Only five days have passed since the start of Operation Berkut, but this was enough for extremely unpleasant news to reach us. It was raining lightly outside the window, gray clouds covered the sky, hiding the radiance of the local star from us, and the general, the queen and several other people were sitting on two sofas opposite each other in one of the palace’s bedchambers for the next round of negotiations.
This time we have gathered here to listen to an audio recording from a tablet, a report from the commander of the Apostle shuttle. We all listened attentively to the stern male monotonous voice coming from the small speaker and not to say that the voice was pleased, but rather puzzled.
"We sent out reconnaissance drones to monitor the area and search for enemy forces, but subsequently came across a number of places where battles were taking place. We were able to determine which of the fighters were Fellrick and his subordinates, but we were not able to determine the other side of the conflict."
There was a click on the recording, followed by a short pause, which indicated that the recording had been slightly edited. Perhaps different parts of it were recorded at different times, or during the first recording the commander was distracted on urgent business.
"At least about five thousand people fought without insignia and some of these warriors headed towards the capital while others headed in the opposite direction."
And again there is a click and a short pause.
"The next day, on the orders of General Zeonid, we attacked the forces approaching the city with air-to-surface missiles and wiped them off the face of the earth, that is... from the face of this planet, but there seemed to be more and more places for clashes between the native forces. I decided to interrupt the operation until further circumstances were clarified. End of report."
When the audio recording was interrupted, the general put the tablet aside and crossed his arms, leaning on the sofa so that he could then turn to everyone around him and ask:
"This can't be the royal army, right?"
"Yes."
The old military adviser nodded. Krezhd, sitting opposite the general, this time in his white and gold aristocratic attire, coughed slightly and continued:
"Obviously this is a cult that has retreated from the capital. I think Swidok is with them."
"Then we can attack them all and deal with both the cultists and Fellrick."
Hearing these words, the queen awkwardly inserted her word:
"Maybe we can come to an agreement with them?"
Krezhd and Zeonid frowned and turned their heads towards Ilifreeta, dressed in a white dress, and both asked in unison:
"With whom?"
"With Uncle Fellrick."
Hearing the queen’s words, General Zeonid shook his head with a sigh, and Krezhd chuckled with a snort.
“My queen, you don’t think that your uncle, by his grace, will decide to swear allegiance to you? All his life he dreamed of the throne, which his brother, that is, your father, deprived him of. Now imagine what will happen if he sees you with a crown on your head.”
"But he's fighting against a cult..."
"Dear Queen Ilifreeta,"
General Zeonid turned to the queen, straightening his cap.
“In war there are never clear sides to the conflict. It is rare when numerous forces conclude a truce among themselves, but in fact this is only delaying its inevitable continuation and the war truly ends only when the last enemy is completely and completely defeated.”
Ilifreeta's face seemed disappointed, as if she had just learned a terrible truth about us, which she had just seen with her own eyes. She may have been paralyzed, but she did seem kind of…angry. This is the first time I have seen her like this, one might say she simply did not agree with the general’s words, she could not accept them as truth.
“So this is what you people from heaven are like, cruel and merciless.”
The queen said in a stern tone.
“This is the only way you reached the stars, over the dead bodies of innocent people.”
"Illif,"
Suddenly Sigrun turned to her, sitting down next to the queen.
"General Zeonid is an old man, he has been in many wars and knows what he is talking about."
"He may be a stranger, but I agree with him."
Krezhd added his word.
“It’s unlikely that your uncle will put up with the idea that his niece has taken his throne and wears his crown. As far as I know, Fellrick is a cunning snake who craves power more than anyone else and for her sake he will shed rivers of blood and no matter who, enemies, friends, guilty and innocent, or even his own allies.”
"How can you say such a thing?"
"How can I speak?"
Krezhd snorted.
“Forty years ago, he defeated the capital’s garrison just to return to the palace from where King Lef expelled him. He tried many times to return what he considered his rightfully until one day he decided to terminate the oath of allegiance. Tch! The ducal title and land were not enough for him, but Lef did not back down from his and simply allowed Fellrick to live his life. And with this man, do you think it’s possible to come to an agreement?”
Ilifreeta, however, insisted on her own, believing that it was possible to limit herself to just words.
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“But if you talk to him, he can understand everything, realize it and ultimately change.”
Krezhd sighed heavily from the queen's words before sharing his thoughts.
"Duke Fellrick is 90 years old, he is as old as your father. It is only a miracle that he is still standing on his feet and is zealously striving for power. Even if he finds out that you have inherited the “punishing hand,” he will never stop and would prefer to take your life so that some queen does not stand in his way. I can say with confidence that he does not see anyone or anything other than his throne."
"No."
Ilifreeta shook her head, not believing what she heard.
"I don't believe he can do this. I just want to talk to him, I don't want him to die."
"Queen…"
The general tried to get his word in, but he was quickly rejected.
The Queen suddenly became harsh in her words and even slightly frightened us with her raised tone. Her eyes widened so much that it seemed she would scorch us with her angry gaze.
"No! I order you to help Fellrick. I don't want him dead."
"QUEEN!"
Krezhd got up from his seat and choked slightly, realizing that he had slightly overstepped the boundaries of what was permitted.
"Forgive me for my tone, but this doesn't go anywhere. It's just... BUSH! There's no way he's going to deal with you."
“You’re not even trying! None of you know how my uncle will actually behave! So why rush to take his life?”
Everyone in the room looked at each other in surprise. This is the first time that Ilifreeta so blatantly orders her allies to do something that they did not want, but still the general followed the queen’s advice and, rising to his feet before leaving the room, said the following:
"Okay. We will not attack Fellrick. Instead, the Archon will land a squad and begin hunting the cultists, supporting the ducal forces, and they will later make contact with them. However, if your uncle does something unwise later, then know that it will be your fault. And I do not want to lose even more people for the sake of our alliance."
After adjusting his uniform, Zeonid and several paratroopers in police camouflage left the room, ending the current round of negotiations. There were still many questions that the general and the queen had to discuss, but apparently they would be postponed until the next day for now. However, as always.
"My Queen,"
Addressed to Queen Krezhd.
"I think I'll leave you today."
Ilifreeta was silent for some time, it seemed she was out of touch with reality, deep in thought about something.
"Queen?"
Krezhd repeated and the next moment Ilifreeta woke up.
"Huh? Ah... yes... you can go."
Having bowed respectfully, the military adviser began to leave the room, throwing a stern look in my direction along the way. I can’t say that he trusts me, on the contrary, he is very skeptical and I respect that. I think the person who will act as “Doubt” is very important for politics, and he can raise many topics in public policy discussions.
But on this day, as on all previous ones, it was clear that Ilifreeta was not ready to rule. Either she gives all the initiative to advisers and servants, or she strictly insists on her own, as happened today. Fortunately, she herself understands this very well.
But I was worried about the question of why she decided to save her uncle’s life? She has never seen him, she has spent her whole life locked up and all she can do is throw dishes with her telekinetic ability and, of course, choose between “yes” and “no.”
What did she see in the man who threatens her life?
I don't understand.
I walked around the room from corner to corner, thinking about why she made such a decision, but not finding the answer I needed, I still decided to ask her about it directly:
"Why should Fellrick be alive?"
Ilifreeta looked at me and, slightly lowering her gaze, answered, not very confidently:
“I don’t know what my uncle is like in his soul. I’ve never seen him and to be honest, I feel that he is now being slandered just like me. It seems to me that we have more in common than he can imagine. If you talk to him... get to know him better, maybe... maybe everything will be fine with us.”
Indeed, I heard Diana talk glowingly about the royal family and how she casually mentioned Ilifreeta as if she were some kind of eyesore, an ugly duckling, a dirty stain on the good name of the kingdom. It may be the same with Fellrick, but I can't be sure.
Rumors are a terrible thing that gives rise to erroneous ideas about people they have never seen, and yet something bothered me.
"Do you think he was the victim of dishonest rumors? Do you think he went to war for a reason other than for the throne?"
Ilifreeta, hearing my words, nodded.
"I need to get to know him better, and to do that I need to meet him."
"This is not a wise idea."
I inserted my word Sigrun.
“You will be in danger. What if he decides to kill you? Do you think your invisible super hand will stop him?”
"But at least I'll get a chance to save more lives. I don't want people to see me as a ruthless and cruel queen, otherwise they will never respect me, no one will believe in me."
It seems that I am beginning to understand what the real reason for her decision is.
"Do you want to make people's lives better or do you want to meet their expectations?"
"I…"
Ilifreeta, hearing such a strange question from me, blinked her eyes. She was at a loss about how this question was posed. Even so, but a moment later she answered quite clearly:
"I want both."
Hearing these words, the treasurer turned to her, adjusting his glasses. This man was second in rank after Krezhd and his name was Mierto Luke.
“My queen, I understand the responsibility that has fallen on you. You have been given the right to command all the people, but I assure you, you should not overwork yourself for the sake of your own reputation. If you want to show your best side to the people, then you will have many more opportunities to do this, but now you better focus only on what you really need to do: end this war with victory.”
Ilifreeta, slightly nodding her head, agreed with the words of her treasurer and, looking at all of us, said:
"You are all right. However, know one important thing: it was not I who decided to become your queen, but Draun Rudrin. He promised me that he would help, that he would always be there, but he died, he is not with us and I... I don’t know what to do next. I just want the best for everyone who deserves it and to punish those who do evil. The world is full of rabble, but it is not deprived of good either. I want to be strong and merciful at the same time. I must be a queen who will mean something and not lie to her subjects. I swear I will always be honest with my people. I will rule until Sod takes me to his garden."
These were quite strong words and yet her adherence to principles can create some problems not only for her, but also for us. And although she was essentially an idealist, she hid our crime from everyone else, buried the memory of it in the depths of her consciousness and did not even show a hint of what had happened, which makes me even respect her.
Crossing my arms and nodding, I added my word:
“Good. In the end, you are now in charge here and you decide what will happen and how. Our job is only to carry out the orders of our general and give advice, and not to put pressure on your decisions.”
And after these words I was finally about to sit down, when the queen reminded me of something.
“Speaking of the decision, you promised to heal me, have you forgotten that?”
The treasurer widened his eyes as soon as he heard these words, and with a bit of surprise, he turned his head in my direction and asked:
"Y-you really can heal her?"
Fred answered instead of me, silently listening to our entire conversation on the sidelines. He dealt with the wounded natives for a long time and, with additional equipment, studied the bodies of the fallen, exploring something. While we were talking, he did not take his eyes off the tablet, and yet, having heard the native’s words, he hastened to answer with a smile on his face:
“The general said that the Pharaoh base has all the necessary medical equipment to carry out a neurosurgical operation. Restoring a nervous system damaged in an unnatural way is quite possible, but it is unknown whether the operation will work. If the operation does not work, then we will try to implant an exoskeleton into her bone and muscle tissue. Such an operation will be more expensive, but in essence it should also work. Both options will allow her to move her arms and legs.”
Maybe Ilifreeta didn’t understand a little from the words of the senior medic, but she was glad that she had at least some chance to get back on her feet. I decided to clarify something with Fred in private and so we stepped aside so that I could ask him one very important question:
"Is it safe?"
After making sure that no one could hear us in the room, Fred answered honestly:
"No."
This is what I was afraid of.