INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic

by Justin Conley

  ​The other difference was that he played air guard to two other Beau Lombards connected together. On the bottom of the plane was the Nova Bomb, the secret weapon brought secretly under King Ichiamo’s supervision, courtesy of thirty Ostro fighters. He was to play guard for the time being with the bomb until it got on station, so it could become equipped with the latest element needed to pack the explosive punch.

  There was another mission made by Ichiamo himself.

  ​He could remember the day he went to see Ichiamo Santos. He was in Solaria, just getting over the loss of some of his comrades, and itching to get back in space. That chance came when he received a call from his captain call telling him to go to Crystal Metropolis immediately upon a summons.

  Upon arrival to the royal capital, he was greeted by some of Crystal Metropolis’ Democrat Guards and taken to the Santos Palace.

  All of his dreams about Crystal Metropolis were true. It was a fairy-tale place so beautiful in person. He would hear stories about the small planet and wanted the chance to go there one day.

  Unfortunately, it was not a happier time. He could not go on tour or check out the landmarks and the street life. He had to go to the king to get his orders. Then, quickly back to the air he would go.

  He went to see the king, the second time he saw him in his life. This time, Ichiamo was much bigger in person. In truth, Ichiamo was getting fatter as he was aging, but he still kept exercising and keeping his figure in check. Lucius was sure Ichiamo would not remember him, but the middle-aged man was not completely brain-dead.

  Lucius thought that he was going for orders, but got more than what he bargained for.

  At first, he stood in attention and Ichiamo told him what he wanted.

  “I need a pilot to fly one of our Beau Lombards,” the king said. "You along with another plane are going to guard two planes that will be holding our secret weapon. You remember that special plan I had up my sleeve? Well, this is it. The Nova Bomb could make or break this war. However, there’s something much more important that you have to do. This is something I haven’t told anyone, not even the strators.”

  Ichiamo took a breath and relax carefully. He took a drink of some wine, a habit he picked up since the day the bomb was brought to Crystal Metropolis. Lucius was nervous enough that the king made this decision, but Lucius could tell that what the king was asking him was going to be worse.

  The king took out many sheets of paper and slid it down to the end of his desk in his office.

  “What’s this?” Lucius asked.

  “This is your true mission once you get to Troyuvant. There are only a few people that know about this list. Your job will be to lead at least twenty Lombards and take at least four million people out of Troyuvant and take them back to Solaria. There, they will be stationed at a place especially made for them.”

  Lucius stood confused. Ichiamo rose slowly and went to the edge of his desk to sit down.

  “I can see that you have concerns. Why this? Well, I know that this is going to be a destructive blast and it can literally destroy a planet. I want to at least save some lives, so at least I won’t be known as a complete psychopath like Cheron.”

  “Cheron Santos?” Lucius asked.

  “That’s right! I know that I’m taking plenty of risks. But look at it this way. I could not use this bomb on the hotspots and more lives will be taken. Then, I’ll be blamed for that. The way I see it, no matter what I do, lives will be lost. The only question is how badly. Tell me, Lucius Gaines. If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?”

  “I…I don’t know, your majesty. You’re probably right about it being a lose-lose situation.”

  “You know, when I first became king, no one thought I could do the job. Everyone thought I was a fool. Even as a child, I was considered a fool. Unfortunately, they weren’t far from the truth. I was a fool. Lately, I trained myself to escape that truth. I had my hands into everything without anyone ever knowing. But I knew with everything going on in this planet, if I wanted to stay alive, I have to let people believe that I was still the fool. I guess you can say I was playing the fool…to fool everyone…”

  From that, the conversation shifted. No more talk about the mission. For some reason, the king started talking more about his life. He talked about his deceased father and brother Dromio. He talked about Nero Santos and his grandmother, Luciana. He even talked about the many murders he witnessed, including the worse being the Priam Murders on the night that he was made king.

  He shook his head, wondering how he survived Luciana's treachery to gain the crown, Timon's family purges, Cheron's reign of terror, and that night of blood when the Fallen Court unleashed hell on the Santos Palace.

  He could still remember how Andromache Santos’ was killed right in front of him and Cheron’s heir was slammed to the floor and head cracked open without another thought. Worse, not only did he have to let his killers go just to stay alive, he had to give them power positions as well, even when he knew that they would soon turn on him as well just to show they could.

  “Why are you telling me this?” Lucius asked.

  “Maybe because I’m sick and tired of holding it in,” the king said. “I didn’t want to be king. I was just made king because I didn’t want to be killed. I'm not strong. I'm a coward."

  Then, he started pacing around the room. Lucius stood still the entire time.

  “One day, Lucius, Crystal Metropolis will be a republic. There will be no more warlords or kings ruling this planet, especially those run by my family. And I’m pretty sure that one day is going to be soon. I’m just counting the days. I don’t ever want to see another day like I saw during Cheron’s rule. There’s just no reason for that. I know I can’t be the one to do it. That must go to someone else.”

  Then, from out of nowhere, he went to Lucius’s face. “After this war is over, I want you to come back to Crystal Metropolis. I’m pretty sure that you’re going to be needed here.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. Why not? You’re doing this for me. It’s the least I can do. You’re probably one step ahead for this place being a republic. And if you do well where I placed you, there could a bright future here for you.”

  “We have to win the war first,” Lucius said.

  “With brave men like you, I don't see how our enemies can win."

  It was one of most pleasant conversations Lucius Gaines ever had in his life. Ichiamo Santos was a man he could respect as a leader and as a possible friend.

  ****

  After he left the space station, Lucius’ plane, along with twenty other Beau Lombards, were heading to an island called Fevesham. What he found out was that Fevesham was a concentration camp, where the House of Latium held prisoners of war as well as citizens of Troyuvant. He and the rest of the pilots went to the powers that be of the concentration camp system and gave them the papers. They knew what was going on. One of the pilots came with suitcases of money.

  Lucius’ eyes circled the situation. He could tell that something was really off. King Ichiamo had never told him this. Was this his plan the entire time, he thought. If he was, then Ichiamo Santos was not a fool, but probably the most calculated trickster he ever came across.

  Throughout the entire time he was there, he and the rest of the men rounded prisoners up to send them on the planes. The names were called and the people went there without the slightest idea what would happen next. Lucius could tell some of them were scared, and their fear came into him. He knew that there was a slight chance that they, as well as himself, could die on this trip to Solaria; and even there, they could die in the desert.

  It was a crucial time and it was only going to get worse when they escape Fevesham and back into space.

  Once everyone was rounded up, they left the concentration camp. The people cheered, loving every minute. Lucius kept his cold demeanor on his plane, and he was sure the rest of the pilots did the same. The prisoners were pleased to be free, never knowing that w
ithin a few hours, Troyuvant will cease to exist. They did not know that they would have to live the rest of their lives either with the remaining families members they had or alone in an unknown, lawless land.

  Despite the possibilities, the main concern was escaping the Nova Bomb.

  The trip lasted for five days. There was no activity in space. No one came to attack them. For some reason, the entire trip was serene. They ended up in the Solaria Desert. What they found was there were houses and all sorts around the area.

  The place was called Santos Street. Another surprise, courtesy of Ichiamo Santos and Crystal Metropolis.

  The mission was the strangest that he had ever been in. He was expecting some kind of action, some kind of element of danger.

  All he knew was that he was away from Troyuvant and the Nova Bomb. All he could do was imagined what would happen and hope that the remaining people that were there will not know what hit them and their spirits would rest with the gods, or whatever Second Renaissancers believe…

  ****

  After a long journey in space, trying to escape the war and everything else, Cassio Ramirez returned to Cyprun. The last time he was here, he left Cyprun on a mission; a mission that he thought he would never return. All he thought about was her. The woman he loved and left abruptly.

  When he flew around Cyprun soil, he saw that things were different. He saw some trying to find lost relatives and friends. Infrastructure was damaged. There was no more Rooster Boys and any soldiers boys for that matter.

  He thought of only one place he needed to go.

  He ended up at Bianca’s family villa. He feared the worst. There was nothing much left from the villa but rubble and broken pillars. Everyone was gone. No Bianca Stilicho waiting for him to return. He arrived too late. Bianca, and half of Cyprun were gone, possibly dead or prisoners of war.

  He found a servant who was trying to clean around the home. Cassio ran to him.

  "Excuse me," Cassio said frantically. "Do you know of a woman named Bianca Stilicho? She owned this villa?"

  "I don't know her," the servant answered. "My guess is she left the Santos Villa with everyone else!"

  Cassio interrupted. "Santos? What do you mean Santos Villa? Bianca Stilicho owns this villa!”

  "No! This is the ancestral home of the Santos clan. It was once owned by Pisanio Santos. Pedro Santos remodeled it for his--"

  "Pedro Santos? Are you serious?"

  "He would have women here all the time. It was his way to house them while he was in Crystal Metropolis."

  Hearing the story from his servant after the ordeal he had to face coming here, all of his hopes and dreams were shattered in minutes. Bianca was not waiting for him. There was no one here waiting for him. He thought that being captured by terrorist forces, being put into some concentration, escaping with the help of his wits, flying all over space to escape enemy fighters, and thinking of Bianca throughout the entire time, was enough pain.

  This was worse.

  Cassio walked around the ravish Cyprun countryside, wishing to die, not knowing that he could not have picked a greater time to be away from Troyuvant.

  ****

  The war is over! The war is over!

  ​By the end of 78 B.E., the day had finally come. The Force of Arms War was over. It was a crucial last month for the forces of the Santos regime.

  ​In the beginning of the last month, the Nova Bomb was dropped on Troyuvant soil. The blast was amazing from a distance if among the stars because of the glow from the element used in the bomb, but destructive to anyone who was in, near, or around Troyuvant. A miniature supernova formed from the surface of the planet. Troyuvant have been permanently damaged.

  After that, there were no more attacks. No other terrorist or warlord of the House of Latium or any Second Renaissance sect wanted to take a chance against the might of Ichiamo Santos' combined forces.

  ​For Crystal Metropolis, this had brought Ichiamo’s name to another higher level; the highest it has ever been reached by a king. He gave speeches after the bomb was placed on the planet, telling the people about his decision.

  Since the bomb, other House of Latium drivers and traders were arrested and either executed on the spot, or was sent to ATM prisons on other planets. All over the ATM, people rejoiced the Santos name.

  With the war being over and people celebrating, he sent scouts out to Troyuvant to discover the damages.

  For the next few weeks, Ichiamo was by himself, not coming out much to celebrate with the court, the Strator Circle, or with other Crystal Metropolitans. Not even the ones hosted by his own fiancée Katharina Lysander and her celebrity friends. He stayed alone to his thoughts and emotions; the way it had always been since he was a child.

  Then, the scouts came back and gave him the results of their Troyuvant findings. The damage was like he thought: catastrophic. No trace of any form of life whatsoever. The damage was something similar to two meteors blasting onto a planet. Smog surrounded the planet, and some of it had carried itself outside space, but disappeared among the black space.

  They had no clue of the exact number of deaths on Troyuvant at the time of the bomb dropping, but Ichiamo could take a guess. There were millions of lives lost based on one decision and one large ball of metal carrying fire and brimstone.

  He knew that in using these bombs, he had invented a whole new kind of warfare. Armies were effective for a show of force, but through the Second Renaissance, Ichiamo discovered that if you want devastating but acceptable results, all someone needed was to use a Nova Bomb. He knew that if a powerful weapon like this went into the hands of a tyrant, there was no telling what kind of devastation it would cause.

  In that instant, he thought that there was no way that these bombs should ever be used again. And he hoped that he never had to ever again.

  Hearing the results, Ichiamo had legitimately ended a chapter in the legacy of the Aventine Monarch Galaxy and one of the Santos family’s most haunting phantoms. Once one of the Santos’ grand conquests, Troyuvant had become nothing more than a constant reminder of the damage it had caused his family. In a sense, Ichiamo wanted to destroy Troyuvant not only to end a war he started, but also to close off that damaging period for the clan once and for all.

  ****

  Zola Gadiaga continued to spend her time in the dungeons as the time went by. She would hear news from her cell either from the guards or other prisoners, but none of that mattered if it meant she was still rotting away. By this point, the beauty that made her name became a forgotten memory.

  The worse came with the last person she ever thought she would see, entered in a fancy red leather dress to see her.

  When Zola feasted her eyes on her, a part of her wanted to jump at her, but her legs were sleeping and her energy was sapped from the stress.

  "Katharina Lysander!" She whispered. "I don't believe this!"

  "It's been a long time, Zola," Katharina said.

  "What do you want?"

  "I came here to give you some news."

  "And why would I want to hear anything from a Lysander?"

  "Well...I was Katharina Lysander!" Then, she presented a ring, a diamond-encrusted star-shaped ring similar to the Starstriker ring Ichiamo had. "I am now Katharina Santos!"

  Zola chuckled. "So your father tricking you the way my father did me, huh? I wouldn't be so proud of that if I were you. What makes you think you won't be in the same position as me. Ichiamo wears his heart on his sleeves and the minute you mess up, you'll be in the same place as me. And I can't wait for the day when you're in the cage right next to me."

  Katharina sighed. "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Because you're not even going to be around for the wedding."

  Zola stood slightly. "What are you talking about?"

  "Well, the war's over. All you friends are either dead or left. Which means the king doesn't need you anymore. You're going to Hungaro to spend the rest of whatever life you have there. Your punishment for your be
trayal."

  Zola's mouth widened. "You're lying!"

  Two Democrat Guards stood to the side of Katharina. "Look at it this way. You always wanted to be a part of history. Now you will be. Amilie Santos was sent to Hungaro by her father for being a slut. You had just become the second Santos to go there for the same reason. These men here will make sure you get to Hungaro safe and sound. Say hello to Amilie for me. If she's still alive."

  Katharina got out of the way and the Democrat Guards opened the cage. They brought Zola out as she struggled to break free from their grip.

  "YOU BITCH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS. I'LL MAKE SURE OF IT!"

  Katharina continued to walk and never look back. Her former Solarian friend was being dragged away to a fate too familiar in the history of the Santos clan. Little by little, as the screams drowned out, Katharina was able to crack a sinister smile.