[sachmo]

Stranger’s call

2408.7

Trilek moved toward the temple, mindful of the heavily armed Remorhaz soldiers patrolling this section of town. Trilek, like all of the other Norakians on Providence, was a deeply religious being. The very basis of his life was centered around the worship of the Goddess of Light. Every activity that took place in Norakian society revolved around worshiping the Goddess. Now, with the Continuum defeated, many feared that the Remorhaz would put an end to the worship of the Goddess of Light, and possibly make them take up worship of their alien god. Some of the remaining elders talked of fighting these Remorhaz to the death, as that would be preferable to turning a blind eye to the Goddess for the sake of one Norakian life. This most drastic of changes frightened many.
It was not to be, however. After that fateful day, when the Remorhaz soldiers had come, life seemed to run as normally as possible for the Norakians on Providence. The soldiers stayed out of their way, and amazingly let them continue worshiping at the temple. This unobtrusive occupation put many of the Norak at ease. Then the planetary governor arrived a month later. Once again the elders plotted in the dark corners of the city. Now they will oppress us with their laws. With a new government will come a new way of life. We must not turn from the Goddess! they would preach. Many of the people were upset by the possibility of changes, but most were just frightened.
The governor did not try and change their way of life. Of course he had a list of laws drawn up by the government back on Remorhaz, but these mainly dealt with the rights of the Norakians as members of the Remorhaz Society. There were no oppressive laws, and there were no restrictions on religion. The only hint of anything different was that Remorhaz law now applied to the citizens of Providence, although the Norakian laws would also still be observed. The governor and the high elder would work together to build a revised set of laws, which took both Norak, and Remorhaz law into account.
So the Norakians were allowed to live their lives as they had before, but with new laws, and of course alien troops patrolling the streets. Trilek moved past the worshipers gathered outside of the temple and entered it. He quickly found a spot where he would be comfortable, bent down on his three legs, and began his prayers. He tried to concentrate on the words, but he found his mind wandering. He kept thinking about something he had read while visiting the Remorhaz Cultural Exchange Center. It was about the rights of the citizen of the Remorhaz Society. He remembered something about all citizens having the right to choose to worship their own god in their own way, the right to live their lives as they chose so long as it did not interfere with the lives of others, and the right to be free of bondage in any form. These principles did not go hand in hand with the teachings of the Goddess. The Word of the Goddess said that above all else, the Norak should follow her guidance. Everyone knew that she spoke thru the priests, and so all guidance by the priests should be viewed as guidance from the Goddess herself. Norakians were expected to put the will of the priests above their own needs. This was the way it had been for centuries. How would the Goddess view her people if the began to follow their own guidance? Would they all be condemned to eternal damnation?
Already, the Goddess had commanded the Norak to join themselves with the Remorhaz Society, so she must have meant for them to live within it’s principles and rules. Trilek was frusterated by such questions. He would have to hear what the priests and elders had to say on that subject. For the first time in his life, he would have to decided which path to take. It was quite frightening for him, while at the same time liberating. In the meantime, Trilek prayed as hard as he could for guidance, but none was forthcoming. He looked at his timepiece, and noticed that he had been praying for 35 minutes. The High Priest had said in this time of change, all Norakians should pray for one extra hour per day. Trilek stood up, and looked around. A few of those around him, who had seen when he had come in, watched him curiously.
“I cannot concentrate. I am going home,” he said, and with that turned and walked out of the temple.
He didn’t get very far. Quickly a monk came running down the street, his robes trailing behind him.
“Trilek, you are shaming the Goddess. You have not prayed long enough. We all need her guidance in this time of trial. This is the will of the High Priest, who speaks for the Goddess. Come back to the temple at once!” The monk made to grab his arm.
Trilek shook off his grasp.
“No! I cannot concentrate and I do not feel well. My prayers do the Goddess no good today. I am going home!” He turned to walk away, but this time the monk placed his arm around Trilek, and made to carry his back to the temple.
Before he knew what happened, Trilek grabbed the monk’s arm and tossed him to the ground. A crowd started to gather, and a gasp ran thru the spectators. The monk, now laying in the street on his back, looked shocked. Quickly, shock turned to anger. He reached under his robe and pulled out a stun stick.
“Blasphemer! You will be reported to the High Priest, and you WILL come with me to pray. Your punishment for disobediance will be severe” The monk made to stand up, but quickly a squad of Remorhaz Space Marines swept thru the crowd, weapons in hand. They stood between the monk and Trilek. One of the Space Marines spoke.
“I’m sorry, brother, but you cannot wield that stun stick. It is considered a lethal weapon under Article Six of the Remorhaz Code of Justice. Please place it on the ground.”
Trilek suddenly remembered to breathe. He had been ready to take a stun stick to his nerve cluster for defying a holy man, but instead these Remorhaz soldiers had saved him. The speaker, probably the leader, turned to him.
“Sir, my name is Sergeant Chuck Williams, Remorhaz Space Marine Corps. Do you wish to press charges against this monk?”
Trilek was dumbfounded. He just looked at the sergeant blankly. Press charges? What in the Goddess’ name did that mean?
“Sir, as a free citizen of the Remorhaz Society, you have the right to press charges against this man. The charge would be assault with a deadly weapon. If you do press charges, we will confine him in the brig, pending a trial. Do you wish to proceed with this course of action?” The sergeant looked at him expectantly. Or was there a hint of a smile on his face?
Trilek recovered his wits enough to stammer an answer, “No. No Sergeant Williams, I do not wish to press charges against the brother. I am not permitted to. It is against our ways to accuse one of the clergy of a crime. By our laws, he has the right to punish me.”
Sergeant Williams’ face turned serious.
“I understand that right now, there are still some questions about how Norakian law and Remorhaz law are going to be enforced here, but let me set you straight on something. You are all free citizens of the Remorhaz Society now. One of the benefits of citizenship is that no one can force you to do anything against your will, and no one can tell you how to live your life. Above all else, unless you break a law, no one has a right to punish you.” He paused for a moment, and looked as if he would say more, but then turned away. “Ok, Renton, help the brother up.”
One of the soldiers yanked the monk to his feet. Trilek tried to look away as the monk shot him a vicious look that promised a reckoning once the soldiers moved away. Suddenly, Trilek grew angry with the monk. He stepped up to him.
“Brother, I am sorry for going against the law of the Goddess by resisting your commands to return to the temple. I can see that you are planning on making me pay for my transgression with physical punishment. However, I am now a free citizen of the Remorhaz Society and if you so much growl in my direction, I will have you arrested by the soldiers. May the Goddess watch over you, brother.”
With that, Trilek turned his back on the monk and walked briskly toward his habitat.
The monk recovered from his shock enough to shuffle back toward the temple. The crowd that had witnessed the entire incident broke up, but soon a word was spreading like wildfire thru the entire city. That word was freedom. The very prospect of it gave many Norakians hope for the future. The Urban Pacification Centers were working in improving the mood of the Norakians.

Two new colonies were founded. Prospect, a medium rock planet with a carbon dioxide atmosphere was established in the Regotha system. This planet was high in mineral resources, but once again its effectiveness was limited because the colony was domed. Also, the first permanent Remorhaz presence was established in the Yullado system when the planet Deniper was founded. The planet had a rock surface with a methane atmosphere. This colony was to serve as a resupply base for the Navy.

At Glory, Manticore and Honor pulled into the space yard for refitting. These ships were given priority over any new construction at the yards, as these ships had to be sent back to Xillantha as soon as possible.

The shuttle carrying Grand Admiral Urian smoothly entered the atmosphere of Norak. After a shallow dive, the pilot brought the shuttle over Norak City. Grand Admiral Urian had not been to Norak before. What he saw from the window shocked him. The city was gleaming like a jewel in the light of Lapzooli’s single yellow sun. The colonists were making very efficient use of the supplies brought here by the convoys. Outside of the city, the land told a different story. Everywhere Urian looked he could see the scars left on the land by the orbital bombardment. Entire valleys were scorched, with the stubs of incinerated trees poking up like bones from the ground. BLasted wreckage of what had previously been some kind of Norakian structure, and everywhere he looked were huge craters carved into the planet. He had seen videos of the bombardment, and it’s aftermath, but it was nothing compared to seeing it in person. Grand Admiral Urian felt a knot in his throat. He knew that the Norak had forced their hands. He knew that even when their Last planet was being invaded they refused to surrender. Still, the price had been paid not by Norakian soldiers, but billions upon billions of innocent civilians. The number of non-combatants who must have perished here alone must have been astronomical. The site of the scarred planet hardened his resolve to avoid using orbital bombardment as a viable weapon in the future at all costs. The cost in life was just too high.

2408.8

Both Norak and Timerron finished their shipyards this month. These yard would not only allow new ships to reach the front quicker, but they would also allow for faster refit and repair times for the fleet. Both shipyards would begin production of new ships immediately.

The Remorhaz Society secured its place in the Iolo system by colonizing Correlia. Correlia was a huge rock world with an oxygen atmosphere. The planet was rich in mineral and radioactive resources. Also, in the Wanduk system, a colony was established on the world of Ymoria. This world was also a huge rock planet, but it had a hydrogen atmosphere. This colony was established mainly as a research post to excavate the remains of a derelict spacecraft that had crash-landed on the surface of the planet sometime in the past. The Research Guild was hoping that at some point in the future, they would be able to discover some advanced technology in the wreck. They were surprised when they quickly discovered a relatively simple design for a large, unmanned anti-matter propelled probe. They immediately forwarded these plans to the military, which adapted them to use current missile and satellite technology to create unmanned drones for military use. These weapons would hopefully prove useful in the upcoming offensive against the Rage.
Not much else could be gleaned from the spacecraft, but the scientists and archeologists continued to study it in hopes of discovering to whom the craft belonged, and how it ended up crashed in the Wanduk system.

To date, the Remorhaz Society had colonized fifteen colonies in ten different systems. The population of all of these worlds topped 3.1 billion people.

Back in the Xillantha system, the Rage fleet appeared again. It once again seemed to be heading for Fort Justice, but no one could be sure. Meanwhile, “Spare Parts” was winding down it’s second season. Critics said that the writing for the show remained strong, and as long as Rage fleets continued to “buzz” the system, the show would have endless material with which to work. The Navy hoped to put an end to this soon, of course. The Xillantha fleet, short a frigate and a destroyer, went on alert and prepared for combat. Governor Kalashnikov cursed the Rage for fools, and knocked off early for a night of partying. Whenever the Rage appeared, the planet’s party mood skyrocketed.

In the Yukra system, Timerron detected an Ukra-Tal fleet of six destroyers, which had just come into the system. No course was confirmed, but the nearest target was Timerron. The planet began construction of another weapons platform. If they came, the planet would have an adequate defense. The main problem was that no one knew the level of the Ukra-Tal technology, and so had no idea what sort of weapons the Yukra Defense Fleet would be up against.

In the Regotha system, Hawk was deployed to recon the Lezzari system to check on Rage strength in the sector. If a target of opportunity presented itself, she would attack.

The threatened colonies of Fort Justice and Timerron could only brace themselves and wait for an attack that might not even come.

to be continued...