Sorrowflame

The battle began suddenly.

Taurus was the most industrialized planet ruled by clones still loyal to their dead ruler, not his heirs or rebels. They were alone, so they were an easy target, and most importantly, very valuable, because there was a shipyard there. That's why he chose it as the first target... of a stabilization mission. The enemy didn't have much forces here, just four standard Galactic Horde cruisers. To this you had to add twice as many ships of the destroyer rank and a few smaller ships controlled by simple AI. The main problem was that the enemy ships had a lot of firepower, and the Fearless Armada couldn't afford to loses, not at this stage of the war ... It mean stabilization missions.

The first shot belonged to the battleship Glory of the Fallen, whose accurate shot from her main weapon, a powerful particle beam capable of conducting orbital bombardments, may have decided the outcome of the engagement. He took the shields off the first cruiser, and the plasma cannon and antimatter missiles damaged it badly enough to put it out of combat. Necessary Measures, the Hellknight Cruiser led the attack on the next one and, along with the cruisers Goldsun and Silvermoon , caused it to burst into flames, mainly due to the hellfire torpedoes. At that time, the spacecraft carriers launched fighters that intercepted enemy drones. The combat was fierce, the Horde Fleet lacking coordination but making up for it with firepower. He couldn't afford to prolong the fight unnecessarily, but that's why he prepared a plan. Invincible and the torpedo ships took cover in the shadow of the moon and caught up with the enemy from behind, where he had deployed most of his shield energy to cover the front. They fired a volley of torpedoes and shells. When he saw on the holographic display that the last enemy cruiser was destroyedin a nuclear explosion, he almost smiled, for he had won his first victory, but it was only the beginning and his situation had become much more complicated.

The occupation of the shipyard was a mere formality. The planetary invasion was much more challenging. Taurus had a single mountainous supercontinent , inhabited mainly by relatives of the Nuar and Ghorans , who apparently simultaneously colonized the planet thousands of years ago. There had been an uprising on the planet since the fall of Prime, and the Loyalists now controlled only a relatively small but highly industrialized region, where more than half the population lived. The main rebel advance was held back mainly by the threat of orbital bombardment. Now, however, with the fleet annihilated and the promise of support from the Fearless Armada, they struck furiously at a long-hated enemy, and Lord Admiral Antares was not one to stand between a furious warrior and the object of his hatred. They had better die instead of his soldiers, their lives were more important. The Fearless Armada took over the capital. Dropships came down from orbit, shielded by orbital fire and fighters. The fight was fierce and the opponent, at least as far as the clones were concerned, was highly trained, but they couldn't coordinate their efforts without their Big Brother's supervision, so they just cleared building after building. The first assault was led by soldiers from Veskarium , firmly convinced that it was an honor, he had no intention of dissuading them of their error. He also sent riffraff under Lady Ka to conquer better fortified places that were away from more densely populated areas. Losses among them could always be easily replenished, and the machine guns standing behind them were great for morale.

In the second assault, after taking the bridgehead, he participated alone, Together with his Star Orphans, and was joined by the Lady of Blades, with her HellKnights. He loved being in the heat of battle, only then could he give vent to the emotions dormant in his heart, could ignite the cold flame that burned in his soul. His soldiers loved him for it. But this time everyone fought with double ferocity. The former exiles of Tarak this time did not wage a pointless and endless war with the swarm, nor did they clash with the armies of one warlord for another warlord. This time they were fighting for their future, for their home.

The fighting lasted three days and the help of local insurgent forces made the task much easier. Only the citadel towering on the former holy mountain remained unconquered, but that was a matter of the near future, for now he had to discuss more important matters with his allies. It was evening, though it was still too bright for Lady Sorrowflame and she had to shield herself with a shader field . They were in a park full of small trees and bushes, near a picturesque lake. Apparently, the park was previously privately owned by Horde Prime, and only he was allowed here. For a demented dictator, he had a surprising fondness for idyllic landscapes. It might not have been the safest place, but he always liked taking risks, within reason of course. Lady Ka and Lady Sorrowflame were here , as well as Commander Reese , who was injured in a space battle. There was, of course, Asindesa di Vir, who as always gave the impression that she would rather be somewhere else, probably on the battlefield. Veskarium was represented by a huge Veska named Zare , whose face was scarred from burns. The pact worlds were represented by the silver dragonkin, Tarel , who showed some reluctance towards him, although her masters ordered her to cooperate closely with his armada.

"What losses?" He turned to Lady Ka

"Glory of the Fallen and Goldsun suffered some damage, we also lost two fighters and two support ships. The losses among the land forces are five hundred soldiers and eight hundred of my niceties, butit is no loss, new ones will be recruited soon. All in all it went fucking great." the woman giggled. Zare looked at her with the utmost contempt and drawled.

"A wise commander is not fooled by early victories caused by the enemy's unpreparedness, for it can easily lead to a fall."

He nodded appreciatively.

"Indeed, we must not get carried away with a feeling of triumph and consider victory a foregone conclusion." he said thoughtfully. "That's why I chose this planet. We will not only gain an economic base here, but we also eliminated an enemy who was considered an enemy by all factions present in the region, so theoretically everyone sees us as potential allies, so we have some room for maneuver. The only question is who will we ally with now."

"The natural ally seems to be this Etheria. Although it is said to be a chaotic and disorderly place, its inhabitants seem to be the most willing to help. And they have She- Ra'a, the demigod who annihilated Horde Prime" Asindesa di Vir said in an uncharacteristically friendly tone.

Veska snorted.

"Let me remind you that it was because of what the inhabitants of this planet did that this expedition was organized. They had tried to destroy Veskarium once before in a cowardly and dishonorable way. Besides, we know that the entire war fleet they have are captured ships of the Horde. Horde Ultimate has brought order to his empire and is trying to reform his army. It's always wise to ally with the strongest player." she said in a voice that held the typical Veskarian arrogance. Not long ago he would have considered her words, but now everything has changed. The whole thing just got a lot more personal.

"When you ally with the stronger, it's like voluntarily acknowledging their superiority." He looked at Zare , on whom very consciously chosen words had the intended effect. "If I have to choose between a warlord or fanatics, I will choose a warlord, but if I can choose, I will choose a hero." he said in a hard voice and saw Commander Resee smiling proudly at his commander. "Which doesn't mean we won't make a pact with these Horde Ultimate . But first we must consolidate our position and get rid of our Heavenly Brothers."

Everyone nodded their heads in recognition of this consensus. However, Tarel asked suspiciously.

"But what about this planet? I take it we won't leave her alone?"

He looked at her with searching eyes, trying to see through her intentions, and spoke in a serious voice.

"The interim government we have set up will take over the responsibility of managing the planet and supporting the war effort."

The dragonkin fluttered its wings nervously with undisguised indignation.

"I guess the locals should be allowed to choose their own government after so many years of occupation, don't you think?"

He shook his head sadly.

"Unfortunately, after ... a quarter of a century of occupation, and so brutal, the basic state institutions have disappeared here and the locals need time to recreate them. You must also consider that the local rebel groups may have trouble coming to an agreement and a civil war is about to break out here, and these are the most brutal of all." he explained to his companions, but the dragonkin bared her fangs in a mocking smile.

"You know it best. she pointed out to him, but he answered her without showing any resentment.

"Indeed, I know more about this than any of you, and therefore I would not like anything like that to happen to Taurus. After that, it's about more prosaic matters. We need the industry of this planet and its inhabitants to carry out this operation. We cannot allow local conflicts and vested interests and the cries of defeatists to stand in our way." he explained, and Zare supported him. Tarel looked at him long and finally asked.

"And what do you think the task we have to do."

"We have the most important task of all. To win." Lord Admiral Antares said, almost smiling.

The council continued for half an hour, during which they discussed the most important matters, at least officially, and when everything was discussed they went to their quarters, but the Lord Admiral ordered them, her and Lady Sorrowflame, to stay here. She looked at the statue of Horde Prime standing on the pedestal and smiling crookedly said.

"For a guy who talked so much about his own perfection, he had a fucking asymmetrical face, don't you think, boss?" she asked, barely refraining from touching the mask.

"It is characteristic of fallen tyrants not to see their own mistakes and their hypocrisy." Antares said in a serious tone. She laughed briefly.

"As has already been said today, you know something about it." she said in a sarcastic tone.

"There is a difference between a strict but fair leader and an insane tyrant." said the Lord Admiral sharply.

Just semantic, she thought, but said with a shrug.

" The truest of the hellknights is eager to reach Etheria. My sixth sense tells me that she wants to meet the beautiful Lady Cala or her bitter teacher as soon as possible. I'd bet on the latter, because they both act like they have sticks in asses."

"It's interesting and may be useful someday. These types of individuals usually have trouble reconciling their mission and their own feelings." he said thoughtfully.

"I expected you to drop everything yourself and fly to Etheria after all the news you've received." she said cautiously, and her commander thought for a long time about his answer, until finally he spoke in a tone full of thought, such as she had never heard from him.

"I have time... Now I have time my dear Left Hand. But I'll be going there soon, as soon as things settle down here. I can't be late for the big day. You're coming with me too, I'd rather have you with me."

She pursed her lips angrily, understanding the ambiguity behind his words, but kept silent and instead took out a briefcase full of documents.

"We still have an issue. Capturing the Citadel. It is heavily defended, and underground there are huge resources that will allow us to defend ourselves for many months, and which will be useful to us. "She said and pulled out another sheet and continued. "We have the following options. Orbital bombardment may be the easiest, but there's a good chance you'll destroy parts of the city with missed hits." she said, the Lord Admiral grimacing in irritation.

"This would complicate our plans and spoil relations with the locals. This idea should be rejected."

She nodded and said.

"The siege will take us several months, especially if we want to minimize losses, but it will also be expensive. The assault is the fastest, but we will also suffer the greatest losses during it, perhaps up to five hundred soldiers, although we will then take over the most resources gathered there. Perhaps the best approach is to gradually infiltrate during the siege, although this will require intelligence gathering."

Her commander grimaced and sighed heavily.

"If necessary…" he continued, but Lady Sorrowflame spoke up for the first time that day

"I will take care of this. she said, and when they both looked at her in surprise." she continued. "As soon as dusk falls, I will take this fortress for you, my lord. We will demonstrate the power of the old days to this place and, by the way, we will test the Dread Walkers and Colossi of Horror. I owe you for not being able to serve you properly during the uprising. In return, I have only one request from you… Take me with you to this Etheria when you go there."

The Lord Admiral thought only for a moment, then answered him.

"All right, if you do it during this the night... But you'll be incognito there . "

"It's even better." Said the red-haired woman and in a smile bared two fangs, as if made of black crystal, too long for a human.

"I tell you, there is no finer man than the Lord Admiral, and he is so incredibly handsome!" Shiren girl exclaimed Ashurk with delight in his voice. The strange Insectoid was dressed in a short skirt and had colorful ribbons attached to her antennae. She was incredibly talkative and raved about absolutely everything, and she was constantly checking her datapad , which she called Cunnyphone. She'd joined them recently and was getting more and more annoying to Tallstar, who was slowly considering knocking her out and leaving her in a diner full of celebrating soldiers, where she would be safe, then telling her she'd been hit by a falling meteor. She was sure she'll believe them.

They were in Angus, the capital of Taurus. They had never been to this planet before, it was too well protected by the fleet. Glimmer assured that it would be the first place they would liberate after the pact creating a galactic rebellion was signed and a joint fleet could be established. However, it need time... Or a Research and Exploration fleet. They'd only been members for a week, and already they were in a victorious battle, and though they were, perhaps that was too much to say. They waited in the transports with the rest of the deep reserve troops, but she was still impressed. Her brother had complained that they weren't allowed to fight, but she was almost content… almost, because several things that were happening around her made her uneasy. Jewelstar said he was getting paranoid, and Starla said she just couldn't be happy, but she'd saved them all too often with her instincts not to trust him this time.

But she had to admit that there were advantages to serving in the Research and Exploration Fleet. She smiled clenching her fist. Almost immediately after joining the Fleet, she received her new wonderful prosthetics. They were lighter and stronger, and more importantly, they did not jam or hang on the launcher lines erratically. But the most wonderful thing was that she regained full feeling. Again, she could feel the texture of bread, the warmth of a cup of tea, the feel of someone's skin under her fingers... she wished a little that nice mercenary was here, because the inhabitants of the planet did not match her species preferences, but there were many beautiful women in the Research and Exploration Fleet. Maybe she'd help her sister find a boyfriend, but Starla was a romantic and wasn't content with the short-term relationships the mercenaries expected.

As a long-time rebel, she wasn't surprised by how complicated Fleet relations were. There were a lot of groups here who disliked each other but were able to work together to achieve this astonishingly quick victory. There was more species, ethnicity, and culture here than even on Etheria. She had learned the complexity of the social relations that prevailed in the Galaxy, and which this army was a reflection of.

There were conflicts here on many levels. The first was between the mercenaries who had been in Antares' service for many years and those who had been sent here by the governments of the two great powers in the galaxy. The soldiers or mercenaries serving the Lord Admiral were close to each other. Some, the oldest ones, came from Tarak , Lord Admiral's planet, and others were descendants of those who had fled from there. Supposedly there was some kind of war there, and wicked opponents drove out their leader and all the citizens fighting for freedom, though at this point the whole story was getting muddy and unclear. Others joined the Fearless Armada, as they called it, during the thirty years of war it fought, most notably against the Swarm, which was a fearsome enemy said to be the bane of the galaxy. Many were war orphans or those who joined the Armada to defend the galaxy from this terrible threat. But the rest were lured here by dreams of glory and wealth. She had met many mercenaries in her life, but never one who could afford to hire her own private mercenary army, but in the end the universe turned out to be much bigger than she ever imagined…

However, the other participants of this expedition did not appreciate the presence of their new commander, precisely because of his mercenary background. Professional soldiers looked down on those who sold their services for money, though they also despised each other. They came from the two great powers of the galaxy: the Pact Worlds and Veskarium . The former were very diverse in every respect and more friendly and open. Veskarium 's soldiers were mostly Veskas, huge lizards for whom dying in battle was a dream come true. They scared her a bit, she had to admit, especially since their interpretation of Honor was…controversial. Besides these, there were felines, though more animal than Catra, named Pahtra , and Skittermanders, the same species that took care of Wrong Hordak They were kind and helpful, but in such a way that her head hurt from being around them.

But what they all had in common was contempt for those led by Lady Ka. They were supposedly criminals of various kinds, recruited from the prisons or slums of all the planets the Fearless Armada frequented Lady Ka commanded them with an iron fist and apparently sometimes shoot to them. Used them as cannon fodder and sent them into the hardest fight, but supposedly they had the right to keep everything they raked, as long as they give their commander's share.

But they weren't Tallstar's greatest concern . She had the feeling that there was an aura of mystery surrounding them. From what they understood, no one in the galaxy was aware of the existence of Horde Prime , and many thought that the Swarm was on the prowl here in the Ravaged Zone, as the Empire was known. When it turned out that it was "only" a mad Tyrant, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief. She bitterly stated that if they had come here when Horde Prime was still alive, they would have talked differently, they would have regretted ever knowing his name. Of course, many were shocked to see planets whose inhabitants were slaughtered. Many had tears in their eyes. Many sympathized with them, especially when they found out what happened to their family. Sometimes they were even admired for their long struggle with such a powerful enemy. but no one understood anything. No one quite knew the reason for this expedition, but everyone was convinced that it was about some great threat lurking in the zone.

And then there was the Starstone that the Lord Admiral had been asking them about. Everyone, even the Veskas, spoke of him with almost reverence. It was said to be the most powerful artifact in the galaxy. It was located at the center of the giant Absalom Station and enabled the use of Drift Drive, thanks to which it was possible to travel across the galaxy at lightning speed. Some said that this artifact, in ancient times, allowed mortals to become gods, though she was skeptical of such words, for she had never believed in the existence of gods. But there was something else, apparently there was another similar artifact somewhere around here. She had serious suspicions about where he might be, and that made her uneasy.

Now they were at the top of the observation deck of one of the skyscrapers. It was empty because it was near the citadel, the Horde's last stronghold, and many feared that the clones might retaliate by shelling the city, and that would be their first target, though she doubted they would, as they had previously avoided destroying the city, probably because of Big Brother's old orders. Fear, however, did not prevent the inhabitants of Angus from celebrating the liberation in the streets . Probably moonshiners, who will be able to sell their goods openly for the first time in years, will earn a real fortune. There were bursts of fireworks in the sky, as well as images of magically created illusory mystical creatures straight from legend. She had to admit that the Lord Admiral knew how to celebrate a victory.

"It's a pity we didn't meet any of the Ghoran here. They are so kawai. I would take many pictures with them. Can we look for them? My subscribers on Atrax will be delighted.

She looked at Shiren girl wondering if she was that stupid or just pretending, and her brother replied in a grim voice

"The Flores, as they were called here, aroused the extreme reluctance of Horde Prime , as he suspected them of having a collective consciousness, so he had them slowly exterminated until he found them quite tasty, then ordered the purges to stop, only ordered the local population every year elect a thousand representatives to celebrate the annual conquest banquet."

"Oh, that's great!" Ashurk exclaimed in delight, but her brother rubbed his forehead and explained with absolute calmness.

"He invited them as a main course..."

Shirren antennae first dropped in horror, then rose in delight.

"Oh, the oppressed people, who I helped liberate! You can't even imagine how many likes I'll get when I post videos with them!" she said in an excited voice . Tallstar felt her eyelid twitch. Even the very positive Starla was…confused.

"You must come from a very unusual place." she said slowly, but Ashurk ran over to them and started talking, showing her pictures on her Datapad .

"Atrax is a wonderful place! Look!" she said with delight.

Talstar rolled her eyes. Most of the photos showed a gloomy industrial city with virtually no sun. She was unfamiliar with the Shirren, few Insectoids can be found in the Empire. Horde Prime was particularly ferocious about these types of creatures, probably fearing their collective consciousness, but Ashurk rather looked like someone who liked things shiny and colorful… But one of the photos caught her attention.

"Wait…" She said commandingly. Shirenka did as instructed and Tallstar and her siblings saw an image of a cat girl. For a moment she thought it was Catra, but then they realized she was younger, twelve or thirteen, with dark brown hair that was straighter than their friend's, and her eyes were gold with blue flecks. She was lying in a hospital bed, and was glaring at the person taking the picture, as if she wanted to hurt him. But what caught their eye the most was the hand. It was metal, with no moving parts. She had recently seen such a prosthesis.

"What was her name?" she asked carefully.

"Teti or something like that, but it doesn't matter at all, because she's mean. After all, a cat girl is supposed to be sweet and adorable, and this cat pounced on me and threatened to rip my antennae out and poke my brain out through my eyes, and all I wanted was to cuddle and take some cute pics. Shirren gir shouted in a voice full of holy indignation.

"Cat girls don't like to be seen as cute and adorable and VERY value their personal space," said Jewelstar, looking down at the insectoid and Tallstar she tried to recover from the shock. "So we missed… who exactly?" she thought, not understanding what she had just seen. But before she could analyze everything, Starla called her.

"Look! She pointed to the river below the citadel. As she put the binoculars to her eyes, she saw an attractive woman with fiery red hair, whom she recognized as Lady Sorrowflame . The woman took off her robes and began to transform. Her body was torn apart and grew, then reassembled into something this corner of the universe hadn't seen in thousands of years. A dragon stood there, not as small and humanoid as Alatar. It was a gigantic red-colored monstrosity, capable of swallowing any one of them whole. And so another legend returned to their world, but this time it was one of those legends you dream of in nightmares... There was a roar that chilled hearts and souls, and the dragon spread its wings and took off into the air. As it circled over the city, casting its dark shadow over it, she saw that its belly was covered with armor plates. Even legends have to adapt to a new world. Then he sped towards the citadel. She felt sorry for the clones.

Lady Sorrowflame felt the great terror she spread around her. Where her terrible shadow fell, the cries of joy fell silent, and she felt the horror that embraced the mortals here. They had reason to be afraid of her. She was once known as Ashaq The Annihilator and she was able to destroy a city during time, when she was alive . Now she was one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the galaxy and was able to destroy armies and tear apart space battleships. But the inhabitants of this city could feel safe, at least today. It was not against them that she intended to direct her fury. Horde Prime's spawn will taste the horror of days gone by, for doom was coming , an avatar of death itself was approaching .

However, she was not alone, she was accompanied by the Dread Walkers and the terrible Colossi of Horror. The wonderful creations of Necrotechnics , its most perfect creations. Her monster children. They were all covered in gold and red armor that hid their monstrous nature. Dread Walkers were armed with metal claws capable of cutting even steel armor.

In addition, they were poisoned with a venom that acted similarly to Ghoul poison, which paralyzed victims. They were fast and deadly in combat, and it took great firepower to knock them down. While they battled the swarm hordes, they wreaked havoc on his ranks. Their production was not expensive, although in her case it was quite time-consuming, because it did not allow the process to be automated. Things were different with the Colossi of Horror. It was difficult to obtain bodies of the right size. They were four meters high and their armor was stronger than that of tanks. She carried out many cyber and necrotechnical modifications that increased their physical capabilities to an unprecedented level. They also had self-healing systems, because creating them was so difficult. They were armed with flaming morningstars or crionic axes, and all had shields. Only a few were armed with electric halberds. Each of them also had one eye that shot deadly beams of radiation. Although they were undead monsters, in their beautiful armor they resembled great knights created to fight evil. They were like the entire Fearless Armada. Noble decorations hiding the dark interior. Dread Walker and Colossi of Horror were dropped from the air. When they fell, they curled up into a ball, so they were not injured.

However, she herself was also the work of a necrotechnics genius . Though she didn't remember it due to the Gap, she has undergone many modifications . The implants made her fitter than any dragon. Her scales, especially her belly, have been replaced with pure adamantium carapace . Her claws were also made of this metal. Fangs, in turn, created Voidglass. She was something a hundred times more perfect than that demented buffoon of Horde Prime , though she brought darkness instead of light.

She glided over the city shrouded in shadow, her body surrounded by a personal energy shield. Her dead troops went on the attack. Then she herself began to descend. As soon as the clones detected her, they began firing, but while the Horde's weapons had terrible power, they were inaccurate, so they easily dodged the shots. It flew over the largest cannon and allowed itself to be hit. The beam pierced her shield, but adamantium stopped the beam. Then she opened her mouth and breathed out the black flame of decay, from which she derived her name, Sorrowflame . Necrotic energy penetrated the shield and armor, disintegrating metal and flesh. Then she dug her claws into the walls of the citadel and began tearing them apart, and when it was done she burst inside the building.

It was breaking through the interior of the building, followed by its creations, spreading death and destruction. It devoured enemies whole, absorbing their life energy. She knew it would satiate her hunger, nothing could do that, but it didn't matter now, for she was filled with dragon fury. Even the fearless clones fled in panic as the necrotech monsters pursued them. She stood in front of the last of the clones, surrounded by Grooves , reverted to her human form and, standing naked in front of him, came closer.

"My death doesn't matter. Horde Prime will return and…" He spoke in a religious voice, but Lady Sorrowflame put a finger to his lips.

"Shhh. Everything will be fine. Soon you will serve a new and better lady…for eternity." and then she sank her black fangs into his neck…