Sheffali's Caravan

Author's Notes:

'Sheffali's Caravan' is a standalone story in the Jack Danner universe.

It gets a little dark, as life is hard on Llevven, but never lose hope.

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Sheffali's Caravan

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Prologue

The Gate Network was reputed to be thousands of cycles old, and many of the races whose planets were connected to the instantaneous transportation system were equally old and established. They'd gone through their turbulent cycles and emerged wizened survivors with stable, if sometimes stagnant, civilizations.

The Tik, a race of Sentient Mechanical beings, administered, maintained and operated the expansive transportation network. They ensured the Gate Network continued to support all Assembly members.

The rules for admission in this community were few. There was a charter of dos and don'ts that each invited race had to agree to follow. The single most important rule was to maintain peaceful interactions with the other members of the Gate Network. Failing to do this meant expulsion from the Network, a fate most could not endure. What you did to your own citizens on your own planets was your own business. Fuck with someone else? That meant trouble.

The Borrelians were not a young civilization, but they'd only been part of the Assembly for close to a century, making them comparatively new. As such, they were under the scrutiny of the more senior members, who watched for any and all signs of misbehavior.

While they diligently followed the Charter to the letter, behaving in a most civilized manner with the other races of the Network, the Borrelians had a dirty little secret.

Genocide.

The typical Borrelian lifespan was slightly over two hundred cycles, yet they reached adulthood after just twenty. That's when biological imperatives drove them to find mates and begin building families of their own. Normally war and its accompanying scourges would maintain the population levels. After the last Great War, the newly victorious Rulers implemented a new system of social order which they insisted would bring peace and prosperity for all Borrelians. Few understood its chief purpose was to give the Rulers a means to control their people. They'd found their solution for stabilizing their civilization and implemented a caste system. The populace, weary from the last war and fearing the horrors of another, desperately accepted this promise of peace.

With war a thing of the past and new prosperity on the horizon, the populations on their planets began to grow again. After much debate, the Rulers agreed. Acquiring additional planets was the answer.

The Borrelians had well-established space travel. Their Empire had expanded to a dozen planets spread across three planetary systems. They sent ships out into the void beyond their third and stumbled upon a fourth system with two viable worlds.

They just needed to eliminate the current inhabitants.

As the Borrelians had just joined the Assembly, the need to complete their acquisition of the fourth system meant their war efforts had to be accelerated but quietly.

Their enemy was unknown to the Assembly, so the Rulers determined they weren't technically breaking any Assembly rules. As long as the Tik never found out about the war or their enemy, the Borrelians could quickly conclude their genocidal efforts and expand into the fourth planetary system.

The caste system imposed rigid rules for which of their planets each citizen was allowed to inhabit. Even after they joined the Network, none of the population were permitted to emigrate to any planets outside their three planetary systems. The Rulers demanded absolute control over their citizens, and those off-planet could not be trusted to maintain their policies. A few privileged members were sanctioned to work amongst the worlds of the Gate Network, but even these called Borrelia home.

While most Borrelians were aware of the enemy, none would speak of the terrors who struck in the night. It became a well-established fact amongst the population that even whispering their names would bring the horrifying death-bringers down upon the whisperer, their friends, and family.

This silencing propaganda campaign was engineered by the Borrelian Intelligence Agency for the Rulers to terrify the populace. This effectively kept the secret from the Tik.

What should have been a rapid elimination of their enemy from their two worlds developed into a generational war, as the enemy still on the planets became masters of guerrilla war tactics, becoming the very thing the Borrelian Rulers whispered into their citizen's ears.

The hunt for the Ush who fled in ships into space was proving fruitless, as well. The Rulers were very frustrated with their military, but with the possibility of being caught by the Tik, they wouldn't stop the war effort until they were sure they'd killed them all.

To ensure the Tik remained unaware, the rulers kept any sign of their war effort away from their three Gate hosting planets. They also informed the Tik they were not permitted to visit their other worlds as this interfered with their cultural development.

With Gates only on the principal planet of each system, the Borrelians no longer used space travel to move civilians between the systems. However, intra-system space travel was still heavily relied upon, as it assisted with controlling the movements of their population. The only space travel outside their systems was done by their military in their clandestine and continuing actions outside the outer borders of their third system. These military ships never docked in the orbital stations over any of the planets with Gates.

The Borrelian home system included the planet of their birth, Borrelia, whose Gate was the only one linked to the Gate Network. While they recommended against this restriction, the Tik had no rule specifying that all Gates must connect to the Network, as long as at least one did.

This system had two additional inhabited planets, Aeolis and Casellion.

In their second planetary system, the primary planet was Gibral, which hosted a Gate restricted to point only to their primary worlds. The remaining inhabited planets in the system were Secco, Zirdel, and Weena.

The final planetary system had five planets. Hessani was the primary planet, and its Gate was restricted to point to Gibral. The rest of the inhabitable planets of the system were Dozany, Tetnal, and Llevven. The fifth, Zhirra, was only used for scientific and military research stations and home for their military fleet headquarters. Living conditions there were borderline because of its distance from the local sun.

Borrelians were bipedal humanoids roughly similar to another young race, the Humans, but had more redundant organs, such as dual hearts, stomachs, livers, and brains. Their internal skeleton was like a Human's, but their increased bone density and larger muscle mass gave them greater strength at the cost of agility and speed. They also had slightly elongated skulls and jaws compared to Humans. They were harder to kill and healed quicker than Humans as well. Their ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions gave them better flexibility for habitation.

They had tough soled feet with two broad toes for excellent stability on many surfaces, and, like the Altarians, they had two-fingered hands with two opposing thumbs, but they were much larger.

Borrelian skin coloration varied from deepest black to light grey. No cultural or social significance was assigned to the tone.

However, their society was rigidly controlled by a strict caste system based on the uniformity of this coloration. The more singular the tone of their skin, the higher the individual ranked in the caste. There were three life stages when a Borrelian's skin tone could change: birth, puberty, and adulthood.

A Borrelian's place in society, the benefits they received, and the planets the final change adults were allowed to visit and live on, was determined by this seemingly arbitrary classification. The planetary restrictions were not applied to children, but the rules for wearing body and face-covering gowns for lower caste members were.

Generally speaking, the further out you went from their primary planets, the lower the caste you'd encounter and the lower the technology levels became. This tech disparity also increased depending on which planetary system you were in, from high in the Borrelian system to low in the Hessani system. The lower the tech levels on the planet, the harder the living conditions and the higher the mortality rates. This was by design, as the Rulers secretly used this for population control for the less desirable castes.

Assessments were made during the three life stages. Newborns had the most precarious stage. Low caste infants born to high caste parents often suffered sudden infant mortality. While a vile practice, secretly, it was considered favorable to acknowledging you'd failed to maintain your caste's minimums.

These assessments would categorize the subject into one of seven castes:

Pure: With their skin maintaining a single tone with minimal variation and no blemishes over their entire bodies, these first caste citizens were allowed to live on any of the primary planets of the three Borrelian planetary systems, though they were strongly encouraged to emigrate to Borrelia in the home system. While the other two primary worlds, Gibral in the second system and Hessani in the third, enjoyed the benefits of higher technology and cultural entitlements, Borrelia was the homeworld, so the best of the best was found there.

Accented: Borrelian's with uniform tone over most of their bodies but having a darker or lighter tone symmetrically highlighting distinct areas of their bodies, such as the eyes, hands, feet, were considered to be Accented, second caste. They could visit the primary worlds freely for periods of time but primarily lived on the second planets of the three systems unless married to a Pure. Many found Accented citizens more physically appealing than the Pure, but this remained an unspoken fetish.

Shaded: When their skin tone transitioned from one brightness to another in an even gradient on the body, such as light on their front to dark on their back, or light on the outer surfaces of arms and legs fading to darker tones on the inner surfaces, this was considered Shaded, third caste, as long as the change was a smooth transition and the shading was symmetrical. The Shaded were permitted to visit primary planets for brief intervals and live on the second and third planets of the three systems.

Mixed: Borrelians who had only two distinct tones on their bodies, such as a light or dark streak or swirl against another distinctive tone, were Mixed, caste four. These markings tended not to be symmetrical, so they were not considered attractive. This caste was not permitted to visit the primary planets (except for transfers between Gate and spaceport) but could visit the second planet if properly garbed in body and face-covering robes. They could live on the third planets, but only if they continued to wear the robes in public. This garb restriction was not required beyond the third planet.

Patched: When there were three or four distinct tones included in the stripes or swirls, the Borrelian was Patched, fifth caste, and the restrictions placed upon them increased. They were not permitted to visit any primary (except for transfers between Gate and spaceport) or second planets but could visit the third only if they wore fully concealing robes. They could live on the fourth planet in a system, but the garments were strongly recommended.

Spotted: In rare cases, the streaks or swirls found on fourth or fifth caste civilians were broken into or accompanied by spots or rosettes. This classified them as Spotted, sixth caste. They were restricted to the fourth planets in the planetary systems, which subsequently eliminated access to the Borrelian home system. Only Weena mandated full coverage robes at all times. Llevven was less militant about the requirement, but it was recommended.

Chaos: Rarer still were those afflicted with multiple tones in streaks, swirls, and spots. These were considered the damned of the race--Chaos, the seventh caste. They were prohibited from marriage or breeding and were typically sterilized when they reached adulthood, though this practice wasn't strictly followed in the third planetary system. They were also restricted to the fourth planet and mandated to wear the full coverage robes at all times.

While it was possible to rise to a higher caste as pigment stabilized, more often it destabilized, and variations increased. Thankfully, there'd never been a case of a shift of more than two levels per change interval, and a drop of four levels was rare.

The only place it proved impossible to maintain their caste system was within their military, which already had a functioning ranking process and was not willing to impose a second one. The decision was made to allow military rank to take precedence. Final decisions on promotions within the ranks were still determined by the Borrelian leadership, so higher caste soldiers found career advancement smoother than their lower caste comrades. A majority of senior officers were within the first three castes.

The Borrelian Rulers used the caste system to maintain control over their people, but they still needed additional space to expand. The planetary restrictions would change again once they could offload their less desirable members onto these new worlds.

The Borrelian People were generally gregarious and even-tempered, who preferred to follow the rules over living in anarchy. Even when those rules weren't in their personal best interests.

But everyone has their limit.

Chapter 1

What makes a person rich?

Monstrous piles of money? Expansive palaces filled with fine art and furniture, surrounded with gardens and pools of crystal-clear waters? Perhaps it's fine dining while socializing with the movers and shakers of caste-appropriate society?

These were the trappings of financial wealth that Lorrenz Sheffali's colleagues in the Trader's Guild all craved. They had ambition and a cutthroat dedication to seeing their dreams come true.

But most would never acquire these things, and even the few who'd begun their acquisition weren't happy.

Lorrenz knew the secret to success.

Being content.

He worked hard because he enjoyed it. He accepted his day as it unfolded and accepted wrinkles in his plans, and his skin, as they arrived.

From working hard, he earned a good living. He and his wife, Lissan, were very careful with their business' income and put whatever they could back into the business. This ensured its growth.

They didn't spend their money on any of the things his colleagues desired. They had humble needs.

They owned a comfortable, unremarkable home on the city's outskirts, far from the flashy neighborhoods. It was built within a walled compound next to their warehouses, stables for the draft beasts, and their children's homes. They had options on several empty lots to their left and right, so they had room to grow.

They'd been blessed with many children, sixteen in total. Nine male children joined the family business and eventually took wives of their own. Of their seven daughters, six left to join other families in marriage, as their society's rules demanded, while one remained. This one's cast was forbidden from marrying or having children of her own, so she worked within the family business.

Borrelian caste and marriage rules were the only things that strained Lorrenz's contentment. He believed his daughters deserved to make their own choice to stay with the family, but none of them wished to cause trouble for their parents, which rocking these particular rules definitely would.

So, he'd done what he could and arranged agreeable mates in good families for them.

This left him with his daughter, Noola. While she was a Chaos caste, he ensured she had access to teachers and books, and gained apprenticing experience during her childhood. She'd become a brilliant vet, and he was delighted she was with them, but he feared she was lonely.

All because of the stupid Borrelian caste system.

It had plagued Lorrenz throughout his life. He'd been born as a caste level two, Accented, with dark grey skin which faded to black around his eyes and on his hands and feet. His parents were both caste three, Shaded, with matching dark grey on their fronts fading to black on their backs. He was their only child, as they struggled to make a living on Dozany, the second planet of the third planetary system. His parents were hopeful that he'd have a bright future ahead of him, perhaps even emigrating to Aeolis in the home system. They'd taken him for aptitude testing and were told his analytical, organizational, communication, and leadership skills were very high. Excited, his parents spent much of their savings on special early age tutors hoping he might have a career in politics or catch the eye of one of the larger companies. Reading about the myriad worlds of the Gate Network, Lorrenz studied their cultures and discovered he had an aptitude for languages.

His voracious intellect drew him to the public library, which was the only place he could get computer terminal access to review information on all the distinct races. He became good friends with the head librarian and spent many hours speaking with her about the amazing things he'd read. As she also enjoyed languages from the Network Races and had become fluent in several, he practiced with her.

The elderly female, whose son was in the military, saw Lorrenz's interest and showed him a book her son had smuggled home after one of his secret missions. He was distraught from something he'd seen or done, and after a night of drinking, he tried to destroy the book. She rescued it from their fireplace when his back was turned.

It contained a history of their enemy, a study of their culture and language. It was like no book he'd ever seen before, as it incorporated technology to produce sounds.

It even had a comprehensive section on learning their language and used the unique tech to assist him. He learned how to speak Ush, but he only did so with her and in private.

He excelled in his studies, and with his emphasis on languages, he dreamed of becoming an Ambassador for the Borrelian Administration.

Then came puberty.

Lorrenz could still clearly recall the shock and disappointment on his parents' faces the morning he'd groggily walked into the kitchen for first meal, unaware of the jet-black streaks on his face leading down from his eyes to his throat. He had similar lines on his hands and feet, distinct and straight, leading from the darker skin towards his elbows and knees.

They'd taken him to an assessor that morning, and he was officially classified as Mixed, caste four. His parents' plans were in serious jeopardy. Lorrenz's chances for regaining the lost caste levels were extremely slim.

As a level four child on a second planet, he was forced to hide his new coloration behind a face and body covering gown. This meant his friends could no longer play with him if they wished to avoid beatings from their parents.

His keen intelligence benefited him, as he returned to the public library to take advantage of the resources to continue his studies if they weren't already reserved by higher caste members. While his parents could no longer pay for supplementing his education, Lorrenz knew he should study harder, so when he became an adult, he'd be able to repay his parents for their earlier efforts on his behalf. He turned his attention to commerce in the hopes of one day running a business to earn good money.