A True Patriot- A Nexus Tale

*Fort Triumph outskirts, Auroria*

Lord Vellus Tacitus stood atop the makeshift barricade that his men had erected and frowned, looking down over the devastated countryside below the rise where the Dominion encampment had been set up. As far as the eye could see was devastation and debris, the ruin of war scattered over the green fields. Shattered warbots, discharged energy weapons, and the remains of tanks were oddly intermingled with primitive spears, hammers, and bits of armor laying here and there.

As he watched, a group of people began to make their way into the battle zone, carefully picking their way over the more difficult obstacles as they headed towards what was once the first barricade line that had been overrun sometime during the recent fighting. Lord Tacitus shook his head, sighing as he watched the group.

They numbered twenty in all, their gold and red uniforms glittering in the early morning sun. Leading them was a shorter woman, her red hair visible even from where Lord Tacitus stood, and the sight of her made him frown further; a Highborn should not risk herself so when there were others to do the fighting for her, and he had already advised her that they should hold their positions until reinforcements came from Fort Triumph.

A smile made its way across his face as he recalled her response, her face twisted into a sneer that did nothing to detract from her beauty, "Aliens control lands claimed by the Emperor. It is every citizen's duty to protect His domain, and I'll not sit idly by while His citizens are enslaved and His property is destroyed. You may sit atop your wall and brood all you wish with your men, but those under my command will fight when I tell them to fight."

If he were being honest with himself, Lord Tacitus would be forced to admit that he was rather smitten with the fair Lady Flammadies and that her fire and passion only added to the long list of attributes that were, to his mind, things that made a Highborn like Biara more lovely.

It was a shame she was about to die, or worse, have her mind shredded by foul magics as she was enslaved by the alien brutes just beyond their defensive perimeter.

With another sigh, Lord Tacitus shifted his gaze, watching the smoke-shrouded wreckage just beyond where the Lady Flammadies had her men set up their defenses. Predictably, figures began to move in the smoke, slowly making their way out into the open to reveal the Osun attack force that had been rampaging all through the area over the past few days.

Huge brutes with primitive weapons and the muscle needed swing them, Osun were fearsome enemies that gave no quarter. One either killed them or was killed or enslaved by them. There was no negotiating with them, no reasoning with such beasts. As if to give evidence to this, smaller figures shuffled alongside the huge bipedal aliens, the tattered clothes and hunched backs of the figures instantly giving them away as former Dominion citizens that had been captured and forced to drink the foul Soulrot potions, effectively turning them into freak zombies fighting for their new masters. It was a scene out of a nightmare, and with hundreds of the figures now shambling from the ruins around the first barricade it was obvious to Lord Tacitus that he was going to soon have to write a report about the brave but ultimately foolish Lady Biara Flammadies.

With a roar, the first of the Osun began their charge, lashing their slaves and driving a mass of them across the debris strewn fields before the barricade. As Lord Tacitus watched, Biara's men took up positions and opened up on the attackers with a wave of withering fire, felling many of the slaves and even killing a few of the brutes with well placed shots. While admirable, Lord Tacitus knew that they would never slay enough of them to stop the group from crossing the distance to the outnumbered defenders.

As predicted, a few Osun warriors and their chattel succeeded in surviving the onslaught from Lady Flammadies and her men, their huge hammers and spears coming up as they jumped over the low barricade where the Dominion loyalists fought. Instantly the battle went from a tightly controlled firefight to a crazed melee, with Osun laying into the smaller humans that sought to stand against them.

Lord Tacitus watched with a mixture of dread and admiration as Biara rose from her position behind the barricade and aligned her mag-pistols. Even from the distance he could see her weapons bucking as she flipped them to full auto and emptied their charge into the attackers. Osun that had crossed the barricade near her were struck repeatedly, the beasts going down after they had received several wounds. One of the creatures jumped the barricade behind Biara, only to be gutted by the energy sword of a rather large, mask-covered bodyguard that Lord Tacitus had seen silently following the Highborn since she'd arrived at his command.

The bodyguard turned, cutting down several Osun slaves as they attempted to flank him, even as Biara twirled around him and crouched underneath his right arm, her mag-pistols flashing over and over and causing two Osun that were behind the slaves to quiver as they were struck repeatedly and thrown backwards over the barricade they had just climbed.

Amazingly, the first wave of Osun began to falter, even as a second wave started to make its way across the field. Biara's men had not gone through the fight unscathed, and Lord Tacitus estimated that she had maybe fifteen souls left to her. Even as he completed his count, jagged lightning arced across the barricade and struck one of Biara's men, the energy charring his armor and hurling him to the ground.

All eyes turned as one of the Osun's witches strode across the field, her magics lashing out again and this time striking the barricade before Biara. The Highborn ducked as the energy coursed over her, her personal shield flickering around her and protecting her from the brunt of the attack. The witch's magic forced the defenders to stay down as she walked the rest of the distance to the barricade and hopped over it, grinning as she brought her hands up.

To Lord Tacitus's surprise, Biara rose behind the witch, eldritch energies dancing in the air around her as she began to summon her own magics. Although he was familiar with the fact that many in the Dominion studied the arcane, Lord Tacitus had little knowledge on the subject and was shocked when Lady Flammadies shouted something incoherent and literally tore a hole through space and time. In an instant she disappeared from where she was standing and reappeared directly in front of the witch, the wake of her magic disrupting the Osun and dazing her. Biara's pistol came up and flashed point blank before the alien, the force of the weapon's projectile pitching the Osun witch backwards over the barricade even as the rest of Biara's men opened up with their weapons again, the shots flying across the no-man's land before the barricade.

It was too late to stop the second wave. Too many Osun were roaring across the field now and Lord Tacitus cursed in frustration as he watched them closing on the barricades. He had warned the foolhardy Lady Flammadies and it was a shame that she would now die when she could be sitting and having wine with him safely behind the lines instead.

Unable to look away from the impending disaster, Lord Tacitus's gaze remained glued on the distant red-haired figure as she took up a position next to her men, her mag-pistols adding to the fierce resistance the group was putting up. Just as it looked like they were about to be overrun, there was a roaring sound that shook the very ground beneath their feet, and Lord Tacitus looked up in amazement to see three ships screeching down out of the sky in a maneuver that was so dangerous only a highly skilled pilot would attempt it. Two of the ships were Dominion interceptors, proudly displaying the emblems of the Dominion on their hull and smaller emblems of the Flammadies family beneath that. The third ship was a heavily laden troop transport with cannons sticking out of the open sides on both sides of the craft.

I'll be damned; she tricked them into coming out into the open. She knew all along that she would win if her ships could get target locks on the creatures.

As if to emphasize Lord Tacitus's thoughts, the interceptors immediately began firing their cannons into the charging Osun below, the roar of the weapons discharging punctuated by the explosions that erupted from the ground amidst the alien threat. In a heartbeat the fearsome charge turned into carnage, with Osun being thrown up into the air as high-powered lasers stuck the ground over and over, searing through flesh and slaughtering those who did not immediately seek shelter.

As Lord Tacitus watched in disbelief, Lady Flammadies rose from her position behind the barricade, her warcry echoing even from the distance, her men rising with her as they jumped the barricade and fired on the aliens that were scattering amongst the explosions. The troop transport dove down, hovering just over their  position, it's side cannons firing as more Flammadies family soldiers repelled from the vessel with jetpacks, the side cannons adding to the carnage amongst the Osun.

From the smoke shrouded ruins beyond a rallying cry rose up as an enormous Osun charged forward, leading a third wave of attackers into the blistering laser fire. To Lord Tacitus's disbelief, Lady Flammadies strode towards the massive figure, marching with her back ramrod straight and her mag-pistols held low and ready by her side.

The ground erupted in explosions as massive alien beast and red-haired Highborn approached each other, the Osun commander roaring with a warhammer held high above his head, and Biara striding forward confidently, seemingly unconcerned with the carnage all around her.

Halfway across the battlefield, Biara paused, her hips shifting as one arm came up. Lord Tacitus could see the glow of her mag-pistol and the shimmer in the air around Lady Flammadies as arcane energy built, the weapon slowly overcharging. The massive Osun commander roared, picking up speed just as Biara's finger caressed the trigger.

A blinding streak of white-hot light erupted from the mag-pistol, crossing the ten feet to the Osun battle-lord in an instant. The creature stumbled as it ran, still holding its hammer in hand. Lord Tacitus gripped the barricade before him tensely as the beast neared Lady Flammadies, only to see the massive creature collapsed to its knees and slide to a halt a foot from the Highborn.

With almost delicate movements, Biara brought a leg up and put one red leather boot on the beast's chest, steadying it so it would not collapse on her. Although Lord Tacitus could not hear what she said in that moment, he saw her mag-pistol come up again and unload repeatedly into the beast's chest before she pushed the now-dead Osun commander backwards and caused him to collapse in a heap.

The execution-style death of the alien leader sent shockwaves through the already stunned Osun attack force, and their final charge faltered as more and more weapons joined in the barrage pelting them. Their morale broke a moment later, and the creatures fell back, dozens of them dying as Biara's men continued to fire on their backs, driving them into the ruins of the battlefield beyond likely for good.

As the battlefield fell silent, Lord Tacitus watched the silhouette of Lady Biara Flammadies as she stood over the fallen Osun commander, smoking mag-pistol in hand. In that moment, his admiration grew and he mentally began preparing the poem he would include with the wine he would have sent to her as a gift for her contributions to his command. As he watched her, he knew he was looking upon a fine example of a loyal citizen of the Dominion, and one whose deeds would please her Emperor in the many battles to come.

 

Crossed Stars- A Nexus Tale

*Planet Cassus. Several years ago.*

There was a soft breeze blowing through the sculpted trees of the orchard, the warm air pleasant on a summer evening. Above, the stars glimmered in all their majesty, their pale twinkle visible across the entire sky. Green eyes studied them, heavy thoughts stirring deep within Biara's mind.

It seems almost unfair, that such terrible events should unfold under such beauty. That a bloody tragedy should have such a celestial backdrop.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of weeping behind her as Kristana's broken heart was given voice. The sound was irritating to Biara, not because it was annoying but because it brought with it the torrent and rage of Biara's own broken heart. She almost envied the lowborn the fact that she could let her emotions free, could cry until her eyes were red while Biara herself was required to maintain an elegant, aloof mask over the emotions that chafed at her very soul.

This should never have come to pass. Where did I go wrong? What did I do wrong that drove him to this? That lead us to this moment?

There was little time for further consideration though, as Biara brought her gaze down from the heavens to take in the others in the otherwise empty orchard. As Biara had brought Kristana as her Second for the duel, so too had her opponent, Marcus Vedius, brought his own Second. Biara recognized him as another of the Highborn that Marcus often traveled with, and by the smirk on the man's face, she could tell that he was quite familiar with the reason behind the duel and had opinions about Biara's chances of success that were contrary to her own. As for Marcus himself, he was dressed as he always was; a brilliant red and gold coat and matching pants custom tailored to his muscular build, his black hair artfully styled such that a piece playfully hung down across one cheek, almost inviting Biara to come and push it back into place so she could stare into his sparkling eyes again.

Beyond the two who stood on the other side of the orchard, two Mechari also stood between the groups, the two having been sent by a neutral family to help aid in the honorable conclusion of the duel and feud between the Flammadies and Vedius families. Dressed in tailored suits and each carrying a case, the two separated and one walked towards each of the pairs that stood facing each other.

And so it comes to this. Innocence lost. Love a jagged blade in my heart. How could I have been so blind?

Marcus grinned at Biara from across the distance between them, his blue eyes meeting hers in a gaze that had electrifying tension in it. For months now he had mocked her, both in public and in private, spreading rumors about her, about her family. He had bragged about his conquest, about how he had 'rutted with' the sole heir of the Flammadies family as well as her servants and staff, even going so far as to make up lies about how he'd had them together whenever he'd desired it. What had been a beautiful romance had become a terrible nightmare the moment that Biara had discovered him with Kristana, disguised as a lowborn.

It is sad, not only for me, but for the girl as well. Kristana truly loved him, truly believed he was of her kind. He was always so good at putting on his facade. His show was superb, even when he was with me. I had no hint of it, no way of knowing that he was simply a thief who stole hearts and broke them when he was finished with them.

The Mechari that had walked towards Biara paused in front of her, formally bowing before her and straightening. His mechanical voice echoed out, "Lady Flammadies, if you would be so kind as to bare your arm."

"Of course," Biara replied woodenly. She reached over and rolled up her sleeve, exposing her arm above her elbow.

The Mechari reached out, gently holding her arm and drawing a small blade with his other hand. Across the way, the second Mechari was performing a similar ritual on Marcus. "This will hurt, Lady Flammadies. My apologies."

"Just do it," Biara replied, her gaze never leaving Marcus.

The Mechari took the blade and made a shallow cut on Biara's arm, her blood running across her pale flesh. The mechanical construct turned, holding Biara's arm up slightly and allowing those across the way to see the red blood on her skin, even as the same was done to Marcus. Both Seconds were able to see the gesture, and Marcus's partner merely nodded, while Kristana continued her sniffling. The blood demonstrated that neither duelist was wearing a personal shield, and that they could be wounded or killed with a single shot. Honor demanded no less.

With the task done, the Mechari bent down, opening the case he had set on the ground beside him. First he withdrew a red bit of cloth, which he bound to Biara's arm around the wound. After this, he retrieved a custom-designed mag-pistol, holding it up for Biara in both palms. She reached out, taking the weapon carefully and judging its weight. She nodded once, her thumb striking the activation rune on the weapon and causing a high pitched whine to emanate from the pistol as it powered on and charged up. A moment later, an indicator on the handle turned green and Biara holstered the weapon at her hip, nodding her thanks to the Mechari.

Across the way, the second Mechari had completed the same ritual in an identical fashion at the exact same time, both of the mechanical men now stepping away from the duelists and ushering the Seconds aside as well. Biara and Marcus stood fifty feet apart, both with armed pistols in their holsters and both silent. The moment seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Just say something Marcus. Say anything to change the truth of this. Lie to me if you must. Tell me that all of this is just a terrible dream. Please my beloved, just lie to me one last time.

But he said nothing, the silence between them a wall that would never now be breached. He had dishonored her, dishonored her family, and broken the laws of the Dominion. Above all else, above her love, above her personal desires, was the Emperor and His will. She would see His will done this evening.

The two Mechari stood side by side, each holding a red cloth in their hands. They held the cloths up, Biara's eyes watching them closely. Across the distance, Marcus also keep his gaze firmly on the cloths, each of the duelists tense now. A moment later, the Mechari dropped the cloths in unison.

Everything was almost in slow motion to Biara. With lightning fast speed, her hand dipped to her holster, even as Marcus reached for his own weapon. Her nimble fingers found the handle of the weapon, as they had grasped countless other pistols over the years, the warm familiarity of the action a soothing balm to her wounded heart. The weapon came free easily, as if its natural state was to be in her hand and pointed at a foe, as if there were no holster binding it.

Her mag-pistol came up, the weapon's whine intensifying as her finger caressed the trigger. Across the distance, Marcus had his own pistol in hand, but he was slow, oh-so-slow. Too terribly slow to ever get his weapon up in time to match the speed of Biara's skill. Still feeling like the world was moving in slow motion, Biara's finger gently squeezed the trigger, the mag-pistol bucking in her hand as it spat out a single white-hot round, the projectile traveling the distance in an instant.

It struck Marcus in the chest, a hair's breath from his heart. His body bucked backwards from the impact, his own pistol discharging and spitting out a round that struck the ground by Biara's feet. Biara did not move, did not flinch as she watched in horror as Marcus tumbled backwards, his life's blood pumping from the wound. He landed in a crumpled heap, his weapon clattering to the ground. Kristana gasped behind Biara, her weeping intensifying as the love of both their lives lay still on the night-shrouded ground.

For a moment, Biara just stood still, as if frozen in time, the smoking mag-pistol in her hand. Slowly she forced herself to move, striding across the distance until she stood over Marcus, looking down at him and meeting his gaze, for he still lived. She glanced over at the Second Marcus had brought, and the man simply dipped his head in respect. The duel was over, and Biara had won. Any dishonor or disgrace was expunged, and would be spoken of no more.

She brought the pistol up, aiming it at Marcus's heart. He grinned up at her, his life-blood foaming in his mouth and making it hard for him to cough up his words, "So you've bloody won. So what?'

Biara aimed the pistol, her gaze locked with his. For a moment her finger caressed the trigger, and then her hand shook. She looked away, flipping the pistol in her hand and holstering it. On the ground at her feet, Marcus laughed, the action causing him to go into a coughing fit as his lungs filled with blood, "I knew you couldn't do it. You still want me. You always will you wretched cow."

Biara didn't look at him, her gaze returning to the heavens now. Her voice was distant and cold when she responded, as a perfect Cassian Highborn, "You have betrayed the Emperor's own edicts, and have shamed our people. I should end you now, but you are dying anyway. Suffer then, and consider what you've done in your final moments. Know that my heart belongs to Him above all others, and I will see yours torn asunder before I let you disparage his name or empire."

Behind her, Biara heard shuffling as Kristana finally let her emotions get the better of her and she dashed across the way. Biara did not look back as the lowborn sank down beside Marcus and gently lifted his head, cradling it in her lap. Kristana cried softly, stroking Marcus's hair and whispering sweetly to him, "My love, my love. I'm so sorry my love. I wanted a life together, I wanted everything you promised me. I wanted our dreams to come true."

Marcus coughed, blood bubbling up on his lips as he stared up at Kristana. A sneer crossed his face and his weakening voice whispered to her, "Get away from me, filth. If I'm to die, at least let me die with dignity without a lowborn whore's hands on me. You were a game, a thing for fun. I'd have never done it if I'd known it would end like this."

Biara's eyes closed as she heard the words, knowing that while he was saying them to Kristana, the same words likely would have been addressed at her if he were to live longer. The lowborn gave out an agonized moan that was heartwrenching to hear, and Biara knew in that moment that a soul's course had been irrevocably altered.

Kristana pushed herself away from Marcus, letting his head thump onto the ground and causing him to go into another fit of coughing as she rose, her agony coming out as a mixture of mewling and weeping that slowly was turning into boiling rage. Biara heard Kristana shift on her feet, felt her hand as it brushed against Biara's hip and clamped down firmly on the handle of the pistol. Although Kristana had no skill with the arcane, the pistol would still be a weapon in her hand even if the rounds were not specially imbued.

In that moment, Biara kept her eyes closed and did nothing. She felt the pistol lift from her holster, heard Kristana's rage come out in a scream even as the whine of a mag-pistol charging began to sound. And then she heard the weapon as it discharged over and over into the Highborn's chest, Kristana's agony finally given release in the death of her betrayer.

In the silence that followed, Biara opened her eyes and looked up to the heavens above, the cold stars almost mocking her with their beauty now. She spoke softly, never turning to look at the others present, her voice heard over the panting of Kristana's rage behind her, "Marcus Vedius lost the duel, and his life was forfeit. Our quarrel is ended. You shall tell the Vedius family that we will compensate them for the funeral costs as appropriate."

"As you wish, Lady Flammadies," Marcus's Second said politely. Although she was not looking at him, he offered her a bow and then another to the two Mechari before turning and heading off through the orchard.

As Biara stared up at the stars, she heard the Mechari begin the process of collecting the weapons and the body, Kristana's weeping a counterpoint to the ache in her heart.

Goodbye forever, my beloved.

A Small Problem- A Nexus Tale

The Protostar representative sighed, reaching down to straighten his tie and brush non-existent lint off of his jacket one more time. The green alien turned as the door behind him slid opened on its power coils, another identical Protostar clone entering the small office. The newcomer, a Grade 1 Real Estate Agent, nodded once and spoke in a clipped tone, "The client is here."

Sighing again, the Protostar representative arose from his place behind the desk, moving briskly past his subordinate and into the room beyond where they kept materials and supplies to upload into the holographic housing displays that guests and customers could view in the main room. As he walked towards the showroom, the alien paused, reaching a hand out to push aside a curtain that divided the backroom from the show space. He parted the curtain just enough to peer through without actually exposing himself to the room beyond.

This early in the day the showroom was empty, which was exactly why he'd arranged the meeting for this time. It took him only a second to spot the person who'd come to see him, and he took a moment to study her.

Across the room a Highborn Cassian woman stood, peering at display of a magnificent Cassian estate. Long red hair fell to her mid-back as she peered over one of the cloth ropes that kept visitors from touching the display.  She wore a red and gold outfit that playfully hinted at being the attire of a corsair while plainly having been made of the finest material that money could buy. Her ears were encircled by golden jewelry that sculpted her eartips into the pointed look of the Luminai, although the Protostar representative knew that she was an ordinary human by her height. Standing at no more than five foot, two inches, the woman would hardly tower over anyone as a Luminai might and in fact was likely shorter than any of Protostar's workers, especially given that they were all the exact same height!

As the alien began to push into the room he paused one last time, noticing for the first time that two rather hefty looking mag-pistols rode on the Cassian's shapely hips. He swallowed hard, noting how each of the pistols blinked with a merry green light on the handle indicating that they were fully charged. He straightened his tie one last, unnecessary time before pushing past the curtain barricade and into the showroom.

"Excuse me, Lady Flammadies? Lady Biara Flammadies?" he said politely, plastering a salesman's smile on his face.

The Cassian woman turned, her green eyes studying him and a smile playing across her lips. Although the Protostar Representative was not all that familiar with humans, he could tell she was young, likely just an adult and probably attractive for her kind, not that he cared much. She dipped her head towards him, her voice as soft as he'd imagined it would be and hopefully would remain, "Yes, good morning! And please, just Biara if you will. Formalities are for their time and place, but not when I am shopping hmm?"

The alien nodded, swallowing again before replying, "Yes, of course. I do apologize for calling you in so early in the morning. You see, there's been a bit of a...problem with your purchase. Yes, a problem! However, Protostar is here for you, and we're going to solve it!"

The smile on Biara's face dipped into a frown and she studied the alien more closely, "What do you mean 'a problem'? Is there some issue with my payment?"

The Protostar representative's eyes widened and he shook his head, "Oh no no no no! We certainly received your payment, and thank you for that by the way. No, the problem actually is with the logistics of the purchase. You contracted a Protostar transport to move your belongings to your new property if you recall, and we began that transportation operation yesterday."

"Yes...do go on..." Biara said, now looking suspicious.

The alien continued on, his words sputtering out, "Well er...there was a slight...malfunction, yes a malfunction in the cargo lifter's anti-grav thrusters and um..."

One of Biara's eyebrows had begun to creep its way ominously up her forehead as the alien continued, "And...?"

"Well, the cargo lander actually crashed. Into the property you purchased. And was vaporized. With all your things," the alien finished. He cringed slightly, looking nervous.

Biara's eyebrow had gone as high as it could without physically detaching itself from her face. Her voice was flat now, "I see. And my personal possessions?"

"A-also vaporized! But, there is good news!" the alien said, plastering the fake smile on his face again. "You were not vaporized, and since you opted to purchase Class III Protostar transportation insurance, we will make good on your property! There will just be a small matter of processing the paperwork which can take between ninety and three hundred and twenty days."

Biara rolled her eyes, sighing. She straightened her back murmuring a prayer to herself, "Evindra give me patience." She looked at the alien again, shaking her head, "I trust you have found me a new property to replace that which I paid for?"

"Oh of course, of course!" the alien replied. "That is precisely why I asked you to come. We've found you something temporary while we work out the paperwork for you! Please, step into the teleporter there and I will show you!"

Biara nodded, striding over to the teleporter, her red leather boots making loud noises on the stone floor in the empty showroom. She followed the alien through the teleporter, the world shifting around her as they dematerialized and reappeared elsewhere.

When her vision had stopped spinning from the teleport, Biara looked around, sighing again. They were on an equally large plot of land, but instead of the spacious mansion she'd planned to purchase stood a rather drab per-fabricated Cassian house. While that was disappointing, there were also some issues with the property in general.

"What is that...? Is that a meteor impact site? Seriously?" Biara murmured, pointing with some annoyance at the still smoldering hole on the far side of the property. She squinted, noticing that there were cargo containers near it and what looked like scientific equipment. "That is a containment unit. Is this property infested...?"

"Oh no no, not at all Lady Flammadies!" the Protostar representative said cheerfully. "Just a little precaution! We'll have all of this cleaned up in no time I assure you!"

Biara sighed again, looking over the property and noting some debris near the teleporter platform. "And there. Clearly you just scooped up whatever pile of dirt you could find in a hurry. There are marauder debris scattered all over the grounds!"

"No, I assure you we carefully selected this land using our expert surveyors!" the Protostar representative argued.

"Really? Then why is there a marauder cot and the remains of some keg party over there?" Biara said, pointing with one manicured nail. "You people really should have done a better job of resolving this."

"P-please, we did the best we could in a hurry!" the Protostar representative whined. "Please d-don't retract your payment! O-or vaporize me! My health benefits haven't kicked in yet!"

Biara sighed again, shaking her head, "I'm not going to vaporize you. Just...get me replacements for my possessions as quickly as possible. I am here to serve the Emperor and distractions like this are not welcome. You may go now. I will survey the property and send orders up to our ships with whatever materials will be needed to properly clean the grounds."

"O-of course, Lady Flammadies! As you wish!" the Protostar representative said, happily backing his way into the teleporter and disappearing.

When he was gone, Biara walked to the edge of the platform, peering through the shielding around her floating property and down to the planet Nexus below. It was there that she would serve her Emperor. There that she would honor the name of her family. The entire project may have started out poorly, but she would see it through.

Her green eyes tilted upwards to look at the heavens above, watching as ships entering the atmosphere left streaks across the sky. Up there, somewhere, the fleet was disgorging thousands of eager soldiers of the Dominion, and her family's own personnel and ships would be slowing starting up and making their way down. Soon they would begin to build up their resources, and then the enemies of the Dominion would learn what it meant to challenge her and her people.

As a particularly bright streak filled the sky from a large cargo-hauler heading down towards the planet, Biara Flammadies smiled and turned, walking towards her new home.