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“Do you follow this General? Is that why you kidnapped me? Doyoubelieve in the Old Ways?”

Lazar pauses. He doesn’t dismiss my words.

“No,” he eventually responds. “I don’t follow him. His name was General Asmod, and he viewed women as weak and stupid – fit only for the pleasure rooms of the most powerful warriors.”

Otho grunts, adding: “Asmod was a piece of shit – but astrongpiece of shit. He was a decisive leader and a good commander. You won’t find a man who served beneath him utter a bad word about the General. In fact, most of them owe their lives to him.”

Lazar nods.

“Yes.” Then, he pauses for a moment. “However, be that as it may – when Asmod was slain by Emperor Raegan in the Arena of the Gods, it ushered in a new era for our Empire: An era in which planets under Aurelian control have declared their independence and broken free of our Empire. An era in which humanity has chosen to follow its own path.”

His slate-grey eyes narrowed.

“Great suffering has been the result. Individual humans have the capacity for greatness – but together, you are a corrupt species. It’s the natural law of humanity that the strong devour the weak.”

I should feel insulted – that sweeping generalization about humankind should be as hurtful to me as the way that so-called General Asmod viewed all women as weak and subservient.

However, I’ve learned enough about the newly independent human worlds to know that Lazar speaks the truth. All across the newly independent sectors, there are dens of slavery and debauchery – and nothing is done to rein in the madness. In fact, those still living under the protection of the Human Alliance will even travel as tourists to these independent worlds, to experience the ‘wild west’ of the universe.

Even this very ground I stand on now – on the proudly independent planet of Marn – you’ll find that kidnapping and corruption has become viewed as a simple negotiation tool, rather than a heinous crime.

Suddenly, I feel the weight of the universe on my shoulders. An exhaustion fills me, and I make my unsteady way across to the sleeping bags, where I scrunch them up to make a makeshift seat.

As I flop down, Lazar follows behind me – sitting down on a broken stump of stone that used to be a support beam. Hopefully not animportantsupport beam – I hope this place isn’t going to come crashing down around me at any moment.

Although, if it did, that would be exactly the type of thing I should have expected. The first day I’ve ever escaped from the gilded prison of my father’s estate, it would be fitting to be crushed beneath a new stone behemoth.

For a moment, we all sit in silence – until I look up and murmur:

“Not all humans are bad, Lazar. Not all of us are…corrupt.”

Lazar takes a deep breath in. His eyes roll back minutely – only for a second, but I can tell he just tasted my scent in the air.

As if sensing that I’d noticed that, the towering alien shakes himself off, regaining his focus.

I stare up at him – longing to tell him to stop smelling me. However, I don’t want to embarrass him by bringing attention to what he just did. It’s involuntarily, I know – like how I’ll breath in the scent of the freshly-cooked pies that are delivered to our kitchens.

Eventually, Lazar breathes: “You’re right, Natali.”

His slate-grey eyes turn toward me.

“Not all humans are corrupt – just as not all Aurelians share the views of the late General Asmod.” Then, the towering warrior shakes his head. “Yet lately, more and more Aurelian Warriors are claiming they want to see the Old Ways brought back.”

He leans towards me, and confesses:

“The Empire is fracturing, Natali. To humans like you, we keep a strong front – but, in reality, I think there’s a great change coming. The priests? They tell us the end times are coming.”

I stare up at Lazar as he continues.

“That is why Brennan, Otho, and I have been working so hard to secure Orb-Material for the Aurelian Empire – for over two-hundred years now, ever since we finished our hundred years of service. Now, we perform a different service – and it’s a great burden on us. We might sit here, three humble warriors, but we are burdened with the survival of our very species.”

The survival of his species.Thatis what these Aurelians truly care about.

Suddenly, I’m struck at howpettymy problems must appear. They revolve around being stuck behind stone walls – a princess in a tower, complaining bitterly while sitting well-fed, and well-protected.

In contrast, Lazar and his battle-brothers face problems that could shape the future of the universe – securing the survival of the Aurelian Empire and Lazar’s very species.

The weight of his words are oppressive.