Chapter 52

The Darkstrider jumped once again into hyperspace, leaving behind the Luuchari hyperspace waypoint. There were few ships loitering around this waypoint, as it was oner of the lesser used waypoints. Few people used these hyperplanes to reach Naucturi space, as most travel and commerce came from other points in the galaxy.

Once the ship was away, everyone in the crew, including the VI’s, were to attend a meeting in the lounge. Alex had called everyone up, as they still had an objective to complete. Delilah and Jaesa walked through the doors and found that everyone was assembled, including Stanley, who was there via a holographic interface.

“Is that everyone?” Alex asked.

“Just one moment, sir,” Stanley stated as he made a few gestures in the realm of cyberspace. Moments later, a full rendering of Zuzanna sitting on her bed appeared right next to him.

“Good afternoon, sir,” Zuzanna said with a smile.

“Good afternoon, Doctor Walczak. How are you feeling today?” Alex queried.

“I’m holding out, sir. While being abed like this isn’t ideal, I’m still grateful to be alive!” Zuzanna replied.

“With any luck, you’ll only be there for a few more days. Now, let’s get down to business and go over why I called you all here today,” Alex told them.

“Which is, sir?” Natalya asked, looking up at her man fondly.

“We will need information about how to comport ourselves among the Naucturi. Not only that, but on how to keep a low profile while moving around a station that is in their territory. So, who among you knows more about the Naucturi people than everyone else?” Alex questioned.

“That would be me, and Pree, sir,” Inari stated, raising her hand to get the brawny Croat’s attention.

“And don’t forget me,” Korsa said, crossing both sets of arms under her breasts.

“How often have you dealt with the Naucturi?” Priya wondered, not thinking that Korsa had dealt with them much.

“Before I settled on Andaari station and opened my clinic, I spent a few years traveling the galaxy. Lived on a Naucturi colony world for a few years before making my way out there,” Korsa stated.

“You lived among the Naucturi?” Taal’ani asked, surprised that she, the resident hacker, didn’t know about this little tidbit of information.

“Yup! Was studying with their medical professionals for some years doing research,” Korsa stated.

“For...?” Alex started, hesitating to speak more, as he knew this was a touchy subject for Korsa.

“Yeah,” Korsa said with a sigh. “When I didn’t find anything that led to the results I was looking for, I left them behind and continued traveling.”

“Mama, you didn’t tell me about that!” Natalya said, fixing her brown eyes onto her foster mother.

“You never asked,” Korsa giggled in her defense.

“She does have a point!” Alex said with a chuckle, which earned him a ‘really?’ glare from Natalya. He stared back at her with a ‘bring it, honey’ look, which would have turned into something else had Priya not interrupted.

“OK, OK, OK, can we put that aside for now?” the East Indian woman questioned, bringing attention back to the reason they were there to begin with.

“Yes, please! Save the eye fucking and punisher grade sex for when the rest of us aren’t here,” Inari said, shooting a glance at Natalya.

“Punisher grade sex, huh?” Kasumi questioned, giving Alex a glance.

“We’ll talk later and, by the way,” Alex said as he leaned in to Kasumi so only she could hear him. “Natalya is the one doing the punishing.”

Kasumi blinked a few times, then turned to look at Natalya, who just shrugged and grinned. The Asian redhead then started fanning herself as many lustful thoughts raced through her mind. She sat herself down, keeping her cool while everyone else was seated so they could let Inari, Priya, and Korsa have the floor.

“So, where should we start?” Priya asked.

“Probably with the basics of how Naucturi society functions as a whole,” Inari stated.

“I would venture a guess that many Naucturi are along the lines or mindset of Admiral Kantori?” Alex wondered.

“In Naucturi space, Admiral Kantori is considered to be a very liberal man. What is reasonable to most sentient species is straight up outlandish to most Naucturi. Especially if they are from the main cluster of worlds where they originated from,” Korsa stated.

“Great! So they’re uptight ... assholes?” Shazza questioned, making sure she had the right turn of phrase.

“Not how I would say it, but that is a very ... apt description for how they are towards other species. Thankfully, only those who are from their homeworld tend to be like that. Naucturi who live on the fringes of their territorial republic, are more reasonable than most. The only Naucturi you’ll find who are more along what the rest of the galaxy sees as good people are those who live outside their borders,” Inari stated.

“Great. So my worst fear of condescending asshats is an actual thing,” Alex grumbled, while a few other crew members looked at the big man, somewhat amused.

“That’s not far off the mark, but it is better to assume such things among the people in their slice of the galaxy. While there are reasonable sorts among them, we have to be careful, as it can be difficult to get a read on them,” Korsa stated.

“So, they are much like humans and other sentient species that way?” Aesha questioned.

“Pretty much, yeah,” Inari said in agreement.

“Are they strict adherents to the rule of law?” Luminia queried.

“Generally, they are, but most of them are of the assumption that any visitors don’t read or are unfamiliar with their laws. While they do follow the guidelines that are set out by the UCW, since they helped found it, that is what they generally are. Guidelines more than actual rules,” Priya told them.

“How close are their laws to those of the UCW?” Luminia pressed.

“Pretty close, but with just enough differences that if you step wrong, they can tie you up in legalities that are a downright pain in the ass to wriggle out of,” Inari told her. “Why?”

“I’ll let you know later, but just know that if we should run into any trouble, it will be handy to have me close by,” Luminia said cryptically.

“Is there anything else we should know about the Naucturi in general?” Alex wondered.

“Yeah. Be sure to keep your ego in check, as Naucturi are insanely arrogant when in their home systems. They often view other races amongst the galaxy as lesser species, especially humans,” Inari told everyone.

“Why is that? I mean, I get they are one of the elder races of the galaxy, but there has to be some sort of logical reason for it?” Kasumi asked, believing that logic thinking beings would be above such pettiness in this day and age.

“There are two main reasons for this, but they are far from legit, logical or even practical! What’s worse is that they are deeply rooted in Naucturi society, even to this day,” Korsa told her.

“And they are?”

“The first being that when humanity was chased off their world by the Xuul’khan, they are seen as having brought the ‘demons’ to the doorstep of galactic civilization. Not only that, but the fact that they didn’t try to take back their homeworld has lessened them in the eyes of such a proud race. Since humanity has no ‘True Home’ as most beings do these days, the Naucturi thinks it gives them license to turn their noses up at humans in general,” Korsa stated.

“And the second reason?” Shazza wondered, her disgust for this so-called ‘elder race’ apparent.

“Before the rise of humanity, the Naucturi were the apex race among the stars. Their civilization had the most relics that were left behind by the Primes. This gave them the technological edge they used and enjoyed when dealing with the other races. It allowed them to bargain from a position of strength. When humans arrived, sporting technology of the Primes and of a level that dwarfed their own, they were ... offended,” Inari told them.

“Offended? Why would they be offended?” Kasumi questioned.

“Because, for the longest time, the Naucturi held this belief that they were the ‘Chosen’ race of the Primes. The ones who would rule the galaxy in their absence. The fact that humans had technology they didn’t, shattered that belief in many of them. I’m sure you can imagine how tough a pill that was for them to swallow,” Korsa said with a raised eyebrow.

“Even out here, among the various people of the galaxy, supremacist ideals still run rampant,” Alex growled, having seen more than enough of such arrogant and narcissistic attitudes.

“How? How is it that any race can see another race’s possession of better technology as a personal affront to them?” Shazza questioned, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Naucturi arrogance. Because they held such an advantage over others for so long, even the most open-minded of their people fell prey to these supremacist attitudes. When it was discovered that humanity had so much in the manner of Prime technology, the Naucturi demanded that it be handed over to them,” Korsa went on.

“And ... what was humanity’s reply?” Alex questioned.

“Basically, the Naucturi were told by Commodore Ragnarsson, and I quote; ‘Go get fucked by Cthulhu!’” Korsa snickered. Alex joined her with hearty, booming laughter, as did Kasumi and the rest of the humans, who saw the matter as funny as her man did.

“What is this ... Cthulhu?” Shazza asked, as did the Artucian, who were unaware of the meaning of the word. Natalya took a beat to explain what it was, which made their eyes widen, then they too joined in everyone’s mirth.

“Ah ... Sigurd always was one for speaking his mind,” Alex chuckled.

“You knew the man?” Inari asked, surprised at this statement.

“Of course! Everyone who trained on Project Prometheus knew members of the other crews. Especially the officers of the command structure of each vessel. It was imperative that we all know each other, so that we knew what each particular command group would do when put in various situations,” Alex told the group.

“Why?” Taal’ani questioned.

“Simple. So if anything was to go wrong, or a specific ship fall under attack, then we would know how the other group would think and act. When you know that, then both groups can work together in a concerted effort to pull the group in trouble out of the fire,” Kasumi explained, having been part of the command group of the Perseus, to an extent.

“Ah! That makes a lot of sense, actually!” Tahral said, the logic clicking in place for the Artucian Keeper.

“I take it that the Naucturi were less than tickled by this response?” Alex wondered, still chuckling a little at his long dead friend’s insult.

“Once they understood what he meant, they were ... grossly offended to where they nearly started hostilities with humanity. Thankfully, the other races got on the Naucturi’s back about being such high and mighty assholes that they backed down,” Korsa said to them.

“I doubt it was that simple?” Kasumi asked.

“Threats of trade boycotts and cutting them off from certain resources and ... luxuries they had enjoyed forced the Naucturi’s hand. There were calls for humanity to share this technology among the myriad of races in the galaxy, which they promised to uphold. In exchange for the technologies that humanity had, they required a world cluster with at least one Gaia class world to settle as their new home,” Korsa replied.

“The Naucturi balked, thinking that humanity was asking for too much. Given the fact that they were adrift and with little in the manner of resources, many others did think this as well. The leaders of the time discussed this and, after much in the manner of hard bargaining and negotiations, the price was agreed to. But first there was the matter of the invading Xuul’khani fleet they needed to deal with,” Inari stated, stepping in to tell the story.

“The Xuul’khan pushed hard against the fleets of the galaxy, but soon enough, it had ground down to a stalemate. What we didn’t know was that the Xuul’khan were doing, was simply holding their ground. It took a few weeks, but eventually, the greater whole of the Xuul’khani fleet arrived, which dwarfed what the races of the galaxy had assembled.”

“The fleet came at everyone as one singular entity, destroying everything in its path. With that many ships all clustered together, there was nothing that could slow them down, much less stop them. It wouldn’t be until the battle known and the Nova Storm where the tide of the Dark War was turned,” Natalya interjected, playing the role of the historian.

“As you said, Alex, Commodore Ragnarsson must have set the Solaris reactors to some sort of overload. What followed was classified as a small supernova, which was more than powerful enough to annihilate the entire Xuul’khan fleet. Few ships escaped that battle and those that did spoke of the carnage that was left behind by such a blast. There were some Xuul’khani ships that survived, but they quickly turned tail,” Natalya went on.

“Was I them, I certainly would!” Alex stated.

“Sadly, with the destruction of the Hercules, also came the end of the deal that humanity had struck with the Naucturi, and the UCW as a whole,” Korsa stated sadly.

“Those dirty rotten scoundrels!” Kasumi seethed.

“Why did the destruction of the Hercules negate the deal that had been agreed to?” Alex questioned, wondering why the Naucturi had been so facetious.

“Simply put, all the technology they were interested in was aboard the Hercules. Either in its data archives or on the ship itself. With the ship utterly destroyed, the Naucturi saw no point in upholding their end of the bargain. So, with no other Prometheus class dreadnoughts on hand, humanity was left to fend for themselves as the Naucturi went to salvage what remained of the Hercules,” Natalya huffed.

“So, they renege on the deal, then decide to claim what remains without giving us anything in return for our sacrifice? What a bunch of high headed dickheads!!” Alex griped.

“Thankfully, the Naucturi weren’t the first ones at the salvage site. The Rondathans got there first, and pretty much told the Naucturi to piss off. Normally, the Naucturi wouldn’t have let this stand, but the Nova Storm happened in Rondathan space. As per the charter of the UCW, which the Rondathans are signatories, they had first crack of what would be salvaged because it was in their territorial space,” Korsa said with a smirking chuckle.

“How was that any better?” Kasumi questioned.

“While the Naucturi are arrogant pricks and can be utter xenophobes, the Rondathans are not. In fact, they are one of the ‘lesser’ races, considering the fact that there is much they need to have in order to survive on most other planets,” Korsa informed them.

The Khontaran woman then informed the group why Rondathans needed the extra help, due to their physiology being far weaker. Not only in constitution but in form as well, since their bodies were not well adapted to higher gravity worlds. Hearing this made Alex and Kasumi wince, as they both had known a few people who had genetic disorders like Vrolik’s Syndrome.

“So, how does this make things better?” Kasumi asked again.

“Because the Rondathans needed help in adapting to being a proper spacefaring race in the galaxy. On the genetic level, Rondathans are nearly as weak as those who have brittle bone diseases, such as Vrolik’s Syndrome. With humanity in possession of the technology needed to correct this, the Rondathans were more than eager to help us. In exchange for the technology needed to make them physically strong, they would allow us to claim one Gaia class system,” Inari informed them.

“Why didn’t the Naucturi, or any other of the more advanced races, give the Rondathans such technologies themselves?” Alex questioned.

“Greed. Each race had their own agenda in getting something that the Rondathans had, in exchange for the technology. In fact, one of the things that makes the Rondathans relevant is their unique fruits that grow only on Rondatha. Many races pay top dollar for such fruits, as they are not only full of flavor, but there are many health benefits to them. Apparently, the Naucturi were in the middle of negotiating a trade deal with the Rondathans when humanity showed up with the Xuul’khan on their heels.”

“I’m going to hazard a guess that such a deal would have greatly benefitted Naucturi?” Kasumi wondered.

“That’s a polite way of putting it. Basically, the Naucturi were looking to rob the Rondathans blind and have a monopoly on who could sell their exotic fruits in the galaxy. Humanity provided a very convenient out for the Rondathans, which they were more than eager to take, given where we stood at that point,” Priya interjected.

“So, humanity gets a world cluster with one Gaia class world, while the Rondathans hold onto the rights to sell their produce at whatever they deem fair? I’d say that was more than a fair tradeoff!” Alex grinned.

“The Naucturi didn’t think so. If it wasn’t for the fact that we had just walked out of the Dark War with the Xuul’khan, there might have been blood spilled over the matter,” Priya stated.

“They really are a bunch of imperialist fuckers, aren’t they?” Shazza questioned.

“They were back in those days. Some who are from their homeworld still are and are often set in their ways. Thankfully, such attitudes are dying, but it can’t come fast enough in some regards,” Inari sighed as she shook her head.

“Well, at least those who are on the fringes of Naucturi space and those who have made their lives out in the galaxy don’t think that way,” Priya stated with a giggle.

“Oh? Met a few Naucturi like that have you?” Alex questioned.

“I have and talking about the Naucturi jogged my memory about something. I saw this Naucturi woman back on Veldhern station on the arm of this brawny redheaded guy. The way she looked up at him was like she wanted to devour the man on the spot!” Priya snickered.

“She was that into him?” Inari asked, her eyebrows climbing a bit.

“It’s easy to spot a woman in love, honey, as you well know,” Priya giggled, giving Inari smoldering bedroom eyes. Inari smirked and hugged Priya close, knowing exactly what her girlfriend was saying.

“Anyway, while the Naucturi had left humanity adrift, the Rondathans were instrumental in getting us on our feet. It took us all of ten years before we were established on our new home of Terra Nova. From there, we took what little we had left and built on it, using many of our failing ships to build the cities that still stand today,” Priya told them.

“I doubt it was all sunshine and rainbows after they got established, though,” Alex surmised as he continued to listen.

“You would guess correctly, sir. Right after we got set up, we used what we knew to get ourselves established, and we went right to rebuilding the fleets we once had. Just because we beat the Xuul’khan back didn’t mean that they wouldn’t be back. The United Human Federation is built on the principle that one day, the Xuul’khani will come back and on that day, we need to be ready to fight them,” Inari stated.

“Smart. The one thing that would help unify humankind in the face of a galaxy full of unfriendly aliens, barring one or two species,” Kasumi said with a sigh.

“Well, the species of the galaxy would cease hostilities and boycotts with humanity another couple of decades later,” Inari stated.

“The Dragon Wars,” Natalya stated with a smirk.

“The Dragon Wars? What was that?” Alex questioned.

“That was when we had made contact with the Takharian people and they made contact with us. Hostile contact, which erupted into a war with them mere minutes after we had initiated first contact with their people,” Natalya stated.

“At this point, most of the galaxy was still in a rebuild phase from what had happened with the Dark War two decades prior. Few species had fully rebuilt their fleets to fighting capacity, so the Takharians coming at everyone was an unwelcome surprise,” Priya told them.

“But they were in for a rude awakening when they tried making a play for Terra Nova,” Korsa said with a chuckle.

“What happened at Terra Nova?” Kasumi asked, curious about what had transpired.

“It was one of humankind’s finest hours. A fleet easily three times the size of what humanity had at the time invaded the system. The Takharians thought that the human fleet would balk or try to go into a toe to toe slugfest, which the Takharians would have won. They thought wrong!” Natalya laughed.

“It’s a little much to get into, but the basic gist of it is that the human fleets not only defended Terra Nova, they annihilated the invading fleet! There were barely any surviving ships left to leave and tell of their defeat at Terra Nova! Once news of this got out, many of the species of the galaxy, who had looked down on humans, now looked up to them. Those who didn’t, at least saw them as equals, which was a far cry better than before,” Inari said, continuing to tell the story.

“After that engagement is when the tide of the Dragon War finally turned in our favor. With one of the Takharian’s premier fleets in shambles, it gave the remaining races of the galaxy the time they needed to rally. Because humanity had a solid fleet and consistently competent commanders, we were the tip of the spear when we finally took the fight to the Takharians,” Natalya stated.

“It was a long and drawn out war and there were losses on all sides. Once the last great warlord of the Takharians was cut down, it took what fight they had left in them. In the end, the last remnant of the Takharian people surrendered to the Unified Coalition of Worlds. Humanity was not only looked upon as an equal, but they were also invited to join the Coalition, which they accepted,” Korsa stated.

“I’m guessing it was after that war was when the Naucturi stopped being such arrogant and stuck up idiots?” Alex questioned.

“For the most part, yes. There are still factions within the Naucturi government that do adhere to the old ways of thinking, but they are getting smaller with every passing year. Few people willingly deal with them these days, despite the power and influence they wield. Thankfully, as I stated earlier, most people of those mindsets tend to stay on or close by their homeworld,” Inari went on.

“With the military power the Federation had in the day and still possesses, humanity is now a major player in the politics that helps shape the galaxy as it is,” Priya told them.

“But that was before the whole schism that wound up creating the Human Confederacy, but that’s a whole other ball of wax,” Natalya said out loud.

“Well, my thanks to you, ladies. That was very illuminating!” Alex told them as he thanked them for the history lesson.

“Sir?” Kasumi called out, getting Alex’s attention.

“No need to stand on formality here, Kas,” Alex chuckled as he turned to face his redheaded lover. Kasumi smirked and nodded, still having a bit of trouble stepping out of the military mindset.

“Alex ... I would suggest that we all do some additional studying on the Naucturi people as a whole. Their history, culture, everything. I know they may be one people under one government, but knowing the factions and the mindsets of those factions among them might be a big help,” Kasumi said to him.

“Hmmm! An excellent idea, Kasumi! Would anyone here have that information on hand?” Alex asked, wondering if Korsa, Priya or Inari had anything on hand they could use.

“Well, I know mama has some stuff on them, but most of the stuff to do with their history and culture are files that I have,” Natalya said with a grin.

“Would you mind taking us through the basics of that, then? I feel that a proper history and cultural lesson would be in order,” Alex told her.

“I would love to teach you all about that!” Natalya replied enthusiastically. Kasumi just giggled at the woman, loving how she was practically gushing over the chance to teach them something about history.

“What?” Natalya asked.

“Your enthusiasm is just ... adorable!” Kasumi snickered.

“Well ... I always loved history and still do! When I was a little girl, I had dreams of being an archaeologist and maybe a curator one day! With such a big galaxy, there’s bound to be some ancient ruins out there no one has seen yet!” Natalya said to them.

“One day, you’ll be able to fulfill that dream, Nats!” Korsa said to her warmly. Natalya just smiled and set about with starting up the impromptu lesson for everyone to follow along with.

Several hours later, Luminia sat in her cabin, going over the various laws of the Naucturi people. The history and cultural lesson ended a few hours before and Luminia had learned much about the Naucturi as a people from it. While the lesson had been informative, it lacked the full legal component to it, which was needed if they hoped to deal with the Naucturi on a level playing field.

Many of the laws the Naucturi had were fairly straightforward, but there was an equal amount that was annoyingly complex. Feeling another headache coming on, Luminia slid back from her desk and rubbed at her temples. While there was a small, droning hum that permeated every inch of the ship, it was quiet for the most part.

Luminia focused on her breathing, hoping to will the headache away with some relaxation exercises. Closing all four of her eyes helped with dulling the ache somewhat, and the Artucian woman felt some measure of relief. The quiet was then shattered by the sound of her door opening, admitting her friend and bodyguard, Aesha.

“Get lost in some studies again?” Aesha asked.

“Somewhat. The laws of the Naucturi are annoyingly complex! Some of them appear to be needlessly so!” Luminia complained.

“It sounds to me you could use yourself a proper break,” Aesha told her.

“Was just in the middle of that when you walked in,” Luminia told the warrior woman.

“Is it a tough study?” Aesha inquired.

“About half of it is, and that’s more than enough to make things tricky in dealing with the Naucturi on the most honest of dealings!” Luminia griped.

“Why is that? I mean, there has to be a reason as to why their laws are like this,” Aesha stated.

“I’ve been going through their histories concerning why some of their laws are this complicated. I know that there is some sort of correlation that ties it all together, but I have yet to find out what it is,” Luminia huffed to herself.

“Why not take a break from it for now and resume your studies in the morning? It will be at least a couple more days before we arrive at the station,” Aesha said to her friend.

“Look over it with fresh eyes and a fresh mind?” Luminia queried, having heard this mantra from the woman a few times already.

“Exactly! There’s no sense in running yourself ragged! You need rest and time for your mind to absorb this,” Aesha told her friend and lover.

“Fine. I’ll take a break and come back at it tomorrow,” Luminia replied, relenting to her friend.

“Good! Now, allow me to help you with that headache,” Aesha told her as she walked forward and moved Luminia’s hands, replacing them with her own. She then rubbed the ambassador’s temples as soothingly as she could, trying not to make it worse.

“Mmmmmmmm! That feels ... divine!” Luminia moaned, feeling her mind already starting to relax.

“Good! Because I have a few other ideas that I’m sure will help with you relaxing better,” Aesha said cryptically.

Before Luminia could even ask what Aesha had in mind, she then felt one of Aesha’s hands go to her neck and rub the base of her skull, giving Luminia goosebumps. A slight shock rippled through her when she felt Aesha’s hand slide down the front of her robes and palm one of her breasts. Luminia bit her bottom lip and moaned happily as Aesha massaged both her neck and tits.

“Mmmmnnnnnn!! Had a plan before you walked in here, did you?” Luminia giggled, figuring out the reason that Aesha had just dropped in on her unannounced.

“More like ‘we’ did,” Aesha snickered as she continued to massage Luminia’s neck and chest.

“We?”

“Yes, we,” came the voice of her new human boyfriend as he walked into the room. The door opened to admit Matthias Renauld, along with Delilah, the sexbot, in tow. Luminia’s eyes widened at this, then she looked up at Aesha with an amused glare.

“Waited for me to tire myself out a little before pouncing on me like Sahr’coun hound on the hunt?” Luminia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Something like that. I mean, with you studying as much as you are, we all felt that you could use yourself a proper break to help keep your head on right,” Aesha giggled.

“And by ‘proper break’ you mean ambushing me and fucking my brains out? Because if that’s the plan, I’m all for it!” Luminia laughed, smirking up at Aesha, then over at Matthias, who had this massive grin plastered on his face.

“Well, with that in mind ... door, lock. Enact privacy mode, maximum decibel range,” Matthias called out. Seconds later, the door did as he commended and locked while the room activated the sound dampeners so no one could hear what they were doing.