"Elemental Cruiser Nine-Five hailing Necro Command Ship One, requesting permission to dock." The Necro at the comms didn't say anything, confused that a non-Necro ship was asking permission to dock. "I repeat. Elemental Cruiser Nine-Five hailing Necro Command Ship One, requesting permission to dock." He opened the comm.
"State your business Breeder Cruiser Nine-Five," he replied.
"I have audience with Elemental Ambassador Aereon and the Lord Marshal. Can I dock or what?"
"Um…hold on a second Breeder Cruiser," the Necro said and got up from the comms, hearing the Cruiser pilot sigh.
"Dear Goddess above it's not that hard a decision." He heard as he left the comm room. He went at a jog into the sparring room to see yet another soldier drag himself out of the ring before collapsing face first onto the floor, unconscious.
"And that's Match." Riddick said and grabbed a towel, mopping the sweat off his arms and face from the sparring match.
"Um Sir?" the Necro asked bowing shortly and he looked at him.
"Yeah what is it?"
"There an Elemental Cruiser requesting permission to dock Sir." He said and Riddick perked an eyebrow.
"She made good time."
"Should I grant it permission?"
"Yeah, put her in Six." Riddick said and the Necro left.
Rowan sat in the pilots' chair of the Cruiser, waiting impatiently for the Necro to get back on the line.
"Permission granted Breeder Cruiser Nine-Five. Pull into Docking Bay Six. Necro Command Ship One, over and out." the line went dead and she shut it down. A hatch opened in the bottom of the ship and she navigated the Cruiser inside, the hatch closed when she had landed and she started to shut down the ship. Reaching up and flicking the switches that turned off the thrusters one by one and finally turning off the main computer using a button above the dash. The engines started to cool and she got up from the chair, strapping her guns to her thighs and sliding her long blade into the sheath strapped to her back along her spine. She fixed her hair so it hid the hilt of the blade and put on her long coat that hid both the sheath and the guns, the collar also hiding the hilt when she brought her hair from under the fabric.
Rowan brought the small gold oval locket hanging on a thin gold chain around her throat to her lips and kissed it before going to the back of the ship and turning the dial on the wall, the ramp lowering. Outside were several Necro soldiers in full armor, in the center was a man who seemed very out of place in his black tank top with cargo pants tucked into black combat boots. She descended the ramp; her own combat boots making the metal grating shake. Aereon floated forward and greeted her.
"Commander." She said and Rowan nodded at her.
"Ambassador."
"We did not expect you for a couple more days." She said and Rowan shrugged.
"Traffic was light," She said and moved her head at the man. "That the Lord Marshal?"
"Yes." Aereon said and Rowan snorted.
"Figured. I probably should introduce myself."
"Might be helpful." She said and Rowan stepped around her, going up to the Lord Marshal.
She was short, Riddick observed. Barely taller than Aereon, with straight red hair and stern orange eyes. Looking her up and down from behind his shades, he saw the glint of metal from under her coat and knew she was packing. Her eyes flicked to the soldiers around him and she snorted.
"What's so funny?" he asked and she looked at him again.
"Richard B. Riddick, biggest badass in the universe needs bodyguards against one Elemental." She said.
"Its procedure, I can't get rid of 'em." he said and she nodded, thrusting her hand out.
"Commander Rowan Kay of the Elemental Elite Forces, Fire Unit." She said and he took her hand in his own.
"Richard Riddick, Lord Marshal of the Necromongers." He said and they shook hands, but both still hung on. Riddick tightened his grip, squeezing her fingers, testing her. She tightened hers as well and he tightened his even more, almost breaking her fingers. Rowan smirked and her palm grew warm, then hot, then blistering. He pulled his hand away, looking at the large, throbbing second-degree burn on his palm and chuckled. "You burned me."
"I'm a Fire Elemental." She said, her hand dropping back to her side. "And besides, you almost broke my fingers."
"Fair enough."
"Now enough with the pleasantries. I have a few rules that must be followed to the letter during my stay here."
"Name them."
"One: no one outside military units is to know why I'm here. If any civilian asks, I'm simply visiting the Ambassador. Two: you need my help, which means what I say, goes. When I give a military order it will be followed exactly, with no deviations or alterations of any kind. Three: I have the full command of your armada, if anyone objects or acts out of line it will be within my power to punish them as I see fit. Your soldiers are now mine. Finally, rule number Four: my business is my business. I don't want anyone prying into my personal business. I will have private quarters stocked with blue prints of this ship and the ships of the armada. I want a full soldier head-count, and the only reason that I will be disturbed at all is if it pertains to the situation why I am here. Do you understand?" Rowan said and Riddick bristled at her commands, but knew that if he didn't follow them exactly, with no mistakes, she would leave and he would be in deep shit.
"Yes."
"Say you understand."
"I understand."
"Good, I expect Rule Four to be carried out within the hour and Rule Three be carried out immediately. Are we clear?"
"Yes." Riddick said and she nodded again.
"Very good."
"Sir," a soldier spoke up and they both looked at him. "You don't honestly expect us to follow the orders of a breeder do you?"
"You follow my orders, and I'm a breeder."
"But you're our Lord Marshal. That's different. This Elemental has no standing with us." The soldier said and Rowan stepped away from Riddick and in front of the soldier.
"Name, now." She ordered and he looked down at her in disgust.
"Give her your name soldier." Riddick commanded.
"Perceval, my name is Perceval." He said.
"Okay Percy," Rowan said. "Either you will shut up and do as your told, or I will kill you. Your choice. Make it in three seconds." Perceval was silent. "Two," still silent. In a blink of an eye, Rowan unsheathed her long blade and neatly beheaded him, the still helmeted head rolling away while the body fell to the ground. "One." She said and wiped her blade clean with a fold of her coat. "Anyone else have a problem with me?" the soldiers went down on their knees before her, showing their obedience. "Good."
"I like your technique." Riddick said and she smirked at him.
"Thank you." She said, moving her hair aside and slipping the blade back along her spine and fixing the collar of her coat. "Now I would like to see your War Room."
"This way." He said and led her out of the hangar with the soldiers and Aereon following. He led her up to the Basilica and to the Strategic Platform, the inky surface rippling slightly as they approached.
"Oh, I like this." She said looking at it.
"As far as I can tell, it has a kind of intelligence. Go ahead, ask it to show you something." Riddick said.
"Show me Xenith IX." Rowan said a small inky planet rose to hover above the table. "The detail is amazing." She said as she looked at it, the planets' continents were clearly outlined and she could even see clusters of skyscrapers that could only be cities. "Can it show only planets?"
"I don't know." Riddick admitted. "Why don't you find out?"
"Show me the command ship for the Liberation Elemental Regime and its fighters." The planets sunk into the table and a model ship rose up, smaller ships in a vertical ring revolving around it. "That's it alright."
"So that's the enemy huh?" Riddick asked and she looked at him.
"Yes. Have you ever looked at Furya using this?"
"No," he admitted looking down. "Furya is a dead planet, there's nothing left of it." Rowan glanced at him then at the table.
"Show me Furya." She said and the ships sunk down, a planet rose up and Riddick looked up at it. The planet seemed to be covered with lush forests and wide oceans, there was gap in the trees every so often and little huts could be seen in the clearings. "Does this thing show present models?"
"Yes," Riddick whispered, looking at his home planet. "Always." He suddenly looked down and banged his hand flat on the metal rim of the table, the planet melted back into the table and the surface smoothed. He rested both of his hands on the metal rim, his shoulders bunched and his head down. "Will one of you show Commander Kay to her quarters? I'm sure they're ready by now." A young male steward approached.
"This way Commander." He said and she glanced at Riddick before leaving, following the young man to her quarters. He pressed a button on the wall and a door slid open in the wall. "You can lock it from the inside and if you need anything Commander, feel free to use the comms."
"Thank you, you're dismissed." She said walking into the room.
"Yes ma'am." The door slid closed and she looked around the room. Several electronic pads sat stacked on the table and she went to them, turning them on and finding that they were the blue prints that she had requested. Also a full soldier listing that took up five pads by themselves and included the names of the Commanders and their ranks. She would have to track down and talk to this First Commander Lord Vaako and tell him the current situation, if he didn't know it already. Odds are he did not, since Riddick didn't seem to be the type to share. Going over to the comms, she opened up a signal and punched in Vaako's room number that was also on the pad next to his rank and name. A woman came on the view screen.
"And who might you be?" the woman asked, this must be Lord Vaako's wife, Dame Vaako.
"I need to speak with your husband." Rowan said.
"Not without telling me who you are."
"Are you a part of the military?"
"No."
"Then you are not authorized to know who I am. I need to speak with your husband." Rowan said and Dame Vaako huffed.
"Fine." She said and turned her head, letting Rowan see the circular conversion mark on her neck. "Dear husband, there's someone on the comm for you."
"Who is it?" a man's voice asked.
"Apparently I'm not authorized to know who she is, since I'm not a part of the military." Dame Vaako said and the man sighed, Dame Vaako vanished from the screen to be replaced by him.
"Who the blazes are you?"
"Commander Rowan Kay. I trust the Lord Marshal shared certain information with you regarding me."
"You're the breeder Commander who's going to save us all." he looked thoroughly disgusted with the idea. "And yes, Lord Marshal has divulged that information."
"Good, I need to speak with you in the Basilica on your current crisis. Gather your Commanders and meet me there in ten minutes."
"Yes ma'am." He said and the screen went dead. Rowan took a couple minutes to properly clean and oil her blade in the sink in her bathroom before leaving the room and making her way back to the Basilica. The Commanders were already there and they stared at her as she walked in and stood at the head of the table, a position usually held for the Lord Marshal.
"Gentleman, for those who don't know, I am Commander Rowan Kay of the Elemental Elite Forces, Fire Unit. That means that I command the entire Fire Elemental army and its forces. But I am also the breeder who is going to save all of your asses."