Chapter 143: Signal

With the damage that every step I was taking seemed to do to the floor of the ship, the doctor, Fal and I had all thought it best that I sit down in a hoverchair instead of subjecting the craft to the sudden strain of my steps. 

It was an unexpected problem, not being able to actually walk around my own ship, but I didn't mind the chance to sit down once in a while. 

Besides, it was only going to be temporary. 

At least, I hoped it was only going to be temporary. 

My chair hovered through a doorway into a briefing room. Around a circular table sat the members of my inner circle, the ones that I had met throughout the course of the Tournament back on Prespian City. 

Though in truth, it was only really Akash and Yr'Arl that I cared about seeing again. I was glad that they were both okay and that nothing had happened to my two oldest companions while I had been in my coma. 

Though, considering I'd actually only known them for around a week I suppose that didn't mean much. 

A lot had happened in such a short span of time. 

"It's good to see you all again," I addressed the room, "As you can see, I've had to take some rather drastic measures." 

I gestured to the chair that I was sitting on and could see the concern in the eyes of those who sat before me. 

"But don't worry, it's not due to any injuries, quite the opposite actually," I continued to explain. "As a matter of fact, I'm in this chair now due to a side effect of a battle I engaged in down on the planet below." 

I explained to the group what had happened down on the surface of the planet, leaving out some key details. They didn't need to know that I was from another world, or that the Remnant came from a being out in the depths of the void that we'd have to face in the future. 

All they needed to know was that at some point in the future we were going to have to fight an enemy so powerful, that it was able to project itself back through time itself. And that the fragments of that enemy were more powerful than anything we had dealt with so far. 

"If I understand you correctly," Akash began, his voice like whispers on the wind, "We now face an unknown temporal threat who is desperate to stop us before we become powerful enough to stop him." 

"That about sums it up," I replied. 

The tree-like alien leaned back in his seat, the wood that made up his body creaking ominously. He sat there, pensive and in thought. The rest of the group didn't seem to know what to say in response to the bombshell that I had dropped on them, which was definitely something I could understand. 

I also felt as if there was a little bit of envy coming from Akash, and perhaps from a few other members of the crew as well. 

I had undergone a substantial and sudden power up, leaving all of them behind in the dust. I was hoping that power up would encourage them to try and get better through training, though I could understand if it ended up inspiring some kind of apathy in them all as well. 

"Now that I've briefed you all on what occurred down on the surface, I'd like to be briefed in turn," I said, "How has the move gone? Are all the refugees stationed on the planet down below yet?" 

Yr'Arl stood and placed his right hand across his chest, his fist impacting his left shoulder heavily. 

"First and foremost, allow me to congratulate you on your recovery, Squadron Leader Jacob Lyre," the feline said. 

I gave the alien a smile, "Your congratulations are appreciated, Yr'Arl," I replied. 

"As for the move of the refugees down to the planet's surface, the mission has been completed with a 100% success rate," He continued, "All of the people that we managed to rescue from Prespian City have been relocated to the world below, and vital supply links have been put in place. The people of the city have enough food and water for the coming months, in which time they should be able to become self-sustaining." 

That was something, at least. 

I had been worried that the battle between myself and the remnant may have done some significant damage to the structure of the city, especially when I went all out like I did. 

Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. 

It would have sucked to have brought all of those people all of that way only to destroy the new habitat that had been built for them before they even got the chance to move in. 

"In that case, is there anything of note going forward, has anything else happened while I was unconscious?" I asked, hoping that things were going to be just that little bit easier going forward. 

From the shifty looks that my staff had suddenly started giving each other, I got the feeling that wasn't quite going to be the case. 

"We have detected… a signal," Yr'Arl said, already looking a little bit more uncertain in himself.

"A signal?" I repeated. 

"From the depths of space, a signal pinging out toward this world, though we can't tell exactly where it is being sent," Yr'Arl explained, "A signal that, from our records, corresponds with signals sent by the ships of the Mordekash." 

A sliver of ice trickled its way down my spine, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. 

"Did you say… Mordekash?" I asked, memories of the creature from the tournament resurfacing in my mind. 

A creature like the Cybermen or the Borg. Converting other races to join their own. I didn't know if they would be able to convert me, especially not after my new power boost. But if they could then I could become an existential threat to the universe. 

This could be our biggest challenge yet.