"How many units do we have ready!" The corrupted King Greyson swept into the factory like a man on a mission. It was the morning after the weapons test. He had ordered production to begin immediately and he expected to see results. DaNerg, the factory overseer, had seen him coming and met him at the door with a couple of his managers. He had his data-pad in hand and was looking confused as he struggled to keep up with the king's feverish pace. "Sir the factory only went online this morning, we are still waiting for materials to come in!" The King whirled on him, his eyes full of fury as they bored into the overseer. "What!" the king boomed, his voice echoing through the factory, "I ordered production to begin yesterday and you're telling me you haven't even gotten started yet!" DaNerg was a large man. He had never shrunk back from anyone except LaStirk. He wasn't as big as Redolb, but he was much bigger than Grayson, whom he had known since he was a baby. He had never found the man intimidating before, but something about him had changed. Something about him made him loom large and terrifying.
His words almost failed him as he spoke. "We got the specs yesterday, Sire. but, we had to configure the computers and order the materials…"
"EXCUSES!" The king cut him off loudly and full of rage. "I am the King. If I say I want something done, I mean now, and I mean right now. I don't care how you get it done. I want one hundred units ready for combat by noon. Any less than that and I swear, I will make you wish for the days of my mother's tantrums. Do I make myself clear?" Danerg didn't have time to respond before he was shoved out of the way of the king as he stormed out of the building. DaNerg stared at the door as it slammed shut behind the king. He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "What was that about?" he pondered to himself. He turned to his managers, " well you heard him, we have a deadline!"
Outside the door, Alucard's puppet, King Greyson, cursed to himself as he stalked off to meet with the palace guards. Last night he felt a shift. He couldn't know what it was, but he knew it had something to do with Azaacar. On top of that, the energy that the slave was using yesterday was clearly Azaacar's. That cursed wench had been a thorn in his side for milenia. She was not going to stand in the way of his revenge, not this time.
He barged into the captain's office and was not at all amused when the man nearly fell over himself trying to get to his feet. He spoke in a loud sharp tone, cutting the captain off before he could stutter out a greeting. "Shut your mouth and listen up!" the king began, "effective immediately I want you to double the palace guard. I don't care what you have to do, I don't want to hear about impact, just get it done. Additionally, I want one hundred soldiers outside the new factory at noon. There is a new weapon I want in the field as soon as they are complete." He pointed a gloved hand in the captain's face. "Do you understand?" The captain, who had been frozen in fear and shock the whole time, nodded his head vigorously. "As you command my King!"
Greyson grunted and turned to stalk out of the office. He paused at the door and just slightly turned his head to talk over his shoulder. "Do not disappoint me Captain." As he continued out of the room, the weight of his word seemed to force the captain back into his chair. He immediately began making calls.
The king's next stop for the day was the attack vessel hanger. He scanned the room as he marched in. There were many people buzzing around hard at work. The clanging and banging of metal on metal echoed through the cavernous space. Lights danced strangely as welders and laser cutters did their work all over the room. Greyson finally found who he was looking for, typing furiously at a wall terminal. Mr. Wesson spun around quickly looking terrified when he noticed the King's reflection coming up behind him. "What can I do for you, Sire. So good to see you." He managed to stammer out. Greyson waved his hand dismissively. "Report."
"Yes Sir." Mr. Wesson grabbed his data-pad from a nearby table and tapped it a few times. "Per your earlier request, we have the new weapon mounted to fifteen hover bikes, ten armored trucks, and ten light assault craft. Just so you know, we will have the materials to begin installation on the mothership by the end of the week." Greyson frowned. "Those are not the numbers I asked for." Mr. Wesson stood a little taller. "That's right sir, I added five to the numbers you asked for and pressed my team to work over time for the extra units. They are all ready for testing."
Greyson kept his face even and even thought about scolding the man for not sticking to his instructions. The truth was, he was quite pleased. He smirked at him and shook a finger in his face. "Solid work Mr. Wesson. Skip testing. Deploy the new vehicles immediately. Keep it up Mr. Wesson, keep it up."
At ten minutes to noon Gery arrived at the weapon's factory and found no one outside. He was immediately angry. He stormed inside and found no one but the locals hard at work. A sneer spread across his face and he made his way through the building looking for anyone in charge, refusing to ask those working. By the time he made it to the hanger door in the back he was seething. How dare they make him go looking for them. He said noon, they should have been on their knees waiting for him with refreshments thirty minutes prior. When he made it out the hanger door, he was surprised to find a whole troop of soldiers standing at attention, in formation, outfitted with the new weapon. As he looked he could see DaNerg and his managers going from soldier to soldier, checking the fit of the backpack and the settings on the weapon.
A soldier in the front, on the far right corner of the square formation, lifted his voice loud and executed a salute with his weapon. "ALL HAIL THE KING" every soldier in the formation snapped to, at the same time, repeating the call. This startled daNerg and his people, who were focused on their work. They quickly realized what was going on and scampered out of the formation, greeting the king with a deep bow. DaNerg stepped forward beaming ear to ear. "Your Majesty! These weapons are a true marvel. They came out even better than expected. It was a tight squeeze time-wise but we have ninety units ready, fully operational, and ready to deploy!" Greyson swept his eyes over the formation, nodding approvingly. Let's see how Azaacar deals with this much fire power. "Excellent, get these soldiers to the perimeter, now." he boomed. The soldiers responded in unison and quickly filed out of the area.
Once the soldiers were gone, Greyson turned his attention to DaNerg. He walked toward the man with his face unreadable. "Solid work old man. The units look good. it looks like you've almost made up for this morning's debacle."
"Almost sir?" DazNerg said, clearly confused.
" Yes, almost" Greyson gave the man a toothy evil grin. " Did I not ask for a hundred units?"
Danerg gulped, throat suddenly dry. He tried to explain himself but was sharply cut off, by a knife to his throat. He gurgled blood and dropped to the floor in a heap. Greyson looked over the two managers. "Which one of you is senior?" The smaller of the two raised his hand. Greyson gave a curt nod, "You're the overseer now. I want as many units as you can, as quickly as you can. This is your only priority. Don't screw it up."
And with that, he left.