Truce of Hope [FT, Closed]

[Achesia]

We were so close together, but the twilight has a different color now.

The abundance of kindness only keeps a distance between us.

Our coldly ignored hearts are wandering in the midst.

If this awkwardness is what it's like to live,
we shall close our eyes under the cold sky.

Even though we were so close together, We can't even get a word across between our increasing distances.

Even though we were so close together, the twilight has a different color now.

Please, give us a quiet sleep under the moon light, if it is the last thing possible.

If you are going to cope with fate, you can't go on saying you are sad or lonely.
Even if it means to break the links of words we have made together, you would still want to say goodbye to the dull nights.

Even though they were so close together,
the unmatched couple have no place they can reach.

Even though we were so close together, in a glimpse of your new face, I am fascinated, almost as though it is strange, almost enough that I would feel uneasiness.

Where lye our hearts? Where are we drifting off to? So that our eyes do not become lost.
Even though we were so close together,
We can't even get a word across between our increasing distances.

Even though we were so close together, the twilight has a different color now.

Please, give us a quiet sleep under the moon light, if it is the last thing possible.

The song had been something of a light to Darian Art’s dark soul as he sat front row in the massive theater. The stage was just a few short feet before him, and between the soft ambient and flashing lights that danced around the words of that melancholy yet uplifting song danced a girl who upstaged even her own angelic voice. Her dyed violet hair and genetically modified electric blue eyes played with the theatrical lights of the stage as she flowed about in perfect harmony with her tone.

“A beautiful girl isn’t she, a heiress to a great house much like you Sire.” A bald fat senator of the conclave had leaned in to add his raspy two cents to the song which his harsh Bastionite accent cut thin. It nearly annoyed Darian enough to clench a white gloved fist, yet like much of his reaction outwardly to anything he showed little emotion. Not even the song which touched down to a part of his soul not visited since his indoctrination into the war moved Darian’s expression to more than a polite smirk and lightly palmed clap with the rest of the audience who cheered something near fanfair levels.

Being in the front row with the rest of the politicians, nobles, and officials alike, anything beyond a firm clap or even a brief standing ovation would be a touch out of the ordinary. Of course the fat senator who had been to his right was his host that night, inviting him to enjoy the Bastion Celestial Symphony with VIP status as they took in the sounds and lights of a venue known throughout the quadrant.

Most of the performances had been rather boring to the young soldier, his time in the Achesian Vanguard Forces making him rather numb to the indulgences that a normal citizen would find stimulating. But this last act, this violet haired fair skinned girl certainly struck a small spark inside him, though he would never show it outwardly.

“Yes she is lovely. A wonderful voice.” Whether Darian was trying to mask his true fire for the girl’s performance and appearance or he was being his blank and uninterested self the casual observer would not know. The senator Bard Bontiface from the state of Litoria certainly did not know, nor did he read much into the young Resoute’s reaction. Be it because he had little care outside his own enjoyment or he was too drunk on Esthorian wine.

“Yes, Keira Star Marianna is an idol for good reason, I have seen her perform dozens of times at venues throughout the Cosmic Bastion.” Bard gave a hearty laugh as he sipped his blue cocktail between songs as the theater drones reset the scene on the glass stage under which shined the light of the starry sky (a projection of the sky above the city rather than the actual starry sky Darian was used to).
“Did I mention she was an heiress? One of the only children of the Marianna family, a well to do Achesian noble house here on Bastion.” He had sipped once more, the blue of the drink staining his fat upper lip. An odd look over the brim of his glass at the red uniformed Darian who sat with white gloved hands in lap and a discontented expression of boredom and deres.

“I believe you have.” Darian said uncaring, not bothering to look at the senator.

“Ah yes, when you become my age you will retell and tell stories again.” A deep laugh left him once more before his eyes grew wide. “Or will you??!” He leaned forward in his cush chair causing it to squeak under his weight. “it is rather popular of such noble housed as yours to erm… enhance their children… err but no matter, how rude of me to interject myself on such matters.”

Darian had been all but ignoring the senator by this time. It had been true what he said, the Art family being part of the Resolute caste did practice the old way of genetic modifications on their children. A trait that when accumulated over generations over hundreds of years made them a breed unto themselves. But it was no business of a Bastionite, a non-Achesian.

“I tell you this story because my motive for bringing you here is quite untold, I do apologize.” The senator returned to a very lucid and serious tone to Darian’s evident surprise. The boy turned his black haired covered head towards the senator with a quizzical look, the gold piping of his dark red dress uniform pushing into his skin.
“As she is an heiress, of the Mariannan family..” Bard swirled his cocktail round his glass as he spoke. “... she is also unbetrothed… a rarity for a girl of both her birth and stardom.”

“And this should mean something to me senator?” Darian shook his head.

It was answered with another hearty laugh from deep within the lungs of the senator.
“Oh no no no! It should mean nothing to you, the son of a prominent Achesian noble family who is also unbetrothed, nothing at all!” The senator continued to laugh and sip.
“No, even with you being a star in your military exploits you could not hope to come across a better choice to be your betrothed, whether you care for such thing or not. No you both would only stand to be a shining symbol of Achesian family, tradition, and culture, the hero warrior and the star songstress.” He had playfully dabbed his eyes as if crying. “Oh the imagery, the inspiration. I couldn’t imagine it.”

Darian looked down at his gloves. She was very beautiful, angelic even. But could he spare time for such foolishness, he was a warrior of high rank and strategic importance in the Achesian Vanguard, he was needed for the war.

“Your father approves, and I know Ms Marianna’s father well and I know he would approve. It only takes you meeting her, which I may have planted the seeds of such encounter already.” The senator had coyly sipped his glass, an expression of scheme and victory Darian would remember.

The lights around the stage returned to their vibrancy as the performance was about to begin again. Keria Star Marianna walked across the stage once more in a new elegant purple and white dress that skirted across the starry stage like a ship through space. Darian was transfixed at her grace, a condition the senator picked up on immediately.

Keria Star looked over in the direction the senator and Darian were sitting, and with a subtle nod from Bard Boniface, Keria smiled and waved to the audience who reacted in great fanfare.

“Thank you!” She said in her soft yet high voice as she bowed deeply. “Thank you for listening and being so wonderful tonight.” Keria struck an emotional tone with her words. Whether she was sincere and just that light hearted for emotion to strike her, or she was a good enough actress to pull off such an expression, Darian could not tell.

Between soft tears of happiness Keria managed to move on with the show.

“Thank you also to all those here in uniform, those of our militarum that fight this galactic war against those creatures who would harm our human race. In fact we have a special guest here today I want to personally thank!” Keria walked towards the stage which just sat a foot above the level which Darian sat.
“Sur Darian T Art.” She stretched out her hand motioning to the surprised boy who sat frozen his chair. “knight of the 5th Order of FAITH, and pilot of mobile suit Deliberate Virtue!”

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers as Keria bent down to Darian’s level, she beckoned Darion to walk over as she bent towards his level. As he complied with her request and approached the stage came to Darian’s abdomen as he looked up at the violet haired girl who smiled downwards at him. Her elegant dress that was fashioned in such extravagant ways that it swept around her as she came eye to eye with the boy who stood in a tense attention like stance before her.

“Thank you.” She had said to him, it was a soft expression of gratitude, her mic muted or off as her soft whisper stayed between them. As the crowd had continued to cheer and Darian looked up at the beautiful starlett as he noticed Keria starting to lean in ever so close. Darian almost thought for a moment that she knew more about this possible engagement between them than he did as she looked to be aiming to planet her lips on his, but instead to the great pleasure of the crowd, Keria Star Marianna gave him a elongated peck on his cheek.

The young knight of the Achesian Vanguard turned almost as red as his uniform as the crowd cheered. Keria had given him a longing smile before she rose to her feet and walked back towards the center of the stage. The audience was eating up every moment of the star singer, darling of the Achesian entertainment scene, and a storied mobile suit pilot and the romantic kiss that night. Darian himself was lost in that peck, plopping back in his chair he only stared at her for the rest of the night. The Senator had a pleased expression about him, his personal mission to garner favor with two powerful Achesian houses a success that night.

He carried the warmth of her lips on his cheek even as he boarded the Valiant Banner battlecruiser the next morning in preparation for their deployment. Stepping across the gangway carrying only a small briefcase he returned the salute of the two guards on either side of the cruiser's hatch. The usually mission focused Darian now lost in the thoughts of the previous night, and the haunting kiss from his alleged betrothed.

[Azura and Montemayor]

Volix
Chlacht System
Neutral Space

The small kedeshi mining outpost on the rocky and barren moon of Volix was almost invisible to the naked eye when in orbit. Crew on Union ships could barley spot it when it was shown on screens in the command information center, even when the ship computers would show its exact location. Its size and exterior material, a metal with a dull brown tint pieced together in an uneven fashion and worn away to make a rough surface, aided in its inconspicuousness by making it look as similar to the surface of Volix as was possible. Further camouflaging was always a possibility, but those in charge of the project thought it a waste of resources and an unnecessary threat to the security and secrecy of the outpost.

Volix, one of the eleven moons of the gas giant Fexum, was the fourth largest and second closest to the gas giant in its orbit. The resource composition of the moon made it a prime candidate for a mining outpost in the otherwise vacant system. Its size and location only made it more attractive when the higher-ups in the Directorate of Resource Planning began to search for potential locations for mining operations in neutral systems close to Union space.

That was how Lieutenant Fourlek found himself organizing duties for the thirty-nine soldiers under his command that were now stationed on the outpost. They had arrived a month ago, having taken a multi-day journey in FTL from the Reilash system aboard the Vax-class fleet destroyer the GUS Xadara. His platoon was one of four on Xadara, collectively making up a company under the command of Major Klandrax. Xadara had been accompanied by another Vax-class, Xobbon, which was also complimented with a company of space infantry. How he and his platoon had been unlucky enough to be the one platoon stationed on the outpost on Volix he didn’t know. While he was the leader of Klandrax’s Delta Platoon, he didn’t believe that Klandrax thought any less of them than the other three platoons under his command.

His primary task now was organizing patrols through the outpost and keeping the soldiers under his command on their best behavior. Truth be told, there wasn’t much that he nor the other soldiers on the outpost were able to do. The seemingly endless patrols through the mostly empty corridors of the outpost only accomplished one thing: making the civilian workers feel safe. There had been a few occasions where they had been needed to break up fights between the workers or carry out punishments, but otherwise they were only there for show. He had been told that he and those under him were there in the unlikely event that the outpost was found and enemy combatants attempted to take the outpost for themselves. To simplify it, they were there to defend against pirates. Any hostile military from any of the nearby territories likely wouldn’t care to keep the outpost and would instead destroy it from orbit. Pirates, on the other hand, could find the base to be a wonderful source of resources and a potential hideaway.

“One month down already, Corporal. Only two more long and painful months until we can get out of here.” Fourlek was on a patrol with two of his men, Corporal Toxodal and Private Ropodom. While he could have settled for sitting in an office all day doing absolutely nothing, he thought it better to be out among the rest of the stations occupants making himself seen. It helped the moral of the soldiers under him, he believed, having them know that he was out there suffering through the long, drawn out days just like they were.

The corporal had been grumbling, much like the rest, about how little there was for them to do. The outpost wasn’t a warship that had areas for exercising and other recreational activities. It was a small base on a small moon on the outskirts of a neutral system. There was little to do other than your job, and when you were off shift you would either be eating or sleeping. Socializing with civilian crew was easy enough, but it was more common that the soldiers would be found talking amongst themselves in their free time rather than with the workers.

Fleet High Command had ships sent out on three month shifts, meaning that in two months when Xadara and Xobbon left he and the rest of his platoon would be leaving as well. Another unfortunate platoon would then be assigned to the outpost for three months, and then another after that. Fourlek had no idea how long it would last. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that he could find himself back on Volix again sometime in the future.

“I know, Lieutenant. I just wish it wasn’t this boring. Give me something to shoot at and I’ll be happy.” Toxodal had been serving with Fourlek aboard Xadara for almost a year now. A member of the second section of Alpha Squad, Fourlek and Toxodal had been working close together ever since the corporal was assigned to the fleet destroyer.

“Didn’t the recruiters tell you that serving in space wouldn’t be all fun and games?” Fourlek questioned. “Constantly trapped in a metal tube in space going so fast that if it hits a rock any bigger than your fist you’ll be dead instantly. Only actually getting to breathe fresh air once every month or two if you’re lucky.” There had been several times aboard Xadara where Fourlek hadn’t breathed fresh air for several months at a time. This was one of those instances. As long as everything went as planned, which almost never happened, it would be almost four months between him stepping on an actual inhabited planet with fresh, non-recycled air.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, which was probably for the best. I wasn’t going to serve time in one of the labor camps.” Toxodol had had a less than pleasant childhood. Having been abandoned by his parents at an early age, he had been left to fend for himself in Mirikul, the capital city on Netraxia, the world that kedeshi used as the home for the Union government. He had told Fourlek several stories about his exploits while growing up, many of which would have gotten him arrested had he been found out. He never told the story about what he had done to actually be arrested, and Fourlek never asked. Toxodol didn’t seem like a bad man, just someone who had been given a shit place in the galaxy. Fourlek wasn’t certain that, had he been in the same position, he wouldn’t have acted the same way.

“Probably,” Fourlek agreed. He knew what would have waited Toxodol in one of the labor camps on Netraxia. The government and courts were very strict when it came to enforcing the law, and someone like Toxodol, who had no money or noteworthy place in society, would stand no chance in defending himself. Having been found guilty for whatever it was that he did, he would have been given two choices, like many who find themselves in the same position: time in a labor camp or time in the military. Like many, Toxodol had chosen the military.

A former slave species, the kedeshi had been discovered by the Dethakkan prior to achieving FTL technology. The kedeshi at the time had no hope of defending themselves against a species with such superior technology. They fought and lost, and the result was arguably worse than if they had just been killed. The species were made slaves of the Dethakkan, taken from their homeworld of Kluxared and spread throughout the Dethakkan empire. Subject to harassment, both physical and mental, the kedeshi suffered for centuries under their oppressors. That was, until they rose up. Several previous attempts at rebelling had been put down, all of those suspected of supporting the rebels killed indiscriminately. The last attempt succeeded however, thanks to outside help. The rebels had been armed and assisted by one of the Dethakkan’s primary rivals, the Melian Hegemony, and with their assistance the kedeshi were able to finally throw off their chains and take control of their lives. How they did it was subject to much controversy, having decided that the only way to truly secure their freedom was to slaughter any Dethakkan that was found. The resulting genocide lasted for almost a century, and some could argue it was still ongoing. The government now believed the worst punishment they could give to criminals was to take away that freedom that so many had fought and died for. Putting them in labor camps, subjecting them to the same harassment that so many of the species had suffered for so long. The scum of society didn’t deserve to reap the rewards of freedom and independence if they desired to violate the Union’s laws.

“At least in one of the camps I’d have something to do,” Toxodol joked.

“More likely that you would have died in an accident by now,” Ropodom quipped. Ropodom was also a new addition to Fourlek’s platoon, having been assigned only a week before Xadara departed for the Chlacht system.

“Right, an ‘accident,’” Fourlek commented, emphasizing the last word. There were never official reports of how many kedeshi died in labor camps, but mostly everyone accepted that there must be deaths. The stories everyone had heard about the camps made it seem impossible for there not to be.

“I’d much rather be here,” Toxodol said sincerely this time. “This is probably one of the best things that could have happened.”

Fourlek had to agree. He had noticed a change in Toxodol since they had met almost a year ago. He seemed happier and civil when interacting with others, not to mention he showed exemplary skill in marksmanship. Because of his past he would likely never be promoted past Corporal, but he seemed content where he was currently and, Fourlek assumed, probably knew that he was as far as he would get in the military. He had another four years to serve until he was legally allowed to return to civilian life, but he had said many times to Fourlek in private that he wanted to remain in the service.

“Damn straight. Gotta suffer with the rest…” Fourlek was interrupted by a beeping in his ear and a small blinking light in the bottom left of his vision. A sign that someone was attempting to contact him through his uplink. Each member of the military, whether Fleet, Army, or Spaceborne Infantry, were implanted with a device that allowed them to wirelessly communicate to nearby individuals who had compatible implants or uplink to a network like a Fleet ship, station, or outpost that would then give them access to a number of features otherwise unavailable.

“What is it?” he asked, blinking twice quickly to open the communication channel. His two companions turned to look at him questioningly, but he pointed to his head to let them know he was communicating via his uplink.

“Lieutenant, it’s Kirax. I need you to report to operations. There’s something I need to speak with you about.” Kirax was the civilian administrator on the outpost, and technically the only person on the base that Fourlek reported to.

“Of course, I’m close already. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Fourlek out.” Fourlek closed the communications channel and turned to look at the other two soldiers with him. “Kirax,” he explained. “Needs me in operations. I take it you two will be able to handle the rest of this patrol on your own?”

“I don’t know Lieutenant,” Ropodom feigned caution. “I’m not sure we can continue to operate effectively without your guidance.”

“You’re a real smartass, you know that?” Fourlek laughed. He had a close relationship with many of those in his platoon, and joking amongst each other in private was common.

“You have told me that many times, sir,” Ropodom had a big smile on his face. “I would never dare question your judgement.”

“Rightly so, Private. Corporal.” Fourlek nodded to both of them and turned back to return down the corridor that the group had just walked up. It took him only three minutes to get back to the operations center, the entrance guarded by two members of his platoon.

Fourlek entered the operations center and glanced around the room. It wasn’t a large room and was packed full of equipment. Data terminals were arranged around the room leaving just enough space for individuals to get around and between them. Screens were mounted on the walls of the circular room all around, only stopping where there were exits. There was almost no one there, even with how small the room was. He counted five including Kirax who had spotted him and was now squeezing his way between terminals to get to him. The place seemed extremely understaffed.

“Lieutenant! Glad you could make it here so quickly. No trouble getting here I presume?” Kirax joked. When he had first taken control of the outpost he had insisted that there was no need to have soldiers stationed aboard. ’It’s perfectly safe,’ he had said. ’No one is going to find us out here.’ Fourlek personally agreed, but mostly because he didn’t want to have to deal with Kirax. It wasn’t up to him, however, and he had been ordered to remain on the outpost until his ship was to be rotated out and sent back to Union space.

“No more than usual, sir.” Despite being a civilian, Kirax was still the outpost administrator, which technically put Fourlek and the rest of his platoon under Kirax’s command.

“Wonderful. Just another day where your presence is not necessary.” Kirax said it with a smile on his face, yet Fourlek knew it wasn’t meant in jest, no matter how much Kirax made it seem like it was. It hadn’t taken Fourlek long to realize that the constant demeaning comments that Kirax passed off as jokes were no more than veiled snide comments. Fourlek had been informed before he boarded his shuttle from Xadara to the outpost that Kirax had grown to distrust the military during a temporary stint in military custody. Fourlek suspected that the time in custody had been less than pleasant.

Fourlek didn’t respond to the comment, opting instead to remain silent. He was sure that his expression showed that he was less than amused. He had considered lodging a complaint with his Major back on Xadara after all of the harrasment, but he knew that it would go nowhere, so had refrained from doing so.

“Don’t look so depressed, Lieutenant. You know I don’t mean it.“ He did. “Anyway, I have some news.” Kirax turned away from Fourlek and gestured to one of the screens on the walls. This one was much larger than several of the others. It showed a map of the Chlacht system, the sections of the system that were currently being actively scanned were slightly brighter than the rest. Currently, there was a large swath of space around Volix that was brighter, as well as a large oval of space further in-system by a portion of the asteroid belt. Inside of the oval were two bright blue dots, each representing one of the fleet destroyers that were currently stopped at the mining outpost in the asteroid belt. A thin dotted line was currently extending from each of the dots that went off only to end where the screen did.

“As you can see,” Kirax continued, “They’ll be here in a few days.” The line was adjusting constantly, indicating that the ships were performing maneuvers to get on a course to Volix. “Captain Kaxurin notified me of their plan to return to Volix a short time ago, and I thought it appropriate to notify you of the change in plans.”

Xadara and its accompanying ship Xobbon were due to take a two week expedition further in-system and then out to several of the other planets in the system for surveillance purposes. Their abrupt change in plans was unusual, to say the least. “Did the Captain explain why they are returning?”

“She did not. I asked, but she gave me a nonanswer. Either way, best to be prepared for when they arrive. We have no idea what they may be bringing with them.”

Fourlek snuck a sideways glance at Kirax. He looked grim. Is he worried? Fourlek asked himself. What could have been discovered in the asteroid belt that would concern him? Fourlek had been stationed on Volix for a month, and since then the duo of fleet destroyers had been back and forth between the two outposts numerous times. As far as he knew, nothing out of the ordinary had occurred since Xadara and Xobbon had left Volix last time.

Once again, Fourlek opted to remain silent. Questioning the administrator would only result in him being told numerous lies and further drive a wedge between the two. He decided that he would have to keep a closer eye on Kirax and those around him.

“You know,” Kirax said, breaking the silence. “I’ve heard rumors that this outpost and the one in the asteroid belt are simply the first step in the government officially declaring the system a part of Union space.” Kirax’s previous position in the Stellar Assembly had earned him a number of friends, some of which were much more influential than he had been. His loss of re-election due to a scandal involving him and suspicious financing from a private company that ended up being Achesian-owned limited his future career opportunities, and now he served as the civilian head of the outpost. A job no doubt given to him by one of his previous colleagues in the government.

Lieutenant Fourlek said nothing at first, simply looking at Kirax with an uninterested expression. Kirax heard many things, very few of which ever ended up being true. By the time the whispers arrived from the Union capital world to Kirax, they were almost always distorted many times over and far from what had been said originally. “Is that so?” Fourlek asked rhetorically, turning away from Kirax to look at a screen on the wall showing energy levels for the mining drills.

“Yes, Lieutenant,” he continued, not taking the hint. “Give it a few more months. This system will be crawling with ships setting up more outposts. Few more months after that you can expect the heavy equipment. Stations being constructed, even terraformers. I hear that one of the terrestrial world further in-system is ripe for terraforming.”

“All terrestrial worlds are ripe for terraforming if you’re willing to wait long enough.” Fourlek had previously been stationed for a time on Kutel, a planet covered in ice and snow that was in the process of being terraformed. Why the government had decided that it was worth the time, effort, and cost to terraform was beyond him, but he wasn’t paid to make the big decisions. However, it had been one of the worst places he had been stationed during his entire time in the Union military, and he had been extremely pleased when he had received new orders. Kedeshi preferred planets that were warm and humid. The cold, dry air of Kutel had hurt his throat. Every breath he took outside, during the short period of time it was deemed safe to not be fully insulated by his armor suit, made him feel like he was freezing from the inside out.

“Well, actually, that’s not necessarily…” Kirax continued to drone on and on, seeming to take no notice of the fact that the Lieutenant was no longer listening to him.

“Sir,” Fourlek cut him off five minutes into his lengthy explanation of which types of planets were eligible for terraforming. “If you would excuse me, I need to get back to the patrols.”

“Oh yes, of course, of course.” Kirax waved him off. “We can continue with this discussion at another time.”