As a glistening diamond, Prion seemed elegantly beautiful from the bridge of the Morningstar, the world where people in the core regions go to find riches and a life of meaning and purpose. It stood as the capital world of the Empire of Prion for seven thousand years, constantly growing and ever-evolving. Prion is a stellar empire spanning over a billion worlds; no other union of systems rivaled the majesty of this ancient society. Being one of the biggest Ecumenopolis out of one thousand and seventy in the universe, it housed an unfathomable amount of people and an economy large enough to sustain a hundred thousand worlds.
The Great Galactic Library of Knowledge was built on Prion, one of the great wonders of the space age. It is the home of the legendary Lybrarius Order, a proud society of scholars, scribes, philosophers, and wise men and women who make it their life’s work to collect all the records and knowledge and literature of all mankind to fill all the halls and archives of their grand temple.
The Order of the Ipsimus considered Prion one of their most valuable allies. That was until the emperor, a very close friend of Thanatos, was assassinated by unknown assassins. The assassination of an emperor has never been heard of in the entire existence of the Empire. Emperor Veneus left no heirs to the throne, thus plunging Prion into a constitutional crisis not seen in all its history.
Iphis saw an opportunity for her son, Sorath Velix, to ascend to the throne. However, those who led the government lost trust in the clandestine organization believing the assassination was a plot by the Order to replace the emperor with someone from the Order. Thanatos did not sanction the move by Iphis, though his wishes were that Izzar would become the next emperor in the event Veneus died before producing an heir.
It has already been arranged through Iphis’s extensive network inside Prion’s government that Sorath was to meet with the Supreme Minister to discuss the terms of the ascension. Even though the Minister was expecting Izzar, the plan was already set in motion. Thus, Sorath was left with the difficult task of swaying the Minister and his aides to accept him as the new emperor; he was told that the meeting would be brief and the formalities would commence afterward, but Sorath had a deep feeling that things were not going to go the way they planned.
For a couple of hours, Sorath stood on the bridge of the Morningstar, admiring the beauty of the city-covered planet. He had seen the official shuttle of the Supreme Minister and its scores of fighter ships protecting it approach the Morningstar but decided to make them wait after they boarded before he met with them. He would slowly make his way to the Audience room once he felt they were ready for him. When the ship was built, Thanatos included the Audience room, a large elaborate room decorated in pure cold and precious stones and minerals from across the galaxy to intimidate and instill awe in those he met in it.
Sorath found the Minister and his large entourage standing near the sizeable observation window of the large room; they were looking about, pointing and staring at the beauty of the decorated room. In the middle of the room stood a large table made from the ancient Waling Trees of Pavloton; they were thus far the oldest trees ever discovered. Due to their value, the planet had been stripped of every last tree. Left only with the younger trees for another generation to poach in another age.
Sorath approached the group slowly, allowing them to take in the beauty of the room for a moment longer. Though it did not last too long when the Supreme Minister spotted him approaching.
“I am confused.” The words from the Supreme Minister almost seemed cold but expected nonetheless.
“May we have some privacy.” Then, the Minister turned to his delegation and instructed them to leave the room.
“I was expecting Izzar. I will meet with no one else other than the Epsimus and Izzar; where are they?”
Sorath expected this response from the Minister; he was not able to answer his question, though. He needed to be extremely careful not to lose the Minister’s support, though it already seemed like he did.
“I can see you are confused, just as much as I am, your Excellency. I suggest you contact Iphis so we may clear this confusion.”
The Minister turned away from Sorath; from within the deep pockets of the short man’s coat, he took out a small holographic communicator and placed the device on the floor. With two clicks, a holographic display resonated from the device. Iphis appeared almost immediately.
“Your Excellency Supreme Minister Ulri, I was expecting a communication from you. I take it everything is going as planned?”
With Iphis in the hologram, there were four other dark figures in council with her; Ulri recognized them and understood something was terribly wrong.
“I need a direct line to Epsimus Thanatos,” Ulri demanded.
“Whatever for?” She replied with a snare.
“The throne is not for Sorath but for Izzar; he is the rightful heir of Prion now. Have you sent your assassins for me too?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about, my dear Ulri; how can you suggest such a thing? Tell me, Ulri, do you take pride in the position granted to you?”
“Without my approval, no one will sit on that throne; if you kill me now, you will face the full wrath of the Prion navy.”
“I assure you, Minister, the Morningstar is more than capable of handling your entire fleet.”
From the corner of his eye, Ulri notices Sorath looking at Iphis with slightly widened eyes and a subtle shake of the head; the man had nothing to do with this plot.
“I think this conversation is over. The throne belongs to Izzar and no one else; those are the wishes of Epsimus Thanatos. If you disagree, by all means, get the Epsimus on the line.”
“I don’t think Epsimus Thanatos will be joining us any time soon.” Said Iphis with a slight chuckle. “He will be dead soon, and you will no longer be in favorable standing with the Order if you don’t cooperate. Your late emperor should have chosen his allies carefully. But, unfortunately, he was too young and naive to understand his place in the galaxy.”
Ulri’s eyes widened; he took two steps away from Sorath and shook his head profusely; he did not know what to say. Then, with a double click, the hologram closed and the connection cut. He turned and looked at Sorath with disgust.
“How could you follow such a monster? The emperor was just a boy.”
Sorath did not answer; deep in his heart, he knew this was all wrong. The order of the galaxy will be thrown into disarray if the laws he’s bound to are not followed. Nevertheless, Thanatos still held on to the leadership of the Order, and thus his rule was still valid and just, at least to the Supreme Minister.
“You can tell Iphis that all bets will be off if Epsimus Thanatos parishes and Izzar is not placed on the throne, and she can consider Prion and the Order to be at war. I am sure you can reason with her; you seem like a man of sound mind and a loyal heart. But, you can also tell her that….”
An explosion rocked the ship, it was not big enough to throw them off their feet, but it was sufficient for the vessel to shutter slightly. Sorath peered around the room, and his gaze met a black ship passing the observation window.
“Is this your way to frighten us, Supreme Minister?” Sorath was angry; the ship was the pride of his career, the first one entrusted to him by Thanatos ten years ago.
“I do not know what you mean!” Ulri seemed sincere; Sorath could see the genuine surprise in his eyes.
“That is a Royal Guard Ship; they protect the emperor and his government. Surely you can at least tell me that you know what this is about?”
Ulri turned and was startled by his delegation rushing into the room; one of them ran ahead and whispered in his ear. Ulri’s eyes went wide; both his hands started to shake. He looked back at Sorath, not knowing what to say; his lips were babbling inaudible words.
“Out with it.” Said Sorath in frustration as another blow to the ship slightly shook the floor.
“The commander of the Royal Guard has broken rank and ordered all her units to attack this ship. They believe whoever is on this ship planned the assassination of the emperor.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
Sorath was swinging around, looking through the window to see hundreds of ships converging on the Morningstar. The long slender man who had whispered into Ulri’s ear stepped forward and explained that they have direct contact with the Royal Guard at all times.
Sorath swiftly walked to the window and saw that the scores of ships were now attacking his vessel; it was his duty to protect his ship and his crew; he wasn’t about to fail in that task. Next, he removed a communication device from his standard-issue uniform coat directly linked to the ship's captain.
“We are under attack, sir.” Sorath had no chance to ask anything; the captain was in a panic.
“Launch all defensive measures….”
“Please don’t!” Yelled Ulri from the back, running towards Sorath.
“Why not? - Please hold on to that order, captain.”
“If you attack them, they will see it as a sign of guilt; they will only intensify the attack. So stand down and hail their leader; she will come to you.”
“If she doesn’t, I will personally see you off this ship in a body bag.”
Sorath rushed to the bridge where he met his confused captain; as he approached, the captain tried to say something, he lifted his hand to silence him.
“Hail H-G-4-5-9-0.” Ulri had told him the frequency code of the commander before leaving him behind.
Within moments a line opened, and the voice echoing on the bridge were crystal clear; Sorath instantaneously recognized her voice but could not remember from who or where he had heard it.
“Murderer!” She yelled over the communication; she did not seem to be in the mood for talking.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“Please cease your attack and let us come to an agreement.” Sorath’s voice seemed to disappear in the loud sounds of the attacking ship’s engines flying close by the bridge windows.
“You’ve murdered our emperor, and now you come to take what is left of his empire. This will never be forgiven or forgotten. Meet me on the battlefield, you coward.”
Sorath heard Ulri enter the room behind him, still gasping for air. The short man seemed to have missed his crucial days in the gymnasiums; his face was almost purple but slowly gained normal color as he gained his breath.
“Do not engage. Stand down, Commander Raven!” Ulri’s words knocked Sorath’s breath out from his stomach; her name was as familiar as the name of a family member. He peered out the bridge at her ship, turning about to face the dreadnaught again.
“Supreme Minister Ulri!?” She seemed confused, but at the same time, all attacks on the ship ceased. This was the break Sorath needed. Finally, he snapped out of the stupor he found himself in.
“Captain, what is the status of the ship?”
“A minor breach in sector B-twenty-two-dash-one, but our engineers are working to fix it, our shields are stable, and there are no signs of structural damage. However, it will take more than that to bring this ship down, sir.”
With a sigh of relief, he turns to Ulri with questions; the small man still had some of his breath to catch up; he also seemed relieved to see the attack called off.
“What are you doing on that murderer’s ship Supreme Minister?” Commander Raven seemed less than happy with his presence there. She was not aware of their meeting.
“I am on an important diplomatic mission; the designated heir to the empire was supposed to be on this ship but is not.”
“Izzar Velix will never be emperor over Prion!” The deep hate in her voice was evident; Sorath doubted she ever met Izzar, who remained isolated on Dessix.
“Izzar is not on this ship… I am Sorath Velix; we have no quarrel. Why don’t you come on board, and we can all diplomatically discuss this matter?”
“I am sorry, Sorath….” Said Ulri from the side. “… There is nothing further to discuss.”
“The Commander of the Royal Guard disapproves of my brother’s ascension. However, would you rather want to avoid a full-on civil war than please the wishes of a dying old man?”
Ulri looked back as his delegation finally caught up with them on the bridge; they seemed less out of breath than him. Then, with a sigh, Ulri gathered his composure; what Sorath had just said was true. If the Royal Guard disagreed on the new emperor they had to serve, they would do everything in their power to remove him from the throne, even if it meant plunging the empire into civil war.
“You’re right… Commander Raven, I request your presence on the ship straight away.”
There was silence over the communication; she hesitated.
“Right.” That was all she said before breaking communication.
“Sir, H-G-4-5-9-0 is seeking permission to board.” Said one of the officers from across the bridge. The captain looked at Sorath for permission; for a second, he hesitated but nodded in approval.
“Permission granted.” Said the captain to the officer.
“If we may, I think it is best if we go back to the Audience Room, we will meet her there.”
Sorath led the delegation from the bridge through the massively confusing corridors of the Morningstar back to the Audience Room. It was not long before Ulri began to lose his breath again; Sorath only smiled but continued at the same pace. Once at their destination, they found Commander Raven already in the room, standing and staring out the window over Prion. The city lights shone brightly on the night side of the world, giving away the massive scale of the world city. She was precisely the same way Sorath last saw her; he still towered over her. Her gold and white uniform seemed to suit her short cut brown hair; she was tough, that much Sorath knew.
“You seemed to have scratched my ship,” Sorath said across the room, drawing her attention to the group of people now joining her.
“Your ship is hard to miss.” She retorted back.
“Not many small fighters can breach her hull like you did; it will take us some time to repair the damage you’ve done.”
“Good, you and your organization have no business with Prion.”
“On the contrary….” Sorath smiled at her, gesturing at a seat for her to sit down around the sizeable Waling Tree table.
“No thanks.” His hospitality was the last thing she desired at that moment in time.
“Very well.” Sorath proceeded to sit down.
“His late majesty’s wish cannot be granted.” Raven continued.
“The empire has stood for many millennia, and the Royal Imperial Guard has stood watch over its monarchs. My family has vowed to protect the monarchs to their last breath since the first emperor was crowned. I will not stand to see a foreigner disgrace my family heritage by being called the emperor. You know nothing of our history, customs, or traditions. A Prionian will rule over the empire, not Izzar, not a foreigner.”
Sorath maintained a smile; he was well aware of their customs, something she was unaware of. Though she didn’t recognize him, he did.
“Raven Tanner, firstborn of Orion Tanner. I know who you are. Besides, we were born in the same district, Malecora. So my brother and I might share the same name, but we do not share the same father.”
Raven was caught off guard; she looked at Ulri with surprise; he also seemed surprised by this revelation.
“Well, I do believe there is only one way of dealing with this matter. As we both went to the same training academy right here on Prion, something I seem to remember quite well, but you, on the other hand, not. So, therefore, I will go through the Guard's Challenge to prove to you that I am a student of Master Duar Yalden.”
“Do not stain Master Yelden’s name with your lies.” Raven, offended by what he had said, was ready to leave.
“Do you remember who I am?”
She stopped dead in her tracks; she does not recall his face. Though she knew his name and found his voice very familiar, it did not come to memory of the past.
“I used to go by the name of Kaven Ional. They used to make fun of us for having similar names. Do you remember what they called us?”
She smiled but lowered her head in sadness a second later. Sorath expected her to be happy to learn his identity, but he was met with a saddened countenance.
“The Aven Pair.”
“That’s right.”
“It was corny back then and even more so now. So what makes you think I’ll change my mind over Izzar just because I know you?”
“I’m not here on behalf of Izzar; I am here on behalf of myself.”
Everyone in the room drew their full attention to Sorath; Ulri already said that Sorath would not take the throne. Therefore, it was up to the Prion government to approve a new Emperor and not the Captain of the Royal Imperial Guard.
“We need to leave.” Said Ulri
“I will not force you to stay Supreme Minister.”
“Good, then I will not stay any longer.”
“Though you will not find it easy to leave either. I have to follow the laws of the Order.”
Ulri’s eyes went wide; he knew Sorath did not have the power to keep him on board that ship. However, his mother did.
“Even if I am forced to stay on this ship, you will not get the throne.”
“And what makes you think that anyone else would be allowed to hold the throne?”
Sorath sighed; he was not there to force anyone to do anything. Unlike his brother, he did not possess the personality to try and overpower someone. Although Sorath was many years older than Izzar, he was not brought up by Thanatos; Thanatos influenced Izzar to be the way he was. Sorath never envied his younger brother, though he never saw him in the flesh; he had spoken to him a few times but was worried by the few encounters.
“So it was your Order that ordered the hit on our emperor?”
Sorath had to be careful with his words now; he seemed to have unknowingly spoken himself into a corner.
“The Order is currently investigating that tragic event; the death of the emperor was not an order given by us or anyone affiliated to the Organization.”
As his words stopped, the doors opened, six giant robots entered the room bearing weapons. The people in the room became fearful; they did not know what was happening.
“If you arrest us and keep us here to force us to accept you as our new emperor, you are sadly mistaken.”
Ulri was scared; everyone could hear it in his voice. Then, a hologram of Iphis appeared in the middle of the big table in the center of the room.
“It has come to my attention that you are refusing our replacement to fill the throne.”
“Respectfully we must, Izzar was chosen by the emperor, and the government of Prion has approved his investiture. If Izzar is not to become emperor, then Prion will no longer have a monarch, and we will declare a Federation.”
“You will make a grave mistake if that happens. Prion will be at war with the rest of the galaxy if it refuses to fall into line.”
“Prion has the largest army in the galaxy; you cannot threaten us with war. We’ve fought many without you, and this one, I assure you, and we will be able to win without any problem.”
“You have the largest army… that you know of.” Iphis smiled through the hologram, making the room colder. If you are not with us, you are against us. Sorath, take care of them. The fleet is on their way.”
“Prion will not fall to a military coup!”
Iphis was gone even before he could finish his sentence. The situation became tenser in the room; Raven kept her eyes on the robot, Ulri did not take his off of Sorath.
“I know you boy, you will not let her kill us.”
“I will be dead if I defy her; Prion will be in worse hands if I am killed.” So said Sorath; apparent worry filled his voice. He did not expect things to become this tense.
With his mother seeking complete control over Prion and Thanatos being indifferent towards their most prominent ally, Sorath was left in a situation he wished to avoid. None of his missions had ever failed this miserably; there was no good outcome to this. His glance moved over to Raven, who was now backing towards a corner with two robots preparing to attack; Ulri and his delegation also backed away in fear. The security detail with the politicians was ill-equipped for the situation; they were stripped of their weapons when they boarded after being assured they were perfectly safe.
There were two security cameras in the room, one facing the port side and the other towards the starboard side. Beneath the table where Sorath was seated was a hidden control panel, he knew exactly which button deactivated the cameras in the room; they were down in a flash. Sorath took out a standard-issue 12mm Ipdimussian revolver and shot down the four robots, landing a single shot each, approaching the Supreme Minister and his delegation. The two approaching Raven turned towards Sorath but was quickly destroyed by Raven, who saw the opportunity Sorath had created for her.
“Just like old times.” Smiled Raven as the two robots fell to the ground in a ball of smoke.
“Not quite.” Said Sorath with a worrying sigh.
“I thought you….”
“Don’t say anything, Supreme Minister; it will not be easy to escape this ship from here. I cannot help you any further than this room. Captain Raven will have to escort you to the main hangar and escape the ship. Iphis will be contacting me very soon to determine what exactly just happened here.”
“Why are you doing this, Sorath?”
“There is no time.” He rushes towards a wall with a large landscape picture and a fortress in the background, for those knowledgeable of the order will recognize it as the Citadel on Dessix where Thanatos is training Izzar. With a wave of the hand, the portrait vanished to reveal a secret door.
“If you follow these hallways, it will lead you straight to a central hall; once there, follow the corridor labeled as ‘Alpha’ hangar. It should take you straight to your ship. Don’t expect to escape easily.” Sorath’s words towards Raven seemed warm; she found comfort in his direction. The old days were what she craved…
Their session had just ended; both Raven and Kaven had finished their sparring match. They couldn’t go any further. While down on their knees, they glanced at one another with tired smiles. They both were barely sixteen years old.
“Do you want to go another round?” Asked Raven with excitement.
Kaven sighed and lowered his head; he meant to tell her something significant but enjoyed her company too much to spoil it. However, Raven had some news that she wanted to share with him; he had no idea what she was holding on to when her hands were resting over her waist.
“I’ve meant to tell you, my love….”
Her shoulders dropped, her heart stopped. His somber mood could only mean one thing.
“My training is complete here at the academy. But, unfortunately, I’m leaving very soon. So they are already waiting for me outside.”
The memory faded; she looked down at her waist and felt saddened by the fact that he never knew what he had left behind. However, she never forgot who he was and their time together; besides, how could she?
“I hope I will see you again… for old time sake.”
Her words faded as loud bangs outside the main entrance of the room interrupted the group. They all fled into the hallway, and Sorath waved his hand once more, not taking his eyes off of Raven. Within moments after the portrait covered their escape, the door blew open, and security guards, together with the ship's captain, flooded the room.
“Where have they gone?” Shouted the captain from behind Sorath. Luckily for them, the captain did not know every secret Thanatos hid within the Morningstar.
“I was overpowered.” Said Sorath as he turned towards the captain. “They were twelve, they had one highly skilled combatant, and not even I could hold her off for long.”
“I knew bringing her on board was a bad idea; you never invite a hostile enemy onto your ship. So next time, I will make the call.”
Sorath turned towards the captain with an angry glare in his eyes.
“You fly the ship; I decide where the ship goes and what happens on the ship. Are we clear, captain?”
The captain stared him in the eyes; he could not believe that Sorath had just said what he said. He saluted Sorath and proceeded to exit the room with his men, but he stopped to look at the robots before leaving. His eyes caught a glimpse of something out of place, then looked at Sorath; deep inside, Sorath knew the captain realized what had happened.
“Close all hangars immediately. No ship comes or goes without my pre-authorization.”
The captain clearly ignored Sorath; Iphis was not going to give Sorath an easy time for this. He hadn’t even figured out what he was going to tell her.