The Galactic War: Rogue Element ~The Beginning

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Chapter 2
  The Truth of Loss


   Out in the deep, unforgiving blackness of non-patrolled space, a ripple formed near a small, hyper-ferrous planetoid…a distortion of space-time.  Moments later, the smooth, silver hull of a small, Andalite-built craft slid back into the realm of True-Space, carrying nine humans, eight Andalites, and five Yeerks back to reality.  To any sane member of the Galaxy, the ship would seem an enigma…Andalites, Yeerks, and Humans…all together without cells or bars or slavery.

   The hyper-ferrous planetoid…really the inner core of a much larger planet that had had its outer layers blasted away eons ago, effectively nullified sensor signatures…even those produced by some of the largest ships in the Galaxy.

   As if to punctuate the magnitude of the sensor void, a massive ship, all sleek curves and muted reflections crested the planet’s horizon.  The ship made an impressive spectacle, silhouetted and backlit by the small white-dwarf that called this system home.  The ship’s clear, crystal-carbon dome showcased a plethora of lush and verdant plant life.  Grass, trees, shrubs, bushes…even a pond fed by a small stream that ran the length of the habitat…a veritable oasis in a dark, cold, endless sea.

   The rest of the massive ship was intimidating.  Though somewhat smaller and lighter than it’s big brother (the traditional Mark II Dome Ship), the Mark III Dreadnought-class Battle-cruiser was still hung with enough Shredder banks to rival the cumulative firepower of its older counterpart.  The ship was, without a doubt, designed for battle.

   It was toward this formidable paradise, this inviting weapon that the smaller craft flew.  The future was uncertain and the odds grim at best…but at least there was still a small measure of hope to cling to.



“Do not mourn our fallen brothers, for they gave their lives so that none of us should suffer in darkness.  We shall all see the light of the stars!”

Kelriss-175,  Speaker -- Council of Thirteen

[Chad32]

Claxter came aboard the bridge after the announcement, and saw as the left Z-Space and were once again close the the Tyrennian. He was quite happy with the throught of being back at the larger ship. He moved around anxiously, and the sight of the dome reminded him that he was getting hungry and thirsty. It would be great to really stretch his legs and take a nice run in safety.

The bridge was still rather crowded, and after his initial reaction, he calmed down enough to look a bit less like a child on the day of his first real run.

[Terenia]

Keslin instinctively grabs the edges of the console as the Mirage slips from Z-space to real space, prepared for the lurch of time and space reconfiguring itself around him. The Andalite ship handles the jump a good deal better than his own Bug Fighter would, which is a relief. His thoughts keep darting back to Tess, and her delicate state. He and Chris both wish for nothing more than to abandon their stations and be by her side, but the moment that was not possible. Keslin was one of the surviving leaders of the Yeerk rebellion, and now more than ever he needed to be present.

<<Holy ****,>> Chris offers up helpfully as the Andalite Dome ship comes looming into view. <<That's a big ship. How much damage do you think those Shredders could do, eh?>>

Keslin does not respond immediately, his host's stomach roiling with his own nerves. The idea of being this close to an Andalite Dome Ship -- of actually boarding it -- goes against his every instinct. While he has never considered the Andalites his direct enemies, at least not since he defected from the Empire many years ago, they have never made him comfortable and a ship full of them works at his already profound paranoia.

<<The Shredder cannons could effectively destroy chunks of planets, if aimed correctly,>> Keslin answers finally. <<Two Dome Ships could easily destroy all of Earth, if that were their intent. Of course, a Yeerk ship could inflict similar damage.>>

<<Lucky they all want Earth for their own, then,>> Chris mutters. Keslin is silent, frowning thoughtfully at the Andalite behemoth.

"Ossanlin," he says, his voice quiet, but still clear, with the tone of someone who is used to commanding others. "How many of your people did you say remained on the Dome Ship?"


For Efaen, unlike the other Andalites aboard, the Dome Ship is not a comforting sliver of the Homeworld. She eyes the ship with an expression of distaste, her thoughts cast back to the last time she had been aboard, when Ossanlin returned her to the Andalite Electorate. She has no doubt that this visit will be just as unpleasant.

She exhales through her nose-slits, mentally preparing herself, and begins to morph back into her human form.

[Ember Nickel]

Esarvit braces himself and re-emerges into real space, nostrils breathing deeply as if the transfer could have possibly affected the quality of air on the ship. An absurdity, of course. Nothing changes the fact that they are trapped inside a sheet of metal, reliant on borrowed resources to emulate a tiny whiff of the homeworld.

Still, it's a relief to be back in real space, if only because of the gravitational anomalies that had popped up. The sooner they could get onto a more proper vessel, he's convinced, the better.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin watches the main viewscreen as the blank whiteness of Z-Space shifts back into the white-flecked black of True-Space.  He feels a wave of joy wash over him at seeing his ship again.  A silly response, but there are so few opportunities for joy anymore that Ossanlin embraces it.  After all, the Tyrennian has been his home for nearly ten years, and while it's undergone retrofits with the latest technology, its appearance hasn't changed much in that time.  At first, Ossanlin had been fearful of the Tyrennian and what it represented...his first official command.  Over time, as his confidence developed, Ossanlin had embraced his position and his emotions had shifted to pride.  Now he feels as if he's returning to an old friend.

He shifts his main eyes from the view of the Tyrennian to rest upon Keslin again.  He'd learned that humans often found it discomfiting if he did not look at them with his main eyes while he talked to them.  <Standard crew complement on a Mark III Dreadnought Dome is 200.  250 if carrying a full complement of fighters, with 36 dedicated fighter pilots and a number of secondary crew capable of deploying in fighters as well.  My number of crew has been reduced to 64.  The Tyrennian needs at least 100 able bodies to maintain independant, continuous operation.  With my current complement, critical upkeep procedures will fall by the wayside...>  He blinks.  For a moment, he'd forgotten who he'd been talking to.  Ossanlin hadn't meant to share the fact that he needs the Rebels in order to keep the Tyrennian afloat...but that fact would've been broached sooner or later.

The communicator blips and Ossanlin commands the channel to open, shifting his main eyes to the main viewer.  <My Prince!  It's a relief to see you...>  The male Andalite on the other end takes in the other occupants of the bridge.  <I see your...objectives.. .have been adequately fulfilled.>

<It's good to see you too, Esran.  We're all present and accounted for, heavy nine humans and five Yeerks.  We'll need some help carrying the supplies.  Have the empty Warriors' quarters been prepared?>

The other Andalite is silent for a moment before responding.  <Yes, sir, but would not the aristh quarters be more suitable?  They're only Yee...>

<We've been through this, Esran...>  Ossanlin cuts the male off mid-sentence.  <...there are empty Warriors' quarters.  They will be used first.  Some of these individuals are pair-bonded, so we may use some of the vacant officers' quarters as well.>

<Sir...I will do as you command, but I must protest the usage of the Officers' Quarters...they have...>

<Esran, this isn't the time or the place.>  Ossanlin cuts in again.  <Dispatch a few of the younger Warriors to Docking Bay one to help offload the supplies.  We'll discuss permanent housing assignments later.  We should be onboard within five minutes.>

Esran performs a tail-salute and nods.  <Yes, sir.>  The comm channel closes and Ossanlin takes over the helm himself, piloting the Mirage toward the curved, slightly-protruding underbelly of the Tyrennian.

[Estelore]

Enorryma listened to the exchange between Esran and Ossanlin, and while she shared Esran's feelings about the matter, she was less than pleased bout his decision to openly argue with his Prince.

I need to have a talk with that boy.

The Tyrennian was a pleasant sight, and she worked to keep her excitement to a minimum, when the lush dome environment came into view. Her legs ached to run without containment, and a sudden restless energy surged through her, making this smaller vessel almost claustrophobic in its narrower proportions. The stims must not have completely finished wearing off, or perhaps she had just gone too long without a good free-run, one without enemies in pursuit or targets to chase.

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess looks up to Dom and nods slowly as she moves towards her hovering cot and sits down on it. Her hand is still firmly gripping his to keep herself steady. "It's weird, you know?" she sighs as she looks down at herself. "Not even recognizing your body. I've never been so weak I couldn't stand up for more than a few minutes, or so tender stomached I couldn't handle a little turbulence."

Tess carefully lowers herself into a horizontal position, her dark eyes seeking Dom's face once she's settled. "But that's the least of anyone's worries here. Even mine. Do... do you think we'll find any of the others?" she asks, her voice suddenly sounding small as she adds internally, And some you'll never have a chance to see again. Poor James... poor James..


Giving Niko another tight-lipped smile, he makes his way towards the part of the bridge where his wife and Ossanlin were standing. Managing to catch the last few moments of the War Prince's conversation with another Andalite--presumably one aboard the ship that was their destination--he waited quietly, arms folded across his chest, concern in his eyes. It was a look he probably would not be able to shake for a while.


Once the communication with the Mirage is cut, Serid takes a few steps towards Esran. He blinks his bright main eyes several times at the human face he had thought he had seen stepping into the visual feed at the last moment. I knew it was possible he was there, but--do not dare to hope now. It could have been anyone, his thoughts all come in a jumble.

His eyes do a poor job of hiding the cautious eagerness tumbling about in his mind, but when he speaks to Esran, his tone is ever formal. <Sir, shall I prepare to greet our comrades and the new faces that accompany them?> The implication is clear: it is evident, from the need for the presence of a security squad leader, that these rebels are not entirely trusted.

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Esran nods vacantly to Serid...<Yes, of course.>  He begins to execute Ossanlin's orders, no longer paying Serid any mind.

~

Ossanlin pilots the Mirage gracefully around to the back of the Tyrennian, the full size of the ship exceedingly obvious at such close range.  He loops the reflective craft around behind the Tyrennian where the upper Starboard irregular hangar doors have opened.  He slows down as the craft slides past the atmospheric shielding guarding the large hangar bay to touch down softly inside.  The large hangar doors slide shut behind the Mirage.

Ossanlin breathes a semi-contented sigh at being reunited with his ship once again.  <We've landed.>  He announces to the ship at large as he powers the Mirage down and commands the access ramp to open.  <If all of the Yeerks and Humans would please stay together once you've exited the craft...I'll show you all to your temporary quarters.  I'm afraid our amenities were not designed specifically for humans...but we should be able to make do.>  He pauses.  <My officers are dismissed.  You may all do as you wish for the next hour.>

Ossanlin makes his way to the exit ramp and descends onto the bright metal flooring of the small upper hangar bay.  To the sides are the off-white walls of the smaller divided hangar, and behind is the sealed hangar bay door...but in front, the small hangar opens up into a large room, bright in the daylight-quality lighting.  The large room is nearly 200 yards long with a wide, open concourse down the middle...all off-white and chromed metal.  The ceiling of the main hangar is a good 60 feet from the room's floor, and several force-cranes hang from the ceiling, stowed in their retracted positions until needed.  The outer walls of the main hangar are lined with a honeycomb-like structure...two rows, one stacked atop the other, of eighteen 20 x 20 x 15 foot cells on each outer wall, the top rows recessed out slightly from the bottom ones.  Each starboard cell contains a single Tail Fighter craft...the port cells are empty. 

Ossanlin spies three young(ish) Andaites, one his Lead Active-Security Officer, standing at the top of the ramp leading down into the main Hangar Bay.  <Serid.>  He smiles and nods.  <Glad to see you here.>  He pauses as he walks up to the three young males.  <Stay with me.>  He nods again at Serid before glancing at the other two.  <You two, there are supplies stowed aboard the Mirage.  I need them transported to the Dome.  It'd probably be best to use a hover-lift.>  He stands next to Serid and turns back to watch his temporary charges debark, waiting for them all to gather.

[Chad32]

Claxter was glad to be back, and ready to stretch his legs. <Efaen, if you would like to see me after Prince Ossanlin finds you a room, I'll be in the dome.> He said as he passed her. He made his way down the ramp, and trotted towards the dome. The grass tasted great to his hooves as he ran. It was bittersweet, knowing this was likely the only semblance of his homeworld left now.

[Estelore]

Ennoryma stayed a few paces behind Ossanlin as they disembarked, addressing Esran privately and curtly as she passed him, not favouring him even with her stalk eyes. <<If I hear you openly argue with our Prince again, especially in front of passengers, you and I are going to have a problem.>>

She swept past him, her attention moving constantly between Ossanlin and the humans as they left the transport. One of her stalk eyes kept drifting up toward the Tail Fighters in their docking cells. They were familiar, gorgeous, and wickedly well-crafted. She forced her attention back to the moving group of humans, resolving to stay with them as Ossanlin led them around the ship: they would have no stragglers wandering into restricted areas, if there was anything she could say about it. Furthermore, she wanted to know which of the officers' quarters were liable to be repurposed for human housing. She wasn't concerned out of partiality to her own room, and she'd surrender it easily if it kept a few of the humans in a location where they could be easily monitored and found if needed; she was much more concerned with knowing the exact placement of each human they had, for lack of a better word, adopted into the roster. She would keep a careful mental inventory on each of them.

[Terenia]

Keslin pulls away from the console as the ship lands, watching through the viewscreens until the Mirage is settled.

<<Somehow I can't help but feel as though I am walking straight into the jaws of my enemy,>> Keslin murmurs, swallowing back his fear. His eyes sweep the room, taking note of his charges, and he clears his throat.

"Lanath," he says loudly. "Make sure all of the pirates on board make it off safely. You take the lead with Aya, I'm going to see to Tess." He glances at Myitt beside him. "I trust you'll take care of everyone else? We need to stick together now, eh?"

He gives her a small, sad smile, one ever-trembling hand coming up to squeeze her shoulder. He drops it quickly, moving towards the back of the ship, where he last saw Tess.


"We will find them," Dom whispers, his voice catching. He clears his throat, blinking back sudden tears. "We must."

As the ship comes to a halt, Dom looks up. "I think we have arrived," he says quietly to Tess. "Do you need help standing?"


Efaen does not respond to Claxter as she finishes her morph to human. Her eyes follow him as he moves away, though, expression unreadable. Ossanlin was right that he is kind enough, she thinks to herself. But that does not make him a friend. She glances behind her, but no one seems particularly eager to speak to her. Biting her lip she moves forward towards the front hatchway, exiting the ship before any of the other rebels and making her way onto the Tyrennian. Not like I have a leader to wait on, she reminds herself, sighing a little as she looks around the docking bay. Her gaze falls on Ossanlin and his crew last, her lips setting into a thin line.


Terenia does not move from her spot on the floor. She does not even acknowledge their arrival, nor Ossanlin's request for them to disembark. She continues staring, unseeing, at her knees.

[Myitt]

Niko nods at Illim. "Yes, we should take the information to Keslin." He turns to regard the sandy-haired Canadian man. "It appears Myitt is discussing us." He raises his eyebrows as he meets Keslin's gaze.


Lanath clears his throat. "We, ah, do not come from the Peace Movement, exactly," he says, a smile playing on Aya's face. "We are the soldiers of the Yeerk rebellion, of course. I have been with them for three short years, whereas Aya has been an asset to the organization for quite a bit longer."


"Things look promising, yes," Myitt replies to Keslin, smiling a small smile at Illim and Niko, spying their star charts beyond. Niko gives Myitt a thumbs up, and she feels a brief swell of affection for the man.

<<You've come a long way from breaking his fingers,>> Tara remarks quietly.

<<Don't spoil the moment,>> Myitt whispers.

She shifts her weight as the Mirage jumps back into real space, looking around to ensure those of her friends within her view haven't been tousseled too badly.

Her comrades.

Her charges.

After a moment's recovery, she stares out the viewports, taken aback by the heady view as much as the heavy thoughts.
<<It has been a long time,>> she says quietly, eyeing the Tyrennian for a heartbeat longer before wrenching her gaze back to the others.
At the sight and sound of the communications link, Myitt's hands clench into fists at her sides. Not even Illim's arrival can loosen the tension in her shoulders, and she glances sidelong at him again.

Only Keslin drags her out of her troubled reverie, and she nearly jumps at his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll take care of them," she tells him in a ragged voice, almost as desperate as her internal one.

She turns, full circle, and addresses her comrades--and some, perhaps, less than comrades-- in a less than self-assured tone.

"I guess this is our stop," Myitt tells them as loudly as she can. "You'll do well to follow Ossanlin's orders, and I know you'll all remember your courtesy."

Slumping, she trudges past Terenia and pauses.

"Terenia," she murmurs, watching the young woman. "Come on. We can't lose our composure, not here." Sucking in a breath, she exhales, "We'll find them."

[KitsuneMarie]

Tess gives a ragged sigh in response to Dom's question, and she reaches for his hand, her gaze pulled away by the approaching Keslin. "Thanks, Dom," she murmurs with a tight-lipped smile before she uses leverage from the tall, Croatian man to get to her feet.

Her dark eyebrows raise, even as her hands go to support her heavy stomach. "Everything okay? We're there?" she asks, her voice breathy from the effort the day has required of her. "Wherever there is?"

Tess's stomach is churning, not only with nausea and discomfort, but also with nervousness.


Illim stops beside Myitt, his eyes focused on Terenia. Then he bends, offering his hands to help her up, a small, sad smile on his lips. "Don't pretend you can ignore me, my friend," he murmurs.


Serid gives Ossanlin a polite nod. <I am gratified to see you have made it back safely, sir,> he says, standing at attention as he watches the humans begin to trickle into sight, his curiosity dampened by his heightened awareness of his role in maintaining the ship's security. One eye stalk swivels towards the War-Prince, and when he speaks again, it is privately. <<Are there any of our new charges you would have me keep a particular eye on?>>

[Luke Skywalker (Ossanlin)]

Ossanlin nods.  <<Indeed there are, Command Warrior.  The humans known as Joanne and Terenia should be kept under watch as well as the Yeerk Keshin...he's Joanne's controller.  And...our old friend Efaen...but choose someone who's discreet with Efaen.  I don't want her to feel uncomfortable...I still think there's hope of gaining her trust, it won't do to blatantly show our own mistrust of her.>>

He continues to wait, standing stoic next to Serid, the general feeling of command emanating from him as it seems to do so naturally anymore.  Ossanlin can quite easily remember when that had not been so.

[Terenia]

Keslin nods as he approaches, wrapping one arm over Tess' shoulders and holding her close.

"Thank you, Dom," he says.

"Of course," Dom responds, his eyes lingering on Tess for a few concerned moments before turning to his leader. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

Keslin sighs, running his free hand through his hair. "Help Lanath and Aya ensure that everyone makes it out okay. Keep everyone together. See if Myitt needs help." He laughs hoarsely. "I'm going to need you to do a lot of things in the near future, I'm afraid."

Dom smiles faintly, reaching up and briefly squeezing Chris' arm. "It is alright, my friend. We will get through this." He gives Tess a parting smile, then turns to follow Keslin's instructions.

Keslin turns to Tess. "We'll be safe here," he promises, though the words sound hollow. "We're going to try and find Sam and Issid and the other medical staff, but we...we'll be okay." His hand tightens a little on her shoulder, as though afraid she may disappear.


Efaen comes to a halt some distance away from the Andalite crew, sizing them up warily. She doesn't seem to know what to do with herself, so she just stands and waits, arms crossed tightly across her chest as though there is a chill in the air.


Terenia's gaze slowly regains focus, and she looks up at Myitt and Illim. She says nothing, wordlessly taking Illim's hand and letting him hoist her to her feet. Once standing, she doesn't move, eyes falling back to the ground, limp, tangled blonde hair half-concealing her face.