Psychosocial

[Arage Bao]

The Fringe Confederation
Sector F-34-A, Unknown Regions

You could sense it in the air.

It was that distinct feel that preceded most changes of history; an electrical static that made the hair on your skin raise itself just a little bit. As a soldier you grew familiar with that feeling. There wasn’t really any other option left to you, because you needed to be aware of every shift on the currents that could spell being sent out to the front lines or even behind the lines if you were lucky enough for that kind of honor.

Sleep hadn’t come easy to me this time around, but static set my skin on fire. I startled awake, eyes wide from the previous waking dream and from the realization that something was really wrong - as said before, you develop some kind of sixth sense as a commando for things like this and you better trust to your gutfeeling.

I stifled a groan before peeking out of the sheets of my bunk.

The room was just as I left it the night before; shattered mirror, assault rifle half-cleaned leaning against a broken chair. It hadn’t been a good night or day, but you learn to live with things like that out here and if you didn’t? Well, we never really talked about those few.

Rolling out of the bed to the floor took all the reserves (which was an overstatement) that the night had given me. It also reminded me of the beer I had spilled and neglected to clean up - feth.

I knew every inch of this little four by four room though, so I didn’t even need the crimson that radiated from my eyes and let me see just a little bit better in the dark. Of course, it still took me a few moments, but eventually I was all clothed and ready to poke my head out of the room…

It didn’t look good.

Just as expected.

 

[Arage Bao]

Sector F-34-A was on the edge of official Fringe space. Pure technically it wasn’t actually Fringe space, it was that sacred old no man’s land between the former Atrisian Empire and the Fringe Confederation - back in the day… when things had been so much simpler for everyone involved.

On Serpina’s side more so than the Sith side though. Those kind of details were important; she had learned.

She poked her head through her doorway, looking left to the right before realizing that key personnel weren’t actually in their bunks anymore. Rien didn’t even need to go to their rooms, it was all there in the miniscule details that were spelled so clear to her as the night itself.

Roy’s boots are gone, just a bit of water splattered on the floor, the door to Burzo’s door was closed… the little details could tell you so much, if you simply paid attention to it.

But what did this all mean? And more importantly why had Roy and Burzo been called away without her? The more was she was seeing, the more questions were popping up in her mind and she wasn’t liking the direction all of this was going to. She took another look at her room, before giving a little shrug and leaving it behind her.

Closed door and locked.

Couldn’t really do much more in the ways of privacy anyway, so it would have to do for now.

Even here, in the presence of the familiar durasteel walls, the smells and visions of home Rien couldn’t suppress the feeling that something was very, very wrong.

 

[Arage Bao]

Rien left their rooms behind and walked further into the corridor.

More and more the trepidation she had been experiencing before started to leave her again; once again it were the little signs that made her more at ease. The signs of military personnel still going about their little business were all there, she passed the messroom and just caught the backend of another one of Jim’s rants.

Something about the inequity of the common man and how they were wasting their time here in deep space. Watching a portion of civilization that hadn’t been awake for years to come.

Just brought up a little upturn in the corner of her lips, but she managed to pace herself either way. The fact that Jim and his conspirators weren’t aware of anything out of the usual… well that did not really say anything whatsoever - a thought that brought memories back of that racoon, heh.

Loveable idiot.

Of course, they knew that the situation in the core worlds of the Fringe was dire to say the least. They didn’t get a lot of info here but according to the latest missives Ovmar had returned to the fold and noticed that the Confederation wasn’t what it used to be - long time ago since it was anything like the past.

It didn’t surprise anyone that the Lord of the Fringe had decided to take matters in his own hands.

Though the act of installing an Empire? An Imperial Order in the Unknown Regions as a callback to the Empire of the Hand of old? As a Chiss Rien could respect that sentiment, it was in her people’s nature to bring order towards that which they perceived as chaos.

But here?