Word Count: 54,039
Summary of Events:
The General Secretary was severely displeased with Cvita's body modification and ordered Cvita — and Hawk, by extension — to move out of their residential unit within his quarters to a unit in the most undesirable residential station in the colony. While they were packing and moving — because the only other option was for Cvita to get the work undone, which she refused to do — Hawk saw an explosion and learned that an unmanned probe was making for the military headquarters. He immediately went to help prevent it from getting in, but nothing could stop the probe, which got inside and connected itself to a computer, making the screen go black . . .
Excerpt of the Day:
Gradually a picture appeared on that portion of the screen; it was of a man with dark brown eyes, black hair, and bronze skin.
He was wearing a green beret on his head that had a golden pin of the Sons of Chesil insignia, atop hair that was cut similarly to Hawk’s, except that his short hair was longer than Hawk’s and his long hair was shorter than Hawk’s.
A thin moustache decorated his upper lip and narrow lines of facial hair went straight down from the corners of his mouth to his chin, from which sprouted a somewhat thin goatee that hung down to the second gold button on his green, military-style coat, which was also adorned with gold braid.
His expression looked sinister and when he began to speak he had an accent to his voice that wasn’t the same as any other accent Hawk had ever heard before in his life.
“Greetings, Ikkesh of the General Secretary,” he said. “I am Gökhan Tiryaki, Caliph of the Sons of Nahash.”
There was a murmur of unease throughout the group.
“Did you think we were dead?” he asked, then chuckled. “We were not so, but indeed, we spent three hundred years away for the purpose of strengthening, rebuilding, planning, preparing, and plotting.”
The Caliph crossed his arms.
“Now we are finished with all of that, and we have come from Deep Space to get not only what we want, but what we deserve,” he said. “We want control of Tamah — and we will get it — but we also deserve revenge.”
There was even more uneasy murmuring throughout the group.
“Revenge for the abject humiliation which you made us to suffer,” he declared. “Revenge for the losses of good men, the losses of supplies, the losses of craft, the losses of innocents, and the losses of so, so much more, all of which was taken from us by you.”
Hawk, for one, felt a wave of resolution to fight against these wretched invaders who’d shown up and killed so many of their own good men and destroyed their craft.
“In addition, we will fulfil our original goal of controlling Tamah and will usher in a new world order,” the Caliph said. “If you wish to spare yourselves or to transform from being a fatherless Ikkesh to a Son of Nahash, we will accept you, but everyone else dies as the payment for the lost among our brothers.”
For himself personally — as he couldn’t speak definitively for everyone — Hawk saw no allure in going to the Sons of Chesil, he was going to steadfastly refuse, no matter how hard anyone might try to convince him to bow the knee to their authority, he would not do so.
“Let it be known among all your people that we declare war against you unless you repent of your despicable behaviour and come under the teaching of our people, who are the true ones,” the Caliph declared. “Let all the Ikkesh die, all is for the Sons of Nahash.”
Pronunciations:
Ikkesh: ihkesh
Gökhan: gaukhahn
Tiryaki: teer'yahkee
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