Warhawk

by Moonatik

4 - Confrontation

20:00 - 20/08/1003 - Whinnyapolis, Manesbury

The first thing the eye was drawn to when entering Hawkrich’s office was the gigantic two-metre-tall portrait of himself on the wall. Every time Selenite had been in this office it grated at her, as if ponies didn’t already know whose office it was. Purely redundant excess, she considered it.

It felt more like a museum than it did an office. There was enough space for it to act as a museum and more than enough expensive trinkets and works of art lining the walls and situated on podiums to fill one. Nothing looked like it was worth any less than a couple months of the average soldier’s salary. Even the pencils looked premium. There could’ve been enough space in here for five or six ponies to comfortably work, but it was the exclusive domain of the pony at the broad, black wood desk at the far side of the room.

Even seated, Hawkrich’s height dwarfed Selenite. Might have just been the size of the desk, and the size of the chair, but the size of the stallion couldn’t be disregarded. She may be standing and he may be seated, but she’d be looking up at him for the coming conversation.

Calmly approaching the desk, Selenite saluted. “Warmaster.”

Hawkrich looked up from his desk, slapping Selenite with a condescending glare. “General. I was wondering when you were going to arrive. At ease.”

Lowering her hoof, Selenite glanced up at the clock on Hawkrich’s wall, another priceless antique by the looks of it. It was mere seconds before eight o’clock, assuming it had been set to the right time. Making a mental note of that, she reached for a chair in front of the desk.

“Stand where you are,” Hawkrich commanded.

Selenite stopped, her eyebrow slightly raised. After a moment she pushed the chair aside and stood up straight.

“First question, do you want to keep your position?”

Selenite blinked. Was that a threat? She felt like she’d been lightly pushed in the chest, not enough to alter her balance but enough to take her aback. “Of course.”

“And does the fact that I am a superior officer mean anything to you?”

“Of course,” she repeated.

“Then why are you undermining my authority at every possible opportunity?”

There it was. Selenite fought back a grimace. “I’m sorry, sir, but as an officer in the Imperial Lunar Army, it’s my duty to report any flaws-”

“Reporting flaws?” Hawkrich seethed. “What you have done goes beyond reporting flaws. Several times you’ve directly undermined my authority, in front of the war council, in front of the Empress herself! Do your own subordinates speak to you the way you’ve spoken to me?”

“Yes, all the time!” Selenite blurt out. Hawkrich blinked, his wings quivering a little. “What kind of General would I be if I didn’t heed input from other officers?”

“Does that include trashing everything I introduce in front of the Empress like that? Making me look like a fool? It’s as if…” He groaned, putting a hoof up to his forehead. “Are you trying to get me sacked?”

Selenite’s brow furrowed. “Is that all you care about?”

“What I care about is carrying out my Imperial mandate without subordinates who have no clue what tack is and who don’t know their place standing in my way.”

“Respectfully, Warmaster, none of us would need to ‘stand in your way’-” Selenite made air-quotes with her wings. “-if you weren't hounding us with all these ill-conceived plans at the expense of resources, the expense of the war effort, the expense of lives.”

Hot air huffed out of Hawkrich’s nostrils as he sat back in his seat. “No offence, General,” he snarled. “You are twenty-two years old. There are ponies several years your senior who are struggling to pass their exams in officers' school. You are the rank you are because you were in the right place at the right time for the Empress to notice. In a proper army, an officer knows their place.”

Her jaw hanging low, Selenite blinked. “Sorry, my age? What has that got to do with anything?”

“Talk back to me like that again and you’re sacked.” The words were blunt and straight, brooking no argument.

“What do-” Selenite screwed her jaw shut. The barely concealed threats were now just threats. She sighed, bringing her wings tight and close to her side. “I understand, Sir,” she said, doing all in her power to restrain her tone.

“It seems you can be made to see reason,” Hawkrich sneered. “If you try to make a fool of me in front of the Empress again, you will be very sorry.” Hawkrich leaned back. “Dismissed.”

Despite every bubbling instinct in Selenite’s body urging her to at least hit back with a snarky insult, she kept a cool head on. Anything less than standard decorum would be suspicious, so she threw up a hoof in salute. Then immediately turned to leave without another word. She knew what she was doing next. Not that he needed to know.

Once out she carefully shut the door behind her. She walked past Hawkrich’s secretary like nothing was amiss. Then, once out of sight of his secretary, she dashed for the nearest phone. The manor was a centre of command, so phones were everywhere. She knew the only real way to resolve a conflict of character was to appeal to higher authority. And there was only one authority higher than Hawkrich.

She dialled in the number of the Imperial Secretariat as quick as she could and put the hoofset to her head. Soon came the voice of Mineral Fragment, Nightmare Moon’s personal secretary. “This is the Imperial Secretariat, please state your name and authorisation-”

“Mineral, it’s Selenite. Code three-eight-three-four.”

Silence on the line for a moment. “...Hello, General.”

“I need to speak with the Empress, as soon as possible. It’s a matter of personal conflict disrupting command and it’s imperative that she resolves it.”

Through the phone she heard rustling papers and a short “hmm” from Mineral. “Seems you already have a meeting with the Empress and Warmaster Hawkrich booked for tomorrow at eighteen hundred hours.”

Drat, she nearly forgot. She was invited by Nightmare Moon to plan an operation to liberate a conversion camp. And the mission involved troops both under her command and Hawkrich’s direct command, meaning both of them were being herded into a room with the Empress at the same time. Not what she needed then. “I need to speak to her before that.”

“I can try to get a message through to her, but she’s off at the frontline right now. Chances are she won’t be available again before your meeting tomorrow.”

“That’s-” Selenite groaned. “I’m sorry, that’s not soon enough.”

“General, you think I can wrest the Empress herself away from an active battlespace?” Mineral made no attempt to hide the ire in her voice. “Even if I could speak to her right now, the earliest you’re ever going to speak to her is tomorrow.”

“Look, I know it’s short notice-”

“You have your meeting tomorrow, Selenite. Take it.” Even through the phone, Mineral’s voice carried weight.

Selenite sighed. “Okay. Fine.”

“Will that be all?”

“Yes, thank you.” And before Selenite could add anything else, Mineral hung up.

Selenite slammed the phone down and clenched her wings. She blew out a deep breath and put a hoof to her forehead.

It took a second, but she pushed the frustration to the sidelines of her mind for the moment. No point wasting time here, she thought. Best to prepare for that meeting.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why isn’t there a King Sombra tag?

[soundtea]

11909813
... Because he's only mentioned in the background and doesn't even actually appear in the story in person?

[Moonatik]

11909821
Correct. Can confirm he won't make a physical appearance.