Krikos: The Vertical Horizon

by Rishabh Dubey

  “Sir… no thrust…” Raymor said.

  “Mini H.T. jump then. Mark it and jump… Coal… take over.” Krawn said.

  ♦♦♦

  “Lord Sendei… The gates have been opened… Shall we bring in the trade?”

  “Yes of course…”

  “Both of them… 189 and 231?”

  “No… there have been several deliveries of 189 already. Though it is surplus, yet it is rare. Give in all of the 231s. And contact the star tower to initiate immediate production of more. And also, start the Cryohelix Thruster Communication Grid. We need to contact base-4 now.”

  “Base 4… should we? Before we get commands from…. HIM…”

  “He has given his final word already.”

  “Should we inform Master Douskle?”

  “Yes… do it. And send in reinforcements. Call in Base 2 and 3 too. That Krydon is worrying me. Take it down no matter what. Especially that Xanethius. I have come to know that he dominated that Ruto as well as that brat Mordore. Well, ofcourse he had help… Reminds me, don’t kill the explorer. We need him no matter what,” Sendei ordered.

  ♦♦♦

  “Engaging the enemy in the east wing. Initiating internal defences. Taking heavy fire. It is becoming difficult Captain,” Raymor said.

  “Deploy frontal offences… Hex, Benham, Lina and Rambler…. You go too… a 4-man squadron covering all the wings. Destroy anything that nears 10000 meters or less in your wing semi-radius,” Krawn commanded.

  “….and one more thing... From now on…. NO MERCY” he continued.

  “No need for the clarification Captain! We would not seek otherwise anymore,” Lina said.

  The Krydon closed into the central station, tearing through the various blockades put forth against them by the Stillites. Even the S-8 was nowhere visible. It had escaped behind the Annaeax system close to the alpha Helios. Suddenly, a huge space fleet appeared out of nowhere H.T.ing down into the Annaeax system straight towards the Krydon. It directly aimed for the Hexkon Thrusters of the Krydon. The huge blast left the Krydon incapable of moving anywhere. The 4-man fighter squadron drifted along the provided a suitable radius to defend the Krydon. Krawn, Nahcas, and Fusa (Fusa and Nahcas were severely injured but out there due to the necessity of the desperation of war) readied their jumper suits for frontal battle. Firdigo, Tref, Ramalus, Demo, Steffy, and Mrew escaped the Krydon in a small Rimor in the Hangar and headed for safety. Colo and Raymor stayed aboard to fix the ship and to try to figure out how to change the direction of the continuous thrust due to the blast earlier which had made the ship headed directly towards the Gravitational field of Annaeax. Krawn and mates arrived inside one of the enemy Rimors and were able to destroy it swiftly. They jumped from one ship to the other, obliterating and clearing their paths. Although it was taking a heavy toll on their bodies, specially Fusa and Nahcas (who weren’t at all ready for being Hogs).

  “Sir…. We’d tell you what happens... Stay outside the signal blocking radius of the central station for some time” Raymor said.

  Krawn and the other members of the Krydon offence squadron headed for the central station at a great pace. The Krydon continued to head towards the planetary gravitational field. A few minutes later… a large fleet of Salvators was seen coming out of H.T.s around the Krydon. The Krydon disappeared in the shadow of the ships. Krawn and the others saw a huge flash from the direction of the Salvator line up. Krawn turned his face from regret and despair towards what his motive was.

  “Sir… The ship is returning from the central Stillite hub. The trade is complete,” Rambler said.

  “No, it is yet not complete... Head for the trade ship…. We should intercept it as soon as possible.” Krawn said.

  Krawn and the other two jumped in three of the four fighter squadrons and moved rapidly towards the escaping ship.

  “What the hell is that?” Rambler said pointing towards the Krikos.

  “That’s… Ahem… the Krikos,” Hex replied.

  “No… above it... On the North Pole... Something is coming out of it… something huge… It seems like a planet or something… Look,” Rambler said.

  A small fragment of the Krikos’ Solar Cover came out in the shape of a ring. It floated out of the Krikos away from the planetary system and stopped.

  “That thing... It has been inside the Krikos…. Why didn’t we know? … What the hell is happening?” Lina said.

  “Something tells me… the Mordore guy knew this was to happen… his thoughts… this… was supposed to be his picturization of the word Infringium,” Nahcas said.

  “So, this… is the Infringium…. Sayofringium… holiness… the word of Galacta… it is this... Now I understand... Krikos Erekos Alxoro Terminus Zormor Zormus... The beginning with power…. The continuation in darkness… The downfall in exile… the end... But the end is the beginning… for the end is the change. The 13 districts altogether form one strong Krikos. But sometimes strength isn’t everything. And it became a necessity to escape that strength. And to escape it… you need a change… the change is Infringium. It is the 14th district. That Great Flex Dustener was much more than he was known to be. But we are yet not acquainted with the cause and aftermath of this escape. And who has escaped in that district and why?” Krawn said.

  The Infringium started lighting up and emitting rays along its diameter. A huge power burst was observed, and suddenly a large ship came out from below the Infringium. On it, in huge initials, was written ‘Hexagon Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Explorer’.

  “What…. Seriously... That….” Fusa said sarcastically.

  The ship started straightening up in the direction of the Sentinels. A huge beam lightened up from the ship’s front and razed everything in its path, and made its way through a blockade to the sentinel squadron. The Infringium powered down. The trade ship changed its direction towards the Infringium.

  Krawn became dilemmatic. Before coming across a plan to win the battle… he had to comprehend what the situation actually was. What had happened and what was going to happen? Even the most advanced of humans weren’t even slightly expecting the events that had followed the Epilion journey.

  “That was certainly a dimensional transition Captain,” Nahcas said.

  “What? You have traced it?” Krawn said.

  The Infringium started transforming… somewhat expanding into a larger ring. It kept expanding slowly and steadily.

  “What in the name of Holy Galacta is going to happen now?” said Krawn with a tone of worry and desperate curiosity compounded together. The Infringium kept expanding as the observers, including the now self-introspecting and should-have-been all-knowing Hypothetical Observer, gazed in sheer awe of it. After a while of the entire space-battlefield pausing to witness the majestic phenomenon, it was observed that the Infringium’s diameter had somewhat become larger than that of the Krikos itself.

  “What now... That’s a hole? A big damn Hole… What now? Eh, Captain… Are you hearing me? Do you even slightly understand what is happening because I believe this is way beyond my salary… and my lifetime net worth too… Just what is happening?” Lina said to the awe-struck Xanethius.

  “The Inter-Dimensional Bridge… it must be it. There were references in old records as ‘Wormholes’ and ‘Portals’. But Flex’s records clearly mention Inter-Dimensional bridges. But we still don’t know from what far away distance are they using it. Since the H.T. can fairly cover up all of the galaxy. Then ‘WHY’ are they using it is more of a question.” Nahcas said.

  “Wait… but… it wouldn’t make any sense. If it IS an I.D.B. then they need two Gateways. Two Stations. And for the prevalent technology… You Are right… not within the galaxy… so if it is an I.D.B. then they were trying to leave the galaxy… Otherwise, they wouldn’t need it. But… other galaxies… it is impossible. 10 to power 32 Gigawatts of power. That’s what it takes to open a dimensional bridge if I am not mistaken. No fuel or any other sub
stance can produce such power,” Krawn said in his rarest panicky tone.

  “Captain… Maybe that’s where this Ceremenium comes to the picture. Maybe it is THE nuclear fuel required to produce that much energy. I know it sounds vague, but considering the course of events I guess vague is our best option today,” Nahcas said.

  “Then what is this Ceremenium? And where does it come from? It can’t be just present by itself on this Annaeax. And why the hell was this Infringium not there on the original Krikos chartings? What are the Stillites doing still living… and when did they get to Annaeax? But the most fearsome question is… Where is the other side of this IDB? There has to be some other side. There always is…” Lina said in her terrified and nervous tone.

  Diaries of Flex:

  Episode 18-

  Eutopium III.

  I

  t was 401 E.E. The construction on the moon had begun about 1500 years before my time. It was the first celestial body to be conquered by the humans in the 20th century of the Anno Domini. And in my time, it was the most developed celestial body with about 29 fully functioning cities. There were many sites on the moon yet left for development. Most of them belonged to the T.W. program and its Chairman Mr Twagmire sought to use these sites for advanced rehabilitation. But that was until I proposed the Krikos. After these newly found discoveries of Flex, Mr Twagmire showed great interest in this initiative. Even the Eutopium preferred a beginning initiated by a private forum since government moved were slow, tedious and apparently corrupt. So, there we were, I and Mr Twagmire, aboard the Epilion and heading towards the moon. Our destination was Luna Central, the capital of the moon and one of the few cities with RASORVE launch and land pads.

  I was sitting with Mr Twagmire in the command computer room of the Epilion which was nearing the moon every second. The Hexkon Thrust had not yet been activated since Earth-Moon was a short distance for such a power. Mr Twagmire and I were having a chat about the facilities on the moon. It was a moreover one side conversation with him making me acquainted with the prevalent 'greatness' of the T.W. Empire. He had already been speaking for hours and from the look of his frequent use of conjunctions, it seemed that he was not going to stop very soon. But my gratitude to Galacta that we arrived at our destination. We came out of the Epilion and not surprisingly, the sight of the Earth from the moon was marvellous, though fading through the Glass dome. That was the third time I was visiting the moon. We entered the resting facility at the T.W. centre. We spent a few hours there to rest and then came the big day. The opening ceremony of the Mangum Opus, The KRIKOS Initiative. We departed from Luna Central to T.W. rehabilitation facility number 37 that was the largest rehabilitation facility on the entire moon. But just a few hours later it would turn into the greatest research and development facility ever. We arrived at the Inauguration site and saw that the Second Speaker Lunarte was addressing the public and making them acquainted with the new plans. They all seemed unappeased. Yet the door was opened and the facility started. We went inside to start the computer systems They were powered up and so the Researchers and Scientists were called in. All the required documents for the Krikos had already been translated into Holocron files and uploaded onto the computer mains. Our foremost mission was to program and prepare the virtual prototype of the Technocrux and for that, we had to make the prototype for the Genetrix. I started working instantly. But after two weeks came the season for council session and the senators voted against the Krikos Initiative. So, the First Speaker Sai Mu-Wen, although had full veto rights against voters, agreed to their terms on grounds of public interest and welfare. So, the Krikos Initiative was shut down and we were all transferred to Luna Central for Dispatch to earth. It was disastrous since we had almost completed the Technocrux and Genetrix programming. But it was not over yet. Just a few hours after the shutting down of the Krikos Initiative, there came the news about the attack on the First Speaker. He was admitted to the Elite Medicus Association and a few hours later it was corroborated that he had died. An immediate Eutopium meeting was called which declared a world emergency entitling the Second Speaker as the First Speaker and temporarily dissolving the chair of the Second Speaker. So Firdigo Lunarte got the portfolio and powers of the First Speaker which under an emergency was the prime and singular head of the government. A day or two later he restarted the Krikos Initiative but this time with more backup. Government forums for funds and research were opened at different sites on the moon. He started converting government facilities into Krikos Research and Development facilities. The T.W. facilities were restarted. It was as if the death of the speaker came to our rescue. But there were many political changes too. The royal laws were now amended into a universal constitution for humans (for the Krikos mainly). The rules of emergency were monogrammed to permanence. Like the seat of the Second, Speaker was permanently dissolved and the First Speaker assumed almost dictatorial powers. His decisions would be irrefutable unless and until all the other members cast a vote against them. This strengthened the roots of the Eutopium council and glued its grip over the upcoming superpower. This formed the Eutopium you MAY be witnessing right now. These specific incidences changed it all for everyone. Not these Diaries of Flex but those of the Eutopium.

  Into The Dimension:

  Episode 18-

  The Path to victory.

  Victory…Triumph. The petty yet eternal goal. Not righteously…yet rightly said that ‘Don’t think about the rules you break for Victory… but think about those you’d make after it.’

  A

  large fleet of clustering Salvators in the background of the Hexagon Rimor. Then come two humungous Advectors. Krawn and his squad used their jumpers to escape to the nearest station before they were hit by a beam from the Hexagon Rimor.

  “In formation…. Clearing path,” Krawn said as he cleared through the small counter unit of the Stillites inside the sub-station.

  Then a homing missile was launched from the Hexagon Rimor towards the substation. A homing ballistic missile... one launched for the sole purpose of complete destruction. Then, suddenly, a dark and huge shadow appeared in the line of attack and took the missile head-on. When the smoke cleared, Krawn saw the good old Krydon and its Rimor beside it. Even his beacon started beeping.

  “Woah… that was one heck of a survival back their Captain… we’d take on the artillery for now… you move ahead… I meant Hog Ahead,” Colo said in the Holocron beacon.

  Krawn smiled breathlessly, took a moment’s pause, and continued to jump through different stations, furthering towards the Infringium. He somewhat thought that he should just jump into the Infringium or the Krikos, but it rather seemed much more complicated because he still didn’t know the interior of both the Infringium and the Krikos. The sentinels tried their best to move further through the blockade. But at one point, they got stuck in a clash. They had their hands full against a massive fleet. Then Krawn glimpsed at the Infringium, to find that the delivery ship had reached it. A few minutes later… the Infringium started powering up again. A huge diameter was covered this time. All were afraid of what shall come out of it. But waiting for a few minutes, seeing nothing come out… they all got somewhat relaxed. But Krawn became even more tensed. His knowledgeable forehead was ever known to hide the lines of experience quite well. But in that moment, the lines were showing rather prominently, and were evidently and loudly signifying his state of worry; for it was either one of the two… something coming out… or something going through. And if nothing was coming out… then what would the ideal thing to go inside such a huge celestial mass, larger than the classical sun itself? Then they saw the Krikos slowly moving towards the Infringium. All stood amazed at the unbelievable sight. An Inter-Dimensional Bridge was going to carry THE KRIKOS to possibly some other part of the Universe.

  “All I can think about is an Alpha Helios… but not this one… I don’t know what the hell is happening” Nahcas said.

  A large spark was seen on the top end of th
e Infringium. Then a huge fleet of Enemy ships gushed in from behind the Krydon and start shooting Stillite ships only. Krawn’s Beacon started beeping.

  “Hey, Captain… Miss me?” came Kridious’ voice from the beacon.

  “What? Vin? Kridious is that you?” Krawn asked.

  “And me too ol’man. I meant Captain… Ahh, these honorifics suck big time… And considering the grave possibility that this big-ass ring is gonna be our grave… I would rather call you my Ol’Friend for old times’ sake,” came Rush’s voice in the beacon.

  “You too? Destructo-Demilzo… You don’t know how relieved I am hearing the voice of the two of you…” Krawn said, heaving a heavy sigh.

  “Destructo-Demilzo… Oh! That name… you took the ol’times sake part quite literally didn’t you?” Rush said.

  “Where are the two of you? What ring? Wait… You are on the Infringium, aren’t you?” Krawn asked in a startled manner.

  “More like inside of it,” Kridious said.

  “Those birds you see… they are the Annaeaxian rebels from back at the village… and their allies. Those suckers hijacked too many space-birdies, didn’t they? And they went all-out… Much as I had told them to do…” Rush said.

  The S-8 Salvator appeared in front of the Krydon. The Ballistic laser on the central station aimed towards it and took a shot. But the laser hit the S-8 instead. Another beep on Krawn’s beacon. This time, it was Prabarus who had taken over one of the Hangar controls on the central station.