Chapter 84: The Awakening of Darth Traya Veltrax‑Nur, Heart of the First Darkstar

The ancient hangar doors groaned open as Queen Suama and Darth Malgus stepped into the colossal interior of Veltrax-Nur, the first of the Darkstar Stations. The atmosphere was thick with the dormant breath of war, the stale silence of gods long entombed. Along the gleaming obsidian walls, six towering Ancient Kirell, six-limbed, heavily muscled insectoid warriors, stood in reverent formation. They were nothing like their degenerated descendants these were titans, birthed in blood and bred for conquest.

At the center of the corridor stood a black-armored Ancient Shadow Trooper, his armor engraved with ritual runes known only to the lost tongues of the Mahasimu. He bowed slightly and turned without a word, gesturing for them to follow.

Malgus' voice rumbled like distant thunder as they walked the torchlit corridors leading to the stasis sanctum:

"You know, Suama… this station's spirit never died. Not even in slumber. I once read the report of when Darth Traya and only 146 of her Godkeys descended upon Nareth. Not to conquer… but to torment. For months they mutilated the population—erasing culture, language, history—until only one child was left. She spared him, made him watch it all. Then cast him into the void to drift. A reminder of what happens… when you defy the ancient Queen's will."

Queen Suama, though fearless, felt a flicker of discomfort. She had heard stories. But Malgus… he spoke as if he had seen it.

The great vault loomed ahead. The towering statues of Traya and her Godkeys flanked the doorway, eyes glowing dimly with stored wrath. They were cloaked in long ceremonial robes, red visors glowing behind featureless black helms. These were no mere sentinels these were symbols of execution.

The vault hissed open with a scream of cold vapor.

Darth Traya Awakens

The Stasis Pod split open slowly.

She floated forward in silence hair white-gray from centuries of stasis, eyes black and devoid of mercy. Her form was regal, clad in a matte black robe with a sharp "V"-cut chest piece, a pointed hood, and her distinctive leather headdress adorned with a blood-colored jewel.

The Ancient Shadow Trooper immediately dropped to one knee.

"Lord Traya, the void has held you long. The station breathes once more."

She opened her eyes. Cold. Eternal.

Then Malgus stepped forward.

"You're late."

Traya's eyes narrowed. "Watch your tongue, Malgus. I could strip you of memory as I stripped Nareth of breath."

Malgus laughed. Deep. Genuine.

"You can try."

For a moment, silence ruled. Then Traya smirked. She spared Suama a brief look before stepping aside.

The Godkey Awakens

Beside her stasis cradle stood another larger, heavier. Traya placed her palm to it, and it hissed open. From within emerged Commander Lorgan, the Godblood General, the First of the Godkeys. Jet-black armor with streaks of crimson veins pulsing across it. His visor shone like a crimson eclipse.

He dropped to one knee and lowered his head.

"My Lord. Command me."

"Rise, Lorgan," Traya replied. "It is time."

Hierarchy of Power: Veltrax‑Nur's Dark Orders

At the apex of the station's command structure stood Darth Traya, sovereign over all. By her side:

Commander Lorgan, the Godblood General

Second-in-command and bearer of unparalleled martial authority his decisions reshape battles and structure alike.

First of the Godkeys, Selun Kharis, Ancient Whisperer Keeper of memory manipulation and collective will. His secrets guide fleets and forge loyalty.

The Martial and Metaphysical Tiers

The Godkeys

Built to serve at the edge of godhood. These monstrous guardians blend arcane and technological mastery ultimate defenders of station and creed.

Ancient Shadow Troopers

Far greater than Shadowscourge or Luminaries: genetically enhanced warriors encased in dark-forged bio-armor. Their role: secure key positions, lead initial boarding parties, and devastate enemy strongholds.

Hakimu

Spiritual guides and ritual technologists, they oversee arcane rites infusing the station's systems with psychic resonance and maintaining the metaphysical integrity of Veltrax‑Nur.

Shadowscourge

Elite shock troops masters of stealth and relentless assault. They serve as enforcers, hunters, and silent executioners in Traya's campaigns.

Slave Shadow Troopers (Augmented Luminaries)

A class: highly augmented Luminaries, they command Ancient Kirell Overseers. The overseers direct Ancient Kirell Warrior Battalions, disciplined and monumental but still beneath the shadow troopers in the chain of command.

Partial Awakening Initiated

Darth Traya stood before the central console of her command nexus, her eyes fixed on the lifeless stasis pods that lined the cavernous chamber. Her voice echoed through the vault:

"Activate the Cyber‑Trooper Nodes. Awaken the Slave Shadow Troopers and Ancient Kirell Overseers. Let the masses prepare the way for the rest." A single Ancient Shadow Trooper, Húrin Thalion, stepped forward. With a gesture, he triggered the activation cascade:

Slave Shadow Troopers (augmented Luminaries) emerged from stasis in staggered waves precise, crystalline silhouettes of disciplined menace.

Ancient Kirell Overseers awoke: six-limbed, towering figures clad in ceremonial war-plate majestic and cruel in their own right.

Ancient Kirell Slave Battalions: billions of enslaved laborers roused to grim life, their task brutal and immediate cleaning, repairing, enforcing order.

Cruel Foundations of Discipline

From the moment the overseers stood, the cruelty began:

Shadow Troopers wielded electrified night-staffs to correct any hesitation quick strikes leaving arcs of pain on overseers' exoskeletons.

Overseers returned the brutality, driving the slave battalions into fevered labor lash-crack orders across armored frames, demanding absolute efficiency.

Corridors filled with the sound of impact screams muted by the station's roaring systems. Their combined suffering cleansed centuries of neglect, metal scorched and floors polished with blood. The unspoken cruelty of the Empire manifest in every command.

Rude Awakening

The stasis vault's ejector clamps released me with a hiss like a bleeding wound. My limbs moved stiffly as centuries of latency drained from them. The cold metallic floor greeted my feet as the dim red lights flickered not a welcome, but a warning.

Around me, fellow Luminary Slave Troopers were stirring, the post-stasis disorientation thick as blood in our veins. Graffiti-like scar‑tattoos of data‑nodes and glyphs gleamed faintly under our translucent under‑armor. Húrin Thalion's voice crackled over the resonance circuit:

"Troops, purge the deck. The station awakens. Obedience first. Purity second. Clean everything."

Memories From the Golden Age

I paused at a flooded corridor. The first trickle of dusty blackwater revealed polished obsidian echoing my earliest memories. Billions of us once marched across Veltrax‑Nur's decks, forging the empire's might at the zenith of power. I remember the roar of Godkey battalions, the brilliance of star-lights reflecting off our armor before the silence came. Before the centuries-long slumber.

Now, the ghost of that glory flickered through my mind. I could still taste the triumphant dirge of our legions the pride, the dominance. But no more. Now the station fed on blood and fear.

Barbarous Efficiency, Cold Indifference

An Ancient Kirell Overseer trembled beside me, wiping away a drip of oil from a console. I kicked him lightly to attention.

"There is no room for hesitation. Execute the maintenance protocols or be replaced."

His exoskeleton rattled under my command. I surveyed the rows of lit indicator panels flickering under centuries of dust and corruption. Blood tax, sweat, and oil all duty, all required.

Conversation in the Hive-Mind

Ancient Queen. What would she think? I checked the nexus‑node atop my wrist. A live feed coiled into my thoughts Queen Suama's speech, Traya's commands, corridor-by-corridor status updates.

Nearby, another Slave Trooper, Muraz, cleaned a plasma regulator.

"Do you remember before stasis?" I asked, quietly.

"She screamed 'For the first Mother' as the wall imploded," he whispered, voice ragged. "I only remember the fire."

I nodded. "This war? Traya is launching everything we have. Once we're done cleaning, they'll wake the rest. The grand shadowstorm rises again."

Muraz scoffed. "We die in the dust. The slave class again."

I inserted a shard‑lens. "Doesn't matter. We serve. We feed the gears of conquest. History remembers the victors."

Execution of Orders

A shriek echoed: an Ancient Kirell slave had wandered into a vent-block and was crushed. Húrin Thalion barked in my mind: "Finish the purge! Flood the corridors with cleansing solvent!"

I activated the flood-cycle, corridors hissing with steaming acid-cleanser. Overseers fell back, spines hissing at first contact. I watched without regret.

Link to the Hive

Every hit, every command, every whisper of steel was broadcast into the hive-current: VA-239-11 ordered casualty purge at Deck 70; the acid cycle cleansed storerooms 23-G-Z; Systems = 78 percent restored.

The empire's memory lives through us all even as slaves, I am part of its mind. We breathe the same fear, feed the same will. Even the lowliest among us see the distant present see the engines of war loading against the Zelith capital.

Final Thought Before Silence

My circuits hummed: Glory or oblivion. No matter. I am a Slave Trooper. I serve. I survive.

Return to War

Traya turned toward the central nexus as the Command Throne began to ascend.

"Restore this station to full combat readiness. I want orbital weaponry aligned. Engines fed. Kirell battalions armed. The silent forges lit."

Queen Suama watched as lights across the station began activating sector by sector. For the first time in ages, Veltrax-Nur lived again.

And far beyond the dark veil of space, war clouds churned above Zelith. The Broken Seers were arriving. The Thalor capital readied for the Mahasimu's vengeance. The ancient and the newborn were converging for a final reckoning.

Traya turned, her voice a whisper of ruin: "Let the multiverse remember this moment…" "The gods have awakened."