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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3119235" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 402: Night SkyMarix stared out the window at the rest of the Palace she could see, not really paying attention to anything and barely noticing that Alraxia’s sun had set already. As she looked down on the barely-lit and definitely alive building that was encompassing most of her view, she couldn’t help but feel a certain hate for it all. No...no that wasn’t right. Not for the Palace...or the people...but...for her mother.    This was when they needed her the most, and now the Empire was stuck with an Empress who didn’t know what she was doing. At least, not in the diplomatic sense. If Marix’s mother hadn’t gone off and gotten herself killed for no good reason then they’d likely all be in better shape.    A sigh nearly escaped her, but the beginning of it was cut off by a giggle from behind. Marix turned her head slightly to look back into the room, easily finding the source of the sound. Not far behind her, the twins were playing with their toys, most of which she recognized as Jyren’s old toys. Though she didn’t particularly understand the actual reason the items existed, she had found that they were a good way to keep the twins entertained and not driving her mad.    Again, her silvery-violet eyes turned to look out the window, this time up towards the darkening sky. One of the moons was full, providing a fairly good light. Ten had made it back from the assault on the Mrrakesh. Three Tam’Day’U, including Marix, and seven Knights. But despite the heavy losses, which were expected, the mission had been a success. The Mrrakesh ship on the ground was destroyed with some clever rewiring of a few vital systems, and not long after the two ships in orbit left the system.    Within an hour of this, another large group of Knights arrived, this time in numbers to hold the unoccupied planet. A makeshift camp was built up in a safe location, and the previously empty planet was suddenly settled. Yes, it was only Knights, and they would not be there for too much longer, but it was settlement nonetheless. A sign to the Mrrakesh that the planet was Alraxian. The two other planets that had been taken were currently being left alone, the hope that the Mrrakesh would retreat on their own.    It was a hope that Marix was not sharing in.    She rubbed her forehead and tried to ignore the feeling of that old scar that was still there. A Vong amongst the Mrrakesh changed everything. Especially in a command position. Why the Vong even cared about their little corner of the galaxy was beyond Marix, but the whys rarely mattered. The fact was that they did, and they were using the Mrrakesh tensions to push the borders...probably even attempting to start up a war between the two peoples and leave the weak enough to be easily conquered.    And because of that, Marix found herself fighting her instincts. Everything in her told her to fight. To push the Mrrakesh out of their space and then take one of their planets to show them that the Alraxian Empire was not weak...but if the Vong were truly behind this...no. That couldn’t be done. It would lead to outright war. A war that the Alraxians likely wouldn’t win...especially knowing that the Vong had the location of the Gateway. So caution was required...a kind of caution that Marix had never before had to deal with.    All of this, she had sent to Jyren through a long-range message that would be relayed by the Knights stationed at the Gateway. The problem with that, however, was the message had been sent three Alraxian hours before...and Jyren always responded immediately. There had been no word from him. That, in itself, was worrying. He was too damned clingy, both with Marix and the twins, to not respond after so long. It didn’t help that, though the twins both still had very limited vocabularies, they were both very good at asking where their daddy was.    Turning from the window, Marix walked over to sit back in a rather large chair near where the twins were playing. Children were not something Marix had ever understood, and the twins were not much of an exception. Though she found herself learning a great deal, it was hard to see the silvery tint to their eyes and realize that they were both here...happy...playing...feeling.    By their age, Marix was learning to kill...being turned into a weapon. She shook her head. And that wasn’t happening to anyone anymore. The Tam’Day’U training was still there, but was voluntary, and now a part of the Alraxians Knights. Children of Tobias’ age were accepted into the Knights, but not infants. And so this was all something terribly new...the significance of it all was not lost on Marix, and perhaps that was one of the problems she was having. It was lost on Jyren. He understood it at one level, but didn’t feel it at another.    Marix closed her eyes and forced away the millions of stray thoughts, bringing one important thing to the forefront of her mind.     What to do next?    The message to Jyren had basically been asking what he had found out along with information on what had occurred in Alraxian space. Their link was distant that she couldn’t feel a thing from him beyond the fact that, somewhere out there, he was there. But what could be done next?    Nothing.    It always came back to that.    Any action could provoke the war that would destroy them...but no action...no action...it felt wrong. It just all felt wrong to not do anything at all. Her mother would have known what to do...damn that woman! Marix was never indecisive but she had never before had to decide things for billions of people! Damn her mother!    As that thought echoed through her mind, a series of tugs could be felt on Marix’s trouser leg. She opened her eyes to look down and see the twins both climbing up, doing their best to not use their claws, which were very sharp and something they had been yelled at about far too many times. In a moment, they were up in her lap, grinning up at her with those big eyes and Marix wondered how they could just disarm her so easily like that. Even Jyren couldn’t pull that off...but the twins...it was like nothing she had ever experienced. When they were like this, so happy for who knew what reason, it was intoxicating...and it always found a way of bringing a genuine smile to Marix’s face.    “Let me guess,” she said to the both of them, “You’re hungry.”    There was a series of nods from both, and Marix’s smile didn’t fade. In one motion, she had one little child in each arm and was on her feet, heading to find the three of them something edible. For the moment, the worries were gone. Sucked away thanks to two pairs of eyes that could dispel anything. It was not lost on Marix how much she had changed in the past years, but she also couldn’t help but think it wasn’t a bad thing. It was different, of course, but not bad.    The bad things, the truly dangerous ones, were all around them, kept out by the borders that had held for thousands of years. Borders that were failing. Borders that they couldn’t protect. The thought of what might happen if they truly fell was one that Marix would not even entertain. And yet, through the Force, she could feel it...something growing. Maybe it was what Jyren had seen, she didn’t know. But it was close, and it was coming, and it was going to make everything worse.    But for now...dinner.</blockquote>

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