《The Arbiters of the Galaxy》


 The Meeting of Minds

    Planet Xuanti, Neutral territory bordering dark space


    Inside a lavish establishment in the V.I.P. private section was two important figures of both the Democratic Republic Alliance and the Avalon Empire. Both were enemies, but no enmity could be felt between them¡­ or at least on the surface.


    "Such a grand venue you have reserved us general Grant. You seem to be serious for these talks compared to usual." said an elderly man with white wax skin and gem red eyes in a black cloak sitting leisurely on a luxurious seat at a round table.


    "Well, what can I say. The matters that need to be discussed this time are quite important and controversial. Many on my side find this idea ridiculous, but I say doing nothing is even more so." said the general with a calm voice. "However, I am more interested in how the rest of your council feels about the idea. Usually the words of the great Ziban should be enough, however the situation is quite unorthodox."


    "Ah! Does youngsters aren''t as difficult to convinced compared to your senators. We don''t have to deliberate on the obvious threat! Evidence has been popping left and right these few days in different quadrants."


    General Grant was a man who looked to be in his mid-forties with some slight grayish hair. He looked physically imposing with muscle filling his military uniform to the brim. However, a calm smile was stitched to his face which didn''t seem to fit his demeanor. If anyone would be aware of this meeting and seen the situation unfold in such an amicable way, many would simply be dumbfounded.


    General Grant, war hero and leader of the Democratic Republic Alliance''s army and has been serving for more than fifty years. He has been in his position for more than twenty years and is known as a furious man whose anger could make the mightiest warrior fear him. He is viewed as the image of the army and the pride of his home world of Gomeka because of his humble beginnings. His unorthodox strategies have seen great effect on the battlefield and brought many victories that DRA hasn''t seen in many years before his arrival.


    In front of him was High Counselor Ziban of the Avalon Empire, one if not the most influential politician of the empire. Most would say he is an enigmatic person who has secrets that contained more secrets, and most would underestimate this old man as a simple politician. However, the counselor has been in his position for more than one hundred and fifty years and all his political rivals have either vanish or have been destroyed by him. For the empire who is known for its political feuds and harsh competition, counselor Ziban is seen as an exception to this.


    What is more surprising is that these two are mortal enemies. Both have fought each other on and off the battlefield. Each fought the other to a bitter stand still where the planets which harbored their fights were decimated. Hate would be a mild term to use to describe their relationship. So why is it these two people are sitting together in a room talking to each other?


    Simply put, they respect each other¡¯s capabilities and they''ve known one another for more than fifty years. The situation in the galactic war seems to have stagnated and a new threat seems to have emerge from the shadows of the war. Both have concluded the same thing: if both the DRA and the empire don''t join forces, one if not both parties will be destroyed.


    "So then, on that note, may I suggest that view the many candidates of each side? Four of each side should be enough, correct?" said Grant turning more serious and activating the holographic projector.


    "Of course! Showing my good faith, I have selected the most prominent individuals that could be able to adapt to this situation." With a smirk, Ziban approached a small device which once he activated displayed four individuals. "I hope you will like them."


    "I hope you will too... what the..." the general followed the counselor and activated the device he brought too, however both stop for a moment and gasp. The general struggled to stay composed and continued "So you are planning to produce a genocide by bringing these kinds of individuals. I understand that the use of biomentalist is a must for the operation but these two are quite..."


    "Don''t you dare complain! Looking to your choices, mine are quite conservative! One of yours is an outlaw and smuggler who, might I add, is wanted in seven different quadrants in your own system! And then you also suggest the monster of Balkarian!"


    "Oh! So that genocidal maniac you chose is fine and dandy then? And you go and suggest a bounty hunter to be part of the team too! They might be skilled, but those types aren''t known to be reliable when face to dangerous situation that might require to sacrifice their lives."


    Both men stayed silent, staring at each other for a while, but then let out a sigh. Both knew why the other chose their candidates and it''s simply because they didn''t have a choice. The two factions needed to make a show of force, but at the same time, they couldn''t sacrifice too much of their forces, so their choices were people with extremely great strength, but were dangerous too both factions. The objective of this team is to form a team that can be versatile and adapt to any situation, working on investigation and extermination of any threats to the galaxy. They needed individuals capable to be self-sufficient to a degree that didn''t affect the resources of Avalon and the DRA since both factions didn''t want to invest more than necessary.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Why? Because if one of the factions invested more than the other, this might affect the resulting war between the two factions.


    "So basically, we compensated the low manpower with the quality of the individuals. Extraordinary circumstances bring about extraordinary individuals. Ah!" said Ziban with a dejected expression. "And so, the smuggler would be the solution to the resource problem?"


    "Well yes... and I suppose that was the idea for your bounty hunter too. Funny how the underworld market will be key to the success to this joint effort." Grant went to the minibar and brought some wine to the table and pored a glace for himself and Ziban. "That''s the situation at least. if the first operation is a success, the many leaders might be more willing to finance this idea in the future."


    "The future, heh... Well, it''s a first in my life time to see such a situation, but I would never suggest that this won''t happen again... Hmm?! is this Tariany wine? You have great taste my fellow ¡®connaisseur¡¯!" With a happy smile, the counselor started to savor the win exaggeratedly.


    "Hmpf! Focus old man. We need to organize a meeting with these fellows. Some of them are dire enemies and some are very illusive. Also, we need to organize a proper reward to motivate some. We also need to decide who will lead them..."


    "The monster."


    "... I am also of the same mind, but why did you suggest him. I would have thought that you would suggest someone from your side instead." The general was confused. This situation to make a group from both factions will bring upon a dilemma. The individual that will lead them will prioritize communication with his faction and will default make that side be in the lead and gain credit for any success in the operation. True that any miss happenings will also be blamed on the leading faction, but the benefits out way the negatives.


    "Well, the problem is the personnel I choose. They are all great candidates and they are very diverse; however, they lack the qualities of a leader. That monster might be dangerous, but I have seen his capabilities and he more than fits the bill. Also, he is the only one I think that will be able to rein down the more volatile individuals of the group."


    A playful smile appeared on Ziban, but the general stared intently and was looking closely at his enemy. He knew something was not right, but he couldn''t put a finger on it and a foreboding feeling was starting to swell up in him.


    Putting his doubts aside, Grant continued "Then on that note, let us continue. Due to the nature of this team, I suggest naming them the Arbiters."


    "Oh! Is it because they were arbitrarily chosen?"


    "..."


    "Bahahaha! Oh! Stop being such a stick in the mud!"


    "You know you are quite irritating..." Forcing a smile he continued with the meeting and arranging the distribution of resources for the team between both factions until a knock was heard at the door.


    Both became very tense and at that instance the general threw the table on its side and hid behind it taking out his kinesis knife and Laser-pistol in each hand. Ziban simply stood up and face the door, however his demeanor seemed to become oppressive and extremely threatening with some sort of translucent black fog appearing here and there on his body moving continuously. Barely after a moment past, the door exploded, and two dark cloaked individuals charged in brandishing light-swords straight to the counselor while six more armed individuals similarly dress, but they were equipped with laser-rifles and started shooting at both representatives.


    Both swordsmen slashed at the counselor, but he stood firmly in place and grabbed one sword in each hand by their emitted blades. Loud friction noise came from both hands and Ziban then lowly growled "Insects..." He then pulled both attackers in front of incoming laser fire killing them in the process. Seeing them dropped down to the floor, he readied himself to charge at the other ''insects¡¯ but found that Grant was on top of the last surviving assailant.


    "Oh! My! I am getting old! Aaaaw ahah!" said Ziban with a merry laugh changing his demeanor instantly.


    Keeping his gaze on the cloaked man the general responded, "It''s not over old man... Tell me who and where were you sent from... Shit."


    Barely before starting questioning the man started convulsing and died. Smoke slowly came out and the body started burning up. The smell of burnt flesh started to fill up the room as all the other bodies started to follow suit. Both the general and counselor stayed unfazed in front of such a familiar sight.


    "Well, I must say they are quite thorough. I''m quite jealous of their method of erasing evidence..." Ziban said, contemplating the scene.


    General Grant looked around, trying to get any information of the attackers, but abandon the notion: the weapons could have been bought in any shop or black market and everything personal that could be used as a clue was burnt away with the body. He then looked up to his ''colleague''.


    "This site is compromised. You have the information and I will contact you later for the next meeting. It is quite weird saying this, but... stay safe until then."


    "Worried for my well-being, are we? Ahaha!" Ziban let out an ominous laugh staring at Grant directly.


    "No" he answered, not giving any ground. "Simply put, you are the only mildly sane one on the counsel that I can cooperate without too many incidents... Also, I wish to kill you myself."


    "And here I was expecting to have made some progress in our relationship."


    Without another word both stared at each other and left the scene. Exiting the luxurious room, a buzzling crowed appeared. They were at a high-class restaurant and the commotion was heard up to the exterior and with swift steps the two-man disappeared into the crowed.

 Democratic Peace

    Planet Calmani, Capital world of the Democratic Republic Alliance and center of the galactic trade and politics of the alliance. A world that represented the entirety of said group by its vast multicultural sites where everyone was equal... that was the idea of course. The reality was different, like most worlds, the separation of riches was not equally distributed. With that idea in mind the surface of the world was one of buzzling activities everywhere and much of the population were living truly good lives, but this wasn''t a utopia and with the war raging on the population was suffering. While the politicians were deliberating, crime were increasing, an influx of refugee with nowhere to go were everywhere and the rich would pocket on the catastrophes. Worlds with better or greater resources were prioritized while smaller ones would need to wait for help. Frustrations and fear were felt everywhere. However, in generals Grants mind, this was better treatment then worlds that aren''t in the alliance or conqueror by the Avalon Empire.


    Neutral worlds could prosper but were very limited and suffered by having a lack of resources. Most neutral planets where ones which either had close to no resources worth exploiting and sometimes had no intelligent life forms on them. This would sometimes attract outlaws and other unsavory sorts to create safe heavens of criminality. There were some few exceptions, but these were planets extremely far from the core worlds of the DRA or had very difficult atmospheric environments that impeded normal built ships from accessing the planet.


    As for the empire, general Grant saw their handy work. Worlds that didn''t bow to them would become wastelands. Water poisoning, orbital bombardments, genocides. You either with them or against them. Those that submitted would lose control of political power and be place under the direct control of the military occupation of the world. Slavery was also accepted, and military conscription was implemented.


    General Grant was standing up gazing out of his window in his office of the central political and military building of the DRA, the Democratic Alliance building. The view was good, but listening to two frustrated individuals sitting across his desk was ruining it: "This is outrageous! Our church is not willing to cooperate with empire and their heretics!" said an old woman looking to be in her mid-sixties.


    "The Avalon Empire has never agreed to any negotiations before and each time we tried to get them to sit at a table, they have attacked the envoys they have sent each time. They only want control of the entirety of the galaxy for their emperor!" continued the small chubby man who was sweating profusely since the reveal of the joint plan. He seemed to be in his early sixties.


    "Know your place Archcleric Salmana! You have been invited here to be a simple messenger to the Temple of Aeons. Do not overstep your bounds here." said Grant "You may now leave with the list and information I have given you."


    Archcleric Salmana started to turn red with anger "The church will be informed of not only your information and needs, but also your blatant disrespect!"


    On that note, the Archcleric turned around and stormed out of the office. The chubby man started scratching his head with a worried expression. "Jeffrey, I know the Temple can be problematic at times, but they are the people in charge of educating and developing biomentalist. We must not anger then to much..."


    "That might be the case, but that does not allow them free reign in military affairs." the general sat down and took out from his desk a folder. "Minister Maxwell, this here folder holds the complete information of my meeting with High counselor Ziban on Xuanti."


    "Xuanti?! You went to one hell of place to meet. That planet is situated at the galactic border to dark space... and you can stop with the formalities with only the two of us here."


    "Not when I am at work. Bad habits can appear quickly and stopping them can be quite difficult."


    Minister of War, Tarvian Maxwell, he works directly for the President of Congress of the intergalactic senate. He oversees every aspect of the war and the people under him oversee the political and social part of the war. These two have know each other since their younger days when both were just a simple soldier and the other was a simple interne.


    "Ah well I can''t..." the minister stopped mid-sentence and his eyes opened in great surprise. "These members... are they seriously accepting this?"


    "Very." stated the general. "So, can I trust you to pass this plan through congress. The members must stay a secret, but like you can see the Avalon Empire is serious and this joint plan is feasible."


    "True, but I''m surprised they took the initiative to announce their own bane as team leader. As for congress, don''t worry about it. The senators have been aware of this new threat, but most either dismiss it as none sense or state it being trivial compared to the situation with the empire. However they would gladly accept to create this team. They will be able to use this as some sort of publicity to show to general population that there is progress with the matter with the Avalon Empire¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? If you think you can use this to appease the population, you are dead wrong. This ¡®truce¡¯ is only meant to stop shooting at each other until a mutual enemy has been dealt with. War with the Alliance is the only thing on their mind.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Yes, but we can use this Jeffrey! We do not know much about this new threat, but the fact that we can stop the war for a bit, we can reallocate money on rebuilding and helping refugees.¡±


    ¡°Once it¡¯s over, you know war will start again. We need that money to prepare for that eventuality.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, but we can still breath a little more and when the situation is over, we will be able to blame the Empire, saying that we have been betrayed or something like that, this will spur the public and help with future war efforts!¡±


    Grant looked at Maxwell and stare intently. This plan was completely unreliable. Too many unknowns. It was fine to look up at the future with the idea of being prepared for the worst, but the minister¡¯s expectations for the future were dangerous.


    ¡°That idea has many flaws and WILL backfire on us if the general population discovers it to be false.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about Jeffrey?! The empires thugs that they will be sending will most likely backstab us at a crucial moment! How can they miss the chance to kill the hero of Balkarian! If we announce it, we can dissuade them from such action. If they do act in such a way, we can then get more supporters for the war. The war has been going on for decades now and public morale is low right now."


    Maxwell thoughts were right to some extent. Such an individual was a prime target for the empire, but the same could be said for the Alliance. Both sides had given intergalactic War heroes and both sides would like to have the other sides heroes gone. The general thought the Democratic Republic Alliance to be the ideal institution for peace, but knew well that brighter the light was, darker was the shadow. The Alliance wasn¡¯t perfect since corruption was present on every level of the government and some parties would love to see the war continue, but as long as the Alliance has the edge in it.


    This plan of uniting the two forces was a dangerous gamble, but a necessary one.


    ¡°However the situation may be, this a temporary truce and we must cooperate with them. We will be vigilant, but I suggest to not publicly announce this truce. This can cause confusion and more worries for the population. If wind comes of an enemy that is more dangerous then the last to the point of both the DRA and the empire allying will cause unnecessary panic.¡± Grant got up from his chair and walk towards the window. ¡°We lost a whole fleet to this threat and we haven¡¯t found a single clue of who or what did it apart from their insignia on the wreckage they left behind.¡±


    ¡°Actually, we found more. During your little meeting, officers of the lower districts have found chemical labs with the same insignia. The lab burned down not long after, but the chemical residue seems to contain some agents implicated in the construction of explosives, but nothing in the lab seemed remotely related to that.¡± Maxwell held his chin between his fingers thinking ¡°Most members fled, but one or two got caught, but once restraint, they caught literally on fire. Only ash reminds of them.¡±


    ¡°The same happened on Xuanti. I did not mention this on the report, but the meeting got attacked and both the High Councilor and I fought them.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure it wasn¡¯t the empire trying to assassinate you?¡± pondered the minister.


    ¡°No. They charged the councilor first. I think they underestimated me since I¡¯m not a biomentalist. I was able to kill and subdue most of them because of this, but they all burnt up, not leaving anything behind as clues.¡± Said the general, frustrated of the events.


    ¡°This is bad Jeffrey, if they knew the meeting was taking place this means they have people in the inside or at least there are monitoring you and that old devil.¡±


    ¡°Both ideas are plausible, and they might have done this move to try to convey a message: That they can attack us when we are most vulnerable. However, we first need to make an investigation inside the ministry to clear out any doubts we might have.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I will clear out my end. For the matter of publicly announcing the truce, I will make your opinion on the mattered heard, but many will have the same idea I had. I cannot make any promises.¡±


    The small chubby minister got up from his chair and at that moment the general turned around.


    ¡°Please do. I have an ominous feeling about this situation. I am not one for conspiracies, but the fact of the matter is that I have some doubt about this being larger then simply another faction or threat randomly appearing before us.¡±


    ¡°Well, the only thing we can do is find it and try to smother it¡­ If nothing else works.¡± Concluded the Minister. He approached the general and shook his hand. ¡°I am trusting this plan of yours and hopes we can resolve this fast. The empire needs to be destroyed if we really want to live in peace. Their existence is a growing threat every minute we let them be.¡±


    ¡°I concur, however displeasing it is to work with them, we need their strength and cooperate on information if we want to close this chapter on this threat. They too seem to have suffered some casualties form this threat.¡±


    ¡°I leave it to you then¡­ Oh! Before I forget, you still did not give me your confirmation of your presence at the banquet Thursday.¡±


    Grant looked surprised and his mood darken for a moment.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think such an event is important right now with everything going on¡­¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! You need to relax yourself a bit with everything going on!¡± eagerly said the minister.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how relaxing this banquet is. It¡¯s basically senators and ministers chatting while comparing who has the biggest- ¡°


    ¡°Hey! Hey now! No need to go that far! I¡¯m just saying that if you want more support on this, socializing can be beneficial. This can be also where you can pass you point and heighten your influence in the political sphere.¡±


    ¡°Not interested. So, if you have nothing further to add, I¡¯ll be taking my leave. I have numerous things to organize.¡±


    Grant showed the minister out and with some last farewells they parted. The general went back to his desk and sat down while activating his holoprojector.


    ¡°Contact: Major Thamor.¡±


    Moments later, a low and deep voice was heard while a blurry, but ominous looking helmet appeared: ¡°Ready for your orders, sir.¡±


    ¡°You are to meet me on station Viridian for a new mission briefing two days from now at eight hundred hours. Your squad will be reassigned for the duration of this new operation.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The line cut, and the general leaned back on his chair looking pensive.


    ¡°Still so talkative I see. Let¡¯s hope this will not be too problematic¡­¡±

 The Greatness of the Empire

    The planet Korbanis, capital world of the Avalon Empire, a planet full of naturel resources with rich greenery and an exotic wild life which blends mysteriously with the urban areas of the planet. In the center of the capital city, Florencia, stand a massively high skyscraper and at the highest level of this structure a meeting is being held.


    In front of a massive semi-circle window, High Councilor Ziban was looking down upon this city. A city that was painstakingly fought for to be able to construct it. He started reminiscing the start of this great project, how he helped their leader to become the emperor that everyone loved¡­ And how they wanted to share this happiness with the rest of the galaxy.


    ¡°This is complete non-sense! How can we make this monster in charge of such a great undertaking! We should be the ones leading this project! Those animals of the republic cannot be trusted!¡±


    ¡°I am of the same opinion! They should be prostrating before us for being so clement with them. We even given them one of the emperors High Guardians! Rav Talok! The Strongest and most powerful of them! He should be the one leading them!¡±


    High Councilor Kalb and High Councilor Geirosh, respectively, were both great man of action that have gain their poste by sheer brute force. They were straightforward and ferocious individuals who thought that ¡®might makes it right¡¯.


    ¡°You both are right, however, Talok isn¡¯t a man who has a lot of experience with leading a group as divers as this and his narrow views towards these scums will make it difficult for him to cooperate with them. I would not even be surprised that he would yell ¡®for the emperor¡¯ and start fighting them.¡±


    ¡°Our choices were limited, and I agree with Ziban on this. This soldier has worked with many kinds of people and making him the leader will grant us the possibility to monitor him. In addition, our list of individuals, on the other hand, isn¡¯t one with individual with leadership skills¡­¡±


    On the other half of the round circle sat High Councilor Rayvin and High Councilor Demetros respectively. Rayvin was a political snake and fervent believer in the empire. He maneuvered his way to his position through the backdoors of political life. Demetros in the other hand was an oddity where he looked like quite the intellectual with a calm demeanor. However, was close to be considered a sadist because of his personal interest.


    Ziban didn¡¯t interject and left the debate develop itself. He had brought the information and he knew nothing more could done. He simply interjected with the only questions that mattered for the moment¡­


    ¡°Alright, alright, what¡¯s done is done. Now I want to know what you all have found out about this new threat while I was gone. We need to be able to understand what the motives of this enemy¡­ So? What have you found.¡±


    The councilors looked at each other, expecting someone to go first and after a few seconds, Demetros took the lead:


    ¡°According to my sources, a small team of unknown individuals have been searching caves in the cursed marshes. After assembling a specialize group to be able to approach the marshes, my agents have confirmed their deaths by the piles of ashes they found.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve already explored these caves, and nothing was there that peaked our interest¡­ Did you find what they were looking for.¡± Asked Geirosh.


    ¡°Nothing of particular interest, however the report says they were transporting some heavy equipment of sorts but those were destroyed by the beast inside. The equipment seemed to be for excavation and transportation. Nothing else was found on my side.¡± Answered Demetros.


    The council was quiet, and everyone was thinking on the matter quietly.


    Then Kalb broke the silence and asked: ¡°Have we traced the equipment to whom sold it to them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my network of agents has found some traces.¡± Said Rayvin, frustratedly. ¡°But we lost the middle man to confirm it¡­ That bastard blew up a dock on Meridian Station and took down three patrol ships before escaping just this morning!¡±


    The councilors looked at Rayvin, shocked. They were aware of an incident that happen a couple of hours ago but weren¡¯t aware of the extent of the damage.


    Meridian Station was an orbital station That would house troops and acted as a waypoint to assemble their fleets close to the planet. It acted as an orbital defense platform and trade hub at the same time, which meant it was extremely well guarded and fortified¡­ Well, it was supposed to be.


    ¡°How the hell did this happen!¡± Shouted Kalb.


    ¡°According to the troops, the man was a crack shot and had prepared explosives beforehand. Also, he would be an ace pilot that was able to evade fire from the authorities by dodging and flying through the middle of multiple docked warships before entering hyperspace.¡± Explained Rayvin. ¡°Personally, I was about to sanction these men for incompetence, but then I saw the list and saw our culprit on it¡­ Captain Slyborg Jones is how he calls himself.¡±


    Ziban started to laugh. ¡°At least we know that Arbiters will have a good pilot! Bahahaha! And here I was worried about a smuggler being on the team! This is to hilarious!¡±


    Ziban was the only councilor able to laugh at such a situation. All the others were either giving rei-smiles or were holding their heads in dismissal. A headache was starting to grow while thinking of this project.


    However, Ziban cut his laughter short and seriously asked: ¡°So what was his relation to them?¡±


    Councilor Rayvin took his notes and confirmed simply what he said. The man was a simple middle-man, a runner that only transported an unknown package for a customer.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°How do we know it isn¡¯t a lie?¡± retorqued Geirosh.


    ¡°Because he told us everything we needed about the source of the seller and cooperated fully with the investigation.¡± Promptly said Rayvin.


    All the councilors were again shocked and confused.


    ¡°Then why did so much destruction happen on the station?¡± asked Demetros bewildered.


    ¡°¡­ The man got himself in a bar fight and was piss drunk to the point that when the dock  officers came to resolve the situation, the man seemed to think they were the friends of the man he was fighting with¡­ and then went to knock them out which started a gunfight¡­ which resulted him to fight his way to his ship, use explosives as a distraction and to blow up the gravitational locks on the ship¡­ which brought about a space battle where 3 patrols units where destroyed¡­ Surprisingly, no casualties were reported.¡±


    One word was written on the face of the councilors: Ridiculous! Complete and utter ridiculousness. They could not for the life of them comprehend how the scene played out. It was unfathomable.


    ¡°How the hell did he pass the security check points? Weren¡¯t the beam fields activated to stop him from passing through?¡± Asked Kalb.


    ¡°They were¡­ blown up, it seems.¡± Continued Rayvin.


    ¡°HOW?! They are reinforced stations that are laser and explosive proof! Even Biomentalist would have extremely difficult time destroying the security stations and would then need direct access to the control monitors to lift the lock down.¡±


    Rayvin then activated his holoprojector, displaying schematics of what seemed to be the inner mechanics of a security station for all to see. I then started to explain that the explosions disrupted the connections to the beam transmitter array by the frequency they emitted¡­ Also, the angle and the number explosive used affected the structural integrity of the checkpoint stations and simply crumbled away. This meant that Captain Slyborg Jones was either the most experienced and intelligent explosive expert they have ever seen¡­ or he was the luckiest and most idiotic person they have known.


    Using such explosives and standing in their radius could have killed him multiple times over¡­ If his plan didn¡¯t succeed.


    All of this was done under fire of the dock security officers.


    ¡°This is complete and utter failure of our security personnel. Countermeasure must be put in place.¡± Stated Demetros.


    ¡°I have here multiple new suggestions on policies to put in place and I have assigned architects to work on these weaknesses to erase them to avoid such eventuality.¡± Confirmed Rayvin. ¡°Also, because of the particularity of the situation, I suggest a simple administrative punishment would do for the guards.¡±


    ¡°True, we can show leniency. A summary execution for failing their duties in this kind of situation would be to much. Showing mercy would help their moral ever so slightly.¡± Said Geirosh.


    All councilor all agreed.


    Captain Jones was a new face in the underworld for a decade or so and some of his deeds were heard of, but nothing major since he didn¡¯t operate in the empire¡¯s territory. The fact this individual was selected by the DRA meant he was far more important, or dangerous, then they thought and would need to be more alert about him.


    Ziban approach the table and sat down. ¡°Now, what is the situation with the emperor.¡± Asked Ziban.


    Everyone became somber around the table at those words.


    ¡°He came out from his meditated state while you were gone and stated that he will soon have a breakthrough in acquiring the ¡®Battlefield Mind¡¯ state. After presenting him your plan, he has agreed and gives you full rein on the project.¡± Reported Demetros.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Good. We will soon have a great weapon against the Alliance retches. We will have the upper hand once this new threat is quelled¡­ How soon can we gather our selected ¡®Arbiters¡¯ to meet?¡±


    ¡°High Guardian Talok is at Garrison, training; The ghost of imperial intelligence is in return flight of an operation in Alliance space and will arrive in approximately three hours; the bounty hunter is on Meridian station waiting for summoning; and the minister of history and archeology is, of course, in his lab still.¡± Stated Kalb.


    ¡°We will wait for the agent to arrive, tell them to assemble on the stations in the imperial statesman meeting room and wait for further instruction. I will be meeting them personally before leaving with them for the first official meeting of the Arbiters.¡± Confirmed Ziban. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving for a little while, so continue the good work.¡±


    ¡°Before you go Ziban, I would like to ask one more time. Can we trust general Grant?¡± Asked Geirosh. ¡°I respect him as a fellow warrior, but I can¡¯t trust an Alliance dog.¡±


    ¡°Trust has nothing to do with it, my friend. ¡®The enemy of my enemy is my friend¡¯, but this only right to the extent of the existence of such and enemy. Once we have concluded our dealings, we will be able deal a crushing blow to the DRA. That is IF we deal our cards correctly.¡± Explained Ziban. ¡°We must remember that they too will try the same thing at the end of it all.¡±


    ¡°Wariness is key then but let¡¯s hope this will not impede the progress of these ¡®Arbiters¡¯.¡± Said Rayvin.


    On that note, the meeting ended and Ziban was the first to leave. The room was silent for a moment with the four other councilors looking at each other.


    Kalb broke the silence. ¡°I hope this fails, I can¡¯t stand working with these scums.¡±


    ¡°I on the other hand can¡¯t stand Ziban. This old fool with his aloof way of doing things¡­ He simply ticks me off. I can¡¯t wait that he kicks the bucket. How long can a Zirkan live?!¡± asked Geirosh.


    ¡°No idea, there is very little information on that race. For all we know, he might be the last of his species¡­ I would prefer collecting him and study him.¡± Announced Demetros.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of doing anything you two. I don¡¯t want to lose anymore members of the high council. It¡¯s been years since it¡¯s been so stable!¡± declared Rayvin. ¡°And you both wouldn¡¯t even be able to touch a single strand of his hair before he would melt you to oblivion.¡±


    If the politics of the Democratic Republic Alliance is based on dialogue, then the Avalon Empire¡¯s politics is based on strength. Either through cunning or might, one can gain power and social status based of their own strength.


    The main race of the Empire was humans and would generally discriminate other races. The only exceptions that would be races that proved their strength in some sort of way that would commend some amount of respect from the empire. They would then be integrated in the empire as citizens with slightly less rights then humans. However, they would have the chance to climb in power in society if they have a strong enough will.


    Laws were strict, and punishment was stricter, but the benefits were immense. The fact that anyone could attain them by proving their strength was very enticing. All citizens were given a home and the basics necessities to live. Education was given to the children and all jobs were offered by the state. Poverty was inexistent inside the empire¡­ if you weren¡¯t any other race then human or the few exceptions.


    Ziban was coming from one such race, but he has been in the High Council for so long that no one present knew when he started. Humans have transcended the age limitation a long time ago, but even still, no one knew how long High Councilor Ziban has been in office apart from the emperor himself.


    He has been the only unchanging member of the council. Which this says a lot just by understanding the nature of politics in the empire.


    ¡°Look, let¡¯s just concentrate on this new threat and hope we can go back to crushing the Alliance the fastest has we can. On that note, meeting adjourned.¡±


    All four high councilors upped and left the room, hoping to end this new crisis soon.

 The Temple鈥檚 Teachings

    Planet Calmani, Temple of Aeons


    Arch-Cleric Salmana was fuming and her flush cheeks expressed her frustration and rage that was still going strong. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we are folding to his whims! The military has no right to come and make demands as they will! That general Grant is way to pompous! He should know his place!¡±


    Arch-Cleric Domigo was having a headache listening to his colleague. She had been going on none stop for an hour with the Magister about how he should make a direct complaint to the senate. After ¡®diligently¡¯ listening to her, he simply said he would follow up directly with the general Grant and simply made her responsible to gather the two overmentioned individuals with Arch-Cleric Domigo. Basically, she was dumbed on his lap and he had to endure more tortuous complaining for more than a half hour.


    He could sympathize with her since he too understood the importance of the Temple. He was part of an association that held the individuals that had the potential of being biomentalist. They would teach and instruct people on how to gain control over their ¡°powers¡±. Many have become valued resources for the war effort and the inner workings of society since they had such a wide array of compatible talents to aide their fellow citizen.


    Yes, aide. A biomentalist of the Temple would be task to help free of charge society. Of course, being of the Temple of Aeons, everything was paid for by the Temple. The government would simply pay the Temple to educate the people with potential and supply the Temple with whatever it needs. Of course, this was done at a very young age help them grow faster and in a secure environment. However, anyone can go to the Temple and learn if they have the aptitude for being a biomentalist.


    However, older people would undergo psychological evaluation to avoid the Temple with arming a violent individual with superpowers. That screening is because after any amount of training, the individual in question can leave the Temple, no questioned asked. Being a biomentalist is very lucrative and they still act as good contributor to society.


    Surprisingly, many stayed with the Temples for numerous reasons like that¡¯s where their friends and family are or it¡¯s a more comfortable life or what not. Also, many go on to help the Democratic Republic Alliance by joining the war as the Temple representatives and because of their high level of combat capabilities, they usually get officer positions.


    Which this in itself can be problematic sometimes. Some students would join in the war to become overzealous heroes¡­ Which ended badly. So, a strict education system for pre-war action was put in place, but that didn¡¯t always help restrain some for being daredevils with dire death wishes. Thus, a certain strain had built up between the army and the Temple.


    The teaching of Aeons was one that promoted discipline, selflessness and generosity. They believed that Aeons was a force with its own will that controlled reincarnation and help people along a predestined path. Many debates existed on the matter of this religion, but the Temple of Aeons was never overbearing and instilled good morals, which was why it was very well tolerated and followed religion. However, zealots and extremist exist everywhere and Arch-Cleric one very devote believer.


    ¡°I think this will be resolve correctly sister Salmana. Now we should prepare our self to welcome these sisters. I want to make them understand the situation we are in to them clearly without¡­ confusing them with other matters.¡±


    ¡°Your right, so silly of me to diminish myself to the level of that ingrate! Doesn¡¯t he know the contribution the church has done for the galaxy! Such an- ¡°


    ¡°Sister Salmana, you are wondering again.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Sorry brother, I¡¯ll restrain myself a bit more.¡±


    A sigh of relief could be heard in Domigo¡¯s head and in a couple of moments after that, knocking was heard on the door. Salmana bid them to enter and two individuals appeared.


    One was a Mulukay, a green skinned beauty with bright blue eyes. She seemed delicate and proper adoring an elegant robe for high priestesses and had markings on her face that did not affect her beauty. Some would say it would even heighten her beauty with a touch of exoticness that it gave. The white dress had had green patterns adorning it emphasizing her holiness and status. Nicely tide black hair in a bundle with an exotic ornament letting only two curled strands of hair in the front showed her upright, but elegant nature. Her name was Thalyana and she had the remarkable title of the ¡®Spirit of Aeons¡¯.


    Do not interpret this as being a normal title: she was a powerful individual in charge of protecting the innerworkings of the Temples institution. In the past, she had discovered a dastardly plot which had multiple high-ranking officials in the Temple and the senate that tried to destroy the Alliance from within she and a few others she leaded brought this to light and even stopped single-handedly defeated the mastermind who was a master biomentalist.


    With this, she became a master herself and has gain a place on the inner council of elders at a very young age. She has full rein on investigation carried out on behalf of the Temple. In cruder terms, she is an internal affaires officer with the task of guarding the guardians. This title was bestowed only to the most trusted and loyal person to oversee the Temple inner personnel.


    The Second was a Twalu with dark blue skin and with mildly dark purple eye. A wilder and more aggressive look seem to emanate from her which the curved horns protruding from her temples towards the front of her forehead seem to amplify the visual. She had short black hair, a white tang-top with an open black long-sleeved leather jacket which was cut short, showing off her abdominal and lower back muscles, and with black leather pants. She was also wearing military grade combat boots with what seemed to be a holstered kinesis knife strap to her left foot, two holstered laser pistols hidden inside her leather jacket and a military grade armband which seemed to house and shoot all kinds of ammunition. She was also visibly holstering on her waist two deactivated light-sword hilts on that seemed to act as a warning.


    This aggressively seductive looking bounty hunter was the greatly feared and renowned ¡®Sentinel of Aeons¡¯, Javera. Sentinels were biomentalist of the Temple of Aeons that undertook the most hellish training to become battle ready undercover operatives. Be it the battlefield or the bar of some outer colony in deep space, or even the Avalon Empires territory, they would be sent to gather intelligence or investigate matters that no ordinary means could be employed. They mostly operated alone or very small groups and undertake missions that most would consider impossible.


    The reason why Javera gained the unofficial title was because she was once sent to infiltrate the capital world of the empire, Korbanis, and collect information on a possible large-scale attack on the Alliance.


    Well, she did not only found evidence, but she even foiled their plans. In the midst of it all, she even exchanged blows with the emperor himself. She herself doesn¡¯t even know how she got out of there alive, but she has the scares to prove it. One large scar can be found on her back which came from the emperor himself slashing her with his kinesis sword.


    With this exploit she became a master, her too, at a very young age and has an honorary position on the council of elders. Even if she isn¡¯t officially part of it, she is regularly asked her opinion on many matters concerning the Temple and military matters of the Alliance. Which suits her fine since she isn¡¯t one for formal meetings and prefers being in the action then behind a desk.


    ¡°I bid you both welcome dear sisters.¡± Started Domigo.


    ¡°You both have grown so much since your arrival twelve years ago my children¡­ But you should at least dress more decently Javera! This is the Temple! Not some lower sector nightclub!¡± scolded Salmana ¡°You should take example from your younger sister!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, but I just came back from a mission and directly came her because of your rushed summon.¡± Retorqued Javera. ¡°The nature of my work is to pass incognito and Temple robes isn¡¯t too inconspicuous¡­ Not mentioning how cumbersome it is to fight in them.¡±


    ¡°If passing unseen was your objective, I think you should probably use less revealing clothes sister.¡± Remarqued Thalyana with a beaming smile while giggling.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Come on sis, help me out here!¡±


    ¡°*Kof* Well then ladies, let¡¯s not stray too far. The point for us calling you both here is because you will be assigned to a new mission and will be working together.¡± Announced Domigo. He became more serious and went directly to the point. ¡°You will be joining a special team that will be composing of both members of the Democratic Republic Alliance and the Avalon Empire.¡±


    Both women become surprised and silent. Confusion arise in their eyes with questions popping in their heads. Both weren¡¯t thrill about this.


    ¡°I do not see why such a thing is necessary Arch-Cleric Domigo. May I know why such an outrageous plan came about?¡± Thalyana was keeping a cool-head but seemed shaken.


    ¡°Are you guys f#@king bunkers? Which retarded person even suggested that? You are basically asking a thaligmie and a casbror to basically f#@k one another and make up.¡± These two aforementioned names were two extremely ferrous beast that were natural enemies that fought over territory in high density jungle worlds. They were often captured and used in illegal underworld gambling pits. As crude her word were, the analogy was quite fitting.


    ¡°Please restrained your language and imagination Sentinel Javera!¡± Scold Salmana. ¡°I too am of the same opinion as you, but such disgusting language should stay out of this temple.¡±


    ¡°Sorry! Sorry! I was just caught by surprise, that¡¯s all¡­ Anyways, what¡¯s the mission details?¡± Javera continued like nothing happen at all, dismissing Arch-Cleric Salmana¡¯s sermon.


    ¡°It will be an eight-man group, four of which will be of the empire¡¯s faction. To answer your previous question sister Thalyana, this has been done in response to an attack from an unknown force which has attack both faction and doesn¡¯t seem to want to ally with either side. More details will be announced at your meeting where both factions will be present.¡± Answered Domigo. ¡°And to answer your crude question sister Javera, this ¡®retard¡¯ is actually general of the Alliances army, Jeffrey Grant.¡±


    Both sister Thalyana and Javera went silent hearing this name. That was the name of a legendary hero of the Alliance who commended respect and awe just by saying his name.


    ¡°I do not know much more then this, but this was approved by the galactic senate and accepted by the Magister. According to both party¡¯s agreement, the one leading this team will be a member of the Democratic Republic Alliance.¡± Continued Domigo.


    ¡°Well at least we have that going for us. I¡¯m surprised the empire accepted one of ours leading the joint team.¡± Said Javera.


    ¡°It is said that the empire is the one who suggested it.¡± Declared Salmana, half in disbelief.


    ¡°That is quite incredible in itself.¡± Said Thalyana. ¡°I would have thought the Empire to be more prideful and not let this chance past them.¡±


    ¡°That is why us elders suggest that you thread carefully. This smells of betrayal and conspiracy!¡± Arch-Cleric Salmana almost seemed unhinged for a second after saying that.


    The meeting went on for another twenty minutes half of which was Arch-Cleric Salmana raving about the dangers of the Empire. After the meeting, Thalyana and Javera walked out together and exited the Temple.


    ¡°This will be quite the adventure.¡± Declared Thalyana. ¡°However, I must say I am really happy to be going on this mission with you, I missed you a lot sister.¡± She looked at Javera with an innocent smile which seemed to have a sleight hint of loneliness in it.


    ¡°Me too sis. Come here! I¡¯m going to hug you like never before! Got to compensate for these few months, right?!¡±


    With a warm smile Javera grabbed her sister and hugged her plenty to the extant of even lifting her up a bit.


    ¡°Guegh! You are crushing me Javera!¡±


    Yes, sisters. The Temple would see its members calling themselves brother and sister to similarly ranked members. However, these two considered themselves real sisters. That was because when they were little, both were orphans of war and survived a war-stricken world together. A Twalu and a Mulukay, like most species, weren¡¯t capable of interspecies procreation. However, they were childhood friends and survived hell together. Their bond was unshakable. They also had an objective that they have been working on since a longtime ago.


    ¡°By the way, have you found anything in your travels?¡± Asked Thalyana.


    ¡°Not much. I met some veteran soldiers and checked the army death certificate archives and I didn¡¯t find anything.¡± Sighed Javera. ¡°And you?¡±


    ¡°Same. I tried contacting Balkarian diplomates and tried to gain access to files of the event, but some information is classified. I am limited because of my duties and the Temple archives only says that we were dropped by a soldier¡­ He seems to have no mention of him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah well at least I know he isn¡¯t dead. I check the whole list of soldiers and I can confirmed that in the two million three hundred and fifty thousand five hundred and eighty-six soldier named John, none were him.¡± Javera seemed exhausted just remembering the few days she stayed hold up in the archives looking.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t have to go that far¡­ Well at least we know he is still alive¡­¡± sighed Thalyana.


    ¡°I just wanted to make sure.¡± Said Javera, visibly embarrassed.


    Even though Javera was two years older than her, Thalyana seemed to play the role of the calm sister between the two. Javera would always deny it and she would also act as the big protective sister beat the cr#p out of whoever tried to be mean to her.


    ¡°However, I did discover something.¡± Announced Thalyana. ¡°I noticed that the dates of our arrival to the orphanage had discrepancies with the end battle for Balkarian. We arrived one full month after the battle was over.¡±


    Realization dawned on Javera, but then she became confused. ¡°But if that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t that mean we were on an empire-controlled world for a month? My memory is fuzzy of the time we spend together with him, but it mustn¡¯t have been that long¡­ right?¡±


    ¡°I had the same feeling, but these are the facts. I can¡¯t imagine how he manage to keep us safe for that long. I was just six years old at the time, so my memories are even less reliable.¡±


    Both continued to ponder and the talk about it for a while, then changed subject to their personal lives to try and catch up on the lost time that they were apart from each other.


    15 years ago, Planet Balkarian, Meerak capital city.


    ¡°I¡¯m tired Javy!¡± cried a young girl


    ¡°We can¡¯t stop Thaly! The bad people are behind us!¡±


    The two young girls were running non-stop for the past two hours.


    ¡°My legs hurt! Want to see mommy and daddy!¡± tears were falling down her cheeks while hiccupping a bit.


    ¡°They said they would catch up to us, so keep running!¡± She tried to console her, but she seemed to not believe her own words. Like if both her parents and Thalyana¡¯s parents lied to her. She still tried to keep her hopes up regardless, however.


    They ran and ran, shots were heard in the distance, the smell of death was everywhere. The heat of fire and smoke permeated the air. When they reached the outskirts Javera lead her friend to the woods to try and hide.


    She found a little cave hidden on a hillside and stopped there. Both girls were trying to catch their breath and both girl¡¯s legs just gave out. But moment later voices could be heard.


    ¡°I saw them running in this direction¡± said an imperial soldier. ¡°They can¡¯t be far off.¡±


    Both girls held their breath.


    ¡°Filthy rats and their kind should die without a struggle.¡± Said another.


    ¡°Hmm, well I would like to keep at least one alive. Their age is perfect for long lasting slaves. May I?¡± said a third


    The girls were terrified and tried to stay as quiet as possible, hugging each other closely.


    ¡°AH! Found them!¡± the soldier approached the girls and grabbed them forcefully.


    ¡°HYAAAAAAA!!¡±


    Both screamed and tried to wrestle free, but it was in vain.


    It was at that moment that some sort of groaning could be heard from the cave. The soldier became stiff and they all pointed their laser rifles toward the cave. Steps could be heard approaching the entrance and then a man appeared.


    He seemed groggy and disheveled. Dirt was smeared on the right side of his face where he was obliviously sleeping on. Mixed in was dried up blood which was located here and there on his body, but strangely no visual injury was seen on him. He was wearing a battered-up armor suit which was mostly broken and reveal his chest.


    But even in his sorry state, the soldiers were hesitating. The man was a mountain of muscles and looked imposing. He looked human even though he seemed whiter and bigger than most, but his red eyes mystified the soldiers.


    Then one of them noticed that his beat-up armor was one which the Democratic Republic Alliance outfitted their soldiers with.


    ¡°He is an enemy soldier! Don¡¯t move scum!¡± said the leader


    The man was whispering something incomprehensible:¡± ¡­ lea¡­ alon¡­¡±


    ¡°Come on LT, let¡¯s just waste the man.¡±


    ¡°What is he saying¡­?¡±


    ¡°LEAVE MY DAUGHTERS ALONE!!!¡± shouted the man.


    He then jumped the soldier holding the two girls, ripping his head off like it was nothing. It happened so fast that the rest were shocked stiff for a moment. Blood was flying everywhere and when the body dropped, it was like a signaled that woke up the rest.


    ¡°Holy sh*t!!!¡± panickily screamed a soldier


    ¡°Fire keep firing!¡± the lieutenant was trying to keep order in the ranks, but he was shaking uncontrollably.


    The shots where landing but he brushed them off like it was nothing. Something wasn¡¯t right, but the next moment the monster of a man appeared in front of him.


    ¡®Too fast!¡¯ he thought. ¡®Wait, This is¡­¡¯


    The man grabbed his leg and ripped it then started to beat him to death with it before he could finish his thought. Blood was everywhere and seeing this, the last two soldiers turned tail and ran¡­ But both got caught and had their heads smashed together into mush.


    The girls were terrified in place. The man turned to face them and walked slowly until he arrived in front of them. He approached both his hands on each of their heads and slowly crouched down.


    ¡°Everything is alright¡­ Daddy is here¡­ Everything is alright¡­¡± The man seemed dead tired, half sleeping, but showed a heart-warming smile while caressing their heads gently.


    Both girls were shocked but seemed to feel at peace for that moment. Then the man collapsed on the floor.


    Shocked the girls looked around in a daze. After seeing the horrid bodies, Javera vomited, but she then went for the man and started shaking him: ¡°Wake up mister! Wake up! We need to leave!¡±


    She was desperate and seeing what this man did for them, she clings to him as her last hope. Thalyana was silent, unmoving. She was in total shock.


    But luckily, the man woke up, still dazed. He then lifted Thalyana in one arm and held Javera¡¯s hand in the other and like that they all walked away from the scene.

 Future Possibilities of Old Friends, Part 1

    Inside the Imperial Institute of Korbanis, many renown scientists would be allocated rooms for their own research. Anyone whom proven their thesis could greatly benefit the Avalon Empire could be rewarded with a steady stream of income to finance their research.


    I one such room, a man in a dark robe was standing up, hands on the research desk, looking over notes. This robe looks quite prestigious with light and dark purple stripes and designs on it. A hood was over his head and under this hood you could only see a full faced golden mask. The mask seemed to resemble a human face, but the eyes were hollowed out and there was no mouth orifice. The mask itself seemed to be connected to a full black bodysuit which he wore under his robes. He even had gloves and light armor wrist bands and shin guards.


    For a scientist to be dressed like that was quite strange.


    ¡®The strands are so similar, but he¡¯s not one of them.¡¯ Thought the man. ¡®The genetics are present, but the alterations make him a complete other being, even species. I need more samples, I have way too few! Why can¡¯t he just die already! Let me dissect you!¡¯


    The robed man started to rave inside his mind, sparks could be seen igniting all around his body and the air became more and more eerie. A maddening rage was going to be unleashed!... And then he stopped. ¡®Oh well! Patience is key, genetics is something that needs that patience!¡¯ concluded the man. ¡®I¡¯m such a great man! So nice! So, patient!¡¯


    He turned around and looked to an operating table not far where a man was strap in and gagged with tears accumulating in his eyes.


    ¡°Now¡­ let¡¯s see if I can extract some memories. Can¡¯t delay my work now can I.¡± said the man with low monotonous voice. ¡°So, if I remember correctly from the last session, you were thinking about Kaloparion trade routes and the position of those troops¡­ let¡¯s confirm this before continuing the search.¡±


    The masked man approached his hands to the tied-up man¡¯s temples. The muffled screaming started, and a moment later purple lightening started to enter the poor strapped soul. The streaks could be seen doing a circular motion from the masked man to his victim. The biggest difference was that the lightening would invade the entire body of the strapped man, making him spasm non-stop, but the most lite up part where the lightening steaks moving around the victim¡¯s head. For the masked man, the lightening would be seen going up his arms to his head and go back to his victim.


    After fifteen minutes, the masked man stopped, not because he was tired or finished, but because his ¡®guest¡¯ died.


    ¡®Well, I got what the high council wanted. Time to make the report.¡¯ He thought.


    He went to his work desk and started writing his report on his computer¡­ The body of his victim was charred black on multiple spots and the smell of roasted meat was in the air, but the man did not mind it. That¡¯s when a strong knock came to his door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    A man with red skin, brushed back black hair and black as night eyes strode in without hesitation. He was a Sygon and he was wearing a grayish and black full body armor with dark red stripes. From his massive square shoulder guards hanged a black cap which had a weird mystical pattern with an eye in the middle of it. The insignia of the Emperors High Guardian¡¯s.


    ¡°Minister of History and Archeology, Vickrein Noxus. You have been summoned to take part in a special intergalactic operation you must present- ¡°


    ¡°Not interested.¡± Said blatantly Vickrein. Not even lifting his head once. He seemed to have finished his report and send it to the High Council. ¡°If you are finished, I will be returning to my research, I bid you farewell.¡± He got up and walked to his research desk activating a holoprojector displaying a humanoid body with multiple notes and signs that appeared everywhere next to the projected body. While scribbling on his notes he would periodically check his microscope.


    If you are wondering why the Minister of History and Archeology was a researcher of genetics specialized in humanoid biology, it¡¯s quite simple. In the empire, you can gain whatever you wish for as long as you have the strength and capabilities to gain it. For unknown reasons, a decade or so back, Vickrein needed access to multiple historical documents and access to the archeological dig sites across the galaxy for his research. Normally, gaining access would only take a little less than a month through due process, but the nature of his studies was of the restricted sort.


    Since he was refused, he went to the next step: gain the level of status needed for access. He discovered that to have all the rights and liberties he needed, he had to have the position of Minister of Culture and Tradition. He¡¯s conclusion on the matter told him that to have that position he would need to wait the end of the career or death of the currant minister¡­ So, he killed him.


    It wasn¡¯t a simple process. He diligently investigated the late minister, brought out false or manipulated evidence against him, killed his close friends and family until he was driven mad enough to make him attack himself publicly where he executed him in the most intense battle¡­ in self-defense. All of this while keeping his involvement a secret and covering the evidence of this.


    Then how did the minister know it was him. Quite simple actually: he told him. He told him every detail, every act he done, the torture he executed on his entourage, the sabotage of the career of the minister and even why he did it. Which in turn made the minister go crazy and attack him.


    However, Vickrein Noxus, with all his plans and preparation did not count on one little thing: The High Council¡¯s power. When he was summoned to them as, of course, the only candidate to become the Minister of Culture and Tradition, they showed him a file with all his deeds.


    Surprisingly though, they did not sanction him or punish him, they praised him, especially High Councilor Ziban. However, the man wasn¡¯t considered ministerial material. He was uninterested in the affairs of state. So, since they knew of his reasons and knew what kind of individual he was, they decided to create a new ministerial position that would give him the access he needed with limited need to operate as a minister.


    The research he was conducting was to understand a specific kind of humanoid, which in turn could immensely help the development of a biomentalist¡¯s body to operate and control their powers, even amplifying them. He then was also made High Councilor Ziban¡¯s personal apprentice which guaranteed a greater amount of research funds. Such prestigious awards and position would be great for any normal person, but for Vickrein it was an eyesore.


    He was now obligated to give monthly reports on his research and help his ¡®master¡¯ with errands. These errands would send him on the front lines of the war or secluded sectors of space to investigate disturbances. His master called it ¡®field training¡¯, but it was mostly a nuisance for him.


    However, fifteen years ago, on the front-line war on the planet Balkarian, he found a truly exceptional specimen that turned his views on organic life upside down. He fought it, but it had escaped. Since then, he tried to find it again¡­ and dissect it for research. But since his search was fruitless, he delved in his research with the little samples he was able to collect which was mainly blood. With it, he discovered that the specimen was related to the Zirkan race. Knowing this, he thought he could dissect his master, but discovered that it would go counter to his plans if the Empire would lose one of its main pillars. He was then in an impasse.


    Without further a due, he turned his head to his research trying his best working with the little blood he had in front of him.


    The High Guardian stood still and continued, ¡°This is an order of the High Council and High Councilor Ziban is the one sending out this message and is in charge of this operation.¡±


    The eerie air raised again in the room and the guard was caught off guard, startled by the pressure. However, what creeped him out further was the abrupt change where the eerie feeling just disappeared moments after, like if the feeling he had was just an illusion.


    ¡°I just finished my last errand for him and now¡­ fine I¡¯ll go.¡± Said Vickrein disdainfully.


    He took a step towards and disappeared out of thin air. The guard was startled again and then heard the robed man whisper to him next his ear ¡°Are we going or not?¡±


    The guardian turned abruptly, unsheathing his kinesis sword in hand, heavily breathing in fear. Vickrein was behind the man, five feet away.


    ¡°Stop playing around and bring me to this summon of yours¡­¡±


    Everyone knew of the volatile nature of the minister and he was warned to not anger the man, but the guard didn¡¯t feel that a minister ¡®in name only¡¯ was worth that much consideration. He was now thinking that he should start being a lot more careful around this man now. Not many could compare with a High Guardian, the fact he maneuvered around him like that was a great feat. With fear and new-found respect for the man, he directed the man to the fated meeting.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    ¡®I can¡¯t wait to see this idiot twisted face when I¡¯ll cut off his head.¡¯ Thought Vickrein.


    15 years ago, planet Balkarian, Meerak capital city


    Two military man were sitting at a table in a war room waiting in the Imperial main base.


    ¡°How long must we wait for this envoy? We can deal with this ourselves!¡± said a major.


    ¡°We DID try to deal with it ourselves, but look where it brought us? Two battalions killed and destroyed, a regiment of biomentalist completely wiped out and we spend more then one third of our artillery ammunition on the thing with nothing to show for it! The next thing would be orbital bombardment, but the nature of this god forsaken planet¡¯s atmosphere is too dangerous for a starship bigger than a transport ship to pass.¡± Declare the colonel.


    ¡°But one man? Is one man enough to take care of this?¡± voiced the major.


    ¡°We shall see.¡± Said a voice.


    Both men were startled by the arrival of a masked man who seemed to be walking through the wall. ¡°So, I heard you had some difficulties with some resistance fighters of some sort?¡±


    The indifference in the tone of this masked man infuriated the major, but the colonel took over before he could say a word. ¡°Are you Vickrein Noxus? Sorry to ask this, but we need confirmation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, of course, here is the letter of confirmation from my ¡®master¡¯. I¡¯m here to investigate and clean up any¡­ problems that have occurred here.¡± Vickrein seemed devoid of interest on the matter.


    ¡°Thank you for helping with this.¡± After giving the papers back to the masked man after looking over it briefly, he went directly to the point. ¡°Three days ago, like you know, the Democratic Republic Alliance has withdrawn from the planet after heavy losses after our successful offensive. During their retreat, a regiment stayed behind to cover their retreat. They were able to successfully retreat, but at the cost of the whole regiment¡­ Except for one soldier.¡±


    ¡°Well two if you count the droid.¡± added the major.


    ¡°A droid and a soldier?¡± Vickrein seemed amazed ¡°A biomentalist?¡±


    ¡°No, well we don¡¯t know.¡± Uncertainty was written everywhere on the colonel. ¡°The soldier doesn¡¯t emit any signature that would identify him as a biomentalist. The droid accompanying him seems to have multiple assassination protocols and has been illusive since the start of the conflict.¡±


    ¡°I am surprised such a relic has been such a problem for you all. It is quite shameful.¡± Calmly and monotonously said Vickrein. ¡°I would have maybe understood if it were an android because of their versatility, but this is a big clanking machine we are talking about.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t say the same thing after you see the battle footage.¡± A woman seemed to appear from thin air from the corner of the room.


    ¡°I was wondering how much longer I had to wait for you too come out. Any longer and I would have killed you.¡± Casually threatened Vickrein.


    ¡°Sorry for that, sir. Old habits. I am agent Villeta of the Imperial Intelligence Agency. I have been sent by High Councilor Rayvin to observe and help in anyway possible.¡± She showed a brief smile while standing straight with her hands in behind her back.


    She was a Cirisi. This species of humanoid was seen to be very exotic and beautiful for a lot of other species. Dark blue skin with even darker blue hair and they were renowned for their red compound eyes shape has normal human eyes; they simply lack an iris like most humanoid species. Heighten reflexes and heighten dynamic vision, this species of humanoid was very agile, but they were considered slightly weaker physically to humans. Because of these characteristic and the fact that they closely looked like humans, apart for the mention parts before, granted them tolerance from the empire and its citizens.


    Socially accepted, many have joined the Imperial Intelligence division because of these physical traits. They were known to have very firm and direct way of speaking which reflected their culture that focus on discipline and serving their nation, but the one in front of him did not seem to follow the Cirisi way.


    She spoke with a more casual tone and seemed to even be more of a flirtatious individual giving her more personality then others of her species. Acting like this would only be with close family or close friends in private and was considered vulgar, close to taboo, when done openly and even more with a stranger.


    Vickrein liked it. To be clearer, he didn¡¯t ¡®like¡¯ the woman in front of him in a physical sense, but as a collector. Something out of norm, something that was rare and not seen elsewhere was meant to be found and analyzed.


    ¡°Fine¡­ Now, can we look at the footage? I don¡¯t have all day.¡±


    ¡°You right.¡± Said the colonel. ¡°Major, activate the file.¡±


    The major, injected a miniature portable device inside a terminal which was connected to a projector and then activated footage through a computer.


    ¡°This was recorded from the helmet cam of a soldier two days ago, the images are a bit jumpy, but we can see clearly what happens¡­¡±


    2 days ago, Meerak, downtown district


    Inside a trench that faced a gigantic crater, a squad of soldiers were ¡®readying¡¯ themselves to proceed with their mission.


    ¡°Holy sh*t! Holy Sh*t! Holy sh*t! I can¡¯t deal with this anymore!¡± said private Hollier. The footage was coming from the point of view of this soldier.


    ¡°Get a grip private! We need to have a visual on the target for the artillery strike!¡± said his sergeant.


    ¡°Respectively, sarge, that monster is killing anything that gets close or shots at him and we have sent already three artillery strikes on him which each team that gave that ¡®visual¡¯ was then VISUALLY ripped apart.¡± Said another soldier.


    ¡°This is the second day already, it must be exhausted by now so¡­¡±


    By the end of the sergeant¡¯s words, dying screams and explosions were heard approaching their position. The men peeked over the trenches to look and saw ravenous looking man shredding a tank with his own hands, making it explode while soldiers were running away. The man then lifted what remained of the burning tank and threw it on the fleeing soldier crushing them and splattering their blood everywhere. The scene was horrifying and sense defying: the tank should we weighing over a couple of tons! He lifted what a normal biomentalist would have difficulty lifting by themselves.


    His massacre continued, running after anyone fleeing in front of him. His armor was half ripped apart and his helmet had one of his eyes slightly broken showing a mad red eye scarring the soldiers even more.


    ¡°Sarge, this is crazy! We need to leave! He is coming this way too!¡± said Hollier


    ¡°This is perfect, with this we can call the strike easily.¡± Said the sergeant. ¡°He is at approximately seven hundred meters away, perfect for us.¡±


    The sergeant aimed his rifle and activated a targeting beam, pointing at this man. Once he did though the man looked directly at them and started running towards them. The soldiers panicked since every step seemed to propel the monster by fifty meters.


    ¡°Shit! Fuck this!¡± said Hollier and two more privates followed him.


    Private heard his leader swear at him but moments later a huge impact noise was emitted from where he was. His colleagues took the lead running through the trench. Running non-stop without looking back until they were close to an exit. When they barely made it out to two shots were fired killing his teammates instantly.


    Hollier stopped in his tracks and froze. Not even before he could react to his dead teammates a stabbing noise was hear and a sharp pain was emitting from his stomach. He looked down and saw a big knife sticking out of his belly with a black rusty metal hand grasping it. He followed it up until he saw a very tall droid standing on his right. Human shaped, but squarely made, it looked sinister with his uniformed black and rusty look. Its two eyes were lite up in a dark yellow color, making it even more sinister.


    A heavy caliber laser-pistol in its right had held up and a sniper rifle on his back, it looked straight ahead, still holding the knife in private Hollier¡¯s stomach.


    ¡°Declaration: One must stay for the entirety of the show! Especially when it¡¯s free! Query: What part of the show was to your disliking? I will ensure to notice my Master of any complaints you have on this show!¡±


    The pain was searing his stomach. ¡°Wha¡­ Why? Eurgh!¡±


    The knife was forcibly and quickly extracted from him, making him fall on his knees. Guts spelling out from his stomach, the droid then moved in front and lowered his pistol to aim at the soldier¡¯s head.


    ¡°Rhetorical question: Should I even bother with such riff-raff that show such disrespect to such artistry of my Master. Announcement: Congratulations dear biological bag of excrement! You have been awarded with death!... Enjoy the end of your suffering¡­¡±


    A loud shot was the last thing Hollier heard and felt.


    Back in the war room, 2 days after the footage


    ¡°What an interesting droid¡­ It¡¯s a shame that we will most likely need to destroy it. I rather not destroy collectible, but oh well.¡± Said Vickrein seemingly having a sad ton behind his mask.


    ¡°You know what that robot was? We couldn¡¯t find it in the registers of droid manufacturers of the empire. Since the decline of droids for androids, very few models exist, and we can¡¯t find it.¡± Said the colonel


    ¡°That is normal colonel. This is a very rare and banned model of the AD series. It was a sophistically created assassin droid that were built five to six hundred years ago. They were banned because of their highly advance assassination protocols that could be updated by itself. Most droids of that series would grow distorted personalities that would even persist after memory wipes.¡± Explained Vickrein


    ¡°Most were design with the functionality of being able to have independency to a certain extent.¡± Continued Villeta. ¡°Like you might have guessed, one wrong worded command or an order that was to broad could spell disaster. Whole governments were destroyed by this sort of droids. That was the reason all the droids of this series were ordered to be destroyed on a galactic level.¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± Said Vickrein. ¡°an example of such a commend would be ¡®protect me from any threats¡¯. The droid would then take upon itself to protect you from enemies, assassins, and the like. However, it would also eliminate, say, your wife holding a kitchen knife too close to you, or your child pointing a toy pistol at you.¡±


    Fear was scene on the colonel and majors face.


    ¡°However, this model seems to be one of the later series which had a very high level of intelligence and has clearly gain self-awareness with a personality to match it. A unique model indeed!¡± praised Vickrein.


    ¡°We must destroy it and its Master.¡± The colonel turned to Vickrein and asked. ¡°What do you think of this¡­ Monster.¡±


    ¡°He is very interesting specimen and I am now happy that I didn¡¯t come here for nothing!¡± a tinge of happiness could be heard in his mask. ¡°I will kill it and dissect it with great pleasure.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t overestimate your chances. That monster has been wreaking havoc for three days now!¡± berated the major.


    ¡°Yes, we have been able to keep him in a one location, but we have incurred heavy loses. Moral is at an all-time low and what is lefts of the planets enemy forces that were left behind have manage to escape, hiding god knows where on the planet. We are stuck here because of this calamity. ¡°Colonel seemed desperate. ¡°The high echelons want us to completely capture the capital, so we can announce our complete victory¡­ so we can¡¯t do that without taking him out.¡±


    Vickrein slowly got up ¡°Then let¡¯s not keep them waiting. I myself can¡¯t wait to see this specimen.¡±


    With a light hand gesture towards the door he said. ¡°Please lead the way and bring me to this hell you all seem fond of.¡± Excitement could be heard in his sarcasm.

 Future Possibilities of Old Friends, Part 2

    Meerak capital city, downtown district


    ¡°This isn¡¯t good, we need to stop this monster now!¡± the colonel said urgently.


    They were all in a tent of the forward offensive base approximately five kilometers away from the crater site where the empires ¡®huge headache¡¯ was situated. For some reason, the monster would not stray to far from downtown and would always go back to a wide crater and stand in the middle of it. The crater itself had started with only a radius of hundred meters, but with the few days of intense fighting and artillery fire coupled with aerial bombardments the crater had extended to three kilometers in radius.


    Inside the tent, the major had read the report to the colonel of the past three days and announce the loses: three thousand two hundred and ninety-one dead, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-six injured which half were deemed to gravely injured to last the next couple of days. Over eight billion in imperial credits in damage and lost equipment ranging from simple ammunition to tank, artillery cannons and even aerial fighters.


    When Vickrein heard this numbers, he frowned inside his mask. This was more than three times the amount of loses he had expected from the imperial forces. This enemy soldier could not be considered a mere man anymore. Monster was an understatement at this point, calamity would be a better name for ¡®it¡¯.


    ¡°Quite the monster we have here.¡± Stated Vickrein with his monotonous voice. ¡°What about the droid?¡±


    ¡°It is hiding inside the fallen buildings and rubble. We suspect that it is scouting and informing the Alliance soldier of our positions and movements but seems to not venture far from its master.¡± Answered Villeta. ¡°It only attacks small and scattered troops, especially those that try to escape. It seems to have a high caliber sniper rifle which was able to bring down two of our fighters.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Colonel, please withdraw any troops from the encirclement. I will be facing this thing alone and I don¡¯t want to be responsible of killing your men¡­ by accident.¡± The way he added his last words seemed forced, like trying to correct a slip of the tongue. He then added ¡°agent Villeta, you will be charge of fighting that droid. I don¡¯t want it hindering me during this fight. Use any method at your disposal to delay or destroy it¡­ capturing it would be a bonus, but I won¡¯t hold my breath.¡±


    He then turned around and left the tent in direction of the crater.


    ¡°I know he is here to help us, but I hope he dies.¡± Said the major


    ¡°Please don¡¯t say such thing major Midday. We are all friends here and besides, the man himself seems eager to help. Sir Vickrein is a very powerful biomentalist and I¡¯m sure he will bring this to a favorable conclusion.¡± Villeta showed a very charming, bordering to flirtatious, smile to the major. ¡°He is known to be vindictive and ruthless, but also to only be moved by what interests him. Since he seemed eager to join in, positive results await.¡±


    ¡°I hope you are right, our forces can¡¯t handle this anymore and the soldiers fear this monster too much to even lift a finger against it¡­ Just to be clear though, artillery fire and aerial support will still be open to you if you need it, agent.¡± Declared the Colonel.


    ¡°Thank you colonel Chuz. It was a pleasure meeting you all. My team and I will be going now. Please stay safe now!¡± She winked at them and with her same wonderful smile on her face, she left the tent.


    ¡°So beautiful. I¡¯m completely smitten.¡± Said Major Midday


    ¡°I would suggest you don¡¯t get to attach to her. Imperial Intelligence operative are worst then snakes. They are trained assassins and infiltrators. Seduction and social skills are but some of the many weapons they utilize.¡± Warned colonel Chuz


    ¡°She is on our side, there should not be any problems with some friendly banter, sir.¡±


    ¡°I hope for your sake that¡¯s all. Associating with members of Intelligence can have many complications attached with it.¡±


    ---


    Half way to the crater, Villeta had just met up with Noxus, walking together towards their target.


    ¡°Why are you with me? I asked you to deal with the droid.¡± Said the biomentalist coldly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to glare at me so fiercely. I sent my men to scout ahead and locate the droid.¡± She said sweetly. ¡°What came back was that the target just killed a couple more soldiers but seem to be acting strangely. He seems wounded, but the cause seems unknown since he has been fighting as per his usual. My hypothesis? He is tired.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask your opinion on the matter. Go simply take care of the AD droid.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I found him, but half my team is already dead, and the other half are trying to hold him off until I get there. I simply wanted to keep you updated since none of my men can do the report.¡± Announced the agent. ¡°I don¡¯t plan on dying, but I prefer to give you as much info before anything does happen to me and you are left alone. Well, don¡¯t die now! See you later¡­ maybe.¡± She vanished in thin air leaving only a slight presence that Vickrein could feel running off. She kept her joyful and charming smile until the end, but her tone became a bit more serious at the end of her farewell.


    Even with all the ¡®fa?ade¡¯ she showed, Vickrein saw the viciousness in her eyes. He didn¡¯t care for this colleague of his, but he was certain she would manage to stay alive. He knew those eyes, the same eyes he had since a longtime ago.


    The further he went, the more destroyed vehicles and corpses he found. The level of destruction was on a massive level and more he got closer to the crater, the more he felt danger creeping up on him. Passing by destroyed artillery stations and more corpse, the battles here were incredibly intense. A few minutes later, he was on the top of the outer edge of the crater. Vickrein was pleasantly surprise at the view.


    ¡°Well, we will only need to cover up the crater for this shared grave.¡±


    Mountains of corpses, either whole or in fragments, were covering the complete landscape of the crater. Multiple destroyed tanks were scattered around among the corpses and the smell of death was more present than any other battlefield that Vickrein has ever been at.


    A man with a badly battered body armor with the colors of the Alliance still barely visible among all the dried-up blood on him was standing in the middle of the crater on top a literal mountain of corpses. That was the biggest pile of corpse in one place Vickrein had ever saw and he was in awe.


    ¡®I must say that I am quite impress.¡¯ Thought Vickrein. ¡®He really doesn¡¯t emit any biological energy anomalies typical to Biomentalist. All this from pure physical strength alone then? Oh! My word! I can¡¯t wait to open him up and see what makes him so powerful.¡¯


    He started to approach casually among the rubble and bodies and has he approach he started to notice that the man was breathing heavily but in a rhythm. His body was massive, and he could see the well define muscle protruding here in there of his destroyed armor. The helmet was nowhere to be scene showing off the man black hair and red eyes with lightly whiter skin than humans.


    However, the man was in a bad shape with bloodshot eyes and he seemed to slowly but continuously bleed from those very eyes, nose and ears. He was looking at the ground, seemingly growling a bit. He seemed like a wild beast with his arched body.


    ¡®Weaken? He looks to be at deaths door! I need to hurry and neutralize him, so I can see if anything is salvageable.¡¯ Vickrein was thinking quickly to find a way to collect his specimen. He then gave up the idea of fresh samples since that kind of bleeding was indicative of severe internal bleeding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s end this quickly then.¡± Vickrein took a step and disappeared to reappear a second later behind the man. Hand raised with the hilt of double-bladed light sword appearing in it and activated while he did a stabbing motion. All of this was done in a split second.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    However, to Vickrein surprised, his forearm holding the double-bladed light-sword was grabbed. He then saw the men lift his head and stare in his eyes. Pure bloodlust could be felt in those eyes staring up at Vickrein and the next moment he was thrown meters away in the wreckage of a tank. The impact of the landing resounded throughout the crater and Vickrein looked dishevel laying on the debris.


    ¡®OH! OH! YOU DARE!¡¯ raged inwardly Vickrein. He tried calming down, but it was only when he heard blood curdling scream that he got back to his senses and calming down.


    He looked at the men and saw him running quickly towards him. Every step seemed to propel him at astonishingly increasing speeds. Vickrein stood up and reactivated his light-purple double-bladed light-sword while his body started to emit darken purple lightening. He crouched, one hand on the ground and then explosively jumped forward.


    A mere instant later he appeared on the right side of the man and slashed the man repeatedly. He seemed to look like a lightening tornado with dark winds growing around him. But to his surprise this only lightly pressured the monster which was blocking the strikes with his hands and forearms.


    Vickrein saw the weapon hurting the man with the burnt in cuts in his flesh, but the man¡¯s skin was regenerating as fast as the cuts he was unleashing on him. His streaks seemed to be unable to dig deeper in his flesh.


    ¡°Fascinating...¡± muttered Vickrein.


    He couldn¡¯t stop being surprised by the being in front of him. How he wished he could just capture this specimen!


    Bang! The man slipped a counter in, punching Vickrein in his stomach blowing the wind out of him and propelling him in the cliff of the crater. Bouncing a few times, he manages to regain his balance and dashes forward meeting halfway with the beast of a man in front of him. The lightening extended itself on the sword effectively staggering the monster and before it could react, Vickrein kicked him in his sternum pushing him back a few meters.


    Before he could regain his balance, a powerful lightening strike surged out of Vickrein left hand streaking at the man, blowing off the remainder of the battered chest piece armor and sending the man flying one hundred meters further into debris.


    ¡°Come monster, let analyze more of your capabilities¡­ Woah!¡± A piece of what seemed to be the wing of a fighter was thrown at such a high velocity, Vickrein thought he would have been cut in two by it. ¡°His becoming stronger?¡±


    Yes, as inconceivable it looked, the monster seemed to become stronger. But Vickrein saw that he was bleeding more profusely. ¡®It seems that it can become stronger, but at the cost of something. Is it simply his body unable to coop with the strain of it or is it something else making him bleed?¡¯ Thoughts were continuously immerging inside Vickrein¡¯s head.


    ¡°Time to be a little reckless too¡­¡± said Vickrein. He started shacking and the lightening coming from his head started to concentrate there. It then started to crawl towards the length of his arms with the same condense amount of lightening, ¡®This much is my limit for now¡¯ he concluded to himself.


    Dark winds started to accumulate around his lower body, lifting him up like which resembled a twister and charged forward meeting the charging man half way. An immense explosion and blinding light could be seen coming out of the crater for miles around.


    Elsewhere on the battlefield, the group of fifteen operatives of the Imperial Intelligence were reduce to three. The survivors were hiding behind rubble inside a building and were under sniper fire.


    ¡°This is crazy! How is this droid so dangerous! Wasn¡¯t it built six hundred years ago?¡± said one agent.


    ¡°We need to retreat; this op has failed.¡± Said the second.


    Villeta was pondering what to do. Such a situation was indeed not in their favor. They had underestimated the craftiness of the droid and were now vying for their lives. After so more complaining from the two agents, she notices something.


    ¡°It¡¯s too quiet.¡± She commented. Both agents stopped talking weary of their surroundings. And then a last shot was heard, but this laser shot hit a pillar behind them which then crumbled away making the floor over their heads fall.


    All of them jumped out of the building running for cover, one got hit in the leg immobilizing him and the another got shot in the head. Villeta got to cover, but a grenade got lobbed to her position the moment she took cover. She got up, activating an emergency kinetic shield and jump away. The explosion hit her, and she was then propelled forward hitting a wall debris.


    Shaken, she tried to get her bearings, but heard metallic foot steps coming her way. A cold metallic hand and grabbed her neck lifting her in the air. She was able to still breath but barely. She saw the other agent being held the same way on her right. In front was a menacing looking droid with dark yellow lights for eyes. The black and lightly rusty look it had gave both agents an eerie feeling terrifying them.


    ¡°Announcement: Congratulations my new meaty looking friends! You are now the chosen few that will have the chance of having a future! Commentary: Such a marvelous opportunity comes very few times so please accept this gratifying present of yours truly.¡±


    The operatives stared dumbstruck with confusion written all over their faces.


    ¡°Kof!... What¡­ the f@#k... Kof!¡± said the agent but then his neck got squeezed even tighter, cracking until a loud snap could be heard. In Villeta¡¯s terrified eyes, she saw the agents head dangle loosely forward.


    ¡°Surprised exclamation: Oh! My! It seems my left hand has some damage and accidentally snapped his neck, even when I added such little pressure to this vulgar being. Sarcastic heartfelt apologies: I hope he wasn¡¯t a dear friend; however, I do apologize for such an unsightly sight.¡± The droid let go of the body which dropped lifelessly to the ground. ¡°Query: I hope this will not affect any future dealing between us, will it not?¡±


    Villeta was petrified and unable to voice her response. She simply shacked her head to confirm her compliance. ¡®I don¡¯t want to die by this crazy machine!¡¯


    ¡°Declaration: Perfect! We are now friends! Introduction: I am WS-15 of the exclusively built WS series constructed by my Master! Query: My I know who you might be?¡± The droid lowered Villeta enough so she could touch the ground on her toes and loosen its grip, so she could talk and breath better.


    ¡°I am¡­ Kof, Kof! I am an operative of the Imperial Intelligence department. My name is Villeta Kallus.¡± She said sincerely.


    ¡°Surprised observation: Honesty! Surprising coming from such an individual. Query: Were you expecting me to be able to see if you were lying?¡±


    ¡°Yes, most assassination droids have many torture protocols with the in-built lie detectors¡­¡±


    ¡°Frustrated clarification: I am NOT one of those substandard models of the AD series. Proud explanation: Even though I do share similarities with them, I am an upgraded version with higher combat capabilities and I have the added function of diplomatic protocols enabling me to be able to communicate in more then two thousand five hundred different dialects. My data base is extremely vast and is updated regularly so my performance stays stellar in any diplomatic situation. I even had an inputted ¡®stellar Butler¡¯ protocols with over ten thousand ethic maneuvers for any kind of cultural presentation across the galaxy. I act for my master as a worldly servant to conduct perfect forms of diplomacy, but I occasionally participate in graceful wanton slaughter for him too. The best of both worlds.¡±


    Villeta was speechless, unable to understand what was going on. This machine was clearly crazy. ¡®What does it want?¡¯ confused she kept listening to his unrelenting bragging for another five minutes.


    ¡°Conclusion: Because of this, I have to assure my master safety at all cost. Which is why I must now use you. Declaration: You will now assure that I complete my protocol to safeguard him by giving me the opportunity to take him to safety. Warning: Any action undermining the success of this operation will result in your painful and miserable death assured my yours truly.¡±


    ¡°Wha-What must I do?¡± inquired Villeta.


    ¡°Explanation: Firstly, I will wrap this bomb¡­¡±


    ----


    In the crater, the fight was going on relentlessly. Both man where fighting with extreme fervor. Vickrein was now panting and extremely fatigued and so was his opponent, but they still charged head-on at each other.


    Vickrein¡¯s mask was cracked open revealing a glimmering orange eye. His robes in tatters showed his inner layer armor and dark reddish and black skin. He was now fighting with his fist full of lightening since his double-edge light-sword hilt got shattered in two.


    Both met in the center of the crater, unfurling punches and kicks at each other in rapid succession, then Vickrein saw an opening, smashing his fist on the face of this monster with all the lightening he could muster which exploded and sent the man flying into a crumbled building. He waited for a moment and saw no movement from the man in the building.


    He staggered but wrestled to stay on his feet. ¡®Is it finally over?¡¯ he thought. The man wasn¡¯t moving so he started to approach cautiously.


    Suddenly he saw agent Villeta appear next to him. ¡°That will be all now sir Vickrein Noxus. Imperial Intelligence will take over from here.¡±


    Vickrein felt vexes. ¡°What? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°The empire¡¯s intelligence sections were dispatched as support for the operation, but our primary objective was the retrieval of this man for the High Council. High Councilor Rayvin sends his apologies and thanks you for your help in apprehending the man.¡± She seemed in a rush, close to nervous, but Vickrein didn¡¯t see it.


    ¡°You dare take my specimen? After all my work! HE IS MINE!!!¡±


    In a moment of blind rage, Vickrein shot a lightening strike at the agent sending her flying and fell a meter away. She laid on the ground barely moving. ¡®She is lucky I can¡¯t use as much power¡­ I would have turned her into charcoal.¡¯ He activated a holo-communicator. ¡°Colonel, you may come for pick-up, the monster of yours has been dealt with, but he is mine. Send a containment cell, I¡¯m bringing this monster back home for study.¡±


    ¡°Thank you sir Noxus for your hard work. ETA ten minutes to your location.¡± Confirmed nervously Colonel Chuz.


    Vickrein turn around and saw that the agent had fled. With a dismissive look in his eye. He went to ready his specimen.


    ¡°¡­Where is he?!¡± shocked Vickrein looked everywhere and anger started to swell in him. He got played. ¡®By who? Imperial Intelligence?¡¯ thinking they took him while he was distracted, he started to run in direction of the imperial base.


    In the other direction, a droid was dragging the man on his shoulder, he turns around and activated a detonator, but nothing happened.


    ¡°Rhetorical question: Did I not correctly prepare the explosive? Assertive realization: No, it must be tempering from my dear friend. Resignation: Nothing can be done for now. I hope we meet again agent Villeta.¡±

 A Bounty Hunter鈥檚 Contract Shackles

    Present time, Station Meridian, Avalon Empire space


    Mobek Kaan was having a bad week. It started when he discovered that he lost his favorite laser-pistol in his ship¡¯s quarters. He will most likely will find it somewhere on his ship, but not having it with him made him uneasy. He then got a call from client, a High Councilor of the Avalon Empire, that contacted him directly to ask for his services. He did business with whoever paid better, so when he got the information on the pay, he was astonished. His advance payment was in the eight digits, a sum he never saw in his life, but he knew that big pay meant big troubles, so he refused¡­ at the beginning.


    The man was shrewd and threaten him that he could warn some organizations of his whereabouts and that he ¡®owed¡¯ a favor to the empire. So, he ¡®accepted¡¯ the deal, but without the advance payment seeing that he was repaying a favor. He was still assured the payment but losing the advance payment in the first offer hurt. Then he was on the imperial station Meridian for two days waiting for a meeting to happen, so to past the time he played so pacienza in the mess-made-bar area of the station. He lost two thousand imperial credits at that card game and even started to wonder if the guys at the table were cheating him.


    He had a bad feeling about this contract.


    ¡®This isn¡¯t going to be a fun ride, I can feel it¡¯ he thought. He was now walking towards the imperial statesman meeting room. This room was were the big shots of the empire would meet about various subjects. Going through the highly secure and luxurious hallway, he had pass three security checkpoints already and ¡®all¡¯ his weapons were confiscated.


    He was wearing a heavy but mobile green combat armor with brown and gray camouflage patterns on it with a simple menacing T-shape visor helmet. He was still equipped with a concealed retractable blade on each of his forearms and boot tips. He wasn¡¯t proficient with them, but it was always a good plan to have them in case he was in a tight spot. He had also installed a mini concealed rocket launcher that would deploy from the back of his left shoulder. He could keep them since he would have to undress if he was asked to take it off, but he was obligated to turn off his suit offensive systems.


    Someone could have created an armory with all the weapons he had been confiscated. This frustrated him since if he was human or a renown race, this process would have been skipped, but he was a Ratadwan, a race of the Democratic Republic Alliance. This race were white-purplish skin humanoids born with body wide birthmarks that resembled tattoos. Each mark was similar for member of the same family, but where all distinct from one another in a subtle way which help them differentiate one another. They had the peculiar trait as a race to be completely hairless. They have a shamanic base culture with great focus on tradition. They were mostly known as peaceful, so seeing one of them be a bounty hunter was very rare, even considered odd.


    That¡¯s what Mobek was, an oddity of his race, some even went to say that he was a shame to his race. Working for money as a bounty hunter, living a life of violence and participating in gambling was a taboo to his people.


    Mobek didn¡¯t care, he had his reasons and he wasn¡¯t going to have that affect his decision. He was renown and respected in his trade and that was enough for him.


    He worked for both sides in this conflict and didn¡¯t particularly like either side. They were his clients and ideologies didn¡¯t bring the food on the table. He got employed more often on the Avalon Empire¡¯s side since they were open to use bounty hunters in their war, but he didn¡¯t mind collecting some bounties for the Democratic Republic Alliance¡¯s side too.


    This time it was the empire turn to take him in and that¡¯s all. Sure, he didn¡¯t like how the mission was a secret, that his weapons were taken from him and the fact that he felt manipulated into accepting, but if everything went well, he knew the empire pays up. He had more difficulties getting payed by alliance clients, but in the end, they always pay up, willingly or not.


    He was now in front of two elegant doors and was led in by one of the guards. Once he opens the door, he faced two people arguing with each other. To be more precise, one shouting while the other was, or seemed, indifferent.


    ¡°YOU DARE SAY IT WAS A TRIFFLING MATTER?! Killing a High Guardian because of a WHIME isn¡¯t ACCEPTABLE!!!¡± shouted a red skin Sygon. The man was wearing a High Guardian armor uniform, but it was slightly different in the way that it had the added golden stripes and his cap was more elegantly decorated. He had unsheathed a Kinesis broadsword which looked thick and heavy but was strangely held easily in his hands. ¡°You may be a minister, but TREASON STAYS TREASON!!!¡±


    Were a very proud race that boasted great strength compared to most other races. Compared to Mobek¡¯s race, the Sygon were respected and well accepted in the Avalon Empire. Geirosh, one of the five High Councilors of the empire was a Sygon was extremely great strength and was coupled with great biomentalist powers. Half of the High Guardians of the empire were sygonians, which was a testament of their power since being a High Guardian required high physical and biomentalist capabilities since they had to go through grueling training to be accepted in their ranks.


    The sygonian was facing a robed man with a hood and golden mask. The human looking mask without a mouth had an eerie feeling to it, like it was trying to hide the true nature of something monstrous. This was not the first time he saw it and the last time he had was for business. The job was difficult and weird, and he completed it quickly since he wanted to get the hell away from him. He remembers that once he had finished unloading the package he captured, the facility holding it exploded a few hours later. He even saw the explosion while departing from the spaceport. He was happy to have rejected his offer to stay for another job.


    ¡®Sh*t sticks¡­ I am working with him again?! Please no¡­¡¯ prayed Mobek. While thinking that, he noticed a woman, she was sitting at the furthest place from the conflict at the meeting table.


    ¡°I see nothing wrong with cullying the weak link in our ranks¡­ Besides, he offended me, that is just cause to kill such an idiotic being¡­¡± said Vickrein with indifference.


    ¡°But you desecrated the corpse by playing puppeteer with his corpse! THAT is going too far!¡± The man started to literally burn up. Dark flames were emitted from him which had the temperature of the room increase significantly. Mobek eyes widen at this moment, this fire was the signature talent of one of the greatest biomentalist hero of the empire, Chief High Guardian Rav Talok.


    He didn¡¯t know what to think anymore. Was he at the right place?


    ¡°Yeah¡­ I think I¡¯m in the wrong room¡­¡± he whispered to himself and as he was turning around a door on the other side of the room open.


    ¡°Aaaah! I see all the players have arrived! Thank you for joining us Mobek Kaan! It is an honor!¡±


    High Councilor Ziban entered undisturbed of the conflict of Rav and Vickrein. Smiling joyously and walking directly to the end of the table to have a seat.


    However, Rav was not letting this go. ¡°High Councilor Ziban! This piece of filthy trash of a traitorous snake that is this thing has offended the core of the High Guardians! I wish to execute him for his crimes!¡±


    ¡°Insulting me will only get yourself killed faster little toy soldier¡­¡± Vickrein¡¯s voice was monotonous, but disdain could be felt. His body started to emit lightening here and there on his body.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Tense was an understatement to describe the atmosphere of the room.


    ¡°Now, now let¡¯s all calm down! We are all friends and we will be working together for a longtime¡­ Well I hope not since I wish to cull this problem quick, but hey! We can¡¯t do anything about it, bahahah!¡± indicated Ziban playfully. ¡°So Chief High Guardian Talok, please let go of this¡­ situation. For now, forgive my apprentice. He may have killed a High Guardian, but since ¡®trash¡¯ killed one of your man, then you should thank him for clearing away the weak link.¡±


    His tone became more serious in the room, leaving a cold chill being everyone¡¯s back. High Councilor Ziban was a man of very high importance in the Avalon Empire and a simple word from him could mean doom to anyone opposing him.


    ¡°Now let us dispense of pleasantries. Like you might have guessed it. You have all been brought together for a special assignment. All of you are great specialists in your own field in addition to being great combat assets.¡± He then paused. ¡°However, this operation will be very different and is considered so important that we have to ask for outside help¡­ Help from the Democratic Republic Alliance.¡±


    Silence fell in the meeting room. The two faces of Rav and the woman were shocked. Mobek himself was surprised that such an eventuality could happen.


    ¡°Impossible!¡± declared Rav. ¡°The Avalon Empire can deal with whatever threat comes our way! We would not need help from the disease filled cockroach that is the Alliance!¡±


    ¡°I must admit he is right¡­ At most, the Democratic Republic would mostly slow us down. It would take them many ¡®deliberations¡¯ of theirs just to accept such an alliance between us.¡± Remarked Vickrein.


    ¡°That is not the case this time.¡± Countered the woman.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering when you would speak up. You have arrived before me and sat still since before not moving¡­ You seem familiar¡­ Have we met before?¡± inquired Vickrein.


    ¡°Maybe, I have been traveling a lot these few years.¡± Said the woman.


    She was a human woman with brown hair in a French bob haircut. She had some sort of dark grey high-tech recon armor suit with green luminescent lights in different shapes on it. It seemed to be made specifically for her seeing that her body was well defined in it. You can see that on her cross-shoulder belt connected to her waist belt had many high-tech gadgets and expensive hardware. Mobek suspected that she was either well endowed with money or¡­ She worked for the empire in intelligence or other kind of similar agencies.


    He saw some folks from the Imperial Intelligence Agency. Weird people who could give you a smile and stab you in the back the next moment. Versatile and unpredictable. He didn¡¯t have to wait long for confirmation that she was part of the IIA.


    ¡°This is Decoder Five of Imperial Intelligence. She is also known as ¡®ghost¡¯, title given to her graciously by our enemies.¡± Councilor had a smile spanning his face.


    ¡°Please, call me ¡®V¡¯, I would embarrass me being called by such a weird name as ghost.¡± the others around her nodded except for Vickrein who seemed to have lost interest in her.


    ¡°Bahaha! Don¡¯t be ashamed of it. It is a well-earned title.¡± He praised, the councilor then addressed the group, ¡°Like you see, you all have your specific talents and will need to help each other on this mission and like mentioned by miss ¡®V¡¯, the alliance has accepted to join hands in this operation. Four additional members will be part of this team. Now then, you will all be boarding a freighter arranged for you and we will all be going to a secret location to meet with our colleagues of the Alliance! YEA! Don¡¯t you all love field trips!¡± Gesture exaggeratedly the councilor.


    ¡°Wait a second, I wish to know more of this ¡®teaming up plan¡¯. As far as I know, we might be going into a trap.¡± Interjected Mobek.


    ¡°This rat is right. He himself could backstab us knowing he has ties with them.¡± Said viciously Talok.


    ¡°Say what now?¡± Mobek was vexed by that comment. Sure, he worked for both sides, but he respected his contracts to a fault.


    ¡°You heard me scum! Having a bounty hunter of all things representing the empire is degrading saying the least!¡± disdainfully said Rav.


    Mobek was frustrated being called such, but it was just that, frustrating. It came with the trade and he was able to deal with it since long ago. He was simply acting frustrated, so he could take this chance to leave this team seeing he had a huge disastrous foreboding about this operation.


    ¡®A chance! Thank you, your kingly ship!¡¯ he thought ¡°Since you don¡¯t like me being here and all, I¡¯ll just leave! I got more contracts waiting for me! Many more appreciate my skills and think I am worth the price.¡± He turned around and started his escape¡­ but was cut short.


    ¡°Please! Mister Kaan, stay! I insist! Your skills are incredible and most needed for this operation! Don¡¯t listen to this block-head.¡± insisted Ziban


    He stopped in his tracts, not because of his words, but because his body was launching alarms from everywhere. Even though the councilor had a friendly tone, something was off. He felt he was being carefully watch since the beginning, but now those hidden gazes seemed hostile. He turned around and faced the man.


    ¡°I-I would like to stay, but the Chief High Guardian doesn¡¯t seem too keen on it¡­¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what he feels. Actually, I will present you to him now.¡± Ziban then turned to Talok ¡°This man was selected by me because of his pass achievements. He has worked closely with my apprentice in the past. He even captured the famous Balkarian monster for him! Captured alive and with minimal injuries to himself of all things! You must know by now who Mobek Kaan is, right? Oh! High Guardian Rav Talok.¡±


    The sygonian seemed uneasy for a moment towards Ziban ¡°He is a bounty hunter known to have capture or killed many high level biomentalist without being one himself. One of the best trackers in the galaxy, or so I have heard¡­¡± grumble Talok.


    Being the Chief High Guardian, he had the heavy duty of being the model soldier representing loyalty and bravery, thus showing his compliance to serve the Avalon Empire and its leaders. Even though he had his reservations on High Councilor Ziban, he had to bend to his decisions, no matter how displeasing it was.


    ¡°Exactly! So knowledgeable our Chief High Guardian is!¡± happy said Ziban.


    ¡°Can we stop with the horseplay ¡®master¡¯? I would like to get this over with.¡± Said monotonously Vickrein.


    ¡°Always so unruly my apprentice! Well you are right¡­ But a word of warning! Anyone trying to back out at this time in this operation will be killed on the spot! Replacement are never difficult to find.¡± Finally warned the councilor.


    ¡®Now I understand¡­ we are surrounded. Shit!¡¯ Mobek was frustrated. If he still had his weapons, he would have been able to be more assertive, maybe even be able to flee. Having the empire as his enemy would not been a wise choice either, especially now since even the DRA would join in the fun to capture him.


    ¡°Is this caused by the anomalies in different quadrants of the Basani sector?¡± asked V.


    ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Ziban seemed surprised and seem to grow wary.


    ¡°Anomalies? There are no anomalies on the front!¡± declare Talok


    The Basani sector was a large sector on the left flank of the Avalon empire galactic frontlines. The sector had seen some fighting, but it was not as important for both parties to occupy that sector since did not have a lot of habitable planets. Those that were, are resourced deprived or had nothing of value to both factions. Some faction bases were situated there, but they were mostly there to impede the other from flanking their armies.


    In the past, the Democratic Republic Alliance had succeeded advances there with that in mind but discovered maintaining that sector was more difficult then expected. The scarcity of planets with the great distances between them in that sector had the disadvantages of costing a lot of resources to maintain a foothold there.


    That is when the Alliance figured out that the empire had done that hope in mind and had kept a pressure on them to make them spend more, hitting directly their pockets with minimal resources spent on the empire¡¯s side. After a while, the DRA decided, or rather didn¡¯t have the choice, to pullback from their position letting the empire install some bases on some planets to hold them from advancing and keeping a minimal pressure to force the DRA to allocate some military resource there. It was now more of cold-war in that sector. Some small fights have happened, but nothing major.


    However, these past months, the Avalon empire have had some losses where one of the planets harboring their forces had blown up. Experts were brought in to investigate and they concluded that the planets core was more unstable then they thought and imploded. The affaire seemed rushed and since the lost of a minor military outpost didn¡¯t matter that much on the balance of the war in that sector, it was easily forgotten. Blame was simply put on some unknown scientist and that was it¡­ Which didn¡¯t seem to be the case anymore.


    ¡°There actually is Chief High Guardian.¡± Confirmed Ziban. ¡°During the investigation, we were able to discover that the cause of the planets destruction was man-made. We were able to find fragments of an immense extractor machine of sorts with an unknown insignia. We do not know what was extracted of what the individuals in question were looking for, but we managed to ascertain that an unknown error happened during the extraction and caused a planetary implosion. One of your objectives will be to find out more on this.¡± The serious tone of Ziban expressed the dire situation.


    Silence filled the room, and most were thinking about this event. The bounty hunter did not think much of it for now since he figured that he wasn¡¯t chosen for this message for his ¡®science¡¯ expertise. So he asked plainly about the next step ¡°So¡­ Where are we going for this meeting?¡±


    ¡°Anywhere!¡± said the councilor. Doubt and confusion written on everyone¡¯s face.

 Anywhere Is The Place To Be!

    Anywhere Is The Place To Be! ¨C Chapter 8


    Galienta sector, neutral space


    Inside of a small transport going in the direction of the meeting point, general Grant was with the Aeons sisters and his trusted subordinate major Thamor. The two sisters were walking along the hallways in direction of the command room.


    ¡°Finally! It¡¯s been two hours since we¡¯ve left the cruiser! Why have we taken such a long detour to get here! According to the coordinates of the location from the ¡®Justice¡¯, the trip should have taken maximum thirty minutes.¡± Complained Javera.


    ¡°Must I explain again that this is a secret meeting for the consolidation of the team? You know that some measures need to be taken to assure that nothing wrong happens, right?¡± answered Thalyana.


    ¡°I know¡­ I just find it pointless since we are going to announce it publicly sooner or later.¡± Retorqued Javera. ¡°I¡¯m just puzzled on what we are fighting that is so dangerous that it needs both galactic powers to join up together¡­¡±


    ¡°You will not have to wait long since we are going to be fully briefed when we arrive at¡­ Well, ¡®Anywhere¡¯.¡±


    Both looked out of the window seeing the mobile mega-station ¡®Anywhere¡¯ becoming bigger as they approach. It was the size of a small planet and was an impressive looking fortress. It was a safe heaven for outlaws and criminals of all sorts. Javera had heard of it before through her underworld channels, but to gain entry, you had to be in the known and very deeply linked to the underworld. It was a den of thieves, but ironically, one had to gain the trust of these thieves to gain access.


    Incredibly, this station has been operating for more then two hundred years and started as a freighter. Many modifications overtime has made it grow exponentially and its functionality has had a complete overhaul. The station has also been under the control of many different owners. The tradition in the underworld was that the person who has sole possession of the station will be known as the ¡®Pirate King¡¯. He would act as king of the galactic underworld and be an impartial ruler of the mega-station.


    Many have had the title and it has shifted hands so many times that knowing who was king could change by the week. Once, there was a king known as Tamarac the ¡®One Second King¡¯¡­ I¡¯ll let you guess how long his reign lasted. Tamarac was a cunning bandit who was able to ally multiple bandit clans through diverse negotiations and promises to different clans¡­ Of course, these promises clash with other clans and his plan was to let them all fight it between themselves and be the simple ¡®impartial¡¯ ruler of the station. However, his plan was seen through. The clans killed him right after they took out the king before him and that he self-proclaimed himself the ¡®Eternal King¡¯.


    What ensued was the ¡®Eternal Underworld War¡¯ that lasted for one hundred years where all the underworld major clans didn¡¯t stop unleashing massive resources for the war and the war seemed endless. Millions have died to the conflict and it even reached out of the underworld and implicating the Democratic Republic Alliance and the Avalon Empire. It was only sixty years ago that the war stopped with the arrival of the man named Borkhan who became the ¡®Pirate King¡¯. He was known as Borkhan the ¡®Ugly King¡¯ and that wasn¡¯t because he was ugly.


    He was quite gorgeous even according to man standards and many fawned over him, however he was vicious and traitorous. Cunning and ruthless, he was able to do what Tamarac couldn¡¯t: allying all the underworld clans together and gain complete control of the station with full support of the clans. He had massacred any leader that was opposed to him or was to difficult to deal with and replaced them with pawns of his own that were loyal to him only. For approximately fifty years or so, his reign was uncontested, and he reign with an iron fist. Taxes were put in place and he even had an administration inputted to regulate the mega-station that was now acting more like an artificial planet that could move through hyperspace.


    It was an impressive feat to do in the underworld, but his reign was a brutal one and people were getting more and more frustrated from being suffocated by the taxes and laws. Many complained that Borkhan had forgotten his roots and was becoming less of an outlaw and more of a bureaucrat, becoming disconnected with the underworld and its people. The mega-station was supposed to be a heaven from the other powerful factions dominating the galaxy and where freedom reigned. Yes, it was chaos at times, but it was theirs and no one could take it from them.


    However, ten years ago, one man and his crew changed everything. None know where he came from or know his identity even up to this date, but he singlehandedly started to destroy the Ugly King¡¯s regime. Transaction being sabotaged, supply line getting pirated, pure vandalism; name the poison and the man used it. Soon, the underworld started to call him the ¡®Devil¡¯s Hand¡¯. The name came from the fact that people though that Borkhan had made a deal with the Devil to get into power and that now the Devil was back to collect.


    The fact of the matter is that the ¡®Devil¡¯s Hand¡¯ didn¡¯t do much, they simply stole and did random acts against the Pirate King that none would dare do, but, since he was successful, the underworld smelled blood. Showing weakness in the underworld was the worst thing to do and this spurred other sharks and vultures to attack the king too. In a matter of months, the underworld was in chaos and Borkhan was unable to stop it. Inside of three years after that he was push to the brink by the ¡®Devil¡¯s Hand¡¯ and was then killed by him. The man in question became the new Pirate King; the Underworld ¡®Devil King¡¯ had risen through the blood of his predecessor. However, the ¡®Devil King¡¯ decided to stay anonymous and only his crew was seen in public. His crew announced that the he would let the thing ¡®flow¡¯ and that freedom was essential for the underworld, but mutual communication was also important. At that point, the station became a neutral ground and some level of administration was still in place, but the outlaws would also work together to keep it like that. The Pirate King was still important for major events and decision making and he would act as mediator in disputes, but for everything else, the people had to deal with it themselves.


    However, the mystery behind the king¡¯s identity still stirred the minds of some. Some theorize that the Devil King is the whole crew or that he is a major player in intergalactic affairs, while other frankly didn¡¯t give a shit: the outlaws were simply happy of their freedom and the chaos that it brought. It was their home and anyone who would fuck with them would face the end of whatever weapon they had on hand.


    Javera and Thalyana were fascinated how such a society could still function in this mayhem. Because of her work, Javera was more used to it and found it quite charming at times, but she still preferred an ordered society. For Thalyana, it was unthinkable to live in such a society, but she took the time to contemplate such a sight and started to think of studies she could do to understand it more thoroughly. Such massive society existed outside the alliance and survived which was noteworthy.


    Still walking towards the control room, Javera then gazed in front of her and saw the general Grant speaking to the major whom seemed to listen while doing a last-minute check-up on his weapon. The soldier was clad in some sort of black full body heavy armor. The armor seemed to have two symmetrical yellow lines spanning both his arms, one in the front and back of his legs and two side by side on the top of his helmet. He had a full-face helmet with two openings for his eyes which was closed off by black tinted glass. The helmet seemed to resemble and expressionless face which seemed ominous, most likely use for intimidating the enemy. He also had a yellow shoulder guard on his left shoulder which was bigger then the black one on his right shoulder. The armor was intimidating, but the man himself was huge. At least a head higher then Javera who was five foot eleven. He was large and under that armor he would probably be very muscular.


    She also noticed that his weapon was a heavy automatic laser-rifle, a DL-5. This weapon was known with having heavy disintegration laser shots, high recoil and was considered quite heavy for normal infantry soldiers. It was used against tanks and would shred light-vehicle like they were paper. The weapons heavy recoil and heavier built forced the soldier to shoot it only in prone position on a tripod or mounted somewhere for better stability. The advantage of this weapon was that it had very high ammunition capacity, easy to make and maintain and, of course, its power was reliable. One could fire it without relenting for three hours before he had to reload a new cell cartridge, which was fine since each cartridge weighed twenty-five pounds each even thought they were palm sized. The major was handling the weapon leisurely like any other normal rifle weapon, not minding the weight and had at least five other cell cartridges on him with multiple other devices and explosives. Not mentioning the weight, one would wonder if he was preparing to wage a war by himself or something?


    Javera seemed disturbed by this man because since they met him, he hasn¡¯t said a word apart from greeting them. Thalyana didn¡¯t seem to mind and even felt that the man seemed nice if not a bit anti-social, but Javera was on high alert. She felt that death was glued to the man and alarm signals were going off in her head, telling her to run away. Even when she faced the emperor himself, she didn¡¯t feel as afraid then now.


    ¡®I can¡¯t let him get too close to Thalyana.¡¯ She thought.


    ¡°We will be docking the transport soon after we get clearance. Have you come up with a plan?¡± general Grant asked.


    ¡°The meeting first, then planning.¡± Said the low rugged voice under the helmet.


    ¡°True. We can¡¯t construct anything if you only have half the tools.¡±


    The major lifted his head after finishing his check-up and simply nodded at the general. Even though the conversation was brief, you could feel some sort of appreciation coming from the general towards major Thamor.


    ¡°Hello general Grant and major Thamor! May I ask why we are here? Is this the so-called mega-station ¡®Anywhere¡¯? Are we allying with outlaws in addition to the empire?¡± asked Thalyana.


    ¡°We can say that. The Devil King himself has noticed the threat and has concluded that helping with the meeting and negotiation between us and the empire would be more beneficial to him then letting this new threat grow. He volunteered this station as a middle ground for both of us. He doesn¡¯t want to get more involved then necessary between the alliance and empire stating his neutrality but will still help out with whatever supplies we need to make this joint effort work.¡± Explained Grant.


    ¡°So basically, what you are saying is, he wants us to clear out the troubles without getting involve but doesn¡¯t mind making a profit from us while we do so. Can¡¯t argue with his business sense even though it rubs me the wrong way seeing we are doing the heavy lifting.¡± Javera understood where the man came from, but it still felt like she is being cheated. If something threatens the whole galaxy, the normal conclusion is that everyone should get involved with maximum effort to solve it, but she knew otherwise. Her travels gave her the experience that not all life forms see and act on events in the same manner.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°The man assured us that we would get a discount as show of goodwill. The fact that he is lending us some space and selling us wares is already more then I was hoping for from the Underworld Pirate King.¡± Honestly said General Grant, ¡°Anyway, let us just be thankful we have already this much offered to us.¡±


    The intercom activated, ¡°We have been cleared to dock, general. We will be able to access the docks in five minutes.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, captain. Keep the ship secure until our return. I also suggest keeping the engines warm for a hasty exit.¡± The general was preparing for any event.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry general. I don¡¯t intend to stay in this pit of scum and villainy for long.¡± Said disdainfully the captain.


    The for of them moved towards the airlock of the ship where they were meet with an escort party. When the locking mechanism were finally attached to the ship, they walk out to the docks of the spaceport. They were docked in an isolated area, away of preying eyes, so the area was mostly quiet as they advanced.


    After a few steps of the ship, the general turned and faced the major, ¡°Your mission is to acquire the target safely by any means possible and make sure to bring him to the meeting. The host guarantied our safety and measures have been put in place to keep the meeting a secret so make sure you aren¡¯t followed.¡± The general paused and then added, ¡°If you happen to make a scene, which most likely will happen, lose any pursuers before joining us.¡±


    Thamor nodded and took off the safety on his weapon which emitted a light ascending sound, broadcasting to everyone present that he was going in gun blazing. He turned around and started running and quickly disappeared in the darkness of and alley close to the docks.


    The two sisters looked at each other with worry written all over their face.


    ¡°What exactly is the major doing, general? He seems to be going in a warzone with the atmosphere he is displaying. Who is this asset he is going to get?¡± asked Thalyana.


    ¡°Yeah, your guy has his bolts screwed way to tightly. With all the arsenal he has on him, I am more worried for the people living here!¡± Javera added.


    ¡°Major Thamor has been here before and should be well known enough to not have too much trouble. On this station lives a man who will be part of the Arbiter team and his name is Slyborg-Jones.¡± Grant saw the startled look on Javera and then asked, ¡°Do you know him by any chance?¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, a bit. I heard of him in the underworld. He is some sort of famous smuggler with crazy piloting skills and uses unsanctioned hyper-lanes with ease, which either makes him one of the luckiest or most crazy pilots out there. He has been on the smuggling business for ten years or so¡­ However, he is only slightly more renown then others which is why I was surprised to hear him be part of the team.¡±


    Today, most ships had the capacity to jump to light-speed without problem, however one must be able to calculate the right hyper-lanes that let you pass through without any problems. Unsanctioned hyper-lanes where lanes that were riddled with problems: one could have a dark hole in the middle of it, the other was close to a Cican¡¯s nest or the hyper-lanes would lead you right inside an asteroid field. So, most 1would simply take a detour and spend more fuel for safety in their passage. The problem was that some people didn¡¯t have the fuel, time or simply didn¡¯t care. The lanes also shifted according to environmental changes and time. Electro-magnetic storms were one of multiple events that could affect a hyper-lane, while others could change by themselves in regular intervals and had set times. Of course, these set times where dependent on the fact that nothing else affected the lane.


    Slyborg-Jones was a mix of all the above but was mostly crazy. However, inside his ten years of business, he traveled through unsanctioned hyper-lanes numerous times and came out unscathed¡­ Well most of the time.


    The general started to walk, and the sisters followed with the escort of ten soldier, ¡°There is a lot more then meets the eyes with the Captain. He is extremely skilled and even the Avalon Empire were ¡®impressed¡¯ by him and accepted him being the pilot of the team.¡± Announced the general.


    ¡°Even the empire?!¡± exclaimed Thalyana.


    ¡°Yes. According to sources, he managed to evade imprisonment by exerting his talents for explosives and evading imperial authorities in a three to one space battle.¡±


    ¡°Bah! That was a small team of enforcers, many could evade that¡­¡± said casually Javera.


    ¡°He was on Meridian Station when he was approached by authorities¡­¡± specified the general.


    Javera was flabbergasted and Thalyana¡¯s became pale.


    ¡°What the fuck?! Wait, how is he still alive!¡± shouted Javera clearly agitated.


    ¡°It would seem he got in a bar fight.¡± Said the general calmly, but a smile was on his face. He too was astounded the first time he heard about it.


    ¡°A bar fight¡­¡± Thalyana repeated.


    ¡°Yes. He was highly intoxicated and started a fist-fight, which then crew to a fire-fight and when he had some ¡®sense¡¯ come to him, he decided to leave¡­ but not before exploding multiple installations inside the station, then grab his ship and escaped. All this while still drunk and alone.¡±


    ¡°¡­ And the empire only said they were impressed?¡± asked rhetorically Thalyana.


    ¡°Yeah. Those dudes in the empire are so weird sometimes¡­¡± Javera had given up on common sense and just accepted it.


    ¡°Normally, I am sure they would have pursued such an outlaw causing such chaos, but seeing that he will be part of this team, they seemed to let it slide¡­ For now, at least. I would suggest you prepare yourself because the people that you will be cooperating with will be of the same kind of ¡®out of the ordinary¡¯ individuals.¡±


    After a couple of blocks, they entered some sort of shabby store. When the clerk recognized the general and was shown a special pass from him, he brought them in the backroom. Inside a lone portal device was installed.


    ¡°I¡¯ll activate it, just walk on through after. It will be the big shiny door at the end of the hall. Have fun!¡± said the clerk.


    He had a huge grin while looking at the two beauties in front of him. They tried the best they could to not be disturbed by his creepy giggling. His laughter and staring only manage to anger Javera, while Thalyana was trying her best to cool her down. The squad of soldier stayed at the shop and waited for them to return, while the general and the sister went forward through the blue portal.


    They were transported inside a hallway which had many doors on each side and approximately a hundred meter from them was a gaudy looking door. For a ¡®shiny¡¯ door, it was beyond luxurious to the point at being displeasing to the eyes, however, when they opened it, a very spacious room appeared before them with extravagant decoration. In the middle was a very large golden table while in opposite corners was two bars. Luxurious couches on opposite sides were facing each a fire place. Among all these lavish decorations, people were already present, enjoying the installation.


    However, there was no warmness in the room, some could even say that once they entered, the temperature of the room even lowered another notch while they were stared at.


    At the bar on the far-left corner was what seemed to be a heavy armed Ratadwan mercenary which seemed odd to Grant¡¯s group. He seemed to be talking to a human woman, but hurriedly grasped his helmet at their sight. Closer to them, sitting in front of the fire place, a robed man with a gold mask was sitting face to them and in front of him seemed to be an old man with white wax like skin.


    However, next to them was a sygonian that Javera knew from an earlier encounter. ¡°Chief High Guardian Rav Talok¡­¡± Javera had said the name with contempt. She knew the man and even exchanged some blows. She knew him as a powerful foe and a hated one too.


    When Talok heard his name and title, he turned his head slightly towards them. For a fragment of a second, intense hate was sensed, but the man restraint it and turned his head back like he saw nothing. The Rav Talok she knew would have jumped her directly and fought furiously. She was a hated enemy who had directly assaulted the emperor himself! His post demanded retribution, but something was holding him back.


    ¡°Oh! Ho! Our friends have arrived! Such delight it is to see you at last, but I feel like we are missing few friendly faces no? Where is that pilot and monster? Don¡¯t tell me you are holding out on me my dear Grant! Bahahaha!¡±


    ¡°My men went to get the pilot. They will arrive shortly. We can advance ourselves to the table to talk further, Ziban.¡± A stern voice matching his face rang out. Grant didn¡¯t lose in presence to his compatriot¡¯s little jabs.


    Ziban, High Councilor of the Avalon Empire, one of the founding members of the empire still alive. The sisters were astonished to see such a high-profile member of the empire here, but the same was said about the other side. Seeing the great general of the Democratic Republic Alliance army present seem to surprise them. The only one unfazed was the man with the golden mask. He turned lazily, looking at the fire place which seem to interest him more than anything else.


    However, Rav Talok, seeing the missing people, jumped on the chance to strike, ¡°So the alliance can¡¯t even organize its forces in time for the meeting. I must say that I am doubting if you all are taking this seriously.¡± A wicked smile was etched on his face, viciousness was clearly seen in his eyes, waiting an opportune moment to strike.


    Surprisingly, it was Ziban who answered him, ¡°Oh! Just let it slide this once. They most likely having difficulties with the pilot. He is a tricky one to hold on to.¡±


    ¡°But still¡­¡± persisted Talok.


    ¡°How about this: Grant, your team will be the first to buy drinks to soften the mood. Alcohol always had a talent to bring people together, am I right?¡± a weird blatant wink came from the councilor.


    ¡°I see, there is no helping it.¡± Grant got up himself and went to the bar to grab the alcohol.


    Everyone, especially the sisters were shocked. The general, leader of millions upon millions of soldiers, who spread fear to his enemies and awe to his allies¡­ was going to serve them personally some alcohol. At this sight the mercenary went directly to the bar and offered his help.


    ¡°A Ratadwan, you must be that famous bounty hunter Mobek Kaan. You have cost us many loses¡­ and many victories. It¡¯s such a shame the DRA doesn¡¯t want to spend the money for experts like yourself.¡± Declared Grant.


    ¡°Ah!... I-I don¡¯t know what to say, sir-mister Grant. You are kind of putting me on the spot.¡± Grinned wryly Kaan. ¡°Plus, there are people far stronger them me, especially biomentalist¡­¡±


    ¡°A modest man I see. Just be certain that you do not go too far with your modesty: some could think it to be an insult. Take for example your successful capture of one of my most elite commando unit, the ¡®Vanguards¡¯, a unit that no biomentalist was ever able to fight against, was finally captured by yours truly. Telling me it was done by a simple normal man would be hurting my pride a little bit.¡±


    Mobek froze, he didn¡¯t know what to say. The fact is that general Grant was a kind of a legendary figure among none-biomentalist like himself. He was a man who can fight toe to toe against these biomentalist that could be superior to everyone else. He knew he was good, but not at his level.


    In the back, still gazing the fire, the hooded man with the golden mask sighed and seemed to be nostalgic as he said, ¡°That was money well spent¡­¡±


    ¡°OH! HO! So, it was you who bought this fellows services?! My apprentice, you should have shared that information! Why did you do it Vickrein?!¡± Eagerly asked Ziban, excitement in his eyes.


    ¡°mhmm¡­ For science.¡± He said monotonously. And just like that, he shut himself up.


    The sisters were stunned while the general furrowed his brows. They knew who Vickrein Noxus was: a genocidal maniac, a murdering machine that only chassed what he wanted, unconcerned of the world around him and seemed focus only in his research. He was a death god of the battlefield and the only solace they had was that he stayed cooped up in his research most of the time and rarely went to the frontlines.


    If he did, numerous souls would be taken by him. What gave him such a notorious reputation was that the worst thing to happen to someone was to become one of his experimental specimens and even worse was he did care who it could be. Enemy or ally, they would still pass under his scalpel.


    The most shocking thing though was that he was a shockingly powerful biomentalist and an even greater scientist who has advanced the science on the amelioration and development of biomentalist which both the empire and alliance applied.


    He had also brought multiple theories that became taboos by the Temple of Aeons and the Imperial Institute of Korbanis. The fact that both institutions agreed on banning some of his researches when both had complete opposite views about biomentalism said a lot about how controversial his research was.


    Suddenly when people thought he was going back to his corner, he stood up, visibly agitated. ¡°This feeling, it can¡¯t be¡­¡± excitement could be clearly heard in his voice. Everyone braced themselves: they knew that having an excited Vickrein meant something extremely dangerous was about to happen.

 Meeting of Friends and Foes

    Meeting of Friends and Foes - Chapter 9


    Carlton¡¯s Sweet Lounge, Mega-Station ¡®Anywhere¡¯, Galienta Sector, Neutral space


    ¡®This is my luckiest of days!¡¯ Thought Slyborg-Jones.


    ¡°Gentlemen! I will be taking the pot this time too! Ahaha!¡± he said joyfully, showing his cards with a full damaria set.


    ¡°Ah! Dammit! Ain''t my day!¡±


    ¡°So lucky it ain''t real I say! Ahah!¡±


    ¡°Nah! All skills my friends! All skills! But I think I''ll stop for today, I don''t want to spoil this luck now!¡± said the smuggler with a playful wink.


    ¡°You cheated...¡± lygoonian said, barely containing his raged filled voice.


    ¡°Aaaww come one Doxius! You know that''s not true! Don''t be like that! It''s just a game, so let''s end it here for tonight...¡± tried Slyborg.


    ¡°NO! I won''t stand for this! You definitely cheated!¡±


    ¡°You are going to stay and play until I get even!¡± said the lygoonian with a evil grin.


    ¡°... tempting, but I don''t like winning money like this...¡± obviously lying, Doxius was simply trying to save face in front of the others with a plan in mind. ¡°How about one last game, just you and me. Just to see if you aren''t lying. Let''s play for one hundred and fifty thousand...¡±


    ¡°NO! YOU PLAY! NOW!¡±


    ¡°What''s up with this racket!¡± said Doxius, grabbing a phone nearby. It was directly connected to some guards behind the door and when someone pick-up on the other side of the phone he yelled, ¡°What''s going on out there!¡±


    ¡°Sorry mister Carlton! We are actually fighting a- Wait! He is coming this way! Stop him! Stop! You cannot-¡±


    ¡°John?!¡±


    ¡°You know him?!¡± Squealed Doxius.


    ¡°John? Yeah! We go far back! We did lots of crazy things together. Ahaha! Hey! Buddy! What''s up?! Still having fun in the DRA? Man! It''s been like, what? Five years!¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Take a seat we were just- What the fuck!?!¡± Upon reaching him, the soldier grabbed the smuggler and threw him on his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.


    ¡°You are late and we are leaving.¡± John looked at Doxius, ¡°Sorry for the mess.¡±


    ¡°This isn''t a mess! This is utter destruction!¡± screamed Doxius. He couldn''t believe his eyes! This was going to cost him a good fortune to renovate, however something more pressing was on his mind.


    ¡°I couldn''t keep him here... They won''t be happy and it''s going to cost me more than the casino... Darius!¡± Doxius turn to his brother who he saw running in the casino towards him.


    ¡°What the hell happen? I saw this armored dude running off with what seemed to be Slyborg-Jones on his shoulder. Wait, don''t tell me it was that guy! Please don''t ask me to send people after him, we can''t do a fuss in town.¡±


    ¡°No no. They won''t be able to do anything. I want you to actually contact Exodus and relay them the information I''m about to tell you...¡±


    ¡°You know what?! This reminds me of Haloxy! But with less shooting... and less explosions... and a lot less of everything, man! Are we there yet?! You know I can walk right! This is just ridiculous!¡± Slyborg-Jones had finally stopped struggling to get free and basically lazed on his friend shoulder ¡°Booooring! So boring!¡±


    ¡°I was sent to get you since we knew you would have never arrived at the location in time.¡± He let the smuggler get off his shoulder and continued. ¡°We are now close to the secret rally point for the meeting. I made sure know one was following us.¡±


    ¡°SURE! A big armored guy, running around, jumping over roof tops with another man on his shoulder! Completely and utterly inconspicuous! No one would have seen you as suspicious, at all!¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the praise.¡± said John, strait face.


    ¡°IT WAS SARCASTIC!¡±


    ¡°I know... I was joking.¡±


    ¡°... wait... You made a joke?! A JOKE! Holy shit balls!!! Progress! Finally progress! Wait... is the world going to explode? Shit! Sky? Check. Ground? ¡­ Check. My body? Triple check! Shit! What can it be! I can''t find the answer... Oh no...¡± Slyborg-Jones approached John and started to inspect his body. He then started to smell him and made an exaggerated surprised expression. ¡°I smell... A WOMAN!!!!! OH MY FUCKING SHUGGLE BAGGLE!!!!¡±


    ¡°Avoiding the subject! IT IS A WOMAN! UNACCEPTABLEEEE!!! I must know more! NO! I need to know more! What kind of being is she to be able to conquer this heart of pure magnus-steel! How did she do it! I will not move until you tell me!¡± said adamantly Slyborg-Jones.


    ¡°Wait, wait! What the- I SAID WAIT!!!¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Welcome back major Thamor! The general went ahead with the two temple sisters. Is this the target?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I will be going ahead. Continue the good work.¡± he said briefly.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Joy could be heard in the soldiers voice.


    ¡°Major? A promotion again?! My my! My little boy is growing up so fast!¡± said Slyborg, pretending to be teary-eyed.


    ¡°That soldier was looking at you like you were some legend! Ahaha! What did you do? I thought you were trying to stay low-key?¡± Slyborg seemed completely relax while being dragged, again resigned to his fate.


    ¡°Those soldiers are a hand picked grouped under the general and we worked together on some ops in the past. They are some of the very few who know partially of my deeds.¡±


    ¡°Partially you say. Ah! I bet they don''t know what happens when you get mad! Ahahaha! Wow wow! Shiiiiit!¡±


    ¡°Asshole!¡± cursed Slyborg. ¡°Your lucky your my friend-¡±


    ¡°THAMOR!!!¡± a loud and excited voice rang out. Dark winds, dark purple lightening streaks were flying out of the body of the floating masked man in the room.


    ¡°HOLY SHIT! JOHN, IT''S THE PSYCHO!¡± screamed Slyborg-Jones, he then started to roll under the table.


    ¡°Vickrein...¡± he said calmly, ignoring the coursing lightening on his armor.


    ¡°STOP!¡± a piercing voice came from High councilor Ziban and the air became heavy. He had black fog coming out slowly around him. Vickrein stopped midway in his swing of his weapon, starring at Thamor which had his laser-rifle aimed at him.


    ¡°Everyone! Stand down! That is an order, major!¡± the stern and fierce gaze was directed to everyone, but landed on the major at the end seeing as he was completely focus on Vickrein and any movement he was doing. After a moment, he and the rest finally holstered their weapons, but they hadn''t move from their places. A heavy air was filling the room.


    ¡°Sheesh! If I knew you had brought a psychopath like that to the meeting, I would have prepared differently my entrance!¡± said Slyborg-Jones. He was now actually sitting next to Thalyana''s seat, cuffs untied, with his feet on the table, eating grapes. ¡°Oh! Well! Even though I am still shocked and stuff, we should all take a seat for starters... Oh and make sure those two aren''t sitting next to each other. I''m sure that only having the wall smashed-in is pretty good as the only outcome of this... meeting.¡±


    ¡°BAHAHAHAHA!!!! The man is right! Sit everyone! Let''s start over! Bahahah! Such an interesting fellow!¡± cheerfully remarked councilor Ziban. ¡°Come everyone, sit! Sit I tell you!¡± Keeping a beaming smile of a mischief driven old man, he opened his arms wide to indicate to everyone to sit back down. ¡°I suggest, before continuing that all past... problems should be kept there; in the past. The issues we will be discussing have far bigger repercussions and affect the whole galaxy and needs our joint collaboration.¡±


    ¡°I concur, you all will be fighting together against a powerful enemy and cooperation is highly necessary. So without further ado, here are the details you were all wondering about this meeting...¡± continued general Grant, but before he could start displaying the information, Rav Talok interrupted him.


    ¡°Wait, aren''t we all still missing someone? I thought you were bringing a fourth man in.¡±


    ¡°We did and he is here.¡± confirmed the general pointing at the major.


    ¡°Didn''t you tell me it was the ''Monster of Balkarian'' that would be joining us old man?¡± Rav was confused and tried to get confirmation from the councilor. ¡°He looks nothing like the pictures and we all know that the ''Monster'' is an expert biomentalist yet I don''t feel a ounce of power off of this soldier.¡±


    ¡°I don''t like to agree with him, but he''s right. I met with the real hero of Balkarian and he doesn''t look at all like the major. He might of surprised me with his scuffle minutes ago, but any exoskeleton armor has as much power...¡± Javera was confuse since all her investigation didn''t even once mention this majors existence in the events of her past.


    ¡°Little girls shouldn''t deny the truth that is in front of them. He is not wearing any exoskeleton and I can also confirm that he was holding back, were you not, old friend.¡± said Vickrein rebutting Javera and turning back at the major after facing her.


    ¡°What did you call me you fucking genocidal psychopath!¡± spouted Javera.


    ¡°Another specimen I see...¡± sneered Vickrein.


    ¡°Calm down sister, this is not the place to squabble insignificantly. General, we need an explanation about this if we are to continue this meeting. ¡± asked Thalyana. She seemed calmed, but she was very distressed. Hiding such information from the entire DRA did not make any sense to her. Was their a reason and what was it? Either way, this man that was simply next to them could be an important piece missing to their search, but finding him might also mean stepping on a closely guarded secret of the DRA. With secrets comes either with small or big dangers, but this one seemed particularly dangerous.


    ¡°Major Thamor is the real Hero of Balkarian. For top secret reasons, we had him replaced by the public hero that both nations know of. I cannot say more.¡±


    ¡°Can''t or will not? The identity isn''t the only thing you are hiding, general. To ashamed to tell the population that your ''hero'' is a much bigger genocidal maniac than me? Ahahaha!¡± the mockingly scornful laughter of Vickrein resonated inside of the room.


    ¡°You are not in possession of all the details minister Noxus.¡± firmly responded Gran.


    ¡°If you say so...¡± cryptically said Vickrein.


    ¡°If I may interject, this line of questioning is simply delaying the meeting. Knowing who is who and what is what can come after the meeting when we will be preparing for our first mission. The briefing is the more important right now, anything else can wait.¡± Said Decoder five.


    ¡°As expected of the IIA! Always strive to get to the point of things!¡± praised Ziban.


    ¡°Give this woman a leather suit! My heart is fluttering!¡± exclaimed Slyborg-Jones. Mobek choked on his drink while the High Councilor started laughing with the smuggler. Most sighed while Decoder five simply stared reproachfully at Slyborg.


    ¡°This enemy is hidden well and seem to have agents that have infiltrated both factions and informing them of our moves. Through the years, they relayed information about secret locations for resources and troop movements to avoid detection which caused huge numbers of resources to have been stolen on both sides across decades without being caught... until know at least.¡±


    ¡°This scene was taken from the planet Morkenus. Like you all know, this is one of the biggest strongholds of the Avalon Empire which stores enormous amounts of resources for the war effort. These ''thieves'' were caught stealing equipment from the empire.¡± he stopped and let the video continue. He stopped the video when a huge explosion occurred affecting even the recording video. ¡°Like you see an explosion occurred which affected the whole city of Moressy. Experts from the empire have declared that it was caused by multiple planted explosives scattered in the city. Their aim seemed to be to attract as much attention to them while taking out as many imperial soldiers as they could to divert the attention of the authorities from their real aim: varienal crystals. Some were stored on planet and were stolen from the empires vaults.¡±


    ¡°This happened three months ago, now this scene has happened one month ago.¡±


    ¡°The cruiser and the rest of the fleet was completely destroyed. They had approach an unidentified spacecraft that was unresponsive. After ten minutes, they decided to approach the ship. When they were at approximately ten kilometer from the craft, a high energy output was registered and obliterated the fleet. From the video of other ships you can see that the laser shot one ship, but then spread out to the others in multiple streaks of shots. We have concluded that only a weapon that is powered by a varienal crystal could be able to create such destruction.¡± the general took a pause, letting the information seep in their minds. ¡°Both factions have acknowledged this threat and have call a truce to hunt down this enemy and destroy them and their weapon. They cannot be left alone with such power that can threaten both civilizations. Operation Arbiter is a joint team of experts from both factions that will be supplied with everything needed to succeed in this mission.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!?!¡± an outraged scream from Rav Talok sounded in the room, producing an awkward silence.