One of Many in the Universe

Chapter 1 Vadion’s anguish Vadion and Nalvionne return to the ship. They enter through one of its many external doors nearest Nalvionne’s quarters. No longer aided by her father, Nalvionne goes back to her room without exchanging words with him. Vadion returns to the council chambers alone. He barks “let’s go” clearly ordering the departure from the planet Earth. The council decided the planet was primitive, hostile, irrational, and had the habits of the universe’s worst worlds. Organized militaries and ongoing conflicts. This Crime and poverty. All the hallmarks of what they’ve been searching for and destroying. Since Vadion did not inquire what the council decided with Earth and simply demanded that they leave absent his children clearly it indicated a repeat of Nalvionne’s rebellion, now with Aiden. Vadion was infuriated. His demeanor wasn’t one to approach to converse. When Nalvionne rebelled, it was a unique experience he didn’t expect, but he was particularly enraged about his son. Vadion did not outwardly express it, but he was cycling though his mind how blindly his son opposed him on behalf of Earth’s savages. A planet with inhabitants of ranging mentalities like all worlds, but this one was particularly hostile and unreasonable from what was observed. So many planets to this point have been discovered and destroyed. The exploratory process was mostly a formality. Something Aiden knew nothing of. Vadion struggled to prioritize what agitated him most, that his son defied him or that he did not encourage aggression into him early enough. The Onedan civility and intelligence inherent to his children was perfect if they were on their world or the many like it. This mission, however, required toughness and adaptation. Aggression and ruthlessness. The ship departs. Leaving Aiden on a world that cannot harm him but would if they had the advanced technology powerful enough to. Aiden is there on their behalf but it’s not something they’d consider. Earthlings aren’t very easy to persuade for their own good. Exactly the lesson Nalvionne learned of the world she defied her father to protect. A lesson Aiden is soon to learn with a new world with what seems to be universal negativity for violent worlds. The council does socialize. Time on the ship is consumed much as it is on the home world. Various personal projects that require patience and precision. Years can elapse easily with little notice so for there to be lulls of interaction it’s not uncommon. The council members partake in many projects at once, ensuring a “like home” experience as they travel the universe. For Vadion to abruptly leave and disappear within the ship is one of the habits most its crew has become accustomed to. Then there is rest. Onedans don’t need sleep, but they can sleep. When they do it can vary from hours to days to weeks. Vadion quickly departs the council chambers with little explanation. It isn’t difficult to deduce that there’s a problem. No one really inquires. Onedans have very particular customs. Like most social species there are some more behaviorally compatible than others but, in this arrangement, everyone supports him. There is little sense that anyone with the time they’ve been together could be considered closer or more distant. The closest person to Vadion besides his immediate family is Narres. Both not very social men. The idea of inquiring for details or offering advice for such a complex circumstance that clearly agitated him fades as his distance from the group expands. They do speak amongst themselves speculatively on his motivations. They will not challenge him. If Vadion was as angry as he could be he couldn’t match that of his daughter. Still in pain from fighting the MulCRM, Nalvionne now has time to focus only on her suffering. Physical and mental anguish. She goes to the mirror in her quarters. Seeing cuts and bruises. Lumps and scratches all over her face and body. She disrobes and gets a better look at herself. She appears to have been trampled. Onedans heel quickly and she is recovering but the more severe the damage, the worse the pain, the longer the recovery. As she examines herself and treats her injuries there’s also why she’s injured. Another battle, not so much this time in defiance of her father but her naïve little brother. She tried to save Aiden the trouble she endured herself, but he ignored her. Staying on a world unworthy of the effort. Like the planet she attempted to protect it would be incumbent upon them to do something they’d be unwilling to. Stop hostility towards each other. This is impossible. As she thinks about it her mind is on fire. She’s as sad as she is angry. Frustrated to tears. She needn’t be ashamed of being overwhelmed. She fights back her tears. Let’s them flow. Fights them again. Vadion isn’t even the only focus of Nalvionne’s anguish. The totality of circumstances is what overwhelms her. The possibilities. Aiden wouldn’t have to have his feelings crushed should the planet Earth learn from what he’d teach and take heed from his warnings. If only. Earth is but one of many in an infinite universe of hostile worlds for Aiden to repeat her mistakes on behalf of. Earth’s people will behave precisely the same as the rest of the planets they’ve destroyed, Aiden should have listened to his sister. Nalvionne nurses her injuries as they heel on their own. She sorts her thoughts as she fixes herself. She has had several enormous failures and is barely what could be considered a positive mindset. She has only her reflection to appreciate and even that is beaten and injured. Vadion enters his quarters. He ponders and paces. He’s sickened by his son’s defiance. He gave Aiden centuries of Earth’s time to wallow in suffering for them both. Leaving him on Earth with an assignment with a high likelihood of failure. Vadion leaves and finds a private place on the ship. The ship is enormous and has deep, cavernous, spacious areas for expansion if ever necessary. Its much more ship than is necessary for the relatively small crew. Vadion enters a warehouse. He screams in anger. It echoes through the area. He picks up a box of miscellaneous supplies and throws it. It impacts the wall and shatters. In a moment of brief reflection, the noise and the mess slow his rage at least a little. He growls and paces, unlike in his quarters where he could have been found venting and clearly upset, he came here not to be disturbed. As a man who is seldom outwardly expressive even when frustrated, with this issue he cannot contain his frustration. The more he thinks about it, the worse his anger. Aiden seemed not to have a single malicious cell in his brain. A prototypical Onedan. Happy, intelligent, cheerful, optimistic, innocent. He could barely be blamed for his response to witnessing violence, but it was lost onto him why that harm was brought to these hostile worlds. Vadion has to blame himself for his children being his only opposition to his mission. He taught them combat but did not instill an instinct to survive. To kill. To raise them relatively sheltered in their formative years only served to have the default mentality of the average Onedan. Not that Onedans wouldn’t kill, as they have, most would never seek it. This is what fuels Vadion’s anger. Both the failure to properly condition his children and their opposition that he perceived as short sighted. Coupled with the protection of a rotting world like Earth. A planet whose inhabitants will inevitably destroy themselves whether that event is expedited or not.