Zelvan Space
Edge of the Rathar System
Colony Ship 'Goddess' Breath'

It had gone almost completely without a hitch.

As rumors of star-nations that forbade slavery, that viewed it as abhorrent, trickled in through the comm-feeds and the ExtraNet, it was logical that some within a nation of decadent slavers would grow... curious.  That curiousity, spurring on long nights of learning and listening, would soon blossom into wonder and amazement.  The wonder and amazement... hope.  Hope that perhaps there was something beyond a life of subjugation.  Of being more than beauty slaves, laborers, or gladiators to serve in the Wise Masters' households, spice mines, and blood-soaked arenas.

That hope would only take a mere spark to turn into something more... proactive.

It had only taken a few words from a seemingly docile and servile elder to convince a rather dull-witted noble of the Regime, their mind addled from far too many drinks and psychoactive substances, to have a ship prepared.  'A precaution to move some of our people away from these barbarians', the elder Tvo'lek had said, 'safe from their heretical ideas and violent attitudes towards our ways.'

Each Tvo'lek that had been selected, nearly a million strong when one included their families, for the massive vessel was one the addled noble had been pushed to select.  Eager 'companions', jaded miners, hopeful gladiators and couriers... all they needed was a mere push.  And when the time came, when the lightly-guarded ship had left its berth and began its voyage into deep space, that push came.  The few Regime soldiers that had been assigned to the colony ship, not expecting what most viewed as a hopelessly submissive race to rise up against them, were quickly overwhelmed by the nascent resistance movement that had festered for years now.

Celebrations of the apparent victory practically reverberated across the ship, but not for long.  Now that they had the bridge, they had to run.  Run as far as this ship's warp field drive could take them.  Even if it meant supplies would eventually run out or being blasted to cosmic dust... at least they'd perish knowing that for a few brief weeks, they were finally free.

And when the Regime's patrols finally caught up to them, they all looked at one another across the many decks:  miners and laborers, engineers and physicians, beauty slaves and... 'companions'.  And they were content.

"Heh... we all knew this was likely going to be a one way trip," a former miner chuckled in bitter amusement as he looked down at the LADAR readings, his hands gnarled from years of gripping drills and stone.

"Don't give up hope yet, my friend," the de facto captain and revolutionary smiled in spite of his exhaustion, "just a few more cruises and we'll be beyond Zelvan space.  Even if they fire upon us, they won't break our spirits.  Not again."

Ce'na smiled as she tapped away at the navicomputer console.  That man's confidence never seemed to waver, even in the face of certain doom.  "Well, if we do go out in a blaze of glory, at least we went down as free Tvo'lek, right?  Maybe that'll convince a few more to do the same?  Maybe even create a revolution on the Homeworld?"

"Perhaps, Ce'na," the revolutionary smiled cheerfully as he pointed to the starry horizon.  "Lay in another course.  Ryccia, Pax Drakon, Stoinia, it doesn't matter.  We'll leave this den of suffering behind and make a new home!"

"Cham!  Regime cruisers have weapons lock on us, reading heat build-up at their torpedo launchers."  Another reported from her station, already diverting power to the colony ship's meager shields.

"Get non-combatants and children to quarters immediately.  Get all engineers and laborers ready for repairs!"  Cham shouted to his second, who rushed to a nearby comms console to relay the command.

"Uh... Cham," Ce'na looked down at the navicomputer, "We... we've got a problem."

"What is it, my friend?"

"Looks like we've got some kind of anomaly.  Right... on... top of us..."  Ce'na's words would trail off as she stared up at the viewport in horrified awe as the void of space thundered and cracked in front of the ship.  Like a lightning storm had briefly formed in the void before it ripped open into a churning vortex of shifting colors.

"By the Goddess... veer off!  VEER OFF!"

"All hands, brace for evasive action!  Maximum burn!"

The Zelvan ships, choosing the better part of valor in the face of this unexpected danger, were wise to retreat.  A few smaller patrol craft would not be so lucky, ripped apart by the shifting of space-time or vaporized by the strange lightning that crackled to life.  The Goddess' Breath, however, was far too close to even do that, it's refugee crew praying and laughing as they were pulled into a colorful, shifting void.  And just as quickly as the anomaly came, it vanished.  The void of space looked upon the sight of the chase, apathetic and silent as it always was.

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Drakari Celestial Imperium
Stygian Abyss
Edge of the Khar Drak System
Sinthari Hegemony
Harrower-class battleship Fury of Ragnos

The void of space was silent, as it always was.  Far from even the outermost settlements of the system, the only noise that seemed to reach anyone was the comms chatter aboard what the one of the younger Mansatzis crew had affectionately (though humorously) called the 'flying mountain of guns'.  Thankfully, the worst that recruit had gotten was a swift yet amused glare from his commanding officer, but that did little to hide the boredom that was slowly setting in among even the loyal Zukuru who maintained the ship.

For the ship's master, it had become aggravating.  She tapped at the seat of her command throne impatiently as she stared out at the void, a veritable mountain of muscle that stood tall even by the standards of her mighty caste, nearly matching a Sosa clan warrior in height and power.  Her raven hair tied behind her in a high wolf's tail perilously came close to coming loose with each impatient, frustrated tap of her clawed fingertips against the throne.

"A thousand pardons, Lord Qihtsa, but-" a voice called out from to the crimson woman's left, a voice she was swift to face.

"What is it, Lieutenant?"  She took a deep breath, taking a moment to get her frustration and temper in check.  She knew that many of the warriors and support staff aboard the vessel and its escorts were just as frustrated as they were.  Patrolling the outermost edges of a colonized system (one considered a holy pilgrimage site, no less) was not a glamorous expedition for her House or its forces, but a necessary one.

"We're getting strange readings on mid-range scans.  If these scans match up with historical record..." he looked down at his console and datapad, contemplatively stroking his left jaw spur, "then we might be seeing the opening stages of a similar anomaly to the one that appeared in the Terra Nova system millennia ago."

"The one that brought the Humans to this corner of the galaxy?"  She raised a brow spur as he spoke.  Perhaps today might get a little excitement after all...

"One in the same, My Lord.  At maximum burn, we can plot an intercept course to the anomaly when it opens."

"This does warrant investigation, I will admit..." Qihtsa furrowed her brow spurs as she turned to face the viewport before her.  "Helm, plot a course to the anomaly.  Full impulse speed.  Alert all ships to intercept."

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Unknown System
Colony Ship Goddess' Breath

Terror.  Elation.  Bittersweet tears.  These were the three things that all but permeated the ship as it and its ragtag crew of refugees and freedom fighters as they were pulled into the anomaly.  Cham sat back in his chair, his eyes shut and his smile faint as if he had accepted what seemed to be the inevitable end.  A island of calm in a veritable sea of panic.  His fellow hijackers on the bridge seemed torn between frantically looking for an escape or joining him in his content state.  Some wept, some sang and prayed, others remained silent.

For Ce'na, however, she could not tear her eyes away from the shifting and churning void ahead and around the ship.  It was... it was beautiful!  It was like the strange watercolor paintings in her old master's gallery, each angle giving new meaning, each flash of unnatural lightning signalling a new change in the ethereal landscape.  If this was going to be the place where she spent her last moments as a free woman, the young Tvo'lek would welcome it with open eyes and open arms.

The hull creaked, the lights across all decks flickered, the engines strained... only for a distortion to form ahead as the Goddess' Breath was spat back out into the familiar, black vacuum of realspace.  For a moment, all was silent save for the hum of consoles and engines.  For a moment, all merely stared at screens and viewports.  Until at last, the excited cries and shouts echoed across the vessel from the bridge to engineering, from crew quarters to the galley, from sickbay to hydroponics, friends and rivals and mothers and fathers embracing daughters and sons in what could only be described as the purest joy in a generation.

"Navigation," Cham whooped, "what is our position?  How far are we from Zelvar?"

Ce'na quickly typed into the console before her, her jaw dropping as the calculations quickly came to a close.  "Holy... holy shit..." the surprised curse slipped from her tongue, "Cham... we're... Zelvar's... Zelvar's nearly nine-hundred light-years to our galactic South-west.  That anomaly must have spat us out somewhere... hold on..."

The blue-skinned Tvo'lek and her fellow navigator cross-referenced all known charts, double, nay, triple-checking just to be sure.  "Woah... open a channel to the rest of the ship, now!"

The Comms officer did just that, Ce'na rushing over.  "Attention all hands:  we are in the Imperium's territory.  Repeat:  we are in the Imperium's territory!  If what we've heard is true, their anti-slavery laws extend to everyone in their territory!"  Again, the joyful cries repeated.  At long last, they were safe!  At long last-

"Um... we may have a problem..." the former miner at the helm grimaced at the sight of a split-bowed, wedge-shaped ship ahead of them.  "As the saying goes... out of the frying pan... into the fire..."

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Drakari Celestial Imperium
Stygian Abyss
Khar Drak system
Bridge of the Fury of Ragnos

Qihtsa stared at the anomaly as it closed shut behind the ship, leaning forward in her command throne in anticipation.  Officers and crew moved from screen to screen as they scanned the surrounding void for anything else out of the ordinary, gunners and strikecraft crew manned their stations should the order be given, and the Mansatzis, hungry for battle, tightened their grips on their weapons as they stood near boarding torpedoes.  "What have we got?"  The Sinthari lord turned to one of the pits on either side of her platform, watching a junior officer complete their scans.

"Judging from all scans and database references, this ship is of Zelvan make.  The merchants of flesh."  The junior officer, Zukuru from the looks of them, intoned, soon overtaking by the snarling of a nearby Mansatzis.

"Slaver scum.  I say we open fire at once.  Make an example of this filth."

"Are you mad?!  They've not given provocation.  Firing upon them without need would start a war we are unprepa-"

"If the Zelvan wish to provoke us, they shall get their war!  The Imperium has never been defeated!"

"SILENCE!"  Qihtsa rose to her feet as her yellow eyes flared, the two officers kneeling before her in shame.  "I will not fire without need, nor will I allow this Zelvan ship to go as it pleases.  Not if it may be carrying slaves and other unfortunates aboard.  Open a channel to its crew.  We shall see if they wish to test us."

A comms officer nodded, beginning the necessary sequences to broadcast the message across all known languages that the Zelvan share with the rest of the galaxy.  "Ready to transmit, my Lord."

Nodding to the man, the ship's master strode to the holotransmitter, her head held high in pride and subdued wrath.  "Unidentified Zelvan ship, whether by intention or not, you have entered the territory of the Sinthari Hegemony and by extension the Drakari Celestial Imperium.  As you are no doubt aware, your wretched practice of slavery is strictly forbidden within our borders.  If you wish to depart in peace, you are to obey my terms:  power down your sublight drives and all weapons you may have, surrender for boarding and search of your hold, and the seizure of all you hold within forced servitude.  Fail to comply, and we will respond in kind.  What say you?"

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Drakari Celestial Imperium
Sinthari Hegemony
Unknown System Khar Drak System
Colony Ship Goddess' Breath

The crew of former slaves stared at viewscreens throughout the vessel in shock and terror as the alien captain made her announcement.

"Ancestors help us... she isn't going to actually fire on us, is she...?"

"Is that a demon?"

"So that's what a Sinthari looks like..."

Cham looked around the bridge, fear barely contained as he nodded to the comms officer.  "Sinthari ship-master, do not fire.  This a refugee ship.  We are unarmed save for hand weapons taken from our former masters.  If you doubt our intentions, I gladly invite you aboard to see for yourself."

For what seemed like an eternity of silence, sweat trickling down many brows for the various Tvo'lek aboard the Goddess' Breath, the crimson alien would eventually nod as the video transmission came through.

"Very well.  Meet us at the following coordinates for docking.  So long as you do not deviate from the present course, you will not be fired upon."  The alien would cut transmission shortly thereafter, much to the relief of Cham (and quite frankly, everyone else).  Ce'na couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Wow... talk about a welcoming committee."

"Look at it this way:  at least we don't have to worry about the 'Wise Masters' anymore."

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Drakari Celestial Imperium
Sinthari Hegemony
Khar Drak System
Colony Ship Goddess' Breath docking collar

Ce'na gulped softly as she gathered with the rest of the bridge crew and several other refugees in front of the airlock.  She could not shake the feeling that they had went from one bad situation to another, even though she knew that the laws of this star nation would protect them.  "Well... at least we're not dealing with the 'Wise Masters' complaints, right?"

Another Tvo'lek scoffed, whether in amusement or disbelief at her attempts to be glib, none could say for certain.  Aside from the blue-skinned woman's attempt at humor, the corridor had since fallen to a deafening silence.  A cough was heard here and there, for certain, but those only served to highlight the nervewracking terror of the situation.  The Imperium had been seen as a beacon of hope by many, and it still was.  But this Sinthari... she seemed severe, stern.  All images of the founding species that had leaked through the heavily censored extranet painted a picture of joyous, festive saurians.  An image no doubt some were hoping to take part in.

Instead, they ended up in the territory of a fearsome client state of theirs.  A race of a frightening and nigh daemonic countenance, their representative humorless and--

-CHNNNK-hiiiiiiiiiss-

The sound of the airlock beginning to open took many by surprise, causing many to nearly bolt out of fearful habit of their times as slaves.  And through that yawning door, SHE came through.  She was taller than any well-fed Tvo'lek could hope to stand, easily half a head taller than the small cadre of equally spiky-looking warriors that accompanied her.  Sure enough, her expression was as stern as it was in the holo and yet... and yet...

Ce'na couldn't help but stare at this alien woman as she approached.  The way she carried herself with pride and confidence, the way her head-fur accentuating the spikes along her jawline and brows, the way those glowing crimson eyes pierced through each of them.

"So... these are those who wish to seek refuge within our borders?  Bold of you to make such a voyage with such troubles in the sector at large."  The alien intoned as she paced up and down in front of the gathered crewmates.  "Some might say TOO bold."

Cham, despite his fear, held his head high as he spoke in reply.  "When one is leading their people to freedom, boldness comes quite readily, Miss...?"

"Qihtsa," she responded drily as she regarded the man.  "LORD Qihtsa.  Though I shan't question your courage, though I must ask:  why should we trust your claims?  After all, the Zelvans publicly wished to subvert many nations into obeying them."

"I can vouch for my crew and those families who wished to set out with us.  I assure you that-"

"And how can you be sure none of them are spies in your movement, hmm?  How many false freedom fighters would sneak in like a thief, eager to curry favor with their masters?"  The Sinthari peered at one of the hastily assembled delegates, a former pleasure servant from the looks of her dress, who squirmed and whimpered beneath the red gaze.  Qihtsa knew that no one would be mad enough to try and purposefully lure their fellows into a random Warp Space rift, but she was Sinthari.  Mansatzis, no less.  Pride would allow for nothing less.

"Hey!"  The voice of a certain blue bridge crew member rang out, prompting the honor guard to point those strange crystalline polearms an some equally strange, wrist-mounted weapon in her direction.  Their commander would merely turn to face Ce'na, a brow spur raised in surprise and fascination.  "Leave her alone!  Can't you she's already scared enough as it is?!"

"And who might you be?"  The red ship-master finally spat her words out, hint of a smile not withstanding as she felt the alien's gaze wander up and.

"Name's Ce'na.  And no one here appreciates the allegations of espionage one bit, your ladyship."

"That is LORD to you, outsider.  Show some respect!"  One of the warriors snarled, only to be cut off by her Lord, who motioned for them to begin their sweep.

"And that's quite enough from you, soldier.  Go.  Search the cargo hold.  I expect your report within the hour."

The hulking creature, despite her reluctance, would nod as she withered beneath her glare.  Gathering up herfellows, she would move off with the rest of her team down the corridor, deeper into the ship.

(This post was last modified: 07-30-2022, 11:32 AM by Pax Dracon.)

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