Prologue (VI)

Tarmac sighed as if this situation was just too much of an indisposition and said, "If you must know there was a planet that looked habitable, though I certainly wouldn't want to land there." Iliya looked at him with suspicion as if he were trying to trick her and said "Why not?"

However before he could answer Captain Darnel Soren and the entire Senior Staff walked in through the hatch that lead to the walkway that ringed the edge of the cargo bay and Tarmac whispered "Shush, Captain's here". At this Iliya glowered but turned and looked towards the Captain.

After a few minutes, the ship's company settled down as Captain Soren climbed the railing and followed the walkway around to a point where she could address the entire crew. She then turned and with a nod to her science officer connected in a wireless transmitter so those at work on the repairs could also hear the Captain's address. After this was done she turned and looked out over her crew.

"Crew, we've all had to endure some hard days lately, so let me some up our situation." Soren tapped a device that attached to her wrist and in the middle of the bay a large holographic display activated and showed a map of the galaxy.

With a wave of her hand the map of the galaxy changed to show known Imperial Space, it then zoomed out and as it was focusing on another position a long way away from Imperial Space Darnel said, "To squash the myriad of rumours, the Kovali is currently located in the sector of space that is currently displayed on the holo-viewer."

At this the crew burst out into an angry buzz of chatter, shouts and calamity until the Captain taped another button on her wrist device and her voice amplified itself above the noise. "What's more, is that investigation has revealed that we were sabotaged and have drifted throughout the stellar field for a length of time that is currently unknown." At this the crew quietened down, shocked at the implications of just how long on a straight line course it would take to drift across the Galaxy.

"This means, my brave crew, that there is a decision to be made. We either attempt to head back to Imperial space, or we find the nearest planet and colonise it." Several crew members at this began shouting, "We must head back, we have a duty to perform."

At which Darnel held her hand up, calling for silence as she delivered what would be death blows to their morale. "The cryogenic storage systems are sabotaged beyond repair, main drives while functional are unable to reach beyond one quarter thrust without the Anti-Matter reactor which was disabled. And beyond all that, the communications grid has remained silent since we discovered our situation."

At this the crew was deathly quiet, some fainted one even vomited. Darnel finished her speech while they were still reeling, "No, the Empire is lost to us, we were intended to scout a site for a future colony and I intend to fulfil the last order my Emperor gave me, in spirit if not in actuality. There is a planet nearby, and while it will prove challenging I mean to establish a Imperial Colony on that world."

Darnel tapped her wrist and a large blue planet appeared were once the galactic map had been, "I will establish 3 major colonies spread out over a variety of terrains and continents to ensure our survivability.

We will take 3 shuttles, the Afri, the Euri and the Ameri, a small amount of food and the minimum that we need to ensure our survival. The ship and all it's technology I will personally bury somewhere beyond the reach of the other three colonies.

At this, the crew which had once been silent, then hopeful, erupted again, almost to the point of rioting and security was forced to wage in to break up several scuffles and small angry acts of violence.

Darnel held both hands up this time and shouted them down, "And how long would it be, until the weapons ran out of charge, the medicine, the fuel and the food was all expended. NO, we will go until this new land with the bare minimum. I want this ship and it's technology preserved for our descendants, that when they find it they will have the civilisation, the technology and the wisdom to use it with honour."

"I want the settlement groups ready to go within the week, look to your duty officers for your assignments. Dismissed." The Senior staff filed out along with the crew, while Tarmac looked up at the Captain, as the others filed out, before he too got up, dislodging a shaking Iliya as they both left to find out what would be expected of them.

A week later Darnel stared out the observation deck as the three shuttles commenced the last run. Her Senior staff had left with the first group to leave the ship so that they could scout out potential settlement sites. At the site of the shuttles leaving a wave of melancholy hit Darnel, and she turned away from the window as the computer announced,

"Captain, inventory confirms, some of the survival equipment is missing." Darnel's eyes narrowed momentarily and she said, "Let the senior staff know, try and see that it finds it's way back here, but if it doesn't it will run out of power soon enough. "Acknowledged Captain, is there anything else you require before we begin our descent.?"

Darnel closed her arms around her stomach as if hugging herself and said, "No, I'll be in my quarters, drinking the last of the fire-wine the Admiral gave me. After this is done, I expect you to take care of the ship, do we have an understanding?" The AI acknowledged and then commenced calculating the descent vectors as the Captain went to her quarters for the last time.

The AI took the ship to a distant island as far away from the other settlements as possible and upon finding a suitable mountain set the maintenance bots to dig itself into the belly of the mountain. Once this task that took several weeks to fully bury the ship the last drone buried Captain Soren in a grave at the head of the ship and retreated inside the airlock which sealed itself. The AI went into standby mode and awaited it's eventual awakening.

While the settlements that were placed would grow and evolve, and into the annals of history they would pass as mankind forgot it's origins, it's history and the legacy that awaited it. Over time the names of the shuttles changed as the language of man first devolved and then re-evolved until something similar but radically different to the originals emerged. Africa, Europe and America.

But this is not the end of the Tale, no this is but the beginning.