…resounds in a universe full of monsters.

Captain Moonshadow burned through the door and eyed Captain Bina suspiciously.

"Are you sure the radiation is not dangerous? "She asked calmly, trying to hide his distrust. Bina shrugged.

"The equipment shows that it is safe, I have a manufacturer's guarantee, if that satisfies anyone, although none of us will seek compensation." she murmured.

"You know, some of us would like to have children." said petty officer Kaert and laughed loudly.

"I don't recommend it, better buy yourself a droid , it will definitely give you a glass of water in your old age, not a grenade with the fuse off."

The pirate captain smiled warmly.

"You're a good mother, you're not in danger of such a fate."

Bina looked askance at her

"I would say that a pirate praising my maternal abilities is not something I would expect, but I am raising Eti and Lilka, I expect absolutely everything. Although I wouldn't say i raises them. What would you call "I don't let them hurt themselves or others"?

the burgundy-haired woman behind her mask .

"Some would say that this is the essence of raising kids.

Bina snorted.

"If you add to it neurosis, constant worrying and gastric problems, then I will agree."

They laughed and Tonado looked at them confused, obviously not understanding the joke, and Gydwa snorted.

She really liked this Bina , she was sincere, honest and caring. She wasn't made to be a mother in the very literal sense looking at her history. She took on the task of caring for very difficult children and was doing better than many mothers who raised their biological offspring.

They were looking for the vault, but they found a trace of the reactor, so they headed in that direction. The reactor was valuable as long as it wasn't in danger of failure. It could be stripped down and sold for a lot of money in the future, like a terraforming system , though she wasn't sure that was the best decision. Sheltered, almost self-sufficient and isolated, monastery was the dream of many conflicted with the authorities, not only pirates. As long as they are able to swallow the gloomy history of this place, because she had no illusions about the fate of the inhabitants of the monastery.

The reactor turned out to be operational and had enough fuel for two more years before it self-deactivated. It seemed quite new, which was rather unusual for such places, I wonder what the monks lived on. They knew there was some sort of mine beneath the monastery though she wasn't entirely sure now. As they wandered through the dark corridors, she noticed strange symbols on the walls, reminiscent of constellations. She was horrified to find that she knew them well, though she couldn't read them. She couldn't remember where she knew them from, but eventually her past was taken from her. Bina came to her when she saw that she was examining strange marks on the walls.

"It's the writing of the First Ones , or what my kids call them, the Starlings . Eti has them on her hand, the metal one, although only she can see them."

"The First Ones, yes, I remember that name. I've seen similar symbols before...on a sword."

Bina shrugged.

"You have celestial blood in you. You probably saw it a thousand years ago and have already forgotten..."

She felt grief squeeze her heart.

"Yes, I forgotten..." She looked away from Bina . "I have lost so much"

"What about… that sword?" You know, maybe you can get it back…or something. said Bina, clearly embarrassed by the pirate's sudden gloom.

"Yes, I will indeed retrieve my sword." she said to herself in a grim voice. "Even if you are the Lady of Chaos, you will pay for your betrayal, Adora ."

The entire subterranean part of the complex seemed to be rebuilt ruins of the First Ones. They may have stretched for miles. In fact, she should have expected it, it was a terraformed planet, so someone was trying to colonize it. What she didn't understand was what the Iomadae and Serenae, who were apparently worshiped here, had to do with the First Ones. But what could she know about the will of the gods? She was just a pirate, maybe a little more idealistic. She experienced firsthand how painful their whims can be for mortals

She wished Rech-zar was with her Her first mate has always been with her since Jadehell . He'd know better what to think of a place like this. Unfortunately, he now had a secret mission ahead of him. He had to restore another remnant of the older races, the wreck of a strange ship, its frame covered with strange green veins. If she could get it to work, and her Verthan lover assured her she would, then let the Lady of Chaos tremble before her wrath.

They unexpectedly received a message from Eti. The feline girl called Miss Daisy for help, because she came across the undead. Bina turned pale and ran forward, then stopped and screamed.

"Fuck! I can't find her here." Tears of despair appeared in the clone woman's eyes.

Captain Moonshadow thought for a moment and turned to the burgundy haired girl .

"I can help you."

Bina frowned.

"How?" she asked irritably. The Winged Pirate extended her biological hand to her.

"Trust me, I'll show you art that few have experienced. Tonado, you take over command.

- "Aye Aye, Captain." Skittermander saluted. Bina only hesitated for a moment, then grabbed her outstretched hand, and then Moonshadow wrapped her wings around her and they both disappeared in a flash of purple light.

When they came back, it turned out that they were late, fortunately, their intervention was not needed. Only the bumbling elven sorceress was injured, for she was leaning against Miss Daisy's shoulder with her bloodied face.

"Hey Captain Wingwing . Hey Bina. Ireanis powdered the corpses and Grimmy sucked in the shadows." Eti waved to them." But it's downstairs. a lot of droids , and I think Fist, along with the Smarty and the three foundlings, are fighting with them, so it would be good to help them."

Dilayla smiled as the laser beam on her shoulder cut in half five Horde droids . She felt immeasurable joy being able to repay Prime for mutilating her and her sister and for the death of her parents. The smile left the mercenary's lips when she was hit by a green beam from one of the robots' weapons. She felt a strong burning sensation in her chest, barely able to stand on her legs. She cursed violently, fired again and jumped from behind, hiding in the stairwell. She looked at the shot where the ceramsteel plate was cracked and melted. This armor should have survived a direct hit from the cannon. Arkan-tar descended first, Tallstar following.

"Undead? asked the scholar.

-"Ugh no, Horde droids are meaner than I remember. " said the mercenary . Tallstar bared her teeth in a smile.

"Welcome to Prime's Empire ."

Dilayla nodded and said.

"I'll throw a grenade, and then we'll hit together, because we need to get to the kids."

The others nodded, though Verthani was halfhearted. She dropped a grenade and charged, hoping that her power armor would shield her from at least some of the blast's effects. She shot from her shoulder at farther targets, tearing those close with her armored fists. Tallstar and Starla joined her, and Jewelstar and Arkan-tar covered her with the fire of their weapons. The advantage of the enemy, however, was huge and earned another post, she began to limp. Then suddenly, from the second staircase, Captain Moonshadow dressed in purple armor arrived. The Solarian Pirate wreaked havoc, and from behind her, Bina supported her with pistol shots. They were soon joined by Eti, Alatar, Rosie, Itel and Lilka, and even Rechiza. Lilka with her flaming track, and Itel danced with her silver blade. However, the greatest exterminating angel was Rosie, crushing droids with her luminous fists. The scales were tipping in their direction when she saw out of the corner of her eye that another group of machines was walking towards them ... but suddenly a tall, blond-haired figure fell between them, holding a plasma cutt in one hand and his epee in the other. Lady Cala Grayskull has joined the fray, wreaking havoc. With grace and grace, she knocked down enemies one by one, as if it were not a fight but a dance. Even at a time like this... or perhaps especially at a time like this, she was stunningly beautiful. She destroyed enemies one by one, dodging their blows effortlessly. After a while she was alone among the shattered remains of the machines. She bowed to them all with a broad smile. She didn't look tired in the slightest, she hadn't even messed up her hair.

"Fucking Mary Sue thought Dilayla...

The first thing they did after the fight was to clean up the few undead bodies destroyed by Eti and the others. Most of the undead have been reduced to dust by Ireanis . There was also a clone found by Lady Cala , most likely the victim of another living dead. To the horror of the Star siblings, Rechiza pierced our heart with a dagger and Bina shot him through the head. The three inhabitants of the Ravaged Zone accepted with some skepticism the explanation that they did it so that he would not rise from the dead. They were quite bizarre, however, and for Dilayla , preventing the spread of the undead plague was one of the duties of every soldier, except perhaps those serving in the most degenerate and despicable formations. The siblings greeted Bina in a friendly way, but were clearly intimidated by the sight of Captain Moonshadow, as well as her crew, who joined them soon after, especially since the winged woman was open about her profession. Rechiza and Arkan-tar whispered among themselves in the shadows, apparently refusing to accept that they had fallen for cheap propaganda. Miss Daisy, of course, also hidden in the shadows, watched them from a distance, while tending to Ireanis, who couldn't recover from the spell. The kids weren't sure if they wanted to be friends or come off as tough guys. The exception, of course, was Eti.

"Then why don't we celebrate this wonderful and glorious victory with a delicious broth." said the shooter, staring eloquently at Glory, to the horror of Starla , who was trying to hide her friend.

And then there was Lady Cala. For all her distaste for the aristocrat, she was able to understand that she could command admiration, especially after what she had done in battle.

However, the one who was most pleased with the meeting with his siblings was Wrongdak. He hugged them all in turn, and Starla burst into tears. During this time, his brother's corpse was moved, covered with a cloth so as not to injure the sensitive, kind-hearted clone. Then they arranged a funeral. They dug two graves. In one they threw the corpses and ashes of the inhabitants of the monastery, and the clone into the other. Then they performed the ritual, which fell to Dilayla and Rechiza , for they were the most religious members of the expedition. Then it was time to say goodbye. As the siblings prepared to return to their ship, she surreptitiously gave them contact information for the Lord Admiral's fleet. Soon after, the siblings flew away. Then came the pirates Captain Moonshadow.

Dilayla tried to hide her distaste at the sight of star raiders plundering the holy place, because she didn't want to mess with a woman who had a reputation for not being entirely sane. It had to be admitted that the riches they took from here were enormous and the morale among her crew was significantly improved. Horde Prime took only one reliquary for himself and had Sereni's tomb destroyed , leaving only rubble. The four of her, Bina, Miss Daisy, and the winged Pirate watched as they loaded their fourth cargo of treasures.

"So it looks like this Etheria isn't such a bad place." said the burgundy-haired woman, for obvious reasons, very happy. The pirate snorted and looked at her hard.

"Beauty often hides wicked hearts. Let me be skeptical," said Moonshadow, and they nodded their heads to Bina , though most likely thinking of completely different people.

"Captain Bina ... How did you meet Lady Sorrwflame ? I've heard all sorts of things about this woman. "asked the dark sorceress. Bina looked at her surprised and said.

"Not personally. Igzar died in a trap set by her. Only Eti survived, that's when she lost her real hand and gained the metal one. As far as I know, he is a necrotechnician who has been working for Lord Admiral Antares and his family for many generations. These motherfuckers deserve each other." Bina said. Dilayla understood what Miss Daisy was playing and decided to get involved.

"I got an offer to work for him when I applied for this expedition. Have I lost a lot?" she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible. Bina thought for a long time before she said.

"You did well. He is a monster." Dilayla saw Miss Daisy shiver. " I do not know all the facts, but the truth was much worse than the media said. It all started thirty-five years ago. The family of Antares , then Highlord Felix Antares, had ruled Tarak for centuries...certainly since before the Gap . They didn't do it directly, they never had that much power. At least until Felix's time Antares . He began to accumulate power in his hands. He was arming himself and building a navy, most likely with conquest in mind. It was the time of the Cold War between the Pact Worlds and Veskarium . The Antares family had always been in favor of Absalom , so when rebellions began to break out, the Veskas took the opportunity to send in their subversion specialists, the Pahtra siblings Igzar and Ashera . Igzar was a brilliant commander, albeit absolutely ruthless and cruel, capable to order of blowing up an orphanage to get his way, and Ashera was a saboteur and assassin ready to do just that. With their help, the rebellion flared up with redoubled strength, turning into a civil war. Bloody and brutal, fueled by the fact that the Pact Worlds and Veskarium treated this conflict as a proxy war. Both sides had done terrible things, though the Pact rulers seemed oblivious to the fact that they had supported the tyrant. When there was a stagnation on the front, but Antares' troops were gaining the upper hand due to the superiority in resources. So Ashera had a desperate idea. With a group of the best soldiers, she went to the capital and decided to organize a coup. It was the day the High Lord bid farewell to the soldiers going to the front to fight in the decisive battle. Asehra was a great sniper, so despite great security, she did the impossible and hit Antares from a distance of over a kilometer. She paid for her act with her life. However, the goal was achieved. The leaderless soldiers abandoned their weapons. The allies changed sides, and the flame of rebellion engulfed the entire planet. Only the most fanatical supporters of the former ruler remained loyal and fled into orbit, on board the ships of the Antares war fleet ... Who, by the cruel whim of the gods, survived the gunshot. After three days of fighting for his life, he climbed onto the bridge of the heavy cruiser invincible ... and ordered the nukes to be dropped from orbit ... Just out of spite. The thing is, the others also launched a nuclear counterattack, and a total of eight million people died. Due to all the chaos, it was impossible to determine who started the excchange. Soon, the Pact Worlds and Vescarium began to accuse each other of causing this tragedy, and in the meantime Antares and his fleet escaped and began a career as a mercenary, which he was really good at. The Swarm soon struck, and Lord Admiral Antares' talent was needed. And so the criminal was made a hero." Bina finished her story.

"And that's another reason why I don't believe in the righteousness and heroism of this She- Ra ." said Captain Moonshadow. Bina shrugged. Dilayla was grateful to all the gods that women didn't look at her and Miss Daisy, who looked like she was about to throw up. Dilayla was terrified too. "I just sent the Star Siblings into the arms of a monster as evil as Horde Prime. But maybe if I talk to Dr. Quin , he won't send the data to the admiral." She thought, Arkan-tar had told her of their daring plan, only then she didn't care. Now was the last moment to calm things down a bit. Regardless of how suspicious it might seem, she went to look for Dr. Quin . Miss Daisy has also gone somewhere. She had to hurry. It took him a while to find Ysoka, and when she reached her, the doctor turned to her with a smile, she said.

"Everything's settled. The message went. White Demon helped a lot."

The mercenary felt her knees buckle under her. She turned to see a smiling Wrongdak talking to Rosie.

"How I tell him he helped bring the war criminal to Etheria."

She roared as she felt fury and helplessness fill her. After Bina's story, she went to one of the distant buildings and unleashed her power by devastating the interior of the abandoned house. "How could this have happened. How could I bring it back to this?" she thought as she dug her claws into the wall, leaving deep gashes. "This time it was going to be different, this time I was supposed to fix everything. I came to redeem my actions, to atone for all the wrongs I've done. Instead, I'm in the vanguard of the monster. What's I've done"

"I'm coming in". Lady Cala heard the voice, and without waiting for an answer she entered the room. The beautiful aristocrat looked around the devastated interior and raised an eyebrow questioningly. She told her the whole story she had heard from Bina . Her ward listened attentively, then gave a pearly laugh.

"It's a really funny and ironic story, don't you think?" the aristocrat asked, tilting her head.

"I hate you, with all my heart and black soul, like nothing in the world" she thought, clenching her fangs and clawed hands. Lady Cala rolled her eyes

"You're being overdramatic my dear Shadow Weaver."

"Did you… did you know all this?" she asked, ignoring the taunt. Her ward spread her arms helplessly.

"No, but does it matter? asked the aristocrat.

She looked at her ward. For Lady Cala, the deaths of millions of beings most likely did not matter. She leaned against the wall.

"I brought a monster to Etheria."

Lady Cala sighed and walked over to her.

"Not that I care in the least, but the situation is not that dire."

She looked at the aristocrat in surprise.

"You see my dear Shadow Weaver. The Lord Admiral is a soldier and a mercenary, and they don't take a fight they might lose, and your She-Ra and all of Etheria defeated Horde Prime , who left behind an entire empire ready to be conquered, a much juicier morsel."

Yes, that sounds logical, she thought, feeling a little relieved. But Lady Cala came over to her and touched her cheek with the back of her hand.

"But remember, we're both monsters. It is not right for us to be jealous that there is another one."

Lord Admiral Antares was rushing to the bridge of Battleship Glory of the Fallen when he received an emergency call. When he entered, Mrs. Ka and Commander Reese were waiting for him.

"Look what a wonderful message our advance guard has sent us.

He looked and saw a map that included dozens of systems and a telecommunications network connecting them. Horde Prime's entire empire.

"These are the foundations on which my own Empire will stand" he thought.

He almost smiled