Chapter 4055  An Unknown Anomaly

While Sage Ceeran found himself trapped on an exotic, sentient planet that sought to consume him, Pioneer XIII found itself in the distant star system of Procyon, just eleven or so light-years away from Sol. WHOOSH…

Pioneer XIII slowly moved through the vacuum of outer space, carefully scouring the star system with its preliminary surveys.

"Short-range scans reveal nothing."

"Preliminary threat analysis does not display any signs of concern."

"Defense systems are at maximum power."

"Maintain a state of high alertness," Admiral Renheal declared with a bold statement, narrowing his eyes.

He had received communications of what some of the earlier Pioneer omni-ships had run into in their destinations. It was not pleasant. None of them had realized that life was so ubiquitous across the entire universe. If they had, they likely would have made more preparations to account for threats and dangers. As it was, they had strong defenses, a powerful energy field, and a hull armed with a thin layer of invintium. However, most of the defense and security preparations they had made had been to protect against natural threats. A hostile environment with more intense radiation than they had expected, or to combat powerful solar flares from the active dwarf star in the star system. Or perhaps an asteroid felt that it would impede their path as they navigated it.

However, as the other missions had revealed, it was not too unlikely that they would run into hostile forms of life that could threaten their existence. Not all the Pioneers had run into advanced alien life, of course.

Many of the pioneers appeared to have found simple single-celled forms of life. While other pioneers had found no life and had begun their missions in their destination as they were supposed to.

The crystal striders that Pioneer I had found, for example, were the ideal situation. An interesting life that could justify even more resources being transmitted to their star system, but not advanced enough to actually do any harm to them.

The Martial Sages of this pioneer had been made to remain on standby from the very start. They were on full alert and were even consulted on the theatre analysis. The instincts of a Martial Sage were not to be underestimated, Admiral Renheal knew. "Short-range and medium-range scans of the environment reveal no anomalies, Admiral," his deputy admiral told him with a hint of relief.

"Do not lose your focus," he told his subordinate with a heavy tone of voice. "We have no idea what could be out there. For now, just remain focused on the mission."

BZZZT

He froze as the lights in the command room flickered, turning off before turning back on. The air grew perilous as he glanced about the command room with a hint of alarm. "What was that?"

"It might be faulty lighting, sir, but…" the deputy admiral frowned. "All systems have been checked, double-checked, and triple-checked so…"

BZZZT

Once more, the lights flickered, turning off again. Admiral Renheal's eyes sharpened, his expression crumpling with a hint of grim severity. This didn't bode well; he could feel the mounting peril in the air.

Then, it happened.

BZZZT

The lights turned off entirely.

Not just the lights.

BZZZT BZZZT BZZZT

One by one, systems across the command room began shutting down as monitors went off and terminals went dead. A wave of gasps and shock spread across the crew, the analysts, and the operators in the command room as Admiral Renheal gritted his teeth. "What is happening?!"

"Sir, we've lost power!"

"It doesn't appear to be a malfunction, sir! The mainframe system has shut down without any reason!"

"What?!" Admiral Renheal gritted his teeth. "How could the mainframe system just stop supplying power?! I am the only one with the authority to authorize such a thing!"

"Sir…" one analyst drew his attention from the few remaining active terminals. "You need to take a look at this."

Admiral Renheal walked over to the terminal, its screen buzzing.

On it were symbols that they had never seen before.

From the speakers came sounds they had never heard before, buzzing electrical sounds that sounded like signals.

"What…" Admiral Renheal gulped as a hint of fear emerged in his eyes. "What is this?"

This wasn't how things were supposed to go. After spending many years in training with exemplary service aboard the Panamic Space Organization, he had finally been elevated to admiral. He had been chosen to lead one of the twenty Pioneers dispatched to twenty star systems in the interstellar neighborhood of Sol.

He would become the leader of his own colony in Procyon. One of the first colonies of humanity outside Sol. Procyon had a planet that was suspected to be terraformable, and they had arrived with procured elven terraforming technology, allowing them to potentially create the first colony outside Sol.

And yet, everything was going sideways.

Their systems had been hijacked.

Their very omni-ship appeared to be getting hijacked.

"Sir, the transit hatches are being opened automatically!" One crew member yelped. "All transit hatches across the entire omni-ship are being opened! We… we believe something has managed to cyber-infiltrate our mainframe system and is seizing control of our ship to enter it!"

Admiral Renheal's eyes flew wide open. "Gather the Martial Artists at the transit hatches. Tell them to intercept and neutralize whatever is coming our way."

"Yes, sir!"

He gritted his teeth. "The situation is already spiraling out of control! I hereby declare an emergency. Send a message to the Panamic Space Organization through the world bridge comm line! Tell them…"

His eyes sharpened.

"Tell them we have been hijacked."

Pioneer XIII found itself completely drowned in an unfathomable crisis the likes of which it hadn't even imagined it would run into. Martial Sages rushed across the ship as the ship's command desperately tried to get a message back to the Panamic Space Organization. Whatever they were facing was clearly beyond their pay grade.

Not to mention, they needed to send out a message before their one communication line back home was completely compromised as well. It was a race against time, one that they couldn't afford to lose.