War Core Wednesday! War Core 3, Chapter 29.

Chapter 29.

“Ibixan, I congratulate your core on another victory, Durhass remains our premier war core,” Great Leader Shadax said.

He was new to the position of Great Leader but had learned enough in his brief time as a senator to mask his true emotions. This last hatchling of his foe, a foe that he had slain and consumed to seize power, was too well regarded to eliminate. It was a danger to his rule, but a minor one he could allow to stand for the time being. The war core Durhass had been one of the first that the empire had created, and he was a legend among the people, his victories countless. A member of the Ibixan family had been the liaison to Durhass for as long as any could remember, and only his intervention had kept Shadax from consuming the entire line.

Scars covered this last Ibixan, ones inflicted by Shadax. He had to keep this hatchling alive to placate the venerated core Durhass. Shadax had to keep him alive, but he had made sure to damage the young Ssath to the point it would father no more of its line. He would outlive this last Ibixan, but the line of Shadax would continue forever. Perhaps, when the final victory was won over the humans, he and the senate could persuade Durhass to take a new liaison.

“Thank you for your kind words, Great Leader Shadax. Durhass and I are always pleased to serve the people. If I may ask, how goes the fight on our other fronts? I know we press the humans and I’m sure the entire senate would love to hear how far we have pushed into new territory,” Ibixan asked.

Curse the upstart hatchling! He knew, as did the Senate, that other campaigns were not all going in the favor of the Ssath. Some fronts had stalled in their progress, and despite a near-perfect record of victories, those battles were more and more often being fought to defend territory rather than take it. Some of the members of the senate grumbled that the stagnation in the empire’s expansion was due to the impoverished state of their influence point totals.

Shadax had spent most of their influence points to bring the fight to the human homeworld. They were a threat that should be snuffed out before it grew. A relative newcomer to the great game, the humans had proven to be a little too competent in their ability to wage war. It was an unlikely occurrence, given that they were a prey species. The death of the core Hssim and the weakness it implied had been the motivation for Shadax to seize power, he couldn’t allow the seeds of dissent to fester against his reign. Sure, they were still gaining points with each victory, but operations on other fronts had to be scaled back to allocate more cores to the assault on Earth. To make matters worse, one of their cores had been defeated by the Yaelar, and a human core had been instrumental in that defeat.

“Things go well, and our brave cores are victorious as always,” Shadax said. Even as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake, Ibixan grinning in victory as he replied.

“We are always victorious? I do not question your statement, Great Leader Shadax, but I believe there might be new information from the human front that hadn’t been disseminated to you yet. It appears the Yaelar, a species that borders humanity, have defeated our advance through their territory,” Ibixan said, and then the murmurs began from the senate. Most of the senate would not have heard the news just yet, a fact Shadax had been counting on.

“True, but our core was not defeated by the Yaelar, but through the perfidious machinations of a human core that was a participant in the battle. A human core that was also among those that killed our venerated Hssim. It shows that these humans are, and will continue to be, our greatest threat and should be eliminated immediately. To that end I propose we expend our current pool of influence points to further our campaign against the human core world,” Shadax replied.

“I understand our balance is currently zero, and the limited funds that had been there were spent in a failed assassination attempt against this human core?” Senator Balsan added. It appeared that Shadax’s opponents were very well informed. Perhaps it was time to issue some new challenges and thin the ranks of those that opposed him? No, it was too soon after he had used combat to take power, and to do so again now would only fuel speculation that Shadax was descending into the blood madness, a useful tool in combat, but one that would lead to a loss of reason and a thirst for mindless slaughter if indulged in too often.

“I am the Great Leader of the Ssath, not a bookkeeper. The balance rises and falls all the time, it is a resource to be used by the people, and I will use it as I see fit. The Ssath is supreme!” Shadax shouted, ending this session.

Claws began to clack on the decision pillars placed in front of each senator as Shadax left the building to board his shuttle, but there were not nearly as many claws clacking approval as Shadax would like. His enemies were growing bold, and it would take bold action to end their threat. It was a risk, but he needed to take such risks if he wished to remain in power.

“Get me Quinless,” Shadax ordered into his comm link as a servant sealed the shuttle door. When the craft lifted off, the secure comm link was established to the being he was trying to reach. He had been given the contact information by one of his devout followers, and though it was beneath Shadax to make such arrangements, they had to be done and couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else.

“Great Leader, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?” Quinless replied.

Shadax was glad they were on a video call and the Ssath on his screen couldn’t scent the fear that Shadax felt at his appearance. Quinless was said to be the premier assassin of the Ssath empire, and if the rumors were only half true, he had killed more than any other living Ssath and somehow avoided falling into perpetual blood madness. Shadax wasn’t even sure that he could call Quinless a Ssath any longer, given the assassin’s rumored fondness for altering its body with grafts of parts from other creatures as well as extensive cybernetic enhancements. It was disgusting that a Ssath would alter his perfect form in such a manner.

“The Great Leader and the empire have immediate need of your services, and you will comply with my demands. There are certain elements that are hampering the ability of the Ssath to wage war. You will eliminate these problems,” Shadax said, projecting confidence in his demand. An assassin was a lesser creature, after all, and should jump at the chance to serve the leader of the Ssath.

“I stand ready to serve, Great Leader. Send me the target and I’ll see that it’s taken care of,” Quinless said as spines grafted from some foul beast emerged around his snout, venom dripping down them as the creature likely contemplated the killing it was soon to partake in. A disgusting beast, this Quinless, but one that Shadax needed for the moment. When his business was completed, he would see about having the assassin eliminated, his existence was an affront to the species.

“Excellent, these are some sensitive targets, so I need you to make their deaths appear to be accidents, or random crimes, whatever it is you people do,” Shadax said. He wasn’t sure how the assassin operated and didn’t want to know, but they were rumored to be discreet and masters at hiding the true nature of the target’s death.

“Sensitive targets are expensive, and I may want a payment that is something more than credits,” Quinless said.

“Whatever you require will be made available, including the specimens we have housed in the bioweapons labs,” Shadax offered. The bioweapons labs of the Ssath had been sealed for centuries. They were a people of conquest, and the conquest was now done by using the system of the great game that the GCA imposed on them. This system didn’t require them to waste resources on weapons research any longer. All the military spending was done in GCA influence points these days, save for a few groups that were working on improving the existing tech for law enforcement and the like.

“That is acceptable, send me your list of targets, and I will send you my final payment demands,” Quinless said, ending the transmission. An unknown contact pinged Shadax’s commlink, requesting the list. Shadax sent the names and then wiped the comm device, disposing of it in the shuttle’s reprocessor before grabbing a new one from his personal effects. To kill an opponent using an assassin would be seen as weak and disgraceful for the leader of the Ssath. Even if the steps he took might seem cowardly to his people, Shadax knew he did them to secure his rule. Anything he did for his personal benefit was, by extension, for the greater good of the empire.

***

Quinless smiled as he forwarded a copy of their conversation to his other client. Normally, Quinless wouldn’t reveal a confidential conversation with a potential client, it was part of the code he lived by, but the new Great Leader was inexperienced, rude, and arrogant, neglecting the time-honored ways of hiring an elite assassin. Shadax had neglected to ask a simple question, he neglected to ask whether Quinless was free from any other obligations. If Shadax had bothered to ask, Quinless would have gladly told him that he was on another assignment and would be unavailable. The offer of the Great Leader to hire his services would have been politely declined and absolutely kept confidential.

Instead of following protocol, Shadax had demanded his services, behaving as if Quinless was one of his lackeys to be ordered about at a whim. A rash leader, it appeared that Shadax hadn’t even bothered to research the basic protocol for hiring an assassin. Quinless was the best in the empire, and whether it was a lowly servant, or the leader of the Ssath empire attempting to hire him, the protocols must be followed. There was a respect that should be shown to one of his ability, respect the newest Great Leader seemed to completely lack.