CHAPTER 8: LITHANUL
She should be sleeping, but instead, she just lay there, her gaze fixed on the cold, metallic bulkheads of the ship. Her chamber, a marvel of opulence, far surpassed any quarters found on any other vessel. The walls and ceiling were adorned with actual gold plating, reflecting the soft light that illuminated the space, while the floor, crafted from a luxurious marble-like rock, radiated warmth beneath her feet. Silky smooth fabrics draped elegantly across the room, and intricate decorations lined the walls, making the entire chamber worth as much as the fleet itself. This sanctuary was the only place that rivaled her throne room on Edan in terms of comfort and grandeur. However, her massive bed was not empty; it was occupied by not only her slave but four other female Almorians as well, all sprawled out in a post-coital slumber after a wild night filled with stimulants and uninhibited passion. She should have felt happiness in their presence, yet a nagging discomfort gnawed at her. Her thoughts spiraled back to the billions of lives she had ordered to be slaughtered; it was a calculated act of revenge, a bloodbath she had orchestrated, and she had killed for far less.
Her turbulent train of thought was abruptly derailed when the door began to buzz incessantly, a persistent sound demanding her immediate attention. Annoyed, she rose from her plush bed, not even bothering to don any clothing, but she barely made it across the room. A sudden churn in her stomach sent her reeling. Just beyond the bed, the contents of her stomach erupted violently onto the polished floor. "Ugh!" she cried out, the sound echoing in the otherwise still chamber, awakening the horde of naked guests sprawled across the bed.
"Eww! That is disgusting!" One of the women exclaimed, her voice laced with shock and disgust.
"What the fuck did you say?" The Queen bellowed, her voice sharp and laced with fury as she snatched her pistol from the cabinet. "Did you just fucking call me disgusting?" She was seething, her skin fluctuating through a spectrum of green hues, her stomach still performing acrobatics that threatened to force her to double over. "Don't you dare call me disgusting." Another wave of nausea hit her, causing her to bend over, and in a fit of rage, she pulled the trigger, the plasma bolt striking another woman and reducing her to a puddle of goo. The room erupted into chaos as everyone screamed and scrambled for the exit, all except for her male slave, who simply grinned, seemingly unfazed. The other women rushed out, colliding with the Mordechai officer stationed outside, who stumbled aside in their frantic escape. The Queen screamed in frustration, her aim erratic as she fired at the fleeing figures, hitting everything but her intended targets. The officer ducked and dodged, narrowly avoiding the bolts of plasma as he observed the panicked women fleeing. "What the fuck do you want!" she yelled, her pistol now aimed directly at his face.
"My Queen," he began, his voice steady despite the chaos. "You requested to be informed if the Terrans did anything."
"You couldn't respond on your own?" She scowled, gripping her plasma pistol tighter, ready to make an example of the Mordechai officer, to execute him with more finesse than the splattered mess of the Almarian female on her floor.
"My Queen, it is regarding the deceiving ship. They are burning hard towards the perimeter." As she lowered the weapon, she strode with the guard towards the bridge, her lack of clothing hardly registering in her mind. "What the fuck are they doing?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing as she watched the tiny ship depart the space station orbiting the third planet's moon.
"The feed is a few hours old now; they have traveled beyond the instant sensor range of the Hyperbuoy," the sensor operator reported, his four arms deftly working the controls. The blue-skinned Viakun, a member of a species enslaved by the Alliance to operate their ships, was a sight to behold. Viakun males were highly sought after by the Almorian elite, primarily because their appearances closely resembled those of Almorian males. Many considered them more of a prize, as the extra set of arms added a new level of pleasure for some of the elite women. Lithanual couldn't help but notice the taut muscles of this young officer, who couldn't have been more than 40 standard years old. She made a mental note to request his assistance in her chambers at a later time.
"What the hell is that smell?" The Queen scrunched her nose, her senses assaulted by something foul as she scanned the room, desperately trying to identify the source of the stench. "Whoever the fuck is eating whatever the fuck that nasty is, get rid of it. Now!" she screamed, her voice dripping with rage as she directed her ire at the entire room. No one moved; they continued to monitor their stations, engrossed in their duties. The Queen felt her anger rise, gripping her pistol tighter, ready to execute the closest technician for disobedience, when the Viakun male once again drew her attention.
"My Queen, it appears the vessel is launching something at nothing."
"What?" She swiftly turned to the holo feed once more, her heart racing as she observed the ship’s bizarre behavior.
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The WarpStar executed a series of intricate maneuvers, a calculated dance of evasiveness. Every few seconds, the ship altered its heading, bearing, and angle as it unleashed its entire supply of railgun darts. Following each dart were a set of torpedoes igniting their booster thrusters, propelling themselves into the void. Once this elaborate dance concluded, the ship unleashed its full arsenal of 157 Mk VII missiles, which ignited their booster thrusters as well, rapidly gaining speed beyond that of the torpedoes. A tense silence settled over the observers onboard the Alliance Command ship as they watched the destroyer stretch and seemingly vanish into the void.
"That was 14 hours ago," the officer added, breaking the silence.
The Queen bent over, unintentionally displaying her naked form to the Viakun operator, indifferent to the effect it might have on him. Manipulating the controls of the screen herself, she replayed the feed over and over, her mind racing as she contemplated the level of technology required to achieve such a miraculous disappearance. Anger flared within her for allowing such a critical opportunity to slip through her fingers. She had them in her grasp, had captured the ship not long ago, imprisoned the crew, and subjected them to extensive interrogation. She had been on the cusp of uncovering the greatest technological achievement she had ever encountered, and yet she had let it go, all for a failed plan to unearth the knowledge hidden in the ancient city. "You failed me, Liege." She shot a glance at her military commander, shifting the weight of her failure onto him. "You had that fucking ghost ship in the belly of the Al`Su-Mar," she spat, referencing the command carrier that had been destroyed after capturing the WarpStar. The Queen stepped closer to the Mordechai Liege, her voice low and dangerous. "What the fuck? You let them escape!"
"My Queen," Mel`Nar bowed, his voice measured as he spoke in his native tongue. "The plan was to let them escape; they were going to unlock the library."
"And did they?"
Mel`Nar recognized the trap; the Queen was seething with rage. The right answer would have been to say yes, but that would drag him into deeper trouble, forcing him to recount the disaster that had unfolded. Instead, he chose to remain silent, puffing out his chest in a display of confidence.
"That library was useless!" She screamed at the towering giant before her. "That ship, whatever the fuck it is, possesses some sort of new star-drive technology. That is far more valuable than whatever secrets lie in that dustbowl down there."
"My Queen," Mel`Nar said, his anger simmering just below the surface. "Many Mordechai, Minmoran, and Almorian lives were lost generations ago attempting to capture that world. I would hardly call it useless to our cause."
"That ship is proof of how useless it is. We have never encountered such ingenuity before. The Terrans have another library out there, somewhere." She began walking towards one of the large holographic projections in the center of the room, her determination palpable. "It's there, I know it!" She pointed at the planet displayed prominently, a bluish-green world with only one natural satellite, a foreign orbiter rotating around a yellow dwarf star, the third closest rock to the celestial giant. "Change of plans, Liege. Let’s not destroy this world. We tried that once; this time let’s harvest them. Enslave the males, use the females as food."
"Yes, my Queen!" Mel`Nar's anger dissipated quickly, replaced by the tantalizing prospect of a plentiful feast that made his stomach growl audibly.
"Begin preparing the troops. Once we secure space superiority, you will land the armies. Subdue them as quickly as possible, use whatever force is necessary, and find me that archive of data!" Her voice echoed with authority, leaving no room for dissent.
"It will be done, My Queen." He had his orders, but uncertainty gnawed at him, a singular flaw in her grand plan nagged at the back of his mind.
"What is it, Liege?" she prompted, her tone sharp.
"Forgive me, My Queen, but what of The Legion?"
"They do not appear to be a threat. They seem to be just observing."
"Peculiar behavior for the mechanical beasts; I do not like that."
"Yes. There is something else at play with them, but for now, continue with the preparations. Begin moving the fleet, destroy everything in our path. Capture what you wish; I don't care, but do not liquify that third rock. Annex it and find me that damn library! Begin the assault! If The Legion interferes, eliminate them too."
"If The Legion defends this system, we won't stand a chance."
"Then I'll gather every ship at our disposal here. They may have superior firepower, but we can overwhelm them with numbers. We've had millions of years to prepare; our time is now!" Her voice was fierce and unyielding, a rallying cry for her forces.
"It will be done, My Queen!" Mel`Nar declared, marching off to his command post, issuing orders to initiate the battle. He carried out her commands without question, obedient to his monarch while missing the subtle cues she was emitting. Though Mordechai were not particularly observant, what he overlooked had not escaped the keen eye of another.
Queen Lithanul's personal slave had witnessed the entire sequence of events unfold, a smile stretching across his face, a grin that only grew wider. No one else had seen what he had, or perhaps no one was brave enough to act upon it. 'I am Queenslayer Muuktel Shun, liberator of Almora, Emperor of the Galaxy!' the slave whispered to himself, a mantra of ambition and destiny. He had played a long and perilous game to reach this moment, a game that was far from over, and he had just drawn his winning card. He was the only one in the room who understood the significance of the smallest detail in the Queen's behavior. Her skin, once a kaleidoscope of colors reflecting her emotions, now remained a steady light blue. Almorian females lost their ability to change colors only in one circumstance, a biological shift that had not been observed in their culture for hundreds of millennia. A shift that had been long forgotten by all. The Queen was pregnant.