Legion

by Devin Cain

  "No! That’s blasphemy, Admiral! I will not stand idly by and watch you destroy our culture!" the Emperor snapped, and then ground his teeth as he looked away slightly.

  "In that case, we won’t make it obligatory. Whoever wants to join me directly will be given the offer to do so. However, me turning your people into followers of the Nephilim is non-negotiable. I need the power."

  "That can be arranged, but again, slowly. In the weeks you’ve been—indisposed, we’ve been preparing the people for this moment, Admiral. Tell me, what would happen if a conquering army came down over your planet? Would you sit back and let them take over, or would you fight?"

  "Oh, we’d fight dirty, Emperor, and lose a lot of men and women, but we’d fight back. You doing otherwise is commendable, and the main reason why you get to keep your way of life without a single destroyed city or block, or without a single dead soldier."

  "Exactly, and that was the will of my people, but I promised them a normal life, don’t make me go back on our agreement."

  "You won’t have to, Emperor. Speaking of which, your daughter is to be married into my family, or rather to one of my commanders. That way, we’d be united before the people, and you would have your guarantee," I said calmly as he seethed with rage and contempt.

  "Today?"

  "Yes, Emperor. The ceremony will be held today." I could feel Khavvrin’s gaze on my back, but I wouldn’t tell anyone just yet who was taking up the new role of Emperor for my sake, after all, today was a day full of surprises.

  "I—this is rather unexpected. She is royalty, Admiral. You can’t just expect us to take this as if it was nothing!"

  "Husband?" a strong, female voice spoke from behind us. I turned to the woman and barely contained a grin. She was gorgeously strong, or at least she radiated it as she stood slightly lower than the Emperor. "This isn’t the time or place to have this discussion. The guests will start arriving any moment now, please, come back in so we can get her ready with the little time we were given."

  Her tone was condescending, but she didn’t radiate any ill will toward me, or that’s what I thought anyway. Whatever, time would tell us soon enough.

  "Empress, I assume?" I replied with a slight nod. "You still have time to prepare the princess."

  "Speaking of which, we haven’t discussed the dowry, Admiral. What are we getting in return? And what is our daughter getting?"

  I thought hard and fast. This was a trap, and she led me masterfully into it. But I had something they yearned for more than anything else, at least in my opinion.

  "I’ll give you space-faring capabilities and rights. You can fly under your own flag if you wish so, that way no one will know you’re our—vassals."

  Her eye twitched at the word vassals, but she seemed pleased, very much so, even more important, the Emperor’s face lit up.

  "I see," he said, trying to remain calm.

  "Emperor, let’s cut the farce. I can see how much you want it, and all I want is a peaceful place to call my home. We’ll get along just fine if no one does anything stupid. Do you think we could make that happen?"

  "A man of action, I like it. Very well. We’ll talk about the details after the party, as I’ll trust your fair judgment."

  I nodded slightly.

  "After the party. Emperor, Empress."

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  "Admiral, what was that all about?" Khavvrin asked cautiously.

  "Nothing special, my friend. I’ll tell you later. Now, how’s the populace being handled? Any idea?"

  "Their troops are handling the matter, and everything seems to be fine. There are some murmurs of unrest, but that’s about it. Too much is riding on this ceremony for them do anything stupid."

  "I figured as much. Whatever, as long as no one does anything, I’m quite fine with whoever is keeping the peace. Speaking of which, any idea about when our guests should start arriving? I want McGregor here alongside Samson, Levi, you and the Vandredi."

  "The time we’ve given them is three hours from now. That’s when the ladies are supposed to arrive as well."

  I nodded slightly. Thoughts of unrest crossed my mind, as the Entraxilans were a fierce warrior race that had advanced to quite a high stage. Their technology was great, but nothing groundbreaking. However, they did excel at close range combat in every way possible. Personal energy shields and blades were just two things my own soldiers needed very badly.

  Dropship after dropship landed to the east of the plaza, carrying supplies and workforce alike for the grand feast. Time flew by quickly as day turned to evening and guests arrived one by one. The reception area was already chock full, which made my heart thump.

  Majestic lights swirled through the air, giving off a surreal feel to the scene. Scented batches of a strange liquid were put aflame, adding a calming hormone for the civilian population. At least that’s what they told us, otherwise the sight of their rulers might send them in a frenzy.

  "Why did you disappear so early? And why weren’t we allowed to come down sooner? And why the hell is there such a huge feast?" Gremory demanded as she forced herself up into my face. I grinned, wanting to tell them everything, but I couldn’t, not yet. Just as I was about to excuse myself, Fefnal saved my sorry ass. He strode toward me and called my name. Beside him walked a delegation of Vandredi. I couldn’t recognize even one of them, but not that it mattered as they all looked almost identical.

  "Captain!" I replied, walking up to the alien. Before I could figure out what he was doing, Fefnal hugged me. Then the next in line repeated the process, and so on until all of them had hugged me almost to death.

  "Admiral! This is Admiral Reznal. It is him you have to thank for the help we’ve rendered."

  I bowed low and nodded my head in recognition.

  "Admiral, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I still have no idea why you did-- what you did, but you must have had your reasons too. And I’m all too grateful whatever they might be."

  "Yes, Admiral Cain. I did have my reasons. See, we signed a contract with the same—deity. He told me you’ve gone rogue and that you no longer serve him. Is that correct?"

  I was at a loss for words for a long moment. Lying to the Admiral might show me in a bad light, and that was something I didn’t want as it could mean the loss of potential allies, but telling the truth would definitely cut our ties. I sighed and decided on the only real option when it came to someone who saved my fleet and everyone still alive.

  "That’s correct. He and I had an issue we couldn’t get over, so—in any case, we’re not affiliated anymore."

  He sighed and shook his head sadly as if I’d just stolen his virginity.

  "You do know that we can’t stay here any longer in that case, right, Admiral?"

  "I thought so too, but there’s one thing that I’d never do, and that’s lying to an ally, lie to someone who saved my life. Maybe we’ll be enemies one day when we meet in space, but today, please, be my honored guests."

  "We wouldn’t have it any other way, Admiral. But once the ceremony is over, we’ll be forced to leave. I understand it’s in both our interests that we part in peace?" the Admiral asked.

  I nodded with a fake smile.

  "Of course. But let’s not talk about bad things anymore. Please, sit in the reception area and be merry, at least for a while."

  Captain Fefnal took his superior by the hand and pulled him aside, then sat down, whispering something in his large ear. The Admiral nodded and smiled before they started drinking.

  I was left in a sour state, as the conversation haunted me. Still, I wouldn’t let it ruin the day I had planned so many good things for. At least I had McGregor and the Mechanoids. I was sure they would be able to reverse-engineer the Tank ships and the way their shields worked if the Vandredi left the wreckage behind.

  Music started playing somewhere from both the left and right, giving me the cue to take my place. I waited for a moment as my newest and strongest ally just made his appearance. McGregor drop
ped from the sky, his boosters slowing down his descent. From down here, I could see he was in his full combat form, which excited me to no end. He was a beast, and I wanted everyone to witness him as my loyal follower and ally.

  "Admiral," he said, bowing before me as his metallic feed hit the stone pavement. "You have my greetings, and that of the Mechanoid race," he added as another, slightly smaller robot dropped beside him. It wasn’t moving or talking beyond that it fell, which made me slightly suspicious of him, but it quickly disappeared when he spoke. "Let me present you with a gift from my people, the latest battle-mech we’ve constructed using some of the crystals you picked up in the Hydra system."

  "Yeah, now that you mention it, I can see them in the arms, the legs, and the chest. Is there a special reason why you used them?"

  "Indeed there is. The crystals are full of energy, Admiral. They can boost your power-output many times beyond what I was able to do during our battle on Entraxila’s moon."

  "Then use it to boost yourself! That’s an order!" I exclaimed, angry at the prospect of using the crystals on a new robot instead of on himself.

  "Thank you, Admiral. I will use what’s left on myself. But may I suggest something," he whispered. "I’ve detected three more of these remnants. Have Devil scan this system when he has the chance. Our sensors got damaged during the last battle, so we can’t see clearly."

  "Devil?" I asked, mentally. "Is that true?" He remained silent for a long moment before he finally replied.

  "Indeed it is, Admiral. They’re hidden deep within the moons and other asteroids. I think there’s as many as seven, and one at least seven times larger than the one we brought with us."

  "Shit! Could it be an intact ship?"

  "No. It’s just a rock. Look, you do what you planned to while we take care of this. You’ve much more important things on your schedule today."

  "You’re so very right, my friend. Wait, do you mind if I call you like that? After all, you’re with me because you want to be now that the bond is broken."

  "Don’t remind me. But now that you did, thank Khepri for that one."

  "You have my thanks, Khepri. I assume your date went well?"

  Her voice rang out in my mind as she chuckled heartily.

  "You can say so. Now, go do what you have to, and let the big boy handle the load you’ve put on him. We’ll talk to you later, Admiral."

  I turned back to McGregor and put my oversized hand on his arm.

  "Thank you, my friend. It’s being taken care off. You can have the pick of the best and strongest crystals once we’ve retrieved them. But please tell me, what’s with the new suit?"

  I eyed the crowd who stood or sat mute, even my closest friends.

  "All you need to do is to place your palm on the pad inside its chest. It will draw your blood and bond with you. From there on, it will either follow and defend you on automatic, or you can order it around with your mind. It’s up to you."

  "And it’s as strong as you are?"

  "How would that be a gift, Admiral? It’s far stronger than me, though it’s far from the Angels we fought, it should help you if the need arises."

  "Very well, McGregor, I accept your people’s gift. Please, let us sync so we can go on with the ceremony," I said and motioned for him to stand. "Everyone, please, give us one more minute, and we’ll proceed with the program," I said over the microphone so everyone could hear me before we walked up to the robot. It was an identical copy of McGregor, pitch-black in color with sleek, deadly lines. I couldn’t help but smile with glee as a childhood dream had come true.

  McGregor tapped on the robot’s chest armor, opening it with ease. A palm-scanner appeared, on which I pressed my hand down. Nothing happened. I sighed and turned my hand back to its Human form, then pressed it down again. Countless needles pierced my palm and drew blood. I felt sick for the slightest of moments, but then the sensation had already passed.

  An image appeared, similar to the countless lines during my interfacing with the obelisk, but this time there were thirteen, and each represented one aspect. The legs, the arms, the head, the thrusters, sensors, and the weapons. What a truly marvelous piece of engineering, I thought.

  Turning to the crowd, the robot stood on both feet and shadowed me from behind. It felt both exhilarating as well as dangerous to have such a machine wonder follow you, but the gasps it drew shifted the needle toward exhilarating quite fast.

  "Now! Where were we?" I roared, taking the microphone in my hand. "Kris, Gremory, please come stand with me," I said, motioning for them to join me. They got up and walked toward me slowly. I could see they were flustered, but the two of them walked with their heads held high toward us. "Khavvrin, please, join us too," I added as I turned toward my loyal friend. He stood there for a moment too long before someone pushed him toward me. I couldn’t see who it was, but I’d have to buy them a drink later.

  "Admiral?" he asked. "What’s this all about? Have I wronged you?"

  "Oh, be quiet and just stand there."

  Just then, the massive doors leading to the palace opened up, spilling a host of servants and soldiers. At their head walked three people: the Emperor, Empress and the Princess. The Emperor wore a black and gold set of decorative armor that revealed more than it hid. To his side hung a six feet long type of blade, again black and gold. A black tunic of sorts hung around the Empress’ body. It was embroidered with the same golden thread. It wasn’t quite so modest, but who cared, the woman looked every good as Gremory or Kris.

  "Is that the princess?" I asked mentally, staring at the younger woman.

  "Sure is," Khepri replied. Isn’t she a beauty? Reminds me of myself when I was young."

  I couldn’t help but shut whatever the two of them said next out and instead stare at the beauty. She wore a wedding dress pure as snow with her hair braided into a floral crown. Her deep blue eyes glanced over me before her gaze met the ground.

  "Conqueror. You’re really making me work for your promise," Emperor Rendan said.

  "Not at all, Emperor. It was you who was awaiting the result of our ‘battle’ overhead. But fret not, I bear no ill will. All I care about is for this ceremony to be over with and our people united on your homeworld."

  It disgusted me that I had to talk politics when everyone could hear so, but I guessed it couldn’t be helped. After all, I wasn’t just buying the Emperor and his family, I was buying billions of Entraxilans along with it.

  "Why don’t we get started then?" he asked. "Unless there are any other—interesting things you want to show us?" he asked, glancing over my new bodyguard.

  "This wasn’t planned, but I’m glad it happened. You see, Entraxilans respect power from what I’ve heard, and what is better than to have an Admiral who wields absolute power?" I replied eagerly. "There are too many things riding on this to go wrong, and to be honest, we have paid a very steep price for this world, and will be paying it for many years to come. I do hope we can count on the royal family in that regard?"

  "Don’t worry, Admiral. You have our support, as well as the people’s support. I guarantee their loyalty with my life if you stay true to our agreement. Now, shall we?" Rendan asked. He turned back to the crowd and looked over the floating cameras. There were twelve of them circling us constantly, with a good six zoomed in on my persona. Two observed the girl, two Khavvrin, and the rest were pointed at the Emperor and Empress.

  "This is going to be so much fun," I murmured to myself. Sudden nausea washed over me as I stood there just as I said so. It felt as if I was naked and laid bare for the whole world to see, even though I was transformed, but just then it hit me that billions were watching us and either rooting for our future or cursing both my mother and my father.

  "People of Entraxila! Humans, Gebradim, Sqvadrians, Mechanoids, and Vandredi! Welcome to the crown jewel of the Entraxilan race! The Capitol!"

  The crowd cheered and screamed, whistled and roared in tune with the music that erupted briefly. Flags waved around a
long with what looked like plastic pipes, colored like rainbows, flares, and other tools giving off a pleasantly scented smoke. What the hell were the pipes for?

  "Today, we are here for three reasons! The first is to hand over Entraxila to our new benefactor, Conqueror Admiral Cain!"

  At that, the crowd’s happiness died down a little shown by the lack of cheers and whistling. The Emperor enjoyed the moment a bit too much for my taste, but it didn’t matter, he could have his minute of fame, it would soon be over anyway.

  "Secondly! Our dear princess is to be wed into the Conqueror’s household to the first of his men! Khavvrin, the great warrior in control of all his troops!"

  The cheers and cries of happiness went up a notch again, accompanied by drum rolls, sirens, and more music. Khavvrin who stood beside me flinched. Then he looked at me and opened his mouth to protest, but the grin on my face told him everything. There was no way out of this, at least not for him.

  "And last but not least! The marriage between the Conqueror and his warrior queens will be held right here, and right now!"

  Chapter Sixty

  "You what?" Gremory hissed. Kris covered her mouth in shock, looking up at me with a funny expression as if she’d misheard.

  "I, Emperor Rendan, will perform the ceremony that will unify the Conqueror to his warrior queens! Let us be merry! Let us drink for a week! Everyone! Raise your glasses!" he roared. It wasn’t quite what I expected it to be, but it was too late now. Maybe I should have told them beforehand, but the look on Gremory’s face was priceless.

  "Samson, please bring me the boxes," I said, looking right at my specialist. The man stood three rows deeper into the ranks of officers and closest people I’d managed to gain over the last months. He walked out of the crowd and right up to me, went through one knee and produced two oval boxes from his left jacket pocket.