Darkened Heaven (Episode)

**"Darkened Heaven"** is the eighth and final episode of *Part I: Darkened Heaven*, the first instalment of *Hyperspace: The Cosmic Gospel*. It was written in late August 2021.

## Plot

*With ancient tales and endless determination on their side, the crew of the* Unreliable *prepare to risk it all in a final effort to save their civilization.*

## Synopsis

The *Unreliable* travels through the foldhole towards the Nexus, which continues to defend itself from the *Darkened Heaven* and its army of upgraded Scourge. With just minutes left before they reach their destination, the crew members take some time for themselves, physically and mentally preparing themselves for the fight to come.

In his cabin, Elijah takes a look at the tear energy readings, searching for a possible weakness, before his door opens and Alia steps through. She asks if she can speak with him, to which Elijah says he is glad to see her. Sitting beside him, Alia says that none of them know what is about to happen on the Nexus, and despite her hopes she holds little faith that the Scourge can be defeated, fearing that they are already too late. Elijah tries to comfort her, saying that they will win, but Alia dismisses him, saying that she is not looking for comfort or reassurance, and instead is looking for honesty. She continues that these could be their last moments together and their last chance to show each other how we feel. Elijah tries to argue that he doesn't feel the same, but stops talking when she kisses him. They undress and climb into Elijah's bunk.

In the cockpit, Kera returns from the bathroom and sits next to Gerren. The two of them observe the other side of the foldhole, where they distantly see the Nexus under attack. Gerren reassures Kera that he will keep her safe and Kera places her hand on his, responding that she will keep them all safe. Down below, HIEdi and Hendrix sit with Amphear while he performs maintainence on both the engines and his pressure suit. He asks the two AIs if any written works mention an artifact similar to the key, but both say that no mention of the key has ever been found in research texts. After a period of silence, Amphear gives the pair his self-name, "Forever-Locked-Beneath-Glass", having never revealed his self-name to anyone before.

In Elijah's cabin, he and Alia finish and get dressed. Alia reveals that this was her first time, and Elijah also confesses that this was his first time as well. They are interrupted by a knock on the cabin door, which disappears at Elijah's voice command to reveal Hendrix. He comments on the two getting together before he asks if he can have a moment alone with Elijah. Alia leaves and Hendrix once again reveals Erron's jacket, offering it to Elijah. He once again turns it down, but Hendrix reiterates that he proved himself worthy long ago. Elijah finally removes his dusty white jacket and puts on his father's jacket, saying that it feels like it was made for him.

Elijah gathers the crew on the command deck as the *Unreliable* approaches the exit of the foldhole. He says that the bonds that they have formed over the course of their journey are far stronger than anything that the Calculator can throw at them, and that the people of the Settled Systems are counting on them to turn the tide. The crew take up their positions around the ship as it exists the foldhole.

The *Unreliable* emerges into the chaos of the battle and narrowly avoids a collision with a Council warship. Gerren activates the stealth drive to breach a bulwark of security drones, entering Nexus airspace. Their signal is detected by the *Righteous Judgement*, where Captain Young orders his men to allow the *Unreliable* to continue, surprised that they made it back from their journey.

As the *Unreliable* aims for the Nexus itself, it is quickly surrounded by Scourge dropships. Gerren tries to outrun them, but Amphear calls up from the engine room and reports that he has diverted limited power to the *Unreliable*'s weapons systems and shields. Finally able to defend themselves, Elijah opens the combat interface and begins a neural link, putting him in telepathic control of the turrets, while Kera descends into the forward cannon and begins firing at ships that attempt to flank them. Gerren uses the skip drive within the station's atmosphere, throwing debris that covers their path and disrupts enemy ships.

The *Unreliable* finally breaks free of the assault and glides over empty airspace, where the *Darkened Heaven* edges ever closer to the Nexus. A call comes in over on Alia's console; it is Captain Young, who demands to know what the crew are doing. Elijah responds that the *Darkened Heaven* must be prevented from touching the Nexus, otherwise it will distribute the Curse throughout the Nexus Network and across the Settled Systems. Young once again asks what the *Unreliable* could possibly do, at which point Elijah reveals his plan: sending the ship's lightfold engine into meltdown, creating an explosion that should destroy the *Darkened Heaven*, or at least disrupt its shields. Young says that such an explosion could destroy the station, but Elijah assures him that the damage that the engine has sustained with limit the explosion to a small area. Young gives them permission to proceed, at which point Gerren asks how they are getting off the ship. Elijah says that they will climb into the Centaur to escape.

Suddenly, below them, a tear opens and a deathworm thunders through. Its spines collide with the bottom of the ship, tearing open its cargo hold. The *Unreliable* is knocked off balance but Gerren manages to wrestle back control by piloting into the force. Amphear abandons the engines to check on the cargo hold, only to discover that the Centaur is gone. Now with no way off the ship, Elijah loses hope and asks his crew what they should do; after a period of silence, they each affirm that they are dedicated to this mission, and that the *Darkened Heaven* needs to be destroyed at any cost. Amphear returns to the engine room and disconnects the plasma fuel tank from the foldspace crystal, but not before he removes the key from the engine.

An unstable foldspace tunnel forms around the ship, transforming anything it touches into foldspace geomatry. Elijah thanks the crew and says that he would never choose to travel with anyone else before he shuts off his console and braces. Amphear says a shilt prayer; Hendrix and HIEdi hold each other; Alia holds onto Elijah; and Kera sits next to Gerren. Gerren, crying, apologises to Kera, saying he could not keep her safe. Kera cries that she promised to keep *them* safe. As the foldspace tunnel reaches critical mass, the crew closes their eyes.

On the *Righteous Judgement*, Captain Young orders them to disengage but can only watch as the *Unreliable*, shrouded in blinding white light, approaches the *Darkened Heaven* just as the spire touches the surface of the Nexus.

The *Unreliable* explodes, erupting in a ball of white fire. The *Darkened Heaven* lets out a ferocious bellow as its lower portion is enveloped in the explosion, but as the explosion subsides it is revealed that the spire's lower portion is damaged yet its shields are back online. A beam of light is fired into the station from the *Darkened Heaven*'s port side, from which the Forerunner emerges. The beast, its face now exposed, roars to the Scourge around it, bringing them directly under its control. The creatures, now organized, begin to drive back the fleet's counterattack.

In vain, Young orders his helsmen to contact the *Unreliable*, but the helsmen simply replies that the ship is gone, its crew dead. Young orders the entire Nexus fleet of warships to fire on the *Darkened Heaven* before it continues towards the Nexus. The *Righteous Judgement* leads the next wave of attacks, but between the spire's shields and an onslaught of deathworms they find their attacks woefully inadequate. Young orders his helsmen to perform scans on the *Darkened Heaven* and search for a vulnerability opened by the explosion of the *Unreliable*. Minutes later, as the battle rages outside, Young is surprised to hear that an immense bioenergenic signature is moving rapidly away from the epicenter of the detonation. Young looks out of the window and smiles when he sees a small piece of debris in the distance.

Elijah opens his eyes and, in shock, discovers that he is still alive, as is Alia, who continues to clutch him tightly. Elijah calls out to the others; up front, Gerren calls out that he is okay, only to then notice Kera beside him, her body glowing with vibrant indigo light. The crew discovers that Kera has created a massive gravity vortex, keeping the interior of the *Unreliable* safe while the exterior was destroyed. Amazed at this demonstration of her power, the crew cheers and celebrates while Kera holds the interior just long enough for the wreckage to crash at the base of the Council tower. When she safely deposits the *Unreliable* on a lawn, Kera lets go of the vortex; in an instant, the interior of the ship crumbles into debris. Exhausted, Kera is unable to stand, so Gerren picks her up as the crew evacuates the wreckage and rests beside its smouldering ruins. Elijah looks on with a solemn look and takes a shard of the hull as a momento.

Another explosion brings them back to attention; in the distance, they witness the Forerunner enter the Council Tower, where far above the *Darkened Heaven* continues its attempt to touch the Nexus. Alia questions why the fleet hasn't yet destroyed the ship; HIEdi suddenly lights up and says a transmission is coming in and summons a hologram of Captain Young. He congratulates the crew on their miraculous survival, but warns them that they are the closest friendly force to the Forerunner. According to scans, the *Darkened Heaven* is using the Forerunner as a conduit, through which the ship is drawing power from the Scourge horde attacking the station. Therefore, if the crew could take out the Forerunner, then the spire's shields should come offline. Elijah agrees to the plan, but says they have few weapons and now armour to speak of. Young replies that he has that covered, at which point a security drone arrives to drop off a large container. The crew gathers around the container as it opens, revealing a small arsenal of nano weapons and armour inside. Elijah says that he can count on them to finish the job. Elijah orders Gerren, HIEdi and Hendrix to carry Kera to safety while he, Alia and Amphear take on the Forerunner. Elijah, Alia and Amphear arm themselves and place the nano armour plates onto their chests, which expand to envelop them in power armour.

Elijah, Alia and Amphear make their way up into the Council Tower, fighting their way through Scourge with bullets, grenades and bioenergenics. The team faces the upgraded Forerunner and are able to inflict serious damage, including removing one of its arm blades, but the Forerunner draws more power from the Scourge and becomes even stronger, able to withstand Elijah's telekinesis.

Elijah is knocked unconscious and awakens inside the Continuum, where he meets a Traveller wearing the face of his father, Erron. Elijah is granted the Traveller's Light by the Travellers, infusing him with incredible power that awakens the full extent of his biogenics: he is a Source, granting Alia enhanced powers and even granting Amphear temporary telekinesis. Armed with new strength, Elijah easily fights the Forerunner and destroys its chestplate with its own severed blade. However, the *Darkened Heaven* is able to touch the Nexus and prepares to release the Curse. Loading his revolver with an explosive round, Elijah throws his weapon to Amphear, who shoots the Forerunner in the abdomen. The bullet explodes, blowing the Forerunner open. With the Forerunner dead, the *Darkened Heaven*'s shields shut down, allowing the *Righteous Judgement* to fire enough missles to blow the spire in half, destroying it and saving the Nexus and the Settled Systems.

To reward the crew for their efforts, the Intergalactic Council induct them into the Special Operations Authority and grant them a new ship, which they dub the *Unreliable* Mark II. With authorization to operate throughout Council Space to combat the Scourge, the crew sets out for a new adventure to the Confederacy of the Great Attractor.

Somewhere in the depths of space, the core of another spire reactivates. A series of gears and servoes start up, glowing blue with intense heat. Mechanical arms open a stasis pod, releasing a damaged creature that the arms begin rebuilding. Cybernetic parts are added to the creature, and a series of electrical conduits along its spine bring it to life. Its body is sealed inside a suit of nano-armour before it breaks free from its bounds. As he kneels, a breathing tube is removed from its mouth and a breathing mask is placed over its face. The creature stands up and stalks the halls of the ship before coming across the central core. The core speaks and asks the creature's identity; the creature kneels before it and proclaims "I am your Forerunner". It is revealed that the ship is in fact the Darkspire itself, emerging from an enormous tear.

In the epilogue, Regent arrives at a cloaked space station. He is saluted by uniformed soldiers as he makes his way up to a hidden office and greets the person inside as "ma'am". The woman asks him for his report, to which Regent says that "the boy" is alive and incredibly powerful. He asks the woman if she wants him to bring this boy into their organization; the woman turns to reveal herself as the Overseer, who claims that "he will see the truth for himself".

## Trivia

* First appearance of Zelphor Naerth
* First appearance of the Neo-Forerunner
* First appearance of the Darkspire
* First appearance of the Overseer
* Last appearance of Kalkoranin
* This episode marks the first time that the Confederacy of the Great Attractor is directly mentioned