by Ivan Kal
“And I know that you have read the reports from our fleets in their territory. The Krashin had started fielding more of those same class of beasts, in direct answer to our Devastators. It is only a matter of time until they force our forces out of their territory, and then they will continue their invasion and we will again be stuck fighting a war on two fronts,” Vorash said to the room. He could see his words having an effect on the other O’fa, and Valanaru alone was glaring at him in anger.
“There are plans in place that you are not aware of, O’fa Vorash.” Valanaru’s words dripped with venom. “The invaders will soon feel the full might of the Erasi Fleet and the industrial might of the Erasi core systems. We will not fail.”
Vorash almost opened his mouth to mock her, but he resisted. Valanaru had too much influence over majority of the council, and she owned much of the shares in the largest corporations in the Erasi. He might be able to sway them to his side from time to time, but in the end most would side with her. He needed to be patient and smart about it.
“I do not doubt your conviction,” Vorash started, “but until we see the fruits of your plans, this council’s job is to question and push in the interest of all the Erasi,” he said sweetly. He could see that his sudden change of tact threw her off, and she narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion.
The rest of the O’fa nodded in agreement, more perhaps because the confrontation between Valanaru and Vorash seemed to have come to a close.
“Oh, do not fear, O’fa Vorash. Soon, I shall make them regret ever standing in our way.”
* * *
Later that night, Vorash sat in his private office looking out of the window at the tall buildings surrounding his compound. The lights were almost blinding, so far up the Gena Prime’s sky that he couldn’t even see the ground. Below him was only the darkness, the entire planet obscured by buildings. Transports moved like swarms about in a chaotic way that somehow made him think on the Erasi.
They were like that, swarms of beings living in an organized kind of chaos, but all subservient to the core races of the Erasi. The races that had held on to their power by exploiting the lower members of the Erasi. It sickened him to know that he had part in making it so. But their greatest crime was convincing the other member races that they were benefiting from being a part of the Erasi.
Vorash would change that, even if it was the last thing he did. The Erasi would mean something more.
A chime at his doors announced that he had a visitor, and with a mental command Vorash let him in. “You were right,” Vorash’s second Skmeh said.
“Of course. She can’t afford anything that would weaken her position. The truth would only show the rest the depths of her failure.” Vorash turned away from the window and faced Skmeh.
“But keeping that from the council…it is treason.”
Vorash laughed at his second’s naivety. “The law of the Erasi is whatever the O’fa say. And she is one of the founders.”
“So are you. If you revealed this now, we might turn enough of the others to remove her from the council,” Skmeh urged.
Vorash considered it. Valanaru was hiding much about the war from the other; it wasn’t even particularly difficult, as the Gatrey were in charge of most of the Erasi information distribution centers. Not all, but most. And while she couldn’t suppress information coming in from the civilian outer systems, the corporations having too much influence, she did have a great amount of influence in the back channels of the military. And so she had hidden the fact that the alliance of the Empire and Shara Daim had a ghost task-force operating in the Erasi core. Already this task-force had struck at several secret military and supply systems, and Valanaru had little success in finding it.
“Do not worry, Skmeh. We will use this information, but only when the time is right. She has too much influence and power as it stands. We need more time,” Vorash said. It bothered him a bit that his silence had allowed the invaders to strike at Erasi, but so far the alliance had proved very capable in targeting only the military targets. There had not been any instances where a civilian population had been harmed. “So what news do you have for me? What did she do after the meeting?”
“The report from my people says that she was not happy with the way you took away her spotlight and made the defense of Jerthath seem worthless.”
“Understandable,” Vorash said with a smile.
“She had also sent out orders to the Crescent.”
“Oh?”
“She has instructed the commander to move it to another military base here in the core. The reason cited in the orders is for further testing.” He put a data chip on the table and opened a star map, showing Vorash the system that the Crescent was being moved to.
“Hm…that is technically within the bounds the council gave. She is only forbidden from using it on the front. But it is strange…”
“You suspect that she is going to break with the will of the council?”
“She is forbidden to use the Crescent until she has proven that it works as intended. She would not risk her influence by disobeying the will of the council. Bend the orders a bit, sure. But not break them, not yet anyway,” Vorash said thoughtfully. “I think that she might’ve just found a way to prove to the council that the Crescent is operational.”
Vorash grimaced as he figured it out. “And I think that I just primed the council to let her use it even if it is still uncontrollable.”
“That system is suspiciously close to the last system the invaders ghost task-force attacked. I bet that she plans on setting up a trap.” Vorash shook his head; he had seen the records of the Crescents use. If Valanaru succeeded, she would have the proof that she could use the Crescent, and after Vorash had just made it clear that in his opinion the war was going badly, she would have the permission she needed to send the thing to the front.
He’d underestimated the Weaver. Even distracted and weakened, she still had managed to take the defeat he had given her and use it to her advantage.
“We need to accelerate our plans,” Vorash said slowly.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Send the go ahead to the provisional heads and the corporation leaders. We need them ready for phase two sooner than I had planned.”
Chapter Eight
Sanctuary
Vaana and Kane stepped out of their transport ship, followed closely by a massive Wolion–Sora–and onto the palace ground of Olympus city. Looking around, they could not help but admire the palace itself, and the tall tower in the middle of the circular palace grounds in the heart of the Empire’s capital. They had been here before, of course; but today they were not simply visiting. Today, they were here as the leaders of Shara Daim. This visit was going to be a much different one. It was the first real test of their leadership.
Sora raised her head and sniffed the wind, content that she had returned home after so long. Her empathic Sha spilled over Kane and Vaana, filling them with her joy. The wind pushed Vaana’s shoulder-length white hair to her face, and she reached up with her hand and pulled it back. Both of them had adopted a new look, dyeing their hair white in a stark contrast to their obsidian-colored skin, and shaving one side of their head, leaving hair only on top and the other side. Vaana’s shaved side was her right, and Kane’s his left. They loved experimenting with different styles and looks. And not even a day had passed since they had changed their look until a few officials on Shara Radum started copying the look. It amused the twins to no end to see their experiments being taken as genius moves of fashion and style. They had even done ridiculous things, and watched as the entire fashion of Shara Radum rushed to change, only for them to change their looks back in a matter of days.
They walked over the platform and were met by the palace guards, an honor guard that stood a step behind the Emperor himself. Tomas Klein waited for them to approach and then bowed his head, a gesture that the twins returned. Then the Emperor smiled.
“Welcome to Sanctuary. Co
me, we have much to discuss,” the Emperor said, falling in step beside them as he led them into the palace. The twins’ own honor guard, their Va Sun, fell in formation behind them, along with the palace guards, and followed a few steps behind.
They couldn’t help but mentally cringe at the attire that everyone wore, the Emperor included: tight body suits and long overcoats. A few of them would have some fashion detail, a crest, a coat of several colors, but it was rare. The Empire’s fashion was in the twins’ opinion nonexistent. Their own attire was their Shur At, arranged as a loose white tunic around their shoulders and upper torso, then wrapped tightly around their midsections colored in dark green, with a flowing red half-skirt dropping behind them from the waist and white tight leggings. The Emperor, on the other hand, looked almost exactly as every person they passed. It’s atrocious. He at least should know the value of an image, Kane told his sister mentally. Father is the same, Vaana responded. Kane dropped the topic, refusing to get drawn into it again. He had tried to get his father to wear clothes more fitting his station, but the old man was stubborn beyond belief. If it didn’t aid him in getting stronger, it was too much of a bother.
“This place is still the same as I remember,” Kane commented out loud. The last time they had visited Sanctuary had been over a decade ago. Still too bright, Vaana’s voice added in his mind. Sora added her own opinion in the form of feelings of amusement, and Kane returned a mental chuckle. Shara Radum was a much darker world–its sun bathed the world in much solar radiation but the light was dimmer, everything painted in shades of red. And Shara Daim preferred dark colors in general. The Empire on the other hand usually painted their walls in bright colors.
“Yes, I consider making changes every few years, but in the end I always decide against it. The palace is more of a reminder for me of what happened long ago. It’s a bit old fashioned, but it helps me remember where we came from.”
“The Shara Daim had once forgotten their past,” Vaana said. “Our mother made sure that that will never happen again. Having such visible reminders of the past is important,” she finished, agreeing with the Emperor.
A few minutes later they were sitting in a fairly large meeting room, Vaana and Kane sitting on the one side and the Emperor on the other. Sora curled up at their feet. They already knew the reason for the invitations, but now they would need to agree at the course of action. The Shara Daim and the Empire were allies, and with the twins now in charge it was up to them to come to an agreement with the Emperor.
“My hope is that this is nothing but a simple diplomatic group. Sent to negotiate with us and establish relations,” the Emperor began, “but…I doubt that. All the reports that I had read suggest that the Josanti League considers all star-nations outside of the core primitive and not worthy of their time. ”
“We agree,” Vaana said. The two of them had reviewed the reports and the data sent by the Emperor on their trip to Empire’s capital. The Sentinel analysis was quite extensive. The Josanti League was a powerful star-nation used to being in power. They did not send diplomatic teams to seek out relations with other star-nations.
“So, now we have a few other possibilities. They could’ve actually reviewed the data the Sentinels had given them about us and realized that we were not just some small backwater star-nation, and have now decided to break with a long-standing tradition to send a mission to seek us out. I doubt that very much,” the Emperor said with a shake of his head. “Or, seeing as the being in apparent charge of this team is a Partenai, it could have to do with who we are. If the Partenai have records of the old history, they might’ve noticed that we look fairly similar to the People, and they could be simply interested in learning more.”
Kane nodded his head. Vaana and he had read through the People’s files on the Partenai, and had learned much about them and the circumstances leading to them and two other races rebelling against the People and their guidance. For their crime, the People had punished them severely.
“Or,” Kane started, “they want to make us pay for what the People did to them long ago–”
“–and this could be only a mission to gather more information,” Vaana finished, slipping into their usual speaking patterns.
Not even missing a beat upon hearing their manner of speaking, the Emperor sighed. “That is a possibility as well. One that could be very problematic for us. We cannot afford to be engaged in two wars at the same time…”
Vaana and Kane agreed. Both of them knew the amount of warships they had committed to the invasion of the Erasi, and they were still outnumbered. Most of the Empire’s fleets and the Shara Daim’s fleets were on the front, aside from the majority of the Sovereigns. And those had been left behind on purpose–their parents were not sure if they had managed to turn all of the Erasi allies to their side, or at least to neutrality. And they had worried that the Erasi Weaver’s influence would be enough to convince some of them to attack while the alliance’s fleets were occupied. The Sovereigns were currently the majority of the forces available for the defense. And despite all of their strengths, their one greatest weakness remained: there was so few of them, and they could not be everywhere at the same time. All it would take to diminish their power was for an invading force to split and attack several places at once.
“So what do you suggest?” Vaana asked, reaching down to gently pet Sora.
“Meet with them and see what they want. My instincts tell me that they are not hostile, at least not yet. I invited you here in case that they want to negotiate our request for passage of our forces through their territory, although I doubt that they would’ve bothered to come here just for that. In any case, as the leaders of the Shara Daim, you should be present.”
“When will they arrive?” Kane asked.
“They should be here in three days’ time. I’ve arranged it so that they will pass through Sol and the access point to Nelus, and then here to Sanctuary.”
“So,” Vaana started, “we impress them with Sol and then Sanctuary, making sure that they understand that we are–”
“–more than what they believe. All while we try to learn their intention,” Kane finished.
“Yes. In any case, the Empire and the Shara Daim should present a unified front. We are dealing with an old and powerful star-nation, after all. And I do have another idea in mind…”
Chapter Nine
Three days later – trans-space
High Matriarch Levisomaerni of the Josanti League sat on the foam seat in her quarters aboard her diplomatic vessel, her legs tucked neatly beneath her and her wings curled over her long back. She used her telepathy to bring up and read through several holograms that flew in front of her. She and her diplomatic team were on the last stretch of their journey, one that had been filled with difficulties and surprises.
It had taken her a while to assemble the mission. Levisomaerni was a very respected and honored individual among the Josanti League, but she did not actually rule. She fulfilled the role of an advisor, and that of a symbol of lasting. She was after all one of the oldest individuals in the Josanti League. Her duty was to use the experience of such a life to guide and offer advice.
When she had advised the ruling caste of the Josanti League to send a mission to make diplomatic overtures to a star-nation outside of the galactic core, there had been quite a large amount of confusion. Levisomaerni had not meddled with the ruling caste in a long time. She did not tell them the reason for her advice, of course, as very few of the Josanti League members even knew anything about the People. A few of her people, the Partenai, knew, but they had agreed with her not to reveal the true reasons for the mission.
She would’ve gone by herself, privately, if she could’ve managed. But any personal visit by her to a foreign star-nation would’ve been seen as official by all of the Josanti League peers.
Her advice had been met with very respectful attempts at ignoring her advice. No one had actually said no to her, but they had attempted to reason with her. At
first they had simply pointing to tradition; such things were not done, they said. They said how such a mission would make them lose face with the other galactic core star-nations. But she persisted, and so they tried to show her the information that the Josanti League had on the Empire. The information was basic at best. Some cursory scans of the ships that had reached Josanti territory, and a few databases that the Empire offered.
Levisomaerni had quickly pointed out that they knew very little about them, aside from rumors and assumptions tainted by prejudice against the outer systems. They did not like her pointing that out, but again no one had dared speak with her with anything other than respect. Quickly she had realized that they would continue to ignore her advice, so she had simply asked them directly, making it a personal request.
That had been a much different story. None of them wanted to refuse, and as she had asked it as a favor they would gain something in return. Levisomaerni’s gratitude. And that was a rare currency indeed. She might not have much to do with the rule of the Josanti, but she was still a High Matriarch of the Partenai. And Partenai were the oldest and the most influential members of the Josanti League.
And so, they had assembled a diplomatic mission. And when they learned that she intended to go herself, they had attached a fairly large military escort. All the ships of the line–more assembled firepower than most other star-nations outside of the core could even dream of fielding. They did not want to risk her, and she did understand and suffered through it gladly if it meant coming and seeing if her suspicions were true.
The diplomatic team assembled had been clearly reluctant. From the start of their trip they had been of the belief that this entire thing was a waste of time. In their eyes, this Empire had noting of worth to offer to the Josanti. And Levisomaerni could understand their reluctance; from the data available to them there was nothing that stood out. Even she herself could see nothing impressive, which was why she had reached out to those outside of the Josanti League that owed her favors, and quickly she had gained information gathered by other races, those who lived at the edge of the galactic core.
