Chapter 13

Earth Dome, Geneva.

The air outside was beginning to feel crisper as winter drew near, the first frosts had settled in the morning and the trees that were dotted in and around the government offices were turning a golden shade of orange or red as they began to wind down. The parks and gardens set up beside the lake for the enjoyment and relaxation of the various officials and clerks were becoming more deserted, the only visitors now passed quickly through huddled in large woollen coats and gloves.

Director Karl Durban found himself a bench all to himself, there wasn't another soul for hundreds of yards and he was shrouded by the sleepy trees from view from the compound far behind. He had an excellent view of the lake and watched a few brave sailors rowing in the cold waters. As a native Australian Durban wasn't fond of the cold, even in winter back home it had remained mainly mild in the southern territories, so to come to a place where temperatures were already heading for freezing had been a shock to his system. But that was thirty years ago, and since then he'd been to the coldest places on Earth and beyond, from Ice planets to burning deserts he'd seen all the Earth Alliance could offer as he trained and served in his role of Spy, slowly but surely building up a network of agents and disgruntled nationals in every major empire, faction and group in the galaxy to serve the interests of his people.

It had been hard work, but he had become a spy master, the head of a valuable ring of agents feeding back information on a myriad of topics. His skills at organizing and coercing precisely the right sort of information allowed him to rise quickly through the ranks. Durban's people skills were legend in the EIA, especially his plays on members of the Kha'ri and the Centaurum to keep Earth space free of interference. He had become the deputy director of the EIA shortly after the Narn treaty was signed, and was promoted to its director proper five years later in 2224. His time since then had been consumed in politics and he longed for a decent challenge to his intelligence skills once more, and it seemed the growing Dilgar threat was going to grant him his wish.

A man thumped onto the seat beside him with an exhalation, the cool air misting from his warm breath. He wore a dark coat that appeared a size too big for him and a fur lined cap of black. He coughed a little and examined the view.

"I thought secret meetings like this only happened in story books." The man said in a thick eastern European accent.

"You'd be surprised how much from fiction is actually fact." Durban said. "Glad you could make it General."

"Call me Alexei." General Denisov replied. "I am off duty after all."

Durban nodded at the Earthforce Chairman of the joint chiefs, the senior soldier among humanity and more usually decked out in a grey uniform with five stars on his shoulder and a deck of medals on his chest. A meeting between two such senior members of the administration would have raised a lot of questions which Durban didn't want to answer, so he had set up this rendezvous on the quiet to make sure the wrong people didn't hear.

"You know why you're here?" he began.

"I would guess it's about the Dilgar." Denisov stated with a shrug. "Seems to be the main topic these days."

"In part, but also its about Secretary Brogan and his power games."

"Ah." Denisov sighed. "I had noticed he was playing this crisis for his own ends, gathering support in the senate. I suspect he has his eye on the presidency."

"That's a given, but worries me is who pays the price for him to get there." Durban shook his head. "He persuaded the President to authorize a surveillance mission to the Dilgar front, you heard?"

Denisov nodded. "It effects us too, it'll be one of my assets that goes out there, probably one our joint ships."

"Probably." Durban agreed, the EIA surveillance ships were run by Earthforce and had naval crews with teams of EIA specialists manning the vessels equipment. "You know it's a suicide mission?"

"Almost certainly."

"There's no 'almost' about it, if those guys go in they'll die."

"Its an order from the commander in chief, it has to happen." Denisov said flatly. "There is nothing I could do."

"Actually General…I mean Alexei, there is something. That's why I called this little meeting." Durban grinned. "We can fulfil the mission without losing a single crew member and prevent us getting dragged into this growing gagglef… this mess in the League."

Denisov stared at him. "You have my undivided attention."

"Remember, Brogan is counting on this mission to get us deeper involved in the war, I don't know why but he's got an agenda with the Dilgar. You and I both realise that if we take them on we're going to get badly hurt, win or lose it'll cost us a lot of lives for little real gain."

"There's a feeling that beating the Dilgar will put us on a par with the Centauri as a galactic superpower." Denisov suggested. "Many of my Generals are intrigued by the idea and anxious to send our forces into battle with a full sized empire to test them."

"Now don't say you agree with Brogan!" the Director gaped.

"Of course not, only a fool goes to war for no tangible gain. No, my duty is to the integrity and safety of the Alliance, a war with the Dilgar is not in our best interests. What is your plan?"

"You have to send a ship, we can't get out of that, but did you get told by the president exactly what ship to send?"

"No, just one of our spy ships."

"That's what Brogan wants, but there is no order to do so." Durban smiled as Denisov nodded in understanding. "You don't have to send an actual spy ship, it could be anything."

"Something which would not be so vulnerable." Denisov agreed.

"Like a dedicated warship, something with its own jump engines that could escape as necessary and defend itself if it had to."

Denisov snorted in laughter. "I can see why you are the EIA director, you are the most manipulative and sneaky man I've met!"

"Well thanks." Durban grinned in return. "This way we don't disobey a presidential order, we don't lose a valuable asset and a number of lives, and Secretary Brogan doesn't get us neck deep in the Dilgar war so he can become President of a super power!"

"It is a good plan." Denisov cackled a bit more. "I have a good ship out there now."

"I noticed a few scout cruisers out past Altair." Durban said. "It's the mission they're designed for, a quick look before scooting."

"Actually I'd prefer to send a dedicated warship, we have a heavy cruiser out there now, the Persephone, patrolling our borders. I know her Captain, he is skilled enough to get them out of trouble and will follow his orders to the letter."

"Even better." Durban concurred. "There's even less chance of losing a ship that big and powerful. I'm glad we're both on the same page Alexei."

"I'm only doing what I think is right for Earthforce." Denisov grimaced. "I don't like politics and I don't like politicians getting involved in running my fleets and armies. If this prevents one of my ships and its crew not coming home, then I do it because that's my job. Nothing else."

"I understand. Of course you realise this conversation never took place."

"And this trench coat will self destruct in ten seconds?" Denisov gave him a glance. "I know the drill Mr Director, just make sure Brogan doesn't play chess with the lives of my crews again."

Denisov stood up and took in a deep breath of the chilly air. "Reminds me of home." He commented. "Invigorating. Good day Director."

"Alexei." He nodded a farewell. The rowers still crossed the lake, the air still bit cold and the trees shedding their leaves in each breeze, but Durban had a new warmth inside. He had achieved something useful and would put that damn Brogan down in his place.

Abbai Central command.

Alikie didn't know exactly what was happening, but it seemed bad, guessing from the hard expression on General Shala'dans face things were going very grimly. The thin line of green on the tactical display ringing the planet had a gap in it, a gap through which a mass of red lights and dots were pouring through to everyone's consternation.

"Reserve units are being attacked while they are still gathering." A technician reported. "The rally points are already overrun."

"Set up new rally points." The Drazi said curtly.

"Our forces are being pushed back too fast, we'd have to put them directly in orbit to form up in time."

"I don't care if the rally points are outside, across the street and under the ocean!" Shala'dan snapped. "Get those routing ships lined up and ready to counter attack!"

"General, I can see this is a bad time…" Alikie began.

"Comms, get me Captain Mashir." Shala'dan yelled.

"But if you wouldn't mind…" the ambassador continued.

"No response," the communication officer shouted. "Her ship has been destroyed, it's off the scope."

"What about the rest of the First squadron?" he asked.

"Could you perhaps explain this?" Alikie kept on gently, her words seemingly lost in the cacophony.

"No readings." A deck officer replied to the General. "Looks like they're gone."

"Gone?" Alikie said "Where?"

"What about second squadron?" Shala'dan demanded. "Or the Third, fourth or Fifth?"

"No response, it looks like they are all destroyed."

The Drazi yelled in anger and rammed his fist through a screen, utterly terrifying Alikie with the burst of rage. "What's left up there?"

After a moment the answer came through. "I have Captain Cashik of the Ninth standing by, the tenth and eleventh is also in position under her orders, every other squadron of ships is redeploying but too slowly."

"Captain Cashik, this is central, do you hear me?" Shala'dan spoke directly to the Captain.

"I hear you." Cashik replied, her voice filtering through the speaker system. "We can see Dilgar units ahead of us widening the breach in our defences, others are pushing back elements of the Sixth squadron."

"We see it Captain, it is imperative that the Dilgar fleet does not reach orbit, is that clear."

"Yes General, if the Sixth falls, as it will in a few moments, they will have a clear run to orbit."

"Your orders are to proceed forward and hold the Dilgar advance at any cost, do you understand me Captain? Any cost."

"Preparing to attack now, what support should we look for?" Cashik wondered.

"Captain, we can offer no support." Shala'dan said sombrely. "Our ships are regrouping, but they won't be ready before the Dilgar strike. We need time, a few minutes, we need to slow down the Dilgar with the resources at our disposal Captain."

"Slow them down." The disembodied voice repeated. "Can homeworld be defended?"

"If we have time to gather our forces, perhaps." Shala'dan said. "But without time, we will all die."

"We understand General. Moving to intercept the Dilgar fleet, the goddess will grant us speed."

"Good luck Captain, we will send whatever we can spare." Shala'dan affirmed, then cut the channel.

"She's going to die isn't she?" Alikie asked in both amazement and sadness. "You sent her to die."

"This is war madam Ambassador."

"I would not have sent her, nobody here would have, it is suicide!"

"Yes Madam, and that's why I am here. I can give those orders, I can send warriors to their death, I can get them killed so more of your people do not have to. Her sacrifice is not in vain, she might just save this world."

There was a deep rumbling, a sound which got louder and louder with each second like a massive freight train approaching.

"What is that?" Alikie looked around.

"Sensors, what do you have?" Shala'dan asked. "Landing ship?"

"I don't think so." One of the operators said. "We have incoming!"

"Everyone take cover!" Shala'dan called out. "On the floor, quick!"

Alikie joined the room as the slid out of chairs, the roar outside deafening. Through one of the tall windows she saw a black plume of smoke and a fiery orb at its head apparently motionless in the air, a trick of perspective indicating the object was heading right for them. Suddenly as it neared the object seemed to grow staggeringly fast, it passed overhead, and Alikie along with the rest of the room swung their heads around to watch. They saw it hit the ground through the other set of windows in the building, crashing on the edge of the capital city and shattering half a dozen tall towers sending them to the ground in dusty spires. The shockwave from its impact raced across the land, passing under the command centres shield above the building.

"Stay down!" Shala'dan yelled over the noise, and in that instant the shockwave hit and blew out every window, showering the room with glass. The wisdom of putting windows in the command centre was shown to be flawed to the Abbai as dozens were injured by flying glass as brown dust filled the room.

"This is hell!" Alikie screamed unable to control herself any longer.

"Yes it is!" shouted Shala'dan. "An orbital strike, Dilgar mass driver. We were lucky!"

"How is this lucky!" she screeched.

"It could have been on top of us!" he chuckled a little and stood, completely covered in pale dust. It settled on every screen and technician in the room in a ghostly shroud.

"Look lively, we are still fighting!" the Drazi called. "You're not all dead yet, clean off your stations and give me a report!"

Alikie picked herself up, coughing on the thick air. She heard more coughs, and also shouted reports as control was restored.

"I want the orbital reserves sent forward to help Captain Cashik." The Drazi ordered. "Keep the other fleets assembling at the rally point."

"The orbital reserve fleet were those ships too damaged to fight!" Alikie said. "They won't last a second!"

"The Dilgar must destroy them before advancing, even if they can't hurt the Dilgar back they serve a purpose."

"These are people you are talking about! They have names and lives and families!" Alikie wailed in sadness.

"And when they fight and die it'll be to preserve two of those three things." Shala'dan replied. "I told you this would be the hardest thing to endure, this is why. Only your homeworld matters, now I have a battle to run."

Alikie backed away and collapsed on the dust covered floor, it had all turned into too much for her, the hash realities of war just couldn't be faced and the decisions Shala'dan made left her empty. But the very worst thing was she knew he was right, and that simply made her break down and cry on the floor of the command centre as the fate of her people hung in the balance all around her.

Dreadnought Overlord.

"With me brave warriors, follow on!"

Sha'dur was feeling unstoppable, after the initial stall in the attack Dilgar ships were now all but unopposed with the Abbai breaking and running in the face of the attack. It was a great victory, and it was his victory.

Captain Evenil was running the warship most efficiently, despite damage it was operating at full potential and cutting down enemy ships wherever it found them. Laser beams and bolt cannons pounded the crumbling Abbai fleet trying to hold them back and more ships were claimed by her guns.

"We've almost broken through." Evenil said.

"All fleet units will pursue any escaping vessels, missile units will start planetary cleansing, I'm sure my sister can provide the tools for that job." He grinned, the weapons Jha'durs fleet were carrying would make even the Supreme Warmaster blanche.

"Incoming Warmaster!" Evenil reported frantically. "Three battle squadrons from our port side!"

"Adjust course and speed." He ordered quickly. "Fleet units fire at will!"

The Dilgar fleet was out of its battle formation, in the confusion of the break through the various units had squeezed through where they could with no coordination, just a need to get into range with the Abbai. Sha'dur had not been able to reassert control, his efforts being directed at driving them on instead or preparing an overwhelming and steady assault. As a result when Captain Cashik's counter attack hit the Dilgar, despite being hugely outnumbered they carved into their enemies who were too taken aback to respond effectively.

"I want those Abbai ships dead!" the Warmaster snarled.

"Leading ships are having a hard time reacting." Evenil said. "They can't get into a favourable position."

"I don't care, use other ships!"

"We're too bunched up in the breach, following ships are being held up by the forward ones, and they are hemmed in by those coming along behind."

"So break up the fleet!" Sha'dur gasped. "Do I have to think of everything?"

"I'll give the order, but we are so out of position…" she tailed off under her commanders angry stare.

More ships were destroyed as they flailed around under the attack, the return fire barely scratching the Abbai ships. Cashik kept her vessels moving, not allowing the Dilgar to gather in one place to stop her. She realised it was a game of cat and mouse, and it wouldn't take the Dilgar long to organize themselves into a unified fighting force again, but by then she hoped to have a lot of reinforcements on their way, it just needed more time.

"This is pointless! Assemble our escorts!" Sha'dur snapped. "We will proceed with the attack."

"Alone sir? Are you serious?"

"Don't question me, of course I am!" he grinned, his eyes almost glazed and far away looking. "The Abbai are beaten, we just need one final push to tip them over the edge! We can do this, we can administer the final defeat ourselves!"

"I advise we wait for the whole fleet sir."

"So noted, now follow my original orders."

With a sigh Captain Evenil gave the commands, and the Dreadnought veered away followed by two dozen other ships of its escort. While the fleet milled around behind him Sha'dur headed away to drive deeper into the Abbai front. Central command saw the ships leave but could do nothing about it, they didn't have anything left to counter Sha'dur so stuck to their plan of rallying their fleets and preparing to strike back.

"Come on!" he roared. "This is why we were born, to lead our people to Victory!"

"Warmaster your Sister is urging us to stay with the fleet." Evenil read a message. "She says we're heading into…"

"Ignore it, all speed ahead!" Sha'dur laughed in joy. "We will never be forgotten!"

Evenil agreed with that, but the reason they would not be forgotten was what troubled her.

They burned down a couple of damaged Abbai ships and began reaching orbit, swinging around the curve of the planet. The ships were silhouetted by the planet below, their sharp angles black against the clouds and oceans below.

"There's noting to stop us!" Sha'dur grinned. "I told you there wouldn't be! We will destroy their capital city and central command!"

As soon as Evenil heard the words 'central Command' she realised what Jha'dur had been trying to warn her brother about. "Hells teeth!" she gritted. "All ships break off, break now!"

"How dare you!" Sha'dur leapt up. "What gives you…" his voice faded as the ships sensors caught something on the horizon coming up over the curvature of the planet.

It was a battlestation, the fully operational Pirocia class station which provided the main defence for the capital city below, something Sha'dur had completely forgotten about. That station now fired, its tremendous weapons load tearing into the Dilgar force and ripping destroyers into glittering metal. The command dreadnought pulled a frighteningly tight turn, throwing Sha'dur up into the roof as its thrusters went onto emergency power, straining and bending every support on the vessels hull. It was struck by multiple beams, severing communications and engines and leaving the ship spinning away under inertia out and beyond the Abbai defences. As the ship cleared the satellite grid the Abbai fleets finally gathered to attack.

Dreadnought Conqueror.

"Warmaster Sha'durs vessel is out of contact." An'jash said.

"Destroyed?" Jha'dur asked quickly.

"Crippled."

"Despatch a squadron to retrieve it, I have much to say to my brother." She said with a stoniness to her words. "Put me on fleetwide."

An'jash tapped some codes into her master command station. "Ready."

"Warmaster Jha'dur to fleet, begin withdrawal now starting with the rearmost units. Form a rally line at the following coordinates and hold there. An Abbai counter attack is heading your way, I want to see a slow and careful withdrawal which preserves our forces."

Abbai forces were already engaging the front of the breakthrough force while fresh units were heading for the breach to try and cut off those ships already within the circle of Abbai guns.

"Move the fleet forward into covering positions, we'll slow down that offensive and allow the less damaged ships to retire." Jha'dur frowned at the display, then a ghost of a smile came to her. "Now would be the time for our diversion."

As the battle around Ssumssha entered its final phase every eye in Abbai central command was watching the Dilgar begin to retreat, forces were gathering and driving the invaders back much to everyone's immense relief. It took them valuable seconds to see the jump points forming amidst the debris of Dilgar ships around the Primary colony world in the system away from Ssumssha. Ordinarily the defence grid would have destroyed whatever came through to point in a matter of seconds, a ship leaving a jump point is extremely vulnerable until its systems can fully recover from the energy drain of creating a vortex making combat jumps a very risky tactic. In this instance the risk worked, and ten warships emerged from hyperspace and instantly began firing missiles, not at the orbital defences, but at the planet below and behind them.

General Shala'dan responded quickly and targeted the automatic defences, a wave of fire converged on the missile ships quickly destroying them, but the missiles got through. It wasn't enough for global saturation, but each deadly payload of Stafford's Plague sentenced a whole city to a slow death, and even if the missiles didn't cover the whole planet given time the contagion surely would as panicked people spread Jha'durs latest concoction.

In the bright light of victory it hung like a cloud souring the Abbai population and leaving the officers in the control room in stunned silence.

"Why?" Alikie rose from the floor, the white carpet of dust still lying heavy on everything. Tracks ran down her face showing tears which she did not hide. "Why do they do this? Why do the Dilgar want us dead!"

"I don't know." Shala'dan replied sincerely. "For territory, for power, for fun. Maybe just because they can."

"They poisoned our colony." She stumbled on her words, the grief trapping those sounds in her throat. "It had no strategic value! It was nothing to them, we are nothing to them!" she yelled through the tears. "Why should they care!"

Shala'dan looked away, he had no answer. The Dilgar were in retreat and the Abbai fleet restoring the planetary defences, it had been a very close battle but they had won, they had protected Ssumssha at least for a little while longer, but by drawing forces to defend the homeworld they had sacrificed the colony and its millions of inhabitants. He knew it was the price of war, but it made it no easier to bear.

"Damn you!" Alikie screamed. "Damn you and your kind! A curse on conquerors and warriors! Damn every last one of you! How many more have to die before the universe realises war is not the way!"

Again he did not answer. It was an unanswerable question, and he felt like telling the hysterical leader that if not for the sacrifice of her own warriors Ssumssha would have fallen in a few minutes and now every one of them would be dead. It wouldn't matter to her, best leave her to work through the grief and shock alone.

"What have they done." She was quieter now. "What have they done? What have they done?" she repeated the phrase over and over, the nearby weapon controllers transfixed by the spectacle.

"Medical team." Shala'dan barked. "Take Ambassador Alikie to a place she can rest, everyone else get back to your stations!"

As the Ambassador was slowly led away arm in arm with a medic Shala'dan understood that the casualties of war were not just limited to those shot or burned on the battlefield, but would also be inflicted on those at home too. Abbai society was already a casualty of this war, its pacifist ideals shattered under the grim attack, the effect on the psyche of its people would never be understood by a simple Drazi soldier, so he focused his mind, ignored the dust caking his uniform, and began to restructure the defences ready for the next attack.

Geneva, Earth.

It was almost an alien landscape, completely new and unimagined filled with exotic wonders and terrors, with beings who's desires and ambitions were strange and new, and whose appearance awed him. But this was not some strange new world, at least not physically, it was an evening function designed to raise awareness of poverty growing in the African Bloc nations.

Morgan Clark was a fish out of water stood amidst the glitterati, there were two types of people in the room, those with power like the politicians, Captains of industry and diplomats, and those who thought they had power like film stars and celebrities. And then there was Clark himself who was neither, stood in a corner in a rented tuxedo with a half drunk glass of champagne in one hand and a canapé in the other feeling utterly useless. The event was held in the great reception hall of the senate building with pale wooden floors and high ceilings dominated by thirty foot high windows at the head of the room. It was night outside, and within a warm glow of subdued lighting created a pleasant ambience for the rich and famous within.

Clark was here because Secretary of State Brogan had invited him as a guest, he had been reluctant to accept but appreciated that a refusal could sour relations with his new friend, and after the stark verbal assault by director Durban he was beginning to think a career in the EIA was impossible. Despite his awkwardness it was actually turning into an interesting experience, he amused himself by spotting famous faces and eves dropping on conversations, finding himself surprised at how the ultra wealthy lived their lives.

He suddenly caught the eye of an exceptionally attractive young woman, instantly recognizing her as Sun Chi, the newest and most successful of the current crop of young movie stars and an object of desire for millions of people. He held her gaze for a few moments, petrified by the attention of this starlet, before she moved on and went to speak with the Vice President of the Alliance. He cursed himself inside for just standing there and gawping like a village idiot, he should have at least tried to make conversation but found his body unwilling to respond. In loathing he took a bite of the canapé and instantly regretted it, the thing was cold and rather crusty, utterly disgusting to his pallet. He turned look for a bathroom to spit out the revolting delicacy.

"Morgan, good to see you." Harry Brogan met him as he turned. "Everything alright?"

Clark was acutely aware that his face was contorted in disgust over the canapé. With a supreme effort of will he swallowed his mouthful, guessing there was going to be a price to pay for that in the morning. "Just fine thanks." He smiled.

"Lets take a walk, my party are sat over here, there are some people who want to meet you."

Clark followed on suddenly intrigued. They crossed the hall, Brogan exchanging greetings with a number of dignatories on the way including the Centauri ambassador, and finally stopped at a table in a fairly quiet quarter of the room. He pointed to each of the three persons sitted at the table.

"I'd like to introduce Carol and Ellen, my two daughters." Clark nodded to them politely. "And this is my son in law, Carols husband, Mike Jankowski."

The man stood, he wore the dress uniform of an Earth Force Lieutenant Commander. "Pleasure." He offered his hand.

Clark took it. "Commander, my compliments, you've found a true beauty there."

The assembled group laughed a little, and Brogan gave him a slap on the back. "Way with words eh?" he laughed. "This is Morgan Clark, my new friend in the EIA."

"The Dilgar expert?" Jankowski asked. "We had some of your work circulated around the fleet. Made worrying reading."

"Commander Jankowski commands the EAS Gato, one of our frigates?" Brogan frowned as he tried to remember.

"Yes sir, we're here to participate in war games off Ganymede this month."

"Must be exciting." Clark commented, the desire to go into space nowhere near his heart.

"It can be, but also dangerous. There are a lot of threats out there."

"Very true." Brogan agreed with Jankowski. "Lots of threats, which is why Earth needs to rise above them to protect itself."

He gestured for Clark to sit, and then pulled up his own chair. Clark noticed he had become the centre of attention and found himself feeling slightly embarrassed again, still clutching the vile canapé.

"I want to talk to you about our thoughts on the Dilgar." Brogan began. "Don't worry about these folks, I trust them all with my life. Earth Force is going to send an expedition, a single ship, to investigate the Dilgar threat."

"Well that's great," Clark said. "Its what we wanted."

"Sort of, but you see they're sending a warship, a cruiser that will watch from the edge of battle and not get involved. Now while that's fine, it doesn't serve our interests much."

"Our interests?" Clark wondered. "But it gets our intelligence on the Dilgar?"

"It does, but we also want Earth to take a role in these events." Brogan said quietly. "What's happening out there is changing the face of the galaxy, the old factions are changing and the Earth Alliance needs to be part of that, directing the changes to our advantage."

"So you're talking about direct intervention?" Clark frowned. "But there's no way the senate will approve that."

"No right now, no." Brogan admitted. "But if we are careful we can make sure they have no choice and that they have to do what is good for Earth, despite their political cowardice."

"How then?"

"Easy." Brogan smiled. "We make sure that Earth Force ship isn't on the edge of battle, but right in the thick of it."

"Oh now hang on," Clark pulled back. "I don't think sending our ship into direct confrontation with the Dilgar is so smart."

"Of course it is." Brogan replied in a reasonable tone. "It shows the League we have the reach to deploy ships to their space and face the Dilgar. It warns the Dilgar themselves that we might become involved, and it shows the folks back here that Earth is part of the galactic scene."

"The Dilgar are remorseless," Clark explained. "If they see one of our ships in their way they will destroy it."

"Firing on an Earth vessel would be a big mistake, the senate would have to do something. In fact it would help speed up our cause."

Clark was a little taken aback. "You're not saying we should…"

"Sacrifice one of our own ships for politics?" Brogan raised an eyebrow. "No, Commander?"

Jankowski sat forward. "The ship they're sending is a heavy cruiser, one of the best ships in the fleet. If it does run into trouble it is more than capable of defending itself until it can open a jump point. Its orders are to run if it comes under fire, we won't lose the ship."

"And that's a military man talking." Brogan added. "The ship will be fine, but it'll be a powerful message. And this is where you come in."

"Okay." Clark nodded, following Brogans reasoning.

"Earth force doesn't know where to send this ship, it'll go to the Abbai border but they don't know whether to operate from Brakiri or Hyach space. They know the Dilgar will go for one or the other soon, so the ship will go to the safer location." Brogan outlined. "We need you to make sure the Earth force ship is deployed right in front of the Dilgar attack."

"You can guess better than anyone where they'll go, and the joint chiefs will use your report to decide where to send the ship." Jankowski stated.

"So we just want you to write your report in a way that command sends it ship to be in the right place at the right time."

"You want me to lie on an official report?" Clark double checked.

"It won't be a lie, just a different interpretation of the facts." Brogan said. "The bedrock of politics."

"I don't know Mr Brogan, this is my career."

"Call me Harry." He said. "And trust me, you don't the EIA to be successful, just stay with me."

"He's right, this is the best thing." Jankowski added, the young officer clearly in the pro intervention camp. "That ship will be just fine, and in the end it'll do more good for us than harm."

Clark emptied his champagne glass, the possible consequences of this were huge. Either the powers that be would discover he lied and sent him to jail, or they'd guess he was incompetent and ignore him in future. It wasn't going to be pleasant. But on the other hand Brogan exercised a great deal of influence in just about all circles of government, it seemed likely that Clark wouldn't be out of a job for long.

"Alright, I'll do it."

Brogan laughed jollily. "Good man Morgan, now then, why don't you tell us what happened when Durban called you into his office, we could do with a joke!"

Morgan reluctantly joined in the discussion, becoming more and more comfortable. He didn't feel like one of the people in this room, but as the night wore on he did actually appreciate that he had power, a power he could use to forge the Earth Alliances future in a way that he knew would be best. Perhaps he wasn't too different from these people after all.

Dilgar First Strike Fleet.

Abbai home system.

Jha'dur stormed down the corridor of her Dreadnought towards the briefing room, the crew members giving her a very wide berth and making certain they did not provide a vessel for her wrath. She was furious, and had been for hours ever since the offensive had been recalled and she had managed to get the fleets away from the Abbai defence grid. The unnecessary attack had cost the Dilgar heavily and for little strategic gain, that in alone was enough to make her angry but the fact that the soul to blame for this was her own brother had driven her beyond rage.

She skidded to a halt in front of the door to the room and punched the controls, causing it to open unspeakably slowly. Boiling over with anger she entered the room and was forced to bury down her anger, it was no the correct time or place for an outburst. The room was filled with the seven remaining Warmasters of the assault force, they had started with ten including Jha'dur but two had been killed in action, it appeared recklessly charging into Abbai guns was not just a problem for her brother.

"Jha'dur." One of the men nodded, female Warmasters were rather rare in the Dilgar forces. "Now we are all here we can begin."

She looked across the room to her brother, he was in dress uniform and had a few cuts and bruises, but seemed well enough. He had been lucky not to have died alongside thousands of his subordinates, his ship had been crippled and left alone by the Abbai defence grid, they were more concerned with destroying active ships than finishing off a crippled dreadnought so ultimately Sha'dur had floated out of the battlefront and had been recovered by friendly forces. Jha'durs emotions were mixed concerning him, relief he was alive coupled with anger that he had acted so rashly combined to make her extremely grumpy.

The screen covering an entire wall of the briefing room came to life, it was a direct feed to Omelos and the council of Warmasters, though at this time only one person was in the lavish hall to speak with them, the Supreme Warmaster himself.

"What do you have to report?" he asked, ignoring pleasantries.

"The battle goes on," Warmaster Ke'das said proudly. "We have inflicted great loss on the Abbai and maintain the pressure. Their colony on Tavita is destroyed, and many ships have fallen to our guns."

"How long until the planet falls?" Gar'shan asked over the link.

"Soon my lord, another assault should break them."

Jha'dur scoffed, she'd had enough of this pompous fool. "No, it will not."

"Warmaster Jha'dur, I am the senior officer here and I am making this report." Ke'das growled.

"What do you have to say Jha'dur?" the supreme Warmaster wondered, completely ignoring protocol and the perceived slight to his other Warmasters.

"The Abbai homeworld will not fall to a second assault, they have constricted their defences and improved their overlapping fire pits." She spoke precisely, the concepts clear in her mind. "They are damaged but still supremely capabe of killing our ships, we have lost a lot of vessels lately and do not have the strength to overwhelm them."

"Is this true, Warmaster Ke'das?" Gar'shan said icily.

"Yes, yes it is, we did lose many ships, but with a few more fleets we could defeat them, I am sure of it, we are Dilgar!"

Jha'dur gave a withering glance to Ke'das, he represented what was wrong with the military, he didn't want to admit defeat and would keep on trying to win in an impossible situation and in so doing get all of their people killed. Things had to change and fast if they were going to win this war. "Frankly my lord we would need a vast force engaging simultaneously in at least four massive strikes to overcome their defences. To gather that many ships we would have to strip the strategic reserves and take fleets from the Drazi front, leaving us badly weakened. Of course many of those ships would be lost, greatly reducing our forces in the future campaigns."

"We have no choice," Ke'das replied. "We can't leave this planet active, it threatens our supply lines for fleets moving on the League."

"We don't need to destroy it." Jha'dur said and addressed Gar'shan. "The Abbai navy is decimated, all we need to do is keep them bottled up here, leave a fleet to blockade them and then continue our drive on the League."

"Too risky." Ke'das said. "We must remove this obstacle."

"It would take too long and jeopardise future operations." Jha'dur replied curtly. "We don't have the time or resources, and plainly put we don't have the need. Our priority is to keep our sword in the belly of the League, if we halt to strike this world we give them time to recover and perhaps mass a force against us. The fleet can always destroy this world later, after the League mobile forces are destroyed. The Abbai aren't going anywhere, and they can't hurt us. Leave them."

Gar'shan seemed to consider both options, but Jha'dur had been around the old leader long enough to realise he appreciated alternate solutions to problems. What she had suggested made perfect sense, provided the blockade held the Abbai were doomed.

"Very well." He said. "A fleet will remain behind to guard the planet, the other fleets will resupply and prepare for an attack on the Brakiri, Warmaster Jha'dur will clear the way."

"Yes sir." She bowed, the other Warmasters followed suit but did not seem happy. "I will remove any obstacles between here and the Brakiri border." As she recalled that amounted to three space faring independent systems, not much of a challenge. May I suggest assigning my Brother's fleet to guard this system."

Sha'dur shot her a fierce look, but said nothing.

"You want to keep him out of harms way?" Gar'shan asked.

"His fleet took heavy losses and will be combat ineffective for some time, however it will still be enough to perform blockading duties."

"I will take it under advisement." The Supreme Warmaster said. "You have your orders, Warmaster Jha'dur will commence operations immediately, the rest of you will prepare your fleets for open war. The Brakiri are more aggressive then the Abbai and almost as advanced, they have a large and powerful fleet. It will be a very different type of battle, plan for it."

Without a further word he ended the transmission, leaving the room to consider their new orders. Ke'das headed for the door, clearly not very pleased. He stopped for a second next to Jha'dur. "You embarrassed me." He whispered menacingly. "Today you have made an enemy."

She glared at him, giving as good as she got. "Don't threaten me, you have no idea whom you are dealing with."

He held her gaze for an instant, not knowing how to react, then left just as infuriated.

Sha'dur began to follow them out of the room.

"Not you." Jha'dur said harshly. "Wait here a minute."

The other Warmasters left, some looking over their shoulders before the door shut, leaving brother and sister together.

"You want me to guard this planet!" Sha'dur snapped. "I cant believe you…"

Jha'dur drew back her arm and threw a punch at her brother, connecting with his left side on his jaw and knocking his head round. He staggered back more shocked then hurt and stared aghast at Jha'dur.

"What the hell were you thinking!" she roared, her face growing red in rage. "I told you to fall back!"

"The Dilgar do not retreat." He said coldly but evenly. "I am a Warmaster now, I have standards."

"You complete idiot!" She answered. "Since when did you get so stupid?"

"Since when did you become such a coward?"

She swung her fist again, but this time Sha'dur stopped her.

"How dare you call me coward!" she spat. "When is protecting our ships from gross stupidity cowardice?"

"The Dilgar will either live as conquerors or die fighting, we have no other fate." Sha'dur said calmly. "It is no shame to die in battle."

"No it isn't, but it is the worst possible thing you could do." She sighed. "If you want to throw away your own life, fine, but you managed to take four hundred and sixty ships with you, with a similar number damaged. That's nearly a thousand ships that won't be able to fight against the Brakiri with us. They were lost for nothing and causes us immense problems in the future, all because you wanted to prove yourself as a Warmaster."

"You don't know what its like, I have to prove I can do this." Sha'dur emphasized. "I have to show that I am not just your brother!"

"Well so far you've only shown your complete inexperience. It was a mistake to give you a fleet so soon."

"You're saying I'm not as good as you?" he narrowed his eyes.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." She answered calmly. "Your decisions are based on emotion, not rational thought. You want to make a name for yourself and take your place among the great leaders of our people, but you never will because you don't use your head!"

"I just want to make everyone proud of me." Sha'dur said softly. "You included."

"Then don't do this." She smiled. "Don't go around trying to be like the other Warmasters, trust me if we ever run into a real opponent they'll be dead in the first minutes of a battle. You are smarter than them, have the confidence to fight on your own terms."

"I thought I was doing the right thing." He said. "An example to follow."

"You were brave, no one can doubt that, but you must learn control." Jha'dur smiled again. "Use this time away from battle to learn the real way to fight wars. This war won't be won or lost on the battlefront, but in the planning and preparation stage, something you missed. We must pick our enemies carefully, exploit their weaknesses and be smart. Also, never lead from the front."

"I just want to do the right thing."

"Then listen to me and obey," Jha'dur said confidently. "Otherwise you'll get yourself and a lot of others killed for no reason. Never forget that your main responsibility is to your followers. Now go on, and don't make me beat the stupidity out of you again because you know you can't take me."

Sha'dur laughed. "You were a vicious fighter." He suddenly came over quiet. "Those that died in the attack, that followed my orders…"

"What?" his sister frowned.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Now you are being stupid, there's no such thing. Dead is dead. Now go, see to the repairs on your ship."

He left with a smile, and when he was gone Jha'dur sat on the table and exhaled. Her brother had potential, but he wasn't a natural soldier. His appointment to the rank of Warmaster was political, his actions at Utriel had made him famous and it was expected that Jha'dur would keep a tight rein on him so he didn't cause any trouble. She had falied in that task, and over four hundred ships had paid for it. He was no frontline commander, and after that performance any other Warmaster would have been executed, it seemed the family name and the Supreme Warmasters patronage helped them a lot. However if it happened again, nothing would save him from justice, Jha'dur had to make sure that when he went into battle a third time he was ready for it.

But first she had her own concerns, the rapid conquest of the worlds between the Abbai and Brakiri borders. They had been able to pass off the attacks on Alaca and Balos as retaliation for border raids, and even the fall of the Abbai and mass destruction of Drazi forces hadn't caused the League to react, it was amazing to her that they could still not appreciate the threat they were under. When the Brakiri came under attack though, an empire with no links to the Dilgar, then it was likely they would finally understand what was happeneing, so she would have to move fast.

"Captain An'jash?" she spoke into a nearby comms panel.

"Yes Warmaster."

"Assemble the fleet, we'll resupply and prepare to deploy towards Brakiri space. We'll be acquiring a base of operations to prepare for a full invasion."

"Yes Warmaster, where is our target?"

Jha'dur thought for a while, thinking of which world would be best suited to deploy fleets through and set up a supply line. "Tirrith." She decided upon. "We'll cleanse the rest. We leave when we're resupplied, no time to waste."

She allowed a small smile, within the week her fleet would be back in action and the offensive would regain its momentum.