Chapitre 19: Skrull Thor Part III
"What are you doing, H'loridi?" Looking down at the hologram of General K'tratz, Thor frowned as saw the palpable anger radiate off of him. "You know full well that the Trongriks were off-limit, why have you attacked them?"
Turning away from the hologram I watched the struggling bat-like creatures held in my grasp. My arm had extended out into long tendrils that now wrapped around their necks, slowly strangling them. "I have done what I was ordered to do the moment I completed my training. Infiltrate, spy and then overthrow the ruling body. Trongriks had been a longtime target and I only learned of them being changed to a non-target after the first two had been completed and the third was in motion."
General K'tratz frowned. "You have ruined everything, they were part of the negotiation for the Lifestone Tree Treaty." Thor only chuckled in response further angering K'tratz. "You think this is amusing?"
"I think it is because this isn't why you're calling me, there's something else on your mind. So, what is this really about?" Thor asked, whipping his arm out to the side just as the door opened. The guards that rushed inside where quickly pierced through the chest.
"..."
"Oh come on, let's not pretend that your little tantrum is purely down to my actions." A snap sounded, Thor, releasing one of the now-dead Trongrik leaders. It was his duty to bring planets into the Skrull Empire by strong-arming the leaders of said race into accepting terms of surrender. The fact that Thor had snuck in and taken them all captive meant that their security had been none the wiser until now. It was a silent threat that hung over their heads and would never leave.
If he could do this now, he could do it again. That was how Thor and the rest of the Warskrulls worked and operated, it was how they had achieved the success that they had. In the past year, over thirty planets had been absorbed into the Skrull Empire, planets that had at one point been deemed unconquerable in the old fashion of Skrull combat. However, the Warskrulls had done what at one point was deemed impossible.
"The Cotati and Kree."
The realisation hit Thor and he smiled. "So, the Kree did exactly what I expected then." During his time as Thor, while never having encountered the Kree or Skrulls, Odin had told all his children about them. He knew of their history and how the animosity about it happened, eventually leading to the many millennia's of war that followed.
"You were right, after losing, they developed the technology we provided into an armada of ships and launched a surprise attack. We've been on the defensive ever since." K'tratz explained. "Your recent attack on the Trongriks has put me in an even worse situation than the one I'm already in."
"And why are you in a bad situation already?"
"Fix it." With that last order, K'tratz shut off the call and I smiled, looking towards the Trongriks remaining. Dozens of snaps filled the air following this and, I released all the bodies except one, the only living one.
-X- Line Break -X-
Frowning, Dorrek looked out across his throne room, his mind filled with all the problems of the past few months. He had been warned about his plan to provide technology to underdeveloped races and seeing their progress. But over the course of many years, it had meant the implementation of numerous races into the Skrull Empire as well as new, advanced technology.
However, he had always been warned that it was a risky gamble and he had gotten lucky. Now though, his luck had run out as a result of the recent string of attacks by the Kree. His advisors, especially General K'tratz had warned him of the risks of his plans and he had ignored them due to the success he had gained.
On Hala, there were two races, the Kree and Cotati and unwilling to split the technology between two races, he put them upon on the moon of a nearby planet, Gaea. A planet that had undergone recent turmoil with the war between the Deviants and Eternals, followed later by the arrival of the Celestials and then the World Eater. Considering that, the planet was all but uninhabited and so the moon was a perfect place to use as a testing ground.
A portion of the two races were taken to the moon and provided a little bit of technology. The challenge was simple, whoever built the most advanced city within a year would be the one receiving the reward. Overall, within the stipulations provided, the Kree should have won. However, what the Cotati did with the limited technology and their ability to breathe new life upon the planet posed a more profitable future for them. With that technology in their hand, they could bombard planets without care for the damage it did and then revive the planet.
The Kree had taken offence to the slight, attacked the Cotati with their advanced weaponry then returned to Hala. From there, they had all but annihilated the Cotati that had been upon Hala and armed the rest of their race. Since then, the Kree had gone on to launch a series of devastating strikes upon the Skrull Empire.
A once profitable venture had backfired massively and now, his advisors and ministers were turning against him. 'They have no loyalty, any of them.' And worst of all, he had heard people talk about a coup with the intentions of putting a man he viewed as his own brother on the throne, General K'tratz. The man who led the Warskrulls and with their success, meant he was more popular than him, the Emperor of the Skrulls.
Upon his throne, a light blinked to life and accepting the incoming call, he watched the hologram of H'loridi appear. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to inform you that the Trongrik have surrendered." That earned a reaction, Dorrek's face twisting into one of outrage. "Before you get angry, stop and let me explain."
For a moment, Dorrek was considering refusing outright. "Go ahead and it better be worth it or else I will kill you." A threat, but one that Dorrek wasn't certain he could follow through with anymore. Despite the numerous reports of insubordination on H'loridi's part, he was still the pride of the Warskrulls which in turn, meant that he was protected.
"With the Trongrik's dead, the Lifestone Tree Treaty is all but destroyed." The remainder of his decade long plan to form a treaty between the Skrull Empire's biggest rivals had now come undone with the Trongrik's surrender. "However, I propose that we invite a new race to replace the Trongrik's."
"The Kree?"
"Yes. They're young and new on the scene so they want to make waves which they've done. But nothing will be bigger than being a part of this treaty, they'd be fools not to recognise that fact." Dorrek hummed in thought. "On top of that, it quells the dissent against you and, considering I work for General K'tratz, well..."
The pieces began to fall into place and Dorrek looked to Thor in wonderment. "How do you know all this?"
"There were a number of politicians and senators amongst the original batch of Warskrulls, they taught me a few things." A lie, but not a complete one. There had been politicians and senators amongst the batch of Warskrulls, but they hadn't taught him anything he didn't already know. Despite Baldur being the ambassador for Asgard, Loki was the true mastermind of negotiations and had mastered the art of taking everything and giving nothing. Considering their close bond, it had been impossible to pick up a few things here and there.
Now he was putting them to good use.
"And what would you want in return for this?" Dorrek asked.
"To be the representative of the Skrulls in this Lifestone Tree Treaty." That made the Emperor pause, especially because of what it really meant. "Will that be a problem?"
"If this works, no."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone