War for the Iron Planet

Chapter 21: Planning the Heist

Prime Minister Skritka walked up the stone stairs of Griffon Keep, the ancient fort built in the earliest times of the Republic, when a handful of species gathered on Griffonia to rally and fight back against the Astralbian Empire. Then, the planet itself was hostile. No one knew which plants would bring nourishment and which would bring a painful death. The predators of its plains and forests were a constant danger. The weather patterns were poorly understood, and sudden storms and floods killed many, as did the harsh winters. All of that was merely the backdrop against which a small band of sapient species, none of whom had advanced beyond steam engines or similar technology before being invaded by the Astralbians, stood up against an oppressive empire and fought for liberty. The sacrifices they made back then caused Skritka's to pale by comparison. He tried to keep that in mind as he made his way to what promised to be a painfully stupid meeting.

He made his way through the winding halls, reporters harrying him until he got to the private quarters. There, the reporters handed the baton off to the aides, who harried him until he got into his private office. Entering the room, he faced the five members of the Expansion Committee. Now it was their turn to harry him.

"Members of the Expansion Committee. Welcome," he said warmly.

"Cut it, Skritka," said the Committee chair. It was Trekna, the Raki who had given Jasken a hard time about the mining potential on Hittania. "I don't want to hear your sweet-talk. What's going on with the Blue Griffon Fleet?"

"As I explained before we set up this meeting, I don't know. Admiral Jasken missed an update, which is very out of character, but I know nothing more than that. Which makes me wonder, why did you demand this meeting?" Skritka knew why. Trekna wanted as much bad publicity as possible when it came to Hittania. He wouldn't do anything to directly sabotage the mission, but if he sniffed out a way to spin Hittania as a problem he'd jump on it. So here they were, in a secret - yet somehow known to the press - meeting, discussing a report that was less than twenty-four hours late.

"To hear it from you yourself! And to hear what you're going to do about it!" demanded the Raki.

"I am indeed concerned about Jasken's fleet. But unless your committee is willing to send a scout, or even another fleet, to investigate, there is nothing to be done. Protocols say that is not necessary for an additional week."

"Think of the waste of resources that would entail!" exclaimed Trekna. Skritka sneered at the false outrage.

"Unless one of you," he paused to eye the spineless lackeys that made up the rest of the committee, "has a solution or information beyond what I sent in my report, I will kindly ask you to leave my office now."

Trekna had gotten what he wanted, so he left in an over-acted huff, followed by the rest of the committee.

***

Crush finally reached the Astralbian Camp. As expected, it was guarded lightly enough that she was able to slip in through the perimeter, scoping out the available vehicles. She had no idea if she could fly a star tree, but she intended to find out. She noted a small one, lightly guarded, and tried to make her way to it. Flitting from shadow to shadow, she wound up close enough to the central star tree to listen in on the two Astralbians just walking out of it. One had a forked chin, and was dressed as a knight, if Crush was interpreting his accoutrements correctly, with his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword. The other, who had extremely sharp features, even by the standards of his species, was wearing a silver band on his head that identified him as a lord of some kind.

"...so we take the traitor back to Astralbia. We have what we want," said the lord.

"Of course, Lord Raelik. However, if we can wait just a few days more, the great eye will be ready. The Blue Griffon fleet will be nothing but a memory. Even if they have shields up, a surprise attack from a great eye so soon after our battle should make short work of their defenses," explained the knight.