Chapter 34: Misery
Mortezia recalls her fate in Nybos. Vague memories flash through her head. She sees faint images of a woman who gives birth and hears the wailing newborn infant. Then the darkness was looming over her until everything went pitch black.
Before it did, she could hear a voice saying: "It's a girl. We must rid of it otherwise it will be used against you." Involuntary, tears escaped her eyes as she recalled. Mortezia often gets these vague memories and questions their authenticity. Are these memories real? She could hardly distinguish as she was in very bad shape when she first arrived in Nybos.
Her reveries were cut short when Kyron then communicates with her. He was in what seemed to be a dimly lit bedroom seated on a desk. On the other hand, Lady Mortezia was in her sitting room at Vezar.
The lady responds quickly upon seeing her overlord. "Yes, my Lord Ruler of Nybos. What can I do for you?"
"You have failed to weaken our opponent. The adviser lives according to my sources." Kyron says.
"For now, but there is more to come my lord ruler. Watch and you will see." Mortezia guarantees.
"I hope you are right. Otherwise, you will get the most severe punishment. That I promise." The Nybian ruler promises.
"I am aware of your capabilities but you are yet to discover mine." Mortezia acclaims. "My plans for the Fliskans are still in the works." She holds a bunch of paperwork in her hands.
"I must report that the rebellion here in Vezar has been suppressed by my men. Here is the documentation. I have sent a copy of the files to you. We are awaiting your orders regarding the preference of punishment."
Her arrogance emanates.
"Indeed, you are truly capable. I leave it to you how you wish to have them killed. That is your reward. Plus a few more troops at your disposal so you can do my bidding properly." Kyron takes a sip of wine from his glass. "You seem to deliver beyond my expectations so I will commend you on this one but you must suppress the Fliskans or suffer."
"Yes, my Lord. I understand there is no other option but victory. I do thank you for the reward." Mortezia replies.
"Now go and do what must be done." Kyron ends the transmission. Just before he left his seat, a Nybian Lord comes into his bedchambers.
"My Lord, I am Baron Denuma, Lord of Devin. I am here to inform you that your stepmother passed away. We are awaiting your orders." Denuma informs.
"Very well then, let the morticians on her exile home prepare her for burial. When her daughters have mourned, allow them to bury her."
"Your sisters are requesting that they return to court with the body of their mother so that all of Nybos can mourn her properly." The Nybian Lord says.
Kyron is infuriated. He clenches his fist and slams the table. "Am I not being proper when I allow their mother to be buried?! These bitches are becoming too demanding!!!"
"My Lord, I do not mean to offend or transgress but I know your sisters are just asking a small favor from their most gracious and powerful brother." The Nybian Lord explains with his head tilted down in humility and reverence so as not to anger Kyron more.
"Half-sisters!" Kyron stresses. "Yes, they have a gracious and powerful brother who has done much for them by allowing their mother's burial. She deserves nothing more nothing less."
The Nybian Lord bows. "As you wish, my liege." He keeps his head and gazes down.
Kyron laughs. "I know what you are thinking that I am ruthless when it comes to my sisters. You think they are so innocent, don't you? They may seem to be but I know they are plotting against me. So, keep them there in that home of theirs. They are lucky to be alive. I could so easily send them to the lava pits! I am merciful, am I not?"
"Yes, my lord. Merciful indeed." The Nybian Lord reluctantly says.
"Good. Now go and do as I command." Denuma bows again before leaving. On his way out, a soldier enters with two slave girls with golden chests.
"Great ruler of Nybos, I bring you tributes from the Emperor of the Mudrogos Vel." The soldier claims.
"Very well then, you may leave." The Nybian commands while the soldier follows quickly.
He turns his attention to the girls. He circles them both like a hawk inspecting each one. He takes the gold chests from their hands and places them on the floor beneath their feet. "I trust you were informed that you must entertain. When I am displeased, the punishment is the lava pit or worse." He motions to the bed.
On the other side of the universe, the Mudrogos Vel high council meets with their leader. The dreaded empire is made up of hundreds of conquered worlds. It started as the Mudrogos Empire with its ambitious emperors conquering more worlds to expand their territories. The height of their glory was achieved upon claiming the Velarin Kingdom. Hence, they have been known as the Mudrogos Vel or the Mudrogos-Vel Empire. Its current ruler, Emperor Gunidiros, sits on his throne and is very irate.
"I am surrounded by complete IMBECILES!!!" He roars in anger. "We are losing territories one by one and WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Your imperial majesty, we are doing as much as we can—" Someone from the council answers but is immediately cut off.
"And yet I do not see ANYTHING!!!!" He says angrily. "You all keep explaining yourselves making up all these excuses but I see nothing! I hear all your excuses but nothing?!"
The council members keep silent. They knew it was pointless to reason with their emperor now.
"And RAXA tech, oh another pain. Their internal conflict is sabotaging our army. Do something about it or else I will have you all executed including those witless men who call themselves executives of RAXA tech!"
The council bows as the emperor storms out of the chamber. He then retires to his quarters but was disrupted by a servant. "My emperor, our ambassador to Nybos is in transmission."
The emperor reluctantly opens the communicator. "Your majesty, I am Teium, Vel ambassador to Nybos. I am here to report that Kyron has received the gold and the slaves."
"Very well then, let the slaves report to us as much as they can. Proceed with caution. We were informed Kyron is a sly one."
"Yes, my emperor."
"And with the project of our scientist with the RAXA tech, I am also to report that their cloning project is proceeding well. The test subject is Kyron's cousin. We are all hopeful for the project to be completed successfully soon." The ambassador narrates.
"Finally, some good news. I hope more good news to follow. Do what you must ambassador and report more. But for now, let me rest. This old man is troubled and weary because of nothing but lapses in judgment and excessive idiots of a council."
"As you wish, my emperor." The ambassador replies and ends transmissions.
Back in Fijolka, Lenron is informed by the ambassador that Caelis was also an experiment by the Mudrogos Vel scientists.
"Our scientists made more than one clone. Kazasta was the first to function well so they groomed and prepped her for upgrades before sending her to Captain Shiga for training. They threw out the other clones without double-checking that one of them became operational too. This was discovered when errors in Kazasta's performance could not be explained. One of the scientists from Invoris who aided in the cloning project traced the source of malfunctions and it led to the discovery of the other functioning clone."
For a moment, Lenron analyzes that Caelis possesses the lighter and brighter side of Dorrelia while Kazasta has the strong yet ruthless attributes of Dorrelia plus some upgrades regarding strength and agility.
He then pays attention again to the ambassador. "The scientists believe that the reason why Kazasta has not retained full memory by now is that Caelis is also regaining her memories. The only way that one clone can have full memory and function is to shut down the other."
"So, who do we shut down?' Lenron asks.
"Whoever is not beneficial to our cause." The ambassador says.
"I see." Lenron takes a deep breath. He knows they wanted to shut down Caelis whom he adored and has bonded with. He then looks at Caelis who was behind him and has heard everything.
"Do as he commands, Lenron," Caelis says. "Kill me."
"I can't." Lenron's composure was weakening. His voice was sort of crumbling.
"If you don't do it then I will." Immediately, she grabs a gun from the walls and shoots herself.
"NO!!!!" Lenron rushes to her and holds her corpse in his arms. He cries and buries his face in her hair.
Meanwhile, memories slowly rush into Kazasta's mind which makes her faint. She rests and after a while, Lenron comes in to check on her. The lady thanks the brother for keeping her alive and promises that he will not regret his decision. A scientist checks on Kazasta and is puzzled that her memories are not yet fully restored. There must be something wrong still. Maybe there is another clone that needs to be shut down.
Not for long, more memories flow in and Kazasta screams in pain as they flash in her mind. Her vital signs surge up and she began to destabilize. She loses consciousness and they try their best to revive her. Lenron sees she is in great pain as tears involuntarily escape her eyes as they try to bring her back.
He couldn't bear to see her suffer more. Lenron decides to pull Kazasta's plug as he feels that his sister needs to rest. It was against orders though but he deemed it best for the sake of his beloved sibling. Had she continued to exist, she will only malfunction and will not be of use to their war.
The Vel scientists shriek in horror at Lenron's actions. "AAAAHHHH!!!!! What have you done? The emperor will be displeased. The project is a failure. He might have our heads for this!"
"Who says it's over? Lenron retorts. "You can always clone another. I can send you as many slaves as you like which you can use as test subjects."
Back in his base, Bartava and Josula quarrel regarding certain plans. Bartava feels his proposed strategy is the best type of attack to use but Josula argues saying that it is too risky and that their enemies are expecting them to do such moves. The argument ends with Josula's decision standing. Bartava growls and soon tones down. The princess then commands the meeting be adjourned and tells the people in the room to leave.
Bartava walks around the room. "I hate you. I hate you for softening my resolve. It's like I'm under a spell."
"No, I believe you have good judgment. You evaluate situations well and are making good decisions. That is why you know my suggestions are better." She was walking towards him.
As she comes near, Bartava grabs her and kisses her. She cups his face and as he released her, she asks. "Now, are you happy?" He nods. "You are the only one who can truly make me happy."
Since their first meeting, they had worked together to strengthen their troops and rally their allies. Both were given the authority to command their respective teams. Their ideas most often clash as they have different strategies but, in the end, they do agree at one point. Though Bartava usually works alone, he does admit having Josula as his partner was indeed an advantage. He hates to admit it but sometimes her insights made perfect sense.
Both know they have been attracted to each other a long time ago but neither expected that the infatuation would return to them when they reunited.
"I don't believe in love Josula. But with you, I do." The general confesses as he loses his grip on her. The princess laughs.
"Are you certain it is love? I must be just a passing fancy." She turns away from him.
"No, I'm certain" He holds her tightly again. He kisses her possessively. When he stops, they both grasp for air. Josula gleams with joy. "I wish to seek your hand in marriage. If your father will receive me, I will visit his imperial palace when the war is over. I know it's a risk but I'll take it. I will also presen-"
She grabs him by the shoulders and he was forced to bend towards her. She kisses him and lingers at the moment. Bartava carries her to the table and places her there. He sweeps away the papers, documents, and everything on the table making it empty before laying her down.
Bartava desires to ask the emperor for her hand when they win the war. It will be a risk they'd both have to take as the emperor is not easily persuaded by his subjects nor implored by his children. Until then, they both must content themselves with their private moments and clandestine meetings.
Back in Fliska, Kyron rises from his bed and puts on a robe. He reaches for the pitcher and pours wine into his cup. "You may go." He commands the two slaves. Just like robots, they take their clothes and leave.
Kyron adds. "And tell your emperor, do not mess with me. I am better off as your ally than your enemy." As they leave the vicinity, one girl shudders. She has a speck in her ear which appears to be some sort of controlling gadget. They were sent to place it on Kyron while seducing him but they failed. Kyron placed it on one of the girls instead. The other one looks just as stunned but she has burns on her body. Her reaction must be a result of trauma and distraught.