omegaMarat Daria

She was the younger daughter. Even at the precocious age of eleven Daria understood completely what that meant.

She would always be cared after. She could secure for herself a valued and influential position in the family’s maritime empire, or a Matriarchy in the House of the omega, or an appointment to The Parliamentary.

Still, Daria would always be the younger one. The lesser one. The lest liked. Daria would always be dependent on the good graces of her mother, and eventually her elder sisters. She would always be obligated. She would never inherit.

But she had a plan.

Obtaining nav-com access codes proved to be a challenge. However, when she set her mind to a task, Daria’s diligence was always rewarded.

She was proud of her own cleverness.

Daria maneuvered one of her schoolmaiden under the pretense of a dare. She deceived her into hacking the House security systems. Once compromised, she imprinted a drive failure from a maintenance simulation program into a certain sub-routine.

Feigning illness was the easy part.

Daria stayed behind that fateful morning. Daria watched in practiced protest as her mother and her seven husbands, her brothers and sisters, and many of the highest-ranking members of the omegaMarat court and their households boarded the family flying barge.

The holiday abroad, to the offshore fishery platforms turned palatial resort, had been planned for months and was eagerly anticipated. Daria cried on cue at the news of a mid-ocean crash. Daria despaired on-demand as time and weather worked against the search-and-rescue crews. Hours drew painfully into days. Days stretched into weeks.

All had abandoned hope. No one was more surprised than Daria when a sole survivor was miraculous found -- her older sister Seneca.