141 - A Great Deal of Fun

The stack of letters linned from Quanat burned nicely, topped off by the two from the border.  General d’Molf set his teeth and wondered how many other boxes had copies of those letters delivered.  There was no way for him to know.  Only the Sunrise Loggia would know what went where.  But the ‘kulu had faithfully reported, and he had faithfully sent cash up along the line.  Talain was still alive.  Talain who had opinions of what his commanding officers had truly meant when they refused ransom or gave a decent ransom for a corpse.

Why couldn’t the man just decently die on me?  Even injured he wouldn’t submit. This is hideous.  One of my worst nightmares come to life.  Like the skeletons in the desert, springing up with programmed connections... hmmm.  Rather than paying human assassins... perhaps I could find such a monster within a few days of the city?  Natural causes are so much easier to arrange than trying to silence the loose lips of hired bravos.

“Frobert!  Frobert, come here this instant!”

The data cleanser, data miner, was as thin and wasted as skeleton code, with trembling fingers and the edges of his eyelids also quivering. “My general?  How may I help you?”

 

“I need you to bypass all insect programming modes.  I need you to do something astonishing.”

The man’s eyes lit up.  “Astonishing, my light on earth?”

“I need you to find and re-animate a corpse... a predator of some kind... along the north road to the Milar border.  Something that the Prime Owner may have animated for some reason, not knowing we are here.  Something to provide maximum slaughter in the name of terraforming.”

“Hmmm. Ohh.  That sounds like a great deal of fun, general.”

“I’m glad you like it.  This thing needs to ravage the whole area for as long as possible.”

The man’s eyes... shrewd as well as narrow, narrowed further.  “To destroy the esteemed general’s... past?”

D’Molf slapped his hand down on the ashes of the linned letters, scattering them to the still air of his study.  “Perhaps.  Perhaps not.” He leaned forward.  “I have given you and your family years of work.  Don’t annoy me.  You would not enjoy being destitute.  Should I cease being pleased with your work, Frobert, I will feel no compunction in giving you a bad mark on your work record.  Other Hive Lords do actually pay attention to such letters, you might remember.”

“Oh, oh, oh I would never consider not following through on any tiny problem the esteemed general would pass on to me.  I would, of course, extend myself to my utmost, for any little thing the general would want.”

“Good.  I would be happiest if this entourage from the Milari disappear in our oh-so-dangerous deserts, Frobert.  You understand.”

“Oh, yes, esteemed general.  The Milari entourage has been terribly remiss in their protections. It will be so grievous.”

“See that I will have be suitable mournful for the Milari, Frobert.”

 “I can do that, general.  Oh, I should tell you that in Trovi... the esteemed governor has just met with an unfortunate accident, should his Radiance need a replacement with a military background.”

“Lovely, Frobert.  It is too bad that Arbunazh and I could never effectively work together.  I shall send his widow and his zardukari a properly grieving note.”