Cerulean Dawn

The Cerulean Dawn is one of the Minor Alien races in The Long Journey Home and it is one of the major antagonists alongside the Raxact.

Description
As one of the few naturally immortal beings in the universe, the Proto-Cueddhaest never learned the value of life. They only know a kind of pain and rebirth. Accordingly when the Dragons of Entropy came and began to wreak havoc among their region of space, the Ceruleans in power at that time decided this was the signal to follow their old prophecies of the Starfather - the founder of the bright Ceruleans - and go on the Cerulean Crusade to reach the Nextplane. They left all other races to die and even abandoned those they saw as inferior and heretic among their kind, the later Cueddhaest.

The Ceruleans were a race that was bipolar from the beginning, but not one of the dark Ceruleans is among the Cerulean Crusade, even though the Covenant of the New Dawn from the Cueddhaest claims that it was so. Also many bright Cueddhaest still revere the Crusade, omitting the demotion of "so-called" and just out right calling them the wisest and greatest. While the dark Cueddhaest never interfere in this faux pas, it might show a lingering racism in the Ceruleans and a bit of pride. The Crusade simply refers to their kin as the Withered Dawn, the worthless.

During their crusade they finally happened upon the Gamma Quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy. Here they engaged the currently sprawling empire of the Maylaa, which they immediately razed and tormented with a zealous ferocity. Their only goal was to find their holy relics - or any item or artifact that could serve the same functions - to ascend to the Nextplane. The life of any race or being involved was utterly useless to them. They didn't even care for diplomacy.

In an act of poetic justice, the Maylaa succeeded in not only pushing them back over and over, but also breaking their secret weapon, their immortality. True to the Cerulean's ignorant ideals for life, the Maylaa locked them into the keystones where their energy would be harvested during their life cycle, over and over, and where they would be forced to be reborn, over and over. Their pain was well deserved. For the many galactic cycles that followed, the Ceruleans had become the unlimited energy source for the Gamma Quadrant. While it might have seem cruel, the Ceruleans wouldn't have done less to any life in its wake.

Today the prisons of the Ceruleans are maintained by the Entrope and are called the spheres. Inside of each sphere a huge array of Ceruleans waits to be used as an energy source for new wormhole gate stations or to just rot away. Over the millions of years, some of these prisons have withered despite the Entrope maintenance and many have become graves for ships that didn't know about their gravity and got trapped during Alcubierre warpdrive jumps due to navigation errors. It is a fate the Daedalus-7 crew shared, but was able to escape by deactivating the prison sphere number two. An error with grave consequences for their journey and the galaxy. The Cerulean's war for freedom has begun.

The Cerulean Dawn first appears as a "Strange Energy Reading", speaking only in binary numbers. Showing the Keystone to them will turn them aggressive. Later the crew encounters an "Anomalous Energy Reading" that demands the return of their brethren in the keystone, albeit in a cryptic and badly translated conversation. Repeated ignorance can and will make them angry as well.

Until the moment the keystone is safe inside the last gate circuit and its protective facility, the Ceruleans will try to kill the humans and free their brethren. This skirmish mostly takes place in the last sector before Earth. The Ceruleans themselves can only enter the gate stations. If they get close to the energy core of the gates or the spheres however, they would get retrapped by the Maylaa security system. This means for the first time in their existence, they need to conduct diplomacy to find allies. They still prefer violence.

Their main point of conversation is obscured, as it often grasps for similar words in meaning. Whenever it refers to the humans it replaces them with a random animal from earth, ranging from apes to ocelots and tamarins. It seems when it uses birds, it refers to itself (egret or goldfinch).

Interactions
In the beginning the Cerulean Dawn looks at humanity as an innocent visitor, but quickly asks them for help upon their second meeting. Most is loosely translated and only has few clear words.

In later conversations they make it clear that their brethren are trapped in the keystone the expedition took from the sphere and that the return and freeing of their brethren has absolute priority. The player does not have the option to destroy the keystone to release them during the communication or thereafter, even if he deciphered the message.

"[...] Keystones [...] Imprisoned [...] Agony [...] Escape [more thanks petted rancourous]."

Roughly translated it means: "Well met, mammalian. The keystones were used by the lizard race (or maybe loosely "those snakes!" as in slur) to imprison parts of us as nutrients for their network. It hurts! Help us escape and don't placate us."

Doing anything other then what they expect makes them appeal again in frustration:

"[...] Help Us [...] Trapped [...] Sphere [...] Keystone [...]."

Ignoring their plea again will turn them hostile.

"Egret wow beguilingly far ape - DAWN WILL RISE - stubborn glanced avowedly."

Roughly translated it means: "We are dazzled by your stupidity apes. The Dawn will rise! Your ignorance foretold your intent." Then they attack.

It you ask about them to tell you more of the Dawn(self), then about your place in this (gossip), they will just let you leave the conversation without attacking after the second meeting.

When you show them the Keystone

[Translated] "Keystones and Spheres will be destroyed. The prisoners of the glass will rise up. Escape the pain. Escape the prison. The Dawn will rise, the Light will fall. (repeated)."

Ask

 * Self (second meeting) - Cryptic info about the Cerulean's view on their brethren the Cueddhaest
 * "Tyrannically that - CERULEAN DAWN - more deceptively - WITHERED DAWN - visceral or a goldfinch bandicoot - PRISONERS - that that checked - PRISONERS OF GLASS."
 * [One potential translation] "The CERULEAN DAWN is called tyrannical. But who is, the more deceptive WITHERED DAWN lead by their evil instinct or we, mammal? We are the PRISONERS and they are those that keep us, the PRISONERS OF GLASS!"
 * As the Cueddhaest have taken over some of the gates and live in the Entrope sector for at least one galactic cycle in peace with their neighbors, they either never understood the concept of the keystones or are intentionally ignorant to their predecessors fate. They didn't try to free those that once sought to abandon them.
 * Gossip (second meeting) - A little cryptic retelling of the game start by the Ceruleans.
 * [Rough translation] "Those damned monsters we call SPHERES. They aren't protective, they are boisterous PRISONS. The not so valiant mammals got themselves heedlessly TRAPPED. Many fell into the trap and remained. The ESCAPE of the good mammals is a double-edged sword. The mammals shall return the KEYSTONE."

Show

 * Keystone - Turns them hostile

Ships
The ships of the Cerulean Dawn are called Energy Readings. There are only two Energy Readings outside the last sector. They always intercept the player on his journey home. Energy Readings outside the last sector behave peacefully, but will defend themselves, if attacked. They will also attack if the player annoys them with unimportant and ignorant statements. In the last sector, they are the most common type of ships and attack on sight.

Anomalous Energy Reading
The Anomalous Energy Reading is the second ship of the Cerulean Dawn, which the player will meet.

The ship is equipped with 3 cannons to the sides, that deal shield damage with a quick reload time. 2 cannons shoot repetitively in all angular directions with a slow reload time. One of them deals hull and the other one shield damage, which creates a beautiful two colored attack.

After a fixed intervall both cannon types go into a frenzy and unleash a beautiful but potentially deadly shower of projectiles. This attack is ought to be avoided by boosting away or dodging them further off. The ship will try to close the distance to prevent this.

Dangerous Energy Reading
Dangerous Energy Readings attack with three strong cannons at the side that deal shield damage. They can spawn up to 3 smaller ships, which look like Strange Energy Readings, but have a different and less dangerous attack pattern. The small ships are equipped with a single cannon shooting repetitively, dealing shield damage, and covering a 180° in front of them with an angular attack. In many cases it is better to jump to another star system than dying in combat so close to the Earth.

However, if the Deadalus-7 is equipped with a concentrated high energy weapon of a Laser Array or higher, the standard anti-carrier tactic makes short work of this enemy. Due to the very long respawn timer for its escorts and their inability to spawn smaller ships, this battle ultimately is easier than fighting the Dragons of Entropy. With a hit and run tactic this ship type and its evolution are much easier to fight than the Anomalous Energy Readings. This tactic is supported by the mother ships inability to shot straight. It is a broadside ship.

Extreme Energy Reading
Extreme Energy Readings are a larger version of the Dangerous Energy Reading and employ a larger squadron of ships to harass the Daedalus-7 crew similar to the Dragons of Entropy. This includes a frontside weapon to hamper a hit and run tactic.

They are equipped with 3 cannons shooting to the sides, with each of them dealing shield damage, and a dynamic cannon shooting to the front. They can spawn up to 8 Strange Energy Reading lookalike ships, of which there are three different types. The first one is shooting to the front. The second type is identical to the ships spawned by Dangerous Energy Readings dealing shield damage to the front. The third one has the same weapon as the Strange Energy Reading dealing hull damage to the sides. The Extreme Energy Reading belongs to the most dangerous ships in the game, but can be taken down with the same anti-carrier tactic like the Dangerous Energy Reading. It is advised to have a higher rank shield like the Phase Crystal Shielding and a rank 2 or rank 3 concentrated energy weapon.

The fight may take longer with hit and run tactics, but escaping the swarm will severely damage your ship during the charge of the engine and the Cerulean ships can fly faster than the Deadalus-7's 6 AU. They WILL catch up to you after a short daze! If you know you are equipped to take them down, do it.

Strange Energy Reading
The Strange Energy Reading is the smallest ship of the Cerulean Dawn and the first one, which the player will meet.

The ship is equipped with 3 cannons to the sides. All of which deal hull damage. It can dish out a lot of damage compared to its size, but with good aiming it can be killed by only one fusillade.

"Since ouch more glanced and hyena lion winked"

Quote
The first greeting of a Strange Energy Reading is binary:

"01100100 01100001 01110111 01101110 00100000 01110010 01101001 01110011 01100101 01110011 00100000 01101100 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 00100000 01100110 01100001 01101100 01101100 01110011"

and can be converted to text using ASCII code:

"dawn rises light falls"

Assessment of the Entrope
(only accessible with Admin-Device on Entrope Stations)

Warning: Galactic Database corrupted.