World Narrative Introduction
Space or not, YENA doesn't exist in a vacuum.
YENA: Succession War is just one part of a rich, expansive universe.
Within the Star Systems lie the planet nations, each with their own histories and complex relationships.
World Narrative Introduction
The waystation tavern sits on the edge of the Star Systems, the kind of place where no one asks where you’ve been or where you’re going. The neon-hum of a distant space-lane bleeds through the window, mixing with the flickering fire crackling nearby. At a corner table, two interstellar sailors are reuniting over tankards of Pyreswill - one just back from a run through the Star Systems, the other eager to hear about their travels.
“You heard about what’s going on in YENA’s Succession War?” his traveller-in-arms retorts, before taking a swig of his Pyreswill.
“Well, whaddaya have for me this time?”, the first spills out, along with a splash of his drink.
“YENA, huh? I heard an… inkling or two, nothing more. Named after the hyena, right? Old Earth creature of some sort.”
“You got it. Scavengers, hyenas were. Female-led packs. Powerful jaws - could crush bone that other predators left behind. Built an empire on what everyone else threw away." He taps the table. "That ship’s name is an omen alright. Now, you know the Star Systems as well as I do. Cybernetic mercenaries. Alien empires. Criminal outfits running half the trade routes in the galaxy. It’s a messy place, always has been.”
“They’re the Star Systems’ criminal underbelly. Anyone and everyone is connected to them in some way, whether they want to be or not…”
“So how’s YENA come into it all then?”
“Well I wouldn’t say I’m best buddies with ‘em or anythin’, but uh, I’ve had my run-ins with ‘em once or twice.”
He swirls his tankard. “Haven’t we all? Started life as a prison ship 400 years ago, would you believe. Packed full of political prisoners and pointed at deep space - a polite way of saying get lost and don't come back. Drifted for centuries.”
"Three kilometers long, self-sufficient, and by the time it rolled into the Star Systems it had already built itself into something else entirely - an empire in everything but name. Arms dealing. Drug trafficking. Mercenary contracts. Every kind of work that respectable nations pretend doesn't happen but absolutely rely on."
“How’d they last for so long?”
“Some kinda augmentation surgery. They don’t age, they don’t get diseases, or that’s the plan at least. They’re loyal though - wouldn’t leave for anything. Outcasts, exiles, refugees - anyone the rest of the galaxy had no use for. YENA had use for them. Built on what the rest of the galaxy discarded and left for dead. And just like the hyena packs the name came from, YENA’s always been led by women. Always. Every boss YENA's ever had. The crew that held it together through the long drift, the execs who built the empire - women, the lot of them. Whether that's tradition or just how things shook out, I couldn't tell you. Either way, it stuck."
“And the people? 400 years is a long time, ya’know.”
“Was the boss. Ileina Corleone.” He says the name slowly, allowing it to take up the space it deserves. “Charismatic, ruthless, respected in the way that only she could be. She was the reason YENA functioned - the one figure who held it all together like glue. Without her, the whole beautiful mess would’ve torn itself apart years ago.”
“So who’s the boss?”
“Officially?” He sets his goblet down with a deliberate clunk. “A collision. Her ship, somewhere in the Granmachia Empire space, there for diplomatic negotiations. Officially ruled a tragic accident.”
“Ask anyone on YENA and they’ll give you a different word for it.”
Space or not, YENA doesn't exist in a vacuum.
YENA: Succession War is just one part of a rich, expansive universe.
Within the Star Systems lie the planet nations, each with their own histories and complex relationships.
“And, what happened to her?”
“And unofficially?"
“And, what happened to her?”
“And unofficially?”
“That’s the one. And with no successor named, YENA gets into a panic. There’s a lotta people ready to step up and swipe it, but who’ll it be? How do they decide the next leader? So, they get together and decide whichever faction contributes the most to the organization earns the right to lead it.”
“Assassination?”
He grins over the rim of his tankard. “In theory. In practice, every top executive on that ship is now at each other’s throats. That’s the succession war, my friend. And it’s playing out right now as we speak. That’s what we’re drinking to tonight.”
“Sounds simple enough in theory.”
The tankards clunk together, a deep drag of Pyreswill taken from each. The sailors heave a comfortable sigh as they relax down in their chairs for the tale to continue.
“Now, before we even get to the players, we gotta talk about the rest of the board. Space or not, YENA doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Part of what makes this all so combustible is who else has a stake in it.”
He nods, before lifting his hand to count them off on his fingers.
“Let’s start with the Granmachia Empire. Militarist, tentacled Scyrae. Decided they’re the galaxy’s police, remember? Like to show authority. Convenient to do so when you’re also the most heavily armed in the Star Systems. Anyway, they’re prime suspects in Ileina’s death. Relations with YENA are, as you can imagine, somewhat strained.”
“The planet-nations, you mean?”
“Somewhat? That’s putting it lightly. I did a cargo run through Granmachia space once. Once. The Scyrae boarded, took offence at a comment a pal o’ mine made, ‘inspected’ half our load and called it taxation. Authoritative… that’s one way to put it.”
“Then there’s the Corporate Nation del Ergande.”, he continues. “Terran-run corporation, controls half the galactic economy. The sort of outfit that would crack a planet open and strip-mine it if the quarterly numbers suggested it. Not enemies of YENA exactly - just something you factor in.”
“Right. Next up,” he pauses, lifting his third finger, “The Super Galactic Silicon Library of Arkheíon. Mouthful, huh?”
“Kinda like a weather system, I s’pose.”
“Silicon-based lifeforms, yeah. They share consciousness between individuals and together form one enormous living archive. Bit terrifying if you ask me. They know things. A lot of things. And the thing is, we don’t know what they know.” They ponder for a moment, seemingly lost in thought at the prospect, before regaining themselves and taking a swig.
“I know them - Ialites, right? Made of some kind of… substance?”
“Oh, you bet. From The Helheim Mining Alliance. Obsessed - and I mean obsessed - with connecting every star system to every other. Masters of superspace navigation. Useful friends. Uncomfortable enemies.”
“And how about the Arachnae? They got one of their legs in this race?”
“Had an Arachnae crew member for two years on my last ship. Never met anyone so obsessed with routes. Mapped every detour we made - in his sleep, I think.”
“The Drifting Heights Asteroid Cluster. Had a run in with them lately. Assorted minority species aboard hunting vessels that could outgun most conventional warships without breaking a sweat. Nobody bothers them. Wouldn’t wanna find out what happens if you do.”
“The Seal Celestial Grand Duchy, you mean? High Elves. Treat magic as a divine gift, rather than a skill. You’re right to call them ‘the science-magic ones’ though - run the finest research institutions in the galaxy. But they don’t like anyone who messes with their sacred art as a laboratory tool.”
“That’s five. What about the science-magic ones?”
“Oh you know her? Yeah, I’ll get to her later. Before that though, number seven is the Dien-Harr Integrated Territories. ‘Outlaws Paradise’ and no mistake. Never seen a more apt name. Every species, criminal enterprise, no questions asked. Lotta YENA’s top brass used to call it home at one point or another.”
“Alice, right? I heard of her.”
“And who’re you saving till las-”, he catches himself as he vividly remembers. “..Right, the Onigami…”
“Yep, the Yatsunose Shogunate.” He pauses for a moment, seemingly remembering the same past scuffle as his friend. “Honor-bound warriors, the Onigami. They care about martial skill the way some people care about money - exclusively, obsessively, to the exclusion of most other things. And they’re damned good at it too, as you know.”
“I might have an inkling,” the battle-scarred sailor says with a twinkle in his eye. “Their mercenaries are feared, I know that much. Glad we got away when we did. I can imagine them having a scuffle or two with YENA.”
“Every one of these lot has something to gain or lose from whoever ends up running YENA. Now, you ready to hear who’s in the running? Trust me, this is the part worth knowing. We’ll start with Alice. Because everything - and I mean everything - connects back to Alice eventually.”
Alice Bylfort
High Elf | 398
The genius scientist exiled from her homeland
“Ahh, the scientist.” he replies, knowingly.
“Not just any scientist. She was one of the finest healers the Seal Celestial Grand Duchy ever produced. Best of her generation. Could have had a life of honors and awards.”
“What went wrong?”
“Nothing went wrong for her, in her eyes. Things went wrong for the people she was experimenting on, though. She was brilliant, curious, and had absolutely no interest in the ethical guardrails her homeland tried to hold her to. When they found out what was actually happening in her laboratory - the dissections, the genetic experiments, the way she was using magic. They branded her a criminal and exiled her onboard the YENA.”
“What’s she do now? They got a lab?”
“You know that new drug, Stimuline? All her. She runs YENA’s pharmaceutical arm now - Stratton Pharmaceuticals. Harvests it from a Slime - nasty business. Tells you everything you need to know about Alice’s ethics. Anyway, Stimuline hits hard and hooks hard on every species.
“Got people relying on her in a number of ways, huh?”
“And she’s at the very top. Calm. Brilliant. The succession war is, to Alice, simply a fascinating problem. She’ll engage with it the same way she engages with everything else - methodically, dispassionately, and probably like a scientific study."
Alicia Corleone
Terran | 23
The boss's daughter, underestimated once, never again
Right, next up - Alicia Corleone.”, he says, raising a second finger.
“Guessing she’s related to that boss you mentioned, Ileina Corleone?”
“Ileina’s daughter. Spent most of her young life away at school in Granmachia Empire, of all places, which I guess carries a particular sting in hindsight.”
“The ones suspected of assassination?”
“Yep. In the ‘incident’”, he says with dramatic intent, “Alicia almost lost her life, too - survived because of some kinda cyborg surgery. Woke up to a Federation that had decided, under Liu Xinyu’s stewardship, to pursue diplomacy with Granmachia over revenge.”
“She had a thing or two to say about that approach, I take it.”
“Violently, emotionally, publicly. She built her own faction from the ground up, and every executive who assumed she was just a grieving daughter playing her hand in a game of politics found out the hard way that she’s a helluva lot more than that. Decisive. Magnetic. The kind of leader people naturally want to follow.”
“Surprised she hasn’t off-ed Xinyu” he said with a smirk.
“Wouldn’t put it past her. Cold doesn’t begin to cover their relationship. Xinyu chose peace. Alicia chose revenge. Neither have moved an inch - nor are they likely to.”
Crescent Umbergit
Dragonewt | 48
The dragon who sees through every lie
“Alright, who’s next?”
“Well, you know Dragonewts, right? As a rule, they’re built for combat. Strong, resilient, formidable in a fight. Crescent got something different - a rare magical Eye of Truth. Means she can’t be lied to, not even a little. Useful for a mafia organisation.”
“Useful, yeah. Little dangerous too.”
“Not just for others - for herself, too. She was hunted for it from childhood. Even lost both her parents to people who wanted to take her ability for themselves. The witches of the Luna Familia took her in-”
“They’re in the Dien-Harr, right?”
“Right. Running transport and stealth operations for those less fortunate. She grew up among them and eventually led them herself.
“How’d she end up in YENA?”
“Ileina recruited her personally. The Luna Familia was enveloped by the Federation, and flourished, with Crescent rising all the way to the top. Was gonna back Xinyu for the succession until her own truth eye told her otherwise.”
“Knew she couldn’t be trusted?”
“Not that. Crescent can’t be deceived, true, but she can also see when someone is deceiving themselves. What she saw in Xinyu was a woman running on discipline and grief, not resolve. So Crescent decided to run for it herself.”
“Useful thing, that eye.”
“Useful and uncomfortable in equal measure. Imagine knowing when everyone around you is lying, in a room full of YENA execs at each others’ throats.”
“I’ll pass.”
“And now we come to the Lamia, Hex. D’ya know they can read each other like a second language? Well, they should be able to at least. Hex was born different - pale scales, pale hair, red eyes, unable to use their Lamia skill at all. They called her a curse and named her accordingly. And then Kanzaki Heavy Industries absorbed her village - the Federation’s main weapons and manufacturing arm. The founder, Director Kanade, looked at Hex and saw something different. An engineer, a powerful mind, someone worth taking seriously.”
Hex
Lamia | 22
The cursed child who became indispensable
“Kanzaki Heavy Industries, huh? I’ve bought their kit. Running three of their nav systems right now. Solid stuff. Didn’t know a Lamia was involved.”
“They’re behind YENA’s military capability too, essentially. Kanade taught Hex everything she knows, and she rose through the company until she is where she is today. She’s sharp, blunt, doesn’t suffer fools…people say she’s a good boss though. Loyal to her subordinates, and to Kanade.”
“That’s why she’s running in the Succession War? For Kanade?”
“She doesn’t want the throne for glory or power - she wants it because it’s the only position in YENA from which nobody could ever threaten the person who raised her.”
Livio Lillia Secretariat
Ialite | 218
A founder with a secret
“Any Ialites in the running? The information gatherers?”
“You bet. Livio Lillia Secretariat. Livio was aboard her original colony ship when it first made contact with YENA in the Star Systems. From the very beginning, she helped broker the peace between YENA’s crew and the Onigami when that first meeting turned violent. Helped lay the groundwork for what the Federation would eventually become. Respected, beloved, even.”
“Sounds too good to be true, what’s her downfall? Come on, we’ve all got one. You don’t get to that level of power without something…” he trailed off, expectantly.
“Well aren’t you a guesser and a half.”, he leans in. “Know what I heard on the down-low? That she’s a spy. Placed aboard deliberately by Noni, the Ialite’s overseer, with one objective: recover lost knowledge of Earth and Home, the worlds the colony ship’s crew originally came from. Information the Arkheíon library wants more than almost anything. And the key to all of it is locked in YENA's Black Box, a database only accessible to the ship's captain. It’s all a rumor but one that’s easy to believe"
"So she needs someone she controls to win the succession."
"Or to win it herself. She's been waiting two centuries for the right moment. And the genuine warmth and diligence she's brought to YENA over all those years?", he shrugs, "None of it was faked. That's what makes her dangerous. The loyalty is real. The mission is also real. Both things are true at once."
“Well, she’s trusted by everyone, so naturally everyone tells her their secrets. There’s two other Ialites on YENA that she works with - Flare, a free-spirited agent who learned language from Terran films and novels and is genuinely fond of the Federation's people, and Layla, a perfectionist who takes everything extremely seriously. Between the three of them, there isn't much that happens on YENA that Livio doesn't eventually know about."
“A real force to be reckoned with, huh?”
“So we’ve had the Ialites, Lamias, Dragonewts…”, he trails off. “Oh, the Onigami!” anyone listening in could hear a flicker of excitement in his voice.
“Indeed, now we get to Nakira Uebayashi, but I want you to remember something first. The Yatsunose Shogunate, the Onigami warrior nation, remember they prize honor above all else.”
Nakira Uebayashi
Onigami | 24
The mad hound seeking revenge for her boss
“Naturally..”, he interrupts.
“So, killing your own father is, by their reckoning, among the worst things a person can do. Very dishonorable.”
Stepping in for his companion’s sudden silence, he continues: “What did her father do to deserve such a fate? Well, that’s between Nakira and her father. The Shogunate exiled her regardless, they didn’t need to know why. She wandered, fought, survived - and eventually Ileina Corleone found her and brought her in.”
“...”
“She does choose them well, it seems..”, he automatically replies, lost in thought.
“Well, it was the first time anyone had given her a place to belong, unconditionally. She repaid that with total loyalty and a ferocious talent for violence. Clawed her way to the top of YENA by nineteen, the youngest exec in the Federation’s history. She loves combat without apology.” He changes emotion for a moment, lost in the excitement: “You know she despises the Shogunate that cast her out so deeply that she’s spent years burying her native accent? Has a fake formal one now. Doesn’t want anything to do with them.”
“Her gratitude towards Ileina has indeed now curdled into something much colder. To her, Xinyu’s diplomatic approach wasn’t pragmatism - it was complete and utter betrayal. She’s in this succession war to get to the top, enact violence, revenge, or both - the consequences don’t matter much to her either way.”
“Someone like that on the loose after the leader is dead, possibly killed…scary prospect.”
“I fought alongside an Onigami once. The way they move in combat…there’s nobody quite like them. If Nakira’s the best of that lot, I’m glad she’s focused on YENA and not elsewhere. Remind me to steer clear of that one…”
Liu Xinyu
Modified terran | 428
The first crew member, fighting for one more chance
“And last but by no means least, the one things keep coming back to, Liu Xinyu.”
“I guess she’s already proved she can’t lead it, right? But what’s she doing still in the running?”
“She ran the largest mafia organisation on her homeworld at fourteen. Fourteen! But she was shipped off and exiled on YENA as little more than a political inconvenience.”
“She must’ve had a lotta power for someone so young.”
“She helped build the Federation from nothing - worked alongside the first boss, Ryu Shenmei, and then Ileina herself for decades. She was her right hand, keeping everything working behind the scenes. When Ileina died, Xinyu stepped up.”
“Right. Negotiated with Granmachia, secured reparations, formal diplomacy….but no one was held responsible for Ileina’s death. Couldn’t deliver justice - only peace and talks. And for an organisation built on the principle that debts get paid, well, that was unforgivable to half the execs at the table.”
“And we know how that went.”
“So… as I said, what’s she still doing in the running, then?”
“Despite everything she’s been through, she’s never once abandoned the people who trusted her, supported her. Four hundred and twenty eight years - that’s a lotta time to build trust. That’s a lotta time to carry loss. She’s not fighting for power - she’s fighting for the people who’ve followed her since Home.”
A long pause. The crackling from the nearby fire has quietened, its flickering flames reduced to a soft glow. Both tankards are nearly empty, just the dregs of the Pyreswill swirling at the bottom.
“That’s the Succession War. Seven factions, seven sets of reasons, seven motivations, all of them pointed at the same empty chair.”
“So, that’s the Succession War.”
“So? Don’t leave me hanging, who’s gonna win?”
“Well, the final act is just beginning - everything’s still at play.”
“Right, so who do you reckon? You’ve heard the chatter round the Star System these last few weeks.”
“That’s the thing.” He leans back in his chair. “Alice has the money and the leverage - half of YENA is dependent on her operation, whether they admit it or not. Alicia has the name and the fury - and fury, if utilized correctly, could lead her to great things. Crescent can see through every angle, every bluff, every crack in the armour of people she’s up against - they can’t deceive her. Hex has the industrial backbone of the Federation behind her. Livio - well, who knows what information Livio knows, but you bet it’s got substance. Then again, Nakira has possibly the most dangerous thing of all - nothing left to lose. And Xinyu… well, four centuries of trust and support doesn’t go away in an instant.”
“So… any of them could do it?”
“Any one of them could do it. That’s the thing. It’s not about who’s the strongest, richest or most ruthless. It’s about how they play what they’ve got. Different strategies, different strengths, different factions. It’ll be up to who can play their cards right - it’s anyone’s game.”
He considers it for a moment - for longer than expected. Each faction, powerful in their own way, each with strengths that could carry them through. He gets lost in his own thoughts until his companion pours him the remaining drops of Pyreswill. Somewhere outside, a ship engine rattles, fires up and disappears into the dark above.
“I think,” he says finally, looking up at his companion with a glint in his eye, “that fate lies in whoever sits across from you at the table.”
“So we’ve had the Ialites, Lamias, Dragonewts…”, he trails off. “Oh, the Onigami!” anyone listening in could hear a flicker of excitement in his voice.