The Rebel Faction

Sarendivus HQ: Guest Hall

Varcanna entered her room, having been sent by her mother to fetch the kids and her things, only to stop short when she saw Silliss. The young warrior was sitting on the floor with his head buried in his arms, the sound of faint sobbing could be heard. She felt sorrow gripe her heart, knowing his sadness could only mean that Tiosk told him about the mission and the likely hood he won’t come back alive: he didn’t even notice her come in.

Quietly she knelt down beside him and gently put her hand on his shoulder. Silliss flinched slightly and looked up at her, his eyes puffy and wet. Varcanna gave him a soft and comforting smile. “Don’t more for those that are not yet dead.” She said quietly. “It’s bad luck.”

Silliss turned his head away slightly, looking ashamed he was caught like this.

“I know he must mean a lot to you.” Varcanna said as she helped him to his feet. “And I know the odds are against him, but it would be better if you pray for his safe return then assume he is as good as dead.”

There was a long moment of silence. “You’re right…” Silliss said finally, softly. “Still it’s hard. Even though we didn’t agree on something he always supported me, was always there. I’m just…finding it hard to accept that someday he’ll be gone…and I’ll be alone…”

“You won’t be alone.” Varcanna said softly, stepping in close to him. Then, after a slight hesitation, she nuzzled his cheek: she felt him stiffen in shock. “At least not while I am around.” She whispered in his ear hole before pulling away. He continued to stand there with a look of surprise on his face, then a faint smile formed on his lips.

“Now, help me pack and gather the little ones.” Varcanna said as she started gathering her things. “We are evacuating the base.”

“We are?” Silliss said as he moved to help her. “Where are we going to go?”

“Back to Tissuss.”

A frown frowned on his lips. “Great…we have to deal with those mutts again..”

Bloodfang

The hanger was getting emptier and emptier and Tiosk couldn’t help but feel a bit of nosgalia. All those people that were leaving were valued members of his crew he had served with for a long time, many of them wishing him luck as they boarded the shuttle craft. A few he noted, looked angry, even insulted, but he experienced Captain knew he couldn’t make everyone satisfied with his reasoning.

Then to his surprise a shuttle arrived rather then departed. Thinking it was crew members defying his direct orders he stormed over to it, meaning to chew them out. However again to his surprise it wasn’t a crew member at all…

“Rista…what are you doing here?” He asked, puzzled on why the Captain of the RedClaw was here.

“Ossik and I thought you may be able to use this…” She said as she handed him a datapad. “To buy you more time when this mission of yours starts.”

“What’s on it?” Tiosk said, looking over the datapad.

“ID signatures from another Rynok destroyer that was recently destroyed.” Rista explained. “One that was still loyal to the government. The Captain of that ship was known for lingering in battle and was in fact the last one that was destroyed in the most recent battle, so it’s possible this ship is listed as MIA rather then AWOL. If you mask the Bloodfangs own ID sig with this one, it should throw them off for a while.”

“Until we get close enough for them to notice all the additional armor we are going to be packing.” Tiosk said, smiling faintly. “Thank you Rista, anything that will make this task easier and more survivable is appreciated.”

“It would be a shame to lose you Captain Tiosk. It’s been an honor to serve as your wingmen. A question though. From the traffic patterns we’ve seen the base is being evacuated, were should we go?”

“Tissuss.” Tiosk replied. “What we would do from there I do not know. I am trying not to think that far ahead with this mission to get through first. Admiral Fikan and Naosha would have a better idea once you arrive there. What happens over Trandosha in the next few hours has the potential to change everything…”

Trandosha: Alley

Her biggest advantage was lost, but she wasn’t about to give up now. Besk was weakened and before her cloaking device was ruined she was able to hurt him even more. He was breathing heavily already she noticed, his crimson blood flowing from his newest wounds and his trench coat was in tatters. To his credit, she saw no hint of the pain he was in in his eyes or posture.

A part of her was tempted to leave now, let his new wounds fester and weaken him even more before finishing him off, but no. She had already revealed who she was to him and she wanted him to die before he had a chance to spread that knowledge: the sake for her own continued freedom depended on it.

Along with his already weakened state, the chosen battle ground was also against him. A K’Zuta was a weapon more suited to a large room or wide open area, not the confines of an alley. Only if he was really lucky, like he was when he managed to damage her cloaking device, or if she got careless would she get injured. However getting past that damn weapon of his will be a chore, for the environment also worked against her: with the limited space, he could easily block any blows from the front and prevent her from flanking him. If she was to have a chance at hurting him more, she needed to either get behind him somehow or make using that weapon next to impossible. As long as the deadly maw-like weapon faced her, this fight was as good as a stalemate.

He was holding his weapon diagonally, the highest point tilted slightly forward she noted. She jabbed her K’Zur forward a couple of times experimentally, aiming for the areas his weapon didn’t immediately protected. Both times Besk backed away rather then block with his weapon, which in her opinion would have been the best thing to do, for those hooks would have easily shredded the thin leather covered mesh of the gloves she was wearing.

Now he attacked. He brought the weapon down then brought it up again in a swift upward and forward arc, then sharply down again: she easily stepped out of reach. She noted it took him slightly longer then it should have to bring the weapon back up to guard position….

He couldn’t help but notice how much heavier the weapon was then it usually was: the blood loss he was suffering was affecting his strength. Besk realized that if he was to survive, he had to end this fight quickly. Yet he found himself unwilling to strike at her seriously: the fact she was his only surviving offspring was making him hesitate.

Idiot, she cares nothing about the bloodline. He thought to himself. Kill her before she kills you! But that would be a waste, she may not care about it but she’s the only one that has a chance to continue the bloodline. I’m as good as dead in my current condition. Don’t be a fool…what of the Separatists? If you die now they will continue their propaganda unchecked and that fool Hyossk won’t be able to stop them. Frustrated and confused, Besk roared and swung wildly at her. To his dismay she easily kept out of reach and he was only exhausting himself more for his efforts. A downward swing missed her by inches and despite himself he paused a moment too long before starting to bring the weapon back up.

Asri quickly stepped on the unsharpened back edge of the weapon, preventing him from lifting the weapon at all. Then she struck, one K’Zur slashing across his face, taking out an eye. Besk reared back, his hands letting go of his weapon to cover his shredded face, screaming. Staggering, he backed away, knowing he would be finished if stayed any longer now. But she pressed her new advantage immediately and Besk felt pain erupt from multiple places as she ripped into him.

Trandosha: Alley

Asri sat down off to one side of the alleyway, panting, the mutilated form of Besk in front of her. The older Trandoshan had taken a lot of punishment before falling: a testament to both his training and their race, and even succeeded in landing a couple of blows on her. However, those blows had been wildly thrown in a feeble attempt to ward her off and the injuries inflicted would heal quickly: they didn't even slow her as she kept striking him again and again to keep him off balance and unfocused.

As she took her breather she examined her work. Besk was nearly unrecognizable now: half his face shredded with an eye missing, the armor chest piece he typically wore had been successfully been knocked off and his trench coat was thoroughly shredded to ribbons. All over his body were various puncture and slash wounds, many of them deep and spilling his crimson blood generously onto the alley floor. Surprisingly he wasn't dead yet and he was actually still conscious, though barely: his life was hanging by a very slender thread the stubborn warrior was holding on to tightly. No matter, there was one more thing she wanted to do to him before his life faded completely.

She stood up and moved over to him, then with utmost care she started to remove the K'Zur off her right hand. His remaining eye watched her through half closed lids, the pupil looking unfocused.

"You have...defeated me..." He said, his voice weak and gurgly. "Against...all odds. Finish me...or are you...too cowardly...to finish...the job?"

"I am no stranger to taking lives." Asri said casually. "So you're life will end Besk...just in a unique way." She finished removing the K'Zur and hooked it to her belt. "As I told you before, I must kill everyday to survive. Much like our ancestors did in fact. You have lost too much blood for me to consume though. Fortunately...I recently discovered an alternative...."

"What are...you..."

Suddenly she slashed him across the torso with the remaining K'Zur, right below the rib cage. Then she plunged her right hand right into his body cavity, Besk gasping in pain, and ripped his liver out. His eye was wide in shock and pain, the pupil a razor thin slit. Asri held the organ above him, in clear view of his face, a broad smile on her face.

"I'm afraid Besk...that I am a victim of rogue nanotechnology..." She said with mock sadness. "And I am compelled to feed the colony so it can grow..." She then ate his liver, making a big show of it. By the time she was finished Besk was no longer showing any signs of life: he had lived just long enough to for her to display this to him.

Licking her hand clean of blood and flesh, she straightened up and glanced about her. It was a bit of a surprise no one had heard their fight here: she was expecting an audience by now. Overall though that was a good thing, for with her status she would have been shot on sight by the marines.

Luck had been with her and she wasn't going to push it. So she climbed up to the rooftop, ignoring the slight burning sensation on her white skin from the sun, and started looking for a place to slepe the rest of the day away.

It was a few rooftops later that it hit her: now that she had accomplished her goals...what was she to do now?

Council of Elders: Subchamber

Councilor Shissa entered the subchamber, having changed out of her street clothes and into her Councilor robes, and nodded to the two other Councilors that were a part of the dissent group. To her surprise there was third Councilor with them.

“Councilor Nitakk, a pleasure to see you again.” She said politely, a part of her wondering if her two fellow dissenters were no longer dissenters.

“And to you Councilor Shissa.” Councilor Nitakk said. Shissa noted the slight hesitance in his voice. “Today should prove interesting I believe.”

“How so?”

“Hyossk is going to attend the meeting today.” One of the other Councilors said. “So we should get some answers on his questionable behavior as of late.”

“That is good. We are running out of time as is.”

“Were you able to rearrange a meeting with your contact Shissa?”

“Indeed I was, just got back from seeing him in fact.” Shissa said, knowing who he was referring to. Knowing there was good likely hood the room was bugged, she chose her words carefully. “He expressed some concerns: mainly that he didn’t want to have anything he didn’t have anything to do with to come bite him in the ass so to speak, but wished us luck. We also determined that our plans for him would best not go forward until we gather more information first.”

“Understandable, considering his position.” Nitakk said. “Hopefully we can get the information we need today at the meeting.”

Shissa glanced a questioning look at the other two Councilors, who simply nodded. Apparently, Nitakk had come to them on his own accord. If that was true, hopefully he wasn’t planning on a double cross and expose them before they had the support they needed. “Did you two gather the information we would need to make our arguments?” She asked.

They both nodded. “We got some doozies.” One said with a chuckle. “He’ll have hard time explaining his position thanks to what we discovered.”

Sarendivus HQ: Guest Hall

Packing was easy, since they didn’t much beyond the clothes on their backs. However it was getting the three girls to come along that was the problem. Normally obedient and well behaved, the three girls were fussy, cranky, and down right refused to get out of bed: a result of having kept being woken up during the night. Silliss and Varcanna were trying to be patient with them, but their patience was starting to get worn thin.

“I’m glad they are not like this all the time…” Silliss said with a sigh, shaking his hand: one of the girls had just bitten him.

“Well, I don’t blame them for being like this: I would be pissed if I kept getting woken up too.” Varcanna said.

~Warning, 20 minute's till base self destruction~

“Oh great…” Varcanna muttered. “Looks like we are out of time to try doing this the gentle way.” Having said that she took a blanket and quickly wrapped the girls up in it. The girls squawked and hissed in protest and tried to wriggle free, but without success.

Silliss picked up the bag, then froze when he remembered something. “Trissan…he snuck out of here earlier, we need to find him.” He said, his face turning white in panic.

“He’s with mother, no worries.” Varcanna said as she moved for the door. “He visited us in the conference room in fact…come on, I can give you a more detailed explanation later. We need to get to the hanger before this base goes up.”

“The base is no longer under attack…why blow it?” Silliss asked as he followed her.

“The location has been compromised, thus we are at risk of being attacked at anytime. With the state it’s in right now it’s not likely going to survive another attack.” Varcanna explained as they ran down the hall to the elevator.

“So better to cut their losses and save as many lives as you can…” Silliss said, understanding now.

Hanger

Naosha would pace, but since she was holding on to Trissan it would only annoy the youngster. So she stood still, but figited.

“Madam, we really should get going.” The pilot of the remaining shuttle the evacuees taking said.

“My daughter and the rest of my grandchildren are still on the base.” Naosha hissed at the man, gesturing to one of the few remaining ships in the hanger: the Skipray, Gory Teeth. “I am not leaving until they are safe.”

~Warning: self destruction will commence in 10 minutes~

“And if they wait until the very last minute to get here I’ll kill them.” Naosha growled.

Just then Silliss and Varcanna burst into the hanger.

“About time…eh…Varca…what is that you are carrying?” Naosha said when she saw the squirming blanket.

“A trio of very unhappy little girls.” Varcanna said with a mild chuckle. “They didn’t want to get out of bed.”

“Well they can catch up on sleep on the shuttle.” Naosha said as she took the bundle of none-too-happy kids from Varcanna. Trissan was giggling: his sisters being naughty? That was a first. He stopped giggling when Naosha gave him a look. “Come on young man, we need to go.”

Grumbling, Trissan followed his grandmother up the ramp of the shuttle while Silliss and Varcanna ran for the Gory Teeth. A couple minutes later the last of the evac craft exited the hanger and jumped to hyperspace.

Bloodfang

Tiosk had just returned to the bridge when he got he message from Gold Squadron. He frowned: he wasn’t too keen on letting more come along on this mission. However they were insistent on it.

“This is against my better judgment lads….for you have your whole lives ahead of you.” He said. “But every well, you may come along and have permission to land.”

Sarendivus HQ

In the brig two certain Ambassadors were waiting anxiously.

~Warning: Base Self destruction will commence in 5 minutes.~

“You know…I am starting to think no one is going to come for us…” One said softly, looking for the first time in his life afraid.

“There’s still time…” The other said. “They’d be stupid to just let us get blown up with the base…”

~Warning: Base Self destruction will commence in 4 minutes.~

The first looked very doubtful, remembering what both Naosha and Fikan said. “Damn you Naosha….”

Bloodfang

“Captain, all evacuations and preparations has been completed.”

“Good. No sense in delaying this any longer.” Tiosk said. “Let’s get this over with.”

RedClaw

Varcanna and Silliss were on the bridge, watching as the Bloodfang disappeared into hyperspace.

“Geed lack futhor…” Silliss said softly in Clan Dialect. “Muy tho geds soo it fit fer yea te rotarn te as…”

Varcanna, who was beside him, gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

Trandosha: Sewers

Rissonik couldn’t help but pace, something nagging on his mind. He was wondering how the meeting in the Councilor of Elders was going to go, which should be starting soon, but he felt something else was wrong.

When he took a careful look around in the storage room they were in, it clicked. “Where are Lissuss’ daughter?” He asked.

The one of the supporters looked around. “I…don’t know sir…” He said. “I know she was with us just before we had to move….”

“Great…don’t tell me she snuck away like her brother.” Rissonik said with a sigh. He knew Kysh had left a bit before the sudden move, but let that bother him. Since Kysh was an experienced spy he felt the lad would be able to fend for himself. His sister was another story though. “Take a few folks up to the surface and try to find her. If something’s happened to her Lissuss will have every right to have my head.”

Council of Elders

How many times have we stood here and debated? Shissa wondered. Thinking only of ourselves and how deep our pockets are? If we are lucky…that should change today.

She stood in her personal balcony, consciously aware of the blaster she had hidden under her robes: she hoped she wouldn’t need to use it today. Looking around she noted all other Councilors were in their positions, with the exception of two: Naosha’s spot directly across from Hyossk’s was understandably empty and Hyossk himself was still absent. She sighed exasperatedly.

The other Councilors were looking annoyed as well, even the ones that as far as she knew still sided with Hyossk. Just when someone suggested that someone should go fetch the tardy Councilor Hyossk walked in, looking all smug and sure of himself.

“I am so glad everyone could join us today.” Hyossk said. “For I have an important announcement to make. Within a short time, the Separatist will be no more thanks to a very generous third party.””

“You must refer to that monstrosity of a ship that’s currently in orbit.” One of the Councilors said.

“Indeed. I have ordered it to scan the planet and obliterate any suspicious looking gatherings.”

There was dead silence in the chamber, everyone including Hyossk’s known supporters were in total shock. Shissa managed to shake off the shock quickly enough to beat everyone else to a protest. “Have you lost your mind Hyossk?” She said, only just managing to keep her voice calm. “You might as well order it to destroy schools, hospitals, even this very building! There is no way a ship, no matter how good it’s scanners are, would be able to tell the difference between a group of Separatists and a crowd of upstanding citizens at a movie theater: all reported sightings indicate they move and act like everyone else.”

“I did say ‘suspicious’ Shissa.” Hyossk said. “The ship will no doubt cross check the locations with known…and ‘legal’ activities.”

“Like you did with the air strike on the Mercenary HQ?” Nitakk asked.

Hyossk gave him a look. “That place was a Separatist cesspool according to the information I received.”

“And the only information you received on it was based on the final resting place of a single tracking device Hyossk.” Nitakk countered. “No sending in agents to confirm that place really was a Separatist hideout. I’ve also checked the database on the members of that group: all of them were stanch supporters of the government. Considering Besk was in charge of that group, that’s not surprising.”

“Besk is a traitor.” Hyossk said. “He no doubt altered their records to cover up that group’s true purpose.”

“Incorrect Hyossk.” Shissa spoke up. “I checked up on Besk myself and found a few interesting things. He left the K’Satikur clan over three years ago, when Rissonik regained control of the Clan. He’s been a vocal opponent of the Clan, and Rissonik, ever since: it’s even rumored he arranged the surprised attack on them nearly three years ago. All this is common knowledge, both in the database and among the populous.”

“The other ‘problem’ regarding the Besk issue…” Another Councilor jumped in before Hyossk could counter. “…is that you didn’t seem to feel it was important to check with the rest of us to see if an air strike was the proper course to take.”

“There was no time to hold a...”

“No time?” Shissa interrupted. “That’s a poor excuse Hyossk, especially in important matters regarding the military. You also didn’t meet with us in regards to destroying a convoy that was passing through recently and declaring Marshall Law on the planet: the matter of that ship currently in orbit is a new addition to your…questionable record as of late.” This was going farther then she intended, but the questioning…and damning…expressions on the other Councilor’s faces gave her the confidence she needed to add. “It may even be enough to seriously consider removing you from your station…”

“Explain yourself Hyossk.” Another Councilor, one that wasn’t in Shissa’s little conspiracy group, said, folding his arms and giving the Speaker-Above-All a withering look.

Space over Trandosha: Bloodfang

There was a brief disturbance in space as the Bloodfang exited hyperspace just beyond sensor range of the Trandoshan fleet. The comm. officer quickly keyed in the commands to mask their ID using the ID Rista gave them before heading into scanned space.

“Sir.” The sensor officer spoke up. “There’s a Republic Destroying just out of the Fleets sensor range, couldn’t get any information beyond that however.”

“Really?” Tiosk said typing at his personal control panel to bring up an image of said ship. “Ah yes…she’s the ship that’s to be a distraction for us. Hmm…” This posed a problem: he didn’t get a chance to information Fikan that he managed to obtain a fake ship ID to throw the Fleet off. If that ship started it’s attack too soon their cover could be blown by the fact they wouldn’t be going immediately to attack it.

“Should we hail them sir?”

“No.” Tiosk decided. “Any communication between us would be too risky. No doubt they are keeping an eye on us. Hopefully they were observant enough to catch our sudden ID change. If they are smart…they’ll hold off a while.”

“With all due respect sir. What if the Fleet sees through our deception and start firing before we even get close to the Sovereign?”

“We’re fucked. Simple as that.” Tiosk admitted. “Make a course of the Sovereign, but let’s not beeline for her: that would make it too obvious we are fake. And pray.”

“Aye sir.”

Blackblade

The Vice Admiral stared at the ship Jagged Knife through the view screen, scowling slightly at the Captain’s tardiness at returning from battle. Granted, this particular Captain was known for that, but in these times they couldn’t afford it.

He was about to turn off the view screen when he noticed something odd: that ship seemed to be a bit bulkier then normal. On a whim he magnified the image to the max and saw the armor itself looked funny. What he do go get a paint job? he thought. No…that’s not paint…that’s an extra layer of armor! What the hell…

Doing a quick trajectory check, he realized that ship was heading toward the Sovereign, in a slightly round about way. He got the suspicion that this ship was going to tangle with it…and their was only one rogue Rynok Destroyer he knew of.

Well Tiosk…if that is really you…you are one crazy clutch mother… He thought. Knowing Tiosk, he likely had a plan in mind to do whatever it was he intended. What that was he didn’t know for sure, though it obviously dealt with the Sovereign.

“Should we inform the Fleet Vice Admiral?” One of his bridge officers asked, who apparently came to the same conclusion as he did.

His answer was a simple and quick ‘no’.

Bloodfang

The BlackBlade is scanning us sir.”

Great…just great… Tiosk thought with a slight grumble. Had to be ‘that’ ship that spots us first… Granted the Vice Admiral seemed to be on the verge of dissenting, but that made him unpredictable: if he figured out their deception, he could reveal them whenever he saw fit.

“Looks like she didn’t figure us out sir, she’s turning away.”

“Doesn’t mean we are out of hot water lad.” Tiosk said. “Keep your present course and your eyes peeled…”

They passed by a couple more ships, who didn’t even seem to look their way. So far so good… Tiosk thought. But how long will our luck hold?

Trandosha: Council of Elders

Hyossk’s expression was one of shock, which slowly turned into panic. With a bit of effort he forced himself to remain composed as he spoke.

“Why should I have to explain myself?” He said, slightly accusing. “Isn’t it obvious why I did all this? To destroy the Separatists. That convoy was chalk full of them: it was bad enough Naosha got away and I wasn’t about to let any more of her supporters escape the planet to find supporters abroad. If I had waited to get you’re approval the chances of catching them would have been far less.”

“Regarding that convoy Hyossk…I did some checking.” One of Shissa’s co-conspirators said. “It turns out the fellow T’Doshok that were on that convoy were traders, merchants, and colonists that were heading to one of our settlements in another system. All of them have been registered as such long before the Separatist Movement even started. Not only did you wipe out a bunch of innocent people, but made a serious dent in our trade relations with other systems and made a few new enemies…”

Shissa noted there were a few shutters among the other Councilors, Hyossk himself looking slightly pale now. “Your very actions has put is in the exact position Naosha warned us would happen if we didn’t change Hyossk.” She said.

Hyossk growled. “We do not need to change!” He hissed. “All this is because of Naosha herself! Blame her not me!”

Space around Trandosha: Bloodfang

“Sir I think we may have a little problem.”

“What’s that?” Tiosk asked. Thus far they’ve had no problems approaching the Sovereign. It had seemed too easy so he was actually glad to hear about a potential snag.

“There seems to be an established buffer zone around the Sovereign itself, meaning no ship is allowed to get close to her without express permission of the Admiral himself.”

“Hmm…seems our dear Admiral wanted to be sure no one made an attempt on damaging his new toy without his knowledge.” Tiosk said. “Very well then, maneuver the ship as close as possible to the drop off point without entering the buffer zone. Tell the boarding party to be ready to take off as soon as we give them the signal. Gold Squadron is to take off with them and ensure as many of the boarding craft make it to the Sovereign as possible.”

“Sir even with the Gold Squadron’s help the distance to the Sovereign is too great if we give them the signal outside the buffer zone.”

“Who said we were going to have them take off outside the buffer zone?” Tiosk said calmly. “We are going to make a run for it. If we are lucky, we’ll get right behind that ship’s engines before they realize what’s going on. There tends to be very little in the way of weaponry around the engines themselves, it’s kind of a blind spot, however there will be fighters to worry about.
“Also keep an eye out for that Republic Destroyer we saw earlier. If she started attacking that would be the perfect signal to make a run for it.”

Republic Destroyer

“Sir, according to the red team the Bloodfang is keeping a wide berth from the Sovereign. There seems to be a buffer zone around it.”

“Then let’s give them the cover they need to get close to it.” Fikan said.

As soon as the ships entered the Fleets sensor range the Trandoshan ships moved in immediately to repel the threat. It wasn’t long before there was full blown fire fight.

Bloodfang

“Sir! A battle seems to have started in the area we saw that destroyer!”

“Good…that’s our cue then.” Tiosk said with a broad smile. “PUNCH IT!”

The Bloodfang went to full thrust, pushing herself as fast as she could toward the Sovereign. The surprise however was only partial and the Sovereign detected them before they were half way through the buffer zone. The Bloodfang was then starting to get laser fire in her direction, many of the shots hitting and giving her shield a real beating.

“Sir front Shields are down to 20%!”

“Almost there…” Tiosk said through gritted teeth, griping the rail tightly. “Just hold a little longer…” The shield generator burned out just before they were able to get behind the Sovereign, fortunately the armor Fikan had fitted to the Bloodfangs hull reflected the shots long enough for them to get into position. “Full stop!” Tiosk yelled. He nearly fell over backwards when the ship slowed down drastically. After taking a precious moment to steady himself he shouted into the comm line to the hanger: “GO! GO! GO!”

Trandosha: Council of Elders

Unaware of the battle that just started in orbit, the meeting continued.

“I do not believe Naosha intended to speed up our downfall Hyossk.” Shissa said calmly. “Your reactions to her rebellions so far peaceful activities is what has put us in the position we are in now.”

“Peaceful?” Hyossk barked a laugh. “Explain all those ships that were destroyed, the troops we lost because of her.”

“Easy enough.” Nitakk said. “Self defense. She does have the right to defend herself and her supporters does she not? I am sure she regrets the loss of any T’Doshok life in this.”

“You people don’t know anything.” Hyossk retorted. “I am now glad I took it upon myself to order those things, you wusses would have just had us sit on our hands if I had gone to you for advice.”

“’Gone to us’?” Shissa said raising a brow. “You think you rule this planet yourself or something?”

Hyossk slammed a fist on the podium. “I am the Speaker-Above-All! If I so wish I could decommission each and every one of you just like I had done with Naosha.”

There was genuine laughter all around the chamber.

“You need to brush up on T’Doshok law my dear…” Shissa said when she was able to stop laughing. “The position of ‘Speaker-Above-All’ is nothing more then an Ambassadorial position, meaning it has no more power over the rest of us beyond having the privilege to speak for all of us to our people and those abroad. To decommission a member of the Council there must be agreement across the board with no dissents beyond the one we are seeking to oust: the only reason you seemed to oust Naosha yourself is because the rest of us were all in agreement at the time.
“Also according to the law established by our ancestors, all decisions must be decided by the full Council and can only be approved by a majority vote. The fact you have failed to do this, not to mention the atrocities that resulted as such, makes it clear to me that you are fast become unfit for your station.”

…

Asri didn’t know why she was there: she should be sleeping off the rest of the day. Indeed she actually tried to sleep, but felt too restless. Yes she finally killed Besk, but the problem of what to do with herself now kept nagging at her mind. So she decided to explore the Council of Elders building: not an easy task now that her cloaking device was destroyed, but thus far had been able to avoid the guards.

Her luck ran out though when she turned a corner and spotted a guard that was looking into a vent. Before she could duck back into the hallway she came from he had spotted her and his eyes widened in surprise.

“A..a…akisi….” The guard stuttered, taking a couple of paces back.

Asri’s eyes narrowed. “What did you call me?” She hissed. The term meant ‘white-demon’ and referred to Trandoshans that were white skinned usually and used as an insult to anyone they considered a freak: it was not a word Asri liked very much for obvious reasons.

“AKISI!” The guard yelled and ran off.

Just great… Asri thought as she gave chase. The last she needed was for the whole building to know she was there…