The Players

Part Three: Ambassadors

the 60^th tale of agc

written and created by Mark Bousquet

NOTE: To assist new readers with this "jumping on" arc, I've created a section for the Rulers on the Cast of Characters Page, accessible from the AGC main page.

2201 / AUGUST

THE EVERYTHING ENGINE - THE VIEWING TUBE

Adam peered intently at the image of Skrull 4 upon one of the million screens inside the Viewing Tube, deep within the Everything Engine.

The Skrull Ambassador, who Adam had up until now a fond impression of, had just agreed to assassinate Captain America at the time and choosing of Earth's ruling body, the United League of Nations.* The acceptance came as a sign of good faith from the Skrull Emperor Vog as the Skrull and Earth empires signed a secret treaty, away from the prying eyes of the Asgardian Council.

* AGC 59: Rulers

Inside the Viewing Tube, Adam had cleared a line of three monitors in the sea of a million monitors to continually watch the Kings: William of the Beta Ray, Franklin Richards, and Doom, and he saw they were much as he left them: William engrossed in study, Franklin whimpering inside an open cell in the Doom controlled Chronopolis, and Doom nowhere to be found.

The next line of monitors contained the Rulers of the Council worlds: Emperor Vog, the Supreme Intelligence, Majestrix Deathcry, and the United League of Nations.

Adam lowered his platform slightly and cleared the next bank of monitors. Upon these screens would come the Ambassadors of the Asgardian Council. Ah, he noted, it was dawn in the Golden Realm, and it was never too early for political intrigue to begin …

KOVAR THE ACCUSER

06:12 STANDARD TIME

RESIDENCE OF THE KREE AMBASSADOR

The Accuser rolled out of bed, stretching as the cool Asgardian air wafted in through his open window. Kovar yawned, and stretched again, checked beside his bed to see that the Nullifier remained in place. His clock read 06:12; he overslept. His quarters were sparse, befitting his military training. There were no personal objects in the room, nor in the house as a whole; only objects of duty were to be found in Kovar's quarters.

He moved his large frame to the wall opposite his bed and activated the large, widescreen plasma monitor. After punching in is password, he noted there were four messages waiting for him:

FROM / SUBJECT / TIME RECEIVED / VIDEO-TEXT

GENERAL VAN'ROGG / TROOP ALLOCATION / 04:10 / VIDEO

SKRULL 4 / A MATTER OF CONSCIENCE / 04:17 / TEXT

ACCOUNTING OFFICE OF HALA / REFUGEE REIMBURSEMENT / 04:59 / TEXT

SHI'AR AMBASSADOR TO THE ASGARDIAN COUNCIL / FORMAL MEETING REQUEST / 05:58 / TEXT

Kovar keyed in the first message, and stepped back as an image of General Van'Rogg appeared on-screen.

"Ambassador Kovar," Vana'Rogg said formally. "The Supreme Intelligence has agreed to meet the request of King William for 500 Kree soldiers to be deployed on Asgard. The Supremor, however, insists that the Kree Empire do more, in order to compensate for the generous aid of the Council during the reconstruction of Hala over the past six months, especially given the small regiments of Doom's army now encamped in the Plains of Ida. To this end, he will send Asgard 1,000 troops, including a full assortment of intelligence personnel. That is all. Glory to the Kree."

Kovar rolled his neck from shoulder to shoulder, listening to the small cracks with an odd sense of pleasure. He knew the Supremor would send additional troops, with the hope that the Kree military would achieve a position of dominance over the Shi'ar, Skrull, and Earth troops. King William would not be pleased, which meant that Kovar would be caught between the two rulers.

Wonderful.

The second message was from Skrull 4, titled "A Matter of Conscience." No doubt yet another of the seemingly unending pleas to go easier on the Skrull refugees, he thought as he clicked open the message.

Kovar,

A matter of the greatest urgency; I find that I am in need of advice of the most dire kind. Please meet me at the Statue to Thor this afternoon at 12:30. Thank you.

Skrull 4

Vague and intriguing. Good to see Skrull 4 was the same as ever, the Accuser mused without humor.

The next message brought an even greater future headache into focus. The Empire's Accounting Office never had pleasant news. He called up the all-text message:

To: The Kree Ambassador to Asgard

From: The Accounting Office of Hala

Royal Accuser:

It has come to our attention that the Skrull refugees assigned to Hala do not wish to leave our most glorious planet despite now having a homeworld of their own. Please advise the Council that we will need to be compensated for their continued stay. The Skrull Refugee Act, whereby we were to house certain numbers of Skrulls on Kree planets, is now null and void with the awarding of a new planet to the Skrulls. We will need to be compensated for their future residence if they refuse to leave.

Signed with Glory to the Kree,

The Accounting Office of Hala

Kovar rolled his eyes. The Skrulls the Accounting Office were so concerned with helped fight for the Supremor during the Three Day Civil War. Whether they wanted to leave or not was another question, as well. Most likely the Kree government had become so accustomed to the Skrulls doing the grunt work that they did not want to see the cheap labor leave. Reaching for the keyboard to his right, Kovar typed a quick message to his Ambassadorial staff to reread the Skrull Refugee Act and compile the complete list of Kree planets that currently held Refugee camps.

He glanced to his left to the shower that seemed to be calling his name, then back to the screen for the final message. "Shi'ar Ambassador to the Asgardian Council." Ash'lin. Why she'd couldn't simply state the message was from "Ash'lin" and drop the formal title was beyond Kovar. The woman was equally infuriating and an unknown quantity. She shied away from most social occasions and had formed no friendship that he could discern in the entire city.

Kovar was convinced she took contrary positions just to try and squeeze every last benefit for her government. He frowned, knowing that was probably what Ambassadors should do. What he should do. He had no patience for the political games, however. Ash'lin came from a political background and saw this position as a stepping stone to an even greater position in her Empire's government down the road, where he saw this as a duty he was forced into because General Ochken had trusted him to do the right thing.

The same Ochken who earlier this year had betrayed the Kree and taken his Republican loyalists to side with Thanos. Politics - the very word disgusted him. He was a Royal Accuser, a warrior born and bred.

It had felt good to fight again, during the Battle of Niffleheim, he admitted sullenly, thinking of all the death that battle had brought.

'Stop,' he scolded himself, drawing his eyes back to the message from Ash'lin. 'Might as well read it now,' he thought, knowing he wouldn't enjoy his shower with this hanging over him.

Kree Ambassador to Asgard:

I am formally requesting that you meet with me and the female members of my staff in back gardens of my embassy at 21:23 for no longer than thirty-two minutes so that we may pleasure you sexually. Please bring your 'Nullifier.' Tell no one or you won't be experienced.

On Bended Knee to the Majestrix,

The Shi'ar Ambassador to Asgard.

"Um …" was all Kovar managed to say as he reread the message over and over for the next twenty minutes.

ASH'LIN

07:31 STANDARD TIME

SHI'AR EMBASSY

"Glimmer Girl reporting for duty, Ambassador."

Ash'lin motioned for her assistant Wu'ting to close the door to the Ambassador's office as she left the room. She looked to Glimmer Girl, trying to contain the anger that was building inside of her.

"What are you reporting for?" she asked angrily.

Glimmer Girl handed Ash'lin a read-out. "I am the advance scout for the 500 soldiers coming to Asgard, ma'am. They will be here shortly and I am to assist you in any way-"

Ash'lin put up her hand to stop the Imperial Guardsman. "Please, Glimmer Girl. You were not cleared to return to active duty until two days ago."

Glimmer handed over another read-out. "My evaluation report, Ambassador. By the order of the Majestrix, I have been returned to active duty within the Guard."

"Yes, and shipped as far off-world as they could send you, no doubt," Ash'lin murmured as she read the eval file. "Why wasn't I informed through the proper channels regarding troop deployment? It's bad enough the Majestrix apparently refused my advice to reject this offer of the King's, but to send me damaged goods …"

The words stung Glimmer but she refused to take the bait. "Majestrix Deathcry sends word that there is a suspected glitch in Shi'ar communications, Ambassador. Throughout the past several weeks there have been glitches reported throughout the Empire along supposedly secure channels. She felt it best to send this message in person."

Ash'lin looked at Glimmer Girl hard, searching for any sign of weakness. They both knew the glitches had started the one word whispering through their government that unnerved them all like none other.

Doom. The sole human who had once brought the entire Shi'ar Empire to its knees.

Ash'lin shook her head, concentrating on Glimmer Girl. The purple-skinned woman had been beaten into a severe coma by the Eternal leader, Ikaris, and spent considerable recovery time on Hala during the Three Day Civil War. There would always be doubt about her loyalty to the Majestrix.

She hid a smile beneath her icy veneer. Perhaps Glimmer Girl would be useful, after all. If she were to do something wrong that could look bad for the Majestrix, allowing Ash'lin to take advantage of the situation to rise higher in the Empire …

"Will you be staying on in Asgard after the troops arrive?"

"I am here until I am ordered elsewhere, ma'am," Glimmer replied.

"Very well," Ash'lin nodded, handing the Majestrix's document back to the Guardsman. "Take this to King William and inform him of the impending arrival of the troops. Assist in any preparations that need to be made. If there is time, check into your quarters and settle your possessions. Return here at 21:30. Do not be late. We will be entertaining a very important guest."

KOVAR THE ACCUSER

09:03 STANDARD TIME

EMBASSY ROAD

Kovar walked through Embassy Road, the section of Asgard that had been turned into the Ambassadorial District over a century previous, when it had become apparent to all that the Eternal War had no clear end in sight. There were four Embassies on this road. First came Earth to the left, then the Shi'ar to the right, then the Kree to the left, and the Skrull at the end on the far right. Each building was two stories tall because of Asgard's building codes and barely deeper than they were tall. Between each of the buildings were smaller residences (converted Asgardian houses) for the Ambassadorial staffs.

Passing the Earth Embassy, Kovar nodded to Miss Almond, who pretended she didn't see him. There was more activity than usual at the Earth Embassy this morning, the Accuser noted. Like the Skrulls down at the opposite end, the Earth staff was far less than the Kree and Shi'ar, but today the Earth Embassy was a flurry of activity.

He glanced towards the Shi'ar Embassy as soon the Earth Embassy was behind him. The text message from Ash'lin was still on his mind. He was so certain it was a faked message that he half-believed it to be authentic. The message had come from the Shi'ar Embassy, that much was certain, but Kovar didn't want to risk his intel experts looking at it any deeper, for fear …

'Well,' he thought to himself as his eyes focused straight down the road, away from the Shi'ar Embassy, 'let's be honest. Why risk a potentially intriguing meeting?'

For two races that had spent centuries hating each other, fighting to control the universe as they expanded their empires, many urban legends had arisen in each side about the other. It was impossible for it not to happen. One such myth that had persisted among the Kree Accusers long before Kovar had achieved that rank was that Shi'ar women were cold in public and hot in private, especially (and unsurprisingly) around Kree officers.

Kovar had never given much weight to such stories, though when enough drinks were emptied into Kree stomachs, seemingly everyone had a story to tell of an exotic tryst with some Shi'ar beauty.

From the decade he'd spent sitting at the Council table with Ash'lin, and observing not only her activities but the actions of her female staff, Kovar knew they fulfilled at least the first part of the myth.

But did they meet the second?

He had to admit he was intrigued at the idea of finding out. Instead of the excitement and joy that all had expected to come once Thanos had been defeated, tension ran high with the news of Doom. There was a dull buzz that seemed to hang in the air and nerves were frayed.

Asgardians were a proud people. After the devastation True Ragnarok had laid upon them, Kovar had watched, amazed, as the survivors went right to work rebuilding their city. But now, after the Battle of Niffleheim, a pall had fallen among them. Perhaps it was the loss of life, but Kovar thought there was more to it. During Ragnarok, the Olympians had broken their non-aggression pact and fought against Asgard. Now, many of those same Olympians who had lost their lives were returned to life. The survivors, himself included, brought back horror stories of Olympians slain one day and arisen the next.

Kovar had spent years watching men and women crack under the extended pressure. Perhaps Ash'lin, a woman who kept seemingly every real emotion buried inside, whose only public outbursts were the calculated efforts of a political animal, was cracking.

Finding out just might be worthwhile … one never knew where new friends might be found …

CABLE

10:48 STANDARD TIME

EARTH EMBASSY

"Nathan, I need your signature on this pile of documents."

Cable stood in the middle of a bustling floor of activity, staring glassy-eyed at his liaison, Rebecca Almond. "What are all these people doing here?" He estimated there were thirty people bustling about the office this morning. "I thought we had a staff of eight people?"

Rebecca shoved the Docu-pad into his chest. "Sign. These. Now."

"I don't do paperwork," Cable replied, shoving the Docu-pad back at her.

"I know," Miss Almond shot back. "That's why you've always have so much to attend to."

Cable reluctantly took the Docu-pad, then turned his attention back to the crowded room. "What's the story on the hustle and bustle?"

"The ULN agreed to send 500 personnel to Asgard to assist in the defense. This is the first wave of additional staff we're going to need to handle the excess troops."

"When will they arrive?"

"Medical and food staffs will begin arriving in a few days. Troops will come after that."

Cable looked down at the Docu-pad as she talked, flipping through the electronic data files that needed his signature. "I don't know what half this material outlines," he said, frowning. "Come to my office and explain it to me."

"I don't have time to-"

"I could always not sign it," he said before walking away.

"Bastard," she whispered, following behind, a smile coming to her face despite herself.

DANI MOONSTAR

12:16 STANDARD TIME

THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

"How did your meeting with King William go?" Dani Moonstar asked Glimmer Girl as the Imperial Guardsman exited the Throne Room.

"It went well, Dani," Glimmer nodded politely.

"Free for lunch?" Dani asked politely. "I'm meeting Skrull 4 at Logan's Bar and Grill." She rubbed her neck. "It's even worth risking Logan's cheese-and-bacon fries to get away from this paperwork. Do you have any idea how many planets want a Valkyrie around to cut ribbons for mall opening ceremonies?"

"I'm not sure-"

"My treat."

Glimmer looked forlornly in the direction of Embassy Road, then looked back and smiled lightly. "Sure. Why not? I don't have much to unpack anyway and it'll be good to catch up with one of the few friendly faces I recognize."

ASH'LIN

12:27 STANDARD TIME

SHI'AR EMBASSY

Ash'lin slammed the Docu-pad down hard on her large desk. "Shrabnit!" she swore angrily. The Majestrix was doing this to spite her, she knew. When Ash'lin had sent King Williams's request for 500 troops through to Chandilar, she had attached a note detailing the two options that she felt would be most beneficial to the Shi'ar Empire. The first option was to reject the proposal outright so that she could angle for some extra benefit. The second was to at least double the requisition and send 1,000 troops.

That's what the Kree would do, after all. They were as predictable as they were arrogant. Asgard would be lucky if the Kree sent only 2,000 troops.

Ash'lin grinned, thinking of how easy it was to twist Kovar to her whims. The Kree Ambassador had no idea what she had planned for him.

DANI MOONSTAR

12:31 STANDARD TIME

LOGAN'S BAR AND GRILL

"Busy place," Glimmer Girl said, impressed with the hustle and bustle of Logan's Bar and Grill.

"This is where most of the Ambassadorial staffs come to eat lunch," Dani explained, nodding to the mixed crowd that moved easily in each other's company. Dani remembered a time when it was not this peaceable, where every hour brought another brawl. She smiled - Logan considered those the good days. "It's not easy for these people here on Asgard," she explained to Glimmer. "This is a culture of war. Asgardians do enjoy themselves, don't get me wrong, but if you don't like ale and roasted meat and long, boastful stories, well …" Dani let her voice trail off.

Glimmer smiled. "It is very good to see you again, Dani."

"Same here, Glimmer. It has been almost three years since Kovar and I helped you and your Imperial Guardsmen defend-"

"Dani!" The two women turned to see a large, metallic green android waddling towards them. Glimmer could barely take her eyes off him; she could never remember seeing a fat robot in her entire life. "My my, who is this gorgeous woman?"

Dani rolled her eyes as she smiled. "Logan, this is Glimmer Girl, one of the Imperial Guardsman."

Logan clapped his hands together. "The first of many, I hope, to find their way into my fine establishment!" Glimmer watched as his face went from smiling at her to frowning at Dani in the blink of an eye. "Dani, what is this that is happening? Angelica is my best waitress and you keep sending her on missions so she's gone for weeks! Please tell me I am going to get her back before all of these troops arrive?"

Dani shook her head. "I think you've lost that one for good, Logan. Angelica's not likely to be back anytime soon." She searched around the bar. "Have you seen Skrull 4, Logan? I'm supposed to meet him for lunch."

Logan rubbed his stomach. "No, Dani, I have not. But surely no man would be so insane as to stand up two beautiful women such as yourselves! Not even a Skrull!"

ASH'LIN

12:35 STANDARD TIME

SKRULL EMBASSY

"What do you mean he isn't here?" Ash'lin asked the nervous male Skrull who met her at the door.

"I am sorry, Ambassador Ash'lin, so sorry," the Skrull replied, shuffling the papers he held in his hand in a nervous twitch. "We have not seen him at all this day. Not at all."

"He will pay for this!" Ash'lin roared.

KOVAR THE ACCUSER

12:37 STANDARD TIME

ASGARD CENTER - STATUE TO THOR ODINSON

Kovar stood with his back to the Jobuscema carved statue of Thor, and looked across the way to check the clock tower on the Heimdall Library. Kovar suddenly had a sinking feeling that tonight's rendezvous with Ash'lin and her staff was not going to be much different that this …

Where the devil was Skrull 4?

SKRULL 4

TWENTY-THREE MINUTES AGO

THOR ODINSON HALL OF PEACE

On the upper levels of the Odinson Hall, an invisible Skrull 4 stood across the hall from the office of the Asgardian Ambassador.

He watched Zoya, one of the younger Valkyrior, approach and knock on the Ambassador's door. "Moonstar," the Valkyrie said after opening the door. "King William wishes to inform you that his meeting with Glimmer Girl is nearing an end."

"Thank you, Zoya," Dani replied, unseen within.

Forty-one seconds passed and Skrull 4 watched as Dani exited her office, locking the door behind her. Skrull 4 walked silently to the window, waiting for Dani to emerge from the front door. When she had, he moved quickly back to the Ambassador's door. After waiting for the hallway to clear, Skrull 4 stretched his body thin and entered the room through the small space between the bottom of the door and the floor.

Once inside, he remained invisible, and went immediately to work.

SKRULL 4

SIXTEEN MINUTES AGO

SHI'AR EMBASSY

He arrived just as Ash'lin was leaving. Working quickly, Skrull 4 moved around to the rear of the Embassy, where he stretched his body upwards and into the Ambassador's office. He went immediately to work.

SKRULL 4

TWO MINUTES AGO

KREE EMBASSY

Standing in the middle of Kovar's office, Skrull 4 took not of the large painted image of the Supreme Intelligence. That would work perfectly. He raised his forefinger and set it ablaze, then went immediately to work.

SKRULL 4

NOW - 12:40 STANDARD TIME

EARTH EMBASSY

"I can assure you, Skrull 4, that the Ambassador is in his office at the moment, and very busy."

"Of course, Miss Almond," Skrull 4 nodded apologetically. "But I was on my way to Logan's to meet Ambassador Moonstar for lunch. I thought Cable might-"

"You were wrong," Miss Almond folded her arms across her chest.

"No," Cable said from inside the Embassy behind her, "he wasn't." Miss Almond turned to lecture Cable when she saw the smile on his face. "I'm finished signing the documents," he said, handing her the Docu-pad. "Why don't you join us, Rebecca?"

"I think not," she said icily, and moved quickly back inside.

"Rebecca?" Skrull 4 asked Cable, raising an eyebrow. "I was led to believe her first name was 'Miss'."

Cable looked at him quizzically. "Was that a joke? From a Skrull? What have you got up your sleeve, 4?" he joked, slapping the Skrull on the back.

KOVAR THE ACCUSER

21:20 STANDARD TIME

SHI'AR EMBASSY - BACK GARDENS

As Kovar moved through the thin woods behind the section of Shi'ar apartment to the gardens behind their Embassy, he had to admit that the curiosity was almost overwhelming. Surely it wasn't Ash'lin who had sent the message, but …

But what if it was?

Every time he thought about this message, his mind shot him back to his youth, when he was training in the military academy on Hala and the missed opportunity that had cost him two years of extra study. Fifty students had been sent an encrypted email. Only six bothered to spend the four weeks it took to break the code and read the message. Those six were all immediately elevated in rank, and sent directly into the Accuser training academy.

Two years ahead of anyone else in Kovar's class.

An opportunity for a tryst with Ash'lin and her female staff … Kovar might not have particularly liked Ash'lin personally, but he had no complaints about her physically.

"Hello, Kovar."

He reached spun around to find a purple-skinned woman glimmering in the shadows. "Who is- by the maker … Glimmer Girl?" he asked, unsure.

She moved into the light. "The one and the same. I see you received my message."

"Your message?" he asked, standing tall.

"You didn't think Ash'lin was the one who sent it, did you?" she grinned slyly. "It is good to see you again, Accuser."

"By the Supremor, I never thought I'd see you again." Kovar took a tentative step forward, and asked, "How long has it been?"

"Three very long years," she said just before they came together in a passionate kiss.

SKRULL 4

21:26 STANDARD TIME

SKRULL EMBASSY

Skrull 4 sat at a bank of computer monitors as they churned through the raw data of intelligence that had been gathered all afternoon from the data taps he'd placed in the Asgard, Shi'ar, and Kree Embassies. In each office the Skrull Ambassador had placed series of taps that would feed them not only video and voice data from the Ambassador's offices, but a copy of all electronic communication sent through their computers. Skrull 4 couldn't believe they worked as well as they did; they seemed light years ahead of what he had been led to believe the Skrull scientists were capable of-

"Do they work?" a voice asked behind him.

Without turning, Skrull 4 replied, "Yes, remarkably well. It appears the first act of our government's new pact is a success."

"Good," Cable replied, taking a seat beside Skrull 4. "Now let us see what we shall see."

THE PLAYERS to be continued …

One never knew where new friends might be found.

Y G G D R A S I L

comments to bousquet22@earthlink.net

Mark Bousquet

17 February 2003

Northern Bear Productions