Standing by the warship's window, gazing at the planet Chitauri Pri looming ahead, Lothar replayed the images his adoptive father, Thanos, had described to him in his mind.
"Lord Lothar, we are about to arrive at Chitauri Pri. Please make your preparations."
After returning to the Black Quadrant, the AI Woz had detached from the Babel System and relocated to a finely crafted battleship.
"Tsk tsk, Thanos must really trust you to just hand you an entire planet to govern," Astra remarked, wiping away traces of liquor from his thick beard, his tone filled with intrigue.
Driven by his need to personally witness his enemy's demise, Astra had chosen to follow Lothar over General Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight. The reason was simple—at the very least, he had already developed a clear understanding of Lothar's strength.
"Hm? Isn't that the sycophant?"
Ever since arriving in the Black Quadrant the previous day, Astra hadn't seen The Other. And yet, here he was now, along with an overwhelming sea of Chitauri soldiers stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Prince Lothar, fleet reinforcents have been completed!"
The Other, who had clearly heard Astra's snide remark, shot him a venomous glare but remained respectful as he saluted Lothar.
"Prince Lothar, this is the resource consumption report for this operation. Please review it."
Waving his blue scepter, The Other summoned a glowing screen before Lothar's eyes.
"I also have good news. During this recent evolutionary process, I experinted with incorporating the energy of the Casket of Ancient Winters. As a result, we now have a new division of soldiers capable of wielding ice magic."
"However, due to resource constraints, I couldn't produce too many of them."
"Oh, and one more thing—I've recovered the schematics for the forr Chitauri king's chanical war beasts. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to complete testing and synthesis within three months, deploying them to the battlefield."
"These war beasts..."
One after another, The Other ticulously presented the results of his efforts, each revelation making Astra's eyelids twitch.
As a seasoned researcher, Astra could imdiately discern just how devastatingly powerful these "weapons" were.
Who would've thought... the sycophant actually has so real use beyond flattery.
Watching The Other's barely concealed joy at receiving Lothar's approval, Astra scoffed internally.
Well... I suppose that's all he's got going for him.
"Proxima Midnight will be arriving shortly to take command of the army. Organize everything and leave it for her."
After reviewing all the data, Lothar acknowledged The Other's contributions before casually dropping a decision that left him utterly dumbfounded.
"W-Wait... taking command?!"
The Other's voice faltered in disbelief. If he rembered correctly, Chitauri Pri had been bestowed upon Lothar by Thanos himself. Why was Proxima Midnight taking over now?
"Lord Lothar, Lady Proxima Midnight has arrived."
Woz's voice chid through Lothar's wrist communicator. The young prince glanced at the stunned The Other.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-No, of course not."
The Other's survival instincts kicked in imdiately, prompting him to shake his head furiously. How Thanos distributed his resources was none of his business. He was just a subordinate—his only concern was doing his job.
And there was no way Lothar had lost Thanos' trust. Everyone in the Black Quadrant knew how highly the Mad Titan regarded him.
"Lothar, where's the data?"
The warship belonging to Proxima Midnight slowly descended, and a woman clad in jet-black armor strode confidently from the hatch toward Lothar.
"The Other will upload it to your warship," Lothar replied, glancing at her briefly.
"Understood."
Proxima Midnight's gaze shifted to The Other as she nodded in acknowledgnt. She recognized Lothar's most loyal vassal well—most of all for his ever-present, almost supernatural ability to declare, 'Rejoice!' at any mont.
No matter what Lothar did, The Other's celebrations were always tily, never absent, and never late.
"Oh, and Corvus wanted to let you know that he's uploaded all the intel on our targets to the information database. You can access it directly."
"Don't disappoint Father. Though... you never have."
Proxima Midnight's eyes softened slightly as she looked at the man she had practically watched grow up from infancy. She patted Lothar on the shoulder, smiling.
"Tch. Annoying."
Lothar cast a disdainful glance at her hand on his shoulder and scoffed.
He never had, and never would, disappoint Thanos.
"I still think you were cuter as a kid," Proxima Midnight chuckled as she clapped her hands, signaling her soldiers to push a Full Moon Projection Device from the warship.
"This is your power amplifier. Don't lose it this ti—we don't have many left in stock. Good luck. Corvus and I will be waiting for your good news on Planet U40."
With a shrug, Proxima Midnight departed, taking the Chitauri soldiers with her after handing over the package.
"Prince Lothar, this...?"
The Other, still confused, looked at his commander hesitantly.
"Bring the Casket of Ancient Winters. We're departing."
Lothar had no intention of explaining. He simply issued his command.
Though still sowhat lost, The Other obediently retrieved the casket embedded in the Chitauri Evolution Crystal, huffing and puffing as he carried it onto Lothar's warship.
"Woz, link to General Corvus' information database. Download all relevant mission data, set the coordinates, and prepare for a space jump."
Lothar buckled himself into his seat, watching as Woz used its chanical arms to secure the Full Moon Projection Device inside the warship.
"At once, Lord Lothar."
"Logging into the database... Access granted. Data download complete."
"Destination: Planet U40, ho of the Seventh Skrullian Imperial Army. Target individuals: Baltan and Gazzler."
"Jumping to hyperspace in ten seconds."
"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
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