INIQUITOUS DOMINION: THE GALACTIC CLASSIC
By Justin Conley
INIQUITOUS DOMINION:
THE GALACTIC CLASSIC
By
Justin Conley
Copyright
The Imperfect Society/Red Harem Press
2017
Published
by
The Imperfect Society/Red Harem Press
RIDE OF THE SANTOS
ONE: FAMILY AFFAIRS
31 B.E. (BLOOD ERA)
****
Illumins, the purple rains, descended and beat upon the Santos Palace. From his bedroom, Nero could see the entire Aventine Monarch skyline through the translucent ceiling. As comets shot across the sky, Nero reflected on his life and all he had built and accomplished. He glanced down at his hands and all at once, he could see the blood stains of all his enemies; the blood of his brothers whom had sworn allegiance to him and claimed that they loved him; the blood of his lovers that tried to murder him in his most vulnerable state as he made love to them; the blood of the strators and generals of his war counsel that conspired against him.
Finally and most importantly, the blood of the men whom killed his father, Pisanio Santos, and cursed him to a fate worse than death. The fate of being the warlord of the universe. For all the hell and the betrayal he had gone through to keep the throne, he would have given it away had one of his adversaries asked.
Suddenly, Nero’s thoughts were seductively interrupted as Livia crept into the king's chamber.
“What's troubling you, my love?” said Livia.
Nero was so deeply immersed in thought that he hadn't noticed Livia enter the room. It wasn’t until she stood in front of him in her robe made in illascin, a see-through satin and silk material, that she commanded all of Nero’s attention.
Without waiting for a response from Nero, Livia dropped the illascin robe revealing even more glory when her body was unveiled and climbed on top of Nero.
Livia caressed the side of Nero’s face and repeated, “What’s troubling you, my love?”
“I just wonder if he would have been proud of me,” said Nero.
For all of his conquest over the Aventine Monarch Galaxy, Nero coveted the one thing he was unable to attain: his father’s affirmation.
Livia stared Nero in the eyes and thought carefully upon her next words. Nero had been surrounded by people that would lie to him daily simply to get in his good graces. If there was anything he could depend on Livia to do, it was to tell him the truth.
“Of course he----"
Midway into Livia uttering her thoughts, assassins from the Old Guard burst into the king's chamber and began firing. Livia’s body acted as an armor, shielding Nero from every bullet fired.
However, Nero wasn’t the intended target.
“Hold on,” said Nero as he held Livia’s body that had been riddled with holes in her arms. “It’s going to be alright.”
“Ieeee…,” gurgled Livia as blood filled her mouth.
“Don’t try to speak,” said Nero as he rubbed Livia’s head slowly brushing back her hair.
Stubborn even at the beckoning of death, Livia opened her mouth and tried to speak.
“Iah Luv------”
Before Livia could finish speaking her last words, one of the assassins walked up behind Nero and shot Livia in the head blowing three of Nero’s fingers off.
As Nero’s hand bleed profusely, he didn’t yell or say anything. He remained silent. Even though the pain was excruciating, in his mind nothing could compare to the pain of losing Livia.
Nero had nothing left. After all the fighting and years of survival, he had reached his finite.
He was tired and ready to succumb to death.
Nero turned around and looked up at the assassin holding the gun at his head.
“No, it can’t be,” said Nero. “Father?”
Without hesitation, Pisanio Santos, the first supreme warlord of the galaxy, looked his son Nero Santos in the eyes and pulled the trigger...
****
Nero awoke from his sleep in a panic gasping for air. Livia held Nero as tight as she could in her arms until he was reassured it wasn’t real and only a dream.
Since Nero took the throne he had been having these kinds of nightmares. Sometimes it would be his father Pisanio Santos. Other times, it would be his mother. More often than not, Nero would be staring at himself as he pulled the trigger.
Nero got up from his bed and walked down the halls of the Santos Palace. Rubbing his head, he tried to get the thoughts out of his head. He needed to be sharp for the special dinner being prepared to celebrate his crowning achievement: the day he became king of the universe...
****
Another year and another special Symbel Crystalis dinner was given in commemoration of the grand victories of the Santos Empire. Back when the grand-patriarch Pisanio Santos fought during the Warlord Era, to celebrate every victory, he would have this dinner which consisted mostly of cut red meats from Hungaro, juicy ripe fruits from the Cyprun Valley System, crisp vegetables from Guapa and dark wines from the Hallow Points. There was a hidden message with the dinner as well. As more delicacies were placed on the table, it painted a picture. Each of the foods represented a region that Pisanio Santos conquered by killing their respected warlord.
During the years of vengeance, to keep faith in his men and his court, Nero Horrando Santos continued this tradition and enhanced the dinners better than his father could have done.
However, for King Nero, the new patriarch, the dinners served a practical purpose as well: to bring his family together. For years, Nero had fought battles against the last remnants of the warlord era only to turn around and fight his former comrades, which meant estrangement from his wife and children.
In the need for perfection, Nero desired everything right for the great party to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the great battle on Arden, a small moon and a place of little significance except for the great battle for power over the entire ATM Galaxy and its center, Crystal Metropolis. In fighting the battle, the monarchy was established in the galaxy.
When the smoke cleared there was only one ruler of the universe: Nero Horrando Santos.
Nero Horrando Santos had grown since the great rivalry between him and his former comrades. The Battle of Arden was not a battle he fought in, but became a turning point in the tide of the Santos Ride as it came to be known. The battle on the small moon took down one of the Santos family's main conspirators, Tybalt Cavalier.
As Nero looked out at the audience preparing for the banquet, the only thing he could remember was the aftermath of what happened when he touched down in Crystal Metropolis. Another fellow conspirator named Artemis Lylanis, who had occupied his time in the Santos Palace, met his end in brutal fashion. Nero could remember the lust for power that had driven him mad; so mad that he was willing to kill his best friend and great leader to acquire the throne.
Once he came back to Crystal Metropolis and his inheritance, the Santos Palace, he made it his duty to never leave it. As he had said to his former comrade years ago, “He had seen many worlds and it had been laced with shadows. Crystal Metropolis is the light that shines on all.”
Oddly enough, he saw that same look in the eyes of everyone that stared back at him as he stood up above the balcony looking down at them and when he went down to embrace them.
When the great dinner came that night, with all the strators, lators, and the court of cursers, the power behind the Santos throne, Nero’s family did not disappoint. They came in their splendor and represented the Santos clan to the fullest. The royal court observed them and was amazed. Th
ey sat at the wide dinner table, all fabulous where it counted.
In attendance was his wife, Livia Horatio Santos, a bronzed-skinned goddess trapped in a curvaceous female form that seemed to radiate beauty. Like Nero, she could rule with an iron fist as well. Nero had told his subjects several times that half his heart would be gone if Livia was ever taken from him. She was a good wife and a good mother to her two sons, Demetrius and Alejandro, sitting by her in their royal garbs. Watching from afar with eager eyes on another side of the Banquet Hall was one of his greatest generals in his space fleet and his closest trustworthy friend, the heroic female general Sage Fortinbras. Her victories in the battlefields of space was one of the main reasons Nero was able to achieve autonomy over the ATM.
So far, this was the immediate family; the next generation that would take over once Nero was gone.
To start things off, when everyone was at the table ready to chew into the expensive dinner, Nero made his speech. Part of his speech told the story of the special occasion they were celebrating.
Then, he told everyone, “Let’s enjoy our time while we still have it.”
Finally came that forceful laugh and everyone chuckled with him.
After Nero's words, the party started and all had their own goals to achieve. For Nero, it was strictly business. For Livia, it was about seeing what male or female tickled her fancy. For her sons, it was to see their father in action and take notes. For Sage, nothing but the green wine and thoughts on past battles she had fought for the Santos clan.
Other warriors made an appearance at the party as well. One that stood out beside Fortinbras was Timon Boardwalk, the son of one of Nero’s maid/concubines, Luciana Boardwalk. Recognized for his bravery on the moon Arden, he was promoted from lieutenant to captain of the Crystal Metropolis Marines. His heritage was a well-kept secret. He knew that if anyone was suspicious about it, he would have to deal with another scandal.
After dealing with some of the boring conversations from his strators and lators that ended up in them asking him for favors, he went to see Sage Fortinbras, sitting down drinking more and more. She had gotten intoxicated, but no one could tell because she was a private person when it came to gatherings.
“What are you doing, my friend?” Nero asked.
Sage took one strange look at him and got up. She walked away, shoving Nero with his shoulder.
Someone else observed the scene from the outskirts of the walls of the dining room of the palace: Demetrius Santos, the oldest and most dashing of Nero’s sons. A brown-skinned prince with the good genes of both father and mother, Demetrius was the heir to the throne, and like Sage, a born warrior. However, Demetrius also inherited the cockiness and arrogance. Sage saw this as the worst mistake to ever happen. So seeing Sage walked away from his father relieved Demetrius of anything he felt before.
On top of that, Timon’s mother, Luciana came into the picture. She came from an errand to see her son work the elite crowd. She knew that she could not set foot around the Crystal Metropolis elite, or she would have to face Queen Livia. So all she could do was watched from afar and see her handsome son walked around with his beautiful wife, Dina, and talked about politics. Then, she saw her king and made a comparison. Both were handsome and majestic. Prime Santos stock.
He will be king one day, she thought to herself. Very soon.
Scandal was forming within the Santos family, even if it had not reached the galaxy papers yet...
****
Luciana Boardwalk never wanted to watch the news on the surrounding ATM, but the thought of her son ruling one day got her more and more interested in ATM politics, culture and current events. The very thought sent chills down her spine as she watched on the screen about Nero’s new war.
Most of the recognizable names were gone from history, but Nero still had enemies who wanted his power.
Like Pisanio, Nero was placed under a microscope and his actions watched constantly.
This particular action was justified. There was activity going on the colossal planet Solaria. He gathered the best of his soldiers to fight them all. Luciana’s son, Timon, was sent along with other captains to set up bases there to attack the planet. She was going to have to worry for her son a little while longer. Until his return, Luciana occupied her time in learning more about the Santos clan that she served.
Their connection with Solaria provided the blueprint for Luciana to put pieces together, all starting with Pisanio.
Nero always had problems in Solaria going all the way back to his father Pisanio Santos’ sudden murder by his own comrades; former soldiers of Pisanio's rebel tribe. A majority of the assassins dwelled from Solaria.
Around Pisanio’s time, violent warlords achieved power through war and setting up kingdoms on the planets of the ATM. Pisanio Santos was just a soldier working for the warlord of the time, Nicholas Dramatis from Hungaro. When Nicholas died, Pisanio and other comrades took over as a tribe known around the ATM at first as the Pretenders. Then, Pisanio changed themselves to the Dramatics in honor of his mentor.
Pisanio rose into dominance over his warlord gang and stood alone as undisputed leader. His former comrades were opposed to a former orphan and prisoner leading them into battle. Plus, some were still loyal to the Dramatis family.
Pisano went to war with them all. One by one, Pisanio disposed of them viciously in extreme ways. No one knew what to think of it. The man who wanted to end the era of warlords in the ATM to honor his mentor and leader was using its tactics to keep himself in power.
Years later, when all of his former comrades were dead and he made his new home base in Crystal Metropolis, Pisanio made a decision that rocked the rule of the galaxy forever. He decided to make himself warlord for life, which meant power over the other two powers of the ATM, the Strator Circle and the judgmental lators.
With that, Pisanio’s fate was sealed, and the men that viewed him as a shining hope had become his enemies.
In the end, Pisanio Santos died how he lived: violently.
One night, Pisanio enjoyed a night of lovemaking with his third wife. As she took a break to relieve herself in another room of the palace, several of his closest and trusted allies crept into the room unawares. Minutes later, they executed him in his bed in a barrage of bullets. No one actually saw what happened but the gunshots were said to ring throughout the palace for about five minutes. By the time the guards got to the room, all of the conspirators were gone. Surprisingly, Pisanio managed to cling onto life for a couple of hours despite having his body full of bullets.
The death of Pisanio Santos birthed the emergence of Nero Santos. No one knew where he came from or his connection to Pisanio. All they knew was that he just appeared and claimed himself as the Santos heir. He did this by doing two things: avenging Pisanio’s death and establishing a new rule.
The conspirators had hid among the cities and towns of all planets and moons in the ATM, gathering men to fight the Santos heir and the entire clan.
Solaria became the backdrop for the final hunt of the Santos clan for the conspirators. In the end, the conspirators died mysteriously but gruesomely and the Santos family retook everything that was lost. With no more major warlord tribes, a monarchy had taken its place. In spite of everything thrown at them, the Santos family prevailed.
Reading the stories, watching the propaganda on the news, and hearing the gossip from fellow concubines, Luciana Boardwalk coveted that life. She had dreamed about it ever since she was a kid and with her son a soldier in their army, she was closer to that goal.
She turned off the monitor after watching the news on the activity of Crystal Metropolis. As she was about to go to bed, her maid and main confidant Gintina came to her.
“Is there anything else you need?” she asked.
“Everything’s fine for now,” Luciana said. Gintina was about to turn, but Luciana grabbed her shoulder gently.
“What about the other thing?”
From the look in Luciana’s eyes, Gi
ntina knew exactly what she was talking about. She sat Luciana down and told her softly. “Her sons are fighting in Solaria and Nero had left to see the fighting to make sure everything is going well,” she said. "She’s vulnerable.”
Luciana smiled. “We’re so close. So close! Alright, this is what I want you to do. You’re going to mingle with the other maids. I'll make it possible for you.” Luciana reached into her pocket and took out a vial of some kind of chemical. “Slip some of this in her wine. Make sure you put it all in and leave no trace of it around. The toxin in the potion increases the pH levels of natural acids already in the body. When Livia drinks this, it will liquefy all of the organs in her body. I have too much riding on this not to work, so do this as if your life depended on it. I’m sure they’ll be guards watching you at every turn, so be careful."
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