Iris woke up with a gasp of panic, remembering her last moments lying awake in a sphere ship crash with her legs blown off and most of her bones broken.

  She quickly looked down and put her hand over her belly.

  She felt it still, the fragile mote of life still alive in her uterus.

  She let out a sigh of relief.

  She quickly surveyed her body, fully healed, as expected.

  She quickly surveyed her surroundings to find herself in a brightly lit, white chamber with neon blue lining the walls likes a net of warm, positive reassuring light.

  As if that would help her.

  She sat upright on a bed from which she could see a desk with a monitor and a sitting area with old leather bound books in a shelf nearby.

  Definitely not a prison… what a welcome change.

  She thought sarcastically as she got up out of her sheets and to her feet to notice she was changed into a white garb.

  Where the fuck am I? A mental asylum?

  She walked over to the door which could only be the exit.

  Rushing through after the door slid open, she was abruptly stopped in a large hallway by a man wearing centurion armour.

  She had only heard stories of the Conglomerate legion, usually they didn’t get as far out in the Galaxy where she had been surviving.

  “Ah, you’re finally awake, greetings to you miss, I have orders to bring you to our General as soon as you came to. So if you please, follow me kindly miss.” The young man behind the armour stated firmly but kindly.

  For some unknown reason the urge to murder whoever told her what to do was not on the forefront of Iris’ mind.

  She had never been treated with any level of politeness since she was a little girl and it disarmed her.

  She stared at him intensely, not budging an inch for a moment.

  “Miss, if you please.” He insisted, offering his arm to guide her.

  She simply nodded and walked past him.

  “Well, are you coming? I don’t know where to go.” She said as the centurion rushed to catch up with a sigh.

  They eventually made their way to the bridge, passing through hallways bustling with activity.

  A lot of medics ran about to tend to the injured after they had invaded Vol Drungs Citadel.

  “General Lyanus sir! I have brought you the woman we found in the crash! Look sir, she is already healed! And all by herself to!” The centurion said as they entered onto the catwalk that led to the bridge main control hub that sat looking out into the stars.

  The General sat there, in front of the commanding control hud.

  All of the information about anything aboard the ship was filtered directly to him.

  He stood, turned quickly and marched with bustling efficiency down to the two.

  He still had the centurion prime armour on, it glowed a dim white, signifying it was in idle mode, yet the blood stains covering it showed it had not been idle for long.

  He did not wear the helmet and looked at Iris with an intense yet curious gaze.

  Iris had encountered many rough, roguish and strong men in the outer realms but there was something in the generals eyes that set him apart.

  He was dangerous to say the very least.

  “Remarkable… any bionics?” The general asked as he looked upon her in wonder.

  “The medics couldn’t find any but her white blood cells were apparently very peculiar, they’re being further tested as we speak sir… there is another thing though sir... she happens to be pregnant and the baby survived as well. They have no idea how sir I for sure thought she was dead, I mean we only dragged her torso out by her only one remaining arm and now look at her.” The centurion explained.

  The General nodded slowly before reaching his hand out.

  “Greetings miss. Its a pleasure to have you aboard the Blitznought. I am General Lyanus, General of the Conglomerate legion and wearer of the Centurion Prime battle armour.” He said looking her straight in the eyes.

  She looked at him from behind her long, dark hair dubiously.

  The General felt a chill run up his spine.

  There was a look of innate distrust and animalistic survival in her eyes.

  What the hell has she been through!

  If she so wanted this young woman could kill him right now.

  Gladius thought she looked a little familiar but could not quite pinpoint why.

  The drunkard! She has his resemblance!

  “Iris.” She eventually said after looking the man up and down with her ice blue eyes.

  Despite the blood splattered all over his armour and the scar on his face, he held himself in a way that set him apart.

  He was earnest and meant well in all of his endeavours.

  He could kill, yes, but only as ordered, when ordered and for something greater than himself.

  “Centurion, get this young woman a levi-chair and set it next to mine.” He ordered as he gestured her to his control seat at the bridge.

  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions miss but I have a fair few of my own that I need answered first.”

  She slowly nodded her head after looking around the bridge, analysing how easy it would be to kill everyone and escape if she had to.

  Very easy.

  The General then tried to squeeze as much information about her, the Citadel and Vol Drung out of her as he could, learning about her as he they went through the conversation as well.

  She in turn, after a long period of one word answers and avoiding questions eventually trusted the man enough to ask about the state of the Conglomerate and her father and what the hell was happening with Vol Deung and the cult of the hammer.

  He obliged and answered in turn, not even being able to begin to empathise with what the girl had gone through.

  He learned indirectly of the Talos serum that flowed through her veins.

  That's why she healed so fast.

  Being a father and husband himself he took pity on the Dangerfield family and understood Hans to an extent.

  He told her he had seen her father but he was not quite the same man and probably should not be around her until he was captured and somewhat tamed.

  She wept and as she continued her story eventually divulging that she held Vol Drungs child within her and she did not know what to do.

  The strength she showed, the turmoil she had endured.

  She reminded the General of his own wife Therase and took more pity on her.

  “Centurion Avious! Ensure this woman gets to the capital as soon as Galactically possible. Ensure she is comfortable and get her to my quarters in the capital, I shall send word to my wife, she shall take care of her until we deal with this...this...this demon!”

  He turned to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

  “You have my word young lady, you shall not come to experience one more modicum of harm as long as I live and breathe.” He said with concern in his eyes.

  She nodded, still somewhat distant with her arms crossed and tear worn eyes cast down to her stomach as she recounted her life to this point.

  She was never able to talk with anyone until this point and she felt warmth towards the general but did not know how to express it.

  “Thank you…” She whispered out before she left with centurion Avious who had brought her to the bridge.

  He nodded reassuringly before thoughtfully looking out into the stars for a moment.

  He found it hard to think back on task after that conversation but for the sake of the Galaxy he knew he had to.

  They had to retreat from the Citadel but not before doing some serious damage to the old gods lair.

  “Bridgeman, do we have a heading?” He asked authoritatively, snapping back to his role as the general rather than as a father.

  “A sighting of a sphere ship in the lions mane nebula sir, a large one with unusually high emergy readings, I’ve set a course after that sir… but sir, I got a message from the Consulate, it’s a cease and desist.” Answered the bridgeman.

  “Ignore it, follow that ship or the Consulate will have me to contend with not just this crazy old demon with a god complex.” He said with an iceberg tone before setting up straighter in his chair.

  “We end this now or the Galaxy will be the price to pay…”

  -

  “It's very dirty here! Puella, let's go home! My garb is ruined!"

  "Oh quiet Vialdi! My poor Gerad is out there all by himself, chasing that giant behemoth that you let loose! We must go and help, the king won't do a thing for him now."

  "Oh how silly that mushan of yours is! Always getting himself into trouble, serves him right if that cute little monkey eats him whole! Hmph!" Vialdi responded with a pout.

  "Vialdi! Take that back! He may be a tad loopy but he is my mushan and I love him!” Puella shot back, her face furrowed in anger.

  “Will the two of you please shut the fuck up!” Bob yelled back in a huff as he was cutting through thick fungal flora whilst trying to keep his footing through all of the undergrowth and sooty soil.

  He was soaked with sweat and flying fungal parasites swarmed around his head.

  The two Mishi had raced to Bob at the edge of the village after finding out that Gerad had escaped from the dungeons after the hynx had destroyed a fair portion of the wall containing the prisoners.

  The now giant alien beast also destroyed a lot of the surrounding primitive infrastructure before running rampant into the forest.

  "Ugh how rude, are all you off worlders this unpleasant? And clumsy?" Vialdi shot back quickly.

  The natives had amorphous feet that allowed them to traverse the terrain with ease, whereas Bob's humanoid, boot clad trotters were not the ideal shape for the root tangled soot.

  "Vialdi please! He is the king's champion and our only way to end this calamity!" Puella tried to mediate.

  "Bob shook his head and sighed, obviously annoyed at getting himself into this situation.

  "Damned monkey… backwards planet… loud bitches…" he grumbled to himself as he cut his way through the thick fungus in front of him.

  The two mishi still babbled away behind him as they followed.

  "Quiet!" Bob yelled with a sense of foreboding urgency as he froze in his tracks.

  The two mishi went dead quiet, sensing the caution that Bob portrayed.

  Faint conversation could be heard in the distance, through the large tree sized mushrooms.

  Bob drew his pistol and tightened the grip on his sabre.

  Vialdi gasped dramatically.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Shut the fuck up mushroom man!" An abrupt yell bustled through the forest.

  The two mishi gasped and Bob tightened the grip on his sabre.

  “I say good sir! You have the most rotten of tongues!”

  “Gerad!” Puella gasped in excitement before breaking to a sprint into the canopy following the bickering voices.

  “Wait No Puealla!” Vialdi yelled as she chased after her sister.

  Bob let out a sigh before following behind in a lackadaisical manner.

  He recognised both voices and was just as dismayed as much as relieved to have found Hans and Gerad together.

  “Puella! My dear sweet Puella! Come into my arms beloved!” Gerad sank to one knee, threw his arms out wide and pursed his lips as his beloved approached.

  Contrary to what he was expecting, Puella marched straight up to the mushan and slapped him abruptly before berating him about his recklessness.

  He could do nothing but accept the harsh criticism from his spouse whilst Vialdi and Hans couldn’t help but giggle to each other.

  “What the hell are you doing out here! Didn’t I tell you to watch the ship?” Bob shot at Hans abrasively.

  “Well i was until this mushroom moron turned up and told me how you messed up and now we have no fuel and not to mention king kong is out of control again.” Hans shot back through drunken slur.

  Bob stared at the drunkard with stifled agitation.

  "Puella! Vialdi! You must return home for we are on a perilous quest to quell the monstrous terror that is the alien behemoth! It is not safe for you two!" Gerad dramatically stated.

  "No Gerad! We're staying! We've already come this far, besides it was our fault anyway!" Puella retorted.

  "He's no monster anyway! The little thing wouldn't hurt a fly until he ate my dinner!" Vialdi said with sass.

  "Who are these guys?" Hans asked with bemusement as he and Bob listened to the mushan and mishi bicker back and forth.

  "A giant pain in my ass… we gotta find the chimp before anything else goes sideways."

  Suddenly a huge shadow engulfed the ensemble as well as a huge portion of the surrounding forest.

  "This doesn't seem good…" Hans muttered out as the group unanimously looked up to see one of Vol Drung's sphere ships.

  Its entry bay slowly opened to let out a drop ship that landed a stones throw away from everyone.

  Out of the drop ship, six apostles filed out to create a guard of honour of some sort.

  First floated out Timus who surveyed the area before moving out of the way.

  Then out came the monstrous, four armed titan of a god that was Vol Drung.

  He held in his top left hand a nearly complete, coal black warhammer with intricate engravings laced all around and over it.

  "This does not look good…" Puella commented as all eyes were fixated on the levitating beings in the distance.

  Timus noticed the fragment that Bob was holding onto and pointed his finger to it, signalling to Vol Drung.

  They accelerated towards the group.

  "Not good at all…" Bob responded as he steadied his hand above his holster and with his other arm he drew the mace that was fashioned out of the missing portion of Dar-Gul.

  He nudged Hans.

  "Hey, be ready! Looks like we're going to have to move, and fast!" Bob warned the group.

  The god and his apostle stopped abruptly merely ten yards from the ensemble.

  "You there, sheep haired man, hand over the artefact, and you as well as the rest of you mortals shall be welcomed into the service of Vol Drung, your rightful lord and master." Timus raised his voice to Bob.

  "It's that naked freak from the desert temple!" Hans yelled obtrusively.

  "Hmm…" Bob added.

  "Yes I recognise you as well… who would have thought this scrappy team of delinquents could kill the fearsome empress of the desert… you shall be a welcome addition into Vol Drungs servants of conquest." Timus said as he held his pointing finger to Bob and the artefact.

  "Quiet Timus." The old god spoke, his timbre making tremors through the sooty ground.

  He dropped to the ground gracefully.

  "As I am one myself I am able to sense an able warrior when I see one. Come, no need to risk a fine soldier like yourself to inevitable death. Give me the last piece of my beloved Dar Gul and serve me as I reinstate my dominion." He said with terrifying certainty.

  "Look big guy, you ain't exactly selling me on this 'servant' thing, especially when I know what kind of price a little trinket like this can get me. And you may look big and scary but… I think I've got this covered." Bob said with a smile as he flicked his holster open and slowly slid into a gunslingers stance.

  "You are making a grave mistake…" Vol Drung growled as the fires in his helm's eye slits began to burn more intensely.

  "Not as grave as it were for a ghoulish monstrosity like you to challenge the friends of I! Gerad the fantastic!" Gerad shot up to centre stage, withdrawing his tooth pick rapier and taking a flamboyantly ostentatious stance.

  "I have not the patience…" Vol Drung said flatly before beginning his acceleration to the group.

  All parties were prepared for battle when suddenly a conglomerate squadron drop ship landed precipitously in the middle of both sides, launching mud and fungal undergrowth at both factions.

  As soon as the doors hissed open, out jumped a five man squad of elite Conglomerate special forces and leading them was General Lyanus, donning the Centurion Prime armour and an arsenal of weapons that could reignite a dead star.

  "Now stop right there…" The general's big booming voice was amplified through the Centurion prime helmet.

  "Oh shit…" Bob mumbled as he began to creep away from the scene back into the forest.

  He was stopped short by a laser blast near his feet that left a mini crater in front of him.

  "You're going nowhere, outlaw." The general stated authoritatively.

  "And you owe me a rematch, hobo Joe." He said to Hans with a steely glare only to be met with a donkey-like smile.

  Lyanus turned to the cult.

  "By decree of the Conglomerate consulate, enforced by my hand, you are to cease your tyrannical conquest and submit yourselves as prisoners of the conglomerate to be incarcerated for life for your crimes against the Conglomerate and the greater good or you shall be executed." Lyanus shouted forcefully to Vol Drung and his entourage.

  "The choice is yours."

  "Such insolence! This is the level that my subjects have dropped to? Such raw and arrogant insolence! I will smite you from my Galaxy! All of you!" The purple god yelled with great vehemence.

  "Execution it is…" Gladius mumbled before lifting his giga blaster.

  Just as everyone was set and prepared for battle, a loud roar came from the middle distance.

  Everything living in the immediate radius froze.

  Suddenly, out of the thick fungal forest burst out the hynx in its giant rampaging form.

  Glowing white animalistic eyes locked onto the only being of somewhat comparable size, Vol Drung.

  In a blur the hynx launched himself at the god and slapped the ancient being with such force that it made a sonic boom as he was blasted into the mushroom bushland behind him.

  Hans let out a manic giggle.

  "Foul beast!" Gerard added dramatically.

  The two mishi gasped.

  "Fucking pest." Bob sighed.

  "Men! At arms!" Gladius ordered.

  "My lord!" Timus squealed in distressed anger.

  "Monkey!" Hans added with a sense of excitement.

  The hynx was in hysterics, laughing and slapping his belly in amusement, but not for long.

  A dreadful roar came from the direction in which Vol Drung was flung.

  The next moment the old god flew like a rocket back to exact his revenge and punched the hynx double the distance he was flung in the opposite direction.

  All hell broke loose as Vol Drung mercilessly crushed the skulls of three of Gladius' men before sucking their life force from them, leaving merely dust and armour in the soot below.

  "YOU INSOLENT, INSIGNIFICANT, MORTAL WORMS!" The angry god yelled as he easily tore through the rest of the squadron before getting to Gladius.

  "You shall kneel! But only after your punishment!" He yelled as he lifted his top left fist.

  Gladius activated the in built fore arm shield in the centurion armour and met Vol Drung’s fist with it.

  The god was strong enough to crack the shield as he pushed the General into the mushy ground while he held the block.

  Damn he's strong! Gladius thought as he strained to keep upright before sliding under the strike and countering.

  Vol Drung could have easily grabbed the generals fist but was curious of his strength and so let the blow land on his abdomen.

  Much to the god's surprise, he felt the blow, he even might have considered it painful.

  He let out a deep guttural laugh.

  "You are no weakling mortal! But you still are, a mere mortal." He yelled with excitement before bludgeoning the general with his lower right fist, sending him hurtling into the soil and back to Puella, Vialdi and Gerad.

  He flew straight to Hans next who did not even have the time to realise he was in the way.

  The god swiped at him and the man drunkenly dodged, but only narrowly.

  Vol Drung threw another punch that Hans met with his own fist, only for him to be smashed back into the forest behind.

  The rampage continued on to Bob who was preparing while the god tore through the rest of the company.

  He activated his own battle suit and channelled most of the battery into his single use thrusters.

  He feinted to the left as the god approach before feinting another attack and then suddenly, thrusting off into the forest, dodging under Vol Drung and blasting away to a speedy escape.

  Sorry everyone, this mess is all yours. He thought as he dropped the piece of the hammer onto the ground before his thrusters ran out of juice, forcing him to fall and stumble abruptly before settling into a bustling run.

  He grinned as he quickened his pace, hacking and slashing through the tangled flora in front of him.

  "Cowards, drunkards and curr, that is all that the human race has degenerated to." Bob's glee at having escaped all of his problems subsided steeply as Timus appeared in front of him.

  "There is no escape for one such as you."

  "This has all gone to hell…" Bob mumbled as options began to dwindle in his mind.