The Martial Unity

“The Blood Humanist Society is on the move.”

A burly man shifted his blood-red eyes towards the officer who provided the intelligence report. The chamber they were in was dimly lit with torches, an archaic method of lighting that was old-fashioned even before the Era of Expansion. Yet, the leader of the Blood Cult found himself more comfortable in this archaic setting than in the bright, inorganic lighting systems of modern society. The air hung with the scent of blood, while the dripping sound of a liquid broke the otherwise cool silence that hung in the air. The air was chill, tingling at the skin.

“They have mobilized a nuclear-powered fleet carrier,” the officer reported diligently, kneeling before the man, cloaked in a blood-dyed cloak. “We believe that they are undertaking the mission in Amadeus III in the Strehegeld Star System, the mission pertaining to a potentially infected world, Lord Sarlon.”

Sarlon sharpened his eyes as he pulled up the details of the world with his neural inlay, browsing through the information with a hint of curiosity, studying the information gathered on the Amadeus III world. Indeed, based on a cursory skim, he could see that it was likely an infected world with the inorganic gravity.

He could already understand why Arastia was aiming for this particular world.

“My sister believes that this can give her an edge.”

He snorted. Typical blood humanist line of thought. Anything but making the best of their superior bloodline and genetics. While the Blood Humanist Society played the role of race-traitors, consorting with lesser beings, the Blood Cult raised its numbers at an astronomical rate, literally mass-producing blood humans en masse and raising them.

Of course, the Blood Humanist Society had also been forced to deploy these tactics, lest they get swallowed up by the numbers of the cult. They still chose to play games in the frontier rather than simply conquer planets for themselves. His sister believed that hemosapiens needed to integrate into humanity; she purchased large plots of land in most worlds across human civilization, across the stars, rather than conquering land for herself.

“Foolish,” he grunted. “If we allow this woman to lead blood humanity, she will lead us to self-committed genocide.”

Unfortunately, the Blood Humanist Society was a formidable force. For a combination of temperamental and psychological reasons, most females of their species ended up being more inclined towards blood humanism rather than blood supremacy. The two sides had a constant stream of defectors, and most of the people who defected from the blood humanists to the supremacists were men, while most of the blood humans who defected from the supremacists to the humanists were women.

In a species where the female side was significantly superior to the male side, this was a concerning outcome, but it was not one that could be stopped. It was what allowed the Blood Humanist Society to hold its own against the Blood Cult despite not being explicitly militant, among other reasons. Until he found a way to attract the women of his race to his side, they would never be able to win this war.

His attention shifted back to the profile of Arastia on the report as his blood-red eyes glinted with frustration. She was the best specimen of their race in many ways, the perfect manifestation of blood supremacy.

More than anything, she had the blood of the Royal Kandrian Family. That meant that her offspring were eligible for the throne of the most powerful empire in the world. As far as he was concerned, having her bear his offspring was a fundamental requirement for the success of blood supremacy. The biggest impediment to this, of course, was that she was absolutely unwilling to accept his advances or his offers. And she was stronger than he, so he couldn’t force her to bear his children, either.

“Not by myself, at least.”

Lord Sarlon had simulated battles where several blood men, or even blood women, could overwhelm her with force and force her to bear his child, but unfortunately, this was more of a pipe dream than it was an achievable circumstance.

She was cautious, and she rarely traveled by herself; she usually traveled with an entourage of trusted associates, all of whom were excellent blood warriors, of course. On top of that, she had many contingencies and fail-safes planned, for she understood the immense value that her blood represented, scrambling the DNA of manufactured combat blood to ensure that anybody who got their hands on it wouldn’t be able to create viable heirs to the Kandrian Throne.

And more than anything, she spent most of her time in various branch offices of the Blood Humanist Society, or in the impregnable Blood Humanist Headquarters of Gaia Prime.

If he had any chance of taking her captive and forcing her to provide him with an heir to the throne of the Kandrian Empire, he would need to conduct his operation when she was least secure.

Which was in the middle of a dangerous operation that would stretch her resources thin. His blood-red eyes sharpened with determination. “Prepare for a kidnapping operation. We will nab her in the middle of her operation against the potentially infected world.”

As for the infected world itself, it wasn’t that Lord Sarlon wasn’t interested. After all, esoteric and negatron matter were important to the success of the blood supremacist cause. However, he truly cared about the more fundamental matters.

The Blood Cult would make a bid for Planet Amadeus III as well, and while the bid would be sincere, it would also serve as a cover for an operation to nab the Blood Empress herself.

“I will personally partake in this operation. Only I have a chance of capturing her when the time comes.”

The Blood Cult immediately began mobilizing its best resources for the mission. The goal was to trick the Blood Humanist Society into thinking that they were merely interested in the infected world for the time being, rather than Arastia herself. Only when she lowered her guard would they be able to take her.