Gone Native: Decisions (ch. 15) (Patreon)

Their triumphant return from the planet Craxus was rewarded with more work. They only had a small window of time to gather intelligence on Tarble's Empire, so they had to make the most of it. All of them kept notes of their observations and findings, but Tim's were by far the most expansive and detailed. That was simply his nature.

What was unexpected was that Elery decided to stick with them in an effort to stave off boredom, which she openly admitted.

"Can you transform?" Elery pestered Kara, who she found the most impressive of the group. For a species that valued strength, that was hardly a surprise. You couldn't get much tougher than a Kryptonian.

Kara weathered the constant barrage of questions with an easy smile. "I can't," she admitted, and Elery's disappointment was immeasurable, if she suddenly decided life just wasn't worth living anymore. but she quickly bounced back.

"Are you sure? You look like a Saiyan, just without the tail, so you might be able to transform if you try really hard," Elery continued, finding hope in the face of reality. She flew around in the lounge of the ship that was taking them to another destination that Ada'la had lined up.

One in the Vega System. Kori's excitement was palpable, it radiated from her with near physical force. Teleportation and FTL speeds weren't anywhere near fast enough for the Tamaranian princess.

"I'm sure, and the same thing could be said for humans," Kara pointed out, making Elery's face blanch as she shot a dirty look at Tim, conveying without words exactly how unimpressed she was with humanity as a whole.

Elery shook her head, "No," she dismissed, not even entertaining the entire idea as a possibility.

Tim let out a sigh, "I'm right here, you know," he pointed out from his seat, lowering the datapad he had been reading to pin an irritated look at the unrepentant Elery.

"I know. Talking about people behind their back is dumb. How else are you going to hear what I have to say about you?" Elery questioned, crossing her arms, and Kara was visibly fighting off a smile.

And losing. Instead, the Kryptonian looked in Raven’s direction so they could share a look.

Raven allowed herself a small smile. This trip was progressing better than she thought it would. When they took off, she had expected an atmosphere filled with tension and barely concealed hostility. While it was there, Elery broke through the worst of it. Though, at Tim's expense. The Saiyan princess was too excitable, naturally breaking any tension she wasn't the cause of.

"Saiyans have a bunch of transformations. We can turn into Oozarus, we can transform in the Wrath State, and Brother can turn into the Legendary Super Saiyan," Elery lorded her races transformations over Tim, the one true human in the Titans now. "Can you even power up?"

Tim wasn't anywhere near as annoyed as he made himself appear. The prodding and insults actually washed over his back like a duck, leaving him unaffected by the taunts, he was mostly humoring her to gather information. "Maybe," Tim hedged. "How about you show me how it's done," he said, earning a broad smile from Elery as Tim attempted to manipulate her into giving away all the secrets of a Saiyans strength. His efforts weren't really needed. Raven was pretty sure they could just ask and get honest answers. So far all the Saiyans they had met had been remarkably straightforward.

"Of course! Maybe you can become the first useful human," Elery said, genuinely meaning what she said. Both the racism and the hope that he could become stronger.

Settling down on the ground, Elery took a wide stance, "First, you brace yourself like this; hn!" Elery began, "Then you become more powerful like this; HNNNN!" there was a stir the air as power radiated off of Elery, proving that as much as she was an excitable young girl, she was strong in her own right. "Then, finally, you let loose like this: AHHHHHHHHH!" Elery threw her head back and screamed as the swirling air hit them like a wall, the ship starting to warp underneath an unseen force, the cloak hanging from her shoulders blasted back as her whipped in thew ind.

Then the force receded as Elery retracted her power and stood with her hands on her hips. She gestured at Tim. "Now, you try."

"What?" Tim blinked, making Elery's smile fall. "You didn't explain anything. You just made some faces and screamed."

Elery looked affronted, "I explained how to power up! Don't blame me because you’re too dumb to understand! The fault lies with the student, not the teacher!" Elery added, sounding like she was quoting someone as she jabbed an accusatory finger in Tim's direction.

"There wasn't an explanation-" Tim started to argue, only to catch himself, knowing that there was no point. He looked to the others for support and found it -- they hadn't understood either. But, regardless of the value of the explanation, Elery had proved that she was in a higher weight class than Raven had expected. She had felt the power in the air, like electricity dancing on her skin -- she wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Tarble, but Raven suspected that only she and Kara would stand a chance against the Saiyan princess in a fight.

There wasn't an animal strong enough to fight a Saiyan in even footing. Wally also stood a chance, but in the confines of a ship, his odds were diminished. Greatly. Kara could easily beat her, and Raven doubted that all Saiyans had mutilated their souls to ward off magic. Hopefully. She could still scarcely believe anyone would subject themselves to that, and the idea of an entire race doing so was honestly horrifying.

"Was too! You just suck! Why is Brother making us live on a planet full of you weaklings?!" Elery asked, throwing her hands up with a shake of her head. She looked to Kara, expecting support, but instead, she got a gentle smile.

"Humans might be fragile, but that's no excuse to look down on them," she gently chided. Though she looked like she wasn't sure how much authority she had to do so.

"The only redeeming features humans have is that they can get cool powers," Elery remained steadfast in her beliefs while casting another dirty look at Tim, not happy that he wasn't spontaneously developing superpowers.

"Would your brother share that belief?" Raven questioned, making Elery's face twist since she knew the answer. Though, she was too stubborn by half to admit that she was wrong. "I thought the 501st was a place where all abilities had value. Regardless of strength." To that, Elery sent a harsh glare at her, telling Raven that she had touched a sore spot without meaning to.

"Don't talk about the 501st like you knew them," Elery bit out in a low growl. There was grief there, but… it was different. It was so very different. When a human grieved, it was always there in the background. It could be smothered by other emotions, but it was still there. It was a wound that needed time to heal. Elery didn't have that. Her grief didn't fester, or lurk in the background, it didn't exist until the moment Raven made a point about the 501st. Then it rushed up all at once.

Her emotions were like tidal waves -- when they were brought forth, they crashed down and were overwhelming, before they retreated back to the sea until the the next time they were brought forth.

However, Tarble didn't share that trait with his sister, which caused the misstep. Tarble… he grieved like a human, even if he crushed his emotions down beneath an iron grip.

"And Brother made the 501st a place where useful abilities were recognized," Elery said, jabbing a finger at Tim. "Anything he can do, another alien can do better and odds are they won't be so weak. I was stronger than him when I was a baby!"

"This… is the Vega System?" Kori piped up, breaking the growing tension in the lounge. Everyone's attention went to the window she was looking through, to see that they had teleported again. The vast expanse that was space was still on the other side of the transparent pane, but it was anything but empty now. Raven's lips parted, the closest she had ever come to allowing her jaw to drop in shock.

The others weren't anywhere near as restrained. "Dude, this is-" Garfield cut himself off, approaching the window and placing a hand on it.

On the other side was a scene that could only be described as devastation on a magnitude beyond imagination. For as far as the eye could see, there was the ruined wreckage of countless ships. Truly countless. They were absolutely everywhere, filling up the entire star system. Paths had been made in the immense destruction, corridors of empty space in the debris where salvage crews gone through and cleared a path to the planets in the system.

Raven saw a machine shifting through the wreckage, a corpse in its claws that it tossed into a net… that was disturbingly full. The machine was one of many, one of the hundreds of thousands that picked through the wreckage.

Raven barely heard the door slide open behind them and Ada'la enter, "It will take several years to recover all of the bodies in the system," Ada'la informed them. "The final battle of the war was the bloodiest. The Federation sent two trillion soldiers into this system. Less than a fifth survived." Raven couldn't even picture it. Near three hundred times the human population had fought in this system, and only a fifth of that had made it out. Not even a fifth.

She tried to imagine what that battle would have looked like -- the sheer volume of people. The sheer amount of death. In response to her attempts, she felt something brush across her skin. A ghostly touch. No words were exchanged, but feeling washed over her. For the briefest of moments, Raven felt it. She felt billions of lives being snuffed out in an instant, and the battle that was so fierce that no one even noticed. Death on an unimaginable scale.

Raven calmed herself with a deep breath, closing her eyes and finding her center. She had felt death before, which is why she was able to keep from being overwhelmed, but never on such an unimaginable scale.

"I didn't get to fight in it. It was just a trap to make the Federation commit a bunch of their forces, while me and a bunch of others took a bunch of capital planets," Elery said, sounding disappointed that she hadn't been there.

The battle had left a weeping wound on the metaphysical plane of the system. So many strong emotions had left their imprints here as people fought their hardest and died. Resolve. Determination. Anguish and fear, the courage that pushed them forward even at the cost of their lives.

"It was a lie," Raven voiced, her lips thin. It felt like she was being pressed down on all sides by an invisible force. She… was a beacon of sorts. An empath, and a powerful one. The echoes of the dead were drawn to her like moths to a flame, using her to cry out their last feelings. To be heard. They weren't vengeful spirits or even ghosts. But, in a single chorus of thunderous propritons, so many dead in one place left an impression for those sensitive enough to feel it. "King Tarble lied."

"Not a lie," Ada'la corrected. "The enemy assumed that there was a good reason for the secrecy in the Vega System. They feared King Tarble -- both his physical prowess and his capability for war. Their fear led them to the worst possible conclusion, because that is what King Tarble taught them to assume throughout experience when dealing with him. They believed they were stopping a weapon of mass destruction. Something so powerful that it would end the war."

Raven opened her eyes and looked out at the window to see the remains of what she could only assume was several planets that looked like they had been smashed together and broken into pieces. As if they were simple stones to be thrown. "But there was nothing here," Raven voiced what the echoes of the dead cried out. "They all died for nothing."

"They died so the war would end. The deaths on both sides were the price of peace," Ada'la responded, her voice solemn. "If it hadn't ended here, then several times more would have been killed across the war front over the centuries the war would have lasted without King Tarble. The only difference is that they all died here instead of scattered about across the front line."

There was a heavy silence as they continued their way to Tamaran. It felt like they were walking over countless graves as they approached, and in a way, they were. It was a horrible feeling. Even seeing the awe-inspiring sight of Tamaran couldn't detract from it when they came upon the planet -- the planet was in pieces. Vast metal plates that had once covered the planet's surface were floating up above, letting other pieces move in. One that was covered in dirt.

They were replacing the crust of a planet. Like it was made up of lego blocks that could be snapped in and out of place as needed.

Their ship descended to the planet over a section that already had been replaced, landing and allowing them to step off the ship into one of the planet's cities. Kori gasped as soon as she saw it, her hands going to her mouth, and the pure, radiant joy that she was emitting almost washed away the furious echoes of the dead who knew they died for a lie. The city seemed futuristic, but at the same time… simple. Like an undecorated room. It was lacking a personal touch, that feeling of being lived in.

Of all the races that Raven had encountered, Tamaranians were one of her favorites. They were an emotional, warm species, so their happiness and joy were vast and deep. Their ship had landed in an airport of sorts, and the Tamaranians all around them quickly spotted Kori and greeted her warmly.

They waved and smiled, but there was something holding them back. It was a pretty big difference from the last time Kori returned, where the people had mobbed her to celebrate her return. Kori didn’t seem to care in the slightest, though.

“There are so many of my people,” Kori observed. “Are there no Tameranian slaves?" she questioned no one in particular, but the hope she felt was powerful. Everyone felt it as she floated above them, her hands clasped in front of her a silent prayer.

Ada'la was the one that answered, "Not in Tarble's Empire, no. Sadly, I cannot speak for the Trade Organization, nor the Federation, but Queen Komand'r has made an active effort to break the bonds of every Tamaranian and bring them back to their home planet."

Then she elaborated after Kori let out a breath of relief, "Which is being renovated. It was turned into a battleground, but we took samples of all the foliage and animals. Once the planet's ecosystem has been restored, we will be reintroducing the native wildlife, similar to how we are doing it for the thousands of other planets that are being terraformed."

She used the word renovation, and applied it to planets.

"I wish to see my sister," Kori said, looking to Tim. They were on an important mission, but any resistance that Tim might have had melted away when he saw her hopeful look.

"Your sister is one of the leaders of King Tarble's Empire. It would make sense to meet her," Tim said, rationalizing the choice. Kori smiled before she took off in a blast, not waiting for them as she headed for a tall skyscraper in the distance that had a large circular balcony going around it near the top. Elery seemed to take it as a challenge to race, while the Titans all shared a look.

They'd met Komand'r once and she had left them with a poor impression. The last time they met, Komand'r had hated Kori for being chosen as the heir to their people over her. Now that she was queen, that issue should have been nipped in the bud, but matters of succesion so very rarely end as neatly as they should. Raven expanded her shadow, teleporting them to the balcony that Kori was headed to, and arrived just after she did. Kori was fast when she wanted to be.

Raven was greeted with the clash of two different sets of feelings. Of of hope and anger. Of joy and fear. Of love and… something that resembled hate.

"Sister!" Kori exclaimed, her gaze landing on Komamd'r. Raven looked at the Tamaranian queen -- the resemblance between her and Kori was obvious, but the disease she had suffered as a child left her almost looking like a photo negative of her sister, with jet black hair and dark violet eyes compared to the red hair and green eyes every other Tamaranian seemed to have.

She was seated on a throne at the center of the room, but it seemed to be more of an ornate lounge chair on a platform with stairs leading up to it than a traditional throne. Komamd'r wore little -- a cultural trait of the Tamaranians. Kori would wear nothing if she could get away with it, and on their home planet, they could. Komamd'r's dress was little more than two sleeves of cloth that draped over her shoulders, the sleeves joined together at her waist, and there were golden chains along her hips to keep the dress from slipping anywhere.

On her head was a crown, seated at her hairline, with metal fangs that dripped down at the edges to frame her face. Her expression said all that it needed to, it portrayed exactly what Raven felt from her.

They were not welcomed here. Kori most of all.

"Koriand'r," Komamd'r greeted her sister coolly, and that was enough to stop Kori in her tracks despite her joy at being reunited with her sister. "Titans. I would say it's a pleasure, but that would very much be a lie." Then her gaze slid over to Ada'la and Elery, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Princess Elery. Your brother speaks fondly of you."

Elery puffed up, "Of course he does! What does he say?" She asked, fishing for compliments.

"It is good to see you, Komamd'r. King Tarble told me of your exploits during the war! I can't believe our people are finally free," Koriand'r pressed on, emboldened by the friendly tone Komand'r used when speaking to Elery and floating forward, but despite the way she appeared, Kori wasn't oblivious to the growing tension in the room. Komamd'r narrowed her eyes into a glare that she directed toward her sister. It stopped Kori cold.

This was going about as well as Raven had imagined it would.

"My people," Komamd'r corrected, a dark edge in her voice as her hands clenched into fists. "It seems King Tarble has not informed you that you were removed from the succession." she spat out, her words laced with venom.

The words hurt Kori, badly. "I never wanted to be queen, Komamd'r," Kori said, her voice conveying the depth of her sorrow for how the issue had always come between them. "I do not care if I am not a princess of our people. I just want to be your sister."

Komamd'r stood, her face shifting into a snarl, "You should care! Our people were slaves! We lived under the boot of the Citadelian empire, and you were on Earth pretending that you were a human!" she spat out, anger welling in her chest. Raven had seen this before.

People got used to thinking a certain way about people. When they learned to be angry with them, they stayed angry even when the original reason for their anger was gone. Komamd'r got what she wanted -- she was queen, but she grew up resenting Kori and that wouldn't change so easily just because the reason for her hate had disappeared.

"I never forgot the plight of our people, but we both know that even with the two of us, we could not defeat the Citadelian empire. Not without great cost," Kori replied, her voice as serious as Raven had ever heard it. It wasn't a word she often used to describe Kori, but as she stood before her sister, who looked down on her, serious was the only one that came to mind. The rest of the Titans stood back, knowing that they had no place in the discussion, though they wanted to speak. All of them did.

And Elery… Elery was feeling a malestorn of emotions. Raven knew that she should focus more on it, but her friend was in front of her. Kori had her attention.

"Except there wasn't. King Tarble came to the Vega system alone, and within days the Citadelian empire was no more and the pirates were eliminated. Our people were free and those that enslaved us paid the price for it in blood," Komamd'r snapped back.

"And all it took was submitting to a mass murderer and committing your people to the War of Light," Tim said, not able to keep from getting involved… no. He was doing it on purpose. He was poking the fire to see what came up in the sparks. He was putting the mission first, before Kori's reunion with her sister.

Komamd'r began to walk down the steps from her throne, slowly bringing herself closer to their level, but she still looked down at them. "Yes. That's all it took. And it was well worth the price. I rule the Vega system at King Tarble's behest. My people will prosper like they never have before. Because of me, and the sacrifices that I made for them." Komamd'r came to a stop on the final step. "We should have gone to King Tarble as soon as we escaped the Psions. All that pain and suffering we endured was unneeded. We should have never listened to those old fools on Okkar about the Trade Organization."

It was obvious even without being an empath. The way she spoke. Komamd'r had feelings for Tarble, and she was unashamed of it. The only question of if those feelings were romantic, or because what he could do for her.

"Komamd'r, you and I both know that our people would have been crushed by the Trade Organization. We would have traded one master for another. I left for the good of our people," Kori returned, and Raven could see it. Kori was beloved by the people. They rallied around her as easily as breathing.

"You refused to accept any sacrifice for our people," Komamd'r spat.

Kori clenched her hands into fists, "The marriage you arranged was not for the benefit of our people. You wanted to hurt me."

"I can multitask," Komamd'r hissed, her eyes glowing with violet light. "Tamaran would have gained a powerful ally against the Citadelian empire and you would have been married to a slug. I couldn't even take your place because they wouldn't accept defective goods. It had to be you. It's always about you. Perfect Kirand'r has everyone's love." she bit out, barring her teeth.

"I have always loved you, Komamd'r. Your anger is misplaced. I never did anything but love you and want you to be happy," Kori argued back, green light coating her hands as she reluctantly prepared a star bolt. The tension grew as everyone prepared themselves for a fight.

"Stop it!" An unexpected voice screamed out, bringing everyone's attention to Elery. Raven was shocked to see that she had tears in her eyes. "Stop fighting about stuff that doesn't matter!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, before she turned around and took off flying with a burst of wind. Raven watched her go, feeling her emotions rapidly dwindling into the distance, but the sorrow and grief that she felt from the little girl was too personal to be about Kori and Komamd'r.

There was silence in her wake as both Tamaranians felt uncertain and ashamed. Though, one felt more shame than the other. Raven looked to Ada'la for an explanation, to see her watching Elery fly away with a sadness that Raven couldn't explain.

Komamd'r recovered first, "Forgive my outburst. You are welcome on Tamaran. Conduct your investigation and learn what King Tarble can offer your planet." she said, floating back to take a seat on her throne. There was no warmth in her eyes. Her words were polite, but her tone was ice cold. "Perhaps, with some luck, this will be the last time we ever see each other."

Komamd'r knew that the words would strike deep and they did. Raven felt Kori's emotions collapse in on themselves, experienced the emotional turmoil as if it were her own.

"Then I hope we are not lucky," Kori replied, turning around, and there was deep pain in her eyes. Raven wished she could say that she hadn't foreseen this, beause she had, but she hadn't been able to stop it either. You couldn't tell people who to love, regardless of whether they deserved it or not. All Raven could do was try to be there for the aftermath.

Raven looked to Kara, who returned her look with one of her own. The Kryptonian offered a curt nod before she began to float up.

"I'll go check on Princess Elery," she said, before taking off in the same direction as the Saiyan Princess.

Raven opened her shadow again to teleport all of them to the base of the tower. Her eyes met Komamd'r's. The other woman's gaze was cold, and intense emotions rolled off of her in waves. She was angry and furious, and nothing hinted that she regretted anything that she had said. They sank through the floor and reemerged from the ground outside, and instantly, Garfield reached out.

"Don't listen to her, Star -- she's just bitter and angry," Garfield consoled.

Tim was swift to join in, perhaps feeling guilty for his part in adding fuel to the fire, "If reconciliation was so easy, then you wouldn't be fighting in the first place. The only time you two can't make up is when both of you stop reaching out."

It was obvious that they were all prepared for the conversation to go exactly how it did, not just her, because they all had words to reassure her in a vain attempt to cheer her up.

Raven couldn't help herself, she spoke up as well. "She is angry, but she's also scared. She thinks she found her place, and she's afraid you'll take it from her. I know you don't want to, and she probably knows that, but… people can't help what they feel." It was insensitive to reveal what another person felt, and it wasn't something she often did, but she felt that the situation called for it.

Kori gave her a wane smile, trying her best to let them cheer her up, but the words she had traded with her sister weighed heavily on her. Garfield picked up on it, and realizing that they weren't having much luck, decided a distraction was in order. "Hey, let's go see the sights! Maybe we can find your… K'norkfa?" He said, butchering the word, which was already incomprehensible, and to their collective relief, Kori's eyes lit up.

"I know where Galfore would be!" Kori said before she took off, and both Wally and Garfield took off after her. Raven looked to Tim, whose lips thinned out into an unimpressed line at being left behind.

"It seems you Earthlings are dwindling by the minute,"Ada’la remarked. They deserved the scathing remark. They were here on a mission and personal issues got in the way. "Shall we continue the tour?" Ada'la asked a smile that could be mistaken for kind on her lips. She was clearly pleased by the turn of events.

Tim looked to her and Raven considered the situation. They had twenty-four hours to do a grand tour of Tarble's empire, but even with teleportation and FTL speeds, they were moving too slowly. They had only covered one planet, and started on another, and they were down half the team. It was clear that they had vastly underestimated the sheer size of Tarble's Empire. Raven knew that there were fourteen million planets, but it was blatantly clear that the time they had wasn't even remotely enough to get even a sample size of his empire. They needed months. A year, maybe, and even that felt like it wasn't enough. Even if they only dedicated a few hours a day to each planet, they wouldn't be able to cover even a fraction of Tarble's Empire.

"I think," Raven began, "I should go back to Earth and ask Tarble for an extension on the summit." Ada'la stiffened, though not visibly. The only sign of it was that her smile fell into a cool mask of professionalism.

"You think he'd go for it?" Tim asked, and Ada'la opened her mouth to speak, but Raven answered before she could.

"It can't hurt to ask," Raven remarked. He set the deadline once. And no one would complain if he did it again. It was more time to prepare. Her eyes moved to Ada'la, "We could ask for an extension of a couple of months. It would let Tarble take care of things on his end." And to that, Raven felt Ada'la's gratitude even if she didn't show it.

She nodded, "A perfectly reasonable request that in sure King Tarble will consider with an appropriate amount of thought. I trust that you know the way back to the shop?" Raven nodded, "Simply tell the attendants that you wish to go to Earth. The trip shouldn't be more than a few hours."

Tim gave her a firm nod and was nonplussed when Ada'la linked her arms with his as they continued the guide. Raven returned the nod and sank back into the ground. She did feel bad for not being there for Kori, but Earth was at stake. Kara was there, so if there was trouble, well when you had a Kryptonian in your corner, you didn't have a lot to worry about.

Minutes later, Raven found herself back in space, and she only realized she had left the Vega system when she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. The oppressive feeling vanished, letting her breathe easily once again. To center herself, Raven closed her eyes and meditated during the trip. Unlike what most thought, it wasn't always about clearing your mind, there was a great deal of thinking during meditation.

Normally, Raven carefully examined why she felt certain ways, unpackaged what made her feel that way, and then packaged the feelings away into neat boxes to never be opened again. But, this time, Raven found herself examining everything she had witnessed. The feelings she had experienced. The information that had been gleaned as well as the people she had met.

She separated the issues, mulled over the information, and reexamined her conclusions.

Komamd'r had said something that stuck with her. A phrase that put a thought she had been having trouble pinning down into words. That Kori had been on Earth pretending to be human.

Raven wondered how much that applied to Tarble.

Raven felt light pierce through her closed eyelids, and she opened them with the expectation that she would see the sun. They must have been close for it to get through the tint on the windows. However, her heart plummeted to her stomach when she saw it wasn't the sun at all.

Earth was before her, the swirl of white clouds, immense blue oceans, and green and brown landmasses. The moon hovered above, revolving around the planet… but it was dwarfed next to the dark blue ball that hung above the planet like a sword of Damocles. It was miles above the Earth, beyond even the moon.

And to Raven's growing horror, the ball began to descend.