The Flight

When it became an unavoidable fact that the galactic empire of the Cheldrun was headed toward annihilation by the effort of the Enemy, the Cheldrun faced a terrible decision. It is difficult to imagine the level of destruction required to humble a people as mighty as the Cheldrun had once been to the point where they would consider surrender. The Cheldrun not only considered it, they did. They surrendered and the diplomatic delegation was slaughtered.

In the horrified minds of a few leaders it became clear that they were not only facing defeat. They were facing extinction.

The only options remaining were a strategic retreat to a defensible location followed by a protracted battle against an unstoppable foe, or a headlong retreat barreling off into the uncharted black without any destination or even the certainty that escape was possible. There were not enough ships for the whole population. Flight would mean chaos. It would mean a lottery to determine who would go and who would stay. It would mean abandoning billions of Cheldrun without a navy, without an army, without hope. Flight would mean overcrowded vessels, with civilians and animals living aboard military starships for generations. It would mean maddening uncertainty for navigators sailing through an empty sky where it is possible to fly for billions of years without ever encountering another solid object, let alone a habitable planet. Worse than all of that, the Flight meant an absolute break with every city, every world, every institution and constellation and sun which had ever been part of home for the Cheldrun.

No matter how grim the thought of fleeing seemed, it was the option they chose.

Mercifully, the loss of the historical records means that the names of the Cheldrun who were abandoned are unknown. The exact duration of the flight is also, unknown. Tens of thousands of ships departed the home worlds in that day, filled past capacity with Allskin nobles, Biomade merchants, and Mechified warriors. They sailed through space for generation upon generation always looking into the blackness ahead of them for any sign of hope, and looking into the dark behind them praying they would never see the Enemy approaching.

Of those tens of thousands of starships, 117 landed at last on Karia Vitalus. And the passengers poured out, weeping and gasping for air.

2 comments:

Paul Wise said...

Makes me wonder what happened to the other ships. If they found other worlds to settle, if they were destroyed by happenstance or by malice, or if they sail the great void still, searching for a new home, praying to yet evade the clutches of the Enemy.

Aric Clark said...

Those are exactly the sorts of things you're supposed to wonder.


Ruins

Cities