by R. E. Graham
The crew turned back but was shocked to see the Captain in the middle of a truly barbaric act.
Chapter 47
Cycle: 434 Month: 3 Rotation: 11
Corre Republic Space
Prefecture: Siimon
Planet: Destiny
Location: Largo
An hour had passed since the fighting had ceased. Smoke trails from the many wreckages and destroyed mechs still reached high into the sky. Rhonda heard the sounds of boots on the gravel behind her and turned to see Deimos and several other Onyx pirates.
“Where is Captain Tarvus?” he asked with his booming voice.
The woman pointed over to a makeshift cemetery.
“He’s busy saying goodbye to his wife.”
By the time the Onyx pirate walked over, he had found Mikhail and Patrix shoveling dirt onto a newly dug grave.
“Captain?”
Mikhail didn’t bother stopping his task. He shoveled another load of dirt and tossed it in the hole.
“Captain, Lord Horsh has requested to speak with you.”
“Tell him I’m busy,” the Captain said as he continued working.
“I’m afraid, I must insist,” Deimos said as he drew his own sidearm.
The other pirates clicked their guns off of safe but did not point them at the grieving man.
Patrix seemed oblivious to the conversation and continued working while Mikhail half turned his head. He saw the weapons out of the corner of his eye and tossed the shovel to the ground. Dust shot out from beneath it as it bounced.
Deimos was surprised to see how much blood covered Mikhail’s hands and clothes when he turned around. He couldn’t see any wounds but figured it may have been his wife’s. The Captain walked over to a pile of rubble and leaned over. Several of the Onyx pirates took a step back when Mikhail lifted up the severed head of Inquisitor Cyrus.
Having seen plenty of horrific things in his life of crime, Deimos led the way as the other Onyx pirates walked behind Mikhail. Rhonda and Jax saw the Captain being escorted away.
“Where are you taking him?” Jax asked as he set down a device he found in the wreckage.
“Lord Horsh wants to speak with him. It shouldn’t take long.”
Rhonda reached out and set a hand on Jax’s forearm. “There’s no sense in causing anymore fighting right now. He’ll be fine.”
The Captain’s body still felt numb, but a dark part of him inside was glad that the Inquisitor was dead.
What survived of Lord Horsh’s fleet had landed in an empty area South of what was once Largo. Smoke billowed out of one of the transport ships while the crew fought the internal fire.
Every one of the ships looked like they had been to through a grinder and back again. Bullet holes, laser burns, and twisted metal were everywhere.
The group of pirates walked up to the Midnight and entered through its lowered ramp. While everyone was busy going this way or that, whichever one spotted Mikhail and his trophy stopped and couldn’t help but stare.
Some whispered to one another about the Captain's eyes, and others were freaked out by the head.
Deimos was the first to walk on the bridge followed by Mikhail and the rest.
“Lord Horsh.”
Yondo looked over from his seat with a twinkle in his eye. “Ah Mikhail, you survived!” He jumped up but stopped abruptly when he saw the head.
The Captain flung the head over, and it rolled up to the pirate lord's feet.
“Does this belong to the Lawman?”
Mikhail did not respond, he just stared blankly with his head slightly tilted.
Feeling a bit uneasy, Yondo chuckled and clapped his hands together. "You have done the impossible, my friend. I knew you were special. I just knew it."
Deimos stood to the side and watched the conversation. Other crew members moved back and forth along the bridge assessing the damage and prioritizing repairs.
“Were you able to rescue your family?” Lord Horsh asked with a somber look on his face, knowing that he had ordered the death of his son by downing the last Carina.
Mikhail opened his mouth to speak but instead closed it and looked away.
Wanting to cheer up the mood, Yondo grinned and changed his tone to excitement. “Well, you know what they say on Dusk? Women are cheap. You’ll be able to pick from a whole lot of beauties when we get back to headquarters.”
Mikhail's eye twitched, and his top lip curled.
He doesn’t even care that my wife just died. My life is meaningless now. Might as well make things right…
Completely unaware, Lord Horsh continued with his boisterous self. “Look Mik, we took some heavy losses, but you did good here. You kept your end of the bargain, now I want to…”
Yondo was cut off by a loud bang that filled the bridge. He lifted his shaking hand up and saw it was covered with his own blood. His focus changed to the smoking gun held by the Captain.
Deimos and the rest of the crew were entirely stunned at what just happened. The pirate lord fell to his knees, and Mikhail stepped forward. He unloaded the rest of his mag into the dying man's chest. Yondo slumped over, dead as a rock, and crashed to the floor.
Mikhail breathed heavily and looked around the bridge for who was going to be the one that was going to retaliate and kill him. Surprisingly, no one moved. A grim silence fell upon the bridge as everyone wondered what was about to happen.
Deimos took the initiative and was the first to speak up. “Everyone here saw what happened.”
This is it…
The Onyx pirate turned around and lifted his arms up. “Per the protocols laid out by the first lords of the Five Skulls during its founding, anyone brave enough to kill a lord openly is fit to rule.”
Wait, what?
Deimos turned back to the broken man and lowered his arms. He locked eyes with Mikhail for what felt like an eternity before he got down on one knee. One by one the rest of the pirates lowered themselves and bowed their heads. Mikhail still held the pistol in his hand but wasn’t sure what was going on.
“All hail, Mikhail Tarvus, Lord of Onyx!” Deimos said before the room all chanted as one.
Sierra WarMech:
Sentry WarMech:
Arbalest WarMech:
Spade WarMech:
Hunter WarMech:
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Enforcer WarMech:
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Goblin WarMech:
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Glossary
Revelations is set in a universe where humanity does not originate from Earth. As such, some of the terms we use in our daily lives is not quite the same that they use. I have included this section to help you better understand the words and their definitions without it slowing down the pace of the story.
Stonecrete: [stone-creet] Very similar to our modern-day concrete but much stronger and doesn’t break down as poorly with time.
Rotation: Equivalent to our 24-hour day. The length of a rotation is how long it takes any planet to orbit around its star.
Cycle: Equivalent to one sequence of rotations around a star.
Communicator: Similar to a cellphone with even more robust features and capabilities.
Standard: This is the primary language that citizens in the Corre Republic speak. Most other nations have Standard as their primary language or at least teach their children so that they can still understand it.
Synthetic: A Synthetic is an Artificial Intelligence (or AI) that controls a humanoid like body that fought in the massive war for survival between the nations of humanity and The Collector.
ANE: After Near Extinction (or more commonly known as ANE) was a new epoch that began to signify humanity’s survival against the Syn Armada.
Cuso: [coo-soe] The currency used in the Corre Republic.
Overloader: Essentially a weapon that creates a small electromagnetic pulse used to temporarily disable electronics.
Prefect Major: The Prefect Major is the leader of the entire Corre Republic. There are many other positions under this rank that assist in ruling, but whatever the Prefect Major says goes. The Senate plays the role of the legislative branch of the Republic's government and can affect policy. While the Senate is elected from the planets' citizens, the Prefect Major is chosen from the other Prefects that rule the 10 prefectures.
Prefect: There are 10 prefectures within the Corre Republic, and one Prefect rules over the worlds within that prefecture.
Governor: A governor is a ruler over a world. There is one governor per planet in the Corre Republic.
All Father: The omnipotent, all-powerful god of The Will religion. It is said that the All Father created all life and existence. Success, power, strength, and dominion is promoted highly in The Will's holy book.
The Creator: With His voice, He created all of existence. The Creator is the godhead of the Light Bringer faith and has been hated for a long time in the Corre Republic as it seen as archaic.
Stream: This is the Corre Republic’s version of our own internet.
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Note from the author: R. E. Graham
I want to take a quick moment to thank you for taking the time to read this novel. For years I have wanted to explore the Revelations universe but was unsure of how to go about it. In 2017 I figured that if I didn’t just go for it, then I never would. I didn’t want to find myself on my deathbed and feel regret for never going for my dream. But I cannot create this universe without thanking those who support it and to also extend a welcome to you if you are new to the stories of Revelations.
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Thank you again, and I look forward to us creating Revelations into something we can all enjoy together!
Rick