“Mother?”
“What is it?” Y’lin asked, walking toward her.
“I see now why they should fear you. May I be excused from this?”
“No!” Y’lin shouted as she grabbed Kroshka and yanked her up toward her. “You are an adult, it’s time you saw this aspect of our lives. As a future Empress, you will be expected to participate in these events.” Y’lin’s firm hand held onto Kroshka’s slender shoulder, pushing her closer to the blood drenched headless bodies. “Keep watching, there is more to come,” Y’lin said. “Bring forth the next group!”
Another group was led out from the jail and forced to kneel before Y’lin on top of the blood-soaked floor, they weren’t given an option. Some were even forced to kneel on top of bodies, others had severed heads glaring up at them with their mouths and eyes still open from their screams of fear.
“You have all been convicted of practicing religion, the worst crime of them all,” Y’lin said to the group. “Especially you.” She pointed toward an old man with tattered clothing, his pants now red from the blood below. “You were fraternizing with the Celestial Order. Do you regret what you have done? Do you wish you had been loyal and devoted to me?”
Kroshka’s panic intensified upon hearing what Y’lin said. It wasn’t long ago she and Eeladen visited a Celestial Order temple. True, it was more to infiltrate the organization and learn more about them, but that was all that came out of that. If it wasn’t for the aid of Noylarlie who was clearly assisting them, the imperial capital would have been destroyed via a barrage of atomic weapons launched from Earth. She couldn’t bring herself to reveal their location and they returned the gesture by keeping the knowledge of her being there a secret. Should that secret be revealed... she knew the answer now.
“Yes!” the old man cried.
“Oh?” Y’lin said with interest in her voice.
“Please forgive me, spare me! I felt lonely, depressed, I wanted something that would give me hope, hope for a better future free of war and conflict!”
“And you thought praying to deities would help bring such a thing to reality?” Y’lin said to the old man. “Pray. Pray for us, pray for everyone here, and pray for your life to be spared.”
The old man placed his hands together, shut his eyes, took a deep breath, then began to chant. “Stoarior, Tym, and Livie. Please, I’ve done everything you asked, helped those you wanted to be helped. Please, I ask of you to spare us, to forgive Y’lin for she is only doing what she was raised to do.” Kroshka saw Y’lin nod to the cloaked executioner. He crept behind the old man as he continued his praying. “Please, help guide her daughter Kroshka onto the right path—”
A sudden and unexpected clean cut split the old man’s head in half like a melon. The rest of the accused followed, as the hulking executioner quickly grabbed them by the hair and one by one, removed their heads, kicking their squirting bloody bodies away while yanking the next person down onto their chop block like a butcher. Y’lin laughed at the sight and she forced Kroshka’s head straight and her eyes open.
In truth, nobody was ever spared from execution even when they were given the chance to beg for forgiveness. The idea behind this act was to force the accused into making their final act in life, one of weeping, begging for mercy, and regretting their actions even if deep down inside they don’t.
“What a fool,” Y’lin said, releasing Kroshka from her hands. “Look here everyone, he asked for his life to be spared and even prayed to the aliens he thinks are gods, did they spare him? No because they are not gods, they are a space race that visited our galaxy centuries ago, then left. They cannot hear you, they cannot save you and they do not care.” Y’lin’s fingers snapped toward the guards. “Bring forth the last group.”
Kroshka saw the last group emerge from the darkness of the jail, they were a group of small children. “Children? Mother there must be a mistake!”
“There is no mistake, Kroshka,” Y’lin said. “These are the offspring of our enemies still at large.”
“They are children! They’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Sometimes in life you must spare your enemies and slay their children. It is the Hashmedai way.” Y’lin nodded, as the children were given the same treatment as the last two groups as their heads, bodies and flowing blood was added to the pile. “To the rest of you,” Y’lin said to the guardians and warriors present. “Bring me human children, and the empire will take care of all your needs for life! Spread the word throughout the empire.”
… … …
►► Imperial Palace, Paryo
► Uemaesce system
Kroshka’s face was pale, more so than it normally was as she sat in her seat in a transport ship flying back toward the imperial palace. She remained silent, her trembling body and disturbed body language did all the talking on the short ride back home. It was a traumatic experience she did not want to relive, and one she had a hard time accepting that all past Emperors and Empresses did during their time. Even her dear father, she always imagined him as a man of peace and forgiveness.
The doors to the transport rose open, revealing the hanger bay they came to land in. Imperial guards armed with pole arms side by side, formed a wall leading from the transport toward the main elevator. Y’lin stepped out first and nodded toward two servants to walk with her and clean tiny droplets of blood off her white gown. Kroshka and Eeladen followed directly behind.
“Mother,” Kroshka said as she tried to keep out with Y’lin. “Are you sure those people committed the crimes they were accused of?”
“Yes, never question our means of finding out the truth.”
“How can you be sure? What if there was a mistake? A misunderstanding? Mistaken identity?”
“We are Hashmedai, we never make such mistakes. Humans and Radiance will, that’s why they waste time with trials and tribunals. We are perfection.” They stopped before the elevator door. Y’lin clapped her hands twice at her servants. They knew the drill, stopping what they were doing and summoning the elevator on Y’lin’s behalf. “You have doubts, don’t you?” she asked as they waited.
“No, it’s just—”
Y’lin looked at Kroshka then grimaced as her hands reached out and grabbed her arm. “Your arms tremble,” Y’lin touched Kroshka’s hands thereafter. “And hands. You cannot be a ruler of the empire if things like this disturb you. Perhaps I was wrong, you spent too much time around humans, they’ve made you weak, corrupted your mind with their ideas.”
“Mother...”
“I should never have allowed you and your brother to go to Earth. Onatiasha and Zhinbryo, they all came back weaker than I had remembered, even that assassin what was her name?”
“Phylarlie?”
“Yes, she’s been quite useless to the guild upon her arrival. It’s as if humans have tainted your minds. Humans. They are a sickness to the galaxy.” The elevator doors swung open, Y’lin and her two servants, still attending to her gown, entered. “Sickness must be cured.”
… … …
A day had passed, during which Y’lin attended a regularly scheduled meeting with members of the Hashmedai military. They sat in a dark room around a circular desk, a spot light from above shining light down toward the desk. At the head of the desk was Y’lin, she wore a black and blue dress with a shimmering scarf around her neck. A headdress was nuzzled into her white hair consisting of black lace ribbons and gold chains.
Grand Admiral Stukil Snowdrifter, General Foroth Victory, Captain Yominv Crossblade and Captain T’esih Ravencaller attended the meeting sitting at their designated chairs, donning their respective dark blue colored uniforms. All five of them looked at the hologram that loaded at a wave of Y’lin’s hand. Jazz and Veloshira’s likeness was displayed.
“It’s been two months since Jazz and Veloshira left us,” Y’lin said. “What can you tell me about the situation?”
“Our listening outpost on Helspan hasn’t reported anything new,” Stukil said. “As o
f right now the last detail about Veloshira and her apprentice is that they were seen working with an abandoned psionic named Whigli.”
“According to whom?” she asked.
“Archmage Noylarlie,” Stukil said. “Did she not inform you?”
“She brought back that half-breed grandson of mine. I lost all interest in anything else she had to say.” Y’lin clenched her fist. “So, the president still lives?”
“There’s no way of knowing those details,” Foroth said.
“She lives,” Yominv said with a conceited grin and his arms folded. “And the Radiance fleet has been destroyed as well.”
“How would you know of such a thing?” Stukil asked him.
“I had a few ships enter the sector.”
Stukil’s glowing yellow eyes stared directly at Yominv. “What?”
“Under whose authority?” T’esih asked.
“Better question is how,” Y’lin said as one orange and three yellow pairs of eyes all glared toward Yominv. “The last ship to use the space bridge to enter that sector was the Silver Raven.”
“The space bridge wasn’t used at all,” Yominv said as his hands changed the hologram before them. A diagram of singularity bending the fabric of space time appeared. Besides the singularity on opposite ends were Paryo and Earth.
“The wormhole,” Y’lin muttered as she looked fiercely at the projection. “I thought I made it clear to never conjure such a thing again until we understand it better!”
“The wormhole is the fastest means of travel in the galaxy,” Yominv folded his hands together while leaning his body closer to Y’lin. “We are the only ones that possess it.”
Y’lin stood in a rage, smashing her fists on the table. “Find where Noylarlie is, she must answer for defying my wishes!”
“No, don’t,” Yominv said calmly. “I asked for her help, she did it because I made her.”
“Why would you do such a thing?” Stukil said. Ignoring what the admiral had to say, Yominv waved his hand toward the hologram three times, eight pictures of debris in space appeared.
All eyes were on it as T’esih asked. “What is this?”
“Human bases and transports,” said Yominv. “Eight targets all destroyed by our forces within the last month.” The hologram shifted toward video playback of Hashmedai scout ships and interceptors ambushing human targets with explosive results. “This would not have been possible with other means.”
“You realize the danger you have placed this whole system in?” Stukil said.
“There is no danger,” Yominv said, switching the hologram to that of Hashmedai ships passing through the wormhole as it vanished. “This is proof of that, we can control when the wormhole opens and closes. It’s why I kept you all in the dark. You would never have trusted Noylarlie otherwise. She now knows how to control it, and we have begun to strike fear into the heart of the humans. Furthermore, my team has confirmed that Radiance will not be able to reinforce Earth for several more years at the earliest due to the distance between Earth and the nearest Radiance fleet.”
“Fewer than ten human ships protect their world,” Foroth said.
Yominv concurred, “Exactly.”
Y’lin paused as she stared awhile longer at the holograms provided by Yominv. She finally spoke to the group after moving her head away from the projection. “We can wipe them out. Now.” Her head shifted toward Yominv, for the first time in a while she smiled with jubilation. “You’ve out performed every admiral in the fleet and did it on your own accord, excellent work Captain or should I say Vice Admiral.”
“What?” T’esih shouted rising from her chair.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Yominv said with a bow.
“I’m placing you in direct command of the invasion force.”
“This is madness!” Stukil objected, anger augmenting his voice in the same manner as T’esih’s.
“Empress, I must protest!” T’esih shouted. “I was promised to be promoted to vice admiral six months ago! I waited and worked hard for this!”
Y’lin’s eyes stared furiously at T’esih and Stukil then later Foroth. Foroth may not have said much, but his body language projected the feeling that he sided with the other two. “I just returned from the execution grounds not long ago, I have no problems returning again.”
“My apologies, I meant no disrespect,” T’esih said quietly. “It’s just—”
“You will aid Yominv in the campaign, his ship will now need a captain to replace him.” Y’lin pointed toward Stukil. “And you, I want you to take command of the defense fleet around Paryo just in case the humans manage to gain a foothold here regardless. Foroth, send your finest warriors to the ships that will be under Yominv’s guidance.”
T’esih, Foroth and Stukil reluctantly agreed and walked away from the meeting defeated, as Yominv walked away victorious.
… … …
Later that night, Y’lin sat on her large sequined couch within her personal study room. Behind her was a tall, wide window bringing in starlight from above, while a thick coverage of clouds below blocked out light from the city. Her glowing eyes shifted back and forth, reading text from a holographic window as it practically lit up her face as she read.
“Enter,” she said as the door chime rang.
Eeladen stepped through the sliding doors, adding to the lightless environment until the doors slid shut. Only his red eyes were visible afterwards as they moved closer to her.
“Eeladen, thank you for visiting me.”
“Anything for you my empress.”
“You have been serving the empire as a guardian since you were of age to start training correct?”
“Yes.”
“Killed many Radiance rangers during your earlier missions,” she stood, walking around him, stroking her hands across his broad shoulders and chest. “Strong, very strong. You are attracted to Kroshka, yes?” He didn’t answer, but that was okay, his grin and flushing face was exactly what she wanted to see. “Your parents were loyal people as well, your mother trained servants for the palace, your father a commander aboard a stratosphere frigate.”
“Uh, yes all true.”
“And best part, you didn’t flinch once during the executions earlier.” She stopped in front of him, and guided the hologram she was reading toward him. “Take this, knowledge of the imperial ways, our family history, customs, secrets, everything. Read it, memorize it. I want you to become Kroshka’s mate.”
“What? Me?”
She placed her finger on his lips in a shut-your-mouth movement. “It’s not uncommon for an arranged bonding to happen within the imperial family. Even I, at an early age, was asked to join with the late emperor, weeks after I first bled. I am starting to get old. No matter what, Kroshka will have to take the throne, sooner rather than later. She will need an emperor. She will need to make babies, and I need that emperor to take on the main leadership of the empire, I cannot trust her to do it correctly so I need you to be that person.”
Eeladen adjusted his posture to show his determination, his loyalty, and his total devotion. “I will not let you down. But,” Y’lin tilted her head, interested in what he had to say, “during the year I’ve been her guardian, I’ve come to learn several things about her. One of them being she will not accept me, not as guardian, not a friend, nor mate.”
“What she wants is irrelevant, she is a princess and has a duty, and I need heirs to the throne that aren’t half breeds,” Y’lin began to unbutton her gown, she grinned as Eeladen’s eyes looked to the ceiling. “The bonding between you two will happen no matter what. All I ask is that you try to persuade her to accept it. In time, as she gets older, she will understand that it was necessary.”
“Of course.”
“One last thing,” Her gown fell to the floor, and her naked pale body was exposed to the young guardian who was getting hard. “I need you to copulate with me, a final test. I need to ensure my daughter will have the best in the bedroom.”
“My... uh.”
“Eeladen,” Y’lin wrapped her arms around him, pressing her breasts against his chest. “Take off your clothes. This is an order.”
The sounds of their ecstatic duet flooded the chamber. Y’lin lost count of how many times he climaxed during their fiery, wet, and sticky romp. Nevertheless, she was satisfied with his performance, pleased with how he dominated her, like an emperor should. Her claws scraped against his firm back stopping midway, as his nonstop thrusting caused her body to quiver once again. Her head flicked backwards, making her hair splash against the back of the soft couch.
… … …
Kroshka’s dripping hand grabbed a hold of a towel one of her servants was using to dry her body upon her morning bath. She turned to the servant who looked back at her with a horrified look.
“Who told you this?”
“I’m sorry to have upset you.”
“I’m not upset with you,” Kroshka said as she stretched her skinny arms out, allowing the servants to complete their duty drying her body off while another attended to her wet platinum hair. Kroshka grimaced during the entire session, and waited with anticipation until they were finished.
An hour later she stormed into her mother’s sleeping chambers, an act that was now all too common. Y’lin wore a red dress, the sides were translucent. The parts of her skin that were exposed through the opaque sides appeared as a soft pink. Y’lin saw Kroshka and the white sleeveless dress she had on in the reflection from the large windows as she peered into the upper stratosphere of Paryo.
“Mother!”
“My child,” Y’lin pivoted to face her, “what is it?”
“Bonding with Eeladen? I did not request this!”
“I did, and you will become his mate.”
“You cannot do this!”
“I am the empress of the Hashmedai Empire, what I say goes.” Y’lin stepped closer as Kroshka looked at her outfit, confused. It was one of the more revealing ones Y’lin had, and she rarely wore it.
Equilibrium of Terror: Part 1 (Splintered Galaxy Book 3) Page 16