Story 4: The School From Hell

SS Scavenger DX-1017: The School from Hell is the fourth story in the SS Scavenger Universe chronology. The novella follows the crew of the *Scavenger* as they uncover a human-trafficking operation masquerading as an interstellar “school ship,” rescuing hundreds of children from forced assimilation and slavery. It stands as one of the most emotionally powerful entries in the series, bridging humanitarian ethics, Prosian-Alliance law, and echoes of Earth’s own historical injustices.

Overview

When the *Scavenger* responds to a distress signal from a “school transport” near Ross 882, Captain Elan Drex and Records Officer Velka Ereen discover that the vessel’s cheerful exterior hides a nightmare. Aboard are children burned and beaten—victims of an illegal network suppressing Indigenous languages and identities. Their rescue of Kasenna Vox, an eleven-year-old Nekasuppa girl, sets off a chain of revelations that expose the trafficking ring across multiple Protectorate worlds.

Acts and Structure

• Act I – Setup & Discovery: Cargo run to Ross 882; fire aboard the “school ship”; rescue of trapped children; Kasenna Vox found hidden aboard *Scavenger*.
• Act II – The Truth Emerges: Velka’s Manifest Report; Alliance hearings; the crew’s authorization under Protectorate Law to pursue the traffickers; ceremonies at Hanwi and Yonah honoring cultural survival.
• Act III – Shadows & Pursuit: Intelligence links the traffickers to Tonan Captain Kuegon and Ben Koshek; a running battle through the rubble fields of BD-73 Lagrange; Kuegon destroyed, Koshek escapes.
• Act IV – Vows & Family: Return of the rescued children to their homeworlds; the adoption of Kasenna Ereen Drex; Velka and Elan’s marriage; the Scavenger’s continuing vow—“Never again forgotten. Never again taken.”

Key Events

• Rescue of 107 children and 23 teachers from the false school ship Sunrise Path.
• Formal Alliance recognition of child-trafficking and cultural-erasure crimes under the Protectorate Law.
• Reunions and healing ceremonies on the worlds **Tsohanoai**, **Hanwi**, **Yonah**, **Gorin IV**, and **Stein 2051**.
• Destruction of Captain Kuegon’s effluent hauler; Ben Koshek’s escape establishing the antagonist arc for later stories.
• Adoption of Kasenna Ereen Drex witnessed by Chief Nekisanah of the Nekasuppa tribe.
• Marriage of Velka Ereen and Elan Drex during the Feast of Voices.
• The Lanterns in Phase departure—symbol of the vow that guides later missions.

Prosian and Alliance Context

The story formalized the Alliance-Prosian Protectorate Accords within canon, defining:

• Legal authority for mixed-species crews to intervene in humanitarian crises.
• Recognition of Indigenous sovereignty on off-world colonies (Protectorate Worlds).
• Expansion of the Scavenger’s humanitarian role, transforming it from a salvage freighter into a vessel of refuge and record.

Cultural and Moral Themes

The School from Hell juxtaposes futuristic exploration with historical memory. The abuse aboard the Sunrise Path mirrors Earth’s Indian Boarding School atrocities, reframed among the stars. Velka’s final entry—“Never again forgotten. Never again taken.”—becomes a recurring oath in later works and a motto carved onto the *Scavenger’s* memorial bulkhead by Annuli 3431.

Appendices and Lore Links

• Appendix A: Alliance Registry Addendum – official adoption filing of Kasenna Ereen Drex.
• Appendix B: Updated Crew Manifest (post-Stein 2051).
• Appendix C: Protectorate Journey Map.
• Related Entries:

 * Protectorate Law
 * Kasenna Ereen Drex
 * Captain Elan Drex
 * Velka Ereen Drex
 * Ben Koshek
 * Captain Kuegon
 * Ralos (Alliance Vessel)
 * Commander Sirkeh

Quotations

“Nosen akna shuvwa, na korenwa.” — Prosian for “Names remembered and guarded.”

“Never again forgotten. Never again taken. Never again silenced.” — Vow of the Scavenger Crew.

Canonical Placement

Chronologically set after SS Scavenger DX-1017: The Changeling and before SS Scavenger DX-1017: The Tonan Civil War. The events of this story directly shape the Alliance-Protectorate tribunal seen in later volumes and cement the Drex family’s central role in the Universe narrative.