Suppress the Rebellion on Zelnari

The new orders came through shortly after the princess had been turned over to the Imperium’s Intelligence Agency.

Zelnari.

A wealthy Imperial world several jumps from the capital, famous for three things: beautiful cities, spectacular nightlife, and an increasingly restless native population. So naturally, the Empress decided they needed an official visit from a Marshal.

Officially, Sephanee and I had been dispatched to conduct a security assessment and meet with the local Imperial assigned governmor following reports of increased anti-Imperial activity. The arrival of a Marshal was meant to scare the governor into taking more aggressive actions to suppress any spark of rebellion.

Zelnari was beautiful from orbit. Emerald continents wrapped around sapphire seas beneath streaks of white cloud, and its capital looked even more impressive from the ground. Broad boulevards radiated outward from enormous plazas. Ornate stone buildings stood beneath holographic advertisements. Cafés occupied seemingly every street corner. At night, golden lamps illuminated bridges crossing the river that divided the old city.

Zelnari was well known in the original game as well. I had read that the developers had taken heavy inspiration from the streets of Paris when designing the capital. They just added a few futuristic elements and populated it with attractive green-skinned aliens. It was a free planet back then.

Unfortunately, since I was last here, the Imperium had annexed the planet and added its own decorating. Black banners hung from government buildings. Imperial soldiers guarded transportation hubs. Human officials occupied administrative positions once held by Zelnari. Under the Empress’s increasingly explicit human-supremacist policies, aliens throughout the Imperium had steadily been reduced to second-class citizens.

Our official welcome came courtesy of Governor Harlan Voss, a portly Imperial aristocrat whose dress uniform stretched tightly around his rounded belly. He spent nearly two hours explaining that everything was perfectly under control and giving us a tour of a dull administrative building. Ki11bot wondered off the tour almost immediately while Sephanee nodded along to the governor’s droning politely, pretending to not notice the governor sneaking glances at her cleavage.

After the governor finally let us go I expected Sephanee to drag me back to the embassy and spend the evening comparing intelligence reports. Instead, she asked me to dress up and meet her in the lobby of our hotel. I put on what felt like an appropriate dinner outfit but found myself severely underdressed when I saw Sephanee standing in the lobby.

Her usual combat bodysuit was gone. In its place was a fitted black evening dress with angular red accents and subtle metallic ornamentation that unmistakably echoed an Imperial officer’s uniform without actually resembling one. Her dress hugged her figure tightly, showing off every curve her genetically engineered figure had. Her cleavage pushed further up than usual practically popped out of the damn thing.

I stared. Sephanee noticed.

“Marshal.”

“Agent.”

Sephanee looked me over. “That,” she said, “is what you’re wearing?”

“I packed light and where exactly are we going?”

Her smile should’ve warned me.

⸻

Apparently Zelnari had the best nightlife in this sector. Sephanee intended to personally verify that claim. Two hours later we were several drinks into an establishment overlooking the old city, surrounded by music, holographic lights and dozens of Zelnari youth out partying. Humans occupied many of the private booths overlooking the dance floor. Zelnari dominated everything below.

They were impossible not to notice. Green skin ranging from pale mint to deep emerald. Pointed ears. Golden or amber eyes. Most had two or three flexible antennae rising from their heads, their tips glowing faintly beneath the club’s violet lights.

I looked around, taking in the whole club before my eyes landed on Sephanee again. She rested her chin against one gloved hand.

“You’re staring again.”

“At the crowd.”

“Of course.”

“I occasionally look at things besides your chest.”

“Occasionally.”

I took another drink. That was when I noticed her. Pale green skin, long, almost white hair, golden eyes. She’d been across the club when I first spotted her, laughing with three other Zelnari near the bar. Petite compared with Sephanee, but impossible to lose in the crowd. Her clothes were some combination of local fashion and scavenged spacer gear—cropped top, oversized dark jacket hanging loosely from her shoulders, belts, boots, little pieces of jewelry collected from places I couldn’t identify. Two luminous green antennae curved above her hair.

She looked at me. Then at the insignia on my jacket, her smile disappeared. For a second, I expected her to turn away. Instead, she said something to her friends and started walking directly toward us.

Sephanee noticed immediately. “Oh, good.”

“What?”

“You’ve attracted something.”

The Zelnari woman stopped beside our table. Up close, her golden eyes were even stranger. Vertical pupils contracted as she examined me. “You’re Imperial.”

It wasn’t a question. I glanced down at the enormous silver insignia attached to my chest. “I thought I was being subtle.”

She didn’t laugh. Her eyes moved to my new rank insignia. Then widened. “Marshal?” That got Sephanee’s attention. The Zelnari leaned closer, apparently deciding personal space was another Imperial custom she had no intention of respecting.

“You’re the Marshal.”

“I’ve been Marshal for about a day, so you’ll have to narrow that down.”

“The one who captured the rebel princess.”

Ah. News traveled fast. Her antennae tilted forward, curiosity replaced suspicion. Then came the smile. “You’re younger than the broadcasts make you look.”

Sephanee lifted her glass. “He’s also less impressive in person.”

“Thank you, for that.”

The Zelnari ignored her completely. “I’m Vex.” She extended a hand. I hesitated before taking it, mostly because I felt Seaphanee’s eyes burning into me.

Sephanee made a quiet sound behind her glass. Vex looked at her. The two women regarded each other for several seconds. I suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that I’d wandered between two predators who hadn’t decided whether they were competing over territory or dinner.

Vex pulled an empty chair from another table and sat beside me without asking. “So,” she said, antennae swaying lazily toward me, “what is the Empress’s newest Marshal doing in a Zelnari nightclub?”

“Cultural research.”

That finally made her laugh.

“Then you’ll need a guide. I could show you the real Zelnari.” Vex leaned closer to me. “How would you like to see the inside of a Zelnari bedroom?

Across from us, Sephanee looked irritated.