What has gone on before...
A Declaration of Free Intent
We, the people of the Onyxian Commonwealth, bound to one another in righteousness and brotherhood, do set forth this day of our own free will and under the call of our conviction, to loose the bonds of oppression from our brothers, neighbors, and friends. We will right the wrongs of these past years, we will challenge the darkness which threatens to consume our light, we will fight these powers of tyranny which have cast their veil of occupation over those left behind.
We will return, and the Commonwealth will be reborn.
To the Galactic Empire, whose unlawful Occupation of our home has been permitted for far too long; to the Palestar Crusade, whose intrusion upon our sovereign worlds has thus far gone unchallenged; to the Galactic Coalition, whose fear of retribution has halted you from what is right: Onyx will be free, and you cannot stop us.
We claim only what is rightfully ours, we fight only for what destiny demands of us. Stand aside and you will not be harmed. Oppose our rightful claim and you will be struck down.
We are the Free People of the Onyxian Commonwealth. Nothing will ever change that.
Markis crushed the paper in his hand after reading it, letting the crumpled document fall to the floor. The Onyxian Officer before him barked out in indignation.
"What are you doing!? We are coming back to free you! You could be at least grateful!"
The Onyxian named Markis looked over at the clean and pressed uniform of the other 'Onyxian'. His eyes held no anger, only the darkened mark of quiet contempt. He put down his tools, and held up a cylindrical device.
"Do you see this Captain?"
"It is a bomb," the other identified, uninterested.
"Just as your vessel is just a spaceship." he retorted and the Captain bristled again.
"My ship and others like it are going to be your salvation!"
"THIS IS MY SALVATION!" shouted Markis, shaking the cylinder in front of the Captain. "You push a button on a ship and it fires. How does pushing a button declare your righteousness? How does pushing a button declare your loyalty to your lands and people?"
Markis' voice dripped with scorn, "You push a button and your ship goes. You push a button and it stops. A button sends you here to me and a button will tell you to go. Tell me, button-pusher, did a button send you fleeing from your homelands when the Empire attacked us?"
The Onyxian Captain fumed, "Now that is bloody unfair! They did not give us much time to leave.."
Markis barked out a harsh laugh, "What, Captain," he said the word like a curse, "You think I did not leave because I was not give enough time?! The Imperial fools could have given me centuries and I WOULD NOT HAVE FLED!"
Before the sputtering Captain could say anything in his defense, Markis tossed him the cylinder. "Here, Captain of Onyx, Blood of Blood with our most Courageous. Strap this to your person and prove to us your loyalty to the homelands. Here, sacrifice something besides the seconds it takes to push a button and let your courage and passion for your homelands echo into eternity."
"You bloody expect me to walk into an Imperial establishment and blow myself up!?" The Captain's voice had an edge to it.
"Rika, come.." Markis called and a girl, no more than thirteen scampered into the room. "Captain, Rika here has already taken the oath and she is ready to die for her homeland if need be. It is people like her that have been fighting your battles while you fatten yourselves back within the Coalition! We hear the Cooperative offered you succor so why are you here? Did you stab them in the back as well as us? Are you truly that cowardly?"
The Captain's words dripped with contempt, "We had heard you butchers were doing something like this but we could not believe Onyxians would stoop so low.."
Markis nearly backhanded the Captain, "You flee the homelands with everything and then, when we fight with stones and sticks for our freedom, you call us low? You dare pass judgment upon us? Upon dear Rika here who has been fighting your war! Standing in your place! Our people dying while you remained fat off of what you took from the homelands? Now, you are back in your ships and fancy uniforms and expect us to fall to our knees in gratitude that you deigned to push a button in our behalf?! You expect to lead us, Onyxian Captain? You and those behind you expect once again be our government until things grow dark and you flee once more?
You wish to lead us, then lead by example! Take the cylinder and prove to us that you are worth our acclaim!"
Markis saw the Captain's eyes gaze at the cylinder and was surprised to see a faint anguish in them. That the man really did want to hurt the Imperials but he also wanted to hold onto his life and, in the end, his life was more precious than the homelands he wrote about liberating.
When the Captain threw back the cylinder, he had signaled his death. It came quickly as the Onyxian natives learned the hard lessons of quick and quiet kills.
"His ship is small but it is beyond the lake," Barrog, one of Markis' lieutenants remarked.
"It shall be put to good use," Markis replied. "The Imperials will be off to sortie with these Crusaders. That will be the time to strike."
Onyx
The ship had exited hyperspace too close to the shipyards. Rika saw the massive unfinished warship being worked on in the berth as alarms began to go off...
Collision alarms.
"FOR ONYX!" she shouted knowing she would be meeting her parents soon.
The ship's met and a pulse of built up kinetic energy was released into the incomplete ship as well as the yards..
In the next minute, the Onyxian Shipyards were no more, the blast flaring up like the birth of a new sun.
A Declaration of Free Intent
We, the people of the Onyxian Commonwealth, bound to one another in righteousness and brotherhood, do set forth this day of our own free will and under the call of our conviction, to loose the bonds of oppression from our brothers, neighbors, and friends. We will right the wrongs of these past years, we will challenge the darkness which threatens to consume our light, we will fight these powers of tyranny which have cast their veil of occupation over those left behind.
We will return, and the Commonwealth will be reborn.
To the Galactic Empire, whose unlawful Occupation of our home has been permitted for far too long; to the Palestar Crusade, whose intrusion upon our sovereign worlds has thus far gone unchallenged; to the Galactic Coalition, whose fear of retribution has halted you from what is right: Onyx will be free, and you cannot stop us.
We claim only what is rightfully ours, we fight only for what destiny demands of us. Stand aside and you will not be harmed. Oppose our rightful claim and you will be struck down.
We are the Free People of the Onyxian Commonwealth. Nothing will ever change that.
Markis crushed the paper in his hand after reading it, letting the crumpled document fall to the floor. The Onyxian Officer before him barked out in indignation.
"What are you doing!? We are coming back to free you! You could be at least grateful!"
The Onyxian named Markis looked over at the clean and pressed uniform of the other 'Onyxian'. His eyes held no anger, only the darkened mark of quiet contempt. He put down his tools, and held up a cylindrical device.
"Do you see this Captain?"
"It is a bomb," the other identified, uninterested.
"Just as your vessel is just a spaceship." he retorted and the Captain bristled again.
"My ship and others like it are going to be your salvation!"
"THIS IS MY SALVATION!" shouted Markis, shaking the cylinder in front of the Captain. "You push a button on a ship and it fires. How does pushing a button declare your righteousness? How does pushing a button declare your loyalty to your lands and people?"
Markis' voice dripped with scorn, "You push a button and your ship goes. You push a button and it stops. A button sends you here to me and a button will tell you to go. Tell me, button-pusher, did a button send you fleeing from your homelands when the Empire attacked us?"
The Onyxian Captain fumed, "Now that is bloody unfair! They did not give us much time to leave.."
Markis barked out a harsh laugh, "What, Captain," he said the word like a curse, "You think I did not leave because I was not give enough time?! The Imperial fools could have given me centuries and I WOULD NOT HAVE FLED!"
Before the sputtering Captain could say anything in his defense, Markis tossed him the cylinder. "Here, Captain of Onyx, Blood of Blood with our most Courageous. Strap this to your person and prove to us your loyalty to the homelands. Here, sacrifice something besides the seconds it takes to push a button and let your courage and passion for your homelands echo into eternity."
"You bloody expect me to walk into an Imperial establishment and blow myself up!?" The Captain's voice had an edge to it.
"Rika, come.." Markis called and a girl, no more than thirteen scampered into the room. "Captain, Rika here has already taken the oath and she is ready to die for her homeland if need be. It is people like her that have been fighting your battles while you fatten yourselves back within the Coalition! We hear the Cooperative offered you succor so why are you here? Did you stab them in the back as well as us? Are you truly that cowardly?"
The Captain's words dripped with contempt, "We had heard you butchers were doing something like this but we could not believe Onyxians would stoop so low.."
Markis nearly backhanded the Captain, "You flee the homelands with everything and then, when we fight with stones and sticks for our freedom, you call us low? You dare pass judgment upon us? Upon dear Rika here who has been fighting your war! Standing in your place! Our people dying while you remained fat off of what you took from the homelands? Now, you are back in your ships and fancy uniforms and expect us to fall to our knees in gratitude that you deigned to push a button in our behalf?! You expect to lead us, Onyxian Captain? You and those behind you expect once again be our government until things grow dark and you flee once more?
You wish to lead us, then lead by example! Take the cylinder and prove to us that you are worth our acclaim!"
Markis saw the Captain's eyes gaze at the cylinder and was surprised to see a faint anguish in them. That the man really did want to hurt the Imperials but he also wanted to hold onto his life and, in the end, his life was more precious than the homelands he wrote about liberating.
When the Captain threw back the cylinder, he had signaled his death. It came quickly as the Onyxian natives learned the hard lessons of quick and quiet kills.
"His ship is small but it is beyond the lake," Barrog, one of Markis' lieutenants remarked.
"It shall be put to good use," Markis replied. "The Imperials will be off to sortie with these Crusaders. That will be the time to strike."
Onyx
The ship had exited hyperspace too close to the shipyards. Rika saw the massive unfinished warship being worked on in the berth as alarms began to go off...
Collision alarms.
"FOR ONYX!" she shouted knowing she would be meeting her parents soon.
The ship's met and a pulse of built up kinetic energy was released into the incomplete ship as well as the yards..
In the next minute, the Onyxian Shipyards were no more, the blast flaring up like the birth of a new sun.