Origins

In a not too distant past in a universe not entirely dissimilar from our own, Galactic Corsairs were prowling the Zaiton system for lost cargo and the occasional hostage when their Lairra sensor detected a large conductive object. In typical pirate fashion, they drank two rounds of Guebram, a horribly intoxicating cocktail of spent reactor slime, calculated fuel costs, then flew to the scene.

Upon arrival, they were furious when instead of the mammoth space station they had hoped for, they found only a spaceship sized rock ambiently rotating. Captain Kayal ordered the object be taken into the ship’s bay for inspection. But the moment the ship’s recon robot arms touched the rock, the ship and all its passengers were vaporized.

Kai

Approximately 20 light years away, Captain Gistan noticed something he had been looking for almost 400 years. A small flickering light on his radar system indicated a zeta burst. A tear in the space-time continuum! How exceedingly rare. Gistan whispered his findings into the ear of the commander at the Kai Suzerain capital in Pravidine-B and soon his Terjian Fleet was set for a hyperdrive course a safe 100 nirons from the burst.

Thana

In Pravidine-B’s closest neighbor, the Sarai galaxy, an ear-piercing siren penetrated the walls of the capital. Tokta acted quickly. “When my fellows face trouble they will not face it alone.” At least that’s what it read on the Sarai emblem that decorated most of the totems in Tokta’s office.

He mobilized his fleet and set course for Zaiton. Mid-flight they amplified with a Kai fleet. The two peoples shared a delicate peace. Tokta, like most Thana, did not approve of the Kais’ thirst for danger and their take-no-prisoners approach to battle. But they were in trouble, and his sense of honor and dignity provoked him into action.

A hyper-exchange linked the two parties. “Captain, this is Tokta of the Thana Repiblic. We are responding to a distress call from the Zaiton system. With whom do I speak?”

Shock and fury coursed through Captain Gistan’s veins. This mission was meant to be low-profile. How could they have sent a distress call?! An uncomfortable murmur spread through the fleet. Gistan took a few moments to concoct a cryptic response, but just as he was about to deploy it, he was superseded by a panicky a member of his imperial fleet. The greenhorn sent a Rukh burst through the continuum. Silence on the line. Devar, the Kai captain’s first mate, had vaporized a Thana fleet.

Gistan felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The Thana’s sense of honor made them prone to acts of redemption. Surely there would be a price to pay for the unprovoked attack on their fleet. But he could not worry about that now. At least the competition had been handicapped.

The Kai fleet finally reached the Zaiton belt. Surprisingly, they found no wormholes or traces of great battle. In fact they found nothing except an annoying blip from their Lairra sensor telling them to watch out for some space junk. Gistan instructed his crew to go closer. They saw nothing. Closer – nothing – closer – nothing – until they were nearly upon the site of the burst. All that was to be found was a funny looking meteorite. It rotated on its axis, slowly, but was otherwise unmoved.

And their Lairra sensor was going berzerk.

Gistan, less prone to impulse than his first mate, who had recently been relocated to a holding cell in the cargo bay, sent a drone to investigate. The little drone circled around, relaying images and sensor data. When it finally touched down to take a sample of the object, it was instantly vaporized and the Terjian Fleet experienced a full electrical meltdown due to close proximity of a zeta burst.

By the time Gistan’s ship was back online, both the Kai Suzerain’s construction fleet and the Thana Republic’s reconnaissance armory were en route. Neither would forsake their mission. The Great Galactic Battle of Zaiton was about to commence.

The Thana recon fleet arrived on the scene of the Corsair’s original demise in the midst of the Kai Suzerain’s construction of a Kinsai cube. The Thana general quickly realized that his lost ship had not suffered a high-frequency algorithm dissonance. It had been destroyed by the Kai!

Battle commenced immediately. First the drones deployed, reaching opposite fleets just as forcefields were fully powered. Communication disruption, hacking of weapons systems and infuriating puns commenced, spiraling into viral vacuum warfare that continued for hours. That is until a vlatai emission reflected from the Thana shield and hit the partially constructed Kinsai cube. What should have been an explosion exceeding the force of 1000 hydrogen bombs instead was absorbed by the Kor in a quick prismic flash that resulted in several minutes of exquisite galactic shimmer.

It was splendid. Warfare came to a standstill. The burst had been absorbed and emitted quite curiously. Some even say miraculously. It is said to be so awesome that the battle ended on the spot. The two species temporarily pooled resources to finish the Kinsai cube and discover what had created this exhibit of energy.

Alas, peace did not last. The moment this Kinsai cube was finished, a fierce race began between the two “alliances.” The aggressive Kai Suzerain challenge the lawful Thana Republic in a quest to discover the Lore of Kor. The alliance you join is up to you. Embark at EyeWire.org. Registration opens at 7 pm US EST.

Competition details.