Chapter 10: High Treason

8,000 B.C.

Rally point in the void outside the Milky Way galaxy

"Any traces, yet?" asked Juno'ka, her voice dripping with concern as she was scanning all holo-screens in front of her.

"No, Commander!" replied a young, red-haired Neph'arim woman right beside the tall bluenette. Her name was Tha'lia, daughter of Ra'shek and therefore niece of Amun'shek and Juno'ka. "Do you really think she is going to arrive? It is now almost over an entire rotation and…"

"Hope," replied Juno'ka immediately, giving her niece a warm smirk as she gazed at her from the corner of her eye. "Hope is everything we have left in these merciless times. Amun is still alive. I know it. I…feel it!"

With even more worry, she shifted her sight to the scenery that was present outside the ship.

During the bumpy right to the rally point, two ships had gone lost as they had been shredded into pieces inside the subspace. The rest had been at least damaged and was about to be fixed. Juno'ka knew that the chances for her bond-mate to have survived were extremely low; hence that she had entered the already almost unpassable subspace way later.

The stars, which were now no more, still blinked at her as nothing had happened, though the reality was a different one. It would take the image and deadly radiation of those exploded suns at least five-hundred years to arrive at this point in space.

A symbol on her holographic console began to blink, signing the income of a call. With a loud sigh Juno opened the channel and Ra'shek's stern face appeared in front of her, "Emergency repairs almost finished. Ready your ships for the long jump back home. I already informed the Royal Council of our whereabouts and they ordered that we should return immediately."

"And what is about Amun?" returned Juno'ka, slightly shocked that her sister seemed to have already accepted her demise.

"If she is still alive, then she will return home as well. She is smart enough to make this decision, when she realizes that we are not here anymore."

Both, Juno'ka and Tha'lia gazed at each other for a few seconds, until Juno'ka answered "Very well!" and cut the communication.

"This is not right!" spoke the young Neph'arim beside her in rebellious anger. "We cannot just leave! What if she needs our help? What if her ship is too much damaged and she is floating dead in space? What if…?

"I do not give up on her!" replied Juno'ka calmly, rubbing soothingly over her nieces back. "Prepare the ship for departure and give the order to the others as well. And then…" Gazing at her with another smirk, Juno added "Manipulate the subspace engine."

Tha'lia was just about to patch through the order as suddenly an alarm chimed and the ship's computer said "Incoming subspace signal…friendly signature."

Two thousand miles away, the real space ripped open and the Shi'ha appeared. Right away, Juno'ka opened a com channel, which was answered immediately. But instead of seeing her bond-mate, Pta'rek's serious face appeared.

"Commander Juno'ka!" he greeted with a slight bow of his head and then said "The High-Commander got injured. We need your expertise here as soon as possible!"

"I am on my way!" she answered on the spot and headed for the translocator, her niece following. "Tha'lia, you stay and take over command. I will keep you posted!"

"Yes, Commander!" she replied without hesitation, watching as her aunt entered a capsule and disappeared in a bright light.

On board the Shi'ha

With a blinding light, Juno'ka emerged from the translocator. Her tall and slender appearance, combined with the black light battle armor she still wore overshadowing Pta'rek, who had been waiting for her arrival.

Without being furtherly asked, he told the other commander what happened while they were walking to the medical section. "When we traveled the subspace, we got hit by a giant tidal wave. The High-Commander suddenly screamed out in pain without having any injury and lost consciousness. We decided to leave subspace and hoped that she would wake up, but so far, she has stayed unconscious, though our medics cannot find the reason why. However, they discovered a strange wave pattern in her brain that somehow matches the radiation waves of the subspace. This is why I called you here."

"Just bring me to her!" replied the tall bluenette plainly, already thinking about what could've happened to her bond-mate.

Both commanders arrived at the medical station a few minutes later, whereas Juno'ka immediately walked towards her bond-mate, who was laying on a hover-bed, only wearing a thin layer of white Nano-fabric.

"Ja'ala taru'uk!" whispered the bluenette as she softly brushed over her loved one's forehead. "Give me all the data you have!" she then ordered and got handed a portable holo-display and started to browse through the numbers, charts and graphics right away.

Many minutes passed until Juno'ka frowned. "The patterns indeed match with the frequency of the subspace radiation, which means that her mind has somehow synchronized with it. However… Something is strange."

With a few touches and swipes on the interactive hologram, the blue-haired scientist enlarged the display and enhanced the image of two graphics, putting them then side-by-side.

"A frequent anomaly!" spoke Pta'rek as he was gazing at the two compared graphics. "What does the second one show?"

"The wave patterns of the ship's subspace engine," answered Juno'ka and put the device aside. "In order to make subspace-travel possible, the engine has to be synchronized with the subspace itself. As you know, a dangerous and very time consuming procedure, yet also flawed. Every engine has its own anomalous wave pattern and somehow Amun's brain got linked to the subspace via the ship's engine. Though, I cannot say why or how."

"So, what do you suggest, commander?"

"Shut down the subspace engine!" was Juno'ka's simple yet serious answer, which let the other commander gaze at her like she had suggested a suicide mission.

"Commander – with all due respect – but as you already noted, the recalibration after the shut-down might take us some time. We would be stuck at this location and…"

Wanting to save her beloved bond-mate, Juno'ka swiped Pta'rek's complains internally away, saying "Concerns duly noted. Now, as the empire's head-scientist, I hereby order you to shut down the ship's subspace engine hence to possible hazards for the ship's crew!"

Bowing his head in compliance, Commander Pta'rek replied "As you wish, Prim'ar Scitarus Juno'ka Tek Ta'hir!"

He was just about to give the orders through his com-device as the angrily yelling voice of Ra'shek made him stop in his doing.

"Ignore that order and get back to your station, Commander! And you…" While Commander Pta'rek bowed again and left the medical room, she shifted her focus entirely towards Juno'ka. "If you undermine my authority once more, I will relieve you from all honors and send you to a deep-space research-facility at the other end of the galaxy!"

But the blue-haired Neph'arim just answered her with defiance by keeping on staring at Ra, until she said with gritted teeth "We need to deactivate the engine, or else Amun's mind will be stuck in subspace."

"What she needs is professional medical care from our leading healers, not any rushed actions of her bond-mate!"

"If we jump into subspace it could kill her!" blurted Juno back, almost feeling desperate as she realized that Amun's sister ignored every warning, and, eventually, ignored her last argument.

"Commander, I order you to go back to your ship and prepare for the jump home or…"

Juno'ka heard the words. She knew about the consequences she was about to face. Nonetheless she used the com-device on her wrist.

"This is Prim'ar Scitarus Juno'ka! Security-identification Re-ket-hir'ahur-orul. I order the immediate deactivation of the subspace engine!"

"Confirmed, Prim'ar Scitarus!" came the answer from the com and Juno'ka felt how the engine got powered down, until its – for her noticeable – molecular noise had faded entirely.

Unfortunately, Amun'shek's condition didn't change at all, whereas Ra's hair and eyes began to glow golden out of rage. She drew her gun and aimed at her sister's bond-mate.

"That is it! Commander, you are hereby under arrest for insubordination and sabotage during a combat mission! Put down your weapons and…"

Out of nowhere, Amun'shek awoke from her coma with a loud gasp. And immediately, Juno was at her side to hold her tightly.

"Are you alright, my dearest?" she asked quietly, receiving a faint nod from her bond-mate, who had cuddled close to the bluenette. Ignoring Ra, who had partially lowered her gun and actually didn't know how to react to this change of events, Juno'ka walked her beloved Amun back to her quarters, supporting her weak steps and on addition called through the com "Reactivate the subspace engine!"

Eventually, they had reached the High-Commander's place and, once inside, Juno carefully laid her onto the simple bed and combed through her fiery-red hair.

Amun'shek had never been a person, who lived the luxurious and privileged life of a princess. Even in her young years she had preferred spending the days and nights outside the palace and among the simple people, which had also brought her many furious arguments with her father, the Emperor, as well as her older sister.

Now even as a High-Commander she had refused to have a giant, luxurious and spacy quarter like her sister. She wanted to live and even die like a common citizen of the empire and therefore be an example that even the privileged one are nothing more than the lowest Neph'arim. A behavior most of the upper class didn't agree, but for what she got loved by the common people.

"Mmh…it has been so long since I felt your soft touches on my skin," hummed Amun'shek and opened her eyes to look at her bond-mate with a soft smile.

"Yes, my dearest! It felt like millenia." replied the bluenette and leaned forward to give Amun a soft kiss, which the redhead prolonged and intensified as she wrapped her arms around Juno'ka's neck and pulled her closer.

Since the war started so many years ago, Amun and Juno hadn't really had the chance to see each other regularly. Especially, because each one of them was commanding an entire fleet. In addition, Juno'ka was the head of the royal science-division and therefor responsible for the research and development of new weaponry.

"Mmh…! Wh-what are you doing?" gasped Juno'ka and broke the kiss as she realized that her bond-mate had opened one of the clasps of her armor.

"I want to feel you entirely!"

"B-but…"

"I am fine!" whispered Amun with determination and passionately kissed her loved one again while stripping off her clothes, piece by piece. Juno succumbed and soon, both were naked.

Their slender, tattooed bodies entangled and surrounded by lustful moans, the two Neph'arim enjoyed each other. A sigh of relief escaped Amun's mouth as her bond-mate's hand had reached her nether region and started to massage it. Of course she returned the favor and soon, their pleasure was about to reach its peak. But before reaching her climax, Amun'shek broke the kiss and looked deeply into Juno'ka's eyes.

"Bond with me!" she suddenly spoke, letting Juno gaze at her with a mixture of surprise and hurt.

Shaking her head in sadness, she answered "Amun… You know what happened last time. The pain…"

Yet, it didn't change the red-haired woman's mind. Softly she brushed over her bond-mate's cheek and answered with encouragement.

"But now I am old enough and can be the one who merges our energy. I can do it! I…feel that it will work!"

"You just woke up from a coma, which's cause we do not even know, yet. I…" contradicted Juno'ka before her voice broke for a moment. "I just do not want you to go through the same hurt and disappointment I went through. I…I do not want to see you suffer or even worse…die!"

Amun didn't answer. At least not verbally. She just warmly smiled at her mate and let her hand glide soothingly over the bluenette's body, before she reengaged the kissing. Yet not with lust, but passion.

Soon, Juno'ka realized that she had lost the argument and gave in to her fate, unable to resist the younger, yet way more persistent princess.

As their game of love and desire continued, both of the Neph'arim's hair and tattoos began to glow as the divine-energy flowed through their bodies. Amun could feel how it sparked over from her bond-mate and gathered together with her own life-energy in her womb. It was a strong, partially uncomfortable feeling of inner pressure, ready to explode and shred her organs into bits and pieces if it's not contained.

This inner struggle paired with the intense lust she felt plus her strong determinant will, induced a wild mix of indescribable feelings, which eventually led to a very intense climax that made Amun scream.

The whole room was filled by a blinding white light as all three spectrums of the divine-energy formed a new life.

Bonding was exhausting. Even after a few hours of rest, Juno'ka and her beloved Amun were still lying in bed, spooning each other. Their bodies hurting like after an entire day of combat.

"We did it!" whispered the red-haired woman with joy and took her bond-mate's hand, putting it cautiously on her belly. "I feel it. Right here." Then, she turned around to face Juno. "We are going to be parents. An unfulfilled dream of billions and yet…we were chosen!"

"You were chosen, Amun!" replied Juno, gazing deeply into the other woman's scarlet-red eyes, and added "And you will bring your father much pride."

Right away, Amun's demeanor darkened. She broke contact and swiftly sat up straight. "I am neither doing this for my father nor to make anyone proud. It was my decision, mine alone, and I am doing this for us and especially for our people!" Then, her expression softened again and she cautiously laid her head onto her bond-mate's chest and listened to her heart-beat. "As long as there are children, there is hope! In these dark times, our race needs hope and faith. Our child will show them that it is not too late. That we still have chance!"

With every spoken word, Juno's smile grew wider, until she eventually said "Spoken like a true Empress! Maybe your father should make you his successor and not your sister."

"Me, and empress?!" chuckled Amun with amusement, softly squeezing her bond-mate's thigh. "Thanks for your confidence in me, but I am not suited for this task. I would rather love to live somewhere far away from all these politics and intrigues. Together, with you. Just us and our child, nobody else."

Juno'ka stayed silent for a while, thinking about her bond-mate's words. She knew that Amun never wanted to lead or rule anything; that she wanted to be like a common citizen. But the bitter truth was lying different. In the bluenette's eyes, the throne belonged to the second-born princess and not her sister, hence to change the current political course.

"Amun, like it or not, but you are the one who should lead the empire. The people love and respect you for your deeds. You could lead us into a new golden age!"

With a deep sigh, the red-haired Neph'arim stood up and walked over to a small wash-niche, where she splashed some cold water into her face and stared at her reflection in the small mirror for several minutes. Then, something strange happened.

The reflection in the mirror changed and showed the galaxy in its full glory before it burst into nothing more than stellar dust, which eventually got devoured by an evilly chuckling entity that consisted of pure chaotic subspace energy.

A sequence of different images then appeared, showing how the Skyth murdered, destroyed, raped and slaughtered innocent people of different races.

She had to witness how a vast, horrible creature ripped off Juno'ka's head from her body, cracked open the skull and ate her brain.

Another image pictured how a young woman got abused and tortured, her youthful, once perfect body covered with scars, wounds and bruises. She looked directly at her, stretched out her hand and screamed "Mother! Help me!"

In horror, she stumbled backwards, her cheeks drenched with glowing-red tears. Juno'ka captured her before would trip and fall over anything, looking and speaking to her with concern.

"Amun, my dear, are you alright? What happened?"

But Amun didn't answer. Her sight was just darting randomly through the room, eventually stopping at the mirror. The horrible scenes from before had vanished and only her reflection could be seen again, showing that she was pale and her forehead covered with sweat. She knew what just happened, because she had experienced such things before, yet not so intense.

Only those with the ability to entirely influence time were able to have visions, a blessing and curse at the same time. On the one hand you could foresee events and try to avoid them; on the other hand the future was unpredictable. You never knew, if your preventing actions would stop or even induce said event. Sometimes, the circumstances revealed themselves over time the closer the event came, that's why it was always necessary to not inform other persons until you were sure what to do. Or, eventually, just act on your own.

In that case, Amun decided to not tell her bond-mate, yet. Instead, she just excused her condition by panting "Probably…probably just…the aftereffects…of…the bonding."

Juno, however, realized the lie in her words, but couldn't push the topic any further as Amun's private com came to life.

"High-Commander?" chimed Pta'rek's voice and though her legs were still shaky, Amun walked over to the small desk and opened a com channel.

"Speak, Commander!" she replied and right away a holographic map of the galaxy appeared in front of her, whereas one star was highlighted by blinking red.

"We just received a distress call from the Tura'u system, saying that they are being attacked by a fleet of the Galactic Alliance."

Rage began to boil inside the red-haired Neph'arim. She knew that the Tura'u system was one of the biggest inhabited worlds of the outer sectors. Billions of her people lived there and were now threatened by an enemy that was supposed to be their ally.

"Traitors!" spoke Juno'ka with gritted teeth, swiftly typing some calculations into the console. "The subspace should be calm enough to make it there in a half rotation."

"Then prepare your ships, Juno!" said Amun to the bluenette and gave her a peck on her cheek before she went to get dressed again. Then, she turned towards her desk again and ordered "Commander, prepare the fleet for battle! We leave as soon as possible!"

"Yes, High-Commander. The subspace engine's recalibration is at 99 %. See you on the bridge!"

Right away, Amun began to quickly dress up as well. And while Juno'ka translocated back to her ship, the redhead went to the bridge.

"It is a nice sight to see you back on your feet, High-Commander" she got greeted by Pta'rek with a soft smile, which faltered as he added "High-Commander Ra'shek is requesting that you call her immediately."

With a loud sigh, Amun initiated the call and got greeted by Ra's furious demeanor.

"Amun, what are you doing?"

"We received a distress call from the Tura'u system. Our fleets should…"

"Stop your doings right now! The Royal Council already contacted me and explained the situation. Rogue elements of the Galactic Alliance have started the attack. Generalius Suomnosis declared that he wants to take care of this matter personally, making an example out of it."

"The closest units of the Alliance are rotations away. Every wasted moment our people die out there!" blurted Amun back, her hands clenching into fists. "If we intervene now, we could save…"

"Intergalactic politics, Amun! It is hard for you to understand, but…"

"I understand them very well and I do not give a da'ak about them!" she screamed back, so that the entire crew was now paying attention to the fight between the two siblings. "Our own people are more important to me than a bunch of want-to-be allied systems that are under the leadership of a cruel dictator, who declares himself a savior."

"Recalibration completed, High-Commander! Awaiting orders." mentioned Pta'rek, ready to implement his supervisor's command, which led to the result that Ra'shek's demeanor became dead-serious and the tone of her voice venomous and threatening.

"If you give the order, then it will be considered high treason! Not even your heritage would be able to save you from the council's wreath."

"Then so be it!" answered Amun with determination and closed the com channel to her sister while opening another one that could be heard throughout each and every of her ships – including those of Juno'ka.

"My fellow Neph'arim, a rogue fleet of the Galactic Alliance is currently attacking the Tura'u system. The Royal Council says that we should stay out of this and wait for the Alliance to intervene. But I will not wait! I will not let millions of innocent die just to uphold a treaty with a warmongering creature. I will travel to the Tura'u system and I will eradicate any forces that are threatening our empire! Be aware that this action will disobey a direct order of the council and therefore be considered high treason. Those, who do not want to be a part of this operation, shall announce this to their supervisor and be contained until the battle is over.

This is High-Commander Amun'shek te Tah'ir Neph'arim, and I give the order to launch the operation!"

Aboard the Tuk'har, High-Commander Ra'shek's flagship

Powerless, Ra'shek had to watch as the fleets of her sister and Juno'ka entered the subspace and thereby disobeyed hers and the Royal Council's orders.

Her hands were clenched into fists while golden-glowing tears of anger were rolling down her out of fury reddened cheeks.

Angrily, she hissed to her second-in-command "Open a channel to my father and the council! It is time that Amun and her precious Juno'ka have to answer for their audacity!"