Chapter 51: Transmission

Pov: Alexander Lucius Maximus 

Date: Y4 M2

The holographic display cast a cool, almost ghostly blue across the war chamber, a quiet reminder of how far-reaching my influence had grown—and how precarious it had become.

Galaxies, planets, and outposts appeared on the display, blinking under the faint pulse of distant stars. My eyes lingered on Pandora, that scarred but resilient world. A world worth protecting, yet, it seemed, always under threat. 

Igneous was slowly recovering and while initially levelled I had tasked Wilhelm and his Black-ops team to gain control of the planet. Differing factions believed the planet to be new territory, ripe for the taking. 

I would teach them such thoughts were futile. 

Gazing my eyes on the map of the known universe the seven galaxies board into mind. How strange was it, that a hundred planets appeared to be scattered about?

Igneous and Pandora, key planets in my plans were but a small fraction in comparison to the differing corporations. The other manufacturers were given a head start but seeing the level of development and technology produced by my faction it wouldn't be long before we won.

The Jakob cooperation bastioned four planets, a majority being manufacturing worlds dedicated to producing the large amounts of weapons. They were a tiny player yet equally impressive in influence. 

With a long line of successors tracing back nearly three hundred years, the Jakobs family was one of the oldest weapon manufacturers alive. It would be best to make connections with their current successor Wainwright Jakobs. 

Little was known from the man but having more connections was never a bad thing in increasing the Imperium's strength.

It was in my thoughts that a new voice pierced the silence. A smooth transmission, encrypted but hardly subtle. As soon as it registered as incoming, I knew who it had to be: Dimitri, the face of Vladoff's machine. I'd been briefed on his exploits, on the veiled menace he posed, but we'd never spoken.

Not until today.

I accepted the signal, and his image flickered into view. Dimitri. He looked younger than I'd expected, an unsettlingly cheerful grin stretching across his face, which might have disarmed another man. Not me. His relaxed posture, the easy arrogance—it was all intentional, a show. And I'd seen it all before.

"Alexander... You know I would call you by your full name but it's tough when you're a nobody," he said, like an old friend greeting me after years apart.

He leaned back in his chair, almost lazily, the kind of ease that only comes when you think you're untouchable. "I must say, you're not quite what I expected. Rumours and reports have a way of exaggerating, don't they?"

"I was expecting a far more menacing opponent, who towered over giants... You appear to be... Much lesser." He spoke teasingly.

Ignoring his provocations, I moved onto the main questions that lingered in my mind.

"Your attacks were unprompted, Dimitri. For what right and authority did you have to attack my empire?" I questioned bewildered at the man's audacity to not only attack Pandora but glass Igneous. 

Dimitri chuckled as if I'd just complimented him. "Ah, yes, Igneous." He waved his hand, dismissive. "A few criminals, some unfortunate incidents. They slipped out of our grasp, so naturally, we had to retrieve them. I'm sure you understand."

I narrowed my eyes. "And the attempt to wipe out entire sectors of the Imperium? An oversight, I take it?"

He tilted his head as if pretending to ponder. "No, more of a calculated… clean-up effort. Let's just say we wanted to avoid… loose ends."

The audacity was palpable, and I could feel my patience thinning. "Loose ends," I repeated, allowing the weight of my voice to carry. "Is that what you call decimating my people and nearly levelling an entire planet?"

Dimitri's smile widened, as though I'd told a delightful joke. "Well, you make it sound so brutal." He shrugged as if we were discussing nothing more than the weather. "Collateral damage, I suppose. But then, that's the price of power, isn't it?"

The man was bored as if the entire brand of his company was a mockage of true liberation. He was playing a game of point and capture. I could see it from his tone, his mere displays of micro-aggressions. 

The man was not a warrior but a politician and masquerader. The fight with him would not be of power but wit. Dimitri was often stern and charismatic in public his privatised army and high-fire power weapons blessed to planets wartorn - the soldiers under his reign were equally loyal as they were fierce. 

The battle for victory for the Imperium would not be easy. This War would symbolise our great entrance to this universe space opera and Victory would ensure Prestige amongst the mortal men. 

What The Imperium needed was Influence and power. 

Studying Dimitir's history within Vladoff found he had obtained and solidified his position by blackmailing his company's board and removing the ones that couldn't. By the time his exploits were even realised it was too late - it was even a struggle to find the information and my sources tell that he may have purposely spread this to our channels.

He was a formidable opponent who saw further than most - a demon masquerading as a human. 

"Pandora is under my protection now," I told him, my tone absolute. "Whatever you thought you could take, consider that option off the table. And your games with the Imperium end here."

For a moment, a flicker of something crossed his face. I couldn't place it—amusement? A challenge? Perhaps he was trying to measure me, to see if my resolve matched his appetite for destruction.

"Oh, I never intended to end anything, Alexander," he replied softly. "Only to start something. After all, isn't it thrilling to test your limits? To see how far you'll go?"

His words, designed to unnerve, only hardened my resolve. He was a provocateur, someone who thrived on pushing others to the edge, waiting to see if they'd topple over. But he would not find me so easily swayed.

"My limits?" I scoffed.

"Let me guess you have no limits, would love to see your smile. Why not take off the mask?" He asked.

"And I would love to see you crucified. We will see which one of us shall succeed."

"They often say that the eyes can often give a glimpse into the soul, Alexander. Why is it continuing to pretend?" He asked a deep silence permeating between the two of us. 

Dimitri's grin stayed firmly in place, but his eyes narrowed slightly, just enough to suggest that the pleasant facade had its cracks. "Well then," he murmured, leaning closer to the screen, "I look forward to seeing how far the Imperium's emperor can go. Enjoy my gift."

He signed off abruptly, leaving the screen dark. And within that darkness arose numerous ships flooding the space of Pandora, an armada had arrived and with it, beams of lift flooded the sky leaving a forcefield. 

My forces were prepared... We would not buckle or fold... and neither do we forget... The Imperium never forgets.

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Pov: Athena

Date: Y4 M3

The weight of the war looms heavy over Pandora. I can feel it in every stone, every breath of dust that hangs in the air. Vladoff's forces are relentless, pressing in on every side, and although the Imperium has stood firm, the line grows thinner with each attack.

The scale of this battle calls for more than just soldiers—it calls for fighters who can weather the worst this galaxy has to throw at them and come back swinging. Fighters who have tasted the chaos of Pandora and lived to tell the tale.

I step into the command room, steel and shadows surrounding me. My hand hovers over the console for a moment, and I close my eyes, steadying myself. It's a simple enough message, but I need every word to carry its weight, to reach the right ears. I've been given full authority to call for mercenaries and hunters, anyone willing to risk everything for a chance at wealth, power—and survival.

The faces of Brick, Mordecai, Salvador, and Claptrap flash in my mind. They're veterans of Pandora, and each one of them understands what's at stake. I think of their resolve, their loyalty, and I know they'd be standing here beside me, ready to fight. But this war needs more. It needs legends.

I activate the controls, and my voice echoes through the cold depths of space, transmitting across every possible channel.

"Warriors of the galaxy, hear me." The words ring out steady, strong, filled with a conviction that I can feel thrumming in my bones. "I am Athena of the Imperium, and Pandora stands at a turning point. Vladoff forces press at our borders, threatening to consume everything we hold dear. This planet needs defenders, fighters who are unafraid to carve their own path through the darkness."

I pause, letting the silence settle, imagining the hunters, mercenaries, and adventurers across the galaxy. I imagine them pausing in whatever dives or dens they've found themselves, listening, weighing the promise behind the words. I hope they hear the need, the raw urgency, in my voice.

"Those who answer this call will be rewarded beyond measure. Alexander himself has promised wealth, weapons, and power to those who aid Pandora in this fight. But know this—Pandora is not for the faint-hearted. Those who survive here must fight harder than ever, push further than they thought possible, and be willing to face whatever comes."

I can see the promise tempting them: the thrill of riches, the taste of a fight that will test their limits. But I know it's more than that. Pandora doesn't just offer wealth or glory—it offers something intangible, something raw that changes anyone who sets foot on its soil.

"There are no guarantees here," I say, my voice sharpening, fierce. "If you come to Pandora, understand this: you may not make it back. But if you do, you will carry a legend that no one can deny."

I close the transmission, letting it drift into the void.

For a moment, silence settles over the room, heavy and still. Then I exhale, grounding myself. I know the risks of calling these fighters here, but Alexander made it clear that we cannot win this war with strength alone. We need the unbreakable, the ones who can stand in the face of the storm and come back stronger.

The image of Pandora flickers before me, a hologram shimmering with dust and light. I feel a strange sense of pride looking at it, knowing that this world has defied so many, and knowing that we are the ones who will hold the line.

Brick's voice crackles over the comms, breaking me from my thoughts. "So, Athena, think we'll get any takers?"

I smirk, feeling a flicker of hope rising in me. "Oh, I have no doubt we'll get more than a few."

Across the galaxy, the message reaches ears in dark bars, hidden labs, and outposts clinging to the edge of law and chaos.

Some ignore it, dismissing it as another desperate call from the edge of the galaxy. But others… others pause, feeling a spark of something they haven't felt in a long time—a challenge worth facing.

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