Chapter 99 Machinations in the Shadows

An enormous man by human standards was sitting in an opulent office was reading a report he had just received on his own personal tablet.

Yet the more pages he got through, the angrier he became.

Eventually, his fury grew to the point that he crushed the tablet in his hands and slammed his balled-up fists into his desk. Causing dents in the top despite it being made out of a sturdy metal.

"How did those idiots lose so many of the ships I provided for them? Do they not realize how difficult it was to smuggle military grade vessels out of the Theocracy and into the Alliance? Is this what I get for using extremists?"

The veins on the man’s forehead began to bulge and his dark brown eyes became bloodshot.

There had been a few hiccups in his plans so far, but the loss of so many pawns at this stage was detrimental.

His man on the inside that was influencing the radical group he had armed had fortunately survived, but they only had about thirty percent of their forces remaining. And some of their ships were badly damaged.

It would be difficult to count on them to continue wiping out merchant and passenger fleets coming to the Phregon System.

Looking out of the large, reinforced window in the room, he stared down at Drahanus, the fifth planet in the Phregon System and the world that was currently undergoing terraforming.

He was one of the chief investors in the current project to make the world habitable and had been consolidating his power to become essentially the ruler of it. To do so, he had been mobilizing his forces and assisting less than savory organizations with chipping away at his rivals’ power.

However, one of his chief competitors had worked out a deal with the Moonrise merchant company and was bringing in a massive shipment of refined metals from the Yuson System.

It was absolutely necessary to stop them, so he had some of his subordinates entice the radicals he had been secretly funding to attack them.

Originally this should have seen the merchants wiped out, or at least fleeing for their lives. But instead, all but three of the cargo vessels had survived and recently arrived to deliver their goods.

The outcome was not far from the worst possible. And the only explanation that he had received for this failure was that the mercenary guards were more competent than anticipated. This was a load of crap as far as he was concerned.

"Lord Iniquus, we’ve brought Vi’ivando to you as your ordered." A lanky man with a deep scar running down his face all the way to his chest said.

Behind him were a man and woman wearing fully body armor and equipped with high output laser rifles.

In between these two guards was a much smaller man that had noticeable cuts and bruises all over his body. Though his head and hands seemed to have escaped any of the abuse.

Vi’ivando was not human, but instead a member of the Baccigan species. The same as Ardesen, the Chief Technology Officer of Storren Corp.

"I’ve already told you that I won’t make that dastardly emitter for you. I don’t care how many times you cut, hit, or shoot me with lasers. I won’t have a hand in creating something that will cause untold damage." Vi’ivando said before Iniquus could ask him anything.

For his outburst, all the stubborn Baccigan received was a swift hit in the back from the butt of one of his guard’s laser rifles.

The already battered man collapsed to his knees and grunted in pain, but the defiant look in his eyes never vanished.

"You misunderstand me Vi’ivando. I had you brought here to deliver good news. Your missing nephew’s whereabouts have finally been located. From what my agents told me; they will find him within forty-right hours."

It was for only a fleeting moment, but Vi’ivando looked relieved to have learned about his nephew’s safety.

Yet any happiness he was experiencing due to learning this faded quickly when he remembered who had found the last remaining member of his family.

"D-don’t you dare do anything to him!" Vi’ivando shouted.

"Oh, I can’t imagine what you’re thinking might happen. We’re just going to invite him here so that the two of you can reunite. Though, my agents are a bit upset about how uncooperative you’ve been. Hopefully they don’t take out any frustrations on your nephew."

Iniquus was certainly playing things up for his "guest". But physical torture had been unable to break the man so far, and he could not risk using drugs or submission implants since he needed Vi’ivando’s engineering expertise. Muddling his mind to make him more compliant would defeat the purpose.

Fortunately, a new method to coerce the genius engineer had presented itself.

"How do I know you aren’t lying?"

At this question, Iniquus pressed a few keys into his terminal, and a holoscreen displayed a large image in the middle of the room.

What could be seen was a mostly covered figure with a hood over their head. Nearly all of their body was covered and even with the species’ distinct features, it was difficult to identify the individual as a Baccigan.

Yet as the recording continued to play, for a single second around half of the figure’s face became visible.

At once Vi’ivando recognized his nephew. He would never forget the kid that ended up in his care after his sister and her husband died in a pirate attack.

"So, why don’t you take some time to think about whether you want to work with me or not. Let’s say twenty-four hours. So long as you get started by then, I’ll have time to contact my agents and tell them how cooperative you’ve become." Iniquus said, waving his hands to the guards to take the pitiful man away.

This left him only with his aide.

"Who’s the closest one I can call on for assistance? I hate to share any of the glory with the others, but even if Vi’ivando starts working on the emitter, I want some more insurance."

"I do believe that Mr. Adder’s sphere of influence is nearest. While Ms. Camila, Ms. Jahat, and Mr. Casimir are the others within proximity of your own territory."

Iniquus let out a deep sigh as he heard who his perspective supporters might be. All four of them were difficult to deal with and people he hardly wished to associate with. Still, they all shared the same cause, so he would probably receive aid if he asked for it. With strings attached of course.

"It will have to be Adder. I hate to ask that snake for a favor, but time is of the essence." Iniquus grumbled.

He then had his aide craft coded with a message and sent it off to his compatriot.

Taking control of the newly terraformed world and the Phregon System was of vital importance to their goals The methods did not matter so long as Iniquus was not implicated in anything that occurred. Even if over six million people had to die, he was more than willing to do so if it furthered his aims.