A/N Sorry for taking almost two months to update, I lost interest in the story. But thanks to my first review that interest came back, so here's the next chapter!

Coyott stared at the empty transmission screen, willing Aster to answer his transmission. He looked at her tracking beacon. The galaxy was displayed, each star system shown as a color-coded dot. Green for ally, red for enemy, yellow for neutral, and gray for unknown. The Starlen Empire's ships were displayed as blue dots. Aster's ship had just disappeared into the Carralin System, it registered as a system with unknown space faring inhabitants.

Coyott sighed; there was nothing he could do. He knew Aster's ship had been badly damaged; she had probably fled to the Carralin System to get repairs. But would she make it? He shook his head in exasperation. Aster was so stupidly reckless, but this time it wasn't her fault. She had thought it was a stupid mission. And when Aster thinks something is reckless then it's probably downright insane.

But when it got down to it, none of them had a choice. Sure, you could reject the odd mission here, brush of a mission there- but when their Empire wanted you to do it you did it. Preferably as soon as possible, with maximum enemy casualties.

Aster blinked her eyes open. The dust was settling around the wreak of her ship, she had only been out for a few minutes. The inhabitants of the city were circling warily around the wreckage. They were silvery-gray creatures, standing on two legs, with antlers and shifty eyes. They had tusks protruding from their mouths, and guns clutched in their plant-like hands. They didn't look terribly friendly. Aster had just crashed in their city, after all.

"Uh, sorry," Aster said, managing to scramble to her feet. She was covered in cuts and bruises, as well as some not so small gashes, but nothing seemed to be broken. "I- I really am sorry," she said again. The creatures just stared at her. She began to wonder if they were sentient. She was speaking in the most common language in the universe- not native her native tongue, but one that was taught as a second language in most all main stream empires. Then again, Aster was pretty far away from the cluster of solar systems her home planet was located in.

"Sorry," she repeated, switching to the Selznick's language. Maybe these creatures would recognize that, since their planet was very close to the Selznick home planet. "I am Aster Saphiren, of the Starlen Empire. On behave of my empire, I extend greeting to your Empire, and apologize for crashing here."

"We could understand you before," a cold voice said. Aster was startled when she realized it had spoken in Starlen. The group of the creatures parted to reveal another one of. He was wearing swirling robes, and one of his antlers was broken off. He gave of an aura of coldness, cruelty.

"How- how do you know my language?" Aster gasped.

The creature studied her with hard amber eyes. Aster squirmed mentally, feeling like a lab toxiraptor. "We know a great many things," he said finally. "More than any other Empire in the Galaxy." His smile served only to show off blunt, herbivore teeth, with no humor behind it.

"Once again, I am sorry for causing such destruction," Aster said quickly. These creatures were just plain creepy. She couldn't wait to be on her way- but that might be a bit of a difficulty, given her ship was smashed to smithereens.

"Sorry?" the creature's cold façade fell away, to reveal the underlying rage. "Sorry doesn't cover it! Look at the carnage you caused!"

He pointed with one of the four leaf-like fingers on his left hand. Aster looked.

Crushed beneath the twisted wreck of her ship were the creatures she had seen out of the view screen of her space ship on the way down. . They were even odder up close. A purplish red color, they seemed to have many to many eyes and mouths. They were hsaped a bit like scorpions, but there were motuhs all other their bodies, mouth at the end of their tail, mouth on their back. They didn't lack for eyes, either. A strange pinkish liquid was leaking from the corpses, which Aster assumed was their blood.

"I don't get it," she said, turning back to the alien. "I'm sorry I killed them, but they're just animals, aren't they? It would have been worse if I'd hit a building with sentients in it."

The lead creature looked like he was about to snarl something at her, but turned, his cold mask falling back into place. "I'm going to contact your Empire." He snapped, already walking away. "Hopefully they won't be so foolish as to defend a commodore who is stupid enough not to realize the worth of the Sacrenians."

"Sacrenians?" Aster said vaguely. A pair of the creatures came up behind her, pushing her after their leader.

Coyott, she reflected, is going to kill me.

The put Aster in a room with three guards posted at the door. She still didn't understand WHAT she had DONE, but these were very strange creatures. She managed to wheedle from one her guards the species were called 'Vacors'.

She sat in a catlike position, her tail curled around her back legs, staring at the wall. It seemed like hours had passed when the guards stepped aside to let the leader Vacor enter the room.

"I spoke with a rather low-ranked official of yours," the leader spat. "He refused to give a definite answer, said he needed to consult with his commanders." He glared at Aster. "You're race is most inefficient."

"Not really," Aster said, grinning mockingly. "Most races are large enough that they have lower ranking creatures answer transmissions, the leaders have more important things to do. Only leaders of tiny, unimportant races answer transmissions personally, or send them personally."

The Vacor hissed in rage as she laughed. In a flash he rose on wings Aster hadn't noticed before, they had been hidden beneath skin flaps, and struck her front legs with one taloned foot. White-hot pain rushed through her body, and she had to clench her teeth the stop hersdelf from screaming. The Vacor smiled at her pain, watching.

When she had regained some of her composure, she growled "What was that for?"

"Disrespecting me," the Vacor said, turning around and walking toward the door. "Now, I suggest you keep your mouth shut," was his parting comment. The guards left with him, slamming the hard door of the room closed. Aster heard the click of a lock. She sighed, examining her front legs. Her left leg was just bruised, but the Vacor's talons had ripped through the flesh of her right.

Aster reached around, and grabbed a little electronic transmitter that was attached to the base of her wing. All space captains of the Starlen Empire had one. It was for emergencies only, had very little battery, and was sound-only. Still, she might be able to get through to Coyott…