Chapter 3
High Lord Sodoman held himself with the air of a man completely assured that his destiny lay in his own hands. To him, failure was not an option, only something rumored to exist in storybooks. That he also knew that his race would die if he could not find a solution, but that too would be impossible.
He would find that solution. As the God Emperor of his people, he could do nothing else.
Before him, three tiny holograms stood at attention, waiting to report to him. He stood over them arrogantly, and paced as he thought.
"Malathin of the Worldship," he commanded. "Give me your report on the Gamilons."
The hologram that represented Malathin who was watching similar holograms on his own ship, stepped forward to deliver his report. "The Gamilons are a proud people, the specimens are taking longer adjusting to their new environment."
"I care nothing for their comfort or well-being, only their suitability" Sodoman interrupted.
"Yes, Lord. Preliminary testing was inconclusive... I believe that they may be useful to us, but they are not the end all cure that we are seeking. Humans are rumored to be very similar to the Gamilons, I would like to examine both races at the same time. I expect that a comparison between them will be very useful to us in reaching our goal."
"Very well, proceed to Earth and acquire human subjects at once."
"But--" Dieldrin started to object, but then fell silent.
Sodoman gave Dieldrin's hologram a long hard look, daring him to continue, but Dieldrin remained silent. Sodoman turned to Antimony instead. "How do operations in the Gamilon sector proceed?"
"Things are progressing excellently, High Lord. The Gamilon Home Fleet has been taken care of. Our forces are now preparing to take one of their outer colony worlds... I believe the planet is called Uther."
Sodoman smiled, his white teeth shining sharply against his parchment grey skin and gold armor. "Very good, Antimony, cleanse the world Uther of Gamilon life."
Sodoman directed his full attention to Dieldrin, "Are you prepared to begin operations against the humans?"
"Of course, High Lord." His tones were crisp, and full of confidence. "May I ask a question, High Lord?"
"If you wish," is what Sodoman said, but his eyes threatened otherwise.
"Although their territory is small, the Humans are very dangerous, so our original plan called for our waiting until after the Gamilons were eliminated before involving the humans. We did not want to risk a war or too many fronts."
"That was the plan, yes. I changed it. The humans are too dangerous to leave unchecked, it is better to eliminate them now. Besides, Malathin needs some human specimens to compare with the Gamilons."
Dieldrin bowed, "Of course, High Lord. My fleet is already in position; we only await your word."
Sodoman sat down in his command chair and smiled. Just as he had predicted, everything was going his way.