POV Majestor D'ken Neramani
"Still no news?" I ask with a frown.
"None, my liege," Lady Malinex.
I sigh loudly.
"Then it seems we can be certain that Keldore has perished," I say with annoyance.
"Unfortunately, yes. I have attempted to find him with my magic, but I haven't been able to find him. I have found an anomaly," Lady Malinex responds.
"What did you see?" I ask.
"It was what I didn't see. I was uncertain about Keldores' plan, so I chose to watch the fleet with my magic. It was thanks to this that I can be certain where and when he went missing," Lady Malinex says while pulling up a star chart and pointing to two warp points.
"Do you believe that this could be an accident?" I ask.
"Not a chance. If I simply lost track of them, then I would agree that it could have been a one-in-a-trillion accident with the warp drives of the entire fleet and they got shot into a black hole, but this was deliberate," Lady Malinex says while casting a spell.
A disc appears between us, but I see nothing in it.
"Is there something I'm not seeing?" I ask with confusion.
"This is a blank space wherein my magic doesn't see. This is why I believe that this was deliberate," Lady Malinex explains.
I narrow my eyes, and before I can ask my next question, she answers it for me.
"I've sent some agents to investigate the area in person. After extensive searching, they have found some evidence that a possible battle took place there, but it's small pieces of scrap that have no identifying markers. It could be from the 5th Fleet or any random spacer that traveled through the area," Lady Malinex explains.
"Do you know what is causing this blank spot?" I ask.
"I... I believe I recognize it, but I find it hard to believe," Lady Malinex says hesitantly.
This intrigued me, as Lady Malinex wasn't known to be this sort of hesitant.
"It seems identical to what I notice in the Terran System. This seems like Kamar-Taj spellcraft," Lady Malinex comments.
"I see why you are so hesitant. How many Sorcerers remain at this point?" I ask.
"No more than half a dozen at best. And that is being generous; they should all be dead or close to it, and they certainly shouldn't be strong and numerous enough to set up another large anti-divination barrier," Lady Malinex says strongly.
"Do you think Malekith could be behind this?" I ask, as that had been a rumor amongst the court.
"It's preposterous. Just as the rumors that Keldore betrayed the Empire are. They hold no weight. Malekith is no fool, and if he planned on betraying us, doing so now makes little sense. Sure, he could destroy the 5th Fleet and maybe buy him some time, but he isn't strong enough to fight Asgard by himself. And we would find out that he betrayed us, and that would make him a deadly enemy. Even if Malekith was arrogant enough to think he could get away with it, it wouldn't explain the vanishing of the entire 5th Fleet. Not only did no distress call reach us, but neither did anyone escape. Blocking a warp point can only be done physically, and even then it's only temporary and can't guarantee that nobody escapes," Lady Malinex explains.
"Can magic do it?" I ask.
Lady Malinex pauses and thinks about it for a few moments.
"I can't say it's impossible. But I couldn't do it; you would need someone on par with the Ancient One to pull something off like that, and even she would struggle to manage that for long. Not to mention it would likely be done by moving the fleet into another dimension or universe, but that would be foolish and make no sense. The cost alone would be enormous, and you would have to hit the entire fleet at once to avoid letting anyone notice," Lady Malinex refutes.
"What about Terra?" I ask with uncertainty.
"Terra? Well, sorry, my liege, but despite my worries about them and their system, I can't see how they could do this. While they did possibly defeat a fleet of pirates and mercenaries numbering over 5k, those were mostly small craft of makeshift quality. Our Imperial Fleets are the pinnacle of space-faring technology. And I'm not saying that as flattery but as a simple fact. The Kree and Nova can outnumber us and even possibly take down a fleet or two with all their forces combined, but we hold the technological advantage. The idea that Terra has some unforeseen tech is possible, but having that and a fleet strong enough to completely wipe out the 5th Fleet led by the very capable Grand General Keldore? It's inconceivable!" Lady Malinex says while shaking her head firmly.
"Yes, I suppose it does seem far-fetched. But I suppose the exact reason doesn't matter right now; we must plan what to do with this situation. Our defences are far too weak, and the Nova and Kree have made peace despite our best efforts," I say with a contemplative look.
"Yes, my agents have indicated that even the warmongers in their respective nations have suddenly gone quiet. Which I believe we both know the reason for," Lady Malinex says grimly.
"They realized the 5th Fleet has gone missing, meaning they are either planning on attacking us if we show weakness or guarding against whatever might have destroyed the 5th Fleet," I say with an annoyed tone.
"We must do everything to show strength at this time. Thankfully, the 3rd Fleet should be partially replenished soon, which will alleviate the strain on our defensive forces," Lady Malinex explains, but we are interrupted soon after.
"My Liege! Urgent news!" my secretary yells as they enter the throne room.
"What is it?!" I say, letting my displeasure be known.
"T-The Stardust Shipyard h-has been d-destroyed alongside the forces planned for the 3rd Fleet. T-Then the Shipyard and Fleet crashed into the planet, destroying much of the Factory World's production capabilities... B-By the B-B-Blue Devil," my secretary says with an extremely nervous tone.
CREAK
I grab the armrest of my throne tightly enough that the material starts to creak.
"What?" I say in a deadly tone.
My secretary shakes like a leaf in a storm, but I pay little mind to them.
"Get out... GET OUT!!!" I scream, and my secretary scrambles away in terror.
I stand in rage and have the urge to throw or destroy something, but I control myself and simply pace around in anger.
"Lady Malinex, I order you to take Xena and track down the Blue Devil and kill her! I don't care what you have to do. Just. Get. It. Done!" I order, emphasizing my words.
"No," Lady Malinex responds.
My eye twitches.
"I'm sorry, but did you just refuse an Imperial Order?" I say with a dangerous tone.
"Yes, because it is my duty to protect the Empire and advise you even when you don't want to hear it. If you send me on that mission, the Empire will collapse. The Kree and Nova will smell blood in the water and come for us. By then it will be too late. Rebellions will spread across our Empire, and everything your family built will be lost," Lady Malinex explains calmly.
I could order her execution for refusing an order, but I knew that would be a mistake. Lady Malinex was far too valuable to the Empire for me to kill casually, and as much as I hated to admit it, she was right. I needed to calm down.
"Then tell me, Advisor, what should I do?" I ask while sitting back down.
"We need to quickly shift to a defensive footing. Transfer a few ships from the 1st Fleet to reinforce the patrol fleet. The 2nd and 4th Fleets will remain where they are on border defence. I will accelerate Xena's training to get her ready for a war. We can use Xena in the gladiator pits to gain some fame and show she is as strong as her father. We deny, delay, and distract the public from any other issues," Lady Malinex explains quickly.
"If we move the 1st Fleet, it will show weakness, and war will come soon afterwards," I refuse.
"We have a history of sending some ships from the 1st Fleet for upgrades and maintenance. We can modify the ships so they no longer look like the ships of the 1st Fleet. Moreover, we will transfer a few ships quietly here and there; very few would notice anything, and anyone who asks about it will be quietly discouraged from doing so. By the time anyone can truly prove it, we should have bought ourselves enough time to build up more ships to replenish the 3rd Fleet or at least given us enough of a buffer to deal with a war should it truly come to us," Lady Malinex explains.
"And what about the 5th Fleet? Will we just pretend it didn't go missing?" I ask with an annoyed tone.
"Yes, the official statement will be that Grand General Keldore is on a long-distance exploration mission. Asgard showed no signs that they fought in the battle and have made no moves to claim the victory, so they likely weren't involved. Whoever or whatever destroyed the 5th Fleet hasn't spoken up or taken credit for it, and that works best for us. Of course, we will eventually have our revenge for the losses we suffered, but for now we must be cautious and defend what we have," Lady Malinex explains.
"Very well, we shall do it your way. But you haven't explained how we will deal with the Blue Devil," I point out.
"We stall them with Zarathos. Zarathos is an Angel, while the Blue Devil might not be an actual Devil; she is responsible for the deaths of millions at this point, and I figure the Angel of Vengeance would want to rectify such injustice," Lady Malinex says with a grin.
I grin back.
"Now that... That is a good plan. Do it," I order.