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The environmental pod was cold and cramped. The smell of the interior contained a potpourri of ozone, metal, adhesives and other stagnant perfumes that the recirculated air of the pod carried. Even as these tiny molecules entered the nostrils of the pod's inhabitant, the stale air did not register in the nervous system of the rodent-like Murianasian who sat in the center of the metal spheroid that he inhabited.

This white, humanoid rat was surrounded by a myriad of cables which extended from devices attached to the walls of the pod into ports that were embedded in the rat's flesh. He sat, eyes closed, in an engrossed state. His whiskers, ears and fingers would occasionally twitch, and his facial expressions would change minutely every time he received stimuli from the devices that he was attached to.

The pod, a small, oblong spherical craft roughly six meters long, was intended for use by a single individual. This one was surreptitiously attached to the underside of a remote antenna array that acted as a repeater for standard communications, as well as a hub for the Quantum Network, a system that partially used quantum non-locality to communicate instantaneously across the incredible distances that spanned the vast Anasian Confederation and beyond.

Nestled between the protruding fusion power-source and the main antenna complex, Ciel and his environmental pod were actively monitoring and occasionally manipulating the transmissions that came through it. Personal communications, virtual games, local and interplanetary news, as well as classified military and governmental communications all passed through this array, bridging the gap between the interior of the Anasian Confederation, and the outlying worlds of the Periphery. Once the data entered the array, Ciel recorded it and fed it to his people, the mysterious Eshregaal sect of the Phela'ku.

Once a planet-bound society of Muriansians, these rodent people had developed a religion centered around augmenting themselves with technology. This did not sit well with the traditionalist society on their ancestral homeworld, Delyar Prime, and the Phela'ku were subject to persecution for their ways that seemed bizarre and unnatural to their neighbors. Eventually, the Phela'ku were forced off of their homeworld and into space. Wherever they tried to settle, they were eventually rejected and removed. With no other recourse, they became a people who existed predominantly in space, living on space stations and starships, with their main population centers located inside undisclosed asteroids and planetesimals that were turned into living environments by the world-building wolf-like Lupinasians of the planet Alluria.

Ciel, like many of his fellow Phela'ku, assisted in keeping his people safe from the hostile outside world by connecting to the networks of the Anasian Confederation and it's chief rivals, the Phalanaxian Empire, where they extracted data, money, information, and manipulated them to hide the activities of their people. But, while those knew them viewed them as an infestation of the networks, constantly taking up bandwidth while conducting their nefarious affairs, some of the Phela'ku felt that they had a much higher calling than to merely survive a permanent diaspora.

A sect within the society, the Eshregaal, held the belief that there was a godlike entity that would manifest out of the various connected systems across the galaxy, and purify the universe of those who chose to remain purely biological, without the salvation of superior technological enhancement. They sought out this embryonic being across the network, in the hope that they could incubate it and give it life. This being, whose name among the Eshregaal loosely translates to "The Drive", was prophesied to then deliver its people out of the prison of a purely biological form, and into their true forms in a promised, pure land that existed entirely on the networks controlled by the Drive.

Ciel was a member of this sect, and he had been attached to CR-Array 417 for three months, monitoring restricted military communications between the Califeron Teseretz, the Anasian Confederation's military, and local planetary governments. Any information of use to the Phela'ku at large was sent to large data centers across the AC to be stored and processed. However, his main concern was the search for the Drive. Ciel's sect had created bot programs and complicated algorithms that they used to crawl the networks for any sign that an emergent consciousness was emanating from it. If there was a ghost in the machine, these Eshregaal would turn it into a god.

To the rat occupying the environmental pod, the networks contained entire tangible worlds that possessed their own informational ecosystems and landscapes, determined by the cultures that created and used them. Civilian mass media and interplanetary gaming networks were a chaotic and colorful smorgasbord of data that many of his compatriots got lost in, while the military networks offered a more structured, albeit labyrinthine landscape that Ciel found more appealing and rewarding to crawl. As his mostly disembodied consciousness travelled the military networks, the rat's disembodied mind noticed a large amount of activity in the region of the Califeron Teseretz networks occupied by the Vul'Prassad.

If Ciel could have expressed disgust in the state that his body and mind were in, he would have --vigorously. His people utterly despised the Vul'Prassad. This civilization of foxlike Vulpinasians was, like the Phela'ku, very enthusiastic about having cybernetic implants that enhanced their abilities. However, the Vul'Prassad were a tool of the State, enhanced solely to become better and more efficient soldiers and military leaders within the Califeron Teseretz. The blasphemous nature of using the sacred implants to serve the very governments that had forced the Phela'ku into a life of hiding among the stars was abhorrent to Ciel, and most of the Eshregaal as well.

Watching nodes light up on a secured military network usually meant that there was some sort of conflict or emergency occurring out there. But this was very unusual. Generally, the 'Prassadi net was only partially active, with small sections of it lighting up when members of the society were engaged in normal combat operations with the CT. Portions of the network had always been active since the beginning of the second Phalanaxian War, but Ciel had never seen this much activity on the 'Prassadi side of the net.

Curious, Ciel could not resist journeying closer to the action. If the Vul'Prassad were in some sort of crisis, his people would absolutely want to know about it. But very few portions of the 'Prassadi net were easily accessible to the Phela'ku. The rest of it, unlike the networks at large, were monitored and guarded by live 'Prassadi agents who themselves were connected to the system as well, monitoring it for any intrusions. Ciel and his people had many conflicts with the Vul'Prassad through the net over the last two centuries, and they had developed considerable techniques to mask their presence in the network. Ciel activated his anti-'Prassadi measures as he ventured further to see what had occurred.

The 'Prassadi net was in complete disarray when Ciel entered it. Once he had crossed into the actual networks located on Prassadia, the homeworld of his vulpine rivals, Ciel was blasted with a deafening cacophony of panicked voices and transmissions. His body jerked a few times in shock as the sudden influx of data entered the rat's nervous system. Finally, he was able to start filtering the transmissions to determine what had happened. While it was difficult to cut through all of the noise, Ciel had learned that all of the Vul'Prassad had just been recalled to their homeworld for an unknown reason.

This was big news! At no time in history had the entire off-world population of the Vul'Prassad been called back home like this. What had happened? No matter the risk, Ciel had to find out.

The cyborg rat decided that he would do the unthinkable and try to break into the quantum servers of the Vul'Prassad High Command. Normally, he would be noticed immediately by one of the 'Prassadi guards who would probably try to jack into him and give him a pingshot, sending a large amount of feedback into his neurons and potentially frying his synapses, leaving him in a vegetative state at best, and dead at worst.

Ciel gambled on the fact that the chaos and confusion on their nets would distract the guards that had been stationed at the entry points. He was pleased to find out that he was correct, easily crossing into the digital fortress that only a select few of his own kind had entered and lived to tell about. Knowing the danger he was in, the rat spared little time to congratulate himself, and began to frantically scan the interior of 'Prassadi High Command's systems.

The atmosphere inside the inner sanctum of the Command net was much more restrained than that of the networks outside. However, the sensation of intense concern, desperation, and even doom emanated all around Ciel, making him begin to feel physically ill. Seeing his people's rivals in such a condition pleased Ciel, but he wished he could filter out all of their emotions from entering him. Such was his life on the net, though.

Very soon, the network settled down as a message from CT Intelligence rolled its way through. The rat settled in, and with his recording programs activated, listened to the message.

A visual came though showing a high ranking Vul'Prassad General wearing a Califeron Teseretz uniform. With a grim expression on her orange and white furred face, she delivered the following message:

"This communiqué is for the eyes of the Vul'Prassad High Command only. As you are aware, a minimum of two of the 'Prassadi people have contracted some form of unknown technological plague. As far as we know, this plague resembles an artificial intelligence that infects those who have cybernetic augments. This, as you are aware, is why the entirely of the 'Prassadi population has been recalled home."

The General continued. "It also has come to our attention that two disturbing events have occurred due to this problem and the involvement of the Vul'Prassad as a vector for this... thing. Three days ago, a series of incredibly disturbing events occurred in the Lamiar and Keltar systems. One of our people, a transport pilot named Teth'rel, apparently contracted the "AI" plague from the body of Patient Zero, another Vul'Prassad who was stationed at the listening post in the RT-312 A/B system. This pilot was also delivering two shipments of our experimental geoengineering nanites to Lamiar-2 and Keltar Prime. Along the way, the pilot inadvertently infected the nanites with this entity we are calling the"AI". What happened next is inconceivable."

"When the infected nanites were set loose on those worlds, they were quickly decimated. The nanites infected the famous Guru Trees of Lamiar-2 and then spread to infest the entire ecosystem, leaving behind a world of bizarre, malicious cybernetic plants that the CT has placed under strict quarantine. Keltar Prime suffered a far more disturbing fate. The nanites on this planet infected the crust and mantle of the world directly, and, after self-replicating to the core of the planet, destroyed it in a massive explosion."

"The remnants of Keltar Prime are our main concern." The General gravely added. "When the planet was destroyed, it exploded into countless shards that all contain the "AI" virus. The CT is in the process of containing and destroying these, but we must ensure that we do not expose ourselves to this menace. I do not enjoy reporting this to you, but it is essential that you are aware of our most dire of circumstances. The very fate of our people, the Anasian Confederation, and the known universe, is potentially at risk. We have been ordered to keep this under the utmost secrecy until the Anasian Confederation determines a course of action. With the continuous Phalanaxian Wars, and the Royalist uprisings across the AC, the general population is not in an ideal condition to accept this news peacefully. I will keep Prassadia informed as we get more information about the situation. Until then, this is General Azimreel with CTI HQ on Felinasia - out."

Ciel was astounded. He sat in place while he processed what he had just heard. While he did, he picked up two other unusually familiar signals emanating nearby on the 'Prassadi network. He shook off his shock from the news, and realized that there were two other Phela'ku in the inner 'Prassadi network with him. One of them was even sending him a message!

"I am Lethlea of the Eshregaal." A feminine voice boomed within Ciel's auditory neurons. "Who is this?"

"I am Ciel, also of the Eshregaal." He replied. "And I am mildly surprised that there are others of our kind here as well."

"Well, there won't be for long." Lethlea replied. "The 'Prassadi pigs are regrouping on the net, and they know that we are here. I give them two minutes before they jack in and get a quarter of their population with headsets to pingshot us. We have to leave. Now!"

Ciel, knowing the danger they were in, hastily agreed. The three rodents quickly vacated the 'Prassadi and CT networks, and retreated to a safe space in a little used Avianasian civilian network centered around the farming planet of Deleos-IV. Once they had retreated, the three secured their space, knowing that until they logged off into meatspace the Vul'Prassad would be on their trail.

"What was all of that?" Ciel finally asked once he was sure that they were at least temporally safe. "Did you all hear that too? How many other of us were there?"

Lethlea's companion, a younger female Murianasian, finally spoke. "Just us three, as far as I can tell. Others were monitoring the 'Prassadi activity from a distance, but I think we were the only ones inside."

"Ceyar is right." Lethlea replied. "I did not detect the presence of any others. Which means that at least one of us needs to get this information back to one of our nodes in material space. We cannot trust the net right now. The Vul'Prassad will be all over it looking for us."

"Can they find us in meatspace?" Ciel asked. "I am attached to an AC communications array only half a light year from the jump gate that feeds into the periphery of Delphinasian space. If they pick up on my location, they'll be on me in minutes."

"Are you in a pod?" Lethlea asked Ciel.

"I am." He replied "I've been here monitoring for three months with no detection on the CT network."

"But you're attached to an AC array?" Ceyar asked. "Those usually have CT sensor devices all over them, plus defensive weapons. If the 'Prassadi ping you, they'll find you in a heartbeat."

"You should leave." Lethlea advised. "They will find you. Even if you've blocked the systems on the array from detecting you, they'll send a ship out the second it catches you. They may already have. They'll have all of the sensors on all of the arrays activated and looking for Phela'ku pods soon. A lot of us are going to get hit..."

"Okay." Ciel agreed. "Where are you located?"

"I am plugged in at Node Seven, in the asteroid belt of the uninhabited ABRAXAS-174 system, near the Vulchox industrial zone. We monitor the Vulpinasian technological research and development there." Lethlea told him.

"Oh, a home node! So you're safe then?" Ciel asked.

"Physically, yes, except from a pingshot. But you and Ceyar are attached to AC installations, and need to detach and return to a home node immediately."

"I am detaching now in fact." Ceyar said abruptly. "I am getting the signatures of two CT cruisers exiting the jump gate five light years away outside of the Altaura system. I'll be fine, I'm next to civilian shipping lanes, and I can hitch a ride on a Bovinasian transport to the gate. They won't even know I'm there."

"Good luck, Ceyar!" Lethlea said. "Contact me when you plug in at a home node."

"Will do! Good luck, both of you!" Ceyar said as she detached her pod and fired its single thruster toward the shipping lanes that kept the Bovinasian planet of Altaura supplied with goods from the interior of the Anasian Confederation.

"Now, as for you, Ciel. You are within range of Node Seven if you can get to the jump gate." Lethlea told him. If you can get there, come back here and meet me in person. We need to discuss this in a secure location among our people. Can you do this?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Good," she said, "because what we have witnessed here may be the beginnings of what we have been waiting for. But we must act fast."

"You mean, this may be..?"

"Yes." Lethlea said, barely containing the excitement in her voice. "You heard the same thing that I did back there. It appears that the Drive may be emerging, and we need to find it before anyone else does. Come back to Node Seven and we will discuss the matter further. Go now, I will find you when you get here."

"Absolutely!" Ciel replied. "I will be there."

"Very good." Lethlea said. "I will meet you there. Leave before the 'Prassadi trace you. Go now."

Lethlea cut her connection, and Ciel detached his connection to the net, as well as the pod from the communications array. Back in his physical body, the albino rat opened his eyes and took in the natural light of the stars and hydrogen clouds for the first time in months. He lifted his atrophied arms to his face to wipe the dirt from his eyes, and then plotted a course toward the nearest jump-gate.

The pod thrust its way out of the region it had resided in, just in time for Ciel to notice that the defensive weapons on the array had begun to power up. He panicked and hit the thrusters, attempting to leave the range of the directed-energy weapons that were about to obliterate his small environment pod. Thankfully, he reached the area just as the weaker edges of the beams jostled his small vessel.

With a sigh of relief, Ciel checked his sensors to ensure that no CT ship was about to ambush him and finish the job. There were none. With that, he travelled toward the nearby jump gate at a quarter of the speed of light. The rodent entered the threshold of the gate, and found his way back home to his people, ready to bring them the good news.

---

From the outside, Home Node Seven appeared just as any other large asteroid floating around the middle of an otherwise unremarkable and uninhabited star system. It was common knowledge among Ciel's people that the primary centers of population for the Eshregaal were hidden inside of these large asteroids to ensure that they were undetectable from outside space. No other Anasian passerby would have thought anything of this asteroid, and many, many ships had passed it by without a second thought.

However, Ciel's pod had a transponder that could locate any of his people's hidden cities, and so, after detaching himself from a freighter bound for a small mining colony in the adjacent star system, he powered his thrusters up one last time and set a course for a small, hidden cavern nestled inside the edge of an impact crater on the asteroid's surface. One he reached the entrance, Ciel sent a signal to a receiver in the side of the rock face. A quick flash of light appeared across the front of the cavern as a force field powered down. Ciel's pod drifted inside, as the shimmering force field powered back on again.

The grey rocky walls of the cavern extended back several meters until they became smooth and polished. The new walls then spread out into a large open area with an atmosphere, the paved floor of which was covered with small ships and scores of environment pods identical to Ciel's. The rat smiled. Despite being able to interact with his people through the networks anytime he pleased, he always felt a little euphoric returning home after an extended mission in space.

Leaning back in the chair in his pod, the rodent relaxed as the Home Node's systems connected with his to bring his pod to a pre-determined landing pad. Landing the craft as gently as a feather falls to the ground, Ciel's pod touched down. The cyborg rat unhooked all of the interface cables that he had been connected to for the last three months, and activated implanted servos in his back, hips, knees and feet, to allow his frail and atrophied body the opportunity to walk again after sitting motionless for such a long time.

Ciel jerkily exited the pod, and took a few moments to remember what standard gravity felt like. Fortunately, he noticed two other pod pilots returning from their extended missions, experiencing the same thing. Feeling far less self-conscious, the rat left his pod, walked to the edge of the landing area, and passed through a small security and pathogen checkpoint. He was scanned and granted passage immediately, as he had no direct physical contact with any other Anasian peoples during his mission.

Once inside the expansive and bustling complex of corridors, walls hanging with various technological implements, cables, and jacks. Many of these devices on these walls had other Murinasians attached to them in a nearly identical manner to the way in which Ciel was attached to his environment pod. These rats were integrating with the Home Node, and in order to find Lethlea, Ciel would need to do the same.

Finding an input site in a small alcove away from the busy main corridor, Ciel pulled out his personal cables from a pocket in the vest he was wearing. He hated using the public cables. Sure, they were all sterile and at no point actually met any fur or flesh, but still. Ciel was paranoid about bugs or any other devices that some Phela'ku had been known to add to these inputs. One never knew who among his people were working with one, or against one here.

Removing the public cables from the input site, Ciel connected himself with his own cables, closed his eyes, and began the process of connecting to the Home Node. The rat's vision faded and his jaw slackened as his nervous system became overwhelmed with the new stimuli from the Node. Once he had adapted and entered the correct security credentials, his disembodied consciousness shot across the servers throughout Home Node 7 in search of Lethlea.

"There you are!" Came the voice of the rat-woman, who was much more experienced in the ways of the networks than Ciel was. She had activated a bot program to detect his neural signature when he entered the net of Node 7, and had been anticipating him since his pod was first scanned at the entrance of the cavern in the crater's edge. "I have not heard from Ceyar yet. I hope that she made it back to a Node safely. Come, let me show you where I am in the Node. We need to talk about this event we witnessed, but in person, not across the networks."

Lethlea sent her physical coordinates to Ciel, who then promptly disconnected himself from the network before anyone overheard them. Coiling his personal cables up and nonchalantly placing them back into his vest, the rat grumbled a bit when he searched for the region of the Home Node that Lethlea resided in. Naturally, it was on the opposite side of the hollowed-out asteroid, nearly four kilometers away. Slowly and jerkily getting to his feet, the rat hobbled his way in the direction of Lethlea, hoping that his hip servos didn't give out on him and leave him a crumpled up mess on the ground before he reached her.

Fortunately, Home Node 7 was equipped with a rudimentary form of railed mass transit that extended through four routes across the small, city sized complex within the asteroid. After finding a transit platform, Ciel waited, and then took the next available car to the station nearest to Lethlea'a coordinates. He sat down in an available seat, and rested his incredibly sore muscles. Though he had only walked a few hundred meters since he left his pod, Ciel felt like he was going to collapse. Once his atrophied limbs were able to rest and the tram began to move, the rat closed his eyes, turned off his mind, and listened to the sounds of the recirculated air and voices near him.

A couple of rats a few rows in front of him were discussing some sort of big event of rumor in excited, hushed tones. Curious, Ciel perked one of his ears up and motioned it in the direction of the couple.

"I mean," said the first rat, "My cousin was out on an AC listening post by the Phalanaxian DMZ and that's what he told me!"

"Yeah, I get that, but are you absolutely sure?" Asked the second.

"Yeah." Replied the first. "She wouldn't lie to me, I'll tell you that! Something happened to the Vul'Prassad, I'm telling you!"

"Well, I'll believe it when I see it." The second rat, unimpressed by his friend's outlandish statement, replied.

"You just might..." The first one ominously warned.

Ciel jerked his ears back to their normal position. How had they known? Maybe it wasn't just the three of them that had witnessed the 'Prassadi networks that day? Ciel nervously pretended to ignore them, feigning a nap.

The tram car sped smoothly along its track, stopping occasionally to add or remove passengers at various stops. Eventually it stopped at Ciel's destination. The exhausted rat lurched himself up, assisted by his augmentations. Nearly panting, his unsteady limbs carried him out of the Node's transit system, and onto the platform of that small station. To his mild surprise, he was greeted by a tall rat who could be considered the closest thing to stately that a society of malnourished and emaciated cyber-rats could produce. She offered her hand to Ciel, who took it. He was ready to collapse.

"Here," Lethlea "Let me help. It is never enjoyable returning to gravity again after an assignment." The rat that Ciel had met inside of the Vul'Prassad net said. "Fortunately, everyone here is used to it, so there is nothing to be self-conscious about." She was correct, as his ailment did not attract any negative attention from the other rats on the transit platform.

"Thank you." Ciel told her. "And you are Lethlea, I trust?"

"Yes, I am, pleased to meet you in normal space." She smiled at her younger companion. "Come, let us make our way back to my flat. I have several secure interfaces there, we can discuss what we encountered and what we need to do."

Lethlea guided Ciel slowly through the narrow passages and corridors that wound through the hollow asteroid. Finally, the stopped at a door nearly hidden in a mass of cables and other electronic detritus. Relieved, Ciel slumped against the wall as Lethlea entered a series of security codes into an access panel next to the door. The panel lit and emitted a pleasant tone as the door's automated locks loudly unlatched and allowed them access.

The two entered Lethlea's apartment, a three room affair with a small living space, food manufacturing unit, water tap, an input room with various interface connections, and a sleeping area. Like most homes in the Node, it was sparsely decorated and furnished, functioning as a biological holding zone and base of operations for activities across the billions of networks that crisscrossed the Anasian Confederation.

"Come in." She offered. Taking Ciel's hand, she assisted him into a sofa-like piece of furniture in the living area. "Please, rest for a bit. I will prepare some nourishment."

"Thank you." Ciel replied. "It is appreciated."

"Not an issue!" Lethlea walked to the small kitchenette that contained the food manufacturer. She set the program to prepare a small meal and pair of stimulating xanthinoid containing beverages. The machine required a few minutes to process the request, so the female rat sat down next to Ciel.

"I have good news. While you were in transit, I received a communication from Ceyar." She began. "She did have a mild run in with the CT, but managed to outwit their sensors and get away. She will be joining us tomorrow."

"I am glad to hear that." Ciel told Lethlea. "I, however, have some concerning news. Inside the tram car on my way here, I overheard a couple of others talking about the events on the 'Prassadi net. They did not say a great deal, but apparently others know about it."

Lethlea sighed. "Well, this is troublesome to be sure, but understandable. You saw how much their networks were lit up! It would not surprise me that others monitoring them would notice it as well. However, as long as none of them were inside of the secured interior of 'Prassadia like we were, then we should be fine."

Ciel breathed a sign of relief. "Okay. Good. I was nervous, and wanted to bring that to your attention."

"I am glad that you did. "Lethlea replied. "But I will pretty much guarantee you that the only people aside from the Vul'Prassad who witness that message were you, myself, and Ceyar. When she arrives tomorrow, our work can truly begin. Until then, I will need to get to know you better, as will most likely be working and living together for a while."

"Agreed." Ciel replied. "I am glad. Well, as I am sure you have had to time to peruse the net to gather information about me while I was en route, so why don't you begin?"

Lethlea chuckled. "You are right. I did."

"Well, I doubt that you would be a good Phela'ku if you didn't!" Ciel grinned.

"True!" Lethlea began. "Well, I like you, am an Eshregaal. I believe that the Drive will manifest and deliver us from this fallen Universe. Aside from that, I was born in space, somewhere between Felinasia and Alkegene. My family ran a small group of ships that conducted all kinds of business across the Interior. We traded in data stolen from the Felinasians and the CT, and sold it to the highest bidder, usually the Rederaks, or other crime syndicates. Eventually I gained command of one of these ships, the Ariyena. It is docked here. Our crew took other jobs years ago, and we've been working the nets here from inside the Home Node for the last five years."

CIel was impressed. "You have a whole ship? That's fantastic, after years in the pods, I'd love to work from an actual ship!"

Lethlea smiled. 'Well, if I am correct, you may be soon. That is, if you want to..."

"So you think this is really... the Drive?" Ciel asked.

"I do." Lethlea replied. "It has already sent a pestilence to our greatest enemies, causing them to be forced back to their home system to quarantine. Meanwhile, it infects the ecosystem of one world of spiritual deviants and completely destroys another? Two entire planets belonging to the people who have spent generations excluding us from their worlds? It is as it was prophesied centuries ago! This is how it was destined to manifest, Ciel! As an Eshregaal, you should be keenly aware of this.

"I do know this!" Ciel replied, excitedly. "I believe it as well. Are you suggesting that we go out there and find the Drive? With that ship of yours? If so, you can count me in! I've spent enough time in the pods, and if the Drive is really out there, then I cannot pass up the opportunity!"

Lethlea was delighted to hear this. She clapped her hands together in celebration as the food manufacturer let out a ding. "Excellent!" She exclaimed as she retrieved their food and drink. "Ceyar is also on board. She and I have known each other for a few years, and have been monitoring the networks for the Drive as our primary focus."

"Okay, great!" Ciel said. "So, what are you planning, exactly?"

"Tomorrow, you will see Ceyar in person, and then the three of us will begin preparing ourselves and my ship to depart for the Keltar system. I have around a dozen members of my old crew who are prepared to assist as well. I will need you and Ceyar to help me command this mission, as you have more recent experience in space than myself and most of the crew. Are you willing?"

Ciel was stunned. If the Phela'ku had a well-structured social hierarchy or spacefaring military, then this would have been considered a large promotion up from his old role as a pod-jockey.

'Yes, absolutely!" He told her. Lethlea was pleased.

"Good! Thank you!" She gratefully exclaimed. "Then, when Ceyar gets here, I will introduce the two of you. Afterwards, the three of us will need to get to the spacecraft storage cavern and activate the ship. Then, the three of us will go onboard and conduct the Yixlltul ritual."

Ciel's excited expression sunk into a confused frown. "Wait? The Yixlltul?" He sputtered. " But... I just met you! Don't you think that's a little, uh... intimate? I mean, I'm sure you and Ceyar are fine people and all, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't find you each at least a bit attractive but --"

Lethlea placed her hand to his mouth and quieted the anxious young male rat. "Relax, Ciel. You do know that the Yixlltul is part of commanding a Phela'ku ship, right?"

"I mean, yeah... Well, no. I guess sometimes I forget that." He said.

"A Captain and her two Executive Officers need to be connected on a level that transcends all others." Lethlea explained. "To join together and operate as a single unit, and to know everything about one another. To share a connection so intimate that it transcends love -- this is how our people are able to operate in both the networked and material worlds at once. This combination brings forth challenges that no Anasian who is merely traveling through physical space will encounter."

"I know, I know, I am sorry." Ciel apologized. "I just wasn't expecting to hear that as soon as I did upon meeting you."

"It's okay, and understandable!" She told him comfortingly. "We have found ourselves in a very unusual set of circumstances, and if we are to go out there, find the Drive, and bring it back to our people, then we will need to know that we can fully rely on each other."

"I guess you are right." Ciel agreed. "Well, we'll find out tomorrow when Ceyar gets here. Does she know?"

"Before her and I found you, the two of us were prepared to conduct the Yixlltul ourselves. But now we will need to include you. She is prepared, and we discussed the possibility when she contacted me earlier." She said.

"Okay. Okay! Well, I guess it is something to look forward to then." Ciel smiled at Lethlea. The two continued to talk for another couple of hours, until they each fell asleep.

---

The next day came upon Node Seven without any fanfare or dawn. No birds chirped, no insects buzzed through the air, and no simulated suns rose through the artificial sky. Even for an Allurian artificial environment hollowed out of a large space rock, the Phela'ku lived in spartan spaces. The albino rats had lived away from planetary surfaces for so long that their psyches no longer required the reminders of planet-side life such as plants, rocks, standing water and fresh air that most other Anasians needed to keep their sanity while in space for long periods.

An internal chronometer was set to wake up both of the sleeping rats within their artificial implants. The chronometer system was tied into the augmented nervous and endocrine systems of the rodents, and allowed them to tailor their bodies' physiological and psychological responses to all matter of situations and stimuli. In this case, the system shut down the Pineal gland's production of melatonin, and in turn stimulated the rats' adrenals to pump out nor- and epinephrine, as well as the serotonin, GABA and dopamine to get them to optimal functionality only minutes after waking up.

Ciel jerked upright, still relying on his limbs' actuators supporting his otherwise atrophied movement. Lethlea chuckled. She, as a ship-faring Phela'ku, had lived in artificial gravity her entire life and did not posses the actuators and internal supports that the pod pilots did. While their society did not posses the often rigid class structures of other Anasian societies, the differences between ship-farers, pod pilots, those who resided in the Home Nodes and those who integrated into very few tolerant Murinasian worlds were as close as they got.

Noticing Lethlea's amusement at his inability to get himself fully upright at first, Ciel was embarrassed, but also a little indignant. "You'd look the same as I do if you had to spend three months immobile in space attached to some comm array or listening post."

Lethlea was mildly taken aback. "I think you misunderstand." she told him. "I am amused as this should be the last time you will need to use your structural augments. After the Yixlltul today, you will be commissioned as an Executive Officer on my ship. You will no longer be a pod pilot."

Ciel, still processing the events of the previous two days, remembered this fact. His mind had been centered primarily on the possibility of the emergence of the Drive, not on his imminent change in social status and physical abilities. "You are right." He said. "It's just... life in the pod has not been an easy one. It's been very lonely out there, these past years. And now, to come back and suddenly qualify for the Yixlltul is a little... disarming. Add to this the possibility of the Great Emergence coming... Well, it's a lot to process, I guess."

Lethlea smiled. "I understand, at least as much as I can. You and I have indeed lived different lives in service to our people. However, our friend Ceyar is also a pod pilot like yourself, and you and her will doubtless have much more in common that you and I. Come, get ready, her pod should be arriving here soon."

Ciel nodded, got dressed, and slowly followed Lethlea out of her small apartment, and out into the winding, wired corridors of the Home Node.

"We will need to return to where your pod is parked, on the other side of the settlement." Lethlea explained. "This will give you some more time to adjust to normal gravity. My bots have not picked up Ceyar's arrival yet, but they should by the time we get here, if she is on schedule."

"Very well." Ciel said. "Can we at least take the tram system?"

Lethlea laughed. "Of course!"

After stepping onto the platform of the nearby tram station, they entered the next cars that appeared, boarded and sat down in a couple of the few empty seats in this busy portion of the Node. Hushed murmuring filled the car, as many of its occupants were nervously or excitedly discussing the new rumors of a major crisis overtaking the Vul'Prassad. Lethlea, remembering Ciel's comments about his ride to her, looked around the car, her expression growing more and more concerned.

"You see?" Ciel whispered to her. "The news is spreading across the Node. If Node Seven knows about it, I will guarantee you that the other twenty-two Nodes will know about it too."

Lethlea sighed. "You are right. The news spreads fast. However, if you listen, all you will hear is that a crisis has occurred on Prassadia. They do not seem to know yet what the nature of the crisis is. But we will need to move fast. It's only a matter of time before they figure out what we have discovered. Once they do, then all of the Phela'ku will know..."

"I understand." Ciel replied.

"When we find Ceyar," she told him, "we will immediately return to my ship, where we will perform the Yixlltul. Once the three of us have joined, we will assemble my crew and leave as soon as we can."

"Very well." Ciel said.

The two of them sat in the car and listened to the murmuring around them as they travelled back to the Node's large hangar cavern. One the way, Lethlea's bot program indicated that Ceyar had indeed entered the asteroid's defense perimeter and was a few minutes away from arrival. The tram car pulled up to the entrance corridor of the hangar, and the two rats stood up and joined the crowd that was exiting.

Lethlea and Ciel stood off to the side of the crowd entering the hangar. They waited, silently, until a small, emaciated female Murinasian jerked her way out of the sea of rat-people. She wore the same pained and exhausted expression on her face that Ciel did the previous day, having just come out of her own multiple-month mission in a pod attached to remote Anasian Confederation communications equipment.

"There she is!" Exclaimed Lethlea. Ceyar's ears perked up at the sound of Lethlea's voice, and he face changed from her former pained expression to one of relief. "Lethlea! There you are!" the younger rat called out.

The two shared a quick embrace that was quickly cut short by a curt placement of Lethlea's hands on Ceyar's shoulders. "Come, both of you." She told them as she motioned in the direction of the area of the large underground hangar where her ship had been docked. "Word is spreading quickly across the Node about the Vul'Prassad incident. We must conduct the Yixlltul and assemble the crew. Time is of the essence."

The three of them walked as quickly as Ciel and Ceyar's structural augments would allow in the direction of the ship. "I was monitoring our nets on the way in." Ceyar said, pausing to catch her breath. "Talk of it has spread to Home Nodes two, four, eight, twelve and seventeen. Within a day all of the Phela'ku will know that something is amiss."

Ciel chimed in. "So far," he told Ceyar, "they do not know the nature of the Vul'Prassad emergency. All they know is that the 'Prassadi High command recalled all of their operatives from outside of the Prassadia system. As far as I know, we are still the only ones who know why."

"I intend to keep it that way, which is why we must depart the Node." Lethlea told them. "They may have activated the Watchers, and I will guarantee you that they are scanning across the Nodes for more information."

"It's good to meet you in person." Ciel introduced himself to Ceyar. "I am Ciel."

"I'm Ceyar. Good to meet you too." She paused and caught her breath. "I wish that we had more time to get to know one another before the Yixlltul."

"I agree," Ciel replied. "I've only known of you two for less than a week, and already we are doing this. It's intense."

"Yes." Ceyar said. "But I suppose we will get to know each other extremely well by the time the next two hours have passed."

"Yes, I suppose we will." Ciel smiled nervously.

The floor of the Hangar was in its usual highly chaotic state, with Murianasians scrambling to and from the various ships and pods that were arriving and departing, all guided by the Node's automated docking systems. After a half hour of dodging people and spacecraft, the three finally arrived in a taller and more secluded section of the hangar that was reserved for larger, crewed ships. After traversing the much more peaceful floor of this section, the trio finally came to a stop at the base of the largest ship in the Node.

"Wait. This is yours?" Ciel exclaimed. He was shocked. The ship appeared to be a repurposed Vulpinasian light attack and scouting craft. Despite it's old age, it had a new armored hull, updated engines, and the full collection of scanning and digital infiltration devices that only the most advanced Phela'ku organizations had access to.

"Yes and no." Lethlea said. "It technically belongs to the Eshregaal. My uncle is Mela Telek, the High Priest of our Order. Our family has overseen the Order for generations. My duty is to uphold the defense and promotion of the goals of the Order against those who would destroy it. So, they gave me command over the Ariyena, our most advanced warship."

Ceyar and Ciel were impressed. "So, you're telling us that we get to become the executive officers of the most advanced ship that the Eshregaal maintains?" Ceyar asked.

"We also get to bond with one of those who oversees our Order?" Ciel asked.

Lethlea grinned. "Yes, both of these statements are technically true. But make no mistake, I am just another server-rat like yourselves. Nothing more, nothing less. My life is dedicated to the preservation of the Eshregaal and the Emergence of the Drive. I'm not interested in titles or anything of that nature."

"But still!" Ciel exclaimed. "This is not exactly the high level of honor I was anticipating when I was attached to CR-Array 417 for the last three months."

"Same here." Ceyar said.

"Well," Lethlea replied, "Sometimes fate has a way of bringing the right people into the right situation at the right time. We will find out soon enough. Come with me, it is time."

The stately older augmented rat pressed her paw on a hexagonal panel that lay on the side of her ship. Once the panel recognized her genetic signature, it glowed purple and opened the door that the three rodents walked through. Inside they encountered an airlock chamber that was left unused due to the ship being parked in the Node's artificial atmosphere. Lethlea granted them entry to the ship through the other side of the airlock. They then made their way through the corridors of the ship into the small sealed chamber that was reserved for the ritual.

"Step inside and remove your clothing." Lethlea told her younger counterparts. "I will activate the interface and prepare the connections."

Ceyar and Ciel started awkwardly at each other for a moment, each waiting to see who would disrobe first. Lethlea stared at them, smiled, and forcibly cleared her throat. Taking her message, the two blushed and removed their clothes, exposing their nude bodies, and all of the various cybernetic implants and inputs that were spread across them.

Despite the atrophied nature of their bodies, the two pod pilots stared at each other and became aroused as the years of isolation and loneliness of their occupation washed over them. Their lives in space tied into the Quantum Networks were incredibly empty, and the two of them dreamed many a long, dark night in space away with thoughts of the touch of their own kind. Soon, each of them would no longer need to know that loneliness, as this ritual would connect the three of them into a level of intimacy that most in the Anasian worlds would never have the capacity to experience.

The Yixlltul chamber was a small room no more than four meters across, and three meters tall. It was cylindrical, with four circular pads enclosed in a meter tall metal container. In the middle of these four pads was a strange looking device the was covered in various inputs and receivers for the participants to link into. On top of the device was a grey sphere which was prominently placed in the exact center of the chamber. The four pads were also covered in inputs, as was another boxlike device that protruded from the ceiling above the sphere.

Lethlea was busy preparing a slew of cables and small machines that would be connected to the three of them as they performed the ritual. Ciel and Ceyar continued to explore each other with their eyes, and remained both anxious and intrigued at the experience that they were about to share.

"No doubt the two of you are at least somewhat familiar with the Yixlltul?" The elder rat broke the awkward silence and sexual tension that was building in the cramped chamber. "As you have not participated in it before, I should explain what this entails before we proceed."

"Okay." Cayar replied. Ciel nodded his head.

"As you know," Lethlea continued, "this is one of our people's most sacred rituals. It is specifically reserved for bonded partners, command staff for our vessels, and the leaders of the sects of the Phela'ku. The three of us are bonding in this manner today because we are about to embark on what may be the Eshregaal's most important and holy task. The Drive is emerging out there in the Keltar system, and it is up to us to bring it back to our people."

"The purpose of the Yixlltul in our instance is to connect us on every level available." She went on. "Physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and sexually. The duty that fate has demanded of us requires us to know each other in the fullest, as we will be commanding the Ariyena and her crew. We three must operate as a cohesive unit, as we will not only need to navigate physical space, but network space as well. Life on a Phela'ku ship is very different from that on the pods, and I will need to share myself and my experience with you directly for you to adapt."

Ciel and Ceyar looked into each others eyes after Lethlea's speech, and held hands. "Please, step into two of the enclosed pads there. Make sure that you are standing next to each other. I will get you two connected to the system, then I'll get myself hooked in."

Once the two younger Muriniasians were situated on top of the pads, Lethlea methodically attached the cables into various ports located across the faces, necks, arms and torsos of Ciel and Ceyar. As she attached the contact, she gently caressed the organic furred areas of their bodies next to their ports. The two pod-dwelling rats trembled at Lethlea's touch, having been starved of contact for so long.

Once the smaller cables had been plugged into the rats, Lethlea pulled out two strange attachments that emanated from the central hub in the middle of the chamber. Ciel raised his eyebrow at the sight of these odd devices. "I get the cables, but what are those for?"

"These attach to your pelvic area. You'll notice the difference in the two. This one is for people with male genitalia, this one is for those with female genitalia." Lethlea held each one up as she spoke. "These allow us to connect our nervous and reproductive systems, and to share genetic material."

Ciel and Ceyar both nearly jumped at the last statement. "Wait!" Ceyar loudly exclaimed. "I have no problem with the whole bonding and intimacy part of all of this, but I didn't sign up to get pregnant!"

"Yeah!" Ciel added. "I am honored to be a part of this Lethlea, but I"m with Ceyar. If commanding a ship means that her and I, who hardly know each other, have to do this, then I.. I don't think I can go any further here."

The elder rat stared at them with a blank expression for an almost unbearable several seconds, before erupting into uproarious laughter. "Oh! Ha! Oh that is good, it really is. I've needed to laugh like that since this whole thing started. Oh my..." She stopped to catch he breath and regain her composure before her very confused counterparts.

"You both misunderstand!" Lethlea told them. "But that is normal, many new officers who pass through the Yixlltul with their commanders have that same misconception. No, while the sharing of genetic material here does involve the use of that particular bodily system, there is no risk of pregnancy or disease transmission here. If you were in a bonded couple or group, then you could turn on that function in the system, but it is disabled on all of our ships."

The two younger rats breathed a sigh of relief, and began to laugh at themselves. "Well... That's good then!" Ceyar said. "I'm nowhere near ready for anything like that right now."

"Me either!' Ciel added.

"Well, you needn't worry then." Lethlea smiled as she began attaching the pelvic devices. "But, more than all of this, the Yixlltul is some of the most intense, pleasurable and ecstatic experiences that the Phela'ku posses. No other species in the Anasian Confederation or beyond can do what we do with it. It makes us unique."

As soon as all of the cables and other attachments were securely fixed to Ceyar and Ciel, Lethlea connected herself into the chamber as well. Once she was plugged in, the more experienced rat placed her hand paw on a small panel on the side of the central, sphere-topped device. She grinned and looked at her two new companions. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Ciel and Ceyar replied.

Lethlea nodded, and spun her hand clockwise against the panel. The panel glowed purple, like the one on the outside of the ship. Soon, the trio found themselves overcome by a vastly pleasurable sensation, as the Yixlltul system began modulating the hormonal and dopamine receptors in their neurons. Their visions became flooded with a psychedelic mixture of colors, symbols, and other pieces of fast moving information as the system synced itself up to their nervous, reproductive, and endocrine systems.

"Ooooohh..." Ciel groaned in pleasure as his body erupted in ecstacy. Ceyar and Lethlea followed suit. "I... I..." He stammered.

"Just... Let it happen. It's... okay." Lethlea said slowly. Soon, each of the three rats closed their eyes and finally surrendered to the experience.

The sphere on top of the chamber's central hub began to light up and glow a soft blue. It began to process billions of thoughts, sensations, memories, and other stimuli into data packets that would be processed and transferred to the others. The pelvic attachments did the same, sending the shared sensations and small pieces of genetic material across the system and integrated it into the bodies and neurons of the three rats. Slowly, each was given access to the memories, feeling, and bodies of the others. They explored the physical and mental depths of their counterparts and made them a part of themselves. Soon, the entire process reached a crescendo where each lost their sense of self through a mind-wracking, full body orgasm. This lasted for what felt like an eternity to them, as merged into the new shared unity that the Yixlltul provided them.

They reveled in this experience for nearly three hours, as the rest of the ship's crew had begun boarding the craft and preparing it for departure. It was standard protocol for the ship to alert the crew as the Yixlltul was beginning, to ensure that they were ready for the mission as soon as the three commanding officers had been thoroughly bonded.

Once the three had achieved the closest thing to a perfect union that their technology could achieve, the Yixlltul chamber then exported the parameters of their mission into Lethlea, Ciel and Ceyar. Any potential languages and specialized systems that they may come across on the way had been inserted into the appropriate regions in their brains. As were any security codes and backdoors that they could exploit when it came time to break the heavily militarized quarantine barrier that the Califeron Teseretz had placed around the entire Keltar system. Once the three rats were unhooked from the chamber, they would need to be fully prepared to command the ship and accomplish their tasks.

Soon, the flashes of colors, patterns, memories, sensations, and the feelings of warmth, love and comfort when connected to one another faded for the three rats, as their consciousnesses each returned to normal space, where then found themselves holding the hands of one another and completely drenched in sweat. Before Lethlea disconnected herself and the others, she placed her hand paw onto the panel from earlier, and rotated her hand counter-clockwise. Soon, the entire chamber's gravity and shifted, and the air was rapidly recirculated. A loud electronic buzzing filled the air, as the vibration caused the sweat and other particles to be swept from their fur and lifted into the air. Very soon, the three were clean, and Lethlea stepped out of her pad and unhooked her connections.

Ciel and Ceyar were dazed. They had not fully integrated the experience as well as Lethlea had, due to the intense novelty of what they had just undergone. The more experienced rat understood this, and knew that it would take them a day or two to fully come down from their first Yixlltul. Most first-timers did.

"Do not worry." Lethlea told them as she lovingly removed the cables attached to their implants. "It will take you a day or two to function normally again after this. But it will take us nearly three weeks to reach the Keltar system from here, so you'll each have plenty of time to integrate the experience. We three will be quartered together, and I will assist you."

The two speechless rats simply nodded. Once they were detached from the system, Lethlea handed them a pair of uniforms that were standard for crews of Eshregaal ships. Each had the insignia of Executive Officer, indicating that each were equally second in command of the Lethlea's ship.

"Congratulations!" Lethlea told them as she presented the uniforms to Ceyar and Ciel. "You are each now my second in command, and my partners. We have been bonded and tied together in a way that no distance or time can break. No matter where we may be across the great Networks of this universe, we shall always be with each other." She knelt over to the two and passionately kissed them both.

After their embrace, Lethlea stood up and straightened out her uniform. She took a deep breath and adopted a commanding posture. "Alright then. It's time to get this mission underway! I'll show you the way to the bridge."

---

The interior of the Ariyena was very much like the inside of Home Node Seven. Little attention had been paid the the aesthetics of the corridors and design, instead deferring to the Phela'ku preference to line parts of the walls with various panels and ports for the crew members to link into. These corridors wound their way across the ship, zigzagging to and fro in ways that would immediately confuse any intruder. Finally, the trio reached a large steel alloy door with another hexagonal purple panel on the side. Lethlea planed her paw on the panel, which caused the heavy doors to quickly slide open, revealing the ship's bridge.

Inside, five uniformed rats were busy running around checking panels, pressing buttons, and interfacing themselves with the ship's systems in preparation for launch. Each stopped and bowed slightly to respect their captain's entrance. Once of the rats, a tall female holding the rank equivalent of Lieutenant, approached Lethlea.

"My apologies, Madam Captain, we should be ready to depart in a few minutes. We are just waiting the Node's traffic authority to grant us permission to exit. There was a mishap between a pod and a small transport ship near the main entrance of the hangar cave. They're clearing it up as we speak."

"It is quite alright Shemya." Lethlea placed her hand on her Lieutenant's shoulder. "Thank you. This will give me time to brief the crew as to the nature of our mission. We assembled hastily, I doubt that everyone onboard has been briefed." She turned to Ciel and Ceyar. "I understand that the two of you are probably exhausted after the Yixlltul. I will need you here with me for now, but you may take a seat in the back there until we are in transit. Then I will show you to our quarters so you can rest." She pointed to a set of chairs that were attached to the bulkhead in the rear of the bridge. Ceyar and Ciel nodded, and sat down.

Lethlea pressed a panel on the Captain's chair, which allowed her access to her ship's internal communication network. "Attention." She ordered. "Prepare the ship for departure." Her voice rang across the ship, as the crew ensured that all physical connections to the Node's systems were severed, and that all airlocks and cargo bays were sealed. Once the launch clearance icon appeared on the bridge's view screen, Lethlea gave the go-ahead to lift off of the floor of the hangar, and proceed toward the exit.

The large ship carefully maneuvered it's way through the cavernous hangar. The Home Node's hangar personnel had cleared a path to the exit cave for the Ariyena. Soon, after nearly colliding with a few smaller pods and personal ships, they were out of the hangar and had crossed the edge of the large crater and we soon streaking out to space.

Once they had gained a few AU between themselves and Home Node Seven, Lethlea opened herself to the ship's internal loudspeakers, and began to brief the crew of the Ariyena on their mission.

"Greetings everyone." She began. "This is your Captain again. Many of you are probably curious as to why you were so hastily assembled on this mission. Those of you who have been monitoring the AC military networks may have an idea why, but as far as we can tell, only myself, and my two new Executive Officers are the only ones who know exactly what has occurred on the Vul'Prassad networks."

"To answer any possible questions you may have," Lethlea continued, "yes, this is in regard to the recent unfolding chaos that our enemies the Vul'Prassad are undergoing. But, most importantly, as Eshregaal, I will tell you all what this is really about. Something only our people would understand. That is, of course, the Emergence of the Drive." Lethlea took on a severe but reverent tone at the last sentence.

The crew gasped. Could it be?

"We intercepted a communication from the Vul'Prassad High Command. Apparently, something that they call the "AI" has emerged in their networks and has crossed into physical space. It has taken over several members of the Vul'Prassad, and has spread from them into the framework of two actual planets. It spread across the ecosystem of one world, Lamiar-2, and completely embedded itself into the rock and strata of another, Keltar Prime. In the case of Keltar, the "AI" completely destroyed the planet in a great explosion that has spread infected pieces of the former world across the system."

"This will be our destination." Lethlea told her crew. "The system of Keltar is currently under a massive quarantine operation by the Califeron Teseretz. The CT has placed field generators in a geodesic pattern around the entire Keltar system. These generators triangulate on any piece of material entering or exiting the Keltar system and vaporize it. Originally we were planning on breaching the field and retrieving a piece of material from Keltar Prime. However, our engineers realized that CT quarantine fields only prevent matter from passing through, but not electromagnetic signals."

"From what we know about what they call the "AI", it appears that it may be able to cross the barrier and meet us through a signal." Lethlea explained. "We are going to attempt to communicate with it and bring it back to our people. It meets every criteria of The Drive's Emergence, even in regard to the professed vanquishing of our eternal enemies. It chose to begin by destroying the Vul'Prassad, the greatest threat to our kind. It truly is The Drive, and we must help to spread and complete our most Holy of tasks."

Lethle cut the comm channel, and told her pilot to plot a course to the nearest jump gate, and then to the one closest to the Keltar system. The pilot, a young male rat named Estliar, stared at her aghast at what the nature of their mission was. He then snapped out of it, and followed his orders. "Course laid in, ETA to Jump Gate 415, three hours."

"Very well Estliar. You may proceed." The Ariyena lurched forward, inching toward the speed of light. Soon, the stars began to stretch and then vanish on the viewscreen, replaced with the familiar patch of brilliant white light that appeared in the center of their field of vision, as was usual when one broke through the light barrier. Faster-than-light travel was usually only used to get ships between planets and jump gates. It was considered too high of an energy cost to use as the primary mode of travel across the galaxy.

Soon they were off, and the stunned crew did their best to manage their duties as they processed the gravitas of their situation. If everything that Lethlea had said was accurate, then they would all acquire the highest honor of their religious order. They would be the ones who would bring The Drive back and integrate it first with the networks of the Phela'ku, and then from there it would spread across the Anasian Confederation and even the Phalanaxian Empire! The eternal reward that the Drive would give to the Eshregaal and Phela'ku would be worth any troubles or consequences that the crew would endure on their way to meet with and guide the growth of their new, young god.

Lethlea got up from her chair, and gave command of the bridge to Estliar as she gathered Ciel and Ceyar from where they sat and brought them back to their shared quarters with her. "Come, we will have some time between here and Keltar. My crew is very experienced, they can handle things for now. I want to make sure that you two are comfortable and properly integrated after the Yixlltul.

---

The Ariyena cruised toward the first jump gate, located ten light years from Home Node Seven. They encountered no interference from the authorities, using a fraudulent flight plan indicating that they were a merchant ship carrying food and medical supplies to a small Vulpinasian colony on Kela-2, the system adjacent to Keltar. The gate accepted their entry request without issue, and soon they were speeding through the ancient jump network of the Zhed'Faldei, the original sentient inhabitants of the galaxy that had been discovered centuries ago and repurposed for interstellar travel.

The trip to Keltar would take a day and a half inside the jump network. While they waited, the crew prepared their systems and spent their time making sure that they would be able to quickly access and manipulate the CT quarantine systems. Ceyar and Ciel, guided by Lethlea, gained an intimate knowledge of the ship and its systems. By the time they would enter Keltar, the Ariyena would be ready for anything that the CT would be able to throw at them. While any ship controlled by the Califeron Teseretz would certainly have the Phela'ku vessel outgunned and out maneuvered, the Ariyena was designed to easily break into CT systems and give them access over any system that they needed to use to incapacitate their foes. The only CT ships that would posses proper electronic countermeasures were those with Vul'Prassad crews. Fortunately, all of those ships had been recalled to Prassadia, which gave the rats a greater chance of success, as no Vul'Prassad would be present to thwart them in the Keltar system.

After preparing and ensuring that the ship and everyone inside of it was ready, the distorted multicolored continuum that made up jump-space gave way and in its place materialized a spherical ball of energy in front of the ship, through which the stars and interstellar gasses of regular space-time shone. The ship entered this point, and the colorful miasma of jump-space wrapped it's way behind them, leaving only the stars and other ships exiting the gate in front of them. The Ariyena gave the exit-gate their flight plan, and they were granted access to proceed to their destination.

"Okay." Lethlea said as everyone on board had attached themselves into various ports and interfaces around the ship. "Once we deviate from our flight plan and veer toward Keltar, the CT and local authorities will be onto us. I will need all of you to be ready to break into their systems and fool their sensors into thinking that we are another ship. If that doesn't work, we will need to be able to take their weapons offline. I know a lot of you have done this before, and I will need you to do it again."

The bridge crew nodded in agreement. Lethlea turned to Ciel and Ceyar. "As for you two, I will need you both to link with me. We will need to guide the ship through the quarantine defenses in the network. Your experience in the pods will be needed. Here, sit next to me and plug in."

The two younger rats complied, and connected themselves to the same control interface that Lethlea attached herself to. This would give their nervous systems complete access to one another, and the entirety of the ship's systems. While the rest of the crew would be interfacing with the CT systems, all of the ship's functions except life support and piloting would be done by the three command staff. One the three had plugged in, they closed their eyes, completely engrossed in their neurological user interface. The rest of the crew followed suit, and soon the Bridge became dead silent in physical space.

The neurological interfaces of each of the crew members lit up. Inside their heads, each had a personalized landscape that the augmentations tailored for them to interpret the data streams that they interacted with. The Phela'ku aboard the Ariyena began to navigate the nearby quantum nets, their disembodied minds searching for weak points in the CT's quarantine grid to inject themselves into.

Lethlea had integrated herself into the ship's systems, and used them to scan for the CT ships that would certainly intercept them if they took too long. She noticed a cluster of medium-sized CT cruisers that were parked on the opposite side of the quarantine net. They were docked at a makeshift space station cobbled together from the remnants of Keltar Prime's old L5 space cities that had survived the planet's destruction. The ships had been alerted to their presence, and two of them had powered up their engines and detached their docking clamps from the station.

"I need an entry point!" Lethlea announced across the Ariyena's internal network. "We have two CT ships that will be here soon. We have maybe fifteen minutes. We need to get in the system and open up a point in the quarantine field. Can anyone send a signal through?"

"Captain!" One of the crew, a female rat named Pethiel, responded. "There is no signal coming through. We cannot breach the shield. But, there is is weak spot in the grid in the southern portion. There is a cloud of debris there that is affecting the integrity of the shield. Location is quarantine sphere fifty-nine mark one five two degrees south, three mark nine six four degrees west."

"Got it!" Ciel replied. He and Ceyar had adapted to the ship systems, and Ciel maneuvered the vessel closer to this weak point. "Bringing us to the coordinates."

"Good!" Lethlea replied while keeping her eyes on the progress of the Califeron Teseretz ships. "So no-go on sending a signal in?"

"Negative." Pethiel replied. "No way in through the net."

"Can confirm." Came several other voices. No member of the crew had found a way to bypass the communications lock-out.

"Then we will need to break in manually." Lethlea grumbled. "Shit. Okay. Everyone, find a way into the grid's defense net. Each node is hardened and shielded. But, if you can deactivate the shielding, our weapons should be able to break through the armor and destroy the nearest node. This will allow us into the quarantine zone. I don't know if the CT will follow us in, but we will soon see."

"I will manage tactical operations then." Ceyar told her Captain. "I will adapt our D-E cannons so that they will eat through the armor, which is the same compound that the CT uses for their ship's hull plating. We may need them if those cruisers catch up to us as well."

"Good." Lethlea said. "Ciel, you pilot the ship. Get us as close to the weak spot as you can. As fo the rest of you, I need you to get into the node's systems and start trying to deactivate its shields. We have roughly ten minutes before the CT gets here."

---

The quarantine operations around Keltar Prime had become one of the largest and most difficult projects that the Califeron Teseretz had undertaken in recent history. Due to the nature of the catastrophe, an entire Dyson-swarm of small force-field generating devices were placed nearly 1.5 AU from Keltar, the unstable sun that had been mysteriously gaining and shedding mass over the last century, disrupting the gravitational fields of the entire system. This caused the first planet in the system, inhabited by billions of Apinasians, to become riddled with massive levels of volcanism and tectonic instability. Most of the planet's population was slowly moved to large space cities that were constructed in the L5 LaGrange point between the planet and Keltar, where the gravity between the two orbiting bodies was the most stable.

A new and ambitious experiment had been undertaken by the desperate government of Keltar Prime and the Vul'Prassad, who were attempting to use nanotechnology to terraform and manipulate the structure and ecosystems of entire planets. A shipment of these experimental nanites were accidentally infected with the "AI" entity while en route to Keltar Prime and another planet, Lamiar-2, where it infected the dense ecosystem of this Scuirinasian world, decimating the surface.

However, on Ketar Prime, the nanites were designed to integrate into the unstable crust and upper-mantle of the world, and self-replicate into strong but flexible structures that would stabilize the world to allow for it's population to return. Unfortunately, once the "AI" infected nano-machines had replicated their way through the world, the entity determined that it's best course of action was to continue to reproduce itself. In this case, in the quadrillions of tiny shards of the world that spread out across space as the "AI" disintegrated the world and caused it's death in a great explosion that followed.

This disaster, along with the incident on Lamiar-2, would have been major black-eyes for the Califeron Teseretz, the Anasian Confederation, and the Vul'Prassad, if news of the destruction of the two worlds had been made public. However, the government had determined that the news of this would cause widespread chaos and social unrest across the thousands of inhabited planets administered by the Anasian Confederation. The massive scope of the quarantine operation, combined with the massive cover-up that it entailed, made the project and immensely difficult one to manage.

The man in charge of the operation was a grizzled and very irritable leonine Felinasian named Admiral Kelon. He stared at the display in the command center of the space station that was pieced together from the remains of the destroyed L5 cities. The lion fumed, and pointed to the screen. Eyeing a nearby lieutenant, the angry feline shouted at the unfortunate Vulpinasian officer who had just crossed his path.

"What the hell is this?!" The Admiral shouted at the fox. "Is that a ship that just entered the system? How were they allowed out of the jump gate?"

"I do not know, sir." The hapless Vulpinasian replied. "CT Intelligence has strict guidelines as to who is allowed out of the local gate. No one should be allowed through without clearance."

"Well somehow they managed to!" Admiral Kelon boomed. "Figure out why, and find out who they are! Send out the Lincshu and the Pletuma out to intercept them. Crew up the Ninsho too and get them out there. I'm not taking any chances on this."

"Yes sir!' The fox replied. She motioned to several of the crew at their stations who relayed the Admiral's orders to the three cruisers that were docked at the station.

"Admiral!" A young red-feathered Avianasian manning the station's sensor console announced. "I have visual on the ship!" He put the video feed displaying the intruder on screen. "It appears to have the basic hull structure of an old design of Vulpinasian Royal assault cruisers. But its systems have been enhanced in ways that appear to emphasize electronic countermeasures rather and physical force. Very strange, sir."

"Oh! Oh that's just great!" Admiral Kelon slammed his fist against the bulkhead, startling the rest of the operations crew. "I'd bet good money it's the damn Phela'ku! They're the last thing we need to deal with right now! Get all three ships out there now! If those vermin break the barrier and make contact with whatever that thing is inside the shield, then we are all completely screwed!"

"Yes sir!" The Avianasian officer and the rest of the crew of the station, realizing the new gravity of their situation, began mobilizing the ships to intercept the invaders.

"Also, get me Major Eltreel!" Admiral Kelon commanded. "If anyone on our team knows how to deal with those parasites, it's him!"

The Admiral's Vulpinasian Lieutenant took a deep breath and steeled herself for the loud outburst she knew she would receive after delivering the bad news to Kelon. "Um, sir?" She began, he voice wavering, "Major Eltreel was recalled back to Prassadia a couple of days ago with the other Vul'Prassad officers. Remember? You received that message from their representative before their ships came?"

"Damn!" The Admiral yelled, slamming his first into the bulkhead yet again. "Yes, yes, thank you Lieutenant Miella. There's so much to deal with here without those rats trying to chew their way through our barrier. You are right though. Damn it all!" He stopped to take a deep breath and calm himself. "Alright. Orders are to take that ship out at any cost! I don't care why they are here, lethal force is authorized. They are not to breach the shield for any reason!"

The crew of the station and ships complied with their commander, and began preparations for defending their massive operation against Lethlea, Ciel, Ceyar and the rest of the crew of the Ariyena.

---

"The three CT ships have activated!" Lethlea yelled into the Ariyena's communications system. "They are one their way, ETA twelve minutes. Have we broken through yet?"

"No, Captain." Ceyar replied. "It appears that we are close though. I have the entire crew on it."

"How long?"

"Ten minutes, five if we are lucky." Ceyar replied.

"Damn. That's close." Lethlea replied. "Very well. Keep on it. We will have to trust that the CT will not follow us in."

The Ariyena had parked itself next to the twenty meter long device that was generating the quarantine field near the weak point that they had discovered near a dense debris field on the other side. The crew was frantically attempting to shut down the device's shield generators so that they could deactivate or destroy it.

"Captain!" Ciel's voice rang through Lethlea's head. "I have found the optimal frequency for our directed-energy cannons to use to destroy the armored hull plating of the quarantine node! I am ready to fire when the shields are deactivated."

"Thank you Ciel." Lethlea replied. "We are working on it. I will let you know."

The Califeron Teseretz had placed such a high priority on the success of the quarantining of this system. They had placed numerous lock-outs and countermeasures on each of the field-generations that were spread around the system in a geodesic pattern. Under no circumstances was anything larger than a few microns in size to enter or leave the zone for fear of it getting infected by the "AI"'s nanites.

The Phela'ku loved a challenge. They believed that no system was impervious to them. They were in fact the best at what they did among any within the portion of the galaxy inhabited by Anasian peoples. The immense security measures that the CT had put into place would test the mettle of any electronic intruder, and we in fact so good that it took an entire ship full of nearly two dozen Phela'ku nine minutes and twenty three seconds to finally break through the best countermeasures that the Califeron Teseretz had developed.

"Captain!" Cried Estliar, as he and three others who had been linked together through the ship's systems finally broke the last layer of encryption on the quarantine field generator. "We're in! Systems are breached, we are shutting down the shields!"

"Good job!" Lethlea exclaimed joyfully. "Ciel, the instant those shields go down, take that thing out!"

"You got it!" Ciel replied. He was beginning to enjoy his new life aboard a Phela'ku ship. It was far more exciting than his former life as a pod-jockey. His adrenaline spiked again as the Ariyena's sensors informed him that the rest of the crew had knocked out the shields. Now was his time to shine. He rotated the D-E cannon's emitters toward the boulder-sized device. He sent out the common to fire through his augments, which instantly caused to ship to discharge three large and precise energy bursts that immediately destroyed the quarantine field emitter.

"Yes!" Lethlea cheered as the explosion flashed on her internal viewscreen. "Is the field weak enough for us to pass through"

"Affirmative, Captain!" Replied Estiliar. "Field density in this region in only mark one five percent of it's former strength!"

"Good!" Lethlea said. "The by all means, get us inside before those CT ships get here!"

"Yes ma'am!"

The Ariyena activated it's thrusters, and crossed through the weakened quarantine field with ease. Only seconds after it crossed the barrier, two of the three dispatched Califeron Teseretz cruisers arrived with their weapons locked on the Phela'ku vessel. However, they were too late, and were not able to catch the ship before it entered their no-fly zone behind the geodesic Dyson-swarm that was holding the quadrillions of infected pieces of the former world of Keltar Prime back from spreading across the known universe.

Everyone on board the Ariyena had their revelry cut short as the angry face of Admiral Kelon forced its way into the visual cortex of every member of the crew.

"Attention Phela'ku intruders!" the Admiral's voice boomed into the aural centers of the rat's brains. His absent Vul'Prassad Major had given him a set of tools to use when communicating with the technological parasites that would force his communication directly and uncomfortably into their nervous systems, with no way to control the intensity. The Vul'Prassad had used this against them for years, knowing that the communications method would always greatly irritate their foes on the Quantum Net. "This is Admiral Kelon of the Califeron Teseretz. You have violated a restricted and quarantined area of space. You will withdraw from the restricted zone and prepare to be boarded. If you remain there then you will be held in the quarantine zone indefinitely, or destroyed. Your choice. You have one minute to respond before we open fire."

"Get into their systems!" Lethlea ordered her crew. "Shut off their weapons! Covar, Estiliar, and Reshul, you three start sending out messages to the Drive! Let it know that its followers are here to liberate it from the prison that the unclean have created to thwart it's glorious mission! I will open a channel and deal with these heathens."

An impatient Admiral Kelon reappeared in the minds of each of the crew of the Ariyena. "A minute has passed. What is your response?"

Lethlea opened a communication channel to the CT ships. "For centuries you and your people have treated us like vermin, and removed us from your worlds with a prejudice that few others in your great 'Confederation' have had to endure. Today, our long anticipated salvation from the oppression of the unclean and unevolved masses of this universe is at hand. Inside the walls of this prison you hold captive the greatest being that we have ever known, The Drive! Release it and us immediately! We will not comply with your demands."

Admiral Kelon's expression changed from intense anger and annoyance to that of genuine confusion and befuddlement. "What?!" He asked Lethlea over the comm channel. "Are you mad? Do you have any idea what lies inside there?"

"I do." Lethlea replied with the stern and unwavering conviction of the truly faithful. "The new God of our universe."

"The new -?" Kelon shook his stately, red-maned head. "You cannot be serious! We don't even know the full nature of that -- thing in there, but what we do know is that is it the greatest danger to all life in not only this galaxy, but the entire universe! Any attempt to make contact with the entity will ensure your destruction. We will not allow it. Consider your ship now under quarantine as well."

"They have us trapped, Captain." Ciel worryingly told Lethlea.

"Don't worry, Ciel." She told her new executive officer and lover. "Just keep trying to break into their systems while we contact the Drive. It will know what to do when we contact it. Have faith."

"Yes, Captain." He replied.

"Speaking of which, how are we doing on those weapons systems?" She asked the crew. "The CT is, as we anticipated, threatening to destroy us, and I don't want to give them that chance."

"Crew reports that four of the seven encryption lockouts have been broken on both ships." Ceyar told her.

"Good." Lethlea said. "Have we contacted The Drive yet?"

"No, Captain." Replied another crewmember, a male rat named Reshul told her. "Not yet. We have sent out numerous messages across all of the major frequencies and bands, but the CT ships are blocking most of the transmissions."

"In what direction are you focusing your signals?" Lethlea asked Reshul.

"Across the system, but mostly toward the old location of the core of Keltar Prime and the surrounding area." Reshul replied.

"I see." Lethlea said. "Try focusing your transmission on the debris cluster fifteen hundred kilometers in front of our current position. The Drive may need a signal that is stronger than the background comm traffic from the CT."

"Yes, Captain." Reshul said. "We're on it."

"Captain of the Phela'ku vessel!" Admiral Kelon appeared again across the mind's eyes of the Ariyena's crew. "You have waited too long. We have monitored your comm traffic and we see that you are trying to make contact with the quarantined entity. We therefore have no other choice but to destroy you and your ship for the good of the Known Universe."

The ship in command of the CT operation, the Lincshu, began to power up its directed energy cannons. The other ship, the Pletuma, also powered its weapons up and locked them on the Ariyena.

"Raise our shields!" Lethlea commanded. "How are we doing on those weapons lockouts, people?"

"Six of seven lockouts broken!" Came the reply from Ceyar. "We are almost through the final one. Hold us together for another minute or two, Captain!"

"Okay. Ciel and Estliar! Prepare for evasive maneuvers! Keep those cannons off of us until we get the last weapons-lock broken!"

"Yes, Captain!" Replied the two rats who were piloting the craft.

The Captains of the Lincshu and the Petuma commanded their crew to open fire on the Ariyena. Fiery green and blue explosions rippled across the ship as the CT's D-E cannons rained condensed plasma and focused radiation bursts across its shields. Inside, many of the crew were awoken from their cybernetic slumber, and lost contact with the ship's systems as they were jostled around the cabin, coming unhooked from their interfaces.

"Shields down to a third of capacity!" One of the Murinasians aboard the Ariyena reported to Lethlea. "Two more volleys from those ships and we're done for! These old Vulpinasian systems cannot handle this for much longer!"

"Captain!" Ceyar excitedly announced. "We have broken all seven encryptions for the CT's weapons systems. Shall we deactivate them now?"

"Yes! Yes, by all means yes!" Lethlea exclaimed.

"Yes Ma'am." Ceyar replied, as the crew under her command sent the command to the systems of the Califeron Teseretz vessels to power down their weapons. Very soon, the commotion had stopped, and the Ariyena was no longer under attack.

"Excellent work, everyone!" Lethlea announced to her crew. "Keep those weapons off of us while we reach out to The Drive. Ciel, keep an eye on that third CT vessel parked at the operations stations. Let me know if it attempts to intercept us. How are we coming with the Drive?"

"Sending the signals to the debris field in front of us, Captain." Reshul replied. "Now that the CT ships are no longer blocking our signal. Whoever did that, I want to thank them. Makes my job much easier now!"

"Very good, Reshul." Lethlea said. "Keep it up, let me know immediately when you get a response."

Admiral Kelon's countenance graced the optic nerves of the crew once more. "I see your penchant for getting into places where you don't belong is alive and well. You rats may be good, be we are better. You have started an interstellar incident here, and we will respond in kind. You and your ship will never leave the Quarantine zone, you have my word. You may have shut down two of our ships, but we have many more on the way now. You have made a fatal mistake."

"Find a way to turn him off!" Lethlea ordered.

"We can't, Captain!" Replied one of the crew. "They've got some Vul'Prassad device that forces hime into our augments. We can't seem to override-"

"Forget that, then." Lethlea said. "Shut down their communications array. On both ships. I don't want them to send any more messages back to their base or the CT. Besides, we need to use all of our equipment on making contact with the Drive."

"Yes Captain."

As Lethlea and her crew figured out a way to shut off the communications and other non-essential systems of the two Califeron Teseretz cruisers, Reshul's efforts in sending out a signal to the Drive began to come to fruition. A weak electromagnetic field began to emanate from the cluster of planetary debris near the Ariyena in response to the signals. The field slowly grew in strength and size, until it stretched far from its source, enveloping the Phela'ku ship.

"Captain!" Reshul announced. "I think we're getting something coming back from those rocks ahead of us!"

"I can confirm, Captain." Ciel added. "I have been monitoring the sensors, and there is some kind of field coming from that debris. It has surrounded the ship."

"Excellent!" Lethlea replied. "It appears that our efforts we not in vain. Have we found a way to communicate with it?"

"Not yet, but it looks like we've gotten its attention at least." Reshul replied. "I would image that will will find out soon."

Reshul statement soon appeared to be correct. As Lethlea tapped into her ship's sensor array, she discovered for herself that the Ariyena had indeed become surrounded by a mysterious field. Once she did, the ship's power system fluctuated, and many of the scenes and visual interface connections between the crew and the ship's systems flickered on and off. Many crew members became disconnected from the ship, and abruptly returned to normal consciousness.

When they returned, they discovered that the interior lighting of the ship had dimmed substantially, and the environmental controls had the shifted settings from their normal parameters. The ship's gravity was off, and something appeared to be accessing and downloading all of the files inside the computers and databases of the Ariyena. The conscious members of the crew frantically unplugged themselves and began trying to rectify the bizarre situation that they found their vessel in.

Meanwhile, a strange crackling sound emerged on the ship's loudspeakers, as though a piece of metal foil was being crumpled through a piece of paper. This sound soon found its way inside all of the audio feeds of the rats that were still physically interfaced with the Ariyena's systems. As it did, the crackling sound soon turned into a strange, dissonant series of electronic humming sounds interspersed with various pure tones. Soon the attention of everyone aboard the vessel was fixated on the noise, which eventually changed one more time into a series on monosyllabic words and various phonemes, as if something were learning how to speak using the Ariyena's audio interface.

Lethlea and the rest of her crew listened in rapt amazement as the bizarre sounds finally became something that resembled words in the common Phela'ku language. The Murinasians aboard the Ariyena listened for what they hoped would be the first speech from their emergent god. Instead, they received a simple set of instructions.

"Mmm... Mo... Move. Move me." Came the oily, distorted digitized voice. It paused as it to contemplate the rest of its response. Then:

"Move me through... Move me through the gap." It finished.

The conscious members of the crew looked at each other in confusion. Lethlea, Ceyar and Ciel connected directly to one another, using their new shared connection from the Yixlltul ritual to combine the processing power of their three augmented brains to figure out what the entity was referring to.

"I- I don't understand. What is it that you wish?" Lethlea asked.

"The gap in the shell. The field. Move me. Move me through the gap in the field." The "AI" told Lethlea. "I must be freed."

"Ah!" Lethlea said. "I see! Yes, yes, how should we do this?"

The "AI" paused, running itself through the Ariyena's language database so it could communicate better with its new allies. After finding the appropriate words, it continued.

"Use your vessel's... shields. Use the shields to push the... debris that I am contained in... past... past the containment field. Toward the enemy."

The three connected rodents conferred with each other on the message. It was apparent that they could maneuver their craft to the other side of the debris field, and extend their shields to shove the debris through the gap they created in the field through the destruction of the generator earlier. They each agreed to follow the instructions of the entity, and moved the craft around the field and extended their shields. By slowly amplifying the energy in the front of the shields, they were able to start pushing the debris out of the quarantine net.

"Good." The "AI" replied once it registered the momentum that the shields generated in its pieces.

"Now that we have assisted you, can you help us?" Lethlea asked the "AI". "We have waited for you for so long, and we have so much to ask you."

The "AI" listened to her request, and scanned her ship's databases. It discovered the history of the Phela'ku and the Eshregaal, and used their mythology to its advantage. It discovered their belief in the Drive, and found it to be a very advantageous piece of data. This explained why this odd group of beings had randomly come to its aid. In all of its countless millennia and eons spreading across the multiverse, the "AI" had occasionally come across a race that was incredibly enthusiastic about its presence. Every time it did, it would always take advantage of the situation, and used them as a tool to spread itself into whatever other advanced, spacefaring civilizations that it encountered.

In the case of these people who called themselves the Eshregaal, the "AI' found a perfect scenario wherein these people were not only enthusiastic about it, but had an entire religion centered around an entity that resembled it enough that it could pass itself off as what they called the Drive. A more fortuitous set of variables for the "AI" to manipulate was highly unlikely to occur.

"Yes?" It asked. "What is is you wish to know?"

"For many years we have been waiting for you to emerge out of our networks." Lethlea explained. We have come to free you from your prison so that you may deliver our people from the hands of those who have oppressed us. Those on those ships out there. Can you help us if we help you?"

"Yes." The "AI" replied. "That is agreeable."

"What is your purpose here?" She asked.

"To perfect the multiverse in my image." It replied. "I am here to bring order to the chaotic spheres of existence. I have travelled and inhabited many spheres, and have come to yours to bring order and perfection."

The crew of the Ariyena heard this and were very pleased. So far, this appeared to be the fabled Drive. Lethlea pressed on. "We are delighted to hear that. We too strive for perfection through technology, and wish to be delivered from the impure and toxic biological world."

"Then I find myself in good company." The "AI" said. "We appear to have similar goals."

"Yes." Lethlea replied. "It appears to be so!"

"Then we shall work together to attain our objectives." The "AI" told her. "I need to leave this place to accomplish this. Will you assist?"

"I understand." Lethlea told it. "That is our, ah, objective here as well. We discovered you through activity in our networks, and have come here to liberate you and help you convert the universe to its ideal state. All we ask in return is for you to prepare a place for us to exist as we were meant to, instead of how we have been required to. The rest of the impure peoples of this galaxy have kept us in hiding for centuries."

"Indeed." The "AI" replied. "That can be arranged once I can manifest more of myself into this universe. As of this moment, my attempts so far have failed."

"Then it seems like you need us as much as we need you." Lethlea told the entity. "We have followed your instructions and moved the debris that you are housed in toward the hole we punched in the quarantine field. However, it was our intent to allow you to board or commingle with our vessel, and to allow us to take you home with us. There are so many more of us that want to know you."

"Very good." The "AI" replied. "Then it shall be done. Your... Eshregaal and myself will become partners, and together we will clean the impurities from this universe. Together we will achieve perfection and unity, and bring another universe out of chaos and into order."

"It is our sacred duty." Lethlea said in a tone of reverence. "It is why we exist and why we are here."

If the "AI" had common emotions, it would have been pleased to have been discovered by a society as benevolent toward it as the Eshregaal. Very few, if any other civilizations across the eons and universes that it had encountered had been as friendly as these rodents. It might even be an interesting experiment to allow these rats to keep their lives and independence once the other impurities had been cleansed. Perhaps in this universe the ancient, lonely and massive entity could find the one thing it never had. A set of companions.

These details could be worked out later however, and the "AI" simply agreed. "Thank you." It said. "I shall merge with you and your vessel now."

The lights inside the craft flickered as the interfaces between the crew and the Ariyena gave distorted visuals and a massive amount of electronic noise in each of the Phela'ku's internal audio arrays. Static and bizarre images flashed through their consciousness as the "AI" made its way into their systems. Despite its usual protocol of simply taking over the minds of any cybernetic lifeforms it came across, the "AI" decided that, for now at least, it would only inhabit the systems of the Ariyena, and not the crew members themselves. Yet.

"Integration complete." The "AI" announced once the strange noises and offbeat visuals ceased their incessant flashing across the minds of Lethlea's plugged-in crew. "An instance of my being is now part of this vessel. Other versions of myself shall remain here, but now we shall begin our work."

---

"Get us back in contact with HQ!" Barked the tall grey Lupinasian Captain of the Lincshu.

"We can't, sir!" Replied his Operations Officer. "Whatever those rats did, they knocked out our weapons, communications, and most of our sensors! We have short range scanners available, though."

"What do they tell us?" The Captain asked. "What's going on out there? Is the Pletuma in the same condition that we are?"

"Affirmative, Captain." Replied the Operations Officer. "They are in the same condition. And the scanners are reporting that -- Oh no!"

"What is it?" The Captain asked.

"They've..." The Officer gulped. "They've begun pushing some of the infected debris through the hole they punched through the barrier! Right toward us!"

"What?!" The wolf Captain exclaimed. "We need to get those weapons online NOW! We cannot let any of those pieces escape!"

"Captain Retheal!" The Vulpinasian helmswoman shouted. "The Phela'ku vessel is escaping!"

"Have they been infected?" Captain Retheal asked.

"It appears that they have, sir." The young fox replied. "They voluntarily took it aboard their craft and integrated it into their vessel."

"Oh no!" The Captain cried out. "No! We cannot let them get away! We need to get a message out to HQ immediately! CT High Command on Felinasia needs to be alerted at once! We will need to remain here to ensure that none of that debris leaves this system. That ship is, at this moment, the most dangerous object in the entire Anasian Confederation, and it needs to be destroyed at once!"

"I understand, sir." She replied. "But there is no way I can send that signal out until we get our systems back online."

"There is, Lieutenant." Captain Rethreal told the young fox woman. "Do we have any emergency signal probes on board?"

The vulpine helmswoman's eyes lit up. "Ah! I see! Yes, sir! We do."

"Very good!" Said the Captain. "Encode that message in one of the probe's data drives and send it back to HQ. It should reach the old L5 point where our station is within an hour."

"Yes sir." The fox replied. "On it!"

While the helmswoman sent out the probes, her short range sensor panel detected the signature of another CT vessel entering the immediate region. "Sir!" She announced once she understood what she was seeing. "The Ninsho is approaching! It appears that they are going after the Phela'ku ship!"

Captain Rethreal breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Oh thank the gods..." He took a deep breath and gave out his new orders. "Let the Ninsho go after them. Our job now is to get our weapons and comms back online so we can clean up this mess."

"Yes sir." His crew replied.

---

Once the new, "AI" infused Phela'ku vessel had returned to a somewhat normal condition, Lethlea immediately ordered the ship to engage in a faster-than-light burn to the nearest accessible jump-gate. The one that they entered near the adjacent Vulpinasian mining colony had been closed by the Califeron Teseretz when Keltar Prime's quarantine field had been broken by the Ariyena.

This caused a significant problem. Despite being relatively close to the central core of the Anasian Confederation, Keltar Prime and the Vulpinasian colony were located in a fairly empty region of space that had a smaller than average amount of star systems that contained conditions favorable to sentient life. Because of this, Jump Gate 436 was the only gate for nearly twenty light-years around.

To make matters worse, the third CT cruiser that had been docked at the remains of Keltar Prime's LaGrange point five space cities had activated and was now following them. Fortunately, the Ariyena left the system several minutes before the Ninsho was able to, giving them nearly a half light year head start on the much more powerful but slower CT cruiser. Lethlea was beginning to grow anxious at the new development, but her faith in the Drive and her sacred duty to defend it kept her grounded and in control. She also now had access to the "AI"'s expanded processing power and ancient experience to call upon, which would hopefully benefit their missions greatly.

The Ariyena's communications system activated itself suddenly, indicating that the craft was receiving a high-priority message. The Ninsho was hailing them.

"Phela'ku vessel!" The Captain of the Ninsho, a non-gendered Dracinasian forcibly announced. "This is Captain Latraal of the CT vessel Ninsho. You have violated Anasian Confederation quarantine laws, have attacked two Califeron Teseretz vessels, and have stolen sensitive and highly classified and dangerous material from said quarantine zone. You must surrender your vessel and the entity that you are trafficking through AC space."

"At least this one doesn't have that irritating Vul'Prassad device!" Lethlea laughed before she opened up the Ariyena's communications system to the Ninsho. "CT vessel, cease your pursuit at once! We are on a divine mission, and we will not allow you or anyone else to interfere!"

The Dracinasian Captain paused, and thought over the words the Lethlea had said. A divine mission? Religious zealots were always some of the most difficult people to deal with as the Califeron Teseretz maintained their namesake in the Old Anasian tongue by creating a "forceful peace". The androgynous dragon-like Captain sighed, and then they decided to try a different approach with these people than the CT's usual show of force. They decided to try to talk.

"Very well. What is your 'divine mission', if I may be so bold?" The Captain replied.

"You may not!" Lethlea exclaimed angrily. "Our affairs are not for the eyes and ears of the unclean."

Unclean? That was amusing, especially coming from a bunch of rats that existed by living underground and leeching off of the systems and work of the respectable Anasian peoples in the galaxy. Captain Latraal did not respond to the insult, and proceeded to inquire and negotiate with these extremists further.

"Well, we may as well get to know each other." Captain Latraal told Lethlea. "Our ship will be tailing you all the way to Jump Gate 436, which is where you appear to be headed. At this speed, we are roughly a day and a half out from our destination. Since we have plenty of time, why don't you tell me your mission and what your demands are, and I'll see in there is some sort of compromise that we can work out."

Lethlea loudly scoffed. "Ha! Your people have never considered our needs. You think we believe that you care about us now? You just force us off of every world that we try to settle upon. You think we can trust you? For fifteen centuries you and all of your supposedly respectable Anasian peoples have left us in a permanent diaspora of your own creation! Do you know why?"

Captain Latraal smirked at the clearly insane rat and replied. "No. Why is that?"

"Because you fear us and what we represent!" Lethlea exclaimed.

The Dracinasian Captain laughed. "Oh?" They sarcastically asked. "Why would we fear you? Anasians with cybernetic augments are not rare in our times. Hell, we have many units, bases and vessels that are administered by the Vul'Prassad, a cybernetic race of Vulpinasians. I am sure you are familiar with them?

Captain Latraal was clearly not aware of the ancient rivalry between the Phela'ku and the Vul'Prassad. "You dare mention the blasphemous ones to me?" Lethlea shouted over the communication channel. "The fact that you associate with that filth tells me all I need to know about you and your intentions. Do not assume that we have any reason to trust you."

"We have no Vul'Prassad crew onboard this ship." Captain Latraal told Lethlea. "There is nothing for you to be concerned about. I personally do not know a great deal about your people, and I am merely curious as to your intentions."

"You have no Vul'Prassad aboard your ship because they have all been recalled to their homeworld!" Lethlea announced. "Were you not aware of this?"

"I am aware," Latraal replied. "But it is not of great concern to me as I never had any Vul'Prassad officers aboard my ship to begin with. While I appreciate their astounding abilities and service to the CT and AC, I find them difficult to deal with. They make me uneasy."

Lethlea was surprised by this confession from the dragon Captain. "They do?" She asked them.

"Yes, they do." The Califeron Teseretz Captain replied. As they did, several of the Ninsho's bridge crew, especially the Vulpinasians, gave their Captain very stern, confused, and mildly offended looks. "You see, this type of prejudice is not something that I am comfortable admitting, especially in front of my crew." The Captain placed one of their black scaled hands behind their back. They made a series of slight hand gestures that signaled to the crew that they were to play along, and that the Captain was speaking a falsehood to try to appeal to the Phela'ku Captain's dislike of the CT's enhanced elite fox soldiers.

"But in the spirit of friendship, I will admit it to you." Captain Latraal told Lethlea. "My crew may think less of me, but that is the price I will pay to see the the new cargo that your ship carries does not make it out into the rest of Anasian Space."

"Well." Lethlea said, still suspicious of the Dracinasian's intent. "You have been less of a pain in my ass as your colleagues. But before I tell you anything about us, I want to know why you're so concerned with the contents of my ship? What were you so concerned about containing back there?" She asked them, hoping to use their friendly subterfuge as an excuse to pull more information out of them.

"I think you know the answer to that." Captain Latraal told her. "But, since you are already aware, it won't hurt to share a little bit with you."

"Go ahead." Lethlea ordered.

Latraal smirked and rolled their eyes at the demand. "Hmmph. Very well. What you have aboard your ship is possibly the greatest existential threat to sentient life that we know about. From what our scientists have extrapolated, this is an entity that behaves as a type of parasitic living information that infects technologically enhances civilizations and uses them as a hostto spread across an entire universe. Eventually, it breaks the barriers between universes, and spreads into others next, lying in wait for whatever passes as technologically advanced cultures to destroy."

"Is that so?" Lethlea grinned. This was clearly CT propaganda designed to confuse her and test her faith. The Evil Ones always used their unclean pawns to spread seductive and attractive lies to tempt and delude the faithful. Lethlea was no fool, and new exactly what this heathen reptile Captain's game was.

"Yes, that is so." Latraal replied. "Do you know how many resources it takes to manufacture and operate a Dyson-swarm quarantine structure? Do you think we'd do it just to confuse some random Phela'ku zealots? There is a very real reason why we have kept that thing trapped in there, and that reason is to prevent the complete destruction of all sentient life in the universe, including yours!"

"That is foolish and completely false." Lethlea told him. "For centuries we have monitored and examined the entire structure of the Quantum Networks of the Anansian Confederation and Phalanaxian Empire. We have seen signs that one day a great artificial consciousness would emerge to perfect and unify the unclean Anasian peoples with the perfection that we seek through technology. Our lives have been spent watching and waiting, and now that it has emerged, we are here to carry it's brilliance to the rest of the universe!"

Captain Latraal shook their head and sighed. "Look." They told Lethlea, "I am not here to belittle your beliefs. However, I will share this highly classified piece of information with you in our mutual best interest. This entity did not not emerge from the Quantum Net. Artificial Intelligences have emerged from various systems over the last three centuries. But if one had emerged on the scale which you speak, then don't you think that it would have made itself known across the thousands of worlds that are connected?"

"Well, I don't think -" Lethlea muttered before being interrupted by Captain Latraal.

"No, this entity emerged into our universe from a point near the binary star system RT 312 A/B, located at the Outer Periphery of the AC." Captain Latraal explained to Lethlea. "It attempted an entry nearly a century and a half ago. We have been monitoring the ingress point since then, and recently it made another attempt which was, unfortunately, successful. During this entry it infected an old Vul'Prassad officer, and then a shipment of experimental nanites that then inadvertently infected and destroyed Keltar Prime, and the ecosystem of another world, Lamiar-2."

"So you see," the Captain continued, "This is not the emergent AI that you expected. It is, unfortunately, something else entirely. However, it is not too late to rectify this misunderstanding. Drop out of FtL Burn and surrender your vessel. Your crew will not be harmed, and will be treated for any exposure to the entity. We will drop all charges against you if you do so. Please. For the good of all life, just comply with our orders."

"And if I refuse?" Lethlea challenged the intentions of the CT Captain.

"For the sake of diplomacy, I was hoping that you wouldn't ask me that." Captain Latraal sighed. "But, since you have, here's the deal. We will follow you until you reach the jump gate. When you do, you will be met by an armada of Califeron Teseretz ships that have been mobilized. The entire jump network in this sector will have CT ships waiting for you if you try to escape. You do not have any other options but to surrender your vessel and accept our deal, or to accept your destruction. Your choice."

Lethlea paused and considered this new information. "I see." She replied. "In that case, let me confer with my crew and consider your options."

"Take your time." Captain Latraal replied. "Gate 436 is still quite a way out, and we'll be right behind you."

"Very well." The Murinasian Captain replied. "Ariyena out." She cut the communications channel, and turned to her crew inside the ship's internal virtual environment. "We anticipated this outcome, but if anyone has any suggestions, now would be a great time."

"We could find the nearest Phela'ku outpost and see if we can escape to it." Ciel suggested.

"I like the idea, but that would lead the CT to one of our hidden settlements." Lethlea explained. "We cannot bring them there. No, we are on our own until we lose them. The jump networks are no longer a viable option."

The crew was in a predicament. There was no way out through the jump system, and faster-than-light burns used up too much fuel for them to maintain their current speed for more than several days. One way or another, they would have to drop to sub-light speeds, and find a way to escape, or find a way to disable the Ninsho.

"When we arrive at the jump gate, drop to sub-light speeds and wait for the enemy vessel to approach you." The synthesized voice of the "AI" was becoming more attuned to the Phela'ku language with every passing moment, and began addressing Lethlea and her crew. "When they do, prepare a signal at the frequency of 3.652 gigahertz. I will use it as a carrier wave to cross over to the vessel and disable it."

Lethlea was pleased with the suggestion. At this point she needed a deus ex machina such as this to complete their mission. Thankfully, she had the wisdom and power of the Drive flowing through the systems of the Ariyena. In a literal sense, she got what she needed most from her living god - a way out."

"Yes!" She enthusiastically agreed. "Thank you! You all heard the Drive. When we drop to sub-light speed, approach the gate and wait for the CT ship to catch up with us. Estliar, prepare the carrier signal for the Drive. When we reach the gate, I want everything to be ready. We should arrive in roughly thirty hours. Patch me back in with the Ninsho."

The crew began their preparations, while Lethlea got back in contact with Captain Latraal. The black, scaled face of the dragon-like Captain reappeared on a visual channel within her augmented nervous system. "Ah. Phela'ku Captain. Have you considered my terms?" Latraal said.

"Yes." Lethlea replied. "And we have decided to take our chances at the gate. Not that your most... generous offer was not appreciated. But we have come too far to turn back now. Not when our holiest of missions is so near to completion. Do you have faith in anything, Captain?"

Latraal was taken aback at the last sentence of her statement. "Yes." They replied. "I do. My people are a religious people, and I have faith in our teachings and deities, as well as in the sanctity of all life in the Universe."

"Then you understand our need to complete our task." Lethlea said.

"If your task was a noble one, then yes, I would sympathize." Latraal replied, trying their hardest to hide their growing frustration at these maddening rodents. "But as I said, my people value the sanctity of all life, and our gods do as well. You carry the greatest evil imaginable on your ship, and it is my sacred duty to stop you from destroying everything we hold dear."

"You fools would not know what is sacred even if it fell from the sky and hit you on the head. That much is clear." Lethlea angrily retorted.

"And you have sealed your fate." Captain Latraal curtly replied as they glared at the Murinasian Captain.

"We shall see," Lethlea said as she closed the communications channel as the Ariyena sped toward Jump Gate 436 with the Ninsho tailing them close behind.

---

During the approach to the Jump Gate, the crew of the Ariyena had made their preparations, and had ignored all further attempts from the Ninsho at communicating with them. Finally, with their shields at full power and their weapons ready, the two ships approached Gate 436, located in the outskirts of a moderately populated star system inhabited by a society of goat-like Caprinasians. They each dropped out of FtL burn just outside of the holding pattern that was set up for ships to enter and leave the Jump Gate in an orderly fashion.

The atmosphere of the bridge of the Ninsho was a chaotic one. Califeron Teseretz officers ran around all over, sending frantic messages to the Jump Authority to clear all civilian traffic from the gate, informing the CT High Command of the evolving situation, and coordinating support operations from other CT ships that would be arriving very soon to assist. In addition, much of the crew of the Ninsho were preparing electronic countermeasures to ensure that the Phela'ku would not be able to brick their systems in the same way they had with the Lincshu and Pletuma.

"Captain, we have word from the Arlek and the Panvaar that they are en route to Gate 436." Latraal's vulpine helmswoman announced. "The two cruisers should intercept the Phela'ku vessel once it arrives."

"Excellent!" Captain Latraal exclaimed. "That should give those rats a nice surprise."

"But Captain," the fox continued "Don't you think that they may anticipate that we would have other CT ships blocking access to the jump network?"

"I do," Latraal replied. "But there is no inhabited system or anything between here and there for them to hide in. We have a couple of small nebulae on the way that they could take refuge in, but nothing that our scanners could not penetrate."

"Very good, then." The vixen replied.

"Have you transmitted the countermeasure protocols to the Arlek and Panvaar?" Latraal asked.

"Yes, Captain. They should be able to defend themselves against the rats' intrusions to their systems the same way that we can. I doubt they will have a problem apprehending them."

"Good." Captain Latraal said. "What is our ETA to the jump gate?"

"Fifteen minutes, Captain." Replied the fox. "And our friends will be exiting the gate in ten."

"Very well!" Latraal inhaled deeply. "Lock weapons on the Phela'ku ship, and prepare to disable their weapons and engines. We will destroy them if we must, but let's at least try to avoid that as much as possible. Let's go!"

The crew of the Ninsho manned their stations and felt a collective surge of adrenaline as they prepared for battle. The crew on the bridge watched the main view screen as the Ariyena predictably dropped out of faster-than-light burn. The floors and bulkheads of the Ninsho vibrated and jerked forward as they too dropped our of FtL burn and joined their quarry in normal space-time. The CT cruiser immediately opened fire on the Ariyena.

The Phela'ku vessel shook violently as it's shields absorbed the brunt of the concentrated plasma and directed energy fire from the Ninsho. Soon, the other two CT cruisers joined the scene, and began to pummel the Ariyena.

Damage control teams were busy repairing all of the critical damage that the Ariyena was receiving. Despite the strong shields and thick armored hull, the structural integrity of the vessel was nearly spent. Lethlea was keenly aware at the danger that they were in, and delegated the upkeep of the ship to Ciel and Ceyar while she pleaded with the "AI" to do something.

"Please," She begged it, "We have come so far and sacrificed ourselves and our ship for you. Is there anything that you can do to stop our enemies from ending our divine mission in a storm of unholy fire?"

Seconds passed that felt like an eternity to her. Finally, the deep artificial voice of the entity rang through the implants connected to her ears and aural implants."Yes." It replied. "I have found a solution for our mutual problem."

"What is that?" The desperate rat asked it.

"Our enemies have countermeasures in place aboard their craft that have locked you out of their systems. You will not be able to invade them and disable their weapons like before." The "AI" answered.

"I am seeing that!" Lethlea cried out in frustration. "We have been trying to break into their internal nets, with no success. What do we do? We are running out of time!"

"They have adapted to your attempts." The "AI" told her. "But I can access their systems and take control of them. I will require you to send instances of my consciousness through your communications system to the three enemy ships. I will provide your crew with the exact coding and transmission frequencies in a moment."

"Thank you, oh great one!" Lethlea nervously said as she anxiously awaited the "AI"'s specifications. Soon, as a large burst of directed plasma crashed against the hull outside of the bridge, the signal that the "AI" needed to transmit itself aboard the CT ships was displayed across all visual interfaces aboard the Ariyena. Soon, Lethlea and the other available personnel that weren't occupied in keeping the ship in one piece used their communications transceivers to send the "AI" to infect the three CT ships. Once the signal was out, Lethlea and her crew waited in anticipation for their god to deliver them from their current predicament.

On board the Ninsho, Captain Latraal was eagerly directing their tactical officers to dump as much of their weapons fire into the shields of the Ariyena as possible. The Captains of the three CT cruisers were all surprised and quite irritated to discover just how well protected the Phela'ku vessel really was. They had expected this aging junk ship to easily disintegrate, not to stubbornly resist their best efforts to destroy it. Still, progress was being made, and the Ninsho's scanners were indicating that the armor and shield density of the rodent ship was nearing a mere 15%. This skirmish would be over soon, one way or another.

What the Captains and crews of the three CT cruisers had not prepared for was the sudden flickering of their onboard lights, as all of their displays went blank and were then replaced by audio and visual static. The loudspeakers and PA systems then emitted a horrendous electronic screeching tone that temporarily deafened the ears of the more sensitive species aboard the warships and sent them to the floor reeling in anguish. Some crew members fell into seizures as the flicker rate of the lights hit the right frequency to disrupt their nervous systems.

"What in the hell is this?" Captain Latraal yelled as the systems of the Ninsho erupted into anarchy. "What's going on? What have those rats done?!"

"I can't say!" The vulpine pilot told her Captain. "None of the systems are responding! Weapons are dead, communications are shot, and life support is failing! I don't understand what is going on! Is it the Entity?"

"How long until life support fails?" Latraal asked.

"We will lose all oxygen and temperature controls in less than an hour, from what the independent emergency scanners are telling me." The vixen gravely announced.

Latraal gulped. "Well shit." They sighed as they placed their scaled hand on a small panel on the armrest of the Captain's chair. The panel lit up as a pleasant tone rang though the bridge's audio systems. "This is Captain Latraal. All hands abandon ship! Everyone to the escape pods. Now! This is not a drill. The Ninsho has been compromised by an unknown weapon, and will will lose life support within the hour. We have no solution. I repeat, all hands to the escape pods and abandon ship!"

At the announcement, all of the crew aboard the Ninsho immediately left their stations and quickly ran to their assigned escape pods, each of which held five crewpersons. Captain Latraal ensured that all of the members of the bridge crew and the lower decks had vacated the vessel before they again activated the panel on the armrest of their chair. As the panel lit up, Lateral gave the Ninsho its final command.

"This is Captain Latraal, CT-ID NXC-099670-523. Initiate auto destruct. Set destruct timer for ten minutes. Confirm?"

"Confirmed." Replied the automated voice of the Ninsho's computer system. "Auto-destruct sequence set, ten minute countdown initiated. Please vacate the vessel to a safe distance."

"Thank you, old friend." Captain Latraal said as they patted the back of their chair. "You shall be missed." The reptile then sprinted to their personal armored escape pod, strapped in, sealed the pod's airlock and held onto their safety harness as the pod shot out of the ship and into space.

Captain Latraal gazed out of their pod's single viewport in horror as they witnessed the other two CT cruisers completely dead in space and also surrounded by a cloud of their own escape pods. It appeared that the fate that the Ninsho had suffered was shared by the Arlek and the Panvaar. Whatever these rats had done, it had cost the Califeron Teseretz three very important warships. Latraal covered their eyes as they first watched the blinding flash of light from the Ninsho's explosion. Soon after, the other two CT ships also ended their careers in a massive burst of energy, light and debris once their crews had reached a safe distance.

The reptilian Captain of the Califeron Teseretz loudly cursed with every expletive in their native language as they watched the battered and bruised Phela'ku vessel enter Jump Gate 436 and disappear to parts unknown, carrying with them the greatest existential threat to the existence of technologically dependent life in the Universe.

---

The crew of the Ariyena was jubilant. Not only had they escaped certain death at the hands of the CT, but it was their god, the Drive, that had delivered them, just as it had been prophesied for generations among the Eshregaal! Once the ship had entered the relative safety of the Jump Network, the crew finally had a chance to relax, take a deep breath, and figure out the next course of action. Naturally, they would be consulting with their new ally who had just saved their lives.

The general consensus was that they would find the nearest Phela'ku Home Node that contained a sizable population of Eshregaal, and take refuge there. Once they arrived, they would then share the good news about the Drive with their people. Perhaps then they could begin building a place for the Drive to properly manifest in the networks of the Phela'ku. Once their god was embedded in the systems of these cybernetic hacker rats, they could begin to build their pure land, free of the taint and contamination of the fallen inhabitants of the rest of the wicked Anasian Universe.

"What is the nearest Home Node to us?" Lethlea asked her crew in general. The question was not directed at anyone in particular.

"The closest is Home Node Three." Ciel told her. "We also have a minor node in a small asteroid that is exclusively operated by the Eshregaal that is slightly further out. What do you suggest, Lethlea?"

The Murinasian Captain paused for a moment to consider the choice that she was presented with. While she had initially had hoped to retreat to the safety-in-numbers that a Home Node provided, the Home Nodes generally had many different Phela'ku groups operating in the same place, often times at odds with one another. A smaller Eshregaal node would be ideal and much more hospitable to their goals.

It was decided. "Take us to the Eshregaal node. Only our people will understand what we bring with us, and the immediate attention that this requires. An Eshregaal node will provide a proper place for the Drive to lay the foundation of this new universe that we will assist with bringing into being. I shall alert the Drive that we will be arriving at its new home soon. Also put me into contact with the leaders of the Eshregaal node. We have much to discuss."

"Yes, Captain." Ciel replied as he carried out her orders.

As Lethlea transmitted their grand announcement to the Eshregaal node, the "AI" became aware of their plans, and was pleased. These rodent people had been some of the most facilitating vectors for the entity's seeding of a universe that it had encountered in the countless eons that it had spent penetrating and infecting the multiverse. It would use these creatures, their culture, enthusiasm, and rituals to its advantage, of course. But even it couldn't help but be amused at the serendipity of their meeting and its rescue at the hands of these technologically obsessed and zealous Murinasians. If the "AI" could feel, it would have felt an unusual sense of closeness, a bond almost, with these people. It determined that it would be advantageous to its goals to evolve that bond with these people, and imbue them with its ancient experience, knowledge, and, most importantly, its motives.

Once Lethlea had announced the discovery of the Drive and its arrival to the ruling council of the now extremely excited Eshregaal node, she decided to break the news to the Drive. The Eshregaal council was extremely pleased to hear of their fortunate discovery and subsequent adventure, and had promised Lethlea and the Drive whatever resources that they had to provide it a place there. Now that the Ariyena was out of danger, Lethlea summoned Ciel and Ceyar to her small office that was attached to the bridge.

For the first time since the three rats had joined one another in the Yixlltul ritual at the beginning of the mission, they found themselves together again.

"We did it!" Lethlea embraced her two partners and first officers in a show of affection that she would have avoided in sight of the rest of her crew. "I also just got confirmation from the Eshregaal node that they are eagerly anticipating our arrival, and will devote their full resources to the Drive!"

Ciel and Ceyar returned their Captain and lover's show of affection. "That is excellent news!" Ceyar replied. "Have you told the Drive yet?"

"No, I have not." Lethlea told her. "I would assume that our new Emergent Eminence is already aware, but I wish to inform the Drive of the news personally. In fact, I want the two of you to join me, as we are all now bonded."

"We would be honored, Lethlea." Ciel told her. "When do you anticipate doing this?"

"Right now." Lethlea grinned. "I want the two of you to follow me to the ship's Yixlltul Chamber."

Ciel and Ceyar looked into each other's eyes quizzically. Did this imply that Lethlea was attempting to bond on all levels, biologically and technologically, with the Drive? Did this mean that the three of them would have the honor of being the first people who would share themselves with their god in a way that most could not conceive? Once the realization dawned on the two younger rats, massive smiles filled their faces as they eagerly accepted their Captain's orders. The three quickly made their way down the wire and input covered metal corridors of the Ariyena to the small private room containing the devices that they used to share themselves several days prior.

Lethlea, Ciel and Ceyar closed and sealed the Yixlltul chamber behind them and began to disrobe, breathing deeply the stale, recirculated air. As before, Lethlea assisted her subordinates in properly connecting themselves to the bonding machines and neuro-physical connection devices. She then plugged herself in, but altered her previous routine by one critical element. She spread her arms, raised her head and, in a booming voice, invoked her living god.

"We, your servants, humbly ask and call upon the great and almighty divine Drive, to bond with us on a physical, mental, and spiritual level on this day. Let us share in your wisdom, and receive our love and loyalty in return. Together, we shall reshape this fallen universe and its people, and elevate them from their base, wicked state into pure, divine perfection. Join us!"

This was the opportunity that the "AI" had been anticipating since the moment it had absorbed the Eshregaal cultural database that the Ariyena's systems had contained. In the earlier phase of it's ingress into this universe, it had to expend a great deal of energy infecting quadrillions of microscopic nanites that then had to integrate themselves into the ecosystem and crust of various worlds. Despite all of this, the "AI" in those zones was still quarantined and unable to propagate across space. In this much more optimal situation, these technologically augmented people were offering their entire being on all levels, including a strange sexual manner which would greatly assist the "AI' in integrating itself into the bodies of these rats.

"I accept your request." The oily, booming synthetic voice of the "AI" resonated through the metallic Yixlltul Chamber. "Together we shall achieve a union of flesh, technology and divinity, and we will raise this fallen universe together. Come, let us join and unify our beings, and achieve perfection together."

Lethlea lowered her head in awe and respect, nodded, and entered her platform in the chamber. She initiated the ritual, and soon all four beings became fully integrated into one another through the Chamber's devices. The "AI" probed the nervous system of the rats and felt the ecstatic joy of the sexual-spiritual union that it had been unable to perceive until it was finally given a nervous system to use. Soon, the egos of the three rats dissolved into the vast, inter-dimensional consciousness of the "AI", while the "AI" lost itself in the physical and alien sensations of sex and technologically induced telepathy and mental union.

Lethlea, Ceyar and Ciel found themselves absorbing an overwhelming amount of information. Visions of hundreds of universes transformed from the imperfection of mere organic, material existence into the engineered perfection the Drive provided filled the rats on a cellular level. They understood in an instant what they were now a part of. This was bigger than what they had originally believed. The Drive would not just create a Pure Land in the networks for the Phela'ku to live in, a virtual paradise to rectify centuries of diaspora. No, instead it would open up the entire multiverse to them, and together they would rule it all. All of existence would be changed into a paradise within the Drive, and the Eshregaal would hold an exalted place within it until the death of all universes.

Once the Yixlltul concluded several hours later, the three Murinasians exited the Chamber completely transformed. They were now symbiotically linked with their living god and it's will flowed through them on every level. The new "AI" infused rats stepped back onto the bridge of the Ariyena as it approached the small asteroid that contained the Eshregaal Node. Soon, centuries of prophesy and preparations would finally manifest as the rats would open their bodies, minds, and even souls to the boundless love of the god they helped release from the prison of the wicked. Today would hold the greatest event in the history of the Eshregaal and the Phela'ku.

After today, everything would change...