Commander Marik Elias stood on the bridge, looking out across the main window of the ship towards the Milky Way, she presumed. He often did that lately, always looking deep in thought. She approached the old commander, her path taking her across the bridge of the ship.

The officers and crew of the Pasargadae still regarded her with awe, fear and deep rooted respect, even though she had been on board for more than a week now. They took random glances at her, but as soon as she looked at them, they immediately lowered their heads, tensing.

She smiled slightly at their behaviour. A crew that have never had her previously on board always amused her. Perhaps it was because she was so accustomed to dealing with people she knew, people who were used to her presence, people who knew she was never going to do what she did to the ‘others’.

She never saw them in that light. That darkness within her - which she has named the ‘dark passenger’ - never spurs her to do harm on her servants. She does feel the sexual excitement that is associated with people being at her whim, but she also feels like they’ve earned her protection and her trust as long as they would serve her well on fulfilling her goal.

But she also knew it was more inveterate and deeply rooted than that. In all her lifetime, she never fully understood why she could feel compassion towards them, why she could feel a certain affection and fondness for them, as if they were her children. Though they figuratively are her children, so are the ‘others’ too, but she never felt that way for the others except in some rare occasions.

She felt like she needed them, felt that they might represent the only piece of humanity left in her. This seemingly double-sided personality of hers bewildered many. But still, even for them she was - for all intents and purposes - a god. She didn’t feel the need to have the crew at her feet, inches tall, intimidating them with her impetuous presence, but still, wielding the kind of power she did was enough to attain an impeccable obedience from them. That was especially apparent when the acts she did were in question.

Commander Elias must have heard her approaching as he turned towards her. He bowed down deeply. “Mistress Aria.” He greeted her. She sighed.

“You know Marik, I’ve told you countless times, you don’t have to do that, I really don’t need you to bow down before me” She walked beside him, leaning against the glass with her shoulder.

“I know, mistress, old habits that I cannot shake away, I suspect.” He turned towards the view beyond the window again. Marik was the closest she had to a friend, although the respect she gained even from him was excessive too.

It was understandable. After all, none of them knew how it felt to have that darkness within her, none of them would ever understand how she could commit a gruesome genocide, yet still act normal around them. And her power intimidated them too much. Still, she forced her friendship with Marik, at least she could use her authority on that.

Overtime, that forced relationship had grown more ordinary. Marik had learned to behave in a more relaxing manner in her presence, he became more honest and less formal in his words and she had learned to trust his opinion more and more. He was a good man, yet lately, he looked troubled, as if something had stirred in his mind.

“Still looking at it, I see.” She gazed towards the Milky Way too.

“Yes, mistress. I don’t know what it fascinates me so much. It seems to calm me in a way.”

“It has to be done, Marik. You know that.” She saw a flicker of remorse in his face.

“I know mistress, yet I cannot help it. I feel guilty for being comfortable and safe, while the people down below fight for their lives, oblivious to the world that exists beyond the their broken sky.”

She looked at him, not bothering to fake even the slightest compassion. “They are the unlucky ones, Marik. It’s a fact of life, you shouldn’t think about it too much. Besides, all this might be over soon”

She saw the doubt in his eyes, but she didn’t really feel to explain what she meant by that. Time will make him understand. “When we are finished with this planet, Marik, you will be promoted to Admiral of the fleet.” She said, looking at him, expecting some excitement. He didn’t react, his face was expressionless.

“They say that Earth doesn’t really exist. That our origin is here in our little satellite galaxy. That you have enslaved humanity long ago, using planets like PX-301 just for your pleasure, and devised the menace just as another tool of control over us.”

His bluntness startled her, but then her surprise turned into a smile. It had been a long time since she could speak to someone on such a honest level. “Do you believe it?” She asked.

“I don’t know what to believe, mistress.” He sighed. “All i know is that we have no choice.”

She turned towards the window again, looking at at the galaxy on the horizon. “Those rumours have always been there Marik, you know that.”

“But you never seem to care!”

“Why should I? Put yourself in my position for a moment. They can do nothing about it, even if the rumours were true. They are happy, content with the life they have. They spread those rumours just for entertainment. They would never actually dare to defy me.”

Marik shivered visibly at that thought, probably imagining the chaos she could cause on his home planet, a planet a hundred times more populous than the one they were orbiting right now. He turned at her, looking her in the eyes which were focused in the distance. “But, is it really true? The menace? Does Earth really exist?”

She continued looking into the distance, concentrated on a particular point in the Milky Way. “Things are moving, Marik.” She said. “They are close to finding our about us. Within your lifetime, we will either all perish, or we will be free. And you will be the one leading our fleet, to victory or death.”

Marik looked at her goddess, frowning, dumbfounded. He then turned in shock. “It is really true then.” He said, visibly shaken. Aria didn’t respond to that, she just continued staring at that particular spot in the Milky Way.

There was a long silence afterwards, with both just standing there beside the main window, watching the scenery beyond. Soon, an officer approached Marik, handing him a report on the progress of the agents sent out into the planet below to gather information on the state of organisation of the prominent empire of this planet. Some of them are also routinely stationed on planets like PX-301, to seek individuals with certain special skills endowed on them by their genes.

The report stated that although the damage on the capital was devastating, the emperor, called Arham the Great, still maintained control over his lieges and has managed to keep his empire from totally collapsing. Uncertainty and fear amongst the population has strained the empire to the brink, but the fact that this devastation was caused by a god seems to have forestalled the eventual rebellions of the nobility who weren’t sure if that would be the right move. They seem to be gathering on the northern city of Urturu, where the emperor is now established, looking for guidance from the emperor and his staff on how to proceed now.

“This Arham seems like a very skilled and charismatic leader, seeing as he managed to actually keep his empire still standing.” Aria said, looking at the report.

“Indeed, mistress.” Marik was looking at the report carefully, noting that the the emperor was throwing a ball in three days, amongst all this chaos.

“But this ball that he is throwing, it’s silly.” He said, confused as to why an emperor would organise an event such as a ball when his people were dying.

“He is looking to strengthen his grip on the nobility by showing himself, trying to appear strong, bullying them into still accepting his rule. He needs stability, and this is the perfect opportunity to strengthen it.” replied Aria, smiling. “I like him. I might actually pay this ball a visit.”

Marik looked at her, his expression darkening. He managed to hide it well, but not well enough for Aria. “But mistress, “ he objected carefully “surely you don’t need to wreck another city, there are simpler ways to deal with this.”

She turned at Marik sharply, dark emotions wrapping her, surrounding her mind, but she managed to controlled herself, breathing in deeply. It was enough for Marik to pale completely and show embarrassment too.

“I am sorry mistress.” He said with a shaking voice. “But, “ Aria was somewhat surprised he was pressing this further. “ it is your birthday in three days, mistress. Surely you have better plans for your birthday?”

Now she was caught really surprised. My birthday... she thought, I’ve completely forgotten about that. She thought for a moment more, trying to dig up the number from her head, then she remembered “It is my thirty-thousand-three-hundred-and-sixty-first birthday Marik.” She said dismissively. “At my age, birthdays are meaningless.” She smiled slightly, imagining the number of candles and the size of the cake that would be needed to host them.

“Besides, I won’t pay them a visit like the last time. There are other ways I can entertain myself.” Marik frowned, but then he simply nodded and left with that.

***

Aria walked into her quarters feeling somewhat tired, and bored. She sat on the couch, shooting a glance at her toys. She had played with them for a week now, torturing their minds, breaking their spirits and just generally having fun at their expense. Most of them still hadn’t left their prison though, it was probably time to change that, she also felt like she needed another display of power. Just for the kicks.

So she grabbed the bowl containing her toys, still heedless of the chaos she caused inside, and went to the bathroom. At her will, without any physical interaction, the bathtub started filling with warm water. She stripped down, and as soon as the bathtub was filled, she stepped in and layed down, relaxing for a moment. She then reached for the bowl containing her toys and considered them for a moment as she held them in front of her. Their expressions were filled with pure fear. shock and uncertainty. She smiled, then she dumped the entire contents of the bowl on her.

She made sure most of them fell on her breasts which were half-covered by the water, protruding like twin islands. The stream of humanity falling from the bowl bounced like tiny balls from her breasts on all directions on the tub, filling the surface with their bodies. It felt great to have her breasts trickled with them, watching them as they got their bearings, and found themselves floating on a lake inhabited by a divine being, at the mercy of her every inch of body.

Some of them landed on her cleavage, surrounded by two massive mountains. She resisted the urge to smash her breasts together and smear them beyond recognition, she wanted to play with them more. Those that fell further away, as they regained their composure, were greeted by a sight that they would probably never see again. The water was perfectly clear, and it made them feel as if they were suspended in mid-air, having the spectacular body of the goddesses underneath them displayed on all its glory.

For the next few minutes, she just relaxed and let their imagination and fear run wild. After some time, some of the people just gathered around her breasts and her left knee that was sticking out water, leaning against them as they rested. But uncertainty filled them, fearing what might happen next. And just as they started to relax a little, she commanded the bathtub to be enclosed entirely by glass and release of harmless dye that completely filled water on the tub with a bluish hue. Panic ensured from the crowd as the body of the goddess underneath them disappeared, becoming invisible as the water lost its transparency. Then the goddess herself lowered the rest of her body underwater, taking the safety islands down with her. Only her head remained, watching them with gleeful delight. She began her games.

She let the water calm first and let her toys spread out on the surface. And then her right hand appeared out of the depths of the water in the midst of a dense group like an angry monster, throwing some of them high into the air as it gripped the rest, though not as much as to crush them, and took them along as it disappeared underneath the murky surface. The rest tried to get away, swim to safety, but there was nowhere to go. Just as those flung into the air fell back into the water, her left hand appeared just like the right one did, swallowing another group as it took them along back into the depths. Their shrill cries filled the bathtub, and she laughed wickedly.

But she wasn’t about to drown her toys just like that, so after a few brief moments she released both groups of people on her hands into the dark waters that surrounded them. letting them fight their way to the surface. Some of them probably lost all orientation as they tried to swim on the wrong direction, eventually drowning. But as the rest made it to the surface, most people had swam to the end of the tub from fear, away from her hands.

Then she raised her right leg. From their midst, it emerged as a magnificent pillar of flesh, raising high into the air, and there it hung, suspended for a few brief moments. No doubt her toys anticipated what would happen next, but their struggles were too miniscule to get them anywhere near safety, if such a thing existed inside the tub at that moment.

Her leg crashed down into the water with such an intense force from their point of view that it generated colossal waves, throwing a part of the crowd against the glass enclosures, undoubtedly injuring some fatally, as the rest were momentarily sucked into the void created by her leg, then flung high into the air like like grain seed as the water imploded. She was like force of nature.

She continued her games on a similar fashion  for some time as her sexual lust built up, draining the strength of an already tired group of people. At one moment, she didn’t wait for the water to calm down as she raised her hand again and snatchded some that managed to avoid most of the chaos. This time, her hand moved underwater towards her cunt, and she inserted them inside, one by one, and concentrated on their struggles. Imprisoned inside, deep underwater and drowning, they wouldn’t last long, but it was one of the best ways to get the most out of them, she knew from experience. She then seized another group and smashed them forcefully against her wet left breast. She kneaded it with an unstoppable force for the tinies as they filled the water with their blood.

She moaned loudly as those inside her cunt fought intensely with their last reserve of strength, sending ripples of a vibrant orgasm through her body. Another group had no chance to react as they were suddenly sucked inside the water by her hand and were smashed against her clitoris and then smeared along her sex on a repeating motion, generating an epic climax through their goddess. Her sex contracted as it mercilessly crushed the last dying struggles of those inside her and her orgasm produced an ear-piercing moan that that penetrated the very soul of those still on the surface.

Then everything calmed down. The water, her breathing, their struggles. She remained inside for a full ten more minutes, feeling incredibly satisfied. Afterwards, she submerged completely under the water, remaining there for half a minute, before she rose swiftly and stood up, taking most of the surviving ones with her into the air in another spectacular display of power. They fell into the water again but their tiny bodies endured, a small side effect of being shrunken. She then moved her hand to her sex, parting her labia and letting the heap of dead bodies fall into the water, increasing the already numbing horror that gripped the ones still alive. Less than half of them had survived her bath.

She stepped outside, letting the water drain through the sink, the filter preventing anyone from sinking along. She regarded her work, taking a fulfilling deep breath as she listened to their cries and sobs inside the death-filled bathtub for a moment, smiling widely. She left the bathroom, content that they wouldn’t be able to escape from their death-filled prison, she still had plans for the surviving ones.