by Andrew Mack
Chairman Hassara tried to interrupt. He took a small breath and got a syllable out before Tempest took the bait and interrupted with “Ambassador, the AuFa and BRG are the finest military and security in the galaxy, respectively. No weakness was exposed, and there are certainly no limitations to their capabilities.”
The Ambassador staring at Tempest, plainly asked, “Is it possible there is something out there the Ambassadors have not seen that you have, that can defeat the AuFa and BRG?”
Tempest stared at Ambassador Garvalin and responded, “Nothing.”
Garvalin replied, “Then why the extra money?”
Tempest was going to say something, but only took a deep breath and could not immediately get an answer out. She got out a couple of words of “I mean to say….”
Ambassador Garvalin interrupted her and continued. “No one is saying this is not a tragedy. You asked to do your job. Your job is providing safety and security for our citizens. If every time there is an uprising somewhere, and you come in here asking for more money to do your job, then effectively, you are not doing it.”
Tempest was speechless. Chairman Hassara knew it was too late, so he tried damage control. Even though Garvalin was still looking at Tempest, he replied to her, “Ambassador, do you own a house?”
Ambassador Garvalin continued to stare at Tempest. She finally stopped, gave a smile, and, looking at the Chairman, answered, “I have two. One back home, plus my small residence here on Belinea.”
The Chairman smiled as well. He now crossed his hands and continued, “ Until I spoke to Quillisar Prill, I had no idea about owning a home. Sure, I have one, but I am never there. See, I give a huge donation to Quillsar Prill, out of my own account, every few months. My dedication to my faith. The Quillisar will come to me from time to time and ask me ‘Chairman, it’s a shame what they found in the children’s Temple school, termites in the walls.’ Naturally, I give the Quillsar more money. He then comes to me and says, ‘Chairman, did you hear about the pillars in the main temple, rotting.’ Again, I give the Quillisar more money. He comes up to me again, asking, ‘did you hear about…’. But I cut him off. I say, ‘Why don’t you just give me a list of the problems ahead of time, and I will write you a check beforehand each year. The Quillisar says to me, ‘As if I know the problems before they arise, I am not the God of Prognostication.”
Everyone in the room chuckled for a bit, including Ambassador Garvalin. The Chairman continued, “The problems in your house Ambassador happen when they happen. There is often no foretelling before they do. When we know where the terrorists are, when we know where the problems exist, then eliminating them is very possible. However, sometimes it requires more resources to find them.”
Ambassador Garvalin gave a small smile. “Chairman Hassara, the ability of the BRG and AuFa to execute their jobs is not in question. No one has more respect for the work they do than I. However, finding these terrorists in the first place? Is that the best use of their resources?”
There was another pause. The Chairman looked as if he was going to say something, but Garvalin interrupted again. “Ambassador Bird gave a speech before he left about the need for local securities to take on a greater burden of responsibility. Since Ambassador Bird is no longer with us, I would like to hear what Ambassador Yi has to say about this?”
Ambassador Yi was in the middle of the room, directly across from Tempest. He looked back at Ambassador Garvalin. “I think Ambassador Bird was merely trying to spark ideas about how to best solve the Terrorist problem.”
Ambassador Garvalin continued, “By proposing to increase your own Delegate Ambassador Security instead of using those funds to go directly towards the BRG and AuFa?”
Ambassador Yi looked like he was caught off guard. “I think there were a number of possibilities Ambassador Bird was willing to discuss, and those possibilities were to be covered privately before the next Council meeting.”
Ambassador Garvalin looked at the tablet in front of her, hitting a few spots before continuing. “Ambassador Yi, I have a copy of that speech. Ambassador Bird said, ‘ we share the same vision as the Belieneans, we must let these terrorists know...we will shine the light of justice upon them, ...working together on that mission, we shall also not forget our primary vision of a better Earth. We cannot tolerate becoming prisoners to a plan that will lead us into an economic abyss, simply to remove an evil we all must extinguish together.’ What does that sound like to you, Ambassador?”
Yi smiled, looking at everyone in the room. Staring at Tempest, he said, “I think The Ambassador wanted us to work together to fight these terrorists.”
Ambassador Garvalin obviously disagreed. “Perhaps. It sounds like to me that Ambassador Bird’s constituents believe your local security can do a better job of protecting themselves at a fraction of the costs.”
Tempest interjected. “I am sure all of us would like to know what the Ambassador meant by his comments, but he is not here, is he?”
Garvalin leaned back in her chair again. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Tragically, no, he is not.”
Tempest looked focused again. Staring at Garvalin, she said, “But we do have the enemy in our crosshairs Ambassador. Citizens of this Council have died at their hands. Justice needs to be served. Do you have the courage to remove them, or do you want to argue about how it should be done?”
There was an awkward silence in the room. The tension level had gotten high. Everyone in the room was staring at Garvalin. Garvalin finally said, “I think we should be given time to discuss all of our options before presenting a recommendation to the entire Council.”
The Chairman stood up. Everyone else followed when he did. The Chairman said in a serious tone, “Take whatever time you need, Ambassador. But in about an hour, I will release the footage of the Avolian attack to the rest of the Council. At some point, I am sure it will leak to the press, which, when I am asked by the press what we are doing, I will refer to this group’s planning of a counter-attack. At that point, all of you will have to talk to your constituents as to why you have waited.”
The Chairman proceeded to walk out of the room, leaving the rest of the Ambassadors, Tempest, and Admiral Magloan, to just stare at each other.
Belinea 6.5
Avola
Captain Leahy walked up to the door. He did not knock, nor did he open the door. Instead, he just patiently waited. Some noises could be heard on the inside, but Leahy stood at a very casual attention. A minute went by, and finally, the door opened. A naked girl walked out, with a huge bruise across her face. Her hands were bleeding, and she was clearly in tears. She ran past Leahy, leaving the door open behind her. Leahy was confused but could hear things still in the room. With the door being open, he took a few steps inside. Softly, he said, “Lord Argo…?”
He took a few more steps in. He could now hear clearly, yet still not see, Argo with another girl. The girl was yelling, “Give it to me, give it to me, give it to me, yes, yes, right in my face….”
Leahy could now hear Argo yelling, “Take all of it, you dirty little whore…..”
Taking a few more steps in allowed Leahy to see everything. Argo had his back towards the door, naked and standing. The girl, also naked, was on her knees in front of him. There was a little more noise, as Leahy decided to turn around and walk back out the front door.
As he got there, he waited for about twenty seconds, leaving the door open. As he waited, Lieutenant Walva walked up. Pointing at the open door, he said to Leahy, “Is he in there?”
Leahy half-smiled, still not used to the voice. Walva’s voice had changed to an uptight English Butler. Leahy answered, “He is busy.”
Walva just looked at him and said, “He is late…”
Leahy tilted his head and said, “You wanna lose your head this time?”
Walva kept looking at him, annoyed. A few seconds went by. Walva tried no
t to say anything, but finally continued in frustration, “They are waiting.”
Leahy kept looking at him and said, “Then let them wait….”
A few seconds went by. The girl carried her clothes in her hand and passed in between Leahy and Walva. She said, “Excuse me….”
Leahy smiled and said, “And now we enter…”
Leahy and Walva walked in the door for a few steps and stopped. Leahy announced his presence loudly. “Lord Argo?”
Argo yelled back, “Come in, Leahy.”
They turned the corner, and Argo was sitting down, already halfway putting his clothes back on. Argo then said, “I am almost ready. Those fuckers can wait. Walla! You are alive!”
Lieutenant Walva then said, “Nice to see you too, Lord Argo.”
Argo squinted his eyes and asked, “What the fuck is wrong with your voice?”
Walva explained. “It seems there were complications with the surgery.”
Argo immediately said, “They made you likable?”
Leahy smiled, Walva did not. Walva continued. “These Avolian doctors are not as good as the Belineans. So, my vocal cords were accidentally cut in an attempt to attach a clone-based tongue. They managed to insert an artificial vocal box in me, temporarily, until I can get back to Belinea.”
Argo said, “Any surgery they can do to make you less annoying or did they already try that?”
Walva gave a half-smile and said, “Same annoyance, different voice.”
Argo finished putting on his boots and said, “To be honest, though, the voice isn’t half bad. It suits you.”
Argo stood up and put his black cloak on. He walked up to Walva and said, “Glad it turned out alright, let me see.”
Walva said, “Excuse me, my Lord?”
Argo tried to look into Walva’s mouth, and repeated, “Let me see.”
Walva, slightly confused, stuck out his tongue. It was blue, circulation was struggling, and you could see where they tried to re-attach it to the root of his old tongue. Walva said, “Ahhhh….”
Argo gently slapped him on the shoulder and said, “You will be as good as new once we get back home. But you should keep the voice, perhaps as a little reminder?”
Walva asked, “And when are we going home, my Lord?”
Argo’s smile turned to a frown. As they walked out, he said, “Not soon enough.”
On a long rectangular table, all of the Majavkee Lords sat, as well as AuFa Admiral Holland and Commander Bullmo, head of Majavkee security. Majavkee Lord Bialos spoke. “Eight Transports, six cannons, the damage to the facility will be costly. It will take some time to recover properly.”
Majavkee Lord Evander added, “But the root of the problem may be gone.”
Majavkee Lord Bialos answered, “At what cost? Not to mention all the soldiers.”
Majavkee Lord Evander answered, “Peace is not cheap. At least the transports were empty, so we did not lose any Vait.”
A few seconds went by before Majavkee Lord Bialos said, “Him making us wait is insulting.”
Argo had just walked into the room and said, “So is your hospitality, but who is keeping score?”
The room went silent. Majavkee Lord Bialos, embarrassed by his statement, immediately countered with “Lord Argo, forgive me, no one informed us of your delay.”
Argo sat down at the head of the table and said, “I was unaware of my tardiness. I was doing more important things.”
Admiral Holland then said, “Lord Argo, I have a status report if you wish.”
Argo leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together. He said with a smug smile. “Can we confirm Octavious Killian’s death?”
Admiral Holland continued, “I am afraid we cannot at this time. There is a small group of Valmay fighters yet to be captured. They have fled inside the Cataco mines, where we have them surrounded. We are not sure if Octavious is with them.”
Argo shook his head. “I want him alive, Admiral. Make that very clear to your troops. I want to bring him and Kaya back to Belinea and hang them in front of the entire Council.”
Admiral Holland nodded in acknowledgment. Majavkee Lord Bialos then added, “We have a current casualty report as well, Lord Argo.”
Argo then replied, “And that report is not nearly as important as finding Killian.”
Bullmo, the Head of Majavkee Security, then stood up. His voice full of anger, he said, “I lost almost three hundred of my men out there today, for you. I suggest you make it important.”
Argo then stared at him. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, “Who are you?”
He answered. “Bullmo, Head of Majavkee Security.”
Argo, pointing at the Majavkee Lords, continued, “You did not do it for me. You did it for them. Also, if they were any good at fighting, maybe you would not have lost so many soldiers.”
Bullmo stared at him, turning a deep color of red. Looking at the Majavkee Lords at the table, he continued, “I serve them, and (looking back at Argo, pointing), we followed your orders. Show some remorse for the soldiers that died at your hands today.”
Argo sat up in his chair and replied, “Head of Majavkee Security is a useless title at this table. You might want to check your tone.”
Bullmo replied, “I am not convinced we needed your help in this matter.”
Argo was now annoyed. He stood up and said, “Leave this meeting now before you say more things you will regret.”
Bullmo took a few steps towards him, going around the table, grabbing the handle of his handgun. As he kept walking towards Argo, he began pointing at him with his other hand. His voice was rising as he got closer. “How dare you address anyone in this room that way. Show your proper respect for the blood that was spilled….”
In one quick motion, Argo grabbed the ring on his side and tilted his head ever so slightly. Holding the handle on his ring with both hands in front of his face, the ring transformed slowly into an extending silver blade. Bullmo said, “You would not dare….”
Argo pointed the sword towards Bullmo as he approached, extending it ten feet in an instant. It pierced Bullmo through his eyeball, straight out the back of his head. He wobbled for a second as Argo then retracted the blade back to its ring form. Blood from the wound came out, splattering onto one of the Majavkee Lords sitting at the table. Bullmo fell to the ground, blood pouring all over the floor. Argo, still holding the handle on his ring, said, “Anyone else want to talk about casualties?”
Argo waited for a few seconds. All the Majavkee Lords were in shock. Most kept their heads down. No one said anything. Argo said, “Good.”
Argo put the ring back on his hip and took a deep breath. He sat down and said, “I lost AuFa soldiers out there today as well. We will properly mourn their death back on Belinea. But let me make this very clear to everyone at this table. This is your fucking problem. And every time you need us to resolve your problems, we question leaving you in charge.”
Majavkee Lord Evander then quietly said, “Lord Argo, I speak for all the Lords here when I say we thank you and the AuFa for the assistance you have provided….”
Argo cut him off. “Save it, Lord Evander. If there was no Vait here, we could care less about any of you. Mine as much as you can, by whatever means necessary. We will continue to purchase all of it at the fair price you have always received. But I promise, the Council will be just as happy letting someone else go out there and mine that Vait if you can not handle these fucking distractions on your own.”
Argo stood up and looked at Admiral Holland. “Admiral, get a message to that small group in the mines. Tell them I have Kaya Killian, and she dies unless Octavious peacefully surrenders. If he is still alive, that will snuff him out.”
Argo walked out of the room. He navigated around the dead body and its blood on the floor. As he did, he said, “Lord Bialos, you are going to n
eed a new head of security. May I suggest one that does not talk as much.”
Belinea 6.6
Avola
The Cataco Mines
Huddled in the middle of a long narrow cave were all sixty survivors. The older miners were discussing different options. Some of the soldiers were still tending to wounds, trying to clean themselves up. Others were on security at both sides of the cave, waiting for an attack from the surface. Octavious sat alone, contemplating his next move. He looked tired. He got up and walked over to a spot where Cortes and Donovan were fixing the control board on the cable car. As he came up, Donovan was attempting to reconnect wires underneath it. Donovan asked, “What about that?”
Cortes, who was on the top of the car with the control board in front of her, said, “Negative.”
Donovan kept trying to re-wire. Octavious asked Cortes, “Any luck?”
Cortes shook her head no. Cortes then asked, “Have the miners come up with a plan?”
Octavious replied, “Six hours, and all they can tell me is we are stuck. A blocked twenty-meter section of tunnel going to Forterra. Even if we made it, by this time, they have likely set up forces on the other side. It is only a matter of time for the Majavkee to figure this out.”
Donovan from below asked, “What about now?”
Cortes just repeated “Negative.”
After a few seconds, Octavious slightly shook his head and very quietly said, “We should have just taken the deal.”
Cortes responded, “Do you think you could have trusted Argo Hassara? Or the Council for that matter?”
Octavious sighed. He then replied, “Maybe not. But at least we could have survived. This will only end with all of our deaths. And I knew that going in.”
Cortes quickly replied, “So did we. So did your sister, if she is dead. We are not giving up.”