It is truly a shame what happened to the Nak thians. Their bio-energy abilities and the way they powered their machines with their own bodies and souls were utterly unique and unlike anything else in the galaxy. Had things been different they would all not be gone. I wish it were just so. I would so like to have studied and bisected one alive. Human Comm scientist remarking on the unatural and fabled mystic talents of the now extinct Nak thians. And his fascination with them.
"Roka wake up." We're about to be boarded. Spoke Jb over the ship's intercom.
Roka, ripped herself away from the old repressed memory, coming to the realization that she was still in her cramped little bed capsule. She rubbed her eyes awake and rolled to face upward toward the roof of her capsule, only to be greeted with a face staring back at her over the vid-cam intercom, held inches away and practically blinding her in its persistent light. The screen was that of their usual fearless captain now a bit more cross than usual. She hadn't been responding to his wake up calls after all. The holo- screen stood hovering right above her in her bed, shining its bright light like a flashlight in her eyes so this time she couldn't ignore it and go back to sleep. as she had for the last five minutes. When Jb said get up. You got up. End of story.
Yea, Im awake boss. So you can turn that off now. She sighed squinting her eyes irritated before then swatting away at the screen like a bug, only for it to pass harmlessly through.
Get up here now. He said, affording a brief sick grin of amusement at the failed attempt to bat him away before switching to audio only for her sake. And bring your gun. We're going to have company. Lots buy the look of it.
Havn't even had breakfast yet and I'm already killing someone. She said cracking her neck to the side in discomfort. Won-der-full.
Its noon already. You can eat later. Hell get rid off this whole crew by yourself and you can stop anywhere you like on the way as my treat.
Awww how considerate.
Knock it off smart ass. Up here now. And wear polarity boots. In case things get ugly.
Who is it? She asked. Zipping up her purple and blue jacket before fastening her boots with a heavy clamp and snap.
Just some green sun ruffians he said a bit mockingly. She could hear him loading a handheld plasma shotgun and likely tucking it inside his trench coat for concealment, just waiting for the chance to use it. We strayed a little too close for their liking so they want to see what we're doing in their bosses territory with out cleared passage. You know the drill.
Bribe em to go away? Or the other more exciting route?
Jb smiled. We'll see what mood we're all in when we come face to face. Be up here in five with a murderous intent just in case though.
Roger that o fearless captain she said half heartily saluted with a yawn.
Jb's view on the screen vanished after a brief nod, leaving roka in silence once again. She continued to arm herself in the cramped little cabin she had made for herself in the lower levels of the ship near the engine room. She didn't like the Erie silence of space. Growing up she had been so used to the constant familial chatter of her cousins and distant relatives who all lived in the same house as one giant shared family. Now they were gone. And everything was quiet as always. The hum of the ships engines helped fill that void.
Jb, now captain of the converted merchant starship dailiy quota had long since abandoned the standard issue Vori issued body armor he wore when he and Roka had first met under unpleasant circumstances all those years ago during the Battle of Nak-thi, instead now donning a simple black collared trench coat he refused to part with and was immensely useful for hiding all manner of concealed weapons he had collected for himself from his travels across the galaxy. His once lively blue skin had grayed and lost all of its vibrancy with age. Although still a young enough man by the standards of his race, years of war and a failed marriage had taken its toll on him. Upon completion of his service in the failed Vori cause, he now enjoyed the quieter better paying life of protecting cargo and eager prospect of seeing a universe enjoying a brief lull in the conflict that had for decades. He still liked a good scrap every once and a while to keep his skills sharp, just on a smaller more personal scale without the destruction and devastation as war brings. Much of the galaxy was still recovering as it always was so the outer regions were left lawless and without order to their own devices. That meant opportunity. The crew of former vori soldiers preferred to lay low from the law but still encountered the occasional hicup every now and then from pirates and outlaw fleets but nothing they could not handle. He had dealt and seen far worse and didn't plan on dying anytime soon. And now just wanted to make a substantial profit off this run. And live the rest of his life unnoticed and forgotten as they all did.
She didn't necessarily like the captain but she had grown to tolerate him in the name of aiding her. After all, he had been one of the reluctant few who did not take part in the massacre against the trapped Nak-thians for which she should probably have been grateful but wasn't, he had been part of the death squad after all that had sent against her people even if he hadn't pulled the trigger.
Both of the still remembered the moment in vivid detail of their first meeting as if it were yesterday. Him just staring at her from across the room engulfed as part of a collective shadowy wall of restless angry men high on adrenaline and Nephatime. One yellow eye closed as he just stood there with his barrel of his gun against his cheek, sighted on her ineptly and his open mouth dumb founded while those he had once trusted and considered his closest friends all around him opened fire wihtout a second thought. The sounds of death echoing off the walls and the stench of laser cauterizing flesh filling the cramped room afterward in a noxious smell that still had not dissipated even years having seeped into the temple walls itself. Neither had been back to the site since for obvious reasons. But unlike him, she did have a plan to do something about the fate that had befell her people.
He imagined she would thank him one day. But she never did. Him hesitating was the only reason she had tolerated him let alone stabbed him in the back years later. But she didn't like him all that much regardless. The act of bringing her with him and training her up as part of his newly assembled crew was just a means to an end for her. They were not friends. They were not family. They were just two sole survivors who happened to make it out of the whole ordeal and wanted a fresh start far away from the mess that had happened. Her people and his squadmates. All gone.
Had things been different and he just closed his eyes, did the job ordered of him and left with the rest of the men before the comm showed up to intercept them. She would have dedicated the rest of her life to seeing them dead by her hand at some point the moment their back was turned. That would have been a good life's purpose in addition to finding the artifact that would have kept her busy.
Instead, that quest for revenge never had the chance to start. Those who had inflicted the damage were already long dead and had been for years. And the sole man she might have been able to direct all her fury and anger upon had instead saved her life. She hated him for it. Without anyone to direct her anger upon which felt like a force of nature. It made her feel empty and without purpose. The army he had served had invaded her planet and helped take part in the assault on her peoples most sacred temple, but to then have the sheer sheer nerve to actually spare her and take her up as part of his team. The end result? Very confused emotions for one very scarred and angry little girl.
She now had come to rely upon him more than she was even willing to admit to the man she both hated and owed for destroying her old life and giving her a new one. All because it meant she still had to live with the memory of what had been done and the fact that she was the last of her kind every day for as long as she lived despite what the rest of the galaxy believed.
The daily dose of Nephatiph helped in that regard.
roka reached for another shot of the purple vial she kept in her nightstand beside her bed before injecting it into her arm having gone too long without it and was already beginning to shake. She breathed a long eurphoric sigh of relief. The painkiller medicine she had first been exposed to by JB had done wonders for suppressing those pesky memories and frequent nightmares of hers that woke the crew. It left her constantly wanting more, but if it made her able to function and let her sleep undisturbed it was worth the costly price. Jb was able to get the stuff rather easily for her on the black market whenever they made port and for that she was indebted to another favor of his. But because of it, her tattoos no longer glowed and her powers had dulled considerably without use. She was glad of it. She didn't like the reminders sleeping just under her skin, dormant and useless without proper training she had never been able to receive from her mother when the time was supposed to have come. Any knowlage of being able to properly develop her powers had been lost with her planets history and its people whose wisdom was passed down through oral tradition from parent to child.
She was all alone.
She donned her black and red vori prosthetic arm that had finally fit in size after waiting so long and left the cabin to see what was the commotion this time.
Roka had not given up hope of ever seeing the egg again after so many years of searching but the odds of finding it were growing even more bleak with each passing year of failure. She knew it was still out there. She just had to look harder. Because she knew what was at stake even if the rest of the galaxy didn't care. The ponzari phoenix once native and common place in her system where they fed off stars and flew across the cosmos in swarms were now practically almost as scarce as she herself was. Those that remained were now left unhatched and in permanent stasis to power comm industry planets and superweapons for all eternity. Never given the chance to live. Only to be exploited for the unlimtied bio energy they provided. Nak thians could muster some impressive feats, but the power of the ponzari. That was unmatched. that was what made them so sought after. And so volatile. As her people had sadly discovered first hand.
Her ancestors could not have known the destructive power these creatures possessed when they first encountered them. They thought them gods at first and then sacred animals only to be tamed and exploited. But ponzari do not like to be tamed. They soar free faster than light wherever they will or need to be. No one could understand its life, or its need to be alone in death. For them, migration to the most desolate corners of space to isolate themselves is how they protect themselves and their flock. For when a ponzari dies. Entire star systems feels the impact of it. In a blinding burst of light and with more destructive power than a black hole or collapsing sun, they perish and are reborn in the form of a compressed dormant sphere of pure energy to float adrift in the voice of space until they are reborn again half a century later in another explosive devastating flair. Anything unfortunate enough to have redeveloped life or gained sentience nearby would almost certainly be caught in the blast and atomized once again. But the Nak thians had not understood the danger they were in when they had captured the very last one and tried to drag it chained and harpooned back to the home planet to be tamed for its power just like so many others had. It perished halfway off course and took their entire star system with it. And without their sun to warm them and their crops and most of their planet in ruins along with any panzari phoenix unlucky to be trapped and die there against their will before their rebirth cycle was complete. Their numbers were truly even more scarce as a result of the increased blast. Only three eggs were left. And so the few survivors made a vow. Never again. From then on they would be the custodians and servants of these creatures. Safeguarding them from harm and misuse and slowly but surely rebuilding their destroyed civilization one heavy carefully placed stone at a time. Watching and eager to help the ponzari in their eventual rebirth and reintegration across the cosmos rather than hindering them. They would let them and their prospect of unlimited power go eventually. Guiding them and letting them be when the time came. Their life quest now to make amends for the sins of their forefathers and learn to be content with what they had. And to ensure that the rest of the galaxy did not repeat their mistake of thinking themselves able to control these uncontrollable creatures.
So far they had failed.
But even if she had to stoop to waving a cheap wooden sign in the street. She would make the rest of the galaxy hear her voice.