Standing on the bridge of an Eskarii Revenant ship, a sleek yet relatively large combat starship with a crew of 30, Mo’Emori watched the galaxy pass by at a speed humans could never hope to achieve.

  Plated gauntlets were held behind her back as she fidgeted with the end of one of the sheaths connected to the back of her amethyst colored armor; her own armor she had not worn in many years. The short twin blades across her back were the tools she used to earn the name Lafn Gwra, or Witch Blade in the Terran tongue, having mastered her kinetic manipulation in unison with her sword play.

  Nostalgic memories of her youth played in her mind, despite the subtle comfort her old equipment gave her, unable to ease how anxious she felt to see Morrigan once again.

  “How long till we arrive at the Void Star?” she asked to the room in a huff, holding back the child-like excitement in favor of the professionalism of the Sybrydian.

  “Any moment, Princess Mo’Emori,” the pilot said, their tone hinting annoyance as it was 32nd time she had asked since departing the Eskarii home world Escostia.

  Her mother, Queen Myshkali, had given Mo’Emori the aggravating task of finding Morrigan. Her feelings were mixed, although her excitement mainly dominated her frustration, as her mother recalled her home, making her separate from the beloved human girl only to be told to go back and find her.

  She knew where Morrigan was headed as they departed ways however, Tik’Taq’To was only a handful of days of travel for Morrigan and she had no idea where Morrigan intended to go after completing her mission. Without the long-range communication designed into the larger Eskarii ships, she had no choice but to return to the Void Star and have Solomon track her down or have her meet her somewhere.

  The nervous uncertainty in the mix was due to the fact that her mother tried contacting Solomon directly, a private channel seldom used unless major updates were necessary for either party, and was unable to reach him.

  The kaleidoscopic bending of light snapped back to the image of the galaxy as she knew, revealing a massive armada of Federation ships surrounding the Void Star.

  “What the…” she exclaimed, slipping into the Terran language she had spent too many years using before her brain processed what she saw, “Set engines to stealth, now!” she ordered immediately.

  The crew of the Cyr’ch Y Cyrnos, complied right away, switching off any identifiable signal outputs, adjusting the engine power and scanning the space before them.

  “They don't appear to have noticed our entry, Princess,” someone said as Mo’Emori stood in shock.

  Mo’Emori surveyed the scene she had been witnessing, counting just how many ships there were.

  “48… how?” She mindlessly asked herself as she struggled to determine how many Inquisition ships there were, only the Lord Inquisitor's flagship standing out amongst the armada.

  “We need to see if she’s here, activate the camouflage fields and bring us closer,” Mo’Emori ordered.

  “Princess, we shouldn’t put ourselves at risk like that. If we’re spotted, we don’t stand a chance…” a loud slap cut the male Eskarii off as Mo’Emori back handed him in the side of the head.

  She spun him in his chair as she got down to his level, her yellow eyes giving a soft glow as she restrained her kinetic powers, “Our mission is from the Queen, we will find my Mori and we will do it by any means necessary,” she bit out in seething anger.

  She spun him back around and forced the man to comply. Her gaze sweeping over the rest of the crew as they got straight to work to avoid her wrath.

  A sharp smirk appeared on her face as she watched the ship begin to move closer, slowly. In her early years, she was the widely feared Witch Blade, the youngest and deadliest of the Sybrydian although rarely deployed. Her aversion to violence and lack of control of her emotions created a buffer between the early legend and her people.

  However, she would have been lying to herself if she tried to deny her love of the notoriety, to be remembered amongst her people that she was one to never disobey, despite her distaste for violence. Every Eskarii within the Eskarii military, even many without, knew that if necessary, she would subject herself to extreme cases of violence, leaving nothing but brutal slaughter in her wake.

  Her brothers Torvil and Cheronn, called it her duality, a stinging reminder of the recent loss of her eldest brother, leaving her chewing on her lip to stem the overwhelming emotions as she watched out of the bridge.

  The Eskarii ship ever so slowly entered into the space surrounding the Void Star, matching the speed of the Federation ships that supremely out classed them as she searched for the other Inquisition ships docked at the station.

  “Shit… what was her ship…” Mo’Emori muttered to herself as she recalled the single time she caught a glimpse of the Light Cruiser Morrigan commanded. Her memory delved deep to recreate the brief image of the skylight within the medical facility aboard the Void Star. The archaic Gothic architecture that made up all of the Inquisition, connected to a blade shaped prow, the red insignia of a clawed hand painted on the command tower in contrast to the black and grey exterior.

  Remembering the insignia, she searched the eight Inquisition ships that were not the massive battleship hanging over the hive world, none of them bearing the sign of Morrigan.

  There was a feeling of relief to know that her beloved Morrigan had not been captured with the rest of the Void Star however, it left the daunting question of where she could be.

  “Alright, pull us out of here and set our course to Tik’Taq’To,” she ordered, her tone unable to hide her worry. Mo’Emori knew how dangerous the Marmuro’k home world was through decades of war with the species. Even though Morrigan befriended the Marmuro’k of her crew and proved that not all Marmuro’k were savage warmongers, most Eskarii held a prejudice towards the reptilian species.

  As proof, every member of the bridge turned to her, all giving her a puzzled look as if her order was that of insanity. “What?” She snapped as she stepped into the center of the bridge, “We will find my Mori, even if it kills us; we will see our mission through. Those who ignore my orders will never see home again,” she bit out, she had spent so many years trying to find Morrigan, seeing her briefly, before being forced to part ways with her. She had zero intentions of being apart from Morrigan longer than necessary.

  One of the crew piped up, “Princess, the species of Tik’Taq’To hate us…”

  She glared at the Eskarii who had spoken, “They hate everyone! Yet, a young human girl made friends with them. We will follow her example and if you will not face them then you will face me!”

  The crew looked as if they briefly weighed their options before their ship gently began gliding passed the Federation ships surrounding them, moving slow enough to where they blended into the void of space.

  Mo’Emori nodded sharply, satisfied with the decision her crew made before her anger relaxed into anxiety once more, “Mori, please leave a sign if you’re not there…” she prayed in her mind as she watched the distant stars stretch into strands of light as they sped through the galaxy.

  ◇◇◇

  Ebony paced anxiously for hours within the confines of a communal cell, the solid metal walls and pulse-sonic lasers separating Havoc squad from the rest of the Archangel. Her anxiety refused to wane despite the surprisingly positive conversation she had with Morrigan half a day before, leaving her with nothing to do but pace and chew on her fingernails.

  The rest of her team were unbelievably relaxed, which only made the issue at hand all the more worrying for her. Stephanie and Taylor were cuddled up in the corner of the room while Henry sprawled out one of the benches completely passed out, Aleksei standing and leaning against the back wall gently fighting dozing off while Jackson sat on the far-left bench cross-legged in a meditative trance.

  “I don't know how you can relax; it’s been hours… maybe she changed her mind? Maybe the leadership is proposing our execution? Important calls, quiet guards, and a damned AI… this is insanity-we’re going to die,” Ebony muttered to herself neurotically.

  “Give it a rest, EB. You’ve been at it for hours,” Henry groaned as he rolled over on the bench, shifting his shoulders to make himself more comfortable.

  Ebony’s manic eyes darted to her team, taking in the calm collective as her nerves frayed with uncertainty, “How are you so calm? We’re going to die!” she hissed, worried that someone would hear.

  Taylor sighed as he lifted his head, glancing at the blonde dreads that fell over his shoulder as Stephanie slept peacefully leaning against him. “We’re not going to die. She offered us all sanctuary, that’s not something she would change her mind about,” Taylor stated softly, doing his best not to let his voice wake Stephanie.

  Ebony glared at the couple on the floor, her mind unable to process how either of them could be calm while in a cell on the ship of his ex-girlfriend, who infamously killed hundreds of thousands of people on a whim.

  “You don’t know that-you don’t know her!” she hissed as a piece of her fingernails sheared off between her front teeth, “The things she’s done… I mean, she can bend metal effortlessly, a ship? Heh… she’s going to kill us.”

  “Boss, you need sleep. I left you the bench, so rest,” Aleksei sleepily stated as his head bobbed.

  The mention of the spare bench made her realize just how much her feet hurt, having never stopped moving ever since her interview. Constantly pacing for 17 hours would wear on the best of soldiers.

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  Reluctantly, she quickly took a seat on the bench and sighed, “I saw her eyes… the eyes of a monster, she’s going to kill us,” Ebony persisted which made everyone but Jackson and Stephanie groan.

  “Ebony, you don’t even know her. I dated her for three years, though the eyes are new…” Taylor trailed off recalling Morrigan’s appearance and noting the oddities that compared to his memory.

  Ebony chuckled in disbelief, “How can you defend her while your girlfriend sleeps on you? How fucking pathetic are you?”

  Stephanie’s head shot up, bleary eyed as she glared in Ebony’s general direction as she silently yawned, “Shut up or I’ll kill you myself,” she signed before resting her head on Taylor’s shoulder again.

  Ebony scoffed as she stood up again, storming into the middle of the room before turning on Stephanie in absolute insult, “How the hell can you, of all people, be okay with this? We’re on the ship of his ex! How can you be so… so, fucking calm?”

  Stephanie looked up at Ebony before rolling her head to the other side, cocking her head as she focused on Ebony’s demeanor before signing, “She’s no liar,” her message simple and vague enough to cause Ebony’s eyes to widen.

  “For fuck’s sake, why are you freaking out? The woman gave us an option and we all took it, unless you didn’t then yeah, you’ll probably die but if you did then quit fucking worrying and be patient!” Henry demanded sharply as he readjusted himself, aggressively laying his head back into the arm curled into a pillow.

  “None of you understand! That woman… how she killed so many without mercy…”

  “So have we, boss. That is nature of war,” Aleksei stated, cutting her off.

  Ebony’s rapid breathing only got worse as she nearly reached hyperventilation, “You don’t get it, her powers… what she’s done…”

  Taylor looked at her, unable to ignore her as his eyebrows furrowed from her comment, confused as to why she would panic over mage abilities, “What are you talking about?”

  Ebony’s breathing stopped, panic setting in as she realized her mistake. Her eyes darting between each of her team who now all looked at her as her mind raced to find a way to take the foot out of her mouth, “T-the rumors? You, you didn’t hear the rumors?” she stammered.

  “What rumors?” Aleksei asked incredulously, turning to see no one recognizing what she was talking about.

  “She uh, her powers… she tears people apart, just like at Mars. I heard Rosa talking about it with other officers… the same power she used to rip one of our ships in half, imagine what it does to a person?” she said vaguely, letting the imagination do most of the talking.

  Stephanie was the first one to indicate their feelings on the matter, shrugging as if it didn't matter before signing, “How is that different from what I do?”

  Ebony open and closed her mouth repeatedly as she wracked her brain to find an excuse, any excuse to invalidate the point of someone whose weapon shreds people apart.

  “What about my explosives? It is war. Death by any means by those who kill,” Aleksei interjected.

  Ebony looked at everyone in the room, unable to find any argument against the point and sighed, the panic in her body fleeing as the instant exhaustion hit her. “I’m sorry…”

  “Its fine, just lay down. You'll probably feel better after some sleep,” Taylor stated as he lay his head against Stephanie’s and closed his eyes, feeling Stephanie snuggling tighter against him.

  “Yeah…” Ebony breathed out, glancing began the dull red bars made of red lasers, listening for any signs of their impending fate before resigning herself to laying on the bench left for her.

  She faced the wall, staring at the dark metal as the pain in her body increased the more she relaxed. Within moments, her eyes refused to stay open and all she could see in her mind’s eye was the bent metal of the table she sat at, and the cold, predatory glare of the short-tempered woman who now owned her life; a still frame nightmare that threatened to break her as she prayed that she would be spared a horrible death by the newest tyrant of the galaxy, one that would tear her limb from limb if her secret meddling was ever discovered.

  ◇◇◇

  Morrigan sighed heavily as every leader joined her on the bridge, the pressure she felt weighed heavy still though her enlightening conversation with Sigurd the night before helped stem the worst of it.

  “Alright, so first issue is our newly acquired members…” She paused to watch curious and confused faces greet her before she continued, “The Federation Death Squad that Sigurd had taken into custody, whom I offered the chance to defect to the Inquisition and join our cause, under certain constraints of course, to which they've accepted.”

  Luisa raised her hand, a mix of disbelief and estranged curiosity reflected in her face as she leaned forward, “Umm, I don't mean to be rude but is it a good idea to recruit Federation soldiers? I mean, it was one thing with Sigurd, no offense…” she glanced at Sigurd as she paused, who stood next to Morrigan with crossed arms.

  Sigurd chuckled darkly with his usual amused smile, “Ya scorn me lass, thinkin’ the slags are even a wee pinch more dangerous than I,” his tone filled with good humor.

  Luisa pursed her lips as her eyes shifted back to Morrigan, who nodded understandingly, “I understand your concern and I'm sure you're not the only one, but truth of the matter is they may technically be marines of the Federation but it's not by choice. They’re technically registered convicts of the Federation, forced to fight and…” Morrigan sighed as she scratched her forehead, “Not that, my offer is much better however, I am at least offering the chance of freedom, unlike our enemy.”

  “So, let me get this straight, you’re wanting to let criminals run around our ship?” Gene asked incredulously.

  “Listen, they’re criminals by Federation standards… I, am technically a fugitive of the Federation so lets try and be a little more understanding here,” she pointed out, a lot of the leaders of the Archangel nodding in fairness before she continued, “Granted, they won’t be given free reign until they can prove they truly believe in our cause. Some of them have useful skill sets that will benefit our operations and with our situation, we need as many hands on deck as possible. So, Dr. Tamina,” she addressed as turned to the medical professional, “I will be assigning you a man named Jackson Balasong, he’s a combat medic with an a high interest in expanding his knowledge. I will be stationing two guards with him to keep a close eye on him as he works under your discretion. Any and all observations are to be reported to me, is that understood?”

  Dr. Tamina nodded without question before addressing the next person, “Gene, you’re getting my ex-boyfriend-and before you start complaining, he is someone I’ve known for years. If anything, he’s the most trustworthy out of the bunch and the most capable engineer out of their team aside from the demo specialist. Lucky for you, Aleksei Rhadamov will be stationed in R&D.”

  Gene growled and muttered under his breath however, he made no effort to raise an argument after hearing about the alternative.

  “Danson, from what Sigurd and I have been able to gather, Aleksei is a chemist first and tinkerer second so… I will be issuing additional security though it is up to you as to what you allow him to work on,” she stated before Sigurd sniffed loudly, direction attention to himself.

  “Aye, big lad down stairs had some impressive shite on him, all homemade so ye may wanna keep the man on buildin’ than mixin’,” he interjected.

  Danson nodded and looked down at his data-slate, the interrogation file she and Sigurd developed appearing on his screen the moment she sent it to him.

  Morrigan went silent for a moment as she considered Henry, Stephanie and Ebony for a moment, uncertain about her decision for them but found no better options.

  “What of the others, Mori?” Shepard questioned curiously, intrigued by the silence.

  “Well… truthfully, one is a close-combat specialist, a general specialist and the last one is a hacker,” she admitted reluctantly, “I have already informed Sister to keep a very close eye on both Ebony Salah, the team hacker, as well as our systems. However, combat specialists don’t really serve any of your primary departments… I am thinking of having them devise drills, with the help and over watch of Sigurd, and start doing what Solomon had done with Nora back on the Void Star as well as on the Archangel.”

  “You mean to have them train our soldiers in… what?” Shepard pried.

  Morrigan shrugged, not hiding the fact that she was playing the entire game by ear, “I’m hoping for something similar to Nora’s anti-piracy and anti-boarding tactics training but from the Federation side of things rather than from a pirate’s perspective. Their tactics, combat styles, anything that can improve our ships capability to survive, with Sigurd overseeing everything. At least for the two, as for the hacker, I’m thinking of having her start training our infiltrators…”

  Shepard and the rest of the leaders looked at one another, each contemplating on her plan as Morrigan stood their nervously.

  With a shrug, Avery leaned over his seat and glanced across the room, “Well, I’ve heard worse plans, I mean, we have a Berserker, an ex-pirate, two Marmuro’k, an alien dog as well as the current Lord Inquisitor on board; what’s a couple ex-Feds? Then again, I’m just a pilot.”

  “No, Mr. Tarev, you make a valid point,” Shepard said thoughtfully.

  Danson looked up from his screen with excitement in his eyes, “Yeah, I mean, if it’s okay with Tamina, we’ve been stuck on a few issues with our wound sealant we’ve been developing so, if you’re good with it, we may pick both of their brains to see if they have any additional knowledge?” His gaze bouncing between Morrigan and Dr. Tamina, who also turned to Morrigan for permission.

  “Well, yeah. As long as you have safe guards in place, you still have full autonomy…”

  Gene sighed before finally glancing at the file Morrigan had sent him before letting out a thoughtful hum, “Mechanic huh?” he asked aloud before sighing in defeat, “If he can really use a wrench, I can put him to work. After all, you’re the boss.”

  His tone sounded dejected however, in unusual way Morrigan could sense something else, as if he were impressed with what he read.

  Soon, each leader began conversing optimistically about different ways they could utilize the skill sets of the new recruits, which made Morrigan release a breath of relief before readying herself for the more stressful conversation that needed to be had.

  “Second topic, staying alive… I won’t deny, I am out of my depth with this and could really use your help with this,” she admitted.

  Shepard smiled as everyone looked to Morrigan, “The crews have already been notified,” Shepard started, “The quartermasters have informed me that our supplies, including food and water, will last us about 19 days, 25 if we start rationing now.”

  Morrigan nodded as she hung her head slightly, “Okay, so, I can requisition supplies from CoU worlds and stations however, that’s not a sustainable plan… I mean, we can ask the Marmuro’k but, they have no obligation and frankly, I don’t want to dip into our newly formed alliance…”

  Sarilla perked up at that, “Well, Sister has a database of previously used supply depots, we can always use those?”

  Morrigan nodded, “Yes but, my goal was to return to the Void Star and make our way to Gelia… do we have the coordinates?”

  Sister chimed in with the answer, “We currently do not have the known coordinates of the planet, Gelia.”

  “Does anyone know?” Morrigan asked hopefully.

  Everyone looked at one another before Gunnar shrugged, looking at Luisa, “We can always send out a ship wide message and ask? I mean, we do have many Eskarii aboard. One of them must know where their home world is.”

  Morrigan watched every department head nod in agreement. “Alright, we’ll do that however, the next issue is finding the other Inquisitors…” Morrigan paused before releasing a deep, stress leaden breath, “Listen, I’ve given this a lot of thought; We’ve already witnessed the Federation reach out this far, and now they have control of our home. Between that and the reports of the CoU’s casualties, we need to be as proactive as possible. The Marmuro’k have allied with me and we will need the Eskarii, on top of trying to keep the Federation on their toes and limiting their reach…”

  The bridge went silent as everyone considered her words, reprocessing what they already knew.

  “Our situation isn’t a good one,” Shepard interjected.

  “Well, we’re fully equipped, so there is that,” Gunnar added before Shepard continued.

  “We’ll follow your lead, Mori, but as for the Inquisitors, we can’t risk contacting them through normal means since we do not know who is away from shore. We have to assume each ship back at the Void Star is being monitored constantly. So, our only hope is that whoever is out here with us, contacts us first.”

  Morrigan nodded in understanding, unable to refute the logic behind the old woman’s words before her gaze settled on Sarilla, “What’s the closest supply point? We need to get moving and keep moving.”

  Sarilla held up a finger and turned back to her computer, running a search on the list of supply points they had, “Iriath II, its an Agri-world in the Dulinea system, about 11 thousand light years away from our location.”

  “So, like three days?” Morrigan asked.

  “Three, and three hours,” Gene corrected her.

  Morrigan nodded her thanks and stood up straight, “Alright, honestly, we’re flying blind here however, I’ll be damned if we lose this war. Sarilla, set our course, Avery and Gene, prepare us to depart. Alert all crew for FTL and let’s get this show on the road. In the meantime, I’ll have Emily write up the requisition.”

  The entire bridge snapped to attention and saluted her before moving to their stations or stepping into the elevator, leaving Morrigan and Shepard to oversee everything, Morrigan struggling with the anxiety of uncertainty as the start of her new campaign of survival had begun.