Pietas knows what's good for humans, and it's not freedom. An excerpt from book one of the Bringer of Chaos series. In this scene, Pietas is trapped, but he refuses to surrender, even when there is not one shred of hope.
Humans are ruled, not obeyed
The leaders of his people gathered in sleep around him, sealed inside their curved, steel stasis tubes. Above him, humans waited for Pietas to enter the last one.
He folded his arms.
"Feast your eyes, vultures." Pietas lifted his chin. "Humans are ruled, not obeyed. You think to imprison me? You think to bring me down like a hunted animal?" He spread his hands outward, indicating the pods. "I will not cower before you. I will not bow. I will not kneel. I will not serve. I will never submit. Humans were made to be ruled, not by my people, but by me."
The silhouettes of humans above him contrasted with the bright light behind them. One by one, they slipped away, until a single silhouette remained.
"Fighting us accomplishes nothing." The disembodied voice echoed in the chamber. "You won't leave that room until you're in stasis. Enter the pod or we'll siphon the air, and let you die."
"I've died countless times. I do not fear death. Death fears me."
"So be it. Since you're so set on dying, have it your way. I told you if you didn't cooperate, I would detonate the bombs within the hostages you took aboard your ship. See for yourself."
On the opposite wall, an image of the Uurahkal sparkled into life, and a bloom of light filled the screen. A mass of debris shot in all directions.
"Your crew has ceased to exist."
"That image is a farce. You would not dare to destroy the council's flagship, and you will not destroy the council. You humans are cowards. You lock us away in a barren room and threaten our people. This is why humans do not deserve freedom. You are worthless, miserable liars."
"Believe me, your crew is quite dead. The universe is a safer place for it."
"It will never be safe. Not for you."
Bringer of Chaos
Series page: https://kayelleallen.com/chaos-series/
#SciFi #SpaceOpera
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Very intense scene! Great way to start the new year, Kayelle.
Very intense scene!
Great way to start the new year, Kayelle.
Argh! Sorry about the duplicate. WordPress was giving me some message that “I’d already said that” – but the first comment wasn’t showing up.
Pietas is a real bad ass. I like that. Great excerpt, Kayelle. 🙂
Many thanks, Tina. I loved writing this guy. I’m working on a sequel now.
Fantastic! I feel like the humans on the other end of the speaker are probably going to pay dearly for this…
JJ, you’re so right. They just made an enemy of an immortal with an eidetic memory. He will never forget what they did.
Pietas is defiant to the end! Such an intense scene.
You know it. He does not have the word submit anywhere in his dictionary.
Lisabet, I’m always happy to see your comments. Even double ones. ^_^