Ivan Kal - Out of the Ashes

“Ah, child. You have come again?” The man said.

“Yes, Father.” Aileen said, she didn’t know his name, but most people simply called him Father, so Aileen did as well.

“Bless you child.” He said. Aileen grimaced, he always said such things when she came around.

“Here, I brought you this.” Aileen said, taking the bag of her shoulder. Inside were a few items, food and medicine, that she managed to get from the Ra’a’zani base.

“Thank you. It means much to me and these people.” The Father said.

“It is nothing, just a few things.” Aileen said.

“To us it means everything.”

Aileen stood there in an uncomfortable silence as the Father took out the items from the bag and arranged them on the table in front of him. She didn’t know how to act around the man, he always put her off guard. She remembered the time that she first met him. She was out doing an errand for Vit’r’an when she decided to take a short cut through the slum part of the city. And there she saw him, he was kneeling close to a little girl giving her food, and Aileen stopped to watch. After he fed the little girl he moved on to the next person lying on the floor, repeating the same action until he fed them all. Something about that stuck with Aileen, there among such filth and wickedness was this one man that was kind. She kept coming back looking at what he did for the people. And then after that she started sneaking food and medicine out of the base. She didn’t even really know why she was doing it, and yet every time the opportunity presented itself she would do the same thing.

“This will help a lot.” The Father said.

“I’m glad that I can help.” Aileen said.

“I just wish that there was something I can do to repay you…”

“There is no need Father.”

“You have my thanks, and if you ever have need something that I can help you with, you only need to ask.”

Aileen nodded respectfully and turned to leave. Before she left she turned and saw him looking at her with a thoughtful expression. Then she was out of the door and started the walk back to the base.

A few minutes of walking later, Aileen entered the base. Like always the Ra’a’zani paid little attention to her, the other humans avoided her, while the thralls gave her a sharp look as she passed. She made way to the chambers assigned to the humans. She had little to do these days, ever since Vit’r’an’s sire Tig’r’an arrived, she was left more or less on her own. Tig’r’an disliked slaves, so Vit’r’an rarely summoned Aileen to his presence. That allowed her more opportunities to steal supplies, but also left her bored. As an entitled slave, she had more or less free reign to come and go as she please.

She entered the hallway leading up to her room, but stopped as she noticed two other slaves whispering in front of one of the rooms. She quickly hid behind the wall, and then peeked out. She couldn’t hear them, but she saw one slip something to the other, then enter the room while the other continued down the hallway in Aileen’s direction. She quickly took a few steps back and started walking normally. As she turned the corner, the other slave looked at her but kept walking. Aileen reached her room and brought her red armband up to the door sensor and they slid open. She entered and swiped her hand in front of the sensor inside the room, closing the door.

Aileen thought about what she just saw. This was not the first time she saw something similar. There have been strange occurrences for the few months now. And even a few new slaves. At first Aileen didn’t pay any attention to it, she didn’t socialize with the other humans. But recently, she noticed a lot of whispering, and slaves moving around places they were not supposed to. She even debated reporting it, but hesitated. It was one thing to report someone that has harmed her personally, and quite another to report people that have done nothing to her. So she tried to ignore it. But her eyes were trained on the streets since young age. She noticed things. She could feel a change amongst the other human slaves. Something has changed for them. She couldn’t exactly put her finger on it, but it was there.

Aileen shook her head and moved to her bed. She had no reason to worry, whatever was happening had little to do with her. She had long ago learned the truth about their fate. Aileen closed her eyes and went to sleep. For the first time in decades, her dreams were not nightmares.

Dakar Vit’r’an – the Overlord of the Sol system stood on the bridge of his flagship, the Blood Claw. Looking at the screens at the far wall which showed his sire’s ships on their way to the hyperspace barrier of the Sol system. The other warships that were under Vit’r’an’s command – three ships on patrols in the outer system and the one that was guarding the mining belt – were with his sire’s ships now. No longer his to command. Leaving him only with the Blood Claw to keep the entire system under control. He wasn’t worried, humans posed no threat, he made sure of that when he took the planet. There were still cargo ships going from the belt to the planet and back, cargo ships that he now had a year load with as much materials as he could and then bring them to his clan in the core. As he watched the ships slowly creep over the barrier, Vit’r’an thought about the Destra’ka. The weapon has been transferred to his ship, primed and ready to be used. Vit’r’an’s feelings about it were conflicting, on the one side, he understood the reasoning behind the decision. If the this new race was as big of a threat to Ra’a’zani as it seemed it might be hundreds of rotations before they were able to come back, and the humans couldn’t be left unsupervised. But on the other side, he felt like they could make it work, the Sol system was very rich. It might not be anywhere near the output of their other systems, but in time it could be. In any case, the decision has been taken out of Vit’r’an’s hands. He wouldn’t dare disobey his sire.

Then the ships on the screen entered hyperspace, and were gone. In fact, they had left several seka ago, but Vit’r’an’s ship in Earth’s orbit just now received their light. A Ra’a’zani at the communication station turned to Vit’r’an. “We received a message for you Dakar, it’s from Elder Tig’r’an.”

Vit’r’an accessed his terminal and turned on the privacy field before starting the message.

“ Vit’r’an, before we leave I wanted to tell you that I have enjoyed the time I spent with you. I see now that it was not a mistake that I acknowledged you. And rest assured I will keep pushing things in your benefit back in the core. But make no mistake, while I am pleased with your progress, I will not tolerate failures. Make sure to follow my orders to the letter. And once you return to the core, we shall see where your future might lead. ” With that Tig’r’an ended the message. Vit’r’an looked at the blank screen thinking about what his sire said. It felt good to be thought so highly of by someone of Tig’r’an’s stature. But it also put a lot of pressure on Vit’r’an, he needed to make sure that he does not disappoint his sire. Elder Tig’r’an might be able to push Vit’r’an to the position of Rakar, but a word from him could also end his life. No, he would not disappoint. Tig’r’an knew Vit’r’an well it seemed. The message came just as he was doubting the orders given to him. No matter what misgivings he had about the Destra’ka, he would use it. Just like Tig’r’an ordered.

Sanctuary

Fleets Master Laura Reiss stood on the command deck of the station/shipyard orbiting Thanatos, one of Sanctuary’s moons. The station was finished just a month ago, and was a part of a major expansion of the Fleet. Even now they were building habitats on the moon that would serve as Fleet Headquarters and the Academy. It will be another couple of months for them to finish those.