The Mark
Pandemonium was not what Alwen had been expecting, she had long since pieced together that the pirates had a base on another planet. Over time her mental image of what the base was changed over time, for awhile she imagined a camp surrounded by purple leaved trees, then when Astarte talked about how the Terrans needed a real colony she had imagined something a little more substantial. But what she saw before her was something she wouldn’t have ever imagined on her own. It was a massive ancient looking city, massive step pyramids rose hundreds of feet out of the green water with massive bridges connecting them to one another. Each layer of every pyramid teemed with people.
“This was not what I was expecting.” Alwen muttered.
Astarte rose an eyebrow “And just what were you expecting?”
“Some basic housing, few warehouses, maybe a port, not this. Who even built these?”
Astarte frowned “So that wasn’t a dream, I really did tell you about Pandemonium back in Clancy’s pub. As for who built these we don’t know, whoever they were they were long gone by the time humanities earliest ancestors left the trees. The stone these pyramids are made out is some sort of crazy advanced material, we can’t even study this stuff. Its indestructible, completely grime resistant, and blocks off any signals.”
Alwen looked at the stone below her in astonishment “Why would an advanced space faring civilization build a stone city in the middle of a lake?”
“That’s the crazier part, they didn’t. We can tell from the rock records that this world used to be a lot drier, with life concentrating around various inland seas. Then about 50 million years ago a crap ton of water suddenly appears out of nowhere, the planet’s gravity got a little stronger, and about a thousand new species of flora and fauna appeared that are genetically dissimilar to any of the native species. There are huge concentrations of metal and plastics scattered around the world, lots of iron and rare earth metals in concentration’s not normally seen in nature, indicating that they’re the remains of massive cities. And none of the planets natural mineral reserves shown any sign of being mined either. We believe that for some reason this planet was chosen for both terraforming and mass colonization, and we estimate that there might have been anywhere from a hundred billion to a trillion people living here. And then, they just vanished. We jokingly refer to them as Demons, you know since we’re on Pandemonium and all.”
Alwen listened to her story with awe and a growing sense of terror, the idea that a civilization like that could just arrive out of nowhere and then vanish mysteriously scared her. She looked around the world with a new found appreciation for what she was standing on. “How did you find this place?”
“We didn’t, Greyson and his band of thugs found it, we just liberated Temple city of their presence and renamed the planet.”
“And how did Greyson find it?”
The Captain shook her head “I don’t know, maybe he stumbled across it, or heard it through the grapevine. As his power and infamy expanded he needed a place to hideout, store his treasure, and repair his ships. He found a world nobody knew about, with an empty indestructible city, and made himself at home. I got to learn about this place after a few years of working for him.”
“So this is your base outside of Sol, where you go to lay low?”
She smirked “Its more than that, this world is humanity’s first successful extrasolar colony. Everything we do is to help this place grow and thrive, over there on that pyramid is the University of Temple city, down that waterway on the edge of the city is Temple drive yards and some manufactories, that’s where we’ll repair and refit the Astaroth. Outside of the city there are little farmstead cropping up along the coast, and inland just past that ridge is a major mining operation. Come follow me, I’ll give you a tour.”
There was a certain, undefinable spark in her eyes as she discussed the city around them, Alwen could easily see that the scared pirate had a passion and fondness for this place. And it wasn’t hard to see why, as Astarte brought Alwen down from the temple the excitement and energy of the city around them was infectious. People bustled from one place to another, chatting in large groups, or simply just sitting and enjoying the view. Astarte led her to a large open air market next to the water where small fishing boats sold strange alien fish to venders who then sold the fish to the market goers. As the warm glow of the star, Perdition, rose high into the sky the crowds swelled. Humans of every shape and skin color, along with every possible species of Mammaloid, as well as the occasional Torweni and strange six legged furry creatures.
“Who are they?” Alwen asked in utter amazement as the six legged people scampered along. “Are they also deathworlders?”
Astarte glanced over and saw the creature in question as it stopped before a stall to buy some fresh silverly pink fish “Yeah they are, their called Kunan’ai. One of my exploration class ships found their world off in the void, about 2000 lightyears from Earth. The planet was nuked to shit and they were clinging to life inside massive underground vaults. Despite a few, ah, hiccups, we made a peaceful first impression and entered an agreement. We sold them a chain of Islands east of Mount Doom and offered them passage off their dying world. Most settled on the big island Greveir’kar, but a few came to Temple city to try and make a life here.”
There was a lot of information to dissect from that statement, but one thing stood out to her. “Mount Doom?”
Astarte’s cheeks went a little pink, and Alwen looked on in shock as the fearsome Hellworlder blushed in embarrassment “Yeah, it was originally Mount Byron, but I made a dumb joke and called it Mount Doom before the invasion, and the name stuck.”
“Invasion?”
“Well yeah, Greyson didn’t exactly die because we asked politely. After he killed Wendy we got the council to approve an inter-pirate war and invaded Pandemonium, which was called Grayland at the time. Shuttles of marines hit the water outside of their anti-air range and motored into the lake to begin an amphibious assault while Lucifer and Astaroth dealt with their defense satellites. Besides, Mount Doom is a very fitting name for a super volcano bigger than lake Michigan.”
Alwen frowned and looked around the bustling city, each layer of the massive step pyramids were hundreds of meters wide and played host to many markets, shops, and flourishing parks. It was all still fresh and new, but with a natural felling of life and vigor. Some Terran men were playing a game against a team of Torweni men, both teams wrestling over an orange ball that they bounced against the ground. An Ursiloid mother lumbered after her two cubs who were playing with a little human girl.
“So this is what your fighting for, this city is why you founded the Hellworlder fleet and put your lives on the line day after day?” Alwen asked as the pieces to a mystery she had been puzzling over for a whole year finally put themselves together.
Astarte turned to her and frowned “Not quite, Pandemonium is more of a happy accident. When my mom and I started, something like Pandemonium was the end goal, but we didn’t plan to take the world for ourselves. The council rarely allows pirates factions to war with one another, it’s bad for business. No, when we started out we had only three goals, weaken Union control over Sol, get rich, and grow the fleet. But after we the battle for Greyland our goals shifted, we still committed regular acts of piracy, but now they were all done to help this place thrive.”
“And my people learned about this and signed on?”
“Not quite, I showed your brothers the true face of the Union to try and avert a repeat of what happened to Earth. I didn’t imagine your military would try to reach out and form a military alliance, but they’ve proven to be a good ally so we let them in on our biggest secret. They recognized that so long as they were stuck to only one world they would be vulnerable, so just like with the Kunan’ai we sold off a bit of land to your military and they began to send equipment and personnel over. The politics of it all is still a fucking quagmire since we only have a tentative alliance with just your nations military, and we’re technically a client state to the Martian Prime Minister, but hopefully with time things will sort themselves out.”
“I’m sorry, what was that last part?”
Astarte scowled “I swear you always pick up on the hardest to explain details.”
“I’m sorry, but you tend to run your mouth without thinking.”
She barked out a laugh “Fair enough, So Temple City, and most of Pandemonium along with all the planets and moons around Perdition are a sovereign nation. We have our own governing body, and means of self-defense, and a stable economy. But we’re also a colony that falls loosely under the Prime ministers overview, keep in mind I said the prime minister not the Martian parliament. After the battle for Grayland we decided to turn this whole world into a functioning colony, and we began to smuggle new settlers in off world. We were sloppy at first, and caught the attention of Minister Bordough. But despite being the head of the pro-Union party he’s actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing, he sees the Union for what it really is, an expansionist imperializing bureaucracy that has a pathological need to bring all sentient species under their umbrella of control or else. He had some ships tail our freighters back to Pandemonium and then approached us with everything he’s gathered. We eventually worked out a deal, the Hellworlder fleet would be given an official charter, Pandemonium would establish a formal government, and said government would then become a client to the office of the Prime Minister. Our ships are technically apart of the Terran navy, a navy that doesn’t legally exist, Pandemonium is technically a part of the Teran government, while also being a sovereign nation. A sovereign nation that has a formal alliance with the military of your government, and alliance that doesn’t technically extend to the Terran parliament.”
“That sound-” Alwen began before trailing off.
“-Ten kinds of over complicated and fucked up.” Astarte interpreted.
“Yes. Why bother with all that complicated bull shit in the first place.”
“Blame the Prime Minister, he wanted everything we did to be within the ‘word’ of the law, if not the spirit. He believes that if things go south then we’ll at least have a strong legal defense to fall back on, the Union is a stickler for their own rules.” Astarte said with a depreciating sneer.
“And you said he came to you with everything he gathered, what did he gather.”
Her sneer fell away and was replaced with a look of grim consequence “Follow me, this isn’t the kind of thing that should be said out in the open.”
Alwen followed the captain as she led Alwen across a massive stone bridge that seemed to defy gravity as it somehow held up its massive bulk and length with only two anchor points. They crossed a couple hundred feet above the water to a much less populated pyramid, walked to the other side, and continued on to another bridge. They did this a few more times until they reached a part of the city where no one seemed to live, the abandoned part of the city felt almost haunted, and sent a shiver up her spine. They kept walking until they reached one of the outer most structures where they could have an unobstructed view of the lake.
Astarte stood on the edge of the pyramid silently for a long time before she sucked in a deep breath. “Earth was invaded, and humanity subjugated, there is no other way to look at it. the Union claims that it was a peaceful mission to establish contact, but the diplomats came on warships that shot first. Mars was cut off from essential supplies and were under threat of an orbital bombardment, they had no choice but to surrender. The Union waltzed in and forced the hand of the colonists to form a suitable client government, one that only represented about ten-thousand humans across three different outposts. They made sure Mars was firmly under their control before inducting ‘humanity’ into the Union, our whole species represented by a small minority on a different world. Supplies and habitats were then shipped to Mars and that minority grew as a small fraction of pro-Union humans were moved off Earth. Then the Union turned their sights on Earth as they began to Terraform the red world, their diplomats seduced the corrupt, desperate, and greedy, entire nations began to declare themselves as members of the Martian council. Earth became politically divided into two camps, those who were pro-Union, and those who weren’t. When over half of Earth had fallen the Union put the pressure on the remaining nations to give up, disband their militaries, and declare their nations to no longer exist. The US was forced to pass the 31st and final amendment, declaring the constitution null and void. The King of Britain disinherited his successors and then abdicated. Only Russia and China refused, and they were dealt with.” Her face darkened at that last part, and Alwen knew enough about the Terrans history to know how bad things got. “It was an invasion, plain and simple, anyone who bothers to see past the propaganda can easily see that. What isn’t easy to understand and piece together is the full extent of what the Union did to us after we were conquered. I had my theories, but they were only educated guesses and suspicions. Prime Minister Leblanc on the other hand had spent a lifetime piecing things together, and so had his predecessors.”
She stopped and glanced over to Alwen, fixing those razor-sharp eyes on her. “Earth is dying” she said slowly “And it’s not our fault”
Alwen felt like her heart had stopped dead in her chest as the news hit her. Her lungs prickled as she remembered the hot caustic feel of the air on earth, the sad sight of so much land engulfed by dark acidic seas, the thick grey clouds that bloated out the sky. “You, you mean,” she gulped as she began to feel sick to stomach “the Union did that?”
Astarte nodded “Yeah, we helped put it in such a bad situation, but we stopped our self-destruction and Earth was left teetering on the edge, and that last push over the edge didn’t come from us.” she sighed “The Union Terraformed Mars as a gift for Humanity joining, gave us a second home to ease the strain on our first, but that gift was the beginning of a long plot for our fall. Creating a second home for humanity, one that was firmly influenced by the Union, split us as a species. We had never been fully united, but we had reached a point where we would collectively respond to threats as a solid front. But with the creation of a pro-Union government on Mars, fully separated from their roots on earth, we were politically crippled. Even now, pro-Earth parties like the Revivalists who want to fix Earth and give it home rule aren’t fully in touch with what the people of Earth need or want. And that was only the first step. The many nations who chose to submit themselves to Union rule had billions of credit pumped into local infrastructure, high speed railroads, salt-water filtration plants, and desert reforestation. Over the course of only five years Africa went from a continent of developing nations into Earth’s industrial powerhouse, citizens who used to struggle to receive clean water and food now found themselves with the highest standard of living on the planet. For a while it seemed like everything the Union touched turned to gold, then without any warning huge reserves of carbon sequestered away on the sea floor were suddenly released. The oceans began to turn acidic, and the global temperatures began to rise higher than ever.”
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Astarte paused to clench her fists and grit her teeth. “I take it the Union had a hand in this?” Alwen guessed.
She forced her clenched fists to relax and took in a deep breath “Yeah, we don’t know how, not for sure at least, but the change was far too abrupt and worked way too fast. The ice caps seemed to shatter and melt far sooner than they should have, way sooner than any previous climate change models suggested. And the Union was far too eager to offer us loans on building projects. They were far too eager to throw money at things like sea walls, Lunar habitats, or Terraforming Venus, but when it came to spending a single credit on reversing the coming storm they suddenly had no money to spare. We’ve spent a long time to find out how they engineered Earths demise to find real concrete proof of their crimes without much to show for. But their reluctance to actually reverse Earth’s destruction is all the proof I need.”
“But why, what could they possibly gain. Not to sound callous, but if they wanted to destroy you there are a thousand easier ways to do so?”
Astarte laughed “That’s the thing, we deathworlders are a threat to their order, we’re hardy, industrious, inventive, and always looking for a way to reinvent the wheel. All those qualities pose a threat to the empire they have spent millennia building, but danm if they’re not valuable. All those qualities make us prized as laborers, human productivity is one of the most valuable things we have as a species, our bodies were made for grueling labor. In raw goods, and small appliances we outproduce many core worlds by a couple of factors. Its no coincidence that after the Union spent so much money on us that they wanted to set up some factories in exchange. Sol has the greatest industrial capacity in the entire Orion sector, and places pretty high when compared to other industrial worlds. We’re the golden goose as it were.”
“They’re causing a planetary extinction to make a few extra toasters?” Alwen asked incredulously.
“More than a few, we’ve made some trillionaires very, very, rich. I’ve been looking into how much money they made off of our exploitation and if only a fraction of that wealth was pumped back into Earth’s economy we would be well on our way to earning the rights to colonize our third world. But of course, keeping us contained is also very important to their plans. We tried to colonize Trappist and they blockaded the world until the colonies starved and went wild. Several other Terran based groups have tried expanding outside Sol, they all mysteriously vanished overnight. And our reputation as a species is so god awful that many Worlds have placed strict limits on Terran immigration, with the single exception of Balter.”
The gears started to turn in Alwens head, things began to click together and the greater picture began to form in her mind “So they engineered Earth’s downfall, politically divided your people, and have trapped you in a cycle work, poverty, and dept, to enrich themselves. What’s their end goal though, this kind of thing can’t last forever?”
Astarte smiled at Alwen. “You’re right, it can’t last forever, but you see it already has a built-in deadline, and we’re already starting to see to the consequences. Earth has a deadline, and Mars despite being a Terraformed world can’t sustain our large population. As the world dies Terrans will start to move off world, but our rep is already so bad no other world would except hordes of fleeing Terrans. Our existence outside of Sol will be limited to Union stations, where we’re already segregated away from the normal population in ghettos. They claim that the Terran habitation sectors are there to better accommodate for large populations of Deathworlders, but at the first sign of trouble they have us boxed in and can easily void us and claim that it was Terran sabotage. And the portion of Terrans who already own spaceships are turning to piracy more and more. Eventually as Terran piracy grows too large to ignore we will be legally reclassified as Voidling raiders and will be driven to the edge of civilized space.”
“You seem very confident in your assumptions.” Alwen said, suspicion creeping up her spine.
“That’s because they’ve done this before, in one form or another. It took a lot of digging through buried records and accounts, but over time we’ve learned that the so called Deathworlder death spiral, a phenomenon where deathworlders push themselves to their own extinction, is fabricated. The reality is the other deathworlders, like the Uraki, or Tengek, or Vulna, that spiraled into extinction had their downfalls carefully planned from the moment they made contact with the Union.”
Alwen shook her head “I don’t know those names.”
“For a good reason, took me a while to learn about them as well. They were deathworld civilizations on the edge of what is now the core sectors, as the Union was expanding their influence these other Deathworlders were invited in, and they played a pivotal role in the Unions growth. The Tengek were the only species that could physically challenge the Aunviry when they appeared out of nowhere, records say that the could bend steel with their bare hands, and leap around the battlefield like grasshoppers. Tengek warriors were the only reason the Union reclaimed lost worlds without glassing the Aunviry, and then after the threat was over they vanished. They suffered high attrition during the war, and when it was over they never recovered. Of those three only the Uraki remain, but they’re now voidlings. Clinging to the cold embrace of the void far from any interference, any ships that wander their way are destroyed without question. Their fall resembles Earth’s current situation, almost an exact carbon copy, with one little exception.”
“What’s different?”
She smiled sadly “Mammaloids.”
Alwen blinked, and cursed inwardly. “Bachir says that the Uplifting was the Union’s doing, he said you believed it was to sow discontent within Terrans.”
“Yup, at the height of Union industrial growth on Earth, just as they began to run out of workers, and as many habitats became threatened, suddenly nearly every species of Mammalian predators gain sentience and are now capable of walking up right and talking just like humans. Evolutionary traits that took us hundreds of thousands of years to evolve. Supposably it was rogue human genetic tampering that caused this sudden upheaval of nature, but have you ever seen Alice or Gato switch from a four legged gait to a two legged one?”
Alwen frowned “Yeah, its mesmerizing, it’s like their legs just transform. I’ve seen enough x-rays to understand how all the complicated joints and muscles do it, but it’s still unbelievable.” For Ashendra’s sake, their whole chests transformed whenever they dropped to all fours to accommodate for the extra weight on their arms/front legs.
Astarte nodded “Yep, and every Mammaloid is capable of such a shift. Do you know how many species of uplifted Mammaloids there are? Imagine a single group of reckless humans trying to genetically adapt that many species within the short period when it supposedly happened. It just not possible, that kind of thing takes a whole lab of geneticists to manage, and what’s more is that they are somehow genetically compatible of inter breeding with humans and other Mammalians. Do you know what happens when a tiger and a lion mix? You get either a tiger or a lion, but before the tampering we used to get an infertile hybrid called a liger. That kind of thing is incredibly hard to accomplish in a lab, and it should be impossible to do so naturally without a lot of medical assistance. Bachir was intrigued by the subject and spent his whole career looking for an answer, and for his efforts he was exiled.”
“The Union created the Uplifted to fill their factories.” Alwen surmised.
“That, and one other reason. They took great steps to politically divide us, but even still it didn’t work perfectly. Humans still had a lot of things that culturally united us, religion, politics, class. So to divide us further the Union created many new species of sentient Deathworlders from Earth’s catalogue of large dangerous predators. Felinoids, Lycanoids, Ursiloids, Primates, Mustilaniods, all large aggressive predatory species, with the exception of many Primates like Gorillas. All born into a violent cycle of poverty and discrimination. All the perfect catalyst for a major race war, should we ever prove too rowdy.” She spoke every word with disgust, as if they left a bad taste in her mouth.
She turned and fully focused her eyes on Alwen, one black, the other red with rage. “The Union is our enemy, they want our complete and utter destruction, they’re just too cowardly to do it out in the open. That is why the Hellworlder fleet exists, our sole goal is to grow Sol’s power to defend itself and weaken Union influence in Orion. Your governments military saw the wisdom in our mission and decide to throw their lot in with us. That’s what you’ll be joining if you take the mark, you’ll be a secret soldier, apart of a fleet that doesn’t technically exist. This world, this city of Deathworlders living in peace with each other is just one of the things you’ll be fighting to defend.”
Alwen heard her words, and though she could understand what they meant on a surface level, the daunting implications lying just under the surface scared her. “Your speaking of war.” She whispered hoarsely.
Astarte scowled “We’re already at war, we’re just fighting back now.”
Alwen shook her head “No, I mean real war, out in the open with unimaginable civilian casualties.”
Astarte opened her mouth to retort, but held her tongue. She took in a calming breath “Yes, right now we’re just building our power, but eventually things are going to get hot very fast.”
“How long…how long do you think you have?”
Her head tilted to the side in contemplation “Depends, someone could stumble across Pandemonium at any time. That would either spark a full out war, or just prompt some sanctions and a blockade. But with the gates we’re directly linked to Mars and Torwen, so it wont really matter. But assuming they don’t find Pandemonium I’d say we have a couple years. During the battle for the confederacy we earned enough money to buy terraforming equipment, we plan to install those on Earth to reverse our destruction, if that sparks a Union response then we only have a year and half. And if it doesn’t then we have three years, because in three years there will be a major election on Mars, if the Revivalists take power with our support then that could also spark an all-out war. And if not that then something else, but make no mistake war is on our doorstep, its only a matter of when and if we’re ready.”
“I’ve seen the Union’s strength, they out number us a hundred to one. Even if your ships are better than theirs, it’ll never be enough to out match their industrial capacity.” Alwen said in dismay.
“Your right, in a straight up fight we will lose every time. But we have an advantage, Orion is a distant island when you consider where the Union’s power is concentrated. It took years for a small invasion fleet to invade Sol, when war breaks out our goal will be to seize and destroy the star gate at Femeri. If we can do that then Union fleets will be forced to cross the large void between Orion and Sagittarius, or Wrethren as they call it. Our chances are slim, but they’re better than none.”
“Do you really think you can win!” Alwen burst out “The Union has been around for thousands of years, we’re four worlds against hundreds, and Torwen is divided between Union membership and independence!”
Her face darkened “You’ve seen my scars; you’ve seen the torture I’ve put myself through! Tell me, would I go that far for this long if I didn’t think we stood a chance? And besides, I say fighting and losing is infinitely better than curling up into a ball and giving up. if we die then we die fighting. You should know this by now, when the ship was being boarded you knew that you had to fight, there are no noncombatants in a war like this! You can either step up and prepare yourself for the most consequential fight of your life, or you can go home and wait for the bombs to start falling!”
Alwen shook her head, it all seemed hopeless. “You can’t win, its like challenging the heavens.”
Astarte laughed “But to rule in hell than serve in heaven, why do you think I went so hard on the demonic naming scheme? It wasn’t just because they sound cool. Your right, to us the power of the Union is like the might of heaven, that’s why we claim the title of Hellworlders. All is not lost; the unconquerable will, and study of revenge, immortal hate, and the courage never to submit and yield.”
Alwen scowled “That book was about the fall of man, and you quote its villain like scripture.”
She smiled like the devil she admired “To me Lucifer isn’t the villain, he gave us forbidden knowledge of good and evil, gave us the ability to choose freely. If the power of the Union is like an unshakable God then why not admire the devil.”
“Your insane!”
“No, just human.” She snapped back.
Alwen was stunned, and despite all the awful feelings and thoughts dragging her down, she laughed. And once she started laughing she couldn’t stop. She was cackling like a madwomen, and she couldn’t care less how that made her seem. “We’re going to die” she muttered through the tears in her eyes.
“Maybe, but everyone dies, even stars burn out.” Astarte said casually.
Alwen smiled, and thought about her year with this insane women. She had faced over whelming odds time and time again, and every time they had somehow survived. But more importantly every time Alwen followed Astarte to Hell and back she didn’t really care whether she survived or not. Just Fighting alongside Astarte and her friends seemed to be a fine enough way to die. She had stared death down many times already, why fear it now when it was far away and distant. Somehow facing the distant prospect of death was far more terrifying than when she had jumped into that Egh’ahd ship, or challenged giant space monsters. When the Kruhur had boarded the Astaroth she had been more afraid of Gato dying than herself.
Maybe that was the answer, maybe she shouldn’t think about how she might die but instead of the friends she could save if she were by their side. She still thought of Wraith and wished she had been strong enough to save him, how bad would it hurt if her friends died because she turned her back on them. Life wasn’t about making one single decision, but living with the consequences of that decision day to day.
A choice began to solidify in her mind, and the consequences of it would forever haunt her life. but before she truly committed to a hopeless war, she wanted to know exactly who she would be following.
“I have a condition” Alwen said after going silent for a long time.
“That’s not how this works, I told you there wouldn’t be an option three a second time around. You either join or leave.” Astarte said bluntly.
“Too bad, you want me to join then I want you to tell me one more thing.” Alwen challenged.
Astarte put a hand to her forehead and sighed heavily “you’re starting to seem like more trouble than your worth. Fine, what else do you want to know?”
Alwen smiled and bounced a little on her heels “What’s your name?” she asked.
Astarte’s went blank and confused “It’s Astarte, Astarte Maidens-daughter.”
Alwen rolled her eyes “Not that one, I want to know your real name.”
“What, why?”
She shrugged “Not sure, but it feels important somehow. Like I’d regret not asking.”
“My old name doesn’t matter, I’m Astarte now.”
“But who were you, I wont join unless you tell me.” Alwen said stubbornly.
The scared Hellworlder warrior groaned, and turned away. “You’re as bad as your brother.” She muttered. Alwen said nothing, and put the final choice of to the captain. Astarte said nothing for a long moment, and Alwen saw that the tips of her ears turned pink from embarrassment “So… um, my friends call me Aster.”
Alwen nodded, she had heard Karega call her Aster from time to time, but it always felt like a nickname that Alwen hadn’t earned the right to use. “It’s short for Astaroth isn’t it?”
“Not really, but it sounds like it. Astarte is another name for Astaroth, I took the name not only because it was a by name for the Archdevil, but also a goddess of love, sex, and war. It felt fitting for my personality. But Aster isn’t a shortened version of Astaroth or Astarte, it’s a byname for my birth name.” the captain trailed off hoping Alwen would put the dots together and save her from saying it out loud.
Alwen frowned however “English is my third language, I’m not familiar enough with it to know all its intricacies.”
The captain scowled “Guh, okay. So Karega sometimes calls me Star, not because its short for anything but another byname for Aster. See there’s this flower on Earth called an Aster, it comes from the Ancient Greek word for star since its petals are star shaped, well another name for Asters, is Daisey.” She had gone bright pink now, and Alwen realized that this might be the first time she had ever seen the Captain this embarrassed.
“So your real name is Daisey, like the little white flower?”
Her face was crimson and she was biting her lip, Alwen couldn’t help but think this gentler side of her was very cute. “Yeah, my Mom really likes flowers, she names all the girls she takes in after flowers.”
“If I remember correctly you have a disdain for flowers, you called them weak and needy.”
She reached her hand to the back of her head “That might have been me projecting, though I really did try gardening once, killed everything I touched.”
Alwen wasn’t sure how to process this news, on one hand it was just another name from an alien language she was only starting to learn the ins and outs of. But on another hand seeing the captains very apparent embarrassment was very enduring, she wanted to laugh at how embarrassed she was, but it felt like that would be a betrayal of trust.
Astarte/Daisey then stood ramrod straight and wheeled around on Alwen and pointed a finger at her “You can’t tell anyone, none of the crew know, and I want it to stay that way.”
“Then what if I only call you Daisey in private.” Alwen teased.
Her face went red again “Nope, never. Or else I will make the Ballad of Saint Bones the Godslayer the ship’s anthem.”
Alwen was aghast at the threat “Your bluffing”
“Try me” she growled.
Alwen laughed “Fine, I wont call you Daisey, not even in private.” She relented.
Astarte relaxed and turned back to the lake. “But if you want you can call me Aster, I think you’ve earned the right.”
Alwen smiled, and this time it was her turn to blush “Thank you, I don’t know how I can repay that kindness.”
“Just keep my crew alive.” Aster said firmly.
Alwen’s smile faded “About that, without Bachir I’ll be the only doctor on board, I can’t do it alone.”
Aster turned back to Alwen “About that, you’ll not only be the ship’s sole doctor, but its Chief of Medicine. Which would make you equal in rank to Highland, Heizer, Alice, and Gato. If you want more staff then finding suitable recruits will be up to you.”
Alwen nodded “About that, I had a few ideas.”
Aster smiled “Good to hear, how about we discuss it on the way back, its starting to get dark and there are no street lamps this far out.”
Alwen nodded and followed the captain back into the city center. She had no idea where this path would ultimately take her, but she had an idea of what her next steps would be. But before she did any of that, she would need to finally accept the mark and the responsibilities it brought with it.
A shadow fell over her, and she looked up to see a massive oblong shape pass high above her. It slowly passed over the city before turning about at the edge of the lake and Alwen saw that it was a ship that she was very familiar with. As the Astaroth gracelessly flopped into the water Alwen felt her heart flutter as she saw the sorry state it was in, she had grown very attached to the ship since she first saw it that day in Femeri, and now it was going to be her home for the foreseeable future.
Aster had also been watching the ship slowly lumber its way to the dry dock and sighed “Don’t worry, the people who run Temple dry dock yards are the same ones who built her in the first place. They’ll take care of her.”
“I’m not worried, just sad.” Alwen said softly, then a thought hit her “How are we getting back?”
“Same way we came, the gates need a while to cool down and recharge but that only applies to the transit side. The receiver on top of the city center is charged and ready to go. Why, did you have plans for the evening?”
Alwen smiled “As a matter of fact I do, Gato is healed enough to start moving around, and he promised to take me dancing.”
“Now that’s a sight I’d pay to see” The Captain joked as she led Alwen back to the city center, to a portal that would take her into the arms of the man who promised her a few other things besides dancing. Her faced brightened at the thought of it.