"Hooded Emptiness."

[FredM 0]

"Our greatest pretenses are built up not to hide the evil and the ugly in us, but our emptiness. The hardest thing to hide is something that is not there. " - Eric Hoffer

 

 

The room itself was small, but something that was comfortable. The bedding was new, the curtains that moved ever so slightly with the wind, sending in waves of the night's cold air into the room, were equally young in age. Yet none of these were of concern to the occupant of this humble place of residence. Sitting in a dark corner, a hooded figure ran his long nails against the edge of the leather chair he was sitting in. It was an item he had procured several decades before, yet was something his position had never allowed him to thoroughly enjoy until now. It was with what could best be described as deep sadness that he realized the chair would likely be relegated to an existence of loneliness, at least for the short term.

 

His deep meditative thoughts, focusing on the chair's left arm rest, were interrupted by the door sliding open. A figure, human looking by most standards, entered carrying a data recorder in his shaking hand. He bowed his head ever so slightly, glancing down at the document that now provided the only illumination in the room. "Insertion confirmed at six-point-seven, my lord. Complete system operation initiated seven minutes ahead of schedule, though resistance has been above programmed specifications," he said with a cowering voice.

 

There was no immediate response from the hooded figure, who continued to gently pet the left armrest like one might a pet. However, after what seemed like an eternity of silence, the figure's words echoed thru the room. "Is this a problem?," it asked with almost no emotion present. The human figure cleared his throat and brought forth whatever strength he could, "Uncertain, my lord. The intelligence reports failed to properly anticipate outsider interference."

 

Another long pause and silence filled the room. The figure stopped stroking the chair and leaned forward slightly, the edge of the hood itself now reflecting off the little light emanating from the padd. "Have Mr. Terov pay our dear Mrs. Crester a visit then, will you?" The other man only bowed and nodded, backing out towards the door that opened with a hiss. Yet before he had even completed three steps, the hooded, who had resumed his previous position, spoke. "Once that distraction is dealt with, ensure a similar mistake is not made. Of all situations for an error to take place, this is the first I will be deeply upset about," the voice echoed in a tone that was almost compassionate.

 

Twenty minutes later, a scream was briefly heard at the edge of the compound. Such things were so routine on this planet that no one paid it any attention, something the hooded figure had grown to enjoy. A mistake at this juncture was simply not acceptable. To think that over a decade of work, a decade of planning and positioning could be destroyed by such a small thing was preposterous. Yet, it was a reality they were not all faced with. It was a reality that