Chapter 23: War Council, Morgan POV (Patreon)

Chapter 23

War Council

Morgan POV

Melody was doing a wonderful job of keeping the various heads of state from hounding me every minute of the day. I’d only had to talk to three instead of thirty. And the memos she sent me let me know exactly what they had talked about and the resolution they had come to. Tee was also doing a wonderful job of keeping the kraken distracted. Between the sensor scramblers and my stealth rounds that came from all directions, the kraken couldn’t find the station.

With so much free time this Cycle, I could finally focus on the jobs I’d put off, like utilising my lab. My lab currently allowed me to keep fifteen researchers on board. Natalia was one of those fifteen, but unlike the other researchers, her job was to ensure they kept on task. Melody hadn’t hired anyone else yet, so Natalia was stuck setting up their workspace alone.

She’d put a lot of effort into changing the drab lab into a cosy workplace. There were spaces for group projects and areas where people could be alone. The lighting wasn’t so bright, and everything was spread a little wider, so it didn’t feel cramped. All the chairs were extremely comfortable, and drinks and snacks were everywhere. It wasn’t professional, but it was incredibly comfortable.

She’d taken the initiative and rerouted the lab’s automatic research to solve some of the lab’s efficiency problems. I had absolutely no complaint about her work ethic. And I had left her to do her thing.

While she was doing that, I was trying to figure out what I could research to kill the kraken. I was going through the thousands of random pieces of technology I’d gotten at the start of the kraken mission when I destroyed the fleets, trying to find something that was helpful, but after days of talking it over with Diego and the other dungeon masters, I’d come up with nothing.

The kraken was too powerful for a small jump in power to make a difference, and I’d spent too many credits to buy my way out of my problems. All that was left was to get creative with what I had, so I was considering having the maintenance drones load a gunship with megalodon missiles so I could try and fly it down the kraken's throat and explode them all at once.

Tee interrupted my daydreaming. “The Kilocksin war council is trying to contact us.”

Tee had been intercepting their communications for the past three days. Our offer was being treated seriously. Every warlord, commander, and leader had been called in to discuss the matter. None of them were talking about whether or not they wanted to join the alliance. They were all discussing how committed they wanted to be to it when they joined.

My offer excited them. Their clan had never had an opportunity like this. And many of the oldest members wanted to gamble and see how far this alliance would take them. Each of them had already made their fortune and didn’t care if this season ended quickly because they gambled and lost. It was the younger, less experienced members of the council that was arguing for caution.

I had to show them that I knew how to play the Game.  “Put them on screen.”

“They want to make this an interactive call.”

I started to smile, getting excited. “Say that again.”

“You heard me. They want to make this an interactive call.”

“They want me to appear before the war council.”

“That’s what I said. Their clan had formally recognised you as Ma’lock Morgan Mar.”

I let out an excited chuckle and slapped my armrest. “This changes everything. Put me through immediately.”

“You’re going to play it like that?”

I calmed my excitement. “I have to. We won’t get this opportunity again.”

“Good luck.

The walls of my command room vanished as holographic projectors changed the room, and I found myself sitting in the middle of a massive amphitheatre. Tens of thousands of Kilocksin warriors sat around me in a circle. The least important were at the front, while the most important sat higher and further back, making it easier to see their enemy.

And I was still their enemy.

I waited several seconds, with my chin tucked, until my point was clear that I was greeting them from a position of power and willingness to do violence. Only then did I stand and give the ritual greeting for meeting a group of honoured enemy elders.

No one spoke as they delivered the ritual greeting for a respected guest. Some offered the greeting for an honoured guest, but most only gave the smaller greeting. None snubbed me which was a good sign.

I turned slowly, taking in the entire crowd. “I am Morgan Mars, Ma’Lock Morgan Mars among your people. I come before you today with a declaration of war. A human Transcendent has risen to power, the first in this season of the Game. He commands a ship capable of destroying a sector in less than a Cycle and is making his way to my sector as we speak. Surrender is your only option.”

The Kilocksin respected strength. Strength that was exercised, not held back. Offering them an alliance, only to declare war and make them surrender, was what the strong did. It would embarrass them, but with that embarrassment, they would understand my resolve. If they weren’t willing to cooperate, I would destroy their sector and plunder its resources for my people. It was what the strong did. And they respected the strong, especially when they were polite.

The council room faded, and my command room returned.

“I let them cut the transmission,” Tee explained.

I flopped onto my chair. “Let’s hope I made a good impression. We need this alliance.”

“Declaring war will make things difficult if we lose Nicholas or he decides not to work with us. They will have to show their strength to prove a point.”

“And we will need to show ours. But I’m willing to risk that to give their elders the respect they need to convince the younger generation this is a good idea.”

“You’re grinning again.”