Markram Battles: Omens of Doom (Part II) Read Free

The black dress uniform he wears has single white stripes running along the side of his arms and a double badge over his left shoulder, setting him apart as one out of only eight Chief Leaders still standing. I have to grind my teeth together to repress laughter as I notice several women, all daughters of senators, heading toward him. He nods cordially as they approach, but his furrowed brow tells me he couldn’t be any more irritated.
     
    Two senators and one of their consorts walking near by disrupt my line of vision and I turn to address them. “Commander,” Senator Thirty-Two greets me before I have a chance to speak. His short beard shimmers under the dim lights.
     
    I nod. “Senator. I trust you are enjoying the opportunity to meet the leaders?”
     
    “Most remarkably so. I believe my daughter is quite taken with one of the leaders of your unit,” he says, pointing to the young woman next to Seven. My gaze travels down her shockingly exposed body, following the gray lace running along the side of her legs, hips, and torso. “Though, I am afraid she will be heartbroken by the night’s end. Surely more than one woman with substantial means will request his company for the evening.”
     
    “Unit leaders are free to accept invitations from whomever they wish,” the other Senator says. I can feel my forehead creasing in confusion as I study the familiar features of his face. I have no memory of him, none whatsoever, and yet, something about the curve of his nose and eyes seems familiar. “It is one of the benefits of winning battles. Women do love conquering heroes,” he adds.
     
    “How do you find the results of this year’s battles so far, Commander?” Senator Thirty-Two asks.
     
    I interrupt my inspection to address him. “They are the best we’ve seen in years.”
     
    The Senator smiles, satisfied. “I have to agree. After the fighters’ rebellion during the rule of the Emperors, many were afraid the battles would never be the same again.”
     
    Senator Thirty-Two’s consort lets out a sigh of disapproval, wrapping her arm around the Senator’s arm. “It was to be expected. The fighters’ rebellion was a catastrophe. Many Markram lives were lost in the uprising.” She rolls her free wrist in the air, using her extrasensory telekinesis to wave her long hair away from the elevated collar of her long black dress.
     
    I nod in approval as my mind retrieves the encoded memories from my brain. “Our race was fighting a war against the Kîvera planet at the time, which allowed imprisoned fighters the opportunity to overtake our defenses. However, we conquered, yet again.”
     
    “Wasn’t the recruitment of female fighters instituted as a consequence?” the Senator’s consort asks.
     
    “It was the perfect solution, really,” Senator Thirty-Two answers. “Female fighters provide the perfect combination of aggression and brutality in the battles, while maintaining compliant attitudes outside the arena. A second rebellion would never happen.”
     
    I consider his statement and make a conscious effort to hold back a reply. Fighters rebelling again might not happen in the same manner, since we have taken precautions to avoid it. However, new and different rebellions may occur due to the new regulations. An image of Seven and Thirteen flashes through my mind and I shake it away immediately. Surely they would never go that far. “The recruitment of female fighters also gave us an added opportunity to control population growth among Kîvera,” I say in an attempt to keep my brain occupied on other matters. “The Kîvera’s male dominant society, where males must compete to earn mating rights over a group of females and the gestation period of a female Kîvera is half the time of a female Markram, presented a serious concern, especially after the uprising.”
     
    Senator Thirty-Two nods in agreement. I return my attention to the other Senator, retrieving every bit of information from my