As far as Zayd was concerned, there wasn’t even a decision to make. He’d seen the power of the Stellar Imperium firsthand. While he hardly had a combat mech, everything he saw from their energy weapons to the strange shielding on their starship spoke of a civilization at least as advanced as the wealthiest star clusters in human space, if not more so. Given the choice of toiling away for the corporations or fighting for a noble alien house, he knew which form of servitude he preferred. The corporations would keep him weak so he could never rise up against them. Contractors were suppressed by employees, managers suppressed labor, and everyone did everything possible to keep people like him powerless.
Still, there was too much that he didn’t know to accept immediately. “What happens if I refuse your offer?” While he had no intention of refusing, the alien’s answer would tell him much about how they operated. “And if I accept, what will my life be like here? You said these are the quarters of an officer, would I assume a position in the chain of command or would I become a prisoner in a gilded cage?”
“Your questions are fair given your perspective,” the priestess said after a sigh. “First, I will be very clear, if you reject, we will not kill you. Instead, you will be transferred to a quarantine cell with the other humans we captured and you will join them in their irrelevance,” she said flatly. “In time, we may find a use for you, or we may not. That which is useful will be put to use, that which isn’t will be discarded or sold. Is that clear enough?”
“Crystal,” Zayd said with a slight tremble. The way she referred to the other captives as irrelevant said a great deal about how much value the prisoners currently held - none at all. It wasn’t hard to imagine that if they couldn’t suggest some value in keeping them alive, the remaining prisoners would be jettisoned from the nearest airlock before the ship left the system to save on mass when it translated to hyperspace. “And my living conditions if I accept?”
“A Champion is a warrior in the service of their Lord or Lady,” Eirian explained. “In time, if you prove yourself capable, you may become an advisor on her council, an officer with troops under your command, or more. None of those things are inherent to your role as a Champion,” she emphasized. “Still, you will be treated with the respect your position is due. You will not be confined to your quarters aboard the ship though you will need an escort until you have learned enough to move about on your own. When we return to the Imperium, you will enjoy the same rights and privileges as any other citizen, though you will naturally surrender some of your freedoms to gain the benefits of your position in service to a Noble like Lady Nimue.”
“What sort of freedoms am I expected to surrender?” Zayd asked, already beginning to bristle. If he refused, he would be irrelevant. Accepting, however, felt like he still wouldn’t be able to live a life with the freedoms that most people enjoyed.
“Don’t get stuck on what you’re giving up,” the priestess chided. “Focus on what you’re gaining. Everything you give up entitles you to a benefit of some sort. You give up your freedom of movement,” she provided as an example. “You will go where Lady Nimue commands you to. This is normal for the life of a soldier. In exchange, you will experience more of the galaxy than even most citizens of the Imperium are able to. You will be free to pursue whatever romantic or sexual entanglements you desire,” she continued, leaning forward seductively. “But your marriage and any children you sire will have political implications for the noble you serve and therefore require her permission. In exchange for losing this trivial freedom, you become a much more prized suitor to a number of women in the imperium,” she added. “Even I might be interested in taking a Champion as my life partner. So you see, even when you lose, you also gain. On the whole, you have much more to gain than you will lose.”
Hearing the way the priestess explained matters, it admittedly sounded less terrifying than he’d originally thought. While it was strange that they would concern themselves with his choice of romantic partner, as the offspring of a loveless transaction intended to meld the genes of two exceptional pilots, he could hardly claim to have resulted from a superior union. They had their rules and their culture and he’d have to make adjustments. On the whole, he could see why their people would compete for such a position and why a person like him would never have such an opportunity outside of his current extraordinary circumstances. In the end, it made the decision easier than he might have thought.
“I accept,” he said after several moments of consideration. “What do I need to do next? I suppose it involves the relic you mentioned?”
“Before you come anywhere near the relic, you’ll swear a blood oath,” the priestess said, producing a small tablet the size of a piano key, set with a clear crystal. “I’ve translated the oath for you, just place your first finger on the key and recite the words.”
“If I’m going to be Lady Nimue’s champion, shouldn’t I swear this oath in her presence?” Zayd asked. He was willing to accept servitude, at least for now, but he wanted to know who he was serving!
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“It’s not appropriate for you to meet with Lady Nimue yet,” Eirian told him coldly. “You can’t even speak Stellar Imperial much less High Fae. I might be willing to work with you through translation software but I promise you that she will not. When you speak to a noble lady, you must be able to have complete responsibility for your words. Language is only the first barrier you’ll need to overcome, there are others but at the moment, they don’t matter. Just understand that she has placed you in my care until such time as you earn the right to enter her presence.”
“I see,” Zayd said. New boss, new company culture, new rules. It hardly mattered. Besides, it sounded like he’d get to spend more time with the beautiful Eirian and that was a reward he wouldn’t complain about. “Since it’s like that,” he said, placing his finger on the tablet. “I, Zayd, formerly of the Braxis-Quan Holding Company, renounce all former loyalties. I pledge my life in service to Lady Nimue Gael in her direct personage and to the House of Gael as she directs me. I swear to serve at her pleasure until dead or dismissed.” Once he swore the oath, he felt a faint ripple across the surface of his fingertip before the clear crystal turned dark red, and strange characters appeared on the tablet in a flowing blue script.
“Good. You should understand that the blood oath is strictly enforced,” the priestess said. “While service doesn’t mean blind obedience, if you act against her interest, at the very least you’ll feel incredible pain that will prevent you from acting. If you betray your oath, your heart will stop,” she said, as though it was the most normal thing in the world to die from breaking a promise! “Now, follow me. The relic is waiting for you in my lab.”
Once they exited the living quarters, the ship felt more like a starship and less like a garden though it was still very strange to Zayd’s eyes. The metal decking was immaculately clean and panels were constructed with soft, almost organic curves rather than sharp ninety-degree angles. Perhaps the strangest thing though was the presence of holographic scenery that continued even in the ship’s corridors. Every ten meters or so, a ‘window’ displayed a view of a natural outside world. It made it feel like he was walking through a base on a planet more than a starship.
“Are all of the ships in the Imperium like this?” Zayd asked, gesturing to one of the larger ‘windows’ on their way to the lab. “Or is this because this ship belongs to Lady Nimue?”
“Most Fae ships are like this,” Eirian said with a smile. “When you learn more about harnessing Dark Energy you’ll realize that everyone who is attuned to it is also contaminated by it. Fae are attuned to the energy of life and growth among other things that you’ll learn about in time. Keeping our ships like this makes them considerably more comfortable. Ixian ships are very different,” she said with a sour expression. “They have chosen to evolve themselves along more insectoid lines. Their ships resemble the hives and nests of insects, very dark, circular corridors, and the layout only seems to make sense to people who can think like insects.”
“Chosen to evolve themselves?”
“We were all human once,” Eirian acknowledged. “But we’ve taken control of our own evolution. That’s why we refer to your kind as ‘Original Stock.’ You come from the strain of humanity that hasn’t incorporated the genetic advancements of any other apex species. Fae like Lady Nimue and I have incorporated the genetic advancements of a winged race that achieved such great mastery over life that they were able to produce organic spacecraft that harnessed Dark Energy naturally. Sadly, their greatest evolution came too late and a solar storm destroyed most of their civilization. What remained had descended into barbarism and primitive applications of manipulating Dark Energy that they considered to be sorcery.”
“Since Fae were human once, does that mean,” Zayd started to ask, his mind conjuring images of the beautiful Eirian in far more intimate circumstances.
Instantly, Eirian turned to face him, pressing herself close up against him and forcing him up against the bulkhead. “Does that mean we’re genetically compatible?” she purred, her voice sultry and enticing. “With Original Stock? Hardly. But if you work hard and evolve yourself further, there’s no reason that treatments couldn’t be applied to bridge the gap. Does that idea excite you, Champion?”
Eirian’s final words were whispered directly into Zayd’s ear from a distance of just a few centimeters, instantly short-circuiting his brain. It took several seconds for Zayd to realize that she’d left him to resume their walk down the corridor before he hurriedly followed after her.
“We’re here,” she said, opening a door with a wave of her hand and leading him into a sophisticated lab. While the large exam table in the center of the room looked like it had been carved from wood, the holographic screens floating around it made it clear that it was a piece of advanced technology packed with sensors to study whoever or whatever was laid on the table.
The thing that captured Zayd’s attention the most, however, was the seven-pointed star-shaped emblem composed of metallic crystals that floated in a shimmering energy field at one end of the exam table. When Zayd entered the lab, the rest of the room, including the mesmerizing Eirian, faded away until his vision was filled with the strange relic.
As Zayd approached the relic in a daze, it began to release a deep thumping noise. The sound was so deep and so quiet that it was barely audible but within a few seconds, the thump had matched itself to the beat of his racing heart. Calling to him.
“You see?” Priestess Eirian said with a smile. “This is your opportunity. Seize it, and take control of your own evolution.”