8
« on: July 05, 2013, 08:06:15 PM »
It's something that so many strive for. A simple thing. The desire to be self sufficient. To act on one's own behalf, without the oversight of another. Freedom from the chain of command, the yoke of the state, and the tyranny of mere thugs. Long ago, on the oceans of Terra, the reach of the state could only go so far. Before the rise of nuclear energy, in that age of steam and sail, thugs, states and militaries plied those vast expanses of water. The sparking blue waves plagued by great tempests, and the baking sun both. Impassable barriers to the north and south- great walls of ice and chill that only the enigmatic Captain Nemo, that mysterious being which a Frenchman of antiquity, wielding only a pen had created ... Only that Captain, along with his Nautilus could hope to penetrate those icy recesses of the earth.
The early days of the Mastery Epoch were much like those old seas. Incalculable expanses, plied by states and pirates. Plagued with gouts of citizens looking to make their fortune, pushing from frontier to frontier, as the Domain of Man slowly sidled up behind it, and claimed those uncharted worlds for itself. Pioneers became citizens, generations passed, and the galaxy spun at such mind-escaping speeds around its axis, imperceptible to the common man. The sector in which Corvus resides was one of those frontiers, though, the presence of the stargates removed much of the former mystery and awe of those early expansions. No more could mere pirates, mere citizens truly ply their way across the inky vacuum between the stars. All was the eminent property of the domain, in the end.
But then came that fatal event. The collapse. The gates darkened, like great lights flickering- burning up their monolithic circuits, before petering out forever. This half-formed paradise was cut off. The Domain nowhere to be seen. Like a patch of cells without oxygen, these worlds, and the people who lived upon them, began to die.
Piracy spread like a malignant cancer so very quickly. Worlds descended into anarchy. Life was brutal, and short. Only through that stroke of luck offered by the arrival of the soon-to-be Hegemony saved the sector from fracturing, and burning out in its entirety. However, perhaps other factions would have grown and persevered in its place? Even so, it was a stabilizing force. Helping to stall the decay of this sector, which once held such hope for humanity. This Hegemony, slow and ponderous, was but a great stone, surrounded on all sides by many myriads of smaller ones. Its reach vast, but its grip unsure, reflexes clumsy- the common man was once more left to his own devices. Mercenaries. Traders. Freelancers. Pirates. Privateers. Independent nations and stations of any and all stripes sprawled across that vast expanse of stars, weaving the surfaces of those few worlds suitable for life with their cities. Auto-Factories churned, and men died.
But that spark. That glimmer of hope upon the vast waves of the cosmic ocean ... Independence. Men were once more free to choose. Free to forge. Free to fight, and free to die. The rule of law, of the Hegemony, or of any empire could not conquer every inch- nay not even a clear majority of these worlds, in earnest.
Some people call this the end of humanity. The twilight of our race.
But in earnest, it's a rise. The rise of men. The rise of Starfarers.
...
Callahan's eyes blinked open sharply, her mind transitioning from a fitful sleep, to a state of even-handed alertness in what seemed like less than a second. The somewhat spacious, but utilitarian-looking captain's berth was dark around her, heavy piles of blankets curled about her form as she lay on the uncomfortably firm mattress. The insistent hum of her vessels' generators was present around her- along with the subtle keening of the travel drives. A clock upon her side table displayed the time flatly, as well as the date, in smaller text below. She made note of this with a sigh, before laying her head back down upon the lumpy pillow, and its somewhat grimy exterior.
The clock stated simply; "9:05PM STD - JAN/16/206." She'd gone to sleep mere minutes before. With a tired sigh, her eyes closed, concealing the green-blue orbs from sight. Her mind hopefully devoid of those strange, grand thoughts that had awoken her.
END SEGMENT 1
