Chapter 2

Marlow sat in his quarters thinking about the past battle. Apparently, the ship belonged to a religious faction living in that nebula. They called the nebula The Garden of Kadesh. It was their holy sanctuary for about three thousand years. In fact, they are descendants of the exiles from the planet Hiigara. They left the rest of the convoy and made their home inside the nebula. Marlow beat his hand on the table. How could he go on like this? Killing innocent people just to strengthen the Imperialist group he belonged to. Not like it did any good, he thought. The last remnants of the old Taiidan Empire were gradually withering away. It would only be a matter of time before his group fell too. He suddenly stood up. He had had it up to his neck with killing for no reason. He was going to escape when the next battle began. He was sure of it.

It was about a week later when the next battle was to begin. The target was the Garden of Kadesh. The entire Imperialist faction was to be there. They were to destroy the entire civilization and use the nebula for harvesting and base building. This time, Marlow chose to pilot an interceptor. It was the fastest ship he could use without getting caught. If he used a scout, they would surely be on to him, because scouts were not used for major battles like this one. So he got in his interceptor and sped out of the hangar. He emerged at the edge of the nebula. The battle had already started. He sped toward the main battle to look less conspicuous and just as he entered, he pulled a hard left and activated his boosters. Then, he set his ship to evasive tactics and whistled past the fighters and out of the battle. He knew there was a Hiigaran base in the direction he was going. It was about a day away. He set a course, but he knew that his ship would never make the trip. There was just not enough fuel. Still, he went on.

Twelve hours later, it finally happened. His ship had been slowing down already, but finally, it sputtered and died. He was out of fuel. Quickly, he activated his distress beacon and relayed a message to whoever heard it.

"This is Lieutenant Marlow. I am a Taiidan Imperialist and I wish to defect to the Republic. If anyone is out there, please help me."

He transmitted this message several times before giving up. He sighed, thinking it was all for nothing, and he shut his eyes. It was getting a bit cold in there, and he sure was tired.

Marlow woke up, or he thought he woke up. He wasn't quite sure. How long had I been asleep? He thought. Let's see, I remember the escape, and the message.

He fell asleep again.

Marlow woke up, for sure this time, in what he thought looked like a sickbay. His eyes adjusted and he could make out a computer, several beds like the one he was on, and a chair with a man sitting in it. The man went up to him and spoke.

"Don't be frightened. We heard your signal."

"Are you Hiigaran?" asked Marlow.

"Yes," said the man. "This is Kiith Sjet support frigate 512, or, as we call it, the Nightingale. We found you and brought you with us."

"Where are we?" asked Marlow. "Are we by the Garden of Kadesh?"

"Heavens, no!" Exclaimed the man. "We are in the Hiigara system. We are orbiting the planet as we speak. I heard you wish to defect. We brought you here so you could enlist to our navy."

"Thank you," said Marlow. "Your captain is very generous, helping an Imperialist like me."

"I'm sure you're not as bad as you say," said the man. "By the way, my name is doctor Sjet. Gefrey Sjet."

"And I am Lieutenant Marlow," said Marlow.

And so began the adventure of a lifetime.