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{“I tell you this story to save your life…”}
~***~***~***~
The stars were calling.
They could all hear it, even if they couldn’t all talk back, not really. Not the same way. But the stars were calling- had been calling- for days. Green Nova rubbed her head. The star Dancers had tried to quiet the calling, to give the whole Lineage some respite, but no matter what they tried, how they asked, the stars kept calling.
The Elders said it was because there was some great Broken Promise that needed to be fixed. The younger Guardians said that they should take their ships and try to find the source of the call, but the Elders told them to ‘stop being reckless and stupid’, to not leap without looking where you’d land, and to meditate on the problem. So, there was Green Nova, with her four Clan Siblings, meditating over a vast map, seeking answers where there was only The Calling.
It was hopeless, said Blue Sun.
“It is not hopeless,” Stone Star said, “we just need to find what's making the Stars so upset.”
“We should wait for the Elders' decision,” cautioned their sister, Moon On Water.
“We can’t wait, we need to do something,” Green Nova insisted. Meditation had told them nothing, other than an increased sense of urgency.
Far Radiance, the oldest, rolled his eyes. “We’ll meditate on the ship,” he decided, and so the Clan snuck out of their Home, and onto the fastest ship that could hold them all. Blue Sun pulled the map out of his robe, and spread it out, as Moon On Water carefully guided the ship away from Home and into the stars.
~***~***~***~
What kind of Broken Promise could cause this much desolation, the Little Clan wondered. What could have happened that the whole Lineage was called Home, all its scattered Branches in one place?
Blue Sun gasped and reached out with the Stars Language to his siblings. He had Seen something, Felt something. A planet, far, but still in reach, that felt like a Black Hole. A strange, oily, slick-sticky-tar-cold void in the tapestry of Stars. The Clan felt hesitation, to walk into such Darkness, but this is what the Star Children were for , and it was their duty. So, they turned to the Stars and to each other for reassurance and flew on.
In what felt like both an eternity and only a few brief hours, they arrived to the planet, blanketed, soaked , in the Dark, the slick-sticky-tar-cold fog of it trying to curl into their lungs, minds, hearts, but kept at bay by the Light of their Shields. Their ship set down in a large city, and the Clan gathered by the hatch, exchanging glances, flicking their robes away from their hilts in preparation for whatever this planet had in store. Far Radiance opened the door, and the five Clanmates were met by a short being, absolutely consumed by the Dark.
“Greetings welcome guests,” the strange being simpered, “it is not often we have beings come from off planet as esteemed as yourselves!”
“We thank you for the gracious welcome,” said Green Nova. She was the best trained in diplomacy, and she could already feel Blue Sun vibrating with his dislike, and Moon On Water’s carefully shielded disdain.
“We have traveled a long way,” she continued, “and we hoped to meet with the leaders of this city.”
“Why of course, of course! We would be happy to oblige such fine guests!” The being was quite enthusiastic about the idea.
“I am called Black Fly, and I would be delighted to show you our fine city, and introduce you to our Esteemed Leaders! They are a Great Family, and much beloved!”
As Black Fly stepped away, Stone Star whispered, “They don’t feel ‘much beloved’ to me. I don’t like this city, there is so much despair, and… hate .”
The Little Clan all shivered. Hate was not a feeling they truly knew. Despair, anger, hopelessness, and the feeling of the ill and dying, yes. But hate ? They had never encountered it, at least not this strong.
The people living in the city were strange. Most were thin and wane, with hollow hateful eyes that glared at Black Fly and the Clan. The others were rowdy and richly dressed, and several were clearly very drunk, stumbling across their path as they followed behind Black Fly.
The oily being led them up the main roads to largest house in the city. As they stepped inside a young girl rushed forward to take Black Fly’s coat. In her haste, she jostled his arm. Black fly whipped around, and backhanded her across the face, “Stupid girl. Watch yourself, you should not be so clumsy around your betters! I’ll have you whipped if you dare do something of this kind again!”
Green Nova and Stone Star flinch. Far Radiance and Moon On Water are stiff, shoulders tense. Blue Sun clutches Stone Star’s sleeve.
~***~***~***~
Meeting the ‘Great Family’ was disturbing. They smiled, and made polite small talk, and welcomed the Clan easily, offering food and drink. But at the same time, they were saturated in the same slick-sticky-tar-cold void as the rest of the city. And it was immediately clear that the beings who served the food and drink, who attended to the ruling family’s needs, were not there of their own volition.
‘Slaves’ , the Head of the Family had called it. ‘Lesser beings’, they said. ‘Barbarians, grateful for their mercy and firm hand’ they insisted with a smile, even as one of the beings glared fit to kill from a few feet behind them.
“Why the collars on their necks, and the chains on their wrists, then?” Questioned Far Radiance, the only one the Head of the Family would readily acknowledge.
“Oh, they don’t know what's best for them, foolish creatures. They’re very animalistic, you know? For everyone's safety, of course.”
And the Little Clan felt that was not the worst of it.
~***~***~***~
The little Clan excuse themselves with all polite speed, and return to their ship, masking their horror behind blank faces.
They all agreed with a single glance that the problem was far too vast for just the five of them, and that the Great Lineage would need to be called. They returned home, Moon On Water pushing the ship as fast as it would go, as the Little Clan drafted a plan to show their Elders.
When they landed, their Teachers rushed to meet them, scolding and reaching out for hugs and comfort in equal measure.
“We need to speak to the Elders,” Said Green Nova.
“Immediately.” Added Far Radiance, his bearing stern, an alarming contrast to his usual warmth.
“It is about the Stars Call,” Moon On Water added, trying not to shake from her rage.
~***~***~***~
The Clan explained to the elders what they had seen. The chains and collars. The hate, despair, rage, and defeat of the ‘enslaved’. Explained the new word, and what it truly meant, the children taken from their mothers and fathers, families forced apart, working to the bone for other, cruel and lazy beings. The loss, of humanity, of culture, of freedom, of joy and love, of safety.
How did this happen, the other Star Children asked, huddled close, attempting to stave off the cold of horror.
The Great Family used to be small. Just a village head, respected by the community. As the respect for their work grew, so did their wealth. And as each generation grew wealthier, the less they worked, the more spoiled the children, the greedier the adults.
Like begets like, and the family's greed and cruelty grew. The village head could own land, and rent it to those without, and the prices became steeper until no-one could pay. By then, the village was a city, the Head of the Family a Lord, and they decreed that anyone unable to pay their debts would have to work for the Family until they worked off the debt.
“It was a trap. A snare not used before. And now more than half the population of the planet is a slave to the richest amongst them. The village head promised to care for their people. The Lord promised fair governance. They promised a chance to repay debts incurred unjustly. And they lied. Thousands are suffering. We must help them!” Green Nova was weeping by the end of her speech, and the Lineage moved to comfort their brave, reckless children.
“We will help them. A team will be sent to talk to the Head of the Family, to negotiate a peaceful resolution. If that cannot happen, the rest of us will act, to free the slaves, and find them new homes, or to set up a new government, one that will be fair to all the planet's inhabitants.”
The Star Children nodded at their Elders decree, and their Home was soon a flurry of activity. Medical supplies, food, water, blankets, and materials for temporary housing were gathered. Ships were checked, fueled, and packed. All the Star Children old enough to fight were readying their weapons and minds, donning the light armor of their people. Those unable, unwilling, or too young to fight began drafting several proposals for a new government structure. Better to have options, than to make the poor beings formerly enslaved feel even more trapped.
The first team of negotiators took flight, and the Star Children prayed their preparations would go unneeded.
~***~***~***~
They were right to be prepared. They had set their ships just out of the planet's range, at a feeling from the Stars.
Green Nova was glad they had done so, when she felt the first death
~***~***~***~
The team had reached the planet, and the palace without trouble. They were welcomed. And when they explained the purpose of their presence, the Head of the Family agreed to negotiate. But at the end of the first day, as the Star Children left the room, the Head of the Family ordered their guards to attack at once.
Some of the guards were free, but many were slaves, and the Star children tried to spare as many as they could. But the Slavers were cruel, and the enslaved did not know who to fear more. Some fought the Star Children. Some turned on the Head Family. Some hid. Others took their chances, and approached the Star Children for help. When that proved a safe route, more followed.
~***~***~***~
Green Nova kept her saber clear of her robes, even as she helped evacuate as many slaves onto one of the Star Children's ships as possible. No matter what they chose for their future, better not to be on this planet while the fighting raged. She ushered a woman, carrying a screaming child, aboard, and heaved the door shut before signaling the pilot to take off.
“What is your plan for us, now that you are taking the planet?” The voice was gruff, old, and weary.
Green Nova turned big eyes on the stooped man, hurrying to support him, and moving to another ship, “What do you mean? We are not taking the planet.”
The old man's surprise rippled through the air, “You aren’t? Then why kill the Depur, the slave masters? Why fight? Why take us?”
The last was the easiest, “We will return you to this planet as soon as it is safe. Or, you can choose to go somewhere else, and we will take you there. As for why we are fighting, we are Star Children. We answer the call of the Stars, and the Stars told us to find a great darkness, caused by a Broken Promise, and to fix it.
“That led me and my siblings here. The Head Family and their supporters, Depur as you called them, are coated in Darkness, and clearly its source. They broke their promise to your people, trapped and enslaved you. How could we pass by and not do anything?” She gently passed him to another being on the ship, shut the door, and turned to join the fighting.
~***~***~***~
It took four days to clear the planet of Depur. The Star Dancers had been kept busy the first day, unlocking chains and collars, and healing old and new injuries. On the fifth day, they set the ships down and healed the fighters, rejoicing that none had died. The Star Children on the ships had used the time to take a census, to try and find the separated families, and so the fifth day was full of reunions.
The former slaves, called Aldenka, had a slight hierarchy of elders and Aldenka with more knowledge of the galaxy and they met with the Star Children to hear their ideas for the future. Most of the Aldenka who wanted to leave the planet had already identified themselves and were working with the Star Children to plan where they would go.
Those who wanted to stay debated for many weeks how they should build their new government, and how to rebuild their planet. Guilty for their part in the damage, the Star Children eagerly volunteered their assistance, and began clearing rubble, stabilizing buildings, and preparing fields for planting immediately, to the widespread confusion, and gratitude, of the Aldenka.
The Elders and the Star Children who liked diplomacy worked with the Aldenka’s chosen representatives, their own Elders, to form a government system that they could uphold and thrive in.
~***~***~***~
Thousands of years later, chains fell open, and locked doors were pulled off their hinges. The Amavika, children of the Mother, watched warily as a figure in billowing robes stood in the entrance, haloed by the sun.
“Who are you? What do you want with us?”
The figure smiled, stepped in and to the side so they could be seen, and knelt. They raised their hands, and in the silent language of the Mothers children, signed, “My soul recognizes the fire in you, for I am a child of the mountains. I recognize the Children of the Mother, for I am a Child of the Stars”
It may have been millennia since the Star Children used that name, but he Mother’s children and the Stars children had long memories. The Children of the Mother, Ar-Amu, followed a Star Child to freedom.