\| Divided Paths |/ - Chapt. 3 - Resolute - Biome (IC)

Jex looked up at Relthar longingly, and then back down at the floor; he then began to recount his tale.

"I undertook this intelligence operation onboard the Eternal Devotion as part of a way to determine who was involved in Xavez K'roneques' plans, and who was not. Unfortunately, events escalated very, very quickly, and what I heard from my contact- you know who he is - is that I was being suspected of aiding the enemy, of being a traitor, due to the unexpected ferocity and strategic cunning with which the Federation uprising began. I was not a traitor to the Jorro'kil Free Absolute, but the punishment for the crime I was suspected of was death. And so, my contact advised me to stay onboard the Eternal Devotion until he could resolve any suspicions of my character. And so, I have waited."

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In response to Silus's query, the Councilor formed a fitting response. "If I remember correctly- and I always do -there was an incident on Sethega, where a Krathunian operation was taken down very swiftly, almost slaughtered, by a small, elite team of soldiers. Any new Order could not be modeled after the former.. but the latter's skills is what should impress itself upon the training of such a group of soldiers. To surpass the Zealots without extreme physical, technological, and mental superiority, you must train from a young age, with total devotion."

"The children of our people are what we need."

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((Posts in response to Random and Alim coming soon))

Kias paused a moment. He needn't give too much information away, and settled on good description of their ships' current location.

"We are on the fringe of the third arm of this galaxy. To us, this galaxy is known as Ravena."

Relthar nodded, looking away from the Jorro'kil for a second. "That would make sense," He muttered. "But now, your wait is complete."

A short amount of time later, the Steel Torment disengaged its warp drives and before it was the enormous Fist of Iasphen, a terrifyingly majestic ship. The starship was built to be both a mobile command center in the event it was needed as well as a brute force in battle, and was designed appropriately. Relthar's fleet approached relatively slowly from the side, travelling towards a large hangar that a multitude of smaller vessels travelled in and out constantly. After receiving the necessary clearances, they entered and docked the ships. As soon as this occurred, guards lined up the former crew members of the Eternal Devotion within the shuttle bay and armory of the Steel Torment, and lead them out into the interior of the Fist of Iasphen once they had organized in a single line, with guards alternating between at the right and left side of each person, one for each. Relthar stood at the front, with two elite soldiers at his side and Jex directly behind him, having two more beside him.

The group was only so far into the crowded hangar when they encountered a strange figure. A Ryun, hooded and otherwise clothed in a midnight black garment that concealed his identity, though it was clear from his size that he wore armor. On his back was a large, sheathed sword, which shifted ever so slightly with every step of his purposeful gait. Once he stood in front of Relthar, he saluted in an almost sarcastic manner. “Back so soon, sir?” He asked, grinning under his hood and the helmet it covered.

“We don’t have time for this, Vector,” Relthar growled, tilting his head slightly downward. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t left for your mission.”

“Silus delayed it until you were to return,” Vector responded immediately, holding himself with confidence. “He wanted to see all of them first.” He gestured towards the former crew members, observing them rapidly. "I'm leaving in a couple of days. There are many necessary preparations for something of such scale."

“I’m still not sure why he chose you to do this,” Relthar grumbled, shaking his head. “You’ve only been here for a couple months. Such a task would be better left to someone who is qualified, li-”

“Like you?” Vector interrupted him. “Your egocentric nature always gets the better of you, Commander. Besides, I am qualified, and even if I was not, it would not have made a difference seeing as Silus personally selected me.” Vector paused. “I should be going, I need to get my ship's cloaking device calibrated." Vector began to walk further into the hangar as Relthar kept the group halted while discussing matters with one of the guards, but the Ryun halted when he saw another of his kind. Approaching Corena carefully, he quietly asked, "Are you alright?"

Corena, somewhat surprised, turned her head and stared at the cloaked individual for a couple of moments. "Why?" She asked stubbornly, suspicious of this Ryun.

Vector shrugged. "You've just been through what I'm sure was a very traumatic sequence of events. Not many of our kind are part of the Alkisuns, so it's difficult to find someone who understands how our emotions and minds work. I thought it may be helpful."

Corena paused, and after consulting briefly with Mischief, nodded. "I suppose it would be good, yes," she responded, allowing a small smile to grow upon her mouth. Shortly after, she received a COMM contact request from Vector, though under a different name. "Wait, why does this-" She began to ask.

"No," Vector quickly cut her off, shaking his head. "I'll explain it later." With that, he left, walking with a brisk stride.

The group continued on, leaving the hangar and walking into an enormous center area where many crew members and soldiers went about their business. Relthar lead everyone to a large elevator, which brought them to a smaller, private floor.

Silus nodded to the Councilor's question as Relthar and the former crew of the Eternal Devotion entered the chamber. "Sir, here are the rescued members of the Eternal Devotion's crew," Relthar quickly stated after a salute.

"Excellent," Silus remarked, grinning slightly. "I am Silus Koluntus, the leader of the Alkisuns organization. Welcome to the Fist of Iasphen - we will discuss your next steps shortly." He briefly looked towards the Councilor. "Would you like to introduce yourself as well?"

Ariz looked up at Silus, a frown all over his face. Who were these people? Were they really being rescued? Or were they being captured all over again? Ariz could not bring himself to trust these people. There was definitely something. . . not right about them.

The Councilor stood, and as he did so, Jex listened more intently, waiting for what was about to be said.

Vais looked older than the last time Jex had seen him.

"I am High Councilor Vais Treiv, representative of the Jorro'kil Free Absolute." Vais' briefly glanced in Jex's direction, but made sure his attention was fully on the former recruits of the sundered Eternal Devotion.

"Shall we begin?" Vais asked Silus.

"Ravena? Hey its a better name then "Spinning Thing Full Of Stars"." Xerious said thus earning him a hit in the chest from his sister.
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Survivor sat there silently. He just wanted out. He did not care about any of these people. That is of course until he had a thought and rose his hand while moving his other hands mechanical fingers.

"Before we begin a long and boring discussion of stuff that I do no care for I would like to ask if we are being returned home anytime soon."

Ifka stepped back as another hologram blinked up, showing an educated guess of how the Xenoqqi perceived the galaxy. The term "Ravena" was familiar to her (many species referred to it as such, perhaps this meant the Jorro'kil were very influential?) although the "Third Arm" was not.

She turned to her subordinates. "Any of you heard of a Third Arm?".

An engineer raised her hand tentatively. "Well, some species back home I've met with say we were in the...6th..arm...Captain".

Everyone in the control room stared at the hologram. Several tiny pricks of light popped up across one arm of the galaxy, as well as one in the neighbouring arm counterclockwise to it.

Whichever direction the "Third Arm" was in from the supposed 6th, it was a long way from home. Ifka could feel the tension growing around her in her quills, an uneasy feeling bordering on fear.
"Everyone alert the rest of the ship to these new events and keep things smooth, detain anyone who tries to start a panic. And find my stupid brother, if he can't talk in my place at least he can prevent me from screwing up".

Several Xenoqqi saluted and scurried out of the automatic doors behind them to carry out their Captain's orders.

Ifka turned back to the leaders of the other ships and for once couldn't think of anything to say. The control room was silent.

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Gorth scratched his chin in thought as he listened to the announcer. He could hear the muttering going on around him, workers and troops alike discussing what could happen and how they should take the news.

Gorth however was thinking something else. Nudging the engineer in front of him he whispered "Hey Dregan, you got a radiation detector?".

The Xenoqqi did not turn, keeping his eyes on the speaker. "Yes, what of it?"

Gorth's eyebrow plates beetled in annoyance. "I need it. And next time be more respective to your superiors".

"Oh pull the other one Gorth, I kno-".

Gorth pulled out the papers the Field Commander had given him after her cigar. Dregan's eyes bulged as rushed words of apology spilled out of his mouth.

The elder Xenoqqi sighed. "Look, we've known each other for a while so just hand it over. Thankyou".

Walking away from the crowd and his flustered workmate, Gorth navigated his way back toward the central chamber, all the time fiddling with the device to what he hoped was the appropriate type and frequency.

The reading jumped. Gorth looked up to the sight of the massive Warp Drive hanging in its cradle of cables, its energy signature still being through the roof even in its standby state. Happy in the knowledge that he had the detector on the right setting, Gorth turned towards the rear of the Great Glutton. The signal dropped, but a small trickle of what could only be known as "warp" energy remained.

Yes, there's still something...

Following another wire lined tunnel, Gorth kept his eyes firmly on the radiation detector, each step from the Engine uneffecting the strength. After a solid 30 minutes of walking, the signature had not changed.

So, a trail of breadcrumbs. But who will follow them and find us?

Relthar glared at the Survivor, recalling his experiences with this particular person aboard the Eternal Devotion, and opened his mouth to speak, but Silus silently held a hand up, as if to silence the other Krathunian. "That is the reason for this meeting. Our intent is to return you to your previous location, before you were kidnapped. In order to accomplish this, of course, we must have information on these places, such as coordinates. Additionally, representatives of the Alkisun organization will be sent with you to accommodate the journey." A couple of soldiers stepped forward, and produced hardlight computers from their gauntlets, each glowing a bright orange. "You may input such information into these, along with your identity. Thank you for your cooperation." Silus grinned, as if he were planning something, but this facial expression did not reveal his motives.

As each of the unwilling attendees imparted the necessary information to the Alkisuns, preparatory operations were set in motion for the coming events. After a sufficient fleet of ships was gathered to the Fist of Iasphen, the aliens were separated for the last time and sent to their homes. As could be expected, Survivor and Avlex were on the same vessel, whereas the rest of them were on separate transports and would likely never see eachother again.

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Planet - Mivra
Classification - Barrier World
Location - High Security Penitentiary Alpha-C

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Early in the morning, a Jorro'kil civilian checked in at the guest checkpoint to the High Security Penitentiary Alpha-C. The Jorro'kil's name was Entheix Va'xal, and was visiting his brother, Xaein Va'xal, who had admitted to the prison on account of money laundering. He was given a pass with low clearance - It was all that was necessary, given that Xaein's cell was at an upper level, where the security was more lax, the halls cleaner, and the prisoners having done less serious crimes. As one descended in the prison, the sleek silvery walls are quickly replaced by something more grungy and dirty. The lower levels are subject to harsh conditions, reserved for the worst criminals.

Entheix wandered the halls of the upper floors, meandering towards his brother's cell. This was the last the security officers of High Security Penitentiary Alpha-C would see of him, however. Upon reaching a hall with a singular guard patrolling, who had his armored and uniformed back to Entheix, he did something that many might see as peculiar. Casually he tugged at the corner of his polymer jacket, and that section came off, reverting into hundreds of tiny nanobots. With a neurological command they flew off towards their targets - security cameras that had been built into the wall. Several seconds later, all of them with vision on the two Jorro'kil were turned off. Entheix walked with a faster pace towards the guard, and upon being directly behind him, reached into his pocket and used the knife within the slit the guard's throat. The guard, unable to cry out for help, fell to the floor. Death had come swiftly.

Entheix knelt above the dead guard. He knew from studying the patterns of the guards on this floor that another would not be around for a while, so he had time. With another thought, all nanobots present on his body that created the disguise of Entheix dispersed and then converged on top of the body, scanning his facial structure and uniform, as well as taking only tools that would be used in order to carry out his duties. The cloaked Ryun known to the Alkisuns as Vector watched silently as they did their work, though he wanted to observe it with his own eyes, not through his hood and helmet. The former was taken off slowly and the latter deactivated to reveal a face he hadn't let the Alkisuns see.

Netheun blinked several times, his eyes quickly adjusting to the light of the prison. The nanobots were done scanning, and he gave them another command, one he found morbid, but necessary. The machines quickly began to disassemble the Jorro'kil guard's body, molecule by molecule, and dispersing these until it would seem as if he had vanished into thin air. The process acted rapidly, however, there was a subtle stench in the air left over. Netheun, slightly disgusted, reactivated his helmet and commanded the nanobots to create another disguise. Seconds later, he had successfully donned another disguise - The guard. This gave him more freedom within the prison, and more of an opportunity to succeed in his mission.

The disguised Ryun descended through the prison at a casual yet quick pace, as to reach his objective faster but also to not catch the attention of any real guards. He passed through the security scans with ease. His disguise only worked until a certain level given the guard's assignments and clearances, though Netheun resolved this by killing another guard in the same manner and continuing. As he continued, the environment became grungier and clearly less pleasant. However, he wasn't bothered by this, especially given how rare personal interaction between guards and prisoners was. Eventually, he reached a silvery door with pentagonal panels upon it. He entered this room, and closed the door behind him, quickly sending out nanobots to deactivate any cameras and sound systems that could be present. As he entered the spotless, finely furnished room, a stark contrast to the outside of the cell, Netheun commanded that the nanobots disperse and form a cloud close to him. A disguise for himself would be easy to obtain, as he had more nanobots, but one was also needed for his target, a prisoner sitting in a chair facing away from him, one designated at #485C.

"The game is shortened," Netheun announced as the cloud of nanobots approached the Jorro'kil and began scanning him as to approach the best way to disguise him.

#485C arose from his seat as Netheun entered. His avian mandibles curved to form a very large grin, and he stretched out his arms to allow for slightly easier scanning of his body by the nanobots. This agent was very well prepared, but the prisoner expected nothing less. Once the process of scanning was complete, the nanobots arranged themselves in such a way as to portray the uniform, indeed the very flesh of one of the guards that they had disassembled earlier. They attached themselves to #485C's clothes and skin, creating a flawless disguise. Even the prisoner's scar disappeared, as what appeared to be epidermal keratin glazed over his beak, changing his features to that of the guard's.

"Excellent." He said, showing a profound satisfaction even with this simple statement. Total confidence emanated from his person.

"I trust that an identification tag was also extracted from-" Just as he said this, an ID tag materialized on his uniform; he wondered whether the nanobots could read his very thoughts, or if they were simply finishing their task. Whichever, he was eager to depart, and depart he did from his room, his prison. #485C didn't bother looking back. He knew his future contained so much more.


On the way out, after passing what seemed like dozens of security scans, he reached the surface of the prison, and the artificial abyss separating it from the officers' quarters, across the gap. Hardlight bridges separated the two sides. He strode across, confident as ever. Nothing, it seemed, would halt him.

After passing through the officers' quarters, as well as the barracks, he came to the edge of an aircraft platform. There, he saw Netheun, acting very casual. The Ryun beckoned to him, and he complied, walking up to the platform, where a small shuttle awaited them.

Freedom.

Survivor and Avlex were dropped off at a colony on the outer rim of Xliveien territory when they took a shuttle back to Xion. They both stared out the window when the planet came into view. Xion was a giant world of great forests that are visible from space but the best view are its two rings that orbit diagonally and form into an X shape at the center of the planet. In this center is the Xio-long Space Station the home of the External affairs side of the government know as the Tribunal. When they arrived all Avlex and Survivor did was nod to each other as the went separate directions. Survivor went to his mercenary office.

While in there Survivor gathered up all of his guns, supplies and equipment and loaded them all into his second ship The Night of Xion. It is a sleek black personal ship that he "Acquired" after disposing of a rival. When everything was ready he plug in his PDA and moved his fingers to then speak.

"PDA get me out of here. We have a much larger market to see."

With that the engines started and the ship left the station and into the unknown.

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Meanwhile in the Office of the Tribunal Avlex was debriefing.

"So you were captured by this Jor'kil federation and forced to work on the ship?" The member asked.

"Yes sir. Survivor had also been captured and forced to work."

"I see...Where is your brother now lieutenant?"

"I don't know. We went separate paths when we got here. Likely he went to his office."

"I see." The Member then pressed a button on his desk. "Security please make sure Survivor is on the station and in his office. I wish to speck to him."

"Right away sir." A voice spoke back.

"Now Lieutenant. I see that you still possess your sleeve does that mean other things from your ship survived? A vial perhaps?"

"Not that I know of but now that I think of it my brother was twirl a weird vial in his hands on the way here."

"Oh no..."

"Sir. Survivor's office is empty and his ship is gone." The intercom quickly went off.

"Thank you guard the office no one goes in but the Tribunal."

"Yes sir."

The Tribunal member then looked back to Avlex."Thank you for your cooperation Lieutenant Avlex."

Avlex saluted and spoke. "Your welcome General Rodox." Avlex then turned and left the room. A few hours later a message went out on all channels far across the galaxy.

WANTED: Rouge Mercenary Known As Survivor. Species: Xliveien Height:5' 10" Age: late twenties Wanted Dead or Alive. Price: Negotiable. Please turn in him or his body to the Xliveien Federation coordinates below. Note: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS.

Kias was silent in response to Ifka's hush. He guessed that this new information had, for the moment, caused them to reflect on how far they had actually come. All of the signs suggested that they were not aware of the distance they had travelled until now.

Curious.

Questions flashed through the commander's mind. Where these newcomers to the galactic community aware of the threat of the UFIAI? Had they ever been poisoned by the shadow of the Dominion? Would they be inclined to ever help the Confederacy?
All of these things were important to some degree, but they did not take on any form of urgency just now.

"I am permitted to allow either of you to return to this point and no further if future communications become necessary." He said to both crews of the Xenoqqi and Xliveien ships.

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"Um...Master Ranger sir. You may want to see this." One of the engineers said pointing to his screen.

Xernious went over and saw the wanted notice sent out by the Federation and cursed silently. He turned and went back to the holographic conversation and silenced his sister before she could speak. "Well future communications are now necessary because we are after a specific target and my government just put a bounty out on him. I would like to enlist your help to find him before any mercenary's or bounty hunters get a word of this. Trust me when I say that the merc population will lesson with him on the loose. Also if you so wish we can negotiate a price for you helping us catch a wanted criminal. Please consider this."

Ifka surfaced from her internal shock to the sound of Xernious' reply. Feeling her old self coming back, she smirked.

"I'm afraid that means we'll be sitting pretty until we get our navigation back online. Don't worry Captain Kias, we'll make sure we don't drift from this exact spot during the meantime".

Behind her the sound of pneumatic doors hissed as they opened. Turning, the Xenoqqi she'd sent out before entered, half dragging a rather dirty and battered Braaj behind them. An oddly familiar elder limped in at the rear of the group.

The lead Xenoqqi saluted. "Captain we have found your brother. I'm afraid it took longer than hoped to retrieve him as he had gotten stuck halfway into a ventilation shaft. Took a Stalker to pry the gap open large enough for us to pull him out, poor bugger was half asleep from breathing in the gas in there".

Ifka shot the semi conscious Negotiator a look of pure venom and slight concern before indicating the the old Xenoqqi, who had pulled a radiation detector from underneath his dirty poncho, and  started to wave it about.

"Who's the other guy?"

"Some..." The soldier flicked his gaze from Ifka to the holographic screen as if uncertain.

"I think you mean Task Master there" she said, nodding at the energy whip clipped to the elderly Slave Master's belt.

"Er, yes a Task Master. He says that he figured out a way to get back or something. I reckon I should-".

The Slave Master elbowed the Xenoqqi away and stepped forward. Before Ifka could reply to this slight, he pulled off a salute so sharp he creaked.

"Field Commander Gorth, previously...Task Master Gorth reporting for duty, our most illustrious of Captains! I believe I know a way back or possibly a way for someone to follow, sah!"

Kias shifted his legs, and folded his arms behind his back, and straightened his posture; his hologram conformed to his actions.

"I am not permitted to allow any tasks to be carried out in such unofficial fashion; more proper diplomatic procedures must come first. Both of your ships will be left with a way to contact us, but that is all. We must depart for now, but perhaps we shall meet again. Farewell." Kias deactivated the hologram, and it blinked off on both ships' holo-displays. An official COMM line and the proper code to access it was sent to the Xliveien and Xenoqqi ships. This would allow them to contact the Jorro'kil Free Absolute if they should want. Kias's ship soon activated its slipspace drive, and vanished from its location shortly thereafter. However, it did not leave without confirming that a fleet of sufficient size was in the area to act as defenders, incase these newcomers were actually hostile.

Xernious slams the console in anger before objecting the Jor'kil was gone. So Xernious just fell to the floor and groaned.

"You heard the alien...Lets turn this ship around and search elsewhere. Lets just hope we find Survivor before Survivor finds them.."

The Xliveien ship then turned around and started to fly off in a direction away from where they just were.

"Xernious will we find him?" Xalia asked worried.

"I don't know."

Now that the other ships had left, the Xenoqqi went back to a more pressing problem: fixing their Forge Hulk in a way that they could repair the practically melted navigation sensors and the shaky structural integrity of the hull with what little materials they had.

Ifka looked at the dataslate she had in her hand again. "Engines, shields, weapons and life support are fine or have been dealt with, so we're not helpless thankfully. If what Field Commander Gorth says is true, once we get everything up and running we can follow our trail back home. If not we can simply wait for someone to follow our trail to us".

An engineer raised his voice over the background noise. "Unfortunately Captain we are still grossly undermanned, at the current population Great Glutton has it will take a week or two for it to be safe enough to perform another jump".

Ifka turned to watch the tiny speck that was the Xliveien vessel. "And this is apparently Jorro'kil space, I doubt our new acquaintances would take kindly if we abduct a few civilians from their planets. We could go the other way, but frankly I'd like to stay here where we are lost and alone, rather than over there while lost and possibly blown to bits". She turned back to her mismatched group of pilots, engineers,medics, troopers and one old ex-Slave Master.

"Let's get to fixing then. Xarl K'iirdax would probably like to speak with the Jorro'kil as quickly as possible".

The Xenoqqi went back to their duties. Braaj meanwhile sat in a corner and batted groggily at the imaginary stars floating around him.

There was one unlikely eavesdropper on the conversation between the Xernious and Kias Ephan. A mercenary. Krevozs. One unknown to most, but still highly lethal. Likely why he was mostly unknown. Engaging his small ship's slipspace drive, he followed the trail left by the Xenoqqi Forge Hulk to its current location, and stopped, outside of its sensor range, to consider what to do next. He had gleaned enough information from the request Xernious had issued, enough to pique his interest. Now, he needed more information.

It was likely that this alien ship would have recorded a holographic conversation, one that Krevozs could not eavesdrop on. Unfortunate for them, but he needed it to have a preliminary idea of the Xliveien physical appearance.

His ship was simple and box-like, even deceptively so, as it had been outfitted with a complex variety of weapons, cloaking systems, and a slipspace drive. Small panels housed most of these items, and because of this the actual living space inside of Krevozs's ship was very small.

Engaging one of the cloaking systems, he gently moved his ship closer to the Xenoqqi Forge Hulk. He need only get inside and steal the hologram recording. Now close enough enough to the hull of the massive vessel, magnetic prongs slid out from unseen panels in Krevozs's ship attached themselves to the opposite hull, and finalized the parasitic docking sequence. Now the bounty hunter need only create an entrance. This was remedied by yet another hidden tool, burning blades which cut deep into the hull metal of the Forge Hulk, and slowly began to rotate in place. This continued until a hole, 12 feet in diameter, had been created. Then, momentarily deactivating the magnetic prongs, Krevozs used his ship's thrusters to neatly realign his own small vessel's entrance with the hole. Reactivating the prongs once more, he had achieved a neat and discreet doorway.

Quietly and cautiously, he stepped out of his ship's bridge into a dark alleyway. His full stature was concealed in the blackness, and he gently crept along the passageway until finding a suitable exit. He silently slid through a narrow doorway, and found himself in a corridor filled with dim light.

Something moved in the shadows ahead, and he quickly took cover behind a wall lined with metal pipes running down the length of it. It walked down the passageway towards him, footsteps growing ever louder.

A perfect opportunity. Swiftly and silently Krevozs dashed around the corner, revealing himself, and a large silenced ballistic weapon. He grabbed the alien and shoved it to the ground, and knocked it unconscious. He then dragged it away into a dark corner. If again it became conscious, it would be faced with a rather intimidating interrogation.

"Ravage, what part of the galaxy are we in right now? Where exactly is this empire that you have been alluding to so much? I do not see any sort of evidence that would indicate life." Rune paused, "Not that I am certain of what a life-bearing celestial body looks like, although I suppose it would have an atmosphere, plant life, and water?" He voiced the statement as though it were a question, though he was certain that he was right.

Since leaving the Majesty, Ravage had piloted herself and the two other life-forms on her ship: her adoptive son Rune, and her spiromander companion Xenos, into a completely desolate part of space. There was no indication of anything that possessed life. In fact, it didn't seem as though there were even any celestial bodies to speak of, regardless of if they could bear life or not. It seemed that there were not any bodies of matter in this part of the galaxy. It appeared to Rune that this place was a completely empty void, and having lived on a planet his entire life, he was far more conscious of the empty blackness than Ravage was.

It was not scary, but it was disheartening not to see anything, when space had seemed to be filled with brilliant stars and light from his perspective when he had gazed into the sky and seen them. The Stealth Strider revealed the galaxy to be surprisingly empty. Despite having read in old tomes that space was like this, they did not truly prepare him for a tour through the endless nothingness, which was almost comparable to a small bug trying to scuttle through the deserts of Thundaria. Stars were not as numerous as leaves were on trees. They were more like tiny pebbles in an endless sea of sand, few in number and scattered far apart. The spaceship was more like the bug, crawling around trying to find one.

While Rune pondered aloud, Xenos merely lay down in one corner of the room, patiently watching with his powerful eye-slits as the young Thundarian-Pavolite hybrid stared out through the cockpit window. As usual, he did not understand the point of questions, when his master generally knew what she was doing. He was concerned about her, however, as since the time she had gotten sick on Maouzhu, her scent had been slightly different. It was not a huge difference, in fact, even most sensitive noses would not be able to tell anything different, but somehow, Xenos knew by smell that his master's body had been made weaker by the disease.

Her muscle tone had also ever so slightly decreased, although that was not discernible to others. She wasn't healing as fast, either. Ravage by no means was wasting away. She was still far stronger and faster than her peers, or any other Chimerosu variant, but her body could no longer handle sustaining the musculature that had allowed her to do such feats as denting metal with something as simple as a blow from her tail. In fact, Xenos had heard her bones crack with the force of such things. She just did not notice, but he suspected actions such as those would now be avoided. He knew she knew. She couldn't fight all-out without serious consequences to her health. In the end, though, he couldn't do much more except look out for his master. So it was that he simply watched the creature she had taken in. There wasn't much more that he could do that would be relatively interesting. He was in a small spaceship. There were no other life forms aside from Ravage and Rune. That was it.

Ravage continued to stare into the void of space, glancing every so often down at the ship's controls, heavily dated compared to newer ships, but still efficient by all means. She didn't turn to look at Rune, but proceeded to speak, "Rune, what you need to learn is that not everything that exists can be seen with the naked eye. Even Xenos isn't aware of what's out here, and he has the best eyesight out of any of us. Even though he can clearly see through the cockpit window, he doesn't realize where we are." At this statement, Xenos lifted his head, tilting it and giving a confused growl, as though wondering what he was missing that she was indicating. He now proceeded to closely stare out the window, as though straining now to find it. He whined when he couldn't find anything.

Rune looked at his adoptive mother, "You mean that there is something out here that not even a spiromander can see?" He asked, somehow surprised, despite the fact that the Stealth Strider could conceal itself and never be detected. He had presumed there was nothing out here, but there was something, after all?

Ravage nodded, "Well, the Werean don't like alien races visiting them. In fact, they would prefer it if we didn't even know that they existed. We're so-called 'inferior races' and they frown upon the fact that we can't avoid going to war with each other. They consider it petty, and they regard us as bad news because if we become involved with them, then they'll get tugged into it. The fact is, though, a war with them would be more like a massacre. They don't go to war, but they'll kill people who don't treat them with respect." She tapped one of her feet, the long, curved black talons clicking on the sleek black floor. "In a nutshell, since we wouldn't leave them alone if we knew where they were, they decided to go into hiding, and they made sure that nobody would find them, unless they wanted to be found. Their whole empire is cloaked, and there isn't much hope that anyone will ever figure out how to see past it."

Rune stiffened, "There's an empire out here?" He asked, dumbfounded, this time. "How could someone hide a planet or a star? Is that even possible?"

Ravage nodded, "It is, but don't ask me how they do it. The only reason I know that they're around this area is because someone took an interest in my ship. They still acted like I was an inferior being, but I guess it's supposed to be an honor to be acknowledged at all."

Rune paused, staring at the blank space outside with a new look, "Ravage, why exactly are you doing this? What is this Werean like, that you're adopting. If he is going to be my brother, should I not know a bit about him?" He frowned, "It has been confusing me, you said at first that he might even physically harm you, and suddenly you started making statements as though you pitied him. You said he was being abused. First you would adopt him to destroy the Liirlith, and only for that one reason, and now you say you will adopt him to give him the opportunities that he did not have. You have spoken from two very different extremes about this individual."

Ravage was silent for a long time, before speaking, "The Werean are a very unique species, Rune. In fact, while I am very certain that he was a boy when I met him, he could have turned into a girl while I was gone. He might have turned into a girl and back multiple times, or he might have never changed at all. It is a very uncertain thing. As if to add to the confusion, he acts very strange, in general. Males act like males, and females act like females among their kind, but it is not easy to distinguish what this child is by his behavior, or even by his appearance. I could not look at his physical person and tell you for certain what he was, nor could I easily judge by behavioral patterns."

Her face tightened with concern, "He generally acted cheerful, when I met him, and it seems that he constantly craves the attention of others. He became jealous rapidly whenever I looked at a child other than him, even though at the time, I was not considering that there was even a possibility of me adopting one of them. He would act playful, and then suddenly experience a dramatic mood swing. He would become dark and somehow hateful, and make statements that I imagine were filled with profane or improper speech in the Werean tongue, judging by the reactions of the adults around him. He did so regardless of who was around him, and was almost amused by their shock, it seemed. He also quickly got bored with messing with them. He seemed to enjoy that anyone would focus on him, even if it was because of something negative that he did."

She shook her head, "He is both tragically unlikeable among his kind, but also someone to be pitied and treated with kindness. I feel that he was abused, for he did possess numerous marks on the undersides of his fins, like whips, as though he had been physically beaten. He tries to act like a normal child, but that seems to be a weak attempt at concealing an emotional and mental wound that I fear was neglected for far too long. I doubt there is any hope of him leading a normal life, but a life among so-called 'inferior races' would be better for him than a life among his own kind who alienate him. In truth, he wanted me to take him with me when I visited the household of his caretaker."

Rune perched on the heavy reinforced metal chair, meant to hold a Svangar, though it served its purpose well as a place for him to crouch down in his general unusual, hunched posture, "What do you mean, he wanted you to take him with you?" He asked. Xenos, too, seemed interested, for the spiromander looked at his master intently.

Ravage's mane ruffled and smoothed back down, "When I was following the Werean family through the halls of their spaceship, I had thought that the children were all swimming through the water pipes that ran through it. They are an aquatic race, so their ship was a combination of chambers filled with either water or air, and pathways of a similar nature. There were holes in the flooring that they could dive through, and I had thought all the children were leaving through them." She had a distant look in her eyes, "When I was following the adults, I felt a wet tentacle and suction cubs wrapping around my arm, and I was pulled aside when the caretakers were not looking. He looked up at me, and tilted his head, with a plaintive look on his face, he said, 'When you leave, will you take me with you? I don't want to stay here.' He then tilted his head in the other direction, 'I can help you beat the enemies you were talking about. It doesn't bother me if you fight. I'm smarter than them.'

"I didn't quite know what it meant, but I began to turn down the request, when he urged me again, and tightened his grip around my arm to the point that it began to go numb. 'I don't like it here.' He said, before calling the others something that I imagine was a profane term. I won't repeat it. I tried to turn him down a second time, but finally, his eyes began to water, and as though desperate, he pleaded, 'Please don't leave me here.' He begged me, and his grip was so tight that I knew that it was causing bruises, if it wouldn't shatter the average person's bones. I told him calmly that he was hurting me, and he let go as though he had been burned. He went over to the entrance of a water pipe and looked back at me with the look of someone who had been beaten, and said, 'They'll let you take me. They never wanted me. They never wanted me.' he proceeded to break down, and dove into the water to hide the fact that Werean could shed tears."

Ravage shook her head, "I never considered adopting him, but for his sake, I was willing to ask. As it turned out, they would gladly give him to me. They considered him unworthy to be among them." She seemed to visibly grieve, "I was a cold, unfeeling thing in the past, blind to the fact that he was desperate to escape those people. He would go with something he should have viewed as below him, if he could escape his tormentors. When I left, they told me that the offer to take him with me would always be extended, and that I could come back and take him if I had a change of heart. Two years later, I did, and now we're here."

Rune tilted his head, "How old is he?" He asked.

Ravage thought before she answered, "I suspect roughly fourteen Krylonian years. Three years younger than you."

She looked out the window, "We're here." She said.

Xenos and Rune looked out the window, "I don't see anything," he said, and the spiromander whined from where he sat, confused.

Ravage reached over to a hidden control panel, and pulled out a strange-looking device that seemed to be completely seamless, despite the fact that it must have had some purpose It was a flattened egg-shape, with a single nub protruding from it, though this nub seemed to be like the shape of a tendril of sorts. Ravage tapped with a single talon on it for awhile, before the device clicked, and a white glow emitted from its heart. Lines appeared on it, and finally, it produced a single tone, before the slits slammed shut and it retained its glow.

Nothing happened.

Rune looked at the device, "What is that?" He asked.

"A beacon that only one spaceship can respond to." She said. "Now we just have to wait here for a bit." She said.



When it had appeared, the Werean spaceship was so strange in design, and so large compared to the Stealth Strider, that to gaze at it from the cockpit window made one such as Rune feel slightly nauseated. He then remembered that he did not want his true identity to be seen, but Ravage stopped him from putting on a disguise, "They won't tell anyone who you are. They could care less what species we are or what we look like." She said. As the massive ship loomed before them, an airlock opened, and Ravage maneuvered the ship inside. They parked, and, once the airlock had been closed, and the chamber filled with air, a tunnel at the end of it opened, and a strange creature emerged.

With bright green skin and a purple face and belly, this creature had a long, narrow snout and a series of crown-like frills on its head and neck. It had fins, but they looked more like wings, or more properly, tentacles connected by a small degree of webbing. There were five tentacles on each fin, making ten in all. There was a flat tail that swished up and down, clearly like something that had evolved backwards and returned to the see after moving on land, and a series of suction-feet worked in conjunction with muscles meant for most legless things. It seemed to glide across the floor, for it was clearly built for the water as a primary home, not land. It was big, but only came up to the joint in a Chimerosu's leg, if one measured the height. The creature approached, and then swiftly raised its upper body, turning its head from side to side to inspect them, revealing bright blue marks on the sides of its first set of frill-like gills. A set of golden wave-shaped eyes scanned the two, though this made the facial expression hard to read.

Finally, the creature seemed to give them a disapproving sound, and in a female voice, immediately spoke in a derogatory manner, "So, after so long you finally make the decision to take the eyesore from us. How could I not remember having to speak to such an inferior thing? How is it that I must even be forced to utter the ridiculous tongue you all consider to be spoken throughout the galaxy? It is an ugly language! Pah, all your languages are hideous. They assault me with loud syllables that would make an unhatched grist of young cry. I would not speak it at all, were you not such inferior creatures that you could not simply learn Werean tongue like well-bred things!"

She then turned to look at a larger group gathering at the other end of the hall, many smaller than the female, and all various different colors, safe for a specific feature. Some had blue gill-spots, others had red gill-spots. Rune noticed that regardless of color, they seemed to have a faint bioluminescent glow to them, which was probably only prominent in the dark. When one noticed him staring at it, the Werean bared a series of small, yet very sharp-looking teeth at him, and the glow from beneath the brightly-colored skin abruptly stopped, and darkened to black. Rune quickly looked away, and the offense was then overlooked, though the Werean whispered something to its fellow next to it, and they chuckled. So they had glowing spots on their faces, and they could stop the glow and change their skin color at will, it seemed.

"I don't want to bother with another tour and entertaining guests such as these. Where is Querois? Bring that ragamuffin here! The Chimerosu female has come to take the creature with her, and good riddance to him and you alien scoundrels both! Why did I ever allow you to meet with us? Oh, yes, I forgot, you are clever for building such interesting ships. Good job! There, you've been congratulated, happy?" Ravage, as though to appease the female, lowered her beak, and gave Rune a look commanding him to do the same.

The Werean female gave them a pompous pause, before giving a 'hmph!' sound, "Well, I suppose you aren't complete savages." She said, though it was a sparing take-back of her previous volley of insults. Perhaps talking to the aliens simply put her in a rotten mood.

The crowd at the end of the airlock parted, and a Werean, smaller than the others by a visible margin slowly slid across the floor and up to Ravage. He was pure black, and unlike everyone else, seemed to possess no natural spectrum color at all. He was completely black, though a few yellow spots appeared and vanished briefly, as though he did possess the power to change color, but his natural appearance when he was not changing was not colorful at all. What was notable, was that he did not possess either red or blue patches on his gills. It seemed, when there were whispers from the group behind him followed by muted laughter, that this Werean Querois was some sort of anomaly for his lack of coloration. His eyes, instead of being a bright gold color like the others, were a metallic silver, as well. He looked unique compared to the others, what Rune had observed to be melanism in his pigmentation, or, rather, a darker coloration than what was natural. There was a faint glow from where his gill spots should have been, somehow it would show through his skin.

Querois rose up, and looked at Ravage, before giving her and Rune a sharp-toothed smile. When he saw Xenos, he gave one to the spiromander that was hiding in the spaceship, as well, causing the animal to whine with confusion. It made no sense, for it looked somewhat threatening, with a mouth full of teeth such as those, though they were not gigantic, serrated, nor like needles in appearance. He turned and gave a low, well-practiced bow to the group, something that would have been hard to do, considering that his center of gravity was in the upper part of his body.

"I would like to thank all of you for taking such good care of me throughout the years,” He said, though when he made such a statement, sounding so heartfelt, it seemed to make the others feel disturbed.

“Freak!” one of the others screeched, to a chorus of laughter.

“Yes, I would very much like to thank you.” His face turned dark, “Now, go and rot in a filthy Jenggui pit.” He hissed.

The female who had greeted the group was not amused. “Leave,” she said, before ushering everyone out of the room. When everyone had left, Querois turned to look at Ravage, “I knew that they let us leave quickly. Let’s go!” He then proceeded to go inside of the Stealth Strider, past Xenos, who gazed at him with a look of complete confusion.

Rune, who could not believe the exchange he had just witnessed, looked up at Ravage in mute shock. Ravage just sighed, shook her head, and walked back into the ship, “Let’s just head back.” She said.

The Navigation Sensory Array was well underway in being rebuilt. Ifka was thankful for that news, as the undertaking had taken nearly all of Great Glutton's resident Stalker Drones as well as a couple of Prowlers, machines that would have been better stationed on the hull repairing any structural damage.

Ifka placed her helmet over her head again. An engineer had finally reattached the cables to the ceiling socket as the final repair in the control room, enabling the Captain to once again see the entirety of her ship.

Or it would if half the feeds weren't just static. Ifka cursed under her breath as she removed the helmet. "Someone get an unassigned team down at the far west wing, the damage to the surveillance is worst there".

Braaj had finally come to senses and now paced the length of the room, dataslate in hand. "W-we have a group-p-p that's just f-finished fixing a b-b-bent eng-g-gine turbine near there, I'll get them t-to head to west wing. G-g-going ac-cross the hull would be q-quicker, wouldn't-t you say s-sister?"

"Sure, the quicker they get there the sooner I can keep an eye on the other repairs".

______________________________________________________________________


Trooper Jelx opened his eyes a fraction, his mind initially scattered from the blow. Why was he lying in a corner? How long had he been out?

In bleary eyed confusion he quickly patted himself down, searching for his kit. Knife? Gone. Pistol? Gone. Comms gauntlet? That too. He knew his Plasma Carbine was missing as well, the blocky gun was after all not easy to overlook.

His mind clearing, he noticed the figure standing in front of him, hidden partially in the shadows. The creature was clearly not Xenoqqi, the head and body structure being completely wrong. Beside it Jelx's gear was neatly disassembled on the floor, down to the last bolt.

Panic gripped him. The ship was damaged, undermanned and the figure had the stance of a trained killer. He wanted to shout, scream, anything to alert someone to the intruder that had got in when Great Glutton was at its weakest.

Scrounging up what little strength he had, he could only manage a strangled hiss...

The figure did not step forth, nor did it make any motion for some time. Krevozs used this tactic from time to time, when the situation allowed for it. He would remain silent to generate curiousity in his captive as to whether he would kill them or not, and to make them doubt if he intended to do what they expected.. if not that he was going to kill them.

Then, he spoke.

"Tell me where the bridge of this vessel is located. Tell me quickly." And that was the nature of Krevozs. As little dialogue as he could require, and to the point. Very rarely could one expect him to make a monologue, and if he did so it was likely because he was going to release the individual to whom he would be speaking. He found little sense in drawn out conversation before death. No release to give his prey more time than benefited the mercenary.

Whether or not he was going to kill this alien, Krevozs had yet to decide. He considered that these 'Xenoqqi' had just come into contact with his own people (whom he avoided) and that if his species were to be discovered, the Free Absolute might suffer some unjust retribution. As ruthless as he was, Krevozs hated injustice, for he was a victim of it. Despite his alienation from his own race, he was not willing to provoke harm towards a government which had done nothing against him.

Then, there was also to consider his physical form. In his full combat skin, and considering his full stature, it would be perhaps difficult to make the correlation between him and the Jorro'kil which the Xenoqqi on the bridge must have seen via hologram.

The decision would come to him soon enough.

Survivors ship approached an unknown planet but kept its distance. He was cautious about approaching any planet ever since he got a message about a bounty on him. He sat there as he had his ship do a scan.

"If it is safe move in. I can let the federation find the vial. It will ruin them. I also don't want anyone to find me but if they do. They will have a tough fight."

The ship finished the planet scan and moved in. Guess the planet was safe enough. For him at least.

The heavy stone doors, carved from the mountains of Sethega itself,  marking the entrance of the leader of the Alkisun organization onboard the Fist of Iasphen were marked with two symbols in the ancient language of the Krathunians. The first, on the left door, was that of the Krathunian god of water, representing both destruction and vitality - A being that had attempted to slay his father, Krathun, for betraying the wife of the former deity. The right door bore that of the ancient warlords of Sethega.

As Netheun stood apprehensively in front of these, he called upon recent memories, figuring out what had happened to cause all of this. He had entered the shuttle with Prisoner #485C, and it had embarked for the Ryun’s personal ship. Netheun told the Jorro’kil that the nanobot disguise wasn’t needed anymore, and that he could show his face. The former prisoner complied. As he deactivated the mask, the Jorro’kil recited old poetry of his people.

Through dark of storm, through sting of wound, and truth of mourn,
Though blades impale, though hail falls unrelenting, though we come nigh to fail,
We push steadfast, as the morning breaks the black of night.

It was at that moment that Netheun saw the face of the Jorro’kil he was supposed to bring back to the Alkisuns. His emotions went into a storm of turmoil, of rage, as he recognized it. He was not just a Jorro’kil - He was a symbol. Something far more dangerous than the Ryun could have imagined the Krathunian criminals could get their hands on. It was at that moment that Netheun knew what Silus had planned, and why. His mission of infiltration was complete, but it was in his hands. He knew that he had to end it.

He shoved the doors open to find a scene that met the eyes of only a very select few. The office of Silus Koluntus was enormous, consisting of a large corridor leading to an enormous rectangular chamber. The walls consisted of stone and black metal panelling - scenes of war on Sethega hung from the corridor barriers. The actual office was furnished with a large desk made from the wood of the trees of the Sethegan lowlands, several massive stone chairs, and plant species native to the core worlds of the Krathunian empire. The temperature was frigid as to allow this flora to survive, and Netheun was thankful for his armor’s heating system. With a purposeful stride Netheun entered, walking towards the Krathunian who stood behind his desk, gazing into a digital display of what was outside the ship - At the moment, it was a large nebula on the outskirts of New World territory, known as Iolama.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Vector?” Silus asked as the Ryun came into the actual room of the office, his deep, silky voice flowing smoothly. He took a sip of a deep red drink contained within a small glass, a motion that occurred slowly, as if he greatly enjoyed it. Without turning away, he continued. “Ravena has given us many gifts… Above all is her extreme beauty. It is no wonder my people believe that the gods, the Vel’I, chose this place in our realm to propagate.” Silus turned his head slightly, as to look upon the Ryun with only his left eye. “Thank you for retrieving the Jorro’kil prisoner, and bringing him back here. I’ve already processed the payment. Your services are greatly appreciated here.”

“About that, sir…” Netheun used his words to mask the quiet screech of pulling his sword out of its sheath on his back. He held the blade in his normal combat position - his right hand gripping the handle tightly and brought up next to the shoulder on the same side, the point of the black sword tilted downwards, and his left hand outstretched. “I know what it is that you’re doing, and it will not be tolerated.” With that, he repositioned the sword as to allow for a downwards slash, and performed that action. However, the blade was stopped as it was about to hit the Krathunian, for Silus had outstretched his arm, a meter long blade jutting out of his gauntlet deflecting the blow.

“The Federation has no jurisdiction here, unfortunately.” Silus sighed, putting down his drink slowly and turning to face his opponent. “Ah, well… It’s been interesting, Netheun.” He lowered his hand, the sword sliding off the blade.

Netheun pulled his weapon back into his combat stance, slightly shocked. “How do you know my identity?” He growled, pulling back his hood to reveal his helmet.

“It wasn’t too difficult to figure out,” He responded, his voice laden with growing hatred. “After all, there aren’t many Ryun with your… capabilities. Yes, I’ve known who you are for quite some time, especially since people like you tend to become something of legends, given your reputation. The Alkisuns aren’t completely cut off from Confederate media, you know.” He paused. “I expected this to happen, too. Perhaps not as abruptly - You still have a use in the coming months. However, it doesn’t seem as though you’ll feign being cooperative any more. That’s not an issue. Everybody’s time comes eventually.” With that, Silus, faster than Netheun could have imagined a Krathunian could move, leaped over the desk and lunged towards Netheun. His right gauntlet created a claw and the blade from the top, and the left held a pistol with several different triggers, each likely to have a purpose of its own.

The fight between Netheun and Silus was a whirl of blades, an affair in which both parties were heavily focused. Whereas Netheun made his moves quickly and with thought, Silus’ movements were precise, yet with a certain brute strength. At one point, the doors opened again, and someone watched from outside, but neither noticed. Only a couple minutes in, Silus pulled one of the various triggers on his pistol, and vanished into thin air. Netheun, confused rotated rapidly to see that dozens of hardlight copies of Koluntus had appeared out of nowhere, and these began to battle him with minds of their own. This stage of the fight was longer, and brutal, but Netheun succeeded. There was an issue presented to him, however - the real Silus was still not visible. Suddenly, Netheun heard a voice behind him.

“The unseen blade… Is the deadliest.”

It was at that moment that all the tides turned against Netheun.

The first thing he noticed after the initial shock was the long, dark blade that had impaled him directly through the chest from behind. It was frigid, the blade’s metal chilling him from inside, sending wracking shivers everywhere in his body. The second thing was his blood, splattered across his body and dripping onto the floor from both sides. His legs felt incredibly weak, and as Silus pulled the blade from his body, Netheun collapsed onto the ground. His breath was raspy, weak, and his thoughts completely clouded with pain. Never before had he felt it so extremely. Netheun felt himself began to fade into unconsciousness, but he could hear Silus’ voice above him. It was louder than before, and seemed to echo unnaturally, as if he were in some sort of dream.

“Unfortunately, this is not where you perish, Netheun,” Silus said, though to the Ryun it was perceived more as a roar, perhaps one of victory. “In my culture, the most dishonorable way to die is by your own blade.” Silus picked up Netheun’s sword from the ground, examined it quickly, and then let it clatter to the ground. “It’s simply not appropriate at this time. It’s not as… poetic. Besides, I really don’t need anymore of your blood on my office floor. Ryun blood can be difficult to clean up - So I’ve heard.” As everything faded into black, Netheun heard him say one last thing.

“Goodbye. We will meet once more, when the morning breaks the black of night.”