Jebuthar stood in the center of his meeting hall in the automaton building fortress. It was a large room, ready to accommodate dozens of dignitaries. But he hadn’t used it up to this point. He hadn’t wanted the leaders to know about this ship. Today it didn’t matter. Today, he held a meeting with the major leaders of the nations that had allied with him.

Soon to be former leaders.

“You killed my daughter!” King Den Davod of Sendeval shouted, “Murdered her in cold blood!”

Jebuthar glared at King Den Davod.

“No, not in cold blood,” Jebuthar said, acting calm and in control, “She was about to murder a city full of innocents , and-”

“They were worthless Ateyans!” Den Davod shouted, angry.

Jebuthar’s glare remained, and each word he spoke dripped with disdain. “No life is worthless.”

Den Davod was standing in the central discussion area, hand on his sword hilt. Jebuthar let his words hang in the silence. Many squirmed uncomfortably at the long pause. Den Davod frowned uncertainly.

“Not a single soul is worthless,” Jebuthar continued, “Every death which must happen to bring about the new world is a tragedy…” Jebuthar took a deep breath, “Even your daughter. You can blame yourself. She only reaped what you sowed in her mind. No, my dear Den, you killed your daughter.”

Den Davod drew his sword. “Fight me you coward!”

Jebuthar stared at Den Davod. Emotionless, calm, unimpressed.

In a flash Jebuther moved like water, no weapon in hand, and struck Den Davod’s sword hand. The king’s blade clattered to the ground. Den Davod gasped in pain and grabbed his cracked wrist.

Jebuthar struck him in the gut, the back of the knee, and the throat in quick succession. Den Davod collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, holding on to his broken knee.

Jebuthar looked around the room.

The other leaders were speechless.

“You have all failed!” Jebuthar said, “Failed to fulfill your promises, failed to progress yourselves and your nations…”

“We’ll try harder!” Lord Wibkiv said in a panic.

“Silence!” Jebuthar shouted.

The room went quiet again.

“Every pact we’ve made is now null and void.”

Metallic footsteps approached from the hallway.

“What are you saying?” Queen Wirgaru said.

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Den Davod tried to get up. Jebuthar kicked him back down. The king groaned in pain.

“You, and your families, are now my prisoners .”

The doors creaked as metal hands pushed them open.

“I will bring peace, even if that means exiling every last one of you.

His automatons burst into the room.

Several leaders drew pistols, firing at the automatons flooding the room. A few automatons went down, but most of the leaders were unarmed. The automatons grabbed the angry leaders, shattering their weapons and dropping them to their knees. They were quickly bound in ropes or chains.

“You will never rule again. Your sons and your daughters will never rule. My Almerians will temporarily control your nations until they are replaced by local leaders of my choosing .”

They struggled and cursed at him. Anger and terror in their words.

“Be glad. Any other coup would end your lives. You will be taken to a safe place, where you can live out your days as farmers and gatherers, like the rest of your people.”

Several leaders still struggled. An automaton struck the king of Vurfhaden so hard that the king fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Any who will not go peacefully will die . It is futile to resist. The world is changing, and you can do nothing to stop it...”

A few leaders shouted in defiance, but there was resignation in their eyes. They knew they had lost.

They had lost the moment his ships had crossed their borders.

✦✦✦

Hours after he had captured the kings, Jebuthar stood in the automaton creation room, looking over his machine. It was a beautiful work of art. But it served a much higher purpose than any painting or sculpture.

“You know I won’t be able to master this kind of automaton,” Narazoth said.

“Yes, I know,” Jebuthar replied.

“We’ll have to rely on their loyalty …”

“Narazoth,” Jebuthar said, putting his hand on the monk’s shoulder, “Be at peace, the Almerians are loyal. Besides, I could defeat any number of them in combat, you know this.”

Narazoth nodded.

“I’ve developed a contingency plan,” Jebuthar said. “It’s implemented into the design.”

Narazoth nodded appreciatively and let a sigh of relief. “Yes, that does sound like a good strategy.”

“At least until our other prisoners finally spill their secrets,” Jebuthar said, “This will have to do.”

Jebuthar approached the machine and pressed a large round button. It hummed loudly, energy and light bursting through the vents. Flashing brighter and brighter, and faster and faster. With an abrupt hum, it all stopped.

An automaton, one that looked all too human, stepped out.

“How can I serve you, Lord Jebuthar?” It said in a hollow voice, with mechanical lips. A strange, high echo to the sound.

Jebuthar smiled, “Revin, the Hiriv monk that travels with Omrai, I want you to eliminate him.”

“Yes, my lord.”