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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3020647" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 393: TrappedThe systems that were hidden away in Alraxian space were very different from the rest of the galaxy. Isolation had that effect on things. But Jendari was as alien to the rest of the Empire as Alraxia was to the majority of the galaxy. The avian species that called the planet home had watched both the Alraxians and the Mrrakesh develop and grow over time, having been there from the beginning. When the Sith came and began their experiments with the life forms they found, the Jendari were millennia old.    And yet, they sat happily on their planet, with no ambitions of power of any kind...quite happy to be a part of the Alraxian Empire, and giving advice and assistance wherever it was needed. Longer lived than even the Alraxian people, many of the older Jendari had been there when Marix’s grandmother had been Empress. Perhaps that was why they were always able to catch her off guard.    Be it a simple comment or a gift, the Jendari always had a way of surprising Marix with their knowledge of her life. While she couldn’t prove it, she was fairly sure they had scouts in the rest of the galaxy for thousands of years. It was the only way to explain how they knew certain...details...about her. No one but Jyren knew about her old smuggler friend, Max, and yet they had once given her a small crystal with the name inscribed on it but in Alraxian letters. And that was only one of many, many things they had done to surprise her. There were so many others that she had lost count years ago...or at least, given up on counting anything more.    Unlike Alraxia, the planet itself was covered in very little water. There were no oceans on Jendari, but there were very large lakes. The cities that were scattered across the planet reminded Marix of the floating cities of Ithor...or at least, that had once been on Ithor. But it made sense for an avian species to put their homes in the sky. There were walkways and other things for species that could not fly, but the Jendari rarely ever used them.    Loki set down on a small, hexagonal pad near the outskirts of one of the large cities, with blue-white buildings rising all around...both upwards and towards the ground, which was still a good distance below. Without a word to the ship, Marix stood and headed for the hatch. A brisk pace meant she was outside and on the surprisingly soft ‘ground’ in a matter of moments.    The pathway leading to the platform was not empty, despite her speed in exiting the ship. Walking towards her was a small group, five Jendari and one Alraxian. Even as an adult, Alyx was as short as his sister. He was also built the same as she always remember, a little too thin for his own good and with hair that made one wonder if he actually remembered it was there when he woke up in the mornings.    There was also a smile on his face that made Marix wonder if he had lost his mind. But she ignored it as best she could, and also did her best not to cringe when he embraced her.    “Its good to see you,” he said in a voice that was much happier sounding than she was used to from her ever-quiet twin.    Reluctantly, Marix returned the hug before, gently, pushing him back to arms length. One thing, at least, it was nice to be able to look directly at someone than up their nose, “You got my message.”    “I wasn’t leaving anyway,” Alyx shrugged, “But yes.”    Marix then turned her attention to the Jendari she recognized, put on her best smile, and bowed her head, “It has been too long, Arelin.”    The Jendari who had been appointed to the short-lived council bowed his bird-like head and put on what was best interpreted as a smile of his own, “You look more like your mother every time I see you, my lady.”    Of course, Marix froze...sure, it was only a half second, but it was enough to drive her crazy. It had been something so simple this time...not a comment about something he shouldn’t know, but something plainly obvious that threw her off. She couldn’t help but wonder if they enjoyed that or were simply oblivious to how it always effected her.    “T-thank you,” she managed to put herself back together quickly, “I am sorry, but I believe we should get to business as soon as we can.”    “Of course,” Arelin bowed his head before turning and leading the way.    In a few minutes, they were near the center of one of the large spires, with open windows all around the very large, circular room that allowed a calm breeze to flow through. The room was an interesting mix of technology...with metal consoles fused with grown, Alraxian technology and then things that Marix only knew as Jendari. What they were, exactly, was still beyond her, and she never felt it was important enough to actually ask.    The center of the room was taken up by a large, square holoprojector. It was currently displaying a green-tinted image of the Alraxian Empire, with a reddish section showing the Mrrakesh space. Not far from the bright blue dot that represented Jendari, was a small intrusion of red covering two planets.“The Mrrakesh have shown no aggression beyond breaking through the border and taking the planets,” Arelin said simply, motioning with a taloned hand towards the protrusion of red which was eerily close to Jendari.    Marix’s eyes were on another console to the side of the image where Alyx had brought up the reports from the Knights that had been attempting to guard the border, “Five warships but they didn’t fire a shot. At least twenty transports...” she shook her head, “And all to two unoccupied worlds within the Empire.”    “They are guarding the planets fiercely,” Alyx cut in, glancing down at his own display of the last information they had received from the two planets. He sighed and looked over towards his sister, “With the size of those transports, could they have been bringing people to actually live?”    “That doesn’t make sense,” Marix said under her breath, “There are hundreds of empty planets within their own space...and even more outside of it. Even with their warships, they don’t war anymore than we do...but crossing the border and taking two of our planets? When word of this gets out, there will be panic, and it is going to be difficult to hold any kind of peace anymore.”    It was a sad truth. The Alraxians were not, in any way, a warlike people. Even the Knights defending the border had no weapons on their ships. The Knights weren’t even an army, simply a peacekeeping force...and a tiny one compared to the number of people living in the Empire. And yet, all of the Empire, even the many non-Alraxians, were terrified of the Mrrakesh. A push like this would be seen as an invasion...the start of another war. Some would even go as far to bring up the Darkwing Wars. The Alraxians had been forced to fight then, and it would happen again if they had to.    “They are afraid,” a soft, almost quiet voice said from off to the side.    Marix looked over to see an older Jendari female...one of the group that had been on Alraxia when she and Jyren had first arrived all those years ago. She was the one who had given Jyren the crystal for his lightsaber...and the one that had told Marix that...that she...    “What do you mean?” Alyx asked.    The Jendari woman pointed to the red of the map much like Arelin had, “They are afraid. Fear drives them to the closest escape.”    Finally turning completely away from the console she was looking at, Marix stepped over to the older Jendari, “That doesn’t sound like the Mrrakesh.”    Her two foggy eyes looked up at Marix in an almost blank way, “Neither does the Mrrakesh bringing five warships across the border without firing a shot...” she paused a moment, then pointed to the other edge of the display, on the far end of Mrrakesh space and the edge of the galaxy, “For thousands of years, the Mrrakesh have only had our Empire and themselves to fight. They do not run because they know how to fight those fights...but something else has found them that they do not know how to fight.”    Marix’s eyes turned to look at the display again, taking in what she knew to be the section of ‘Known Space’ that was not far at all from the Mrrakesh. Seeing the image like that brought up a dangerous realization, and she quickly turned back to the older Jendari, “The Vong.”    That recieved a slow nod, and then the Jendari woman pointed to a section far away from the green of the map to where Marix knew the Gateway rested, “They know no other place to run...but they do not know that we are both being pushed.”    “We’re trapped...” Alyx mumbled a little too loudly.    Marix shot him an icy glare, but quickly turned back to the map and bit her lip. In a way, he was right. With Vong coming through the Gateway in disguise, there was no where to run for Mrrakesh or Alraxians. And the more that the rest of the galaxy was pushed by the Vong, the more that the Gateway itself was becoming cut off.    The thought that came to mind was one that she despised.    They needed weapons.    It was coming to the point where it was going to be impossible to keep the Empire safe without it.    “Arelin,” Marix broke the uneasy silence and looked over to the other Jendari, “Send a message to the other council members. Have them brought here as soon as possible...and I need to use the long range communication system.”</blockquote>

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