Free ZeQuest: A Space Opera Mystery Novella (The Quest Saga Science Fiction Adventure Series Book 2) by Dhayaa Anbajagane

opposite Q said.
    He looked quite warrior-like, which seemed weird for a Getafixian, since they were more peaceful people. He had a square-jaw and a neat cut of hair along with a tanned, muscular body.
    “We will not be the ones going to Thanos, Falael,” Idhren said. “At least, we won’t be the ones infiltrating it.”
    “That job is ours,” Carlos finally spoke.
    “Very well,” Falael said. “But how do you plan to wreak havoc within Thanos?”
    Idhren paused, “The Thanonian army is ruled with an iron grip by none other than General Za’ad. His subordinates are all men who hate one another, and would probably murder themselves if not for their fear of their general. If Za’ad is rendered immobile then the army will run without a leader, and thus will become harmless.”
    Rendered immobile , the words ran through Q’s mind. It scared him a bit to think of what Idhren meant.
    “I request that this plan remain secret until it has been carried out. We have reason to believe the Thanonians are within Armorica as we speak. We cannot afford for them to find out. This plan is our final gambit.”
    “We shall take the oath of silence,” Falael said and everyone grunted in approval.
    “Thank you,” Idhren said.
    He stood up, “Sire, I shall attend to the task force we shall need,” he said.
    “Very well. You and the others shall handpick a team of six that can carry out this mission. I shall require another group to go to the hangars, pick our best stealth ships, and check their condition. And a last group, led by me, shall work on establishing communication with our Intel group in Thanos and getting as much helpful information as we can.”
    “Yes, Sire,” everyone said.
    “Dismissed,” Idhren tapped his cane on the floor and the whole room disbanded.
    A swirl of white gowns rushed around as people got together into groups and headed out the doors. A few of them gathered around Idhren, probably the intel contact team, but he sent them away as well. In less than a minute the whole conference room was silent and was devoid of any other Getafixians.
    “Now would probably be a good time to brief you about the contents of your mission,” Idhren said.
    A strip of the ceiling slid down behind Idhren, revealing a large screen. It turned on when it fixed into position, and showed them what seemed to be blueprints.
    “The Thanonian military base,” Carlos murmured.
    Idhren walked over to the screen like a presenter, and started talking, moving his staff about as a sort of pointing device.
    Staff, walking stick and now powerpoint laser , Q chucked to himself. I need to get me one of those .
    “This is their military base,” Idhren said. “General Za’ad is stationed at the innermost level of the base.”
    “High grade security tech?” Q asked.
    “Of course it is,” his brother said.
    Idhren nodded in agreement, “Brute force cannot and will not let you achieve your goal,” he said. “In fact it might hinder you the most. The intruder sensors are supposed to be highly sensitive.”
    “Let’s talk about getting onto Thanos in the first place,” Carlos said. “How good are your stealth ships?”
    “Our larger ships are the very best, but we can’t send you on those, since they’ll be easily noticeable by the naked eye once you reach Thanos’ surface.”
    “So how about the stealth on the smaller ones?”
    “Not the best in the world, but they should be well beyond the reach of the Thanonian radars.”
    “Positive?”
    Idhren nodded, “The fact that we managed to land spies on Thanos serves proof enough that our smaller carriers have adequate stealth capabilities.”
    “What else should we know?”
    “General Za’ad is surrounded by four outer levels or walls. Each one requires retinal and numerical passes to validate and permit entry, and each one houses a certain rank of men, going from analysts and strategists on the outside, to squad commanders on the level just outside Za’ad.”
    “No