The warp was a strange place, even more so for a race like the T’au, who have an incredibly low warp presence and no natural possibility of entering this realm.
It is a wild realm of unstable presences, but within it, some creatures had found the fastest way of travel that this forsaken galaxy currently allowed.
Shas’kor gazed at the radiant tides that Washed all over him and the ship, in awe of the endless monstrosities the colors outside suggested and hid within themselves.
When they entered the portal the demiurg vessel had seemingly taken parts of space within it and used it to make an energy field, it was orderly and had a hexagonal pattern to it, overall it looked sturdy, just as the ship.
He did not know what would happen if The Gellar rampart faltered, but he wouldn't want to either, best to keep the negative thoughts away.
Ma'eth was sleeping outside the cockpit in a small area with a table and a few couches, the kid slept on a couch while his drone guardian calmly hovered over him with what Shas’kor would have considered a neutral stance. It kept its guns hidden and somehow lowered the amount of noise it produced to near silence.
Shas’kor was starting to question how in the Tau'va this drone worked, but ultimately it was too complex for him.
The renegade fire warrior looked at the ship's computer, this technological marvel was guiding them to The Enclaves without input or noise.
He looked at the route, it would have taken 2 months with normal T'au vessels; the fuel indicators scared him as well, he heard this vessel consumed fuel, but it was an understatement since by normal standards it burned it.
Thankfully in a few days from now they would stop at a void refueling station, the Demiurg made them all through T'au space, they were mainly used by small freight transport that brought material back to their great citadels in the void.
One thing Shas’kor always found weird enough about the Bentu'sin was the fact that though the wise void dwellers held technologies that made earth caste engineers go mad trying to understand them they also chose to use primitive methods when possible. An example was this very vessel, its fuel was not even any incredible material that held great power, this vessel was burning oil.
A marvel of engineering made by what the T'au considered the wisest people in the galaxy, works on a resource so old and primitive that most vehicles of even the simplistic Gue'la did not use!
The reason eluded him, but as the Shas’ui used to say, “If someone is wiser than you in a field, do not question what the hell they are doing, no matter how nonsensical it looks”.
Thinking again of his superior made Shas’kor sad, he wondered what his ex-comrades must feel, disappearing with no indication on why or where he went; They had just lost two friends, one for The Greater Good, the other one for whoever knows what.
He had also deleted the documents from his friend’s ordinator, Shas’kor did not want his friend to be known as a traitor in death. Water caste inspectors would have surely looked at Vra’elo’s apartment after he disappeared, but he had saved it all in a data key, in case Ma’eth wanted to see it in the future.
Shas’kor could not stop thinking about all the times he fought in the past, it was rare enough as Sai’ran was a relatively calm sept world, but he remembered every time he fought, every time he shot an enemy. Like the bastard that killed Vra’elo. He remembered their faces, all of them.
Some were filled with anger, like those of the mysterious eldar corsairs that came a few years back as “payment” for a “diplomatic offence”. Others were scared, especially the Gue’la, the face of those young humans, sent to die in incursions that provided no value. Those faces he remembered the most, their scared look when drones and guns injured them to no repair, when their commissar forced them to advance into death.
He felt their fear too, every time he fought them, Shas’kor was reminded of the sheer luck of being born a T’au.
The faces that confused him the most were those of happiness, like the ones of the Be’gel, or Orks as the green brutes referred to themself.
Shas’kor found no reason to be happy in a battlefield, taking a life, for him, it was not something that was to be done lightly.
That's why he had always refused to be a drone operator, he had to see the faces of those who he had just sentenced to death, it was the least he could do.
Shas’kor leaned on his seat, memories of his old companions cascading like a waterfall upon him in that quiet moment.
Like the one time where he pranked a new recruit, Si'mal, by spicing up their food with Helmet Peppers, or that time where he and Vra’elo helped another of their comrades strike their match with a Gue'vesa.
It pained him that he did not discover Vra’elo's situation till it was too late, only now Shas’kor began to see that some things were different.
In the last few years Vra’elo was less calm, his friend's pheromones became of a heavier feel when he was assigned to be a bodyguard for an important individual, the woman that took him out in that folly.
He had assumed at the time it was out of stress, the same stress Shas’kor had felt when he had to nightwatch the subway entrances in a really bad part of Alsena, but now things had a different feel.
He stared at Ma'eth, the poor fruit of such ordeals, Shas’kor felt a tinge of pain, how could he not have seen it, why Vra’elo did not tell him. Was he… a bad friend?
He had been friends with Vra’elo since they were children, both of their parents were friends and had hoped their sons to be the same.
Sai’ran’s had different norms from other septs, much influenced by the great Gue'vesa population. This style of parenting was rare in other T'au septs,which preferred more “traditional” means, like collective parenting in Sa'cea or state caretakers in Bork'an.
To be true Sai’ran was much a new fringe sept compared to the rest of the empire, it only became a core colony 70 years ago with much of its culture influenced by its past as a forgotten Gue'la colony. Its great Imperium remembering the planet’s existence only well after it became a T'au colony, failing to take it back ever since.
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Shas’kor shook his head, he had to stop thinking about the past, but could not help it, the renegade fire warrior felt as if the warp made him think, it was as if this very dimension was amplifying his thoughts. The possibility scared him.
Shas’kor knew he was safe, the Gellar rampart was as stable and strong as it could be, but still, his fear lingered on.
He tried getting some sleep, this would be a long journey, stuck in a metallic box with the horrors of the universe just outside, ready to raise their claws at them and swallow them whole…
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Any news on what happened to him, Por’vre?” asked Shas’ui Linh’an, their voice was calm and its tone ponderated, but their pheromones betrayed them, the public order inspector noted.
The Shas’ui was anything but calm, there was a rage in them. Por’vre Dy’nai could not truly understand the reason, but if twenty-seven years of service taught him right, this was self hatred and he could see it, somewhat.
He leaned on his cane and with an unnatural half-smile answered the military officer “I'm sorry, Shas’ui, but as of now, you were the last person to encounter Shas’la Shas’kor before his disappearance 3 days ago. He has completely disappeared from the radar and seems to have left no clue on where he went, the fire warrior may have actually…”
The Shas’ui stopped him with a frustrated tone this time “Refrain from such comments Por’vre! My soldiers are all sound of mind and heart, Shas’kor in particular is a veteran who has been under my command for years and has never shown any amount of emotional instability to act as you would suggest.”
Dy’nai’s expression did not change, this reaction was just as he expected.
“And yet, this seems the only plausible explanation, it would make sense, especially after losing his closest friend, Ta’lissera is Ta’lissera afterall; Vra’elo was the last connection he had. Both their parents died when they were still cadets, and if your entire la’rua is saying the truth, which I’m inclined to believe out of the sheer impossibility of them collectively lying then Shas’la Vra’elo and Shas’la Shas’kor were inseparable. Who knows how they would have acted at the other's death.”
Linh’an made a step closer to the old inspector and still continued their denial of all evidence, their face filled with rage this time as their pretense of composure crumbled.
“You have yet to find the body Por’vre, I refuse to consider that one of my soldiers, a veteran even, would take his own life!”
Dy’nai put his left hand on the Shas’ui’s shoulder, trying to sound comforting.
The military officer was not entirely wrong, there were some details that confused him still, some of Vra’elo’s personal effects were missing from the body during the autopsy; like his house keys, they had yet to investigate the friend’s apartment.
He had sent his aide on the job, Gue’vesa’ui Luke Masseris, and was awaiting his response call, but both were sure that the missing fire warrior’s body would be there.
“I'm sorry to say Shas’ui, that one may know a person for years without ever truly knowing them, you may think to know all of your fire warriors like the nail of your hands, but it is never truly that way. Gue’la have a word for such overconfidence, ‘hubris’ they call it, though in some parts I do agree; there is a fu’lasso(mind knot) here.”
He stopped to consider his words before continuing “I would have not made an investigation otherwise, but do not get your hopes too high sir, as of now this sadly seems the only-”
He was interrupted by a phone call, it was Luke. The old inspector excused himself for a moment.
“Oi gramps! I’ve had a Gander at Vra-elo’s apartment, I have much to tell ya, but firstly, Shas’la Shas’kor’s body is not here, maybe what the Shas’ui is saying is fair dinkum and the guy is still alive somewhere.” The man sounded as hasty as usual.
“We have a bloody witness too that claims to have sensed Shas’kor entering and exiting the building, she’s the building’s concierge, a retired earth caste woman, we may have to question her in detail”.
After Luke's call the Shas’ui seemed to calm a bit. Dy’nai may ironically have sinned of hubris himself, the thought made him giggle a bit.
The old inspector returned to his half-smile, this time his words would have probably been much more comforting to the officer.
“Oh, it seems I have to excuse myself for doubting you sir, this hunt could very much be still on, though I'd be lying if I were to say that I have changed my opinion on the case.”
Shas’ui Linh’an made a silent nod and with a salute they returned to their duties, but the Por’vre stopped him for a last question.
“Just one more thing Shas’ui, is it true that in this same timeframe two of your warriors noticed substantial damage on the airfield’s fence?”
The Shas’ui turned back for a moment with a surprised look on their face, “Yes, but I fail to see how this is related to our current case…” Then the realization hit them, their face a mix of a smile and rage.
“You have the permission to interrogate the two Shas’la sir, I swear when they spill the beans I'll make them wish they were never born…”
Dy’nai was not in truth convinced of this route, but things are never as simple as they look. Twenty-seven years of service had shown him so, and he had no reason to doubt his senses yet.
He would give this train of thought a try, partly fearing to make his hopes too tall in what everyone would consider a straightforward case, no harm would come in considering it though, right?...
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shas’kor awoke at the sound of the metallic voice of the ship’s computer buzzing in, the renegade fire warrior bolting upright and a little deafened. What had compelled him to sleep on the control panels?
It was as if he wanted to make his own life miserable by not listening to common sense, but he had already chosen a miserable path at Alsena’s highlands while carrying Vra’elo out of that damned trench, hadn’t he?
"ATTENTION! CAPACITY FOR WARP TRAVEL HAS NOW BEEN REACHED, THE VESSEL SHALL ENTER REAL-SPACE”
Shas’kor groaned and looked back at Ma’eth, the child too awakening from his slumber. His copper hair was a tangled mess, just like Vra’elo had in his youth, his friend could not keep his hair tidy, no matter how hard his parents tried.
The copper hair was not Vra’elo’s. His friend had dark hair that he had a hard time describing, sometimes they looked black as the void of space, others it was as brown as Sai’ran’s soil. That colour came from the child’s mother, the Por’el.
Shas’kor felt many emotions towards her, he did only look at them superficially, the chat logs. The renegade fire warrior could not bear the idea of looking more, but still a part of him wondered, how did it happen? What did they see in each other?
They came from social standings too different to understand, logically it would have made no sense. By all societal notions, it was an incredibly stupid, horrible decision, but Shas’kor was trying too hard to put a logic to love, he knew that.
For all his thinking and rationalizations, they could not dictate someone’s emotions, he could spend the rest of his life pondering on their choices and still would be left with the same amount of questions.
Shas’kor had always been the rational one, while Vra’elo tended to go headfirst into a situation. He was the one ‘To boldly go’, as one of their academy instructors used to say, with Shas’kor just behind; pulling his friend out of dangerous situations, smacking some good sense into people, being the voice of reason. He was the one people relied on when things got hard, the rock that stood firm to the waves.
Had Vra’elo told him, he would have not been able to stop his friend from that folly, that Shas’kor knew and cursed himself for one hundred times over.
However, he had to stop lingering on those thoughts, the present was here, on this ship in the void, running to who knows where, helping the forbidden child of two castes escape from the Aun’s rightful law. A traitor to his brethren, the empire, to The Greater Good.
“Can I ask you a question?”
Ma’eth’s high voice broke him from his thoughts, the child was staring at him with those dark and wispy eyes, his expression unreadable. It confused Shas’kor as still he could not pick up on the kid’s pheromones, it was as if he had none.
Shas’kor got up from his seat and got on the table where he opened his backpack, took two cans of starfruit juice, both for him and the child, and opened them.
“Sure, what is it?”
“When we were still home, the planet I mean, you pointed at the moons in the sky, I heard once from mom that they are sisters, is it true?”
Shas’kor chuckled at the question, it was true that the people of Sai’ran called the planet’s moons ‘The Sisters’.
The whole thing came from the gue’vesa natives, that used to believe that the three moons held the tombs of some saints, the name stuck through the integration of the planet as the moons had been renamed in honour of O’Shaserra, Shadowsun, and her two sisters.
One of the many examples of how T’au and human cultures united in beautiful ways.
“It is, child, they are sisters truly and they dance, that is why, through the year, one might be lower and the other two higher or vice-versa.”
Ma’eth’s eyes widened as he took a sip out of the can and put himself in a more comfortable position, his expression was of pure wonder, meanwhile the drone attached itself again at the ship as they had just entered realspace again. They would be stuck here for a few hours.
“Can you tell me about the stars? You seem to know a lot.”
Shas’kor confirmed with a nod and got to the control panels, where he opened the holographic map of the galaxy.
“I always liked the sky. You know, when we were young, me and your father spent hours gazing at it, despite the insistence of both our parents to go to sleep. We had a telescope through which we stared at the constellations, drawing what we saw in some notebook. I wonder yet where both of those objects went, I sadly lost them when we got into the academy.”
As he said those words, Shas’kor zoomed on their sector and Sai’ran precisely, Ma’eth quietly staring at him, the holographic map’s gleam reflecting on the darkness of his eyes,
juice can still in hand.
Shas’kor then centered it on Sai’ran, the holographic projections moving as a sphere, forming the planet’s constellations, Shas’kor’s finger pointed at four stars that looked like a line.
“This is where we are going, The Four Swords.”
He paused for a moment to create suspense, his face clearly lightening up after 3 days of pure anguish.
“They are called so after the traitor’s famous weapon, The Dawnblade, that is said to have felled a great number of enemies both before and after he turned on The Greater Good.”
Then immediately he pointed at another another group of stars, they formed a ‘U’ shape in the child’s eyes
“This constellation is called ‘The Mug’ instead, you see the star on the extreme right? That's where Dal'yth is, it was the main theater of the great war with the Gue’la. What they call the Damocles Gulf Crusade…”
