Welcome to the next episode in the Space Opera saga of Alex Deroma.
I'm continuing to use the excellent prompts in the Worldbuilding Community to determine which direction the story goes in. The one I'm using for this episode is; Worldbuilding Prompt #583 - Deposing the powerful.
In the last episode, the slave revolt Alex had started among the Kerber on Margal VI was picking up steam, overrunning Slaver outposts and freeing slave communities one by one. This is where it leads....
The city of Salujh was the nearest thing Margal VI had to a capital. In truth, it was an appalling place, only there as a convenient stopover for goods and personnel coming in from the adjacent spaceport.
There were no glittering tower blocks. Like just about everywhere on this planet of mud, the ground beneath Salujh was soft waterlogged sedimentary rock that could never support tall, heavy structures. The Slavers didn't consider the cost of deep reinforcing piles to be worthwhile, so the whole town was made of mud-coloured low rise structures.
The largest building in Salujh was the Governor's Palace. It too was the colour of dried mud and only three storeys in height. On the top floor, Governor Rahak hopped back and forth in short angry jumps, his tail feathers bunched tight with frustration.
"Tell me again, Superior Slavemaster Fssind, how it is that these animals are at the gates of my town ?"
The reptilian slavemaster was a head shorter than Rahak, and many places below him on the social scale. The avian Kraxians knew they were the senior Slaver species, or at least so they liked to think.
Fssind slowly adopted a subservient pose; the tardiness of his response demonstrated clearly that he felt insulted and demeaned.
"The slaves are reportedly led by an Imperial, my Governor. A female Imperial." He hissed out the last phrase, clearly indicating his displeasure and disbelief that a mere female could lead slaves in what showed every sign of becoming a successful revolt.
Lowering his pose further, he continued, "Our overseers were not adequately armed or prepared. This species has been a slave race for millennia and was assumed to be submissive down to a genetic level, so there was no need for anything stronger than neuro-whips. Somehow this Imperial agent triggered some kind of response in them. The last of our overseers has pulled back to Salujh and we have opened the arsenals. I am confident we can defeat the animals, Imperial or not."
Image created by AI in Nightcafe Studio - not quite what I asked for with the prompt, but I kind of like it anyway !
Image created by AI in Nightcafe Studio
This was the first time all the free slave army had gathered in a single place. Alex was impressed, despite herself. She'd split her force several times over the last two months as it had grown. Each sub-division had been sent off in a different direction to free the Kerber in the settlements there.
Now, they had all come back together for the final assault on Salujh. The town didn't look very impressive, but she could see Slavers of many species throwing up hasty defences and handing out weapons.
She knew the enemy could only see the first couple of ranks of Kerber, the ones she had allowed to crest the low hill. They couldn't see the huge mass hidden on the reverse slope.
Alex's army hadn't captured many heavy weapons but they'd been enough to deal with the few drones that had taken off from Salujh, before they could see anything. Ten thousand Kerber commanded by Garrad, the other human on the planet, had overrun the spaceport that morning to prevent the Slavers using any heavier aircraft. She knew that the heavy cloud which always blanketed Margal VI would make it tough for Slaver spy satellites to get a clear picture.
Now it was time for a final assault on the town. The result was a foregone conclusion. The only question was how many Kerber would die in the process of expunging the Slavers from this world.
Image created by AI in Nightcafe Studio
With Shade on her shoulder, she would lead the charge herself. The Kerber were ready to go, their rage at seeing Slavers barely contained. She raised her captured sword, waved it in a circle around her head, and started the long jog towards the barricaded outskirts of Salujh. With a roar, her million-strong horde followed.
When they were several hundred yards away from the defences, the Slavers opened up with every weapon at their disposal. It was both terrifying and pathetic. These weren't military weapons for the most part. Margal VI was an agricultural world that had no need for such things. So the Slavers had hunting weapons, converted construction lasers, hastily constructed shellers, even an old-fashioned nail gun here and there.
Hundreds, even thousands, of Kerber fell as the furry tide of freed slaves ran at the town with berserk rage. No matter how many were slain, more pushed forward to take their place. The Slavers were outnumbered hundreds-to-one.
A Kerber dived in front of Alex suddenly, taking a laser bolt to the chest and exploding in a haze of blood and fur. She'd seen this before; somehow, the Kerber knew when she was about to be hit and took the blow for her.
Even though Imperial scientists claimed they had never found evidence of telepathy, Alex had started to wonder if the Kerber had some kind of primitive hive mind or very short-term precognition. But that was something to think about some other time. Right now, her army was about to close with the enemy.
They struck with a terrible momentum, driving through the barricades by sheer ferocity and weight of numbers, an unstoppable wave of vengeance driven by thousands of years of humiliation. Alex was in the lead, but knew she wasn't really in control any more. It was more like surfing the largest, most powerful wave and knowing that if you fell off, you'd be dead in moments.
Slavers appeared before her, and she slashed at them as Shade teleported around her protectively and savaged anyone who tried attack from her blind side. It didn't matter if she struck home or not, every enemy was shredded by teeth and claws as dozens of Kerber swarmed over them. She thought for a moment that this was how it would be in the centre of a swarm of locusts.
Then it was over. She didn't know how long it had taken, but it wasn't long. Many of the Kerber were still working through the town, freeing slaves and destroying every Slaver they found. But here, Alex just found herself standing, feeling slightly stunned. All around her were Kerber; dead, dying or silently enduring wounds and waiting for help. The Slavers had been reduced to almost unidentifiable remains, just pulverised gore and occasional body parts.
A group of Kerber came up to her and handed her a fistful of large feathers. "The Governor. It's tail feathers for your hair," one of them said simply.
Another human approached her, dressed in deep red. It took a long moment for her head to clear and to realise it was Garrad, his once immaculate grey uniform dyed through with Slaver blood.
For the first time, Garrad grinned at her. "Well, Admiral Deroma, you've done it. Liberated a world and made free people of it's slaves. I didn't think it was possible. What else have you got up your sleeve to surprise me with ?"
