Supreme Headquarters
Imperial Army
Kilrah
“It’s an outrage!” Bellowed General Shra’ghar nar Caxhi, Chief of Staff for the Vega Front, as he slammed his palm down on to the table. After he raised objection, seven other generals were dismissed from the room. What he had to say was for the Prince’s ears only. Many paper maps hung on the wall, but the centerpiece to the room was a large holographic tank situated in a table that took up most of the room.
Standing before Shra’ghar, in all his imperial grandeur, Thrakhath nar Kilrah looked on his general with a mixture of disdain and disappointment. If any general other than Shra’ghar spoke to the Crown Prince as such, Thrakhath would have their throat torn out. “You have doubts about my plan?”
“Not at all, my Prince,” Shra’ghar admitted. It was a sound plan. Meet the Confederation’s 3rd Fleet in battle at Sirius and destroy it. With five new carriers on line, and six more planned, the Kilrah Pride was more than capable of carrying out the plan. No matter how well Thrakhath planned, he would never be a Gilkarg. Now there was a genius. Shra’ghar had firsthand experience at Gilkarg’s strategies. “You will destroy the Apes’ fleet and punch through to their homeworld.”
Thrakhath narrowed his gaze, almost to the point of looking down upon a scion of the Eight. “I sense a however.”
Shra’ghar inclined his head. “Quite perceptive, my Prince. However brilliant your plan may be, it is one that will be fought and won in space, where after you will bomb their worlds from orbit. As a warrior who has fought the Apes his whole adult life, and to speak for all the General here, I demand to be there for the kill.”
Thrakhath could understand this. After all, what proper Kilrathi would not want to stand over the corpse of his enemy, claws damp with their blood? “You demand? General, I hear your words now out of respect for my fallen father, but my tolerance only extends so far.”
“My Prince, I have dreamt of the day where my legion will plant the Imperial banner upon the ruins of Earth, with all my enemies dead at my feet.” He used to have such dreams, back when he fought alongside Gilkarg. Those were glorious days, Gilkarg nar Kilrathi defeating the Terrans in space while Shra’ghar conquered on the ground. That is, until the day Gilkarg suffered one too many loses, and the Emperor was forced to execute him in order for the Imperial Pride to save face. He often though that if he and Gilkarg had been born commoners, then they would have become brothers and taken a Pride of their own.
The general continued. “Instead, I hear of this plan to wait until the Apes demobilize and then to drive a dagger into their heart. Worse yet, we will not conquer Earth, and erect a temple to Sivar for all the sacrifices. Instead, we are to bomb their planet with viruses!”
“The Emperor commands the Terrans’ destruction. Do you doubt his wisdom?” Thrakhath asked, with a razor thin edge to his voice.
Shra’ghar bowed. “Unthinkable.” It not that unthinkable. A warrior could think as he liked, but in the end, he still had to follow his liege lord into battle. “With this pause in hostilities in place, we can bide our time. According to what Jukaga says, the Apes will disarm themselves within a Shrik. They might not be as challenging then, but if they are fools enough to lower their arms at such an offer, then they deserve to be slaughtered like livestock.”
“No,” Thrakhath replied. “The Emperor commands that the Kilrah Pride’s fleet launch sooner. We cannot let the stain of our earlier defeat remain any longer than necessary.” The Kilrah Pride still burned with shame at not only the defeat at Vukar Tag, but the Apes’ audacious raid on Kilrah and the destruction of the Pride’s primary shipyard. If not for the yards in the Hari Sector, the Kilrah Pride would be in a very weak position.
Perhaps that is why the Emperor is impatient. Any of the Eight Prides, including Shra’ghar’s own Caxhi Pride, could depose the Imperial Pride. Waiting until the Apes were soft and the Kilrah Pride’s new fleet was totally complete may be just asking for a coup. It would not be the first instance in their long and violent history that an Emperor, or his whole Pride, was deposed in the face of defeat. The Emperor must be worried to move so quickly.
“Will He wait long enough for the Hvar’kann is complete?” That warship alone would be enough to destroy an entire Confederation fleet. Many octomaks long with eights of plasma turrets and eighties of fighters make the ship invincible.
Thrakhath paused long enough to allow a crack in his regal appearance. Despite taking on more and more duties of ruling the Empire, the Prince was still not privy to all the Emperor’s secrets. “It will take at least two Kahrik before my prize is complete.”
“You are unsure,” Shra’ghar accused.
Anger flashed in Thrakhath’s eyes, and claws extended from his fingers. “We fight when the Emperor commands it!”
Shra’ghar said nothing more on the subject. The Prince had no idea when the attack would take place. Nor was he sure the Terrans would take the bait. The General suspected if the decision was up to Bainbridge, or one of the other high ranking Terrans, then the answer would be no. The Apes’ raids deep into the Empire against shipyards and convoys threatened to destroy the Empire’s infrastructure. Or at least the Kilrah Pride’s infrastructure. That might be the idea; weaken the Emperor to the point where one of the Eight will be unable to resist the temptation and grab the throne. That would spark a civil war, and no matter who held the throne, in the end, the Confederation would hold victory.
Shra’ghar rubbed his forehead at the thoughts. Politics. His mind was never intended to meddle in female duties. A male’s duty was to kill his enemies and those of his Pride. The very idea that both genders of Terrans dabble in such obscene practices made his fur stand on end. “The fleet will fight when the Emperor commands it, but what of his Army?”
Thrakhath made a dismissive gesture. “Even with Earth and several other worlds in ruins, there will be plenty of planets to conquer. Perhaps you should start with Ghorah Khar.”
Shra’ghar growled at the name. Three Prides vied for dominance of that important world, and all three were ruled by scions of the Eight. There were, at least until those two upstart deserters took over the M’krah Pride and helped them climb to the top. The very idea of commoners ruling a planetary Pride was as obscene as a male dabbling in politics. When the Empire made the move to secure the Pride, as well as the planet’s crystal deposits, Ghorah Khar rose up and declared independence. If that was not bad enough, after they broke away from the Empire, the entire planet defected to the Terrans. Revolution was still stirring in neighboring systems, despite the resources that the Empire had to divert from the front.
“Very well, my Prince. If it the Emperor’s desire that Earth should be destroyed, then who am I, a mere general, to argue. As I said, your plan is sound. With overwhelming force, you should destroy the Terran fleet.” Again, his thoughts went back to his old friend Gilkarg. Had he lived—had he lived, the entire Enigma Campaign would have ended differently, and perhaps there would be no need for this farce of a cessation of combat.
Thrakhath smiled, and began to stare into his own holographic plan. “They’ll probably send Tolwyn to command the fleet. He is a formidable opponent, and it will be an honor to kill him.” The Prince sighed for a moment, and began to muse wishfully. “It is my hope that I will be able to face the Heart of the Tiger once more, to avenge my earlier defeat, as well as the death of my father.”
Shra’ghar bowed. In some instances, it was the only safe bet when dealing with Thrakhath. He blamed this particular Ape for the death of his father, and in a way he was right. The Heart of the Tiger was part of the fighter wing that destroyed the Sivar. Afterwards, Gilkarg met a most dishonorable end. Shra’ghar would like to see that Ape dead as well. He only hoped Thrakhath’s quest for glory worked, for if it should fail, then his entire Pride might meet Gilkarg’s fate.