Following the war, there are only Ur-Quan, and their slaves. Former foes, now united under the new Ur-Quan order. And yet, the old ways refuse to die. Grudges, freedom, pride, hatred, heroism—even a firm heel cannot stamp these out easily. Nevertheless, Master 157 will do his part in ensuring that this outpost of the Hierarchy continues functioning, especially now that the most important war in millennia is fast approaching.

Once again, the time has come to replace the crew contingent of Sol Starbase, as well as their Earthguard overwatch. As the first transport with the new arrivals broke through the temporary gap in Earth's slave shield, Commander Scott Hayes witnessed a wonderful sight for the first time in over a decade.

Aboard the ESV Braudel, August 2147

"My god," an awed voice broke the silence. "Never thought I'd get to see them again...," the man trailed off, peering through his own reflection in a starboard window. Above the reddish glow of the slave shield that surrounded Earth, thousands of stars shone in the dark expanse, very few of which could be seen from the planet's surface even on the clearest nights.

"Magnificent, is it not?" spoke his companion, amusement apparent in his Russian-accented voice. "But a few years from now, I bet you'll hardly even notice them."

Commander Scott Hayes, soon to be executive officer of the starbase that orbited Earth, averted his gaze to consider his superior officer. Captain Andrei Tarnovetsky did likewise, a slight smile on the graying man's face.

Taking a breath, Tarnovetsky continued, "Kefi told me all about the art of having to invent new work for the people, given how rarely our dear benevolent overlords and our fellow collaborators have been stopping by."

Hayes knew that the previous starbase administrator was Tarnovetsky's old friend, and that they met again after she had returned planetside two days ago. From what Hayes himself had gathered, the South African woman had become something of a legend for her handling of some of her subordinates' restless antics, her attitude growing increasingly droll yet deadpan towards the end of the previous crew's shift.

"I'll take boredom over the sort of excitement we have down there anytime," Hayes retorted. "Planet Earth: No less stir-crazy, with an added forecast of despair and self-destruction." The cheerful-sounding quip was betrayed by the fact that his expression was anything but a ray of sunshine.

Tarnovetsky sighed and nodded. "We used to hope. Take our dreams, wipe them with plasma, give us a prison and tell us it's forever." Looking Hayes in the eye, he added, "Alcoholic goggles suddenly seem quite attractive, no?"

Hayes gave a strained smile. "Hard to believe that this is the best option we'll ever have," he spoke as he motioned toward the window and the endless space beyond. The starbase was not yet in Hayes's sight, but a small volcanic moon was—or rather, a Mycon podship. The other man couldn't see it, though, which prevented any confusion.

Tarnovetsky raised an eyebrow. "Don't know about you, but I always aspired to be a glorified gas station attendant," the Russian jibed, giving it a tone of mock-pride. "And look at me now! I am space gas station manager!" He thumped his chest for good measure.

Hayes couldn't help but laugh. "Truly, there's-"

"Captain?" A woman's voice interrupted their banter. Turning, Hayes recognized Ensign Olcay.

"Ensign! What have you for us?" Tarnovetsky responded.

"Err, just that we arrive in ten. Sir."

"I know, I know. And yes, time to get ready. Have the pilot notify everyone, will you?"

"Yes, sir."

Tarnovetsky sighed, meeting Hayes's eyes again, all traces of humor gone. "Time to meet our master, then."

Hayes had nothing to say to that. There was a sliver of dread in the pit of his stomach, looming that much larger now that there was nothing left but the immediacy of the encounter.

A/N: I thought I'd explain something just in case it raised some eyebrows. Specifically, certain nationality choices for leading officers given the current... events. It was not intended as some sort of message by the author; in fact, almost the entirety of this story was written well before February 2022, but not published because I hadn't quite finished it.

Then, of course, the Ukraine invasion happened. So, why did I not make changes to reflect that?

I could give a number of possible answers, but I think one will suffice. Namely, this story takes place in the Star Control universe, whose historical events have already somewhat diverged from our real-world timeline, and over time those differences have only grown. It also takes place in 2147, so 124 years from now. That's more than a full century into the future from our current moment, so even if history took a similar path, we'd still be looking at a very different Earth than the one we know. And in that world, the problems of today are either a very distant memory, or never happened in the first place.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of this story! Note that there may be slight divergences from or additions to canonically established facts.