The below scene is my most recent progress on Book 2 of the A.T.X.D. Legacy series. It is a scene where we bounce perspectives from the protagonists (the A.T.X.D. force's Bravo Team) to the antagonists - the Kronosian Empire. The three main Kronosian characters whom we follow throughout the book here are the emperor himself - Klaris Talios - and his closest military advisors: General Taurlius Silhook and General Stilatro Karsek. I wanted to see how this interaction among the antagonists feels and if there are any improvements or expansions I should make in this early phase.
>>>>>>>HIGH UP IN EARTH’S ORBIT<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>KRONOSIAN FLAGSHIP CRUISER: SERPENTINE<<<<<<<
>>>>>>>2:50 PM<<<<<<<
As he observed the feedback being transmitted from his soldiers’ optical recorders, Taurlius folded his arms with worry. He had only just returned to the Serpentine from Long Beach when he was ordered by Talios to send this unit down to Arizona. Sure his soldiers were trained and motivated, but Taurlius had not been given sufficient time to coordinate a full on defensive strategy with them beforehand. His instructions were simply to send them down to a remote but populated area that would draw attention long enough for Stilatro to conduct another op elsewhere on the planet, but that was it. Far be it from him to question the supreme general of the Kronosian Empire, but Taurlius felt like the Klaris was keeping something from him. Talios may have had his reasons to blame Taurlius for certain failures in the past, but the Emperor still trusted the general sufficiently to let him in on even the most covert of operations he was authorizing. So why then was he given such vague orders this time around?
He had just finished reviewing one of the monitors and turned to ascend the stairs to the Serpentine’s bridge when Talios himself walked in. As Taurlius performed the necessary kneel and arm-to-the-chest salute, the Klaris stood with his back to the General as he looked out at the blue-and-green-glowing gem that was Earth.
“We’re still holding our ground in the Arizona territory on the American sector, my lord,” Taurlius reported when Talios gave him permission to speak. “But, with all due respect, I fail to see the tactical significance of sending one of our infantry teams to a commercial area with low population.”
“I thought I was clear about the priority, Taurlius.” Talios turned his head around to look at the General with some mild impatience.
“Draw out the A.T.X.D. and occupy their resources, I got that message, my lordship. But there has to be some reason we’re drawing them out. Stilatro has been eerily quiet with me about his movements with the Special Tactics Unit.”
“Do you require a constant update from him? I’m operating under the impression that you both directly answer to me. If Stilatro is keeping stuff from you, he has his reasons. He is one of those in charge of the Special Tactics Unit, like you, and given the sometimes-covert nature of your team, he doesn’t have to relay his status through you for me to hear.”
“It’s been almost a few hours since my last contact with him and his forces, my lord. Can I at least know what it is, to your knowledge, he is doing with our resources? And what is with these genetic vials we’ve been storing in our cryo facilities?”
Talios turned with his look of authoritative hardness, and Taurlius initially assumed he was going to get yelled at for asking too many questions. But despite getting up close in his personal space, the Klaris replied slowly, “See me in my quarters. Stilatro is still planetside, but I think he’s due for a check-in.”
The Klaris’ quarters were decorated with patterned ribbons of tricalium fabric that were dyed a blood red color like Talios’ own warpaint and formal attire. But he simply had a thin-layered mattress made up in the back of the room to sleep on; it was Kronosian tradition that wealth and valuable commodities made those in leadership drunk with power. To truly be a competent commander and a leader of the people, not even the Klaris was allowed to have things like giant king-sized beds, boxes of shiny treasures looted from conquered territories, or other vain items of privilege in their possession. By depriving themselves of even the simplest of pleasures, Kronosian soldiers and their leaders were better focused on their responsibilities in times of both war and peace.
But on the Serpentine, the fiercest ship in the Kronosian fleet and Talios’ personal cruiser, the Klaris had one privilege in his quarters: the use of a personal comm system to keep directly in touch with his forces on any planet without needing to be on the bridge. This was ideal in the event of discussing classified matters, or once upon a glorious time, Talios being able to talk to his wife Malconi (Mal-con-ay) while on a campaign or otherwise off-planet. The only time Taurlius remembered the Klaris ever smiling was in the presence of his fierce but loving partner, and a small 3D display on the wall by the bed showed some happy moments between Talios and Malconi. Sadly, just one day after Talios was forced to issue a Declaration of Surrender to prevent more of their forces from being further slaughtered by the reprehensible rebel movement, the passionate and smart queen of the Kronosians committed suicide by self-impalement. It was worse for Taurlius because he had been the General who found the queen lying on the floor of the Royal Commonroom in a puddle of her own blood; one of many traumas this Kronosian would never be able to flush out of his mind.
The electronic bubbling of the screen on Talios’ personal display snapped Taurlius’ mind back to the present, and he saw Stilatro appear with his usual look of calm wariness.
“I need a status update, Stilatro,” Talios insisted with a calm tone that exhibited a slightly venomous air of dissatisfaction. “What is your current position?”
“Our team is working with our contacts on the British landmass,” Stilatro replied.
“Excuse me? According to our geographic charts, that’s more than 5,000 miles from where I just ordered Taurlius to position his decoy force. You spent the better part of an hour previously convincing me that you needed a distraction to get more of these genetic vials you are using for the Serak Rays. So why not position Taurlius’ unit closer to you? After all, if this op of yours goes sideways again like the last one, you’ll need him to back you up.”
“We’ve got our bases covered this time, my lordship,” Stilatro tried to reassure. “And we may have located something much more critical. My contact says that there is a facility not far from the Roadster Court - just a state line or two away in the American Sector.”
“Fine, I’ll have Taurlius reposition his forces to secure that site while you wrap up whatever it is you are doing over in the British Sector.”
“I wouldn’t advise that, my lord. For starters, I don’t have its exact coordinates: my contact says those are heavily encrypted and he’s trying to decode them right now.” Taurlius looked up at the ceiling and gritted his teeth angrily but otherwise said nothing in response to the General’s excuses. “Not only that, but he says that this facility is very well secured by the A.T.X.D., so getting access to it will not be easy. And lastly, I want to run another beta test on our weapon before we start getting the motherload of the supply we’ll need. Best case scenario, we can draw more A.T.X.D. forces our way while they are simultaneously distracted fending off Taurlius’ decoy force.”
“Are you flaroking with me, Stilatro?” Taurlius rather impulsively burst out, forgetting that the Kronosian Emperor was standing right next to him. Surprisingly, Talios didn’t even lift a finger to silence his general as the latter continued to vent. “You just made me throw some of our forces onto this planet as disposable munitions? That wasn’t the plan you discussed with me.”
“He’s got a point,” Talios reinforced impatiently. “And why the hell is it a ‘good thing’ that A.T.X.D. discovers your location and sends added forces to intercept you?”
“Because it will decrease their guard on this facility which we need access to. Those of their forces who are positioned on site will not be able to easily call for reinforcements by the time we make our next move.”
Reluctantly, and to Taurlius’ disgraced shock, Talios approved.
“Return to the bridge, Taurlius,” the Klaris then quietly ordered as soon as the transmission was cut. “I will join you momentarily to supervise the operation. But you may want to consider upping your arsenal at the Roadster Court so as to even the odds in your soldiers’ favor.”
He would have protested further, but Taurlius simply accepted his orders and left. Taurlius had never been a fan of Stilatro’s secretive and punishing strategies, especially when it came to obtaining intel and demoralizing enemy forces. In fact, there had been a few occasions during the War where Taurlius had taken high profile prisoners, only to later learn that said prisoners had died during an interrogation using methods developed or even directly supervised by Stilatro himself. In some of the worst cases, Taurlius wanted nothing more than to smash Stilatro’s head into a rock-hard wall based on the reports he had heard.