The Skull Lord

The white sunlight that brightened the Nedora System was broken. Thousands of starships pierced through the asteroid belt known as the outer colony. They left nothing but death and destruction in their wake. As they approached Kronos II, the 10th planet, they were met with fire. The United System Security Force (USSF) unleashed a barrage of missiles at their front lines. Smaller crafts immediately sprung into action screaming through the vacuum of space. Each side traded blows going ship for ship until a blinding light pierced through two of the destroyers coming out of the asteroid belt. The light was nearly equal to that of the White Supergiant calmy burning at the center. A handful of ships close to its path floated out of formation crashing into one another causing even more damage to the invader’s fleet. A moment of hesitance slivered through the stars. The smaller crafts continued their assaults but the capital ships on both sides remained stagnant. The invaders pulled all of their ships into a tighten formation similar to phalanx. Their ships started to blink intermittently, and their engines vociferated a spine churning noise. The pilots of the USSF retreated out of utter instinct. The USSF unleashed another onslaught of missiles that were able to pick off the ships lingering out of formation but the damage looked to be mitigated. The invaders’ ships stopped blinking and before the USSF could understand what had been going on a blood orange beam spilt through the USSF’s front lines and burst through Kronos II’s atmosphere. The 10th planet in the Nedora System was pierced with the force of exploding star and turned into a crescent. It’s two surrounding moons awkwardly drifted out of orbit and slammed into a portion of The USSF’s fleet. The invaders spread from their tight formation but didn’t attack. They merely stood idle. The USSF fired a few more missiles but to no avail this time. They exploded just before they could reach any of the ships lurking outside the asteroid belt. The capital ship of the USSF floated behind the rows of similarly designed ships accompanying it. The rest of the smaller ships followed and the USSF fell back to the opposite side of the destroyed planet. The USSF’s fleet poked at the mysterious invaders over the next few days but never gained an edge. The invaders only waited silently on the edge of the Nedora System patiently waiting.         Approximately 8 weeks later…                            On Ipitur, one of Maximus Araliean’s moons, about a mile underneath Casino district lied a failed assassin. For the moment, his blood ran warm within in his veins, but it felt like ice running down the drain as it poured out the gashing hole in his throat. He laid face first on the cosmin marble floor ready to accept for the pain to go quiet. As the assassin eyes refused to fade to black, he noticed something, something so awfully perplexing his eyes ran red with tears of blood. His sockets struggled to find his body but, it was absent. He can still feel his heart pumping ferociously in his chest, it hurts, it stings, but, he can’t feel for it. His eyes felt heavier than they ever have as he stretched them back and forward desperately trying to find answers. Where’s… My… Body?... His memory was of no use to him, but he was sure his throat had been slashed before everything temporarily went to black. As a river of blood finally crept into his vision it became disturbingly clear to him. His eyes throbbed as they widen in fear. His throat burned with fire. Every muscle he willed to move only tighten with a sharper pain. He wanted to scream realizing his situation, but it was clear to him that all there was to do was weep. A single clear tear was able to find itself a trail down his blood smothered cheek. Suddenly, he felt a thud strike the back of his head sending his face rolling across the ground. His nose pressed into his skull and his lips folded into his teeth. The pain in his neck twisted and tugged on his skin. As the room came to a standstill and everything came into focus, the assassin quickly attempted to scream again. He knew it would only cause more pain. His eyes locked onto to his murderer he couldn’t help but look in disgust. The man had the head of a skull with only a patch of tan human skin surrounding his right eye. The man stood there with a smile and smeared blood between his fingers. The assassin continued his absurd attempts to scream out for death but, he could only suffer in however long his last moment were. The man with the stood tall sporting a trench coat that covered everything but his upper chest and neck. He had a type of exo-suit underneath his coat, but the specifics couldn’t be made out. His neck was covered by a type of metallic covering that continued to stretch across his face and over his head. It covered all but a small portion of his face surrounding his right eye. The tan patch skin was all the humanity one could witness upon him. The man’s left eye was robotic and burned red. His human eye looked as digital as his other one but not nearly as intimidating. He said nothing. He only continued to stare down at the dying assassin. Deep within his eyes one could see the satisfaction, but even deeper one could see questions. Questions that desperately needed answers.  The man smeared the assassin’s blood between two of his fingers until it turned to dirt. He smiled at the body lying in its own pool of blood failing to stop the still jolting nerves. He knew that all the assassin could do is silently choke on the excess of fluids filling his throat and slowly leaking beneath him. The assassin looked up in terror with all the force the muscles behind his eyes could muster. With a painful struggle he was able to get out one last word, A question. “Wh… Wh… Why Not… kill me?” The assassin said weakly. The Skull Lord let the pain of the dying man’s words skulk about in his chest and throat before finally answering. “We do have something to discuss-” The Skull Lord finally spoke. “-but you’ll have to give me a moment Vox, There’s someone I’m expecting. But do take this time to relish in what I hope was a fulfilling life. For these will be your last moments.” He said and his voice bounced off the marble floors and metallic walls of his chamber. A door at the far side of the room slammed open and three ladies each one as striking as the last stormed into the chamber.   “Daddy what the f**k!? How’d he get in here?” The first woman storming into the room yelled with her pistol raised. She had a face that resembled The Skull Lord’s but was pleased only half of it was cybernetic. Clara. She had short, angle blonde hair that subtly covered the human side her head. Her eyes were both robotic and burned emerald, green matching the lighting of the chamber. “It doesn’t matter.” The Skull Lord said. “He won’t be a problem. Has Ni- “No s**t he’s already f*****g dead.” The second woman coming through the door interrupts The Skull Lord. She stood just a noticeable hair shorter than Clara. Her silver blue eyes were just as captivating as her bouncing light blue hair. Pok. Her most evident feature was her bottom jaw. It was covered in black crystallized metal and continued to down her neck into a stunning body suit coated in the same material. She strutted past the first woman and gazed around The Skull Lord’s chamber. She raised a finger to her ear and spoke adamantly,  “Send the NANA bots and a cleanup crew in here?” “There’ll be no need for that Pok I’m”- “-Make sure they bring two bags and a drip pan this time.” Pok interrupts The Skull Lord again.             “Stop f*****g interrupting me!” The Skull Lord shouted.    “So you’re just going to f*****g leave him there? The f**k kind of sick s**t you need him for? I thought Janna was the one conducting human sacrifices over here-”   “He’s not dead.” The third woman bumps past Pok interrupting her as she looks down at her wrist. Her faced glitched as she approached the body, but one could guess that it was normal. This woman didn’t have a prominent modification to her face like the other two women. She had two digital lines shooing up her cheeks that wrapped around her ears. Her long blonde hair was mesmerizing, her hazel eyes were deliciously dark, and her smile had to be crafted by none other than the goddess of evil. She had the most human face in the room but the most unsettling presence. Her body looked as if could be outfitted for anyone’s desires, but maybe that was the unsettling part about it. (More or less one of them.) She knelt down next to the nearly severed head of Vox and scanned him with her wrist. The first woman holstered her pistol and gulped down an annoying ball of snot. She pondered how anyone in this condition could still be alive in this butchered position. “He’s really getting back to his old ways.” She thought to herself.   A few seconds went by before a sequence of beeps sounded off.  “Daddy let me have this one I’ve got just the thing and, he’s short enough this time.” She spoke in a voice that was comforting given the situation.   “No! I’ve got some questions Janna. Have any of you-” “So how is he alive?” Pok asked her sister kneeling next to the body once again cutting The Skull Lord’s sentence short. “Not sure. Which is why I want this one daddy.” She said as she turned to her father. “There’s nothing special about him Janna now get the f**k away from him. Who told you three-”  Pok’s radio sounds off in her ear and she turns to The Skull Lord disrupting whatever he was about to say. “Do you want the bots or not father?” she asked. “Wha- The- f*****g No! All of you get the f**k out!” His voice erupts within the chamber he grabs Clara by the hair and tosses her towards Janna causing them both to nearly fall. “Wait! Just hold on a f*****g minute.” He said and rubbed the bridge of his metallic nose. “f**k you made me remember what I wanted to know. Has Diemond made it onto the surface yet?” Before the Skull Sisters could answer the door slammed opened again grabbing all four of their attention. Three Nana bots hovered into the chamber painted in a rusty silver coating with a red cross painted at the top of the chest. Their faces were similar to that of Janna but clearly more holographic and less conspicuous. They spoke in unison but with different feminine voices. “Would you like us to assist ma’am?” they said as they escorted a glass slab into the chamber and towards The Skull Lord and his daughters. “Pok! What The f**k!?” The Skull Lord shouted and took an assertive step towards her. Clara and Janna giggled quietly.   “What the f**k!?” Pok yelled at the three robots. The Nana bots only stared back waiting for a reasonable voice command. “I f*****g said he said no!” Pok shouted profoundly in her earpiece followed by a creative list of swear words and names directed at whoever was on the other end. “Nana bots just please get all the f*****g blood off the floo-” Clara began “No! Stand down! Voice security sync code seven, seven, one, one, alpha. And you three Shut the f**k up! You made me forget! Again!” The Skull Lord trampled over Clara’s request. The Nana bots hovered over to the body with the slab and remained directly behind it. The neon green lights duskily illuminating the camber casted a disturbing shadow over the bots awaiting patiently on the back wall. Their reflection bounced off the unnaturally still and dark pool of blood as they awaited orders from The Skull Lord. “That reminds me.” The Skull Lord snapped his fingers. “Has-” “Oh good! You remembered?” Janna asked. “No! It was something else that I remembered.” The Skull Lord said frustratingly. “So what was the first thing you had forgot?” Pok Asked. “If I have to tell you to shut you damn mouth again.” “I thought you meant the Nana Bots.” Clara said. The Skull Lord let out an burst of anger and shouted at the top of his lungs. He swiped the materials off a nearby transparent table shattering every item on the floor. A few moments past and he caught his breath. He allowed himself to settle back down and then continued with his inquiry. “Pok, Has Diemond arrived yet?” He asked. “No. There hasn’t been any sign of him according to our spies.” Pok said. The Skull Lord grunts, “He’s f*****g late.” “Any chance Liza has anything to do with it?” Clara asked. “Hmm, I doubt Liza would slow Diemond dow-” “No no, no I mean the dead guy.” Clara said “He’s not dead.” Janna interrupted. “Could’ve sworn Father told you two to shut the f**k up.” Pok spewed.  “Is there any chance Liza sent the assassin dad?” Clara asked again. The Skull Lord said nothing at first in response to Clara’s question. He only looked down at the suffering Vox. “Possibly.” He finally answered. “I’ve been waiting to go after her for such a long f*****g time just give me the word dad and I’ll-” “-No. Right now, our focus is on The Summit and Ms. Lazvonawitz. And if I don’t hear a word from Diemond in six hours you three will be running the Summit Job.” “WHAT!?” Pok, Clara, and Janna all shouted. “We can’t afford to lose either bounty. There’s a good chance Diemond could be making a play for himself rather than us.” “So How are we supposed to hit the Summit and grab this girl?” Pok asked. “The girl will be taken care of, but the other part of your question revolves around finding out where the f**k that bastard is.” The Skull Lord retorted.  “Put in a call for NiX. Him and Alura-” “Yes! That’s who I was expecting. They should be here any moment actually”- The Skull Lord interrupted Pok. And theatrically standing in the doorway was half his answer. “Speak of the devil and you better have a drink.” NiX said in a horribly wailing voice enhancer. “As much as you’d like to be you’re not him, but a drink does await.” The Skull Lord said to NiX and gestured him towards the table he took the pleasure to clear off earlier. NiX stood taller than everyone in the room, mainly because his large robotic rabbit ears. He was wearing a drenched coat with several pouches in it. His cybernetic body had many scratches and minor damages spread across it. The tactical pants he fancies covered most of his legs, but one could still see the modified running prosthesis he had for feet. He trotted to the edge of the table and stared down the repulsive Skull Sisters. The Skull Lord casually strolled around Vox’s still suffering body and behind a desk that has slowly risen out of the floor. The desk had three boxes on it all styled luxuriously after their home of origin. The Skull Lord slid the box on the far right closest to him. It was covered it sharp silver molten rocks that had blue veins pulsating through them. The lid had Eurus writing on it that read Pure Ring Pine. The Skull Lord lifted the lid open and proceed to grab a pinch of Shredded pine and three pieces of rolling papers. “Something tells me you could use a smoke?” He said to Nix just before he sat onto a couch that had also risen out of the floor. “Maybe later.” Nix exhaled and a sleek bottle of light brown liquid arose from the table followed by two small crystal glasses. Nix grabbed the bottle without reading the special insignia on it and popped open the lid. He glanced over at the bloodied body of Vox wasting no time to clear his consciousness. “I’m guessing he’s got something to do with our ambush or it’s his unlucky day?”   “Does that explain why you’re here alone? I remember sending two of you to Archais.” The Skull Lord asked NiX. “No. No It doesn’t. I was hoping you had an explanation or.. At least the dead guy on the floor had one.” After a second scan NiX realized the assassin known as VOX still had a heartbeat despite his horrid condition. He felt no need in asking what his daughters possibly already have. “Hmm… I’ll be sure to ask him, but something tells me the two are unfortunately separate.” The Skull Lord said just as he licked his pine paper closed and glanced at Vox once again.    Janna was all of a sudden behind Nix rubbing her hands on his back, working them over his shoulders, and onto his metal plated chest. He was pouring a more than generous amount of liquor into the second glass. He wasn’t startled at the way Janna was able to cover distance so swiftly, only amused. “Oh NiX, when are you going to let me turn this metal lump of lugs back into a real body?” She asked alluringly and rubbed her hand across his cold meatal cheek.  “When you find a way to remove my conscious.” Nix replied and took a heavy gulp from the glass in his hand. He couldn’t taste the leeches but could certainly feel their alcohol rich blood in his stomach. He shrugged Janna off and turned to her with the bottle and glass still in his hand. Janna quietly growled at him and snatched the bottle. “Where’d be the fun in that?” She whispered and refilled his nearly empty glass. There was an awkward silence between the two. The brown liquid splashed against the still freezing crystal edges and Janna didn’t take her eyes off NiX. She filled the glass to the exact height of the rim without going over and elegantly handed it to him. Simultaneously, Pok, Clara, and Janna all received alerts from their wrist devices. “C’mon we’ve got bounties to collect.” Pok said and headed towards the door. “And a Diamond to find.” Janna said and gnawed on her lower lip. She winked at NiX and pranced behind her sister. NiX took another gulp of the drunken leeches. As he lowered his glass Clara filled his view with a heinous smirk on her face. NiX eye sockets widened like a camera lens. “They’re getting fast. Real fast.” He thought to himself. Clara said nothing. She hit a spin and strutted after her two sisters. No one could see her face as she faded into the dark corridor leading away from NiX, her father, VOX, and the Nana Bots. Her burning emerald eyes were dancing in their sockets and her face was stitched into a smile. “The End Begins.”     NiX looked down at his glass watching the odd swirl form amongst the golden brown liquid.             “My daughters say it’s a living entity.” The Skull Lord said aloud.             “I’m sorry?” NiX wondered and splashed the liquid at the back of his throat.             “The liquor. Drunk Suncherry Leeches from Drak-aArubin of Kronos II.” The Skull Lord said and glared at his glass.             “How Ironic, I’m drinking the last of a rarity and I can’t even taste it.” NiX said.             “My sentiments exactly. A conscious liquid because it can produce its own alcohol to prevent, pain. How does a life of no pain, taste?”             “I don’t know but good enough for people to pay top dollar for it.”             “Like s**t. It more often than not tastes like shit.” The Skull Lord said. He rose out of his seat and walked over to Vox’s corpse still gushing puddles of blood. He took a sip out of his glass and poured the rest onto Vox’s face. The body on the floor jolted in response kicking wildly. The Skull Lord took a deep inhale of his rolled paper and walked away from Vox and over to his desk. “So let me guess? Alura’s missing and you didn’t recover the drive?” He asked.             “It’s almost as if you were there.” NiX said and finally sat down onto the couch.             “Enlighten me.”             NiX gulped. “Alura has the drive but I’m not sure where she is. After these assholes cornered us, her little upgrade showed it’s ass and obliterated the place. With a weapon like that you’d think she’d be on the front lines stopping the invasion.”             “You think she’s captured?”             “No, but her personal tracking beacon is off, and her trail led me off the moon. She could be anywhere.”             “Did you at least identify who attacked you? They must also be after the drive. Li-Za’s gang? Jaxk’s Guys?” “No, Police.” “Police? On Archais? There’s no way in f*****g hell”- “No, not local, these had to be the private sector type.” “Private?” “And expensive. Expensive enough to corner Alura and myself. Their tech is… Above the market.” “Military most likely. Guess everyone is pulling out the stops during times like these.” The Skull Lord said and rubbed his metallic chin. He held his rolled paper in his mouth and swiped through holographic files appearing on his desk.   “That sounds like you have something better.” NiX said. “I have a job. A bounty.” “A bounty? I had a feeling I’d heard that right earlier. Why are we collecting bounties? There’s an invasion going on in case you haven’t recognized, we’re down a planet.”   “A question I bothered not answering. Li-Za and JAXK were enthusiastic enough to fund one last season. And so, here we are. The Last Season of the Bounty. However, only one bounty matters to me. And that’s where I need you since Alura won’t be joining us.” The Skull Lord said. He swiped a file from his desk and it jolted to the table in front of NiX. The file illuminated into a large hologram above the table. “But first, I need to ask you something.” The Skull Lord continued. He blew a dart of heavy smoke that crept towards the hologram. “How do you perceive time?” He asked. NiX looked around for a moment. He still hadn’t poured himself another glass and could feel his eyes reaching for the bottle. “I’m not sure what you mean.” He said. “I mean, how do you perceive it? How do you look at your existence? What creates urgency? For you?” “I don’t know. This time around it’s a little.. Different. It’s… More numb. More.. ” “More noticeable?” Nix said nothing.    “You think we’ve had this conversation before?” The Skull Lord asked. “I don’t know. But, It’s starting to feel like it.” The Skull Lord pauses and takes a deep puff of his paper. “Understand this Nix. Time. We’ve had a whole hell of a lot of it. But it’s running out faster than I need it to. I need this bounty to buy us some more.” “Who is it?” NiX asked. Shortly after his question the hologram on the table glitched into a model of a young woman with a robotic arm the name above reading, ANNE LAZVONAWITZ. There were small subject boxes blinking in and out around the model of Anne. They were displaying basic facts and whatever her system records inquired. “A child? Why not just grab her yourself?” NiX looked up towards his boss. “I will. Just not her.” “…..” “You’ll catch on. I suspect once I leave the anomalies will pick up exponentially. Everybody will notice.” “The f**k are you talking about?”   “You still haven’t answered my question but, no matter. How ever you perceive time is going to have to change for you to understand what’s about to happen.” The Skull Lord pinches the remainder of his rolled paper against his desk. He continues. “It’ll happen fast and at random. Just keep moving.” “What’s about to happen?”  “A collapse. The invasion isn’t our only problem. I’ll try to be quick but while I’m gone, you’ll report and deliver the girl to my daughters. Alive and able to listen and speak.” “Where are you going?”  “I already told you that.” “No you.. Can you tell me where she is?” “Shallow District.” “She’s here? On Ipitur?”   “When the stars align, it’s best to take the gifts they provide. Which yours will be fifty white. Gold plated large.” Nix said nothing, but The Skull Lord could hear his heart jumping with anxiousness. “Fifteen when you leave and the other thirty-five when she’s within my daughters custody. I’m sure that’ll be enough to for that ticket you’ve asked for.” The Skull Lord said. Nix took a moment to consider the all to easy task. “What of Alura?” He asked. “It’s out of our control for the moment. For now, just bring me the girl. The contract is logged as private for the next eight hours. After that, your thirty-five white will be up for grabs. I don’t think I need to explain the rest.” “I guess the only question that matters is… This girl? What makes you so sure she's imperative to the outcome? What weapon are you hiding?” Nix asked. “The anomalies. When they occur, try not to control it… Just feel it.” The Skull Lord said and then flashed into a puddle of light that blinked behind him. NiX jumped out of his seat. The Skull Lord had vanished in an instant. Nix slowly stepped away from the couch and backwards towards the door. He glanced at the body of Vox that was still going through sporadic spasms. The body began lashing more and more viciously. The legs kicked like a mule and the arms jolted like shellfish claws. Nix anticipated a grueling scream for mercy. But it never came, only the thought of what it would sound like lingered in his memory drive. The body all of a sudden went still as if the silencing strike had been made. But the Skull Lord was nowhere to be seen. Yet, his presence felt heavier than gravity. Nix headed towards the door but before he could blink he found himself halfway down the corridor towards the exit elevator. “What the f**k?” He said to himself and looked at his hands. “What is that? That feeling?” Nix looked up towards the ceiling but found himself suddenly looking up at the top of the elevator. It began to rise and Nix was scrambling to figure out what the hell he’s ascending into.