The skies above the Planet Drak rumbled and swirled, red clouds swept all
before them and streaks of black revealed the thinning atmosphere. Vapour
trails left by low-flying aircraft criss-crossed the turmoil, the white
clouds contrasting the blood red skies. Thunder rolled as the red sun
pulsed once again, its long death throes threatening to engulf the Empire's
home world.
Ko-Door frowned at the cosmic display, then turned to face the huge marble doors that shielded the interior of the Drakon Capital Building. His bodyguard stood ready as always, armour gleaming as a result of his vigorous training courses. His armies did not bother with stealth. And thus, his soldier's armour did not need to be dulled. He smiled at the carvings on the doorways. These carvings depicted the birth of the Drakon Race, as their ancestors hauled themselves out of the waters and saw for the first time the world above the waves. After that moment, the Drakon Civilisation strove to find a way to enter this new climate, and eventually they had developed the suits that allowed them to. It was at that moment that the future Drakon Empire was born.
Shaking himself out of his reverie he tapped the cobbles with the hilt of his staff then stepped towards the doors. Hurrying ahead his Sentinel bodyguards placed their massive weight against the doors, pushing them open as Ko-Door advanced. Nodding to his bodyguards as he passed, Ko-Door strode into the conference room.
Smiling, Ko-Door noted that his rivals were not yet here. A valuable titbit that he could use in his ongoing political war with them. Slowly he walked towards his box, letting everyone who had arrived see him. Waving to the cheering throngs he soaked up their adulation, and radiated his awe- inspiring presence across the hall. The cheers only grew louder and louder, and Ko-Door used them to mask his curses as he clambered up the overly high steps to his private box. Tripping once or twice he almost threw himself into his plush throne. Climbing onto the satin cushions he frowned down at them. Again the colour had changed, from scarlet to a bizarre shade of green. Obviously his cleaners were getting bored again. Sighing he tried to hide the embarrassing colours with his cloak and stared across the hall at his allies and rivals as they entered.
Master Scholar was the first up, wrinkling his nose at the weird and wonderful colours on his personal throne. Ko-Door smiled. It seemed his cleaners weren't the only eccentric ones. Seeing Ko-Door's smile, the tall Drakon scowled and quickly sat, glaring at the Emperor. Ko-Door shook his head and turned to see Sister Haggra suspending one of the cleaners over her throne, barking at the struggling newt. Stifling laughter, Ko-Door stared across to where Dosaer stood, arms upraised. As silence fell, the thin, wiry Drakon began the introductions. As he did so Ko-Door slipped into a bored slumber, waiting for the old fool to conclude his ramblings and start the debate.
"Firstly, the esteemed High Mistress of the House of Magic, Sister Haggra, will take the stand," said the old fool finally. Ko-Door shook himself awake as Haggra began speaking. Her voice rang out across the conference room and Ko-Door scowled, placing his fingers firmly in his ears. She was using her magic to amplify her voice again he thought wearily.
"Thank you Chancellor Dosaer," Haggra croaked, turning to wave up a troupe of newts weighed down by a huge cauldron. Ko-Door sighed as he realised that she had brought out her so-called 'Vapours of Destiny' or whatever she called them. With a flourish, Haggra caused the mists to swirl and solidify, slowly forming a wavering hologram of the infamous Floating island. As it slowly rotated, Haggra turned back to her audience. Raising her hands for a silence that was already there, much to Ko-Door's disgust, she gestured into the mists.
"Here you can see the area we have chosen as our entry point," she hissed. Her frantic movements disrupted the image and made it so that no one could actually see, and a snort of laughter escaped Ko-Door. With a scowl that could not just curdle milk, but send it running back into the cow, Haggra hurled another of her books at Ko-Door's position, missing as Ko-Door dove to the floor. Embedding itself deeply into the wall behind it hung open, one dislodging page stroking the face of a distraught Prosecutor that kept eyeing the projectile as he shuffled away. Ko-Door smiled down at Haggra patronisingly and Haggra made to grab another book.
"Ahem!"
The sound had come from Dosaer's box. Haggra blushed and put down the book, turning back to the image and being careful not the disrupt it. "As you can see," she began again, ignoring Ko-Door's taunts. "After much deliberation, my mages have decided on this peninsula." She pointed to a small outcrop of land on the edge of the island. "As a suitable landing point. From here we can drive a wedge through the city of Sandopolis and onwards to Megapolis City. This side of the island is shielded from the Island's defences, and will be a perfect landing point." Haggra finished and bowed out. Dosaer nodded in respect and turned to Master Scholar.
"Next, the esteemed Master Scholar of the Houses of Knowledge has been working on the overall strategy for the conquest of the Planet Mobius. Master Scholar, if you would like to take the stand please."
Ko-Door felt himself drifting off as Scholar droned onwards. His head bowed his began to snore, his body guards hurriedly muffling the sounds as the tall Drakon continued, pointing to details on a map of Mobius.
Frantic shaking from his guards awakened Ko-Door. Opening his eyes, he found that everyone in the room was looking at him with a bemused expression on their faces. Haggra and Scholar were returning his previous patronising grins with their own, and Ko-Door sat bolt upright.
"As I said before, would Emperor Ko-door like to deliver his progress report."
Ko-Door cursed Dosaer for his rather short introduction, but took the stage all the same.
"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the great Drakonian Empire," he began. He was cut off by a commotion from outside. Swivelling round his eyes narrowing as a droning chant reached his ears.
"Freedom. Freedom. Freedom! FREEDOM!"
Nobles cowered in their chairs as the chanting grew louder. Cursing the interruption, Ko-Door climbed the stairs to a nearby window and glowered in the direction of the cries.
The streets of Royal Drakonia seethed with an ever-shifting mob of newts, bright white eyes catching the dull light of the dying star. Shouting numerous curses at the rebels for their horrendous timing, Ko-Door turned back to resume the conference.
"What do we want?"
"Freedom for newt-kind!"
"Let your cries carry to the hard stones of those walls and hearts! Let us break them, and make them beg on their knees! Let us take what is ours!"
Ko-Door quickly turned back. The newt horde was hefting weapons, huge artillery pieces rumbling through the streets. Each newt that moved held an ancient but effective projectile weapon, the Clallistr Sub-Machinegun if the Emperor remembered rightly. As he scanned his eyes up the living tide he noticed several heavy weapon pieces, including two.
"INCOMING!" he yelled, as two wailing shells arced out of the sky, smashing into the walls of the Capital Building. Huge chunks of fractured masonry were torn free in the blasts, falling to the streets below as the tide reversed, bringing the artillery pieces forwards. As the newts recovered from the recoil, the newt leader stepped forwards.
"Dictators and tyrants of the Drakon Empire, he began, reading from a battered data slate. The newt had his eyes closed, so he missed the various obscene gestures Ko-Door was making in his direction. "We demand our freedom. The population of newts that has built your Empire still lives in the poverty caused by your greed and selfishness."
Ko-Door looked around for something to throw as the hostile voice droned on. His eyes alighted on a large leather-bound book and he strode over to it, picking it up.
"The Art of War," he muttered as he strode back to the window. Suddenly a thought hit him and he smiled. Waving over one of his bodyguards over he whispered to the hefty Drakon, before sending him on his way. As two more shells pulverised the ancient stones and threw him to the floor he cursed and looked around for his rivals, who were calmly calling together their bodyguards. Haggra had set up a magical barrier around her and her disciples, which crackled with barely controlled energy. She was unmoving in the chaos that the other politicians of the Senate had descended into, scrambling over each other in a race for the door. Dosaer still stood on his plinth, his crown of office lopsided, banging some sort of wooden mallet against the plinth and calling for order.
Silence descended as a sound reached the ears of the Senate. A repetitive sound, a mechanical sound. A sound that brought heart to the Senate. The sound of millions of footfalls in unison. The sound of salvation.
As Ko-Door watched, thousands of Prosecutors and Sentinels rounded the sides of the building and began to arrange themselves in rows before the doorway to the great edifice. Standing, immovable, they turned their heads to face the rioters.
A whimper came from deep within the newt mob. The leader stepped back, fear in his eyes, and waved a representative forwards. The newt took a few tentative paces forwards and activated the data slate he carried. Gulping he began to read from it in a quavering voice.
"Our d-demands are s-simple. W-w-w-we d-demand."
He never got to finish the rest of his stuttering sentence. There was a bright flash, a deafening crack, and the newt flew back, spread-eagled, with a surprised look on his face. His mouth open wide, showing wide rows of reptilian teeth trembling in his gums. Then, slowly, he came apart. His limbs were ripped away ever so slowly, the bones snapping as they reached their limits. Another shot struck him in the forehead, flinging his head back. The next shot entered through the base of his skull, blowing out the top of his cranium in a shower of bone fragments and grey matter. The newt's decapitated torso was catapulted over the heads of the leading newts, and landed in the mass of newts behind.
A single Sentinel returned to his position.
Ripples of panic swept through his band, and the newt leader felt the moment slipping away. In desperation he flung one arm forwards to point at the Sentinels.
"CHARGE!"
The mob threw themselves at Ko-Door's army, brandishing whatever they could find. Broken bottles, wooden clubs, chunks of masonry, and even bayonets from their old model rifles. Baying like beasts they swept at the immovable army.
The Sentinels reacted as one. Bringing their arms back they pulled out their rune swords as one. The ancient weapons glowed as the focused light energy flew up their shafts. Then, with another deafening crack, it was unleashed.
The entire front row of newts disappeared into a red mist as they were vaporised by the blasts. The sickening crunch of bone underfoot quickly reversed, as the deadly shots scythed through the newts behind. With one salvo, the backbone of the newt army was destroyed.
They turned to run. A second salvo rang out, and the newts in front fell, gaping holes punched through their spines and out of their guts. As the disembowelled corpses collapsed, shrieks arose. As the corpses fell, a lines of fire was opened up leading right to the newts' ancient artillery pieces. A third salvo opened up.
The newts manning the guns had no time to react, as 'fast-as-light' lasers punched into the loading tubes.
With a howling gust of flame, the artillery disappeared, sending charred newts flying into the air, flailing their limbs helplessly. As the smoke clear the retreating newts screeched, as where there had been before solid ground there was now a gaping hole in the street, blocking all hopes of escape.
The next salvo opened up.
Somewhere, someone screamed.
***
Ko-Door smiled as he watched the remaining newts attempting to flee, as the merciless fire cut them down one by one. Raising his arms above his head he turned to his stunned audience.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you your army!"
The cheers drowned out the rest of his speech.
***
There came the sounds of cursing from the large ammo crate that seemed to move of its own power across the hanger area. A whip lashed out from the shadows and a newt leapt from his post behind, whimpering as the Sentinels laid in with their shock-mauls.
The group of Drakonian rulers ascended the ramp leading up to the mighty hull of the shuttle. Ko-Door caught a sight of the two massive laser turrets mounted under the wingtips. A modified fighter, this shuttle was to take them to the capitol ship, high in orbit above the rocky planet. It had been a massive undertaking. The capitol ship Caliagon had been so huge that constructing on the planet's surface had been near impossible.
As the mighty titanium doors of the shuttlecraft swung shut behind them, Ko-Door smiled.
The wait was over.
The Emeralds would be his.
The war had begun.
Ko-Door frowned at the cosmic display, then turned to face the huge marble doors that shielded the interior of the Drakon Capital Building. His bodyguard stood ready as always, armour gleaming as a result of his vigorous training courses. His armies did not bother with stealth. And thus, his soldier's armour did not need to be dulled. He smiled at the carvings on the doorways. These carvings depicted the birth of the Drakon Race, as their ancestors hauled themselves out of the waters and saw for the first time the world above the waves. After that moment, the Drakon Civilisation strove to find a way to enter this new climate, and eventually they had developed the suits that allowed them to. It was at that moment that the future Drakon Empire was born.
Shaking himself out of his reverie he tapped the cobbles with the hilt of his staff then stepped towards the doors. Hurrying ahead his Sentinel bodyguards placed their massive weight against the doors, pushing them open as Ko-Door advanced. Nodding to his bodyguards as he passed, Ko-Door strode into the conference room.
Smiling, Ko-Door noted that his rivals were not yet here. A valuable titbit that he could use in his ongoing political war with them. Slowly he walked towards his box, letting everyone who had arrived see him. Waving to the cheering throngs he soaked up their adulation, and radiated his awe- inspiring presence across the hall. The cheers only grew louder and louder, and Ko-Door used them to mask his curses as he clambered up the overly high steps to his private box. Tripping once or twice he almost threw himself into his plush throne. Climbing onto the satin cushions he frowned down at them. Again the colour had changed, from scarlet to a bizarre shade of green. Obviously his cleaners were getting bored again. Sighing he tried to hide the embarrassing colours with his cloak and stared across the hall at his allies and rivals as they entered.
Master Scholar was the first up, wrinkling his nose at the weird and wonderful colours on his personal throne. Ko-Door smiled. It seemed his cleaners weren't the only eccentric ones. Seeing Ko-Door's smile, the tall Drakon scowled and quickly sat, glaring at the Emperor. Ko-Door shook his head and turned to see Sister Haggra suspending one of the cleaners over her throne, barking at the struggling newt. Stifling laughter, Ko-Door stared across to where Dosaer stood, arms upraised. As silence fell, the thin, wiry Drakon began the introductions. As he did so Ko-Door slipped into a bored slumber, waiting for the old fool to conclude his ramblings and start the debate.
"Firstly, the esteemed High Mistress of the House of Magic, Sister Haggra, will take the stand," said the old fool finally. Ko-Door shook himself awake as Haggra began speaking. Her voice rang out across the conference room and Ko-Door scowled, placing his fingers firmly in his ears. She was using her magic to amplify her voice again he thought wearily.
"Thank you Chancellor Dosaer," Haggra croaked, turning to wave up a troupe of newts weighed down by a huge cauldron. Ko-Door sighed as he realised that she had brought out her so-called 'Vapours of Destiny' or whatever she called them. With a flourish, Haggra caused the mists to swirl and solidify, slowly forming a wavering hologram of the infamous Floating island. As it slowly rotated, Haggra turned back to her audience. Raising her hands for a silence that was already there, much to Ko-Door's disgust, she gestured into the mists.
"Here you can see the area we have chosen as our entry point," she hissed. Her frantic movements disrupted the image and made it so that no one could actually see, and a snort of laughter escaped Ko-Door. With a scowl that could not just curdle milk, but send it running back into the cow, Haggra hurled another of her books at Ko-Door's position, missing as Ko-Door dove to the floor. Embedding itself deeply into the wall behind it hung open, one dislodging page stroking the face of a distraught Prosecutor that kept eyeing the projectile as he shuffled away. Ko-Door smiled down at Haggra patronisingly and Haggra made to grab another book.
"Ahem!"
The sound had come from Dosaer's box. Haggra blushed and put down the book, turning back to the image and being careful not the disrupt it. "As you can see," she began again, ignoring Ko-Door's taunts. "After much deliberation, my mages have decided on this peninsula." She pointed to a small outcrop of land on the edge of the island. "As a suitable landing point. From here we can drive a wedge through the city of Sandopolis and onwards to Megapolis City. This side of the island is shielded from the Island's defences, and will be a perfect landing point." Haggra finished and bowed out. Dosaer nodded in respect and turned to Master Scholar.
"Next, the esteemed Master Scholar of the Houses of Knowledge has been working on the overall strategy for the conquest of the Planet Mobius. Master Scholar, if you would like to take the stand please."
Ko-Door felt himself drifting off as Scholar droned onwards. His head bowed his began to snore, his body guards hurriedly muffling the sounds as the tall Drakon continued, pointing to details on a map of Mobius.
Frantic shaking from his guards awakened Ko-Door. Opening his eyes, he found that everyone in the room was looking at him with a bemused expression on their faces. Haggra and Scholar were returning his previous patronising grins with their own, and Ko-Door sat bolt upright.
"As I said before, would Emperor Ko-door like to deliver his progress report."
Ko-Door cursed Dosaer for his rather short introduction, but took the stage all the same.
"Esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the great Drakonian Empire," he began. He was cut off by a commotion from outside. Swivelling round his eyes narrowing as a droning chant reached his ears.
"Freedom. Freedom. Freedom! FREEDOM!"
Nobles cowered in their chairs as the chanting grew louder. Cursing the interruption, Ko-Door climbed the stairs to a nearby window and glowered in the direction of the cries.
The streets of Royal Drakonia seethed with an ever-shifting mob of newts, bright white eyes catching the dull light of the dying star. Shouting numerous curses at the rebels for their horrendous timing, Ko-Door turned back to resume the conference.
"What do we want?"
"Freedom for newt-kind!"
"Let your cries carry to the hard stones of those walls and hearts! Let us break them, and make them beg on their knees! Let us take what is ours!"
Ko-Door quickly turned back. The newt horde was hefting weapons, huge artillery pieces rumbling through the streets. Each newt that moved held an ancient but effective projectile weapon, the Clallistr Sub-Machinegun if the Emperor remembered rightly. As he scanned his eyes up the living tide he noticed several heavy weapon pieces, including two.
"INCOMING!" he yelled, as two wailing shells arced out of the sky, smashing into the walls of the Capital Building. Huge chunks of fractured masonry were torn free in the blasts, falling to the streets below as the tide reversed, bringing the artillery pieces forwards. As the newts recovered from the recoil, the newt leader stepped forwards.
"Dictators and tyrants of the Drakon Empire, he began, reading from a battered data slate. The newt had his eyes closed, so he missed the various obscene gestures Ko-Door was making in his direction. "We demand our freedom. The population of newts that has built your Empire still lives in the poverty caused by your greed and selfishness."
Ko-Door looked around for something to throw as the hostile voice droned on. His eyes alighted on a large leather-bound book and he strode over to it, picking it up.
"The Art of War," he muttered as he strode back to the window. Suddenly a thought hit him and he smiled. Waving over one of his bodyguards over he whispered to the hefty Drakon, before sending him on his way. As two more shells pulverised the ancient stones and threw him to the floor he cursed and looked around for his rivals, who were calmly calling together their bodyguards. Haggra had set up a magical barrier around her and her disciples, which crackled with barely controlled energy. She was unmoving in the chaos that the other politicians of the Senate had descended into, scrambling over each other in a race for the door. Dosaer still stood on his plinth, his crown of office lopsided, banging some sort of wooden mallet against the plinth and calling for order.
Silence descended as a sound reached the ears of the Senate. A repetitive sound, a mechanical sound. A sound that brought heart to the Senate. The sound of millions of footfalls in unison. The sound of salvation.
As Ko-Door watched, thousands of Prosecutors and Sentinels rounded the sides of the building and began to arrange themselves in rows before the doorway to the great edifice. Standing, immovable, they turned their heads to face the rioters.
A whimper came from deep within the newt mob. The leader stepped back, fear in his eyes, and waved a representative forwards. The newt took a few tentative paces forwards and activated the data slate he carried. Gulping he began to read from it in a quavering voice.
"Our d-demands are s-simple. W-w-w-we d-demand."
He never got to finish the rest of his stuttering sentence. There was a bright flash, a deafening crack, and the newt flew back, spread-eagled, with a surprised look on his face. His mouth open wide, showing wide rows of reptilian teeth trembling in his gums. Then, slowly, he came apart. His limbs were ripped away ever so slowly, the bones snapping as they reached their limits. Another shot struck him in the forehead, flinging his head back. The next shot entered through the base of his skull, blowing out the top of his cranium in a shower of bone fragments and grey matter. The newt's decapitated torso was catapulted over the heads of the leading newts, and landed in the mass of newts behind.
A single Sentinel returned to his position.
Ripples of panic swept through his band, and the newt leader felt the moment slipping away. In desperation he flung one arm forwards to point at the Sentinels.
"CHARGE!"
The mob threw themselves at Ko-Door's army, brandishing whatever they could find. Broken bottles, wooden clubs, chunks of masonry, and even bayonets from their old model rifles. Baying like beasts they swept at the immovable army.
The Sentinels reacted as one. Bringing their arms back they pulled out their rune swords as one. The ancient weapons glowed as the focused light energy flew up their shafts. Then, with another deafening crack, it was unleashed.
The entire front row of newts disappeared into a red mist as they were vaporised by the blasts. The sickening crunch of bone underfoot quickly reversed, as the deadly shots scythed through the newts behind. With one salvo, the backbone of the newt army was destroyed.
They turned to run. A second salvo rang out, and the newts in front fell, gaping holes punched through their spines and out of their guts. As the disembowelled corpses collapsed, shrieks arose. As the corpses fell, a lines of fire was opened up leading right to the newts' ancient artillery pieces. A third salvo opened up.
The newts manning the guns had no time to react, as 'fast-as-light' lasers punched into the loading tubes.
With a howling gust of flame, the artillery disappeared, sending charred newts flying into the air, flailing their limbs helplessly. As the smoke clear the retreating newts screeched, as where there had been before solid ground there was now a gaping hole in the street, blocking all hopes of escape.
The next salvo opened up.
Somewhere, someone screamed.
***
Ko-Door smiled as he watched the remaining newts attempting to flee, as the merciless fire cut them down one by one. Raising his arms above his head he turned to his stunned audience.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you your army!"
The cheers drowned out the rest of his speech.
***
There came the sounds of cursing from the large ammo crate that seemed to move of its own power across the hanger area. A whip lashed out from the shadows and a newt leapt from his post behind, whimpering as the Sentinels laid in with their shock-mauls.
The group of Drakonian rulers ascended the ramp leading up to the mighty hull of the shuttle. Ko-Door caught a sight of the two massive laser turrets mounted under the wingtips. A modified fighter, this shuttle was to take them to the capitol ship, high in orbit above the rocky planet. It had been a massive undertaking. The capitol ship Caliagon had been so huge that constructing on the planet's surface had been near impossible.
As the mighty titanium doors of the shuttlecraft swung shut behind them, Ko-Door smiled.
The wait was over.
The Emeralds would be his.
The war had begun.