Chapter 3

Day 29, Uninhabited Earth, Central Victoria, Australia

Alexander shaded his eyes with his right hand as he watched his people raise the wall of a prefabricated building. 'My people' he thought with a smile. They weren't exactly the most educated people around, but they were his, both figuratively and literally. He'd purchased them from a Roman slave market on another Earth, mostly Gauls (Western Europeans) with a scattering of Africans, Arabs, and a few Roman citizens mixed in. Thirty-Six adults, twenty men, sixteen woman, and seven children (all the offspring of one or more of the adults).

Of course he'd 'freed' them as soon as they were on this world where humanity hadn't managed it's climb up the evolutionary ladder. He had to start his empire off on the right foot after all. While they weren't slaves in name any longer, he supposed they still were in deed. He couldn't help that, he needed a work force, he needed the start of an army, and posing as a God was the best way he knew to get that, and for that to work he needed 'primitives' who were use to the idea that Gods would take human form and walk amongst them.

It still left a sour taste in his mouth, dealing with the Roman slavers, if he'd had his way he'd have killed them all and taken all the slaves, but while he had massive powers, they were limited, and well, best to start small and build as he grandfather use to say.

It had taken number of trips to bring them and the meager supplies he'd purchased with them from their world to this one, he was still trying to think of a suitable name, thanks to the previously unknown mass limit on transports at his user level (he was getting heartily sick of being told that), a little over fourteen hundred kilograms per transport.

He let his mind drift back...

***

Alexander ground his teeth behind a false and vacuous smile as he handed over the agreed upon price for the slaves and supplies, if he had to guess it would be a little under two hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry, to the little weasel in front of him. He should have bargained better, but in all honesty he wanted away from this place, it disgusted him on a deep level, he'd always hated slavery, but until now it had been an impersonal hate, now it was a very real personal hatred.

"A pleasure doing business with you" Weasel said, Alexander hadn't bothered to remember his real name. His voice sounded like fingernails on a blackboard, Alexander was unsure if it was due to the translation software, 'Thank God that I've got access to that!', or his nature. He would put money on it being the latter.

Alexander nodded, "And with you", he paused slightly to give the impression he was thinking, his eyes scanning over the human cattle being lined up in front of the slave pens; "It just occured to me that I have purchased more than I intended originally, I think it would be best if I had experienced guards to help get this lot to my master's estate" seeing Weasel about to interject, he pushed on, "of course I'll pay for their time, and your own inconvenience" Reaching into the pouch at his waist he pulled out a gold wedding ring and flipped it into the air, "is that enough?"

Weasel nodded enthusiastically, snatching the ring out of the air, "yes sir, that will do perfectly, how many guards do you wish?"

Alexander paused in apparent thought, "Three, I think, him, him, and him" he said as he pointed to three different men, men he'd had his eye on.

***

Scum, Thug, and Rapist, as Alexander had dubbed them in his own mind, were, for all their obvious faults, efficient at keeping the make shift column in order. They'd left the small Roman outpost in the early afternoon and made good time; say what you will about the Romans, they had built damn good roads.

Night was setting and he called the column to a halt, ostensibly to make camp for the night. The three slavers had been eyeing him since they left the town. Alexander assumed they were planning on killing him, stealing the slaves and the jewels they knew he had on him, and retiring somewhere far off to live like kings. They wouldn't do it so close to town, not unless they were really stupid, and he couldn't discount that, but they weren't going to get the chance.

Alexander moved away from the main body of the group at a purposeful stride, his right hand going into his toga (and boy had that been a bitch to get right!), and with a twitch of his left hand he activated the stealth field.

The guards and the slaves gasped and shouted as he vanished from view in the dimming light. Alexander ignored them as he psyched himself up while moving into a better position for what came next.

'Come on Alex! It's part of the plan! You need to do this! And it won't be the last time!' He ranted mentally as he drew the .45 caliber Heckler & Koch pistol he'd stolen from an American gun store in the L&O universe during his 'shopping spree'.

Alex came to a stop and assumed a double handed shooting stance, breathing deeply as he sighted in on Rapist. His thumb moved forward to flick off the safety and his finger tightened on the trigger. He was about to kill another human being, no not kill, murder another human being, he'd planned this, so it was premeditated murder. As he hesitated memories flashed through his mind.

"What are you doing!" Weasel screamed as they rounded the pen to find Rapist pawing away at a young girl, she couldn't be more than fourteen years old.

Alex felt bile rush into his mouth and his vision went read, his hand moving into his toga. He stopped as he saw Weasel berate the big man and let his body relax.

"You know the rules! Not where the customers can see!" Weasel screamed and Alexander mentally added both men to his list of people to kill should the opportunity present itself.

Alexander breathed out and applied pressure to the trigger. Rapists' head exploded into a mass of gore, his body flopping down to the ground. The slaves, encumbered by their chains and collars pulled at each other as they tried to run, tumbling to the ground. Thug and Scum drew their swords and looked around wildly looking for their attacker.

Headshots were showing off Alexander knew, not something he'd do normally, but he needed to make a point, swiftly he moved the sights over Scum's head and pulled the trigger twice quickly, watching disjointedly as one round took the top of his head off, and the other sheer into his neck, spinning him like a top.

Thug was swinging his sword around in a panic, screaming profanities at his 'demon' assilatents.

Two more shots rang out in the twilight and he slumped to the ground clawing at his chest, one shot had missed completely, flying off into the night, and the other had clipped him near the right shoulder.

Alex swore under his breath and walked up to the man slowly, he raised the gun, still invisible to everyone around him, and pulled the trigger twice more.

***

"My People" Alexander said under his breath.