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Empire's Expansion
by Artful
Introduction part 3: Plans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kume was bored.
Lines of fire slinked out from his fingertips and gathered in his upturned palm. The flame coalesced into a solid red sphere of glowing energy. Kume idly tossed the fireball from hand to hand as he continued to walk down the corridor.
The previous owners of this palace had been mightily impressed with their own majesty. Fat lot of good it did them, he thought with a smirk. So when they built, they built on a massive scale. This place was a warren of open-air courtyards, solariums, galleries, storerooms, feast halls, noble quarters, and hundreds of rooms that had no real right to even exist. He had conquered smaller cities in his time.
This was all well and good, he supposed. Some might even consider it to be a great and noble building. However, it was a real pain to get anywhere. Mister fancypants emperor had sent him a summons in the middle of his morning exercises with the army. So, he had to trek all the way back to his quarters to get his formal uniform, and now he had walk even further to get to the throne room. The main throne room, anyway. He had already passed at least two others.
Kume tugged at his lapel, trying to twitch it back into place. The red uniform billowed out in every direction, tight only at the neck, waist, and around the tops of the matching boots. The loose design was comfortable while standing in place, but tended to twist wildly while he was walking. He finally gathered the loose material and tied it into a knot.
Footsteps echoed throughout the empty hall as Kume continued on. Whole sections of the palace were abandoned now that the former residents had been forced out. Already a thin coat of dust covered every surface. The tapestries draped across the walls had started to deteriorate, giving the hall a musky odor.
Kume paused momentarily to admire a particularly bloody depiction of battle. 'That's where I belong,' he thought. 'Leading my troops to glorious victory. It's been too long since I felt a life end on the point my blade.' He gripped the fireball like the hilt of a sword and took a practice swing. 'It's been way too dull around here recently.' Practicing with the army was fun, but nothing like the edge of real combat. Unfortunately, the last dissident faction had been crushed days ago and there wasn't much hope of another one popping up.
'Man, where does he get off?' he thought about the Emperor. 'I'm the one who's doing all the work to expand this empire of his, and all he does is order me around.' Kume paused as the thought sunk in. He only got summoned when the emperor was planning something. This planet had been fully conquered. So...
He resumed his journey to the throne with much greater enthusiasm, actually skipping with anticipation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kume stopped as he spied a light at the end of the corridor. He flattened himself against the wall and stealthily crept toward the exit arch. Carefully he peeked his head out recon the next room. He had finally reached his destination, much to his relief.
The main reception hall would have held an entire legion easily. A transparent crystal had been suspended over the entire room, allowing in natural light while blocking out the elements. The sun was nearly overhead, Kume noted with dismay. The emperor would be upset if he didn't show soon.
The room had been cleaned out. Brighter squares in the marble floor indicated where furniture and statues had recently stood. Only one obstacle remained to get around. A lone figure stood next to the doors to the throne room. Now, while it was looking away....
Kume charged. Moving with unnatural speed, he managed to cover half the distance before the guard started to turn. Kume formed another fireball and tossed it underhand. "KI!" he shouted as loudly as he could, then dove away. The fireball raced toward the face of the guard, who made no attempt to dodge as he saw it coming. At the last moment the ball imploded with a small poof.
The guard didn't so much as a blink as Kume came forward to assess the results of his little stunt. "State your business," he said in a level monotone.
"Iz be here to see da boss," Kume said with in a glib tone.
No reaction. The guard continued to stare directly forward with a blank expression.
'And these are supposed to be the perfect soldiers,' Kume thought with contempt. Compliant, controlled, incapable of questioning orders, ready to fight and die without hesitation. Sure, it would be nice to have an army of those; but the trade off wasn't nearly worth it. These morons had no initiative, no imagination, and couldn't pour water out a boot without directions. He almost wished he had let the fireball run its course. It wasn't like there was any shortage of Agents.
This wasn't going anywhere, Kume realized. He drew himself up to his full height, not quite managing to become even with the top button of the dull gray uniform of the Agent, and spoke in a formal tone. "Kume to see Emperor Khre."
"Yes, General Kume. You are expected. Enter." The pitch of the voice never wavered as the guard pulled open the door.
Kume entertained a fantasy of a human torch standing perfectly still and quiet at guard as he entered.
Compared with the rest of the palace, the throne room was desolate. The floor and walls had been stripped and scoured to bare gray stone, and the ceiling had been turned opaque. Only the far end of the hall bore any decoration, as a massive engraving of the seal of Sumat hung centered on the wall. A glowing globule hanging over the throne provided limited illumination. At the right hand of the throne stood a man in flowing robes so dark he almost disappeared into the gloom. To the left, a man in a white suit, resembling a lab coat or doctor's uniform, that glimmered even in the low light. Sitting on the throne was the man himself.
"Master!" Kume dropped to his left knee before the throne. The edifice seemed as if had been hewn from blank rock. The figure upon the throne seemed almost inanimate against it, as if a statue had been placed there. The metal rings wrapped around his arms and legs reinforced this. Beneath an onyx crown, a chiseled face nodded in acknowledgement. Thin lips smiled.
"Welcome Kume. I had wondered when you were going to arrive." The voice was deep and commanding, with a hint of displeasure. The erstwhile general sank deeper into himself.
"Forgiveness, master," Kume squeaked.
"Forgiven." The emperor dismissed the matter with a wave of his pale hand. "Join us. We are surveying our newest conquests."
"Oooh." Kume sprung from his kneeling stance, flipped, and landing hanging to off the back of the throne in one fluid motion. His eyes were immediately drawn to a moving picture in front of the throne. A gaggle of nubile young girls in form fitting leotards and impossibly short skirts danced around a green-skinned demon. Kume grinned. "Excellent choice, master. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this one."
Khre wagged a finger. Kume felt his head turning, against his will, to face another moving picture.
"This will be your assignment. Pay attention and you will live longer."
Ever obedient (and unable to look away), Kume shut up and studied. The picture was split into several sections. The largest part showed a young boy and a green man in a cape fighting. Smaller insets displayed two similar-looking men exercising strenuously. Kume was decidedly less happy with this. "Master..."
Another gesture from the emperor stopped the complaint before it formed. "Kura, report," the order came from the throne.
The man in white answered briskly. "Deployment of the constructs was a total success. Final tuning of the dimensions warp has been completed. Infiltration teams are standing by."
"Excellent," Khre replied. "Kiro, report."
The dark-robed man paused a moment before he spoke. "Their reaction to the constructs was as expected. It is certain they will respond negatively to similar stimuli." He paused again before continuing. "Master, the females appear to be relatively weak. It would be more productive to capture and convert them, than to destroy them."
"That's what I find worrisome," Kura cut in. "There must some facet to their power we haven't seen yet. Better to capture these," he pointed to the split screen. "They don't seem to possess anything besides brute force."
"No," Kiro responded coldly. "Those would dangerous even if they were converted."
Kume listened as the bickering continued. Kura's voice rose each time he tried to get his point across. Kiro remained quiet, but grew more cutting with each remark. It was no wonder they fought; they were nothing alike. The only thing they agreed on was that the other was not to be agreed with, and it irked them both that the emperor considered their advice evenly and without prejudice.
"Enough," Khre spoke. "Any living Guardian is dangerous. They will all be destroyed. Kiro, I want you to personally deal with the female group."
"Awww!" a shrill whine came from where Kume was perched. "How come he gets assigned the cute girls and I get these fashion victims? It's not fair!" Kiro always got the perks. He didn't even do anything to deserve it! All he did was observe conversions. This would be the first time he actually went into battle, and his opponents were total babes!
Khre looked up. "Kiro was correct. They are the stronger fighters."
"Really?" Kume blinked.
"Oh yes." Khre spoke slowly, exaggerating each phrase. "They are much stronger. They defeated the construct I sent with ease."
Kume scoffed. "Those things? I could defeat one with my arms and legs bound and a stick shoved through my head." Constructs made good scouts, but would be hopelessly outmatched against any real opponent. The fragility of their composition was all too apparent when the first blow hit.
"That's right," The emperor grinned. "The constructs aren't meant to fight battles. That's why I have you."
"Ya!" Kume brightened at the compliment. "Go on and wipe out those sissy girls, Psych-man. I'm going for the real action."
Kiro was taken aback at this exchange. "Master, I do not think this is wise," he said with a tightly composed voice. "I..."
Khre fixed him with a penetrating stare. "You will obey," he spoke with the full authority of the ruler of worlds.
Only one response was possible. "Your will, master."
"Indeed." The emperor gestured his followers to come closer. "For the glory of the Brotherhood of Sumat, you will follow my will; and my will is battle. Attend well. Here is my plan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What sinister plot is developing against our heroes? Keep reading to find out!
A/N: Here it is, folks. Four original villains, straight from my brain to your screen. This is where I would most like comment. How well have I introduced my creations? Next segment, the plan starts to unfold. Ja na!
Empire's Expansion
by Artful
Introduction part 3: Plans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kume was bored.
Lines of fire slinked out from his fingertips and gathered in his upturned palm. The flame coalesced into a solid red sphere of glowing energy. Kume idly tossed the fireball from hand to hand as he continued to walk down the corridor.
The previous owners of this palace had been mightily impressed with their own majesty. Fat lot of good it did them, he thought with a smirk. So when they built, they built on a massive scale. This place was a warren of open-air courtyards, solariums, galleries, storerooms, feast halls, noble quarters, and hundreds of rooms that had no real right to even exist. He had conquered smaller cities in his time.
This was all well and good, he supposed. Some might even consider it to be a great and noble building. However, it was a real pain to get anywhere. Mister fancypants emperor had sent him a summons in the middle of his morning exercises with the army. So, he had to trek all the way back to his quarters to get his formal uniform, and now he had walk even further to get to the throne room. The main throne room, anyway. He had already passed at least two others.
Kume tugged at his lapel, trying to twitch it back into place. The red uniform billowed out in every direction, tight only at the neck, waist, and around the tops of the matching boots. The loose design was comfortable while standing in place, but tended to twist wildly while he was walking. He finally gathered the loose material and tied it into a knot.
Footsteps echoed throughout the empty hall as Kume continued on. Whole sections of the palace were abandoned now that the former residents had been forced out. Already a thin coat of dust covered every surface. The tapestries draped across the walls had started to deteriorate, giving the hall a musky odor.
Kume paused momentarily to admire a particularly bloody depiction of battle. 'That's where I belong,' he thought. 'Leading my troops to glorious victory. It's been too long since I felt a life end on the point my blade.' He gripped the fireball like the hilt of a sword and took a practice swing. 'It's been way too dull around here recently.' Practicing with the army was fun, but nothing like the edge of real combat. Unfortunately, the last dissident faction had been crushed days ago and there wasn't much hope of another one popping up.
'Man, where does he get off?' he thought about the Emperor. 'I'm the one who's doing all the work to expand this empire of his, and all he does is order me around.' Kume paused as the thought sunk in. He only got summoned when the emperor was planning something. This planet had been fully conquered. So...
He resumed his journey to the throne with much greater enthusiasm, actually skipping with anticipation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kume stopped as he spied a light at the end of the corridor. He flattened himself against the wall and stealthily crept toward the exit arch. Carefully he peeked his head out recon the next room. He had finally reached his destination, much to his relief.
The main reception hall would have held an entire legion easily. A transparent crystal had been suspended over the entire room, allowing in natural light while blocking out the elements. The sun was nearly overhead, Kume noted with dismay. The emperor would be upset if he didn't show soon.
The room had been cleaned out. Brighter squares in the marble floor indicated where furniture and statues had recently stood. Only one obstacle remained to get around. A lone figure stood next to the doors to the throne room. Now, while it was looking away....
Kume charged. Moving with unnatural speed, he managed to cover half the distance before the guard started to turn. Kume formed another fireball and tossed it underhand. "KI!" he shouted as loudly as he could, then dove away. The fireball raced toward the face of the guard, who made no attempt to dodge as he saw it coming. At the last moment the ball imploded with a small poof.
The guard didn't so much as a blink as Kume came forward to assess the results of his little stunt. "State your business," he said in a level monotone.
"Iz be here to see da boss," Kume said with in a glib tone.
No reaction. The guard continued to stare directly forward with a blank expression.
'And these are supposed to be the perfect soldiers,' Kume thought with contempt. Compliant, controlled, incapable of questioning orders, ready to fight and die without hesitation. Sure, it would be nice to have an army of those; but the trade off wasn't nearly worth it. These morons had no initiative, no imagination, and couldn't pour water out a boot without directions. He almost wished he had let the fireball run its course. It wasn't like there was any shortage of Agents.
This wasn't going anywhere, Kume realized. He drew himself up to his full height, not quite managing to become even with the top button of the dull gray uniform of the Agent, and spoke in a formal tone. "Kume to see Emperor Khre."
"Yes, General Kume. You are expected. Enter." The pitch of the voice never wavered as the guard pulled open the door.
Kume entertained a fantasy of a human torch standing perfectly still and quiet at guard as he entered.
Compared with the rest of the palace, the throne room was desolate. The floor and walls had been stripped and scoured to bare gray stone, and the ceiling had been turned opaque. Only the far end of the hall bore any decoration, as a massive engraving of the seal of Sumat hung centered on the wall. A glowing globule hanging over the throne provided limited illumination. At the right hand of the throne stood a man in flowing robes so dark he almost disappeared into the gloom. To the left, a man in a white suit, resembling a lab coat or doctor's uniform, that glimmered even in the low light. Sitting on the throne was the man himself.
"Master!" Kume dropped to his left knee before the throne. The edifice seemed as if had been hewn from blank rock. The figure upon the throne seemed almost inanimate against it, as if a statue had been placed there. The metal rings wrapped around his arms and legs reinforced this. Beneath an onyx crown, a chiseled face nodded in acknowledgement. Thin lips smiled.
"Welcome Kume. I had wondered when you were going to arrive." The voice was deep and commanding, with a hint of displeasure. The erstwhile general sank deeper into himself.
"Forgiveness, master," Kume squeaked.
"Forgiven." The emperor dismissed the matter with a wave of his pale hand. "Join us. We are surveying our newest conquests."
"Oooh." Kume sprung from his kneeling stance, flipped, and landing hanging to off the back of the throne in one fluid motion. His eyes were immediately drawn to a moving picture in front of the throne. A gaggle of nubile young girls in form fitting leotards and impossibly short skirts danced around a green-skinned demon. Kume grinned. "Excellent choice, master. I'm gonna have a lot of fun with this one."
Khre wagged a finger. Kume felt his head turning, against his will, to face another moving picture.
"This will be your assignment. Pay attention and you will live longer."
Ever obedient (and unable to look away), Kume shut up and studied. The picture was split into several sections. The largest part showed a young boy and a green man in a cape fighting. Smaller insets displayed two similar-looking men exercising strenuously. Kume was decidedly less happy with this. "Master..."
Another gesture from the emperor stopped the complaint before it formed. "Kura, report," the order came from the throne.
The man in white answered briskly. "Deployment of the constructs was a total success. Final tuning of the dimensions warp has been completed. Infiltration teams are standing by."
"Excellent," Khre replied. "Kiro, report."
The dark-robed man paused a moment before he spoke. "Their reaction to the constructs was as expected. It is certain they will respond negatively to similar stimuli." He paused again before continuing. "Master, the females appear to be relatively weak. It would be more productive to capture and convert them, than to destroy them."
"That's what I find worrisome," Kura cut in. "There must some facet to their power we haven't seen yet. Better to capture these," he pointed to the split screen. "They don't seem to possess anything besides brute force."
"No," Kiro responded coldly. "Those would dangerous even if they were converted."
Kume listened as the bickering continued. Kura's voice rose each time he tried to get his point across. Kiro remained quiet, but grew more cutting with each remark. It was no wonder they fought; they were nothing alike. The only thing they agreed on was that the other was not to be agreed with, and it irked them both that the emperor considered their advice evenly and without prejudice.
"Enough," Khre spoke. "Any living Guardian is dangerous. They will all be destroyed. Kiro, I want you to personally deal with the female group."
"Awww!" a shrill whine came from where Kume was perched. "How come he gets assigned the cute girls and I get these fashion victims? It's not fair!" Kiro always got the perks. He didn't even do anything to deserve it! All he did was observe conversions. This would be the first time he actually went into battle, and his opponents were total babes!
Khre looked up. "Kiro was correct. They are the stronger fighters."
"Really?" Kume blinked.
"Oh yes." Khre spoke slowly, exaggerating each phrase. "They are much stronger. They defeated the construct I sent with ease."
Kume scoffed. "Those things? I could defeat one with my arms and legs bound and a stick shoved through my head." Constructs made good scouts, but would be hopelessly outmatched against any real opponent. The fragility of their composition was all too apparent when the first blow hit.
"That's right," The emperor grinned. "The constructs aren't meant to fight battles. That's why I have you."
"Ya!" Kume brightened at the compliment. "Go on and wipe out those sissy girls, Psych-man. I'm going for the real action."
Kiro was taken aback at this exchange. "Master, I do not think this is wise," he said with a tightly composed voice. "I..."
Khre fixed him with a penetrating stare. "You will obey," he spoke with the full authority of the ruler of worlds.
Only one response was possible. "Your will, master."
"Indeed." The emperor gestured his followers to come closer. "For the glory of the Brotherhood of Sumat, you will follow my will; and my will is battle. Attend well. Here is my plan."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What sinister plot is developing against our heroes? Keep reading to find out!
A/N: Here it is, folks. Four original villains, straight from my brain to your screen. This is where I would most like comment. How well have I introduced my creations? Next segment, the plan starts to unfold. Ja na!
