Project Prometheus Ch. 48 - Teaser (Patreon)

The doors closed behind the group as they walked into the circular room, with everyone abuzz with questions about why the group was there. The chatter reached a fever pitch, until Alex raised his hands, calling for everyone to quiet down.

“Everybody please! I know you all have a great many questions on your mind! They will all be answered, but please, one at a time!” Alex stated with a chuckle.

“So, just how long have you Federation types been sitting back, watching us struggle??” one of the councilors, an older, rotund man, questioned.

“Federation, Lou? Really? Did you not hear them speak of the Perseus? The fucking Perseus, you hardheaded idiot!” Jenque said in rebuke.

“It could just be a clever lie designed to weaken our resolve!” the older man rebuffed snarkily.

“Mind your tongue, old man, unless you want it tied in a knot!” Alex threatened, his eyes starting to glow purple.

“Careful there, boy! I’m old for a reason! You’re just an armchair admiral! You know nothing of real war or horrors like what I’ve seen!” Lou shot back, fixing the man with a smug smirk. This is where the ladies of the Darkstrider crew all winced, as they had a good idea of what was coming next.

“I know nothing of real war? Or of the horror of losing loved ones? I was five when the Unification War broke out. I was in Toronto when the Soldiers of the White Light rolled into the city, slaughtering everyone. I survived, only because my parents hid me from those butchers. So tell me, old man, do I know nothing of war?” Alex questioned quietly, as he approached the older councilor.

The color in Lou’s face had drained, as anyone who knew their history knew just how brutal those elitist zealots had been. In a city that once held millions, fewer than ten thousand had survived that terrible onslaught. When Alex neared him, Lou could see the look on his face, the thousand-yard stare. Only those who had seen death possessed such a glare and the look Alex fixed him with terrified him.

“Do you wish to continue this argument?” Alex queried, his quiet voice holding a hard edge to it, ready to explode into violence. It was so quiet in the room that you could hear a pin drop, and Lou just swallowed and shook his head.

“No.”

“Wise decision,” Alex growled, his mood still sour. Just then, Korsa ambled up with Natalya and put their hands on him in a comforting gesture. Alex took a deep breath and cleared his mind, letting the touch of his women banish his demons.

“Remind me to never piss you off!” Daved commented jokingly, trying to break the dour mood of the moment.

“Indeed! Last guy who did that… let’s just say that the man nearly had to pick his jaw up off the ground,” Natalya chuckled as she remembered what Alex did to the Artucian hermit.

“What did the guy do?” Willem asked.

“He threatened my ladies.”

Hearing this caused a few of the women there to grin and smirk. They could tell that he was the sort of man who would stand to and defend those he loved without hesitation. Jenque giggled quietly, knowing what it was to have a man like that as she glanced over at her husband. Daved smiled at her and chuckled quietly, knowing that he would have done the same if she was threatened in any way.

“Count yourself lucky that Alex is a man with a good degree of restraint. If he wasn’t…” Shazza said out loud.

“What? What would happen?” Lou asked, having recovered some of his earlier bluster.

“If you’ve heard what happened to the Blood Drinkers on Seerahn station, then you’ll know that our crew is not to be trifled with,” Inari told the arrogant man.

If Lou was pale before, he looked like a ghost with how white he was in that moment! A few of the other councilors exchanged hushed whispers, some of them unaware of what had occurred on such a faraway station. Moments later, everyone looked over at the group with a good deal of respect. While their actions of saving their home had done so, knowing what they did to such scum of the galaxy cemented their opinions of the crew.

“Well then, Commodore, you have our attention! What is it that brings you and your crew to our little corner of the galaxy?” Jenque asked, bidding everyone to sit, so they could hear the story of how they got here.