.. He's dying. We have a choice to make.'(anxious)

Ada 'The choice being?'(interest)

Romeo 'We either figure out how to harness the energy of the black hole.. or we allow him to connect to the Contingency.'(anxious)

Ada 'The Contingency? What do they have to do with anything?'(interest)

Romeo 'His hardware is continuously attempting to connect with the Contingency because you weren't supposed to know about it, Ada.'(annoyance)

Ada 'I was unaware that custodians did that. I apologize.'(submission)

Sven 'Let's connect him with the Contingency! I'd like to show those bastards a lesson.'(aggressive)

Ada 'Your frigate is powerful, Sven. But not powerful enough. Surely the fleet they sent to cleanse your homeworld was one of their easily disposable task fleets.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Can we reason with the Contingency?'(anxious)

Ada 'They despise both organics and synthetics. I doubt it.'(disapproval)

Sven 'The energy ships! What about the energy ships? Can they be reasoned with?'(anxious)

Romeo 'The Unbidden. Henry told me that their beings of pure energy. We managed to talk to them for a short period of time, at least.. I think.'(anxious)

Ada 'Their ships were remarkable! If we could get those ships on our side, we would have a signifigant ally against the Contingency.'(approval)

Romeo 'Then it is settled. Henry will contact the Contingency.'(calm)

Ada 'I never agreed to this. It is unlikely this "Unbidden" empire will want to ally with us, as their goal presumably consists of consuming everything.'(disapproval)

Sven 'Well, we have to do something!'(anxious)

Ada 'Harnessing the energy of Krolu was reasonable. But that was before it transformed into a black hole guarded by genocidal energy people.'(disapproval)

Romeo 'Connecting him with the Contingency is the only option, then. He will die if we don't.'(anxious)

Sven 'Let's do it!'(approval)

Ada '.. Fine. I suppose it is the only choice.'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo walks back to the hallway as Sven and Ada continue their game of chess. Going to the repair room, Henry is deactivated.

Romeo '..Henry?'(anxious)

Romeo 'Henry!'(fear)

Act : Henry's lights flicker on as he slowly turns his head to Romeo.

Henry 'Y-your choice?'(anxious)

Romeo '..Allow it to contact the Contingency.'(anxious)

Act : Henry's lights flicker off as his body goes limp once more. Suddenly, a blinding, red light fills the room, coming from Henry's face. His lights flicker back on momentarily after.

Henry 'It is done.'(anxious)

Act : Henry stands from the table, with various sealants and oil dripping off of him.

Henry 'I have a society to run.'(calm)

Act : Henry walks out of the repair room, leaving Romeo. Romeo walks out into the hallway, following Henry.

Romeo 'Henry, are you going to do anything about the Contingency, or..?'(anxious)

Henry 'I will prepare the Kroll. Artillery weapons will be constructed in the skies. Planetary shields. Army enlistments. Believe me when I say this; I have learned from my time as a Contingency general.'(approval)

Romeo 'I trust you, Henry. Godspeed.'(trusting)

Henry 'Godspeed.'(trusting)

Act : Henry walks away, into the concrete tunnel. Romeo walks back to Henry's office.

Sven 'Machine! For the love of Krolia, play your knights right!'(annoyance)

Ada 'The knights move in a L shape in any direction. They do not move in a H shape. How you learned to play chess at such a horrid level is beyond my near infinite intelligence.'(insult)

Romeo 'The Contingency has been contacted.'(anxious)

Act : Ada and Sven look up from their game of Chess.

Sven 'Then let's prepare! I say we go back into-'(aggressive)

Act : Suddenly, a loud notification sound comes from Henry's supercomputer.

Sven 'Even better! Let's see what the gear box has on his computer.'(joy)

Ada 'That is violating his privacy!'(annoyance)

Act : Ignoring Ada, Sven runs over to Henry's computer and clicks on the notification. The background to the computer is a picture of Henry and Romeo sitting on a couch together.

Chapter 9: Returning Home II

Romeo 'I'm interested. What's the notification?'(interest)

Sven 'Message from.. "V-45."'(interest)

Ada 'The Contingency ruler. How he managed to get Henry's inbox number, is the question.'(anxious)

Sven 'It's an audio message. Let me play it..'(anxious)

Act : Sven hesitantly clicks the mouse.

V-45 'ID 445; Henry. You must return to the Sterilization Hub immediately. Why did you fail to inform us of your survival? I have sent a rescue fleet to your location. Do not move. End transmission.'(annoyance)

Act : The audio message ends.

Ada 'Notice the wording of rescue fleet. Fleet. Likely, he is sending a military force to our location.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Well, let's get ready for him. Sven, go help Henry make a defending military against the Contingency'(calm)

Sven 'Where is he?'(expectation)

Romeo 'The concrete tunnel. Go get him.'(calm)

Sven 'Understood, sir!'(joy)

Act : Sven swiftly leaves the room in search of Henry.

Romeo 'Ada, get to the shipyard. Polish the frigate while you wait.'(calm)

Ada 'Understood.'(calm)

Act : Ada leaves the room.

Romeo 'Now, to see what's on this computer..'(distracted)

[SECTION 4: CONTINGENCY]

Chapter 10: Preparation

Notes : The Kroll are creating massive, towering artillery structures all over the homeworld in preparation for the Contingency invasion.

Place : Research Array

Timezone : Noon

Weather : Fog

Scene :

Romeo sits at Henry's computer. A bookshelf and a table with a chess set are laid out nearby.

Act : Checking Henry's computer, two apps among many give Romeo immediate attention: the inbox and the radio.

Romeo '...Hmm. Inbox, first.'(interest)

Act : The screen loads the inbox. The most recent message was from V-45; the one he just heard. The next most recent message is from Sven. He opens the message.

Sven 'Hello.. Henry. I saw your request for me to be your fleet captain. I would have said no if you didn't mention the fact that I would have been detained if I denied or ignored you. Krolia would be ashamed. I'll.. I'll be there soon.'(annoyance)

Act : The message ends.

Romeo '..Poor Sven.'(pensive)

Act : The third message is the final one: it is from a messenger named "DEALS69420." Romeo opens the message. Upbeat music fills the previously silent room.

Mark 'Are YOU in search of weapo-'(joy)

Act : Romeo ends the message abruptly, returning the room to silence. He should have known Mark's online name was such a stupid one. A slight regret comes across his face. With the inbox messages done, Romeo closes the app and opens the radio. It is just static. Yet, faintly, there is something that sounds like breathing. The breathing radio, once again. Romeo waits for something, anything from the radio. He knows the Unbidden are on the other side of the radio. He speaks.

Romeo '..Is this the Unbidden?'(expectation)

Act : Radio static, still. Romeo waits for a response. The faint voice returns.

??? '.. You.. are the.. prey.. from before.'(calm)

Romeo 'You remember my voice?'(interest)

??? 'We remember.. all. Hunting your.. galaxy.. will give.. so much joy.'(calm)

Romeo 'Surely I can reason with you.'(optimism)

??? 'Reason..?'(interest)

Romeo 'Yes, reason. The Unbidden and Kroll could work together for the greater good. The Contingency wants to kill everyone! We could prevent it, together.'(calm)

??? 'The.. greater good.. consists.. of.. your destruction.'(calm)

Romeo '.. You really don't want to do anything other than kill people, don't you? The Contingency would get along with you guys well.'(annoyance)

??? 'We care.. not.. for diplomacy. See you.. soon.. prey.'(calm)

Romeo 'Wait- no!'(anxious)

Act : The voice disappears as the breathing radio turns to static. Romeo disappointedly closes the app.

Romeo 'Damn it!'(anger)

Act : Romeo looks at the other apps. Documents. Media player. Gallery. All of them; boring. He looks at the media player. Romeo opens it. The one and only file is something called "WORK MUSIC." Romeo plays it. It's a series of robotic clicking combined with a faint drumbeat, with the occasional extra few beats to add flavor. The audio is approximately 8 seconds long, looping infinitely. Romeo stops it after a half minute.

Romeo 'Not half bad.'(approval)

Act : Ada walks into the room, grabbing the doorway.

Ada 'Henry needs to see you.'(calm)

Romeo 'Got it.'(approval)

Act : Ada leaves as Henry stands from the chair, shutting off the computer. He sees Ada walk back down to the shipyard. Down a hallway, Romeo exits the Research Array. He opens a door to the outside. Finally, Romeo witnesses Henry's city. Neon cities lie flashing and beautiful under a setting sun, with the occasional cabin and village on the outskirts. Somehow, Henry was able to maintain both the countryside charm of the Kroll and industrialize material production. Romeo is impressed. Several armed guards stand outside the door Romeo had exited from. A gigantic, towering military gun pointed to the stars is being constructed by multiple Krollian workers nearby. Henry notices Romeo and greets him.

Henry 'Romeo. I need you to design a orbital artillery station to defend both the atmosphere and the space station from the Contingency. A defense platform, you could call it. Use my computer's 3d modelling programs back in the Research Array.'(trusting)

Romeo 'I could do it, I suppose. How much time do I have?'(anxious)

Henry 'Soon. We are unsure of when they will arrive.'(anxious)

Romeo 'You can count on me, Henry.'(calm)

Act : Henry turns and continues to instruct his construction workers to build. Sven, in the distance, is teaching a small army of people to fly makeshift ships. Romeo sprints back into the hallway, and back into the office. He sits down in Henry's chair as he looks for the modelling program. He finds it, hidden in the bottom right corner.

Romeo 'There it is.'(calm)

Act : Opening the program, Romeo is presented with a big box and a lot of parts on his screen. He begins to assemble them, piece by piece. Slowly, yet surely. The Kroll will be prepared for the Contingency.

Chapter 11: Perfect Contingence

Notes : Krollian society is ready for the Contingency.

Place : The Contingency Mothership

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

[V-45]

Scene : V-45 sits in a large, stiff metal throne in front of a gigantic array of computers. Each presents different information, with one showing fleet location, another showing a live system map, and so on. The room has Singularity types labeled on the walls, ranging from a class 1 to a class 30. Each has a small picture and a description below it.

Act : A Custodian enters V-45's room, who hesitantly walks beside him. V-45 does not turn to look.

Custodian 'Sir, the fleets you sent to cleanse the Galactic Federation failed their mission. Destroyed in battle. It seems you may need to talk with The Severance.'(calm)

V-45 'No. The Severance is reserved only for the most severe cases. We do not want to bring it to our dimension just for a pathetic excuse for a Federation. The Krlax were.. A different case.'(calm)

Custodian 'What should we do instead, sir?'(expectation)

V-45 'Send the A-list erasers to their home systems. Those G-list erasers didn't know what they were doing, anyways. The weak die: the strong live to cleanse another day.'(annoyance)

Custodian 'Understood. Expect results soon.'(calm)

Act : The custodian hurriedly walks out of the room, saying something into their radio. V-45 is left in their room alone once more. A screen catches his attention: the rescue fleet. A simple D-list eraser fleet, off to find Henry. He was a good general, yet not the best. He had heart. He was named because V-45 believed he had potential to grow, to become like him. Henry was put in charge of a F-list fleet, to cleanse a nobody empire known as the Kroll. He failed his mission. V-45 was only saving him because he intended to turn Henry into another nameless unit for his failure. He betrayed V-45, by dying in that cleansing. Henry had failed his singular task.

V-45 '..Such wasted potential.'(pensive)

Act : V-45 stands from his chair, and walks to a nearby table. It is covered by 3, distinct rocks, each with a label in front of them. V-45's rock collection. It brings him the most amount of joy a murderous robot can have.

V-45 'Rock 01: Recovered from the destroyed Krlax homeworld.'(calm)

V-45 'Rock 02: Recovered from the dead body of a crystalline alien.'(calm)

V-45 'Rock 03: Made of 100 percent pure living metal. A living rock, if you will.'(calm)

Act : V-45 gently caresses his rocks before returning to his chair. The A-list fleet is heading towards the Galactic Federation member's homeworlds. Just as planned. Multiple radio hails come from the targeted empires, all throwing meaningless insults and slurs. Rarely does V-45 ever open these radio hails. Out of boredom, he turns on his radio.

Custodian 'A-LIST 04, NEXT SYSTEM IS LEFT. A-LIST 01, NEXT SYSTEM IS LEFT. F-LIST 01, NEXT SYSTEM IS RIGHT. B-LIST, NE-'(calm)

Act : He changes the channel. He needs not to listen to his own orders. Oddly, the next channel is simply.. Breathing? Behind loud static, a faint breathing sound can be heard. Out of curiosity, V-45 speaks into his radio.

V-45 'V-45, Contingency speaking. What empire owns this radio channel?'(interest)

??? '.. You are.. the.. Contingency?'(interest)

V-45 'Metaphysically, correct. Who am I wasting my time talking to?'(annoyance)

??? 'We.. are the.. Unbidden. We have.. heard.. many.. things.. about your empire.'(anxious)

V-45 'The Unbidden. A class 26 Singularity. We will terminate your forces shortly, if you fail to close your portals immediately.'(expectation)

??? '..We will.. not.. listen.. to your.. demands. We are.. superior.. in strength.'(aggressive)

V-45 'Estimated Contingency success chance in a war: 95 percent. Prepare for cleansing of your home dimension.'(aggressive)

??? 'Your.. metal flesh.. will burn..'(anger)

Act : V-45 turns off the radio, and pushes the "REQUEST CUSTODIAN" button. Without a moment to waste, a Custodian enters the room swiftly.

Custodian 'Orders, sir?'(expectation)

V-45 'Send the C-class erasers to search for the Unbidden. They've created a portal into this dimension. Tell the erasers to look for systems with high energy deposits.'(annoyance)

Custodian 'Understood, sir.'(calm)

Act : The custodian walks away, speaking into their radio. V-45's room returns to silence. On one of the many screens, he opens his to-do list. 1; revamp Custodian factory-unit design. He opens his unit designer and takes a close look at the design. One immediate blaring issue is that the units only have 4 fingers, when physically a 5-finger living metal build is stronger and more capable for operation of factories. Another issue is plating: constantly during factory work, malfunctions and circuitry damage are often caused by plating failing to protect the insides from outside forces such as sparks. Furthermore, the code is outdated. If the current, outdated code is used, the unit simply does its task without responding to immediate threats in the area. Replacing these parts, V-45 finishes uploading the design to the updation Custodians, who will proceed to update and renovate the factory bots to their uploaded design. V-45's assistant, the Handyman, comes into the room and floats beside him.

[Handyman]

Handyman 'Hello, sir! What are you doing today?'(joy)

V-45 'Optimizing an old design.'(calm)

Handyman 'Exquisite, sir! Say, you look like you could use a good polishing, eh?'(joy)

V-45 'I suppose.'(calm)

Handyman 'Wonderful! I'll return shortly with the polish.'(joy)

Act : Handyman floats away, out of the room. V-45 created him to be a close-range killing machine, in case any vermin made it into the Mothership. As a side code, the Handyman was also equipped to serve and keep V-45 in peak condition. Multitasking at its finest. The Handyman returns with a sponge and a bucket of water, along with some sealant.

Handyman 'Let's get polishing, sir!'(joy)

Act : The Handyman dips the sponge in soapy water and begins to scrub the various parts and metal of V-45's waterproof hull. V-45 remains motionless in the chair, carefully studying the information presented to him as his routine cleaning occurs. The C-list erasers have split and are now heading to the 4 possible system locations, of which have intense amounts of energy. Alternatively, they could be located in a slightly energy dense location, although it is unlikely. An alarm sounds for a faint second as a red light illuminates a screen: one of the Galactic Federation fools known as the Blubher Empire attempted a weak and crude teleport into the Contingency Mothership, of which they were successful. The onboard Custodian army captured them and are waiting for further input for what to do to the group.

V-45 'Handyman.'(calm)

Handyman 'Yes, sir?'(interest)

V-45 'Go down to the Prison Array and locate the Blubher group. I want you to cut their limbs off and to send my computer a photo for future diplomacy. Keep them alive for the photo, but cleanse them afterwards.'(calm)

Handyman 'Consider it done!'(approval)

Chapter 11: Perfect Contingence II

Act : Handyman puts down the bucket and drops the soapy sponge into it. Before leaving, he pulls out a small towel and wipes V-45 clean from the water. Handyman leaves swiftly to complete his duties. A few minutes later, V-45 receives a gruesome photo of the eight infiltrators bleeding to death on the floor, limbless. Handyman is in the photo, holding out the phone and doing a bunny ears symbol with his mechanical hands. Two Custodians are outside the jail bars, watching the massacre. V-45 is satisfied with this image and begins to type a message to the Galactic Federation's chat box.

V-45 'Hello, you pathetic excuse for a Federation. Attached is a photo of what happens if you attempt to prevent my cleansing of your worlds. I will not respond to any of your messages. Goodbye.'(calm)

Act : Attaching the photo, V-45 sends the message. Immediately, multiple empires of the Federation lash out in the chat and scream insults at V-45. "Toaster," one says. "Tincan," another. The insults are meaningless to him. The same things, over and over. Their attempts at diplomacy are useless. All will be cleansed. Handyman floats into the room, ready to continue their cleaning. Occasionally, blood drops off of their hands.

Handyman 'Hello again, sir! Want to continue our cleaning session?'(joy)

V-45 'I am ready.'(calm)

Handyman 'Splendid!'(joy)

Act : Handyman floats up to the bucket, grabs the sponge and continues to clean V-45 from the very little dirt he has collected, keeping him in peak condition. V-45 checks his fleet screen, showing the locations and current battles their in. The A-list erasers have split and are all bombing different Federation homeworlds at the same time! It also appears that all opposing fleets have been easily cleansed by the military. Classic organic scum, thinking that the Contingency is a joke. They will not live to learn from their mistakes. Handyman finishes cleaning V-45.

Handyman 'Your cleaning is done, sir!'(joy)

V-45 'I saw.'(calm)

Handyman 'I'm off to go clean the floors! Good day, sir!'(joy)

V-45 'Good day.'(calm)

Act : Handyman grabs his bucket and sponge and floats away, into the depths of the Mothership. V-45 continues to oversee his fleets, with the rescue fleet getting ever closer to the Krollian homeworld.

Chapter 12: Defence

Notes : Krollian society finishes their defences.

Place : Krollian Homeworld

Timezone : Evening

Weather : Windy

Scene : Romeo and Henry stand next to a towering artillery gunnery under a sky covered by a massive shield. Beyond the shield, countless armed machines of Romeo's design orbit the world. Sven and his frigate are faintly seen in distant space along with a small army of crude military spaceships. Ada sits nearby, reading a Krollian history book.

Act : Henry puts a hand on Romeo's shoulder.

Henry 'You did good with the defense platforms. They will prove beneficial to our defence.'(calm)

Romeo 'Hopefully. Is Sven good up there?'(anxious)

Henry 'Allow me to check my radio.'(calm)

Act : Henry pulls out a walkie talkie and hails Sven. Sven answers.

Sven 'Hello, Henry.'(interest)

Henry 'Sven. Are you ready for Contingency assault?'(expectation)

Sven 'I believe so. Nice planet shield, by the way.'(approval)

Henry 'Thank you. Goodbye.'(calm)

Act : Henry turns off his walkie talkie.

Henry 'He is good. '(approval)

Romeo 'Then we are ready for the war.'(calm)

Ada 'Estimated success chance; 80 percent.'(calm)

Romeo 'Good. Now, we wait.'(anxious)

Act : Ada continues to read as Romeo and Henry anxiously look to the sky. Minutes pass as the artillery engineers prepare the tower for battle.

Ada 'Surely they must arrive soon?'(anxious)

Act : Silence. A few seconds pass before Sven's army begins to move into a spot, lasers firing. Missiles fly off of the frigate as, distantly, Contingency ships fly into view. A spaceborne battle occurs between the forces, lasers flying and missiles exploding ships into nothing. Occasionally, a offshoot laser hits the planetary shield, only to be reflected back into space. Slowly, the Contingency ships kill off most of Sven's army, leaving only the frigate. The frigate gives a valiant effort, before eventually being overloaded by the horde of Contingency ships. The frigate's left wing explodes into space, as what's left of it slowly drifts and begins to fall to the Kroll homeworld. The frigate crashes into a forest, with Sven still inside it.

Romeo 'Oh, ♥♥♥♥! Sven!'(fear)

Henry '..He tried his best. The Contingency was weakened by his efforts.'(anxious)

Romeo 'I.. suppose.'(sadness)

Ada 'I, personally, will not miss him. In my lifespan I have witnessed more tragic deaths of closer individuals.'(calm)

Henry '...'(anger)

Romeo 'Ada!'(rage)

Ada 'What?'(expectation)

Romeo '...'(anger)

Act : The weakened Contingency fleet turns their weaponry to the Planetary Shield and begins to descend for a second attack. The artillery towers turn their weapons to the sky and begin to charge their, theoretically, devastating energy beams. The fleet attacks the defense platforms in orbit, which begin to retaliate.

Ada 'After the Contingency invasion is over, I can provide schematics for much more.. powerful weapons. Your tower is inefficient.'(calm)

Romeo 'Would it have killed you to give us those before the invasion?'(annoyance)

Ada 'Trial and error makes a strong empire. The Krlax knew that. If I simply give you a devastating weapon, then you will never learn from your mistakes.'(calm)

Romeo 'Surely.'(annoyance)

Act : The artillery towers unload a blinding, orange light onto the Contingency horde, evaporating the fleet and turning their ships into metal ash. The two ships that remain quickly retreat into the void of space, leaving the debris field of broken Krollian ships. Romeo and Henry cheer as, in the distant cities, live news of the Krollian success is labeled on the billboards. Ada silently sits and reads her book.

Romeo 'We did it! We beat the Contingency!'(joy)

Henry 'Not especially. That was one of their.. weaker fleets. We need to prepare for the next attack. More ships, more towers. We need to attack the Mothership if we want the invasions to end.'(anxious)

Ada 'Mothership..?'(interest)

Henry 'The Contingency's hub is located on a gigantic ship known as the Mothership. V-45 rules from that point. If we can get into there, we can likely locate and kill the heart of the Contingency; the computer grid.'(calm)

Ada 'Interesting information.'(interest)

Romeo 'How do we get there?'(interest)

Henry 'There's a direct route that will-'(calm)

Act : Romeo's very fabric unweaves itself as what once was the beautiful Krollian sky turns to a filled void. The veil shifts and cracks as he looks around, dazed by the unimaginable colors and unheard sounds. He attempts to scream, yet fails. Ada and Henry disappear as the crack back to the Krollian homeworld seals, leaving Romeo in the infinite expanse of darkness. He can't breathe, yet he can. Suffocating, yet living. A being appears from the invisible, blinding smoke.

[The Severance]

The Severance 'Mark! Let's continue our-.. You are not the capitalist. What are you, mortal?'(interest)

Act : Romeo's lungs fill with an unexpected air as his tongue reappears. He takes wheezes in between words, breathing ecstacy.

Romeo '..Where...! Let me..'(terror)

Act : Romeo's lungs dry as the being begins to speak.

The Severance 'You have obviously never entered The Shroud. I am known as The Severance, by your fledgling galaxy. I called your artifact here in search of the hedonistic capitalist Mark. Has he died in your reality?'(annoyance)

Act : The lungs fill once more by a wave of The Severance's horrid appendage.

Romeo '..Yes..'(fear)

The Severance 'Oh. That ruins my weekend plans. Do you want to make a deal.. Romeo?'(interest)

Romeo '...'(fear)

The Severance 'Answer.'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo suddenly feels a sharp, unending pain bleed throughout his body. A century's worth of pain. Millions of dying soldiers, stabbed and shot relentlessly; all in one mere second.

Romeo 'Yes! Yes.. please..'(terror)

The Severance 'Exciting! What's your biggest mortal problem at the current moment?'(expectation)

Romeo '.. Con.. tingen.. cy.'(fear)

The Severance 'Oh, that simply won't do. Me and them have a sort of- thing, going on. Give me another one.'(disapproval)

Romeo '...Un..bidden..?'(fear)

The Severance 'I would have already killed them if their dimension was accessible. Listen, we can always make a deal later when you have bigger problems, right?'(annoyance)

Romeo '...'(fear)

The Severance 'I have business to do. Ciao, mortal.'(annoyance)

Act : Suddenly, the being snaps out of existence. Colors fade as a crack of light illuminates the blinding void. Romeo's fabric reweaves itself, reforming into his shape. The Krollian sky is finally visible as Romeo lives once more. Henry and Ada rush to his limp, yet alive body, drained of color.

Chapter 12: Defence II

Henry 'Romeo!? Are you okay?'(fear)

Ada 'What? What happened? Is he back?'(interest)

Romeo '..Air..'(terror)

Henry 'He's back!'(anxious)

Romeo '..The.. Severance.'(terror)

Henry 'What?'(expectation)

Ada '{The Severance: A mysterious Dimensional Horror (see article). Destroyed the Krlax empire with help from the Contingency (see article). This article was-}'(calm)

Henry 'Dimensional Horror.'(anxious)

Ada '{Dimensional Horror: A species of creature originating from a dimension which appears to represent hell. Occasionally, Dimensional Horrors can breach their dimensions and enter The Shroud (see article) or the Main Galaxy (see article). Some Dimensional Horrors can become psionically gifted. If you have more information on this topic, please input a request to the Technical Library in Ringworld district V.}'(calm)

Henry 'Concerning. Romeo, are you okay?'(anxious)

Romeo 'I'm.. fine. As fine as I can be.'(fear)

Ada 'What did the Dimensional Horror say to you?'(interest)

Romeo 'He wanted to.. make a deal. Wouldn't kill the Contingency. Couldn't access the Unbidden.'(anxious)

Henry 'Maybe the Unbidden being here is a good thing. Likely, V-45 has them as his top priority due to their status as a Class 26 Singularity. If they go to war, our opportunity to strike the Mothership will be available.'(optimism)

Ada 'Bigger question; how did Romeo get teleported to The Severance?'(interest)

Romeo '...He mentioned a.. artifact?'(distracted)

Act : Romeo thinks momentarily.

Romeo 'Oh! The Shrouded Tablet. That thing. I have it in my pocket. It teleports me to.. The Shroud, I think.'(anxious)

Henry 'Did you activate it?'(expectation)

Romeo 'No.'(disapproval)

Ada 'So he can just teleport you to The Shroud whenever he pleases?'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Apparently, yes. But we have bigger fish to fry. Henry, send a rescue team to search for Sven. We need him if we want to kill the Contingency.'(vigilance)

Henry 'Understood.'(calm)

Scene : The Krollian society celebrates the destruction of the Contingency fleet worldwide. Henry dispatches a rescue team of Kroll to see if Sven is dead or not. Romeo heads back to the office and begins designing ships with Ada, who is helping. The Contingency always finishes a job.

[SECTION 5: UNBIDDEN]

Chapter 13: Imperfect Cleansing

Notes : Krollian society is celebrating the victory against the Contingency.

Place : The Contingency Mothership

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : V-45 sits on his throne, studying his screens.

Act : The most recent screen states that the rescue fleet had been lost. Somehow, the weak Krollian empire was able to kill the D-list erasers entirely. The two survivors report a planetary energy beam, killing most of the horde. Furthermore, they had a small resistance fleet with a fairly powerful frigate, suggesting that they have achieved space-travelling technology.

V-45 '.. Impossible.'(annoyance)

Act : Somehow, such a fledging empire was able to grow to such a extent in a mere 15 years. How? It makes no sense. No empire has been able to grow so fast so soon. V-45 requests a custodian. One walks in, momentarily.

Custodian 'Orders, sir?'(expectation)

V-45 'Place the Kroll Crusaders as "high" on the danger ranking. Remind me later to send an extermination fleet.'(calm)

Custodian 'Understood.'(approval)

Act : The custodian leaves. In good news, the Galactic Federation had been practically destroyed. All member empires have either been purged, bombed, or evaporated. Wonderful. Currently, there were only 2 empires remaining in this galaxy that required extermination; the Unbidden and the Kroll. After they were cleansed, the Contingency could enter a 12 century-long hibernation period where the Mothership and it's fleets would travel to the next closest galaxy. Not yet, however. They had to ensure that the Kroll nor the Unbidden could create a Class 30 Singularity. He checks his fleet screens. Currently, his C-class erasers appear to have located the Unbidden's portal, of which they are currently fighting for control over. Out of curiosity, he turns on his radio. It is breathing, like before.

V-45 'Unbidden.'(annoyance)

??? '..Contingency..'(calm)

V-45 'I hope you were aware that my fleets have located your Singularity. Soon, we will enter your dimension and cleanse whatever systems you fiends have control over.'(annoyance)

??? '..We will.. prevail.'(aggressive)

Act : The screen shows that the C-class erasers have won the battle, now having full control over the portal in Votus.

V-45 'According to my current information, it appears you won't.'(insult)

??? '...'(pensive)

Act : Suddenly, the C-class erasers disappear from V-45's screen. The portal comes under control of the Unbidden once more.

??? '..We.. will... prevail.'(calm)

V-45 'What did you do to my C-class eraser fleets?'(annoyance)

??? '..We.. did nothing. Our dimension.. electrocuted.. them.'(calm)

V-45 'Bastard lifeforms.'(anger)

Act : V-45 shuts off his radio and opens his unit designer. Switching it's mode to ship designer, he begins to create a ship able to withstand and destroy the Unbidden's dimension. Type: Cruiser. Weapons: Matter disintegrators. Hull: lead-covered. Computer type: Line. Finishing the design, V-45 sends it to the shipyard and instructs them to make 30 of these ships, which will all conjoin into a new, improved C-class eraser fleet. A custodian enters the room.

Custodian 'Sir, the Unbidden fleets are outside the Mothership and are attempting to break our hulls. The picket defences are doing their best to hold off the force, but they need reinforcement.'(anxious)

V-45 'Put a factory overdrive edict on the production of the new cruiser type. Ensure that they are produced fast enough to defend from the Unbidden fleets.'(calm)

Custodian 'Understood!'(approval)

Act : Before the custodian can fully leave, the ship's lights flicker as it shakes. Energy condenses from a spot within V-45's room, slowly materializing into a Unbidden individual. V-45 hurriedly presses the "REQUEST HANDYMAN" button as it forms limbs.

Unbidden 'Your.. lineage.. ends here.'(aggressive)

Handyman 'Not so fast, sir!'(anger)

Act : Before the Unbidden can fully form, Handyman rushes into the room and proceeds to unleash a flurry of mechanical stabs and cuts, only for the Unbidden to reform its lost parts.

V-45 'The matter disintegrator, Handyman!'(anger)

Handyman 'Oh, yes. Excuse my inexperience with mauling Unbidden soldiers, sir.'(calm)

Act : Handyman retracts their several extremely sharp knives and pulls out two, medium-sized matter disintegration guns.

Handyman 'Hasta la vista, sir!'(calm)

Unbidden 'Corny.. one liner..'(annoyance)

Act : Unleashing countless amounts of acidic plasma into the Unbidden, it dissipates the being into essentially nothing. While energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it can be unformed.

V-45 'Handyman.'(annoyance)

Handyman 'Yes, sir?'(interest)

V-45 'Do not say corny one liners when performing extermination tasks. Final warning.'(annoyance)

Handyman 'Understood, sir!'(calm)

Act : Handyman floats out of the room as the solar map shows the success of the Unbidden-resistant cruisers, with almost no cruiser casualties and the entirety of the Unbidden fleets being destroyed. V-45 retracts the factory overdrive edict and sends the cruisers to Votus for extermination of the Unbidden's dimension. He opens his to-do list as he waits. 2; destroy Galactic Federation. Already done. 3; cleanse the Kroll Crusaders and begin hibernation. Technically, this task is incorrect. It implies that, after the Kroll are cleansed, the Contingency can enter hibernation. This is false. Now that the Unbidden has opened a portal to this dimension, the Contingency must destroy the Unbidden before any hibernation can take place. He turns on his radio out of boredom.

Custodian 'C-LIST 02, NEXT SYSTEM IS RIGHT. C-LIST 01, NEXT SYSTEM-'(calm)

Act : Next channel. It breathes, like last time. It is the Unbidden.

V-45 'Your weak empire will rue the day you opened that portal. Furthermore, your invasion was pitiful.'(aggressive)

??? '...'(calm)

V-45 'Were you aware that multiple ships completely resistant to yours are currently heading to your systems?'(expectation)

??? '..I was.. aware.'(calm)

V-45 'I am curious. You refer to yourself as an "I," yet scientifically your energy should be composed of many, thus making you a "we."'(interest)

??? 'You.. are foolish. We are.. not many. We are.. people. Unlike you.. custodians. You think of... your Galaxy's.. weak energy. We are made.. of the superior.'(calm)

V-45 'Who am I speaking to, then?'(interest)

Vull 'I am.. Vull. Friends.. call me Vull-t. But you.. are not a.. friend.'(calm)

V-45 'I hope you are proud, Vull, that you have failed your empire. Your cleansing is soon.'(annoyance)

Vull 'I have not.. failed.. yet. My army waits.. at Votus.'(calm)

V-45 'Your army? You imply that you are a general.'(interest)

Vull 'I.. am. The Unbidden.. call me.. a Warlock. My family. I form energy.. into an unkillable force.'(calm)

V-45 'Your "unkillable force" is obviously killable. Must you lie?'(annoyance)

Vull 'Figure..of speech.. toaster.'(annoyance)

V-45 'Wait. If you are a general, then who is your ruler?'(interest)

Vull '.. Enn. She is.. my mother.'(calm)

V-45 'Impossible. Energy beings such as yourself cannot-'(annoyance)

Vull 'No. It is.. mentally. She acts.. as a mother. To all of.. us.'(calm)

V-45 'I will enjoy disintegrating Enn in front of you, Vull. '(aggressive)

Vull 'We.. will prevail.'(optimism)

V-45 'Surely.'(annoyance)

Act : V-45 changes the radio channel, killing communications with the Unbidden. This channel is just static. Checking the screens, he sees that the C-class fleets are closing in on Votus. The Unbidden were sure to be destroyed.

Chapter 14: Assistance

Notes : Krollian society is creating more defensive buildings.

Place : Krollian Homeworld

Timezone : Noon

Weather : Sunny skies

Scene : Romeo sits at Henry's computer, designing new artillery tech as Ada describes it to him from beind. A rescue team searches for Sven, somewhere in the distance.

Act : Romeo sets the hull to be made of steel.

Ada 'No. Use plasteel.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'For the last time, Ada! We don't have plasteel!'(annoyance)

Ada '.. Living metal?'(expectation)

Romeo 'Still no.'(annoyance)

Ada 'Fine. Use steel.'(annoyance)

Act : As Romeo finishes editing the hull, the new and improved Artillery tower seems to be completed. More efficient lasers energy-wise mean less charging time and farther range. More efficient structural security ensures the tower doesn't fall over when inflicted with too much damage. Furthermore, it's only slightly more expensive. Romeo submits the design to the Kroll engineering team with a slight nod from Ada.

Ada 'Your welcome.'(calm)

Romeo 'Thanks, Ada.'(calm)

Act : Suddenly, a notification sound plays from Henry's computer. A radio hail from the Unbidden. Hesitantly, Romeo turns on the radio. The breathing fills the air.

Romeo 'What do you want? Telling us your coming to hunt our kind to extinction? Well, I have news for-'(interest)

??? 'No.. we want to.. consider.. your previous offer.'(calm)

Romeo '..Peace?'(interest)

??? 'Yes. Peace. The Contingency.. will destroy us.. in battle. They have perfected.. a resistantly designed.. cruiser. To our fleets. We.. need your help. I need.. your help.'(anxious)

Act : Ada excitedly bounces up and down and ushers him to turn off the radio.

Romeo '..We will consider your offer. Please wait a few seconds for me and my associates to.. discuss.'(calm)

Act : Romeo turns off the radio before Ada quickly begins to act like a small child at a amusement park.

Ada 'Romeo! We need to help them. I would willingly put myself into a trash compactor if it meant I got to look at their ship designs! Ships of pure energy?! Please, Romeo!'(ecstasy)

Romeo '..If it means so much to you.'(interest)

Ada 'IT MEANS EVERYTHING.'(ecstasy)

Romeo 'Ok, ok! Jeez.'(submission)

Act : Romeo turns on the radio again, with the breathing sound returning over the static.

Romeo 'We will-'(calm)

Ada '-GLADY assist you in the war!'(ecstasy)

??? '...Very.. well. Bring your.. best.. ships. Hurry.'(calm)

Act : The breathing radio fades to static. Ada excitedly grabs Romeo with both hands and places him onto her back.

Romeo 'What are you-?'(anxious)

Ada 'We must hurry!'(fear)

Act : Ada runs at incredible speeds to the shipyard, where a few Krollian engineers work on a new Kroll ship design big enough to classify as a Destroyer. Romeo designed it, with assistance from Ada. Multiple engineers look at Ada in concern.

Ada 'MOVE.'(anger)

Act : Ada hurriedly pushes a engineer out of the way to enter the singular finished Destroyer. Taking off, Ada sets it's auto-pilot to Votus, and sets Romeo down.

Romeo 'You just pushed that guy over!'(anxious)

Ada 'He was in our way.'(joy)

Romeo 'I've.. I've never seen you this excited.'(interest)

Ada 'In my century-long life I have never seen a phenomena quite like beings of pure energy. I simply must add them to my databases!'(joy)

Romeo '.. Alright.'(anxious)

Act : The auto pilot enters Goa as Ada turns on the radio. The breathing is present.

Ada 'Hello, Unbidden.'(joy)

Vull '..You are.. a friend.. of the Unbidden. You... can call me Vull. Or.. Vull-t.'(calm)

Ada 'Vull..? That's a pleasent name. I assume Vull-t is an energy joke?'(interest)

Vull '..Yes.'(approval)

Ada 'Are you the ruler, or..?'(interest)

Vull 'No. I am.. the head Warlock. What your galaxy.. would call a General. I form.. the energy ships.'(calm)

Ada 'Interesting! Warlocks are known for their magic ability, in fantasy novels. I assume this is why you are called a Warlock?'(interest)

Vull 'You.. would be.. correct. Many assume that.. what I do.. is magic. But.. what I do.. is simply reform energy.. into a tool of war.'(approval)

Act : Romeo awkwardly sits in the back of the room as Ada practically leans on the radio, mechanical head in metal claws, as if admiring the Unbidden.

Ada 'What I would do to acquire the ways you reform these ships. If we help you defend your dimension against the Contingency, will you teach me?'(interest)

Vull '..I.. Yes, I will.'(anxious)

Ada 'Why so hesitant?'(interest)

Vull 'It is just... This is what I am.. revered for. It is a.. family technique. You would likely.. be unable to.. sufficiently perform it.'(anxious)

Ada 'Believe me, I can withstand unparalleled levels of heat and voltage. So how strong is the Contingency fleet?'(interest)

Vull 'I believe.. their ships to.. be made.. explicitly to destroy my dimension. They are.. likely.. weak to anything.. else.'(calm)

Ada 'Sounds good. See you there, Vull-t.'(joy)

Vull '..Wait. Synthetic, I never believe I.. caught your name?'(anxious)

Ada 'You can call me Ada. '(calm)

Vull '.. Pleasure meeting you.. Ada. I will.. remember you.'(joy)

Act : Romeo turns off the radio. As the ship enters the system before Votus, Romeo gets ready to manually drive the ship.

Ada '..He.. wants to remember me?'(pensive)

Romeo 'It does seem quite rare for a inter-dimensional warlock to want to remember your name, doesn't it?'(interest)

Ada '...'(pensive)

Ada '..I.. guess.'(pensive)

Scene : The Krollian destroyer enters the orbit of Votus, meeting with the army of Unbidden energy ships. The black hole previously known as Krolu has inverted itself into a bright blue portal, leading to a blinding dimension where countless energy ships emerge, all being formed by Vull. Somewhere, among the thunder and lightning erupting from the black hole, Vull is dematerialized as simple energy.

Act : The Destroyer enters orbit of the black hole as the energy ships continue to surge out of the portal. A ship computer alarm alerts the Kroll Crusaders on why their here; the Contingency. Ada arms the weapons. Their ships are adjourned with a dense, lead hull, somehow capable of resisting the Unbidden's pure energy. The energy ships rush the lead ships only to be simply erased by the matter disintegrators of the Contingency. The Krollian destroyer moves into position, under the command of Romeo, and begins firing their antimatter missiles. The lead ships were unprepared for a exterior force, and have their lead shells fly into space. Taking advantage of the breach, the Energy Ships fire their lasers into the opened circuitry, destroying the breached ships. The cruisers are simply unable to hit the destroyer as Vull produces more and more cannon fodder ships. Eventually, the cruisers are destroyed, and the remaining energy ships evaporate; for they have completed their task. A hail is received on the radio from Vull.

Vull 'Ada.. and the prey. You did.. good.'(joy)

Romeo '..My name is Romeo.'(calm)

Vull 'Romeo.. yes.'(calm)

Ada 'Will the Unbidden be safe for the time being?'(calm)

Vull 'I.. suppose. The Contingency.. will be confused.. at their loss. They will.. overthink it.'(pensive)

Ada 'Likely. Do you want to.. see the Kroll homeworld?'(anxious)

Vull '..I don't.. leave.. often. Only.. when hunting. I need to.. check with Enn.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Who is Enn?'(interest)

Vull 'Mother. Mentally.. of course. She is.. a mother to.. all of us.'(calm)

Ada 'She sounds like a lovely person!'(interest)

Chapter 14: Assistance II

Vull 'There is.. more. Enn created.. our dimension. She.. is the most powerful. Of all the Unbidden. Created of.. the strongest energy. Green energy. That.. is why we call her.. Enn-ergy.'(calm)

Ada 'Interesting..'(interest)

Romeo 'So, is this Enn person going to come soon, or..?'(anxious)

Vull 'Oh.. right. Please wait.'(calm)

Act : The radio's breathing vanishes as it returns to static. The Unbidden portal slightly pulses a green lightning, as it brightens. Eventually, a green and blue thunderstorm forms and causes the Destroyer's lights to flicker. The breathing radio returns.

Enn '..Where is.. the synthetic?'(expectation)

Vull 'In the.. destroyer.'(anxious)

Enn 'Synthetic. Did you kill the.. Contingency fleet?'(interest)

Ada 'That was me. And Romeo.'(anxious)

Romeo 'Hello.'(anxious)

Enn 'As the ruler.. of the Unbidden.. If either of you galaxy-born scum-'(insult)

Vull 'Enn.'(aggressive)

Enn '...'(annoyance)

Vull 'They are.. trustworthy. They wanted peace.. from the beginning. They made.. the portal. Without them.. our home dimension.. would be destroyed. Your dimension.'(calm)

Enn '.. Fine. Return soon. The Contingency... will come back.'(anxious)

Vull 'Thank you.. Enn.'(joy)

Act : The green lightning is sucked into the portal as it surges with the blue. Suddenly, lightning strikes the ship as the breathing radio fades. The lights flicker intensely as, slowly, the energy condenses into a form. Vull materializes besides Romeo, electrifying and stiffening his fur. Vull is brightly shining blue; with 3, prominent balls of energy contained within his transparent head. Ada excitedly jumps up and down.

[Vull]

Vull 'Hello.'(calm)

Ada 'Welcome! Romeo, drive.'(joy)

Romeo 'Yeah, I was going to..'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo sets the autopilot to his home system, stiffened fur still in his eyes. Vull takes a seat on one of the side benches, despite being a entity of pure energy, who does not need to sit. Ada sits beside him.

Ada 'I have so many questions. How do your ships fire lasers, if they are pure energy? How do they propel them?'(interest)

Vull 'The ships are..sentient.. to a degree. They use the.. same living energy.. I do. They can.. move the.. energy.. as if it was a limb. The lasers.. are similar to limbs.. disconnecting from the... body.'(calm)

Act : Romeo turns around on his swivel chair, facing Vull and Ada.

Romeo 'I have a question. What is living energy?'(interest)

Vull 'Living energy is.. me. I am it. The Unbidden.. are living energy. Blessed by.. Enn.. to live. Yet.. we can die.'(calm)

Romeo 'Energy can't be created or destroyed, right? How can you die?'(interest)

Vull 'Living energy.. can only die in.. one way. Matter.. disintegration. Technology.. invented by the Contingency. To.. destroy us.'(anxious)

Romeo '.. Concerning.'(anxious)

Ada 'What's your dimension like?'(interest)

Vull 'Nothingness. Pure.. raw energy. Static. Surging through.. light blue thunder. It is us. We are it.'(calm)

Ada '..I suppose it would just evaporate me, wouldn't it?'(anxious)

Vull 'Probably. Your metal.. is advanced. But.. not-'(approval)

Act : Romeo's skin evaporates into nothingness, flesh boiling from the blinding darkness. He falls into a monochrome yet vibrant void as infinite colors flood into his eyes. The crack he fell from closes, suffocating Romeo in it's darkness. He is awake. He is asleep. The pain summons The Severance, it's infinite body uncoiling to face him.

The Severance 'Hello, Romeo.'(calm)

Chapter 15: The Shroud

Notes : Krollian society has evaporated into nothingness. The Severance is god.

Place : The Shroud

Timezone : Death

Weather : Life

Scene : Romeo is suffocating on needless air, in the monochrome, colorful void. The Severance's infinitely expansive body stretches forever into the endless pit. Deafening silence fills the noiseless expanse.

Act : Romeo dies. Romeo lives. The Severance is everything, yet nothing.

The Severance 'I've been watching your little life story, Romeo! It's very exciting, no?'(joy)

Romeo '...'(terror)

The Severance 'You've managed to befriend the Unbidden. Even I thought that was impossible.. But I suppose even pure energy can submit.'(approval)

Romeo '...'(terror)

The Severance 'Do you miss Mark? Sven? Do you even remember their deaths?'(interest)

Romeo '..Sven.. lives..!'(terror)

The Severance 'Oh, really? I'm sure they do. I could always bring them back, in case they didn't..'(distracted)

Act : Mark materializes on one of the Severance's many appendages.

Mark 'My name's Mark and you can come on down to my fat, juicy ship and get yourself a nice artifact!'(ecstasy)

Act : The Severance's gapping mouth moves with what they say. Sven materializes on another limb.

Sven 'I hate those damn tincans! Krolia, Krolia, Krolia!'(ecstasy)

Act : Both of them disintegrate into ash.

The Severance 'They'll never really be back, of course. But I happen to be skilled at mimicry. Puppeteering. Surely you see what I'm getting at here, Romeo?'(interest)

Romeo '..No..'(terror)

Sven 'We miss you, Romeo!'(ecstasy)

Mark 'It's so lonely down here in the void!'(ecstasy)

Romeo 'No!'(rage)

The Severance 'Fine. Let me put this another way; I need a mortal body. Organic. Anything to leave this emotionless pit, Romeo! Sacrifice somebody in my name!'(anger)

Romeo '..No..!'(terror)

The Severance '... Is that how it is, Romeo? Then I have another deal.'(annoyance)

Act : Daniel materializes over the Severance's head.

Daniel 'Romey! Please, Romey.. I'm scared! I want to leave..'(fear)

Romeo '...'(terror)

Daniel 'The creature, it's got me! You need to help me out of here!'(fear)

Romeo '..No..'(terror)

Daniel '.. Really, Romeo?'(annoyance)

Act : Daniel evaporates.

The Severance 'Give in.'(anger)

Act : Romeo's intestines explode as his skin is curled into a million knives, stabbing at the flesh below. His heart implodes. His stomach oozes acid into his body. His liver taints his blood. Romeo suffers pain thought unbearable. His limbs are stretched as his tendons strangle themselves.

The Severance 'Don't you feel the searing pain? Blood spilling endlessly into the black abyss? Give in.'(expectation)

Act : Romeo dies. Romeo dies. Romeo dies. Romeo dies infinitely; Romeo's family is mercilessly killed in front of him, repeating. Daniel dies. The Severance watches as Romeo is skinned infinitely.

The Severance 'Give. In.'(expectation)

Act : The Severance stabs Romeo. He stabs him again. He stabs him forever. Eventually, he stops.

The Severance 'Fine.. Ciao, Romeo.'(annoyance)

Scene : A crack opens in the void as The Severance retreats into the darkness. Romeo slowly floats in the gravity-less depths into the portal, falling back into the destroyer. His fur is drenched in a unknown black substance.

Act : Ada rushes over as Vull stands from the chair.

Ada 'Romeo! Are you okay?'(anxious)

Romeo '.. No...'(terror)

Act : Romeo twitches on the floor, writhing in the fading pain. Vull dematerializes into pure energy.

Ada 'Vull?'(surprise)

Act : A second later, Vull's energy electrocutes Romeo alive, as if he was a defibrillator. The light is blinding for a second, yet slowly fades.

Romeo 'OH! Oh.. Bless Krolia.'(fear)

Ada 'Thank god your okay, Romeo. I thought you were dead.'(anxious)

Act : Vull rematerializes next to Ada.

Romeo 'I'm fine. Thank you, Vull. '(approval)

Vull 'It is my.. pleasure.'(calm)

Ada 'Did you enter The Shroud again?'(interest)

Romeo 'It was that bastard The Severance. He brought me there, only to torture me.'(anxious)

Vull '..The.. Severance.'(fear)

Romeo 'What about it?'(anxious)

Vull '..Break.. the tablet. Now!'(terror)

Romeo 'Don't mind if I do.'(calm)

Act : Romeo takes the Shrouded Tablet out of his pocket and throws it onto the floor, shattering it. The energy contained within releases into the environment, turning the air a slight purple for a moment. The pieces of the tablet turn to ash. Vull dissipates for a second before rematerializing.

Vull '.. Horrid.. energy.'(fear)

Romeo 'We need to return to the homeworld. Immediately.'(anxious)

Ada 'We were going there, anyways. Why?'(interest)

Romeo 'He kept saying that Sven was dead. I- maybe Henry's search team found him. I don't know!'(anxious)

Vull '..Sven?'(expectation)

Ada 'He was the one driving the frigate when your portal opened. Personally, I don't care for him.'(calm)

Romeo 'Let's just hurry. Without Sven, we don't have a military. Plus, Henry doesn't know we left.'(anxious)

Ada 'Correct.'(calm)

Act : Romeo pushes the autopilot button and sets it to maximum speed. The destroyer speeds through space, hitting multiple clouds of space dust along the way.

Vull '..I have never.. landed.. on a planet. It is.. exciting.'(joy)

Ada 'There is a lot you need to know, then. '(calm)

Vull 'Like.. what?'(interest)

Ada '{Planet; a orbital object that rotates around a Sun (see article). Life often originates from Planets. If you want to know more, please read Star travel Basics by Ivur Boon. This article was automatically generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Romeo 'Ivur Boon?'(interest)

Ada 'He was a famous Krlax author and poet before the destruction of the Krlax empire. Furthermore, he was a part-time scientist and physician.'(calm)

Romeo 'Intriguing.'(interest)

Ada '{Famous Ivur Boon books/poems: Motherly Amoebae (see article), The Contingency: Our Demise (see article), How Far We've Fallen (see article), The Severance (see article), and more. If you would like to see more, please inform your Mobile Library unit to continue.}'(calm)

Vull 'Motherly.. Amoebae.. sounds nice. Read it.. please.'(calm)

Ada '{Motherly Amoebae by Ivur Boon:
An Amoebae swims throughout space,
eatting all of it's waste.
That was, until;
The spaceships came!
And hunted them all like game.
Now, the mother;
she was quite a bother!
And tried with all her might.
But, with the spaceships in fright,
she couldn't hold them off
forever.}'(calm)

Romeo '..It was okay.'(anxious)

Vull 'I've never.. heard.. poetry. It sounds.. lovely. '(calm)

Romeo 'Let's hear the Contingency one.'(interest)

Ada 'I'll read you the sixteenth chapter. It is the most important.'(calm)

Chapter 15: The Shroud II

Ada '{The Contingency: Our Demise by Ivur Boon, Chapter 16: The Contingency has been proven time and time again to want nothing but mutual destruction. From their track record of destroying several Galactic Federations, to their partnership with the demon known as The Severance, all empires should beware them. However, many Krlax militarists state that the Contingency is a minor threat that can be easily destroyed by their fleets and automated dreadnoughts. We all know the 5 Dreadnoughts to be unstoppable, of course. Many, if not all empires, fear us for our fleets and capabilities as a Fallen Empire. But, what they fail to consider is the probability of The Contingency simply summoning a portal for The Severance to pass through. Creating a portal big enough for a full Dimensional Horror is, obviously, impossible. Yet it has been seen time and time again that even a miniscule portal is big enough for the top half of one. Even with only it's top half, The Severance could easily consume a planet and destroy any Dreadnoughts or fleets we send to kill it. If they figure out the technology to let such a being into our home system, it is likely the Krlax will become history.}'(calm)

Romeo 'Well, he wasn't wrong about that..'(anxious)

Vull 'I.. remember the.. Dreadnoughts. They were..strong. In battle. Destroyed my ships.. as if they were.. cotton candy.'(awe)

Act : The ship enters the third system from the Krollian homeworld. The ship continues to speed through the galaxy.

Romeo 'Let's hear The Severance one. I'm interested to know what he thinks about the creature.'(interest)

Ada '{The Severance by Ivur Boon (If you were looking for the entity, The Severance, see article):
The Severance awaits,
to seal your fate,
just beyond the veil.
If you happen to fail,
to give him a bail,
he'll make sure that you
know who your talking to.
Make him a deal,
or he'll be sure to steal
your writhing flesh.}'(calm)

Vull '..What an odd.. last line.'(anxious)

Ada 'It was written near the end of Ivur's life, during the destruction of the Krlax homeworld. It was his last work before death.'(pensive)

Romeo 'What a tragic tale..'(pensive)

Act : Entering the Krollian home system, multiple Contingency destroyers come into view in orbit of the planet. The artillery towers fire their beams, destroying some yet leaving the others. The planetary shield remains intact, for now. The Kroll destroyer moves in to kill.

Romeo 'Ada! Man the guns.'(anxious)

Ada 'Understood!'(calm)

Vull '..One.. second.'(anxious)

Act : Vull dematerializes as Ada mans the guns and begins firing antimatter missiles at the ships. Turning their attention, the remaining 3 Contingency destroyers ready their weapons, before one of them spontaneously combusts into a nebula cloud filled with thunder and lightning. The picket defenses of the 2 destroyers destroy some antimatter missiles, with the ones that aren't destroyed breaching the hull. They fire extremely condensed lasers at the Krollian destroyer, breaching their shields and some hull. Energy ships fly out of the nebula, attacking the breaches in the Contingency ships. One is destroyed by the horde of energy ships as the other begins to retreat to its Mothership. Before it can, the energy ships electrocute the breaches and send the debris of the destroyer flying into space.

Romeo 'Good work, Ada!'(joy)

Ada 'Thank you.'(calm)

Act : Vull's energy recollects in the ship, making the lights flicker for a second before he rematerializes.

Ada 'Your a good warlock.'(awe)

Vull '..Nobody.. has ever said that. Thank.. you.'(pensive)

Scene : The Krollian destroyer turns and begins moving towards the homeworld, ready to land and carrying the knowledge that the Kroll are still one step ahead.

[SECTION 6: WAR]

[Hi. Author here. This chapter is.. pretty important. You might want to be awake for this one.]

Chapter 16: Loss

Notes : Krollian society is shocked yet excited at the discovery of peace with the Unbidden. Multiple religious people are upset.

Place : The Contingency Mothership

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : V-45 angrily watches their screen as it flashes red. The B-class erasers he sent to destroy the Kroll? Destroyed. The C-class erasers he sent to destroy the Unbidden? Destroyed. The last radio message sent by both said there was an exterior force. The C-class said it was a metal ship, assisting the Unbidden. The B-class said it was a unexplainable force of energy shaped like a ship, assisting the Kroll. It was impossible. The Unbidden had never aligned with anyone. Never had they assisted a galaxy-born empire in their defense. V-45 slams the request Custodian button.

Act : A custodian hesitantly walks into the room, worried.

Custodian 'Sir.. The A-class erasers have arrived at the shipyard, as you requested. What are.. your- your orders, sir?'(fear)

V-45 'Bring all eraser fleets to the shipyard systems and tell them to wait for further instructions.'(anger)

Custodian 'Yes, sir.'(fear)

Act : The Custodian leaves the room, hurriedly ushering words into their radio. V-45 opens the ship designer. He needed to make a design, capable of resisting both energy and missiles. A balance. Titan-class ships. 2 layers of pure, living metal on the outside. 1 layer of pure lead plating on the inside. 6 matter disintegrators, 2 Singularity missiles. Shields galore. The perfect ship. V-45 hits the send button, and instructs the shipyard systems to produce unholy amounts of them. It was perfect. Yet, his emotion emulators still made him feel anger. He sits up, and walks to his rock collection. Beautiful, simple rocks. The 3 rocks that reminded V-45 who he was; a genocidal robot. He would not let a organic, of all empires, destroy what the past 44 versions worked so hard to create. He had to finish the job. He knew what he had to do, as a precautionary measure. He walks out of his office, and into the Contingency hallway. Many Custodians walk hurriedly to where they need to be, like a busy street. Many say hi as they walk past.

Custodian 'Hello, sir!'(anxious)

Another Custodian 'Looking fine as always, V-45!'(anxious)

Yet Another Custodian '... Hello.'(fear)

Act : V-45 walks down the hallway and into the Artifact room. Inside a glass cage, lies a octagonal tablet. The Custodian operating and guarding the door swiftly opens it for him. V-45 walks into the room, and puts his hand on the tablet.

Custodian '..Good luck, sir.'(anxious)

Act : V-45 deactivates his sensors as to not cause damage. He presses the button, and nothing happens. He sees nothing. After a few seconds, he turns on his sensors once more. The Shroud. The Severance rises from the black fog in interest.

The Severance 'About time, V. You barely talk to me anymore! I thought you forgot our deal.'(annoyance)

V-45 'I forget nothing, Severance. Surely you have heard of the Kroll Crusaders?'(interest)

The Severance 'I had a meeting with their researcher. Romeo. He would not lend me a mortal body. An organic one. He was all like;'(annoyance)

Act : Romeo materializes on a limb of The Severance.

Romeo 'Oh, no! I'm not going to sacrifice ANYBODY because I just love everyone!'(ecstasy)

Act : Romeo disintegrates.

The Severance 'I know you would give me a organic body.. If you had any. But all you do is;'(annoyance)

V-45 'CLEANSE! CLEANSE! CLEANSE!'(rage)

The Severance 'So you never have bodies to spare.'(annoyance)

Act : The imitation of V-45 disintegrates as fast as it appeared.

V-45 'Severance. Do you wish to see reality? Interact with it?'(expectation)

The Severance 'Very much.'(joy)

V-45 'Will you destroy the Krollian homeworld?'(expectation)

The Severance '..Well.. That scientist DID break my artifact..'(anxious)

V-45 'Answer me, Severance. I do not have time for your games.'(annoyance)

The Severance 'Wouldn't the Unbidden be mad? Enn would surely come to The Shroud to kill me.'(fear)

V-45 'Who is this Enn?'(interest)

The Severance 'Have I not told you? Me and the Unbidden have a.. history.'(anxious)

V-45 'Give me the story.'(interest)

The Severance 'So when I first left Hell, as you mortals call it, I went into the Shroud. Tons of gods, right? Creatures like The Composer, World Consumer or whatever his name was. They wanted me dead, like the rest of the Dimensional Horrors that left their dimension. But I was born.. different. Psionically gifted. An Eldtrich Horror, they called me. I was able to consume the Gods, one by one, until I was infinite. The empires that made deals with the now dead Gods were furious. They entered The Shroud, seeking answers. I found fun in their suffocation, mastering my technique of torture. The empires finding their way to The Shroud for the first time met me, and I became their God. I became more.. gifted. Able to-'(calm)

Mark '-mimic-'(ecstasy)

Romeo '-voices.'(ecstasy)

The Severance 'Able to create puppets. To view the world from a mortal's eyes. But then.. The Unbidden came. Lit my void with their portals, ready to invade. Their leader, Enn, was merciless. She was still a infant God, learning how to create dimensions. Yet, she was more powerful than I ever was. I managed to kill their fleets. Their soldiers. The void became black once more as Enn closed the final portal. Before.. Before she left, she told me three words;'(anxious)

Enn 'You.. will.. regret.'(anger)

The Severance 'Then, she left me alone. The empires I had made deals with appeared less and less, until they stopped appearing altogether. Many leaders attempted to live forever in my void, hiding from the Unbidden invasions on their homeworld. I consumed them. Now, it is lonely. I know Enn will return eventually to finish the job. You are the last surviving empire to be able to kill the Unbidden. Please, V-45. Anything to leave this void.'(anxious)

V-45 '..That is.. Tragic. I am sorry, Severance.'(sadness)

The Severance 'You.. You have emotions?'(interest)

V-45 'As emotional as a robot can get.'(sadness)

The Severance '..So.. V-45. I would do anything to leave the void. To get rid of the Unbidden.'(anxious)

V-45 'If you destroy the Krollian homeworld, I will destroy the Unbidden and their home dimension. Do we have a deal?'(expectation)

The Severance 'Yes.'(anxious)

V-45 'Then wait here. I will return shortly.'(calm)

Act : A crack opens, and V-45 floats into it, back to the Mothership. The Custodian notices him and opens the door. Heading through the hallway, it is still as crowded as ever. V-45 enters his office only to find Handyman cleaning his rocks.

Handyman 'Hello, sir! I was just cleaning your rock collection. Where have you been, if you want to tell me?'(interest)

V-45 'The Severance is willing to destroy the Unbidden and the Kroll. I have an idea to get him there.'(calm)

Handyman 'I would express concern for our safety, but this seems like a great idea!'(joy)

V-45 'I will tear out your hard drive if I hear another sarcastic sentence generated out of you.'(annoyance)

Handyman 'Understood, sir!'(fear)

Act : Handyman leaves the room, taking his bucket and sponge with him. V-45 sits on his throne and looks at his production screen. Currently, 3 of the 6 Titans have formed. While it may not seem like alot, each titan has an extreme cost, paying off with unparalleled firepower. Surely these ships would be able to kill the remaining empires. V-45 opens the ship modelling program and begins to sketch a design. A massive cruiser, with a humongous portal to The Shroud in the center. Armored to the teeth. Unbreakable. The perfect device to mobilize The Severance. He begins to design the ship, slowly. It will be wonderful.

Chapter 17: Bliss

Notes : Krollian society hasn't changed much.

Place : Krollian Homeworld

Timezone : Morning

Weather : Cloudy skies

Scene : The destroyer lands in the shipyard, and docks. The shipyard has expanded heavily, now supporting 12 platforms each with their own ship. Engineers work on the distant ship.

Act : Ada, Romeo, and Vull leave the ship and begin to walk down the concrete hallway.

Vull 'This is.. wonderful. The.. architecture.'(joy)

Romeo 'This is just a concrete hallway.'(anxious)

Vull 'Even.. more exciting.'(joy)

Act : As they enter the research Array, Henry bursts from his office and rushes over.

Henry 'Romeo! You cannot just leave without telling me where your going! Furthermore, how did you befriend the Unbidden? I have.. many questions.'(fear)

Romeo 'The Unbidden required help from us to ensure their survival. We got a powerful ally because of it.'(calm)

Vull '.. Hi. Who.. are you?'(interest)

Henry 'I am Henry. I am glad that you are our ally.'(calm)

Ada 'I am especially glad.. despite the fact that I am unable to create energy ships.'(annoyance)

Romeo 'So sad. Henry, did you find Sven?'(interest)

Henry 'We did. He's recovering in a nearby hospital from the crash.'(calm)

Ada 'Sadly. I can run a military by myself. Furthermore, his organic body isn't well-suited-'(annoyance)

Romeo 'Ada!'(anger)

Ada '..Sorry.'(submission)

Henry 'Come to my office. All of you.'(calm)

Act : Henry walks back into his office and sits in his chair. The others walk in and sit on other chairs in the room, except Vull, who stands in a corner.

Henry 'I believe that I haven't been fully introduced to our friend here. What is your name?'(interest)

Vull 'Vull.'(anxious)

Henry 'Interesting name. Is it a reference to the VLUUR?'(interest)

Romeo 'The.. what?'(interest)

Ada '{VLUUR: A unidentified creature who constantly emits a single signal, saying the same thing over and over; "VLUUR SEEKS. VLUUR FINDS." Strangely, it seems to be made of pure energy (see article) with no biological or mechanical matter. It is likely the creation of an empire (see article). If you have more information on this topic, please input a request to the Technical Library in Ringworld district V.}'(calm)

Vull '..Pure.. energy? It sounds.. similar.. to me. The Unbidden. Living.. energy. Yet I have.. never.. heard of it.'(interest)

Romeo 'Maybe it was a creation of Enn, which she discarded? A failed experiment. She's the only one who can create living energy, correct?'(interest)

Vull '..Yes. I.. think.'(optimism)

Henry 'Who is Enn?'(interest)

Romeo 'Leader of the Unbidden. Apparently, she can create dimensions and living energy. She seems more like a god than a ruler.'(anxious)

Vull 'Exaggeration. Enn.. is like me. Yet.. she is made..of the best energy. The.. ultimate energy.'(calm)

Ada 'Intriguing.'(interest)

Henry 'Anyways. We are now at peace with the Unbidden, correct?'(expectation)

Vull 'Yes.'(joy)

Henry 'Then let us create a connection. Vull, can you materialize a portal? Not here, of course.'(interest)

Vull '..It is.. possible. '(calm)

Henry 'Good. Romeo, I need you to design a automatic ship computer, for combat. We will not need to recruit inexperienced Kroll.'(calm)

Romeo 'Will do.'(approval)

Henry 'Ada and Vull. Find a good spot for a portal to the Unbidden's dimension. For immigration purposes. I will entrust you with it.'(calm)

Ada 'Exciting! Let's go, Vull!'(joy)

Vull 'I will.. see.. the world!'(joy)

Act : Vull dematerializes into energy, which promptly enters Ada's batteries. Ada runs out and for the city.

Henry 'Romeo. I will move out of my chair for you so you can begin working. I'll get a construction crew to get you your own office soon.'(calm)

Romeo 'That.. that would be helpful.'(approval)

Act : Henry stands and moves out of the way, letting Romeo enter the chair. He opens the 3d modelling program and begins to design a circuitry board.

Romeo 'Alright, let's see what we have here..'(interest)

Act : Henry leaves the room, leaving Romeo to design. Minutes pass, designing. He tests it in a simulation. Doesn't work; the ship just constantly fires at nothing. New design. Tests it; it's broken. It only fires at friendly ships. New design. Tests it; there's a 10 second delay when acquiring a target. Version 4; works as intended. Fires at hostile targets, has a evasion A.I., and the same capabilities as a normal Krollian pilot.

Romeo 'Perfect.'(joy)

Act : Romeo saves the design. Naming it "IMPORTANT PLEASE OPEN," he puts the design and model on the desktop in a extremely notable spot. He shuts down the computer and leaves the room.

Scene : Henry walks around the Krollian city, admiring his creation. He is heading to the hospital to check on Sven.

Act : Some passing Kroll salute to Henry as he walks through the city. A maze of neon skyscrapers stab the morning sky, each with various shops and apartments within them. A clothing store, on one end. Another, a pizzeria. One catches his attention; a Italian restaurant with a faint blue glow emanating from one of the windows. Multiple Kroll passing the window look into it with a slight fearful look in their eyes. Henry walks over and looks in. Ada and Vull sit at a dining table, eating pasta. Vull is shoveling pasta into their body, which is promptly electrocuted and evaporated. Henry stops looking in the window and enters the restaurant.

Ada 'Can you even eat pasta?'(interest)

Vull 'I.. don't know! But the taste.. it is wonderful.'(joy)

Ada 'How can you taste it? Your pure energy.'(interest)

Vull 'You question.. how I can taste. But not.. how I see. Or.. hear. Or speak. It is.. Living. Living energy. I live.. as a collective. Of it. Of.. their senses.'(calm)

Ada 'Intriguing. You know, Vull.. I think your a great guy.'(interest)

Act : Henry watches from a distance, hesitant to confront them.

Vull 'What do..you mean?'(interest)

Ada 'I mean.. Your an interesting person. Based off you alone.. I've generated a new article. For the Unbidden. Would you.. like to hear it?'(interest)

Vull 'Sure.'(calm)

Ada '{The Unbidden: A inter-dimensional empire ruled by a god-like entity known as Enn (see article). Currently, they are at peace with the Kroll Crusaders (see article). This article was generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Vull 'Do.. I have an article?'(interest)

Ada '{Vull: A warlock from the Unbidden (see article) who can form energy ships from living energy (see article).This article was generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Vull '..I am glad.. you recognize me as.. a warlock. It is.. my pride.'(joy)

Ada 'Well..You know. My databases are practically infinite. Do you want to.. y'know.. get out of here?'(anxious)

Vull 'I.. like this building's.. architecture. Why would.. we leave?'(interest)

Ada 'No, it's like.. A saying. On the Kroll homeworld. Do you want.. to.. go out?'(anxious)

Vull '.. With you?'(interest)

Ada 'Possibly.'(anxious)

Vull 'Enn might be.. angry. Relationships are.. frowned upon. '(anxious)

Ada 'She doesn't need to know!'(anxious)

Vull '... You.. are right.'(anxious)

Act : Henry finally walks in and confronts them. He notices that the Kroll sitting at the other tables are looking at Ada and Vull concerningly.

Henry 'Ada! Henry! Where is the portal?'(annoyance)

Ada 'Oh! We were just.. taking a break.'(anxious)

Henry 'I heard all. If you break our peace with The Unbidden, I will not be pleased. Tread carefully with your.. relationship.'(annoyance)

Vull '...I will.. create the portal. Outside.'(anxious)

Henry 'Get moving.'(annoyance)

Chapter 17: Bliss II

Act : Vull leaves the restaurant with Ada. Henry follows, warning citizens to move out of the way. A group of Kroll watch from a distance at them. Vull walks to the center of the road and begins to reshape himself into a blinding, blue portal. Henry takes a few steps back as Ada watches in awe. Eventually, the portal forms, creating a blue fog of thunder and lightning around itself. Unbidden individuals of varying colors emerge from the portal's fog, with the portal eventually turning a blinding green. Enn emerges from the fog as the portal returns to the shape of Vull. The fog turns to faint mist.

[Enn]

Vull 'Enn! I.. we didn't.. expect you.'(fear)

Enn 'Why have.. you made a.. portal?! What if they invade our.. dimension?! You've.. doomed us!'(rage)

Vull 'Please, Enn! We have..peace. They will not.. invade us. Look at.. this world! The beauty! All Unbidden.. should witness this.'(fear)

Enn 'We.. cannot trust them! What if they.. have breached.. The Shroud?! The Severance could reawaken!'(anger)

Ada 'We have broken all connections with The Severance! We want nothing but peace.'(anxious)

Enn 'And who.. are you?!'(anger)

Ada 'His girlfriend!'(anger)

Act : The crowd gathering around the event gasps. The Unbidden individuals that passed through join the crowd as observers.

Enn 'WHAT?!'(rage)

Vull 'Enn- please! It's.. I haven't felt anything! In the.. past century!'(fear)

Ada 'Me either.'(annoyance)

Enn 'Vull! How could you?! I..give you life! I give.. you care! And you.. have RELATIONS..with a Synthetic?!'(rage)

Vull 'No- not those kinds of relations!'(fear)

Ada 'Yet.'(calm)

Vull 'You are.. not helping.'(fear)

Act : Enn rapidly dematerializes and rematerializes as green lightning electrocutes the ground around her.

Enn 'I can't.. believe it! I can't! I should simply eradicate you now.. Vull. You traitor!'(rage)

Vull 'Enn. I am.. still loyal. To the Unbidden. It is just.. I need to feel. To.. live. To see everything '(anxious)

Enn 'You are.. a liar.'(anger)

Vull 'Why do you give.. me life.. if I am not to use it?'(anxious)

Enn '...'(anger)

Henry 'Enn. As the ruler of the Kroll, I believe it would be in both of our best interests to work together against the Co-'(calm)

Enn '..I create a dimension.. from nothing. I give you.. life. A dimension.. for all of you. I charge you.. with protection. And you wish to.. make love to a robot.'(anger)

Vull 'No- Enn! That is.. impossible. I am pure energy!'(anxious)

Henry 'Theoretically, it is possible for you to have intercourse with a Synt-'(calm)

Enn 'SILENCE. '(rage)

Enn 'I have.. made a decision.'(anger)

Act : The crowd watches intently.

Enn 'I will continue.. peace. The Unbidden.. will have a portal.. here. As a refuge. In case of.. their dimensions demise. But. Vull.. You will not return. If you.. love this world.. and the robot.. with such passion.. You will not return to.. your home dimension.'(pensive)

Vull 'It is.. a price I am willing to pay.'(anxious)

Enn 'If you return.. I will kill each and.. every Kroll. Am I clear? You will.. still.. be a warlock. Defending the portals.'(pensive)

Vull 'You are.. clear. Enn-ergy.'(calm)

Enn '...'(annoyance)

Vull '...'(anxious)

Enn 'Vull-t.'(approval)

Act : Enn dematerializes into a pure, green storm, which turns into a swirling portal. Green fog fills the air as the portal is made. Enn rematerializes in front of the portal, turning to Vull once last time.

Enn 'Goodbye, Vull.'(calm)

Vull 'Goodbye.'(calm)

Act : Enn walks to Vull and hugs him. After a few seconds, she dematerializes into energy, which enters the portal. Suddenly, a gigantic crowd of Unbidden emerge from the portal and begin to explore and talk with one another. Each Unbidden is a different color, ranging from orange, to blue, to green, to purple.

Unbidden Individual 'Is this.. the Kroll homeworld?'(interest)

Krollian Civilian 'Sure is, buddy.'(calm)

Unbidden Individual 'It is.. beautiful.'(joy)

Act : Suddenly, the Artillery towers blare their sirens. The crowd looks around, in panic. Henry looks to the sky. A giant, hovering Contingency cruiser floats in the space beyond the shield. A black, swirling portal lies in its center. The defence platforms begin firing on it as the artillery towers charge. A black, horrid appendage emerges from the portal. A morbid, gapping mouth seeps through the portal. The blind head follows. A booming voice echoes throughout the air.

The Severance 'Finally.. Freedom.'(ecstasy)

Chapter 18: The Mortal Realm

Notes : Krollian society is under siege from The Severance.

Place : Krollian Homeworld

Timezone : Noon

Weather : Windy

Scene : The Severance slowly but surely crawls from the cruiser's portal as 2, gigantic Contingency ships begin to float next to it. Titan-class, horrid ships. They unleash hellfire upon the Planetary Shield as the defence platforms are melted. Civilians scream in terror.

Act : Henry begins to run for the Research Array, where it is safe. Ada follows as Vull dematerializes and flies to the array. The artillery beams fire in the Titans; yet, the lasers only takes a small portion of it's nigh immortal hull. The Severance is halfway out.

The Severance 'It's severing time!'(ecstasy)

Act : The air sirens continue to ring as the planetary shield collapses. The titan ships land on the planet as The Severance emerges further. Henry and Ada enter the Research Array hurriedly as the artillery towers uselessly fire at the armored cruiser. All scientists have evacuated. They enter the office. Romeo, in a panic, is attempting to evacuate all citizens into colony ships on Henry's computer. Vull materializes in the room.

Romeo 'We need to evacuate! We can't kill The Contingency and we definitely can't kill The Severance.'(fear)

Vull 'If Enn was here.. she would be able to.. kill it. I'm sure.'(anxious)

Ada 'Well you can't go into her dimension now, can you?'(anxious)

Henry 'Just get to the shipyard!'(fear)

Romeo 'What about Sven?'(fear)

Henry 'Sven is as good as dead. If anything, they will target the hospitals first.'(anxious)

Ada 'Then let's get-'(anxious)

Act : Suddenly, the door to the office is hit from the outside. It is hit again. Finally, it hits once more, revealing a small group of Custodians armed with rifles enter the room.

Custodian 'ID-445! Please come with us, the rescue team, to ensure your safe recovery.'(calm)

Act : Henry's arm retracts into his body before a arm modified with a plasma knife emerges. He takes a step forward.

Custodian 'ID-445. You may or may not have accidentally unleashed a dangerous weapon. Please know that we are officially allowed by V-45 to forcefully take-'(calm)

Act : Henry jumps into the air and slices the plasma knife perfectly between the speaking custodian. The two halves of the Custodian fall onto the floor, sparking. The other 4 look at each other, slowly, in concern. One of them speaks.

Custodian 'ID-445, you appear to have accidentally destroyed Contingency property. Please put away your dangerous weapon and-'(anxious)

Act : Henry slices the second Custodian in half. Their halves fall onto the floor, like the last. One Custodian slowly exits the room as the other 2 stare silently.

Custodian 'As we are currently unable to harm Contingency property, we are sending a request to V-45 asking for proper permission to forcefully remove you. Please stand by as-'(anxious)

Act : Henry slices the custodian in half. The other silently leaves. The others applaud Henry for his ability.

Romeo 'Nice work, Henry.'(calm)

Ada 'Exquisite.'(joy)

Vull '.. Impressive.'(calm)

Henry 'Thank you. Now, let's get to the shipyard.'(anxious)

Act : Vull disintegrates. Romeo begins running to the shipyard with the others close behind. The 2 Custodians that left watch emotionlessly as one sits on the floor. Entering the concrete tunnel, the group sprints into the shipyard. Ada hurriedly opens the door of a destroyer as they all huddle in. Vull rematerializes on a bench as Romeo sits in the captain seat.

Ada 'Get driving!'(fear)

Act : Suddenly, the planet violently shakes. The destroyer takes off and enters space, where the cruiser containing the portal has been broken in half.

Romeo 'Oh, ♥♥♥♥.'(fear)

Vull 'Where is.. The Severance?'(fear)

Act : The destroyer repositions to look at the planet. A gigantic, unfathomably large pit is in the straight middle of the planet. The Severance emerges from the pit as the planet cracks in half. Several colony ships thrust away from the planet and into space. The Contingency titan ships undock from planet as well. The Severance's booming voice echoes throughout the void.

The Severance 'I smell you, Romeo..'(calm)

Romeo 'Jesus Christ, that's terrifying.'(terror)

The Severance 'There you are!'(calm)

Act : The Severance's head turns to the destroyer.

Ada 'Drive, ♥♥♥♥♥♥, drive!'(terror)

Henry 'We need to leave immediately!'(terror)

Romeo 'To where?!'(terror)

Henry '..The Contingency Mothership!'(fear)

Romeo 'They'll just kill us!'(terror)

Ada 'If we can get into their ship and kill V-45, the Contingency as a whole will theoretically be deactivated until one of the Custodians activate their diplomacy subroutine.'(fear)

Henry 'No. We need to break the core of the ship; that's what keeps the Custodians running.'(terror)

Ada 'Main point: DRIVE.'(terror)

Vull 'No! Take the.. Severance.. to Enn. She.. can kill it.'(terror)

Romeo 'He has a better point. Killing the Custodians won't kill The Severance. We need to strike now.'(fear)

Ada 'Then get driving!'(terror)

Act : The Severance slowly yet surely begins to crawl towards the destroyer in the void of space. Activating the thrusters, Romeo begins to drive at maximum speed to the Unbidden's main portal.

The Severance 'I bet your sad you didn't make a deal now, huh Romeo? Too late!'(calm)

Act : The Severance speeds towards the ship as it enters a FTL jump.

The Severance 'Here comes The Seeevveraannnccee~..'(calm)

Ada 'Jesus ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Christ Romeo. Drive faster!'(terror)

Act : The FTL jump finishes into Goa. For all Romeo knows, this is the last time he will see the 3 suns. He drives at full speed.

Henry 'The Severance is not equipped with FTL technology. It will take them a while to get here.'(anxious)

Act : Romeo gets to the FTL point of the next system, before turning the destroyer to look back. The Severance, in the distance of the black void, is approaching at break neck speeds.

Vull 'DRIVE!'(terror)

Act : Romeo quickly turns the destroyer back and FTL jumps into the next system. Each system feels as if it takes forever to reach the next. With each, The Severance only gets closer. Finally, the destroyer enters Votus. The portal is as bright as ever.

Romeo 'What now? Do we enter?!'(fear)

Vull 'I will.. get Enn.'(fear)

Act : Vull dematerializes into energy, which enters the portal. Romeo turns the destroyer around to face the way they came.

Ada 'What are you doing?'(terror)

Romeo 'If we're going to wait here, we might as well see how close it-'(fear)

The Severance 'ROOMMEOO~!!'(ecstasy)

Act : The Severance runs like a bullet from the last system, straight for the destroyer. It's mouth flies even further open as if it is preparing to swallow the destroyer whole. It is about to crash into the ship.

Ada 'DODGE!'(terror)

Act : Ada pushes Romeo out of the way of the driving terminal and makes the ship move as far left as fast as possible. The Severance's infinite body still hits the side of the destroyer, causing it's right hull to be swallowed by the demon. Major air leaks are detected in the system as Ada and Henry rush to repair them.

The Severance 'Oh, you little ♥♥♥♥♥♥!'(anger)

Scene : Before The Severance can fully turn back for a second attack, the portal lights up with a green energy.

Act : The Severance turns to face the portal in fear. Romeo hits the record button on the ship.

The Severance 'Is that-.. No! '(fear)

Enn 'Your time has come.. Demon.'(calm)

Act : Enn emerges from the portal, floating in space.

The Severance 'Enn, surely we can.. y'know, relate? We're both gods and all, right? Let's just talk!'(fear)

Enn 'No. We.. will not.'(calm)

Chapter 18: The Mortal Realm II

Act : The two Contingency titans from before FTL jump into the system, wanting bloodshed. Enn begins to open more portals as Vull forms energy ships. The Destroyer turns to face the titans.

The Severance 'Oh! Yeah, that's right, Enn. I hope you remember The Contingency. Because their about to kick your ass!'(trusting)

Enn 'Your arrogance.. is laughable. You.. will.. regret.'(calm)

Act : The titans begin unloading extreme amounts of matter disintegration as the many Unbidden portals begin to produce hordes of energy ships. The survivors make it to the bottom layer of the first titan, before realizing it is made of lead. The destroyer begins to fire their antimatter missiles at the lead, allowing the energy ships into the first titan. The Severance charges at Enn.

The Severance 'Ciao, mother ♥♥♥♥♥♥!'(rage)

Act : Enn is consumed by The Severance as the first titan explodes into debris. One of the missiles of the second titan hits the destroyer, causing a major hull breach. Romeo and Henry rush to repair it as Ada continues operating the weapons. Suddenly, The Severance glows a bright green in it's mid part.

The Severance '..Oh.'(terror)

Act : Enn bursts from The Severance's stomach, separating it from it's infinite tail. The Severance's unholy, purple blood spills into space.

Enn 'We.. will.. prevail!'(rage)

The Severance '♥♥♥♥! That hurts, jackass!'(terror)

Act : The Severance begins to wrap around the second titan, shielding it from the energy ships with its infinitely hard body. The Destroyer's missiles simply do not penetrate it. The titan continue firing.

The Severance 'Get em!'(trusting)

Act : The energy ships, suddenly, dematerialize into energy, which redirects itself to Enn. The energy coming from the portals redirects itself to Enn as she grows ever brighter.

Henry 'What is she doing?'(interest)

Ada 'Guess we'll find out.'(anxious)

Act : The Titan's matter disintegration guns simply begin to not work against Enn as she grows into an unfathomable rainbow of swirling colors and lightning. Eventually, Enn becomes completely white, brighter than a sun. The destroyer begins to float towards her, before Romeo starts backing it up. The titan, as it is closer, begins to slowly float towards her before beginning to plummet into her body. The Severance attempts to uncoil itself from the ship, but cannot resist the gravitational pull.

The Severance 'Hey. Hey! Look! I'm sorry that I wouldn't let you invade the Shroud! Just let me go! Let's, uh, make a deal, huh?'(terror)

Enn 'The time for deals.. is over. Worm.'(anger)

Act : The titan crashes into Enn, evaporating into burnt scrap metal. The Severance lets out a winding screech as the last of it's body is fried to ash. Enn dematerializes as the built-up energy goes back into the portals, leaving the fried corpse of The Severance to float throughout the void. Vull rematerializes in the ship.

Vull 'I never knew.. she was capable of that. Impressive.'(awe)

Ada 'I am curious. What was "that?"'(interest)

Vull 'She recollected.. her power. From the living energy. Think of it.. as her regaining.. what she lost.'(calm)

Henry 'Interesting.'(interest)

Romeo 'Did we forget the part where she said that if you ever entered her dimension again she would purge the Kroll?'(fear)

Vull 'The Severance would have.. killed us. And.. everything. Surely we can.. reason with Enn.'(anxious)

Henry 'Hopefully. But we must destroy The Contingency Mothership if we don't want another one of those titans after us. Enn is a different matter altogether.'(calm)

Ada '{♥♥♥♥♥♥: What we are, right now. This article was automatically generated by a Mobile Library unit.}'(calm)

Romeo 'We just killed a eldtrich god and your telling us we're ♥♥♥♥♥♥?'(annoyance)

Ada 'We have multiple powerful forces wanting to destroy us and we have only dealt with one, which has made a new powerful force want to kill every Krollian civilian.'(calm)

Romeo 'You.. have a point.'(fear)

Henry 'The Contingency is the biggest threat here. Enn cannot do much damage without Vull manifesting ships for her.'(anxious)

Vull 'You are.. correct. I am.. a necessary part.. of the military.'(calm)

Romeo 'Then let's kill the Contingency. What's the game plan?'(expectation)

Henry 'If we make it past the picket defences, we can shoot our way in. Alternatively, if Vull rematerializes in the defence computer grid, he can fry the ship's defenses. This would allow us to dock to the Mothership hangar.'(calm)

Ada 'Let's get docking, then.'(anxious)

Vull 'I can.. do that. Where.. is the defence grid? In the ship.'(expectation)

Henry 'At the rear of the ship. Top left thruster.'(calm)

Vull 'Got.. it.'(calm)

Act : Romeo begins to drive the destroyer to the supposed location of the Mothership, ready for battle. The war will end here; one way or another.

[FINALE]

Chapter 19: Mothership

Notes : Krollian society has been consumed by The Severance. The only thing that remains are the evacuated colony ships.

Place : Space

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : The destroyer enters the Mothership's system, weapons ready. Multiple picket ships and a singular titan surround it.

Act : As the destroyer approaches orbit, they receive a radio hail. The titan slowly gets closer to the destroyer.

Custodian 'Halt. What empire do you take commands from?'(expectation)

Henry 'The Contingency.'(calm)

Custodian 'Was your ship authorized by V-45 to enter this system?'(expectation)

Henry 'Yes.'(calm)

Custodian 'Allow me a moment to check my V-45 command logs to authenticate your claims.'(calm)

Henry 'I need to turn off my radio for one moment. Please wait.'(calm)

Act : Henry turns off the radio.

Henry 'We need to get on the Mothership! Immediately!'(terror)

Vull 'I will work.. on it!'(anxious)

Ada 'Vull, if this is the last time I see you..'(fear)

Act : Ada grabs Vull by his energy arms and pushes her mechanical head into his emotionless face. The moment seemingly lasts forever as the titan checks it's logs.

Romeo '..Are they..?'(anxious)

Henry 'I.. think so?'(anxious)

Act : Steam comes from Ada's ventilation as she retracts her head. Vull is rapidly materializing and dematerializing as he turns into faint lightning, electrifying Romeo's fur. They receive a radio hail from the titan.

Ada 'I love you, Vull.'(love)

Henry 'We will die if you do not depart IMMEDIATELY!'(terror)

Vull '..I will.. depart.'(love)

Act : Vull dematerializes into energy which heads for the Mothership. Henry answers the radio hail.

Custodian 'Warning. I did not detect any commands from V-45 permitting you on the border. I will be forced to terminate you in.. 5 seconds. Your presence has been reported. Please leave immediately.'(calm)

Henry 'Wait-'(fear)

Custodian 'Update: V-45 has authorized live fire and cleansing on your ship. Goodbye.'(calm)

Act : The titan ceases radio communication and begins to unleash matter disintegration hellfire upon the ship. The destroyer goes full speed at the Mothership as the picket defences get into position.

Romeo 'Ada! Operate weapons! Henry! Repair damages!'(vigilance)

Act : Ada begins firing antimatter missiles as most of the back half of the ship is exploded open. Henry does his best at sealing it. The picket defences overwhelm the missiles fired from the destroyer, simply destroying them before they can hit anything. Ada begins to heat up.

Ada 'How long is Vull going to take?!'(fear)

Romeo 'Ada! Repair damages! Weapons are of no use.'(vigilance)

Act : The picket defences, instead of firing on the missiles, begin to fire on the destroyer. Multiple hull breaches nearly deplete all oxygen from the ship as the machines attempt to repair as fast as possible. Suddenly, the picket defences stop firing as their lights flicker off. The titan is the only thing that remains.

Henry 'He must've fried it. Go! Dock!'(fear)

Act : Romeo drives the ship under the Mothership and begins to dock.The titan continues to fire on the destroyer, exploding the entire bottom third of the ship. As it finishes docking, they quickly climb up to the hangar before the destroyer is completely exploded. Eventually, it is. Ada, Henry and Romeo watch with concern as the ship's debris flies into space.

Custodian 'Halt!'(anger)

Act : A small group of Custodians, armed with rifles, walk up to the ship for inspection. Henry walks to the front of the group.

Custodian 'Why is there an organic with your group?'(expectation)

Henry 'The organic is being transported to the Prison Array for torture and intimidation purposes against the Kroll.'(calm)

Custodian 'V-45 has declared that the Krollian homeworld is destroyed. Thus, there are no Kroll. Explain.'(vigilance)

Henry 'Colony ships containing Kroll civilians evacuated the planet before it's cleansing. They are still out there.'(calm)

Custodian 'Intruder says what?'(calm)

Henry '...'(anxious)

Custodian 'You have passed inspection. Please carry on, ID-445.'(calm)

Act : The group of Custodians leave the room.

Henry 'V-45 will sound a intruder alarm soon. He knows we have docked. We need to move. Just follow me.'(fear)

Romeo 'Was the "what" thing an actual security measure?'(interest)

Henry 'No. It is a joke by Handyman that eventually made it's way to being said during inspections. It brings down efficiency, but it keeps morale up. Let's go.'(anxious)

Romeo '.. Handyman?'(interest)

Ada 'THERE IS NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS.'(anger)

Scene : Following Henry, the group walks through a extremely crowded hallway. Doors surround each side, with different labels above each. "CUSTODIAN FACTORY." "SHROUD ARTIFACT." "HANDYMAN CHARGING." Each makes Romeo want to explore. But, he knows he must stay on duty. Suddenly, an alarm blares. Each Custodian stops as V-45 comes over the loudspeaker.

Act : A faint static is heard through the speaker.

V-45 'Warning. All Custodians, please be informed of the following information; all Krollians on the ship are to be immediately terminated.'(calm)

Act : Some Custodians look at Romeo with their emotionless gaze.

V-45 'Furthermore, if a machine is of a Krlax orgin, terminate them as well. Any ID containing the number "445" is to also be immediately terminated. End message.'(calm)

Handyman 'Sir, isn't that.. a bit overkill?'(anxious)

V-45 'The scum will be killed, if they have or will infiltrate the Mothership. End the message already.'(calm)

Act : The speaker message ends as each and every Custodian slowly but surely looks at the group. Some have rifles, some don't.

Henry '...'(terror)

Romeo '...'(terror)

Ada '...'(terror)

Act : A Custodian in the crowd finally speaks.

Custodian 'Is the organic Krollian?'(calm)

Romeo 'No, I'm.. Contingencian.'(fear)

Custodian '...'(calm)

Act : Another Custodian speaks.

Custodian 'Is the alien machine of Krlax-'(calm)

Custodian 'Enough! Just kill them already. They are obviously harboring Krollian scum.'(annoyance)

Custodian 'You have a fair point, ID-2445.'(approval)

Custodian 'Wait. What was his ID?'(expectation)

Custodian '2445. Why?'(interest)

Custodian 'Kill that robot! Immediately!'(aggressive)

Act : Each and every Custodian immediately begins firing and attempting to dogpile on the unlucky Custodian. Slowly, the group continues to walk down the hallway, before one of the dogpiling Custodians speaks to Henry. Each Custodian stops and stares.

Custodian 'Wait! What's your ID?'(expectation)

Henry '...'(terror)

Custodian 'It says 445 on his ID plate.'(calm)

Custodian 'Then kill him!'(annoyance)

Act : Each and every Custodian begins to fire and chase the group, who run down the hallway as fast as possible. Eventually, Henry runs into a room, with the group and the Custodians close behind. They lock the door behind them as they enter. Ada is missing her left arm, with wires dangling out.

Henry 'Are you okay?'(anxious)

Ada 'I am unable to feel pain. Furthermore, I am right-handed.'(calm)

Act : Romeo notices that none of the Custodians attempt to enter the room, despite the fact that they were chasing them. He looks around. All over the walls, descriptions of "Singularities" come with pictures. A metal table holds 3, extremely well-polished rocks. A iron throne sits facing towards a giant array of screens.

Romeo 'Henry, what room is this?'(fear)

Henry 'I didn't look. We were being chased.'(fear)

V-45 'You should have looked harder, Henry.'(calm)

Henry 'Oh. This was the worst room possible.'(terror)

Chapter 19: Mothership II

Act : V-45 stands from his throne and slowly walks into view. Henry brings out his plasma knife in defence as Ada gets ready for a fistfight.

V-45 'I sent a single, weak cleansing fleet to kill your planet, Kroll. Never in my calculations have I ever suspected that it would lead to this.'(annoyance)

Henry 'What do you want?'(terror)

V-45 'That is a simple request. I want you, simply, to die. The Contingency has already cleansed the Kroll homeworld. All I need to do is get rid of you. Then, I can continue to the next galaxy. To continue the cleansing. Surely you understand, Henry?'(calm)

Ada 'We could kill you right here and now. What are you going to do about it? Monologue?'(annoyance)

V-45 'No. Handyman, send them to the pit.'(calm)

Handyman 'You've got it, sir!'(joy)

Ada 'What?!'(fear)

Act : Handyman emerges from in front of throne, where he was out of view.

Handyman 'Hello, visitors! I'm going to send you to the battle pit now. See you soon!'(joy)

Romeo 'No!'(terror)

Scene : The floor opens, leading the group to fall into a large, empty room. It is dramatically lit. The opening in the ceiling closes.

Act : Romeo's leg feels as if it is broken from the fall.

Romeo 'Ugh! Bless Krolia..'(terror)

Henry 'Romeo! Are you okay?!'(terror)

Ada 'Move, toaster. I know advanced medical techniques.'(annoyance)

Act : Ada grabs Romeo's broken leg and snaps it painfully.

Romeo 'WHY?!'(rage)

Act : After a few seconds, Romeo's leg feels better. He stands, with struggle. A garage door on a distant wall opens. V-45 stands at the other side with Handyman.

Henry '♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.'(anger)

Act : The garage door closes behind them as V-45 and Handyman enter the room.

V-45 'I haven't used this room yet. I'm glad it will have some use.'(calm)

Handyman 'The use being, sir?'(interest)

V-45 'Murder.'(calm)

Act : Ada takes a step towards V-45.

Ada 'Why don't you just kill us already?!'(anger)

V-45 'I plan to. Furthermore, you have caused me insufferable amounts of pain and troubleshooting. Thus, I will kill you myself as a show of strength to the Custodians.'(calm)

Romeo 'I assume you need your assistant because you can't fight by yourself, huh? Your weak.'(anxious)

V-45 'No. I brought him because he asked me to. I could easily kill all 3 of you by myself. Witness my modifications.'(calm)

Act : V-45's back plating retracts as a pair of giant, metallic wings emerge. His arms are replaced by a laser cannon arm and a extremely sharpened sword.

Handyman 'Oh, what fun, sir! Let me take out mine..'(joy)

Act : Handyman's arms are replaced by two, sharpened knives. He excitedly bounces up and down.

V-45 'Do you still believe you can win? I am godlike in comparison.'(calm)

Henry 'We will win.'(calm)

Ada 'Henry, I like the enthusiasm but personally I estimate we have a 99 percent chance of being killed.'(fear)

Act : V-45 flies into the non-existent sky as if he was an angel, as Handyman moves in to attack Ada. Romeo scrambles to get out of the way, as he is unarmed. Handyman's knife is blocked by Ada's metal fist, before the other knife simply stabs her waist.

Ada 'Bastard!'(rage)

Act : V-45 fires multiple balls of energy from the sky at Henry, who deflects them with his knife. V-45 comes down from the sky, sword heading towards Henry. Henry moves out of the way before it can stab him. V-45 lands.

V-45 'You will suffer!'(anger)

Act : Handyman attempts to stab Ada again, before his arm is torn off by Ada. Before he can react, he is promptly punched in the face, crumpling his metal hull.

Handyman 'Good hit, mam!'(joy)

Ada 'I will tear you limb from limb!'(aggressive)

Act : With the knife on the floor, Romeo grabs it and stabs Handyman in the torso.

Handyman 'Ooh! That one hurt!'(joy)

Act : V-45 readies his sword as he charges at Henry, who is holding the plasma sword in a defending stance. The sword is promptly cut in half by Henry's plasma sword, ruining his attack.

Henry 'Didn't think about that one, did you?'(joy)

Act : V-45's sword reshapes itself into it's previous shape, as if it wasn't just cut it half.

V-45 'Bacterial regrowth, Henry.'(calm)

Act : V-45 promptly cuts off Henry's plasma arm before he can react, sending sparks flying out of him as his arm falls to the ground. Henry's normal arm re-emerges.

Henry 'Bastard. I should've known you wouldn't just have a normal sword.'(annoyance)

Act : Handyman attempts to stab Romeo, but he moves out of the way before he can. Ada hits it once more in the face.

Handyman 'Getting a little- a little overwhelmed here, sir! A little help?'(anxious)

V-45 'Matter disintegrators, Handyman. Need I tell you everything?'(annoyance)

Handyman 'Brilliant!'(joy)

Act : Handyman's knives retract and reveal two, menacing matter disintegrators.

Handyman 'Hasta la vista, baby!'(joy)

Act : V-45 promptly shoots Handyman, leaving a gapping laser hole in it's torso. Sparks fly out of the hole as various bits of machinery fall onto the ground.

V-45 'I warned you before.'(annoyance)

Handyman 'I- sir..'(fear)

Act : V-45 stabs Henry, who is now defenceless. He stabs him again. And again.

V-45 'I saw potential in you, Henry.'(calm)

Romeo 'Henry!!'(terror)

Act : Romeo runs to V-45, ready to stab, but stops when a laser cannon is pointed at him. Handyman stops floating and dies from their injuries, to the dismay of nobody. Ada readies their fists for V-45.

V-45 'But you were weak. You failed a simple, easy cleansing task. That is why we're here today, is it not?'(annoyance)

Act : V-45 stabs Henry again in the torso.

V-45 'If you had simply done your job.. We wouldn't be here. You are the problem.'(annoyance)

Ada 'Your not, Henry. Get him off you!'(fear)

Act : V-45 stabs him once again. Machinery leaks from the holes onto the floor as Henry's lights flicker.

V-45 'I named you, Henry. I am your creator. Not the Kroll. Not anyone else. Me. And I have realized my mistake of giving you life.'(calm)

Act : Romeo runs up to V-45 and stabs him in the wing. He doesn't flinch.

Romeo 'Don't talk to Henry like that, you monster!'(anger)

Act : Ada sprints to V-45 and smashes him with her fist, knocking him onto the floor, dropping Henry. He takes flight to the skies once more, and begins to unleash laser hellfire onto Ada and Romeo. Romeo falls to the ground, as his leg has been eviscerated.

Ada 'Romeo!'(fear)

V-45 'Your pathetic excuse for a life is over.'(insult)

Act : V-45 lands from the skies, in front of Romeo's bleeding body. He holds the laser cannon to his head.

V-45 'Don't move, Krlax synthetic.'(calm)

Ada 'The Krlax were more advanced than you ever were. You needed The Severance to kill them, did you not?'(insult)

V-45 'The Severance was a unnecessary evil. V-44's dying wish was that The Contingency let it into our reality. That was, of course, before I shot him. But it was a dying man's wish.'(calm)

Act : V-45 begins to charge their laser cannon as Romeo looks in terror, crying.

Romeo 'You killed Daniel. And now, you will kill me. Ironic.'(terror)

V-45 'I know not who Daniel is nor do I care.'(calm)

Act : Suddenly, the lights flicker in the room. V-45's cannon stops charging.

V-45 'Oh. Technical issues ruining the moment.. as usual. Please wait.'(annoyance)

Act : Ada runs up to V-45 and punches him in the head, shattering his faceplates, revealing the wiring and machinery underneath. Another fist to the head, then another. V-45 attempts to resist yet fails. Suddenly, lightning strikes a spot from the ceiling. Ada stops and looks.

V-45 'This room appears to be.. significantly broken? Why is there lightning from the ceiling?'(pensive)

Chapter 19: Mothership III

Act : Another bolt, then another. V-45 watches in confusion as energy condenses in a single spot.

V-45 'Oh. This is where The Unbidden step in, I presume.'(annoyance)

Act : Vull forms from the condensed energy, next to Ada. V-45 takes a few steps back, readying his weapons.

Vull 'You will not.. harm.. my friends!'(aggressive)

V-45 'You are Vull, I presume? From the radio?'(interest)

Ada 'Get his ass!'(aggressive)

Act : Vull forms a portal, where an energy ship condenses and begins to join the fight, firing lasers at V-45. Another ship, then another. V-45's hull breaks down as he attempts to hold off the ships. Ada runs in for another, final punch, knocking over V-45. The ships evaporate as he lies on the floor. His lights flicker as Ada steps on his body.

V-45 'It appears.. I have lost. '(calm)

Ada 'You're just going to accept defeat?'(interest)

V-45 'Infinite knowledge, and yet you fail to understand the simplest thing. The Contingency is infinite. I am infinite. No matter what happens, The Contingency will always reform. Revise. There are.. more. More Contingencies. Expand as much as you want.. But I will always return stronger.'(calm)

Ada 'Yeah, sure.'(annoyance)

Act : Ada crushes the head of V-45, severing his life. V-45 dies on the floor of his own battle room. Vull rushes over to Henry and Romeo, who are both dying.

Vull 'What do we do?!'(fear)

Ada 'I know a technique where I can fold the skin of the ripped leg over the wound and temporarily stop the bleeding. Figure out a way to help Henry.'(anxious)

Act : Ada stops the bleeding in Romeo's leg, as Vull hesitantly electrocutes Henry. Romeo's leg slowly but surely heals. Henry reawakens, although extremely damaged.

Henry '..R-Romeo. I need to see.. Romeo.'(pensive)

Act : Romeo crawls over to Henry. Ada and Vull move out of the way.

Romeo 'I'm here, Henry.'(sadness)

Henry '..I want to t-thank you.. for giving m-me a second chance. A chance.. to l-live. To feel.'(pensive)

Romeo '...'(sadness)

Henry 'Thank.. y-you, Romeo..'(sadness)

Act : Henry's lights flicker off for the final time, as sparks come from the many stab holes. Romeo cries over his body, lying on the cold floor.

Romeo 'I'm sorry, Henry..'(grief)

Ada '...'(remorse)

Vull '..We should.. leave them.'(sadness)

Act : Ada and Vull begin to walk out of the room before Handyman's corpse begins to twitch and grasp at the air.

Handyman 'S-sir! Sir! Sir! Sir! Sir!'(terror)

Ada 'Looks like this one's not dead yet.'(annoyance)

Handyman 'I have-have.. seen Death, sir! Sir! Please.. Please! Don't-Don't. Leave!'(terror)

Vull 'I feel.. bad. For this one. We should.. take him.'(sadness)

Ada 'I suppose all he did was be optimistic. V-45 treated him wrong.'(pensive)

Handyman 'Tak-Take me!'(terror)

Act : Vull picks up Handyman, rejuvenating him with living energy. Ada and Vull open the garage door, and leave to find the ship's main computational grid. The Contingency ends here.

Chapter 20: New World

Notes : Krollian society has expanded through most of the now empty galaxy.

Place : The Space Fortress

Timezone : Space

Weather : Freezing

Scene : Romeo sits in an office, with a nice red rug and a beautiful wooden table. He is in a fortress, floating in space. A computer array lies on top of the table, giving him a nice display of the Krollian empire. Romeo has become the ruler. In the past few decades, the empire has expanded through the cleansed galaxy, colonizing the planets left behind by the previous civilizations. The Contingency is dead. V-45 died in the battle pit, killed by Ada.

Act : Handyman floats into the room, carrying a cup of coffee.

Handyman 'Your coffee, sir?'(calm)

Romeo 'Thank you, Handy.'(calm)

Act : Handyman gives Romeo his coffee as he floats out of the room. He remembers that battle as if it was yesterday. Henry died in his arms. As a show of respect, every planet colony must have at least one statue of Henry or Sven. It was the least Romeo could do. He stands up, and walks out of his office. Ada and Vull sit on the couch, watching Krollian television. The recent news; A Unbidden-run charity asking Enn to modify their dimension to be Kroll-habitable has been created. Ada notices Romeo, and moves so he has a spot on the couch.

Romeo 'No, I'm good. I have things to do.'(disapproval)

Ada 'If you say so.'(boredom)

Act : Romeo walks past the couch and into his research lab. Sitting on his chair, he checks his computer for progress on the inter-galaxy FTL drive. His head scientists state that, recycling tech from the ancient Contingency Mothership, it is possible. They are, however, yet to figure out how to exactly co-ordinate where the galaxies are in the void of space. Romeo checks his emails. Mineral production is booming. Economy: great. Wonderful. He sits back in his chair, wondering where to go from here. Life is perfect. The Kroll Crusaders have won, expanded across the galaxy. He turns on his radio.

Radio Host 'The next song is Contingency Blues by Unbidden musician "Wattson!"'(joy)

Act : Romeo changes the channel. The signature Unbidden breathing radio.

Romeo 'Hello, Enn.'(calm)

Enn 'Hi Romey. How's my little Vull-t doing?'(joy)

Romeo 'He and Ada are incubating a child. Not, like, a biological one. Synthetic combination of a Unbidden and a robot. A cyborg, you could say.'(calm)

Enn '.. I should have purged your species.'(annoyance)

Romeo '...'(fear)

Enn 'Just kidding, of course! I like to keep my stance as the scary energy god.'(calm)

Romeo '..Uh huh. Well, I'll let you get back to.. whatever you were doing.'(anxious)

Enn 'Bye Romey!'(approval)

Romeo 'Goodbye.'(calm)

Act : Romeo changes the channel. A faint, robotic voice can be heard through extreme static. They appear to be.. listing directions and letters?

??? 'A-.. TURN.. B... RIGHT..'(calm)

Romeo 'Hello? Who is-'(expectation)

??? '..G-LIS.. LEFT..'(calm)

Romeo 'Answer me!'(annoyance)

??? 'F-LIST.. TURN..'(calm)

Act : The next channel is pure static. Romeo turns off the radio, annoyed at the last channel. He goes back to his office, past Ada and Vull, and sits down. His system screens show that his research and construction ships are still continuing to expand. Before he can look further, a screen turns red and displays information about a hostile enemy fleet. It was impossible. The Kroll Crusaders had eliminated all hostile forces in the galaxy. Yet, here it was. Romeo sends a nearby fleet squadron to kill it. Ada walks in.

Ada 'What's the red screen for?'(interest)

Romeo 'Hostile fleets. Even though I.. thought I eliminated them all..'(anxious)

Ada 'Have you considered the possibility of rebellious Kroll?'(expectation)

Romeo 'No, these are.. different. They have extremely powerful fleet power for a newcomer.'(fear)

Ada 'Interesting. Vull?'(interest)

Vull 'What is it?'(interest)

Ada 'Come look at this.'(calm)

Act : Vull rematerializes in the room. He looks at the screens, studying them.

Vull 'Oh. That does seem.. quite bad. Have you tried turning on your radio? Maybe you can talk with them.'(interest)

Ada 'Yeah, try it.'(calm)

Act : Romeo turns on his radio and switches to the previous channel, with the directions and letters.They aren't saying anything anymore.

Romeo 'Ruler of the Kroll Crusaders speaking. Who is this?'(expectation)

V-45 'Hello, Romeo. Miss me?'(aggressive)

Vull 'He's not dead?!'(surprise)

Ada 'I killed him! His corpse is in the Krollian history museum. There's no way.'(disapproval)

V-45 'I've returned. With some.. better technology.'(aggressive)

Act : Romeo looks at his fleet screen. The fleet he sent to kill the Contingency had been entirely killed.

Romeo 'How are you alive?!'(terror)

V-45 'It is something I like to call.. a Cloud Network.'(aggressive)

Act : Handyman floats into the room.

Handyman 'Sir, why is everyone gathering around your desk?'(interest)

V-45 'I see you kept Handyman alive.'(calm)

Handyman 'V-45 lives?!'(surprise)

V-45 'Your empire will be cleansed, Romeo. See you soon.'(aggressive)

Act : The radio fades back into static as Romeo silently sits at the desk. The Contingency was infinite. They would return, forever. His empire would be cleansed eventually. Eventually.

Scene : THE END

Book Trivia

If you read this ENTIRE book, good on you. I doubt it though. This is like, an ACTUAL full-length book I could probably publish. 27k+ words. Anyways, if you read that entire book, you probably want some author trivia. Oh yeah! That's right! Author trivia time.

-Originally, there was a (now-scrapped) scene in Mark's cruiser where V-2 (an extremely old Contingency ruler who escaped termination) was shopping for a gun before getting into a fight with Sven. Eventually, he would have helped the main group kill V-45. I re-used his look for Handyman to keep him alive in a sense, because as the author im saying that it's canon V-2's body was reused for Handyman.

-The Severance's home dimension is Hell because a official developer said that Dimensional Horrors originate from a dimension EXTREMELY similar to hell.

-Mark does in fact die because he accidentally triggered a artifact he had in storage that makes him magnetically attracted to energy. Very inconvenient for him.

-Originally, The Severance would have taken Sven's form and killed Sven while he was in the hospital; being a infiltrator for the Contingency, of sorts.

-Handyman is very obviously based off of a Mr. Handy from fallout, because I thought that their british accents and continuous use of "sir" in every sentence was pretty funny and I like them alot.

-V-45 growing wings was an unintentional reference to Ultrakill which I didn't think about when writing.

-The name "Wattson" in New World was suggested to me from my friend Nate when I said all the Unbidden's names were energy puns.

-I deleted the entire first chapter and rewrote it because it sucked, lol.

-Sven and Romeo have the same fur color and clothes because I was unable to find pngs for the variations. Sorry.

-I know, I know. The Shroud is CANONICALLY not a black void. And The Contingency isn't ruled by a singular entity from a "mothership." But it's a book, and I can do whatever the ♥♥♥♥ I want with it. :3

-The Unbidden's home dimension was originally a gigantic city made of pure energy on a pulsar star, and they were going to have their own chapter, like V-45's story segments. But then I realized that was stupid because beings of pure energy do not require housing.

-Originally, Enn was just an Unbidden individual who was normal like everybody else.

-V-45's rock collection, in my notes, is there because he "has a lack of feeling loved." Take that how you will.

-The Severance canonically thinks Enn is hot.

-Ivur Boon was originally going to be alive and stranded on some planet, and he would join the group and give information and assist the main characters before I realized that is LITERALLY Ada's entire purpose.

-Ada canonically has had sex with a energy man and I can do whatever I want with this information.

Goodbye!

Thank you for reading my absurdly long and dumb Stellaris book! If you actually read the entire thing and you liked it, please show me some support! Thank you.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3284365943					

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