This story takes place within a scenario in which Isyander's Gambit escalates into a full blown galactic war. The United Empire, along with its weaker allies, fought to halt the Losts' reentry into the galaxy against the rejuvenating Lumeris and their sphere. The war resulted in the destruction of the nascent Lumeris state, the fall of the Academy, and the rise of the United Empire to galactic hegemony. 20 standard years later, the Empire has seemingly secured its position as the greatest power in the galaxy, with complete domination in military and economic might along with a massive territorial extent. However, not all is right in the galaxy. A recent collapse in the galactic market, coinciding with radical ideologies spreading within both the Empire and its neighboring states has made the political landscape a very dangerous one. Meanwhile, a strain of Cravers long thought to be dead have clawed their way back from yet another collapse in the farthest reaches of space, hungry for new souls to consume. The foundation of the Imperium is ready to be tested once again.

Subject #: 87

Name: Kolstya Velm-Omokar AKA Jenstra Ordam

Rank: Pathfinder

Priority Level: High None

Status: Deceased

Description: Kolstya Velm-Omokar is was a Lumeris female measuring approximately 160 qm in height and 60 qz in weight. She was last seen with two braids hanging down to her waist and her hair pulled back to a knotted bun at the crown of the head. Velm-Omokar's skin appears a faded green, her eyes are a dark brown, and she has distinct orange markings above the eye sockets. 

Velm-Omokar was in association with the Academy from 693 a.u. to 822 a.u. After a ten-year training period, after which she was granted the title of Pathfinder, she began soliciting her services to the Aurigan Federacy beginning in 703 a.u. She would continue this contract, primarily serving the Vaulters as a governor on the Jekir system, until 815 a.u. At this time, Velm-Omokar chose to return to the Lumerian Anocracy with the intent of serving them during the crisis that began in that year. 

She led the restoration of the Lodestone temple on Yisel I in 816 a.u., destroying a Sophon fleet that came to defend the system in the process. Velm-Omokar and the 23rd Takeover Venture would continue to pursue engagements with the Sophonity's fleets throughout the war. Although inexperienced with battle compared to her colleagues, her aggressive tactics and pursuit of enemy fleets deep into Sophon territory gave her a reputation as an unpredictable opponent. These reckless maneuvers culminated in the attempted invasion of Hekim in 818 a.u., which was pushed back by the 1st Patriots’ Navy. This attack marked the final offensive by Velm-Omokar and her steady fall into obscurity as a major tactician during the war.

Kolstya Velm-Omokar's last seen appearance was in 822 a.u., at the Battle of Jenes. Imperial Hero Oleg Lagarin boarded her capital ship at the height of the battle, intending to capture Velm-Omokar. Lagarin would be KIA by her in close combat, but not before he was able to report back to the main fleet the trajectory that Velm-Omokar's escape pod was going to take. It detailed a course pointing straight to Harrow.

However, at the final battle of the war at Harrow, traces of neither Velm-Omokar nor her craft were identified. Probe scanners launched along the path that she took returned no information regarding her whereabouts or possible disappearance. The Imperial Grand Fleet was unable to find her during their search for former Pathfinders post-war, and the Imperial Inquisition Service was likewise unsuccessful.

Thus, Kolstya Velm-Omokar has been presumed dead. While no observations or recordings of her craft were taken at the Battle of Jenes, it is possible that her escape pod's controls or flight path were tampered with by Lagarin prior to his death. It is likely that she became stranded in deep space as a result, where the eventual end of her escape pod's power supply would have left Velm-Omokar without oxygen or adequate heating, even for a Dust-enhanced individual. In addition, food stocks on Academy Seeker-class escape pods are only capable of supporting a single individual for up to 1 month. If the pod had taken an alternate course, sensors on the fleets in the area at the time would have identified it. Due to all these factors, Velm-Omokar has been deemed deceased. Her case file will remain closed until and unless further notice.

Addendum 1, (23/04/840):

The office of the Imperial Inquisition Service received a tip from an informant on Horolium II three days ago concerning an incident that occurred on a mining station on that planet's moon. A group of Lumerian miners on II's moon had their equipment malfunction, trapping one of the workers under debris in the process. Rescue teams would not be able to reach the site's location for up to an hour. The informant, who was tracking the group based on a lede he had been following, observed as one of the miners single-handedly removed debris that appeared to weigh upwards of 600 qz. The gravity constant on this moon did not match the average Lumerian's ability to lift this level of mass. This worker, who fit the description of Velm-Omokar (barring a lack of orange markings),  managed to save her fellow worker without suffering any physical strain. She promptly left the group on her own orbital vehicle after rescue teams arrived to relieve the miners. The ISS has sent Inquisitor Grigori Zagaitsov to investigate.

Addendum 2, (25/04/840):

Zagaitsov arrived on Horolium II and immediately contacted the local censor's office. An irregularity appeared in the record-keeping. One Lumerian worker had appeared on the registrar of titanium miners without any transcript of her being assigned to there from a previous operation or applying for the position herself. Her identification number had been added there a year prior, under the name Jenstra Ordam. Her home address was secured, and Zagaitsov called in a task force to establish surveillance.

Over the course of the following week Zagaitsov and his team monitored the subject's daily routine. The subject lived on a homestead that was far removed from any nearby settlements. Surveying of the area indicated automated defense turret systems hidden underground and within shrubbery. The weapons themselves gave off radiation signatures similar to that of quadrinix energy cells. Deep-resonance scans of the home returned images of pre-War weapons that match standard-issue Academy adamantium rifles. As for the subject herself, Zagaitsov observed from facial expressions and heart rate readings that she appeared to be under mental duress throughout the course of the week. The subject frequently traveled to supply stores near her home despite a distance of over 10 kilometers to the nearest vendor. She was observed purchasing 300 qz of hyperium fuel rods, several units of superspuds, and appeared to have made a deal with a Lumerian black market broker for adamantian munitions.

On the 7th day of observation, the subject arrived at the base camp Venos, a Lumerian miners’ launching point to Horolium’s moon. She entered the One Family pub. A Lumerian agent was sent to follow.

Inside, the subject met and embraced another Lumerian female. The two left the pub and went alone inside one of the workers’ tents. The subject exited an hour later. The other female was identified as Jenstra Velm, Velm-Omokar’s widow. The subject then began walking towards her vehicle with intent to leave Venos. 

Upon her exit from the mining camp, a crowd of workers were walking the opposite way towards the subject’s direction. Inside this crowd was our undercover Lumerian. As the subject pushed her way through, the agent was able to obtain a hair sample for genetic analysis. The sample was handed to TFA Lena Oblowitz, stationed within Venos, who within the hour cross referenced the genetic profile of the subject to Kolstya Velm-Omokar based on Academy records.

An ambush was established around the perimeter of Velm-Omokar’s home. TFA’s Heinz Reibenov, Olga Ismailova, Dmitri Dansk, and Imani Petrov, along with Inquisitor Zagaitsov and two local law enforcement units awaited Velm-Omokar. Her vehicle’s engine was shot down by an armor-piercing round from Dansk’s rifle. Velm-Omokar flew forward as her vehicle crashed behind her. The following is an audio log of the exchange that occurred as the task force surrounded Velm-Omokar’s location around the crash site, with commentary about the event provided by Inquisitor Zaigatsov during his post-mission evaluation:

    Zagaitsov: Keep your rifles trained. Kolstya, I need you to stand up. It’s over. You’re wanted 

    for war crimes against the galaxy and its people. We have automated defense forces

    guarding every escape route from here to Venos. Submit to detainment and this 

    will end easily for you. And your wife.

    Velm-Omokar rose to her feet amid the smoldering ruin of the speeder behind her.

    I had forgotten that Lumeris blood was green. The stuff soaked her face, ran down those 

    untamed hairs. Kind of like those emerald waterfalls Zelevas likes to keep in his palace

    back on Raia. Anyway, she raised her head up to look at me. Even through all that blood,

    I could see the hatred behind those pretty eyes. And the Dust that ran through them. 

    But she didn’t charge. Didn’t scream. She paused a moment. And then… laughed.

    Velm-Omokar: You know, I used to think that the Families were the worst things in the world. 

    Those Meos bastards had me juggling their shit the entire time I was in the Academy. Always 

    making me speak for them whenever the Lumeris wanted some representation in front of

    Isyander. They threatened her too. Always told me that they’d take our home

    away. All our savings, if I didn’t keep it up. 

    Zagaitsov: We have no interest in leveraging your wife against you. Don’t make us. We’re 

    only here for you. If you try anything, I guarantee the next bullet Zelevas wants fired will be

    one aimed for her head.

    She sat up. Leaned her back against the carapace of the speeder. I could hear the long sigh

    push out of her throat. I bet she felt sorry for herself, the bitch. I don’t think she ever felt a 

    single bit of regret over all the good men she killed in the war. Sorry, I’m getting ahead of 

    myself. Kolstya just sat there for awhile, looking up at the sky, knowing it was probably gonna

    be her last chance to do it. 

    Velm-Omokar: You’re right. I shouldn’t do anything. Hey, you see that shooting star up

    there? I thought they were supposed to go the other way?

    I took the bait. Just a quick glance. And she was right, there was some projectile there that 

    looked like it was escaping Horolium’s atmosphere instead of falling into it. She laughed

    a second time.

    Velm-Omokar: Looks like Jenstra finally became a decent pilot, huh?

    She cackled again. I was a good distance away but she may as well have been spitting into

    my face.

    Velm-Omokar: I figured you Imps would focus all your attention on me as soon as I did what

    I did on that moon. I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy getting all the supplies together, or finding a good

    starlane for her to cross and at the right time. But we did it. She did it. 

    Reibenov: What the hell are you talking about? 

    Velm-Omokar: None of those hyperium rods were for me. You just watched my wife 

    disappear, along with two other old Pathfinder buddies of mine. They’ll probably be at Jekir 

    in an hour. I hear the Vaulters love taking in old Pathfinders. They’re suckers for nostalgia, 

    those guys. And don’t worry about calling in a fleet to intercept. I already had it all charted

    out. No troop movements flying into Galagos or Jekir for another five days.

    Petrov: You have no idea what you just did… You’ve heard stories about the camps, 

    right? Don’t worry, we have special ones just for war pri-

    Velm-Omokar: Oh, fuck off and just shoot me already. The only way I’m coming in will be in

    a casket.

    I swear, I turned on the Dust-neutralization agent. It SHOULD have worked. It SHOULD have

    stopped her. And it didn’t. The thing jammed, and we were all about to be at the mercy of 

    Isyander’s finest.

    Reibenov had been agitated the whole time. He was new, after all. I could feel the tension

    in his breath during the whole op. I think he lost a brother at Hekim, too. Either way, it was

    already too late for the poor kid as soon as he raised his rifle. Omokar cleared the distance 

    between them in, what? A second? I’d only ever seen Tikanan run that fast. She knocked 

    the gun out of Heinz’s hands and took him out with a single punch to the throat. I still hear 

    his neck snap whenever I close my eyes. Olga was closest to them, but she was a natural

    shot. Managed to get an antimatter round right into Omokar’s side before the Pathfinder 

    crushed her skull with a blast of Dust. She looked at me next. I don’t remember exactly what happened. Just a 

    lot of bright flashing, really. And the next thing I know, I’m looking down at the Lumerian’s

    body: now fitted with a glowing, smoking green hole in the side of the head created by

    Dmitri’s old quadrinix carbine. And then that was it.

Velm-Omokar’s body was taken back to Raia for study. As per usual policy, the families of Heinz Reibenov and Olga Ismailova were compensated. The nature of the two task force agents’ work was kept hidden from relatives to maintain secrecy of our operations. 

A lightly armored pre-War Lumeris sloop was detected leaving Horolium’s atmosphere around this time. One hour later, it entered Vaulter space. The pilot(s) of the ship was/were never identified.

Two days later, Subject 87’s file was closed for the second and final time.

Additional notes for this file have been provided by the Grand Inquisitor:

This note is directed to the good men and women working at R & D. The good men and women that managed to get a good man and woman killed when the Dust-neutralizer that they were supposed to make work, failed. And it didn’t just jam. It backfired. Shut down all the Dust inside of the entire task force. Every single particle. It explains why Zagaitsov, one of our most-clear headed commanders, couldn’t keep his cool long enough to fire his weapon. It explains why every TFA practically sat around while two of them were slaughtered. We invested funding into the training of Ismailova and Reibenov. Lots of funding. Dust-enhancements don’t come easy, and since none of you have managed to discover how we can churn out Academy-strength beings yet, we have no soldiers that can be up to par with Pathfinder ability while also remaining discreet. And we surely can’t use Imperial Heroes without raising the suspicions of every underground Pathfinder or Moto’s party. Why am I reminding you of this well-known fact? Because every single one of you fucking imbeciles can’t put your heads together hard enough to work out a single fucking Dust-neutralization agent. We are fighting demi-gods. Demi-gods that have been filled to the brim with pure, pre-Endless Dust. The sooner you all realize just what kind of threat these things represent to the continued stability of the Empire, the better. And trust me, I will speak to the Emperor. And he will demote one of your department heads. Perhaps down to the jadonyx quarries or a re-education camp. 

Make. It. Work.