[Sol System– Mercury]
Mercury was the closest planet to the sun. It was much smaller than normal and cycled around the sun much faster than any other planet in the system. Due to its close proximity to the sun, it was almost always bombarded with solar radiation and solar flare.
Mercury was essentially the sun's punching bag when the sun was feeling a little temperamental.
Thragg set foot on the planet and felt its rocky surface beneath his feet. Mercury did not have much of an atmosphere, so he did not take in a deep breath, so he just stood there and felt the sun sear his skin.
Due to the smart atoms that make up their bodies, Viltrumites are able to adapt to physical trauma and become stronger, of course this is only if the physical trauma was enough to cause actual harm to them.
So if a Viltrumite gets into a fight and is left on the brink of death, as long as he survives and recovers, he'll come back significantly stronger and more durable. The process was slow, but it worked.
However, Thragg felt that his reincarnation had brought something else with it. It enhanced that adaptation, made it faster and greater than before, and now he could adapt in real time. While it could take other Viltrumites days and even months to adapt, he could adopt in just a few minutes or seconds
He felt the intense heat of the sun on his skin, however despite that his body remained unharmed, it withstood the radiation and heat without much issue, in fact if anything he felt like he was sun bathing
Without much thought, Thragg was quick to fly off the surface of mercury and fly closer towards the sun.
The closer he got, the greater the heat he felt, and the pain of being burned finally registered in his brain. However, the emperor pushed forward with grit teeth and a scowl.
The clothes he wore, which were the typical red garb of the Viltrumite emperor, burned away exposing his bare skin to the blazing heat of the sun's surface; however, Thragg still moved ever closer to the sun.
The pain of the searing heat continued to rise, but he still continued forward, his face and muscles tensing up as he continued to withstand unspeakable levels of pain.
his skin began to bubble and boil before it seemingly melted off his body, revealing his blood vessels and muscles.
"Grrrr"
A groan of pain escaped his mouth, and this time, he stopped getting closer to the sun's surface. He was already dangerously close, anymore, and he would be plunging himself into it.
His muscles and blood vessels were not exposed for very long, as his body began to heal, new skin wrapping around his form like leather spandex, however that layer of skin did not last long either as it quickly burned away before it could fully form.
Another layer of skin replaced the other one. This time, it was more durable and more heat resistant. It once again wrapped around his skin like a form-fitting coat before it also got burned away
This process of his skin regenerating and burning continued for a few more times until Thragg's body adapted and it made a skin durable enough to withstand the surface temperatures of the sun and Thragg finally flew back to mercury and crash laned on its surface.
Once on the mercury again, he let out a sigh.
"That was stupid"
He exclaimed, there was no reason why he did that as he doubted there was a weapon with enough power to match the sun, with the exception of space racer's infinity ray but space racer is not much of a threat if you're faster than him.
He shrugged and decided to return to the mothership, although he did so slowly, allowing himself to cruise through the solar system.
...…..
[Viltrumite Mothership]
Anissa was the type to value making preparations and being early, even though it was still an hour before the meeting with the emperor, she was already in the briefing room, trying to come up with laws that could be acceptable to not only the Viltrumites but to the humans as well.
The Emperor has already told the humans that they are here because they wish to repopulate, so she figured the humans would want to know how they intend to do that.
Speaking of the Emperor, Anissa could say with certainty that she did not agree with the sudden decision to retreat from the empire to these outskirts of the galaxy. However, she could understand it
The fact that the current Emperor decided to completely retreat all their forces this far away from Viltrum without anyone in the coalition knowing, made it clear that he understood that if a retreat of this scale was made public the coalition would be bold and attack.
This meant, at the very least, emperor Thragg sought to keep the reputation of the empire. Meaning should they return to Viltrum to the eyes of the coalition it won't be the humiliating return of a defeated empire seeking its former glory but instead the mighty undefeated Viltrumite Empire coming back to greater than ever.
Even with that kind of understanding, she still couldn't get fully behind the decision.
'Although I doubt, the emperor plans on the empire return to that part of the galaxy'
She thought inwardly, although it was
just a hunch on her part. However, it came about based on how the Emperor has changed. He feels less strict and more accommodating than before, and that alone is enough to convince Anissa that the current Emperor probably has very little plans to return Viltrum to his conquering ways.
Again she could not get behind the decision but she herself has been aware that the way the empire has been going about things was unsustainable, less than 50 Viltrumite can't keep multiple sectors of the galaxy under their thumb.
In a sense, the retreat was necessary, but at the same time, such a retreat felt cowardly. At the very least, the empire should have made a declaration about ceasing its activity.
She let out a sigh. At this point, it did not matter what she thought the fact of the matter remained. She could not beat the emperor in combat, and thus, she had no right to oppose his decision.
The doors to the briefing room hissed as they slid open, and General Kregg entered the room. Anissa stood up and gave him a nodding greeting, and Kregg returned it.
"Anissa, Pardon my intrusion. However, I have a question. Would you be willing to entertain me for a few seconds?"."
Kregg began, forcing the Viltrumite woman to quirk a brow in curiosity. She gave him the opportunity to speak. However, she could not imagine what issue he'd need her opinion on.
"Very well"
She acquiesced to his request, and he gave her his thanks before he cleared his throat and spoke.
"What do you think of the Emperor?"
He asked, and Anissa once again found herself raising a brow, curiously wondering why the general had asked such a loaded question.
"Elaborate."
She said, wanting to hear his reasoning for the question. As stated, the question was heavily loaded, and answering without great consideration could prove to be dangerous.
The Grand Regent crowned himself the new Emperor of Viltrum, no doubt there are a few silent dissenting voices, they're silent not out of fear but because they lack the strength to oppose the might of Thragg, there are no Viltrumites alive that could match him in strength.
"Have you noticed anything different about the Emperor, his attitude and disposition, has he gotten softer in your eyes?"
She let out a hum as she considered his question. Thinking about it the way the emperor spoke was different, he was less commanding and more requesting, even when he was talking about meeting in the briefing room, he used the word 'please' instead of just ordering her.
"I would be inclined to agree that he has gotten softer. However, we did not tend to spend this much time in the same space before, so it's possible we are just unfamiliar with his full personality"
She concurred with the general. While the Emperor had become soft-spoken, she doubted that he became soft overall. After all, he completely killed some of the oldest and strongest Viltrumites when he dissolved the high council
"I believe that might be the case as well. However, I don't think everyone will see it that way"
"True but the Emperor has said those who object to his rule can challenge him, I don't see the issue"
Anissa answered, and Kregg nodded in agreement. However, he still wasn't fully convinced.
Kregg more than anyone knew that strength and intelligence were greatly valued in Viltrum, as such he felt that even if there was no Viltrumite capable of killing Emperor Thragg there might be those who will scheme and make attempts to remove him from the throne without having to fight.
Some would call such a scheme cowardly. However, Kregg, as well as most Viltrumites, knew there was nothing cowardly about using one's intelligence to gain an advantage, and no scheme was too underhanded in the battlefield. Might makes right, but Might without intelligence is savagery.
"I understand, but you and I are aware that in no way means there is no one who objects"
It was Anissa's turn to hum, Kregg was correct. Considering that they are about to integrate with another species, it's not completely out of the question for a Viltrumite or two to use their offspring to create an army to take over the empire.
The scans on this Earth planet showed that in just two decades, humans are fully grown, and just two decades is but a blink of an eye to a Viltrumite. Since the aim is to repopulate, then a single Viltrumite having a dozen offspring is not out of the question.
"I understand your point, general. I will suggest to the Emperor that he enforce a strict policy on the number of offspring a single Viltrumite may have,"
"That is a good start. On the other hand, I will make attempts to ensure that there are no possible usurpers in our ranks."
The two mutually agreed however Anissa could not help but feel like she got whiplash, just a few moments prior she was thinking about how she did not agree to the decision to retreat from Viltrum's orbit and now she was agreeing to prevent any possible usurpation in the future.
"I trust that you'll inform the Emperor of what we just discussed, I have matters to attend to"
Kregg informed her, and she saw no issue with that. She was aware that he was tasked with assembling the people for the construction of a new colony on a nearby moon, he'll most likely oversee the entire project thus in the coming days he'll be busy.
With their discussion finished, Kregg bid her fare well, and Anissa returned to what she had been doing previously, which was coming up with the new regulations on how to behave amongst humans.
.....
A/N: What other alien races do you think would fit in this universe? The Viltrumite Empire is an intergalactic empire, so I feel confining them just on earth would be a disservice.
someone on patreon already suggested the Tyranids, and having googled them, I think they sick as hell although they'd need some buffs.