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

soldiers waving sabres at the sky. Crude, he thought, and the road twisted and he was before the castle itself.
    It appalled him. The main building resembled a Greek temple, mogul’s palace, medieval citadel and public library, with a bit of lido thrown in for luck. What looked like the lid of a colossal soup tureen sat on the Parthenon-like façade, under a row of flagpoles, all of which displayed the Union Jack. Morgar had heard that the Ravnavari Lancers were vehemently patriotic. It struck him as foolish – and, in a way, servile.
    He stopped the car and stepped out into the heat. Lawns flanked the castle, the grass dotted with steaming heaps of shadar dung. A statue stood in the middle of the lawn, depicting a winged M’Lak holding up one hand in greeting. He wondered where he’d seen something like it before, and then remembered that it was in The Exorcist .
    ‘You there!’
    An officer of the lancers hurried down the steps in full dress uniform, his polished tusks gleaming in the sunlight.
    ‘ Jaizeh ,’ Morgar called.
    ‘Morning! You the architect chap, then? Come to build us some bogs?’
    ‘Yes. I’m Morgar the Architect. I’ve brought some drawings for the human facilities, but I did have a few ques –’
    ‘Captain Bargath, First Ravnavari Lancers.’ Bargath stuck out a hand, human-style. They shook. ‘Fine building, isn’t it? Really says something. That’s what we want you to make. Toilets that really say something.’
    Morgar nodded warily. Bargath might not be from Earth, but he sounded very much like some of the human crazies that Morgar’s brother tended to associate with. ‘Well, they will say something. Ladies and Gents , mainly.’
    ‘Splendid. Very Earth-like. Let’s go inside and have some gin.’
    The entrance hall was large and full of still air. It smelled of polish.
    ‘What do you think?’ Bargath said.
    Morgar took it all in: the big fireplace, the grandfather clocks, the portraits of old lancers. Everywhere, he saw the overbearing influence of Earth.
    ‘It’s very… human,’ he said. ‘Don’t you have a trophy rack?’
    ‘God no. Skulls everywhere? Barbarian stuff, that. We have our enemies stuffed these days.’ Bargath’s eyes narrowed. ‘I say, you’re not one of those “Freedom for Ravnavar” sorts, are you?’
    ‘I’m undecided. I do rather like the… er, sophistication of Earth, but sometimes I’m really not sure what we’re doing in their empire.’
    ‘Doing? Chopping things up, man! At least, that’s what I’m doing. And it’s not their empire. It’s ours.’ Bargath frowned and brushed a speck of dirt off his lapel. ‘Have you seen action, then?’
    ‘Well, I was on Urn during the uprising.’
    ‘Urn? Splendid! We’ve always got room for an Urnie. I think you’ll like it here.’ They passed through a pair of double doors, into a large smoking-room. The heads of monsters glared down from the walls, as if passing angry judgement on the battered leather armchairs below.
    ‘See that gap at the end?’ Bargath said, pointing. ‘That’s for the lemmings. Foul enemy, your Yull. Merciless, murderous, malodorous. Still, what can you expect dealing with aliens, eh?’
    A loud bang came from the corner of the room, like a dustbin falling over. A crab-shaped wallahbot sailed up from the ground, struck the ceiling fan and dropped behind an occasional table. A M’Lak in uniform shook a fist after it. ‘I said two sugars!’ it bellowed.
    Bargath waved a hand. ‘Morning, Colonel.’
    ‘Bugger off, the lot of you,’ Colonel Pargarek said, sitting down.
    ‘Ah, the fine ways of Britain,’ Morgar muttered.
    Pargarek nodded. ‘Absolutely! I’ve fought for the British Space Empire for thirty years now. That makes me British to the core, and if you can find anyone who disagrees, I’d like to see ’em.’
    ‘You could try Earth, for a start.’
    Bargeth motioned him into a corridor. Behind them, the colonel growled and spluttered at the