The Garudan's then started to gather around Itoa and Hera who began the training of the younger Garudan's. I managed to slip away and headed towards the common room, seating myself comfortably. I pondered coming events as there was still time until we reached our destination. I analysed my options while taking inventory of my current assets. After searching through the ship, we only found very few weapons on board. Five laser rifles and seven pistols, both weapons rely on miniaturised fusion power cells from what Quroken said. Truly incredible technology this Empire has created or pilfered depending on who you ask. It will not be long until we reach the star system and from what I have learned, a fleet of Wokan pirates is planning to suppress and enslave a planet of Garudan natives. Given the technology gap, I would say the Garudan's are either enslaved or are in process of being enslaved.

According to the rules and regulations of the Samsiran Empire put forth by his majesty Imperius Dartum Selkan the third. All forms of slavery have been outlawed under the Imperial Sentient Charter. This granted all life the right to act of their own accord. This very law was one of the defining factors in the war against the Imperium, despite the similarities between these two countries. Their stance on slavery was different. So, by the stance of my former people, slavery goes against Imperial law. Thus, it would be my duty as the last of the Empire to oppose such things.

But with no chain of command, would I need to obey their laws? You cannot serve a country if that country does not exist and from what I have learned of my people's flaws, which led to mutual destruction, perhaps I do not need to obey. Hmm something to consider, but regardless, the Charter should still stand and the benefit of assisting the Garudan's holds more value than allying with the Wokan pirates.

Now the case is whether I can even intervene against an enemy with such superior firepower. Tactically it would be a fool's errand even with this plundered vessel to oppose them. Of course, that is another matter, if the situation were levelled in our favour. Now as if fate intervened, my eyes cast to Zerg walking over to the kitchen and a plan takes shape. Zerg had been released some time ago as Itoa felt no need to punish him. He had not directly been involved in the attack on their people.

The Garudan's only cast blame on those that truly deserve it and were loathed to keep a man caged by association to those culpable. Thus, Zerg was released under a kind of work release situation. Quroken would manage and monitor him, but from my observations, he had very little loyalty to the Wokan captain that performed the mutiny. Of course, Kuma remains in the cell as he still believes his captain will save him. He remains loyal to the end, something I strangely admire.

Zerg seems to be having some food, after a good number of cycles working the fusion reactor that needed maintenance. Quroken monitored him and determined he had not sabotaged the ship and was indeed doing his work with diligence and motivation. Despite the Garudan's being wary of him, Kalo had developed an odd friendship with him. It was Zerg who taught him Shahnese and various cultural aspects of the Wokan people.

Kalo was his biggest supporter in accepting him as a semi-member of our little ragtag crew. With the plan forming, I ascend to my feet and walk over to him. He jumped back in fright, before calming himself once he witnessed my visage. I gave a simple Wokan greeting, placing two of my palms over my forehead in a horizontal fashion in accordance with Wokan customs. It was a sign of respect and conveys a desire for peaceful discourse. Zerg responded with the same gesture and followed me to the common room table.

Seated opposite each other we began our dialogue. I begin by querying basic information about the military structure of the Wokan's, specifically aboard the survey fleet. He went into a long-winded explanation of how the Demthesian's co-opted Wokan military customs, before completely replacing them. The Imperial fleet is apparently more complex in the core worlds and he had little information on that. The structure of the survey fleet was anything but regular. Most of the fleet's personnel are civilians hired by the Demthesian military. So, most of the crew complement would be non-military personnel such as engineers, scientists, and surveyors. The rest of the crew would have been military, so likely after they turned the tables against the Demthesian officers and staged their little mutiny I doubt everyone onboard participated, likely just followed along.

Despite his original wariness, Zerg has been quite helpful in volunteering information. This made me question his motives, he must know what we will do once we arrive. Curious I decided to probe further and confront him with the question. "Zerg?" I try to ask in as calm of a voice as I can, to put him at ease. He lifts his downturned gaze and stares at me with wonder. "Why are you offering me this information willingly, you surely know we will come to blows with your fellow kin." My words may seem harsh, alluding to the death of his kin, but the words must be said, and I am curious as to his perspective.

He paused for a moment and commits an expression like a sigh. He looked at me with those beady insectoid eyes and explained himself. "First things first, I never agreed with what the captain did. The mutiny was not my idea and had no part in it." I nodded in acknowledgement of his words and prompted him to continue, which he did. "I am just an engineer from a backwater planet, I saw serving on a survey vessel as easy credit. Never did I imagine I would be part of a mutiny by proxy and become branded a pirate simply because I worked on the same vessel." I am not sure, but I think his dropping shoulders and constant eye fluttering may be indicative of emotional turmoil.

Not as expressive as most species but noticeable if subtle, he continues. "I... I didn't know what to do when the first shot was fired, our Captain Zekton was ruthless even to his own men. Some might say he was worse than how the Demthesian's treated us." He pauses for a moment before I believe breathing heavily. "You have to, believe me, I knew nothing of it when Zekton turned his rifle on the officers. Slaughtering them without so much as a shred of mercy... I could not do anything... I froze and watched them die, I had no love for the officers, but what Zekton did to them went too far." I put forth my right hand and place it on his shoulder, it seems to be a universal way of applying comfort.

I let him continue for a time, I am not sure if he was crying in the only way a Wokan could. His eyes were moist as I listened to his tale and description of Captain Zekton. After he was done, I let him go to his bunk to rest, leaving his work for another cycle. He had explained to me the details of the events in as clearer a picture as he could. Captain Zekton called for a meeting of discipline, something the Demthesian's heavily enforced whenever a Wokan showed signs of disobedience.

The subject of this meeting would be lashed in front of his cohorts. This was to ensure they never spread dissidents or disloyalty to the Empire. A rather crude and brutal measure, it interns spelt their doom. During the meeting of discipline, the former Demthesian Commander Junt'kar commanded Captain Zekton to lash his own clutch kin in front of the others. Zekton refused and was beaten as a result. In the struggle, Zekton managed to seize a weapon and shot and killed Commander Junt'kar. Zerg was present and watched as it all descended into chaos.

The Wokan's led by Zekton rebelled and killed the Demthesian's in a brutal melee. The ones that were captured were forced to fight each other to the death as Zekton secured his rule over the Wokan survey corps. Eliminating the Demthesian's aboard with brutal efficiency and seizing control of the fleet. Zerg was placed on this vessel as an engineer and that comes to the now. Quite the story, this Captain Zekton will be an obstacle, how much of an obstacle will remain to be seen, but a plan takes shape.

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Five Major Cycles Later, Hellmak Patrol Vessel

I had taken some time to absorb every piece of knowledge I could find about the enemy before me. Their military tactics, culture, and history of the Wokan people. Key pieces of information I believe will greatly contribute to the battle ahead. I ponder on all the knowledge I have accumulated, from conversations, ship records and my own observations of Wokan behaviour.

I strip my new weapons to inspect them for damage. The weapon I learned is a standard-issue Imperial CLR or Concentrated Laser Rifle. Powered by a fusion core, they were mass-produced alongside the accompanied smaller handgun version. I have disassembled and reassembled my two new weapons and have a good grasp of their functionality and maintenance needs. It took a while to wrap my head around this advanced technology. Zerg was a big help that Wokan would be considered a genius back on my planet.

But enough of my weapons, I say as I holster the handgun to my waist. The rifle is assembled before me on my new desk. They gave me the captain's quarters, go figure. But back to the Wokan's, I have observed from studying both Zerg and Kuma's behaviour that the species seem very goal orientated with great emphasis on hierarchy and everyone having established positions. Despite both Kuma and Zerg having different perspectives on the situation, they both are loyal to their position. Zerg is influenced by his more moral nature but still works diligently in his field of expertise despite being a former prisoner. Kuma remains loyal to Captain Zekton and insists he will be freed soon, likely still trapped in their little social hierarchy.

This perspective likely relates to their mating habits of forming tight-knit clutches with arranged partners. Emotional attachments and choice of mate seem to not factor into breeding. Everyone has their proper place in their eyes, so when the Wokan were conquered by the Shah and made a militant corps under Demthesian rule, they adapted quickly to the new pecking order.

Despite the brutal methods the Demthesian's employed to keep the more radically minded members of Wokan society. They managed to keep control over this large military force. The Wokan's had great emphasise on military service from their history of serving the Wokan Warlords in the great expansion to the stars. Now the curious thing is despite their actions to enslave other species, through invasion and conquest when the interstellar era began. Quroken being an example, Wokan's never enslaved their own people.

Despite their brutal militaristic regime, they seem to only have enslaved other species. It is because of how Wokan familial structures are formed, they do not have traditional families and bloodlines. They have what is known as clutch kin, individuals that are birthed in the same clutch hatchery are considered family regardless of parentage. Their former military system was based around this clutch system where their military corps were separated and formed from each clutch. So, in a sense, they fought alongside their brothers.

Such unity allowed them to form a large army with many sectors formed around the brothers and sisters in arms mentality. This concept I believe contributed to the mutiny. During the meeting of discipline, the Demthesian's would all take turns punishing the Wokan. The pain would be endured and shared by the clutch, this provided a degree of unity and fear amongst the Wokan. They endeavoured to be as loyal as they could for the sake of their clutch kin.

When Commander Junt'kar commanded Zekton to harm his own kin, that was more than the clutch could bear. The inevitable revolt and mutiny soon followed. Of course, those in Zekton's clutch rebelled without question as they suffered the most under Demthesian rule. The other Wokan crew were civilians and had little to no clutch mentality and thus went along out of fear.

I sit back in my chair with still many thoughts racing through my head, before the sound of a ship-wide announcement is heard. The voice of Quroken is recognisable as he announces. "Alert nearing star system of Garuda, the fleet is nearly in range!" There it is, the time has come, we shall see what kind of opponent this Captain Zekton truly is. I ascend from my seat and make my way to the main deck. Passing through a few cramped hallways filled with Garudan, I managed to make my way to the cockpit. Arriving I am greeted by Quroken seated in the pilot's seat. Itoa and Hera are behind him, staring intensely out of the port window and finally Zerg and Kalo standing to the right.

The atmosphere is intense as the spectacle of what awaits us comes into view. A bright green planet, much larger than my own planet appears before us. Surrounding the planet is a modest blockade of ships, several small patrol vessels layered around the planet's orbit, in a defensive manner. The most prominent figure is the large frigate parked in the centre of the small fleet, dwarfing the surrounding patrol vessels by sheer size. The entire vessel seemed to have a full length of three hundred metres. The vessel's design was sleeker and more visually appealing than the bulky Wokan patrol vessels. They looked like small floating rectangles.

In comparison the frigate was elegant almost artistic, the entire vessel was shaped like a curved triangle, and on the top of the frigate were several mounted turrets along with a large dome, which I suspect was the bridge. On the sides of the vessel were two port exits likely for docking vessels. On the side of the domed bridge was a massive insignia. A red circle with a clawed hand grasping the mid-section of a rifle raising it in the air.

Clearly, this vessel is owned by a militaristic faction, I should look more into these Demthesian's. The Wokan's aboard my vessel have little information on this enigmatic species. I wonder if they have similarities to the Forkusan Military Junta which attempted to impose military rule over the Followers of Meraxis before their theocratic government was established. Regardless such contemplation should be assigned to a later date, the task at hand requires my immediate attention.

Like clockwork, a hail was sent from the Frigate. "Patrol ship Hellmak, report your current status." A soft voice reverberates from the communication speaker, leading everyone's gaze cast to me and then to Zerg.

He seems to wince from their gazes, looking at me with a pleading gesture. It was something I have been able to discern, Wokan's shows a flustered expression by excessive blinking and adopting a subservient posture. I move to his location as Kalo watches with interest, placing my right hand on Zerg's shoulder I begin to coach him some more. "You just need to repeat what I told you, that's it." I receive a swift nod to my words, prompting Zerg to move towards the communication panel, press one of the buttons and reply.

His voice begins with a false raggedness, which we have been practising for some time, and his acting abilities have improved remarkably. "This is the Hellmak, we have suffered heavy casualties and barely escaped with our lives, the captain is dead, and we request docking permission and repairs." His tone continues in the raspy voice I managed to convince him to adopt, like the sound of being out of breath or shocked.

The communication panel blinks silently before a reply comes through, "This is Commander Zekton, tell me what happened?" The new voice that abruptly resounded from the commlink, sounded incredibly mechanical, almost artificial. The thought of this being a computer program crossed my mind. The expression of Zerg quickly changed his line of thinking, he was clearly stunned to silence by this individual. So, this is Commander Zekton the supposed leader of this band of mutineers, a pleasure to hear your voice.

Now despite Zerg's initial shock, he is holding his own and continues his play-acting. "Commander Zekton, the system we were sent to had hostile natives, they attacked and killed most of our crew, but we managed to escape, we need to dock." The line went silent for several long moments as the others held their breaths. I knew that he would have his misgivings and suspicions about this vessel being under another's control. Any good commander would have such a suspicion. But given his tenuous control over the mutineers, he cannot afford to abandon his Wokan kin in front of the others.

His mechanical voice begins again with the words I had expected. "Docking granted, go to docking bay four, we will meet you there, I require a full report." I smiled slightly, though the plan is not ideal it is the only one I believe will have the greatest chance of success, so a little theatre is required.