[Unknown_Enemy]

Fire and Ice

After Hawks of Eden annihilated a strong Xi'Chung fleet at Gentika warp point, the Overmind began to feel more confident. The parasites were still outnumbering Eden on the sole ship numbers, but their swarm of fighters were slaughtered, and their warships could not outmanoeuvre Eden’s children. At the moment, the war was at a stop due to resuply duty and lack of enemy warships in the vicinity of the frontlines. Soon the Overmind would have to preserve a sample of Xi'Chung's gene pool before eliminating their threat to the natural order.

However, to the south of his homeworld, the Mind found some very strange races : the Xiati and the KaneSS. Both had developed fascinating concepts such as political systems or trade. While completely useless, these inventions proved the marvellous diversity of life in this quadrant. Looking at the KaneSS, this aggressive cannibalistic race was a wonder to observe, despite their hopeless demands to sample organics products for their consumption. On the other side, the Xiati were not only as aggressive as the Kaness, but they were developing some weird time based technology. They were watched closely, but peacefully.

Then, in the center of the quadrant, an aged Hawk of Eden was destroyed by a new foe. The enemy ship was lifeless. It moved, fired, dodged but no living beings were detected despite the full scan it endured. Immediately, a son of Eden volunteered to pursue the attacker. This particular child was already a war veteran, bearing scars of numerous battles.

I was grown with instincts of a predator.
I am the son of a Tiger, born for speed and murder.
The slow brother that is following me will soon be out of sensor range. He will just stay half way to the combat zone, waiting safely for my return to feed me when I'll be starving for supply.
I am chasing a prey.
It is said that no one can hear you in space.
That is false.
I can. I hear my prey near.
Let the dance begin.


The Overmind waited.
Months later, while the Xi'Chung war had resumed, he perceived the triumphant mewling of his hunter. And to the Overmind's surprise, the Void-Tiger came back with two very different preys. The first one was from a specie called Drukasha, and seemed to be some sort of mineral based life form. Communication intercepts showed they developed individuality, and also same alien concepts such as trade and political system. But the second one was the mystery. It was armed and fought until the bitter end, and only the Tiger's combat experience allowed it to prevail unscathed. It seemed the whole ship was a crystal, but not an artificial construct as Xi'Chung's, Drukasha's or KaneSS. It was a living being like a Hawk or a Tiger of Eden. It lived by the void in the same way as a son of the Overmind.


The Overmind called them Cryslonite.