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1. *AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY IS WRITTEN AS A COLLECTION OF FILES, MEMORIES, AND MEMORY LOGS. AS SUCH, EACH ENTRY IS DIFFERENT, AND TELLS THE STORY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF MULTIPLE CHARACTERS. *

*THIS STORY CONTAINS SCENES OF INTENSE COMBAT VIOLENCE, DEPICTIONS OF THE CRUELTY OF SLAVERY, SEXUAL BEHAVIOR, STRONG LANGUAGE, AND THE USAGE OF DRUGS AND ALCOHOL. READERS ARE ADVISED TO EXERCISE DISCRETION, AND , OF COURSE, KEEP AN OPEN MIND. *

** [COMMANDER'S MEMORY LOG NO. 1063614]**

[DATE: 20 JAUNARY, 2075, (EARTH CALENDAR)]

[LOCATION: XI'OLZI SYSTEM, PLANET NO: 4. DESIGNATION - XI'OL-4]

*[SHIP-STATUS: CLASS-4, HYPERDRIVE-EQUIPPED, 6-GUN WAR-RAIDER, DESIGNATION: "ENDLESS FREEDOM." *

[CREW STATS: 1 CAPTAIN, 4 NAVIGATORS, 4 MECHA, 188 GENERAL CREW.]

[MAIN SUBJECT: JOSEPH BLACK ABEL, CODE NAME. "COMMANDER."]

[SPECIES: HOMO SAPIEN, HUMAN.]

[AGE: 40 SEASONS, 34 EARTH YEARS]

** --------BEGIN COMMANDER'S MEMORY LOG---------**

"I want a fix on these bastards right NOW!" The gruff voice of a grizzled-looking young man shouted over the flickering screens of a maze of holographic consoles towards the bridge gunners, who were hard at work calculating targeting algorithms.

"Solution's coming in now, Commander!" A voice called out, "Should we --"

"FIRE! All three fore-cannons! We're not gonna let them hit us back!" The man quickly shouted without hesitation.

A tremendous burst of explosions shook the large spacecraft violently as three scarlet-red bursts of light launched from the plasma cannons mounted to the fore of the ship. An unexpected cry of alarm immediately began to filter up to the bridge from the crew on the lower decks, as they all rushed to assume battle positions in the event of a counterattack. On the bridge itself, a small group of navigators, gunners, and mechanics were hard at work, assessing the recent damage to the ship's outer hull while shouting out enemy starship movements and other essential battlefield data towards the motionless man in the center of the room.

One of the navigators, a tall, lizard-like creature with brown scales, whose black eyes shone in the harsh blue core-light, rose up from his console and turned his head to face the large, terminal in the center of the room where the Commander stood, his eyes studying the human intently.

"Commander?!" he called out in a strange, hissing language, "We've made two direct hits on a pair of enemy destroyers! The rest of them are preparing to make a hyperjump! What should we do now?!"

"Are you kidding me?! This is GREAT!" The man called back in the same high-pitched tongue, laughing slightly. "Have the Mecha crew load the top-cannon with rad-shot! Fire that hell directly at their fleet! If we're lucky, we might be able to burn a few more before they escape!"

One of the displays on the center console suddenly retracted, revealing the thin, grizzled-looking man, his face nearly hidden by his unkempt, shoulder-length black hair and an untamed beard. Meeting the reptillian navigator's eyes, he gave a slight smile and nodded his head once, before returning his attention to the displays on the consoles standing before him.

"How many ships do we have backing us up?!" His scratchy voice echoed in plain English against the bridge walls as he frantically moved to take hold of the ship's manual guidance controls.

"We've got the Fang to our port, and the Glory holding position at an angle to our stern! Captains Redd and Aki are already loaded up!" The voice of a short, feline-like creature called out over the commotion.

With his dark hazel eyes glittering in the soft light of the holographic displays, the young man began to type in a series of codes using a virtual keyboard, quickly opening up two communications channels between the other ships.

"Aki! Redd! You guys ready for this?!"

"Yes, sir!" An excited, high-pitched voice responded over the comm-link, "Rad-shot is prepped and locked!"

"Aye, Commander!" A gruff, bass-filled drawl echoed throughout the bridge in response, "Rad-shot is in the tube! Just tell me which way to send it!"

"ALRIGHT!" The grizzled man's voice echoed throughout the ship, as the communications line were opened to the crew and the general public,

"We've been fighting these damned wars for almost ten years! We've suffered too many losses to count! But right now, we have a chance to finally end it! Fire all cannons, all ships! I want to see nothing left but dead T'erii and molten slag!

A chorus of primal roars and shouts for victory trembled the hull of the Freedom, as everyone on board, including the bridge crew, erupted into cheers. The shaking, grungy-looking Commander stood quietly and confidently in front of his manual consoles, smiling proudly as the soldiers and pirates around him erupted into frenzied shouts for glory and blood.

Suddenly, warning bells began to ring over the comms. The Commander and his bridge crew, knowing exactly what was about to occur, braced themselves against pipes and machinery for impact as the ship's topmost cannon was fired once again. This time, however, a bright, glowing projectile of neon-green light began to trace its way through the void, quickly followed by two more, equally powerful bursts from the other starships at its sides.

The three deadly blasts began to pick up speed as they raced towards the menacing fleet of nearly two dozen enemy ships. Many of the enemy craft were already preparing for a quick escape into hyperspace, where they would be safe from the coming onslaught.

"Shit! ALL HANDS BRACE FOR IMPACT!" The Commander's voice yelled out over the comms. The Commander tightly gripped the metal console in front of him with both arms, gritting his teeth with effort as the multiple thermonuclear blast waves immediately knocked the trio of ships off-balance, sending their hulking forms tumbling into a series of uncontrollable spins.

"Where's our gravity?!" He yelled, his voice full of anxiety. "We need a full core reboot, now!"

"Sir, the cores are stabilizing!" One of the navigators yelled back, "We should be at full-grav in less than ten seconds!

The thick metal which lined the ship's outer hull began to creak and groan as it swelled and stretched against the force of the blasts, the flush metal panels of the inner bulkheads shivering intensely as the craft struggled to maintain its structural integrity. On the decks below the bridge, frenzied shouts of alarm and curses filtered up to the Commander's ears as the members of the ship's crew began to clamber onto the pipes and metal bars which lined the walls and ceilings, gripping on for dear life as the ship continued to tumble and roll.

Closing his eyes and drawing a deep breath, the stern-faced man locked his feet into a pair of small holes underneath the heavy console, his hands wrapping around the two thick, metal bars which served as the ship's manual steering controls. Silently, he began to count backwards from ten, each number playing through his mind as he waited for the right moment. Suddenly, a green light flashed on one of the holographic displays, followed by a series of short beeps over the comms.

Now!

Jerking both of the metal bars directly towards his chest, he pulled with all of his strength as the ship's engine cores began to whine loudly, firing bluish-white pulses of radioactive light from the craft's external stabilizers as they struggled to respond. In less than a second, the spinning stopped, with several of the bridge crew cursing loudly as the return of the artificial gravity slammed all them down to the deck with extreme force.

After another tense moment of chaos, the commotion finally began to die down. The Commander, his heart pounding in his throat, panted loudly as he rose unsteadily to his feet, his arms and legs shaking from the surge of adrenaline which coursed through his veins.

"What... What's our readout?!" he shouted, his normally confident voice now gravelly and dry, "Give me ship-stat, anybody!"

"We're burning on all ten cores, sir!" Came the reply from the cat-like navigator. "Guns are cooled and ready for a reload! The enemy fleet is in full retreat!"

"Did we hit them?! We just fired off three rad-shot cores; did we take out a single ship?!"

A pause swept over the bridge as the members of the crew began to anxiously scan the displays in front of them. After a moment of silence, a murmur of confirmation began to echo against the walls.

"I'm seeing direct hits, sir!" One of them shouted over the commotion. "We've burned out four destroyers! Should we capture them?"

"You're damn right we're taking them! Load up the boarding crews and get ready for a crash-through!" The man's voice raised once more, barely able to hide his internal sigh of relief. Just then, one of the navigators noticed a small, flashing icon in the upper-left corner of his screen.

"Sir! It looks like your personal data log is recording! It must've switched on after they grazed us! Should I turn it off?!"

"What?! No... No, I'll record a log. It's been a while since the last one, anyway. Just let me pull it up on here..."

The man's arms stretched forward as he activated the recording function on his console, using his fingertips to guide the holographic camera until his dirt-stained face filled the screen. Sighing loudly, he patted the pockets of his thick, leather-like pants, reaching in and digging out a small, elastic piece of string. Pulling back his shoulder-length hair, he hastily tied it into a messy ponytail, before leaning in to fill out the camera.

"It's actually been about a year or so since I last recorded a log..." he spoke calmly, his voice cracked and strained, "To tell the truth, this endless fighting and war has really taken its toll on me... I don't even know how I've managed to make it this far; for all intents and purposes, I should've been killed a long time ago. I've been chased from one galaxy to another for almost ten years now, by everyone from the T'erigai to the Intergalactic Council and numerous pirates and small armies in-between... Damn it, my head hurts when I try to think about all the people who want me dead, or skinned alive, or worse... What a pain in my ass... Ever since that day when I first broke out of my chains, it's been nothing but one battle after another; it hardly seems worth all the effort sometimes..."

The man heaved another loud sigh, shaking his head sadly as he stared at his own image reflected on-screen.

"It's been nearly a decade since I was first taken from Earth... Hell, I've been to so many different planets by now that I'm slowly starting to forget what 'home' actually looks like. I just remember... Clouds. Blue skies. Green grass and trees. Leaves and dust... But I can't remember the cities anymore. I can't remember the people... I can't picture my mother, with her dresses and wigs, or my father, who always smelled of vodka and illegal, stale cigarettes... They, like everyone else I once knew, have become a void; an empty space in my mind. With everything I've been through, all the blood and the death; my so-called 'revolution'... I've started to wonder if I've actually lost something inside of me... Something important. Something that's supposed to keep me... 'human.' But still, even if it's true; even if I have lost something... It no longer matters."

The edges of his thin, chapped lips turned upwards into a warm smile as his eyes shone brightly in the harsh lights.

"Because out here, I've found something... I found something better. But in order for you to understand it, whoever you are, I'll probably have to take you back in time a few years... To tell the truth, I've actually been planning to stack a bunch of these old data files and memory logs that I've collected over my time out here; sort of a guide to what I've experienced. I planned on packing them up and sending them back home... to Earth. Not many people know that I actually have access to these files, but at this point, trying to hide the data from me is pretty much useless. Anyway... Here it is. This is my story. It's a story that was told by many people throughout the years, distorted and enhanced, filled with rumors, legends, and sometimes lies... But this is the truth. My truth. And if you ever find it, whoever you are, I hope you'll watch it. I hope you'll understand..."

"There's nothing out here for humanity. Nothing but blood, war, death... and Freedom..."

-END COMMANDER'S MEMORY LOG-

-------------------T'ERIAKK INTELLIGENCE LOG--------------

[ICFW NOTE: THIS LOG WAS INTERCEPTED BY ORDER OF THE INTERPLANETARY COUNCIL OF FREED WORLDS, ICFW. IT IS BELIEVED TO REPESENT THE FIRST ARRIVAL OF "COMMANDER" IN THE KO'TARI SYSTEM. THIS FILE HAS BEEN REDACTED TO PROTECT POTENTIALLY CLASSIFIED INTELLIGENCE.]

[DATE: 2 JUNE, 2066 (EARTH CALENDAR)]

[LOCATION: KO'TARI SYSTEM, PLANET KO'TARI A. CAPITAL CITY OF (REDACTED)]

[MAIN SUBJECT: UNIDENTIFIED MALE, HUMAN, APPROX. 29-30 SEASONS OF AGE. (APPROX. 25 HUMAN YEARS.) SUBJECT RECENTLY ESCAPED FROM BONDAGE.] (SUSPECTED IDENTITY: CODE NAME "COMMANDER")

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-----------BEGIN INTERCEPTED INTELLIGENCE LOG------------

I'd never been to a place where the sky was almost blood-red... As I slowly stepped off of the rusty, battered slave ship, joining a large crowd of others who'd also recently taken their freedom at knifepoint, I took in a deep lungful of the planet's dusty, dry air. All around us, giant dunes of crimson-brown sand formed endless miniature mountains which seemed to stretch across the infinite horizon. I'd been told that the planet's main capital city lay to the north, where a steady stream of thick, black smoke rising into the sky served as a beacon, guiding travelers through the desert, towards the hope of civilization.

I began to jog quickly to keep pace with a small band of recently freed slaves, who'd chosen to head for the safety of the capital rather than take their chances in the desert. There were at least a dozen or so of us, marching through the oddly chilly wind as we made our way towards the greenish haze in the distance. There were at least eight different species of intelligent creatures among us, chattering away in a dizzying number of languages as they shared information about the city and the kinds of things one could expect to find there. From what I'd managed to decipher before our escape, while the planet called Ko'tari A (I thought of it as 'Alpha,') was indeed a 'free' world, it was mainly inhabited by the fringes of civilized society; space pirates, bounty hunters, thieves, murderers, and of course, freed and former slaves. At the time, I figured that I would be safer travelling with this small group, rather than risking it on my own. In truth, however, I probably would've been safer had I kept the pair of knives I'd left behind on the ship.

We marched for what felt like an eternity, over miles of endless mountains of sand, as we followed the trail of thick smoke which promised to lead us to our freedom. Along the way, we passed others who'd given up the trek, and had resigned themselves to sitting motionlessly upon the desert floor, staring out over the horizon as the air began to grow colder with each passing minute. I noticed, after some time, that the planet had not one, but two suns. The smaller, red sun was beginning to set in the distance, as the larger, brighter blue sun was rising from the opposite direction.

The planet seemed to be undergoing a winter-like season, and as I walked, I noticed the air beginning to sting my cheeks and my breath making fog as I struggled to keep up with the others. I was wearing nothing but my worn-out jeans and a homemade poncho which I'd fashioned from a torn piece of fabric I'd stolen from the ship's hold, and I wrapped its thin folds even tighter around my body as a sudden gust of wind slashed away at my shins.

My bare feet were beginning to go numb as I continued to push forward, slowly falling behind the group as we grew closer to the source of the smog-like haze. I gritted my teeth and willed my legs to climb over one last, gigantic sand dune. As I reached the top of the dune, however, my breath caught in my throat and I suddenly stood, paralyzed with awe as I took in the sight of the wonders before me.

The capital city was a glittering combination of modern architecture and ancient, almost naturalistic designs. Its commercial and residental buildings all appeared to be built to a similar, two to three story height, their steel frames shining in the sunlight as torches and bioluminescent stones lit up the wide, grass-covered streets which twisted around through the city like an endless maze.

The tallest buildings were the three spacecraft harbors, which rose up from the city's center like a series of towering, glittering spikes that seemed poised to pierce the sky itself. A few more commercial buildings encircled the three harbor towers, standing twice as high as the majority of the other buildings in the city, but nowhere near as tall as the towers themselves. From my vantage point atop the sand dune, I could also make out several large, sprawling parks which covered vast expanses of empty land, and two lakes, situated at the north and west ends of the city gates.

The city's walls and gates themselves were works of art. They reminded me of the gates to the ancient city of Babylon, which I'd read about as a student back on Earth. The walls which surrounded the metropolis, along with the gates, appeared to be made of some form of carved stone that resembled black onyx, with thick, bright veins of gold tracing along the rounded, mortarless blocks. The walls had been built to an incredible height, with strange symbols carved into the stone blocks around a tall, arch-like entranceway, which led directly into the city. As I watched, the group I'd been following began to make their way up to the crowd gathered near the entrance to the gate. Shaking my head to clear away any doubts, I quickly ran to catch up with them.

Slowing down on my approach to the massive gateway, I was greeted with curious sniffs and stares from dozens of locals, who appeared to be more amused by my presence than threatened. I could feel the eyes of the crowd on me as I stepped forward to enter the gates, my eyes tracing the symbols along the archway as I slowly followed the line of people waiting to gain entry.

"They're going to run into trouble if they keep heading in," A deep, bass-filled voice called out, causing me to stop in my tracks. Turning my head, I struggled to locate the source of the voice through the faces of the crowd. I was ready to give up and move on, when I finally spotted a tall figure wearing a thick, hooded black robe, a canine-like snout protruding from beneath the folds of cloth as a pair of icy blue eyes locked onto my own.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked, still unsure of his intent.

The wolf-like creature huffed amusedly in reply. "I don't see any other humans around here," he remarked with a hint of sarcasm, "But then again, your people don't usually last very long."

He nodded his head towards the still-healing scars on my wrists, a scowl forming on his muzzle-like face as he looked into my eyes once again.

"I see you've taken your freedom. What do you intend to do with it?"

"I haven't decided yet," I breathed out without thinking.

"That's a pity... A human without a purpose. That never bodes well for your kind, from what I've learned."

"What do you mean?"

"Humans need a purpose; a goal to achieve; a reason to live. Without it, they become despondent. Their minds grow stagnant."

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that one. I could feel the edges of my untrimmed beard turning upwards into a smile as I suddenly changed directions, allowing my feet to carry me away from the line of people, towards the curious creature in the black robe.

"You're right about that one. How is it you can speak English so well? Aren't you a local here?"

An amused smile spread across the creature's muzzle as he let out a huff which sounded like laughter.

"You don't have scholars where you're from?" he remarked, smiling. "I am what they call a Ce'runae. A warrior-scholar."

"So, you've studied us? Humans, I mean?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh, yes. I find the multitude of cultures your people practice to be quite fascinating. Take the languages, for example. You call this particular form of it 'English.' I find it to be simple, efficient, and yet surprisingly effective. It took me some trouble to learn it, however; there aren't many free humans among the stars."

I didn't need him to elaborate on what that meant.

"So, who are you?" I finally asked, staring directly into his icy blue eyes as I awaited an answer. "And why did you warn me?"

The wolf-like creature let out a heavy sigh, his ears drooping slightly as he shifted his gaze to the fire inside of his tent.

"My name is... surprisingly unpronounceable in your language. but for the sake of conversation, you may call me 'Koda.' As I said, I am a scholar; I once traveled between the free worlds, to learn their languages and the customs of their peoples. And as for my warning..." He craned his neck towards the entrance to his tent, where the group I'd been following was slowly passing through the gates.

"You'll learn soon enough. The city's inner districts, along with the passageways between its buildings which lead to the harbor towers are essentially a lawless land. They belong to the_ t'ekkas_, the thieves of the streets."

"T'ekkas?" I repeated, puzzled.

"The treasure thieves," he continued, ignoring me, " Your people would call them 'pirates,' I believe. The term 't'ekkas' is a bit more... derogatory towards them."

"Seriously?!" I perked up. "I mean, I'd heard rumors about pirates living here, but--"

Suddenly, my words were cut short by a piercing howl of pain, coming from beyond the city gates.

"They're being attacked?" I muttered under my breath. What the hell kind of place had I ended up in?

"Yes... Stripped of their valuables," Koda confirmed with a respectful nod. "This is why I choose to pitch my tent outside of the city gates; I have far too much to lose, and the pirates have been desperate for a treasure haul ever since the T'erigai raised their security measures. There hasn't been a decent prize taken in many moons."

I was starting to become genuinely interested in this wolf-like creature's story. Suddenly, however, my stomach muscles began to cramp painfully, and I doubled over into the dirt as three days without food and water finally began to take their toll on me. Koda, with an alarmed look on his face, darted forward to catch me before my head hit the ground.

"By the fang and claw! Have you been starving yourself?!" he exclaimed, gently helping me up into a sitting position.

"There's not much to eat in the hold of a slave ship," I responded darkly, as Koda began to let out a string of curses in what sounded like the local dialect, before throwing an arm around my shoulder and pulling me inside.

"Come in and sit down. There's a stew boiling in the kettle. Here, I'll get you a bowl. You can join me for dinner."

I didn't need to be told twice. The tent itself was built on a hexagonal frame, and appeared much larger on the inside than it did from the outside. Immediately, I was greeted by the warmth of a small cooking fire, its flickering embers revealing stacks of papers and scrolls piled on numerous tables around the tent, and glittering off of what appeared to be some sort of archaic-looking chemistry set half-hidden in the shadows. On one side of the tent lay a makeshift bed, softened by what looked like the leaves which covered the city's sky-scraping giant palms. Near the entrance was yet another table, also filled with papers and numerous glass beakers which seemed to contain some sort of glowing substances.

Out of the corner of my vision I suddenly spotted Koda, who had removed his robe, and was now wearing a simple, sleeveless leather vest. Smiling as he sat in the dirt next to me, he offered me one of two wooden bowls, before reaching out to remove the kettle from the fire.

"I don't normally have guests, so I hope you'll excuse the clutter," he muttered softly as he gently tipped the kettle over both of our bowls. The air immediately became heavy with the smell of a thick, hearty broth, along with some sort of meat which I couldn't identify. I simply nodded my head, smiling widely as I brought the bowl of stew directly up to my lips and began to drink.

I didn't even consider asking for utensils; It had been so long since I'd eaten, that any semblance of manners or propriety had long since been discarded. The scalding hot broth burned a trail down my throat as it warmed my empty stomach, and I let out a sigh of contentment as I allowed the flavors to linger on my tongue. Using my fingers, I lifted out a piece of thinly-sliced meat, which almost resembled a barbecued brisket, and hungrily shoved it past my lips, chewing noisily as I tried not to imagine where, exactly, the meat had come from. To me, it just tasted like the best beef I'd ever eaten, and I wasn't about to refuse this stranger's meal.

As I continued to drink down the stew, I noticed that Koda had yet to start on his own bowl. Instead, his eyes remained curiously fixed upon me, watching with interest as I hungrily shoveled the food into my mouth.

"What is it?" I asked finally, in between bites, "Are you not hungry?"

"No; no... I'm just... Observing, that's all. Would you like another bowl?"

I nodded my head profusely as I slurped down the last of the broth. My reaction brought a thin smile from my host, as he took the empty bowl from my hands, before offering me his own. Without hesitation, I immediately took the second bowl and began to noisily slurp down its contents.

Once I'd finished my second helping, I placed the bowl gently on the ground in front of me, breathing in a deep sigh of relief as the stew began to restore life to my tired, battered body.

"How was it?" Koda asked, not having removed his gaze from me. He appeared genuinely curious as to my response.

"It was incredible," I replied, nodding my head slightly for emphasis. "I mean, I don't even know what it was, but it tasted better than anything I've eaten in a long time."

The wolf-like creature's ears suddenly perked up, and the edges of his muzzle twisted upwards into another warm smile. "Thank you," he noted, with a grateful nod, "I appreciate your honesty. And now, since hunger is no longer an issue, perhaps a proper introduction may be in order?"

My eyes suddenly went wide. I'd never even bothered to give him my name. Clearing my throat, I turned to face him. "Oh, yeah... I almost forgot about that..." I chuckled halfheartedly, scratching the hair on my neck anxiously. "I mean, you spend a couple years chained up in a four-foot cube, and all of a sudden, things like that just... tend to be forgotten."

I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head to clear away the disturbing thoughts of what I'd had to endure. Turning to face Koda once again, I stood up straight, as well as I could manage, and held out my right hand for him to shake. At first, he appeared confused by the gesture. I silently hoped that a handshake wasn't considered as offensive in this place. My worries were silenced a few seconds later, when he reached out a thick, fur-covered arm, and clasped my hand in his own. Smiling up at him, I stared directly into his blue eyes and gave his hand a single, firm shake.

"My name is Joseph B. Abel. Call me 'Josh.'"

---------------------- END T'ERIAKK INTELLIGENCE LOG-----------------------

That's the first of many installments in this story. Don't worry, there's plenty of violent, passionate, and occasionally comedic moments to come. For now, Allow me to introduce you to our characters. If you like it, don't be shy; let me know what you all think!