BATTLES: The Royal Invasion
Chapter 24

“Minister Raman, Lord Manod wants to see you now” said the messenger of Manod to Raman who was busy but the king’s orders shall be obeyed.

Raman knocked on the golden gate of the royal chamber so he received the permission to meet Manod, he walked in to see Manod who was examining a new weapon that finally was come to light after years of development.

Raman just stood there amazed: did he really called me here at time like this? The war temporarily ceased…we should take advantage of that and he is here doing this.

Raman who was waiting near the gate and got closer and made the loyal duty; one knee on the ground and head bowed down.

“Yes my lord, what I can do for you today?” said Raman.

“Why you didn’t joined me?”

Raman raised his head not believing what he just heard from him: looks like you were having the most beautiful kinds of amusement.

“Of course I were, but you didn’t answer my question…why you didn’t got closer and had a look at the ‘star core’ the weapon that our soldiers without energy abilities to use against major threats” said Manod proudly.

“What a beautiful name for the gun, my lord” Raman had a lot of thoughts but he decided to just be himself: what my king owns I can’t get near it.

Manod smiled: that’s why you are my right arm…you can choose your words carefully.

Raman was calm just from outside but from inside he felt like he was to avoid death sentence at last second.

“We all here to obey you, my lord” said Raman as he was trying to be calm as possible.

“Alright…I called you because I wanted to make a plan” said Manod as he was removing food remnants was stuck on his teeth by his finger tip.

“A plan for what purpose, my lord?”

“You remember that I mentioned something about Rad will get out of the prison, right?”

“Yes, my lord”

“Okay, here the plan…simple; we will lure Kaydos to the proper distance to be in the range of our gamma cannon, we use the gamma cannon then the ship will be only floating metal scrap and the systems on the ship will be destroyed including the energy wall that holding my bitter enemy, he will get out and you know what will happen next”

Raman was surprisingly looking at his king: excuse me my lord, it’s easy and simple plan we’ve could done it earlier, why did you delayed it?

Manod smiled: why the hurry…I told you that everything is under my control.

Raman was feeling that this over confidence will be a disaster for all of them especially that this lady of miracles can’t be summoned as he wants.

“Excuse me my lord, but you said that you only can summon the lady of miracles once a year, isn’t that right?”

“Yes, so?”

“So you don’t have but one chance to put Rad away”

Manod’s face turned to red before Raman got on his knees apologizing about what he just said.

“Raman…I don’t need the lady of miracles to make a cloths out of Rad’s flesh…I’m definitely stronger than that scum”

“Excuse me my lord to say what is I see about the greater good of the kingdom”

“Go ahead”

“My lord, don’t you see if we destroyed Terra’s mothership since the very beginning we wouldn’t spent all this resources to fix our ship”

“You think I’m wrong, Raman?”

Raman began to feel the sweat was coming out from every part of his body. He felt that he may be made a mistake that can cost his life so he answered showing as calmness as possible: of course not my lord, but I was only wondering why it took so long.

“I told you...the stronger predator don’t eat his prey suddenly…he play around with them first”

“I see, so this is how this war is fought” said Raman to himself as he wasn’t convinced by how Manod was looking at the situation, this strategy could cost their lives if anything went wrong but Raman has nothing to say, he just should obey his king or he will get killed.

“I told the plan, make sure to make our ship close enough to them and enable the anti-radar system”

“Yes my lord” said Raman and he walked out of the royal chamber thinking about that over confidence that Manod have could be fatal, it’s known that the first and only rule in war is: survive.

So no good to keep the war going all this time, especially he wants Rad to get out of his prison to kill him by his own hands. “I’m sure Manod is hiding something that making him so sure of himself”

This explanation made Raman feel comfortable a little bit, so he headed to command center believing that everything was alright.

Meanwhile in Rad’s cell who was isolated from the outside world and the new events that was taking place, he had enough time to kill Kaydos in his mind over and over, despite he was trying to keep himself occupied by reading but the image of Kaydos while he was putting his foot on his mother’s back, can’t leave his mind.

The prisoner on the other side was waving with his hand to catch Rad’s attention who didn’t saw him at first from his place in the back of the cell, finally Rad saw him and got closer to the window and he was thinking: what this idiot wants from me?

“What do you want?” said Rad nervously.

“Are you happy here…king?” said the prisoner who was a bald man, having long arms, long legs and very thin midsection, he is very tall that his head was nearly touching the celling of the cell that was 10 meters in height.

“It’s none of your business you piece of crap” said Rad as he was trying to figure out his identity, this face wasn’t strange for Rad but something bigger was keeping his head busy so he turned his back and went back to the place he came from.

“You remember Varraya?” said the man so he just stopped in his place remembering this man and his dark history with him.

“You’re Kay…I can’t believe it…you seem different” said Rad.

“I’ve got sick…I’ve become pale and thin as you can see”

“I’ve thrown you here and buried this memory just like I buried Varraya”

“Just like Terra will be buried” said Kay in calm tone.

There was temporarily silence, Rad didn’t had something to say back to Kay before he said: you didn’t expect that Rad, huh? You didn’t expect to get stabbed by the same knife you stabbed me with.

“You should be thankful that I didn’t kill you”

“Thankful? Really? You kept me alive to this memories to eat my soul, I would think about it day after day month after month year after year, I wish you even buried alive that day but now…I feel like…I feel like breathing while I’m dead”

“You caused all of this chaos…you dragged your people to fight with us”

“You haven’t changed, Rad…you still the same…cocky bastard son of a bitch thinking the whole universe is belong to you”

“Really?! You started attacking us first”

“Us?! We only killed your spies who was in our home planet…you surly know what they have been doing?”

“Yeah?! Having a stellar bombs is prohibited and you know that, Kay”

“I told you million times I don’t know anything about this”

“Why is he still denying it? Could it be?” said Rad to himself as he began to get what Kaydos been doing to turn everybody against him.

“What is this noise?” the guard yelled so the conversation was ended. His steps became closer and closer until he stood in the middle looking at both of them before he said: what’s wrong? Why all of this noise?

He didn’t received any answers from both of them. “If I heard this noise again I will shut the windows, so you can enjoy the darkness.

The guard finished his words and started to leave before Rad said: you threating me, guard? You threatening you’re king?

But the guard’s answer was brief: you were my king…but you’re not anymore.

“I didn’t know you was that cheap” said Rad.

“Silence prisoner and behave yourself” the guard yelled and left Rad to Kay like a corpse of dead animal. Kay was like an eagle who waited for the predator to leave to have the remnant of Rad’s soul: even your soldiers turned against you…not only the generals.

“I get it...Kaydos planned this from the very beginning…he created a fake treason acts so it will lead me to act harshly…very clever, Kaydos…very clever”

“I don’t care who did it since you are thrown here with the scum…remember?”

Rad didn’t mind Kay’s words but he really shocked him that his own soldiers was ready to stab him in the back at any time even they were showing loyalty to him.

“What happened big guy? What are you thinking about? I guess you’re thinking about your mother’s fate”

Rad stared at Kay with look full of anger but Rad won’t be falling for tricks like this, he just turned his back and laid on his bed.

“you were right, mother…I made a mistake” he said to himself as he realized that he made a chance to Kaydos to make enemies out of nowhere, enemies that once were his allies, his own loyal men because of his brutal politics against everyone which made everyone afraid of him and wishing that he would disappear someday.

“I wonder if I wasn’t this brutal…I think I won’t had this number of enemies…I trusted this low life, Kaydos but he lied to my men…and they believed him, and the generals…they must be planned this together…I’ll kill them…ALL OF THEM”

In the command center, Kaydos was trying to take advantage of the truce by making new tactics to attack not knowing that Manod was watching everything.

“What we really needs is to attack by fighter jets but with mass destruction weapons” said Kaydos as he was examine the damages to Phoenix’s ship that happened during the battle on the huge screen in the command center.

“Yes, we will need weapons that can break through the thick shield of their planet…but we can’t have them now because the absence of Diana the transporter” said one of the generals.

“So what do you think?” said Kaydos as he was looking at the faces before him on the round table in the command center.

“I see that we can continue attacking them by the same weapons but from short distance” said another general.

“But this way a lot of our jets will be easy target for their cannons” said Kaydos before asking the rest of the generals and what he got was absolutely agreeing with Kaydos.

“Or we can get Rad out of prison” there was a sudden silence, their eyes was wide open as they was looking at the speaker before he continued: yes, we can make a deal with him.

“What kind of deals, my lord?” said one of the generals.

“The kind that makes him under our control” said Kaydos strongly.

It was a dangerous idea to go with for the all generals, no one of them ever imagined that the idea of Rad being out of the prison will be on the table to discuss.

“Lord Kaydos, are you aware if the king…I mean Rad released we might be get killed” said one of the generals as he was swallowing.

Kaydos was silenced for a moments before he said: yes, I’m aware of that…that’s why we have to make a deal with him.

“But my lord, what do we have to insure that he won’t comeback for us after destroying them?” said one of the generals.

“His mother” said Rad simply before he continued: did you forgot that his mother is our prisoner too? This way we can insure our safety.

All the generals were wordless thinking about this suggestion that appeared out of nowhere before one of the generals said: my lord, there is a good chance that things can go out of control.

“Yes, with all due respect to you but this plan is too dangerous to fulfil and its consequences are not insured” said another general.

“Did you forgot that he saw you stepping on his mother’s back?”

“Of course I didn’t” said Kaydos with a smile on his face.