El Gato Naranja

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

A back and forth argument had erupted between the Gendari monarch, the guards, and the clergywoman, so much so that Sarve began to have trouble tracking who was saying what. The Gendari said that he said that the people commanderring the ship now were pirates, which made Sarve begin to doubt his own memory. Did he actually say that? He couldn't recall, not anymore. His attention was split, worry creeping into every crevice of his mind as this whole situation felt like a bubble waiting to burst. It is, as the settler races would say, the calm before the storm. The fact that nothing had happened yet did little to assuage Sarve’s growing anxiety. The longer they tarry, the more likely people will rush into the ship! And the amphibian overprelate might just prove to be the spark to this forest of panic, waiting to be ignited!

Across the station the lights flickered out, replaced, a few moments later, by dim, red, emergency lighting. For those on the station, an alarm began to blare.

For those in the loading bay, this was, on queue, accompanied by the sudden appearance of huge, ant-like, six legged insectoids - metacer. They streamed towards the bay like an angry wave, some clambering up the walls in their eagerness to get to their prey...

For those at the boarding tunnel, some floors above, this was accompanied by panic amongst the civilians, who surged forward in their panic to get aboard, knocking one of the Security Guards, the one their leader had called 'Aspen', off her feet.

"No running!" the lead guard bellowed, "Get back!" though the command was completely ineffective at controlling the rush...

@Dyelli Beybi

The next sequence of events were quite something to behold at the moment. An explosion rocked the station. Then, everything was bathed in bloody red. Alarms that shrieked like banshee screams drowned the station in a terrifying warning. The people were already in the process of walking into the ship’s bay when that all happened, and every semblance of order fell apart.

For his part, Sarve had, by this point, volunteered to deputize, as he had trained in the military. Unlike literally everyone else, though, he was no longer on the floor, but on the ceiling, his serpentine form coiled around one of the many structural supports. It gave him a good vantage point with the blaster rifle he possessed, which was custom-built for his unique physiology. Of course, the cat was still with him, clinging on as always. He refused any and all offers for anyone to watch over the cat. Verminslayer was the last of the family he knew, and he sure as hell will never let her out of his sight.

Which all led, of course, to the present, where people began running in a disorderly mass. He was immediately at a loss of what to do; crowd control wasn't something he trained in back in the day, and this situation was entirely new.

“D-don’t push!” Sarve hissed half-heartedly, more concerned with taking aim at the end of the boarding tube to see if any Metacer were actually close. “You might step on or kill someone in the process!”

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

Recent events had been... bizarre.

First off, Sarve had chased after his cat, Verminsalayer, after she had decided to jump away.

After that, he found his cat hungrily eyeing a Gendari. The Gendari had managed to distract the cat from pouncing on him, but then, the sequence of events began to get progressively… strange. After the Gloriont of the Gendari (yes, it was the actual sovereign leader of the Gendari species up here, not that there was a Gendari people left to rule over) successfully fended off Verminslayer by catching her attention with a stick, some guy got stabbed by some kind of hooligan, who then proceeded to get eaten by another alien. It was definitely not a Metacer, as Metacer don't stand on two legs, unless they somehow produced a whole new subspecies. It's not like cannibalism wasn’t unheard of among the primitive alien species that were the original inhabitants of Eden and her colonies.

Now, he had asked the Gloriont about cultural icons of the Gendari species, but he had been promptly ignored, as the old man was more interested in getting aboard the ship before anyone else could.

He'd lounge about after that, only to notice a group of armed guards moving to the boarding tunnel...

<Snipped quote by Bentus>

"What did I tell you! Armed pirates!" Divaldo declared from the far side of the camera.

@Dyelli Beybi

Vitiafa of Endiohon

Raising the grate to the boarding tunnel, Vitiafa measured the group that met her and Iorosinn. She counted 12 guards, armed and ready and a particularly pathetic and ugly xeno on a mobility scooter as she stepped forward.

"Officer Larci is away with a pilot, they left not long ago to retrieve his shuttle," the priestess answered as she stepped out into the open. Her hands were raised, cautiously but clearly establishing her as non-threatening for the moment. "We can call try to reach her communications if that is needed, but the pair should return shortly.

Her eyes narrowed angerly at the amphibian she towered over, though her hands remained by her shoulders. "Do not presume our motivations, either, and I assure you that they are honest."

@Bingelly

“Oh, it’s you people again!” Sarve appeared seemingly out of nowhere from behind the group of armed guards, and Diavoldo. “I wondered whether you actually proceeded with your plan… well, it seems that you have actually gone ahead.” He slithered a little forward, casting a glance at the Gloriont. He even gave a wink, a little quirk he picked up from humans. “Please forgive the Gendari, he's displaying signs of senility and paranoia typical of advanced age. I mean, you did talk about getting the colony ship ready so that we can all proceed into it in an orderly manner, yes?”

Paradise Lost

Divaldo

<Snipped quote by El Gato Naranja>

"Paranoid?" Divaldo demanded, puffing up with outrage, "Paranoid? I saw the attack you frelling idiot! Look at the body! You don't see many run-of-the-mill murderers who eat people," he snapped, turning his scooter to trundle sedately down the corridor away from the corpse.

"Well?" he demanded of Sarve, "Are you going to tell the Supervisor that armed thugs are stealing our only way off the Station and leaving us to starve or do I need to do everything?"

@Dyelli Beybi

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

"I was about to do that," Sarve slithered faster than Divaldo's mobility scooter with the cat still on his head. He pointedly looked away from the corpse, still hellbent on not looking at it ever again. "Besides, they did mention that the ship is just stuck. Nothing about leaving without the rest of us. I think. Ah, well. I'm not familiar with the station to know where the Supervisor's office is... but you, being as important as you are, probably do. Right? Oh, and... I just noticed..."

Sarve was a very quick slitherer, as all Morelians were, and was already past the Gendari's mobility scooter when he turned around. "Isn't the Sacred Flame a very important thing for Gendari? I mean yes, I read a lot, so I know that, but your its keeper and I see a distinct lack of flames in your possession... this is such a sad day for cultural continuity. Aaaaahh... we Morelians don't have something similar. Just our existence is enough.

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

The Gloriont blinked at Sarve, looking ill and a little pale before pointing at the corpse on the floor, "Do those eyes on your head work, or can you truly not see that? It’s them! Bugs! Frelling bugs! I saw it! This station is overrun! We need to get out of here before they chew us both into appropriately sized pieces for your little Hezmana spawn to eat!"

"Quick!" he declared, apparently assuming Sarve would do what he said, "We need to get onto that Colony ship!”

“Oh, please don't remind me,” Sarve thought as the Gloriont looked like he was about to soil himself. He'd already thrown up, thank you very much, and the moth-like alien that had killed the would-be mugger and attempted murderer was already gone like seeds in the soil. Of course, he already had seen some violent films, but the real thing was, well, quite different. And real.

He'd decided to look away, pretending that the corpse behind them didn't exist. He spoke to the Gloriont like it was just another day in a peaceful space station simply to distract himself. It had pretty much worked, as he didn't feel too disgusted anymore.

The Gendari, however, was far more connected to reality than he was. He immediately started ranting about the bugs. The Metacer, right? They weren't aboard the station, weren't they? It's not like Metacer could pilot shuttles.

Well, unless some idiot brought the things aboard. Like an idiot.

“Bugs? Haha, you're just paranoid, there's no way they're up here! I know what a Metacer looks like, and they don't tend to leave… uh, survivors.” Sarve continued to act like there was no dead body, as if pretending that it wasn't there would make it go away. It's not like the man was a particularly friendly character. The moth-like alien, who was fleeing the scene just as Sarve slithered in, was of a species that Sarve had never seen before. Maybe his readings on the other integrated species of Eden and its colonies weren't complete? But if it isn't in the archives, then it doesn't exist, doesn't it? Ah well.

There's always something new.

“But,” Sarve continued, “A group of armed individuals were talking about having the necessary skills unlocking the docking locks in the bar. I was about to join their conversation when Verminslayer here suddenly ran off. Now, let us proceed to the Colony Ship in an orderly manner. We don't want to cause a crowd to gather, right?”

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

Divaldo was not unaware of the threat. Puffing himself up to his full, diminutive size, he reached behind his seat, producing a stick. It was about a foot long, so propably large for him... "What the yotz is that void-cursed creature doing here?" he demanded imperiously, but with an edge of panic in his voice, "Get back, you glop-faced vorrak, or I’ll ram this stick down your throat!" he declared, waving it threateningly at the cat.

@Dyelli Beybi

Verminslayer didn't feel threatened by the stick at all. Instead, she perceived the stick as a toy, and the Gendari’s production of it… as an invitation to play. During all the time that she had spent as Sarvenolos’ master (which is just her entire life), the Morelian had used sticks, sticks with doodads, and feathers to keep her entertained. All the other people in her life, whose utter disappearance would be a point of confusion, did the same.

The cat stood up on her two hind legs, raising her paws to swat at the stick that the Gendari Gloriont wielded. Her attacks struck true, as befitting a creature with superior reflexes to almost any sentient being, shunting the stick from left to right, then from right to left. She then grabbed the stick and nibbled at it. If she was a larger cat, she would have been able to simply drag the Gloriont from his mobility scooter and down into the ground. She could have done all that before Sarvenolos even got to her.

The cat barely even realized what happened next. Or rather, she… didn't really comprehend it. She had caught and devoured her fair share of mice and other vermin. That strange two-legged creature with a shining fang in his paw had attacked another man… before being himself attacked by another creature. Ah, well. Creatures kill other creatures all the time.

Not her pet, though.

“Ve- what is this?!” Sarve slithered into the room and immediately had to fight the urge to throw up. To describe the state of affairs that proceeded after his cat decided to run off was… well, to say ‘a lot’ would be an understatement. First of all, his cat was bothering a Gendari. Not just any other Gendari, mind you. Judging by the jewelry, meticulously groomed moustache and beard, and the fact that he has a mobility scooter, this particular Gendari was the Gloriont. He had read about the self-proclaimed leader of the Gendari species, who had basically sold his own people to corporate interests and slavery-in-all-but-name to enrich himself.

Then, there was the man. A dead man, to be precise. He had… several vital parts missing.

Sarve lost the fight. He saved himself the indignity of throwing up on the floor itself, as his body was long and dextrous, allowing him to slither over to a nearby trash can to deposit the half-digested remains of his previous meal there.

The cat threw up, too.

---

“So. You're the Gloriont of the Gendari, right?” Sarve practically towered over the Gendari, even as he was seated on his mobility scooter. “Overprelate and Keeper of the Sacred Flame? I'll have to apologize for the scare that Verminslayer here must have caused you,” the Morelian spoke as the cat just… sat on his head. “You musn’t fear. She only catches mice and rats, and other tiny things. She recognises that you're a sapient.” The cat purred as he petted her with one of his prehensile tongues. “A small one, that is. Like a baby. She gets along well with babies. I imagine you'll get along well too, yes?”

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

Sarvenolos was, for the most part, staying quiet at his seat. The bar had acted as a gravitational anchor, pulling in various individuals of different races and professions to a single place. It seemed that no matter who or what you are, drinking alcoholic beverages is the one commonality.

People had been introducing themselves to one another now. He up names. Lopez. Velia. John. Ren. Ginny. A few others. There appeared to be a priestess of a Kiellar faith present, along with members of other primitive races that had been integrated to the Edenite nation. As he drank from his glass, Sarve noticed that the others were all feeling rather uncomfortable in the heat. Not Sarve, though. In fact, he had more trouble when it comes to colder temperatures simply because his serpentine body plan didn't exactly do wonders for retaining heat. It's why Morelians were at home in the jungle and in the desert… but never in the tundra, in ice, or wherever it's too cold. So, right now, the heat was just a moderate warmth to him. It didn't even cause any sweating.

Still, it was clear that temperature controls were down. Sooner or later, the heat will become unbearable, even for him. The other races would probably be dying from heatstroke before he does… but Sarve wouldn't classify himself as a selfish person. Not when cooperating with a sufficiently numbered collective was advantageous toward survival in situations like this… like the end of the world.

Oh, and of course, Verminslayer would feel the heat, too. The cat may enjoy lounging on sunbeams and on top of working machinery… but she wouldn't like being in the desert.

He knocked back another drink, set the glass down with a clink, then stood, retrieving his rifle from where it rested against the bar.

“Shall we move then?”
@InfamousGuy101

“Perhaps I could assist. I could fit in-” Sarve began, but before he could finish his proposal, Verminslayer jumped away, seemingly abandoning him for… something. The cat quickly moved away from the counter, prompting Sarve to quickly begin uncoiling himself. “Verminthlayer! Get back here!” He called after his cat as he dunked the last of the tequila into his mouth using his prehensile tongues and set it back on the bar counter. The Morelian slithered to the bar’s entrance, just to see his cat walking towards the departure area.

“Verminslayer! Is there something you smell?”

As it would turn out, Verminslayer had indeed found something… interesting.

Across the room was a Gendari, sitting on his mobility scooter, visibly fuming with annoyance. This wasn't just any Gendari, either, but the Gloriont himself. Not that Verminslayer understood what a Gloriont was. She didn't care about such titles. She just knew that he was small. Awfully small.

She prepared herself to pounce even as Sarve slithered towards her.

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

“They are taking an awfully long time with the starship, aren’t they?” Sarvenolos muttered to his cat as he slithered away from the pole and headed to the bar. He still had a hefty sum of credits to spend on food, drink, and other miscellaneous expenses, having withdrawn every bit of money he still had in his bank account when news of Eden’s colonies falling to the Metacer menace reached him. Right now, there was just no banking system. The automated teller machines scattered all over the station, which would have facilitated commerce, registered… nothing. They all told the same story; the story of Eden’s fall, the near extermination of the populace.

This ATM is offline, please come back later.

Yeah, fat chance. The Metacer had crawled out of myth and legend to destroy this place. It was as though the stories themselves came to life, writhing and hungry for flesh.

Does currency still hold value now, even? There was no more central bank. No more government. No more vaults of gold that are represented by the credits held in the pockets and accounts of the citizenry. There were just the credits of those who were fortunate enough to still be alive and breathing at the moment.

Ah, well.

Sarvenolos slithered into the bar, his cat clinging onto the back of his head. He coiled himself on top of one of the chairs designed for humanoids just beside the man with a metal arm. With his tail-hand, he fished a few credits from his bag. “Capuccino, warm, not hot nor cold,” the Morelian spoke as though his voice was a two-part harmony; a little quirk of his biology. He could already feel the stares coming... and cared not. He extended both of his prehensile tongues, took the glass, and drank. In the meantime, his tail-hand continued to stroke Verminslayer's fur, making the cat purr.

@InfamousGuy101

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

---

Waiting was the worst part.

Sarvenolos didn’t sit in the same way humanoid sapients would. Or, rather, sitting by itself is a foreign concept to him. It was as foreign to a Morelian like himself as slithering would be for the two-legged people that he had spent most of his life accustomed to. Instead, Morelians coiled. They coiled around the branches of the trees that their ancestors based their lives around. They coiled around poles that the humanoid races would usually use for strange dances. Right now, Sarvenolos was coiled around a seemingly arbitrarily placed pole in the docking bays; if there was one thing that all Edenite colonies and Eden itself had in common, it would be that infrastructure wasn’t built with the Morelians in mind. Or that of the other predominantly primitive alien races of those worlds, for that matter.

Everything revolved around those three. Human. Dhasath. Kiellar.

And now, for all Sarvenolos knew, he might be the last of the Morelians. Maybe there were other Morelians aboard the other ships that had fled, he hoped. Right now, though, there was no way to know for sure. Communications to the surface were down; that, or there was quite literally no one left to receive messages down there. They would all be digested within the stomachs of the ravenous Metacer right now. They’d be protein slough, biomass, flesh soup, liquified meat ooze; whatever the hell the Metacer turned their victims into after digestion.

Damn the Metacer.

Why did those creatures have to enter his life? Why couldn’t they have come after he was already dead from old age? That way, he could at least just be watching from Providence rather than experiencing these events for himself.

Such are the tests of faith.

Ah, well. At the very least, he got to the space station before he was unceremoniously converted into Metacer groundchuck. That should at least count for something.

Sarvenolos’ ruminations would be interrupted by the last voice of his old life. “Meow.”

“Yes, I know, Verminslayer, but we are yet to get aboard the ship,” Sarvenolos turned his head to look back towards his cat, who had been sitting on his back. “The crew is still retrofitting it so that it may be worthy to cross the sea of stars and not sink into the tides the moment it lets the anchor loose.”

“Meow.” The cat nudged her head against her owner’s, communicating the need to be petted. Sarvenolos was only glad to oblige.

Instead of using his tail-that-is-also-a-hand. Sarvenolos used the other form of articulation that Morelians had: a pair of prehensile tongues. Cats were, of course, very accustomed to having a tongue touch their fur, as licking is how they cleaned themselves. Verminslayer purred as a pair of prehensile tongues rubbed against her fur; Sarvenolos didn’t mind that other people were watching. They are the weird ones, after all, using only their hands to pet their pets. Cowards! It is only proper that a cat’s affectionate licking be returned twofold.

Either way, there wasn’t much else to do. Sarvenolos doubted that people waiting to get aboard the last starship would be in the mood for a musical performance…

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

Character Description

Name: Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo. Goes by Sarve when interacting with humans, Dhasath, and Kiellar.
Species: Morelian. A sentient serpentine species from one of the Edenian colony worlds. They possess a pair of prehensile tongues, which are disturbingly dextrous and articulate. Their tails are also hands… in a quite literal manner.
Sex: A Man
Age: 26
Role/Job: Aspiring musician-turned-reservist-turned-tutor. Would rather stick to the first one.
Appearance:

Snek

He's around ten feet long.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills:

The Maestro - Sarve was and still is a pianist and violinist. He tried to join a choir, but he couldn't quite fit in, what with having very different vocal chords, so he only sang in solo.

The Art of War - Sarve was in the military for some time, mostly for the health and schooling benefits. Still, due to his serpentine physiology, he was trained to be a stealth specialist, slipping into places no humanoid (or kieloid, for those that despise humanocentrism) could fit into, such as ventilation shafts, pipes, and the innards of machinery. He's never been in actual combat yet, though…

Weaknesses:

Agoraphobic - Whether it be through genetic memory or simply not being used to it, Sarve is absolutely uncomfortable with wide open spaces. Such as… space. He would rather be involved in a scandal than go to a spacewalk.

Background

Backstory: Morelians are a society divided into two. There are those that stubbornly continue to cling to the jungles, maintaining their old way of life. Sarvenolos was not born as one of them.

Instead, Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo was one of the so-called “Sky Touched,” which is a distasteful Morelian term for members of their species that have committed heresy and actually integrated with the Outsiders.

Outreach missions by philanthropic, humanitarian, and religious groups were nothing new in Eden and her colonies. While corporations often simply bulldozed their way through the ancestral lands of the Morelians, there were those who instead wanted to integrate the native population into the colonies. It was a hard, slow, and painful process. Schools, hospitals, and missions were built in the fringes of the jungles that the Morelians called home; close enough that the Morelians could easily reach them if they wanted, and far enough that the Morelians didn't perceive them as a threat. Anthropologists ventured into the jungles; sometimes, they returned laden with gifts and the story about having to eat a leaf with writhing grubs inside it. Sometimes, they do not return at all.

Sarvenolos would be one such ‘gift,’ brought along by a human anthropologist back to Eden. He was but an infant back then, still blind as newborn Morelians are. His mother, whose name he barely remembers, practically begged the human to bring him to the colony. To an advanced civilization, away from a tribalistic society the poor woman said to be ‘where sickly children die.’ Sarvenolos would never meet her again.

Sarvenolos would be brought up in a communal kinder block; if there was one thing the primitive and Sky Touched Morelians had in common, it would be that everyone's children were raised together. The difference, however, is that Sky Touched Morelians interacted regularly with humans, Dhasath, and Kiellar; and it would be in one of these interactions that Sarve would discover his purpose in life.

When he was barely ten, he and the rest of the young Morelians would be treated to a small fundraising concert by a pair of Dhasath; a singer and an instrumentalist. He would describe what he heard and saw next to be “the most beautiful things in all of existence.” Inspired, he asked the kinder block’s administrators if he could learn how to do what those two did. His wish was granted.

Eventually, Sarve would outgrow the kinder block, and had to live and study for himself. Unfortunately, being a 20 year old street musician without a degree wasn't getting him much in terms of money, so the military appeared to be an attractive prospect. He told the recruiters that he was a true patriot; in reality, he just wanted the free subsidies into education and healthcare. Being a Morelian, though, his training would be focused more around stealth and sabotage, as his physiology was more suited to such operations. He never had to fight in actual combat, however; he finished the four years of service (along with a degree) in total peace.

After that, he would live in relative prosperity with his own apartment and pet cat as an online tutor. People were sometimes prejudiced, but he didn't care. The cat didn't judge. The anthropologist that basically saved his life as an infant would sometimes come by to ask how he was doing. And a Kiellar co-worker seemed to really like him for some reason.

This life of quiet calm would be rudely interrupted by the Metacer invasion, however. The military was obliterated almost immediately, and once again, Sarve didn't get to fight; a fact that he was infinitely thankful for. He knew for a fact that had the military actually gotten to call up the reservists like himself, the Metacer would have swept through them regardless.

Another relief would be that he managed to get to the last ship leaving Eden. He could only thank God for that.

Paradise Lost

Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo

Character Description

Name: Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo. Goes by Sarve when interacting with humans, Dhasath, and Kiellar.
Species: Morelian. A sentient serpentine species from one of the Edenian colony worlds. They possess a pair of prehensile tongues, which are disturbingly dextrous and articulate. Their tails are also hands… in a quite literal manner.
Sex: A Man
Age: 26
Role/Job: Aspiring musician-turned-reservist-turned-tutor. Would rather stick to the first one.
Appearance:

Snek

He's around ten feet long.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Skills:

The Maestro - Sarve was and still is a pianist and violinist. He tried to join a choir, but he couldn't quite fit in, what with having very different vocal chords, so he only sang in solo.

The Art of War - Sarve was in the military for some time, mostly for the health and schooling benefits. Still, due to his serpentine physiology, he was trained to be a stealth specialist, slipping into places no humanoid (or kieloid, for those that despise humanocentrism) could fit into, such as ventilation shafts, pipes, and the innards of machinery. He's never been in actual combat yet, though…

Weaknesses:

Agoraphobic - Whether it be through genetic memory or simply not being used to it, Sarve is absolutely uncomfortable with wide open spaces. Such as… space. He would rather be involved in a scandal than go to a spacewalk.

Background

Backstory: Morelians are a society divided into two. There are those that stubbornly continue to cling to the jungles, maintaining their old way of life. Sarvenolos was not born as one of them.

Instead, Sarvenolos of the Third Fane of Tekumo was one of the so-called “Sky Touched,” which is a distasteful Morelian term for members of their species that have committed heresy and actually integrated with the Outsiders.

Outreach missions by philanthropic, humanitarian, and religious groups were nothing new in Eden and her colonies. While corporations often simply bulldozed their way through the ancestral lands of the Morelians, there were those who instead wanted to integrate the native population into the colonies. It was a hard, slow, and painful process. Schools, hospitals, and missions were built in the fringes of the jungles that the Morelians called home; close enough that the Morelians could easily reach them if they wanted, and far enough that the Morelians didn't perceive them as a threat. Anthropologists ventured into the jungles; sometimes, they returned laden with gifts and the story about having to eat a leaf with writhing grubs inside it. Sometimes, they do not return at all.

Sarvenolos would be one such ‘gift,’ brought along by a human anthropologist back to Eden. He was but an infant back then, still blind as newborn Morelians are. His mother, whose name he barely remembers, practically begged the human to bring him to the colony. To an advanced civilization, away from a tribalistic society the poor woman said to be ‘where sickly children die.’ Sarvenolos would never meet her again.

Sarvenolos would be brought up in a communal kinder block; if there was one thing the primitive and Sky Touched Morelians had in common, it would be that everyone's children were raised together. The difference, however, is that Sky Touched Morelians interacted regularly with humans, Dhasath, and Kiellar; and it would be in one of these interactions that Sarve would discover his purpose in life.

When he was barely ten, he and the rest of the young Morelians would be treated to a small fundraising concert by a pair of Dhasath; a singer and an instrumentalist. He would describe what he heard and saw next to be “the most beautiful things in all of existence.” Inspired, he asked the kinder block’s administrators if he could learn how to do what those two did. His wish was granted.

Eventually, Sarve would outgrow the kinder block, and had to live and study for himself. Unfortunately, being a 20 year old street musician without a degree wasn't getting him much in terms of money, so the military appeared to be an attractive prospect. He told the recruiters that he was a true patriot; in reality, he just wanted the free subsidies into education and healthcare. Being a Morelian, though, his training would be focused more around stealth and sabotage, as his physiology was more suited to such operations. He never had to fight in actual combat, however; he finished the four years of service (along with a degree) in total peace.

After that, he would live in relative prosperity with his own apartment and pet cat as an online tutor. People were sometimes prejudiced, but he didn't care. The cat didn't judge. The anthropologist that basically saved his life as an infant would sometimes come by to ask how he was doing. And a Kiellar co-worker seemed to really like him for some reason.

This life of quiet calm would be rudely interrupted by the Metacer invasion, however. The military was obliterated almost immediately, and once again, Sarve didn't get to fight; a fact that he was infinitely thankful for. He knew for a fact that had the military actually gotten to call up the reservists like himself, the Metacer would have swept through them regardless.

Another relief would be that he managed to get to the last ship leaving Eden. He could only thank God for that.