I will never be able to unsee the atrocities of greed. Entire lives of suffering endured in order to stockpile the unneeded luxuries of gluttonous societal parasites. Despite the objections of the other two members of my ship, I will carry on with my mission. Even if I must infiltrate every corner of Plaquar aristocracy. I will reform that abominable nation, and I will start with Superior Vishka Vorinthia.
* Audio log of Princess Marilyn Voltus
Jundilor
Impenetrable. This was the word her Chief of Operations had used when describing the fortress to her. A state-of-the-art facility with every defense her unlimited supply of Plaquar credit could acquire.
Anti-starcraft laserbolt cannons, organic-seeking automated plasma railguns, sound and pressure sensitive magma landmines, and a couple hundred mercenaries armed to the teeth with every weapon their generous salaries could afford. All of these were more than what was necessary to make a fortress impenetrable. At least, that is what Superior Vishka Vorinthia had been told.
Vishka grimaced down at the scene below her from her balcony atop the thirty-story tower. The three separate sets of walls that surrounded the tower were well beyond what one would consider breached.
In no time at all the plasma railguns were obliterated. Up in smoke. The magma landmines had gone off but were far too slow to hit the target that had sped over them. The anti-starcraft cannons were rendered completely useless as there was no starship for them to lock on to.
All Vishka’s hopes now rested on her expensive arsenal of mercenaries. Most were the usual cast of brutish thugs that came from the worlds within the Plaquar nation. However, mixed within the rubbish were some formidable warriors.
Lanzira Blackmane and her pride of Lionnaires from the unconquerable world of Leoveus. Lanzira had a shiny coat of silver fur under her obsidian armor. The men of her pride consisted of six beastly warriors. Each of their furs was a varying shade of gray accompanied by large black manes that surrounded their lion-like heads.
The Skull Bashers. A group of Minotaurs from the devastated world of Taurinos. Even the largest of the Lionnaires only came up to the shoulder of the smallest Skull Basher. They each carried heavy war hammers and roared loud battle cries at the intruder.
Useless. Every last one of them. All stopped by a single woman. A pretty young thing with curly bleach blonde hair. Vishka’s cyber enhanced vision allowed her to see the light brown skin tone that seemed to contrast with her electric blue eyes.
Vishka remembered a time when she was considered a young beauty. Luring influential people into her lair. Climbing the ladder of Plaquar politics. How long had it been since she had last wooed someone with her seductive prowess? 300 years?
Those days were long gone now. Her long purple hair was now brittle and dull. Her once glistening green skin was now marred with wrinkles, blue warts, and black skin tags. So, it was a good thing she had climbed as far as there was to climb.
She looked over to her Chief of Operations in disgust. A pale and plump little bald man with long green eyebrows.
“Jump,” Vishka told him.
“I beg your pardon?!” he asked. He looked over the railing and his face started to turn as green as his eyebrows.
Vishka gave the man a shove, but he resisted. Luckily, her bodyguard was quick to assist her. Hatamiko lifted the man by his jacket and tossed him over. The former Chief of Operations screamed in horror until his body met the hard stone floor far below.
“Thank you, Hatamiko,” said Vishka. “I hope you feel up to a challenge tonight.” The Skull Bashers were already strewn about incapacitated, and the Lionnaires were currently throwing their hands up in surrender after taking a pummeling.
“I have defeated Elementi before, superior,” said Hatamiko. His voice was low and confident.
Not like this. Vishka thought. The poor fool had no idea who it was scaling up the side of her tower. She wasn’t certain either, but she had a damn good guess.
She shuffled inside her lavishly furnished penthouse suite. Hatamiko followed her to her large wooden desk as they awaited the arrival of their guest.
The intruder pounced over the balcony railing with blue electricity trailing behind her. Vishka had six guards other than Hatamiko who all ran in to try and tackle her before she made it across the room.
The young woman created an electric shockwave that sent them all back. Three of them went plummeting to their deaths over the balcony. Another two were thrown back into the walls on the other side of the room hard enough to hear bones snapping. The final guard had been unfortunate enough to pounce on the woman just before she unleashed her attack. He had been sent straight up where he was then impaled by one of the many decorative spikes that adorned the ceiling. He hung from it, motionless.
Vishka remained seated at her desk. Her bodyguard, Hatamiko, stood firm behind her with arms crossed. His dark gray skin glistened in the dimly lit room. He wore a red and black tank top that was tucked into loose black pants. From his forehead protruded a small black horn.
The intruder stopped seven paces away from Vishka’s desk. Her purple pants belled at the bottom and her blue shirt covered only her upper torso. All her clothing, including her sleek black boots, had golden embroidery that formed symmetric patterns. She stopped a few paces away and put her hands on her hips as she adjusted her weight to one side. “I take it you know why I’m here?”
Vishka’s big yellow slitted eyes narrowed on the woman. She spoke with a raspy voice. “A lone Imperian with the audacity to attack a Plaquar superior. Let me guess. Did one of the other superiors put you up to this and hire some distant Farako assassin to cover up their tracks? Or perhaps you don’t appreciate the way we handle our business here in Plaquar. You wouldn’t be the first.”
“I’m not for sale,” the woman replied. “And I’ve seen what your business entails. The evils you burden your people with.” She took a step forward and electricity circled around her hands.
Hatamiko suddenly dashed over the desk with great speed. The woman barely had time to bring her arm up to block a kick that might have broken her neck had it connected. She jumped back and shook the pain from her arm.
“This is Hatamiko,” said Vishka with a calm and collected smirk. “As you have already seen, he is extraordinarily fast, and his strength is nearly as impressive as his reflexes. He has been trained by the finest warriors since he was a small boy.”
Hatamiko got into a fighting stance. His once green eyes were now entirely black. “You are actually my fourth Elementi. I hope you will not fall to your own arrogance like the others.”
The young woman gave a small scoff through a slight smile.
“Attacking a Plaquar superior is no laughing matter!” shouted Hatamiko as he leapt to make his attack. He came down with a kick, but the woman had gracefully stepped aside with a look of amusement still on her face.
Hatamiko’s lifetime of training prepared his body to respond to failure with an immediate response. As soon as he felt his kick had missed, he was already swinging a punch. Once that missed, he swung another kick. This went on and on as he applied every lesson that he had been given to help him emerge victorious. Just as he had done countless times in numerous battles over the years.
Like all great masters, his movements were decided by instinct. There was little time to strategize at the speed he was capable of fighting at. His mind and spirit were silent as his body spoke on their behalf.
That silence came to a halt when his perfectly timed kick was caught in mid-air by his opponent. It would not have been even a slight distraction were it not for the fact that his leg wouldn’t budge. The grip she had on his ankle was far too great. In the briefest of moments his once quiet mind became a hub of questions. Did she stop my swinging kick with one hand? Is she stronger than me? Is she faster than me? Who trained her? Am I about to lose? Am I about to die? Is this really the end?
Of all the burning questions Hatamiko had, he knew of only one that stood out above the others. A question that he could not go to the grave unanswered.
“Who are you?” he asked with the voice of someone who had come to terms with their fate.
The woman cleared her throat before answering. “Hatamiko, for the crime of killing three of my fellow Elementi, not to mention all the heinous deeds you’ve no doubt committed for Superior Vishka, I, Marilyn Voltus, daughter of the Godking Darex Voltus, hereby sentence you to death.”
Hatamiko put his hands together and bowed his head. “To die by your hand is an honor, princess. I apologize I was not more of a match for you.”
“It’s fine,” she said before she blasted him out the window with a large blue bolt of lightning.
Vishka leaned back in her chair. Her warty lips pursed tightly together as she tried to think. “I understand you had to kill Hatamiko. He killed your fellow Elementi, so you made an example of him. I can assure you, child, killing a Plaquar Superior will reap similar results. The other superiors will hunt you down to the ends of the galaxy. Even if it means going into a full out war with your father.”
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“Relax,” said Marilyn. She walked over and sat down on the corner of Vishka’s desk. “I don’t want to kill you. What good would that do me?”
“So, what then?” asked Vishka. “Is this some kind of a shakedown?”
“You can call it whatever you want. Personally, I’d call it asking for a favor.”
“Favors can be refused without fear of repercussion.”
Marilyn threw her arms up in the air. “Fine! Call it a damn terrorist threat for all I care! Just stop sending your slaver ships into the neutral zone.”
Vishka frowned. “It would seem the king did little to educate his daughter on what exactly a neutral zone is. The worlds who have remained resistant to conquest are not charter protected by any of the great nations and are therefore ‘free pickings’ as we from the nation of Plaquar are like to call it.”
Electricity danced up Marilyn’s arm and the static it sent through the air caused Vishka to flinch. “Enlighten me. Since I am so ignorant in the ways of the galaxy. Who is it that replaces a superior after they’ve finally croaked?”
Vishka groaned in annoyance, but answered, nonetheless. “Each superior has several subordinates who will choose a champion to represent them in a battle royale. The last one standing gets promoted to superior.”
“And Hatamiko, he was the champion who earned you the title of superior?” asked Marilyn.
“No. Hatamiko defeated the man who championed me in the battle royale, and you ended him with little effort on your part. So, what’s your point?”
A small clicking sound could be heard from under Vishka’s desk where she had hit a concealed button. The doors to the elevator on the far side of the room opened with several guards holding fully charged laser rifles. Marilyn struck them with a beam of blue lightning before anyone was able to pull the trigger. The ones who didn’t get scorched to death found themselves screaming in terror as the elevator brought them crashing down to the tower’s floor.
“My point, Vishka, is that your warriors don’t scare us. War with my father would be the end of this puny nation, and the sooner that happens the better off the galaxy will be. So, if I ever catch your slaver ships lurking about anywhere other than within the safety of your borders, I will blast them into scrap metal.”
Superior Vishka said nothing. Marilyn leaned over and spoke in a condescending tone. “Do we have an understanding?”
Vishka let out a long breath through her nostrils which made a low whistle. “Yes.”
“And who’s not going to send their slaver ships into the neutral zone?” Marilyn asked with the same condescending tone.
This time veins came to the surface and twitched all over Vishka’s face. “Me,” she finally let out.
“Now, there’s a good superior.” Marilyn walked over to the edge of the balcony. “Vishka,” she said with a smirk. “Don’t make me come back here.” Then she hopped over the railing.
Vishka waited until she felt like Marilyn was gone and then flipped over her desk with a furious scream.
Marilyn escaped the walls of the fortress just as easily as she had breached them. Outside the walls was a dense forest that the guards were begrudgingly forced to enter in pursuit of the trespassing princess. None of them ever came close to keeping up with her. Each one that entered the forest met their untimely demise due to quicksand, giant insects, or the plethora of carnivorous vegetation.
The forest that had caused a Chief of Operations to believe the fortress he constructed for his superior was impenetrable, was now responsible for aiding in the escape of the one and only person to ever breach it.
Once Marilyn was clear of the forest she hailed her pilot, Kembro, to retrieve her. He and her best friend, Ryllah Bolt, had kept her starship in orbit after dropping her off above the forest far from Vishka’s tower. Though the ship was equipped with stealth technology, Marilyn wasn’t entirely sure of the lengths of its efficacy.
“Worried sick!” Ryllah shouted while throwing a sofa cushion. Like the princess, she had bright blue eyes. Though, her hair was a much darker blonde and she often wore it up in a messy bun atop her head. When standing next to the princess Ryllah barely came up to her shoulder.
The cushion hit Marilyn’s face and she retaliated with a cushion of her own. “I told you I’d be fine!”
Ryllah giggled as she covered her face from the soft projectile.
“When your father gave you this ship, I don’t think using its stealth tech to sail to distant worlds and threaten intergalactic leaders was what he had in mind,” said Kembro. The large canine humanoid was covered in thick black fur aside from his neck and chest, which had snow white. He wore a dark green vest and had a red bandana around his neck.
“Hey, if the ‘Champion of the Undying Light’ doesn’t like his daughter going out and actually making a difference in the galaxy then he shouldn’t have given her the means to do it,” Marilyn replied.
“Pretty sure he did it to keep you from getting detected by the emboldened pirates roaming around in the neutral zones,” mumbled Kembro. “But what do I know? I’m just the pilot.”
“Speaking of the Undying Light,” said Ryllah. “Isn’t that big demonstration coming up soon?”
Marilyn groaned. “Yes. Kembro, how far is it to get back to Farako?”
“Farako is a little under five days from here, princess,” he replied. Normally, he would have had to consult the ship’s navigation system to see how long a journey would take, but Kembro always made sure to keep track of how far they were from the princess’s home planet.
“Right,” she replied. As little interest as she had in attending her father’s demonstration, she was even less interested in getting scolded by him for her absence. “We’d best set sail then.”
Farako Capitol
The time it took Marilyn’s ship to hyper-hop home was filled with increased gravity training, several card games, binging highlights of old tournament battles, dancing to their favorite playlists, and a multitude of after meal naps.
When the planet of Farako finally came into view, Kembro called the girls into the control room to see the extraordinary sight for themselves.
All around Farako were millions of starships floating in its orbit, and more ships were constantly joining in from all directions.
“All these people came to see your father’s demonstration?” asked Ryllah. “I had no idea the Undying Light’s influence was so large!”
“It seems to grow with every passing day,” said Marilyn.
The descent into the atmosphere above Darex’s palace was an even more spectacular sight than what they had witnessed in orbit. Multitudes of beings were camped out around the palace as far as the eye could see in every direction. Masses of people all crowded together in an ocean of faces. Each one scrambling to get a better view of what most of them had hyper-hopped so far to see. A glimpse of a god.
Marilyn arrived at her father’s palace without a moment to spare. On the way to the conference chamber from her private hangar, she ran into Starvast Guardian Kasey Storm.
“Princess!” the Starvast Guardian yelled from down the empty corridor. Her snow-white hair was made into a long braid that fell over her shoulder and down to her waist. She had a tattoo of a black bolt that went over her eye and down her left cheek.
“Kasey!” Marilyn yelled back. They met in the middle and clasped hands with a firm grip.
Kasey and her twin brother, Lucius, were three years older than Marilyn. They were born with unique bril that made one sibling produce black lightning whereas the other produced white. Earning them the nicknames; Kasey Darkbolt and Lucius Purebolt. Both were considered prodigies until Marilyn surpassed them at the age of twelve. Not only had she surpassed them, but she had also suggested they spar against her as a team. They begrudgingly agreed and lost.
“Find a worthy a foe?” asked Kasey.
“Found Hatamiko,” Marilyn told her.
“Isn’t that the one who got Brint Jolt? I heard he was deep in the Plaquar territory.”
“He also got Kartri and Florence Thunder,” Marilyn added.
“Well, you don’t look too banged up. How was he?”
Marilyn looked down and shook her head. “Didn’t seem like anything special to me. Perhaps our warriors could use a little more training.”
“You are blessed with power, princess. You are the godking’s daughter,” Kasey said with a smile. A smile that had once been one of friendship and admiration. Ever since the Undying Light had ordained Marilyn’s father to be a god, that smile had been replaced by one of worship and blind devotion.
Marilyn rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t indulge him too much.”
Kasey stood firm and her once inviting face turned to one of fanatic offense. “The Ascended Ones of the Undying Light have decreed it! He’s fulfilled nearly every prophecy that was given to them over a thousand years ago!” Then she lowered her voice. “Why must you choose to remain in the darkness, princess?”
Marilyn’s stomach churned. So many people that she admired were becoming engrossed with this old religion. She briefly forgot how delicate a subject her father’s “godhood” was. No matter how much she trusted a member of her father’s Starvast, she could never bring up her doubts about his divinity in their presence. Which made her cherish her best friend, Ryllah, all the more. She seemed like the only other person in Farako who wasn’t obsessed with the idea that her father would bring about peace to the galaxy.
“Sorry, Kasey, I had a long hyper-hop. I’m just lagging a bit.” Marilyn told her.
Kasey’s creepy smile returned. “All is well, princess. This demonstration is supposed to fulfil the final prophecy! It’s going to be incredible!”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Marilyn said with a poor attempt to provide much enthusiasm.
As they approached the conference chamber, they saw that the Starvast were all standing outside the room. A dozen Imperian warriors divided equally into generals and guardians. Kasey spotted her brother, Lucius, amongst them. Like her, he held the title of Starvast Guardian.
“Princess,” he said with a teasing bow. He knew how much Marilyn disliked being cordial. His shaggy black hair fell to his shoulders. There was a white lightning bolt tattooed on the right side of his face. Letting any who saw him know that he was the infamous Lucius the Purebolt. “I so rarely see you anymore.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” Marilyn said with a fake smile. “Why’s dad got everyone flocked together outside?”
“The why is still beyond me,” said Lucius. “High Priestess Lys has devised an interesting little test of faith before commencing with this particular demonstration, however.”
Marilyn’s heart skipped a beat. Was there some kind of way to scan if she was a believer or not? The very thought made her ill.
“She has required that all members of this pre-demonstration meeting take two pebbles into the conference room. One blue and one black. One at a time each person is to place a pebble into the hole atop a box in the conference chamber. Blue if you believe that Godking Darex is the Champion of the Undying Light. A deity reincarnated into mortal form to guide the galaxy into the light.” Then Lucius met eyes with Marilyn, but quickly looked away. “Black if you do not believe.”
“What a foolish ploy!” said Kasey. “What does Lys hope to accomplish with this?”
Lucius only shrugged and gestured them over to the High Priestess and her box of pebbles.
The priestess was short compared to the Elementi. Only coming up to Marilyn’s chest. She had long purple hair tipped with black that flowed down to her knees. Her eyes were completely white. Making her appear blind, though she was not. Most interesting of all were the small freckles of light that slowly roamed across her pitch-black flesh. Marilyn often thought it looked as though Lys had the night sky cast upon her skin.
Lys pointed at the box as the girls approached. Kasey tried to take only a blue pebble. Lys insisted she take a black one as well and discard it in the box that had been left by the door inside. Kasey did as she was told. When she came out of the room she nodded to Marilyn with confidence. As if to encourage the princess to have faith. Faith to believe that her father was actually a god.
But what were the qualifications of godhood? Did gods lose their temper? Would a god let their wife leave them? Do gods tell their daughters they’re better off not having a mother?
Marilyn stared at the two pebbles in her hands. Blue in her left and black in her right. She took a deep breath as she closed her fists around them and entered the conference chamber.