[i]Once Upon A Time….. No, that’s not it.

They call me Ishmael….Wrong setting.

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…...Wait, no.

Let me start over….

Every story has a beginning but it seems that no matter where we begin there is always more to the beginning than we may know; things that unravel as each word is presented. This is one such story. But each story does have a place that is the catalyst, the spark that ignited the events to come and created the fire needed to continue. That is where we will begin.[/i]


[b]Earth Tower – 3590[/b]

The day was like many others. The Tower had been quiet over the previous night, for the day that was just breaking dawn was to be a rather eventful one for them. One they had been bracing for. Today Silvia would leave home, for good, to start her final few months of training to be able to take control of her own tower on another planet. The crew of the Earth Tower had raised Silvia; she was more to them than just some high ranking talent. She was their friend, their little sister and they her family. The only she could remember. They were protective of her and none in the tower, no matter how volatile and vocal Silvia could be, wanted her to leave but GNC had spoken. When GNC speaks, you listen. 

Silvia did not need the training; she all but ran Earth Tower for Tower Lead Crisin when it was down time but GNC was bureaucratic. Everything by the book and by the numbers. T-1 Silvia had not had enough time dealing with the foreign relations of other planets to be placed as a Tower Lead yet. Save some major catastrophe she would have to finish her training especially after all the trouble she had caused with various crews on other planets during her training over the years. Now as punishment from the GNC, she was being shipped off to train under the GNCs most loathed Tower Lead, Tristan. 

“beep….beep….Beep….Beep….BEep….BEep….BEEp….BEEp….BEEP….BEEP….BEEEEEEPPPPPP!” 

The alarm started quietly as it did each morning, slowly adding volume and intensity before it suddenly rose from its place by the bed and went flying towards the wall. It crashing into the rough surface and shattering; pieces flying to the floor. Silence had been reachieved. A soft groan came from under the covers of the bed that was situated in the corner of the room. Slowly a head emerged; soft ebony locks with streaks of white could be seen framing a sleepy face that was accentuated with agitated eyes. “It’s too damn early…”a sharp voice echoed against the metal walls from a petite feminine figure. Silvia sat up and rubbed her eyes before rolling out of bed and dressing. Today she was leaving; her bags were packed by the door of her room, waiting for her with papers from the GNC documenting her transfer today. A harsh reminder from the uncaring corporation that she would leave her home today, perhaps for good. 

Silvia, once dressed, sat on the edge of her bed as she pulled her boots on thinking to herself about everything that had lead up to this point. Sure, she could have not put the Tower Lead of Lirdem in the airlock of the substation of the moon Platrac, but he did try to grope her. She didn’t have to send the Head Of GNC Personnel from his cushy seat in the tower on Galax 284 right into the middle of an animal stampede, but he had refused to properly outfit the tower with enough high ranking talents to properly make sure that the local population was adequately taken care of. And she’d be damned if she would apologize for threatening to turn the Head Of Security for GNC’s mind to prehistoric sludge if he ever laid his hand on another child. Hell, she wasn’t going to apologize for any of it but GNC had its regulations and sadly all of the offenders had followed them. Silvia had not. Now it was time to ship off and she shuddered at the thought of working for Tower Lead Tristan for the planet Altenia.

Pompous, arrogant, loathed was the rumor floating around the GNC grape vine. It gave her an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if it was only being made worse by the nightmares she had been having off and on recently. Each one growing more intense as the nights passed. She hoped they would subside once she reached Altenia and was able to settle in. The fact she had to make another jump today didn’t sit well with her either. Talents, in general, did not like space travel. It wasn’t that they were fearful but to put their lives in the hands of another talent always sat wrong with them. They were of the opinion they could do it themselves, they didn’t need help, and they could do it better than the one in charge of the jump. The higher the rank, the higher the ego for most. For Silvia, she just hated the ego of most high ranking talents.

Shaking the thoughts out of her mind she rose from her place on the bed and walked over to the door, hitting the activation switch and it sliding open; the door moving into the metal face of the wall exposing the corridor on the other side and a male figure leaning back against the wall dressed in the tell-tale attire of the ranking security person of the tower. His arms crossed over his chest, with a tooth pick held lazily in his teeth as he smiled towards Silvia. 

“Morning angel,” he said with a broad smile as he held his arms out to her. Silvia growled for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking over to him; resting her head against him as she gave him a hug, his arms encircling her as she did. She was so small against him but then again Silvia was small compared to most. 

“Hey Marx,” Silvia said as she stood there, still hugging him, seemingly refusing to let go. Marx just stood there and let her. Marx had taken a liking to Silvia when she was young, they grew up together in the tower. His parents were a set of T-2’s that had adopted him when he was a baby and with Silvia being an orphan herself they bonded like brother and sister over the years. Silvia did not want to leave one of the few she considered true family and he did not want her to go. 

“Ready?” he asked as he pulled back and ruffled her hair. Silvias eyes narrowed as his hand flew back and she smirked. “Okay, okay, no need to get rough,” he teased before stepping inside her room and grabbing her bags for her, slinging them over his shoulder. With his other hand he scooped her up and began to carry her effortlessly down the corridor towards the elevators. 

“Put me down you oaf,” she sneered before smacking him on top of his head. Marx ignored her protests and just kept trudging on, finally setting her down when they reached the elevator itself. “Ugh, you!”

“Yes me, deal with it. I’ll carry you all the way to the docks if I want,” he said as he shot her a glance waiting for the doors to open. Silvia sighed, she didn’t want to fight with him and she knew he was just being playful. Marx was always this way with her. He teased he, messed with her but in the end she had seen him stand between her and many a bully as they were growing up protecting her until she could do so for herself.  

The next moments seemed to whiz by in a blur. People coming up to Silvia as she made her way with Marx to the docking station for boarding; each one telling her good bye and good luck among other things. Their emotions were running wild and by the time Silvia reached her ship she had an enormous headache from all the free broadcasting of thought from the others. Thankfully the older woman standing at the walkway onto the transport ship was not. An older woman in simple but lush garb stood before her stoically. 

“Are you ready?” the woman asked in a raspy voice that had come with age and decades of screaming at people for not doing their jobs up to the level she expected. 

“As I will ever be Crisin,” Silvia stated flatly. Crisin was the Tower Lead for Earth and had raised Silvia since that fateful day she was recovered from beneath the wreckage of the mudslide that had claimed Silvias home and family when she was but three years of age. 

“Very well, good travels,” was all Crisin said before she vanished from sight and appeared in her seat in the Towers Main Operating room. Crisin had never been one to show affection but the fact that she had even made a personal appearance was more than enough for Silvia. That was about as much as she could expect from Crisin, she wasn’t going to push for more from her surrogate mother. 

“Okay, time to go Silvia,” Marx pipped in as he walked out of the ship, having put her bags up for her. He didn’t wait for Silvia to say anything; he just grabbed her and hugged her tight. “You take care of yourself and don’t take any shit from that bastard Tristan okay?” he said quickly before pulling back and looking at her. “Your crystal is already loaded.”

 Silvia nodded and took a deep breath before walking onto the ship and finding her seat. The door closing once she was situated and the air lock hissing slightly as the engines powered up. The soft whine of the turbine humming through the ship as Silvia took a deep breath, she trusted Crisin to send the ship off well but she didn’t trust Tristan to catch it softly. He wasn’t exactly known for his flair of crystal enhanced traveled. 


Up in the main operations room of the tower, the monitors scrolled through the launching procedures and the large screen in the center of the room flickered on. “Earth Tower Lead Crisin set to send Transport Vessel E-253 from Earth Crystal Port A-1 to Main Catch Point for the planet Alteria,” Crisin stated in a flat work tone as the ship itself lifted from the Earth dock and made its way to the assigned Crystal Port. 

On the monitor a gruff set of eyes and cruel lips looked around nonsensically. “Very well,” the man said with a wave of his hand. “Altenia Tower Lead Tristan set to catch Transport Vessel E-253 from Earth Crystal Port A-1 to our main catch point,” Tristan said without a care. “Watch your throw Crisin.”

“Watch your catch Tristan, this one contains precious cargo,” Crisin hissed in the monitor before she focused on the job at hand. Tristan could be seen through the monitor with a sneer on his lips before the monitor went dark. “Ass,” was the last word that slipped from Crisin lips before the gentle song of her crystal could be heard radiating through the room. Crisins facial features went blank as the ship picked up speed and was suddenly gone from sight. A tunnel of light surrounded the vessel in Crisins mind and she held it tight until she felt Tristans catch at the Altenian Catch Point. Releasing her mental grasp on the ship Crisin leaned back in her chair and sighed. “I miss you already Silvia,” she whispered.


[b]Altenian Tower[/b]

The ship came to a jarring halt as Tristan caught it, Silvia jutting forward in her seat slightly and growling under her breath. “For fuck sakes, a ten year old can catch a cargo cruiser with more flair than that,” she muttered as she righted herself in her seat and waited for the ship to dock proper on the planet itself inside the tower. 


“Ship docked sir,” a male like creature said looking over the monitors. He stood nearly seven feet tall and looked more like a giant firefly than a human. 

“Fine, take care of it Craig, you’re head of security,” Tristan spat before rising from his chair and making his way out of the Mor (main operations room) and headed to his private quarters. “Bring her too me once you’re finished,” was all he said before the doors closed.

“Fucking prick,” Craig said before shaking it off and taking a deep breath. “Well, MoR clear of Hurrican Tristan until next catch in 12 hours, relax everyone,” Craig said with a smile on his face. Several of the talents in the room started to laugh. They hated Tristan but Craig made working in the tower passable. Turning he faced his second in command Ailen. “Please head down to the docking port and get T-1 Silvia settled in please. She has floor assignment 42, the whole thing is hers due to her status as you know. Please make sure to make her comfortable. If you wish, you can have Gaia tag along, I am sure after that catch she could use some empathy. Gaia should be on shift now in the childrens infirmary as usual,” he said before pausing to gather the paper work for Ailen to give to Silvia and handing it over to him. “Once she is settled, take her to Tristan for the initial bitch fest that is likely to happen. If she survives that, then bring her to me for debriefing.”

Walking closer to Ailen he reached up and placed a hand on the mans shoulder and leaned in. “Then check on Srath in docking bay twelve, we need more supplies,” he whispered before righting himself and going back to his duties. 


[b]Brax'Na Village[/b]

Dawn had broken hours before in the village of the Brax’Na. The village of the Brax’Na was unlike all other settlements on Altenia. It wasn’t an advanced society, having pushed aside modern ways to hold tight to their heritage. One that was mostly unknown to the GNC due to the isolation the Brax’Na preferred to keep. They had some modern items and knew how to run GNC machinery to help find and dig out the crystals so the Singers could do their job. It was a good living, providing well for them. Well, it would have been if Tristan didn’t find every possible loophole in the system to keep the Brax’Na from receiving their payment and goods of trade in exchange for the work they did.

 Due to the Brax’Na having no known talents they were not much of a threat in the eyes of the GNC and there for their complaints usually went to deaf ears. What the GNC and the Brax’Na did not know was that Tristan intercepted most communications and weeded out anything that would cause him anything more than a mild inconvenience. He enjoyed keeping the Brax’Na under his thumb, they were beneath him as far as he was concerned and if they were ever to rise up he felt confident that he could snub them out without issue; including their precious Jun’Krama. 

The council came together early for the talks of the day. The talks as usual revolved around two things; Crystal Harvesting and the local Tower Lead Tristan.  In the council room was filled with all the members including the Jun’Krama, the chief of the Brax’Na.  The various leaders of the village were in an uproar. Another payment and another shipment of supplies was being held up by Tristan. Nothing had been left at the designated drop point that morning and their food supplies were running short.

“I have had it with that loathsome creature in his pristine tower,” one of the council members, Kre’lin bellowed as he rose from his seat and slammed his fist into the table. “We must take action! We are warriors! Not slaves!”

“And what would that do? Cause the annihilation of our kind? We do not possess the needed resources to take on a Tower, much less the GNC when they decide to retaliate if we for some reason were able to take the Tower,” an older Brax’Na member of the council growled from his seat.

“You are weak Ty’jin! Age has caused you to be fearful instead of fearless,” Kre’lin snapped towards the older man. Within a split second Ty’jin has risen from his chair and his sword was at the throat of Kre’lin.

“Do not doubt my skill young one. Age has not made me weak, it has made me cautious,” he said as he removed the sword from the mans throat and placed it back in its sheath before sitting back down in his seat. “Jun’Krama, we must speak with GNC once again and let them know what it going on.”

“That has done nothing in the past!” Kre’lin said as he rubbed his throat, a small trickle of blood coming from a razor slice. The rest of the council yelled and knocked the table in agreement.

“Perhaps, but we have to try. There is word of a new T-1 on the planet. Perhaps a changing of the guard is happening,” Ty’jin retorted quickly.

“A woman, what good would she be? We have no need of help from that kind. Talent or Woman!”  Kre’lin bellowed.

Ignoring what Kre’lin said Ty’jin leaned closer to the Jun’Krama. “Perhaps it is time you made a personal appearance at the tower; a show of force that we will not stand for it anymore but not a show of war. Woman or not, anything would be better than that demon in the tower now. Even the Goddess of Chaos of herself,” Ty’jin said, referring to the very woman in their lore that had killed their strongest so long ago. The very reason Brax’Na hated woman and talents. “And being a woman, perhaps weak enough to not stand against you?” he said as he perked a brow and awaited word from the one they called their God Warrior.