By Unohoo

Ficlet: The Ascent of Scorpius, Part 1

Disclaimer: They're not mine, I don't own 'em, just please let me use your characters for a little while and I promise to return them as well as they began this ficlet. Thanks in advance.

Scorpius was alone in the barracks, shunned by his crewmates. He preferred it this way. He had no friends. A bastard Scarran-Sebacean hybrid did not easily fit in with his xenophobic brethren. And though his loyalties were with the Peace Keepers, he is part Scarren, a hated and feared enemy. *My situation is intolerable* Scorpius thought. *I'm tired of being the bottom of the pile. Why can't I get promoted to my deserved station? Didn't I score a first at the academy in everything? I'll find a way* Scorpius vowed. The battle alarms went off and Scorpius joined the others at his station.

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Scorpius awoke in intense pain. His entire left side was throbbing and immobilized. He saw a strange blue woman facing him, jointed tentacles dancing about her head. "You are very different from the other Peace Keepers. I'm Natira, who are you?"

"My name is Scorpius. I am a Peace Keeper, a private." Scorpius tried to sit up as he spoke sending his body into spasms from the pain.

"Don't try to move, you are gravely injured, but I'm sure you know that. I thought Peace Keepers were strictly Sebacean." Natira left the question unspoken.

"My mother was a Peace Keeper, an Officer. A Scarren raped her and I was the result. They grudgingly let me into the Peace Keeper ranks as a lowly private. I am much better than that, and I will prove it to them." Telling Natira his story was more than he could stand in his weakened condition. He passed out.

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"How do you feel now?" Natira asked. They were in a strange gray room, surrounded by medical equipment and other instrumentation. "I've taken you to the diagnosan, Tocot. Your wounds will soon be completely healed."

Scorpius no longer was in pain, and he could move relatively freely. He could feel a weakness on his left side, and he was heavily bandaged about his torso. "Why?"

"I need an ally in the Peace Keepers. They are constantly attacking me. I barely get my enterprises profitable when the troops attack and I'm nearly at ground zero again. But, after all these years I've amassed quite a dossier of damaging information on the powers. For instance, one of the vice-commander's has a mistress that is not Sebacean. If that were to become known, he would be executed. But I'm not in a position to use it properly. I need someone who is inside to help me. Have I found my partner?" Natira's tentacles danced about her head as she made this proposition.

Ficlet: The Ascent of Scorpius, Part 2

Scorpius got a small transport and a large dossier from Natira. He made his way to Peace Keeper command. The vice-commander Natira first mentioned was the perfect place to start. In addition to the dirt Natira had on Chorlic, his son, Presq was the commander who sent, a marauder, fifteen prowlers, and two hundred and sixteen crewmates to their death. Scorpius and Presq were the only survivors. Presq abandoned his crew and fled, then lied about what had happened. Instead of facing disciplinary action, he was decorated and awarded the next command. Scorpius knew the truth. "Thank you Vice-commander Chorlic for taking the time to see me." Scorpius needed to assess Chorlic before he presented his case.

"I have no time for small talk. Present your case or leave." Chorlic said.

Scorpius knew exactly what he needed to do.

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"Officer Scorpius present for duty, Sir." Scorpius stood in front of an administrator for his next assignment. He was now assigned to a research ship mapping the uncharted territories. There was a new project about to start, and Scorpius was determined to be part of it. For the present he was still pretty far down in the ranks, and had to take orders from those he considered his inferiors, but he did command a unit, and he had to start somewhere.

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Being in command of a unit was quite different from being in that unit. Scorpius was unsure of himself. He knew he didn't dare to openly oppose his commanding officer, yet his subordinates were openly hostile. Officers in his position would advise each other on handling different situations. He saw a real camaraderie between the others of his rank, but he was isolated. Growing up he was shunned by the other children, and developed a thick skin and aloof demeanor as a result. Scorpius also concentrated on his studies, but developed no social skills that were needed now. Scorpius needed to do something before they went out on the first expedition. He began frequenting the bar to observe how people behaved with each other. After a while, he noticed he was not the only one to be by himself. At any one time he could identify one or two others seemingly in the same position.

One night he saw one of the regular *alone* people looking despondent. His shoulders were drooping more than usual, and he was staring into his Raslak instead of drinking it. He was sitting off the main area, at a poorly lit table. Scorpius made his move. "Mind if I join you?" The officer just nodded without looking up. "We seem to be here at the same times. You look troubled." Scorpius sensed a deep sorrow in the man sitting next to him. He thanked his Scarren heritage for being able to know how others felt, even if he could not share those feelings. "My name is Scorpius." When he said his name, the man looked at him and Scorpius felt a momentary revulsion, quickly passing back to sorrow.

"Listen, I'm not good company right now." The man said sincerely. "I just learned the entire unit I used to be stationed with was killed during battle. My two closest friends are dead. I was transferred here just one monen before this happened."

Ficlet: The Ascent of Scorpius, Part 3

Their mission was to find a suitable place for a new Gammak Base, one whose primary mission was to be research. Scorpius was determined to become its commander, but until then, he had to carry out the missions as they were handed to him. He learned a lot from his new friend, Officer Jesi Orlop. His troops followed his orders; they did not challenge him.

After searching for a full cycle, they did not find a site. Scorpius determined it was time to move up. He was sure the commander had passed by at least two good sites for this Gammak Base. One site was a large asteroid in a field of asteroids. That would ensure the base's secrecy, and give it additional protection. He was ready to move up.

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Once they got back to base, Scorpius took leave and returned to command headquarters. Chorlic could not now help him; he selected the next one on Natira's list, Vice-commander Tyna Prost. Tyna had secreted currency in a shadow depository. Scorpius heard of them, but he had no first hand knowledge. He had two agenda, to be Captain of the research ship, and learn about the shadow depository. Scorpius received the signal to enter Vice-commander Prost's office.

Scorpius began his campaign, "Good afternoon, Vice-Commander, I have some news regarding..."

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"Scorpius, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect you so soon." Natira was annoyed Scorpius had ignored her for more than a cycle, after all she had done for him.

"Natira, don't lie to me. But you should be pleased I'm here. I learned the Peace Keepers plan to raid you in two weekens." Scorpius growled.

"But Scorpius, I am glad to see you. I thought it would be sooner. But no matter, I will hire some mercenaries to defend this place. Thank you for the warning." Natira said.

"I need one more thing from you. The cooling system Tocot installed is faulty. How can I find him?" Scorpius said.

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Ficlet: The Ascent of Scorpius, Part 4

Scorpius commanded the Explorer on her first mission. Now that he had full control, no one dared question or oppose him. He went to the asteroid previously ignored, after dismissing three other planetary systems he was required to look at. The scant amount of data that had been gathered looked promising. After a weeken of intense exploration of the asteroid, the scientists determined it unfit. The asteroid did not have enough mass to sustain a GammakBase. Scorpius was convinced this was the correct setup; he just had to find a more suitable asteroid or a dead planet in a system with no other habitable planets. The exploration required using more resources than anticipated, they had to return to base to get provisioned.

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They had been away from the home base three monens, enough time for the marauder Jesi was on to have finished its mission. Scorpius inquired about the marauder and learned it had gone into battle against Natira. Jesi Prost was dead. Scorpius lost the only friend he ever had. He didn't understand why he felt the way he did. He vowed never to be in that position again.

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Once the Explorer was properly provisioned, Scorpius took it out once more to find a site for the new research Gammak Base. They came to an inhabited planetary system and were met by a delegation from the planet. Scorpius agreed to talk with their leader. The planet, the entire system was unsuitable for the research base as it was a security risk, so it very much surprised Scorpius when the government leader offered him a sizeable bribe in exchange for leaving them alone. Scorpius now knew the secret to his attaining wealth.

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Finding a site was extending well past the originally planned cycle. During this time Scorpius amassed an embarrassing amount of currency. He needed a reliable place to store it and one that would not be visible to anyone else. He returned to Natira during one of the times the Explorer was in maintenance.

"Well, well, Natira, I see you are quite well set up here." Scorpius said.

"Ah, Scorpius, you just don't stop by to say how well set up we are. Thank you for the tip. We were able to deflect the Peace Keepers and move our operations before they could catch up with us again. But why are you here?" Natira said.

"I have a proposition for you. You know what a shadow depository is?" When Natira nodded, Scorpius continued, "I have need to store valuables, but I need to be discrete, more discrete than usual. I want to set you up. I will be your partner and primary depositor. No one else is to know about this. You will use the money you have to build one and I will supplement any additional funds needed. I have the perfect location for it." Scorpius finished.

"Do I have any choice?" Natira asked.

"No, you do not. You will be wealthy beyond your wildest dreams, why would you want to do otherwise?" Scorpius was surprised Natira did not jump at the chance.

Ficlet: The Ascent of Scorpius, Pt 5, Conclusion

It took the Explorer nearly two full cycles to find a suitable site for the Gammak Base. They found a planetary system that had no inhabitable planets. The largest planet, a gas giant, had a moon with an atmosphere, but no life forms other than bacteria, mosses, and single celled organisms that survived a long forgotten nuclear war. *This system is completely defensible, and not in the chartered territories. It is ideal* Scorpius thought.

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Scorpius again returned to Command Headquarters to report his findings. The architectural plans were complete and the construction crew was on standby, waiting for the site. Scorpius was determined to be in charge of the construction and then to be its commander. It was his good fortune, therefore, a seat on the approval board was held by someone on Natira's list. Scorpius arranged to see her first.

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"I'll do what I can, Scorpius. You are a full cycle behind schedule. The other six board members won't appreciate that, and I am only one vote." Vice-commander Rice said.

"Use your influence. I am clearly the most qualified to run this base and oversee its construction. As to it being a cycle behind schedule; use that to advantage. I would not settle for a less suitable site. Security has to be top priority. I also have certain projects for this base that will make the Peace Keepers more powerful. I studied the theoretical potential of wormholes. I intend to make this a reality.Ý There is much we can control with this technology. Remember, I will use the information about you to your detriment if you do not succeed." Scorpius said.

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"Lt. Braca reporting for duty sir." Braca had mixed feelings about his new assignment. Getting the promotion was key. He would not have agreed to report to a half-breed without it.

Scorpius could see the loathing and revulsion in Braca's eyes, as well as sense the man's thoughts. *Good* he thought, *I will be able to make him do exactly what I want.* Scorpius looked directly into Braca's eyes to intimidate him, and growled, "You will do exactly as I tell you. You will not deviate; I will not tolerate insubordination. Do you understand?" Braca nodded and Scorpius continued in a benign tone, "It took Command a cycle to send you here, the base is nearly complete, much of it has been operational for two monens. The aurora chair came on-line just two arns ago. Follow me."

"Aurora Chair?" Braca had never heard of this device, and asked as they were walking through the Gammak Base.

"A device that sees into the mind, extracts the information. But I will show you. We have a Banik slave, a Stykeran, who interests me. You will see first hand how it works."

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The chair terrified Braca. It had been two cycles since he first saw it used; it destroyed all it touched, save one, the Banik slave, Stark. Not that he was much better off than destroyed. But how could anyone endure that for two cycles? He seemed to crave it.

Scorpius and Braca were walking through a corridor on the Gammak Base; just having finished a session with Stark Scorpius noticed a man approaching him in Peace Keeper uniform. But that wasn't what he most noticed about the man. He saw no hatred or fear in his eyes. The man reminded him of Jesi. Except for a fleeting revulsion when they first met, Jesi was the only person who ever looked at him openly, no fear, and no hate. This man's aura was different, the energy signature was wrong. "That man, he is an imposter. Seize him."

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