Looking down at his Holo-Comm, Lord-Emperor Vexas noticed that he was currently receiving a ‘Holo-Call’ from Commander Thoran.
With his Private Chamber reverting back to its original form, Ventrix gritted his teeth whilst he tapped his finger on the holo-comm’s holo-screen in order to accept the Commander’s call.
“LORD-EMPEROR… MY GRANDEST GREETINGS,” a life-sized, real-time holographic depiction of Commander Thoran said after emerging from out of Ventrix’s Holo-Comm’s Holo-Screen and displaying before himself (as if he were actually there).
“WHAT IS IT, XAVIUX?!” Ventrix angrily demanded as the Commander’s holo was at mid-bow before suddenly stopping.
“Gruh-Grandest apologies for if I ‘disturbed’ you, my Lord,” Commander Thoran said in a visibly shaken way. “I… I just wanted to inform you that our astro-vessel… Along with the REST of the Armada, are all ready to make Quantum Warp Jumps to the Saauda Galactic Sector. All we need is your ‘order’ to do so, Your Grace.”
Wanting to make the mass-jump to the Saauda Galactic Sector, but also ‘rattled to his very thracking core’ by Obrron’s mysterious words, the Lord-Emperor closed his eyes and sighed.
“Muh-My Lord,” Commander Thoran’s holo nervously stammered. “Your ord--”
“WE SHALL NOT JUMP TO SAAUDA, COMMANDER,” Ventrix sourly replied after reopening his eyes. “Not yet… ”
“WHA-- BUT WHY, SIR?” Commander Thoran asked in total and complete shock.
“BECAUSE I THRACKING SAID SO!!!”
“But… But the Crew… THE ARMADA. We’re all prepared to…”
“ART THOU THRACKING DEAF?! ART THOU?!?!”
Correcting himself, Commander Thoran said in a ‘defeated’ way, “No, Sir.”
“I DIDN’T THRACKING THINK SO! Urgh… The Aeshlarans… HUMANS. We know absolutely NOTHING about their race. Sure, they most CERTAINLY do not stand a mere MORSEL of chance against our impenetrable, VEXAN might… BUT WE KNOW NOTHING OF THEM… And the first thing one must do before engaging an enemy is…”
“KNOW THY ENEMY. You are correct, Your Highness.”
“I KNOW I AM, YOU KROONE! Urgh… At this point, the only thing that we do know for CERTAIN is that the Last Guardian Warrior, the Princess of Guardinas… AND THE PYRAMID OF POWER are all currently being harbored upon this ‘Aeshlara’... EARTH.”
“Then what are we to do, my Lord? If NOT invade then--”
“We send a Scout.”
“A… scout?”
“A LIVING SCOUT,” Lord-Emperor Vexas elaborated. “Before we inevitably invade Earth, we must FIRST send a ‘Living Scout’ to inspect its ‘unventured lands’ and ‘unknown inhabitants’.”
Taking note of the unsure look that still painted the Commander’s face, Ventrix seared, “If the humans truly pose NO THREAT to us then we shall attack them and their world, Xaviux… EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AND WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE.”
“But what if they do pose a threat to us, my Lord,” Commander Thoran asked in slight nervousness, causing the Lord-Emperor’s eyes to widen. “I know that the chances are EXTREMELY LOW… But what if they are a threat? What if we’re…”
“Wrong? Are you saying that ‘we’ are wrong, Commander,” the Lord-Emperor asked intensely. “THAT I AM WRONG???”
“No, Lord-Emperor! I would never!”
“Then just WHAT are you saying, Commander???”
Taking note of the cold sweat that was beginning to run down Commander Thoran’s face and temples from beneath his ‘Commanders Cap’, Ventrix, with his eyes narrowed, ordered, “Word of advice, Xaviux… Tis best to keep your TRUE thoughts AND worries to yourself… FOR THEY COULD SWIFTLY BECOME YOUR UNDOING.”
Understanding the Lord-Emperor’s meaning, Commander Thoran quickly nodded, “Yuh-Yes, my Lord-Emperor… UNDERSTOOD.”
“Grand,” Ventrix hissed.
“We shall send a scout to the Aeshlaran Homeworld… A LIVING SCOUT,” Commander Thoran stated firmly. “Of what ‘type’ would you like for us to send, Your Exaltedness? A Wartrooper ‘ERADICATION-UNIT’, perhaps???”
“SEND A MAWL,” Lord-Emperor Vexas ordered as a sick and twisted grin slowly grew upon his wicked face.
“A Mawl, you say??? Grand… VERY GRAND, YOUR MAJESTY,” Commander Thoran sneered devilishly. “As you command, my Lord-Emperor. We shall send an ‘Astro-Shuttle Pod’ containing one of our ‘Mawl Beasts’ with a tracker embedded in its vessel so we can monitor its whereabouts and vital signs once it makes landfall upon the surface of Aeshlara… EARTH. WE CAN ALSO graft a LIVE FEED Holo-Cam into its eyes so we can see its ‘real-time’ progress from right here, aboard the Decimator.”
“Set forth then… AND MAKE IT SO.”
“As you wish, my Lord… FOR THE EMPIRE! LONG LIVE PLANET VEXAS!!!”
Commander Thoran’s hologram then faded away as Ventrix closed his eyes once more.
“You better be right, Obrron… YOU BETTER BE THRACKING RIGHT,” Lord-Emperor Vexas then gritted under his breath.
“A Mawl? We have an entire army who is FULLY CAPABLE of retrieving the Pyramid of Power and ELIMINATING the Last Guardian and Guardinian Lady-Princess at our disposal… AND YOU CHOOSE TO SEND A THRACKING MAWL???”
“AXIUS???”
Snap-turning around, Lord-Emperor Vexas was then faced with his younger brother, who stood in front of his still closed private chamber door.
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“Axius… HOW DID YOU…”
“Suddenly appear standing at your chamber door… UNDETECTED,” Axius smirked. “Come now, brother. You, Titanus, Drellix, and myself were all trained in the arts of ‘stealth’ when we were mere childlings back on Vexas... OR HAVE THEE FORGOTTEN???”
Ventrix now narrowed his eyes as the Lord-Prince pressed, “So… Why are you sending a ‘Mawl’ to Earth and NOT any of the Wartroopers? Why not invade it like we have with EVERY OTHER THRACKING WORLD over the course this cursed campaign???”
“WE SHALL INVADE EARTH IN DUE TIME, BROTHER,” Ventrix sternly stated through his gritted, filed-teeth.
“THAT’S NOT ANSWER I SEEK, VENTRIX.”
“I DO NOT ANSWER TO YOU… You answer to ME. I am the Lord-Emperor of the Vexan Empire AND planet Vexas… NOT YOU.”
“How could I forget… WHEN YOU REMIND US OF YOUR ‘GRAND TITLE’ EVERY THRACKING CHANCE YOU GET???”
Ventrix now sourly sealed his lips as Axius continued, “Why send a Mawl? Tis makes no sense to me.”
“Tis makes sense to me, Axius… AND THAT’S ALL THAT MATTERS,” the Lord-Emperor growled.
“I see… Better question: WHY DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO YOU???”
“You cannot ‘get in my mind’ like you do with the others, Ax... For I am wiser than Drellix and Titanus… GRANDLY WISER.”
“Heh… Well, I certainly hope so. Between those two skoggers, they share ‘almost’ a full brain… ALMOST.”
This made Ventrix briefly snicker, to which Axius joined.
With the tensions slowly beginning to lessen between the two brothers, Lord-Prince Axius said, “Oh, come off it, Ven. Just tell me the ‘method’ behind this OBVIOUS madness.”
“Madness? MADNESS,” Ventrix repeated in offense. “You DARE insult my methods… MY PLANS?!?!”
“If they make no thracking sense… THEN YES, BROTHER. I most certainly DO.”
“You want an answer, Axius? A method for my supposed ‘madness’??? FINE. An ‘answer’… YOU SHALL RECEIVE.”
Axius nodded as Ventrix explained, “I thought that it would be ‘wiser’ to send a ‘living
scout’ to Earth. I did this due to us knowing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the humans. So, sending a living, EXPENDABLE scout to investigate the humans and their home world is the most safe and LOGICAL option one could make instead of sending our VITAL ground and air forces… BEFORE INEVITABLE INVASION.”
“I see,” the Lord-Prince replied with his eyes squinted. “Tell me, Ventrix. Since when are you the one to think ‘wisely’?”
Glaring at his brother… And growing tired of his CONSTANT insolence, Lord-Emperor Vexas demanded, “What is the meaning of this unwarranted and UNWANTED intrusion, Axius? Tis true meaning???”
The Lord-Prince merely smirked as Ventrix continued, “Because, if there is ‘no meaning’ for it then I order you to be gone… BEFORE I GROW ANGRY.”
“What are you planning to do, Ventrix?” Axius asked inquisitively.
“What?”
“When we reach Aeshlara… Earth. WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO??? Launch another invasion just like we did with Guardinas? AND THE FOUR OTHER WORLDS THAT CAME BEFORE IT???”
“If the humans are proven to pose ‘no threat’ to us… THEN YES,” the Lord-Emperor gleefully hissed. “I shall give the order to launch a FULL-SCALE ASSAULT on the Aeshlaran Homeworld.”
Lord-Prince Axius, in response, rolled his eyes and sighed.
Narrowing his eyes bitterly, Ventrix spearheaded, “DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS, BROTHER???”
“ONLY ONE,” Axius replied. “When shall it end?”
“When shall ‘what’ end???”
“ALL OF THIS, VENTRIX. This seemingly ‘endless quest’ for the Pyramid. How many more races and planets must we wipe away from ALL EXISTENCE before we can finally bring an end to this ‘blood-soaked campaign’? HOW MANY MORE, BROTHER???”
“AS MANY AS IT THRACKING TAKES UNTIL WE RECLAIM WHAT WAS WRONGFULLY STOLEN FROM US!!! Once we have the Unlimited Power Source BACK in our possession THEN we shall end our two cycle ‘War for the Pyramid’ and begin with another. One that Father tried… AND FAILED to accomplish in his life-cycle.”
“And that is???”
“TOTAL… UNIVERSAL… RULE,” Ventrix smirked, causing Axius’s eyes to widened. “Don’t you see, brother? By HARNESSING the Pyramid’s RAW and LIMITLESS power we can then transform ourselves into GODLY BEINGS such as the High-Elders. EVEN GRANDER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN THEM!!!.
“No,” Axius shuttered, causing Ventrix’s glee and joy to immediately fade.
“WHAT???”
“NO, VENTRIX. What are you aiming to do… PLANNING TO DO tis… tis NOT RIGHT.”
“TIS! TIS RIGHT, AXIUS! In order to save our people… AND WORLD from the inescapable fates of DEATH and EXTINCTION then WE MUST continue onwards and reclaim the Pyramid! Tis the ONLY WAY to save them both!!!”
Smiling widely again, the Lord-Emperor went on to rant, “And then, once we have saved our people and world, we shall ascend ourselves… YOU, DRELLIX, TITANUS, and I to ‘godhood’ with the Pyramid and move onwards to the next mission… THE FINAL MISSION… UNIVERSAL DOMINATION!!!! HA-HA-HA- HA- HA!!!!!!!!!!”
Lord-Prince Axius kept his lips bitterly sealed as his eldest brother went on to madly spout, “The Pyramid shall be ours once more, brother! I do care how many life-forces we must EXTINGUISH or how many worlds we must DECIMATE either! TIS ALL WORTH IT WHEN ONE QUESTS FOR GODLY POWER THAT SHALL SAVE OUR PEOPLE, WORLD, AND ASCEND US INTO A NEW STATE OF HIGHER BEING!!!!!!!!!”
Axius held his tongue still whilst a look of ‘conflict’ riddled his slimy, pale green-skinned face.
“You still do not agree with my plans, brother? Tis fine,” Ventrix stated whilst noting the look on Axius’s face and his constant silence. “You are entitled to your own opinions, Ax… BUT if you are not with the cause then you are against it… MEANING that you are against our own race, planet, Empire, Armies, our brothers… AND ME.”
Axius still remained silent.
“So, Axius… BROTHER,” Ventrix continued. “If you do so KROONISHLY choose to stand against me and my Empire then I shall be forced to do away with you as I do away with all the other opposers.”
The Lord-Prince lowered his dual-brow as the Lord-Emperor stated firmly whilst looking Axius dead in the eyes, “Brother or not… I DO NOT THRACKING CARE. If you stand against me and my plans… THEN YOU ARE MY ENEMY.”
“I am not your ‘enemy’, Ventrix. I stand with you,” Axius confirmed, bringing a pleased smirk to the Lord-Emperor’s half-battle scarred face.
“WISE THRACKING CHOICE,” Ventrix nodded. “Now, Ax, if you haven’t any more to say to me… THEN BEGONE. I have much preparation to do before we launch the scout to Earth.”
“As you wish… Your Grace,” Axius said coldly as he turned away to exit the Lord-Emperor’s Private Chamber.