The Warlord Domination, Sovereign Race

Chapter 16: The Evil over Evils.

This pic always gives me Bruce Cavalar vibes. It's so him!


Planet: Otonoliss

The Ceaderen Keep: a hydroelectric generator station deep in the heart of the Ceaderen forest, on a little known plate somewhere on Otonoliss.
    Secrecy…that is how Bruce Cavalar likes it. The fewer people who know what he is doing the better.
    A shame about Empress Shin-Graza finding out. No matter, though. As high-ranking as she is, she is still just another problem… Problems can be dealt with- any problems.
    Right now he is walking casually atop one of the long walls of a very expansive animal cage. Electric charge from the pump station runs through the interior walls to protect the guards from their quarry below. This is no ordinary animal cage though...
    The cage/complex covers dozens of square kilometres, encasing them in smooth, tan, rock walls at least thirty feet high- Higher in the low areas! (Must expect to hold some pretty crazy animals in there, eh, sonny?) These walls don't form any particular pattern but rather just weave in and out throughout the swamp, creating a whole network of individually sized and shaped cage areas. (And yes, there are trees inside the cages too.)
    To Bruce Cavalar it is all merely blasé, but to you or I this cage is beautifully crafted… a wonder to behold!
    Large patches of swampy moss cover many areas on either side of these walls, being plentifully nourished by many ponds of clear but slime covered water. The greenery, the vines... all cover every free inch of earth right up to the giant land-plate's edges- some playful ivy even growing down its steel sides… beautifying them to onlookers.
    The sky is always blue here, with hardly a single cloud ever forming- in truth, this is because of its global position, being in a zone which is passed over, relatively unnoticed, by the weather controllers; but locals will tell you it is simply that one special spot of land among so many other, non-special ones.
    And speaking of these locals, Cavalar notes with more than just a pinch of disdain that they're allowed to literally go Anywhere; from buying and selling trinkets on the walls overlooking all the myriad of animal species, to even talking and doing various interactions with the cage guards themselves, who are only too happy to be distracted from their boring work by some fancy item, or something else along those lines.
    To Cavalar, it is more like working in a circus than a military-science camp. He smiles to himself. He really does have to hand it to the Science Empress, she sure does know how to hinder his secret operations well. He had, of course, expected some form or other of retaliation from her when he began to rapidly take control of the complex, after having been placed here by the Prime Advocate himself as Arma's first officer- totally contrary to her will. She had had many other more loyal, more deserving men then he, ready to take the job.
    It had all been rather long in the making for him... a fact he regrets. Darsan Aszen: the previous Prime Advocate, had been dreadfully unhelpful in getting him into any lofty position whatsoever. A pity. But then again…problems can be dealt with. He smiles at the memory.
    "Mister Bruce Cavalar?"
    He turns to see who it is…
    A science technician approaches in a long white and orange dress, with the burgundy details and stripes showing her profession. "All requested subjects are being transferred to this facility as ordered."
    This tech is young, naïve, and without any devious intent. Another pity. 'She'll have to be transferred due to "unfortunate" circumstances in the near future’, he thinks in satisfaction. Instead he says, "Thank you, assistant. Bring them to Quarantine section 3."
    "Of course”, the tech replies and heads off to complete her task.
    Bruce checks his watch (uh...cool watch, that is. A solid gold body, with diamond hands before a silver face). It is time for his 12 o’clock report up in the control tower overlooking the cages, about two hundred yards distant. This is not an aspect of the job he particularly enjoys, since, for most of his work, he prefers not to have anyone know about- some of the more frightening things. But of course it is always easy to simply Lie…especially when you're reporting to the mindless servants of the Empress. Lying straight to her face, though, has often proven considerably more challenging- not because of guilt, mind you, but just because she always seems to be able to see through him more easily…
    He has talked this problem over before with Argin Aszen- multiple times; but with his influence and power waning after many series of incriminating events (which Cavalar was Totally not part of……totally!), the cowardly Pestilence has decided to lay as low as possible till the heat dies down. 'The tactics of a pathetic child’, Cavalar thinks. He will make Aszen suffer for it one day…soon.
    But for now, it is business as usual… talk, inquire, lie, excuse oneself on account of “urgent” matters- the usual routine. “Hmm hmm hmm." On second thought, maybe he is going to enjoy this.



    Burning sunlight shines in Gorillo’s eyelids as the hatch door opens and the troop of Vex warriors are pushed out into the warm swamp water almost twenty-five feet below!
    They land in great splashes, scattering swamp creatures in every direction!
    "Ugh! Green Plants!? Disgusting!" Gorillo shouts, brushing away a type of algae from his face with a violent slash.
    Cavalar smiles from atop the wall of the cage the Vex were dropped into. The murky water isn't that deep, but it was more than adequate to break the fall for a thick, bulky bunch of alien warriors…though it may have been unpleasant for them.
    Test one a success- they survived.
    The glass-plated dropship- a magnificent looking craft, with walls of almost nothing but clear bubbled-out glass for observation- after having dropped them all into the humid trap, hovers away, leaving the Vex Pride leader and his pack to swim in irritation for the shore.
    Gorillo hates warm! he hates green! and he most definitely hates human-beasts! First they keep these proud warriors locked behind dark walls for days, then they force he and his pack into a bright, shiny ship, using painful sticks, then push them all into soupy, slimy water, riddled with small green lizards and fat green……croakers! [Frogs. The Vex have never seen anything like them before.] Again, he hates them. But at least this new problem comes with a small advantage… maybe the pride will forget to kill him…for a short while, anyway.
    Something wet smacks him in the head as he pulls himself out of the water. It's green and leafy… some sort of human-beast vegetable. He claws it to ribbons in rage. "RAAAAAAWWW!!" he furiously howls, in unison with a number of other Vex, who have stumbled into, or tripped over, something organic and alive as well.
    'Where are all rocks!?' he asks himself. 'And diamonds, far as beast’s eye can see? Where is yellow and white sky above? Wispy clouds that run along mountainous ground in long lines?’ This Otonoliss Kill-planet is nothing in beauty compared to their magnificent home world: Ovulaant Grawnd. It is so filthy, so dirty and miserable! How do these scum expect the pride to survive here?
    Do they expect them to survive? Is this a death trap?
    Their misery only intensifies when they see their surroundings, a little later… the impossibly high, moss-covered walls, surrounding them in a long circular enclosure. Human-beast guards patrol the wall tops, wielding deadly-looking short rifles and wearing light, rubber-textured tangerine armour over their white and black robe-suits. There are many of them… too many to try an overthrow by rushing them- assuming one could figure out a way to climb the slippery walls, that is.
    "RAAAAAAW!!" Their biggest and most savage warrior roars as he prepares to attack a small deer-like creature who attempted to scamper past them with all haste…
    It is the creature’s biggest and last mistake! With one mighty vault the huge warrior is inches away from its flank and deals it a savage strike with his huge, clawed fingers! The light-boned creature slams into the tree beside it and is killed instantly!
    With that, all the other warriors begin to pound their shoulders and raise a deep, loud roar, in, what must be to them, a show of intimidation and strength.
    The guards only laugh. But from atop a nearby wall, Bruce Cavalar, among a handful of other high ranking officials, watches with a more-than-satisfied look on his face.
    Two or three of the officials just continue to stare down at the menacing creatures below with “Oh…my...goodness!” looks on their faces; till finally one says, "You aren't thinking about trying to introduce these beasts into society, are you, Bruce?"
    It's a completely honest question, but it produces a chorus of laughs from the rest of the officials.
    Bruce just smiles, feigning good humour. "No, Mr. Pierce-Folo, I have no intentions whatsoever of doing that. But I have brought you all here today to discuss certain funding for research and proper development of them; provided you good gentlemen are willing?"
    “‘Gentlemen’!?" says the one woman of the group, who, along with the others, "happens" to be intoxicated. "I daren't think my husband's company would support a man who fails to add 'lady' to his addresses!" She laughs aloud with the others at her own teasing joke, while supporting herself on the rail to keep from falling.
    "Yeah, Brucy! Where are your manners!" says another one, pointing 'accusingly' at him with his near-empty wineglass. "And you watch yourself, Lady Pria-Nastar! You're likely to fall in (he points to the cage beside her) if you get any more shots in you."
    She looks into the cage and giggles away.
    He points his glass back at Cavalar. "Well…Brucy? Are you gonna apologize to her?"
    Bruce fills up his glass to the brim with more wine. "Yes; you will forgive me my clumsy tongue." Though inside, he is laughing at their stupidity in allowing themselves to get inebriated while making critical decisions- something he has seen to personally. "Now gentlemen, And Lady”, he adds with emphasis, causing an uproar of drunken laughter. "If you are indeed all willing to help fund me for this project, then I do think I should buy you another round of champagne."
    "Hear, hear, Brucy! You've got yourself a deal!" one of them shouts out, raising his glass high.
    All the others do the same, including Pierce-Folo, who's cautionary stance didn't let him get as drunk as the rest of the officials are. "Anything to help out Empress Shin-Graza”, he says naïvely.
    "Good then!" Bruce says, ushering them back inside of one of the wall-top's outposts. "Perhaps I shall even open one of my twenty-year-old bottles from Dissisis for this occasion…if you do not object?"
    "One!?" one of them exclaims from the front of the group. "Try Three or Four! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" They continue into the room, guffawing and giggling away, while Cavalar closes the door quietly behind them, remaining, himself, on the outside. Without turning round to face the woman who just appeared at the top of the nearby ship landing-platform staircase, he says, "It might have just made it easier on both of us if you had simply granted me Company funding for this experiment…Your Majesty."
    Arma Shin-Graza- now becoming noticeably pregnant- looks down at him with curiosity (and not happy curiosity, I must add). "Your 'experiments'”, she repeats. "And tell me…is your Empress allowed to know what those actually are?"
    He reopens the door to re-join the officials. "You will see…very shortly." The door closes behind him.
    That buried emotion of a sensitive woman swells up inside her, bringing tears to her eyes before she quickly blinks them away. 'No,' she states in answer to the question which has plagued her for many long months. 'I do not hate you, Bruce Cavalar. I am only so sorry that I have not been granted the power to halt your mad schemes…and thus save you from your own evil.' She doesn't know exactly what it is he is doing, but judging from the fact that he was secretly advised to do it by the treacherous Prime Advocate himself, (and make no mistake, she has zero doubts that this scheme was ordered done by Argin Aszen) she knows that it can't be anything good.
    But until Aszen somehow finds a way to oust her from her seat, she is still the Science Empress, regardless of what Cavalar thinks! This is still her facility! She knows shutting it down would only temporarily stop his plans- perhaps even forcing him to move to another branch of government, where she would have no control over his scheming whatsoever. But that still doesn’t leave her completely out of options. One key card still remains on the table…
    "Mr. Sez-Milo!" she calls behind herself to her young manservant.
    "Yes, my lady? I am coming- yes?" he answers, rushing over…as timidly as always.
    "Contact my Royal Organizer, will you? Tell him to bring all my essentials here. We are moving to this location for a little while, as of now."
    Trent's jaw completely drops. "B-b-but My Lady! We still have three more stops to make before day's end! A-and eight more this week!"
    "Cancel them”, she orders. “All of them. Inform our would-be hosts that we have more urgent matters to attend to."
    "'More'?" is his nervous reply.
    "Yes, 'More'," she says, descending the stairs below into the facility. Fear pumps through her veins. Bruce Cavalar is a madman- this she knows. She only hopes she is in time to stop his madness from doing something terrible…

Bruce's experiments... Now, what could they be?
Stay tuned a hit that thumbs up!