The Sea of Darkness Ch. 02

Chapter 2: Choices

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Colonel Iris Stjarna stood proudly in the throne room of the Imperial Palace. Around her, she could see her family, her friends and the whole upper class of the Imperial society.

Imperial Generals smiled at her and politicians clapped as she took a few more steps, reaching the base of the golden stairs that lead to his Majesty's throne. In the background, she could hear the Imperial Anthem and, faintly, the cheers of the massive crowd of Imperial citizens, massed around the palace.

She knelt, her eyes focused on her Emperor. He was sitting on his throne, his limitless glory surrounding him like a halo.

"May the Empire stand forever!" Iris chanted, and the whole room repeated.

"Rise, Colonel Stjarna. Today is your day." The Emperor said, rising from his throne and slowly going down the steps.

Iris got up to her feet, her head spinning. She could barely believe this was happening. Her whole life had been devoted to this moment.

"For your incredible bravery, ruthlessness with our enemies, and the perfect execution of countless duties, I'm proud to grant you the rank of Brigadier General, effective now. Imperials, salute your new General!" The Emperor declared loudly.

As one, all the Imperial Force members in the room brought their right hand, closed in a fist, to their heart, loudly knocking on their armor. But something felt wrong. Iris' head was throbbing in pain, and instead of an immense pride, she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Then the whole room shoke as Iris heard the distinctive sound of a plasma shot hitting reinforced titanium. The room shoke again and a piece of the ceiling came crashing down, crushing members of the audience under its weight. Everyone except Iris was still smiling and saluting.

Iris' eyes shot up and through the crack in the roof she saw the plasma artillery of an unknown ship staring back at her. In slow motion she saw the deep purple energy accumulating inside the massive gun. She saw the ball of pure destruction leave its nest and fly toward her, death given form.

And then she woke up. Iris' eyes opened wide, her mind coming back to reality. A bright white light blinded her.

"You're awake? Finally! You took your sweet time." A feminine voice said snarkily. Iris could swear she knew that voice, but thinking was so hard right now. She felt like someone was pummeling her head with a hammer.

With her eyes still closed as they adapted to the light, Iris noticed two things. First, she was cold. Something that should not be possible with her armor as it had an automated heat adjustment system. Second, she could not move her limbs, they were stuck in an awkward position.

As her senses came back to her, she added the two. Someone had removed her armor, leaving her with only what she was wearing under it, a sports bra holding her modest breasts and her plain panties. As the interior of her armor was quilted, she never felt the need to wear anything else with it. And on each of her limbs she could feel a cuff-like device, holding her in a T-pose, her legs slightly spread. A final cuff was on her neck, keeping it straight. Her back was stuck against a cold steel wall, and she could not feel the ground under her feets.

Iris opened her eyes again, now able to see. She was in what was probably a cell, with three white plain walls and a forcefield where the fourth wall should have been.

Inside the cell was another figure, sitting on a wooden chair. As her eyes caught details again, she realized that this was a woman, dressed in a provocative way in Iris' taste. Her sizable breasts were wrapped in tight bands of fabric, slightly squishing them. Copious amount of cleavage and underboob was visible. On top of that the strange woman wore a sleeveless open jacket, her chiseled abs and muscular yet feminine forearms on display. Under her wasp-like waist she had a leather belt, numerous trinkets hanging from it. The belt held tight looking pants in place. On her right forearm and extending all the way to her wrist was a large device with a screen and multiple buttons, an archaic portable control device.

The mysterious woman was eating an apple, slice by slice, a small kitchen knife in her right hand. Her long red hair was messily flowing behind her with every movement she made.

As Iris observed the strange woman, Iris noticed that she was staring back, amusement in her eyes.

The Imperial Captain took a second to steady her breathing and gather her commanding voice, then she spoke.

"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?" Iris tried to look as unfazed as possible, but her heart was beating hard in her chest.

"Hmmm..." The woman quickly swallowed what was left of the apple slice in her mouth. "Please excuse my manners." The redhead stood up, carefully placing her half-eaten apple and the knife on the chair. Iris kept that knife in her mind, as it could come in handy very soon.

Taking a step forward, the strange woman extended her arm, as if expecting a handshake. "My name is Kara Dread. And I'm really, really pleased to finally meet you, Captain Stjarna." After a few seconds she withdrew her hand, a knowing look on her face.

"You're currently held prisoner aboard the Dread Wyrm, as your ship has been defeated and seized." Kara continued, her jovial tone in stark contrast with the gravity of what she just said.

Iris' world crumbled around her. She subconsciously already knew what her captor just said, but hearing it so plainly said was heartbreaking. Still, she steeled herself, determined to get herself out of this situation. After all she was Imperial Ship Captain Iris Stjarna. She was destined for greatness. She would emerge from this, stronger than ever.

"Are you this ship's Captain? I want to talk with the Captain." Iris declared.

Kara giggled, as if what Iris just said was hilarious. "No, I'm not the Captain here, and he's busy. I'm afraid you'll have to deal with me."

"I have no interest in talking with an underling. I'll wait for the Captain." Iris retorted.

A brutal punch in Iris' stomach left her wheezing, taken by surprise. Kara's smile was gone, replaced by an angry frown.

"Careful, girl. You may want to hold that tongue before I rip it out of your mouth." The redhead tone and change of attitude left little doubt about her willingness to put her threat to execution.

Iris' mind at last found where she heard that voice before. It was right before the Coeurl's defeat. Her rough voice had been broadcasted in the bridge. The crazy red hair was the one giving the ultimatum. But she failed to know what to do with this information in her current situation.

Catching her breath, Iris spat on the floor. "Do your worst! I don't fear death."

Kara started walking back and forth in front of the prisoner. "You know, when people in your predicament tell me that, I tend to believe them. Especially imperial dogs like you, fanaticism does some serious work. And then I usually tell them something like 'There's fate worse than death.', which is definitely true. But for some reason I don't believe you. I think you're playing the tough captain, hoping to stall until you find a way out of this. And that in your very core you're a scared little girl, waiting for her mommy to come pick her up. But be my guest, hold onto that act as long as you want, I'll enjoy shattering it. Neither your daddy nor your Emperor will come for you."

"Fuck you" snapped Iris, as she tried to spit on her jailer, but her mouth was dry.

"That may come, yes. But for now, you may wonder why this is happening to you. Allow me to enlighten you."

Iris already had some guesses about why this was happening, but Kara was not talking to her prisoner, she was gloating, enjoying the very sound of her voice explaining all of this.

"I've spent the last four years hearing stories about a young, ambitious blonde slut killing my men and destroying my ships, commanding one of those damn cruisers. Sure we had the Flagship by then, but it was barely operational. And there was no way I would have sent dozens of ships against the cruiser without a plan, our resources were too scarce..."

"Your men, your ships? Who the hell are you? And how did you get that Flagship?" Iris interrupted Kara.

"I stole it, silly. Well I did not do it on my own, but that's not important. How else would I have an imperial ship?" Kara answered plainly.

"Only two Flagships were ever built, the first one..."

"The Eden is lying in ruin on Vyke's moon, and the Alexander is orbiting Vyke. Yes, I know. But what if I told you a third one had been built, codename Bahamut?"

"This can't be, everyone in the Empire knows that only two Imperial Flagships ever existed."

"And yet, you're aboard this third Flagship. You should start to question all of your Empire-fed conviction, you idiot."

Kara stood there, eyes unfocused for a second. "Someone once told me that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. But it wasn't me who lied, who tricked the world. It was your damn Empire. They erased the very existence of the Bahamut and the whole incident, to not lose face. This lie caused your downfall, years later. Had you known that a pirate Flagship was even a small possibility, this whole ambush would have never worked! The Empire's truth is fluid, changing to whatever it needs currently. I would not have believed that it was this easy to make billions and billions of individuals believe something they knew was wrong the previous day, had I not seen the propaganda at work. Hell, even I don't exist if you ask the Empire, and I've never existed. And yet, here I stand, drawing breaths!"

Kara finished her tirade out of breath and visibly pissed. She took a few seconds to calm down, then continued.

"You asked me who I am. It's easy really. I am the grain of sand in your well-oiled cogs. I am an ideal, a will to break out of this system crushing the masses under its heel. I'm more than a mere woman, I'm the queen. The Pirate's Queen. No one cared about Kara Atlan. But the whole galaxy will respect and fear Kara Dread. And I will be invincible, unstoppable."

"You're a crazy bitch." Iris could barely believe what the mad woman was rambling about.

"I'm doing the very thing your Emperor does, and every Emperors did before him." Kara was a short-tempered woman, and she was getting worked up pretty fast. While she very much desired to see Iris dying, choking on her own blood, she had much worse planned for her. Kara had to hold her anger, just a bit more.

Kara jabbed her fist into Iris' bare stomach again, sending her into a world of pain and stopping her before she could say anything.

"That's for the insult. Anyway, back to the subject. Where was I already? Oh yeah. So what did I do about that whore Captain? Nothing. I gritted my teeth, waiting for an opportunity. It took years before we could fix most of the systems on this thing, but we managed to do it. With a Flagship mostly operational, including its Net, all I had to do was to create the perfect setup. I leaked some stuff, and hoped you would take the bait. Obviously you did. What happened after that, you kinda know. I mean you were there. But don't flatter yourself, I did not do all of that just for you."

"I regret nothing! You and all of the savages that follow you are enemies of the Empire! The galaxy is a better place without the scum I destroyed!" Iris retorted, furious.

"The galaxy would be a better place without your beloved Empire. And I intend to make that dream a reality." Kara said back, strangely calm.

"The Empire brought peace to the galaxy for more than two centuries now!" Iris continued, her back and forth with the crazy, self-declared Queen was grating on her nerves.

"A peace paid for in blood. You ruthlessly murdered, exploited and enslaved countless populations in the name of progress, for the glory of the handful of Imperial Citizens."

Iris tried to answer, but Kara placed her hand on her mouth, and with a couple fingers closed Iris' nose, both silencing and smothering the Imperial Captain.

"Forgive me, but I've not come here to discuss politics and economics. I usually keep those subjects for people whose opinions I care about. But do not be mistaken. When I'll stand in the ruins of the Empire, with the severed head of your Emperor in my hands, the galaxy will cheer for me, not cry for what it lost." Kara stayed like that for a few minutes, her eyes locked in Iris', a rage burning inside them.

Iris' lungs were on fire, the lack of oxygen starting to get her lightheaded, then Kara removed her hand, backing down to the chair. Iris took a loud and much needed breath.

"I've observed you. You and all your crew are amateurs, boys and girls playing at war. Without the technologic supremacy you have, you would have been slain by the first experimented pirate you crossed paths with. You should be ashamed of calling yourself soldiers."

Iris' face was distorted by rage. This crazy red haired bitch had spent the last minutes insulting everything Iris had, including her own competency. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Free me from my bounds then, and we'll see which one of us is the strongest soldier!" Iris shouted.

Half a smile creeped on Kara's face as she pondered what to do. Then she pressed a few buttons on her control device. The magnetic force holding Iris' cuffs stuck to the wall went down and she fell roughly on her belly. Iris raised her head, smiling. Even in her disheveled state, her superhuman strength and speed made her a lethal force. In a single movement Iris jumped to her feet and started sprinting towards her jailer.

Closing the distance quickly, Iris tried to land her right fist straight on the Queen's temple, but Kara blocked the punch with her left hand, holding onto Iris' fist. The strength of the impact made Kara slide back towards the forcefield and sent the chair, the apple and the knife flying in the cell. The surprise stunned Iris for a brief moment. Smirking, Kara violently headbutted Iris, then sent her flying by swinging her left arm still holding Iris' fist.

Landing roughly, Iris jumped to her feet.

"How can a savage like you be augmented?!" Iris shouted.

"Savage? You don't understand anything, do you?" Kara taunted, a hand on her hip.

Iris rushed Kara, and the Pirate Queen blocked Iris' fist again, but Iris knee roughly hit Kara in the stomach, making her take a step back, her back against the forcefield now. Iris pushed her advantage forward, and tried to pummel Kara's body with her fists. Kara blocked most of them, her speed and strength almost matching the augmented Imperial Captain's.

Kara stopped using her arms to block, and after a few hits, she saw her opportunity. She grabbed Iris' right arm as Iris fist landed on her chest, and swung her body weight around, switching position with the Imperial who's back roughly slammed against the forcefield. Kara's fist hit her opponent's chin right as Iris landed a hit on Kara's waist. They traded blows until Kara backed down, jumping backward.

Both fighters gauged each other, pacing the room while keeping their distance.

"I was born and raised on Vyke! I used to be a member of the Imperial Force!" Kara yelled, pain and fury building up in her.

"You're a liar! And a fool!" Iris retorted, as she jumped on the knife laying on the ground, mere steps away from her.

Kara pounced on her target as Iris flipped over, the knife in her hand. Iris slashed blindly as Kara held her left arm in front of her as protection. Iris' knife cut Kara's skin, drawing blood but dealing little real damage. Kara stood over the imperial prisoner, and hit Iris' right shoulder with a precise and mighty strike, dislocating it. Iris screamed in pain, her right arm barely usable anymore.

"You risked everything for an inappropriate and worthless weapon. I think we know who's the fool here." Kara snarled, standing victorious over Iris.

The redhead Queen grabbed Iris by the hair and sent her tumbling down on the other side of the cell.

Using her valid arm, Iris got up, unsteady. But Kara was not done with her. She strode towards the wooden chair and grabbed it. As Iris weakly tried to attack Kara again, Kara easily dodged, and moved behind Iris' back. She then slammed the chair with all her might on Iris' upper back, sending her back on her belly and irremediably destroying the chair, sending pieces flying everywhere. Iris layed on the ground, beaten, and coughed some blood as Kara picked the knife from the ground.

Kara squatted behind Iris. She grabbed the Imperial by her hair with her left hand and lifted her whole upper body from the ground. Her right hand placed the knife against Iris' throat and pushed slightly, enough to draw a drop of blood.

"You told me you don't fear death. Shall I finish this then?" Kara whispered in Iris' ear.

The Imperial Captain lost everything that day. Her ship was now in the hands of pirates. Her crew was probably dead. She had lost her soldier pride by losing a fight against a savage. And Kara defiled the very image she had of the Empire with her lies. Iris thought she had nothing more to lose. But the feeling of a single droplet of her own blood slowly exiting her body made her realize she still had something she cared about deeply. Something she did not want to lose, no matter the cost. Her life.

Iris started crying, real tears of terror flowing freely from her eyes. "Please, don't kill me. Please, I'll tell you everything you want to know, please. Please don't do this." she begged, her soldier's pride now hidden deep inside her.

"That's why I thought." Kara said, snarkily. "I won't kill you." Iris felt relief as the knife left her throat. "But still, you attacked me. You deserve punishment." Iris' heart was filled with dread as she heard that and she wondered what the pirate queen could have in store. Iris felt Kara's knife dancing on the surface of her skin on her back, never cutting, only teasing. Then Kara slipped the knife between Iris' delicate skin and her bra. Kara tugged the knife and the fabric barely held any resistance before ripping.

Kara let Iris' hair go, and the Imperial Captain fell forward. Kara stood up, visibly looking for something, then she remembered the chair was now pretty much everywhere in the cell, but she couldn't sit on it anymore. Instead, she chose to lean against one of the walls of the cell.

"Get up." Kara dryly said.

Iris tried her best, her body wincing in pain with every movement she made. After a few minutes, she finally managed to stand up without falling back down. She tried to hide her perky breasts with her valid arm.

"Don't hide your body. Remove your underwear."

Iris understood that Kara wanted, strip her not only of her clothes, but also of her dignity. But Iris went so far already, she could not go back. Removing her panties with only one arm while standing proved to be harder than expected, but she managed.

Kara took great pleasure in seeing Iris' whole naked body. She was a gorgeous woman, but this was not the only reason. The shame, the humiliation building in Iris' heart was also a real, physical pleasure for Kara. The Queen despised everything Iris stood for, but she would take great pleasure making her squeal like a bitch in heat.

Iris stood there on wobbling legs, her body exposed to the sight of her worst enemy.

"I'm going to give you two choices." Kara said, pressing buttons on her arm device. The forcefield blocking the exit of the room disappeared.

"And I want you to think carefully before choosing." Kara's hands were now working on undoing her belt, which swiftly fell to the ground.

Once it was gone, Kara opened her pants and fetched something from inside. Kara got her dick out of her tight pants, and she sighed with relief as her massive cock was out of its tight prison.