Free Galactic Empire Wars: Insurrection (The Galactic Empire Wars Book 5) by Raymond L. Weil Page B

the streets of the
cities as citizens tried to leave and flee into the countryside. Little good it
would do; anyone the Kleese wanted would be turned in once the collars of
obedience were around enough Bashan necks. People would turn others in to save
their own heads from being blown off.
    A noise
outside his door drew his attention. It sounded like a multitude of feet coming
down the hallway. Drawing in a long breath Chancellor Odis stood up as the door
was flung open and a Kleese entered. Due to the large size of the Kleese, it
was barely able to fit through the door. Behind the first Kleese came two more,
both heavily armed.
    “You are
Chancellor Odis?” the Kleese asked in a demanding and unforgiving voice.
    “Yes,” Odis
replied, trying not to show fear.
    The Kleese
opened a box it was holding and approached Odis, removing a circular silver
collar with a light bluish tint. “You will submit to the will of the Kleese and
wear this collar of obedience. If you fail to do as we ask, you shall die.”
    Odis said
nothing as the Kleese took the collar, unsnapped it, and placed it around his
neck. The collar felt cold to the touch and Odis shivered slightly, knowing the
collar contained an explosive charge, which could be set off by any of the
Kleese.
    “You are now a
subject of the Kleese Empire and live only to serve.”
    Odis nodded
and sat back down behind his desk. His hand slowly lifted until it touched the
collar. With a deep sigh, he knew Admiral Hiath had been right. They should
have turned to the Alliance, and now it was too late. The long years of peace
for the people of Bashan had come to an end, and it was all his fault. He was
now an unwilling servant in the Kleese Empire.

Chapter Five
     
    Captain Ryan
Nelson stood in the Command Center of the Marine assault cruiser Deliverance .
Looking around, he allowed himself to smile. The Command Center of the Deliverance was so different from the small assault ships like the one they had used to
escape from the Kleese. For one thing, it was larger and competent fleet
personnel staffed all the stations. When they had escaped in the assault ship,
only a few of the Marines had any flight experience. If not for Lieutenant
Guthrie and a few others, they would never have escaped and would still be
prisoners or dead.
    “I’m glad I’m
not flying this ship,” Autumn commented from Ryan’s side. “It’s a relief not to
have to worry about where we’re going and if something’s going to go wrong with
the ship’s systems before we get there.”
    Ryan laughed
and nodded. “We have a competent crew and plenty of spare parts as well as
engineers who know how to repair the ship if necessary.”
    Ryan remembered
how the growing malfunctions on the assault ship had made it seem questionable
if they could even reach Delton safely. As it was, once they were down they had
been afraid to move the ship again. If not for Delton Fleet Commander Achlyn
and Admiral Rivers’ daring rescue attempt to bring more Deltons back to the Solar
System, Ryan and his fellow Marines might still be trapped on the planet.
    “How’s
morale?” he asked. They were currently in Fold Space and flying deeper into
Kleese controlled space every day. So far their flight had been uneventful and
Ryan hoped it stayed that way.
    “Good,” Autumn
replied. “Most of the Marines that were with us on Delton are on board, and
they’re ready to take the fight to the Kleese. There’s still a lot of anger
over what happened to Major Stevens and Colonel Stratford as well as the Marines
the Kleese executed.”
    Ryan
understood the underlying anger. When they had attempted to flee the Kleese ship,
a number of compartments had been located where the Kleese obedience collars
had been detonated. The Marines inside had all met gruesome deaths. Ryan wasn’t
sure how many Marines had been coldly executed in this manner though he knew it
had been quite a few. The Kleese had a disdain for all sentient life in