One thing Alwen was learning to appreciate about the Union was that they always went above and beyond. Unity could have used its space a thousand times more efficiently, but instead they had opted for a grand waste of resources that awed anyone who saw it. The Central Union History museum was no different.

It was a massive sprawling complex that took up a massive amount of space of a station where space was at a premium. It began with the origins of the Universe, Big Bang, the first stars, the creation of heavier elements, and then the birth of new stars that would be gentle giants who nurtured life on the first cradle worlds. The Union’s understanding of the origin of everything was well beyond what Alwens world had learned from deep space research since they could actually visit the stars that were only pinpricks of light to Torwen.

And that was all just the first building. The whole museum complex started at the origins of the Universe and slowly guided the visitors through the history of the Union. The next section had the Pre-FTL origins of the five founder races of the Union. It showed the early and defining history of the Zxx’thi, Cék’ek, Voral, Drohodon, and a Deathworlder race Alwen had only ever heard once, the Tengek.

Alwen had first heard it when Aster was ranting about all the other Deathworlders the Union had destroyed, on the day she had finally taken the mark. Aster had made it seem like the Union found them on their homeworld, forced them to join, used them as the only effective ground troops against Aunviry, and then discarded them entirely. But according to the museum they had been one of the founding races.

Strong, smart, and fierce. The bronze statues the Union had on display showed a beastly primate about Alwens height and broader than anyone she had met. The bodies were built squat but powerful, and it was cited that they had strength very disproportionate to their size. They were omnivores, with heavy protein based diets and an insatiable hunger. Alwen saw the plaque listing their homeworld’s stats and boggled at the gravity, gravity so high that it should have barred them from ever escaping its grip. But somehow they had managed it and had been the first race to find the four other founding races.

The section dedicated to the long gone Deathworlders spoke of them with the highest revery and respect Alwen had ever seen the Union show any Deathworlder. For the longest time they were the warriors who fought the Union’s battles and saved them from extinction several times. First with the Draxori/Kruhur who had invaded a Zxx’thi colony world, then with the subjugation of the Vulna who had been a trade partner of the Draxori, and then with repelling the Aunviry menace. The Tengek had been fierce but loyal friends of the founding species, and they had given their all to fight back the deadly forces of a hostile galaxy to give the four founding species the time to grow into a force strong enough to defend itself.

The section of the brutal founding era of the Union was one racked in constant tragedy and chaos. Making the peace they found all the more precious. Or at least so the plaques and tour guides said.

Alwen knew Aster and the other Hellworlders had their suspicions about the origin story. And she could smell the slight stench of propaganda from every exhibit on display. Still, she found the reverence they paid the Tengek confusing. If they venerated these Deathworlders so much why did they hate the others who followed after? Maybe it was just too hard to mask everything they had done for the early Union.

After the section dedicated to the Aunviry invasion was where the real origin of the modern day Union was housed. The formal treaties and trade agreements transformed into a unified federation where the planets and species would mostly govern themselves under the overarching umbrella of a multispecies government. Then came the first joint colony world founded with multiple species in mind. Then the expansion era where many, many new species where discovered and incorporated into the Union’s government. The creation of Galactic Common. The creation of a single monetary unit, the credit, as well as the Centralized Union bank. A brief civil war as many joint colony worlds tried to withdraw from the Union and form their own Federation, which had led to the creation of the modern-day office of the Navy. The introduction of the Sector gates. And then years and years of unspoiled peace.

They reached the end of the Museum and saw the section dedicated to the addition of Femeri. And in stark contrast of the earlier veneration of the Tengek this section went through great pains to paint a picture of Deathworlder violence and brutality. In the Human section Alwen saw graphic depictions of slavery, colonialism, and genocide as European powers conquered the globe. All capped off with the three world wars and the bombing of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Seoul. The bombing of Seoul had been the spark of the last world war, and the final nuclear weapon to destroy a city, though not the last to be fired. Mutually assured destruction had defined the cold war era, but by the time of the Information age Humanity had a plethora of anti-ballistic deterrents and the overwhelming drive to not fight world war four with sticks and rocks.

Of course none of that was mentioned in the exhibit. Instead it showed pictures and videos of Seoul uploaded to the internet before their destruction, the masses of humanity displaced by the fall out. And then the brutal naval war in the far east. All capped off with the defense of Honolulu and the decisive battle that marked a turn in the Western Blocs favor. Alwen smiled to herself as she saw the familiar silhouette of the USS Missouri whose dumb iron shells had been incredibly effective at countering the Electronic warfare of the enemy. Can’t hack a 16” shell if there wasn’t anything to hack, and the trend of fast aluminum ships meant it didn’t take much for her batteries and ship-to-ship missiles to tear them apart. And just like WWII before it, the treaties for the third war were signed on her deck.

As brutal and terrifying as the human world wars were, they had nothing on the holy wars on Kaydo. The humans had used gas attack in the first war and were so traumatized by its use they had declined to use it en masse ever again. Kaydo was a different story. Whereas humans-built war machines to neutralize their foes the Kaydic had biolabs and chemical plants to scrub the land of their enemies. The results of that war were so brutal that even Now Kaydo was still hampered by the effects of it.

Alwen knew from the Human section that the museum was likely misrepresenting the facts to better paint the big herbivores of Kaydo as barbaric monsters. But there was still a kernel of truth here.

Balikstro history was much tamer than the two other deathworlder species on display. Their world was a cold and rocky place, and basically everything outclassed and outsized them. The dominant predators, the herds of herbivores, and the native plant life was titanic by the standards of Torwen or Earth, with most beasts starting at elephant size and going up from there. Considering that most Bone’men and women were around Alwen’s size that made their rise all the more impressive. They built their civilization on the alpine peaks poking out of the continent spanning forests, forming very tight knit communities. The concept of raising ones cubs in a home of their own was a very modern concept as their ancestors had always lived in cramped communal spaces with little separation between families.

The Balikstro had hunted much like early Humans and Torweni, by being smarter than their prey and working in packs. They would drive the prey close to home, spending weeks in the wild to drive a herd of horned beasts nearly six meters tall into the fresh and waiting hunters of the village. They moved into the modern era with little conflict beyond some tribal squabbles over hunting rights. Any disunity in their small communities would have meant being overwhelmed by the beastly hyper carnivores lurking in the shadows. And sustained warfare was basically impossible since their communities could be several mountains away.

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Geothermal fissures and springs that were common in their mountain ranges led to a direct jump to renewable energy rather than relying on coal or oil. And the abundance of metals matched with the small size of their populations meant that they industrialized with little impact on the local environment.

It was honestly impressive to Alwen how in tune with nature they seemed. Torwen’s own industrial revolution had its many sacrifices to the name of progress, and they were still well behind Earth’s industrial might.

There was also an exhibit for the Icutoo, Femeri’s only nondeathworld species. But it was like all the other nondeathworlder exhibits she had seen before, and Alwen didn’t really care to see another.

“Is it just me, or do all the nondeathworld exhibits feel bland and uninteresting?” she asked Gato, who had surprised her by taking an interest in the exhibits.

“No, a lot of them feel like the same story with different faces. Evolve, progress into space, meet the Union, happily ever after.” He grumbled.

A Carkic from a group of nondeathworlders who had moved through all the exhibits at the same time as Alwen and Gato snorted derisively. “Of course they do, the people behind this museum curated all the exhibits to fit into their narrative. Every species around today has their own complicated history, but that doesn’t fit the Union’s ‘we’re all one people’ narrative.”

Alwen and Gato blinked at the Carkic female in surprise. This was the first time they had seen any non-deathworlders have a negative opinion of the Union.

“What?” the Carkic growled “Didn’t expect us to have a history before the Union?”

Alwen shook her head, “Its just the first time we’ve seen someone who wasn’t a deathworlder have a negative opinion of the Union. We’re just surprised.”

“And are wondering if your some sort of secret police trying to find dissent.” Gato added at the end.

Alwen gave him an incredulous look “Does the Union really have secret police?”

He shrugged “not that I know of, but I’ve read 1984.”

Alwen shuddered, that book had given her literal nightmares. Orwell was too good at painting a bleak picture of autocracy.

The Carkic female gave them a confused tilt of the head “I take it your not local.”

Alwen shook her head, “We work on a cargo ship that has some business in Unity. I’m the ship’s doctor and he’s our chief of security. We thought it would be fun to explore the Unions capital.” She said perfectly reciting their cover story.

“So you’re from one of the periphery sectors?”

“Femeri” Alwen answered using the Union name for what the Terrans stubbornly called the Orion sector.

“I see,” the female knuckled over on her four long arms and extended a foot towards Alwen “I’m Umi.”

“Alwen” Alwen responded, giving the foot a firm shake.

Which was apparently not the expected response judging by Umi’s face. “Sorry if this makes me sound like an ass, but are you human or-?” she trailed.

“Torweni, we’re a newly found species. We’re like humans in many ways though.”

“I see, well of course not everyone is pleased with the way things are. The Union’s been stagnating for centuries, and their narrative of a single happy union of peoples has smothered hundreds of native cultures and identities. People have been pushing for some sort of change for years, not just deathworlders who get the worst end of the Unions bureaucracy.” Umi reached into a satchel at her side and withdrew a pamphlet. “I’m apart of a student movement pushing for amendments to the Union’s Charter.”

Alwen took the pamphlet and saw the text on the front. BRING THE POWER BACK TO THE PEOPLE. The version of people in this instance referring to all sapient life and not a single group with a unique identity.

Umi saw Alwen’s interest and beamed “For years things have stagnated, and that’s because the leadership hasn’t changed at all. Most current sitting councilors have held their position for hundreds of standard years, and when they step down or retire they put forth a suggested replacement who almost always gets voted in. We’ve created a puppet democracy where council seats have become hereditary. We need defined terms, term limits, and strict restrictions on the influence retiring councilors have on their successors.” She recited in what must have been a recited speech. She looked to Gato and gave him a sincere look, “did you know that the family of your current council representative have held the seat since Earth’s induction into the Union? They don’t even try to bring in any opposition. One human steps down and the son of that human takes his place the next cycle. They don’t even refer to the current councilor by name anymore, they just say the Terran Councilor. Because his actual identity is meaningless.” Umi glanced to Alwen, youthful passion burning in her eyes “Your world could fall into the same cycle too. The first council seat will probably go to whoever is leading the negotiations and never leave their family.”

A lot of things suddenly made sense to Alwen in that moment, and she had to resist the urge to facepalm. “So that’s what father’s after.” She thought.

Umi saw the horror in Alwens eyes and continued on. “The worst part is this news rarely ever reaches your distant home worlds. News companies in the Core don’t even bother with reporting major council decisions to outer sectors. And the travel costs involved in sending messages in and out of the core makes it hard for local news agencies to hear about such things. You two need to bring this news back to your homeworld’s. Change will only happen if there is pressure from all directions.”

Gato had also seen the look on Alwen’s face and knew there was more to her horror than Umi had assumed. He took a pawful of pamphlets and gave Umi a fang filled smile to put her off kilter. “You’ve convinced us, we’ll take these back to our ship and pass them along.” He said smoothly while slipping his other hand around Alwen’s hip and guiding her away from the passionate activist.

They walked in silence until they exited the museum and found an isolated spot in a nearby park. “What’s on your mind Vi.” He asked softly.

“Umi, she just helped me figure out why my father is so keen to lead the negotiations with the Union. He’s after that council seat, and he doesn’t care if he has to sell out our whole world to get it.” Alwen said bitterly.

He gave her a look “are you actually surprised, or just upset at the reminder of who your father is?”

Alwen snorted “the latter. I know what exactly what my father cares about, its not his family, and not his people. The only thing he ever cared about was power and prestige. His wife was just a means to assure a political alliance, and his kids are just a way for him to spread his influence. I know all of this, but it still hurts to realize just how morally bankrupt he is.”

“Does he not care about you, even in his own twisted way?” Gato asked softly. For a man who had seen the worst in people he was always keen to try and find the good in anyone.

Alwen shook her head, “He loves Erawan, and until their falling out he was proud of Modius. And I think he spoiled Toray. But for me, nothing. I think he used up all his love for his three eldest children. The rest of us had to fight for any scrap of attention.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“Oh yeah, I have an older set of twins born just before me. Normally twins are inseparable, but Jenna and Ken hate each other’s guts. They always had to share achievements and fathers love was finite. The only time they were united was in their hate for me. They followed Toray’s footsteps into the temple of Ashendra, and they couldn’t stand that I was better than them. I know brothers and sisters are supposed to fight, but not like that.”

Gato nodded “I’ve seen Gabe and Izzy argue plenty of times to know what you mean. Their worst fights will devolve into slug fest and we’ll have to break it up, but they’ll always make up.”

Alwen nodded. She looked down at the pamphlet in her hands, “Still, its kinda reassuring to know that not all Union citizens agree with their government.” She thought for a moment “How do you think people would react to the Union’s tampering with Earth and other Deathworlders.”

“Probably not well, but that’s why they hid their tracks so danm well. It would be impossible to prove.”

Alwen frowned and thought to her research. The Hellworlders all suspected that the Union had a hand in the Uplifting and the degradation of Earth’s delicate climate. But they had nothing conclusive to prove it, just circumstantial evidence and a gut feeling. Instead of trying to prove it though they assumed the Union was an enemy that wanted them dead and were preparing for war. Which Alwen didn’t disagree with anymore, but maybe their was merit in trying to sway the public opinion of the Union’s actions. Hearts and Minds.

She had a certain amount of hesitation when it came to her current research. Any success would forever mark her as the doctor who bedded an alien, got cramps, and discovered some sort of xeno-compatibility with Terrans. Any other contributions she made to the field of medicine would likely be overshadowed by that. Highland had once told her a joke about a man who built roads, walls, and homes for the needy, but fucked one goat and was forever a goat fucker.

Her research had seemed important before, but now she realized it might be more important than she had first thought. This might be a way for her to contribute more than her fair share.

Her mood now buoyed Alwen leapt to her feet, surprising Gato with the turn of her mood. She held out a hand and was determined not to let her shitty father occupy any more space in her mind.

Gato took her hand, pulled her in close and led her through the strange alien Chion park.

They walked in companionable silence until a strange high-pitched sound reached their ears. Gato heard it first and had guided Alwen to it. There they found a small furry white alien child making a high-pitched cry that pierced Alwen’s ears like a knife. A cry that stopped the moment the child saw the two Deathworld predators directing their fierce gazes on it.