Plain, ordinary white, with some markings along the chest and arms, but nothing to show an impressive stature- no beautiful or creative armor. It was simply a mundane fabric, housing the bizarre creature beneath it. It bore almost no visible hair, simply a pale pinkish hued skin, with a hint of darker coloration. Arching lines of thin fuzz held along thick bone, which crested over the being's disturbing eyes. Several layers of depth stared through the screen, as if they could pierce the hologram and come face to face with those beyond it.
It stared at them for a brief moment, intensity holding, never flinching, before it spoke in a melodic language of shifting pitches- the message being translated into Galactic standard for the broadcast at a slight delay.
“By the time this message is fully received- we will have left. In the rare chance that any of you survive- let it be known we're taking back what was ours. That is non-negotiable.”
“LEADER- SHIP HAS LEFT- NO LONGER DETECTABLE ON SCANNERS- RESIDUE SUGGESTS WARPING HAS OCCURRED” The panicked voice shouted over the others humming along the lines- reaching her with intensity.
Sxiuill turned her fury towards the unfortunate bridge responder- crippling him within his host in a burst of rage.
Warped? WARPED? What species knew better than the Gemynd such a thing was impossible? Who had suffered from that damned technology more than they- how could an entire ship have warped? If the Union of Intelligent Life had failed to make that a reality over the last 300,000 cycles- such a thing could not be done!
“You are mistaken- It must be cloaked.” Sxiuill checked the scanners and detection on the secondary holo-screens, she found no trace of the vessel they had been approaching. Surprising, but still in the realm of possibility. “Fire on predicted range- reissue AI commands as well.”
Sxiuill watched the Broadcast, as well as the thousands of light pulses beyond the HUD screen, which rippled out into the unknown of the void- covering a range that would intercept even the fastest of ships. If that monstrosity was cloaked, they would know soon enough.
“Humanity sends its regards.” The feed was once again replaced by an image- only a different one than before. A winged creature... perhaps the species from the broadcast- though it had not appeared to possess such appendages- was flying next to what appeared to be a star. An artistic interpretation, which Sxiuill would not dwell on until she knew the ship was incapacitated and dealt with.
The beams of light arched out into the distance, crossing over one another in steady bursts of fire. A magnificent display- but a fruitless effort. No a single shot landed.
An emotion she Sxiull could only interpret as annoyance was at the forefront of her mind by the time she felt the sensation of gravity pull at the flesh which housed her. She was surrounded by weak and incompetent- there was no logical way those shots should have missed beyond biological error. As she reached out, she could feel the surging of irritation spread with her. The entire subconscious of the cluster was in confusion- the AI weren't cooperating, having expanded their pointless ring formation even further- and now her ship's gravity was malfunctioning.
Gemynd were meticulous, professional, and rarely startled- and this was making the numerous issues that occurred in the last few moments increasingly difficult for Sxiuill to handle calmly.
Annoyance turned to panic as she felt herself lift from her seat, only to land roughly against a domed ceiling. Her broadcasts of demands and orders were ruthless- and many responded with passive indignation as they scrambled to remedy the problem- which was growing more and more difficult.
Her host body was having trouble breathing- how had the gravity spiked in such an amplitude? It shouldn't be possible for the ship to make this happen, the artificial field lacked the capacity.
Alarms buzzed and blared, lights flashing in unison all over the bridge below- from her perspective. Several Gemynd, who had thought ahead- having been strapped in at their stations went limp, as the gravity continued to pull- likely forcing too much bodily fluid through systems that could not sustain the stress.
The shields began to flare up, visible now under some sort of radiation buffering and... was it getting warmer?
Sxiuill didn't think for long on these things as she continued to issues commands to the local cluster aboard her ship. Whatever the malfunctioning issue- it needed to be resolved. A commanding ship wasn't something that should drift out of formation as if they were all fools.
The Holo-screens began to flicker- and surge static, cracking the image of the winged human and the star- until the HUD fell dark- and only the clear expanse of space was visible behind it.
Only it wasn't a clear expanse any longer.
In the center of her vision- which was growing dim- as she felt her host body slide towards the glass front of the domed ceiling to face out of the HUD window, was a growing speck of brilliant light. It grew, and grew- illuminating the void around it- revealing other ships being pulled at accelerating paces, towards it. The spec grew to larger size- burning at her host's eyes, but she stared on.
There was no mistaking what it was now- as its size amassed to larger proportions- and they began to hurl towards it- shields groaning and flashing in blue lances of energy. She could make out a ringed pattern of AI- shimmering under similar strain- ion propulsion at full thrust against the acceleration towards the orb of fusion.
The closest of her fleet burst- a tiny pop in the void. The very instant the shields left the vessel, it was incinerated by the massive current of heat and energy desperate to crowd whatever matter they encountered. She gazed on in horror as more followed.
One by one, tiny crackles and pops- as her vessel was pulled ever closer.
The AI were faltering now- as the mass of the star became too large for them to resist- several starting the mass exodus to extinction- halting the progress. As the ring around the star fell to pieces towards the uncontrolled fusion- the space around it shimmered, bent with light that wasn't matching to the surroundings, that was foreign and wrong. Whatever was happening- was breaking upon its own weight- falling apart on the massive task it had attempted
The whole thing was collapsing in on itself.
It was a creation that had arguably been what gave life- of its billions of brothers and sisters throughout space- the power of seemingly infinitely uncontrolled fusion that radiated out from untouchable behemoths of awesome power. The stars were the only things that could not be tamed- they were the only creation within the galaxy that could not be bent to a mortal's will.
No longer.
In Sxiuill's mind's eye- she could see the possibilities- endlessly reaching into the void before her scream of terror rippled throughout the collective minds of all those in her presence, and they too joined her. A silent and shrill note of horror in the wake of the most powerful weapon ever witnessed. The Stars themselves had been tamed- and they had been turned against those who would threaten their masters. Their light- the beacon of life and creation- of power and gods.
It was well known, even in the age of the Union, long past the ancient cultures of those who had no yet grasped the void:
The anger of a god is a truly terrible thing.