Broken Ascendancy (Chiss Civil War part 1)
  • Posted On: Jan 5 2014 1:20am
Supreme Syndic Stela'shlit'nuruodo sat with his eyes closed gripping the Data Pad in his hands. He had looked over the order countless times and it never seemed to make any more sense than it did the first. "why now" me whispered to himself as his mind scrambled for a reason. Any reason this order would have been issued. The Ascendancy was hurt, torn and bleeding from the war with the Empire. The New Order had laid waste to many world in its attempt to suppress the Chiss. They had executed its leaders, burnt its worlds, and broken much of the spirit that was once the Chiss. Now as the Ascendancy gripped the edge of the cliff and stared down into the abyss, The end of its people and its culture loomed like a gaping maw  to devour it.

Lash opened his eyes to the dimly lit room he called home aboard the Vertikat.  The massive cruiser had hidden from the Empire deep in the Redoubt and survived the war. She was the last of her kind and with House Mitth and the Copero shipyards far from rebuilt, it would be a long time before another of her class could ply the either of Chiss space. His quarters were lavish and quite spacious for officer quarters even for a ship its size. He had made the room  large enough that he could hang the trophies of his hunting days  on walls and in cases.  Many creatures lined these walls, both large and small. Hunting cleared his mind  in a way little else could. He enjoyed the hunt and the thrill of being itched against a creature who hunted him as he hunted it. He put himself in the creatures mind, stalking  silently in the dark. Used its behavior against it. After all in the end that is what we all become. Creatures set to a genetic behavior and way of life, knowing how a creature lives and had lived for centuries can be its weakness. This included every sentient species of the galaxy, even the Chiss.

A chrono alarm sounded and Lash stood and walked to the door way across the chamber. The door hissed and slide open into a corridor where six armor clad Chiss stood at attention. He walked down the corridor and through the doorway at the other end onto the bridge. The Bridge of the Vertikat was fare smaller than most ships of her size. The Designers saw no need for a large bridge structure as it was only the nexus for a greater command and control center housed deep in the ship. The forward view port showed the blurred lines of hyperspace. The ship had left its berth in the Redoubt two days ago bound for Caitlia. The world was once the home of a grand Chiss House. Now the remnants of these Chiss remain as little more than drones at times to the Killik and their Joiner pheromones. The Chiss had to this point monitored the Killik and the worlds they had moved upon but had left them alone due to the Chiss populations of these worlds. Now it seemed the New Senate wanted these worlds and their resources once again. His orders were grim and his mission harsh. He could not come to grips with it and in his mind  he knew it was the wrong way to go about liberating the world. But his orders were clear and he had no way of changing them or the senates mind at this point.  He was set to an action he did not like or agree with. but it was an action he had been ordered into and would carry out all the same.

The massive ship shuttered and the star lines faded as the Chiss battlegroup dropped out of hyperspace in the Catlia system. The world and its two moons sat like dormant eggs before the Chiss. The second moon was moving around behind the world as the Chiss ship slowed and took up formation. The Vertikat sat in the center of the group  like a large alpha predator  waiting for his pack to move in for the kill. The four Destroyers took up position flanking the ship and as they slowed  the smaller escorts, corvettes, and monitors moved into place.  Lash closed his eyes one more time remembering the world as it was when he had visited as a child. Before the joiner plague had taken it.

"Commander, The Killik are hailing us."

Lash opened his eyes and looked out on the world once lush and full of life. A world of Chiss people, a world free and flourishing. Now it was a world of slave husks which though once Chiss were now joiner. And is was time for the passive peoples of the Chiss to once again become aggressor.  A race sworn to defense and non aggressive tactics sometimes had to move against the enemies of the Chiss preemptively in order to maintain the life non-aggression had given them. Lash turned and walked away from the forward view port. He did not wish to watch what was next. This was not the way Chiss, even those who were burden with the joiner plague were meant to depart this galaxy. So many souls would be extinguished and for what? The minerals and productive capacity of the world. He knew the senate would spin it as a liberation of a former house world. He knew they would tell stories of how they took back what was once a Chiss ruling families holdings. But Lash knew it was for production and selfish political scheming. He had to fallow his orders but he did not have to watch the villainy of his actions cast upon a defenseless world. As he neared the hatchway to his private chambers he turned to the Admiral Krint.

"Fire"

With one word the skies of Catlia turned into the gates of hell as two thousand radiation bombs rained down. Followed by key strikes from Mega masers and missiles. Charge nets spun out expanding around the few defensive vessels disabling them leaving the open and shieldless for the Radiation bombs to whip out their crew. The smaller corvettes and monitors disappeared the reappeared on the far side of the world micro jumping around the system striking key defensive targets rendering the world truly defenseless and open to the onslaught from above.

"Admiral, you have the con."

Lash walked down the corridor to his quarters once again trying to make sense of what he had just done. Nothing seemed right about it. He could not shake it in his mind. For now it was done. The world of Catlia was dying. Leaving behind its infrastructure and production facilities untouched and read to serve the Chiss. He imagined bodies falling around the world in droves.  A half a Billion Chiss now gone in a flash. He would not sleep tonight. He knew his mind would not rest until it made sense to him. And that was not something he ever thought would happen. For now he would read, try to push the thoughts in his mind back and keep them at bay until he could get the answers he needed. For now he would rest as he could and think of the world he had visited as a child and the people he had meet. 
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: Jan 5 2014 9:02am
Captain Vrier was not happy. “Happy” was not a descriptive generally attached to a Drackmarian Navy Captain, but it was most especially not attached to Captain Vrier. Not now, at any rate.


Never in all his years had the veteran officer so debased himself in the name of service to the Obsidian Throne as now. This . . . wretched hive of . . . scum and . . . villainy sickened him even to look upon, much less walk through.


But it was an Age of Warlords for Drackmar's Empire, and so he did what he must for the Throne and its August Lord.


The rabble parted like startled sheep before him, his mere presence sufficient to make way for those he escorted. Whispers crowed around him as he marched through the stone corridors of the asteroid complex, though they fell away with a glance of his slitted eyes. Even this far out, the inhabitants of this region knew of Drackmar and his Way.


The Killik delegation stayed on his heels, flanked by the honor guard of Drackmarian Raptors who had been assigned specifically for this mission. The political niceties of the situation escaped Vrier completely, but he understood that the Coalition Western Navy was supporting the Drackmarian war back in the home worlds, and that the West owed a favor to some other Province, and so on and so forth until the chain got back to Unu.


Unu, the “Nests of Nests” as his translator droid had explained, was the construct erected by Yoggoy and its Guardian to unite the Killik hives. The Killik were a pestilence worthy of extermination and the Coalition's Guardian Program was an abomination demanding it, only furthering Vrier's shame and loathing at being pressed into this duty. But Drackmar demanded no harm be done to those who did not seek the harm of His Children, so Vrier had no choice but to leave them alive and functioning, and continue to service his own oath.


Without warning, the Unu delegation released a wave of ear-splitting shrieks, collapsing to the floor as their legs began to spasm uncontrollably. The Raptors fell into defensive postures automatically, startling the bystanders who had already pressed themselves against the walls to make way for Vrier. His immediate suspicion turned to an airborne biological attack, perhaps some pathogen targeted specifically at the Killik since no one else seemed affected, but that thought was dispelled as soon as their hosts appeared.


The Killik of the nonaligned Lizil nest scampered forward, letting out very particular clicking sounds that seemed to signal the humanoids of the area to disperse. They pushed past the Raptors without any regard for the warriors' readied weapons or warning postures, gripping the limbs of the Unu delegation and craning their own necks down, chattering noisily in their clicking, buzzing language.


“What are they saying?” Captain Vrier asked his droid. “What is happening here?”


The silver protocol droid looked rather distraught himself, shifting his attention between several of the insects and the Captain, not managing to convey any actual information. “It's . . . very complicated, master. There is quite a large volume of information being exchanged.”


“Tell me something of use!” he demanded, the droid becoming a focal point of his hatred for this place, his disgust for the Killik, and his fury at his own ignorance of the situation.


“They are consoling one another,” the droid said, jerkily turning his head to meet the Drackmarian captain's gaze.


An environmental monitor clipped to Vrier's waist began beeping, and he checked the device's readout. The atmospheric content of Killik pheromones was spiking rapidly. He checked the hallway, happy to see that the onlookers had heeded Lizil's earlier warning. Drackmarian physiology was not compatible with the Killik Joining process, but members of many other races would have been in very dire straits in only a very short amount of time. It did mean, however, that Lizil was merging with Unu, bridging their minds, Lizil seeking to alleviate Unu's suffering. It meant that the mission was a success, if not for the reasons they had hoped.


A member of Unu suddenly arched its back, screaming out a string of clicks and whirrs that the droid seemed to understand. “The Chiss have launched a massive assault on a Joiner World, master. Millions have died in only the span of seconds.”


Vrier didn't need to be explained how Unu knew this. He understood from his briefing that the nest had been created to be sensitive to all Killik, not only those who had already joined its ranks. The suffering of the dead must have been grave indeed, however, for it to have impacted Unu so severely across the great expanse of space.


“Where?” Vrier asked, his sense of duty superseding everything else. “What was the name of the world, Unu?” he asked, grabbing the nearest of them in both hands and shaking it by its “shoulders”.


It croaked a reply. “Catlia,” the droid informed.


Vrier let the insect slip from his grasp. It collapsed back to the ground, not yet sufficiently recovered from its ordeal. “Catlia,” he repeated quietly to himself. “Catlia,” he said again, recalling the relevant information. “If they are purging Joiner Worlds,” he said, turning back to Unu, “then Massoss will be next.” He paused for a long moment, even his sense of duty hardly enough to overcome the disdain for what his position required him to say next.


“What are your orders, Unu?”






* * *






The Chiss Ascendancy.


It would be foolish to call the Chiss and Drackmarians “allies”. One might, however, be justified in calling them “amicable neighbors”. More than once had their people stood side by side on a battlefield. Such was the nature of life in what the remainder of the galaxy called the “Unknown Regions”, that it was rare indeed to find another race both capable of defending itself and conscientious enough to do only that and no more.


But Vrier was remembering another time, a different era for the Chiss, long before they drew the notice of outside powers, long before so many within their own ranks turned to conquest and dominion themselves.


“We have been at peace with the Chiss Ascendancy for over two thousand years,” the image of Supreme Commander Mologg said warningly, “since the first of our vessels breached the Kalagan Rift and discovered their sovereign territory, heeding their warnings and turning back!”


The device itself was a sign of changing times. Having been granted access to the technology of the Drackmarian Interlink, the Coalition insisted upon developing it further, ultimately producing a device with the bandwidth necessary to maintain live audio-visual communications. And now that very Drackmarian technology, converted to Coalition use, was bleeding backwards into the Drackmarian military.


“Are you ordering me to the Inner Sanctum, Supreme Commander?”


Mologg snarled menacingly at the captain, resenting the implication that only a fellow Drackmarian could have understood.


“Then I will continue to carry on the duty which the Mark of Drackmar has sealed me to.”


The line of communication closed and Captain Vrier stepped out of his room and onto the bridge. They were close to reversion now, only minutes away from their destination. He didn't know what kind of force the Chiss might have mustered in their given state, but anything with the firepower to devastate Catlia so quickly would almost certainly be more than his lone Drackmarian Destroyer and its complement of support ships could handle.


Yoggoy and its Guardian were sending reinforcements, but they were farther away and without the benefit of the Drackmarian variant of the HIMS, they would have to circumvent the hyperspace anomalies that Vrier and his force had been able to punch straight through. That was one thing he had working in his favor, though: Drackmarian hyperdrive technology. The Chiss hyperdrive was generally less advanced than galactic standard. Coupled with what was sure to be a “thorough” purging at Catlia, Vrier was confident that he would beat them to Massoss.


And beat them he did.


Unu insisted immediately on being allowed to travel to the surface, but Vrier flatly refused. The Joining process was not entirely voluntary, even for the Killik, and if Unu absorbed Catlia's nest, it would incorporate into itself all of the knowledge of that nest's Chiss members. That would constitute a breach of Chiss security and respect from which there could be no recovery.


He didn't seem to be able to make Unu understand, but he did get it to accede to his demand. The planet began hailing almost immediately, and knowing that he wouldn't be able to control Unu once it got started, refused it access to the ship's communications systems as well. He had the comm officer issue a notice that Massoss was under the protection of the Yoggoy nest of “the Kind”, the Killik's name for themselves, but none of the crew could make much sense of the replies, so further communications were deemed pointless until the Yoggoy Guardian arrived.


And then . . . then they arrived.


A Battle Carrier and four destroyers, with accompanying escorts. The Chiss force was more than four times the size of his own; there was no hope of even surviving until reinforcements arrived, if it came to blows. That only left one course of action open to him.


The comm officer opened a channel to the Chiss command ship, and Vrier did his best to remember who he was.


“Commander of the Battle Carrier Vertikat,” he began firmly, careful to pronounce the Cheunh word correctly. “I am Vrier, a Captain of the Army of Drackmar the August, Lord of the Obsidian Throne. You know my face, the face of an ally in a bygone age. You know that the Justice and Might of Drackmar's Way does not find itself callously or flippantly within the sovereign borders of those we do not call our enemy.


“But I must warn you: the inhabitants of this world and those like it are under the protection of the Obsidian Throne and the Galactic Coalition to which it is allied. These worlds have already been lost to you. If you pursue your claim to them, I will have to oppose you.


“I am prepared to die failing to stop you. Are you prepared to slay a son of Drackmar so that you may murder those he defends?”
  • Posted On: Jan 5 2014 11:21pm
Csilla
Senate Chambers

"Aristocra Chaf'rani'kista, You have the floor."

Franik stood and walked to the central podium  and began his address to the Chiss senate. He spoke of the reunification  and restructuring of the Ascendancy and of how its people will one day be as they once were. Of how the New Order had left them and of how other races vowed to support them if only given a chance. He answered questions from the speaker and continued his speech. 

"In conclusion I move we allow our borders to be opened so that we can trade with the greater galaxy ans accept their assistance in our time of need. We have a long road before us fellow prefects. We need the resources and trade from outside governments to accelerate out rebirth. We need open boarders  so people of the galaxy can see us not as a threat but as a peaceful race only wanting to defend themselves. Our Xenophobic existence has made the galaxy has made us the stories children are told  of to warrant obedience. We are the enemy unknown to much of the greater galaxy. I for one wish to show these peoples of the galaxy we are not monsters. We are not the Chiss of nightmares. We are not Thrawn. His legacy ha forever shaped the way the galaxy sees us. Me and my house feel the same as you. We wish to be left alone and excluded from the politics of the galaxy but with the Ascendancy on the brink of collapse we need to appear as a friend with open hand and seek the acceptance and generosity of the galaxy."

A soft ripple of murmurs ignited among the senate. Franik stood silently as the senate chamber dissolved into open arguments between its members. Since the declaration of a new unified Ascendancy the infighting among the Chiss had slowly grown to unstable levels which far exceeded the sentiment before the Empire had attacked.  With so many now gone the few Aristocra  left from before the occupation were viewed with distrust by the newly promoted Aristocra. Each family and their Prefects  had sequesters themselves after the initial attack and now Houses were pit against each other in the power vacuum which was the Chiss Ascendacy. The speaker banged the gavel and requested silence. The murmurs died down and the speaker spoke.

"Is that all Aristocra? shall we open the floor for rebuttal?"

Franik nodded his head and stepped off the podium. The chairman  then opened the floor to discussion. MItth was the first house to respond. Their world had been devastated during the occupation. The shipyard had been one of the first targets of the Empire and It was clear they wanted to keep the Chiss from producing anything for the foreseeable future.  Half of the population had been killed or inturned  and now as the Ascendancy began its rebuilding process House Mitth had no way to aide the Chiss. Any leverage it had once had as the primary ship wright of the ascendancy was gone now. This however would stop Mitth'arka'nirat from trying. Tharkan took his place at the podium and began to speak. As he began an aide ran into the building with a data pad.

"Forgive me Aristocra, Prefects, There has been an attack."

The room exploded into a roar of questions and comments as the delegates shock took over and their curiosity faded. The speaker slammed the gavel once again calling for silence. The aide handed the speaker the pad them stepped back allowing him to read. The speaker read over the information then placed the pad on the table.

"Aristocra, Prefects, This is not an attack on any of our worlds. Your homes are safe. The CEDF has moved on Catlia."

The room feel silent than exploded once again in muffled murmurs and illegible conversation.  As Thrakan was standing at the podium he gestured to be recognized once again. The speaker quieted the crowd then nodded to Thrakan. 

"What information have you speaker to the legitimacy of this report. And it legitimate what are the circumstances of this attack?

The speaker handed the pad back to the aide and he then handed it to Thrakan. The Mitth leader looked over the report then closed his eyes. He opened them again and handed the pad to the aide who then began sending copy's of the report to the delegates stations. each house leader read the data some gasping some remaining silent. Thrakan weighed his next comment in his mind. He knew Supreme Syndic Lash. He knew the man would not carry out such an action on a whim. There had to be a reason. 

"Speaker I wish to ask for a recess so that my house can investigate further what has happened at Catlia. If Aristocra Fhen'eran'nuruodo would so kindly allow myself and the other Aristocra access to his record we can work towards understanding what has happened."

The Nuruodo Aristocra nodded an affirmative and replied  he had no disagreement with opening his files. He knew of the mission and knew  the joint defense The speaker dismissed the senate and left the chamber. Neran watched the delegates leave  many shocked at the news. Many that he knew were aware of the pending attack remained quiet. No one had spoken up about the attack. he felt shame  for not doing so himself. But this was not the time to jump into the fire. Thrakan would want answers he knew. His house had not been included in any of the special councils  and he knew the man and his house had felt left out and insulted by the action. Now was the time to let the truth slowly find its way to light without any influance or involvement on behalf of house Nuruodo. 

Massoss system

Lash stood looking out the view port at he Drakmarian Destroyer in the distance. He thought about the implications of what the lizard had said. They had always been on good terms with the Drackmarians. They had always respected the Chiss boarders and fought valiantly beside them for generations. Now they sat perched between him and the world he had been ordered to cleanse. 

"Admiral, please see to it we have a formal chamber set up on deck seventy four."

The Chiss Admiral nodded then left the bridge to carry out his orders. Captain Castr'ianah'nuruodo walked up and took his place at Lash's side. Lash continued to ponder the reasoning for the events which had lead him here. The strange orders, now The Drackmarian threatening war if they attacked the Killik. The galaxy around him did not make sense. He knew things were not as they seemed. Nothing about any of this was right.

"Captain open a channel."

"Yes Commander"

The captain did as ordered and once again the image of the reptilian Captain filled the screen.

Captain Vrier, I am Supreme Syndic Stela'shlit'nuruodo. you may call me lash if it is easier on your cheunh. We may speak basic also. I am aware of you captain as I am most of your counter parts. What business do you have here? I am carrying out an order to reclaim a fallen world. Surely you as a military commander can understand the concept. We mean no disrespect or slight  against you or your people. Our argument is with the Killik and the enslaved Chiss they harbor. Please depart the system and allow us to proceed with the liberation of our lost territory."

Lash paused waiting for a response.
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: Jan 6 2014 7:15pm
Drackmarian Destroyer Farstrider, Massoss Sytem
Command Bridge


His time among the other races of the Coalition was making him soft. Without even intending it, Vrier's thoughts went immediately to information on Killik physiology and recent updates on the Coalition's research into the Joining process: thoughts of diplomacy and politics, not the warrior's spirit that these two commanders certainly shared.


Perhaps this was a time for diplomacy, however. The fact that Vrier had denied a Supreme Syndic access to a House World of the Ascendancy while his own force was outnumbered four-to-one and yet lived was promising indeed. It meant either that the Ascendancy was in no position to draw Drackmar's wrath, or that it still respected their shared history.


Either would do, for now.


It had been a long time since Vrier had spoken Cheunh conversationally, and he dared not make the attempt in the midst of such an important exchange. Time was of the essence, however, so he resolved to be as direct as possible with the tools at his disposal.


“Syndic, the Killik of this world are defenseless against you, and their Joiners are nothing more than the result of your people's arrogance in believing that they could safely manipulate Killik nests for simple labor. By the dictates of Drackmar's Way, that alone is sufficient justification for my intervention. That alone gives me 'business' here. But there is more, for the Unu Nest of the Killik species, an ally of the Drackmarian Empire through the Galactic Coalition, shares a bond with all Killiks which I cannot begin to understand, and your destruction of the nest on Catlia has wounded them gravely.


“Unu is not responsible for the Ascendancy's loss of these worlds; but it is injured by your efforts to reclaim them. By my understanding, under Chiss law that makes you the aggressor here, Supreme Syndic Stela'shlit'nuruodo.”


Vrier silently praised himself for getting the Syndic's name right at so critical a moment, but did not waver in his commitment to this course of action. “But this is not a matter to be decided among warriors. This is a matter of law. I am prepared to submit to the ruling of any Prefect of House Sabosen who will hear the plea of the Unu nest and their Coalition supporters.


“The status of this world's inhabitants is not as simple as your orders suggest, nor is their fate as certain. Let us resolve this matter peaceably, Syndic, as our two kinds always have between one another. Please, call on House Sabosen.”


It was a good plan, Vrier thought. That is, it was a good plan as long as House Sabosen had survived the Imperial occupation.


The Gleaming City of Ar'reun, Cioral
Governor's Office


Prefect Csapla'rie'lirano, Ariel for short, stood at the large window behind her office desk and gazed down at her domain.


The liberation of Csilla and the reformation of the Chiss Ascendancy had left many vital yet vacant posts within the Ruling Houses, and it was in that vacuum that Ariel had claimed her rightful place among the rulers of House Csapla. In all but name alone, this world now belonged to her.


As she stared down at the massive cranes and rubble scoops even now working away at the restoration of Ar'reun and the removal of the Gleaming City's many scars of war, Ariel's mind drifted back to a more peaceful time, a time when her city was the envy of all the Ascendancy, when it more than deserved the epithet “New Csaplar”, but its very splendor demanded it.


The work crews of commoners, guided by the enlightened instruction of House Inrokini engineers and architects, labored tirelessly at the restoration of the city beneath Ariel's feet. The House Palace itself was far from fully restored, extensive renovation ongoing for a hundred floors below her.


This was where the true power of the Ascendancy lay: not in the capital city of Csaplar on Csilla, not in the numbers and discipline of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force, but here. In Ar'reun. In House Csapla. In the five thousand years of Chiss tradition that steeped Ariel and her kin in the right to rule. If the Ascendancy were to survive, if her people were to be restored to their lost greatness: it would be only because New Csaplar led them to their destiny.


The sound of metal-on-metal reached all the way up to the Prefect's office as one of the cranes below wrenched out a lone, standing support beam from one of the many fallen buildings. The signs of war were still evident here: long, charred scars across the face of the city. There were some in the Senate and other Ruling Houses who saw Csapla's use of their authority to call on the aid of House Inrokini as selfish, short-sighted, and even an abuse of their power, especially while the Copero Shipyards and the CEDF were so far from fully recovered. The heads of House Csapla knew better, however.


The ancient ties between Houses Mitth and Nuruodo ran deep; it would be unwise to allow their military strength to grow too strong, too quickly. Only the restraining hand of the more civilly-aligned Houses, like Csapla and Sabosen, could exert the kind of force necessary to keep Mitth and Nuruodo's military strength from being turned into an unstoppable political juggernaut. The Chiss Ascendancy was not a military dictatorship, after all. It simply would not do to have the Chiss people win their liberty from an occupying Empire, only to have their Ascendancy dismantled around them by a warlord of their own making.


Csapla had to stand strong if it was to keep House Nuruodo – and the more troublesome of their ilk, like Supreme Syndic Stela'shlit'nuruodo – in check.


A gentle stirring behind Ariel alerted her that a messenger had arrived. A very particular messenger, she was sure.


“Prefect Ariel,” an unusually controlled and neutral voice said.


She didn't turn around, knowing the importance of maintaining the anonymity of the House Miurani shadow child. Recent events required even such drastic measures as calling on the services of these hidden heirs, the children of Ruling Houses whose identities had been expunged in order to protect the lineage from extermination.


“The Crustai Listening Post detected several vessels entering Ascendancy space. Vector analysis derived from their hyperspatial wake suggested their destination to be Massoss.”


“Their ETA?” Ariel asked, studying the intricate network of temporary supports that had been installed on a nearby skyscraper to prevent its structural damage from causing its collapse, willing herself not to turn around and look at the spy's face. The knowledge of a shadow child's identity would be a powerful secret to hold, but she could not allow herself to jeopardize House Csapla's secret alliance with House Miurani for such an ill-conceived and short-sighted grab for personal gain.


“We are confident they arrived prior to Supreme Syndic Lash's task force,” the shadow child said.


“When will the Senate be informed?”


“Presently.”


Ariel paused for a moment, considering what was safe to say aloud. “When will the Senate learn that the vessels are Drackmarian?”


“Long after the Supreme Syndic has killed them.”


The Csapla Prefect allowed herself a pleased smile, all thought of learning the Miurani's identity gone.


“Thank you,” she said quietly, knowing the informant had already left. Ariel pressed her cheek against the cold glass of the window, remembering fondly the frigid air of Csilla, the sound of crushed snow beneath her feet, the reflective gleam of ice tunnel walls.


The Ascendancy, true in form and rooted firmly in the ancient traditions of its people, would rise again.


Soon.
  • Posted On: Jan 13 2014 6:42am
Lash listened to the reptilian creature speak then stood silently looking at his figure. The skin and posture was appalling. He knew the race was loyal and their past with the Ascendancy had been stellar. Many among the Chiss looked upon them with consent and distrust. Many saw them as nothing more than Ssi-ruuk in different ships. Lash had seen both in battle and knew this was not the case but to the greater Chiss populations all they saw were scales. Lash looked out at the lone ship standing like a battlement poised for siege, solitary and unshakable in its purpose. He nodded at an officer  and the communications was cut without notice to the Drakmarian. Lash turned and walked to the tactical station.

"Captain, what are our tactical options?"

The Chiss captain thought for a moment then spoke.

"Commander, The ship is formidable but has  little chance of holding out for more than a minute or two against a full barrage. IF it were just one destroyer  it would be a challenge but it doesn't stand a chance against the full fleet."

Lash nodded then turned again to walk to the command station then  he paused and turned to talk to the captain one more time.

"Captain, Inform Prefect Chaf'keli'antru we are expecting guests."

Lash knew involving the diplomatic officer of the group was a necessity but he knew the man and knew what his response would be. It was no secret the Chaf house wanted these worlds to send colonists and many of the humans who now called their world home. Prefect Kelian would not be happy with his decision to meet the Drackmarian. He would surly protest and quote his orders to him word for word. Even though the man was not pevey to his orders. he knew secrets were a thing had to maintain in the Ascendancy. Trust was something even more rare and each house was no closer to common ground with others than they had been before the Imperial occupation. It was infighting and separation of colonial houses that left the Ascendancy weak and opened up its boarders to the Empire. 

"Lieutenant open a channel to the Drackmarians."

Lash stood silently as the screen once again displayed the lizard. 

"Captain, I have ordered my forces to stand down for now. Your request for mediation by house Sabosen is denied however. I have full authority here and will hear your argument. I have prepared a chamber for your people aboard my ship. You have my word you nor any of your retinue will be harmed. Please feel free to bring as many attendants as needed, and A member of this Uno nest if one resides upon this world or your ship. I would like to speak with these bugs. IF these terms are agreeable then I wait your presence at my table for a dinner. I am aware of your digestive needs and will present a feast fitting you and your people.  If these terms are not to your satisfaction them by all means marter yourselves in the name of these bugs and your coalition. I am fine with either outcome. I will await your response."

With that Lash closed the channel and stood looking out at the ship in the distance, standing stark and proud awaiting its destiny.



 
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: Jan 16 2014 11:59pm
When the Chiss commander responded by closing the comm line between them, Captain Vrier knew that his appeal to the traditions and historic institutions of the Chiss people had failed. While it was true that the Chiss and Drackmarians had a long and generally favorable history together, their interactions over the past several decades had been quite sparse.


Unlike the Chiss, the Drackmarians had a significant presence outside of what the other major governments of the galaxy called the Unknown Regions. Their war against Zsinj – first as an Imperial Grand Moff and then as an independent warlord – in the Quelii Sector had not only devastated the Drackmarian Outer Worlds but had heavily taxed the resources of the Inner Worlds as more and more assistance was sent to fight Zsinj and keep the Outer Worlds safe.


A few decades away meant little to a Drackmarian, but it was time enough for whole social revolutions amongst the shorter-lived species. Even the Chiss Ascendancy, with its five thousand years of order and tradition, didn't seem immune to the petty whims of its all-too-mortal inhabitants. It was becoming clear to Vrier that whoever this Supreme Syndic Lash was and whatever Ascendancy he represented, he was not a kind of creature with whom the Drackmarians Empire had ever before dealt.


And then the Chiss Supreme Syndic reappeared before him. "Captain, I have ordered my forces to stand down for now.” It seemed good news, though those last two words were not inconsequential and told Vrier much about who the man he was dealing with was likely to be.


“Your request for mediation by house Sabosen is denied however.” The denial gave him pause, and only confirmed his fears of what had become of the Ascendancy he had known in bygone decades.


“I have full authority here and will hear your argument.” A member of House Nuruodo, the Supreme Syndic of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force, held the authority to resolve a diplomatic dispute with a foreign government over the use of Chiss military force? Either the Ascendancy was truly dead and this man was the warlord who had killed it, or Supreme Syndic Lash was overplaying his hand.


“I have prepared a chamber for your people aboard my ship.” Well, at least he didn't say “cell”.


“You have my word you nor any of your retinue will be harmed.” The word of a soldier who had appointed himself both diplomat and judge? It was little comfort for the Drackmarian captain, so far from home and deep within the borders of a foreign realm.


“Please feel free to bring as many attendants as needed, and a member of this Uno nest if one resides upon this world or your ship. I would like to speak with these bugs.” The thought of Unu pheromones slowly turning this would-be warlord into a Joiner filled Vrier with a dark glee, but it was not a scenario that he could allow. He was here to save the Killik hive of Massoss on behalf of Unu, and so egregious a violation would lead only to war.


“If these terms are agreeable then I wait your presence at my table for a dinner. I am aware of your digestive needs and will present a feast fitting you and your people.” They would settle this over food? The fate of a world hung in balance, the risk of war if this exchange went badly, and the warrior-judge wanted to settle it over dinner? The Chiss were steeped far more in the pettiness and self-indulgence of their Human cousins than they were willing to admit.


“If these terms are not to your satisfaction then by all means martyr yourselves in the name of these bugs and your coalition. I am fine with either outcome. I will await your response.” The posturing of this man-child! The bald threat laid out in his words! The insolence, the utter disregard for the thousands of years of goodwill between their two peoples!


The image of the Chiss commander vanished as Lash once again cut the line.


Vrier wanted so badly to unleash an indignant roar, to display his rage and fury so baldly that his own crew would cower in fear. It wasn't simply that this self-aggrandizing Syndic thought himself far enough from Drackmar's reach that he could speak in such terms to a Captain of the Drackmarian Fleets. It wasn't that he was being treated now as some common foreigner who had stumbled in ignorance into the domain of the Ascendancy. It wasn't that Supreme Syndic Lash would dare question his resolve in meeting the fate dictated for him by his duty.


No, it was that he had to meet that Chiss's scorn in the name of the Killik. Those loathsome, vile, pathetic simpletons. Those treacherous, corrupting, invasive carrion eaters! The rot of the Unknown Regions! He wanted to tear the insects limb from limb, to jettison their carcasses toward the world below, a warning too late in arriving of the doom that would be visited upon them by the Chiss Ascendancy!


But he did not do those things. Not a single one of them. He did not let the depth or length of a single breath waver from the rhythms necessary to sustain him. He did not raise a hand or issue a sound in protest. He was an Heir of Drackmar, and he bore his lord's Mark. The path that he now walked did not allow for such childish protests.


After a long moment of staring into the blank space where the Supreme Syndic had once stood, Vrier made his decision. “Message Central Command through the Interlink and inform them that our request for mediation by House Sabosen has been rejected and our protest has not been turned over to a member of House Chaf. We have therefore neither been recognized as respected familiars nor simple foreigners. Instead, the Supreme Syndic of House Nuruodo intends to evaluate our concerns himself and pass summary judgment.


“One thing is clear here: this is not the Ascendancy that we once knew. We must tread carefully until we know more. Advise Central Command that I expect no more than the smallest possible detachment from the Yoggoy task force to enter Ascendancy space, a single Killik vessel and whatever minimum Guardian presence is required for it to perform its function as mediator.”


Vrier turned abruptly and headed for the turbolift. “And prepare a shuttle. I will accept the Syndic's offer, but I am going alone.” He paused at the entrance to the turbolift, looking back to his second in command. “If the Chiss are not true to their word, wound them before they kill you, so that they might never again forget the Justice and Might of Drackmar's Way.”


Five minutes later, a lone Drackmarian shuttle touched down on the deck of the Chiss cruiser, its lone occupant donning his methane breath mask before stepping through the shuttle's magcon field and descending its ramp until he was only a single step from the Vertikat's deck. Captain Vrier paused briefly, surveying the Chiss officers gathered to greet him.


He wasn't sure if it counted as levity or a sign of just how delicate the proceedings were likely to be, but before he took that last step he asked: “Permission to come aboard?”
  • Posted On: Jan 19 2014 11:52pm
The Black dress uniform of the Chiss officer classed with the whites and pale blues of the hangerfloor, walls and ceilings. The brightly lit hanger  was made for just such a visit. Lash had seen his ship was outfitted with every possible tool he might need  and that his ship was ready for anything. The reptile stepped onto the deck after his polite show in asking to come aboard. Too few are the peoples of the galaxy who see a need in such formalities. Lash sat in his room watching the entire scene play out. The  creature was alone which suited Lash, he had no desire to formally meet the Killik but his position insisted he be open to hearing these creatures argument. The request for mediation from Sabosen was expected, the Drakmarians had always dealt with the enforcement branch of the ascendancy. The military had never seen a reason to deal directly with the reptiles as their relationship had dated back so long. They were nothing new or particularly threatening so the CEDF has opted out of foreign relations with the race. They had fought along side them in a few battles but never openly conversed with them.

Now Lash watched as the Drakmarian was lead to a lift  and escorted inside. Lash knew the ride would be short and stood to great the creature when he came in. He nodded to the Chiss guard standing in the corner and the guard entered a set of commands into the wall panel. The sharp ripple of blue white light flashed then the room before him was flooded with methane. The display showed the chiss officer point the creature down a short hall and as the Drackmarian exited the lift the door slid shut and the creature was left alone.  The ten meters from the lift to the chamber was slowly filling with the methane the Drakmarian race  found breathable. He wanted the Captain to feel as much at home as any creature could in the situation. which he knew was not much. As the captain neared the door into the chambers Lash motioned and the guard sild a data card into a slot on the wall panel and the door slide open bringing Lash and the Drackmarian Captain face to face.

The table before Lash was divided down the middle by the shield. One side for him and the attendant and the other for his guest. It acted to make the atmosphere breathable for the creature. It also made sure the man was sealed off from him and the rest of the ship in an impenetrable shield. Lash motioned for the captain to join him then smiled, all along watching his mannerisms and reactions. He was aware of many Drackmarian tick and their facial contortions.  Reading them was difficult but not impossible and Lash had been taught to read every race the Chiss had even meet. 

"Please Captain, come in. I have set up a shield bubble  and filled it with methane so you may take of your breathing aparatus. I assure you I mean you now harm. Please join me at my table."

 
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: Jan 20 2014 1:33am
It was a curious thing, that first face-to-face meeting with a person who could kill every man and woman under Vrier's command with a single word. The Drackmarian Captain had stood in the presence of his Emperor, of course, so this meeting was far from frightful in the context of his life thus far. But . . . curious . . . was certainly a word tame enough for this particular encounter.


The small sensor clipped at Vrier's waist beeped to inform him that the atmospheric mixture was at safe levels, and he took his mask off to oblige his host, clipping it at his waist, well within arm's reach and in keeping with Drackmarian military protocol. As the captain moved from the room and slid his eyes from the Supreme Syndic to the chair awaiting him, Vrier took in the slight variance in hue of the shield's bluish color, an indication that it wasn't a simple magcon field but a genuine energy barrier designed to not only partition atmosphere but prevent solid material from passing through as well.


It meant quite clearly that the Syndic was out of Vrier's reach. If the door had locked behind him, however, it also meant that the Drackmarian was now quite securely inside of a detention cell fully furnished with a wall-sized observation window.


Vrier took the offered seat, returning his full attention to Syndic Lash and the mystery of this revived Ascendancy that he represented.


“Before we proceed, Syndic, I feel an obligation to inform you that additional Coalition vessels affiliated with the Killik Yoggoy Nest are bound for this system. I assure you that their objective is nothing but diplomatic and humanitarian in nature, and should not be taken as a sign of hostility against the Ascendancy generally or your fleet specifically. Their presence is necessary to facilitate meaningful communication with the Killik, whose language and psychology is so alien to both our species that . . .” Vrier faltered for a moment, sickened by the thought of having to rely on a Guardian droid intelligence for such an important role, “specialized technical equipment is required for accurate dialogue to be established.”


Vrier understood all too well the Chiss impulse to treat all possible incursions into their sovereignty as genuine threats. The Drackmarian Inner Worlds were even now engaged in a fierce war with hostile neighbors, ancient enemies who refused to put aside dreams of glorious conquest and make a lasting peace. Treacherous, dishonorable and ruthless, this confederacy against the Drackmarian throne was precisely the kind of threat against which the Chiss people had learned to be ever vigilant.


The thought of that basic similarity between the Chiss and Drackmarians prompted Vrier to add a final comment before the Supreme Syndic responded. “My mission is to safeguard the efforts of Unu in uniting all of the Killik Nests and spreading its instruction to them, because this is the only way the Killik can ever become anything more than what you and I seem them as: a plague that devours worlds. If you carry out the attack on Massoss then you may destroy Unu, and that will seal the Killik's fate as nothing more than an eternal pestilence, a thing for the other races of the galaxy to ward themselves against and safeguard themselves from.”


Vrier suspected that the line had little effect on the Chiss Syndic. He knew it would do little to himself if their roles were reversed here. But there was a basic difference between the Chiss and Drackmarians that made what Captain Vrier was selling something that Syndic Lash should be buying:


“They've stopped making Joiners, Syndic. The Coalition has taught them not to make Joiners. Can you risk throwing that away?”
  • Posted On: Jan 20 2014 4:18am
Lash listened to the words of the Drakmarian captain silently. He was gauging the creature looking at the reptilian features for what  he had been taught were their tells. The captain was calm and seemed forthcoming and what little facial expression the creature gave did not match any of the training Lash had been given on the race. Vrier was  a foe Lash know knew to be feared. The Drackmarian obviously  had no fear of death or more so him. This pleased Lash as  he needed someone like Vrier at this stage and by some stroke of fate the galaxy had provided him then one tool he needed but did not have.

Lash smiled as the Drackmarian finished then thought about what he had said, Killik not making joiners. Lash was not sure it was even possible but somehow he did not need to question the creature. Many races can lie, more try, but in the end all have ways to discern truth from lie. All but bothans which Lash knew  were always lying even if they told the truth. Lash was not sure if the Drackmarian captain was lying but  for now it did not matter. He needed the man.

Lash looked over to the guard standing at the wall panel and nodded. The guard pulled the card from the wall and entered a set of commands. The walls rippled with blue white sparks arching down transmission lines built into the structure. then the guard opened a side door and left Lash and Vrier in the room alone.

"Captain Vrier, I am glad you came alone. It saves me the task of finding the opportunity to get you alone away from any retinue you may have brought with you. I have electrically shielded this room and ionized the walls so we may speak freely. As I am sure you are aware, the Ascendancy has suffered  at the hands of the Imperial juggernaut. The Empire attacked our worlds and before we knew what was upon us they had slashed and burnt our northern worlds and were upon Csilla. I was not among the commanders who moved to engage the Imperials. The fools did not see it coming.  most of the CEDF was engaged in a skirmish with vagaari and by the time the the CEDF had been made aware of the Imperial incursion it was too late. The senate had surrendered and the CEDF was ordered to stand down. Many of use went into hiding in the Redoubt, many more were interned and executed. I was far to the south on a mission relating to the future of the Ascendancy when it happened. you see I had never been popular among the senate captain. I made an error in judgement many years ago and I have never forgiven myself nor have many of my people forgiven me. But as the Ascendancy was reborn from the ashes of the Imperial occupation I won favor enough in the senate to be given my command. I was the last of the  28 Syndic's left alive. I truly was their last choice. But this does not mean I am incompetent captain. I take my role and my position seriously and I will protect the Ascendancy no matter the cost."

Lash paused a moment to let his words sink in. Before the Drackmarian could speak he began again.

"I know you are aware of my races views. The Drackmarian race has been partners in many things with my people. 989 years ago when my people signed the non-aggression law your people were already known to us. Your people had already fought beside us in out dark days. we have shared a history among the unknown regions which spans  time long before my people were civilized. We long ago learned the art of war. These lessons  are well known  and each and every chiss is taught them as we can not return to the days of savagery and apathy. Because of this I know you are aware that your presence here is enough to reprieve this world. According to our law there is no way I can move to attack Massoss while you stand in protection of it. As I speak with you there are Chiss aboard my own ship who would like nothing more than to see you and I dead. I can not do anything to rectify this but they are free to walk my ship indignant to my actions here. You have saved this world captain but I fear the cost. You and I will do something here today which will ripple the Ascendancy at its core. A core which is dark and selfish. I only wish you have been above Catlia."

Lash bowed his head and thought about the millions of lived eclipsed by his hand. The world blinked then in the span of that blink was gone. Only once in his lifetime had he seen death on that scale. Only once in the history of the Ascendancy has such an order been given and both times it was he who carried it out.

 
Posts: 837
  • Posted On: Jan 20 2014 10:29pm
It could be a ploy, he knew. The Chiss were by nature a crafty and manipulative species, traits altogether incompatible with Drackmarian society. But that would have only been a problem if the Chiss had sought admission in or formal protection from the Drackmarian Empire, neither of which a race as proud and independent as the Chiss would ever do.


No, the Drackmarians had learned long ago that there were measures of nobility and strength to be found in even the most alien of societies and characteristics, so long as the parties involved had an appropriate understanding between one another. Syndic Lash wished to use the Drackmarian captain to some end; that much was certain. It was Vrier's duty to determine whether or not allowing himself to be used would facilitate his own obligations, and all the while to do so without violating his oath and duty as a servant of Drackmar. So long as the Syndic understood that, all would be well.


The inner workings of Drackmarian society were a closely guarded matter. Even the Empire's new formal allies within the Coalition did not yet fully understand the deepest secrets of their race, and may never be allowed to. The Chiss, though their history with the Drackmarians stretched far further into the past, had never been held in such close trust as the Coalition now was, and so many of the secret things that even the Coalition knew had been kept from the Ascendancy.


It put Vrier in a difficult position. As a Captain of the Drackmarian Fleets, he had an obligation to show the Syndic the respect and courtesy earned by his people in their years of collaboration with the Drackmarian Empire to maintain order and safety in these chaotic and violent regions. As a bearer of the Mark of Drackmar, his priorities hardly allowed him to even consider the needs of this Chiss commander.


After a moment of consideration he decided he had to be as direct and honest with the Syndic as possible and simply omit those things which he was not permitted to reveal. “I need you to understand, Syndic Lash, that the mission I am on – the mission that required me to come here and defend Massoss – is not a simple assignment passed down to me from Drackmarian Central Command. I stood in the presence of my Emperor and he tasked me personally with the protection and success of the Unu Nest and then . . . and then he swore an oath to me that every commitment I make and action I take to that end will be upheld and defended by him personally. This is the measure of the Emperor's trust in me; this is the burden of the responsibility I now bear.


“I tell you this because I need you to understand: my responsibility is to Unu Nest. I cannot allow myself to be swayed from it by broader concerns over what may become of the Ascendancy as a result. To do so would be to betray the trust that my Emperor placed in me and abandon the mission to which he charged me directly.


“If it is an ally you seek then you must either call upon Drackmarian Empire directly or negotiate with the Unu Nest when their representative arrives, because I am precisely the wrong person to confide in. I serve Unu Nest under the authority of the Drackmarian Emperor, and I cannot do another thing until my Emperor releases me from that bond.”