Intergalactic conquest with an AI

The auction unfolded without much to stir their interest. Lot after lot consisted of exotic weaponry for corporate troops and luxury-looking armored ships. There were even the newest luxury yachts from Nexum Dynamics, gleaming under the holographic projectors.

Yet neither Cleo nor Rex paid the displays any mind; after all, their own technology was generations beyond the offerings of the local megacorps.

Cleo, however, had secured a small victory, quietly acquiring several tons of rare catalytic metals that would be useful for her forges.

"Well then, this concludes this year's auction!" the auctioneer announced, his voice booming with false warmth. "I hope you all enjoyed it and found our wares to be pleasing to your purses, hahaha!" As he laughed, the complex platform began to shift and retract, folding back into the floor with a series of soft, mechanical sighs.

"But now," the man continued, his tone shifting to one of grave importance, "comes the time for the VIPs only. This is an exclusive event, even for those who were specially invited."

"I must ask all those without a personal summons to please depart the mansion. The next event will be led by the Planetary Champion himself! Have a pleasant night, ladies and gentlemen!" With a final, respectful bow, he descended from the platform and vanished into the crowd.

"What VIP event?" Rex murmured, glancing down at Cleo, who had been resting against the solid wall of his chest the entire time. "Did we get an invitation for that?"

"According to my internal database, we received no such communiqué," Cleo replied, her voice a soft hum against him. "But there is a high probability, approximately eighty percent, that someone will come to invite us personally at this very moment."

As if her words had summoned him, a firm knock echoed from the door to their private booth.

"Come in," Rex said, sounding almost bored.

The door slid open to reveal a man in an impeccably tailored suit, though his posture was decidedly meek. "Greetings, my Lord," he began, his eyes darting around the room before settling, with some difficulty, on Rex.

"I am a secretary to the Planetary Champion. He has sent me to ask if you would grant him a meeting before the VIP event begins. Are you available?" As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell upon the shattered remains of the chair and the imposing throne that had replaced it.

But what truly captured his attention was the woman resting in Rex's lap. She was ethereally beautiful, a vision that stirred a sudden, unwelcome desire in him. The inappropriate thought had barely formed when Rex's eyes locked with his.

An instinctual, bone-deep dread seized the secretary, a primal fear that forced him to his knees. A cold sweat broke out across his brow, and he found he could not lift his head.

"Mmm? Why are you kneeling?" Rex's voice was deceptively light, almost bored. He rested his chin on one fist while his other hand came up to gently shield Cleo's face from view.

"If someone saw you, they would think I'm bullying you. They'd think I'm an arrogant asshole, don't you think? Is that your plan?"

"I-I... no, my lord! I am sorry!" the secretary stammered, his voice trembling. "I do not know what came over me, I swear!" He dared not stand, nor did he dare let his eyes stray toward the woman again. The man on the throne felt like an apex predator, and he was the prey caught in a still and deadly gaze.

"Leave at once," Rex commanded, his tone dropping its playful edge. "And take this to your master." He tossed a small data recorder that clattered onto the floor beside the kneeling man. The secretary scrambled to grab it, then fled without another word, the door sealing shut behind him.

"Rex, that course of action was not wise," Cleo stated, her voice calm but firm. She reached up to remove the hand still covering her eyes, but instead, his fingers shifted, moving to cup her chin, holding her with a firm but gentle pressure.

"It could create unnecessary animosity with the Planetary Champion. That is not a risk we should take at this juncture." She paused, her luminous golden eyes blinking. "Also, how long did you intend to cover my face like that?"

"I didn't like how he was looking at you," Rex replied, his voice a low, possessive rumble. His thumb stroked the line of her jaw as he held her gaze, his own eyes intense and unblinking. "Next time, you should kill anyone who looks at you like that. The only one who may have your body and your soul is me, and no one else. Do you understand me?"

Cleo held Rex's gaze. The eyes that were so often calm and warm now burned with the intensity of a dragon surveying its most prized hoard. They were no longer merely human; they were filled with a raw, primal passion, a deep and unyielding desire to control and possess.

And yet, it was that very look that stirred a whirlwind of complex feelings within her. A strange, thrilling heat bloomed in her chest, and against the cold logic of her programming, a single, undeniable truth emerged... she liked it.

"Mhm," she nodded, the small, soft sound her only verbal surrender. She lowered her head slightly, a rare and telling gesture, the delicate curves of her ears flushing a faint, rosy hue.

In the champion's private sanctum, the secretary trembled as he presented the small device. "My lord, I have returned with an answer from your... guest."

The Planetary Champion observed the man's palpable fear, his own expression unreadable as he took the recorder. He turned it over in his hand for a moment, a flicker of intrigue in his eyes, before finally pressing the glowing holographic play button.

A voice, laced with casual menace, filled the room. "Yo. If you're going to send someone to ask for a meeting, send someone who is blind. I don't look kindly on those who stare at what's mine."

"I will be waiting for you in the auction room you so kindly prepared for me...." There was a deliberate pause, a beat of silence that stretched taut. "Oh... also, before I forget, you will need to search for another secretary."

The moment the message ended, the recorder sparked and crumbled into blackened ash in the champion's palm. As he turned his gaze toward the secretary, the man's hands flew to his face.

"AHHHHH! MY EYES! IT HURTS! MY LORD, PLEASE! HELP ME!" The secretary's screams were raw and piercing, a symphony of agony that shattered the room's silence. The door burst open as Elite Guards rushed in, only to freeze at the grisly scene before them.

Instead of anger, a booming, delighted laugh erupted from the Planetary Champion. "HAHAHAH! I knew you were an interesting one!" He shook his head in dark amusement. "Very well! I will come to meet you!"

With that, his demeanor shifted in an instant. He pointed a single hand toward the writhing, blinded secretary. From his sleeve, four slick, metallic tentacles shot forth with terrifying speed. They snaked around the man's limbs and throat, silencing his horrific screams in less than a second with a sickening, final crunch.

On the other hand, Rex was engaged in a quiet, almost tender ritual. He plucked small, dark fruits that shimmered like grapes from a porcelain bowl, feeding them one by one directly into Cleo's waiting mouth. The moment was peaceful, like a fragile bubble of calm... but that bubble burst an instant later.

With a violent crash, the doors to the private room were thrown open, splintering inward under the booted feet of two Elite guards from the planetary champion's personal detail.

But their dramatic entrance was cut brutally short. In the same breath, a force like an invisible tidal wave erupted from Rex's position. It did not strike the air around him but focused itself with perfect precision, slamming into the two guards and hurling them backward with the exact same violence they had used on the door.

Their armored forms smashed against the mansion's reinforced wall with a sickening crunch of metal and bone. The strength behind the blow was calculated, not lethal, but it was more than enough to ensure they would spend the next few days submerged in the healing tanks of a med-bay.

Without even rising from his seat, Rex turned his eyes just slightly; his gaze was cool and unimpressed as it settled on the planetary champion. The man stood framed in the ruined doorway, his hands clasped calmly behind his back, a statue of composure in the midst of the chaos his men had caused.

"Is this your answer?" Rex's voice sounded deceptively soft.

The champion let out a low, rumbling laugh. "Hahah, are you certain of your accusation, my friend? You must understand, they act out of concern for my safety. In doing their jobs, they can sometimes get a little... rowdy."

He gave a slight nod of his head, a silent command to the bot maids hovering nearby to collect the heavily injured guards. The machines, however, remained frozen in place, as they never got any command.

Rex's attention drifted back to Cleo. "Don't do that, little devil," he murmured, his voice dropping into a gentle cadence as he softly pinched her cheek. His earlier coldness was gone, replaced by a tone of warm admonishment.

"Let them take their men to the hospital. After all, killing someone in a house that was gracious enough to invite us… well, that would look rather bad on me, you know?" He spoke the words of reason, but the corner of his mouth twisted into a devilish smile that promised the opposite, a silent pact shared only between the two of them.