The Derelict Fortress of Aavus

The octahedron hangs alone in the middle of deep space. As the Phoenix Dawn creeps closer, a small divide becomes visible, separating the octahedron’s two poles. The metallic walls are smooth as glass, reflecting the darkness of space. In fact, the unsuspecting passerby would have missed the massive structure if only relying upon the naked eye.

“ART, scan the structure for any lifeforms,” says the Rocket, bringing the ship to a halt a mile away from the structure, studying the scans on a holographic layout projecting from the ship’s dashboard.

“Way ahead of you sir,” replies ART “The walls are resistant to the Dawn’s scans.”

“That’s impossible,” says the Rocket in disbelief, “The Guardian-issue detection, identification, and target acquisition technology is second to none.”

“While that may be none of our scanners are penetrating the object's outer walls,” says ART.

The Scribe and the Hero sit around a holographic table, studying detailed snapshots of the outer scans.

“Hey wait,” says the Scribe pointing at a series of symbols, “Zoom in there. I’ve seen some of these symbols in some ancient architecture.”

“These symbols are not found anywhere in the Extragalactic Archives,” reports ART.

“No, these are not extraterrestrial,” replies the Scribe pointing at a particular sequence of symbols, “I’ve seen these letters on mysterious artifacts back on Earth. It is a reference to the commander of the Creator’s automaton legion, Aavus.”

“What are ancient Earth writings doing all the way out here?” asks the Hero?

“Well let's find out,” says the Rocket pushing the ship forward. The Phoenix Dawn glides forward toward the object. As the ship flies closer to the object, the detail in the equatorial divide becomes more and more visible, revealing various service walks, infrastructure, and landing bays. 

“There, that one looks nice,” says the Rocket, bringing the Phoenix Dawn in softly, allowing it to drift into one of the landing bays. The landing bay was considerably large, allowing three or four gunships or even a whole squadron of interceptor type ships to land there.

The Rocket walks toward the back of the ship and begins strapping various pieces of equipment to his utility belt. He also reaches for his plasma sword, strapping it to his back and then picking up his laser rifle. 

“Hero, you will need to don some space armor,” says ART, directing the Hero to a set of space infantry scout armor, “This will give you the life-support systems to survive the present conditions of this structure.” The armor is similar to the Rocket’s but is olive drab green in color and much lighter and more streamlined.

The Rocket reaches in a shelf and pulls out a space marine plasma saber, a lighter close-quarters plasma weapon in comparison to the plasma longsword carried by the Rocket. The Rocket hands the weapon to the Hero. “This is a space marine officer sword. I was given it as a gift after the defense of the Shatel system. Whatever we encounter in there may require something more robust than your metal sabers,” says the Rocket, “The technique is the same, just a different implement.”

“Thank you,” says the Hero, grasping the weapon in his hand. He flicks on the ignition switch and the saber springs to life with a hiss. The Hero swings the sword around, getting a feel for the balance of the weapon. The heroes stand around the holotable in the center of the main cabin.

“The Hero and I will go search for the elixir,” explains the Rocket, “ART and Scribe, you two stay nearby and keep the engines hot. We may need a quick getaway and a heavy dose of firepower.”

The Scribe and Hero nod. 

“Affirmative sir,” chimes in ART.

“Alright, lets move out,” says the Rocket pushing a button on the table. The Rocket and Hero stroll down the ramp and into the landing bay.