Space near "Caliburn's Edge" (on the other other side), "Hathor's Embrace"
Oracle Alexia Hatshepshut of the Speakers of the Dead
"...I'm bored, Elly, let's go some place ...fun"
Alexia popped a piece of fruit in her mouth as she looked away from the blue planet below, grinning at the woman draped across her legs. As scantly clad as the youngest princess of Idurat was, the Fidessan Companion somehow managed to look more scandalous in her silk robes. That was one of the reasons Alexia enjoyed her company, after all. Several years her senior, "Elly" had done things that the young Oracle could only dream of.
"Spoken like a true princess. But... your ship, your rules. Let's go find some place fun..." The woman responded, before adding "...Ally." then offered her typical infectuous laughter, before she pulled her long legs down on the floor. As she stood and stretched, Alexia could only watch with an expression of mild irritation ...if not for her lower lip, caught briefly between her teeth.
"One of these days... you're gonna have to teach me how to be so..." She gave a frustrating flick of her hand, gesturing over the other woman. She then stood, straightening her dress out as she approached the window. "Now be a doll and go punch our next destination in, while I check up on the guests." She was checking her reflection in the thick glass, when the Companion bowed out gracefully.
Alexia would rather have her usual entourage of slaves on board but there were certain associations she was not exactly keen on her father knowing about. She trusted every one of them, of course, but when the Pharaoh of Idurat wished to know something, it was worse than treason not to answer truthfully, it was heresy. Heresy that translated to a slow and agonising death.
Truth be told, her father would not approve of most her guests. Sure, Elly was a Companion of the Be'ati Tempus, and respected across all Mithbari nations, but with her came Sathyn. She frowned a touch as she started toward the guest quarters. The man was brilliant, a mad scientist according to some, with a keen eye for odalisques that rivalled her own. He was courteous, sophisticated, respectful, and yet something about him gave her the creeps... in all the ways, good and bad.
She pursed her lips slightly as her bare feet carried her across the hallways of her ship. There were plenty of distractions on board, of course, to help mitigate his presence. Far from the least of them was Nerida, kin and subject to the Daemon Queen. The fiery redhead was too distracting sometimes, but thankfully her two bunkmates had kept her busy for most of the trip to Earth.
She let her fingertips brush against the polished walls as she walked, slowing down only as she reached the small altar to the Ogdoad. As an Oracle of the Speakers, and as a princess of Idurat, communion with the gods was her privilege and duty. She lowered to her knees and cusped her hands before her, whispering a quick prayer. The light from the candles shimmering reflected on the wadjet tattoo around her left eye.
"It never fails to amaze me how you worship such ...distant deities, darling" Nerida's voice broke Alexia out of her reverie. She turned to look at the source, the redhead leaned against the door frame wrapped in a towel that did the absolute minimum to grant her some decency. Alexia curled her lips upward faintly, looking her over before responding.
"Distant, Neri? take a look outside. We're in their realm now. Space. The eternal darkness of Hehut and Qerh. The ultimate mystery of Naunet and Kekui." She smiled warmly as she moved to stand "Granted, your Daemon Queen is more ...tangible, perhaps, but out here... we are at the mercy of the gods." She gave a last look at the altar, then turned to face her guest properly "And less likely to be flayed alive because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed."
That last bit made Nerida flinch, and Alexia smirked inwardly. As she walked past the woman, she gently brushed her fingertips against her cheek. "We're jumping, dear. Let the others know ...if they are still conscious." Her laughter echoed melodically as she kept walking, her confidence given a little boost by the encounter. She would need it for what lay ahead. She needed to plot, to scheme, and - most importantly - to hide her plans from her Divine Father.
In the decades since Idurat had reached for the stars, her people had claimed only a handful of worlds across three systems. In one of those, they faced predators they never expected to find, creatures that were not spotted by initial surveys. In another, food scarcity had led to open rebellion, aided by several enemies of the Ateri that had sneaked into their ships. The third one, her father's throne world, was the only one with some semblance of stability ...for now.
She knew something had to be done, something had to change, or Idurat would live on merely as a quaint memory of a failed kingdom in some backwater planet. To insinuate any failing of the Pharaoh, of course, was out of the question. Even the favourite daughter would be sentenced to death. Alexia was too young and beautiful to be buried alive in the company of ravenous scarabs. She shuddered at the thought and hastened her step.
The ship shuddered with her in sympathy. Her smile faded from her lips as the shudder turned into a tremble, and her beautiful ship echoed with creaks. She rushed to the nearest comm panel, all but slapping the button "Elly?! what is going o--" Her voice died in her throat as she looked out the window next to her head. High above, if such directions have meaning in space, she could see "The Scourge" preparing for a jump.
Something was wrong. Something was very terribly wrong.
Jumps across space were a subtle thing, barely a distortion of light as a ship vanished from one spot only to appear somewhere else. Jumps were not meant to send ripples across the vacuum of space. Jumps did not cause distant ships to burn up like moths that got too close to the flame. Jumps did not somehow made the Earth look whole again ...and jumps, decidedly, did not cause a whole system to ...suddenly appear less bright for the briefest of moments.
Alexia was seeing red. She was not sure if it was because of the alarm blazing throughout the "Embrace" or because she had hit her head when her barge was slapped around the cosmos by a jump that somehow went wrong. Or perhaps she was seeing red out of pure anger, at how truly helpless the favourite Princess of Idurat really was. She could not hear her guests, and for a few moments, all she could hear was the beating of her own heart... and her feet running against the cold metal.
Her knees almost gave by the time she reached the cockpit. There was blood splattered against the seats, but her Companion friend was nowhere to be found. Alexia could only stare outside as she was met with strange stars and even stranger constellations. Had she been born in another time and place, Alexia would likely have made a comment about Kansas to annoying small dogs.
As it was, she could only whisper a prayer to Hathor.