Fiction:Saviki Metafleet

"Storm, Winter, Blood, Dusk, Void. We alone remain. Home is lost, but the Architect our God is kind, sustains us against the long, cold dark. We must not fall to the petty quarreling of our ancestors, no, we must have unity. An infinity of resources awaits us out among the stars; if we survive long enough, it will be ours."

- Akins, former Storm Chrill

A loosely united squabble of mercenaries, pirates, scientists, and strategists, the Saviki Metafleet wanders the space between galaxies, plundering what resources they need from whatever they come across and leaving for the next possible target. The five Combines—Storm, Winter, Blood, Dusk, and Void—maintain a relatively peaceful union in service to their Chrills and the mysterious Architect, with each content to mind its own business and not provoke the vengeance of the rest.

History
Thousands of years ago, the Saviki rose from their homeworld of Elekzil to build an advanced spacefaring civilization. It was during these Shining Days that the Saviki augmented their bodies to process Mana, a liquid substance produced by the Architect and distributed by the mechanical Regulators that to this day keeps the four-armed pirates alive. The Tribes became less authoritarian and more culture-focused Combines, universally led by a fair-ruling King or Queen elected by the Chrills. However, corruption, infighting, and an outside threat remembered only as the Blizzard extinguished the Shining Days and forced the Saviki to abandon their world. Much of their advancements were lost, their historically noble Combines warred for the Architect's favor and for resources, and billions of Saviki were cast out into the vacuum during purges. Thus began the Lightless Days.

Founding
However, after the extermination of several of the Combines years after the Blizzard in the, the remaining Chrills decided to set aside their quarrels to ensure their survival. Akins, Chrill of Storm, proposed a loose union in which each Combines would remain functionally independent, but in attacking any of the others would risk vengeance of all of them, and in the event of an outside threat they would stand as one, unlike their ancestors during the Blizzard. The rest agreed.

Pheras Conflicts

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The Saviki, in their wandering and raiding, have often come into conflict with the Spood Interstellar Federation, with first contact occurring on the planet Pheras. The Saviki's distinct lack of planets has made them a surprisingly difficult foe for the Federation, but the latter's vast resources have kept the pirates from total victory over any whole planet. Many of the currently well-known Saviki have become renowned champions of their people in these sporadic wars, while a select number of others have left the Combines for life in the more civilized Federation.

Government and Politics
With the five Combines having next to no bureaucracy and being ruled by iron-fisted Chrills, there is very little to say in the matter of Saviki politics. Every Saviki is either a fighter, an engineer, a member of a ship's crew, or a leader of some kind. Of significant note, though, is the tendency of Saviki to contest with each other in various ways for a higher rank in a crew or fleet or on a ship. That is, for all situations in which "various ways" means orchestrating your opponent's death, imprisonment, or defamation. Trickery and deception are commonplace when vying for a higher position, though it has often been the case that the last two competitors for a particular rank will agree to a semi-honorable duel to the death, especially if the attempts of both to eliminate the other beforehand have failed.

While each Combine is mostly content to take care of its own affairs and ignore the others, they are occasionally forced to interact in some way due to the Chrills' betting and favor-trading, as was the case when the Storm Combine came to Blood's aid in the Great Siege of Pheras. Thankfully, no violence has occurred between two or more Combines as a whole since the fall of Cloud Combine at the end of the Fracture War, but recent scuffles between low-ranking raiders and the Captains of smaller craft have rather severe implications, and with Winter's throne nearly ready for a new Chrill, the future of this loose unity has come into question for the first time.

Society & Culture
The Metafleet is made up of five Combines: Storm, led by Vekin, Winter, led by the aging Dedrin, Blood, with Orsik at the helm, Dusk, led by the manipulative Pravis, and Void, under the guidance of Rikken. All five owe allegiance to the Architect, their mysterious god that resides somewhere in the heart of the vast flotilla.

This quasi-religious loyalty is not founded out of awe, but out of dependence. The Mana that has become vital to every individual Saviki's survival is distributed by the Architect-controlled Regulators, with no alternative source. Thus, to provide their god with the matter and energy to be converted into Mana, they raid and pillage entire systems, taking any compatible mass and leaving when the victim worlds are stripped of anything useful.

No biological species other than the Saviki are known to exist in the Metafleet. The Regulators and various other machines are mostly incapable of higher thought, and are not counted as specific members of the society.

Hierarchy
The Saviki follow a universal hierarchy most prevalent at the bottom of the spectrum. An individual's place on this scale can be roughly inferred by height, with taller Saviki having access to larger rations of Mana due to their social status.

Quotes
"Raiders and pirates all! If not conversion at our hands, then destruction at the hands of the policing Powers awaits you for your damnation and fall!"

- The Supreme Warmaster of the