EMBERS OF HALA

Part Two: Decisions

the thirty-sixth tale

written by Mark Bousquet

2201 / January

ASGARD / THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

OFFICE OF THE KREE AMBASSADOR

In his private office inside the Hall of Peace, Kovar the Accuser stood alone, his eyes wavering between the window view of the Golden Realm and the palm-sized handheld device on his desk. Upon the LCD screen, the message displayed was the same one that had been there for the past ten hours:

THE DAY OF CHANGE HAS ARRIVED. WHO’S SIDE ARE YOU ON?

A secure-feed from inside the upper levels of the military hierarchy had sent the message to him. It was the signal he'd been waiting for.

It was the sign that the Supreme Intelligence was back.

For the past several years rumors had floated throughout the upper-levels of both the Military and the Parliament about reports that the Supreme Intelligence hadn't died at the beginning of the Eternal War, but that he'd survived. Some blasphemers had even suggested that the Supremor had merged with ISAAC, the Titan supercomputer, but they had been quickly put to death.

But now … if this message meant what it was supposed to … Kovar would have to make a choice.

Who's side was he on?

Parliament or Military?

Kovar looked to the window, wondering just what the hell was going on back on Hala. His palm-device beeped behind him, a new message from homeworld arriving.

HALA / KE-RETRIBUTION

General Ochken, ruler of the Kree stood in the Retribution's observatory deck on the ship's underside, looking down at the planet, and people, he ruled. The Observatory was a round room with a glass and steel bottom, allowing the gathered Kree a bird's eye view of the burning Parliament building. Ochken stood in the center of the room, with nearly thirty Kree soldiers pointing their pulse cannons at his chest. It wasn't the soldiers that caused Ochken any concern, however, but the floating, bulbous green head that grinned down at him from ten feet away.

"You are all traitors to the throne!" Ochken said defiantly, his military uniform a tattered mess from the beating he'd received from his captors. His blue face was speckled with blood, and his left leg, he was certain, was broken below the kneecap.

The Supreme Intelligence laughed, causing its slimy flesh to ripple outward and its lengthy tentacles to waver, "I am the throne, Ochken. I am the ruler of the Kree, no matter where I go, no matter what pretender attempts to usurp my power."

"The will of the people-"

"The people have no will except for what I allow." The Supreme Intelligence floated closer, "Your dream of a Republic dies today."

"You're wrong," Ochken shook his head. "The Republic is not my dream alone, Supremor. But the dream of generations of Kree, who have grown to adulthood without ever knowing your rule. You may hold a warship, but-"

"I am the messiah returned to life!" the Supreme Intelligence warned. "And I have returned to lead the Kree to greater glories than it has ever known. Look at the heavens," the Supremor ordered, and the image of Hala became a view of the space around the Kree homeworld. "Look at how our numbers cripple the forces that foolishly oppose my rule. We hold seven of the ten Shipyards already."

"The people will not stand by idly while you disassemble Parliament."

The Supremor grinned, "Politics is the game of the weak, Ochken. I will not disassemble Parliament with acts of legislation or political decree. I will destroy it with the blazing might of the Kree Interstellar Navy. All Kree respect power."

Ochken swallowed blood, letting his eyes roam over the glass floor beneath him as the image of the planet's surface returned. "Look down, Supremor. Look at what you've done to Hala. You've turned it into a war zone, a burning, crumbling city screaming in pain, wallowing in its own blood. You talk of glory, but I see only ruin."

The Supreme Intelligence floated up and back from the General. "The glories of tomorrow are built upon the ashes of today, Ochken. The Kree people must know my might, must see the fury I will unleash upon those who do not fall in line."

"You gave them no choice!"

"Choice is a failing of the Republic. To a true Kree, there is only orders to be given, and orders to be followed." The Supreme Intelligence turned to the commanding officer of the Retribution, General Van’Rogg, "Alert Thanos of our progress. Tell them the Asgardians have not yet sent troops, so there is no need for his forces as of yet. This is an internal matter for the Kree, and Kree alone. I will not have Thanos' Eternal Army descending on Hala unless the Asgardians attack first." A frown grew upon the Supremor's face, "And discover why we have heard nothing from the Kree Ambassador to the Council. If he cannot be trusted, he shall join Ochken as a prisoner of war."

ASGARD / THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

Kovar stood at attention as the members of the Council in attendance - King Balder, Dani Moonstar, Captain America, and Ash'lin - sat and listened to what the Kree Ambassador had to say.

"I have received word from homeworld," Kovar said firmly, his face set, devoid of emotion. "The Supreme Intelligence has returned and reclaimed his rightful place at the head of the Kree Empire."

The Council sat in silence, eyes turning to King Balder, who spoke in a tone matching the Accuser's. "The Supreme Intelligence was an ally of Thanos, Kovar. The alliance with the Kree was founded on the principle that the Supremor was gone, and the Kree people were no longer allied with Thanos."

"There has been no indication that the return of the Supreme Intelligence has any ties to Thanos, Balder. And the Kree have long maintained that his alliance with Thanos was a momentary, not permanent, relationship."

Ash'lin snorted beside Kovar, "You can not be serious, Accuser! Why else would he fire on the Parliament building? Clearly this is a plot by Thanos to infiltrate the Kree Empire and turn them against us." The Shi'ar Ambassador turned to Balder, "I move that we immediately sanction the Kree Empire, suspending all voting rights on the Council."

"Denied," Balder replied flatly, expecting Ash'lin's move. "Suspicion alone is not enough for suspension of an alliance member. And without representatives from either Midgard or the Skrull Empire at hand, I will not rush into a voting decision on anything, if it can be spared."

Ash'lin continued, determined to move Kovar's current position work for the good of the Shi'ar, "We have received no communication with Hala in over twelve standard hours, save for a threat by the Supreme Intelligence. Hala is under attack and we-"

Moonstar interjected, "Hala is under attack by its own people. The Supreme Intelligence is leading a Kree ship against the Kree homeworld."

"You would have us do nothing?" Ash'lin replied, honestly surprised at the Valkyrie's reaction. "What cowardice displayed by the lead Valkyrie."

Dani could feel Steve's eyes burning in to the side of her head, but answered them with her words to Ash'lin, "The Alliance Treaty between signatory nations forbids any action by the Council, or its individual members, for internal political matters."

"Except," Steve reminded, "when the internal strife poses a direct threat to the existence of the Council, itself. We are barred from taking action in a Civil War, unless our allies are being killed by our enemies. If Thanos' hands are behind the return of the Supreme Intelligence, we cannot sit on the sidelines and watch our allies be slaughtered. We have an obligation-"

"But we don't know," Dani replied sharply, "what, exactly, is going on. All we know is that the Supreme Intelligence has attacked Parliament. If this is an internal matter, a Civil War, then we can do nothing until we have evidence that Thanos is either behind the attacks, aiding in the attacks, or will profit from the attacks."

Balder stepped in before either Ash'lin or Captain America could reply, his eyes having never left the standing, solemn form of Kovar. "Perhaps the Kree Ambassador can aid us in understanding the Supremor's actions."

All eyes turned back to Kovar, and the Accuser could see anger in their eyes. He looked down at the palm-device in his hand, then laid it, facedown, on the table, "The Supreme Intelligence has asked me to inform the Council that his actions are not those of Thanos, but of an Empire seeking to regain its strength. He has pledged, after defeating the enemies of the state, to uphold every segment of the Alliance Treaty, under one condition."

"And that is?" Balder asked.

"That we do not interfere in the Kree Civil War," Kovar said evenly. "No troops, no aid, no propaganda raised against him. Stay true to the Alliance Treaty's provision on non-interference for internal conflicts and the new Kree Empire under his rule will be as strong a member of the Council as we have been under Republic rule."

Balder asked, "And if we do interfere?"

Kovar locked eyes with the King, "Then the Supreme Intelligence will break with the Council, sign an accord with Thanos, declare our Skrull refugees slaves of the state, and start making plans for war on Earth."

Balder leaned back in his chair, "I do not like to be threatened, Kovar."

"Who does?" the Kree Ambassador asked, stepping back from the table. "I trust you will need time to discuss things. For every second you say nothing, the Supreme Intelligence shall take that as a sign that you will stand by the Alliance Treaty." Kovar turned toward the door, "For the sake of the Everything, Balder, do not interfere with the Supremor on this. Do not force his hand into an alliance with Thanos."

A TITAN SPACE-CRUISER / Outside Hala’s Orbit

Ikaris, the Eternal General, and Bruunhilde, leader of the Angelux, stood side-by-side on the bridge of their cruiser, watching a massive Kree space-battle occur.

"We should have been called, already," Ikaris growled, his eyes taking in all of the carnage. Seven of the ten large shipyards placed around Hala were under control of the Supreme Intelligence, but the fighting continued.

Bruunhilde grinned beside him, "Patience, Ikaris. Enjoy the display of battle that is being staged for our amusement. It has been ages since this level of destruction was brought to bear on any of the Alliance homeworlds. That they are doing it to themselves is as great a sign as any that our side will ultimately be victorious."

"Patience!" Ikaris scoffed. "I am a warrior. I want to wage battle, not watch one."

"We shall have our moment," her eyes sparkled wildly. "Of that there is no doubt."

"What if Asgard sends no troops?" the Eternal General pounded the railing before him. "Our agreement with the Supremor only takes effect once Asgard acts! If they send no one, we shall sit here like fools!"

"Do you really think Asgard will have the stomach to send no troops to this battle?" Bruunhilde asked sharply. "Sometimes I wonder how you have the brains to dress in the morning, Eternal. The Asgardians itch for battle like our own troops do. They want this Eternal War to end, one way or the other, in battle, in glory. They care little for the political maneuverings of those like the Kree, Shi'ar, or even Thanos. That millions of 'innocent' Kree will be slaughtered by the Supremor's troops will only hasten their urge for action." Bruunhilde took a deep breath, watching the Kree use massive weapons of destruction to slaughter each other. "Take care, Ikaris. We will have our day on the field of battle sooner than later."

"I ask again, woman," Ikaris sneered. "What if Asgard sends no troops?"

Bruunhilde smiled, "Then we shall be sitting here, just outside of Hala's orbit, with a full army of soldiers, and a weakened planet before us." She turned, "I shall be in my quarters. Instruct Reject to meet me there."

"You should be careful with that one, Bruunhilde," Ikaris warned.

"And you, my dear ex-lover, should stop acting like a jealous fool."

ASGARD / THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

"Excuse me?!? How is this even a question?"

Dani and Ash'lin exchanged a quick look; whatever problems they had between them didn't stop their mutual dislike for Miss Almond, Earth's government liaison between Empire and the United Nations. Miss Almond, a tall, lithe, beautiful woman in her early thirties who was never seen around Asgard in anything but a sharp business suit and skirt, was called in after they had contacted Empire, Earth's Ambassador, and found that he and the Orphans were still a few days away from returning. *

* See AGC 33 & 34: The Realms of Franklin storyline for their recent activities.

"Miss Almond, this is not simple," Balder began in an attempt to calm the Earth woman, an attempt that failed.

"How could it be difficult?" she asked, running a hand through her damp, shoulder-length, auburn hair. "The Alliance Treaty clearly states that neither the Council as a whole, nor an individual nation acting on its own, shall interfere with the internal political matters of any Alliance nation."

"Unless the Council itself is threatened," Captain America added. "And a weakened Kree Empire surely weakens the Council."

"That's a wonderful rationale, Captain America," Miss Almond snapped, running her thin hands down the front of her brown outfit. "I wonder, is that the same type of circular logic that led you to abandon the Earth in the first place?"

Moonstar was quickly on her feet, but Steve said nothing.

"Saved by your girlfriend, I see," Miss Almond nodded to Dani. "And to think the world used to hold you in such high regard." She turned to Moonstar, "Sit down, Valkyrie. Save your manly displays for an audience that would be impressed."

Ash'lin half-turned her face away from Dani to hide a small grin.

Miss Almond continued, "As I understand it, if the Council interferes, in any way, with this latest Kree Civil War, then the Kree shall remove themselves from the Treaty, ally with Thanos and attack Earth. I needn't tell you that this is unacceptable to my people, Balder. This is exactly the kind of development we joined the Alliance to avoid."

"You do not know the kind of being the Supreme Intelligence is," Steve countered. "There is no historical reason to trust him at his word. We must accede that it is entirely possible that he has already formed an alliance with Thanos, or will do so immediately after achieving victory. His threat to the Skull refugees and to Earth could be nothing more than he already has plans to do."

Miss Almond said crisply, "But we have no evidence."

Captain America shook his head.

"And I trust, despite your absence from the land you once represented, you remember that all men are assumed innocent until proven guilty?" Miss Almond shot Steve a cold look. "It is equally likely that the Supreme Intelligence wants revenge against Thanos and sees joining the Alliance as his means for doing so. If I am remembering the data files you supplied us with on the Eternal War correctly, the Supreme Intelligence was thought to be destroyed when the original Titan was destroyed. Is that correct?"

"It is," Balder replied, though Almond didn't once turn his way.

"And wasn't Titan destroyed because of Thanos?"

"It was," the King said again.

"And isn't the Supreme Intelligence a being given to acts of revenge?" she asked, putting up a hand to Balder, "Please, King Balder, let Captain America answer this question."

Steve set his jaw, "He is."

"Then why," Miss Almond slammed her palm down on the wooden table, "are we entertaining the idea of sending troops to Hala to stop him, when clearly we have no notion of just what his motivations are? We could be consigning Earth to an intergalactic war on its own soil that it is not ready to defend."

"Innocents will die," America answered.

"Innocents die every day in this war," Miss Almond shot back. "How many innocents died on Earth because you weren't around to-"

"Walk down that road again," Moonstar leveled her gaze, "and you-"

Miss Almond waved her hand, "Save it, Moonstar." She turned to Steve, coolly apologizing, "I am sorry. I shouldn't keep bringing up the Abandonment. It was, after all, two hundred years ago and, as we can all now see, the Eternal War is not something Earth could have avoided forever." She took a deep breath, "However, the point stands. A threat to Earth has been made. I can not see sending troops to die on Hala, when we know that doing so will cause even more to die. Even if the Supreme Intelligence does not attack Earth, can we risk an alliance between the Kree and Thanos?"

"We need information," Ash'lin spoke the conclusion they had all come to. "We need to learn the truth behind this return and the attacks."

"So what should we do?" Dani asked angrily. "Call up the Supreme Intelligence and ask him?"

"We do have Kovar outside," Steve offered.

"Like we can trust him at the moment," Ash'lin waved her hand in disgust. "We are all pawns to our homeworld in many regards, Captain. I do not think any of us could be trusted fully if we were in Kovar's situation." Ash'lin turned to Balder, "Let us ask Kovar for permission to send a diplomatic group to Hala, for observational purposes."

"Dangerous," Cap shook his head slightly. "If it is a trap, we've likely handed over a group of prisoners to our enemies."

"A risk worth taking," Dani replied crisply, the tension between her and Steve becoming apparent to all in the room. "If our envoy is detained, or killed, at least we know the Kree have allied themselves against us and we can wage full-scale war."

Steve bit his tongue, nodding slightly.

"Very well, then," Balder nodded, always pleased when the Council could come to their own decisions. "Let us bring Kovar back into the room and see what the Kree think of our offer." Balder looked at each of them in turn, "And think of whom we will entrust and endanger on this diplomatic envoy."

HALA / KE-RETRIBUTION

"What is it, Ambassador?" the Supreme Intelligence asked the image of Kovar on the screen before him.

"Asgard wishes to send a diplomatic envoy to Hala to determine your intentions, Supremor," Kovar stated. "They are an observatory group only, and if they find no evidence of an alliance already in place between the Kree and Thanos, the Council will honor the Alliance Treaty and stay out of Kree business."

The Supreme Intelligence smiled, "Excellent, Accuser. Tell them they may send their envoy."

"Yes, sir," Kovar answered. "Any specific restraints to be placed on the envoy?"

The Supreme Intelligence floated in thought for a moment, then answered, "No more than five. No Cosmic Protector."

"I shall inform the Council, Supremor."

"Before you go, Kovar, I have been informed by General Van'Rogg and my military commanders that you have yet to officially declare whether you stand with us, or with the Republic. They assure me your work has been in the best interests of the Kree people, but General Ochken, the current ruler of our people, was the former Ambassador to the Council, and it is said you are close to him. So tell me," the bulbous head floated towards the screen, "who's side are you on?"

"The side of the true Kree, Supremor," Kovar answered without pause, bowing slightly. "The Kree are warriors, not politicians. And I am no closer to Ochken than I am to Van'Rogg, as the Generals themselves will tell you."

"That is good to hear," the Supreme Intelligence answered, allowing itself a small grin.

FANTASTIC COLONIES

Empire and the Orphans of War - Ben-Vell Parker, Attumidunn, Angelica Osborn and Eshir Maximoff - sat in one of the Fantastic Colonies' cafeterias, enjoying a meal in peace. They hadn't talked much about their time in the Realms of Franklin; their minds were each too busy trying to wrap themselves around just what it was that had happened.

"Can't believe it's back," Ben shook his head, referring to the Supreme Intelligence. After Empire had told them about the news from King Balder, he'd forbid them to mention the name in public. The Fantastic Colonies, though a friendly location to visit, was technically a neutral location, meaning there was likely to be some of Thanos' agents around. Further, he just didn't want the information to get out; many of the Kree counted the Supreme Intelligence as a holy figure, not unlike a Kree version of England's King Arthur. Legend held that one day the Supremor would return when the Kree people needed him most and lead them to their greatest victory.

"Empire, sorry to interrupt," came the voice of John Francis Saint, head of FC security. "Call for you back at the Security Center. I'd patch it through on a personal communicator but it's high-level clearance bullshit."

The gruff war veteran looked down at the Orphans, "Any of you old enough to fucking drink?" The Orphans looked up at him blankly. "What?" he continued. "None of you heard a man curse before?" He mumbled, "Fucking kids," before turning to Empire, "C'mon, Earther, let's go get that call. Think they need you to save the Everything or some shit."

As Saint led Empire away, he wondered if the Captain America had told anyone on the Council the secret that lay at the heart of the Fantastic Colonies,* then put the thought out of his mind. The heart of the FC, and what went on there, brought only nightmares.

* See AGC 14-16: FANTASTIC MYSTERY

ASGARD / THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

Kovar the Accuser ended his day the way he began, alone with his thoughts.

WHO'S SIDE YOU ON?

At some point, Kovar knew, he would have to make up his mind.

EMBERS OF HALA to be continued …

WHO'S SIDE YOU ON?

YGGDRASIL

Comments c/o northern022@hotmail.com

-- Mark Bousquet …

25 December 2001

Northern Bear Productions