(Secure Audience Chamber, Imperial Palace, Ihmana Prime, Ihm Imperium)
In her old life, she had been known as Empress Drez Dhiss Ihm VII, ruler of the Ihm Imperium, proud mistress of the only star nation to rival the power of the Terrans. Superior Ihm commanders and science caste and engineers had advanced the Empire’s power to the point where, even before the assassination of the old Terran Emperor, she had been preparing the fleets and resources needed to strike at the Terran Empire, and claim their wealth as her own. But she had not been ready to move just yet. She would not condone the possibility of failure, and so she had to ensure that, when the war began, it would be successful without question.
When the Terran Civil War broke out, she had begun sending fleets to their staging areas, hoping to turn what looked to be a long and bloody civil war to her advantage. Let the Terrans bleed each other for a while, and then she could swoop in and kill them all while they were weak. She had been weeks away from giving the invasion order when the situation changed.
Her spies upon the Terran homeworld reported that an unknown ship (or ships) had destroyed several key facilities with weapons that had not been seen before. The destruction of the facilities did not matter to her. After all, anything that served to further weaken her prey was only a good thing.
No, the problem was the unknown ships with the unknown weapons. There had been claims made that the party responsible for the attack was some revolutionary force upon the planet of Mars. That was obviously a lie, put forward by some other group to shield against the Terrans’ retaliation.
That was a sign of weakness, as the one behind it clearly feared the Terran Empire’s counterattack. But she was reminded of the ythrax. It was no match for an Ihm warrior in open combat, not having the raw strength necessary for such a task. But the ythrax was an ambush predator, hiding and striking when one least expected it. And its venom could bring down an Ihm male in seconds.
No, she could not move forward with the invasion, not until she had properly accounted for this new variable. The consequences, if this new force turned against her fleets, had the potential to be as humiliating as they had been to the upstart Emperor. Better to delay the conquest, than risk that.
Worse, there was the very real possibility that, unless she huddled like a hatchling on Ihmana, those weapons could be turned against her, personally. That would have left her the choice of showing weakness by cowering, or knowingly exposing her own throat to an assassin’s blade. Neither prospect held any appeal to her.
So, she had waited, and watched. And her course had proven the path of wisdom, as it always did, when the unknown ships proved to be working alongside the hunted Empress, turning tide of battles where the Empress’s forces had been outmatched, if one looked at the forces arrayed against her. And, as swiftly as the Civil War had started, it had ended, with a crushing defeat for the upstart’s forces, and yet another new weapon being unleashed upon the universe.
Finally, her spies had gotten some actual information about this ‘Black Star Navy’. With the veil of secrecy ripped away, more details became clear. The ships had some advanced stealth capabilities, but nothing that was not already available. What scans they could get indicated that they had traded at least some weapons capacity, in the conventional sense, for stronger shields, though there may have been more to that.
The weapons the ships did have proved to be grotesquely simple in their design. It was effectively throwing a rock as fast as possible. Simple, but brutally effective. It was a weapon for which the best counter was to be elsewhere.
The so-called ‘Greenwave’ weapon was even worse, if such a thing was possible. According to the science caste, it was a swarm of self-replicating nanites that literally ate every kind of technology past the era of the steam engine. How it determined between different technology types they couldn’t say, and no one had been able to get to a place where Greenwave had been deployed and acquire samples without getting trapped on the world (or worse).
The science caste still had not found a defense against Greenwave once it had been deployed, or a way to destroy it and make an area that had been wiped clean of enemy technology safe for friendly troops. They had, however, come up with a variant of the Greenwave, which they were calling Zuphons, after the mythical Ender of All Things from the ancient tales from the ancestors. Unfortunately, it was essentially Greenwave, without the limitations. They had been forced to cast the rogue moon that the test had been conducted on into the depths of chaotic space, where the energies of that plane would, hopefully, destroy the nanites. At the very least, it would no longer be a concern for her, or her minions.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The thought of chaotic space brought her a shiver of joy. When she had ordered her fleets and science caste to tear open a rift into that plane, she had only been seeking to take her rightful powers that came from there, like the upstart Terrans had gotten after their rift opened. But she had not expected to find a Goddess, a true Goddess, the likes of which the ancient shamans had spoken of.
And her new goddess had granted her power beyond measure. No longer was she a mere Ihm, lithe and graceful, but lacking strength to enforce her decrees through violence if need be. Now, she had been infused with the power of Baxanke the Prideborn, the Majestic, the Everperfect.
Her size had grown, until she was taller than even the hulking brutes who made up her elite shock troops, but she was still as perfectly lithe as ever. She did not use mere brute muscles, but her body was infused with the powers of the chaotic space, enhancing her speed, strength, and mind. Horns now grew from her head, and great wings from her back. Her claws had grown sharp and deadly, and her neck grew long.
But the changes wrought upon her were more than that. She was now gifted with the powers of the chaotic realm. Baxanke had granted her the ability to dominate the will of others, bending them to their rightful purpose, serving and servicing her. But some would not bow. Those, she burned with the flames of chaos that she breathed out.
But her new glorious form came with a price. She had to consume more to maintain her existence within physical space, especially in worlds that were not close to the blessed rift. Not just food, though she still enjoyed the luxuries that were every bit her right as the Empress of the Ihm Imperium. No, she also required… other forms of energy.
Thankfully, Ihmana was close enough that her needs were not too extensive. A soul or two a day, combined with the veneration of the lesser beings that populated her empire, were enough to keep her fed. If she were to venture further from the rift, then she might have to feed more often, but that was nothing. These beings existed to serve her, after all.
Hmm. Speaking of serving her, it was almost time for the newest soul to be delivered to her. She had gotten very upset with her Chancellor when she had tried to offer up a common street rat as her sacrifice yesterday. She had still eaten the wretch, of course, but the taste was all wrong.
She very much hoped, for the Chancellor’s sake, that today’s offering was more appropriate. Otherwise, she would have to start considering whether the Chancellor was truly suited for her role. And if she wasn’t suited for the role, then perhaps she might be better suited to being dinner, and someone else could take up her office?
The great stone doors of her audience chamber opened. The Chancellor entered, followed by four other Ihm. Each had been perfected in some way by the Goddess’s touch, but none to the extent that she had been. They had been given ascension above the ranks of mortal Ihm, but had not been given the sheer wealth of power she had been.
In their center was a smaller Ihm, the normal size of an Ihm male just past the age of adulthood. He was naked, save for the binding chains, and fought futilely to escape the chaos-infused steel that trussed him up as an offering, which only served to showcase some exaggerated proportions that he had, as his unsheathed member flapped about like a human’s. Given the half-heard yells the male was trying to cry out, it was probably for the best that he had been gagged, with his mouth sealed shut. However, even as he screamed and fought, the Chancellor and his guards dragged the male forward, until the group was mere meters away from her throne.
The Chancellor bowed low, and the guards gave respect, as well. They did not bow, because they were on guard. Long ago, one of the former Empresses had decreed that guards in the act of guarding would not be considered rude or disrespectful so long as they showed respect with a nod of the head, and set their focus about their task, rather than bowing and scraping each time someone important entered the room. That Empress’s view on the subject had probably been colored by the fact that she used a guard’s ingrained response to bow when a Princess approached to slay him, before slaying the current Empress in her bed one night. She had not wanted the same thing to happen again, obviously.
Focusing on the Chancellor, she said, “Well, Chancelor Sris, what is it that you have brought before us?”
“My gracious Empress, I come bearing both news, and a tribute, to sate your magnificent hunger.”
The Empress raised her head slightly. “News, is it? Let us hear it, then.”
The Chancellor stood as tall as she was able to, and said, “The High Warleader of the Great Armada sends word. Purging the disloyal and the unworthy from the Great Armada is continuing ahead of schedule. More and more seek the blessing of the Goddess, rather than dare fighting against your most glorious forces.”
“Good, good! Tell the High Warleader that, when the task is complete, We wish for her to begin revising plans for the invasion of the Terran Empire, given the new realities of the world. It has been far too long since the Empire and the other nations have witnessed the full glory of the Imperium, and now the Goddess shines upon us, and grants her blessings and boons to us. We shall prove worthy of such gifts.”
The Chancellor bowed again. “As you wish, My Empress.”
Yes, the Empress smiled to herself, that was how it should be. The veneration and supplication to her was how it should always be. She deserved that much, at least. Still, she took her eyes off the Chancellor, and turned them towards the figure she had brought with her.
“And what have you brought us, here?”
“My Empress, in searching for a sacrifice worthy of your magnificence, my hunters found a truly exceptional rarity to offer to you. This male, puny though he may look, is a Nomad. The uniqueness of their souls is known to all. Naturally, I knew that the first one caught since the awakening of the Goddess should be given to you, and none other.”
The Empress straightened slightly. A Nomad? That was a rare treat! She had heard from the Goddess that souls of Nomads were unlike others, but hadn’t had the chance to taste them herself!
“It is well that you know to bring us our due, Chancellor. We find that this more than erases your previous failure.” Turning to look at the male more closely, she asked, “We see that, despite his ill temper, he is unsheathed and ready. Is this some deviant who prefers chains, then?”
“I cannot say, My Empress. I applied compulsions to ensure compliance, while not sealing away their will, as I knew you would wish the pleasure of breaking them yourself. There was an enticement in the compulsion, but not so strong as this. It is possible that the compulsions have different effects on Nomads than normal beings, or it is as you say, and he is a deviant who enjoys being used by his betters.”
“Very well, then. Does this Nomad have a name?”
“Yes, My Empress. He is known as Lord Kickass.”