Page 138 of Decadence

Sienna knew the feeling all too well. “Come on. Let’s go into the staff room and check out the broadcast. Might be good news for a change.” She was pretty sure it wasn’t, but it didn’t hurt to be an optimist.

They got out of their seats and went down the hall, past a couple more silent, stone-faced Kordolians, through her kitchen and into the small staff room beyond.

As they passed, Ikriss’s friend—the big guy called Nythian—appeared briefly in the kitchen and gave Sienna a curt wave, letting her know that he was around. For such a big guy, he was surprisingly good at becoming invisible.

“Show Network feed, Federation Channel,” Sienna commanded. The holo sprung up in the center of the room as Cleo and Emmett flopped down on the sofa.

“Welcome to the 259th Edition of the Official Federation Infocast. Your host for this stream is Ed Markey.”

Emmett groaned. “Not Ed again. He never goes against the official Federation position. Never asks hard questions.”

With his perfectly pressed Federation uniform suit, blond hair gelled and slicked back like a helmet, and eerily ageless face, Ed Markey looked more like an android than a human.

“Good evening, Federation Citizens.” His smooth baritone voice filled the room, managing to sound both reassuring and irritating at the same time. “And welcome to another enlightening infocast. We bring you this special broadcast live from the Pallas Athena Orbital Station, where a historic agreement has just been reached. Just moments ago, President Jiao concoluded negotiations with Lord Sturmbruk Agelus, the Kordolian Empire’s official envoy to Earth.”

Ed Markey was speaking in Universal. Sienna set the scrolling translator to English, just so she wouldn’t miss anything important. “What the hell?” She stared blankly at Ed’s smooth, slightly smiling, slightly creepy face. “The Empire’s gone.”

That’s what Ikriss had told her, and she completely believed him.

“We cross now to a live address by Lord Agelus himself, on behalf of the Kordolian Empire.”

The feed cut to a dark, imposing room with a wide window that looked out onto the glittering backdrop of space. Sienna recognized the smooth obsidian walls of a Kordolian ship. In the center was a sleek, dark desk.

And sitting at that desk was a Kordolian.

He looked weird.

After spending so much time around her Kordolian, that was the first conclusion Sienna reached. This Agelus guy was nothing like the Kordolians she was used to.

This alien wore a flowing white robes that were was decorated with intricately embroidered alien characters. His ears were pierced from tip to lobe with gold and glittering jewels, and his greyish hair was slicked back, revealing a sharp widow’s peak and a smooth high temple.

His eyes were deep yellow like Ikriss’s. That was where the similarity ended. Ikriss’s gaze was brilliant and expressive, running blisteringly hot or as cold as the Arctic, depending on his mood.

This guy’s eyes were just flat… almost reptilian.

Agelus was alien in a different kind of way; cold and inhuman and nothing like the warriors that had saved her and protected her. His features were sharp and angular, his expression aloof and distant even though he was trying to appeal to humans.

“Accept my greetings, humans of Earth.” Agelus’s voice was surprisingly nasal-sounding, at odds with his intimidating appearance. “I am Lord Sturmbruk Agelus the Third, High Lord of House Agelus, High Councillor, and now Special Envoy to Earth.” The corner of his lip curled slightly. “I trust this will be the beginning of a most fruitful and lucrative relationship. Kordolians and humans have much to gain from an alliance.” He paused for dramatic effect, steepling his fingers and leaning forward until his eyes became hooded with shadow. “But firstly, I must clear up a certain confusion. Ever since your kind encountered my kind, you humans have been living in fear. I will admit, so have I. You see, the ones that have captured your orbit-space—the infamous Tarak al Akkadian and his ilk—have inflicted the same terror upon my kind. Akkadian and his Darkstar Mercenaries are traitors to the Empire. They stole what was ours and terrorized our people.” His voice shook with emotion. “They killed my brothers and forced the rightful Lords of the Empire into exile. Do not believe their false promises of peace. They are vicious killers, highly trained in the arts of war and death. The most dangerous beings in the Nine Galaxies. See for yourselves what kind of depravity they are capable of… against their own kind.”

Abruptly, the holo switched to a night-scene; an aerial shot of a tall glass building. The trees in the background told Sienna that it was somewhere on Earth. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a smoking metal wreckage on the ground—a crashed ship. Warped grey steel peeled off its wings and body, revealing the sleek black form underneath. Was that a Kordolian ship? Smoke poured from the hull.

But that wasn’t what made Sienna gasp.

To one side of the ship, she could make out two figures.

The camera zoomed in.

She saw a man—no, Kordolian—lying on the concrete, scrambling backward, his features twisted into a look of pure terror.

And standing above him was an obsidian-armored figure.

His back was turned, but the sight of this man sent a ripple down her spine, raising goosebumps on her arms.

Lean, muscular, broad-shouldered, stalking forward with lethal intent…

Sienna would recognize him anywhere.

The camera zoomed in again, switching angles.

---