The Confederacy
The Astaroth cleared the berthing space and maneuvered along their assigned flight path, typically the Astaroth would just fly into the safe exit corridors of space and warp away from Femeri at speed. But the point Astarte had chosen for the Hellworlder fleet to assemble wasn’t in the Orion arm of the Milky Way, it was in the core sector of Barkesh, which was a subdivision within the Norma arm that made up the core sectors of the Union. To get there she would first need to pass through what the Union referred to as the Wrethren Sector. Which meant that unless she wanted to spend years traveling through uncharted undeveloped space they would need to rely on the Unions network of massive star gates.
A physicist who worked on the ships warp fields had explained that they weren’t actually star gates, the portals used by the pivotal tv series turned seven movie blockbuster saga supposedly worked via a one-way wormhole that turned people into pure energy and then somehow reconstructed said energy back into a person without any loss in mass or any changes in the delicate molecules and proteins that made a person work, somehow. The massive ship sized rings employed by the Union somehow connected two points in space so that passing through one side resulted in a ship coming out on the other side of the galaxy without any loss in matter, energy, or time, somehow. The physics was beyond her, all she knew is that it was a massive warp gate that met its massive power requirements via a network of solar arrays surrounding a nearby star, hence her apt name of star gate. Though the Union called them sector gates.
These massive nearly half kilometer sized rings were how the interstellar economy thrived. Cradle worlds a hundred thousand light years apart who should have had no business trading with each other, were linked up together via this network of sector gates. These gates were the Unions key to galactic control, because only they seemed to understand the hyper advanced mechanics involved in making and operating the massive sector gates, and they used that knowledge to exert control over vast swathes of interstellar society. Messages and data half a galaxy apart relied on these gates, warp field emitters and fusion reactors made in the core worlds flowed through these gates to run the mighty engines of freighters that connected distant planets. Orbital factories produced modular station sections to be shipped through these gates to create refueling and redistribution hubs like Parox in between industrial worlds. Standard food rations produced on colossal orbital hydroponics stations supplemented the growing needs of station dwelling people and less agricultural worlds. In turn, the far-flung worlds on the other side of the gates mined, refined, and shipped raw metals and chemicals to the core worlds. Worlds like Earth or Kaydo specialized in pumping out consumer goods and small daily necessities, and shipped those through the gates in order to try and balance the trade deficit. Massive twelve-kilometer-long freighters brought the products of the developed core worlds out to distant worlds and returned loaded with raw goods to be transferred onto smaller ships and taken through the sector gates that couldn’t fit the massive freighters.
And for a distant but rapidly expanding sector like Orion that meant a very long line. Expanding the rings, or making more would have been exponentially more expensive than setting up the pair had been, so the gates out of Orion were choked with traffic and the Astaroth had to wait six hours before they were allowed to traverse through the ring, the trip took only a minute or two, and the moment they passed through they were hailed with orders and flight plans from Wrethren station. A station that made Femeri seem miniscule in comparison, and the pure chaos of ships that swarmed around the station looked like a swarm of metal bees. They followed their flight plan and joined the slow flow of traffic moving through the dedicated exit ring that was three times the size of the gate they just traveled through, and after a hour wait they once again traveled thousands of lightyears in a matter of seconds and arrived in the Barkesh sector. A sector so densely packed with orbital factories, hydroponics, habitable worlds, and terra formed planets, that space didn’t feel so large and desolate here.
It was like going from the rural country to the heart of a beating metropolis, and made Astarte really appreciate just how out of the way Earth was. Pre-contact humans had once wondered where all the aliens were, they had a rough estimate for how many potentially habitable worlds lay within the stars of the milky way but saw no signs whatsoever of extraterrestrial life, the fermi paradox. No one realized that Earth was, galactically speaking, located within a hinterlands. Their satellites were advanced enough to make out distant galaxies like Andromeda, but if you pointed every deep space telescope at a great nearby hub like Wrethren, you would get a blip of undecipherable luminosity that could have come from a million other things. Even the radio signals being sent out only reached a scant 300 lightyears by first contact, given that the nearest inhabited world to Earth was Torwen about a thousand lightyears away, it would have taken many years before humans naturally discovered that they weren’t alone. It had been the Union discovering primitive warp signatures from the Sol system that had actually drawn the attention of the distant behemoth of interstellar society.
The Astaroth turned her back to the green and thriving class 4 world this ring orbited around and warped away into the void, bound for darker ports. It would be months before they saw the last of civilized space and entered the darkness in-between sectors where the great Pirate Confederacy dwelled. Plenty of time for her to plot her vengeance.
~~~*~~~
The atmosphere on the ship had changed dramatically, and the mess deck was the starkest example of that change. Terrans, who were normally loud and wildly rambunctious were quiet and stiffly shoveling down their food, which seemed to smell just a little less divine to Alwen’s nose. She got her food without any teasing from Adela and sat next to Alice like she always did, she couldn’t help but notice that there was an empty spot where Wraith used to sit.
Alwen had been too busy over the last five days since the ship crossed over into the core sectors to reach out to her friends. She had been too busy to even leave and get food on the mess deck, a deck ‘ape just delivered the food to the med-bay as Alwen began to unwrap bandaged limbs and fit the sailors with newly assembled cybernetic replacements, which was all about fine tuning and adjusting the haptic feedback sensors for their users. She was also dealing with a new STD making its way through the crew, Alwen had dealt with this sort of thing twice before now, and she was only now coming to understand how 'close’ the crew was with each other.
This one in particular had confused her though, because she didn’t recognize the genetic markers this time around. She had asked Bachir for help and he just chuckled when he looked into the microscope “Ah, yes, this one is Icutoo in origin”
“Icutoo?” she had gasped incredulously “I thought non-deathworlders didn’t do cross species relationships?”
He frowned and twitched his muzzle “who told you that?”
“Um, Alice and Limey” she said, his disapproving glare made her feel uncomfortable.
“Well if you hang out with dumbass marines you shouldn’t be surprised if their stupidity rubs off” he growled “I doubt they even know. The Union likes to pretend that us deathworlders are weird for our cross-species relationships and homosexual pairings, they like to pretend that the same thing doesn’t exist for them as well. The reality is people are complicated, and so is love.”
That little revelation had put her in a strange mood for the rest of the morning so Alwen had decided to leave the med bay to get some fresh air, as much as one could get in an atmosphere-controlled spaceship.
“She emerges from her dungeon at last” Alice teased as Alwen walked towards their table. Alice hadn’t reached out to Alwen, and Alwen had assumed that she was just giving her time to process what had happened.
“Sorry, we don’t have nearly enough medical personnel to handle all the injuries” Alwen apologized and sat down.
“I’ll say, have you been getting any sleep?” Isabela asked.
Alwen in fact had not, she had been too restless and troubled to get any shut eye when Bachir ordered it, and had been instead training with Gato during that time. The Jaguar man seemed to live in the gym, and rarely ever took any breaks. Before the ambush she had wondered why she didn’t see much of Gato outside of medical examinations, and now she knew why.
“Not enough, I get a nap here and there, and whatever that doesn’t cover I supplement with this” Alwen said with a gesture to the dark black cup of Xeno-joe in front of her.
Alice lifted her head off her splayed arms “The great doctor Bones actually deigns to drink coffee like the rest of us lowly mortals?” she asked, putting on a silly incredulous look.
Alwen rolled her eyes “I ran out of tea”
Gabe looked at her and saw straight past the bullshit “If you’re having trouble sleeping I would recommend Saint Cornel.” He said softly.
Alwen sighed, of course they would figure it out, they were dumbass’s, not idiots. They had likely gone through the shock of their first battles long ago, and had seen many others grapple with a world that no longer made sense “Which one was he?” she asked
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“Lead singer for Soundgarden and Audioslave, they’re both good for working through depression and grief, they’re strangely uplifting.” Isabela explained. “I prefer Saintess Lee myself, bring me to life, well brings me back to life.” She chuckled at a joke Alwen really didn’t get.
“I’ll give it a try.” She answered noncommittally.
“Do you even own a record or a player?” Alice asked abruptly.
“A- a what?”
They all looked at her with shock “You can’t just use a digital recording to listen to the Saints Alwen, otherwise your just listening to music. If you want to do it right you need a real vinyl record, and candles. I’ll lend you mine, use those instead. There’s a difference that’s hard to explain.” Alice said, the twins nodded.
Torwen had an analogue for vinyl and record players, but that technology was so antiquated she had only ever seen them in pictures.
“Alright, you’ll have to teach me how it works.” Alwen acquiesced.
Alice looked at Alwen for a minute longer “Hey, I, uh, noticed you training with Gato lately. If you want I can teach you as instead. Gato and I aren’t really sword masters like the captain is, but I know the basics.” she said nervously.
Alwen smiled at the normally confident Alice seemingly lost for words. The idea was enticing but she didn’t want to burden her, and she enjoyed her sweaty sessions with the stoic man. “Thanks, but I don’t mind learning from Gato. But if you want, you could show me how to shoot.”
Alice looked a little crestfallen, but before she could say anything Gabriel jumped in. “What are you talking about, I saw what you did on the Coiled Strike?” Gabriel said, he had been only steps away from her and the captain during the attack.
Alwen shrugged her shoulders “luck” she said simply.
Isabela let out a low whistle “Fucken shit Bones, if that’s luck I’d hate to see what you do with some training.”
“She’s right” Alice added, perking up a little. “You took to exercise and fitness pretty well, and your instincts aren’t bad. A little training and we could make a proper marine out of you. What do you say, wanna join Temperance team”
“No thanks, I’ve already broken my vows, I don’t want to actively ruin ay chance I have at forgiveness. Besides, Bachir desperately needs me in medical”
“About that” Gabe interjected “What’s the deal with that, anyway. Has no priestess ever needed to defend herself?”
“Yeah, banning all violence seems really dumb” his sister added.
Alwen shrugged “Its just how it works, it’s been this way since ancient times.”
“So you accidentally step on someone’s toes and all of the sudden you lose your medical license” Alice seemed indignant on Alwen’s behalf.
“Its not that strict, and you’re not exactly being fair. We committed murder Alice, self-defense, saving a friend, revenge, no matter how you spin it, its still murder.” Alwen was getting a little flustered, the friends she made on this ship weren’t always the most understanding when it came to her religious vows, despite how patiently she had endured some of their more radical Saints. She honestly didn’t see how anyone could revere Ozzy Osborne as a holy man.
“They started it! They killed Wraith, Crossroads, Bull, and tons of others!” Alice shouted the last part and drew the attention of everyone on the mess deck.
Alwen bit her lip a silently roared in frustration “I’m not defending them; and I’m not condemning us either.” She growled out patiently “But we still took lives that day. Something like that should come with a sense of shame, no matter how bad they are. I took vows of peace and nonaggression when I finished school, and I took them very seriously. I grew up hearing tales of the Martyrs who endured torture and tragedy and still held to their vows, but when push came to shove I chose to swing that blade rather than hold to my vows.”
Alice went quiet “And do you blame us for that?” she asked softly.
Alwen pursed her lips, “I, I don’t know. I’ve changed since I joined this ship, I think if it was the old me I would have curled up and cried, instead I got up and fought, and then I stood at the captains left and helped her lead the charge. I don’t want to be the same girl I was when I joined the ship, but am I not allowed to mourn my lost innocence?” she paused and knew they didn’t quite get what she meant, so she chose a verse from one of their gospels she had heard recently “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
Alice sighed “I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothing left.” She finished, intrinsically knowing what Alwen was getting at with those few words “Alright I guess I can understand, somewhat. I always knew since I was just a cub that one day I would have to kill, its what we trained for”
“Doesn’t make the first time any easier” Gabe added softly; the three marines exchanged subtle looks with each other. Some unspoken mental link born over many years together. “And there’s more to be done until the job is done.”
“Right, so um where are we going anyway?” Alwen asked. Bachir said the ship was now travelling through the core sectors, using giant warp gates to travel the space of tens of thousands of lightyears in less than a day. Which she didn’t really understand.
The twins exchanged a glance, silently deciding how much they could tell her. They did this from time to time whenever Alwen had stumbled onto another secret that required the mark.
“Don’t bother” Alice grumbled. “I got word from the cap’n, Alwen’s gonna see it all any way.” She turned her furred face back Alwen “We’re going to meet up with the rest of the Hellworlder fleet, then we’re going to travel to the pirate capital and fight our case in court.”
“Wait, fleet? Capital? Court?” she asked, her voice going up an octave with each word.
They laughed.
“Pirates have a government, and a legal court?” Alwen asked more pressingly.
“Of course Alwen, we’re pirates not anarchists.” Isabela said with as flat a face as she could manage, she looked more constipated than anything since she was also fighting back a smile.
Alwen crossed her arms “I’m going to need more of an explanation than that” she said as she leveled a glare on the giggling pirates.
Eventually after a minute Alice regained her composure “Ok, so, like any species smart enough to reach the stars has to be social on some level. So given enough time societies will form around commonality’s, like a miners guild, or researchers coming together to form university’s or think tanks, the same holds true for pirates. The Hellworlder fleet started with just the Astaroth and the Lucifer, started by the captain and her mom. Eventually we sort of attracted other small pirate bands, makeshift corvettes, and a frigate or two. They would work in tandem with our much larger and stronger cruisers, the captain kept them at an arm’s length until they shaped up and were as professional and disciplined as we are, then they got upgraded to proper ships like the Tempter class drone frigate, or the Fiend class Destroyers. Then the Beelzebub and Asmodeus were built, and we needed to reorganize ourselves to be more efficient. A solid hierarchy between the captains of other ships and designated combat roles. We grew to a point where we had a ton of control over the Orion sector, so to make sure a lot of our potential wasn’t going to waste most of our heavy hitters went off to make money elsewhere in the galaxy, with us and the Astaroth remaining behind to keep things in check. That’s essentially how we formed our little faction, and a lot of other pirate groups sort of formed up in a similar manor. A thousand years ago the pirate faction grew so big and powerful that there were a ton a territorial clashes, that spun into an outright pirate war. At first each fleet warred for their own supremacy, but eventually alliances formed until there were three proper sides, two weaker and one greater, eventually the two smaller forces allied and annihilated the larger. Rather than go back to the way things were they came together and used their combined forces to wreak havoc on the core worlds, they looted and robbed until they had enough to establish a great base in the void and laid down the roots that would become the Great Pirate Confederacy, territories were carved up and a court system was established to allow for a more stable means of settling arguments than pistols and gunships.”
Alwen was stunned at the history lesson, ‘not anarchists indeed’ she thought. That was a legacy most nations on Torwen lacked. “So did you start out as a member of this pirate government or join later?”
“We joined later, though there was a Terran fleet before us, so we had to choose a different name. That’s why we’re officially called the Hellworlder fleet. The Terran fleet isn’t around anymore, we wiped them out a while ago” Alice answered.
“Those guys were assholes” Isabela groaned.
“Yeah, real pillage and rape pirates, they’re the reason Terrans still have a legacy of being pirates and murders” Gabe agreed with his sister. Alwen didn’t point out that she was currently sitting in a room full of Terran pirates who were killers and thieves, though she now understood what he meant by calling them ‘pillage and rape’ pirates. She imagined her own friends, people who had torn through a pirate ship outnumbered ten to one, rampaging on Femeri rather than the Egh’ahds. It was no wonder the old terror and prejudice still persisted.
“Right, back in the day when we warred with the Terran fleet they began the conflict with a nasty sneak attac, we pushed them away and got the courts to declare an official war of retribution. The confederacy does its best to prevent inter pirates wars, but since we occupied the same territory as the Terrans, were of the same species, and had suffered from an underhanded sneak attack, we had every right to retaliate in force.”
“It also helped that Captain Greyson was a dick who all the other pirate captains hated.” Gabe added.
“Right, that too.” Alice nodded “So our plan now is to assemble the fleet, go to the capital, and fight our case against Ah’ared in court.” She summarized.
“Alright then, uh, what are the other ships like. Will they be a lot like you guys?” she asked cautiously, it had taken a few weeks for her to get used to the crew of the Astaroth, they were rough and crass, but not bad people. If these other pirates were more pirate like though Alwen wasn’t sure she could take it.
“Uh, their somewhat like us, but different enough to notice. It depends on which ship they’re from. People from the Beelzebub all have a stick up theirs ass’s, always worried about dishonoring the ship and crew, but get them alone and away from anyone who matters and they’re nice enough. Actually Limey was originally apart of the Beelzebub, they foisted him on us when they couldn’t take him anymore.” Alice explained casually. “Their captain is a staunch Anglophile despite being a Martian Canook.”
“I don’t know what either of those two things are” Alwen said flatly, sometimes they forgot she wasn’t actually from Earth and wasn’t clued in on all their cultural quirks. It was irritating sometimes.
“Oh, uh, you know how we modeled ourselves after the American navy?” she asked leadingly.
“And dress like Japanese Samurai” Alwen said in leu of direct confirmation. She had seen enough westerns and Samurai flicks to understand the difference, and there were plenty war movies Pearl Harbor and Midway for Alwen to see the similarities between the pirates and the old American navy.
“Right, well the Beelzebub is based off the British navy, different names for ranks, different salutes, and different attitudes, but basically the same. Beelzebub herself was based off of the British Hood rather than an American ship like the other Cruisers, and they drink tea instead of coffee” she stuck her tongue out at the last part and Alwen chuckled.
“Alright, what about the other two?”
“Lucifer is almost a carbon copy of our crew, a little rougher, and their officers wear an animal pelts with their robes and get cooler looking armor if you ask me. They got a Viking/Samurai vibe going, and they get to carry hand axes. I’m not sure about the Asmodeus since she’s our newest ship and her crew was pulled from four different ships.”
“And the smaller ones, the Tempter and Fiend ships?”
“Depends on who their parent ship is, each of the cruisers played a hand in their development and sent over some experienced crew to train up the new crews. They tend to be more like us though since Astaroth has sponsored the most ships and trained most of their officers, a lot of our original crew are now captains and lieutenants of their own ships” She turned back to her long-forgotten food.
Well at least they wouldn’t be too different from what Alwen was used to, and she would have a lot of time to get used to the idea. Bachir had warned her that the trip would be a long one, which meant lots of down time, and lots of people dealing with the boredom in increasingly stupid ways. Still she marveled at the fact that a year ago she was changing bandages and working IV’s, trying to prevent her mother from making her into some rich suiter’s arm candy. Now she was on a pirate ship, on her way to the pirate capital, and mentally preparing to meet a bunch of other pirate crews.
Life was strange.