NOT FORGOTTEN.

The Black Excalibur, flagship of the Excalibur dreadnought fleet and symbol of Avalon progress, was sailing through space, just outside Avalon's native system, on its way out to rendezvous with a mobilized Paladin-class fleet.

Morgan was in the baths of executive level, enjoying a relaxing soak in the steaming water when the door slid open and her on-again-off-again lover, Valla, walked in, with a towel covering her glistening pale blue body.

"I thought I'd find you in here," Valla comments as she put her towel on a rack and joined Morgan.

"My mom knew what she was doing when she designed this place," Morgan sighed, "it's so fucking relaxing I almost fell asleep."

"Poor baby," Valla cooed, straddling Morgan, "let me help you stay awake,"

Valla cupped Morgan's face in between her hands, running her thumb over her eyepatch

"You know you can show me the scar," Valla said softly, "I wouldn't look at you differently,"

"No," Morgan said forcefully, "At least this way, I can blame not being able to see on the eyepatch instead of the eye…"

"And Astrid?" Valla asked

"I'd rather not talk about her," Morgan said,

"I heard you talked to your brother, how was he?"

"He knows something," Morgan said,

"Probably… hell, likely; he's a smart kid," Valla said as she came inches from Morgan's face, "Now, are we doing this or what?"

Morgan ran her hands up her lover's body, from her wide hips and shapely ass, to her slim waist, then her modest breasts, before reaching her slender neck, where her fingers caressed the slim gills at the base of her neck. Although undines were amphibious, their gills were extremely sensitive to moisture and affected their ability to breathe outside of water. Their race was known to be unparalleled swimmers thanks to their webbed fingers and toes, and although not all adepts, they possessed a miraculous ability to manipulate water. Unlike the male undines, the females did not have dorsal fins, and had more human-like faces.

"Stop it, that tickles," Valla giggled, grabbing onto Morgan's breasts tightly, "you know I hate it when you do that,"

"Well I'm about to do something I just know you'll love," Morgan grinned as she went in and kissed her.

Hours later, Morgan and Valla step onto the command deck, both dressed in their biotic suits. Sitting on the captain's chair –Nya's Chair— was Marshal Dax, serving as the liaison between the Spartans and Cerberus Command.

"Majors, how good of you to come," the Marshal greeted

"What do you need, Marshal?" Morgan asked, keeping her face neutral. She still didn't like the fact that someone other than her mother was sitting on that chair. She also didn't like Dax personally, but she had enough discipline to not let it interfere with her job.

"The X003; Excalibur Blue missed its last check in," Dax informed them,

"Spotty connection?" Valla suggested

"Normally we'd assume that, but they've also dropped off our grid entirely." Dax elaborated

"She wouldn't do that unless she wanted to," Morgan said, "Amara and Kiva are probably up to something."

"It's definitely suspicious," Valla said, "am I to assume that we'll be taking a detour from our original route?"

"Yes," Dax said, "I don't like my ships going off on their own."

Morgan scowled and rolled her eyes at his comment

"Whatever they're doing, I hope they don't mind company," Valla said

* * *

Astrid was kept confined to a cabin on the executive level aboard the Excalibur Blue, her armor was confiscated, along with her alchemy bracelet her mom had given her and her ship. There were Spartans outside her door, and the room had been warded with sigils to prevent her from using magecraft undetected. She was, for all intent and purposes, a prisoner.

She was lying on the bed, trying to sleep her problems away when the door slid open.

"Come with me," Kiva said

"Why?" Astrid demanded

Kiva didn't reply, she just walked out the door, leaving it open.

Left with no other options, Astrid followed her.

"Uh… how're you?" Astrid asked, she'd calmed down and was now feeling ashamed for having fought two of her mom's closest allies.

"Luckily no one was seriously hurt during your little tantrum," Kiva replied, "You should probably apologize to the Spartans you sent to the medical ward though."

"Alright," Astrid said,

They walked in silence for the rest of their journey, ending up on the command deck. Amara and a few of her top officers were gathered around the command table.

"Astrid, glad you aren't throwing anyone around again," Amara said

"Geez, I'm sorry okay?" Astrid said, "I've just been under a lot of stress these past several years. Plus, I clearly have some repressed anger issues."

"Well, running away from home and abandoning you friends and family will do that to you," Kiva scolded her

"What is it you wanted me for?" Astrid demands

"This," Amara states, as Astrid's star chart appears on the table, "You've spent years collecting this data, the earliest charts of hyperspace out there."

"Yeah?"

"Why?"

"You know why?"

"No, why do you want these charts?" Amara asked, "there are hundreds of other stellar-maps that show hyper-lane routes."

"I'm not interested in hyper-lane routes," Astrid said, "when the Red disappeared, it hadn't gotten onto a hyper-lane, it was most likely swept up by the hyper-streams and no one maps those currents, except ancient pioneers who didn't have the benefits of hyper-lanes millions of years ago."

"You think by using these old charts, you would be able to track the hyper-stream currents and find the current location of the Red?" the navigations officer asked

"Not think, I know," Astrid replied, "I've already been able to fly through warp storms unscathed using the accurately mapped out mana currents."

"That's insane," Kiva exclaimed,

"It's a risk," Astrid agreed, "but it allowed me to track current displacements caused by warp storms, including the three that have taken place around the sector of space where Vulcan is located since the red disappeared."

"Wait… you identified three warp storms?" Kiva said, "even my best astromancers could only detect two."

"Speaking of which; how did you find me?" Astrid wondered

"Merlin tracked your ship," Kiva said

"Is she here?" Astrid asked looking around

"No, she hasn't left Vulcan since Nya… disappeared," Amara said,

"Don't you mean died?" Astrid scowled

"No, she doesn't," Kiva said, "I also believe Nya is still alive,"

"Why?"

"I'm also an astromancer, I've been feeling a faint vibe in hyperspace, something is calling out. The Blue and the other Excaliburs have been reporting picking up ghost transmissions when in hyperspace on the direct channel from a similar originator."

"It could be mom," Astrid said excited by the prospect of locating her mother

"Or it could be the Maja," Amara said, "It could have taken her over, and is not trying to call us in so it can get back into real space."

Astrid had heard about the Maja, she'd seen the recordings of its interaction with Nya, the chance that it also infected Nya and is now calling others to grow its collective was probable, but Astrid hated to think of the implications.

"But if the Red is still out there, then isn't there a chance that it could naturally drop out of hyperspace, and end up anywhere," Astrid said, "Are we really going to take that chance?"

"So we find the Red to keep it from turning up eventually," Amara said, "I'm okay with that."

"But what about if we find it and Nya isn't Nya anymore?" Kiva asked

"Then we have to destroy it," Amara replied, "and everything on board."

* * *

Merlin has not left Vulcan since Nya disappeared. The Black Box allowed her to expand her reach, from there, she was in contact with all her shards across the galaxy; it was where she felt at most in-control in her entire existence.

Decrypting the Praxian data within the Black Box was progressing slower than she'd have liked, but it was still proceeding. She'd already deciphered their language and had the location of several ancient Praxian ruins and potential origin sites for further investigations. One of her most significant discoveries was the primary power source for Vulcan; an isolated 6th dimensional reality bubble holding what could only be described as a stabilized white hole, a perpetual energy core at the heart of the shattered moon, dubbed the 'Eye of Eternity'. The level of cosmic engineering required to not only stabilize a white hole but to also maintain a bubble of perpetually repeating space-time independent from the rest of the universe, it was beyond anything Merlin had ever seen before. She hadn't told anyone about this though, as even she was still unsure how it worked.

Something else she had discovered but not informed anyone about was the hundreds of birthing pods deep underground beneath the central dome, pods originally intended for creating new Praxians, pods she had spent years reconfiguring and recalibrating. She currently had twenty-seven clones of Nya still in development, each attempt got her closer to her standard of acceptable results.

[Once N-105 through N-124 have reached stage 5, begin blood aura compatibility trials,] she ordered one of her shards, [Psyche graft failed on N-097, revise persona profile and terminate failed attempt.]

She was giving out a dozen orders a second to dozens of shards she created within Vulcan's systems, each one operating undetectable to the people inhabiting the station.

[I put too much work into Nya to lose her] she always said to herself, [And she hadn't selected a true successor,]

As she works tirelessly, her attention catches Eli entering the main control room, it should be the middle of the night shift for the outpost on Vulcan,

[Eli, can I help you with anything?] She asks, appearing in her corporeal form before him

"Uh, no," the young man replies, "Just wanted to go through the decrypted protocols. Wanted to see what else I can work on."

[It's late]

"Couldn't sleep,"

[There's still a lot that hasn't been translated yet,] Merlin warns [You should get some rest, spend the night with your girlfriend,]

"That's alright; I've been studying up on Praxian hieroglyphs." Eli shrugs, "And Aria isn't an 'all-nighter at the office' kind of girl."

[Impressive. Alright, since I can't seem to get you out of my hair, I'll send some raw files to your band.]

His band chimed and a holographic screen appeared containing lines of alien text.

"Thanks," Eli said, as he went to one of the stations and took a seat, transferring the screen to the terminal, "Someday the two of us are gonna solve the mysteries of this place,"

[You assume I haven't already?] Merlin smirked mockingly

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to catch up." Eli said,

[I look forward to seeing you try.] Merlin says as she takes a seat by another station, calling up a screen for herself.

Since Nya was taken, Eli has been the only person to have the most contact with Merlin. Her resemblance to his mother didn't seem to bother him much and he genuinely enjoyed everything she taught him; his genius and her processing capabilities had been a major asset to the R&D Department.

As the two of them continued their work into the night with only each other for company, neither of them felt more at peace.

* * *

Terror was in his office at Cerberus Command's global headquarters when his assistant Paige walked in,

"Sir, Minister Lao is here to see you," she informed

"Send him in," Terror said, looking up from the document in front of him,

Paige stepped out and a moment later, Wes Lao stepped in

"Commander General Quinn, it has been a while." Wes said, "Why don't I see you much at the Throne of Valor?"

"My duties keep me very busy," Terror said, "Especially now; we sent a probe into the space controlled by the elves, and they destroyed it. I'm reviewing war plans drawn up by Nya for a situation like this."

"How many war plans does she have?" Wes asked

"Dozens. She planned for every eventuality," Terror remarked,

"Except for her own death?" Wes said ruefully. His time working with Nya Crimson was short but he had grown to admire her for all she was able to accomplish here, he wouldn't admit this to anyone, but the sex he had with her was some of the best sex he had ever had. Other women, no matter how exotic, didn't seem to compare anymore.

"If she did, she didn't tell anyone about it." Terror said, he knew Nya had many secrets she kept form everyone, the existence of the Excalibur fleet was only revealed after she was gone, and who knows what else she has locked away in her private servers on the Excalibur. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"I was brokering a deal with one of my old contacts from the Xmilftien Commerce Union, they would like to purchase a dozen Paladins." Wes said, "I wanted to hear your opinion on this."

"Selling military technology to foreign powers? To be honest I'm not really a fan of potential enemies getting their hands on our ships."

"That's just it," Wes said, "I want to use this deal to set up a trade pact with the Union, offering them the Paladins as incentive."

"Hmmm, that does sound good," Terror mused, "Hey, the Union still employs mercenaries, right?"

"As far as I'm aware," Wes said, "They're mainly merchants and businessmen, they have to pay for their security. The fleet I brought here that time was mainly staffed by mercenary crewmen,"

"What if we supply the ships as well as the soldiers?" Terror said,

"You want the Union to depend squarely on Avalon for their military power?" Wes asked

"We'd cost less than whatever they're paying the mercenaries," Terror reasoned, "And that would ensure that the Union doesn't act against Avalon."

"It'll be a hard sell," Wes said, "But if you throw in some Spartans, I think they'll go for it."

"Spartans?"

"Yeah, Spartans are widely popular among the rich elite; a private army trained and armed by the famed Grand Marshal Nya Crimson, who wouldn't want that?"

"I'll talk to Amara about that," Terror said,

Hours later, Terror arrived home, his two kids, Noah and Erin, running to greet him

"Daddy!" they cheered as they both hugged him

"Hey kids, how was school today?" he asked

"Today we took a fieldtrip to the Phalanx-A station." Erin said, she shared Terror's grey hair and olive skin while Noah looked more like their mother with two horns peeking from his mop of brown hair.

"We got to meet the Air Marshal," Noah said, "He's like your boss, right?"

"Yeah, in terms of position he technically does outrank me," Terror Explained, "But I'm in charge of keeping the three branches of the military organized."

"That's enough, you two," Mari said as she came from the kitchen, she looked just as beautiful as ever, her hair had grown out and was currently ties in a messy bun and she wore an apron over her home clothes. "Let your father sit down first,"

"Hey dear, how was things at the High Order?" Terror asked his wife

"You know you could join us every once in a while?" she said with her hands on her hips, "you are a member of the round table."

"That was Nya's seat. I know she never meant for it to be permanent but I just don't feel worthy of it yet."

"Her kids are really starting to make waves with the Order," Mari said, "Eli is the rising star of the R&D Department, and Morgan… they don't call her the 'Crimson Legacy' for nothing."

"If Astrid had stayed, I'm pretty sure she'd be a master Adept by now," Terror said, "All her kids are overachievers that way."

"You shouldn't blame yourself for Astrid running away," Mari said feeling the guilt that he carried with her phantasm

"How can I not?" Terror said, "Nya entrusted her kids to me, to look after when she was gone,"

"And her kids are just as stubborn and strong-willed as she was," Mari said, as she kissed her husband, "And you did a great job raising Eli, and Astrid, and mentoring Morgan, I'm sure wherever Nya is right now she'd be proud of you."

* * *

In the depths of hyperspace, the wreck of the X002; Excalibur Red drifts aimlessly, at the mercy of the hyper-streams. It's long sleek black hull was riddled with fissures and burns from the heavy bombardment it had suffered, its primary engines had given out as soon as it went into hyperspace and its structural integrity was severely compromised. The only thing holding the ship in one piece was its primary occupant.

The Maja –comprised of hundreds of former Avalon scientists, engineers, and soldiers who were infected and taken over— had not expected to be transported onto this ship then immediately assaulted with plasma fire, but they had managed a major victory; they had captured the one who would be their hive brain; Nya Crimson.

With the hive brain integrated into the collective, the repurposing of component material could proceed much more efficiently than before. The bodies of the horde were taken apart, recycled, and incorporated with parts stripped from the husk of the Red, the result was a colony consisting of fleshy cybernetic vines and growths that were currently all over the ship, fused to the wires and cables and other innards of the wreck, completely at one with the ship.

Nya Crimson was where she always was, on the captain's chair, only this times, her combat suit was in tatters exposing her pale flesh to the thorny vines that grew over her. Her body was completely immobile, being preserved by its own sheer invulnerability and the sustenance provided by the vines that invaded her, puncturing her flesh and growing beneath the skin, yellow circuits were visible across her body, sometimes flickering and disappearing before reappearing somewhere else.

Internally, Nya Crimson was no more, her mind shattered by the influx of psychic noise from the minds of the beings that now invaded her. She was subjected to horrible visions of the people they once were and the living nightmare that she was now a part of. She could feel every inch of the Maja, every inch of the ship, they had become an extension of her own being… or had she become the core of theirs?

The scraps of her psyche that still remained offered no solace for her; she knew nothing, could think of nothing, and experienced nothing but pain, suffering and fear.

She was damned. She was in hell. She was alone.

As her blue eyes stared unblinkingly at nothing, a tear ran down her eye, and a strangled whimper escaped her throat.

A single cry for help from the damned. Unheard and unanswered.