The Council-floor Part 5

"Yes sir," Langley, the Belief In A Lower Power's chief engineer, said.

"Langley, I'm not a Captain, you don't need to call me 'sir.' Just get to work and boost that antenna," James said into the intercom. He pressed a few more buttons and addressed Tean's quarters. "Tean, I need you to compute something for me."

"I'm busy," Tean said.

"This is urgent, possibly life-and-death," James said.

"Give me ten minutes."

"You have five."

Seven minutes and thirty seconds later, Tean reported to the bridge with a towel wrapped around her head. "What do you need me to calculate?"

"I need you to compute an optimum trajectory that would lengthen communication time with Grak on the surface, without leaving the range of his transmitter."

"Anything else?" Tean asked.

"Grak is up to something. I don't know what. That's why we need the new trajectory, so he can tell us what," James said.

On the surface, Grak was working out the specifics of his plan, sitting at a conference table. "You said the Queen was a superstitious person, right? That she considers Traddins to be weak demons, not gods?"

"That is correct, Grak."

"Well we just need to make her fear us as vengeful gods," Grak said, "where did you say the rocketship was being built?" One of the Beanmen handed Grak a map and pointed to a location within the walled boundary of the complex. "If our internal sources are accurate, they have completed experimental tests of the rocket, and they will launch soon."

"I will need that rocket to get back to my ship. If I can launch in the rocket while the Queen is nearby, the airblast and heat could kill her... but I need to ensure her death. I'll have to kill her myself."

"You do not have boom stick?" Wrinkle asked.

"It was taken away by the guards when I was put in the jail," Grak said.

"We have some confiscated devices. None of us could figure out how to use them," Kimmel said.

"Bring me one," Grak said, "I suspect it requires two hands to use, instead of a face-tentacle."

Grak took the gun. "It's a explosive gun. It has been years since I used one, I prefer the precision offered by lasers."

"Can use it?" Wrinkle asked. Grak checked the gun for an ammo cartridge, and found it to be nearly full.

"Yes, I think so."

The radio, which had been excitedly announcing how much static space has, spoke: "Belief to Grak, it's James. We have fifteen minutes, do you read?" Grak took a seat near the radio.

"Grak here, I read you. Here's the plan."

Grak's plan was to lead a charge against the Traddin complex with the resistance army, guns blazing, and find the Queen. In order to prevent a counter-resistance, he would announce his presence. 'If anyone were to fight back,' he'd say, 'they will be blasted out of existence from the sky.' From there, a flash of blinding light and heat would ensure that everyone knew he wasn't kidding. This flash would come from Belief In A Lower Power leaving space/warp. Belief would then get back into a low orbit and prepare to rendezvous with the Queen's rocket, which would of course have Grak inside.

"I intend to make The Seige of Barnard's Third Planet's Traddin Colony, or The Seige of B3PTC if you like, in forty eight hours. Make preparations for that, Belief."

"Are you sure about this, Grak? Inciting a holy war between monkeys with guns?" Tean said.

Grak: "Listen Tean, I'm about as excited to start a holy war as the next guy, but this is business, alright? The Queen must die if we are to be paid!"

"We have thirty seconds, Grak. We'll make one more orbit, and then we're going to leave to make and test the modifications to the Belief's drive."

"Best of luck to you, Belief In A Lower Power."

"And yossssscccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," said James and assorted random radio sources.