Untold Stories of a Galaxy - Kysaek: The Beginning

The day was so beautiful in Vinovae. There was not a cloud in the sky of Anuket’s capital and the sun kissed everything it touched with a warm delight. It was picture perfect weather and perfect for a victory celebration as thousands upon thousands of residents waited outside the doors of the government tower. However, this was only a fraction of the crowd, as not everyone could have a seat right at the front and the remaining masses stretched once around the whole tower and beyond, as it was an event not to be missed.

“At least I don’t have to make a speech,” Kysaek said tensely. She was still inside the government tower, right by the front doors, and on the occasion of today’s event, she was wearing a formal, cherry-red dress that restricted her somewhat in her walk. It had no sleeves, but her forearms were covered in matching coloured stripes and her back was bare skin, with leg slits at knee height. “That doesn’t suit me at all.”

“Doesn’t suit you at all, eh?” Wolfgang replied. He was no less well dressed. “And what was that about the soldier riot?”

“Exuberance. I couldn’t just watch any more.”

“Apparently you can’t do that anywhere and just have to get involved everywhere - keep it up. Maybe there’s hope for you after all.”

“I’ll think about it,” Kysaek winked. “If you promise me you’ll drop the traitor attitude.”

“Oh, very low level,” Wolfgang said snootily. “But to satisfy your low spirit, I will.”

“I knew you were a clever man.”

“The cleverest.”

The rest practised more silence, whether Thais, Tavis, Vorrn or someone else. However, Vorrn was the only one who was not festively dressed, but at least he had spruced himself and his equipment up, as he claimed. He only wanted to part with his weapons, however, over Kysaek’s and other corpses, and on the subject of him being a weapon.

“I hope you’re ready,” General Akaro said as he arrived with Rila. “We begin now.”

“These are your people,” Kysaek replied. She had accepted these special seats out of courtesy and respect, but that was all she presumed. “You’d better be ready.”

General Akaro showed no sign of nervousness. “I’m a soldier and they’re always ready,” he said and stepped outside before everyone else, where he was greeted by a formation of honour, an atmospheric piece of music and the roaring crowd. Only then did Kysaek, her people and political dignitaries from the government follow, and they all spread out on the sides of the podium that had been set up, in front of which a row of security guards had been posted and which was secretly protected by shields, because you never knew. All the guests of honour were reasonably visible to the crowd, but it was mainly focused on the general and he let the greeting slowly fade away. “Citizens of the Consulate!” General Akaro began reverently. “Today is a good day, a really extraordinarily good day, and that’s not just because of the wonderful sunshine that sweetens this moment with its presence! It is the day on which I can finally announce to you all the end of the terror that Neo Solaris has brought upon our people!”

Kysaek smiled as the crowd cheered anew, rejoicing in the peace that had been achieved by the Consulate after all their efforts and in which she had played her part - more than she had previously realised. As the General continued to speak, she thought back to the brief but devastating attack on the Xenophobia and saw it in her mind’s eye. That was the name of the invisible cruiser of Neo Solaris, which had caused a lot of problems and now no longer existed, just like the small fleet of the terrorist organisation.

However, Kysaek had not been directly involved in the elimination of the Xenophobia. She had merely served as a moral support on the cruiser leading the operation, at the request of General Akaro. For her, that meant looking good, standing around confidently and inspiring the members of the fleet, and that worked well. Kysaek had been almost embarrassed at how well it had worked and how often the crew members of various ships had mentioned her name in praise and enthusiasm, but she was sure the brave soldiers could have done it without her.

Before the assault on the main base, as they had done many times before, the Consulate had blocked all communications to and from Anuket, so that the enemy would have no idea of the approaching trap. A selected infiltration unit, consisting solely of humans, had used the captured equipment and bolt droppers from Neo Solaris to fake an escape from Anuket. With the necessary codes and passwords from the base and from some of the prisoners, the Xenophobia had followed the ruse and picked up the supposed allies. Their position was no longer secret, but they still remained invisible and it was the task of the Special Forces to change that by disabling the cloaking device and also sabotaging the IPF generator.

However, General Akaro’s twenty ships had already arrived earlier, trying to cut off the hidden Xenophobia’s possible jump routes and they could even have attacked via manual targeting despite the cloak, but it had been too early and their target preferred to remain under cover of invisibility. However, this meant that the terrorist cruiser could not carry out any attacks. The analyses of the last few weeks had revealed this: Attacks broke stealth.

General Akaro had more in mind than simply destroying the Xenophobia anyway and proved his tactical genius. He had planned it this way and had fully expected that if the lead ship was in such dire straits, the rest of the marauding Neo Solaris fleet would come to the rescue. In addition, delaying the attack gave the team on the Xenophobia the time they needed for their mission and the general was spot on.

Thanks to the captured information, he knew that the enemy fleet consisted of only one carrier ship and a few destroyers, was never far away and despite the Consulate’s already superior numbers, the enemy jumped out of the IPF into the battlefield - and the trap snapped shut.

Behind the Neo Solaris reinforcements, the Consulate reinforcements reappeared, focussing on the engines of their targets. Within seconds, half of the destroyers were incapacitated and only the carrier ship was a persistent threat as it sent out its fighters and attack aircraft.

But General Akaro had prepared for that too! The number of his ships already gave him enough power against the enemy fleet, so in addition to a few gunships, he had designed his squadrons purely for fighters and they immediately drew a circle around the approaching attackers. There was no escape for the enemy planes and they certainly didn’t get as far as General Akaro’s ships.

Everything was under control and overwhelmed by panic, at least one still intact Neo Solaris destroyer managed to make an IPF, but the remaining ships continued to fight their hopeless battle. The Consulate was now returning the favour for every attack, all the terror and death that the xenophobic organisation had brought to them. Even when a Consulate frigate was suddenly destroyed by the Xenophobia’s laser lines, nothing changed. On the contrary, the attack on the lead ship was opened, as the ship’s cloak and engines were disabled. Alone and barely supported, the cruiser was nothing more than fair game for the Consulate fleet, which held back until the strike team flew off with their Bolt Droppers. This also ended the Xenophobia’s existence, as the massed gun of Kysaek’s cruiser delivered a single but devastating charge into the enemy ship’s battered front, exploding it from stem to stern. The battle was over and the greatest danger from Neo Solaris was averted, as were its remnants.

Thanks to the information from the base, smaller hideouts of the terror organisation on Anuket were also found and dug out within a week, but that was now in the past.

In front of today’s audience in Vinovae, General Akaro came to the end of his lengthy speech. “But I know who you want to hear, who you are waiting for and I old man have truly enjoyed enough of your attention now,” he said gratefully and the crowd laughed joyfully for a moment. “Now please welcome our most honoured and beloved council elder, Rila Adanu!”

Highly honoured and beloved was an understatement, because the applause from the people was more than exuberant - it was lurid. The fact that Rila, as an Eporanian, took her time to reach the podium did not detract from this and even after the crowd fell silent and the eldest still had half the way to go, it was by no means embarrassing. Everyone looked at the Eporanian woman with shining eyes and an eager gaze. “People of Vinovae, of Anuket, of the entire consulate,” Rila opened her speech confidently. “The General spoke wisely when he praised the sun that shines down on our heads today, but its rays are more than mere warmth. It is as if we are all being reborn in a new light, but there is one thing we must not forget - the light was preceded by a dark shadow that we had to conquer and our rebirth is linked to the death of those who gave their lives for our ideals and I know how much you all want to know exactly what happened and you will know.” Each word from Rila was no less important to her than the other and it was all spoken equally, calmly yet meaningfully and forcefully without being too harsh. “There is so much to say and proclaim, but above all I am proud of every single citizen. We have proven ourselves in our most difficult crisis to date, in our still young history, and that makes for a strong community that wants to walk among the stars. This is an important day to celebrate and it shall be celebrated as a day of life every standard galactic year from now on and become a part of our culture,” Rila proclaimed. Such a proclamation was received affirmatively and gratefully by the masses in an overjoyed round of applause, but the Eporanian had another unexpected surprise to share with everyone. “There is no I in we. Only together can we achieve great things and this victory was also the work of many hands, but I would like to highlight one person in particular and at the same time put an end to the rumours. It’s true - the galaxy-wide, wanted group around Elaine Kysaek is on Anuket and they are here and now.”

Neither Kysaek nor her companions had expected this and no one seemed to have noticed them yet, but when they were shown on all the screens, a considerable sense of uncertainty ran through the huge crowd.

“But don’t worry!” Rila asked more clearly for a moment before returning to her usual voice. “They came to us under adverse circumstances, also threatened by Neo Solaris, and then had to earn the privilege of freedom by submitting to our judgement. They were always co-operative and we found no concrete evidence to justify their branded status, so we released them and if you all still doubt whether that was such a good idea, hear this - Elaine Kysaek was free and could have left, but we asked her for help. She doesn’t live with us, has no duties to us and owes us nothing else, but she and her comrades-in-arms returned our request at the risk of their lives.” While Rila’s speech had been steady and calm throughout, her words now resonated with an overwhelming presence. “They gave themselves up to Neo Solaris as bait, knowing full well that they could die, and thus played an enormously important part in the fact that I can now stand before you all and speak of peace. In times of great need, those who are going through a difficult time themselves came to our aid and for that I, and hopefully you too, will always be deeply grateful to them and see them for what they are! Heroes of the Consulate who are always welcome as friends!”

If there was one place in the galaxy where Kysaek actually felt welcome and not persecuted, it was the Consulate from now on. Any insecurities and doubts about her were blown away by the crowd and the cheers were boundless.

“Hehehe,” laughed Vorrn. The crowds couldn’t hear him. “Maybe it wasn’t a mistake to join you after all. These people know who they have to grovel to.”

“They don’t grovel, they say thank you,” said Kysaek, but she didn’t blame the Hishek too much. After all, he had said something positive.

“I don’t see any difference. Your version just sounds more noble and mine is honest.”

“That’s right. If there’s one thing Hishek are, it’s strictly straightforward and honest.”

“But that’s enough talk,” Rila told the crowd. “Go home, walk the streets, or wherever it takes you today. On this day, we will celebrate everywhere and together!”

Later, everywhere really meant everywhere, and no part of the city remained quiet or dark as the evening fell. This was especially true of the Government Tower, where Kysaek took part in the festivities, although it was not quite the way she used to celebrate. Every inch was elegantly decorated, the atmosphere was good and there was a lively atmosphere at the party for selected guests. However, the main focus was on conversation, a good meal and elegant dancing to the sounds of traditional Talin music. This meant slow flute and clarinet playing, restrained trumpets, soft, tinkling bars and plucking stringed instruments.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Kysaek had had to face many thanking politicians and guests, but once that was done, she was at peace and stayed more on the sidelines. She watched the scene over a glass of wine and tried not to appear too bored for the sake of respect, but she didn’t quite succeed. This was partly due to the fact that she hadn’t had a really quiet period for a long time.

“Aren’t you enjoying the party?” asked Tavis, who seemed to be having fun so far and looked really smart, despite the strict dress code.

“It’s not that, but I’m used to different things,” Kysaek replied, thinking back to her childhood. “If I’d always gone with my parents back then, I’m sure this wouldn’t be so strange to me.”

“Why? Were your parents politicians?”

“Not exactly. They belonged to a diplomatic section on Central. Some sub-corps for, for ... I have no idea what for,” Kysaek confessed. She didn’t remember because even as a teenager her interest in it had been extremely limited and as a small child she had been even less interested in it and understood it even less.

“Diplomats, eh? An important task and that would explain where you get your sensitive eloquence from.”

“Sensitive, Tavis? You call things like on Themis, the escape from Central or Trayden sensitive?”

“Well, those are bad examples, in part. I’d be willing to amend my statement to say you have a sense of when to say something. Is that better?”

“By far.”

“Excellent,” said Tavis, before he went on a little. But he wasn’t entirely serious. “Now we can solve my problem.”

“Your problem? Has something happened?”

“Oh yes. The whole hero thing. My reputation as a thug is on the line.”

“How do you think we should solve this?” smirked Kysaek as she drank.

“Our best option is PGI. We raid some other super-important lab, even if it doesn’t help us, and the company makes the next nasty headlines about us. My reputation would be saved and yet we’ve done something good again. Everyone wins.”

“Except PGI.”

“Yes, except them. Not much of a loss.”

“Definitely not. I’m thinking about it. We’ll have no shortage of targets,” Kysaek said, though in truth the opposite was true. She didn’t have any fresh leads right now. There were certainly goals, but the lack of a concrete lead nagged at her. There was one thing that could have changed that, though.

“Think about it, but not now,” Tavis said, extending his hand to the woman. “Instead, you should consider my dance request.”

“Would you like to join the Palanian dances on the floor?” asked Kysaek.

Some guests followed stepping positions from the Palanian culture. They didn’t use arms, but there were many leisurely turns and almost close physical contact. There were no injuries among the non-Palanians, however, because the real Palanians had covered their cutting body parts with soft, blue paste.

Tavis was no exception. “That was my plan,” he said. The man was truly enjoying the party.

Only even if she had been in the mood, there would have been a problem for Kysaek and she used that fact as a polite excuse. “I’d love to, but I can’t even do my people’s ballroom dances. Anything beyond wild fidgeting is beyond my abilities, I’m afraid.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I’d be happy to step in,” Thais said. It was a real exception to see her rich curves in her revealing, sand-coloured dress, which in some cultures would certainly have fallen into the vulgar category, but not among the Talin. “If you like.”

“How could I refuse such an offer,” Tavis replied as a gentleman. “Although I must admit that the sight of you is unusual.”

“Would you rather I wore my usual clothes? Dusty and with a gun behind my back?”

“No, I like variety,” said Tavis, alluding to the Talin’s rough demeanour and charisma. “All I need is your promise not to break me with your brute strength or prismatics if I misstep.”

“Don’t worry,” Thais teased. “This Palanian dance doesn’t involve arms. That means I can’t use punches or prismatics at all.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Tavis. He led his partner away. “See you later.”

“You’ll find me here,” Kysaek replied, trying to gather her thoughts. Her goal of proving her innocence and taking action against PGI simply wouldn’t let her rest. She just couldn’t be normal anymore, she felt.

New dialogue partners didn’t make it any better. “Is something bothering you?” asked General Akaro.

“I’m sorry. Is it that obvious?”

“I know that look on your face, that look: Concentrated, worried and lonely. Those are the eyes of a leader who is straining to see into the future and can’t.”

“Perhaps you can ease this burden?” Kysaek asked. She had learnt that the Consulate had recently detained the PGI troops around Phonor and she finally wanted to know why and more. “Do you have something on PGI? Or has Douglas been talking since his capture?”

“Believe me, Kysaek,” Quin reassured her. It was important for him to switch off. “Everything is under control and won’t get away from you, my word on it. You should also take a break and enjoy this.”

“You’re years ahead of me General. Are you telling me that you weren’t eager as a young soldier?”

“Every Palanian in the Junta is eager, but young or old, we know when to stop and rest or get a little wilder. Stress needs to be relieved or it will harm you over time.”

“I used to favour resting,” Kysaek smiled as she occasionally watched Thais and Tavis dance. Despite the joyful corners of her mouth, she couldn’t hide her concern. “I’ve avoided work as much as possible, preferring to enjoy life, but if I enjoy it now and fail, will I have anything left of my life?”

“And that’s exactly why you should be in the here and now,” Quin argued constructively and courteously. “That reminds me of the Junta’s motto - give it all and take it all, because death is already here, looking forward to that day.”

“Sounds like a promise.”

“And it is. Every one of us has to die, it’s an irrevocable law of the universe. That’s why Palanians should seize every opportunity that arises. What if you were to fight PGI again tomorrow and fall? Would you then be able to say that you took every chance in life?”

“Maybe not every chance, but most of the important ones,” Kysaek countered, the wine in her glass gradually diminishing. “I could have said no to you and Rila. Instead, I took the chance.”

“I can’t argue with that. Indeed you did, but that doesn’t change my advice.”

“I appreciate that, General. It’s just too much all at once and maybe I just need to learn to deal with it before I can really enjoy some things again.”

“Maybe so,” Quin agreed as new company joined the conversation with heavy steps

“General Akaro,” said Rila, knowing and amused. “Are you teaching the next generation again?”

“Some things never change, my dear Rila,” Quin replied warmly. The two clearly had a deep friendship, or perhaps more? “At some point, we old soldiers will be gone and then we need to know if the galaxy is in good hands.”

“And is it working?”

“That remains to be seen, but I’m optimistic.”

“The general is doing his best,” Kysaek said with amusement. “But I’ve always been a difficult case and drive many to despair.”

For Rila, the satisfied crowd was a perfect counterpart. “You gave our people hope and peace,” she replied. “I see and hear only happiness and no more despair.”

“Yes, speaking of which, and just between us - Hero of the Consulate?” asked Kysaek, raising an eyebrow. She hadn’t had a chance to talk to the Eporan woman undisturbed since the Elder’s speech.

“That’s what we see in you. Don’t you like it?”

“I don’t want to seem ungrateful by any means, but I honestly don’t know how to deal with it.”

“Maybe that’s because it was supposed to be a surprise.”

“You certainly succeeded,” said Kysaek, putting down her empty glass.

“I think the ladies will discuss it amongst themselves,” said Quin. He saw it as an appropriate moment to withdraw from the conversation. “I’m going to mingle with the rest of the guests for a bit.”

“General Akaro,” both women replied in farewell.

“We risked our lives, that’s for sure,” Kysaek said, making movements with swinging arms like a child who was getting restless. “But so have many brave soldiers, and they have been fighting for the Consulate for much longer. They deserve to be called heroes more.”

“I don’t disagree with you and yet I have to,” Rila replied wisely. The music was loud enough and the guests too far away and far too busy celebrating to hear the elder. “Every soldier has faithfully done his duty and risked his life, as you have. However, it is as I said in my speech - you and your people had no reason to do the same. There is a difference.”

“So we’re better because of that? Because we’re not from here?”

“Yes and no. But there were more reasons why I chose to call out your name. The general was in full agreement, although we didn’t agree on every point.”

“What was he against?”

“Things that are more of an indirect nature of your actions,” Rila said. Her aforementioned disagreement with Quin didn’t sound too harsh. “Don’t worry about it. I would like to ask you one question, though.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you think makes a hero?”

“Heroes perform extraordinary deeds,” Kysaek replied, as if she had learnt them by heart. They were the words that had led to her signing up with the Luna Alliance. “Heroes never fail and never give up. They are unstoppable, sacrificing themselves and defending the weak to their last breath.”

“A romantic view,” Rila agreed. Her view was completely different, however, without downplaying the aforementioned characteristics. “Much of what you said is done by every dutiful soldier and yet there aren’t hundreds of heroes and big names. Why is that?”

“Because there aren’t enough great deeds for everyone?”

“Not quite. Let me tell you how I and the General define it - heroes are the right individuals, at the right time, in the right place, doing the right thing. That’s how heroes are born and nothing else. It’s partly out of their hands.”

That was not at all what Kysaek was used to. “Rila. Are you telling me that great names and their deeds are a mere coincidence?”

“That’s one side, in a way. You said some of what you think makes great names and yet there aren’t many,” Rila repeated, getting to the point. “It wasn’t just that you put your life on the line for my people. As you said, so did many soldiers. But when the bond that unites us all in the consulate threatened to break, it was not one of our brave fighters who prevented the worst. Instead, there was a young woman who did what the rest could no longer do at that point and she said exactly the right thing. The right person, at the right time, in the right place, doing the right thing.”

“Coincidence...” Kysaek murmured, laughing bitterly as she learnt another lesson of the galaxy. She leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling. “If I could tell that to my old self.”

“Don’t forget the second side. The soldiers from that day looked up to you and cheered because they knew you had averted a minor disaster. Your intervention secured our mission and ultimately brought us real peace, and word travelled fast. At first it spread among the troops, but even the troops have civilian lives and friends away from combat. Even before I proclaimed you a hero today, you were already a hero to many. A nation needs heroes, just as it creates them, and since I assume that the inhabitants of Sector Seven speak the truth, this is not the first time you have made an impression. So it’s not just a coincidence - it’s equally deserved and a testament to your qualities.”

Kysaek hesitated, because her next question seemed wrong and she didn’t know how to put it correctly. “And why am I not comfortable with it?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know, but if I may hazard a guess, I’d say it’s unusual for you. You’ve forgotten that it can be different. For so long, you’ve been forced to run away from many things and have only heard negative things about yourself and have certainly experienced them.”

“It can be different. General Akaro said something similar to me before,” Kysaek mentioned as she internalised Rila’s words. “And yes. I admit that there is some truth to your assumption. Even with all the well-wishers, I was reserved and cautious, even slightly paranoid. My thoughts were almost entirely centred on the fact that this could be an opportunity for an assassin and I’d like to beat myself up for thinking so badly of the guests.”

“Your life is truly not easy at the moment,” said Rila The Eporanian placed one of her large hands sympathetically on the heroine’s shoulder, causing half of Kysaek’s upper arm to disappear. “I’m sorry you feel that way, but I can understand it and I’m sure any reasonable person can. You have all the time you need to recover and regroup at the consulate before you move on. Perhaps that would be best.”

“Perhaps. Let’s wait for the promised interrogation.”

“Yes, you should. Until then, I hope you have some fun at the party.”

“I’ll try, I really will,” Kysaek smiled as Rila left her. She didn’t want to lie to the Eporanian, but she couldn’t imagine warming to the party just yet and slowly stole away.

Away from the hustle and bustle, she briefly bumped into Vorrn. “I didn’t think you’d still be here,” Kysaek admitted, smirking a little. “Enjoying the party?”

The Hishek stood on a balcony, in the light of the planet’s twin moons, using the blade of his mechanical arm as a spit for a large roast of meat. “The food is quite good, but that’s about it,” Vorrn replied, smacking and chewing. The look at his spit did not go unnoticed by him. “What?”

“What?”

“You’re not getting anything.”

“Oh, yes,” Kysaek nodded hastily. “That was exactly what I was thinking.”

“I can see you’re enjoying the party too much if you think you can take the piss out of me,” Vorrn said. Despite his rude manner, he wasn’t stupid. “Do you want to be on this blade instead of the meat?”

“I prefer my bed, which I’m going to go to now.”

“Good, because I’d hate to teach you a lesson right now. Every warrior here has earned his rest and I’m not depriving you of that right without good reason.”

“Good night to you too, Vorrn,” wished Kysaek. Her good night made the corners of Vorrn’s muzzle twitch sullenly, but that was all the Hishek did and he gave the woman a silent, cursory nod as he smacked chunks of meat between his sharp teeth.