There was a planet called Thebes that existed on the edge of the empire; it
was ruled by a vassal king named Thraletep III who was of course the third of the
Thraletep dynasty. The planet was not wealthy but the king had considerable
wealth for his station and he was a corrupt tyrant. Meanwhile a Prophet had
emerged a few years earlier in the city of Yathrib who's name was Talib and he
began to preach the word of one god called Hubal. His allies were the Qadirians
who were a race of red-skinned aliens called the Qadarians who worshipped one
god called Qadar they were allies of Talib and his separate religious community as
Talib established a religion several years back that preached the religion of one god
and monotheism like the Qadarians but there god was named Hubal. The Prophet
Talib considered the Qadarians 'People of the Book,' and we're allies of his but
just one year and a half ago they were all wiped out by the king's army along with
imperial reinforcements from the Imperium which resulted in a genocide all but one of the Qadarian race was killed his name was Qadil. Qadil as the last member
of his race is the last one in the universe who thus maintains his people's religion
and the worship of the god Qadar, often stating, 'my faith and the faith of my
people die with me.' And he also often states; 'I will never join the Hubali faith
and I will remain devout in the way of Qadar the only true god, but even still Talib
will always and forever be my Amir 'master.''
Qadil is therefore a loyal member of
Talib's army second only to Talib's most devoted followers and among the first to
adopt the Hubalian creed [religion]; Omar. Omar was a strange blue alien but Talib
was a human with pale white skin, red hair, green eyes, a white turban. He was
literate but he knew nothing of poetry but still recited the most beautiful poetry
from God himself, bringing fish from the sea, turning water into sweetened drink
and wine, and healing sickness. Talib one day woke up and began to preach to
come to the hall of prayer, the Hubalians were forced to live in catacombs and
caves to escape the slaughter that the Qadarians had experienced at the hands of the
empire which lead to their extinction when their nation and people were destroyed.
The hall of prayer was in the deepest part of the underground caves. The entire
Hubalian community came to listen to their holy prophet who sat in the middle as
Omar and Qadil sat behind him with gilded swords. A tribal leader shouted, "Oh
Amir, what do you beseech of us?" The emir slowly rose to his feet and began to
site the first verse he was revealed when God revealed to him that he was a prophet some three years before; "Oh people, in the name of the merciful Hubal, I beseech
you to obey your Prophet and to place anything over him that I deem over him and
under him what I deem under him..."
After a short pause Talib once again began to
speak: "Hubal has revealed to me [exalted is he and exalted is his station] that a
young boy with a group of companions much like myself will aid us and myself in
our holy al-Jihad and help destroy the empire. In fact, he will be the main
instrument, but your holy Prophet and his people must aid him in this struggle.
What stands before us is the oneness of Hubal the magnificent and on the other the
godless pagans of the empire and their idol temples. I seek not universal conquest
but the conquest of the capital, the center of demonic evils. And to smash not the
idols in all realms but merely the idols of the temples of the capital who are being
used to harness demonic magic for the emperor is using dark magic to open portals
from hell against Hubal's will and to unleash demons upon our world," shouted
Talib. The people murmured in panic. "But we will defeat him, for God alone
stands on our side and this warrior will aid us in God's cause. PRAISE HUBAL!"
said the Prophet. The people shouted back, 'praise Hubal! Praise Hubal!' It was
this self-declared Prophet who was becoming one of the strongest opponents of
imperial rule in the galaxy.
Meanwhile, back at the tournament the game was being held and everyone
was in the heat of battle.
Standing alone were the three Jain monks who were all in martial arts poses. In the bushes was the monster Haruna leering and ready to
strike. Haruna leaped behind the first Jain monk with one slice of his claws, than
another strike and the second was killed and a third quick strike and the third Jain
monk was killed all three lay on the ground in their orange robes, now nothing
more than corpses. Narcis and Talus leaped down from a large hill just in time to
see Haruna cackling and walking away from the three innocent monks he just
slaughtered. Haruna turned around with a grunt of confusion and smiled when the
saw the Buddhist Patriarch Narcis and his demon-apostate ally, Talus. Narcis spoke
up first; "these monks were innocent, they did nothing to you. You had no right to
take their lives," said Narcis. Haruna began to chuckle and then gargle with
laughter, "I kill whomever I will. They were weak it took less than five seconds to
slaughter these welps." said Haruna. Talus simply gestured. "Go ahead, destroy
their bodies to spare their souls from what is to come," said Narcis. After Narcis
said this Talus pointed his finger as a ray shot from it he pointed three times at the
three Jain monks there physical bodies were completely destroyed nothing but
ashes blown into the wind remained of the three fallen Jain monks. Narcis closed
his hands in prayer, "Oh Lord Tagatha, please forgive the sins and heresy of these
three Jain priests. Forgive the strict Atheism of their religion, forgive their belief
that our Samsara (reincarnation) is inferior to theirs. And forgive their false creed.
May Lord Tagatha spare them," said Narcis.
After this Talus simply cracked his neck and Haruna spoke up. "You
certainly will be much harder to kill Talus than those three monks. But nonetheless
you will fall," said Haruna. Talus smirked, "like I said it's your fate to fall by my
hand, that privilege goes to the little monkey," said Talus. As soon as said this a
hand with a monkey's paw ripped straight through Haruna's chest. Haruna began to
cough up blood, stammering and saying, "how could this be, how it ends," said
Haruna. Haruna fell to the floor, his corpse lying there 1,000 pounds of raw meat
left behind. Hanuman stood there and a single word need not have been uttered.
Talus and Hanuman jumped into battle and began to fight each other. With Narcis
the Matreya Buddha standing around as an onlooker. Talus started out with the
clear advantage landing blow after blow against the monkey king Hanuman.
Hanuman began to strike several blows with his club and now the little monkey at
least for a moment had the advantage against Talus. Talus began to smile as he
coughed up blood and simply responded by opening his mouth and shooting a ray
that blew up a small nearby planet. The debris began to rain down on the battlefield
as Narcis on the ground dodged it effortlessly. While Talus and Hanuman used the
falling rubble as platforms in their ongoing battle. They continued to fight and
shook the entire arena. The two were fighting for 20 rounds or so until they lunged
at each other at full speed when an announcer told them to stop mid-fight. "All
contestants please cease your fighting, if anyone continues to fight after this announcement they will be immediately disqualified. Everyone will be teleported
in several minutes to the next floor. There are exactly 512 surviving contestants
who have not been defeated or killed in the tournament and therefore they will
progress to the next floor of the tournament.
Talus and Hanuman stopped
immediately and quietly landed next to Narcis and in no time everyone was
teleported to the next floor of the Tower. Everyone appeared in a room and before
them was a familiar character; "Adolphus Blockhus." Daniel was shocked; "You're
the one from before we entered the tournament!? What are you doing here?!"
Adolphus chucked and said in a ridiculous voice; "surprised to see me?! Yes the
tournament was only the beginning and the bottom floor of the Tower of Babel.
coughs my name is Adolphus Blockhus and I am the ambassador of the Tower. It's
time to trim the fat. I don't need that myself, I'm quite svelt. If anyone disagrees
they can take it up with my ass. I'll make it clear the first 25 people to pass through
the wall of flames will progress. The rest will be expelled from the tower and must
wait one year in order to attempt this again," said Adolphus. Everyone murmured
and someone stood up and screamed back at the brick; it was a girl with dark black
skin, blonde hair and green eyes, a beautiful girl with two swords who yelled; "You
expect me to buckle from a simple wall of flames, I'll be the first to cross over,"
she said this and confidently walked through the flames.
But to her surprise Daniel,
Talus, Zaiyal, Narcis and Ungar we're already on the other side. She was shocked; "hey when did you cross over the wall of flames?" said the girl. Daniel, who was
deeply confused looked around, eyeing everyone else and looking back at the girl.
He scratched his head, "we want to simply to pass through the flames, we have a
more important task than this tower but we have to go through it to complete our
aims," said Daniel. "Errr, that doesn't explain your speed," said the girl. "You want
us to explain ourselves, we simply crossed over, we have no interest in discussing
the speed in which we may or may not travel," said Zaiyal. "I'm tired of your
arrogance," said the girl. After this Talus began to chuckle, it got louder and louder
until finally he was howling with laughter. "Ahh... wow you really are something
we crossed over when you were too busy bloviating about how you would be the
first. You shouldn't care about such childish things to begin with, but the fact you
couldn't even accomplish childish things as do to your obsession with proclaiming
your superiority. What a stupid little twat you are," said Talus. The girl got
extremely angry. "Whoa Talus why'd you say that, that was so rude!" said Daniel.
The girl scoffed, "I don't care if I'll be disqualified, I'm going to strike you all
down," said the girl. As she said this everyone increased their aura immediately
and as the five of them unleashed their power the girl stepped back and dropped
her sword in fear. "Who are you people, how did you become so powerful?" said
the girl. She dropped to one knee and submitted stating; "I know if I want to
progress I must align myself with you all," said the girl. "Good call," said Sarai who appeared behind them.
Behind Sarai came Imam Ahmad and the little Jinn
Muhammad, Hanuman appeared through the flames next, and after that an
excitable Tashkent the little red demon, along with Sir Rhyme, the slug alien
Guan-Fu, and the rest of them appeared through the flames the others were
teleported outside of the tower. Adolphus then ran up to the 25 contestants.
"Congratulations to all of you, God knows you've earned it. The good news is this
is the maximum number of people that can be admitted into the lands of the gods,
so in theory from this point everyone can progress, but it only gets harder from
here and I highly doubt everyone will make the cut... Ahhh the Yaddithians are
about to arrive there they are." said Adolphus. A large group about 50 in number of
aliens with strange octopus faces, crab claws, ten eyes and short stout figures
approached the 25 contestants. Lobova, a blue alien woman with two large scythes
was actually in visible disgust of these little creatures. The creatures made a little
Hissidic Rabbi jump back in startled fear but the beings seemed to feel nothing.
They all pulled out tablets and as they scrolled through they began to speak to each
of the contestants until one of them noticed one of the contestants, "UNGAR! It's
Ungar!" said one of the Yaddithians. They all stammered over each other to get a
glimpse of the warlock who stood there with his black cape glistening has the wind
blew from outside of the windows in the giant tower, he stood triumphantly. Zaiyal
was intrigued; "old friends of yours Ungar," said Zaiyal. Ungar stepped forward and said; "yes, I've been friends with the Yaddithians for a number of years," said
Ungar. One of the Yaddithians told them of everything Ungar defeated demons,
monsters, cosmic horrors and all sorts of terrible threats that threatened their
original homeworld, Ungar dealt with all of them and hence the Yaddithians treated
Ungar as if he were a god. "He is our champion, we owe everything to our god,
Ungar," said the Yaddithian. All the Yaddithian prostrated to Ungar which greatly
annoyed the Shaykh who was grumbling about how Ungar was not a supplement
of God and that the Yaddithians were engaged in polytheism.
Nonetheless,
everyone eventually calmed down and Adolfus Blockhus began to speak;
"tomorrow you will half to complete another challenge, but you have a job tonight,
before you all return to your quarters there are 25 rooms set aside for you in the
next room. But you will all enjoy a dinner together and you will socialize, but it's
also for practical purposes. You will all from this point remain more or less on the
same team and in the event tomorrow you WILL be on the same team but we will
be broken up into two categories; commanders and soldiers. You will decide who
will be of the 15 soldiers who will be among the 10 soldiers if you do not decide by
tomorrow you will all fail. You have until 9 hours from now to decide. Everyone
enjoys your meal," said Adolphus Blockhus.
Everyone went into the dining room and sat down to enjoy their meals. They
saw before them a huge mess hall of food everywhere, delicious succulent meat and every sort of food, shellfish, chicken, strange meats and fruits from other
worlds and every sort of other thing they may desire. The food was spread out and
Talus began to gorge himself yet again. Daniel spoke up and said something
surprising he asked the girl from earlier what's your name he said? "Lauren," said
the girl. "Well Lauren I think you should be the leader," said Daniel.
Everyone was
shocked. "Elf, why would you insist on such a thing," said Zaiyal. "Because we
need someone who has confidence, and honestly it's just my gut," said the boy.
"Screw you, are you trying to get in my pants you little creep!!" said Lauren.
"Whoa, Lauren, chill out," Daniel said, trying to diffuse the situation. "I didn't
mean anything weird by it. I just thought you'd be good at leading us." Lauren's
eyes narrowed, but her tone softened slightly. "Oh, really? And what makes you
think that?" "Because you've got this... presence," Daniel explained, gesturing
vaguely. "You seem like someone who knows what she's doing, and we need that
right now." Zaiyal cleared his throat. "So, Daniel's gut feeling aside, what makes
you think you'd be a good leader, Lauren?" Lauren calmed down, took a deep
breath and said clearly I'm not as powerful as you but I do have a tact for strategy
and I think I should be on the ground to lead those 15 on the ground and I believe
the big guy "Ungar?' was it to lead the 10 from above," said Lauren. "This is all
quite foolish, the fact that we would be led by some woman. It is an insult to men
both Muslims and Kafirs (disbelievers) alike there is a Hadith in the noble Sahih
al-Bukhari said by our Holy Prophet Muhammad [may Allah grant him eternal
blessings and peace] reported by the noble Abu Bakra that states: "During the
battle of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a Word (I heard from the Prophet).
When the Prophet heard the news that the people of Persia had made the daughter
of Khosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will such a nation make a woman
their ruler and prosper." And then he spoke in classical Arabic;
َما ُن َحَّدثَنَا
ِم ُعث ْب ُن ، ْ
هَ ْيثَ
ال نَا ْ
َح َس ِن َع ، ِن َع ْو ٌف َح ، َّدثَ
ال َع ْن ي ْ
ِ
ب
ْك َأ َرة،َ َأ
َعنِي ُ
َمٍة هَّللا بَ قَا َل لَقَ ْد نَفَ
َكلِ
ِ
يَّامَ ب
َج َم ِل َأ
ْ
ال
َّما
ل َغ َ
بَل َّي َ
ِ
ب
الن صلى هللا عليه وسلم َّن َّ
ِر َأ ًسا َأ
فَا ُكوا
ِك ْس َرى قَا َل " ْن َملَّ
اْبنَةَ
ل لِ َح َ
ْوٌم ْوا ْ
يُف قَ
َو ُم لَّ
ْم َرهُ
َأ ةً َأ
ا ْم َرَأ ". َأ
The atmosphere in the mess hall shifted as the new argument began. Zaiyal's
expression hardened at the mention of religious texts and historical precedence,
while Lauren's face tightened with frustration. The room was suddenly filled with a
palpable tension.
Lauren took a steadying breath and addressed the interruption directly. "I
understand your concerns, but our situation here is different. We're not bound by
the same norms and traditions as those described in historical texts. We need
effective leadership and strategy, not outdated prejudices." This outraged the
Shaykh greatly; "How dare a woman speak this way to a man, its insult to the Holy
Prophet Muhammad Mustafa ibn Abdullah (may God grant him mercy and
peace)." This made Lauren even more irate.
Daniel, who had been quietly observing, interjected. "Look, whether it's
Lauren or anyone else, the focus should be on what skills and qualities they bring
to the table. We're in a unique situation and need to adapt accordingly."
Ungar, who had been quietly observing from his spot, finally spoke up. "I'm
fine with leading the group from above if that's what's needed... Shaykh I
understand, you might not understand this but I've been 1,000 people just like in
your same religion, in your same station, but we are dealing with demonic forces
that you would shutter in fear if you knew the full extent of, we must but these
objections aside at least in a time like this," said Ungar. The Shaykh quietly nodded
and said; there is another Hadith that was often quoted by the great Sufi master and
Shaykh Ibn 'Arabi (may God have mercy on his soul) where the Prophet was
briefly possessed by God's might and said; "I was a treasure and I wished to be
known. So I created the world so that I could be known." Perhaps you all are the
creation of the Almighty and by that understanding I give full authority to the
woman in such dire circumstances. And then the old Shaykh quoted the opening
verse of the noble Quran; "In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful."
ِن ب ٱهَّللِ ِ ْسِم
ٱل َّر ِحي ١ ِم ٱل َّر ْح َمٰـ
Ungar nodded respectfully to the Shaykh as his words settled over the room,
offering a bridge between the old beliefs and the new necessity of their situation.
The atmosphere, charged with earlier conflict, began to soften as the Shaykh's
wisdom and the gravity of their circumstances were acknowledged.
Lauren, her resolve renewed by the Shaykh's support, addressed the group
with newfound confidence. "Thank you, Shaykh. Your understanding and the
wisdom of your words mean a lot. I assure you, I will lead with everything I've got
to ensure our success and safety."
The group, now unified in their acceptance of Lauren's leadership, began to
focus on practical matters. Ungar prepared to take command of the aerial team,
coordinating with Lauren to ensure their strategies were aligned. The plan took
shape as they discussed their roles and responsibilities, moving with a sense of
purpose driven by their shared goal.
Daniel glanced around the room, relieved to see the tensions eased and the
group coming together. "Alright then, let's get to work. We've got a lot to do and
not much time to waste."
With the new leadership structure in place and the group's roles clearly
defined, they started to organize their resources and strategies. The task ahead
seemed daunting, but with their combined efforts and the clarity of purpose
brought by the Shaykh's wisdom, they felt better equipped to face the challenges
that lay before them. Talus interjected and said; "So who's going in which team, I mean Lauren the floor's your the good old Imam gave you the floor, so why not
show us your impeccable leadership skills," said Talus.
"Here's what we'll do," said Lauren. In group A). 1-15 which is those from
below we will have myself; 1). Lauren [the leader], 2). Daniel, 3). Zaiyal, 4).
Martreya Narcis, 5). Sarai, 6). Shaykh Ahmad, 7). Muhammad (the Jinnie),
8). David Tanaka, 9). Lobova, 10). Guan-Fu, 11). Gragamire, 12). Ragnar (the
Northman), 13). Talus, 14). Cyi, 15). Logar the Brave. For group B we should
have 16). Ungar [the leader], 17). Sir Rhyme, 18). Tashkent, 19). Hanuman,
20). 21). The green guy, Taurus, 22). Vilingi, 23). Corosa, 24). Naichen, 25).
Kavir.
That will be our team. Everyone was excited about the arrangement and
Daniel for his part stood up and said, "as a team we should all know a little bit
about each other, my name is Daniel I'm originally from Earth but my true home is
the world below this realm I'm known as the Gatekeeper and my successor is
actually right here Zaiyal?" Zaiyal was irritated and grumbled as he gave his
introduction: Zaiyal shifted uncomfortably, clearly not thrilled about the spotlight.
"Yeah, fine. I'm Zaiyal. I'm originally from a place called Solar, I'm a Solarian
which is a race of alien warriors and my father is a nobleman among our people.
I've been one of the Gatekeeper close allies , and I guess that's why I'm here. I'm
good with strategy and dealing with anything a warrior needs to act on, Tsk, how ridiculous I hope you're happy," said Zaiyal.
Lauren, sensing the need to keep
morale high, quickly moved to the next person. "Thank you, Zaiyal. Let's keep the
introductions brief and focused. Martreya Narcis, why don't you go next?" Narcis
slowly stood up and said; "My name is Narcis and I am the reincarnation of
Subhuti one of Lord Buddha's great disciples and arhats and I am also the foretold
of Matreya Buddha the bringer of the fifth and final cycle after the death of the
Buddha. I have trained under Miyamoto Musashi, Bodhisattva Guanyin, the wild
monkey Sun Wukong i.e. the Victorious Fighting Buddha, the Buddha Erlang
Shen, Laozi, Budai, etc. I am a master in martial arts and the sciences of both
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, I am a Buddhist monk and patriarch and
steadfast on the Dharma path, I recite to you a chant from the Sutras which will
prove my devotion;
"Buddham Saranam Gacchâmi. Dhammam Saranam Gacchâmi. Sangham
Saranam Gacchâmi. Dutiyampi Buddham Saranam Gacchâmi. Dutiyampi
Dhammam Saranam Gacchâmi. Dutiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchâmi.
Tatiyampi Buddham Saranarn Gacchâmi. Tatiyampi Dhammam Saranam
Gacchâmi."
"Tatiyampi Sangham Saranam Gacchâmi.
"I go to the Buddha as my refuge.
I go to the Dhamma - The Teachings, as my Refuge.
I go to the Sangha - The Community, as my Refuge.
For the second time I go to the Buddha as my Refuge.
For the second time I go to the Dhamma - The Teachings, as my Refuge.
For the second time I go to the Sangha - The Community, as my Refuge.
For the third time I go to the Buddha as my Refuge.
For the third time I go to the Dhamma - The Teachings, as my Refuge.
For the third time I go to the Sangha - The Community, as my Refuge."
Thank you I will be happy to serve you as a friend and ally," said Narcis.
"I SAID KEEP IT BRIEF!!! AND NO MORE RELIGIOUS BULLSHIT!!" said
Lauren.
The room quieted down, and Martreya Narcis took his seat with a respectful nod.
The next person stepped forward, eager to share their own background.
"Hey my name's Sarai. I'm a Wolf-like alien called an Izadoran. I used to be a
space pirate until Daniel changed my life for the better. I have a wife and kids
waiting at home and I can't afford to have them suffer at the hands of this evil
regime or the upcoming monster I fear. In any event you'll find I'm always a team
player," said Sarai.
Next up was the Imam, Shaykh Ahmad, with his calm and serene demeanor,
offered his introduction. "I am Shaykh Ahmad, a Shafi'i scholar and well versed in
armed combat as in life I served in the army of the Sultan and the Muslims. My
focus is on providing wisdom and any kind of support, and I am here to support
and guide where needed. Alhamdulillah."
Muhammad, the Jinnie, spoke next, his voice resonating with an otherworldly
echo. "I'm Muhammad, a Jinnie from the realms of the Djinn. I possess abilities
that can aid us in various ways, from physical tasks to mystical interventions.
Alhamdulillah."
Following him was David Tanaka, "hey my name's David Tanaka, I died back in
the year 1998 in Osaka Japan. I'm Japanese and a native of Osaka. My family were
from a Shinto-Buddhist background but in college I found God through my lord
and savior Jesus Christ," upon saying this David pulled out a cross necklace from
under his shirt. "And now a prayer from the Bible in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in
accordance with the riches of God's grace, Amen." (Ephesians 1:7). David bowed,
showing his Japanese heritage, "Thank you everyone, I hope I'm off any help,"
upon saying that Lauren was cartoonishly mad.
"Again! KNOCK IT OFF with the religion stuff!!"
Lobova stood up next, "Salutations, I am Lobova. I am a member of a proud race
known as the Araqiwites, we follow the Goddess Aquarius who is our savior and a
great blessing and is the namesake of our home world as well. 'I beseech you
Aquarius, deliver us from struggle, and guide us to the light!"
Lauren's eyebrows began to twitch and she looked semi-delirious with a small
smirk, "why do I even bother." Lauren's patience was clearly wearing thin as she
tried to maintain control over the introductions. Her frustration was evident, but
she took a deep breath, determined to move things along despite her deep
frustration.
"Alright, everyone, let's keep this brief and to the point," Lauren said, trying to
keep her voice steady. "We need to focus on our mission, not personal beliefs."
Guan Fu stood up, "my name is Guan Fu, a member of the tribe of the Slug people
and a master of Shaolin martial arts, I humbly will do my duty and I receive you all
with the highest honor," said Guan Fu. After this he sat down. Daniel smiled
thinking to himself; "there we go not mentioning once that he's a Taoist."
Gragamire, with his gruff demeanor, introduced himself. "My name is Gragamire,
from the Dwarven Clans. I'm here for heavy lifting and combat. I say we hurry up
the chit-chat and get some sleep soon, we have a big day in the morning."
Next Ragnar stood up; "my name is Ragnar I pillaged the lands of the Rus with my
Varangian brothers around the year 912, I'm happy to be with you, praise Odin
may I see all you fine warriors in the throne halls of Valhalla," said Ragnar.
"At least that was brief," thought Lauren.
Cyi, the mage, followed. He was a purple alien with pointed ears and antennae.
"Cyi, specializing in elemental and protective magic. Ready to provide magical
support."
A big red and black alien stood up. It was Logar the Brave, with a resolute
expression, concluded Group A's introductions. "My name is Logar the Brave from
Valor. I'm here to fight and strategize."
Talus stood up next; "my name's Talus and I'm an apostate from the demon realm.
Just one thing though, make sure to stay out of my way," after this Talus sat back
down.
With Group A's introductions done, Lauren motioned to Ungar's team.
Ungar stood up with a commanding presence, "my name is Ungar, I'm a powerful
warlock and a member of the race of the Star People in training, I'll keep it short,
I'm basically a demi-god who will eventually become a god (sorry for that Shaykh
and you too David), but my goal is simple to get us where we need to go, that is
all," Ungar sat down.
Tashkent stood up, "my name is Tashkent, and I am a young warrior who can't
wait to challenge you all to a good duel," he then sat down.
"My name's Hanuman, enough said," the little monkey then sat down.
The green guy, Taurus, who had been somewhat elusive, added, "I'm Taurus. My
skills are unique, and I'll reveal them as needed."Vilingi, the mage with a scholarly
air, said, "Vilingi from the Arcane Sanctum. I specialize in magical theory and
applications."Corosa, the rogue, introduced herself. "I'm Corosa, from the
Horsehead Nebula. I'm skilled in infiltration and intelligence."Naichen, with a
calm demeanor, said, "Naichen from the Nilon Galaxy. I'll handle planning and
strategic support."Finally, Kivar, the energetic young warrior, spoke up. "My name
is Kivar, I am from the Adronus Sector. I'm only here to fight and prove myself."
With all introductions complete, Lauren addressed the group. "Thank you,
everyone. I appreciate your patience. Now, let's focus on our mission. We need to
finalize our plans and prepare for the challenges ahead."The room, though still
buzzing with energy, began to settle into a more focused atmosphere. The team was
now better acquainted and ready to put their plans into action. Despite the earlier
chaos, they were united in their purpose and prepared to face whatever challenges
lay before them.
Meanwhile, in a throne room the Emperor was receiving oral sex from a
slave girl when a man casually entered the room. "Sire, I bring bad news," said the
man. The Emperor, without acting like anything unusual was transpiring, simply
said; "what is it?" as he continued to receive oral sex from the slave girl with not
the slightest look of displeasure on his face. "This desert savage who claims he is a
Prophet by the name of Talib is disrupting the neoplasm and energy siltara mines
and looting the wealth and distributing it to his followers. When we ambushed and
slaughtered the Qadarian people who were his allies that only made him more
clever as he doesn't want to share the same fate. This Prophet has looted billions
worth of value of wealth from the Planet Thebes. And he and his rebellion must be
annihilated." The Emperor as he finished and gestured for the girl to go away as he
adjusted his pants and said; "this man will only grow stronger as the vassal on that
world cannot handle this Prophet and his message which he man claims comes from his God, this deity Hubal, but it doesn't matter. We have almost awakened the
old one and when I receive his power nothing will be able to stop him. Not angels,
not strange alien deities, not false Prophets and their foolish prophecies and petty
warlording, nothing will compare to my power. So relax Aldrian, it's only a matter
of time until we triumph." The man nodded, "yes sire." In the Emperor's throne
room, the atmosphere was markedly different. The Emperor, now fully dressed,
was reviewing the latest reports with an air of detached superiority. Aldrian, who
had delivered the grim news, stood rigidly by his side.
"Aldrian I take back what I said before, now that the reports are directly in front of
me. This Prophet Talib is proving to be more troublesome than anticipated,"
"It goes without saying that the man has the power of religion on his side. He
claims God is on his side and that he speaks for God. That he is God's messenger
in this world to fulfill divine prophecy and people believe him and they will die for
him in holy war. We can't beat religion, religion is an extremely powerful force in
this world and its influence should never be underestimated. Therefore, I must
become a god myself," said the Emperor. Aldrian said, his voice laced with
frustration. "His influence is growing, and his rebellion is disrupting our
operations."The Emperor's face remained impassive as he addressed the issue.
"Yes, I'm aware. However, our focus remains on the old one's awakening. Once
that is complete, no force in this realm or beyond will stand against us."
He gestured for Aldrian to approach a large map of the star system and then
zoomed in on Planet Thebes, marked with various points of interest. "Our vassals
are incapable of handling this Prophet. And these mines are one of the necessary
points in the empire that I have been using to bring the old one to life. Those
resources are absolutely essential. But this so-called "Prophet" has only delayed
the inevitable. Soon, the power we are about to unleash will make any resistance
futile. The Prophet and his followers will be nothing but a footnote in
history."Aldrian nodded, his expression one of grim acceptance. "Understood, sire.
We'll continue our efforts to suppress the Prophet and his rebellion until the old
one is fully awakened."
"Yes, and it's time for a little bit of shake up. I feel there needs to be a new change
in leadership," said the Emperor.