CHAPTER 1 – THE MARAUDERS

Station Alcazar

Reeve stood in the med bay dressed in his full official garb, having just come there directly from the most recent council meeting. His deep red and silver embroidered shirt, dark pants with silver trim, and deep black boots were wrapped in an ornate overcoat filled with designs of ships, space dragons, and starbursts.

He had come here for the singular purpose of staring at the pod that Kane was currently regenerating in. The last several years had seen their technology grow by leaps and bounds. Taking this advanced tech and combining it yet again with their nanite and Mana-based discoveries only advanced those technologies further. So while Reeve knew that Kane would be fine, it did absolutely nothing to stem his boiling rage.

“Father he will be fine. Don’t worry too much,” Novu said from next to him. The teen boy reached out to pat his shoulder, comforting Reeve immensely.

“Ah kiddo. I know. It still infuriates me that this even happened. Kane was outfitted in enough advanced gear, much of it I made myself, that he should have never been harmed,” he complained. “The fact that Orkin axe he brought back had Aether embedded in it tells me that the stakes just got higher.”

Novu nodded. The development of their region of space, and the Silver Legion itself, had come along nicely. But not without its own sets of problems and setbacks.

Between taking constant contracts that barely broke even monetarily for the developing organization and constant attacks on their bases and outposts outside of the nebulae, things were heating up. And not in any good way.

Reeve had found allies though, and he had cultivated an impressive military for the size of the region he controlled. Granted, the nebula itself was immensely rich in matter and resources. It was never difficult to find a new source of materials, rare earths, or even the occasional grouping of exotic matter. Couple these riches with the Mana that Reeve produced and it became a fact that they were a powerful if young nation.

“The contract on Arioch was pretty rough Father,” Novu said, tapping at his well-worn and signature slate. “We lost two full legions of combat drones, as well as having nearly two hundred and fifty deaths and nine hundred wounded.”

Reeve flinched physically at the numbers. A legion of mercenaries was between six and seven thousand beings, while a drone legion was structured a bit differently and held nearly twelve thousand warriors each. The commanding Queens usually stayed in orbit to direct and observe from there.

Unless they were chased off by a superior fleet grouping.

That rarely happened, however. While ground combat strength remained Reeve’s weakest point militarily, their fleet strength was on par with some of the weaker core powers. This placed them firmly mid-pack galaxy-wise. Or at least within their immediate neighborhood.

Their explorations of their immediate area had revealed numerous space-faring civilizations going towards the core. However further out on the arm, there was a distinct lack of any. This was due to Lexi’s prior rampage in that area of the galaxy. To try and stay safe she had systematically eliminated any space-based threats. While falling short of true genocide she knocked more than a dozen races back into the industrial age. Or lower.

Reeve brought himself out of his thoughts and looked at Novu, who had been patiently waiting for him to collect himself.

“Ah right. Sorry kiddo, my thoughts took off on me,” he apologized.

Novu rolled his eyes, a less than endearing trait he picked up from Red.

“How would you like to address the Orkin threat Father? They do generate quite a bit of business for us. Between hiring our ships for trade lane security and various group troop actions they are responsible for a decent percentage of our income,” Novu summarized.

“Ugh. Well, we can’t let them run wild. They have no inhibitions to just wiping a populated planet clean and taking everything not nailed down. An empty planet is one less potential customer. Let's put a fleet together and go hammer one of their closer fortress worlds. That’s either going to drive them berserk or lock them into inaction for a while,” Reeve said. “Based on their current losses I am betting on them quieting down.”

The Orkin had become a major point of contention for Reeve and his organization. They attacked his troops, ships, and merchants everywhere they went causing immense damage. This resulted in his council enacting a policy of total retaliation. One destroyed merchant ship resulted in an entire Orkin base being removed from existence. While extreme, it had reduced losses across the board overall.

He turned abruptly and headed out of the medical bay, nodding to Doc as he left. The grey being ignored him and continued with whatever task he was immersed in, prompting a soft laugh from Reeve.

“How are negotiations going with the New Korin league?” Reeve asked while they walked. He greeted a few beings they passed as Novu brought up some information on his tablet.

“Ah yes. In Reds words Father, ‘Those fuckin lizards seem happy enough to trade with us as long as we breathe down the Collectives neck.’ So it seems to be going well. She hasn’t killed anyone yet,” he explained.

“ … right. I don’t know if that was a good or bad idea, but she seems to be doing well. Where is she now?” Reeve wondered.

Novu answered quickly, having anticipated the question, “Red is with the Third Fleet heading towards Holman station. They seem more eager to deal with us as equals now that we are fairly equivalent in terms of fleet power.”

“Power is equality? Gods above and below their assholes,” Reeve said more than a little exasperated.

Novu nodded his agreement, “I believe Red was of the same opinion. Novu cracked a small smile, “She is rather unfond of Admiral Brasx.”

“I am too. He’s a squirrel for gods sakes,” Reeve muttered causing Novu to cock his head in confusion. “Whatever. I understand you have a new weapon to show me? Some kind of rifle variant?”

“Yes, father, but not a rifle variant. Most advanced space-faring civilizations have various infantry-based armor. Your initial versions of the Conversion Suit and your Mana Energy Conversion Armor are similar in design to many others. However Thirsk and several of his engineers have assisted me in creating something truly wonderful and terrifying,” Novu said with some excitement.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

If it excited Novu, chances are it was dangerous as all hells. Reeve couldn’t wait. They hopped on one of the trams that now lined the main interior passageways of Alcazar station. Since the rebuild, and subsequent expansions since then, the automated trams were vital for getting around.

Reeve greeted many of the people on the transport. Answering questions and even signing the occasional autograph. Apparently, that was a thing for famous people. For the most part, however, the public left him alone. He was far from reclusive and always happy to talk to the populace if he had free time. Seeing him on public transportation was not unusual.

After a short ride in companionable silence, they got off in one of the large engineering sections of the station. This area was three square kilometers of laboratories, workshops, and storage spaces for the research and development of new weapons and materials. Above a small security checkpoint was a sign that read, “Mana-Works”.

After a brief stop at checkpoint security, Reeve and Novu were waved in. Massive doors slid to the side, revealing that the exterior shell of this section was fifteen meters thick and made entirely out of reinforced cold nano-steel.

You couldn’t be too safe when playing with fire.

Once the father and son duo were through the astoundingly massive doors they slid shut silently behind them. Reeve marveled something so huge could be moved by things so tiny. Nanites were terrifyingly amazing.

Novu led Reeve through a maze of corridors, past rooms with muted explosions and gadgets he couldn’t even guess what they did. Reeve was positive at one point he saw a Gorkin on fire with a Praetor chasing him around with a bucket of what he hoped was water.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a metal door with a single handheld latch in the center of it. Novu hesitated in front of the door, turning to Reeve.

“Father, inside of this room is the hub of our mana and nanite-based research. Please be cautious about what you touch and restrain yourself as much as possible,” Novu warned.

Reeve snorted, “You got it kiddo. Don’t touch the toys.”

Novu nodded and opened the doors hatch. When it was fully opened, Reeves's mouth dropped open with such force that if he had been an undead it literally would have hit the floor.

He counted six receding tiers of floors, each with a central glass ceiling. Each tier had a flurry of activity. Devices ranging from handheld weapons, suits of strange armor, scientists maneuvering liquid metal, and what Reeve was sure was a mounted destroyer cannon. His mind almost couldn’t take it all in.

Novu had walked off and Reeve moved to follow him. They were heading towards a large grey box where Reeve could see Thirsk standing in a white lab coat speaking to a mixed bag of beings. As they approached the group Thirsk spotted them and said, “Novu and Lord Reeve! A pleasure to see you both! Do we have some excitement for you today!”

The group around the small green being chuckled appreciate while Reeve just shook his head.

“What are you miscreants up to now? Destroying more of my hard-earned materials?” Reeve asked jokingly. “Ah, I see you’ve made a box. Wonderful! We can store more things snow. Job well done.”

While the group chuckled at Reeves's ribbing Novu stepped over to a panel attached to the large rectangle device. It was matte black, two meters wide, and nearly five meters tall. It dwarfed nearly everything in the research center. As the teen fiddled with the controls, Reeve turned to Thirsk.

“You wound my pride with your targeted attacks Lord Reeve,” Thirsk said, placing a hand over his heart. “We dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of perfection … and maybe money. That makes us benevolent greedy miscreants thank you.”

Reeve shook his head, “Your defensive tactics are going to give me brain damage,” he mocked to more chuckles, “but seriously. What do we have here?”

With a theatric flourish, Thirsk gestured at the oversized brick. “This, Lord Reeve, is the future of ground combat,” as he finished his sentence the brick split open to reveal a massive suit of armor. The dark, light-absorbing plates, multi-weapon attachments, and meter and a half long combat blade strapped to a wrist sheathe had him goggling it.

“Amazing!” he said in wonder, “You found my next wife!”

The group burst out in a smattering of chuckles and laughs. “Unfortunately not Lord Reeve, however, we did create a new ground-based weapon that should solve our issue with lack of personnel. A squad of eight to twelve of these are capable of leveling an entire city,” said Thirsk.

“It’s amazing, and I can tell it's dangerous, but what is it?” Reeve wondered.

“Well, it's not official mind you, but I call it a Marauder Assault and Recon Armor. Or MARA for short,” Thirsk said proudly.

Reeve inspected it:

MARAUDER ASSAULT AND RECON ARMOR (MARA)

WEAPONS

Chain Lightning Cannon

Imbued Magi-Blade

Rocker Cannon

Remote Self-Destruct

ARMOR

Reinforced Cold-Steel

Shielding

X2 Mana Shielding x6 Plasma Shielding

POWER

X1 Mana Generator

X2 Plasma Generator

X1 Matter Conversion Device

DESCRIPTION

Heavily armed and armored infantry fighting armor. Developed by Mana-Works.

“Woah,” he said appreciatively. “This is for every mercenary?”

“That’s the plan, although we have light and heavy versions as well,” confirmed Thirsk.

“What the hell does a heavy version of this monstrosity look like?” Reeve asked incredulously. “Would that be able to level a planet?”

Thirsk shrugged, “Close enough. Although it's still in development. While we don’t have any practical models to show you, we’ve decided on the designation of Legion Assault Platform. The lighter version we just call Reaper Armor.”

Reeve pulled his hand down his face in exasperation. “Do other groups have stuff like this?” he asked tentatively. Having neat armor or new weapons was one thing, escalating an arms race was another thing entirely.

“Yeah, but not as advanced as our stuff,” replied Thirsk.

“Our armor, per unit, could take four of their most advanced equivalent to date. At least those that we aware of,” Thirsk explained. “The armor on this unit is tank grade. On the Lap, it's Frigate grade.”

Reeve boggled at the small green man, “You put Frigate armor on an infantry weapon?”

The diminutive green guy grinned and provided another shrug, “What can I say? Actually, Red said it best. We went for, ‘maximum fuck up the other guy’.”

“If Red was involved I’m not surprised. She likes blowing up assholes more than I do,” Reeve admitted. “Anyway, I am very happy about this. When can we get these put into production?”

“They already are Father. The first platoon to get Reaper Suits and MARA’s is Kane’s, “ Novu said. Then he continued, “We also plan on outfitting an entire Legion of warrior drones with Reaper Suits as well. They should prove to be most formidable.”

Reeve shivered, “Yeah that sounds terrifying,” he agreed.

“Father, as much as I was looking forward to this detour we have a meeting with Aelvin and Varcos in approximately fifteen minutes,” Novu said. “It is fairly important and involves several diplomats from the Veehni Remnant. Evron was rather insistent we speak with them and see if we could assist.”

Reeve nodded to Thirsk, “And we’re off again. It was good seeing you Thirsk. Stop by some time, Jem would love to see you again.”

The Gorkin bowed as the father-son duo made off with speed. They would probably end up being late to the meeting anyway. It was on the other side of the station.

While they did their best to make good it by the appointment that had been set, they were still late. However, they arrived in time to hear yelling from the meeting room.

Reeve and Novu burst into the door, shocking the five beings inside into silence. Reeve bent over and held a finger up while he caught his breath. Novu on the other hand, fit pile of nanites that he was, took up a spot by the door with his ever-present slate in hand.

Reeve straightened to take in the room. Evron, Aelvin, and Varcos sat on one side of the table, and on the other sat two Veehni. They both looked remarkably like Evron, without his cybernetic limbs that were.

Yay diplomacy.