《Sol》


 Prologue

    Ever since I was young, I had always loved looking up at the night sky and staring at the bright twinkling lights that decorated it. My fascination with stars most likely came about due to my father¡¯s interest in astrophysics that was passionate enough to leave a strong impression on my five year old self. He had told me that it was always his dream to become the first person to ¡°sail the star sea¡± as he always said. However, his occupation as a politician of our planet, Teuloc, left him with little time to pursue his hobby.


    Thus, it was no surprise that he had left twelve year old me with his favourite telescope which he had used as a child, entrusting it to me and hoping that I would be able to cultivate the same appreciation for the burning spheres of gas he had. Hoping to share a hobby together with my father, I made it my nightly ritual to set up the telescope on a hill not far across from our house, gazing into the bright abyss that was space.


    Although most nights began and ended with me being encapsulated by the eerie stillness of the cosmos, they were forgettable for the most part. There were no major changes aside from the occasional passing comet or meteor shower; however, there was one night that I would never forget. It was the night that the stars decided to change my destiny.


    It was a warm summer night as I stared up into the murky sky. The sun had only set for an hour and yet the moon had already risen up to its full height, gracing us with its silvery presence. But I felt something different in the air tonight.


    My whole body seemed to be alert, my muscles taut like a bowstring as my senses registered even the slightest change in the environment; the smallest brush of wind against my bare skin was enough to make my hairs stand on end. It was as if something was watching me high up in the sky. Perhaps it was merely the countenance of the full moon tonight which appeared like a giant, alabaster eye peering down upon our planet, but it was a feeling that I had never had before.


    Impulsively, I wrenched my gaze away from the pale grey orb in the sky and fixed it firmly on the rigid mound beneath me. Though it was dark, I could still make out the individual patches of grass in my vision. It was then that I heard a noise unlike any other ¨C it resembled a low-pitched hum much like the sound of an oboe, but I instinctively knew that this sound could be made by no instrument or creature. And this sound came from above. Steeling my nerves and mustering my courage, I forced myself to look up.


    A large, seemingly metallic object now occupied the once empty space in the sky above the planet. Compared to the moon which illuminated it, this thing was far bigger. It was something that I had only seen previously in movies of fiction or games. But here it was now, right in front of me: a spaceship.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


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    The sound of my father¡¯s steel-shod boots echoed across the ship¡¯s bridge as we made our way towards the broadcasting station. It was a state of the art piece of machinery that allowed us to project an image or live video feed upon the atmosphere of a planet. Despite the multiple entertainment purposes such a device could be used for, the one stationed upon this ship was solely for the use of declaring the conquest of a planet.


    The soldiers who lined the path towards the station all clicked their heels together elegantly whilst placing their right fists upon their left chest before precisely snapping their arms to the center of their bodies, forming a straight line from the center of their foreheads to their abdomens with their fists and elbows. It was the formal Solean military salute. My father had told me that it symbolised giving your soul, mind, and body to the Empress.


    I glanced to the side. Formal military proceedings like this always did make me feel awkward and out of place. On one of the screens, I could see the denizens on the surface of the planet panicking, running to and fro without reason, as if some sort of divine intervention was going to save them if they had only run a little faster. Surprisingly, they looked rather similar to our kind, though they moved with a grace far beneath us.


    The sound of my father¡¯s voice broke my trance. I looked up at him, curiously. He was a largely built man with broad shoulders and a wide chest, the outlines of his musculature still visible despite the ornate coat and gilded mantle that he wore over his spotlessly white military uniform. He had an aura of natural charisma and all his actions from the smallest step to the most grandiose flourish seemed to inspire others around him, for even his stride was purposeful and filled with regal strength. He silently gestured for me to stand beside him as he took a seat before the transmitting module of the broadcasting station. I did so just as the machinery hummed to life, bathing us in a dim cyan light.


    My father¡¯s face wore a sombre expression as he prepared to address the denizens of the planet. ¡°Greetings, aliens. I am Deusicar Caer Aurun Saryun Darbhr Ceres, Fleet Commander of the fleet Raudrev Aulcaer and Prince of the Holy Empire of Sol. It has come to the Empire¡¯s attention that your planet has developed spacefaring technology, and thus it is my duty to announce to you that your planet must be assimilated into the Holy Empire as per the Empress¡¯ will. However, we are not without mercy. We are willing to speak with your designated representatives regarding any concerns you may have. The deadline for communication is exactly two planetary rotations from now. If no representatives have contacted us by that time, we will assume you have accepted imperial annexation willingly and begin sending armed forces to occupy and secure the planet.¡±


    Although my father¡¯s speech had not deviated from his usual spiel which followed the imperial colonization protocol to the letter, it seemed as if there was something different and amiss. Whatever it was, I felt with a sense of certainty that it would definitely forge our destiny in the stars.

 Chapter 1: Departures; Beginnings

    I adjusted the tight collar of my military uniform as I stood aimlessly within the newly constructed space elevator. It had only been three years since the annexation of my planet by an alien empire calling themselves the Deisolaeic or the Holy Empire of Sol. Though they had added our planet into their territory, we were left largely autonomous by the lord that they had appointed to be the ruler. The Soleans were a spacefaring race and held little interest in the matters of surface worlds; however, they did impose two concrete rules for us to follow, the first being that a military recruitment center be erected in the capital and a space elevator elevator along with it. The second being that all spacefaring vessels be allocated to the lord. In essence, our annexation was little more than a planetary blockade without the use of military presence.


    The elevator gradually slowed to a halt as the doors slid open, revealing a rather busy orbital station that really looked more like a mall. An assortment of shops lined the long walkway which led to the docking bays. Most of the shops sold souvenirs or small treats and snacks that were only available at our planet. Ever since our planet had been annexed by the Empire, interplanetary traffic had become an everyday occurrence.


    As I made my way down the walkway towards the departure bay, I noticed that the majority of the passerby had fixed their eyes upon me. Conscious of their gazes, I lowered my head slightly as if to appear smaller, but the action only managed to draw more attention towards me. The reason for this was almost certainly due to my military uniform, a garment rarely seen in this sector of space, if at all. Other than the fact that it was Solean garb, the uniform itself was rather decorative and ornate. The fabric was pure white with some sort of silver thread interwoven into it, giving it a sparkling sheen as I moved around in it. Upon my left shoulder was an ornate golden epaulette known as a raudrec which displayed my rank of cadet. That was probably the piece which drew the most attention.


    While I suffocated in the attention I was drawing, I slumped against a pillar near the gates of the departure bay, hoping that it would hide me from most of the curious looks and give me a brief respite. A member of the Solean military was supposed to come and pick me up in front of the gates, but it seems that I had arrived rather early. After taking a quick glance at my fragarec ¨C a wrist mounted device capable of producing holograms ¨C I closed my eyes for a quick rest. It would be another fifteen minutes until my escort was supposed to arrive.


    Finally away from the constant gazes of strangers, I began to feel slightly nervous. This planet below me was all I had ever known since I¡¯ve grown up. In fact, I realized that this was the first time I¡¯ve actually been up in space, a realization that filled me with both exhilaration and anxiousness simultaneously. Though I volunteered for the military, my primary purpose was actually to experience flying through space upon a ship. That had always been my dream even as a child. Come to think of it, I had never actually seen a Solean in person, though I¡¯ve heard various rumours with the more far-fetched ones saying that they were the product of some ancient humans experimenting with genetic modification. This rumour no doubt came from the Soleans¡¯ emphasis on gene purity and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it were true. After all they did look very much like us, only far more graceful and beautiful.


    ¡°Auryn!¡± A loud voice abruptly broke me free from my fanciful thoughts. I opened my eyes to a boy my age, standing just a few inches taller than me. It was my childhood friend, Van Drokin. He was rather well-built and had a defined physique which he made no attempt in hiding with his tight fitting shirt which highlighted the muscles of his upper body. His face could be considered rather attractive by certain girls.


    I smiled as I took his outstretched hand into mine, standing awkwardly as he proceeded to wrap his other arm around me and slap me on the back heartily. I winced with each of his blows. After a good couple of seconds, he finally stepped back and inspected me with a goofy grin.


    ¡°Auryn!¡± Van called my name again. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, man! Damn, how long has it been? Two months? Three?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Two.¡± I replied ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like you missed me very much if you can barely remember how long we¡¯ve been apart.¡± I said with a smile.


    Van laughed. ¡°Shoot! You got me. We were all celebrating after you finally left,¡± he joked.


    I gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. ¡°You guys hated me that much?¡±


    Van gave me a smile which faded quickly. He gazed at me with a serious look in the eyes and there was a moment of silence between us.


    ¡°So you¡¯re really leaving, huh?¡± He asked with a somber tone.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I merely nodded. There wasn¡¯t much to say. It had always been my dream to be aboard a spaceship and this was the quickest and most efficient way to reach my goal. I had even spent two months studying the Solean dialect in the language school within the recruitment center and attempted to cram as much vocabulary as my brain could handle. Luckily, the military jargon was rather brief and a majority of their units of measurement were almost identical to ours.


    Van bit his lip, a brief pause ensuing between us again before he continued. ¡°I guess this was what you wanted all along though,¡± he said as he nodded to himself. ¡°But the Soleans are the ones who conquered our planet, and yet you voluntarily enlisted in their military forces.¡± He paused to see if I would respond. I didn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re the first person to actually go to their recruitment center, you know.¡±


    I smiled, a brief memory of my time attending the language school flashing in my mind. ¡°Yeah. I noticed when I was the only one who was taking any of the language classes.¡±


    He smiled back sadly. ¡°¡­ You know, I came to see if I could try to change your mind, but it seems you¡¯re dead set on enlisting.¡± He said after a brief pause. There was a look of sadness in his eyes. Of course, it was expected. We¡¯ve known each other since we were children and we knew each all of other¡¯s secrets except for our browsing histories, of course.


    I nodded again. There wasn¡¯t much to say. After all, I had already decided on leaving everything behind me.


    Van took a step back, stuffing his hands into his pockets. ¡°At least come and visit once in a while, alright? And bring back a hot Solean beauty while you¡¯re at it!¡± He joked.


    I laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll try Van, but no promises.¡± I was about to say something, but a series of beeps from my fragarec had interrupted me. Quickly pressing one of the various buttons on the device, I silenced it. ¡°It looks like I¡¯ve got to head back to the gate now.¡± I told him as I pushed myself off the pillar. ¡°You¡¯d best get back too.¡±


    Van nodded, a wistful look in his eyes as he turned around quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in a couple years, then.¡± He said as he walked off briskly. It was strange for him to leave so abruptly. I had thought he would bear hug me to death before he left.


    I took a brief glance at his back before I turned around and began making my way to the gate when a voice suddenly called out from behind me, causing me to pivot around once more.


    ¡°Auryn!¡± Van shouted. Surprisingly, there were tears streaming down his face that weren¡¯t there before. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you, brother!¡±


    I turned around fully to face him, raising a hand in farewell. There was no need to shout anything back. We both knew the emptiness that each of us felt within ourselves, as if we had lost a part of ourselves on this day. I felt something wet on my cheeks and I moved to quickly wipe away the tears that had flowed from my eyes against my will. Our last exchange was rather awkward at best, not even closely reminiscent of what our usual banter was like. I hated that.


    As Van disappeared into the crowd of people within the station, I took a deep breath, wiping away the last of my tears as I turned around once more, trudging towards the gate of the departure bay. I arrived and looked around. It seemed my escort had not arrived yet, or if they had, they were still docking.


    I took this moment to reflect on the path that I had chosen. I would most likely be stationed far away in some outer rim of the Empire¡¯s territory where they continuously expanded their sector of space. I would probably never be able to visit my home planet again. Once more, that empty feeling within me grew again, like a hole in my heart that slowly ate away at my being. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to call it quits now.


    As if to prevent me from turning back, the gates slid open to reveal a young girl that looked to be my age. She stood only half a head shorter than me and walked with a stride that reminded me of a queen amongst her subjects. Her large and beautiful doe-like eyes were contrasted by the sharp focus and drive within them, and her gaze was set directly forwards like it was the only direction that she ever needed to look. As she walked, her long and straight hair - the color of silver moonlight upon a spider web - trailed behind her elegantly. The gates closed behind her while she stopped mid-stride, glancing around and clearly looking for someone. Her eyes fixed on me. The gaze of her crimson eyes seemed to set me on fire.


    The girl began walking towards me with a purposeful stride. I took this chance to inspect her more closely as she rapidly approached my position. It seemed that she bore the same rank as me on her raudrec, but more interestingly, it was not golden like mine, but silver. She wore the same uniform as I did albeit more form fitting. The silver threads reflected the overhead lights as she walked, causing her clothes to glitter slightly. Now that she was closer, I could see that the uniform outlined her shapely figure rather nicely. Her wide hips and thin waist coupled with her almost unnaturally beautiful face would have made her extremely popular on Teuloc and though she was somewhat lacking in the chest department, the rest would have more than made up for it. This was the first time that I had thought a female in military uniform attractive. It was rather strange, but I liked the feeling.


    Before I knew it, the girl was standing mere inches away from me. She leaned in close, causing me to blush. It seemed like she was inspecting me as a slight frown briefly marred her otherwise perfect face. Her small and thin rosy lips were pursed as she leaned back, inspecting me from head to toe.


    In a blur of motion, she raised her right arm upwards with her hand balled into a fist. I flinched. She placed her fist to the left side of her chest in salute.


    ¡°You are Cadet Auryn Parnyr, correct? I am here on behalf of the Solean Navy to escort you to the transport ship Vaurhaut.¡±

 Chapter 2: Cold; Warm

    ¡°Ah¡­¡± I hesitated, surprised at the formal tone that did not match her appearance. ¡°Yes. I am Cadet Auryn Parnyr.¡± The words felt foreign as they came out of my mouth. Never would I have thought that I would address myself as a cadet, much less one in the commission of an alien empire which had conquered my home planet.


    The girl nodded before quickly pivoting on the heel of her right foot. ¡°You will follow me.¡± She stated with an authoritative tone. Almost immediately, she began to walk towards the departures gate with her back towards me.


    ¡°Wait up!¡± I called. It had taken me a few moments to recover from being caught off guard by her cold and businesslike mannerisms and now I was forced into a light jog in order to catch up to her. Though she slowed her pace, she showed no other signs of acknowledging me. I couldn¡¯t help but think that I accidentally did something to anger her without knowing. Perhaps I was staring too much.


    As I drew level with her, I turned my head to inspect her expression. Her gaze seemed to only be focused forwards as if she were intent on ignoring me. We walked towards the gate in an awkward silence and stopped before the checkpoint as the guards inspected our credentials.


    After stepping through the gate, I decided I had to do something in order to break this awkward barrier between us. The worst thing that could happen is a continuation of this dreadful silence during the flight to the transport ship.


    ¡°Um!¡± I suddenly blurted out. I mentally cursed myself for my social ineptitude when it came to conversing with beautiful females.


    She looked at me, waiting for me to say something. As I scrambled for words, I inevitably chose the worst thing to say. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I apologized for nothing.


    Her slightly curious expression had changed into one of extreme annoyance. ¡°Why are you apologizing?¡± She asked with a sharp tone to which I had no response. She shot me a withering look and continued walking.


    Once again, we fell into that frigid silence, only this time it seemed like there was a weight in the air. When the silence started to become unbearable, I began to try and think of something we could talk about. Perhaps I could still salvage the situation. Surprisingly, it was she who broke the silence this time.


    ¡°You flinched. Why?¡± She asked abruptly. Confused, I tilted my head in question. ¡°You flinched in the station when I saluted you. Why?¡± She asked again. This girl sure was blunt.


    ¡°Oh¡­ That¡­¡± I said, stalling for time to think of a good excuse. ¡°I just suddenly got itchy right then! It was a coincidence!¡± I laughed, desperately trying to cover up my terrible lie.


    Her look tells me she didn¡¯t buy it. ¡°I see. Well, whatever.¡± She turned her gaze back to the gate of the docking bay which we were headed to.


    Damn it. I can¡¯t just let this fall into that terrible silence again. ¡°When I apologized earlier, it was because I thought I had done something to anger you since you were ignoring me and whatnot¡­¡±


    The girl turned away from me. Her shoulders seemed to be shaking. Maybe I¡¯d angered her by being so blunt. ¡°Ah¡­ I didn¡¯t mean anything by that¡­¡± I desperately tried to fix what I thought was a mistake.


    Suddenly, she burst out laughing, one hand attempting to stifle her laughter while the other clutched her slender stomach. ¡°And I thought you were the one who was angry back when you flinched!¡± She managed to say after regaining her breath. ¡°I really thought I had offended you somehow.¡±


    I was baffled. ¡°No, I was sure I had somehow¡­¡± I stopped my sentence when I realized how mistaken we both were. She gave me a wide grin to which I responded with a smile. ¡°And here I was, worried that I¡¯d have to sit through my first flight in complete awkwardness.¡±


    She laughed, this time more controlled and elegant. I had only just noticed what a beautiful sound it was. ¡°You will forgive me. I had only intended to respect your space were you truly angered.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Well, I guess we can put an end to that now then.¡± I said, relieved that the tension had finally been dissolved. Then, a thought had suddenly crossed my mind. ¡°By the way, I never caught your name, even though you already knew mine.¡±


    She paused at my statement, seemingly in thought. A wonderful smile appeared on her face as she suddenly leaned forwards cheerfully. ¡°You will call me Sabriel!¡± She said enthusiastically.


    I had been taught a couple of basic Solean customs in the language school, one of them being that it was highly impolite to call another by only their given name, especially if you had only just met. ¡°Eh? Don¡¯t Soleans usually have longer names? I learned that it was disrespectful to refer to another with only their given name if we are not close.¡±


    Sabriel frowned and then thought for a second. ¡°Then in exchange, I shall refer to you as Auryn. Will that suffice?¡± She seemed insistent that I only use her given name.


    I nod and smile. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Actually, I¡¯d rather have you just call me Auryn instead of that Cadet Auryn thing. Our customs are a lot more relaxed.¡± I laughed.


    She returned my smile and clapped her hands together in joy. ¡°Then it is settled, Auryn!¡±


    ¡°Sabriel¡­¡± I said, liking the sound of her name. ¡°That¡¯s a beautiful name.¡± I said automatically. I cursed myself again. She must think that I¡¯m hitting on her already.


    Sabriel merely smiled at my compliment. She pointed through the transparent walls of the walkway in order to draw my attention to a ship that was being transported into the docking bay. It was by no means enormous, but it was still fairly large.


    ¡°Is that the transport ship?¡± I asked, watching it come to a stop underneath our gate¡¯s elevator.


    Sabriel looked at me in confusion. ¡°You cannot possibly be serious.¡± She admonished. ¡°There is no way a transport ship could possibly be that small. That is merely one of the Vaurhaut¡¯s loading ships. We shall be flying that to the Vaurhaut.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I see.¡± I replied simply, not knowing how else to respond. She was clearly disappointed with my lack of knowledge regarding spacecraft.


    ¡°Have you never seen a starship before?¡± She asked, genuinely curious.


    ¡°Well, other than the ship that came to annex our planet, I really haven¡¯t. This is actually the first time I¡¯ve ever been up in space.¡± I told her. ¡°Ah, I didn¡¯t mean anything bad about the first part, so please don¡¯t take offense from that.¡± I added with an afterthought when a slightly guilty look in her eyes began to form.


    Sabriel placed her palm over her left breast, where her heart was. She spoke with a serious look. ¡°I must apologize, then. I did not mean to mock you, but I have spent much of my life in space so I was quite taken aback that you did not recognize that as a mere loading ship.¡±


    I blinked, confused by her overly formal tone. ¡°Uh, you don¡¯t need to apologize for something like that, Sabriel.¡± I told her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t really offended anyway.¡±


    The solemn expression on her face was instantly replaced with her beautiful smile. ¡°I am glad!¡± She said cheerfully. ¡°You are quite forgiving, Auryn!¡±


    I smiled at her as we entered the elevator which would take us to the airlock connected with the loading ship. It seemed that there was a lot of catching up on Solean customs that I had to do.


    We entered the ship. The interior was actually a lot smaller than I expected. Sabriel informed me that the majority of the ship¡¯s space was taken up by the engines and other machinery vital to operate the ship. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine how big the transport ship really is if it carried multiple of these loading ships.


    We approached the cockpit of the ship which was connected to several other sections of the ship by a narrow walkway. Sabriel held her fragarec up to a small panel on the wall next to the entrance, causing it to emit a short beep and cause the door to slide open.


    Sabriel looked at me. ¡°You can ride with me in the co-pilot seat or you can ride in the passenger lounge. Take your pick.¡±


    I frowned, slightly worried. ¡°Huh? Aren¡¯t you only a cadet like me? I thought we weren¡¯t permitted to pilot spacecraft until we had passed our basic flyer¡¯s examination.¡±


    Sabriel gestured at her raudrec. ¡°I have. The silver raudrec indicates my position as a command school cadet which requires me to pass both the advanced and basic flyer¡¯s examinations upon application of enlistment. You will not worry, I believe I am capable of flying us to Vaurhaut.¡± She thought for a second before her brows drew together in a slight frown. ¡°Did you not read the manual that was provided to you?¡±


    I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. ¡°I only skimmed through the first couple of pages¡­¡± I admitted shamefully.


    Sabriel couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Hurry up then. Will you ride in the co-pilot seat or in the passenger lounge?¡±


    ¡°Will there be a beautiful flight attendant in the lounge?¡± I joked.


    ¡°No, but there will be a beautiful pilot here.¡± Sabriel replied.


    It was an offer I couldn¡¯t refuse. A wide and probably goofy grin spread over my face. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t have a choice then, do I?¡± I said, gesturing to the open door. ¡°After you.¡±


    Sabriel smiled and entered the cockpit, climbing into the pilot¡¯s seat while I followed her in and closed the door behind me as I sat next to her, a rush of excitement spreading through my body. I was finally about to realize my dream of flying through space.

 Chapter 3: Liftoff; Landing

    I watched Sabriel curiously as she pressed a button on her armrest which deployed some sort of harness from the headrest. Although I¡¯d read about it in books, I¡¯ve never actually seen one before. ¡°So how does that work?¡± I asked, gesturing to the harness that she was slipping on.


    Sabriel looked at me with a puzzled expression before she remembered that it was my first time on a ship. ¡°The aubruec, you mean. It synchronizes the movements of my upper body to the ship, allowing me to pilot it far easier than utilizing a wheel or any sort of other apparatus. You will get to witness it firsthand in a few seconds.¡± She replied.


    Turning away from me and assuming a businesslike air, Sabriel moved the fingers of her right hand rapidly, causing a screen to appear before us, displaying the station¡¯s flight control officer. ¡°This is transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut. The captain¡¯s military designation is 00-01-2437131. Military dock seven requesting decompression.¡±


    Although I could not see outside of the ship, I could hear the telltale signs of the barometric pressure in the military dock being altered.


    ¡°This is Teuloc Orbital Station¡¯s port control tower. Your request has been approved, transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut. Military dock seven has been decompressed.¡± The way the flight control officer responded was almost robotic.


    ¡°Military dock seven requesting dock door to be opened for departure.¡±


    ¡°Your request has been approved, transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut. Transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut, you are clear to depart from military dock seven once the opening of the gate has been confirmed.¡±


    Several screens came online in front of us as Sabriel made a gesture. Most of these screens displayed flight data, internal and external temperatures, fuel, and other information essential to managing the ship; however, two of the screens were far larger than the others. Through these, I could glimpse the expanse of space dotted with the myriad of twinkling stars which painted the black canvas.


    ¡°Opening of the gate is confirmed. Requesting permission to depart.¡± Sabriel spoke to the flight control officer.


    ¡°You have permission to depart, transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut. Do you require an electromagnetic ejection?¡±


    Sabriel¡¯s face was decorated by a deviously playful smile. Whatever this meant, it probably wasn¡¯t going to be good. ¡°Affirmative. Requesting electromagnetic ejection with a magnitude of four exempt of helical acceleration.¡±


    ¡°Your request has been approved, transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauhaut. Please move your ship to an appropriate altitude and stand by for electromagnetic ejection. We pray for your safe return to your ship. Teuloc Orbital Station¡¯s port control number seven, out.¡±


    ¡°We thank you. Transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s load ship Slauthaut, out.¡± Sabriel disconnected the ship¡¯s communications system from the station.


    I gripped onto the armrests of my seat as the entire ship shook while Sabriel performed the Solean salute. It seemed that was the motion which initiated the engines as I could hear the low thrum of the ship¡¯s propulsion system come to life. I could see that we were slowly gaining altitude through the screens which displayed our external environment. As we drew level with the central altitude of the dock, I could see that several long rods had detached from the sides of the dock in order to position themselves near the sides of the ship. Electricity crackled around them. My excitement was promptly replaced with a feeling of dread.


    In less than a second, the ship blasted out of the docking bay, speeding through space while the sudden acceleration pushed me back into my seat. The back of my head slammed painfully into the headrest.


    ¡°Whoa there, Sabriel!¡± I exclaimed in surprise as I rubbed the back of my head in pain. ¡°I could¡¯ve done with a warning before you suddenly threw the ship out of the station like that!¡±


    The sound of Sabriel¡¯s laughter filled the cockpit. ¡°You will forgive me. I had merely wished to give you a thrill on your first flight. You may relax now, as we shall be cruising at a more comfortable speed.¡±


    I raised an eyebrow. Despite her formal way of speaking, she did possess a sense of humor however sadistic. Having had my fill of staring at the empty space we were traversing through, I turned my head to glance at Sabriel. As I focused on her face, it had only now occurred to me that despite her appearance, she may actually be far older than she looks due to the genetic modifications that most Soleans underwent.


    Sabriel had noticed me staring at her, causing her to turn and look me in the eyes. ¡°What is it, Auryn?¡± She asked suspiciously.


    I shifted my eyes to the side awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. This only served to make her more suspicious. I gathered my courage. ¡°Well, I was just wondering how old you were since¡­¡± I hesitated. ¡°You know¡­¡±


    She gave me a blank stare, raising her eyebrows. ¡°You are quite brash. I shall have you know that we only undergo the immortality modifications when we have lived for twenty-one Solean years, and even then not all of us choose to become immortal.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see.¡± It was all I could manage to say, fearing that I may have offended her for asking such a personal question in a blunt manner. I took a quick glance at her to check her expression. She was looking at the screens.


    ¡°If you must know, I am seventeen in Solean years. However, I would caution you against inquiring the age of others when we arrive at Vaurhaut. Not all Soleans take to this matter as lightly as I do. Some of us are ancient and would prefer that their youthful image not be marred by the length of their existence.¡± Sabriel advised.


    I nodded. It seems that she is younger than me, then. ¡°I¡¯ll take your words to heart. After all, I¡¯m not very familiar with your customs.¡±


    ¡°That much was obvious.¡± Sabriel said with a smirk as she adjusted the course of the ship with a simple rotation of her palm. The simplicity and ingenuity of the piloting system amazed me.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to try that sometime.¡± When she looked to me in question, I gestured at the aubruec. ¡°It looks fun. Plus, just thinking that I¡¯d be able to move an entire ship with such a small gesture is just astounding, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    She shrugged. ¡°I have been around this environment since I was born, so I would not view it as astounding, but merely normal.¡± She then pointed out towards the window. ¡°Look. We are nearing the transport ship Vaurhaut.¡± She curled her fingers slightly, the gesture causing the load ship to slow down as we approached a massive ship that really looked more like a fortress in space even from afar.Stolen story; please report.


    As we continued to close in on the transport ship, my eyes grew wide in awe as I was forced to comprehend the enormity of such a ship. ¡°This thing is huge¡­¡± I commented. ¡°It could pass for a moon!¡±


    Sabriel smiled as she shook her head, marveling at how my reaction was so akin to primitive man first beholding fire. ¡°In all honesty, a ship of this size is considered average at best in the Solean Navy.¡±


    I sighed in amazement. ¡°I can¡¯t even begin to imagine something like that.¡± I say with a wan smile. The mere thought of a ship so big made me both queasy and excited. However, seeing the enormity of the transport ship truly opened my eyes.


    I had read in history books about the wars that had been waged on Teuloc in the hopes of fame, riches, or conquest of the planet, but it was only now that I realized all this time how insignificant any of that was. While we fought amongst ourselves for paltry glories, we hindered our own progress when civilizations such as the Deisolaeic were able to achieve such great things through their unity.


    While I was busy marveling at the transport ship, we had lapsed into a brief silence. ¡°Um, what kind of social standing do you have?¡± I asked Sabriel, unable to think of any other conversation topic at the moment.


    Sabriel shot me an annoyed look before responding. ¡°Why are you asking that?¡± I could clearly tell that she was irked.


    ¡°Ah, was it something I shouldn¡¯t have asked?¡± I wasn¡¯t expecting my casual question to elicit such a response. Perhaps my lack of understanding in Solean culture had sabotaged me again.


    ¡°No, but I do not wish to say.¡± Sabriel responded, her expression softening as she recognized the apologetic tone in my question. ¡°While I am wearing my military uniform and until I become an admiral, I cannot keep any identification that displays my social standing.¡±


    ¡°Is that because your social standing shouldn¡¯t have any impact in the military?¡± I ask.


    Sabriel nodded and smiled. ¡°Yes. The military is a class in its own right. It is your rank that determines your social standing here, not your birth.¡±


    I nodded in return. ¡°You know, I asked because I was just wondering if you were only here to fulfill your obligations. I heard nobles in the Empire had to serve in the military for a period of ten years.¡±


    Sabriel smirked. ¡°And you assume I am nobility because?¡± I didn¡¯t have an answer I could say to that. Seeing that I lacked a response, Sabriel continued. ¡°Though there may be the noblesse oblige, I enlisted into the military for a different purpose. There are things even in the Empire that must change.¡±


    Upon hearing Sabriel¡¯s statement, I remembered that the Empire was a highly stratocratic society and that influence was largely determined by one¡¯s military record. This must mean that Sabriel was either of lower nobility or of royal blood if she truly were a noble. It is said that the path to the throne was forged through drowning the stars in blood. Although a morbid figure of speech that was rarely accurate, it attested to the nature of their social stratification.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± I paused as I tried to think of something to say. ¡°Your parents must be quite proud to have an ambitious daughter like you.¡±


    Sabriel smiled softly, a wistful look in her eyes. She seemed to be reminiscing about her time with her parents. ¡°I would hope so. My father believes in a galaxy without war where we would no longer need to annex other planets. I want to let him see that. What about your parents? Did they not oppose you in joining the military?¡±


    I gave her a melancholy smile, resting my chin on my palm. ¡°My mother passed away when I was born. As for my father¡­¡± I hesitated as I recalled the memory. ¡°He was imprisoned along with the other politicians of our planet after the negotiation of the surrender treaty. Imagine being imprisoned by the very people you tried to help.¡± I looked away from Sabriel.


    There was a long pause. ¡°You will forgive me.¡± Sabriel said as she looked down in apology, slipping her right arm from the aubruec and placing it on her left breast. ¡°I asked an inappropriate question.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°It¡¯s fine. There¡¯s no going back anyway. When I made the decision to enlist in the military, I knew what I was leaving behind.¡± I looked around, trying to find something to change the subject with. The transport ship was still fairly far away. My gaze alighted on Sabriel¡¯s red eyes.


    ¡°Um, your eyes. I¡¯ve never seen anyone with eyes like yours before.¡± I said. My brain was clearly loading at this time. At least it was something positive and completely far away from the depressing topic we were discussing. ¡°They¡¯re very¡­ Beautiful.¡±


    Sabriel¡¯s face seemed to light up at the compliment. It looks like the drastic change of subject was a good thing. ¡°They are my Deisonum!¡± She stated proudly. ¡°They come from my father.¡± She said with a warm smile.


    ¡°Ah! So you are a noble!¡± I exclaimed. I recalled that Deisonum were unique genetic traits that noble families possessed, with each family taking great pride in maintaining the exclusivity of their respective traits. To possess one was an indicator of high pedigree.


    Sabriel gasped, blushing as she realized she had revealed something she did not wish to. With her small mouth in the shape of an ¡°o¡± and her hands jumping to her lips in an expression of shock and surprise, she looked quite cute. The ship jerked abruptly and the nose took a steep turn upwards as her hands were still in the aubruec, causing it to veer off course before Sabriel quickly righted the ship.


    ¡°Y-you will not think differently of me!¡± Sabriel stammered, still blushing as her eyes were locked onto the navigation displays and screens.


    I laughed. ¡°Relax, Sabriel.¡± I say. ¡°After all, it¡¯s not like you¡¯re royalty or anything, right?¡±


    For some reason, Sabriel became even more flustered. ¡°R-right.¡± She stumbled over the single word. It really was cute.


    ¡°Did all Solean nobility just naturally have their Deisonum?¡± I asked, curious.


    Sabriel looked at me, shrugging as much as the aubruec would allow. ¡°I am just as curious as you are. Much of our history is concealed by the Ecclesiarchy.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°The Ecclesiarchy? I didn¡¯t read about this anywhere.¡±


    Sabriel nodded. Her expression was one of utter distaste. ¡°I can imagine why. They are a vile organization with questionable motives and agendas. I do not know why the Empress allows them to exist.¡±


    Sabriel seemed awfully passionate about her dislike of the organization, so I decided not to pry any further. In any case, we were quickly approaching the enormous transport ship. Now that we were much closer, I could see that the vessel bore the same sleek design as the other Solean ships, as well as two enormous cannons. For a transport ship, it was heavily armed.


    ¡°Does a transport ship really need two cannons of that size?¡± I asked Sabriel as she adjusted the course of our ship to match the elevation of the transport ship¡¯s docking bays.


    ¡°Vaurhaut is the first ship of a new line that the Empire has created. It has been designed to transport high priority targets, thus the armaments.¡± She replied as she made several quick gestures with her fingers which brought up a blank screen.


    A few seconds later, the screen changed, displaying a young looking and elegant Solean woman who wore a navy blue version of the military uniform. ¡°This is transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s bridge. We have identified you as load ship Slauhaut. Please confirm your military designation.¡± The woman spoke curtly and professionally.


    ¡°This is load ship Slauhaut. My military designation is 00-01-2437131.¡± Sabriel responded.


    ¡°Understood. Prepare for docking.¡±


    The gates of the docking bay opened up in front of us to reveal a large section of the ship which housed ships identical to the one that we were currently in. I looked around to see if there were any other load ships in use. There weren¡¯t.


    ¡°Looks like we¡¯re the last to arrive, huh?¡± I asked Sabriel.


    She nodded. ¡°It would appear to be so.¡± She answered as she brought the ship into the docking bay, landing it gently and shutting off the engine.


    Behind us, the gates closed slowly. ¡°Stand by for pressurization.¡± The woman informed us.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Sabriel responded as she slipped herself out of the aubruec, pressing a button which caused the harness to slide back into the headrest.


    After a few moments, the woman spoke again. ¡°Pressurization complete. Please await your escorts, Cadets. Transport ship Vaurhaut¡¯s bridge, out.¡± The screen disappeared along with the others as Sabriel fully shut down the ship.


    She looked to me. ¡°Ready for your first brush with Solean military personnel?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°As I¡¯ll ever be. Thanks for bringing me this far, Sabriel.¡±


    She nodded with a warm smile on her face. ¡°I had fun as well, Auryn.¡±


    We stood from our seats, walking towards the exit of the ship. I patted down the creases formed on my uniform due to sitting for an extended period of time. As Sabriel opened the main main hatch of the ship, I began to feel nervous again, thinking about what kind of life would await me in the stars.

 Chapter 4: Boundaries; Bonds

    Sabriel and I were greeted by two crew members of the Vaurhaut. Looking at their raudrec, I could see that they were both at the rank of ensign. Coming down from the ramp of the load ship, we saluted the crew members who returned our salutes.


    ¡°Come with us, cadets. The captain requests your presence on the bridge.¡± One of the crew members informed us.


    I looked to Sabriel curiously as I was assuming that we¡¯d be led to the trainee quarters and staying put for the remainder of the trip. She shrugged in response before we followed the ensigns.


    The interior of the ship was so massive that there were actually several teleportation pads installed within each section to allow for speedy access to other sections. Needless to say, it was my first time encountering such advanced technology. ¡°So let me get something straight first. This thing is supposed to deconstruct my entire body and then reconstruct it at another location, right?¡±


    The ensign I was speaking to nodded in reply. ¡°In essence, yes.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re sure this is totally safe? What if something goes wrong in the middle?¡±


    The ensign smiled. ¡°Then you die.¡± When I shot him a scathing look, he relented. ¡°Look, we¡¯ve all used these things for hundreds of years and there hasn¡¯t been a single incident like what you¡¯re describing.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± I started taking a deep breath to mentally prepare myself. As I was inhaling, I felt a force from behind pushing me forwards onto the teleportation pad.


    ¡°Hurry up already!¡± Sabriel¡¯s voice sounded from behind me as I stumbled while frantically trying to escape from the death trap.


    Sabriel stepped onto the pad, preventing me from escaping despite my protests. ¡°It will all be over soon, Auryn.¡± She said as she restrained me.


    ¡°No! I can¡¯t die yet, Sabriel!¡± I shouted as the ensigns stepped onto the pad as well, pressing a button. I felt a strange sensation all over my body as if my skin was crawling off of me. Shutting my eyes, I hoped for the best.


    The next time I opened my eyes, all my surroundings had changed. The walkway of the docking bay had now been replaced by a long and ornate hallway decorated with some sort of metallic material that I did not recognize.


    I breathed a long sigh of relief. I had survived the worst part of my journey so far. Still recovering from my horrible experience, I let my three companions walk ahead of me for a bit until I could regain my bearings. Although I avoided any mishaps this time, I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to experience teleportation again. That probably wasn¡¯t an option though, since it was the quickest way of getting around the ship.


    The two ensigns and Sabriel waited for me before the door that led to the bridge. When I caught up with them, one of the ensigns held his fragarec up to a small panel next to the door, causing it to unlock. ¡°Please step inside, cadets. The captain awaits you.¡±


    Sabriel and I saluted the ensigns before we parted ways, entering the bridge. It seems that our footsteps were loud enough to alert the captain who rose from her seat. She pivoted neatly and precisely on her heel to face us. She was fairly tall, standing a good two heads above me. Her long auburn hair fell naturally around her shoulders, framing her beautiful and elegant face. If Sabriel was the sun, she was the moon. Her features were soft and subtle, but they gave her an air of grace and maturity. We stopped before her, saluting.


    After the captain returned our salute, she immediately broke into a smile. ¡°I am overjoyed to see that you have returned safely, Cadet Deusicar. I see that you have brought our first volunteer from Teuloc.¡±


    My head snapped to Sabriel inadvertently as the captain addressed her. I knew that Deusicar was the name of the royal family. A brief look of displeasure crossed her face as she responded to the captain. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    The captain nodded, inspecting me and nodding as if she had confirmed something. ¡°Cadet Deusicar, if you wish, please show him to the trainee quarters.¡±


    Sabriel and I saluted the captain once more before we pivoted on our heels and left through a door on the side. Luckily, the crew quarters section was close to the bridge so there would be no need for us to use the teleportation pads again. After discovering that Sabriel was actually an Imperial Princess, I began feeling strangely self conscious of my own position. I was not even an imperial citizen, but only a feudal subject of Teuloc¡¯s star system and lord. Although Sabriel had mentioned that social standing should have no impact in the military, I can¡¯t help but think that the captain¡¯s behavior towards her was extremely polite. Perhaps I had been overly familiar with her.


    Sabriel turned her head to look at me. ¡°Is something the matter, Auryn? Why do you walk behind me?¡±


    It seems that I had unconsciously avoided walking parallel with her. It was most likely due to me being overly conscious about our social statuses. Regardless, I did not wish to offend her. ¡°My apologies, your Highness the Imperial and Royal Princess¡­¡± I figured that I should take a more formal tone with her now. Surely I was acting far too casual with her on the load ship.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Sabriel¡¯s countenance immediately darkened and her brow was set in a sharp frown. Her cute lips were upturned in an expression of extreme displeasure. It seems like I screwed up. ¡°I am not an Imperial Princess!¡± She rebuked me. ¡°I am merely the daughter of a king! The Empress is my grandmother, but my father is a king. In fact, I am referred to as the imperial granddaughter within the royal family. ¡®Your highness the imperial granddaughter.¡¯ Is the sound of it not already off putting?¡± She snapped with a tone filled with annoyance.


    ¡°My deepest apologies, your Highness¡­¡± I tried to say, only to falter when Sabriel¡¯s displeasure increased exceedingly.


    Sabriel turned around angrily, walking forwards at a brisk pace. ¡°When I was small, I inherited a territory from my mother. That is why I was sometimes called Archduchess Ceti. When I enlisted in the military, the name ¡®Cadet Deusicar¡¯ became popular as well, despite my family name.¡± She spoke without turning around to face me. ¡°I thought I had told you, Auryn. You will call me Sabriel!¡±


    My face met my palm in an expression of self disappointment. I paused my stride as I reflected on my self consciousness. She stopped to look at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sabriel, I didn¡¯t realize. Friends call you ¡®Sabriel¡¯ is what you meant.¡±


    Sabriel graced me with her beautiful smile. ¡°That is not true. Only my father and the Empress refer to me without a title. My friends refer to me as ¡®Her Highness¡¯, or ¡®Princess Deusicar.¡¯¡±


    I frowned, puzzled. ¡°Then why do you want to be called Sabriel by a person like me who you had just met?¡±


    Sabriel gave me a long pause before answering. ¡°You are the first one who has ever asked for my name. Even the people close to me call me ¡®Her Highness¡¯ so I never paid attention to it. I have been called that way ever since I was born.¡± Sabriel paused again. ¡°However, when I was growing up, I noticed that my friends called each other by only their names and it just made me feel¡­ Envious. Just a little bit envious.¡±


    ¡°When we were all together, it was as if they could not relax in my presence. It became more apparent when I noticed the difference in treatment.¡± Sabriel continued. She looked down in melancholy as we walked. It seems that she was recalling memories that were not so pleasant for her.


    I nodded as we stopped before the first door of a long line of doors. Sabriel gestured towards a panel next to the door. I held up my fragarec to the panel, a brief message displaying that it had registered me as the owner of the room. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sabriel.¡± I said.


    Sabriel shrugged as I opened the door to the room, inspecting the area and taking a seat on the bed. She leaned on the frame. ¡°There is no need to apologize. I do not have the temperament to endure insulting names, but if it is a title, then I shall accept whatever it may be.¡± Sabriel put on a nonchalant air. ¡°¡¯Your Highness¡¯ or ¡®Princess Deusicar¡¯ or even ¡®Archduchess Deusicar¡¯, you can call me whatever you wish, Cadet Parnyr.¡± She said in an extremely formal tone.


    ¡°Ah, please let me call you Sabriel¡­¡± I said apologetically.


    Sabriel pivoted on her heel, spinning around so that her back was facing me now. ¡°Do not be foolish. It is not as if I said that I wanted you to call me Sabriel. In fact, when you asked for my name, I thought about including my title in it.¡± She lied.


    ¡°Please, I want to call you Sabriel.¡± I pushed.


    ¡°Do not hurt yourself, Cadet Parnyr. How about ¡®Your Highness Princess Deusicar¡¯ or whatever?¡±


    I paused after her response, not knowing how to placate her. It seems like I had struck a nerve. It seems I have no choice. I got up from the bed, walking around Sabriel and placing myself in front of her. I raised my arms in surrender. ¡°How can I get you to forgive me, Sabriel!?¡± I pleaded.


    Sabriel stared at me for a second before she started giggling like the first time we met. I blushed. She looked at me mischievously. ¡°You really did not realize I was a Deusicar, did you?¡±


    ¡°Not at all.¡± I sighed as I slumped back onto my bed.


    She stared at me with a thoughtful expression as she stood across from me now. ¡°Hmm, really¡­¡± She then pointed to her eyes. ¡°The name of this Deisonum is the Eyes of Seira. All those with royal blood possess it. That should be of assistance when you ever need to identify a member of the royal family.¡±


    I nodded my thanks. ¡°I can¡¯t believe they didn¡¯t even teach me the basics of identifying royalty.¡±


    Sabriel gave me a wry smile. ¡°Well, would you have treated me the same when we first met had you known I were Deusicar?¡±


    I shook my head admittedly. ¡°No, that I would not. By the way, it is awfully quiet here. Where are the other cadets?¡± I asked, suddenly conscious of the fact that it was only me and Sabriel in the room. Despite the door being open and the noise of our chatter inevitably echoing through to the walkway of the trainee quarters, the other rooms remained closed.


    Sabriel shrugged. ¡°I am not sure either. Perhaps they are at the mess hall. Speaking of which, I have not eaten since I arrived at the station.¡±


    As she spoke, I could feel that my stomach was uncomfortably empty. I must have been distracted by the thrill of my first flight through space. I stood up and beckoned to Sabriel. ¡°Let¡¯s go get some food, then!¡±


    Unfortunately, this was a trip that required the use of a teleportation pad. I had a nagging feeling that Sabriel enjoyed seeing me in fear of the device. Once she had managed to force me onto the pad, we arrived at a long walkway in the blink of an eye. The sides of the walkway were lined with a myriad of doors, most of which were clearance restricted.


    Sabriel led me through the walkway until we reached a rather large door which opened of its own accord without us even having to identify ourselves with our fragarec. The room behind the door was revealed to be a medium sized cafeteria styled mess hall with multiple tables where groups of cadets sat and a self-serve area where one could order food and have it created for you by the matter composers. Though the food from matter composers didn¡¯t hold a candle to the food that was actually cooked by chefs, it still served its purpose to provide nutrients and acceptable taste.


    I looked around at each table before turning to Sabriel. ¡°Where should we sit?¡±


    Sabriel shrugged. ¡°I do not mind so long as it is not too crowded. You will find us a seat while I go collect our food. Do you have any preference?¡±


    I quickly made a negative gesture. ¡°Whoa! I can¡¯t possibly let the Princess-¡° My sentence was stopped by Sabriel¡¯s death glare. It wouldn¡¯t be wise of me to finish my sentence. Actually, it wasn¡¯t wise of me to start that particular sentence in the first place. ¡°I mean, I¡¯ll go find us a seat right away, Sabriel!¡± I laughed sheepishly, running off quickly to avoid provoking Sabriel¡¯s irked annoyance any further.


    I could still feel the heat of her glare burning into my back as I searched for a suitable table.

 Chapter 5: Mistakes; Justice

    The cadets seated at the tables stared at me like I was some sort of exotic animal as I scanned the cafeteria for a suitable seat. It was an unpleasant feeling. Luckily, I was granted a way out of the awkward situation due to an empty table which was in the upper right corner of the room. It was a fairly isolated place, which was probably why no one had occupied it yet. Eager to escape the gazes of my fellow cadets, I made a beeline to the table and sat down.


    As I sat down, I seemed to blend into the crowd, the gazes of the cadets fading away like snow in the sunshine when they went back to their meals and conversations. Now that much of the unwanted attention had left me, I looked around, trying to see if there were any cadets I could talk to and hopefully befriend.


    However, I was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a tray being placed in front of me. Turning around, I found myself looking up at a young girl who seemed to be around my age like the rest of the cadets. Her long hair was the color of night which complemented her light violet eyes quite nicely. Although I was forced to look up at her, she was actually rather short. If I were standing, she would only reach my shoulder at best.


    ¡°You¡¯re in my seat.¡± She said flatly. It didn¡¯t sound like there was anything up for discussion.


    I shrugged. ¡°The table can seat four people. You can just sit across from me.¡±


    She just stared at me for a long while, making it increasingly awkward for me with every passing second before I finally gave up and stood from the seat. ¡°Alright, fine! I¡¯ll sit across, then.¡±


    As I left the seat, she sat and began to eat. ¡°There. Was that so hard?¡± She asked as I took the seat across from her.


    I let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Whatever.¡± I looked around, trying to spot Sabriel somewhere in the line at the self-serve area and failing.


    I rested my head on my forearms. It had been a long trip and I hadn¡¯t slept in quite a while. In fact, the night before today, I had been awake due to the nervousness of merely thinking about leaving my planet behind perhaps forever. However, it didn¡¯t seem like I was going to be able to get any rest as the girl across from me spoke.


    ¡°Are you seriously going to sleep in front of me while I¡¯m eating? Why don¡¯t you go and get yourself some food instead.¡± She said.


    I looked up at her, placing my chin on my forearms. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone.¡±


    ¡°I see. Made a friend already, huh?¡± She sneered. I don¡¯t see why she had to act like this. She was rather beautiful and I¡¯m sure she would be popular around both girls and guys; however, her attitude was completely the opposite of how she looked.


    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know how I managed to screw this up so quickly already. Maybe it was because I sat in your seat, but I had no idea it was yours. Can we please just start over?¡± I pleaded. Perhaps it was because I was tired and hungry, but I really did not want to antagonize the first person I met other than Sabriel.


    She looked at me for a second before shrugging. ¡°Whatever.¡± Although she possessed a dismissive tone, I could see her blush slightly before she turned back to her food and hid her face.


    So far, it seemed to me that all Soleans were introverts. It was quite amusing as they were supposedly the largest empire in the galaxy. I had barely begun attempting to rest once more before I heard a loud clang echoing from the self-serve area. In normal circumstances, I would have just assumed that it was a food tray falling, but the clamor of people and voices around the area suggested otherwise.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check that out.¡± I said to the girl across from me who merely shrugged in response. She seemed to really like doing that.


    I approached the crowd of cadets which had formed a circular area around three people, one of which I promptly identified as Sabriel who emanated her usual aura of graceful authority. Standing across from her was a white-haired boy with ocean blue eyes who stood level with my height, perhaps a bit taller. He carried himself with an arrogant attitude, but the air of dignity he exuded could not be denied. It was clear that he was a noble. Between them was a thinly built cadet lying sprawled on the floor, a flipped food tray resting next to him with a pool of what appeared to be soup seeping from underneath it, staining the cadet¡¯s otherwise white uniform. Judging from his appearance, he didn¡¯t seem to be a Solean, but a feudal subject who volunteered to enlist.


    ¡°Sabriel!¡± I called out from the back of the crowd. I tried pushing myself through the throng of people despite the annoyed glares that they were giving me. Sabriel turned her head to look at me as I struggled through the sea of Soleans.


    ¡°Did I not tell you to find us a seat? What are you doing here, Auryn?¡± She asked. She seemed slightly annoyed, but I wasn¡¯t sure if her annoyance was directed towards me or the situation. It was probably both.


    I gestured at our surroundings. ¡°Well, I heard something loud and I just wanted to come see if you were okay¡­¡± I said. Sabriel blushed for a reason that will probably remain unknown for the rest of my life.


    ¡°I can take care of myself!¡± She put her hands on her hips. There was a laugh coming from my right. It seemed that the white-haired boy was enjoying our exchange.


    ¡°Simply wonderful!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Oh, how far you have fallen, Princess Deusicar! I could somewhat understand your motivation to protect this useless commoner,¡± he gestured to the boy laying on the ground as he said this. ¡°But I could never imagine you allowing one to call you by your name without so much as a title!¡±


    ¡°You will not address them so rudely, Cadet Glaumr.¡± Sabriel stated coolly. Although she seemed unperturbed, no one could deny the cold fury that seeped from her.


    As the cadet called Glaumr was about to respond, the boy on the ground suddenly began coughing as he came to his senses. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position as he cradled his head. It seems like he was knocked out due to hitting the back of his head on the ground. His frail constitution would not have helped in this matter.


    Sabriel extended a hand towards him in order to help him up. ¡°Stand, cadet. He must apologize to you.¡± She pointed towards Cadet Glaumr.


    ¡°Me? Apologize to a commoner? Princess, there are limits to how outlandish your requests become.¡± Cadet Glaumr smirked.


    Sabriel¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°You will not address me as ¡®princess¡¯ once more. I am Cadet Deusicar so long as I wear this uniform, and you will apologize to this cadet whether you wish to or not.¡±


    Cadet Glaumr shrugged, a cocky smile still on his face. ¡°You cannot make me do anything I do not wish to. You said it yourself: you are Cadet Deusicar while you wear that uniform. You have no hold over me, Cadet.¡± He stressed the last word, striding right up to Sabriel and standing mere inches away from her. ¡°If you want me to apologize, you¡¯re going to have to make me.¡±


    The glare in Sabriel¡¯s eyes sharpened as he provoked her. She clenched her hand into a fist and raised it as if to strike the cadet standing before her. ¡°Do not take me lightly.¡± She said as she prepared to ram her fist into his face.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I quickly stepped forwards to Sabriel¡¯s side and grabbed her by the shoulder. ¡°Stop, Sabriel!¡± I told her. I didn¡¯t like it, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t do for me to just allow her to get a reprimand as soon as we had boarded the transport ship. In any case, I had been idle for far too long.


    ¡°Unhand me!¡± Sabriel said as she stepped back, turning her face away from me in anger. I quickly complied. ¡°Who are you to stop me!?¡± She questioned me angrily. Caught off guard, I had absolutely no response to her outburst. She stared at me for a few more seconds before she stepped away from me with a loud ¡®humph.¡¯


    I would have liked to avoid angering her, but it didn¡¯t seem like she was going to listen to me if I had only told her to stop. Although she was visibly upset, I¡¯d much rather her be angry than have to suffer a reprimand from the Captain. I had heard that punishments were quite harsh and could last months.


    Across from us, Cadet Glaumr laughed. ¡°What a sight! The proud Princess being stopped by a mere peasant!¡± He snickered. ¡°But you know, I doubt you would have hit me even if he hadn¡¯t stopped you! It¡¯s clear that you don¡¯t have it in you, just like your father!¡±


    Sabriel whirled around, pure fury seething from her entire body. ¡°You will not insult my father!¡± She roared. Her crimson eyes seemed as if they were burning flames as she stepped towards Cadet Glaumr with her fist raised. I don¡¯t think it would be wise of me to stop her this time.


    A fist slammed into the side of the cadet¡¯s face, sending him sprawling onto the ground. As he attempted to push himself up, a boot stamped down hard onto the centre of his back, sending him crashing right back into the ground. A small pool of blood was growing from where his head lay. He had probably broken his nose. Sabriel stared at the scene before her in surprise. A short girl with long black hair stood with one foot atop of the unconscious cadet, grinding the heel of her boot into his back as her amethyst eyes stared at him with pure disgust. It was the girl who I was sitting across from earlier. I¡¯m glad I gave her the seat.


    She shoved the unconscious cadet away from her as she walked towards Sabriel. ¡°Thanks for standing up for my brother. He¡¯s always been weak and it attracts nasty people like him.¡± She pointed to the still unconscious Cadet Glaumr.


    Sabriel nodded slowly. ¡°I merely wanted to see him apologize for his actions, but this is fine too¡­¡±


    The girl walked towards her brother who was still somewhat disoriented and leaning on the self-serve counter to recover. ¡°Kalen, are you alright?¡± She asked, concerned.


    The boy named Kalen nodded weakly. ¡°It¡¯s just a slight concussion. I¡¯ll be alright if I get a little rest.¡±


    I looked to Sabriel who turned away from me with another loud ¡®humph.¡¯ It seemed like she was going to give me the cold shoulder for the time being. Since that couldn¡¯t be helped, I approached the girl and her brother.


    She looked at me as I drew near. ¡°Thanks.¡± She uttered.


    I tilted my head in question. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything. Sabriel was the one who tried to get him to apologize and well¡­ You were the one who did all the work.¡± I said with an awkward smile.


    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, boy. If you didn¡¯t stop her, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to beat the shit out of that smartass there.¡± She gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder. It still hurt. ¡°I¡¯d rather punch him myself than have someone else do it for me.¡±


    I nodded. I somewhat understood her, but something tells me she enjoyed hitting that cadet. ¡°Is your brother okay?¡± I ask.


    Her brother looked at me and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thanks for your concern. Feudal subjects like me aren¡¯t cared about much out here.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m one too. A feudal subject, that is. I actually though that your sister was a Solean, you know.¡±


    She looked at me with surprise. ¡°Really? Why is that?¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°Well, uh¡­ I guess it was the way you carried yourself?¡± I couldn¡¯t possibly tell her the truth that it was because I thought she was exceptionally beautiful. At least not with an angry Sabriel in earshot.


    The crowd had slowly dispersed as we spoke, the people close to Cadet Glaumr¡¯s body giving it a wide berth as they walked back to their tables. It seemed like everyone wanted to pretend that they had seen nothing.


    ¡°Shall we get some food for your brother?¡± I ask. ¡°We still haven¡¯t eaten.¡± I gestured to Sabriel who turned around so that her back faced me. Once again, her now signature ¡®humph¡¯ was heard.


    Sabriel ended up making me purchase the most expensive meal set for her which left me with only soup and bread for this meal. I carried the food trays to the table, setting them down as we sat across from one another. After the black-haired girl helped her brother get seated, she placed his food tray in front of him and sat down as well. It seems like she didn¡¯t finish her meal.


    ¡°So uh¡­ It¡¯s not too late for introductions, right? I still haven¡¯t caught your names.¡± I say.


    The girl gave me a puzzled look. ¡°Why would it be too late when we¡¯ve barely met?¡± I kicked myself mentally for my ineptitude in starting conversations. ¡°I¡¯m Lafaea Ssiurec. Boarding school cadet.¡± She said as she tapped her dark red raudrec.


    Boarding school fit her. It was the only section of the navy which engaged in face-to-face combat with the enemy after boarding their ships; however, the nature of their assignments was quite dangerous and not many cadets register for the division.


    Her brother finished the piece of bread in his mouth. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll go next then.... Uhm, my name is Kalen Ssiurec¡­¡± He paused. ¡°I¡¯m in engineering.¡±


    I had only just noticed his green raudrec, which was a rather strange color for the engineering school in my opinion. I would have assumed that green would be the color of the biology division.


    After I had introduced myself to them, it was time for Sabriel to do so as well. She seemed to be thinking about something before she realized that all our eyes were on her. Still, she paused once more before speaking.


    ¡°I am Deusicar Caea Sabriel Saryun Darbhea Ceti. You will call me Cadet Deusicar.¡± She ended her introduction abruptly. Lafaea and Kalen looked at her strangely. She had come off rather aloof and her name was quite long. For some reason, it sounded familiar but I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on it. I shook off the feeling.


    ¡°She¡¯s quite nice if you get to know her.¡± I say to Lafaea and Kalen, trying to dissuade them from any strange thoughts they may have about Sabriel.


    They simply nodded with disbelieving stares. Now that the introductions were done, we had lapsed into a silence due to the lack of a topic to discuss. Silently, we finished our meals. Once we had disposed of our food trays, we returned to the table and sat in silence once more. Strangely enough, it wasn¡¯t awkward to me, but rather relaxing. Perhaps it was because the silence was a comforting break from the events today.


    Eventually, there was an announcement informing us that it was time to return to our quarters to rest. We made our way out of the cafeteria and towards the teleportation pad which led us back to our cabins. On the way, Cadet Glaumr, who had regained consciousness, gave Lafaea and her brother a wide berth.


    Walking towards my room, I could see that Sabriel was following behind me. Perhaps her room was somewhere close as she had arrived at the same time I did. I reached the door, holding up my fragarec to the holoreader panel on the side of the door which caused it to open. It was only then that I noticed Sabriel still standing behind me.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Why are you behind me, Sabriel?¡± I ask her tentatively.


    She just kicked me into the room without warning before stepping in herself, the door closing and locking behind her. I picked myself up from the ground quickly as I scrambled to get away from her while she advanced towards me, her arms crossed.


    ¡°H-hold on, Sabriel! We can talk this out!¡± I stammered, trying to stall for time. I was a dead man.


    Sabriel stopped. ¡°Those who arrive in the same shuttle are roommates.¡± She stated matter-of-factly. She was looking down, preventing me from seeing her facial expression.


    That wasn¡¯t good. ¡°O-okay¡­ Please l-let¡¯s talk about this¡­¡± I said in a small voice. She was probably so mad that she didn¡¯t want to look at me.


    She didn¡¯t respond, so we fell into a long and tense silence. It was as if the air between us was as taut as a bowstring in this small room which only had a single bed, a couch, and a table. If I were to survive, I would have to make the first move. I readied myself, every fiber of muscle in my being preparing for the worst.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I blurted out loudly just as Sabriel had apologized as well.


    ¡°I must apologize!¡± Sabriel had simultaneously said in a loud voice.


    We looked at each other with blank stares, blinking a couple times before bursting out into laughter. Sabriel looked at me with a wide grin that I returned. She really was quite cute at the most inopportune times. At least she isn¡¯t giving me the cold shoulder anymore.

 Chapter 6: Responsibility; Deception

    Captain Faozaryc leaned back in her chair as she gave a passing glance to her front flyers. She felt no need to inspect their work as they had flown various ships with her since her graduation from command school many years ago. Formally, her rank was Tetracommander which put her in charge of four fleets; however, on this particular excursion, she was tasked only with handling the Vaurhaut which was not accompanied by an escort fleet. Of course, there was no need as they would be travelling through conquered space towards the military headquarters on the planet of Jaragand IV.


    She had noted that the bridge of the ship was rather large for a transport ship, but it was mostly due to the addition of weapon control stations which were not present on previous models. It was indeed an honor for her to be able to take the Vaurhaut on its maiden flight. As she viewed the ship¡¯s travel in the vast expanse of space through the various large monitors displayed at the forefront of the helm, she begun to reminisce of earlier days which had led up to a series of events which saw her become the Captain of such an important ship. She closed her eyes, content to leave the voyage in the hands of her trustworthy crew. It would not be until twelve hours ship time that they would finally arrive at the Solean Military Academy on the planet of Jaragand IV, named after one of the great generals of the Deisolaeic. Furthermore, the ship would have to refuel once they were midway to their destination. With these thoughts, Captain Faozaryc believed that she could relax comfortably until the ship had at least reached the refueling station.


    As she began to sink into the warm embrace of slumber, Captain Faozaryc was interrupted by a beeping sound on her wrist. Frowning in annoyance, she had opened her eyes, rubbing them briefly before tapping a button on her fragarec to receive the message. The contents were absolutely not to her liking. After heaving a disappointed sigh, Captain Faozaryc turned off the holographic display that her fragarec was emitting, leaning back into her seat for several more seconds before resolving to get up, turning to her Vice Captain.


    ¡°Vice Captain Jaryoc, you will take command of the bridge until I return. I must sort out some Cadets.¡± Captain Faozaryc had informed the broad-shouldered man who stood slightly behind the captain¡¯s chair.


    Vice Captain Jaryoc had known his Captain for several years, first serving as a Navigations Officer before being promoted for various achievements. He was accustomed to the Captain having a relaxed attitude and casually delegating other crew members to complete tasks for her. To other members of the military, Captain Faozaryc¡¯s actions could be perceived as laziness; however, to the Vice Captain, they were the actions of an Officer who cared deeply for her crew members and wished to provide them with as many chances as possible to prove their worth at the expense of her own. It was this attitude of self-sacrifice, among other things, which had caused Vice Captain Jaryoc to refuse his promotion to Tetracommander and becoming a Captain himself. This was an officer that he would gladly serve under.


    Despite this, the Vice Captain was also aware that Captain Faozaryc would never assign a task to one of her crew members that she knew they could not complete. The fact that the Captain had seen fit to deal with the issue herself would mean that it was either of high importance or extremely dangerous.


    ¡°Ma¡¯am, if you would permit it, what manner of task requires the Captain herself to see to it personally?¡± Vice Captain Jaryoc could not help but ask his commanding officer the reason for her urgent departure. This was because the voyage had been going extremely smoothly and he could not for a second fathom that anything had gone astray. For Captain Faozaryc to leave the bridge on such short notice, it was almost unheard of. In fact, he had only witnessed such a case twice in the past, and both situations had almost caused the death of his Captain. Thus, he was without a doubt worried.


    Captain Faozaryc had smirked. Although she and the Vice Captain had been acquainted for quite the long time, she could not help but find it amusing whenever he was worried about her. ¡°It appears that we have an uninvited guest on the ship who had managed to enter as the loading docks¡¯ shields were down while the load ship Slauhaut was docking.¡±


    Vice Captain Jaryoc¡¯s facial expression contorted into one of worry. ¡°C-Captain! You musn¡¯t! The intruder may be armed! This is why we have a security team stationed aboard!¡±


    In fact, the intruder had already been detained by the ship¡¯s security team; however, Captain Faozaryc had purposely withheld that tidbit of information in order to elicit such a reaction from her Vice Captain. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. I think I can handle myself just fine. Make sure to keep the ship on course, alright? Captain¡¯s orders¡± She gave her Vice Captain a mischievous smile before leaving, giving him a light pat on the shoulder as she stepped past him and towards the exit of the bridge.


    Vice Captain Jaryoc had stood in place as if frozen, watching helplessly as Captain Faozaryc departed from the bridge. The crew members on the bridge had stifled their laughter as they watched their Vice Captain¡¯s expression change into one of horror. It was already common knowledge that the Vice Captain had fallen head over heels for the Captain.


    After she had left the bridge, Captain Faozaryc¡¯s hand fell instinctively to the weapon which hung at her hip. She usually disliked using violence on captured prisoners; however, she had a feeling that it might be unavoidable. The security team had reported capturing a military officer in the service of the United Empire of Brannar. Though they were considered a neutral faction, the United Empire had been opposing the expansion of the Deisolaeic heavily throughout the years and despite a tenuous non-aggression pact, there was concrete evidence of the United Empire steadily increasing their military power and even diverting much of their funds to fleet construction. It would not be a mistake to say that they were preparing for a war and the non-aggression pact had only served to delay the inevitable.


    Captain Faozaryc inhaled before letting out a deep breath as she paused outside of the ship¡¯s detainment block. Normally, transport ships would not contain such a section, but since the Vaurhaut was designed to function as a light military cruiser as well, it was necessary to create an area to hold prisoners of war. She adjusted her uniform briefly before raising her fragarec to the scanner mounted next to the door and stepped in.


    The detainment block was busier than Captain Faozaryc expected. She had thought that there would be four guards stationed in the block at most; however, it appeared that almost all of the ship¡¯s security team was currently inside and patrolling the area. Though it was rather small, the guards made sure to keep every single area of the section monitored at all times. With a stern expression, the Captain walked past the empty cells and toward the only cell which was in use. Upon arrival, she noticed that the translucent energy shield barring the prisoner from exit was doubly reinforced, causing the interior to appear slightly blurred. Security was awfully high for a single prisoner.


    As she was about to peer into the holding cell, a voice drew Captain Faozaryc¡¯s attention to her right, the sound of the standard military-issue steel shod boots ringing across the metallic surface of the floor beneath her. ¡°Tetracommander Faozaryc!¡± A man had marched towards her quickly, stopping just a meter away and bringing his fist to his chest in salute. He wore a pitch-black version of the Solean military uniform with a gilded raudrec of the same color adorning his shoulder which identified him as the Captain of the ship¡¯s security team. Despite certain ranks in the Solean Navy and Infantry sharing identical names, the power and authority that each rank bestowed was quite different. It was for this reason that the security team¡¯s captain chose to address Captain Faozaryc as Tetracommander in order to avoid confusion.


    Captain Faozaryc returned the salute before casting a quick glance to the prisoner detained in the cell. She couldn¡¯t pick out many details due to the layered force field; however, she could tell by the prisoner¡¯s uniform and his ornate decorations that the prisoner was anything but a simple soldier enlisted by the United Empire.


    ¡°Report.¡± Captain Faozaryc ordered the security team¡¯s Captain.


    The man nodded. ¡°Security team 01-05 found the prisoner in the conference room sitting in the furthest chair to the door. Upon the security team¡¯s entry, the prisoner immediately surrendered and was brought to the detainment block without any complications. The ship was then thoroughly inspected for any foreign mechanisms that may have been planted by the prisoner. None were found. That is all, ma¡¯am.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc frowned. It was strange for one to board the ship and then immediately surrender when caught. ¡°Did the prisoner say anything while he was being transported?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°No, ma¡¯am. The prisoner had remained silent during the entire trip to the detainment block. Up until now, he has not spoken a word. We were awaiting for your permission to interrogate the prisoner.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc had nodded, standing off to the side as the security team began their interrogation procedures, but to no avail. It seemed that no matter what they tried, the prisoner would not budge a single inch.


    The results from the security team had only caused Captain Faozaryc¡¯s frown to grow deeper over time. There was definitely a reason for this man¡¯s appearance, and she was determined to find it. ¡°Lower the containment fields. I will question the prisoner personally.¡±


    The security team¡¯s captain nodded and raised his fragarec towards a nearby panel before sliding a lever which caused the layered force fields keeping the prisoner inside to disappear. He had thought nothing of it, as the man¡¯s arms were bound behind him and he had been thoroughly searched and found in possession of no weapons.


    Now that the containment fields had disappeared, Captain Faozaryc could see that the man was a high ranking official of the United Empire. The color of his uniform had matched the stark white of her own uniform, though it had been decorated by the addition of a golden aiguillette and pauldrons. The left of his chest was decorated with various medals and commendations and though Captain Faozaryc was not familiar with the ranking system of the United Empire, she was sure that this man was a high ranking officer.


    Stepping into the cell, the Captain confronted the prisoner who was still staring at the floor. ¡°I am Tetracommander Aergjn Vyrak Kalesia Faozaryc Vianea Jouurn, captain of this ship and your captor. My men tell me that you have not spoken a single word since your capture, but it seems that we shall have to cut your vow of silence short. You have been caught trespassing aboard an Imperial spacecraft for unknown reasons and surrendered peacefully. I do not wish to use violence nor do I wish to cause you suffering. Thus, it is in your best interest to answer my questions clearly and succinctly. Do so, and we shall judge you fairly in accordance to Solean law.¡±


    The prisoner did not seem to respond at all, continuing to stare at the ground.


    Captain Faozaryc had paused for a few seconds before continuing. She assumed that the prisoner had heard her previously. ¡°Prisoner, identify yourself and state the purpose of your crime.¡±


    The prisoner continued to remain silent and unresponsive, prompting Captain Faozaryc¡¯s hand to fall to the weapon which hung at her hip. She has gripped it lightly and unsheathed it in a single fluid motion, the light of the cell dancing across the bright silver blade. The weapon was elegant and refined with the blade forming a straight edge on both sides before tapering into a sharp point which traced a graceful arc in the air to arrive just below the prisoner¡¯s chin. Captain Faozaryc had used the blade to gently lift the prisoner¡¯s head up, exercising extreme control so as to not draw blood.


    ¡°Speak, prisoner. I have demanded information from you and I will receive it.¡± The look in her eyes told the prisoner that she brooked no conflict.


    As the prisoner looked up at her, the Captain shivered. The man gave off a weirdly unnerving feeling, but she couldn¡¯t quite put her finger on why. The man was middle-aged and had a full beard, and now that she could see his face clearly, she had noticed that his left eye was missing and that the socket was lined with wires, perhaps adding to the unnerving atmosphere that the man generated.


    For the first time since his capture, the prisoner had given a response to his captors. He flashed Captain Faozaryc a fierce smile. It was an expression that made the Captain find the prisoner extremely familiar despite this being their first meeting.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°I am Rear Admiral Nathaniel Barron of the United Empire of Brannar¡¯s advance fleet, Last Autumn Leaf.¡± The prisoner said, his smile not disappearing for a single second.


    Captain Faozaryc raised an eyebrow. It was extremely strange for any officer to be boarding an enemy ship, much less a Rear Admiral. It was likely that the prisoner was lying. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another chance. Name and purpose.¡±


    The prisoner who called himself Nathaniel only laughed, his smile growing wider. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you, girl. I am Rear Admiral Nathaniel Barron. As for my purpose? I¡¯ve come here to kill you.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc couldn¡¯t help but grin. The prisoner who she was holding at swordpoint with arms bound behind him, was telling her that he would kill her. ¡°And how would you go about doing that?¡± She asked, mildly intrigued.


    ¡°Like this.¡± The prisoner had a wild look in his eyes now as his smile grew unnaturally wide before he let out a loud cry. ¡°Long live Emperor Brannar!¡± He shouted as he drove his body forwards before Captain Faozaryc could register what he was attempting to do, impaling himself onto the Captain¡¯s outstretched blade. The sword had gone clean through his throat and neck in a single stroke, his body weight causing him to slide down the blade rapidly before being stopped by the crossguard.


    Blood began to spill from the man¡¯s punctured throat, steadily forming a puddle before Captain Faozaryc¡¯s feet. The rest of the crew, as well as Captain Faozaryc herself, had only stared at the scene in horror as they processed what had just happened. If the man was not lying, his death may have just created an excuse for the United Empire to wage war on the Deisolaeic. It would be a gross failure on Captain Faozaryc¡¯s part and she would have to answer to the Imperial Court for it.


    It was only now that realization dawned upon the Captain. It was not that she had found the prisoner familiar, but the expression itself. It was an expression that she had seen many times during her career in the military. It was the bestial grin of a soldier who was ready to die for what he fought for. The unnerving aura that the man exuded came not from him, but rather the fact that he had already consigned himself to death. He had no longer considered any alternatives to death and he had cut himself off from any possible routes of survival. It was the stench and attitude of a man who was already in death¡¯s embrace which had caused Captain Faozaryc to feel uncomfortable in the man¡¯s presence.


    With a grip that tightened with worry, Captain Faozaryc withdrew her sword from the now deceased prisoner¡¯s throat, causing several blood droplets to flow off of the blade in the form of a stream. The weapon was made with a special material which repelled liquids and other matter which caused it to be heavily favored by nobles and officers of the Empire as the blade required no cleaning and maintained a pristine appearance during combat as well as during formal occasions. After sheathing the blade, Captain Faozaryc had stepped back to avoid staining her shoes with the blood of the prisoner as he fell down, no longer supported by her sword.


    There was a brief moment of silence before the captain of the security team spoke. ¡°Ma¡¯am, please return to the bridge. We shall clean up this mess.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc nodded. She wanted to get as far away from the situation as possible in order to collect her thoughts. She had technically caused the death of a possible Rear Admiral of the United Empire, which would put them in a position of retaliation. It was common knowledge that the United Empire had been preparing to start a war against the Deisolaeic, and she had just given them a reason to do so. She was not considering the possibility of a reprimand or demotion for something like this. If this truly sparked a war, she would be executed for her actions.


    Briskly, the Captain departed from the detainment block and returned to the bridge. Upon arrival, she instantly made a beeline towards the captain¡¯s chair and slumped back into it, causing Vice Captain Jaryoc a great deal of surprise.


    ¡°C-Captain!?¡± Vice Captain Jaryoc had slightly recoiled in shock by the sudden appearance of the Captain and her aggravated actions.


    Captain Faozaryc gave her Vice Captain a brief glance before letting out a long sigh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She quickly said. ¡°Are we almost to the refueling station?¡±


    ¡°A-Ah, we will be arriving at the refueling station in approximately two hours ship time.¡± Vice Captain Jaryoc responded, not quite knowing if he should prod the Captain for more information on her current disposition.


    Captain Faozaryc nodded. ¡°So I was gone for about three hours¡­¡± She muttered to herself.


    After their brief conversation, Vice Captain Jaryoc suddenly jolted to attention, turning to the crew manning the various stations on the bridge. In the midst of the Captain¡¯s abrupt return, he had forgotten an important piece of protocol. ¡°The Captain has returned to the bridge!¡± He announced somewhat sheepishly.


    Although most of the crew members just quietly snickered and continued on with their work, some had turned around to give the Vice Captain a look which seemingly implied that he was an idiot.


    As Captain Faozaryc reclined in her seat, she was thinking of solutions to the bind that she had put herself in. Should her actions have truly sparked a war, her foremost priority was to ensure that she would not be executed. For that, she was willing to throw away her honor. Though she did not believe in deception, she was a firm believer of regaining one¡¯s lost honor so long as one survived.


    As she simulated various situations in order to rectify her error, she heard the telltale sounds of the door which led to the bridge open. Captain Faozaryc¡¯s heart had skipped a beat. There were no scheduled visits to the bridge, nor was she informed that there would be any officers heading to the bridge. Of all the crew members, the only ones capable of accessing the bridge without prior notice other than herself and the Vice Captain were the front flyers, the engineering team, and the security team. Since there was no need for the engineering team to come to the bridge, it could only be a member of the security team. Perhaps they were thinking of saving themselves from the wrath of the Imperial Council and staging a mutiny in order to capture her.


    Captain Faozaryc stood from her seat, one hand placed upon the hilt of her sword as she prepared herself for the worst. What she saw had caused her to relax, the tenseness of her muscles fading away like snow in the sunshine. She let out a sigh of relief which left the security team member confused.


    Before her stood four cadets escorted by a single ensign from the security team. These cadets were none other than Auryn Parnyr and Sabriel Saryun, both of which she had already met as well as Lafaea and Kalen Ssiurec who she had also met when they boarded the ship.


    Captain Faozaryc ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to regain her bearings. ¡°So, what brings you and these cadets to the bridge, Ensign?¡±


    The ensign saluted, bringing his right fist to his left chest. ¡°These cadets have been involved in a fight at the mess hall, ma¡¯am. A cadet has been injured and sent to the medical bay as a result of their actions. It is per military protocol that they be given a reprimand.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc frowned. Although she did not know the Cadets very well, she was sure that someone from the Deusicar clan would not recklessly charge into fights, especially not Sabriel if her reputation around the Empire was correct. ¡°Cadets, would you mind explaining the situation?¡±


    Before the cadets could answer, the entire bridge was abuzz with frantic scrambling of crew members who were previously observing the flight of the ship in a passive manner. A series of loud beeps had drawn their attention.


    ¡°Captain!¡± One of the navigation officers had announced nervously. ¡°We have detected four spatial anomalies opening approximately half an aurech in front of our vessel! Unidentified ships are estimated to appear in normal space within two minutes ship time!¡±


    Captain Faozaryc had spun on her heel to face the front of the bridge. Even at this distance, she could spot the large wormholes that were causing the fabric of space before them to deform into the likeness of a pinwheel. It was without a doubt that the ships which would appear from them were at least the size of heavy cruisers.


    ¡°Everyone, man your stations! Power up the weapons and take aim! Prepare to fire as soon as the unidentified vessels enter normal space!¡± Captain Faozaryc barked orders to her crew rapidly.


    As the crew members rushed to complete their tasks and put the Vaurhaut into battle-ready condition, Captain Faozaryc bit on one of her nails nervously. This was certainly not planned for the Vaurhaut¡¯s maiden voyage. Although the ship was equipped with heavy weapons, it was not designed for front line combat, but rather supporting other cruisers from the rear lines. The Vaurhaut, despite the additions, was still a transport ship at its core. Left without an escort fleet, defeat was almost guaranteed; however, that was not something that Captain Faozaryc could allow with a Deusicar on board.


    Although she was by no means an amateur at ship-to-ship combat, each one of the Captain¡¯s simulated battle scenarios in her head resulted in defeat. She would have to stall for time, at least until the Deusicar had been safely evacuated from the ship. Then she would go out in a blaze of glory. She thought it would be a fitting end for one who had sparked a war between the Deisolaeic and the United Empire. Perhaps it may even redeem her from her actions.


    ¡°Captain!¡± One of the navigation officers called again. ¡°The unidentified spacecraft have entered normal space! They have been identified as vessels from the United Empire of Brannar! Awaiting orders!¡±


    The Captain had not guessed incorrectly regarding the size of the approaching ships. Out of the four ships which had emerged from the wormholes, three were heavy cruisers while one was a larger ship that appeared to be a carrier, bearing the holographic flag of the United Empire of Brannar.


    As Captain Faozaryc was about to give the order to open fire, she was interrupted by one of the communications officers. ¡°Captain! Their flagship is hailing us!¡±


    ¡°Put them through. Let¡¯s see what they want.¡± Captain Faozaryc ordered, causing the communications officers to type rapidly on their holographic display, opening up a large screen at the forefront of the bridge which displayed the image of a man in an ornate uniform. He was undoubtedly the commander of this fleet.


    ¡°Greetings, Tetracommander Aergjn Vyrak Kalesia Faozaryc Vianea Jouurn.¡± The man spoke slowly and deliberately, with the tone of a man who knew he was in control of the situation. ¡°I am Lord Admiral Harrow. I will make this brief. We would like you to surrender your ship to us. That is all we require. We do not wish to keep you all as prisoners and feed you. You and your men will be allowed to go wherever you please after you have surrendered. We will not pursue, nor will we attack. You have my word.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc was taken aback at the man¡¯s words. She had not recalled ever meeting this man, nor had she ever introduced herself. She shook her head as if to clear herself of her conflicted thoughts, she responded to the Admiral. ¡°If you require our ship, it seems that you will not be able to attack us carelessly. You say that we will be able to go wherever we please after surrendering our ship, but without a ship, one cannot get very far in space, as you should know. Since it is quite clear that you are unable to simply destroy my ship with your superior firepower, I¡¯d like to know just why it is I¡¯d ever surrender to you and give you the satisfaction of taking the ship as well as the victory without the loss of so much as a single man.¡±


    Lord Admiral Harrow looked at her with a tired expression. ¡°Perhaps this will convince you otherwise.¡± He gestured to one of his officers who caused a holographic display to appear in front of Harrow. Upon it was a video of Captain Faozaryc¡¯s blade being driven into a man wearing the uniform of an officer of the United Empire.


    Captain Faozaryc cursed herself for her carelessness. She realized why the prisoner¡¯s eye socket was lined with wires now. His eye was a camera implant which he had detached during his imprisonment and planted somewhere in the cell to record and transmit that very moment. It was most likely why the man had kept his face hidden until he was in a position to execute his mission. The previous guards who had entered to interrogate him would have immediately noticed that something was astray.


    After the video had finished transmitting, Lord Admiral Harrow gave Captain Faozaryc a self-explanatory shrug. ¡°It is quite simple. Surrender your ship, and you can do your nation a service by preventing the deaths of billions. As of right now, I am the only one within the United Empire of Brannar who has access to this little show; however, I can release it to the rest of the Empire at a moment¡¯s behest. Surrender your ship, and I shall spare you the fate of bearing the knowledge that it was because of your actions that you had cast your own nation into a war. You have my word.¡± He repeated, his words sounding almost like a siren¡¯s song that dragged those who listened into their grave.


    Captain Faozaryc grimaced. That was the crux of the matter. Unfortunately, surrendering the ship would also give the United Empire access to Solean technology. The major blockade that the United Empire faced when considering war against the Deisolaeic was the difference in their technological prowess. Were she to give up the ship, it would potentially allow for the United Empire to become a deadly enemy, and that was something she could not permit. On the other hand, if she were to fight, it would most likely cost the entirety of her crew, as well as the life of a Deusicar, and also cast the nation into a war. She was at an impasse.


    Lord Admiral Harrow smiled patiently. To him, his prey was already within the grasp of his talons. He merely needed to grip, and his prey would be his. ¡°The choice is yours, Captain. You will have four hours ship time to answer me. Of course, since neither of us are going anywhere, it will be quite lucky for you that time will appear constant for the both of us.¡±


    Captain Faozaryc clenched her hands into fists as the transmission from the enemy Admiral had ended, the holographic screen disappearing. Within a mere hour, she would have to make a decision which concerned her entire crew, and quite possibly the fate of the entire Deisolaeic. It was a decision that she felt was way above her pay grade.


    However, she had now found a solution to the daunting problem which now faced her. It was rather simple if she thought about it. Previously, she had not been given time to prepare for this situation; however, the enemy commander had graciously given her four hours. It would be more than enough.


    A grin grew on Captain Faozaryc¡¯s face. Beside her, Vice Captain Jaryoc gulped. He knew from experience that the Captain smiling in such situations could lead to nothing good. Steeling her resolve and nodding once to herself as if affirming her plans, she pivoted neatly on her heel and turned to the four cadets who had simply been nervously watching the situation unfold.