The Tales of the Silver Wind

"While yes, we aren't in a position to wage war, however, we won't always remain hidden here doctor," Elizabeth said her green eyes glanced up at Daniel.

"I understand that..."

"We must be ready to protect our home," Elizabeth said rising from her seat, "I will not watch as another one of my homes gets destroyed," she said sternly. "Now I assume the man can be awoken, yes?"

"Yes, but..."

"Good," Elizabeth said placing the data pad into the drawer of her desk. "I wish to speak with this long lost soldier myself," she said walking towards the door of her office.

"Captain-major, can you hear me?" Elizabeth asked as she stood in front of his tube.

"W-what?!" Sebastian asked groggily as his subsystems and his primary systems restarted. Keeping his eyes closed as he scanned down the bio-screen ensuring that they hadn't tampered with any of his systems, and the lock out codes he had placed on the files he wanted to keep to himself.

"Is it possible to create more soldiers like you?" Elizabeth asked getting straight to the point.

"No," Sebastian said, "you don't have the facilities to alter embryos in the womb like they had on Rykus. You should know how massive that complex was," he said finally opening his eyes. "This little asteroid simply can't hope to hold it or power it for that matter."

"So say if we could build such a complex would it be feasible then?"

"I don't think you have that kind of time," Sebastian said peering up as the medium began to drain away. Looking down at his screen as his own diagnostics flashed all green as his feet touched the floor of the tube. Flexing his fingers feeling the renewed strength in them that he hadn't felt in so many years.

"And why do you say that?" Elizabeth asked arching an eyebrow as the tube's door slid open.

"An old enemy has resurfaced," Sebastian said unlatching the mask from his face as he read the response speed of the new nanites.

"Sebastian, are you feeling any side effects?" Daniel asked pushing Elizabeth out of the way flashing a pen light in his eyes.

"No, systems are all operational doctor," Sebastian said in a matter-of-fact tone as Daniel unplugged the data transfer cable, "although, I will need to calibrate the subsystems," he said looking down at his naked body, "and some clothes."

"We can certainly manage that," Daniel chuckled waving to his head nurse to bring the jumpsuit.

"Explain. What do you mean an old enemy?" Elizabeth asked drawing Sebastian's attention back to her as the legs of his jumpsuit rose up his thighs.

"I think that would be better spoken in private, don't you?" Sebastian asked with a pointed look. "After I visit your gun range, you do have one here?"

"That we do," Daniel nodded, "I've already scheduled you for lane six."

"Well, as much as I would like to discuss this threat. I'm curious as to what an Imperialist can do," Elizabeth said her green eyes ran down his chest as the zipper rose over his navel.

"Commander?" Amsher called as she walked into the lab. Stopping in her tracks as her eyes fell upon Sebastian. Even if he stood in a relaxed manner, she could tell he could snap into action at a drop of a dime. She couldn't gauge the man while he was unconscious on the medical bed. Now, however, she could see how deadly the man could be if he so chose to.

"Yes Lieutenant?" Elizabeth asked as she looked over at Amsher.

"The training course has been setup per your order, ma'am," Amsher said snapping to attention.

"You wouldn't mind if we put you through a stress test, once you have been sure your systems have been calibrated properly?" Elizabeth asked wondering what was going through his mind.

"I figured you would ask," Sebastian said with a smile, "it's not every day you get to see what an Imperialist can do. However, if I'm going to do that I would rather do it in my own clothes, plus I need my weapon," he said looking down at his hand. Wondering how strong the new nanites had made him. "I doubt your weapons will withstand my grip strength."

"That will be fine," Elizabeth nodded, "Amsher please escort the Captain-major to his ship. Say we regroup at the target range in an hour?" Knowing it would give him time to greet his shipmates.

"An hour it is," Sebastian nodded.

"How's your reflexes...," Amsher said throwing a punch once they were alone in the corridor that led to the docking port. Her eyes blinked as her fist hit empty space. Sebastian's head dodged as Amsher's fist flew without taking a step from the spot he was in. Amsher huffed as Sebastian struck her square in the chest that sent her flying backwards.

"Satisfied?" Sebastian asked looking down at the woman.

"Forgive me Captain-major, but I was under orders," Amsher winced as she pushed herself up. "My leaders were curious as to why you would lock out so many of your combat subroutines. They feared that since we couldn't scan them that the new nanites would interfere with your programing," she said pushing herself up the wall. Knowing he could have killed her if he put any more strength into the palm strike.

"I see," Sebastian said narrowing his eyes. "As you can see my combat subroutines are working," he said looking down at his right hand remembering how it went haywire only a few days ago. "Now, take me to my ship," Sebastian said his voice carrying the hints of his displeasure.

"Of course," Amsher nodded knowing her own nanites were working overtime to heal the damage she received from that strike. "I'll wait here," she said as the doors that led to the docking bay rolled open.

Sebastian didn't say a word as he walked towards the Silver Wind. Slightly annoyed that these people thought they could test him. They weren't his commanders, nor were they one of his kind. They knew nothing that went into making soldiers like him. Opening the hidden panel on the left side of the ship. Wondering if he would hear Akasha's joyful feet hammering as she raced through their ship as the cargo bay door lowered. He wasn't disappointed either. Smirking as he heard a flurry of noises from deep within the ship as the door rose behind him.

"Sebastian!" Akasha shouted her tail whipping behind her in her excitement as she stood on the catwalk that loomed over the cargo bay.

"Hiya!" Sebastian said waving at her. Watching her raven hair flying through the air as she leaped over the railing. Her feet barely touching the floor as she landed before her legs propelled her towards him.

"Oh Sebastian!" Akasha cried softly as she rubbed her cheek against his as Sebastian held her in his arms. Feeling their renewed strength as he lifted her off of the gravity plating. "Did they fix you...?" Her eyes flew wide then slowly closed as his lips melted into hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers weaving through his hair as her body pressed against his sinking into that blissful kiss.

"Some minor calibrating, but I'm good to go for another hundred and fifty years," Sebastian said as his lips left hers.

"That's good to hear," Lulu said leaning against the railing of the stairs. Her arms were crossed underneath her breasts, her auburn hair draped down to the middle of her back. Those ruby eyes held longing in them as she stared at Sebastian.

"She's been worried sick about you," Akasha whispered getting one last kiss in before backing away, "go say hi," she said with a wink.

"Cap...," Sebastian begun to say as he reached the foot of the stairs only to have Lulu thrust his face into her bosom. "Well, isn't this every man's dream," he said his voice muffled by her breasts. Not that he was complaining he did enjoy his current position.

"You had me so worried," Lulu whispered tilting his chin up giving in to the need she had felt for the past two days. "I almost forgotten what these lips felt like," she said sweetly brushing her thumb along his lower lip after she had her own kiss.

"Heaven forbid that should ever happen," Sebastian said smirking up at her.

"Mmmhmm," Akasha purred into his ear as her hands ran up his back. Pressing her breasts against it, letting him feel what he had missed. "Do you have time to reacquaint your woman with this body?" she said lustfully tugging on his earlobe.

"Right now, no," Sebastian said feeling Akasha tensing up. "As I said, I need to do some calibrating on my systems and I can't do that here," he said peering behind him.

"Just what kind of calibrating?" Amanda asked peering down at him from the catwalk. Giving Sebastian a little wave as he looked up at her. "Maybe I could help you," she said hopefully.

"Not this time doc," Sebastian said flashing her a smile. Wondering why he felt so much at home aboard the Silver Wind than with his own people.

"So did you at least memorize the lay out of their base and all that fancy tech?" Adriana asked nearly bouncing on her heels in excitement.

"Of course," Sebastian said tapping his temple, "although you'll find better tech in that graveyard, we passed a month ago than in that base."

"Aww!" Adriana pouted.

"Glad to have you back," Nathan said stepping up beside Adriana, casting Akasha a weary glance.

"You've been hounding him, haven't you?" Sebastian whispered behind him.

"Of course," Akasha said her lips dancing along his neck, "it's my duty to make sure he is worthy of her."

"So how long will you be gone?" Lulu asked wishing to spend the night wrapped around his body.

"Don't know," Sebastian admitted his hand brushing along Lulu's stomach as he climbed the stairs.

Lulu and Akasha leaned against the door of Akasha's cabin as they watched as Sebastian stripped out of the jumpsuit he was given. Their eyes zeroing on his manhood praying they didn't do anything to it. Lulu bit her nail as those taut buttocks called to her. She could feel Akasha's tail moving on its own, brushing along her inner thigh before that prehensile tail rubbed along her mound. Lulu tried to keep her breathing in check as that naughty appendage teased her aching bud. The tearing of cloth caught their attention as Sebastian cursed at the tattered remains of his shirt.

"Damn it," Sebastian sighed in annoyance. He knew it was going to take time for his body and his systems to grow use to the new influx of nanites. He was hoping once the calibration was done it would set a range for the nanites. He didn't think his clothes would survive if he couldn't get a handle on those little bots. "Okay, this is one time I wish for a matter convertor," Sebastian chuckled tossing the remains of his shirt against the wall.

"Sebastian don't worry about your clothes, I'll buy you some new ones," Akasha and Lulu said in unison as they walked towards him. Their hands reached out taking his shirt from him, sharing amusing smiles between each other as they helped him dress. Their fingertips lavished along his taut muscles as the hem of his shirt brushed against the waistband of his pants.

"I'm going to need that," Sebastian said pointing at his gun belt.

"Oh? A little target practice I see," Lulu cooed as Akasha reached for that tarnished, brown, oiled leather belt. Her lips nibbled along his jaw as she held the buckle of the belt while Akasha wrapped it around his waist. "Is that what you meant by calibrating?"

"Yes, I can't very well go into battle with untested nanites. I need to know what their limits are beforehand," Sebastian said feeling his pulse race as Lulu's hand danced along his groin.

"Well," Akasha said running the belt through its buckle, inserting that peg into its corresponding hole. "You best be sure everything is fine by the time you get back," she said her lips inches away from his, "because when you do your Perämies and Ituma are going to ensure not only that your body is well but also your ziel," Akasha purred before her tongue darted into his mouth. Smirking at Lulu when she jumped at the chance to get her own kiss in before he left.

"Sebastian," Lulu said holding his plasma pistol in her hands. Still surprised on how much it weighed given its size. She only blinked once, and his weapon sat in its holster. Lulu wondered if he always was that fast before he had shut down his old nanites. "Now you go show them why you are called an Imperialist," Lulu whispered getting the feel of the man before he left once again.

. Chapter Five

"Man, would you look at that," the instructor for the gun range said in awe as Sebastian's accuracy came in at eighty-two percent.

"The targeting systems are off," Sebastian said over the intercom ending the trial run.

"How so?" Daniel asked as Sebastian left the shielded range. Pulling out his data pad and the data plug to fix the error without having to go back to the lab.

"The targeting systems wants to pull to the right while I go left same with the right, and when I peer down the crosshairs it feels like it's off by half an inch," Sebastian said pulling up his shirt.

"Ah, that's an easy fix," Daniel said plugging into Sebastian's data port. "Ah, I see. The Commander was too hasty in speaking with you that we didn't get around to testing this subsystem," he said as the data for the system came pouring in. His fingers flew over the pad as he corrected the errors before sending the revised software back through the data port. "There... that should do it," Daniel said unhooking the plug, "why don't you give that a try?"

"Dear god!" the instructor said astounded as he watched as Sebastian destroyed the targets as fast as they appeared.

"He is an Imperialist after all," Elizabeth said watching the man on the monitors.

"But this shouldn't be happening, not with new nanites in his system," the instructor said running his hand through his hair. Taking a dry swallow as Sebastian's accuracy continued to climb. He would give his left arm if the new recruits could pull off half of the shots the man was firing. Also he wanted that gun Sebastian wielded. He knew something like that would make their men far more deadly than the reproductions they were using.

"Can this thing go any faster?" Sebastian asked looking at them through the three inch glass that divided the control room and the range.

"Faster?!" the instructor said aghast.

"Do it," Elizabeth commanded. Knowing how all her people were glued to their monitors. She had purposely fed the range's cameras into the base's com system. All so that her people can come to realize what an Imperialist truly is. She had gotten the report from Amsher about how fast his reflexes were and how close he had come to killing her with one blow. Even now her medics were working on repairing the internal damage her nanites couldn't repair on their own. Also noting how he became annoyed that they would test him in such a manner. Yet the way he moved wasn't something they were trained to do, nor was the strike on Amsher something taught during their basic training; at least that was what she could discern from the footage that Amsher uploaded from her neural net.

"Ninety-eight point seven percent," the instructor gasped as the training session came to a close. Looking up as Sebastian stood with his back to him watching that green goo drip onto the range's floor.

"This will do for now," Sebastian said holstering his weapon.

"Excellent work Captain-major," Elizabeth said into the intercom as she leaned over the control panel. "I'm sure that display has inspired some of my people to rise to the challenge of matching an Imperialist. Now shall we continue on to the stress test."

"Understood," Sebastian nodded as a door to his left rolled open.

"Now first..."

"Do you want me in armor or is this fine?" Sebastian asked interrupting Elizabeth, gesturing to his clothes once he noticed the oversized treadmill.

"Your clothes will be fine, we don't have any armor that can handle your movements as of now," Elizabeth said knowing that at the speeds he would be running at the armor they used would simply fall apart under the strain. "However, if you wouldn't mind removing your shirt, so we can monitor your heart rate and oxygen saturation?" she asked having to be content with a nod.

Sebastian gazed upward as a panel above the treadmill opened. Stepping on to the platform as an oxygen mask along with a data terminal lowered from the ceiling. Watching the nurse placing the plug into his port as he tightened the straps of the mask, so it wouldn't jostle off during his run.

"Let's start him off at half a kph," Elizabeth ordered so they could get a base line for if and when she could implement her own version of the Imperialist. However, first she needed to know about this new threat her people faced; and if they survived whatever was waiting for them, then she knew that little planet would make an excellent base for her new breed of soldiers. "Alright," Elizabeth said once they had gathered enough data, "let's bring the speed up, how does twenty kph sound to you Captain-major?" Smirking when he gave her the thumbs up.

"Just look at his vitals?!" Daniel said in awe. "They marginally increased, even our best were having trouble maintaining this speed," he said his eyes darting across the screen.

"Then by all means let's see what he can do at forty kph," Elizabeth said turning the knob she had to know his limits. Had to know what to expect when she implemented her own plan.

"Commander!" Daniel objected.

"It's fine doctor." Sebastian's voice could be heard over the intercom. "If you're wondering how long I can keep this pace up, you're going to have to wait an hour before I even begin to tire," he said knowing what this ploy was all about. "My instructors made me run at sixty kph every day of my training in full armor no less this is nothing, but a cake walk to me."

"I see," Elizabeth said eyeing the man's back looking for any hint of sweat that he was lying. As she stared at that muscular back of his, it was dry as a bone. "Then shall we move onto the dead lift?" she asked slowing down the speed of the treadmill. "We're going to start you off at four hundred magnetic pounds..."

"Make it six hundred, I need a good work out," Sebastian said interrupting her as he rolled his shoulders before taking off the oxygen mask. However, he did leave the data plug in as the ceiling opened up once again. Running on a track hidden within the roof as he moved across the room.

"Six it is then," Elizabeth said setting the electro-magnet to the range as Sebastian moved up to the bar. The fabricated weights on the end of it were just for show and to keep the bar off of the floor. "Whenever you are ready," Elizabeth said once her engineer gave her the nod. Her green eyes watching as his muscles rippled and bulged as Sebastian fought against the pull of the magnets. Listening to him huff as he brought the bar to his chest then over his head and back down again. "We're going to increase it to eight hundred, can you handle that?"

"Sure, not a problem," Sebastian said which was the truth. His new nanites were working wonders. If it had been his old version than he knew while it was possible it would have been pushing their limits.

"Then whenever you are ready," Elizabeth said making sure they were collecting all the data that they could. Again she watched as that man defied all norms. However, she knew he was reaching his limit as his face started to redden. "I think that should be enough, your nanites are working perfectly," Elizabeth said knowing they had collected huge amounts of data, "now how about we retire to my office?"

Elizabeth led the way to the nearest tube lift. She was used to having people following behind her, not like Sebastian was. His stride matching hers as they walked down that corridor. Passing her subordinates as they saluted not only her but Sebastian as well. Even if he no longer wore the uniform of an Venus Oculari officer, the man still carried himself like one. She knew if he wanted to, he could technically take command of the base given they still used the laws of the Empire. But the look in his eye told her his days of commanding men, at least for his old Empire, were long over.