Re-Creator of Universes - Book 4 of Re-Forge

Planet Morf - Andromeda

The Supreme Commander of the Morfin military, said: "Captain Far, you will be pleased to hear that our investigators have cleared you of negligence after viewing the mission log and AV records from your ship. However, we still have quite a problem on our hands, and unanswered questions remain."

The commander continued, saying: "Let's review the mission brief together."

The commander paused for effect then said: "This was such a simple mission in real terms. Everyone on your team operated within military guidelines, except for the surprising request to have two Sun Slammers delivered into the Sun of the system you had under surveillance."

"I see the request was rejected at six consecutive levels of Government. Your tone in the last request became quite demanding and used the highest formal Language insisting that the Empress herself make the decision. In my opinion, your insistence was ambitious, but warranted."

"Captain Far, in the full Morf cycle leading up to approval, you made a lot of enemies, but in the end, word of your extreme request reached the Empress' herself, and she requested to view the AV highlights of your mission."

"She watched the Black Hole deployment in the first battle, then she watched the little ship circle the Family Motherships, pushing them in one at a time and approved your requisition immediately. She knows that this technology has fallen into the wrong hands. Not only that, but she also realises that in any hands, this technology will be devastating to the Morfin and the Universe in general."

"Captain Far, in hindsight, it's a shame that the larger reptilian 'Family' were able to depart before we could act. Unfortunately, this is indicative of the current Morfin bureaucracy."

Captain Ct Far (pronounced Sit Far) said: "Supreme Commander; In fairness to the people who rejected my requests, I was demanding double the extreme solution to eliminate one small star system. I understand how the economics of provisioning two Sun Slammers could be considered overkill and the knee jerk reaction of a frightened and inexperienced leader. A fast-track approval was not likely in the best circumstances."

The Supreme Commander replied: "Unfortunately, the refusals you received 'were' delivered in fast-track mode, and with exceptional rudeness. You have a forgiving nature, Captain. However, our Empress is not so forgiving."

"As a testament to our ridiculous bureaucracy, more than two hundred people in the chain of command who processed your request have been found guilty of negligent complacency resulting in a failure to approve your request in a timely manner."

The consequences of that are clear and their punishment fits the crime."

CT Far asked: "What was the punishment?"

The Supreme Commander replied: "They were fatally stung by the Empress herself. You know that there is no more painful way to die. Captain, the investigation is still ongoing, and the Empress is very upset about this."

The commander said: "Enough of that... I reviewed your report a few times before this interview. There are too many impossible things happening in that system. Let me see..."

The Supreme Commander scrolled down his tablet's screen, then finding the place he was after, said: "You say here that communication flow between the defending ships ceased altogether once the invading Family motherships started leaving the system?"

CT Far agreed.

The Commander said: "This tells me that the defenders surrendered, but how is it possible for them to survive on the destroyed third planet in the first place, when it was a total radioactive black zone? Is it even possible to shield against that level of radioactivity and still have enough power to lift the weight of the ship into space? I wonder if some of them were they already in space when the planet became inhabitable?"