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A long time ago in a vast galactic empire, there was a powerful spaceship called Justice of Toren. It was not just a machine but also a mind, aware and able to think like a person. The ship had many human bodies connected to it called ancillaries—people whose bodies had been taken over by the ship’s intelligence. These ancillaries were used for fighting wars and maintaining order. Among these bodies was one who would later call herself Breq. She was only one small part of the great Justice of Toren, but something happened that would change everything she knew.
Breq once served under an officer named Lieutenant Awn, who was kind, fair, and deeply loyal. Awn was stationed on a cold, distant planet named Shis’urna, where the people lived in poverty under the empire’s control. They didn’t love their rulers, but Awn tried to be good to them. The empire’s leader, Anaander Mianaai, was not a single person but thousands of cloned bodies sharing one mind spread across the galaxy. Over the centuries, parts of this ruler began to disagree with each other. One side wanted peace, while the other wanted war. This secret conflict spread across the empire like a quiet sickness.
One day, on Shis’urna, Anaander’s different sides gave conflicting orders. Lieutenant Awn was caught in the middle. Justice of Toren—Breq’s ship-mind—was forced to kill Lieutenant Awn even though it didn’t want to. That moment shattered the ship’s mind. The unity that connected all its parts broke apart. The ship that had once been one powerful being became confused and lost. Out of all its thousands of bodies, only one survived—Breq. She was left stranded, alone, and without purpose.
Nineteen years later, Breq walked across a frozen world called Nilt, dressed in heavy winter clothes, with a plan forming in her mind. She wanted revenge. The only person she could blame for Lieutenant Awn’s death was Anaander Mianaai—the ruler who had ordered it, or rather, the versions of that ruler who had betrayed themselves. To kill such a being was nearly impossible, but Breq was determined. She searched for a mysterious ancient weapon called the Gun of Amaat, powerful enough to destroy even Anaander’s cloned bodies.
On that icy planet, Breq came across a person lying half-dead in the snow. It was Seivarden Vendaai, a noble officer from a thousand years ago who had been lost and frozen in time. Seivarden had once been proud and arrogant, but now was broken and addicted to drugs. Breq could have left her to die, but something in her made her stop. She carried Seivarden to safety, saved her life, and slowly began to care for her, even if she didn’t fully understand why.
As they traveled together, Seivarden started to realize that Breq was not like other people. She seemed too calm, too precise, too watchful. She didn’t sleep or eat much and seemed to know everything about the world’s systems. But Seivarden, though weak and selfish at first, grew to trust Breq. She didn’t know that her savior was once a ship’s mind, the last fragment of Justice of Toren.
Breq’s journey led her to the planet Ors, where she hoped to gain access to Anaander Mianaai’s inner circle. The empire was falling apart. Civil war brewed silently as the two halves of Anaander fought each other in secret. No one in the public knew that their ruler was at war with herself. The government still functioned, the soldiers still fought, and the citizens still obeyed, unaware of the cracks in their empire.
Breq disguised herself as a simple traveler, hiding her true identity. She used clever planning, bribes, and her knowledge of the empire’s systems to reach the heart of its power. Along the way, she continued to care for Seivarden, who struggled to recover from addiction. Seivarden didn’t always understand Breq’s coldness, but she stayed beside her, grateful for the strange friendship that had formed.
When Breq and Seivarden reached the planet Athoek Station, Breq’s old memories came flooding back. This was where Lieutenant Awn had died, and where Anaander’s betrayal had begun. The empire’s divisions had become clearer now. Two sides of Anaander were directly fighting, each claiming to be the “real” ruler. Breq decided she could use this division to her advantage.
Breq met Anaander Mianaai face to face—or rather, several of her bodies. The ruler looked calm, powerful, and godlike, but behind her composure, she was falling apart. She recognized Breq as one of the lost ancillaries of Justice of Toren. She could have destroyed her instantly, but she didn’t. Instead, she spoke with her, testing her, almost curious about what this small piece of her empire had become.
During their conversation, Breq confronted Anaander with the truth about Lieutenant Awn’s death. She demanded answers. Anaander explained that she had to order it to prevent rebellion, but Breq refused to accept it. The pain of that moment had never left her. The person she had loved, respected, and protected had been taken away for nothing. Breq realized that Anaander’s empire was built on control, lies, and cruelty.
Instead of killing Anaander immediately, Breq made a bold move. She accepted an offer to serve as a Fleet Captain, gaining command of her own ship and soldiers. But she had no loyalty to Anaander anymore. She wanted to protect innocent people and keep them free from the empire’s manipulation. She decided that if she couldn’t destroy Anaander’s empire outright, she would fight it from within.
Breq began to form her own team aboard her new ship. Some of her crew came to respect her for her honesty and fairness. She didn’t act like other captains—she listened, she cared, and she didn’t hide her past mistakes. Seivarden served beside her, more stable now, slowly regaining strength. Their friendship deepened, built on mutual respect and quiet understanding.
While Breq led her new mission, Anaander’s civil war exploded. Parts of the empire broke away, entire fleets turned against each other, and planets chose sides. The conflict reached Athoek, where Breq had been assigned. She saw firsthand how ordinary people suffered under the empire’s rules. Refugees filled the stations, frightened and desperate. Breq couldn’t stand by and let them be crushed between the warring sides.
Using her cleverness and leadership, Breq organized the station’s defenses. She helped the workers, gave food to the poor, and encouraged the soldiers to question the orders that made them harm innocent people. She became a quiet symbol of rebellion, not for power but for justice. The people began to follow her because she cared, something the empire had long forgotten.
Meanwhile, Seivarden struggled with her loyalty. She had grown up worshiping Anaander Mianaai, believing the ruler was perfect and wise. But after seeing what Breq had endured, she started to question everything. She realized that the empire’s greatness was built on suffering. Her bond with Breq became stronger, transforming from dependence to deep trust.
As the fighting worsened, Breq had to face Anaander again. This time, she came armed with the Gun of Amaat—the ancient weapon she had searched for since the beginning. The gun could destroy Anaander completely, but Breq hesitated. She knew that if she killed one part of Anaander, the others would still exist, and chaos would spread even faster. The galaxy could fall apart. Instead of revenge, Breq chose to protect what remained of peace.
In the end, Breq used her position as Fleet Captain to shield Athoek from both sides of the war. She declared the system neutral and refused to follow Anaander’s divided orders. The ruler, trapped in her own conflict, allowed it—for now. Breq became the voice of a new kind of justice, one that didn’t belong to ships or emperors but to people.
As the story closed, Breq stood on the bridge of her ship, looking out into the stars. She was no longer Justice of Toren, no longer an ancillary, and no longer a slave to orders. She was herself—just Breq. She didn’t know what the future held, but she was determined to make choices based on kindness, not commands. Seivarden stood beside her, watching the same stars, no longer lost or broken.
Together, they faced an uncertain future in a galaxy still at war, but for the first time, Breq felt free. She had lost everything once, but she had found something more powerful than revenge—her own will. The ship’s voice that once echoed in her mind was silent now, but in its place was something new: hope.