Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 4187424" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 578: CaptivesMarix sat alone in a small, boring looking room that served as a meeting room when necessary. There were, of course, dozens of similar rooms all across the Gateway, and they were rarely used mainly due to how sparsely populated the facility was. The chairs were a bit small for adult Alraxians, but they were somehow still quite comfortable. But Marix was not sitting there in the empty room to brood.    Rather, she was awaiting the arrival of the Jendari. They had, apparently, just arrived at the Gateway but she had been unable to meet them in the hangar they’re ship set down in. They would not be offended, and besides, there was a good reason she had not met them.    Qroal had finally broken.    Marix did not bother with the how, but had seen he was not in the best of shape, physically or, from the look on his face, mentally. Rhinna had done her job well, and relayed everything she had learned. Sadly, it had not been a great deal. It seemed that Qroal was not much more than a low-level operative. He was, apparently, a member of the Intendant class, which apparently meant he was basically an expert in politics and manipulation. It explained why he broke so easily, as he was no warrior. Eventually, it seemed, even Vong could break. Especially cowardly ones, and Rhinna made sure to emphasize that if Qroal was anything at all, he was most assuredly a coward. He seemed to care much more for his own well-being than for his people’s crusade.    That was something Marix made sure to file away in her mind for later. Not all Vong were the religious zealots that it appeared.    But beyond Qroal’s position amongst his people as an agent meant to prepare the way for further conquest by the warrior caste, Rhinna did learn something else important. Apparently, after she had removed a claw-like implant from Qroal’s right leg, he became much more willing to speak after screams of pain and rage. After ranting on about being defiled and something about the Gods never rejecting him despite what the infidels did to him, he finally gave up the information that Marix had been looking for.    The Vong were, in fact, very interested in the Alraxian people. Just as Marix had expected, their interest was solely in regard to the Alraxians’ natural ability to morph. According to Qroal, this quality was seen as one that could be shaped, as he called it, into other creatures. He then babbled on about it being the will of the Gods, spoke some names that Rhinna could not recognize and assumed to be the Vong Gods, and then began growling curses at her. Eventually he drifted into a state of semi-consciousness, likely due to blood loss, and began to talk again.    According to Qroal, the Vong had never seen anything like the Alraxians’ morphing ability. But since the failure of the attack on the Gateway months earlier, a new tactic had been adopted. It seemed that the Vong were focusing their efforts on infiltration of the Alraxian people through those skin-suit-like disguises and agents like Qroal who were building up fleets from the Peace Brigade to assault the Gateway again. The latter was proving to be a failure, though, as the war effort turned Coreward. Alraxian space was just too far behind to prove worth so many resources.    At that point, Qroal’s delirium faded and he had realized all that had been said. Rhinna said he’d gone into another tirade against her and all of the Alraxian people, but before finally falling unconscious had made a vital slip in his screams. He had said, according to Rhinna, that the Vong already had Alraxians in captivity and were working to find out how their ability to morph actually worked. It had been a boast or maybe even a threat, but for one who claimed to be a master of speech, it was a foolish mistake.    So Marix sat alone in the meeting room, awaiting the Jendari, and now beginning to realize what could have happened to some of the Knights that had not returned. At least a dozen of the Knights sent on reconnaissance missions into the rest of the galaxy had failed to return or report in. They had been assumed dead, but now a seed of doubt was put in Marix’s mind. At least two of the Knights had been former Tam’Day’U, which meant the Vong potentially had two Alraxians with very well developed morphing skills. If the Vong were able to work morphing into their own creations, it would likely make them completely unstoppable.    Marix told herself, time and time again, that her sole concern was with the Alraxian Empire. Her people. But in moments like this, that was put into doubt. Yes, it was an obvious threat to the Empire. But, beyond that, it would be one more nail in the coffin for the New Republic and the rest of the galaxy which was already overrun. The last scouts to return reported that signs pointed towards more Core Worlds falling and one of the Knights even mentioned Coruscant being more heavily protected for fear of an attack. It was already falling apart. But Coralskippers that could morph in addition to their dovin basal defenses...warriors with the morphing trait bred into them...whole Vong fleets with that ‘shaped’ into their genetic makeup...    Letting out a deep breath, Marix sat back in her chair and shook her head.    So it seemed she would not be going home, but rather back into the war-torn galaxy. Marix would have to track down where the Vong were keeping their Alraxian captives and put a stop to any research that was being done. She could send Knights, but it was something Marix knew she needed to handle herself. It was too important for her to sit back and worry about. She was the Empress, the protector of her people, and that meant she had to take an active role in that defense in times of crisis.    There were Alraxians out there, somewhere in the galaxy, in the hands of the Vong. That was bad enough. But what the Vong wanted to do made it worse, and it was something she could not allow. Never any rest, it seemed...    “Momma!”    That one word cut off every single other thought that might have followed. Marix’s eyes widened and she spun to look at the door which, somehow, she hadn’t heard open. Just as she turned, Saaran dashed from the doorway and right to her, bounding from the floor and right up into her lap in one swift motion. Before Marix could respond, however, Andrea ran in, following suit and quickly landing right next to her brother, both of them grinning up at her and exuding that intoxicating happiness through the Force...that, and the satisfaction that they’d surprised their mother.    As Marix found herself paying far too much attention to the twins, four Jendari walked into the room, their faces showing the same smile that they projected in the Force. There was no sign of Navik, which somehow didn’t surprise Marix one bit. Eventually, Marix would talk business with them and explain to the Jendari what she had learned and what she planned to do next...but Marix decided that could wait. It felt like it had been ages since she’d seen the twins, and they were both babbling on and on and on about everything they’d done on the new planets they’d seen since Marix had last seen them.    The twins’ adventures chasing small bugs, one another, and their grandfather were suddenly much more important to her than anything else.</blockquote>

Verification