Prelude to Maje Jaha Veeth: Born with Teeth

Posted on Tue Jun 29th, 2021 @ 9:38pm by Maje Jaha Veeth
Edited on on Fri Sep 3rd, 2021 @ 7:03pm

Mission: https://sojourner.simcentral.org/index.php/sim/missions/id/4
Location: Helden Orbit, Outskirts of Haakonian Order Space

WARNING: This post has a certain level of darkness and may not be for the faint of heart. Reader discretion is advised.

♪...And if we could float away,
Fly up to the surface,
And just start again,
Lift off before trouble,
Just erodes us in the rain...♪

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Volvox Observation Station
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Two tall pale skinned Haakonians sat elbow to elbow on Volvox, an observation Station in orbit of Helden on the outskirts of Haakonian Order space. The male Haakonian leaned back in his chair, his feet crossed and thrown over the top of his observation console. His eyes were fixed on his mate, her belly already plump with their unborn child.

“You’re gorgeous, you know…? I love just looking at you, with Helden in the background. It brings out your eyes” he said through a smile.

She shot around quickly in response, a sly smirk on her lips, “Don’t go trying to sweet talk me. One thing will lead to another and we’ll miss the weekly hail from the council… Again…”

He laughed some as he moved forward and wrapped an arm around her and pulled her into him. “Who cares what those old farts have to say. They’ll tell us about our next supply run, report about ion storms and asteroids… If we miss it… we miss it…”

She rolled her eyes at him, and sweetly planted a kiss on his cheek, “Gothrel…” She cuddled into his embrace and looked out through the viewscreen with him, “Tell me about our home again… Tell me of Helden…”

Gothrel leaned forward and pointed beyond the wide viewscreen ahead of them. Helden could be seen below, a beautiful lush forested planet. The tones of blue from the lakes and oceans in contrast to the bright green of the life below was breathtaking. “You see that island there, that small little island? That will be ours. I will build you a beautiful home there. Our child will swim in that pond, pick berries in that forest and you will call to him on that summit. We will be the first humanoids to turn soil on Helden and I shall grow you everything you could ever miss from home Jazen.”

She turned and looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye, “You promise?”

“Of course. Once our operation directive concludes at the end of the year I know the council will approve the colony. Helden has so much to offer the Order…” He returned her gaze, “And it will be just in time to welcome our sweet baby boy…”

They cuddled for a while before Jazen broke the silence. “I guess I should get started on lunch. Do you know what you want?”

Gothrel answered her with a shrug, “Whatever you want my sweet is fine by me. Though I would absolutely kill for some of those little pastries from the Ragnar District! Those things are freaking delicious! Do we still have some?”

She smirked again and nodded, “We do. Though if you keep pounding them you are going to get as big as me!” She said as she stood up and turned around to model her belly, “I can’t even see my feet anymore!”

He leaned into his seat and looked down, “It’s a real shame. You have such cute feet…”

She rolled her eyes again and smirked more, “Alright I’ll work on dinner and you monitor the comm. I don’t want to miss the weekly.”

Gothrel nodded, “Aye aye boss. I’ll man the comm.” He beated his chest in salute to her. “Though what is the big deal? Do you think they will have something important to report this week?”

“Well I don’t know… Last week they said there might be some Kazon activity in the region. You remember the Keltron that went missing in grid 038 last week…?”

He lifted his brow, “038? That is pretty far from here. And the Kazon? I don’t remember the council mentioning them. Who are the Kazon?”

She looked annoyed and placed her hand on her hip and eyed him, “You didn’t hear it because you don’t pay attention. And it isn’t that far away… How do you not know who the Kazon are?”

Gothrel shrugged again, “I don’t know. I can’t know every humanoid in the delta quadrant now can I?”

Jazen scoffed, “Volvox enlighten my husband and tell him about the Kazon… I’m off to fix dinner.” She turned on her heel and trotted off into the small gally. She paused to look back at her husband lovingly once more before she moved from his gaze, she just couldn’t stay annoyed with him.

After a short pause and a high-pitched screech a deep robotic-like voice replied, “Accessing File 0168, Kazon Species Summary. The Kazon are a lean, scrawny people who dress in an assortment of unkempt clothing. Some are in nothing more than rags. Their skin is parched and desiccated; the sun has produced blotches and sores on some. Many live in sparse camps of people barely able to survive, bereft of creature comforts and living a harsh, hardscrabble life. The Haakonian Order classifies them at a threat level 6, and they are considered to be lethal and deadly who subject themselves to these dire circumstances in return for the possible acquisition of power. To learn more please view the readout on panel 2.”
The male Haakonian let out a sigh, “No, I think I have learned enough. The Kazon sounds like a real pleasure… I’m glad I have never heard of them…” He settled into his chair and carefully monitored the comms as his wife had ordered.

A short time later his concentration was broken by the loud crash of dishes on the floor. His head immediately jerked around to see his wife stood behind him. Her hands still floated in front of her where their lunch had once been held. Her face was frozen, her already pale skin lightened even more as her lips parted in shock. The apparent horror on Jazen’s face made Gothrel bolt upright and turn toward the viewscreen as a predator-class Kazon ship moved into view. “Oh shit! Volvox, raise shields! Security protocol 38-Volvox.” His fingertips frantically pounded on his console in a desperate effort to secure the station. The comms chimed, “They are hailing us…”

“Answer them Gothrel, we have one phaser bank. That’s a bloody Kazon warship!” Jazen was shaken, her voice radiated her worry as she took the chair next to her husband. Gothrel passed her an equally worried glance as he nodded and activated the comm. The view of the planet Helden blackened as a closeup view of a Kazon male appeared.

Nothing about the Kazon’s look seemed warm or inviting. His forehead was covered with distinctive ridges and solid black hair which was matted and grown together in large chunks rather than individual strands. His features appeared lanky and narrow. His skin appeared baked with dark pigmentation, almost orange-like. He was dressed in an olive toned coat with brown leathers crossed across his chest, complemented by a green band around the chest. His whole attire seemed dirty, tangled, worn with tattered edges.

“This is Maje Jaha Veeth. I am here to claim this planet for the Kazon-Relora. Your pathetic station could easily be obliterated. Lower your shields and I can promise you a quick death.” His tone was cold and absolute.

Gothrel swallowed hard, his voice shook as he responded, “This is observation outpost Volvox. My wife and I are the only ones here. We mean you no harm, but, I will warn you, any act of aggression will be viewed as an act of war toward the Haakonian Order.”

Jaha narrowed his eyes at the Haakonian, “Such brave words spoken from someone sitting on a chair on the edge of death. The nearest Haakonian ship is days away, this planet will be ours, your station too! A speedy death is the best I can offer. I will not ask again. Lower your shields or I’ll burn you both. You will know suffering...” Jaha looked out of frame and nodded, “Target weapons, light them up on my command!”

Gothrel wiped his hand over his face which was now drenched in sweat, he knew that with one hit he and his family would only be a memory. Worse yet they could disable their modest shields and force themselves aboard. He watched as his wife sunk in her seat as her heart began to beat harder. To Jazen it seemed like it would rip from her chest. How she wished she was anywhere else. How she wished the Observatory Station had more defences beside two virtually unarmed Haakonians. Gothrel had no words, he had no idea what to do, he looked to Jazen and mounted I love you. He then turned toward the Kazon and spoke the only word which came to his lips, “Please…”

The word brought a smile to the Kazon’s lips, his teeth stained and yellow. “Oh begging is so unbecoming…” His eyes narrowed, “I can smell your desperation from here. The stench! I’ll tell you what. Lower your shields, allow my ship to dock and you and your wife can live. We will grant you safe transport to the planet until our survey teams arrive. Be wise Haakonians, welcome us with open arms or suffer. I will not be bothered either way.”

Gothrel sighed, with some sense of relief, he moved to mute the comms.
“I don’t know about this Gothrel,” Jazen said. “The Kazon aren’t known to be the most trustworthy....”

“What would you have me do Jazen? He can make good on his threat. If they transport us to Helden, we might be able to hide. Have a fighting chance… At least until help arrives… You and I both know the Volvox is no match for them…” His hand moved to his forehead and brushed over his hair, the stress was all too much for him. He turned and activated the comm again, “We agree to your terms. My wife and I will accept your offer to bring us to the planet safely, in exchange for relinquishing this station peacefully. We choose life Maje Jaha Veeth, we thank you...”

A pleased smirk now appeared on Jaha’s lips, “I am glad to hear that. We will send a shuttle momentarily… prepare for docking. End transmission!”

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Conestanga, Kazon Predator-class Warship
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Maje Jaha Veeth looked down toward his feet where a young Kazon boy was seated. The boy looked up at him with respect, admiration, and wonder in his eyes. To Jaha there was no better feeling in the galaxy, none compared to how his first born son looked at him. Jaha reached out and placed the palm of his hand on the boy’s head and moved it aggressively. “Fear is like blood in the eyes of prey, it blinds. When one cannot see, one cannot think, and lack of thinking leads to death. Come Jab, my son, you will board the station, at my side.” As Jaha spoke he noticed a faint circular scar on his forearm. When his eyes caught it, he felt the pain he had felt when he received it shoot through his arm. He remembered the burn of hunger in his belly, the ache of thirst across his eyes. He remembered it all…

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Proxma-II, Kazon Planet, Over Fourty Years Prior
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An excruciating pain shot through Jaha’s forearm as he opened his wild eyes. His stomach burned with hunger, his heart but a gentle beat, his lips dried and cracked from the relentless Proxma desert heat. The young Kazon drifted in and out of consciousness as starvation and thirst crippled him.

Twelve days prior, he and his best friend Trax had snuck aboard a rival Kazon sect camp, just to get a glimpse and possibly a scrap or two of food. The young boys had been fascinated by the many soldiers that came and went from the camp. If any Kazon soldier left a storage container door open for too long the children of the nearby farming villages would pile aboard like rodents.

Jaha and Trax had been more skilled than the others, in their efforts to sneak in and out with food; but, not on this occasion. The camp Maje discovered them and tossed the intruders into a large storage crate in an effort to teach them a lesson. It was fun at first and the boys laughed about it; but as the days turned into nights and a week passed, Jaha and Trax realized that the Maje had no intention to come back for them. They ate the little food they found littered around the floor of the crate but soon starvation was all they knew. Days of weakness came, followed by others of hallucinations, finally both fell unconscious.

Jaha had no idea how long he had slept until the pain in his arm awoke him. What he saw terrified him and unsettled his stomach more than the hunger. Trax—his best friend consumed by hunger had bitten and gnawed at his forearm. Jaha could not be sure; but between Trax’s teeth he believed he could see the white of his bone.

When the disbelief left him, a burning anger raged forward. That anger consumed him as he rolled over in violent defense. Jaha jumped onto his friend and pinned him to the ground…

In two days when a female finally heard the cries and opened the crate, only one Kazon walked out…

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Conestanga, Kazon Predator-class Warship
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Jaha eyed the scar his hand still pressed against his son’s head, the anger he had felt in that crate had never left him. It was a part of him now, a passenger that had secured his survival for decades since. When his son was born, he vowed to devote himself to the Kazon-Relora in an effort to give his son everything he himself had ever wanted. No boy of his would be weak, no boy of his would weep in a crate. His boy would be strong. He would be tireless in his effort to fight for power without apology. With power his son’s future would be secured.

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Volvox Observation Station
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Once the docking protocol had concluded Maje Jaha Veeth and his eager son Jab stepped alone out into the room occupied by a very wary Haakonian couple. All were silent as the Kazons looked about the small space. Both Jazen and Gothrel had hoped that they would live to see another day, they hoped they had made the right choice in giving up the station in exchange for their lives.

Jaha moved toward the female and stopped inches from her face, his eyes drifted to her stomach before he moved away again and pulled his son into him. His arm pinned the smaller Kazon against his chest as he eyed both Haakonians. “Don’t they look like a happy couple Jab? Stood there...shaking…” A small smirk appeared on Jaha’s lips, “Today you will learn one thing Jab, they will learn it too.... There’s no happiness in life, only a mirage of it on the horizon.”

Jaha slammed a dagger into his son’s palm and pushed him, almost enough to knock the boy off balance toward the Haakonian couple. Jaha’s voice was enraged now, spit flew from his lips as he yelled, “We are the crate where the weak shall perish. We are the Kazon, the ones born with teeth!” The boy looked back at his father, he hid his look of worry, blade in hand. His father was crazed, he saw it, his words were haunting… He then looked toward the Haakonian couple and raised his blade. Both Haakonians wailed, tears flowed from their eyes, they pleaded, they begged… but Jab knew...his father was not one to disobey…

“We are the crate where the weak shall perish. We are the Kazon, the ones born with teeth…” Jab repeated his father’s words in a whisper as he stepped toward the Haadonians…

♪...Through chaos as it swirls,
It’s us against the world…♪

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The End!