Page 302 of Scorching the Alien Empire
“Okay, I swear on Todd’s booties I won’t get mad, but—” Princesa gently strokes the grub’s squishy back, eyes narrowing beneath her lashes “—did you mess with the vote?”
“My lips are sealed,” Rocks says, dragging two fingers across her mouth with dramatic flair.
“Oh,come on!” Princesa groans, whirling to glare at Voryx. “Hey! Surfer Bro!” she yells across the chamber, interrupting his hushed talk with Chieftain Aelioth. “Whoactuallygot your vote?”
Voryx freezes like he’s just stumbled into a den of angry venefexes. His gray eyes dart between the two glowering Earth women.
“Uh...” he stutters, blue top-knot quivering like his pathetic heart. “Well... you see...” His gaze flicks to Krogoth and me, as if we might provide covering fire.
The cowardly letch is lucky I let him keep his head.
“I don’t recall,” he finally blurts, barking a desperate laugh and scratching the back of his neck.
“Are you fuckingseriousright now?” Princesa sighs, tossing her blonde hair as she mutters. “This humble pie tastes really bitter, Dracoth.” She glances up at me, expression sulky.
“You show restraint worthy of a true Chieftainess,” I growl, tone flat, though pride coils warm in my chest.
Princesa brightens instantly. “Yeah, I totally do.” She chuckles, fluttering her white-scaled sneachir cloak like a war banner in a storm.
“Rest easy,” Krogoth rumbles. “Things are as they should be. The Imperator and his Consuls will not move against us. Not openly.” His fangs flash as his face hardens. “They need us more than they’ll ever know.”
I nod, feeling a pressure lift that I hadn’t even known I carried.
Princesa places a hand to her scorched runic skin. “Well, good. Because I’m rather fond of this—”
Movement cuts her off.
Nebians pour into the chamber—laser rifles, violet-plated Battlesuits, forming a tight perimeter.
Obvious. Blunt. A disgrace to supposed allies. It reeks of fear, thinly veiled by pomp.
Consul Catokar and Juliara enter next, noses held high despite their tiny stature. Juliara sneers as she passes us, her blonde braid swinging like a challenge.
“All rise for Imperator Bulba,” booms a mechanized voice, echoing off stone and alloy, “Fourth of His Name. Protector of the Twin-Sunned Empire. Slayer of the Scythians!”
Bulba floats in atop a levitating disc, ascending toward the muraled ceiling—a battle of the heavens. He is the chief participant. His glowing Elerium eyes scan the chamber. Not warm this time. Hard. Cold. Measured.
The chamber shifts.
Stone statues embedded in the far wall groan to life. A portion slides forward, seamless and deliberate, forming a towering, tiered balcony draped in imperial purple, runes of gold gleaming in the spinning orange-blue spheres above.
“Papa Smurf looks pissed,” Princesa whispers, silver eyes dancing with mischief. “Guess we’ll cheer him up with the good news.”
The Imperator descends to the balcony’s apex, arms raised high. His twin-toned head-disc aligns perfectly with the painted twin stars above—as if heistheir living symbol.
“Now,” Bulba says at last, smiling wearily as his gaze drifts between Krogoth and me, “Such a contest I’ve never seen in all my years. That you both stand before me, whole and hale, is truly a testament to Nebian medical genius, is it not?” One bushy white brow arches.
“Our thanks, Imperator,” Krogoth replies, casting a glance at the surrounding warriors and Battlesuits. “Your care and hospitality have beenrobust.” A smirk tugs at his lips.
“You bristle at our necessary precautions, High Chieftain?” Bulba snaps, heat seeping into his ancient voice. “Though I didnot witness the contest in person, our readings suggest—” He turns to Consul Catokar, frowning. “How did those fools phrase it again?”
“They claim,” Catokar drawls, shaking his head with theatrical disdain, “Their speed and power outputgreatly exceeded natural limits.”
“Natural limits—exceeded!” Bulba repeats, throwing his stubby arms to the faux heavens above. “And when I asked for alogical explanation, do you know what they—the greatest minds in the cosmos—told me?” He leans forward, not waiting for an answer. “Inconclusive.” He shakes his head, white hair drifting like falling snow. “Leoxius wept.”
“So forgive a little caution on my part, High Chieftain. Between your... vortexes and that barrier that trapped my starfighters...” He casts a sideways glance at Consul Juliara, whose lip is curled in disdain. “Some here believe we ought to leave you here. Quarantine the entire sector.”
“Their very existence is an affront to everything we hold dear,” Juliara snaps, jabbing a finger at Rocks, who’s tiptoeing to whisper into Krogoth’s ear. “That...humanshe didsomethingto my mind. Something most invasive.Illogical.”
