Read Chronicles of Isambard Smith 05 - End of Empires for Free Online

not to be overrun by its enemies, and it had assisted Suruk’s species with the development of many fine spacecraft. Helpfully, the British also seemed to despise the Yull, a sign of moral uprightness in anyone, even if they were a bit stuffy about collecting skulls. You could almost forgive the humans their unwholesome reproductive system, weird facial hair and cowardly grovelling to whatever gods they had made up this week. 
    Yes, thought Suruk, what mattered now was not some puny dispute about the governorship of Ravnavar. What mattered was assembling the warrior clans, storming into battle against the lemming men, and settling the old scores – hacking, tearing, ripping them apart, drowning the Yull in a gushing, spurting torrent of rodential gore...
    ‘Suruk, are you okay in there?’
    He glanced round: Rhianna stood in the doorway, wearing either a caftan or a duvet cover. ‘Fine, fine,’ Suruk replied. ‘I was… ah, meditating.’
    ‘I thought I heard a panting sound. I wondered if some kind of wild dog had got in and was – you know –’ she glanced at the table leg. ‘What’s this on the TV?’
    ‘Er, Antiques Roadshow .’
    ‘ Ravnavar must have freedom! ’ cried the television, as Grimdall the Rebel smashed a chair over a pith-helmeted head. ‘ Drive out the forces of Earth! ’
    There was an awkward pause.
    ‘A repeat,’ Suruk said.
    Rhianna gave him her understanding look, which to Suruk thought made her eyes bulge alarmingly. She leaned forward and for a horrible moment he thought she was going to place her hand over his in an understanding manner. That would have led to an uncomfortable situation, especially since convention would have demanded that he lop her arm off.
    ‘I know how you must feel,’ she said. ‘You want your own planet, don’t you?’
    ‘Indeed,’ Suruk replied. ‘I am not sure which one, but there would definitely be lava involved. And fierce beasts.’
    ‘I was referring to Ravnavar.’
    ‘Oh no!’ Suruk said, shocked. ‘I couldn’t just take that. It has people on it already.’
    ‘I meant that you wanted to be part of the indigenous movement for Ravnavari self-government.’
    ‘That sounds dull.’
    ‘But don’t your people want their planet back?’
    Suruk looked at her. His eyes, always small and malign, narrowed. ‘But nobody has taken it. If we did not want humans here, they would not be here. Except for their heads.’
    ‘But humanity takes from your people. Don’t you want comfort, the chance to bring up a family?’
    ‘Ugh,’ Suruk replied. ‘Give me large monsters and battle any day. Besides, one could not have comfort with my family around. What with my young trying to bite my legs off and my brother trying to bore my brains out, the field of honour starts to look increasingly appealing.’
    ‘Your brother? How is Morgar?’
    ‘The last I heard, he had gone back to architecture. It is for the best. He is not built for combat. You should speak to him about Ravnavar. He has views on the matter. Personally,’ Suruk added, ‘I would not want to cast mankind from M’Lak space. The noblest humans make worthy comrades. And the rest make good paperweights. In fact, I have met human beings I liked almost as much as my spear.’
    Suruk stood up and finished his drink. He turned the television off.
    ‘We are both fortunate to have known Isambard Smith,’ he said, ‘I beside him in battle, you under him in bonking.’ He sighed. ‘Well, I must retire for the night. Oh, and perhaps we would best not mention this to Mazuran himself. It would be best not to trouble his mind with the matter of Ravnavar – and believe me, his mind troubles easily.’
    * * *
    Paradath Palace stood on a hill at the edge of Ravnavar City. Huge, ornate and covered in gargoyles, it looked to Morgar like the ugly bastard child of a M’Lak fortress and the British Museum.
    His Citroen made hard work of the winding road. Rows of statues flanked the path, depicting M’Lak