“Madam, the mission is a failure: the ‘V’ project is compromised…”

“Thank you very much, but I can read too… in case you doubted it.”

“Uh, sorry, Madam.”

“You are not excused… Hmm… How did that miserable Hom manage to get rid of a Hogloo warrior? It seems that we greatly underestimated him: it is no small feat… Have you found Khajraz?”

“Not yet, Madam. The shuttle's data has been damaged and we are still struggling to understand what happened…”

“Too bad: abandon the search and erase all traces.”

“At your command… Uh… We also abandon the search for the Hom?”

“Of course not! I understand that your IQs are lower than those of the babies of my people, but are you getting dumber with each passing minute? Find me this Hom and the stasis pods before the Administration! I'll see if I can delay the plan... I'll find a way...”

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

A dark shape spoke.

“Hey, hey, hey! It seems your little plans are not as perfect as your arrogant airs would let anybody believe.”

“Silence, vermin! Perfection is an ideal: I am perfectly aware of the risks caused by the unexpected!”

“Oh, calm down. We are all in the same ship... So, to speak. If you wish, I can send my minions to find your fugitive.”

“They won't succeed: a Homtest has enough willpower to thwart your filthy incoherent powers.”

“Then how do you expect to find him across the entire universe? Even a galaxy would be difficult to search and we have no idea what this guy will choose to do!”

“There are ways... If we can't track him, there is a way... I gave orders for one of my men to go after him... I just hope he'll be manipulable enough...”

“Oh, not really one of your subordinates then?”

“We work with what we have... You don't have to know the exact nature of my influence, but know that everything is under control...”

With a gesture, she chased away the people present in the room and contemplated the strange geometric shapes which, traced on a vast holographic map, meant something only to her.

“Yes, everything is under control... I can only hope that it is indeed my control...”