Humanity Endures

Part 8 - Preparations | Chapter 1

"A well-placed bullet speaks louder than an entire propaganda campaign."

— Telzivax "The Monstrous" Tekran. Spoken before shooting his propaganda minister in retaliation for low approval ratings.

***

The Present

The Military Council's simulated hall, with its signature, ornamented table, lay sprawled out before her; Xertaza was in the presence of raw power made manifest, and this was a comforting return to the familiar indeed. It was within these digital walls that the most powerful people in the Empire, Xertaza included, had sat countless times before, intent on furthering the cause of humanity; in these dark times, it was liberating to be in the company of those who could truly change things for the better, and it felt even more freeing to be one of those powerful people yourself. However, the freedom of command came at a price: the weight of trillions of souls rested on Xertaza's heart, and their lives depended on what was decided in that room — to say that there was pressure would be an understatement.

Lining both sides of the table were the members of the Military Council, with Lassarha, her resplendent, imperatorial form seated comfortably at one end of the table, and Terilan leaning forwards eagerly at the other end. Such an arrangement was a bold statement indeed, even if there were few with the clearance to hear it so far. Each imperator, whenever they attained office, was expected, by tradition, to change the arrangement in which the Military Council sat, placing those of roles they deemed of higher importance closer to themselves in both the physical and digital representations of the Military Council's famous desk; the one exception to this was that he or she whose role they deemed of the highest importance sat at the end of the table opposite to themselves. Lassarha's choice of putting the prime admiral in the position of highest importance made it clear that her strategic focus rested on the fleet — a wise place to put one's attention during a war. Nevertheless, Xertaza was slightly insulted to be one of the furthest away from Lassarha, second only to Intelligence Director Elkan, especially when she had been the first among them all to support the new Imperator Lassarha. Elkan, for his part, was concealing any displeasure he held perfectly, in typical Elkan fashion, within the digital space, though Xertaza could not help but muse as to the depth of his fury; why Lassarha had opted to put the one Prime most capable of murdering her in the position of least importance, Xertaza could never know. Elkan, for his part, didn't even move, his eyes affixed on his imperator, and his hands folded, yet neither so much as shifted a millimeter — were it not for the fact he was made of flesh, he would be indistinguishable from a statue, and a terrifying one at that. Nevertheless, this statue was relegated to a position of low import; even Otelesia, the representative of civilian interests in the Military Council, was closer to the Imperator than Xertaza and Elkan — this was an especially hurtful gesture, as Otelesia didn't even have a vote!

Nevertheless, for Xertaza, the sight of Lassarha resting on the ornate, digital throne in the back of the chamber brought her a great amount of satisfaction, and, more critically, hope. With such an imperator, humanity, if it could reunify quickly, stood a chance against the aliens — Xertaza couldn't and didn't care about anything else in a ruler. Not wasting any time, the moment the last member of the Military Council arrived in the digital space, Lassarha, speaking rather than using textcomms in order to solidify her authority with her subordinating tone, began the meeting in earnest.

"If we were in more peaceful times, I would hold a week of solemn thought and mourning for our beloved, late imperator, but now, a week of inaction, and we would lose the galaxy to either these 'restorers' or aliens. As the galaxy burns, and humanity with it, we scarcely have a moment to waste. The alien invasion of our galaxy is a — no — the most pressing threat facing us, but it is both a threat we cannot attack, and a threat that can only be truly faced with the full, awesome might of humanity. As it stands, half of that might is directed against me, under the sway of a man that has tried to ruin me, kill Cehlarxan, and who has committed so much more evil in the hallowed name of himself."