Hello, and welcome! Herein will be posted my first attempt at fanfiction writing, having gotten an idea for a story whilst playing Nexerelin and deciding to go with it!
Before I begin, I wish to say thank you to the Starsector development team for the amazing work they've put into this beautiful game for years, to Histidine for creating and maintaining Nexerelin and writing his fanfictions which have eventually inspired me to give writing one a go, and for the rest of this community for their help in making Nexerelin, making everything else they did, and for reading this humble attempt at making an interesting story! Feedback is very welcome, and thank you everyone once again
UpdatingSpoiler
I aim to release a new part every 1-3 days, unless something extraordinary happens IRL.
Spoiler
Starsector is property of Fractal Softworks. This text also contains references to several mods and their mechanics and functionalities, including but not limited to: Nexerelin, Ship/Weapon Pack, Underworld, Luddic Enhancement Mod.
Spoiler
Bad language, depictions of gore and violence. The very first part of the story ought to be safe for work, but the rest of it almost certainly may not.
Thus Wept Jangala
Quick introduction/descriptionSpoiler
After cycles of non-stop protracted warfare, the Persean League shocks the Hegemony to the core by wresting control of Jangala from them. Unwilling to let this stand, the Hegemony scrambles to mobilize a fleet to reclaim this prized world from the enemy. However, something is amiss - shortly after the Hegemony rout, contact to the system had been all but lost, and no fleets are coming in nor out. While this may be merely pirate activity, some cynical souls murmur of possible Luddic involvement. The Church has officially stayed out of the conflict so far, condemning the faithless warmongering on both sides, and Jangala has majority Luddic population, after all...
Prologue 1/2: Make Your Peace
Spoiler
It was simply unbeliveable. When the news broke out of Hegemony's heartbreaking loss of Jangala to a surprise Persean League invasion, it sent shockwaves through every strata of Hegemony society, red-faced generals crying out, howling and roaring their wows to reclaim this precious jewel of Hegemony dominion.
The Hegemony's mighty navy, working side to side with Diktat in an uneasy alliance, has been worn down and strung out fighting against the combined League/Tri-Tachyon menace in what has grown into cycles of constant, hectic carnage. Despite this, a truly grand invasion fleet had been assembled in an impressively short amount of time. Featuring almost every type of ship the navy had at disposal, which guarded a truly awesome amount of Valkyre troop transports packed to brim with eager marines, each proudly bearing the orange phoenix, which were legion.
Private Lance 'Perry' Phobos triple-checked his power-armor suit and his standard-issue CP-carbine before securing the equipment in his platoon's allotted bunk-space. After finishing, he paused to look up and take in his surroundings for a moment. The Valkyre he was aboard on was in pristine condition, and that reflected on every nook and cranny of the ship, both within and without.
Perry was a grounder of somewhat modest means, enrolling into a military academy to escape a future of bueraucratic drudgery, which he despised. Trying, but failing, to become a qualified spaceman, nevertheless he desperately kept trying, until one day during a routine medical check-up he was handed an under-the-table approval to be transferred to a marine bootcamp. Fortune smiled on him since then, having completed his training just in time to join this grand invasion force. The impeccably pristine condition of the ship, despite the complete war-weariness of the Hegemony and her allies, duly reminded him of his fortune thus far, and gave him hope that this streak shall indeed continue despite bleak odds and that he will make everyone proud in the end. He lowered his gaze just in time to notice a squadmate gesturing him to come to the pre-mission briefing.
Despite the high hopes for the contrary, the briefing confirmed what most had already suspected – the task force is going in blind. Contact with the Corvus system was all but completely lost shortly after the last Hegemony fleet limped out after the League conquered Jangala. No doubt Barad's moons became abuzz with carrion eaters, ready to engorge themselves on carnage left behind after the dreadful siege, and the independent polity of Asharu being able to do little than hunker down and pray for its survival.
What was not so expected, though, were the final few FTL comms recieved from Corvus. Only a few garbled messages seemingly filled with nonsense went out before the system's comm relay apparently shut down. In its conclusion, the briefing mentioned that „the presumed content and context of these last recieved FTL communiques may indicate heavy luddic involvement“. Most were aware of what could this possibly mean, but refused to believe something like that could actually happen. With the current state of war, it would be very bad for morale indeed.
„Pather terrorists? Gimme a break. If Jangala's population is majority Luddic, and they consider the world to be holy, then obviously they ain't out to do anything stupid there, right? It's not like they got bigger fish to fry, am I right? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we can't beat those Pather SOBs in a fight or anything, but...“ After the briefing Perry listened to his fellow marines murmur about Luddites for what seemed an eternity. He went to check his gear again and prepare for what was coming the best he could, determined not to let his dour cynicism – stoked by this ill Luddic omen – get to him.
