Chapter 1

The campaign was as straightforward as any other, resulting in an overwhelming victory by the end of the third day. The planet’s inhabitants originally responded with resistance in order to protect their home, but their military advancements were devastatingly outclassed. Millions of potential laborers died in the conflict, which was an inconvenience, but not a concern. Afterall, the invaders had set their sights on this planet for its breathtaking landscapes and dazzling sky spectacles. If preserving the archipelagos and mountain ranges meant sacrificing some lackluster servants, the loss was worth it.

Prince Leonidas oversaw this colonizing effort, heralding from a planet of warriors best known for their strength and cruelty. His adolescent features would make any onlooker believe he was inexperienced, but his bottomless charisma and arrogance drew unyielding obedience from his subordinates. This wasn’t his first solo campaign, his father had sent him on several missions as the commander in charge, but this was looking to be some of his cleanest work yet.

Leo stood on the highest balcony available of the largest city on the planet. After receiving word of their surrender, he wanted to take one final observation of his conquest before he reported his success and headed home to be given his next mission. Ancient buildings lay in ruin, decorative structures were either toppled or razed to the ground, and the streets were in the process of evacuation as the creatures of this world were being rounded up to join the Galactic Alliance. The entire planet would be reinhabited by the family who purchased it and hired his employer to cleanse it of its dominant invasive species. Of course, there was always the possibility it might be gutted and repurposed as a vacation resort, then the ousted citizens would be free to return, so long as they paid the entrance and rental fees, of course.

That was the business he and his family were in for as long as he could remember. It started when their own home planet was invaded as an attempt to harvest the abundant precious metals embedded in the core. The war had lasted decades with either side losing substantial numbers, but his people refused to yield. When his father eventually became king, he signed a contract with the tyrant leader that would benefit the both of them. After all, the mightiest army in the galaxy was incapable of defeating their soldiers, yet the Galactic Alliance refused to give up the mining operation. In a bartering exchange, the Alliance would receive mineral stipends along with military aid, and his people would receive money, status, and power, along with energy and technology resources. The coexistence brought out an unimaginable era of peace for their people as his family was sent out to strip and sell planets to the wealthiest autocrats of the universe.

A faint wind swept through Leo’s hair, tousling the long dark strands along his composite armor and bringing with it the acrid stench of smoke. For as long as he remembered, the smell seemed to follow him wherever he went. The creatures on this planet were dark toned without tendrils of fur or feathers, whereas he and his companions had tanned complexions and patches of hair. The people who accompanied him on his missions were his father’s trusted advisers, they’d watched him and his siblings grow up to someday ascend the throne, and as Leo turned to catch whomever was sneaking up on him, he was met with betrayal.

“Traugott?!” Leo exclaimed, finding the man’s ornately decorated gun pointed at his chest several paces away. He didn’t flinch at the acknowledgement, his eyes merciless and silently affirming he was willing to carry out the threat. “What’s the meaning of this??”

Traugott was a tall man with strawberry blond hair and intense yellow eyes who grew up alongside his father, training and studying together in the king’s palace. He was from a well-respected and noble family with a relationship of trust and friendship dating back for generations. Staring down the barrel of his gun was like being betrayed by a close uncle as Leonidas felt a wash of disorientation cascade over him.

“My prince, it’s for the good of The Alliance.” Traugott explained cryptically before pulling the trigger of his weapon. The crack of the three shots being fired were nearly simultaneous with the impact. The first went into his left shoulder, forcing him to take a step back. The second went into his right, forcing another step back, and the third struck the center of his chest. He stumbled once more but was out of space. Leo’s leg struck the rail of the balcony behind him, causing him to lose his balance and tumble over the side. His eyes widened, the points where the bullets struck stung, and gravity swiftly brought him into her embrace.

Traugott watched the scene emotionlessly as several moments passed before he lowered his gun. It felt surreal as he approached the railing and glanced over, searching for the body of the young prince on the pavilion below. His forehead creased in confusion as his eyes traced the area once more but there was no mistaking it; Leonidas was gone.