As for the nature of this chapter, I was REALLY tempted to call it "SPAAAAAACEEEEE", but I felt that might've detracted from the serious tone I wanted to (or at least attempt) portray in this. A lot of new terminology that will only get partially explained in this chapter, but I promise there are good answers for (probably). Content wise, I'd probably refer to this as "Mature", though I wouldn't label it with "Sci-Fi".

[p=center]Chapter 6 – Fenrir[/p]

Age of Ethos – Year 2580

The structure almost seemed insignificant in the vastness of the void. Officially it was known as a 'Jump Station', but it was colloquially referred to by it's creators as 'The Shard'. It's size was made even more diminutive compared to the vibrantly colored gas giant that it orbited around. Yet it was one of the key pieces that spurred Demonic expansion. It looked almost quiescent from the outside, no trace of light could be seen to escape from it's diamond-shaped exterior. On the inside, it's inhabitants were constantly moving to and fro as they prepared to receive a guest from another sector.

The demons that manned the controls of the shard and prepared to launch the magical array carried with them an air of nervousness. The reason was clear: The ship that was entering the system hailed from the Vakerion system; a collection of stars that belonged in the Asmodeus sector. Moreover, based on the communications with the ship captain, it's passenger was someone of a very high rank. Displeasing him in any way would mean that their lives were forfeit.

The Shard came alive as the large scale transport magic was activated on both ends. Mana consumption was within normal limits, though it was still quite a taxing process, even with the batteries they had on board. There was a brief flash and the previously dormant structure came alive in the depths of space with a bright blue glow that surrounded it's exterior. A large panel near the bottom of the Shard slid open, releasing a soft golden glow into the darkness.

Within the opening that had suddenly appeared on the Shard was a fairly large room with people bustling around the sides. A faint glimmer at the opening indicated the presence of a shield at work that prevented the vacuum of space from taking effect. The back of the room showed stairs and a metal door with a wheel for a handle. The center seemed to be the main purpose of the room however: Bearing several raised platforms with intricate series of tall metallic rings that looped through each other on each dais. On one such platform, resting on a point where the rings intersected each other, was a vessel.

The sleek ship bore a blood-red hull with four large wings that fanned out from it's sides and angled backwards. Eight large thrusters dotted the back of the ship, though they were currently inactive. It was neither too large nor too small. Efficient and utilitarian, as would befit a vessel of Asmodeus' followers, who were just as military oriented as their ship would indicate.

In the bridge of the ship, overlooking the crew members who were busily preparing to take off was a slender figure. He, for it was most certainly a male, watched the hustle and bustle with sharp, bestial eyes. Silvery fur could be seen coating his partially exposed chest and ran up the sides of his neck to end in smooth light-colored skin. His hands were grasped around the railing in front of him, the claws that extended from each digit lightly scratched his palms. Much like the rest of the crew members, he was in a standard (and uncomfortable looking) uniform. The only addition he had was a long silky black cloak that stopped just short of the floor. And even though there were no stripes or medals or anything to indicate his position among the ship, it was quite clear from Fenrir's bearing that he was in command.

It could also be said that his appearance was particularly unique in that many of the bridge members all resembled each other. Except for the one demon in the pilot seat who had onyx-black shimmering skin with eyes that were just as dark; all of the bridge members were either succubi or incubi.

“Nebulon cores online.” announced one technician. The characteristic thrum noise reverberated throughout the ship as the nebulon began to draw in elements.

“Thunder cores drawing in at 80%. Gravity core drawing in at 6.3%. Wind core currently drawing in at 30%” said another technician.

The technical officer pressed a few more keys on the illuminated panel in front of her. “Thrusters engaged.” she reported.

“ETA to Elmyn?” asked Fenrir.

“Forty five minutes at top speed, my lord.” announced Rosier at the helm.

“Make sure to stop well before the moon base and hail them. I don't want to give our allies an excuse to blow us out of the sky.” ordered Fenrir.

“Yes, my lord!” cried the deck members in unison. They did not salute however and remained focused on their individual tasks, though Fenrir approved as such actions were wasteful and wholly unnecessary. Still...forty five minutes meant he had a little bit of time to relax. For a little while at least.

Fenrir made his way from the bridge to the upper deck where his quarters were, passing numerous crew members who gave him respectful bows if they weren't doing work at the moment. As he clambered up the stairs, Fenrir began modifying his eyes, adjusting the way beams of radiation entered them. His vision flickered and the colors of his surroundings brightened, as some colors such as red faded out entirely. Now then...let's see how my toys are doing, shall we?

The doors to his quarters silently slid open when he stood in front of them and closed just as quietly when he passed it's threshold. Two of the people who were inside the room looked up despondently as he entered. The third had quite the opposite reaction.

“Ahhh!” cried out a voice in ecstasy, “Hah-My lord, Fe-Fenrir. You've returned! I've missed you sooo much.” moaned Scarlet. She writhed on the floor in desperate need as her fingers scrabbled towards her nether regions. All the while gazing hungrily towards Fenrir. All three of the leyan girls were in the room were naked. Like all of the other members of their kind, these leyans were extraordinarily beautiful. The glossy scales that covered their bodies caught the light that hit them and reflected it back in such a way that they seemed to be glowing. Unlike many of his demonic brethren however, Fenrir did not care about their appearance.

Inwardly he sighed. He had hoped Scarlet would've been able to last longer than the last one. She had displayed so much fire when he had first brought her. Resisting in whatever way she could every time he defiled her. Hm. The aphrodisiac might've been too strong.

Fenrir extended a hand towards her that she latched onto with a fierce desperation, pressing it to her scaly cheek. “Did you miss me, pet?” asked Fenrir in a warm voice.

“Yes...yes! Yes!” exclaimed Scarlet.

“Snap out of it, Scarlet!” scolded one of the girls on the bed. She tried to move closer towards her sister when the collar around her neck activated and sent a shock through her body.

“Gahhh!” she screamed, falling back onto the bedspread and whimpering in pain. Her other sister cried out to her sibling though remained where she was, fearful of triggering the activation of her own collar.

Fenrir grinned. Despite the fact that they had no mouths, leyans still managed to produce the most delightful noises with their odd mental projection of sounds. Their 'voices' created a curious echo effect that seemed to bounce off of the walls of his quarters. For her part, Scarlet payed no mind to the sufferings of her sisters and only continued to rub her body against Fenrir's leg.

“Puh-Please, my lord. I need you.” groaned Scarlet. Fenrir stroked her head and crooned gently towards the girl, but he kept his gaze locked on her two sisters on the bed who were glaring at him. Leyan females had the inherent ability to mesmerize males of virtually any species with their eyes. Sometimes Fenrir liked to pretend that he had forgotten to modify his eyes and make it seem like he was under their control. Once he had even let them undo their own collars and try and make it off the ship before he “regained control” and beat them savagely for their attempted escape. It was the little things in life that gave him pleasure, he thought fondly.

He started to dig into Scarlet's scalp, claws slipping past the scales and drawing blood which ran in several rivulets down her face. She only moaned happily at the touch, pain was always something he gave before he delivered pleasure. He smiled at the look of despair plaguing her sister's faces.

“Scarlet...!” “You fucking monster!”

“Monster?” repeated Fenrir innocently. “Now that's not a very nice thing to say, is it Scarlet?”

Scarlet shook her head vigorously, “Not nice at all! But it is correct, my lord!”

“True enough!” chuckled Fenrir, patting Scarlet's cheek, “Now why don't you get in position.”. Scarlet giggled girlishly and quickly assumed her place on her hands and knees, shaking her lower body enticingly. He gave a firm slap to her backside, causing her to squeal in joy. “But we shouldn't have all the fun, should we?”

Scarlet's sisters paled at the underlying tone in his voice and started trembling.

“Can we make my sisters feel good too, my lord?” asked Scarlet excitedly.

Fenrir's mouth split open to reveal the rows of sharp fangs in a feral grin as he licked his lips in anticipation. “Yes. Yes we can, my pet.”

Fenrir walked over to his desk and pulled out a small metal case he kept within the drawer. The latch came free with a soft click to reveal the contents: Five small pink vials neatly arranged in a row were securely encased in a foam packing, next to a syringe. He considered one of the bottles he now held in his hand, and acting on an impulse, gathered fire elements to heat up the liquid inside. In a well-practiced manner, Fenrir filled the syringe with the contents of one of the bottles and snapped the case shut. Scarlet's sisters had moved towards the back of the bed, trying in vain to put as much distance between him as they possibly could.

But that would be rather boring if he did it this way. Fenrir stopped by Scarlet who looked up in confusion at him. “Get up.” he ordered. She quickly complied and rose to her full height. “I think your sisters would feel more at ease if you were the one to give them pleasure.” said Fenrir.

Scarlet's eyes widened in pleasure, “Yes! I'd love to!” holding out her hands for the syringe. Fenrir looked at the two girls who looked on at the unfolding scene in horror. He never took his eyes off of them as he placed the syringe into Scarlet's waiting hands. “Go to them.” he whispered, taking off Scarlet's collar as he did so.

“As you wish, my lord.” she said happily. There was no hesitation in her voice. She did not try to run for the door or attack Fenrir with fists or magic. Scarlet only heeded the orders of her master and was more than happy to carry them out.

“Scarlet, no!” “Please wake up sister!” wailed her siblings.

“Lata. Maya. Don't be afraid. It might hurt a little bit since you won't absorb it like I normally do, but once you feel what I feel, you'll always want lord Fenrir to grace you with it.” explained Scarlet sweetly. She stopped at the foot of the bed and cocked her head as she stared at the syringe and then looked towards Fenrir, “Shall I give both of them half, my lord?”

“Hmm, perhaps we'll start with your younger sister for today. We can try something later with Maya.”

“No!” screamed Lata. She jumped off of the bed and raced past a confused looking Scarlet towards the door. She never made it more than a few steps when Fenrir's spell hit her and bound her in place.

“I'm glad to see you're so eager to jump into my arms!” laughed Fenrir as thick tears pooled in Lata's eyes and fell down her face. Scarlet made her way over to her younger sister and gently brushed away her tears.

“Shhh, I'll make it all better now.” she whispered.

“Please...don't! Scarlet, don't do this!” begged Lata, struggling to free herself from Fenrir's enchantment. He was pleasantly surprised at the force of the resistance she was putting up, to the extent that he had to pour more mana into the spell. Lata gave a long, drawn out scream as the needle slipped past her scales and the aphrodisiac was injected into her bloodstream. She fell to the ground insensate as Fenrir released his spell, adopting a fetal position as she huddled up against the wall.

Scarlet was once again on all fours and looked up longingly towards Fenrir, “Now? Master?”

Fenrir lovingly stroked her long red hair, “Soon my pet. I just have one last thing for you to do.”

“Anything.”

Fenrir looked at Maya, demanding her attention with his powerful gaze. There was no magic in his stare, all he used was his overwhelming presence to ensnare the older sister. As a result, she couldn't even look away from him. “I want you to tell your two sisters what you are.” His hand moved sensuously down her body, causing her to wriggle in delight, until it finally settled near her dripping sex.

Scarlet seemed to radiate pleasure, as if Fenrir had given her a gift. “I Scarlet vi Enthefuschia am, and always will be, Lord Fenrir's willing slave.”

“And why are you a willing slave?” asked Fenrir, though he kept his focus on Maya, savoring the despair on her face. It was incredible just how much emotion these leyans could convey just through their eyes.

“Because the pleasure you give me is beyond compare.” moaned Scarlet as Fenrir slipped two clawed fingers inside of her, grinding against her sensitive spots.

“You're getting a little bit too excited with this.” remarked Fenrir, “I think there's another word for a shameless girl such as yourself. Someone who would debase herself to her father's killer.” He dragged a claw over her back, drawing blood as he did so. “What are you?” he asked again.

“Are you a princess?”

“No!”

“Are you just a slave?”

“No~” she squealed as he probed deeper inside of her.

“Then what are you?” his fingers moved in and out of her in rapid succession.

“A whore!” she cried out in ecstasy.

“That's right.” said Fenrir gently, though there was a hard light in his eyes. “You're nothing more than a worthless whore.” he grabbed her hair and pulled her head back. Scarlet winced in pain, though she seemed even more excited.

“Just another piece of trash.” Fenrir quickly slashed a claw across her throat.

“No!!!” cried Maya. Scarlet touched the incision in a dreamlike state that was pumping out golden blood at an alarming rate.

“...Master?” she slumped onto the floor, a thick pool of her own blood already forming beneath her.

After that, Fenrir violently took Maya from behind, forcing her to look at her sister's corpse. She fought and screamed at every motion. Lata watched their bestial copulation with one hand between her legs, tears streaming down her face despite her evident arousal.

A single bell tone rang throughout the room soon after. A message from the flight officer that they would be in range of Elmyn soon. Fenrir quickly cleaned and dressed himself, paying no heed to the still crying Maya on the bed. Assembling a wind blade spell, he quickly dissected Scarlet's corpse and pushed it into the trash chute. A water ball and another wind spell to dry the area, and all traces of Scarlet had been removed from the room.

“You...fucking...monster!” gasped Maya as Fenrir turned to leave, “The only reason you broke Scarlet were those disgusting drugs you kept on injecting in her!”

Fenrir stopped and smiled, “Oh? I didn't give her any today. Yet she seemed perfectly happy to give some love to little Lata.” grinning at the youngest of the three sisters. She shivered under his stare and looked away, “Who I noticed was enjoying the little show we put on for her.”

Lata flinched and buried her head in shame. Maya quickly rose to her defense, “Only because of those vile substances you made Scarlet put in her!” she said hotly.

Fenrir's grin only widened, “You know these substances were actually made by one of the crew members. He's got a knack for making these. Unfortunately, they have to be kept at a certain temperature, otherwise they won't work anymore. If they get too warm, the active ingredient will be inactivated.”

Lata raised her head and looked at him with a horrified understanding. “Did it feel a little warm when it entered you, Lata?” Laughing, Fenrir left the room, to the sweet sound of Lata's screams of denial.

Fenrir chuckled to himself as he thought: Not that it actually gets inactivated by heat.

“Wish we had their corresponding communication stone.” muttered the communications officer.

“Technically we should have it, considering we're allies and all.” commented her neighbor.

“Agreed. It'll definitely be something that will come up in negotiations, but for now we have no choice.” said Fenrir through clenched teeth. He gazed ruefully at the myriad of omnimetal stones encased in a secure transparent box at the communication's area of the bridge; underneath each stone was the label of it's sister stone's location. Unsurprisingly, all of the stones were locations listed in Asmodeus' sector.

Omnimetal was a precious resource, not only for it's rarity, but also for it's singularly unique capability: Magical replication over infinite distances. Any magical alteration applied on one piece of omnimetal would be duplicated on another piece of omnimetal that had been refined and smelted from the same deposit. They were the core material behind Jump Stations and were what made interstellar travel possible; a feat that even the Rovenians were unable to accomplish.

In comparison, communication stones were not nearly as specialized as those utilized in Jump Stations. But they were an effective means of communication in that one could apply a rapidly oscillating thunder element discharge to transmit information in much the same way that radio waves did. But of course they wouldn't let us keep something as valuable as that...tch!

“Do it.” ordered Fenrir.

At Fenrir's command, the people on the bridge began the long process of powering down the nebulon cores. Magical phenomena significantly interfered with Rovenian technology; even the simple act of drawing in elements would create an immeasurable amount of static if one were to use a conventional radio. It was a vexing problem that even Elmyn's engineers were reportedly unable to solve.

The small vibration that had been running through the ship, indicating that the nebulon cores were online, lessened and soon faded out all together. Silence on a starship either meant two things: Catastrophe or a need for communication. Fenrir still wasn't sure what this situation qualified as. Everyone on deck tensed as the silence filled the ship. An attack on the ship now would be fatal for nearly everyone.

A few moments passed by when it seemed like no attack was forthcoming and Fenrir broke the silence. “Looks like we live to fight another day.” his hands relaxed. “Dalia.”

“Sir!” responded the communications officer.

“Open a channel with them and let's get this over with.” Fenrir moved over to Dalia's side as she pulled out the microphone and turned on the short-range radio. A sardonic voice filled the bridge of the ship almost the second that two-way communication had been established.

“Fenrir! Long time no talk! What brings you to this neck of the galaxy?” The look of annoyance that lined Fenrir's face was mirrored on every person who heard this voice.

“Business. I'm here on Duke Samael's behalf to discuss trading rights with Duchess Belphegor.” answered Fenrir tersely.

“Ooh, sounds important.”

“...Indeed.”

“So why'd they send you?”

Refusing to fall for the taunt, Fenrir merely sighed and asked, “Are we clear to enter Elmyn?”

“Tch, you're so boring.”

A vein twitched in Fenrir's forehead, “Business usually is, Merihem. Are we clear to enter?” he asked again.

“Yeah, yeah...you're clear to go Count Fenrir.” answered Merihem in a bored voice as he abruptly cut communication.

“...That seemed a little too easy.” said Dalia uneasily, breaking the silence. Fenrir agreed; normally it would take ages for Merihem to shut up.

“Should we pull out, sir?” asked another bridge member.

For a moment, he briefly considered the idea. If it was this crew and this ship, they could get away. To hell with Asmodeus and Samael, he would carve out his own path once more. But where would that leave his crew? No. If he was going to do this, he would see this through to the bitter end.

“No, we'll proceed as is.” decided Fenrir, “But...” he continued, making sure all of their attention was on him, “If something does go wrong, evacuate as fast as you can.”

“Self-destruct if you can't.” he finished.

“Yes, my lord!”