The atmosphere in Rhythm City was electric. Every individual on the street was practically vibrating with excitement. The coronation of the Crown Prince would be in the morning, his wife would reveal the name of their first born at high noon, and the Celebration of sound would carry on well into the next morning. It was a worldwide celebration. Although the events were being broadcast near and far, people came from the farthest reaches of the Rhythm Empire to be present in the capital for the occasion.
It was a glorious day. The marking of over a thousand years of peace and prosperity. Even history scantily remembered the dark days of old. The days before the Great King Ray I and Queen Mara founded this nation and grew the empire. All anyone knew was their descendants had kept the peace and ruled with compassion, unopposed, for a millennium, and no one had any doubt that they would do so for a millennium more.
It was mid-morning when it happened. The Crown Prince had just been crowned King Nigel III, and was standing, in all his splendor, On an elaborate stage in the capital square soaking in the praise of his people. What was initially a bright sunny day, full of joy and cheer, suddenly became grey and eerie. An annoyed glance at the sky double-taked into a stare of fear and amazement. At that moment, an entire fleet of starships was slowly descending from the atmosphere. Each ship was colored a dark matte black that seemed to murder light as it touched it. The front view ports looked like a pair of glowing red eyes staring menacingly down as the ships came to hover over the city. The wings and fins of the craft were jagged and extended out at sharp angles, making each ship look like a predatory sea creature from hell. There were dozens of these awful vessels at first, and they continued to pour out the atmosphere like a demonic waterfall until they were followed up by one massive craft. If the initial ships looked about the size of flying buildings, this last one was a city. Instead of the matte black of the smaller craft, this one was polished and shimmering like the blackest of waters in the brightest of moonlight. Different from the other ships, this one had a front end like a long sledgehammer with red, glowing, bulbous, eye-like view ports on each end, with massive, nasty looking canons mounted to them, and a third red oblong view port in the center. Its body was long with its fins and wings jutting out at the same sharp jagged angles as its smaller predecessors.
The new King Nigel was absolutely awe-struck. He had known nothing but peace and tranquility in his lifetime, but there wasn't the slightest corner of his mind that thought these visitors had come to bring tidings of joy. The moment he laid eyes on the shining monster ship that obviously housed the leader of these invaders he turned to his head of security and sharply ordered him to take the Queen and the baby and run.
"Go wherever you can, do whatever you have to, just get my wife and child and leave! NOW!"
They ran! They took off at top speed, as did the crowd looking for anywhere safe, anywhere to hide from these alien invaders. Nigel watched until they were out of sight, then lifted his eyes back to the skies. The smaller vessels that had breached the atmosphere first began to disburse. They moved at impossible speeds, firing lasers at absolutely everything. People were vaporized mid stride as they ran for their lives. Buildings crumbled, exploded and caught fire as they were struck, as gas lines and other flammables were impacted. The king stood mortified, mouth agape, watching the wanton destruction. Reports sounded in his ear of squadrons of alien ships heading out to satellite cities and other countries of the empire. The military leaders all but begged for orders, each one nearly screaming, but it all fell on deaf ears. What caught the king's attention was the massive lead ship. It had slowly, even lazily made its way to hover over the capitol building, the king's own residence.
Silence fell over the king's entourage as the ship began to hum. They stared at the red light that marked a perfect straight line from the ship to the center of the sprawling compound. The smaller ship backed off putting distance between themselves and whatever was about to happen. Gradually the humming became louder and lower in pitch. A bright light slowly emerged from the bottom of the ship forcing everyone watching to shield their eyes. The humming stopped suddenly, and the light dropped sharply down the red line. For a breath, a heartbeat, nothing happened. Just when everyone realized that they had been holding their breath, a wave of violence and destruction exploded outward in all directions. A wall of air, sand, concrete and other building materials rushed outward leveling the capital building and everything else in Rhythm city. Everyone standing with the king was rocketed from their positions, thrown from their feet and struck in midair by flying debris. Most were killed instantly; all were gravely injured.
When the dust settled King Nigel could barely lift his head. He could hardly breathe. He coughed and spat up blood. He dragged himself to his knees and the world spun. He vomited blood. Nigel lifted his head with heaving breaths. What he saw made him wish he had not. In the distance, in his darkening vision he could make out the shape of the massive lead enemy ship resting in the empty lot where his home used to be. He blinked slowly as the ship yawned open revealing the figure of a tall shapely woman standing back lit in a dark red light. As the edges closed in on the king's vision, he noticed the figure seemed to lean back as her top half shook up and down. His last crushing thought was the realization of what he was seeing. Whoever this was that had led this terrible invasion, that had laid waste to everything he held dear, now stood, amid the devastation she had caused, laughing.
LasTirk, the newest admiral in the Rednas Empire expansion fleet, had just conquered her first planet, and it had been so easy. She was an imposing being. She was a large female, even by Rednasi standards, and the heels she loved wearing made her absolutely tower over even the tallest males under her command. She liked it that way. She loved the way people became visibly uncomfortable when she entered a room. She reveled in watching the lower enlisted scurry out of her way when she walked to corridors. It felt like power. The one thing she had been seeking her entire life, since she was a child, was power. Now she had it. Not only was she an Expansion Fleet Admiral, but she was a Regent, Queen of her own planet. LasTirk was positively giddy.
She lounged on her perch in the throne room of her ship, shapely legs crossed at the knees, while she patiently waited for reports to come in from the field. In the meantime, she contemplated having a permanent residence built, while admiring the glossy shine of her black leather boots with their deadly-looking chrome stiletto heels. She let her eyes roam up her long legs following the seams of the body suit she wore; it was also jet-black though not as shiny as the boots. She'd had this suit custom tailored for her large muscular frame, so it hugs every single one of her body's curves like a second skin, and fabric was interwoven with an alloy that made both soft to the touch and strong enough to withstand blaster fire. Not that she needed it on this mission, there was so little resistance to her invasion that it was almost disquieting. Almost. She removed her glove and studied the smooth youthful pale skin of her hands and her long black pointed nails. Flawless, she thought, her record, her invasion, her appearance, was all completely flawless. She toyed with the necklace adorning her muscular neck, a platinum chain that held a bright red jewel that was the symbol for rank, she loved the way it hung perfectly between her ample bosoms. More than that she loved the uncomfortable look that came over the males faces as their minds tore between respecting said rank and getting an eyeful of her massive breast. She peered at her reflection in her powered-down data console. She checked her unsmiling face for signs of aging on her soft features and admired her own poison green eyes and sharp angled eyebrows. She studied the way her thin black painted lips contrasted against her milky white skin. She flipped her deep crimson red hair away from her face with a flick of her long red-haired tail and smiled her toothy, many fanged grin. She nodded as she confirmed with herself, she was the most beautiful predator in the galaxy.
LasTirk became visibly annoyed when her thoughts were interrupted by three "black cloaks", so called due to the black single shoulder cape they wore over their left shoulder as a symbol of their rank. "Report." The Admiral was short and stern with them, not because she was displeased with them, but to her they were all a part of the faceless masses that worked the ship. In the Rednasi military no one below the rank of lieutenant was allowed outside their living quarters without their full-face helmet, so one black leather clad soldier looked exactly like the next. Read outs inside their visors allowed them to identify each other, along with their red, and black cloaks signifying the ranks of master Sergeant and sergeant respectively, but to LasTirk, they were all the same.
They each came to rest on one knee, head bowed low, one fist held tightly against their chest. They began their report.
"Admiral, the capital city is secure." said the one in the middle, his voice robotic through his helmet's amplifier.
"And the outlying cities?" Lastirk inquired with the same curtness.
"Secure as well, there has been very little resistance, and no military to speak of since we arrived"
"Have you secured their weapons and munitions?"
"There were none to be found Admiral. The few that fought back tried to attack with farming tools. They were easily dealt with."
"And what of the King? I wish to speak with him"
"Dead, Admiral, less than one hundred meters from here. The planet is yours."
Lastirk quietly reveled in those words. She stood and took a deep breath, unable to suppress a smirk. She lazily sauntered past the trio of black cloaks, over to a window that overlooked the fallen city. She gazed out, almost disappointed that it had all been so easy. But it was just the beginning, she would rip the resources from this tiny rock and use them to build her own empire. Planet after planet, system after system, until she could rival Rednas Prime. It was a dream for another day, for now, it was time to build.
"Summon my commanders" she said cooly over her shoulder, "we have work to do."