Page 228 of Scorching the Alien Empire
She feigns contempt but I sense the flicker of fear beneath. Not just her. The others. Even the Imperator. Their scent reeks of the sweet tang of panic, eyes falling downward, hesitating for an instant.
The truth they deny. The glory they seek to steal.
This victory—ourvictory—belongs to the Gods.
“Psst, Psst.” Princesa tugs on my vambrace, voice soft. “Babes.Don’t flash your little sparklers. Believe me, they’re not impressing anybody,” she whispers, smiling sweetly as if offering a blessing instead of a barb.
My frown deepens, but the heat in my blood cools just a notch.
“Youfearus, Imperator,” Krogoth says, nodding at Rocks. “The powers we wield. The divinity beyond your comprehension. You see freedom—true freedom—and you shudder. Instead of celebration, you cast judgment. You insult Chieftains, justifying Krak-Tok challenge. You insult our history. You insultourhonor.” His voice and hand rise. “Where is the noble Imperator Xandor spoke of?”
“Victory, you wrought?” Juliara snaps, unable to restrain herself. “Your fleet tore itself apart! Typical of your kind. You descended into chaos at the first test. You tarnish the memory of the imperial forces that died bravely wiping the Scythian scourge from this system. If not for the Imperator’s arrival—”
“Enough, Consul Juliara.” The Imperator raises a hand, his calm voice cutting through her tirade. “Where is the Warrior of Peace Xandor? And Kor-Kis Tyrxie?” the Imperator asks, his tone shifting. “I had hoped to thank them both again.”
“Warrior of Peace?”Princesa mutters, wrinkling her nose. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Xandor. Krogoth’s Second. An unremarkable warrior. I recall him clearly. More mouth than fangs. His tongue nearly cost him his life within the Peaks of Scarn. But now that he’s bonded to a human female, they speak his name like legend. How strong has he become? What powers have the Gods gifted him?
My blood simmers with furious delight at the prospect of testing it.
“He’s en route to Klendathor,” Krogoth replies curtly.
“A shame,” the Imperator sighs, gaze distant. “He was eloquent. Polite. A warrior-poet who appreciated art and finer thought.” He shakes his head, beard swaying like a wind-swept curtain. “And by the twin-suns, how he moved—like starlight flickering through space.” His eyes brighten. “I saw him with my own eyes. He wove through a Battlesuit’s repeater fire. Unbelievable.Impossible.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Krogoth says, rubbing his leg, sharing a knowing smile with Rocks.
“And the delightful Tyrxie...” The Imperator smiles, pointing a finger at the stiffening, grey-streaked Consul Catokar. “What was her species again?”
“Human!” Princesa snaps, still petting the softly glowing Todd. “You should come visit Earth some time. They’dfreak outwhen Papa Smurf comes down from a spaceship instead of a mushroom.”
The meaning eludes me. But Sandra erupts into laughter, pink skin reddening as she buries her face in her hands. Even Rocks snorts.
“Yes...humans,” Catokar drawls, eyeing Princesa suspiciously. “From planet Earth. Primitive. No Elerium deposits. Deemed... irrelevant.”
“Rude,” Princesa grumbles.
“Thatirrelevanthuman Tyrxie somehow cured me,” the Imperator says sharply, cutting across them. “Cured what our greatest Nebian physicians could not.” He glares at the others, forcing their gazes to waver. Whether in fear or shame, I can’t tell. “There’s something about her. A...kindness.Something pure. Even now, it touches me.” He places a hand over his heart.
He spreads his arms dramatically. “Then I arrived on the battlefield—and what do I see?” He turns to Catokar. “Black holes?”
“Um... not quite, Imperator,” Catokar replies stiffly. “We’ve not been able to ascertain their nature.”
“See?” The Imperator throws up his hands. “Blind.Willfully ignorant. A violation of Leoxius’ First Principle. Ask yourself—how did Xandor move like light? How did Tyrxie heal me? The strange vortexes that obliterated the enemy. And why did the Fallen Scythians suddenly deactivate for a time?”
He holds up a finger, silencing even Juliara’s eye-roll.
“Before you speak of ‘gods’or‘sky spirits’—know this: we know of yourwar masks.We’ve seen their signals. We’vetracked the energy. Advanced technology. Not spells. Not magic. It is my belief, though some disagree.”
His white eyebrows darken at Consul Juliara.
“That you harbor ancient weaponry. Perhaps unknown even to yourselves. A hidden, higher caste guiding you? Secret conditional war mask attacks?” He leans forward on his floating disc, eyes glowing like hungry suns. “Name your price. Elerium? A fleet? A system? Say the word. Share your secrets. The universedemandsanswers.”
Krogoth smiles slowly, raising an empty hand. “I didn’t bring my warvisor.”
He pulls Rocks closer, both of their eyes flaring with violet-hazel fumes.
“Only our bond. Only the Gods.”
