Chapter Text
Space seems so quiet when you’re on a single ship drifting between solar systems, nothing in sight for millions of light-years. The building-size asteroids look puny in comparison to the massive ship that was drifting close to an asteroid-belt. This mothership is visibly larger than any of the other ships that was currently present in the Pegasus galaxy.
The outer hall much denser and stronger, shielded with a thick layer of titanium alloy, undoubtedly to provide better protection during battle. The inside of the ship was incredibly reserved, the walls polished and scrubbed to create a shiny reflection. The uniquely dark-shadowed coloring of the walls, gave the interior of the ship a darker feeling. Small pieces of silver see-through crystals covered a layer over the walls; like a shiny, hard, shell. The lights were slightly intense to the current visitors on board, but not nearly as much as the ancient ships have been. The ship also consisted of hundreds of rooms and corridors, leading to every part of the immense ship.
A dark blue light was shining softly on the crew aboard this ship as they walked through the corridors of the ship. A few had an appearance that would strike fear into the minds of the humans of Pegasus, just by the mention of their name. These pale skinned, life feeding predators were currently occupying a small part of the ship, the ship that could very much resemble their own hive ships in size and design. The ship was currently drifting next to one of their own ships, an actual Wraith Cruiser.
The Cruiser was found floating around in empty space. It was long abandoned, because it produced a deadly toxin after suffering severe battle damage. The ship was found by the Changeling Wraith, a race not too familiar to the people of the Pegasus galaxy. The few stories that were told of them explained that they were almost identical to the Wraith in appearances and telepathic abilities, but there were, from ancient description, at least two major differences. The first being that they were visibly more powerful than their close cousins, the Wraith. Being intelligent, vampiric creatures that can drain the very life from a person’s bones, leaving behind nothing but a withered husk, the Wraith are currently the most dangerous and common enemy to the human civilizations in the Pegasus galaxy. And there are very few who could challenge their power.
The Changelings, however, happened to be one of those who could fight the Wraith toe to toe, if not more so. Their physical and mental strength and abilities, as well as their technology made them a massive threat to the Wraith. But they rarely fought against anyone, only ever to those who threatened them directly. And the second, greatest difference between the Wraith and the Changelings, were their diet. Where Wraith could only feed on humans in order to survive, the Changelings could sustain themselves with normal food, at least for a long time, before they needed to feed.
Though, these were only rumors, as no one has ever met a Changeling Wraith face to face, and those who did, never returned to their former lives.
After the Wraith Cruiser came into their territory of space by accident, the Changelings decided to repair the damaged ship and have it remotely send back into Wraith-controlled territory. It took their scientists and engineers two weeks to repair the damaged systems and remove the deadly toxins from the ship’s veins, but finally they were down to the last repair, the hyperdrive. The leading scientist, Onyx, was in charge of the majority of the repairs, and was personally supervising the final repairs on the hyperdrive system.
* * *
She glanced around the room she was currently occupying, hoping for something to take her mind off of the endless space all around her. Her quarters was the most luxurious one on the ship, not surprising given her high stature among her people. And although it served as an exceptional place to rest and rejuvenate, the room was lacking amenities and entertainment.
The room was extremely large and the lighting suited her human-like eyes, with a slight goldish glow, to give the room a warmer sensation. The floor had a polished emerald color that matched complimented the shimmering silver crystals inside the walls of the ship. As for furniture, it held a comfortable bed, a simple table and chair and a small bookshelf with three or four books.
The books were mainly about science and cultures, and although she didn’t mind learning more about those, she was simply not in the frame of mind for them. Who would be, after being on this ship for two weeks with nothing else to do but supervise the repairing of a Wraith Cruiser. There’s only so long that the magical world of science and engineering could keep one entertained. She was still staring out into empty space, when she felt the slightest presence of someone tugging softly at her thoughts, asking permission to enter her quarters.
She recognized the mind link, the image of harmony and complete calmness appearing inside her mind. “Enter.” She replied silently to the request, and moments later the doors opened. The young male entered, his posture tall and proud as he waited at the door. He was carrying a small tray with biscuits, a blue muffin and a tiny cup filled with hot tea.
“My queen.” He bowed his head in respect towards her and she nodded her head in politeness. “Thank you, place it on the table.” He nodded and walked over to the table. While he was walking, she took in his appearance. He was not one of Onyx’s most recognized members, despite his incredible talents in coding. Stillwater was the shy one on the ship, who always tried to keep the peace, and usually stayed clear of trouble.
He had a spiral tattoo going from the back of his right ear to just below his eye. As for his eyes, they were a slightly deeper shade of gold, rose gold, would be her best speculation. His white hair was bound in an elaborate double fall as it coved his shoulders from the side. When he finished, he straightened and turned to look at her. “My queen, I hope these will suffice, I was unable to find your favorite.”
Of course not, she thought, only to herself. Onyx never stocked up on appealing delicacies such as muffins or cookies, so it was to be expected that the crew members would take whatever chance was handed to them to help themselves to the extravagances. She was tempted to roll her eyes, but refrained from doing so, as it would confuse the man in front of her. Instead she thanked him and went to sit down.
She examined the golden tea thoroughly, and after taking a small sip, she determined that it was just to her liking. A strong and spicy start, but with a sweet and salty aftertaste to prepare for the next sip. After another small sip, she picked up the pastel blue muffin and inspected it with her eyes. She glanced over in the direction of Stillwater, waiting next to the door, his mind closed so that he may not disturb her.
“Is it supposed to be this… blue?” she thought as she continued to stare at the giant muffin resting perfectly in the palm of her hand. He lowered his head as he answered, “Yes, my queen. It is a common treat offered to guests on the planet ‘Iolande’. The blue coloring comes from the blue willow leaves, a common plant species that grows there.” She hummed a reply and took in the smell of the muffin. Well baked, the strong scent of the blue willow clearly defined from the mixtures of other common smells. Though the blue willow was a common favorite among Changeling and Tollan dishes, it wasn’t really to her personal liking.
“Stillwater.” The young Changeling turned his focus on her as she stood up. “I think I will go to the bridge. The muffin is yours.” A hint of confusion and surprise came over his mind, but he managed to suppress it after a moment. “Very well, thank you.”
* * *
She walked silently through the foyers, catching the eyes of her people as she passed them. She, who almost had the appearance of a human, kept her head high and greeted every single one with an open mind. She had jet black hair that ran loose over her shoulders, a silver wasp hair comb keeping most of it out of her face. She wore a silky black dress, just above the ankles, the skirts of the coat almost touching the floor.
The clothing was covered in shiny diamond-like shards on the sleeves, neck and shoulders, and all around the belt. Under her right eye, covering her entire right ear, she had a star-like tattoo. Five points that didn’t touch, five dots inside the star that spread equally and then one in the middle of it all. The strange choice of pattern supposedly represent the Dusk Star, the last star that remains after the sun begins to rise.
Many Wraith who encounter her, doubt and question her ability to rule. They would not speak to her about it personally, but thoughtful rumors will spread, labeling her confused and unfit to rule over so many. Nevertheless, she could care less than a leave when falling from a tree branch. She knows who she is, knows what she can do. She is Oraya, master of the mothership ‘Fortress’, and a strong queen among the Changelings.
A beauty among beasts, some would say, but appearances are always deceiving. She, who was born from the womb of a Wraith, but carried the traits of her Changeling father, was always destined to be the leader of her people. She, who had a stronger mind than any queen did, brought hundreds of Wraith under her reign. She was many things in life, but confused and unfit were not of those things.
Oraya walked through the hallways of the ship, doors opening at the touch of her mind as she made her way to the bridge.
* * *
On the bridge, half a dozen or so men were working incessantly on the controls of the ship. At first glance, anyone would easily mistake them for the Wraith. Their golden slit-pupiled eyes and razor teeth would strike fear into the hearts of anyone unfamiliar with them. In addition, the hands working the controls had black claws that stood out against their pale green skin that looked even paler in the lighting of the ship. The differences between the Changelings and their close kin were extremely hard to notice even to the most observant of people.
The doors to the bridge opened, and they all looked up to see Oraya enter the room, her fair light tanned skin tone far different from their own green skin. One of the men, a tall one with long white hair that reached the end of his shoulders, stepped forward and then bowed slightly.
“My queen,” his mind was polished and brilliant, his thoughts flawless and quick to react to any situation. Moreover, his respect towards her was easily recognized, among other things. Oraya smiled and returned his greeting.
“Onyx.” She bowed her head slightly to the rest of the room, and they returned the gesture, respect flowing through each and every mind. Oraya smiled innocently and broke from her connection to Onyx, swiftly making her way to the control chair. “Now that the pleasantries are over, let’s finally finish these repairs,” she said aloud and without even a fraction of hesitation, turned and sat down, pulling up the schematics for the Cruiser that was drifting in front of them. “Alright, where are we with this ship?” The Changeling working on the left side opened his mind to her, “We’re ready, and are just about to test the hyperdrive.” Oraya smiled and nodded, “Excellent, let me know when to begin.”
She could feel Onyx’s slight annoyance and grinned to herself. Though they all refer to her as ‘their queen’, this ship, Nightward, belonged to Onyx and his crew. Before the Cruiser was found, he enjoyed his ship and his crew all to himself, without a queen, as it has been for most of his reign.
But then Oraya was assigned to be onboard Nightward when the Cruiser began its repairs. And unfortunately, Oraya is still a queen, and a queen demands a lot of attention, from both ship and man. Which meant that she unknowingly slowed the repairs of the ship.
And in all honesty, she would’ve wanted nothing more than to leave Onyx to do everything his way. However, the Zenana had taken a vote and determined that a queen should be there to supervise and give instructions when necessary. And since the other queens were currently occupied, that left, to her and Onyx’s dismay, Oraya.
There was a continuous chatter among the crew as they did the final checking for the Cruiser. Life support systems, inertial dampeners, gravity controls, shields and weapons… Everything got checked before Onyx was finally satisfied to test the ship’s hyperdrive. One of the crew members noticed that there was a slight malfunction in the inertial dampeners and quickly jumped to repair it.
After twenty minutes of waiting, Oraya groaned, and everyone in the room could feel her frustration and boredom. And to be fair, this wasn’t really her natural habitat. The Changelings, at least the majority of them, were never truly used to living on ships for the entirety of their lives. There are very few who did prefer to spend their time on ships roughly the size of Wraith Cruisers. The reason for this was so that they may patrol the territory and fight off intrusion, should it ever come down to a fight.
But more often than not, Changelings usually spend most of their lives on their home planets and enjoy the company of the other natives who lived there. But on occasion, they will use their home ships, the large one they were currently on, to travel to other planets in another galaxy, and perhaps settle there for a short period of time. For Oraya, the travelling was necessary, because though they did not feed as often as Wraith, they still needed to eventually. And it’s easier to cull on a planet rich in strangers than to feed on the humans they’ve come to know as friends.
However in Oraya’s defense, she had just returned home after a long culling in another galaxy, and was looking forward to some rest, before she was assigned to this. And so everyone on this ship understood and sympathized with her frustration, all except for Onyx, who simply chose to ignore her.
After finally feeling confident that everything was ready, Onyx looked up from the control board he was using. “Alright, everything appears to be operating properly. We’re ready for the hyperdrive test.” After waiting for a minute, everyone turned to look at the control chair, only to find Oraya snoozing in it. Her head was tilted slightly to the side, resting on the palm of her left arm that was resting against the arm of the chair.
Some of the crew started snickering as Onyx lightly brushed his finger under her nose, causing her to frown and attempt to brush him away. Onyx rolled his eyes and rapidly tapped on her head, causing her to jolt awake and glare at him.
“Do you mind?” she asked, the image of him being thrown into space, as clear as daylight inside her mind. Onyx gave a heavy sigh and returned back to his place in front of the controls. “I apologize for waking you from your… slumber. But the ship is ready for testing, and we are all waiting for you.”
Oraya mumbled the word ‘finally’ and then sat up straight in the control chair. “Very well then, beginning hyperdrive activation.” The chair started purring and she could feel the Cruiser outside coming to life at the touch of her mind, eager to return home. The obedient ship freely made every system available for her and she searched through it until she found the hyperdrive systems.
The Cruiser quickly responded and the engine began warming up. Oraya smiled, feeling her own eagerness to go home and finally sleep in her own bed. “Alright, forming a hyperspace window in 3… 2… 1…”
“Wait!” Onyx’s mind went across the room, faster than a bolt of lightning. For a moment, everyone stayed silent in shock, waiting for Onyx’s command. The first to break from the sudden shock was Oraya, who gave him an irritated look. “What now? This had better be extremely important.” Onyx looked through the data spilling on the main computers, when suddenly he pointed with his off-hand at something displayed on the screen.
“The subsonic sensors seemed to be detecting some interference in the hyperdrive, though it can’t specify what exactly it is.” Oraya looked at the information displayed on the ships monitors, frowning and then spoke. “So, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that it would be best if we postpone the hyperdrive test, at least until I can find the cause of this interference and determine the risk.”
“How long will it take you to identify this ‘interference’?” Oraya asked mind to mind, her impatience visibly displayed. Onyx shrugged and continued going through the data, “It would seem that the problem is too small for the sensors to pinpoint exactly what it is, it could be anywhere from the hyperdrive’s power supply to the window itself, it might even be the navigations.”
“So, in conclusion, you don’t know?” Oraya asked impatiently and Onyx sighed, knowing exactly where this was going.
“No, I do not.”
“Is this going to effect the test in any way?” Oraya asks directly, desperate to know if they could finish this or not.
Onyx looked through the data one more time, “It doesn’t seem like it would, but…”
“Good enough for me,” Oraya broke their connection and leaned back into the chair. Onyx seemed like he wanted to protest more, but he knew it would be pointless to do so. Even he wished to get this over with, and have his ship, his hive, all to himself again.
Besides, no one was aboard the Cruiser should anything go wrong, and that meant no one would get hurt. Oraya gave him a side eyed view, her thoughts screaming the words “What could go wrong?” Though Onyx could have answered that, he chose not to walk into that trap. Not this time!
“Going into hyperspace now.” Oraya gave the command and the Cruiser shared its delight as its engines started up again.
The Wraith Cruiser moved into position as the hyperspace window started forming. However just as it was going into hyperspace, the ship crumbled into millions of microscopic pieces. The impact was so fast and aggressive that their ship, Nightward, protested as it felt the turbulence of the blast.
Everyone on the bridge stood up and looked in horror at the event that played out, their jaw’s wide open and their eyes flickering in apprehension. The only person who managed to keep a straight face, was Oraya, who was holding a poker face while leaning back against the control chair. After a few seconds she sighed, as if she was the poster girl for calmness. “Well, that was unexpected.” Onyx broke from his own shocked expression and glared at her when she suddenly erupted into a fit of laughter.