A charming message

The Hawk was extremely fast because of its small size small. We were cramped up like sardines in a can. The vessel wasn't designed for long range

. After a long discussion we decided to go to Echelon, a lawless place where people were as likely to help you as they were to kill you. Echelon was a space station in one of the free systems. This particular system was ruled by no one, thus being a very attractive place for outlaws, thiefs and other scum. It was lively place with merchants everywhere. A dangerous place for a merchant but the profits could rise so high that most were willing to take the risk.

"There it is, Echelon." Thomas said as we disengaged hyperspace. The station was massive. Hundreds of ships were in orbit, everything ranging from large freighters to small fighters. We made our way to the nearest dock and set foot on the station. I felt a great sense of unease. The people there looked like they'd been through hell and back, scars everywhere an missing limps. 

"I hope we weren't planning on staying here long." Alysia said.

"I have a friend here who may be able to help us, I'll go find him. If you two could get us some supplies, food, water, maybe even some guns, that would be great." Thomas said.

We split up. Echelon was a big place but luckily the directions to the market were very clear. We got a lot of attention, especially Alysia. There were shady people everywhere. I could tell she hated the attention.

"What do you think Thomas is doing?" I asked her.

"Probably getting some kind of upgrade for his damned racer. But who knows, he sometimes manages to surprise me."

"How are you doing?"

"Pretty well actually. Considering that people tried to murder me, I just found out that my dad isn't actually my dad and I turn out to be the heir to the imperial throne." She smiled at me. I really admired her mindset. I think most would have crumbled if this happened to them.

We finally arrived at the market, though you really couldn't call it a market. Well, maybe the kind of market you read about in history files. A crowded, smelly place with lots of small stands and merchants shouting, trying to sell their goods. We bought some food and drinks at one merchant. Then bought some tools at another. Lastly, we decided to do as Thomas said and get some guns. After all I could defend myself but Thomas and Alysia had no combat experience and no weapons. It was disturbingly easy to find and buy guns. We had enough of the market and decided to go back to the dock and wait for Thomas there. 

On our way back a man stopped us. His clothes were ragged, he smelled and missed some teeth and a finger. It wasn't a pretty sight.

"What're ya carrying there, pretty?" He asked.

"Just some groceries." Alysia replied.

"No no no, not the bags. What're ya carrying around your neck."

"You mean this pendant?"

"Aye of course."

"It's just a pendant, I've had it all my life."

"Just a pendant?? No no, it's an imperial data drive, very hard to come by. Is it for sale?"

"A data drive? Can you show me how it works?"

"Yes yes of course! Against a small fee that is."

Alysia transferred a few credits to the man and in return the man activated the pendant.

A hologram of a man appeared and I immediately recognised him. It was the late emperor Astor Bellèc, Alysia's father.

"Alysia. I don't know if you'll ever see this. I have a few minutes left before I run out of oxygen. I hope the Titans will get here in time but at this point I have already accepted my fate. I just hope that you can live a long life. Difficult times are ahead and I'm afraid you will have to play out a big role in them. Bellrose is power hungry, he will devide the Empire and wage war on the free systems and the Sol Consortium. I don't know how old you'll be when you see this, I don't know if war has already broken out. But please know that you won't have to fight it alone. I have many friends that would gladly follow you through hell and back. One of them is Olivia Taylor , she is loyal to the Bellèc family. She despises senator Bellrose's cries for war. If she's still alive and war has broken out, it is very likely that she has set up some kind of rebellion. Find her if you can. You are a Bellèc, Alysia, don't ever forget that. You were born to lead. And when you lose all hope just think of your mother and me. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, we're proud of you. Never forget that. Goodbye honey, and good luck."

Alysia had tears in her eyes and stood speechless. The man looked shocked and ran away immediately shouting that he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "Come on, we need to keep moving. We've attracted a lot of attention."

"I always thought is was nothing but a regular pendant. And now it turns out to be the only thing I have left of my parents. It's a lucky charm and now my greatest possession."

She looked somewhat happy. She now had confirmation that she really was the daughter of emperor Astor Bellèc.

We got back to the dock where Thomas was already waiting for us. He had great news he said but i looked at Alysia and could see that she was sceptical.

"So, the Hawk wasn't a great succes in terms of travelling." Thomas said. Alysia and I agreed, we weren't looking forward to get back in the Hawk.

"That is why I sold it and bought something new. Guys, I'd like you to meet the vigilant. She is a Condor class multipurpose ship. She is perfect for us. A small bathroom, kitchen and living area. Furthermore, there are four sleeping cabins. She's got guns and strong shields. She is fast and agile because of her small size, but still big enough to house a handful of people. I am eager to take her out for a spin."

I didn't care much about ships, but the vigilant was truly the perfect ship for us.

"I got to hand it to you, Thomas. You did very well. She's beautiful." Alysia said.

"By the looks of it you were successful as well, I hope you left something for the other customers." Thomas joked. "So, what now? Where do we go?"

We got in the ship and Alysia played the recording on her pendant. Thomas looked at her in awe. 

"I think it's clear then. We have to find this Olivia Taylor." Thomas said.

I agreed we were still piecing everything together. But if Olivia Taylor really was who Astor claimed, then she could be our greatest ally. There was just one problem: finding one person in a massive galaxy is almost impossible.

"She's either in Empire space or a border system." Alysia said.

"Yeah, but that still leaves us with hundreds of systems, thousands of worlds. Not even thinking about all the space stations she could be at." I said.

"We need information. Lucky for us, we know someone who's job it is to gather information." Thomas said.

He was right, the Archives would likely have some information about Olivia. So we contacted Isaac. He was happy to here from us. He'd been busy cleaning up the mess the imperials left behind and had been worrying about us all the time. We asked him to find out as much about Olivia Taylor as he could. He was very helpful and send send us a file. We found out everything about her up to five years ago, then the information stopped. Her current whereabouts were unknown. We couldn't find a death certificate so he had to be somewhere. We decided to go to her last known location. Her old house on Walor. Walor was a world where only the rich lived. High ranking members in the imperial hierarchy. Unfortunately that also meant that there would be a lot of security. But we saw no other option and left Echelon behind.

Author's Note

Please ignore any grammar/spelling mistakes, English is not my native language.