(Same Drill for ownership...)
Death World Subnautica...Seabase X...
A rather large sea base in the bottom of the sea, drawing power from nearby geothermal vents. Usually a research station, it was also the staring point of military recruits, commanded by Pridak...
Pridak, his experience as an aquatic organism made him perfect for building both underwater habitats and space stations. While he had a great deal of experience in siege warfare and building fortifications in planets and in space, Pridak's cruelty and his hunger for conquest were his strongest defining traits.
Worse yet, he was a deeply emotional creature; able to hold a grudge for eternity and wildly swinging between lavishing rich rewards and brutal, painful violence.
He had been known for executing a 100 man squad simply because three of them were trying to go AWOL. Make an example of the squad to show he would NOT tolerate any dissent. Brutal, ruthless, but intelligent, he was the military commander for a reason.
And for now, he was looking out the window into the abyss, lost in his thoughts.
The arena, showed on a nearby screen, remained loud as repair robots and lobotomized slaves moved to fix the destroyed fighting pit while the dozens of broadcasters in every language gave a blow by blow replay of the day's fights; hyping up the match and the matches to follow.
What the King needed now was to reassure his kingdom and its subjects in the face of the coming alien threats.
All the while, Pridak would be helping with that by training an army to help combat the threat of encroaching hostile aliens...and at the same time, eventually overtake any rebel houses.
And that was the crux of the problem. As well armed and motivated as the Galactic North was, they lacked the manpower or resources to rule the entirety of the galaxy. Their population was united by a shared culture and the worship of the old gods, but their territory was so vast they couldn't really afford to play conqueror in the long term.
By the same token, the North was so full of environmental and navigational hazards that it would be a nightmare for an occupying space force and ground army to take. Singularities, quasars, dense nebulae and more. To say nothing of the millions of space mines that Ned Stark had been building up near possible extra-galactic invasion routes.
As such, not only did Pridak need to build up a varied army, he needed to wait until things were more destabilized over there. K. Rool was taking care of that part as they waited...but for now, things had to proceed slowly...
As it stood now, Pridak was working on the most ambitious defense plan in galactic history. His goal was to build up hundreds of space mine fields, gravity traps and magnetic anti-matter charges around the core worlds; K. Rool's main holdings and those of his closest allies.
Huge space borne fortresses could be towed and moved to watch over key choke points in the space lanes or guard strategic planets.
Above all, Pridak would be collaborating with Treasure Knight to identify and guard key stockpiles of spice; which were crucial for everything from space folding of starships to the making of space marines, advanced medical healing and the boosted growth of crops depending on the type.
Now, he was overseeing some specialized recruits designed for amphibious training. Often their job was to try and survive this world, by gathering the resources they could and dealing both with great depths and savage beasts-The kind that were either huge and powerful, or the kind great at ambushing.
Water planets like Subnautica were often overlooked by the public for their strategic importance. Those deep waters which held the deadliest sea monsters were often super saturated with heavy and light metals. The sea water itself was broken down for oxygen and fuel for Star Fighters.
Without Subnautica and a hundred other ocean worlds providing fuel, the Star Fighter corps of the galaxy would grind to a halt and leave the big dreadnoughts and super heavy cruisers vulnerable.
And now Pridak was getting a little...edgy. He needed to go and kill something today.
Turning away from the window, he made his way through the halls of the base, brushing past the researchers stationed there as well.
Pridak observed the containment pen, where the juvenile Sea Emperor was growing. Tamed with Purple spice, the monster was already large enough to devour humans like popcorn. It was too valuable to attack, though Pridak relished the chance to kill something that large and deadly when full grown.
The ancient aquatic biomechanoid glanced at a Mosasaurus imported from Ark; a useful mount but inexpensive to grow, raise and tame. That would satisfy his bloodlust for now.
The Sea Emperors, yes, useful for...medical purposes, mostly. And now they were breeding this once rare species quite well.
These younger specimens were a viable and abundant source of Enzyme 42. A substance capable of not only curing the lethal Carar Bacterium, but also reversing the damage caused by Tyranid virus strains and Skaven biological weapons.
Once almost extinct, the species were now put to good use serving the empire. Purple spice allowed them to be controlled and prevented them from using their considerable telepathy against Pridak and his crews.
And made them little more vicous than usual, more than mere plankton eaters...
But enough of that now. He dove into the pool with the Mosasaurus. He knew this one. It was wild and unruly, and seemingly unable to be tamed.
Good for killing practice.
This Mosasaurus was a problem animal. The male in the tank had proven exceptionally predatory and violent. It wasn't rare or valuable enough to justify purple spice and it had only grown more violent with captivity.
For a time it paid for itself by being allowed to breed with females, but now it had begun attacking and eating the juvenile Mosasaurus. This was killing two birds with one stone as Pridak swam with his limbs extended, the monster before him opening its jaws wide.
Pridak was natural born killer. His teeth were exceedingly sharp, and his blade was made out of countless shark teeth, perfect for ripping through flesh like a hot knife through butter.
His agility and strength in the water were what he gained following his mutation. Once he had been handsome for a biomechanical being, some almost considering him 'bishōnen'. Then, during an expedition, he was exposed to a mutagenic substance by accident, mutating him into his current hideous form. A huge blow to his pride.
He powered through the water, evading the Mosasaurus' jaws. Slashing out with razor sharp claws, he tore open deep gashes and turned the water red. The rabid monster however ignored the wounds. Which was fine by Pridak.
The loss of his pride had been the start of a downward spiral. As it stood, he was arguably K. Rool's least loyal lieutenant, which was saying something. However, he couldn't turn down what the mad King was offering; his only chance to take the throne of House Nui.
His rage was focused as he thought on House Nui. A diverse house, they were responsible for much of technological and biological advancement in the galaxy. They even set up Biological Space Laborites in orbit around various Death Worlds they owned for controlled studies.
Pridak dodged out of the way of the Mosasaurus' attack, avoiding the beast's powerful hind limbs as it swam past him; the monster's strength able to snap him in two if it landed.
House Nui was positively ancient, they were old long before the Long Night. When the galaxy had stagnated culturally or technologically, Nui had paved the way to the future before retreating back into isolationism. They'd been at the technological revolution, which transitioned from sub light ships with cyro-stasis crews to faster than light vessels and eventually the space folding spice powered ships that dominated space travel today.
He made more cuts along the body of the beast, the water tuning red as he did.
As it stood now, the House's lead scientist was Ciel, a human female who'd despite her youth, was an exceptionally brilliant individual in numerous fields of science...to the point some would call her even smarter than Relius.
The Mosasaurus grew more aggressive, more frenzied, its attacking becoming more and more erratic. A lesser fighter wouldn't have known how to fight an opponent with no self preservation, but Pridak had much experience with that.
Ciel was good. The leader of the House Mata Nui had chosen her for her brilliance and her kind heart. And that really rankled Pridak. The universe was cruel, the beings who lived in it were cruel. He embraced that, and he knew the rejection of that would be the downfall of House Nui.
And with that in mind, he dove down the throat of the replied, tearing right through the insides, including the heart. A bloody, nasty finish.
Once he took over, he would not kill Ciel. Oh, no. He did like that pretty face...it would make raping her over and over again all he more pleasurable.
The dead Mosasaurus sank to the bottom of the tank. It hadn't even hit the bottom when carnivorous fish, Megapiranha, started devouring the carcass. It was cheaper than having underwater robots do the cleaning and they made excellent guards in the extended water system.
Deadly in groups, Pridak had gone out of his way to tame the carnivorous fish; using a mix of rewards and merciless beatings and even death.
His model of reward and brutal death would also work well as a political style.
Always making sure the peons beneath him were always doing what they were told, in order to evade mutilation...or worse. Indeed, despite his calm facade, everyone knew better than to enrage Pridak.
And now, he found himself thinking on forcing himself on Ciel.
Agent 47 blindsided his enemies, kililng them with often nothing but a fibre cable. Euron Grayjoy spaced his enemies and Gregor Clegane tore them limb from limb. With competition like that, Pridak needed to do something to stay noticed, stay ahead of the pack.
But Ciel, it wasn't about the sex. He wasn't like the lecher, King Dice. Sexual assault was one of the most assured ways of holding power over someone; particularly as innocent and kind as Ciel. He'd give anything to rob her of the ability to smile or love, before violently crushing her skull
Well, as he thought, not the first time, or event he 50th time...only when she was scarred beyond belief would he put her out of her misery...brutally.
But for now, more immediate matters. He walked into the main control room of the lab, where several Kremlings were working. He approached one of them. "Two weeks ago, 500 potential recruits were dropped into the extremely dangerous zones of this planet as part of their training. Status update?"
The Kremling accessed the computer readouts, nervous about the blood and chunks of flesh stuck to Pridak's frame. "So far my lord, the group's numbers have been whittled down to exactly 247. A number of recruits have banded together and are building aquatic habitats near the hunting grounds of the alpha predators in the oceans. They number at forty percent while the rest have gone alone to set up habitats in safer waters."
Pridak nodded calmly, taking in this information. He would reward the more daring ones soon...and have a little 'chat' with the others later. Hardly any room for such weaklings in the army. Not prime Marine resources.
"You did well. Continue to monitor. One more week before we gather them up." That ought to give them all time to weed out the weaker ones and leave only the best of the best.
Risk and reward, safety and caution were for merchants. A soldier needed an all or nothing attitude. They had to be able to risk everything and understand that a single slip could undo months or years of gains.
He regarded the view screens as a band of former criminals were working together to bring down a Ghost Leviathan; second largest aggressive creature on the planet. Pridak approved, according to notes, this group were a mix of professional criminals, hardened murderers and disgraced war veterans. They were looking promising. Sure, a few got eaten or killed in some other ways, but to Pridak, that was just showing how the system worked.
Pridak turned to the Kremling, "Have a new shipment of prisoners sent in next month. Select from the triple super-max prisons and select for violence and intelligence in prisoners."
The Kremling bowed. "Yes my lord,"
Pridark sneered at his underling, "And make sure that the Sarcosuchus from Ark are ready for then. The candidates need to learn to adapt to fight aquatic creatures that can travel on land."
Another nod, and Pridak walked out of the control room. Thing were going well, it seemed. But still, best not to drop their guard yet.
His thoughts turned to another military House, the Lee's, led by the Grand Marshal Braev Lee.
...Braev Lee. Bravely. How very droll.
He was a man of commitment and forwardness, always leading from the front. His elite soldiers came from Skyrim. Not a 'Death World' per say, but still quite tough to live on.
Skyrim was a tough place, but its warrior population came as a result of culture rather than simple environment. Cold and harsh, the native Nords valued strength and martial honor. They chose freely to become warriors and fighters; with every random farmer and tradesman on the planet at least devoting part of their lives learning how to fight and defend their homeland.
Braev Lee was chosen on Skyrim by the Kingsmoot upon the death of the last high King. A civil war on the planet and a Xenomorph invasion gave him a chance to prove his strength and leadership, cementing his rule.
Then there was his adopted daughter Tiny Tina. Pridak felt the bomb scars around his arm and rage consumed his heart.
Tina...a loudmouthed, crazed brat of a human who was orphaned in a terrorist attack and managed to escape experimentation that took her parents lives. She survived by going...'cuckoo' and would have stayed that way if not for Braev, who took in her in, and alongside his wife, Mahzer, and his daughter, Edea, raised her lovingly.
That little bitch had come closer to ending Pridak than anyone else had in centuries. All because of an exploding rubber ducky of all things.
As it stood Mahzer was giving Tiny a proper, classical education and rumor had it that Braev was grooming Tina to be a general or a military leader when she grew old enough.
Then there was her little friend Eilonwy.
A young girl of noble house who had cut ties with them and trained to be a warrior mage in her own right. A skilled archer capable of enhancing arrows with magic, she was already a force to be reckoned with...and paired with her snarky, feisty attitude, Eilonwy was no frail flower.
And speaking of toughness, Alternis Dim, the Dark Knight, came to mind. A orphan found in the sewers of some fancy city, he too was taken in by the Lee's, and with proper training, became one of THE deadliest fighters in the galaxy, tempered by his code of honor.
Alternis Dim was oficially Braev's Housecarl; his right hand man, his bodyguard and the man who the High King of Skyrim trusted more than any other. He has a hard man who'd helped to pioneer the taming of the native trolls and broker a peace accord with the dragons who'd once terrorized the planet for so long. he was a solid man.
Less solid but no less deadly was Gaston, a loud mouth braggart whose oficial position within the Hous Lee seemed to be Braev's drinking buddy. With the looks of a storybook hero, an exemplary sniper record and the ability to drink a space marine under the table, Gaston had helped House Lee build a lethal and effective sniper school.
But though he LOOKED like a storybook hero, his personality left much to be desired. A boastful, arrogant, boorish, sexist, ignorant pig, Gaston may had admiration from much of the common folk, but several of the higher and smarter individuals looked down on him.
Pridak included.
Yes, Gaston could shoot, he could blow off a man's head at a thousand yards with his eyes shut. That didn't change the fact that he was still a clown playing at being a soldier. Spent more time bragging about his trophies than getting out, grinding and getting kills.
Secretly, Pridak suspected K. Rool's plan to flip Gaston would backfire on him for the same reason Gaston would eventually turn disloyal to Braev Lee.
Honestly, how did Braev even becomes friends with the man? It defied all logic and reason. Pridak growled to himself. So many houses causing issues...
There were too many houses in the galaxy. Many of them only in power because their many years dead great ancestors having won their right to rule. Most of them traced ancestry so far back that nobody could prove them a liar.
They weren't like Pridak. Everything he had, he fought for himself. He had no heirs, he aimed to keep what he killed for. And he would continue to prove himself and his worth constantly with the blood of his foes. And much blood would he spill in the coming days.
Speaking of which...perhaps he should contact K. Rool. He could use the teleport to leave and go straight to the Station. But for now, he preferred to stay here and radio communicate. He found the oceans to his liking...
Pridak had no interest in the luxury that K. Rool surrounded himself with or used to buy others. The gladiator fights in particular were wasteful; simply watching killing without participating made his blood boil with frustration.
The oceans with their deadly creatures were his home. The sea creatures never lost their will to slay, to assert their bloodlust and hunger. More than that, he needed to tend his growing collection of domesticated beasts. Too often, armies with little machinery had tamed and ridden deadly monsters into battle; turning the tide against technologically superior enemies.
And to see such bloodthirsty animals charging towards you would causes anyone's heart to freeze up.
Pridak reached the communications room, approaching a monitor and pressing some buttons.
Pridak pulled up footage of a tribe of Orks who'd settled here a few centuries ago. The brutish beasts had adapted well to this water world, crafting crude war canoes to do battle with and eventually primitive submarines.
Like the rest of their species, their main advantage was in personal physical power and adaptation over intelligence or strategy.
Time to take care of them soon enough...but now...
He pressed some buttons, and waited for a few seconds...
The effect was twofold, the first effect was that a nuclear weapon detonated in the middle of the Ork encampment. That alone would not be enough to wipe them out, even the spores of the Orks would survive.
Following the mini nuke, a small army of radio controlled ghouls attacked; reanimated human bodies powered by radiation. Ghouls came in either feral variety, which were little more than mindless animals, or civilized ghouls, who were indistinguishable mentally from humans.
With these ghouls, Pridak had hit a sweet spot, making them able to use weapons without developing empathy or questioning orders.
No mercy as given, just as Pridak liked it. Better make that report. Pressing some buttons, the screen once again went to static...before K. Rool himself appeared.
"Ah, Pridak." K. Rool grinned as his military general. "I take it you are calling to give me some updates?"
Pridak gave the slightest nod to the smiling monarch. "The Ghoul Soldier Program is performing to acceptable parameters. Tests against native Ork tribes have been a resounding success. More than that, turning dead and failed soldier candidates into Ghouls is proving to be a useful way to recycle wasted potential. Among other things, the Leviathan Program is performing well."
"Good, good, and the potential recruits?"
"A little under half remain...and of those, a select few have continued their training in dangerous waters." Pridak remarked. "I'll see the situation later."
"I'm sure you will." K. Rool nodded.
"More than that, King K. Rool," Pridak elaborated, "Final plans for a defensive sphere around the core worlds and an invasion plan for the Galactic North are finalized. They only need your approval to move forward."
"Ah, before we do any of that, first we must throw them into confusion." K. Rool replied. "And my first part of that is recruiting Ned Stark as my hand."
Pridak frowned. "Beg pardon?" He ran through what he knew about such matters. "Under galactic law, control of his house will pass to his son Robb while he is your Hand. Ned will only be allowed to bring one Bodyguard with him; as is customary with your highest officers."
"Yes, and the wolves will be separated..."
"Making them easy picking." Pridak concluded with a smirk.
"Exactly." K. Rool crooned. "He just needs to accept the offer, and all will go smoothly from there."
"By this time, Lord Stark will have dealt with a Xenomorph infested derelict and a potential Skaven landing party on his private world," the King said. "He knows that his worlds are under risk and that only I can give him the means to defend all that is his."
"Never knowing his doom will be sealed." Pridak sneered. "Honor is what goes though his mind, but that's not what runs this galaxy. It's fear and blood!"
"Just be wary my king," cautioned Pridak, "That in defeating the wolves we don't neglect the invaders at our door; the Grox, the Tyranid, the Xenomorph and more. to say nothing of the spreading Skaven plague. Then it will not matter whose skeleton sits on the throne."
"Agreed." K. Rool nodded grimly. "So that is why I am counting on you to build our army to repel such threats."
"I'll give you your army," said Pridak, dropping formalities for a moment. "Give me a fleet and I'll move them to where they need to go. Give me the resources and I'll fortify all your strategic worlds and rebuild the North in your image."
"Don't worry. I will." K. Rool nodded with a dark expression. "And you'll have House Nui AND Ciel as part as your eventual reward, I promise you that." And K. Rool meant it.
The power of house Nui would be good, amazing even. When Pridak finally got it, it'd be like taking a drug. But Ciel would be his ultimate prize, his ultimate trophy of power. She'd be a message and a warning; a warning to those who were weak and a message to those who were strong what they could win in battle.
But he was patient. Like a predator he would wait, until the perfect moment to strike and rend.
House Nui was enduring, it was lasting and adaptive. But their isolationist attitude would end them.
Pridak looked down at his own claws, he was feeling the urge. It never went away, and that was good.
It kept his wits sharp and his claws sharper. It kept him alive all the years, in galaxy full of dangerous predators, insane pirates, and hostile aliens.
He himself kept his own trophies in his private questers in this base. Of the most dangerous hunts he had made.
Sentimentality made him bring up his trophy collection. It filled him with pride... and disappointment.
He had so many trophies, but never enough.
The head of the Ork warboss was the newest one. Built like a tank and shockingly smart.
Always one among a tribe of idiots, it seemed. One day, though, he would get something of great value...to show the world just what he was. The ultimate predator.
As fun as Orks were to kill, Pridak wanted enemies who could think.
Maybe one of the kings enemy houses could be worthy trophies. Or their hired guns. Rooster Cogburn had some very nice revolvers that would look good at Pridak's hip.
All in due time...all in due time.
He looked back at K. Rool, who was staring at him. "It's all understood, my lord."
Pridak forced himself back to work as he bid farewell to his monarch.
The promised day was coming.
And he would be ready for it, showing them all the life truly was red in tooth and claw.
For now there was still much polishing and refining to do with the special forces of Subnautica. The recruits were tough but the goal would be to get the right mix of brutality and mental toughness.
Wasn't good if they went UTTERYLY mad from the horrors they witnessed in the galaxy.
Madness was good in meat shields, what Pridak needed we're hungry predators.
And with the rise of aquatic Skaven monsters on various ocean worlds, they were needed more than ever.
With that in mind, he went back to the main control room to oversee the operations.
Work to be done.
Getting a working base on this water world was a constant administrative challenge. Besides monitoring recruits , corrosion of salt water needed to be fought, food stocks had to be defended from pests and scavengers and oxygen levels needed to be kept constant.
Reminded him of a time some wealthy man...Andrew Ryan, he believed, built an entire CITY called Rapture the sea to escape the noble houses and their controlling ways, making their own 'free market' government.
Naturally, due a variety of factors, like a vast social gap, lack of charity, and some kind of slug, the city collapsed into anarchy.
Ryan had been a good business man, visionary even. But he didn't give credit to the armies. Warriors and kings who let men like him keep their wealth.
In the end, Rapture was dominated by a rapacious drug dealer named Frank Fontaine. Pridak had a plan to kill Frank, but someone else beat him to it.
It was all a blur, to be honest, and the city was now a crap hole, full of addicts, mutants, and giant living marine suits.
Ah well. Their fault.
A raiding party was heading to Rapture to finish off that place once and for all. For that, Mr. Dark, a new member of the kings court, would be in charge overall.
Dark...he was a being of mystery, even Pridak had to admit. No one knew his origins or even where he came from. All that was known was he was sinister and powerful mage who showed up one day and simply offered his services to the King.
This was a perfect mission for a mage, given that they were going to a city full of people who were addicted to what boiled down to magic powers in a bottle.
Dark had shown good survival skills on this planet. And Pridak looked forward to seeing how deadly Mr. Dark could be.
Yes, everything was going well, and it would be only a matter of time before stye could truly begin.
Stark would soon come to an end, and new, massive unified rule would begin.
As it should be.