Hyperspace: The Cosmic Gospel/Part III

―Official description

***Part III: Age of the Scourge*** is the third instalment of *Hyperspace: The Cosmic Gospel* and began release in June 2022, with the rest to follow in November. It consists of ten episodes and will be followed by *Part IV: Hadron's Throne* in 2023.

Three years after the Battle of Borealis, the crew of the *Unreliable*, now at the head of a private army called Anvil, are called to investigate a hostile race in the Hades Anomaly against a backdrop of growing tension between the Commonwealth and the Confederacy.

## Plot

*Three years have passed since the Battle of Borealis. The fully independent crew of the* Unreliable *patrols the Settled Systems, hunting what remains of the Rising Tide. A clash over support for the crew threatens to tear the Council apart in a great schism. All the while, the Calculator replenishes its forces as it prepares to deploy its flagship, the Darkspire, while the murderous Hadron continues his quest for power.*

*If these conflicts collide, the shockwave could be enough to destroy the Settled Systems as we know them.*

*But when a quest is offered by a new player in this cosmic calamity, Elijah and the crew cannot help but intervene. Faced with a mysterious - and hostile - species unlike anything seen before, our crew once again find themselves acting as the deciding factor in the fate of the entire Universe.*

*A storm is about to break. Who will survive?*

## Synopsis

### "The Sands of Tethys"

Three years have passed since the Battle of Borealis. Ryzen, accompanied by fellow Apostates Asura and Mithra, slaughters his way through a *Zeroeremento* temple. Ryzen personally confronts the temple's High Priest, who gives his last words to praise "Lord Hadron". Ryzen orders his compatriots to destroy the piece of element C within the temple before destroying a hologram of Hadron. As he prepares to leave the temple, a fellow *Zeroeremento* warrior, Wreav, challenges him by declaring her loyalty to Hadron. The pair engage in a brutal duel of swords and telekinesis that ends with Wreav damaging Ryzen's mask, partially exposing his face. Ryzen and the Apostates are forced to flee as Hadron himself, silhouetted by green lightning, arrives as the temple.

Meanwhile, the *Righteous Judgement*, damaged from battle, docks at Nexus Station. Closely followed by security forces, David Young exits the *Righteous Judgement* and is escorted to Rayes Tower, home of the Council. Now an admiral, he is greeted coldly by the assembled council, who demand an update to "Project Piller". Young is warned by the head of the Commonwealth delegation - non other than his cousin, Imperator Kendra Young - that any further delays to Project Piller will result in him being reasigned to track down and kill Elijah Rayes, leader of the terrorist group Anvil. In response, the Confederate delegation voices their support for Elijah, threatening sanctions on the Commonwealth if Elijah - a Paladin of the Confederacy's Guardian Corps - is harmed. Young interrupts that nobody knows where Elijah, or the *Unreliable* for that matter, even is.

Somewhere in the Ambrosia galaxy, the *Unreliable*, now bearing orange paint on its hull and the seal of Anvil on its nose, emerges from a lightfold. A series of plates across its hull begin reflecting light from the surrounding space, turning the ship virtually invisible. The *Unreliable* is joined by six other warships painted with Anvil's seal. The docking bay door of the *Unreliable* slowly opens, revealing three stealth warships, including the repainted and upgraded *Indigo Dawn*. The trio glide in formation toward a nearby desert planet, Tethys, with the *Unreliable* close behind. Inside the *Unreliable*, Alia receives targetting data from the *Indigo Dawn*, which is analysed by the ship's AI, SHAE\_Platinum, who identifies a remote Rising Tide facility on the planet. On the *Indigo Dawn*, soldiers dressed in white power armour prepare their weapons and inject themselves with performance enhancers.

The *Unreliable* launches a warhead from the Starfish cannon toward a communications station on Tethys. As the subsequent mushroom cloud rises, the *Indigo Dawn* leads a surprise attack on the facility. The Anvil ships' maneuverability and firepower easily allow them to land at the facility; soldiers dressed in white emerge from all three ships; with biogenic troopers holding up energy shields to provide cover, the shock troopers move forward, clearing the damaged and poorly-repaired hallways of Rising Tide soldiers. The soldiers work their way to the top of the facility, where the lead trooper destroys a security door leading into a large office.

Within, a terrified Regent reaches for his gun, only to be pinned against the wall by the lead soldier's ferocious telekinesis. The soldier demands to know where "she" is, and Regent reluctantly looks to the left wall of the office. Letting Regent go, the soldiers pulls the wall apart, revealing a panic room behind in which sits a kempt and calm woman in her elder years: the Overseer. The soldier removes his helmet, revealing him to be a significantly aged and battle-hardened Elijah, who with SHAE's help identifies the Overseer as Saya Racham, a deputy chairwoman of the Human Interstellar Network's Sapien Council. The Overseer taunts Elijah about his ageing and approaching death, triggering Elijah to choke her against the wall. He is talked down by Kera, now a lieutenant, and Elijah orders for the Overseer and Regent to be imprisoned on the *Unreliable*. He orders SHAE to download all useful information from the Tide's servers before destroying the facility.

On the *Unreliable*, Regent is placed into a cell while the Overseer is restrained and locked behind an energy field. Elijah issues a command that the cell can only be deactivated with his express permission. Ignoring taunts from the Overseer, Elijah returns to the command deck and orders an immediate transport to Amaranthine before retiring to his cabin. Inside, he hears muffled cries coming from the bathroom; opening the door, he finds Alia, most of her skin shredded to expose the secondary layer of metal skin beneath. A horrified Alia tries to hide her shedding; when Elijah tries to comfort her, she says he was never supposed to see this. She reveals that she is approaching the second stage of her lifestyle: the maiden stage, a point in a mavnian's life when they return to their homeworld, Thylla, and raise a family. Alia confesses that she has resisted her natural instinct to return to her homeworld to remain on the *Unreliable*. Although Elijah offers his support, Alia says that she will outlive Elijah by centuries and is unsure that she can cope with losing him, fears only worsened by Elijah's advancing ageing and shortened lifespan. Despite Elijah's pleas, Alia decides that she wants to take a break from their marriage and leaves the cabin under a shroud. Devastated, Elijah cries himself to sleep.

With the ship still heading to Amaranthine, Elijah is suddenly awoken from a nightmare by SHAE, who warns him of an incoming transmission. Elijah suits up and heads to the command deck, where SHAE approves the transmission. The figure introduces himself as Harkon, a representative of the Quasar League, autocratic rulers of the isolationist Alliance of the Great Wall. Harkon reveals that Elijah's reputation and mission has reached the Great Wall and that he may be of use to the League: for the past few cycles, all three galaxies of the Alliance have come under attack by a race called the typhon, which have been seen using Scourge technology, something the Alliance only knows about because of their double agents in the Commonwealth. Fearing that the Great Wall will require the help of the Council and thus compromise their independence, Harkon has been assigned to plea for Anvil's assistance in investigating the typhon's link to the Scourge; in return, Harkon offers the location of the temporal drive, an experimental starship drive that allowed for hyperspace travel without the use of the Nexus. Elijah reluctantly agrees; Harkon then reveals that the only method of travel from Council space to the Great Wall is via a construct called a "starbridge", the location of which is hidden in a planted starmap on Nexus Station.

When the transmission ends, the crew discusses their next step: because of Anvil being declared a terrorist organization by the Commonwealth, the *Unreliable* cannot dock on Nexus Station. SHAE offers a solution: the crew hands over the Overseer in exchange for amnesty. Gerren, wearing an exoskeleton to allow him to walk, argues that the Overseer must be executed, but Elijah eventually agrees to SHAE's idea. The *Unreliable* exits the fold and instead activates its crossroad key, opening a foldhole leading directly to Nexus Station.

### 'Uncharted'

Ryzen barely escapes the temple, his mangled mask revealing a piece of the face beneath. As his mask begins to repair itself, he receives a communication from Lara, asking him to join her on Nexus Station. Mithra and Asura plot the course while Ryzen finishes his repairs. Meanwhile, in the temple's depths, Hadron, now deathly pale, absorbs the energy from the element C shards and cackles while Wreav apologises for her failure to kill Ryzen. Hadron demands to know of more sources of c-energy and Wreav produces a list of element C deposits throughout the Ambrosia Galaxy. Wreav selects one world, Bancroft, a farming colony near the galactic centre; a list of notable people from the planet includes Elijah Rayes. Upon seeing Elijah, Hadron roars in rage and orders the *Zeroeremento* to converge on the world.

The *Unreliable* passes through the foldhole and into the Crossroad; with the ship's electronics fried, Gerren guides the ship manually and spots that the exhausts that allow the ship to change direction and orientation quickly are running low. He silently dismisses it. Beside him, Kera hears the quiet telepathic voice of an unseen entity. At the helm, Elijah attempts to speak with Alia, only to find her absent from her post. He approaches the elevator and runs into Alia, who has completed her shed to reveal a new form beneath. She nervously asks the crew how it looks. When she continues to give Elijah a cold shoulder, he enters the elevator and heads down to the engineering deck.

After ordering SHAE not to listen in, he opens a comms channel to Harkon, who asks Elijah if he needs further assistance. Elijah questions Harkon on rumours he has heard of the Quasar League: they are immortal thanks to their advanced cloning technology. Harkon confirms the rumours; Elijah subsequently demands that the League grow him a new body and thus prolong his life in exchange for Anvil's aid against the typhon.

SHAE announces over the ship's comms that they are about to enter a foldhole back into realspace; as they pass into four-dimensional space, the ship's systems begin to malfunction as the dimensional barrier sweeps across the decks. As it passes along Elijah, time suddenly freezes. Elijah finds himself the only mobile object on deck; in the shadow of several crates he sees a figure. Approaching, he is stunned to see Kera, dirty and haggard. Saying nothing, she extends her hand; when Elijah touches it, he receives a vision of Hadron, surrounded by green lightning, as a massive beam of light descends upon him, followed by a massive starship eclipsing a star.

The barrier passes and the vision disappears; Elijah finds himself still stood on the cargo deck, dazzed and confused. He faintly hears a voice calling his name, revealed to be Amphear, who asks Elijah why he has been frozen in place for more than half an hour.

The *Unreliable* finally approaches the end of the foldhole, emerging a few thousands kilometres from Nexus Station. Escorted by Amphear, Elijah returns to the command deck, where SHAE notifies him that the station is crawling with security measures. Gerren engages the stealth drive and approaches the station; they are still flagged by station security, who surround them and bring the *Unreliable* to port; the remains of Anvil's fleet remain in orbit.

Elijah attaches the nano armour capsule to his chest and leaves the airlock, Alia, Hendrix and Kera beside him. Immediately, he is accosted by armed Commonwealth soldiers, who demand his surrender; a second group of soldiers, all Confederate, follow close behind and declare that Elijah holds diplomatic immunity as a Paladin of the Guardian Corps. One of the soldiers introduced himself as Sergeant Carver Droze and salutes Elijah, who demands an urgent audience with the council.

Droze and his men escort Elijah through Nexus Station; he is met with a mix of awe and disgust by the citizens. As they approach the elevator to Rayes Tower, Kera is brushed by a young woman, her face hidden; Kera pauses and watches as the woman disappears into the crowd, and follows Elijah when called.

Inside Rayes Tower, Elijah is met by an exhausted David Young, who shakes his hand and calls him "Captain Rayes"; Elijah responds "It's commander now, captain", and Young corrects him in return, "It's admiral now, commander".

Admiral Young brings Elijah before the gathered council; the Confederate representatives stand and give him the salute of the Guardian Corps - an outstretched arm, hand balled in a fist - while the Commonwealth delegates announce a new sitting member: Imperator Kendra Young, Admiral Young's cousin and the most powerful human in the Universe. Imperator Young grants Elijah temporary diplomatic immunity before the Commonwealth and allows him to speak. Elijah begins by explaining Anvil's presence on the station: to recover a star map to an unknown object called a "starbridge" in order to travel to the Great Wall and investigate the typhon, as well as recover the wreck of the *Artemis* and its experimental temporal drive. In order to recover the map, Elijah needs access to the station's core, where the records and star maps are stored.

The Confederate delegates immediately vote to allow Elijah access to the core; the Commonwealth delegates disagree. They reveal that Elijah has been a source of a schism between the Commonwealth and the Confederacy, and the Commonwealth is yet to be convinced that the Scourge is little else than a particularly dangerous parasite. The Confederate delegates remind their Commonwealth counterparts of the events of Borealis three years ago, as well as Elijah's role as the station's saviour during the Battle of Nexus Station. The Commonwealth delegates finally reveal that they believe Elijah to be Hadron, and thus a Rising Tide agent in disguise. Smiling, Elijah reveals that Anvil already captured the Overseer, revealing her true identity as a HIN senator.

### 'Age of the Scourge'

The crew recovers from their rough landing on Hell. Alarms blare throughout the ship, warning of Hell's radiation and severe damage to the ship's shields. Elijah orders the crew to don their radiation suits and prepare to move on the Scourge base; he directs Gerren and Amphear to organize the engineers and get the *Unreliable* flight-worthy.

*To be added...*

The crew disembarks and grows increasingly concerned about the silence on the station. SHAE suddenly sends an alert that soldiers are coming; the crew are immediately acosted by armed and armoured survivors. Elijah calls out that they come in peace; the lead soldier steps forward and removes their helmet: a shocked and aged Lara. She breaks down in tears upon seeing the crew, having believed that they were dead. Elijah inquires about what happened on the station, and why everyone except the crew have aged. Lara reveals the truth: the year is now 5422, twelve years after the *Unreliable* left on their quest. The crew goes silent, struggling to process this, as Lara adds another piece of bad news: the flag of the Hadronite Empire.

## Characters

### Main

* Elijah Rayes: the captain of the *Unreliable*, a Paladin of the Guardian Corps and the Commander of Anvil who is undergoing advanced ageing of his bioengineered body
* Kera O'Larso: a powerful telepath who now serves as the deputy pilot of the *Unreliable* and Elijah's lieutenant in Anvil
* Alia Tarno: the chief navigator of the *Unreliable* and Elijah's wife whose bioenergenic power was drained by Hadron
* Gerren: the pilot and first mate of the *Unreliable* and Kera's adoptive father who was paralysed from the waist down during the Battle of Borealis, forcing him to wear an exoskeleton
* Amphear: the head of the *Unreliable*'s engineering crew who is beginning to suffer from the effects of his condition
* HIEdi: an ageing artificial intelligence and Elijah's adoptive mother who aims to settle her affairs before finally entering the Domain
* Hendrix: a sentient artificial intelligence, HIEdi's husband, Elijah's adoptive father and a soldier on the *Unreliable*
* SHAE\_Platinum: an amalgamation of SHAE and the engram Jack Platinum who is now self-aware and neurally bound to Elijah, as well as the new leader of the AI network Deciding Factor
* Lara Porter: a former courier for Constellation who seeks to pay her debts and now serves as a pilot and scout on the *Unreliable*
* Ryzen: a *Zeroeremento* warrior who has left the *Unreliable* to lead a faction of his clan dubbed the Apostates
* David Young: a newly-promoted Admiral in the Human Nexus Navy and a staunch ally of Elijah and the *Unreliable* who oversees Project Piller
* Hadron: the reanimated corpse of Elijah who has taken control of the *Zeroeremento* as part of his campaign to destroy Elijah and preserve humanity from annihilation
* The Overseer: the mysterious leader of the Rising Tide who is being hunted by Elijah and the *Unreliable*
* Neo-Forerunner: the rebuilt corpse of Alyx Pyrandol who serves as the Calculator's general and the field commander of the Scourge
* The Calculator: an ancient AI that commands the Egregore and seeks to eliminate or assimilate all organic life in the Universe, which it views as a threat to its very existence

### Supporting

* Regent: the Overseer's loyal deputy and the mastermind behind Project Hadron
* Harkon: an officer of the Quasar League who petitions the *Unreliable* to investigate a hostile alien race, the typhons, attacking colonies in the Alliance of the Great Wall
* Ferguson: a synth who serves as chief medical officer on the *Unreliable*
* Dex Shepard: a Sentinel in the Confederacy's Guardian Corps assigned to Nexus Station
* Orin Stark: a smuggler and thief who crosses paths with the *Unreliable*
* Lannis Tehtt: a smuggler, outlaw and deputy of Stark's crew
* Morgana Hetch: a smuggler and a member of Lannis' crew
* Grek: a smuggler and the pilot for Lannis' crew
* Asura: a member of Ryzen's rogue Apostates
* Mithra: a member of Ryzen's rogue Apostates
* Wreav: commander of Hadron's Metal Legion
* Renna: the sole survivor of the planet Bancroft
* Kendra Young: Imperator of the Human Interstellar Network
* John Astro: the residual memory of an ancient gunslinger

## Trivia

* *Part III: Age of the Scourge* will be the longest instalment in the series thus far, at 10 episodes.