The Vaygr Reaches was a large area of space located in the far eastern sector of the Homeworld galaxy. It is here that the Vaygr originated from, and where the Vaygr warlord Makaan, ascended to power and began the Vaygr War.
History & Geography[]
Not much is truly know about the Reaches, though the asteroid field of Gehenna is located there, along with the Hethlim Ice Fields, the location where Makaan is said to have discovered the Third Hyperspace Core, beginning his ascent to power. At the height of Vaygr power, the borders of the Reaches stretched deep within the Galactic Core, swelled by the conquest of the majority of the Galactic Council nations, including the Taiidan Republic. Many relics created by the Progenitors seem to be hidden within the Reaches as well. It can be speculated that it is a very war-torn sector of space, devastated from millennia of Crusade fleets fighting each other, and resource poor from unchecked harvesting and strip-mining. The Vaygr Reaches are also home to the grave of Bentus, the derelict remains of the great harbourship and the last of the Bentusi, and at least one Progenitor site near Abassid, defended by four Keepers. Thaddis Sabbah, a major Vaygr military installation, is located there as well (before devastated by the Hiigarans). A Vaygr rally point was also located near the western border of the sector during the Vaygr War.
In Homeworld 2[]
During the Vaygr War, the Hiigaran mothership, the Pride of Hiigara, travelled deep within the Vaygr Reaches in search of the Oracle, a Progenitor construct that held the location of one of the Progenitor Dreadnaughts needed to unlock Balcora Gate. Upon travelling to the Karos Lighthouse, located within the ancient Karos Graveyard and acquiring a Dreadnought, the Hiigarans preemptively struck at a Vaygr Rally Point, hoping to use the incredible firepower of the Progenitor ship to destroy the Vaygr fleet stationed there. The Dreadnought was capable of firing once, destroying a Battlecruiser in one blast, but nearly destroying itself in the process. After a fierce battle, the Hiigaran fleet was reinforced by the Shipyard Naabal, which partially repaired the dreadnought's primary systems and secondary weapons.
Captain Soban was also present at this battle, though he was captured by the Vaygr very soon after arrival, managing to inform mothership that Makaan had somehow discovered a Dreadnought himself, and that they were needed to unlock Balcora Gate. The Hiigaran fleet managed to defend itself from the Vaygr onslaught, and attempted to track down Bentus in the hopes that they would repair the Dreadnought's Phased Cannon Array.
At Abassid, the Hiigarans and Bentusi attempted a repair operation, but were interrupted by the Keepers of Abassid, four Keepers which pummelled the Hiigaran fleet while Bentus is repairing the Dreadnought. In the end, not even the Dreadnought's firepower could destroy the Keepers, and Bentus, in order to save the Hiigarans, sacrificed himself by self-destructing the ship by destabilizing it. The Keepers were vaporized in the incredibly powerful, near supernova explosion. The Hiigarans survived by jumping to hyperspace, while an enemy Carrier group observed the explosion and proceeded towards the site.
Returning to normal space, the Mothership fleet performed a salvage operation of the First Hyperspace Core, fragmented, but not destroyed, by the explosion. The hostile radiation surrounding the Grave of Bentus derelict made the operation very difficult, as collectors could not enter the hazardous areas near the Core fragments without additional armour to protect them. After salvaging the first Core fragment, the Vaygr were detected leaving hyperspace, and the Mothership fleet was forced to defend the collectors and itself from heavy Vaygr attack. After retrieving the remaining two fragments, the Hiigarans destroyed the Vaygr carrier and a nearby Shipyard, and then jumped to hyperspace.
The Hiigarans proceeded towards the Vaygr military installation, Thaddis Sabbah, intent of rescuing Captain Soban. However, they did not expect Makaan, warlord of the Vaygr, to be waiting for them. After extremely heavy fighting, the Hiigaran fleet pushed through the Vaygr lines and attacked the Vaygr Flagship, forcing him to abandon the installation and retreat into hyperspace. The Hiigarans destroyed the disorganized Vaygr forces and rescued Captain Soban from the Vaygr Command Station located there. Upon extraction, Captain Soban detonated many explosive charges inside the Station, destroying it. The Hiigarans then jumped to Balcora Gate, leaving the Vaygr Reaches.
- "I left something for them to remember me by." — Captain Soban upon detonating the station.
Aftermath of the Vaygr War[]
What became of the Vaygr Reaches after the death of Makaan is unknown, though it can be speculated that the Vaygr Crusades, upon learning of Makaan's death, began fighting amongst themselves for power, returning to their old ways. This infighting could have allowed the Hiigarans and any remaining Galactic Council nations to push the fractured and weakened Vaygr far back into the East, returning them to whence they came.