A/N- This was an interesting one-shot for me to write. It's a sequel to the Orc Empire I series, especially 'The Colony Builders' as it features almost all the characters I introduced at the start of that story and a couple of major supporting characters introduced later in the story. However, while I may do an extended standalone version in the future, this story is meant to fit more with this series of one-shots.
Orc Empire: Remembrances/Operation Kuro7
Fandoms- Warhammer, Harry Potter (Mention), Kuroinu: Kedakaki Seijo Wa Hakudaku Ni Somaru (Mentions)
Thousands of years ago, an Emperor reigned over twin empires called Outer Heaven and Mordor. Over the years, this Emperor fought a man who'd stood up to dark lords and wannabe kings and tyrants. Over the millennia, the pair fought.
Until they both lost. Their final battle fought in the hills outside of some unremarkable city and they were obliterated.
Centuries passed and peace reigned throughout the world. They knew a world where wars had become much rarer, if not entirely nonexistent. Unfortunately for the world, the peace was soon going to end. In a fiery, desolate land, some of this Emperor's followers mournfully remembered him in the dark tower he once called home.
"Well, here we are... How many years has it been since he died?" A young looking man asked.
"It's been two thousand, four hundred and ninety nine years, Charlie. I remember the day we first met you. Me, Shoko and the Emperor had been raiding enemy bases for materials that day and we'd split up so we could each do our own thing. By the time he'd introduced you to us, you were never turning back." Skak replied. It had been many thousands of years, tens of thousands even, since those times when Charlie had joined the cause of their Emperor, Samgon Gobsger.
"Your human family never looked at you the same way again, did they?" Torveck asked with a knowing grin tinged with melancholy.
Charlie had a bit of a drink and then gave a sudden announcement, taking all of his Greenskin comrades by surprise. "I've been doing research recently on a number of similar universes. I reckon we could take them over and use them as a means of restoring our supremacy over our enemies."
Shoko scoffed. "How would going to war with another universe help restore our supremacy?" Rhonikal was mentally trying to figure out the logistics even though Charlie hadn't said anything about where he was thinking of attacking. Grom, Drageck and Az-lar looked receptive to the idea of restoring their supremacy but looked sceptical, doubtful it could be accomplished with their present resources. The years hadn't passed by fruitfully for Samgon's former commanders.
"I've focused in on one universe and I think we can exploit the situation there to our advantage." Charlie said. He then spoke about his target to his comrades. "It seems there's been a war going on there for quite sometime."
"Do tell..." Skak said, willing to hear Charlie out.
"There's this universe and a war is being fought there." Charlie said, earning an eye roll from Rhonikal. "It's a somewhat confusing situation over there but the war is being fought between two elven queens. One, a so-called symbol good and light; apparently the physical incarnation of a goddess. The other... the queen of a dark, desolate kingdom. She seems to be in charge of the so-called monsters of the world."
"Pah, I doubt they know what a true monster is." Az-Lar said derisively. No one disagreed with what he said.
"There's one other important faction involved in this conflict." Charlie said.
"Don't leave us in suspense. I would especially like to know." Drageck said. It was clear he was craving information; it was what he dealt with after all.
"There's this mercenary group called The Black Dogs, and their leader, someone named... Volt? Vault? Vult? The exact name is unclear but I know it's roughly in that ball park." Charlie said before moving on with what he had to say. "With the assistance of the Time Strategist, I've looked at multiple versions of the universe I'm looking at currently and these dogs want or will want dominion over the lands they live in and the population, more specifically, the female population."
Drageck wanted to know about the threat that any of the factions could pose to a potential invasion force. "Are any of these opponents a threat to us? Could they turn this around on us and team up to launch a counter invasion?"
Charlie shook his head. "I consulted with both the Strategist and the Time Strategist and we came to the conclusion that given several more centuries or a couple of millennia, they could pull off a counter invasion. However, none of the three factions pose a threat to us on any level." Skak looked impressed at the research done for this potential operation.
"This is sounding very well researched. You just need a plan of attack." A voice from the shadows said. Skak, Shoko, Torveck, Az-lar, Grom, Rhonikal, Charlie and Drageck looked at each other, stunned, surprised, like they'd heard a ghost. They looked around at the shadows in the room, determined to find the source of the voice. "I take it I wasn't expected?" A face familiar to them emerged from the shadows.
"How?" Shoko asked.
"We must be having a shared hallucination... We got drunk and we're all seeing the same thing..." Rhonikal reasoned, unable to believe his eyes.
"You shouldn't be here..." Drageck said to the familiar face.
"You're dead." Skak said. It had been tens of thousands of years since they'd seen the face now standing before them.
"From your perspective, my face died many years ago. For me, I'm standing in my future." The man said non-plussed by the reaction he was getting. "I remember we fled from the Old World in a ragtag fleet of warships and set up this nation, this empire, our Mordor. This..." The man indicated to his body, "...initially died but I was reborn back into this body eventually."
"Samgon?" Charlie asked hesitantly. "How are you here?"
The man, now identified as the Orc Samgon, replied to Charlie's question. "Of course you're wondering how I got here. It's only natural. I was scooped from my time and summoned here."
"Do you know who summoned you?" Skak asked, emphasising the 'who' of his question.
The old Samgon nodded. "I do." He didn't elaborate on who had brought him to the current time period i.e. his future.
"Why?" Drageck asked.
The old Samgon looked cagey, unsure of how to answer the question without giving too much away. "I've been summoned now because of the need to preserve future developments."
This perplexed everyone but they all seemed to understand the implications of what Samgon had said. There was a threat somewhere over the horizon and they needed to be ready for it. Whatever it was.
At that moment though, the old Samgon seemed fascinated with Charlie's proposal for a major offensive. He had overheard details about the probable main opponents and that the campaign would take place in another universe. "What approach were you thinking of taking, Charlie?"
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked in confusion.
"Well, are you going to go for an all out offensive? Or maybe something more subtle?" The Old Samgon asked. It was clear to the Old Samgon that Charlie had not planned any offensives for quite some time. It was also clear to him that his followers had been more focused on maintaining this empire as it was rather than attempting to expand it.
"I hadn't got that far in my thinking." Charlie sheepishly admitted.
The Old Samgon smiled knowingly, "So I could tell."
"What are you thinking, our Emperor?"
The Old Samgon didn't catch who had asked the question but it didn't matter. He knew he could make this idea a reality. "I think that you could do a divide and conquer campaign mixed with deception. Act against one while making it appear you're teaming up with the others, then when the time is right, you can take the rest even more unawares. What are their militaries like?"
"I think that they're very ancient in military terms. I think they're all late medieval at best..." Charlie said, trailing off as he finished his answer.
"Meaning that we could smash all of them with minimal effort." The Old Samgon said with a smile.
"There are magic users there too." Charlie said.
"I'm guessing they'll be too few in number. Even with what I'm guessing are our less than ideal circumstances, we'd still win on that front too." Samgon concluded. The Old Samgon then pulled a folder of intelligence reports seemingly out of thin air and began reading them, although no one could tell exactly what he'd been reading. "Begin preparing for the new wars, my comrades. There is much to be done."
"So you're asking us to go on the offensive?" Skak asked. He was taken by surprise by what the Old Samgon had asked them to do.
"I'm not so much asking as I am telling you. You WILL prepare to go on the offensive." The Old Samgon said forcefully. This took Skak, Shoko, Az-lar, Rhonikal, Torveck, Grom, Drageck and Charlie by surprise. They hadn't expected their long dead leader to show up, let alone turning up with the much older face of the one that had led them away from the Old World and they certainly didn't expect him to begin throwing out orders. The Old Samgon then explained the current situation a bit more to his comrades. "The one who brought me to this timezone, he's asked me to take charge of both Outer Heaven and Mordor again until the time is right. When the new wars begin, you'll have to expect very tough fights ahead."
"You're not going to be fighting with us?" Grom asked. They all knew that the version of Samgon in front of them would have to return to his own time eventually but the thought of not getting to fight alongside this version one last time was a disappointing one.
"I'll be around for the opening skirmish of the new wars. After that, you'll be dealing with the new guy although I could be around a bit longer if I'm required to be by the new guy." With what the Old Samgon said, his followers suspected that the one who had summoned him here, the so-called new guy, was probably a new version of their leader who hadn't appeared yet though they didn't know the reason why and they didn't voice their suspicions out loud. "Now back to this concept plan of yours, Charlie. Tell me, how many divisions do you think you'll need for this invasion?"
Charlie briefly gripped the back of his neck as he thought about his concept of a plan that looked like it would become a reality. "I don't know. I'm not exactly sure about distances there. Maybe somewhere between fifteen and thirty-six divisions? Some heavy guns would probably come in handy too."
"Fine. I'll also arrange for a small-ish air contingent to accompany you. For the time being, the offensive is to be codenamed Operation Kuro Seven." The Old Samgon told Charlie. He then turned towards Skak. "Tell me, Skak. Mordor still has its satellite kingdoms, doesn't it?"
"They do, my Emperor." Skak confirmed. "They have been difficult to keep hold of as our enemies try to exert their influence on them but we maintain control of them."
"Excellent. While we try to organise forces for your offensive, Charlie, you have my permission to gather additional forces from the satellite kingdoms." The Old Samgon said, briefly turning back to face Charlie before renewing his focus on Skak and also on Rhonikal. "You will begin preparing a naval taskforce for upcoming operations. I will also be making sure that Outer Heaven has also prepared a taskforce for the two will be operating in concert with each other."
"May I ask why, our Emperor?" Rhonikal asked.
"Have you not been paying attention, Rhonikal?" The Old Samgon said with a bit of disbelief in his voice. "I said I'll be there for the opening skirmish of the wars to come. I won't say too much now but it's highly likely that the new guy will need extraction and will also need an escort back to either here or Outer Heaven."
"If you want to hear something interesting my Emperor, the prime Harry Potter died thousands of years ago in battle." Shoko told Samgon. The Old Samgon acknowledged he had heard Shoko but didn't give an overt reaction either way.
Skak raised a cup and gestured for his comrades to do the same. The Old Samgon did the same with a flask he had on his person even though he hadn't been explicitly included in what Skak was going to do. "To War and Victory!" Skak declared.
"TO WAR AND VICTORY!" Everyone else in the room repeated.
The Old Samgon then cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention again. "I won't remember all this when I return to where and when I'm supposed to be. Until then though, I'm going to enjoy putting my Empires back to where they're supposed to be. To be the ones at the top of the food chain. To be the ultimate predators!"
A/N- So this is the end of this one-shot but I intend for the story here to eventually go in two directions, which I do try and hint towards in the story.
I hope you enjoyed this one-shot and please review.