"How's our attack coming along?" I asked Montwik, trying to push the image of Anna's fists pounding against the glass, bleeding, out of my head. "Our attack on the Palace was unsuccessful. Their jets took ours down before we could reach it." He replied. "But the good news is, we now control the rest of the planet. All major cities including the Capitol. Even if the Kenjah manages to defend his palace, it would not be long before they run out of resources. We are close to victory, Rithvik." Montwik replied. "There are a few things we need to discuss how this ends, Montwik. I'm afraid we would not find the time to discuss this after now." I said to him. He motioned me to follow him and led me to his chambers. "What is it?" He asked. "First off, I want to apologize." I told him. "That would not be necessary." He replied. "Stress gets to us all, and desperation amplifies that feeling. I totally understand." He replied, smiling. "Thanks a lot, Montwik. Anyways, I wanted to discuss what would be the fate of our civilizations if we win this war. Obviously, you have two planets to live on, but unfortunately, we do not." I told him. "Yes, I am aware of that." He replied. "For now, we will be able to provide shelter for you on the Photrox at designated places. And when I say now, I mean right now. As I said before, we control everything except the Palace Area. The planet is technically ours. We already have a committee up and running to look after the administrative affairs on the planet." He said. "That is good news. But will you be able to provide for the whole population?" I asked him. "We will try to, but in case we do not manage to do it at once, you still have the option of leaving behind a certain population back on the Prometheus ships until we can find the place and the resources for them." He said. "What is the situation in the air?" I asked him. "Their air defense retreated to the Palace Area. Their priority now is to defend their palace at all costs. We have areal superiority." He replied. "And we have instructed our forces to bring the Prometheus ships near the outer boundary of the Photrox. It is safe for them to come here now." He told me. "Okay. But coming back to the important question. What next? I mean, we cannot stay on the Photrox forever. We would need a new planet, away from all of this, so that we can start afresh." I said. "Yes, Rithvik. I agree. I am sure we can find a planet which is suitable for you using our technology. Now that most of the Kenjah's scientists face certain death unless they surrender, which is unlikely, we would be years behind in the fourth-dimensional technology we possess." Montwik said. "Yes, I wanted our conversation to end up here." I said. "What do you mean?" He asked. "You need to give up your technology for good." I replied.
"What are you talking about?" He asked me, his face confused. "This technology is what split your civilization apart in the first place and it is the cause of this mess. There is no telling how this technology could be misused in the future, like it was in the past, no matter how distant that future is. Your technology is a threat to all the civilizations in this universe and beyond." I replied. "I see where you are getting at." He said to me. "And you still owe us a proper explanation about your history, and ours. What you told me before had some serious loopholes and I can say some of it was fabricated." I said. "That is not a conversation for now, Rithvik. But you will get your answers, I promise." He replied. "Now, coming back to our technology, do you want us to destroy it?" He asked him, a shadow of doubt cast over his face. "Every single part of it. You told me all the 'magic' happens on the lower levels of the Kenjah's Palace. Blow the whole thing down to the ground. Every remaining piece of it. Destroy all the research you've done. Forget it ever existed. Do it, Montwik, this is the only way we can restore a balance between all the civilizations. But before it, let's bring all the civilizations together, under one banner, and one objective, peace." I said. "This decision you are asking me to make is not an easy one. I would need to discuss this with the people I trust. I will get back to you regarding this, Rithvik. But trust me, Rithvik, I will always strive to do what is best for our civilizations and its' survival. I will go to any lengths to do it." He replied.
"Thanks, Montwik." I said. "Don't mention it." He replied. Suddenly, the door hissed open, and a soldier stumbled in. "Sir! We need you at command immediately. Bolius has declared a Code Red." He said. "Montwik immediately sprung up his chair and took great strides out of the room. I followed him to the command centre. Reneesh, Souvik and Aditya seemed to have heard about this new situation too, as they were standing in a corner, looking tense. "What is it, Bolius?" Montwik asked him, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. "Sir, we are tracking strange movements of the Kenjah's troops and his air force." Bolius replied. "What do you think they are trying to do?" Montwik asked him. "Sir, it looks like they are planning to make an escape. And they look pretty haste about it. Our satellite imagery shows that all their jets are fuelled up and the soldiers are in position for a final defensive stand." He replied. "Did we do anything that would cause them to take this action?" Montwik asked. "No, sir. We made no movements." He replied. "Something is wrong. They are planning to do something. Like a distraction, so that the Kenjah would escape." Montwik muttered. "Get the word out. Tell our forces to be on high alert. Declare a Code Yellow on the forces nearest to the Palace. And instruct our pilots, not to enter the Palace Air Space and to look out for attacks. The Kenjah is planning something, and I hate it when the Kenjah has a surprise up his sleeve." Montwik said, looking anxious. Holder entered the Command just then and walked towards Montwik. "Intel tells me he is really secretive about what they are doing and only a dozen people know about this. Also, they have instructed the people who evacuated to the lower levels after the air raid alarm to come to their respective levels and continue to work. All communications to the outside world have been cut off. Our person on the ground tells us he cannot communicate for long. In fact, we are unable to make contact with him right now. Either the signals are jammed, or he is dead. Either way, something is definitely up with the Kenjah. Whatever he is planning, it is going to ensure huge losses to us. Probably a secret weapon meant to use as a worst case scenario, or probably some of that space magic they do. Either way, I've got a really bad feeling about this." Holder said. "This is not good." Montwik replied, looking tense. "Do our forces spot anything unusual, Bolius?" Montwik asked. "No, sir. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, they tell us that the skies are now clear, which corresponds with the satellite imagery we received earlier." Bolius replied.
"Sir, their jets are in the air." A soldier with a headset around him informed. "Tell our jets to intercept and shoot them down. I do not want to take any chances." Montwik ordered. "SIR! WE HAVE A MISSILE AWAY!" The soldier yelled. "Where is it heading?" Montwik asked, rushing towards him. "The target seems to be the satellite via which we get our imagery." He replied. "They want to take out our eyes." Montwik muttered. "Bolius, declare code red. Activate reserve forces. Send our air force in, destroy the palace." Montwik ordered. He shot a glance at me and when our eyes met, he nodded. "Use the land digging missiles. I want everything to the last level of the Palace blown out of existence." He ordered. "Sir, they can take our jets down. It is risky." Bolius said. "Do it, Bolius. If we don't do something now, I suspect something worse in store for us." Montwik replied. "Roger that, sir. Estimated time, six minutes." Bolius replied.
"Sir, our jets report heavy enemy fire." The soldier said. "Will they survive?" Montwik asked. "With a little bit of luck, yes sir." He replied. "Luck has no place in this room, soldier, and neither does chance. Give me a definite answer." Montwik said. "Yes sir, they will survive." He replied. "Good." Montwik said. "Sir, our jets intercepted the Kenjah's jets. They did not even attempt to take us down, sir. They're decoys. Send on a suicide mission." Bolius reported. "Shit. Tell them to turn around and join the rest of the squadron to the Palace A.S.A.P." Montwik ordered. "Roger that." Bolius replied. Holder, Reneesh, Souvik, Aditya and I could do little except stand there, glued to our places, watch as the situation unfolds. "Estimated time, four minutes." Bolius said.
Suddenly, an alarm goes off at one of the stations. "Sir, the nuclear silos have been activated." A soldier reported. "We have taken enough measures to shield ourselves from any attempt to nuke our ships and jets in space. We need not worry." Montwik replied. "But... something about this is different sir." The soldier replied. Montwik frowned and looked at the soldier. "Different how?" He asked.
"The targets are not anything in space sir." He replied. "The Kenjah has all the major cities as his targets."
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Thanks for reading this chapter! It has been exciting for me writing this chapter, for reasons unknown. I could feel my heart pumping with excitement as I typed the words on the keyboard. Hope you enjoyed reading it as well.
Constructive Criticism is always appreciated! Thanks for your support! VOTE IF YOU LIKED IT!
-Rithvik/LPS21.