Worldbuilding Prompt #nnnn - The Rim Awaken - Part 8: Forced Compliance
Published on HivePostify by @alonicus · Fri Aug 14 2026
This post was inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding Community - [Worldbuilding Prompt #1109 - Compliance](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@worldbuilder/worldbuilding-prompt-1109-compliance)
Enjoy !
This post was inspired by a writing prompt in the Worldbuilding Community -
It is also part 5 of a series which is developing into a full-length story. The working title I'm going with for now is "The Rim Awaken". Previous posts are [PART 1](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1127-salvage-or-something), [PART 2](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1106-the-rim-awaken-part-2-life-support), [PART 3](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1122-the-rim-awaken-part-3-not-imperial-at-all), [PART 4](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1104-the-rim-awaken-part-4-percussive-maintenance), [PART 5](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1133-the-rim-awaken-part-5-who-commands), [PART 6](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1128-the-rim-awaken-part-6-multiple-redundancy), [PART 7](https://peakd.com/hive-191038/@alonicus/worldbuilding-prompt-1095-the-rim-awaken-part-7-downtime).
Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
Today was the day. Zrami's chest felt tight at the prospect of it. The big surprise a few days ago led directly to this.
They had discovered that the power generators all across the defunct city had a self-restart mechanism, a lost technology that meant when they restarted the second long-disused generator, having two working caused them to restart others. It had been a cascade of re-starts all across Mandrey-Home. It was as if the long-dead city-ship was shaking off eons of dormancy and coming back to life.
With all this power, Zrami and Engineer Glarbe had worked long into the night doing the calculations, and concluded that they had the resources to get the artificial gravity working again. As Rim, they were a spacefaring race and didn't need the gravity, but it would make it far easier to get the hydroponics and water systems working again.
So now Zrami and Glarbe were in the control room, watching the indicators on all the various panels. Well the ones that had come back into service, anyway. About a tenth of the total, but it was still an impressive achievement considering the circumstances. A city-ship that had been drifting dead in space for thirty millennia, a small salvage crew whose numbers had been halved when the scavengers raised them, and just a few weeks' work. Very impressive. And so much more still to do.
Making a click to activate his suit-communicator, Zrami called to technicians Jevvie and Farbat down in the gravity generator chamber they'd found.
"Hey guys, how is it going down there ? If you're happy the contacts are clean, we're ready for you to throw the switch."
There was no reply.
"Jevvie, Farbat, are you there ? Is everything okay ?"
Static.
"Glarbe, have you got a drone nearby that can go check on them ? I can't seem to raise them."
The old engineer nodded, and waved a hand over one of his panels. "Should be there in ten."
The minutes ticked by while Zrami tried repeatedly to raise the two technicians. He was starting to get worried. That feeling increased further when the drone entered the room and they could see through it's camera that the place was empty, untouched. The switch had clearly not been stripped down and cleaned, and the omnipresent dust showed no signs it had been disturbed by living beings.
Cursing under his breath, Zrami scratched his head in confusion. "Are their trackers showing anything, Glarbe ? It looks like they didn't even make it into the chamber."
As Glare started to shake his head, a voice came through on the communicator. Archivist Naldre, the third of the quorum they'd picked to run the expedition after Captain Varid's death.
"Hi, Zrami, Glarbe. Could you... can you come down to the docking bay ? We've got a bit of a situation."
Her voice sounded, tense, uncertain and confused. Something was wrong, but she hadn't told them what it was. Strapping on unfamiliar recoilless minirail pistols, Glarbe and Zrami closed down their control panels and headed for the docking bay.
It wasn't far, and when they got there, as always the first impression was simply one of scale. It was easy to forget when you were in a control room just how big this place was. The scavengers battlecruiser, captured and pressed into service renamed the Deckmouse 2 was huge, over two kilometres long. But the docking bay could have easily held ten ships just like it.
At the foot of the battlecruiser's docking bridge, Zrami and Glarbe could make out a huddle of figures, a mix of grey and dun-coloured uniforms, and one violet one.
Coming rapidly closer, they saw Archivist Naldre in her immaculate violet uniform, and next to her was Marine Hazar, commander of their small military group. He was pointing a plasma rifle directly at Naldre.
"What the..." was all Zrami could get out before Hazar interrupted him.
The huge black-furred officer spoke over the top of Zrami, "While you have been messing around with hydroponics and dust-cleaner robots, my ship has been neglected. Well now our sensors have picked up another vessel on an approach course. So I am requisitioning all technical personnel to work full time on repairs to the battlecruiser. Anyone who disobeys will be put out."
The ultimate threat. Being put out meant being ejected into space, in a suit with disabled thrusters, no reserve tanks and only the air behind your faceplate. You'd drift and live for as long as your atmosphere scrubber could cope. Then you'd suffocate in your own exhalations. It was a slow, unpleasant death, and very definitely would send a message to anyone else thinking of disobedience.
Hazar didn't give the two a chance to respond. He carried on.
"I am assuming full control. The Quorum is dissolved. This is now a military mission."
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