The communicator was ringing and Xzeonia glared at him, knowing who was calling. This incompetent leader was going to blame him for the failure of the operation, as if he had the slightest organizational skills. To think that he had to work with this disgusting vermin...

She put a friendly smile on her features. After all: lying with your face wasn’t really lying, was it? She activated the communication and the furious silhouette of her leader, blurred into a shadowy form by the security measures, appeared.

Why make an image appear if it was going to be blurred? Xzeonia had never thought about the absurdity of this procedure, but she supposed that the presence of something visible must facilitate social interactions... and reprimands.

“Ah, I was waiting for your…”

“What did you do? Some of your buffoons got arrested and the other committed suicide, taking Vector with them. The information is even public, which prevents us from creating a double to replace him without causing many doubts!”

“Ah, it could still work: people are so easily manipulated...”

“You have no excuse: your incompetence is unacceptable!”

“How dare you insult me? My people may need your help, but if you dare to insult my skills... I think I'll go and look for a job with the Zcarbbs.”

The man hesitated, oscillating between fury and worry.

“Come on, you're not going to put your destiny in the hands of these savages...”

“My people barely number a few million individuals: the Zcarbbs will easily leave us as much of planets as we want in exchange for the infinite resources of our skills... But I admit that it would not be the most desirable scenario and I would prefer to remain at your service...”

She had a doubt. If she was deluding herself, was it a lie? In fact, the Zcarbb option could be a backup solution, if all the people managed to flee there without being intercepted by the administrative army… She would keep the idea in a corner of her mind to suggest it to her queen.

“Rest assured,” she said, starting to smile again, “failure is not that important.”

“Not important? How do you want to rally these terrorists without a charismatic figure? There are few in the universe who have such importance... and a reputation that can be used in both directions.”

“The rebels might even find it easier to align themselves behind a looser alliance. I have already contacted the various leaders to announce the failure of the mission... But I stressed to them that it was for the best. After all, one of the greatest rottenness of the Administration is to put a single person at the head of the universe, something our movement should refuse to do.”

“I do not like the way you speak...”

“I only quoted my words to the terrorists.”

“Okay. So, are they ready?”

“Yes, everything is going according to plan. Soon, even as the Zcarbb offensive is in full swing, the unrest will divide the universe. I can't guarantee that the Hogloos won't take advantage of this, but their actions will certainly be limited to retaking a few Harhogloos territories: our collapse would be detrimental to them in the fight against the Zcarbbs... Concerning the limits of the revolt, all my predictions agree: you should retain control of most of the universe, while getting rid of the problematic regions. Your communication experts have already prepared the campaigns necessary to maintain your influence.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

The man clasped his hands in an arrogant pose.

“Well,” he said, “it seems that the Secret Council has truly designated me to guide the evolution of the Administration in the face of this crisis.”

Xzeonia pouted:

“Tsss, do you really believe in their existence? I thought only the Homs were pathetic enough to believe such a fable.”

“Oh, the Secret Council is here. I don't know how it does it, but the fate of the universe is in its hands. Soon, the Zcarbb problem will be fixed, the Hogloos will be crushed, the universe will finally be unified and I will be the one glorified for these exploits.”

“I doubt that, if it exists, this Council wants a unified universe: it would be contrary to the initial ideals of the Homtests... Ah, believe what you want: that does not interest me.”

The man, although a simple dark form, visibly advanced, driven by a criticism that he would not be long in expressing:

“By the way, what was Domeria doing in this group? She had been eliminated by my secret services, normally.”

“Oh... well…”

She couldn't admit that she had tampered with the agent's computer in order to save her life, assuming that her death would be a shameless waste: susceptible as he was, he might ask the queen to have her replaced. However, her code of conduct forbade her from lying... Lying by omission was still possible...

“She survived. Considering her skills, I directed her meeting with Lhom so that she would remain under our surveillance. Everything was under control... Maybe you didn't receive the information on this subject?”

Because she hadn't sent it, of course. The man seemed to let himself be fooled, probably assuming a bad transmission of information: that sometimes happened with such advanced encryption.

“Well, in any case, she's dead. What is too bad is that we also lost your compatriot, Xini. She would have been a useful pawn on the rebellion side. And your supposedly competent agent… Axalot…”

“Azxaron.”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Have you received the information yet? He went after the fugitives in Zone ‘I’. 100% suicide! And you claim to be the most intelligent species in the universe?”

Xzeonia suppressed a smile before it reached her lips. Judging from the angle of the jumps and knowing Xini and Azxaron…

“You don’t seem saddened by their deaths.”

“Oh, she justified herself, the former queen had always thought they went well together. The fact that they both left in the same way, there’s something… satisfying about it, don’t you think?”

The man was visibly taken aback, unable to even guess the double meanings of her words. Putting it down to cultural differences, he gave up his questioning.

“Well, how soon can I expect the riots to start?”

“It's a matter of days. My algorithms have spread many rumors on the Network, bypassing censorship. The defeats against the Zcarbbs, the impoverishment of the unemployed and a few interesting scandals should set the powder keg alight at any moment. A small incident will be enough... the rebels of the Brotherhood... it's a provisional name, but we should find a better one in the coming days... the rebels, therefore, will amplify these troubles. Most of the riots will be repressed, but they will prepare a revolt concentrated mainly on the territories of the Imperial Universal Federation. You should lose all responsibility for the problems of this fringe of the universe fairly quickly, if you implement the plan correctly...”

“Are you implying that I would be incapable of doing my part? Do you take me for an idiot?”

Yes... But it was better not to say it.

“I myself suffered a recent failure, as you reminded me. No one is immune to circumstances when the space we seek to manipulate is as vast as infinity, or close enough.”

“That's true. Don't worry: everything is so well programmed that I don't see what could go wrong.”

What could go wrong by triggering a universal war? Xzeonia preferred to let it slide.

“Everything is going as planned. I must return to organize the rebels: I do not want to neglect the smallest detail.”

“Okay. I am counting on you.”

“At your command, Mr. President of the Universe.”

Xzeonia, chief inspector of the General Management Service of Administrative Agents, greeted her direct superior and cut the communication. Now, she would take care of organizing the revolt against him, in accordance with his instructions.