Star Ocean The Second Story Exxxtend

A lot had happened in the two years after the Expel-Nede incident, as the Pangalactic Federation had taken to calling it. As far as they were concerned, it was mostly a footnote and a minor tragedy but otherwise unremarkable. While they accepted ensign Claude C. Kenny’s report on the incident, since the true danger to everyone had never been seen by anyone outside of Claude and his associates, the only real evidence that anything had even happened had been the destruction of the starship Calnus and the of its crew, including Claude’s father, Admiral Ronyx J. Kenny. Many higher ranking members of the Federation had suggested that Claude’s account of the incident was overly imaginative and the result of the trauma of being its sole survivor, or worse, they claimed it was all made up to cover up some accident that Claude had perpetrated. Fortunately, Claude’s mother was a well respected member of the Federation and quickly shut down the nay sayers. But while she publicly voiced her support of her son, she too grew distant and sad at the loss of her husband.

And so Claude had found himself at a crossroads. He could have continued to serve in the Federation navy, with people who seemed to suspect him of being mentally broken and/or a liar, and probably remain an ensign forever, or he could strike out on his own in the hopes of making a name for himself or even proving his story. Fortunately, an opportunity to do just that quickly arose. When the Federation sent another vessel to verify Claude’s story, the only thing they noted was that the fourth planet in the Arcura system did show some weird tachyon energy that might corroborate Claude’s report that it had been pulled through time to escape the destruction he claimed would have occurred when it collided with the energy mass he also claimed was Energy Nede. They’d also tracked a few odd energy signatures on the planet, but nothing at any dangerous levels. For the Federation, it was the end of the investigation, but for Claude it was a place to start.

Despite his mother warning him not to, he resigned from the Federation. He was able to negotiate an honorable discharge on the grounds of traumatic stress or some other legalese his lawyer had worked out. After that he just needed to find a way back to Expel. Again, fortune provided him an opportunity. Two of the friends he’d made while on Expel had also come back to the Federation to help corroborate his story. Ernest Raviede and Opera Vectra were more than happy to give him a lift back to Expel, and that was when their two year adventure had begun.

Arriving on Expel, they had detected three weird energy signatures that the Federation had noted. But unlike the Federation, they quickly realized what they were: radiation from energy stones left over by the Quadratic Sphere. Given how dangerous energy stones had proven on multiple occasions, all three were reasonably concerned by this discovery and immediately landed near the most remote signature. While the a handful of Expelians had travelled with them and were aware of the greater universe, the planet Expel was still being classified as underdeveloped and therefore technically off limits to interference from the Federation. They chose the most remote signature to try and keep a low profile. This proved unnecessary, as a second surprise greeted them when the approached the presumed energy stone to find that someone else was already investigating it. A Lacuer expedition, helmed by none other than Leon Gehste. And amongst his party they also found several other former companions: Celine Jules, Precis Neumann, and Rena Lanford. It was a veritable reunion. Claude was personally excited to see Rena again. They'd grown close during their adventure together, but never been able to really explore where those feelings might lead.

Fears about the energy stones causing more problems for Expel were quickly dispelled. Leon’s party had the site well in hand. He was also aware of the other energy stone locations and had sent other expeditions out to them. The Kingdom of Lacuer intended to harness the energy stones’ power for good. They would not build another canon, but instead use the power to build other advancements for Lacuer and the rest of Expel. This was good news for everyone but Claude, who still hoped to find some evidence to prove he wasn’t lying. If the Federation had already written off the energy stones, then he needed something more convincing. He briefly considered giving up on the whole endeavor and settling on Expel to try and see if he could pursue a deeper relationship with Rena, but then Leon unexpectedly came up with another option.

While discussing the energy stones with everyone, Leon theorized that if the Sorcery Globe, he refused to call it the Quadratic Sphere, could shed energy stones on Expel, then it could have done so on any other planets it passed on it’s long journey through the stars. More as an intellectual interest than anything else, Ernest had taken his idea and pursued it further by seeing if he could trace the route the Quadratic Sphere had taken. Tracing a billion plus year journey was impossible, but Ernest was able to predict a few possible locations that the Sphere might have passed by before reaching Expel. It was enough of a lead for Claude. He convinced Ernest and Opera to pursue the trail and take him with them. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one that wanted to come. Precis asked to join their expedition in the hopes of learning more about the advanced technologies out in the galaxy. Celine asked to join intrigued by the idea of treasure hunting across the stars. And Rena said that it was her duty as one of the few remaining Nedians to seek out any potential dangers left over by the Ten Wise Men. Claude hoped that she might want to join because of him, but they were both still awkward when it came to admitting their feelings to each other.

Though the starship was a little cramped, all six passengers set off to see if Leon’s theory was correct. It proved more accurate than they would have wanted. The first planet Ernest had theorized as a location turned up nothing, but the second planet they checked was a wild and savage landscape flooded with beasts and monstrosities of all kinds. They detected a single energy stone on the planet and realized what had happened. Slowly but surely, the energy stone had mutated those it came in contact with and its surrounding area until only savage monsters remained. They destroyed the energy stone, but it was too late to save the planet. That haunting truth compelled them to continue their search.

For two years they had attempted to follow the flight path of the Quadratic Sphere and met with mixed results. For starters, it became increasingly difficult to predict the flight path of the Sphere. Many planets they checked showed no signs of energy stones at all, and Opera ended up completely recalculating potential flight paths, saying Ernest was useless when it came to charting the stars. Some planets were like their first, completely ravaged by the warping energies of the stones. But some planets they discovered the stones had not been able to warp the land and they quickly destroyed those, thankful that they had been able to save the planet. Their victories helped to fuel their drive as they travelled the outer rim of the galaxy. As time wore on, their journey slowly became routine and monotonous. Check a potential planet: if it had a stone, destroy it; if it didn't have one, reassess their flight path. There was no celebration if they saved a planet, and they soon became numb to the doomed planets. It was therefore quite a surprise and a little intriguing when they finally found something new and different.