The long narrow passageways within the walls of the Morningstar seemed cold and empty as Raven, the Supreme Minister, and his entourage weaved their way towards the hangar bay. Raven was unsure whether she could trust Sorath; he was different; he had changed since the last time she saw him. Her love for him she had many years ago was still burning dimly in her heart. She had never forgotten what bond they once shared; through all the rigorous training to become a Royal Guard, her memories of him had never faded. She held a very dear secret, one that she so desired to share with Sorath, but not a single moment presented itself for her to do so. It was a secret she vowed she would take with her to the grave, or so she thought.
The Morningstar was on high alert; they were fugitives in a hostile behemoth of a ship. Ulri and his men were mere politicians, advisors, and leeches; they knew nothing about physically sneaking about. Their art required a desk, a platform where they could speak. They only needed their words to sneak past anyone. They were comforted by the idea of being protected by one the most prolific Royal Guardswomen in the late Emperor’s employ.
Raven had tried to hail her squadron to assist, but there was no answer over her communicator. Their signals were more than likely being jammed by the ship. Without any backup, it would be nothing short of a miracle for them to escape with their lives. Ulri had tried his personal communicator too, but he had no luck. There was a special battalion ready at his fingertips, standing in high alert to be deployed at a moment’s notice.
The battalion had special permission to attack or invade if they perceived the Supreme Minister to be in any form of danger. A unique signal was pinged to a communicator under Ulri’s skin every thirty seconds; the communicator reacted to his body heat and heart pulse; if no call was returned, it was a sign that the Supreme Minister was in danger. A scout would be sent to investigate; sadly, the jamming signal did not block the ping this time and was sent and received as expected. The signal was closely monitored by a specialist on the Morningstar to ensure the signal was constant; he would be authorized to override the signal and send out a dummy signal instead.
Somewhere ahead of them, the group heard heavy doors open, and the voices of people flooded the back alleyways. The soldiers entering the secret hallways knew they were hiding somewhere; was it possible that Sorath only bought them a little time before they were allowed to be hunted? Raven didn’t want to think about it at that moment. Her number one priority was getting Ulri and his people off the ship and back to safety.
“Sir, I need you and your men to hide in here….” She found an empty storage room; she didn’t think the guards would look in there for their fugitives. It was unremarkable and had no significant features.
“Where are you going?” Ulri asked in frustration.
Both of them knew what was at stake. If the Supreme Minister was assassinated, the Empire would fall into a more profound constitutional crisis than it was already in. This is because the Supreme Minister could only be chosen by recommendations made by the monarch; only after the proposal has been made would it legally allow the Grand Assembly to vote them into office. Sadly, due to the empire’s strong beliefs in peace, a law had never been written to instruct on which procedures should be followed in the event both the Emperor and Supreme Minister were killed.
Meanwhile, Sorath looked at surveillance footage of the group moving behind the ship's walls; the captain was standing right next to him.
“You just let them go?” Asked Captain Stanley in a very agitated voice. “This must be reported to Iphis at once!”
“No need, Captain,” Sorath responded, his shoulders tense and agitation filling the air around him. He turned towards the hologram projector pressing a button on the console flashing for a few minutes without anyone but Sorath noticing.
“Mother?” He answered with indignation but deeply hidden agitation.
“You shall know your place, Sorath!” She snapped at him.
“Your beloved son has let our prisoners escape through hidden passages in the ship. Not even I knew they existed!” The captain almost shouted as he entered the recording area.
“I shall not stand for such infantile behavior, captain! Step aside!” Iphis was angry; her flaring nostrils, darting eyes, and tightly clenched fists gave it away. “I hope you have a plan!”
“I do.”
The captain stepped aside, shamed by the words of Iphis and surprised by those of Sorath. He might have been too quick to speak.
“If I hadn't let them go, what would have happened here on Prion? We would declare war on our largest ally and the order’s oldest friend. We cannot risk losing them. So I plan to let them go and follow them to their capital, where I will try my best to convince them that I am the right person to lead the Empire. All I need to do is persuade the Supreme Minister and the Commander of the Royal Guard to endorse my ascension to the throne. All I need you and your...” he looked at the Captain in disgust. “…Pets to do is stay out of my way and let me do what I do best.” Sorath seemed confident in his plan; he had them on his side by letting them go already. All he needed to do was convince them once and for all that they could trust him.
“Be careful Sorath, you are walking on thin ice. Are you sure this plan of yours will work?” Iphis was silent for a while; she looked beyond the recording at her council; they all seemed to agree.
“If I fail, it will be the last act I will perform amongst the living.”
Iphis agreed to his plan; he never thought she would. However, it was a bonus, and he had the satisfaction of silencing his captain. Although Captain Stanley has been his greatest opponent since assuming command of the Morningstar, he needed him to trust him and start addressing him accordingly. Sorath looked at him from the corner of his eye as he bowed to Iphis just before she signed off. The apparent displeasure in his face told Sorath everything he needed to know.
“Call back the guards and instruct them to make a sweep on the Consular deck.” He turned to another officer and continued: “Ready my ship, I will depart shortly.”
Raven had been wandering the endless labyrinth of corridors and secret passageways in search of a way out. They must have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way; she was sure of it. Some guards approached her from around one corner; she quickly jumped to cover, hoping they hadn't seen her. They haven’t. One of their communicators beeped, and the guard answered. Raven could hear distinctly that their search was called off; the person on the communicator relayed that nowhere on the security system were they able to detect the group of people; that they needed to go search in another sector, she was relieved. She followed the guards to a large door they had passed multiple times during their search for a way out; when it opened, it was clear that they had passed the hangar they were supposed to go to a couple of times without them realizing it.
She made her way back to Ulri and the others after the door closed again; they were all waiting very patiently for her return in the small cramped room. Raven could see the smoke puffing from Ulri’s ears; he clearly did not enjoy the smell of his own sweat.
“We are free to leave.” She said before signaling to come out into the hallway.
Hesitantly they moved along, waiting in the corridor outside. Then, with no time to waste, she led the group in great haste to the door of the hangar they would find a ship in to fly back to Prion.
“But we came from here; why are we going back?” Ulri was frustrated.
“We passed the door we were supposed to go through, trust me Supreme Minister, I will have you back on Prion within the hour.” He sighed; he needed that reassurance; this entire negotiation was a disaster from the start.
If the Grand Assembly found out what had transpired on the Morningstar, they would immediately reject the appointment of any Emperor and move to a vote to change the Empire to a Federation. Though that was precisely what Ulri wanted, it was not the right way to do it, he still pledged his allegiance to Thanatos, and if the Empire can no longer be of service to the Order, it would be dissolved altogether.
In no time, Raven had Ulri and his delegation at the hangar door; without warning, it opened. Luckily for them, there was no one in the hangar beyond the door; the door was also mostly concealed behind some ammunition crates; if the guards Raven saw earlier were still there, at least they had some cover to hide behind. Raven instructed the politicians to crouch down lest they be seen. They slowly moved towards a better vantage point behind the crates; Raven scanned the hangar and saw the ship they needed. But, again, there was no one anywhere to be seen.
Quickly they rushed to the ship, and they all entered. Ulri struggled up the ramps as he tried to catch his breath, his face was purple, and an inhuman noise came from him as he tried to cough. Raven fired up the engines, making a massive noise, activating the security systems in the hangar. Suddenly hundreds of troops flooded all around them; they were in danger once again. Ulri’s face lit up with anger and frustration; the sweat was pouring down his neck. He was tired of all the walking they had done; it was time for all this to end.
Raven managed to get the ship airborne before the troops could reach it; they began firing at the vessel, causing real damage. The ship swayed to and fro, making it difficult to steer, but Raven still managed to fly it out of the hangar and into space over Prion. Outside they were met with more resistance. The outer defenses were activated and now shooting at them. The rest of the Raven squad spotted the ship leaving the hangar; with Raven’s personal beacon activated, they knew she was in trouble and began their attack on the outer defenses to give her some cover.
“They are shooting our cannons, sir!” So shouted one of the bridge officers from one corner; personnel ran from one end to another, trying to get the entire ship to come to life.
“You see what you have done, Sorath! Unfortunately, this ship is not easily repaired without a large enough docking station. For your sake, I hope….”
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“Just keep quiet, Captain.”
Sorath cut him off over the communicator; he was tired of the captain’s complaining and needed to watch the fight occurring outside. Moreover, he wanted to see what the Royal Guard was really capable of. Sorath knew the ship could handle the attack coming from a small fighter craft; even more than a hundred of them, he wasn’t too concerned about the integrity of the vessel.
“Where are you going?” Asked Captain Stanley in a fury over the communicator.
“I am going to win me an empire.”
The ship was heavily damaged, the air was leaking into the vacuum of space, and they were losing altitude fast; she hadn’t flown a damaged ship in years. Peace mostly reigned over the empire with the occasional terrorist attack from the deep ore pirates seeking better tariffs in the black market on Prion and maybe a short-lived uprising every now and again. Protecting the emperor was way easier than this, she thought to herself.
There were very few places she could crash on Prion, with all of the planet's surfaces covered in cities; there would be casualties if she didn’t crash the ship in the right place. Her squadron was following her into orbit, ensuring no ship was following or attacking them.
The Supreme Minister’s private battalion has been notified of the incident and deployed; the Morningstar in orbit could no longer remain there as it has become a hostile target.
“Sorath, we need to retreat; the Morningstar is not prepared for battle. Return to the ship at once!” Stanley sounded angry as usual; Sorath thought it was the perfect opportunity to negotiate as he pleased. Without the ship in orbit intimidating them, it would be a much easier task persuading the peace-orientated people of Prion to see things his way.
“Retreat the Morningstar to outpost AVH-1726; it should be safe there.”
The Order of the Ipsimus had secret outposts scattered right across the galaxy; this one’s sole purpose was to monitor and report on Prion. But, fortunately, Prion was not aware of it.
“Very well, as you wish.” The captain signed off, and after a few minutes, the ship disappeared from orbit; Sorath was now alone.
He kept his eye on where the burning ship was going; Raven truly fell for the delusion that they escaped on their own accord. He was lucky that Iphis saw potential in his plan. Otherwise, they would have lost Prion forever; he was sure of that.
There was a massive open-air park in the distance that seemed to be the safest place to land; Sorath was sure they were heading there. He would go ahead and land before they crashed; he wanted his presence to be a surprise. There was a parking area not too far from the park; his ship met the parking requirements and landed.
The ship was handling difficultly; Raven could no longer control their trajectory and headed straight for a large park. She initially aimed for the park, knowing they weren’t places frequented by Prion’s residents. It was there for the gathering wealthy to enjoy life away from the rush in the cities. However, piece by piece, the ship broke apart, most of the systems were offline, and the hull was breached, flooding the inside with smoke. A tractor beam activated in the district around the park, trying to stop the ship from crashing into the ground. It was standard technology distributed across the surface of the planet to prevent an accident from happening. In a crowded world such as Prion, this technology was vital, many accidents took place in orbit, and raining debris was a constant threat to the unsuspecting masses going on about their typical day.
Gently, the tractor beam lowered the burning ship to the ground. Emergency robots were already on the scene, ready to assist. Ulri was filthy; his delegation was unhappy; he nearly fell out of the ship as he tried to exit. He was furious.
“How could they have attacked us like that in broad daylight? Swift action will be taken!” Said Ulri in a rage. Raven did not answer the short, plump man as she helped him stand up from the ground.
Ulri had not even appropriately gotten onto his feet when a division from his battalion landed and cleared the whole area; they’ve received his distress signal and were ready for combat. The General of the Battalion also landed with the troops to assess the situation. The high command had to be briefed on the condition of the Supreme Minister as soon as he had information.
“Your excellency,” Said the General as he approached. “The ship in orbit has escaped; we expected an earlier distress call from you?”
“They must have jammed our signals, both myself and the Commander of the Royal Guard tried.”
“Indeed they were, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
The general saluted Raven and stepped aside; Ulri was presented with Sorath bound with handcuffs behind the general. They were both surprised; Sorath gave both of them a smile.
“We tracked him as he followed you during reentry, sir. He admitted to being the Admiral of the fleet the ship belonged to; we are yet to confirm.”
“If anything, this man simply let us go.” Raven interrupted.
“This man tried to get us killed! Send him to the barracks at the palace. We will deal with him in good time. Ready the fleet; we need to stop the Morningstar.”
Ulri was furious; Raven looked at Sorath and gave an indignant smile; Sorath returned the smile more hearty and friendly. He knew that they wouldn’t keep him for too long. If they attacked the Morningstar, Captain Stanley would not retreat; he would retaliate and plunge this sector of the galaxy into total war. Ulri possessed enough power in the state to order an entire full-scale war on anyone, though Prion was not known for its conflicts. Instead, they are known for their passivism.
Sorath was moved to a large armored transport, excessive but understandable after Ulri witnessed his capabilities back on the ship. Sitting alone in the back, Sorath was not worried. Instead, he relaxed and closed his eyes; Raven could not stand to see him be locked up and taken away. However, she insisted on sitting inside with him to keep an eye on him. The General had agreed to this only because she outranked him in the military.
Sorath heard someone enter the back of the transporter with him; he opened his eyes and saw Raven sitting across from him on the metallic bench. She stared into his eyes; he could feel she was staring at him with a sense of longing.
“We would probably have served together under the Emperor if I hadn't been taken away to serve in the Order of the Ipsimus.” Sorath broke the silence; the stare he was getting from Raven was getting somewhat uncomfortable. Although she smiled, she didn’t really know what to say or how to say it.
“It would have been easier to serve if you stuck around; we never had the opportunity to properly say goodbye.”
She was silent for a moment, looking down at her hands, trying to keep the thick armor around her emotions in place. She always tried to act strong, to stay strong for her fellow servicemen. Weakness in the leadership of the Royal Guard was not acceptable; they always needed to be on point and ready to lead at a moment’s notice.
“I sure could have used your help in the years after you left.” She continued.
“It was not my choice to make. You don’t know the nature of those I serve; I would not have been allowed to stay. My duty is to the Order, and now it is to the empire; they want me there because they believe in me more than they do in my brother….”
“So this is what you are going to do? We are having a discussion on our relationship, but instead, you want to talk about your duties?” She was growing agitated; Sorath knew he had to be careful; she’s always been on edge, looking for reasons to distrust. She hasn’t changed a bit. Though being the Commander of the Royal Guard made him think she was duty-bound.
“All I’m saying is….” Sorath couldn’t finish his sentence before being interrupted by Raven again.
“I don’t care what you are saying… What do you call yourself now… Sorath! You abandoned me; you felt like duty was more important than me. Then, just when I thought I had completely forgotten about you, you come back into my life, bringing all those memories we had and ruining my life!” She was shouting by now; all her years of training could not prepare her for this reunion. She had hoped that she would never see him again, though, here he was.
“There is no one else like you….” She growled. “Or who you used to be.” She sat down on the metal bench, resting her face in her palms. Her elbows dug into her knees; she felt like crying.
Sorath didn’t know what to say; he never had the pleasure of feeling compassionate towards anyone for years, the feeling of guilt was almost foreign to him. So he just sat there and watched her fall apart in front of him; seventeen years of pain was boiling over in a dramatic show of drama, and she owed it to herself to let it out. He didn’t blame her.
“I’m sorry.” That was all Sorath could manage to say. She looked up at him, her eyes filled up with tears, ready to erupt. She tried to form words but couldn’t; her lips moved, though no sound came from them. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath; everything was going to be okay. Everything had to be OK, as it’s always been the case. She took another deep breath.
“You could have come back.” She added.
“You know that would have been impossible.”
She opened her eyes. It was still welling up. Her thoughts were running rampant.
“I don’t believe you. Why are you back now?”
He had to be honest with her; there was no fooling her. Risking his mission was against the laws of the Order. He is bound to his oath to never fail the Order. However, he felt that his mission was growing ever more probable of failing. When Iphis one day controls the Order, she would still be lenient on him; if Thanatos remained in charge and discovered his treason, it would not be easily forgiven unless he handed his life to him.
“Raven,” Her name sounded so sweet coming from his lips; she couldn’t stop wanting him to call on her every time. She missed him.
“What do you know about the Order of the Ipsimus?” He finally asked after a long moment of silence.
Raven had not known anything about the Order or their existence until she started investigating the emperor's assassination; she just knew that they were going to send someone by the name of Izzar to be crowned emperor, and she didn’t know this person. There was extremely little information about the Order, and the only information she could find on Izzar was what she learned by listening to a recording on Ulri’s private computer when he wasn’t in his office. She heard enough about Izzar to vow her life to stop this appointment from happening.
“Enough.” She said, not wanting to delve too deep into her knowledge of the Order. The less he knew, the better.
“The order acts in secret; the fact that you knew about it is already alarming enough that I must report it to the Archons of the Order. The order of the Ipsimus influences galactic politics so that it falls in line with their agenda. We are sworn from birth to serve the Epsimus and the Order; in my case, my mother is the daughter-in-law of the Epsimus, so she had no choice but to dedicate me to the Order. Being a relative to the Epsimus makes me more valuable than any other member of the organization, but not as valuable as my brother, or shall I say, my half-brother? If I did not start serving when I did so many years ago, they would have found me and murdered my mother and me.”
“Wait,” Interrupted Raven. “So what you’re telling me is that the Epsimus is your relative, and he would have killed you and your mother if you refused to go?”
“That is correct. Even if I had children, they would have been required to be dedicated to the Order. Or they along with me and whoever birthed the children would have been murdered.”
Raven gave a hint of shock; something in her features told Sorath that she was hiding something; he didn’t know whether or not he wanted to know what she was hiding.
“How do you kill your own family?”
“You don’t know the nature of the Order; we have no choice but to accept the way things are and follow the laws without question. This is why I had to leave and why I never came back. This assignment to become Emperor of Prion is not something I chose.” He lowered his head, sighing.
“My mother is planning on murdering the Epsimus, and it is my job to ensure that Prion remains loyal to the order. I’ve been told my grandfather is very old, older than anyone else in this galaxy, and has built excellent relations with the politicians and the late emperor of Prion over the years, and if he gets killed by someone within the order, the alliance will collapse and plunge Prion into a war it cannot afford. As evil as my grandfather is, he still holds the balance of the galaxy in his hands; within a moment’s notice, everything we know and love could change if he decided to do so.”
Raven was still shocked; how could she have missed this? She had seen the late emperor speak to someone in secret late at night when no attention was drawn to his private life. She could never make out who he was talking to in the holograms, it was always secret, and the person was always under a cloak.
“Why would your mother murder her own father?” She asked curiously.
“It is her father-in-law. She has no emotional ties to him. But her reasons are completely beyond my comprehension.” Sorath never stopped to think what his mother was up to, he knew she wanted Thanatos dead and Izzar out of the picture, but the reasons were beyond him.
“Perhaps it is to seize power for herself.” He continued.
A beeping sound beneath Sorath’s cloak drew both their attention; he recognized the tone to belong to only one person.