[Inaius] The Great Unknown

[bootsie]

In the center of Atsalian space sat a massive floating station. This station housed the government of the Scientific Coalition of Atsal, including the co-rulers of the coalition, Cezara Aleksandrov and her brother Miles Aleksandrov. Cezara was a fierce ruler, crushing entire planets under her heel, while her brother was very calm and reserved, relying on strategy instead of force to keep the systems under their rule. Due to her being very vocal, many of the systems within Atsalian space were growing very tired of their government, and pirates and rebellions were common in the Coalition.

It was a rather peaceful day on the station as Grand Councillor Minerva Stavros made her way to the throne room of the two leaders. Cezara was lounging on her throne, while Miles sat very proper in his chair. To Cezara’s left was Governor-General André D’Gaul, who was in charge of the station and its surrounding systems. To Miles’ right, the frog-like chamberlain, Doctor Allen Genevia. D’Gaul, like Cezara, was very strict and ruthless, while Genevia shared Miles’ kindness.

"Your Majesties, this is Ms. Minerva Stavros, Grand Councillor of the Elara system," said Genevia, gesturing toward the woman in the center of the room.

Minerva had red hair that was tied into a bun, and she was wearing a beautiful white gown. Her people had spent months struggling financially. Decisions that Cezara made had backfired on her and her citizens. The Council of Elara had met just days ago, and unanimously voted to send her to speak with the leaders, and hopefully gain the support of Miles.

"Mr. and Ms. Aleksandrov, first of all, thank you for your time today. My people have spent months starving, working long hours, and selling much of their lands in order to provide for their families. As you both know, especially you, Miles, Elara and the rest of the system are beautiful places, but with the tariffs that this government has provided, my people cannot provide what they need to survive. My colleagues and I have found no other recourse than to come and appeal to you today. We as Elarans need to—" Minerva began, before sirens interrupted her.

"We have multiple craft entering our system, each bearing the Elaran emblem," said D’Gaul to Cezara. Both her and Minerva looked shocked, but Cezara turned from shock to anger rapidly.

"Liar! Dare you come to my home and offer peace, and simultaneously start a war with my government! D’Gaul, blast those rebels into oblivion! As for you, Councillor, I hope you enjoy being behind bars!" screamed Cezara.

"What?! No, I had no idea about this plan! Let me speak to them, let me ask them to stand down!" Minerva said, as guards came from behind her to capture her.

Aboard one of the Elaran ships, Captain Torres commanded her crew to begin the assault on the station. She had darker skin and long black hair. She was a maverick, and one of the best pirates in all of Atsal. The plan was to completely demolish the government of Atsal. The government that ruined her home, and killed her parents.

"The station has begun its fire on our ships, captain," said a woman’s voice. This was AYUDA, the Advanced Yeoman and Ubiquitous Digital Assistant.

"Thank you Ayuda. Prepare for evasive maneuvers," she ordered to the robot.

Back aboard the station, Cezara stormed out of the throne room, and began to make her way into the hallway.

"Cezara, Cezara...somebody grab her!" yelled Miles, trying to catch up with his angry sister.

One of the guards grabbed Cezara by the arm, and held her back. He felt her fair skin turn into something more scaly and green. She turned to him, and her eyes turned from her beautiful brown eyes to yellow and her pupils turned into slits. He heard a hissing sound, as he realized that there was a snake beginning to peer out of the turban her hair was wrapped in.

"I wouldn’t have done that," she said, grinning through her now-sharp teeth. The shear horror of the creature that Cezara shapeshifted into was enough to cause the guard to release his grip from the leader and he fainted. The other guards let her proceed without interfering.

"Get me my personal cruiser. If it is a fight these rebels want, then a fight they shall receive," she said before continuing down the hallway, her cloak trailing behind her.

 

[bootsie]

The fighters rained fire onto the station as they flew overhead. André had made his way to the bridge of the station, and began to order to the bridge crew.

"Make sure all emergency exits are sealed and focus all resources to our forward turrets. We cannot allow these pirates to board the station," he said.

"Roger that captain. Attention all crew, divert station power to the forward defense turrets. Begin the expedited closure of all hangar doors and airlocks, we need our station locked down," said one of the crew members, speaking into the intercom system.

Inside one of the hangars, the lights went from bright white to a dimmed red. Cezara made her way to her cruiser, which began opening its ramp.

"Ms. Aleksandrov, we’ve been ordered to close this hangar," warned one of the crew members of the station.

"You will let my ship through. I’m the commander of this station, not D’Gaul," Cezara said, angrily.

Miles caught up to his sister as she boarded her personal ship.

"Cezara, listen to me. We need to speak with the Elarans. We need to negotiate peace. You’re going to start a war you can’t finish," he argued with her.

The hangar door sirens began to go off as the doors unlocked from their positions and began to slowly close.

"Are you coming or not?" she growled.

Miles boarded the ship behind his sister as the doors to the cruiser closed. The ship took off, and was followed by two escort ships. As the doors to the hangar closed, one of the escort ships’ wings was clipped, and caused it to spin into Cezara’s cruiser.

Miles fell onto the ground, and he heard his shoulder pop out of place. He got back up and watched as his sister ordered the attack on the pirate ships, nearly unaffected from the rattling of the ship.

Aboard the rebel ship, Ayuda noticed the arrival of the two enemy ships.

"It looks like we have company, Captain Torres" she said, as the captain took the ship into a dive, knocking out one of the station’s turrets.

"That is Cezara’s personal ship. This is our chance to end this fight once and for all. Strike Team Three, follow my lead," ordered Torres.

The squadron began its attack run, and blazed through the station’s firepower. One of the ships was hit by a turret and spun out of control, exploding from all the damage. The escort ship began its interception, and took out two more of the fighters with its powerful weapons.

"Laura, get to the cannon, we need some backup," yelled Torres to her younger sister, who left the bridge and went to get into the lower cannon seat.

The pirate ship went into another dive in an attempt to lose the escort ship, but it was quick on their tail.

"Laura! Fire that thing into oblivion!" yelled Torres.

Laura looked through the sight, trying to get a good shot. The escort ship moved in and out of the sight, but was looking for a particular shot.

"They’re about to fire again, Laura, now!" screamed Torres.

Laura fired the cannon, and it hit the escort ship. The ship tried to regain control, before spinning toward the cruiser.

Aboard, Cezara’s pilot informed her of the incoming ship.

"Destroy that lead pirate’s ship. Our hull is made of only the finest Coalition materials. We will survive a direct hit," said Cezara, arrogantly.

The escort ship came crashing into the ship’s hull. Miles tried to run toward his sister, but the nose of the incoming ship pierced right through his chest cavity, killing him on impact. His hands turned into webbed fin-like hands, his skin became red and scaly, and his now-blue eyes rolled back into his head. Green blood began to pour from his dead body, and soaked his robe. Despite the loss of her brother, Cezara paid little attention.

"Ma’am they are beginning to board," said the pilot. Cezara growled, and the snakes on her head hissed.

The deck below, Torres and her crew began to flood into the ship. They made their way into the bridge, where they saw Miles’ dead body.

"Miles..." said Torres, recognizing her hero despite his transformation. She walked past Miles, and approached Cezara.

"Oh dear, it appears you have me cornered," Cezara replied, turning to show her ugly face to the crew. Many fainted, some dropped their guns, but Torres was unafraid.

"I hope you have enjoyed your time as leader. It ends now," said Torres, aiming her gun at the vile creature.

"I want to thank you for all you’ve done as a citizen of Elara. Take this back to your people," said Cezara, as she approached Torres. She grabbed Torres’ face between her hands and planted a kiss on the pirate captain. The captain was caught off-guard by the action, just enough time for one of Cezara’s snakes to wrap itself around Torres’ neck and began to strangle her.

Torres screamed as the crew began to shoot at Cezara. The snake released its grasp, and Cezara and the bridge crew were launched out of the bridge window, with emergency doors closing the windows as she was slung out.

"Leave me," said Torres to her crew, as she bent over in pain. Her sister came up beside her, and tried to help her up.

"Lead my crew for me, Laura. Kill Cezara and save Elara. You are the hero our system needs to survive. Leave me Laura," said Torres, beginning to cry.

Laura told the crew to follow her, and they made their way off of the ship. When they were undocked, Torres took the helm, and aimed the ship at the station.

"I loved you Cezara, but I never will love you again. You’re a monster, and I hope you die just like you live, like a coward," said Torres, speaking to her ex-girlfriend as though she could be heard.

Cezara’s cruiser sped up and flew toward the station. It exploded on impact and tore a gaping hole into the station. Laura watched the explosion from the captain‘s chair, crying as she watched her sister die.

"Entering warp speed," said Ayuda, as the ships left the space station’s system and headed back to Elara.

Cezara was recovered, and went back to her throne room. She was back to her human form when medics came in carrying four body bags, containing Miles, the bridge crew, and Torres. Councillor Stravos looked in shock, while Cezara began to weep. Her one true love was dead, and her ignorance had killed them.

"Prepare for a private burial for the pirate as she was an honorable soldier, despite her desire for rebellion," she ordered.

"And your brother?" asked the medic, a tad confused.

"A state funeral, as usual. He was a fool who should have remained in command of this station in my absence. Speaking of, bring D’Gaul to me. I must speak to him at once," she continued.

 

[bootsie]

André walked into the throne room to meet with Cezara and Doctor Genevia. Cezara was lounging on the throne, and Miles’ former throne was being occupied by the frog-like chamberlain, though it was pulled backward, as to not put the two on equal footing.

"As requested, Governor-General D’Gaul," said Genevia, gesturing to D’Gaul.

"Death of Miles Aleksandrov, destruction of my personal cruiser, and massive damage to the southern corridor. Your ignorance and the ignorance of your crew in this benign attack on my station has caused a massive shockwave that will fuel the rebellion to declare war on my government. From this day forward, you will no longer be commander of the station. All crew will report directly to me," ordered Cezara.

"Ms. Aleksandrov, there was a lot going on, I needed to do what I had to...", argued D’Gaul.

"Furthermore, your time as Governor-General has come to an end. I will be terminating the position as it conflicts with my role as ruler of Atsalian space. You will also be heavily demoted to the rank of Lieutenant for your reckless actions. I haven’t decided on your ship assignment yet, but I will have one of your colleagues, sorry, superiors, assign one to you. Maybe next time you’ll learn not to disobey direct orders. This meeting is dismissed," said Cezara.

D’Gaul was furious. He made his way out of the throne room, and into one of the elevators.

"Welcome Lieutenant D’Gaul," said the intercom system happily as he entered. He was going to escape. He had to. He could probably seek refuge outside of Atsalian space. Maybe he’d die trying, but that was a hell of a lot better than being a Lieutenant. He’d spent years getting to the Governor-General’s seat, and he was not going to try to climb the ladder again.

As he reached the lower levels of the station, he made his way to the escape pods. He set his course to the outer rim of Atsalian space, and pressed the button to begin unlocking the pod.

"Access denied. Please consult your supervisor for override," said the system.

"Access, access, access denied," it continued as he repeatedly pressed the button, hoping by chance it would let him in.

"Fuck you, Cezara," he said, putting his hands in his face and sitting on the floor of the station in defeat.

"Course set. Awaiting station override," said the system, before the pod began its unlocking process and began to power up. D’Gaul rose and approached the pod. Behind him, a door opened.

"I need you to go to Elara," said a voice behind him. D’Gaul turned, and Doctor Genevia stood in front of him. He was smiling, and he adjusted his round glasses as he approached.

"My wife, Valerie, could not come with me to the station. My work here is too important. After what Councillor Stavros said, I’m concerned of what has happened to her. She serves as a simple courier, but I’m not sure she’s been able to provide for herself under those conditions," he said.

"The rebellion is based in the Elara system, I could be destroyed within minutes of arriving," argued D’Gaul.

"Your presence will be of use to the rebellion. Their leader and their seat in the government is gone. They need to see that hope is not lost. Take this letter to them, as a show of your support. Now go, I must complete my inspection of this corridor before Cezara has my head," replied Genevia.

D’Gaul boarded the pod, and sat in its seat.

"One other thing, Lieutenant. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I need your uniform," said the chamberlain.

The pod doors closed as D’Gaul, now in a t-shirt and boxers, secured himself into the seat. The pod undocked from the station, and began to turn upward and away from the station. It began to speed up before it warped out of the station’s system and toward Elara.

Later that day, Genevia reentered the throne room, followed by two medics and a rolling table, with a cloth on top of it, covering a human body.

"My inspection is complete, Ms. Aleksandrov. As previously discovered, the southern corridor is massively damaged, and will require months to be rebuilt. The only other discovery I made was this," he said, taking the cloth off of the table to reveal the body of one of the bridge crew members, dressed in D’Gaul’s uniform.

"Your new lieutenant attempted to escape via one of the station’s escape pods. Without the proper override, the pod was launched without its doors shut, causing D’Gaul to be exposed to the elements of space. We lost the escape pod, but I had his body recovered for you to see," said Genevia.

"Another justified death. He chose to make another ignorant decision, and this one cost him his life. Leave him with me for a second, I have a few choice words for him before he leaves," said Cezara, and Genevia left the throne room. When he was far enough away, he smiled.

"The rebellion will come for you, Cezara. When they do, Atsal will be restored to its peaceful state," said Genevia.

 

[bootsie]

Elara was a beautiful planet, covered in lush forests and long-winding streams. The people were kind and very diverse. A large tower stood in one of the lush forests, the home base of the rebellion and the Council of Elara.

"Councillors, several of our ships are entering the system," said a man to the Council.

"Contact their commander. We need to know their reasons for leaving the system in the first place," one of the councillors responded. A hologram of a woman with short white hair and a robe appeared. This was Ayuda, and this was the form she took while speaking as a hologram.

"Hello, my name is Ayuda, and I am here on behalf of my commander, Captain Torres. We have returned from a battle with hostile forces, and many of our men are badly wounded," said the bot.

"A battle with who?" asked the councillor.

"Cezara and her forces, sir," said the bot.

The Council gasped. Their leader was aboard the station, which means she was surely captured, or worse, dead.

"Land your craft immediately," ordered the councillor.

The pirate ship landed out in a field, and the councillor and a few of his troops approached the ship. The ramp opened, and Laura led some pirates out.

"Identify yourself," said the councillor.

"My name is Laura Torres. Sister of the renowned pirate queen, Rosalina Torres. She was killed in the attack on the station, and that makes me the new captain of her ship, the Essensia. And who are you?"

"Councillor Boris Vidar. The second most powerful person in all of Elara, after..." He paused. The apparent death of Councillor Stavros could make him leader of Elara. He decided to change the subject.

"You are under arrest. Our leader is now in enemy hands, and your foolish attack on the station is to blame!" ordered Vidar.

An escape pod rocketed into the atmosphere and at the group. Vidar screamed, and began to run. The pod hit the ground, and bounced a few times, almost knocking into the Councillor. It finally stopped, digging itself into the ground.

D’Gaul stepped out. The guards aimed their weapons and slowly approached him.

"Wait! I bring a letter! I’m with you guys!" screamed D’Gaul. D’Gaul handed over the letter proudly.

"This is a joke, isn’t it?" asked Vidar. The councillor turned the letter toward D’Gaul, showing it just had five numbers on it.

"Is that a code or something? That means you’re a friend of mine in your language, right?" asked D’Gaul nervously.

"Bring these fools to the judiciary committee. I cannot believe you all. My planet is suffering and this is how you respond. You should all be ashamed," said Vidar, as the pirates and D’Gaul were escorted toward the tower.

Aboard the Atsalian space station, Dr. Genevia reported to Cezara.

"Admiral Derek and Admiral Edward of the First Fleet are arriving from their recent patrol. I will patch them through immediately," he said.

Suddenly, the holograms of the two admirals appeared. Derek and Edward were friends since they were young. Derek was the voice and brains of the two, while Edward was loyal and always agreed with his friend.

"Admirals, I hate to call you back to the station. I regret to inform you that my brother and your leader has tragically been killed by rebels to our government. I’ve decided to heighten security of the station, and with your ships being the two most powerful we have, it is crucial they be based here again," said Cezara.

"We are glad to be working with you again, commander. We’ll be entering the system shortly. The station will be safe under our patrol. We’ll let no pirates or rebels leave the station alive," boasted Derek.

"I agree," said Edward, smiling.

Cezara nodded and the holograms disappeared. She went to one of the station’s windows to watch the ships warp into the system.

The first ship to exit warp was a massive saucer-shaped ship. This was the Kharybdis, Edward’s flagship. She was capable of drawing massive energy fields that would pull ships toward the vessel and to their demise.

A second ship exited warp diagonally from the first. If the Kharybdis was considered massive, this ship was a behemoth. Packed with a extraordinary amount of turrets, missile-defense systems, and cannons, this machine was the crown jewel of the Atsalian fleet. This was the Skylla, Derek’s flagship.

Together, these ships wreaked havoc on any fleet that encountered it, and would be no match to these rebels, if they ever gain the courage and the power to invade with a large enough force.

Cezara cackled. Her dream was coming true, she would finally be in singular control of Atsal, and when she defeated the rebels, no one would oppose her and end her reign.

 

[bootsie]

When Captain Torres and her pirates attacked the station, it sent a massive shockwave through Atsalian space. Now was the time for action, thought Madruk Webster, the pirate captain of a rival gang.

A huge fleet of his pirates exited warp in swarms. Madruk’s ship led the force, one of the most feared in Atsal.

"Damn, that’s a massive ship..." said one of the commanders, gazing on the Skylla.

"Do not engage. Hold your position. Let them come to us," ordered the alien commander, Madruk.

Aboard the Kharybdis, Admiral Edward overlooked the bridge crew and the executive officer of the ship. This individual was Yamuna Eleni, a spider-like alien. Due to the massive amount of coordination needed to operate the Kharybdis’ massive weaponry, a human could never perform this task, and Edward had to rely on his multi-eyed assistant for help.

"Let’s split these guys up," said Edward.

"Aye, aye, captain," said Eleni. In each of her hands, she held a tablet, and with each she typed orders to the bridge crew.

Some of the pirate ships began to split either to the left or right and began to be pulled toward the Kharybdis in that direction.

"Hold off! I said hold off!" ordered Madruk, who was out of range of the Kharybdis’ weapon.

Aboard the Skylla, Derek watched the ships beginning to form two separate groups, one off to the port of his vessel and one off to the starboard.

"Push forward and take them out from the sides. Lower all forward shields to focus all power to the turrets on our port and starboard," ordered Derek.

The Skylla moved forward, and rained fire onto the pirate ships.

"Captain, we’re taking heavy losses," said Madruk’s executive officer.

"These vessels are too powerful. We were not prepared for all of this. Order a full retreat," commanded Madruk.

Derek noticed that Madruk’s ship was beginning to turn away from the battle.

"Edward, do not let that ship escape," ordered Derek.

The Kharybdis began to chase after Madruk’s ship.

"Commander Eleni, commence whirlpool maneuver," commanded Edward.

"Whirlpool maneuver, copy. Calculating proper angle of entry, we’ll have her momentarily, captain," replied Eleni.

Just as Eleni predicted, Madruk’s vessel began to get pulled into the Kharybdis’ vortex.

"Sir! They are pulling us in!" screamed a crew member to Madruk.

"Get us out of here! Engines at one hundred percent!" ordered Madruk, getting frustrated.

Madruk’s ship sped up, but it was no use. The Kharybdis firmly had it within her grasp. The ship began to spin rapidly around the Kharybdis, causing the crew to jolt to the floor of the ship.

"What is this torture device?" exclaimed Madruk, beginning to feel nauseous.

"Glad you asked, pirate scum," said Derek through the radio.

"Our ships are known as Skylla and Kharybdis. Together, we’ve faced many fleets, and many have had to choose to face the lesser of the two evils. Kharybdis is known for ripping entire fleets into oblivion, and Skylla is known for her strategic force," he continued.

He pressed a button on his uniform, and continued his speech.

"Shall you and any of your rebel alliance decide to return to this station, I will make sure that you face the wrath of both of my vessels combined," said Derek.

Madruk’s ship was shot out of Kharybdis’ grasp and flew past the bridge of the Skylla. Madruk saw Admiral Derek grinning as he passed by. A homing missile was launched from the Skylla, and followed the ship as it cleared the Skylla’s hull and began preparations to warp out of the system. The missile hit the ship and it quickly warped out of the system.

Madruk awoke to a loud siren. His ship had warped away from those terrible monster ships, but not without casualties. His bridge crew was dead. His fleet was gone. He had to warn the government of Elara. This was no war they wanted to start with Cezara.