Galen
The five worlds of the Calraid system was one of the most populated systems in the Furse Space. Nineteen billion people spread across the system. Five habitable worlds under the protection of the massive Oregar Star Fortress.
“Welcome to Calraid,” High Commander Vanir said aloud. “I fucking love this place,” the Techno-Mage said with a grin.
Galen stood on the Command Deck of the ‘Long Serpent’ along with the Lord General and her senior staff. He had never seen a sight like it before. The world of Calraid itself and it’s six billion were more people then the whole Jom System combined.
“Calraid is an… Interesting place,” the Lord General Helena Cinder said.
The system was nothing like the lightly settled worlds that Galen had seen during his short term with the Imperial Guard of Jom. There were dozens if not hundreds of blips on the holographic display as ships, stations, and satellites moved about the system.
“Ha,” Vanir laughed. “Interesting doesn’t begin to describe it. It is the greatest center of trade within Furse Space. Ships from all over the Settled Worlds of Mann. You want to find something, you can find it here.”
“And not all of it good,” the Lord General replied.
Calraid had been settled for thousands of years, they had survived the Thousand Year Darkness which had created the Old Ruins on their doorstep. The Calraid system had reclaimed more space and settled more worlds of the Old Ruins then any other in Furse or Bolgar world along the borders of the great expanse known as the Old Ruins. Calraid had once been cut off from other systems by the Skoll, but by the end of the Thousand Year Darkness had reconnected to other systems and formed the small but powerful Calraid Sector. They had relied on trade to survive and still did, and that trade flowed throughout Furse Space.
“But much of it is oh so much fun, and worth it after traveling through the Old Ruins,” Vanir continued. “Oh the boredom of the Old Ruins. It’s about time we arrived somewhere to have some fun.”
Travel through the Old Ruins had been as quiet as ever until they began to near Calraid space. The Skoll were long gone, and while pirates and raiders still infested the expanse of space, they were unlikely to ever attempt a challenge of a fleet such as the one that crossed with the ‘Long Serpent’. Then they had jumped within range of one of the common trade routes, and scanned a ship. The next jump there was another two ships, and then there had been three and four starships with each jump. Galen had been amazed at the amount of traffic flowing in and out the system.
Galen had studied starships on one of the many holographic displays of ships from Ruthen Space, and Baatar Space in the east. Three starships had come from the Commonwealth of Drala, and several more from the Holy Fabian Protectorate, or Old Furia as Galen knew it to be. Starships from Bolgar Space, Qin, and Nihon Spaces in the far east, and even one from Bulan Space to the far south.
The Calraid system itself proved even more of a treat to Galen as dozens of starships were locked in orbit around one world or another, or in orbit around the system itself or docked with the Star Fortress Oregar or with the massive shipyard complex. It had been worth the week of endless errants the Lord General and her retinue had for him each day to keep him busy during their travel through the Old Ruins. Most days he was just a shadow for the Lord General herself as he acted as one of her aides.
“Must be a trade convoy,” Galen heard the Lord General say as she noticed Galen looking at several starships from Rumar Space were leaving the system as the ‘Long Serpent’, and it’s escort of five warships.
“Never seen ships from Rumar Space before,” Galen replied.
“They aren’t common this far north or west, but Calraid sees a couple convoys a year,” Lord General Cinder said.
“Rumar wines and spices,” Vanir said aloud. “Oh I can’t wait to get drunk on some good old Rumar wine.”
Lord General Cinder let out a sigh. “You will have more than enough time for that Malcom,” she told the Techno-Mage.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” Vanir said with another laugh.
“Grant the crews seven days minor leave after their duty is over, and two days off for each member not under discipline,” the Lord General said.
“Someone better warn the whores that Malcom is coming,” General Dyer, commander of the 5th legion, one of the two legions that crewed the ‘Long Serpent’ said with a laugh.
“No better place to find a whore in all of Furse Space,” the Techno-Mage said. “They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and I will fall in love each and every night.”
“Better warn the crew not to give Malcom any loans if they ever wish to see those credits again,” the Lord General cut in with a small smile, and the Techno-Mage agreed after a small protest.
Galen spent much of his time with the Lord General on the surface of one of the planets. What had surprised Galen was how much the Lord General spent on trade and supplies for the fleet. The fleet had already made a hefty profit in trade, but day after day the Lord General wandered the many markets and expressed the importance of a well stocked ship. One wrong jump could strand a starship in an unknown system or engine failures of the Jump Drive could strand them and those supplies could be the difference between life and death, and what wasn’t used could be traded at the next port. By the time the fleet reached Highpass Space the Lord General would have made them all rich from trade or bankrupt them.
The five worlds of Calraid hosted outdoor markets on each of the planets, and it was a sight to behold to Galen. Everything from street foods to black market items could be found simply by walking the streets. He had been in military formation with thousands of troops but the markets were their own kind of chaos and yet had their own sense of order to them. The Lord General would walk and touch everything. Taste everything, and Galen thought that simple act was her favorite part.
Galen saw people covered head to toe in various forms of armor, down to almost people walking with almost nothing on at all. Big and small. Old and Young. Everyone filtered through the market and Galen had been glad he was not in charge of the Lord General’s security detail which followed her wherever they went.
Galen followed the Lord General’s advice and invested in several foods and drinks. Each member was granted a small part of the cargo hold. He could make a nice profit later in their journey, and the cargo pods could keep food items fresh for years. What he couldn’t sell he could eat later he figured.
The world of Calraid itself was full and showed it’s age. It was nothing like the world of Jom where everything was at most a few hundred years old. Where things were built to be simple and defensive. Calraid and the other five worlds were thousands of years old and Galen could see the signs of it everywhere they went.
Old weathered buildings next to shiny new ones. Shacks of the poor against once mighty estates. It was unlike any other world Galen had been on. Where a ship, let alone a fleet would be enough to make you the talk of the town. Calraid was nothing like that. It was as though the thousands of people who arrived each day from the fleet had no impact on them.
In truth Galen enjoyed it. He was able to explore the streets on his own. He was able to meet people who had little to no idea who he was or where he came from or gave a shit about any of it and it was a refreshing feeling.
The thrill of finding a small hiding gem of a bar, or often as not a shit hole bar in chase on a woman. Or finding a good place to play Siege with some locals in some real matches. It was all enough to make him wish he could remain there forever.
But it would come to an end. They would leave soon enough and it would be another week of travel through the Calraid Sector and Reapers Run Sector before they reached the Hartholm System. A week of drills and errants until perhaps the Lord General would grant them another such round of leaves.
If the locals didn’t care, the lords and political figures did, and the Lord General must have met with all of the nobles of Calraid. From Sector-lord Robin Tale, to Highlords of each world, like Harald Nord of Sargoth. She even made time to meet with the great lords, minor lords, clan, and house lords throughout the systems. Day after day Galen was briefed on a dozen new lords that the Lord General would meet with.
For all the fun Galen had in the outdoor markets with the Lord General, he was bored to death throughout those long meetings. Galen would listen as the Lord General and nobles talked about trade, information, to possible alliances. Some lords even spoke of possible marriage alliances with Galen himself, which he politely refused on the grounds that his father would have to agree to such matches and he could not commit the Lord of Highpass to such agreements.
Throughout the week Galen forgot about the Jom, and his wish to remain. Calraid was like nothing he had ever seen, and each day, even the boredom of the meets with the nobles, brought their own excitement. It was nothing like the strict life on Jom, or even the strict life on the ‘Long Serpent’, and it was something Galen could see himself enjoying.
