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Friel was now looking up and realised he had only seen something like this once before, when a planet was terra formed to clear its surface entirely. Nothing but nothing survived on its surface. It’s purpose was succinct, to the point, effective, destructive yet afterwards allowing new growth, new life.
Someone or something had redeveloped the device, expanded its capabilites to an awesome terrrifyingly new level and turned it into a weapon. He stupidly, dived for cover. Too late as the fury of the weapon a wall of rolling energy so intense was the all consuming heat as it scorched the planet; the living fires of hell consuming everything in its wake.
Lighting up the planets surface near him moving ever closer to him , it was in that split moment before it engulfed him turning him to dust that he whispered Isabellani’s name and the words
“I love you “ Fusive combustible energy.
All hell, in the form of a fire, that embraced everything in its heat.
It released its power like something in a rage, as it tore through the people in the streets of Jojareth the capital of Jogarth. They screamed as it burned, buildings crumbled and metal structures twisted and melted. The people, the place, the planet itself, no longer discernable, as dust sucked up by the wind which drove the fires even fiercer, continued to ravage the planets surface,
Nothing was left on the surface that wasn’t scorched, that wasn’t incinerated as the devices continued spinning and releasing more of their destructive capabilities long after everything below was dead, incinerated or scorched. Flesh, bones; EVERYTHING.
One by one they rose to the heavens, out of the Stratosphere and into space itself. Soon they would shut down and wait to be collected. The craft returned to collect them, then released beacons to orbit the planet. WARNING beacons.
They left after checking the beacons were operative, transmitting their message loud and clear ‘This planet if off limits to all lifeforms for the next 100 years.’ Nearby a GlobeCast unit recorded and played the scenes of the beacons orbiting the planet. The message clear, STAY away!
Hellenia would soon receive the news, she would NOT be the only one.
Hellenia wept, not for the people of Jogarth, but for her own people. Her dead mother and all those, who had suffered and were still suffering at the hands of the Jogarth. It was not a time for her to celebrate!
There was no victory in such mass murder.
Yet there was no compassion, no remorse for what she had done.
Princess Isabellani had tried and tried to make contact with Daddy, but nothing! She had been distracted by the sabotage carried out by some of the people of Theda against Jogarth installations. Punishment and retaliation had been swift.
She had finally moved off the planet installing a governor and commander, to ensure slaves, were still rounded up and the plans for the redevelopment of the planet went ahead. Time to head over to Jojareth and Daddy to tell him the good news!
Onboard her flagship she became aware of a strange silence, not the usual talkative crew even with her around there was more noise than this ! Then one of her Commanders approached and bowed “Your imperial highness I am so so sorry. “ She stared at him not understanding what he was babbling on about, then getting no sense screeched at him “ What are you going on about ?”
He stared at her, she saw a tear in his eyes?
He beckoned her over to the GlobeCast unit and then moved quickly away fearing her anger. There on the screen, the pictures of the entire incident played over and over.
Warnings flashing up, that a Galacia Federa investigation had been launched into WHY, a terraforming device, had been used on a populated planet?
TradeCast news reported. ‘The planet Jogarth was off limits to all lifeforms with immediate effect.’
The total annihilation on the Jogarth homeworld of her people, the total destruction of everything land, property,.slaves…but more than anything, the death of HER Daddy.
The broadcast made it clear that the Emperor had been killed in the attack, along with seven regiments of troopers celebrating in Jojareth, wiped out gone forever. She trembled stood up and fell to her knees just staying there, no one dared to move around her. Watching her as she shook then tears, rolling down her face, as she wept and over and over she kept repeating the words
‘Daddy, Daddy what have I done’
The Commander, finally plucked up courage to go over and gently raising her he escorted her to her quarters, laid her on the sleep unit and went to leave, she spoke her voice soft with a ripple of trembling through it.
“Tociaha “ He turned, he had never heard her call him by his first name before, “Stay awhile with me “ He grabbed a seating unit and sat down next to the sleep unit.
“No! Come rest here with me. “ she moved in and turned towards him, he slipped his footwear off and laid down, on the recline with her. She dimmed the light then nestled her head on his shoulder still gently sobbing as she fell asleep.
She awoke some hours later, he had left but had tucked her in and wrapped her. By her sleep unit, he had left her some water and a few tablets, she looked at them . Mild tranquilisers and some Ashanyan ( a herbal concoction renown as a hynotic and powerfully restores the senses helping to relieve any depression)
She swallowed a dose of the Ashanyan and laid back, it would take about an hour for it to work fully. She kept remembering moments spent with Friel when she was younger and her mother, before the wars, before she, was killed in battle by troopers from the Psemon Empire.
She had vowed vengeance, had worked hard to progress to the point she could take on the Psemon Empire, break the will of the others and then have the resources to smash the Psemon Empire! Make her Daddy proud of her, proud to have revenge for mommy’s death, now it seemed futile.
He would never see her victory, never feel the glow of sweet revenge, she wept the tears rolling down her face sobbing as she softly called his name again “Daddy, Daddy I’m going to miss you so much.”
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