"Twice!" the Emperor declared in his rage. "Twice now, your people have failed me, Gorbak!" Only the Emperor of Outworld would be so audacious as to speak to the Shokan King in such a way. Anyone else would have been put to death on the spot. However, Shao Kahn was at once powerful, enraged, and correct. Despite his own title, Gorbak was both subservient to the head of the Empire, and also fearful of him. And both Gorbak's son and the head of his royal guard had been offered as champions of their race, and both had failed recntly. Two consecutive times, the Shokan had proven ineffectual in battling the forces of Earthrealm, and both had fallen to a Shaolin monk, whose peaceful ways were known, even in Outworld. Gorbak had no room to dispute his Emperor's claims.
"I understand, Emperor," Gorbak replied from his lowly kneeling position - one hardly befitting of one of his stature and status, but one still required if he were to keep his head. "We were all caught off-guard by the might of the Shaolin. We had assumed that Goro had simply become complacent in his status, resulting in his downfall. And Shang Tsung-"
"Shang Tsung will be dealt with separately!" Shao Kahn exclaimed, causing Gorbak to involuntarily recoil. "You are here to explain the failures of your people, not those of Shang Tsung! It is clear to me that the Shokan as a whole have grown complacent in their status. I think it is time for a changing of the guard."
Gorbak's head shot up, mouth open to protest, before the King thought better of it and bowed his head once more. "A... changing of the guard, Emperor?"
"Yes. It is clear that relying on your people was a mistake. If this invasion fails, I will face the Elder Gods' wrath and everything I have worked so hard to achieve will be for nought. I will entrust this conflict to the Centaurs instead."
"The centaurs!?" Gorbak's head shot up once again. He stood tall for the first time since entering Shao Kahn's throneroom. "This is outrageous! The centaurs have long been the enemies of the Sho-!" Gorbak was cut off as Shao Kahn delivered a fierce backhanded strike to his face, the Emperor's bladed gauntlets cutting deep into the king's skin.
"Know your place, Gorbak!" Shao Kahn commanded. Gorbak fell silent and backed down immediately. "The Centaurs have long been the enemy of the shokan, but your petty squabbles are of no concern to me. Had your own son - and the tigrar you personally placed forward to replace him - not failed, you might have had a leg to stand on. However, unlike the Centaurs, your people have proven twice now to be utterly incompetent. Your people will fill out the lower ranks of my armies. Hopefully, that will encourage you to prove yourselves worthy of my atten... What is all that commotion!?"
From outside the throneroom, shouting could be heard. Suddenly, the doors burst open, flinging the two guards standing by it across the room. Another guard came skidding across the marble floor from the outside. Finally, the culprit emerged: a female shokan of the draco lineage, pushed her way into the room, revealing more wounded guards outside and pulling along the two that had grabbed her around the waist and ankle to stop her.
"I am sorry, My Emperor!" one of them exclaimed. "We tried to stop her but-"
The Emperor raised a hand to stop him and indicated for the two to release her. They did so, stepping back but drawing their weapons and remaining close by, just in case. The intruder, typical of her race, was tall and muscular, though with some fabric stretched across her body to maintain some degree of modesty - a trait typically lacking amongst the shokan. Gripped in her four hands were six small sacks, each stained with red blood.
"Emperor Shao Kahn," she said with a bow.
Intrigued, her addressee stepped closer, passing by Gorbak and ignoring whatever expression he was wearing in response to the intruder.
"And you are?"
"I am called Sheeva, Emperor. I am one of the late Prince Goro's seven wives."
"Interesting. And why does a lowly member of the failed prince's harem believe she has to right to barge into the Emperor's throneroom, assault his guards and demand an audience?"
"I come bearing a gift, Emperor." She dropped five of the sacks one-by-one, each landing with a wet thud, as if to emphasise their number. The sixth, she held out for the emperor to take. Curious, he did so and pulled out the severed head of another female shokan.
"Agne!" Gorbak cried. "You... You killed... Then, these other five..."
"Prince Goro will no longer be needing his harem," Sheeva said, flatly. "Consider this a sign of my loyalty and devotion to your service, Emperor." She bowed deeply, lower hands joined at the palms, and upper arms stretched out above her head. As she rose back to full height, Shao Kahn lightly kicked another of the sacks to confirm that it was another head. He then fixed her gaze with his burning red eyes.
While a male Shokan could easily tower over the Emperor (as they could most anybody else), a female stood at almost the same height. And yet, despite now lacking a Shokan's natural height advantage, Sheeva stood tall, unbending before the Emperor's might. Shao Kahn's lips curled into a wicked smirk.
"You have spine, girl. Unlike your king. You have earned my respect; now, you must earn my trust."
"I will do whatever is required of me, Emperor."
"That is a given." The Emperor turned away and returned to his throne. "You may begin by removing your king from my sight. He sickens me."
"As you wish, Emperor," Sheeva replied with one last bow before helping Gorbak to his feet and guiding him out of the room.
Once back in Gorbak's assigned quarters, he demanded an explanation for Sheeva's treasonous acts. Her reply was calm and shocking to her king.
"It is treasonous to ensure our people's continued place in the Emperor's forces? It is treasonous to maintain a positive image in his eyes, even if only for one of our kind? The Emperor was so very close to replacing us entirely with the centaurs. A strong show of loyalty was necessary after two consecutive failures. And as I said, the prince hardly has need for his harem anymore."
Gorbak sat in his specially-prepared chair with four armrests. He let out a deep sigh of resignation. "You are right, Sheeva, though I am loathe to admit it. I apologise."
Sheeva shook her head. "There is no need for such talk, my King." She took a knee before him and placed a hand on his. "The loss of your son and your trusted guard both weigh heavily on your mind. You mustn't concern yourself with this conflict. Please, return home and spend time with your Queen. Take time to mourn and rest. I will take care of ensuring our Emperor's good faith."
The king nodded his head, slowly. There was nothing else left to say as Sheeva stood tall, spun on her heel and departed her King's presence for, perhaps, the final time.
Despite the lengthy blades protruding from their forearms, the four tarkatans Sheeva held by the throat were unable to escape her iron grasp. The two she held in her upper hands were slammed together and tossed to either side. The lower right was thrown into the air, and the lower left was thrown directly into him as he came back down, sending both flying across the hall.
"Pathetic!" Sheeva exclaimed, causing the surrounding tarkatans to shrink back in fear and shame. "You are the primary force of your Emperor's armies and this is the best you can muster!? It is no wonder Earthrealm has beaten Outworld twice, with warriors such as these!"
"Watch your tongue, shokan!" Baraka, leader of the tarkatans, barked back. "Your people were also beaten by Earthrealmers!"
"My people have achieved many victories over the years, mutant. The best yours have achieved was the massacre of pacifist monks!"
Baraka let out a savage cry at this insult and extended his blades. He charged forward and lunged into the air, poised to strike. Sheeva brought up her arms to grab his wrists. Before Baraka came close enough for either to strike, he froze in midair, an eerie green aura surrounding him. Suddenly, he was thrown back, hitting the ground some distance away from his enemy.
"Enough!" shouted the many voices of Ermac. "The Emperor demands unity within his forces. Just as he demands your presence, Sheeva. We will resume your training exercise, in the meantime."
Without a word, Sheeva departed the courtyard, smirking to herself as she heard the cries of multiple tarkatans, Baraka included, as the red-clad ninja casually tossed them aside with his telekinetic powers.
She arrived at the doors to the emperor's throneroom soon after. Unlike the last time she had been here, she knocked on the doors, instead of kicking it in. Multiple months had passed since then, and Sheeva had been sure to present herself far less brazenly than she had back then, opting to appear as a faithful, efficient servant instead.
She was bidden inside by the Emperor's voice. Beside the Emperor was a mirror of some sort, in which could be seen the snake-like sorcerer, Shang Tsung, as well as a woman on a small stool, her face masked by an opaque veil. Sheeva approached the throne and took a knee with a lowered head. "You summoned me, my Emperor?"
"Indeed. I have been watching your progress since you first arrived, Sheeva. I have seen how you dominate the tarkatans and push them beyond their limits. I must say, I am impressed."
"You honour me, Emperor."
"Which is why," he continued without acknowledging her own words, "I am giving you a new assignment. Shang Tsung."
The sorcerer nodded and gingerly lifted the veil from the woman's face. The first feature to come into view was her lips, painted black. Next, her nose and her milky white eyes - the telltale sign of an undead - accentuated by black eye shadow. It seemed one of the two men had a thing for the gothic look. But even without the lack of pupils or irises, the woman's distant, unseeing gaze would be clear. Finally, the veil was pulled back over the woman's skunk-patterned long hair. Only with this final detail was the woman's identity clear.
Queen Sindel - the long-dead Queen of Edenia and Empress of Outworld.
"As you can see," Shao Kahn began to explain, "my wife as now back among the living. It will take some time for her to fully recover, and then she will be the key to my designs for Earthrealm. I am entrusting her protection to you."
"I-I am honoured to accept this task, My Lord!" Sheeva practically shouted, overwhelmed by her months of hard work finally paying off.
"Do not fail me, shokan, or all of your people will suffer my wrath. Is that clear?"
"Y-Yes, Emperor!"
"Good. Report to Kano now. He will take you to the safehouse in Earthrealm, where your task will begin."
Without another word, Sheeva departed. She walked quickly through the halls towards where she knew Kano would be. Soon, all of Earthrealm would be laid to waste, and her people would be avenged. And she herself would lead the way for the Shokan to rise to prominence once again.
Originally, I was going to write a short about Kano, but while checking the bios in the MK1 prequel comic, I noticed mention of Goro's wives, and the idea of Sheeva being one of them came to mind.
