Toshiro focused on the sensor displays as his ship approached the end of the subspace tunnel. Small graphics, showing subspace readings, relative speed, estimated time for arrival, subsystems status, reactor output and many other sets of information flickered in front of his eyes, floating on the transparent HUD. He was meticulous and disciplined, always perfectly following protocol � and the protocol was really strict this time. Two minutes before reaching the edge of the subspace tunnel, he started all the sensor adjustments required for the data acquisition on the other side, and transferred a good amount of the generated power to the engine system.

He knew what had happened to the subspace probe, and didn�t really know if this fighter, even with it�s impressive capabilities, could handle the absurd forces that stormed outside the safety of subspace. For a few seconds, he wished that the tunnel was longer. Holding tightly the main controls, he activated the subspace drive, and the deep black ship reentered freespace.

The view was simply beautiful. Purple-blue beams of light drawing long curves across the skies, with multicolored streaks here and there, a large mass that appeared to once have been a planet slowly falling apart - all of this suddenly disappearing on a pitch black ring that seemed to house death itself. Toshiro was distracted for a few seconds, enough to have his ship being dragged towards the singularity. He quickly realized the situation, and rerouted even more power to the engines, trying to stabilize the small vessel immerse in a sea of overwhelming gravitational forces. Unknown to him, the enormous stream of power passing through his craft�s propulsion systems started to generate a series of small subspace pulses, compensating the gravity acting over it. Also unknown to him, something that rested nearby detected those subspace pulses, and began to move.

Andreas sat on the bridge of the Zephora, monitoring the little information arriving from the Nyx. His science crew was still trying to determine the location of the system on the other side, but the distortions caused by the gravitational pull of the black hole were causing a major hazard on this aspect.

"Where the hell does this thing lead to" was the main thought on his mind, as he stared into the bridge�s main display, that showed footage from the Nyx � a few seconds delayed due to the subspace relaying. Every minute or so, a new wireframe figure popped up on the image, showing the location where the science crew determined the existence of another probable jump node. Those were too many nodes, too many different locations, too many possibilities � but too much danger.

"We don�t have the resources to control this many systems" thought the admiral. In fact, the GTVA didn�t have enough resources even to explore all those systems in practical time � and they were only able to explore this first system thanks to the Nyx. No other ship could sustain the forces acting on the other side.

"Captain, we are losing signal from the Nyx" spoke the communications officer, calling the admiral�s attention back to the real, immediate world.

"Reroute power from the navigational arrays to the sensors. We must keep track of that ship. And relay the same recommendation to the Mohses" replied Emer, ignoring all complaints from his first officer � the ship would become almost unmaneuverable if the nav systems lost more power � not knowing that this very order spelt doom for his fleet.

Gigantic cracks started to form on the surface, at an unprecedent rate. Thousands of cubic kilometers of pure rock shatered in a matter of minutes, opening huge gaps on the surface. The planet cried as a massive portion was ripped off from it, and swallowed by the black hole. Streams of magma flowed from the wounds, forming a morbid pattern on the black and distorted skies. Toshiro stared in awe as the scene unraveled itself before his eyes, in a matter of minutes. And in a matter of minutes, everything was as before.

The Special Operations Command pilot suddenly realized that he was not monitoring the readings and adjusting the sensors as the mission required, and that surprised him. He was never distracted during a mission, and he had never failed a mission. The fact that he had succumbed to the first brought to his mind the possibility of falling into the second. For the first time on a mission, he started to get scared.

He quickly verified all monitors, and readjusted the sensors � the ship had been drifting for quite a while, and gained a significative distance from the jump node. Toshiro maneuvered the ship to head back to his exit point, but as the Nyx started to move, they appeared.

Jump points opening everywhere, a stream of laser fire that completely engulfed the black fighter. Reacting by pure instinct, Toshiro quickly maneuvered, aligning his ship to the side of the attacking force. As he struggled to remain out of the firing line, he had a first glimpse of the attackers: Shivans.

The black and red ships swarmed the skies, moving as if the black hole wasn�t even there. At first Toshiro was able to avoid being hit � most of the systems on his ship were deactivated � but his luck couldn�t last long. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemy craft, he was once more immerse in a river of death-dealing energy bolts, but this time the Nyx could no longer ignore the threat. For Toshiro�s surprise, after taking a few shots the ship came to life, and all systems were brought online. He lost control of the vessel, while it maneuvered wildly � almost forcing the pilot to unconsciousness � and striked back at the Shivan forces.

Pulling hard up and quickly banking to the left, the ship was in a perfect attack position, and Toshiro could notice the lights on his cockpit dimming as a bright swirling blue flare started to form at the tip of the bottom wing. The Shivans started to break formation, but it was too late � the Nyx had opened fire.

"What do you mean by that, officer?!?" screamed the admiral, unable to believe the words he had just heard.

"Exactly that, admiral � we have lost contact wirh the Nyx. Our last readings showed several unidentified contacts on his sensors" replied the communications officer, knowing that the admiral was not really angry, but merely surprised.

"Who could it be? Sure as hell no standard GTVA ship could handle the gravity there" thought the admiral, staring at the replay of the last minutes of sensor data sent by the Nyx before contact was lost. They had not been able to get a visual confirmation on the ships, and the sensor data was too vague. All it showed was a collection of energy readings � but it was perfectly clear that those were ships, and not debris or sensor glitches.

Emer contacted the Mohses, and ordered the deployment of a craft into the node, to relay a link to the Nyx. A few minutes later, a modified Hygeia support craft � clearly showing the distinctive features of a subspace probe � left the destroyer�s fighterbay and headed to the center of the jump node location. Soon after, a white flare swallowed the small probe, and it left normal space.

The small craft travelled through subspace, with all reactor output directed to one single system: communications. Monitoring all possible frequencies for any signal of the Nyx, the modified Hygeia slowly approaching the exit point of the node � finding no signs of a single message from the pilot that boldly ventured into the unknown and dangerous system. The crew of both the Zephora and Mohses knew that the probe wouldn�t last long on the other side, and it probably wouldn�t be able to scan the area from where the last message from the Nyx had been transmitted.

"Come on, Toshiro � I know you are alive out there. For God�s sake, say something!" thought the admiral, as more than twenty minutes had passed since the probe entered the node. He couldn�t believe that their best pilot had been killed, and he simply couldn�t bear the thought that they had lost years of research on the Nyx fighter. That was the only prototype he had access to, and as far as he knew, it was the only one ever obtained by the GTVI.

"It could be a squadron of Nyx fighters..." � the thought suddenly struck Andreas, and he considered the possibilities. He had full information clearance on the RIP 0131, but he was never able to find a single reference to the origins of the fighter.

"We might be at the fringe of finding an answer to that, only if we...". He was never able to finish this thought, though, as numerous jump points started to open, and a swarm of black and red ships started to pour in from the subspace node.

Toshiro woke up, and instictively checked the sensors display. It was blank. He had been rendered unconscious by the brutal maneuvering of the ship, and couldn�t remember anything from the moment that blue glow started to form. Checking his instruments, he found that the ship hadn�t moved at all, but it was badly damaged. The comms system had been completely destroyed, and he had no way of warning the fleet of the impending threat.

"Damn, what the hell did this ship do" thought the pilot, as he tested the controls to check if he was able to command the ship again. The ship moved, but at nothing near the speed and maneuverability it had before the battle. The engines must have been damaged.Toshiro looked around searching for the controls for the auto repair system, but found nothing.

"This was only a prototype, and the systems had not been installed yet", he thought. Examining the rest of the ship he noticed several blast marks on the cockpit, and heavy damage to the left section of the main hull and bottom wing. In fact, he couldn�t believe that the fighter still moved and maintained life support systems.

"Thank God this thing doesn�t work as a normal fighter, or I�d know how a black hole looks like from the inside" he spoke to himself, maneuvering the ship to return to the jump node. He constantly checked the screens, but no signs of the Shivans existed at all, and his damage reports showed no critical damage to the sensors subsystem.

The Nyx reached the node after a few minutes, and initiated jump sequence immediately after reaching a viable distance. Toshiro felt strangely safe after inside subspace � differently from the last time. He was tired, and was barely able to adjust the autopilot before falling once more into unconsciousness.

The pilot slept on the seat of his battered fighter, and dreamt of blue planets, of red and black ships that carried the call of death throughout the universe. He dreamt of battles that engulfed entire star systems in fire, of a titanic storm that spread fear and destruction, of thunder that roared even in the vacuum of space. He dreamt of melted metal and shatered bones, of rotten flesh and torn souls. He dreamt of war.

He saw a veil of darkness surrounding the entire alliance, as the enemy blackened the stars. He felt the wrath of revenge, the heat of battle and the coldness of death. He saw the blood of his compatriots painting whole worlds red, as streaks of energy crossed the land.

He saw the rest of his life before him, fighting a lost war.

He felt the fear of a whole race.

Toshiro was awakened by the jump alarm, sweating, confused and frightened by his dream � everything seemed too real. He felt as if the ship was trying to warn him, and struggled to recover his senses as the fighter reentered normal space.

The view before him was shocking � he had arrived too late.