Untold Stories of a Galaxy - Kysaek: The Beginning

“I have to admit that this is not going to be as easy as I thought,” Kysaek confessed as she sat out on a fold-out seat in the compact cargo area of the van.

Thais was also there and raised her head. It was her only reaction. Just like Kysaek, Talin wore a helmet that prevented any view of her face. It was dark purple and had a mirror-smooth surface, as if someone had just polished it. “Your first?” asked Thais, unnecessarily. Her newest aspirant had mentioned it before.

Nevertheless, Kysaek answered gloomily. “The galig in the tunnels and the policewoman were accidents or luck, depending on how you look at it. But if I leave out those two and various bots, then yes.” The fact that the walls of the van creaked so uneasily in the process didn’t worry her. All evening the wind from Auranis had been rougher than usual, putting all the fliers to the test.

“Then this is truly your birth,” Thais said pensively. Already four weeks ago, after Kysaek had accepted her offer, the Talin had informed her soon-to-be fellow sister of the approaching rite of admission of the Disciples of Dealith. It involved a simple act, but one that could hardly be surpassed in its seriousness - murder.

For Kysaek, this was sheer irony. She had to commit one crime to protect herself from another, and at first she didn’t want to do that. Over time, however, she became convinced. “I don’t quite see the birth thing yet, but those two deserve it!” retorted Kysaek, for there were few guidelines for murder. Strictly exempt were only living beings whose age was below 16 standard years and whose death was difficult to achieve or could bring serious consequences, but that did not apply to their chosen targets.

Thais tried to remain neutral. “It is not for me to judge,” she opined. However, when Kysaek had first told her about the chosen victims, the Talin could not hide a tinge of satisfaction. After all, it indirectly affected her personally. “Only your judgement counts.”

Yes, so Kysaek gradually became convinced of the rite. It was all at her discretion. There had to be at least one target, but there was no definite limit upwards. She remembered how Thais had mentioned an aspirant who had passed through the Maw for a whole month and had made 187 kills. However, Kysaek, like her companion, found that extremely exaggerated and that it was going in a very fanatical direction. “It’s lucky I ended up with your group. When I think of your stories ...”

“The number of radical disciples is limited. It was different over six hundred years ago,” Thais said. She had told Kysaek that at the beginning of their founding, six hundred and twenty-one years ago, the Disciples had really been what outsiders imagined them to be today. Back then, they had been a small group of women who had chosen the goddess Dealith, the death goddess of an extinct species, as their guiding light. A murderous cult. “But the larger the organisation became, the more it changed over the last three hundred years. Yet it remained true to its basic ideals.”

Kysaek had not forgotten the disciples’ mantra. “Taking a life gives rise to a new one.”

“Death is an important aspect of the galaxy. It signifies balance,” said the Talin. The basic idea of the disciples of the time, no matter if they appeared sinister and murderous, was a guardian function. Dealith, a keeper of balance, stood for this. Nowadays, however, the rite aimed at one thing above all, and Thais had made that clear earlier too. “Besides, death means loyalty.”

That was what the disciples were primarily concerned with and what Kysaek was now about to prove - their loyalty. If one was willing to murder for someone, what limit would there be? That was the true purpose of any rite and Kysaek had to go through it. There was no way around that, although she would have preferred it there. “I will be loyal,” she nodded, thinking of her two victims. Never would she have killed indiscriminately, without a rudiment of personal knowledge, no matter how desperate she was. But of those men she allowed herself to judge, thinking them scum - Dave Port and Dodol Miron. That was Kysaek’s choice, the attackers of Dilén. Cowards who preyed on women at night. They had been tracked down by the disciples.

“And for that we will stand by you,” Thais countered before giving initial instructions. “Dodol is our first target. He owns a small flat in the starry corner.”

him,” Kysaek said. The Starry Corner was familiar to her and any sensible citizen of Auranis. The name suggested affluence, but the neighbourhood owed its name to the fact that five districts adjoined there. A confusing area that could quickly become dangerous if one entered the wrong areas. “Is there anything else I need to be aware of?”

“You just have to make sure he dies,” Thais replied. Other than that, she had not informed Kysaek of anything before leaving, as it was also part of the exam. Aspirants were supposed to face pure death. The important details were entirely Thais’ responsibility as priestess of the disciples. “Does talking help? Is your nervousness fading away?”

“More and more. Especially when I consider the reason for my choice. You have broadened my vision in the last few weeks.”

“I wanted to see if you were more than an empty shell. I can’t have will-less women who have no thoughts of their own.”

Kysaek brushed the serious subject aside for a moment. “So my big mouth helped me?”

Thais followed suit. “To some extent,” she replied. “Is that an innate talent of yours?”

“Let’s just say there have been a few alleys where I’ve been beaten.”

“And you’ve always lost?”

“Half, half ... I think,” Kysaek said. She really didn’t remember how many times she had won or lost in such situations.

“In our culture, it’s also a constant struggle,” Thais mentioned as discontent resonated in her voice. “But a different kind of struggle.”

“Of what kind?”

“Not that important. Don’t worry your head about that now. We’re almost there anyway.”

“You’re right.”

Deep in the starry corner, all concentration was needed even when no sane person was messing with the disciples of Dealith. Their colours were well known, the dark purple and the dull grey streaks at the intersections of the body, like the chest, wrists or neck. But sometimes there was at least one fool, even two, or in rare cases a bunch, who didn’t care who was in front of them. Especially in the starry corner.

It was an area where criminals called the shots and fought for entitlements. It wasn’t dirty or seedy for that reason, however, but the few police on the scene stayed out of everything if they could. That’s why Dodol was the easiest target, because no one here would care if there was trouble or smart people looked the other way for a pittance.

However, the fact that Kysaek and Thais were running around in full gear and armed in the process achieved a similar effect. The galaxy was a place of loose gun laws anyway. In the Star Corner, however, it was a mandatory duty and in a cluttered area, an amalgamation of multiple levels and pathways, Kysaek assured herself, “Section 39, right?”

“Yes, Aspirant Theron,” Thais replied. Outside the base and the transporter, she called her companion by her alias - Theron, Silvia Theron. “Lead the way. “I

HER alias took some getting used to for Kysaek. “Will do ... Priestess,” she said obediently. Thais’ title was an added adjustment for her.

In every group of Dealith there were aspirants, disciples and a priestess. The priestess was in charge on the spot. At her rank briefing, Kysaek had then guessed that the highest position would be called High Priestess because it seemed logical to her, but the title didn’t even exist. Thais had even joked that this rank designation would, after all, be completely devoid of creativity. Instead, after the priestess, there was the guardian, who normally supervised all the groups of a planet, several systems or a complete cluster. However, they were not at the top, but the judges. These were the leaders of the disciples of Dealith and there were only twelve of them in the entire galaxy.

“Here we are,” Thais said outside Dodol’s flat door. Apart from her and Kysaek, there was no one else around. “If he’s not there, we’ll wait inside. Are you ready?”

The preparation time was long, but Kysaek wondered if anyone was ever ready for something like this. She was still slightly uneasy, but she tried not to let on. “Let’s do it.”

For her experience alone, Thais had probably noticed Kysaek’s restlessness. “I’ll open the door,” she said. Such entrances, with a simple code lock, were no trouble if you were a skilled technician or a spendthrift buyer of information. In Thais’ case, the principle of foreign exchange applied, because she had obtained the code from a Seeker, an information trader. Therefore, all she had to do was connect her vortex cuff to the door’s input field and the gate was cracked. “I’ll keep watch out here. Take him out.”

Silence and a reach for her pistol were Kysaek’s response to the instruction. Her handy magnetic weapon was fitted with a long silencer, but instead of a round outer shape, it was more angular in design and littered with artificial notches.

The barrel slid alertly but briskly into Dodol’s darkened dwelling. The dwelling was an identical, if smaller, counterpart to Kysaek’s former home, only without windows. A holoscreen was active on the ceiling, providing just enough light to make all the contours of the room visible. Dodol, however, was not one of them.

Kysaek suspected that her target was waiting behind the only other flat door. She just wasn’t sure whether she should lurk in front of it or take the initiative. If behind it was the suspected bathroom, she would most certainly catch Dodol with his trousers down. It was a thought that appealed to Kysaek, for that way her victim might experience the feeling of helplessness before death itself.Yes, I’ll give that pig that!

Her resolve stood and yet every muscle in her body trembled, a tingling Kysaek had never felt like this before. Was she not so averse to murder after all, or was it really just because of who her target was? Perhaps it was also a warning, a sign that her body didn’t want to do what her head wanted, because wanting to pull the trigger and actually doing it were two different things, as with many plans in life.

Quickly Kysaek’s hand jerked forward to the knob of the door, but there was no one behind it. “He’s not here⁈” she fretted, puzzled because the bathroom light was on.

Thais joined them. “Take it easy. He probably left the holoscreen on to scare off burglars.”

“As if you could have heard that through the door outside! And does that do anything around here?”

“If some people think there’s more than one occupant here, they’ll certainly think twice about getting in.”

“And the bathroom light is on because ...?”

“Because he’s probably an energy waster,” Thais opined. She locked the front door behind her and looked for the shadiest spot in the flat. It was in the corner, where there was a sideboard complete with fridge. “Come here. Dodol shall have the full benefit of the fright.”

Kysaek locked the bathroom door again, obscuring Thais’s corner view. “I like that idea,” she replied, taking her place beside the priestess.

The two of them didn’t have to wait long and, given their already surprising position, were able to anticipate Dodol’s arrival. For the Davoc was rumbling grimly outside the door and cursing as he went in. “Always these half-breeds. Thought they’d really get a toll from me.”

Patience, that was Kysaek’s command now, although she swallowed quietly and heavily. She waited until Dodol was inside and the exit locked.

“Half lights on!” puffed Dodol, and centrally, around the holoscreen, a circle of lamps glowed. Even his unexpected guests came partly out of the shadows through this, at least with their upper bodies, but he did not see them. Only Kysaek stepped completely out of the dark corner anyway and made deliberately loud steps. With that she almost scared Dodol to death. “What the ...!” he growled at her in panic and stumbled against the bathroom door.

It was a soothing sight for Kysaek, who raised her pistol. “And now, Dodol Miron? What do you do now?”

The ape-being was no fool. “Disciples of Dealith? What do you want from me? I have nothing to do with you!” said Dodol loudly, building himself up to his full height, a real hunk.

“You bet you have!” retorted Kysaek calmly, completely unimpressed by her target’s rearing. There was no trembling now, no tingling in her muscles, and she let him know what was about to come. “It all comes back to you. Do you still feel so superior now when there is no helpless woman in front of you?” she asked. Dodol wanted to answer her, but an impulse coursed through Kysaek’s body, and before she knew it she was ice-coldly giving him two shots in the head, as quiet as a whisper. It took her a moment to realise that it had all happened so quickly, and as Dodol lay on his stomach in front of Kysaek, she went to him and gave him three more shots in the back of the head. “He is ... Dead,” she murmured, as if that was not clear. Thais stepped up beside her, but Kysaek could not look at the priestess. The pressure in her body was rising too much and her heartbeat extremely fast as she only now realised what she had done. Her veins thickened and pressed against the armour from within. Kysaek’s voice became brittle. “This ...was it for him because I decided it should be so ...Who am I to do this?”

Maternal love or warmth was not something Thais had to spare. Instead, however, she had a hand on her aspirant’s shoulder and the knowledge of what was going on inside that one right now. “It is your birth. The body throbs, it burns and you realise that there is more inside you. A being capable and strong enough to determine what may be.”

“How can I ... This isn’t right ...”

“It will take time,” Thais noted, and her hand slipped from Kysaek’s shoulder. “But now you will begin to really understand it, what I told you weeks ago. Others are constantly deciding what is right or wrong, making their rules and laws and passing judgements. So why shouldn’t you be allowed to do the same, Kysaek? What makes leaders, generals, judges, clergy or politicians so much more worthy? Compassion? Intelligence? Experience?”

“I would say experience ...”

“No, none of that,” Thais replied sternly. The world she was opening up to Kysaek was now clearly showing her aspirant again. “Such people do it because they can, because they think they know better. In doing so, however, they often rely on power that is not their own, but which allows them to have their way.”

“That’s just the way it is.”

Thais was about to leave the flat. “That may be,” she agreed. “But there is one more thing: we are all born into societies full of rules and morals, but it is up to us whether we simply bow to it or have the strength.”

“What strength?”

“The strength not only to shape our own world and make choices; that strength with which to endure and uphold your choices. That makes the difference between bending and not bending.”

The words loosened Kysaek’s rigidity slightly. If only weeks ago she thought she understood Thais, now it really got to her, in this moment full of life and death. “Then ... Let’s go to our base now.”

“We’re not done yet, though.”

Neither disrespectful nor arrogant, Kysaek followed the priestess out. “I am. My duty is done,” she said confidently. The rite required only one death and Kysaek felt it unnecessary to kill Dave Port, for that was not the point. Making your own decisions didn’t mean constantly questioning every order and breaking every law or causing chaos. “A life passes, a new one arises. Dealith got her victim and I’m sure when Dave hears about his friend’s death, he may see it as a warning and change. He can start a new life, and if he doesn’t, there’s still the possibility that I or someone else will end his too.”

Thais had nothing but praise for her aspirant’s decision. “Truly excellent,” she said. “I accept your choice and consider the test accomplished, and not only that -it’s been quite a long time since an aspirant grasped the meaning behind my words so well.”

“I can hardly believe myself that I am thinking like that just now.”

“Yes, and I thank you for that,” Thais said sincerely. “I have risked a lot by taking you in and you have more than justified my trust.”

“I am just grateful and loyal when I am shown the same,” Kysaek replied. An attitude she felt everyone should have. If they did, the galaxy would certainly be a lot better, but it wasn’t and Dodol was dead.

Kysaek and Thais were able to return to the waiting transporter, a Bolt dropper, and begin the flight home.

The hull of the machine was rather thin for a flyer used for interplanetary as well as planetary affairs. However, it had tremendous speed, powerful energy shields and three exit doors, which was related to the Bolt Dropper’s original purpose. From space it was to land on planets at lightning speed, like a meteor, and against the resulting atmospheric friction it needed very good shields. Then, once a Bolt Dropper had broken through the atmosphere and made its landing, it had the ability to open the sides, the snout-like front, or all at once, so that infantrymen could rush out.

Now, however, the Disciples’ Bolt Dropper was only a better vehicle substitute, and since the rough evening wind from Auranis had died down, it briskly returned Thais and Kysaek to the base, which was high in one of the city’s many tower buildings.

There the transporter flew into the main hangar, an open landing bay without a gate and with a docking facility for a ship up to thirty metres long. This, however, fell under the category of very small by galactic standards and was mainly geared towards container tugs. For the compact Bolt-Dropper itself, there was a free landing space next to another transporter and two romps.

The disciples who were working here were all wearing their masks. Their number was limited to a few; most of them were taking care of cargo loads, a handful were assembling one of the romps and a single female disciple was operating the hangar crane. That rode along a netted ceiling track and slid over Kysaek’s landed transporter as she disembarked.

Automatically, Kysaek looked out of the bay, something she had enjoyed doing since she had escaped the sickbed. The dark evening sun lent a unique image not only to the hangar, but to Auranis as a whole. Still hard to believe that the city is hostile territory for me. In the friendly base territory, however, it was rather quiet right now, although Kysaek had expected otherwise. None of the disciples present showed any interest in the return of their leader and soon-to-be sister.

Thais acted just as unassuming as if the rite had been nothing. “Go to your cabin. Freshen up a little and change your clothes. In an hour we will meet in the community mess for the consecration.”

“Is that all?” asked Kysaek indecisively. After all the preparation, persuasion and philosophical approaches, the community casino seemed so plain to her as a place for initiation.

“Are you saying you want another exam?”

“That’s not what I meant, so no. All right. I’ll meet you there.”

Whether aspirant or full member, all members of the Disciples of Dealith had their own cabin. Kysaek just wasn’t sure if the décor and scale was the same everywhere, as she had yet to enter another cabin. This one, however, was perfectly adequate, even though it was less than half the size of Kysaek’s old flat. A single bed, a washbasin, a metal cupboard and a desk with a kit: that was the complete room equipment.

Kysaek helped herself to them and stowed her combat equipment in the cupboard, where she exchanged it for comfortable clothing. Like the armour, the fabric was in the colours of the disciples and resembled the casual dress of ordinary soldiers, only without tinsel or other embellishments.

Later, all the female disciples in the community casino were dressed like this and were already waiting for Kysaek, who was the last to join them. If she left herself, Thais and Re’Lis out, the group came to thirty-eight members, much of which was human or Talin.

The mess hall served as a canteen and recreation room, though the food counter was completely empty right now and not a cooker was cooking. The electronic entertainment was silent and most of the lighting was focused on a stage.

Thais stood there, and when she saw the aspirant, a wave of her arm was enough for the other disciples to form a clear road for the newcomer. “Kysaek,” Thais said, striking a much more personal tone. “Come to me.”

Kysaek climbed composedly onto the stage, where she towered over the silent spectators by three heads. At first she looked through the small crowd before feeling Thais’ hand on her shoulder.

“A while ago she was a stranger, an outsider who had no place among us,” Thais mentioned. Her speech was considered and without reproachful interpretation. “But so were we all once, standing here, gazing into the eyes of a woman we will henceforth call sister.” She paused and withdrew her hand from the aspirant’s shoulder .a moment at which the rest of the disciples nodded wordlessly and looked only at their new sister despite Thais’ words. “Kysaek has passed her test, as true as I stand here. As a faceless one, she set off, as we all did and do. In Dealith’s name, she continued the cycle that defines all life in the galaxy - death - and was herself reborn.”

So far, Kysaek was impressed by the speech and gave her priestess eye contact, as she did. She didn’t want to interrupt the speech, even though there was so much going through her mind right now and she just wanted to show her appreciation, because without the Talin, Kysaek would probably not be standing here. Therefore, she at least smiled warmly.

Thais mentioned that. “You see for yourselves, my dear sisters. Kysaek has found her place here, and where weeks ago there was resignation, now there is a smile. A smile for you, for me, for all of us,” she said. With that, Kysaek quickly turned to the crowd and showed everyone her joy, which Thais shared. “As your priestess and in the name of Dealith, I will now consecrate Kysaek!”

What came next, Kysaek did not know. No one had said a word about the consecration, at least no details. She was only to stand, she knew that. She had expected a speech, but not what Thais did next. Kysaek felt queasy for a second as Talin bit her thumb, and yet she watched spellbound as the alien’s crimson blood oozed from the thin crack and ran over her alabaster skin.

Almost intimately, Thais pulled the new sister to her, leaving little space between the women. She pressed her bleeding thumb against Kysaek’s forehead and kept it there until fine lines of her lifeblood flowed down around the aspirant’s nose and eyes. When that was done, Thais kissed the forehead and announced. “And now, give our new sister a proper welcome! Let’s celebrate!”

None of the onlookers remained silent any longer. They threw up their arms in joy, cheering and showing Kysaek that she had arrived and was wanted in their midst. Music filled the walls of the casino, and previously well-hidden boxes of food and drink were revealed by the women. Behind the bar, service bots rose, waiting to attend to their owners. They, however, first took care of her freshly-born sister as she stepped off the stage and was surrounded by them.

After a long time, this was going to be a nice, cosy and promising evening for Kysaek, which she was now looking forward to.