The Spider Queen

(Earth Federation- Artificial Planet X-837)

(Temporary Military Outpost- Commander's Private Quarters)

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" loud cursing filled the room.

Commander Stewart snarled as he flung the metalloid tablets and ornaments off his desk in rage.

Not a single one of his subordinates would have been able to connect the famously stoic leader to the madman who was raging inside the room.

Commander Stewart sunk into the wooden chair behind him and placed his head in both his palms.

It took quite some time before the old military leader gradually calmed down and regained control of his emotions.

He had just received several messages from the nobles who sponsored his career in the Imperial Army and it was not good news.

They wanted Duke Peterlor's daughter found within the next two days and would not tolerate any failure.

"What an utterly ridiculous task," Commander Stewart groaned as he leaked out a trace of his spiritual pressure.

Large cracks began to form on the metalloid floor as the commander didn't bother to rein in his strength.

What was the point?

If this was a straightforward task that just required strength then he would not be feeling as depressed as he did now.

Finding Sophie Peterlor was to be frank… impossible.

Not one sighting of the hybrid girl had been reported from the military officers currently on the battlefield.

And it was even worse on the Unovan Army's side because the informants could not find any information about her.

The Unovan government were so outlandishly incompetent that they did not have proper documentation or records of the various mercenary organizations under their command.

Commander Stewart removed his hands from his face and leaned back against the chair. He needed to take a few minutes to think.

How could he find that girl?

It was highly unlikely that Sophie Peterlor would be able to infiltrate any military starships and arrive in Earth Federation controlled territory.

This meant that she was most likely still be in the Unovan frontier region. A large expanse of space that included over two thousand habitable planets as well as numerous lunar colonies.

And that was assuming that she was staying in a fixed location and not moving around on some random spacecraft.

Commander Stewart tapped his fingers against the corner of his desk impatiently. The more he thought about it… the bleaker the situation got.

He was not foolish enough to believe that his position in the Imperial Army was irreplaceable.

There were younger, smarter, and more experienced officers waiting for the opportunity to take his place.

Those overbearing nobles were a royal pain in his ass but it was only thanks to their support that he was able to lead the invasion operation without any challenges.

Buzz! Buzz!

The wrist communicator wrapped around the commander's arm vibrated slightly as the notification for an incoming message appeared on the screen.

Commander Stewart was tempted to ignore the message and continue indulging in self-pity but reluctantly decided to just press the button.

The message came from his assistant secretary who was in charge of monitoring the main hangar room.

[Greetings Commander! The third wave of spacecrafts are returning from the battlefield and there have been no issues so far.]

[No contraband or stowaway alien life forms have been detected and everything is proceeding smoothly.]

[There have been a few complaints about the additional screening but your orders are still being faithfully carried out.]

Of course, nothing was found.

This wasn't a proper war it was more akin to a slaughter. The Unovan government was both ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face the might of the Imperial Army.

Commander Stewart had already been informed of the Unovan military's battleplans from data sent by traitors in the army and there were no orders or plans for infiltration.

Still… there was something that he felt that he had forgotten…

Commander Stewart rubbed his temples gently and tried to remember what exactly was the detail that he could not recall.

Hmm… oh wait… the church!

He had almost forgotten about the Nephilim Church's visit to the battlefield since the mission of trying to find Duke Peterlor's daughter had been occupying his full attention over the last few days.

Commander Stewart pressed a series of buttons on his wrist communicator and sent out a message to the assistant secretary.

Clearly his subordinate must have been a bit busy since it took a few minutes for the reply messages to finally appear on the screen.

[The Imperial Army starship that was lent to the Nephilim Church came in today and passed the inspection scan without a problem.]

[Currently the church members are being led to a separate room for additional screening and then will be escorted back to their original spacecraft.]

[Would you like to schedule a brief meeting before they depart?]

Commander Stewart frowned and then sent a message to his assistant secretary telling him that he was too busy to see the church members before they leave the military outpost.

Bishop Walsh was a frightening individual at the best of times and truthfully Commander Stewart felt as though he had enough on his plate already.

Dealing with those religious fanatics was exhausting enough and he didn't want any more stress at the moment.

He threw all thoughts about the Nephilim Church to the back of his mind and then got back to the problem at hand.

It took some brainstorming but finally Commander Stewart got an idea about what to do next.

"Now to deal with this stupid task and save my career," Commander Stewart whispered as he pressed a button on the underside of his desk.

A holographic projection filled the room. It was a star map that detailed the frontier region of the Unovan Syndicate.

This map had been filled out largely thanks to the brave work done by the Imperial Army scouts who had been sent into enemy territory to gather information.

Commander Stewart zoomed in on certain locations and used a private AI unit to run a series of calculations.

Thousands of habitable planets and settlements with significant populations were highlighted in a red colour.

Commander Stewart adjusted the parameters in the AI's code and soon that number fell from thousands to hundreds.

He captured the image of the modified star map using his wrist communicator and then it sent it out to the hidden agents inside the army.

It was a straightforward matter to use an advanced AI unit to calculate the probability of Duke Peterlor's daughter being found in various locations.

The program would then highlight the places with the highest probability which would make the job of the agents much easier.

It was obviously not a foolproof method since the data on the Unovan frontier region was woefully lacking in certain areas but it was the only chance he had left.

Commander Stewart closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer that Sophie Peterlor would be within his grasp before it was too late.

He would never learn that his prayer had already been answered.

(Forty-Five Minutes later…)

(Temporary Military Outpost- Hangar No. 12)

"Thank you for your guidance my child. May the great ones look down favourably and protect you in battle," Bishop Walsh whispered softly.

He placed a soft hand on the shoulder of the cheerful military officer who had just guided them to their spacecraft after taking them to a room for additional screening.

There were no unexpected surprises as every member of the church had passed the scans without an issue.

"No problem sir! Have a safe trip!" Officer Rosalina replied with a smile. She did her best to maintain her expression even as droplets of blood stained the top of her uniform.

Bishop Walsh stepped back and then proceeded towards the medium sized spacecraft that was parked in the left corner of the hangar.

His movements were a signal to the other church members who followed closely behind in neat orderly lines.

Sophie could hear her heart beating wildly as they neared the spaceship. Even the sharp jolts of pain in her upper and lower back seemed to fade away as all she could feel was excitement.

It was finally over.

It was time to go home.