Present day

On board of the Empress’ flagship, the Leviathan…

Laapis

„Those are the last signals of the Starblazer we received,“ says Laapis Azura, Second Steward of the Leviathan, and points up to the large bottom to ceiling screen behind her.

The auditorium is filled to its maximum capacity. Generals and Captains of the most important Vessels mixed in with the elite of the elite who staff the Leviathan.

Laapis' slender frame casts an elongated shadow over the first seat-rows as she moves past the screen. Various words, numbers, and symbols cover and tick down behind her, illuminating the auditorium. The auditorium itself stretches from the stage with the screen to the giant water tank of the Empress in about twenty-five yards. Inside her giant tank the Empress lurks like a shadow in the constant blue twilight.

„As far as the logs tell us, the weapon has been found with little to no effort and was secured without incident according to the protocols,“ Laapis continues her report and glances every so often up to the tank in the hope to catch a glimpse of the most important Menkar in all the universe.

Simultaneously the giant screen, which is about the same size as the front of the Empress’ tank, displays an interstellar map showing the route the Starblazer had taken to get to the location of the weapon. A few seconds later, it shows the protocols of the search and retrieval of the weapon, the essential parts marked with red.

„Although the logs tell of no incidents related to the weapon after its extraction,“ Laapis explains. „The sensors of the ship show that more than twice the measured weight of the weapon had boarded the ship after it left the asteroid. It seems that there were at least one if not two or more blind passengers.“

The screen flashes various calculation models considering the size and weight of the weapon, the ship, and the crew. While those numbers tick down, Laapis looks again to the dark tank of the Empress.

Her breath catches in her throat.

A huge menacing shadow has appeared in the twilight. An immense mass of long tangled hair obscuring the body and creating an effect mimicking the creatures of the deepest void. All Laapis can see are glowing white eyes, focusing on her. Evaluating her.

Taking a deep breath, Laapis calms herself and walks to her lectern with a glass and a bottle of water on top. She pours water into the glass takes a sip and continues her presentation.

„From then on all day-reports were sent to the mainframe in regular, expected intervals indicating nothing out of the ordinary,“ she continues, „Yet the security footage of the hidden cameras shows that Captain Aranian Velten, commonly know as Slicer, took matters into his own hand.“

The screen flashes and now shows various stills and video snippets of Slicer’s meetings with his Chief of Science, Lappor Poporon.

„Thanks to the valuable work of our language unit we managed to create transcripts of the conversations between Slicer and his Chief of Science.“

Again the screen flashes and displays the transcripts with the most important parts marked in red. Meanwhile, the official pictures of Slicer and Lappor appear onscreen.

„As all of you can read, it seems Slicer and his Chief of Science plotted against the Empress and therefore the entire Empire. This, in turn, jeopardises all reports and logs made by Slicer and his team. We cannot trust them. Therefore, he’s considered along the rest of his crew a traitor to Her Imperial Highness, which goes hand in hand with the elimination of his existence from the records once he and all those connected to this incident have been dealt with.“

Cheers and sneers echo through the audience. Using the pause, Laapis takes another sip. At the same time, she wishes to pull down the gill-protector around her neck, so she can sprinkle some water on her drying gills. I hate this, she thinks and clears her throat. Mere seconds later the audience falls silent.

„This isn’t all,“ she announces, „As all of you know the Starblazer was destroyed just a few days ago. Whereas Slicer’s whereabouts are still unknown, another problem presents itself in the form of the loss of the weapon due to said destruction. We do not know if it survived the destruction or not. Not to speak about its whereabouts. All we have in terms of a lead are the Safemode-Protocols, also knows as SP's, autogenerated by the Starblazer’s board computer. But since the Starblazer was still running with an old system, some of those SP's aren't accessible with most of our current equipment. As we speak, all available technicians are currently reformatting those protocols. They will be soon available.“

As she points up, the autogenerated protocols appear to show the crew the problem.

The images change again a few seconds later. This time to distorted camera footage showing the destruction of the Starblazer by oily tentacles.

„As all of you can see, the Starblazer was attacked by a creature of the deep void. We do not know what species it was but what remains clear is the fact it destroyed the ship. Yet before it was fully destroyed the board computers recognised three life-ships departing the Starblazer at different points. The first ejected shortly after the first blow. The second ejected some time later, shortly after the life-support of the Starblazer had been severely damaged, rendering huge parts of the ship hazardous. And the third one ejected just mere seconds before the Starblazer had been terminated in its entirety. We have all the reasons to believe that Slicer and his Chief of Science have boarded one of them. If they took the weapon or not is still up for debate.“

Again the Menkar below her fall into short-lived murmurs, but Laapis ignores them and continues to speak, which makes the whole auditorium fall silent within heartbeats.

„Before the Starblazer went under attack one of the crew members was marked a traitor. A Bladedancer called Respin Gloomer.“

The official picture of said Menkar appears on the screen and makes Laapis stop for a moment. Looking up she can’t believe this hornless, weak looking Menkar to betray anyone. This face might not be the one I associate with a traitor, she remarks just like every time she has seen his face before. But I'm in no position to question such a thing. No one is.

„As far as our knowledge goes,” she continues, „We presume due to more than one life-ship departing that he and a few other crew members must have survived as well. All of them are now designated as traitors and deserters. Still, they and both Slicer and his Chief of Science are to be arrested alive to be brought immediately before the High Court of Cetus to be judged accordingly. Deadly force shall only be used should the need arise. In addition, the lost weapon has to be found again and reclaimed if possible but remember to stay cautious as we do not know the extent of its powers. For further questions, please refer to the detailed logs of this report as well as the original protocols and logs of the Starblazer. All data connected to this incident — all marked under The Starblazer Incident with the case number #141172-21B — can be accessed via the central-unit-database as usual. On a site note, the prohibition of the mentioning of the Starblazer and Starblazer Class have been lifted but only for and among those currently present. Now get back to work!“

As fast as possible the Menkar in the auditorium disperse while speaking about the incident. The murmurs dwindled along their numbers. Laapis remains in front of the screen now displaying the coat of arms of the Empire — two giant sea-serpents eating each other with a star in the middle between those creatures.

Laapis can not help but look up again to the giant tank of the Empress, but her imposing shadow has vanished. What am I even expecting, Laapis muses smiling. The Empress has more important matters to attend to than a minor briefing. I should be grateful she has shown up, no matter for how long. All I can do is hope I’ve acted to her highest satisfaction.

Just as the majority of the Elite Laapis is born an Aquatic Drone. Being hatched as a female aquatic Drone means to decide early on if one wants to live or die. Laapis had chosen life and cut her fins as a sign of her loyalty to the Empress and the Empire. While this act among her diligence and other important factors secured her position as Second Steward of the Leviathan — the third highest Titel after the Empress and the First Steward of the Leviathan — she can’t allow herself to slack in any way, shape or form. No matter how hard she works and how often she proves her loyalty to the Empress, just one minor hick-up could be enough to cause her termination. And just like every other Menkar of her status, Laapis works hard to not jeopardise her life.

—

Once the last Menkar has left the auditorium Laapis sighs and collects her belongings. After a moment of consideration, she takes another sip, while undoing the basic military gill-protector issued to all crucial members of the Fleet. Once the protector is down, she sprinkles the remainder of her water onto her gills. Relieved from the nasty dryness her gills are prone to develop, she allows herself a moment of indulgence before she goes down the stairs of the podium.

As she steps down the last step, she is greeted by a male Aquatic Drone about a head taller than her, which is rather unusual for males. His name is Maurus Serdan, but he is commonly known as Madeyes due to his different coloured irises — one light-grey the other bright red. He and Laapis know each other since Morphlinghood.

„Hey there, Shark,“ he greets her. „Nice report although the news could be better.“

„How often have I told you not to call me that?“ she asks in return, annoyed that he used her nickname. „Also, if you want good news, then find and bring me information about Slicer, Gloomer and the other deserters. Or, more importantly, gather more information about the whereabouts of the weapon. The Empress yearns to own the location of this thing and I, as her trusted and loyal Steward, want to be the one to bring this weapon to her. If you’ve nothing else to say or do, I want you to get back to work. Now!“

„What are you thinking of me, Laapis?“, Maurus replies smirking and hands her a folder, „I’ve gathered a few pieces of information on the Cult of the Pale God. It seems they currently have a campsite around the Valonian Desert, gathering more followers by the second.”

Laapis hisses through her sharp teeth and fans through the folder. Despite the many pages, this dossier says little more than what Maurus has told her just now. The majority of pages only consist of numbers, backing his claim up, as well as some suspicions and theories.

It is the same as usual.

More questions than answers.

Laapis sighs and looks at Maurus over the brim of her glasses.

„There is still no knowledge about the god this cult is so fascinated with?”, she asks.

„None,” he replies shrugging. „All we know is the blood colour. While those of the Science Unit have checked various species with red blood, they couldn't confirm any as being especially… god-like.”

Laapis hisses again and looks back down on the dossier in her hands. Suddenly, her eyes catch a small note at the end.

„Is this correct?“ she asks Maurus. „They have a Queen Mother among their followers?“

„Sadly I couldn't confirm this claim,“ answers Maurus with a frown. „I couldn't even find out if this Queen Mother is still the same their so-called god has chosen or not. For now, all and everything about her is just a rumour. Yet if this Queen Mother turns out to be the real deal it's not only the Cult that gets a problem but the Empress as well. I wonder how much the leader of the Cult even knows about Queen Mothers. If he knows anything, that is.“

„It does not matter what they think to know or not to know, they are first and foremost dangerous lunatics who need to be eradicated,“ Laapis says and closes the folder.

With determination seeping from her body almost like a visible substance, she starts to walk to her office while Maurus follows her.

„Gather more information,” she orders without looking any other direction but ahead. „This rumour, true or not, might be useful to us.“

„Understood,“ Maurus replies and bows. „Anything else I might be of service to you? We could go to one of the cafeterias and talk for a bit.“

„Find someone else to waste time with“, she retorts cold and unlocks the heavy security door of her office.

„I know you don’t really mean it,“ he hums. „You were happy to have someone to talk to a few months ago when the rebellion in this imperial colony on this backwater planet had almost succeeded.“

„Do not test my patience and good will, Madeyes,“ she answers with an angry snarl and pulls her ears back as a warning. „That was just a relapse into unproductive behaviour I can’t allow myself to repeat. I'm the best Second Steward the Leviathan has ever seen; therefore I cannot waste my time dwelling on emotions.“

„Why do I even ask?“, he wonders with a sad smile. „But should you need a shoulder to lean on, I'll always be there for you. After all, we’re still… friends, even if you don't want to admit it.“

She frowns at his words and makes a displeased sound. It is always a mystery to her how Maurus always manages to find the right words to hit home. It angers her as much as it makes a part of her innermost being hurt. At least he hasn’t said Bondmates…

„I don't have time to waste with sentimental crap,” she says as much to herself as to him. „As Second Steward, my top most priority is to protect the Empress and listen to and fulfil her every wish without hesitation or doubt.”

For a Moment Maurus seems to want to tell her something, but he keeps his mouth closed. While Laapis feels grateful in a small part, the rest of her feels terrible — a part she has hoped to have left behind on Cetus along with her fins but which always returns to cause her problems and regrets. Regrets Laapis has learned to push away as everything in the way of her line of work.

„Go now,” she tells Maurus without the usual pressure.

„I will,” he responds and bows slightly in front of her. „But if you ever need someone to talk to… Well… You know where to find me.”

Laapis closes the door without watching him depart. There is no need for sentimentality, she reminds herself and looks at her desk. On said desk are more than enough reasons to keep focused. Almost fully covered by paperwork, folders, and reports it is a wonder she still finds enough space to actually do her work.

Frowning she goes up to the desk and sits down. While her computer boots up, she looks through some stacks and adds the dossier Maurus has given her to the pile considering the Cult. Judging by the size of the heap, the Cult of the Pale God has become the biggest one.

After Laapis has entered her password into the computer, her gaze wanders to the stack considering the Starblazer-Incident. Just one cut more in the fins, she muses and sighs before turning her attention to her computer.