"The ship is prepped and ready for launch at your discretion, Matriarch-Huntress Amelia Ryder," Ti'Chal stated, her hand-paws over her chest, claws extended and placed where her two hearts beat. Viza explained to her in their private channel with Hal that this was a sign of respect and allegiance to a Matriarch among Krultathans before Amelia could even ask.
Nodding and motioning for Ti'Chal to follow her, Amelia began to head down to the left-side docking bay of the ship, an enormous hangar usually used to house various shuttlecraft.
"Thank you for your efforts Ti'Chal. Is there anything your warriors need before we get ready to disembark? It's over 300 lightyears to Terra from here, so it might take a while before we can resupply." She asked, unsure yet exactly how fast her new ship was, she would also have to name it but she wanted to see it first before deciding on what it would be called. Wouldn't do to have something outfitted with a ton of guns called "Emissary of Peace" after all...maybe.
"We have an ample supply of food, as well as the food synthesizers. Ambassador Kixix also gifted you the industrial nanoforge and a chemical synthesizer, both of which have had their restrictions removed. We have our arms, and are being loaded with raw materials that the Kixax can spare for use of the nanoforge and synthesizers as well." Amelia nodded, appreciating Kixix and Ti'Chal's thoughtfulness with preparations. However before she could ask something else as they made their way down, Ti'Chal continued.
"If I may, Matriarch-Huntress Amelia Ryder?" Amelia sighed. If Ti'Chal kept using her full title it would drive her mad, so she decided to correct that and nip it in the bud.
"Ti'Chal, unless we are entertaining guests in an official capacity or are dealing with something in an official manner, you don't need to use my full title. It takes too much time and is bothersome. Just my name will do, understood?" She said, hoping the warrior-leader would understand. To her surprise, Ti'Chal's face was a mix of consternation and horror, which caused a chuffing fit of laughter from Viza.
'That sly...He knew this would happen, didn't he?' Amelia thought, shooting an annoyed glare at her mate, who then calmed down and explained that not using a matriarch's title when you are not a matriarch yourself and are a vassal to them was considered dishonorable. Amelia let out a groan of exasperation before looking at the two of them.
"Look, I'm Krultathan legally, but that doesn't mean I operate the same way you do. Consider it an oddity or a unique exception. If you can't do that, then at least shorten it somehow. Hearing it every time just creeps me out!" Amelia explained, causing Ti'Chal to look at her..curiously? Viza started up another chuff of laughter before curling his tail around her waist and licking her cheek to calm her down. Looking at Ti'Chal, Viza would then say "Warrior-Huntress Ti'Chal, disobeying the Matriarch of your sworn clan-noble is also disrespectful, yes? Then might I suggest using a shortened title? Just Matriarch Amelia should do for informal talks." Saving the day with his usual calm and respectful voice. Amelia could tell though he wanted to laugh himself silly at the situation more though.
"I...I see. If it is Matriarch-huntre...Matriarch Amelia's wishes, I will comply, though I cannot say the same for the rest of my warriors. They have taken a bit of a shine to your story and people. They say that you Terrans are "Noble claw-kin" that they have deep respect for." She said, before giving a bit of her own chuff of laughter. "They are young, but they admire how you stood up for your mate, and for Krultatha. If any in my clan had doubts before your meeting with the council, they are gone now. You have my thanks, and my claws, Matriarch Amelia." Ti'Chal spoke, stopping to do a Krultathan bow. Her tail raised high, ears drooped almost like a puppy's and paws stretched out and downward, claws retracted and palms facing the ceiling while bowing slightly. Amelia simply placed a hand on the warrior's now reachable shoulder, letting her stand up before saying.
"Ti'chal, I'm not some special noble or anything to put on a pedestal like that. I'm just human. Please try to remember that. Besides, when Viza and I are gone, there will be no Clan Ryder anymore. I can't have children, and certainly not with Viza, we're two different species."
"Matriarch, forgive me, but do you not know what it means to be a sister clan to the Queen-Matriarch?" Ti'Chal asked curiously.
"It means something besides the whole being a noble now and having her backing?" Amelia said in surprise as they stopped. They had just reached the door to the hangar.
"It means that when the Matriarch of Clan Ryder returns to the sands of Eidolan if no other exists in the clan to replace her, one from her sister clan will take on the mantle and name of Clan Ryder, becoming the new Matriarch of the clan. Your clan will not end with you, Matriarch Amelia. It will be remembered by Krultatha for eternity, as the clan started by the first Alien to not only accept our kind..." She looked to Viza before continuing.
"But embrace us as equals, regardless of the danger it posed. It might not seem like much to you, but to us, who have been alone for so long, it means everything. It is... the light of a new pack, of a new hunt, of sister-claws. Hope, I think your people call it. So with all due respect, do not talk about the end of Clan Ryder, for it will only end when both Terra and Krultatha are no more. And until then, Clan Uvra will proudly serve as the claws and fangs of Clan Ryder, the..daggers and shield." Amelia then noticed that the clan markings Ti'Chal wore had a familiar change to them.
Originally it had been daggers in a criss-cross pattern, dripping with orange blood, and fangs encircling them like the maw of a great beast. Now, however, the claws were replaced with two daggers crisscrossed in front of a tree, and the fangs encircled both like a shield. Viza mentally explained that vassals took on the characteristics of their noble's house markings to associate themselves with their noble, and to show their vassalhood. He also noted that every one of the warriors changed their markings after the meeting before they had started packing up the things needed for their trip.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"I...wow." That was all Amelia could say. A tear began falling on her face, and Ti'chal worriedly took it as a sign she had done something wrong, but she and Viza told her she had done nothing wrong at all. Amelia stepped through the door to the hangar, but Viza grabbed Ti'Chal to keep her from entering for a moment, wanting a private word.
"Ti'Chal. You are aware I was clanless before meeting Amelia, yes?" To which Ti'Chal nodded unsurely.
"In many ways, Amelia was like a clanless to her kind. She has been through..much. And has been alone for much of it as well. The wetness on her face wasn't from you upsetting her, it was from thankfulness. As much as you think of Amelia, you've no idea how much the words you just said mean to her, treasure that. I imagine if you keep true to it, our clan will never abandon yours as other noble clans have done."
"You knew of clan Zivtak?" Ti'Chal asked curiously. That was the previous clan hers had sworn to, but when a new matriarch ascended some twenty years ago, they had been tossed aside. Clan Zitoh took them in temporarily, but it was still a black mark on a vassal clan's history to have been released in such a way by their noble clan.
"Before I was Viza the clanless, I was Viza Zivtak. My mother was the one who cast you, and myself, aside. I am sorry for the pain she has wrought you, Ti'Chal of clan Uvra." Viza said solemnly, placing a paw on Ti'Chal's shoulder.
Ti'Chal herself looked unsure of how to take this information, but eventually removed Viza's paw from her shoulder, and said. "Not only does my clan get to serve a new noble clan, one who looks to change the very future of Krultatha, but the winds of the hunt have seen fit to even reunite clan Uvra with a descendant of their original nobles by way of you. You have eased my burdens, Androarch Viza Ryder, mate of Matriarch-Huntress Amelia Ryder." She said, for the first time using the rather ancient and out-of-favor term for the head male of a matriarch. Long ago, Matriarchs would have a lead male that would stand beside them, but due to their current need for population, it had long since been abandoned. The fact that Ti'Chal even remembered this word, let alone its use, spoke to how knowledgeable their clan had been, keeping records back at least a thousand years. Viza nodded, his chest swelling with both relief and pride that Ti'Chal had not held a grudge against him for his mother's actions, and that she had found a deep respect for him, judging by her calling him Androarch. Their conversation finished, and they stepped through the door to join Amelia.
Amelia looked upon her new ship with awe. It was not that it was beautiful, beauty was in the eye of the beholder after all, nor that it was an engineering masterpiece, nor even that it was larger than she had expected, easily over a hundred meters long with at least three decks. It was not even that it already bore her clan mark proudly on its hull, nor that the twenty warriors of her vassal clan stood proudly at attention in front of the brand new ship. It was, despite everything, the fact that she appreciated just how much a gift this ship was. Even the few ships she had seen while in Krultatha space did not compare to this ship, as it was from the Queen-Matriarch's personal collection, the top-of-the-line that Krultatha could produce. And it had been given as a gift to Amelia, with a note from the Queen-Matriarch that read as follows.
'For Matriarch-Huntress Amelia Ryder of Clan Ryder, sister to Queen-Matriarch Zania Zithoth Only.
To my dear sister Amelia-
I have heard you are traveling on the Ambassador ship Kixax, which is unarmed, and simply had to correct this. No Krultathan should be without claws and fangs to defend themselves, even in the void, and my feisty little sister should have the best claws and fangs Krultatha can offer, so I gift this ship to you. It's modest, and if time allowed I would have preferred to give you a better-armed ship, but unfortunately, we are having to prepare for war, and such luxuries as time are not afforded to us. Next time you visit Krultatha, stop by and say hi to your big sister, I'll have an even better present for you.
P.S. AI is not illegal on Krultatha, Let Hal stretch his legs for a bit, the poor thing needs it. And tell him I said thanks again for the Terran data dump he gave to me, I've already begun disseminating it among the other nobility and populace. Humanity is becoming quite the sensation here. Ta-Ta.'
Amelia couldn't help it, she let out a bit of a laugh at reading the note, then looked at the ship again. It was sleek, elegant, shaped like a stretched-out diamond for the front half, then narrowed a bit 3/4 of the way back, before expanding again on each side like a trapezoid, housing two large plasma cannons facing forwards on each side, and engines on the back. All along its body were many arc-ion RCS thrusters, and the entire thing was painted in an arctic white and midnight blue color scheme. Several sections looked like they could be for deployable weapons or P.D.Fs, and there were several places Amelia imagined were for upgrading the weaponry, including a large weapons platform that would run underneath, starting just ahead of its cargo bay in the back and running along the midline of the ship. At the back, mounted both above and below, were two excessively large deployable laser turrets. It was the definition of overkill for a fighter-frigate class ship, and Amelia loved it. One of the Warriors stepped forward, doing the vassal greeting like her clan leader had done before, two paws placed over her hearts and all.
"Matriarch-Huntress Amelia Ryder, I am warrior-engineer Savi Uvra. Your ship had been prepped and stocked for deployment, and clan Uvra has assembled awaiting your orders. Might I humbly suggest naming your ship before departure so we may display his name?"
"His?" Amelia asked amusedly. Did they have the opposite convention of humans?
"Ah, my apologies. The data Queen-Matriarch had given us showed that your species had been both patriarchal and matriarchal at times, but that you referred to your modes of transportation as a female in patriarchal systems. We thought it appropriate to adopt this but as male, since we are matriarchal."
'Ah, so the Human disease was already spreading' Amelia thought with a chuckle. Looking at the ship, she deliberated on the name a bit, taking several moments as Viza and Ti'Chal caught up to her, and finally decided.
"Humanity also has another tradition. When a ship serves two roles, it gets two names. This ship will be for peace, and for war. He'll be Elysium for peace, And Tartarus for war."
"Do they have special meaning for your kind, Matriarch-Huntress Amelia?" The warrior-engineer asked, to which Amelia nodded.
"In an old mythos on Terra, in ancient Greece, Elysium was said to be the afterlife of peace, where hopes and dreams were made reality. Tartarus was the afterlife of despair, filled with war, chaos, and strife. In peace, we'll strive to bring dreams alive and make them a reality, but in war, we will bring despair."
"I see." She said, then tapped something out on a heavily customized datapad. Along the hull, at just above the centerline, the color changes, and in big, black letters stood the name.
"Elysium."