Emma ‘Monarch’ Li sat on her throne, looking out upon the holographic display table of her domain. The long silver cords of her hair connected to her ship, The Rosario, controlled the view of the map, centering on the planet she had been fighting to obtain. Her cybernetic armor shifted as she leaned forward, examining the map, changing colors from dark blue to violet to orange and black. Her blackened eyes shone the same colors on her irises as she scowled at the ship locations of the enemy fleets.

Draftnik of the Eclipse fleet and his three dozen ships, Captain Filip of the Draeger fleet and his two dozen ships, Captain Fulger of the Aurora fleet and her three dozen ships, and Commander Sparrow of the Treasure Hunter fleet and his four dozen ships were the ones she fought against. Monarch’s blackened face appeared to darken even more as she strategized how she would win after losing three dozen of her fifty ships. Draftnik had a dozen ships engaging Captain Filip from above, while they had two dozen ships engaged with Captain Fulger from the front. Captain Fulger had a dozen and a half ships defending against Captain Filip’s ships, a dozen attacking Draftnik, and a half dozen circling to attack Sparrow from behind. And Sparrow kept to the edges of the battle, picking off whoever strayed too far from the primary battle. Monarch had barely gotten her capital ships out of the conflict when Draftnik, Fulgar, and Filip all joined forces to attack her fleet.

She balled her clawed, armored fist and slammed it against her throne in frustration as she yelled, “DAMN THEM! DAMN THEM ALL!! I’ll feast on the nectar of their ships and grind their bones to dust to feed my swarm! Even if it’s the last thing I do!” the men around her flinched as she yelled, trying to focus on their work to avoid being the outlet of her ire.

A light began blinking on the console before one of her men, and he hesitated for a second to say something. With a deep breath, the man turned and said, “Ma’am! We have an incoming communications request that says, ‘I can help you win.’”

Monarch glared at the man from the corner of her eye, and after a moment of consideration, she said, “Answer the call.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the man said with a salute and answered the call.

The holo map of the space battle disappeared and was replaced by the image of a young woman with short blond hair and two different colored eyes. “HEEEYYYY! There’s my girl Monarch!” Violet V. Vermillion exclaimed with a smile as she appeared, making finger guns at her through the hologram.

“End the call!” Monarch yelled, and the man quickly ended the call.

Immediately after, the light began flashing again, and the man gulped as he read the request, “Umm, m-ma’am. There’s another communications request that says, ‘Did that—’” the man paused as he cleared his throat before continuing, “‘Did that BEEP just BEEPING hang up on me. That BEEP BEEPING BEEP BEEP. I’m trying to BEEPING help you BEEPING BEEP.’”

Monarch glared daggers into the man’s back as he read the communications request before saying, “Reject the request and any other requests for me from her from now on. And if you hadn’t of censored those words, I would have killed you on the spot. So be careful, lieutenant.”

The lieutenant gulped and nodded, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am, for not killing me.” Then he turned back to his console and rejected the request. Immediately after, the light flashed again, and Monarch continued to glare at the lieutenant as he didn’t immediately reject the request.

“What is it this time, lieutenant?” Monarch asked, short on patience.

“Uh, umm,” the lieutenant sputtered as he read before saying, “This communication is from the same person but is addressed to me.”

Monarch rolled her black eyes and growled, “Answer the call so I can tell her off myself.” The lieutenant did as ordered, and Violet reappeared on the holographic display table, not smiling this time. The moment after she appeared, Monarch yelled, “You are the last person I want to see right now, and if you dare come anywhere near my battlefield, I will shred your puny ship to shreds and sell it for scrap! Do I make myself clear!?”

Violet looked nonplussed by this outburst and instead turned to the lieutenant, “Lieutenant Gregory Coscof, correct? How are you?”

The lieutenant looked a little surprised by the question and stood, approaching the holo display as he answered hesitantly, “I’m fine.”

“Good, that’s good. I hear you recently had a kid. Is that your second or your first?”

The lieutenant blushed and fought back a smile, “She’s my second child. My wife and I named her Annabel. She’s two months old as of this week.”

Violet put her hands on her chest as she pouted and made a cooing sound, “Oooh, that’s adorable. I love her name. So cute! I hope she is as smart and good-looking as you and her mother.”

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“Aww, shucks, ma’am, thank you. But the wife has me beat in the smarts and good-looks department. When Annabel was born, I said she looked just like my wife,” Lieutenant Coscof said with a blush.

Violet laughed playfully at that, and Monarch looked to grow more and more enraged with every word. ‘WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!’ Monarch thought as she gripped the arms of her throne in anger.

“Well, I see we have a time limit on the call you let through, so I will have to go soon,” Violet said with a sorrowful sigh, “Please pass along a message to Monarch for me. Tell her I have a massive fleet ready to assist her in taking the planet she wants in exchange for her assistance in a job of mine. And give my best to your wife and kids!”

“Will do, ma’am,” Lieutenant Coscof said with a smile as Violet waved goodbye and ended the call. The lieutenant continued to smile as the call ended, and he turned to see Monarch inches away from him with a look of pure rage on her face. Lieutenant Coscof jumped back in surprise and cowered against his chair as he tried to retreat from Monarch.

She didn’t let him get far as two thin wings of light spread from her back that mirrored her armor’s changing colors with black metal around the edges of her wings that resembled a butterfly. She placed a clawed finger on the lieutenant’s neck and growled, “Call her back immediately. I want to know what she means by a massive fleet and is willing to help me for assistance with her job.”

The lieutenant nodded frantically as he stuttered, “Y-Yes, ma’am! Right away, ma’am!” he quickly got in his chair and sent out the call request.

Monarch returned to her throne and rested her chin on her hand as she waited for the call to go through. It soon did, and as Violet reappeared on the holo display, Monarch asked, “What do you mean by—” Before she could finish her question, Violet ended the call.

***

I stood on the center platform of my newly renovated bridge that Sparky had just finished making an hour ago, watching a light blink on the long-range communications console. This is power. Watching a light blink away as someone desperately tries to reach me knowing I have all the power they desire. I could never relinquish this power for anything in this galaxy. I’ll let Monarch wait a little longer before answering.

I looked around my renovated bridge, noting the changes. Where there once resided a pair of trenches that had dozens of consoles that controlled shields, weapons, and engines, now was filled with hundreds of wires and cables that connect directly from the consoles to the platform I currently stand on. A thick pane of plexiglass covered the wires and cables around the platform and replaced some of the metal floor that was once on the bridge. Even the consoles around the bridge that connected to the radars, sensors, navigation, and communication were replaced with wires and cables that connected to the platform. Around the ceiling of the bridge were eight holographic projectors and motion, visual, and audio sensors that tacked the person on and connected to the platform. The platform itself was an omnidirectional, full-movement holographic command table prototype that Ricme Corp designed.

Currently, my fleet orbited the planet my company headquarters orbits, waiting just beyond the asteroid belt. Waiting for my command to fly off to GC-1852C and join the battle. Haru walked up behind me and put her head on my right shoulder, whispering, “You know the longer you wait to answer her call, the longer it will be before we fuck again.”

I raised one finger as I answered, “The longer I wait, the more I edge. Making my release so much better.”

I could feel Haru roll her eyes as she stepped back and said, “The longer you wait, the less I feel like fucking you.”

“Answering now!” I immediately sent a mental command through my connection and answered the call. The projectors whirred to life as they created a holographic representation of Monarch’s bridge. Ten men sat at consoles, monitoring the ship’s systems and coordinating with the other ships in her fleet. Everyone looked massive from my perspective as my holographic representation stood on a rectangular holo display table, looking up at Monarch and all her glory.

Monarch tapped her clawed fingers against her black throne impatiently, her silver nano-wire hair connected to her ship, giving her complete control of every system and allowing for faster responses from the engines, weapons, and shields by nano-seconds. This time, neither of us spoke, waiting for the other to start the conversation. That’s when Haru stepped onto the platform, projecting herself onto the holo table next to me. “Hello again, Monarch. Good to see you’re doing well,” Haru began.

Monarch didn’t answer immediately and instead turned her black eyes to Haru with mild interest. Her eyes flashed orange, blue, and purple as she manipulated the holographic image to appear on the platform before Haru and I, looking no bigger than us as the bridge of her ship disappeared into black nothingness. “What is it that you want, Violet, Haru?” Monarch asked, her voice even and controlled.

Haru stepped forward and said, “We would like your help in our mission. Your ability to command large fleets and strategize large-scale warfare is of use to us.”

“And what do I get in return?” Monarch asked, unswayed by Haru’s praise.

“We will help you rebuild your fleet and capture the planet below for your mining contract,” I answered.

Monarch narrowed her eyes at me, “Is that all?”

A smile played at the corner of my lips, “Not quite. We also want a portion of whatever materials you mine from the planet. The metals and other resources will help immensely in my overall mission.”

Monarch sneered as she spat, “And what is this mission?”

“To start a war,” Haru answered, “We’ve been hired through a third party to start a war with an alien federation in an attempt to take control of our current government and make lots of credits in the process if you’re interested in joining?”

Monarch crossed her arms and placed her chin in her hand as she considered for a moment. “If you help me, I’ll consider helping you. Right now, my situation is rather pressing,” Monarch answered finally.

I nodded and extended a holographic hand, “You got yourself a deal.”