“Here ...” it was an actual book and not some data chip that she had handed her sister. “You're the reader.”

“This isn't that great.”

“You read it?”

“No, but the title?”

“What's it say? You know I can't read Hel'Corian.”

“With both Cinder and Inar as crew you have the opportunity to learn.”

“Pass. What's it say?”

“Well now I'm not telling you, sis.”



Wow, had it been that long ago? Eight years back now. She wondered about the title and made a note to ask Inar when she saw him. It was far more likely she would see 92 first and have the droid translate for her. She was reminiscing about the past when her sister was free. No Mercer. No Vespira. She shook her head at what became of her. Had it been eight years since?

Getting ready to put the book back on the shelf a piece of parchment fell out of it. Parchment …. well it was a book. She stooped, puzzled she studied it then took it and the book to 92.

“Translation: Beyond the Void. And this? This is a treasure map apparently to find the … I'm sorry Mistress, I cannot make out that word. It looks like riches but also looks as if someone smudged it too.”

“Well … Krissy's indisposed of for a bit so let's get plotting a course.”

“We?”

“You read this stuff, I don't. The advantages of owning a droid, you can load it with all manner of things you don't know. I don't see why Selena would think something entitled Beyond the Void would be boring.”

“Void means something entirely different to Hel'Corians it actually means -”

“Doesn't matter. Let's see where this map takes us.”

I drifted on the edge of consciousness, dreaming of the final days. Nemesis craft continued their relentless advance on the nestworld. Brimstarre was besieged and we fought tirelessly to defend her, but the battle was hopeless. My cruiser was cracked open by concentrated pusle-wave fire and I tumbled into darkness, battered, burned and dying.

Then the incredible light, the voices in my mind.

We can rebuild you . . . The Drakken will endure, if you wish it

"Yes, do it!" I spoke, though there was no sound. I thought I was already dead, but the promise of renewed life lured me.

Very well, Vorgamnon; you shall be last and first of your kind . . . Darkness and the long sleep took me.

Something pulled at my consciousness now, calling me from my slumber; a feeling of imminent arrival. Slowly I became aware of my surroundings. A moment of panic as I found myself trapped in some crystal shell. Then it cracked and fell away. I stretched from my fetal position, somewhat surprised that my limbs were not cramped or sore.

In fact, everything felt new and whole. Incredibly I was alive! The Makers had delivered. I stood and raised my arms to the heavens, shouting my triumph, but there was no sound. Had I been rendered mute? But no . . . I had felt the vibration in my throat and faintly in my ears. How could this be?

Suddenly, I realized I wasn't breathing. There was no air! Yet I felt no discomfort. As I stood, dumbfounded, the itch of expectation played through my mind again and I found my gaze drawn to the sky. Stars twinkled clearly in the void, but gone were the great nubulae of old. Where was I? When was I?

A sudden flare caught my attention. A shooting star? Not possible. It took me a moment to realize I was looking at some sort of craft entering the system. Moreover, I had known exactly where to look for it. Still bemused, I simply stared at the ship as it approached.

Her ship dropped into real space as they finally closed in on the planet. Just another few hours. In system there were too many gravity wells to avoid so she had dropped to impulse, though once she was clear of the asteroid field it was easy sailing to the planet.

She orbited it a few times doing sensor readings of what seemed to be a barren world. No oxygen but the gravity seemed comparable to her home world of Hadante. She would go back to the instruments and study the findings.

Thermal energy from active volcanoes near one was a single settlement mostly buried in ash and rock. It was the only place on the planet and she scanned it thoroughly. The architecture was old, but somewhat intact.

Hel'Corian … there was probably a colony here at one stage or another though the settlement was small the buildings were permanent, stone for the most part. She sighed though it was unlikely that they would find anything in that mess even if they had the right equipment it might take years.

“We can't find anything there ...” Unless something stuck out on the sensors …

“The map makes little mention of the place save for as using it as a starting point. The treasure is about ten clicks from here.”

“Slang? Have I updated your language packages?”

“The latest was with the sign language of the Fahr nearly a year back.”

She considered it. Perhaps 92 was learning slang on his own or was approaching this like a military operation. She dismissed it for now and had him land. Gearing up in her self contained bounty hunter armor rather than the space suit just encase (she hated bounty hunters as most everyone from her outlaw world did though she loved some of their equipment). It was unlikely anyone was out there though she grabbed a few things, some basic tools and with the communications in her helmet she could stay in touch. She took her plasma pistol and blaster rifle having a retractable blade in the right gauntlet of the armor. She left the grenades and such figuring she wouldn't need any of it. There were no energy readings elsewhere so someone hiding out here was unlikely.

“Stay here. Direct me over the comm.” Just encase she missed something into the system from another world it was a good idea not to be a sitting duck as she exited the ship and 92 locked up after her.

“Ten clicks, which direction?” She asked over the comm.

“North East,” came her answer so she headed out that way ...

I watched silently as the unknown craft approached my little world. Suddenly, I began to know things about it. Power output, speed and trajectory, armament (light), armor and shielding (heavy). Despite this, I still had no idea who or what might be at the helm. It certainly wasn't Drakken, but at least it didn't appear to be a Nemesis ship. I doubted the Makers need physical craft, so . . . some other species? Would they be friend or foe?

The ship disappeared over the horizon and I was tempted to follow, but doubted I could keep up on foot (I hadn't yet discovered I could fly . . .). Still, somehow, I thought the ship would be back; its orbital trajectory indicated a classic scanning pattern. Perhaps they would pick up my presence eventually.

Several hours passed as I scanned the skies; eventually my visitors reappeared, descending toward a spot I somehow knew was exactly 11.2 kilometers away (Even more strangely, I knew what a kilometer was and what distance it represented, though I had never heard of it before). I shook my head to clear the weirdness. That's when I heard voices in my mind.

A strange voice, yet obviously feminine, giving orders and asking for a heading. The words and terminology were alien to me, yet I understood them and instantly knew the female was headed my direction. Further, I knew somehow that I could 'speak' to my visitors in my mind, but I didn't do so . . . yet.

Stealth is not the Drakken way, but neither is blindly announcing oneself to a potential foe. So, I set out to find higher ground from where I might garner some more insight. A nearby ridge, one of many in this volcanic folded terrain, served well. Standing atop the rise, I scanned the badlands below, searching for movement.

She continued onward, the barren world seemed so mundane. No oxygen and no life unless the ship sensors failed to detect anything. At least there seemed to be no life on the surface and with the thermal energy she doubted there was any beneath the surface of the planet.

Even knowing that she continued onward sweeping the terrain with her blue eyes. This had been the better of the two suits she possessed so it was up to doing a bit more such as allowing the user to see in different light spectrums or view distances easier with a targeting computer with the HUD. Plus it had and in board communications that was currently linked with her ship.

A hiss, she spun around quickly training her blaster rifle on an area that ejected a stream of steam. The were several such steam vents and she had to be careful as she picked her way along.

“92, when do you calculate the next eruption in the area?”

“The nearest volcano is a safe distance away, Mistress.”

“Not the question.”

It got back to making some calculations. 92 has a distinct male voice though. “Thirty-nine hours, plus or minus an hour.”

Scorch nodded and relaxed the blaster again before carefully making her way along further cutting the distance down between her and her goal. “And it is close to that location?”

“Yes, though I could have tried to get closer with the ship.”

“Too dangerous with all these steam vents. I doubt they would breech the hull but could damage other components and we don't have many spare parts unless you're offering up some of yours.”

“No, Mistress.”

“I didn't think so. It's just steam but it seems to be escaping with quite the pressure, enough to possibly through off the ship and crash if we tried to land, probably only damaging the landing gear but better safe than sorry it's a long way from home.”

A plume of steam and more chatter I heard in my head. The female and a male - that I somehow knew was artificial. My eyes were drawn to a vent field five kilometers away. I stlill couldn'e make out much visually from such a distance, but I began to realize, I was hearing some sort of remote communications. I hesitated a moment more before breaking in on the channel. I didn't know what I was dealing with, but I needed information. And Drakken do not shy from potential conflict.

"I am Vogamnon, Commander, Drakken Armada," I stated, my thoughts translating over the communications link to be heard as my voice at the other end. "Identify yourself."

While I awaited a reply, I maneuvered for tactical advantage, closing on the female's position while remaining under cover. I moved carefully not so much to keep from being detected as to keep from presenting an easy target. Advancing steadily, i quickly identified a defensible position - several broken boulders sat atop an escarmpent with a gravelly slope facing toward the female's position. I took position and stood, ready to duck for cover if need be.

He was not the only one to take up a defensive position she did as well getting to the first defensible area that she could find. Unfortunately the best defensive are had many of those vents around it and she didn't care to be incinerated by scalding hot steam that shot out of the earth at such speeds it proved to be a risk to her own ship. True she could have flown higher but some of those geysers of steam had traveled miles into the area and they were easier to detect on foot. If several were together the sensors might pick them up as one vent rather then several in the same area. At least on foot see could actually see the holes of the vents and felt a warming of the air before they shot off though she would get the later from her sensors.

There had been no life signs that she had picked up on the planet. Sensor mask? Was there a pirate base here on the planet?”

Getting down behind some rocks she felt to exposed. To the East there was a slope that rose up to higher ground and tactically she would deploy from there. There was too much empty space to make it there in a hurry so all she could do right now was cover the spot.

With little cover from here to there it was to risky to make that dash.

“Destiny Imladris,” she returned. Armada … maybe not pirates but she had never heard of the Drakken so perhaps this was a pirate armada. She needed more information. But she did not know who he was so making a reference to Scorch or the Iron Vulture pirates may have been a bad idea. “I was unaware that this was an inhabited world.”

Destiny? An interesting name. Some might say auspicious, but destinies could be both good and ill. It wasn't until I was pondering this that I realized I shouldn't have been able to understand her of her companion at all. I marveled again at what the Maker's had done. Was I really the same being?

"There are none here that I know of save myself," I replied. It was still strange that my thoughts became signals for her comm system to decode. Still, it seemed as if only what I wished to say was transferred. A blessing that . . . or great forethought on the part of the Makers.

"Still, it seems highly coincidental that you have landed nearby and your current heading will lead you strait to my . . . " What could I say? Egg? That's what it had seemed to be, but what would she make of that? " . . . home."

Suddenly I realized she shouldn't have been able to understand me, either. Yet I knew - had always known - that she could. How could I possibly be able to translate to and from an alien language I had never heard before? Another mystery for another time.

More plumes of steam caught my attention. The area this Destiny was in was dangerous. Though I was slightly suspicious of her purpose here, I had no reason to wish her ill as yet. Perhaps it was time for a show of good faith.

"The area you are in is unstable," I said. "If you move up the slope to your east, you will be on safer ground." It was probably odd to her that I knew her position and the terrain so precisely, but it was no less so for me. Another gift of the Makers. "I am on the next ridge over - I am unarmed." And so I was, so far as I knew at the time, though she probably had no way of determining if I spoke the truth. I stood calmly in plain sight as I waited for Destiny to accept my words or reject them.

Destiny was her real name., one she rarely used though Krisna used it or rather a pet name derived from it. She tried to make sense of this matter … an armada commander but no armada? Had he been stranded here? Had there been a mutiny?

She had considered this as a blast of steam smeared those nearby rocks at the mention that the area was unstable. She looked to the slope, either he was attempting to draw her out into the open or was being honest … the fact that he had known where she was, he could have sniped down on her position with a degree of ease from his vantage point.

“I was following the key of a map that I came into possession of that lead here.” Scorch looked to the slope then nodded. “Very well.”

It was a risk of course and while she could have had 92 come over the area with the ship it would have probably been considered a hostile act. Her rifle was still at the ready, just in case as she moved up the slope towards his position. No shots came in which was good as she made her way along. Eventually the tip of the rifle came down as she finally got to an area close enough to dash to for cover. If an attack wasn't coming by now it had made no sense in starting one now.

There he was she could see him clearer now, from below she had noted that he was some sort of sapient alien, he appeared to be unarmed though there could be others waiting in ambush seeing that she had not detected him there could be others too, in which case she had been out gunned from the start and in a losing situation.

“Vorgamanon I presume?”

I remained still as the female approached. I did not want to provoke her, as battle was not my purpose. Still, I studied her carefully. Her stance and movements spoke of experience, but not necessarily advanced training. Physically, I couldn't make out much besides her height and weight. She was small compared to me or any Drakken, but I had no idea how she ranked among her own kind, nor what that kind was. Any further details were hidden by the armored suit she wore. Some kind of sealed system; it seemed she needed more than the thin atmosphere of this barren rock.

Taking stock of how my visitor was dressed, I became conscious of my own nakedness. It wasn't uncommon for a Drakken to wear little, especially when not on the battlefield, but I had nothing on but a strange codpiece that covered my genetalia. I was aware of the exact temperature of the environment - which wan't too cold, considering the volcanic activity - but it seemed to have no effect on my physiology. And I still wasn't breathing . . . Was I really alive?

The female's question snapped me out of my musings. I nodded in what I hoped was a universal signal of acknowledgemnt. "And you are Destiny Imladris," I replied, still thought-transmitting.

"Tell me, what kind of map has led you to this desolate place?"

“Yes, I am,” she responded. She moved moderately close to him, within 10 meters or so. His words coming over her communications in her helmet. Was this Telepathy of some sort?

He was interested in her map and she was curious as to why he was here but as a sign of good faith she answered. Her rifle pointed harmlessly away at the ground showing no outward signs of mobility, she was confident that she could get off a shot or two before he closed if he did so. Though being self contained in the armor she could not generate her flames. Well, she could but since they emitted from her body the armor would contain them.

“My sister had a map tucked away in a Hel'Corian book. Years ago she, we, acquired the book and I thought nothing of it. I could not read the language and gave it to her but she said it was boring based on the title so I doubt she got to reading it or finding this map.

“I had my droid translate the map when I discovered it going through her things.” She gave a brief summary of events leading up to know.

“Apparently the Hel'Corians had placed a treasure here of immeasurable value so I thought I'd check it out. I found a colony of there's back that way but the map just used it as a reference point setting me off in this direction and that's when we crossed paths.”

"I know of no Hel'Corians, nor of any treasure," I replied. I would have sighed, but I still wasn't breathing. "I really know nothing of this world . . . " I made a sweeping gesture with one arm and froze, suddenly realizing my limb was made of metal. It would have been difficult for someone else to spot; indeed, I had missed it earlier. But though it was exceptionally designed and crafted to resemble the original, even moving and responding like my living flesh, I noticed an unfamiliar sheen to the scales.

". . . I have only just awakened." My pause was slight, but noticable. In truth, I was stuggling with the sudden realization of the absurdity of it all. Here I was: resurrected in an artificial body; awakened in some far off place or time; speaking with my thoughts through some strange alien's communications system. It was enough to stagger the strongest mind. But my mind, at least, was Drakken, and I would not - could not - allow myself to succumb to madness.

"That being the case, I have no claim to anything here, save my . . . pod," I said, glancing back the way I had come. "Which, coincidentally, lies in the direction you are traveling. Allow me to accompany you to safeguard my own interests and I will help you retrieve the treasure you seek."

“You haven't heard of them. They supply armies and mercenaries from my understanding. I guess they were truing to colonize this rock for whatever reason. It has a lot of volcanic activity but is otherwise barren. I don't know any other particulars really. I didn't check if the other city was a domed city or not. Either way there was so much ash there that it's a moot point.

“It seems that you are the only living thing on this planet.” She got a sneaking suspicion though when he mentioned his pod had been in the direction that she was heading. Just an inkling of a suspicion at the back of her mind. She still wasn't sure why he was here. Someone had to have place him here, the commander of an armada.

“Very well.” She had no problem with having an escort though she was beginning to wonder if she missed him on the readings if he was in a status pod while she was running scans. He was one person on an entire lifeless planet so it would have been easy to have missed him regardless unless she had scanned the area that he was specifically in.

"Then, shall we?" I gestured back the way I had come. Turning, I picked my way easily down the opposite slope, using the same trail I had blazed earlier. I kept my pace relatively slow so that Destiny could keep up. As I walked, the silence grew and I found myself wondering about this strange new world - new universe. How long had I been in stasis? What of the Nemesis? Had the Empire survived?

"The skies seem so empty now," I stated, conversationally. "In my time, they were thick with great nebulae where suns were born every day. Now those suns seem lonely, trapped in the inky black void." I really wasn't sure how to broach any of the subjects I was curious about and just hoped to get the alien woman talking. Perhaps that would lead to some meaningful insights.

She picked her way along with him careful of the steam geysers erupting. The path they took had been devoid of many of the geysers that she sought to avoid now. It had grown a little quiet as she thought about what he had mentioned as she gazed toward the sky.

“I'm unsure what the heavens were like here though back on Hadante the nights were beautiful but dangerous. The planet often skimmed a nearby asteroid belt and the night had several objects streaking through the night sky.

“There were numerous impact events though most of them burned up in the atmosphere before impact.”

She was curious though. “How long has it been?” She noted a cave that they were heading towards, had he come from there? She wondered about this pod which he had mentioned briefly.

“Your pod, how advanced is it?” She asked as they moved along.