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Star Bourn: Legion Rising by David Hart
Copyright © 2026 by David Hart
All rights reserved.
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The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.
First edition 2026
[Dravonna,Luram.SixmonthsafterthePaleHorseincident.]
[Localsystemtime:1430.]
With both pairs of arms crossed, Lord Admiral Orrim scanned Dravonna’s skyline. The view from atop Sorrvuk’s Bladegavehimaperspectivenoneoftheslavescouldeverhope for.Downthere,forgingweaponswithoutend,theyonlyperceivedwhatsurroundedthem:suIeringtothenthdegree,and humiliationwithoutend.Onceuponatime,heenduredthat aswell.Ztmoldedalustforrevengewithinhimthatultimately gothimwherehewastoday.
AslordadmiraloftheKauhlonLegion,Orrimwasableto seewhathehadonlydreamedofbefore.Thesightthatzorruk tookforgranted.AcrossDravonnaweremillionsofqauhlons hardatwork,allstrivingforthesamegoalthatunitedthemas apeople:conVuestofthestars.
Beforeheslayedzorrukandtooktheroleoflordadmiral, thatgoalmerelymeantbuildingmorevehicles,forgingmore weapons, and molding more armor. &nder his watchful eye, however, that goal expanded to something more. Something better.
TheywereburyingtheancientbuildingsofDravonnawith stronger,moreadvancedtowers.ScienceandUNDwerebeing properly invested in. Got only for the purpose of war, but forthebettermentoftheirpeople.ZfOrrimcouldgettheqauhlonsuptohumanity’slevelatleast,theycouldgetafoothold ingalacticpoliticsandscientijcresearch.Whenthosescenes wereinjltrated,theLegioncouldstrikewithalevelofprecisionzorrukorOverlord2orrcouldneverenvision.
Theydidn’tneedtojghtharderinordertoreachthegalacticpeak,butsmarter.Withhisimprovements,they’llbeable to maintain their spot as a superpower as well. Ueaching the top meant nothing if they couldn’t keep that position, after all.
Turningaround,OrrimtookamomenttosurveytheVuartershenowcalledhis.Despitetossingoutalltheformerlord admiral’sbelongings,itstillwreakedofzorruk’sscent.Zndue time,however,heknewitcouldbewashedaway,Eustlikeitwas acrosstheLegion.
Gomatterwhathisdetractorssaid,Orrimwasnofool.He knew the way in which he killed zorruk was controversial, to say the least. Zf it were any other lord admiral, he likely would’vebeenexecutedbyamobofangryqauhlons.
Jortunately for him, the growing discontent for zorruk’s reign was widespread enough that one grand speech across all of qauhlon space was enough to soothe over most of the Legion.AlthoughthemethodswhichOrrimintendedtouse wereunconventionalforaqauhlon,heknewthepeoplecraved thechangehesought.Theyweren’tyetawareofit,butasfar as he was concerned, they didn’t need to be. So long as they let him bring his vision for qauhlonkind to life, it made no diIerencetohim.
Ofcourse,Orrimowedthisinlargepartto2orr’signorance. Like his dead friend, the overlord was none the wiser about howthepeoplereallyfelt.Ztwasalmostpitiful.
Heknewthatsoonerorlaterheand2orrweresettocollide. Theprospectgavehimarushofadrenalineasmuchasitstirred updread.Avengefulqauhlonwasafearsomefoe,afterall.Go matter what happened, though, Orrim intended to get their peoplefarenoughalonghispathtothefuturethatevenifhe perished,theoverlordcouldn’tstopit.
ThebiggestCandbyproxythemostcontroversialCpartof that path was to expand their coloniqation eIorts. ?ust the thoughtofthatnearlygaveOrrimaheadache.
As it stood, qauhlons only coloniqed worlds in the sense that they inhabited them. There weren’t any Medglings actuallybornonthoseplanets.Perancienttradition,thebirthing stonesbeneathLuram’ssurfacewereundernocircumstances allowedtobemovedtootherworlds.
Jor all that Orrim has been able to get done, this was the oneaspectofhisplanthatwasbeingvehementlyreEected.The 5ouncil of Lords, which was made up of the lord of each qauhlonworld,votedagainsthisplaneverytimeitwasbrought up.
Allhopewasn’tlost,however.
5hecking the time, Orrim sighed and left his chambers. Of all the lords on the council, Lord Darruk was the most open-minded.Somuchsothatwhenthelordadmiralreached tohimforaprivatemeeting,Darrukagreed.2iventhesubEect matter,privacywasneeded,andLuram’smoonwasthelocationOrrimchose.
Best-casescenario,hecouldgainanallyonthecouncil,and Darrukcouldconvincetheothersofhiscoloniqationplans.Zf all else fails, however, they could proceed in secret. Zt would ru“esomefeathers,nodoubt,butthatwouldn’tmatterinthe
grandschemeofthings.Whentheqauhlonsruledthisgalaxy, noonewouldcareaboutsometraditionsbeingbroken.
Jlanked by four 5enturions, Orrim went over what he knew about Darruk. His planet, &ngol, was known for its facilitiesdedicatedtotechnologicaladvancement.&nderzorruk’s tenure, that didn’t mean much. Gow, though” They weregettingsomewhere.Bettershieldingsystemsforstarships, stronger armor. All that was thanks to Darruk’s leadership beingallowedtoMourish.
Zf Orrim played into that, promised more freedom going forward,thatshouldbeabletoconvincetheLordof&ngolto supporthisplan.
—xitingatmospherewastedious,aswasmakingsureitwent unnoticed, but the lord admiral knew it was worth it. The lastthingheneededwas2orrattemptingtostophim.&pon landing,Orrimandhis5enturionescort,madethetrektothe meetingpoint:theoutskirtsofLothorn…ines.Ztwasoneof thelesserknownminingsystems,andtheoverseerofitwasone of the qauhlon leader’s newest allies. Devoid of the risk that this could reach 2orr’s ears, this was the perfect location for theirmeeting.
Once Darruk was in sight, Orrim gave word for his 5enturionstohangback.TheLordof&ngolgreetedhimwitha salute,whichthelordadmiralwavedoI.Beforetheirmeeting
properlytookplace,bothqauhlonstookamomenttosoakin the sight of the slaves at work in Lothorn …ines. —ven from a distance, it was clear as day that they were receiving better treatmentthaninrecentdecades.
2onewerethedaysoffreVuent,microrebellionsfromthe slaves. With Orrim’s push to communicate clearly with qauhlons of all walks of life, even the lowest among them now hadsomethingtobelievein.
7Z can hardly believe it,Y Darruk muttered. 7The last time wewerethisunitedwasduringthewaragainsttheanthrum.Y
7SoZ’vebeentold,YOrrimsaid.7Zt’samaqingwhatafresh pairofeyescando,isn’tit”Y
Atjrst,Darrukdidn’trespond.
7Z’llbehonest:Zwasskepticalatjrst.zorrukwasn’tperfect, buthewasalighttoourpeopleafterLordAdmiral—varim’s iron grip on the Legion. He was a strong leader, too. After seeing what you’ve accomplished in six months, though 8 Z have to admit, zorruk had become a liability in the past few decades.Y
OrrimlookedtotheLordof&ngol.7Longerthanthat.He wasonadownwardslopesincewelosttotheanthrum.2orris onthatsametraEectory,aswell.ZfthisiswhatZ’vebeenableto accomplishsofar,thinkaboutwhatZcoulddowithouthim tryingtostopmeeverychancehegets.Y
Znstinctively, Darruk shook his head. 7He’s only trying to makesureourtraditionsdon’tgettossedaside.Y
7LordDarruk,please.Let’snotfoolourselveshere,YOrrim turnedtofacehimfully.7He’sbitter.He’stooblindedbyhis hatredformetoseethatmyvisionofourfutureistheonlyone inwhichwecantrulybecomeasuperpowerinthegalaxy.Y
7And what is that vision, Orrim”Y the Lord of &ngol crossedbothpairsofarms.
Lord Admiral Orrim thought over his words carefully beforelookingatthegloriousviewofLuram.Jromwherethey were,thewhiteandblueglobetrulywasbreathtaking.7Zwant tobringourpeopletothepresent,Darruk.Advanceourtechnologytowheresomanyotherracesare.Bringourmedicine toalevelthattheonlydeathswefaceareonthebattlejeld.
7Zf Z had it my way, every one of us would be allowed to pursueourstrengths.Thoseinterestedinsciencecoulddevote themselvestobetteringourpeople,soonandsoforth.
7Aboveall,Zwanttotrulyexpandourpeople.Thefactthat weonlyhavethreestarsystemsisacrime.Therearecountless unclaimedsystemsoutthereripeforthetaking.Zfwecanplant birthingstonesonahundredworlds,ourbillionscouldeasily turn into trillions. —ven doing so on our already coloniqed worldscouldincreaseournumbersbythemillions.Y
A long silence followed Orrim’s words, and Darruk too turned to look at Luram. Although he said nothing, the tenseness previously found in the Lord of &ngol’s shoulders were now nowhere to be found. With his helmet on, Orrimcouldn’tmakeouttheotherqauhlon’sexpression,buthe didn’tneedto.
Kauhlons almost never let their guard down around one another.5onsideringhowbloodthirstytheywere,itwasEust common sense to be prepared for a battle at any time. Jor Darruktoshowsuchvulnerability8
LordAdmiralOrrimcouldn’thelpbutsmile.Hehadhim, hook,lineandsinker.
7Z’ll8thinkitover.Zwon’tmakeanypromises.Y
7 oudon’thaveto,YOrrimsaid.7?ustthinkaboutit. ou’re oneofthefewqauhlon’sinpowerthathastheintellectneeded topullthisoI,Darruk.Whateveryoudecide,Ztrustit’llbethe rightchoice.Y
Though Orrim made way to leave, Darruk’s hooves were rootedinplace,hisattentionneverleavingLuram.Beforethe lordadmiralcouldgetfar,anincomingtransmissionstopped him dead in his tracks. Zt wasn’t a comm number he was familiarwith,butonlyaselectfewindividualshadaccesstohis info.
Withsparkedcuriosity,theqauhlonleaderacceptedthecall. 7Zdentifyyourself.Y
7Hail,lordadmiral ThisisOverseerScurg,oftheLothorn …ines.Jorgivemeformyboldness,butZneedyourhelp.Y
To back up his words, there was an underlying panic in Scurg’swords.Thatsaid,OrrimhadmorepressingVuestions attheforefrontofhismind.
7WhatmakesyouthinkZ’minapositiontodoanything”Y Orrimsaid,turningtolookatthemine.
7Z have eyes all over the moon, Lord Admiral Orrim. As soonasyoulanded,Zwasmadeawareofit,YScurgsaid,cutting through to the meat of what the qauhlon leader was asking. 7 ou needn’t worry, sir. Z haven’t told anyone of your presence.Y
At that, Orrim huIed. Word traveled Vuickly, especially amongqauhlons.Tryashemight,heseriouslydoubtedScurg wouldbeabletopreventaleakforlong.
7Zt’s unusual for a qauhlon to ask for help, Scurg. What is it”Y
7Zt’stheslaves,lordadmiral.Thepackleadersoftheinner andoutermineshavebeenatoddsforweeksnow,butZsuspect it’s going to boil over soon,Y Overseer Scurg said. 7Z’d like to avoid Lothorn …ines becoming a war qone. Zf it gets out of hand, my warriors may have to put them down before it
gets out of hand. Z’m hoping that an appearance from our esteemednewleadermaybeenoughtolowertensions.Y
AllfourofOrrim’seyesnarrowedashewentoverthatpotentialoutcome.Ztwascommonplaceforcertainslavestorise upandtakeleadershipoverotherweakerslaves.Znthehands oftherightqauhlon,apackleadercouldmotivatetheothers intobeingmoree cient.
Gaturally, however, conMict could easily arise with other pack leaders. Weakness was despised in their society, and another strong slave making you look inferior wasn’t tolerated.ThisledtoconMictsamongtheworkers.Slaughteringthe troublemakersusuallysolvedtheproblem,butthat,ofcourse, delayedtheminingprocess.
Scurg continued. 7With all your hard work to unify our people, Z would hate for a couple of lesser qauhlons to ultimatelythreatenthatimage.Y
Thereitis,Orrimthought.Youcanneverbetoosafe,canyou?
7Rerywell,Ythelordadmiralsaid,sighingVuietly.7Tryyour besttopreventabloodlustfromarisingwithinthem.Y
7 es,lordadmiral.Y
After calling his 5enturions over, Orrim began the trek to Lothorn …ines’ entrance. He couldn’t deny that this was a nuisanceCthe longer he was on Luram’s moon, the more likely 2orr noticed his absence, after all. —ven so, the lord
admiral couldn’t help but have a soft spot for the slaves. He rememberedalltoowellhowcutthroatthatenvironmentwas, and the need to backstab one another to jnally earn a set of armor.Thatgoldenarmorsignijedfreedom,andthepromise ofbattlestocome.
Zfhecouldunitetheseslaves,perhapsmoreofthemcould riseupandEointheLegionthanwhatwasnormallyexpected. As lord admiral, he jnally had the power to tangibly achieve that.
The guards on either side of the entrance were clearly expecting them, because they let Orrim and his 5enturions in without the slightest bit of hesitation. Jor how big qauhlons were, the maqe-like tunnels were small. Orrim couldn’t fully outstretchhisarms,norcouldheraisethem.Ajghtinthese corridorswouldbebloody,nodoubtaboutit.
Once the passageways sloped downward and they entered the underground portion of the mines, slaves became more freVuent. The guards escorting him shoved them aside, but that did nothing to snap them out of their shock. Through translucent masks, wide eyes watched his every move. He couldn’t blame them for their surprise. Lord admirals rarely madeappearancesinmineslikethese,especiallywhenarebellionhadn’tfullybrokenout.
After exiting a swirling corridor, the area opened up and featured more technology than Orrim had seen since enteringLothorn…ines.Thewallswerereinforcedwithnewsteel plates,turretshungfromtheceiling,andoppositeofthelord admiral was an elevator. Standing between it and him was OverseerScurg.
He was rather short for a qauhlon, standing at seven feet. TheheadofLothorn…inesappearedtobeeatingwell,consideringhowtighthisarmorlooked.Jromthekneedown,his leftlegsportedacyberneticprosthetic.Withhissilverarmor, thefakelimbblendedinnicely.
2ivingLordAdmiralOrrimtherespecthedeserved,Scurg salutedhimandfollowedthatupbybowinghishead.7Thank youforhonoringuswithyourpresence,lordadmiral.We’ve doneourbesttodoasyouasked,butthishasbeenbuildingfor sometime.Zfyou’renotabletocalmthemdown,we’llneedto eliminatethem.Y
Thetwoqauhlonleadersaswellasthe5enturionsentered theelevator,whereScurgthensmackedthebuttonthatwould take them to the necessary levelCsub-level ten, it appeared. Orrimusedthistimetoobservetheoverseer.
Hemaybeunkempt,butOrrimknewhecouldn’tbepicky aboutallies.ZfScurgwaswillingtohelphimseehisvisionof
the qauhlons’ future through, the lord admiral could put up withsomeonewhocaredlittleforhisphysiVue.
When the elevator door opened, Orrim and Scurg exited andwalkedtotheledgethatoverlookedavastspace.Tunnel entranceswerelitteredallacrossthewalls,someofthemonly being accessible via ladders. The resources being mined here wouldbeusedtocreateqauhlongruntarmor.Someofthese very slaves may end up wearing eVuipment that was forged withmaterialsdugupinLothorn…ines.
…orepointedly,onthebottomlevel,acrowdofslaveshad gatheredaroundtwoqauhlons.
7Theretheyare,YScurgsaid.7Jormonthsnow,theideaof asystem-widepackleaderhasbeenthrownaround.Someone who would lead all the slaves, not merely sections of them. At jrst there were debates between the two on who that hypothetical pack leader should be, but as Z told you before, tensionshaveriseninrecentweeks.Y
OrrimstillhadVuestionsaboutthesituation,suchaswhy thisconceptwasallowedtofestertobeginwith.Thelasttime miningslaveswereunitedwaswhen—varim,lordadmiralbeforezorruk,attemptedarebellion.Ztwasafterthatincident thatpackleadersweremoreheavilypushed.
Thatcouldwaitforanothertime,however.?udgingbyhow thesetwoqauhlonsstoodoppositeofoneanother,ajstjght
wasimminent.Apartofhimwascuriouswhothestrongestof thetwowas,butheshovedthatintrigueaside.
After telling his 5enturions to wait with Scurg, Lord AdmiralOrrimmadehiswaydowntheman-madeslopeandto wherethecrowdofqauhlonswere.
Goneofthemrealiqedhispresenceatjrst,whichreVuired himtopushhiswaythrough.Secondslater,however,shoutsof “Hail,lordadmiral!”rangthrough,andnotonlydidtheslaves makeapathforhim,buttheybowedinreverence.Although theyhesitatedindoingso,bothpackleadersdidaswell.
7Brothers Hear me now. Z know where this leads. Should thisjghttakeplace,oneofyouwillmeettheirend.Kauhlons aren’t known for mercy, after all. Butlisten. Zt doesn’t have tobethisway.DoyouknowwhyLothorn…inesaren’twell known among our people” Zt’s because of how Vuiet it is. Because battles and mass eliminations aren’t commonplace. ThattellsmeallZneedtoknowabouttheleadershipVualities ofbothofyou.
7Zwon’tdenythatbattlehasplaceamongourpeople.We’re qauhlons, and even with all my changes, Z can’t change that. Gomatterhowmuchweevolve,there’llalwaysbesomelevel ofsurvivalofthejttest.Thestrongwillalwaysrisetothetop.
7This battle between the two of you, if it absolutely needs totakeplace,doesn’tneedtobetothedeath.&sethisasthe
foundation of a rivalry. Push yourselves to be the best leader youcanbe.AlthoughZwanttoexpandourstrengths,there’s nodenyingthatoneofthemisinournumbers.Howcanwe buildonthatifagoodpackleaderdiestoday”Y
Orrimwasmetwithsilenceatjrst,whichheexpected.His ideasweren’tnormalforaqauhlon,andoftenreVuiredothers tothinkontheminordertotrulygraspthem.
7Silence Whatdoyouknowaboutus” oustoleyourrank fromLordAdmiralzorruk,Yoneofthepackleadersshouted. 7AcowardlikeyoushouldknowhisplaceY
Assoonasthewordslefthismouth,thepackleaderclosest toOrrimcharged.Hehadnoweapon,thoughthelordadmiral knewthejstsofaqauhlonweredangerousintheirownright. —ven so, his armor protected him from any threat this slave couldhaveotherwiseposed.
Atthispoint,Orrimknewhehadtherighttoexecutethis pack leader. He was charging him with the intent to kill, which,consideringhewasalordadmiral,warrantedimmediate punishment. On top of that, Orrim would be lying if he saidtheslave’scommentsdidn’tannoyhim.Thatbeingsaid, herefrained.Theqauhlonleaderinsteadsawanopportunity anddecidedthenandtheretotakeit.
Slaves had very limited resources to maintain their health. Thispackleader,though,evidentlydidthebestwithwhathe
wasgiven.Hismovementswerefast,andhisstrikesmeasured. Orrim dodged each one, but this was already more than he expectedfromthisqauhlon.
Jinally,heletthepackleadergetahitin.TheblowconnectedwithOrrim’schest,andwhileitdidmakethelordadmiral take a sharp breath, the pain was nothing compared to what the slave experienced. An audible crack rang out, signifying oneoftheqauhlon’sknuckleshadbroken.Beforehecoulddo anythingelse,Orrimliftedhimupandslammedhimintothe rockyMoor.
Heappliedenoughpressureontheslave’supperrightarm tolethimknowifhemadeanysuddenmoves,Orrimwould snapthelimb.…eanwhile,thelordadmiral’supperlefthand was wrapped around his attacker’s neck. Throughout it all, Orrimmadenoattempttoreachforaweapon.
Thesamecouldn’tbesaidforhis5enturionsabove.They hadtheirassaultriMesdrawnandaimedatthecrowdofslaves. Likewise,Scurg’sguardshadtheirgunsreadyincasethesituationdescendedfurther.
7Tellme,slave.Whatisyourname”YOrrimasked.
ThepackleaderlookedupathimVuiqqically.TheVuestion wasn’tacommononeforqauhlons,andOrrimknewit.Over the years, however, he found that jrst inVuiry helped build trustsurprisinglyfast.
7Z 8 Z have no name,Y the pack leader said. Through the translucent mask of his spacesuit, his mandibles clicked in anger.
7Zs that so”Y Orrim mused. Although rare in this day and age,itwasn’tunheardofforslavestonotacVuirenamesuntil theyroseupandEoinedtheKauhlonLegion.7Thenhowdoes Balruksound”Y
The pack leader’s eyes widened at that, which brought a smirktoOrrim’sface.Balrukwasawell-knownnameintheir people’s history. He was the jfth ever lord admiral, and the qauhlonwiththelargestrecordedkillcount,thatbeingseven thousand.
7Zhaven’tearnedsuchaname,Yhesaid.
7Zdisagree,YOrrimbroughttheqauhlonbacktohishooves. 7 ou showed guts trying to attack me, even when you knew itwasfutile.Thatcourage,eveninthefaceofwhatwould’ve beencertaindeath,tellsmeenoughaboutyoutoknowyou’ll dothatnameproud.Y
Lord Admiral Orrim turned to address the crowd. 7Tell me: does a qauhlon like this deserve to meet his end here, in Lothorn…ines”OrshouldBalrukbegiventhechancetohone hiscraftandgrowintoamightyqauhlon”Asyourlordadmiral,Z’vechosenthelatter.Zknowallofyouhavethemakings
ofgreatwarriors.&ndermyleadership,Z’llmakesureeveryone herecancementtheirlegacyintothehistorycodices.Y
Although no cheers followed, Orrim didn’t reVuire them. ?ustbyacursoryglance,heknewtheseedswereplantedintheir minds.Theymaynotbereadytodevotetheirloyaltytohim yet,butinduetime,Orrimknewtheywould.
Lookingup,hesawOverseerScurgwatchingthescene.His helmetmadeitimpossibletomakeouthisownthoughtson thedisplay,butOrrimhadnointerestinpickinghismind.Zf hedidn’tbefore,Scurgsawjrsthandthatthelordadmiralhad atalentforbuildingallies.
Should Overseer Scurg ever think of turning on him, his slaveswouldgivehimhelltopay.
[Twohourslater.]
AnysemblanceofsatisfactiondrainedfromOrrimassoon astheshuttledoorsopened.Standingreadytogreethimwas Overlord 2orr, both pairs of arms crossed. His scarred face borebarelycontainedrage.Zttookeverythingthelordadmiral hadtoholdbackaheadache.
7 ou’reafooltowastetimeonslaves,lordadmiral,Y2orr said, spitting out those last words. 7There’s more important mattersaqauhlonofyourrankshouldbeseeingto.Y
7That’s for me to decide,Y said Orrim, pushing past his hated peer.It seems he doesn’t know about my meeting with Darruk.Good.
Zntruth,hewishedtheoverlordknewnoneofthesepastfew hours,butbeggarscouldn’tbechoosers.Whoeverspreadthat newsneededtobethoroughlypunished,regardless.
7znow your place, Orrim. &ntil they’ve earned their armory, slaves are under my Eurisdiction, not yours. Do somethinglikethisagain,andZ’llCY
7Andyou’llwhat”YOrrimallbutlaughed.7 oucanmake allthethreatsyouwant,oldman. oudon’thavethegutsto followthroughwiththem.Y
AllfourofOverlord2orr’sjstsshookwithanger,butEust asthelordadmiralsaid,hedidnothing.AstheyenteredSorrvuk’sBladeproper,theyweregreetedwithsalutesandbows. 2orrpaiditnomind,asdidOrrim.Bothqauhlonsweretoo focusedononeanothertobotherwiththeothers.
Despite all but declaring 2orr a coward, the lord admiral knewbetterthantolethisguarddownaroundhispeer,lesthe receiveadaggerbetweenhisarmorplates.Oneofthesedays, theresentmentwouldboilover,andthetwoqauhlonleaders
would face oI. With the tension surrounding them, it may verywellbenow.
As they entered the main elevator, 2orr jnally broke the silence.7HowaretheMeets”Y
7Betterthantheyhavebeeninages,YOrrimsaid.7Zntime, they’llbeasnumerousastheAnthrumAscendancy’s,andas advancedasthegrovinians’starships.Y
Overlord 2orr’s upper left eye twitched at the jrst comment,butheremainedsilentuntilOrrimjnished.7Arethey readyforwar”Y
Ztwasthelordadmiral’sturntocontainhisanger.Hewas nofoolCOrrimknewthathispeerwantedrevengenotonly against him, but humanity as well. Go matter how wrathful 2orr was, however, Lord Admiral Orrim refused to let his peoplemarchintoafutilewar.
7Onmycommand,theywillbe,Yhesaid.7Zfyouexpectme to lead them to their deaths, 2orr, you’re in for a world of disappointment.OnlywhenZknowwe’llwinwillZwagewar. Gotamomentbefore.Y
7Who’slackinggutsnow,hmm”Oneofthegreatestglories isdeathinbattle,Y2orrcountered.
7Thosetimesareover.Joryoursake,Overlord,Zsuggestyou move on,Y Orrim said, glancing over at his peer. 7Jrom that mindset,andfromzorruk.Y
By the way 2orr twisted his body to face him, the lord admiralthoughtthetimehadjnallycome.Thattheirhatred wouldbesettledrightthereandthen.Oneqauhlonstanding overtheother.
Alas, the elevator door opening prevented that from happening.Withnarrowedeyes,2orrexitedthelift.
Turning to face Orrim one more time, the raspy voice of Overlord2orrrangout.7 ou’renotuntouchable,lordadmiral.Oneofthesedays,you’llrealiqethat,andeverythingyou’ve builtwillcometumblingdown.Y
7Thesameappliestoyou.&ntilnexttime,Overlord,YOrrimsaid,watching2orr’sframedisappearastheelevatordoor shutonceagain.
Alongsighescapedfromthelordadmiral,andheremoved his helmet. As draining as these interactions were, he would continuetoputupwiththemforthetimebeing.
Whether2orrlikeditornot,hewouldpressonandbring allqauhlonkindintothefuture.ThatwastheironepathtobecomingtheconVuerorstheyweredestinedtobe.Jirstthrough the advancement of technology, then through proper coloniqation.Thatwashedupfoolwouldseethefollyofhisways, andonlythenwouldhemeethisend.
Onthis,LordAdmiralOrrimsworetoseethrough.