Enter Royalty

[Blackfire]

One moment Komand’r, Queen of Tamaran was receiving a manicure, and then within a blink of an eye, shrouded in darkness.

====

The raven haired, orange-skinned woman awoke, finding herself in an environment, opposite to the previous one where she had encountered the omnipotent entity. Komand’r could easily distinguish the difference between a dream and reality, concluding that Omni was not a figment of her imagination. She remembered every word exchanged between them yet still couldn’t grasp the full extent of Omni’s reason for summoning her to his verse. Yes Komand’r was a ‘very important person’, everyone on planet Tamaran knew that, including those connected, or those that knew anything their race, therefore, in her opinion, ‘very important’ didn’t suffice as a credible reason. The Tamaran queen requested more answers but Omni refused had to give her the response she desired.

Komand’r rose to her feet, adjusting her platinum headband, which contained a ruby in the centre. Her right hand man Tyrand’r presented the one of a kind item to her upon her coronation. She could not afford to misplace a memento of that much value, especially amidst unfamiliar territory.

The ground was hard and as white as snow, matching the colour of the sky. There was no place like this, nor any place remotely similar on Tamaran.

Omni was for real.

[Blackfire]

Komand’r never lacked a sense of direction. She was a prudent individual. Everything she did or said was meaningful and with a motive. That was until now because she had no idea where she was heading. The wanderer assumed a trek southwards was the best option but after a minute of walking, failed to spot anything significant. There was still nothing in sight, no roads, no vehicles, no landmarks, just white abyss. Back on her homeland, you had all of those things, including signs that directed visitors from a variety of planets across the galaxy.

The former monarch exhaled deeply, wondering if the day could become more frustrating.

====

Eight days earlier

It was a momentous occasion that produced a mixed reaction. A chorus of boo’s and cheers escaped the lips of thousands of Tamaranean citizens that had gathered to witness the coronation of their new ruler, Komand’r, the first-born child of the former King Myand’r. Whether they were prepared to accept her with open arms, or ridicule her at any given moment, everyone had an opinion.

“This is bullshit!”

“We love you Komand’r!”

“Girl power!”

“She isn’t fit to be a ruler.”

“The girl deserves a chance.”

“I’ll give her a month at most.”

Those were the kind of comments people uttered as they gazed at the podium while Komand’r graced them, waving, a wide grin plastered on her face the entire time, genuinely pleased by the large turnout and the mixed reception. Whether they loved or hated her, they were HER people.

Komand’r looked as radiant as ever before, uncharacteristically wearing purple lipstick and an amount of purple mascara and eyeliner that was borderline excessive.

“You have to look your best for your people,” her stylists told her.

It was her advisor Tyrand’r’s idea to hire stylists to ‘groom’ her. Of course, Komand’r objected, but he had a way with words. He found it very easy influencing the young monarch into doing what he felt was ‘right’. After all, Tyrand’r was the one that influenced Komand’r to claim planet Tamaran.

[Blackfire]

Blackfire’s attention diverts from the past to the sound of water flowing. She was certain of it. She estimated that it was half a kilometre, southward.

====
Eight days earlier

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Tyrand’r, from behind, placed the gold, crown of jewels onto Komand’r’s head. Meanwhile, the band in the background continued playing ‘Pomp and Circumstances’ (March No. 6 in G minor).

The seven feet tall, MC, stepped onto the podium, dipping his head towards the gold microphone as he addressed the crowd once more. “Ladies and gentleman, children of all ages; I present to you, the NEW Queen of Tamaran, Komand’r!”

The youngest ruler in the race’s history rose from her iron throne, waving her right hand while she rotated a radiant smile across the packed out crowd. She chuckled a little; immune to the high-pitched cheers that rung her ears.

The MC bowed as Queen Komand’r reached the podium.

The empress pressed her hands onto the wooden surface, spending a few moments soaking the moment in, simultaneously, observing her new people with the utmost pride.

Although the cheering gradually decreased, people still expressed their sentiments with positive remarks, while others mocked their new ruler under their breaths.


====

There it was – such a magnificent sight. Standing before Komand’r was a tall, cream, marbled, water fountain. A limitless supply of thick, concentrated water hoisted into the air, dipping back into the circular, structured lake. The water looked fresh. It was so clear that she saw her reflection the moment she peered into it.

My ruby, she thought, with a flabbergast expression on her orange skinned face. The ruby in the centre of her gold headband was gone.

Following a growl that represented her frown, she yanked the headband from her head. Gazing at it, she realised she was all alone in the Omniverse. One moment she had everything, and then within the blink of an eye, nothing. She had no subjects, no servants, not even a ruby to vouch for her status.

“Fuck!” she exclaimed, slamming the headband against the marbled surface of the fountain. Komand’r felt no sympathy for the object. In her opinion, without the ruby, the headband was as valuable as a car without a steering wheel. In actuality, as an item constructed from pure gold, it could still sell at a high price, even without the ruby.

Suddenly it hit her. Komand’r didn’t need a piece of jewellery, nor a crown to define her status. She knew who she was; that was all that mattered. With that revelation, she tossed the headband into fountain. For the first time, she smiled, satisfyingly, watching it sink further into the clear water.

[Blackfire]

Ten, eleven, twelve, Komand’r concluded.

There were a dozen lifeforms dressed in white from head to toe. Their uniforms were embellished with white armour; their faces were disguised with helmets, and they all held black, plasma rifles. She had seen weaponry similar to theirs before, no mistaking it. Suddenly, she glared, visualising an army of hideously looking, green-skinned aliens shooting down Tamaranean’s with their black, laser guns.

That was enough imagery for Komand’r to endure as she snapped back to reality.

From studying their body language, she calculated that the soldiers were merely performing their customary duty, which was assumingly to patrol the area.

Komand’r thought back to her encounter with Omni. The omnipotent entity made it clear that ‘she (Komand’r) wasn’t alone’. He had also summoned other Primes into the Omniverse. The young woman could empathize with the fact that, perhaps, almost every Prime would not have been pleased after having been extracted from their daily lives, from their homes, their planets, into a whole new world they had never seen before, unfamiliar territory. To make matters worse, against their will.

Komand’r wondered deeper into the depths of her mind.

She stood by the belief, everything happens for a reason; nothing is by coincidence. Omni had a purpose for every Prime. Omni refereed to Omnilium, and by obtaining it, it would grant you the power to have anything your heart desired. It was ironic. She believed that she had attained ultimate power by becoming the queen of the Tamaranean race, but she was wrong; she had learnt that first hand.

In summary, it became very clear to her why Omni had summoned her into his Omniverse, and deep down, even her pride could not hide the fact that she was very grateful for what he had done.

Komand’r winced at the thought of being grateful to Omni. Kindness, compassion, and trust: they were prime representatives of weak emotions she did not want to possess. Once she got her hands on Omnilium, every living being would realise how ruthless and merciless she was.

The wicked smirk on her face only lasted a moment as she grew with curiosity. What is Omni's motive? she wondered. How is he benefiting from having summoned Primes here, people of different races, from all over the galaxy?

Komand’r had to find all the answers but it would be overwhelming to attain them all at once. Step by step, she concluded.

Her first step was both, metaphorically and literally as she casually, walked over to the soldiers.

“I only require one of you,” she signalled, holding up her right, index finger, “to tell me everything necessary that I need to know about this verse, including where to obtain Omnilium.”

Just like that, the sovereign had abandoned her notion of ‘one step at a time’.

[Blackfire]

The Tamaranean was surprised that she had only just noticed them. If she had the skin tone of a Caucasian human, she would have blushed with mortification, but fortunately, her luscious, golden skin could disguise such a thing. There were eight enormous gates in the horizon, each with a unique layout, however, behind each of them, the same type of vortex. Her eyes shifted from one to another constantly, in awe at a sight she had never seen or even imagined she would be visualising.

“You’re probably wondering where those portals lead.”

Komand’r’s body jolted to the direction of the soldier. “Pardon me?” For a brief moment, she had forgotten everything else that existed.

“The portals.” The stormtrooper directed his finger towards them. “I’ll explain what you need to know about them, eventually.”

“But of course you will,” replied the statuesque woman, arms folded, shaking her head in disbelief, due to the soldier having stated the obvious.

“A smart-ass,” the man muttered under his breath. It was a good thing his white helmet muffled his speech otherwise she would have heard.

The stormtrooper rose his gun, letting it rest on his right shoulder. He found it more comfortable than holding it in both hands; additionally, the woman clearly posed no threat, although she seemed very agitated. He could tell from her body language – arms constantly changing positon, from crossed, and to them pressed against her curvaceous, hips, and her deep, purple eyes, gazing sternly, upwards towards his face.

“First off, let me introduce myself. My na-”

“Your name is unimportant,” she interrupted. “This is not a social convention and we are certainly not allies. Just tell me all the information I require.”

Whoa, thought the soldier. He had encountered many hostile Primes since the mysterious creator opened his doors to people all over the galaxy, but none as impolite as the orange-skinned, woman.

“Okay, I’ll start with the basics. As you well know you’re what’s called – a Prime.”

“So I’ve been told. Continue,” urged the Tamaranean.

After a moment of thought, the solider realised that the woman’s impoliteness was nothing compared to witnessing his comrades slaughtered by Primes.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down the spin of the armoured soldier as guilt seeped into him. He also gulped, but there was no way Komand’r could have detected that behind his metallic mask. His guilt stemmed from realising that he would have to withhold information from her. For his own protection, he was not going to tell her that being a Prime meant that she was immortal, and that she was a permanent part of the Omniverse.

As intelligent as the Tamaranean was, it was impossible for any living being to absorb everything there was to know about the Omniverse after just one conversation. Even the part about ‘obtaining Omnilium’ barely sunk into her overloaded brain. In fact, the only pieces of information that stood out were the basic uses of Omnilium, Secondaries, and the city that enveloped an entire verse, Coruscant. From what the stormtrooper had described, it was a high-tech and wealthy city, and the most civilised in the Omniverse. The only con was that, due to the city’s great reputation, it meant that Coruscant was under constant, high surveillance, heavily protected.

Naturally, every city had a head figure that governed it. In Coruscant’s case, this individual was Emperor Palpatine. Then there was Judge Dredd, “the judge and the executioner,” the briefer mentioned with a jubilant tone that represented his sense of pride for his leader. Dredd was the head of security. The stormtrooper had described him in a gracious and honourable manner, to the extent that it irritated the golden-skinned woman. There was a thin line between loyalty and ass-kissing, and sadly, this man was the latter.

Judge Dredd was the commander of stormtroopers, and a stormtroopers typical chore was to guard the city. It was ironic that Komand’r wasn’t comfortable with Coruscant’s security regime considering Planet Tamaran’s capitol, Myand’r, (named in honour of her father, the former King of Tamaran) was heavily guarded with security too, to the point that Komand’r and her siblings had their own team of personal guards. Nevertheless, Komand’r still felt uneasy by the thought of settling under the constant, watchful eyes of stormtroopers.

“Won’t you at least consider working for the Empire? You seem like a very ambitious woman with strong morals.” The 6’5” soldier based his assumption from her responses and body language throughout their discussion.

“There is nothing to consider. I am a queen, and just to educate you, queens do not serve others.”

====

As impossible as it seemed, the volume of the crowd dwindled, and for the first time since reaching the podium a couple of minutes earlier, finally drew her purple, decorated lips towards the microphone.

“Greetings, my people!” Her voice echoed all over the large, land.

The silence ended as the citizens of Tamaran once again cheered. A grin spread across the new rulers face after witnessing a giant banner in the crowd, an oil painted portrait of her. The artwork, taken from a portrait of her a couple of years earlier, resembled her facial features more than any other ever made for her.

====

Komand’r could have stood there gazing at the portal for an hour, unhindered by boredom.

“Have you ever seen anything like it before?” the stormtrooper wondered.

She was not even listening. The portal’s magnificence had once again entrapped her mind. At that moment, her surroundings – movements, sounds, she was oblivious to them.

Subconsciously, the Tamaran stepped forward, her face, inches away from swirling, silver matter. Suddenly, her body tingled, a cold sensation, tricking down her arms, to her wrists and all the way to her toned, calves. She could not control her nerves, which had developed after the thought of entering unfamiliar territory, a city with no familiar escorts, no security or even an ally, but then, within a blink of an eye, a new thought entered her mind, instantly erasing the former. The chill bumps left, replaced with comforting, confidence. Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of being a Prime was that she had the ability to summon Secondaries.

All it took was a mere glance at the portal to transform her smug expression back to wonder.

“You need more personnel?! Over!” The stormtrooper spoke through a communicating device, located on his right wrist. “Okay, I’m on my way boss! Over!”

The solider returned his attention to the young woman. She appeared to be frozen. Although the trooper understood that it was the humanoids first time experiencing such a spectacle, time was of the essence. He had already spent over an hour briefing her and now Dredd needed him.

Following a sigh of frustration, the soldier marched forward, his white boots clonking against the hard, white canvas. He stopped behind her, thinking, I could cock my rifle against her back and just shoot her, but the militant was good person with a good conscience, so instead, with his free hand, shoved her into the portal leading to Coruscant.